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Rick Ross has revealed he’s open to ending his long-standing beef with Drake, hinting at the possibility of reconciliation between the two Hip-Hop heavyweights.
During a recent interview with Bootleg Kev, the Maybach Music Group boss spoke candidly about the tension between him and his former collaborator. “Real n****s stay real,” Ross said. “Was it something really deep? Nah. F**k that, though. But if it’s real, it’s real and that’s what it is.” His words suggest that the fallout wasn’t as personal as fans might have thought, leaving the door open for future peace.
Rozay even joked about the price of a potential truce, saying, “You never know, if a n***a send me a bottle of Luc Belaire, especially the white one. Send me a white Belaire and I’ll take a picture with you.” Known for his sense of humor and love for the finer things, Ross’ comment lightened the mood but also hinted at real willingness to bury the hatchet.
Ross and Drake have a proven track record of delivering iconic tracks like “Stay Schemin’,” “Lord Knows,” and “Aston Martin Music.” Their chemistry in the studio has consistently produced timeless hits, making them one of hip-hop’s most powerful duos. Fans have long hoped to see them reunite, and with Ross expressing openness to squash the beef, that dream might not be far off. A reconciliation could mark the return of greatness — something the culture would no doubt celebrate.
With tourism to the U.S. on shaky ground and consumer sentiment waning, Sphere Entertainment Co. CEO James Dolan says the Sphere venue in Las Vegas is on sound footing.
“There’s a little bit of Chicken Little going on in our economy,” Dolan said during the earnings call on Thursday (May 8), referring to the children’s fable about unfounded warnings that the sky is falling. “Maybe later we’ll see a more substantive reaction from the marketplace, but right now we’re not really seeing it.”
International guests account for 10% of guests to Sphere’s concerts and “a little over” 20% of visitors to Sphere Experience, the viewings of Sphere’s original content, according to Dolan. Even if Las Vegas experiences a decline in tourism, Dolan believes Sphere will be insulated by strong demand for its state-of-the-art performances. “When it comes to concerts,” he said, “demand exceeds capacity, so we have room to absorb any issues.”
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International relations and tariff concerns couldn’t be blamed for the decline in Sphere revenue in the company’s fiscal quarter ended March 31. Instead, it was an issue of fewer events that caused a 12.8% decline in revenue, to $157.5 million, the company’s parent, Sphere Entertainment Co., announced Thursday.
Sphere did show greater operational efficiency in the quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses fell 12%, and adjusted operating income (AOI) was flat at $13.1 million despite the decline in revenue.
Investors reacted positively, sending shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. as high as $31.43, up 5.5%, on Thursday morning. The share price was up 5.2% to $31.33 in early afternoon trading.
With residencies by The Eagles, Dead & Company and Anyma, Sphere hosted 10 more concerts than the year-ago period. But the Sphere Experience had fewer showings of original content — Postcard From Earth and V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film — compared to the prior-year period. The quarter also had a difficult comparable because Las Vegas hosted the 2024 Super Bowl, which resulted in a record-setting week for Sphere’s advertising, CFO Robert Longer said. Those decreases were partially offset by increases in event-related revenues and the impact of Delta Air Lines’ corporate takeover of Sphere during CES in January.
Total Sphere Entertainment Co. revenue, which includes MSG Networks, fell 13% to $280.6 million. Consolidated AOI fell 25.6% to $36 million. MSG Networks revenue was $123.0 million, down 19% from the prior-year period, which reflects a nearly two-month absence of programming from Altice while the two parties renegotiated a multi-year renewal.
Dolan said he’s confident the company can drive growth this calendar year through “an array of concerts and third-party events,” sponsorships, and driving operational and cost efficiency. While he didn’t provide details on unannounced future residencies, Dolan said Sphere is having discussions with “multiple artists” and has more demand than availability of shows. “The pipeline is very full,” he assured.
Just as Kendrick Lamar leads the 2025 BET Award nominations, which were announced on Thursday (May 8), he is likely to also lead the Grammy nominations when they’re announced later this year.
Lamar has been the leading Grammy nominee twice before. He had 11 nominations leading up to the 2016 ceremony, and eight nods leading up to the 2019 ceremony. He has finished second (or in a tie for second) four other times — twice behind Jay-Z and twice behind Beyoncé. If Lamar amasses 11 nominations, he’ll match his personal best. If he garners 12, he’ll tie Michael Jackson (1984) and Babyface (1997) for the most nominations by anyone in any one year.
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The Grammys and BET Awards operate on different timetables. The eligibility year for this year’s BET Awards was March 16, 2024, through March 15, 2025. The eligibility year for the upcoming Grammys is Aug. 31, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2025. And, of course, the Grammys cover all genres, while the BET Awards focus on various forms of Black music. But the BET Awards offer some clues about which way Grammy voters may be leaning.
Three of the BET nominees for album of the year won album awards at the Grammys on Feb. 2. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter won both best country album and album of the year, Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal won best rap album and Chris Brown’s 11:11 Deluxe won best R&B album. A fourth BET album of the year nominee, Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You, was nominated for a Grammy for best rap album.
The other four BET nominees will be eligible for the 2026 Grammys — Lamar’s GNX, The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, GloRilla’s Glorious and the Drake-Partynextdoor collab Some $exy $ongs 4U.
GNX seems virtually certain to be Grammy nominated for album of the year. It would be Lamar’s fifth album of the year nomination as a lead artist, which would allow him to break out of a tie with Ye (formerly Kanye West) for the most album of the year nods by a rapper.
Two of the BET nominees for best new artist — Shaboozey and Teddy Swims — were Grammy nominated in that category at this year’s show. Two other BET nominees in that category are presumed to be ineligible for Grammy nominations in that category. Leon Thomas won a Grammy two years ago for co-writing SZA’s “Snooze,” which was voted best R&B song. Ayra Starr was nominated as a performer two years ago for best African music performance for “Rush.”
The five other BET nominees — 41, BigXthaPlug, BossMan Dlow, Dee Billz and October London — are likely to be eligible to compete for the Grammy in that highly competitive category later this year.
Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which won a Grammy for best music video on Feb. 2, is nominated for BET’s video of the year. Future, Metro Boomin, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti’s “Type Shit” was also entered in that Grammy category, though it wasn’t nominated.
Luther Vandross is the subject of three BET Awards nominations. Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” now in its 11th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, is up for both best collaboration and the viewers choice award. And the documentary Luther: Never Too Much is nominated for best movie.
Vandross didn’t receive a lifetime achievement award from the BET Awards. He died in 2005, just four years after the show originated. Vandross, who is widely considered the leading R&B male balladeer of his generation, has yet to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, either.
In other BET nominations news, Blue Ivy Carter, the 13-year-old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, is nominated for the Young Stars Award, an award she won last year. The BET allows multiple nominations and wins in that category. Blackish co-star Marsai Martin won it five times. Yara Shaidi and Keke Palmer each won it twice.
Wicked was passed over for a nod for best movie, but Cynthia Erivo is nominated for best actress for her performance in the film. And “Defying Gravity,” by Erivo featuring Ariana Grande, is up for the BET Her award. At the Grammys, Wicked can compete for best compilation soundtrack for visual media, while “Defying Gravity” can compete for best pop duo/group performance.
The 25th BET Awards will be held on Monday (June 9) at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Comedian Kevin Hart is set to host for the second time.
After weeks of speculation, J.I.D. has announced his new album, God Does Like Ugly, and confirmed it’s dropping later this year. On Thursday (May 8), J.I.D. shared God Does Like Ugly will be released on Aug. 8. The Dreamville rapper had previously dropped off his new single “WRK” on April 18. The new track was […]
Karol G’s Netflix documentary, Tomorrow Was Beautiful, is out May 8, and we’re taking you inside the premiere in New York that just happened Tuesday, May 6. We got to speak with the Latin singer about her new documentary. Are you going to watch Tomorrow Was Beautiful? Let us know in the comments! Narrator:Singer, philanthropist, […]
Rick Ross and Drake have remained at odds since exchanging jabs on a series of diss tracks last year, but Rozay is open to ending the beef with his “Stay Schemin” collaborator.
The Biggest Boss joined Bootleg Kev for an interview Wednesday (May 7), during which they discussed the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, something Ross saw as “necessary” for the rap game.
The conversation then switched to spotlight the root of Rozay’s issues with Drake, which Bootleg Kev theorized came from Drake’s treatment of French Montana on a track.
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“I spoke on that on the record I released. Like I said, ‘F–k that s–t,’” Ross said. “Was it something really deep? Nah, f–k that, though. But if you p—y, you p—y. If it’s real, it’s real.”
Now, it’s unclear if Ross is being 100 percent serious, but the Florida rapper says he’d be open to squashing his feud with Drizzy.
“You never know,” he began. “If a n—a send me a bottle of Luc Belaire, especially the white one. That go for any of these young n—-s out here … Send me a white Belaire and I’ll take a picture with you.”
Drake sent shots at Ross on his April 2024 “Push Ups” diss track, and Rozay returned the favor with “Champagne Moments.” Ross accused Drizzy of getting a nose job and referred to the OVO rapper as the “white boy” while continuing to troll the 6 God on social media.
Rick Ross and Drake have teamed up for a handful of anthems over the years, including Rozay’s three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Lemon Pepper Freestyle,” “Money in the Grave” and DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One.”
Last year, Ross joined Yung Miami for an episode of Caresha Please, which saw him reflect on being at odds with Drake.
“He mentioned my name, and that’s a no-no,” he said. “Don’t do that, especially when it ain’t about no real s–t. But when you do that, OK then: this is how we gonna play. I can wake up every day and say ‘BBL Drizzy’ or some old s–t, while I’m smoking a joint, listening to the waterfalls and all that s–t, looking at the birds fly off. That s–t easy for me. I don’t know. It depend on how I feel. I ain’t losing no sleep over none of that.”
Watch Rick Ross talk to Bootleg Kev about his Drake feud below:
When Donald Trump finally visits the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center next month to attend his first-ever show at the beloved Washington, D.C. cultural institution he will be treated to a performance of the musical Les Misérables that will be missing a number of key players. According to CNN, at least 10-12 of the show’s performers are expected to skip the June 11 performance Trump will reportedly attend on the same night as a high-dollar fundraiser at the Center.
CNN reported that the cast was given the option to not be on stage the night Trump is in the house, with both unnamed “major cast members and members of the ensemble” opting to take a night off in the midst of the Trump administration’s aggressive makeover of the venue. As part of his government-wide slash-and-burn effort to remake Washington his image, Trump installed himself as the chairman of the Kennedy Center with the help of a rebooted board made up entirely of his hand-picked appointees at the institution that has traditionally had a bipartisan mix of board members.
The Les Miz performance will coincide with the fundraiser featuring sponsorship levels selling for as much as $2 million according to ABC News, with the invitation noting that Trump will appear that night as “a special guest and friend of the Kennedy Center”; at press time it was not clear what the funds were being raised for as Trump is constitutionally barred from running for a third term. Trump played songs from the musical about the plight of the impoverished underclass during the French Revolution on stops of his 2016 presidential campaign, upsetting the co-creators of the stage musical, who requested that he stop blasting “Do You Hear the People Sing?” at his rallies.
In a statement to EW, Trump confidant and the Center’s new director, Richard Grenell, said of the reported boycott, “We haven’t heard this rumor. But the Kennedy Center will no longer fund intolerance. Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed. In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.”
The cast boycott is the latest in an unfolding culture war between the Trump administration and some artists who were slated to perform at the Kennedy Center, a number of whom canceled shows in the wake of the Trump takeover. Among those who pulled gigs or resigned from their leadership roles at the Kennedy Center in protest were: Ben Folds, Renee Fleming, Shonda Rhimes, Low Cut Connie, Rhiannon Giddens, Issa Rae, as well as a performance of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Hamilton, the lauded show Trump subsequently criticized, saying “I never liked Hamilton very much.”
Trump raged against the programming at the Center in February in a Truth Social post in which he wrote, “No more drag show, or other anti-American propaganda — Only the best.” In another post, Trump said he wanted to make sure the Kennedy Center “runs properly. We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center. Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on.”
Read it and weep, conspiracy theorists: Lea Michele has proven once and for all that she is not illiterate.
After years of enduring absurd but persistent rumors that she never learned to read, the Glee actress finally demonstrated on camera that she is totally capable of interpreting the written English language. But first, while serving as a guest on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast episode posted Wednesday (May 7), Michele began by saying that her feelings about the wild speculation “depends on the day.”
“Sometimes I think it’s crazy that people care enough about me that they would make up something … that someone has so little to do in their life in their day that they would waste it on me, is hilarious to me,” she told Shane. “And then there are moments where I f–king get so frustrated by it, because I’m one of the only women in my whole family to get accepted to college. My mother and my mother’s whole family was extremely poor from the Bronx, not very well educated, and my parents moved me from the Bronx to New Jersey to get a good education and to thrive, and I did.”
“My parents and my family are so proud of that … for someone to minimize that, it’s so sad and so frustrating,” she continued, noting that she was on the debate team in school, for which she had to write speeches.
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After talking about the illiteracy rumors for a few minutes, an exasperated Michele abruptly decided to show, not tell, Shane’s viewers that she can read. “Give me the [notecards], I’m reading them!” she said, reaching for the podcaster’s notes.
“Jonathan [Groff] is not here to read me this s–t!” she added, referencing her good friend and former Spring Awakening costar.
The Broadway star then proceeded to successfully read the contents of the card aloud — at one point joking, “What does this word say?” — putting the debate over her literacy to bed as Shane howled with laughter. The hilarious moment ends years of people speculating online that, having started doing theater as a young child, Michele never learned to read and instead depended on people to feed her her lines. The actress has poked fun at the theory a few times over the years, and in a 2022 interview with The New York Times, she stated, “I went to Glee every single day. I knew my lines every single day. And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
Beyond dispelling the silliest rumor of her career, Michele also spoke at length about her days on Glee. “We were all so young, and everybody was growing up and falling in love, and for me, that was a huge part of the whole experience for me,” she said of her castmates. “When I watch it, I can tell you exactly, ‘Oh, that day I was sobbing in my dressing room.’ Or, ‘That day was the best day in the world.’”
Watch Michele’s full interview on Therapuss above.
In July 2020, on the brink of a major life change, English Teacher’s Lily Fontaine laid down a statement of purpose for the journey that lay ahead. “It is less than three weeks until I move back to Leeds to try and become a rock musician,” she wrote in an edition of indie magazine Come Play With Me. “I hope that if I succeed, a young Black girl might see me and think she can be [successful] too one day.”
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Having recently graduated from Leeds Conservatoire, where the Colne-raised songwriter met her future bandmates, these were the words of a young woman ready to transform the way she envisioned her life. Within four years, she and the rest of English Teacher would go on to experience a watershed moment at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, where the group scooped the prestigious Mercury Prize last September for its richly charismatic debut album This Could Be Texas.
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“We just thought we’d make a band,” said Fontaine during the band’s acceptance speech, lost for words at the magnitude of the accolade. The four-piece thanked the venues and charities that had supported during their early days in Leeds, struggling to find the words to express their gratitude. It was a deeply affecting moment, one that speaks to the tenacity, talent and passion that has fueled them to these heights.
“I can barely think about the [Mercury Prize] night without getting emotional,” says guitarist Lewis Whiting, speaking to Billboard UK via Zoom. “We could barely speak when we won. Maybe we should just keep up our own trend of never having a winners’ speech at the ready!”
Winning the Mercury Prize may have helped English Teacher sail to the forefront of the next wave of British guitar music, but its the uniform strength of their impassioned live show that has made them breakout stars. The band will kick off a summer of touring – including appearances at Glastonbury and Green Man – by topping the bill of Billboard U.K.’s Live experience on May 16. Headlining The Deep End venue, Brighton, as part of The Great Escape 2025, it will be joined by a series of rising artists, including Westside Cowboy, the latter for whom Whiting has recently worked with as a producer.
Following an appearance in the 2021 virtual edition of The Great Escape due to COVID restrictions, English Teacher performed at the weekender the following year in support of its Polyawkward EP. Around this time, the outfit’s quirky, lightly rumbustious songs began to resonate across British press and radio; accessible while containing a marked dose of strangeness, Fontaine’s songwriting – at once emotionally raw and witty – boasted a strong multi-generational appeal.
That EP invited a bigger audience into English Teacher’s world, preceding an inexorable rise. Now, having earned first BRIT Award nomination and bagged Fontaines D.C. support slots this year, Whiting discusses how it feels for the band to be playing to increasingly frenzied crowds while working on “tighter and more focused” new music in the background.
You have a storied history with The Great Escape. Looking back at those earlier gigs, how does it feel to think about the band that you were then?
There wasn’t a single part of me that thought we’d be anywhere near where we are now as a band. Those early gigs feel like a different lifetime, for sure – a lot has changed since those early appearances at The Great Escape. I remember the 2022 edition of the festival felt like quite a significant kind of turning point for us. At the time, it felt like things had started falling together for us, and we were like, “D–n, people are actually coming to our shows, something is happening here!”
What memories do you have of the festival over the years?
When we first went to The Great Escape, I think there was a collective kind of giddiness among the band. At that point, we’d never properly experienced a festival like that, so we were pretty over the moon with the response we got from the crowds there. We made some friends along the way, including [the band] Sprints, who we are still close with now. A lot of my memories from The Great Escape revolve around bumping into people around Brighton; it often feels like you’re walking past you know every two minutes!
Since you won the Mercury Prize, have you been surprised by anything that’s changed in your life?
Last year was absolutely huge for us, which is something I am still adjusting to. So many elements of our lives have changed: there’s been an extra layer of public attention on us, which we obviously have never experienced before. It all still feels quite alien, but 2024 was one of the best years of my life. Looking back, it feels like something new happened for us each week.
Given that it’s been a pretty mental 12 months, I think as a band, we’ve been making more of a conscious effort to check in and see where everyone’s at [mentally]. All our lives are now so different, more chaotic and busy, so it’s been really important to keep tabs on each others’ well-being – especially as we are on the road far more often.
How has touring extensively impacted your sources of inspiration for writing the next album?
This has definitely been a big thing for us. A lot of the first album was about the idea of home and all of the emotions that come entangled with that. There’s still a lot of the second album to still be written but we’ve all been through so many changes – and so many new experiences gained through travelling and touring – that I feel will definitely feed into the music too. We’re in a very different place to where we were at for the debut.
Has the meaning of some of your older material changed for you over time?
100%, which is actually a really nice feeling. It’s interesting — because I’m not the lyricist for the band, but as we’ve been on tour, I’ve found that my personal meanings of some of the songs have changed quite a bit. “Mastermind Specialism” is one that really stands out, as it’s a song about indecision; when we play it, I find that I start thinking about all the little decisions that have led us up to this point as a band. “Nearly Daffodils” is another one, as it’s about a relationship that could have been, and all the changes you can go through in life in quite quick succession.
Which song have you written that still gives you goosebumps?
“Albert Road” has really taken on a new significance, however – it’s become sadder! Sometimes, in a live setting, it gets me good. It makes me think of home and I end up feeling reflective about our journey so far. There’s definitely been a couple of pivotal moments over the last year, where we have all looked at each other on stage and started welling up.
How did it feel to walk your first major red carpet at The BRIT Awards this year?
The whole experience was so ridiculous and surreal that I found it really entertaining. It was an honour to be f-king nominated for a BRIT in the first place, that was crazy and something I never, ever expected. It was mad, too, seeing all these celebrities walking around. We got chatting to JADE, she’s so sound. We very briefly said hi to Louis Theroux, too; I felt really shy in his presence — as he is so cool, I almost felt like I had no business talking to him!
You recently worked with Westside Cowboy, who will be joining us at Billboard U.K.’s Live experience at The Great Escape. What attracted you to working with them?
I love everything about that band. Sonically, they’re very much on my street and I really like the confidence with which they approach their songwriter. I admire how they don’t overcomplicate things. They’re fans of Big Thief, but I also feel as though there are elements of Lou Reed, Pavement and The Velvet Underground in their music; they write really concise, strong songs, which is super refreshing.
I first met them when they were playing a gig at Soup Kitchen in Manchester. I became a fan immediately and just knew I had to find a way to work with them. They have some brilliant material in the pipeline which really shows off the range of what they can do together as a band.
How does production allow you to use your skills differently?
It’s still an ongoing journey but one that I have really enjoyed. I’ve always been in bands, and I’ve engineered plenty of demos, but I have never really dived into being a producer in my own right until now. It’s something I would love to do more of in the future, and it’s also nice to take a step outside [of being in English Teacher] and build the confidence to forge a different creative outlet for myself. It feels like opening a different part of your brain, it’s very rewarding.
With dozens of live dates in the pipeline, what mindset are you approaching the rest of the year with?
The main aim is to start road-testing some new songs at festivals. We’re deep in writing mode at the moment, it has been non-stop for us. The [creative] process has been great, if a little fragmented; we all don’t really live in the same city anymore, and we are still figuring out what we want some of this album to sound like. Overall, however, I am feeling really positive.
Personally, I think I’m going to be more happy with the second album than the first one. They’re still in the early stages, but we’ve had a couple of ideas that we perhaps intended to make work in the past, though they feel a little more refined. For me, that’s what I want to get out of the second album: for the first record, we threw a lot of things at the wall, but I like the idea of these songs being a little tighter and more focused. It’s like a puzzle: when you figure out the way the pieces should fit together, it’s so satisfying. That feeling is what keeps you going.
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UMG (Universal Music Group) has filed a motion to have Drake’s amended lawsuit against his recording label dismissed, calling the rapper’s allegations “asthoning” in their filing. Drake filed a lawsuit against UMG at the top of the year over Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss record “Not Like Us” and has accused the label of defaming him.
As reported by Variety, UMG is responding to Drake’s claims made in the amended lawsuit, and the Canadian superstar is charging the label with heavily promoting the song, which features a lyric accusing him of being a pedophile.
The initial lawsuit came just as news surfaced that Kendrick Lamar would be the halftime performer at this year’s Super Bowl, and it was anticipated that “Not Like Us,” one of the biggest hit records of 2024, would be a centerpiece. It appeared that Drake wanted to get ahead of the noise regarding the track. Lamar did perform the track but altered the lyrics in question.
UMG, which filed its motion on Wednesday (May 7), had their legal representation address Drake’s amended lawsuit straight away, while seemingly taking a dig at the OVO honcho.
“As Drake concedes, Lamar’s Super Bowl performance did not include the lyric that Drake or his associates are ‘certified pedophiles’ (i.e., the alleged ‘Defamatory Material’ that is at the heart of this case). The focus of Drake’s new claims—that ‘the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever’ did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles—betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics.”
Drake has not responded publicly to the entered motion as of yet.
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Photo: Cole Burston / Getty
