Hip-Hop
Austin City Limits 2021 Weekend 2 Photo Gallery: Duran Duran, Jon Batiste, Megan Thee Stallion and More
Austin City Limits was back at Zilker Park this past weekend for Weekend 2 — and so were we. After providing daily live galleries from Weekend 1, Consequence photographer Amy Price returned to capture all the going-ons of the three-day event. The glory of a two-weekend festival is that on the second go-around, you can capture the sets you missed the first time, like the legends Duran Duran. Weekend 2 also saw performances from Jon Batiste, Marc Rebillet, Leann Rimes, Trixie Mattel, The Hu, and yes, Machine Gun Kelly again. Revisit it all in the extensive gallery below, which includes some backstage portraits with the likes of Claud, Dayglow, Tate McRae, jxdn, Heartless Bastards, and more. Then, make sure you read our complete recap of Austin City Limits Weekend 1. Advertisement Relate...
Drake Celebrates Son Adonis’ Fourth Birthday
When Drake was honored as artist of the decade at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards earlier this year, he brought his then-three-year-old lad onstage during his acceptance speech. In an unscripted moment, while the rapper was talking, Adonis had a moment and tried to run away with the trophy. He didn’t manage to steal the award, but he stole the show. Drake’s latest album Certified Lover Boy blasted to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart last month, breaking records in the process. All 21 of its tracks cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including a record nine of the Top 10, with “Way 2 Sexy” new at No. 1. See the dad-and-son pic below. 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 ...
Cardi B Helps Marry a Same-Sex Couple in Surprise Wedding on ‘Cardi Tries’: ‘I Do It All’
Cardi Tries: Tying the Knot shows the brides’ big day, where one surprised the other with the celebrity-assisted pop-up wedding. Cardi and Raven helped with planning the same-day nuptials — from selecting table settings to choosing a wedding gown — before taking part in the actual ceremony. “You guys are probably wondering why I’m here,” Cardi — who recently gave birth to her second child, made history with her “WAP” wins at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards, and had her “Rumors” collab with Lizzo debut in the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 — announced in front of a small group of the couple’s family and friends. “I’m gonna get these two beautiful ladies married.” “It’s not only a spe...
Tank and the Bangas Tap Big Freedia for New Single “Big”: Stream
Tank and the Bangas have returned with their newest single “Big” featuring fellow NOLA native Big Freedia. Stream the song below. “Big ass, big mouth, big bands, big house/ Everything I do is big/ Chillin’ at Big Freedia house/ All I drop is big sh-t/ Toilet bowls need cleaning out/ I pull up in that black thing/ I do a set, I roll out,” raps frontwoman Tarriona “Tank” Ball over Big Freedia’s wailing descant. Meanwhile, the track’s accompanying music video is a colorful science experiment gone wild, in which a lab coat-adorned Big Freedia convinces Tank to drink up a potion she’s concocted. Naturally, dancing, twerking, and all kinds of wild revelry ensue. Advertisement Related Video Says drummer Joshua Johnson of the collab: “This song boasts big energy from two talented New Orleans artis...
Mick Jenkins Announces New Album Elephant in the Room, Shares “Contacts”: Stream
Chicago MC Mick Jenkins has shared a fresh single called “Contacts,” which serves as the lead track from his newly announced album, Elephant in the Room. Due out October 29th via Cinematic Music Group, the new LP follows last year’s The Circus EP. The 12-track effort features appearances from serpentwithfeet, Ben Hixon, Tiffany Lance, and Green SLlime, plus production from Saba, Kiran Kai, Thelonious Martin, Tee-Watt, Renzell, and more. According to a press release, Jenkins had completed 60% of the record prior to the pandemic shutdown in March 2020. The extra time gave him time to focus on his personal life, particularly his relationship with his wife. “I haven’t been home for more than three months at a time in seven years,” Jenkins said in a press statement. “It was just a lot...
Rapping Rock: Dwayne Johnson Spits Bars on New Tech N9ne Song “Face Off”: Stream
Can you hear what The Rock is rapping? Dwayne Johnson spits bars on “Face Off,” the new song from prolific Kansas City MC Tech N9ne. The track appears on ASIN9NE, Tech N9ne’s 23rd studio set which dropped today, October 8th. The song is a swirling fight anthem, with a hook by Krizz Kaliko that recalls The Rock’s wrestling days: “Rumble/ They gon’ take your face off/ They gon’ rumble/ They gon’ take your face off.” Compared to Tech N9ne’s machine gun flow, Johnson brought a more stately pace to his guest verse. “Black and Samoan in my veins,” he raps, “My culture bangin’ with Strange/ I change the game so what’s my motherfuckin’ name? (Rock!).” The track ends with a Johnson outro, as he thanks “brother Tech N9ne,” as well as his tequila sponsor Teremana, and brags, “One take,...
Rap Song of the Week: Conway the Machine Previews His Forthcoming Album with Some “Piano Love”
Every week, our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the essential rap and hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. Today, Conway the Machine’s debut album on Shady Records is preceded by “Piano Love.” Dating back to a November 2017 interview with Consequence, Conway the Machine has been teasing his debut album on Shady Records, and “Piano Love” is a promising sign that it’s finally on the way. Featuring ominous production by frequent collaborator The Alchemist, the track itself arrives today (October 8th) after the Buffalo MC teased it on Instagram Live earlier this year. Advertisement Related Video With Spooky Season in full effect, the sinister keys are an appropriate soundtrack for the Griselda standout to do what he does best: Deliver raw s...
R. Kelly’s Been Found Guilty, But What’s the Verdict for the Music Industry?
The history of R. Kelly’s allegations and belated fall from grace highlights the industry’s current crisis of culture. It has historically been a space where social norms are flaunted, disregarded or even subverted; especially with sex and drugs. The bigger the talent — artist or executive — the wider the allowances for behavior no “normal” person could get away with. As such, record labels and publishers have rarely directly addressed the personal lives of their artists in a critical way. There is currently no standard morals clause in recording contracts, and because the artist is not only the product but a brand and business unto themselves, public sentiment usually only impacts their label home so far as it affects sales, streams and airplay. If an artist’s viability ...
Could Criminal Charges Against Pras Impact Fugees’ Overseas Reunion Dates?
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed to Billboard that Michel was forced to surrender his passport as a result of the charges and ordered not to apply for or possess a passport or any other travel documents as the case continues to slowly wind its way through the legal system; Michel’s attorney, David Kenner, also confirmed that his client’s passport has been confiscated, but tells Billboard that he is working on getting it returned. Kenner says he brought up the topic of the passport with the government this week, has advised the judge in the case about the tour, and plans to file a motion soon seeking to modify the conditions of the rapper’s release to allow him to get his travel documents back for the planned non-U.S. dates. “It’...
Atmosphere Invite MF DOOM and Aesop Rock to the “Barcade” on New Song: Stream
It’s been almost a year since MF DOOM passed away, but new verses keep dropping that further cement his legacy. Now, Minneapolis duo Atmosphere have shared an ode to some of DOOM’s favorite hobbies — specifically, getting fucked up and playing video games — on the new song “Barcade” that also features Aesop Rock. The track closes Atmosphere’s latest album, WORD?, which dropped today, October 8th. Producer Ant provides a dark, glitchy beat, and Aesop Rock opens the proceedings with some syllabic pinball: “Duck, duck, I’m too next/ Punk jump to get suplexed/ My two cents is y’all fucked up/ Should come buddy up with these moose heads.” MF DOOM takes over from there with a vintage sticky verse. “Shitty fingers in your weed jar,” he wheezes, “This whole world like VR/ Free shows at the Re...
BTS Taught Megan Thee Stallion the “Butter” Hand Choreography at Their First In-Person Meeting: Watch
BTS recently met up with Megan Thee Stallion and taught the collaborator some intense hand choreography. During the casual rooftop hang, the rapper gushed about getting to work with the K-pop idols on the remix to their No. 1 hit “Butter.” “I was so happy and I was so grateful,” she tells the boy band in a clip posted to the BANGTANTV YouTube channel. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I had already told my managers, I was like, ‘I wanna do something with BTS.’ And then when it came up, I was like, ‘They know me?’ I was so happy!” Megan also revealed at the meeting that she has major ideas in mind should she get a second chance to collaborate with the band. “Like, whenever we do another song, I feel like we gotta do it big, we gotta do the video. Yeah, it’s gon’ be epic,” she says, much to th...
The Alchemist Drops New EP This Thing of Ours 2 Featuring Vince Staples and Danny Brown: Stream
The Alchemist has dropped This Thing of Ours 2, the star hip-hop producer’s sequel to his April EP This Thing of Ours. Stream it below. The 5-track project is highlighted by appearances from Vince Staples (“6 Five Heartbeats”) and Danny Brown, who guests on “Flying Spirit” alongside fellow Bruiser Brigade members JUS, Bruiser Wolf, and Fat Ray. Other artists The Alchemists recruited for This Thing of Ours 2 include MAVI (“Miracle Baby”), MIKE (“Lossless), and ZelooperZ (“Wildstyle”). Earlier this year, The Alchemist helmed two of the best rap releases of 2021, Bo Jackson with Boldy James and Armand Hammer’s Haram. He also produced standout tracks including “Iron Steel Samurai” by Quelle Chris and AZ’s Conway the Machine and Lil Wayne collaboration “Ritual,” which w...
