Hip-Hop
Songs of the Week: Public Enemy and Beyoncé Raise Voices in Different Ways
Public Enemy (photo by Paul R. Giunta) and Beyoncé 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 New Sounds playlist. America clearly wants music that helps them raise their voices. Don’t believe it? Amid protests, streams of Rage Against the Machine music have increased 62%, enough to send “Killing in the Name”, a 29-year-old song, to top five in the digital streaming charts. Socially conscious outfit Run the Jewels have seen their fourth installment find the Billboard 200 top 10 and are all over mid-year lists. The music we love has its roots in rebellion and hard times, so it’s not surprising that something innate in us turns to our earbuds and streaming devices when the world seems to be circl...
Public Enemy Returns With Anti-Trump ‘State of the Union (STFU)’ Song: Watch
Public Enemy has returned with a fiery new protest song called “State of the Union (STFU).” The iconic hip-hop group commemorated Juneteenth on Friday (June 19) by dropping the explosive anti-Trump song and accompanying video, which features recent footage from nationwide protests in response to the killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks. “Our collective voices keep getting louder. The rest of the planet is on our side. But it’s not enough to talk about change. You have to show up and demand change,” frontman Chuck D said in a statement. “Folks gotta vote like their lives depend on it, ‘cause it does.” Produced by DJ Premier, the fiery “State of the Union (STFU)” finds Chuck D and Flavor Flav clearly stating their distaste for the current White House administr...
Beyoncé Drops New Song “Black Parade” to Honor Juneteenth: Stream
Beyoncé went big to honor this year’s Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On Friday, the pop icon not only launched “Black Parade Route”, an initiative that supports Black-owned small businesses, but she also dropped a brand new song called “Black Parade”. Of course, it’s as timely and moving as expected from Queen Bey. Musically, “Black Parade” is a celebratory blend of pop, trap, hip-hop, and electronica-verging on Detroit techno. Over cascading horns and a chipper flute melody, Beyoncé sings about the unique joys of being Black, touching on everything from womanhood to her heritage and the ways in which Blackness proudly permeates throughout it all. Stream “Black Parade” below. [embedded content] It’s been a while since Beyoncé dropped new music ...
Beyonce Proves Why Black Is Beautiful With New TIDAL Playlist ‘Motherland Drip’
After releasing her surprise extended track “Black Parade,” Beyonce continues to celebrate Juneteenth with her new TIDAL playlist, “Motherland Drip” featuring James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Jay-Z, Nipsey Hussle and more. The multi-track collection includes a fistful of records from Queen Bey herself, including her Homecoming remake of “Before I Let Go” and The Lion King: Gift Soundtrack favorite “Brown Skin Girl.” The outro from Bey’s “Motherland Drip” playlist ends on a promising note, as she chose Dr. Martin Luther King’s “We Shall Overcome” speech to conclude her roundup. On Friday night (June 19), Beyonce shared “Black Parade” as an ode to Juneteenth. &#...
Rapper Hurricane Chris Arrested for Murder in Louisiana
Hurricane Chris, known for the song “A Bay Bay,” has been arrested on a murder charge in Louisiana. The rapper, whose real name is Christopher Dooley Jr., was arrested early Friday (June 19) on one count each of second-degree murder and illegal possession of stolen things, Shreveport Police said in a news release. Dooley, 31, of Shreveport, was being held without bond at the city jail. Online jail records did not indicate if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Police responded shortly after 1 a.m. Friday to a reported shooting at a gas station in Shreveport, news outlets reported. Officers found one person suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Dooley, who had gone into the gas station’s store, initially told police that he had shot a ma...
Public Enemy Takes on Trump In Scorching New Single “State Of The Union (STFU)”: Stream
Public Enemy has long been the soundtrack for the fight against inequality — and that hasn’t changed in Trump’s America. Today, the group returns with a blistering new single for the times appropriately titled, “State of the Union (STFU)”. Chuck D seethes with rage as he calls for the destruction of the current administration: “It’s not what you think/ It’s what you follow/ Run for them jewels/ Drink from that bottle/ Another for years is gonna gut you hollow.” Produced by DJ Premier, it’s a classic Public Enemy track in the truest sense and culminates in the chorus, which finds Chuck D and Flava Flav singing: “State of the union/ Shut the fuck up/ Sorry ass motherfucker/ Stay away from me.” In a statement on the track, Chuck said, “Our collective voices keep getting louder. The rest of th...
Astronautalis Shares First New Solo Single in Four Years “The Way I Am”: Stream
Rejoice! Astronautalis has returned with his first new solo single in four years, and his first new track since his 2018 collaboration with POS in Four Fists. It’s called “The Way I Am” and the Florida-Minneapolis bard has paired the melancholy jam with a hilarious new music video featuring a deepfake of Tiger King. Produced and mixed by Subp Yao, “The Way I Am” finds Astronautalis doing a little soul searching over balmy beats that sound like the aural equivalent of a meditative stroll. “I’m drunk on whiskey maybe,” he sings, “Passed in the back of the van/ You seen it all now, ain’t i crazy?/ Can you still love me the way i am?” “I was kind of a mess of a man when I met the woman who would later become my wife,” Astronautalis says of the song. “Thankfully, she saw through all my bullshit...
The 10 Best Moments From John Legend and Alicia Keys’ Juneteenth Verzuz Showdown
In a time of civil unrest throughout the country, Alicia Keys and John Legend’s Verzuz event was a healing balm. For more than two hours the pair played their biggest hits (20 each), including their solo songs and features. At times Keys sat at a fuschia piano as Legend took a seat behind a black piano. Other times, the pair got up and danced along to their hit songs, singing over the recordings. In addition to playing their biggest hits, Legend and Keys also performed their newest singles. More than 150,000 tuned into the event on Instagram Live at its peak. The Juneteenth-themed event — the latest in the Verzuz series created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, Keys’ husband — was also the the first in the series to be streamed on Apple TV. The Instagram Live events, which sta...
Rapper Tray Savage Dies at 26
Chief Keef’s record label signee, Tray Savage, died on Friday (June 19), Billboard can confirm. He was 26 years old. According to TMZ, who first reported the news, Tray (born Kentray Young) was shot and killed while driving around on the South Side of Chicago. He was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Canter, where he was later pronounced dead. “The entire Chief Glo Gang Family are extremely saddened about the loss of Kentray ‘Tray Savage’ Young who was taken too soon today,” a representative said in a statement. “His first love was always devoted to his fiancé, kids, family, and music. Regrettably, we can’t take back the actions done by others, but we stand firmly behind the fact that Kentray ‘Tray Savage’ Young shoul...
New Version of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Never Gonna Break My Faith’ Drops on Juneteenth: Stream It Now
A never-before-heard solo version of the late Aretha Franklin’s riveting and powerful collaboration with Mary J. Blige about faith and race, 2006’s “Never Gonna Break My Faith,” has arrived on Juneteenth. Sony’s RCA Records, RCA Inspiration and Legacy Recordings released the song Friday, June 19, aligning with the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed from bondage. “Never Gonna Break My Faith” resonates today, featuring lyrics like: “You can lie to a child with a smiling face/Tell me that color ain’t about a race.” “The world is very different now. Change is everywhere and each of us, hopefully, is doing the best he or she can to move forward and make change as positive as possible,” Clive Davis, Sony Music’s chief creative officer a...
‘I Just Wanna Live’ Singer Keedron Bryant Signs with Warner Records, Releases Debut Single on Juneteenth: Stream It Now
Keedron Bryant recently drew national attention when his stirring acapella performance of “I Just Wanna Live” on Instagram went viral in the days following the May 25 murder of George Floyd. Now the 12-year-old is making news again, announcing both his signing to Warner Records and the Juneteenth release of the song as his official debut single. Warner Records is donating 100 percent of the net profits from “I Just Wanna Live” to the NAACP. In addition, Amazon Music will donate one dollar for each stream of the song to the NAACP through 9 p.m. PT tonight (June 19), up to $50,000. Of signing to Warner, Florida native Bryant told Billboard via email, “I really want to make an impact on this world, especially the young generation.” The young singer first gained notice on season four of t...
Common, Lena Waithe and More Set For ‘The Chi With Love’ Virtual Benefit Concert
Showtime has set a virtual concert that will feature headliners Lena Waithe and Common — creative collaborators on the network’s Chicago-set series he Chi T— and a focus on the Equal Justice Initiative. On behalf of the drama series, Showtime and parent company ViacomCBS will kick off the fundraising effort with a $500,000 donation. Waithe will appear on the one-hour special while Oscar and Grammy winner Common will perform a set during the concert that will also feature notable Chicago-based artists and The Chi cast members including Jacob Latimore, Twista, Ravyn Lenae, Jamila Woods, BJ The Chicago Kid and MFnMelo. The Chi With Love will stream on the series’ YouTube channel June 21 at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET), ahead of the season premiere later that night on Showtime at 6 p...
