Hip-Hop
Public Enemy Release New Album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?: Stream
Public Enemy have released their first new album in three years, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?. Stream the star-studded LP below via Apple Music and Spotify. What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down? sees Public Enemy’s original lineup of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and DJ Lord returning to Def Jam Records for the first time in over 20 years. The label put out the trio’s first five studio albums including 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and 1990’s Fear of a Black Planet, both of which went on to shape the history of hip-hop as we know it. The 17-track full-length sees Public Enemy linking up with rap royalty, like Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock and Mike D alongside Run-DMC on the cut “Public Enemy Number One”. On the 2020 remix of “Fight the Power”, they team up with Na...
Travis Scott Drops New Single “Franchise” Featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug: Stream
Young Thug and Travis Scott (photos by Philip Cosores), M.I.A. (photo by Ben Kaye) Travis Scott has unleashed his latest single “Franchise”, featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug. Check it out below via its accompanying self-directed music video/short film. The song comes hot on the heels of Scott’s smash hit McDonald’s collaboration, which has been so popular that various locations are literally running out of ingredients. “Franchise” is itself something of a branding exercise, as the short film premiered ahead of select IMAX screenings of Christopher Nolan’s Tenent on Thursday night. Scott also contributed the track “The Plan” to the film’s soundtrack, leading Nolan to call the new short film “part of a Travis/Tenet/Travis sandwich” in a note he wrote the rapper. Yet despite all the cross-prom...
Tory Lanez’s Big Announcement Was Actually a Big Tease
If you stayed up late to hear Tory Lanez break his silence, you’ll have been disappointed. But if you were desperate for new music from the Canadian rapper, you’re in luck. Lanez mobilized his fanbase earlier in the day with the tease of a potentially dynamite admission. “To my fans … I’m sorry for my silence …. but respectfully .. I got time today …… 9 PM PST,” he tweeted. To my fans … I’m sorry for my silence …. but respectfully .. I got time today …… 9 PM PST . — Tory Lanez (@torylanez) September 24, 2020 Of course, there’s some serious backstory to this. Megan Thee Stallion has repeatedly accused Lanez of shooting her in the leg during a confrontation in August. Earlier this month, the 28-year-old rapper and singer, whose real name ...
Public Enemy’s Chuck D Talks Return to Def Jam, George Clinton, and Ferocious New Album
In the hour of need, Public Enemy returns to fight the power once more. And this time, they brought friends. The hip-hop heavyweights drop their latest album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down, a call to arms loaded with collaborations. Spanning 17 tracks, When The Grid Goes Down is a statement on these strange times, and the pandemic that’s brought the world to a screeching halt. Its special guests are the messengers. “If we can’t use the music to show people that we can do things with the music, than what good is it, right?,” founding P.E. frontman Chuck D tells Billboard. Look closer and you’ll find some answers. “The question is in the title, which means beware of government tricks,” the legendary hype man explains. “And the time and chaos of emergency.” When T...
Lil Wayne Releases Deluxe Edition of Tha Carter V: Stream
To mark the two-year anniversary of its release, Lil Wayne has shared the deluxe “original” version of Tha Carter V. Stream it below via Spotify. Tha Carter V originally arrived in 2018 after a massive delay caused by Lil Wayne’s contract feud with Cash Money Records. There was also considerable bad blood between the rapper and label head Birdman. Things began to settle in June 2018 when Cash Money’s parent company, Universal Music Group, settled a lawsuit for “well over $10 million” that simultaneously freed Wayne from his former label. Birdman and Lil Wayne also were able to bury the hatchet. The new deluxe edition expands upon the double-album’s 23 tracks with an additional 10. Three of the songs — a version of “What About Me” featuring Post Malone, a Gucci Mane collaboration called “In...
ASAP Ferg Drops New Album Floor Seats II: Stream
ASAP Ferg has released Floor Seats II, his new studio album and the follow-up to his 2019 Floor Seats EP. Stream it below via Spotify. Floor Seats II spans 10 tracks in total, including the previously released singles “No Ceilings” featuring Lil Wayne and Jay Gwuapo and “Move Ya Hips” with Nicki Minaj and MadeinTYO. The album also boasts collaborations with Marilyn Manson (who appears on a track called… “Marilyn Manson”), Diddy, and Fivio Foreign. Rappers Mulatto, Antha Panth, and ONEFOUR make appearances on the LP as well. Earlier this week, ASAP Ferg announced the impending release of Floor Seats II by linking up with NBA legend Dennis Rodman for a video. In it, the basketball player hypes up Ferg before he outlines the guest features on his new album and reveal...
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ Tops Rhythmic Songs Chart
Cardi B brings “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, to No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Songs airplay chart as it jumps from No. 5 to lead the list dated Sept. 26. The pop-culture phenom single becomes the most-played tune at the Rhythmic radio format through a 20 percent surge in plays in the week ending Sept. 20, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The 5-1 jump makes “WAP” one of only 10 songs to rise directly to No. 1 from No. 5 or lower since the Rhythmic Songs chart began in 1992, and the first since Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” went 5-1 in July 2019. “WAP” gives Cardi her seventh Rhythmic Songs leader. Here’s a full rundown of her collection to date: Song Title, Artist (if other than Cardi B), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1“Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” four, Oct. 7, 2017“No Limit,” G-Eaz...
MadeinTYO Teams with Toro y Moi for New Single “Money Up”: Stream
Los Angeles-via-Atlanta rapper Malcolm Jamaal Davis, better known by his moniker MadeinTYO, has been not-so-subtly climbing the ranks as one of hip-hop’s most exciting rising artists. While his breakout 2016 mixtape You Are Forgiven captured the attention of rap giants like Travis Scott, it was his debut studio album, 2018’s Sincerely, Tokyo, that proved he was worth keeping an eye on in the long run. Now, MadeinTYO is returning to the spotlight with “Money Up”, his new single featuring Toro y Moi. In just under three minutes, MadeinTYO makes a big splash over a weird, warped beat produced by Toro y Moi. Instead of showing off his speed or narrative abilities, MadeinTYO makes an impression here by rapping about financial security, body positivity, and knowing your worth — topics that he fl...
Machine Gun Kelly Talks New Album, True Love and His Beef With Eminem
Machine Gun Kelly sprayed it around during an on-air chat with Howard Stern, which covered off everything from love, buddies, enemies and switching his sound. The Cleveland native is promoting his fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall, which sees him tread a different musical style. MGK’s previous four LPs could be pigeonholed as hip-hop. The new one is sonically pitched as pop-punk. Yes there are detractors. Kelly doesn’t care. “I just want to go against what everyone else thinks,” he said during his debut on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show. “I make a pop-punk record … and everyone’s like, ‘You switched genres!’ To me, I just added on to the multiple things I’ve already done anyway, but, sure, what a narrow-minded way to look at things.” Downfall drops Friday (Sept. 25) a...
YG Reveals New Single “Out on Bail”: Stream
YG is set to drop his new studio album, My 4Hunnid Life, in just a little over a week. Already we’ve heard a few teasers in “Laugh Now Kry Later”, “SWAG”, and the timely ACAB anthem “FTP”. Now, another single has been unboxed: “Out on Bail”. Today’s offering is drawn from YG’s own real-life experience with the prison system. Earlier this year, he was arrested and charged for robbery. The Compton native was released shortly after — just in time for his Grammys tribute performance to Nipsey Hussle — but clearly those events have stuck with him. “I’m out on bail, them motherfuckers tryna get me/ But I won’t tell, so with some time they tryna hit me/ I’m innocent as fuck, but they tryna prove I’m guilty,” YG raps on this fresh cut. Its corresponding video, directed by Austin Simkins, follows t...
Here Are All the Livestreams & Virtual Concerts to Watch During the Coronavirus Crisis: Week of Sept. 21
Fall is getting off to a hot start when it comes to livestream events. The first week of autumn offers plenty of musical events to keep you rockin’ on your couch. Among those are notable festivals such as Bonnaroo’s Virtual Roo-Ality and Fair Aid 2020; Hip-Hop 4 Peace featuring Chuck D and KRS One, as well as sets from Charlie Puth, Lamb of God, and many more. Many artists and festivals are continuing to take their shows online, as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. While not all artists and festivals are offering new performances in upcoming livestreams, some — including Virtual Roo-Ality — are featuring rare or iconic performances from past events. Below is a list of the livestream concerts for the week of Sept. 21. We’ll continue to update t...
Conway the Machine Performs Tiny Desk (Home) Concert from Restaurant Booth: Watch
As Conway the Machine demonstrates on his new NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, he’s equally comfortable posting up in the recording booth as he is in the corner booth of a friendly chicken and waffles joint. On location at Sweet Chick in Queens, New York, the Machine powered through a five-track set that drew heavily on his excellent new album From King to a God. He also received tableside service, gratefully accepting a plate of the house special and a side of mac and cheese. He kicked things off with two FKTG cuts, “Lemon” and “Front Lines”. Before this latter rendition, he explained how the killing of George Floyd impacted him, saying, “I got inspired to do this record kinda like… well, it didn’t start with the George Floyd killing, it’s been going on. But that one in particular, it k...
