What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?

Wu-Tang Clan had a horrible week, Nas' "Illmatic" turned 20, and there might be a Mr. & Mrs. Carter Tour in the works.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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50 Cent kicked it all off when he visited Hot 97 and called former G-Unit members Tony Yayoand Lloyd Banks hypemen for Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave. He argued it wasn't a shot, but if it wasn't then we don't want to know what is. Childish Gambinotook to Twitter this week to air out his grievances with his record label after the video for his song "Sweatpants" dropped and wasn't what he expected. 

Wu-Tang Clan had the biggest issues this week. News broke that Raekwon is "on strike" from the group because he's not happy with their new single, "Keep Watch." And Clan associate Andre Johnson (also known as Christ Bearer) attempted to commit suicide by castrating himself and jumping off a balcony.

It wasn't all bad this week though. Pharrell had an amazing interview with Oprah Winfrey where he spoke about his humble beginnings, the love he has for his wife, and he shed a couple tears after seeing the impact his hit "Happy" has made. Check out all that and more on What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?.

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Pharrell cried tears of joy on "Oprah Prime" last weekend after watching a montage of "Happy" videos from around the world.

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Lana Del Rey premiered her latest single "West Coast" while performing at Coachella last weekend.

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After releasing the "Sweatpants" video and his "The Deep Web Tour" diary, Childish Gambino took to Twitter to air out some grievances with his label situation.

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Date: April 14

Because the Internet is more than just an album title for Childish Gambino. He's attributed some of his success to the digital realm, and has stated (more than once) its importance and that he has a better grasp on it than most. Including his record label, Glassnote.

Gambino claims that they botched the release of his newest video "Sweatpants" as well as his Deep Web Tour Blog. And then lied to he and his team about it all. As a result of his frustrations with them, he took to his Twitter account to speak his peace about what he is saying are big mishaps.—Brandon Jenkins

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50 Cent is on a promo run for Animal Ambition and after dropping the single "Hustler" and its accompanying video, he took shots at everyone from Diddy to Tony Yayo, Young Buck, and even Troy Ave.

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Date: April 14, 15, and 17

50 Cent’s upcoming album Animal Ambition is set to drop June 3 and the Queens native is starting a buzz by stirring up a little controversy. The rapper dropped a new song called ”Hustler” this week on DJ Euff’s Hot 97 show, which you can check out below. The following day, 50 stopped by The Hot 97 Morning Show to talk about Summer Jam, his new album, and his take on New York hip-hop. 50 admitted to being a Troy Ave fan, but simply said he likes "the idea of Troy Ave." 

What set people off, however, was when 50 Cent commented on his former G-Unit members Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks by calling them Troy Ave’s hypemen. This didn’t sit well with Yayo who took to Twitter to announce his hate for the brand in a now deleted tweet. As if that wasn’t enough, 50 Cent hit up another radio station and blatantly called Diddy’s newest song “Big Homie” garbage. With his album over a month away it’ll be interesting to see how 50 continues to stir the pot. —Zach Frydenlund

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This week marked the 20th anniversary of Nas' Illmatic.

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Date: April 15

Nas celebrated the 20th anniversary of his debut album Illmatic this week by dropping Illmatic XX, a remastered version of its original that also includes a rare freestyle as well as remixes to songs such as “Life’s A Bitch” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell.” To further interact with his fans, Nas also stopped by the Reddit offices to participate in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session where he revealed he didn’t ghost write Will Smith’s ”Gettin’ Jiggy With It, he loves Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, and that he’s also a fan of Bishop Neru and Fashawn. You can catch our recap of the AMA session here and stream Illmatic XX below.— Insanul Ahmed

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Future streamed his Honest album a week early, and dropped the Kim K and Ciara-less video for "I Won" featuring Kanye West.

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August Alsina dropped his new album Testimony and got a little heated on BET's "106 & Park" after being asked about his R&Beef with Trey Songz.

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Date: April 15

Apparently, there are some things you just don't ask August Alsina on the day his album comes out. The number one thing seems to be asking about Trey Songz, who August has been beefing with since an incident a few months back.

But of course, they're going to ask about it because R&Beef is always entertaining—and his answer is priceless. —Zach Frydenlund

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Rumors swirled surrounding a possible Jay Z and Beyoncé tour this summer but only one thing is for sure: the "Made in America" festival will take place over Labor Day weekend in both Los Angeles and Philly.

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Forbes dropped their annual "Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists" list, and Diddy is obviously making more money than everyone else.

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Drake is being sued over the opening monologue sample on "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" that most people thought was his dad.

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There's been a lot of drama with Wu-Tang Clan this week: Raekwon is currently on a "strike" and someone cut off their penis in a suicide attempt.

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