Billboard Cover

22 Aug 2024

A$AP Rocky’s Rise: The Rap Star’s Harlem Roots to Family Life With Rihanna | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star A$AP Rocky has made significant waves in the music industry, and in a revealing interview, he shares more than just his music. During a tour around Harlem, he discusses his deep connection to the neighborhood that raised him and its lasting impact not only on his music but also on his parenting style. He highlights the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, how fatherhood has changed him, his relationship with Rihanna and more!

A$AP Rocky:

Yo Billboard. What’s up? Pretty Flacko over here, aka A$AP Rocky, and I’m taking y’all on the walk with me through Harlem. Let’s get it. This is technically the beginning of Harlem. 100 and 10th Street is where Harlem starts. I was born on the 116th up this way is St Luke’s Hospital, and right here is Booker T Washington, my middle school. A lot of memories around here. Middle School is where it all happened: fashion, girls, bad grades. Yeah, back in the days, we used to wear Pelle Pelles, Wissams, Rocawear, Cap USA. I couldn’t afford Apollo Signature back then. I ain’t gonna lie, that was really- 

Damien Scott:

Nobody know about that. Nobody knows- 

That sh*t. Apollo Signature is way too expensive. Melba’s is probably one of the only places still like creating a community. We walk in here you gonna see aunties, uncles, grandmas, grandpops.

All generations. 

Cousins, yeah, youngsters and everybody, come here on good time and not bad time. You feel me. This is Sunday afternoon. They having a block party outside. It don’t even matter that I’m here right now. My presence is just like it’s just adding to it. It’s a cherry on top. That’s Harlem. Cheers. Look at that, the legend. Dap, what’s up legend, what’s up?

Dapper Dan:

I love it.

What’s going on man? 

Dapper Dan:

They told me you was here man. I came to say hi and let people know how you inspire them. Thank you for coming to Harlem now. Thank you for being here because I brag about you all the time. 

Keep watching to find out more!

22 Aug 2024

A$AP Rocky: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

In the back room of an industrial art space in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, A$AP Rocky is venting. Not about the muddled reaction his first official AWGE clothing collection garnered at Paris Fashion Week. Not about the devoted fans who keep asking what’s going on with A$AP Mob, the long-dormant hip-hop collective he co-founded nearly two decades ago. And, surprisingly, not even about the potshots Drake sent his way during the Rap Civil War that took place earlier this year.

Nah, tonight Rocky is venting about children’s TV shows — Cocomelon, to be specific. “That s–t is driving me nuts! Don’t tell my girl I said that,” he says before flashing his million-dollar smile, tonight speckled with platinum and diamonds, and letting out a laugh. “I’m totally joking, I don’t give a s–t. She’s tired of it, too, probably.”

His girl, of course, is Billboard chart-­topping, Grammy Award-winning, billionaire business mogul Rihanna. The two first met over a decade ago when they were rehearsing for their joint performance of her “Cockiness” remix at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. The following year, Rocky joined the North American leg of her Diamonds World Tour as the opening act; a few public appearances together later — 2018’s Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week, Rihanna’s 2018 Diamond Ball and the 2019 London Fashion Awards — speculation began swirling that the two were more than just friends. By 2021, after a series of high-profile outings including a Bajan vacation, the two stylish superstars made their relationship official when, in a GQ interview, Rocky called Rihanna “my lady” and the “love of my life.”

Read the full Billboard cover story here.

15 Aug 2024

Behind Chayanne’s ‘Bailemos Otra Vez’ Tour & His 40 Years Of Success | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Chayanne takes Billboard behind the scenes of his rehearsal and creative process for his upcoming tour, Bailemos Otra Vez. Chayanne shares what his fans can expect from his tour, reflecting on his 40 years in the industry and what he owes his success to. He also talks about how he wants to take his fans down memory lane, his viral Instagram photo and more.

Leila Cobo:

Elmer Figueroa Chayanne Chancito

Chayanne:

A.K.A. Chanchito.

I am going to start calling you Chancito from now on. 

Whatever you want. People who loved me so much called me Chancito, my mom, my grandmother. 

When you are feeling bad, do you talk to yourself and say: Chancito, you can do it?

Chancito, you can do it. Also Chancito, you know that we use the diminutive when we are small children. So, like Chayanne, what we were talking about before, it comes from mom. This is not a name created for music. So, since I was a little boy I was Chancito and so was my grandmother, that diminutive of love for the little boy. And it’s a good thing that later the “ito” went away and Chayanne stayed. Chancito, Chancito.

But I like it. 

No I’m kidding, too.

Three, three.

Yes, three. Three syllables.

Chancito, Chayanne, Chayancito. Chayancito, no. 

It’s better double: A-A.

Yes, Chayanne.

Imagine that in the show, so beautiful to hear when you are there, you feel the love that they are giving you. 

Yes, and it still moves you? Then, you are backstage, you haven’t come out and the lights go down, then everybody starts screaming and you hear them say Chayanne, Chayanne. 

Leila, it is amazing, because it has been many years, I remember staying at the hotel and suddenly from the street they would start screaming and you were in the room and you would come out, you could go out in your bathrobe or you could go out… 

Keep watching for more!

19 Jul 2024

Spend 24 Hours With Latto | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Latto is making big moves in the world as Big Mama. Come spend 24 hours with Latto and watch as she preps for her 2024 BET Experience performance and gives you the inside scoop on her creativity and what’s to come next!

Latto:

What Z failed to mention was, I gotta pull my pants down, butt booty naked and get a shot in the butt with a long needle. Actually the IV hurt worse than the butt maybe ’cause I got a lot of cushion back there. What’s up Billboard, it’s Big Latto and I’m gonna spend the next 24 hours with y’all. Let’s go. Feeling a little under the weather, a latto under the weather right now actually. But I’m gonna thug it out, I always do. Everybody waiting on me. I need to get some hydration. Let me show y’all what I do. Hey Z.

Z:

Latto is my favorite energy period. 

Latto:

Period. 

Interviewer:

So for people who don’t know, who is Latto? 

Latto:

Who is Latto? That’s a good question cuz I’m always like Alyssa. Latto is just Alyssa at work. Alyssa’s just 23 year old Capricorn. Did I just say 23? I did not just try to lie about my age like that. I’m definitely 25, I’m about to be 26. I started rapping in like eight years old for real. What was I rapping about? I was rapping about like haters in school. And my daddy had like a whole bunch of like old school cars and like I was probably like, my daddy picked me up from school in that candy paint don’t. I feel like eight year old me was more cocky than I am now. My sound today I feel like is very southern rooted, no shade it’s not a viral sensation.

Keep watching for more!

17 Jul 2024

Charli XCX Takes Fans Through a Day In Her Life | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Charli xcx made a statement this summer with BRAT. She takes us through a day in her life in London, showing us her favorite spots and reflecting on how her previous records contributed to her current success. She explains how her BRAT inspiration transpired and why the BRAT green is uncool, her Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan and more!

Charli XCX:
Hi, Billboard. I’m Charli XCX. Let’s spend 24 hours together.

This is Artwords — this is a bookshop that I sometimes come into. It’s on a very cute street by London Fields and I just like to come here on the weekends when I’m in London. To be honest, I don’t read loads. I won’t lie — I’m more of a movie watcher, but I definitely go through phases where I’m, like, really on a book, you know? The book I’m reading at the moment is David Bailey’s autobiography. He is an amazing British photographer. I really like reading David Sedaris books, I love reading Natasha Stagg’s books, but I’m not a big fiction reader, to be honest. I like reading about people who exist in the real world and their stories and how they’ve ended up where they are.

I’ve definitely been on a journey with my creative process and the music that I make and I think … You know, my first record, True Romance, which I think literally, like, 11 people heard, is one that is really dear to me and I love it. And I think it’s, in my opinion, stood the test of time, but you know, obviously, everyone else will have their own opinions on that. But after that record, I made a much more, I don’t know, kind of like a commercial-sounding record which is what I wanted to do at the time.  

Keep watching to learn more!

20 Jun 2024

Ty Dolla $ign: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

You won’t see Ty Dolla $ign’s name in the production credits for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” But without him, the song that this spring put an exclamation point on Lamar’s long-­simmering beef with Drake — a jovial but menacing track primarily produced by Mustard, built around a pulsating set of strings — might very well not exist.

Long before Mustard became the top purveyor of Cali bounce, he was a friend and student of Ty’s. They both rolled with a crew called Pu$haz Ink that included artists across disciplines — rappers, singers, graffiti artists, producers and even a few gangsters for good measure. As part of the group’s in-house production squad, Ty would host the crew at his home while he cooked up beats for them. And while he toiled away, the young DJ Mustard steadily documented everything he saw, clocking Ty’s every move to see just how the magic was made. One night, the crew was having a party at a house in Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills neighborhood when Mustard played the song “Scotty” by Atlanta snap group D4L; Ty still remembers how everyone went crazy and started dancing. He was blown away by the beat’s simplicity, which reminded him of the jerk music then growing in popularity in California.

The next morning, still inspired, Ty started making some new beats. One of his production partners, Chordz, gave him a record to sample that Ty slowed down and pitched perfectly to accentuate the 808s, hi-hat, a snare and a piano sound. The beat became “Toot It & Boot It,” the 2010 debut single for Ty’s Pu$haz Ink peer, the rapper YG — and Ty’s first hit record. But, more importantly, the beat laid the foundation for what became the de facto sound of the West Coast for the next decade, one that Mustard perfected and made his own.

Read the full Billboard Ty Dolla $ign cover story here.

17 Jun 2024

St. Vincent: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

“Did you come in when I was dressed like a sperm?”

Despite her wry tone, Annie Clark — the artist better known as St. Vincent — isn’t joking. Not quite an hour earlier, Clark was posing for her Billboard photo shoot in a hooded, ruffled cream mini-dress in front of a billowing blush-pink backdrop meant to evoke a different bit of human anatomy. (Let’s just say the setup was a spiritual descendant of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work.)

As St. Vincent, Clark conjures an enigmatic, opaque aura. But today, she’s in a frank, funny and freewheeling mood. She jests about the suggestive pictures of female models plastered on the walls around us (“Boner patrol, look out!”) and swerves easily from topics highbrow (abstract Russian painter Kazimir Malevich) to low (an off-and-on gamer, she was briefly obsessed with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). Clark chose to soundtrack her shoot with David Bowie’s coke-fueled 1976 classic, Station to Station, and as we gush over it, the singer-songwriter gives her beige Prada jacket a little shake. “I do like to think this trench coat is giving ‘Dancing in the Street,’ ” she says, referencing the outrageously ’80s music video for Bowie and Mick Jagger’s hit cover. “Minus the cocaine.”

Much like Clark herself, St. Vincent’s Grammy Award-winning output — which has run the gamut from twee indie to ass-­kicking art-rock to conceptual electropop — is an arresting mix of the intellect and the id. Her latest album, All Born Screaming, can be experienced as an atavistic staring contest with existence — or simply as a rippin’ alt-rock record.

Read the full 2024 Billboard Pride cover story here.

13 Jun 2024

RIIZE Shares New Mini Album ‘RIIZING,’ Their Musical Inspirations & More | Billboard Cover

Up-and-coming K-pop boy group RIIZE is ready to shine with their new mini album, RIIZING. The boys sat down and shared who their musical influences are, what to expect from their new album, how they knew they wanted to sing and more in their Billboard cover interview!

Anton:
The team’s motto, sort of, is to rise and realize. I think we’re doing pretty well and slowly going up. That’s our goal. 

Shotaro:
Since middle school, I’ve always liked being on stage. I think in high school is when I specifically had the thought of wanting to become an artist. Hi, I’m Shotaro. Music I’ve been into lately … I listen to a variety of genres. Artists that have inspired me are Justin Timberlake, Usher, pH-1.

Sohee:
First impression … I think we were very shy. 

Shotaro:
In the beginning, we didn’t talk much. It took some time for us to get to know each other.

Anton:
I think we got close once we started having, like, dance practice together. All of us sweating and dancing, that was a really natural way for us to open up.

Shotaro:
There was also that goofing around together.    

Sohee:
The first moment that I realized I wanted to become an artist was when I was a student. I sang in front of other people for the first time. Music that I normally enjoy, it differs from time to time, but recently I’ve been listening to Justin Bieber. I think K-pop was just a part of our lives naturally growing up. For me in particular, I think when I was a trainee, I started to look into it more and started to like it more. I think we naturally looked up to senior artists at our label.   

Keep watching to learn more!

13 Jun 2024

RIIZE Shares New Mini Album ‘RIIZING,’ Their Musical Inspirations & More | Billboard Korea Cover

Up-and-coming K-pop boy group RIIZE is ready to shine with their new mini album, RIIZING. The boys sat down and shared who their musical influences are, what to expect from their new album, how they knew they wanted to sing and more in their Billboard Korea cover interview!

Anton:
The team’s motto, sort of, is to rise and realize. I think we’re doing pretty well and slowly going up. That’s our goal. 

Shotaro:
Since middle school, I’ve always liked being on stage. I think in high school is when I specifically had the thought of wanting to become an artist. Hi, I’m Shotaro. Music I’ve been into lately … I listen to a variety of genres. Artists that have inspired me are Justin Timberlake, Usher, pH-1.

Sohee:
First impression … I think we were very shy. 

Shotaro:
In the beginning, we didn’t talk much. It took some time for us to get to know each other.

Anton:
I think we got close once we started having, like, dance practice together. All of us sweating and dancing, that was a really natural way for us to open up.

Shotaro:
There was also that goofing around together.    

Sohee:
The first moment that I realized I wanted to become an artist was when I was a student. I sang in front of other people for the first time. Music that I normally enjoy, it differs from time to time, but recently I’ve been listening to Justin Bieber. I think K-pop was just a part of our lives naturally growing up. For me in particular, I think when I was a trainee, I started to look into it more and started to like it more. I think we naturally looked up to senior artists at our label.   

Keep watching to learn more!

06 Jun 2024

Brent Faiyaz: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

At just 10 years old, Christopher Brent Wood’s metamorphosis into indie disruptor Brent Faiyaz began.

As he collected CDs by D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Joe, among other R&B/hip-hop artists, the youngster would steadily pore over album liner notes, absorbing the behind-the-scenes details of how his favorite albums were made. By middle school, he had set up his first home studio, with a USB mic and downloaded software — the start of his shift from music fan to music-maker.

“I was making money selling beats; that’s how I got a lot of my friends when I was younger,” Faiyaz, 28, recalls today of his teenage years in the Baltimore area. “It’d be like grown motherf–kers coming to the house to get beats off me. My parents were like, ‘Who are these grown adults coming by the house? What’s going on?’ ”

Faiyaz’s parents had once pushed him to attend college. But eventually, that morphed into, “Can you just please graduate [high school]?” Faiyaz recalls with a chuckle, “because my grades were so bad. It was like you can do something all day every day, but if it’s not bringing no money to the house, they figured you needed a plan B or C. But music was all I wanted to do. So I kind of had to prove them wrong.”

Faiyaz has done just that. Since he began releasing his own music on SoundCloud over a decade ago, he has upended the contemporary R&B scene with his raw, frank lyrics and ’90s-vibed alt-R&B sound — and become a bona fide mainstream hitmaker in the process.

Read the full Brent Faiyaz Billboard cover story here.