Hip-Hop
Doja Cat Brings Fabulously Tacky Sci-Fi Vibes to 2020 MTV VMAs
The 2020 MTV VMAs were held socially distanced across New York City on the broadcast that aired Sunday (Aug. 30), but when Doja Cat hit the awards show, she took things out of the Five Boroughs — and off planet, for that matter. Strutting around on a set that melded lunar landscape with Tron and surrounded by dancers decked out in outfits that fell somewhere between biohazard and Barbarella, Doja delivered her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Say So” as well as “Like That.” With green hair and a sparkly reptilian body suit, Doja Cat looked like she could’ve stepped out of an episode of the original Star Trek series in all its swingin’ sixties sci-fi garish glory. Featured guests Nicki Minaj and Gucci Mane weren’t present, but she did have a few...
Public Enemy Return to Def Jam for New Album
Public Enemy are returning to Def Jam Records for the release of a new studio album. Entitled What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down and due out on the September 25th, the forthcoming album will mark Public Enemy’s first release with Def Jam in over two decades. Def Jam released Public Enemy’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, two of the most consequential records in the history of hip-hop. “For true fans of hip-hop all over the world, this is a historic moment,” said Def Jam GM & EVP Rich Isaacson in a statement. “Bringing Public Enemy home to Def Jam – in a time when their message is more necessary than ever – is a profound statement and a much-needed reunion. We are beyond excited to on...
Megan Thee Stallion Pays Tribute to Victims of Police Brutality During Virtual Concert
Megan Thee Stallion took a powerful moment during her first virtual concert on Saturday (Aug. 29) to honor Black victims of police brutality. Wearing a sparkly jeweled lingerie-style outfit and backed by a several dancers, the hour-long paid livestream featured a twerk-filled set of Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “WAP,” “Savage” and “Hot Girl Summer.” Early on in the high energy performance, which had the production of an arena show minus the audience, Meg slowed things down to remember the lives of Black men, women and children who’ve been killed or injured at the hands of police. As the stage lights went down, names including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor appeared on a large screen with a sh...
AG Club Tap A$AP Ferg and NLE Choppa for “Memphis (Pt. 2)”: Stream
Ever since Baby Boy, Loui, Mick Antony, and Jody Fontaine formed AG Club and released their debut album Halfway Off the Porch earlier this year, the alternative hip-hop group has been quietly drumming up some underground buzz. Now, they’re gearing up for a proper breakthrough with “Memphis (Pt. 2)”, their new song featuring NLE Choppa and A$AP Ferg. “Memphis (Pt. 2)” is from AG Club’s forthcoming sophomore album, FYE, which is due out later this year. Apparently the group decided to reach out to a few of their favorite rappers to see if they were interested in collaborating on new music, but weren’t totally sure if anyone would be down. Needless to say, the group was over the moon when they found out both NLE Choppa and A$AP Ferb were game to jump on this single. “We had to get Choppa on t...
John Legend, Mariah Carey, The Weekend & More Pay Tribute to Chadwick Boseman
Tributes are pouring in for late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday (Aug. 28) after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43. In the hours after his passing, music stars like John Legend, Mariah Carey, The Weekend and G-Eazy took to social media to honor Boseman, who also starred in roles portraying funk legend James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up and baseball icon Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42. “I’m so shocked and heartbroken about Chadwick,” Legend tweeted. “He was such a bright light, such a gifted performer. He brought grace, elegance and power to everything he did. He always seemed to carry our ancestors with him. And now he joins them far too soon.” Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his ...
Saweetie Calls on Post Malone, DaBaby & Jack Harlow for Epic ‘Tap In’ Remix
Post Malone, DaBaby and Jack Harlow are tapping in. The three stars joined Saweetie for an infectious remix of her summer hit “Tap In.” The new rendition keeps the thumping beat and the ICY GRL’s spitting verses of the original, with Harlow promising to “tap in, for sure” before DaBaby hops into a fiery verse dreaming of a “ghetto a– bougie b—-, the ones that wear the sundress.” Posty soon joins the party with his own characteristically breezy verse, and the “Whats Poppin” rapper wraps up the monumental remix by proclaiming, “I just crossed over the top 40 I can’t even say what’s poppin’ now cause it got corny.” Saweetie’s original “Tap In” marked the first song in Billboa...
Bizzy Banks Is Stylish and “Extra Sturdy” on New Single: Stream
Bizzy Banks is the latest up-and-comer in Brooklyn’s drill scene, and it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve the praise he’s been getting. Just in case there was any doubt, though, Banks has dropped a brand new single called “Extra Sturdy” where he proves his weight in words and flair. This is the latest track Banks has shared from his upcoming mixtape, G.M.T.O. (Get Money Take Over) Vol. 1, which comes out on September 4th via Atlantic. The 21-year-old rapper previously dropped the single “Movies” earlier this summer as well as the song “Don’t Start Pt. 2”. Editors’ Picks In the music video for “Extra Sturdy”, Banks can be seen rapping along to the track in a series of different locations. There’s a lot of great shots, but arguably the best ones feature Banks in a slew of stando...
Rick Astley Turns Post Malone’s “Better Now” into an Acoustic Banger: Watch
Rick Astley has gone from RickRolling to rollin’ with his brothers like it’s Jonas. The 54-year-old British musician has shared a cover of Post Malone’s “Better Now”, and dare we say it might be better now. “There are a lot of words in this song. It’s not my song, I don’t really know it properly,” Astley says in the YouTube video capturing the performance. “But I love it, so I’m gonna give it ago. Here we go, let’s see what happens.” What happens is perhaps a more impactful version of the Beerbongs & Bentleys hit. By turning the track into an acoustic banger instead of the trap-y pop of the original, Astley highlights the blues nature in the lyrics. He gives the words a bit of a country twang and growls out the chorus, really bringing the song’s melancholy to the forefront. Honest...
The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (August 28)
If you’re just waking up on this glorious Friday, you’re about to discover what much of Twitter already knows: Selena Gomez and Blackpink’s epic new collaboration “Ice Cream” has arrived. We know what we’ll be doing for the next few days: “Ice cream chillin’, chillin’, ice cream chillin’!” Plus, we’re heading into VMAs weekend, and you can brush up on your music video history ahead of the big night by checking out our list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time. Take a look at all of that — and more of the week’s biggest music happenings — below. Taylor Swift’s Folklore ruled for a fourth week Swift’s latest set topped the Billboard 200 chart once again, with 101,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 20. Billboard’s...
Black Thought, Pusha T, Killer Mike Wish You a “Good Morning” on New Song: Stream
Black Thought (photo by Philip Cosores); Killer Mike and Pusha T (photos by Ben Kaye) The Roots rapper Black Thought was supposed to drop latest project his Streams of Thought Vol 3: Cain & Abel last month, but he postponed its release in the wake of Malik B’s passing. While a new due date hasn’t been announced yet, Black Thought is building the hype again with “Good Morning”, a collaboration with Pusha T, Killer Mike, and Swizz Beatz. “Good Morning” features a bright, snare-driven beat provided by producer Sean C. Speaking of the song to Variety, Black Thought said it “speaks to an awakening.” He continued, “It’s a stellar lineup of features on one record – the level of dimension and different energy you get in one densely packed moment is unprecedented for the Roots and Bla...
Nasty C Unleashes New Album Zulu Man with Some Power: Stream
South African rapper Nasty C has unleashed his new album Zulu Man with Some Power. Stream it below with Apple Music and Spotify. A former rap prodigy, the man born Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo is now a 23-year-old hip-hop vet. Zulu Man with Some Power is his third LP, as well as his Def Jam debut, made possible by the success of 2018’s Strings and Bling. Nasty C produced almost all of his songs, and he demonstrated an effortless ability to slip into the pocket of the beat. He would have fit right in on American radio, which is a mixed compliment — after all, why did a (then) 19-year-old from South Africa sound like he’d grown up in Atlanta or Los Angeles? Some music execs tried to meddle, telling him to “sound more African.” This didn’t sit well with Nasty C. “I want the...
Kanye West Sues Ohio Election Head to Get on November Ballot
Rapper Kanye West sued Ohio’s election chief Wednesday in an effort to be placed on the November presidential ballot after the Secretary of State deemed him unqualified as an independent candidate. West’s emergency filing against Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose comes days after the election’s chief rejected the nearly 15,000 signatures and other paperwork the rapper submitted earlier this month in an attempt to run for president, citing mismatched information on the signature-gathering documents. In the complaint, attorneys for West’s campaign in Ohio allege that it is LaRose’s duty to accept any petition for an independent candidate as long as there is no protest filed against the petition and it doesn’t violate Ohio law. Ohio was one of a number of stat...
