Music

02 Aug 2023

Director Sophia Nahli Allison Claims She Quit Lizzo’s Documentary After Witnessing ‘Unkind’ Behavior

Filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison is speaking out after three tour dancers filed a lawsuit against Lizzo Tuesday (Aug. 1) that alleged the star subjected them to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

Allison claims in a message shared on her Instagram Stories and Twitter account that she had been attached to the singer’s documentary Love, Lizzo in 2019, but quickly left the project. “I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related,” she wrote over an image of herself at work. “But, In 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about 2 weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her.”

She continued, “I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is. I was not protected and was thrown into a sh-tty situation with little support.” Allison then noted that her gut told her to leave the project, and is “grateful” that she did, adding that she “felt gaslit and was deeply hurt.”

“Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was,” the filmmaker concluded before sending her support to the dancers. “This kind of abuse of power happens far too often.”

Billboard has reached out to Lizzo’s reps for comment regarding Allison’s claims.

On Twitter, the filmmaker — who is known for the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary A Love Song for Latasha, about the 1992 shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins in Los Angeles — shared why she wanted to speak out. “Validating other Black women’s experiences is deeply important to me,” she explained.

The Love, Lizzo documentary for HBO Max was announced in May 2022, and released in November 2022. Doug Pray, who previously produced HBO documentary The Defiant Ones, about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s partnership, directed the project.

In the complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez allege that Lizzo pressured them to go to an Amsterdam sex show and engage with the performers, and that she “called attention” to one dancer’s weight gain. The “Special” singer has been an outspoken proponent of body positivity, and often slammed internet trolls for body-shaming women.

The pop star also launched her own reality show, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, for Amazon’s Prime Video in March 2022. The program followed her search for backup dancers to join her on tour. “Y’all know how hard it’s been finding dancers that look like me,” she wrote on Instagram when the trailer dropped in February 2022. “But if I gotta get a TV show to get the world to see the value in us big grrrls B—H IMMA DO IT.”

Representatives for Lizzo have not yet returned Billboard‘s request for comment about the lawsuit.

02 Aug 2023

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin Reunite to Honor the Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys: ‘Ray’s Legacy Will Be How Much He Changed Music’

A decade after 22-time Grammy winner Vince Gill and steel guitar virtuoso Paul Franklin (who has more than 30 CMA Awards nominations to his credit) crafted Bakersfield, which paid homage to the central California country sounds made famous by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, the two musicians have reunited to shine a light on the music of Country Music Hall of Famer Ray Price on Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price & The Cherokee Cowboys, out Aug. 4.

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Seated in Gill’s home recording studio in Nashville — a space with shelves lined with many of the Grammys, CMA Awards and ACM Awards Gill has amassed during his nearly five-decade career, but also a room filled with dozens of guitars, including a white guitar he’s played since 1978, another guitar his parents gifted him for Christmas and one he bought when he was 18, living in Kentucky and “dead broke,” Gill says — longtime tourmates and studio collaborators Gill and Franklin discuss an album that chronicles Price’s life and career, pairing Gill’s illustrious tenor and fleet guitar fretwork and Franklin’s nimble steel playing.

“I’ve told everybody that in the making of these records, it’s more about the musician in both of us than it is about me as the singer,” Gill says. “We chose the songs we chose because it gave us more freedom to play than maybe we would have had on some of those big ballads.”

Between 1952 and 1989, Perryville, Texas native Price entered more than 100 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, earning 46 top 10 hits and eight No. 1s, including “Crazy Arms,” the Bill Anderson-penned “City Lights” and the Kris Kristofferson-penned “For the Good Times.” Price also recorded more than 50 albums during his career.

Gill and Franklin eschewed recording many of Price’s biggest hits; instead, Sweet Memories largely favors more obscure Price recordings.

“I gotta be honest, there were several songs that I didn’t know who wrote them. I didn’t know ‘Kissing Your Picture’ was a Mel Tillis song, and I didn’t know Bobby Bare had a part in writing ‘Walking Slow and Thinkin’ About Her.’ I knew Willie Nelson wrote ‘Healing Hands of Time,’” Gill says with a soft laugh.

Longtime on-air personality and music scholar Eddie Stubbs, who retired from his roles as WSM Radio personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer in 2020, played a key role, pointing Gill and Franklin to more arcane songs.

“He’s the greatest disciple of loving Ray Price,” Gill says, recalling a time when he listened to Stubbs’ radio show while on tour with the Eagles. “He played a song I had never heard before and I called him from Australia and said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘I’ll play it again for you again.’ And I’d just call him up out of the blue and say, ‘Play me something,’ and I would take notes and write down some of the songs he would play. He was a big part of pointing me toward some stuff that was not the obvious choices.”

“I remember we were trying to find five or six songs. I came over and Vince broke out this legal pad and I’m expecting it to be one page — but Vince had like a hundred songs,” Franklin recalls. “I didn’t know a lot of these. We’d listen to songs and compare them — it wasn’t like, ‘We gotta pick a shuffle.’ We listened to a lot of shuffles.”

During his career, Price helped usher in two major sonic innovations in country music, beginning in the 1950s with his signature “Crazy Arms,” written by Ralph Mooney and Charles Seals. That song introduced what would become the signature “Ray Price Beat,” a 4/4 shuffle, spearheaded by Buddy Killen’s bass line, bringing a ferocity to his brand of honkytonk that would influence country music for decades. The song cemented itself atop Billboard’s Country Songs chart for 20 weeks, toppling Carl Perkins’s “Blue Suede Shoes” from the chart’s pinnacle during a time when rockabilly artists such as Perkins and Elvis Presley were regularly making inroads on the country charts.

A decade later, Price was again prominent as country music recalibrated into the pop-aimed, string-laden sounds of the 1960s. Sweet Memories includes a rendition of the classic folk song “Danny Boy,” written by Frederic Weatherly, which became a top 10 country hit for Price in 1967, representing a shift from hard-charging honky-tonk singer to countrypolitan crooner.

“He was probably the first successful country singer to do the full orchestra with ‘For the Good Times,’ and all that,” Franklin says.

Unlike Price’s version, the Gill/Franklin rendering of “Danny Boy” features steel guitar front and center. “This song allowed Vince [to do] voice leading, when the voice gets up to the change and it’s like he’s pulling the band along. You can’t hardly do that in modern music, but these old songs had a lot of space. It’s a unique cut,” Franklin says.

Two songs on the album — “Healing Hands of Time” and the Hank Williams Sr.-written “Weary Blues From Waitin’ — nod to two of Price’s essential musical connections.

In the early 1950s, Price joined Williams on tour and recorded “Weary.” At one point, the two musicians were roommates and Price used Williams’ backing band, The Drifting Cowboys, as his own backing band. After Williams’ death on New Year’s Day in 1953, Price continued touring with members of the Drifting Cowboys, which later morphed into Price’s the Cherokee Cowboys.

Price’s musical acuity bore out not only in his ability to encompass an array of styles, but also in the caliber of talent that passed through the Cherokee Cowboys over the years: Johnny Bush, Buddy Emmons, Buddy Spicher, Nelson, Roger Miller, and Johnny Paycheck, among them. Meanwhile, Nelson, Harlan Howard and Hank Cochran wrote for Pamper Music, which Price co-owned (two Cochran tracks, “I’d Fight the World” and “You Wouldn’t Know Love,” appear on the album).

“That speaks to his talent,” Franklin says. “You can see it happening in any period of country music, where there’s somebody out there that everybody’s going ‘Wow, this guy,’ and everyone wants to be around them. Ray was that guy and he schooled a lot of other great artists.”

While Nelson was playing bass as part of the Cherokee Cowboys, Price recorded his song “Night Life,” making it the title track for his 1963 album. The two would go on to record together several times, including the 1980 album San Antonio Rose, the 2003 project Run That by Me One More Time, and their 2007 album with Merle Haggard, Last of the Breed. Nelson and Price earned a Grammy for their duet “Lost Highway” in 2008.

“Their friendship played a part in this,” Gill says. “All this stuff has a deep, personal meaning. He and Willie were best buds, and these are just crazy great songs.”

Adding to the musical ties, Franklin and Gill worked with Price on his last album, Beauty Is…The Final Sessions, which released in 2014, just four months after Price’s death in December 2013, at the age of 87. Gill lent vocals to two tracks on the album. Franklin and Gill, as part of The Time Jumpers, also played an indelible role in another Price tribute project: Nelson’s 2016 album For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price.

“The Time Jumpers were on about half of those songs and we cut a bunch of great shuffles and triple fiddles. Gill recalls, adding, “It was a great experience until [producer] Fred [Foster] called me and said, ‘I need you to sing harmony on about half of this record.’ I said, ‘That’s hard to do,’ and he said, ‘You’re the only man I know that can do it,’ so I gave it a whirl. I was doing like three words at a time. It was painstaking, but it was cool,” Gill says of the process of singing harmony to Nelson’s famously fluid vocal phrasing.

Franklin and Gill hope Sweet Memories will bring listeners deeper into Price’s works.

“I think that Ray’s legacy will be how much he changed music,” Franklin says. “Everybody was following him because he was a singer. When he put strings on, you had Faron Young, you had everybody else doing the same thing. I think there are new artists now, like Ernest, who want to know about the past, and have a deep respect for older artists. Hopefully this record will say, ‘Hey, it’s worth looking at these songs.’ And there are a lot of great singers out there, but the songs they sing are really wordy. It’d be nice every now and then, maybe they’ll slip a song in there and get influenced by Ray.”

Gill notes that Bakersfield and Sweet Memories are just the beginning of salutes by Franklin and him.

“We always intended on doing a series and we still have several in our back pocket that we’d love to do — George Jones, Conway [Twitty], Little Jimmy Dickens, are still kind of in the works of possibilities.”

02 Aug 2023

Lil Wayne: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

Five years ago, Lil Wayne sat down in his Miami recording studio and spoke in depth with Billboard for the first time in almost a decade. The trailblazing rapper and entrepreneur stood at a crossroads: On the verge of releasing what he had declared would be his final album, Tha Carter V, he had finally settled the three-year lawsuit against his former label Cash Money that had delayed the project’s release and just been awarded sole ownership of the Young Money imprint he had launched in 2003.

So as Aug. 11 — the 50th anniversary of hip-hop — fast approaches alongside Young Money’s own 20th birthday, it’s fitting to be sitting down with Lil Wayne once again. One of the genre’s most innovative and still influential artists, the 40-year-old Louisianian occupies a unique vantage point, forged during a now nearly 30-year journey that began in 1997 with the New Orleans group Hot Boys and soon grew into a multimillion-selling solo career. And that’s not counting the still-growing list of hit collaborations he’s had with a diverse array of fellow hip-hop and R&B artists — including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Future, 2 Chainz, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige and Lil Baby — as well as other intrepid pairings with artists up and down the genre aisles: Madonna, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Romeo Santos and Shakira, among others. In the course of hip-hop’s own evolution, Wayne’s career is a bridge between then and now, between the genre’s storied, hard-won past and its next-gen, global future.

Read the full Lil Wayne cover story here.

02 Aug 2023

Hip-Hop 50: Why Innovation Still Rules Lil Wayne’s World

Five years ago, Lil Wayne sat down in his Miami recording studio and spoke in depth with Billboard for the first time in almost a decade. The trailblazing rapper and entrepreneur stood at a crossroads: On the verge of releasing what he had declared would be his final album, Tha Carter V, he had finally settled the three-year lawsuit against his former label Cash Money that had delayed the project’s release and just been awarded sole ownership of the Young Money imprint he had launched in 2003.

So as Aug. 11 — the 50th anniversary of hip-hop — fast approaches alongside Young Money’s own 20th birthday, it’s fitting to be sitting down with Lil Wayne once again. One of the genre’s most innovative and still influential artists, the 40-year-old Louisianian occupies a unique vantage point, forged during a now nearly 30-year journey that began in 1997 with the New Orleans group Hot Boys and soon grew into a multimillion-selling solo career. And that’s not counting the still-growing list of hit collaborations he’s had with a diverse array of fellow hip-hop and R&B artists — including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Future, 2 Chainz, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige and Lil Baby — as well as other intrepid pairings with artists up and down the genre aisles: Madonna, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Romeo Santos and Shakira, among others. In the course of hip-hop’s own evolution, Wayne’s career is a bridge between then and now, between the genre’s storied, hard-won past and its next-gen, global future.

Young Money Records executive vp/GM Karen Civil, who began running Wayne’s label and several additional portfolios — including his rum brand, Bumbu, and his underwear line, Ethika — in March, says that she also looks at him “as a tree, a foundation. Through the years, we’ve seen different branches blossom, from Nicki and Drake to his businesses, including Young Money, and his relationship with [label president] Mack Maine. A lot of people know Drake and Wayne. But he’s set up so many other people — Tyga is one — who have given him his flowers, like, ‘You’re the reason I rap.’ Those moments mean a lot because he loves to see people around him win.”

Producer-rapper Swizz Beatz has personally witnessed Wayne’s evolution from the time when, as he recalls, they were both “the youngest ones” on the Cash Money and Ruff Ryders tour in 2000. “I knew he was special then, and he’s definitely special now,” continues Swizz, who has collaborated with Wayne for more than 20 years. “It takes a special eye and ear to see a Drake before he’s Drake or a Nicki before she’s Nicki … or the many other artists he’s been involved with who are some of the biggest artists alongside himself to date. That comes from his investment of time, his eye, energy and business sense. He’s responsible for this generation of music.”

Before he could provide a foundation for others, Wayne had to build his own. Over his career, he’s notched five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 12 top 10s. Tha Carter III, released in 2008, spent three weeks at No. 1 — making it the Wayne album with the most weeks at that perch — and has racked up 221 weeks total on the chart, the most of any of his releases; in September 2022, the RIAA recertified it at eight times platinum.

On the Billboard Hot 100, the five-time Grammy winner has claimed a total of 25 top 10s — including gems “A Milli”; “She Will,” featuring Drake; and “6 Foot 7 Foot,” featuring Cory Gunz — and three No. 1s: “Lollipop,” featuring Static Major (Wayne’s first RIAA diamond track, certified in December); Jay Sean’s “Down,” featuring Wayne; and DJ Khaled’s star-studded “I’m the One,” which, along with Wayne’s guest spot, also features Justin Bieber, Quavo and Chance the Rapper. With 185 total Hot 100 entries — up from 138 just five years ago — Wayne has the fourth-most songs on the chart ever behind Drake, Taylor Swift and the Glee cast.

“Wayne is definitely somebody who continues to create his own blueprint from rap to rock,” says Civil. “I just love the fact that he doesn’t put himself in one category. He continues to reinvent himself and do new things — like becoming a professional skateboarder at 40. He doesn’t put an age limit on things. He doesn’t allow a title, a job or one career set to define him. Seeing the plethora of different people, from [Lil Uzi Vert] to YoungBoy [Never Broke Again] to others who are creating their own genres and sounds, is a testament to Wayne creating that lane.”

Lil Wayne

Balenciaga T-shirt and jacket, Peter Marco jewelry, Louis Vuitton eyewear.

Ramona Rosales

And it certainly no longer looks like the ever-busy multihyphenate — who has released an album and two mixtapes since Tha Carter V — will stop recording any time soon; “retirement be damned” seems to now be his motto. According to Civil, Wayne has “quite a few singles” in the pipeline as both lead and featured artist. He and 2 Chainz are currently collaborating on ColleGrove II, the sequel to their 2016 collaboration. Though no release date has been set, Tha Carter VI is also in the works. Wayne recently wrapped 30 dates on his Welcome to Tha Carter Tour, where Drake, Chance the Rapper, Cam’ron and 2 Chainz made special appearances.

And he was in his element opening the ESPY Awards in July with an apropos performance of his 2008 hit “A Milli.” “He was being a true artist, rearranging the words to the song to make sure that it was curated to the event,” Swizz Beatz notes. “I thought that was genius.”

Meanwhile, Wayne continues to develop hip-hop’s next generation of talent, working with Civil and Maine to build his Young Money roster, which includes Allan Cubas, Drizzy P, Euro, Jay Jones, Lil Twist, Mellow Rackz and Yaj Kader.

“Wayne is the ultimate outlier. There was nobody in the history of the genre who sounded like him, looked like him, or released music like him. Everybody caught his wave and just tried to hang on for dear life,” says Republic Records founder and COO Avery Lipman (Young Money is distributed through Republic/Universal Music Group.) “It goes without saying he’s one of the greatest artists of all time, but he’s also one of the most visionary businessmen this industry has ever seen.”

It’s a humble, humorous, polite (“thank you, Miss Gail”), self-deprecating and brief, to-the-point Lil Wayne who sits down once again today with Billboard — this time in West Hollywood — to reflect on his legacy and hip-hop’s future against the backdrop of the genre’s 50th anniversary. With a disarming and sly, diamond-studded grin, Wayne underscores his deep-rooted love of hip-hop. “In my mind, every single time I say the word ‘work,’ I ask God to forgive me,” he says. “Cuz I know this has never been a job. It’s just a dream come true.”

Looking back on your career thus far, what does this momentous anniversary mean to you — and to hip-hop itself — since naysayers initially dismissed the fledgling genre as a fad?

I think it probably means more to me than I even know, because I am still in it, a deep part of it, and I’m still learning every day. Hip-hop will never be over. But I also think that maybe down the line, I’ll be able to answer that question better because I don’t think I know how much it means to me yet — because it means that much.

You signed with Cash Money before you were even a teen. Did you know that early that you could build a career as a rap artist?

I’ve been rapping since I was 7, actually. And I signed my deal when I was 11. I didn’t think about nothing else other than “We about to be the biggest everything.” (Laughs.) Like, I’m about to be this … I’m about to date her. I’m about to do … (Laughs again.) I was a kid, you know? It was like, what are you going [to want] for Christmas? As far as unforgettable moments go [back then], I would say that was probably my first time grabbing a mic as a kid at a block party, breaking my fear and rapping stuff that I had rapped in the mirror for, like, thousands of hours the night before.

Lil Wayne

Ethika T-shirt; Balenciaga jacket, pants and shoes; Peter Marco jewelry; Emotionally Unavailable hat.

Ramona Rosales

So given your early vantage point, what are the biggest changes you’ve seen happen in hip-hop?

Right now is the time where I see the most change in our genre, because back then, I think it was just progress more than change; progression from what was already set before us and also us honoring what was set before us. But now it’s not that no one’s honoring what was before them — it’s just that the world has changed thanks to social media. There was no such thing as social media when I started doing this. But social media has changed the genre and opened doors. That’s definitely what helped contribute to its going global. [Social media] is good and bad.

Want to give examples of the good and the bad?

No. (Laughs.)

What has been the hardest part of your journey?

The hardest part for me is not being able to do [my music], for whatever reason. Not being able to record. Not being able to tour or do a show. That’s always the hardest part.

What one career lesson have you carried along since the beginning?

Never, never stop learning. That’s how you humble yourself. Humility goes a long way and it’ll keep you learning. I just try to get better and better and better.

Did you ever subscribe to the notion that hip-hop is only a young man’s game?

No, never. Because when I was growing up, all the rappers were way older than me. So I don’t know what that notion or narrative was, because it was never a young man’s game to me. I’ve always felt I had to fight my way in when I was a young man.

You’ve mapped a blueprint in terms of musical innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits like your Trukfit fashion line, the Young Money APAA Sports agency, the cannabis brand GKUA Ultra Premium and other business ventures. How do you perceive the role you’ve played in that aspect of rap’s evolution?

Expanding yourself and becoming a brand, getting involved in other businesses … the small part that I’ve played is probably just setting an example for those watching me and those coming after me. And with that said, I got that from watching Jay-Z, Reverend Run and Russ [Simmons] move. How they never stopped and just evolved, [especially] the way Jay has evolved. (Laughs.) I’m trying to follow stuff like that. And hopefully those coming up under me will follow my footsteps.

Do you have a wish list of other business opportunities you’d like to pursue?

Oh, no. I don’t have a list. You limit yourself when you put a list together. (Laughs.) But I can guarantee there has to be a feeling that makes me go forward with any [business] decision that I make. So therefore I know that it is organic.

You underscored your electric stage presence with 2010’s Rebirth, your creative leap into rock after ventures into blending rap with pop and singing. What influence has that had on next-gen artists with similar vibes, like Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Trippie Redd?

Sometimes people ask me how I feel about everybody looking like me, everybody getting tattoos, etc. That’s like seeing your kid come out of the room and looking just like you; it feels amazing. So the visible influence is kind of obvious because I know for a fact I didn’t get this look from anyone. There was no one that inspired this look. I just ran into looking like this. (Laughs.) But other than that, I hope that my work ethic [is influential as well].

How would you describe your work ethic? You seem like a 24/7 studio guy.

Exactly. So when other artists get around me, you know, they can smell that. It is impossible for them not to. And whenever they leave, they leave with something, as they remember that smell. And hopefully it does something for them.

So is your phone ringing off the hook with people asking you for advice?

No, not advice, not at all. That’s because they don’t have my number. (Laughs.) I have three sons and a beautiful daughter who get the advice.

On Billboard’s recent GOAT list of hip-hop’s top 50 artists, you landed at No. 7, between The Notorious B.I.G. at No. 6 and Drake at No. 8. What did you think of your placement?

That’s awesome. You would be happy to be anywhere on that list.

So which rappers would be in the top five of your own GOAT list?

There’s no specific order, but it’s simple. For me, it’s always been Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, UGK, Goodie Mob and Biggie.

Why those five? What’s the throughline for you in terms of their place in the genre’s evolution?

It’s because I organically grew up on [them]. You know, when you’re asked, “How’d you start listening?,” there’s a story for everybody … like, someone I know told me to start listening or whatever. But like I said, every decision I make is organic.

What does it take to break new hip-hop artists today?

Today, you have to know social media. If you don’t, you have to have a team that does. That said, the main thing today is what it has been yesterday and the day before yesterday: You just have to have real talent. Real, everlasting and undeniable talent. That’s how you still break an artist. Once you find that in an artist, then use and highlight that as much as you can, because it’s hard. There are lots of artists that want to be exactly what they see [and hear] on social media. They just want to be that instead of being what they actually can be. So get them to believe in what they are and what they truly can be. And even if it is a challenge, that challenge has always been one of the most fun things ever for me. I love it.

What exactly do you say or do when working with and developing new artists, since, as you just said, it’s so difficult to rise above everything that’s out there?

That you have to be at least good in whatever genre that you’re attacking, whether it’s hip-hop or not. And then you have to be willing to work as hard as you can to turn that good around into great. So come high at me, and you’ll be talking about the greatest. It’s that plain and simple. There are no keys. You just need to believe in what you’ve got and what you’re attacking, if you believe in it. Show me. Think harder, you know? Challenge yourself.

Lil Wayne

Ramona Rosales

What’s been your own secret to longevity?

I don’t have a secret. I just work. I just keep going. I never stop. It’s just the work ethic, plain and simple. No more, no less; I don’t do nothing but my music. And also, in my mind, every single time I say the word “work,” I ask God to forgive me. Cuz I know this has never been a job. It’s just a dream come true. So that’s why I’ve never stopped.

Is it difficult for you to say that to someone who’s not there yet?

Not at all. I can’t tell any other artists that. But if you’re my artist, oh hell, yeah. I’ll let them know. You better go do that sh-t again. (Laughs.)

What are your thoughts on the growing ranks of women rappers? Why has it taken so long for this to happen?

My answer would be, honestly, that it just wasn’t as interesting to women, I don’t think, in the way that Nicki [Minaj], Meg [Megan Thee Stallion] and others are. It’s awesome. I don’t think they looked at or viewed it as something that they wanted to do and actually make a living from it. That’s another part of it. They probably didn’t look at this as something that they could make a living out of.

And perhaps the industry has become a bit more open-minded, too?

Oh, yeah. Definitely. We’re here for everything now.

Where is the future of hip-hop headed — any trends that you’re noticing?

Obviously, always up and bigger and better. Also, what I’m seeing now is the art and the ultimate artist being able to do anything. It’s like when you and I were talking about basketball. Back then, we were looking for a Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]; if you were tall, we wanted you in the paint. Not even knowing how to shoot a three-pointer; we didn’t even want to see that. Now we’ve got these seven-footers coming in, and we need you [to] know how to dribble like Allen Iverson, how to shoot like Steph Curry. You need to know how to defend like GP [Gary Payton]. And that’s the ultimate artist. I believe that that’s where the genre is headed: artists able to do everything — from singing to tapping into different emotions.

What’s your opinion on artificial intelligence and its potential effect on creativity?

Someone asked me about that recently. And they were trying to tell me that AI could make a voice that sounds just like me. But it’s not me, because I’m amazing. I’m like, is this AI thing going to be amazing too? Because I am naturally, organically amazing. I’m one of a kind. So actually, I would love to see that thing try to duplicate this motherf–ker.

In the wake of AI and other emerging technology, have mixtapes lost their relevance?

The terminology or definition has changed, that’s all. Mixtapes can mean an album mix or anything now. But when it comes to Lil Wayne, everybody knows how I approach mixtapes. So my mixtapes won’t ever change.

Any hints as to what fans can expect when you perform Aug. 11 at the hip-hop 50th anniversary concert at Yankee Stadium?

Do not set expectations for me, because I will always exceed them. So just go there with a clear mind, expect the best — and I’ll be better than that.

Cover, Lil Wayne

This story will appear in the Aug. 5, 2023, issue of Billboard.

02 Aug 2023

Watch the Villainous, Twisted Take on ‘Toxic’ In Broadway’s Britney Musical ‘Once Upon a One More Time’

Fans of Broadway’s Britney Spears musical Once Upon a One More Time demanding “gimme more” just got lucky — or, more specifically, “Toxic.” The team behind the show – which finds fairy tale princesses singing Spears’ pop classics while discovering their own agency beyond “happily ever after” – is offering up a new cast performance clip from the production. This OUAOMT video shows the play’s antagonists, Stepmother (Jennifer Simard) and Narrator (Adam Godley), singing a twisted update on “Toxic,” Spears’ Grammy-winning top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

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In case you haven’t seen the Britney-approved Broadway musical yet, brace yourself for this take on “Toxic.” Yes, the unforgettable strings are present, but the song’s delirious dance-pop energy has been subverted into an unsettling, disorienting electronic abyss, making this a villainous vocal showcase for Simard and Godley, both two-time Tony Award nominees.

If you think this version brings to mind the moody music of a Grammy-sweeping “Bad Guy,” you’re not wrong. “We love ‘Toxic’ as it was originally created, but tonally, it was too inherently playful for a musical narrative that needed to darken and take a turn,” Keone & Mari Madrid, the directors and choreographers of OUAOMT, tell Billboard. “So, we decided to take inspiration from some of our old work with Billie Eilish. Basically asking ourselves, ‘If Billie covered “Toxic,” what might that sound like?’ Our cast and creative team all leaned in to that dark, monochromatic tone.”

“It’s an honor and responsibility to try and do justice to Ms. Spears, and the song for which she won her first Grammy. There is only one Britney, and I think it would be a mistake to try and do an impression,” Simard tells Billboard. She adds that a total re-imagining of the song was a necessity for the storytelling arc of the musical. “It is a real turning point in the show where we illustrate that fairytales are, in fact, dark. If that moment doesn’t work, the entire show doesn’t work. No pressure! But I think we did it,” she says. (You can watch the video above for proof of that.)

“We all realized early on that it was vitally important that ‘Toxic’ shows these two characters, Stepmother and Narrator, undergoing a complete transformation. Story-wise, it is a crucial turning point, as the Stepmother takes matters into her own hands and transforms Narrator into something – that by the end of the number – even she can’t control,” says Godley, who joins Simard during the mind-bending “Toxic” performance. “At the heart of it, of course, is Jennifer’s unmatched ability to sing the number in such an incredibly powerful, extraordinary, and unexpected way. “

“This is undeniably a huge hinge moment for the show. Narrative-wise. Energy-wise. It’s the ‘dark night of the soul’ and if we’re not delivering here, the rest of the story truly suffers,” Keone & Mari Madrid tell Billboard. “Jennifer and Adam helped us find such a delicate yet sensual dance of power that happens between their characters. They bring so much to the table – and are incredible humans, as much as they are artists. One example is Jennifer’s wild-siren-song-note at the end of the number. It was something she was keeping in her pocket, that we didn’t know she had, and when she brought it forward that moment really brought the number to a crescendo. That vocal absolutely nails everything home.”

You can check out Simard’s eyebrow-raising note beginning at the 3:15 time stamp. Be sure to catch Liv Battista’s eerie back bend at the 1:40 mark — keep in mind she’s doing that move eight times a week.

“All our company and our departments came through for this moment,” the directing-choreography duo tell Billboard. “And when all the elements are firing together, it’s really something.”

Once Upon a One More Time is currently running at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway in New York City.

02 Aug 2023

Who Will Receive the MTV Video Vanguard Award at This Year’s VMAs? Breaking Down the Likely Contenders

Not many non-technical awards given out at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 — which included such now-defunct categories as best stage performance in a video and most experimental video — are still around in any form nearly three decades later. But the Video Vanguard, a lifetime achievement honor awarded to an artist for their “outstanding contributions and profound impact on music video and popular culture,” has not only survived, it’s arguably come to rival video of the year as the most anticipated award of the night.

While not given out consistently — many years were skipped in the ’90s and ’00s, as well as the COVID-stricken first two years of the 2020s — the award (officially named the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard in 1991) has evolved from the ’80s, when it was given out to directors and technicians as well as artists (often in the same year), to the past decade, where it has come to be a solo artist-specific honor. Starting with Justin Timberlake in 2013, the award has also come to be accompanied by an extended performance from the recipient, usually featuring a career-spanning medley of hits.

Last year, Nicki Minaj became the 26th recording artist to win the award, a list of performers that dates back to The Beatles and David Bowie at the first-ever VMAs, and also includes such legendary names as Janet Jackson, Madonna, U2, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Ye and Rihanna. Before Minaj, the most recent inductee was Missy Elliott in 2019, after an online movement that criticized the channel for not rewarding her previously gained viral momentum. Outside of the Video Vanguard award, other artists who have received career-saluting honors from the VMAs this decade include Lady Gaga (recipient of the “Tricon” award in 2020), Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chilli Peppers (both named “Global Icon,” in 2021 and 2022, respectively).

With Billboard having confirmed that the award will be handed out again in 2023, we figured it was a good time to look into some of the viable candidates for this year’s honors. From least likely to most likely, here’s how we break down the best options.

Additional reporting by Paul Grein.

02 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Urged by Politicians to Postpone L.A. Concerts in Solidarity With Striking Hotel Workers

California’s lieutenant governor and other elected officials on Tuesday urged Taylor Swift to postpone her upcoming Los Angeles concerts as a way to stand in solidarity with striking hotel workers.

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and dozens of state and local politicians signed an open letter telling Swift that her tour makes the region’s hotels money, with some properties “doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming.”

Meanwhile, the letter said, many housekeepers and other hotel workers can’t afford to live close to their jobs and some sleep in their cars and risk losing their homes.

“Hotel workers are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for a living wage. They have gone on strike. Now, they are asking for your support,” they wrote. “Stand with hotel workers and postpone your concerts.”

Starting Thursday (Aug. 3), Swift is scheduled to perform six sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles. Her representatives didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the letter.

Unite Here Local 11, which represents some 30,000 hotel workers, is negotiating for better wages, improved health care benefits, higher pension contributions and less strenuous workloads. Contracts expired last month at more than 60 hotels, including properties owned by major chains such as Marriott and Hilton.

Kounalakis, a Democrat who said she will run for governor in 2026, is the top official in the state to make the plea. She attended Swift’s Eras tour in Santa Clara, California, according to Politico.

Others who signed the letter include the mayors of several cities, Assembly Majority Leader Issac Bryan and state senators Dave Min and Maria Elena Durazo.

01 Aug 2023

Chayanne Returns to No. 1 on Tropical Airplay After 14 Years With ‘Bailando Bachata’

Just nine weeks after Chayanne captured his first top 10 in over 14 years on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, he is back in command – with his first No. 1 since 2008 – as “Bailando Bachata” rises 2-1 to rule the Aug. 5-dated list.

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The song earns Greatest Gainer honors for the week fueled by an 18% increase in audience impressions, to 8.9 million, earned in the week ending July 27, according to Luminate.

“Honestly, I always do things because I feel them and since we started working on the album, bachata was considered,” Chayanne tells Billboard. “With the excessive amount of competition these days I wasn’t expecting it, but I am very grateful for this No. 1.”

“Bailando Bachata” is the third single from Chayanne’s forthcoming studio album (released date TBD). It follows two top 10 singles: “Te Amo y Punto” and “Como Tú y Yo” reached No. 6 and No. 7, respectively on Latin Pop Airplay in late 2022.

“Bachata” tops the list 14 years after Chayanne’s last leader, “Amor Inmortal,” dominated for five weeks in late 2008. The over 14-year window between new rulers is the longest gap by any artist since Dec. 2016, when Jennifer Lopez ended a 17-year wait between No. 1s when “Olvídame y Pega La Vuelta,” with Marc Anthony, topped the list. It was her first No. 1 since “No Me Ames,” also with Marc Anthony, in 1999.

As bachata proliferates on a global level, more artists are basking on its popularity. Notably, five of the six songs that have arrived at the summit on Tropical Airplay in 2023 belong to the genre. Here’s the recap:

Title, Artist, Peak Date, Total Weeks at No. 1
“Monotonia,” Shakira & Ozuna, Jan. 7 (nine)
“El Pañuelo,” Romeo Santos & Rosalia, Feb. 4 (four)
“La Bachata,” Manuel Turizo, Feb. 11 (14)
“Me EnRD,” Prince Royce, July 8 (four)
“Bailando Bachata,” Chayanne, Aug. 5

About the genre’s craze, Chayanne feels differently: “I love both bachata as much as all tropical rhythms. All the songs on the new album are special, I always surround myself with professionals and I only record what I feel I like, that suits me and that the public may like, not necessarily because there is a trend.”

As “Bailando Bachata” takes charge of Tropical Airplay, it ejects Prince Royce’s “Me EnRD” from its four-week command with a 17% dip in audience, to 8.4 million.

Further, “Bailando Bachata” concurrently delivers extra goods for Chayanne with a 5-3 lift on the overall Latin Airplay list, matching his career-high for almost a decade, as “Humanos a Marte” landed and at an equal No. 3 high in Aug. 2014.

“In my case, inspirations go hand-in hand with rhythm and lyrics,” Chayanne adds. “I like songs that denote joy and invite to dance. This one most certainly will be included on my next tour; I want all to dance it with me.”

All charts (dated Aug. 5, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 2). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

01 Aug 2023

Juanes Says ‘Doing a Reset’ Was ‘One of the Most Important Things’ on His Mental Health Journey

With the release of his latest album Vida Cotidiana, it’s been a busy past few months for Juanes, but the Colombian star took time to sit with Billboard‘s Leila Cobo to talk candidly about a variety of topics. From his mental health journey to overcoming the stress about writing a “hit,” Juanes keeps it real discussing situations that have, at times, impacted his career or personal well being.

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The interview happened during the singer-songwriter’s visit to New York, just a day after his concert at Central Park’s SummerStage was halted due to “excessive crowds.” He, of course, addressed what happened saying that it was upsetting he not only didn’t get to perform for his fans but wasn’t able to sing songs from his new album. Vida Cotidiana is Juanes’ his first studio album with completely original music in four years, which made performing these new tracks in front of a crowd all the more special.

“I never sensed anything but excitement and happiness from the fans that were there,” he says. “I was like I’m playing this new song and people are happy, that’s all I was thinking about. I love that people give me a chance to share my music with them because I love this.”

Juanes’ love and respect for music has also led him on another important journey. While the Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning artist has in the past spoken out about mental health issues, this time he talks about how doing a reset on his life was one of the most important things he’s ever done. “In 2010, something terrible happened to me. I started to really hate myself. I couldn’t stand myself. I’m a human. I’m not a product and after working for 10 years I got burned out. It was to the point that I had to make the very drastic decision of saying, ‘I need to stop right now and do a reset of my life. It was one of the most important things I’ve done.”

Watch Juanes’ interview above where he also talks about staying true to his process of making music and an upcoming tour.

01 Aug 2023

Chris Tomlin’s ‘Holy Forever’ Tops Two Christian Airplay Charts

Chris Tomlin’s “Holy Forever” hits the summit on Billboard’s Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay surveys (dated Aug. 5).

On Christian Airplay, the song ascends 3-1 after gaining by 4% to 6 million impressions in the July 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also climbs 3-1 on Christian AC Airplay, up 3% in plays.

Tomlin adds his 11th and 10th leader on each respective list. He co-authored “Holy Forever” with Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson and Phil Wickham.

“I remember over 20 years ago being told that radio wouldn’t play worship music,” Tomlin tells Billboard. “So, fast-forward to today and not only do I have another No. 1 at radio, but also the ongoing opportunity to help give people a voice to worship God through radio, streaming, live events and through songs being led in the church. It’s something I will never take for granted. I could never have imagined the doors and opportunities God would open up, and I am so excited, and expectant, for what’s next.”

Tomlin last led Christian Airplay for six weeks starting in October 2020 with “Who You Are to Me,” featuring Lady A. His run of No. 1s began in April 2006 with “How Great Is Our God.”

In between his two latest Christian Airplay No. 1s, Tomlin scored two top 10s: “Thank You,” featuring Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line (No. 6, December 2021), and “Always” (No. 5, October 2022).

With 11 Christian Airplay No. 1s, Tomlin moves to within one of the record among soloists, as Jeremy Camp, tobyMac and Matthew West have 12 apiece. MercyMe leads all acts with 18 No. 1s.

Camp’s 13 Christian AC Airplay leaders mark the most among solo artists, with Tomlin and West tied for second with 10 each. Overall, MercyMe likewise has the most, with 19.