Hip-Hop
Hopscotch Announces 2021 Lineup with Animal Collective, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dog and More
In the spirit of the game for which it was named, Hopscotch Music Festival has leapt over the square marked 2020 and landed on 2021. The event returns to Raleigh, North Carolina from September 9th through 11th with appearances by Animal Collective, Flying Lotus, and Dr. Dog on their farewell tour. Hopscotch built its brand around an experimental and underground vibe, though those adjectives haven’t described this year’s headliners for quite a while. But few will complain about seeing more recognizable names on the roster. In addition to the bold-faced acts, the fest boasts performances by Caroline Polachek, Parquet Courts, and Shannon & The Clams, as well as Archers of Loaf, Body Meat, Bowerbirds, Colin Stetson, Dougie Poole, Garcia Peoples, Hannah Jadagu, Helado Negro, Hippo Camp...
Westside Gunn, DJ Premier, and Brady Watt Team Up for “The Narcissist”: Stream
Producer Brady Watt has teamed up with Westside Gunn and DJ Premier for their new collaborative single, “The Narcissist.” Along with the two-and-a-half minute track, the artists have shared a music video animated by cartoonist Jim Warren to bring the track’s lyrics to life. “The Narcissist” opens with a drumless, twinkly synth riff, and the beat gradually builds into a swirling instrumental with a jazzy bassline. “I cooked up this composition how I usually do, just jamming in the studio,” Watt explained in a press release. “I used three basses on this; my fretted, fretless, and upright…This song really manifested itself, and I’m honored to have my name next to these titans.” DJ Premier added, “This one was more of me listening to Brady’s direction and vision. I felt like it needed some dru...
Lil Nas X Claps Back at ‘Industry Baby’ Criticism & Comparison to ‘Montero’ Video
“I’m happy he’s found Christ but there’s so much compromise,” the Twitter user wrote, referring to the direction ‘Ye’s music has taken since his back-to-back 2019 gospel projects Jesus Is King and Jesus Is Born, the latter of which is credited to the Sunday Service Choir. “And then to find out that he helped produce that demonic sonf/video that Lil Nas X made is so upsetting.” But the 22-year-old rapper shut that down immediately by responding, “There was nothing demonic about the industry baby video. just say u hate gay people musty.” LNX was also surprised to find out that people took issue with his latest video, which in one widely discussed scene depicts a group of naked men dancing in a prison shower...
London Rapper Dave Shares New Album We’re All Alone in This Together: Stream
London rapper Dave has shared his new album We’re All Alone in This Together. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. We’re All Alone In This Together is the follow-up to the South London rapper’s 2019 debut, Psychodrama. It comes with a stacked cast of guest appearances, including Stormzy, James Blake, Wizkid, Snoh Aalegra, Ghetts, Giggs, Mount Kimbie, and Fredo. Spanning 12 tracks, the album boasts the previously-released singles “Clash” and “System.” As the title implies, its thematic focus skews fairly dark and contemplative. Its instrumentals are generally mellow and pretty, with a couple of bangers in the mix. Advertisement Related Video Back in January, Dave made a guest appearance on Fredo’s album, Money Can’t Buy Happiness. We’re All Alone in This Together Artwork: ...
5 Best Moments From ‘Kanye West Presents A Donda Listening Event’
But the Grammy Award-winning rapper had the last laugh when he arrived in a sea of camera flashes and cheers from the crowd. Kanye has yet to say a word throughout this album rollout, and he remained quiet throughout the event. Regardless though, Kanye had people paying attention to what was about to go down in Atlanta. Billboard compiled a list of the five best moments from Kanye West Presents A Donda Listening Event. Check out our picks below! Kanye Dips Into His Nostalgic Bag For His Outfit Of The Day Kanye knows a thing or two about fashion, so when it came to his outfit choice on Thursday, all eyes were glued to what he’d pulled out of his wardrobe. Dressed in a red puffer jacket from his upcoming YZY Gap line, a tan mask, red pants and a pair of unreleased Adidas Yeezy 1020V, K...
Drake and Smiley Go ‘Over The Top’: Stream It Now
Drizzy and his fellow Torontonian have connections that extend well beyond their hometown. Drake has previously cited Smiley as an “inspiration” and, a day after finding out he was one of the most-nominated artists for the 2019 Grammys, the rapper uploaded a video of himself shirtless in the pool, sipping a drink and cooling down to the intro track off Smiley’s A Tape to Remember. Drake’s forthcoming sixth album was originally slated for release in January, but was pushed back due to his rehab from surgery. It’s the followup to the mega-hit double album from 2018, Scorpion. Stream Smiley’s “Over The Top” featuring Drake below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagin...
Lil Nas X Releases New Song “Industry Baby” Produced by Kanye West: Stream
Lil Nas X has released his highly anticipated new single “Industry Baby.” The track features Louisville rapper Jack Harlow and was co-produced by Kanye West and Take a Daytrip. Watch the accompanying video below. To hype the song up on Monday, Lil Nas X shared a teaser video that spoofed his “Satan shoe” controversy. The clip captured Lil Nas X juggling multiple roles — judge, prisoner, and lawyer — in an imaginary full-blown trial over his limited-edition sneakers that allegedly contained one drop of human blood. The video for “Industry Baby” continues that storyline, as it finds Lil Nas X living behind bars. Watch below. “Industry Baby” is the latest preview of Montero, the rapper’s eagerly awaited debut album. Lil Nas X previously released the record’s title track and smash hit “Mo...
Kim Kardashian Attends Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Album Event
Kardashian filed for divorce from West in February after six-plus years of marriage. West and Kardashian were married on May 24, 2014, during a private reception in Florence, Italy. The wedding took place 11 months after Kardashian gave birth to their firstborn, North, in June 2013. They’ve since welcomed son Saint, daughter Chicago and son Psalm, all of whom were in attendance at Thursday’s listening. Donda — which is due Friday — will be West’s first album since his back-to-back 2019 gospel projects Jesus Is King and Jesus Is Born, the latter of which is credited to the Sunday Service Choir. The new project is named after his late mom, who died in 2007 at age 58. See a fan video of Kardashian and her kids’ entrance below:...
Lil Uzi Vert Set to Become “First Human to Legally Own a Planet”
Lil Uzi Vert is preparing to buy a planet. Yes, you read that correctly. Just one day after we’ve started collectively recovering from the billionaire space race, the rapper announced his pending extraterrestrial purchase on social media. The interplanetary tea was actually spilled first by Grimes, who retweeted an artist’s rendering of the planet in question — WASP-127 b. “This is WASP-127b, a gas giant exoplanet 1.4x larger than Jupiter orbiting a yellow dwarf star (like ours)!” the original space-centric account tweeted, leading Grimes to reply, “Apparently @LILUZIVERT owns this planet – just a heads up.” The Eternal Atake rapper quickly responded, confirming Grimes’ assertion while noting she had actually beaten him to the punch. “I tried 2 surprise everyone…still working on it,” he wr...
Dr. Dre Ordered to Pay Nicole Young Nearly $300K a Month in Spousal Support
Billboard has reached out to Dre’s and Young’s attorneys for comment. Dre (born Andre Young) and Nicole were married for 24 years until she filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences. The couple, who married in 1996, have two children together: 23-year-old son Truice and 19-year-old daughter Truly. During the back-and-forth that took place after the announcement of their split, Dre’s attorneys filed a copy of what they said was a prenup signed by the couple in late December 2020, which noted that all the property that they’d acquired since their wedding would be kept separately, but also that Nicole did not waive her right to spousal support. The level of spousal support would become the centerpiece of the yearlong dispute, with the s...
Diddy Announces New Album ‘Off the Grid Vol. 1′: ‘Welcome to the Love Era!’
Providing some mystery are the words “vol. 1” tacked on to the title, as they indicate there’s potentially another full album counterpart coming from Combs. The upcoming record will mark his first release since 2015’s MMM, a mixtape project saturated with collaborations from the likes of Lil’ Kim, Future, Travis Scott, Big Sean, Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa and more. The new album announcement follows the news of Combs inking a deal with manager Wassim “SAL” Slaiby, who famously represents The Weeknd. Combs will move into his new era in partnership with Slaiby and his comapany SALXCO as well as with WME, with whom he also signed this year. The rapper of many names (P. Diddy, Puff Daddy and Puffy, to name a few) is also a man of many projects. In addi...
With Nicki Minaj Remix, BIA Banks First Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Elsewhere, “Money” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and at No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Among the song’s achievements, “Money” is the genre’s top-selling track of the week, with 12,000 downloads sold in the week ending July 15, according to MRC Data, up 1,280% from the prior frame. (For chart purposes, both versions of the song are combined into one title.) The burst powers the song to a No. 1 revival on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart after it spent on week on the list, at No. 21, last month. As BIA nets her first champ on the sales-specific survey, Minaj collects her 13th to tie Eminem for the third-most among all acts. Only Drake (22) and Lil Wayne (14) claim more since the chart’s 2010 founding. Streams, too, explode in the wake of Minaj’s addition....
