djfrosty

01 Jul 2024

Mickey Guyton Calls Kendrick Lamar an ‘Incredible Lyricist,’ Wants to Collab With Snoop Dogg on Country Record

Mickey Guyton pulled up to the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday (June 30), and the country singer stopped to chat with Billboard‘s Carl Lamarre while walking down the red carpet in a pair of Andrea Wazen strappy heels.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

After moving from Texas to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music following her high-school graduation, Guyton is an honorary West Coast resident. It’s impacted her hip-hop consumption as well, with the “Make It Me” artist gushing over California rap legends such as Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg.

“I am here for some Kendrick Lamar,” she tells Billboard. “Him as a lyricist is just so incredible. Obviously love 2Pac, I obviously love Snoop Dogg. I love West Coast hip-hop.”

The 2024 BET Awards host Taraji P. Henson opened the show and showed love to K. Dot by covering Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” performance at his Juneteenth Pop Out concert.

As far as Guyton’s dream collaboration goes in the hip-hop realm, Mickey wants to join forces with Snoop Dogg for a country-tinged team-up.

“I would obviously love to do a little country record with Snoop Dogg,” she proclaimed. “I’m just a huge fan of him — I love his Instagram. I would love to do something with him.”

Fans will have to wait and see if Snoop makes an appearance on MG’s anticipated sophomore album. Guyton unleashed her acclaimed Remember Her Name debut album in 2021, which reached No. 7 on the Heatseekers Album chart. The project was nominated for best country album, while the LP’s title track earned a nom for best country song.

Watch the full interview with Mickey Guyton above.

01 Jul 2024

Usher Had Most Of His BET Lifetime Achievement Award Speech Muted

HipHopWired Featured Video

CLOSE

2024 BET Awards - Show

Usher Raymond has been in show business for three decades and has achieved several high marks in a career worthy of continual celebration. The Atlanta by way of Tennessee native accepted the BET Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday (June 30) but much of his speech was muted due to some profanity and X wasn’t having it.

Usher was treated to an extensive series of tribute performances from the likes of Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Coco Jones, Teyana Taylor, Victoria Monét, Chlöe, Tinashe, Summer Walker, Marsha Ambrosius, and Latto at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles, Calif.

Of course, there have been mixed reviews of the tribute performances but kudos to the performers for rocking the stage under that sort of pressure in front of one of the world’s best live entertainers.

When it was time to accept the BET Lifetime Achievement Award, Usher, full of his usual radiant charm, wowed the audience with a confident and comical speech that started normally as Ursher allowed “The A” to come out at the tail end of the speech.

“I don’t know, man, is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and I still love this sh*t like I did when I was eight years old,” Usher said in an earlier portion of his speech.

Later in the speech in which he honors Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Babyface, and L.A. Reid, he said, “[to] the men who motivated me, who speak to me, who have spoken to me, who have been solid no matter how f*cked up it may have been…sorry, I’m cursing to let you know how I really feel.”

A TikTok user recorded the speech, which can be seen below and we do urge caution and there is profanity present. Keep scrolling to see reactions to the speech from X.

—

Photo: Getty

01 Jul 2024

Soleil Moon Frye Honors Ex-Boyfriend Shifty Shellshock: ‘No Words Could Ever Express the Love We Shared’

Soleil Moon Fyre is honoring Shifty Shellshock following the Crazy Town singer’s death.

In a heartfelt post on Instagram Sunday (June 30), the Punky Brewster alum shared some of her favorite memories with her late ex-boyfriend, who died at age 49 six days prior. “My heart is whispering a million I love you’s for the way you loved my children and I so unconditionally,” she wrote, captioning a carousel of photos featuring her and Shellshock.

“I can still see your smiling sweet face in middle school when you kissed me in your tunnel of love and the way you swept me away again as we grew up to show me what that timeless kind of love feels like,” the actress continued. “No words could ever express the love we shared or how we are feeling right now. It is a language all its own.”

According to Entertainment Tonight, the pair reportedly started dating in late 2021 before breaking up at some point before November 2022. Moon Frye was previously married to Jason Goldberg, with whom she shares four kids. Shellshock is survived by his three children: Halo, Gage and Phoenix.

Trending on Billboard

“For now I will use every bit of strength you showed me to hold on to those words you asked me in your beautiful morning [gravelly] voice on the beach while covering me with kisses,” Frye added in her post. “I love you forever and always. Your Moonfire xx”

Shellshock’s cause of death is believed to have been an accidental overdose, the band’s manager Howie Hubberman said; the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner is still awaiting the toxicology report. The late star had been about his struggles with substance abuse and appeared on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew in 2008 as well as Sober House from 2009 to 2010.

“The cause of death was a combination of prescription drugs and street purchased drugs,” Hubberman told People. “Shifty was a friend and really wanted to get himself fixed — unfortunately no one had the exact tools to do this, myself included.”

01 Jul 2024

Too Short Has to Give the W to Kendrick Lamar in Drake Beef: ‘I Think He Held His Own Pretty Good’

Too Short has been in the game long enough to see pretty much every modern rap beef come and go. But when Billboard caught up with the West Coast legend on the red carpet at Sunday night’s (June 30) 2024 BET Awards, the “Blow the Whistle” MC went with the home team when declaring a winner in the recent heated Kendrick Lamar and Drake diss battle.

“I like the way a lot of people stood up and rode with the homie [Lamar] in this one because it seemed like he was supposed to be the underdog,” Short said of fellow West Coast native K-Dot. “I think he held his own pretty good. I think that in this situation… none of us would dispute that this battle was amongst two really good artists.”

And now, with the dust settled and the barrage of songs living out there forever to chronicle the lyrical combat, Short said the culture was still left with “two great artists” vital to the genre. That said, Short is more than ready to retire “gangsta Drake,” but stressed that “R&B Drake” and “Drake for the ladies” should never, ever be put out to pasture.

Wearing a blue t-shirt that read “Cultural Icon,” Short then recalled the first time he heard Drake back in 2007-2008, when the “most beautiful woman in the world” told him that if he wanted to hang out with her he had to spin Drizzy. Though he’d never heard of Drake at the time, Short said he kept hearing the Canadian MC’s music, which made him ask, “who is that? That’s kind of dope!” Short said he then really became a fan once a string of women recommended he check out the Comeback Season mixtape rapper’s work.

“The ladies are good judges of what good music is, they dictate a lot of stuff in the industry, so I say kudos to Drake cuz I wouldn’t have never knew about your music if it wasn’t for the baddest of the baddies,” Short said.

01 Jul 2024

Moneybagg Yo Teases a Possible Country Album After ‘Unexpected’ Success of Morgan Wallen Collab

Is Moneybagg Yo set to release a country album? It seems so, according to the artist’s interview with Billboard on the BET Awards carpet on Sunday (June 30).

Speaking with Billboard‘s Carl Lamarre, the “Said Sum” rapper first discussed his hit collaboration with Morgan Wallen, “Whiskey Whiskey,” which debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Offering up his feelings on the song’s success, Moneybagg Yo said, “It feels good and it’s kind of going how we kind of planned it, where he was really pressuring me on it and I was just like, ‘Ehh,’ but then, you know because it’s always something new for you and unexpected … it’s going crazy right now.”

Asked if the success of “Whiskey Whiskey” is making him think of leaning more into the country space, Moneybagg Yo told Billboard, “After these next two albums I’m fixing to drop before the summer is over, I think after that, going into the winter or something, I think I’m going to do a country album, a country EP or something.”

Given that Usher was honored with the lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards, Moneybagg Yo also noted that his favorite Usher album is the 2004 project Confessions, which included the massive hits “Burn,” “Yeah!” and “My Boo.” Usher was feted with an all-star tribute that included Childish Gambino, Latto, Keke Palmer, Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monét.

“Whiskey Whiskey” is from Moneybagg Yo’s album Speak Now, which was released June 14. The project also features collaborations with Rob49, Chris Brown, Lil Durk, YTB Fatt, and Kevo Muney.

Watch Moneybagg Yo’s interview with Billboard above.

01 Jul 2024

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Countdown for July 6, 2024 | Billboard News

Tetris Kelly:
Can the hype from Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out fight off massive tracks from Sabrina, Shaboozy and Post Malone? This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated July 6.

Billie Eilish holds on to No. 10, as does Teddy Swims at No. 9.

Benson Boone at No. 8, and “Too Sweet” at No. 7.

“Million Dollar Baby” slips a spot to No. 6 as Sabrina falls from No. 1 to No. 5. Her “Espresso” stays locked in at No. 4, while Kendrick is back up three spots with “Not Like Us.”

Shaboozey is at a new No. 2 peak, while Post Malone and Morgan Wallen returned to the No. 1 spot.

If you want more Billboard, make sure you hit the subscribe button and ring the bell to be notified on all our latest videos.

Watch the full video above!

01 Jul 2024

Post Malone & Morgan Wallen’s ‘I Had Some Help’ Rebounds for Sixth Week Atop Hot 100, Now 2024’s Longest-Running No. 1

Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, rebounds from No. 2 for a sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song, Post Malone’s sixth leader and Wallen’s second, spent its first five weeks on the list at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in May.

The collaboration is the first to log six weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2024, surpassing the five weeks on top, of six total dating to late 2023, for Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me.” No song has led longer since Wallen’s “Last Night” rang up 16 weeks, nonconsecutively, at No. 1 in March-August last year.

“I Had Some Help” also hits No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart, becoming a rare title that has topped the all-format airplay tally as well as the Country Airplay survey.

Plus, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” rises to a new No. 2 Hot 100 high; Kendrick Lamar’s former leader “Not Like Us” jumps 6-3, and returns to No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, following his Juneteenth The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert – in which he performed the track five times; and Sabrina Carpenter claims two songs in the Hot 100’s top five for a third week.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated July 6, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, July 2. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Below is a rundown of the latest Hot 100’s top 10.

01 Jul 2024

Flavor Flav Is Getting His Own Signature Meal at Red Lobster: ‘My Fave Dishes’

Flavor Flav is doing everything he can to make sure Red Lobster survives its financial woes. The Public Enemy rapper has partnered with the seafood chain for his own signature meal.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Red Lobster announced the launch of Flavor Flav’s Faves on Monday (July 1), featuring all of the New York native’s go-to items when ordering at the restaurant. Hand picked by Flav himself, the off-menu Faves order includes Maine lobster tail, snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi and a bacon mac and cheese plus a choice of any one side.

Once Flavor Flav got word that Red Lobster had filed for bankruptcy protection in May, he sprung into action. Flav actually ordered every item off the menu for dinner to feed him and his family one night in June.

Trending on Billboard

“Ya boy said he wuz gonna do everything to help Red Lobster and save the Cheddar Bay Biscuits,,, ordered the whole menu,” he captioned a photo of his spread on Instagram in June.

About a week later, conversations were productive enough between Flav and RL to have him star in a Crab Your Way campaign ad. In celebration of Crabfest, Flav voices the commercial announcing the launch of new Cajun butter and roasted garlic butter flavors.

According to the Associated Press, Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy protection in May after closing dozens of locations across the United States. However, the chain promised to continue operating its 600 restaurants while looking for a sale. 

“This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster. It allows us to address several financial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth,” company CEO Jonathan Tibus said at the time.

It’s a busy summer for Flavor Flav, who is also serving as an ambassador for the USA women’s and men’s water polo teams as they gear up to head to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Flav signed a five-year sponsorship deal and made a contribution to the women’s Olympic team.

Flavor Flav was inspired by a post by the women’s water polo team captain Maggie Steffens looking for financial help for the team, and that’s when the rapper stepped in. Steffens and Flav joined CBS Mornings on Monday (July 1) to officially announce the sponsorship deal.

“These women out here, first of all, the women’s water polo team out here busting their butt to make the United States look good. And they chasing this dream, you know what I’m saying? And I learned they got three back-to-back gold medals,” he said. Flav added that he didn’t know much about water polo, but became aware of the team’s story through his manager and wanted to help as their hype man.

Find more about the Red Lobster meal and Flavor Flav’s involvement with the Olympic water polo team below.

01 Jul 2024

Usher Honored with 2024 BET Lifetime Achievement Award: Celebrating a Legacy of Unmatched Talent and Influence

Under the dazzling lights of the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on June 30th, Usher Raymond IV, affectionately known as Usher (or Ur-Shur, if you’re fancy), received the night’s highest honor: the BET 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Usher, a name synonymous with R&B and pop, has continually redefined the music landscape with his smooth vocals, dynamic stage presence, and innovative artistry. From his breakout hits in the late 1990s like “My Way” and “You Make Me Wanna…” to the chart-topping success of “Confessions” and “Yeah!,” Usher has consistently delivered anthems that resonate across generations. His influence extends beyond music, impacting dance, fashion, and culture, including a longstanding relationship with Rémy Martin.

In a collaboration that epitomizes luxury and excellence, together, they have created a synergy blending music and refined living, producing exceptional cognacs and unforgettable cultural moments. Their partnership started with the OMG World Tour over a decade ago and includes exclusive celebratory events, and integrations in Usher’s projects, as well as the “Life Is a Melody” and “Team Up For Excellence – The Film” campaigns over the last three years, marking a mutual appreciation for excellence, and continuing to elevate entertainment, music, and spirits, celebrating the past and inspiring the future. Usher’s influence is as profound as his talent is unparalleled.

Trending on Billboard

From topping the charts with iconic hits like “Yeah!” to mentoring the next generation of artists on The Voice, and his recurring role on the 90s sitcom Moesha, Usher’s multifaceted career exemplifies versatility and impact. His recent triumph of reclaiming a top 20 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, following an illuminating halftime performance, further cements his enduring relevance.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis took the stage and shared heartfelt words about the King of R&B, and the room roared in agreement, praising the act for still having more to come.

The award presentation was preceded by a medley of Usher’s greatest hits, performed by music’s hottest acts including an opening from Childish Gambino, and cameos from Keke Palmer, Victoria Monét, Teyana Taylor, Tinashe, Summer Walker, and Chlöe Bailey, before closing out the sixteen-minute compilation with Latto’s infectious Atlanta energy rapping to “Yeah!” Dressed in a suave white top and black-out shades, a proud Usher stood nearly the entire time at the front row of the theater cheering on the performances on stage and singing along to his hits.

With a career spanning over three decades, Usher’s comrades’ electrifying performances, soulful voices, and undeniable stage presences ensured all eyes were glued to the screen. It was clear that this Lifetime Achievement Award celebrated not just past accomplishments but an enduring legacy. Usher’s contributions to music, culture, and the arts continue to inspire and influence, making him a true legend.

Babyface and L.A. Reid and others then joined Jam and Lewis on stage as Usher made his way up to accept the honor. Usher then delivered a heartfelt speech off the cuff, a decision he said was rooted in being present in the moment rather than preparing a monologue in advance. Last night’s honor saw a humble artist reflecting on his journey from a young artist with a dream to a global superstar. He expressed deep gratitude to his fans, family, and mentors who fueled his rise to fame.

“You have to express your goals outwardly, no matter what people see, no matter what they feel…because that is the only way it will ever become a reality – you have to see it first and then move in action and decide this is what I am going to do, this is what I am committed to…so long as you stay connected to what you feel and love, something major will happen,” reflects a proud Usher as he takes the audience, both within the theater and watching at home, through his 30-year career culminating in this prestigious award tonight.

As he stood amidst roaring applause, the room filled with ad-libs and head nods in agreement at every word he said (regardless of how passionate or profound the delivery) and the world at home celebrated not just a performer, but a legend whose legacy continues to shape the sounds of today and tomorrow.

01 Jul 2024

JoJo Siwa Needs You to ‘Get the F–k Ready’ for Her Debut EP ‘Guilty Pleasure’

The self-proclaimed CMO of Gay Pop JoJo Siwa is ready to give her fans even more music very soon.

In a post to her Instagram on Sunday (June 30), Siwa revealed that she would be releasing her debut EP, titled Guilty Pleasure, on July 12 via Columbia Records. Sharing the album art — which shows the singer in a high ponytail wearing a pair of wraparound shades and jewels down the center of her face — Siwa gave fans a small glimpse at what to expect from the new project.

“GET THE F*** READY. GUILTY PLEASURE (Song & Official Music Video) COMING IN 13 DAYS,” she wrote. “Thats not it … There’s actually 5 SONGS COMING YOUR WAY IN 13 DAYS. GUILTY PLEASURE my DEBUT EP available EVERYWHERE July 12th!!! The count down is ON.”

Along with the art, Siwa also revealed the official tracklist for her new EP. Alongside her viral single “Karma,” the project will also feature songs titled “Guilty Pleasure,” “Balance Baby,” “Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today,” and “Choose Ur Fighter.” She also shared a small snippet of the titular track of the project, with a dance beat banging behind her as she sings the words, “I’m your guilty pleasure.”

Trending on Billboard

The news comes on the heels of a busy Pride season for the rising pop singer. Traveling across the country to perform at Pride festivals in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and more, Siwa made plenty of headlines along the way. During her set at L.A. Pride in the Park, for example, Siwa took time on the stage to call out an online troll who claimed she was a man by saying, “No. 1, my d–k is bigger than his, and No. 2, I’ve f–ked more girls than him.”

Check out JoJo Siwa’s Instagram post below: