Taylor Swift x T-Pain

For a spin on Country singer Taylor Swift’s hit “Love Story,” Swift and king autotune, T-Pain, collab on what they call a banger, “Thug Story.” With Swift’s high top Nikes, Pain’s “Big Ass Chain,” and autotune in the pocket, the video is pure comedy as the duo claim to be official rap stars.

Now I understand Pain’s purpose to gain more publicity and possibly more downloads, but what does Swift get out of this? Fulfillment of becoming a rapper? Whatever the reasoning, the lyrics are pretty funny if you can get pass hearing Swift rapping in her pre-puberty Kid Bopz voice. Here are some of my favorite lyrics: 

“I’m so gangster you can find me baking cookies at night/ You out clubbing?/ Well I just made Caramel Delights.”

“You can call me T-Sweezy now I’m a rap star.”

“You don’t wanna fight me…in my extra small white tee.” 

The Jonas Brothers x Common

On their forthcoming album, Lies, Vines and Trying Times, the Jonases solicit help from the Chicago rapper Common for the song entitled “Don’t Charge Me For the Crime,” telling MTV they wanted a “rapper who has some real meaningful lyrics.” 

Although questionable in credibility—it is the virgin Jo Bros talking about robbing a bank—the track is pretty decent, straying from the expected teeny bopper anthem. It isn’t Linkin Park but the boys try their hand in something new. Whether a hit or miss, forget Arab money, they definitely will be getting Disney money for this one. 

Mariah Carey x Gucci Mane

On Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed” the songstress claims, “I need an MC” and apparently she found one—an underground rapper who has been killing the mixtape scene, Gucci Mane that is. It would be expected for Carey to choose a rapper known for going in on R&B remixes, Fabolous or Lil’ Wayne for instance, but instead she went to the “A” and brought the Trap Star to mainstream. The collab between the duo isn’t deafening but Gucci’s grunts and attempts to harmonize are. The song is bound to be played on every radio due to Mairah’s pop success on the charts, but it just proves her point, “You’re a mom and pop, I’m a corporation.” 

-Felicia Kelley

Earlier in the week, Young Jeezy dropped the diss track “24-23 [Kobe-LeBron]” (below) going at ATL’s new favorite trapmaster, Gucci Mane, and now tomorrow, the two may be forced to confront each other face-to-face in North Carolina at Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash megaconcert.

The feud’s been brewing for a while but it’s the first outright moment of hostility between the two since Gucci gained relevance outside of ATL and threatened Jeezy’s status as the premier niggorant coke rap aficionado.

The problem with this beef, unlike the 50/Ross battle and other manufactured skirmishes, is that it’s grounded in violence. After allegedly putting a ransom on Gucci’s chain because of a disagreement over the song “So Icy” back in ’05, Jeezy’s men then tried robbing Gucci. Gucci ended up killing one of the robbers, beating the charge on self-defense.

With both men’s career now taking off—Jeezy is now fully mainstream (peep the Belvedere ads) and Gucci is the ambassador of the streets down South—hopefully both cats have too much going for them to take the violent path if things escalate.

But continuing hostilities may claim one casualty—the ATL scene.

ATL rode to the forefront of the rap food chain the last few years by being a united front, save for the beef between T.I. and Luda that was kinda swept under the rug with the exception of one track, “Stomp.” Meanwhile, in NY, a new beef was taking shape virtually everyday that created a bunch of battle rappers who couldn’t produce a fun-loving hit song to save one’s career. Nas and Jay kicked it off. 50 took notes and beat down Ja. And then 50 went after everyone and everyone followed suit from there.

The South’s kinda lacking the right leadership with Gucci and Jeezy feuding. T.I.’s gone for a year. The rest of Grand Hustle has yet to grab hold of the mainstream. Luda’s off making movies. And who knows what the hell Three Stacks is up to.

ATL better hold it together. Or the shouts of DJ Khaled reppin’ the MIA could become even more omnipresent. And we know they ain’t they best—or the realest.

- Devin Chanda

Okay, so I know I’ve said on more than one occasion that Gucci Mane is, hands down, the worst freestyler on the planet, but his songs are so catchy I really can’t hate on his shenanigans. And his new song, “Dat Girl (I Think I Luv Her),” has made me forget all about those awful bars he laid down behind some dumpster one night.

Especially when it involves some girl rapping the lyric,

“Well my name is Suzy, and Gucci think i love him | That sucka think I’m loyal, but I fucks with all the hustlas | I be with all the ballas, I be in all the spots, I might be in the kitchen, nigga, cookin wit ya pops”

Come on. That shit is hysterical. And the beat isn’t bad either.

Anyway, a short synopsis:  Apparently after Gucci met a freaky girl, didn’t take her home to mama, got her name and her number, then some brain in the front seat of the Hummer, he also got sprung and fell in love with a ho. So she went from being the Freaky Girl to Dat Girl and, sadly, the joke was on Gucci the whole time. But he probably put a blunt to the wind and forgot all about it in a day or so.

Just like real life!

GUCCI MANE – “DAT GIRL (I THINK I LUV HER)”