Hip-Hop
Moneybagg Yo Scores First R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 With ‘Wockesha’
Moneybagg Yo ousting Silk Sonic also gets revenge for the Memphis rapper, after his previous single “Time Today” stalled at No. 2 for two weeks behind “Door” last month. On the current list, “Time” exits the top 10 after 12 weeks in the region and dips to No. 12. With “Wockesha,” Moneybagg Yo cements his status as one of the hottest acts on R&B/hip-hop radio in the past year. After none of his first five entries on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as a lead act reached the top 20, the rapper has scored four consecutive top 10s: “1 2 3,” featuring Blac Youngsta (No. 6), “Said Sum” (No. 5), “Time Today” and “Wockesha.” In tandem with its R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay coronation, “Wockesha” also climbs 2-1 to rule the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which measures the most-played son...
Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Summit 2021 Brings Out Gucci Mane, Polo G & More
This summit wouldn’t be right without acknowledging the super exciting, ever-growing market for female artists in rap. Heran Mamo led a conversation with four of the genre’s leading ladies — Flo Milli, Kash Doll, Rubi Rose and Snow Tha Product — on how they got their start, working in a male-dominated sphere, the importance of women supporting women, colorism and more. Three Top Music Managers Talked “Management 101” Shifting away for a bit from artists and focusing in on the business side of music industry, writer Neena Rouhani held a virtual roundtable between pros Arnold Taylor, Gordan Dillard and Tunde Balogun talking about the triumphs and tribulations of being a modern-day music manager. The men in the room are managing names like Doja Cat and Summ...
Kanye West Asks Court to Legally Change His Name to Ye
The documents, dated Aug. 11 but not sent into the court system until Tuesday, cite “personal reasons” for the change. An email seeking comment from the attorney who filed the documents was not immediately returned. A judge must approve of the change before it becomes official. West, who has called himself Ye on his social media pages for years, tweeted that he wanted the change in 2018, saying, “the being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.” The moniker was also the title of his 2018 album. He has said in interviews that, along with being a shortening of his first name he likes, that it’s a word used throughout the Bible. West is in the middle of a divorce with Kim Kardashian West, who did not ask that her last name be changed back to just Kardashian when she filed to split from him in...
Kanye West Files to Legally Change Name to “Ye”
Kanye West has filed documents to legally change his name to “Ye.” TMZ reports that the 44-year-old rapper submitted the paperwork with a California court this week. Under state law, he’ll be given a court date sometime in the next three months, at which point a judge will hear Kanye’s petition and decide whether to approve the name change. Kanye has yet to publicly comment on the move, but this is not the first time he has flirted with a rebrand. In 2019, he said he had considered legally changing his name to “Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West” “until ‘yall understand exactly what it is.” Kanye did not follow through with that threat, but this time he’s gone as far to actually file a legal petition with the court. It’s now in the hands of a judge to decide whether one of the biggest...
Busta Rhymes Says Mask Mandates Can “Suck a Dick”
Here’s some news that’ll make you want to “Break Ya Neck”: a clip has resurfaced of a Busta Rhymes performance from earlier this summer, during which the legendary MC went on a heated rant slamming mask mandates in the wake of spiking COVID-19 cases. Back in June, just as concerns about the Delta variant took precedence in the US, Busta voiced his ill-advised frustrations during his set as the surprise headliner at the Seoul Taco’s 10th anniversary block party in Missouri. The clip is now being recirculated on social media. “This is my second show in front of human life in the last 15 fucking months,” the rapper told the crowd in-between cheers. “COVID can suck a dick. All these little weird-ass government policies and mandates — suck a dick.” “It’s called the God-given right of freedom, r...
Megan Thee Stallion Allowed to Release BTS ‘Butter’ Remix, Judge Rules
Megan Thee Stallion claims if the “Butter (Remix)” isn’t able to come out, then her “art will be impacted, the release of the song derailed, and Pete’s goodwill, reputation, and overall career will suffer detrimental, undesirable, and irreversible harm,” according to the filing. It also states that preventing the release will have a “devastating impact to her relationships with her fans and with other recording artists in the music industry.” Megan Thee Stallion’s first TRO filed against 1501 came in March 2020 after the rapper filed a lawsuit over unfair contract terms and claiming the label prohibited her from releasing new music. A judge ruled in her favor and ordered 1501 Entertainment “to do nothing to prevent...
Boys Noize Lends Sample-Heavy Production to ABRA and Playboi Carti On “Unlock It”
After opening the door to her first major label release on RCA Records, ABRA has returned with Playboi Carti for “Unlock It.” The track marks ABRA’s first single in nearly a handful of years, and with it she brings an optimistic new tone and brisk production from Boys Noize. As ABRA shines over the crisp production with angelic falsettos, the underlying production is dotted with lo-fi, soulful vocal ad-libs that will have 90’s hip-hop fans feeling nostalgic. The track also features a verse from the always unpredictable Playboi Carti, who ABRA says played a role in inspiring the next leg of her journey. Recommended Articles Fans of Boys Noize have been enlightened to the producer’s keen ear for smooth R&B with the advent of the moody &#...
DaBaby Apologizes to “Cry Babies” at Summer Jam 2021
In an unusual feat of dexterity, DaBaby has spent most of the last month with his foot planted firmly in his mouth. He accomplished it again Sunday at Hot 97 Summer Jam, when he apologized for his recent homophobic remarks before clarifying that many of the people who had been offended were “cry babies.” DaBaby has been alternating between contrition and defiance since his appearance at Rolling Loud Miami, when he singled out gay audience members and asked that they restrain from getting hyped along with the rest of the crowd. Since then he’s been booted from the bills of Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, and more. Summer Jam was one of his first high-profile appearances following the controversy. DaBaby opened the set with a pre-taped video in which he thanked Hot 97 ...
Lil Nas X Named Chief Impact Officer at Taco Bell
If the Great Potato Return wasn’t enough to make Taco Bell your fast food joint of choice, allow Lil Nas X to step in. Today, the “Old Town Road” phenomenon was announced as the chain’s first chief impact officer. This new role will reportedly see him take on an array of creatively-focused opportunities, including some “menu innovations” and “an exclusive experience” focused around the release of his forthcoming debut album, Montero. Lil Nas X is the first to hold this honorary role, which “combines food, music, and philanthropy.” As Billboard points out, he’ll also be teaming with the Taco Bell Foundation to benefit creative youth via the Live Más Scholarship, and will appear in the restaurant’s breakfast campaign. More “fan engagement opportunities” will be announced later this year. The...
Tory Lanez Bail Increased After Violating Megan Thee Stallion Protective Order at Rolling Loud Miami
The penalty comes nearly one month after Lanez made a surprise appearance at the Rolling Loud Miami festival on July 25, in which he joined DaBaby onstage to perform — moments after Megan Thee Stallion delivered her set. For Lanez, attending and performing at the event was in violation of the protective order he was issued in October, which mandated that he stay at least 100 yards away from Megan at all times. At one point in court, the judge revealed that he was going to issue Lanez a court-ordered tracking device. But the rapper’s attorney, Shawn Holley, helped prevent the measure by giving a series of arguments. She said, “It was a unique circumstance, errors in judgement were made, but this can easily be prevented from happening again.” She went on to say, &...
Kacey Musgraves Drops New Song, Announces Upcoming Album & Film ‘Star-Crossed’
Kacey Musgraves announced on Monday (Aug. 23), that she will release her upcoming studio album, Star-Crossed, on Sept. 10 via Interscope/UMG Nashville. She also dropped the project’s title track. For the new project, Musgraves reunited with Ian Fitchuk and Tashian, her collaborators on the Grammy-winning 2018 project Golden Hour. A press release for Star-Crossed describes the album as being “structured as a modern-day tragedy in three acts,” one that relates “an extremely personal journey of heartache and healing.” The 15-song album marks the first since Musgraves’ divorce from fellow musician Ruston Kelly. The couple wed in 2017 and announced their split in July 2020. In the title track, which was also released Monday, Musgraves includes the lines, “Signed the papers yesterday/ You ...
T.I. Encourages Lizzo After Her Tearful Reaction to Haters: ‘Keep Doing What You Do’
A Facebook company spokesperson confirmed to Billboard that Facebook and Instagram were taking down hateful comments under her accounts as well as removing accounts. Tip also encouraged the singer and others who’ve faced hate on social media, “Don’t pick up your phone and look in your comments and expect for strangers off the internet, who got their own s— they’re trying to bear with and deal with and go through, you know what I’m saying?” The singer occasionally panned the camera to his 5-year-old daughter Heiress, who was audibly singing in the backseat. He later encouraged his followers to tag Lizzo in the comments section so that she could see his message since he claimed to not know her personally. “I think she talent...
