Episode 96 starts off with the cast responding to their viral Dot Era/Drake clips on TikTok, as more people begin to realize that Kendrick Lamar’s post-beef GNX album is now widely referred to as the Dot Era. From there, a major discussion unfolds about Global Hip-Hop & R&B Superstars who currently qualifies and whether this level of global dominance and title can continue in the future given today’s musical landscape. For the purposes of this convo, a “Global Superstar” means someone with massive notoriety inside and outside of North America, consistent sales, sold-out arenas (or larger) across multiple continents, and true worldwide recognition to the average person. As “the Drake cast,” the crew also breaks down the recent dismissal of the defamation case vs UMG, shares their thoughts on Taylor Swift’s record-breaking 4 million first-week sales for The Life of a Showgirl, and debates whether Doechii’s drop in Spotify monthly listeners is odd or just normal side effects of music promotion. They also revisit Ticketmaster’s CEO claiming ticket prices “aren’t expensive enough,” then take a moment to pay respect to D’Angelo following his passing. The episode closes with a look at Timbaland’s AI experiment (which dropped the same day as the D’Angelo news) and a wild conversation sparked by Cam Newton asking women to list their past flings.

Episode 95 kicks off with a pledge from DJXP: each member of the pod must bring a project released within the last 365 days to highlight for listeners helping combat the algorithm that struggles to keep up with over one million songs uploaded to Spotify every week.

From there, the crew dives into Cardi B’s new album after finally hearing it (unlike the last episode when it had just dropped). They follow that with Doja Cat’s VIE, as DJXP gives his thoughts before everyone chimes in on Young Thug’s UY Scuti and YFN Lucci’s latest post-prison release. XP also breaks down Jeezy’s surprise mixtape Still Snowin’, which revisits his iconic sound alongside Don Cannon and DJ Toomp.

The conversation shifts to industry friendships/partnerships that turned sour and what types of friendships within it can come back and under what stipulations that can happen, before moving into Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl performance...the last halftime show under Jay-Z’s Roc Nation contract. The episode wraps up with Toronto topics: Vybz Kartel selling out two (now three) Scotiabank Arena dates via OVO promotion, and XP’s firsthand review of Druski’s controversial Toronto show, including what could have been handled better...You Might Wanna Sit Down 4 This.

Episode 94 begins with Trivelle asking his co-hosts why they didn’t attend the ever-popular and relevant TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), even though OShauN is a trained actor and DJXP is a “producer.”

The gang then dives into music topics, starting with Cardi B turning up the heat on her promotional campaign for her sophomore release Am I The Drama, which dropped on Friday (before recording). They also discuss portions of her Gayle interview, including being pregnant for real this time and all the success she’s achieved with just one album. DJXP raises the point that with 2–3 mixtapes prior, the lines between albums and mixtapes can be blurred on technicalities. While verifying stats and discussing projects that felt album-esque though labeled as mixtapes, XP brings up the new Spotify global chart...which currently has only 4 hip-hop songs compared to 56 at this time last year.

The idea of all this happening during what some have called the “Dot Era” comes up, along with a comparison to Drake’s falling monthly numbers on Spotify. The gang shoots him some bail, offering reasons that aren’t necessarily nefarious. They then shift to how Drake still has a massive runway for promotion, leveraging multiple campaigns and collaborations to dominate across all facets of media and public consumption.

Following that, Trivelle recounts insights from What’s The Dirt’s Iceman 3 breakdown, suggesting that if even 70% of what’s claimed about Drake’s past three years being part of an elaborate plan is true, then Drake might be among the most brilliant minds in music. XP very briefly mentions Bieber’s Coachella headlining as the first done without traditional management (before it’s downplayed) and also briefly brings up NBA Youngboy’s tour, which OShauN and Trivelle then weigh in on.

After an awkward end to that segment, DJXP pivots to DaBaby’s controversial decision to use footage from a recent tragedy: Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska being stabbed by a deranged Black man while on her way home from work. DaBaby mixed actual footage from the three-week-old event with re-enactments, inserting himself as a hero saving her...sparking controversy. They toss the question to resident artist OShauN on whether he’d ever do something similar in his music. Debate arises around whether it was “too soon,” leading the hosts into a discussion of movies dramatizing tragedies and whether enough time usually passes between real-life calamities and Hollywood re-creations.

Trivelle shares anecdotes about watching racially traumatic films with his partner of a different race ...particularly 12 Years a Slave and the Jackie Robinson story...and questions whether Hollywood needs to continue retelling slavery stories or if that era has reached its peak.

XP then shows a clip of Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks) speaking at a music event in New York’s historic Tunnel venue, shedding light on why he felt typecast as Carlton despite having an upbringing far different from the character.

The episode closes with a conversation about father-son duo Larry Ellison and David Ellison, and their bid to take over the largest share of media.