Image via Complex Original
This week gave music fans four new albums, so you would think February would have ended on a happy (heh, heh) note. Pharrell and Rick Ross released free streams of their respective LPs and Kid Cudi dropped Satellite Flight earlier than his announced released it—and it's projected to sell 90,000 units in its first week. (Oxymoron is the fourth album we're talking about, in case you were wondering. It's going to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, despite falling out of the conversation almost immediately.)
Now, on to the unchill part of this week. Robin Thicke and his high school sweetheart Paula Patton announced their split. In other post-Valentine's day news, Drake and Rihanna performed in Paris for Drake's Would You Like A Tour? And despite them being in the city of romance, footage from that night shows that Rihanna kept Drizzy in the friendzone. Bad gyal dem don't play.
Peep all that and more on What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?
RELATED: Kid Cudi Talks "Satellite Flight," Sobriety, and His Latest Path in Music
RELATED: Stream Pharrell's New Album "G I R L," Featuring Justin Timberlake, Daft Punk and Miley Cyrus
RELATED: What The Hell Happened In Music Last Week?
Paula Patton and Robin Thicke Split
No blurred lines: Paula Patton left Robin Thicke.
Date: February 24
"38-year-old actress Paula Patton has revealed she and 36-year-old pop star Robin Thicke are separating after eight years of marriage. The two first met when Thicke was 14 years old, and began dating soon after. They eventually got married in June of 2005. They have one son, Julian Fuego Thicke, who was born in 2010."—Edwin Ortiz
Kid Cudi Midnight Album Release
Kid Cudi promised a February release date for his album and actually followed through with it by Beyoncéing. But he said to us in an exclusive interview, "[T]he world can learn a lot from Beyoncé."
Date: February 24
"Just a few days after fully announcing the project, Kid Cudi has gone to Twitter tonight to announce that the release of his new project Satellite Flight would at midnight on iTunes."—Justin Davis
— Scott Mescudi (@ducidni) February 25, 2014
Drake and Rihanna Perform in Paris
Drake and Rihanna performed together in Paris...as friends. Poor Drake.
Date: February 25
"Drake performed at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris this evening as part of his Would You Like a Tour? The sold-out crowd was in for a real treat too, as the Toronto rapper brought out Rihanna to perform a few songs with him. They did their 2011 duet "Take Care," which included Drake rubbing up on his musical partner for what seemed like days. Afterward, Rihanna performed her salacious record "Pour It Up." Drake played her hypeman, even doing the cooking dance, word to Lil B."—Edwin Ortiz
Young Thug Arrested
Young Thug fulfilled the prophecy of his rap name.
Date: February 25
"Rapper Young Thug was reportedly arrested today in his home city of Atlanta. An anonymous source close to the artist told Complex that reports of the arrest were extremely reliable and added that details were still vague. The reason for the arrest allegedly "started as a traffic violation" but may have escalated.
Through the Fulton County, GA Inmate Records website, Complex has learned that Young Thug was charged with "Possession Of A Schedule IV Controlled Substance, Driving Without Seat Belt, Reckless Conduct, Driving In Circular Or Zig-Zag Course 'Laying Drags," and Reckless Driving."—Kyle Kramer
"G I R L" Controversy
Pharrell was criticized for his newest album's album art and an online discussion brewed about diversity.
Date: February 26
"Pharrell made waves when he released the full album stream of G I R L on iTunes. The album, which hosts the hit single "Happy," has has been rubbing a few people the wrong way. Their issue: The album art.
Specifically, their concern is that Pharrell, a black artist, has artwork that doesn't feature any immediately black-looking women. Although the discussion had been taking place for some time, notable writer dream hampton tweeted her feelings about it, which spurred reactions from many across the Twitter-verse."—Brandon Jenkins
Rick Ross Trayvon Martin Lyric
No, really—when will Rick Ross learn?
Date: February 26
After sharing a stream of his new album, Mastermind, for fans to preview on iTunes last night, Rick Ross found himself amid brewing controversy today over the line "Trayvon Martin, I'm never missing my target." The line appears on the song "Black & White." Today also marks the two-year anniversary of Martin's death
Ross reached out to VIBE in an email to offer a statement on the line. Here's what he had to say:
It's so important that today, on the two-year anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin, we never forget that tragedy. I'm never going to let the world forget that name. In my song 'Black and White' off Mastermind I say, 'Trayvon Martin, I'm never missing my target'. There I'm reminding people that if you're a black person or a person of any color for that matter in this country, you have to be accurate, whatever moves you make, stay accurate. Even when you're walking down the street, playing music from your car, you have to stay on point.
Black men are being killed and their killers [are] beating the trial. It hasn't been this much violence against black men since the '60s. I am Trayvon Martin, we're all Trayvon Martin. He was from South Florida. That could have been me or one of my homies. So, stay alert and never miss your target. Whatever that target may be. Getting out the hood, providing from your family. Stay sharp. Stay alive. Trayvon, Rest in Peace.
