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GRAMMYs

Rapsody 

Photo: Jose Gongora 

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Rapsody's 'EVE' Is An Ode To Black Women rapsody-honors-black-womens-past-present-and-future-eve

Rapsody Honors Black Women's Past, Present And Future On 'EVE'

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On the rapper's third album, out now, she has a sonic conversation about black women's worth and resilience
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 4, 2019 - 12:22 pm

Oprah, Maya, Serena, Michelle. These are just some of the black women, recognized by their first names alone in entertainment, sports, arts, politics and beyond, Rapsody recognizes on her third studio album, EVE. Over the course of 16 tracks, the GRAMMY-nominated rapper from North Carolina wants to show not only the strength and resilience black women hold, but that "black women come in a spectrum." 

 "I wanted to have a conversation," Rapsody tells the Recording Academy about speaking to black women through the album. "I wanted to write my letters to them to show that or remind us that we are beautiful, we are strong, that we are human."

EVE, the follow-up to 2017's Laila's Wisdom, which paid tribute to her grandmother, continues Rapsody's trajectory as one of hip-hop's most recognized and respected female voices. The Recording Academy spoke with the rapper about her album (out now via Roc Nation in partnership with Def Jam Recordings) about how black women are seen in society, how "IBTIHAJ" ​came about and more. 

EVE is not the first time you've paid tribute to women in the form of an album. Laila's Wisdom was named after your grandmother. Who are you paying tribute to on this album?

Leila's Wisdom was for me, and I wanted to make something that was more broad that all women could gravitate to and see themselves. I wanted to make something that showed that we're not monoliths, that black women come in a spectrum, that we have different flavors and styles and energy and it all should be celebrated and loved, and to show that even I am a reflection of so many different women. I'm inspired by so many different women I know, so many other black women. I learned motherly love from Phylicia Rashad, outside of my own mother and aunt.

I learned the power of words from Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou. It's examples like that. So I wanted to make a project that creatively told that story in this way. I probably recorded maybe 40 songs coming forth from this idea about 40 different women and I just would wake up every day and think of a different woman. And it was so much fun and so easy because I respect so many and I follow so many. We narrowed it down to the 16 that we have and that was based on sonics; how we wanted the album to sound, what songs sounded good together, but also for a wide range story. So that's kind of how we came to the project that we have now.

I mean, there's so many badass black women out there. How did you narrow it down to 16?

[Laughs.] It was so hard, believe me. I thought about doing a double disc. I thought about doing part one, part two, but I said in the world that we live in people can't consume that much music right now. They don't even have the attention span to. So once we found two songs that we really wanted to build around sound-wise, because when we make albums we make it off what sonically sounds good together, and that also doesn't repeat the same concepts that I did within the album, so I think we built around "OPRAH" and "SOJOURNER" and "AALIYAH." Those were the first three songs that we created that we knew we were going to keep for the album. And we built around what sounded good with those three songs.

That's kind of how we dwindled it down. And we might have two songs that told two different stories, but musically they sounded the same so we just had to pick which one we thought was the best one. But it was very difficult, though. But I think what we ended up with is variety. If you see music in colors, it's very colorful and a bunch of different colors. It shows the world of black women that I wanted to showcase. You're going to get the rowdy chick. You're going to get the introspective one. You're going to get the loving one. You're going to have songs about beauty. You're going to have songs that are political. So it just covered all the stories and energies that I wanted to showcase.

You named the album EVE. How come?

I wanted a title that represented black women. There's no one name that can tell the story of all these different women so I wanted to start with the first woman ever created, the mother of all living things, and that's Eve from the Bible. So that's why I chose Eve. God created man. He took a rib from him and blew life into a lung and He created the first woman and named her Eve. That is a reflection of who we are and where we come from and the beginning of women, giving birth to the world, nurturing the world, feeding the world through our bodies. So that's why I chose "EVE."

RELATED: Rapsody Reveals The Influential Black Women Behind Her New Album 'Eve' At ESSENCE Fest

Did you have an audience in mind when creating the album?

Yeah. Specifically, directly first I wanted to talk to black women. I wanted to have a conversation. I wanted to write my letters to them to show that or remind us that we are beautiful, we are strong, that we are human. It's okay to feel weak at times because we do carry so much and we have to go through so much. We have to fight so much, but we still persevere. So I wanted to talk to black women and black little girls, first and foremost. But then I wanted to talk to men to remind them why we should be loved, respected and protected, to remind them of their daughters, remind them of their sisters, their mothers, the women that are around them and to show them that at the core of who we are, you are this because of us.

Every man is raised by a strong woman. That's why I named the last song "AFENIA" but we kept it, we put the sample of 2Pac in it. We revere 2Pac and we love him for the man that he is, but he is who he is because he was raised by a strong black woman. And so those are the first two people I wanted to talk to. But I feel like no matter what race you are, what age group you are, what part of the world you are, this album will still resonate with you and you'll be inspired or feel something from it in some shape, form or fashion.

Do you feel like men have a role in uplifting black women?

I do. I think we have a role to each other. Women have a role to respect and love and uplift man and men should do the same for women. The men are the head of the household. I'm from the South, it's just one thing I believe. But it's for the man to protect the woman and to have her back and to love her and to be kind to her and to be patient and to step up for her in a time of need. Again, we deal with so much, having to bring life into this world, having to be the backbone when your man come home, especially black men from a long day of work and having to deal with the world, and how the world views black me, and how the black men is always on edge because of just everything that they have to deal with.

And it reminds me of a conversation that Nikki Giovanni had with James Baldwin. That section of where you hear Nikki expressing [something along the lines of,] "Well, you lie to the world all day. Why can't you lie to me?" The black man's saying, "Because I have to put on a front, because I have to hold everything in so long, you're the person that I could come to and let it all out and be myself." And it's just a powerful conversation, and I think it's important, that I want to make music that reflects both sides of that story. And at the end of the day we kind of have to be there for each other.

Do you feel the men have a role in uplifting women in the music industry?

Oh yeah, I definitely do. Especially as a female in hip-hop and coming up in this climate and we see how for me, our talent is looked at as less than because we're women, just the images that are portrayed and pushed to the forefront. So I think it's up to the men. It's a responsibility to have my back. And that's something men have been doing for me for my whole career. I was signed by 9th Wonder and Young Guru who believed in me, who felt like they didn't have to change my image and make me something that I wasn't just to fit up with what was trending or what was hot. Kendrick Lamar, he's been a supporter from day one. I'm the only feature on his second album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which is one of the most anticipated albums ever made.

Big K.R.I.T. has always been a supporter. He just recently hit me up to go on tour with him. Men have been supporting me my whole career. Jay-Z signed me. I'm the first female to be signed to Roc Nation and a lot of times men have stepped up for me more than women have at times. So it just shows when men step up and they're part of the conversation and they're part of the fight that we go through just to earn respect, it helps. In the same way, I would love to see the NBA players step up for the WNBA players when you talk about pay equality. It takes a village, not just gender. It takes everyone to create change and we should have that support.

"IBTIHAJ" came together in such a cool way. It features GZA and D'Angelo and it samples Wu-Tang. Tell me how that song came together. 

I was inspired to do it. One, from a Nicole Bus record called "You" where she actually used a old Wu-Tang sample the same way I did so I wanted something that felt like that for my album. And for whatever reason, myself and Nicole couldn't work, but 9th just went through a sample bank of a bunch of Wu Tang samples and he was like, "I'm going to do 'Liquid Swords,' just because how dope a song it was and what it meant for the time." And he just felt like that energy fit well with the album.They made the beat. It was crazy. I wrote to it and before we did anything, we had to reach out to GZA to ask for his blessing as a code of conduct because we are the culture and to also ask him to be on it because it just made sense.

It's probably his most popular song, so he agreed that we could even do the song and use the sample and that he would give us a verse. And while we were waiting on his verse we got a call, just trying to work out logistics and everything, getting GZA's verse recorded for the project. There was a person that was with D'Angelo, spoke about how D'Angelo was a fan of both myself and 9th and he thought that D'Angelo would really love the record.

So he wanted to play it for him and we told him we would love for him to. And he did. And D'Angelo connected with it so many other people because what that song meant when it came out for a lot of people, it connected a lot of people to a memory and the history that D'Angelo has with GZA and back then, the first time they did a song together, "Cold World," that's how much he loves Wu Tang. So for him the song inspired him in a way that he wanted to be a part of it and it just happened that naturally, just that organic and it came out to be a banger.

Malcolm X once said, "The most disrespected person in America is a black woman." Do you believe that still to be true today?

Yes, I do. That's one of the reasons I wanted to make this project.There's so much going on in the world: your gender, your race, your religion, so many factors. And black women are sometimes always at the bottom. Because we're women, we're looked at as less than because we're black, we're not respected, and then you have in your household we are the most disrespected, and sadly that's still true today. When I watch videos, black women having to fight for themselves and defend themselves and men are standing around in circles and just, it just never made sense to me.

They have to be the head of the household a lot of times and take up the slack and be the man or the woman. It's just a way harder fight than we expect, even in our image. There are a lot of times where our images are portrayed or taken by other people and they're looked at as being more beautiful when everyone else does. We used to get called ugly and talked about because we were thicker in our thighs and we had plumper, more beautiful lips. And the way we wore our hair, it was called "ghetto." But when other people do it that don't look like us in other races, it's called high fashion. And that's a disrespect. The way Serena Williams is treated sometimes in the tennis world, that's a disrespect that wouldn't necessarily happen if she wasn't a black woman. I definitely want to touch on that, and that's part of the reason I made the project.

What is the most empowering thing about being a black woman today for you?

For me the most empowering thing is our strength and our perseverance. No matter how much you disrespect us and how much you throw at us, we always find a way to thrive again. And that's embedded in our DNA because we've been doing it so long. Even in the political climate and time that we're in, a lot of black women are stepping up and saying we want change and we have to be that change, and I'm down for the cause. It's a powerful time that I love and appreciate. I always seen black women step up no matter how tired we get, no matter how much we continue to have to carry, no matter how many walls and doors get closed in our face, we don't give up. And that's powerful. And that's one thing that makes me proud to be a black woman and that I can stand on, something I can see when I was a little girl in my house with my mom and my aunt, to even in the world today that we live in. 

Saida Dahir's Spoken-Word Debut Is A Powerful Love Letter To Black Muslim Women

GRAMMYs

Jeezy

Photo: Jack McKain

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Jeezy On Why He Met With Joe Biden jeezy-why-he-met-joe-biden-going-war-unity-%E2%80%98-recession-2%E2%80%99

Jeezy On Why He Met With Joe Biden, Going To War For Unity & ‘The Recession 2’

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The GRAMMY-nominated rapper talks the moment that made him pay attention to politics, his meeting with Joe Biden and why he really battled Gucci Mane on VERZUZ
Keith Nelson Jr
GRAMMYs
Dec 11, 2020 - 5:58 pm

Jeezy’s had enough. 

His latest album The Recession 2, the sequel to 2008's The Recession, wasn’t born from a marketing plan built off nostalgia for a franchise fans would recognize. It was conceived in Jeezy’s eyes, incubated in his soul and birthed through his mic after he watched Black people protest against police brutality in the summer. Ultimately, he felt an intrinsic obligation to help as he did during the 2008 economic recession with The Recession 2's precursor in which he raps about his views on the politics of the time.

"Two or three months into the pandemic I knew this wasn’t going to let up, and I had to do my part," Jeezy told GRAMMY.com. "The week I got back to Atlanta was the week the riots started. It was around the George Floyd situation and right after the Ahmaud Arbery situation. I was like, 'Whoa.' I wasn’t even in Atlanta for a week before there was rioting going on. It was unreal."

In and out of music, Jeezy sees himself merely as a vessel for communication—a gift divinely bestowed upon him to impact the world. While politicians' economic relief talks have obfuscated people on whether they will get more help during this unprecedented pandemic, Jeezy communicates the frustration of the masses and hits on the truth for many of those still left struggling with the government's first stimulus check.

"I made $1,200 Friday evenings when I was 11 years old. How in the hell am I, as a man, supposed to wait on the government to send me that to take care of my family and be ok?" he asked. That’s why The Recession 2 is a militant call to action for Black people to relinquish that which doesn’t serve their best interest—racist luxury brands, trapping, personal beefs—and unify against a government he fully believes is trying to start a war. 

"From the beginning to the end, it is more militant. I don’t think people understood why they see me in the beret [on the album cover]. That’s what the strong Black men looked like when things were at its worst," Jeezy said alluding to the Black Panthers. "That car on the cover symbolizes where my uncle would play Al Green, Marvin [Gaye] and Curtis Mayfield, and I just looked at him as the strongest man in the world because he knew what was going on and it didn’t stop him."

Jeezy is making this push for unity across many platforms, not just the songs people can choose to listen to or not. Before the world heard a single song from The Recession 2 or knew when it would be released, Jeezy discussed helping others on his new Fox Soul talk show "Worth A Conversation." During his VERZUZ battle with Gucci Mane, an archrival of his since he put a bounty on his head in 2005, Jeezy set an example of unity for the more than two million people watching by ending the battle with the first performance of their song "So Icy" in over 15 years.

In a recent chat with GRAMMY.com, the Atlanta rapper discussed why he's trying to bring people together, meeting with Joe Biden, what he wanted to accomplish with his VERZUZ battle and more.

You pulled a Jay-Z on us by announcing you were retiring in 2018 and then returned this year with The Recession 2. So, tell me, are you retired?

[Laughs.] I was never retired. I was using a tactic to negotiate a better deal and it almost didn’t work, but we’re here. I was doing the Hov.

Your new album really addresses the turmoil the world has been under during this pandemic. What songs were recorded directly after you saw something in the news?

All of them really. "Oh Lord," which has Tamika Mallory, was one those. I saw her speech and I was blown away. In bad times, there is always someone who rises to the top who knows how to communicate to the people. That’s her. She’s that person. Her speech made me want to do more. It put me in a place where I was like, "Ok, somebody gets it." I felt like she embodied everything that was going on and spoke on it on a major platform. It was like, oh, now we’re mobilizing. I never forgot it. I called her and told her, "You said somethings I will never forget and I don’t want our culture to forget them either. If you give me your blessing, I would love to use you on a song." She was like, "Bro, you got it." That’s how we started the album off, by putting everyone in the mind frame of "These are the things happening to us." They’re trying to turn this into a third world country and turn us against each other. That’s their goal. If we don’t mobilize, that’s going to happen.

How has your political activism and involvement in voting changed since you debuted in 2005 with Thug Motivation 101? 

Back then, I wasn’t a taxpayer, so I didn’t have a lot to say. Actually, I was avoiding Uncle Sam, if I’m honest. [Laughs.] The first Recession came about because I was sitting in a room with some business people [talking] about doing a business venture they weren’t going to let me do. [They] looked at me like [I was] some dude off the street. [But] they saw my worth in my celebrity at the time. I was [there] listening to these people talk about how the economy is going to be messed up. They were concerned about money and I knew, at that time, they had more money than me. I was thinking, "How could the world be short on money?” I asked them about it and they started talking about different things. I immediately went home, broke out my computer, and started to go through these things and do my research. I was blown away. I was thinking, "Let me put my cars up, my jewelry up and get into grind mode and also tell my culture about what’s going on. If it happens and we don’t know, how are we going to survive?" The Recession came about from me wanting to tell what was going on in the world. I had to go educate myself in order to speak on those things because I didn’t know anything about politics. 

At that time, I was seeing this guy Barack Obama who walked the walk and talked the talk. I’m all about communication. If you know how to communicate with people and your team, you’ll make it far in life. I watched that and became an advocate to try and help however I could. That was one of the first times I voted, so I got as many people together as I could. I started organizing stuff with the radio stations to have people who couldn’t drive take buses to the polls. When I was recording The Recession, I felt in my heart he was going to win, so I recorded "My President Is Black” four months before he won and then he won. We all know that one person isn’t the end all be all and I hate when people say he didn’t do what he was supposed to do. He did enough because he got there. 

So, when I saw this whole other regime come in, I sat back and watched. When I saw it was on some divide and conquer, it was like a company that was doing well but the CEO is toxic and divides the team. I was watching our country go through this turmoil and I was thinking, "What am I going to do? What am I going to say?" Again, I’m not a politician, but I want to know. So when [Joe] Biden called and wanted to sit down, I was like, "Ok, let’s sit down because if you’re going to be the next president, I want to know who I’m talking to." He’s not the end all be all either. We have to go out and vote and participate because every bit counts. Y’all see what y’all did? Y’all turned Georgia blue. That’s y’all. So, you have to know, going forward, if you all mobilize and do what you’re supposed to do, we can get results. Together there isn’t anything that can stop us if that’s what we all want. 

You seem big on unity these days and you shocked everyone by doing a VERZUZ with rival Gucci Mane. How did that come about?

If I’m honest and I keep it solid without saying too much, it was more about the win. The shift has to happen somewhere. This is a step in the right direction to see where the shift is. Every little bit counts. For me, without saying too much because I don’t know all the details, it was more about the win. Here you go again with something that exploded during the pandemic — this VERZUZ platform. Now, it can be used as a tool for something else. [Laughs.] That’s as much as I can say. 

Even with unity, you want to protect your name. On "Back" you said, “They say that I'm irrelevant, it ain't no way in hell.” That seems to be addressing Freddie Gibbs calling you irrelevant earlier this year. When you heard him say that, what were your thoughts?

If I’m honest, I mind my business. I hear things and I’m like, "Nah, I’m forever Young." Somebody in the penitentiary talking about what I did for them and their family and how I held them down, right now. There’s somebody right now whose mother’s mortgage I took care of. There’s somebody right now who I’ve done something for that couldn’t do anything for themselves. Somebody’s opinion about me is none of my goddamn business. [Laughs.] You know what I’m saying? It’s not my reality. If I walk out this door, the respect is there. Jeezy has nothing to do with this music. Those are two different people [Laughs.] My music will be forever, so there’s no way I can be irrelevant. You’re telling me because Tupac isn’t here, he’s irrelevant? There’s no way in hell. He’s Tupac. He left what he left for the people. Martin Luther King isn’t relevant? You see what’s going on? Who are they talking about? Who do they go back to speak on their marching?

When you look at trap music and all that sh*t they’re doing, how do you think they even got into this game? Who opened that door? There’s no way in hell someone can answer that without saying Jeezy. As a man, I’m not going to hold myself to music. I’m not going to put myself in a position where you can box me in and say because you feel like it isn’t what it should be, I’m less of a man. It’ll never happen. 

This pandemic forced everyone to slow down and sit with their thoughts. What thoughts of yours surprised you that you had to sit with?

We all had time to reflect. When you have time to reflect, you think about your triggers; you think about the things that are traumatic; you think about post-traumatic stress. You think about all of these things because you’re wearing it. It’s on your shoulders. When you have time to reflect, you have to turn the world into your therapy session. Just hear me out, this is how I feel. I don’t think you knew that.  People put you in this space where they think nothing affects you. So if you go see a therapist and start talking, they can automatically see where you’re coming from and know what your triggers are. For me, I wanted to lay on that couch and let the world be my therapist. I feel better [Laughs.] I don’t know who I owe for the session, but I feel better.

Busta Rhymes On Being In A "Beautiful Space" & Bringing Together Generations Of Hip-Hop Artists On 'Extinction Level Event 2'

Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes

Photo: Flo Ngala

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Busta Rhymes On 'Extinction Level Event 2', Growth busta-rhymes-being-beautiful-space-bringing-together-generations-hip-hop-artists

Busta Rhymes On Being In A "Beautiful Space" & Bringing Together Generations Of Hip-Hop Artists On 'Extinction Level Event 2'

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With 'Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God,' Rhymes' first album in 11 years, the world has finally begun to process what his music has been telling us all along
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 8, 2020 - 4:11 pm

There is really no comparing legendary New York rapper Busta Rhymes. With his dizzying flow, mind-blowing lyrics and commanding voice, he's been shaking up hip-hop culture since 1991 when he stole the show on A Tribe Called Quest's iconic posse cut "Scenario."

With Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God, his ninth solo studio album out now, the global consciousness has finally begun to process what his music has been telling us all along: The system is broken and disaster is imminent. While 2020 has brought overwhelming death and suffering worldwide, it has also come with much needed reevaluation of the way things are. Similarly, the 22-track opus (the Deluxe Edition delivers 30 tracks!) is a hard-hitting cinematic firestorm of destruction; a reflection of our chaotic reality, but not without moments of vulnerability, love and celebration. Rhymes not only showcases his seemingly unlimited creative and vocal power, but that of other greats, including Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Rick Ross .

The album comes 11 years after 2009's Back On My B.S. partly because it took the rapper a "a long time to figure out the right support system to nurture and nourish the life and the success" of it. Eventually, he found a home for the album at San Francisco's EMPIRE records. But time does not faze Rhymes at all. "You can't put a timeline on greatness," he told GRAMMY.com. 

A few weeks after its critically acclaimed release in October, we caught up with the bad ass New Yorker himself to learn more about the creative process and the long journey behind it as well as the collaborators and the spooky album art. We also asked about his legacy and what he sees as the biggest difference between now and 1998 when he released Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front. Spoiler alert: not a lot has changed.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

You unleashed Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God on October 30. What has the response of fans and critics so far felt like for you?

 Can you tell me what you've been hearing?

I've heard good stuff, that it's hard. For me, it's crazy that it's your first album in 11 years. It feels like you haven't missed a minute, you're just right back in.

Thank you so much. I've been hearing the words classic and masterpiece. For the first time, it's resonating so abundantly in such a short period of time, in just two weeks. This is the third week now and it's just an incredible feeling to hear this as the general consensus. There is just no way to really describe how incredible it is. So, I am floating on all of the plane of energy right now.

This year is crazy and the themes of the album—destruction, plague, chaos—feel very real. I'm really curious about the timeline of the album and what was going through your mind as you were working on it. I'm also wondering what was the spark that first got you back in the studio.

I never left the studio, that's the thing. This has been a narrative of mine since my solo career began, which is why my albums have been called The Coming, When Disaster Strikes, Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front (E.L.E.), Anarchy, Genesis and It Ain't Safe No More. This is just another chapter to the same book of E.L.E., so to speak. I went into this album with the intention of it being an Extinction Level Event 2, but I didn't confirm that probably until about four and a half to five years into the recording of the album once I knew I had the pieces that substantiated and warranted it being called that. I'd never done a sequel album in my entire career.

It was going to be the Extinction Level Event 2 way before COVID-19. I bought the album artwork two and a half to three years prior to the COVID shutdown. I include all 10 pieces of art in the album packaging of the CD booklet, and same with the vinyl. I met the young lady, an artist by the name of Chanelle Rose, through Swizz Beatz and the No Commission movement, which is pro-artists—the mantra is "for the artists by the artist." Swizz curated this initiative and always would introduce me to different incredible artists. When he introduced me to Chanelle Rose's work, it was about four years ago. I fell in love with what I was seeing from her immediately, and I bought the 10-piece collection from her. It took her a year to make it; one piece takes two months because she draws it with a ballpoint pen. It's just incredible what she does, I couldn't believe it.



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When I saw these big skeleton figures with these masks on them, obviously, at the time when I purchased the art collection in it, there was no COVID issue. It was speaking to me in a whole 'nother way about what the corrupt politicians should truly look like when you strip the flesh off of them. They're all in masks, and they all have these agendas that have never really benefitted my people. The insensitive evil and wickedness that plays a significant role to the oppression of my people and a lot of other people. That has been the ongoing narrative since the beginning of time, since the United States was born. The masks always deceived the sh*t they're doing to everybody else, that they're protecting themselves from. That's metaphorically what the pictures said to me.

I thought that those were the perfect images for Extinction Level Event 2 and then the irony of it is COVID happened and now everybody's being [told] to wear masks. That felt prophetic. That reassured me all the more to why I needed to really dive into bringing the album home as we were going into the second phase of the recording process. 

Read: "Loops Of Funk Over Hardcore Beats": 30 Years Of A Tribe Called Quest's Debut, 'People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm'

That's really such a journey. When did you first start working on the songs for this, and when did you wrap up?

I started in 2009, and I wrapped up sometime in August 2020.

How do you feel like you shifted during the process of making this project?

I think for the first time in this career of mine, I've gotten to a place of comfort where I've been able to feel good enough about sharing things on a personal level and in a vulnerable way that I've never had prior to this album. It took years for me to get to that place and once you find that it's a very fulfilling thing to be able to share. You help remind people that they're not alone in these realities that a lot of us are never and will never be exempt from going through. It also reminds people that it's okay to talk about it. I think a lot of the times, especially as Black men, we don't get the opportunity to really be allowed to share when we're hurting or when we are afraid or when we are in need of help.

I think even more so now than ever, with everything that everybody is going through, we need to make a conscious effort to show people it's okay to say, "I need somebody to help what I'm going through right now." Or "I just need some support. I'm a little insecure about something. I just need someone to listen." I wanted to share a lot of that. I think that comes with maturity, with growth, with being a man, and understanding what it is to be a man as opposed to thinking you're one. A lot of times people think they're grown men and they still have a lot of learning left to do before they can actually walk in that space. They tell you that you were a man legally when you're 18. That's such a lie. 

I'm just in a really beautiful space, still a work in progress. I think we never completely figure it out. While we're learning as we go along, we still also got to be great listeners and that's where I'm at in my life. I'm always willing to learn, and to teach and share, and that's what I'm trying to give through this music and through this album, Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. We need to have a good balance of informative content, and we also still need to remember what it is to laugh, live, love and learn and have some fun. We need to recharge because being in the battlefield dealing with this crazy sh*t every day, we need to go back home relaxed and refueled so we can get back in to it with the energy and strength that we need to continue to fight the good fight.

Related: Mortal Man: Author Marcus J. Moore Talks 5 Years Of Kendrick Lamar's 'TPAB' & His Forthcoming Book, 'The Butterfly Effect'

On the album, you brought in some of the younger rap and R&B greats, like Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody and Anderson .Paak. What was it like working with them and was it an intentional mentorship sort of decision?

I definitely didn't do it because I was mentoring any of them. I did it because I'm a huge fan of all three of them. They would give me sh*t that I felt like I was hugely inspired by. They're such incredible talents. I mean, when Rapsody and I did ["Best I Can"] together [about a troubled relationship between a father and a mother], she gave me the song with the track and the verse all ready. She created the whole creative direction, which was genius because I'm the one with the kids and she doesn't have any. It was just beautiful to see her look at things from a perspective of being on the outside looking in, but being so close to the situation in real life. That she can actually illustrate a perspective about this reality, that is one that has never been illustrated in this way on a record—since the beginning of hip-hop's birth and conceiving, we always hear about how the fathers are deadbeats.

I grew up without my father, but you never hear about how a woman is apologetic for all of the vindictive things she did to a man that's trying to actually be a damn good father. Through all of the humiliation and disrespect, he actually still sticks it out and makes sure that nothing comes between him and his child. That's important and needs to be heard and it's a reality that a lot of fathers needed to hear and a lot of women needed to hear. It creates a dialogue that I think is needed.

Kendrick Lamar is my favorite MC in the world. Anderson .Paak is one of the most brilliant minds that I've ever met as an MC and as a R&B artist, as a performing artist. All three of them are like super powers to me. I wasn't trying to mentor them because they are so great. If there would be any mentoring that would be needed, it would have to come from them. 

And to have an opportunity to work with them and with my alumni of artists and artists that are elder statesmen to me, like Bell Biv Devoe and Rakim. I wanted to show the world that I got three incredible generations of our culture on one body of work. Look how incredible and amazing we all can sound together, as long as we continue to bridge these gaps. That's what I was trying to do, show the world that we are the timeless greats. You can't put a timeline on greatness.

"You can't put a timeline on greatness."

That's real. What do you see as the biggest differences between 1998 when you dropped Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front and now?

The biggest difference between then and now, to me, is technology. A lot of the sh*t I was talking about then and a lot of the issues that we faced as a people then, none of that has changed now. We're still in the same horrible crisis of a situation as far as Black and brown people are concerned. I think the difference, in a way, now is that it is a little more directly affecting white people in a negative way. Because of this COVID thing and the narrative of it and the shutting down of the entire planet, it has now compromised the comfort level of every nationality and race. 

Unfortunately, the reality is a lot of things that were the same then have probably even gotten worse now. We didn't have social media in 1998. [Now, on social media] you can watch Black people getting killed every two to three days and there's no accountability. The worst part about it is that we didn't have these phones where we could watch this person getting killed on film, on repeat, from an uncensored Instagram post. We only saw it on the news. The kids are seeing this around the clock. It's an unbelievably unfortunate crisis as a result of technology and the systematic f***ery that has been implemented by design, by the powers that be. So again, this never changed, this is what it's been since the beginning. It's just magnified with how it's being put in our faces and how it is completely shifting the conscious and the subconscious thought processes. It has given birth to generations of valueless perspectives on life, as the generations are born into seeing this sh*t as a normalized thing. It's horribly unfortunate.



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What do you hope your legacy will be?

That's a good question because I got so much left to do. [Laughs.] I don't know, because I have huge plans to do so many things outside of music that will contribute in a major way to the legacy I would love to leave. But as far as music is concerned, I want my legacy to be that I am held in a godly regard when it comes to being an artist; A significant contributor to the culture and a true MC and a profound climate shifter of the culture. And one of the best to ever do this sh*t. If I left out anything, I'll let you fill in the blanks. [Laughs.]

Pull Up On The Best Rap Song Nominees | 2021 GRAMMYs

Alicia Keys' 'ALICIA'

Alicia Keys

Photo: courtesy of artist

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Alicia Keys' New Album 'ALICIA' Is Here alicia-keys-new-album-alicia-here-inspire-support-jill-scott-miguel-diamond-platnumz

Alicia Keys' New Album 'ALICIA' Is Here To Inspire, With Support From Jill Scott, Miguel, Diamond Platnumz & More

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The 15-track LP, released today, Sept. 18, also features Tierra Whack, Sampha, Snoh Aalegra & Khalid
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 18, 2020 - 12:05 pm

Today, Sep. 18, 15-time GRAMMY winner and two-time GRAMMYs host Alicia Keys released her highly anticipated seventh studio album, ALICIA. It comes four years since her last, Here, and 19 years since her now-classic debut, Songs in A Minor.

The powerful 15-track LP shows her many artistic sides and includes powerhouse features from GRAMMY winners Jill Scott and Miguel, GRAMMY nominees Tierra Whack and Khalid, as well as Tanzanian artist Diamond Platnumz, British singer/pianist Sampha, and Iranian-Swedish singer Snoh Aalegra.

Keys will be celebrating the release of ALICIA with a special livestream performance today, Sept. 18, at 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 ET—RSVP here. Not long after, at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET, she'll serve up more musical gifts through the internet, as she kicks off the iHeart Music Festival.

Read: Alicia Keys Pens Touching Poem To Her Son

Next week, she will keep the celebration going with a week-long residency on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," along with some very special guests, from Sept. 21-24.

"This album has such a special energy! It embodies everything I love about music and art at this time in my life," Keys said in a press release. "I'm so excited to connect with people from all over the world with these sounds, lyrics and melodies. I called this album ALICIA because it's the most me I've ever felt while in the studio. I got comfortable with all my different sides while creating it. I hope everyone who listens can vibe along as the truest version of themselves."

The album features previously released singles "Show Me Love" featuring Miguel, "Underdog," "Time Machine," "Good Job" (dedicated to frontline and essential workers), "Perfect Way To Die" (a heartbreaking tribute to Black lives ended by police violence) and "So Done" featuring Khalid.

ALICIA is a "counterpart piece" to her New York Times Best-selling book, More Myself: A Journey, released this March as the debut title on Orpah Winfrey's new Flatiron Books. The "Empire State of Mind" singer is set to tour the album around the world next summer—visit her website for the latest dates.

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#SayHerName: Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monáe And More Honor Breonna Taylor On Her Birthday, Demand Justice

Cardi B in Feb. 2020

Cardi B

Photo: Prince Williams/Wireimage.Getty Images

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What Fall Album Are You Most Looking Forward To? poll-albums-cardi-b-bts-blackpink-more-way-what-fall-release-are-you-most-looking

Poll: With Albums From Cardi B, BTS, BLACKPINK & More On The Way, What Fall Release Are You Most Looking Forward To?

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Alicia Keys, 2 Chainz, Drake, Kylie Minogue, Public Enemy, YG and others also have big albums on the way—let us know which one you are most excited about
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 10, 2020 - 5:48 pm

With Labor Day here and gone, fall is almost upon us (it starts Sept. 22). While 2020 didn't quite deliver on a song of the summer—or a galivanting poolside vibe—luckily there are tons of big album releases slated for the coming autumn months. For our latest GRAMMY.com poll, we want to know which fall album you are most looking forward to.

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What Fall Album Are You Most Looking Forward To?

Related: RIAA 2020 Mid-Year Report: Recorded-Music Revenues In The U.S. Grew More Than 5 Percent During The First Half Of 2020 Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The rap game is set to be big, with Atlanta heavyweight 2 Chainz set to drop So Help Me God, Bronx queen Cardi B primed to deliver a follow-up to her GRAMMY-winning major label debut Invasion Of Privacy and Toronto's finest Drake serving up Certified Lover Boy. Also, Los Angeles hard-hitter YG will release MY 4HUNNID LIFE and OG New York crew Public Enemy will drop What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?, to feature their 2020 update of classic protest track "Fight the Power."

Representing some of the biggest players in K-pop and the global pop landscape, BLACKPINK's debut studio album, titled The Album, is forthcoming this October, and BTS have revealed they have a new album on the way.

Another Poll: From "WAP" To "Big Booty," What's Your Favorite Megan Thee Stallion Feature?

Sure to be odes to the empty dancefloors of the world, Aussie dance-pop queen Kylie Minogue's DISCO, U.K. dance mainstays Groove Armada's EDGE OF THE HORIZON and Irish dance music legend (remember Moloko?) Róisín Murphy's Róisín Machine will keep us grooving.  

While this list of fall 2020 albums is far from exhaustive, there are two more albums we have to mention. 2020 and 2019 GRAMMYs host extraordinaire Alicia Keys will be offering up her first LP in four years sometime this fall with ALICIA, which will include "Underdog," "Show Me Love" and more glowing gems.

Finally, the expansive music of the late experimental jazz legend and Afrofuturist Sun Ra lives on with the Sun Ra Arkestra, who will be releasing their first album in 21 years, Swirling. Which one are you looking forward to the most?

Wayne Coyne Talks Flaming Lips' New Album 'American Head,' Kacey Musgraves & Pool Parties At Miley Cyrus' House

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.