What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?

It's been over two years since Rihanna dropped her seventh studio release, Unapologetic, a musical drought that has been noticeable given the fact that in this same time frame Beyoncé dropped a surprise album and toured across the country with her husband, Jay Z.

However, the 26-year-old star from Barbados has certainly kept her name fresh in the public sphere thanks to her Instagram account, badgalriri. Along with posting photos and video clips of her personal—and sometimes risqué—exploits, Rihanna has also kept fans up to date on her latest happenings. It was on this same social media platform that Rihanna teased a new song earlier this week, and it was 15 seconds of glory that the #Navy will hold onto until the official release.

Plus, Eminem drops Shady XV, Iggy Azalea wins big at the 2014 AMA's, and a close pal of Drake's hints at an upcoming project from the Toronto rapper. Check out all that and more in What the Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?

Date: November 23

It's like Macklemore at the Grammys all over again. Iggy Azalea won the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for her debut release, The New Classic, beating out Drake and Eminem in both categories. As you can imagine, hip-hop heads aren't pleased. But the fans that voted aren't exactly rap experts. —Ian Servantes

Related: Iggy Azalea Wins Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at American Music Awards

Date: November 24

After a steady amount of promo, which included an intense all-Shady rap battle cypher, Eminem's new compilation album, Shady XV, is finally out. The project, which features one disc of all new material and one disc of the label's greatest hits, was originally announced earlier this year following the trailer for Denzel Washington's movie, The Equalizer, that used Em's track, "Guts Over Fear."

In total, the CD with all new material features 12 songs with appearances from Yelawolf, Big Sean, all four members of Slaughterhouse, and more, while the second CD includes some of Shady Records biggest hits, like 50 Cent's “I Get Money." —Zach Frydenlund

Related: Stream Eminem's “Shady XV” Compilation Album

Date: November 24

In an age of 360 deals, albums being shelved due to budget problems, and a general industry-wide worry about spending and losing money on recording and selling albums, it's commendable when artists bypass all of the noise and take even greater personal risks to perfect their music. Label politics be damned—music is art, and sometimes dope art costs a lot.

Kanye West has spoken multiple times about how much money he's personally put up and lost to fulfill his artistic visions. Drake once rapped, “Tell Lucian I said “fuck it”/I’m tearing holes in my budget” on “Stay Schemin',” referencing his determination to spend on his album in defiance of Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group. Of course, Kanye and Drake can spend more liberally with fewer consequences than an upstart artist can afford, but each has shown a strong willingness to invest in their own art.

RZA is another artist who shares that mentality, as evidenced in his interview with the New York Times on Wu-Tang Clan's upcoming album, A Better Tomorrow, as he spoke on the status of their long-rumored $5 million album, and on becoming a better leader and parent. Buried within RZA's answers was a revealing fact about the latest Wu-Tang album.

During the interview, RZA was asked about the recording cost of A Better Tomorrow, and specifically what he was paying for out-of-pocket. RZA's response was all-encompassing and direct: “Everything. And I won’t recoup. I’m already overbudget. Maybe I’ll net out a half-million-dollar loss."

When asked what he got for his money, RZA hardly sounded like a man who was down on his decisions: “I invested in the album. Look, if I never did anything again in music, it wouldn’t affect my life materially. I live a very satisfying life. Not because I’ve made a few dollars, but because I have a wife who loves me and children who wait for me to come home. And that is beautiful. I think that’s the American dream: to be at peace at home."

Clearly, RZA is an artist who gives a total of zero fucks about what Wu-Tang Clan's music will cost to produce. For him, and artists like Kanye, Drake, and many others, the end product and the vision behind it can't and won't be totally shackled by budgets or accountants. The music will drive the money—not the other way around. —Justin Block

Related: RZA Has Spent a Half Million Dollars of His Own Money Recording the New Wu-Tang Album

Date: November 25

Killer Mike has been very vocal throughout the aftermath of the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and the unrest that followed in Ferguson, MO over the past few months. Mike and El-P took the stage in St. Louis after the announcement that the grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Brown.

Before their set, Mike spoke to the crowd of people about the decision, delivering a powerful speech while on the verge of tears about how though he feels defeated today, they won't be able to knock him down tomorrow and going forward in the future.

“These motherfuckers got me today, when I stood in front of my wife and I cried like a baby, I said, 'These motherfuckers got me today.' But then I said, 'These motherfuckers will not own tomorrow. We will not live in your fear.” —Zach Frydenlund

Related: Killer Mike Delivered a Powerful Speech Onstage in St. Louis Following the Grand Jury Decision in Ferguson

Date: November 25

Prince's short stint on social media appears to be over as the legendary artist has deleted both of his accounts from Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, Prince removed all of his videos and music from YouTube other than a few performances. It's not uncommon for Prince's music to be taken off of YouTube, as his label does it often, but it's worth noting that his music is still featured on streaming sites. The reasoning behind this move is not known, and according to NME, Prince's spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the situation.

If you remember, when Prince originally joined Facebook, he put his trolling hat on for a Q&A session where he only ended up answering one question from the fans, and really didn't even do that, but rather posted a link to his thoughts on sound frequencies. The timing of this move does seem strange, seeing how Prince just released two albums earlier this year, but hey, this is the same guy who once changed his name to merely a symbol, so nothing is really shocking. —Zach Frydenlund

Related: Prince Deleted His Social Media Accounts and Removed His Music From YouTube

Date: November 25

The thirst for Rihanna's next studio album is real, and appears to be coming sooner than we think. While she has kept the details of the album close to her chest, she finally broke down, sharing a preview of a brand new song on her Instagram account. RiRi doesn't give a title for the song, but it sounds rather dramatic, with a heavy bass-line while Rihanna sings, “Ain't none of this shit promised, ain't nothing promised, ain't none of this shit certain, ain't none of it certain."

Along with her Instagram snippet, Rihanna shared a message on Twitter that reminded everyone that all of the details about her new album will come directly from her and not outside sources. We got you, RiRi, now just give us that new music. —Zach Frydenlund

Related: Rihanna Just Previewed a Brand New Song On Instagram

Date: November 25

It's no secret that Drake is very close to his hometown NBA team, the Toronto Raptors, a relationship that saw him become the Global Ambassador for the team a year ago. During NBATV's Fan Night, DeMar Derozan of the Raptors dropped some hints about a new project that Drake has been working on. In the video, DeMar says that Drake wanted to “give him his new mixtape,” which drops in January.

Usually we take these types of rumors in stride, but given how serious Drake is about the relationship he has with the Raptors, there may be a lot of truth to what DeMar said. With this possible mixtape, and the impending release of his new album, Views From the 6, Drake could be preparing us for a very hot 2015. —Justin Davis

Related: A Toronto Raptors Player Dropped Some Hints About an Upcoming Drake Mixtape