State Champ Radio Music News
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Legendary hip-hop group De La Soul is planning to dig in the crates. De La Soul took to Instagram to announce the release of Clear Lake Audiotorium, a six-track EP originally distributed as a promo release to DJs back in in 1994. “Originally pressed in 1994 as an exclusive promotional release for select DJs, Clear […]
Timothée Chalamet has hosted Saturday Night Live before, but for him, the musical guest slot has remained a complete unknown — until now. As announced Friday (Jan. 10), the actor will return to 30 Rock on Jan. 25 for his third time hosting the NBC comedy series, this time serving as his own musical guest. […]
Kodak Black is worried rap fans will turn on him eventually. During a recent Instagram Live session, the Florida rapper revealed that he feels a “Hate Kodak campaign” is in his future. “One day these n—s gon’ try to do me like Drake,” he said referring to the blowback the Toronto rapper has suffered since […]
This week in dance music: We’re easing back into the year amid the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, taking a bit of comfort in music. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.
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Anyma & Ellie Goulding, “Hypnotized”
Anyma clocked one of the splashiest new music rollouts in recent memory, with the Italian American producer debuting his latest track “Hypnotized” live during his Sphere residency on Dec. 29. Ellie Goulding captivated in the corresponding visuals, which also serve as the song’s music video, and appeared live at the Las Vegas venue to perform the song, an urgent dance-pop earworm with a chassis made from techno, which has long been Anyma’s core genre both in his solo work and with his output as one half of Tale of Us. Out via Interscope, the track, a press release states “marks the beginning of a new chapter for Anyma through numerous mediums and an array of special guests.” Anyma’s final shows at Sphere happen this weekend, Jan. 10-11.
Tokimonsta, “Feel It”
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After postponing the release date of her seventh studio album last fall, Tokimonsta has announced the project, Eternal Reverie, is now coming March 7 on her Young Art label. The news comes in tandem with the project’s latest single “Feel It,” a vibey collab with Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio grouptherapy which emanates the same deeply cool mood as the album’s previously released tracks.
Nora En Pure, “Protected”
Nora En Pure releases the sonic equivalent of a hug with her latest, “Protected.” The Swiss/South African producer has always had a special gift with making emotionally resonant music, with “Protected” offering a sense of both uplift, comfort and safety. The track is out on Enormous Tunes, and Nora En Pure is on tour in the U.S. now through the end of the month.
Damian Lazarus feat. Jem Cooke, “Searchin’”
Before his annual Day Zero festival starts in Tulum this weekend, Damian Lazarus releases his fifth studio album, Magickal. The eight-song project features collaborations with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Fink and more, with ever-reliable British vocalist Jem Cooke guesting on the slinky “Searchin’.” Lazarus will play Day Zero on Jan. 11 alongside producers including Carlita, Major League DJz, DJ Harvey, Fatboy Slim, Dubfire and more.
deadmau5, “Jupiter”
Originally written in 2017, deadmau5’s “Jupiter” contains, as its name implies, a deep space quality, with the corresponding video featuring the song’s namesake planet (the biggest in the solar system) itself. The Canadian producer has quickly responded to the Los Angeles fires, today releasing a limited edition T-shirt in collaboration with Blackcraft Cult, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
2025 is already off to a fast start in the hip-hop/R&B world and Billboard Unfiltered is tackling it all in a jam-packed first week of the year.
Drake seemingly laid out his issues with LeBron James on the “Fighting Irish” freestyle while Lil Baby’s WHAM album arrived. LiAngelo Ball makes his case for rapper of 2025 with the viral “Tweaker” and the fellas take a few guesses at what Beyoncé has up her sleeve on Jan. 14.
Staff Writer Kyle Denis was a fan of Drake’s latest work with Conductor Williams, which he labeled “some of the greatest rapping we’ve heard from him in recent months.” However, he doesn’t think playing the victim role and taking it toward LeBron was the right move.
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“I wouldn’t waste this on LeBron James right now,” Denis said. “It just feels like there’s more important things he needs to be addressing culturally within himself which he does talk about a little bit throughout the song. But LeBron? He’s still tatted on you, bro.”
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Carl Lamarre speculated that Drake has denied olive branches extended from LeBron to have a conversation.
“It was the best-received Drake song in a long time,” Damien Scott said. “I think people are thirsty for the Drake they love.”
Lil Baby returned with his WHAM album in what’s set to be a loaded 2025 for the 4PF rapper, and while there’s been mixed reaction to the LP on social media, Damien Scott believes Baby delivered in a major way with his latest output.
“I think it’s a good album,” he said. “It’s not my high-water mark album for him. I think coming off his last project, I think this is very strong. I think he’s regaining his footing.” Scott also told a story about hearing the project everywhere in the Atlanta airport this week while traveling. “That’s all you hear,” he proclaimed.
Nobody had LiAngelo Ball delivering the first rap moment of 2025 with his viral “Tweaker” track infiltrating NBA and NFL locker rooms and racking up millions of views as fans “bend that corner.”
With the third Ball brother breaking through and earning a slot at Rolling Loud, it’s a matter of how far he can parlay this momentum. “Sources say he’s going to have a busy [NBA] All-Star Weekend as well,” Lamarre added.
Still, charts expert Trevor Anderson says it’s nearly impossible to predict the trajectory of “Tweaker.” “It’s hard to tell five days in how much longtail this has,” Anderson said. “We like to criticize some of the institutions for not jumping on things… Why wouldn’t you jump on this thing that clearly people are interested in?”
Watch the full episode below.
Britney Spears has left Los Angeles amid the city’s ongoing wildfire crisis, the singer revealed on Instagram Thursday (Jan. 9). “I hope you are all doing OK !!!” she wrote, sharing a video of a doll wearing beaded pink heels. “I had to evacuate my home and I’m driving 4 hours to a hotel !!! […]
Sexyy Red is feeling like herself again. Big Sexyy kicked off 2025 going under the knife for a successful breast augmentation that has her “back double D’d up.” The St. Louis rapper took to her Instagram Story while at the doctor’s office showing her before and after results with a series of selfies on Thursday […]
Gracie Abrams‘ breakout hit “That’s So True” has secured a seventh non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart (Jan. 10). “That’s So True” first hit the top spot back in November and lasted at the summit for five consecutive weeks into mid-December until Wham!’s festive classic “Last Christmas” interrupted her run at […]
Sir Elton John is still shining bright on the U.K.’s Albums Chart as his greatest hits collection Diamonds has finally hit No. 1 in its 374th week on the chart (Jan 10). The icon’s career-spanning collection was first released in 2017 and features a number of his biggest hits, including “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket […]
The Weeknd is ready for a change. As the release of new album Hurry Up Tomorrow approaches, the 34-year-old hitmaker is saying it will most likely be his last under the persona that made him a star.
In a new Variety cover story published Friday (Jan. 10), the artist — born Abel Tesfaye — addressed his plans to retire his stage name following the conclusion of his ongoing album trilogy, which began with 2020’s After Hours, continued with 2022’s Dawn FM and will end Jan. 24 with Hurry Up Tomorrow. The first LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned smash hit “Blinding Lights,” which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, logged a record 57-week run in the Hot 100’s top 10 and was recently revealed as the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart.
After hinting in the interview that the final trilogy installment would represent a broader chapter close, Tesfaye clarified that the chapter in question is “my existence as the Weeknd.”
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“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he said of his moniker. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
The musician previously hinted that his days as The Weeknd were coming to a close in late December, when billboards reading “The End Is Near” started popping up in cities all over the world. In a May 2023 interview with W Magazine, Tesfaye also forewarned: “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd.”
To Variety, the “Blinding Lights” singer echoed that he still plans on making music no matter what, emphasizing, “I don’t think I can stop doing that.” “But everything needs to feel like a challenge,” he added. “And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
Tesfaye added that his headline-making 2022 concert at SoFi Stadium — during which he had to stop and cancel midway through the show after losing his voice on stage — partially inspired his decision to hang up his Weeknd hat for good. “Part of me actually was thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done,’” he told the publication. “You said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party — you can end it now and live a happy life … I just want to know what comes after.”
See Tesfaye on the cover of Variety below.
