Yasiin Bey To Debut First New Solo Material In Five Years This Month

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Yasiin Bey is set to return later this month with his first new solo material in half a decade.

The Brooklyn rap legend (who was formerly known as Mos Def) has announced that he will debut new music on December 15 via a livestreamed performance called Money Christmas.

The performance will be broadcast live on Bey’s Bandcamp page at 2 p.m. EST, with access to the livestream costing $7.99.

While further details about the new material remain under wraps for now, Money Christmas is accompanied by artwork designed by Spanish-Moroccan artist Anuar Khalifi.

Titled “Osanta Bin Lyin,” the painting adds to the Black Star MC’s bold political statements by depicting the late 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in a Santa Clause costume.

Much like previous projects, Money Christmas will not be released through traditional channels such as streaming services.

 

 

Instead, mastered audio tracks and a full video of his performance will be available to purchase on Bandcamp 24 to 48 hours after the livestream, along with accompanying merch.

The material will also be released on vinyl in the coming months.

While Money Christmas will end a drought of new solo music from Yasiin Bey, fortunately it doesn’t look like it will be followed by another dry spell.

According to a press release, the project is “the first of a number of upcoming releases intended to inextricably link the acquisition of music to the artwork and supporting video footage, creating a stronger and more creative bond with fans.”

Bey is no stranger to an unorthodox rollout having released his 2019 album Negus exclusively as a one-time listening experience in musuems around the world.

The eight-track, 28-minute project, which has yet to be made commercially available, sought to “acknowledge the importance of Hip Hop as a fundamental American art form […] without the distractions of technology.”

Similarly, Black Star’s 2022 LP No Fear of Time — the duo’s first full-length offering in over two decades — made its own statement on the value of art by being initially released exclusively through the podcast network Luminary (which hosted Bey, Talib Kweli and Dave Chappelle’s The Midnight Miracle show).

The Madlib-produced album was later released on physical formats earlier this year, with a portion of the proceeds going towards global relief efforts.

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Young Thug Appears To Diss "Rat" Gunna On New Song Snippet

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Young Thug is cooking up. The rapper has been hard at work since his release from jail, and it sounds like fans are about to reap the benefits. Thug has not put out any new music in the months since he was made a free man. He has, however, been teasing pieces of songs via social media. Thursday, January 2 proved to be a huge day for Young Thug fans. He treated fans to not one but two snippets of new songs. The first was a teaser of his Future and Lil Baby collab, "Dum, Dumb and Dumber." The second was an untitled song that came with a blatant diss.

Young Thug posted the second snippet to his Instagram. The rapper can be seen vibing out to the song, which features aggressive bars over a spaced-out instrumental. "Never associate with a rat," Thug raps. "Go and get some money, get a pack." He doesn't mention anybody by name, but the comment section quickly filled up with theories about Gunna. Young Thug and Gunna had a pretty high profile falling out, with many theorizing that Gunna snitched on his YSL boss. The snippet marks the first time Young Thug has spoken about "rats" since his release from jail.

Young Thug Claims To Not Associate With "Rats"

The rapper is not alone is his disdain for an unnamed "rat." Lil Baby, who will feature Young Thug on his new album, WHAM, expressed a similar sentiment during a Safe Place podcast appearance. He told Lil Yachty that he makes a point of not working with artists that he considers to be snitches. "It boils down to what we rapping about," Lil Baby explained. "We can't rap about that if you did that. If I was making Christmas music, then I don't give a damn what you did."

Interestingly enough, Gunna was one of the few artists Young Thug requested to work with after he was released from jail. Thugger's lawyer, Brian Steel, claimed Gunna was a "phenomenal artist" and that the duo "frequently perform music together." The lawyer also noted that Thugger and Gunna were obligated to work together from a contractual standpoint. This request makes the rapper's bar about "rats" a bit confusing. Either the rapper still feels a type of way about Gunna, or he's referring to someone else as a "rat" in his music. Time will tell.

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