Following the release of his entirely self-produced album The Allegory, Royce Da 5’9″ has continued his epic press run with a conversation on Elliot Wilson and B. Dot Miller’s Rap Radar. Within the opening moments, it becomes clear that Royce’s artistic vision stretches well beyond lyricism; the way he speaks about crafting a cohesive sonic vision, tailoring his beats to best convey his chosen message.

“When I get beats from people, I always look for the proper marriage between the vocal and the beat,” he explains. “That proper marriage is not created through the best rap that you can say or the best beat you can make. It’s created through the right marriage. It’s about hearing the beat and decided–” He remembers seeing footage of Jay-Z reacting to Timbaland‘s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” instrumental in the studio. “[Jay] was in there, he took a stab at it, and I remember some of the delivery not being as sharp as when he finally finished it,” says Royce. “Then the recut made it perfect. That beat is phenomenal, but it may not go down in history as the best Timbaland beat. But because of what they did together it’s classic.”

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Around the 15 minute mark, Elliott asks whether Royce ultimately regrets taking to social media to air his grievances, specifically pointing to the time he called out Lord Jamar on IG Live. “I don’t have regrets with that,” says Royce. “The only thing I can honestly say I would probably switch around is anything I might have said he could have taken offense to in terms of feeling disrespected. I never want to disrespect OGs. I never want to say anything that might come across as wanting to take away from his legacy. I respect him, I respect Brand Nubian…It’s just difficult to be able to say that and still disagree with something he might be saying.”

“It’s not like I had to defend Em,” he continues. “I spoke about things when my name as mentioned. The only time I challenged him was on Twitter, I challenge him on some cool shit. I felt like I kept it respectful.” Miller jokes that he didn’t keep it respectful for Kid Rock, prompting Royce to double down. “I don’t respect Kid Rock,” he says. “I feel like everybody should be allowed to say what they want to say and feel how they want to feel. As long as everyone is willing to stand in the center of their truths if they get held accountable. I’m personally someone who is going to hold you accountable if I feel disrespected.”

Wilson praises the way he held Yelawolf accountable on “Overcomer,” and Royce elaborates on his seemingly hardline stance. “I consider him a friend. I hold my friend to a certain standard…I don’t ask for respect, we give respect and we get respect. If I say something about somebody on a record and I’m taking a friendly jab, it’s all in fun.” Wilson asks whether he thinks the weight of his words landed on Yela, and Royce nods. “He knew exactly what was going on. He didn’t feel the need to make a phone call or call me and clarify anything. He feels entitled. Just like he reached out to me when the antics wore out — that’s the same entitled behavior.”

Check out the full conversation below, and be sure to support one of the game’s greatest lyricists right here. 

Birdman has always held Nicki Minaj at high regard but it sounds like he wants the rest of the rap game to do the same. Speaking to B. Dot with MTV News, Birdman spoke about the reign of Cash Money ahead of their new Spotify series, “New Cash Order.” Regardless of how you feel about Baby’s business practices, you can’t deny that his ear for talent in unmatched and Nicki Minaj is a prime example of that.

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“Honestly, I don’t think Nicki gets the credit she deserves. I come in an era when females, it was hard for ’em. She come broke the chain. Nicki broke the cycle for females,” he said. “Nicki did more than any female artist, ever. And you have a lot of great artists before Nicki Minaj. But Nicki Minaj changed the game for females. “

He then went on to explain Nicki Minaj’s work ethic. “Nicki used to be in the studio with nine, ten n***as every night with us in Miami,” he said. “Every single night, putting in the body of work to become who she became. So, I don’t think Nicki gets the credit she deserves, but you know, time tells all.”

Nicki’s undoubtedly shifted the game in her own right but perhaps the next studio album she releases will gain her the respect and recognition that Birdman believes she should receive. 

During the 2019 Holiday Season, Drake spoke rather highly of the Griselda movement during his interview with Rap Radar. “In a mainstream space I feel like the art of bars and that traditional long verse is kind of going extinct,” he reflected, chopping it up with Elliot Wilson and B. Dot Miller. “Then you got guys like Griselda making it wavy again to be on your gutter, straight rap shit. The interesting structures — that gutter shit.” When Miller asked if a Drake and Benny The Butcher collaboration was a possibility, Drizzy took a sip of his wine. “I’m down. Benny showed me love one time in an interview. He did show me love.”

Though Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny are used to high-profile co-signs — they’ve already been endorsed by Eminem, J. Cole, Jay-Z, Raekwon, Royce Da 5’9″, and Ghostface — many were excited to see Drake showing love to such a bar-centric collective. Especially those who value Drake getting back on his BS, spazzing on lyrical slow burners like “Omerta.” While there’s certainly a strategic benefit of securing the Drake feature, as seen for Lil Baby, Blocboy JB, and even Migos, the Griselda trifecta have already established themselves as key players in the game without Aubrey’s blessing. Be that as it may, the idea of these particular worlds colliding is enticing on a purely stylistic level. 

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As luck would have it, what started as a what-if fantasy has become a reality. Seizing the opportunity presented by Drake’s Rap Radar interview, Benny The Butcher stepped up and slid an instrumental to Drizzy’s camp, the confirmation of a full-scale collaboration all but locked in. Taking to social media to fan the flames of hype, The Butcher made is known that the wheels are in motion. “Sent Drake a record and I kno imma wanna drop it as soon as he send it back,” he wrote, in a screencap captured by Elliot Wilson (the man who may have inadvertently helped spark this unexpected friendship in the first place).

To make things even more exciting, Drake slid into the comments with a simple Typewriter emoji, roughly translated to “I’m writing as we speak.” Of course, going toe to toe on wax with Benny The Butcher is no easy feat — one must bring their best bars to the table, and in no small dose. Benny is used to lyrically trading with the likes of Conway The Machine, another formidable wordsmith. While Drake is certainly competitive, a collaboration with Benny might be the biggest challenge he’s faced in a minute. On the other hand, it might be exactly what the game needs right now — a reminder that when inspired to do so, the 6ix God can spit at elite levels. No matter how things turn out, it’ll be exciting to see whether he’s capable of keeping strides with The Butcher on Benny’s home turf.

Concrete details surrounding the track are scarce. We can speculate that it will be produced by Daringer or Alchemist, but that’s about it. All we know is that, much like The Butcher himself, it’s coming. 

It appears as though Drake‘s getting ready to drop a new album this year. Scorpion was underwhelming to many fans but it’s still Drake — when he releases an album, it’s an event, and at the very least, a few bangers to carry you through for a while. That being said, the anticipation for his new album is real. After dropping “War” and appearing on RapRadar for an in-depth two-hour interview, it seems like he has some sh*t up his sleeve this year.

RapRadar co-host Brian “B. Dot” Miller appeared on Genius’ For The Record where he spoke on an unreleased record he heard from Drake called “Say When.” According to B. Dot, Drake’s coming through bar heavy this time around on a record he described as being akin to a “5 a.m. in Toronto” or a “4 p.m. in Calabassas.”

“Prior to the interview, Drake sent me a record. He just said he wanted to set the tone of the interview,” he said. “It’s incredible. It sounds like one of those timestamp joints… It’s just one of those kinda flamboyant kind of records. It has a great sample to it, everyone’s going to love it. It’s called ‘Say When.’ I think Elliot talked about that in that. He’s talkin’ that — He be talkin’ that sh*t.”

It looks like we can expect some bar heavy Drake in the near future.