Hip-Hop
Lawsuit Seeks to Ban Kanye West From Arizona Ballot
An Arizona resident has asked a judge to bar Kanye West from appearing on the state’s Nov. 3 ballot, accusing the hip-hop artist of serving as an election spoiler and arguing that a law prohibits him from running in the state as an independent presidential candidate. West’s lawyer on Wednesday (Sept. 2) reported filing just under 58,000 signatures, well over the roughly 39,000 required for independent candidates to make the ballot. Lawyers for resident Rasean Clayton said in a lawsuit filed Monday that independent presidential candidates can appear on Arizona’s ballot if they aren’t registered with a recognized political party and gather enough voter signatures to nominate them. But Clayton’s lawyers say West, who paid top dollar to dozens of workers gathering petition signatures in Arizon...
BET Amplified Goes Global With Sampa the Great
BET Amplified, ViacomCBS-owned BET’s stamp of approval highlighting “the next big thing in music,” is going global. BET and BET International on Tuesday announced Zambia-born, Botswana-raised rapper Sampa The Great as the first-ever BET Amplified global artist. The network brand said it was kicking off a month-long “effort to build awareness around Sampa to [its] core audiences globally and will highlight her work in a multitude of ways, including linear and digital programming across BET Jams, BET Her, BET Soul and BET International channels,” including in Africa, the U.K., France and South Korea. “This marks the first BET Amplified artist for BET International [which] will continue to spotlight international artists each month with BET Amplified Intern...
LL Cool J Pays Tribute to ‘True-to-Life Hero’ Chadwick Boseman
LL Cool J is honoring the legacy of celebrated actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with cancer. “He inspired Black people all around the world… he inspired people in general, the rapper said in a new interview with STROMBO on Apple Music Hits. “I think in a short period of time he became a true-to-life hero in his ability to kinda fight through what he was dealing with unbeknownst to the world is just unbelievable, man.” “Playing that character in Black Panther and changing the perception of how movies with Black leads can be treated worldwide, he proved that this whole idea that Blacks couldn’t sell internationally was a complete and absolute myth,” LL Cool J said of the impact Boseman’s work had on the film ind...
Joyner Lucas & Ashanti Kiss & Make Up in Incredibly Intimate ‘Fall Slowly’ Video
Joyner Lucas packs in passion for his “Fall Slowly” single featuring Ashanti, who stars as his love interest in the music video out Wednesday (Sept. 2). But regardless of the artists’ undeniable chemistry (which fans questioned if it also presents itself off-screen with relationship rumors starting), the video shows there’s trouble in paradise. Physical and verbal arguments in public, Lucas’ arrest and Ashanti’s unanticipated pregnancy test result are juxtaposed with late-night kisses and cuddles and naps on couches. And he raps about their tumultuous relationship right within the first verse: “‘Cause when we hurt each other we come back to help each other heal/ You say I’m crazy, but at least you know my love is real/ But s&#...
Watch Post Malone Get Back to His Metal Roots in Raging Jam Session
Post Malone took some quarantine time to revisit his heavy metal roots in a jam session posted by YouTuber Jared Dines that also featured Dragged Under singer Tony Cappocchi and rapper Tyla Yaweh. In the videos posted by Dines, Posty can be seen reveling in the grind, slashing at his guitar on a pair of grinding metal tunes and helping the group blow through an extreme metal version of Wild Cherry‘s “Play That Funky Music” and a rip of Nirvana‘s “Breed,” with Malone behind the drum kit for those two jams. Malone, who played in metal bands as a teen before pivoting to hip-hop, has proven his rock bona fides over and over, most recently during an all-Nirvana covers COVID-19 fundraiser that raised more than $800,000 in April. Posty and Yaweh teamed up in Ju...
Brandy Vs Monica’s ‘Verzuz’ Was a Record Breaker
The Brandy vs Monica “Verzuz” wasn’t just a hit, it was huge. The R&B legends smashed all “Verzuz” records, organizers say, en route to pulling-in more than 6 million views. That’s well up on the initial reports of 1.2 million fans tuning in on Instagram. Breaking the numbers down, the online face-off raised more than $250,000 for Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, and generated 1.9 million tweets, including 1 million in the U.S. alone. The veteran artists used the sparring session to “remind the world how next-level their respective catalogs,” wrote Billboard’s Carl Lamarre. Also during the back-and-forth, Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris called in with a live video message for the two artists, thanking them for their contributions to the culture and using the pla...
LL Cool J, Chris O’Donnell to Produce Dance Competition for CBS
NCIS: Los Angeles stars LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell are taking on a new case at CBS: producing a competition series. The pair will executive produce a show called Come Dance With Me for the network. The show comes from CBS Television Studios and 3 Ball Productions. The family-friendly show will feature talented young dancers from across the country who invite one inspirational, and untrained, family member or other adult who has supported their dance dreams, to become their dance partner for a chance to strut their stuff for a grand prize. The kids will share their love of dance with their mother, father, grandparent or other hero on an uplifting and emotional journey to learn and perform challenging routines, with the assistance of professional choreographers, in a competition wit...
24kGoldn’s ‘Mood’ Ascends to Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart Throne
The Iann Dior-featuring song jumps 3-1. 24kGoldn scores his first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts as “Mood,” featuring Iann Dior, jumps 3-1 on the lists dated Sept. 5. “Mood” rises as the greatest gainer in all three chart metrics: streaming, airplay and sales. In the streaming and sales tracking week ending Aug. 27, the song scored 20.8 million U.S. streams (up 37%) and sold 7,000 downloads (up 63%), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. In the radio tracking week ending Aug. 30, it earned 7.8 million all-format audience impressions (up 251%). 24kGoldn has charted one other entry so far on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs: “City of Angels” reached No. 7 on each list in...
Cardi B Is the New Face of Balenciaga
In the words of Cardi B: “I like those Balenciagas, the ones that look like socks!” Now, the rapper will be wearing a whole lot more Balenciaga, because she’s the new face of the designer fashion brand. The clothing label took to Twitter on Tuesday (Sept. 1) to share the promo photos behind their new line, featuring the “WAP” star laying among a playground in a silky black gown. “New Face of Balenciaga,” Cardi wrote, retweeting the photo. This isn’t her first dip into the fashion world. Cardi has had a number of lines with Fashion Nova, and is often seen flaunting her designer ‘fits on Instagram. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back...
Cardi B & ‘Best Friend’ Kulture Step Out in Matching Pink Birkins
Cardi B is passing on her style genes to baby Kulture. The rapper took to Instagram on Monday (Aug. 31) to share an adorable video in which she’s strutting outside of a building with her two-year-old daughter in head-to-toe pink (and matching pink Birkin bags). “Me and my best friend,” Cardi captioned the clip. See it here. The toddler, who just turned two in July, received the luxurious Birkin from her dad Offset as a gift. In a video he shared, Kulture is dressed in a fairy princess outfit as Offset presents his little girl with a gray gift bag, which contains Hermes’ iconic orange box. As they unwrap the box together, it turns out to be a small, bright pink Birkin bag inside.”Wow! Oooh! OK, girl! I see you, beautiful baby!” Offset coos...
Brandy vs. Monica in ‘Verzuz’ Battle of R&B Titans: See Billboard’s Scorecard & Winner For the Event
All it took was a staggering 1.2 million viewers on Instagram alone during Brandy and Monica’s Verzuz battle Monday night (Aug. 31) to remind the world how next-level their respective catalogs are. After being pitted against each other for more than two decades following their classic 1998 duet “The Boy Is Mine,” the reverence shared between two of modern R&B’s most renowned stars was a joy to see. Not only were fans able to watch the singers celebrate each other’s successes — amidst a few moments of somewhat unavoidable tension — but they also received a message from Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who called in with a live video message for the two stars, thanking them for their contributions to the culture and using the platf...
Kanye West Says He’s ‘Got More Money Than Trump’ When Asked About Republican Involvement in Ballot Efforts
The United States is 64 days away from the 2020 election on Nov. 3, and Kanye West is still on the campaign trail. The rapper has appeared on a few ballots thus far, but public questioning of his intentions have risen–especially since Vice magazine published an article earlier this month claiming the Republican Party helped him submit the required signatures to appear on the ballot in the swing state of Wisconsin. Nick Cannon is hoping to break down all of Ye’s political controversies in a new interview he’s been teasing on Instagram on Monday (Aug. 31). “People keep on saying I think that y’all, you and Republicans, are in cahoots,” West said in a preview clip. Cannon responded saying that there are people who bel...
