swissman

I think part of it is she's not exactly making of-the-moment pop. It's surely quite mainstream and commercial, but it seems to be more conceptual and referential and textural than stuff like Espresso or Pink Pony Club or Driver's License or the retro vibe of Olivia Dean that keeps coming back.

are you trolling with this thread? this is the fourth time you are not using the meaning of your own words correctly. here, you are telling me you don't make the rules after scolding me for not following what you said this thread should be about.

Your logic is flawed here. If Heartbreaker is a Mariah Carey hit, presumably because it's her song and on her album and he's just the feature... ...then so too should Empire State of Mind be a Jay-Z hit as it's his song on his album and Alicia Keys is just the feature. Not to mention, you already named this song in the OP, why is it not allowed now?

But you said she's "literally the definiton of a local artist" which does not mean "she's local relative to other a-listers".

ANYWAY: Hard Knock Life went top twenty in many countries around the world (solo song) Empire State of Mind was a huge hit Holy Grail was a moderate hit Suit & Tie was a moderate hit Heartbreaker was a HUGE hit around the world Does that answer the question?

So Jay-Z, one of the most respected rappers of all time, is not a generational talent but a general celebrity? Famous for what, exactly? One could say now "famous for being Beyoncé's husband" but he was already a "celebrity", confined to rap or not, before they met, and that was because of his music, not for being attached to other talents.

Kylie Minogue is not the literal definition of local artist. "Local" literally means confined to a particular area, not areas. She may not be the most global, but she has had success all across Europe, in Oceania, and has considerable success in Japan. The fact that America doesn't care for her (she still has two top ten hits there), doesn't mean she's local. The only continents she has not toured are Africa and Antartica. She was touring Latin America just last year, 26 years into her supposedly "local" career.

what is the purpose of this thread if you're going to answer it yourself and also say that it's the only answer? like, you have the song and are claiming there are no more options, so what are we supposed to discuss? a weird attempt at shade, if that.

what a weird thing to sue for... you are worried that people will think Lady Gaga endorses your brand? and that's a thing you need money for?

Then the title of this thread should be: "Jay-Z gives Rihanna a compliment shading Kanye" not "Jay-Z gives Rihanna a backhanded compliment" they mean two entirely different things. and even then, since he used plural when referring to the type of person who is not loyal, one would expect that perhaps it's Kanye and others, not just Kanye.

lol

It would perhaps come across as arrogant if he only said "she rides hard for us" but "the way we ride for her" but he did say that, so this thread is kinda just making a big deal about nothing.

using her to shade someone else is still not a backhanded compliment if she's receiving none of that shade herself but all its praise.

No, that's not a backhanded compliment, which is positive words hiding negative inferences. for example: "you look really good today, what did you do differently?"

this is not "backhanded" at all. it's just not what you seem to want him to compliment her for.