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De La Soul — Discography
It’s been a bitter-sweet historic year for the iconic De La Soul. Just before the imminent release of their discography to streaming services, David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur died at the age of 54.
Now, following this unspeakable tragedy, Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer and Vincent “Maseo” Mason forge forward with the DSP-release of the group’s beloved catalog.
After years of label and legal hurdles, De La’s first six albums are finally available across platforms. This includes lauded classics like 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, and Stakes Is High.
Maeso spoke about the bitter-sweet element of this moment during a recent interview with the New York Times. “We fought so hard and so long for it,” he says in the piece. “For him not to be here, it’s awkward; it hurts.”
Much the same, Posdnuos echoed those sentiments in a press release. “We are excited to finally have our full back catalog available on all streaming platforms,” he said. “At the same time, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our brother, Dave. His unique voice and talent will be missed, but his spirit will always live on through our music.”
Dreamville — Creed III Official Soundtrack
Dreamville acts as a bridge between music and movies as the J. Cole-led record label executive produces the Creed III soundtrack. Featuring a host of familiar faces, the imprint pieces together a project to accompany the new Michael B. Jordan film.
Cole World leads the team and he leads the way here as the solo star on the standout “Adonis Interlude (The Montage).” But he also steps to the side to allow his label mates and others to shine as well. Ari Lennox, JID, Bas, Cozz, Lute and Earthgang are among the collaborators. Elsewhere, outside forces like Big Sean and Kehlani lend a hand as well.
Upon release, Dreamville President Ibrahim Hamad celebrated the effort on Twitter. “The [label] got to work with [Michael B. Jordan] and his team on bringing they vision to life with music in the movie and helping them put the soundtrack together,” he said. “Shout out to Candace and Yadira for leading the charge.” This, of course, references Dreamville Studios President Candace Rodney and Yadira Espinal, Manager, Development at the company.
“Appreciative of all the artists, songwriters and producers who pulled up to the camp, wrote to scenes or hopped to feature,” Rodney wrote via Instagram.
Creed III follows Dreamville’s previous compilation projects like 2022’s D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape and 2019’s Revenge of the Dreamers III.
j-hope f. J. Cole — “on the street”
J. Cole is having a busy week. As noted, the rapper helped his Dreamville team executive produce the Creed III soundtrack (see above), but the work continues beyond the film and music with a one-two punch. In fact, he’s also teaming up with BTS’ j-hope for the K-Pop superstar’s newest single, “on the street.”
Up first, j-hope raps over the Pdogg-produced whistle-heavy cut. “Every time I walk, every time I run, every time I move, it’s always for us,” he says on the hook. “Every time I look, every time I love, every time I hope, it’s always for us.”
Next up, Jermaine Cole grapples with the idea of retirement in an internal tug-of-war. “I contemplate if I should wait to hand over the crown or stick around for a bit longer,” he ruminates before rhyming about his yearning for more. “I got a strange type of hunger / The more I eat, the more it gets stronger.”
Complex recently published a video of Cole and hope’s encounter at a music festival. “When I was young, I loved your mixtape Friday Night Lights,” j told Jermaine. “’Higher’ [was] my favorite [song].” Before agreeing to take a photo with a fellow global sensation, Cole shared his gratitude: “Thank you, man, I appreciate that.”
Nicki Minaj — “Red Ruby Da Sleaze”
Nicki Minaj says she is still on hiatus, but another side of her personality is here to fill that void. After dropping some teasers for the past week, Barbie unleashes her newest single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.”
The Young Money star delivers some of her signature wordplay throughout. “I’m alone like Post, though / Call Malone and tell him I’m going postal,” she raps on the Go Grizzly and Cheeze Beats-produced track, which pulls inspiration from Lumidee’s 2003 song “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh).”
Later on in the track, Minaj adds: “Guacamole with the taco, waitin’ on El Chapo / Came in the Rolls and left low in a Tahoe.”
Taking to Instagram, Nicki says: “Ghost writers all around the world are scrambling. Just watch. Nicki still on hiatus. This b!@ch right here tho? She outside.”
Despite that, this song doesn’t necessarily mean more music is on the way. Still, fans have been waiting on a new project for some time. This is in part thanks to Nicki’s interview with i-D back in September of last year. “In order for me to deliver the best music for my album – which is coming out soon – I have to tap back into the essence of hip-hop,” she said at the time.