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Source: Kendrick Sampson / Kendrick Sampson
Many people recognize Kendrick Sampson, 37, as a talented, charismatic TV and film actor—with leading roles in Issa Rae’s cultural phenomenon Insecure, and 2022’s meet-cute romcom, Something from Tiffany’s, among others. But alongside and intertwined with building a prolific career in Hollywood, the multi-hyphenate entertainer is building something else: Black Power.
Source: @LuvByDre / De’Andre Silas
Through his organization BLD PWR, Kendrick Sampson is laying the foundation for a movement that centers joy, art, pleasure, and creativity—all Black birthrights to claim—while also walking through the fire this time.
“I started BLD PWR to give radical changemakers a place to belong—building solid, grounded relationships between grassroots movements and the entertainment industry,” Sampson tells CASSIUSLife in an exclusive interview. “We wanted to create a safe space where we could navigate the messiness of community-building, work through our differences, and create new art and pop culture movements that support true freedom and health.”
“BLD PWR is for the misfits like me,” Sampson continues. “The ones who want to change the world and are willing to get our hands dirty, make mistakes, and do the real work needed to create beautiful art that shifts culture toward the healthiest and freest version of our story.”
Yes, there is power in the wells of revolutionary storytelling and radical truth-telling—a people power rooted in Black freedom and liberation. Movement elders often teach us that if we allow the machinations of white supremacy to steal our joy, what beloved poet and ancestor Amiri Baraka calls in Wise I our “oom boom ba boom,” then they’ve already won. If we buy into the narrative that Black bodies, steeped in generations of trauma, only have the right to bleed, not dance, then our enemies have won. If we fall victim to the lie that we can only use our voices to wail in grief, not sing, then our enemies have already won.
As this capitalist system cracks and splinters, fault lines exposing themselves before it all comes tumbling down, it will be the misfits, the time-travelers, who reach into the past to see the future. It will be the artists and teachers, dancers and musicians, healers and apothecaries, poets and storytellers, who will remind us that a new world is not only possible but that it already is and already was.
“Storytelling, like civilization, originated as an Indigenous practice in Africa,” says Sampson. “Story is at the core of community-building—it’s how we build civilization, culture, and belonging. The more control we have over our story, the more control we have over our health.”
“Hollywood has done an effective job convincing us that storytelling and art are ‘just for entertainment,’ but stories shape movements, shift perspectives, and inspire change,” he continues. “That’s why people manipulate and twist narratives—it’s a tool of control. Abusive systems use stories to justify harm and maintain power.”
BLD PWR disrupts that narrative by not only making the connections plain but also by providing insights into the film industry that can shape movement building.
“At BLD PWR, we recognize that everything needed to build a film is the same thing needed to build a healthy community,” Sampson explains. “Think about it—storytelling requires:
• Carpenters
• Medical staff
• Consultants
• Legal teams
• Food & water services
• Educators
• Housing & infrastructure
• Electrical & tech crews
• Transportation
• Performers, artists, and camera operators
• Managers, government support, payroll, and community organizers
“It’s literally community-building.”
Sampson went on to say, “Some films require thousands of people to come together to bring a vision to life. That’s not different from activism. I used to think that acting and organizing were separate, but they’re not—they’re the same thing. Storytelling is activism. For so long, I was told ‘It’s just acting’—but it’s never just acting. Stories are powerful, and those who claim they aren’t are the same people using stories to manipulate, control, and shape minds. They just don’t want you to tell the truth because it messes up their game.”
So, what do we do about it?
“More than ever, we must reclaim our stories—protect them, heal them, and nourish them,” Sampson says fiercely. “Right now, we’re seeing book bans, attacks on Black history, and AI being weaponized to rewrite truth. Social media is controlled by some of the most disconnected, dishonest, and abusive people, making it even more critical to get back to the basics: talking to each other, passing down truth, and keeping our stories alive.”
ONE TIME FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOY
Source: @LuvByDre / De’Andre Silas
If there’s one thing Sampson is going to do—besides pursue justice with a passion—that’s party with a purpose. A favorite son of Houston, Texas, specifically Missouri City, he’s made it his mission to strengthen the bonds of human connection and community by curating spaces where Black folks can be free to find our rhythm in systems that try to bury us.
To that end, each year, he uses his birthday celebration, “Who All Gon’ Be There”—because Black folks have to know before we even think about planning to leave the house—to pour back into the communities that raised him in H-Town, Mo City, and LA. He also makes certain that it’s a guaranteed back-bone twisting, hip-shaking, soul-stirring, line-dancing, solo cup sipping, Black ass good time.
“‘Our joy is resistance’ has become like a slogan—but it’s not a slogan, a talking point, or a self-help tip,” Sampson tells CASSIUS. “We are in a war for our stories, our freedom, and our people’s futures. America has always functioned as an occupying force—a settler-colonial system designed to keep us controlled through false narratives.
“But joy is a war strategy. It’s our North Star—a reminder of what we deserve, what we fight for, and the world we want to create. People get so caught up in what liberation will look like, but you can feel liberation right now through joy. That’s why the systems we fight against try so hard to strip joy away.”
Years before WAGBT grew into a major annual fundraiser for BLD PWR, Sampson envisioned what it could be.
“When I was 18 years old, I moved to LA alone. I prayed for Black mentors in entertainment, and for a long time, I thought I didn’t have them—but I did. Just not in the way I expected,” he says.
“I met Ben Guillory, who co-founded Robey Theatre Company with Danny Glover, Sampson said. “They led me to the legacy of Paul Robeson, one of my greatest inspirations to this day. Through them, I learned about Toussaint L’Ouverture, the resistance leader of the Haitian Revolution, and why Hollywood actively fights to erase figures like him from our stories.
Sampson added, “I met Richard Lyons, an acting coach who forced me to read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and reenact a scene from Spike Lee’s Malcolm X film. I met Nate Parker, who was developing a short film about Nat Turner at the time. So those became my Black mentors: Paul Robeson, Toussaint L’Ouverture, Nat Turner, and Malcolm X.
“At the same time,” Sampson recalls, “I met Pastor Frank Wilson from Fifth Ward, Texas, who taught me about giving back on birthdays. My first Christmas in LA, he took us to serve at a shelter for unhoused people in the community. I’ll never forget what he said: “How would you like it if someone came to your birthday party and asked for gifts? Well, that’s what people do to Jesus every year—say they’re celebrating his birthday but only asking for things for themselves.”
“That moment transformed my thinking. I left that shelter feeling more whole than ever—rooted, aligned, and connected to something bigger than myself. From that point on, I dedicated my birthday to giving back. What started as small gatherings at shelters grew into an annual tradition—first with foster youth, then assisted living communities, and now full-fledged community fundraisers,” Sampson concludes.
WHO ALL GON’ BE THERE?
Source: @LuvByDre / De’Andre Silas
If you are not familiar with The Session, a monthly R&B jam session in Houston created by the visionary Isaiah Parks, then please rectify that immediately. The live music scene in the city is already second to none, with supernovas like Marium Echo holding court several nights a week in front of mesmerized audiences. What Parks has done, though, is take that intoxicating, vibrant, sexy feeling one gets at the hole-in-the-wall and elevate it into the stratosphere.
By bringing together sangers like Desz, who has a voice that transports listeners to another dimension with its otherworldly power and beauty; Patrice Dominique, whose raspy growl and pitch-perfect tone reaches deep into your heart and your memories with each note; Spud Howard, king of the jukebox, who will one day be mentioned in the same breath as Johnnie Taylor, and Kirk Richmond, whose buttery rich vocals conjure tears and smiles on demand, Parks has created something sacred. The Session is a place of healing, joy, love, laughter, and community. It makes sense, then, that Sampson and Parks have partnered to bring Who All Gon’ Be There (WAGBT) x The Session R&B Jam from the Third Coast to the West Coast.
On March 9, at Axelrad Beer Garden in Houston, Sampson was joined not only by his community, friends, and family but also by his chosen family, including hometown hero and Hip-Hop luminary, Trae the Truth; Issa Rae, who toasted him with her very own Viarae Prosecco; Carl Payne, who was in town directing Je’Caryous Johnson’s Games Women Play; and Amber Riley, who sang a stunning rendition of Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor.”
Source: @LuvByDre / De’Andre Silas
Now, this Sunday, March 23, Who All Gon’ Be There (WAGBT) x The Session R&B Jam touches down in Los Angeles, bringing that sticky, sweet southern heat to the City of Angels.
Lucille Clifton teaches us that we must “celebrate that every day something has tried to kill us and has failed.” Yes, we are living in occupied territory surrounded by people terrified and envious of Black brilliance, power, beauty, ingenuity, creativity, and joy. But they did not create our joy, so it will never be theirs to destroy.
And believing, living, breathing, sharing, and fighting for that truth, collectively and internally? That’s how we build power.
“When we lean into joy, it’s a release, a reminder, and a reunion with our freest selves,” Sampson teaches us. “It’s about building spaces where we can breathe, laugh, and celebrate our power—not just spaces of struggle. That’s what WAGBT is about.”
To support BLD PWR, donate directly at www.bldpwr.com/donate.
This support helps fund:
• Community organizing initiatives
• Programs for Black storytellers and filmmakers
• Grassroots movement-building
• Activism, education, and leadership development
Your contributions fuel real change, ensuring that art, storytelling, and activism remain powerful tools for liberation.
1. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 4
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 4 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
2. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 5
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 5 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
3. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 7
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 7 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
4. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 8
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 8 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
5. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 9
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 9 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
6. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 17
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 17 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
7. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 16
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 16 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
8. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 6
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 6 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
9. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 15
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 15 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
10. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 14
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 14 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
11. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 11
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 11 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
12. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 12
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 12 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
13. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 4
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 4 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
14. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 22
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 22 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
15. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 29
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 29 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
16. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 23
Source:other
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 23 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
17. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 24
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 24 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
18. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 25
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 25 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
19. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 26
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 26 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
20. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 27
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 27 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
21. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 28
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 28 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
22. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 30
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 30 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
23. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 20
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 20 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
24. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 21
Source:Semetra Samuel
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 21 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
25. Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 18
Source:De’Andre Silas
Kendrick Sampson BDay Party R&BJams with The Session 18 birthday,houston,kendrick sampson,bld pwr
Balu Brigada’s first song on a Billboard chart is a No. 1, as “So Cold” rises to the top of the March 29-dated Alternative Airplay survey.
“So Cold” debuted on the list in October, marking the New Zealand act’s first appearance on any Billboard ranking.
Balu Brigada is signed to ARRO, an imprint co-founded by Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph and the Ohio duo’s manager, Chris Woltman, through a joint venture with Atlantic Records. Balu Brigada is currently opening for Twenty One Pilots on tour.
“So Cold” marks the third song to top Alternative Airplay in 2025 by an act scoring a first No. 1 on the chart. It follows Justice and Tame Impala’s “Neverender” (the first ruler for both) earlier in March and Almost Monday’s “Can’t Slow Down” in February. Of those, Justice also led with its first Alternative Airplay entry, like Balu Brigada.
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That said, since Justice had made multiple Billboard lists prior to the success of “Neverender,” Balu Brigada is the first act to hit No. 1 on Alternative Airplay with a first charted song overall since Dexter and the Moonrocks, whose “Sad in Carolina” led for eight weeks beginning in December.
Concurrently, “So Cold” bullets at No. 9, after reaching No. 7, on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 3.2 million audience impressions earned in the week ending March 20, according to Luminate.
Trending on Billboard
“So Cold” is currently a stand-alone single. Balu Brigada released another track, “The Question,” earlier this year.
All Billboard charts dated March 29 will update Tuesday, March 25, on Billboard.com.
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Source: Pacific Press / Getty
New York City Mayor Eric Adams opened up about his dating past and fare-beating in a recent town hall meeting, leaving
social media aghast.
The re-election campaign of New York City Mayor Eric Adams took another bizarre turn which left social media users in disbelief. On Wednesday night (March 19), Adams was at a town hall meeting being held in the Arverne neighborhood of Queens, not too far from Far Rockaway. Adams began the meeting in a nostalgic mood, opening up about dating a former girlfriend in the Rockaways. “I had a shorty that lived out here,” he said to the crowd, adding “You know, love is blind,” while reminiscing about the long ride on the A train. He also confessed to jumping the turnstile to avoid paying the fare on occasion. “The statute of limitations is over,” he joked.
Mayor Adams’ trip down memory lane was captured on video, which quickly went viral on social media with users comparing him to the Rashad Tate character in the Power television franchise, played by veteran actor Larenz Tate. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. highlighted the moment and juxtaposed it with a joke he made about politicians being entirely too social from a past routine. “Give him enough time, Eric Adams gone prove you right. As he did today. This joke is 2 years old,” he wrote in the post on X, formerly Twitter.
https://x.com/roywoodjr/status/1902832309264368016
The video is the latest instance that observers are pointing to in questioning Adams’ attitude about his re-election chances after a slow crowdfunding period. He’s been vague about his intentions, with persistent rumors stating that he may opt out of running in a packed Democratic primary and instead run as an independent, giving him more time to raise funds and be more definitive with his outreach. Adams has also lost a good deal of support from allies in the Democratic Party, due to his refusal to condemn the actions of President Donald Trump and his immigration agenda since taking office. Others have withheld their support due to suspecting his lobbying of Trump to have federal corruption charges against him dropped, as recommended by the Department of Justice last month.
Lizzo has long been a loud and proud advocate for embracing your body, no matter what size or shape it is. And after sharing earlier this year that she had reached her “weight release” goals and encouraging her fans that her journey is a reminder that “you can do anything you put your mind to,” the “Juice” singer told Andy Cohen on Thursday (March 20) that, frankly, she doesn’t think anyone really even understands what “body positivity” means anymore.
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“I think people don’t know what body positivity is because the body positivity movement was very political and it got taken and kind of commercialized and now body positivity to people is code word for ‘fat,’” Lizzo told Cohen on his SiriusXM show. “Like DEI is code word for Black… so they’re like, ‘Oh she’s not body positive anymore, I’m not fat anymore,’ but I’m still body positive because the body positive movement was actually created by a subgroup of people who were not put in the media, who were not praised, who were told we shouldn’t exist and we were not good enough because our bodies were bigger, or disabled, or even queer and trans.”
Trending on Billboard
Lizzo said all those traditionally marginalized communities were the latest wave of body positivity she said has been happening for “decades.” But she times her own engagement with the idea to 2016 when she began “bucking against society telling me I shouldn’t exist. I shouldn’t wear leotards and I shouldn’t like how I look.”
At that time she began speaking out about body positivity, hiring a group of plus-size dancers she named the Big Grrrls and, in 2020, telling Vogue magazine that, “I wan to normalize my body. And not just be like, ‘Ooh, look at this cool movement. Being fat is body positive.’ No, being fat is normal.”
Last year, Lizzo leaned into jokes she’d heard from people speculating that she was using one of the current popular weight-loss drugs as a helper in her health journey. She further tweaked haters by dressing up as “LizzOzempic” for Halloween in a costume inspired by a South Park episode from last May that parodied Lizzo’s well-known body positivity with a new medication: “Ask about the power of not giving a f— — with Lizzo,” the animated show joked in a commercial parody that claimed: “FDA-approved Lizzo makes you feel good about your weight, and it costs 90% less than Ozempic.”
She had a laugh about the episode, reacting by saying, “I just feel like, damn, I’m really that b—-. I showed the world how to love yourself, and now these men in Colorado know who the f— I am, and put it in their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years.” She promised, “I’m gonna keep on showing you how to not give a f—.”
You can (likely) hear all about it on the singer’s upcoming Love in Real Life album, which she announced this week is officially complete. Lizzo’s already released two songs from the upcoming LP, “Still Bad” and the title track and she’s slated to make her fourth appearance on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest alongside host Jon Hamm on April 12.
Watch Lizzo on Cohen’s show below.
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Amber Riley is back on the small screen this weekend with the final installment in the popular Single Black Female film franchise.
The former Glee star is back for another turn as Simone in Single Black Female 3: The Final Chapter, which also stars Raven Goodwin and singer K. Michelle. Want to watch the TV movie from home? Here’s what you need to know.
How to Watch Single Black Female 3 on TV
Single Black Female 3: The Final Chapter premieres this Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. You can watch Single Black Female on TV with any cable package that includes the Lifetime channel.
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How to Stream Single Black Female 3 Online Free
Want to watch Single Black Female online? We like Philo, a live television streaming service that includes a live feed of Lifetime. Use Philo to stream Single Black Female: The Last Chapter live online without cable. Philo normally costs $28 for 70+ live TV stations, but the site is currently offering a seven-day free trial that you can use to livestream Single Black Female online for free.
Sign-up for Philo before Saturday night’s airing and then log in with your subscription details to watch Single Black Female 3 online when it airs on Lifetime at 8 p.m.
Another way to watch Single Black Female: The Last Chapter online free is through DirecTV Stream, which has Lifetime as part of its channel offerings. DirecTV Stream has a five-day free trial that you can use to watch the film online for free without needing a cable subscription. Packages start at just $74.99/month after that. See details here.
What Is Single Black Female 3: The Last Chapter About?
The Single Black Female series stars Raven Goodwin as Monica, a popular Houston television host who hires Amber Riley’s Simone as her new assistant. Friends and colleagues immediately notice how much Simone looks like Monica (and how much time she spends around her), but the TV host dismisses any concerns… until things start to get deadly.
The new film picks up after Monica has — spoiler alert — been wrongfully convicted of murder, but while she’s been exonerated, she’s not out of the woods yet. Per a Lifetime description, “Though the charges against her have been dropped, the stain of suspicion lingers, and reclaiming her life, her career, and the trust of those around her is proving to be an uphill battle. Meanwhile, the real threat has yet to vanish. Simone (Amber Riley), now a fugitive, has fled to a convent in Mexico, having no choice but to abandon Houston, along with the one thing she truly cared about—her daughter, Joy (Kennedy Chanel). When a terrifying nightmare shakes her to the core, Simone becomes convinced Joy is in danger and returns to Houston, for a final reckoning. It’s only a matter of time before old grudges resurface and Monica and Simone come face-to-face.
Single Black Female 3 follows the success of Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge, which aired on Lifetime last year. You can watch that and the original Single Black Female film on-demand with a free trial to Lifetime Movie Club (via Prime Video).
You’ll have to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of the Lifetime Movie Club free trial. Not a Prime member? Get 30 days of access for free here.
The films are also available to rent or buy, starting from $2.99 on Amazon.
Memphis-bred rap star GloRilla knows a thing or two about staging a comeback.
In 2022, she exploded into the mainstream with the Grammy Award-nominated, summer-dominating “F.N.F.” — and quickly followed it up with the Cardi B-assisted “Tomorrow 2,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became her first top 10 hit on the chart.
But 2023 proved to be a far cry from her triumphant rookie year. She kicked it off with the Moneybagg Yo collaboration “On What U On,” which stalled at No. 56 on the Hot 100 — and was her only release that year to even reach the chart. Everything she dropped bricked, whether it was the radio-ready “Lick or Sum” or her direct response to detractors, “Internet Trolls.” And that March, tragedy struck when three people died in a fatal crowd surge at her concert with Finesse2tymes in Rochester, N.Y. With her commercial pull waning, everyone on the internet (trolls and otherwise) seemed to agree: Big Glo had fallen off.
“2023 was an eye-opener for me,” the 25-year-old says. “I realized that I can’t take my foot off the gas. I didn’t know I was doing that, but I did. It was a reality check when I would drop music and people would hate it. Getting closer to God was one of the key things that helped me.”
Trending on Billboard
Join us at Billboard Women in Music 2025 — get your tickets here.
Born Gloria Hallelujah Woods, the eighth of 10 children, GloRilla grew up in the church. She sang in the choir and her mother only allowed gospel music in the house; as her taste evolved and she found a home in hip-hop, gospel music and its encouraging messages remained present in her raps — from 2022’s “Blessed” to “Rain Down on Me,” a gospel-rap track from Glorious, her 2024 debut studio album.
GloRilla also looked to Yo Gotti, the rap superstar and fellow Memphian who’s now her label head, as a mentor. Since Gotti signed Glo to his CMG Records imprint in 2022, the two have worked closely to hone her sound and image, taking her from viral breakout to presidential campaign surrogate (she performed at a Wisconsin rally for former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall). “Even with all the success and accolades, she’s still the same authentic and ambitious hustler that I met back in 2022,” Gotti says of Glo.
With the help of her CMG team, renowned choreographer Sean Bankhead and creative director Coco Gilbert, GloRilla spent late 2023 plotting the perfect road map to recapture her momentum. The plan worked: With her first release of 2024, the anthemic “Yeah Glo!,” GloRilla came out swinging. Arriving in February, the motivational anthem took over nightclubs, cookouts and locker room celebrations. The song topped Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for two weeks and reached No. 28 on the Hot 100, then her highest peak for a solo single.
“To have that little break, come back with ‘Yeah Glo!’ and have it start going up on the first day [of release] — that was personal,” GloRilla tells Billboard in between rehearsals for her forthcoming Glorious tour.
“Yeah Glo!” was meant to introduce GloRilla’s debut album, but its runaway success significantly shifted those plans. “I felt like I had to build my momentum back, so that’s where the mixtape kicked in,” she explains. “We made that decision around the time ‘Yeah Glo!’ came out.” Ehhthang Ehhthang arrived in April and yielded another hit single, the Megan Thee Stallion-assisted “Wanna Be,” which later received a Cardi B remix and peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100. The week before, Megan had announced Glo as the special guest for her arena-conquering Hot Girl Summer Tour. Between Ehhthang Ehhthang and successful guest appearances on BossMan Dlow’s “Finesse” and Big Boogie’s “Bop,” GloRilla had become inescapable — and she hadn’t even launched her official album campaign yet.
While opening the Hot Girl Summer Tour in June, GloRilla released “TGIF,” which kicked her 2024 into an even higher gear. Within a week of the song’s release, Rihanna shared an instantly viral clip of herself adorably dancing and singing along to it. By February 2025, GloRilla became the first artist to simultaneously become a face of all four of Rihanna’s Fenty brands.
With Riri begging for an album in her DMs and Beyoncé posting pictures with her on Instagram, GloRilla had undoubtedly became the hottest woman MC in the game. As “TGIF” cemented her pop appeal, GloRilla kept her core audience fed — and reinforced her sound — with her feature on Real Boston Richey’s “Get in There.”
“Me and my team figured out the difference between a mixtape and album song: You just got to hear it,” she says. “My core sound is how [gritty] the mixtape sounded. When I went into album mode, I already had a lot of those songs before the mixtape — but I knew they weren’t mixtape songs.”
After months of recapturing and multiplying her momentum, GloRilla finally released Glorious in October. With collaborators ranging from Sexyy Red to Maverick City Music, Glo’s studio debut was a capstone on her massive year, earning the highest opening week total for an album by a female rapper in 2024 (69,000 units) for a No. 5 debut on the Billboard 200. Five of its songs landed on the Hot 100, including “Whatchu Kno About Me” (No. 17), which Taylor Swift later used to soundtrack an Eras Tour TikTok. “I was real excited about that,” Glo recalls. “Everybody was sending it to me — I was feeling like ‘that girl’ when she posted that.”
Now, after scoring three Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 hits in under a year and being named Billboard’s Hottest Female Rapper of 2024, Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music Powerhouse is determined to deliver an impeccable show on her tour, which commenced March 5 in Oklahoma City and will play arenas and music halls throughout the United States.
“Even though I’m not as good at dancing, I’m getting better and I learn fast,” she says, noting that her tour prep playlist includes gospel classics like Yolanda Adams’ “Open My Heart.” “I learn about two new routines a day. I like helping out with choreography because I get to do what I’m comfortable with and showcase my vision.”
Still, GloRilla isn’t as concerned with being the best rapper alive as she is with her own consistent personal growth. “I have the desire to be the best me I can be,” she proclaims.
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.
“It’s beautiful, how I have nothing to lose,” Grace VanderWaal says. After winning America’s Got Talent as a precocious, ukulele-toting 12-year-old in 2016, VanderWaal was fast-tracked into a major-label pop career, which stalled following her 2017 debut, Just the Beginning.
Eight years later, VanderWaal, now 21, has prepared a very different follow-up: Childstar, out April 4 on Pulse Records. After releasing the single “Babydoll” last month, VanderWaal unveiled “Proud” on Friday (Mar. 21), as well as spring tour dates that kick off in Chicago on May 4.
Childstar is a concept album with dark edges that unpacks the uncomfortable truths of growing up in the spotlight — and provided some long-overdue catharsis. “I did whatever I wanted,” VanderWaal says, “and made something I was proud of.”
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When did you start working on Childstar?
A little more than a year ago, but I wrote the album stupid quick. That was unexpected, but I was at a point where, due to some trauma development, all of this s–t about my childhood started spilling out. It’s what my subconscious was doing, but I wasn’t mad at it. I thought it was raw and vulnerable, so I leaned into it.
On a song like “Proud,” you sing about seeking validation as a child and feeling controlled, and the listener can’t help but think about how your career began.
I wanted to talk about subliminal conditioning and how nothing is black and white. What makes something so complicated is when there’s no one to blame — that would be so easy. If you’re getting exposed to millions of people who are saying, “You’re great at this, you’re doing good,” while your brain is literally forming — of course there would be repercussions of that. But no one did anything wrong.
What made you partner with Pulse Records?
I brought the Childstar concept to every label you can imagine, and some people liked it and some people really didn’t like it. Then I went to Pulse, and they were the first ones to not only like it, but take it more extreme. I didn’t want to sign with people who would hold back an idea, but a lot of the art and visual ideas you see have been collaborative or fully from the Pulse team.
What would you tell longtime fans who are surprised by this album’s thematic focus?
I don’t know if they would be surprised. I think there’s a very small crowd that will feel like I’m stealing a narrative. As a child, I was very aware of the purpose that I served for people — I was this hope and happiness, this innocent angel. But it’s my story to tell, so whatever thoughts those people have, I don’t really care. I’m not a symbol for you.
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco hoist up their love, Jack Harlow and Doja Cat have a blast collaborating, and J-Hope keeps pushing forward. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco, I Said I Love You First
I Said I Love You First is a creative collaboration between two halves of a shared heart, and Benny Blanco’s sonic influence exists in direct conversation with Selena Gomez’s lyrical delivery. There’s a reason why the album artwork is a glimpse of Gomez and Blanco through a keyhole — I Said I Love You First is presented as an intimate glimpse, not big-budget spectacle. Read the full review here.
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Jack Harlow feat. Doja Cat, “Just Us”
Part of the reason why Jack Harlow and Doja Cat were able to corral top talent like Matt Damon, John Mayer and PinkPantheress for the music video to “Just Us” is because they’re both top talent themselves; their new collaboration crackles with the energy of A-listers who can toss out hooks and sexual innuendos with ease, because they’ve done so plenty of times before.
J-Hope, “Mona Lisa”
J-Hope is getting more adept at finding the intersection between pop, hip-hop and R&B: new solo single “Mona Lisa” finds the BTS star melding genres with ease, dipping into his falsetto, tossing out some whoa-oa-oa’s to punctuate his passion and offering a breezy check-in that will fit right in on summer playlists.
Morgan Wallen, “I’m a Little Crazy” & “Just in Case”
To cap off the week in which he unveiled the May release date of his album I’m the Problem, Morgan Wallen released a pair of new songs that will make its 37-song (!) track list: “I’m a Little Crazy” allows the country superstar to waxing poetic about his place in the world, “Just in Case” grows into an earnest anthem, and both tracks feature Wallen’s voice dominating the mix.
Jonas Brothers, “Love Me to Heaven”
With the Jonas Brothers kicking off their 20th anniversary tour in North America, the boys decided to cook up something new to commemorate the occasion, and “Love Me to Heaven” sounds tailor-made for the stage, a zippy pop-rock sing-along complete with falsetto runs and backing vocals that will sound even better when sung by a crowd of thousands.
Editor’s Pick: Japanese Breakfast, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
If 2021’s Jubilee turned Michelle Zauner into an indie-pop star, the long-awaited follow-up For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is the sound of the singer-songwriter settling in to the spotlight without sacrificing any of her songwriting nuance. The new album explores moodier territory, but refracts the melancholy through Zauner’s ever-engaging lens, her voice more self-assured and trustworthy than ever.
FKA Twigs‘ “Childlike Things” technically took the longest of all the songs on her album Eusexua to complete, with the finishing touch ending up being North West‘s serendipitous feature on the track.
In a video posted to Instagram Thursday (March 20), the British singer-songwriter told the story of how the firstborn daughter of Kim Kardashian and Ye (formerly Kanye West) ended up on the album, which dropped in January. On “Childlike Things,” the 11-year-old raps in both English and Japanese, spitting over Twigs’ electronic dance beat, “Hello, my name is North/ From California to Tokyo/ Jesus the King/ Praise God/ Jesus is the only true God.”
According to Twigs, it all started when she was in the studio sans North and found herself blurting out long-forgotten lyrics — “I’ve got supersonic powers that are polyphonic/ Like a chocolate teapot, melt ’em down and burn ’em up” — that the Gloucestershire native composed when she was a kid. They ended up becoming the foundation for a track that was decades in the making, but she quickly realized that she needed to bring in a collaborator who could match and enhance that “childlike energy” she was tapping into.
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“It [needed] someone who has that tenacity, who has that strong point of view that you have when you’re 11,” Twigs told followers while doing her makeup for the day. “Then I saw an interview with North West, and she was so confident. It suddenly occurred to me that I would’ve loved to have a friend like North who could speak up for themselves.”
“I was like, ‘OK, it has to be North, she has to put her point of view on the song,’” she added. “She came and wrote about her faith, which I think is really powerful.”
“Childlike Things” ended up being one of 11 tracks on Eusexua, which debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 — Twigs’ highest peak on the chart to date. North had previously worked with her dad on Vultures 1‘s “Talking” and Vultures 2‘s “Bomb.”
Most recently, the pre-teen appeared on Ye’s “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine,” which also features a recording of a phone conversation between the rapper and Diddy, who is currently incarcerated while awaiting trial on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and more. (Kardashian reportedly did not approve of the song and expressed in alleged text messages posted by Ye that she’d attempted to block the release by trying to trademark North’s name, per TMZ.)
In her video, Twigs ended by remarking how “Childlike Things” came together across decades, starting before North was even born. “The crazy thing is that I wrote the song when I was 12, 13; she wrote the song when she was 11,” the musician said. “This is a collaboration that has taken decades to come to fruition. North helped make this song come to life after so many years, and for that I’m so grateful.”
Watch Twigs tell the story of how North ended up on Eusexua below.
When Playboi Carti released his long-awaited third album, Music, in the early hours of March 14, it was met with a tidal wave of interest — its songs immediately flooded the daily Spotify and Apple Music streaming charts, and it immediately became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a day in 2025. And the album — his first in nearly five years, since 2020’s Whole Lotta Red — will likely become his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it officially debuts on the chart next week.
It’s been a long time coming, and fans were certainly ready. And Carti has been building anticipation for the release for an extended period, teasing songs on social media, putting up billboards in Los Angeles, dropping singles seemingly at random and debuting new tracks in live performances, including at Rolling Loud earlier this month. That was all according to plan. “It was always kind of teasing and never fully announcing, keeping fans engaged in the mystery until we finally announced the new album was dropping,” says Carti’s manager, Opium Records president/CEO Erin Larsen. And now, with Music poised to become the biggest release of Carti’s career, Larsen has earned the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Larsen breaks down some of the strategies behind the rollout of Music, and how the team helped build anticipation for the album. “Carti’s a perfectionist,” Larsen explains. “He wants to take his time building out the music and the world around it and really developing the sound for the album.”
This week, Playboi Carti released his latest album MUSIC, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 on Spotify and likely leading to his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
Our pre-release campaign started in 2023 and that was the first time he revealed the “I AM MUSIC” logo alongside the first song release on Instagram. We focused on consistent branding throughout the longer campaign and creating different moments that tied in like the NBA jerseys, “I AM MUSIC” out of home, key press moments, teasing records during live performances, etc. It was always kind of teasing and never fully announcing, keeping fans engaged in the mystery until we finally announced the new album was dropping.
This is Carti’s first album in almost five years. Why the gap in projects, and what effect do you think that extended time between projects had on the anticipation for this eventual release?
Carti’s a perfectionist. He wants to take his time building out the music and the world around it and really developing the sound for the album. The music is a larger representation of his creative vision and I think every project he’s offered something different. He remains at the forefront of conversation when fans are wondering what direction sonically he’ll go with this album and we tried to create moments along the way to bring them into that process.
Playboi Carti photographed by Matthew Salacuse on Aug. 2, 2024 at Seret Studios in Brooklyn.
Carti has been teasing songs from this project in a variety of different ways, releasing videos solely to social media, performing unreleased songs at shows and dropping singles out of nowhere. How has that strategy helped to build towards the eventual release of the project?
This felt like an innovative approach on how to drop music. We didn’t play snippets. We dropped an entire song on YouTube or Instagram and fans tapped into those platforms to hear them because they weren’t available on DSPs. In the process, he built the hype up around the sound of the album, and we were able to see which tracks really resonated with people. The strategy really opened the conversation and made the fans feel like a part of the process.
After such an extended wait, and after a series of billboards that helped sow breadcrumbs, Carti announced the project’s release date the day before it came out. Why did you guys consider that to be the best way to announce it?
The “I AM MUSIC” branding became so integral in the rollout because it was synonymous with an upcoming Carti moment. We built the anticipation and continued to create moments to keep fans captive and engaged throughout the rollout. I think this approach intrigued new fans as well.
How do you build on this momentum moving forward for Carti?
We’re going to continue to drive awareness to the project, build the songs with strategic moments and continue to engage the core fans. His music always resonates well live and brings his vision to life, so touring will be impactful. We’ve got great partners at Interscope and will work with them to expose the music to different audiences, build records at radio, use digital marketing and socials as well as branding opportunities.
What moves the needle for an artist in 2025?
Beyond great music I would say authenticity, building a strong brand and finding a way to organically connect with your audience.