Diss-continued Until Further Notice
I love staying abreast of new music. When I’m asked what genre I prefer to listen to, I go back to the classic Louis Armstrong quote: “there is good music and bad music… I like good music.”
Generally speaking, the music I'm listening to these days is “new” music. New Music Friday and YouTube’s new music videos of the week set the tone for my weekend.
This week, Taylor Swift dropped a new album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. From break up songs to party songs; from love songs to fun collaborations; Taylor’s range is extremely impressive. I’m no “Swiftie” but I’m really enjoying this project. Will it be remembered as an instant classic?
My favorite thing about Taylor’s albums is how she drives fan connection through her “Easter eggs” and meticulous riddles. The songwriting is so personal and the roll out is so intentional that her fans have to go down a rabbit hole to figure out the meaning of the lyrics and artwork.
One song that is generating a lot of buzz came off her second, surprise drop album. This one doesn’t require a Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass to decipher. It’s called “thanK you aIMee,” a telegraphed shot at the one KIM we all know she has history with: Kim Kardashian. It's great storytelling that ties in real life events while remaining inspirational. The song knocks a bronze, spray-tanned, high school bully named Aimee down to size.
Kim Kardashian defined the 2010’s in pop culture. She was the biggest reality star in the world, a major “influencer” turned entrepreneur, and a savvy PR and fashion icon. But in 2024, Taylor is not only the most popular artist I’ve ever experienced (bigger than the Beatles without worry of a band break up), she might be the most powerful person in the world. She seems like a great person to be friends with, but also someone you don’t want to cross. Her wrath is vicious and this diss track will undoubtedly put a chink in Kim’s skims…
It’s diss season everywhere you look, frankly. A historic battle is taking shape in hip-hop, where Drake finds himself surrounded by attackers. This weekend, he uploaded his Kendrick Lamar diss, “50 Push Ups,” to DSPs after letting it simmer online for a week. It felt like warm up and an ode to 50 Cent’s mixtape era, even featuring DJ Whoo Kid, who kicked it off with his classic air tag.
I love this record. In true hip-hop fashion, he goes after Kendrick and has hard hitting wordplay. Rick Ross’ rebuttal more or less came and went, causing more confusion than anything. Drake brushed it off with a screen shot of a text between him and his mother, which drew mixed reviews online.
But no one knows how to use the power of the internet better than Drake. He’s a meme master who is extremely online and has a history of converting trends into weapons. So on Sunday, when he dropped “Taylor Made Freestyle,” another Kendrick diss track that uses AI voice filters to impersonate 2Pac and Snoop ragging on Kendrick, I wasn’t surprised. But boy was I impressed! Drake appears on the song as himself in the third verse once the West Coast hip-hop icons have taunted Kendrick into dropping a response.
It was a brilliant stunt that played off the initial speculation that “50 Push Ups” was an AI generated track. It calls into question the legality and future of synthetic content, creativity, innovation, and using AI for humor. Drake is somewhat of a?poster child for AI content and deep fakes,?and the way he flipped the technology this time is going down in history even if this track is going to have to come down for?legal reasons?pretty soon.
Kendrick’s head may be spinning, but others say this is all part of his perfectly orchestrated new album rollout. I’m all for some healthy competition and good, old fashion rap beef, especially when the titans of the industry are involved. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.?
Jesse Kirshbaum
Co-Founder of Nue