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After leading her LSU Tigers team to an easy win over the Northwestern State Lady Demons on Friday (Nov. 8), Flau’jae Johnson is facing off a slightly more challenging opponent: an abrupt weather change. She’s just traveled 1400 miles to Brooklyn to shoot a new music video, and despite the weather app prognostications, she wasn’t expecting it to be as cold as it was, so she’s decided to dip inside a small Cumberland Street apartment in between scenes for her new visual — but not before taking picture with a fan who’d spotted her on the street.
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Kicking back in a chair for our interview, I ask why the 21-year-old Roc Nation signee chose to shoot in NYC rather than downtown Baton Rouge. It turns out, she wanted to give props to the inspiration for her song “Master Plan,” a Rakim-sampling cut from the forthcoming deluxe edition of her debut album, Best of Both Worlds.
“I’m paying tribute to what hip-hop started,” she says. “This is just a tribute to all of the people in New York who started it — from DJ Kool Herc to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5. I feel like New York is the mecca of hip-hop, so this is where we’re supposed to do it.”
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That rap fundamentalism is part of a discipline that threads her dual paths, as both an All-SEC guard and an aspiring rap star. The latter career began at the intersection of tragedy and inspiration: On May 19, 2003, her father, emerging Savannah, Georgia rap star Camouflage, was shot and killed in front of a local recording studio. It was six months before Flau’jae was born.
“My mama had told me the whole story about my father, and how he died and how he was a rapper,” she remembers. “I just really clung to it, because all I had left of him was his music.” By age eight, she decided she wanted to be a rapper, too, studying her father’s songs before recording her first song, with the help of her uncle.
By age 12, she’d competed on Lifetime’s The Rap Game competition show, flaunting impressive conviction and dexterity for a pre-teen. By the time she ended her high school career, she had also established herself as a hardwood phenom, earning a slot as a McDonald’s All-American after becoming Sprayberry High School’s all-time leading scorer.
Her dominance has continued at LSU, where she won a national championship in 2023. After making it to the Elite Eight last season, she has no plans of falling short again. “I already tasted a national championship, so anything less of it to me is going to be a failure,” she admits.
After the season, she continued her rapping ways, dropping off her debut LP, Both of Best Worlds, before performing at the 2024 ESPY Awards. Two weeks ago, Lil Wayne, who collabed with her on “Big Bag,” brought her out to perform at his Lil Weezyana Fest at the Smoothie King Center. It was the latest in a series of joint level-ups she hopes carries her through the rest of the LSU season, and what should only be the beginning of a lengthy rap career.
On the set of “Master Plan,” Flau’jae discusses with Billboard career beginnings, her father’s influence, her school-ball-rap career balance and more.
Your new single samples Rakim’s “Paid in Full.” Being from Georgia, were you always tapped in with the New York rap scene?
When I was younger, all I did was really listen to my father. So his style was so different. My mom told me he used to listen to all types of artists from people from New York, from the West Coast. He was influenced by ’Pac. So when I knew I really wanted to take rap seriously, I just went to get my research, just like with basketball: You go study the greats. I feel like that’s what you do in music. So I took that approach from basketball. I was like, “Whoever was the greatest, I want to go study them and find out how they did it.” So I just watched so many documentaries and tapped in. My Uncle G told me to study all the greats.
And I found [Rakim], and he’s in my top five forever. I just think as a lyricist, he just was way ahead of his time, even back then. And when I first was in the studio [making “Master Plan”], the first thing I thought when I heard that sample was like, “I’m thinking of a master plan.” So my hook, that’s the first thing I said in the studio. It was like destiny.
You’ve been rapping for a while, but what age specifically did you record your first song?
I was probably like eight. My mama had told me the whole story about my father and how he died and how he was a rapper and stuff like that. And I just really clumped to it. I was like, wow, this is because that’s all I had left of him was his music. So that’s all I used to listen to. So once I figured that out, I was like, yeah, that’s what I want to do. So I started rapping. My uncle kind of got me into it and it was history from there.
What did you guys use to record?
Oh man, just remixes. We would do remixes. I remember that in the little room when I recorded my EP, I performed it, and that’s when I really got my start. On a computer and a little beat-down mic — like a performance mic.
You mentioned listening to your dad growing up. What are your favorite lyrics from him?
A lot of ’em. But the main one is, “It’s too late to save us and we gotta save these kids.” It’s a song called “Ghetto.” That’s just a lyric where it’s just like when you get to a certain age, you realize a lot of the older people, we’re stuck in our ways. It ain’t much that we can do for a 20, 30-year-old. But the kids — they’re so precious and they’re going to create the future and they’re going to innovate and become our leaders. So we gotta try to put them in the best position to change the world because it is kind of over with for us in a sense of our mindset.
Your NIL deal and just overall activity has paid off. You recently bought 20 acres of land. What are your specific plans for it?
That’s more for my business portfolio. But something I’ve been working on for so long is building a resource center in my city of Savannah, Georgia. It’s going to be a sports and music resource center and also with tutoring just for financial literacy. And I’m trying to get all of my brand partners and people involved and create a curriculum for kids so they can go somewhere after school and just have a place to be safe.
Needless to say, you lead a very busy life. How do you balance recording music with schoolwork and ball?
It’s damn near impossible, but it’s like I’m doing the impossible right now. That’s what makes the journey so great because it’s so hard. I was telling my boyfriend the other day — nobody has ever done this before, so there’s no blueprint on how to do it. So I gotta create my own thing that works for me and that’s what I’ve been doing.
I’ve got my own studio in my apartment now — and now, when I create my demos, if I got 10, 12 [songs] lined up, I’ll fly my engineer down there. He’ll come for a week. We’ll package those demos up. Now they’re done and they sound good, because I can only do so much in the studio. I’m not a magician. So it’s like things like that. But the main thing is just keeping basketball the main thing. My performance on my court helps sell my music.
What about on the student end of things? How do you keep up on top of that?
Most of my classes are online. I’ve only got one class that’s in person. It’s an entrepreneurship class, but most of my classes are online, and my professors are usually super cool. I did miss an exam, so I gotta go make that up. But everything is usually online, so I’m cool.
Coach Mulkey is known to be a little strict at times. How’s it been dealing with that and trying to maintain your level of play on the court?
Yeah, she is. But she knows I’m going to take care of my business. So she don’t gotta worry too much about me. It’s just more so this year just about being a leader, because I’m an upperclassman now. So I gotta be able to lead the younger ones. So she’s just on me about being a consistent leader, having energy every day and being ready to lead. She’s like, “I know what you’re going to do, but people feed off your energy.” She knows the rap thing.
Does she have a favorite song from you?
She probably liked the song Lil Wayne said her name. Man, that’s probably it. She was eating that up. She was in the video and all. She really supports everything that I do. That’s why, in return, I make sure I give 110% on the court.
What was more nerve-wracking: performing at the ESPYs and Lil Weezyana or playing in the NCAA National championship game?
I ain’t gon’ lie — both of them. And it’s not even [about playing] in front of the people. When I’m in the game or I’m on the stage, I don’t see people. I only see my fans when I’m like, “They really rapping with me.” But I’m kind of so keyed in what what I’m doing that I’m in a state of tranquility. I’m in this place where nobody could really touch me, but I’m still nervous.
But it’s just like boom, go. As soon as the ball tips off, I ain’t nervous no more. As soon as the music comes on, I ain’t nervous no more. I know what I’m here to do, but that’s because of my preparation. There’s really nothing to be nervous about, just the optics of everything. It’s the same thing; getting ready for a game is just like getting ready for a show.
What level of “success” would mean success for you as a rapper?
I’m trying to be big as Taylor Swift. She changed my mind when I heard she came down to Louisiana and she sold out the Superdome — the Superdome. And then she had the Smoothie King Center just for merch. That’s the level that I want to be. Grammy nominations. That’s where I want to be. Like Drake. Longevity.
So to be clear, you do 100% plan on going to the WNBA and rapping?
For sure. Nobody’s done that yet, so that’s definitely my goal. So I gotta be the first. I’ve been the first to do a lot of things. But doing it on that level, it’s just so respectable. I really just try to learn from the WNBA vets that I talked to about what their skillset looked like, what their training looked like, [and] how they stay sharp. Then, I talk to musicians about [what] their skillset look like, [and] how they stay sharp. Just meshing those together. Best of both worlds.
In WNBA terms — bench player, starter, all-star, All-WNBA, MVP — what level of rapper are you right now?
Right now? I feel like I’m still coming off the bench and I don’t like that. I ain’t never came off the bench in my basketball career, but it’s like music is different. You got to take steps. There’s a million people putting on music every day. So you gotta take steps in building your brand. When I say off the bench, I say I’m coming off the bench to the world because they don’t understand how I can be good at both things. So they don’t really take my music as seriously. But can’t nobody rap with me. So in that regard, I would say All-Star, MVP, line them up, but as far as just my recognition, I feel like I’m still coming off the bench.
Singing an Ariana Grande song with the pop star herself? Imagine a world like that.
Except one lucky fan doesn’t have to — he lived it in real life. In a recent moment captured in a video posted to Grande’s Instagram Story, the “Yes, And?” singer overheard a nearby driver listening to her Thank U, Next fan-favorite “Imagine” on full volume. She then had her car pull up parallel to the fan’s vehicle and rolled down her window to say hi.
“What’s your name? Edwin, nice to meet you!” Grande said after singing along to her own whistle notes for a moment. “I was like, ‘How is this real? Is that me?’ This made my day!”
Edwin — whose filmed POV has also been circulating on social media — replied breathlessly, “Oh my god, I adore you. I can’t believe … I’m this close to you!”
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Afterward, the Grammy winner shared a video taken by someone who was in the car with her and wrote that she’d “made a friend.” “i couldn’t believe my ears !!!!!!” she added. “it was blasting. thank you edwin for making my day. im still crying.”
It’s been a long time since fans got to hear Grande sing even a little bit of “Imagine,” which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019. She hasn’t toured since December of that year, when she concluded her global Sweeter trek in support of albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next — both of which topped the Billboard 200.
The Wicked star has since released two more LPs: 2020’s Positions and 2024’s Eternal Sunshine. Though she’s teased that a smaller run of performances may be in the works for the latter project, Grande has also leveled with fans recently about wanting to focus more on acting and musical theater and less on pop star activities going forward.
“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” she said on the Nov. 6 episode of Las Culturistas. “But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years … Whatever makes sense, or whatever roles we see fit, or where I could really do a good job or honor the material, I would really love to [act more]. I think it’s a lot better for me.”
Watch Grande and Edwin’s spontaneous meet-and-greet below.
Mustard continued his 2024 victory lap by trolling Drake during his 2024 Camp Flog Gnaw set on Sunday (Nov. 17) in Los Angeles.
The West Coast superproducer played the first few seconds of “Crew Love” off Drake’s Take Care before making a smooth transition into Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” to zing the 6 God. “Sike,” he said while firing up the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, which drew a roar from the Dodger Stadium crowd.
“This is hate on another level,” one fan wrote to X. Another chimed in, “I can’t lie that switch up was insane!”
Of course, Mustard kicked off his set with Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss. Before the instrumental from the chart-topping hit began, the DJ’s backdrop was filled with dialogue from the horror movie The Sixth Sense. That ended up switching to a mural honoring L.A. legends such as the late Nipsey Hussle as well as Kobe Bryant.
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“When I was growing up, I watched 2Pac, ‘California Love,’ Dr. Dre, Snoop, the Death Row days,” Mustard told Billboard over the summer of his involvement in the Drake-Kendrick feud. “It’s like being a part of that again, but in this day and age.”
It should be noted that the Camp Flog Gnaw festival crowd booed Drake off the stage when he was a surprise guest performer in 2019, as the audience hoped to see Frank Ocean instead.
While Mustard linked up with Drake to produce YG’s “Who Do You Love” back in 2014, don’t expect to see the duo work together again. “I don’t think I want to make a song with that dude,” Mustard told The Los Angeles Times of Drake in August. “He’s a strange guy.”
Just days later, a petty Drake fired back by including footage of a 2014 phone call with YG and Mustard showing their appreciation for the 6 God working with them as part of Drizzy’s 100 Gigs drop.
It’s been a banner year for Mustard, who is nominated for producer of the year, non-classical at the 2025 Grammy Awards. In addition to producing “Not Like Us,” he also released his Faith of a Mustard Seed album in July, which reached No. 50 on the Billboard 200.
Watch Mustard troll Drake during Camp Flog Gnaw below:
K-pop boy band Stray Kids announced 20 new stadium dates across Latin America, North America and Europe on Monday (Nov. 18) that will take the group to new territories on their world tour.
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The show will be the Stray Kids’ first full stadium run of gigs, following on the heels of their second world tour, 2022-2023’s MANIAC OUTING. The Live Nation-promoted tour will kick off in Chile at the Estadio Bicentenario La Florida on March 28, before moving on to stops in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, as well as Lima, Peru and Mexico City before shifting to North America.
That run will launch on May 24 in Seattle, WA at T-Mobile Park before hitting stadiums in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Arlington, TX, Atlanta, Orlando, New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, and winding down in Toronto at Rogers Stadium on June 29. The tour will then hop over to Europe for gigs in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid and a final show slated for July 26 at Stade de France in Paris. The U.S. run will feature the eight-man group making their debuts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and Citi Field in New York.
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Presale and onsale date information is available here; North American fans can register for first access to tickets in the artist presale now here, with a general onsale slated for Friday (Nov. 22) at 3 p.m. local time.
The Stray Kids will finish out 2024 with dates in the Philippines, Japan, Bangkok and Jakarta.
Check out the Stray Kids’ 2025 North American dates below.
March 28 — Santiago, CL @ Estadio Bicentenario La Florida
April 1 — Rio de Janeiro, BR @ Estádio Nilton Santos
April 5 — São Paulo, BR @ Estádio MorumBIS
April 9 — Lima, PE @ Estadio San Marcos
April 12 — Mexico City, MX @ Estadio GNP Seguros
May 24 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park
May 28 — San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park
May 31 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium
June 6 — Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field
June 10 — Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park
June 14 — Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
June 18 — New York City, NY @ Citi Field
June 23 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park
June 26 — Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field
June 29 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium
July 11 — Amsterdam, NL @ Johan Cruijff Arena
July 15 — Frankfurt, DE @ Deutsche Bank Park
July 18 — London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
July 22 — Madrid, SP @ Riyadh Air Metropolitano
July 26 — Paris, FR @ Stade de France
British R&B star Mahalia has made a comeback with lively new single “Pick Up the Pace.” The track, which sees her team up with Jamaican artist Bayka, incorporates elements of dancehall and reggae – a sonic development for the 26-year-old and her typically soulful sound.
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“I wanted to celebrate artists like Bayka – these incredible Jamaican voices – and give the U.K. a moment to reconnect with the dancehall and reggae that helped shape our sound,” Mahalia said in a press release. The singer added that the track also serves as an ode to her Afro-Caribbean roots, having grown up with a Jamaican mother in Leicester.
Explaining the meaning behind “Pick Up the Pace,” she continued, “I love love. But lately, I’m embracing the fun, unserious side of it all. There’s so much heaviness in the world, so I’m just trying to find those moments of joy and playfulness in my music.”
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Writing on her Instagram, Mahalia spoke on the fitness-inspired music video. “I’ve held onto a lot of insecurities about my body that were born in school that I haven’t been able to shake as an adult,” she shared. “And being an artist/maybe a role model to some has forced me to keep those insecurities tightly away in Pandora’s box so nobody can see that I am also a little broken.”
“Broken by the impossible beauty standards of western society. Broken by all of the men and women who told me my boobs were too big or my belly not toned enough,” she continued. “Broken by my own insomniac thoughts about my body whenever I’m going through a depressive phase.”
The single marks the first offering of new material from Mahalia since her second studio album, IRL, which was released in July 2023 via Atlantic Records. The LP reached No. 31 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart and was supported by a run of U.K. headline shows, including a night at London’s iconic Hammersmith Apollo. In the year since, she has also toured Europe, North America and Australia.
IRL included a wealth of guest artist features, including Stormzy, Joyce Wrice and JoJo. The latter featured on single “Cheat,” one of the album’s key singles. Speaking to Billboard, Mahalia explained the significance behind choosing JoJo as a collaborator. “I just really, really wanted her. There wasn’t really anyone else that I wanted on that record, to be honest,” she said.“I think I had ideas of backup plans if she said no. But I hit her [up] and said, ‘Would you be up for doing this?’ She was like, ‘Absolutely. Send it to me.” I sent it and we got it done within a few weeks. We had a great time.”
Over the course of a 12-year career, Mahalia has been nominated for multiple MOBO and BRIT Awards, plus a Grammy nod for “All I Need,” her 2020 collaboration with Jacob Collier and Ty Dolla $ign. In 2019, she released her debut album “Love And Compromise,” which featured the likes of Burna Boy, Ella Mai, and New Orleans vocalist Lucky Daye.
Check out “Pick Up the Pace” below:
ROSÉ of BLACKPINK is gearing up to release her first-ever solo album Dec. 6, but before she takes the leap, the 27-year-old K-pop star says she got a little advice from one of the most successful pop soloists to ever do it: Taylor Swift.
Just a couple weeks ahead of the arrival of Rosie — ROSÉ’s 12-track debut LP independent from her famous girl group — the performer opened up about the bond she forged with the 34-year-old “Anti-Hero” singer while at a New York City hangout in a cover story interview with I-D published Monday (Nov. 18). “I told her I’m such a huge fan, and I just had some questions,” she recalled of introducing herself to Swift. “As soon as she met me, she’s like, ‘Spill, let me help you out.’”
The “APT.” singer added that Swift “was so ready to help me” and even passed along her number as the two conversed during the gathering, which was hosted by producer Jack Antonoff at Electric Lady Studios. “Who does that? Like, you’re Taylor Swift!” ROSÉ gushed in retrospect.
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“I’m really grateful for her, because I was at a moment where I was drowning a little,” the K-pop star added. “She is literally the coolest, and she’s such a girl’s girl. She was telling me – ‘make sure to take care of this, this and this’ – like, logistics. She was trying to protect me. Me becoming solo, being independent, it’s not an easy thing. There are a lot of things I should be careful with, and she gave me a rundown on all the things I have to look out for. That was the coolest part – she’s killed it in the game, and she was kind enough to walk me through.”
The interview isn’t the first time ROSÉ has expressed her admiration for the 14-time Grammy winner, whose Eras Tour show she caught in Tokyo in February. Afterward, the girl group member shared a five-minute video of herself singing along to Swift’s performance of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” and wrote on TikTok, “Best 10 minutes in tokyo.”
More than a year prior to that, Swift proved that she’s a BLINK by using BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” in a TikTok video while on her way to the 2022 VMAs, where the “Karma” artist would later announce her 10th studio album, Midnights. That night, the show’s cameras also captured Swift dancing along to the same track as it played over the speakers.
See ROSÉ’s I-D cover and photos from the shoot below.
New Edition is extending its popular residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. The R&B/pop group announced Monday (Nov. 18) that “New Edition: Las Vegas” will return to the venue for six more performances in winter 2025, including Valentine’s Day weekend: Feb. 12, 14-15, 19, 21-22. “There’s no R&B group quite like New […]
Travis Scott will be part of Monday Night Raw when WWE makes its Netflix debut on Jan. 6 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles next year. Triple H — who serves as WWE’s Chief Content Officer — made the announcement when he joined La Flame on stage during his headlining set in Las Vegas […]
After visiting countries such as Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom with his Que Bueno Volver a Verte international tour this year, J Balvin will hit the road in 2025 with the North American leg of his Back to the Rayo tour.
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In support of his latest studio album, Rayo, the Colombian artist will kick off his U.S. tour on March 20 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and wrap at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on May 17. The 27-date trek will run across key cities including Miami, Atlanta, Chicago and Las Vegas, as well as dates in Montreal and Toronto in Canada.
“After that storm that fell on me, that earthquake, well here we are, stronger and more mature than before,” Balvin recently said during the Superstar Q&A at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week. “We have had so many No. 1s non-stop, for a long time. I felt like, I was laughing, ‘Why does all this happen to them, and nothing happens to me?’ And then, when it happened to me, I said: ‘Ah! OK, I wasn’t the exception, it happens to me too.’ And that learning served me a lot, it helped me to know who my friends are and who are not, to give myself more to my family, to my wife, to my closest friends, accompanying me at the time of darkness.”
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Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. local time on Nov. 20 for J Balvin’s Familia members, who can sign up at the musician’s website. General sales will go begin at 9 a.m. local time on Nov. 21 via Ticketmaster.
“Thank God that I can make music, not out of necessity, as we did before, but being able to do it from another point of view and from another situation,” Balvin continued of his new album, which is nominated for best música urbana album at the 2025 Grammys. “It allowed me to connect with that inner child and enjoy the music without caring if it sells or not, but what makes me happy.”
See the full Back to the Rayo tour dates below:
J Balvin
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There were plenty of highlights and unique moments at Tyler, the Creator‘s 10th Camp Flog Gnaw festival at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles over the weekend. But one of the biggest surprises occurred during Matt Champion’s set when BLACKPINK’s Jennie popped out to join him for a run through their collaboration, “Slow Motion.” Explore See […]