genre hiphop

12 Jun 2025

Jeezy Says He’s At ‘Peace’ After Tumultuous Divorce from Jeannie Mai

Jeezy has said he’s finally at a peaceful place in his life following his tumultuous divorce from Jeannie Mai last year. Sitting down with The Breakfast Club on Wednesday (June 11), Jeezy said despite the bitter divorce he was embroiled in for most of 2024, his 2025 has been filled with nothing but peace.

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“Peace, yeah, peace man,” Jeezy said when asked where things currently stand with Mai. “I’m all about understanding. I’m all about what’s best for everybody, the greater good. I’m just telling you, I tell myself this every day: ‘Man, this is amazing.’ I don’t got no enemies, I don’t go no issues. I don’t want no enemies, I don’t want no issues. I just want peace, I just want joy, I just want freedom. I love my freedom, I love it.”

He went on to say that he can move “independently” now, including coming to The Breakfast Club whenever he wants.

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“I ain’t gotta check in, I ain’t gotta talk to no label, I don’t gotta do nothing,” Jeezy continued. “Shout out to Def Jam, love y’all. But it’s just like, freedom and ownership is everything, especially when you’re talking art, you’re talking culture, you’re talking your mind. I work hard my whole life, this is the season of me. I’m putting myself first at all costs. My peace is everything.”

The former couple’s divorce was finalized last summer and was anything but amicable. Allegations of domestic abuse were hurled around last April, which Jeezy denied.

“It’s disheartening to witness the manipulation and deceit at play and at this time my main concern is being an active father to our daughter as I continue to fight for court mandated joint custody,” Jeezy wrote on social media at the time about the child the pair share, three-year-old Monaco Mai Jenkins. “Rest assured, the truth will prevail through the proper legal channels.”

12 Jun 2025

Lil Wayne Recruits Future & Lil Baby for Somber ‘Momma Don’t Worry’: Listen

Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter VI week has been filled with surprises. After enlisting Nicki Minaj for the “Banned From NO (Remix),” Weezy returned 24 hours later on Thursday (June 12) to clash with Lil Baby and Future on “Momma Don’t Worry.”

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Future handles chorus duties on the somber track, which finds the trio calming their mothers’ worries, assuring them at their turbulent upbringings prepared them for the callousness of life.

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“Momma, don’t worry, I got my pistol/ I’m gettin’ my dollars, you birthed a real n—a/ Told my daddy, ‘Don’t be sorry, I’m not gon’ blame you’/ If it weren’t for struggle, my dreams, they wouldn’t came true,” Future raps.

Baby takes the baton and continues with the same theme, speaking directly to his mother. “Told Momma, ‘Don’t worry, you know you raised a hard body’/ Granny called the other day, said, ‘Don’t scratch ’cause God got you,’” he asserts.

Weezy joins the mix and addresses the lack of a relationship with his father, who was absent from his life following a divorce from Wayne’s mom. “Told my daddy, ‘I don’t blame you, neither claim you’/ You was never in the picture, somebody framed you/ Mom’s bought my first pistol, brought me to the range too,” he spews.

Lil Baby and Weezy have teamed up for tracks like “Forever” in the past, while the New Orleans rap legend has an extensive history with Future, uniting with him on songs including “Love Me,” “After That,” “Oxy” and the “Karate Chop (Remix).”

Tha Carter VI arrived on Friday (June 6) featuring assists from Kodak Black, MGK, Bono, BigXthaPlug, Jelly Roll and Big Sean.

Listen to “Momma Don’t Worry” below.

12 Jun 2025

Drake to Stream ‘Somebody Loves Me’ Cash Giveaway with Kai Cenat During Kendrick Lamar’s Toronto Show

Drake has no plans on checking out Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s Grand National Tour stop in Toronto tonight (June 12).

Instead, he’ll be doing a livestream with Kai Cenat where they’ll be finally picking winners from the “Somebody Loves Me” music video treatment challenge they announced in May where 20 creators will be given $15,000 each to bring their ideas to life. Participants had to submit 30-second to one-minute treatments by May 24 as part of the stunt.

On Wednesday (June 11), Cenat announced on his Instagram Stories that he and Drake intended to go live but felt like they needed more time to sift through the submission, so they decided to push the livestream back by one day.

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“First of all thank to everyone who shared their video submission for ‘Somebody Loves Me,’ he wrote. “We were blown away by the creativity and thought poured into each submission. We were suppose to go live today but needed a little extra time to review them. Tomorrow, Drake & I gonna go through some of the submissions with you guys, share some of my favorites and some of the not so good ones. and let y’all know which 20 people are getting money to bring their treatments to life.”

This isn’t the first time Drake has scheduled something around one of Kendrick’s shows. The third date of his Anita Max Win Australasia Tour coincided with the Compton rapper’s historic Super Bowl Halftime Show performance on Feb. 9. It’s also fair to add that Kendrick and SZA will be performing in Toronto on Friday (June 13) as well, so maybe Drake will pop out for that one. This is just the latest chapter in their bitter beef that came to a head last spring when the two superstars exchanged diss tracks after years of sending subliminal shots at each other on songs.

The stream will be going down later tonight at 8 p.m. EST on Kai’s Twitch channel.

12 Jun 2025

‘Billboard Unfiltered’: Reviewing Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter VI’ & His All-Time Ranking in Rap

Billboard Unfiltered is back with a reimagined format and will remain a live show every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Staff writer Kyle Denis, senior director R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre and senior charts analyst Trevor Anderson returned with new moderator Delisa Shannon on Wednesday (June 11) as the trio debated the early returns of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter VI, and all three skewed to various degrees of a negative reception to Weezy’s latest installment in his decorated series.

Lamarre compared Wayne’s career legacy to that of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and said Weezy still remains in his top five of all-time. Although, CL believes that the disappointing album and his solo output over the last decade have watered down his discography.

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“I need to fire whoever was A&R and executive producing my brother Wayne’s album because this is easily the worst [Carter] in the entire series,” he claimed. “[C6] was just a full trainwreck… When you take out the mixtapes and look at pure albums. From one, five and six on Tha Carter is mid — everything else is mid.”

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Denis bluntly said C6 is “not a good album at all” and “a—.” “He spent the last year begging for sympathy by him not getting the Super Bowl slot and he deserved that,” he said. “This was the time to drop a fire album, get one or two hits off of that, and make your actual case for a Super Bowl headlining show next year. That’s completely shot now because it’s a—… You did not rise to the occasion.”

Anderson seemed to enjoy the album most among the Unfiltered crew, highlighting the first six tracks as standouts before being derailed. “I’m not gonna be that hard on it,” TA began. “Clearly, it’s the weakest entry in the canon… It didn’t stick the landing for me… I don’t know if this album really messes up [if Wayne is top five or top 10] for me… It does weaken Tha Carter series overall… But I don’t think it messes up the legacy peg at all.”

The conversation turned to Wayne’s legacy and Lamarre believes every top 10 rapper should have at least three classic solo offerings, and he thinks Wayne has two with the second and third installments of Tha Carter, but not much else. “I’m adamant about saying his [albums] discography is not as strong as people think,” he declared.

Ultimately, the trio wants to see Wayne get back to the drawing board and lock in with a singular producer like Nas did with Hit-Boy to bring that greatness out of him. When the dust settled, Shannon gave Trevor Anderson the victory in the first game of the revamped Unfiltered series.

Watch the full episode below.

11 Jun 2025

Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter VI’ Reaction: Is He Still A Top 5 Rapper? | Billboard Unfiltered

In today’s episode of Billboard Unfiltered, Billboard staffers Carl Lamarre, Trevor Anderson, and Kyle Denis give their thoughts on Lil Wayne’s latest drop and debate on if he is on their list of the top 5 rappers all time. Moderated by Billboard’s Delissa Shannon, each hip-hop expert gives their hot take on the album, his legacy and more.

Did you like ‘Tha Carter VI’? Drop your opinion in the chat!

Delisa Shannon:

What is up y’all, this is Billboard Unfiltered where we debate hot button topics, and whoever wins gets to give their unfiltered take. Now I am Delisa Shannon, your host for today, Short Form Content Director here at Billboard. For our panelists, we’ve got Mr. Carl Lamarre, Senior Director of R&B and Hip-Hop here at Billboard. We’ve got the Trevor Anderson, Senior Charts and Data Analyst for R&B and Hip-Hop, and the goat Kyle Denis, staff writer. All right, y’all, what’s-

Trevor Anderson:

What is this? Like, this initial bias? 

Delisa Shannon:

No, I just- I mean,

Kyle Denis:

The intro was crazy

Delisa Shannon:

I mean I can’t even give my dude like props.

Carl Lamarre:

The Trevor,  goat Kyle.

Delisa Shannon:

I said Mr. Carl Lamarre. 

Kyle Denis:

You got an actual title. 

Delisa Shannon:

This is no preferential treatment, don’t let it get it to your ears. I treat all my boys the same. Okay, I don’t discriminate. All right. Are we good to get into the topic of today?

Trevor Anderson:

We’re really not good, but I’ll let it slide.

Carl Lamarre:

I was about to hit my buzzer. 

Kyle Denis:

Haters.

Delisa Shannon:

Listen, Kyle, don’t let them knock you off. 

Kyle Denis: 

They could never knock me. 

Delisa Shannon:

Don’t let it. Don’t even start. So let’s get into the topic. So today we’re going to discuss Lil Wayne’s new album, ‘The Carter VI’. The album has received mixed reviews. I want to know, what are your thoughts? Do we think Lil Wayne is still on the list of the top five best rappers of all time? Carl, we’re going to start with your opening statement, 90 seconds, and you start now.

Keep watching for more!

11 Jun 2025

Rapper Silento Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Killing His Cousin

Atlanta rapper Silento, known for his 2015 chart-topper “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting his cousin dead in 2021.

Silento (Ricky Lamar Hawk) had been scheduled to stand trial this week over the death of his cousin Frederick Rooks. Instead, the 27-year-old rapper took a plea deal on Wednesday (June 11).

The rapper pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, gun possession and concealing a death but said he was mentally ill when the crimes were committed. The manslaughter charge was downgraded from a harsher malice murder count in his indictment, while Georgia prosecutors agreed to drop another felony murder charge.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson sentenced Silento to 30 years in prison following the plea. He’ll get credit for the four years he’s spent in jail since his 2021 arrest.

Prosecutors claim Silento shot his 34-year-old cousin Rooks multiple times in February 2021 and then fled the scene. Silento allegedly admitted to killing Rooks during a post-arrest interview with investigators, and prosecutors say bullet casings recovered from the scene matched a gun found on the rapper when he was apprehended.

A rep for Silento said when he was arrested in 2021 that the rapper had been “suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.” He was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder in jail, according to court filings.

Silento’s lawyer did not return a request for comment on the guilty plea and sentence on Wednesday.

“Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” spawned a viral dance craze in 2015 and spent 51 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 3. In 2019, Billboard named the track one of the 100 Songs That Defined the Decade.

Silento faced a number of legal troubles after the success of “Watch Me.” In 2017, he was held in the United Arab Emirates over a business dispute with a local concert promoter, after which a court ordered him to pay 300,000 dirhams ($81,500) for failing to play two scheduled shows in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi.

In 2020, Silento was arrested twice in two days in California for domestic violence and for walking into a stranger’s home holding a hatchet. Later the same year, he was arrested again for driving 143 mph on Interstate 85 in Georgia.

11 Jun 2025

Fat Joe & Jadakiss Host Father’s Day Lunch for 70 Families Impacted by Criminal Justice System

Fat Joe and Jadakiss hosted a Father’s Day luncheon at Sei Less NYC on Wednesday afternoon (June 11) for 70 fathers and their families who have been impacted by the criminal justice system.

The Joe & Jada podcast co-hosts shared words of wisdom and traded stories with the families on hand while munching on an array of delectable Asian fusion dishes at the Manhattan staple.

After posing for photos and selfies, some of the fathers even had the chance to play their own music for the pair of New York rap veterans throughout the afternoon.

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“A lot of kids grew up, parents used drugs and parents in jail and all that — the fact that I had my father, a real leader in my household, and working and always kept me focused on the right things,” Joe said of his relationship with his father.

‘Kiss reflected on the importance of helping reintegrate those who were incarcerated back into productive members of society. “Just hitting that switch to let them know that they can come back and get right due to whatever hardships they went through,” Jada said. “There’s some hope now when you come back to get readjusted. Hopefully change your financial situation.”

Joe also implored fathers who have fractured relationships with their kids to reconnect. “Reconnect with your kids because sometimes kids can get bitter their parents were away in jail,” Joe added. “You gotta find that bond. It’s always there, but you gotta find that red tape to get in sync.”

He continued: “Start now. Forget if you messed up the last 10, 20, 30 years. Start now to be a productive father and get your relationship with your kids. … On New Year’s everyone want to lose weight; I think Father’s Day should be an adjustment with you and your kids.”

Joe and Jadakiss hosted the event in collaboration with Sei Less co-founder Dara Mirjahangiry and the REFORM Alliance, ensuring that this Father’s Day these families had something to celebrate.

“Working with Fat Joe, Jadakiss and REFORM to celebrate these fathers at Sei Less was truly special,” Mirjahangiry said. “Ahead of Father’s Day, we really wanted to shine a light on these fathers who have been impacted by the criminal justice system and support their re-entry journey with compassion. It was a powerful way to bond through culture, community and cuisine.”

11 Jun 2025

Snoop Dogg Takes You Behind His Biggest Hits: ‘Beautiful,’ ‘California Gurls’ & More | Chart History | Billboard

Snoop Dogg sits down to take us inside the stories of some of his biggest hits, including the real reason Katy Perry created “California Gurls,” his interactions in Brazil’s favelas, what he wanted to emulate in “Sensual Seduction,” morphing into a doberman in “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?,” working with Akon on “I Wanna Love You,” the impact of “Drop It Like It’s Hot” on his career and more!

What’s your favorite Snoop Dogg? Let us know in the comments! 

Snoop Dogg: 

What’s crackalackin? It’s your boy. Big Snoop D-O double G, and this is my Billboard chart history. I got a bunch of home girls that are like Katy Perry, so it was like for me to have a record like that that actually fits in their world. It was a treat. She had hit me because she was, you know, out and about, and she kept hearing the Alicia Keys and Jay-Z song. And she was like, “We need a song to represent West Coast California because I don’t hear nothing like that saying where we from when I’m in the club.” So that’s how that song came about. She was looking to have an answer to that record. I think she did an amazing job, like aiming at the target and hitting the target and delivering and picking the right tempo, the right style and the right person to combine it on the song with. One thing about a great collaboration, what it does is it brings two fan bases together. I think it brought both worlds together to where, you know, Katy’s fans and my fans were able to take a ride together, and that’s the beautiful part about a collaborative effort in the studio that translate to a video. I had to have that song on my playlist overseas. It was a couple of shows I did when that record came out, and I didn’t perform it. They was mad, like, very mad. And I was like, damn, I got all this gangsta sh*t. Y’all want me to do this song? So then I started adding it to my playlist, and I seen how when it would come on, they going crazy. So then I added a component where I have girls come out with beach balls, and they throw them in the crowd when that song come on. You can just see them. They just catching the beach- they love, they love catching balls.

Keep watching for more!

11 Jun 2025

50 Cent Trolls Elon Musk Over Donald Trump Rift: ‘He Really Don’t Give a F—‘

50 Cent is never one to shy away from controversy, and he threw himself into the middle of the highly publicized rift between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

50’s taken his social media game to another level since figuring out how to use AI-generated images, and he posted another two on Tuesday (June 10) featuring him in conversation with Trump and the Tesla founder.

The G-Unit boss has been complimentary of Trump in the past and he mocked Musk for his alleged eye injury. “So what happened with Elon, heard he let some punk punch him in the face,” he wrote in the caption alongside an AI photo of him and the president on the golf course.

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Musk has claimed that the eye injury came from a playful tussle with his 5-year-old son. 50 followed up with an AI picture of the Queens rap legend on a plane talking to Musk.

“Hey man I think you should talk to Donald. I know you don’t give a f—, but he really don’t give a f—,” he added.

Trump and the tech mogul’s feud escalated earlier in June after Musk announced he was leaving his post as part of the government following the president’s approval of a Republican-supported tax bill that cuts electric vehicle tax credits and will impact Musk’s Tesla company.

The feud spilled over onto X and got ugly when Musk slammed Trump and tied him to associating with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, when the dust settled, Musk admitted he regretted some of his actions. “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week,” he wrote. “They went too far.”

50 has been attempting to get Trump’s attention after the president said he’d “consider” potentially pardoning Diddy if he’s convicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Being the king of petty that he is, 50 posted clips from the past featuring Diddy condemning Donald Trump. “[Diddy] said some really bad things about Trump, it’s not ok. I’m gonna reach out so he knows how I feel about this guy,” 50 Cent wrote in a since-deleted post to IG captured by Rolling Stone. “Donald doesn’t take well to disrespect, and doesn’t forget who chooses to go against him. While working tirelessly to make America great again there is no room for distraction. He would consider pardoning anyone who was being mistreated not Puffy Daddy.”

11 Jun 2025

Ciara, Snoop Dogg & More Share Their Favorite Mariah Carey Song | Billboard News 

We caught up with Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Keke Palmer, Jermaine Dupri, and more on the red carpet of the 2025 BET Awards and found out their all-time favorite Mariah Carey song.

What’s your favorite Mariah Carey song? Let us know in the comments! 

Keke Palmer: You’ll always see my baby

Snoop Dogg: I would be like “Mariah. You know, when I was in jail, ‘Vision of Love,’ we used to sit around waiting for that video to come on. I can’t believe I did a song with you.”

Ciara: Oh my gosh, there’s so many hits.

Lauren-Ashley Beck: Mariah Carey is being nominated for an icon award this evening, what is your favorite Mariah Carey song? 

Amerie: My favorite? “We Belong Together.”

Lucky Daye: I like the one she did with. Uh, is it Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Oh yes, I can see the music video.

Ciara: That right there, by far, is one of the most timeless records that is special. 

Jermaine Dupri: “My All.” I know y’all thought I was gonna say one of my songs. 

We did. 

Jermaine Dupri: She knows that’s my song. Yeah, I love that song. I wish I would have made that song,

We gotta get you on the stage. Okay, that was amazing. I have chills, actually.

Amerie: That’s my son’s favorite Christmas song. He actually liked it outside of Christmas, but he just started dancing and running around. Yeah, it’s just great, like she created a new classic.