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SZA finally dropped Lana, the long-awaited deluxe edition of her blockbuster album SOS, on Friday (Dec. 20) via Top Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records. Earlier this week, she officially announced Lana with an Instagram teaser video starring Ben Stiller and featuring the track “Drive.” She first revealed the Lana title during a concert at New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard […]
It’s as predictable as the crazed sprint to the mall for that last clutch of gifts on Dec. 23. The annual Billboard chart showdown between the two undisputed queens of Christmas music: Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee.
There a dozens of holiday classics, new and old, to choose from at this time of year, from Wham!’s “Last Christmas” to Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” But when it comes to the top spot, there are really only two songs that keep jostling for the No. 1 slot on the Hot 100 at this most festive time of year: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
Since you’ll be hearing a lot of those songs in the next week, let’s look at how we got to this annual tradition.
Lee released her song in 1958 when she was just 14 years old, with the track debuting on the Hot 100 singles chart on Dec. 12, 1960, originally peaking at No. 14 two weeks later, only to re-enter the Hot 100 after several decades during the 2013-2014 holiday season. “Rockin’” didn’t make it into the top 10 until 2018-2019 frame, then spent nine weeks at No. 2 on the singles tally in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 .
What kept the 80-year-old singer out of the top spot? Carey, of course.
“All I Want” — which appeared on Carey’s debut Christmas album, 1994’s Merry Christmas — first hit the Billboard charts in 1994, but didn’t crack the top 10 on the Hot 100 until December 2017. It finally reached the No. 1 spot in 2019 and has absolutely dominated every holiday season since.
Well, except for 2023, when Lee’s “Rockin’” finally shot to No. 1 on the Hot 100, spending three weeks at the apex of the chart, while Carey’s song led for two weeks that year, marking just the third holiday song ever to reach the top of the chart; the other one is “The Chipmunk Song” by the Chipmunks with David Seville, which spent four weeks at No. 1 in December 1958.
So in an era when dozens of new Christmas albums and songs flood the zone in search of classic standing, what explains the strength of Carey and Lee’s anthems? The rise of streaming and curated holiday playlists, as well as strong radio airplay and sales has helped both tracks become annual staples. It also helps that both singers have leaned into the virality of their hits, with Carey filming her popular “it’s time” teaser clips every year and Lee filming a music video for hers last year as well as joining TikTok to promote it.
No matter which one is your favorite, enjoy the season and keep rockin’ around the Christmas tree!
Watch Billboard Explains: Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee’s Battle for the Christmas Throne in the video above.
After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.
This Billboard Explains episode dives into how Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee compete for No. 1 on the Hot 100 with their Christmas classics “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” respectively, during the holiday season.
Tetris Kelly:It’s the battle between the Christmas queens Mariah versus Brenda. Every holiday season, Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee battle it out for the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, but how did these two Christmas classics become the top song? And what’s the story behind this holiday competition? This is Billboard Explains: Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee’s Battle for the Christmas Throne.
There are many holiday classics that are in rotation every December — Wham’s “Last Christmas,” Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” just to name a few. But two songs are always fighting for the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100: Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas Is You” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” So how did we get here? Let’s go back to the beginning.
Nearly 14 year old, Brenda Lee released “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958, and it debuted on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 12, 1960. The song originally peaked at No. 14 two weeks later, but it re-entered the Hot 100 decades later during the 2013-2014 holiday season. It first hit the top 10 during the 2018-2019 holiday, and spent nine weeks at No. 2 during the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 holidays, right behind Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Speaking of Mariah, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” first appeared on the Billboard charts in 1994, and it hit the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time in December 2017. It reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 for the first time in 2019, and has continued to dominate every holiday season since then, but that all changed in 2023 when Brenda’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally reached the No. 1 spot and spent three weeks at the top, while Mariah’s carol led for two weeks last holiday season.
But what is it about these two songs that keeps the battle going every Christmas? With the rise of streaming and curated holiday playlists, these two tracks are always staples on those lists, which helps bring them back to the chart every year. Plus, radio airplay and sales are always strong for both songs, among many other seasonal standards over the holidays.
But the stars play into the fun, too. Mariah has her viral “It’s Time” videos, while Brenda filmed a music video for her classic hit last year, and even joined the world of TikTok to promote the song.
Regardless of why these two songs are the songs of the holiday season, we can’t get enough of these two Christmas queens.
“Loser Monologue,” by Sign Crushes Motorist, is 2:56 of uncut, unrequited longing. “If you knew how I felt, I wouldn’t even be writing this s–t,” the singer-songwriter says at one point, pivoting towards self-disgust as a haze of sustained notes swells around him. “I wouldn’t be so lonely.” There is no percussion and little change to the melody, just Sign Crushes Motorist discussing romantic fantasies that he knows “will never happen.”
A drumless dispatch from the perspective of a despondent loner — not usually what people imagine as pop music. Yet “Loser Monologue” has more than 55 million plays on Spotify alone. “People are just drawn to that kind of stuff once in a while,” says Liam McCay, the 19-year-old behind Sign Crushes Motorist. His theory is that, while listening, “you can pretend like you’re not as mature as you are.”
In addition to Sign Crushes Motorist, McCay records under more than a dozen other names, including Take Care, Sweet Boy, Birth Day and more. Across these monikers, his most popular tracks often share some characteristics: leisurely tempos, short lengths, simple guitar melodies but often little else in the way of instrumentation, and vocals that are hushed to the point they can be hard to make out.
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When they’re discernible, though, the lyrics often conjure what McCay describes as “a sense of longing for some kind of a connection.” “You weren’t supposed to leave, and now you’re gone,” he sighs on Sweet Boy’s “I Still Think About You.” Take Care’s “Everything Reminds Me of You” echoes a desperate wish from “Loser Monologue” — “All I want is to hold you” — while “Nothing Happened At All” is so self-effacing that it borders on self-erasing: “I’d do anything for you, I will be anything for you.”
“I was an angsty teenager — I’m starting to grow up a wee bit,” McCay says sheepishly. “I never seemed to have much luck with the women and all that.” Plus, Ireland can be “a depressing place” at times, especially in winter.
All that angst is resonating with a growing audience; McCay recently pulled in 16 million streams a week across his catalog, according to Luminate. “His ability to craft full albums that soundtrack specific moments in your life, even at such a young age, stands out,” says Conor Ambrose, whose company Listen to the Kids serves as McCay’s publisher.
Despite the melancholy and futility that courses through the singer’s most popular tracks — McCay named a Take Care album Agony — he is quick to crack jokes, especially at his own expense. Before touring the U.S. earlier this year, he had to revisit some of the songs he had recorded and released in a frenzied spurt of activity. “I had to actually listen to them again, like, ‘This guy’s just going on about nothing,’” McCay quips.
When performing his records, he continues, “sometimes it’s a wee bit embarrassing having to sing the lyrics.” And in a YouTube interview earlier this year, he cheerfully announced a plan to “lock the doors” and “make some stuff that no one’s really gonna like.”
McCay grew up in Donegal, a pint-sized town in northwest Ireland, and his first foray into music was playing traditional tunes on the fiddle. When he pivoted to guitar and started to try to write songs, “obviously it sounded like s–t” at first. But during COVID-induced lockdown, he began to improve.
In 2021, he concocted a “big two-year plan”: He would put out a pair of EPs followed by a science fiction concept album. “That’s always sometimes been a fault of mine, big ideas,” he cracks. But after working extensively on the first EP, McCay was unsatisfied with the result.
He took a break, temporarily writing other songs “to express something different,” and the resulting music sounded way better. “After that, everything became a side project,” McCay explains. In the summer of 2022, when he released Boyhood (as Birth Day) and i’ll be ok (the first Sign Crushes Motorist album) within two months of each other, some of those side projects started to gain a following.
Major labels have made overtures, but he has rebuffed them. McCay is not completely on an island; he has a manager, plus Ambrose to help with the famously complicated world of publishing.
Ambrose believes McCay “embodies the essence of a modern independent artist,” and the singer seems content to continue operating in this fashion. “Every musician’s goal is to be able to live off their music, and I’m able to do that,” he says. “So I think I’m going to keep going the way I’m going.” (An independent solo artist consistently earning more than 15 million streams a week is making a robust six-figure annual income.) Plus, it’s likely that a major label would interfere with his way of working — spraying out music rapid-fire across a dozen different artist projects — and want him to focus on making a single moniker as big as possible.
Even as McCay stays the course, there is one difference: He has moved to Los Angeles, a world away from Ireland’s cold, dark winters. “I feel a whole lot better now coming out to the sun,” he says. And that means “I just haven’t been really as interested in making sad music as of recently.”
That’s not to say he’s lacking inspiration. His recent tour — 17 dates across U.S. cities, mostly in 500-cap clubs — introduced him to flesh-and-blood fans who had once seemed like a distant mirage. “Numbers on the screen are all well and good,” McCay says. “But to actually meet somebody and hear them talking to you about the music feels really nice.”
He might launch yet another side project, this one named Flesh World, after a magazine he spotted in Twin Peaks. And he also wants to put out a “midwest emo album” that he made a few years ago.
“I think I’m going to make two more albums and try to have four albums out in January,” he says. “Why not?”
New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
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Cazzu, “La Cueva” (DALE PLAY Records/Rimas Entertainment)
Cazzu became a first-time mom, went through a very public breakup, returned to the stage, and created new music — all in 2024. She now bids farewell to her rollercoaster of a year with new single “La Cueva,” a notable dedication to her ex-partner and father of her daughter, Christian Nodal, whom she broke up with seven months ago. Produced by Nico Cotton and written by Cazzu (real name: Julieta Cazzucheli), the song is a heart-wrenching ballad backed by weeping guitar and piano melodies, powered by the Argentine artist’s soft, but dulcet and passionate vocals. “Of course I cried, if I adored you/ You turned our story into a parody,” she chants, also singing that even if her ex has all the money in the world, he’ll return to the cave where he’s his own prisoner. In the metaphorical music video, which she also co-directed with Alan Olmedo, Cazzu is walking around a field of dandelions with cowboy boots on, and also performing in front of a burning house. — JESSICA ROIZ
La K’Onga & Carlos Baute, “Ladrón” (Muzikando/ONErpm)
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Venezuelan singer-songwriter Carlos Baute and Argentine trio La K’onga join forces on “Ladrón,” a song that begins as a soft ballad but quickly transforms into a delicious merengue. The track talks about recovering a former lover who left you for somebody else, saying in the passionate chorus: “I’m going to steal from the thief/ Who ripped you out of my life/ I’m going to steal your kisses, your lips/ All the things that I cannot forget.” It is a perfect song to dance away your sorrows this end of the year. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Fuerza Regida & Grupo Frontera, Mala Mía (Rancho Humilde/Street Mob Records/Grupo Frontera)
The renowned música mexicana bands have joined forces to unveil their five-track EP, Mala Mía, which spotlights Fuerza Regida’s unbridled corridos with Grupo Frontera’s accordion-laced Tex-Mex swagger. Highlights include “Me Jalo,” a jaded corrido that transitions into a buoyant cumbia jam, epitomizing both acts’ signature style. The EP also explores themes of love in tracks like “SOS” and “Coqueta. Yet, “Aurora,” featuring Oscar Maydon and Armenta, captivates with its stunning sierreño melodies, enveloping the listener in a romantic reverie. The vocal interplay between Jesús “JOP” Ortiz Paz and Adelaido “Payo” Solís III enriches the overall experience. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Zaider & Kapo, “Alma” (Sony Music Colombia)
Colombians Zaider (Zaide Junior Peralta) and Kapo (Juan David Loaiza) join forces on “Alma,” a captivating single that seamlessly blends each artist’s signature sounds: champeta and afrobeats. With an enveloping rhythm and emotionally charged lyrics, the song is an ode to deep connections that go beyond the superficial, highlighting the peace and happiness that an authentic relationship can offer. The musical production and vocal performance of both artists manage to capture the romantic essence of the song, perfectly complementing its relaxed vibe. — LUISA CALLE
Luck Ra & Elvis Crespo, “Suavemente” (Sony Music Latin)
Luck Ra’s viral “Hola Perdida” collaboration with Khea that later counted with a Maluma remix, ultimately got him on the radars of artists such as Chayanne and now, Elvis Crespo. For his latest release, the Argentine newcomer teamed up with Crespo for a revamped version of the 1998 merengue classic “Suavemente.” Recorded live during a Luck Ra concert, the two artists delivered the surprising collab that starts off as a fiery merengue but then transitions into a fast-paced cuarteto or cuartetazo beat (a musical genre born in Córdoba, Argentina similar to merengue). “Che primo, you do it because it suits you best,” Luck Ra says to Crespo at the beginning of the track after kicking off the timeless intro: “Suavemente, besame/que quiero sentir tus labios besandome otra vez.” — J.R.
Grupo Marca Registada feat. Robertito Salas, “Aquí No Acaba El Brillo” (RB Music/Interscope Records)
Sinaloense banda ensemble Grupo Marca Registrada and musician Robertito Salas team up to commemorate a revered figure whose influence endures beyond his time in “Aquí No Acaba el Brillo.” The song captures the essence of a respected man from Culiacán, known for his charisma and brightness, symbolically represented by his Corvette. As the title suggests, the banda track, ichly layered with gripping accordion riffs and robust percussion, asserts that though he is no longer with us, his legacy will never dim. It’s a touching narrative that reassures loved ones never be forgotten. — I.R.
Listen to more editors’ Latin recommendations in the playlist below:
It’s a rainy December afternoon in NYC as rush hour approaches. With traffic mounting, Paul Wall opts to walk from Times Square to 5th Ave. to make it to his Billboard interview on time.
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While the Houston legend has traded his fade for a platinum slicked-over haircut, lost 100-plus pounds thanks to gastric sleeve surgery (he wishes Ozempic was around in 2010) and let the salt and pepper fill his beard, it’s still Paul Wall, baby. His signature grills shine bright peering through his infectious grin lighting up any room he enters.
Two decades after the release of his debut album, the 43-year-old’s love for hip-hop hasn’t waned an inch. Whenever he’s home in Texas, he’s recording every day. These days, PW’s even keeping a Notes app filled with sayings and random words he hears like Incandescent or impermanence that he’s just waiting to turn into a bar.
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“I love making music,” he tells Billboard. “I 100 percent intend on doing this until I’m 80 years old. God willing. Especially in hip-hop, our elders a lot of it is they don’t have the opportunity to make music. I don’t take it for granted. I’m 43, so for the next 37 years, there’s going to be albums all over the place.”
It’s not the era of running around with Swishahouse, but Paul Wall’s enjoyed a bit of a renaissance since debuting his viral silver fox look last year while also being championed as the Hotties’ favorite video vixen with his cameo in Megan Thee Stallion’s “Bigger in Texas” video earlier in 2024.
Multiple Billboard staffers even voiced their frustration of missing out on seeing The People’s Champ during his visit to the office last week. Wall’s also brought a new album with him as the slab music savant’s 12-track Once Upon a Grind hit streaming services last Friday (Dec. 13).
“This is really about the journey,” he adds. “A lot of people see the success or finished product, but they don’t realize what it took to get there.”
Check out our interview below finding Paul Wall looking back at Kanye West’s “Drive Slow,” “Grillz” topping the Billboard Hot 100, Megan Thee Stallion and more.
What are some of your early memories of NYC?
My first time performing [in NYC] I remember performing with Dipset. They took me under their wing. The label I was signed to at that time, a lot of people at Asylum and Atlantic were cool with Cam’ron when they were at Def Jam. They were kinda looking out for me. My boy [Joie Manda] was the main one. He was like, “Ay, I’m gonna link you with Dipset. You f–k with them?” Of course, hell yeah. They gave me that New York love. Me and Juelz would be in the studio non-stop. Go out to the club sometimes, perform with them sometimes. We were just enjoying the moment. We had a hell of a co-sign from Dipset. We got a lot of crossover love.
Take me to the new album, Once Upon a Grind, what do you feel you have left to prove?
I put out an album last year called Great Wall and we kinda kicked off with that one and kept it going. When I’m at home, I’m recording every day. It definitely adds up this way I stay sharp and explore different ideas and avenues I want to go if I want to try something. If I got 500 songs, I got a lot of opportunities. I’m at no loss for bars, I got bars for days. That ain’t it. It’s more how are we gonna deliver the subject matter. P
eople say, “I’ma do this or change this about my life, but I’m gonna start Monday.” Whether it’s saving up for something, working out, starting a diet, I’m not waiting until Monday, I’m starting today. That’s what it’s all about. Set goals and strive to get them. For me, it’s the nonstop grind of working and consistency. I never won a lottery or nothing like that. All I know is the hard work aspect of that.
One thing I heard you say that I do as a writer as well is when you hear a word you don’t know, you’ll write it down.
What, I got a whole list right here. Let me see your list. I got a hell of a list. Some of it’s simple. Incandescent, convoluted, ancillary, cerebral, confound, calamity. Some of these are not too much out there… Impermanence. It will be something I’ll hear on a TV show and be like, “What the hell they say?” Then I’ll say it to Siri. I’ll hit look up the definition and be like, “I gotta find a way to put this in [a bar].” The kiss of ice — I heard of the kiss of death, but I want the kiss of ice. Some of these are just ideas. “Bewildered,” you heard that but you never heard that in a rap. It’s words and random half-bars. “Save the best for first.”
What do you think about how the rap game stands today and how you fit into it compared to when you broke in?
I still feel exactly the same. I’m a fan of it. There’s a lot of it I’m not a fan of, but I’m not mad at it. I just choose no to listen to it. It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m eternally grateful I had a place here. I love that there’s so many different avenues for artists to not just be one monolithic style. When I was coming up, if you were a region or city and you didn’t sound like you were supposed to sound like, it didn’t work. You were wack. Now you can be from anywhere and sound like anybody. The possibilities are really endless.
I’m a fan of that, even though some of the music I’m not [rocking with]. Some of the production style has changed. Some of it I love. I love the musical aspect of it when people incorporate live instruments or the sampling something musical. Some of my favorite beats are just drums, but I like a variety of it. I’m just happy to be representing for my style. Why complain about what someone else is doing? Make the music I want to make.
What do you feel you have left to achieve?
So much of it is the longevity. I’ve seen so many people tap out. Some of the greatest tap out. Some people are a perfectionist and if they’re not meeting that standard, it’s a failure for them. I don’t look at it like that. It’s art. I’ve put so many albums and I’ll work on an album with a set of producers and a group of people will love it while another group of people hate it. Then I’ll do an album that’s another style and the group that hated it will love it now. It lets me know I gotta stop overthinking things and you can’t please everyone with every song. Let me give them a variety. I love making music. Let me be the first person to use this in a rap. I 100 percent intend on doing this until I’m 80 years old. God willing. Especially in hip-hop, our elders a lot of it is they don’t have the opportunity to make music. Being that I self-fund my own music, I own my own studio, all my producers are usually my dogs, we’re in this for the same cause. I don’t take it for granted. I’m 43, so for the next 37 years there’s going to be albums all over the place.
Are you mentoring anyone at all? Do people come up to you and want some game?
Some people I’ll see and I have a lot I want to share with them. I gotta be cautious because everyone might not want my advice. Sometimes people think I got an ulterior motive. That Mexican OT, he’s someone who’s open with what I have to share with him. He listens. I don’t know it all and what worked for me might not work for him. One of the biggest things I learned it is okay to be wrong. I been right about what song’s gonna work — it worked, but it didn’t be work. It’s okay for the label to be right. Even though they wrong, it’s okay for them to be right.
What do you think about the evolution of white rappers? Do white rappers come to you asking about how they can move in this culture tastefully?
A lot of white rappers come to me. Obviously, Eminem is the big dog, as big as it gets. But he’s out of reach. I’m more accessible. You might bump into me at Starbucks. I would get a lot of people who might be fans of me or my grind not even music. I tell people to be themselves. What worked for me might not work for them. For anybody to be inspired by me means a lot. I also know the sensitivity it takes.
Especially when it comes to saying the n-word. You say it in a rap, and it lives forever. It don’t matter if it’s okay in your hood for you to talk like that. When you get outside of your hood, it’s not okay. That lasts forever and some people don’t really get that until it’s too late. I’m somebody who never said the n-word. There are definitely non-Black people who say the n-word and it’s acceptable in their neighborhood. I strongly tell them it’s not worth losing future things over something you’re saying now. You might stop saying it and you blow up and they go back and it could be a huge deal.
What do you remember about the week that “Grillz” went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
I remember we were selling a lot of grills. That was a good week for us. The only time I had did something like that. To be a part of that history moment with Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and Big Gipp. It was huge for me — a huge accolade. One week it was Beyoncé’s “Check On It” with Bun B and Slim Thug, and the next week it’s Nelly with Paul Wall. It’s a proud moment for us to keep representing. I remember Nelly telling me, “It’s gonna be bigger than ‘Air Force Ones.’” I’m like, “Yeah right, he’s just gassing me up.”
[Nelly] did not have to put me on the song. He’s Nelly, he could’ve gave me a shout-out on the song. He didn’t have to mention me at all. The song is still a hit without me. For him to give me that opportunity, he for sure getting free grills for life.
How has the grills industry changed?
The evolution has been one path. The grills are monolithic, and people want something different. I got grills a certain way and you’re like, “Hey, why don’t we do it this way?” Me and Johnny are like, “Why not?” Let’s try that. Also with the machines and technology improving, and a lot of the diamond setters having decades of experience, there’s a lot of things they could do now that they couldn’t back in the days. Some of that is your imagination. Now it’s whatever you want. We can do basically anything now.
The week The People’s Champ went No. 1 [on the Billboard 200] it dethroned Kanye’s Late Registration. You even got “Drive Slow” on your album.
Jay-Z is the president of Def Jam, [I’m thinking] there’s no way he’s gonna let me put that on my album. We’re talking about Kanye West, even though he wasn’t what he is now, he was still a top dog. There’s no way he’s gonna let me put it on my album so it was extremely unbelievable. People made a big deal about me dethroning Kanye, but I didn’t dethrone him — his album just came out before mine. He’s still Kanye. If you look at his album, it sold more than mine. I didn’t dethrone s–t. He really gave me the leg up letting me put that song on my album.
What do you think about “Drive Slow” turning 20 next year?
That’s definitely the song that people ask me most about. Hip-hop fans — not necessarily Paul Wall diehards, but the general public — that’s the No. 1 thing people ask me about. Plain Pat putting it together. He actually tried to sign me to Def Jam but it didn’t work out. He mentored me for a long time. He taught me it’s okay to be wrong.
First I made Kanye some grills and Plain Pat said, “I seen you made Kanye some grills. He say he f–k with your music and he like your music.” He let me know [my verse not make the album] but this was an opportunity and if it works out this is a hell of a look. I’m not gonna tell the whole world I got a song with Kanye West and it never came out. I didn’t think it was gonna make his album. There’s no way he wants a verse from me. He sent me the beat. The “Drive Slow” verse was the first verse I wrote for “Sittin’ Sidewayz.”
I always knew this is gonna be something if Jay-Z want me on a song. This is one of them situations. I do it to the beat and this worked. I sent it into him and Plain Pat said Ye liked it and he wants you to come to L.A. and lay it again with him in person. He’s gonna want you to try some new things. Just work with him, he’s a perfectionist. He’s gonna take what you give him and make something out of it.
We flew out to L.A. and we’re coming down the escalators and two sheriffs come up and I’m immediately thinking I’m being Punk’d because Mike Jones just got Punk’d. When you got Punk’d, you’d pass it on. I told everyone, “If y’all set me up, lose my number. You’re not gonna embarrass me.” Next think you know I’m cussing out these L.A. sheriffs. If they reading this, I apologize. I thought they were actors. I’m going hard in the paint talking crazy to them. They have a notorious reputation… We weren’t doing nothing wrong… They left, so I’m like, where Ashton Kutcher at? I’m also thinking Kanye’s in on this.
We go to the hotel and I got to the studio. This is when you had to Mapquest. The driver says it’s right here and we’re in the far left hand lane. There’s four lanes and we’re at a light and the studio’s right there. So you really had to turn right. The driver broke ’em off. He cuts in front of the traffic to turn right and it just so happened there’s a cop in the far right lane. They couldn’t get me plan A at the airport, and now I know I’m getting Punk’d. I’m like, “Get me to the studio.” I’m like, “Can I go?”
He didn’t care what I was doing, and the driver stayed there and got a ticket. I’m upstairs doing my part with GLC and Nas is downstairs doing his verse for the album. I remember leaving, “I don’t know if I’ma make the album.” I’ll never forget DJ Drama called me, “You on the Kanye West album? I’m here at the listening party. You’re on the album!”
How was your cameo in the “Bigger in Texas” video for Megan Thee Stallion? They’re saying you were their favorite vixen out there.
I’m the Zaddy for sure. Megan is a true visionary. T Farris is her manager, and there’s that connection. She’s somebody we’ve rooted for from the beginning. [I’m] so happy for her success. She definitely deserves all of that, she’s so talented. They reached out and told me they wanted to put a few people in the video. I said, “Of course, I want to be in the Megan video.” She was there in the store with Johnny twerking with her grill. It was a hell of a shout-out to Johnny. She showed us major love for that.
2024 is coming to an end. Billboard Unfiltered has returned with a final installment and 26th episode of the year to put a bow on the year in music.
Co-hosts Carl Lamarre, Kyle Denis, Damien Scott and Trevor Anderson reunited to highlight some of their favorite rap and R&B projects of the year while breaking down some of the misses on Billboard‘s year-end lists in both respective genres.
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The crew also discussed the top storylines from hip-hop culture this year and made some bold predictions for who they see having a massive 2025.
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While Future is well-represented with We Don’t Trust You (No. 2) and Mixtape Pluto (No. 9), Scott actually enjoyed the second installment We Still Don’t Trust You the most of any of Future’s output in 2024.
“That one reminded me more of HNDRXX,” he said for his snub. “That was the bag I liked him most in, so when that came in I was like, ‘He’s back in his pop-adjacent bag.’”
Denis would have liked to see LL Cool J’s The Force and BigXThaPlug’s Take Care get some love. He sang the praises of Leon Thomas’ Mutt once again, which came in at No. 1 on the best R&B albums list. “It’s really such a fantastic album,” he said. “He just sounds phenomenal on the album and he also had one of my favorite live shows of the year … I really hope next year is the year he gets a breakthrough single of his own.”
Anderson spotlighted Bryson Tiller’s self-titled album, while Lamarre saluted what Chris Brown’s been able to do on his dynamic two-decade run and his 11:11 deluxe. “Chris is entering his 20th year and the 11:11 deluxe, him being able to have ‘Residuals’ take off. That brother stays with a hit,” he added.
There was plenty of juicy storylines to choose from in what was a messy yet jam-packed 2024 in the rap world, but Anderson believes Drake’s legal action against Universal Music Group will have the biggest impact in the years to come.
“The longtail from the Drake-UMG will be the most impactful,” he declared. “I mean that just from an industry-shaking sense. It’s been a long time — if almost never — that we’ve had a star of this magnitude going against a label of that magnitude.”
Denis is anticipating Doja Cat’s return, while Anderson thinks there’s a big year on the horizon for Cardi B with the arrival of her long-awaited sophomore album. But the crew seems to agree that the stars have aligned for Doechii to make a quantum leap.
Watch the full episode below.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Fresh off the heels of Timothée Chalamet channeling Bob Dylan on the red carpet, fans can now also dress like the […]
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Tony Buzbee, the high-profile attorney representing the alleged victims of Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z, is facing a heavy accusation himself. A woman has launched a lawsuit against Tony Buzbee alleging that the Texas lawyer gave her a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
As reported by TMZ, the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe in New York Superior Court claims that Tony Buzbee has been connected with her since 2018 after initially meeting online. Doe wrote in the filing that Buzbee interacted with her to the point of convincing her to go on a date and travel to his hometown of Houston for a night out.
Doe stated further in the filing that Buzbee booked a hotel room and laid on the charm before the pair engaged in intercourse. Doe claims that Bubzee failed to disclose his status and passed on the unnamed STI to her. The next day, Doe says she noticed pain around her groin area, and after an examination, the STI diagnosis was revealed. Doe says she contacted Buzbee, who allegedly apologized and appeared to note that he knew of his status before having sex with the woman.
Despite the diagnosis, Doe continued to date Buzbee despite feeling shame about the matter. She also claims that Buzbee used his power and influence to manipulate and control Doe on his terms and to keep his disease a secret from the public.
Buzbee told TMZ that the lawsuit from Jane Doe is a shakedown tactic connected to his pursuit of Combs, calling the claim “false, frivolous, laughable and ridiculous” and believes it will be dismissed.
Tony Buzbee was sued for assault in November for allegedly using a champagne flute as a weapon according to a former client of his.
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Saafir passed away on November 19th, 2024. The Oakland rapper was one 54 years old. Recently, the cause of death has been confirmed. According to his death certificate, he died from septic shock and enterocolitis, which is inflammation of the intestines. Another factor listed was infected bedsores, also known as sacral decubitus, which happens when pressure on the skin causes serious wounds.
Saafir was well-known in the hip-hop scene, especially for being part of the Golden State Project with Xzibit and Ras Kass. He also worked with the group Digital Underground and released several solo albums during his career. A representative for Saafir hasn’t commented on the news yet. Xzibit, one of Saafir’s old groupmates, announced his death on Instagram and expressed his sadness. “I can’t believe I’m writing this right now, but don’t know what else to do at the moment,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Approximately at 8:45 am this morning, my brother Reggie known to the world as Saafir passed away. We have so much history I can’t even explain what I’m feeling right now.”
Gibson was hurt in a plane crash back in 1992, which started a lot of ongoing back problems that he mostly kept private, according to the Los Angeles Times. He had a spinal tumor taken out in 2005 and spent most of the last 10 years using a wheelchair.