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It’s always a busy week in the hip-hop and R&B worlds. Much of the chatter remains surrounding Diddy’s bombshell arrest on federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. As part of the fallout from Sean Combs’ crumbling empire, 50 Cent announced that his upcoming documentary surrounding the allegations against Diddy will be coming to Netflix.
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“This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” 50 relayed in a joint statement to Variety last week. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives.”
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On the music side, Future continued his historic run with his third consecutive No. 1 album thanks to Mixtape Pluto. It’s his eighth Billboard 200 leader in a row as the Atlanta star etches another chapter into a Hall of Fame career.
The Weeknd reunited with Playboi Carti for “Timeless,” which will land on the Canadian singer’s upcoming Hurry Up Tomorrow album. It’s the second single headed for Abel’s third and final installment of his After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy. “Dancing in the Flames” initially debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Sept. 28.
Tommy Richmond capitalized on his breakout summer with the release of his debut album, Coyote. To the surprise of many around the industry, the Virginia native didn’t include hits like “Million Dollar Baby” and “Devil is a Lie” on the LP.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop – from BIA’s frustrations on wax to Doodie Lo and Mozzy linking up for a gritty street anthem. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Tia Wood, “Sky High”
The Indigenous R&B singer-songwriter makes a statement with her Pretty Red Bird EP, but Tia Wood’s coo is also more soothing than any chirping birds in the morning. A funky bassline and some pop-leaning soul provide the canvas for Woods on the project standout “Sky High.” The Amy Winehouse-inspired artist looks inward to heal rather than for outside support: “Who needs a savior? Got myself on retainer,” she sings. But if you’re gonna snap a picture to capture the Alberta native’s gaze, just don’t forget about her good side.
Ray Emmanuel, “#NEEDTHAT”
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. After exploring a couple of laps across the globe, Ray Emmanuel wants to come home. On “#NEEDTHAT,” the North Carolina wordsmith taps into his romantic side as he pens a love letter to a former flame he wants back. This go around, a decisive Ray knows the timing’s right. “And I know I’ma see you again/ Don’t give up on me because this the way it ain’t gotta end,” he pleads over the dreamy production. “I don’t really care that I ain’t your first, I’ll be your last.” Emmanuel is ready to do whatever it takes to win her over. The 19-year-old has shown plenty of dexterity with his artistry throughout the four singles he’s delivered in 2024.
Montell Fish, “It’s Gonna’ Cost You”
The second installment in the JCM Trilogy, Montell Fish brings the chaos with his “sonic evolution” of Charlotte. The Christian artist rumbles through the grunginess of “It’s Gonna’ Cost You.” Fish lets the rage fuel him as he’s beaming with confidence on the rock-tinged track. “Greatest that you’ve ever seen/ And I don’t want nothing/ These flows is all I need,” his falsetto vocals pierce the rowdy disarray. Fish explained that with the project his “goal was to make an art piece inspired by theological Ideas through the lens of a breakup with a slight to psychological concepts for answers.”
BIA & Lil Yachty, “Pissed Off”
Even while traveling the country opening for one of her rap heroes in Nicki Minaj on tour, somebody managed to piss BIA off. “Somebody gon’ die today, this sound like Jeff in the ride today,” she raps to open her verse with an homage to Young Thug’s “Die Today.” BIA runs through a questionnaire trying to find who’s real around her. Lil Yachty has proven time and time again to be a versatile collaborator and Boat’s malleability shines here. He compares his Chanel watch to a glass of milk and defends his CEO ability as Yachty made all his homies millionaires.
Doodie Lo & Mozzy, “Glock’D In”
A gritty street anthem connecting the Illinois upstart to Sacramento’s veteran soldier. Doodie Lo narrates his rags to riches story while flexing his AP but remembering the days of hoisting his G-Shock like a Rolex. “That n—a been a b—h, you could ask Siri,” he raps in a cheeky jab that cuts deeper than the surface. Mozzy invades the show with his raspy flow that doubles as a natural instrument. He’s been around the block once or twice and demands his respect for trailblazing a path for others to follow. “I bled the block and paved the way,” the CMG rhymer spews.
Monaleo & Sauce Walka, “Er-er”
The Houston rap princess meets one of the city’s well-respected sargeants. “Er-er” goes the sound of the bed as 2 Chainz collectively taught us on 2012’s “I’m Different.” Monaleo shows off her shrewd wordplay prowess while also paying homage to the talk show legend Jerry Springer, who passed away last year. The raunchy collab could be taken to the next level if another Houston native joins the party, with Megan Thee Stallion hopping on a potential remix. The thumping piano-driven production is where Meg makes her living, and her appearance would extend the track’s shelf life. Either way, the 23-year-old is undoubtedly going to be heard from in the years to come as she looks to shake up the rap hierarchy.
After starring in a Saturday Night Live sketch about your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo, Bowen Yang is over fans misinterpreting his jokes. In an expired Instagram Story posted on Sunday (Sept. 29), Yang responded to a headline from Variety saying that his appearance as Moo Deng on Weekend Update was meant to “mock” pop star […]
The Weeknd and Playboi Carti have unleashed the visual to their “Timeless” anthem. The Gunner Stahl-directed clip arrived on Monday (Sept. 30) following the single’s release last week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news It’s an all-Black affair in the gloomy video as The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) […]
Like any relationship, the one Ariana Grande shares with her fans isn’t perfect. While taking a lie detector test with her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo for Vanity Fair, the 31-year-old pop star was candid about the complex dynamic she has with her millions of listeners.
“I love them always, but I think sometimes they can hurt my feelings,” Grande said in the video posted Monday (Sept. 30).
“Sometimes I don’t like them, but I love them always,” the “Yes, And?” singer added as Erivo nodded sympathetically. “It’s a hard relationship. [It’s] sort of weirdly parasocial, but it feels very real to me.”
In service of her point, Grande also confirmed that she still maintains yearslong friendships with multiple people who started off as a fans, and revealed that she’s DM’d admirers just to chat multiple times throughout her career. She also gave her thoughts on the name her fanbase has coined for itself: “Arianators.”
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“I’ve accepted it, but would I pick that? Of course not,” she said, laughing. “That would be insane.”
Filmed in conjunction with Grande and Erivo’s joint Vanity Fair cover story, the lie detector test also gave the R.E.M. Beauty founder an opportunity to set the record straight on numerous plastic surgery rumors that have followed her over the past couple of years. As the Harriet star fired off different procedures, Grande confirmed that no, she hasn’t had a nose job, face lift, eye lift, chin implant, Brazilian butt lift or breast surgery (“No, can you imagine?”) as the machine confirmed she was telling the truth each time.
“This is the best day of my life,” she said. “Take that, you YouTube people.”
“I’ve had fillers in various places, and botox, but I stopped like four years ago,” Grande added. “That is the extent. But also, like, [I’m] in full support of all people who do these things. Work. Whatever makes women, men, non-gender-conforming people feel beautiful should be allowed. Why do we care?”
Watch Grande take the lie detector test above.
After 16 years of waiting for new music from The Cure, the beloved goth rock godheads have going from zero to the end in quick succession. After dropping the broody “Alone” last week, the Robert Smith-fronted band pulled the curtain back a bit more on Monday morning (Sept. 30) with a tantalizing tease of the even more morose “Endsong.”
The 15-second instrumental bit of the track previewed on the band’s Instagram Story was missing Smith’s iconic haunting melancholy vocals, but it leans hard into the English band’s signature turbulent songcraft via layers of chiming guitars, churning drums and an overall foreboding vibe.
Smith talked about the overall feel of their upcoming Songs of a Lost World studio album in a video interview posted on Friday in which the singer said he doesn’t recall there being an “official beginning” to the sessions for their 14th studio album. “Because it’s been kind of drifting in and out of my life for like an awful long time,” said Smith of the long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s 4:13 Dream.
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“I mean, if I have one regret it’s that I said anything at all about it in 2019,” he added of an interview he did five years ago in which he blamed himself for “going back over and redoing them [the songs]” endlessly during a time when he was grieving the losses of his mother, father and brother.
He said he shouldn’t have talked about the album at all back then because the band had just started working on it at that point. “There are various points where I thought, ‘I think we’re gonna make a new album’… and then… for various reasons other things have happened and the idea’s been sort of pushed back.” During the course of the band’s nearly half-century career, Smith said the key to completing a record has been him nailing down both the opening and closing song on a project.
“[If I do that] I think that the album’s halfway done,” he said. “That’s the key for an album.” As proof, after releasing “Alone,” Smith said it was “the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus.”
“Alone” and “Endsong” will appear on Songs of a Lost World, which is due out on Nov. 1 via Capitol Records. The album, whose full track list has not yet been announced, was produced by Smith and Paul Corkett, who also co-produced 2000’s Bloodflowers. It features contributions from Smith, Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums), Reeves Gabriel (guitar) and Roger O’Donnell (keyboards); the latter longtime member recently announced that he’d been diagnosed with rare and “aggressive” blood cancer a year ago, but added that “I’m fine and the prognosis is amazing”.
Listen to Smith talk about the new album below.
Fans were hopeful that Maren Morris and Hozier might link up at this year’s All Things Go festival in Columbia, Md., where both artists were featured on the lineup.
And during the “My Church” musician’s set Sunday (Sept. 29), the pair gave concertgoers exactly what they wanted when the Irish singer-songwriter emerged on stage with her without much fanfare, making fans at the Merriweather Post Pavillion grounds shriek with excitement and surprise. As fans sang along, Hozier and Morris traded harmonies on their 2019 duet “The Bones,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2020.
“When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter/ Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter/ Let it rain, ’cause you and I remain the same,” they sang, exchanging a sweet hug before the “Take Me to Church” artist stepped offstage.
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A couple hours later, Hozier took the main stage to close out the entire festival with his headlining set, during which he gave Morris a shout-out. “Maren is such a wonderful person and just a uniquely talented artist as well,” he told the cheering crowd, calling “The Bones” a “stunning” song. “That was a lot of fun, thanks for anybody who was there at that set.”
During his performance, Hozier also thanked the crowd for helping him nab his first U.S. No. 1 this spring by propelling “Too Sweet” to the top of the Hot 100 and called for acceptance and world peace — encouraging fans to reach out to their representatives to support a ceasefire in Gaza — in a passionate minutes-long speech to the crowd. The performance closed out two days packed with live music, featuring Laufey and the Kennedy Center Orchestra, Reneé Rapp, Conan Gray, Janelle Monáe, Bleachers and more.
One person whose absence was felt heavily by the crowds at both the New York City and Maryland installments of the festival was Chappell Roan, who dropped out of All Things Go last minute to focus on her mental health. Muna saved the day by going on in her place Sunday — in addition to covering “Good Luck, Babe!” at both days of the festival — while a cohort of drag performers led a The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess dance party in lieu of Roan’s set in New York Saturday (Sept. 28).
Watch a clip of Morris and Hozier singing “The Bones” at All Things Go below.
Chino XL — born Derek Barbosa — died on July 28 at the age of 50, but no cause of death was given at the time. His family confirmed to People on Monday (Sept. 30) that the rapper-actor died by suicide.
“It’s been the most painful and personal experience of our lives, but in honor of Suicide Awareness Month, we decided to share this truth,” Chino’s children relayed in a statement, which also noted that the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office had listed his cause of death as asphyxia due to ligature hanging.
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“Our father was our rock and our best friend. Papa Bear loved us and taught us so much. Hundreds of emails, texts, chats and beautiful posts and comments on social media, have shown us that Dad was a fountain of strength to so many,” his children continued. “He encouraged and comforted pretty much everyone in his path and left this dimension with an untouchable creative legacy. We are grateful beyond words for our time with Dad and are overwhelmed by the immeasurable global outpouring of love from around the world.”
The statement also noted that the rapper was diagnosed with congenital heart failure in 2020 along with stage 4 prostate cancer earlier in 2024. He also struggled with bouts of depression throughout his life.
Chino XL is survived by his five kids, five grandchildren, his mother Carole and former longtime partner Stephanie. His niece Lady London was among those in the hip-hop community to pay tribute to the New Jersey-bred star.
Over the weekend, the late rapper-actor’s estate cleared up that there is no October release date for Chino XL’s upcoming posthumous album that’s in the works.
“It is with frustration, anger and pain that we renounce the ‘October release’ date for Chino XL’s posthumous album,” they wrote to Instagram. “The family and estate of Derek Barbosa own all rights, copyright and trademarks of the Chino XL name; his voice and likeness.”
Chino XL was born in the Bronx and raised in East Orange, N.J. He formed the Art of Origin duo with Kerri Chandler, and they signed to Def Jam Recordings via Warner in 1991.
His Here to Save You All debut album arrived in 1996 and reached No. 56 on the Top R&B Albums chart. Chino XL also notched collaborations over the years with the likes of Kool G Rap, Proof, J. Dilla and B-Real. He even headed to give Hollywood a try as an actor where he starred in movies such as Alex & Emma, while appearing in television shows such as CSI: Miami, The Young and the Restless and Reno 911!
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal ideation, reach out to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988 or visiting the website for free, confidential support that is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Selena Gomez sent a pretty straightforward message to Benny Blanco at Sabrina Carpenter‘s concert in New York City. While enjoying the Short n’ Sweet Tour stop in Madison Square Garden Sunday night (Sept. 29), the Only Murders in the Building actress did a sensual dance to Carpenter’s performance of NSFW track “Juno” and shared a […]
Randy Rainbow is back in his election era, and he’s using the music of pop superstar Taylor Swift to ridicule former president Donald Trump.
In a new parody video posted on Monday (Sept. 30), Rainbow created a “Donald’s Version” of Swift’s hit 1989 single “Blank Space,” switching up the lyrics to openly mock the Republican nominee’s latest statements in a divisive campaign for the White House.
Rainbow started off his new clip pretending to be the moderator at the presidential debate earlier in September, using clips of both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to underline his jabs at the former president. “Mister former fake president girl sir, you have been critical of your opponent’s immigration record. Would you care to elaborate by making up some crazy-a– bulls–t?” Rainbow asks in the introduction before replaying clips of Trump making the false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping and eating pets.
Launching into his song, Rainbow donned his best Taylor Swift drag and immediately went after Trump’s increasingly strange public comments at both his rallies and the Sept. 10 debate. “Pushin’ garbage, playin’ games/ Got more tall tales than bankruptcies,” Rainbow jabbed in his first verse. “Hey girl, you OK? Do you believe a word you say? Can’t believe a word you say, ’cause we’ve been tryna ditch you for damn near a decade.”
On the song’s choruses, though, Rainbow opted to sing directly to his audience, urging them to get to the polls on Nov. 5. “Soon it’s gonna be November, and we’re gonna get the final say/ Better get your act together, or he’s gonna take your rights away,” he sings. “Got our foreign rivals rooting, he’d be their Christmas gift/ ‘Cause he loves Kim Jong and Putin, but hates Taylor Swift!”
The pop singer made news shortly after the debate when she publicly endorsed Kamala Harris, stating that the vice president “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” Swift also made it clear that she would not support Trump’s election bid, despite AI-generated photos (shared on social media by Trump) that claimed to show her lending him her support. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she wrote. “It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.”
Closing out his parody video, Rainbow dressed up as Swift in her endorsement post to deliver one final string of insults at the former president, calling him a “narcissistic weirdo,” a “low-IQ, hot-headed nutjob” and even an “orange fecal stain.” For his final punchline, Rainbow called up Swift’s classic lyric to taunt Trump: “He’s got a blank space, baby/ And it’s in his brain.”
Watch Randy Rainbow’s parody of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” above.
Demi Lovato is set to perform at the 2024 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Gala on Saturday, Oct. 5, at The Event Deck at LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. The biannual Gala raises funds to support the hospital’s mission.
“Children’s Hospital Los Angeles holds a very special place in my heart,” Lovato said in a statement. “Over the years, it’s been my personal honor to meet so many families in their care and witness first-hand the compassion and brilliance of their staff. Creating hope and building healthier futures is at the heart of their mission, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to celebrate and support that at this memorable event.”
Lovato has notched eight top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including Here We Go Again, which debuted at No. 1 in 2009. She has also had four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, topped by “Sorry Not Sorry,” which reached No. 6 in 2017. Her awards include an MTV Video Music Award for “Skyscraper” and two Grammy nods.
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Chuck Lorre, Bernadette and Sugar Ray Leonard, and AEG will each receive the Courage to Care Award for their humanitarian efforts at CHLA and beyond.
Lorre is one of the most successful producers in TV history, with such smash hits as Two and Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mom. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2012.
Actor Jon Cryer, one of the stars of Two and a Half Men, and his wife, actress and producer Lisa Joyner, will co-host the event. Kaley Cuoco, one of the stars of The Big Bang Theory, will serve as a presenter, along with actor Jamie Lee Curtis (a past winner of the Courage to Care award), actor Colin Hanks and radio broadcaster Ellen K.
This year’s honorary co-chairs are Jimmy Kimmel and wife Molly McNearny, and Kristin and Jeffrey Worthe. Kimmel and McNearny both won Primetime Emmys earlier in September for their work on the 2024 Oscars, which was voted outstanding variety special (live). Kimmel won as host; McNearny as an executive producer.
