Music
Page: 61
The Recording Academy is gearing up for Music Advocacy Day, its new name for District Advocate Day, which is set for Oct. 1 with Mark Ronson as this year’s Music Advocacy Day Artist Ambassador. A letter with Ronson’s signature was emailed Thursday (Sept. 5) to the Recording Academy’s 22,000 members, including voting, professional and GRAMMY U student members, urging them to join him in this nationwide rally.
“The music industry is changing faster than ever, and with those changes come challenges—whether it’s navigating the impact of artificial intelligence or tackling the issues surrounding live event ticketing,” Ronson wrote. “But these challenges are also our opportunities to shape the future of music.
“Music Advocacy Day is your unique opportunity as an Academy member to share your perspective on policies to prevent the misuse of A.I., protect your voice and likeness, and stop predatory ticketing practices to ensure we creators are getting equitably paid.”
Trending on Billboard
Ronson was in Washington, D.C., on May 1 for the Academy’s Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day, at which time he and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), among others.
“I saw firsthand the impact of sharing our stories with the people who represent us,” Ronson wrote in this letter. “Those conversations helped lead to meaningful outcomes on Capitol Hill, including the passage of the TICKET Act in the House, and the introduction of the NO FAKES Act in the Senate. Now, on Music Advocacy Day, we can build on the progress we’ve made and speak with our Congressional leaders at home in our local communities to ensure they hear our concerns.”
Recording Academy members can sign up for Music Advocacy Day by checking their inboxes for registration information or reaching out to their local chapter. But they don’t have much time to act. Registration closes on Friday (Sept. 6). The Academy notes that non-members can also participate by reaching out to their legislators through the Academy’s music advocacy action page.
Key issues that members of the Academy will address with legislators in their hometowns this year include:
Artificial Intelligence: Advocating for the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, which is designed to protect Americans from fraudulent AI replicas.
Live Event Ticketing Reform: Advocating for the Fans First Act, legislation that safeguards artists and consumers from deceptive practices, provides transparency and restores integrity to the ticketing marketplace.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Music Advocacy Day, which the Academy calls the largest grassroots advocacy movement for music. On last year’s Music Advocacy Day, more than 1,700 Academy members engaged in nearly 100 meetings with lawmakers, according to the Academy.
Music Advocacy Day has helped achieve several legislative victories. Efforts from previous years have led to the enactment of the Music Modernization Act, which reformed music licensing for the streaming era, and the Save Our Stages Act, which provided needed financial support to music venues affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, advocacy efforts contributed to the passage of the CASE Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, further protecting music creators and consumers alike.
Ronson, 49, has won eight Grammys, including two awards for record of the year — one as producer of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and the other as artist and co-producer of his own megahit “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Bruno Mars. He also won an Oscar for co-writing the Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper hit “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
Here’s the complete text of Ronson’s letter to Recording Academy members:
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my years in the studio, it’s that music has the power to move mountains. It’s more than just beats and lyrics; it’s the heartbeat of our culture. That’s why I’m reaching out to you today about something that’s close to my heart.
October 1st marks Music Advocacy Day, a day where we, as creators and members of the Recording Academy, come together across the country to make sure our voices are heard. The music industry is changing faster than ever, and with those changes come challenges—whether it’s navigating the impact of artificial intelligence or tackling the issues surrounding live event ticketing. But these challenges are also our opportunities to shape the future of music.
In this time of industry transformation, I am honored to serve as this year’s Music Advocacy Day Artist Ambassador and work alongside you to inspire a positive impact on our community. Earlier this year, I had the chance to speak with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. during GRAMMYs on the Hill, and I saw firsthand the impact of sharing our stories with the people who represent us. Those conversations helped lead to meaningful outcomes on Capitol Hill, including the passage of the TICKET Act in the House, and the introduction of the NO FAKES Act in the Senate. Now, on Music Advocacy Day, we can build on the progress we’ve made and speak with our Congressional leaders at home in our local communities to ensure they hear our concerns.
Music Advocacy Day is your unique opportunity as an Academy member to share your perspective on policies to prevent the misuse of A.I., protect your voice and likeness, and stop predatory ticketing practices to ensure we creators are getting equitably paid. On this day, you’re representing the millions of artists and producers – your peers – that need safeguards and protection. The Recording Academy will be with you every step of the way to provide resources and guidance.
I know how busy life gets, but this is a moment where our voices can truly make a difference. If you haven’t signed up for Music Advocacy Day yet, I urge you to do so. We’re a community of innovators and pioneers, and together, we can protect human creativity for generations to come.
Looking forward to championing the cause with you,
Mark Ronson”
Travis Scott rounds up his fourth consecutive No. 1 project on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as Days Before Rodeo debuts atop the list dated Sept. 7. The mixtape, which received its first commercial and wide streaming release for its 10th anniversary, opens with 361,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the tracking week of Aug. 23-29, according to Luminate.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Of Days Before Rodeo’s starting total, 331,000 units come through album sales, giving the mixtape the best sales week for any R&B/hip-hop title (either that has appeared on or is eligible for Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums) in more than seven years, since Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. sold 353,000 copies in its debut week of April 14-20, 2017. It also rewriters Scott’s personal best sales week for an album, eclipsing Astroworld, which opened with 270,000 copies in 2018.
The sales avalanche was aided by eight different editions of the Days Before Rodeo digital album, six of which were exclusively sold through Scott’s official webstore. Besides the standard 12-song version, the seven variants contained assorted bonus tracks, such as previously unreleased and teased studio cuts and chopped and screwed remixes of the album’s songs. All variants sold via Scott’s webstore were priced at $4.99, while versions available in the iTunes Store were also available for $4.99 at the end of the tracking week.
Trending on Billboard
Thanks to its six-figure arrival, Days Before Rodeo launches at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart.
Streaming activity contributes 30,000 units to Days Before Rodeo’s first-week sum, which represents 40.6 million official on-demand streams of the 12 songs on the album’s streaming edition. Track-equivalent albums comprise a negligible amount of activity.
[embedded content]
With Days Before Rodeo, Scott lands his fourth straight chart-topper on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The streak began with 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, a one-week leader, and continued with ASTROWORLD (five weeks, 2018) and Utopia (seven weeks, 2023). Of his five appearances, only Rodeo missed the top spot – debuting and peaking at No. 2 in 2015.
Days Before Rodeo was first released as a free mixtape on Aug. 18, 2014, and the 12-track set received its first commercial and official streaming release for its 10th anniversary, on Aug. 23. The night before the release, Scott celebrated with a concert at The Masquerade in Atlanta, where he performed 10 of the project’s songs among other tracks.
Elsewhere, Days Before Rodeo begins at No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums chart, where it becomes Scott’s fifth champ – the entirety of his charting releases.
Seven Days Before Rodeo tracks reach the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, led by “Drugs You Should Try It” at No. 13. Here’s a full review of the cuts:
No. 13, “Drugs You Should Try It”
No. 26, “Mamacita,” featuring Young Thug & Rich Homie Quan
No. 28, “Skyfall,” featuring Young Thug
No. 36, “Days Before Rodeo: The Prayer”
No. 38, “Don’t Play,” featuring Big Sean + The 1975
No. 39, “Quintana Pt. 2”
No. 46, “Backyard”
Beyond his new additions, Scott appears on two more tunes on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week: “Parking Lot,” his collaboration with Mustard, slides 21-23 after previously getting to a No. 17 best, while prior No. 2 hit “Type Shit” with Future, Metro Boomin and Playboi Carti slips 15-16.
Jay Wheeler and Zhamira Zambrano are first-time parents! The couple announced the exciting news in a joint post on Wednesday (Sept. 4). “Welcome princess, we love you with our life,” reads the caption, which accompanies two adorable photos in which the newborn’s tiny feet and hands are shown. The Puerto Rican artist and Venezuelan emerging […]
The top two of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart remains the same, with Clean Bandit’s “Symphony” and Surf Curse’s “Disco” at Nos. 1 and 2, while Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” nears the top by jumping 9-3 on the ranking dated Sept. 7.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Symphony,” which features Zara Larsson, logs a second week at No. 1 after debuting at the top of the Aug. 31 tally. That’s as streams of the 2017 track continue to rise, accruing 1.5 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 29, up 84%, according to Luminate. (The song reached No. 10 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in 2017.)
Trending on Billboard
As mentioned in the article announcing the Aug. 31-dated TikTok Billboard Top 50, “Symphony” is driven on TikTok by a trend using a meme featuring colorful dolphins, often with captions that go against the lively photos and videos and take a darker tone. Larsson herself eventually used the meme in the background during one of her concerts as a nod to the trend.
Surf Curse’s “Disco” remains at No. 2 via a two-person trend, begetting yet another rise in streams to 2.8 million in the week ending Aug. 29 (up 67%).
Carpenter’s “Taste” sports a big gain at No. 3, up from its No. 9 debut Aug. 31 that occurred despite just three days of tracking following its Aug. 23 release. With a full week of data, it rises to No. 3, concurrent with its No. 2 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, as previously reported.
“Taste” benefits from a feature in which users can create a custom frame by using the song, as well as lip-synch clips and content reposting the song’s music video.
Overall, Carpenter sports three appearances on the latest TikTok Billboard Top 50. “Bed Chem” debuts at No. 18, while “Please Please Please,” which peaked at No. 2 in June, ranks at No. 36.
“Die With a Smile,” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and Alphaville’s “Forever Young” round out the top five, both reaching the region for the first time. The former, which debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and currently appears at No. 6 on the multimetric survey, is largely driven by romance-themed uploads (homecoming proposals, edits of popular TV shows and movies, lip-synchs, etc.). “Forever Young,” No. 65 on the Hot 100 in 1988, is similarly buoyed by fictional character edits, plus clips reminiscing about the passage of time.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
The rumors are terrible and cruel, but honey … this one isn’t true. An alleged media plan outlining Travis Kelce‘s supposed publicity strategy in the event of a breakup with Taylor Swift has sent fans spiraling this week, but according to the football player’s reps, the whole thing is fake news — and they’re considering […]
Young Miko is set to perform and speak at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, Billboard announced on Thursday (Sept. 5). The Puerto Rican hitmaker will join the special 35th-year anniversary concert for INSIDER badge holders on Friday, Oct. 18. She will also participate in an intimate Superstar Q&A on Tuesday, Oct.15.
Young Miko joins a star-studded lineup for the five-day event, taking place Oct. 14-18 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter performed at last year’s Billboard Latin Music Week En Vivo concert series before embarking on her current XOXO Tour. Since her meteoric rise, she has undeniably becoming one of the most exciting new voices in Latin music. Earlier this year, her debut LP Att. earned the also rapper her first top 10 entry on any Billboard albums chart. Her presence at Latin Music Week underscores her continued impact on the genre and her exciting future ahead.
“We’re thrilled to see Young Miko return to Billboard Latin Music Week,” said Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin and Español. “Her journey from debut to stardom has been truly extraordinary. Her continued innovation and dynamic presence have reshaped the Latin music landscape, and we’re excited to celebrate her remarkable achievements and ongoing influence in the genre.”
Trending on Billboard
Featuring exclusive panels, conversations and performances by Latin music’s biggest stars, previously announced participants include Bad Gyal, Belinda, Camila Fernández, Chiquis, DANNA, Danny Ocean, Dei V, Domelipa, Eslabon Armado, Fat Joe, Gloria Estefan, J Balvin, JOP, Keityn, Kunno, Lele Pons, Luis Alfonso, Lupita Infante, Majo Aguilar, María Becerra, Marko, Mau y Ricky, Mon Laferte, N.O.R.E., Omar Courtz, Paola Jara, Peso Pluma, Pipe Bueno, Sophia Talamas, Yahritza y Su Esencia, Yeison Jiménez, Yeri Mua and Zhamira Zambrano. More participating artists will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Tickets for the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, celebrating its 35th anniversary, are available for purchase here.
Billboard Latin Music Week will coincide with the Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will air on Telemundo. Latin Music Week tickets will not include access to the awards show this year. Instead, Billboard will host a special 35th-year anniversary celebration on the evening of Oct. 18, where INSIDER badge holders will receive exclusive invitations to this star-studded event.
For more information on Billboard Latin Music Week, updates on the schedule and more exciting announcements, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
Young Miko
Joshua Rivera/@shotsjpg
Straight up? Paula Abdul feels absolutely terrible about having to cancel her entire upcoming Straight Up! to Canada 2024 fall tour. The 62-year-old singer/dancer announced to fans on Wednesday night (Sept. 4) that she has been forced to call off the entire tour due to unspecified injuries that will require two months of recovery time.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“It’s with an incredibly heavy heart that I need to share with you an update regarding some injuries I’ve recently sustained. In an effort to keep going, I’ve received targeted injections that will allow me temporary relief, but the demands of an entire tour is a different story,” Abdul wrote in a post.
“After multiple consultations with my doctors and exploring all available options, I’ve been advised that one of my injuries requires a minor procedure followed by a 6-8 week recovery time, therefore it will prohibit me from proceeding with the Straight Up! To Canada Tour as well as the dates in Alaska and North Dakota,” she added.
Trending on Billboard
The monthlong outing was slated to kick off on Sept. 25 with a show at the Save on Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria, B.C. and wind its way across 20 markets in Canada before wrapping up on Oct. 26 at the Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
“I want to extend my deepest apologies to all my amazing fans in Canada and the U.S., you mean the world to me and this truly breaks my heart,” Abdul concluded. “I’ve been looking forward to the energy, love, and connection we always share when we’re together. I promise I’ll be back, stronger and better, dancing my heart out and performing for all of you very soon, to give you the show you deserve.” Refunds for the shows are available at point of purchase.
Abdul’s tour was also scheduled to hit the Alaska Airlines Arena in Anchorage, Alaska on Sept. 21 before the Canadian tour kicked off and pop into the Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D. on Oct. 12 on the tour that was slated to feature opening acts Taylor Dayne and Tiffany. Abdul’s busy 2024 also included her just-wrapped joint tour with New Kids on the Block and DJ Jazzy Jeff, which wound down on August 25.
See Abdul’s post below.
Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Zach Bryan will headline the 2025 edition of the Stagecoach Festival, taking place April 25-27 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. It will mark the first time that Bryan (April 25) and Jelly Roll (April 26) have served as headliners on the Mane Stage, while Combs returns for the first time to headline since 2022.
Lana Del Rey — who is working on a country album titled Lasso, as she revealed at the Billboard x NMPA Songwriter Awards in February — will also appear at the festival. She joined Paul Cauthen at this year’s event for a duet of “Unchained Melody,” and headlined both weekends of Coachella earlier that month.
“Super pumped to be coming back to headline Stagecoach,” said Combs, in a statement. “It was one of the most memorable parts of the year when we did it in 2022, so really glad they’re having us back for round 2. We’re gonna have a blast.”
Trending on Billboard
Jelly Roll added, “Last year I got to play Stagecoach for the first time and it was incredible. And I didn’t just get to play. I got to hang out as a fan of artists I love and take my daughter to see some of the best entertainers in our format. Coming back to headline Stagecoach this year is a dream-but I’ll be attending as a fan this year as well, so get ready. See you in April.”
STAGECOACH 2025
Courtesy Photo
The festival announced its lineup as country music continues to experience a surge in popularity. “Country music is in a golden moment right now. The genre is hotter than it has ever been, and we are enjoying every moment of it,” Stacy Vee, vp of festival talent for Goldenvoice, told Billboard in an email interview. “It has been incredibly satisfying to be in a festival where so many different voices and styles of music are welcome. The world has been delivering us an abundance of phenomenal talent and the hardest part is having to choose who gets the slot.”
Two of this year’s hottest acts, Bryan and Shaboozey, have worked their way up to the Mane Stage, which is always a pleasure to see, Vee says: “Zach Bryan’s set at the Palomino Stage in 2022 was legendary and now he is headlining the Mane Stage. Shaboozey was such an exciting special guest last year and we’ll see him for a full set on Mane Stage.”
As usual, Stagecoach, which started in 2007, will feature a number of other non-country acts, including Backstreet Boys, T-Pain, Goo Goo Dolls, gospel singer Blessing Offor, Creed, Jewel, Nelly, Sammy Hagar, The Bacon Brothers and Tommy James & the Shondells (who also performed at the fest in 2017).
The Backstreet Boys have long been on Vee’s wish list. “I have literally dreamed of bringing them to the show for so long, I think it is going to hit so hard,” she says.
Among those also on the bill are Brothers Osborne, Chayce Beckham, Dylan Gossett, Flatland Cavalry, Koe Wetzel, Midland, Nico Moon, Scotty McCreery, Sturgill Simpson, Whiskey Myers and Tucker Wetmore.
Vee declined to answer a question about the continued paucity of country women available for top spots. Miranda Lambert headlined this year, Carrie Underwood in 2022, and Shania Twain in 2017. Lainey Wilson, who has not headlined the festival, last played in 2023. There are around 20 women playing among the 65 acts in 2025, including Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Anne Wilson, Crystal Gayle, Dasha, Alana Springsteen, Anna Avery, Nikki Lane and The Castellows.
General admission passes start at $579, while Corral Standing Pit passes that provide access to the standing room only pit area in front of Mane Stage start at $1,899. Corral Reserved Seating, which is for a seated area behind the Corral Standing Pit and other amenities, including access to the Corral Saloon and air-conditioned bathrooms, start at $2,299. Tickets go on sale Sept. 13.
Start your engines Little Monsters because we now know when Lady Gaga‘s seventh album will descend from pop heaven. According to a new Vogue cover feature, LG7 — as yet untitled officially — is due out in February, with the untitled first single due out in October.
“There’s a lot of pain associated with this adventure,” the singer told the magazine about the album. “And when I start to explore that pain it can bring out another side to my artistry. When I’m here at this studio [Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La], I’m relaxed and I am able to face my demons and what’s remarkable is… that’s the music. I’m able to hear it back.”
The profile opens at Rubin’s famed studio in Malibu — just down the road from Gaga’s home — where Gaga recorded 2016’s Joanne, as well as some of the music for the 2018 soundtrack to her feature film debut, A Star Is Born. It reveals that Gaga has spent “the better part of 2024 here” working on both her new pop record and a second “surprise project” whose details have not yet been revealed.
Trending on Billboard
Additionally, the very public enigma of a star reveals that her fiancé, Michael Polansky — to whom she got engaged in April after a day of rock climbing — was the one who pushed her to return to her pop roots. “Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record. He was like, ‘Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music,’” she said, with Polansky adding, “Like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean in to the joy of it. On the Chromatica tour, I saw a fire in her; I wanted to help her keep that alive all the time and just start making music that made her happy.”
The writer then describes hearing a new, untitled, song from the upcoming album, writing that it is an “intense and ominous… old-school Gaga banger, unsettling but also buoyant.”
Earlier in the piece, Gaga noted that she’s feeling “so happy” and healthy these days, unlike during her Chromatica era. “That album was about an absolutely horrible time for me with my mental health,” she said. “I was in a really dark place. I struggled for, like, many years before that.” The album came out in Mary 2020, just months into the COVID-19 pandemic, when Little Monsters had to dance at home alone to the singles “Stupid Love” and “Rain on Me.”
After fracturing her hip during the Born This Way Ball tour ten years earlier — setting off years of muscle pain due to fibromyalgia — the pain-free Chromatica outing was a revelation. “Michael and I did that tour together,” she said. “I did it pain-free! I haven’t smoked pot in years. I’ve, like, changed. A lot. I feel like this new album, in a lot of ways, is about that time but from a place of happiness instead of misery. And now, Michael and I are really excited to organize our lives — and our marriage — around our creative output as a couple.”
Which, she said in an allusion to the music industry, was “really different than, like, doing what other people want you to do.”
In late May, Teezo Touchdown — clad in all-black leather, spiky silver nails piercing his shoulder pads — leaped across the stage of Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre. As he performed his groovy 2023 song “Mood Swings,” he screeched helium-pitched “Wee!” ad-libs mid-air, and a vibrant flower bouquet encasing his microphone swung along with him.
“A night at Lil Yachty’s house” inspired his mic setup, Teezo says today as he periodically munches on a raw orange carrot that matches the couch he’s lounging on. Teezo and Yachty were marathoning Morrissey music videos, and the way the former Smiths frontman nonchalantly swung a bouquet of flowers in the “This Charming Man” video “really influenced” Teezo — so much so that the avant-garde 31-year-old rapper-meets-rock star eventually made it his own.
He has now whirled that microphone onstage at the country’s biggest arenas and stadiums, thanks to opening gigs for Tyler, The Creator in 2022 (after featuring on Tyler’s “RunItUp”) and Travis Scott in 2023 (after appearing on Scott’s UTOPIA track “Modern Jam”). “Being an opener is so hard,” Teezo admits — but he gained valuable perspective playing for early arrivers interested in the main act.
Trending on Billboard
“I’m like the doorman welcoming you into Tyler’s crib, Travis’ crib: ‘Can I grab you anything? He’ll be down shortly. But while you here, let me entertain you,’ ” he explains. That attitude has also informed Teezo’s recent guest appearances on tracks by artists including Drake, Doja Cat and Don Toliver — A-list collaborations that launched him onto the Billboard Hot 100 with “Amen,” from Drake’s 2023 album, For All the Dogs, marking Teezo’s highest-charting entry, at No. 15.
“Teezo is your favorite artist’s favorite artist,” says his manager, Amal Noor, who has worked with him since 2019. “He respects these artists’ careers, and to know that they love him creatively is an amazing feeling.”
Jean Paul Gaultier top, Diesel jeans, Athanasiou bracelet.
Ariel Fisher
Teezo Touchdown photographed on July 18, 2024 in Los Angeles. Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier top, Louis Vuitton belt and jeans, Prada shoes.
Ariel Fisher
Following his own first headlining tour last spring, which came on the heels of his 2023 debut album, How Do You Sleep at Night?, Billboard’s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year is still coming to terms with his current level of stardom. “I can still go to Whole Foods and grab my six hard-boiled eggs or go to Paris and walk the streets, and no one bats an eye,” he says. “But on the other end, I’m on the biggest albums in the world, biggest tours.”
Long before he became Teezo Touchdown, the artist born Aaron Lashane Thomas followed in the footsteps of his father, a DJ and avid music collector, and started DJ’ing in the second grade, performing at friends’ parties, weddings and graduations in his hometown of Beaumont, Texas. “Every year, I would get something music-related for Christmas, but in seventh grade, I got this small box. There was a key inside to the studio that my dad had built for me upstairs,” he says. Teezo made his first song ever that day — and he still plays the piano riff at studios he visits “to call back to that kid on Christmas, like, ‘Look where you at right now.’ ”
Tragedy affected his trajectory early on. After his girlfriend was fatally shot in 2016, Teezo channeled his grief into his art, and in February 2019, he dropped the somber single “100 Drums,” which decried gun violence over a sample of Panic! at the Disco’s emo smash “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” Chance the Rapper and Trippie Redd both noticed, and the latter flew him out to L.A. for the first time the following month. Noor noticed, too: After seeing a clip of the “100 Drums” music video on a meme page, she also reached out to Teezo.
While spending time at his childhood home afterward, Teezo stumbled upon his father’s toolbox. “Punks are usually spiky. My dad had nails around the crib, and I was like, ‘This is going to be my spike,’ ” he says. In March 2020, Teezo asked his best friend to braid the nails into his hair for the first time, for his “Strong Friend” music video. “I think I was meant to find [the nails],” Teezo says, adding that he has comfortably slept with them in his hair multiple times.
Ariel Fisher
His unorthodox image complemented his developing sound, which he now describes as “R&B with the boom of rock.” He didn’t think he could meld those genres until he saw the Afropunk festival’s Instagram post about Black rock band Living Colour and his producers, Brendan Grieve and Hoskins, played him a mashup of Craig David and metalcore band Killswitch Engage.
How Do You Sleep at Night? (released last September on Not Fit for Society/RCA Records) showcases Teezo’s genre-defying talents — from the garage punk-meets-R&B anthem “Too Easy” to the guitar-driven indie-rock jam “Impossible.” It failed to crack the Billboard 200, but Teezo only cares about the numbers for one reason: “I’m so obsessed with numbers because I just want to make my team proud. I’m proud because I’m making music and one person knows who I am.”
Drake called How Do You Sleep at Night? “some of the best music ever” when Teezo played it for him a month early. But ironically, Teezo’s profile expanded even further when Kendrick Lamar name-dropped him in the opening lines of his Hot 100 No. 1 Drake dis track, “Not Like Us” (“Nail a n—a to the cross/He walk around like Teezo”). Having just started his own tour (a “little bubble” filled with “loving fans”) at the time, “I made a decision that I wasn’t going to listen to any of the back-and-forth,” says Teezo, who claims to have somehow avoided listening to the inescapable “Not Like Us” in its entirety. “I’m seeing a mob mentality, and I don’t like division. Sorry I’m so kumbaya, but it’s all love over here.” The simple fact that both Drake and Lamar “know who I am… it’s still one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself. The kid in Beaumont, I’m pretty sure he’s jumping through the roof right now.”
Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier top, Louis Vuitton belt and jeans, Prada shoes.
Ariel Fisher
Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier top.
Ariel Fisher
Come October, Teezo will hit the road again on Don Toliver’s North American arena tour — an opportunity he initially hesitated to take because he wanted to focus on making his next album. But “[Don] was like, ‘Teezy, I’m telling you. If you know you got a tour coming up, it’s going to make you lock in.’ I needed a fire under me, and that was the fire.”
And it’s working: Teezo has already started on his next project. “The word that [we] keep bringing up is ‘undeniable.’ Everything that we’re making, is it undeniable?” he says. “If it’s not, put a red mark on it and let’s move on to the next.”
This story appears in the Aug. 31, 2024, issue of Billboard.