Author: Rap Hooks

Gucci Mane has just about seen all sides of the rap game in his two decades-plus in the business. Guwop joined the Big Facts podcast on Thursday, during which he recalled apologizing to Drake following a 2013 outburst on Twitter.

The tirade included taking shots at Drake, but the 6 God accepted Gucci’s apology as they teamed up in 2016 when the Atlanta native got out of prison on tracks like “Both.”

“A lot of them people, I reach out to and said, ‘Hey, I’m sorry, I [was] going through something.’ Them folks like, ‘I forgive you, Gucci.’ Like, I said some bullsh– about Drake, text him some crazy. But I was going through an episode, so I kind of had to hit him back and be like, ‘I’m sorry about that. I was going through something.’ And he was like, ‘Man, you know we going to get past that. Brothers go through stuff.’ Bro it felt so good that people understood.”

He continued: “Some people don’t want to hear it… But a lot of people [were] like, ‘Man, we going to get past that. It ain’t no big deal.’ I’m appreciative of that.”

A decade later, Gucci is extending that same grace he fought for to Young Thug. A leaked jail call found Thug allegedly calling Guwop “soft” for still being cool with Quality Control CEO Pierre “P” Thomas following allegations of snitching.

“Let’s say for instance, like, Young Thug said some stuff about me. He made a song, ‘I Miss My Dogs.’ … I immediately accepted the apology, because I done been there. And I wanted somebody to forgive me. It’s like a weight on you, you want somebody like, ‘Bro, it’s OK.’ … I forgive him.”

Gucci Mane clarified that he hasn’t seen Thug since the leaked jail calls or the release of Thugger’s “I Miss My Dogs” apology track, but everything will be cool between them.

The trap pioneer released his Episodes album to celebrate 10/17 Day on Friday (Oct. 17), which was preceded by the arrival of Gucci’s Episodes book earlier this week.

Watch the Gucci Mane interview below. Talk about Drake and Young Thug starts around 46 minutes.

Ace Frehley, the founding guitarist of KISS, died on Thursday (Oct. 16) at age 74, just seven weeks before the band is slated to receive a Kennedy Center Honor. That ceremony is set to tape on Dec. 7 and to air on CBS on Dec. 23.

Frehley will become only the third person to receive this honor posthumously, following two other group members who likewise died after the group’s awards were first announced: Glenn Frey of Eagles and Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead.

Ironically, for a cultural institution named after a slain president, the Kennedy Center has a policy that its honorees must be living.

Eagles were originally slated to receive the honor in December 2015, but Frey’s illness pushed the presentation back a year. Frey died in January 2016 at age 67 and the Kennedy Center included him when the group was honored that December.

Lesh died on Oct. 25, 2024 at age 84, just six weeks before the ceremony, where the group (including Lesh) was honored. The award also went to Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir, but lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia, who had died in 1995, was not honored.

In 2008, The Who became the first group to receive a Kennedy Center Honor, but only the two living members – Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey – were honored. The two members who had died – Keith Moon and John Entwistle – were not.

In 2012, Led Zeppelin became the second group to be honored, but again only the living members (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) were honored. There was no award for drummer John Bonham, who had died in 1980.

Even Maurice White, universally acknowledged as the mastermind behind Earth, Wind & Fire, was not included when that group was honored in 2019. The only members who were awarded were Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson.

KISS is only the seventh group to receive a Kennedy Center Honor. And the award to KISS, following last year’s award to Grateful Dead, marks the first time two groups have been honored in back-to-back years. The other groups to be honored are The Who (2008), Led Zeppelin (2012), Eagles (2016), Earth, Wind & Fire (2019) and U2 (2022).

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony is set to air on Tuesday, Dec. 23, from 8-10:30 p.m. ET/PT. In addition to KISS, this year’s recipients are Grammy-winning country music icon George Strait, Tony-winning stage and screen star Michael Crawford, Grammy-winning disco pioneer Gloria Gaynor and film icon Sylvester Stallone.

In announcing this year’s honorees on Aug. 13, President Trump said he would host the program. If he follows through on that, it will mark the first time an elected official, much less a president, has hosted the program.

Usher announced Thursday (Oct. 16) that he’s joining Chris Brown and Bryson Tiller on the remix of “It Depends,” out Friday.

Produced by RIOTUSA and Nico Baran, “It Depends” samples Usher’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Nice & Slow.”

Earlier this month, Brown brought out Usher, as well as Bow Wow and GloRilla, during the Atlanta stop of his Breezy Bowl XX Tour. “This [is] my motherf—ing brother for life,” Brown said after Usher performed “Superstar.” “I’m so happy to be sharing the same stage with him. I know me and [Bow Wow], earlier, we came up young. We came up looking at him, Michael Jackson, a couple other people. But ain’t too many people f—ing with this n—a, I’m just being real. He’s the greatest. My brother, I appreciate you.”

“Always an honor. Keep pushing the culture forward,” Usher wrote on TikTok while sharing footage from the show.

Usher and Brown have previously joined forces on 2014’s “New Flame,” also featuring Rick Ross; 2016’s “Back to Sleep REMIX,” also featuring ZAYN; and 2017’s “Party,” also featuring Gucci Mane.

“It Depends” became Brown’s 15th Rhythmic Airplay No. 1 three months after the single’s release, maintaining his standing as the act with the fourth-most rulers in the chart’s history. It’s also spent a second week atop Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.

Next month, Usher will be celebrated as the Legend of Live honoree at the 2025 Billboard Live Music Summit. Tickets are available at BillboardLiveMusicSummit.com.

See Usher and Brown’s announcement below.