If you thought that nothing could be as exciting as the week of June 18, then you were wrong—very wrong. Much of this week's music news was made, as is increasingly the case, on Twitter. In fact, it's starting to seem like rappers should maybe just avoid the form entirely. No, Rick Ross, Africa is not a country. And yes, The-Dream, you were ranting about sales, even though you were all like, "Lol I'm not ranting just kept it one hunded.[sic]" And, yes, everybody, things you tweeted three years ago are bound to come back to haunt you.
But this week's most depressing news came when we learned that will.i.am is trying to sue Pharrell's "i AM OTHER" brand over the use of the phrase "i AM." Yes, we're serious.
Either way, tonight is the BET Awards which, as you know, will have the music world entertained for yet another week. Before then, here's all that and more in this week's What The Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?
Rick Ross apparently mistook the continent of Africa for an imaginary country called "Africa."
Rick Ross thinks Africa is a country. We repeat: Rick Ross thinks Africa is a country.
Date: June 24
William Leonard Roberts II graduated from Miami Carol City Senior High School and attended Albany State University. Eventually, he became Rick Ross: millionaire rapper, Maybach Music Group head honcho, and a "rich fly fat boss who luvs @wingstop lemon pepper wings." The transformation seems to have led Ross to make some sacrifices. Apparently, the world geography he learned in school is one of those sacrifices.
Or maybe there's another explanation for this:
Just landed in the beautiful country of Africa..I can tell you that the world is excited for #TheGifted
— Mastermind (@rickyrozay) June 24, 2013
Maybe it was just a typo. Or maybe his Twitter account had been hacked, like Havoc's was. (Poor Havoc.) But it sure seems like the man who chose a single word, "Mastermind," to describe himself on his Twitter page does not know that Africa is a continent, not a country. Or, maybe he's thinking two steps ahead of again. Playing chess while we're playing checkers. Maybe Ross was making a subtle audition to appear on the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? — Dharmic X
Fat Joe became definitely the first rapper ever to forget to pay his taxes.
Amy Winehouse's brother finally spoke out about her death.
Amy Winehouse's brother finally spoke out about her death.
Date: June 24
Amy Winehouse's brother, Alex, spoke on the singer's death for the first time since her July 2011 passing. In a revealing interview with the Guardian, Alex Winehouse claimed that it wasn't just drugs and alcohol that killed her, it was bulimia. "She suffered from bulimia very badly," he said. "She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia. . . I think that it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger."
The interview was done in support of Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait, an exhibit being held at London's Jewish Museum. It will feature a collection of items gathered to show the Amy Winehouse the public was largely unfamiliar with—the one her family knew.
"She was annoying, frustrating, a pain in the bum," Winehouse said of his sister. "But she was also incredibly generous, very caring. She'd do anything for anyone, she really would. She was loyal—as a sister, daughter and friend. She was probably the most loyal friend to people I've ever known."
The exhibit will run from July 3 through September 15, the day after she would've turned 30. —Julian Kimble
RELATED: Amy Winehouse's Brother Speaks on Her Death for First Time
The-Dream took a break from making NSFW music videos to go on a Twitter rant about how much money he has.
Date: June 25
This week we learned that The-Dream is balling out of control, regardless of what Soundscan reported regarding his album sales.
Like anyone else would, The-Dream was just having a normal conversation on Twitter with his long-time partner Tricky Stewart, about how they could make another quick 30 million dollars. (Yes, he managed to squeeze all that sneak-stunting into 140 characters.) Shortly after, when a fan reminded him that his newly released album IV Play was a flop, The-Dream took it upon himself to set the record straight:
@sinfulreligion AND....... but what changed? Boat, Maybach, my kids Rich? Unless the 43k I sold affected ure life style this ain't the 90s
— THE-DREAM (@TheKingDream) June 25, 2013
Spend 7 million I'm promo and Marketing and to sell 300k.. Nigga please. Just to say you did good. Nigga ima make 5mil on sync fees idgof.
— THE-DREAM (@TheKingDream) June 25, 2013
I'm in the Publishing business yall can play along with that buy my own album Game. I appreciate it if I only sold one Album. House Money.
— THE-DREAM (@TheKingDream) June 25, 2013
Lol I'm not ranting just kept it one hunded. Nothing Changed. I will still be Paid to create another Classic, why. Because I'm Dope. True
— THE-DREAM (@TheKingDream) June 25, 2013
No doubt, The-Dream is very rich. Songwriters make a whole lot of money behind the scenes. You can only imagine the profits he made from publishing credits on hits such as Justin Bieber's "Baby" and Rihanna's "Umbrella". Or how about Beyonce's "Put a Ring On It" or Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church In The Wild"?
He wants us not to worry about his album sales, because, he says, he is definitely not worried about them. It seems strange then, why he would go out of his way to tell this to people he doesn't know, again and again and again. —Sobechi Ibekwe
Everyone got to read a bunch of old tweets of rappers dissing other rappers.
The final first week sales numbers for June 18 releases came in.
The final first week sales numbers for June 18 releases came in.
Date: June 26
Jay-Z famously said, "Men lie, women lie, but numbers don't." So what truths did the first week sales numbers for June 18's three big rap album releases tell us?
As expected, Kanye West came out on top, selling 327,000 copies of Yeezus last week. But J. Cole finished a strong second, selling 297,000 copies of his second album, Born Sinner. Not only was that surprisingly close to Kanye's total, it marked the highest-selling debut at No. 2 since December 11, 2010. Complex editor-in-chief Noah Callahan-Bever wrote an essay guessing that Cole has scooped up old fans of Kanye's turned off by Yeezus's dramatic shift in form.
Meanwhile, Mac Miller finished in third place selling 102,000 of Watching Movies With the Sound Off—a very respectable number for an independent artist. What’s fascinating is that in week number two, early projections have J. Cole outselling Kanye 90,000 to 75,000. What if Born Sinner ends up outselling Yeezus when all is said and done? That would be a coup! —Dharmic X
RELATED: First Week Sales for Kanye West, Mac Miller, and J. Cole Are In
We learned that Will.i.am. is actually trying to sue Pharrell over the use of the phrase "I am."
We learned that Will.i.am. is actually trying to sue Pharrell over the use of the phrase "I am."
Date: June 26
I AM really confused at this whole debacle. Not only does will.i.am. consider himself the owner of the phrase "I AM" but i THINK he may have given the world a glimpse into how unstable his brain currently is.
Hey Will, are you gonna go sue Kanye West over "I AM a God?" What about Beyonce for "I AM Sasha Fierce?" Oh, wait, wait, we almost forgot—Wayne, "I AM Not A Human Being?" Oh and there's two of those albums, too!
Before we continue with corny "I AM" jokes, to brief everyone who may have missed the news: Rolling Stone unearthed court documents detailing a lawsuit will.i.am. has filed against Pharrell over his "i am OTHER" brand, which will.i.am. says is confusingly similar to his "i AM" brand.
Whatever, anyway, because Pharrell is the absolute best, he too made jokes at the entire thing in a statement issued to the media:
"I AM disappointed that Will, a fellow artist, would file a case against me. I AM someone who likes to talk things out and in fact I attempted to do just that on many occasions. I AM surprised in how this is being handled and I AM confident that Will's trademark claims will ultimately be found to be as meritless and ridiculous as I do," Pharrell Williams said in a statement. (Unorthodox capitalization MINE.)
And then Will.i.am. went on this weird Twitter tangent of all of the things that HE IS doing:
i.am not suing @Pharrell & I NEVER WAS.. What i.am doing is... #iamSCHOLARSHIP sending kids to school debt free. go2 http://t.co/yAye0SpV9h
— will.i.am (@iamwill) June 26, 2013
i.am not suing @Pharrell & i never was. what i.am doing is #iamHOME helping families keep their homes... see http://t.co/n7GOlWnV5T
— will.i.am (@iamwill) June 26, 2013
i.am not suing @Pharrell and I never was... what i.am doing is #iamangel TRANS4Ming inner cities with #STEAM tools... http://t.co/n7GOlWnV5T
— will.i.am (@iamwill) June 26, 2013
Did this give anyone any sort of clarity? Did will.i.am. just promote his philanthropic organizations while announcing/denouncing his legal woes? I AM pretty damn confused. —Lauren Nostro
RELATED: Will.i.am Takes Legal Action Against Pharrell Over "i am OTHER"
Earl Sweatshirt cancelled the rest of his summer tour dates because he has pneumonia.
Jay-Z dropped more advertisements for "Magna Carta Holy Grail," while the world waited.
Jay-Z dropped more Magna Carta advertisements, while the world waited.
Date: All week long
Jay-Z doesn't need to buy adspace to promote his upcoming album, adspace buys Jay-Z. As much of a stir that the idea of Jay's "#newrules" movement may have caused, the Samsung commercials themselves have been nothing short of fascinating; well-produced looks inside some potentially history-making Jay (plus superproducer) moments.
We as fans get the privilege of seeing Rick Rubin stroke his majestic beard on a couch while Hov relates to him his thoughts ("Just my thoughts!") on religion, for example. As well as the process with which music greats take a song from its ideological framework to conclusion. Say what you want about the methodology, but the quality of content is hard to deny. Swizz Beatz confirmed that these studio sessions were candid, though the participants were aware that a commercial was being filmed at the time. If the pulsing piano chord from the ads has yet to dictate your own life cadence, you're a stronger man than me. Get your Samsungs ready, this is going to be the hottest phone "rapplication" of the year since the DJ Funk Flex app. Don't sleep! —Alexander Gleckman
RELATED: What We Know About Jay-Z's "Magna Carta Holy Grail" So Far
