Music News

19 Sep 2024

ScHoolboy Q Drops Videos for ‘THank God 4 Me,’ ‘Lost Times’ & ‘Nunu’: Watch

ScHoolboy Q flooded the streets today by dropping three videos from his critically-acclaimed album Blue Lips.

First, we have “THank god 4 me” (directed by Omar Jones,) which opens with someone wearing a wire as he gets ready to hop in a detective’s car. The rest of the video is a series of dream sequences that feature American justice system imagery coupled with scenes depicting West Coast neighborhood life.

Then, there’s “Lost Times” featuring Jozzy on the hook. which is essentially a mashup of popular Disney cartoons being depicted with darker skin instead of their original complexion as they rap along.

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Finally, there’s “Nunu” (directed by Q and James Edward), which shows ScHoolboy sitting on a porch of what looks like a slave cabin on a plantation. He then walks off and the camera pans out of him and a the film crew standing in front of the main estate. The second half of the video features a crowd rushing up the steps of another mansion as an unreleased song plays while Q walks down the steps. You can then see him in the same with Rolls Royce that he’s leaning on in the video of The Alchemist‘s new song “Ferraris in the Rain.” The video ends with someone stepping on a face made of clay.

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In a press release, he explained the subject matter on Blue Lips a bit, saying, “Whatever happened in the past isn’t today. I can’t really fix it. But I can fix today and tomorrow.” That should explain the direction of the videos he released today.

He used this same strategy when he began the process of rolling out this latest effort. He posted clips on social media and videos on YouTube throughout the course of a couple weeks earlier this year in February.

19 Sep 2024

David Gilmour Scores First No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart With ‘Luck and Strange’

David Gilmour lands his first No. 1 on Billboard’s 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart, as his first studio album in nine years, Luck and Strange, debuts atop the tally dated Sept. 21. The set, which also marks his third top 10-charting effort on the list, sold 30,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 12, according to Luminate.

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Gilmour has reached the Top Album Sales chart seven times as a soloist, beginning with 2006’s No. 6-peaking On an Island. He reached the top 10 a second time with 2015’s No. 4-peaking Rattle That Lock.

Also arriving in the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart are the newest releases from TZUYU, George Strait, Paris Hilton, LL COOL J and xikers.

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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of Luck and Strange’s first-week sales of 30,000, physical sales comprise 25,000 copies (14,500 on CD; 8,500 on vinyl and about 2,000 on Blu-ray Audio) and digital download sales comprise 5,000. The album’s first-week vinyl sales were bolstered by its availability across four variants, helping it debut at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart. The set was also a sturdy seller at independent record stores, with nearly 4,500 sold through that retail sector. It debuts at No. 2 on the Indie Store Album Sales chart.

Luck and Strange additionally starts at No. 3 on Top Rock Albums, No. 4 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums rank, respectively, the week’s most popular rock albums, and rock and alternative albums, by equivalent album units.

On the Billboard 200, Luck and Strange arrives at No. 10, marking Gilmour’s third top 10 set on the ranking. Gilmour is also a member of Pink Floyd, and all 10 of Pink Floyd’s top 10-charting albums on the Billboard 200 (from 1973’s No. 1 The Dark Side of the Moon through 2014’s The Endless River) reached the region after Gilmour joined the band in 1967.

TZUYU sees her debut solo project abouTZU arrive at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with nearly 23,000 copies sold. The TWICE member’s album sold 22,000 physical copies (16,000 on CD and 6,000 on vinyl) and about 1,000 digital downloads. The set’s opening-week sales was bolstered by its availability across 11 CD variants and two vinyl variants, all containing branded paper ephemera such as photocards, stickers, and posters.

George Strait’s Cowboys and Dreamers debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 22,000 copies sold. The set was available across three CD variants (two containing branded paper ephemera), a deluxe CD boxed set containing a branded T-shirt, three vinyl variants and a digital download.

Paris Hilton’s second album – and first in 18 years – Infinite Icon, debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with 16,000 copies sold. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 2-5 with 15,000 sold (down 45%). LL COOL J’s first studio album in over 10 years, THE FORCE, arrives at No. 6 with 12,000 sold, bolstered by the availability of signed editions.

Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess moves down 5-7 (11,000 sold; down 17%), LE SSERAFIM’s CRAZY falls 1-8 in its second week (10,000; down 74%) and Stray Kids’ former leader ATE dips 6-9 (8,000; down 24%).

Closing out the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart is xikers’ House of Tricky: Watch Out, 4th Mini Album, debuting at No. 10 with nearly 8,000 sold. It’s the third top 10-charting set for the group. Its first-week sales were largely driven by CD sales, enhanced by the set’s availability across 18 variants (all containing branded paper ephemera).

19 Sep 2024

Diddy’s Federal Indictment & Lil Wayne’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Response: ‘Billboard Unfiltered’

It’s a full house on this week’s Billboard Unfiltered as the fellas break down all things surrounding Diddy’s federal indictment and Lil Wayne’s response to being snubbed by the NFL with Kendrick Lamar getting the Super Bowl Halftime Show headlining slot in Weezy’s hometown next year.

As someone who grew up on Bad Boy Records, deputy director, editorial content Damien Scott says it feels like a “betrayal” of the Diddy persona that supplied the soundtrack to his childhood.

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“It sucks,” he said. “It feels like a betrayal. This is a person who I think more than anybody else if you grew up in the ’90s listening to hip-hop and you’re from the East Coast, there was no larger figure than Diddy.”

Scott continued: “I remember speaking to a music exec years ago and I told him my favorite rap album’s [Ma$e’s] Harlem World. And he’s like, ‘That’s when hip-hop died.’ … It’s tough to reconcile and wrap your head around what was allegedly going on while he was building this world that you as a fan were so a part of. It’s pretty f—ed and devastating to learn.”

Diddy was arrested earlier this week on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. The unsealed indictment alluded to alleged sexual “freak-offs” and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube being seized from Combs’ home raids earlier this year.

“I just wanna know, Brother Love, why do you need a thousand bottles of baby oil? That’s a little crazy,” Carl Lamarre questioned.

Senior charts & data analyst Trevor Anderson is interested to see if any of Diddy’s collaborators distance themselves from him and remove their songs together off of streaming services. “It will probably be a little harder for them in the sense of who owns the music. … If they even have the rights to pull it down might be a contentious point,” he said.

After peers like Nicki Minaj and Master P spoke out in his defense, Lil Wayne finally responded to the NFL’s decision to not book him at the 2025 Super Bowl LIX halftime show and admitted he was devastated and that it “hurt a lot.”

Staff writer Kyle Denis doesn’t get the outrage and thinks K. Dot is deserving of the slot. “I feel like the fans deluding themselves into thinking one outcome was the only outcome that could’ve possibly happened is part of fans overstepping their boundaries,” he said.

Denis added: “I can’t remember another performer in recent memory actually putting up a video, ‘I’m heartbroken.’ What is that?”

Watch the episode below.

19 Sep 2024

Rory Feek Shares Thoughts About Being ‘Canceled,’ Claims Adult Daughters Refuse to Meet With Him Alone

Rory Feek’s conflict with his eldest daughters doesn’t seem to be any closer to being resolved. According to the country singer, neither 37-year-old Heidi nor 35-year-old Hopie will agree to meet him without a licensed professional present amid their legal dispute over the care of 10-year-old Indiana, leading to an “impasse” in their proceedings.

While discussing the matter in a recent blog post titled “Canceled,” Rory wrote that the “only thing [he’s] guilty of is being part of a family that isn’t perfect.”

“I drove down to Florence, AL where they live about a week and a half ago and knocked on Heidi’s door with two bouquets of peace lilly flowers, and hopes that we might be able to sit down and talk,” he continued. “But, even though their cars were in the driveway and they were inside, no one answered … On the drive back I received a text from Heidi that said, ‘We are only willing to talk with you with a licensed therapist or attorney or both.’”

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“That is where the impasse comes in,” Rory went on. “They believe that it’s the job of a someone with a doctorate, legal, or masters degree to repair what is broken in our family. And I believe that it’s our job.”

The post comes after his adult daughters Heidi and Hopie — whom Rory welcomed during his first marriage to Tamara Gilmer — wrote on Instagram that they would be “pursuing legal action because we no longer believe Indiana is safe” under their father’s care. It came just weeks after the singer married Indiana’s teacher, Rebecca, in July.

In their open letter, Heidi and Hopie accused Rory of leaving Indiana — whom the musician shares with late wife and Joey + Rory bandmate Joey Feek — in the care of unfamiliar family members while he and his new wife left to go on their honeymoon. Heidi also reportedly expressed concerns that her little sister was being cared for by a group identified as the Montana branch of the Homestead Heritage, which calls itself an “agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community” and was previously hit with accusations of sexual abuse of children in 2012, which the group denied.

In a previous blog post, Rory denied that the group was unsafe or a “cult,” but affirmed Heidi and Hopie’s claims that he’d cut off contact between them and Indiana. His reasoning stemmed from his eldest daughters carrying “completely different” beliefs from his conservative values, and he claimed that they were exposing his youngest daughter to movies and music that he didn’t approve of.

Of Rory’s claim that he was ignored upon his visit to their house, Heidi told People she wasn’t home when he arrived, but Hopie, who was at the residence, started having a panic attack when he showed up unannounced. She added that Hopie called her and their lawyer for about four minutes, but by the time the call ended, Rory had already left.

“Regardless of the intention, it came off as intimidating,” she told the publication. “We’ve set really clear boundaries. We have such a hard time communicating with him and feeling heard that we really don’t feel like it’s possible without a third party.”

19 Sep 2024

Drag Star Brigiding Is ‘Gonna Keep On Dancing’ Amid Controversy Over Viral Chappell Roan Performance

Over the course of the last week, one drag queen’s performance of Chappell Roan‘s “Red Wine Supernova” has ignited the Internet in a debate about misogyny and drag culture. Now, the artist behind the clip is speaking up.

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On Thursday (Sept. 19), Drag Race Philippines star Brigiding took to social media to speak up about her controversial performance to Roan’s song. “My recent performance of ‘Red Wine Supernova’ has stirred up a lot of differing opinions,” she wrote on X. “Some have accused me of being misogynistic and disrespectful, while others saw it as campy and true to the essence of drag.”

The clip in question saw Brigiding standing on a table during a drag brunch lip-syncing to the track off The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. As she reaches the song’s chorus, Brigiding lifts up her skirt and opens a spout attached to her undergarments, letting a stream of red wine flow out into a wine glass being held by a fan.

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The performance quickly went viral as fans and critics alike began debating whether the performance was appropriate. Some commenters claimed the performance was openly mocking the concept of menstruation, while others quickly came to Brigiding’s defense, saying the performance was not mocking women or periods, but was simply a fun drag performance of a hit pop song.

In her statement, Brigiding did not apologize for her performance, instead opting to celebrate the artist who made it possible in the first place. “As a drag artist, I look up to artists who fearlessly create spaces for us, the queer community, and right now, @chappellroan is one amazing champion,” she wrote. “[Chappell’s] music speaks to the freedom and creativity that I try my best to bring into my performances as an artist. I intended to celebrate her influence and impact, not to offend anyone, especially women.”

She added in the closing line of her post that the point of drag is “breaking gender stereotypes” and giving people a place to celebrate “freedom to artistic self expression.” Nodding to the “Pink Pony Club” singer’s own lyrics, she captioned her post with a wink: “I’m gonna keep on dancing.”

Read Brigiding’s full statement below:

19 Sep 2024

Queen Latifah Biopic in the Works Produced by Herself & Will Smith

Deadline reports that Queen Latifah will be making a movie about her life and career.

The New Jersey native was one of the first rap stars to cross over into mainstream pop culture as hip-hop began its rise to prominence in everyday American life during the late ’80s and early ’90s. Her Flavor Unit Entertainment company will be teaming up with Will Smith‘s Westbrook Studios, Jesse Collins Entertainment and HarbourView Equity Partners to produce the film and other hip-hop-based biopics. This will be a full-circle moment for Latifah and Smith, as one of her first television roles was on his influential NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

In a statement, Queen Latifah and her business partner Shakim Compere spoke on working with Smith and the importance the genre has had in their lives. “We all came into this industry together and Hip Hop has shaped each and every one of us,” said Latifah and Compere. “Hip Hop’s impact has expanded beyond just music and has created a lasting impression on culture and society overall. It is a dream to be able to collaborate with friends and colleagues that have not only a shared understanding, but are able to tell these stories that were the backdrop of our lives.”

Will Smith is looking forward to the partnership as well, saying, “When you bring talented people and teams together, you can create something truly special. I’m thrilled to work alongside Flavor Unit, Jesse Collins Entertainment and HarbourView, to highlight the incredible stories of some of our favorite artists and icons. There’s no better story to start with than the one of Queen Latifah, an undisputed legend who has both entertained and inspired us for so many years.”

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The cast isn’t set yet, but Billboard will keep you updated as more details emerge.

19 Sep 2024

Sublime Biopic Finds Its Bradley Nowell in ‘Riverdale’ Star KJ Apa

KJ Apa will soon be doin’ time on the set of an upcoming Sublime biopic.

As announced Thursday (Sept. 19), the Riverdale star has been cast to portray the late Bradley Nowell in Justin Chon’s film about the Long Beach band. With a screenplay written by Chon and Bobby Hundreds — based on an original draft from Chris Mundy — the 3000 Pictures flick counts original band members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson as executive producers, along with Nowell’s wife, Troy, and son, Jakob.

Reposting the news on his Instagram Story, Apa expressed his gratitude for the role by simply typing a series of heart emojis.

The casting development comes just a few months after the surviving members of Sublime reunited at Coachella with Jakob performing as lead vocalist in his father’s place. The group disbanded in 1996 when Bradley died of heroin overdose, after which Gaugh and Wilson began performing with Rome Ramirez under the name Sublime With Rome.

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“I love you dad,” Jakob reportedly said at the end of their historic set in the desert. “I love each one of you guys.”

Originally formed in California in 1988, Sublime didn’t see a chart breakthrough until shortly after Bradley’s death, when the trio’s self-titled third album reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200. The ska group’s debut LP 40oz. to Freedom subsequently charted, reaching No. 140.

Sublime had just one song make it to the Billboard Hot 100: “Doin’ Time,” which remains one of the trio’s most enduring hits, along with “Santeria.” The song peaked at No. 87 on the chart in 1997; more than 20 years later, Lana Del Rey’s cover of the track hit No. 59 on the ranking.

19 Sep 2024

Elle King Reflects on Comments About Relationship With Father Rob Schneider: ‘I Was Not Trying to Hurt Him’

Elle King is reflecting on her comments about her tense relationship with her father, actor Rob Schneider.

During the “Ex’s and Oh’s” singer’s revealing interview on BunnieXO’s Dumb Blonde podcast in August, the singer accused her father of being “toxic” and generally absent from her life as a child. She admitted doesn’t like to be associated with him because “he’s just not nice.” “My dad called me and was like, ‘Don’t f—ing talk about me in the press,’” she shared on the podcast. “I was like, ‘Get f—ed.’”

The singer-songwriter also emphasized that she doesn’t agree with Schneider’s controversial political views and recalled how she once “got in trouble” for not losing any weight while suffering from a sprained ankle. “I was a really, really heavy child, and my dad sent me to fat camp,” she continued. “My dad forgot every single birthday.”

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King told People in a recent interview that she didn’t expect the podcast clips would be so widespread on the Internet. “I never in a million years thought that that was going to go viral. I was just speaking about my childhood and about my truth,” she told the publication. “I was not trying to hurt him.”

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She continued, “A lot of people said, ‘How could she say that about her family?’ and ‘Everything needs to be behind closed doors.’ No, it doesn’t. Sometimes you have to just say things and get them off your chest so that you don’t have to carry it for the rest of your life.”

Schneider issued a public apology to his daughter while chatting with Tucker Carlson. “I want to tell my daughter, Elle, I love you. I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed, and clearly, I wasn’t,” he said. “I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings. I love you completely, I love you entirely. I just want you to be well and happy, you and your beautiful baby, Lucky. I wish you the best. I feel terrible, and I just want you to know that I don’t take anything you say personally.”

However, King addressed her father’s apology to People, noting, “Ultimately, I think an apology on Tucker Carlson is like a double negative, right? Means nothing.”

She concluded of the experience, “What I will say is the best thing that came from that is that my incredible LGBTQ+ community knows that they have an ally in me. And if that’s the biggest thing to come out of that platform, then I would’ve done it 10 more f—ing times because I am an ally, they have one in me, and I’m grateful.”

19 Sep 2024

Pharrell Didn’t Warn Jay-Z He’d Be a LEGO in Upcoming ‘Piece by Piece’ Documentary

Pharrell’s Piece by Piece documentary is slated to arrive Oct. 11 and features his innovative storytelling on the silver screen, but in LEGO form. Skateboard P revealed to Variety in a recent interview that when seeking permission from his celebrity friends like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg to clear their cameos in the documentary, he left out a key detail: that they would be appearing as LEGOs.

“We purposely did not tell anyone that that would be the finished product,” he said. “We wanted people to just answer the questions and really give their full, unedited reactions to the opportunity to do the interviews.”

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Pharrell continued: “Because if we would’ve said, ‘OK, this is going to be in LEGO,’ then people would have sort of curved what they were saying. … We didn’t want them to be influenced by what we wanted. We wanted the purest part. And I feel like part of the magic of what makes this film pop the way it does is because it’s so vivid and it’s not scripted.”

In addition to Hov and Snoop, fans can expect guest appearances from key career figures for P like Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pusha T, Gwen Stefani and more.

The eccentric creative defended his decision to go with animated LEGOs as his storytelling medium since they extended the depths of his imagination while growing up.

“I was given LEGO sets as a child, and that was a really amazing platform for me to allow my imagination to flourish and to learn things about myself, as it has for most kids and a lot of people — millions and millions of people on this planet,” he added.

Jay and Pharrell have a decorated collaborative history that includes Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “I Just Wanna Love You,” “Frontin,” “APESHIT” and many more.

Directed by Morgan Neville, look for Piece by Piece to hit U.S. theaters Oct. 11. Watch the trailer below.

19 Sep 2024

The Kiffness Performs Viral ‘Eating the Cats’ Track Live in Munich

South African artist The Kiffness has taken his viral, Donald Trump-inspired track to the stage.

The Kiffness (real name David Scott) shared a video to social media on Thursday (Sept. 19) in which he’s seen performing his viral “They’re Eating the Cats” track in Munich, Germany. “‘Eating the Cats’ live in Munich last night. Only a week ago I was in my studio in South Africa writing this song,” he captioned the clip alongside a laughing emoji.

The song is a remix of a false claim Trump made during the presidential debate against Kamala Harris on September 10. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs—the people that came in. They’re eating the cats,” he said in reference to the Haitian migrants in the Ohio city.

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“My initial desire to remix the quote was because I thought it was amusing and outlandish, but I also recognized the melodic element to the statement. I decided to give it a shot and I had the basic idea for the song in a matter of minutes,” The Kiffness told Newsweek of his inspiration to remix the line from the debate.

The now-viral YouTube video has more than five million views at the time of publication. Listen to “They’re Eating the Cats” in full below.