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      Yeat’s Chart Topper and Rage Rap’s New Wave

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music“Lyfestyle,” the latest album from the 24-year-old rapper Yeat, recently debuted at the top of the Billboard album chart. It was the biggest success yet for an artist who’s been gaining popularity while studiously avoiding the spotlight, and whose music is legible to his most devoted fans and students, but maybe not far outside that tent.Yeat is one of the most visible exponents of this generation of rage rap — music that’s almost industrial in texture and inscrutable in lyrics, but inspires fervent fandom and dynamic live shows. (Others include Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely, both protégés of the Atlanta psych-punk star Playboi Carti.) This generation writ large is indebted to Future, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert and the rock-star hip-hop surrealists of the 2010s. And coming up now is a post-Yeat generation of genre-breakers including Nettspend, 2hollis, Lazer Dim 700 and more.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about how hip-hop’s splintering has helped popularize its less lyrical wings, how the pandemic was a boon for artists who wanted to lean in to personal mystery, and whether in a few years, all rap will be rage rap.Guest:Joe Coscarelli, The New York Times’s pop music reporterConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More

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      Young Thug Released After Guilty Plea in Lengthy YSL Case

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      The star Atlanta rapper admitted to six counts, including participating in criminal street gang activity, ending his role in the longest trial in Georgia history.The star Atlanta rapper Young Thug pleaded guilty to participating in criminal street gang activity in a dramatic courtroom scene on Thursday, bringing his starring role in the longest trial in Georgia history to an unexpected conclusion after bumpy witness testimony complicated the state’s prosecution.After hearing sentencing recommendations from both sides, the judge in the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, sentenced Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, to time served, plus 15 years of probation. He was released Thursday night, according to Fulton County jail records.Mr. Williams, 33, was matter-of-fact as he admitted to six counts, including possession of drugs and firearms, before turning contrite as he addressed the courtroom. Prosecutors had described him in opening statements 11 months ago as “King Slime,” the fearsome leader of a pack that terrorized the streets of Atlanta via gang warfare, robbery and drug dealing for nearly a decade as his music career took off.His guilty plea on Thursday followed a tense courtroom moment in which the judge asked Mr. Williams if he was ready to accept a non-negotiated plea, instead of a negotiated deal with prosecutors, because of an impasse over sentencing. Mr. Williams, looking stricken, conferred with his lawyers briefly before the judge called a recess to allow him to decide.In a non-negotiated plea, the judge is responsible for deciding the sentence based on recommendations from both sides.Upon returning, Mr. Williams said he would accept the blind plea; he also pleaded no contest to two additional counts, leading a criminal street gang and conspiracy to violate the RICO act, the state’s racketeering law.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Their Songs Blew Up on TikTok, So These Musicians Tweaked Their Sets

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      Social media platforms and streaming services are leading younger listeners to new (and old) music. Artists are making sure they feel at home at live shows.DJ Paul, a founder of the Oscar-winning Memphis hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, was enjoying some tequila at a pool party in the Hollywood Hills two years ago when a friend shoved a cellphone in front of him. The rapper was surprised to see TikTok videos uploaded by “young white girls” dancing and rhyming along to one of the coarser moments from “Half on a Sack,” a slightly menacing song the group released 17 years earlier. The lyrics described sex and drug use on a tour bus.“I’m like, ‘Whoa,’” he remembered in an interview, laughing. “And when I do my concerts, you see the same kind of girls out there singing that line. They go crazy.”Paul said that “Half on a Sack” had long been a staple of the group’s live set lists, but the crowd response has been more uproarious in the wake of its viral moment.The rapper Project Pat, who has been touring with Three 6 Mafia this year, said he regularly performed “Life We Live,” his 23-year-old song that’s been used in almost three million TikTok videos. It’s seen a 130 percent increase in Spotify streams, as well.Project Pat has seen “Life We Live,” a song he released in 2001, gain a new life on TikTok.Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic, via Getty Images“I always looked at the rap game as a business,” Pat said. “I didn’t never look at it like I’m putting my pain and all that” into the art. “If you gon’ pay for this, I’m gonna tell you what you want to hear,” he added in his distinctive Memphis accent.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      One Defendant Accepts a Plea Deal Amid Young Thug’s RICO Trial

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      Prosecutors have accused the star Atlanta rapper of leading a gang in the longest trial in Georgia history. The case has been further delayed by plea negotiations.A defendant in the racketeering and gang conspiracy case against the Atlanta rapper Young Thug and members of his YSL crew agreed to a plea deal in court on Tuesday.Five defendants including Young Thug — born Jeffery Williams — remain, as the case sits in limbo following a motion for a mistrial and a multiday pause stemming from an evidence mishap during witness testimony last week.Mr. Williams, 33, stands charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, and participation in criminal street gang activity, along with six counts related to the possession of weapons and controlled substances. He has pleaded not guilty. The sprawling trial, in which 28 men were initially charged, had already become the longest in Georgia’s history after extended logistical complications, recurring courtroom dramas, the removal of one judge, the appointment of another, and a jail stabbing. Jury selection for the case, which was first charged in May 2022, began in January 2023 and lasted some 10 months, with opening arguments having taken place last November.On Tuesday, after more than three days of trial delays as potential mid-trial deals were considered, the YSL defendant Quamarvious Nichols agreed to a negotiated guilty plea to one count, conspiracy to violate RICO. As a result, prosecutors said they would recommend a 20-year prison sentence, with seven served in person and the balance on probation.The judge overseeing the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, accepted the plea without the jury present, adjourning court for the remainder of the day. A lawyer for Mr. Williams did not respond to a request for comment regarding any ongoing plea negotiations.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      13 Scary Good Halloween Songs

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      Fill up your holiday playlist with spooky and satisfying tracks from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Sonics, Geto Boys and more.Karen O and Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (being watched … closely).Chad Batka for The New York TimesDear listeners,Hello from your guest playlister for the day — I’m Dave Renard, an editor on the Culture desk who writes about music occasionally and tries to keep his record collection from outgrowing its allotted shelf space (currently failing).Let’s just get this out of the way first: Halloween has the best music of any holiday and it’s not even close. Christmas may be the sales leader, but its canon is too tied to a tight list of classics and standards, and if you have the bad fortune to encounter a repetitive earworm like “The Little Drummer Boy” or (shudder) “The 12 Days of Christmas,” there goes your whole day. Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to throw on some soul music while you mash potatoes, but like most other holidays, it doesn’t have much of a musical tradition of its own. Fourth of July, we’ve got Galaxie 500 and what, Katy Perry? (My editor offers a star-spangled dissent, but I think the point stands.)Halloween, on the other hand, has a huge range of spooky sounds to draw from. (If you know the old joke about hell having all the good bands, it’s kind of like that.) My playlist strategy is to surround the typical novelty favorites like “Monster Mash” or “Ghostbusters” with a critical mass of songs that are, you know, actually good. I can only listen to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince do “A Nightmare on My Street” so many times before I start to lose it. If you think “Saw” is terrifying, try revealing to your teen daughter which songs drive you nuts and then — jump scare! — remembering she can control the sound system from her phone.A bigger pool of shared Halloween favorites makes that prospect less hair-raising. I lean heavily on black-clad ’80s punks, goths and post-punks, like the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, along with ’60s garage rockers and their descendants. But really any song with a creepy edge to it, or lyrics name-checking a wide range of October signifiers, will do the trick. Here are an unholy 13 selections to soundtrack All Hallows’ Eve.I’m a human fly and I don’t know why,DaveListen along while you read.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      DJ Clark Kent, Who Introduced Jay-Z to the Notorious B.I.G., Dies at 58

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      He was a producer and club D.J. who helped rappers find their voices and fortunes, and who later became known as a raconteur of hip-hop history.Antonio Franklin, known as DJ Clark Kent, a widely respected hip-hop insider for four decades who had influential relationships with many leading rappers, died on Thursday at his home in Greenbrook, a township in northern New Jersey. He was 58. The cause was colon cancer, his wife, Kesha (Vernon) Franklin, said.Mr. Franklin’s career followed the trajectory of hip-hop itself. He entered the scene just as it was taking shape, in New York in the 1980s, and he reached prime time when rap itself did, in the mid-90s. After being a club D.J. for years, he moved on to work as a producer and took jobs with Atlantic Records and Motown.In 1995, he produced a rap classic — and his first hit song — with “Player’s Anthem” by Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group formed by the Notorious B.I.G., who also appeared on the track. The song became a breakout single for the group and introduced Lil’ Kim to the international hip-hop audience.The next year, he produced three songs on Jay-Z’s debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” His most noteworthy contributions were to the song “Brooklyn’s Finest.” Mr. Franklin provided the vocals for the hook, and he suggested to Jay-Z and his manager, Damon Dash, that they include Notorious B.I.G. on the track. The two somewhat hesitantly agreed — without realizing that Mr. Franklin had already asked Notorious B.I.G. to wait downstairs. The collaboration took place instantly.That kind of behind-the-scenes orchestration was ordinary for Mr. Franklin. In 1998, he saw a young man who went by Shyne freestyling in a barbershop, then introduced him to Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, who signed him to a record deal on the spot.“I practically knew every rapper before they made their records,” Mr. Franklin told the pop culture publication Complex. “They wanted to be familiar with the D.J.s and what was happening in hip-hop. I was happening in hip-hop.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Lil Durk Is Accused of Conspiring to Kill a Rival. What We Know About the Case.

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      The rapper Lil Durk was arrested at the airport in Miami this week after he had been booked on flights to three international destinations, federal prosecutors said.The Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk was arrested on a federal charge near Miami International Airport on Thursday over accusations that he conspired to kill a rap rival, resulting in the fatal shooting of another person.Lil Durk put out a bounty on the life of another rapper, identified only as T.B. by prosecutors, as retaliation for the 2020 killing of the rapper King Von, a member of the hip-hop collective Only the Family, which Lil Durk founded, according to the federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.An F.B.I. affidavit also says that Lil Durk had been booked on at least three international flights that were leaving on Thursday — to Italy, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates — in an attempt to flee the United States.Lil Durk, 32, whose legal name is Durk Banks, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Friday. He remained in federal custody and was expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in the coming weeks, according to prosecutors. He was charged with conspiracy to use interstate facilities to commit murder for hire resulting in death.The news of his arrest comes weeks before the scheduled release of his new album, “Deep Thoughts,” on Nov. 22. Earlier this year, he won a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole.Representatives for Lil Durk had not responded to a request for comment.Here’s what we know about the case so far:Lil Durk is alleged to have co-conspirators.Lil Durk’s arrest comes on the heels of a recently unveiled federal indictment in Los Angeles charging five other men affiliated with Only the Family, or O.T.F., with the murder-for-hire plot, alleging that they conspired to “track, stalk, and attempt to kill” a rapper identified as T.B. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Empire: Winnowed, but Still Weighty

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      The music mogul’s business portfolio has shrunk, in part because of multiple sex abuse allegations, but his wealth remains a critical factor as his criminal case unfolds.In arguing to keep Sean Combs in jail until his trial on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, prosecutors have portrayed him as a lavishly wealthy, well-connected music mogul who would be well positioned to flee. In court papers, prosecutors cited media reporting that estimated his wealth at close to a billion dollars.But as Mr. Combs’s reputation has unraveled amid a wave of high-profile lawsuits and criminal charges, so has his business portfolio. Once a major brand ambassador and chairman of a media platform, he has been forced to withdraw from those roles. In June, several months before Mr. Combs was indicted, Forbes estimated his net worth at $400 million, down from $740 million in 2019.Mr. Combs’s fortune has been at the forefront of his public persona since the 1990s, when the success of his hip-hop and R&B label, Bad Boy Entertainment, meant he was known as much for his high-flying, champagne-popping lifestyle as the music he produced.One year ago, Mr. Combs, who is known as Diddy, was at the helm of an ever-growing portfolio: He was a record label founder, a liquor promoter, a cable TV and digital media chairman, a philanthropist and a fashion executive with a label called Sean John.Mr. Combs has gained prominence as a record label executive, a liquor promoter and the founder of a cable TV and digital media platform.From left: Theo Wargo/WireImage, via Getty Images; Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Revolt TV“He was a larger-than-life marketer,” said Dessie Brown Jr., an entertainment consultant who long viewed Mr. Combs as a model for building a career. “He always talked about being like a ringleader in a circus.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More