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Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Atlanta rapper Young Scooter was allegedly killed on his birthday, leaving fans and the rap world in shock.
Scooter’s career took off in 2012 when he signed with Future’s Freebandz label. He was one of the first artists Future brought on board, and that move helped him make his mark in the game. His Street Lottery mixtape was a game-changer, dropping bangers that got him noticed and helped him build a dedicated fanbase. He wasn’t just another rapper from Atlanta—he had that gritty, real-talk style that resonated with people from the streets.
Over the years, Scooter dropped projects like The Game’s Omen and Juggathon, staying consistent with hard-hitting tracks and dope features. He worked with artists like Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, and of course, Future, building his rep as one of the realest to do it. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the ATL legend;s family and friends.
More news to come as the story develops.
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty
We are sad to report that ATL rapper Young Scooter reportedly died today (Mar. 28) as he celebrated his 39th birthday.
WSB-TV reports that Atlanta PD responded to the shooting near the intersection of Luckie Street NW and Mills Street NW, blocks away from State Farm Arena, where the NCAA College Basketball tournament is taking place.
The shooting occurred around 6:45 pm. Scooter was rushed to the hospital, where police confirmed that he died from his injuries.
Fellow ATL rappers Playboi Carti and Ralo paid tribute to Scooter on social media.
Raised in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood, Scooter (real name Kenneth Bailey) was among the first artists to sign with Future’s Freebandz imprint in 2012. One year later, he jointly signed with Waka Flocka Flame’s Brick Squad Monopoly.
He first gained notable recognition with his Street Lottery mixtape (2012), led by the single “Colombia.” The track became a regional hit, with rappers Rick Ross, Birdman, and Gucci Mane hopping on the remix.
Scooter would later earn his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with his guest feature on Future and Juice Wrld’s “Jet Lag.” The track peaked at #72 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Scooter would go on to release 20 mixtapes within the course of his career, making a lasting impact on Atlanta’s Hip-Hop scene. His contributions to the game will never be forgotten.
This is a developing story.
Check Out Our Throwback Interview With Young Scooter From 2013
REPORT: Young Scooter Shot & Killed In Downtown Atlanta
was originally published on
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What up, Hip-Hop Wired Family! We’re back with our latest Baes & Baddies post, and we’re featuring Atlanta by way of St. Louis sweetface stunner, the spectacularly stacked Jasmyn Danielle aka @jascatron.
Despite our best efforts, all we know about Jasmyn Danielle is that she is a native of Missouri and now resides in Georgia. Her Instagram account only has a handful of images, but the @jascatron page is showing a lot more activity lately as she aims to gain fans and followers on social media.
It appears that the sultry model took a break back in November of last year and returned with a bang this month. We’ll feature her latest images and work our way back in the gallery section below.
For now, please show some love for our latest Baes & Baddies entrant, Jasmyn Danielle aka @jascatron.
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Photo: @jascatron / Instagram
Demi Lovato is a Little Monster! The 32-year-old singer took to TikTok on Thursday (March 27) to share a video, in which she lip syncs along to Lady Gaga’s “How Bad Do U Want Me,” off her recently released album, Mayhem. “That girl in your head ain’t real/ How bad do you want me, for […]
K-pop companies SM Entertainment and HYBE were among the best-performing music stocks of the week as most stocks were dragged down by continued uncertainty about U.S. tariff policy and new data on higher-than-expected inflation.
SM Entertainment, home to NCT Dream and RIIZE, was the week’s best performer after gaining 6.7% to 107,000 KRW ($72.91). That brought the company’s year-to-date gain to 47.4% — the best of any music stock.
HYBE, which counts BTS and its solo members’ projects among its vast roster, improved 3.7% to 240,500 KRW ($163.87). On Thursday (March 27), HYBE announced that BTS songs such as “Dynamite” and “Butter” will be featured on Lullaby Renditions of BTS, out April 4 on Rockabye Baby! Music. HYBE shares are up 19.7% year to date, the fifth-best among music stocks.
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K-pop fared well during a down week for most stocks and markets in general. YG Entertainment, home of BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, rose 3.3% to 63,500 KRW ($43.27) while JYP Entertainment was unchanged at 61,300 KRW ($41.77).
Outside of South Korea, music stocks reflected the challenging economic conditions and uncertainties that have hurt stocks in recent weeks. The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) declined 2.9% to 2,459.98, marking its fourth decline in the last six weeks. With just eight of its 20 stocks finishing the week in the black, the BGMI fell into correction territory as its value has declined 10.7% since the week ended Feb. 14. The first six weeks of 2025 were good enough to overcome the recent slump, however, and the BGMI is up 15.8% year to date and has gained 40.4% over the last 52 weeks.
Stocks took another hit on Friday (March 28) after the core personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure closely watched by the U.S. Federal Reserve, increased 0.4% in February. That put the 12-month inflation rate at 2.8%. Both figures were above experts’ expectations. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished the week down 2.6%, increasing its year-to-date decline to 11.7%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.5%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 increased 0.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 3.2%. China’s SSE Composite Index dropped 0.4%.
The BGMI was pulled down by Spotify’s 6.5% decline and a 4.2% drop by German concert promoter CTS Eventim. Warner Music Group, one of the index’s largest companies, dropped 2.7% to $31.56.
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) gained 2.7% to $14.38 after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating on TME shares to buy from hold. Universal Music Group rose 2.0% to 25.99 euros ($28.12) after Wells Fargo upped the rating on the company’s shares to overweight from equal weight and increased the price target to 33 euros ($35.70) from 28 euros ($30.29).
Music streaming company LiveOne had the week’s biggest decline at 14.1%. The company announced on Wednesday (March 26) that subscribers and ad-supported users surpassed 1.4 million.
Radio company iHeartMedia fell 6.8%, putting its year-to-date loss at 23.0%. Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM dropped 3.1% to $22.75, though it’s still up 1.7% in 2025.
GIVĒON, whose latest single “Twenties” reached No. 6 on Hot R&B Songs, celebrated another momentous milestone last night (March 27): the five-year anniversary of his debut EP Take Time. Released on March 27, 2020, the eight-track project features the seven-time Grammy nominee’s two breakthrough singles, “Like I Want You” and “Heartbreak Anniversary.” Both are now RIAA-certified at 3x and 6x platinum, respectively,
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Celebrating with GIVĒON inside the Los Angeles club Living Room were members of his Epic Records team, headed by chairwoman/CEO Sylvia Rhone, president Ezekiel Lewis and general manager Rick Sackheim. Also spotted at the intimate gathering were Grammy-winning songwriter-producer Jimmy Jam, fellow R&B singer Amerie and actress/producer Lena Waithe.
Nominated for best R&B album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, Take Time was followed by GIVĒON’s top 10 R&B album When It’s All Said and Done in October 2020 and his guest turn on Justin Bieber’s 2021 multiplatinum smash “Peaches.” Now the singer-songwriter is at work on his sophomore set, which will include current hit “Twenties.” The Long Beach, Calif. native has also scored a second top 10 this year with his feature on Teddy Swims’ Hot R&B Songs No. 4 hit “Are You Even Real.”
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Giveon
Sam Balban
A couple of days prior to his Take Time celebration, Billboard caught up with GIVĒON during a phone interview. Here are a few soundbites from that conversation.
Who he was as an artist five years ago: When I wrote the songs for Take Time, I was only 23-24. But I was also very confident in myself, especially for someone who hadn’t released a body of work on a major label. That’s because I knew this EP was my life’s work at the time. It took 24 years to make because it was all of my life experiences wrapped up into one unique project.
Who he is as an artist now: I feel a lot more aware when it comes to my process and what I need to do to grow at all times. I never want to become stagnant with my creative process I’ll also say I’m more polished, more professional; I just understand things more. And I’m a lot more decisive: I don’t really waste too much time when I’m creating. I just get right down to it, saying, “This is exactly what it is that I want to say.”
What he’s been doing between albums: I get that question a lot [laughs]. I always tell people that I’ve just been absorbing bodies of work that inspire me. Not just music but multiple mediums like paintings films, life itself. Because there’s a lot of inspiration that comes from life and all of my music is autobiographical. So I don’t have a choice but to experience life and then write it out while working on my craft.
Jimmy Jam and Amerie
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Tapping into the aching and yearning that music: I grew up in a house with all boys, so there wasn’t a lot of expressing emotions. So this [music] has always been an outlet to express my emotions. Sometimes the story I’m telling comes off more on the somber or melancholy side because it’s something I’m not comfortable in freely telling people. But I’m a lot more than just that emotion [laughs]. My biggest goal is always to just be believable and honest.
The inspiration behind “Twenties”: I love to just keep it vague so people can leave it up to their own interpretation and apply it to whatever it specifically means in their life. But I will say it’s just trying to capture that feeling of wasting time on something. It could be a person, it could be a place, it could be an idea or a career. For me, it was a specific person in a relationship. But, yeah, I was just trying to capture the emotion of feeling like you spent time on something or somewhere that you can’t get back.
Hints about his sophomore album: Just that I’m excited for people to hear it. With my first album, I was just making music and having fun. Now I’m still having. But I’m also like, “Oh, I have a responsibility with this music because I see how it touches and helps people.”
Giveon and Lena Waithe
Sam Balban
Billboard Women in Music 2025 takes place Saturday, March 29, and Billboard’s staff is breaking down each of the honorees’ successes that earned them their awards, from JENNIE receiving the Global Force Award to Doechii being named Woman of the Year, to Gracie Abrams being honored as Songwriter of the Year, and more! Who are […]
The Breakfast Club co-hosts Jess Hilarious and Loren LoRosa addressed their recent drama in the best way possible — by joking about it. Earlier today, they posted a parody music video of Monica & Brandy‘s hit song “The Boy is Mine” and called it, “The Job is Mine.” And while they can’t sing as good […]
Ariana Grande dropped ‘Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead’ deluxe accompanied with a heartfelt short film, and Selena Gomez released an album with fiance Benny Blanco, ‘I Said I Love You First.’ Keep watching for the breakdown of their newest releases! What’re your thoughts on ‘Brighter Days Ahead’ & ‘I Said I Love You First?’ Let […]
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Source: Carol Lee Rose / Getty / Marvin Sapp
One of Marvin Sapp’s sermons has set social media ablaze and has begun a dialogue about the Black church.
A video of Marvin Sapp’s “holy hustling” for Jesus has gone viral on X, formerly Twitter. In the clip, which Sapp admits is over a year old, the popular pastor asks his congregation to help him reach a goal of $40,000.
In one part of the clip, Sapp asks the ushers to close the door to keep the congregation from leaving.
“We all gon’ leave together,” Sapp said. “Y’all ain’t going no place but to the restaurant.”
Sapp further explained that if the 1,000 people in the pews and the 1,000 people watching online gave $20, which he called a “small seed,” it would add up to $40,000.
“I’m challenging each of you all down here to give a $20 seed,” Sapp told his flock.
He jokingly added that $20 would cover a movie date, popcorn, and drink when his wife, MaLinda P. Sapp, was still alive.
Sapp then asked his clergy members to give $100 while the congregation dug in their wallets and purses looking for a $20. “It costs to sit up here,” Sapp said.
While the mass donations continued, Sapp hushed the crowd and said, “Giving is worship.”
“This ain’t a time to talk,” Sapp said as he continued encouraging worshippers in the building and viewers online to keep the donations coming, describing them as “an easy miracle.”
Marvin Sapp Issues A Statement On The Clip
Word about Sapp’s video going viral definitely reached the pastor, who posted a lengthy statement on Facebook. He explained that the clip was a year old, added that he “gave much more,” and pointed out that the clip was shared out of context.
Per Sapp’s Facebook post:
Recently, a clip has gone viral of me challenging 2,000 individuals(virtually and in person) to plant a seed of $20 during an international gathering held at a convention center, with over 4,000 people in attendance that evening plus virtual viewers. In that same moment, I also challenged leadership to lead by example by sowing $100. That evening, I personally gave much more.
Some have taken issue with a particular moment when I instructed the ushers, rather firmly, to close the doors during the offering. To those unfamiliar with the church context or who may not regularly attend worship gatherings this has been misinterpreted as holding people hostage as well as offensive. That was never my intent.
The truth is, when finances are being received in any worship gathering, it is one of the most vulnerable and exposed times for both the finance and security teams. Movement during this sacred exchange can be distracting and, at times, even risky. My directive was not about control it was about creating a safe, focused, and reverent environment for those choosing to give, and for those handling the resources.
Unfortunately, in this social media age, snippets are easily shared without context, and assumptions are quickly made without understanding the full picture. Conferences have budgets. Churches have budgets. And people have budgets. As the assigned ministerial gift for this international gathering, one of my responsibilities was to help raise the conference budget. That’s not manipulation, it’s stewardship.
Social Media Has Plenty of Thoughts On The Clip
Regardless, those on X, formerly Twitter, did not feel the moment in the clip and used it to post their hesitations about the Black Church.
“Marvin Sapp is clearly HUSTLING his congregation for 40k— and using God’s name to do it. he’s calling for the doors to be locked? that’s not faith, that’s a shakedown and a false prophet. someone had a bill to pay, and it wasn’t to the church,” one post on X read.
Another user added, “Some churches ARE cults. Would’ve had to beat Marvin Sapp’s big ass and hide the bible if God watching.”
Lol, well damn.
Sapp might be right about clips being taken out of context, but he can’t ignore people’s legitimate beef regarding churches and how they ask for money. That video was cringe-worthy; we’re just saying.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.