What The Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?

Dear Summer Jam attendees, how did it feel to watch Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey, and Wu-Tang Clan perform as the opening acts for...wait for it...Papoose!? Pap owned the week. Everyone talked about him crashing Summer Jam and that's exactly what he wanted.

But Papoose's comeback wasn't the only surprise this week—Action Bronson signed to TDE. Just kidding! He was just messing around on Twitter.

It's been a crazy few days which included an MMG Monday, Diddy teaching fans the #DiddyJetDance, and Lil Durk unfortunately facing a lengthy jail sentence. We've got all the updates on those stories and more in What The Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?

RELATED: What The Hell Just Happened in Music This Week? (June 2)
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Date: June 2

Hot 97 held its 20th annual Summer Jam concert last Sunday at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The radio station had some big things planned for the audience. The Wu-Tang Clan came through to celebrate their 20th anniversary, and left the crowd waving the “W” hand sign in ecstasy. Special guests like Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross all graced the stage, and the East and West coasts came together as A$AP Mob joined Top Dawg Entertainment during Kendrick Lamar’s set. All of this, however, was rendered an afterthought by a unscheduled surprise that came as a surprise even to the concert’s organizers themselves.

Before the crowd could finish reacting to Kendrick’s performance, the long-striving Brooklyn MC Papoose inexplicably stepped onto the stage. The self-proclaimed “King of New York” performed “Get At Me” alongside hypeman and Auto-Tune hook crooner Ron Browz—leaving everyone baffled Wasn’t Jay-Z supposed to be joining Kendrick on stage? Had Papoose just pulled a Lil Mama? Snarky memes flooded the internet.

The next morning, we learned that this had actually been planned, sort of, although never approved by Hot 97. TDE was returning a favor to Papoose for having helped them out back when Kendrick was still K. Dot. So, ultimately, it was a successful PR stunt. The man who once claimed “to have New York City in the palm of my hand” had the entire rap world talking about him. With any luck, it can push sales of his long-awaited, recently released debut solo album, The Nacirema Dream up over the 10,000-copies mark. —Dharmic X

RELATED: 12 Funny Papoose Summer Jam Memes

Date: June 3

“You’re a slave to a page in my rhymebook,” Nas said on his 2003 single “Made You Look.” A decade later, another Queens rapper made us look. This time, rap fans were slaves to a tweet on Action Bronson’s timeline. With rumors flying about potential new additions to the booming Top Dawg Entertainment roster, Bronsolino tweeted that he had joined the label. Within minutes, TDE’s Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul seemed to confirm the signing, and from there, the story went viral. Commentary on the deal continued all afternoon, and major publications reported on the story. Finally, Bronson had to come clean on Twitter and reveal that this had all been a hoax. It did seem odd: Bronson is signed to Warner Brothers/Vice. Why, and how, would he switch to the Interscope-distributed TDE? But, hey, weirder things have happened in this topsy-turvy era of loose affiliation and industry realignment. Now that the jig is up, all eyes turn to June 11, the release date of Bronson’s Saab Stories (produced by the aptly named Harry Fraud.) As for that new TDE signee? Turned out to be an artist from Tennessee named Isaiah Rashad.—Dharmic X

RELATED: Action Bronson Breaks Down "Rare Chandeliers"

Date: June 4

Though known primarily as the architect of Chicago’s “drill-scene” sound, producer Young Chop is a man of many talents. Celebrity impersonation, for example. This week he took Vine game by storm, poking fun at all of your favorite rappers and their signature ad-libs. Chop, a very likeable guy, clearly meant no harm, usually issuing a disclaimer before the mimicry. “Y’all know Chief Keef my boy, right? But this how he be when he be high.” As impressive as the impersonations themselves were, none were as compelling as it was just to see how good of a time Chop was having in making them. He won all of our hearts over once again by reminding us, once again, that hip-hop is supposed to be fun. —Alexander Gleckman

RELATED: Watch Young Chop Impersonate All of Your Favorite Rappers on Vine

Date: June 3

On Monday, Soulja Boy made an appearance on ABC's reality show The Bachelorette. Forget why he was there in the first place—the only moment you need to remember is the jaw-dropping music video he made with the show’s contestants, the ironically-titled "For The Right Reasons.” It’s, umm, really something to see! The title contestant Desiree (sort-of) raps her way through a two-and-a-half minute explanation of her quest for the perfect man. Meanwhile, the lucky gents who are courting her serve as hype men and backup dancers. (Hey, relationships are hard work, this is just another one the rigors. Beats a Saturday morning trip to Home Depot, right?) Meanwhile, Soulja Boy lurks in the background, smiling like he’s thinking about what he's going to spend this check on. —Julian Kimble

RELATED: Soulja Boy Stars in ABC's "The Bachelorette" Rap Video

Date: June 4

It’s been a rough year for Waka Flocka Flame. His second album, Triple F Life: Fans, Friends & Family, caught a brick last summer, failing to reach the crossover audience it seemed to be aiming for. The string of mixtapes that followed made little noise, and the indie-rock type aesthetic he’s adopted is leaving rap fans flat. In March, he severed ties with his friend and mentor Gucci Mane, who happens to be enjoying one of the more creatively fruitful runs of his career.

But on Monday, things turned around for Flocka when he got a heaping helping of love from a 53-year-old social media communications advisor from named Diane D. Diane wrote an amazing blog post about how she’d discovered Flocka on Twitter, fallen in love with his music, and decided to attend his concert when he came to Fort Lauderdale late last year. Diane’s marriage had been an unhappy one for some time, and when her rap-hating husband didn’t approve, and voiced his feelings in a way she found racist and insulting, it signaled the end. She attended the show against her husbands wishes, met Flocka and posed for a very cute picture, and filed for divorce soon after. She’s never been happier, she says, and we couldn’t be happier for her. “Don’t EVER let anyone else keep you from your bliss, no matter what that may be,” she wrote. “If someone truly loves you, they will come along for the adventure.” Love and hip-hop. —Insanul Ahmed

RELATED: How A Waka Flocka Flame Concert Ended A Woman's Marriage But Saved Her Life

Date: June 4

Last week, 2 Chainz said he would premiere material from his new album at Summer Jam XX. He made good on his promise, and Monday, dropped an official version of a new song, featuring a rejuvenated Pharrell, called "Feds Watching.” “I'm be fresh as hell if the feds watchin’,” he chants on the chorus. Of course later in the week, the nation would learn that the feds are indeed watching, all of us, all the time, through the efforts of the National Security Agency and the PRISM initiative. Just as we suspected. Of course, there’s no way 2 Chainz and Pharrell could have timed their release to coincide with the big political news. Or is there?—Julian Kimble

RELATED: Listen: 2 Chainz f/ Pharrell "Feds Watching"

Date: June 5

It's hard being a fan, and it's hard to get old. LL Cool J's Radio was, I think, the third rap album I ever owned. When I was fifteen, and grounded after getting busted for having a party when my parents were out of town, I kept the cassette tape in my Walkman for a solid week, memorizing every word of every song and every skit, every cowbell and record scratch. So it's been particularly painful for me to watch his famously up-and-down musical career flatline over the past fifteen years. How many times have I wished he would just, you know, pack it in and make movies about genetically-modified super sharks for the rest of his life? And earlier this year, when things hit a depressing new nadir with the astonishingly terrible "Accidental Racist" song, I hung my head in vicarious shame. So it was surprising to see that the newest rap star to come out of LL's home borough of Queens, Action Bronson, had recruited my old hero to accompany him on a remix of his recent single "Strictly 4 My Jeeps"—a song based around a sample of the 1990 EPMD classic "Rampage," on which LL, again in a guest role, coined a future catchphrase, "Slow down, baby." (Action and LL are joined on the song by another Queens rapper, from yet another era, G-Unit's Lloyd Banks.) And it was downright shocking to hear LL sounding not... actually... half... bad? I slid the Soundcloud needle back and listened again. Yes, indeed, LL was sonning the younger generation more effectively than he has since he told Canibus not to touch the mic on his arm. "Third as fly, y'all half as intelligent/Step on that horseshit like Hannibal's elephants!" Whooo! Fresh! —Dave Bry

RELATED: Listen: Action Bronson f/ Lloyd Banks and LL Cool J "Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)"

Date: June 5

"Get caught with another slammer, they say they first offer ten." This lyric, from Lil Durk's "52 Bars," was the first thing that came to many fans minds when they found out that the Glory Boyz Entertainment rapper had been clipped by police with another gun charge. Not good news for Chief Keef’s Chicago crew.

We had just seen Durk, a few days earlier, when he stopped by the Complex offices. Soft-spoken and reserved, he presents very differently in person then he does on-record—where he delivers blunt, straightforward street rhymes with the searing urgency of Meek Mill. On "52 Bars," the rapper pays homage to Jay-Z with a "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"-style flow. (The title, “52 Bars” references Jay's lyrics on that song as well.)

The key element of Durk's appeal, though, is a more abstract skill, one that transcends influences and references points. As Guru put it, “it’s mostly the voice.” Durk's cuts through the music, creating new lines of melody, and raising the hairs on your arm. "Dis Ain't What You Want," the lead single from his hopefully-still-upcoming Def Jam debute, is the best articulation of this style to date. (The video for the song was shot on South Green street, the same street where Durk was arrested Wednesday). Unlike Keef, who seems to have regular dalliances with the law, Durk’s kept his nose clean in recent yearsm focusing on his career. Like Keef, he bought a house outside the city. But as we’ve learned so many times before, artists coming from neighborhoods like Durk’s Englewood often have a hard time leaving the ’hood behind.

We talked with Memphis’s Project Pat about the subject recently, and he described what it was like. "You’ve got to do it on some realness with yourself, keep it real with your family and of course always keep it real with those that stuck around you," he told us.

—David Drake

RELATED: Lil Durk Arrested With .40 Caliber Handgun in Chicago

Date: June 6

In a not-so-faint echo of Kanye West's premiere of "New Slaves" as projections on buildings across the world, J. Cole combined technology, geolocation, marketing synergy, and news-cycle hype to premiere his sophomore album Born Sinner earlier this week.

We downloaded the app, appeared at the required location, watched Important People walk by us in line, and ultimately made it inside a theater. We then traded our drivers' licenses for a pair of headphones from a Major Headphone Brand, struggled to figure out how to connect our apps to the streaming music, then listened as a loop of RJD2's "Ghostwriter" played and the event began. It started late, which was good, because it took awhile for people to fumble through the app installation process.

Then J. Cole himself hit the stage, and told a story about trying to create a hit, which occurred to him as being a necessary ingredient to being a successful rapper fairly late in the process of becoming a successful rapper. He described, in a long but endearing way, the exact same story he would tell more concisely in song form forty minutes later, on his song "Let Nas Down."

Then we heard the album, which, yesterday, the rapper offered for free streaming on his website. The record, which we covered in a knee-jerk manner here, is now streaming on Cole's site. —David Drake

RELATED: 30 Second Reviews: First Impressions of J. Cole's "Born Sinner"

Date: June 6

Diddy—luxurious, lavish living Diddy. He can't stop, he won't stop, and he isn't even able to board a private jet without making us peasants jealous of his lifestyle.

He got his hands on Compton-rapper Problem's "Like Whaaat" which, of course, got Diddy so excited, he couldn't not dance to it.

We're not sure what's more entertaining—airport personnel pretending like they're not witnessing history being made, Cassie truly not giving one fuck about what Diddy is doing, or the fact that someone in Diddy's camp thought three of him would make this entire experience even better. Just watch the video above. —Lauren Nostro

RELATED: 50 Epic Diddy GIFs