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Decade to Survival: How 2016 Shaped the Next Ten Years · The Melting Pot

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What's up everybody, I go by the name of Sly, and I'm Cardi and Da Don, and we want to encourage
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you guys to listen to The Melting Pot, where we will release new episodes every Sunday
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discussing today's most hottest and controversial topics, stirring up all things popular culture.
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And you know what they say, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
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Brought to you by The Melting Pot.
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I don't know why The Melting Pot say they all that though.
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Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
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Hey, hey, hey Sous Chefs and welcome back to another installment here at The Melting Pot.
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I'm your host Sly. And I'm Cardi Da Don.
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And today we're going deep. We're talking about a decade.
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2016 to 2026. That's right. You guessed it.
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And how different the world feels for us and for the culture.
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2016 was something special. The culture was loud.
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The art was hitting and black people were thriving creatively in ways that felt rare and electric.
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Then life happened. Politics shifted.
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And here we are in 2026 fighting for our lives.
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Fighting for our lives every goddamn day.
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And fighting a whole different fight entirely.
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So let's break it down. We're going to go through the music, TV, the politics, all of it.
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So let's get into it.
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Well, you know, we can't really go back to 2016 without going back to 2016.
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Talking about the music that people are still going to be talking about 50 years from now.
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And of course, we wouldn't be The Melting Pot without talking about Lemonade.
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I mean, that was just the album of albums.
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2016, I'm going to let y'all know this.
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When it comes to music, it's three people that just, it's going to always, I'm going to just automatically think.
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It's going to be that Lemonade. It's going to be Life of Pablo with Kanye.
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And then it's Rihanna at times.
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But it was just overly, like 2016 was overly, just overly packed.
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So I don't know, like, but them the three that just stood out.
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Like I had it on repeat. Like, come on now.
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But yeah, I agree. 2016 was amazing.
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Lemonade though, was personal, unapologetic.
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I'm not going to say it's the best album she ever made, because that's another album.
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We already talked about that.
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But however, it was a shit.
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From the Super Bowl, where she tripped and y'all didn't even notice.
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She kept going.
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That's an artist.
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Y'all favorite artists do that?
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We know they can't.
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We know they can't.
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Especially to the one that told us their favorite artist was B-Som.
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B-Som!
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How did B-Som do it in 2026?
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Broke.
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Okay.
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Pity, pity.
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Yeah, okay.
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Or live.
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Galaxies!
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Galaxies!
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Hey!
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What?
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Be the people I like.
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Right.
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So, yeah.
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Lemonade was phenomenal.
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Just like, yeah.
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Can't say it's the best album, but visually.
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Visually, it was amazing.
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From the yellow dress, to the baseball bat, to the...
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She coined the lemonade braids.
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All y'all had the lemonade braids.
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I can't say that I never did get that hairstyle.
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I almost did.
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Well, no, I lied.
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I'm a big liar, y'all.
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I had a mix of lemonade braids.
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It was like that and another little style put together.
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Because I would do that freestyle and shit, but...
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Your favorite artist?
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Favorite artist, by the way.
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I don't understand that.
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I'm gonna give that.
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Then we had another amazing album.
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Which seemed like it's this artist's last album.
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Ooh!
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Because she wants to be the Avon lady.
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Okay.
4:08
Okay.
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Because I was like, there could be a couple people, but then...
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No, this one...
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The Avon.
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This one, she wants to be the Avon lady and sell some drawers.
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Now, I did go by your drawers the other day, girl.
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And your mom was like, yeah, I want some drawers.
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But, uh...
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Anton.
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Genre-bending.
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Timeless.
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Hypnotic.
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You had songs like Work, Kiss It Better, Needed Me.
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And that voicemail.
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It's one of my favorites.
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Hire.
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I know that one gets a little...
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It gets a little controversial.
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But I don't know.
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This whiskey got me feeling pretty.
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It's just controversial.
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So pardon if I'm impolite.
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Because it wasn't really meant for her.
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But it's okay.
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Like, you know, I just feel like somebody else should have sung the song.
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I mean, it gave like a little...
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It gave like a little...
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Etta James.
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I mean, yeah, Etta James.
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But I'm saying like a modern artist that was out around that time.
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That I felt like that song could have been.
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You know?
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Because you know in the celebrity world, they be shopping songs.
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Songs be written 10 years ago.
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And they trying to figure out what artist can make the most money off of a song.
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And that's who they're going to give it to.
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Now, you know, Rihanna, you know, she had a couple accomplishments.
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This week, you know, she hit, you know, first woman to hit the double, the gold, the platinums and all that on the chart for her number one singles.
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And I'm just like...
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We were having a discussion on this.
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And it was interesting.
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Because it's just like, you know, Rihanna's not really too known for her music.
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And Anti is the first album that I listened to by her, start to finish.
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I'm not to admit...
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I'm not embarrassed to admit that on my own goddamn platform.
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Because who going to whoop my ass?
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Okay.
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But yeah, like, you know, and it was an amazing album.
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But I respect Rihanna on a business standpoint.
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Because like, music, you know, she cool.
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She do what she do.
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But, you know, music was never like her forte.
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And I think she knew that.
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And she took something that she was good at.
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That's what baby love is.
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I sure wouldn't complain about that.
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That's what baby love is.
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It's been a decade, y'all.
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Baby!
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So, this artist, I want you to guess this one, y'all.
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Was a soul shifter.
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Quiet.
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They made you feel things you didn't have words for.
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Nobody was ready for.
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And I have two words for you.
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White Ferrari.
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And in case you're a little slow.
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We're talking about Frank Ocean and the Blonde album.
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That album was the album that I had on repeat.
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Not gonna hold you, not gonna yine.
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Between that one and the Anti, I mean, the Lemonade.
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It was a good one.
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And it's crazy because I kind of forgot about Blonde coming out around that time period.
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I don't know how.
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But, like, that album.
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But let me tell you about that album.
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That shit had to kind of grow on me.
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Because I was still on Frank's channel Orange.
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Orange.
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So, you know, that was a completely different vibe for him.
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But still being totally Frank Ocean.
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But it was just like Blonde.
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A lot of those songs did have to grow on me.
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But, like, I'm talking about something.
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This shit is just like aging like fine wine.
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Because those songs.
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I'm just like, I don't know how I didn't think it was like a masterpiece at first listen.
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But, yeah.
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Beautiful time.
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What a beautiful time to be alive.
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What a time to be alive.
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What a time to be alive.
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We ain't gonna never get what a time to be alive, too.
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Because everybody hates Drake.
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So, you know, Drake's future not cool.
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But it was a time, see.
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Y'all had to be there.
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Y'all had to be outside.
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Y'all wasn't there.
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But y'all never get that shit.
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And then, you remember there was a Grammy performance in 2016?
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And who's Grammy performance was that?
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A Grammy performance that the world did not see coming.
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Because it was a political statement.
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And in case you was living on a rock, we're talking about Kendrick Lamar.
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Kendrick motherfucking Lamar.
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He was out there in that.
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In them chains. In the chain gang.
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In that prison time.
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Prison time.
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So calm, bruh.
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The prison cornrows.
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Looking like Queen.
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Nobody pray for me.
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The world was not expecting that.
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And the world was not ready for it.
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Because the world is never ready for the ugly truth.
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Or what happened to us as a culture and society.
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And they never wanted to be spotlighted on something as big as the Grammys.
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And honestly, I feel like Kendrick made room for these new artists to do things like that.
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I feel like the next artist to be bold, even though I don't care for her personally,
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I feel like Doja Cat would do something like that.
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You think Doja would do what specifically?
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What would be your wildest guess?
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Are you thinking about a whole scenario?
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You'd be like, yeah, that's some Doja Cat shit for sure.
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You know what? No.
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Because Doja Cat would only do something that big.
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And I know this is off topic, but that's okay.
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She'd only do something that big if she was caught in her little racist scenario.
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Like she'd be getting caught.
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And actually trying to do it for the culture.
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Trying to win us back.
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I feel like the real one to do it would be my girl Doja.
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Doja definitely.
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Because Doja is all about that.
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She's all about that.
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I want y'all to see the real me anyway.
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Doja would do it.
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I think people know about that.
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I can co-sign.
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I can co-sign with Doja.
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I can see her fitting the agenda very well.
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All right, y'all.
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And then we got another heavy, heavy, heavy hitter.
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And I've been talking about this shit since the goddamn episode started.
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So I'm hella excited.
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But, like, come on now.
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And I don't support this man in no way, shape, or form.
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Or his little ugly ass totem.
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But, um, yes.
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I'm talking about Ye.
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I'm talking about Ye.
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Life of Pablo.
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This man put this song to designer, y'all.
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Now designer ain't shit, but like, come on now.
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Who was not singing Panda?
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Who the fuck was not singing Panda?
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Who the fuck was not singing that shit?
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Come on now.
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Oh, awesome.
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Ultralight Beam alone, y'all, was a spiritual experience.
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Father stretched my hand.
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Come on.
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And he brought Cudi out of his hiatus.
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Come on now.
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Cudi done dropped the whole project since then.
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I think he about to drop, like, one or two projects.
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Uh, correct me if I'm wrong.
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But yeah, he brought that man out of life.
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Like a retirement.
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Like, come on now.
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We doing some stuff now.
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We can't, you know, he ain't right in the head.
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Especially since he lost Donda.
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You know, like, what a, what a fuck.
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I can't even say the hit album.
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That shit was better than the hit album.
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Like, that shit was disgusting.
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Cause Father stretched my hands.
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Father, if your mentor don't trust you,
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I'm gonna what?
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Hit in the morning, baby.
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Look for my warning, baby.
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The better one in it.
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And then y'all.
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How do you feel about one hit winners?
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I feel like,
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everybody should, like,
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make their love my young.
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So if you wanna make it my young and dip, make it my young and dip.
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Okay.
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Now, don't make no good song and dip.
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You bring your monkey back
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with song number two.
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And album number two.
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But your song's just okay.
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You know, it's a little bop for the spring.
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For the spring song.
12:00
Yeah, he died out by the summer.
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Yeah, okay, cool.
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But some people,
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some people just are like,
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summer song people.
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Like, Yo Gotti, I don't consider him like a real rapper.
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I consider him like,
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a summer rapper.
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He know what to do when the sun come out
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and the ash cheeks are showing.
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He know what to put out.
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So Yo Gotti
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is a charade. A spring song?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, a little bit blissful.
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A spring song.
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Okay, okay, let me one up.
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One up, one up.
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How do you feel about comebacks?
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You have one here, one there.
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Comebacks.
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You on the wrong show, sir.
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We ain't never been
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explicit in six years.
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We keep our clothes on.
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Comebacks.
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Anybody come back in 2016?
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As a matter of fact, they did.
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And I do mean they.
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And by they, I'm talking about
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A Tribe Called Quest!
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Come on!
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We the people!
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We the what?
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We the people!
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A comeback nobody expected, released right after
13:16
election. A battle cry
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from the elders that reminded us
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exactly where hip-hop
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came from.
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The word everybody used to describe
13:26
black music, right?
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Unapologetic.
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Unapologetic.
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It matched the moment perfectly.
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Last year of
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the Obama's.
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Black joy. Black pride.
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Black pain.
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Live inside, by sign.
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Artists were reconciling those two extremes in real time
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and the music showed every bit of it.
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What a beautiful time.
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I'm telling y'all, music was
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and that's not even
13:54
all of it. What are we talking?
13:56
Five people?
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Five artists?
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2016 was
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we haven't even begun.
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Overly loaded.
14:06
We haven't even begun
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to unravel.
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But I mean,
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let's switch over to
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I love Spotify
14:16
dearly, but
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SoundCloud was also my go-to.
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It was like my number two.
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And
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with SoundCloud, the good thing about that
14:26
as annoying as hell
14:28
but like
14:30
the good thing about SoundCloud is
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you get unreleased music
14:34
and artists, you hear stuff
14:36
and it's still like that to this day.
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I'm not as
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tapped into the SoundCloud
14:42
world as I used to be.
14:44
Background 2016.
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But
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it's just like
14:50
it was beautiful.
14:52
We literally
14:54
I think Amigos
14:56
blew up on SoundCloud, right?
14:58
That's correct.
15:00
Yeah.
15:02
Well, their whole reign is crazy.
15:04
Look, 10 years down the road for them
15:06
don't look like, I bet they didn't see that
15:08
10 years ago.
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But look, we got R.I.P.
15:12
Takeoff.
15:14
Offset, Downbag.
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You got Shineaz by Lil Tjay.
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Maybe they got a little bromance here
15:20
going on. We don't know.
15:22
Offset.
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And then Quavenida.
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I don't know what Quavenida is.
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He probably
15:32
was some woman.
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And I'm going to throw this out there
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because I'm grown and I can't get it.
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You remember that show
15:40
Star?
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I remember Star.
15:44
I knew then
15:46
they wasn't going to make it.
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Because
15:52
because
15:54
Quavo had an appearance on Star.
15:56
That was like when they was kind of
15:58
molding Quavo to be by himself.
16:00
You remember that?
16:02
That's when they made him the breakout star.
16:04
And I knew then.
16:06
But Quavo was trying to like
16:08
if y'all go back in time.
16:10
Y'all don't listen to nothing else I'm saying.
16:12
Quavo was trying to
16:14
I ain't going to leave him.
16:16
I ain't going to leave him.
16:18
I ain't going to leave him the whole time.
16:20
The whole time.
16:22
If the money was right.
16:24
He was going to leave him.
16:26
I mean he was always the most marketable.
16:28
So then
16:30
Offset didn't have no choice
16:32
but to jump on the Cardi
16:34
wagon. Because also if y'all go back in time
16:36
Offset
16:38
wasn't checking for Cardi for real.
16:40
Bro we're just having this discussion.
16:42
Offset was not checking for Cardi for real.
16:44
Only the ones that know
16:46
Yeah only the ones that know
16:48
Offset was not
16:50
They was not supposed to get married.
16:52
But I guess he was like
16:54
Shoot I'm all in.
16:56
That's why they are where they are.
16:58
He was trying to solidify
17:00
his money and stuff
17:02
but also he did it publicly.
17:04
That's where he messed up.
17:06
That whole engagement
17:08
was public as hell.
17:10
That shit happened on the stage.
17:12
Like at the concert.
17:14
So that shit was just insane.
17:16
I'm like how can you
17:18
not go forward
17:20
even as a celebrity.
17:22
You know what I'm saying.
17:24
It's just like all these albums.
17:26
It's even more impressionable.
17:28
We already here we just gotta do it.
17:30
And I mean I'm sure Cardi was
17:32
doing what she had to do to
17:34
please him enough.
17:36
We already know what she was doing there.
17:38
Right right.
17:40
You remember that picture.
17:42
She all clean but you know.
17:44
You remember that picture.
17:46
It was coming from somewhere looking like
17:48
Bobby and Whitney in his pants all down.
17:50
She had like a pink
17:52
big jacket whole wig.
17:54
She just put it on backwards.
17:56
Man y'all don't remember this.
17:58
Man you gotta go back.
18:00
They was wild.
18:02
They was on some
18:04
get in my glasses glasses.
18:06
I ain't talking about that for real.
18:08
Y'all already know what they was doing.
18:10
They was pouncing.
18:12
His pants was all down.
18:14
To his ankles and it was unzipped.
18:16
He told her every which way
18:18
but loose before they
18:20
stepped out in public.
18:22
I'm just saying.
18:24
That is wild though.
18:26
What?
18:28
Y'all don't quote me.
18:30
That may not have been 2016.
18:32
I don't remember that was that.
18:34
How do you think since
18:36
we're on the topic of
18:38
I guess kind of like
18:40
relationships and
18:42
Migos and 2016
18:44
and all these good things.
18:46
How do you think that
18:48
Aiden has changed or
18:50
reversed since 2016?
18:52
10 years ago.
18:54
In the celebrity world or my world?
18:56
We gonna tackle all the fucking worlds.
18:58
Cause I mean it's reckless
19:00
getting time with celebrities out here.
19:02
I mean just think about how
19:04
you remember how earlier this year
19:06
Boss Man D. Lo had got
19:08
or that better be late last year.
19:10
Ain't he where?
19:12
Boss Man D. Lo?
19:14
No he's not dead.
19:16
He better not.
19:18
Did I miss a chapter?
19:20
No he's not dead.
19:22
Y'all remember when
19:24
Boss Man D. Lo was catching fire
19:26
because he was eating
19:28
people bocce and you know
19:30
all this stuff and he was
19:32
seen with trainees or
19:34
alleged talking to trainees and stuff.
19:36
And
19:38
Oh my god
19:40
I told you.
19:42
So why he keep trying to kill off Boss Man D. Lo?
19:44
He just got him like.
19:46
You know what I'm saying?
19:48
That shit on purpose.
19:50
You know like
19:52
for a little bit.
19:54
I know that phone.
19:56
I'm looking at him on the internet.
19:58
It's like
20:00
That ain't who I thought that was.
20:02
Who do you
20:04
think is dead?
20:06
Cause I'm down like
20:08
Is Shawty Lo dead?
20:10
If he's dead then that's what I'm thinking.
20:12
It's late y'all. It's real. It's late as hell.
20:14
I don't know if y'all gonna listen to this episode
20:16
but it's late.
20:18
It's real.
20:20
I just got off work.
20:22
Shawty Lo is in fact
20:24
dead.
20:26
Yo Boss Man D. Lo took
20:28
to Shawty Lo. Shawty Lo
20:30
wasn't even relevant in 2016.
20:32
Where did he come from?
20:34
It's late.
20:36
And we ain't
20:38
recording with no notes man.
20:40
We just talking.
20:42
I don't know who you was talking about.
20:44
I heard low like my eyes
20:46
trying to be low and closed.
20:48
Oh my god.
20:50
The truth of the matter is
20:52
I feel like
20:54
we don't have
20:56
relationships. Everybody's
20:58
overly freaked out.
21:00
Overly freaked out.
21:02
Like
21:04
the celebrities that we have now
21:06
and I really
21:08
want to call them celebrities cause back then
21:10
we had celebrities.
21:12
We didn't know
21:14
nothing about those people.
21:16
There's no reason
21:18
why we should get on Twitter
21:20
and see
21:22
Hakeem from Empire
21:24
doing anything and everything.
21:26
Yeah. I have been seeing a lot
21:28
of him. A whole lot of him.
21:30
Don't want to see him.
21:32
Then you got Hakeem doing
21:34
stuff.
21:36
Sexy Red is a rapper.
21:38
There's no reason why we should see her
21:40
even though she's sad.
21:42
I seen
21:44
Sukiana's the other day too.
21:46
I seen Sukiana's
21:48
a little. A little?
21:50
But I'm just like why are we
21:52
ass naked on my timeline?
21:54
I'm just like what are we doing?
21:56
Because if we go back
21:58
we didn't see
22:00
you know what I'm trying to say.
22:02
We didn't see the people
22:04
overlooking Hakeem.
22:06
But then Mimi
22:08
girl.
22:10
That sexy thing. We was on that shower.
22:12
I just
22:14
love you.
22:16
It would have been
22:18
if Luka did kind of have Ray J
22:20
and Kim.
22:22
Yeah it wasn't 2016.
22:24
It wasn't 2016 but it was.
22:26
In a way all that shit shapes
22:28
what we have today.
22:30
But you know what?
22:32
Even if Ray J
22:34
would have never did it with Kim Kardashian
22:36
No even if Ray J
22:38
never did it with Kim Kardashian
22:40
I feel like we still would have seen Ray J.
22:42
And he probably would have been with Sid and Starr.
22:44
Definitely
22:46
definitely.
22:48
Because Sid and Starr she get around.
22:50
Oh yeah Sidney
22:52
is everybody's favorite.
22:54
And I know this ain't
22:56
2016 but
22:58
I believe
23:00
Sidney and Sid and Starr
23:02
in a minute.
23:04
It's not
23:06
that so hard.
23:08
I believe.
23:10
I mean Sid and Starr they're
23:12
in no way at the same time.
23:14
Right.
23:16
I feel like the only one who really publicly loves
23:18
Sidney Cruz
23:20
is Eddie.
23:22
Yeah but I think I agree.
23:24
I feel like yeah it's just
23:26
overly freaked out and
23:28
not really a whole lot of dating going on.
23:30
So I don't really know why we're still calling it dating.
23:32
It's just dating life.
23:34
It's just dating and having babies.
23:36
10 years the rap came out
23:38
and she'll be talking about dating.
23:40
10 years ago
23:42
it was a shit. From the Super Bowl
23:44
where she tripped and y'all didn't even notice
23:46
and she kept going.
23:48
That's a artist. Can y'all favorite artists
23:50
do that? We know they
23:52
can. We know they can. Especially
23:54
to the one that told us their favorite artist was
23:56
B. Simone.
24:00
B. Simone.
24:02
What did B. Simone do
24:04
in 2026? Broke.
24:06
Okay.
24:08
Yeah okay.
24:10
Galaxies.
24:12
Galaxies.
24:14
We need to be watching.
24:16
Right.
24:18
So yeah.
24:20
That day was phenomenal.
24:22
I hate to say best album
24:24
but visually
24:26
it was amazing. From the
24:28
yellow dress to the baseball bat
24:30
to the
24:32
she coined
24:34
the lemonade braids.
24:36
I can't say that I never
24:38
didn't get that hairstyle. I almost did.
24:40
Well no I lied.
24:42
I'm a big liar y'all.
24:44
I had a mix
24:46
of lemonade braids. It was like that
24:48
and another little style put together.
24:50
Freestyle and shit.
24:58
That's the first thing that comes to
25:00
my head.
25:02
That's the first thing that comes to my head.
25:08
If you know you know.
25:10
It's really our
25:12
brother on my arm.
25:14
It's really our same shit.
25:16
So for those
25:18
of you who don't know
25:20
Coyote was the inside word that
25:22
we made up.
25:24
I ain't gonna explain it to you.
25:26
You just gotta know how to use it.
25:28
I'm definitely
25:30
not gonna explain it.
25:32
Back then, I feel like Migos
25:34
was giving us a lot of rap.
25:36
It was just like
25:38
cap
25:40
rap, cap
25:42
dab.
25:44
Everybody was dabbing.
25:46
Everybody was dabbing.
25:48
We had
25:50
I ain't gonna lie. The rap snacks with the dab
25:52
was good back then.
25:54
Everybody was rocking the Ferragamo belts
25:56
around that time.
25:58
Ferragamo MCM
26:00
MCM went crazy.
26:02
That shit was crazy back then.
26:04
Y'all wasn't even a fan of Ferragamo
26:06
MCM.
26:10
Truez.
26:12
Truez has done
26:14
such a resurgence.
26:16
It was really hot.
26:18
Yeah, because who gave us
26:20
Truez?
26:22
I begged my mom for some Truez.
26:24
I begged her for some Truez.
26:26
I begged her for some Truez.
26:28
She ordered them.
26:30
And the truth is
26:32
I wore them once
26:34
and they were too big.
26:36
So I
26:38
gave them to my cousin.
26:40
Why'd you give them away?
26:42
Why the fuck didn't you sell them?
26:44
Yeah, Devin, where my money at?
26:46
Shit, go in and cool now.
26:48
Since the one, you just giving away
26:50
$200 jeans.
26:52
I've always had that mentality.
26:54
Back then, we were wearing
26:56
a lot of gauges.
26:58
You know, for piercings.
27:00
Everybody was into the gauge.
27:02
Everybody was really into Zoomies.
27:04
But we were really
27:06
want to be hipsters so bad.
27:08
I spent a lot of time at DTLR.
27:10
Yeah, DTLR, Zoomies,
27:12
Blue 21, Ferb 21.
27:14
Forever.
27:16
Bru, especially.
27:18
Bru, that pink ice.
27:20
Y'all remember that pink ice perfume?
27:22
Yeah.
27:24
Yo, that pink ice perfume.
27:26
Every girl smell like pink ice.
27:28
I can't stand
27:30
the pink ice.
27:32
Don't let me smell that in 2026.
27:34
I'ma crash out.
27:36
One person that I'm so happy
27:38
that fell off, that was poppin',
27:40
had y'all in a chokehold.
27:42
In 2016, Chance the Rapper.
27:44
I did not care for Chance the Rapper.
27:46
I'm sorry.
27:48
Don't get me wrong.
27:50
I love his finger hook.
27:52
I love his hooks.
27:54
The rest of the song, I don't want to hear that shit.
27:56
He sound like Elmo
27:58
on Sesame Street rapping.
28:00
There's just something about him.
28:02
I don't know. I just don't vibe.
28:04
If one more label
28:06
try to stop me,
28:08
it's gonna be some dreadheads
28:10
in the lobby.
28:12
You don't want no problems with me.
28:14
You don't want no problems
28:16
with me.
28:18
But Chance the Rapper
28:20
also, for his album The Coloring Book,
28:22
first streaming
28:24
only album to win a
28:26
Grammy. Gotta commend him for that
28:28
as well. I'm not a hater.
28:30
Independent, Faithville, Chicago
28:32
to the bone. Chance proved
28:34
you could bypass the system
28:36
entirely and do it on
28:38
your own terms.
28:40
And win at the highest level.
28:42
So let's talk about Philadelphia born,
28:44
Atlanta raised, drama defying
28:46
from day one
28:48
artists. In 2016,
28:50
Uzi dropped Money Longer
28:52
and Lil Uzi Vert
28:54
versus the world.
28:56
And started one of the
28:58
most eclectic
29:00
rises in rap history.
29:02
The fashion, the energy,
29:04
the sound.
29:06
This little short guy has been
29:08
blurring lines since 2016.
29:10
Oh my friends are dead.
29:12
Push me to the edge.
29:14
Push me to the edge.
29:16
I mean, cause to this day,
29:18
I still be saying, I mean, it's only my third day
29:20
out here, so.
29:22
It's only my third day out here, like.
29:24
Right, like.
29:26
Oh God, like.
29:28
Don't let me be
29:30
on day three of anything.
29:32
It's only my third day out here, like.
29:34
I don't.
29:36
To this day.
29:38
To this day.
29:40
To this day.
29:42
To this day.
29:44
It's only my third day out here.
29:46
And then it's like,
29:48
this,
29:50
this sassy little man
29:52
popped out with
29:54
JT, like,
29:56
from JT and Carissa.
29:58
That JT?
30:00
From the City Girls, right.
30:02
And like, I ain't gonna hold you.
30:04
Everybody thought it was play play,
30:06
but they for real, for realer than you
30:08
and your n***a at home, so yes.
30:10
Mm, is it
30:12
for real she just like his
30:14
chick chicks?
30:16
Nah.
30:18
I feel like
30:20
she gives, I feel like
30:22
he gives her
30:24
the room to be
30:26
the weird black girl that she's always
30:28
wanted to be. Nah, I feel like
30:30
he unlocked her soft feminine energy
30:32
from chicks. Now she ain't gotta be
30:34
stealing and doing fraud.
30:36
Well, I mean, that's a plus,
30:38
but she kinda
30:40
got her own money now, though, you know what I'm saying?
30:42
Like.
30:44
2016 had so many amazing artists.
30:46
The XXL
30:48
freshman class had Lil Uzi,
30:50
21 Savage, Lil Yachty, Toadette Black.
30:52
All in one cipher.
30:56
That video alone has
30:58
over 180 million YouTube views.
31:00
The roster was stacked in a way
31:02
that just didn't happen, that just, it doesn't happen
31:04
anymore. It just doesn't.
31:06
This was also the SoundCloud era
31:08
taking full root.
31:10
Artists were bypassing labels,
31:12
bypassing gatekeepers, dropping directly
31:14
to fans. The internet became the
31:16
A&R. It changed everything about
31:18
how music moved and how
31:20
it gets heard.
31:24
Now in 2026, the industry
31:26
has disinvested
31:28
from hip-hop and R&B. Black artists
31:30
went from the most consumed genre
31:32
in the country to a real decline
31:34
on the Billboard chart. The energy,
31:36
the moment, the wave,
31:38
hasn't been the same, but that's okay.
31:40
That's okay.
31:42
Because guess what? My girl is
31:44
coming. Jill Scott
31:46
said not on her watch. She
31:48
dropped To Whom This May Concern, her first
31:50
album in over a decade,
31:52
with features from Ab-Soul,
31:54
Tierra Whack, Too Short,
31:56
and
31:58
she's out here on a 36-date
32:00
world tour. Nashville,
32:02
my city, A-Town, at the
32:04
Fox Theater, Brooklyn, Philly,
32:06
L.A., Chicago, London, South
32:08
Africa. Jilly from Philly came
32:10
back, and she's going to remind us that
32:12
Soul actually sounds like this.
32:14
This month,
32:16
April, we celebrate
32:18
our six-year anniversary.
32:20
Six years,
32:22
a lot has happened. A lot has changed.
32:24
For the better,
32:26
we have grown in some areas,
32:28
and I'm going to be honest, we've declined
32:30
in some areas, but we're working our way back.
32:32
But I'm not going to lie.
32:34
This has been one of my favorite episodes.
32:36
I'm not going to hold you. I don't know
32:38
what the bloopers are going to sound like.
32:40
I really wish I was part of the editing team.
32:42
But this has been one of my favorite episodes.
32:44
It has been really fun, and I really
32:46
enjoyed this one. And I've enjoyed this
32:48
ride for six years, and I can't wait
32:50
to see what the next six years are going to take me.
32:52
Hopefully with a bigger budget.
32:54
Y'all hear that? Bigger budget!
32:56
So, with that being said,
32:58
make sure y'all follow us
33:00
on all, and I mean all,
33:02
of our platforms.
33:04
All of our platforms.
33:06
I'm not talking about later.
33:08
I'm talking about right now.
33:10
Yes, I'm talking to you.
33:12
Scrolling. You just scrolled through another video.
33:14
I'm talking to you. Hit that follow button.
33:16
You can follow us on Instagram
33:18
at therealmeltify.
33:20
That's T-H-E-E
33:22
Real Melting Pot.
33:24
You can follow us on Twitter at
33:26
TheMeltingPot16.
33:28
You can follow us on Facebook
33:30
at The Melting Pot Podcast.
33:32
But yeah, Cartier,
33:34
it's been a great six years.
33:36
And hopefully
33:38
the next six years is going to go
33:40
done. We're just going to go up
33:42
and
33:44
shout outs to y'all.
33:46
Because if it wasn't for y'all, we wouldn't
33:48
be here, literally.
33:50
I'm your host, Sly.
33:52
And I'm Cartier the Don.
33:54
And this has been The Melting Pot.