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Billie Eilish just revealed which female rapper has her vote for GOAT status — and given the fact that the MC in question is widely regarded as the Queen of Rap, the “Bad Guy” singer’s answer probably won’t be a surprise.
In a Complex video posted Thursday (March 27), Eilish and best friend/influencer Quen Blackwell discussed their greatest-of-all-time picks for a variety of different subjects. When it came to best female rapper, the nine-time Grammy winner didn’t need to think twice.
“Nicki Minaj is like, obviously …,” Eilish said. “Nicki is GOAT, for sure.”
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The star also shared her GOAT life-anthem songs, revealing, “Honestly, I’ve been listening to a lot of old Gaga — like, ‘Poker Face,’ ‘G.U.Y.,’ ‘Alejandro’ — that is my s–t right now.”
As for her favorite album to cry to, Eilish selected Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell. “‘Fourth of July,’ specifically on that album, is so upsetting,” she told Blackwell. “Deeply, deeply upsetting. And so beautiful and just so dark.”
And when it came to GOAT vocalists, the California native had a few different answers. “Off the top of my head, Ella Fitzgerald is, like, my favorite singer,” she said. “Or f–king Tori Kelly. I’ve actually been a Tori Kelly fan since I think I was 11.”
“Beyoncé, I mean, duh,” Eilish added. “That’s duh. [Her voice] is so perfect. Perfect. Unbelievable. I’ve never heard her sing, like, a flat note ever.”
Eilish is currently on a short break from her ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, which kicked off in North America in the fall. Following a run of Australian dates earlier this year, the two-time Oscar winner will resume the trek April 23 in Sweden to kick off a European leg lasting through July.
Her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, dropped in May 2024. The project reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather.”
Watch Eilish discuss her GOAT choices above.
Flashback to Oct. 19, 2024: Lil Durk was celebrating his 32nd birthday and hosted his first Birthday Bash concert a day later, taking over the United Center in Chicago, and left inspired to revamp what became his Deep Thoughts album.
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However, less than a week later, the Chitown rapper’s universe was flipped upside down when he was arrested in South Florida on federal murder for hire charges tied to a 2022 shooting allegedly targeting Quando Rondo that left another individual dead at a Los Angeles gas station.
Enter Cedrick “SB” Earsery and Kelvin Sherman, Durk’s managers, who were left picking up the pieces and tasked with delivering Deep Thoughts while having limited communication with the OTF leader behind bars in MDC Los Angeles.
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“[Lil Durk] was at a space in life where he was just ready for elevation and transitioning,” Earsery tells Billboard. “He was getting toward religion more. He got married last year on Father’s Day. He was in a new place. He had went to rehab and [was] bettering himself.”
Earsery has known Durk since he was about nine years old and was the rapper’s first manager while returning to the role close to two years ago. Sherman came into the team’s mix around the time Durk was rolling out his 2023 album, Almost Healed.
The duo worked in collaboration with in-house A&R DJ Bandz, Durk’s engineer Justin (Jusvibes) and Fred Foster on the creative direction side to execute Durk’s vision to the fullest extent for Deep Thoughts, which arrived on Friday (March 28) – about five months after the rapper’s arrest.
“Everything was with [Durk’s], blessing so we were definitely making sure he was present in all of this with phone calls,” Sherman says. “Even though we tweaked some things, the bulk of this is really Durk. We wanted to make sure it sat in the intention he went when he set out.”
What started off as the next installment of Durk’s fan-favorite Love Songs for the Streets series developed into what eventually became Deep Thoughts. Durk seemed to be intentional with every couplet while showcasing his entire artistic repertoire. The rapper’s latest includes wistful trap anthems ruminating on his trials and tribulations, as well as menacing drill tracks and more melodic songs tapping into his romantic side to cater to his female fan base — all of which were run by Durk’s legal team before heading to streaming services.
“We went into the hard drive and listened to the stuff that might fit the direction that we’re going and we pieced a masterpiece together,” SB proclaims.
I WASN’T GON PUT THIS OUT BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THE STREETS NEED THIS.NOT BEING OUTSIDE WITH Y’ALL WHEN I DROP IS HARD, BUT I KNOW I WILL FEEL Y’ALL LOVE AND ENERGY THROUGH THESE WALLSTHANK Y’ALL FOR ROCKING WITH ME THROUGH EVERYTHING. I TELL THESE STORIES SO OUR VOICE IS… pic.twitter.com/wANrqIR0xe— THE VOICE (@lildurk) March 28, 2025
Guest appearances from Future, Lil Baby, Jhené Aiko and Hunxho are sprinkled in throughout Deep Thoughts, and were all completed prior to Durk’s arrest. Sherman recalls Durk being ecstatic when Aiko’s celestial vocals came in as he bumped the duet “1,000 times” on repeat at the studio around his birthday last year.
“I feel [the] weight of responsibility because fans are gonna cook us,” Sherman adds of the pressure to nail the project. “They gonna be like, ‘It’s y’all fault! Y’all should’ve been communicating with him the best.’”
The Recording Industry Association of America quelled Sherman and SB’s worries heading into release day when the RIAA announced on Thursday (March 27) that Durk collected another 53 plaques, giving him the most certifications of any rapper in 2025 and placing him among the top 50 artists of all-time with 52.5 million units.
SB spoke with Durk a day before our interview and claims the rapper’s “mindset is good, very positive” from behind bars. “He’s happy with how things are going,” he adds.
With plenty of heat in the stash, a deluxe for Deep Thoughts is in the works. While nothing is confirmed on that front, Durk’s management team wants to keep his name alive heading into his trial, which has been pushed back to October. Durk has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
“A lot of people miss him in the marketplace,” Earsery states. “We got his career in our hands, and he’s trusting us to [tend to] that.”
Miles Minnick has enjoyed a busy 2025, and the Christian rapper is looking to elevate his artistry as he’s agreed to a deal signing with EMPIRE on Friday (March 28). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The partnership comes about as a joint venture with Minnock’s The […]
It’s been 20 years since Ding Dong’s “Badman Forward Badman Pull Up” became an ocean-crossing, generational anthem for dancers and revelers — and the man behind the iconic track is finally unleashing his debut studio album.
Billboard can exclusively reveal that, on May 5, Ding Dong (born Kemar Ottey) will release From Ding Dong to the World, an album he promises will be a breath of fresh air for the dancehall scene. Featuring production contributions from Ricky Blaze, Khalfani, Felva, Dunwell, and Black Spyda — who mixed and mastered the entire project — From Ding Dong to the World will also house collaborations with scores of dancehall superstars, including Skeng, Skillibeng, Stalk Ashley, Govana, Afro B, Popeye Caution, Vanessa Bling and Grammy-nominated rap icon Busta Rhymes. Fans can pre-save the album here.
At a succinct 13 tracks, Ding Dong’s new album aims to place him in the pantheon of dancehall greats, several of which he names as inspiration, like Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and Sean Paul, whose 2002 “Gimme the Light” music video he cites as one of the most important moments of dancehall’s dance culture being highlighted on a global scale.
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“This album is the evolution of Ding Dong,” the dancer-turned-recording artist declares. “I want to show people that I am a rounded artist, not just a dancer. This style of dancehall hasn’t been done on an album in a long time. I never knew the difficulties and the challenges of doing an album. It’s not a simple thing to get [samples] cleared, so I think the time is now. I am always current. It’s God’s will!”
Ding Dong finished the album last year, but sample clearances cosmically delayed the album release timeline to coincide with the 20-year anniversary of “Badman Forward.” One of those samples was Kris Kross’ “Jump,” which Ding Dong lifts for his new Kaka Highflames and Skeng-assisted single, “Street Jump.” Serving as the set’s lead single, “Street Jump” transposes the audacious energy of Kris Kross’ 1992 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper into a floor-quaking dancehall banger that plays on Skeng’s own penchant for leaping into the sky during his live performances. The new single arrived alongside its official music video on Thursday (March 27).
“Kris Kross was one of the artists I really messed with growing up,” explains Ding Dong. “I remember when Khalfani did the riddim and I walked in the studio and he played it – without thinking, the first thing I did was [start rapping “Jump”] over the riddim. I recorded that right away, and then mi seh, “I haffi get Skeng pon di song.”
And he did. On a clip shared to his official Instagram page — which has amassed nearly 200,000 views — Ding Dong plays the “Street Jump” riddim for Skeng as he characteristically vaults into the air because the beat moved him so much. It’s similar to what happens when a DJ drops “BadMan Forward” at a function, people simply feel compelled to move. Playing on the legacy and timelessness of “Badman Forward,” Ding Dong also included a bombastic remix of the classic featuring new-age dancehall giant Skillibeng.
“’BadMan Forward’ is the first song I recorded. If you notice, there are no verses, I just wanted to buss a dance, not a song. The version that you hear is the demo version, it’s not mixed,” reveals Ding Dong. “At the time, the willie bounce was everything but I realized di people dem wan change. So I made the song with the dance to make my mark as a dancer. When I chose the name of the song, I was told it was too long. Mi seh mi nah change it. If you wan mek change inna your life, you have to do things differently. It started in Jamaica, went to England, and then New York. The energy, the kick of the riddim and the dance itself made the song a staple within so many generations.”
Watch the official “Street Jump” music video below.
Lil Nas X has been on a tear lately. Since November, the rapper has dropped a series of songs, beginning with the dance-y “Light Again,” and the propulsive “Need Dat Boy” in late 2024. Then, this month he’s kicked things up a notch with a string of single releases in the lead-up to the as-yet-unscheduled release of Dreamboy LP, the anticipated follow-up to his 2021 debut full-length album Montero.
The flurry of activity has resulted in the surprise drop on Friday morning (March 28) of the 8-track EP, Days Before Dreamboy. The mini album collects all of Lil Nas’ recent output, including “Dreamboy,” the hard-hitting apparent title track on which he warns, “B–ch, I’m back like J. Christ,” the latter a seeming reference to his failure-to-launch 2024 single “J. Christ,” which created more controversy than chart action.
Just two days later, he was back with the no-games-played “Big Dummy,” on which he rapped “I’ma send this to the group chat/ They gon’ be like ‘who’s that?’/ I’ma be like, ‘Big X, dummy,’ now y’all know I’m comin’.” The next day (March 12), LNX hit us again with the more low-key “Swish,” the basketball metaphor-twisting ballad where he sings, “Swish, they gotta make this shot, gonna make this hot/ Swish, they gotta make this shot, gotta hit this/ I won’t miss/ Another one in, another one in.”
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He wasn’t nearly done, though, dropping the bass-thumping party jam “Right There!” on March 13, a chronicle of a wild night out, as well as a broadside against those who thought he was done. “Last year, a n–ga went missin’/ This year, I’m washin’ these n–gas like I was just doin’ the dishes/ My b–ches is n–gas, these n–gas is b–ches/ I’m drunk as f–k, what is the difference?,” he spits over gospel-like backing vocals and a crisp beat.
He capped off his frenzied release week with the Neptunes-like banger “Hotbox” and the take no mess “Lean on My Body.” They’re all collected now in one place as fans wait for news on the Dreamboy album; at press time it was not clear if all the songs on the EP will also appear on that full-length release.
Listen to Days Before Dreamboy EP below.
Ice Cube proved his hometown bona fides on Thursday (Mach 27) when he hopped in his custom blue Chevy Impala for a slow drive into Dodgers Stadium to make a very special delivery for the home team on opening day. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A […]
Lil Durk’s incarceration hasn’t stopped his music output. The Chicago rapper released his Deep Thoughts album from behind bars on Friday (March 28). With Durk behind bars inside MDC Los Angeles, his management team picked up the slack to piece together his 20-track Deep Thoughts album with his blessing. The project features assists from Future, […]
The No Fun League is back at it again. On Monday night (Mar. 26), ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak posted a screenshot from the league’s rules report that was sent out to teams recently highlighting that the “nose wipe” celebration is now deemed unsportsmanlike and will cost teams a 15-yard penalty. According to the full […]
Sauce Walka mourned the death of his friend and artist Sayso P in a lengthy Instagram post after both rappers were shot in Memphis last week.
“Words or tears can’t explain the loss I feel!” he began. “Splatt, I wish your fat ahh listened to me and stayed in the room. I told you we could smoke that blunt after security and the rest of our familia pull up.. Sosaman told you, ‘F dat weed, wait til we leave an hit Superior first.’ You always so hardheaded blood, but you know I’ma ride wit you regardless. We come together, we leave together. Wish you just went [to] DR with Shimmy and shot off, and skipped this trip to Memphis, but you was to excited I finally agreed to come to da ‘M.’”
He continued, “It’s been 4 years since @tsf1punch_10100 brought you to the familia. Did everything I could to help you change your lifestyle. From Miami to all 50 states, we been mashing and splashing together. I learned a lot from you, young spilla and [I’m] thankful for all the loyalty and support city to city, hood to hood with them sticks rap hustling! You left earth as a rich young boss, you left this earth happy and successful. I’ma make sure the world knows who you really are.”
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He added, “But unfortunately, most our kings and bosses are at war with each other. I hope one day we all stop taking lives from our communities and actually start to enjoy and build better futures for our cultures. But the streets are the streets, so I accept what came with being your big brother. I love you, Splatt.”
Rumors swirled that Sayso P was targeted because he allegedly ran off with $200K; however, his mother tried to clear things up on Facebook. “This is the type of lies and sh– that keep mothers losing our sons,” she wrote. “My son never stole anything. Never ran off with anything. Didn’t have to. Haters set him up but not because he stole a dime. He would give you his last before he stole anything. Please stop spreading rumors.”
Adding, “Let me repeat that, he did not have to take sh– from anyone. Money wasn’t a factor. He was too loyal. Too loyal to the wrong people was his biggest downfall. Haters who were envious killed my baby but I won’t let y’all steal his legacy. People see him with a stack and say anything. That was his norm.”
Sayso P, born Latorian Hunt, was 27 years old.
Congrats are in order for MGK and Megan Fox, who welcomed their first child together on Thursday (March 27). Kelly revealed the birth of their daughter in a heartfelt post to Instagram with a glimpse of their baby girl. “She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed,” MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) captioned the post with […]
