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Donald Trump is on a pardon spree and incarcerated former Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight thinks Sean “Diddy” Combs could be the next celebrity on the president’s list to snag a get out of jail free card. In a new special edition of Laura Coates Live: Diddy on Trial, CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates interviewed Knight from prison to get the one-time Combs rival’s take on Diddy’s New York sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
Knight’s name recently came up during testimony in the trial by Combs’ longtime girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, who told jurors about a 2008 incident in which Diddy abruptly left one of their “freak-off” sex sessions after learning that Knight was having dinner at a nearby diner in Los Angeles. “I was crying,” she said. “I was screaming, ‘Please don’t do anything stupid,’” she said she told Combs, who reportedly left he house in a black SUV with a security guard and multiple hand guns to seek out Knight, who had already left.
Knight and Combs famously squared off in the so-called East Coast/West Coast rap battles of the mid-1990s that came to a head with the still-unsolved murders of Death Row’s Tupac Shakur in 1996 and Bad Boys’ Notorious B.I.G in 1997.
Now, though, Knight is speaking out from federal prison in San Diego and he appears to have softened his stance on his one-time sworn enemy. “I mean, anytime somebody is fighting for their life and they have kids, you still got to show some type of, you know, sympathy for them. He might have allegedly did a lot of things but I don’t want to see the children locked up, you know, because when a man in prison or a woman is in prison, so is their family, you know,” said Knight of Combs, a father of seven.
Knight also said he was not surprised to hear about the over-the-top, drug-fueled sex parties at the center of the Combs case, saying that when he signed artists to Death Row it was all “weed, weed, weed, weed,” which turned to “doing powder cocaine” when those acts graduated to major labels. “Once you open that door up and play with the devil, you’re going to become the devil. So that’s when a lot of the problems came in. I’m quite sure for puffy and everyone else,” Knight said.
And while Knight managed to work in on one of his long-held complaints about how camera-loving Combs conducted his business as a label boss at Bad Boy — “I believe that as an executive or a record label owner, you supposed to make them the star. Once you start trying to be the star, that’s when the problem come in” — in the end he thinks his one-time enemy will walk free.
“I don’t feel that the prosecution wanted that bad, because a lot of stuff they had on him, they left out. It don’t seem like they really coming down hard at them,” Knight said about his opinion of the prosecution’s laying out of their case so far. “If he get convicted — if Puffy get convicted, Trump’s going to pardon him,” Knight predicted. “Trump is a president that stands up and do what he wants to do, and he’s going to do what he feels is best. So Puffy has nothing to worry about.”
Trump has been on an unusual pardon spree lately, springing convicted felons and fellow former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley this week, in addition to rapper NBA YoungBoy, after earlier including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black in a massive 143 pardon/commutation spree at the end of his first presidential term. To date, Trump — who in May 2024 became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a felony — has not publicly commented on the Combs trial to date.
Coates also asked Knight the billion-dollar question everyone is asking: will, or should, Combs testify in his own defense? “He probably was advised not to, but I feel if he do tell his truth, he really will walk,” said Knight. “He can humanize his own self and a jury might give him a shot. But if they keep him sitting down, it’s like he’s scared to face the music. He just have his faith in God, pull up his pants and go up there and tell his truth.”
Testimony in Combs’ trial continued on Friday (May 30) with the jury hearing from a former personal assistant (referred to by the pseudonym “Mia”), who said that she suffers from “severe complex PTSD” as a result of working for Diddy.
Watch some of Knight’s interview below.
Taylor Swift announced on Friday (May 30) she has regained ownership of her master recordings from Shamrock Capital, the private equity firm that purchased them from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in late 2020. According to sources, Shamrock sold Swift’s catalog back to her for an amount relatively close to what they paid for it — which sources tell Billboard was around $360 million.
In a message on her website, Swift says: “All the times I was this close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now… I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs to me. All of my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life’s work.”
In her announcement, Swift expressed gratitude and praised Shamrock for how they handled the deal, noting they understood the deeply personal meaning behind the transaction. “My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams,” she writes. “I am endlessly thankful. My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”
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The saga of Swift’s masters goes back to June 2019, when Ithaca purchased Big Machine Label Group, which owned the master recordings to Swift’s first six albums, for an estimated $300 million. Swift’s catalog was worth at least half of that amount, according to estimates at the time. Over the years, Swift has very publicly declared her displeasure with the shuffling around of her masters and, in 2019, began re-recording those Big Machine albums in order to restore control over her songs from a commercial standpoint.
Her re-recording journey began with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April 2021, followed by Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021. In 2023, she released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), each topping the Billboard 200 chart. Fans are still anticipating the re-recording of her self-titled debut and her final Big Machine LP, Reputation. Since leaving Big Machine in November 2018, she’s released five additional albums on Republic Records: Lover (2019), Folkore (2020), Evermore (2020), Midnights (2022) and The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She also embarked upon and completed her career-defining Eras Tour, which rewrote the rules of what a concert tour could be, and massively boosted streams and sales of her entire catalog, including the re-recordings.
Swift was not involved in Shamrock’s 2020 purchase of her music. “This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge,” she said at the time.
Shamrock’s 2020 statement about acquiring Swift’s catalog from Ithaca emphasized their admiration for her artistry and the value of her music. They described Swift as a “transcendent artist” with a “timeless catalog” and said their investment was driven by belief in the long-term potential of her work. While they had hoped to partner with her directly, they acknowledged and respected her decision not to be involved. Shamrock expressed appreciation for Swift’s professionalism and conveyed interest in collaborating with her in the future.
Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, given that sources close to the negotiations say Swift paid a price close to the $360-million price tag Shamrock paid back in 2021, that would imply Shamrock did not make much, if any, profit off the sale of the assets. However, the financial firm with ties to Disney still made a profit of around $100 million in total over the three plus years it owned the records. The six albums and two live albums that Swift recorded when she was signed to Big Machine generated roughly $60 million a year on average globally from 2022 to 2024, according to Billboard’s estimates based on Luminate data. Distribution, marketing and royalty payments to Swift likely consumed about 50% of that revenue, leaving Shamrock with an annual profit of around $30 million a year.
In 2023, Billboard reported that the re-recordings of Swift’s albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) were vastly out-streaming their originals since the new versions were released, with the new Fearless earning three times the equivalent album units as the original, and the new Red as much as 10 times the original.
As of May 22 according to Luminate, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has racked up 2.3 million equivalent album units to the original’s 8.6 million U.S. units, despite the latter having a more than 12 year head start; Red (Taylor’s Version) has accumulated 5.18 million equivalent album units to the original’s 9.16 million U.S. units, despite the latter having been released nearly 10 years prior to the re-recording; Fearless (Taylor’s Version) has accrued 3.0 million equivalent album units to the original’s 11.7 million U.S. units, the latter having had a 13-year head start; and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has earned 4.87 million equivalent album units to the original’s 14.6 million, with a nine year gap in release dates.
Overall, Swift’s catalog has racked up 116.77 million equivalent album units in the United States over the years, according to Luminate, stretching back to her self-titled debut album in 2006. She has sold 54 million albums in the U.S. and generated 70.746 billion streams.
Read Taylor’s full message on reclaiming her masters:
Hi,
I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiis close, reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words:
All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.
And all my music videos.All the concert films.The album art and photography.The unreleased songs.The memories. The magic. The madness.Every single era.My entire life’s work.
To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it. To my fans, you know how important this has been to me — so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor’s Version. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success story you turned The Eras Tour into is why I was able to buy back my music. I can’t thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but have never owned until now.
All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me. The way they’ve handled every interaction we’ve had has been honest, fair, and respectful. This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what it was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams. I am endlessly thankful. My first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.
I know, I know. What about Rep TV? Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it. The Reputation album was so specific to that time in my life, and I kept hitting a stopping point when I tried to remake it. All that defiance, that longing to be understood while feeling purposely misunderstood, that desperate hope, that shame-born snarl and mischief. To be perfectly honest, it’s the one album in the first 6 that I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off. There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch. I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now. Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.
I’m extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen. Thank you for being curious about something that used to be thought of as too industry-centric for broad discussion. You’ll never know how much it means to me that you cared. Every single bit of it counted and ended us up here.
Thanks to you and your goodwill, teamwork and encouragement, the best things that have ever been mine… finally actually are.
Elated and amazed,
Taylor
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall and Dan Rys.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Miley Cyrus finds new pop beauty, Lorde upends expectations and Tate McRae revs up for F1. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Miley Cyrus, Something Beautiful
Drawing upon classic pop influences while also letting her freak flag fly, Miley Cyrus offers a singular accomplishment on Something Beautiful — moving on from 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, which included the biggest hit of her career in “Flowers,” with her most satisfying front-to-back listen to date, unbothered with trying to recreate radio success but still finding revealing hooks along the way.
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Lorde, “Man of the Year”
In the past, Lorde has liked to preview a new album with an uptempo lead single and a ballad-leaning follow-up — think Melodrama with “Green Light” and “Liability,” or Solar Power with the title track and “Stoned at the Nail Salon” — but “Man of the Year,” which comes after the fleet-footed “What Was That,” is actually a red herring, starting off as a sparse reflection over bass plucks but then widening its stance, and ending with a fuzzed-out boom.
Tate McRae, “Just Keep Watching”
Continuing a year in which she’s leveled up as a pop star — as well as a week where she earned her first career Hot 100 chart-topper, alongside Morgan Wallen on “What I Want” — Tate McRae hops into the F1 soundtrack mobile with “Just Keep Watching,” a fast-moving club track with the type of quick-twitch percussion that could inspire more kinetic choreography if McRae incorporates the song into her live show.
Leon Thomas, MUTT Deluxe: HEEL
“MUTT” may have marked Leon Thomas’ arrival as a compelling new voice in popular R&B, its host album of the same name was just as sumptuous as its standout hit; now, MUTT contains even more acrobatic vocal takes by Thomas on its deluxe edition, which includes team-ups with Kehlani and Big Sean, as well as engrossing new solo cuts like “HEEL” and “NOT FAIR.”
Mt. Joy, Hope We Have Fun
The 2020s have seen indie rock quintet Mt. Joy continuously graduate to bigger touring venues, culminating in a Madison Square Garden headlining gig on their last live trek — and instead of simply acting as another excuse for the group to hit the road, new album Hope We Have Fun translates the band’s live energy to the studio, with songs like “Highway Queen” and “Pink Lady” jangling forward with blissed-out style.
Clipse, “Ace Trumpets”
In the 2000s, Virginia hip-hop duo Clipse would regularly release Pharrell Williams-produced bangers that made their listeners scrunch up their noses in delight; then, Malice quit music to explore religion, and his brother Pusha T moved on to solo stardom. Now, Clipse (and Pharrell) are back, recapturing the magic on “Ace Trumpets,” the head-knocking first track from long-awaited new album, Let God Sort Em Out.
Ava Max, “Lovin Myself”
Across pop hits like “Sweet But Psycho,” “My Head & My Heart” and “Kings & Queens,” Ava Max has prioritized electro-pop fun while offering a streak of self-empowerment; new single “Lovin Myself” doubles down on the second half of that equation, with the singer declaring, “I don’t need nobody, I’m lovin’ myself!” as warm synths rain down on her voice.
Editor’s Pick: Yeule, Evangelic Girl is a Gun
If Yeule’s 2022 album Glitch Princess was their critical breakthrough, Evangelic Girl is a Gun is the first time we receive a full glimpse of the daring singer-songwriter: the hyperpop from years past has morphed into trip-hop, alt-rock and affecting balladry, but across the most vulnerable lyricism of Yeule’s career, they still toss out mesmerizing pop ideas, as their song craft serves as a foundation for their roaming spirit.
05/30/2025
The brothers from Virginia Beach finally released a proper single to their highly anticipated reunion album ‘Let God Sort Em Out.’
05/30/2025
The similarity between Lorde‘s new single and GQ’s annual Man of the Year party is no coincidence. According to the pop star, she started writing the track just one day after attending the event in 2023.
During an appearance on Australian radio program Triple J Thursday (May 29), Lorde opened up about how the publication’s party two years ago triggered a gender revelation for her that would end up inspiring “Man of the Year,” which dropped the same day as the interview. “I had been feeling this expansiveness of gender happening for a while, and this was my first event that I’d been to in a while,” she began.
“I wore kind of like a ‘hot girl’ dress,” continued the “Royals” singer, who attended the event in a form-fitting green gown and heels. “And I felt so not like myself. And it was a really cool marker, especially being at this event that was celebrating all these cool guys, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m one of those guys, like, sometimes, when I wanna be. And I was like, ‘Whoa, I don’t think the hot-girl dress is the right device for this moment.’”
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The next day, Lorde says she and producer Jim-E Stack “were in the studio kind of hung over, and I was like, ‘I wanna write a song about how I’m the Man of the Year for me.’”
Lorde has been open about how new album Virgin — which drops June 27 — was inspired by her broadening gender identity over the past few years. In a cover story interview with Rolling Stone published earlier in May, she discussed how recovering from an eating disorder and stopping birth control allowed her to feel more at home in her own body and masculinity, adding, “I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.”
The sentiment echoes something she posted on her Instagram Story in 2023 immediately after the GQ party. Sharing a photo of herself in her dress, she’d written, “Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man.”
When asked how it’s felt to share her newfound gender identity with fans, Lorde shared on Triple J that it’s “a little bit scary.”
“I feel what the lack of definitive boxes for this sort of stuff does to people, and I totally understand,” she added. “Sometimes we really need these containers, but for me personally, I felt like where I’m at, it’s all just still flowing, it’s still moving. And I think it’s probably like that for someone else, too, and maybe it’s OK to celebrate that impermanence, that rawness, that lack of arrival.”
Watch Lorde’s full interview on Triple J above.
Samara Cyn never wanted to be a rapper. Even while moving around the country as a military brat, Cyn was a straight-A student who prided herself on never getting a single B on her report card in her entire life.
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It wasn’t until a 2021 college internship at software company Intel that she knew corporate America and the cubicle weren’t for her. “It was just miserable,” she laments to Billboard during her April NYC visit. “I would smoke lavender cigarettes. The herbal s–t that be at crystal stores because it calms you down. I was smoking that and drinking Angry Orchards because I’m allergic to beer. That was the era of my life.”
Four years later, Samara Cyn is one of the rising stars in rap’s rookie class and a breath of fresh air in the genre, boasting an ambitious blend of hip-hop and neo-soul.
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After signing with VANTA at the top of 2024, the Arizona State University alum delivered her heavy debut project, The Drive Home, in October, which showcased clever wordplay, twisted storytelling and an arsenal of wispy poetic flows on her arduous journey to healing and finding peace. She’s picked up some major co-signs along the way, catching the eye of legends like Nas, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill.
Cyn’s been on the run, but she was forced to sit still when the devastating wildfires ripped through California in January, which provided a sobering genesis for her Backroads EP arriving on June 20.
“I’m sitting in my house with no power and my phone’s dead and I realized how uncomfortable it made me to sit in silence,” she explains with her silver grills peering through. “It made me reflect on how easy it is for us to ignore and distract and disassociate rather than face things and talk about what’s going on.”
The 26-year-old continues: “We’re desensitized as f–k. It pushed me into the whole delusion thing. How much are we willing to sacrifice to be comfortable and be delusional? Backroad is the long way around instead of facing that s–t.”
Cyn, who’s currently trekking through North America with her “Brand New Teeth” collaborator Smino on the Kountry Kousins Tour, delves further into June’s Backroads EP, Lauryn Hill bringing her out at a show, and where she sees herself in 10 years. Learn more about our Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month for May below.
Did you always want to be a rapper?
Hell nah, nope. This is a dumba– career choice. So stupid. When I was a kid, my voice used to be different. Then I got my tonsils and adenoids taken out. I snored like a 40-year-old man at five. My mom said that when I woke up from surgery, when I started talking that it startled her because I sounded so different.
I started doing music when I was in college. When I was in high school, people would say, “Your voice is so cool.” Interviewers or strangers will say, “You sing, right?” I’m like, “Yeah, a little bit.” I think you kinda have to have that distinctive something as an artist. When you hear it, it’s like, “Oh, I know who that is.”
Why is rap a dumb career choice?
It’s not lucrative at first. It’s like trying to get into the NBA. It’s not dumb for the people who make it. A very [small] number of people get to have long careers. You gotta work really f–king hard and you don’t get paid for a long time. Let me put out the resolve. Any career choice that is fulfilling to you is good for you to make that career choice.
It could be fulfilling and dumb at the same time. How does one go about managing their finances like that? It’s like you’re poor one second, and then come into money and might go crazy with it.
I’m a smart cookie. A lot of people do that. I had a lot of people around me that did that and they told me, “You’re gonna blow your first bag.” I was like, “No, I’m not. Watch what I do.” I was real adamant because I know how this is set up. We don’t get a 401 (k) or a W-2 at the end of the year. Cool, you made your first six figures — and you don’t realize half of that s–t is going to taxes. You made $50,000, calm down. You have to be really smart about it.
So immediately I went and found a financial advisor. I don’t want to work a job and do this as my job — so I need this much in salary, this much in high yield, and I want to start a retirement fund. A lot of artists I was asking hadn’t got in the position yet, or they didn’t know, even if they passed it. There’s no blueprint. I stayed in my same apartment and car.
How did you get in the zone for this project?
I made all of those songs except for one between now and January. It’s been a few months of making these records. It started in January with the wildfires that happened. My power had went out for a while, which is the least of the f–king worries. You start doom thinking about all the s–t that’s going on in the world that’s super f–ked up. I’m over here struggling to not have power for a few days, and it’s kids in Gaza that just had their house blown up. No family, no food, no water. Just recognizing my privilege in that moment.
It really made me reflect on how I was showing up and what my contribution was. It made me feel like that wasn’t enough. What am I gonna do about the s–t that’s going on in the world? I’m gonna make a song about it. How often I have a TV sitcom playing in the background, or music on in the background. It’s easy to distract, because that s–t is heavy. It’s heavy to think about everything all at once.
Even what’s going on in our country right now. Like, it’s f–ked up, but we just continue to do our job. Even when the wildfires were happening, people were still going to work and their whole neighborhoods were burning down. I don’t think my contribution was enough, because all I did was write songs about it. How stupid I feel sacrificing so much.
It started with “Pop n Olive.” Sonic symbolization. Feel good song, but we’re talking about killing people the whole time. “Hardheaded,” straight on, confront society and how it is. Why we are the way we are and ignore s–t, when we know we can do something about it. Visually, I’m stepping into the 3-D worlds to kind of represent the delusion and the comfort aspect.
What made VANTA the right partner? When did you sign?
January of 2024. What made them the right partner — one, they were very adamant about being artist-friendly. I felt like a lot of people we were meeting with were like, “Yeah, but…” I got my whole vision laid out. I’m type-A personality. I got PowerPoints and decks. I come in with the s–t, and y’all can make suggestions, but this is what I’m doing.
They were the first people that were like, “We f–k with that and we’re gonna let you do what you need to do.” They’ve been very trusting of me because I’ve shown them that I can do it. They’re just there to help me evolve it. They were artist-friendly compared to some of the people I was talking to. They were trying to give me a color instead of making my color brighter.
How was it when Lauryn Hill brought you out?
Surreal. I rehearsed 15 minutes with her band and I missed her at soundcheck. She had came later, so my first time seeing her was walking out on stage. Jazz in the Gardens is a mature crowd. A mature crowd is a tough crowd. They came there to see the n—as they rock with.
I think the crowd was receptive. For what it was, I felt like I did a good job. To be on the same stage as somebody and I can turn around and be like, “Thank you, Ms. Lauryn Hill.” She’s like, “You’re welcome.” Like, what a full-circle moment of my life, from listening to her projects in high school and throughout childhood, playing [her] in the house, to meet her and tell her it was a full-circle moment and she’s all warm and receptive is cool. The fact she wanted to highlight up-and-coming artists felt really great, to be considered by somebody like that.
Doechii was there showing you love, too.
I seen her while I was performing. I was doing the call-and-response thing I do, and she was up there. I seen her acknowledge and I blew her kisses. She’s really a cool-a– girl. Very warm as well. I think the media tries to make it competitive.
Who are some of your early music inspirations?
Christina Aguilera was my own first CD that I ever got. Back to Basics. My sister had a Chris Brown CD. It wasn’t mine, but I was listening to it. Christina [Aguilera], Erykah Badu, my dad played Slick Rick a lot, Outkast, Florence & the Machine.
Moving around so much as a kid, highlight one or two of the places where you lived? I was gonna say Hawaii…
We moved [to Hawaii] when I was nine and stayed there until I was 13. Me being young, I wasn’t able to take in where we were at. I loved playing outside every day. We lived in a cul-de-sac, and it was 82 degrees every day and I could walk to school. I wished I was a little bit older when I was there so I could drive around. Any time we would do surfing or paddleboarding, I’d have to go with the neighbors. My parents not doing that type of s–t. I played a lot of sports out there.
Hawaii was dope. It really put me onto island music like J Boog and Common Kings. I was playing tennis. I was in a bowling league. [I] never bowled a 300 though.
You were writing poetry growing up?
Yeah, here and there. It wasn’t until college that I got super into it. My mom’s an English teacher and she always had this segment she would teach where she would show videos of Brave New Voices, which is like a reality thing, and you go to inner cities and the kids work on poetry pieces until the end of a competition. I was inspired by that. I was in the 5th grade writing slam poems about s–t I had no idea about. It wasn’t something I did every day. I would go through phases. I was really diligent in school. I never got a B in my life.
How was Arizona State University? What jump-started your rap career out there?
To be completely honest, the first time I rapped a verse — remember when Chance The Rapper did the So Gone Challenge on Twitter? He was rapping to his girl, and then it started a whole thing. I did a So Gone Challenge in high school. I was 17 and I did it for my mom. That s–t went up in my school area. I would write little verses here and there. Even when I was in college, I remember writing verses to the “Xxplosive” beat. I would pick hip-hop s–t and I would write verses to it when I was bored.
One night in college I was off a bean, and me and my friends were sitting by the lake on ecstasy, and one of my friends, Dwayne — he would rap and he was playing instrumentals — and I was like, “I got some s–t in my notes that would go to this.” I rapped one of my lil’ poems and my friends were like, “Damn, what the f–k? That was kind of hard.” I couldn’t stop writing after that. I stayed up all night trying to finish that s–t. I went upstairs and got my bag and went to class. I didn’t go to sleep. I was in class writing. Mind you, I’m a diligent kid, so me not paying attention in class, it’s like, “I f–k with this.” I would put my headphones on and walk to class writing raps.
I really enjoyed it and the people around me would rap, so it was quick that I got in the studio and got into that environment. Quickly after that, I was performing. I was putting s–t out on SoundCloud. That’s 2019. Then COVID hit and I lived by myself so it became very therapeutic. I went through some dramatic events that made it a safe space for me to talk about the stuff I was going through so I didn’t feel crazy.
Poetic Soul was an open mic event that would happen every Wednesday and I went to that really often. That’s where I started doing my live performance music stuff. They have a band, and you plug your phone in and have five minutes to do whatever you want. The band is so good that they’ll pick up your track in 20 seconds, and the host will come out and unplug your track and you just go with the band for the rest of the time. That was a cool experience.
Once I graduated in 2021, I was like, “Damn, I’m gonna try to do music for a little bit.” I tried to do the businesswoman s–t I thought I wanted to do. I did an internship at Intel. I got paid crazy that summer as a college student.
When did you become an artist? I read this story you went to L.A. for Grammys week and got caught up in a home invasion.
Yeah, that actually happened in 2020. That was the traumatic s–t I was talking about. That shifted my focus from being on rah-rah s–t, which is so far out of my character, but at the time I was even finding myself. To actually doing more conscious, neo-soul, boom-bap type of rap at the time. That pivoted my trajectory. It wasn’t until the Intel internship that was the thing where, “Okay, I’m gonna do music.”
I was gonna get into sustainability, but that s–t is a joke. Companies that say they have a sustainability department — it’s not real. It’s an image thing. I started doing shows with music and doing admin jobs and I drove Covid vans, which was crazy. Transporting people with COVID to shelters and quarantine hotels. I needed to pay my rent. Eventually, I was like, “I’m gonna go to L.A. and do music.”
What did your parents think of you pursuing a music career?
My mom was so supportive. She’s always been the person to say, “Now is the time to follow your dreams. Push comes to shove, you got your degree and maybe you could fall back on something.” She was like, “Maybe you give yourself a certain amount of time and if you’re not getting opportunities, then you can come back.” The opportunities never stopped coming.
Dad was a little more of a tougher cookie. He’s very supportive now, but he had to see it first. Even with the record deal, I quit a decent job. I told him I got a record deal and he was like, “Just make sure you see it in person because n—as be saying anything.” He be putting all his friends onto my music. My 13th birthday, me and my dad rapped “Children’s Story” back-and-forth. On my 18th birthday, he beatboxed Doug E. Fresh and I rapped “La Di Da Di” in the kitchen at breakfast. Call him and he’ll hit you with a verse right there.
Who’s gonna play you in your biopic?
I wish I could say Zendaya could, but she’s too cool to play me. She’s too tall. She’s too classy. She’s amazing. Challengers was dope.
Have you talked to Nas?
Yeah, I opened for Nas in London. We played two shows at the Royal Albert Hall. He’s cool as hell. He’s so interested in giving game, which is nice. It’s really easy to respect him. Not just because of his career, but as a human. He was very honest and real about s–t if he’s not f–king with something he’ll say it.
What other business endeavors do you want to get into outside of music?
Part of me is interested in fashion, but I don’t know if that’s the path that I want to take. A lot of me is interested in creative direction and I’m a writer at heart. I feel like I could write great stories. Maybe TV and film is another way I can take it. Maybe not as in front of the camera. [Being] behind the camera or making a series would be cool. I really admire people like Childish Gambino or Issa Rae and Vince Staples. His series was cool. I could see it going into that era. Even Teyana Taylor. Maybe creative direction, it would be cool to do for other people.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
On a beach somewhere, s–t. I hope to have left a mark that can be respected and it’s thought of as quality, as far as the music I make. I hope to be in different businesses I set up. I admire Rihanna’s career path. I hope to be more at peace and content with where I’m at. More paced. But right now, it’s grind time.
Source: Kayla Oaddams / Getty
Comedy now has a royal family. Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy’s kids recently married in a quiet ceremony.
As per Page Six, Eddie Murphy was recently a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show. The two discussed their time as co-stars in Dreamgirls, his historic career, new projects and more. During the conversation, she asked for a status update on his eldest son Eric dating Martin Lawrence’s oldest daughter Jasmin. The Beverly Hills Cop actor went on to reveal that the two jumped the broom earlier this month. “Actually, they got married, like, two weeks ago,” he explained. “They went off…Everybody was making the big wedding plans, and they decided they wanted to do something quiet with just the two of them,” the comedian added.
When asked if he or Martin provided entertainment at the ceremony he made it clear that the couple kept things very small. “They went off and they got married at the church,” he said. “They just had the two of them and the preacher. They had a quiet little thing. So, I think we’ll have like a big party or something.” The couple officially announced their engagement on Instagram back in November 2025. “We’re engaged!! God truly blessed us with a love that feels like destiny. We couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter,” the caption read.
While Martin Lawrence has yet to publicly comment on the nuptials, Eddie Murphy joked that the Bad Boy star “doesn’t have to pay for that big wedding now.” The two have worked on projects in the past including Boomerang and Life. You can see Eddie discuss the news below.
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Source: Arnold Jerocki / Getty
Many know Jeff Bezos to be one of the richest men in the world, but just because the man can afford to buy islands on a whim, that doesn’t mean he has a problem wearing attire that costs less than a bag of groceries.
According to Variety, the founder and owner of Amazon was spotted this past weekend attending the F1 Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo and people noticed that the man kept it casual as can be wearing a pair of $220 CLAE Salazar sneakers to the event. Not Nikes, not Louis Vuitton, heck not even Hoka, but CLAE Salazar. Never heard of them? Us either, but apparently, he has and has no issue with wearing sneakers that aren’t on the radar of the sneaker culture like that. As for what the CLAE Salazar brand has to offer, it seems like they’ve got a pretty comfortable sneaker for sale as Mr. Amazon himself is styling and profiling in them.
Variety reports:
The sneakers feature a mesh upper and leather shell, finished with a Vibram sole, created exclusively for CLAE. Vibram is best-known in the fitness space for its high-performance rubber soles, designed for stability, traction and comfort (you probably also recognize the Vibram name from the brand’s viral “FiveFingers” hiking shoes).
Bezos wore the CLAE sneakers in a “navy quiet grey” colorway, though it’s almost sold out on the CLAE website. Nordstrom has the same sneaker in black, off-white, or a “starfish” beige-tone colorway for $220 here.Impressively, Bezos wore the affordable kicks while strolling with fiancé Lauren Sánchez (dressed in a sheer designer gown) and posing for pics with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Liberty Media President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Chang.
Yeah, regardless if Bezos and other celebrities begin wearing CLAE sneakers on the regular we don’t expect any high-stakes sneaker heists of these joints anytime soon. Just sayin’.
Still, the CEO of CLAE Salazar, Jim Bartholet, was “grateful” to see such a high profile figure rocking the brand and knows how good of a look this is for the company.
“As a small, independent brand, we strive to make versatile shoes that embody a shared vision of creativity, sustainability, and a world where everyone can thrive,” Bartholet says. Worth noting: while Bezos reportedly bought the sneakers himself, he likely didn’t buy them from Amazon. Bartholet confirms that while there are listings for CLAE on Amazon.com, they are from independent re-sellers — CLAE has never had an official store on Amazon and they don’t have plans to sell on the site anytime soon.
What do y’all think about the CLAE Salazar sneakers? Is it something y’all would rock? Let us know in the comments section below.
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“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” a curious fan asks BigXthaPlug as the rapper and his entourage are escorted through Coachella’s artist entrance.
BigX has probably heard that phrase a lot lately. From Beyoncé using the good-naturedly boastful “The Largest” as part of an interlude on the Cowboy Carter tour to earning a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for his Bailey Zimmerman collaboration, “All the Way,” the Dallas native radiates Texas-sized star power.
And while BigX’s booming voice and larger-than-life stage presence have helped him become one of rap’s most recognizable newcomers, the 26-year-old born Xavier Landum is preparing to take his outsized charm across genre lines with his highly anticipated country-trap project.
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“Everybody is realizing I’m not just a rapper — I’m an artist,” BigX says while reclining in the cavernous living room of the Indian Wells, Calif., estate he’s calling home for Coachella, as vitamins flow through an IV drip into his beefy bicep. “I feel like it’s not [me] trying to take over somebody’s situation. It’s more like, ‘Hey, I’m an artist and I want to see if I can do this as well.’ ”
BigX landed on the country scene in 2022 with his platinum-certified breakout hit, “Texas,” and its music video, in which he threw on a cowboy hat while rapping over bluesy acoustic slide guitar. Some believed BigX had country roots, having been raised in the 214 — but the self-described “city boy” bluntly admits he “never listened to country music in my life.” Instead, he grew up on the mix of rap, soul and R&B, ranging from Lil Wayne to 2Pac to The Isley Brothers, that his parents played.
But as his career picked up steam, some of his biggest new fans turned out to be country superstars like Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll (who just brought BigX out during his 2025 Stagecoach set), Post Malone and Luke Combs. “So many people from the country world said they f–ked with me and wanted to do something with me,” says BigX, who was genuinely surprised by the crossover appeal.
The seeds were planted for a country project. “We buckled down and did it before the next person would do it,” he says. BigX’s right-hand producers — Tony Coles, Bandplay and Charley Cooks — collected different sounds to create a perfect country-trap blend that remained true to BigX’s signature soulfulness.
“I wouldn’t say my version of country music is country music. It’s kind of mixing the two sounds,” he explains. “I’m rapping on a bunch of country-style beats, but it’s not just country. I’m not on there sounding like no cowboy; I’m rapping. I’m just doing it from a country standpoint. I’m not saying it was easy — it definitely was a challenge.”
Among those challenges: For a country project, BigX felt he needed a different mentality from the one he has had while recording his upcoming rap album. “I was just coming out of my sad era and I don’t really drink liquor like that, [so] it was kind of harder to do,” he admits.
But the early returns on his country gamble have been both immediate and massive: First single “All the Way” debuted at No. 4 on the Hot 100 in April and became BigX’s first Hot Country Songs No. 1.
“All the Way” was a year-and-a-half in the making before its release. After hearing the rapper was working on a country project, Zimmerman thought it would be “insane” to work with BigX. A few months later, “All the Way” was in his inbox.
“It didn’t feel like we were trying to be something. It just felt right and a great song,” the rising country artist says, adding that he hopes “All the Way” encourages other artists from different genres to team up. “It always felt off to me that we wouldn’t go have fun with Snoop Dogg or go have fun with Eminem like Jelly [Roll] did.”
While BigX considers the project done on his end, his team is still awaiting verses from potential collaborators and doesn’t want to shut the door on any 11th-hour tweaks. As it is, BigX’s country rodeo is already shaping up to be a star-studded affair, with Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Shaboozey and more onboard.
“I didn’t think I was going to get as much positive feedback as I’ve been getting,” he says of the wide-ranging approval he has received from the country community, including being honored as Billboard’s 2025 Country Power Players Innovator. “A lot of people, I feel like, wouldn’t even accept that. A lot of people don’t even accept people of my color even trying to be in that lane. Just to be accepted the way it’s being accepted and everyone wanting to work with me — I’m grateful.”
This story appears in the May 31, 2025, issue of Billboard.
The Morgan Wallen juggernaut soared even higher this week as his new album, I’m the Problem, only proved problematic for its chart competitors.
The Big Loud/Mercury set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 493,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate, making it the biggest week for any release this year. Additionally, Wallen broke his own record with 37 songs on The Hot 100, taking up more than a third of the chart with his titles alone and claiming the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots, the first for a country artist.
The album, which has already logged three No. 1s on the Country Airplay chart, also debuts at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, knocking Wallen’s 2023 set, One Thing at a Time, out of the top spot and his 2021 album, Dangerous: The Double Album, down from No. 2 to No. 3.
Internationally, Wallen scores his first No. 1 on the U.K. Albums chart, besting One Thing at a Time, which debuted at No. 40. And all that activity helps earn Kolby Vetter, Wallen’s day-to-day manager at Sticks Management, the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Vetter — who previously worked at Wallen’s booking agency, the Neal Agency, as well as Red Light Management and CAA — details the album’s rollout and how Wallen is leading the way domestically and internationally. “For the country genre as a whole, there has always been this myth that country music has a cap globally,” he says. “That glass ceiling is being shattered, and I think Morgan is leading the charge on that.”
I’m The Problem debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums. What decisions did you make leading up to the release that you felt would increase its chances for a No. 1 debut?
You can do all the planning and strategizing in the world, but at the end of the day it comes down to the music and how it resonates with people. I think everyone knew from the get-go the songs that Morgan was putting on this record were going to be strong and relatable. He spent a lot of time writing and crafting every detail of this project, and I think it shows.
The album is a joint project between Big Loud and Mercury. What was the division of duties between the labels?
There were a lot of different perspectives from a whole lot of smart people in a room together. Some of the best ideas for this album rollout came from the time spent sitting in a conference room together, bouncing ideas off of each other, each of us being unafraid to dream big. This whole project was a total team effort. Working with Seth England and his team at Big Loud was great; they’ve been with Morgan from the very beginning, which is a huge asset. Then you bring in guys like [Mercury’s] Tyler Arnold and Alex Coslov, who are responsible for building the careers of so many artists outside of the country format, and it becomes obvious why they are so successful.
I’m the Problem also debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums chart, marking Wallen’s first No. 1 on that chart and a huge leap after One Thing at a Time debuted at No. 40 there. How did playing London’s Hyde Park last summer play into the plan for the U.K. and what other steps did you take to land such a high debut?
[Hyde Park] was a massive moment that really cemented Morgan’s status as a superstar in the U.K. and beyond. It was also a time for us as his team to sit there and think, “What’s possible here?” It’s really a testament to [Wallen’s manager and booking agent] Austin Neal and the strategy he has put in place from a touring perspective. The sky is the limit. And just for the country genre as a whole, there has always been this myth that country music has a cap globally. That glass ceiling is being shattered, and I think Morgan is leading the charge on that.
The album also debuted at No. 1 in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Scotland and Canada. How will you continue to support the album and build his international career? When will his next global tour be?
We have an insanely talented international team with the folks at Big Loud/UMG and our internal team at Sticks Management. They are always combing through data and finding areas where growth is happening and where the next pop off could be. We’re able to draw from that data to formulate unique ways to break the market. Interesting enough, Morgan is seeing real growth in China. The tour is being worked on currently, but plans are coming together for an international run in 2026.
Wallen played an intimate show at London’s Roundhouse on Wednesday (May 28). How is that furthering his U.K. base or was that show mainly for the U.K. industry?
The idea for this show started way back in January. Last album cycle Morgan played a free show in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, and it was a massive success. I don’t think I have ever seen a longer line. This time we thought it would be cool to go play a stripped-back set in an intimate setting where fans could get up close and personal. Morgan hasn’t played a room of this size in years, so I think it’s a cool moment for him as well to go back to where he started, and to be in a room where he can see the face of every fan.
Wallen is the first country artist to claim the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots on the Hot 100 with his duet with Tate McRae, “What I Want,” at No. 1. He told Billboard that he found out about Tate from his sister. What were the next steps after that with her camp to have the duet happen?
That one was all Morgan. They have known each other for a couple years and have been discussing a collab when the right song presented itself. As Morgan has said, “What I Want” wasn’t written as a duet but rose to the forefront and felt like the perfect match for them. Vocally it’s powerful, and they complement each other very well. We’re really excited to see what this song will do.
Was there any discussion that 37 tracks may be too many, or given that One Thing at A Time had 36 tracks and was still at the top of the charts, has the belief always been bigger is better?
I think we all knew this album would have a good number just by what we were hearing coming out of the writing rooms. So many great songs. They went into the studio and cut 50 tracks and worked back from there. If there is one thing I’ve learned about Morgan since working together, it’s that he is extremely tuned in. If there was any song that he didn’t feel totally great about or it didn’t feel like the right time for the song, it didn’t make the cut. Morgan has earned the right to that creative freedom. He had a lot of things to say on this album, and I think the 37 songs he chose to include reflect that.
