State Champ Radio Hip-Hop
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A man charged with arranging the killing of Young Dolph pleaded not guilty Thursday (Nov. 18) — one year after the rapper and record label owner was ambushed and shot to death while buying cookies at a bakery in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
Hernandez Govan, 43, made a brief appearance in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis. He was arrested last week after he was indicted on charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the killing of the rapper, who was 36 when he died. The judge scheduled Govan’s next hearing for Dec. 16.
Govan is the third man charged in the Nov. 17, 2021, slaying of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr. The killing in broad daylight stunned Memphis and shocked the entertainment world. Police said two men exited a white Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, which is near the rapper’s boyhood home in the Castalia neighborhood. Police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured the shooting, and authorities later found the car abandoned.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr., have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the shooting and are being held in jail without bond. They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 20.
In a weekly newsletter, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Govan “solicited the murder and put it in motion.” But no evidence has been made public to support that statement, and a suspected motive has not been disclosed. The investigation is ongoing.
“I know that you all are wanting details, you’re wanting facts, you’re wanting sort of answers to some of these mysteries and things like that,” prosecutor Paul Hagerman told reporters after Thursday’s hearing. “Even if we knew them, we couldn’t tell you. As a matter of ethics and our requirements under the law, we’ve got to confine ourselves to what’s made public.”
Govan’s lawyer, Bill Massey, said he was seeking the prosecution’s evidence in the case, which Massey said may not go to trial until after next year due to the amount of evidence and the number of defendants.
Known for his depictions of tough street life and his independent approach to the music business, Young Dolph was admired for charitable works in Memphis. He organized Thanksgiving turkey giveaways, donated thousands of dollars to high schools, and paid rent and covered funeral costs for people in the Castalia Heights neighborhood where he was raised.
His work as a rapper, producer and owner of the independent label Paper Route Empire took him away from Memphis, but the father of two had returned to the city days before his killing to visit a sick relative and organize a turkey giveaway that took place without him.
After Young Dolph’s death, a section of a street near his boyhood home was renamed for him. A private funeral was held and he was honored during a public celebration at FedExForum, the home of the Memphis Grizzles of the NBA and the University of Memphis men’s basketball team.
City officials and community activists also pointed to the killing as a symbol of the scourge of gun violence in Memphis. Since the rapper’s death, Memphis has seen several other high-profile killings this year, including the shooting of a United Methodist Church pastor during a carjacking in her driveway; the kidnapping and shooting of an elementary school teacher who police said was abducted during an early morning run; and a man’s daylong shooting rampage that was partially livestreamed and led to the death of three people.
Young Dolph is one of several prominent hip-hop artists to be killed in recent years. His independent approach to the music business drew comparisons to Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was fatally shot in 2019. Other rappers who have lost their lives to gun violence since 2018 include XXXTentacion, Pop Smoke and, most recently, Takeoff, who was killed outside of a bowling alley after a party in Houston on Nov. 1.
In an article in The Atlantic dated Tuesday, rappers Too Short and E-40 called for the hip-hop community to find ways to come together and support each other amid the spate of gun deaths in the industry.
Young Dolph was born in Chicago and moved to Memphis with his parents when he was 2. He released numerous mixtapes, starting with 2008′s Paper Route Campaign, and multiple studio albums, including his 2016 debut King of Memphis. He also collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and others.
He had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with 2020′s “Rich Slave” peaking at No. 4. Makeda’s, the bakery where he was shot, was boarded up and closed before it reopened in September.
Already looking ahead to 2023, Paramount Global is announcing a cross-brand partnership involving its broadcast, cable, streaming and digital brands to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The company’s expansive, year-long slate of programming initiatives also includes an alliance with The Recording Academy.
Today’s announcement (Nov. 17) is an expansion of Hip Hop 50, a three-year initiative that Paramount cable network Showtime launched in late 2021 in association with Mass Appeal, the music label, film and TV company co-founded by rapper/entrepreneur Nas. Focusing on the stories, personalities and legends behind the genre, the partnership has thus far presented several programs on Showtime such as Supreme Team, Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain, You’re Watching Video Music Box and Ricky Powell: The Individualist, about the well-known New York street photographer.
Moving forward, Showtime will present more programming under the Hip Hop 50 banner from Mass Appeal and other production companies. Those offerings will include a documentary about legendary rapper Biz Markie, a series showcasing the power of women in the genre and another series exploring the SoundCloud scene.
On CBS, Paramount’s cross-company hip-hop celebration will include a special performance at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, 2023. Later in the year, the TV network will also present a special music event in honor of the genre’s golden anniversary in partnership with The Recording Academy.
Paramount’s year-long celebration of hip-hop’s cultural impact will feature additional new and returning content across its other brands, including:
BET, which will produce a documentary about its iconic series, Rap City, and further honor the anniversary through its longstanding BET Awards and Hip Hop Awards telecasts. BET.com and BET social will also spotlight the culture and profile its legends throughout 2023.
MTV Entertainment Studios, which is set to produce new episodes of Behind the Music and various hip-hop documentaries to be announced at a later date. Fans will also get a chance to celebrate the anniversary via in-show moments during the VMAs and EMAs.
Paramount+, which will continue to stream 50 iconic episodes from MTV Entertainment’s original series Yo! MTV Raps for the first time since it premiered. In addition, the rebooted series is now also available to stream alongside the home makeover series Hip Hop My House.
The Notorious B.I.G. will get virtually revived next month as an on-stage avatar in Meta Horizons World for a VR concert called “Sky’s the Limit” that will also feature his mentor/label boss, Sean “Diddy” Combs, as well as The Lox, Biggie’s Junior M.A.F.I.A. mate Lil Cease AND Latto, Nardo Wick, DJ Clark Kent and Eli Fross.
According to an announcement, the “jam-packed, hour-long” VR concert will take place on Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. ET in the Venues area of Meta Horizons Worlds. Variety reported that the show will find Biggie digitally re-animated as a “true-to-life, hyperrealistic” avatar that will come to life during a show that will air exclusively on Meta’s VR and Facebook platforms. The gig was arranged in collaboration with the B.I.G. estate, with the VR Biggie slated to perform songs from his catalog in a virtual recreation of 1990s Brooklyn dubbed “The Brook.”
“Having the ability to create a variance of new opportunity to showcase my son Christopher’s music through the advancement of technology is hard for me to grasp at times,” said the late MC’s mother, Voletta Wallace, in a statement. “However, I’ve found so much excitement in the process of developing his avatar, understanding the value added for fans to experience him in ways unattainable until now. Thank you to all who have contributed to bringing this project to fruition.”
B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace), was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997 when he was just 24 years-old. The show is a celebration of what would have been the rapper’s 50th birthday and it will be accessible via the Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest Pro VR headsets; if you don’t have a Meta headset, you can watch a 2D version on the official Notorious B.I.G. Facebook page.
Variety reported that the show will allow the audience to follow a day in Biggie’s life through a narrative journey written and voiced by music journalist Touré.
Watch the trailer for the show here.
Rolling Loud announced the lineup for the 2023 Rolling Loud California festival on Tuesday (Nov. 15), with a jam-packed roster topped by headliners Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Future and Lil Wayne. The three-day event will take place in Inglewood, California at the 300-acre Hollywood Park Grounds adjacent to SoFi Stadium from March 3-5.
The first edition of Rolling Loud in the Los Angeles area since 2019 — the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to San Bernardino in 2021 — will mark Scott’s first major headlining performance since the Nov. 2021 Astroworld tragedy, where 10 fans died and hundreds were injured in a crowd crush. Among the other acts slated to take the stage at the festival are: Kodak Black, Tyga, Trippie Redd, Dababy, Saweetie, Fivio Foreign, Soulja Boy, Lil Baby, Don Toliver, 2 Chainz, Kevin Gates, Lil Yachy, City Girls, Chief Keef, Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, Moneybagg Yo and many more.
“Rolling Loud is deeply honored to be the first-ever music festival to take place at the incredible Hollywood Park,” said Rolling Loud co-founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif in August when they announced the L.A. dates. “We’re pumped to return to L.A. and make our debut in Inglewood, such an important neighborhood in rap history. Rolling Loud California 2023 will be an event worthy of its historic location, celebrating the undeniable influence of the West Coast on hip-hop and featuring some of the hottest rappers in the game. Stay tuned for our biggest and best California festival yet!”
Check out the full 2023 Rolling Loud L.A. lineup below.
On Tuesday morning (Nov. 15), the nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards were announced. Unsurprisingly, Beyoncé leads the charge with nine nominations for her dance-rooted album Renaissance, and awaits her blockbuster showdown against Adele’s 30 and eight other nominees for the coveted album of the year award. Other notable names in the R&B and hip-hop space that enjoyed a career day on the nominations front alongside the venerable megastar include Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and DJ Khaled.
After releasing his first album in five years with Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar hopes to increase his win tally next January via his eight nominations. Mary J Blige, who delivered her riveting album Good Morning Gorgeous last November, reeled in six nods, including two in the Big Four categories. Regular collaborators Future and DJ Khaled also took home six nods apiece, and will square off in multiple rap categories — most notably best melodic rap performance, where their song “Beautiful” alongside SZA will compete against Future’s “Wait for You.”
There were also notable snubs, as Summer Walker’s Still Over It and Ari Lennox’s age/sex/location failed to receive any nominations after garnering acclaim for their respective efforts. Stunningly, Brent Faiyaz also failed to receive any looks from the Recording Academy this year, after Wasteland proved to be an R&B darkhorse, nearly dethroning Bad Bunny from the Billboard 200 albums chart back in July.
Check out the rest of our takeaways below.
Khaled’s Drive for Five
Khaled’s poignant chants and godly affirmations did more than push his 12th studio album, God Did, to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August — it secured him five nominations for next year’s ceremony. Anchored by the starry line-up of Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and Fridayy, “God Did” received nominations for best rap performance and best rap song. Khaled’s crowning moment of the day came when “God Did” was nominated for song of the year.
The Return of Kendrick Lamar
Following his blistering Grammy run in 2018, where he won five awards, including a clean sweep in the rap categories for his seminal album DAMN, Kendrick Lamar looks to return to the winner’s circle with his 2022 effort, Mr. Morale & The Bigger Steppers. And though Lamar has remained active on the Grammy circuit in recent years (he spearheaded the album of the year-nominated Various Artists set Black Panther: The Album in 2018, and won two awards last year as a feature on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties”), this go-round, he competes as a solo star, eying more trophies. With a stacked AOTY battle against pop titans Adele, Beyonce, and Harry Styles, Lamar sits as the lone rapper in the category, ready to settle the score after losing out in 2018 and 2019.
Make Room for the Ladies
The female side of the rap game was also well-represented, as GloRilla and Latto both earned recognition for their hard work. The former had the summer on tilt with her club-driven single “FNF,” which clawed its way into top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a nomination for best rap performance. As for the self-proclaimed “Queen of Da Souf,” Latto enjoyed her crossover success with her bubbly No. 3-peaking Hot 100 smash “Big Energy,” scoring nods for best new artist and best melodic rap performance, the latter for a live version of her breakthrough hit.
Elsewhere, Doja Cat also gnawed her way into the conversation after “Vegas” from the ELVIS soundtrack scored her a look the best rap performance category, while her Post Malone collab “I Like You (A Happier Song)” also earned recognition in best pop duo/group performance, and her Planet Her single “Woman” scored a trio of nods, for best music video, best pop solo performance and even record of the year. But amidst all the female MCs recognized, there was one glaring omission: Megan Thee Stallion, who previously netted three awards (including best new artist) in 2021, was missing out. She released her project Trauamzine last August and showcased vulnerability as she grappled with personal issues. Despite her candor, it wasn’t enough to secure a best rap album look.
Good Morning, Mary
Mary J. Blige, Muni Long and Jazmine Sullivan are among the R&B artists making Grammy headlines this morning. After winning an Emmy in September as one of the headliners of outstanding variety special (live) winner, the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, Blige continues her banner year. She scored six Grammy nominations today — four of them in the R&B field: best R&B performance for “Here With Me” featuring Anderson .Paak (who with Silk Sonic partner Bruno Mars declined to submit An Evening With Silk Sonic for Grammy contention); best traditional R&B performance for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; best R&B song for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; and best R&B album for Good Morning Gorgeous. Rounding out Blige’s total count are nods for her album and its title track in the album of the year and record of the year categories.
Perfect Timing For “Hrs & Hrs” Star Muni Long
With today’s announcement, Muni Long came into her own as a solo artist with nods for best R&B performance and best R&B song for her hit single “Hrs & Hrs,” as well as for best new artist. Prior to adopting her Muni Long moniker, songwriter Priscilla Renea had garnered notice as the co-writer of songs for Rihanna (“California King Bed”), Fifth Harmony (“Worth It”) and Ariana Grande (“Imagine”), among others. In 2021, Renea received a Grammy nomination for album of the year, via her writing contributions to H.E.R.’s Back of My Mind project.
Jazmine Sullivan Is Back for More
Jazmine Sullivan, who took home her first two Grammys earlier this year for best R&B performance (“Pick Up Your Feelings”) and best R&B album (Heaux Tales), returns to the derby with three nominations, including best R&B performance and best R&B song (both for “Hurt Me So Good”) plus best traditional R&B performance through her featured turn on Adam Blackstone’s “’Round Midnight.”
All Hail the Queen
With her nine nominations leading all artists for 2022, Beyoncé’s nods — beyond those for record, song and album of the year and two more in the dance/electronic categories (all for either for Renaissance or its Hot 100-topping lead single “Break My Soul”) — also covered three bases in R&B. In that field, she’s up for best R&B performance for “Virgo’s Groove,” best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and best R&B song for “Cuff It.”
Also of note in the R&B field: Steve Lacy picks up a nod in best progressive R&B album for Gemini Rights, while that critically acclaimed album’s breakout single “Bad Habit” garners nods for record and song of year. Grammy-winning R&B/pop icon Babyface returns to Grammy recognition alongside Ella Mai with “Keeps on Fallin’,” vying for best traditional R&B performance. And Robert Glasper celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Grammy-winning 2012 Black Radio album with another best R&B album nomination for that series’ latest installment, Black Radio III.
Drake and 21 Savage are both eminently familiar with the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart, with the former artist previously having topped the listing 11 times, and the latter artist twice. So it’s no surprise the two would return to the 200’s pole position (on the chart dated Nov. 19) with the release of their first joint album, Her Loss.
The set’s performance is an impressive one, as it moves 404,000 equivalent album units in its first week — the third-highest total for any album in 2022, and significantly higher than both of the most recent solo efforts from Drake (this June’s Honestly, Nevermind) and 21 Savage (2018’s I Am > I Was). In addition, songs from Her Loss occupy the No. 2 through No. 9 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, the third-most simultaneous real estate in the chart’s top 10 ever occupied by one album, behind Drake’s own Certified Lover Boy in 2021 and Taylor Swift‘s Midnights earlier this month — with the latter set’s lead single, the No. 1-debuting “Anti-Hero,” still holding onto the top spot two weeks later.
What does the set owe its early success to? And are Drake and 21 smarting this week at being denied the Hot 100’s top spot? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
1. Even with the requisite warnings about hip-hop team-up albums often being less than the sum of their parts, Her Loss posts one of 2022’s best first-week numbers this year with its 404,000 equivalent album units moved — nearly double the number of Drake’s prior 2022 set, Honestly, Nevermind, and easily Savage’s best such number to date. What would you consider the biggest factor behind the album’s robust debut?
Rania Aniftos: To be honest – and I don’t mean this as shade – I was surprised the album did so well. For a while, it felt as though Drake wasn’t living up to the quality of some of his past albums like Views, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and even Scorpion. And 21 Savage has always been a successful collaborator, but I never thought that his involvement would push such impressive numbers. I’m personally floored, but I might chalk it up to fans wanting to see that old-school Drake they know and love, and really wanted to give Her Loss a try – and, turns out, they loved it.
Carl Lamarre: If you look at their past collaborations with “Sneakin,” “Knife Talk,” and “Jimmy Cooks,” Drake and 21 has had an exceptional track record as a dynamic duo. Their chemistry as a twosome had fans salivating for a more aggressive Drake as they came in droves to see whether Drizzy and 21 could topple the competition. Curiosity sparked the intrigue, especially after Drake and Future’s tight hold in 2015-2016 with What a Time to Be Alive.
Elias Leight: Drake’s Care Package (2019) and Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020) releases, both of which included old loosies and leaks, didn’t have explosive first weeks. And listeners don’t appear to care over-much for Drake’s experimentation — his dancefloor excursion from earlier this year didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers, at least by his lofty standards. In recent years, when there’s new Drake that sounds like old Drake, that seems to yield his best commercial results: See Certified Lover Boy (613,000 album equivalent units) and now Her Loss.
Jason Lipshutz: A combination of timing and quality. After Honestly, Nevermind was greeted with a less-than-stellar reception from longtime Drake fans — except for “Jimmy Cooks,” the album’s late change-up featuring 21 Savage — the decision to quickly return with a full album of 21 Savage team-ups and effectively build upon the “Jimmy Cooks” momentum represented a commercial masterstroke. And then, happily, the album was one of Drake’s hungriest, most focused and overall best projects in the past five years, causing Her Loss to stream incredibly well throughout its first chart week and score a big No. 1 debut.
Andrew Unterberger: Yeah, it’s the right album at the right time. Drake and 21 Savage have always been a winning combination, we hadn’t heard much from Savage in the last couple years, and a rare Drake left turn was always going to come with a not-long-after course correction, especially after the prior album’s reception was much chillier than the consistently successful superstar was accustomed to. They brought the energy, they brought the bars, and they brought the (mostly unfortunate) talking points — streams in massive numbers were bound to follow.
2. Though obviously a major commercial success for both, which of the two rappers would you say benefits more from the mighty Her Loss bow?
Rania Aniftos: Drake! Having two albums dominate the Hot 100 top 10 in the past few years is a major accomplishment and solidifies that he’s not going anywhere, despite some ridicule and memes on TikTok.
Carl Lamarre: Easily 21 Savage. I love the guy, but lately, he’s had too much dip on his chip. First, he thinks he can pummel Kodak Black in a Verzuz battle, and then, he slings darts in the direction of Nas by calling him irrelevant. All of this happened in a week, and why? Because having Drake as his armor and mouthpiece gave him Thanos-level confidence.
Elias Leight: On the one hand, Drake’s first-week numbers have been up and down in recent years across a variety of different types of releases — 109,000 album equivalent units for Care Package, 223,000 for Dark Lane Demo Tapes, 613,000 for Certified Lover Boy (2021), 204,000 for Honestly, Nevermind in June — so 404,000 helps to stay the course. On the other hand, 404,000 album-equivalents is more than twice 21 Savage’s previous first-week high-water-mark, and through his Drake affiliation, he’s probably reaching more casual hip-hop fans who aren’t as familiar with his past work. 21 Savage has gained more than 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify since the release of Her Loss, according to Chartmetric, while Drake has gained around 7 million.
Jason Lipshutz: Drake. Honestly, Nevermind was a detour away from hip-hop for the biggest hip-hop artist in the world, and it didn’t connect with fans (outside of the one song that sounded nothing like the rest of it, of course). I doubt anyone paying attention believed that Drake had fallen off due to one underwhelming project, but Her Loss stamps out those concerns quickly and efficiently, and continues one of the most remarkable commercial runs in the history of popular music. 21 Savage sounds great on Her Loss and undoubtedly gained some new fans, but Drake gets a more crucial W with the album.
Andrew Unterberger: Drake. It’s a win for both, but this won’t change a ton for 21 Savage, who would prob be pushed for best supporting actor and not best actor were this set Oscar-eligible. For Drake, it ends his 2022 on a (commercial) high note and once again proves that he on the rare occasions he does take something vaguely resembling an L — and worth remembering that said “L” still came with simultaneous No. 1s on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 — he’s never stayed down for long.
3. Just a year and a half ago, occupying eight of the top 10 spots simultaneously on the Hot 100 would be an absurdly historic achievement – now, it’s not the biggest Hot 100 bombing either of Drake’s career or of pop music this year (or even this month). Does Her Loss grabbing this week’s 2-9 spots on the chart still feel like major headline news to you, or is it just par for the course for Drake and stars of his level at this point?
Rania Aniftos: It still feels like major headline news to me, only because it’s still so rare and Drake has done it not once, but twice. I never want to get desensitized to such accomplishments, because it really is cool that so many fans flooded in to listen to a new album because they love the artist so much.
Carl Lamarre: It’s still an incredible feat, and even more for Drake, knowing he could do it twice. After Bad Bunny’s fireball Un Verano Sin Ti blasted the Billboard 200, I wonder if he can muster up a similar run a la Drizzy because of his new-found superstardom. Going forward, more artists will probably eschew the idea of releasing anywhere near the behemoths named Drake, Bunny, and Taylor because of their sheer dominance.
Elias Leight: Commanding a large swath of the top ten seems increasingly common for debut albums from heavy hitters. The bigger challenge is sticking around: Drake enjoyed nine of the top 10 slots after Certified Lover Boy debuted, including No. 1, but nine shrank to three in week two, and he gave up No. 1. He nabbed three of the top 10 spots on the chart after Honestly, Nevermind, but in week two, three shrank to one, and he ceded control of the top spot again. It will be interesting to see how the top ten looks on next week’s chart.
Jason Lipshutz: It’s still major headline news — although it feels like these top 10 floods are becoming more commonplace, the reality is that Taylor Swift and Drake are the two artists who could reliably pull off this feat, and they just happened to release big (even by their standards) projects two weeks apart. If Swift and Drake hypothetically don’t release new albums within the next few years, then… we might not see this again for the next few years! What Drake just achieved is still wildly impressive, even if Swift matched him a few frames back.
Andrew Unterberger: Crazy to say, but I think it’s close to par for the course at this point. Of course, when we say “Drake and stars of his level,” we’re not talking about more than five artists total — and maybe as few as just him and Swift — so even if it’s not a particularly jaw-dropping accomplishment for them anymore, it’s still not one a whole lot of other artists are likely matching anytime soon.
4. Despite Drake and 21 Savage’s Hot 100 takeover, they’re still held off the coveted No. 1 spot by “Anti-Hero,” from Drake’s Republic labelmate Taylor Swift — who released no less than five separate remixes for the song released for sale on Swift’s webstore, helping add to the song’s best-since-2017 weekly sales total of 327,000. If you’re Drake (or 21 Savage, but mostly Drake), does it sting to lose out on the dual No. 1, or are you too busy celebrating your other accomplishments of the week to notice much?
Rania Aniftos: It clearly stings, because Drake was shamelessly petty about it on his IG Stories.
Carl Lamarre: Drake was a bit salty, especially when he reposted the Hot 100 charts on his stories and blocked out Taylor’s No. 1 win with different emojis. I can’t blame him: He’s a competitor and relishes being the top dog in the music industry. Drake knows he’s the emperor of rap, but I wonder if Taylor and even Bad Bunny’s success this year has him questioning his game plan going into the future from a mainstream level.
Elias Leight: Considering that Drake has 11 Number One hits already, including one from earlier this year, and has already set an absurd number of records for performance on the Hot 100, he’ll be fine.
Jason Lipshutz: Because of the mini-comeback that Her Loss represents for Drake following Honestly, Nevermind, I’d guess that losing out on another Hot 100 No. 1 doesn’t matter as much as ending this year with another huge project and a flood of top 10 hits. Plus, “Jimmy Cooks” hitting No. 1 for Drake and 21 Savage earlier this year lessens the disappointment for the lack of a chart-topper with this debut week. And who knows? “Rich Flex” certainly isn’t lagging in streams; “Anti-Hero” will be tough to dislodge from No. 1 for a while, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they get there in future weeks.
Andrew Unterberger: He absolutely cares, and so does Swift. It’s a fascinating showdown between two of the most chart-conscious superstars of the 21st century, and it’ll be very very interesting to see what (if any) future developments this leads to in the relationship between very arguably the two biggest names in the last 15 years of popular music.
5. While the commercial response to the album has been overwhelmingly positive, the critical notices have been considerably more mixed, largely due to Drake’s questionably pointed lyrical barbs at various real-life pop culture figures — most notably Megan Thee Stallion. Does this stuff tarnish the album’s triumphs to you?
Rania Aniftos: One hundred percent. Misogyny and undermining a Black woman’s traumatic experience is never OK. Period.
Carl Lamarre: I come from the era of letting it fly in rap. Despite the overwhelming disdain from critics about Drake’s barbs, it shouldn’t take away the sheen and gloss of this album. It’s an excellent project that shows the potency of Drake and 21 as a fierce pairing. And though Drake enjoyed his role as the villain on this album, I’m curious to see if he continues as the genre’s leading habitual line-stepper in years to come.
Elias Leight: From 2011 to 2015, Drake was critically beloved and commercially dominant. Since then, his albums have been less thrilling — especially when he’s not committed to experimenting with different styles, like Afrobeats or house — even as the album-equivalent-unit tally remains eye-watering. The barbs are tiresome; behind them is an intermittently invigorating but mostly underwhelming album.
Jason Lipshutz: A little, although this has been the case for Drake throughout his career — trying to square his obvious brilliance as a pop music creator with his occasionally obnoxious and morally objectionable lyrics — and it’s been the case with countless other artists whom I love and admire while also vehemently disagreeing with some of their messages. The Megan lyric is clearly lunkheaded, and there are a few others on Her Loss that have been (and deserve to be) called out; everyone has a different threshold for enjoying the art around those lyrics, and while I still have Her Loss on repeat, I don’t begrudge anyone who’s rebuked it.
Andrew Unterberger: It stinks, but it’s almost certainly not by accident: Drake knows the lyrics of his that are going to get people talking, and he’s clearly decided that leaning into the villain role in hip-hop is the smart long-term play for his career prospects as he dives into the back half of his 30s. He’s probably right — Drake usually is. But it’s still pretty unfortunate that a guy who, lest we forget, did rise to superstardom not only in large part because of his relatability, but because of emotionally visceral collaborations with female co-stars like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, should make such rampant misogyny not just an occasional byproduct of his brand (and it always has been that), but something more like a governing principle.
It’s all in the game to a certain extent, sure, and there absolutely is room in rap for the Bad Guy, which is something both of the artists Drake has teamed up with for full albums understand as well as anyone. But there’s a recklessness to the barb-throwing here that feels decidedly uncharming coming from a guy who barely ever leaves the winner’s circle; Megan lyrics actively make an already-ugly situation worse, and for so little reason. It just isn’t worth the headlines, but this is what happens when a rapper of Drake’s station starts not to give a f–k and stops fearing the consequences.
Taylor Swift continues her record run at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Nov. 19), as she spends a record extending 53rd week at the summit.
Swift leads thanks to the continued success of her newest LP Midnights, which ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 299,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1, having debuted with 1.578 million units, the largest one-week total since the opening frame of Adele’s 25 in December 2015 (3.482 million).
Swift charts nine total albums on the latest Billboard 200, the most among all acts this week. After Midnights, she appears with Folklore (No. 19), Red (Taylor’s Version) (No. 23), Lover (No. 25), 1989 (No. 35), Evermore (No. 50), reputation (No. 70), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (No. 105) and Speak Now (No. 124).
Swift also tallies 18 of Midnights‘ 20 songs (from the set’s standard version and “3am Edition”) on the latest Billboard Hot 100, led by “Anti-Hero,” which logs a third week at No. 1. The song sold 327,000 downloads – up 1,793% – Nov. 4-10, sparked by seven new remixes made available for purchase during the tracking week. The sum is the greatest for a song in a single week in over five years, since her own “Look What You Made Me Do” bounded in with 353,000 (Sept. 16, 2017).
Here’s a recap of Swift’s haul on the Nov. 19-dated Hot 100. All 20 tracks from Midnights ranked on the chart the previous two weeks; in the set’s debut frame (Nov. 5), Swift made history as the first artist to claim the entire top 10 in a single week.
Rank, Title:No. 1, “Anti-Hero”No. 23, “Lavender Haze”No. 30, “Midnight Rain”No. 33, “Bejeweled”No. 36, “Maroon”No. 39, “Karma”No. 40, “Snow on the Beach” feat. Lana Del ReyNo. 42, “You’re On Your Own, Kid”No. 51, “Vigilante Shit”No. 56, “Question…?”No. 65, “Mastermind”No. 67, “Labyrinth”No. 71, “Sweet Nothing”No. 76, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”No. 85, “Bigger Than the Whole Sky”No. 87, “The Great War”No. 90, “Paris”No. 98, “High Infidelity”
Drake and 21 Savage rank at Nos. 2 and 3 on the Artist 100, respectively, as their new collaborative LP Her Loss launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (404,000 units). The set starts as Drake’s 12th No. 1 album, the third-most in the chart’s history, and 21 Savage’s third.
Plus, Joji re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 5, nearly matching his No. 4 peak, thanks to his new album Smithereens. The LP arrives at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 (57,000 units), marking his third top 10.
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Post Malone and Swae Lee celebrated a major milestone this week when their smash Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse single “Sunflower” became the highest-certified single in RIAA history. The pair took a photo op with their gaudy hardware on Monday (Nov. 14), showing off their 17x-platinum award, posing alongside co-producer Louis Bell and co-writer Billy Walsh.
The 2018 single leapt into first place over the previous record holder, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” which previously held the record at 15x platinum. In addition to appearing on the Spiderverse soundtrack, the song was also on Posty’s third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. It was a big haul for Posty on Monday, when he also picked up 14 other pieces of RIAA hardware, including a 14x-platinum plaque for “Congratulations” and a 10x-platinum one for “Psycho,” while his debut single, “White Iverson,” hit 10x-platinum as well.
TMZ reported that Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee was feeling the love from fans, who he thanked for their continued support. “You guys made history with us!” he said. “And to post and [Spiderverse character] Miles Morales, glad the music could get the attention and love it deserves. So much more to come! SREMMLIFE!”
The site also reported that Malone gave huge kudos to Swae Lee for being the “secret sauce” behind the moving hip-hop ballad, saying that his rhyme partner was very involved in the arranging of the melodies and did the “heavy lifting” on the song. The “Sunflower” video has racked up nearly 2 billion views to date.
Malone is getting ready to wrap the North American leg of his Twelve Carat Tour, with a pair of shows at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 16) nights.
See the pair with their plaque below.
Black Star made their Studio 8H debut on Nov. 12.
Introduced as “Brooklyn’s finest” by third-time Saturday Night Live host Dave Chappelle, the hip-hop duo of Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) performed a pair of tracks from their long-awaited new album, No Fear or Time.
The 49-year-old comedian co-costs the Midnight Miracle podcast with Kweli and Bey.
For their musical guest spot, Black Star delivered two new tracks — “So Be It” and “The Main Thing Is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing” — from their new Madlib-produced album, No Fear of Time, which arrived earlier this year on Luminary. The nine-song set is the duo’s first album since 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.
Kweli and Bey were joined onstage by Madlib for the hard-hitting tracks. Ahead of Black Star’s SNL performance, Kweli spoke about the significance of appearing on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.
“I can’t recall seeing a more hip-hop, a more independent group than Black Star to ever do SNL,” the artist told Consequence. “So I’m definitely excited to represent for the culture.”
Watch Black Star’s SNL performances below, and see the full episode on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here. The show is also live streamed on Peacock.
Quavo shared an emotional tribute to his nephew Takeoff after the shocking death of the Migos rapper. Takeoff (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed on Nov. 1 in Houston, Texas. He was 28.
“Dear Take, it’s so hard to tell you Ima miss you because you always with me and we did everything together,” Quavo wrote on Instagram on Saturday (Nov. 12), where he also shared a slideshow of personal photos the day after a memorial service for Takeoff. The two, along with Offset, make up the Grammy-nominated trio Migos. During their career together, the three-piece released four studio albums, two of which — Culture (2017) and Culture II (2018) — debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 1.
Quavo wrote, “Since we were kids you been by my side lookin up at me, them eyes waiting on me to make the next move.. then you followed up right behind me. You always made sure I did it first so you can do it right with me. You never competed with me, we were always on same team. You hated playing against me because I was always playing too hard or too ruff then I can hear my mama say ‘sonnnn not too ruff’ cuz I didn’t like to lose!”
“Remember, our first dream was to be tag team partners in WWE. We fell in love with WWF wresting.. man we had every action figure. Thought we was gonna be pro wrestlers cuz the way he imitated all the wrestlers so good and if you know Take, his imitation skills are to the T.. he could imitate anybody just ask Danny and P,” he recalled.
“Super quiet though, quietest in the room but paid attention to everything going on in the room, always been like that!!!” Quavo said of Takeoff. “Nothing ever really bothered Take and he didn’t bother anybody. He the most unbothered person in the world. He never got mad, he never raised his voice, and when he did, he silenced the room because what Take said was law and he wasn’t changing his mind fa na, not even Unc could, you just gotta let em cool off for bout 30 mins.”
“But by far the funniest person in room,” he added. “Once you got him goin he wouldn’t stop.”
Quavo remembered that “last but not least he took time with everything. We called it the ‘Takeoff Time.’ Whenever we would be running late to the shows he would always say ‘God will get us there on time.’ Some shows God did, some shows we were late. Point is he trusted God though.”
Quavo credited Takeoff with starting their musical journey.
“Throughout this whole time he had a REAL passion for music,” he said. “It was HIS dream to become a rapper cuz I didn’t kno what I wanted to do. I tried everything, all the sports. After every game I would come home and he would just sit there playing the game with the controller in his hand looking, and look at my face and he could tell we lost another game. So sports wasn’t his thing cuz he saw me lose all the time. This is how I knew he was gonna be a rapper. Growing up he knew every song off the Hot Boyz album, every lyric word for word and he was cursing up a storm. Mama heard him rapping, took the CD and said that music was too grown for us.. until we won the Boys and Girls Club talent show together performing ‘Get Ya Roll On’ by Big Timers, it was all good then.”
“So it’s safe to say we had something going then. It came easy to us when it came to style and swag. We were always looking like somebody cuz our mama dressed us like rappers or grown men as u can see in the pictures! Our clothes were huge but we had the look!!! Then he created his triplet flow and the rest was HISTORY. He never worried about titles, credit, or what man got the most shine, that wasn’t him. He didn’t care about none of that as long we brought it back home to the family!” wrote Quavo.
He then reflected on their close relationship and called Takeoff the family’s “angel.”
“The whole time I’ve been trying to figure what you really are to me because nephew wasn’t it,” he said. “We hated that word ‘nephew’ or when they said ‘Unc and Phew’ cuz we always knew we were way closer than that and it made me feel old too. But I knew you weren’t my brother cuz you are my sister’s son, so I couldn’t say brother. Now I finally get it… you are OUR angel watching me and watching us this whole time in living form making sure EVERYONE FELT UR LOVE AND HUGS while u here and u made our dreams come true. Whenever u spoke it, it manifested it wen u said ‘God gonna do it,’ he did it. I’m just proud be in your life, I’m proud to be ya UNCLE. I’m proud we saw the world and done things we couldn’t ever imagine together. We laughed way more than we ever argued and when we did I always was in the wrong every time… I guess mama made that rule too! I’m proud to say I’ve seen your blessings, I’ve seen you bless me, you blessed mama, you blessed Shara, you blessed Treet, Heaven and Zeke. You will continue to send your blessings down from Heaven and I will continue to keep your name alive as long as I live.”
“It’s always my responsibility to look after my nephews and nieces. I will do that before we make moves or any decision we always gon say ‘what would Take think?’ Always been, ain’t nun gonna change,” Quavo wrote. “Me and u knew we gon always be with each other for life and jus like now we gon see each other again. I love you with all my heart. I’ll never leave you I guess God jus ain’t need my help. So can you ask Him for me what I gotta do to be with you again!!! In a place where there’s no pain, no demons, no jealousy, no envy, no greed. Whatever we have to do God to be at that place of paradise send us the tools now cuz we wanna be with Take. Love you nephew!”
See Quavo’s note about Takeoff here, and scroll through his photos here.
