[Saturday Spotlight] Jibba The Gent, Young Fresh, & Jak Knight

The pursuit of your passion is a long and endless road. Something that you’ve loved doing as a kid can turn into something you get paid to do every day. The key to making this happen is patience. When I’m going through submissions I see a lot of artists who have taken their time in crafting their music because they want their quality to stand out among the hundreds of artists that are vying for this post every week. On the opposite side there are the new artists who don’t understand that creating music is more than plugging a mic into a computer and spitting something they wrote down an hour ago. Think you’re making quality music to be showcased with our weekly series? Submit your music here.

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

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Jibba The Gent

What do we recognize Vermont for in pop culture? Not much, outside of a Cheerios commercial with a cute little girl naming the capital almost two decades ago. Jibba The Gent brings some friends along for his ‘Maple Syrup’ video as they tell us more about the landscape of the Hip-Hop scene in one of the country’s smallest states. As you can assume, there are haters just like everywhere but it’s the video, shot in a diner, that makes this song stand out for Jibba and his crew.

Young Fresh

I’m usually not a fan of the typical “ladies song” from artists because they come off way too commercial. Columbia, SC’s Young Fresh is an exception as the video is cool and the song, ‘Netflix & Chill’ is topical. Produced by The Block Symphony and featuring Steve Roxx on the chorus, this record is slow and will be a good add to your intimate playlists to get things started.

Jak Knight

I always appreciate when an artist shows off their past life or the places that made them the person they are today. North Carolina’s Jak Knight takes us back to where it all started while telling us about the journey to get to the point he is at now. It’s always great to hear of someone making out of their hometown that stifles them creatively and for Knight ‘Darrell Jr’ is his story.