genre hiphop

Meek Mill Addresses Claim He Was Held for Ransom by L.A. Gang for $50K

Meek Mill took to X to address claims made by recently incarcerated Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crip rapper Luce Cannon in a resurfaced clip.

After Cannon was swept up in the Eugene ‘Big U’ Henley Jr. RICO case, Akademiks TV posted a three-minute video of the rapper making the claim on DJ Akademiks’ podcast Off the Record, saying he and others ran up on Meek Mill over “talking real reckless on Twitter” during a club performance, took him outside, and made him call Rick Ross to pay $50,000 for his release.

Meek then posted a screenshot from a HipHopDX article and claimed that he never met Luce Cannon and doesn’t know who he is. “This guy must be using a story to confuse his indictment because I never seen him B4,” he tweeted. “I woulda put him to ‘gods test’ on the spot! I never even met buddy but I don’t ‘negotiate’ with fake thugs ask him what chain because all my chains some sh– lol watches all 300k up vibes.”

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He then added that he’s respected out West after a fan said they hadn’t heard Cannon’s story up and until recently when responding to another claiming the only reason Meek addressed this at all is because Luce is currently locked up.

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“It’s a real world,” he said. “Real LA n—as that respect the sh—t out me how I carry myself in an open arms wya to build my people up ion care where you from… that’s why you seen my around NIPSEY and others … men of respect and honor!”

Adding, “Me, Nipsey, YG, Mustard and few others made sure we didn’t follow the East Coast West Coast narrative! I changed my life by blessings …. but i always been down to meet up with ‘fake street bullies’ in abandon areas where it’s no civilians and take they heart!”

Big U and Luce Cannon are accused of racketeering, extortion, human trafficking, fraud and the murder of a 21-year-old aspiring rapper who signed to Big U’s Uneek Music label, among other charges.

Playboi Carti’s ‘Music’ Goes No. 1 & Ye Leaks ‘Bully,’ But Is He Back?: ‘Billboard Unfiltered’

Playboi Carti debuted atop the Billboard 200 with Music, earning just under 300,000 total album units in its first week on the chart.

Billboard Unfiltered returned with a brand-new episode on Wednesday (March 26) featuring The Breakfast Club‘s Nyla Symone as a special guest, and the crew debates Carti’s massive debut numbers, Ye’s Bully leak and more.

“I wasn’t surprised at this level of commercial success from Carti,” staff writer Kyle Denis said. “It was really more confirmation of his past five years of how he’s positioned himself as the leader of the new gen. The kids love this man.”

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“Rather Lie” featuring The Weeknd debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been serviced to radio, which could position itself as the longest-lasting hit from Music.

Deputy editor Carl Lamarre compared “Rather Lie” to feeling inspired by Drake and SZA’s No. 1 hit “Slime You Out.” “Weeknd’s verse was very ‘Slime You Out.’ I’m just saying he was inspired,” Lamarre alleged.

The conversation moved to finding the “big three” in rap behind Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. The crew seemed to agree that behind them it’s looking like Playboi Carti, Travis Scott and Tyler, The Creator have solidified themselves as the next superstars.

“Numbers don’t lie,” senior charts & data analyst Trevor Anderson said.

Denis added: “The kids really f— with those two [Playboi Carti and Travis Scott]. We see it in the streams go crazy, the hard sales go crazy when they put up stuff for you to buy, the ticket sales be going crazy, the festival crowds go crazy and they got the cultural pull. Carti wasn’t necessarily getting chart hits the past five years, but was still a bigger cultural presence than a lot of rappers that were getting hits.”

With people complaining about the lack of new stars in rap, Anderson wonders if he’ll receive a true mainstream push in the form of radio play, award show performances and commercial accolades. “Clearly you have evidence millions of people f–k with this dude so why not open the door,” he said.

Ye (Kanye West) returned with the leaked release of his Bully album last week, which drew positive reviews from fans even in the midst of his hateful tirades on X.

“From what I heard, I do like it,” Symone said. “I never doubted Ye couldn’t come back, but as far as being excellent at his craft, he’s never swayed from that.”

Denis believes the “curatorial” and “sequencing” skills have “disappeared” for Ye following 2016’s The Life of Pablo. “I haven’t had a favorable listening experience top-to-bottom in quite some time,” he said.

Lamarre thinks fans are still hanging onto the hope of Ye being able to put everything together once again and have it pay off in the music. “In the last decade, we have seen so many flashes of the old Ye,” Lamarre said before citing Ye’s performance at the Larry Hoover benefit concert and tracks like “530.”

The rest of the episode also finds the crew diving into the hopeful album releases from Cardi B and Saweetie as well as GloRilla versus Doechii. Watch it below.

Ye Hit With Lawsuit From Singer Who Refused to Clear Sample Because of His Antisemitism

Ye (formerly Kanye West) is facing a lawsuit claiming he sampled a song by German singer-songwriter Alice Merton despite her refusal to license it — a move she says “shocked and humiliated” her because she’s the descendant of Holocaust survivors.

In a copyright case filed Monday (March 26) in federal court, attorneys for Merton say Ye prominently used clips from her 2022 track “Blindside” in his 2024 song “Gun to My Head” with Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi, even after she had expressly refused to clear the sample.

When contacted by Ye’s reps last year, Merton says she and her publisher told them that they were denying him a license because “the artist’s values are contrary to our values” — a reference to the star’s antisemitic statements over the years.

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“Although defendants’ use of plaintiffs’ song could potentially bring in significant revenue, [she] was unwilling to compromise her personal beliefs and wanted not to be associated with Ye in any Manner,” her lawyers write. “Merton is a German resident who has close ties to the Holocaust through Jewish family members who survived its horrors, and as such feels closely connected to it.”

Merton’s new lawsuit is one of more than a dozen such cases filed against Ye during his career over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolating. The controversial rapper has faced nine such infringement cases since 2019 alone, including a high-profile battle with the estate of Donna Summer that settled last year.

In Monday’s complaint, Merton says she is the “direct descendant of Holocaust survivors” — and that she was thus “understandably shocked and humiliated” when the song was released featuring his music: “Merton’s name was suddenly appearing everywhere, with claims that the song was a collaboration between YE, Cudi, and Merton.”

Making matters worse, Merton says that when the song was not included on Ye’s Vultures 2 album, fans blamed her and began harassing her to approve the sample.

“Plaintiff Merton began receiving death threats and abuse from Defendants’ fan base,” he lawyers write. “Defendant did nothing to stop the abuse, allowing his fans to intimidate and harass Plaintiff Merton.”

A spokesperson for Ye could not immediately be located for comment on Wednesday (March 26).

Shaboozey Says a Collaboration With Future Would Be ‘Awesome’

Shaboozey has a dream collaborator at the top of his list.

The “Bar Song (Tipsy)” superstar sat down with Holler recently, where he revealed that he wants to work with Future. “That would be awesome,” he said. “I really think a lot of the Atlanta artists grew up in the same neighborhoods, the same towns, the same places that a lot of the country artists are in.”

He added, “I’m definitely seeing a lot of hip-hop artists embrace their country roots, because they have them too. And tonally too, you put an acoustic guitar with certain chords behind a song, and sometimes it’s a country song. The stories are the same, and the messaging is sometimes the same.”

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The team-up could be a great next step for Shaboozey, who has enjoyed skyrocketed success in the last year. The singer was nominated nominated for five Grammy Awards earlier this year thanks to his Beyoncé collaboration “SPAGHETTII” and his breakthrough hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which notched a record-tying 19th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November. He’s also scheduled to perform at both Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals in the spring.

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“A Bar Song” also recently notched its 35th week atop Billboard’s multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart, marking the longest-leading title by a single act since Hot Country Songs became the genre’s singular songs ranking in 1958. Overall, only Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s duet “Meant to Be” has led longer: for 50 weeks, beginning in December 2017. 

Tina Knowles, Becky G & More Join Lineup for Billboard Women In Music 2025 | Billboard News

Billboard Women In Music 2025’s lineup keeps on growing, with Tina Knowles, Becky G, Suki Waterhouse and more joining as presenters and honorees. Keep watching to see who else will be at Women in Music! 

Watch the live event on March 29 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel exclusively on Vizio Watch Free +. 

Are you excited for this year’s Billboard Women In Music? Let us know in the comments below!

Narrator:
This year, get ready for the biggest Billboard Women in Music yet. It’s all happening live March 29. Tina Knowles will receive the Mother of the Year award, where we’re honoring women like aespa, Ángela Aguilar, Anna, Charlotte Cardin, Erykah Badu, GloRilla, Gracie Abrams, JENNIE, Megan Moroney, Meghan Trainor, Muni Long, Tyla and more! Julia Michaels, Kali Uchis, Becky G, Madison Beer, Mickey Guyton, Summer Walker, Tanner Addell, Suki Waterhouse, Lauren Jauregui, Victoria Monét and Zara Larsson join an already stellar lineup of powerhouse women as presenters, each playing a pivotal role in shaping the music landscape. Woman of the Year? Doechii. The show will be hosted by Laverne Cox. 

Laverne Cox:
Girl, it’s Laverne Cox, and it is almost time for Billboard’s Women In Music. Are you ready? 

Narrator:
Find all the details over at BillboardWomeninMusic.com. Watch the live event on March 29 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel exclusively on Vizio Watch Free +. 

Playboi Carti Snags Top Spot on Streaming Songs Chart With ‘Evil J0rdan’

Playboi Carti tops Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart for the third time, debuting atop the tally dated March 29 with “Evil J0rdan.”

The new track, off Carti’s latest album Music, bows with 30.8 million official U.S. streams earned in the week ending March 20, according to Luminate.

It’s the rapper’s first fully solo No. 1 hit on Streaming Songs and second as a lead act. He first reigned as a featured artist on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” alongside Rich the Kid for three weeks starting in February 2024, followed by a one-week run atop the list last October on “Timeless,” his collaboration with The Weeknd.

Playboi Carti first reached Streaming Songs in 2017, when “Magnolia” peaked at No. 11. He has 33 career entries on the tally, including 12 top 10s, four of which come via the latest ranking. “Rather Lie” with The Weeknd follows “Evil J0rdan” at No. 2 (28 million streams), and then comes “Good Credit” with Kendrick Lamar (No. 7, 18.7 million) and “Crush” with Travis Scott (No. 9, 18.2 million).

In all, 22 songs from Music, Playboi Carti’s third studio album, appear on Streaming Songs, making him the sixth artist to notch at least 22 appearances on the survey in a single week, and it’s the 10th time in all that any act has done so. Taylor Swift holds the all-time record at 31 songs (May 4, 2024).

“Evil J0rdan” is also Playboi Carti’s third No. 1 on Rap Streaming Songs and is his fourth on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs.

Concurrently, as previously reported, “Evil J0rdan” starts at No. 2 on the all-format Billboard Hot 100, while parent album Music debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Playboi Carti Channels Tom Cruise in New ‘FOMDJ’ Video

Who knew Playboi Carti did his own stunts?

After releasing a deluxe version of his No. 1 album Music — which included four new songs in “Different Day,” “2024,” “Backr00ms” and “FOMDJ” — Carti dropped the video for the latter and channeled Tom Cruise by not needing a stuntman.

After the video went up on YouTube, the Atlanta rapper posted a screenshot on his Opium Instagram page of himself standing on top of a pickup truck with a caption that reads, “I went Tom Cruise. No edit dis s–t real movin car all dat.” He also hung out the truck’s window like the Joker and got a new face tat in the video.

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Music marks his second album to reach the top of the albums chart — after 2020’s Whole Lotta Red — with 298,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 20, according to Luminate.

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He’s also the third artist in history — and first rapper — to chart more than 30 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week, with “Evil J0rdan” sitting at No. 2 and “Rather Lie” featuring The Weeknd at No. 4. The rest are peppered throughout, with “Walk” ranking the lowest at No. 96.

And while Kendrick and SZA‘s song “Luther” still dominates the Hot 100, the Compton rapper’s three Carti features “Good Credit,” “Backd00r” with Jhené Aiko and “Mojo Jojo” sit at No. 17, No. 25, and No. 17, respectively.

This is the second video to drop from the album in recent weeks, with “Like Weezy” being the first. The videos for “2024,” “Backr00ms,” and “Evil J0rdan” were released over the last year on Instagram and YouTube.

Check out the “FOMDJ” below.

GloRilla Cuts St. Louis Concert Short After Fights Break Out Among Fans

GloRilla is currently trekking across North America while headlining her Glorious Tour, but ended up having to cut a St. Louis show short earlier this week after several fights broke out among the audience.

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Per local affiliate FOX 2 Now, brawls led GloRilla to end her The Factory show in St. Louis early on Monday night (March 24). Footage emerged online appearing to show women involved in physical altercations in the general admission area as security attempted to intervene.

“Come on man, y’all better than that,” GloRilla said mid-show, attempting to defuse the melees. “They still fighting, what the f–k. Come on, y’all ain’t that mad.

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She continued: “Ain’t nobody did nothing that bad for y’all to be out there fighting. We here to have a good time. Ya’ll supposed to be feeling glorious at the Glorious Tour.”

The 25-year-old eventually had enough as more fights continued to take place, and Glo ended the show and headed backstage.

Billboard has reached out to GloRilla’s reps for comment.

“It was real fun … Up until the fighting,” a fan named Andy Johnston, who attended the show at The Factory, told FOX 2. “It was actually like a WWE fight. It was really fun. We’re up there peeking over — I had front row in the balcony, and it’s like a sea of people. Then you see a little scramble for a second, and people would start running to it.”

He added: “It could be something that makes the artists not want to come here to our city because of all the fighting.”

GloRilla gets back on the road Wednesday night (March 26) with a hopefully more peaceful show slated for Milwaukee’s The Rave-Eagle Club, and then she’ll head to Minneapolis on Thursday (March 27).

Drake Teases ‘Nokia’ Video Shot in IMAX: Here’s When It’s Dropping

Drake has set the release date for his anticipated “Nokia” video, which will arrive on March 31. The 6 God posted a teaser for the clip on Tuesday (March 25), revealing that the Theo Skudra-directed visual was shot for IMAX.

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“NOKIA March 31st Directed by Theo $$$kudra Filmed for IMAX,” he captioned the cinematic trailer, which welcomes viewers into the OVO IMAX universe and changes the “A” into the brand’s signature owl logo.

Shooting in IMAX is an expensive proposition, but there’s seemingly no cost outside of Drake’s budget. “Shooting this in imax is insane. Its 2k per minute to develop the film,” producer BNYX wrote in the IG comments.

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A fan hilariously chimed in: “Bro really said Anita Max Resolution!”

Produced by Elkan, “Nokia” dropped from No. 8 just outside of the top 10 to No. 11 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100. The track was on Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U joint album, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in February. Drizzy and Party have three other songs from their project collectively on the Hot 100, with “Die Trying” (No. 76), “Gimme a Hug” (No. 78) and “Somebody Loves Me” (No. 83).

It’s anybody’s guess regarding Drake’s next move, but he’s teased his solo LP being up next on his to-do list. The 6 God is also set to headline all three nights of Wireless Festival in London, from July 11 to July 13.

Watch the “Nokia” video trailer below.

Femme It Forward to Set Sail With First-Ever Femmeland at Sea Cruise

Keyshia Cole, Monica and SWV are the performing stars enlisted to headline Femme It Forward’s first-ever cruise, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Presented in association with Sixthman and Vibee, Femmeland at Sea will sail from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas between Feb. 20-23, 2026.

Femme It Forward’s voyage aboard the Norwegian Pearl also marks the female-led music and entertainment firm’s transition into a 100% woman- and Black-owned company after a five-year partnership with Live Nation.

Femme It Forward president/CEO Heather Lowery, who founded the firm in 2019, tells Billboard, “I’ve always fought to have more equity in a company I’ve worked so hard to build. Now Femme It Forward is 100% woman-owned and Black- owned. I’m so excited! It feels like the beginning again, but this time I’m starting from a different place. 

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“Live Nation was a great partner that allowed for a lot of business as well as personal growth,” continues Lowery, a Billboard Women in Music 2025 honoree. “They’ve provided me with a lot of resources for me to continue building Femme It Forward independent of the partnership. I’m super grateful for it all. We’re celebrating our five-year anniversary and there’s a lot of symbolism in the number five representing freedom, change, adventure and adaptability. I’m stepping into this next phase with open arms.”

In addition to the aforementioned live performances, Femmeland at Sea will also offer uniquely curated activities, live podcast recordings, parties, workshops/panels, mentorship labs, wine tastings and karaoke. The popular podcasts being featured include Keep It Positive Sweetie, hosted by Crystal Renee Hayslett, and Let’s Try This Again with B. Simone. Among the cruise’s additional activities will be wellness sessions helmed by WalkGood LA, Pretty Vee, Pretty Girls Sweat and Morning Mindset with Tai. Femme It Forward will also present its own branded activities such as Femme Salon and Femme Mentorship, with the latter hosted by mentors from the company’s Next Gem Femme and MUSE initiatives. Also on the schedule: Kirk Franklin’s Sunday School and #MusicSermon LIVE.

In the press release announcing the inaugural sailing, Lowery states in part that the cruise is “a vision I’ve had since our launch in 2020. I have always been bold about what Femme It Forward stands for and the experiences we create with women at the center. And despite the current optics and everything around us demanding we shrink, we will continue to do more — create more opportunities, make space for more representation and curate more experiences that amplify the voices of women everywhere.”

In turn, Femme It Forward will continue to present its various other events inaugurated over the last five years such as the annual Give Her FlowHERS Gala, the Femme It Forward High Tea and the My Sister’s Keeper Summit honoring artists and executives in music and entertainment. Future plans for its mentorship program include launching global chapters in South Africa and Europe.

Femmeland at Sea’s first round pre-sale sign-ups are available now through April 1 at 11:59 pm (ET). Final round pre-sale sign-ups will conclude on April 9 at 11:59 pm (ET). Public on-sales begin April 11 at 2:00 pm (ET), exclusively here.