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A$AP Rocky Plugs Rihanna’s Fenty Skin in New ‘Riot (Rowdy Pipe’n)’ Music Video: Watch

A$AP Rocky season is in full swing. On Tuesday (July 25), the two-time Grammy-nominated rapper dropped off the accompanying visual for his latest single, “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n),” just two days after his headlining Rolling Loud set in Miami.

Helmed by Rocky himself, the music video finds the Harlem rapper employing highly stylized takes on common riot aesthetics. The “F—n Problems” rapper leads a raucous crew of men clad in matching outfits that consist of blue jeans, white t-shirts, and white ski masks. The men march alongside a procession of tanks as they take over a faceless urban landscape, pose next to flashy cars, and lay in piles of cash. The striking music video also features prominent placements of the American flag, beckoning new interpretations of the symbol and what it represents in the context of Rocky’s free-wheeling riot-inspired visual.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n)” music video comes by way of Rocky’s promotion of Rihanna’s Fenty Skin line. Rocky flashes a tube bearing a Fenty Skin label when he raps, “Flossy, glossy/ Nah, b—h, this ain’t lip gloss/ Luxe balm up in my palm/ New collab’ with my baby mom.” The two musicians and fashion icons have been linked since 2013, and they now share a baby boy named RZA, with a second child on the way.

The Pharrell Williams-produced “RIOT” is set to appear on Rocky’s forthcoming fourth studio album. The album will serve as the follow-up to 2018’s Testing, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. A$AP Rocky has earned three top 10 entries on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. His first two studio albums, 2013’s Long.Live.A$AP and 2015’s At.Long.Last.A$AP, both topped the Billboard 200, while he reached a Hot 100 career high of No. 4 in 2018 with “No Limit” (with G-Eazy & Cardi B).

Watch the video for “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n)” above.

Billboard’s Latin Power Players’ Choice Award: Nominate the Most Impactful Executive

Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Latin Power Players list of the genres’ most influential executives. This new Latin Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive in the genre whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond.

Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.

Billboard launched its first Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year, followed by the Country Power Players’ Choice Award that concluded in June and the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award, whose winner will be announced in August.

The first round of voting for the Latin Power Players’ Choice Award is now open and will run through Aug. 6 with an open call for nominees.

The second round of voting will begin Aug. 7, in order to narrow down the top 15 nominees into the final five top executives.

The third round of voting will begin Aug. 18, to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes Aug. 31 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Vote here:

Which Latin Executive Has the Most Influence? Nominate Your Choice Now

Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Latin Power Players list of the genre’s most influential executives. This new Latin Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive in the genre whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond. Vote here.

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Voting will be open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.

Billboard launched its first Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year, followed by the Country Power Players’ Choice Award that concluded in June and the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award, whose winner will be announced in August.

The first round of voting for the Latin Power Players’ Choice Award is now open and will run through Aug. 6 with an open call for nominees.

The second round of voting will begin Aug. 7, in order to narrow down the top 15 nominees into the final five top executives.

The third round of voting will begin Aug. 18, to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes Aug. 31 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Vote now and if you are not yet a member of Billboard Pro, join here.

The Nicki-Cardi Effect: How Rap’s Reigning Queens Are Helping Support Regional Hits and Rising Stars

As hip-hop moves further away from an era when female rappers seemingly have to be affiliated with a crew of men to secure legitimacy and launch their own careers, the genre’s reigning queens are helping a rising class of female rappers reach new levels of commercial success.

While there is merit to the argument that remixes are getting less creatively ambitious, they still have a certain gravity about them — especially when an established artist is joining forces with a burgeoning star. Perhaps the most tangible form of a co-sign, the remix has cemented itself as a savvy way for rappers with regional hits to bring those songs to the forefront of the national, and international, consciousness, while less established artists can prove that their hits have a life outside of TikTok trends and challenges.

Of course, there is also a benefit for the more established stars in this equation. Artists who have already cemented themselves in hip-hop’s current pantheon can reach young and more niche fans through these remixes, while also keeping their name afloat in the streets and on the charts, depending on the nature of the song. Remixes have also become part of the promotional campaign for imminent album releases from prominent artists; in anticipation for their proper lead singles, artists will hop on hot songs to keep their name in the conversation and set the stage for their own takeover. In Nicki’s case, her recent wave of remix aims to lay the foundation for her forthcoming Pink Friday 2 album cycle. For Cardi, while details on her sophomore record remain scarce, her string of remixes has allowed her to remain in the musical conversation despite not releasing a single of her own since last year’s “Hot S—t” (with Kanye West & Lil Durk).

But for those rising artists, being stamped by either proven hitmaker brings with it the attention of massive, devoted fanbases and A-list star power. In fact, Nicki/Cardi remixes are a reflection of the highly collaborative nature of contemporary female rap. From Monaleo and Flo Milli’s “We Not Humping (Remix)” to Gloss Up, K Carbon, Slimeroni, Aleza, & Lola Brooke’s “Shabooya,” female rap is thriving thanks in large part to the abundance of such crossover collaborations.

Below, Billboard breaks down the numbers behind these recent remixes, and examines the effect Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have on songs that they lend their voices and pens to:

How Much Do Tony Bennett’s Recordings Earn Every Year?

Over the last three years, the Tony Bennett catalog generated an average of almost $2.17 million in global revenue, not including synchronization, while his estimated share of duets albums with Lady Gaga brought in another $1.22 million for a total of about $3.4 million, according to Billboard’s calculations.

Bennett, who died last week at the age of 96, enjoyed a recording career that extended back to 1952, with some 60-plus studio albums, 11 live albums, more than half a dozen collaborative albums and over 30 compilations, almost all of which were released through Columbia Records. His final album, released in September 2021, was Love For Sale, his second of two collaborative albums with Lady Gaga, and was nominated for album of the year at the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

Overall, Bennett’s solo catalog has averaged almost 122,000 album consumption units annually over the last three years, while his collaborations with Gaga have averaged about 88,000 album consumption units during that time period. Besides the greater volume for his solo output, there is also a greater disparity in individual year performances for the Bennett-Gaga catalog, with that catalog’s album consumption unit count jumping from 19,000 units in 2020 to 175,000 units in 2021, thanks to the release of Love For Sale that year, before falling back to nearly 70,000 units in 2022. 

But due to how each catalog performs in the various music formats, the overall dollar volume comes out almost the same for both Bennett’s solo work and his work with Gaga. The Bennett/Gaga albums’ revenue is slightly bigger than Bennett’s solo catalog revenue, coming in at an estimated $2.4 million, vs. his estimated solo revenue of $2.17 million. When split in half, their duets recordings revenue comes out to $1.216 million for each artist.

But the revenue sources for the two catalogs are very different, with physical formats dominating the Bennett/Gaga offering — coming in at $1.75 million in average annual revenue globally, Billboard estimates — vs. Bennett’s solo catalog, with an estimated $450,000 in global revenue from physical formats.

Like most heritage acts, Bennett lags far behind in streaming, averaging 129 million on-demand U.S. streams annually over the past three years, while globally his streams averaged 233.7 million plays. (In other words, U.S. plays comprised 55% of his global streams.) Even though Bennett lags behind most big acts in streaming, that’s more than twice as large as the nearly 60 million average annual streams that the Bennett/Gaga duet albums had. Consequently, Bennett’s solo streams generated an estimated $1.4 million per year vs. the duet albums, which garnered an average of $325,000 in annual revenue over the last three years.

Average annual downloads over the last three years were about the same in terms of revenue, coming in at an estimated $135,000 for the duets albums and $120,000 for Bennett’s solo recordings.

It’s important to note that this article only estimates how much revenue Bennett’s master recordings generate and doesn’t put an amount on his earnings. That’s because there’s no way to know what kind of royalty rate he gets, which could vary wildly. Would it be the 6% paid to artists back in the 1950s and 1960s? The 22% rate most superstars get nowadays on physical product? A higher percentage for digital and streaming? A rate of 50% or higher, since all of his albums have long since recouped? Does Bennett own his Columbia albums like other Sony superstars appear to have negotiated back in the day? And what kind of financial arrangements were made for the recordings with Lady Gaga? All these are questions with answers that remain unclear.

Unlike the revenue estimates in the above story which are derived from annual unit counts, revenue estimates for the Bennett song chart below was derived using 2022’s year-end unit counts for all activity to date since the release of the music recordings, based on format counts generated by the “artist summary” feature in Luminate’s trend reports.

S Club Is Returning With Its First Single in 20 Years to Honor Paul Cattermole

S Club is gearing up to make a comeback, and are doing so in honor of late member Paul Cattermole. On Monday (July 24), the British group — which consists of members Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O’Meara and Rachel Stevens — teased new music set to arrive later this week via Instagram.

The group shared a photo of Barrett, McIntosh and O’Meara sitting together in a red convertible with a license plates that reads “S Club.” The group, which was formerly known as S Club 7, captioned the post, “Something feels familiar … 26.07.23.” The teasers continued in the group’s Instagram Stories with a video of the current members preparing to take a walk down memory lane by looking through a scrapbook.

XIX Entertainment, S Club’s label, confirmed the comeback via Instagram, and also announced plans for the group to tour across England this October.

“We’re excited to announce that British pop legends @sclub will release their new single ‘These Are The Days’ on Wed 26 July. It is the group’s first single in 20 years, celebrating their 25 year legacy and honouring their beloved brother Paul,” the company wrote. “The single is being released via @universalmusicgroup as part of a brand new global partnership. ‘S Club: The Good Times Tour’, the group’s 15-date UK and Ireland arena tour, kicks off this October 2023.”

Cattermole died on April 6 after he was found unresponsive at his home. The singer, who was meant to join S Club for its 25th anniversary tour, died of heart failure. He was 46.

See S Club and XIX Entertainment’s posts about the comeback below.

Hot 100 First-Timers: That Mexican OT & DRODi Debut With Paul Wall Collab ‘Johnny Dang’

That Mexican OT and DRODi chart on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, thanks to their breakthrough hit with Paul Wall, “Johnny Dang.”

The song, released May 26 through Manifest Music/Good Money Global/GoodTalk/Geffen/Interscope Records, debuts at No. 97 with 5.9 million U.S. streams (up 19%), 315,000 radio audience impressions and 1,000 downloads sold (up 61%) in the July 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The single also opens at No. 18 on Hot Rap Songs and rises 35-26 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

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While the cut earns That Mexican OT and DRODi their first Hot 100 ink, it marks a 16-year comeback for Paul Wall, who adds his ninth career entry on the chart and first since “I’m Throwed,” featuring Jermaine Dupri, in 2007 (No. 87 peak). In 2006, Wall spent two weeks at No. 1, via his featured credit on Nelly’s “Grillz” (also featuring Ali and Gipp).

“Johnny Dang” became That Mexican OT and DRODi’s first overall chart entry each when it debuted on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Hot 100’s Bubbling Under tally in June.



The song’s title is an ode to the Texas jeweler of the same name, who appears in the song’s video.

That Mexican OT (real name Virgil Rene Gazca), from Bay City, Texas, has been active in the Houston hip-hop scene. He has released five LPs: South Texas Project (2020), Southside Steppin (2021), 1 Double 0 (2021), Nonsense and Mexican Shit (2022) and The Show Must Go On with Saxkboy KD (this year).

Freeport, Texas-based rapper DRODi is a frequent collaborator of That Mexican OT’s. Before “Johnny Dang,” they teamed for the tracks “Padre,” “Sidewalk,” “Slap,” “DRO-T,” “24z” and “Bow Down,” all since last year.

Hot 100 First-Timers: NoCap Scores First Appearance With Rylo Rodriguez Team-Up ‘Thang for You’

NoCap scores his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 29), thanks to his featured credit on Rylo Rodriguez’s “Thang for You.”

Released June 23 via Glass Window Entertainment, the song debuts at No. 96 with 6 million official U.S. streams and 209,000 radio audience impressions in the July 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate.

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The track also rises 20-17 on Hot Rap Songs and 27-25 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.



NoCap (real name Kobe Vidal Crawford Jr.), who, like Rodriguez, hails from Mobile, Ala., first appeared on a Billboard chart in June 2019, when his album The Backend Child debuted and peaked at No. 170 on the Billboard 200. Since then, he’s charted three additional albums on the list: The Hood Dictionary (No. 90 peak in 2019), Steel Human (No. 31, 2020) and his first top 10, Mr. Crawford (No. 8, 2022).

Mr. Crawford, his debut full-length, also reached No. 3 on Top Rap Albums and No. 4 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Though this is NoCap’s first appearance on the Hot 100, he came close to debuting twice before. YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Outta Here Safe” featuring Quando Rondo and NoCap reached No. 23 on the Hot 100’s Bubbling Under chart in 2019, and “Vaccine” climbed to No. 2 in 2021.

As for Rodriguez, “Thang for You” marks his third Hot 100 entry. He debuted with “5500 Degrees” (by EST Gee featuring Lil Baby, 42 Dugg and Rodriguez) in 2021 and followed that up with “Cost To Be Alive,” also with Lil Baby, in 2022.

NoCap and Rodriguez are longtime musical collaborators. They released their album RogerVille in 2019 – both rappers are credited on all 10 of the set’s songs – and have teamed for a variety of tracks since.

NoCap has worked with other notable names in hip-hop, including Kodak Black, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi Vert and Polo G.

In a 2022 interview with Billboard, NoCap explained his Southern rap sound and ascending with Rodriquez. “Like three years ago, we was in the studio – me, Rylo and [Al] Geno – and we knew they were gonna try to run off with this sound,” he said. “At the time, we ain’t have the fame, we ain’t have the money. We were really just blowing up off our work. I ain’t trying to be cocky or nothing. But to be honest, people wasn’t doing that around that time. I most definitely feel like we got it hot. It’s the new sound now. But it’s a blessing to hear young artists coming up trying to sound like me. I don’t look at it like they biting or nothing, I look at it like a blessing. I’m the new sound, I’m the new wave – so that’s what everybody gonna do.”

NoCap’s Bird Nest Tour, in support of his 2022 EP The Main Bird, is slated to kick off this fall.

‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Teddy & Puma Give Two Newbies The Boot, Rok & Krystal Get Married

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'Black Ink Crew': Two Newbies Get The Boot & Is  Ceaser Is Back?

Source: Courtesy VH1 / Black Ink Crew 

Teddy and Puma make two shocking eliminations, Rok and Krystal make it official, and the teaser for next week’s season finale hints at some major drama.

Draya Thinks AMH & Jahnova Were Mean Girls Last Week

After last week’s drama, the newbies are chilling with the OGs Alex and Draya before the big pop-up tattoo event. Playing a game of Truth or Dare, Draya reveals that she didn’t like Miracle’s piercing from last week, but Liza appreciates Mircale’s effort and taking the initiative.

Jahnova admits she was doing too much and said it was nothing personal with Liza. Draya sides with Liza and says that both AMH and Jahnova were bullying Liza, and of course, AMH strongly disagrees.

Alex steps in and tells everyone to get over themselves and focus on the competition because that is the most important thing. Speaking of Alex, he links up with his son to spend some quality time with him. Alex’s baby’s mother and their son moved to Atlanta 3 years ago.

He’s dead set on being a better role model to his child.

Rok & Krystal Speed Things Up

After Rok said yes to Krystal and broke the news to his momma, who was a bit worried her son was about to get himself trapped in a toxic situation, the couple decided to bring their momma’s to bring even more news to rattle them.

While at dinner, Rok and Krystal surprise their moms by revealing their wedding date is already set, the whole ceremony is going down the following day, and they hope their moms will be in attendance.

They both had their worries but eventually came around to showing up at the wedding to support Rok and Krystal.

At the small wedding ceremony, Rok and Krystal said I do, finally becoming a married couple. We shall see how long this lasts.

It’s Time For Another Black Ink Crew Event

It’s time for the pop-up event, and before things get started, Puma pulls Liza and AMH to the side to talk about what happened last week.

Puma calls out AMH for being a bully for how she treated Liza and Miracle for how they do things, basically telling her that it’s not her place. During her confessional, AMH says she stands by what she said.

The pop-up shop starts, and everyone is working hard and making a good impression on Teddy and Puma, but a mistake does happen.

Miya Bailey notices Santana misspelled the client’s tattoo, and he gives her some advice for the next time so that it doesn’t happen again. He brings up the mistake when Puma and Teddy ask him if he had to decide who he would cut.

While Santana’s error stood out, Bailey also pointed out that “hungry” artists like Santana are usually the most loyal and willing to put in the work and eventually become successful artists, even after making mistakes, and Puma agrees.

It’s Time To Make Some More Cuts

Puma and Teddy show up at the Atlanta spot, and they break down everyone’s performance during the event. They tell the newbies when they cut the ribbon on the new shop. They want people with as much experience as possible, and they feel Liz will not meet that expectation, so they send her home.

During her confessional, Liz says she disagrees with their decision and is heartbroken.

Puma and Teddy are not down, Puma reveals they will eliminate one more person, and as much as he likes AMH, he tells her that she will be going home as well, shocking the entire crew.

During her confessional, AMH thinks Puma is wrong, stands by everything she says, and does not feel she is being a bully.

Welp, so long.

Next week, the drama looks like it’s finally hitting another level when Spyder resurfaces, and it looks like Ceaser will appear.

You can see the reactions to the episode in the gallery below.

Photo: Courtesy VH1 / Black Ink Crew

Taylor Swift Reacts to ‘Anti-Hero’ Surpassing One Billion Spotify Streams: ‘Thanks a Billion’

Taylor Swift thinks it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero, but one billion streams may say otherwise.

“Anti-Hero” recently surpassed a billion listens on Spotify, proving that no matter how much she worries about her fans one day getting sick of her in the lyrics of her Midnights lead single, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The pop star celebrated the news by reposting it to her Instagram Story Monday (July 24), writing: “Thanks a billion guys” alongside a head-exploding emoji.

The addition of “Anti-Hero” to the streaming platform’s billion-streams club marks Swift’s fourth song to hit the milestone, which has been achieved by a total of 449 tracks (according to Spotify’s own playlist). It follows her 1989 singles “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off,” as well as her Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack collaboration with Zayn, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

It was only a matter of time before “Anti-Hero” made the cut. Following its release in October 2022, the synth-pop ode to self-loathing became Swift’s longest-running No. 1 with an eight week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100. It’s her ninth No. 1 song on the chart.

And though it’s one of her most successful songs to date, Swift never anticipated that “Anti-Hero” would be such a hit. Midnights co-writer and producer Jack Antonoff even recalled her saying before the track’s release that “we shouldn’t expect it to ever go No. 1” because the lyrics were so “strange and personal.”

“Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism/ Like some kind of congressman?” sings Swift on “Anti-Hero,” which was accompanied by a self-directed music video. “I wake up screaming from dreaming/ One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving.”

“I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized,” Swift explained of the song in a clip on Instagram, posted before Midnights dropped Oct. 21, 2022. “Not to sound too dark, but I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person — don’t feel bad for me, you don’t need to. But this song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves.”

Listen to “Anti-Hero” below: