genre hiphop
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Fresh off headlining Coachella, Travis Scott made his return to WWE in Las Vegas on Sunday night (April 20) when La Flame crashed WrestleMania and took part in the action in the ring. In the midst of night two’s main event between John Cena and Cody Rhodes, “FE!N” blared through the Allegiant Stadium speakers and […]
Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” rules the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for a ninth total and consecutive week. The single, whose title honors late R&B legend Luther Vandross, who is sampled on the track, became Lamar’s sixth No. 1 and SZA’s third. Lamar and SZA each extend their longest career Hot 100 reigns with the song, whose official video premiered April 11.
Meanwhile, “Luther” passes 24kGoldn’s “Mood” (featuring iann dior), which led for eight weeks in 2020-21, for the sole second-longest Hot 100 command among rap hits this decade, after only Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which dominated for 11 weeks in 2020. (Rap titles are defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart.)
Plus, Chappell Roan ties her best Hot 100 rank, as “Pink Pony Club” rises 5-4; Alex Warren’s first top 10, “Ordinary,” reaches the top five (7-5), and hits No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart; and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” at No. 7, breaks the record for the most weeks ever spent in the Hot 100’s top 10, as it adds a 58th week in the region, one-upping the run of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
Browse the full rundown of this week’s top 10 below.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated April 26, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, April 22. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
‘Luther’ Airplay, Streams & Sales
Lil Durk wants a judge to dismiss murder-for-hire charges he’s facing over a 2022 shooting, claiming the feds gave “false evidence” to a grand jury by citing song lyrics that he wrote more than six months before the attack ever took place.
Prosecutors charged the Chicago drill star (Durk Banks) last year over allegations that ordered his “OTF” crew to murder rival Quando Rondo in – accusations they backed up by quoting lyrics from a song called “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy” that allegedly referenced the shooting.
But in a motion to dismiss the case filed Friday, Durk’s attorneys said those lyrics could not possibly have made mention of the Rondo shooting because the rapper wrote them “seven months before the incident even happened.”
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“The government told the grand jury that Mr. Banks, through specific lyrics in his music, celebrated and profited from a revenge murder that he had ordered,” writes Durk’s lawyer Drew Findling. “That claim is demonstrably false.”
The allegedly incriminating lyrics came as a feature on a track released by Babyface Ray in December 2022 – three months after the Rondo shooting. But in their motion this week, Durk’s lawyer say he recorded his verses in January and had no subsequent involvement in the song. They cited sworn affidavits from two music producers who worked on “Wonderful Wayne,” who both said Durk made no edits to the lyrics after the shooting.
“Unless the government is prosecuting Banks on a theory of extra-sensory prescience, the lyrics could not have soundly informed the grand jury’s finding of probable cause,” Findling writes.
The use of rap music as evidence in criminal cases is controversial, as critics argue it threatens free speech and can sway juries by tapping into racial biases. Over the past few years, the practice has drawn backlash from the music industry and led to efforts by lawmakers to stop it. But it has continued largely unabated, most notably in the recent criminal case against Young Thug in Atlanta, in which prosecutors made extensive use of his music.
Durk was arrested in October on murder-for-hire and gun charges related to the September 2022 shooting at a Los Angeles gas station, which left Rondo (Tyquian Bowman) unscathed but saw friend Lul Pab (Saviay’a Robinson) killed in the crossfire.
Prosecutors say Durk’s Only The Family crew was not merely a well-publicized group of Chicago rappers, but a “hybrid organization” that also functioned as a criminal gang to carry out violent acts “at the direction” of Durk. One of them was the Rondo attack, the feds say, allegedly carried out in retaliation for the 2020 killing of rapper King Von (Dayvon Bennett), a close friend of Durk’s.
“Banks put a monetary bounty out for an individual with whom Banks was feuding named T.B.,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment, referring to Rondo by his initials. “Banks ordered T.B.’s murder and the hitmen used Banks and OTF-related finances to carry out the murder.”
In addition to Durk, prosecutors have also charged several alleged OTF members — Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson and Asa Houston — as well as two other alleged Chicago gang members named Keith Jones and David Brian Lindsey.
To support those claims, prosecutors alleged that Durk “sought to commercialize” Lul Pub’s death by “rapping about his revenge” on Rondo: “Told me they got an addy (go, go)/ Got location (go, go)/ Green light (go, go, go, go, go),” Durk raps in the track. “Look on the news and see your son/You screamin’, “No, no” (pu–y).”
But in Friday’s motion to dismiss, Durk’s lawyers say that accusation is “patently false,” and that including them in the indictment is the kind of “egregious” prosecutorial conduct that requires the judge to toss the case entirely.
“A prosecutor who knowingly secures an indictment based upon false information, or who allows a falsely obtained indictment to persist, routs the grand jury from its central protective function,” Findling writes. “That is clearly what happened here.”
Durk’s indictment also alleged that “Wonderful Wayne” makes direct reference to a news clip filmed shortly after the shooting, in which Rondo can be heard screaming “no, no!” after seeing Lul Pab’s dead body. But his lawyers now say those were internet edits posted to YouTube, and that the audio from the news broadcast was not used in the original.
“Mr. Banks did not create these videos, and the government has failed to show any nexus between these manufactured video clips and Mr. Banks,” Finding says. “The internet users who posted the videos … are apparent ‘fan pages’ maintained by people with no affiliation to Mr. Banks.”
Dismissing criminal charges at the outset is a drastic step that courts rarely take. But Durks’ attorneys say the lyrics were the “linchpin” to the case against him, forming one of only two pieces of evidence that was presented to the grand jury that issued the indictment.
“For the grand jury not to have been substantially influenced by that evidence in its decision to indict is inconceivable,” Findling writes.
Thanks to SZA‘s debut album, Doechii was able to accept that the party was definitely over with an unsupportive ex years ago.
In a Cosmopolitan cover story published Monday (April 21), the Swamp Princess recalled how listening to Ctrl back when she was 18 enabled her to break things off with her then-boyfriend, who she says limited her creatively. “I was dating a guy who just wasn’t very supportive of my music, and it really stifled me,” she told the publication. “I stopped writing because he was just like, ‘That’s not cool.’ I took his opinion way too seriously when really he just didn’t get it.”
“I remember listening to SZA’s Ctrl for the first time, and it literally gave me the courage to break up with him,” Doechii continued. “I only bring that up because she inspired me to be vulnerable through my music in a way that I didn’t think I could be.”
The decision definitely paid off. Eight years later, Doechii is now the third woman to ever win best rap album at the Grammys — taking home the award in February for breakthrough mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal — and was crowned Billboard‘s 2025 Woman of the Year in March. She’s also in another relationship now, this time with a woman, about which she told Cosmo, “My literal existence as a queer Black woman is a major contribution to the hip-hop genre.”
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“I’m speaking truthfully from a queer Black woman’s perspective, and being honest about my life through my lens is amazing,” the Florida native added. “That perspective is being highlighted, and we need queer perspectives.”
Doechii’s praise for SZA comes as the two women share slots high up on the Billboard Hot 100, with the former’s first-ever top 10 hit, “Anxiety,” sitting at No. 14 on the chart dated April 19 while the latter’s “Luther” collaboration with Kendrick Lamar spends its eighth week at No. 1. And in her cover story, the “Denial Is a River” spitfire also gushed about another leading lady in music: Beyoncé.
“I relate to her efforts as a businesswoman and her leadership,” Doechii said. “She is the embodiment of an eloquent leader. I look up to the way that she handles her job, her fame, and her fans. She is the ultimate showgirl and professional artist.”
See Doechii on the cover of Cosmo below.
Cardi B is pulling no punches at this year’s WWE SummerSlam, which the rapper announced late Friday (April 18) she’ll be hosting both nights this August.
In a clip shared to the wrestling promotion company’s X account, Cardi — wearing an Eddie Guerrero T-shirt — excitedly shares the news. “What’s up, WWE universe?” she tells the camera, waving. “Guess what? SummerSlam. MetLife. Two nights. And I will finally be hosting.”
“And nobody better try me,” a hyped-up Cardi ends the announcement video following a montage of all-star fighters taking the ring. “We gonna turn up!”
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The two-day event will take place Aug. 2 and 3 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. It comes four years after the WWE reportedly wanted the “WAP” artist to appear at SummerSlam 2021 before her pregnancy with son Wave made her unable to do so, though the event still used her song “Up” as its official theme that year.
SummerSlam 2025 will also mark the first time the event has been held over the course of two days, something Cardi helped announce back in September. Tickets go on sale May 2, with a pre-sale taking place two days prior, for which fans can now register on WWE’s website.
The news follows the release of the hip-hop titan’s latest single, “Toot It Up,” with Pardison Fontaine. Cardi is also featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming Smurfs movie, with DJ Khaled’s “Higher Love” featuring the “Bodak Yellow” musician and Desi Trill dropping in February.
Both tracks come as Cardi is still working on her long-awaited sophomore album, which will follow 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. The star gave fans an update on the project earlier this month, saying on X Spaces, “The features on my album are really good … I’m working with artists, some that I have worked before and some that I haven’t worked before.”
“And the ones that I have not worked before, I feel like it’s gonna really, really surprise y’all,” she added at the time. “I can tell y’all this, I’m 100 percent confident with this album. I just don’t think what I got is out there.”
See the announcement for Cardi’s upcoming WWE gig below.
“I’m free … I had to give up music for a while. I thought it would just be for a year. I realize now I’m grateful for all of those years because I have built myself back up. It is kind of a comeback.”
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So declares Keri Hilson in “Grateful,” the track that introduces We Need to Talk: Love — her first album in 15 years since 2010’s sophomore set No Boys Allowed. Released April 18 on her own imprint Audible Art Club via Create Music Group, the nine-track Love finds the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter back in true form after a memorable run of multigenre-fused hits such as the platinum singles “Knock You Down” and “Pretty Girl Rock,” “Energy,” “Turnin Me On” with Lil Wayne and her vocal feature on Timbaland’s “The Way I Are,” which she co-wrote with the artist-producer.
This time around, Hilson collaborated with songwriters and producers like Tiffany Red, Danja (who, she says, “has worked on every project I’ve had”) and Needlz and Donut. Prefaced by lead single “Bae,” the album’s other notable tracks include the raw “Naked,” “Say That” (“It’s like a soft rock song… It’s different for me”), “Whatever” (“It’s going to touch people”) and “Somethin (Bout U)” (“I couldn’t stop ad libbing in the booth”). Hilson also notes this album is the first in a three-project arc — Love. Drama. Redemption. — that chronicles her 15-year break from the solo career she launched in 2009 with debut album In a Perfect World.
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“‘Grateful’ is actually an excerpt from an interview I did with [psychic medium] Reginald Lewis that aired on Steve Harvey’s show,” recalls Hilson. “It was a real and special moment; I was in tears. So we decided to put that on to help explain as I’ve got several albums’ worth of music and want to tell a cohesive story — love, drama, redemption — like a movie. I realized I had a thread that would weave this tapestry together.”
While the rollout of the next two albums is still being determined, Hilson is also starring in a new film: Temptations: Fame. Premiering April 26 on Lifetime, the movie is the latest chapter in an acting career that began with 2012’s Think Like a Man.
During a recent sit-down with Billboard, Hilson shares what she’s learned about Keri the person and Keri the singer-songwriter over the last 15 years: “That I’m pretty freaking courageous… I also learned how important and necessary freedom is as you call your own shots. Those are the two biggest things. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s definitely welcome.”
Was there one moment that sparked your decision to finally release new music?
There was no defining moment. But there was a phase during the last five years where all these serendipitous moments started happening: acting auditions, movie offers, fans walking up and saying, “You helped me leave an unhealthy relationship or marriage” with songs like “Beautiful Mistake.” Then there were happenstance encounters with people that could help me on the business side to structure my label the way that I wanted. So I felt redemption, vindication. Energy in the universe made it so very clear that it’s time. I couldn’t deny it.
What was the deciding factor in choosing midtempo “Bae” as the lead single?
It was the perfect first song for the simple fact that it’s straightforward. You’re hearing me without a lot of heavy arrangement. You’re hearing me just carry on the mic, with no feature. There is a sample [of Hurricane Chris’ 2007 single “A Bay Bay”] that is supportive but not overpowering; we were very intentional on that. It felt like a toe in the water and the perfect tempo to reintroduce myself with. And my partner loves “Bae.”
While recording, I was listening to my repertoire, which includes Bobby Brown, Babyface, Ms. Lauryn Hill: the things that have inspired me are still the same things that always inspire me. I’m also a Bruno Mars fan, and that Silk Sonic collaboration was everything, doing old things in a new way.
Why was Method Man, the only guest on this album, your choice for the song “Searchin’”?
There’s a tribal nature about that song, but there’s also this New York street essence that reminded me of Wu-Tang and only Wu-Tang. And I love Method Man; always been a fan of his cadence, voice and his look, which ain’t bad either [laughs]. Plus I’d just done a film [2021’s A Hip Hop Family Christmas] with his partner in crime, Redman. So I got in touch with Method Mad and he was so gracious, saying “Just let me know when you need me, what you need from me; just tell me and I’m there.” That’s just the energy that you want to have as an artist, especially [when you’re] re-emerging. It’s scary. You want and need the support. And he’s just such brother energy; a good guy.
Looking back on the music industry then vs. now, has it changed for the better or worse?
Starting with the better, artists have more freedom to literally create and carve out their own space, like real estate. And because of social media, people are flipping the channel to find where artists are setting up shop. That’s a great thing. Now we [artists] are in charge of curating our own channels. But while we’re in a new world, there are also some negatives in that it has created a lot of fear for the average artist. You want your music to work. You want the traffic, the sales and streams, to sell out shows. So it creates an environment, a culture of safe music.
Even within your own sphere, you’re like, “This is what I’m known for. I can’t deviate from that. This is what they want from me, and I have to serve that.” Your fans will even say it: “Keep making songs like …” and put you in a box. It’s pressure both internally and externally. And that’s the sad part. I’ve never followed rules, and I don’t plan on starting now. It’s necessary for people to come in and mix this shit up. That’s what I’m aiming to do.
Speaking of social media, you recently experienced a trending moment after sharing your regrets about a Beyoncé diss on the remix to your 2009 hit “Turnin Me On,” which later drew reaction from songwriter Ester Dean.
Obviously, the scope of social media has changed to be very salacious, a lot more than when I was out before. And that can be difficult to navigate. But despite this culture of negativity and click bait, nothing feels better than truth. That’s the best weapon. If you know you’re being honest and truthful, then you can stand up to anything because your authenticity and integrity are all you have at the end of the day. And that’s all I want to say about that.
What role does acting play in satisfying yourself creatively?
It’s a longer escape. Music can be an escape for a day or two. But while I’m creating movies, I get to pause time for much longer periods. It allows me to escape reality, and that’s really part of why I dove head first into it. My father passed in January 2020. I’d done a couple movies prior to that but now it was a departure from my grief, a welcome thing. I realized that I can kind of pause time, step away from myself and these heavy feelings. To smile and laugh because the character’s bubbly. It helped pull me out of that dark space.
Keri Hilson ‘We Need to Talk’
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One week after they claimed Coachella censored the pro-Palestinian messaging during their debut at the event, Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap ended their second festival date with strong anti-Israel sentiments.
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The Belfast trio performed at the festival’s second weekend on Friday (April 18), closing their set by projecting strong messaging in support of Palestinians. “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”
Reportedly, Kneecap’s first weekend performance on April 11 was also set to feature the messages, though their sentiments did not appear. The absent messages were brought to the band’s attention after word that their chant celebrating the 2013 death of former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was not broadcast during the festival’s livestream.
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“Not the only thing that was cut – our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” Kneecap wrote on socials in response to the incident. “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted.” According to Variety, the Sonora tent’s performances were not broadcast for the second weekend of the festival.
Alongside the promised return of the messages, the trio also increased their sentiments for the second weekend. While their pro-Palestine and anti-Israel chants remained, the group also used their latest performance to tell the crowd “the Irish are not so longer persecuted under the Brits, but we were never bombed under the f–king skies with nowhere to go.”
This year’s edition of Coachella has not been lacking in terms of artists protesting Israel and sharing their support of Palestine. While Green Day have altered lyrics to reflect the plight of Palestinian children, names such as Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead have also displayed Palestinian flags during their sets. In the case of the latter, the onstage event was soundtracked by audio of Mahmoud Khalil – the detained Columbia University graduate student currently being held in an immigration detention center following his role in on-campus protests.
Kneecap’s messaging has generated the most notoriety, however, with many artists and fans calling on Coachella organizers Goldenvoice and parent company AEG Presents to comment on the situation. The Hollywood Reporter notes that insiders have claimed Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett was “blindsided” by Kneecap’s actions.
In a post shared on social media, HYBE America CEO and former talent manager Scooter Braun – who previously staged exhibits in Los Angeles and Israel about the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel – defended Tollett.
“This is my friend Paul Tollett, the founder of @coachella,” Braun wrote. “He is someone who lives and breathes the festival community. He fights for artists and he fights for all people. When I invited him to the opening of the Nova music exhibit in Los Angeles, he was the first person from the industry to accept.
“He came on his own time and spent five hours in the exhibit and then met with survivors of nova and invited them to the festival this year as his guest. He cried with them, he laughed with them, and he continues to advocate for them.
“Let’s not lose sight of who this man is, and let us stand with him in this moment when a group, without his knowing, took advantage of his festival and created hate in a place that’s filled with love,” Braun added.
Snoop Dogg‘s mind-bending new “Last Dance With Mary Jane” music video arrived just in time for 4/20. Featuring guest Jelly Roll and a depiction of the late Tom Petty — the track samples a Petty and the Heartbreakers classic, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” — the visual also includes Dr. Dre (who produced the song), the […]
Ken Carson lands his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the rapper’s latest project, More Chaos, enters atop the list dated April 26.
The set earned 59,500 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending April 18, according to Luminate. Of that sum, nearly 82% was driven by streaming activity. More Chaos is Carson’s first top 10 effort as well and follows two charted titles: A Great Chaos (No. 11 peak in 2023) and X (No. 115 in 2022).
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More Chaos, released via Opium/Interscope Records, replaces Opium label founder Playboi Carti atop the Billboard 200, as the latter’s MUSIC moves to No. 7 after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.
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Carson is the third act in 2025 to land their first No. 1 this year, following Tate McRae (with So Close To What) and PARTYNEXTDOOR (with the Drake collaboration set $ome $exy $ongs 4 U). In all of 2024, there were five acts that got their first No. 1: Ty Dolla $ign (with the Ye collab Vultures 1), TWICE (With YOU-th), Sabrina Carpenter (Short n’ Sweet), Jelly Roll (Beautifully Broken) and Yeat (Lyfestyle).
With More Chaos earning 59,500 units in the latest tracking week, that marks the smallest weekly sum for a No. 1 album in nearly three years, since the May 2, 2022-dated chart, when Pusha T’s It’s Almost Dry opened at No. 1 with just under 55,000 units.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 26, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 22. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of More Chaos’ 59,500 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 48,500 (equaling 67.3 million on-demand official streams of the songs on the streaming editions of the album; it debuts at No. 3 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 11,000 (it debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
More Chaos was available in its first week as a standard 18-song album (on color vinyl and a widely available CD and in three deluxe boxed sets containing a T-shirt and CD) and in two widely available expanded digital/streaming editions that added three and four songs, respectively.
The rest of the top 10 on the Billboard 200 is fairly low-key, as Carson is the lone debut in the region. The Nos. 2-10 titles are also all former No. 1s. (The top 10 was last comprised entirely of No. 1s on the Dec. 9, 2023-dated list.) Kendrick Lamar’s GNX rises 5-2 with nearly 55,000 equivalent album units earned (up 3%), while SZA’s SOS climbs 4-3 with 53,000 (down 2%). The pair kicked off their co-headlining Grand National Tour on April 19 at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is up two spots to No. 4 (52,000 equivalent album units; up 6%), $ome $exy $ongs 4 U falls 3-5 (nearly 52,000; down 8% — as the set climbs 2-1 on Top Streaming Albums for a fourth nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1); Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time ascends 7-6 (46,000; up 4%); Playboi Carti’s MUSIC falls 1-7 (45,500; down 29%); Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is steady at No. 8 (nearly 42,000; down 2%); Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine falls 2-9 (40,000; down 29%); and Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM rises 12-10 (39,500; up 11%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – who are currently sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 for the eighth week with their “Luther” collab from the former’s GNX album – kicked off the most anticipated tour of 2025 in Minneapolis on Saturday (April 19) night at the U.S. Bank Stadium. The Grand National Tour’s start saw the […]