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The Break Presents: Bankrol Hayden

Becoming a successful artist is difficult, and even more so when you have to face personal tragedy. Enter Modesto, Calif. rapper Bankrol Hayden, who faced a near-death experience before entering the rap game.

Rapping since he was an eighth grader, Hayden dropped his first song at 13 (“Modesto”) and kept working hard. Then in 2017, at 16 years old, Hayden nearly lost his life in a car accident in his hometown. The rapper was a in the backseat of a car when his friend crashed while under the influence of weed. The 16-year-old girl who was driving the car was charged with the murder of a mother and daughter in the other vehicle. The accident left Hayden badly injured, including a broken back, broken ribs and an injury to his small intestine.

Turning a tragedy into triumph, Hayden hit the studio in 2018, and recorded “29,” the title inspired by the date of the crash, Nov. 29, 2017. Though his injuries still hadn’t fully healed, Hayden dropped the song about the incident and started to experience real momentum. The song has 20 million Spotify streams and 7 million SoundCloud plays to date. “We was drivin’ hella fast, I woke up seeing nurses/Happened in a second, mind spinnin’ like a circus nigga/I’m in the back seat, how the fuck it’s my fault?/November 29th, almost died up on that asphalt,” he raps over a piano-driven beat.

Hayden’s true breakout song came out in 2019. “Brothers,” a Luh Kel-assisted track, finds the West Coast rhymer rapping about putting friends over the women that may come between that brotherhood. The subject matter, Hayden’s catchy chorus and sing-song delivery got him tons of streams, over 60 million on Spotify. “Costa Rica” came in 2020, and it’s moving even faster than “Brothers,” amassing 65 million plays on Spotify in considerably less time. He even teamed up with The Kid Laroi on the remix.

With a growing buzz, Hayden dropped his debut project, Pain Is Temporary, last Friday, and he is seeing better days. He’s grasping success after such a traumatic experience. Learn more about Bankrol Hayden in this week’s edition of The Break.

Age: 18

Hometown: Modesto, Calif.

I grew up listening to: “Kid Cudi was a big inspiration for me on music, and I used to go to record stores, and we would just rap on instrumentals and shit, but Kid Cudi was really who inspired me with my music, and still to this day that I’m here. His melodies, really how he talks about situations in real life and shit inspired me to do shit like that.”

My style’s been compared to: “[People say I look like] Lil Mosey, but when I went on tour with him, it ended all that. We can be locked in, and you feel me? But people who used to say that a lot, really him and then that’s pretty much it. I don’t really look like much artists.”

I’m going to blow up because: “Just, as an artist, it’s hard to always believe in yourself, but you got to, it’s just something that you have to be. As a rapper, you got to always believe that, and that’s something that I believe in strong, that I’m going to blow up, and yeah, just my music. I feel I’m coming different.”

What’s your most slept-on song, and why?: “Maybe ’29’ a little slept-on now, as time goes on and people forget about it and hear ‘Costa Rica’ and ‘Brothers’; but at the time I don’t really got a slept-on record, because I don’t got much records out, but when the project’s out, we’ll be able to tell. I feel like there’s a lot of slept-on records on the project that’s going to be fire, too, there’s a record called ‘School Girl,’ and I feel like a lot of people are going to connect to that could be a slept on record, in a good way.”

My standout records to date have been: “‘Costa Rica’ could go gold faster than ‘Brothers,’ it’s crazy. It’s picking up more speed every day. ‘Costa Rica’ is really big right now, and did amazing. We didn’t even think it was going to do that good. ‘Brothers’ is doing amazing, and same thing.”

My standout moments to date have been: “Being able to give back to my city was big for me, that’s something that I always wanted to do as a kid. Just being really, or getting just money off music was crazy, bro. Never thinking that. I was just in Malibu for the week, and I woke up and I just looked out the window, and I was playing my old, one of my first songs on YouTube, and I was just like, “Bro, that shit was so bad, how am I here?” So I don’t know, really, it’s all new.”

Most people don’t know: “I used to skateboard when I was little. That’s something I would be doing, but I don’t do it that much no more, and ever since I got hurt from the car crash, I can’t do too much. I don’t want to … Because my back and everything is still healing and messed up a little bit, so I can’t be wilding out like that.”

I’m going to be the next: “I’m going to be a superstar. When we met with a lot of the labels, that’s what I was trying to say, and to be a superstar, you going to have to do a lot of stuff. That’s why I’m putting out so much types of music.”

Follow Bankrol Hayden on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

“Brothers” featuring Luh Kel

“Costa Rica”

“Whatchu On Today” featuring Polo G

Pain Is Temporary

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Meek Mill Draws Mixed Reactions With Drill Take on Nico & Vinz’s “Am I Wrong”

Meek Mill has released a couple of songs that leaked online recently, giving fans a proper way to hear the tracks after they popped up over the weekend. “Philly Heathens” has been praised for its attention to street culture and youth affected by violence, but his other new album, “Am I Wrong,” has received a much more divided response.

“Philly Heathens” has been praised for its lyrics about street culture and the young people who get caught up in violence. “Am I Wrong,” however, takes a vastly different approach, remixing the song of the same name by Nico & Vinz as a drill centric interpolation.

“Am I Wrong” is now 12 years old, and its connection to the EDM sound of the time makes it especially recognizable to those who grew up with it. So Meek’s take is built on a familiar musical reference, but the response has been far from universally complimentary. A lot of the criticism has been directed at the hook. The production has also been called dated, but the track was leaked, which may explain its sound. But the strongest reactions have focused on Meek’s chorus vocals.

Some of the responses have been good, though. Some listeners felt the track was a throwback to the blog era, while others thought the criticism targeted almost entirely the hook, not the song as a whole. One Reddit commenter wrote that the track was good, but the chorus was bad, suggesting that Meek’s performance on the rest of the song was better than the reception to the hook may suggest.

The different reactions demonstrate the contrast between Meek’s two new leaks. “Philly Heathens” has resonated with audiences for its subject matter, while “Am I Wrong” has sparked discussion due to its interpolation and vocal approach.

Both songs are now officially available on YouTube so that fans can decide for themselves. The response to “Am I Wrong” shows how difficult it is to reinterpret a well known song, especially when a recognizable hook becomes the centerpiece of the new version

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Drake Joins Karol G in Houston for First Live Performance of “Ahi”

Drake made a surprise appearance in Houston this weekend, joining Karol G on stage for the first-ever live performance of their collaboration, “Ahi.”
The surprise appearance took place during Karol G’s show in Houston, where Drake jumped out from the bottom of the stage to perform the song with her. “Ahi” is the latest from Karol G’s project No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto, and the Houston show marked the first time the pair had performed the collaboration together on stage.

Drake made his entrance to a loud reception from the crowd. The rapper popped out from under the stage, bowed to Karol G, hugged her, and launched into their collaboration. With “Ahi,” the performance was not over. Drake stayed on stage and carried on with the set, performing “Janice STFU” and “One Dance” and giving the Houston crowd a long set from the Canadian rapper.

The collaboration also sparked speculation about Drake’s upcoming music. A rumor started that Karol G was one of the collaborators on the project, along with Molly Santana and Future, days before ICEMAN is expected to drop. Future and Molly Santana were among the names on the rumored list, and Future ended up on “Run To Atlanta.”

Drake’s Houston appearance comes as he continues to promote music outside the traditional album release cycle. He released FOMO, a visual YouTube project featuring visuals for several songs from Habibti and Maid Of Honor nearly two weeks ago. The project also featured a couple of unreleased songs, including new material with Yeat and new unreleased music with Don Toliver.

Drake and Don Toliver have also dropped a remix of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” The remix has recently sparked speculation about the artists after re uploaded visuals allegedly erased all footage of Langley.

But the Houston show shifted the focus back to Drake and Karol G. The surprise appearance turned the stop into the first live showcase of “Ahi” for the audience, while Drake’s renditions of “Janice STFU” and “One Dance” extended his surprise time onstage. It also gave fans their first chance to see the two artists perform their collaboration together, adding a live chapter to the release of “Ahi. “

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