Hip-Hop
Pharrell Releases “Cash In Cash Out” with Tyler, the Creator and 21 Savage: Stream
Pharrell Williams has delivered “Cash In Cash Out,” his new collaborative single featuring Tyler, the Creator and 21 Savage. Stream it below. The track was initially announced by Pharrell on May 31st via Instagram, and later teased with a snippet of 21 Savage’s verse via TikTok. The heavy-hitting track pays off its high expectations in full though, with an incomparable, winning chemistry between its three stars. It’s the first time the Grammy-winning producer and 21 Savage have appeared together on a song, though the Atlanta rapper openly shared his admiration for Williams when he dubbed him the “king of drip” in January via Twitter. The history between Pharrell and Tyler spans nearly the entire existence of the latter’s career, all the way back to “IFHY” on 2013’s WOLF. The elder producer...
War Rap: Ukraine War Fuels Angry Voice for Furious Generation of Rappers
From the battlefronts of Ukraine comes rap music — filled with the anger and indignation of a young generation that, once the fighting is done, will certainly never forget and may never forgive. Ukrainian rapper-turned-volunteer soldier Otoy is putting the war into words and thumping baselines, tapping out lyrics under Russian shelling on his phone, with the light turned low to avoid becoming a target. It helps numb the nerve-shredding stress of combat. “Russian soldiers drink vodka, we are making music,” says the rapper, whose real name is Viacheslav Drofa, a sad-eyed 23-year-old who hadn’t known he could kill until he had a Russian soldier in his sights and pulled the trigger in the war’s opening weeks. One of the ironies of the Feb. 24 invasion launched by Russian President Vl...
Pakistani Rapper Eva B Drops Banging New Track “Rozi” from Ms. Marvel: Stream
During the closing credits of the premiere episode of Disney’s new series Ms. Marvel, a scorching hip-hop track can be heard playing in the background. As it turns out, the song, titled “Rozi,” is by Eva B, who is dubbed as Pakistan’s first-ever female rapper. Entirely rapped in Urdu, the track marks Eva B’s first release on Naughty Horses Records. Gingger Shankar co-wrote and produced “Rozi,” which features both Pakistani and Indian influences. The lyrics match the journey of Ms. Marvel protagonist Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as a Muslim teenager navigating life in New Jersey. “Asar he ye mjhpe logon ki baton ka,” Eva B spits with authority. “Faraq he ye soch or duniya ki nazron ka/ Duniya to bolti thi bolti rahegi ye/ Himmat ka he parwana parwaz he hoslon ka.” Advertisement Rela...
Snoop Dogg Gave Personal Blunt Roller a Raise: “Inflation. Their Salary Went Up!”
Being Snoop Dogg’s personal blunt roller might be one of the dopest jobs in the world, and not just because you get to breathe in some rarified air. The Big Dogg is also a big supporter of his employees, and as global inflation has reached rates not seen since the 1970s, he’s offered raises to the people that matter most. Snoop first told us of his affinity for “P.B.R.s” — that’s “Professional Blunt Roller,” during a 2019 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. He also revealed that the position pays “$40- to $50,000 a year,” thus birthing one of the internet’s most beloved pieces of trivia. It had a viral moment again on June 6th, when the Twitter account UberFacts posted, “Snoop Dogg employs a full-time blunt roller who makes between $40,000 and $50,000 a year.” As it turned out, the i...
Skylar Grey Had to Sell Her Entire Catalog to Finance Her Divorce
Skylar Grey is the songwriter behind such hit singles as as Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie” and Diddy’s “Coming Home.” Recently, she was forced to sell the rights to his entire musical catalog in order to finance her divorce from ex-husband, Elliott Taylor. “Since 2017 I was going through a divorce and lawsuit, that was just wrecking me emotionally and financially,” Grey told Variety, explaining that her radio silence in recent years was due to the legal dispute. “This past year, 2021, we finally resolved it, settled, I had to sell my catalog in order to afford the settlement, which was very sad in a way, because those songs like ‘Love the Way You Lie’ and Coming Home,’ those are my babies. But at the same time, nobody can tell me I didn’t write those songs just ’cause I don’t ...
Metro Boomin’s Mother Killed By Husband in Murder-Suicide: Report
The mother of Metro Boomin, the prominent hip-hop producer behind songs like Future’s “Mask Off,” Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” and Kanye West’s “Father Stretch My Hands Part 1,” was killed on Friday by her husband in an apparent murder-suicide, according to TMZ. Leslie Joanne Wayne was murdered by her husband before the husband, who was not Metro’s biological father, took his own life. The incident occurred near Atlanta on Friday night. A representative for Metro Boomin confirmed Wayne’s passing to Fox 3 Now and said the family asked for privacy during this difficult time. Advertisement Per TMZ, Wayne encouraged her son to pursue music at a young age, and often drove him from the family’s St. Louis hometown to Atlanta so that he could collaborate with other hip-hop artists. In a 2020 Mother’s ...
Trouble, Atlanta Rapper, Shot and Killed at 34
Atlanta rapper Trouble was shot and killed outside of an apartment complex in Conyers, Georgia on Sunday, June 5th. He was 34 years old. The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office told WSB-TV Atlanta that Trouble (born Mariel Semonte Orr) was shot around 3:20 a.m. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have identified 33-year-old Jamichael Jones of Atlanta as a suspect, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Advertisement Related Video Trouble’s record label, Def Jam, paid tribute to the rapper in a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the children, loved ones, and fans of Trouble. A true voice for his city and an inspiration to the community he proudly represented. RIP Scoob.” Over the last decade, Trouble released nine mixtapes and tw...
Trouble, Atlanta Rapper, Dies at 34
Trouble, the Atlanta rapper who collaborated with Drake and The Weeknd, has died. He was 34. News of the rapper’s passing was confirmed in a social media post by Def Jam on Sunday (June 5). “Our thoughts and prayers are with the children, loved ones, and fans of Trouble,” the label wrote on Instagram. “A true voice for his city and an inspiration to the community he proudly represented. RIP Scoob.” The cause of his Trouble’s death was not immediately known at press time. Billboard has reached out to his representatives for further information. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Following the rapper’s passing, tributes came pouring in from other members of the hip-hop community, including Mike Will Made-It, Gucci Mane, Rae Sremmurd, Meek Mi...
Cardi B Shares Cute New Photos of 9-Month-Old Baby Wave
Cardi B is giving fans some updates on her youngest child, baby Wave. The rapper posted a series of new photos of her son to celebrate him turning nine months old. “Happy 9 months Wave!! My baby growing too fast on me,” she captioned the Instagram post on Saturday (June 4). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the sweet snapshots, Wave is seen rocking bling and showing off some curls. The images also capture the little one’s adorable eyes. Wave, who was born in September, is Cardi and Offset‘s second child together. Big sister Kulture, the couple’s first child together, is three years old. Offset is also the father to three other children from previous relationships. Cardi and Offset first shared Wave’s name and a glimpse at his face in A...
Rap Song of The Week: Denzel Curry Keeps on “Walkin” with Key Glock Remix
Every Friday, Rap Song of the Week rounds up the hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Denzel Curry recruits Key Glock for the remix to “Walkin.” On the surface, Key Glock wouldn’t be an obvious choice to appear on the remix to the world-weary “Walkin,” but Denzel Curry reached out to the Memphis rapper after being impressed by Glock’s perseverance following the loss of his best friend and mentor Young Dolph. Having dealt with the brutal death of his own brother, Curry is well-acquainted with the pain of processing tragedy. “I reached out to Glock because I felt like he’s the perfect example of ‘Walkin,’” Curry explained in a statement. “Based on everything he been through and also being independent, it hasn’t stopped his grind. I’ve ...
Not Even Post Malone Can Save Post Malone on Twelve Carat Toothache
Twelve Carat Toothache (out today, June 3rd) is Post Malone‘s shortest album to date. And according to Posty, this is a deliberate play to resist the overloaded track lists that dominate streaming platforms; “I’ve made a lot of compromises, especially musically, but now I don’t feel like I want to anymore,” he said in a Billboard cover story back in January, “I don’t need a No. 1; that doesn’t matter to me no more, and at a point, it did.” This points to a few different potential outcomes for his fourth studio album — now that Post Malone has indeed scored his multiple No. 1s, ascended to true headliner status, and became a “sensitive bad boy” icon, taking some of that pressure off to make hit after hit could absolutely work in his favor. If he has nothing to lose at this point in his some...
Judge Declares Young Thug a Potential “Danger to the Community,” Denies Request for Bond
Young Thug was denied bond by a Fulton County, Georgia judge on Thursday (June 2nd). After an hours-long hearing, the rapper — who was arrested last month on gang activity and racketeering charges — was deemed a potential danger to the Atlanta community and case witnesses. As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, Young Thug (born Jeffery Williams) pleaded not guilty during the hearing and his attorneys promised to hire a team of off-duty law enforcement officers to monitor his activity if he was allowed to enter house arrest. Williams’ attorney, Brian Steel, said the rapper was also willing to to wear an ankle monitor, undergo regular drug tests, and surrender his cellphone and passport. Both Machine Gun Kelly and 300 Entertainment co-founder Kevin Liles spoke on Young Thug’s behalf du...
