Hip-Hop
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Like the rest of us, Cardi B is getting hyped for the kick-off of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday (July 26). But unlike the rest of us, the “Bongos” rapper actually got to sit down with one of the most exciting members of Team USA recently to get her nails done and share some positive affirmations.
“You stand out, because the fastest woman in the world? She’s a real lit girl,” Cardi said to sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson as the two had their nails tended to for an NBC segment hyping the network’s coverage of the games. “You’re like a girl that I could really hang out with, really chill with, really be cool with, really be like… GIRL!”
Cardi said Richardson — the Team USA sprinter who is a gold medal favorite to win the coveted 100 meter crown in Paris after losing her spot in the 2021 Tokyo Games over a positive marijuana test — is “one of us,” a compliment that seemed to really touch her new friend.
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“I’m really, really proud of you, seriously, because you came back stronger than ever with your talent,” said Cardi, who may have been projecting just a bit as she continues to tease out the long-awaited follow-up to her smash 2018 debut album, Invasion of Privacy. “You have, like, evolved.”
Blushing at all the compliments, Richardson said “enough about me” noting, “you are Miss Cardi B and I feel like the same way you’re sitting here saying the inspiration or the way that I touch people, I feel like you have that same impact. Just being yourself inspires so many people.”
That last bit almost brought Cardi to tears, as the rapper once again told Richardson how proud she is of her achievements on the track and the women exchanged more praise for each other’s strength and determination. “You almost walked away, but this is what you love,” Cardi said. “And rapping is what I love and I cannot walk away from what I love because of how other people make me feel.”
Richardson then said the quite part out loud, imploring Cardi to get back to work on her as-yet-untitled, unscheduled sophomore album so she can have new tunes to train to. “I need my race day album,” Richardson said. “I need some new songs!”
And while Cardi didn’t offer up any news, she said after agreeing to sit down just to talk, she was walking away “inspired” and “warm” from Richardson’s beaming positive vibes. “The energy… I feel it girl,” Cardi said tearing up. “You’re so special. Like you’re really more than just like an athlete, you’re really special.” The two women then hugged it out.
Cardi posted the clip on X and added another inspirational message, writing, “Wishing @itsshacarri sooooo much luck!! You bought so much emotion out of me because your words and your spirit is so powerful. Seeing your growth after people tried to turn their back on you is so inspirational to me.. You are more than just a athlete, you are a SUPERHERO and I can’t wait to see where the next 10 years take you because you already a legend.”
While, like the rest of us, Richardson waits for Cardi to drop that new music, she’s well on her way to making her own headlines after winning the world championship in the 100 last year and scoring a world season-best 10.71 to win the 100 at the U.S. trials last month.
Watch Cardi and Richardson bond below.
Wishing @itsshacarri sooooo much luck!! You bought so much emotion out of me because your words and your spirit is so powerful. Seeing your growth after people tried to turn their back on you is so inspirational to me.. You are more than just a athlete, you are a SUPERHERO and I… pic.twitter.com/twacJPd8eU— Cardi B (@iamcardib) July 22, 2024
Eminem achieves his 11th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated July 27) as his latest studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), debuts atop the list. The set launches with 281,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 18, according to Luminate. It scores the largest week for any rap album in 2024.
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With an 11th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Eminem ties Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Ye (formerly Kanye West) for the fifth-most No. 1s on the Billboard 200. Ahead of them are The Beatles (a record 19 No. 1s), Jay-Z and Taylor Swift (each with 14) and Drake (13).
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, three acts all debut with their highest-charting albums ever, as ENHYPEN, Clairo and Megan Moroney’s latest releases enter at Nos. 2, 8 and 9, respectively. Plus, after 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department spends its first week outside the top slot, falling to No. 4 in its 13th week on the list.
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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 July 27, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 23. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)’s 281,000 first-week units, SEA units comprise 164,500 (equaling 220.08 million on-demand official streams of the tracks on the streaming edition of the album; Death also debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 114,000 (all from digital downloads; it wasn’t available as a physical album) and TEA units comprise 2,500.
Death’s first-week sales mark the biggest sales week in 2024 for a rap album. It also nets the second-largest sales week this year for a digital download album, behind only the debut of Swift’s Poets with 274,000 downloads sold in its opening week.
Death was available to purchase only as a digital download and was issued widely in both clean and explicit editions, in addition to three further variants sold exclusively in Eminem’s official webstore. Of the latter three, two were sold as a pre-order for a limited time before the set’s release, and each came with their own exclusive bonus track — one with “Kyrie & Luka,” featuring 2 Chainz, and one with “Like My Shit,” featuring FIFTEENAFTER. A third webstore variant dropped on Wednesday (July 17), carrying both bonus tracks and an exclusive “Steve Berman” skit. The CD and vinyl editions of The Death of Slim Shady are due for release on Sept. 13 and Oct. 25, respectively.
Eminem’s new album was preceded by two top 40-charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100, “Houdini,” which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the June 15 chart, and “Tobey,” with Big Sean and BabyTron, which climbed to No. 27 on the July 20 chart.
ENHYPEN captures its highest-charting album ever, and fourth top 10, as Romance: Untold debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 124,000 equivalent album units earned — the act’s largest week ever by units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 117,000 (the group’s best sales week ever; the set debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 9.53 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s sales were bolstered by its availability across 17 different CD variants, all containing collectible paper ephemera like photocards, stickers and a poster, as well as two vinyl editions.
Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene slips 2-3 in its third week on the list (88,000 equivalent album units; down 36%) while Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department falls 1-4 (82,000; down 50%). The latter spent its first 12 weeks on the chart at No. 1.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time dips 3-5 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%), Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft descends 4-6 with 57,000 units (down 2%) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess falls 5-7 with 54,000 units (down less than 1%).
Clairo scores her highest-charting album ever, and first top 10, as Charm enters at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 47,000 equivalent album units earned — her best week ever by units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 32,000 (her best sales week ever), SEA units comprise 15,000 (equaling 19.78 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The set’s first-week sales was amplified by the album’s availability across eight vinyl variants and four deluxe boxed sets (containing branded merchandise and a CD). Vinyl sales comprise 15,000 of the album’s first week – Clairo’s best week ever on vinyl.
The album was preceded by the single “Sexy to Someone,” which has reached the top 20 of the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, and the top 30 of the Alternative Airplay and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs rankings.
Megan Moroney lands her first top 10-charting set on the Billboard 200 as her second full-length studio album Am I Okay? bows at No. 9 with 43,000 equivalent album units earned — the singer-songwriter’s largest week by units. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 30,000 (equaling 38.05 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 13,000 and TEA units comprise less than 500. The album was preceded by a trio of entries on the Hot Country Songs chart: “No Caller ID,” “28th of June” and “Indifferent.” The new album’s success follows Moroney’s chart breakthrough in 2023 with the single “Tennessee Orange,” from her debut full-length, Lucky (peaking at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 in 2023). “Tennessee” climbed to No. 10 on Hot Country Songs and garnered song of the year nominations at both the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Closing out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 is Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, slipping 7-10 with 40,000 equivalent album units earned (though up 4%).
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.
Sean Kingston and his mother have been indicted in South Florida on federal charges of committing more than $1 million worth of fraud.
Kingston, 34, and his mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, made their first appearances Friday (July 19) in federal court, according to court records. A Miami grand jury returned an indictment earlier this month accusing Kingston and his mother of participating in a scheme to defraud victims of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods through the use of fraudulent documents.
Kingston was booked into the Broward County jail on similar state charges last month following a May 23 arrest at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to the federal indictment, Kingston and Turner falsely claimed that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers for high-end items when no such transfers had taken place. Investigators said Kingston and Turner then kept over $1 million worth of fraudulently purchased items despite not paying for them.
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The warrants for the state charges say that from October to March, they stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds.
The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with “Beautiful Girls” in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. He previously said they looked forward to addressing the charges and were “confident of a successful resolution.”
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property.
His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison, according to federal court records.
Metro Boomin will perform a special “Metro Boomin and Friends” concert in his St. Louis hometown at the end of this month, Live Nation announced Friday (July 19). The homecoming show is set for July 29 at St. Louis’ The Pageant, just one night before he and Future embark on their We Trust You Tour, […]
It’s been a see-saw summer for Cardi B fans. Just two months ago she sadly informed the Bardigang that the long-awaited follow-up to her smash debut 2018 album, Invasion of Privacy, would probably not be coming out this year because she was focusing on “relaxing” and enjoying her summer.
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Then on Thursday (July 18) she appeared to have a change of heart on the eve of the release of her new collab with Rob49, “On Dat Money.” In a post on X, Cardi explained that she’s rethought the chill zone and is planning to drop new music after all. “I wanna say this to Bardi gang or anybody who’s just a fan of my music or even my craziness… I have my good days and my bad days but you know what, whether it’s good or bad I couldn’t be happier with the obvious anticipation for my album,” she wrote before dropping the good news.
“Sometimes I get a little aggressive because yall know I don’t like to be told what to do but I promise you it’s coming THIS YEAR. Thank you for the love and anticipation and always holding me down. I love yall,” she added.
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Cardi immediately made those dreams come true with her glamorous cameo in New Orleans MC Rob49’s video for “On Dat Money,” in which the rapper serves as point man in a mansion filled with exotic dancers as a torrential downpour of $100 bills rain down all around him. While Rob rapidly dispenses with his stacks, Cardi rides shotgun in his cash-piled car in Jackie O vibes, wearing oversized cat-eye sunglasses, a fur wrap, black head scarf, impossibly long black nails and bold red lipstick. Elsewhere, Cardi lounges in bed covered in bills and rocks a fire engine red miniskirt, knee-high boots and crop top jacket ensemble as Rob raps, “F–k me on that money, b–ch/ B–ch, f–k me on that money” over the song’s grinding trap beat.
Midway through Cardi gets in on the action, rapping, “Yeah, f–k me right there on that money/ I ride d–k on my feet, I be hoppin’ like a bunny/ I’m a freak, slut me out, you gon’ see me get disgustin,” in yet another one of her signature earworm features as thong-wearing dancers twirl on stripper poles behind her.
The pop-in on Rob’s song follows Cardi’s release of two loosey singles earlier this year, “Enough (Miami)” and “Like What” and a number of other features. It also comes after she slammed rapper/podcaster Joe Budden on Thursday for his critical take on the roll-out of her eagerly anticipated sophomore album in the lead-up to the Rob49 single dropping.
“Bro I gave you a lap dance two times in Starlets. You was high as f–k. High as f–k on coke, n—a… I don’t give a f–k when people talk s–t about me,” Cardi raged. “It’s the fact you always talk s–t about me Joe Budden. Out of nowhere, you would think I did something to this n—a… For the past two years, this n—a has only talked bad things about me.”
After lambasting Joe for constantly comparing other female rappers to her, Cardi got really real. “But you really want my album to come out so you can criticize it. Cause every time I drop something you don’t like it,” she said. “Every single time a b—h drops something and they doing mediocre, you say they doing better than me… What are you talking about? The s–t is in motion. Merch is in motion, the box sets is in motion. You don’t know s–t.”
On a recent pod, Budden confidently predicted that Cardi would not release another album in her carer, saying, “We’ll never get another album again. I am standing on it.”
See Cardi’s post and the “On Dat Money” video below.
I wanna say this to Bardi gang or anybody who’s just a fan of my music or even my craziness… I have my good days and my bad days but you know what, whether it’s good or bad I couldn’t be happier with the obvious anticipation for my album..Sometimes I get a little aggressive…— Cardi B (@iamcardib) July 19, 2024
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Travis Scott‘s Cactus Jack Foundation hosted an emergency Hurricane Beryl relief drive in Missouri City, TX on Tuesday (July 176) to aid the thousands of Texans who are still struggling in the wake of the devastation left behind by Hurricane Beryl last week. According to a release announcing the effort undertaken in partnership with the […]
The beef that keeps on giving, just keeps on giving. Two weeks after Kendrick Lamar resolutely slammed the lid shut on his verbal takedown of Drake with the iconic “Not Like Us” music video, the two men were in the spotlight again on Tuesday night (July 16) when their bars brawl made it into a […]
Kendrick Lamar was just three years old in late 1990, and perhaps not yet an avid Grammy watcher, when MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” became the first rap hit to receive a Grammy nomination for record of the year. At the Grammy ceremony in February 1991, Hammer’s mass-appeal smash lost to Phil Collins’ socially-conscious ballad “Another Day in Paradise,” which featured a backing vocal by David Crosby.
As we approach this year’s Grammy nominations, which will be announced on Nov. 8, Lamar’s “Not Like Us” stands an excellent chance of becoming the 26th rap hit to receive a record of the year nod. We define a rap hit as a track that appeared on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, which originated as Hot Rap Singles in the March 11, 1989 issue.
Just one rap hit has won record of the year – Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” in 2019. That sentence may need updating after the 67th annual Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 2, 2025. It’s easy to see “Not Like Us,” which returns to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 in the wake of the release of the song’s video, winning that award. The Mustard-produced smash may have originated in a dis battle with Drake, but it already seems like the kind of classic single that will live on after this dis battle becomes a dim and distant memory.
As you’ll see as you scroll through this list, at the Grammy ceremony in 2003, two rap hits were nominated for record of the year for the first time. At the ceremony in 2011, three rap hits were nominated for the first time. Bear in mind, this was back when there were just five nominees in the category, making this very hard to do. In 2019, a record four rap hits were nominated, but that year there were eight nominees, making it at least somewhat easier.
You may be wondering why Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing),” which topped Hot Rap Songs for four weeks in 1998, doesn’t appear on this list. In 1999 her accompanying album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, famously became the first hip-hop project to win album of the year. “Doo Wop (That Thing)” was entered for both record and song of the year at that year’s Grammys, but it wasn’t nominated in either category. Go figure.
Here’s a chronological list of every rap hit to receive a Grammy nomination for record of the year. We show how high each hit climbed on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart and what won that year for record of the year. The year shown is the year of the Grammy ceremony. If “Not Like Us,” and/or some other rap hit, receives a record of the year nod in November, you can bet we’ll update this list.
MC Hammer, “U Can’t Touch This” (1991)
Image Credit: Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images
In a stellar moment for music and space exploration, NASA has transmitted Missy Elliott’s iconic 1997 hit “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus, marking the first time a hip-hop song has been beamed into deep space.
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The historic transmission took place on Friday, July 12, from NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Using the agency’s Deep Space Network, the song traveled an astronomical 158 million miles from Earth to Venus at the speed of light, taking approximately 14 minutes to reach its destination.
Elliott, clearly over the moon with this otherworldly honor, shared her excitement on social media: “YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment. The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning 👽👽”
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YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with @NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. My song “The Rain” has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment. The sky is… pic.twitter.com/g6HofNQSt1— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) July 15, 2024
This cosmic milestone follows the Beatles’ “Across the Universe,” which became the first song NASA beamed into deep space in 2008.
Brittany Brown, Digital and Technology Division Director at NASA’s Office of Communications, who pitched the idea to Elliott’s team, noted the synergy between space exploration and the artist’s work: “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries. Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting.”
Produced by Timbaland, Missy Elliott’s “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” from her debut album Supa Dupa Fly marked her emergence as a major player in hip-hop and R&B.
It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 129,000 copies sold in the first week released, becoming the highest debut for a female rapper at the time, and topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The track’s innovative production by Timbaland and its unique music video directed by Hype Williams left a lasting impact on the music industry, establishing Elliott as a creative force and setting the stage for her successful career.
Former President Donald Trump was shot at in an apparent assassination attempt on Saturday (July 13), an incident that had 50 Cent looking back at Get Rich or Die Tryin’, the rapper’s debut album. 2003 album track “Many Men (Wish Death)” references 50 surviving someone opening fire on him; he’s previously talked about an incident in which he was shot nine times.
“Trump gets shot and now I’m trending,” 50 posted on his social media accounts Saturday night. His remark, topped off with a shrugging emoji, was the caption to a Get Rich or Die Tryin’ cover edit featuring Trump’s face on his body.
Before posting the altered album art, the rapper shared a still image of Trump from Saturday’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, where the Republican presidential candidate had a bloodied ear and face and his fist pumped up for the crowd. Trump was surrounded by the Secret Service, who were rushing him off the stage following gunshots.
Trump is “fine,” according to a statement from spokesman Steven Cheung obtained by The New York Times. One rally attendee and the suspected shooter were killed.
“Many men wish death upon me/ Blood in my eye, dawg, and I can’t see/ I’m tryin’ to be what I’m destined to be/ And n—– tryin’ to take my life away,” 50 Cent sings on the intro of “Many Men (Wish Death).”
His breakthrough album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2003 and was nominated for a Grammy for best rap album.
“Many Men (Wish Death)” was never serviced as an official single, though it had a life of its own that included a music video released in 2003. Interestingly, 50 revealed two decades later that “Many Men” is his least favorite from the debut set: “We was in that hard-hitting intensity, the energy on the records, and it’s the slowest song on Get Rich or Die Tryin’. And it’s now the tempo that the artists are rapping to. So the fast tempo, hard-hitting beats, that was that era, that time period.”
In a 2013 interview with Howard Stern, 50 Cent said of his shooter, “He was paid to do it … It’s my past … It’s karma.” He told Stern, “He was paid ’cause someone felt like I would potentially do something to them if they kept going in the direction that they were going in.” He said getting shot in the face was “not as painful as having to visit the dentist repeatedly for a root canal.”
“His street credit just went up a couple points,” one of 50’s followers wrote of Trump Saturday night on the rapper’s post, where many others made light of the former president being shot at, with comments like: “Get reelected or die trying,” “Fif better let Trump use ‘many men’ during his campaign” and “He walking out at his next rally to this song.”
“Blood in my ear dawg and I can’t hear, Biden tryna take my votes away,” one person quipped, while another wrote, “Bro fighting charges and got shot… put him in the booth rn.”
See 50 Cent’s posts about Trump from Saturday night below.