Hip-Hop
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....
Kanye West to Perform at Rolling Loud Miami
This Sunday, Kanye West will take center stage at Rolling Loud Miami, a source close to the situation tells Billboard. On Tuesday, long-term collaborator Consequence went on social media and posted a sketch of Kanye’s possible stage design for his performance at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami this weekend. “DONDA Experience Rolling Loud Miami, FL 07.25.21 Via KW Summer ’21,” read the now-deleted caption from Cons. The drawing featured a pyramid design, which could allude to West’s stage setup. Sunday’s concert will also mark West’s first festival appearance since 2019’s Sunday Service at Coachella. 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 ...
Belly Joins Forces With The Weeknd and Young Thug on ‘Better Believe’: Watch
Earlier this year, Belly ended a three-year music drought with a string of new releases, “Money on the Table” featuring Benny The Butcher, “IYKYK” and “Zero Love.” Speaking to Billboard, Belly says he’s thrilled to have leaders like The Weeknd and Jay-Z in his corner, and he’s in a much happier place than the time of his last album, 2018’s Immigrant. “Honestly man, it’s a celebration of me coming back and being able to do this,” he says of the new LP. “It was times during these last couple of years that I stopped believing that I would ever get the chance to be Belly, the rapper, the artist ever again. I just didn’t have the confidence or the passion. I feel like now being able to do it like this and have an album of this caliber, sh-t man, it feels good. I think the celeb...
Why Megan Thee Stallion Hid Her Aspirations to Be a Rapper From Her Mom
She definitely got it from her mama, Holly Thomas, who was a rapper who went by the name “Holly-Wood.” She died in March 2019 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. But while a young Meg traded daycare sessions for her mother’s recording studio sessions, she realized exactly how she wanted to entertain others, but still didn’t want to let her mom find out until she was 18. “I wanted to be perfect to her,” she told Banks. “I was practicing since I was, like, 7. And then when I got in high school, I was like, ‘No, I’m not gonna tell her yet.’ But she would have these CDs laying around the house — like, instrumentals — and I would take ’em in my room, and I would take the beats and write to ’em in my room. ...
Offset Describes His Baller First Date With Cardi B on ‘Kimmel’: ‘I Went Big’
Offset dropped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night (July 20) to talk marriage, elaborate gifts and first dates with guest host Anthony Anderson. Jumping right into it, the Black-ish star asked the Migos rapper to describe the first time he went out with wife Cardi B and, as you can imagine, it was a story. “Our first date I went big,” said Offset, who came out looking like a rock star in black leather pants and matching jacket, graphic tee, shades and, of course, a neck shining with chains that included a giant one with his stage name in diamonds. “I wanted to do something that was not normally done. I wanted to have fun.” So, of course, he took Cardi to the Super Bowl. Now, he couldn’t remember what number Bowl it was, but he knew his team the Atlanta Falc...
Chance The Rapper Talks Bringing Secret Concert ‘Magnificent Coloring World’ to Big Screen
The concert film will celebrate the five-year anniversary of Coloring Book. Chance could have gone the streaming service route, but he elected to pitch his concert film idea to AMC Theatres a few months ago with hopes of immersing moviegoers into his full concert experience. “There’s just something different about going to see something in theaters, instead of watching it in your bed or whatever,” he said. “I always knew that I wanted this to be experienced in a group and on a huge screen with crazy surround sound.” Chance led the film’s editing process and self-distributed the film through his House of Kicks umbrella, which reimagines music, film and virtual experiences. His partnership with the theater chain marks the first time a music artist has independently distributed a fi...
Stormzy, Jorja Smith & More Nominated for 2021 GRM Daily Rated Awards
Last year’s virtual ceremony was hosted by comedian Mo Gilligan and radio host Julie Adenuga. Among last year’s winners were J Hus’ Big Conspiracy for album of the year, Dutchavelli for breakthrough of the year, and D-Block Europe for male artist of the year. Other highlights from last year’s show include performances by George the Poet, Dizzee Rascal and Kano. Fans can vote for their favorite artists here until Aug. 17. Performances for this year’s show will be announced in the coming weeks. See below for the list of nominees. Album of the year:AJ Tracey, Flu GameBugzy Malone, The ResurrectionD Block Europe, The Blueprint- Us Vs. ThemFredo, Money Can’t Bu...
Kanye West Confirms Release of New Album Donda in Beats By Dre Commercial
Kanye West confirmed the impending release of his new album, Donda, in a Beats by Dre commercial aired during Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The album, Kanye’s 10th solo LP to date, will arrive this Friday, July 23rd. The accompanying ad features American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who recently became infamous after she was banned from Olympic competition after testing positive for marijuana use. While it’s great to see Richardson getting paid after such a ridiculously outdated rebuff, the exciting part of the commercial is obviously the new Kanye music that soundtracks it. Specifically, the ad features a song called “No Child Left Behind,” which marks our first known preview of Donda. Watch the ad below. The tease comes days after Kanye held a surprise listening party in La...
Thom Yorke Reveals Fifth Sonos Radio Mix: Stream
Thom Yorke has unveiled the fifth Sonos Radio Mix in his ongoing series “In the Absence Thereof”. This new playlist features Tom Waits, Madlib, black midi, and more. Yorke’s playlists are always refreshingly eclectic, spanning electronic, hip-hop, blues, rock, classical, and songs so challenging or experimental they could awaken the most jaded ears. This latest edition is no different, kicking off with Tom Waits’ 1992 classic “The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me,” before proceeding on a time-hopping, genre-defying journey. There are a handful of cuts from 2021, including Madlib’s “Loose Goose,” black midi’s “John L,” and “Movement 7” from the recent collaboration between Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and The London Symphony Orchestra. Besides that, Yorke isn’t afraid to reach into the past,...
