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HarbourView Equity Partners is buying Grammy award-winning rapper-producer T-Pain‘s publishing catalog and certain master recording rights, the company announced on Thursday (Feb. 20). The Tallahassee, Fla.-born artist known for late-2000s party music hits like “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” “Bartender (featuring Akon)” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper) (featuring Mike Jones),” has been […]
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Mar. 1, we look at the chances of Drake’s and PartyNextDoor’s new full-length teamup to knock the former’s recent rap opponent out of the chart’s top spot.
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PartyNextDoor & Drake, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U (OVO/Santa Anna/Republic): Drake hasn’t been able to find a lot of wins since taking the consensus loss in his culture-conquering 2024 beef with Kendrick Lamar – the after-effects of which continue to permeate the culture on a weekly basis nearly a year later, with Lamar’s signature diss track “Not Like Us” recently winning five Grammys and serving as the centerpiece moment for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history. But Drake may be due for a pretty big W shortly, following the release of his first full-length album since 2023’s For All the Dogs – the Valentine’s Day-released, R&B-focused $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a teamup with longtime OVO labelmate and collaborator PartyNextDoor.
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The 21-track effort from the two Toronto natives unsurprisingly blanketed the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA and Apple Music real-time charts upon its release, even breaking the record for the biggest R&B/soul album in Apple Music’s history by first-day streams worldwide, and remains a major presence on both listings near the end of the tracking week. While many of the tracks have receded in daily streams since the set dropped, a couple have continued to grow, including the poppier mid-album cuts “Die Trying” and “Nokia,” the latter of which has also spent the majority of the week atop the iTunes real-time chart. The set is also being sold on CD via the album’s own website, with three variants of the CD case available for purchase.
Though the album might not match the first-week numbers of some past chart-conquering Drake projects – including the 404,000 first-week units posted by 2023’s Her Loss, his most recent full-length collaboration, alongside star rapper 21 Savage – it seems likely to return The Boy to No. 1, tying him with Jay-Z for the most Billboard 200 No. 1 albums of any rapper (with 14) and at least temporarily silence critics who declared him “done” following the feud. And of course, with Lamar’s GNX currently occupying the chart’s top spot, it could give him a much-needed triumph in the headlines over his perpetually victory-lapping foe.
Kendrick Lamar, GNX (pgLang/Interscope/ICLG): Even if Drake takes the Billboard 200’s top spot next week, don’t expect Kendrick Lamar to disappear from the chart in the weeks after his Super Bowl performance. In fact, in his first full tracking week following that globally buzzed-about Feb. 9 show, Lamar’s streaming numbers should be even more robust, with performed hits from his 2024 blockbuster GNX like “Squabble Up,” “TV Off” and the SZA-featuring “Luther” continuing to be consumed en masse, and the latter even threatening Lamar’s own “Not Like Us” to take over the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 next week.
Could it potentially stave off $ome $exy $ongs in that set’s debut week, giving K-Dot one more KO in this now-largely one-sided battle? It doesn’t seem too likely, given the natural disadvantages the 12-track GNX faces in terms of total streams when compared to the 21-track $$$4U – and the fact that the set should slide in terms of sales next week, after the set’s physical release on cassette, vinyl and CD format two Fridays ago (Feb. 7) helped it sell over 100,000 copies for the tracking week ending Feb. 13. Still, with so many of its tracks reconfirmed as streaming monsters, the album is likely to hang around the chart’s upper tier in the weeks to come — meaning we could very easily see GNX return to No. 1 for a third time in a future slow-release week.
Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet (Island): Speaking of 2024 blockbusters – another one that’s spent multiple weeks atop the Billboard 200 and hung around the top 10 for many months since should be due for some big gains next week. On Friday (Feb. 14), pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter released the deluxe edition of her four-week No. 1 Short n’ Sweet, expanding the 12-track set to 17 — with four entirely new songs, and a redo of the set’s Hot 100-topping “Please Please Please,” featuring guest vocals from country icon Dolly Parton.
The combination of the original set’s sustained streaming performance – it’s held in the lower half of the top 10 on the Billboard 200 for the whole of February – and the boost it should get from the new deluxe edition should make it one of the top contenders on the chart next week. The bonus cuts have all seen solid streaming bows, with “Busy Woman” in particular appearing to be something of a breakout hit, and the deluxe version of the album should also do well in physical sales, with the set available on her webstore in both azure- and pearl-colored vinyl, and on lipstick-marked CD.
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The Lumineers, Automatic (Dualtone): The arena-folk stars’ first new album since 2022’s Brightside doesn’t quite include the radio hits of previous sets, but does arrive during a time where a new wave of stomp-clappers led by Noah Kahan have reintroduced their signature sound to the mainstream – and is available for purchase in eight vinyl variants, including a signed edition. Each of The Lumineers’ four previous albums reached the Billboard 200’s top 10, though with streaming unlikely to offer a ton of help, the set will need to sell quite well to extend that streak to five.
Rihanna was a mainstay in A$AP Rocky’s corner throughout his three-week felony shooting trial, which ended with a not guilty verdict for the Harlem native on Tuesday (Feb. 18), but her presence in the courtroom wasn’t always in the cards.
Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, revealed following the verdict that his client originally didn’t want Rihanna in attendance at the trial.
“He didn’t want her there. He was very protective of her,” Tacopina told a reporter. “I was sort of supporting his decision to keep her away. The trial’s not about Rihanna.”
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However, RiRi would not be denied. as she went behind Rocky’s back to contact Tacopina and let him know she would be pulling up to court to support her boo. “But she called me one day and she was like, ‘Joe, wild horses aren’t going to keep me away, so let him know I’m coming and deal with him,’” Tacopina continued.
Billboard has reached out to Tacopina, as well as Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s reps.
Rihanna was a staple at the courthouse, and she even made appearances with their two children, Riot and RZA, alongside Rocky’s mother and sister, who consistently supported the rapper in court.
Tacopina also recently explained to Extra why the little boys were there. “That day was summations, and in theory, what we initially believed, the judge had told us he was gonna start the jury deliberations that day after summations, right after summations. If they came back with a quick verdict — like they did — and it didn’t go his way, that would be the last time he saw his children,” the attorney explained. “So she wanted them in court, in the courtroom … house. One of the, the littlest one, you know, stayed outside. But you know, RZA was inside because he’s a little older and he comported himself very well, and he looked like a sweet little gentleman. … But you know, that’s family. I mean, it’s his family.”
Rocky (born Rakim Mayers) was found not guilty on both counts in the 2021 shooting case involving his former friend and associate A$AP Relli (born Terrell Ephron).
Upon hearing the verdict, Rocky jumped over the railing into the gallery to embrace Rihanna. He then thanked the jury and Judge Mark Arnold. “Thank y’all for saving my life,” Rocky said. “Thank you, thank you. Thank you for making the right decision. Thank you, your honor.”
Rocky was arrested in April 2022 at Los Angeles International Airport after being accused of firing a handgun at Relli near a Hollywood hotel in November 2021. The 36-year-old faced a maximum of 24 years behind bars and pleaded not guilty to all charges in August 2022. Last month, he turned down a final plea deal that would have landed him 180 days in county jail.
Rihanna took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday to celebrate the court’s ruling while giving thanks to the most high. “THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD AND GOD ALONE! THANKFUL, HUMBLED BY HIS MERCY,” she wrote.
Following an extremely prolific 2024, Kendrick Lamar has dominated headlines into 2025. On Feb. 2, “Not Like Us” was a five-time winner at the Grammy Awards, becoming the second rap song to win record and song of the year. A week later, he headlined the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, spotlighting the smash, along with songs from his latest album, GNX, and more. It became the most-watched halftime show ever and resulted in some major chart moves: GNX returns to the top of the Billboard 200 and Lamar is the first rap artist to ever log three albums in the top 10 simultaneously. On the Billboard Hot 100, he reclaimed the top three spots, led by his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”
Though football and the Super Bowl are American-based phenomena, the game is broadcast in more than 130 countries, yielding similarly huge boosts on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. On the former, “Not Like Us” has blasted from No. 45 to No. 20 to No. 1 (on the Feb. 8, 15, and 22 charts), returning for a third non-consecutive week atop the list since its release last May. On Global Excl. U.S, the song reaches a new No. 3 high (after debuting at No. 9, climbing to No. 7 the following week, and reaching a prior No. 5 best after the July 4 release of its official music video).
This week doesn’t just set a new high for the track itself, but for all rap songs on the global stage. “Not Like Us” jumped 188% to 65.7 million streams outside the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 13, according to Luminate. That’s the highest non-U.S. streaming total for a rap title since the global charts launched in September 2020. It surpasses Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” which drew 64.9 million in the week ending Sept. 28, 2023.
Including the U.S., “Not Like Us” is up 176% to 113.2 million streams globally. It falls short of Eminem’s “Houdini” for the most among rap hits since the Global 200 began: 121.4 million in the week ending June 6, 2024. Still, the latest boost for “Not Like Us” nine months after its arrival re-asserts its longevity. Since the Global 200, there have been only six instances of rap songs exceeding 100 million weekly worldwide streams and four of them belong to “Not Like Us.”
The international success of “Not Like Us” is rare. Hip-hop’s struggle to export globally has been documented, and it’d be reasonable to expect Lamar’s lyrically dense tracks to hit a wall, particularly in countries where English is not the primary language. But the song’s reach is wide, appearing on more than 30 of Billboard’s territory-specific Hits of the World charts this week, including tallies in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. It’s No. 1 on Australia Songs and Ireland Songs and ranks among the top 10 in 18 other territories.
While “Not Like Us” leads the charge, three other Lamar tracks – “Luther” and “All the Stars,” both with SZA, and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay – score top 20 ranks on Global Excl. U.S. Altogether, he logs nine songs on this week’s chart and 13 on the Global 200.
Across Lamar’s charting entries, streaming gains are varied between the U.S. and beyond. “All the Stars,” “Humble.,” “Luther” and “Peekaboo” have bigger domestic lifts, while “Money Trees,” “Not Like Us,” “TV Off” and “Squabble Up” see sharper increases internationally.
Billboard Unfiltered returned with a new episode on Wednesday (Feb. 19), and instead of the traditional Friday taped release, the crew elected to go with a raw, live version of this week’s show.
Deputy director of R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre was back in the saddle after a few weeks off, and he was flanked by staff writer Kyle Denis and senior charts analyst Trevor Anderson.
A$AP Rocky was found not guilty on both counts in the 2021 felony shooting case involving his former friend A$AP Relli (born Terrell Ephron). When the verdict was read, Rocky exhaled and jumped over the railing into the gallery to embrace Rihanna, a moment that quickly went viral on social media.
“Only Rocky and God know the truth here. The way that man was breathing heavy, the way he crowd-surfed over to Ri, he was shaking his boots a little bit,” Denis said. “He got off. I love seeing a brother beat the system.”
Anderson harkened back to right before the trial began, when Rocky shrewdly declined a final plea deal offer, which would have seen him spend 180 days behind bars. “They gambling in that situation and came up big,” he said. “The system played out how it does … Glad they could put this behind them.”
$ome $exy $ongs 4 U arrived on Valentine’s Day, and Denis believes the Drake and PartyNextDoor album didn’t live up to the hype. “I think my biggest issue with the album is it’s really not sexy at all,” he suggested. “Drake using women, love, sex, relationships to get back in the good graces of men whose approval he really wants the most. There’s not much warmth in these songs. Nothing about this makes me want to link with my special somebody and have a night to this album.”
Denis continued: “As a fan, I’ve wanted a Drake-Party album for such a long time, but none of these songs live up to ‘Come and See Me’ or ‘Wednesday Night Interlude.’ … But I don’t think it’s a disaster either.”
Lamarre, a noted OVO fan, thought the album “OK.” “I do wish there was more Party involved,” he said. “Overall, it was OK. There’s probably a good seven or eight songs I will go back. Does this put Drake back in the driver’s seat, culturally speaking? No, it’s still Kendrick.”
Watch the full episode above.
Over its 50-plus years in existence, hip-hop has long been underestimated. And in a new interview, Doechii calls it for exactly what it is: racism.
In her new cover story with The Cut published Wednesday (Feb. 19), the Florida native was introspective about her place in a long lineage of rap legends, noting that the ingenuity of her predecessors — shouting out Lauryn Hill, specifically — has historically gone unappreciated. “Old-school hip-hop is vulnerability,” Doechii began.
“I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated,” she continued. “Anyone who doesn’t think that hip-hop is an intellectual genre, I think that assumption is rooted in racism.”
Now that she’s taken the baton from the “Ex-Factor” hitmaker, Lil’ Kim, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and more game-changing women in rap, the “Denial Is a River” artist says she strives to inspire the next generation of young Back girls who love the genre. “The first album I ever purchased and ever remember listening to in full length was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” she told the publication. “The feeling that I have when I listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the same feeling I want some other Black little girl to have when she listens to me. And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”
The interview arrives just a few weeks after Doechii made history as the third woman to ever win best rap album at the Grammys with Alligator Bites Never Heal, following none other than Ms. Hill and Cardi B. During her acceptance speech, she echoed, “I know there is some Black girl out there [watching], and I want to tell you that you can do it … you are exactly who you need to be.”
Elsewhere in her Cut feature, Doechii recalled her own struggles as a young girl with dreams of being an artist someday. Before she had a spiritual experience in the sixth grade during which her stage name suddenly came to her as if through divine intervention, pulling her out of a dark place. The musician says she “was getting bullied so bad,” she considered suicide.
“[Then] I realized, ‘Oh, f–k, I’m gonna kill myself and then I’m gonna be the only one dead,’” she added. “The bullies aren’t gonna be with me, and everything they said is not coming with me either. I would just be gone. And then I was like, ‘F–k that!’”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts and/or distress, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 for confidential help and support. You can also call or text 988 to get connected to a trained counselor.
See Doechii on the cover of The Cut below.
Three 6 Mafia had been hit with Satanism allegations in the past and DJ Paul hopped on Bunnie XO‘s Dumb Blonde Podcast earlier this week to clear the air.
Paul explained that the satanic imagery was essentially “just an image” for the Memphis crew, and it started with DJ Infamous referring to the group as Triple 6 Mafia.
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“Basically Lord Infamous said ‘Triple 6 Mafia’ in a song, that wasn’t even our group name,” he told Bunnie, who is married to country star Jelly Roll. “I liked that and I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s dope.’ And I started sampling ‘Triple 6 Mafia, Mafia.’ And that became really popular with us, but that still wasn’t our name.”
He continued: “I was just sampling that, and then it was time to form a group, I was like, ‘We should call ourselves Triple 6 Mafia.’ And everybody liked it … Next thing I know, white fans came like that [snaps fingers]. They flocked to us.”
DJ Paul downplayed the late Lord Infamous being involved with Satanism in any fashion when asked by Bunnie. “He was just high,” he quipped. “That n—a grew up singing ‘Amazing Grace’ in a church, and I was playing the organ … It was just an image. It was just something that was cool. We never studied Satan or nothing like that.”
Formed in the early ’90s by DJ Paul, Juicy J and Lord Infamous in Memphis, Three 6 Mafia went on to become one of the most influential rap groups in the genre’s history. The horrorcore crew saw stints from the late Gangsta Boo, Koopsta Knicca as well as Crunchy Black.
Best known for hits such as Billboard Hot 100 top 15 anthem “Stay Fly,” “Poppin’ My Collar,” “Slob on My Knob” and many more, Three 6 Mafia became the first rap group to win an Oscar Award in 2006 for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” in Hustle + Flow, which took home best original song. The group’s last album arrived in 2008 with Last 2 Walk.
Watch the full interview below.
Kendrick Lamar’s music has been inescapable on TikTok in recent days, a fact no better highlighted than the rapper taking the entire top four of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart dated Feb. 22, paced by his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” at No. 1.
The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity accumulated Feb. 10-16. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Not Like Us” debuted on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 last May, ultimately spending nine straight weeks in the top 10 (capped by its No. 2 then-best on the June 1, 2024, list) and departing the survey that September. It returned, however, on the Feb. 15 chart at No. 17, spurred by uploads surrounding Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance that occurred on the last day of that tracking period, Feb. 9, as well as in the wake of the tune’s five Grammy Award wins on Feb. 2.
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Now with a full tracking week (Feb. 10-16) following the performance, “Not Like Us” soars to No. 1, becoming Lamar’s first ruler on the chart, which began in September 2023. Many of the top uploads reference Lamar’s performance of the song during his set or outright include clips from the rendition itself.
“Not Like Us” concurrently returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as previously reported. It’s also back atop Streaming Songs via 49 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Feb. 13, up 156%, according to Luminate.
Nos. 2 and 3 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 were also performed during Lamar’s Super Bowl appearance: “Luther,” his collaboration with SZA, slots into the runner-up position, while “Peekaboo,” featuring AzChike, rises to No. 3. All three songs are from Lamar’s 2024 album GNX. “Luther” also benefits from Super Bowl clips, with many top-performing videos being reactions to Lamar’s initial fake out of “Not Like Us” into “Luther.”
And while “Peekaboo” was also performed during the set, its top uploads are a continuation of a trend that largely proliferated in January, utilizing quick edits and poses set to Lamar’s “bing-bop-boom-boom-boom-bop-bam” lyric.
“Luther” rises 3-2 for a new peak on the Hot 100 dated Feb. 22, while “Peekaboo” leaps 81-28.
Lamar completes the four-peat in the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top four via a SZA song, as her “30 for 30,” a duet with Lamar, rises 8-4. That’s a new peak for the song, which had previously risen as high as No. 5 earlier in February thanks to its trend highlighting Lamar’s “If it’s f–k me then f–k you/ And that’s the way I like it” lyric.
How historic, ultimately, is Lamar’s domination of this week’s chart? Prior to this week, no act had even possessed two songs in the top five at the same time, let alone four of the top five and the entire top four. In fact, before Lamar, no act had slotted more than two songs in the top 10 in a single week, either.
In all, Lamar boasts seven appearances on the Feb. 22 tally; “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, jumps 48-16, while “All the Stars” (also with SZA) and “Love.” (featuring Zacari) debut at Nos. 33 and 38, respectively. That’s a tie for the most in a single week, alongside Taylor Swift, who had seven on the Sept. 23, 2023, ranking, the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s second week of existence.
It’s not all Lamar in the top 10, of course. Two songs also reach the region for the first time, led by the week’s top debut in Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” which bows at No. 7. Despite the general sentiment of the song (No. 1 for Fergie on the Hot 100 in 2007), its rise is nonetheless concurrent with the Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day holiday — but instead, it’s used to show pets covered in lipstick smudges, set to the “I’ll be your best friend and you’ll be my/ Valentine” lyric.
Bertha Tillman’s “Oh My Angel” also hits the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top 10, leaping 16-10. Like “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” the song is buoyed by romance- and love-related content, whether it’s showing romantic partners, friends, family or pets.
BossMan Dlow’s “Shake Dat Ass (Twerk Song)” makes the top 10 for the first time since last July — and at a new peak, shooting 15-8. Its original run featured just BossMan Dlow’s vocals, while its return is spurred by a trend to the remix (released last December) featuring GloRilla.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
Travis Scott continued his Cactus Jack Gardens initiative, and he’s honoring his grandmothers with their 11th garden planted.
La Flame — alongside Miss Sealie Flood (maternal grandmother), Bernice Webster (paternal grandmother) and Highland Heights Elementary School students — unveiled the Sealie Flood + Bernice Webster Corner garden on Wednesday (Feb. 19). The garden will provide food for food-insecure youth across the Houston area. Students also planted a tree to honor both of Scott’s grandmothers.
Travis Scott Grandmothers
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Travis has referenced his grandma on tracks in the past such as Rodeo hit “90210.” “My granny called, she said, ‘Travvy, you work too hard. I’m worried you forget about me’/ I’m fallin’ in and out of clouds/ Don’t worry, I’ma get it, Granny,” he raps on the 2015 track.
February’s been a month of giving back to Scott and Cactus Jack. The Cactus Jack Foundation partnered with the Fashion Scholarship Fund to launch the Cactus Jack Design Ethos 101 Program, which is an online program that will award students with $10,000 and mentorship.
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Scott also hosted his annual Cactus Jack HBCU Softball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston last week, which was a star-studded affair attended by Tyla, Swae Lee, Metro Boomin, Teyana Taylor, Mariah the Scientist, BIA and more.
On the music side, Scott notched his fifth No. 1 hit atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “4×4” to kick off February, and he’s headed to headline Coachella in April.
“When I was coming up, people always looked at me [strangely],” Scott told Billboard in his February cover story. “I don’t know. I’d always hear a little s–t of ‘Is it rap? Is it this? Is it just a vibe?’ I’m pushing hip-hop. It’s 50 years old, but still has time to stretch. I feel like, ‘OK, I’m leading the new charge of what the next 50 years of this s–t is going to be like.’”
This Valentine’s Day, Drake released his first new album since before his 2024 feud with Kendrick Lamar changed everything about his career outlook and overall narrative — the PartyNextDoor full-length team-up $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. While the final verdict on the album and what it might (or might not) do for Drake’s overall trajectory […]
