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Antoine Massey is one of the two remaining inmates still on the run since allegedly breaking out of the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, and he may be looking for help from the president, as well as three rappers who have been entangled in the criminal justice system.
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A video that appears to feature Massey surfaced on social media on Monday (June 2), in which the man pleads with Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Donald Trump for assistance in his legal situation.
“Who I was in the past is not who I am today,” a man appearing to be Massey begins in the video. “So I’m asking, please for help. [NBA] YoungBoy, Meek Mill … People that been through the system that know it’s corrupt. Lil Wayne, Donald Trump, please, I’m asking for help … When I get back in custody, I’m asking y’all please to come and help me.”
He continued: “I’m letting y’all know I’m not a raper, man. I’m not none of that. None of that. I’m a good person. I am a father that want to be in my children’s life … I want to let the younger you know that going down the route of trying to be a street person is not the route.”
Neither the rappers nor Trump have responded to Massey’s video, which the Louisiana State Police has been made aware of.
According to Baton Rouge ABC affiliate WBRZ, Massey was arrested in March on charges of domestic abuse battery and vehicle theft, and that he was also wanted for suspicion of rape and kidnapping in St. Tammany Parrish. At the time of his escape, he had not entered a plea yet.
“If the individual depicted in the video is indeed Antoine Massey, we strongly urge him to come forward and turn himself in to the proper authorities,” said Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson in a statement. “Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges. It is important that justice is served appropriately and that due process is followed.”
This isn’t Massey’s first reported escape either. According to local CBS affiliate 4WWL, Massey and five others broke out of the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center in 2007. He also escaped from Morehouse Detention Center in 2019.
Orleans Justice Center maintenance worker Sterling Williams was reportedly arrested on felony charges for facilitating the May prison break. CBS affiliate KFVS12 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., reports that Williams claimed that Massey threatened to stab him if he didn’t take part in helping the escape. The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office also said the inmates’ jail break may have been helped by “defective locks,” the outlet reported.
Of the 10 fugitives, Massey and Derrick Groves are the final two inmates remaining at large. There’s a $50,000 reward being offered for information leading to their apprehension.
Billboard has reached out to the Orleans Police Department and the White House for comment.
Twenty years ago today (June 3), Shakira dropped her sixth studio album, Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, via Epic Records — the follow-up to her debut English-language LP, Laundry Service, released in 2001.
After a successful debut in the English market with tracks such as “Whenever, Wherever” and “Underneath Your Clothes,” the Colombian superstar returned to singing in her native language for Fijación Oral, where she reeled in producers such as Gustavo Cerati, Lester Méndez, Luis Fernando Ochoa, and José “Gocho” Torres.
Home to 10 tracks — including singles “La Tortura” (2005), “No” (2005), “Día de Enero” (2006), “La Pared” (2006), and “Las de la Intuición” (2007) — the set debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums for 17 weeks, marking her fourth champ then (she has scored seven No. 1s to date). It also debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Pop Albums, where it dominated for 25 weeks between 2005-06, and at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Fijación Oral also gave fans the timeless collaboration with Alejandro Sanz, “La Tortura.” The pop urban-tinted track, with dancehall and acoustic elements, peaked at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs chart dated June 4, 2005, and ruled for 25 weeks. It was also the only track from the album that entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The album was followed by Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, released in November 2005, where the global hit “Hips Don’t Lie” in collaboration with Wyclef Jean, lives. Vol. 1 is home to 10 Spanish-language songs and Vol. 2 to 10 English-language ones.
“The idea of making a double project was never planned or premeditated, it just happened,” Shak previously shared in an interview with MTV. “I found myself writing 60 songs and put myself on the mission of selecting my favorite ones, which happened to be 20.”
Below, Billboard editors rank all 10 songs on Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, from worst to best.
Shakira, “Fijación Oral: Vol. 1”
Courtesy Photo
“Lo Imprescindible”
The next music director of the Los Angeles Opera will be Armenian-Venezuelan Domingo Hindoyan, the institution announced May 30 in a statement.
Hindoyan, currently serving as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, will step into the role on July 1 next year, succeeding James Conlon, who will become the opera’s first-ever music director laureate after leading L.A. Opera for two decades.
“I am deeply honored to join L.A. Opera as its next music sirector,” said Hindoyan in the press release. “From the first rehearsal, I felt a strong connection to the extraordinary musicians, staff and spirit of this company. It is a privilege to follow Maestro James Conlon, whose legacy has shaped L.A. Opera into what it is today — a dynamic and ambitious institution.”
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Hindoyan made his debut with L.A. Opera conducting Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in November. “I first encountered Domingo Hindoyan at the Berlin State Opera in 2016 and was immediately struck by the fluidity of his technique and the clarity and command of his musical ideas,” noted Christopher Koelsch, L.A. Opera’s president and CEO, in a statement. “Since then, I’ve watched with admiration as his career has flourished across many of Europe’s great opera houses.”
Koelsch continued, “Our search process was both thorough and inclusive, engaging board members, civic leaders and representatives from our orchestra. We considered dozens of exceptional candidates from around the world — but Domingo emerged as the clear choice. In our conversations and through his artistry, it became evident that he brings not only exceptional musical and symphonic fluency, but also a disarming warmth and charisma that draws others into his creative orbit.”
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Conlon, who has served as music director since 2006, shouted out Hindoyan’s appointment and remarked that the two will work closely to ensure a smooth transition. “Domingo is an artist of exceptional depth and imagination, and I know the company will welcome him warmly,” said Conlon in a statement. “I’m confident this new partnership will be both successful and fruitful. We will be working together closely at the beginning, and I am confident that we will assure a smooth transition.”
Born in Caracas, Hindoyan has conducted at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He previously served as principal guest conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, has conducted operatic productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Dresden Semperoper, Teatro Real in Madrid and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Hindoyan has also released several albums, including this year’s Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence & Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathetique,’ 2024’s Venezuela! Music From the Americas and 2023’s Verismo, all with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sabrina Carpenter topped a lot of people’s song of the summer lists with “Espresso” in 2024, and now, she’s gunning to do it for the second year in a row. After a day of teasing that she had a new project in the works, the pop star has announced that she has a new song […]
Alex Warren is doing more than alright on charts with hit single “Ordinary,” and soon, he’ll be adding a new album to the mix. On Tuesday (June 3), the singer-songwriter announced that the second chapter of his 2024 LP, You’ll Be Alright, Kid, will arrive July 18, featuring 10 new tracks. On Instagram, he shared […]
Jessie Murph is inviting you to enter a bold new world on her upcoming sophomore album, Sex Hysteria. The 20-year-old singer announced on Tuesday (June 3) that her follow-up to last year’s debut LP, That Ain’t No Man That’s the Devil, is due out on July 18.
And from the sounds of things, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. According to a release, Sex Hysteria is “a bold departure” from her first collection that “dives headfirst into uncharted territory — opening up about themes of sexuality, generational trauma and self-discovery with a vulnerability and honesty that marks a new chapter in her artistic evolution.”
Following the trap country pre-release single “Blue Strips” and the seductive ballad “Gucci Mane,” the 15-track LP will get another preview on Friday (June 6) with the release of the next single, “Touch Me Like a Gangster,” which Murph debuted at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show in Miami over the weekend. The album cover is a nod to 1960s femme fatales, with Murph sporting a teased-up beehive hairdo, with a 24-second promo video continuing the throwback look and attitude.
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“Hey baby. Now I know we ain’t been talkin’ for too long, but there are some things I feel like you just don’t know about me,” she says in the clip, while blowing out a plume of cigarette smoke and staring right down the lens as she asks, “you wanna know a secret?”
At press time the full track list for the album had not yet been released, but the announcement promised that fans are in for the “most thematically cohesive work to date” from the singer, one that peels back “the layers of her story like never before as she transforms personal pain into cathartic, powerful music.” The new songs are said to find Murph reckoning with her past, interrogating inherited trauma and exploring “the emotional complexities of growing up in environments where feelings are buried deep. From confronting family wounds to reclaiming her body and desires, she pushes back against the shame and stigma that often silence women who dare to be loud, sexual, or emotionally honest. Sex Hysteria is both a provocation and a reclamation.”
Murph is gearing up to launch her Worldwide Hysteria Tour on July 27 at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, criss-crossing North America all summer before jumping to Europe in October and Australia/New Zealand in November.
Watch the Sex Hysteria album trailer below.
Bad Bunny‘s “DtMF” hits a 20th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart (dated June 7).The track’s extended dominance marks a milestone for Benito, becoming his third song to spend at least 20 weeks at the top — a record unmatched by any other artist in the 39-year history of the chart.
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Bad Bunny becomes the only act with three songs to spend at least 20 weeks atop the tally. He previously spent 27 weeks in a row at No. 1 with his collaboration with Jhay Cortez, “Dakiti,” in 2020-21, and 20 straight weeks on top with “Me Porto Bonito,” his collab with Chencho Corleone, in 2022.
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Only two other artists have tallied multiple songs with 20-plus-week runs at No. 1: Enrique Iglesias and J Balvin, each with two. Iglesias’ “Bailando,” featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, dominated for 41 weeks (2014-15), and “El Perdón,” with Nicky Jam, ruled for 30 weeks (2015). Meanwhile, J Balvin’s “Ginza” spent 22 weeks at No. 1 (2015-16), and “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life),” with Black Eyed Peas, led the chart for 24 weeks (2020).
“DtMF” holds strong atop Hot Latin Songs despite a decline across all metrics. On the tally that ranks songs based on a formula blending streaming, sales and airplay totals in the United States, the song fell by 3% in streams, to 7.8 million, in the tracking week ending May 29, according to Luminate. It also earned 8 million audience impressions, down 12%, which yields a 1-3 dip on the overall Latin Airplay chart.
Karol’s 29th Top 10
Elsewhere on Hot Latin Songs, Karol G adds her 29th top 10 with “Latina Foreva.” The song, released May 22 via Bichota/Interscope/ICLG, debuts at No. 4 predominantly by streaming activity. It logged 6.9 million U.S. official on-demand streams during the May 23-29 tracking week, enough for a No. 3 on Latin Streaming Songs.
Sales, too, assist the song’s high start: 1,000 downloads sold during the same period for a 15-1 surge on Latin Digital Song Sales.
Ashley McBryde and Cody Johnson are set to bring viewers deep into the music propelling the 52nd annual CMA Fest as hosts of the upcoming television special CMA Fest Presented by SoFi. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The three-hour special will air June 26 starting at 8 […]
LeBron James stays tapped in. The NBA goliath has been bumping plenty of Kendrick Lamar this year, and he’ll have a new verse this summer when K. Dot’s “Chains & Whips” collab with the Clipse arrives in July.
GQ got an early listen to Lamar’s verse on Let God Sort Em Out as part of a Clipse cover story released on Monday (June 2), and LeBron reposted one of the Compton rapper’s unhinged bars — as first revealed in the magazine — to his Instagram Story.
“Therapy showed me how to open up! It also showed me I don’t give a F,” he wrote to IG as the lyric clearly resonated with the Lakers star.
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According to Pusha T, Kendrick’s verse was at the center of his and Clipse’s split from Def Jam, as the record label wanted Lamar removed from the project completely.
“They wanted me to ask Kendrick to censor his verse, which of course I was never doing,” Push told the publication. “And then they wanted me to take the record off. And so, after a month of not doing it, Steve Gawley, the lawyer over there, was like, ‘We’ll just drop the Clipse.’ But that can’t work because I’m still there [solo]. But [if] you let us all go.”
Def Jam did not reply to Billboard‘s initial request for comment on Pusha’s statement.
Clipse ended up inking a distribution deal for a comeback album with Roc Nation. Many fans online tied the alleged attempted censorship to Def Jam’s parent label, Universal Music Group, being actively sued by Drake for defamation over the alleged artificial inflation of Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The label has denied Drizzy’s claims, and in early May, asked a judge to dismiss his updated lawsuit.
“Chains & Whips” will serve as Pusha T’s first collab with Lamar since teaming up for “Nosetalgia” in 2013. The track was initially premiered at Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton fashion show earlier this year.
LeBron James has continued to show support for Kendrick after making an appearance at the award-winning rapper’s Pop Out concert last year, which seemingly damaged the NBA star’s relationship with Drake in the heat of battle.mDrizzy appeared to send shots at King James on the leaked “Fighting Irish” freestyle in January, but the Conductor Williams-produced track was quickly scrubbed from YouTube.
Clipse kicked off the project’s rollout with “Ace Trumpets” on May 30. Look for Let God Sort Em Out to arrive on July 11.
JoJo Siwa has been on a real rollercoaster ride over the past month. The reality dance star turned pop singer went from having her honor defended by housemate Chris Hughes on Celebrity Big Brother UK after homophobic comments from actor Mickey Rourke to breaking up with then-partner Kath Ebbs at the show’s wrap party and then partnering up with Hughes.
Now, reunited with Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly — he of the infamous “Gay Pop” interview — Siwa says “30 days ago I would have never even imagined I’d be friends with Chris Hughes,” calling their now-official relationship “the weirdest” idea. But, the heart wants what it wants, and, as of this week, the couple are Instagram official and appear to be inseparable.
In the episode of “Take Us Out” recorded at Burbank Priscilla’s (watch the full video above), JoJo says that Hughes is now the closest person in her life, someone she would “die for… when someone comes into your life and you enjoy it, you can tell.” That said, Kelly wondered how it’s felt for Siwa to be figuring out her sexuality in front of the whole world.
“It’s really hard because people tear it apart,” she says of her full embrace of queer life. “I understand if you have no context why people tear things apart… there’s people going through this same thing that I’m going through. There’s somebody who’s identified as one sexuality and then maybe had this realization within themselves but they don’t now feel they can’t change or grow.” Siwa says she felt like she was being placed in a box she wasn’t meant to be in when she came out. “I’ve dated beautiful women, I’ve date beautiful non-binary people, I have dated men… but I realize that’s just who I am. I realize for myself that I just like humans.”
Siwa also touches on her excitement in the run-up to her 22-date An Unforgettable Night Out summer tour, which kicks off on July 10 in Houston, TX. “I’m an adult now, which is crazy,” says Siwa, 22, about her first outing in three years and first one as a legal grown up. “There’s elements in this show that make it a lot different than just a typical concert,” she explains about the show that will mix her songs with bits about her time on Dance Moms, funny sketches and JoJo the Bilbo references.
She made a point of addressing that flap over the $900 “Dream Guest VIP” ticket offer, in which she told fans they would get to help her “build the set” for the show. “People did take that as actual building the set,” she says, making a wrenching motion. If you want to carry props out on stage, JoJo says that’s fine, but that’s not what she intended.
“The point was people are going to get to have their say in what we actually do that night,” she clarifies about allowing four die hards at each stop help put together that night’s set list.
In a vulnerable moment, Siwa talked about the trepidation she felt before releasing her March single “Bulletproof,” in which she publicly embraced her queerness. “Music is probably the thing I’m most insecure about,” she says. “I think a lot of people have a lot of things to say and I think I’ve also done some things that have fueled that fire… it’s vulnerable. And now it has put me in a place where I don’t like to say I’m a singer.”
She recalls opening up about that fear on Big Brother, where she proclaimed that she “can’t sing, but I can release a song. And I can make a point” while casually teasing that she’s working on her first-ever full length album with her favorite production team, Rock Mafia. She admits that she’s dying to be on the hit Peacock competition show The Traitors, while simultaneously pitching her own reality show starring all her best pals from previous gigs on Dancing With the Stars, Special Forces and Big Brother.
Watch JoJo talk about “Bulletproof,” “Fighter,” balancing stage JoJo vs. real life JoJo and her tangled love life in the video above.