Hip-Hop
Cardi B Is Thrilled With Chart Debut For ‘Up’: ‘I Over Succeeded’
Is she feeling up about it all? You bet. “Just landed and my wifi back poppin. I want to say thank you to all my fans and supporters this is BIG for me,” she tweets. “I wanted to beat my last solo single number & I over succeeded. First time a female rapper debut top 5 since Lauren. This is pop girl shit but I’m not pop.” Of course, Cardi’s last release was “WAP,” her blockbuster collab with Megan Thee Stallion that topped the Billboard Hot 100 back in August. “Up” dropped on Feb. 5 and has gone on to rule a slew of charts, including Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs. Cardi was named Billboard’s 2020 Woman of the Year in December and she’s notched at least one top 10 single in each of the last five years, dating ...
Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera & More Artists Share the Love on Valentine’s Day 2021
See how other artists are celebrating Valentine’s Day with their loved ones: Joe Jonas The Jonas brother shared a sweet throwback pic of wife Sophie Turner from when she was pregnant with their daughter. In the snap, the Game of Thrones star is sprawled on the couch, her pregnant belly on display. “Happy Valentine’s Day to my 2 Valentines [heart emoji] throwback,” he captioned the image. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello The “Wonder” singer showed off the sweetness in his life on Valentine’s Day. In his Instagram Stories, the crooner shared a photo of Cabello with a plate featuring what appears to be a heart-shaped pancake surrounded by blueberries and strawberries. The photo was accompanied by three heart emojis. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill The countr...
Nicki Minaj Father Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash
Nicki Minaj’s father, Robert Maraj, was killed after being struck by a vehicle on Friday. Maraj, 64, was walking along a road in Mineola on Long Island at 6:15 p.m. local time when he was hit by a car that kept going, according to ABC 7 New York. Maraj was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead on Saturday. TMZ reports that police officers do not have a description of the driver and are asking for the public’s help in identifying them. A publicist for Minaj confirmed Robert’s passing to TMZ, but did not offer any additional comment. Related 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 back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the pro...
Cardi B Reveals the Sweet — and Extravagant — Surprises From Offset for Valentine’s Day
Offset also shared video of Cardi B opening up the gift in his Instagram Stories. “25k don’t play wit me,” he wrote over the clip. In a second video, Cardi — who released her latest single “Up” on Feb. 5, can be heard gushing. “Oooh! Oh oh oh! Wow! You did that? You did that for me? You did that for me!” she says as she walks into a hallway lined with boxes of red roses, and then into a room decorated with vase upon vase of more red, white and pink roses. Offset also appears briefly in the clip to confirm that he did indeed surprise his wife with an abundance of flowers. “Thank you again baby for this beautiful trip,” she captioned the video with the flowers, tagging the Migos rapper. “Your right I need to take my mind...
All Eyez on Me Captured 2Pac’s Last Moments of Peace
Editor’s Note: 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me originally dropped on February 13th, 1996. The double-album, the last record released while 2Pac was still alive, would go on to change the rap game forever. To celebrate the record’s 25th anniversary, Jayson Buford takes a look back at the album’s indelible legacy. In October 1995, Death Row Records boss Suge Knight paid the $1.4 million bail that was on the head of rap superstar Tupac Amaru Shakur, whose name had increasingly been in the papers for both his talent and troubles. Shakur was serving a sentence of up to four years for sexual assault, a crime that he maintained he did not commit. Alongside that black mark on his reputation, the night before the judge announced the verdict to the world, back in November 1994, 2Pac was shot outside of Quad S...
Kerry Washington Wants to Get In on a ‘Remix to the Remix’ of ’34+35′
Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion were touched by a tweet from Kerry Washington on Saturday (Feb. 13). The Scandal star gave a shout-out to Grande and her co-stars, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, after their release of the “34+35” remix music video. The three have something of an ideal girls’ day together in the clip, which debuted on Friday — and next time, Washington wants an invite. “Hey @ArianaGrande @theestallion @DojaCat if there is a 34+35 remix to the remix…I am available! Just wanted to throw that out there,” Washington wrote on Twitter, throwing in some fire emojis. 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 back power....
Song of the Week: Haviah Mighty Channels Her Jamaican Heritage on “Obeah”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, rapper Haviah Mighty channels her Jamaican Heritage on “Obeah”. Multiculturalism asks us to acknowledge and embrace the diversity within our own communities. Most of us try to live out that idea, recognizing that others experience the world (even the same community) differently than us and draw from different sources and traditions to cope with the daily challenges that we all face. That’s the crux of “Obeah”, the latest song by hip-hop artist and 2019 Polaris Prize winner Haviah Mighty, who our own Wren Graves describes as “one o...
JPEGMAFIA Drops New Project EP2!: Stream
JPEGMAFIA is back with the exclamatory new release EP2!. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The follow-up to 2020’s EP! and 2019’s full-length All My Heroes Are Cornballs, EP2! is all JPEGMAFIA all the time, with every track written, produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Peggy himself. While he built his reputation with an in-your-face delivery, on EP2! he holds up a cracked mirror to melodic radio rap, creating a sound that’s indelibly his own. As he spits on “KELTEC!”, “You can’t believe I created a lane.” Previously, he shared the singles “LAST DANCE!” and “FIX URSELF!”. Besides that, he had a staggeringly busy 2020, sharing “living single”, “BALD!”, “COVERED IN MONEY!”, “BODYGUARD!”,“CUTIE PIE!”, “THE BENDS!”, and a wonderful “BALD! REMI...
Kevin Gates Drops New Single “Plug Daughter 2”: Stream
Punxsutawney Phil predicted another six more weeks of winter, but Kevin Gates couldn’t care less. The Louisiana rapper just surprise released a new single called “Plug Daughter 2” and an accompanying music video that sees him soaking up the sun in Puerto Rico. It’s a welcome dose of vitamin D, and you can stream it below. Lyrically, “Plug Daughter 2” sees Gates detailing a tumultuous love affair, but the music itself couldn’t sound happier. Over a breezy beat, Gates’ vocals echo atop a nimble keyboard melody and faded backing vocals that harmonize rather sweetly. It’s mellow but driven — the exact type of progression Gates has been capitalizing on as of late. In the music video, Gates wanders through gorgeous landscapes in Puerto Rico. Lucious trees and vibrant greens surround him while he...
Kranium Brings ‘Toxic’ Vibes Ahead of Valentine’s Day With His New EP: Stream
Dancehall star Kranium looks to warm up listeners ahead of Valentine’s Day weekend with his five-track EP Toxic. After garnering success with his breezy single “Gal Policy,” Kranium clocked in another lively record last month with “Block Traffic.” Shot in Jamaica, the cinematic visual showcases Kranium’s smooth swagger when interacting with the apple of his eye. “Toxic is a five-song body of work,” he tells Billboard. The EP isn’t a traditional dancehall project. It’s more melodic. I leaned more into the rhythmic zone with this one — more into the ‘Melody God’ in me.” You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It...
Haviah Mighty Pops Off on New Song “Obeah”: Stream
Haviah MIghty is wary of dark energies on her new song “Obeah”. The 2019 Polaris Prize winner is one of the most exciting voices in hip-hop today, equally comfortable with windows-down bangers and mind-bending conscious raps. With “Obeah”, she’s found a new twist on an old standard, channeling her Jamaican heritage to find an original slant on the “Watch who you surround yourself with,” song. The concept of Obeah doesn’t translate easily to outsiders, but it’s generally understood to involve a kind of magic or supernatural energy. As Mighty explained in a statement, “I’ve navigated life off the strength of my parents’ teachings, and one of those notable teachings is to be mindful of the company you keep and of those you call your friends. Being of Caribbean descent, I’ve heard many stories...
FX’s Hip Hop Uncovered Is a Powerful Watch: Review
The Pitch: Far too often, the history of hip-hop is condensed to make its origins more palatable for younger fans. Black folks in New York — downtrodden by systems that perpetuated poverty, racism, and police brutality — pioneered a form of creative expression meant to give a platform to their pain. However, FX’s Hip Hop Uncovered explores the genre’s complexity. More importantly, it analyzes rap music in a sociopolitical context. From slavery to the destruction of Black Wall Street to the war on drugs to the Black Lives Matter movement, Hip Hop Uncovered reminds viewers of the brutal American history that has always worked to violate and abuse Black people. It also demystifies some of rap’s most prominent figures who were pivotal in the careers of artists like Nipsey Hussle, Nicki Minaj, ...
