The Generation of Infamous

  • Prince Track “Born 2 Die” Is Just One Of Many From The Purple One’s Vault

    (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

    (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

    “Born 2 Die,” the newest drop from the dearly departed Prince, is the second released song from upcoming posthumous album, “Coming 2 America.”

    Ahead of the July 30th release for Prince’s first posthumous album, titled Coming 2 America, the Purple One’s estate drops a new album cut “Born 2 Die.” After the release of the album’s title track back in April of this year, the deceased singer’s estate has followed up with a new fire, yet groovable cut from his vault of unreleased material. Coming 2 America will be the first full length Prince project to be unveiled since the passing of the “Little Red Corvette” singer back in 2016.The lyrics of the intro are enough to captivate the listener right away. “Here she comes. She’s a bad girl. She gets you high. Born to die, born to die.” From the beginning of the song, the lyrics are playful, yet serious. It’s a reminder of Prince’s cryptic song writing and how his songwriting style garnered him a devoted fan base in the first place.

    The production is soulful, rich with catchy harmonies, and dripped in the Minneapolis sound that audiences have come to know Prince for. Throughout the track, the “U Got the Look” singer serves vocals about a mysterious young lady who chooses to remain stuck in her street mentality. “As far as she’s concerned, crime does pay. Ask her when she’s been from the first day,” the Minneapolis artist sings in the second verse.

    Prince’s unreleased material has been the subject of speculation since his death in April of 2016. Coming 2 America is full of unreleased songs from the artist’s mysterious and elusive vault of hidden music. If the rest of the album sounds anything like “Born 2 Die” or the title track, it’s sure to remind audiences why the “Raspberry Beret” singer will always be a force to reckon with.

    Quotable Lyrics:

    Born to die, born to die
    If you ain’t livin’ right, you know you’re
    Born to die, better watch out
    Get ya, get ya, so high, so high

  • Benny The Butcher & JAY-Z Meeting Fuels Collab Hype

    JAY-Z and Benny The Butcher have united once again, fueling hope and excitement for their first collaboration.

    It would appear that JAY-Z has taken quite the liking to Benny The Butcher, a widely regarded frontrunner in the “best current lyricist” category. It’s not entirely surprising, given Benny’s lyrical content and hustler’s ambition mirroring Hov’s own, especially during the Reasonable Doubt era. Not to mention the fact that The Butcher is signed to Roc Nation, thus keeping him firmly in JAY-Z’s camp.

    As such, fans have concluded that a collaboration is all but inevitable. The only question is — whose album will house the first duet between The Butcher and JAY-Z after an earlier attempt fell through? Rumors of a new Hov project, his first since 2017’s 4:44, have begun to build up momentum. It’s certainly worth noting that JAY has been more active on the musical front these days, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him capitalize before the end of the year. As for the Butcher, he’s already dropped off one album with The Plugs I Met 2, but Tana Talk 4 remains on the horizon.

    Benny The Butcher

    Kevin Winter/PW18/Getty Images

    As for whether or not the pair have been cooking up new music, it’s certainly possible given the frequency of their meetings. In fact, Benny recently came through to share a picture of their latest meet-up, as snapped by photographer A Tribe Called Hip-Hop. “Hope these rooftop meetings never turn into jail visits,” captions Benny, teasing a few bars. “It only put a smile on my face when the scale tippin.”

    JAY-Z

    Kevin Winter/PW18/Getty Images

    Check out the picture below, and sound off if you’d like to see JAY-Z and Benny The Butcher hitting the booth.

  • Mad Skillz Surgically Saves Old Dilla Beat Tape

    Mad Skillz performs surgery on an old Dilla beat tape, taking to Instagram to share some of the unearthed instrumentals.

    Mad Skillz has quietly built up a reputation as one of the game’s respected lyricists and has since transitioned into the world of Academia by teaching a hip-hop course at the University of Richmond. Now, he’s making headlines following an impressive project, one that highlights the work of one of the game’s brilliant musical minds — the late Detroit legend, J. Dilla.

    Taking to Instagram to share his discovery, Mad Skillz confirmed that he had restored a beat tape gifted to him by Dilla, showcasing the results on his IG story highlights. “Yes!!!” he captions, looking appropriately thrilled. “I found the original beat tape that Dilla gave me and fixed the tape so I could digitize it, to hear what I just heard? Go to my story.”

    The process that he appears to have undergone is impressive to behold. Showcasing a picture of the tape in its original state — which is to say, having seen better days — Skillz confirmed that a “surgery” of sorts would be necessary. “I just found this,” he states, flashing the tape to his followers. “This is J. Dilla’s handwriting. I know it is cause he always used to spell my name wrong.”

    “I fixed the tape, and started listening to it,” he continues, proceeding to queue up some of the songs and musical fragments included. One such snippet features an eerie vocal sample, prompting Skillz to declare that he always wanted Dilla to make a proper instrumental out of it. Next up is an instrumental version of “The Jam,” which leads into a beat he compares to The Pharcyde’s “Drop.” Also showcased were instrumental versions of “It’s Goin Down” and “Runnin.”

    Fans of the late producer and his work with Mad Skillz would be wise to check out the rapper’s listening session, which doubles as a much-needed reminder of Dilla’s talent. Head over to his IG page and show some love to Skillz and Dilla in the comments below.

    WATCH: Mad Skillz Surgically Saves & Previews Dilla Tape

  • Jennifer Lopez Reflects On Her Success For “On The 6” 22nd Anniversary

    Jennifer Lopez shares a sweet message for the 22nd anniversary of the release of her debut album, “On The 6.”

    There are few stars who are as iconic as Jennifer Lopez. She’s transcended generations as a singer, dancer, actress, and now entrepreneur whose early proximity to hip-hop turned her into Jenny From The Block. On Tuesday, June 1st, she celebrated the 22nd anniversary of her debut album, On The 6 which catapulted her into the star she is today.


    George De Sota/Getty Images

    J. Lo took to the Gram where she celebrated the 1999 release of the album with a clip of herself reflecting one her extraordinary come up from her life in the Bronx to global stardom. “One day I was in the studio and somebody asked me, ‘How did you go from living in the Bronx, Puerto Rican parents not being connected in the business at all, doing movies, and making your album now? You know, you’re making your own album.’ And I said, ‘I usually get on the 6 train, down to the city, do my auditions, do my dance classes, my voice lessons, stuff like that. And that was the beginning of everything for me,’” she says in the throwback interview footage. “This album for me is very much the same girl that grew up there.”

    In her IG caption, she expressed her gratitude for the album changing her life. “June 1st is always a happy day for me! It was the day I released my debut album On The 6. It changed my life forever… it’s taken me around the world and introduced me to the world of music and all of YOU,” she wrote.

    On The 6 was a massive success, both critically and commercially, upon its release. With production from Diddy, Emilio Estefan, Jr. and more, the album moved 112K units in its first week as “If You Had My Love” spent a second week in a row at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The album also produced other successful singles like “Let’s Get Loud” and “Feelin’ So Good” ft. Big Pun and Fat Joe.

  • Benny The Butcher Says He’s Facing Backlash For B.Dot’s Top Rapper List

    Benny The Butcher stands between Conway and Drake on B.Dot’s list of top 10 best rappers of 2021 so far.

    We’re halfway through 2021 and it’s safe to say that it’s been a solid year for music already. Some of the top players in the game have shared new bodies of work while new artists emerge to claim their time in the spotlight. As we ring in June, many people are reflecting on some of the best releases of the year so far, as well as acknowledging some of the hard-working MCs that are grinding and keeping their pens sharp.


     Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images

    Yesterday, Brian B.Dot Miller rattled Twitter when he shared his list of “top 10 best rappers of 2021 (so far).” Miller based the list on skill, performance and presence. Lil Baby sits atop of the list with J. Cole and Lil Wayne holding the number 2 and 3 spots respectively. Then came the double dose of Griselda with Conway and Benny The Butcher edge out Drake to round out the top 5.

    Apparently, not everyone was fond of the list but instead of airing their grievances towards B.Dot, they took it out on some of the artists included. Benny The Butcher took to Twitter where he revealed that he was personally facing backlash for the list that B.Dot created. “That @bdotTM list be makin rappers mad at me like it’s my list,” tweeted Benny The Butcher.

    Benny has rightfully earned his position on that list. Following a prolific run in 2020, he returned with The Plugs I Met 2with Harry Fraud at the top of the year and recently followed it up with another new compilation album, Trust The Sopranos with 38 Spesh. Plus, Benny has pretty much been bodying every guest verse this year.

    Check out B.Dot’s list below.