{"id":82438,"date":"2026-07-31T16:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:00:44","slug":"swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/","title":{"rendered":"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">Say What&#8217;s Real<\/span><br \/>Swae Lee gets candid about some of music\u2019s hottest topics, from AI\u2019s impact on creativity to Drake\u2019s recent three-album drop.<br \/><em>Words:\u00a0Peter A. Berry<\/em><br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Editor\u2019s Note: This story appears in the\u00a0Summer 2026 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands\u00a0now and available for sale on the XXL website.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If hip-hop had a Hookman of the Year award, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/swae-lee\/\" target=\"_blank\">Swae Lee<\/a> would have at least a few trophies.<br \/>Since emerging with Rae Sremmurd 12 years ago, the 33-year-old Tupelo, Miss. native has often been at the center of the rap zeitgeist\u2019s most indelible hits.<\/p>\n<p>Beginning with Rae Sremmurd\u2019s \u201cNo Flex Zone\u201d in 2014, he\u2019s used his wispy tenor to deliver choruses that can be exhilarating or sexy. Combining his own vocals with his brother Slim Jxmmi\u2019s raspy, high-energy raps, Rae Sremmurd landed singles like \u201cNo Type,\u201d \u201cThrow Sum Mo,\u201d \u201cPowerglide\u201d and \u201cSwang\u201d on the Billboard Hot 100 top 30 and playlists everywhere. Their 2016 single, \u201cBlack Beatles,\u201d peaked at No. 1.<\/p>\n<p>As a solo artist, he mirrored that success, collecting multiplatinum plaques for tracks like \u201cSunflower\u201d with Post Malone and \u201cUnforgettable,\u201d as a guest spot with French Montana. Swae had accomplished enough by the end of the 2010s, but he\u2019s remained productive since then.<\/p>\n<p>This past April, three years after Rae Sremmurd released <em>Sremm 4 Life<\/em>, he began the latest chapter of his career with <em>Same Difference<\/em>, an album that marks his second solo project. His first was <em>Swaecation<\/em>, released as part of Rae Sremmurd\u2019s triple LP, <em>SR3MM<\/em>, eight years ago. The rapper recorded over 10,000 songs, so he\u2019s got plans to overflow the market and hit the road for a tour in the months to come.<\/p>\n<p>Swae Lee usually lets the music do the talking. This time, he sounds off on eight hot-button topics.<\/p>\n<h3>Rap Groups Diminishing in 2026<\/h3>\n<p>A lot of it is people want to do it themselves, and people might not see your vision. When you trying to convince somebody like, \u201cBro, we can do this. I do this part; you do that part. We can take it all the way to the moon,\u201d one person might see the vision and one person might not see the vision. [They] might not even believe in themselves like that.<\/p>\n<p>You never know people\u2019s motives. So sometimes, you just got to put it on your back and just carry it all the way up the mountain. But anytime you have a collective of people that want to do it together and just take the sh*t to the moon and put all their feelings to the side and just be unconditionally there for each other, that sh*t can really go. You got that much more of a chance of even making it as everybody know [their] role.<\/p>\n<h3>Using AI in Music<\/h3>\n<p>I think it\u2019s the world as we know it right now. So, right now we\u2019re looking at like, Oh, this is weird, this is weird. There\u2019s a 9-year-old kid growing up, and to him, all this is going to be normal. \u201cOh yeah, you can use AI to make a beat? Let me learn how to do this.\u201d \u201cOh, you can use AI voices? Let me learn this.\u201d He\u2019s learning that normally as he comes up.<\/p>\n<p>This is just the next wave of where the world is at. So like it or not, ni**as got to get with it and figure out where it\u2019s going. I see where this sh*t is going. It\u2019s going to be AI voices and robots dancing, and this is an artist with a whole AI personality singing. They going to know his AI songs. We\u2019re getting just [closer] to a futuristic world that we used to see in the movies. So, there\u2019s going to be strip clubs, robot strippers, AI personalities.<\/p>\n<p>People need to just start capitalizing. We need to be the first ones opening these AI strip clubs. I might make a song and have a whole AI in the background, just sing my AI background vocals on every fourth bar. Muthaf**ka\u2019s so smart. Every fourth bar is going to come in [with] perfect vocals. The muthaf**kas don\u2019t make mistakes. [The] only people ain\u2019t going to be replaced really are cosmetology people.<\/p>\n<h3>Album Sales Used as the Marker for Success<\/h3>\n<p>They do[matter], but they don\u2019t. The vast majority of people want to just listen to it. They\u2019re not thinking, \u201cBut he sold 17,000.\u201d Of course, [for] those people that are really into it, it could be a blemish on somebody\u2019s image.<\/p>\n<p>But then guess what? Ni**a, we shooting again, again, again, again. No matter what, man, we keep it coming, and you just do the best. You push that sh*t. You got to put that muscle behind that sh*t. The people that\u2019s supposed to love it, they going to love it. And the people it\u2019s supposed to reach is going to reach. Boom. Next one, ni**a, you might go to the moon with that sh*t. It\u2019s like you keep digging for them diamonds.<\/p>\n<p>Once the project is out, they can always go back and catch up to it. So, it\u2019s fair. And I look at it like a lot of songs, even in my career, they took six months to blow up. So, they ain\u2019t blow up \u2019til way later. And I\u2019m like, man, I ain\u2019t even worried about this song no more, and it blow up. It\u2019s just like, what the f**k?<\/p>\n<h3>Drake Releasing Three Albums Simultaneously<\/h3>\n<p>For [an artist] as big as Drake, that was smart as f**k. That was hard. And I don\u2019t really think nobody did that before that sh*t. And when you that caliber artist, these people [are] really fans of you. I don\u2019t think a true fan is not going to say anything is too much music. That\u2019s a feast for you. Imagine if that was food. You getting three f**king courses at a restaurant you love. Drake is a restaurant they love. They not going to turn it down, all this music.<\/p>\n<p>If I was a fan of somebody, I would love that. \u201cDamn, this ni**a just gave us three albums.\u201d I been waiting on one album and you getting three albums. Are you really a fan if you get mad about that? It\u2019s going to be copycats. There\u2019s going to be people who might even drop four [albums] saying, \u201cOh, drop four.\u201d But you never know how it\u2019s going to go. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n<h3>Toxic Behavior on Social Media<\/h3>\n<p>[You] can\u2019t really take it to heart. You got to realize, man, the muthaf**ka that might have typed some negative sh*t about you could be a fat slob who never got no pussy. So, these the type ni**as that\u2019s writing this sh*t so openly, too. \u201cOh, this music sucks.\u201d \u201cF**k him. He\u2019s a bad person.\u201d Muthaf**ka, you got to put a camera on the person that wrote that sh*t. Nine times out of 10, it\u2019s going to be the worst kind of person you ever seen. The people that you don\u2019t see in the streets, it\u2019s going to be the people, the creeps.<\/p>\n<p>So, you got to know 80, 90 percent of the negativity on the internet is people like that. People with no lives. For the most part, the sh*t that\u2019s happening is big, huge topics every week, just switching up the talking points that people have. Whether it\u2019s celebrity drama, f**king wars, shootings, whatever it is. F**king people getting married. So-and-so dropping the album, it\u2019s so much sh*t that\u2019s just taking people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n<p>You can just keep rebranding yourself. You can drop a positive headline about yourself. You can control your narrative on social media. That\u2019s the thing, too. You can pay the blogs to say, if I wanted to right now, I could say, \u201cSwae Lee working on 32-song [album] with features from Michael Jackson, reportedly.\u201d So, I think social media is a tool and definitely play into it.<\/p>\n<h3>Artists Getting the Bag in a Recession<\/h3>\n<p>You can do f**king birthday parties, whatever the f**k you got to do. Streaming. Really, you need to get them shows. That\u2019s what you got to get. That\u2019s going to get you that money in your pocket. Hundred bands, 200 bands. You set.<\/p>\n<p>Once you getting them shows and tours, festivals, you just have to have your brand right. Brand deals, your Walmart sh*t. You can really keep the sh*t going. [If you\u2019re a] small-time artist, [it\u2019s] club appearances, schools, getting little bookings at pep rallies and stuff. You can get out there and sell CDs if you need to.<\/p>\n<p>Learn how to get your sales pitches. Boom. Instagram, of course you got Instagram Live. You can stream. They got streaming now. You can just do that on the side. Set that up while you try to blow up on your rap sh*t. Make the fans make it normalized with your brand so you streaming and rapping. \u201cOK, this is the new artist. He\u2019s streaming and rapping.\u201d Boom. [You\u2019re] making money on streaming. Instagram, TikTok Lives\u2014make money off that. You can make minimum wage streaming if you get some minimum motion.<\/p>\n<h3>Breaks Between Releases<\/h3>\n<p>I don\u2019t think you should take breaks. Everybody should do what\u2019s right for them, but<br \/>I think the more you feed them, the better. And we only getting older. Keep them fed and just keep showing them what you working on. I think that\u2019s always better. Depending on what your label situation is, too, you never know. Sometimes, artists can\u2019t even drop until [after] six months.<\/p>\n<p>I think I had some sh*t where I could only drop every six months. But where I\u2019m at right now, I want to just lock in and drop every f**king month. It is an oversaturated market. So, everybody\u2019s dropping, new artists [are] emerging. People want to try to be an artist. [I] think you just drop more [frequently], for sure.<\/p>\n<h3>Lacking Privacy in a World of Oversharing<\/h3>\n<p>I be feeling like I don\u2019t never really bring them [the fans] a lot in my lifestyle or in my life. My sh*t be like a movie every day. Something crazy happening every day. But with me, I just try to give them music, but I feel like it can definitely be healthy for an artist-fan relationship. Just bring them into your personal life, let them know you more. But also, keeping them music-focused and just giving them what they really love.<\/p>\n<p>Then, what they see naturally from fans or from me moving around the streets, that\u2019s fire, too. Just keep up with me if you really want to know me on a personal level. I\u2019m going to always make time to give them personal moments, and when they see me in their city, I f**k with them.<\/p>\n<p><em>The\u00a02026 XXL Freshman\u00a0issue is available to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.xxlmag.com\/products\/xxl-magazine-freshman-class-2026-issue\" target=\"_blank\">purchase here now<\/a>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.xxlmag.com\/products\/xxl-magazine-freshman-class-2026-cover-short-sleeve-t-shirt\" target=\"_blank\">merch<\/a>. In addition to interviews with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/freshman\/\" target=\"_blank\">2026\u00a0XXL\u00a0Freshman Class<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/dj-drama\/\" target=\"_blank\">DJ Drama<\/a>, there are also conversations with T.I., Sexyy Red, Young M.A, Cash Cobain, Skilla Baby, Lil Tjay, high-profile defense attorney Brian Steel, singer-songwriter Odeal and more, plus a look back at what the 2025\u00a0XXL\u00a0Freshman Class has been doing and\u00a0explore the cultural impact of the 2016\u00a0XXL\u00a0Freshman Class and where its members are today.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">See 2026 <em>XXL<\/em> Freshman Class<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/rest\/carbon\/api\/scripts.js?mver=626&#038;gver=10&#038;bid=812&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fbtloader.com%2Ftag%3Fo%3D5642230212591616%26upapi%3Dtrue&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.p-n.io%2Fpushly-sdk.min.js%3Fdomain_key%3DLT1Yn2pW9B5QzH6n4H2YlkQyVEfXVOOu82lt&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Ftownsquare.media%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fjs%2Fpubcid.min.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fplatform.twitter.com%2Fwidgets.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fapis.google.com%2Fjs%2Fplatform.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Fsdk.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.pinterest.com%2Fjs%2Fpinit.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.doubleverify.com%2Fdvtag%2F29287203%2FDV1106009%2Fpub.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async defer data-osano=\"ESSENTIAL\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Say What&#8217;s RealSwae Lee gets candid about some of music\u2019s hottest topics, from AI\u2019s impact on creativity to Drake\u2019s recent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,108],"class_list":["post-82438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-news","tag-xxl-magazine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1267\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/\",\"name\":\"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"description\":\"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\",\"name\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"description\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News","description":"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News","og_description":"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/","og_site_name":"Hip Hop News","article_published_time":"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural","width":1920,"height":1267,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/","name":"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm - Hip Hop News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-31T16:00:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"description":"Swae Lee gets candid in an interview with XXL about some of music&#x2019;s hottest topics, from AI&#x2019;s impact on creativity to Drake&#x2019;s recent three-album streak.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/swae-lee-gets-candid-on-ai-drakes-three-album-drop-and-why-rap-groups-are-no-longer-the-norm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Swae Lee Gets Candid on AI, Drake\u2019s Three-Album Drop and Why Rap Groups Are No Longer The Norm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/","name":"Hip Hop News","description":"Hip Hop News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Say What&#8217;s RealSwae Lee gets candid about some of music\u2019s hottest topics, from AI\u2019s impact on creativity to Drake\u2019s recent","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["NEWS"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":10,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1",1200,800,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2026\/07\/attachment-swae-lee-photo-1.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-1\">NEWS<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}