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Hit-Boy Reflects On Benny & Nipsey Hussle Crying In The Studio

Authenticity is an immeasurably important quality in hip-hop music, and often times that very realness translates directly into the music being made. And while this tends to make for the most memorable music, it’s not entirely commonplace for artists to practice what they preach. In the case of Benny The Butcher, who recently dropped off his new album Burden Of Proof, bringing his life’s story to the booth is an integral part of what drives him. It’s no wonder that making his latest project, crafted entirely with Hit-Boy, was enough to move the rapper to tears.

Hit-Boy himself took a moment to praise Benny’s vulnerability, revealing that he and Nipsey Hussle were the only artists he’s ever seen cry in the studio. “Only 2 artists cried in the stu while making a record with me in the last couple years,” he writes, taking to Twitter following the project’s big release. “Nipsey Hussle when he recorded the second verse on “racks in the middle” and Benny The Butcher on “thank god I made it” Real gangsta shit if you ask me. It’s spiritual at this point.”

As for the song in question, it’s no surprise that the subject matter covered in “Thank God I Made It” brought Benny to such an emotional place. “You made me the man I am today, I never told you,” he raps, in a powerful dedication to his mother. “Dressed me in hand me down ’cause you couldn’t afford Polo/ How it feel to see your two oldest boys’ names on logos?” As the opening verse closes, Benny pens a few bars for his late brother, whose presence can be felt moving forward. “I look in my nephew eyes and I see my brother,” he reflects. “Sometimes I gotta look away ’cause it hurt so much / how that ni**a died so young and he was worth so much?”

Be sure to support Benny The Butcher by streaming Burden Of Proof right here.

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Entertainment

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Just Swept The Emmys

Bad Bunny in Los Angeles, California, 2019

Photo: Glenn Francis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Bad Bunny is officially an Emmy winner — and not just once. At Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys, his Super Bowl LX Halftime Show swept every single category it was nominated in, all seven of them, making it the most-decorated nominee of the night.

The headline win was Outstanding Variety Special (Live), a category the show became only the third halftime show ever to claim. From there it just kept going: music direction, choreography, sound mixing, lighting design, technical direction and camerawork, and directing all went home with the Puerto Rican star’s team. There’s technically an eighth trophy with his name attached, too, though it won’t land in his hands — the “Saturday Night Live” episode he hosted last season separately won Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program.

The sweep is good news for Jay-Z as well. As an executive producer on the halftime show, he now has two Emmys to his name, having previously won for producing Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance in 2025 — the show that, until Saturday, held the record for most Emmys won by a Super Bowl performance.

Bad Bunny wasn’t the only one having a night. Sabrina Carpenter picked up her first Emmy as a performer and executive producer on “The Muppet Show,” edging out Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour | The Final Show” for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). The Billy Joel HBO miniseries “And So It Goes” won for sound mixing on a nonfiction program, and 50 Cent’s Diddy documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” took home picture editing honors. A big weekend for live spectacle, all around.

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Rod Wave Hints at NBA YoungBoy Stadium Tour as Fans Dream of Joint Run

Rod Wave has got hip hop fans excited after seemingly teasing a massive stadium tour with NBA YoungBoy. The idea came after DJ Akademiks said on Twitter that he wanted to see the two rappers work together on a tour or maybe even a collab project. NBA YoungBoy is overseas right now, but fans haven’t stopped wondering what a joint run between the two would look like.

Akademiks suggested the two should collaborate on an album or EP and called for a YB & Rod Wave tour. Rod Wave responded with a brief message that he’d already spoken with YoungBoy about taking the tour to stadiums. The response immediately sparked excitement about the two artists performing together. Over the years, Rod Wave and NBA YoungBoy have developed chemistry, with both artists building passionate, loyal fan bases in their corners of hip hop.

But a joint stadium tour would be logistically difficult. YoungBoy has left the United States, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the country for good, and he could still be away long enough for a major concert run. The prospect is especially tantalizing for fans, as major headlining artists rarely join forces for extensive joint tours. So if the plans do go through, a big run with Rod Wave and YoungBoy might be a moment for their audiences.

Such an endeavor could also be notable for Rod Wave with his experience with concert promotion. It’s said that his Mainstay Touring company booked his own shows and Ye’s SoFi Stadium concerts earlier this year. Another big opportunity for the company would be a longer concert series with YoungBoy.

YoungBoy’s recent “MASA” tour and accompanying documentary also show his ability to draw strong fan engagement and attention around a live project. But the potential stadium tour remains hypothetical. Rod Wave’s comment gives fans something to look forward to, but it doesn’t mention a formal joint tour announcement.

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