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For the fourth time in four tries this decade, Lil Baby has the No. 1 album in the country.
The rap star’s latest, WHAM (which stands for Who Hard as Me), bows atop the Billboard 200 this week (dated Jan. 18) with 140,000 first-week units. It follows the No. 1 debuts of 2020’s My Turn, 2021’s The Voice of the Heroes (with Lil Durk) and 2022’s It’s Only Me — albeit with the lowest first-week number of the four sets, and only one track debuting in the Billboard Hot 100‘s top 40: the Future and Young Thug collab “Dum, Dumb and Dumber” (No. 16).
What does the album bow mean for Lil Baby’s stardom? And what should he be focusing more on with his future album releases? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. WHAM debuts at No. 1 with 140,000 equivalent album units moved. On a scale from 1-10, how happy do you think Lil Baby should be with that first-week performance?
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Kyle Denis: A strong 8. Pulling a six-figure opening week is nothing to scoff at, and Lil Baby has done it with his last three studio albums. WHAM’s numbers are even more impressive when you consider that the album doesn’t include any of the three solo standalone singles (“5AM,” “Insecurities” and “Touchdown”) he dropped leading up to the record’s full release. Given the lukewarm reception to WHAM online from casual and devoted fans alike, WHAM’s first-week performance is a triumph for Baby.
Carl Lamarre: 10. I’m beyond elated if I’m Baby, because the internet wasn’t thinking too fondly of my release. Plus, I escaped Bad Bunny by a millisecond after he dropped his album two days after mine. For Baby, he’s no longer the indomitable force he was after his volcanic opus My Turn blitzed the industry in 2020. There’s no reason why LiAngelo Ball, an overnight success, should generate more traction than an established superstar like Baby to start the calendar year. Despite those glaring concerns, Baby ended up on top, and that’s what matters most.
Jason Lipshutz: A 7. Releasing an album in the opening week of the year can be a little dicey, as listeners divert their attentions away from Christmas music and refocus following their holiday breaks. Lil Baby placed a bet on being the biggest game in town once the calendar flipped over to 2025, and sure enough, he snagged another No. 1 debut — with a lower equivalent album units total than 2022’s It’s Only Me, but with a track list roughly half as long as its predecessor hampering streams a bit, so a six-figure bow is pretty impressive.
Michael Saponara: I think he’s gotta be at a 9. To outsell Bad Bunny and debut at No. 1 after Baby’s 2024 singles weren’t generating a ton of buzz is a major W.
Andrew Unterberger: At least an 8. Yes, things might’ve tilted differently if Bad Bunny had a full first week to work with, but the fact that Benito made such a late charge and Baby still ended up on top — while also eclipsing SZA’s revitalized SOS blockbuster — is no small feat, and speaks to the rapper’s continued resonance.
2. The star-studded “Dum, Dumb and Dumber” with Future and Young Thug is the set’s top debut on the Billboard Hot 100, entering in the top 20. Does it feel like a long-lasting hit, or is it mostly bowing so high on the strength of its guest list?
Kyle Denis: This doesn’t feel like a long-lasting hit to me, and it feels particularly tepid for Thugger’s first post-prison verse. I’d be surprised if any of the WHAM songs stick around and become hits on the level of “We Paid” or “Sum 2 Prove.” Maybe the Dominique album will fare better in that arena.
Carl Lamarre: The more I listen to it, the more I like it, but I don’t see it having the endurance of being a long-lasting hit. A torrid Future coming off three No. 1 albums in ’24 alongside Thug’s first post-jail verse should be enough to blow the top off any record, but I don’t think these guys really brought their A-game this time. It felt more like a scrimmage versus a full-throttled performance.
Jason Lipshutz: Although it might never climb higher on the Hot 100 than its current peak, I think it’s going to endure. “Dum, Dumb and Dumber” was obviously newsworthy as Young Thug’s return to the microphone, but Lil Baby and Future match his level of urgency on the track; the beat, co-produced by Wheezy, wails and pummels, letting all three stars rise toward its intensity without relenting for a chorus. That lack of a hook might limit its crossover potential, but I’d bet on “Dum, Dumb and Dumber” continuing to accrue millions of streams and dominate hip-hop playlists in the coming months.
Michael Saponara: Young Thug’s first spotlighted verse since being released from jail combined with a Future reunion is a formula for commercial success. Baby capitalized on the moment and it’s a solid three-man weave between the Atlanta trio, but I don’t see it having a ton of staying power in the Hot 100’s top 25.
Andrew Unterberger: It’s a strong song, and I don’t think it’s going to disappear from the culture completely, but I dunno if it really has enough of a hook — either in terms of a chorus or just an overall narrative coherence — to really keep listeners coming back. It’s great to hear those three voices together on a track again, though, no doubt.
3. Bad Bunny debuts just underneath Baby with his new set Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which notches 122,000 in an incomplete first week. Given that the album was released on a Sunday, already a full two days into the tracking week, do you think it’ll have a good shot at climbing to No. 1 on next week’s chart?
Kyle Denis: Absolutely. Bad Bunny dropped a compelling project, and it’s resonating with people as several songs on the album morph into breakout streaming hits around the world. Between viral quotes from a Rolling Stone interview, an NYC subway takeover, a short film, and co-hosting The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Bad Bunny has been extremely present throughout the past week, which will only help the second-week performance of Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Of course, Benito is also getting a lot of good press for his innovative approach to ticketing for his upcoming Puerto Rico residency.
But this record also already has much more positive word of mouth than his last LP, 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, and that’s probably the clearest sign that DTMF momentum is just getting started.
Carl Lamarre: I don’t see Baby’s album securing another week at No. 1 for this cycle. The fact that Bunny was only 18,000 units shy of sealing another No. 1 album after an incomplete week is telling, and worrisome for Camp Baby. There’s more chatter surrounding Bunny’s album because of the storytelling, the chances he took sonically, and the ingenious rollout. Bunny’s Rolling Stone interview and recent subway performance with Jimmy Fallon resonated more with people than Baby’s conversation with Charlamagne and his late-night outings.
Jason Lipshutz: Definitely. If you take a peek at daily streaming charts, Bad Bunny’s new album is not just performing strongly but seems to be gaining momentum, with the crackling “DtMF” leading a slew of tracks that will likely fly up the Hot 100 chart next week. The Sunday release helped prevent Bad Bunny from scoring another No. 1 album himself, but he’s got a great shot at getting there next week, especially considering that there are no new Lil Baby-sized debuts to for Debí Tirar Más Fotos to compete with.
Michael Saponara: Yeah, Bad Bunny should do another solid number next week as the tracks are still streaming well across DSPs. However, Mac Miller’s posthumous Balloonerism arrives on Friday (Jan. 17) which could interrupt Benito’s run at No. 1 pretty quickly should he claim the top spot next week.
Andrew Unterberger: Yeah it certainly should be considered a frontrunner to claim the top spot in the next couple weeks. Really cool to see Bad Bunny on track to another enduring full-length, in the wintertime no less.
4. Lil Baby’s career momentum has been trending somewhat in the wrong direction since the 2020 breakthrough of My Turn made him one of the biggest stars in hip-hop. Does WHAM and the early reception to it give you confidence that he can turn that around?
Kyle Denis: My biggest gripe with WHAM is how Baby is seemingly unwilling to deviate from the formula established with his mixtapes and first three albums. The record lacks standout moments, but it’s not a poor collection of songs – he’s just not pushing himself in meaningful or interesting ways. As it stands, Wham tells me that Baby is okay not fulfilling the role of “generation leader” that many tried to cast him in back in 2020. I think Baby has the talent to turn his momentum around, but it’s probably more of a matter of how happy he is with where he’s currently at.
Carl Lamarre: For Baby to land back-to-back No. 1 albums despite falling flat musically speaks a lot to his fanbase. They still believe in him because of his Herculean effort on My Turn. In 2020, he accomplished what few fail to do in the modern-day rap era: conquer the charts and, more importantly, the hearts of listeners. That’s why fans of artists like Roddy Ricch still have hope, as he achieved that same feat with his 2019 debut album. But, like Roddy, Baby is possibly down to his last strike after failing to connect on his previous two projects.
Jason Lipshutz: Lil Baby is an interesting case study in 2020s hip-hop, where an artist can score multiple No. 1 albums and top 10 Hot 100 hits, remain a constant presence on New Music Friday through solo tracks and collaborations, command a sizable touring audience, and yet simultaneously feel like momentum is flagging because the genre is so focused on new voices and achievements. Over the past half-decade, Lil Baby has hunkered down on a winning formula, but also hasn’t taken the artistic chances that can help superstars grow into icons. The chart-topping success of WHAM is in line with what he’s done in the past, and there’s nothing wrong with those commercial wins — but taking the next step as a leader in hip-hop may require an evolution.
Michael Saponara: Turn it around to the level of 2019-2021 Lil Baby? No, but WHAM is a step in the right direction. The test will come next month as Baby already said his Dominique album is slated to arrive in February. Is the appetite for another solo body of work there just a month out? As the great Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!”
Andrew Unterberger: It shows me that he still has the fan support that if he ever does release the right project to turn things around, it won’t be too late for him to actually do so. I don’t think this is necessarily the project for that though — it’s solid, but doesn’t really advance his artistry or sound in any meaningful way, so it seems unlikely to have an extensive impact outside of that core fanbase.
5. If you could advise Lil Baby on his next release, is there any particular direction or area of focus you’d recommend he zero in on? Anything to really recapture the excitement of his turn-of-the-‘20s run?
Kyle Denis: Lock in with one executive producer – either Section 8, Twysted Genius, or someone brand new – and try to get back to the headspace that made you sound so voracious on your biggest and best records. And keep making sure those tracklists are tight and concise, WHAM was a good step in that direction.
Carl Lamarre: I would ease down on the Autotune and tap more into his heartfelt bag like he did the intro and outro of WHAM. I thought “Listen Up” and “Streets Colder” showed flashes of the old Baby regarding candor and vulnerability. That’s what made songs like “Emotionally Scarred” and “The Bigger Picture” instant classics upon first listen. Ultimately, he could be back in everyone’s good graces if he can connect the dots and inject that same pathos into his bars on the next album.
Jason Lipshutz: I find it interesting that “The Bigger Picture” — a smart, incisive single that captured the energy around the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests — has yet to receive a proper follow-up, or anything too overtly political, from Lil Baby. Maybe he’s not interested in that lane, but his level of thoughtfulness, refined flow and broad appeal would help him dominate it, if he so chooses.
Michael Saponara: Instead of coming back next month with another solo project, I’d say to finish the joint album he teased with Future and mix in some Young Thug. I think that would really galvanize his fan base and put the rest of the rap game on notice while holding his own with a pair of his heavyweight ATL peers.
Andrew Unterberger: The answer is almost always “focus” — make an album that feels a little more purposeful in its songs, track ordering, guest list and overall messaging. I might also encourage Baby to do a team-up album with a younger, ascending rap star, someone who can maybe challenge him a little and get him a little more motivated to prove himself and his continued supremacy.
After helping to create the watery pink-and-gray cover art for Linkin Park‘s 2024 album From Zero, Frank Maddocks, the band’s art director, chopped the visual into five pieces and adapted them into collages for four alternate vinyl releases. “I wanted to develop these unique textures I could use for whatever kind of piece they could schedule, whether it was a different vinyl or CD configuration,” says Maddocks, Warner Records’ vp of creative, who has been working with the band on album artwork for 24 years. “It’s smart to think of, ‘What would be the next tier of this artwork?’ or, ‘How can it adapt and change?’”
From Zero came out with 17 alternate physical versions, known as variants, including 11 vinyl LPs, three CDs, a CD box set and two cassettes — and the combined sales of those variants contributed to Linkin Park’s debut at No. 1 on four rock album charts in late November, including Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. That may sound like a lot, but it’s now standard in today’s music industry, in which almost every hit artist, from Taylor Swift to Sabrina Carpenter to K-pop stars such as TWICE, ATEEZ and Stray Kids, markets highly priced variants to collectors and superfans.
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Today’s variant explosion is rooted in the early 2000s, when the Eagles’ 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden and AC/DC’s 2008 album Black Ice boosted their CD sales with heavily hyped Wal-Mart exclusives — and both landed No. 1 albums at a time when iTunes-style digital downloads dominated the business. In a way, these exclusives were the opposite of today’s variant explosion — each was available for sale at just one retailer. But they broke the dam. Up to that point, labels resisted deals involving exclusive albums for Wal-Mart, Best Buy or Target, fearing spurned old-school record stores might take out their frustrations by short-changing other releases. After the Eagles and AC/DC successes, artists and labels realized they could provide exclusives and release multiple separate versions, for sale directly to consumers through their own webstores or to multiple retailers. K-pop stars became masters of this practice, encouraging superfans to buy every single variant.
“The idea of having consumers run around and collect them all, and pick the best version of an album, isn’t really new,” says Adam Abramson, formerly Elektra Records’ head of sales and streaming. “In the mid-2000s, we could’ve had four or five exclusives — there might’ve been a Best Buy CD with two bonus tracks, a Target CD-DVD combo, Trans World would have a poster, Circuit City would have a T-shirt, Hot Topic would have some kind of merch item, the indies would have a promo item.”
Once streaming kicked in, artists and labels quickly realized CD sales had a disproportionate influence on the Billboard 200, so they could boost chart performance by offering fans extra material, like concert tickets or merch. For a while, the Billboard charts allowed artists to bundle physical albums with concert tickets. But that all changed when Billboard banned the practice in 2020. “The ticket bundles going away was almost a tipping point that opened the floodgates,” says Mike Sherwood, former executive vp of global commercial marketing and strategy at Capitol Records. “They had to be replaced by something, and that something became, ‘Well, this vinyl thing is happening over here, and you can make different colors and weights and packages.’”
As a result, many of today’s biggest artists have gone to extremes in putting out multiple variants. Swift is the master of this approach, scoring a No. 1 album earlier this year with the help of 859,000 first-week sales, including six vinyl versions of The Tortured Poets Department. And every time she sought a chart boost, she rolled out more versions — including not just physical LPs and CDs but digital downloads — allowing the album to remain atop the Billboard 200 for 17 total weeks. At one point in May, Tortured Poets managed to stay ahead of Dua Lipa’s No. 2 Radical Optimism, which arrived with 20 physical versions.
According to Luminate, in early 2019, the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 arrived with an average of 3.3 different versions of physical albums per week. By the end of 2023, that number had jumped to an average of 8.9 versions. During this time — which included the pandemic, the greatest gift to the vinyl business since Michael Jackson’s Thriller — annual LP sales jumped from 18.8 million to 49.6 million. “It’s a great revenue play and the margins are solid, and for many years, it’s been a growing business,” says Tom Corson, co-chairman/COO at Warner Records, Linkin Park’s longtime label. “K-pop, to some degree, helped unlock this market, as we learn from their ability to service the fan. If that manifests itself in a greater chart result, great.”
The multiple-versions trend has gone over the top in recent years. Travis Scott’s 2023 album Utopia arrived with 31 variants — and hit No. 1, of course. Last year, The Rolling Stones put out limited $38 vinyl editions of Hackney Diamonds with artwork representing each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, while a Saltburn soundtrack variant containing “bath water filled vinyl” sold out at prices ranging from $60 to $175. K-pop acts helped to pioneer this device and show no signs of stopping: In 2024, TWICE’s With YOU-th came out with 14 CD and three vinyl variants; ATEEZ’s Golden Hour: Part.2 had 23 CDs, six LPs and three digital downloads — and both hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in their debut weeks.
One artist who pushed back — gently — on the practice was Billie Eilish, who said she would limit her variants on 2024’s Hit Me Hard and Soft to a conservative eight, all packaged with recycled materials, but wound up releasing 14. “We are doing everything we can to minimize waste in every aspect of my music,” she said at the time.
But there are business downsides to the multiple-variant approach. “Fans are talking it up and figuring out what color or version they want, and there’s a fun element to that,” Abramson says. “But you’re making people choose, oftentimes with limited resources financially, which one they want, knowing they can’t get them all. It’s a little unfair to get them to spend maybe 40 extra dollars to get one extra song.”
The market for endless physical variants may show signs of over-saturation: Fall Out Boy’s 2023 album So Much (for) Stardust dropped with 31 physical versions in its first week, but LP copies were marked down by 30% during a recent holiday sale from retailer The Sound of Vinyl, suggesting low demand. “It’s a point of differentiation if you have something other people don’t have — that’s a lovely thing and you can market around it,” adds Carl Mello, director of brand engagement for New England music chain Newbury Comics, which benefits from variants when labels release exclusive LPs and CDs for release-date events and Record Store Day. But, he says, “The vinyl colors have been so omnipresent. By the time the 12th color rolls around, the average consumer will be like, ‘So what?’”
Labels nonetheless remain committed to their multiple-variant strategy — although, according to Peter Standish, Warner Records’ senior vp of marketing, they should study which artists’ fans crave collectors’ items and which ones don’t. Warner’s analytics department attempts to predict how many copies of a given album might sell so it doesn’t lose too much money, given the expense and long lead times for LPs. “We are trying to offer at least one configuration that’s competitive financially — then maybe more elaborate ones, with more packaging, for a harder-core fan,” he says. “But you also want to balance that with not overwhelming them with choice.”
A version of this story appears in the Jan. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.
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Just when it seemed like Cam’ron might have put an end to his unforeseen drama with Jim Jones with his epic rant on It Is What It Is, 50 Cent decided to egg on the drama as he’s known to add fuel to whatever fire is burning within his vicinity.
Though Cam stated that he would no longer entertain any back-and-forth with Jim after speaking on the matter, 50 Cent made no such promises and is still looking to troll the former Dipset Capo for talking greasy about him. Taking to the Gram to continue to poke fun at Jim Jones, 50 Cent posted a clip of Cam’s now famous clapback at Jim Jones’ credibility and in the caption wrote, “Individual 1, I mean joMo, jimmy you better holla at Cam privately and chill out.”
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Referring to him as “Individual 1” is a shot at Jones, as 50 has accused him of cooperating with feds in the entire Tekashi 6ix9ine investigation that led to the arrest of multiple Blood members in Tekashi’s former circle. He even included a shot of Mase eating popcorn on the sideline with a caption that read, “This is the worst part of the video LOL HARLEM !”
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While Jones was noticeably silent after Cam’s video made the rounds on social media, it seems like the man was cooking up a little response in the studio. Earlier today (Jan. 14), he previewed a clip to a new song on his Instagram page that may or may not be a response to both Cam’ron and 50 Cent. Though he doesn’t say anyone’s name he does include some references to Cam’ron’s response to his interview with Justin Laboy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEzbQ-2uwAX/
We don’t know where this is going or where it’s going to end, but we just hope these grown ass men don’t take it to a violent level. Everyone here’s a millionaire and there isn’t any need for anyone to put their freedom or their health in jeopardy over ego. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think about this entire situation between Jim Jones, Cam’ron and 50 Cent? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Billboard Magazine is looking at BigXthaPlug as Rap’s newest star. He has been chosen to grace the cover of their “Future Of Hip-Hop” issue.
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This week the music industry trade publication released their first cover series of 2025. On the cover BigXthaPlug is featured and with a headline that reads “BREAKS THROUGH GENRE NOW”. In the exclusive interview he details his come up, his recent success and more. Early in the feature he explains that his father was the one who saw his musical talent early on. “The first time I remember having a mic in my face was when I was about 9 or 10 years old. My pops took me to this spot, and right in the middle of the room, there was a round wooden table with a mic…” he revealed. “Then they just put me on the mic, and I just started rapping. Afterwards, my dad told me, ‘You’re good—you need to rap for real.’ That was one of my earliest memories for sure.”
Later on BigXthaPlug explains his creative process and makes it clear that he makes music for everyone. “I’m talking about something,” he explains. “A lot of older people who love music—that’s what they grew up on: actual substance. Here’s this young dude that sounds old, but he’s on these young-old beats. I literally mixed everything up so everybody could love it.”
Billboard Magazine’s “Future Of Hip-Hop” issue is out now. You can view BigXthaPlug’s interview below.
The 2025 MusiCares Person of the Year event honoring the Grateful Dead is still set for Jan. 31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, MusiCares announced on Tuesday (Jan. 14). The announcement, first reported in Variety, came one day after the Recording Academy announced that the 67th Grammy Awards were still on for Feb. 2.
Many had expected the Academy to reverse course and postpone the date of the Grammy telecast after all, but the announcement that the top Grammy Week event outside of the telecast is still on gives the impression that the academy is indeed planning to move forward with the show.
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“Your attendance at Persons of the Year and your ongoing generosity will support these continued vital efforts, helping those in urgent need and signaling to the world that this vibrant city is on its feet,” MusiCares said in a statement that it is emailing to Recording Academy members.
“At our upcoming Persons of the Year, we will make a special appeal for donations to support our wildfire relief efforts. We invite you to join us in spreading the word to your friends and family by sharing this link: www.musicares.org/FireRelief.”
In a joint statement on Monday (Jan. 13), Harvey Mason jr., CEO of both the Recording Academy and MusiCares, and Tammy Hurt, the chair of the academy’s board of trustees, suggested that the Feb. 2 show would combine the fund-raising goal and emotional appeals of a telethon with award presentations. “This year’s show, however, will carry a renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours,” they said.
Even before the Grammys announced plans to go on with the show, Lucas Keller, president/founder of Milk & Honey Management, announced that he was canceling Milk & Honey’s popular Grammy party. “It would be tone deaf to celebrate and I hope all other companies will follow suit,” he wrote on his Instagram Story.
Many followed Keller’s lead. Just hours after the Recording Academy announced that it planned to go ahead with the telecast, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced it was canceling all of the company’s Grammy-related events, including its artist showcase and after-Grammy party, and will instead “redirect the resources that would have been used for those events to assist those affected by the wildfires.” Within 24 hours, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment had also canceled their Grammy Week events. And on Tuesday (Jan. 14), BMG announced that it too was canceling its annual pre-Grammy party.
Additionally, many executives not based in Los Angeles expressed concern about taking up hotel rooms that may be needed by evacuees and planned not to attend.
The Recording Academy has yet to announce the host of this year’s Grammys. The announcement was expected last week but has been delayed to avoid stepping on the main news about whether the show was going to proceed or not. The announcement is expected soon.
MusiCares conveyed the news in an email to members on Tuesday (Jan. 14). It appears in full below.
“We hope you and your loved ones are safe. We’re reaching out to assure you that the MusiCares Persons of the Year will take place as planned on Friday, January 31, 2025, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
“As the devastation unfolds from the wildfires in greater Los Angeles, MusiCares is committed to supporting the impacted music community. When the crisis began, we launched our Fire Relief Effort with a $1 million contribution from the Recording Academy and MusiCares.
“Your attendance at Persons of the Year and your ongoing generosity will support these continued vital efforts, helping those in urgent need and signaling to the world that this vibrant city is on its feet.
“Now more than ever, our mission is critical. For more than three decades, MusiCares has been a steadfast partner to the music industry during times of need, offering aid in response to a variety of disasters. From the Las Vegas Route 91 shooting and the COVID-19 pandemic to Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Helene, the California and Maui wildfires. MusiCares is here to help—no matter the size or scope of the crisis.
“At our upcoming Persons of the Year, we will make a special appeal for donations to support our wildfire relief efforts. We invite you to join us in spreading the word to your friends and family by sharing this link: www.musicares.org/FireRelief
“Thank you for your support during this crucial time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. We look forward to coming together for this important cause.
Best regards,
MusiCares
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The report by Special Counsel Jack Smith on Donald Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election was released, with many on social media outraged at the findings.
Early Tuesday morning (January 14), the report by Special Counsel Jack Smith on the alleged attempts by Donald Trump to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election was released, sending shockwaves as the report rebuked the president-elect for his efforts. “Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith stated in the report.
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report painfully reminds us of just how far the conservative justices were willing to go: pic.twitter.com/M6GwQw5Tlf
— Shanlon Wu (@shanlonwu) January 14, 2025
The damning 137-page report explicitly connected Trump to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, that left five dead and 140 police officers injured, having encouraged “violence against his perceived opponents” after losing the presidential election in 2020 to Joe Biden. Smith also highlighted how Trump and his accomplices, including Rudy Giuliani, attempted to overturn the results in Arizona and Michigan. The report also detailed racist threats made to District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, and how Trump encouraged the isolation of his then-Vice President Mike Pence to compel him not to certify the 2020 results.
Smith wrote that he made the move to quickly indict Trump to not impact the 2024 presidential election. “Because of the Office’s deep familiarity and experience with these policies, it focused on completing both of its investigations promptly and making timely charging decisions, long before the election,” he wrote. Smith resigned as Special Counsel last week, and while the report has been sent to Congress, it’s assured there will be no further action since Republicans control both the House and the Senate. There is a second volume of the report related to the classified documents case against Trump. Still, Attorney General Merrick Garland has opted to wait until the legal proceedings against Trump’s co-defendants have ended.
The report has left many online upset at the evidence against the president-elect, seeing it as justice being denied. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Denise Wheeler, a novelist, laid the blame squarely at Garland’s feet with her post: “Merrick Garland waited until late 2022 to appoint a special counsel to investigate the biggest & most treasonous criminal in our country’s history. Yet it wasn’t until after Trump announced his candidacy that Garland acted. This wasn’t weakness. It was flat-out intentional.”
The 2025 Calibash concert has been rescheduled amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles. Originally scheduled to take place Saturday (Jan. 18) at Crypto.com Arena, the event — presented by SBS Los Angeles, Mega 96.3FM and 97.9FM La Raza — will now take place Friday, March 7. Confirmed artists include Maluma, Wisin, Xavi, Manuel Turizo, Emilia, […]
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Last September, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would conduct its first federal review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. On Friday, the DOJ released the findings from its review — only about a century and three and a half years late.
As the Guardian noted, a June 1921 report on the race massacre by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation, which preceded the FBI, blamed the attack that killed hundreds and leveled an entire affluent Black neighborhood on Black men and, alleging that the white perpetrators of one of the most notorious white supremacist attacks in American history did not violate any federal laws. (And people say objective journalism is dead. When was there ever objective journalism? Certainly not when white men were the only demographic allowed in the field.) The DOJ’s report, however, acknowledged who the true villains were during the massacre, and that the vicious attack on Black residents by the white mob “was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence.”
“The Tulsa race massacre stands out as a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community,” Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s civil rights division, said in a statement. “In 1921, white Tulsans murdered hundreds of residents of Greenwood, burned their homes and churches, looted their belongings, and locked the survivors in internment camps.”
“Until this day, the justice department has not spoken publicly about this race massacre or officially accounted for the horrific events that transpired in Tulsa,” the 126-page report was conducted by a team of lawyers and investigators from the Emmett Till Cold Case Unit of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division went on to say. “This report breaks that silence by rigorous examination and a full accounting of one of the darkest episodes of our nation’s past. This report lays bare new information and shows that the massacre was the result not of uncontrolled mob violence, but of a coordinated, military-style attack on Greenwood.”
Investigators for the review “spoke with survivors and with descendants of survivors, examined firsthand accounts of the massacre given by individuals who are now deceased, studied primary source materials, spoke to scholars of the massacre and reviewed legal pleadings, books, and scholarly articles relating to the massacre,” the report says. And yet, the living survivors of Tulsa and their descendants have repeatedly been denied reparations for all that they suffered and lost by the state of Oklahoma. They wanted long-overdue restitution, and all they got was a lousy review of what we already knew about the event.
Clarke noted in the review that “there is no living perpetrator for the justice department to prosecute.” So, basically, no reparations, no justice, only a century-late document confirming that what happened actually happened.
But that’s America for ya.
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I might swerve and bend that corner whoaaaa. LiAngelo Ball has had the streets on fire with his 2005 Nelly, Country Grammar resurrection song, ‘Tweaker’. Once Gelo hopped on the streamer, Neon’s show, and previewed the song he instantly had the internet in a frenzy. Through all the memes, there was an audience that actually enjoyed the song. The nostalgia of it, and the triple layering of his vocals gave a Chamillionaire – esk feel to it.
Hot 107.9’s DJ Holiday, Devin Steel, & The Morning Hustle’s Kyle Santillian broke down why people on the internet went from trolling the song to actually enjoying it:
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Now that the record has its own legs, the record labels started calling. Def Jam Records has become the winner of the G3 bidding war. Landing the Ball Brother for $13 Million. Yup, you heard it right, 13 M’s. Not only is LiAngelo now a Def Jam artist, but Rolling Loud has given him a prime spot on the next festival. So make sure to bring your oversized white tee, bandage, & some timbs.
G3’s song “Tweaker” is nowhere near done blowing up. Even though he’s known for basketball, Gelo’s showing off his musical skills too. It’s clear that Gelo’s not just about hoops—he’s out here making moves in the rap game too. The track’s been getting love, and it’s no surprise he’s starting to make waves in the music world. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room was blasting Gelo’s track “G3” while Donovan Mitchell was being interviewed. Players were all singing along, spitting the lyrics like they’d known the song for months. Mitchell couldn’t believe it, and jokingly said, “Yo, y’all already know the words? The song just dropped yesterday!”
Get your money Gelo, we ain’t mad atcha’.
Check out Hip-Hop Wired’s reaction to LiAngelo Ball’s ‘Tweakin’ song:
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are among the lucky few who have been able to return home amid the fires that continue to devastate Los Angeles. The Cravings author, who has been sharing resources for fire victims via social media, took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (Jan. 13) to reveal that she and her […]