Hip-Hop
Toronto Declares ‘The Weeknd Day’ to Honor Singer’s Super Bowl Performance
Other Canadians who have performed at the Super Bowl include actor Dan Aykroyd, who reprised his famous Blues Brothers character in 1997, and country singer Shania Twain, who rocked the big game in 2003. Ahead of Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Weeknd revealed that he plans to buck recent tradition and go it alone during his 2021 Pepsi Super Bowl LV halftime performance. “I’ve been reading a lot of rumors,” the singer told the NFL Network while discussing whether he’ll have any special guests on stage. “There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative and the story I was telling in the performance. So, there’s no special guests, no.” In a recent Billboard cover story, The Weekend’...
BRS Kash’s ‘Throat Baby’ Shoots Into Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart
Already a radio hit, “Throat Baby” improves its standing on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, ascending 6-5. The track climbs to 15.1 million in format audience in the week ending Jan. 31, a 5% bump from the prior tracking week. Despite the gains in consumption metrics, the original version of “Throat Baby” slightly outperforms the remix in weekly activity on the chart, which combines sales, streams and airplay. Thus, DaBaby and City Girls do not receive billing on the chart, though the situation could change in future weeks if the remix version provides the majority share of the pair. Elsewhere, “Throat Baby” maintains its status as the third-most played song on MRC Data’s monitored R&B/hip-hop radio stations as it retains a No. 3 rank on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Yet, thou...
Conway the Machine and Big Ghost LTD Reunite on New Album If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed: Stream
Conway the Machine is still putting the final touches on God Don’t Make Mistakes, his debut album on Shady Records, but he’s got another release to keep fans occupied in the meantime: If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed, a joint LP with producer Big Ghost LTD. Today’s new effort marks a reunion for the two hip-hop acts, who previously linked up on last year’s well received No One Mourns the Wicked. Conway, Big Ghost LTD, and fellow Griselda regular Westside Gunn also put out a collaborative project in 2015 called Griselda Ghost. There are 10 tracks in all on If It Bleeds. Many feature soulful, almost Motown-esque production (“J Batters” and “Highly Praised”), while others like “Toast” couple heavy artillery sounds with fuzzy funk. There’s also “Red Beams”, which fills every conceivable spac...
Pell Announces New Album with NOLA Collective GLBL WRMNG, Shares “504”: Stream
Rapper/producer Pell has formed the new musical collective GLBL WRMNG with dozens of his fellow artists from New Orleans. Their debut album glbl wrmng vol. 1 is out February 19th, and today they’ve shared the lead single, “501”. GLBL WRMNG is an expansive project, with contributions from dozens of producers and artists including Jelly of Tank and The Bangas, Malik NinetyFive, Jzzle, Lil Iceberg, Kr3wcial, and $leazy EZ. That inclusivity is by design; Pell set out to foster connections in the NOLA songwriting community. As he explained in a statement, “I wanted to make records with all my hometown friends that didn’t have to be just Pell records that could showcase the talent of New Orleans and what we had to offer. I wanted to executively produce this record and then give us all somet...
This TikTok User Mashed Up ‘WAP’ With ‘Bop to the Top’ From ‘High School Musical’ & It’s Actually Good
Bop bop bop, bop to the top, slip and slide and ride that… “WAP”? In the most unlikely mashup of all time, TikTok user @kraziibird seamlessly blended Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s raunchy Billboard Hot 100 chart topper with High School Musical‘s “Bop to the Top,” performed by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel’s characters Sharpay and Ryan. And while the two songs could not be more different, the resulting remix is actually really, really catchy. Megan’s iconic “gobble me, swallow me” verse flows perfectly over the bouncy “Bop to the Top” beat. 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: boygenius Reunite on Julien Baker’s Confessional “Favor”
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. While several stories over the past few weeks have reminded us that the entertainment world can still be very much a boys’ club in the worst ways imaginable, on the artistic side of matters, we’ve seen an undeniable shift in the recognition women are finally beginning to receive within the music industry, especially in the rock genre. Studies have shown that young women are not only picking up guitars at the highest rates ever, but they’re actually learning to play them in larger numbers than their male counterparts. No doubt it’s been partl...
A Timeline of Silento’s Legal Troubles
Since then, the rapper (real name: Ricky Hawk) has been unable to match his breakout success and has faced a string of legal issues, most recently being arrested and charged with the murder of his cousin on Monday. We’ve compiled a timeline of the 23-year-old’s brushes with the law since 2017. See them below: February 2017 – Held in United Arab Emirates Silento was stopped from leaving the country over a business dispute. A court ruling issued against him in the city of Al Ain ordered the then-19-year-old Atlanta artist to pay a local promoter 300,000 dirhams ($81,500) after he did not perform two scheduled shows in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. The judgment placed a travel ban on the rapper and ordered him to surrender his passport to the court until the case...
Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul’ Takes Top Documentary Prizes at Sundance
“I really wish there was a Sundance this year if only to watch the war between the Pfizer and Moderna suites trying to woo all the cool celebs to use their vaccine,” joked ceremony host Patton Oswalt to open the virtual ceremony. Sundance Institute director Keri Putnam offered words on the pandemic and Sundance’s place within it. “We have been able to gather in new ways that we weren’t sure to work but did,” said Putnam. “After a year that has been exceptionally difficult for artists and the arts. It is inspiring to this community rally so fiercely around both.” Newly instated director Tabitha Jackson followed Putnam and gave out thanks, concluding with the filmmakers for “trusting us with your work and going along with us on this ...
Lil Nas X Previews New Song ‘Montero (Call Me by Your Name)’ in 2021 Super Bowl Ad: Watch
“DEFY LOGIC celebrates people pursuing their passions and breaking new ground, despite what current conventions, past precedent or traditional thinking might suggest is possible.” said Heidi Arkinstall, chief marketing officer at Logitech in a statement. “By spotlighting the stories of these extraordinary individuals, and on such a major stage, Logitech hopes to support new generations of creators, artists and activists ready to do amazing things that defy logic.” In addition to the other creative endeavors, the spot shows Lil Nas in the studio working on the song and interacting with fans on his socials. “We defy what logic says we should look like, sound like, be like,” he says urgently as the song’s swinging beat swells. “We defy genres, algorithms and enti...
R.I.P. Ricky Powell, Iconic Hip-Hop Photographer and Honorary Beastie Boy Dead at 59
Ricky Powell, the celebrated hip-hop photographer who was known as the honorary fourth member of the Beastie Boys, has died at age 59. Powell’s manager and business partner Tono Radvany confirmed that his client had passed away on the night of February 1st. No cause of death has yet to be revealed. “I just want to let everyone know he was a very special man, and he will be sorely missed,” Radvany told Complex. A New York City native through and through, the Brooklyn-born Powell entered photography mainly to stick it to an ex-girlfriend. He discovered a camera she’d left behind and determined to use it to make a name for himself. After photographing art galleries in Greenwich Village and hip-hop shows in downtown Manhattan for a year, he was able to quit his job selling lemon ices to head o...
“Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” Rapper Silento Arrested for Murder
Silento, the Atlanta rapper best known for the viral hit “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”, has been charged with murdering his cousin. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Silento (born Ricky Lamar Hawk) was arrested by DeKalb police on Monday. Hawk’s cousin, Frederick Rooks, was shot and killed on the morning of January 21st. “After a thorough investigation, DKPD detectives identified Hawk as Rooks’ cousin, and the person responsible for Rooks’ murder,” according police spokeswoman Michaela Vincent. Detectives are still working to establish a motive. The 23-year-old Hawk has had several previous run-ins with the law. In August, he was arrested twice on domestic violence and gun charges. Then in October, he was booked after being clocked speeding at more than 140 mph. Hawk achieved ...
Cardi B Announces New Single ‘UP’
On Sunday, Cardi tweeted a video with the caption “I got an announcement to make tomorrow” and a loud-speaker emoji, so it’s safe to say this was her big news. In addition to the single news, Cardi also linked fans to her webstore, where she’s selling a CD single of the new song. Cardi’s last release was “WAP,” her blockbuster team-up with Megan Thee Stallion that topped the Billboard Hot 100 back in August. She was named Billboard‘s 2020 Woman of the Year in December, accepting the honor from Breonna Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer. 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...
