RAP DOESN’T HAVE a retirement plan. For every Jay-Z or Nas, veterans known as much for the contents of their investment portfolios as their records, there are scores of beloved performers who aren’t doing as well. The hits dry up on everyone; either you’re prepared for that or you’re back hustling to make ends meet. In a field notorious for tall tales and expenditures, that fall can be subtle. Maybe your favorite rapper starts hawking offbeat products during their public appearances, or hosting motivational seminars, or popping up in commercials for local businesses. These awkward dealings often scan as funny, but they never bode well. When your audience loses interest, your bargaining power diminishes. We talk a big game about giving artists their flowers, but love doesn’t keep the lights on.
According to producer Swizz Beatz, it was in the days following the late DMX’s Verzuz battle—the online matchups between artists streamed over Instagram Live—last summer that the rapper got the drive to make a new album. It had been nearly a decade since his last official studio release (discounting a choppy compilation released against his wishes in 2015)—a rough patch marked by sporadic guest spots, money troubles, and worrying arrests. DMX wanted to prove he still had something to say, to own his status as a 50-year-old survivor, to match wits with peers and successors again. Swizz wanted to pay it forward for the man who helped put him on; DMX’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” was Swizz’s first successful beat.
Denne historien er fra June 7 - 20, 2021-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra June 7 - 20, 2021-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten
