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Tobe Nwigwe is no stranger to making statements. Whether through his music, his visuals, or his unmistakable aesthetic, the Houston-based artist has built a movement rooted in authenticity, culture and empowerment. Known for his socially conscious lyrics, intricate wordplay and powerful storytelling, Nwigwe has created a lane that seamlessly fuses hip-hop, African rhythms and spoken-word poetry. Now, he’s taking that same approach to fashion with his first-ever sneaker and apparel collaboration: “Reebok x Chukwu.”Since breaking onto the scene in the mid-2010s, Nwigwe has captivated audiences with his unique sound and bold visuals. His 2020 breakout moment, fueled by viral hits and a distinct creative vision, solidified his place as an artist who refuses to conform. Everything he does carries deeper meaning—from the messages in his songs to the mint green color that has become synonymous with his brand. His music isn’t just about beats and rhymes; it’s a movement that celebrates identity, heritage, and purpose.
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That same energy translates directly into “Reebok x Chukwu.” The collection dropped February 21st and is a tribute to his Nigerian roots, blending archival sportswear aesthetics with modern design. At the center of it all is the Chukwu OTU, a reimagined version of the classic Reebok Preseason Turf Trainer. The name “OTU” means “One” in Igbo, symbolizing unity and greatness—core themes in Nwigwe’s music and personal journey. With a mix of hairy suede, nubuck leather, and textile overlays, the sneaker merges past and present, honoring tradition while pushing the boundaries of style.
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Chukwu Mint Sneaker
Reebok
But this isn’t just about footwear. The Chukwu collection also includes a lineup of apparel inspired by sport and culture. The standout piece? A football jersey featuring the number 88 — a tribute to his wife, Fat, and their five children, who are his biggest inspirations. There’s also a heavyweight graphic hoodie, a mock-neck tee and a pair of zip-off pants designed for versatility and so much more products. All executed in Nwigwe’s signature mint green and black. Every detail is intentional, every stitch tells a story.
For me, this collection is an absolute Flex. I need just about everything in it, from the jersey to the OTU sneakers. The design, the storytelling, and the deeper cultural meaning make it more than just another sneaker collab — it’s a true reflection of Tobe’s artistry. If you’re like me, you’ll be online trying to grab every piece before they continue to sell out. The question is: Where do you stand? Is this collection a Flex, a Trade or a Fade?
Reebok
Jukebox, a music platform where retail investors can buy royalty shares linked to songs like Adele’s “Rumour Has It” or Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York”, has appointed Mike Coppola to be its new CEO and board member, the company announced Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Coppola, previously a senior adviser at the fintech growth fund WestCap who was an executive at TouchTunes when it was acquired by Searchlight Capital, assumed the CEO role in January. He succeeds Scott Cohen, former chief innovation officer at Warner Music Group and co-founder of The Orchard, who has led Jukebox since its launch in 2022.
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Previously referred to as JKBX, Jukebox says it’s entering a pivotal new phase aimed at growing its investor base through partnerships with popular retail brokerages, and Coppola’s background and network is key to developing the company’s market presence and recruiting talent.
“Mike’s proven track record as an operator, driving growth, fostering innovation, and scaling companies across finance and technology makes him the ideal leader for Jukebox’s next chapter,” Sam Hendel, Jukebox’s co-founder/chairman, said in a statement. “Together, we are pioneering an SEC-qualified offering to take music public, unlocking investment opportunities for both institutional and retail investors. Mike is a crucial component in bringing this vision to life, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner leading this charge.”
Founded on the idea that investing in iconic music catalogs should not be exclusively available to record labels, private equity funds and institutional investors, Jukebox launched its first investment offering last year — a Tier 2 Regulation A offering approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Visitors to Jukebox’s website can buy royalty shares in songs like Beyoncé’s “Halo,” Ellie Goulding’s “Burn” and “Lean On,” performed by Major Lazer, MØ and DJ Snake — and, as of this year, they can earn dividends when those songs are played. Through founders Hendel and John Chapman, whose Dundee Partners owns a controlling stake in the catalog investment company Chord, Jukebox has exclusive access to Chord’s 60,000 music copyrights that could be packaged into future offerings.
For now, Coppola tells Billboard they’re focused on growing Jukebox’s market presence and that it’s currently in a pilot phase with one major investment platform. Notably, retail brokerages such as Robinhood, Charles Schwab and Fidelity are expanding their list of alternative investment offerings beyond cryptocurrency to reach eager young investors.
In addition to reaching more investors through inclusion on those investment platforms, Coppola says the company is working through several regulatory steps to develop a secondary marketplace for Jukebox royalty shares.
“It took Jukebox a year and a half to get SEC approval, and the founders here spared no expense … to make sure they could get that done and they did,” says Coppola. “The next thing we have to build is the ability for these securities to be tradable anywhere, and not just on our website.”
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
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This week: A viral TikTok is remixed into a best-selling protest song, an indie rock institution is introduced to younger fans (again) through a big movie synch and Philadelphia gets to celebrate yet another February win via a breakout rap hit.
‘Hostile Government Takeover’ Dance Remix Turns Bleak Current Events Into a Bop
A few weeks after Donald Trump returned to the White House and started dismantling norms left and right, the TikTok user AGiftFromTodd recorded a 30-second video of himself getting ready to leave his house while crooning an original song that began with the line, “We’re in the middle of a hostile government takeover/ I wanna talk about it, but I’ll be late for work.” Todd’s soulful alarmism went viral, with thousands of likes and shares on TikTok upon its Feb. 4 upload, and while he posted a few new versions of the song in the following weeks, the one that’s crossed off to streaming services in a major way is an EDM remix that pairs hopelessness with a club thump, courtesy of producer Vinny Marchi.
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“Hostile Government Takeover” by AGiftFromTodd & Vinny Marchi spent a good chunk of last weekend at No. 1 on iTunes, selling 4,800 downloads from Feb. 21-24, according to initial data provided by Luminate. Meanwhile, its streams keep climbing — the dance remix earned 597,000 official U.S. on-demand streams over that four-day span, up from 153,000 streams from the previous Friday-to-Monday tracking period. As the song continues to spread, the good news for Todd Givens Jr. is that the next four years will offer plenty of new material to riff on for follow-ups. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Yeah Yeah Yeahs ‘Edge’-ing Towards Another Newly Viral Hit Thanks to ‘Gorge’ Synch
If there’s one rock act from 20 years ago that doesn’t especially need any more bumps from newfound Gen Z virality, it’s probably New York’s the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The trio, which reunited in 2022 for its first album together in nearly a decade, spent a stunning eight weeks atop the Billboard TikTok Top 50 chart last year for signature 2003 power ballad “Maps,” racking up millions of streams a week for the revitalized (and re-viralized) hit. Now, the group is surging again with a catalog hit – though this time, it’s not with another decades-old song, but rather a song from that reunion album.
“Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” which was the lead single of 2022’s Cool It Down and featured an assist from acclaimed alt-pop singer-songwriter Perfume Genius, has gotten a big look in Apple TV’s original movie The Gorge, released on Valentine’s Day. The song plays during a pivotal love scene between the film’s co-leads – played by film stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy – and it shot to near the top of the Shazam charts almost immediately after the film’s release, still sticking around there a week later, as folks scrambled to find out what the doomy song playing in the action romance was.
A whole lot of those Shazamers undoubtedly ended up streaming “Spitting” as well – as the song racked up 629,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending Feb. 20, a 375% gain for the song from the previous week, according to Luminate. And many ended up purchasing the song, too: “Spitting” sold nearly 3,000 copies in that week, a massive gain from the just-over-100 it moved the week before, and good enough for a No. 15 debut on the Digital Song Sales chart – the group’s first-ever appearance on that listing. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Philly MC Skrilla Taps RWE Basketball Star & TikTok ‘Clipfarming’ for Latest Viral Hit
Last fall (Sept. 9, 2024), a nameless TikTok account uploaded a snippet of a then-unreleased Skrilla song titled “Doot Doot.” The snippet quickly rent viral due to his rambling opening verse, 1ellis’ gritty production and his memorable delivery of the phrase “six, seven.” Since September, the snippet has been used in over 126,000 TikTok posts, eventually giving way to an official DSP release on Feb. 7, 2024.
As the “Doot Doot” snippet continued to make the rounds on TikTok going into 2025, the song earned an unforeseen supporter in Taylor “TK” Kinney, a basketball star for RWE of the Overtime Elite league. Hailing from Newport, Kentucky, the baller has found a way to say “six, seven” in Skrilla’s cadence in nearly every interview from the past few months. The phrase is now synonymous with both TK and Skrilla on socials, and the two young men got to link up in person at an RWE game two weeks ago.
For weeks, TikTok users have been responding positively to TK’s “clip farming” — a practice that basically entails purposely doing something in hopes that it will be clipped and reuploaded across social media – by making edits of his game highlights that are soundtracked by his “six, seven” quip merged with the “Doot Doot” snippet.
According to Luminate, “Doot Doot” earned 1.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams during its first week of released (Feb. 7-13). That figure shot up 105% the following week to over 3.5 million streams. The track has already racked up 3.2 million streams over the first four days of this tracking week (Feb. 21-24), according to initial data provided by Luminate, which marks an 88% jump from the same period the prior week.
With its official music video garnering over 1.26 million YouTube views in just over a week and no signs of slowing down on TikTok, there’s tons of room for Skrilla ‘s latest hit to continue growing. – KYLE DENIS
The 2025 Oscars are just around the corner, and Live With Kelly and Mark is celebrating Wicked‘s big award year. In a two-minute clip shared by the morning show on Tuesday (Feb. 25), Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa take turns reciting the opening line: “The Land of Oz-cars, where envy is green and faces defy […]
It’s a homecoming for Master P. The New Orleans rap dignitary has been named the President of Basketball Operations at the University of New Orleans.
The move was made official during a press conference on Wednesday (Feb. 26) where P — born Percy Miller — revealed his plans to restore glory to his hometown university’s basketball program.
“Today is history,” he began. “We’ve come a long way. Growing up in New Orleans, when I was a kid, I looked at the University of New Orleans basketball program as probably one of the best in the country. Every kid wanted to come to the Lakefront Arena and be a part of this.”
Master P continued: “I’m just so appreciative and blessed that God has given me this opportunity … to rebuild this program. We gonna change this. This is our culture, this is our team and this is our family. We want to give that family love out here to the city to bring the people back where it should be at.”
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The No Limit Records boss is promising to “change the culture” at UNO, and he’s got his work cut out for him, as the Privateers fell to a lowly 4-25 following loss to Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday (Feb. 24). The team is yet to secure a win on its home floor this season.
The 2024-2025 Privateers season has been draped in controversy, as The Field of 68‘s Jeff Goodman reported on Wednesday that the University of New Orleans has held out four of its top five starters on suspension due to an ongoing gambling investigation.
The team has lost eight straight games in the players’ absence. They last suited up on Jan. 27. “Leading scorer James White (19.2 ppg), Jah Short (9.2 ppg), Dae Dae Hunter (8.2 ppg) and Jamond Vincent (7.8 ppg) have all been out since the 74-58 loss to UIW,” Goodman wrote. “There is currently an ongoing school and NCAA investigation.”
https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1894744804015194305?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Master P has quite the hoops background in his own right. He was on a college basketball scholarship at the University of Houston before injuring his knee. P battled back to earn pre-season roster spots on the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in 1998 and 1999, but was cut before the regular season.
He passed down his love of basketball to his children. P’s son Hercy Miller suits up for Southern Utah University, while Mercy Miller is a freshman at the University of Houston. The Houston Cougars are currently ranked No. 4 in the country and a bona fide National Championship contender.
Watch the full press conference below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: iOne / iOne
Legendary rapper MC Lyte recently blessed Hip-Hop Wired with an exclusive performance, spitting her iconic verse from Brandy’s 1994 hit ‘I Wanna Be Down.’
Fans got a throwback moment as Lyte delivered her verse with the same fire that made it unforgettable. Her bars on the track are still a standout, perfectly matching Brandy’s smooth vocals, and seeing her perform it live brought that same vibe back. MC Lyte’s career is straight legendary. From the jump, she made her mark as one of the first female rappers to break through in a male-dominated industry. Her debut album Lyte as a Rock (1988) put her on the map, and she kept climbing with albums like Eyes on This (1989) and Act Like You Know (1991).
Lyte’s lyrics have always been sharp, and she’s known for empowering messages that paved the way for female MCs in hip-hop. It’s not just her music that makes Lyte a boss—she’s been a pioneer in business and activism too.
She’s stayed relevant throughout the years, using her platform to uplift others and speak on important issues. Her performance on Hip-Hop Wired was a reminder of why she’s been a force in the game for decades. MC Lyte’s legacy is timeless, and she continues to influence the culture, proving she’s still got it.
Check out MC Lyte’s full performance to her verse on ‘I Wanna Be Down Remix’ on Hip-Hop Wired:
Vince Staples and his manager Corey Smyth made an appearance on After Hours podcast and talked about how they were able to get Netflix to understand the concept behind The Vince Staples Show.
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“A lot of the times people undermine the intelligence of the audience, and then that becomes learned behavior,” he explained. “And I feel like a lot of the time we just have to have conversation like, ‘OK, we’re making a dark comedy in the streaming era … some are on television and have commercial breaks. We ended up putting title cards in the show because it was important to have tonal breaks in this dry, slow show or else we end up boring. There’s a big difference between boring and interesting, but there’s also a fine line between the two.”
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Staples then brought up some executives and fans having trouble disassociating Vince the rapper and the person with Vince the character. “The way the show was written — and this was always the intention — The Vince Stapes Show is not about Vince Staples as a character,” the Long Beach rapper and actor said. “It’s about a perspective. It’s The Vince Staples Show because I made it not because it’s about me. I think that was a hard thing for a lot of people to grasp. Going from writing for me and then writing for the characters it became kind of a disconnect because they’re expecting me to come in and write a show about myself, but I’m writing a show about other people and how they view me in the world.”
He then got into being underestimated when it came to tone, execution and directorial style while also dealing with a big company such as Netflix. “I just don’t think people think I know as much as I do about certain things,” he suggested. “So, if I’m making a show, they’re expecting me to have seen certain shows. They always say, ‘This is like Curb [Your Enthusiasm], have you ever seen Curb?’ And I say I haven’t seen it, but I know who Larry David is, I’m familiar with his work and I like it.”
Staples continued, “That would kind of throw people for a loop, so then it would get shaky. Especially when you’re dealing with a big company with a lot of finances and a lot of things on their slate it’s not wrong to answer those questions for them. I think that’s the place a lot of creative people have to get to.”
He added, “Of course, I’m going to ask what you’re doing if I don’t know what you’re doing. But sometimes that hurts people, so we just wanted to make sure that we were communicating and letting people know the real influences, the real identity of the show, and the way I wanted it to be.”
Last May, Netflix picked up The Vince Staples Show for its second season. Still no word on a release date yet, though.
You can watch the conversation below.
Brooks & Dunn are set to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 64th Western Heritage Awards, which will be presented at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Saturday, April 12. Each year, the museum recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage through works in film, […]
Drake becomes the first act in the 12-year history of Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart to earn 100 top 10s, scoring four new top 10s on the March 1-dated survey.
The rapper achieves the feat via songs from his new collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, which concurrently debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as previously reported.
“Gimme a Hug” leads the way, debuting at No. 4 with 24.5 million official U.S. streams earned in the week ending Feb. 20, according to Luminate.
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Drake’s other new top 10s include “Nokia” (No. 7, 20.2 million streams), PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s “CN Tower” (No. 9, 19.8 million streams) and PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake and Yebba’s “Die Trying” (No. 10, 18 million streams).
Drake now boasts 103 top 10s on Streaming Songs, which was first published as of the Jan. 26, 2013, Billboard charts. He was part of the region on the inaugural ranking as a featured artist on A$AP Rocky’s “F–kin Problems” (alongside 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar), which ranked at No. 10 (and ultimately peaked at No. 2 in February 2013). His first top 10 as a lead artist followed that March with the No. 3 peak of “Started From the Bottom.”
His 103 top 10s is nearly double the next closest act; Taylor Swift has the second most at 58.
Most Top 10s, Streaming Songs
103, Drake
58, Taylor Swift
35, Lil Baby
33, Kendrick Lamar
33, The Weeknd
32, 21 Savage
31, Future
31, Travis Scott
Drake also holds the record for the most No. 1s on the chart: 20, 11 ahead of his next-closest competitor, Swift.
And the mark for most chart entries overall? Drake too — with 15 new appearances on the March 1 chart, he now has 277 entries; Swift is second with 179.
Concurrently, as previously reported, “Gimme a Hug” debuts at No. 6 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, leading all 21 songs from $ome $exy $ongs 4 U onto the ranking.
Every month, Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors spotlight a group of rising artists whose music we love. Think “diamantes en bruto,” or “diamonds in the rough.” These are newcomers who have yet to impact the mainstream — but whose music excites us, and who we believe our readers should make a point to discover.
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Our latest edition of On the Radar Latin includes a wave of emerging artists, who we discovered either by networking or coming across their music at a showcase, or elsewhere. See our recommendations this month below:
Artist: Brayhan Rosales
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Country: Venezuela
Why They Should Be on Your Radar: At 24, Brayhan Rosales has been paving his own way in his native Venezuela, where in 2024 he received the Excelsior Award for best new male singer of the year. With a pleasantly sweet, melodious voice, and clean and romantic lyrics, the artist born in Boconó, in the western state of Trujillo, has released singles including “Indecente” and “Casualidad,” in which he fuses regional Mexican music with urban rhythms. It is an unusual but refreshing proposition for a Venezuelan artist.
“Since I was a child, I really like ranchera, regional Mexican music, and since I started singing I always had the dream of one day singing accompanied by mariachis,” Rosales tells Billboard Español. “One day I wrote a song with the idea of trying to make ranchera arrangements and I liked it so much that I decided to do it again and my community really liked the proposal.” Without any type of investment in his project at the moment, he hopes to be able to release new music soon. I really hope he does. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Song For Your Playlist: “Casualidad”
Artist: De La Rose
Country: Puerto Rico
Why They Should Be On Your Radar: After uploading freestyle and cover videos on social media, De La Rose dropped her debut single “Harley” in 2021, while also introducing Latin urban music’s next promising act. The artist born Yuberkis Gabriela Marie de la Rosa Bryan, from Puerto Rico, has gained traction with her provocative bilingual lyrics backed by her sugary, high-pitched vocals — while her sensuality navigates genres like reggaetón, trap and R&B. As of 2023, De La Rose has stacked up key collaborations, which include Jhayco (“3D”), Quevedo (“Amaneció”), Sech (“Gym Girl”), and Myke Towers (“Móntate Baby”), but it was the viral “Qué Vas Hacer Hoy” with Omar Courtz (2024) that ultimately made put her on the map. — JESSICA ROIZ
Song For Your Playlist: “Palgo”
Artist: Whatuprg
Country: U.S.
Why They Should Be On Your Radar: Hailing from the Atlanta area, Whatuprg is ascending as a compelling voice to watch — especially in the hip-hop and Mexican music fields. Making a bold leap with his latest track, “Z99,” where he veers into the domain of corridos for the first time. The song, released last Friday (Feb. 21) via Reach Records, showcases raw storytelling over gripping horns and acoustic guitar interplay. “I never give up since I found the way, if He fights my battles, there’s no reason to fear,” he belts out in Spanish with a gut-wrenching conviction.
Featured on SoundCloud’s Fresh Latin Music playlist this week and tagged under Christian & gospel, the single channels the Mexican-American’s distinctive flow and marks an adventurous new chapter in his career. Already known for his two rap-centric EPs (2018’s Pleasant Hill, 2019’s Raul) and one full-length (2022’s New Hollywood), Whatuprg continues to evolve artistically, making this a track you’ll want to keep on your radar. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Song For Your Playlist: “Z99”