Hip-Hop
Lil Wayne Welcomes All-Star Lineup of Usher, Fabolous, Jadakiss and More to Young Money Radio
After taking a week off to commemorate Juneteenth, Lil Wayne returned to Young Money Radio on Friday (June 26) with an all-star guest lineup. Weezy discussed a wide variety of topics, ranging from new music to racial injustice, during the ninth episode of his Apple Radio show, as he welcomed guests Usher, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Jack Harlow and others. First up was Usher, who recently dropped the empowering song “I Cry” and penned an op-ed for The Washington Post highlighting the importance of Juneteenth. The superstar singer told Wayne that the inspiration behind “I Cry” came from the death of George Floyd. “There’s an outcry for us to be able to change the reality of what’s going on in our country,” Usher said. “And this so...
G-Eazy’s ‘Everything’s Strange Here’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now
After a slight delay, G-Eazy returns with Everything’s Strange Here. Originally scheduled to arrive on June 5, the new set dropped in full at midnight. The health crisis has turned many things inside out, including the Oakland rapper’s release strategy. In fact, if it weren’t for the lockdown, the new album wouldn’t be at our fingertips right now. These Things Happen Too was meant to come first, but, well, the coronavirus changes everything. In a social post last month, G-Eazy wrote: “8 weeks ago I didn’t know I needed to make this. The world has been turned upside down and inside out – but a lot of us have had the fortunate opportunity to self reflect, grow and evolve.” This new project,” he explains, “is a representation of where my heart and head have been at. It’s hon...
Megan Thee Stallion Unleashes ‘Girls in the Hood’: Stream It Now
Megan Thee Stallion apologizes to absolutely no one on her new release “Girls in the Hood,” which dropped at midnight. The Houston rapper is in total control on “Hood,” a statement track on which she lets her thoughts be known from the opening stanza. Channeling Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood” from 1987, Megan fires away: “F— being good, I’m a bad b—-/ I’m sick of motherf—ers tryna tell me how to live.” She teased the track Wednesday on social media, sharing its cover art and an audio cut. The “B.I.T.C.H.” rapper has been using her time wisely — and creatively — during the lockdown. Back in April, she dialled in for a chat with The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon. “I’ve been recording. That’s the best thing about quarantin...
Megan Thee Stallion Flips Eazy-E’s Classic in New Song “Girls in the Hood”: Stream
Megan Thee Stallion is ready to break the internet… again. The Houston rapper has just released her latest single, “Girls in the Hood”, which flips Eazy-E’s classic rap hit “Boyz-n-the-Hood” on its head. “Girls in the Hood” is an obvious nod to Eazy-E’s famous single both in name and in sound. The track warps the original number’s backing track into something fresh and modern. Of course, Megan Thee Stallion makes the music into something memorable by turning rapid-fire verses into a straight-up vocal flex, flaunting her skills not just as a rapper, but as a musical artist who continues to climb the charts. Hear it for yourself below. This is the latest instance of Megan Thee Stallion stealing the spotlight in the midst of a pandemic. She dropped her star-studded album Suga in March to high...
Fabolous and Jadakiss Will Face Off For Next Verzuz Battle
The Big Apple is where the next Verzuz is going down. Veteran New York rappers Fabolous and Jadakiss will rumble next Monday, June 29 for the latest instalment in the online hip-hop and R&B face-off. Announced on a fetching jersey in traditional New York Knicks colors, the FAB vs. JADA battle squares off at 8 p.m. ET on Instagram Live and Apple Music. Neither has a shortage of tracks to revisit. Fabolous has impacted the Billboard Hot 100 on 21 occasions, with five top 10s, including “Into You” and Can’t Let You Go.” Jadakiss has nine credits on the Billboard Hot 100, including his work on Jennifer Lopez’ No. 3 hit “Jenny From The Block.” Verzuz was launched in March by legendary hip-hop producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Starting life as a 20-song showdown between evenly matched pro...
Tekashi 6ix9ine Earns First Billboard No. 1 Single with “TROLLZ”
Protest songs have been dominating the streaming and radio charts these past few weeks, but that hasn’t stopped Tekashi 6ix9ine from rising to the top right alongside them. The controversial rapper just earned his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “TROLLZ”, his collaboration with Nicki Minaj. According to a press release, “TROLLZ” also helped Create Music Group — the distributor who put out the single — make history by being the first fully independent distributor in modern music industry history to achieve a No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles Chart as well. “Tekashi 6ix9ine is without a doubt one of the most galvanizing figures making music today,” said Create Music Group Founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss in a statement. “We are thrilled that we’ve been able to attain what...
6ix9ine Crowns Himself & Nicki Minaj the ‘F—ing Monsters of This S—‘ After ‘Trollz’ Hits No. 1 on Hot 100
6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj‘s “Trollz” launched to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart this week, marking the first leader for 6ix9ine and the second for Minaj. The ecstatic rapper took to Instagram on Monday (June 22) to share his thoughts on the milestone, uploading a video popping champagne and celebrating. “#1 ON @billboard YOU CANT STOP ME. YOU CANT BLACKBALL ME. DIDNT I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Tekashi went on to call out Spotify, Apple and a few other music services for not pushing “Trollz,” but noted that they can’t “blackball” him because the song prevailed on the Billboard charts regardless. “YOU CAN SAY WHAT EVER IM NUMBER 1 AND YOU CANT TAKE THAT FROM ME I WENT UP A...
Top 25 Albums of 2020 (So Far)
Welcome to our Mid-Year Report. All week long we’ll be sharing the music, movies, and television that have helped us survive a strange and confusing six months. We start today with our Top 25 Albums of 2020 (So Far). It’d be fatuous to pretend that the first six months of 2020 have been like any other. All of us are facing difficult realities: the pain of injustice, the loss of a loved one, or even just the despair of looking out the window and not knowing what tomorrow will bring or when it will come. For the purposes of this list, then, maybe it’s equally foolish to think music impacted us the same way it always does. Then again, perhaps that’s what makes music so integral to our lives: that no matter what the world or our individual lives look like, music has the magical knack of provid...
Noname Responds to J. Cole With “Song 33”, First New Song In Over a Year: Stream
Noname has returned with her first new song in over a year. It’s called “Song 33”, produced by Madlib, and references both the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Toyin Salau. What’s more, the minute-long track serves as a timely response to J. Cole, who appeared to throw shade at the Chicago MC earlier this week with his own new single, “Snow On Tha Bluff”. “Wow look at him go/ He really ’bout to write about me while the world is in smokes?” Noname asks, cutting right to the core: “When his people in trees, when George was begging for his mother saying he couldn’t breathe/you thought to write about me?” She’s not finished, though, and hammers the point: “Little did I know all my reading would be a bother/ It’s trans women being murdered and this is all he can offer?” Clearly, J. Cole’s twee...
Jennifer Lopez, Paul McCartney & More Celebrate Father’s Day 2020
It’s all about Dad! As people celebrate dads for Father’s Day 2020 on Sunday (June 21), musicians did the same, giving the dads in their lives a shout-out to show their love and appreciation. Jennifer Lopez shared photos on Instagram of her twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, wishing the “Tu Vide en la Mia” singer “the best day today.” She also recognized her fiance, former baseball star Alex Rodriguez, with a video montage of past interviews in which she gushes about her love being a great father. The “Medicine” singer didn’t forget her own pops, though. For her dad, she resurfaced a TODAY show video in which she recalls how her dad has always supported her. “Dad, thank you for being you… for loving me for who I am,&...
Lil Baby’s ‘My Turn’ Spends Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
Lil Baby’s My Turn nets a third total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set holds atop the list for a second straight week. It earned 72,000 equivalent album units earned (up 12 percent) in the U.S. in the week ending June 18, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The set (released via Quality Control/Motown/Capitol Records) notched its first frame in the penthouse when it opened in the top slot dated March 14. Only three albums have logged at least three weeks at No. 1 in 2020: My Turn, The Weeknd’s After Hours (four) and Roddy Ricch’s Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (three in 2020, one in 2019). The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units compri...
Drake Gives Father’s Day Shout-Outs to Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, J. Prince & More
Drake celebrated Father’s Day by giving shout-out to some of hip-hop’s most famous dads. The 33-year-old Toronto MC took to his Instagram Stories on Sunday (June 21) to pay tribute to fellow celebrity fathers like Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, J. Prince, Birdman and LeBron James. Each post included a photo with a personalized message. “@liltunechi YOU ARE MY BROTHER BUT YOU RAISED ME SO HAPPY FATHERS DAY I LOVE U G FOREVER,” Drake captioned a pic of Weezy, who helped launch his rap career. The “Toosie Slide” rapper also paid tribute to Tha Doggfather, writing, “@snoopdogg HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO MY UNCLE A STAND UP G.” In a separate Father’s Day post, Drake shared an adorable photo of his 2-year-old Adonis Graham, who made his Instagr...
