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Max B is officially a free man.
The 47-year-old Harlem rapper, born Charly Wingate, was released from Northern State Prison in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday (Nov. 9) after serving roughly 16 years behind bars.
Max B was originally sentenced to 75 years in 2009 for his role in a deadly robbery at a New Jersey hotel. In 2016, his sentence was reduced to 20 years after he pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter.
The “Wavy Crockett” artist was sentenced alongside his stepbrother, Kelvin Leerdam, who received a life term plus 35 years after jurors found he fatally shot one of the victims.
Upon his release, Max B was greeted by family and friends in a joyful moment captured and shared on Instagram by his longtime friend and collaborator French Montana. The rapper’s homecoming coincided with Montana’s 41st birthday.
“CANT MAKE THIS UP ! MY BROTHER REALLY CAME HOME ON MY B DAY ! HAMDULILLAH,” Montana captioned the video. “WALKED IT DOWN ! NO MORE FREE YOU.”
Late last year, Max B hinted at his impending release during a phone call to The Joe Budden Podcast, where he announced his official date and discussed his excitement about returning to music.
“Listen, I’m not even gonna put myself in a box, it’s all gonna run concurrent,” he said at the time. “I can’t wait to get in the studio. There’s a lot of artists out there, too many to name. I’m looking forward to working with the big names, the head honchos… But they gotta be A-list. If the s—t ain’t A-list, I can’t f—k with it.”
Earlier this year, Young Thug also shared a clip of himself speaking with Max B over the phone from prison.
“Man, I’m in here grinding this s—t out,” Max told Thug, who then asked if he’d be released soon. “Hell yeah, we ’bout to hit the home stretch, baby,” Max replied. “We gon’ make some history?”
See French Montana’s Instagram post celebrating Max B’s release below.
Trending on Billboard As Jamaica picks up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s historic devastation, the global reach of their artists remains cause for celebration. On Friday (Nov. 7), the Recording Academy revealed the five nominees for best reggae album at the 2026 Grammy Awards — and Jamaican musicians snagged every single spot. […]
Rod Wave has been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on multiple weapon and drug charges.
The 27-year-old rapper-singer, whose real name is Rodarius Green, was taken into custody Friday (Nov. 7) in Fulton County, Georgia, and charged with possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, reckless driving, possession of a Schedule V controlled substance and possession of Schedule II controlled substance, according to TMZ.
Following his arrest, Rod Wave was booked into the Fulton County Jail, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. As of Saturday morning, he remained in custody. His attorney, Drew Findling, told TMZ that the artist had made his first court appearance and that bond had been set at $8,000.
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Further details about what led to the arrest were not available at press time.
This is not Rod Wave’s first legal issue. In May, he was arrested in Georgia and booked into Fulton County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm. He later faced 12 additional counts, including aiming a pistol at another person, reckless conduct, criminal damage to property, obstruction of law enforcement, evidence tampering, conspiracy to commit a felony, and simple assault.
Court records show that the May arrest stemmed from an alleged April 21 altercation. The musician was released the same day after posting a $50,000 bond. “There is no truth to these charges,” his attorney Findling told Billboard at the time.
The “25” rapper-singer also faced gun charges in April 2024 in Manatee County, Florida, after being accused of illegally possessing a weapon or ammunition. Authorities attempted to connect him to a gang-related shooting at a St. Petersburg sports bar. In May 2022, he was also arrested on a felony charge of battery by strangulation, which was later dropped.
Aside from his legal troubles, Rod Wave released the singles “Westside Connection” and “Sinners” in 2025. The latter appeared on the Sinners movie soundtrack and played during the horror film’s final scene. His most recent album, Last Lap, was released in October 2024, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
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Drake is back in his acting bag. The 6 God teased a clip from his cameo in an episode of season 2’s The Office Movers, which landed on the Crave streaming service on Friday (Nov. 7).
Drake posted a hilarious interaction from his scene on Instagram, which finds him in a misunderstanding with one of the show’s creators, Jermaine “Jae” Richards, as they have different contexts when using the word “guy.”
“Like, you guys have movers, but do you guys have guys, you know, like real guys,” Drake repeatedly asks. He thinks it’s a joke at first and continues to hammer away until realizing they’re just not on the same page.
Drake added in some comic relief, which felt like he was having his Justin Bieber “It’s not clocking to you” moment. “It’s not making sense to you? Maybe I’m not even speaking English. I don’t know,” he continued. “Maybe I’m speaking Guyanese. Everything we use to live is made in Guywan. I’m losing it, bro.”
Plenty of Drake’s rap peers had a laugh in his Instagram comment section, with Boi-1da, Oz, Reese LaFlare, Chinese Kitty and Niko Brim chiming in.
Season 2 of The Office Movers arrived in full on Canadian streaming service Crave on Friday. Created by brothers Jae and Trey Richards, the comedy series follows the Richards brothers’ journey working for an office moving company in Toronto.
“The Office Movers is a hilarious slapstick comedy that also has some heart,” said Justin Stockman, who serves as the vice president, content development and programming at Bell Media said in a statement. “Jae and Trey’s sharp, culture-savvy comedy keeps the show perfectly tuned to the pulse of the moment, and we’re ecstatic they’ve landed a special appearance by one of Canada’s most iconic cultural ambassadors.”
Drake has teamed up with the Richards brothers in the past, as he sampled their work on his 2017 More Life project. Obviously, the OVO boss is no stranger to the acting world, as he previously got his start starring in Degrassi. More recently, he’s made cameos in shows like Lil Dicky’s Dave series.
Watch Drake’s scene below.
Trending on Billboard Big Sean has responded to rumors that he split with Jhené Aiko for another woman seen in a recent video. Sean Don hopped on X to respond to a fan’s inquiry, who asked: “You broke up with the queen over a powdered donut, my n—a?” The question was in response to a […]
Trending on Billboard Quavo, Yeat, and producer BNYX have dropped off their new track “New Trip,” along with an accompanying music video that finds the trio partying it up in Las Vegas. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Over a glitchy beat, Quavo and Yeat trade bars about their fast-paced lifestyle while the video […]
The genre proves to be very much alive and well with The Recording Academy unveiling the 2026 Grammy nominations on Friday (Nov. 7).
11/7/2025
Nicki Minaj showed love to Ye (formerly Kanye West) for taking accountability for his hurtful actions against the Jewish community after meeting with a rabbi.
West met with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto on Tuesday (Nov. 4), during which he expressed remorse and apologized for his previous antisemitic remarks about the Jewish community.
“So happy to see Kanye publicly take accountability for the pain his words may have cause to so many,” she wrote to X on Thursday (Nov. 6), praising West. “Standing with our Jewish brothers & sisters.”
Footage surfaced of West’s meeting with Rabbi Pinto when an Instagram account for Pintoposted the exchange on social media on Thursday.
“I feel really blessed to sit here and take accountability,” West began. “I was dealing with various issues. I was dealing with bipolar also, so I would take the ideas I had and forget about the protection of the people around me and myself. So I wanted to take accountability.”
Ye added: “So it’s like if you left the house and you left your kid at the house and your kid went and messed up the kitchen and messed up the garage and messed up the living room. Then when you get back, it’s your responsibility because that’s your job. That’s the way I look at it. It’s like I gotta go clean up the kitchen, I gotta clean up the living room, I gotta clean up the garage.”
West saw his meeting with Rabbi Pinto as the “first steps” in rebuilding “brick by brick” for the “strong walls” as far as his damaged relationship with the Jewish community goes.
Rabbi Pinto appeared to accept Ye’s apology. “A person is not defined by his mistakes, but by the way he chooses to correct them,” he replied in a translated statement. “This is the true strength of man: The ability to return, to learn, and to build bridges of love and peace.”
The Chicago rapper has been slammed for his repeated antisemitic rhetoric over the last few years, which includes a tweet saying he was going to go “death con 3” [sic] on Jewish people in 2022, and again praising Hitler on X in February this year.
As a result, just about all of his business deals vanished, as companies such as Universal Music Group, Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap ended their partnerships with the rapper.
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6ix9ine claims to be the original content creator, suggesting that people dismiss his influence simply because they are haters.
During his appearance on Adin Ross’ Kick channel on Wednesday, the rainbow-haired rapper reflected on his rise to fame, stating that his breakout moments preceded the invention of TikTok. He argued that if the app had existed during his tumultuous ascent in 2018, he would have dominated the platform.
“In 2018, there was no TikTok,” he said at the 40-minute mark. “Let me get this point across, and maybe y’all say I’m reaching, but this is what I truly believe. … I walked, I went to jail, I entertained you guys with real-life crimes. I was out there putting my life on the line so you guys could run. When Vine was a thing, remember? Instagram. I was the original content creator. I know people don’t like me. It’s the right message, wrong messenger. But these is facts.”
The rapper recalled some of his most unforgettable viral stunts during his rise, including running up a hill with an AK-47. He mentioned prominent streamers like Ross, IShowSpeed and Kai Cenat, claiming they owe some of their success to his pioneering style.
“Y’all remember that?” he said. “Y’all was in high school. I walked so y’all could run, so streamers could run. … My Instagram views and numbers were through the roof. I think I was meant to be a streamer because I’m not faking nothing. I’m just charismatic, and when I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I’m human at the end of the day. But I respect what you do.”
He continued to emphasize how his candidness shaped perceptions of him: “People don’t like me because they can’t control my mouth… and they’re like, ‘Damn, he’s too right.’ I’m not right about everything, because I’m human… I fed families. I’ve fed many families. I’ve created a lot of movements. But because I’m 6ix9ine, people are like, ‘Nah, nah, nah.’”
Check out the full stream below.
Trending on Billboard Ye (formerly Kanye West) met with Rabbi Yoshiayao Yosef Pinto on Tuesday to apologize for his antisemitic remarks about the Jewish community. “I feel really blessed to sit here and take accountability,” West began while holding Pinto’s hands. “I was dealing with various issues. I was dealing with bipolar also, so I […]
