Did 'For All The Dogs' Or 'We Don't Trust You' Sell More?

Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You sold 135K in its second week. Only 2 more days until We Still Don’t Trust You. In other news today:

• Did “Like That” or “First Person Shooter” make more 💰️ from streams?

• Every rapper that’s apologized to Kendrick—starting with J. Cole❗️ 

• Travis Scott faces more Astroworld backlash 😳 

• Discover new music with the Rap Index 🎵 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

‘We Don’t Trust You’ Streaming Revenue

‘For All The Dogs’ Streaming Revenue

J. Cole lay down his arms, but that doesn’t mean the competition between “First Person Shooter” and “Like That” is settled. Opinion is subjective, but numbers are not. In lieu of the Billboard Hot 100 this week, we’re doing a by-the-numbers comparison of the two albums that birthed a rap civil war.

“Like That” vs “First Person Shooter”

Each album was full of subliminal shots, but only two tracks had the magnitude to send aftershocks throughout the industry, pinning Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Metro Boomin, and Future at the epicenter of a civil war. 

• “Like That” earned $256K from 56.1M streams in its opening week

• “FPS” earned $190K from 39.6M streams in its opening week

• “Like That” spent two consecutive weeks (and counting) at #1 on the Hot 100

• “FPS” spent one week at #1 on the Hot 100

Winner: “Like That”

‘We Don’t Trust You’ vs ‘FATD’

The above charts show the per-song streaming revenue for the Top 16 songs from each album. It wouldn’t be fair to compare all of FATD’s revenue for 23 songs to a shorter album, and 16 of WDTY’s 17 songs charted on HDD’s song revenue chart. 

• WDTY earned 1.3M from 303M streams of the album in its first week

• FATD earned 1.9M from 397M streams of the album in its first week

Winner: For All The Dogs

J. Cole’s The Latest in a History of Rappers Apologizing to Kendrick

J. Cole’s become the face of not standing on business. After releasing a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar, on the surprise EP Might Delete Later, Cole retracted his days-old bars and said that was the “lamest shit” he’s ever done in his life.

During the last night of Dreamville Festival, Cole addressed the crowd with a PSA (Public Smoke Aversion). Admitting he was tested by “Like That” and succumbed to the pressure of the world wanting to see blood, he delivered a heartfelt apology to K-Dot as publicly as he dissed him.

“I moved in a way that I spiritually feel bad on. I tried to jab my n***a back and keep it friendly, but at the end of the day, when I listen to it and when I see the talk, that sh*t don’t sit right with me with my spirit.”

Album titles or self-fulfilled prophecies? Cole expressed his intent to delete “7 Minute Drill” from streaming services as part of his reparations—Might Delete Later, indeed. His forthcoming project, The Fall Off, might as well be J. Fold's debut album after he was fried online for his apology.

The disappointment in Cole’s apology is understandable—rap is a competitive sport. People wanted to watch the veterans battle it out like a Warriors vs Lakers matchup, not Tari Eason vs Draymond Green.

On the flip side, Cole’s display of honesty and accountability is on brand for the conscious rapper who can spit braggadocious bars but moves publicly without ego. 

Cole wanted to leave the group chat, but he’s not the first rapper to call a cease-fire with Kendrick—take a look at the retractions K-Dot’s received over the years.

Big Sean

“Control” walked so “Like That” could run. In 2013, Kendrick’s feature on Big Sean’s “Control” stole the spotlight (not unlike what happened this year). Fans speculated about sneak disses thrown back and forth between Kendrick and Sean for years.

In 2020, Sean revealed he reached out to Kendrick after Nipsey Hussle's death to squash their differences on the track “Deep Reverence.”

Macklemore

Don’t let J. Fold’s retraction make you forget about Macklemore in 2014. When Macklemore’s The Heist won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, people were more upset at him than Killer Mike.

Despite beating Ye’s Yeezus, Drake’s Nothing Was the Same, and Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, it was Kendrick and good kid, m.A.A.d city that Macklemore felt he owed an apology to. He then posted the apology text he sent to Kendrick on IG for “robbing him,” and his career hasn’t been the same since.

Jay Electronica

Much like Big Sean, Jay’s verse on “Control” was overshadowed by Kendrick main character Lamar. In 2016, he expressed disdain (and delusion) during a livestream, “Kendrick would tell you himself he couldn’t body me….Kendrick wishes he could be me.”

A few months later, he walked back those statements on X, asking for forgiveness for “past transgressions” and wishing peace to K-Dot and TDE.

Lupe Fiasco

In 2018, Lupe fired off a series of tweets saying Kendrick isn’t a “top tier lyricist” and that his “Control” verse was “wack and super overhyped.” Didn’t take long for Lupe to go on IG and apologize for engaging and talking about other artist’s careers. 

But Lupe clarified on X this week that his apology wasn’t to Kendrick but rather for his involvement in online discourse. In a now-deleted tweet, he said, “I fear no rapper of any kind or on any time…K dot solid, but y’all need to chill lol.”

Travis Scott Criticized for Texas Football Stampede Video

La Flame went back to college last week—LSU, Texas, and USC—to promote his new Cactus Jack Collegiate merch drop. Despite the joyful occasion, visiting campus bookstores, and surprising football teams at practice for the vibes, Travis can’t shake the shadow of the 2021 Astroworld tragedy. 

In a since-deleted video posted on the Texas Longhorns’ IG, Travis pulls up to football practice and is greeted by the team rushing towards him in a mosh pit-like embrace.

The comments section highlighted the similarity of the encounter to the crowd surge that left nine people dead at Astroworld, calling the content insensitive.

“This is disturbing. People died at his concert from being trampled to death, but we make a joke out of it?,” commented one user about the camera angle that showed players stampeding over the phone. 

Lighthearted comments like, “They tryna give him his own Astroworld incident,” still reference the tragedy. Clips of the original video can be seen below.

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Just last month, Travis’ lawyers filed a motion requesting his dismissal from the ongoing Astroworld lawsuits. Stating that event organizers and venue staff are responsible for fans' safety, not performers. Regardless of the ruling, Travis can’t seem to absolve himself in the court of public opinion.

The Rap Index ft. J. Cole, Bryson Tiller, Quavo, Destroy Lonely & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories describing rap subgenres, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

RapTV’s Ranking of Rap Index Songs

1. “7 Minute Drill” by J. Cole (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “Attention” by Bryson Tiller (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

3. “Potato Loaded” by Quavo ft. Destroy Lonely (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “2 Hands 2 Eyes 10 Whips” by Concrete Boys (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “Bless” by Lil Wayne ft. Young Thug (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “Crocodile Tearz” by J. Cole (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Madonna & Rihanna” by Rich Amiri (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “Gangsta Bitch” by Foolio (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

• Spotify’s new AI feature transforms text prompts into a playlist. Example text prompts are “a playlist that makes me feel like the main character.”

• MF Doom biography ‘The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast’ receives release date. The 352-page book will feature interviews from the late artist’s close collaborators.

• Kid Cudi shares trailer for final installment of ‘X’ horror movie trilogy. Cudi served as an executive producer, releasing each film in collaboration with his Mad Solar production company.

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