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T.I. says he’s retiring — at least from performing. The King of the South and Young Dro sat down with 96.1 The Beat’s afternoon show “Rari at 2” with hosts Ferrari Simmons and BT, and the station’s annual Jingle Ball holiday concert in Atlanta on Dec. 19 was brought up. T.I. is headlining alongside Sexyy […]
In an industry constantly evolving with new musical trends, Yandel has opted to stay faithful to the genre that made him a household name, further proving on his new album why he remains one of the most elite artists in the game.
Titled just that — ELYTE (replacing the I with the Y in honor of his artistic name) — the Puerto Rican artist presents his eighth solo studio album. The 19-track production is for the most part an entire album of reggaetón music, fusing the old-school sound with modern elements. Notably, the collaborators on the set include Tego Calderon, J Balvin, Feid, Myke Towers, Farruko and Blessd, to name a few.
“I feel deeply blessed and happy that my music has managed to transcend at different stages of my career,” the artist born Llandel Veguilla Malavé tells Billboard. “I always seek to evolve by staying true to my essence, without losing what defines me, but making sure that my music continues to connect with the public.”
ELYTE follows Yandel’s Resistencia (2023), Quien Contra Mi 2 (2020), The One (2019), #Update (2017), Dangerous (2015), De Líder a Leyenda (2013), and Quien Contra Mi (2003). Both his 2013 and 2015 albums hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.
The album’s release also comes ahead of Yandel taking center stage at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with other confirmed artists including Feid, Young Miko, Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz, Maria Becerra and Peso Pluma, among many others.
Yandel — who’s also a finalist at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards for Latin Rhythm Artist of the Year, Duo or Group with Wisin y Yandel — will be joined by Dei V and Roberto Andrade (managing director at Warner Music Latina) for a discussion on the beginning and future of the genre. For tickets and more details, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
Below, Yandel breaks down five essential tracks from ELYTE.
“Reggaetón Malandro” feat. Tego Calderón
JoJo Siwa opened up about her sexuality and her reputation in a wide-ranging interview with Hailey Welch, a.k.a. the viral “Hawk Tuah” girl.
In the latest episode of Welch’s Talk Tuah podcast, she brings up a recent photo shoot Siwa did with LadyGunn, in which the “Karma” singer is seen posing with a bedazzled gold chest plate and a matching G-string thong with a bulge peaking through. “The stone bulge is — we were just giving a little spice, a little gender-bend, a little you can be anything you want to be,” she said of the male genital addition to the outfit. “It just was spicing myself up a little. It’s like back in the day when Harry Styles wore a dress. Obviously, wearing a bulge is a little different than wearing a dress.”
Siwa was referring to the December 2020 issue of Vogue, where Styles appears on the cover playing with genre-bending fashion by wearing a Gucci dress. Siwa added, “One thing about me is I like to be for the people who are different, for the people who don’t fit in and the people who are unafraid to take risks. Being that person, I have to go as far as I possibly can into the risk zone.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Siwa discussed her dynamic with her new girlfriend, So You Think You Can Dance alum Dakayla Wilson. “I have big d— energy. It’s not a good thing, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a thing. When it comes time to –just me at home, I have a switch. My d— gets soft,” she said. “My girlfriend’s always like, ‘I never thought that would happen. I thought you would just be, like, a hard-a– all the time.’ I’m definitely baby spoon vibe, but I will be big spoon. When we fall asleep, we fall asleep as a big spoon. But if we’re watching a movie, put your arm around me. I am nuzzling you.”
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She added of their intimate moments that she had been a “bottom” for most of her relationships, but that has changed with Wilson. “I have dabbled into top land. I prefer being bottom. […] I don’t like being a top, but I’m a really good top because I know what I like as a bottom.”
Watch the full episode of Talk Tuah below.
The “big three” conversation is a tiresome one in rap. With Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole still running strong as commercial titans from the 2010s, fans and critics have been trying to identify the next class to fill their shoes.
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Billboard Unfiltered returned with a new episode on Thursday (Oct. 10) as Staff Writer Kyle Denis, Deputy Director R&B/Hip-Hop Carl Lamarre and Senior Charts & Data Analyst Trevor Anderson debated who could crash the big three party.
Lamarre’s “modern day big three” — without K. Dot, Drake and Cole — includes Rod Wave, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott.
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Denis believes Tyler, The Creator is one of the tastemakers trailblazing for the next generation of rap and should be more highlighted in big three conversations.
“I think that combo of his acclaim, his success — we know he can sell, we know he can tour, we know he can headline major festivals. He’s beloved across genres,” he said. “He’s been pretty consistent on an upward trajectory for these last couple years.”
A more heated debate broke out surrounding Doja Cat and her résumé fitting into today’s rap landscape. “For me as well, I think what she needs to do to bolster her résumé — she just needs a No. 1 album,” Lamarre said. “That’s a glaring blemish on her résumé.”
Tommy Richman made the bizarre decision to not include his Billboard Hot 100 hits “Million Dollar Baby” and “Devil Is a Lie” on his Coyote LP. After listening to Richman’s debut, Anderson didn’t see why the pair of bangers couldn’t have been a fit on the project.
“Only Tommy Richman knows what a Tommy Richman album is supposed to sound like,” Anderson said. “When I heard the album, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I can clearly see why ‘Million Dollar Baby’ wasn’t on there.’ It doesn’t sound different to me where it wouldn’t have fit. Maybe it’s to prove something.”
Denis chimed in: “I feel like this is a business versus art thing for him. Do I care that much?” Coyote didn’t chart on this week’s Billboard 200 after selling about 4,300 copies in the first week, per Luminate.
Watch the full episode below.
JoJo Siwa is a fan of Beyoncé, even if a joke she made at the Industry Dance Awards did stir the pot this week.
The Dance Moms alum jumped in on a runaway internet bit Tuesday (Oct. 8) when she shouted out the “Break My Soul” vocalist on stage at the ceremony, telling the crowd: “I also have to say thank you to Beyoncé, just so that we can keep the dancing community safe.”
“Beyoncé, you’ve got great music,” Siwa added at the time as audience members simultaneously groaned and laughed. “We all love to dance to it. We all love you. … Someone had to, and I will be the someone.”
Though the “Karma” singer’s thank-you may seem genuine enough, it actually ties back to a trend of some social media users jokingly giving Bey flowers at every opportunity to stay on her good side and/or maintain prosperous careers. Some people, however, have applied a darker meaning to the joke amid so-far unsubstantiated rumors that the 32-time Grammy winner and Jay-Z are linked to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged crimes, as the Bad Boy Records founder is currently being held in custody as he awaits trial for charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
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When asked about her joke by Us Weekly one day after the Industry Dance Awards, Siwa said, “the internet’s going to run with whatever it is they run with.”
“They do their thing, and I can’t predict what they’re going to do,” the 21-year-old TikTok star added. “I think Beyoncé is great and she’s written a lot of incredible music that we’ve all used [and danced to].”
But while Siwa and other people on the internet aren’t taking certain comments about Bey seriously, the “Texas Hold ‘Em” artist’s legal team is. After Piers Morgan platformed Jaguar Wright on his show Uncensored, allowing the singer-songwriter to make claims about the Carters being “monsters” who have hundreds of victims, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s lawyer instructed the polarizing media personality to remove the content from his channel — and Morgan obliged.
“Their lawyers contacted us to say that those claims were totally false and have no basis in fact,” Morgan said on another episode of his show earlier this week. “We’ve therefore complied with the legal request to cut them from the original interview. Editing interviews is not something we do lightly on a show called Uncensored. But, like the proverbial cries of fire in a crowded theater, there are legal limits on us, too. And we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.”
More than two months after a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class became the site of a deadly stabbing — in which three children died and several more people were injured — Prince William and Kate Middleton visited Southport, England, on Thursday (Oct. 10) to join the town in paying respects to the victims and their families.
According to People, the royal couple met privately with the families of the three young girls who were killed in the July 29 attack, as well as the dance teacher who was there when it occurred. Eight other children and two adults were also injured in the mass stabbing, for which a 17-year-old knifeman has since been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also reportedly spoke with the Southport first responders who were dispatched to the crime scene about how the traumatizing experience impacted their mental health — a timely topic of discussion, given that Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day.
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“A heartfelt thank you to the people of Southport for talking about your experiences and honouring the young lives lost,” reads a message on Will and Kate’s official Instagram, alongside a video of footage from the couple’s visit. “In the face of tragedy, this community’s strength and resilience has been a powerful reminder of the bonds that unite us. As the healing continues, take comfort in the incredible support around you. Each shared memory, act of kindness, and moment of unity brings hope for the future and ensures that those lost are never forgotten.”
The outing marked Middleton’s first public engagement since announcing in September that she’d completed chemotherapy. Six months prior, the princess revealed that she’d been diagnosed with cancer and would be undergoing treatment.
Before the royal couple’s visit to Southport, Swift also met with families affected by the attack backstage at one of her August Eras Tour shows in London. In July, the pop star wrote that she was “completely in shock” over the tragedy in a statement shared to her Instagram, adding that the “horror” of the violence was “washing over [her] continuously.”
“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders,” she added at the time. “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
See clips from Prince William and Princess Kate’s visit to Southport below.
In the two years that the Recording Academy has presented a Grammy for songwriter of the year, non-classical, four women have been nominated for the award. Amy Allen, Nija Charles and Laura Veltz were nominated in the category’s inaugural year. Jessie Jo Dillon was nominated at the ceremony in February.
Men won both years. Tobias Jesso Jr. won in 2023 for writing songs by such artists as Harry Styles, Adele and FKA Twigs. Theron Thomas won earlier this year for writing songs by such artists as Lil Durk featuring J. Cole, Tyla and Chlöe.
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The list of 61 songwriters vying for nominations in that category this year includes 20 women, one of whom may make history as the first woman to win in the category.
The list includes two women who have already won Grammys – Allen, who won album of the year in 2023 for her songwriting contributions to Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, and Diane Warren, who won best song written specifically for a motion picture or for television in 1997 for “Because You Loved Me” from the Michelle Pfeiffer film Up Close and Personal.
This year’s entry list also includes eight women who have been nominated for one or more Grammys, but have yet to win – Dillon, Sarah Aarons, Caroline Ailin, Jessi Alexander, Brittany Amaradio (aka Delacey), Ink (Atia Boggs), Ali Tamposi and Emily Warren.
The list also includes 10 women who are vying for their first Grammy nomination – Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Jessie Early, Julia Gargano, Sarah Hudson, Lauren Lee Hungate, Steph Jones, Kayla Morrison, RAYE, Sasha Alex Sloan and Betsy Walter.
You may be surprised to see RAYE on the list, due to the academy’s focus in this category on non-artists. To qualify for the award, writers “must have written a minimum of five songs in which they are credited solely as a songwriter or co-writer” (and not also as a primary or featured artist, or producer). But if they meet that threshold, they may also have written or co-written tracks on which they were the artist.
RAYE qualified because in addition to writing for herself, she writes for other artists. Her entries this year include Rita Ora’s “Ask & You Shall Receive,” Halle’s “Because I Love You,” Jennifer Lopez’s “Dear Ben Pt. II,” Beyoncé’s “Riiverdance,” and Neiked’s “You’re Hired” (featuring Ayra Starr).
Nominated songwriters can come from any musical field, except classical. Those composers are recognized in the best contemporary classical composition category.
Will any of these women be nominated for songwriter of the year, non-classical? We’ll find out on Nov. 8 when the nominees are announced. Winners will be revealed on Feb. 2.
As a bonus, here are the first women to win in 10 other songwriting categories at the Grammys.
Song of the year: Carole King in 1972 for writing “You’ve Got a Friend,” which was featured on her Tapestry album and was also a No. 1 Hot 100 hit for James Taylor. It took a while for a woman to win this award: This was the category’s 14th year. King later also became the first woman to win the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
Best rock song: Alanis Morisette in 1996 for co-writing “You Oughta Know,” the most incendiary track on her Jagged Little Pill album, with Glen Ballard. This was the category’s fifth year.
Best R&B song: Betty Wright in 1976, for co-writing her track “Where Is the Love” with Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch (both of KC and the Sunshine Band) and Willie Clarke. Note: This is not the far more famous Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway song of the same title, but confusion with that classic may have worked to this song’s benefit. This was the category’s eighth year.
Best rap song: Miri Ben Ari in 2005, for co-writing Ye’s “Jesus Walks” with Che Smith and Kanye West (as Ye was then known). This was the category’s second year.
Best country song: Debbie Hupp in 1980, for co-writing the Kenny Rogers ballad hit “You Decorated My Life” with Bob Morrison. This was the category’s 16th year.
Best song written for visual media: Cynthia Weil in 1988, for co-writing the Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram hit “Somewhere Out There” (from An American Tail) with her husband and longtime collaborator Barry Mann and film composer James Horner. This was the category’s first year. (The ballad also won song of the year.)
Best American roots song: Edie Brickell in 2014 for cowriting “Love Has Come for You” with Steve Martin. They also recorded the song. This was the category’s first year.
Best gospel song: Yolanda Adams in 2006 for cowriting her track “Be Blessed” with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and James Q. Wright. This was the category’s first year. The award is now known as best gospel performance/song.
Best contemporary Christian song: Laura Story in 2012 for writing her own track “Blessings.” This was the category’s third year. The award is now known as best contemporary Christan music performance/song.
Best contemporary classical composition: Joan Tower in 2008 for composing “Made in America.” This was the category’s 30th year.
Pharrell Williams is the latest guest to test his taste buds on Hot Ones, and while he was feeling the heat of the increasingly spicy chicken wings before him, the multi-hyphenate artist opened up about working with some of his long list of collaborators.
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When host Sean Evans asked him about his teenage years “jamming out” with soon-to-be fellow superstars like Timbaland, Missy Elliott, the Clipse and more, Williams that it felt like “kids having fun.”
He continued, “We didn’t know where it was going to end up. That’s the thing, falling in love with the process. It’s not necessarily the ‘there,’ it’s the ‘getting there,’ it’s the ‘going,’ it’s the process, it’s the journey.”
Later on in the interview, Evans listed off some of Williams collaborators, and challenged him to share his first thought about them in the studio. With Daft Punk, Williams noted that being in the studio with a “robot” is “euphoric, because you’re around two absolute masters.”
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Beck, Williams says, is “one of the most eclectic people with one of the deepest mental libraries of all kinds of records,” calling him a “walking almanac.” He wrapped up by calling N.O.R.E. “so funny, bombastic with the energy he wants to evoke when he’s making a song.”
Beyond releasing his biographical Lego film, Piece by Piece, on Oct. 11, it’s gearing up to be an exciting next few months for Williams. The star will serve as a co-chair for the 2025 Met Gala among a group of Black men including Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and honorary chair LeBron James.
This year’s theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which draws inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Williams’ Something in the Water festival will also return in April 2025 after being postponed last month. “Dearest Virginia, I love you with all my heart,” he wrote in a statement at the time. “Nobody loves you more than I do. Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves THE BEST. So SOMETHING IN THE WATER has to match that. It just isn’t ready yet.”
Watch Pharrell Williams on Hot Ones below.
Elle King just gave an update on her relationship with dad Rob Schneider — not that there’s much to say.
While stopping by Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday, the 35-year-old singer/songwriter revealed that even she isn’t certain where things stand with the comedian after he publicly apologized for his “shortcomings” as a father in an August interview with Tucker Carlson. “Umm, I’m not sure,” King said when asked about the current state of their relationship. “I haven’t spoken to him.”
The “Ex’s & Oh’s” musician did confirm, however, that she watched Schneider’s apology to her — not that she stayed tuned for the rest of Carlson’s interview with the Deuce Bigalow actor. “I think it was like two hours long, so no,” she said. “Nobody wants to listen to that. But I did see his apology, yeah. Of course I watched that, yeah.”
The talk-show appearance comes about two months after King slammed her famous father for being “toxic” on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, on which the four-time Grammy nominee also accused Schneider of sending her to “fat camp,” forgetting her birthdays and being overall absent from her life as she was growing up. A couple of days later, Schneider appeared on Carlson’s YouTube show and directly addressed his daughter, whom he had with model London King.
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“I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed, and clearly, I wasn’t,” he said at the time. “I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings. “I feel terrible, and I just want you to know that I don’t take anything you say personally.”
About a month after that, King once again spoke about her father. “I was just speaking about my childhood and about my truth,” she told People in September of her Dumb Blonde appearance. “I was not trying to hurt him.”
“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,” she continued at the time. “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.”
If this were 25 years ago and Beanie Sigel was coming to your front door, uninvited, and accompanied by a crew of about a dozen, maybe his intentions would be more on the nefarious side. But the hip-hop legend, whose nicknames include “The Broad Street Bully,” is out in broad daylight determined to positively affect change. It’s September 17, National Voter’s Registration Day, and Sigel has quite the entourage as he canvases homes throughout Detroit’s 8 Mile. Beans is flanked by his State Property collective brother Freeway, media personality and Quality Control Records A&R Wayno, Harlem MC Smoke DZA, Bronx rapper Mysonne, and My’s tag team partner in activism, Tamika Mallory.
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“Hello ma’am, good afternoon to you, my name is Beans,” Sigel says with a grin to an elderly woman as he stands on her porch. Unfortunately, the brimming bravado that endeared him to so many as a mainstay of Roc-A-Fella Records in the 2000s, is turned down. Undeterred by rejection, Sigel speaks calmly and candidly to seniors and youngsters while taking pictures with OGs on the block who came up on his music. Across the street is a contingent of Detroit born and bred MCs captained by Icewear Vezzo, who too are ringing doorbells and knocking on doors. Today, these hip-hop coalitions share the same goals: sign up as many people as they can who are of legal age, but not registered to vote.
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“I’ve lived a very colorful past, where I haven’t always done good in the neighborhood,” Sigel would say later in his sprinter heading to Wayne State University, where he and his compatriots would go on and register students there to vote. “This is a chance for me to not only do some good for the people, but for myself, as well. As I got out and talked to people and share the information about voting and my experience, I’m taking some gems away from the people. We are all learning together in these conversations.”
Ice Wear Veezo at the launch of Vote or Else on Sept, 22 2024 in Detroit, MI.
Courtesy of Mobilize Justice
“It was a dope experience,” Freeway adds. “I get a lot of love in Detroit. I feel so strongly about the city. Me and Beans have been coming out here since the early 2000s. It was a good experience to go door-to-door. I feel like they connect with us through our music anyway, but being able to connect with them in-person and talk about real life [issues] is an amazing experience. They knew we were speaking to them from a real place and not just trying to make some money. It seemed like people were really receptive to getting registered and those that were registered said they would be going out to vote.”
This past summer, Sigel started spearheading a movement to get involved — not so much in politics, but getting more educated in the political process. With the urging and guidance of his close friend and fellow Philly native Marvin Bing, Beanie aligned himself with organizations Mobilize Justice (which Bing founded) and AAP and started going directly into various communities. Beans would give personal testimony about his journey and heard the stories of the locals, which included activists, members of the church, social media influencers, small business owners and business executives. These conversations commenced in mid-July in Detroit and continued in August in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.
“We started talking to the people in the community about the issues affecting them and what they wanted to see addressed,” Sigel elaborates. “If they have not voted in the past, we talked about what may have discouraged them from doing so. If they have voted before and will keep putting their ballots in the boxes, we asked them to elaborate on what inspired or inspires them to continue. We don’t try to sway people in the direction to vote for this person or vote for that person. I do tell them to get informed about what candidates’ policies are and who can be beneficial to your needs, your family’s needs and your community’s needs.”
Mysonne during an interview for the launch of Vote or Else on Sept, 22 2024 in Detroit, MI.
Courtesy of Mobilize Justice
As National Voter’s Registration Day turned into night, more hip-hop luminaries started landing in Detroit to participate in a Town Hall called “Vote Or Else” at the Huntington Place convention center. The event was open to the public who were already registered or signed up to register to vote. Nipsey Hussle’s brother Blacc Sam — who runs The Marathon brand and store — Killer Mike and Pusha T were among those also participating.
“Everybody thinks it’s always on such a presidential level. Bro, it’s the state and local [elections] too. That’s where you’re gonna feel it at,” Pusha T says about the voting process. “It’s about being mindful of that and knowing what you’re really getting into. Understand the policies of those who are running in circles that are close to you. Be mindful. At this time more than ever, you’re watching the industry, the community, everybody, at once are feeling the effects of the government. We’re seeing the effects of it. The only way to change that is to get out there and vote.”
Reverend Michael McBride, co-founder of The Black Church PAC and lead Pastor of The Way Church in Berkley, CA was the moderator for a very spirited conversation about reparations for Black people, the need for Black entrepreneurship, the hip-hop community using their voices and platforms as vehicle to inspire and the need to vote.
Killer Mike at the launch of Vote or Else on Sept, 22 2024 in Detroit, MI.
Courtesy of Mobilize Justice
“These are the conversations we need,” Killer Mike said afterwards, still standing on the stage as everyone began dispersing. “We need to be in a constant state of organizing, Kwame Ture once said. We need to be in a constant state of educating ourselves, Fred Hampton said. So for me, whether you read The Wretched of Tte Earth or Watch The White Guys Have All the Fun, we need to come to a place where we’re alone, [and] outside of cameras, to discuss what’s going on in our communities.”
He adds: “What we had here was a great discussion. I loved that, because I walked away knowing more, feeling more empowered, more engaged. I know if we do this at home, if we do this in our living rooms, that’s where the real organization begins.”
“Vote or Else” isn’t just the name of the Town Hall; Mobilize Justice, The Black Church PAC and AAPI have joined forces as one organization under the same name. Their initiatives are to eradicate voter suppression, the mass incarceration of Black people and end gun violence in the Black community. Vote Or Else are putting out a self-titled EP with contributions from MCs such as Bun B, Havoc From Mobb Deep, Styles P. and of course Beans and Free. The lead cut was just released and is called “Still Here.” The track is a collaboration of fiery, insightful wordsmiths, Benny The Butcher, Jay Electronica, Black Thought from The Roots and Freeway.
“It’s time for us to come together and stand up for something, stand up for something we believe in,” Freeway said of the MCs joining forces for a common cause. “I gained a lot of respect for certain artists that were out there. Especially Icewear Vezzo. As soon as I pulled up to the community earlier, his mom and his family were out there speaking to people about voting. He does sneaker and clothing drives, he has a juice bar in the city. So he doesn’t just talk, he invests in the community. When I got first signed to Roc-A-Fella records, Jay-Z and Dame Dash instilled that in us. This music thing is just a launch pad for 1000 other things we can do.”