THE WEEKND MODELS KANYE WEST’S ADIDAS COLLECTION FOR GQ

The Weeknd appears in GQ modeling clothes from Kanye West’s Adidas line.

The Weeknd, as we read during his NYTimes profile, is attempting to evolve and thus come out of his shell a bit more with his upcoming album Beauty Behind the Madness. We’ve already seen evidence of this, not only with the New York Times interview, but the singer’s recent appearance in a Vogue fashion spread alongside the cast of Empire.

Today The Weeknd locks in another photo spread with a major fashion magazine, this time men’s wear magazine GQ. The Toronto native previews Kanye West’s collection with Adidas while speaking briefly on his fame, his sound and more.

Read a few excerpts below, and peep the photos from the shoot above. Beauty Behind the Madness drops August 28th.

Please tell me the story of a pivotal moment while writing or recording this album. The first one that comes to mind is great.
I wrote a song with Ed Sheeran that was kind of spontaneous. He was hosting the Much Music Awards in Toronto and I invited him, and pretty much the entire awards show, to my condo to party. It went on until about 5 in the morning but we didn’t write the song until that next day, so you can imagine how that night went. Ed also did a freestyle battle with Waka Flocka in my kitchen. That was pretty dope. Good times.

Please tell a story about a breakthrough or “aha!” moment in the studio while working with Max Martin.
There were plenty of moments. In a span of like a month, we did so many songs. It was a learning experience for me. When you work with someone who has been doing it for as long as Max Martin you can’t help but learn. Max’s studio used to be Marilyn Monroe’s old house and I came up with the concept for a song called “In the Night” in her bedroom. That was pretty amazing. Unfortunately I couldn’t help but imagine Joe DiMaggio’s sperm everywhere on the floor.

At our fitting and photo shoot, you found a comfort zone with the Yeezy clothes pretty quickly. What did you like about them? Why do they work for you?
I really felt like he targeted someone like me. The camo, the army look, the black boots, the nonchalant kind of vagrant look. I relate to it. It relates to my story. Kanye is such a great friend of mine as well, when he asked me I couldn’t say no. It was the least I could do.

STREAM HBK SKIPPER’S NEW ALBUM, “THE THRILL”

Skipper enlists Kool John, Jay Ant, and Iamsu! for his new project, “The Thrill”.

Skipper has always been one of the most consistent members of HBK, but he’s generally operated just below the radar compared to the crews biggest names. His new project, The Thrill, could bring the rapper into the lanes of Iamsu and Sage The Gemini, as he continues to fine-tune his incredibly catchy brand of West Coast-infused rap.

Kool John, Jay Ant, CJ, and Dave Steezy, show up as features, while the and the aforementioned Su provides production among the likes of T-Scoob, Trauma Tone, and Shonuff.

The Thrill is available on iTunes now, but Skipper has made the project available on SoundCloud as well.

Stream it below.

Sony Will Not Pull Beyonce’s Music From TIDAL

Yesterday (May 29), in the midst of rumors of TIDAL’s swelling financial woes, reports circulated that Sony was considering pulling all of its music from the streaming service. The loss of all Sony-endorsed business would be crippling, no doubt, but Sony has the rights to one artist whose removal would be particular painful: Beyonce, the better half of TIDAL owner Jay Z.

Today, Sony has quickly responded to the rumors, denying them entirely. Sony Music CEO Doug Morris issued a public statement to Rolling Stone, voicing his continued support for Hov and TIDAL: “Jay Z is a friend and business associate for many years. I have always admired his business acumen, his entrepreneurship and his passion for music. All of our content, including Beyoncé, is available through the Tidal service, and we have announced no plans to remove our catalog from Tidal. Like all of our other partners, we are rooting for Jay and Tidal to succeed.”

Thus, it appears TIDAL users will continue to be first in line for whatever Queen Bey throws at us next.

Are y’all with team TIDAL?

Juicy J Rushed To Hospital In San Francisco

Juicy J was schedule to perform at The Fillmore in San Francisco last night but, before the show, the Memphis rapper began experiencing shortness of breath and was quickly rushed to the hospital.

He sent out an apology tweet to fans, asking them to pray for him and, today, we’ve gotten word from J that he’s doing okay. The doctor who saw Juice at San Francisco Memorial Hospital told the Taylor Gang co-boss he hasn’t been getting enough rest. When recovered, the Juiceman promises to finish “The Hustle Continues” tour and make up for his missed show in San Fran.

We wish Juicy J a speedy recovery.

Tyga Brings Underage Kylie Jenner To An 18+ Concert

This past Saturday, Tyga performed a show at Cal State Fullerton, and despite the fact that it was an 18-and-up show and organizers told T-Raww that the 17-year-old Kylie Jenner couldn’t attend, her brought her along anyway. The show was the university’s annual Spring Concert, and beforehand, the college specifically requested that he not bring his girlfriend, but that didn’t seem to matter to T-Raww.

He showed up an hour late, and perhaps because organizers couldn’t find a replacement, they let the rapper and Jenner in. That wasn’t the case back in November, when the couple faced a similar situation, but with stricter security, and Tyga decided to cancel the show because Jenner wasn’t allowed in.

Just wait until August 10, when Kylie turns 18, and all they’ll have to worry about is 21+ shows.

Drake Takes Over with OVO!

Once you reach a certain status in the rap game, there comes a time where you dedicate an entire summer to headlining music festivals. We’ve seenKanye West, and more recently, Outkast, take on this task, but in 2015, it’sDrake‘s turn.

Following two headlining sets at Coachella earlier in the month, Drizzy will be heading to Wirless, Governor’s Ball, his own OVO Fest, and now Landmark Festival in DC.

The Toronto rapper will be sharing the bill with The Strokes, alt-J, CHVRCHES, Band Of Horses, and more, but appears to be the only rap act announced so far.

The festival will take place September 26-27 in Washington D.C.’s West Potomac Park. Tickets are currently on sale.

Check out the full lineup in the gallery above.