Hip-Hop
J. Cole Drops Surprise Music Video ‘Heaven’s EP’: Watch
Cole, 36, was a star player at Sanford High School in North Carolina and was a walk-on for the St. John’s college basketball team, but he ended up bailing on college ball to pursue music He addresses his hoop dreams on his new song, with the rap: “Like the second time I got cut from the junior varsity/Fightin’ back tears, I promised to switch gears/And said to myself “Whatever you do, you won’t do it partially.” “Heaven’s EP” is accompanied with a Simon Chasalow-directed music video, which follows Cole on a trip to Las Vegas and can be seen in full below. Expect the North Carolina native to road test the new release on his The Off-Season tour, which kicks off this Friday (Sept. 24) at FTX Arena in Miami, FL., and runs through mid-November. You Deserve to ...
T.I. Drops New Song ‘F— Em’ After Sexual Assault Case Is Dismissed
He later says, “On my life, me and my wife run this city/ Can’t snatch these stripes, we don’t care what they talking about, f— them lies.” Ahead of the release, T.I. teased a clip from the new “F— Em” music video. “As promised our official msg dropped at 1pm @worldstar GO SEE IT‼️ S/O @liljon Every storm runs outta rain ‼️,” he wrote. In a statement issued to Billboard by T.I. and Tiny’s attorney, Shawn Holley, regarding the couple’s recent legal outcome, the lawyer said, “Mr. and Mrs. Harris are pleased, but not surprised, by the District Attorney’s decision to dismiss these meritless allegations. We appreciate the DA’s careful review o...
Snoop Dogg, Crypto Expert? Rapper Claims to Run Popular NFT Twitter Account
“Shortly, as promised, I will dox from my personal account,” the tweet from @CozomoMedici read. “As my fame is considerable, the tweet will no doubt be discovered. Those who are curious to know my identity will soon know it.” The owner of the @CozomoMedici account, which is only about a month old, had been promising to reveal themselves for several days before Snoop posted his tweet on Monday. It even ran a poll inviting followers to guess the owner’s identity, though interestingly, Snoop Dogg wasn’t one of the options listed. Since launching in August, the account — named after famed Italian banker and patron of the arts Cosimo de’ Medici, whose portrait is prominently featured in @CozomoMedici’s background photo — had garnered significant interest due to its owner’s well-docu...
Little Simz Announces 2022 North American Tour Dates
British-Nigerian rapper Little Simz sounds incredible on her records, but she will blow you away live. Americans who haven’t gotten the chance to see her perform before are in luck, because Little Simz has just announced a string of tour dates in North America for later in 2022. The tour spans 10 dates in total, all of which will take place in late spring. Little Simz will kick off the trek in Portland, Oregon on May 1st before stopping in major cities Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Finally, the tour will conclude on May 25th in New York City. Fans who score tickets will get to see Little Simz break out songs from her great new album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. It’s stacked with bangers like “Rollin Stone,” “Woman,” and...
Fugees Announce Reunion Tour
Ready or not, here they come: Fugees are reuniting for their first shows together in 15 years. The seminal hip-hop group of Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel have announced a 12-city international tour to celebrate the silver anniversary of their landmark album, 1996’s The Score. The first concert takes place tomorrow night (!) — September 22nd — at an undisclosed location in New York City. Further shows are scheduled in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Miami, as well as in France, the UK, Nigeria, and Ghana. “The Fugees have a complex but impactful history. I wasn’t even aware the 25th anniversary had arrived until someone brought it to my attention,” Ms. Lauryn Hill said in a statement. “I decided to honor this significant project, its anniversary, and the fans who apprecia...
Fugees Announce International Reunion Tour to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of ‘The Score’
The Score, the Fugees’ second and final studio album, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and scored hits with the indelible singles “Killing me Softly,” “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not”; the collection won the Grammy for best rap album and another for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for “Killing.” “The Fugees have a complex but impactful history. I wasn’t even aware the 25th anniversary had arrived until someone brought it to my attention,” Hill said in a statement of Score, the best-selling album ever by a hip-hop group (at 22 million copies) and, at the time, the first by a rap group to be nominated for an album of the year Grammy. “I decided to honor this significant project, its anniver...
Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
Of Certified Lover Boy’s 236,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 16, SEA units comprise 227,000 units (down 60%, equaling 305.43 million on-demand streams of the album’s 21 tracks), album sales comprise 6,500 (down 86%) and TEA units comprise 2,500 units (down 45%). Of Drake’s 10 No. 1 albums, Certified is his fourth to spend more than a week atop the list. His other multiple-week chart-toppers are Scorpion (No. 1 for five weeks in 2018), More Life (No. 1 for three weeks in 2017) and Views (No. 1 for 13 weeks in 2016). Kanye West’s former No. 1 Donda is a non-mover at No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, with 79,000 equivalent album units earned (down 44%). Kacey Musgraves’ new studio album Star-Crossed debuts at No. 3 with 77,000 equivalent album units earned...
Dua Lipa & Megan Thee Stallion Hit the Club While Crossing Paths in Las Vegas: See the Photos
During the event, Lipa was honored by Ryan Seacrest with the iHeartRadio titanium award for her hit song “Levitating,” which reached 1 billion total audience spins across iHeartRadio stations. The track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2020. Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion was in Vegas for her headlining set at the 2021 Life Is Beautiful festival in downtown. Later in the evening, Lipa took to her Instagram Story to share a clip of the hip-hop star performing onstage at the Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan. “Lets go hot girl,” Lipa captioned the clip, tagging Megan. The singer also shared a behind-the-scenes photo gallery on Instagram of the two music stars making silly faces and posing together in the club. In the snapshots, Lipa is seen wearin...
Big Freedia Drops New EP Big Diva Energy: Stream
Big Freedia is back (by popular demand!) with her new EP Big Diva Energy via East West Records. Stream it below. To mark the release of the project, the MC also dropped the wild music video for lead single “Not Today” featuring Jake Shears and Tank and the Bangas’ Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph. “Not Today’ is a track about setting limits with people. It’s about the people who use you and think you aren’t paying attention. I’m saying, ‘I see you and it’s not gonna happen today, not tomorrow—not never b—h!” Freedia said in a statement. Advertisement Related Video Across its six tracks, Big Diva Energy also contains collaborations with Soaky Siren and the rest of Tank and the Bangas (“Betty Bussit”) and Jax and Marc Rebillet (“BDE”), as well as solo offerings “Platinum,” “Mm Mm Good,” and more. Wat...
Rap Song of the Week: Lil Nas X and Megan Thee Stallion Brush Off the Haters on “Dolla Sign Slime”
Rap Song of the Week breaks down the rap and hip-hop tracks you need to hear every week. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Lil Nas X teams up with Megan Thee Stallion on his Montero track “Dolla Sign Slime.” After a rollout that left conservative pundits clutching their pearls, Lil Nas X finally dropped his debut album, Montero, today and revealed a complete artist comfortable in his true identity. “Dolla Sign Slime” is not one of the many soul-baring songs on the project, but a Megan Thee Stallion-assisted banger squarely aimed at everyone who predicted the 22-year-old rapper’s downfall. Here to dispel all the rumors and naysayers, Lil Nas X uses the anthemic, horn-driven production of “Dolla Sign Slime” to talk his shit. While bragging about buying all the luxury items that co...
Open Mike Eagle Taps Armand Hammer for New Single “Burner Account”: Stream
Open Mike Eagle has released his new single “Burner Account” featuring a guest assist from Armand Hammer. Stream it below. The track marks the Chicago-turned-Los Angeles MC’s first release since his 2020 full-length Anime, Trauma and Divorce as well as Season 2 of his podcast What Had Happened Was. “Some dirty soul music I made with the brilliant brothers I’m about to go on this tour with produced by the mad genius Quelle Chris,” Open Mike Eagle said in a statement about the song, before promising there’s much more on the way. “This is from a new project I’m working on. I’m also writing on a TV show I can’t reveal the name of yet and taping new seasons of both of my podcasts so there’s a lot of cooking happening. This is the first taste.” Advertisement Related Video The rapper will join th...
How ‘Synth God’ Mike Dean Went From Powering ‘Donda’ Stadium Events to Commanding His Own Echoplex Shows
Those two artists’ discographies, which include a combined 13 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums that Dean contributed his Midas touch to — plus his work with legendary musicians such as 2Pac, Selena Quintanilla, Madonna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and The Weeknd — have cemented Dean as one of the best producers of the 21st century. Dean, also known by his legion of devoted followers as the “Synth God,” is a household name just like the acts he works closely with. “I hate when interviews start with ‘Kanye West producer Mike Dean,'” he tells Billboard over Zoom from his California home studio, its setup bearing similar resemblance to his Echoplex shows, where the synths revolve around the one who breathes life into them. “I’m Mike Dean.” A man subject to man...
