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It was a 00XO party in the desert. The Weeknd kicked off his 2025 After Hours Til Dawn Tour on a balmy Friday night (May 9) with Playboi Carti at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The “Timeless” collaborators, alongside Mike Dean, are set to invade stadiums across North America throughout the summer, and it could be the singer’s final trek under his The Weeknd stage alias.
Glendale had the honor of batting lead-off on Friday before the tour takes a two-week break, which could be tied to Abel’s Hurry Up Tomorrow film arriving next week.
Playboi Carti isn’t your average tour opener, and King Vamp brought his star power to the stage at 8 p.m. PT. Carti ended up running through a tight 15-track set in about 45 minutes. The Atlanta native said it was his first time back in the Phoenix area since 2015, and he told the crowd it “feels good to be home.”
The “Magnolia” rapper was very engaged throughout the set and wasn’t shy about showing his appreciation for being on a stadium tour compared to his typical mysterious self. He’d come back for seconds during The Weeknd’s set to perform collabs like “Rather Lie” and “Timeless.”
The main event kicked off when Abel appeared flanked by red-hooded dancers with a haunting entrance just shy of 9:30 p.m. PT. Rocking a black Christian cordella with golden glitter splattered across, a masked Weeknd sent the sold-out State Farm Stadium into a frenzy with “The Abyss.”
“The first night’s always the best night,” the Canadian hitmaker said, much to the delight of the XO faithful. The stage boasts burning buildings around the city, which mirrors his 2022 tour, then the catwalk extends to a giant Sorayama statue that could double as a sexy Golden Globe Award. Side stages featuring neon-lit oval rings make Abel look like he’s performing in a clear tunnel during portions of the show.
Proving he’s still one of the 21st century’s premier live acts, Abel bounced around much of his decorated discography, outside of Kiss Land, while keeping the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout the two-hour set, which consisted of 37 tracks in total to feed even the most starved XO fan’s appetite.
Here’s every song that Playboi Carti and The Weeknd performed on night one of the 2025 After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Arizona.
Playboi Carti – “Evil J0rdan”
Kendrick Lamar gave Lefty Gunplay and JasonMartin their flowers after the release of their new album Can’t Get Right. On Friday (May 9), Gunplay and the rapper formerly known as Problem released their joint LP Can’t Get Right. Both artists had appeared on K-Dot’s latest release GNX, with JasonMartin showing up on the title track […]
Akon has chimed in on the tension between 50 Cent and Black Mafia Family co-founder Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory.
During a recent appearance on the BagFuel podcast, he talked about his relationship with BMF and Jeezy during the mid-2000s, and was eventually asked about Meech falling out with his business partner 50 Cent once he got out of prison. “Actually, me and Meech had some talks about that,” Akon revealed. “He does feel slighted ’cause he felt that, you know, him and 50 should’ve sat down and had a real conversation as men because he’s been in [prison] for 20 years. He don’t know the feud that’s going on with 50 and whoever else. All he know is that, when he got out, [Rick] Ross came through, showed some love. While he was locked up, Ross made a big ass song that was, you know, ‘They think I’m Big Meech, Larry Hoover.’ In his mind, Ross is just paying homage.”
He added that the former music executive and drug kingpin wasn’t fully aware of the music business politics that would “warrant what Fif’ did.”
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The “big ass song” Akon is referring to Rick Ross’ 2010 street anthem “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” featuring Styles P, which peaked at No. 60 on the Hot 100. The same song Rick Ross once told Billboard that he would clear for the show if 50 agreed to help promote Ross’ Wingstop franchises after the G-Unit boss expressed interest in using the track in another Billboard interview.
50 Cent and Big Meech have been in business together with the former producing a docuseries and a TV series for Starz about the latter’s rise to power alongside his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory in the Detroit underworld during the late ’80s, eventually turning BMF into a national crime syndicate and influential record label that was instrumental in breaking Jeezy’s solo career.
However, things turned sour when Meech and Rick Ross were seen together on social media, causing a back and forth between the Miami rapper, 50 and Meech’s son, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., who plays his father in the BMF series.
The fourth season of BMF is set to premiere on June 6.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) continues to be in hot water after attempting to release his highly controversial song “Heil Hitler.” After being yanked down by streaming services and DSPs on Thursday (May 8), CEO of Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jim Berk, shared a statement to Billboard, voicing his dismay and disappointment in the mercurial MC.
“Kanye West’s release of a song entitled ‘Heil Hitler’ on VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi regime, is hate speech, pure and simple—totally in line with the despicable messages we now expect from West,” said Berk.
Berk’s frustration didn’t stop there, as he directed his attention to Elon Musk’s social media platform X, for enabling such vitriol to be spewed by Ye and others.
“But his partner in spreading dangerous vitriol against Jews is X, which is allowing flagrant violation of its own rules reading, ‘You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.’”
He continued: “We call on X to remove West from its platform and for other platforms and distributors to refuse to host or monetize this song. There must be a clear line when it comes to glorification of genocidal regimes, particularly to millions of young people.”
After experiencing failed attempts on DSPs, West uploaded the song to SoundCloud, where it was later pulled down as well. This prompted Ye to share his thoughts on X.
“Heil Hitler by Ye has been banned by all digital streaming platforms,” Ye wrote. “While Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable They’re literally keeping the n—-s down.” Previously teased by Ye, “Heil Hitler” had terse subject matter ranging from the rapper’s nitrous usage to custody issues over his four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
Billboard reached out to Ye’s camp for comment.
Jackson Wang shares what fans can expect with MAGIC MAN 2, the creative process behind “GBAD,” his collaboration with Ciara at Coachella, and working with Pharrell on Joopiter. He also hints at upcoming projects with Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club (BBC), teases a tour for MAGIC MAN 2, and more!
Are you excited for MAGIC MAN 2? Let us know in the comments!
Tetris Kelly:
Jackson, Tetris with Billboard News ready to get in conversation with Jackson Wang, what’s up man? Thanks for coming.
Jackson Wang:
Hey, thank you for having me.
Of course, you got a lot going on, my friend. So we’re gonna start with the music. Of course. MAGIC MAN 2 you’ve been teasing. You’ve been telling everybody about it, but MAGIC MAN, the first one, debuted at 15 on our Billboard 200 charts.
Thank you. Thank you. Please make me top five.
There you go. See he’s already said what he wants. What made you decide you want to follow up the 2022 project with a second version of MAGIC MAN?
I’ve been working on stop for over 11 years, and I was just like, hey, I need to recharge. I need to refresh and be inspired again. So I took a year off, and I was like, hey, you know what? I haven’t actually made a song for myself. You know, when I was in my youth, I’ve always, you know, wrote songs or produced songs, trying to show everyone, hey, I can do this, I can dance, I can sing, I can perform. But what about me? What do I want to say as a person? So I took that year off and I just started writing diaries and converted them into music.
What was something during that year that you felt like when you look back like you’re like, I’m so happy I took this year off because I had this moment.
Keep watching for more!
When John Cena dropped his 2005 debut album, You Can’t See Me, critics wondered if the wrestling powerhouse had more brawn than bars. What began as a perceived gimmick evolved into a two-decade-long run, marked by unfiltered charisma, sharp wit and unshakeable confidence. Sure, his popularity and in-ring dominance made him box office gold, but when he unleashed his mic skills — especially over Jake One’s soulful beats — Cena cemented himself as the godfather of the rap-wrestling crossover.
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Released on May 10, 2005, You Can’t See Me — a collaboration with his cousin, fellow rapper TradeMarc — debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, also reaching No. 3 on Top Rap Albums — proof Cena had real appeal on the mic. Even while locking up with heavyweights like Triple H, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker each week, Cena carried that same grit and resilience into the booth. On tracks like “Just Another Day” and “If It All Ended Tomorrow,” Cena’s raw candor and introspection made him surprisingly easy to root for. As he raps on the latter: “You the new kid, now you gettin’ some shine/ When every vet sayin’ that it’s not yo’ time/ My hustle is non-stop and it’s not yo’ grind/ Plus I hear very clear, I’m not so blind.”
And though Cena was dubbed WWE’s Superman, his rap heroics on You Can’t See Me became every critic’s kryptonite. His bravado and swagger leglocked the doubters into submission. The album’s title track became his armor — its hook both a taunt and a shield — as he swatted away skepticism with a single phrase: “You can’t see me.” The song became both a gift and a curse: a champion’s anthem and rallying cry, but also a punchline for detractors who turned it into an easy jab, diminishing Cena even as he continued to dominate.
Now on his final lap as a professional wrestler, Cena’s recent partnership with Travis Scott — rap’s latest generational leader — speaks volumes about his influence across both arenas. WWE is in the midst of a renaissance, with pop culture once again reinvigorated by its presence. Hip-hop’s footprint in the ring is larger than ever: WaleMania just celebrated its 10th anniversary at WrestleMania, while wrestlers like Montez Ford and Trick Williams proudly showcase their rap chops with original music, and genre superstars like Drake, Metro Boomin, Lil Yachty, and Quavo now flood wrestling arenas with the same fervor and excitement as the everyday diehards beside them. Much of this stems from Cena’s early efforts to meld both worlds — what began as a desperate bid to save his WWE career ended up bridging a gap between music and wrestling, one that remains tightly connected to this day.
And while we may never get another album from the 48-year-old multi-hyphenate, You Can’t See Me still deserves a spin — for everything it gave to hip-hop, wrestling, and pop culture at large.
Behold, a new offering. In the last five years, an enigmatic rock band named Sleep Token has bent metal to its will. Emerging from the pandemic shadows of 2020, the masked group quickly established itself as an amorphous entity, syncing guttural screams with pop melodies, hip-hop drums and reggaetón grooves to the growing curiosity of […]
Fat Joe and Jadakiss have a new podcast called Joe & Jada where they talk about all things music, sports, and culture. On their recently released premiere episode, the two rap legends — who’ve seen their fair share of rap beef — talked about the one-year anniversary of the kick-off of the historic rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
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Jada started things off by clarifying that what went down wasn’t exactly “beef,” and that he couldn’t believe that it’s been a whole year already. “One year since the Kendrick and Drake discrepancy. What they like to call it ‘beef’ in the media world,” Jada quipped. “Thank God nothing really happened to anybody, physically. Personally, I thought it was about four or five months ago. I can’t believe it’s already been a year.”
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Joey Crack couldn’t believe that it’s been a year either, and then sparked a light debate between the two when he said he noticed that Lamar gets more airplay than other West Coast legends did in their prime. ‘Kiss fired back by saying, “Everybody from L.A. gets spins on L.A. radio.”
Joe then asked him when was the last time Jadakiss was out there, with both of them saying they were recently in L.A. and Joe adding, “Yo, bro, I never seen nothing like this. Every single song, they like, ‘Turn the TV off,” causing Jada to agree that Kenny does indeed get a lot of spin in Southern California.
“It’s a fact. Kendrick Lamar gets played nine out of every 10 songs in L.A. right now,” the Bronx rapper proclaimed. “Not even Snoop Dogg, not even Tupac Shakur — nobody from L.A. has dominated the paint like this guy. That last year? What they’re doing in L.A. — if you’re from L.A., you probably think there’s only one guy on Earth, Kendrick Lamar. I’m just keeping it a buck with you. You turn on that radio in L.A. — if you from L.A., you work at Target, Amazon, you’re delivering some s–t, you working at the bakery, panadería, wherever, East L.A., holmes — you thinking it’s one man breathing in hip-hop, it’s called Kendrick Lamar.”
Joe then shifted the conversation to rap beef in today’s landscape, asking the Yonkers MC what he thinks about historic hip-hop battles. “For me, I thought it was always good if you take it all the back to Wild Style and LL and Kool Moe Dee and all the way up to us and 50,” he began. “It’s always good as long as it stays on wax. “When it first started, somebody say something about you, you gotta go to the studio, you gotta immediately work on getting one back at there, knock the stick off your shoulders like a fight after school at three o’clock. Now, as the technology evolved, it turns into movie skits, animations, retrieving fake information… It got a little wacky for me. I like it to be beats and rhymes and keep it like that. Once it got out of my pay grade, it’s a little bit of disinterest to me because it’s turning political now.”
Fat Joe agreed about things getting political and brought up Drake’s controversial UMG lawsuit. “There’s even lawsuits behind rap diss records now. I never saw that,” he said, to which Manteca Jada replied, “That’s over my head, I don’t really understand… I just wanna see rhymes and song and hip-hop s–t.”
You can watch the full episode below.
E-40 is back with his first solo single since 2023, and Billboard has the exclusive premiere of his new music video. On Friday (May 9), E-40 dropped off his new track “Beating They Ass” alongside a new music video. The minimalistic, black and white visual includes a memorable cameo from Vital Versatility CEO Didier Morais […]
Rob49 is officially a music executive. The New Orleans rapper has launched his VULTURE MODE record label, which arrives as a joint venture with independent record label and publisher SLANG.
While entering his prime as a rapper in his own right, Rob is looking for the next generation of stars in hip-hop. The label isn’t wasting any time as fellow New Orleans native Moskino is the first artist signed to VULTURE MODE.
“I always knew I would be successful outside of music, but I thought more so as a serial entrepreneur who owns a bunch of businesses,” Rob49 tells Billboard. “But music is something that I naturally gravitate to, and I honestly feel like I have the ear to know who’s the next hot artist.”
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He continues: “And with that, I’m surrounded by a bunch of new young talent that is trying to make it out the trenches, so what better way to use my platform than to become a music executive and help bring their careers to life.”
Moskino is gearing up for a busy summer with the release of his King of the Underdogs project slated to arrive on June 6.
“Moski wanted to be a rapper long before I even wanted to,” Rob49 adds of the first rapper joining the VULTURE MODE family. “And I think he’s one of the hardest out of not only New Orleans, but in general. His ability to story-tell while maintaining his own unique sound, creating a new lane with that New Orleans style… It’s something that I think is very different and refreshing.”
Rene McLean
Aviva Klein
Founded by Influence Media’s Rene McLean, SLANG has built a reputation as a reliable creative partner for the likes of Future, DJ Khaled and Will Smith over the years.
“We’ve always believed in building platforms, not just moments,” says McLean. “Partnering with Rob49 to launch VULTURE MODE was a natural step. He represents everything SLANG values, originality, vision, authenticity, and a relentless work ethic. Together, we’re building something that’s not just reactive to culture, but ahead of it.”
As far as his own artistry, Rob49 caught fire with his viral cultural hit “WTHELLY” and is slated to drop another project later this spring.
