R&B/Hip-Hop
Drake Unveils Night One Performers for October World Weekend
After unveiling October World Weekend last week (July 13), Drake has revealed some more details about the first night of the event’s three-day run. In a Monday (July 25) Instagram post, the rapper announced a slew of artists set to comprise the “All Canadian North Stars” that will grace the History stage in Toronto, Canada on July 28. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Featuring Choclair, Keshia Chanté, Frank-N-Dank, k-os, Glenn Lewis, Maestro French Wes, In Essence, Rascalz, Jully Black, Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, Shawn Desman, and some “special guests,” the line-up is packed with “a celebration of the music that paved the way for all of us,” according to the “Jimmy Cooks” rapper. October World Weekend will take place between July 28 ...
Nicki Minaj Teases Release Dates for New Single ‘Freaky Girl’ & Upcoming Episode of ‘Queen Radio’
Nicki Minaj has some back-to-back drops coming in August. The Queen of Rap took to social media on Friday (July 22) to tease the release dates for her new single “Freaky Girl” and the upcoming episode of Queen Radio on Amazon’s Amp app. “August 11th #QueenRadio August 12th #FreakyGirl,” Minaj wrote against a pink backdrop with various emojis on Instagram.” The long-awaited next episode of Queen Radio will arrive Aug. 11, followed by the drop of her highly anticipated Rick James-sampling “Freaky Girl” on Aug. 12. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Barbz got their first taste of “Freaky Girl” earlier this month with a brief clip on social media of the superstar rapper sprawled across an orange chaise lounge as the song opens with a stripped-...
Mario Celebrates 20 Years Since Self-Titled Debut Album & Reflects on His Legacy: ‘I’m Proud of the Man I’m Becoming’
Mario is the independent R&B star and Grammy-nominated artist behind four LPs that hit the top 25 of the Billboard 200 albums chart, including his self-titled breakout debut. Mario reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200, and spawned a top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the Biz Markie redo “Just a Friend 2002” — which has endured into the streaming era, earning 92.6 million on-demand streams, according to Luminate. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news That set was released on J Records and executive produced by label founder Clive Davis, who the singer/songwriter tells Billboard is “one of the best execs in the game.” Now after launching his independent label, New Citizen LLC, in 2015, Mario is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his deb...
Macklemore Returns With New Tones And I Collab: Stream It Now
We’re far removed from the days of “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” but the Macklemore train just keeps on chugging. The Grammy-winning Seattle rapper dropped his first single of 2022 on Friday (July 21). Titled “Chant,” the new single features Tones and I and makes its debut alongside a music video co-directed by Macklemore and Jake Magraw. Macklemore started teasing the song two weeks ago (July 6) with a black-and-white Instagram post of him writing the phrase “1. Chant” on a whiteboard. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Ahead of the song’s release, Macklemore teased “Chant” with several snippets on TikTok and Instagram. “I was supposed to be a one hit ringer / Now I got too many rings and not enough fingers,” he raps on the gospel-inflected trac...
Megan Thee Stallion Announces New Single ‘Pressurelicious’ With Future
Hot Girl Summer is heating up, with Megan Thee Stallion announcing on Wednesday (July 20) that she will be dropping her new single, “Pressurelicious” on Friday (July 22). The news of the track, which features Future, was revealed alongside the cover art portraying the “Savage” rapper in a white, full-body mask with her tongue out. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Hot Girls Up 10000000000000 points,” Meg captioned the Instagram post, which you can see here. Last month, the 27-year-old sat down with Rolling Stone, where she talked about her forthcoming sophomore album. Megan revealed she’s hard at work on the follow-up to her 2020 debut album Good News, which, according to the piece, Megan “hopes to have out this summer.” “I w...
Hot 100 First-Timers: Joony Scores First Chart Entry Thanks to Feature on Brent Faiyaz’s ‘FYTB’
Joony makes his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 23), thanks to his featured credit on Brent Faiyaz’s “FYTB,” which debuts at No. 97. The track starts with 5.7 million U.S. streams in the July 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate. It appears on Faiyaz’s sophomore LP Wasteland, which dropped July 8 (on the Lost Kids label) and debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 88,000 equivalent album units. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “It’s such a beautiful thing,” Joony tells Billboard. “It’s such a big thing for Black music and hip-hop and R&B to be the No. 2 album in the country independently — as an independent artist. It’s amazing.” “FYTB” earns the 21-year-old Silv...
Even Fame & Stardom Can’t Take Away Tems’ Peace of Mind
Hearing Tems speak is as soothing as hearing her sing. During our 20-minute conversation, you realize how cerebral and calculated the Afrobeats singer is. She doesn’t rush to answer questions: She pauses and then gingerly paces her way through until she reaches the goal line. Even when she encounters a less-weighty topic, such as remixing a song of choice, she lingers — before cueing up a response that makes you want to join in on the action and jam alongside her down Oxford Street. “I would choose Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love’ or ‘No Woman Don’t Cry,’ because those are one of my favorites,” she says reassuringly. “I’m in London right now, so ‘Is This Love’ is the best song to listen to when walking down any street in London. You should try it whenever you’re here, just to try it...
Rolling Loud Says That Travis Scott Wasn’t Banned From Playing Miami Venue After All
Travis Scott won’t be replacing Ye as a headliner at Rolling Loud Miami this year, but according to the festival, the decision was merely a matter of incompatible scheduling rather than blowback from the tragedy at Astroworld. Initially, festival co-founder Tariq Cherif claimed in since-deleted Instagram comments that the “venue won’t allow Travis because of Astroworld deaths” as organizers were seeking an eleventh-hour replacement for Ye, but now the official word is that was never the case. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We reached out to Travis to headline Rolling Loud, but it couldn’t work in such a short time,” a Rolling Loud spokesperson said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “This had nothing to do with any restrictions from the...
Kodak Black Arrested on Drug Charges During Traffic Stop in Florida
Kodak Black has been arrested on drug possession charges in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Bill Kahan Kapri, was pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Friday afternoon (July 15) for suspected illegal window tint. After smelling marijuana and searching his SUV, police say they found 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 in cash, according to a FHP press release. A record check also revealed that Black’s vehicle tag and driver’s license were both expired. Black was taken to Broward County Jail and charged with with possession of a controlled substance without prescription and trafficking in oxycodone, online records show. A $75,000 bond was negotiated for his release during a bail hearing on Saturday morning, the rapper’s lawyer Bradford Cohen tells Billb...
Ne-Yo Explains New Album ‘Self-Explanatory’ & Saving His Marriage: ‘It’s No Secret’
Grammy-winning artist Ne-Yo has returned with his all-new, 13-track album, Self-Explanatory. The dual Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 chart-topper recently appeared on Billboard News in support of the incredible 41-minute work, released via Motown Records, and opened up about the new project. Speaking on the hot single “You Got the Body,” Ne-Yo explained, it’s a “very, very sexy record. One of those records that you put on and everyone for whatever reason just knows exactly what they’re supposed to do.” He joked, “Don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Host Tetris Kelly commented, “That’s what I liked about the record when I listened to it. It gives you that R&B, or...
Cardi B, Ye & Lil Durk’s ‘Hot S–t’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top Triller U.S. Chart
Cardi B, Ye and Lil Durk’s “Hot Shit” starts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. chart, debuting atop the July 16-dated survey. The Top Triller U.S. and Top Triller Global charts highlight the biggest songs on Triller based on a formula blending the amount of views of videos containing a respective song, the level of engagement with those videos and the raw total of videos uploaded featuring each song, according to Triller. Data for the charts is represented on a Friday-Thursday tracking week, with the latest period running July 1-7. “Hot Shit” becomes her fifth No. 1 on Top Triller U.S., the most among any act since the ranking began in 2020. Cardi B also ruled the list alongside Kay Flock, Dougie B and Bory300 on “Shake It” (May 2022), as a featured artist on City Girls’ “Twerk” (Oc...
Wiz Khalifa Debuts Red-Hot New Music Video for ‘Bad A– B—–s’: Watch
As Wiz Khalifa gears up for the release of his forthcoming seventh studio album, the Grammy- and Golden Globe-nominated rapper released the music video for his latest single “Bad Ass Bitches” on Thursday (July 14). Featuring the rapper flanked by scores of beautiful women dressed in various red ensembles, Wiz saunters his way through the beach-set Edgar Esteves-directed clip. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Bad Ass Bitches” — which was released in June — follows “Iced Out Necklace” and “Ordinary Life” (with Imanbek, KDDK & Kiddo) as Wiz’s third single of the year. Multiverse, the “Young, Wild & Free” rapper’s upcoming record, is currently set for a July 29 release. Serving as his first solo studio album since 2018’s Rolling Pap...
