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Billboard Women in Music 2025
Ye — formerly Kanye West — blasted J. Cole and his music during another X rant on Tuesday night (April 1), but it didn’t seem to be any sort of April Fools’ Day joke.
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“I hate J Cole music so much,” West said matter-of-factly. “It’s like between Kendrick and J Cole I bet you industry plants asked J Cole to diss Drake then we would have been accosted with a J Cole Super Bowl commercial with no SZA song to save it.”
The embattled Chicago native went on to diss Cole’s artistry by claiming that the Dreamville leader’s music was strictly for virgins. “No one listens to J Cole after loosing [sic] their virginity,” he wrote.
Ye also brought up purported conversations around 2021’s Donda era when he pleaded with Drake that he was “hurting hip-hop” by giving J. Cole a bigger platform.
“When I met up with Drake during Donda most of the convo was me telling him he was hurting hip hop by giving J Cole a platform and I was saying how much I loved Future,” he added.
Kanye previously dissed J. Cole last year when adding a verse to the “Like That” remix. “Play J.Cole get the p—y dry,” he raps.
The relationship between Ye and Cole has been icy for some time. The North Carolina rhymer jabbed at West on multiple occasions in the past. While he respects Ye’s artistry, Cole hasn’t had any issue checking him on tracks like 2016’s “False Prophets” and 2019’s “Middle Child,” saying he feels West hasn’t lived up to the billing.
The 48-year-old has been draped in controversy in recent months while his unhinged X rants have found him doubling down on his antisemitic remarks and appreciation for Hitler while wearing a Swastika shirt and chain.
West provided context about some of his recent rants when he spoke with DJ Akademiks last week for an hour-plus-long interview, which saw him wearing a black KKK-inspired hood and touching on Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kim Kardashian, Diddy, Virgil Abloh, Jay-Z, Playboi Carti and more.
Find Ye’s rant sniping at J. Cole below.
I hate J Cole music so much It’s like between Kendrick and J Cole I bet you industry plants asked J Cole to diss Drake then we would have been accosted with a J Cole Super Bowl commercial with no SZA song to save it https://t.co/djbn491rpv— ye (@kanyewest) April 2, 2025
When I met up with Drake during Donda most of the convo was me telling him he was hurting hip hop by giving J Cole a platform and I was saying how much I loved Future— ye (@kanyewest) April 2, 2025
No one listens to J Cole after loosing their virginity— ye (@kanyewest) April 2, 2025
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Source: @truththebull/@taylor_avonte/@bgperico/@ashleebankz / @truththebull/@taylor_avonte/@bgperico/@ashleebankz
April’s looking like a hot month in music, and Hip-Hop Wired’s got the lowdown on the artists you gotta have on your radar right now.
From rising stars to underground sensations, these are the ones making noise this month. Atlanta’s Truththebull is staying on top of his game. After the viral wave of his hit “HYPE ME UP” which was literally everywhere on TikTok, he’s back with a banger called “WICKED.” The track shows exactly why Truththebull is one of the hottest artists coming out of the A right now. With his catchy hooks and undeniable energy, he’s making it clear he’s not slowing down anytime soon. If you haven’t been put on yet, now’s the time.
Out in Chicago, Ashlee Bankz is putting on for the Chi like nobody else. Known as the city’s best-kept secret, Bankz has been tearing up the scene with freestyles and her project “GO TO HELL”. Her gritty style proves she’s not here to play around. If you haven’t heard her bars yet, you’re missing out. She’s a serious contender in this game.
Now this next one? Do NOT sleep on Ron E, the latest talent in Hitmaka’s camp. The cousin of Yung Berg (now Hitmaka) has been creating some smooth R&B vibes that’ll have you hitting repeat. Tracks like “Rated R” and “Northface” show he’s got a lot of potential, and his On The Radar freestyle? FIRE. Ron E’s got that next-up energy in the R&B game, and you’ll be hearing a lot more from him soon.
These artists are coming hard this April, and you don’t wanna miss what they’re dropping. Check out the full list below.
1. TruththeBull
2. Taylor Avontè
3. Jorjiana
4. G Perico
5. Talk2Pops x Famous Sally
6. Loe Shimmy
9. Goya Gumbani
10. Ashlee Bankz
11. Lord Sko
12. IAMGAWD
13. UFO Fev
14. Dom Innarella
15. PARTYOF2
Billboard Women in Music 2025
Ten years after making a cameo in Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood” music video, Olivia Pompeo has nothing but love for the pop star — especially after the generous gift she gave the Grey’s Anatomy actress for a children’s charity on set.
While on The Jennifer Hudson Show Wednesday (April 2), Pompeo reflected on Swift tapping her to star in the Billboard Hot 100-topping 1989 single’s all-star visual, which premiered at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. “Taylor is such a good girl,” the Golden Globe nominee said. “I didn’t know her, and she invited me to be in the video and I thought, ‘Oh that would be fun.’ It was the easiest thing.”
Pompeo added that she still gets “a lot of points” with daughters Stella and Sienna — whom she shares with husband Chris Ivery, along with son Eli — for having starred in the VMA-winning project. “That got me so much mileage with both of the girls for a stretch.”
“At the time, Chris and I, we do a lot of volunteering for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles here,” she continued. “They have an amazing program at Children’s where they make music for the babies in the NICU and for the parents who have to go to work all day and they can’t be with the kids, they record their voices singing nursery rhymes or telling them stories, and they play it for the babies in the day when the parents can’t be there.”
“It’s a really nice program, but they need money to run it,” Pompeo said before revealing that Swift chipped in big at the drop of a hat. “So I just got up the hutzpah and asked Taylor, ‘Could you write me a big old check for Children’s?’ And she knew me all of 20 minutes, and that girl wrote me the biggest check without blinking an eye.”
It may have been Swift’s first 20 minutes of knowing Pompeo, but the Grammy winner had been a fan of hers for years. She’s long been vocal about her fandom for Grey’s and named one of her cats Meredith Grey after Pompeo’s character on the show.
A couple years ago, fans even thought that Swift might make a cameo on the medical drama, which is still on the air after 20 years. The rumors turned out to be false, but Pompeo told Extra of a future Swift appearance, “I think she’s pretty busy, but that would be fun … I would love it.”
Watch Pompeo talk about Swift’s generosity on The Jennifer Hudson Show above.
Billboard Women in Music 2025
Bruce Springsteen is seemingly gearing up to release another massive collection from his vaults. After teasing on Instagram on Tuesday (April 1) that “what was lost has now been found,” The Boss posted the official teaser for what appears to be another career-spanning project on Wednesday (April 2) via another Insta post with the caption #TheLostAlbums.
The accompanying video featuring black and white footage of Springsteen, 75, playing an acoustic guitar was accompanied by an untitled instrumental track and the words Tracks II, leading to a website (lostalbums.net) with a studio card from the singer’s L.A. (and Colts Neck, N.J.-based) Thrill Hill Recording studio featuring the dates 1983-2018.
While no additional information was available on the project at press time — including a release date or track listing — the project appears to be a sequel to Springsteen’s 1998 four-disc, 66-song box set Tracks, which covered the years 1972-1995. That sprawling collection featured never-before-released songs, b-sides, demos and alternate versions of released tracks from throughout his career, including an acoustic version of “Born in the U.S.A.”
The original Tracks spanned from early demos recorded in 1972, before the release of his 1973 debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. through such landmark releases as Born to Run, The River, Born in the U.S.A., Tunnel of Love and 1992’s Human Touch.
Based on the dates from the Lost Albums site, the new set seemingly picks up right before the 1984 release of Born in the U.S.A. and runs all the way until just before 2019’s Southern California pop LP Western Stars. That period covers a dozen releases, including 1992’s Lucky Town, 1995’s The Ghost of Tom Joad, 2002’s The Rising, 2009’s Working on a Dream and 2012’s Wrecking Ball, among others.
It was unclear at press time when the set will drop, though the promo video features Thursday’s (April 3) date at the top. Back in December, Springsteen’s team teased that, “upcoming releases in 2025 include a look back at Springsteen’s storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material.”
Springsteen has talked about recording much more material than fans have heard, telling Variety in 2017 that he and the E Street Band have “made many more records than we released. Why didn’t we release those records? I didn’t think they were essential,” he said of projects including the mythical electric version of his landmark bare-bones 1982 Nebraska album, which will be the focus of the upcoming Jeremy Allen White-starring biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere.
“I might have thought they were good, I might have had fun making them, and we’ve released plenty of that music [on archival collections over the years],” Springsteen added in the Variety interview. “But over my entire work life, I felt like I released what was essential at a certain moment, and what I got in return was a very sharp definition of who I was, what I want to do, what I was singing about. And I still basically judge what I’m doing by the same set of rules.”
Springsteen and the E Street Band will kick off their European tour on May 14 with the first of three shows at Co-Op Live in Manchester, U.K.
Shakira has been unstoppable since kicking off her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour in Brazil in February. Now, due to an overwhelming demand, the Colombian global artist has added two more dates to the North American leg of the trek, slated to start May 13 in North Carolina. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
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Sean “Diddy” Combs is once more being accused of heinous sex crimes after a man filed a lawsuit alleging human trafficking, sexual assault, and other crimes. Manzaro Joseph is claiming that Diddy forced him to wear a penis mask at a birthday party of King Combs in 2015, adding that he allegedly saw LeBron James, Beyoncé, and other celebrities. TMZ broke the report that Manzaro Joseph filed a lawsuit against Diddy, alleging that he was drugged and sent to the Bad Boy Records honcho’s Star Island commune and made to perform sex acts and be at the beck and call of guests. Named in Joseph’s lawsuit were Emilio and Gloria Estefan, who also reside on Star Island, along with Rick Ross owning a residence there as well. Joseph says that the Estefans tried to help him after witnessing what they thought was a medical episode. The filing goes on to say that a bath towel-wearing LeBron James, then a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, urged the couple to handle the situation. Joseph, who apparently is white, said he then allegedly encountered Beyoncé, who was offended by his mask and wondered why he was at the party. Joseph then adds to claims that one of Diddy’s security people was allegedly ordered by his boss to parade Joseph around in sexually suggestive clothing and made to perform humiliating sex acts.This complaint demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday. No sane person reading this complaint could credit this story. Mr. Combs looks forward to having his day in court where these lies – and the perverse motives of those who told them – will be revealed,” Diddy’s legal team told TMZ.
Also named in the filing were former porn star Adria English, Jacob “The Jeweler” Arabo, and alleged drug mule, Brendan Paul. The outlet was clear to note that Joseph is only suing Diddy, the Estefans, English, and Paul. The outlet also updated their story to share statements from the named individuals, all of whom are shooting down the wild claims.
—Photo: Getty
Billboard Women in Music 2025
Playboi Carti and Ariana Grande are battling for another week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Carti took to social media on Tuesday night (April 1) and quoted some of his Music lyrics about his plans of “goin’ three for three” atop the charts.
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“F–k it, I’m goin’ three for three,” he raps on “MOJO JOJO.” He followed up the IG Story post with a photo of Ariana Grande.
Fans were surprised to see Carti post Grande as he sent social media into a frenzy. “CARTIANA FANS STAND UP,” one fan of both artists wrote to X.
Carti has gone back-to-back weeks owning the top spot on the Billboard 200 coming off the release of Music, but Grande entered the mix with the arrival of her eternal sunshine deluxe: better days ahead on Friday (March 28).
The Atlanta rapper released his long-awaited Music album on March 14 and the set debuted at No. 1 with 298,000 album-equivalent units earned as all 30 tracks landed on the Billboard Hot 100.
He added another four previously released tracks to streaming services packaged in the form of the Music – Sorry 4 Da Wait deluxe.
Weeks later, Carti still occupies 10 slots on the Hot 100, including nine Music cuts and “Timeless” with The Weeknd. He’s also been teasing the release of Baby Boi, which appears to be his next project.
Grande released her Eternal Sunshine album in March 2024, and the LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 227,000 units earned. Just over a year later, the pop star returned with the six-track deluxe, which boasts fan-favorites “Twilight Zone” and the heartbreaking ballad “Hampstead.”
As for Carti, he spent his April Fool’s Day hanging with his supposed girlfriend, Giovanna Ramos, as the couple was spotted courtside at the Atlanta Hawks game.
King Vamp is set to join The Weeknd on his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which will invade stadiums across North America starting on May 9 in Arizona.
SiriusXM wants a federal judge to dismiss a class action claiming the company earns billions by foisting a deceptive “royalty fee” on subscribers, arguing there’s “nothing misleading” about its pricing.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court last year, claims that SiriusXM adds a huge “U.S. Music Royalty Fee” onto the advertised price — an “invented” charge with a deceptive name designed to falsely make consumers think that it’s mandated by the government to pay for music rights.
But in a Monday response, attorneys for the satcaster argue that the company “prominently and repeatedly” discloses all fees that consumers face before they purchase their subscription, including a base price and “taxes and fees.”
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“There is nothing misleading about Sirius XM’s practices,” the company’s attorneys say. “Every piece of information which plaintiffs say Sirius XM attempted to ‘conceal’ is and has always been out in the open. Plaintiffs were told what they had to pay if they wanted their music plans, and they received what they paid for—as contemplated by every statement exchanged between Sirius XM and its customers.”
The case, filed in June by four aggrieved SiriusXM customers who say they want to represent millions of other subscribers, claims that the Royalty Fee amounts to 21.4% of the original price – netting the company a whopping $1.36 billion in 2023 alone. The accusers say the fee itself is not illegal, but that it needs to be clearly advertised and explained to potential buyers.
“This action challenges a deceptive pricing scheme whereby SiriusXM falsely advertises its music plans at lower prices than it actually charges,” attorneys for plaintiffs wrote at the time. “SiriusXM intentionally does not disclose the fee to its subscribers. SiriusXM even goes so far as to not mention the words ‘U.S. Music Royalty Fee’ in any of its advertising, including in the fine print.”
The name of the fee aims to make it sound important and official, the lawsuit claimed, but it’s really just a “disguised double charge for the music plan itself” that no other competing music services imposes on their users as an additional fee on top of the actual price.
“Reasonable consumers would expect that the advertised price for SiriusXM’s music plans would include the fundamental costs of obtaining the permissions necessary to provide the music content that SiriusXM has promised is included in those plans,” lawyers for the subscribers wrote in their complaint.
But in Monday’s response, Sirius said there was nothing misleading about the name of the fee, which they say “offsets royalties payable to holders of copyrights in sound records and holders of copyrights in musical compositions.”
“Sirius XM has done exactly what it said it would do: charge a monthly price for music subscriptions, plus ‘fees and taxes,’ for a prominently and repeatedly disclosed total price that is the sum of the two,” the company wrote. “And the fee Sirius XM charges is exactly what its name suggests: one to cover the royalty expenses.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs will file a response in the weeks ahead, and then a judge will rule on SiriusXM’s motion at some point in the next few months. If denied, the case will proceed toward an eventual trial.
Billboard Women in Music 2025 Lucy Dacus just had a magical moment as a Lady Gaga fan. After the Boygenius star covered the pop icon’s Mayhem single “Abracadabra” on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Gaga left Dacus stunned by showering the rendition with praise on TikTok. Commenting on a video of the “Ankles” singer’s performance […]
Billboard Women in Music 2025
JSM Networking Nights could change the direction of your career. The music networking event is a place for professionals and experts to mingle, and for emerging newcomers to get to know fellow contemporaries and creatives. The goal: to break down barriers of the music industry, share ideas, thoughts and contacts on the way to developing new relationships.
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Helmed by industry legend John Saunderson (Notting Hill Music, Head of Creative), the first event was held in 2013 to help fill the gap for young musicians looking to connect. The first event, Saunderson says, started with just 70 people in the Hillgate pub in Notting Hill; it soon moved to industry hub Tileyard, then legendary venue Koko where a number of huge names have performed. Now in its 12th year and at the new home of 26 Leake Street near Waterloo, up to 1500 professionals congregate for free live music and networking.
As the spring edition of JSM Networking Nights approaches on April 14 – and with the final batch of tickets available here – Saunderson takes Billboard U.K. through the top tips for how newcomers can make the most of each night.
Get down early
Real ones get down early. Whether that’s at your mate’s show, a local band you want to support, or just get a good spot, there’s no need to hold back and not fill the room. Not only that, but you’ll get to make the most out of the full evening and make as many connections as you can. And why go to a JSM Music Night if not to get fully stuck in? Attendees all head down for the same reason, to meet and network with like-minded people. Don’t be afraid to tap someone on the shoulder and ask what someone does for a living; you never know unless you ask.
Be open-minded
JSM Networking Nights attract a vast array of industry folk, potentially from industries you may not have considered before. Figures from record labels, publishers, managers, agents, promoters lawyers, finance and media as well as artists, producers and songwriters all head down to these events to attain fresh knowledge and connect. Be open to meeting not just new people, but from sectors that you might not have considered connecting with; they may just help you along your journey without you even realising.
26 Leake Street
Gary Thomas KYPA
Come prepared
Whilst you don’t need to bring a scripted monologue, having a good idea of what your story is, some of your key achievements and what you’re looking for to be able to take the next step can only be a good thing. Don’t be afraid to tell people about yourself – they’re also at the event to meet new people and hear new stories and to help. We’re all in the same boat.
Set some goals
If you’re particularly looking for advice from a certain area, consider setting yourself a goal to speak to an ideal amount of people. Perhaps if you want to connect with songwriters, aim to give your details or card to people in that area throughout the night. It may well push you out of your comfort zone, and convince you to connect with new people you may not have met otherwise. When you come away from the event, you’ll be able to look back with some actionable plans.
John Saunderson (Head of Creative, Notting Hill Music). Sir Harry Cowell (Raiding the Rock Vault, Las Vegas). Rob Hallett (Robomagic). Rusty Egan (80’s Legend) Bruce Elliot Smith (Grammy winning producer)
Gary Thomas KYPA
Listen to people
Look, this may sound obvious – but no-one likes a self-involved chatterbox. Feel confident in yourself and to tell your story, but also listen to other people and consider giving advice or comments where you feel comfortable contributing. JSM Networking Nights is about the exchange of ideas and advice, and this could be your chance to hear something new that you might not have considered prior. You just need to keep an open mind and open ears.
Consider applying to play live
JSM Networking Nights provides a platform for live bands to play live on the night via the Apply to Play initiative. Gavin Barnard of Amplead – the night’s long-term sponsor – says that they receive hundreds of applicants to perform live on the night, and that he’s already whittled down the upcoming Spring event from 290 applicants down to 9 on the night, with a further 20 on standby. “This gives them a unique opportunity to perform on the night,” Barnard says. “Who knows who is watching: a manager, label, publisher, agent, promoter, a blogger or influencer?”