Justin Bieber vs. The Weeknd: Comparing Selena Gomez's Loves By the Numbers

Justin Bieber who? Selena Gomez has a new man in her life!

The "Hands to Myself" singer put her three-year on-and-off relationship with the Biebs behind her and is giving romance another chance with The Weeknd. The new couple have been getting hot and heavy over the last several weeks, going on PDA-filled date nights and even taking a romantic vacation in Italy.

However, as happy as SelGo may be, we're guessing Bieber is none too pleased. In fact, just a few days after her now-famous smooching photos with the R&B singer surfaced, Bieber was caught on-camera calling the Weeknd's music "whack."

Check out a comparison of Bieber vs. The Weeknd by the numbers below:

First, we must mention Bieber has been in the game a bit longer than The Weeknd, making his pop debut in 2009 with "One Time," which kick-started his fame. The Weeknd's first single "House of Balloons" was released in 2010, but he didn't grab our attention until 2011.

Whether a few years makes a huge difference or not is up to you; nonetheless, the musicians are neck and neck in some of the biggest areas of comparison. For example, they've both seen three No. 1 singles on the Billboard charts, and according to Forbes, the Biebs made an estimated $56 million in earnings in 2016 while The Weeknd fell close behind him at $55 million.

Bieber has 217 award wins in total, defeating The Weeknd, who's at 67. However, while the "Love Yourself" singer only has one Grammy Award, The Weeknd has two.

And finally, back to the topic at hand, after dating Gomez, Hailey Baldwin and Sofia Richie, the Biebs may have a few more famous exes than The Weeknd—who's only publicly dated Bella Hadid—but what matters is right now...and right now, The Weeknd has totally captured SelGo's heart!

Beyoncé Sued For $20 Million By The Estate Of Messy Mya Over 'Formation'

The estate of Anthony Barre, better known as Messy Mya, is suing Beyoncé for $20 million, claiming that the superstar lifted portions of Mya’s "Booking the Hoes From New Wildings" and “A 27 Piece Huh.” The suit claims that Beyoncé sampled Mya's voice and lyrics, including as "What happened at the New Orleans" and "B***h, I'm back by popular demand" for her song “Formation.” The estate states it has "received nothing…no acknowledgment, no credit no remuneration of any kind" and asserts that they attempted to reach out to Beyoncé and never heard back.

Barre's estate (primarily Mya’s sister) is suing Queen Bey for royalties, and Sony Music and Jay Z are also named in the suit. Mya’s sister is also seeking proper credit “as a writer, composer, producer and performer" for her brother. New Orleans artist Messy Mya was known for his music and YouTube following before he was tragically murdered in 2010.

Listening to both the “Bookings” and “Formation” videos, it is fairly obvious that Mya’s voice kicks off “Formation,” and it will be hard for Beyoncé and her counsel to refute it. Beyoncé could be in big trouble if a judge determines that Mya’s lyrics and voice were used without permission. If so, Bey’s counsel might try to reach a settlement that includes remuneration and proper credit. Beyoncé might have thought that this was an homage to Mya, but the estate thinks otherwise.

It seems like it would be fairly easy, at a reasonable price, for Beyoncé to clear any Mya samples, so it remains to be seen what her legal position will be. If, as the lawsuit states, Beyoncé used the "voice, performance and words from his copyrighted works to create the tone, mood, setting and location of the New Orleans-themed 'Formation' video and audio recordings," then Beyoncé might hope she had cleared the samples.

Since Beyoncé is sampling Mya's voice, she might argue fair use, noting that the song is making a "political statement," although that seems far-fetched. The "Formation" video starts off with images such as a car immersed in water evoking Hurricane Katrina and portrays other Southern (think Nola) settings throughout. "Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use." Beyoncé has profited greatly from the Grammy-nominated, chart-topping single, even if the video has political undertones, a judge might side with Barre's Estate if this case goes that far.

Jay Z won his "Big Pimpin'" sampling lawsuit a couple of years ago after an eight-year battle, but his wife's case does not look promising. If the estate's allegations against Beyoncé are correct, most legal maxims seem to side with the Barre’s estate.

Grammy Predictions 2017: Will Adele Win Record Of The Year Again?

For decades, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys was considered the biggest prize that a musician or band could earn. Some still consider that trophy the highest honor, though the Recording Academy seems to have shifted, replacing the top trophy with Record of the Year, which rewards the best track of the year, with what that means being somewhat up for interpretation. ROTY is supposed to be the biggest song of the year, the one that will define a given time period for decades to come, and something that was truly inescapable, but also good in a critical sense. There is always a struggle between what was a success on the charts versus tunes that might not have sold quite as well, but which are regarded as some of the best art to come around in years.

There are plenty of big songs this year that could fit in this category, and there is always a lot of mystery about which five (or six) songs Grammy voters think were bigger and better than the rest. Here are 10 tracks that have a pretty good chance of being included when the nominees are named in December.

Adele - “Hello”

The chart-topping smash cannot, and will not, be ignored. “Hello” debuted at No. 1 late last year, and it helped propel the singer’s album 25 to a massive start as well, as if the record needed any help. “Hello” has mass appeal, and it hits many of the same notes that she’s hit before, and those got her plenty of awards in the past. Adele won this category the last time she was nominated with “Rolling In The Deep,” and there’s a pretty good chance that she’ll repeat.

Beyoncé - “Formation”

The only top 10 hit off of Bey’s Lemonade, “Formation” is not just a popular song, it’s an anthem. The track has taken on a life of its own, and it would be criminal not to see Bey get a nomination for her effort on this momentous song. Having said that, while many might feel that this was one of the biggest and most important, songs of 2016, the politics that surround the track, its video and her performance of it at the Super Bowl might not make it a winner.

David Bowie - “Lazarus”

“Lazarus” is the only song on this list that wasn’t a massive hit, but that isn’t likely to hurt David Bowie’s chances too much. Just as he has a great chance of ending up a nominee in the Album of the Year category, he also probably has earned a spot here as well. It is also worth noting that the track is the legendary musician’s first top 40 hit since the late 80s, which has helped its visibility somewhat.

Drake - “One Dance (ft. WizKid and Kyla)”

Sure, the song is very well done, but even if it wasn’t, it is just too huge to ignore, as is the case with much of what Drake released this past year. “One Dance” is everything Grammy voters have been waiting for from Drake to be able to give him a trophy outside of the rap category, in that this song had mass appeal, it wasn’t offensive in any way, and it has an old-timey vibe and a beat that everybody can dance to. Also, the song ruled the Hot 100 for 10 nonconsecutive weeks, and it’s easily the biggest seller and the most-streamed song of 2016.

Justin Bieber - “Sorry”

The Canadian pop singer released a handful of tunes that are eligible for nomination, but there are really two that are sure to get the majority of the attention: “Sorry” and “Love Yourself.” Both went to No. 1 on the Hot 100, but they are incredibly different from one another. “Sorry” seems to have been the bigger track, and the one that just feels more like a Record of the Year, but it’s all up to which one he and his team decide to put their promotional efforts behind.

Justin Timberlake - “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”

The 26th song in U.S. history to debut at No. 1 is likely just too good for Grammy voters to pass up. It’s an uber-catchy, radio-ready, perfectly tailored for the public kind of song, and Timberlake pulls it off with ease. While it does sound a bit too structured and set up to be a smash, it’s exactly the sort of adult pop-leaning kind of music that often gets rewarded at the Grammys.

Lukas Graham - “7 Years”

Danish pop-rockers Lukas Graham (who are actually a band and not just one person, as the name would suggest) came out of nowhere this year to conquer the world with their breakout hit “7 Years,” which has all the makings of a perfect Grammy-nominated track. It might not end up collecting to the trophy, but this sort of easy-rock is sure to have stayed in the minds of voters since it began descending the charts.

Rihanna - “Work (ft. Drake)”

It’s arguably not one of Rihanna’s best in a long line of hit singles, but in 2016, “Work” was unavoidable, whether you liked it or not. The song came out of the gate with a bang early on, and it ended up controlling the singles tally for nine weeks. Nominating "Work" would be a great way to give a nod to two of the year’s biggest acts, Rihanna and Drake, in one of the big four categories.

Sia - “Cheap Thrills (ft. Sean Paul)”

Australian singer-songwriter Sia has been robbed and criminally ignored by the Recording Academy time and time again, and 2016 just has to be her year. One of the music industry’s most successful hitmakers has been nominated before, but she’s never won, which will hopefully change this time around. “Cheap Thrills” was her first single to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, and it’s noted as one of the better songs of the year. Is it Record of the Year material though?

Thomas Rhett - “Die A Happy Man”

“Die A Happy Man” is one of a handful of country smashes that could find themselves in the category, though it isn’t clear which one will beat out the others in the genre. Rhett’s biggest hit seems to be a frontrunner of all the country tunes, though nothing is certain. It’s also not entirely clear if the song is even eligible, as it appears to have been released just a few days before eligibility for the upcoming Grammys began, but there are ways around subtle technicalities like that.

Grammy Nominations: Adele, Beyoncé, Drake, Bieber And Lukas Graham Lead The Big 4 Categories

The nominees for the big four Grammy categories—Album, Record and Song of the Year, as well as the highly coveted Best New Artist—were announced just minutes ago live on CBS by none other than this year’s current reigning Best New Artist, Meghan Trainor. As expected, Adele and Beyoncé lead the pack of stars (and some newcomers) with nominations in three of the four big categories. The two both had albums that were eligible (25 and Lemonade) and their singles “Hello” and “Formation” both earned nominations for Record and Song of the Year.

Drake, Justin Bieber and breakout artist Lukas Graham worked their way into more than one category with smash hits and massively successful albums as well. Most of the nominations played out as many expected, with only a handful of surprises in the uppermost tier. Sturgill Simpson snuck into the Album of the Year vertical with his biggest title yet, A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, Mike Posner’s “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” earned a Song of the Year nod and alternative stars Twenty One Pilots sent their hit “Stressed Out” into the Record category.

The Best New Artist group is split between country and hip-hop, with a little dance thrown in as well. Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini are both from the country world, Anderson Paak and Chance The Rapper are representing hip-hop, while The Chainsmokers are one of the biggest names in EDM, and now pop, in the world.

Here is the full list of the nominees for the big four categories:

Album of the Year
Adele - 25

(Danger Mouse, Samuel Dixon, Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Ariel Rechtshaid, Shellback, The Smeezingtons & Ryan Tedder, producers; Julian Burg, Austen Jux Chandler, Cameron Craig, Samuel Dixon, Tom Elmhirst, Declan Gaffney, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jan Holzner, Michael Ilbert, Chris Kasych, Greg Kurstin, Charles Moniz, Liam Nolan, Alex Pasco, Mike Piersante, Ariel Rechtshaid, Rich Rich, Dave Schiffman & Matt Wiggins, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers

Beyoncé - Lemonade

(James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd & Jack White, featured artists; Vincent Berry II, Ben Billions, James Blake, BOOTS, Jonny Coffer, Dannyboystyles, Michael Dean, Alex Delicata, Diplo, Derek Dixie, Kevin Garrett, Diana Gordon, HazeBanga, Hit-Boy, Just Blaze, King Henry, Beyoncé Knowles, Ezra Koenig, Jeremy McDonald, MeLo-X, Mike Will Made-It, Pluss & Jack White, producers; Mike Dean, Jaycen Joshua, Greg Koller, Tony Maserati, Lester Mendoza, Vance Powell, Joshua V. Smith & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer)

Justin Bieber - Purpose

(Big Sean, Diplo, Halsey, Travis Scott & Skrillex, featured artists; The Audibles, Axident, Justin Bieber, Big Taste, Benny Blanco, Blood, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Scott "Scooter" Braun, Mike Dean, Diplo, Gladius, Nico Hartikainen, Mark "The Mogul" Jackson, Steve James, Ian Kirkpatrick, Maejor, MdL, Skrillex, Jeremy Snyder & @ S O U N D Z, producers; Simon Cohen, Diplo, Mark "Exit" Goodchild, Josh Gudwin, Jaycen Joshua, Manny Marroquin, Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Johannes Rassina, Gregg Rominiecki, Chris Sclafani, Skrillex, Dylan William & Andrew Wuepper, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers)

Drake - Views

(dvsn, Future, Kyla, PartyNextDoor, Rihanna & Wizkid, featured artists; Brian Alexander-Morgan, Axlfoliethc, Beat Bully, Boi-1Da, Cardo, Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee, Daxz, DJ Dahi, Frank Dukes, Maneesh, Murda Beatz, Nineteen85,
Ricci Riera, Allen Ritter, Noah "40" Shebib, Southside, Sevn Thomas, Jordan Ullman, Kanye West, Wizkid & Young Exclusive, producers; Noel Cadastre, Noel "Gadget" Campbell, Seth Firkins, David "Prep" Bijan Huges & Noah "40" Shebib, engineers/mixers; Chris Athens, mastering engineer)

Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide To Earth

(Sturgill Simpson, producer; Geoff Allan, David Ferguson & Sean Sullivan, engineers/mixers; Gavin Lurssen, mastering engineer)

2. Song of the Year
Adele - “Hello”

(Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters)

Beyoncé - “Formation”

(Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles & Michael L. Williams II, songwriters)

Lukas Graham - “7 Years”

(Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard & Morten Ristorp, songwriters)

Mike Posner - “I Took A Pill In Ibiza”

(Mike Posner, songwriter)

Justin Bieber - “Love Yourself”

(Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin & Ed Sheeran, songwriters)

3. Record of the Year
Adele - “Hello”

(Greg Kurstin, producer; Julian Burg, Tom Elmhirst, Greg Kurstin, Liam Nolan & Alex Pasco, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers)

Beyoncé - “Formation”

(Beyoncé Knowles, Mike Will Made-It & Pluss, producers; Jaycen Joshua & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer)

Lukas Graham - “7 Years”

(Future Animals & Pilo, producers; Delbert Bowers, Sebastian Fogh, Stefan Forrest & David LaBrel, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer)

Rihanna - “Work (ft. Drake)”

(Boi-1da, producer; Noel "Gadget" Campbell, Kuk Harrell, Manny Marroquin, Noah "40" Shebib & Marcos Tovar, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer)

(Mike Elizondo & Tyler Joseph, producers; Neal Avron & Adam Hawkins, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer)

Best New Artist
Anderson Paak

The Chainsmokers

Chance The Rapper

Kelsea Ballerini

Maren Morris.

Adele, Rihanna, Beyonce Headline Highest-Paid Grammy Nominees

Since the release of her album 1989 and its record-breaking tour, Taylor Swift has won a raft of awards and honors, taking a gaggle of Grammys and the title of World's Highest-Paid Musician. But now that she's in between album cycles, there's room for others to grab some glory.

Among all artists nominated for hardware at this year's 59th Grammy Awards, the highest-paid act is Adele, who pulled in $85million in 2016 on the strength of 25--a leading contender for Album of the Year--and the tour that followed; the British songstress has been pulling in an average of $3.8 million per city.

Rihanna takes the No. 2 spot, pulling in $75 million thanks to gaudy totals on the road ($1.6 million per tour stop) and remunerative endorsement deals (Puma, Samsung, Dior). She has been nominated for eight Grammys this year, tied with Drake for the second-most nods; the duo's "Work" is up for Record of the Year.

Beyoncé paced the field with nine Grammy nominations, but ranks No. 7 on the highest-paid list with a haul of $54 million. Look for that total to grow on next year's list, as much of her latest world tour occurred after the end of our scoring period for this year's list. As she once told FORBES: “I’ve never met anyone that works harder than me in my industry."

Gallery
Top-Paid Grammy Nominees 2017
 
An Inside Look At How 3 DIY Artists Became 2017 Grammy Nominees
Grammy Predictions 2017: Adele And Beyoncé Lead Pack Of Likely Nominees For....

The top-paid Grammy nominees list relies on figures from our 2016 ranking of the World’s Highest Paid Musicians, which measures pretax earnings from June 2015 through June 2016 before deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers (the official accounting of Grammy nominees can be found here).

Other highlights on our list include No. 4 Justin Bieber, who earned $56 million and four Grammy nods; he's up for two of the big four awards--Album of the Year (Purpose) and Song of the Year ("Love Yourself"). Same goes for Drake, also for Album of the Year (Views) and for Record of the Year ("Work"). He ranks No. 10 with $38.5 million.

Though the Grammys often honor projects that have enjoyed massive commercial success, big paydays and golden gramophones don't always go hand-in-hand. Of the 30 highest-paid musicians this year, only 10 earned at least one Grammy nomination. Sometimes running a business empire doesn't leave much time for making music; nor is it always relatable to younger crowds.

"The voices of hip-hop ... they’re speaking to an 18 year old," said Jay Z, who ranks No. 8 on our list with $53.5 million, but landed just one Grammy nomination--and hasn't put out an album in four years. "I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m just going to make the music I love to make and I’m going to mature with my music."

Justin Bieber New Album 2017: Is the Biebs Dropping a New Album This Year?

If you haven’t heard or seen Justin Bieber in the media these days, it’s perhaps because he has been busy working on a new album throughout the last part of 2016. While the Canadian pop star has been keeping information on his upcoming work on the down low, he has just announced new stadium dates across the world!

There might be a reason why we haven’t heard from Justin Bieber lately. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be getting into trouble with the law or dabbling in illicit behavior. But in all seriousness, many industry insiders are speculating that it’s because there is a Justin Bieber new album 2017 set to come out! Cue the screams.
Justin Bieber’s New Songs…But a New Album?

Back in February 2016, Bieber posted on Instagram of a couple of samples of music that hadn’t appeared on any previous Bieber album. One 15-second sound bite had him singing an unknown melody, accompanied by his guitar. This came in the wake of him posting three other music clips just two weeks previous to that same Instagram post. Many fans latched onto this for hope, but were unsure about his new music. Fans were left wondering, are Justin Bieber’s new songs just leftover tunes and b-sides from his 2015 album, Purpose? Or is he teasing us with potential new songs for the future, with all new material?
No one knows for sure. Sources have mentioned that he’s been in the studio during the final months of 2016 and that there are actually 8 new songs already in the can. But nothing about this has been commented on or confirmed. One thing’s for sure, fans are staying close to their social media feeds for any news of Justin Bieber songs 2017. Only time will tell what the Biebs has ready to unveil in the coming year.
A Tour Set in Stone

While the confirmation of Justin Bieber’s upcoming album is, well, unconfirmed, he has set his new tour dates in stone. Actually, it’s an extension of his existing tour from his last album, Purpose. During his recent appearance on Ellen, Bieber noted that he will be touring again in 2017. According to Bieber, this is just not some small extension of a typical some stars do to appease fans after an existing tour has ended. Bieber’s tour is a full-on stadium tour, with the entire spectacle fans have come to expect from Bieber’s live performances. The demands of Bieber’s global popularity have made large, sports venues practically necessary to house his performance spaces.

A side note: the dates of Bieber’s upcoming 2017 tour don’t start until August. Many fans are disappointed about having to wait such a time until they can get chance to see Justin Bieber live. However, given the scope of the venues he’ll be touring at, and the fact that he may be releasing his new album in 2017, it’d likely be good for fans to get their tickets ahead of time. Given the new hype around all of Justin Bieber’s upcoming musical activities, it’s good to get tickets as soon as possible! (It’s doubtful they’ll won’t sell out!)

Kendrick Lamar vs. J. Cole: The Best Rapper Alive

J. Cole vs. Kendrick Lamar: Who is the Greatest Rapper Alive?

Let's get something out of the way: I know Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are friendly collaborators, have no ill will against each other, and are probably never going to get into a good old fashioned rap feud, let alone a bonifide hip-hop battle. Additionally, I love both rappers, and don't necessarily prefer one over another most days. But hip-hop music and culture is about competition, and as two of the hottest young rappers making unique and beautiful music today, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are well positioned to be pitted against one another, head to head, in determining who is the Greatest Rapper Alive. So, reality aside, who takes the crown in this fantasy hip-hop battle royale, and why?

Kendrick and Cole: Similar Stories, Similar Credentials

While Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole have wildly different family backgrounds and personal histories (Compton vs. Fayetteville is a whole different article...) both have had similar relationships with the Rap game throughout their career. Both Kendrick and Cole started as underground MCs with impressive independent mix tape releases and dedicated indie followings, were co-signed by Rap legends (Dre and Jay, respectively) who vaulted them into the mainstream, and both were able to maintain a surprising amount of their indie credibility and fan base as they started producing music for a wider audience. Kendrick has a better reputation for consistency among hip-hop nerds, but with Cole's stellar new album "2014 Forest Hills Drive," the North Carolinian ROC rapper is finally receiving some well deserved critical acclaim. (Come to think of it, "Good Kidd, M.A.A.D. City was about Kendrick's hometown and growing up as well...) So, overall, both rappers have had impressive and similar career trajectories.

When you compare their rapping abilities, both MCs have similar credentials as well. Both are renowned story tellers who can deftly incorporate creative lyrics in to stellar narrative tracks. Both have multiple flows they employ well, and notably both can go HARD on tracks if they so choose, busting out aggressive styles that are energetic and unique (See "M.A.A.D. City" and "Firing Squad"-->). Their styles are not identical: Kendrick favors imagery where Cole favors punchlines, and Cole's flow is on average more laid back and accessible while Kendrick's is more complex and unexpected. But as far as the skills go, both rapers got em, and it would be hard to argue that one or the other was a better MC on a technical level.

Kendrick Lamar vs. J. Cole: The Politics of Rap

So if both rappers have so many things in common, how can we compare the two? Cole and Kendrick are undoubtedly two of the best cats rapping, but who takes the crown, and why?

Cole proved that he walks the walk when he visited the protests in Ferguson at their height earlier this year | Source
Back in the days of Public Enemy, before the Jay-z's and Snoop Dogg's of the world changed what sold in Rap, MCs were obsessed with an idea whose meaning has changed so much that it has become unrecognizable: "keeping it real." Starting in the mid 90's, "realness" became associated with being a criminal or "gangsta," but in the late 1980s and early 1990s "keeping it real" meant speaking on real things, and making sure your music had a real message to it. This "politics of rap" has faded a great deal in the mainstream, but there are still MCs who "keep it real" by speaking truth to power. J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are two such MCs. In judging who is the best alive then, I will be basing my comparison on a term as old as rap itself. Between Kendrick and Cole, who is the "realer" MC? Who is able to more meaningfully and interestingly comment on the the social and political issues of the day, and successfully incorporate the politics of rap into their music?
#Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole
While Cole has been much more public then ARTISTS & BANDS CONCERTS GENRES INDUSTRY INSTRUMENT & GEARLEARNING TO PLAYLISTS
Spinditty»Artists & Bands
Kendrick Lamar vs. J. Cole: The Best Rapper Alive,  the The Politics of Hip-hop

Kendrick Lamar (left) vs. Jay Cole (right). Who is the greatest MC alive?
A
J. Cole vs. Kendrick Lamar: Who is the Greatest Rapper Alive?
Police Brutality in J. Cole's "Be Free"

Before he released his newest album "2014 Forest Hill Drive," Cole dealt with the issue of police brutality head on in the online, non-album release of his incredible "Be Free." The song was penned as a direct response to the death of Michael Brown, and drips with emotion and raw power. No doubt about it, the track is as real as it gets.

When Cole performed "Be Free" on Letterman earlier this month, he took the emotion of the track to another level. His raw and passionate vocals, especially in his echoing chorus of "all we wanna do is take the chains off, all we wanna do is be free," portrays his emotional response beautifully. And then, when you don't think Cole can get any more emotive, he ends the track with a bridge that makes his voice crack and shake:

"Are we all alone, fighting on our own/ Please give me a chance, I don't wanna dance/ Somethings got me down, I will stand my ground/ Don't just stand around, don't just stand around"

Cole delivers the entire performance expertly and beautifully, and there is no doubt while watching him that Cole is most certainly a "real" artist. Some lines in the track are mediocre, especially when he breaks into rap mid song and declares oddly that he has "other s*** to think about, like my bank account." The line is likely meant to be self reflective and ironic, but it falls flat. Overall though, "black Free" is a stellar track and proves Cole is the definition of real.

Oppression in Kendrick Lamar's [Untitled] New Track (featured on Colbert)

Not to be outdone by anyone, King Kendrick appeared this week on The Colbert Report as Stephen Colbert's last musical guest ever and premiered an absolutely amazing as of yet untitled track which deals with the oppressed nature of African Americans in U.S. society very directly.

In typical Kendrick fashion, there are so many lines here that need dissecting and need to marinate for a while that it is hard to pass judgement on the MCs lyrics right away, but the immediate imagery that does shine through on my first dozen listens is incredibly powerful. While in a hypothetical conversation with a record executive, Kendrick asks the question, "What if I compromise?" and gets back "it don't even matter," making some commentary on how he as an artist is valued and treated. However, the song quickly becomes about more than Kendrick and the rap game, as he begins chanting "I will enjoy the fruits of my labor if I get free today." Finally, Kendrick asks "what does the black man say?" before entering a rousing chant of:

Tell em we don't die! Tell em we don't die! Tell em we don't die! We multiply!

At this turning point, it becomes obvious that, like on so many other brilliant Kendrick songs, his personal narrative journey has become a piece of commentary on a larger issue. With the obvious incantation of "we don't die" that Kendrick positions as a saying of "the black man," Lamar makes this track about Ferguson and police brutality and all of the things happening in the nation that need to be talked about. But he does it in a very different way than J. Cole.

Liberation of the Body vs. Liberation of the Mind

Cole's "Be Free," as well as a lot of his great commentary on "2014 Forest Hills Drive," is a visceral, emotional reaction to the unjust killings of Brown and others. It's power lies in the fact that it is a straight forward call for justice, for freedom from the kind of tyranny that results in dead minority kids and free police officers doing the killing. Cole is most concerned with a liberation of the body; of the freedom to live and breathe peacefully without getting shot by an agent of the system like Darren Wilson.

And Kendrick is concerned with this obvious travesty as well, as he echoes "tell em we don't die." However, he is concerned with much more: "we multiply" is a warning to the establishment, and to anyone who hopes that and the protests
Ferguson will simply fade in to obscurity. In his new untitled song on Colbert, as well as on his stellar single "I," Kendrick speaks profoundly about the liberation of the mind, about changing and shaping the nation's consciousness as both a means and an end to ensure.Kendrick is worried about the rise in police brutality in the nation, but he wants more than safety for the black youth he speaks to: we wants genuine freedom, and speaks about shaking off the chains not only of violent oppression but of psychological oppression as well.

King Kendrick reigns | Source
The Greatest Rapper Alive

By demonstrating a complexity far beyond what Cole puts forward, both as a lyrical complexity and a depth and nuance of message, Kendrick proves that he still deserves the crown. Despite not putting out a full album since 2012, Kendrick Lamar is still the realest rapper around, and is able to engage with the politics of rap in such an elegant and meaningful way that it will be hard for any other rapper to unseat him as long as his upcoming album meets the bar set by "I" and his new untitled track. Cole is a brilliant MC, and has a lot to say about Ferguson and police brutality, but he chooses to do so in a more direct and simplistic way. Where Cole delivers his message emotionally, Kendrick constructs a detailed and intellectual canvas that none the less isn't lacking for passion, and expertly handles the politics of rap and the social issues of the day. Kendrick Lamar has proven, yet again, that he is the realest MC putting out music, and the greatest rapper alive.

Do you agree?

Is Kendrick the Greatest Rapper Alive?

Yes! King Kendrick Reigns!
No! (Tell us who is better in the comments)