Additionally, Haze spoke on her upcoming album, Dirty Gold, that’s apparently 60 percent done. Here’s hoping we get to hear some music from it sooner rather than later. [via]

My first reaction to these comments is that the rants, particularly the ones we cover, are indeed news-worthy. In the case of Kanye West, he’s done fewer interviews than pretty much anyone else in the music world these past few years. Thus, his onstage rants become “news” because they are the only means of trying to figure out exactly what he’s thinking, where he’s going, and what makes him tick these days.

Should we be so concerned with these topics? Maybe not, but when it comes to someone as huge and influential as Yeezy, it’s difficult to turn the other cheek. That is especially true when he tones down the frustration to announce that he has new music coming. To deem that not worthy of coverage would cause at least a quarter of our posts to fall into that category. Sure, those pieces tend to arrive with album artwork, release dates, track lists, guest feature and producer announcements, and other information, but, again, someone like Kanye will not (and doesn’t need to, really) reveal that type of information on anyone’s terms but his own.

Where the coverage of his onstage rants hits its breaking point resides in whether or not he’s saying anything new or interesting, relatively speaking. Do we (and like-minded sites) need to report on his thoughts about designer labels, for example? I say no, unless you write for a site that regularly writes about the fashion world. Similarly, do we really care what he has to say about MTV’s Hottest In The Game list? Yes, of course we do. Not only is he on the list this and every year, but, again, this is a case of him breaking his press silence to voice his opinion on a timely topic. It also further propels the discussion aspect of the news, as it will lead to comments from fervent readers saying they agree or disagree and why. This is where the line between music sites and message boards can be blurred, but why is that a problem? What’s the point of having a comments section if not to create and fuel a hopefully intelligent discussion? I understand that the comments too often cross the line into absurdity and hatred, but that’s the way of the world (no EWF).

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In related news, “Harlem Shake” just hit No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart.

The Daily Beast sat down with the breakout producer for his first interview since “Harlem Shake” became a thing/meme. Baauer was aware that Azealia wanted to do something with the beat and had expressed his desire to keep her track unreleased, which obviously didn’t happen. Both artists have expressed they admired each other’s work, and it’s a shame that their relationship went south following some unprofessional actions. Still, we have to give major props to Baauer and his camp for handling the situation diplomatically with such a loose cannon.

The fun news, though, is a new EP on the way from Baauer on LuckyMe. It’s got collaborations with Just Blaze, who he is currently wrapping up a tour with, as well as Aluna Francis from AlunaGeorge, who is getting some huge recognition for her new anthem with Disclosure. There are also some brief talks about a collaboration with A$AP Rocky and a forthcoming summer tour with RL Grime.

In the end, one of 2012′s most raucous singles has become the most unexpected viral smash of 2013 and the biggest track that Mad Decent has ever released. Everyone and their mother (literally) has heard of Baauer, and now he’s got a larger audience for whatever he brings next. Kudos to you, Baauer. [via]

It’s still floating around and remains on her Soundcloud page. And given her supreme lack of respect for producers—remember what happened with Munchi?—she’s continued to fire shots at other artists and pretty much anyone in general … using homophobic slurs. She’s also tried to justify it all by saying this: “It’s really time for a cultural shift. All these leftover old world social themes we’re all still trying to hold on to are BOOORRIIING.”

To sum up how we are feeling about this whole mess, we rounded up a collection of choice tweets on the situation. Enjoy.

Yesterday afternoon, Banks released her own version of Baauer’s track while stating that she was trying to clear the song for her debut, Broke With Expensive Taste. Seeing how she couldn’t accomplish that, Banks, who is a proud Harlemite, released her remix to the web. It wasn’t anything notable, to say the least, but it did catch the attention of Baauer, who had her track removed from Soundcloud. Upon seeing this, the ever-classy Banks fired shots at the producer on Twitter, because of course she did.

Here’s what happened after he simply said, “cause its [sic] not your song lol.”

Some of Baauer’s contemporaries then jumped in, leading Banks to begin spewing out the homophobic slurs…

Sigh. I know what you might be thinking, “Why are you giving her the attention she deserves?” I understand that, but I still firmly believe that idiots like this need to be put on blast. And, if nothing else, maybe Interscope (her label) will continue keeping tabs on her asshattery. When’s that album dropping again?