Eminem rarely ever offers any details about his personal life so to hear him speaking about how he’s spending time while on lockdown is pretty special.

Calling into Sway In The Morning on Shade 45 this week, Eminem gave some details about he’s giving back to Detroit DJs during the coronavirus quarantine. He also spoke on an array of different topics, including the current climate of the world. Sway Calloway asked the rap legend how he’s been holding up during these times and Em admitted that it’s been rough.

“This shit sucks,” said Em, laughing to Sway. “This shit is terrible. I’ve been writing and working out. The fact that there’s no sports on right now is really bothersome. There’s not even anything that– I mean, aside from the [Michael] Jordan documentary– gives you a little sense of normalcy. I try not to watch too much news ’cause this shit is like panic mode all the time and it’s stressful to watch.”

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He goes on to speak more about The Last Dance, explaining that he never met Michael Jordan in person but he was on the phone with the basketball great when he royally messed up their first interaction.

“Everything was good until we get to the end of the phone call,” explains Eminem. “I said, ‘Yo man, when are you gonna come to Detroit so I can dunk on you.’ And it was crickets. I don’t remember exactly what he said but I think he was just kind of like, [unenthused laugh].”

Elsewhere in the interview, Em and Peter Rosenberg speak about Juice WRLD, who posthumously appeared on the rapper’s new album Music To Be Murdered By, and more.

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The Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothin’ to f*ck with, and if you need clarification on what that means, apparently you can just ask Tracy Morgan. The acclaimed comedian is “Wu for life” and recently revealed just how close of a friendship he has with the members of rap’s iconic supergroup. Tracy chatted with Sway in the Morning telephone and during the discussion, he mentioned he and the late-great Ol’ Dirty Bastard used to party together.

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“[ODB] would come see me perform and then me and him would get in the car, in the drop-top and go crazy around New York City,” the comedian said. “Just wildin’. And then one night we hung out ’til like, four in the morning. We went to Brooklyn. We went to my mom’s crib and all that. Then we rolled to the city and there was the studio. And we went in the studio and I seen a complete change. He’s business, man. I see the complete change.”

Tracy explained that all night they were drinking and partying in the Big Apple, but when they hit the recording studio at six o’clock in the morning, “it was business.” The actor added that he wasn’t exactly sure what song Ol’ Dirt Bastard was working on, but it “might have been ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya.'”

Check out what else Tracy Morgan had to say about getting fit, but not buff because he claims nobody wants to see a comedian that can beat them up. 

He’s a legend in the game, so DJ Kay Slay will always have opinions about the evolution of hip hop. Recently, Kay Slay released his latest project Living Legend that features a slew of heavy-hitters including Queen Latifah, Bun B, Raekwon, AZ, Ghostface Killah, Dave East, A$AP Ferg, and Big K.R.I.T. Helping to promote the album, Slay visited Sway in the Morning to talk all things hip hop. At the end of his interview, he was asked, “What artist went beyond your expectations?” and he admitted to underestimating Kendrick Lamar.

The radio host said, “Now, okay. Whoever’s listening…this is some sh*t I goofed on. Back when Kendrick Lamar was K-Dot, I remember going out to the West Coast and me and Top Dawg, we real cool. Jay Rock was the key artist and every time Kendrick see me, he’d stop me. ‘You, Slay!'” He then mimicked Kendrick Lamar rapping. Eventually, Top Dawg asked Slay about helping with Kendrick’s career, but Slay turned him down because he believed the public wasn’t interested in hearing “lyrical artists right now.” Slay admitted that the “climate changed” and Kendrick Lamar went farther than he expected.

Elsewhere, Slay talked about what makes a rapper a legend. Sway said that some people believe a rap legend has to have a career that has at least spanned a decade. Slay didn’t adhere to those rules. “Technically, once you inspired enough people—an artist can come out in a year and he could get a fanbase where he making young kids wanna stop smoking weed, he making them might wanna read books a little more. He’s tellin’ him save money. If they actually following him and doing what he’s saying, or even if it’s a preacher that’s doing that or even if it’s a guy in the street who has a whole style…at the end of the day. People are gonna talk about you. You gonna be a legend.”

Watch DJ Kay Slay’s interview with Sway in the Morning below and check out what else he had to say about hip hop being the only genre that doesn’t pay homage to older generations.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about the new reality dating series on Netflix called Love Is Blind, which shows couples building a connection and getting engaged without ever seeing each other. Bonds are created within a set of meditative pods, where contestants cannot see the people they are speaking to. The first season is officially complete and, of the couples formed, one stood out as a favourite for many: Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton. After getting down on one knee, Cameron and Lauren took a vacation with the rest of the cast to solidify their physical connection and, once they got back home, they were introduced to each other’s parents. Cameron won Lauren’s mother over by spitting some bars for her in a somewhat cringe-worthy display, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he was asked to drop a freestyle during his recent visit to Sway In The Morning. 

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Currently running press for the show, Lauren and Cameron Hamilton took a trip to Sway’s Universe to speak about the craziness that occurred this season, detailing their bond and how being in an interracial relationship changed both of their views on love. Sway even got Cameron to re-create one of the weirdest moments on the show, asking him to rap a quick freestyle.

“I got a neuroscience girl, yeah I call her The Brain/Her body’s looking right but her head is insane,” brags the reality star while barring out about his wife. 

Listen to the display below at the 26:30 mark.

Can you still be considered one of the top rappers in the game if you use a ghostwriter? Jadakiss weighed in on the subject with two answers that he called “politically correct.” The veteran emcee recently shared his anticipated and acclaimed project Ignatius, so he stopped by Sway in the Morning to chat about the record. While there, Jadakiss was asked if an artist can be considered one of the “Top 5” emcees if they use a ghostwriter, and the rapper answered both yes and no.

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“In our era, no way at all,” Jadakiss said. “In today’s [era], it don’t matter.” He added, “In our era, it wasn’t even a thought. You wouldn’t even think…once that happens, you outta the thing. You ain’t gettin’ a yellow jacket after that. Today, that don’t even matter. If you can turn up to it and do whatever crazy-ass dances they do, they don’t care. And that’s what I don’t like that’s happening to the game.” Jadakiss added that he’s happy that the young artists are able to make money and have success, “but…when we’re just erasing things out of the original black book of hip hop, I can’t really condone that.”

During his talk, Jadakiss also revealed why the early days in his career were more “fun” for him. “In this particular business, when you get success, you get a target on your back,” he said. “You gotta move different and accordingly. Watch family, friends, the snakes, spiders, things of that nature. It takes some of the happiness out of it. Opposed to when you going for that, that journey in the beginning is more fun ’cause the valleys and peaks and meeting people and learning new stuff. Then after you cross that line, the financial situation, everything is much better, but it’s also that much dangerous and that much more snakes.”

Check out more from Jadakiss including his take on why he agrees with Young M.A about a lack of R&B in the current music culture below.

He’s worked hard to get to where he is, but Don Toliver certainly hasn’t reached the goal of where he wants to be. The rapper is an artist to watch on the hip hop scene and recently his acclaimed collaboration with the JackBoys earned him even more recognition. Next, Toliver will be releasing his anticipated project Heaven or Hell that’s expected to drop March 13 so he chatted with Sway Calloway about his career.

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Don Toliver revisited those stories from his past as an artist traveling from city to city in an effort to get his music heard by anyone with influence. Toliver revealed that years ago he was even able to slide his CD Sway’s way when they happened to have met in Houston. Toliver shared that his main goal was to get his music out and unlike many others, he really didn’t think through making millions or stacking his bank account. He just wanted to get away from the street life and be a respected artist.

The rapper also talked about initially knowing Travis Scott by name and reputation but said he didn’t officially meet the Astroworld artist until 2017. “I was [nervous],” Toliver admitted. “He was my idol. He’s from Houston, all that. It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life, to be honest. He was just real. It was just crazy to me. At that point, I was already signed on my own thing, whatever, but I still didn’t believe the stuff that I was like, really trying to achieve was happening the way it was happening.”

Toliver added that not only does Travis give him advice, but the whole Cactus Jack team keeps each other in check. “We are a collective here to uplift each other,” he said. “We all kinda give each other advice, pointers, and Travis for sure is very hands-on when it comes to creative direction. Like, ideas I might have.” Check out what else Don Toliver had to say about Heaven or Hell and his come up in the industry below.

Chicago was in the building on Sway in the Morning. G Herbo has been steadily promoting his latest release PTSD, and to show that he “still got bars,” he visited Sway in the Morning to partake in their famous freestyle session. The 24-year-old was eager to drop a few bars over Jeezy‘s “The Real is Back” from the rapper’s 2011 mixtape of the same name. 

“Never seen penitentiary / But the streets been sentenced me / How the f*ck he try and protect himself and get a century / I’m smarter than my enemies / Not give them my energy / I’m too rich to be in the streets but too street to be industry / In serenity, that’s where I like to be / Keep enemies close like they right with me / I’m paranoid as f*ck but got the right to be / Steady poppin’ pain pills to try and fight my sleep,” Herbo rapped methodically.

The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus had a front seat for the freestyle as he was also a guest on Sway in the Morning and sang Herbo’s praises. Meanwhile, as Herbo has been promoting his latest release, he’s been using the opportunity to highlight the importance of addressing mental health. “It’s like, we kind of don’t know that we suffer from these mental health issues,” he told HipHopDX. 

“I’m a product of that. I was shot at. I seen my first murder at nine-years-old,” he added. “A lot of this stuff that we encounter on a day-to-day basis, we think is normal just because it’s our reality. We think it’s something we’re supposed to be going through. I feel like in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods, a lot of us are suffering from PTSD. I thought it was important for me because I know it’s a lot of people who are like me.” Watch G Herbo’s freestyle session below.

It was a reunion of sorts on Sway in the Morning after Oakland natives Kamaiyah and Sway Calloway reminisced on their days in the Bay Area. After Kamaiyah talked about raking in the dough as a teen while shooting dice on the block, Sway asked the Got It Made rapper about the September 2019 incident that left her behind bars. There were reports that Kamaiyah discharged a firearm in a movie theater, but she cleared the air once and for all.

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Kamaiyah said that the media made things out to be more than they were. “They took that the wrong way,” she told Sway. “People will see me, they see my philanthropy and all the stuff, and the moment that a situation like that happen they make it seem like I’m not the same person that was just out her donating money to the Boys and Girls Club.”

As a public figure, Kamaiyah said he has to protect herself so she legally obtained a firearm. “What happened was, somebody had my gun and brung it back to me and the safety wasn’t on,” she said. She and her friends were inside her apartment building’s private screening room at the time. The group was enjoying an episode of Power when Kamaiyah decided to check the gun’s safety. Unexpectedly, Kamiayh said the gun went off. The security cameras caught everything.

“That’s all that happened,” the rapper added. “They made it seem like I walked in the movie theater, watching a movie, and shot the motherf*cker. C’mon man. What kind of sense does that even make?” Watch Kamaiyah’s interview with Sway in the Morning below.

Never underestimate the rap skills of Wayne Brady. The host and comedian never ceases to amaze, and his tough-guy role on Chappelle’s Show will go down in history as one of the funniest sketches of the series. He’s known as the kitschy, happy-go-lucky actor that has been able to cross age and color lines, but he made sure that people recognized his freestyle skills during his recent visit to Sway in the Morning.

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Sway is known for putting his guests to the test, and Brady was in the hot seat for Sway in the Morning‘s first “5 Fingers of Death Freestyle” of 2020. For those of you unfamiliar with the practice, the person begins to freestyle before Sway pulls a question out of a bag. The person rapping has to then read and answer the question as they incorporate it into their freestyle—not an easy feat.

Even with the beat switches, Brady seemed to handle the task set before him rather effortlessly. “Hold for a second got a question to begin again / This is for all of y’all, this is for the citizens / If I had to change my first name what would it be / If I had to change my first name, well let me see / My first name, let me see would be great / It might be King because it would be ornate,” Brady rapped.

They may not be the wittiest bars on the block, but for over five minutes of top of the dome rhymes coming from a non-rap artist, it’s isn’t half bad. Check it out in full below.