Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s finalized divorce agreement details custody of their daughters, asset division, and the financial terms behind their split. Continue reading…
The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
Month: January 2026
When Rascal Flatts recorded “What Hurts the Most” in 2006, they were searching for the perfect song to kick off a new era. From the first listen, it was a stand-out for them, but according to Jay DeMarcus, the band almost missed out on what would become one of the biggest hits of their career, as Keith Urban was in line to record the song first.
Sitting down with Audacy’s Katie Neal, DeMarcus explained that the song was brought to the band by producer Dann Huff as they began shaping what would become their iconic Me and My Gang album. It was first recorded by Mark Wills in 2003, but Huff was determined to give this track a chance to come to life in a new way. So after Keith Urban ultimately passed on it, the award-winning producer believed it was a perfect fit for Rascal Flatts.
“I think it was one of those moments we were looking for a big song to release first,” DeMarcus shared. “[Huff] said, ‘Look, this has been cut before.’ Mark Wills had cut it. He said, ‘But I’ve held onto it for Keith and Keith passed on it…And I feel like you guys could really, really do this song, do a great job with this song.’”
He recalls him and his bandmates Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney seeing the chorus Jeffrey Steele had written and thinking it was a “no-brainer.” It turned out following their gut instinct paid off because “What Hurts The Most” went on to become their fifth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, their first Top 10 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, and a No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Additionally, it earned two GRAMMY nominations.
“Throughout our careers, we’d always been really good about not being precious about songs we had written, we’d always let the best song win,” DeMarcus continued. “And this song just stood out as one of those pieces of music that was so far above everything else we had had held at that point…it just felt like one of those moments we’d captured some lightning in a bottle.”
Had Urban decide to record it, the song could have had an entirely different sound and feel to it, but Rascal Flatts’ soaring harmonies and emotional delivery gave it the kind of powerful vulnerability that would resonate with millions.
The song appeared on the Me and My Gang album alongside other landmark tracks like “Stand,” the title track, their cover of “Life Is A Highway” and “My Wish.”
“It was another Jeffrey Steele song. He was on fire at that time. I remember every time he would do a demo session, people were chomping at the bit to listen to the demos and hear what songs and what genius he’d come up with,” DeMarcus shared. “And that song was very personal for him. And you could certainly hear it through the demo. When he sang and delivered the vocal, you could tell there was so much emotion behind it. And I think our job was to try to recapture some of that magic and some of that emotion in the vocal delivery of what he had because it was so magical and so special hearing him sing it.”
He admits it was a “tough job” to try and replicate that immense passion, raw emotion and vulnerability within the lyrics that were inspired by Steele’s love for his youngest daughter.
“It’s just a testament to Gary too and what an incredible singer he is and how he’s able to digest something and make it his own and turn it into something so powerful.”
“What Hurts The Most” marked the first single from heir 2006 album while “My Wish” served as the fourth single. As a whole, the project remains an iconic project in their career. It was named the best-selling album and the best-selling country album of 2006 and went 4x platinum.
DeMarcus went on to recall the moment he realized just how big of an impact this collection really had made in the music world at the time.
“The whole ‘Me and My Gang’ record is kind of our Joshua tree. I think all the stars aligned came together…At the risk of sounding egotistical, that record that year sold more records than any other record in the world, six and a half million records. And we were sitting at the Grammys, and I never will forget during commercial break, Gary leaned over to me and he said, ‘Hey cuz, look at the people that we’re sitting in the room with. There’s Beyonce, there’s Jay-Z, there’s this Lady Gaga, Elton John.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I can’t believe this, man. We’re sitting in the same room.’ And he goes, ‘Now think about this. We sold more records than anybody out here this year.’”
“And that’s one of those memories that chokes me up because when you dream about being an artist, you hope you make it to the Grammys, you hope you have a hit song, but that’s one of the memories that I’ll always share with Gary that was uniquely our own just between the two of us.”
It’s safe to say that Rascal Flatts’ musical journey only continued to climb and flourish from that moment. Even to this day, fans continue to flock to their shows, and sing along to the songs that cemented their place as one of the genre’s most powerful vocal groups.
Last year, they returned to the road with the Life is a Highway Tour and are set to reunite with their supporting acts Chris Lane and Lauren Alaina in 2026 for even more dates. Kicking off on January 15 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the tour will make stops in Nashville, Chicago, Tampa, and more before wrapping up on February 28 in Buffalo, New York.
The post Jay DeMarcus Reveals Keith Urban Almost Recorded Rascal Flatts’ Iconic Hit, ‘What Hurts The Most’ appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Jelly Roll is undeniably a storyteller. But before he even opens his mouth to share the vulnerable stories of his life through song, people notice his face and the tattoos that offer a glimpse into his past world. Looking back, he says that the ink reflects the judgments and assumptions he’s faced throughout his life.
Now that he’s a mega country star and has lost nearly 300 pounds, it’s clear that Jelly Roll is not the same person he once was when he got a cross under his right eye, teardrops, the music man across his hairline and more while incarcerated. While many could see these pieces of artwork and think he’s trying to get attention, Jelly Roll sets the record straight saying, “It’s the polar opposite.”
He goes on to explain to Men’s Health, “The way shame sometimes shows itself is not always the way we expect it to be. We think shame is somebody in the streets on their knees, with their head down. But shame sometimes is pride. Sometimes shame is just bravado. Behind real bravado, I can normally find shame. I can normally find guilt. I can normally find insecurity. I was the biggest, the loudest, the toughest, the meanest, the growliest, the fattest. There’s normally deep inside of that a really, really small, insecure human. I was that, for sure. Then a by-product of that was I got fat as fu**.”
Even though the majority of these tattoos represent a lower point for him, the “Son of a Sinner” singer revealed that some lighter memories are also attached to them. During an appearance on Taste of Country Nights, he shared a story about when his daughter was in kindergarten and her friends were fascinated by his face art.
In a attempt to sheild them from the real stories behind the tattoos, he told them a white lie.
“When she was in kindergarten it was so funny because all of her little friends would go ‘What is all that stuff on your face?’” he recalled. “I would go ‘You won’t believe this, I only draw this on when I come see y’all so y’all are excited about it.’”
Eventually, the kids caught on and began to question how he was able to keep this up this routine so perfectly.
“Finally, they were like ‘how do you draw it on the same way every time?’ I said ‘I got the little sticker things now because I been coming so much.’”
Jelly Roll also started to noticed that some parents hesitated to let their kids over to his home, making judgments based solely on his tattoos. This was a small but real-life example of how the world has constantly made assumptions about the singer/songwriter based on his appearance.
With the new chapter he’s reached in his life and the commendable strides he has made along the way, the Tennessee native admits he’s considered removing some of the tattoos entirely. However, he also knows that every piece of ink he has is a part of his story and shows just how far he’s come.
These might be a look into his past, but his recent weight loss reveals the path he’s carving out for his future. His journey to this point hasn’t been easy. Because of the time and effort he’s put in, he’s dropped from over 500 pounds to nearly 250 as of January 2026.
At the start of his fight to reclaim his health, the singer/songwriter admittedly tried weight-loss medication for only two weeks before realizing that wasn’t the solution for him. So instead, he looked internally and started by trying to solve the problem from the inside out with the help of a therapist.
“Even before I got into getting my blood work done, I went and got mental health therapy about my overeating. I started treating my food addiction like what it was: an addiction. Why did I treat cocaine a certain way? I went to meetings for cocaine and found a sponsor and detoxed off of it and shit myself and went through real hard life-changing emotional choices to get off cocaine and codeine,” he says. “I didn’t look at the food addiction different. Once I started treating food like an addiction, it started changing everything for me. When I started really looking at the source of why I was eating. What was I eating for?”
From there, he did a blood panel which revealed he had “super high” insulin levels, abnormally low testosterone levels, and high cholesterol.
“The first couple of blood panels were like, how are you alive?” he shared with the magazine.
Jelly Roll decided he was done feeling “never-ending sadness” while being a “prisoner” in his own body. Every day tasks from going to the bathroom, to bathing, driving and more were a real struggle and he determined it was no way to live.
“Every decision I made in life had to be based on my weight. If it could hold me, facilitate me, or fit me—people don’t think about every facet of ‘I still want to be able to do that and I can’t.’ I was so inspired by that kind of stuff.”
Between hiring a chef and sports nutritionist named Ian Larios and focusing on his workout routine, Jelly Roll started to consistently lose between 9 and 15 pounds each month.
He has already come so far, but Jelly Roll’s story is far from finished. In fact, with his health getting under control and his music soaring to new heights, he’s proving that the past doesn’t define you and that change is possible, no matter where you start.
The post Jelly Roll Talks Face Tattoos, Weight Loss, and Reclaiming His Life appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have officially closed the chapter of their relationship after nearly two decades together. According to a new report from PEOPLE, their divorce has been finalized just three months after Kidman filed, due to irreconcilable differences. Despite their split, their co-parenting agreement reflects a shared commitment to their family.
On Tuesday, January 6, the pair of stars brought their divorce to a close with a court-approved settlement, which indicates that they have agreed to forgo any child or spousal support, with each responsible for their own legal costs.
Under the new arrangement, their daughters Faith, 15, and Sunday, 17, will continue to be brought up in a stable and loving environment, as both parents are expected to “behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced.”
Even though Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are no longer together, the agreement lays out a clear approach for how they intend to keep their family life as steady as possible
“They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent,” the agreement continues. “They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”
The girls will live primarily with their mother, the Babygirl actress, who will have them for the majority of the year, 306 days in total. Keith Urban will be allowed to spend 59 days out of the year with them, including every other weekend from Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Additionally, both parents intend to equally share the responsibility for important decisions affecting their daughters’ lives.
Faith and Sunday were most recently seen celebrating the new year alongside Kidman. The actress posted a photo of her and the girls to her Instagram story on Friday, January 2.
Word first spread about the couple’s separation back in September when TMZ reported that multiple sources with “direct knowledge” of their personal life, had informed the outlet that they had been living apart “since the beginning of summer.”
At the time of the original reports, the split was also believed to be one-sided, with sources claiming Kidman has been making an effort to try and salvage their marriage while Urban has already stepped away from their Nashville home.
“Keith has acquired his own residence in Nashville and has moved out of their family home,” a source told TMZ.
PEOPLE also confirmed this, sharing a statement that read, “She didn’t want this…She has been fighting to save the marriage.”
“She didn’t want this,” the source added. “She has been fighting to save the marriage.”
The country star and the the Oscar-winning actress tied the knot in June 2006 and went on to build a life together that included support each other in their careers and creating a family with their two teens.
The post Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Finalize Divorce, Reveal Co-Parenting Plan for Teen Daughters appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Is Garth Brooks gearing up for a major comeback in 2026? Fans are starting to think so.
In a New Year’s message shared on his website titled “New Year, New Music, New Tour. It’s All On the Table in 2026,” the country music icon offered some hints about what could be ahead this year, sparking excitement among his loyal fanbase.
Brooks made it clear that, at his core, the drive to create and perform hasn’t faded.
“I’m an artist, I HAVE to make music,” Brooks said in the post. “And I’m an entertainer, so I HAVE to take the music to the people.”
While his 2026 schedule is currently light, the few dates already on the calendar are significant. Brooks is set to return to Milwaukee’s American Family Insurance Amphitheater, marking his long-awaited comeback to Summerfest on June 16 and 17, 2026. The shows will bring one of country music’s most iconic performers back to a city that holds a special place in his touring history.
Just weeks later, Brooks will headline London’s Hyde Park on Saturday, June 27, 2026, joined by special guests Ashley McBryde and Zac Brown Band. The massive outdoor show is already shaping up to be one of the summer’s most talked-about events.
Beyond those confirmed performances, Brooks says the rest of the year remains wide open…and full of possibility.
“My bride is touring through the first half of the year,” he shared, referring to wife Trisha Yearwood. “Then we will see what may be waiting for us in the second half.”
With new music, more live shows, and even a full tour all on the table, Brooks’ comments have fans wondering if 2026 could mark the beginning of his next big chapter.
If Brooks does return to the road for a full-fledged tour, it would mark his first major trek since The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour, which ran from October 2018 through September 2022 and packed stadiums around the world.
As for new music, Brooks’ most recent album, Time Traveler, arrived in November 2023. The 10-song project features standout collaborations with Ronnie Dunn and Kelly Clarkson, further fueling speculation that more new material could be on the way.
The post Garth Brooks Hints at New Music and Possible Tour Plans for 2026 appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Mason Ramsey, who became an overnight viral sensation at just 11 years old after a video of him yodeling Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues” inside a Walmart took the internet by storm, is opening up with a major update on his career.
Now 19, Ramsey has broken a lengthy silence on social media to reconnect with fans and explain why he’s been absent in recent months. In a candid message, the singer revealed that he has been navigating a challenging period behind the scenes, marked by several major changes in his professional life.
According to Ramsey, the past few months included being dropped by his record label, as well as cutting ties with both his agent and manager, developments that ultimately led him to step back from the spotlight and reset as he figures out his next chapter.
“Hey y’all, happy new years! I took a much needed break from social media so I could get my business and head on straight,” Ramsey wrote. “I wanted to say thank you for the birthday wishes in November and all the Merry Christmas messages I got in December.”
He went on to share just how difficult the past year had been.
“Last year was one of the most difficult years of my life. My label dropped me, my agency left me and I had to part ways with my manager.”
Despite the setbacks, Ramsey assured fans that things are beginning to turn around and that new music is on the way.
“Since then I have brought on a whole new team and have been making music that I have never been more excited about,” he shared. “I can’t wait to share everything I’ve been working on and to get back on the road.”
In closing, Ramsey promised followers that he plans to be “a lot more active” on Instagram moving forward and encouraged fans to “say hi.” His account, which boasts more than 1.5 million followers, has been wiped clean and currently features only his latest career update.
The post has since been flooded with supportive comments from fans, many encouraging him to keep going and celebrating what appears to be a fresh start.
After first going viral, Ramsey appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, made his Grand Ole Opry debut, and later signed a record deal. He is best known for songs like “Before I Knew It” and “Twang.”
The post ‘Walmart Yodeling Kid’ Mason Ramsey Shares Major Career Update After ‘Difficult Year’ appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
Do You Still Love Me? Ella Mai poses that loaded question with the title of her forthcoming album. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has announced a Feb. 6 release date for her third LP, which is executive produced by her longtime collaborator Mustard.
Though listeners didn’t know it at the time, Mai offered the first preview of Do You Still Love Me? in December 2024, when “Little Things” was released as part of her 3 EP. The album campaign properly kicked into gear last summer with the release of “Tell Her.” Director Cole Santiago’s music video for the track followed in September; the clip visually referenced Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” as a way to communicate a key influence on Mai’s new material. More details on the 14-track Do You Still Love Me? will be released soon.
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Mai’s new chapter arrives following a brief stretch spent looking back. In December, the British R&B singer marked the 10th anniversary of her debut EP Troubled with her Did You Miss Me? tour, a series of concerts revisiting intimate venues where she took the stage early in her career. The six-night outing took her to London, Amsterdam, Paris, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to Christmas. She also celebrated the legacy of her early EPs TIME, CHANGE, and READY with a vinyl reissue under the title TIME. CHANGE. READY., bringing the projects back to physical media for the first time in years.
Mai is one of the most successful R&B singers of her generation. The London native has been a consistent hit-maker, landing nine Top 10 singles on the U.S. R&B chart, including the No. 1 hits “Boo’d Up” and “Trip.” With “Boo’d Up,” she won Best R&B Song and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards. She’s also been honored with Billboard Music Awards, BET Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, and more.
Shop Ella Mai’s music on vinyl and CD here.
Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music
Tsu Surf is scheduled for release from federal prison on February 16, 2026, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.
The Newark battle rapper, born Rahjon Cox, has been serving a five-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
His scheduled release date represents the culmination of a legal saga that began with a 2022 RICO indictment targeting alleged members of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips.
Surf was sentenced in 2023 by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton. The judge also imposed three years of supervised release and a $15,000 fine as part of his punishment. The charges stemmed from prosecutors’ allegations that Surf was an active member of the Silverbacc Gorillas (SBG) set within the larger Crips organization.
Originally, federal prosecutors sought up to 30 years in prison, 20 for racketeering conspiracy and 10 for the firearm charge, along with a combined $500,000 in fines.
However, Surf’s April 2023 guilty plea during a virtual hearing significantly reduced his potential sentencing exposure. By admitting to both the racketeering conspiracy and firearm possession charges, he avoided the possibility of decades behind bars.
The battle rap legend built his reputation through lyrical dexterity and memorable performances, establishing himself as one of the scene’s most respected competitors. His legal troubles created uncertainty about his future in the culture that made him famous.
While February 16, 2026, is his official release date, federal inmates may be released earlier through good-behavior credits or placement in halfway houses.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons maintains discretion over such decisions based on individual circumstances and institutional conduct.
AllHipHop
Lil Durk has spent more than four months in solitary confinement at MDC Los Angeles, locked in a small cell for 23 hours a day, as his legal team demands answers over what they call a lack of due process tied to an alleged contraband Apple Watch.
The rapper has been confined to the Segregated Housing Unit (SHU) since August 29, 2025, according to AllHipHop.com.
His attorneys filed a motion requesting a status hearing, arguing that he has been held “without process” in violation of federal regulations and possibly the Eighth Amendment, which prevents cruel and unusual punishment.
Durk’s lawyer, Christy O’Connor, says he has been in the SHU for 131 consecutive days, with no access to commissary, only one phone call per month, and no in-person visits.
“[Lil Durk] is confined to a very small jail cell, just large enough for a single bed, a toilet, and a sink,” O’Connor said. “The deleterious effects of extended solitary confinement on an inmate’s psychological well-being are well-documented.”
Despite the serious restriction, Lil Durk has not yet received the disciplinary review required under federal prison rules, which state that inmates must receive a Unit Discipline Committee review within five working days and may be entitled to a hearing before a Disciplinary Hearing Officer.
His attorneys argue that the Bureau of Prisons and MDC Los Angeles have offered conflicting justifications for his prolonged isolation.
In October, an MDC attorney reportedly said Durk’s celebrity status had nothing to do with his SHU placement. But in December, the Warden allegedly told defense counsel that the rap star posed a threat to the general public because of the high-profile nature of his case and potential rule violations.
Defense attorneys also claim Lil Durk had no behavioral issues during the 11 months he spent in general population before being moved to SHU.
The government’s stance on the Apple Watch accusation has also been described as inconsistent.
Officials say the SHU placement is unrelated to the FBI’s investigation or any charging decision, yet they also claim the Bureau of Prisons is waiting to begin disciplinary proceedings until after a charging decision is made.
Lil Durk’s attorneys cited research on the psychological damage caused by extended solitary confinement, including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and sensory issues.
The government has taken “no position” on the defense’s request for a status hearing.
Lil Durk is in federal custody after prosecutors charged him with murder for hire tied to a 2022 Los Angeles shooting that killed Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, the cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo. Authorities allege Durk helped plan and fund the attack as retaliation for the 2020 killing of King Von.
He was arrested in Florida in October 2024 and extradited to California.
Judges have denied bond, citing the seriousness of the charges and concerns about flight risk. Durk has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed as he awaits trial.
AllHipHop
Hip-Hop has been taught for decades, just not always in classrooms. The earliest “curriculum” was the basement, the sidewalk cipher, the radio and the DJ who decided you were worth spinning. Then the internet cracked the gates open. When AllHipHop launched in 1998, it helped define that early online wave, where discovery and debate moved at forum speed and where lyricists could be championed without a major label megaphone.
Fast-forward to today and the conversation has flipped: no gatekeepers, more noise and a real hunger for craft again. That’s where Mickey Factz comes in. He built Pendulum Ink as an online school centered on lyricism, plus the stuff artists usually learn the hard way, like business, content, and even mental health support. The Bronx wordsmith recently brought “The Art of the MC” into NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, stepping into a course previously taught by Black Thought. He and Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur discuss the education of rap and much more.
Factz and Jigsaw zoom out on the larger state of Hip-Hop, touching on the ongoing Jay-Z vs Nas GOAT debate and what longevity really means in 2026. Factz questioned whether any artist can permanently hold the crown without continuing to add to the canon, especially as Nas keeps releasing high-level work. And where does Drake fit into the conversation as the charts reflect a decline of sorts. Factz also spoke about Hip-Hop’s current fragmentation, citing gatekeepers, lack of mentorship and no clear torchbearer. Hip-Hop isn’t lacking talent, it’s lacking structure, discipline and more. Check the full video interview below, along with an edited Q&A.
Mickey Factz: Yeah, yeah, it’s Mickey Factz, Dean of Pendulum Inc. The goat of lyric breakdowns. And I’m here with one of the originators of the internet wave for Hip-Hop, exclusively AllHipHop.com. Keep it locked.
AllHipHop: What’s going on world, it’s AllHipHop in the building at Oneworld Studios with a veteran, a legend. I’m a call you a Hip-Hop icon. An emcee. And now an educator.
Mickey Factz: Wow. Thank you, brother. Yes sir.
AllHipHop: I was on the train like, “Mickey Factz is teaching people how to rap.” And I had mixed emotions. Because I’m from the basement era. You studied tapes, wrote trash, threw it away, recorded, battled in front of the supermarket. Now we teaching that? Or are people skipping ahead?
Mickey: Everything you said is what every MC did. You were self-teaching. But every art form has teachers. There’s jazz classes, piano classes, art classes. There were no rap classes. I wanted to change that. And before I started, I asked my peers for the blessing.
AllHipHop: Who’d you ask?
Mickey: Black Thought. Lupe. Rest in Peace Chino XL. We had a lot of conversations. Through them, I felt like I had what I needed. Then once it rolled out, MCs started hitting me like, “Yo, I want to come teach at your school.” At first we reached out. Now they reach out to us.
AllHipHop: Give people Pendulum Inc in plain terms.
Mickey: It’s an online school for lyricism. Teaching MCs how to rhyme on beat better, how to write better. We have mental health group therapy sessions. We teach the business of music, how to create content. Electives too, like poetry for rappers, Hip-Hop history with Dart Adams. And we bring in a legendary guest MC every month. We’ve been operational four years. Most businesses fail after two. We still here.
AllHipHop: I’m going to ask you a messy one. What MC makes you cringe technically?
Mickey: I’m not saying “what works,” I’m talking technique. But everybody has nuances. The MCs who lean more on songwriting to appeal to the masses, they don’t always live in that super technical space. I’m not asking everybody to rap ultra technical, I just want content on point and at least a two-syllable multi. Somebody like Kid Cudi, talented songwriter, super successful, but his lyrical technique might not be the highest. That’s not a shot. It’s just not his focus.
AllHipHop: Break down what a “multi” is, because a lot of people hear it and don’t realize there’s a name for it.
Mickey: If I say, “What rhymes with space?” you say “ace.” Space/ace is one syllable. Two-syllable, “backspace.” Flat face, fat face, rat race. Three-syllable, “outer space.” The more syllables you stack, the more advanced the pattern gets.
AllHipHop: People forget Run-DMC. They kept it simple, right?
Mickey: Here and there, but listen. “There is none higher… they call me sire.” Sire/fire is two syllables. Shout out to Run-DMC.
AllHipHop: You said DMC came to the school?
Mickey: Yeah. Shout out to DMC. To me he was the MC’s MC.
AllHipHop: Let’s talk NYU. How did that even happen?
Mickey: I’m at lunch with Ray Daniels and I get a random text like, “Yo, this is Dan Charnas. I work at NYU. We’d love for you to be a professor.” I thought it was spam, so I let it sit. Then I checked LinkedIn, it was real. I called him and I got fast-tracked. The position was held by Black Thought previously, and his schedule couldn’t make it work, so they called me. I thought it’d be virtual. They said nah, in-person. I live in Atlanta now, so once I got it, I started booking flights once a week.
AllHipHop: How were the students? Did anybody give you a hard time?
Mickey: I love them, but they treated it like a show at first. Showing up 15, 20 minutes late. I’m like, “Yo, I’m flying in at 7:30am for a 10 to 1 class, y’all can be on time.” But it was love. I had people FaceTime in, Method Man showed love, Maeda Dawn showed love, and Corey Gunz was coming in. They’re in the Clive Davis Institute, so they get professors who were musicians, managers, attorneys. But not a rapper who’s lived the highs and lows and worked with people they actually listen to. It was eye-opening for all of us.
AllHipHop: I replay that whole Royce, Ransom, you, Lupe moment over and over. It might be the greatest thing that never happened. It felt like relationships got blown up, and the culture veered off a cliff.
Mickey: Everybody expected the rumble. Lupe and I were ready for whatever. We didn’t know who would jump in or if Royce would respond. We had conversations about strategy, even about dropping records if it got worthy. Lupe dropped freestyles every day for like a week just to show the time he was on. Then nothing really happened, so it dissipated.
AllHipHop: Let’s talk the state of Hip-Hop. I don’t feel that “young hungry” torch-passer like when Nas hit, or when Kendrick hit. Does that concern you?
Mickey: Yes and no. No, because this was inevitable. AllHipHop and Nah Right and 2 Dope Boys, y’all were pivotal. You were like the mutation of what the DJ was, getting music to the people. Now there’s no gatekeepers, no filter. Anybody can record and go viral tomorrow. That’s where we need some sort of filter again.
AllHipHop: Who are you listening to right now?
Mickey: My students at Pendulum Inc. I’m excited for Conway, excited for Nas, I listen to Graf, waiting on Saigon, waiting on new Thought, love Stove God, hoping Royce drops next year, more Lupe. And Ransom is breaking every rule. A DJ Premier album, then a Conductor album right after. That’s crazy.
AllHipHop: Is Jay-Z still the GOAT if he’s not dropping?
Mickey: He’s still a GOAT, but is he the GOAT? That’s between Jay and Nas. When Jay pops out with a verse, everything shuts down. But we need an album.
AllHipHop: I’ve concluded we might need Drake. Where you at with him?
Mickey: Necessary evil, if you want to phrase it like that. Incredible songwriter. I think he should stay in that space. I don’t know if I want “guns and tough talk” Drake. “Nokia,” that’s Drake. That’s the pocket I want him in.
AllHipHop: Can a lyricist just be a lyricist now, without the movement behind them? The crew, the machine, the mentorship?
Mickey: Having a strong team helps push you to the next space. People want to see motion. Mentorship is missing. Cole might be the last one. Drake doesn’t have an MC under him, he’s got singers. Who’s Future’s MC? Who’s Big Sean’s MC? Even the elite pens don’t really have “the next.” How do we fix it? I’m not sure. I’m working on it.
AllHipHop: Last thing. Podcast rappers. It’s devolved into gossip.
Mickey: That’s where the money is, so people go where the money is. I like podcasts where we talk bars, songs, choruses, features, collaborations, cyphers, battles. I don’t care about who fought who or who dated who. At Pendulum, we stand on the art form. Game told me he hates press because it turns negative, he gave me 30 minutes. I told him we only talk bars. He stayed an hour and 15. That’s what time I’m on.
AllHipHop: Respect. And it’s a wrap.
AllHipHop