As you know, Benny The Butcher’s critically acclaimed Tana Talk series reached its fourth installment last month, featuring 12 songs and contributions from Stove God Cooks, J. Cole, Boldy James, 38 Spesh, Diddy, as well as Griselda cohorts Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn, who contributed bars to “Guerrero” and “Tyson vs. Ali,” and respectively.
Earlier this week (April 20), Benny just released a new video from Tana Talk 4 for “Bust A Brick Nick,” a track produced by Alchemist that features the Buffalo rapper rapping about his detractors, getting shot, and money, among other topics:
A clip for “Bust A Brick Nick” is below, which features Kat, Tony Deniro, and Blu, along with Benny The Butcher somewhere in the desert. In addition to a private jet, beautiful women carrying suitcases, Benny riding his high-end whip, and much more, viewers are treated to various shots throughout the movie.
Tana Talk 4 follows on from the successful Tana Talk series as well as other fantastic works from Benny The Butcher, including Burden of Proof, The Plugs I Met 2, and Pyrex Picasso. Benny explained how he has continued to improve his craft in a previous interview:
I’m consistent. My consistency has increased. Even though I felt my talents were excellent, when you’re doing what you’re doing at the street level, your focus isn’t entirely there. I get a hundred percent of my attention doing this for a living.”
FKA Twigs unveiled her debut mix tape CAPRISONGS in January, which included 17 genre-bending songs alongside help from artists including Pa Salieu, The Weeknd, Shygirl, Rema, Daniel Caesar, Jorja Smith, Unknown T, and more. Until now, the project has produced visually stimulating visuals for tracks such as “ride the dragon,” “tears in the club,” “meta angel,” “darjeeling,” “jealousy,” and “papi bones.”
Besides that, FKA twigs released a video yesterday (April 19) for “oh my love,” a Jason Scheff and El Guincho -produced track, which is accompanied by messages from Abigail Sakari and Suzannah Pettigrew detailing their experience of being on the wrong side of an inconsistent and lopsided relationship:
Featuring lo-fi footage of FKA Twigs having her nails done at a salon, Aidan Zamiri’s accompanying clip offers a lesson in self-care.
Relatedly, twigs recently released a short film called PLAYSCAPE, which has coincided with this year’s International Woolmark Prize, a prize that honors designers around the world (previous winners includeKarl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent). Below explains said film:
“Directed by FKA Twigs and creatively directed by Zak Group with choreography by Juliano Nunes, here is the final Lookbook for the IWP2022 collection including Ahluwalia, Jordan Dalah, EGONLAB, Peter Do, MMUSOMAXWELL, RUI and Saul Nash. Isamu Noguchi’s concept of play as a catalyst for creativity inspired Playscape, which merged elements of fashion, dance, and music.”
The Queens-Fontana duo released Magic, their third joint effort, before Christmas last year, containing nine cuts and some help from DJ Premier and A$AP Rocky for the standout track “Wave Gods.” On Monday, the Queens-Fontana duo revealed another video from the upcoming set titled “Ugly,” which is also produced by Corbett, and depicts both everyday people and celebrities who engage in violence in our neighborhoods:
This video for “Ugly” is provided by AWGE, and features Nas and Hit-Boy riding around in a limo with some ladies. As the video moves through the song’s journey, fast moving shots appear that help to put the lyrics to life, from images of active military to more abstract ones such as a room filled with faceless people.
A few years ago, Nas and Hit-Boy released King’s Disease, their first official full-length offering that featured 13 songs featuring Hit-Boy, Charlie Wilson, Big Sean, Lil Durk, A$AP Ferg, Anderson .Paak, Fivio Foreign, Brucie B, Don Toliver, and The Firm, which saw Nas return alongside AZ, Cormega, Foxy Brown, and Dr. Dre. King’s Disease had a tremendous impact, winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album for the duo. As well as Magic, 2021 was also marked by the release of an official sequel to King’s Disease, which featured contributions from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, EPMD, YG, Eminem, and more.
In honor of his late mother, Suzanne Olmsted, G-Eazy released a new song titled “Angel” over the weekend. A heartfelt gift arrived on her first birthday after she passed away last autumn. G created the song with his close friends. He used background vocalists Vida Simon, and Devon Baldwin along with the choir conducted by Tim Davis, which was also used for “Faithful.”
With his new music, G-Eazy announced an annual scholarship fund in honor of his mother, “The Dandelion Scholarship.” The scholarship will be awarded annually by The Endless Summer Fund to a college-bound high school senior pursuing a degree in the arts, with the recipient announced on April 15 (his mother’s birthday). Information about this year’s recipient and how to apply will be provided in the coming days.
The rapper posted a message on Instagram to announce her death last year. Eazy discusses his relationship with his mother in the article, which includes a variety of pictures of his mother throughout the years.
“I can’t comprehend the feeling that you won’t be able to hug me again,” wrote the artist of “These Things Happen Too”. My mother is my queen, my hero, my everything. There is no stopping the tears. Everything hurts, from my eyes to my face to my body. It is impossible to find a safe place to hide and there is no way to lay, sit, or stand without being hurt. It is unbearable. However, knowing you’re out of yours gives me peace of mind. I love you dearly.
According to Eazy’s caption, his mother also played a crucial role in his decision to seek substance abuse treatment.
“Although I was deeply concerned for you and your physical well-being, I did not realize how deeply concerned you were until you sent me the most hard letter I have ever read,” he wrote in another part of the caption. The decision to go to alcohol and drug treatment was mine, but your letter ultimately convinced me.
Generally, artists aren’t able to stick with the original name they used, but Blxst talks about what it was like to become a father and how that affected his stage name.
During a recent interview with “Sway in the Morning“, the Los Angeles native stated that the reason for keeping his original artist’s name, which is pronounced blast, is actually due to his son.
“I originally conceived of Blxst when I was a young child and it literally had no meaning whatsoever when I was a child, so I decided to rethink it. Initially, I was a lyricist, but soon after having my son decided to become his superhero, so I became Blxst the superhero,” he revealed in response to a question about the meaning of his stage name.
A collaboration between his record label, Evgle, and Red Bull Records enabled the West Coast artist to debut his EP “No Love Lost” in 2020.
Blaxst, whose signature style has him flitting between rapping and carrying a melody, also discusses what inspires him when it comes to approaching a song.
“I would just note that sometimes the ideas just flow through me like a river, and other times, I just paint whatever is in my mind, he said. “I don’t go into the studio with any preconceived notion about doing a particular thing. In the end I do what I feel, and I am grateful to those who made it possible for me to be able to go down that road, like Drake and Kanye West. I think about people in the sound who have been there so long whenever I am just free.”
The 29-year-old rapper revealed during a recent appearance at J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival that he is preparing to release his new project, Before You Go.
“For me, that is as though I am writing a note to myself to remind me to leave some things behind maybe take some things with him, but it is also finding a balance of me as a man beyond just being a rapper, as he says on the new mixtape set to release on April 22,” he informed of the release date.
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