State Champ Radio Hip-Hop
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You thought it was over? Think again! Record-breaking “WAP” collaborators Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are back with a new single titled “Bongos.” The song officially hit all digital download and streaming platforms on Friday, Sep. 8.
Obviously, “Bongos” serves as the first collaboration between the two rap queens since 2020’s “WAP,” but don’t make any rash assumption about the new song. “I wonder how people are gonna react to this vibe because they’re really, like, expecting ‘WAP,’ like, ‘oh, here they go again talking this and that,’” Cardi said. “We are talking a little, you know, about some p—y, but not like ‘WAP’ type of stuff.”
Cardi first announced “Bongos” via social media on Monday, Sep. 4. She shared the track’s cover art, which features her and Megan sucking on lollipops while posing in elaborate multi-colored wigs and skimpy swimsuits. The song’s announcement came less than two weeks after the Bronx rapper told Vogue México y Latinoamérica, “I’m not going to release any more collaborations, I’m going to put out my next solo single.” While it is still unclear if “Bongos” will appear on Cardi’s forthcoming sophomore studio album, fans can bask in the song’s “intricate… beautiful” accompanying music video.
“Bongos” is the latest in a string of Cardi B collaborations this year. Prior to this, she scored Billboard Hot 100 hits alongisde Latto (“Put It On Da Floor Again,” No. 13), Fendi DaRappa (“Point Me 2,” No. 82) and husband Offset (“Jealousy,” No. 55). The new collaboration will also serve as Megan Thee Stallion’s first release of the year. The Houston rapper has been taking sometime for herself to focus on her physical and mental health following her shooting at the hands of Tory Lanez and the lengthy trial and media circus that followed.
“WAP” debuted atop the Hot 100 on the chart dated Aug. 22. The song debuted with 93 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first full week of availability, the greatest total for any song in history. The culture-shifting collaboration — which spurred thousands of FCC complaints after the two artists performed it at the 2021 Grammys — ultimately spent four weeks atop the Hot 100.
On the Hot 100, Cardi B has earned five No. 1 singles, including “Bodak Yellow,” “Girls Like You” (with Maroon 5) and “Up.” Invasion of Privacy, her debut studio album, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has spent over 220 weeks on the ranking. Megan Thee Stallion has earned five top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 and three top 10 singles on the Hot 100, including the No. 1 single “Savage” (with Beyoncé).
Stream “Bongos” here:
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Drake‘s next album has a release date. The rapper took to Instagram late Wednesday (Sept. 6) to reveal that For All the Dogs will arrive on Sept. 22. “FOR ALL THE DOGS SEPTEMBER 22,” Drake captioned an Instagram reel featuring an archival video of his dad, Dennis Graham, going by the moniker “Cousin Dennis” and […]
Beastie Boys members Mike D (Mike Diamond) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) will be on hand on Saturday (Sept. 9) to celebrate the unveiling of Beastie Boys Square in New York’s Lower East Side. According to a press release announcing the event, the living members of the Rock and Roll hall of Fame rap trio — third member MCA (Adam Yauch) died of cancer in 2012 at age 47 — will join NY City Council member Chris Marte at the corner of Rivington St. between Ludlow and Essex streets for the celebration that will begin at noon and feature a guest DJ set by Jon Bless HiFi System.
The corner of Ludlow and Rivington will be renamed Beastie Boys Square in honor of the site of the cover photo for the band’s landmark 1989 sample-soaked second studio album, Paul’s Boutique. It’s a fitting tribute to the trio of teenage friends who formed in the city on Yauch’s 17th birthday and cycled through a hard-core punk phase before recording their breakthrough hip-hop debut, Licensed to Ill, what would become the first rap record to hit No. 1 on Billboard album chart.
The dense Dust Brothers-produced Boutique was a commercial dud at first, but still stands as a landmark in sampling thanks to its intense tangle of more than 100 samples, which range from obscure jazz to songs and pioneering early hip-hop to snippets of tracks by Rose Royce, Afrika Bambaataa, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Curtis Mayfield, Kurtis Blow, Tower of Power, Public Enemy, the Eagles, Loggins and Messina, the Beatles, Cameo, Deep Purple, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
In addition, the album — which was recorded in Los Angeles — has dozens of references to classic New York personalities, places and traditions, including shout-outs to the Ramones, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, the Village, Chrystie Street, the D Train, Ed Koch, the Knicks, the Yankees, Shea Stadium, the Palladium, Phil Rizzuto, the Atlantic Antic, the New York Post, El Diario, Bernard Goetz, Broadway, Jazzy Jay, Bad Brains, and many others.
The unveiling is part of the year-long celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary and it will be accompanied by the cinema debut of the Apple Original film, Beastie Boys Story at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village on Friday (Sept. 8) and Saturday at 9 and 11:30 p.m. SiriusXM will also relaunch the Beastie Boys Channel on Thursday (Sept. 7) on channel 105.
B.G., a founding member of the popular ’90s rap group Hot Boys, was released from prison Tuesday (Sept. 6) after serving 12 years for gun possession and witness tampering, a Cash Money rep confirmed to Billboard. Cash Money founder Birdman was on Instagram Live when he greeted his New Orleans comrade with a big hug, welcoming […]
Fans have been eagerly awaiting any information about Offset‘s upcoming solo album, his first full-length since 2019’s Father of Four. After the recent release of his latest team-up with wife Cardi B, “Jealousy,” the timing seemed right for an update on the as-yet-untitled album and some fans think the Migos member secretly spilled the news […]
Get ready for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to team up again, this time for “Bongos.” “Bongos” will be here Friday (Sept. 8), Cardi and Megan just announced. The new track can be pre-saved now via streaming services Spotify and Apple Music. They unveiled “Bongos” artwork with the announcement. The colorful visual shows the […]
Nicki Minaj‘s “Last Time I Saw You” has topped this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 1) on Billboard, choosing the Queen of Rap’s first taste of her Pink Friday sequel as their favorite new music release of the past week. “Last Time I Saw You” brought in […]
For this latest episode of Billboard Explains, the topic of discussion anchors around the women of hip-hop. While names like Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott continue to cause waves in the landscape, it’s a golden age in the genre thanks to the plethora of female MCs wreaking havoc on the mic.
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See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Before the scorching success of Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and more, many pioneers broke through the seams of hip-hop and paved the way for generations to come. Hip-hop’s first female artist was MC Sha-Rock, who originally started as a Funky 4 + 1 group member. Following Sha-Rock were MC Lyte and Roxanne Shanté, who further fortified the lanes of female hip-hop with their presence in the ’80s. Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, Salt-N-Pepa, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott and Eve were among some of the thriving stars in the ’90s and ‘2000s who placed the welcome mat for women looking to step onto the scene.
Even with contrasting styles, their lyrics, individuality and unshakable confidence were the ingredients needed to step inside the lion’s den and prove to be fierce competitors alongside their male counterparts.
“It’s took years, but it’s just that time. They’re not going to be held back,” Nas tells Billboard regarding the feats of female rappers.
Today, sisterhood in hip-hop is at an all-time high, as many collaborations find female artists pairing together and, in some cases, legacy acts joining forces with rookie talents.
“We have our own fanbases, messages, shows — our own everything,” says Baby Tate. “I don’t really see any of this as a competition. Everybody has their own story.”
Watch the newest episode of Billboard Explains on The Women of Hip-Hop.
Playboi Carti has rescheduled the U.S. dates for his previously announced Antagonist Tour. The run of dates was originally slated to kick off on Sept. 6 at the Ball Arena in Denver and criss-cross the nation through an Oct. 20 date at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The revamped routing will now see the tour launch on Jan. 14 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City and hit Dallas, Houston, Miami, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle before winding down at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR on Feb. 29.
At press time no explanation was given for the re-shuffle for the American dates that were originally announced on July 12, though tickets purchased for the original shows will be honored on the new ones. Carti will be joined by his Opium Records crew members on the dates, including Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. The previously scheduled European leg of the tour will go on as planned, kicking off on Nov. 19 at the 3Arena in Dublin and winding down with a Dec. 4 show at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
The Antagonist Tour is Carti’s first headlining run since his 2021 Narcissist Tour in support of his Billboard 200-topping album Whole Lotta Red. Carti was most recently featured on “Popular” alongside The Weeknd and Madonna, released in support of the The Weeknd’s one-season-and-done HBO series The Idol. “Popular” peaked at No. 14 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Check out the U.S. dates for Carti’s Antagonist Tour below.
Jan. 14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
Jan. 15 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
Jan. 17 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
Jan. 18 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
Jan. 19 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Jan. 23 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
Jan. 24 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
Jan. 25 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
Jan. 27 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
Jan. 28 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
Jan. 29 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
Jan. 31 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Feb. 1 – Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena
Feb. 2 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Feb. 4 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Feb. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
Feb. 7 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Feb. 8 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
Feb. 12 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Feb. 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Feb. 14 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
Feb. 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Feb. 18 – Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
Feb. 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
Feb. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
Feb. 24 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
Feb. 25 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
Feb. 28 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Feb. 29 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Christina Ricci knows a thing or two about spooking people thanks to her iconic role as Wednesday Addams in a pair of Addams Family movies. But the actress has the tables turned on her in the video for Doja Cat‘s single “Demons,” which dropped on Friday (Sept. 1). In the terrifying visual for the latest […]
