Did Chief Keef Really Put a Studio in His Bathroom?

Cam’ron and Ma$e are the ‘90s rappers turned comedic duo I didn’t know I needed. They hold no punches on their new sports talk show, It Is What It Is, you can watch them ask what everyone was thinking about Ja Morant’s social media fiasco and public apology below. Honorable mention goes to Cam’ron telling Tee Morant to get his shit together as a father and stop having lookalike contests with Usher 💀 In other news today:

• 3 weeks of Don Toliver & Yeat album sales

• Cam’ron announces another talk show

• Lil Uzi Vert & Playboi Carti tease new music

• Chief Keef cooks a beat in his bathroom studio

• The speakers and headphones Instagram’s CEO uses

• Why everyone is talking about Donald Glover’s new show Swarm

• Industry Insights

• $100 cash giveaway

3 Weeks of Album Sales

Everyone talks about first-week sale projections but what’s more telling about an album’s success is its performance over time. Yeat’s Aftërlyfe had a strong debut, it was his highest-charting Billboard album to date, but sales have drastically decreased week after week.

Meanwhile, Don Toliver’s Love Sick underperformed compared to his previous releases but the steady sales suggest it has higher replay value and longevity. There’s a good chance it could eclipse the initial 16,300 sales gap from Aftërlyfe when numbers come in for this week.

The above chart reflects the sales reported by Hits Double Daily for the weeks of February 24th to March 16th. You can check out the projections for both artists’ albums and previous releases here.

Cam’ron is Giving Advice on His New Talk Show

If it’s as unhinged as his sports talk show, It Is What It Is, then get the popcorn ready. The rapper recently announced his next media project: an advice talk show honoring the longstanding American tradition of airing private matters in public for entertainment.

“It’s called Come And Talk To Me, where I give advice. I’m taking Dr. Phil and them n***as outta here. Dr. Phil, y’all n***as days is numbered!” Cam’ron said on his Instagram stories over the weekend. Someone should tell him that Dr. Phil’s show is already ending production this spring.

Killa Cam promises his new show will give people “real advice they need to hear” which is 0% convincing but the highlight reel of him and fellow Harlem rapper, Ma$e, giving out free smoke to sports players on It Is What It Is is enough for me to tune in. Check it out below.

Cam’ron vs Ben Simmons

Cam’ron vs Anthony Davis

Cam’ron & Ma$e vs Top 10 dangerous athletes

Lil Uzi Vert Teases New Music With Playboi Carti

Lil Uzi Vert continues to set high expectations for new music this year, posting on their IG story last weekend that they and their “luv” aka Playboi Carti are about to take over the world. This follows reports that Pink Tape will be dropping in the next few months and unreleased music that premiered during Uzi’s Rolling Loud performance.

Assuming Uzi and Carti’s takeover is related to music and not satanism (both artists have recently been under scrutiny for using satanic-like visuals and lyrics) it’s hard to take their word at face value.

They’ve mastered the tease rollout, which is all talk and no action, so much so that I could probably write a whole story on Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti: The Artists Who Cried New Music—a rage rap heartbreak.

Watch Chief Keef Cook Beats in His Bathroom Studio

The Chicago rapper has taken the meaning of “never miss a beat” to a new level by installing a mini studio set-up in his bathroom. There’s a flatscreen TV hanging above the toilet, a desk, and a speaker to test out sounds from a laptop in the event that inspiration strikes while he’s relieving himself of bodily functions. Or maybe he liked the bathroom’s reverb.

It was his associate, colorfulmula, that posted the TikTok and said in the comments part 2 is coming soon. Chief’s forthcoming album, Almighty So 2, is set to drop on April 14th. Could it feature restroom reverb? And will part 2 be a full bathroom studio tour? If so, he should trademark the name Shitting On ‘Em.

@colourfulmula

Bathroom studio #bike #glogang #studio #chiefkeef #colourfulmula #gloryboyz

Instagram CEO’s Audio Setup

In other studio news, music enthusiast Derick Gee figured out the headphones and speakers of IG CEO Adam Mosseri based on a video filmed in his home. You can watch Gee’s full TikTok here.

Mosseri’s desktop speakers are Klipsch The Fives, according to Gee the heritage brand’s speakers are bass heavy and highly recommended. The pair of speakers cost about $1000 USD.

Mosseri’s headphones are Bowes & Wilkins PX8 wireless noise-canceling headphones. They’re considered top-of-the-line for a premium listening experience that’s better than the AirPods Max but doesn’t have as many features. They cost $700 USD.

Why Everyone Is Talking About Donald Glover’s New Show Swarm

As Donald Glover’s Atlanta comes to a close, a new tv series emerges on Amazon Prime Video. Swarm is uncomfortable, unsettling, and satirical in all the best ways. It follows the story of Dre, a weird and awkward 20-something stuck in a state of arrested development, who goes on a killing spree in the name of her idol—a pop star named Ni’Jah. Spoiler alerts ahead.

Dre creepily asks each of her victims “who is your favorite artist?” and if the answer isn’t Ni’Jah she savagely murders them with whatever heavy object is nearby. The question and soundbite of a bee swarm are warning signs of a looming murder. There’s no missing the parallel between Beyoncé and her Beyhive of fans.

As with any Donald Glover show, co-created by Atlanta alum Janine Nabers, there are many layers of social commentary to unpack. Swarm makes you question how much of a deranged person’s psyche is attributed to nature and the un-nurturing effects of trauma. Let’s dive in.

Nail-on-the-Head Meta Casting

The plot’s most obvious commentary is on the perils of internet fandom, Dre, played by Dominique Fishback, is an extreme example of how admiration can turn into a delusional obsession. Glover and Nabers cast the protégé of a pop star, the daughter of a pop star, and a literal pop star in a show about the toxicity of a pop stars fanbase.

First, the protégé: Chloe Bailey plays Dre’s sister Marissa and it’s no secret that Bailey credits Beyoncé as the biggest musical influence in her career as a singer.

Second, the daughter: Paris Jackson, the offspring of pop icon Michael Jackson, delivers one of the most epic lines in episode one. Jackson plays a stripper named Hailey who goes by the stage name of Halsey because like the singer, she’s a quarter black. Parallel to the character she plays, Jackson’s biracial roots are often overlooked.

Third, the pop star: Billie Eilish makes her acting debut as Eva, the chilling cult leader of a group of troubled young women disguised as a loving sisterhood. Eilish’s episode is arguably one of the best, she disarms Dre with TikTok self-help jargon and coaxes the truth about her violent tendencies through hypnosis-like therapy sessions.

Other familiar faces: Damson Idris, Rory Culkin, and Rickey Thompson all deliver strong cameos but the most phenomenal performance was Fishback’s disturbing portrayal of Dre.

Cinematography & Scoring

The show has horrorcore elements that pay homage to the work of Quentin Tarantino and Jordan Peele. Glover’s trademark atmosphere is dizzying and substance-filled shot through the lens of surrealism and merging the ordinary with the eerie. You’ll connect to something familiar only to be whiplashed by the what the fuck weirdness of the next scene.

The scoring is well done, accentuating the feelings the script naturally provokes and taking them to the next level. It exhibits a similar musical taste to shows like Atlanta and Insecure.

Social Commentary & Themes

Digging deeper than toxic fandom, you’ll find the show is really about the things fandom acts as a substitution for. Dre’s lack of emotional connection, love, companionship, and self-worth manifests in a relationship with a pop star that only exists in her head.

It’s her lifeline in a world of pain that started with abandonment when her parents put her up for adoption as a child. She’s the culmination of her trauma and while that doesn’t excuse her actions it depicts the nuances of every villain arc or anti-hero.

Dre seems equally addicted to food as she is to murder which all boils down to hunger and the impulsive urge to satisfy an inner desire. The fact that Dre travels throughout the country as a serial killer largely unnoticed is a nod to the erasure of Black women and the ways they’re ignored and condescended to.

House of Balloons Was Released 🎈 

12 years ago today, The Weeknd released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, and changed the landscape of contemporary and alternative R&B.

The album’s themes of love, sex, drugs, and loneliness paired with the dark moody tone and atmospheric production created the blueprint he was known for early in his career.

Did you know that…

House of Balloons is a real place in Toronto, located at 65 Spencer Ave. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, The Weeknd said that the house wasn’t very nice so he and his friends would try to make it celebratory for parties by using balloons. The time spent there is said to have heavily influenced the mixtape.

Drake’s co-sign of the mixtape led to some tradeoffs, The Weeknd ended up giving Drake songs for Take Care that were originally for House of Balloons. This includes the tracks “Crew Love”, “Shot For Me”, and “The Ride”.

• Rema earns his first Top 10 Billboard entry with “Calm Down” and becomes the highest-charting Nigerian song on the Hot 100 to date.

• Lil Wayne’s Dedication 2 mixtape is coming to streaming services later this year with the addition of new music.

• Fewer DIY artists earned over $10K in Spotify streaming royalties in 2022 than the year before.

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