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Deshonne Redeaux just made his college commitment official — and he did it with the kind of hometown love story only Los Angeles can write.
The four-star running back from Carson, California, known for his speed, field vision and unshakable confidence, announced his commitment to the University of Southern California in a full-circle moment that brought two L.A. icons into the spotlight: Snoop Dogg and JuJu Watkins.
“It means a lot to have Snoop Dogg support me at one of my biggest moments,” Redeaux tells Billboard. “I played in his Snoop Youth Football League, and it pathed the way for me to reach my goal of getting a Division 1 college scholarship.”
Also featured in the announcement video (seen in the Instagram post above) was JuJu Watkins, USC’s breakout basketball star and a longtime friend. “JuJu supporting me at this time means so much to me because we grew up together and she has inspired me watching her make history in the city that raised her,” he says. “Can’t wait to share a campus with her, impact the community, and bring national championships back to the city!”
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Redeaux says staying home and playing for USC was about more than football. “I choose USC because nothing is more powerful than impacting the hometown community and being the light in my own backyard,” he says. “Some of the determining factors were the amazing USC tradition and legacy — specifically at the running back position — and being a difference maker to bring the winning culture back to USC football and to the city of Los Angeles.”
To mark the occasion, Redeaux shared his ultimate game day hype playlist exclusively with Billboard, highlighting the music that keeps him focused and fired up before he hits the field.
“Drake featuring Rick Ross, ‘Lord Knows’ — the message behind the song is all about motivation and reflection,” he says. “And with the Lord’s guidance, you can accomplish anything. It really gets me in my mode!”
When it’s tunnel time, he turns to NBA YoungBoy’s “Head Blown.” “It puts me into dog mentality to be a lock in the field,” he says.
Other key tracks include J. Cole’s “Love Yourz,” Ginuwine’s “Same Ol G” and Nipsey Hussle’s “Dedication.”
“I’m most excited about strapping it up for the first time at the Coliseum — that will be a dream come true,” he says. “I want to give back to the youth and always show up for the next generation.”
Check out Deshonne Redeaux’s full Game Day Hype Playlist below, featuring Playboi Carti, EBK Jayboo, SWV, Lil Durk, Icewear Vezzo, BlueBucksClan and more.
Days after teasing a new collaboration with Roc Marciano, Grammy-nominated TDE MC Ab-Soul graced the fifth and final Dreamville Fest — and Billboard caught up with him moments before he hit the stage.
“I’m a little offended because me and [J.] Cole are very good friends and I’m a very good rapper, if not the best rapper of all time,” he said in jest. “Why is this my first time on the lineup? It’s beyond me. They really saved the best for last!”
Though it is Ab’s first time performing at the North Carolina festival, it may not be his last opportunity to head down to Raleigh. During a press conference on Thursday (Apr. 3), Raleigh festival organizers surprised fans by revealing that Dreamville Fest will return in the future under a new iteration. Of course, the final (for now) Dreamville Fest is a poignant moment for Ab, who “came up in the same era” as several key Dreamville stars.
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“These are really my guys, Bas was on my first headlining tour, and that’s where I met Earthgang, JID, Cozz, the whole team,” he said. “They’re undeniable. They’re true MCs, true artists. Ari [Lennox] goes crazy. I’m sure [Dreamville Fest] is a dream come true for Cole and for many others in this area. I’m honored to be here [today].”
Last year, Ab dropped his sixth studio album, Soul Burger, a record dedicated to his best friend Doeburger, who passed away in 2021. Stacked with collaborators like Doechii, Ty Dolla $ign and Lupe Fiasco, Soul Burger also features Doeburger as a posthumously credited writer across all tracks.
In the caption of an Instagram post teasing his forthcoming Roc Marciano collaboration and honoring Doeburger’s birthday (Apr. 1), Ab gave a special shoutout to Cole, thanking the “Middle Child” rapper for sharing his perspective. “Preciate the insight Cole. It was much needed,” he wrote, detailing how much the new song means to him. “It’s imperative that I let the world know the impact my brother left on me and so many others. I didn’t do this for views nor to monetize. I did this to honor someone who was undoubtedly ‘none of a kind.’”
At the very end of his caption, Ab-Soul wrote: “Soul Burger: The Odyssey… Stay tuned.” While it’s unclear what exactly he’s teasing, Ab confirms to Billboard that this new project and his 2022 LP are “two different things.”
“Soul Burger is a character, it’s the fusion of me and Doeburger,” he explains. “The Odyssey is… the odyssey. It’s one of the most special pieces I’ve ever put together, I’m very excited about it. It’s very therapeutic — liberating, if you will. It’s a continuous ode to my brother.”
With new music and a performance at Wiz Khalifa’s forthcoming 420 on the Rocks show on the horizon, Ab-Soul is showing no signs of slowing down in 2025.
Comedian John Mulaney won’t be seeing Bone Thugs-N-Harmony at the crossroads — at least for the time being.
During his monologue of a recent episode of his Netlfix talk show Everybody’s Live, Mulaney told the audience a ridiculous story about how the show tried to get the legendary group out of Cleveland to make a surprise guest appearance and ran into a scammer in the process. “Before we get to the rest of the show, motherf—ker, let me tell you about the week I had,” he began. “We had something very special planned for you this evening that we had to scrap very recently.”
He then explained that they planned to do a bit about actor Richard Kind’s fictional recently deceased tortoise and wanted to figure out how to give the little guy a proper send off. “Then we were gonna be like, ‘How can we possibly pay tribute to dead tortoise here on our show? Then, ding-dong, the doorbell would ring, I’d walk up there, I would open the door, and it’s Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and they were gonna say, ‘Our tour bus broke down and we heard you guys were sad.’”
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Adding, “The setup didn’t even make sense at all. But then, in honor of the tortoise, they were gonna perform ‘[The] Crossroads.’ If you’re not familiar with ‘Crossroads,’ it was an enormous hit that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony had in 1996 about their friend’s tragic death and I cannot overstate how hugely popular it was with horned-up junior high kids at Catholic schools to grind with each other during the Clinton administration.”
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The show then tracked down what they thought to be the group’s management and started the process of pitching them the idea. However, they quickly realized that they were being scammed.
They setup a Zoom call with the so-called manager where the individual told Mulaney and his writers that Bone loved the idea, but that Bizzy Bone would be too busy to be involved. Nothing out the ordinary, right? Well, they then tell the manager that the guys need to wear pants with back pockets so that they can pull out their wireless microphones after they ring the doorbell to which the fake manager responded: “The pants we bought don’t have pockets. If you want pants with pockets, you should get some yourself.”
And when the group hadn’t signed the contract to appear on the show, the manager requested $2,800 in cash for “running around money” because they were currently on tour — which was true — and their appearance would essentially constitute as a side mission. But once Mulaney talked his wife Olivia Munn into giving him the cash because he’s not allowed to have more than $300 in cash due to his past issues with substance abuse, the manager then requested $100,000 and finally the Everybody’s Live crew began to notice the red flags.
“I’m genuinely worried,” Mulaney admitted. “After a little investigating, I have come to believe that the man I was talking to was not the manager of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.”
Stereogum managed to get in touch with one of the members in Bizzy Bone, but when the outlet mentioned if he had came across the story, he asked: “Whose that?”
You can watch the clip below.
The reports of Dreamville Fest‘s death have been greatly exaggerated. Many fans were disappointed when they heard this was going to be the last year of J. Cole’s annual music festival, which has become a fan favorite over the course of the last five years. However, during a press conference on Thursday (Apr. 3), Raleigh […]
Playboi Carti might not be done releasing music in 2025 just yet. According to DJ Swamp Izzo, Carti’s upcoming Baby Boi album is “ready” and “done.”
Swamp Izzo sat down with Complex on Friday (April 4), where he talked about his work on Carti’s Music album as well as what’s to come with Baby Boi.
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The Atlanta mixtape DJ confirmed that the project is done, as Carti has over “50, 60” songs finished in the stash.
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“New music. He got over 50, 60 songs done,” he said. “Completed to his liking? I couldn’t say. But they’re done. If I was still in that mixtape era, we’d have Baby Boi one through nine. Fifteen years ago, we were so heartfelt on them exclusives. We couldn’t even sleep until we put it out before everybody.”
Swamp Izzo continued to build on his decorated ATL legacy with Music‘s arrival following his acclaimed mixtape work with the likes of Future, Young Thug, the late Young Scooter and more.
“I judge every artist by how much they study hip-hop,” he added. “[Young] Thug studied it more, so he can input more ideas. Same with Carti… Carti listens to Wu-Tang. He’s attuned. He’s paying attention. You can’t tell?”
Music arrived in March to much fanfare as the long-awaited LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 298,000 units earned in the first week. Swamp Izzo claims he was working with Carti right up until the buzzer when the project hit streaming services around 7 a.m. ET on March 14.
“We recorded all the way up to the album actually came out,” said Izzo. “So when they dropped at 7 a.m., we were still in the studio, on everything I love.”
Carti added another four previously released tracks as part of the Sorry 4 Da Wait deluxe, as all 30 original songs hit the Billboard Hot 100.
Music has continued to remain atop the charts and is battling Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Deluxe for another week at the apex.
Carti will take his show on the road when he joins The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour in May.
Kevin Gates and Brittany Renner appear to be romantically involved after the pair shared a sweet moment together on Instagram. On Thursday (April 3), Gates posted a clip from his Instagram Live onto his page, where he was seen riding shotgun and catching a vibe to Soul For Real’s “Candy Rain.” He then panned the […]
Eminem’s daughter, Hailie Jade, announced on Friday (April 4) that she gave birth to her first child in March — and she revealed her son’s name, which pays homage to her “Rap God” father. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Slim Shady is officially a grandpa. “Happy […]
Federal prosecutors have unveiled an updated indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs, adding new charges to the sex trafficking and racketeering case just over a month before trial. In a superseding indictment filed Thursday (April 3) in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors made several tweaks to the sweeping case against Combs, which claims that the hip-hop mogul […]
One of the most controversial relationships of our time has just added another layer of drama. During a recent appearance on Adin Ross‘ stream, Rubi Rose dropped a bombshell and revealed that her whirlwind romance with comedian Druski was indeed real and not a PR stunt as the former couple had previously stated publicly. “Here’s […]
Rob49’s “WTHELLY” arrived two weeks ago (on March 21) and the title of the viral track has taken over social media. Justin Bieber even tapped in, and it seems everyone can’t stop saying “WTHelly.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news TMZ caught up with the New Orleans […]