Kanye Sued for Trying to Turn $57M Malibu Home into Retro Bomb Shelter

Lots of new releases to look forward to tonight from Rod Wave, Offset, Lil Durk, and Sexyy Red. In other news today:

• Song streams & revenue 💰️ 

• Kanye wanted to turn Malibu home into “bomb shelter,” and now he’s being sued 🏠️ 

• Drake’s releasing a new single ft. SZA 👀 

• Peso Pluma threatened by Mexican Cartel ahead of concert 😳 

• New Music Friday releases 💿️ 

• Industry Insights 📈 

Song Streams & Revenue

It’s a new Thursday and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Double Daily, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from September 1st to 7th.

Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” hit #1 this week, partially thanks to 23M streams generating $114K in revenue. Nicki Minaj’s “Last Time I Saw You” got 9M streams in its first week, earning 47K in revenue. Travis Scott had a combined $138K revenue from 28M streams of “I Know?,” “Meltdown,” and “Telekinesis.”

Kanye Wanted No Electricity or Windows at Malibu Home

Kanye’s been collecting lawsuits like Pokémon Go’s if it were still 2016. The latest in his collection was filed by the former project manager of his $57M home in Malibu. When Tony Saxton refused to remove all the windows and electricity from the property, Kanye allegedly fired him in retaliation.

Intent on living in a 1910 bomb shelter meets bat cave, Kanye’s plans for renovating his Malibu home were too dangerous, according to Saxton. The TLDR of this dispute can be summarized in the below quotes, taken directly from the lawsuit via NBC News.

When firing Saxton, Kanye said:

• “Get the hell out”

• “If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore, and you’ll just see me on TV”

• Saxton would be “considered an enemy if he did not comply”

The Malibu home, purchased by Kanye in 2021, was designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando and has sadly deteriorated alongside Kanye’s reputation. The before and after photos speak for themselves.

Kanye’s reno plans included:

• Removing custom marble bathrooms and windows

• Removing plumbing and electricity

• Replacing the stairs with slides

• Only plants, candles, and battery lights inside

• Space should be open and dark

The reason for these bizarre changes was unknown until now. According to Saxton, it was all done in an effort not to be a “slave” to modern conveniences or be “accessible” to the government. Saxton detailed Kanye’s desire “to be on a privatized Wi-Fi network” with an alternate source of energy and no doors, windows, or fixtures—just concrete.

This isn’t the first time Kanye’s distaste for windows and stairs has led to a lawsuit. The former assistant principal of Donda Academy filed a separate lawsuit that said after the school opened in August 2021, it had no electricity or glass in its windows at the request of Kanye.

Drake Taps SZA For New Single, Likely From ‘For All The Dogs’

As September 22nd approaches, more and more is revealed about For All The Dogs. After announcing a new single was otw, Drake posted the cover art for an undisclosed song on socials and tagged SZA.

There’s no title or confirmed release date for the exes that used to date back in ‘08, but it’s a safe bet that the song comes out at midnight. The cover art is a photo of Halle Berry getting slimed at the Kid’s Choice Awards in 2012.

SZA joins Nicki Minaj, Bad Bunny, and Yeat as the confirmed features on FATD, but her announcement was the most shocking.

Ever since Drake revealed that they previously dated during his verse on 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s “Mr. Right Now” in 2020, fans have speculated about beef between the two.

SZA initially unfollowed Drake when his verse made headlines but addressed the topic in a 2022 interview and said he’d given her a heads up about the lyrics and “they’ve always been cool.”

If you search “Drake and SZA” on TikTok, you’ll find tons of videos pointing out tracks where they’ve sampled each other with passive lyrics about unnamed exes, but it’s hard to tell if it’s a love or hate back and forth.

Either way, the online obsession with their relationship was the foreplay for this collab, setting it up to be a #1 hit.

@bars

#Drake and #SZA got some history‼️👀 #raptv #bars #rapper #music

Peso Pluma Threatened by Mexican Cartel Ahead of Concert

Mexican artist Peso Pluma, who recently worked with A$AP Rocky, has received death threats about his upcoming concert in Tijuana on October 14th. Four large banners appeared in different parts of Tijuana on Sept. 12, warning Peso not to appear for his show or “it will be his last.”

For those unfamiliar with Peso’s music, he has many “narcocorridos” or drug ballads that often glorify the drug trafficking trade prevalent in Mexico. Several of his songs praise El Chapo, the founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel. The banner threats were signed with “CJNG,” the initials for the Jalisco New Generation cartel—the main rival of Sinaloa in Tijuana.

The banners cited Peso’s “disrespect and loose tongue” as the reason for the death threats (safe to say they’ve heard his lyrics about El Chapo). Unfortunately, this isn’t unusual for the genre. Dozens of narcocorrido stars have been killed in Mexico by the rivals of drug dealers named in their songs.

Montserrat Caballero Ramírez, the municipal president of Tijuana, spoke on why the Peso Pluma show may be canceled in the name of public safety.

“Singers like Peso Pluma glorifies crime, so there are certain groups that get upset, and unfortunately, those who suffer the consequences are the citizens who want to attend their concerts and then are put at risk,” she said.

New Music Friday

Midnight is stacked with Rod Wave and Diddy’s new albums and the Lil Durk x Sexyy Red collab. Here’s all the music dropping tonight—categorized by 💿️ for albums and 🎶 for singles:

• 💿️ Nostalgia by Rod Wave ft. 21 Savage & more

• 💿️ Magic 3 by Nas

• 💿️ The Love Album by Diddy ft. The Weeknd, Burna Boy & more

• 💿️ Boy Meets World by Sleepy Hallow

• 💿️ Victor by Vic Mensa

• 💿️ Michael (deluxe) by Killer Mike

• 🎶 TBA by Drake, SZA

• 🎶 Hellcats SRTs 2 by Lil Durk, Sexyy Red

• 🎶 The Caliphate by Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, Vince Staples 

• 🎶 FAN by Offset

• 🎶 Cruel World by $NOT

• 🎶 SKED by Denzel Curry, Kenny Mason 

• 🎶 Problems by EKKSTACY, Trippie Redd

• 🎶 Balut by Doja Cat

• TikTok and Billboard team up to launch a Top 50 song chart. The weekly chart will measure the most popular songs on TikTok based on views, user engagement, and number of videos made.

• Offset announces new album, Set It Off, will be released on October 13th. Features include Travis Scott, Future, Chloe Bailey, Latto, and Cardi B.

• Jay-Z’s Dead Presidents car is now on display at the Book of Hov Brooklyn library exhibit. The iconic off-white Lexus is one of many artifacts from Jay-Z’s career on display.

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