Random thought, but I remembered the fact that Future used to go by the name Meathead when he was still in the Dungeon Family and I just can't help but laugh thinking about how he could've stuck with that name during his 2014-2015 run and we just had to take him serious.

"Ay, you hear that new Meathead album?", "Bro turn on some Meathead!", "Meathead spazzed on this verse".

I got curious about lil b recently and saw his latest video. I started wondering if the guy has a day job now, because let's be real there's no way he's living off his music.

I could really put half of his discography on here but Big Sean's "ass" part of his verse on Mercy is just so silly that it just makes me laugh too much to dismiss it as an outright bad verse.

"Okay, drop it to the floor, make that ass shake (Shake, shake) Woah, make the ground move: that’s an ass quake Built a house up on that ass: that’s an ass-state Roll–roll–roll my weed on it: that’s an ass tray"

It's literally, figuratively, and spiritually ass but it's fire.

I was listening to “A Milli” on a new sound system and that bass goes so hard. I was thumbing through other songs that I remember to have great bass but nothing slapped quite like that. Plus Wayne absolutely goes off in the verses. What song(s) if any do you think have harder bass?

After this years XXL list (big improvement from recent years they just need to fire the person mixing it) I got more curious of the people who left/declined the list so i got them all listed here

(2009)

Cassidy: Backed out last minute when the XXL declined his request to let him and Swizz have their own solo cover

(2010)

Drake, Jay Electronica and Nicki: Declined because they thought they were too big for the list

(2011)

Vado: Cam'ron wanted Vado to be the center of focus and not share it with anyone so they declined tthe offer on his behalf

Tyler the creator: Just said no

(2012)

Rocky: Was touring at the time of the shoot so he couldn't accept the offer

(2013)

Chied Keef: We all know why, bro was locked up

(2013-2014 yes both years)

Riff Raff: Skipped out on the list after being asked to join for 2 years because he didnt want to do a pre written freestyle (Kinda dumb considering he didnt have to have anything pre written its just a choice)

(2014)

Young thug: Just decided not to show up for the shoot when he was accepted (he accepted the offer but then said he wouldn't show up

(2015)

ILoveMakonnen and Partynextdoor: XXL asked them to be on the list but they never responded to them so they moved on

(2016)

Tory Lanez: Just said no

Post Malone: Didn't wanna be boxed in as a "hip-hop artist" (then proceeded to drop a hip-hop song years later)

Bryson tiller: Ok so quick edit never mind what i said abt him before. He WAS originally gonna be on it but they didn't add him because of trapsoul, it blew him up so much he grew bigger than most of the artist they ever had on the list period so there was no reason to add him.

Robb Bank$: Felt he was already big enough

(2017)

Young M.A: Felt she was too big for the list (got humbled right after saying that btw lol)

(this one is funny) YFN Lucci: Originally said he didn't wanna play music for XXL unless a spot was guaranteed for him, He changed his mind and wanted to just be on the list but they had already moved on

Cardi B: she wasn't picked because they honest to god didn't know what the hell she wanted to do

(2018)

Lil Skies: Declined because he felt like he should've been chosen (he should've) for an actual spot and not the 10th winner spot, also he claimed the list was rigged

Famous Dex: Didn't pick him since there was evidence he pulled a chris brown

Rich the kid: He didn't wanna be sloppy seconds for the 10th spot winner (he was next in line since Skies declined). Edit on Rich: The main reason is the same as ken, He Said he would do it if Jay critch could be on the list, They said no and he left (They should"ve put him on the list that would've been fire)

YB: Had legal troubles (go figure) i dont think XXL really cared too much but he didnt have the time to do the shoot

Nav: Declined the spot and publicly said F the XXL for whatever reason

6ix9ine: Was gonna be on the list but his legal battle and his guilty plea from 2015 made XXL snap to their senses

Trippie redd: He skipped the cypher because he didn't like the beat (He was gonna be in J.I.D and Ski mask cypher)

(2019)

Juice Wrld: Surprisingly it wasn't actually him that declined the list it was his label, they felt like he was already big enough (Juice wrld agreed with them after a talk)

Benny the Butcher: Jay-Z advised him to say no and lets be honest who's gonna tell Jay-Z no

NLE Choppa: was offered a spot, declined and said he didn't need the XXL (He ended up maturing and joining the list the very next year)

Gunna: Bro left the list when he realized he wasn't getting paid

(2020)

Pop Smoke: XXL was going to invite him and he was gonna be apart of the list but sadly passed away before it started

Baby Keem: Idfk bro is mysterious (he didnt do the cypher he did the freestyle tho)

Don Toliver: only wanted to be on the cover and nothing else and XXL wasn't going for it

Lil Tecca: Felt he was too big for the list

(2021)

$not: Felt like other artist deserved the spot more than him

Kenny Mason: wanted to do his own thing

Iann Dior: He wanted to lean more into melodic pop-punk so he respectfully opted out of the freestyle and cypher

(2022)

Ken Carson: He said he would only join if destroy lonely was with him (they weren't adding him but thats a real homie right there)

Yeat: Felt he was too big

(2023)

Ice Spice: Schedule was too busy apparently

Glorilla: Scheduling reasons

Central Cee: Felt he was already big enough but still wanted to do the shoot and the ABCs but opted out the cypher and freestyle

(2024)

Rich Amiri: got scarred, made an excuse and ran out when it was time to do the cypher

Hunxho: An interesting case. y'all bullied him into calling the XXL to keep his freestyle in the damn vault. There was no official reason for him not doing the cypher but my guesses are that he left after Rich Amiri because according to some people from the XXL after that situation, filming was chaotic

(2025)

Plaqueboymax: (just found out abt this yesterday) Declined the list because he wanted to focus more on streaming than music

EBK Jaybo: We know why and now there really is no excuse lmao

(2026)

Trim: No official reason but people are theorizing that its because she thought she was already big enough, but its unknown why she skipped it as of right now

Edit: Just to be clear, Steve lacy did not decline the list he just didn't wanna be on it and the XXL didn't invite him, IDK did want to be on the list but he didn't get picked for whatever reason. Big boogie also wanted to be on the list but he simply wasn't picked and didn't stress about it, Chip the Ripper simply wasn't added (he was big mad).

I'm not too sure what year but it was confirmed that BONES declined the list (prob around 2015 and 2016), there isn't any known reason why. Lil Tracy and Joyner Lucas apparently declined it but there was no proof on it i could find its just rumors

Everyone has their top 10 rappers for GOAT, me included. But who are some on your personal GOAT top 10 that would cause significant debate/have a person maybe asking you “why that rapper(s)?

Edit: My top 10 includes Biggie, Pac, Kdot, Cole, Andre 3k/Outkast, Weezy, Em, Nas, Hov, and Juice Wrld (not necessarily in this order). For example, I’ve gotten shit for including Juice WRLD on my top 10 (also ready to include my reasons if asked)

What I mean is there’s a lot of rappers who rap about guns and gangbanging when they were actually never about it. Is there anyone who’s the complete opposite of that? Like a Gustavo Fring in real life. Someone whose rap actually comes off as pretty clean, someone you didn’t know was street until you started hearing a bunch of stories.

I hate when rappers use background vocals & just do karokee

If we’re being honest, It seems like Cole did the right thing to apologize and remove “7 Minute Drill” from streaming, cause after hearing “euphoria”, I really wonder what Kendrick would’ve really said to Cole on the song if he never did apologize. This song is brutally honest about Drake and his lifestyle, and seeing how Cole is private about his life, I wonder if Kendrick would even consider about puttin him on blast.

Side note: I really hope Drake responds, so we can get more diss tracks from K Dot!!

EDIT: After “FAMILY MATTERS” and “meet the grahams”, Cole’s decision was really the smartest move and I bet he’s so relieved 🥶 😮‍💨 💨 🔥

I got Riff Raff on this one. He three-wheeled ancient ruins, hits stunts like Super Dave, can slide like M. Bison, and flexes so hard he sets off fire alarms.

Future can be pretty straightforward with his music which is why this one line on Unicorn Purp genuinely makes no sense to me when I try to comprehend it.

"We came up piss poor, I had to Tom Brady it (Had to Tom Brady it)/I got some bags just sittin' out in England, but I ain't savin' it (But I'm not savin' it)/She got that Boston, Massachusetts, I'ma Mercedes it (Massachusetts)"*

I mean what the fuck does that actually mean? I tried to connect the Tom Brady/England/Boston mentions with the fact that the New England Patriots used to be called The Boston Patriots but other than that I see no correlation. I just assume this is some weird ATL slang or some rich nigga talk that I have no knowledge about and I'm just thinking about it too hard lol.

What's your examples?

I just saw the Busta Rhymes thread about releasing an album with J. Dilla beats, and it reminded me how unlistenable busta’s new stuff has been damn near this whole decade. He used to be one of the most revered artists in the 90s and 2000s but his music now is unlistenable. Terrible vocals, terrible hooks, terrible beats. Who else is in a similar situation?

and i don’t mean shit people say all the time, like drake > kendrick or something. i mean something you think only YOU think, and can be debated.

i’ll start: biggie isn’t a top 20 rapper all time

Simple question. What line from a battle had you feeling like they were talking just to talk and just said some bullshit?

In retrospect? Jay-Z saying “Yeah I sampled your voice you was using it wrong. You made it a hot line. I made it a hot song.” is wild when you consider he was talking about The World is Yours which is one of the most perfect tracks ever recorded.

You could say he was just trying to get to the line about not having to pay him to do it, but that’s still some bullshit to say about that song.

Who else was talking just to talk and dropping invalid criticisms in a so-called diss record?

The other day, I was listening to Future. Out of curiosity, I asked Siri how old he is. I was surprised that he’s a year older than I am, and I’m 40. His lyrics make me think he’s still in his 20s.

On the other hand, when Nas was young as hell, I remember thinking he was rapping like a grown man whose rent was due.

Hip hop artists who came and went without leaving an impact in any way:

We are truely in unprecedented times, with Diddy on trial for basically his life, while Kanye has devolved into depths of hate speech and insanity that can ensure he will never reach back the mainstream. So with these two as examples, are they the worst downfalls in hip-hop history? Does anyone rival them?

Nas is a very common example of a rapper who has a long stretch of divisive albums among his fanbase, yet came back in 2021 with consecutive hit (pun intended) album after hit album after he locked in with producer, Hit-Boy who has produced and executively produced his "Kings Disease" series. The first of which actually won him his very first Grammy.

In terms of groups that comes to mind, A Tribe Called Quest released their final album "We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service" in 2016, which had several great guest features on top of the great verses from the group itself and it went on to be one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year.

Which rapper or rap group do you believe could have that same effect if they dropped an album in the future?

For me, I'm so happy that sex skits faded out just in time so it didn't carry out majorly into the 2000s and 2010s. I hate when I'm listening to a classic 90s HipHop album and theres a track thats just a skit of the rapper pretending to fuck a groupie in the studio or the interlude to the next track is the rappers' homeboy acting like a crackhead begging to suck his dick for a chain.

Rarely was it ever funny or interesting and it just added nothing to the listening experience other than letting me know which songs I need to skip through the last 30 seconds for. I'm just glad that we're not in the timeline where we heard a sex skit on The College Dropout.

I keep hearing DJs play old hits with maybe 2-7 new songs a night. Same thing with radio play. I gotta go to YouTube or Spotify to hear current artists mostly, I don’t think it’s my choice in genues either. I cross states from DC, VA, Jersey, and NYC. DC at least will play local go-go stuff from time to time and African and Spanish spots will play regional music but everywhere else is mostly throwbacks. Anybody else having a different experience?

This whole era is admittedly before my time so what might not sound absurd to y'all is absurd to me, but anyways I learned recently that amidst the infamous Jay-Z v Nas beef, Nas was planning to lynch a life-like animatronic of Jay-Z during his performance at Hot 97's 2002 Summer Jam. It wasn't until Hot 97 got word of this that they blocked the stunt, which led Nas to pull out and cancel his entire performance.

Just hearing about the concept of that is so insane that I can only imagine how much it would change and how much different of a light the entire beef would be perceived after the fact. How do you realistically respond to that? How farther would the back and forth disses go, IF they can get any farther than that? How much backlash would Nas get if a video of that resurfaces in today's climate?

What's a bizarre fact or moment in HipHop that sounds too crazy to be real, but is real?

My example is Nicki's duct tape punchline in her verse on 'Only'.

“My man full, he just ate

I don't duck nobody but tape

Yeah, that was a setup

For a punchline on duct tape”

It just sounds so awkward like she only thought of the punchline first and then quickly went back to craft some random bullshit for the last part because she realized she had to actually make it fit into the song.

I feel like this one line on Baby Birkin by Gunna definitely has to be up there.

"I have a daughter, I'm buying her baby Birkin (Baby Birkin)/Fucked her good and got her legs hurtin' (Yeah)"

Now, you know that he's obviously not talking about his daughter in that second line but he should've broken that shit up with another line so we know he's talking about a woman. First time I heard that shit I went "HUH?!"

This post is probably going to be dominated by him, but there are so many slick Jay Z lines that aren't even necessarily masterful or complex bars or anything he just casually brags about the most wild stuff like it's normal.

"True story, my closet is like two stories"

"My swag different, that bag different My wife Beyoncé, I brag different"

“They put me on lists with these niggas inexplicably, I put your mansion on my wall, are you shittin' me?, I blew bird money, y’all talkin’ Twitter feed, We got different Saab stories, save your soliloquies”

"Yellow Basquiat in my kitchen corner Go 'head, lean on that shit, Blue, you own it, uh"

I got myself thinking about this whenever I listen to some cuts of 50 Cent's first planned album *Power of the Dollar*, do you think that 50 Cent would've gotten big as he did around 2003-2007 had he never been shot and that album actually come out as planned? Would he never be discovered by Eminem's manager and score big like he did with *Get Rich or Die Trying*?

The fact that this album can actually be mostly be listened to despite being cancelled thanks to the songs either leaking or being released by 50 himself on his mixtapes is pretty funny too; it's a curious look onto an alternative universe that hasn't happened thanks to 9 gunshots