News
Page: 36
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Courtesy of Sie Less / Sei Less
A New York City hotspot announced a special Women’s History Month menu honoring industry trailblazers like Cardi B and Lil Kim, among others.
The midtown Manhattan Asian fusion restaurant Sei Less has become a beloved dining destination for many, including numerous celebrities since opening its doors in January 2022. And it’s adding to its prestige with the release of a new menu honoring several prominent women in the music, entertainment, and media industries for Women’s History Month. The new prix-fixe three-course menu is now available to all patrons at Sei Less as of Monday (March 3) for $50 per person.
The new menu features cherished items by celebrity diners such as the Angie Martinez appetizer of shrimp satay with peanut sauce, and the Cardi B featuring lobster poached in a “beurre blanc” butter with shallots and shiro-dashi wine. Actress and philanthropist La La Anthony is honored with her favorite Beijing Chicken, and the chocolate mousse is named after the Queen Bee of Hip-Hop herself, Lil’ Kim.
The Women’s History Menu is a continuation of Sei Less’ tradition of honoring the culture through their culinary offerings curated by veteran chef Allen Ma. In 2023, they released a special Hip-Hop 50 menu honoring New York City icons such as Jay-Z, Nas, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and French Montana, among others. In February 2024, they celebrated R&B and Hip-Hop love songs from Babyface, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, and SZA with a “Lover’s Menu.”
“We’re very fortunate to receive such amazing support from this incredible group of women from the greater New York area, so as a heartfelt tribute, we wanted to honor these remarkable trailblazers and their impact on culture in our own special New York way,” said Sei Less founder Dara Mirjahangiry in a statement. “We’re proud to celebrate their creativity and influence with a special menu for Women’s History Month tailored to some of their favorite dishes whenever they visit the restaurant. They have been long-time supporters of Sei Less and this gesture is simply our unique way of expressing our gratitude.”
Save this storySaveSave this storySaveCar Seat Headrest are back with their first new album in five years: The Scholars, a self-described rock opera, is out May 2 via Matador. In addition to tour dates, Will Toledo and his bandmates have also unveiled an 11-minute, multi-part song titled “Gethsemane” and its accompanying music video, directed by Andrew Wonder. Watch the clip for the sprawling new song below.Set at the fictional college campus Parnassus University, The Scholars focuses on a different student or staff member on each song to tell tales of life, death, and rebirth. “Gethsemane” follows Rosa, a medical school student who revives a deceased patient by absorbing their pain, a power she’s been suppressing since childhood. “Each night, instead of dreams, she encounters the raw pain and stories of the souls she touches throughout the day,” explained Toledo. “Reality blurs, and she finds herself taken deep into secret facilities buried beneath the medical school, where ancient beings that covertly reign over the college bring forth their dark plans.”Car Seat Headrest will bring their follow-up to 2020’s Making a Door Less Open on the road when they tour the United States this year. The band has spaced out the nine shows with relatively long gaps between each one, beginning on May 16, in Salt Lake City, and ending on November 1, in Oakland—in part due to Toledo’s health following a severe reaction to COVID-19 years ago. Find Car Seat Headrest’s full list of tour dates below.Read about Car Seat Headrest’s Teens of Denial in “The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s.”All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.Car Seat Headrest: The Scholars$37 at Rough Trade$33 at AmazonThe Scholars:01 CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)02 Devereaux03 Lady Gay Approximately04 The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)05 Equals06 Gethsemane07 Reality08 Planet Desperation09 True/False LoverCar Seat Headrest:05-16 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party06-07 Queens, NY – Governors Ball Music Festival 202506-28 Washington, D.C. – The Anthem07-12 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom07-26 Chicago, IL – Salt Shed (Fairgrounds)08-08 Los Angeles, CA – The Greek09-12 Philadelphia, PA – Highmark Skyline at the Mann09-27 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall11-01 Oakland, CA – The FoxCar Seat Headrest: The Scholars TourBuy Now at Ticketmaster
LISA still doesn’t know how she made it into BLACKPINK after her audition — for which she sang an iconic Rihanna hit — didn’t go quite as planned.
In a video interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine published Tuesday (March 4), the K-pop star reflected on her fateful try-out for the quartet that would make her famous. “I sang Rihanna’s song,” she said, singing a little bit of 2008 Billboard Hot 100-topper “Take a Bow” to herself before remembering which track it was.
“I was so nervous, I sang like … the lyrics were all over the place,” LISA added, smiling. “It was not right.”
Trending on Billboard
As for how she managed to make it into the YG Entertainment group alongside bandmates ROSÉ, JISOO and JENNIE despite goofing her audition, the Thai rapper said that she’s still unsure how she landed the gig. “I don’t know,” she told the publication, laughing. “I think maybe I was so unique, or I did something wrong, so they were like, ‘Oh, I remember this girl! She sang wrong lyrics.’”
Don’t let her messing up the lyrics fool you, though. LISA is a diehard fan of the Fenty mogul, telling WSJ Mag that Ri is her biggest inspiration — specifically for “her swag, her style, her music, her stage performance.” And her favorite Ri performance? “Bitch Better Have My Money” at the 2015 iHeartRadio Awards, the star revealed. “She came out of the helicopter, like, so cool.”
LISA’s interview with the publication — for which she’s also this month’s cover star — comes just a few days after the Feb. 28 release of her debut solo album, Alter Ego. The project was led by singles “Rockstar,” “New Woman” featuring Rosalía, “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” and “Born Again” with Doja Cat and RAYE, with whom the White Lotus star recently performed a medley of James Bond songs at the 2025 Oscars.
Later this year, LISA will reunite with the rest of BLACKPINK for a global tour, the ladies’ first trek since the 2022-23 Born Pink World Tour supporting their Billboard 200 No. 1 album of the same name. In her WSJ Magazine cover story, the “Money” artist reflected further on the years of work all four of the groupmates put in as YG trainees before they ever assembled as a foursome, with LISA revealing that — after about three and a half years of training with no end in sight — she almost lost hope of ever debuting as an artist.
“When you don’t see the future, your future is black, it’s blank, you’re not able to visualize it,” she told the publication. “It’s like you’ve lost your energy a bit.”
Watch LISA talk about her BLACKPINK audition below:
Young Thug and concert giant AEG have quietly settled their multi-million dollar legal battle over a touring partnership gone sour.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2020 but delayed for years by Thug’s high-profile criminal case, claimed that the star owed more than $5 million under a 2017 touring agreement — and that he was obligated to hand over some of his music rights to pay down that debt.
But in a motion filed in federal court on Feb. 14, attorneys for both sides said they had “entered into a settlement” to resolve the dispute. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed in court filings, and neither side immediately returned requests for comment. The deal was later finalized by a judge on Feb. 18.
The settlement came as Thug is gearing up to start performing in concert again for the first time since he took a plea deal to end the years-long criminal drama in Atlanta. That agreement imposed strict conditions, but allowed Thug to avoid prison time and resume his music career.
Trending on Billboard
AEG sued Thug in December 2020 over allegations that he had breached the earlier touring agreement, which gave the company the exclusive right to promote his concerts. AEG alleged that Thug had “immediately failed and refused to honor” the deal after it had been signed, including by performing shows without the promoter’s involvement and pocketing the proceeds.
Under the terms of the deal, AEG claimed Thug was paid a $5.3 million advance – a sum the company claimed was never paid back. More significantly, AEG claimed that debt was secured with Thug’s copyrights to his songs as collateral – and that AEG can now claim an interest in the revenue generated by such intellectual property.
In more recent court filings, AEG claimed Thug had sold off more than 400 copyrighted songs for more than $16 million to an unknown third-party in 2021, and suggested that such a transfer mid-lawsuit might have been fraudulent.
The case was put on indefinite hold in May 2022, when the rapper was charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment that claimed his YSL group was a violent gang that had wrought “havoc” on Atlanta. Following the longest-running trial in Georgia history and a two-year stint in jail, Thug pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to serve only probation.
Shortly after Thug struck that deal, attorneys for AEG pushed to restart the civil lawsuit, saying it was no longer “hampered” by the criminal case. But little additional litigation took place before the settlement was reached.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Aaron J. Thornton/Michael Owens / Aaron J. Thornton/Michael Owens
Rapper Kash Doll was recently spotted in Ghana with NFL star Za’Darius Smith, sparking rumors about a potential new romance.
The pair were seen together at multiple events, making their public appearances fuel speculation. This comes after Kash Doll’s breakup with her ex-boyfriend Tracy T, which she made official late last year. aking to social media, Kash Doll made it clear that she was done with the relationship. In an unapologetic post, she wrote, “I’m single,” followed by a bold statement, “IDGAF ABOUT Y’ALL SAYING I HAVE TWO KIDS BY HIM NOW. I’M JUST A BABY MAMA. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH… I’M NOT DEALING WITH JUST ANYTHING TO KEEP MY FAMILY TOGETHER.”
Since then, Kash Doll has been living her life independently, and her time in Ghana with Za’Darius Smith has generated significant buzz. Za’Darius Smith, known for his impressive skills as a defensive end for the Detroit Lions, has gained attention not just for his football career but also for his connection with the rapper.
Their public outing left the internet wondering if they were more than just friends. As the Detriot rapper continues to move on from her past relationship, her possible new link-up with a prominent NFL player shows that she’s living her best life by any means necessary. The duo’s chemistry in Ghana could be the start of an exciting new chapter for the Detroit native.
Za’Darius Smith joined the Detroit Lions in 2024, bringing his serious pass-rushing game from stints with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. As of 2025, he’s only been with Detroit for one season, but his experience and dominance on the field make him a key piece of the squad. Smith might’ve been the game-changer the Lions’ defense needed, but he could also be the missing piece in Kash Doll’s love story. Time will tell.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Blacc Sam, the brother of late rapper Nipsey Hussle, was seen on video getting into a verbal scrap with an assumed Crip gang member during what should have been a moment of celebration. From what is shown in the video, Blacc Sam and the gang member exchanged some words, and online sluetshs were able to connect the man in the video to Wack 100, who has made comments about Nipsey Hussle in the past.
As seen on All Hip Hop, the video was uploaded to the X social media platform by Poetik Flakko and shows Blacc Sam, Samiel Asghedom, and Rocstar 2800, who is apparently connected to Wack 100. It appears that Wack’s comments about his brother had Sam heated and he’s essentially telling Rocstar 2800 get away from the business or back up the beef words.
Nipsey Hussle brother Blacc Sam goes off on West Blvd Crip Rocstar 2800. He said anybody who don’t get cracking on people who disrespect Nipsey Hussle can’t come around them nomore until they get cracking pic.twitter.com/593UtD6Xmb
— Poetik Flakko (@FlakkoPoetik) March 1, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
As Sam gets right in Rocstar’s face without flinching, he waves off an associate who wanted to get some space between the two, illustrating he was ready to throw hands or whatever else. Cooler heads prevailed and the men were eventually split apart.
On Instagram, Rockstar 2800 made light of the moment by posting an image that read “Damn All A N*gga Wanted Was A Burger” with a crying laughing emoji at the end.
As Hip-Hop Wired reported last month, Blacc Sam is working to release a posthumous Nipsey Hussle album.
—
Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
Tate McRae has a massive week on Billboard’s charts (dated March 8) thanks to the arrival of her new album, So Close to What.
Released Feb. 21 on RCA Records, the set soars in as her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 177,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its opening week (Feb. 21-27), according to Luminate.
McRae concurrently lands 11 songs from the album on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Sports Car” and “Revolving Door” in the top 40. Here’s a recap (all of which are debuts except where noted):
Rank, Title:
Trending on Billboard
No. 16, “Sports Car” (up from No. 57; new high)
No. 22, “Revolving Door”
No. 43, “I Know Love,” feat. The Kid LAROI
No. 44, “Dear God”
No. 53, “Purple Lace Bra”
No. 54, “Miss Possessive”
No. 64, “BloodOnMyHands,” feat. Flo Milli
No. 74, “Signs”
No. 76, “2 Hands” (re-entry; peaked at No. 41 in November)
No. 90, “Like I Do”
No. 99, “Greenlight”
The lead single from the album, “It’s OK I’m OK,” hit No. 20 on the Hot 100 in September and has since wrapped its run on the chart.
With nine debuts, McRae has now charted 21 total songs on the Hot 100 in her career. Of those, seven have reached the top 40 and one hit the top 10: “Greedy” climbed to No. 3 in January 2024.
McRae also places five songs from So Close to What on Billboard’s recently launched Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart. “Revolving Door” debuts at No. 1, becoming her second leader after “It’s OK I’m OK” became the list’s inaugural No. 1 in January. She additionally charts with “Miss Possessive” (No. 3), “It’s OK I’m OK” (No. 4), “BloodOnMyHands” (No. 5) and “No I’m Not in Love” (No. 7).
McRae also vaults from No. 38 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100, becoming the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time. She joins Taylor Swift and SZA as the only women to lead the Artist 100 in 2025. In January 2021, McRae spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, thanks to the success of her breakthrough single, “You Broke Me First,” which reached No. 17 on the Hot 100.
The Artist 100 measures artists’ activity across key metrics of music consumption: album sales, track sales, radio airplay and streaming. Using a methodology comprising those metrics, the chart provides a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity. The Hot Dance Pop/Songs chart ranks the most popular current dance/pop titles, separate from Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, which focuses on producers and DJs.
“It was an uncomfortable song to play my mom,” Leon Thomas admits of “Mutt,” a flirtatious track that mentions the urge to “pop a shroom to re-create the feeling.” “Mutt” marked the Grammy-winning songwriter’s first Billboard Hot 100 entry as a recording artist, following years of behind-the-scenes work that includes hits for Ariana Grande, SZA and more. And his mother loved it, too. “She told me this is going to be one of my biggest records. She spoke into existence.”
For Thomas, 31 — the Brooklyn-bred son of Black Rock Coalition parents, and the grandson of the late opera singer John Anthony — music and family have always been intertwined. His parents, who frequented CBGB, laid the musical foundation for the rock-infused soul he explores on Mutt, his sophomore album released last September.
Trending on Billboard
Since then, he supported Blxst on tour and embarked on his own headlining trek — but February in particular solidified Thomas’ turn from songwriting savant to front-facing R&B star. “Mutt” entered the Hot 100 on the Feb. 8 chart (and reaches a new No. 67 peak on the March 8-dated list); he made his live-TV debut with the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the same week; and then performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk later that month, where he dedicated 2022 single “Breaking Point” to his recently deceased grandfather (Thomas attended his funeral directly after the taping). “He was the anchor to my journey,” says Thomas. “I can tell he was with me musically.”
Leon Thomas
Raymond Alva
While his past month looks like a whirlwind of success, Thomas’ breakthrough has been nearly two decades in the making. At 13, with Broadway runs in The Lion King, The Color Purple and Caroline, Or Change under his belt, Thomas signed his first deal with Columbia Records. “I was walking into the boardroom playing Stevie Wonder covers and in-depth love songs,” he reflects with a laugh. “They were like, ‘What we gon’ do with this? Did you even hit puberty?’” Around that time, he made his theatrical debut in the 2007 film August Rush, which led to a Nickelodeon development deal that landed him roles on shows from The Backyardigans to Victorious.
As the deal was nearing its end and Victorious approached its 2013 series finale, Thomas explored his options, and received advice from Republic Records’ Wendy Goldstein, who was the label’s senior vp of A&R at the time. “Journeying through your twenties is you becoming everything that you need from everybody else,” she told him. “Those words stuck with me on some Spider-Man s–t,” he says today.
He spent the better part of the next decade learning the independent scene, studying under Babyface and Boi-1da (and by extension, Drake’s camp), and was briefly signed to Alex da Kid’s KIDinaKORNER. He met manager Jonathan Azu in 2019 and became the first act on his Culture Collective roster. Two years later, he landed a record deal with Ty Dolla $ign and Motown Records’ joint venture, EZMNY, after running into A&R Shawn Barron on a grocery run.
“I was kind of scared because signing under an artist can be either heaven or hell,” says Thomas. “Luckily, I’m stomping around in heaven right now.”
During his time at Motown, Thomas has experienced several different leadership regimes following restructurings by parent company Universal Music Group. Now under Capitol Music Group chairman/CEO Tom March — who Thomas says “gets my vision and is down to support real music” — he was able to execute his ideal album rollout for Mutt.
The campaign kicked off last August — a year after his debut full-length, Electric Dusk — with the release of the album’s title track. A funky R&B midtempo tune that nods to Enchantment’s “Silly Love Song” by way of a Bootsy Collins-esque bassline, “Mutt” was the product of Thomas’ desire to “have a record that shows what I’m about: live music, funk and vulnerability.” Written in 2022, Thomas crafted “Mutt” on his living room floor while microdosing psychedelics and watching his dog and cat fight. “I saw the similarities between us and how we have good intentions but don’t always do the right thing,” he told Billboard last year.
The single’s steady chart climb is largely due to Thomas and Azu’s “all ships rise” business approach. Instead of exhausting resources on one song, they banked on word-of-mouth from his live performances to help people discover “Mutt” along with the rest of the album.
“We [noticed] the crowd’s reaction when ‘Mutt’ would play: the phones were always up, but they would really come out for ‘Mutt,’” says Azu. The song continued naturally gaining traction in R&B circles with those familiar with Thomas’ songwriting and production work. “Everybody knows how dangerous he is in the studio with other people’s work,” Azu adds.
Jonathan Azu (left) and Leon Thomas at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Courtesy of Culture Collective
Thomas launched a 13-date headlining tour in October at intimate venues across the U.S., and the trek doubled as a way to promote himself at radio. “A lot of program directors are just outside the Victorious demographic, but the people in the studios and offices are within that demographic, and so are [their] children,” says Azu. “Doing [that] work is so important for the foundation to go for adds.”
As “Mutt” climbs at three different Billboard airplay rankings (R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Adult R&B Airplay, where it hits a No. 7 best on the March 8 chart), Thomas is playing the long game. “I loved seeing how Lizzo kept promoting her hits and didn’t stop believing in them,” he says. A deluxe edition of Mutt is also in the works, and Thomas mentions potential collaborations with Kehlani, Big Sean and Halle Bailey in the hopper, in addition to a previously teased team-up with Stormzy. Plus, there’s a song on which Thomas plays every instrument.
“There [are] sides to me that I haven’t shown the world yet, so I’m spoon-feeding them,” Thomas says. “You need to hide the medicine in the candy. This deluxe is me stepping deeper into my purpose.”
A version of this story appears in the March 8, 2025, issue of Billboard.
The only thing scarier than performing a song by one of the coaches on The Voice to their faces is showing up for your Blind Audition round with an acoustic guitar and a tricky Taylor Swift song in your quiver. That didn’t stop 24-year-old Atlanta native Tori Templet from taking a runner on Swift’s 2019 ballad “Lover” on Monday night’s (March 3) show, where she earned quick chair-turns from Adam Levine and Michael Bublé and high praise from fellow judges Kelsea Ballerini and John Legend.
“I really like her tone,” Bublé said of Templet’s airy vocals as Ballerini swayed her head and Legend exhaled “whoo!” during the performance. It took less than a minute for Levine to punch his button, shortly followed by Bublé, who said “I gotta see her,” thumping his hands in rhythm as Ballerini responded “cool” to the singer’s final “my, my, my… lover” run.
Avowed Swiftie Ballerini gave Templet major props for making one of Taylor’s songs her own. “I feel like is one of the hardest feats,” she said. “And you have such a unique voice. I listened to that song differently and your voice made me do that. I will be your fan on this show.” Bublé praised Tori’s “beautiful… breathy…. sweet” voice, describing it as full of “dulcet, gorgeous tones. I just dig you,” the Great American Songbook interpreter said, adding that, selfishly, he’d like to hear he sing some jazz tunes by Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan.
Trending on Billboard
Legend also praised Templet’s unique tone, noticing that it almost has a whistle-like undertone to the full top note, getting super nerdy about the technical nature of her singing. “I was mesmerized by it. I thought it was super cool,” Legend said.
Levine went last, professing to be “blown away” by what he heard without seeing Templet, and then being even more intrigued when he saw her playing guitar as well. “I was like, ‘oh, great. Amazing, awesome. I play guitar too, it’s gonna be great.” Levine said. “The purity and simplicity in what you do is something that I think is really lacking.” He compared he voice to that of late Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan, Sunday’s vocalist Harriet Wheeler and Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval.
Excited that the Gen Z’er got his old school 1980s/90s references, Levine enthused, “that’s a lane that we get to have that gets to be ours.” It wasn’t all Christmas lights in January and giggling at dirty jokes, though, as Levine also pointed at a bum hight note that he said can easily be fixed, assuming she picked him.
Spoiler alert, after one more desperate plea from Bublé, Tori went with Team Adam.
Watch Templet’s performance below.
A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music), is relaunching its annual Sync Up event on April 14 at the SLS Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., in partnership with Sync Summit.
The event will feature the presentation of the inaugural Independent Sync Champion Award presented by Ghidrah Music, which is designed to honor a music supervisor who has championed independent music in synch licensing throughout their career. The inaugural recipient is Jen Malone of Black & White Music, who has received four Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding music supervision since 2018 for her work on Atlanta, Euphoria and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
“We are thrilled to bring back the Sync Up event in Los Angeles, providing a valuable opportunity for the independent music community,” Dr. Richard James Burgess, president/CEO of A2IM, said in a statement. “We are also very excited to launch the Independent Sync Champion Award, honoring music supervisors who strongly support independent musicians and labels.”
Trending on Billboard
Added Mark Frieser, CEO of Sync Summit: “We’re delighted to collaborate with A2IM on the presentation of the first Independent Sync Champion Award to Music Supervisor Jen Malone in recognition of her incredible creativity in music supervision and her consistent efforts to feature independent music prominently in her projects.”
“Independent music has shaped my life and career — it’s where artistry and storytelling collide,” notes Malone. “Receiving the Independent Sync Champion Award from A2IM is an honor that affirms my belief: indie music is essential. From supporting emerging artists to helping their music reach new audiences through film and TV, my passion has always been about amplifying independent voices. I’m so grateful to be part of this vibrant community.”
Malone is a music supervisor and head of Black & White Music, an all-female full-service music supervision company. She started her career as a music publicist in 2000 when she founded Black & White PR, a boutique indie rock public relations firm out of Boston. In 2009, Malone moved to L.A. to pursue a career in music supervision.
The April 14 lunch event, which is set to run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will include a featured panel; networking with top music supervisors, independent labels, publishers and synch houses; and more from the A2IM member community. Tickets are available here.