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 In a chit chat with HipHopDX alongside Dom Kennedy, the Grammy-winning producer recalled the origins of the track and the processs of working with Kendrick Lamar leading up to his major label debut. 

 “I had already did some sessions with Kendrick before we did a couple of ideas,” Hit-Boy began. “Actually, we went to Vegas for a few days and we was just locked in the studio, and none of them songs ended up being in the mix by the end of the album. He came back and was like, ‘I need some more beats.’ [Backseat Freestyle] was in the batch of the beats I gave him.

“I think he was on tour at the time, we had just stopped through when he came into town for a second. Next thing I know, he was like, ‘Man, I’m out in Texas right now, text me the song or email, whatever the case is.’ He was like, ‘We got one.’ When I listened to it, I’m like, ‘This n-gga spazzing for real on this shit.’” 

 He continued, “I didn’t expect it at all because somebody had recorded a song to that beat. Actually, Ciara recorded an R&B song to that same beat, ‘Backseat Freestyle,’ and the song was called ‘Hit Boy.’ So I was dumb hyping it, I was like, ‘She’s saying my name.’ Nah n-gga, that shit wasn’t supposed to go down, you know what I’m saying?”

 

 

 Besides writing hard hitter rap songs such as JAY-Z and Kanye West’s “N-ggas in Paris” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” Hit-Boy has also built up an impressive list of collaborations with female R&B singers. 

Since 2009, he’s produced songs for Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Brandy, Macy Gray, Jennifer Hudson, Keyshia Cole, Cassie and Teyana Taylor to name a few.

During a March 2013 interview with Vibe, Kendrick Lamar revealed Eminem’s influence on “Backseat Freestyle” and good kid, m.A.A.d city overall.

 “You could listen to my whole album and see that it pays homage in my cadence and my flow,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s still me. When I have that aggression in the record like that [on ‘Backseat Freestyle’], that’s tricks that I learned being in that studio and dedicating myself; being a student. Eminem was definitely a sought-out player that I always respected and looked up to.” 

 “Backseat Freestyle” got viewed over 45 million times on YouTube and 265 streams on Spotify. It was also featured in the 2019 film Waves starring Sterling K. Brown, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alexa Demie, Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedges and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

 

 According to documents obtained by TMZ, the 21-year-old rapper (born Lontrell Dennell Williams, Jr.) is being accused of shooting a security guard during the night of May 29 in one of the many unhinged Memorial Day Weekend events in Vice City alone. 

 In a wild series of events, the unnamed security guard claims Pooh Shiesty shot him incidentally in the ankle as he was firing at someone — or something else. In contrast to the Memphis rapper’s earlier social media testimony, the security guard says someone did indeed swindle cash from Pooh Shiesty’s jeans, enraging him to the point he walked back into the club after being escorted out and allegedly fired the weapon into the area the security guard was standing.

Following the gunshot, the guard says Pooh Shiesty passed his own fire to another person and they fled the scene.

On Tuesday (June 8), Pooh Shiesty turned himself into the Miami Police Department on an aggravated assault charge. 

Attorney Moe GoGat, deep observer on celebrity and Hip Hop cases, says Pooh Shiesty is facing a minimum of 20 years in prison if convicted. He also faces charges for an unrelated October 2020 shooting — also in Florida.

 

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Set chopped it up with Billboard on Monday (June 7) and made bold claims about how the ATL trio was the first to make trap music infiltrate the pop world and dominate the Billboard charts.

“We made this trap [style] go pop,” Offset declared. “They don’t talk about that. We made trap go pop talking about selling pounds and bricks, and we hit Billboard No. 1. Hip Hop artists weren’t going No. 1 like that, but now it just be ‘bang, bang, bang.’”

Give credit when credit is due

— OFFSET (@OffsetYRN) November 10, 2020

When asked about David Banner’s comments regarding artists stealing the Migos’ flows and not giving credit, Offset agreed with the Mississippi native’s assessment. 

 “It’s a fact,” he concurred. “If you go back in time and listen to music prior to 2013, the cadence and the flow didn’t matter. It was more about the bars and what you’re saying. Now, people get away with not saying nothing as long as the cadence and flow are good, and I feel like we created that. We did. I remember when Quavo was most influential in 2013.” 

 Culture III drops on Friday (June 11) and Migos will look to make it three consecutive No. 1 albums atop the Billboard 200, but come next week, they will be battling Polo G’s Hall of Fame for the top spot. 

 Quavo already predicted C3 will be the “greatest” album of the year and Offset expects to “lead the pack” as well. The album is set to feature Drake, Polo G, Pop Smoke, Justin Bieber, Juice WRLD, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Future.

 “I think we did a great job with the way we bouncing the three flows,” said Offset. “We not just doing one verse and one verse, we’re switching it up. We doing things other people can’t do because we the only group. We got creative with our flows so we could stamp another. We feel like we gonna lead the pack with this album.”

 

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To add to the C3 buzz, the Atlanta threesome shared the star-studded tracklist for the project on Tuesday (June 8).

Culture III is stuffed with 19 tracks and will include guest appearances from some of the best music has to offer such as Drake, Future, Cardi B, Polo G and Youngboy Never Broke Again. 

Justin Bieber dips into the Hip Hop world and there are also a couple of posthumous verses from the late Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke.

MIGOS x CULTURE III

🤝 Drake
🤝 Cardi B
🤝 Polo G
🤝 Future
🤝 Justin Bieber
🤝 Juice Wrld
🤝 Pop Smoke
🤝 NBA Youngboy

Which feature are you most excited for?#Culture3 pic.twitter.com/dXFDolqrEk

— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) June 8, 2021

Quavo was a mentor to Pop Smoke and the two worked together on numerous tracks in the Brooklyn native’s short career. 

During an interview with Billboard, Huncho detailed why taking him under his wing was an easy decision.

“Pop Smoke was a real dude,” Quavo said. “I just feel like he was always ready to soak it up. He was a sponge soaking up info. He wasn’t afraid to try new things and do the things he watched on TV. It was the same concept I figured out. 

 “Growing up and watching films and superhero movies and being on the basketball and football team, it kind of teaches you lessons, without having a pops around. I feel like that’s the kind of path he took. When we sat in the studio, he would ask questions and see how the studio work or how I engineered myself and used transitions.”

 

 

 Quavo already declared that Culture III will be the “greatest” album of the year and Offset expects the Migos to “lead the pack” with their 2021 LP.

“The greatest album of this year,” Huncho told Complex.

 “The greatest album of the summer. It’s back open. I feel like this album going to open up the world.”

As loyal G-Unit fans hussled to cget hold of the 18-track project, they were likely searching for any mention of G-Unit boss 50 Cent.

In 50 Cent’s book Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, the rapper-turned-television executive called Banks lazy, something that evidently didn’t sit right with him. 

Fans think Banks addresses the friction between the ex-groupmates on the COTI song “Stranger Things” in which he raps, “When you’re fucked up, behavior turns irregular quick, sometimes the pressure overwhelms when you’re the head of the clique/But don’t get ahead of yourself, I ain’t bending for shit/Nobody sees your vision until you’re successful.” 

 He continues, “Your favorite’s nowhere near me when I’m dedicated/Always humble, usually disciplined and never hated/Call me quiet, call me lazy, talent never faded/It’s frustrating when your grindin’ ain’t appreciated/Should have been dead in my twenties, shit, at least I made it/Guess I gotta prove myself again, increase your payment.”

50 Cent may have accidently insulted Banks in Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, but he also accepted culpability for his perceived shortcomings. 

 “I always felt that if I had maybe done a better job teaching Banks and Yayo how to evolve and change their habits, they each would be in better places right now,” he writes in the book, explaining they both had “unfulfilled potential.”

 “While I was out hustling, Banks was more content staying on his porch and watching the world from there.

 

 

 “Banks wanted things to come to him, as opposed to going out and getting them for himself. That’s not me trying to assassinate his character—the guy has ‘Lazy Lloyd’ tattooed on his arm. He literally wears his laziness on his sleeve.” 

 The Course of the Inevitable arrived on June 4 with features from Freddie Gibbs, Benny The Butcher and Styles P, among others.

 “When I was younger in Toronto the biggest goal in the world to me was getting a crispy Iceberg or Girbaud fit from Jaydees Connections with @goldoildiamonds and trying to get into this legendary party called History Dance,” he said. 

“I never made it in but I always heard all about it in the days to follow.”

He continued, “Now thanks to this partnership with @michaelrapino artists from all across the world can come to Toronto and make their own History. See you in FALL 21 @historytoronto.”

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History plans to “offer artists a versatile and intimate destination to perform and connect with fans in Toronto,” with 200 concerts and events intending to be hosted every year.

“Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History,” Drake said in a press release. 

“I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans.”

Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino added, “We saw an opportunity to bring Toronto a great new venue, and we have so much gratitude and respect for Drake teaming up with us to bring it to life in the best way possible.” 

Situated at 1663 Queen Street East in the Beaches neighborhood, History has been three years in the making with construction expected to be completed later this summer.

“History will offer guests up-close experiences with their favourite artists that are unrivaled in Toronto,” Live Nation Canada chairman Riley O’Connor concluded. “We take pride in and expect History to become an important part of the community.”

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