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Over the weekend, Chicago rapper Vic Mensa posted a video on his social media accounts about the time he got into it with some Italian mobsters in a club and how he had to pay them to leave him alone.
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Vic starts things off by painting a picture. He was on his tour bus already drunk, in an undisclosed city, when he decided to check out a club that a friend was DJ’ing at, and mentioned that he was supposed to make an appearance in that same club the very next day.
Once he gets to VIP, he was handed a blunt, a fifth of Dusse, and a bottle of Ace of Spades before he noticed a friend on the dance floor asking him for some backup. “So, I start going down there,” he recalled. “He like, ‘G, they just choked me and dragged me out the club! And they not even security!’ I’m like, ‘Who? Who did this to you?’”
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After his friend pointed the culprit out, Mensa claims that he hit he hit him with the bottle of Ace of Spades. “I’m a nut so I already had bottle of Ace of Spades in my hand,” he said. “Boom! I crashed his ass. Immediately, this shit turned into a melee. I told you, I only got one friend in the building. Now this shit is not going well. I’m getting punched up and down like cartoon fists in a cloud.”
Adding that once he got away and made it to his hotel, a friend called him to inform him that the people he fought were made men. “My mans called me, who I didn’t even know was in that city at that time,” Vic began. “He was like, ‘Man, that was the Italian mob. They finna kill you!’
Vic then had to give one of his “big homies” in Chicago a call to help him out and said he had to pay $10,000 to make things right and made his scheduled club appearance with extra security. “Long story short, I get the bread, I pay the mob,” he continued. “Oh yeah, but that’s another one of the reasons why I don’t drink.”
Vic talked about his journey on the road to sobriety on Instagram in 2023, saying that he had to “learn the difference between fun and joy.”
Check out his “Italian mob” story below.
Snoop Dogg will deliver the 2025 commencement address at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business graduation ceremony, the university announced Tuesday (March 25). “I am deeply honored to join USC Marshall’s commencement in celebrating the remarkable achievements of these graduates,” the Long Beach rapper said in a statement posted to the school’s […]
This is an S.O.S. — the Jonas Brothers are turning 20, and they’re celebrating in a massive way.
To kick it all off, thousands of fans gathered at New Jersey’s American Dream Mall on Sunday (March 23) for the first-ever JONASCON, a free fan event filled with performances, surprise guests, themed activations (like G.I. Jonas laser tag and Jonas Pizza), branded merch and much more. Joe, Nick and Kevin were of course in attendance — making multiple appearances throughout the mall all day long. It was a full-circle experience for the three brothers from Jersey — whose first performances ever (before they became who we know now as “the Jonas Brothers”) were in this same mall, but to much smaller audiences.
“This is, in a lot of ways, is 20 years in the making, and just a culmination of a lot of things going right and a lot of people believing in us,” Nick tells Billboard about the event right before their first performance of the day at Jonas Beach, which took place at the mall’s DreamWorks Water Park.
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Later in the day, the Brothers welcomed previously-announced performers, The All-American Rejects and Franklin Jonas, to the stage, but also had several other surprises up their sleeves. Big Time Rush traveled to Jersey for a mall-ready performance of “Boyfriend,” while Camp Rock cast members M Dot, Meaghan Martin, and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle joined podcasters Chicks in the Office on stage for a surprise chat down memory lane.
During their final keynote performance, Joe, Nick and Kevin treated fans to a slew of other special announcements — meaning much more for fans to get excited about for the band’s 20th year. The band revealed that their next studio album, Greetings From Your Hometown, will arrive on Aug. 8. They also announced the release date for Joe’s long-awaited solo album, Music For People Who Believe in Love, on May 23, their Disney+ film A Very Jonas Christmas (arriving later this year), a new song celebrating Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, a London Live album (out June 13) and a new song in collaboration with ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball called “I Can’t Lose.”
Even with so much to look forward to in their 20th year, the lessons they’ve learned aren’t lost on them — and they hope to pass on what they’ve learned to the next generation.
“I think speaking to any musicians and artists, really believe in your craft and what you’re creating. We had people around us that really lifted us up and [let us] go in the studio and create them. It’s important to have that, because even after time, 20 years later, people are still gonna have opinions,” Joe tells Billboard. “You have to be able to just remember that: This is why you love it, and you create something for yourself.”
Read their full interview with Billboard below.
I’m sure there are countless memories over the past 20 years, but do you have any favorites?
JOE: We can’t pick one, but I think probably […] the van/trailer that we also would drive around the Northeast playing in front of anyone that listened to us — usually in malls. We started in malls, and we would sound check at about 4 or 5 a.m. and mall walkers would yell at us, and then we perform about 10 times throughout the day in front of Build-A-Bear. And now we’re doing it again, just a different size of mall.
KEVIN: There are so many to count. We walked through the Jonas Museum last night while it was completely empty and so fun to see memories from so long ago. My Takamine guitar is there. That was like my first purchase of a guitar ever. It’s the [guitar] we wrote “Please Be Mine” on all together. So it was pretty cool to see that.
NICK: [JONASCON] has actually got to be up there, just seeing the excitement from the fans … and our family is here today with us. Our parents are here. Our dad’s doing a sing along later with the fans, and [our brother] Franklin is performing.
What do you remember about recording your first album?
JOE: Well, I’m gonna go with the album that John Fields recorded with us [Jonas Brothers], because that was one of the launching pad albums for us — we had It’s About Time earlier. But I think when we were really able to define our sound as a band, and those were some of the most heartwarming memories for us […] we had our buddy John Taylor doing belly flops in the pool almost every day. The pool was like 102 degrees. It was our first real experience in Los Angeles.
NICK: I think the early memories of recording and writing music, we really didn’t know what we were doing, to be honest … we still don’t know what we’re doing. We had a bunch of people, to Joe’s point, that just said, you can do it and pushed us. And that was our dad, John Fields, our record label at the time Hollywood and John Lind. We were surrounded by people that just said, ‘You can do it,’ and believed in us, and that’s what took us to the next stage.
Even now, looking up and seeing what these songs mean to people so many years later, even though they were written when we were teenagers, is so incredible to us, and they resonate for us in different ways as we look out and see how the fan base has grown and changed and evolved over the years.
You guys started out around the same time social media started popping off. How do you reflect on having that personal connection with fans from the jump and those early days making YouTube videos?
KEVIN: Short-form content on YouTube. We figured it out quickly.
JOE: If only we were smart enough to create an app. We missed out on that … Our writers room was great, which was actually that van. We flipped the two back seats facing each other, and we’d come up with all these fun ideas. We would always be pitched things that we’d need to promote, but we felt kind of weird trying to sell ourselves like that. So we always said, ‘Let’s just make it fun and come up with stupid ideas.’ Jackass was really popular time. A lot of fake injuries, sometimes that became real injuries, and trying to make it feel natural and put into our own words. Our fans really, I think, gravitated towards that. We still do that stuff.
What do you remember about “Bounce,” the song/music video you put out while filming Camp Rock 2?
NICK: Sidebar — One of funniest checks I ever received was for “Bounce,” and it was for like $10 [because I was credited as the producer].
JOE: Did it go Gold or Platinum?
NICK: I think it went Gold.
JOE: We have a Gold plaque for “Bounce,” which is ridiculous … It was literally made on Garage Band in our Camp Rock dressing room. We had a lot of hours spent on that set, which we didn’t realize at the time, it was our first real movie to be a part of. You’re sitting around a lot, so “Bounce” was created.
Will there be a “Bounce” part 2?
JOE: There is time, you know. We’ll see, the next 20 years might have it.
KEVIN: Only time will tell.
You guys announced your massive JONAS20: LIVING THE DREAM tour, kicking off at MetLife Stadium. What does it mean to be headlining that massive venue in your home state? And do you have plans to bring the tour internationally?
JOE: We do have plans to bring the tour internationally. We also are overwhelmed to be playing MetLife Stadium. We’ve done it with radio shows and things like that, and popped up here and there, we’ve seen countless New York Giants football games there. I remember buying nosebleed seats when we had just enough in our allowance to go and watch a game. So to be Jersey guys who grew up 10, 15 minutes away from the stadium, MetLife. It’s a dream come true — to celebrate with our fans as well. And then we’re starting there, it’s now tradition. We have to start with New York.
[Note: This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.]
Billy RayCyrus is a proud dad. The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer took to Instagram on Tuesday (March 25) to celebrate his two famous daughters, Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, as they embark on new musical eras. “Holy s— . I seldom ever swear in my post but this deserves one,” he wrote alongside a split-screen of […]
Kenny Chesney got a very special early birthday present on Tuesday (March 25), one day before he turned 57. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in a class that also included producer Tony Brown and the late June Carter Cash. Chesney is the youngest solo inductee since Garth Brooks, who was […]
Miami has long been a staple in the hip-hop community, producing a range of rap stars over the decades. Miami-Dade County is honoring its rich hip-hop history by naming Liberty City neighborhood streets after rappers who have called the Sunshine State home.
Per NBC 6 South Florida, DJ Khaled (We the Best Terrace), City Girls (City Girls Street), Kodak Black (Tunnel Vision Street), Flo Rida (Welcome to My House Street), Trick Daddy (What’s My Name Street), Trina (Still Da Baddest Street) and many more were among those celebrated.
“If you play this music to the people who are from this area, they are going to light up like it’s the Fourth of July. The essence of this is to encourage economic development in our community,” Miami-Dade County District 3 Commissioner Keon Hardemon said. “The essence of this is to… let people know that this exists in Miami-Dade County and you should come and see it.”
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He continued: “In the 1950s or so, during the time of segregation, 18th Avenue was the place to be… It had juke joints, it had bars, it had restaurants, and it had living quarters… That’s why they named it Broadway.”
Hardemon hopes to see economic stimulation in the area to compete with surrounding areas. “Since I’ve been elected, that’s been my mission,” he added. “We’re moving on to the next phase of what it takes to bring Broadway to the 21st century, and allow it to compete with Wynwood and Overtown and things of that nature.”
The committee reportedly weighed Billboard chart success with how much certain artists contributed to the fabric of Miami while also leading philanthropic efforts to give back in the 305 during the selection process.
District 13 Commissioner René Garcia initially opposed the proposal due to lyrical content, but ended up changing her mind. “Even though I’m not a big fan of some of the lyrics in some of these songs, who am I to stand in the way of trying to do something innovative for your community and your constituency?” she said.
It’s been a winning year for DJ Khaled, who collected 17 new RIAA certifications in January. He’s working toward the release of his 14th studio album Aalam of God, which is expected to arrive later this year.
After five years away from the summit, Banda Carnaval is back at No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart, as its latest single, “Pude,” climbs from No. 4 for its first week atop on the March 29-dated list.
“Pude” leads after a 17% gain in audience impressions, to 6.6 million, on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, which reflects activity in the U.S. from the March 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song, composed by Javier Arturo Rochín and César Augusto Valdivia, was released Nov. 15 on Andaluz/Disa/UMLE. It rules in its 10th week on the list, following a No. 28 debut on the Jan. 25-dated tally.
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“First of, grateful to God, and second, thankful with our audience for making this happen, our seventh No. 1 on the most important music ranking of the world, Billboard,” Rafael Becerra Valdez, vocalist, tells Billboard.
The new champ adds to the band’s No. 1 ledger on Regional Mexican Airplay, now with seven champs. which also marks the group’s first No. 1 in over five years, since “Esta Vez Soy Yo” crowned for four consecutive weeks in 2020.
Here’s a review of Banda Carnaval’s chart-toppers on Regional Mexican Airplay:
Title, Weeks At No. 1, Peak Date“Y Te Vas,” five, June 8, 2013“La Historia De Mis Manos,” five, Sept.13, 2014“Te Cambio El Domicilio,” two, Dec. 12, 2015“Ella Es Mi Mujer,” one, July 29, 2017“Como No Adorarla,” three, Dec. 9, 2017“Esta Vez Soy Yo,” four, Jan. 25, 2020“Pude,” March 29
“We will continue with a positive mindset and focused on achieving great things, hand in hand with our audience and our company Andaluz Music, and Disa/Universal,” Becerra adds. “Thank you so much! It’s a shared achievement.”
Radio gains also help Banda Carnaval return to the overall Latin Airplay chart’s top 10, as “Pude” rallies 13-6, the band’s highest-charting entry since the No. 2-peaking “Esta Vez Soy Yo, in Feb. 2020.
With her bubbly charm, dazzling aura and universal appeal, Selena Quintanilla revolutionized the Tejano genre in the ‘80s and ‘90s by lacing her authentic Mexican roots with bold new sounds such as R&B, pop, dance and rock. Known as the Queen of Tejano, she shattered ceilings in a genre that was dominated by men, and made history along the way. After earning two of her eventual four No. 1 Latin Airplay hits in 1994 — “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “No Me Queda Más” — the Mexican-American powerhouse was well on her way to a major mainstream crossover before she was tragically shot dead on March 31, 1995, at the age of 23.
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However, her music has stood the test of time and, throughout the years, she’s influenced a new generation of hitmakers, making her a bona fide Latin icon in pop culture 30 years later. As a testament to her enduring legacy, Argentine artist Maria Becerra speaks with Billboard about her love and admiration for Selena, and how she’s influenced her own career. Read her heartfelt as-told-to essay below:
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I discovered Selena when I was very young, about 10 years old, specifically with “Como La Flor.” It was the song that had the greatest impact on me since I was a child, and I loved it because it generated a ton of emotions. My family is very much into cumbias. Her music was always playing at all our parties. My mom played her records in the house, and she was always an artist who moved me a lot, with her feelings when she sang and what the songs said.
When I started my musical career at 19, I connected with her even more because watching her interviews, I fell in love with her personality, how she treated people, and the light she had when she spoke. I feel like she was one of those people who walked through the door and you couldn’t help but notice her presence. I saw her movie, her series, I have several of her vinyls, and she’s been a huge inspiration for me, in my outfits, in the sounds I use in my cumbias, the type of lyrics I do. [My music] is all a tribute to her.
Her audience was mostly Mexican, but also throughout Latin America. She managed to break down those barriers, but sadly, after her death, she became a phenomenon, although she was always one.
Maria Becerra
Javier Rogoski
I remember the day I met her brother, A.B., at the Latin Grammys [in 2021]. It was the first one I went to where I was nominated for Best New Artist, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe it. He’s amazing! He told me, “You remind me so much of my sister, the way you talk, the way you laugh, how nice you are”—and I’ll never forget those words. It was the best compliment I’ve ever received in my entire life. He told me he really wanted to make music with me, and I know life will bring us together. That would be wonderful for music.
About three years ago, I really got caught up in a loop watching her interviews, seeing how beautiful she was, and I really wish I could have met her… everything a fan feels. I grew closer and closer to her, admired her more, loved her more, and in 2022, I decided to inspire my own concert looks in her outfits. Honestly, it feels so beautiful to be able to pay tribute to her. She’s my reference when I go to the studio, and I like feeling connected to her. I got to the point where my love for her grew more and more that I wanted to get her tattooed. I want to have her marked on my skin because she left a deep impression on me.
She demonstrated so much by being the daughter of Mexican parents and always carrying her culture forward. That makes me feel so proud of the kind person she was and how she kept those values intact. She said: I’m going to move forward without forgetting where I’m from, and that seems very magical to me. It touched me beyond her kindness and her incredible talent. For all Latinos, Selena is that… she is culture, she is roots, she is love. She’s love for your homeland and your culture.
Playboi Carti dropped the deluxe edition of his acclaimed third studio album Music as a surprise on Tuesday (March 25), via AWGE and Interscope Records. The 27-year-old Atlanta rapper (real name Jordan Terrell Carter) added four songs to MUSIC – SORRY 4 DA WAIT: “Different Day,” “2024,” “Backr00ms” with Travis Scott and “FOMDJ.” He previously […]
After rekindling their romance in 2023, Ashanti and Nelly didn’t waste any time tying the knot during a secret ceremony later in the same year.
Upon finding out Ashanti was pregnant with her first child, Nelly explained to Bootleg Kev this week that there were no initial discussions of marriage, but that was sped up as the Country Grammar artist didn’t want the singer to be a “baby mama.”
“Once we found out that she was pregnant… We didn’t talk about any of that,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yo, let’s just knock this out because we’re going to be doing so much and everything’s moving so fast.’ I didn’t want her to be a baby mama because we already knew where we were in life. If we’re back like this, this must be what it’s supposed to be.”
Ashanti gave birth to her first child with Nelly (his fifth), Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, in July 2024. The “Body On Me” singers started dating in 2003, and they dated on and off until ultimately breaking up in 2013.
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The couple confirmed they were once again an item in September 2023. However, Kev wondered if sparks were flying when they reunited onstage during the summer of 2021 at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle in NYC.
“When I went to Verzuz, I had someone with me,” he said. “I didn’t want it tense. When I walked in, her mother had saw me and I knew mom was gonna go back and let her know that I was in the building. We didn’t even talk. I went over and got a hug and break the ice. We didn’t talk for probably almost another eight to nine months to a year. Everything happens for a reason.”
Earlier this year, Ashanti revealed that she wants more kids with Nelly and is hoping to bring a daughter into the world.
“We’re going to add some more,” she told E! News. “Definitely a girl to balance it out. I’m outnumbered in the house right now. So, a girl would be great… I am feeling amazing, incredibly pleased, humbled. My life has completely changed for the better. I feel full, you know? My cup is full.”
Elsewhere in his interview with Bootleg Kev, Nelly recalled feuding with Eminem at the turn of the century, which he chalked up to a “miscommunication.”
Nelly famously took a shot at Em on MTV’s TRL during the summer of 2000 following the arrival of his debut album Country Grammar and questioned Em making a St. Louis tour stop. “Well, you know, dirty, dirty, I don’t too much know nothing bout dirty, you know what I’m sayin. But he be having some sly little comments about me,” he said. “I don’t play with candy, you know what I’m saying? I eat M&Ms, flat out.”
A month after its 2000 release, Em’s The Marshall Mathers LP still held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, which meant Nelly would debut behind him at No. 3.
Twenty-five years later, the St. Louis native explained that he “misinterpreted something when I was really, really new. I want to apologize to Em,” Nelly said. “Somehow I misinterpreted that he had something to say about what we were doing.”
The pair would clear the air when Em pulled up on Nelly backstage at a Detroit show with his daughter, Hailie, who was a big fan of Nelly’s.
“I felt like a di–, man. Because we were Eminem fans,” he said. “Just miscommunication, man. Em’s a dope cat and I’m glad we got that out the way. It’s f—ed up when you admire people on a level. Dude spits. I appreciate all factors of hip-hop.”