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HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: @speedymorman / x

Sorry fellas but it looks like GloRilla is officially off the market.

Months after GloRilla and Speedy Morman had the internet buzzing with rumors that they might be an item after a flirtatious interview, the two apparently went Instagram official (kinda) earlier this week, and we’re low-key loving it.

On April 1 (April Fools Day), Speedy curiously posted a tweet on X stating “I am single now” to which GloRilla retweeted and replied “You show out too much Ian with dat internet sh*t.” Again, playing with their followers and having them wonder if there was a little something-something between them, Speedy blew up the spot later that day when he posted a selfie of the two together at a college basketball game with a caption that read “April Fool’s [couple emoji] Us never them!!”

We actually like these two as a couple… if that’s what they are. These days people will hook up, spend months together, share an apartment and still say things like “We’re not putting a label on our relationship.” What the hell, man?!

As we said, the pic comes after months of speculation that GloRilla and Speedy might’ve been a thing after the two showed some interest in each other during their interview last October. Since then, GloRilla had no problem stating her single status and even tweeted that she would remain celibate until “God send me my husband.” Gotta love a woman who stands on moral business.

Still, that might’ve been a ploy to throw everyone off Speedy’s scent as rumors of the two dating had been running rampant on social media.

Now that it seems like they’ve made things “official” (but not really), we just wonder if GloRilla’s vow to remain celibate until she’s married is still in effect or if having a “husband” was meant to be taken a bit more lightly. Either way, we’re happy to see these two enjoying each other’s company.

What do y’all think about GloRilla and Speedy Morman apparently being in a relationship? Let us know in the comments section below.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Jeff Kravitz / Getty

For years now people have been wondering “How does she put up with that?” whenever referencing Bianca Censori’s marriage to the polarizing and seemingly off-kilter Kanye West. Now it looks like that will be a question of the past as Kanye says his wife of almost three years has walked out on him, allegedly.

According to Page Six, Kanye West spilled the tea about his marital status on a new song off his latest album WW3, and truth be told, we just wonder what took Censori this long to make that move (no shots). In the bars that Kanye spit on the track dubbed “BIANCA” (of course), Kanye stated that his tweets were the catalyst for Censori’s departure as his now infamous X meltdowns became too much for his wife to handle and ultimately led her to run for the hills.

Per Page Six:

The disgraced rapper details that the Australian architect had a “panic attack” as a result of the vile hate he has continuously spewed on X in his new song titled “BIANCA.”

“My baby she ran away / But first she tried to get me committed / Not going to the hospital ’cause I am not sick I just do not get it,” West raps on the track from his new album “WW3” out Thursday.

“She’s having a panic attack and she is not liking the way that I tweeted / Until Bianca’s back I stay up all night I’m not going to sleep / I really don’t know where she’s at.”

The “Jesus Walks” rapper, 47, further confesses to tracking her location through his Maybach app.

“I’m tracking my b–h through an app / I’m tracking my b–h through the city,” he sings. “She hop in the car and she ran / My b–h just don’t understand / Sometimes it just feel like it’s planned.”

Just from the lyrics alone you’d understand why Bianca tried to have Kanye “committed” as the man seems to be a bit off his rocker. Not to mention the artwork for the song is a swastika as the self-proclaimed Nazi has a new affinity for the classic symbol of hate these days.

The song comes after months of speculation that Kanye and Bianca were headed to divorce court, which prompted a statement from Kanye’s rep denying the rumors that the two had split.

But now that Kanye is basically confirming that his second wife has made a break for it, we can only wonder which woman will be brave enough to take on a relationship with the embattled and enigmatic music icon. But until we find out who that brave (or crazy) woman is, Kanye is still leaving the door open for a reunion with his 30-year-old wife.

Ye concluded his track with, “Bianca, I just want you to come back / Come back to me / I know what I did to make you mad.”

Good luck with that, b.

What do y’all think about Kanye saying Bianca Censori left him? Do you think she’s coming back? Could he be cappin’ to generate some music buzz? Let us know in the comments section below.

Janis Ian: Breaking Silence — a career-spanning documentary about groundbreaking singer-songwriter Janis Ian, in theaters now – began with a simple, polite message to the artist’s official website.
“I said, ‘Hi, my name is Varda Bar-Kar, I’m a filmmaker and I’d like to make a film about you,’” the London-born director tells Billboard. “And I said ‘no,’” interjects Ian with a mischievous smile. “That was my kneejerk response.”

The film’s journey might have ended right there had it not been for Bar-Kar’s gentle persistence and a few helpful coincidences. Despite the dismissive greeting, the director kept in touch, sharing links to a few of her other documentaries, Big Voice and What Kind of Planet Are We On?; additional correspondence between the two revealed mutual acquaintances, similar experiences and a shared interest in Zen Buddhism.

Trending on Billboard

“I had just walked away from a potentially lucrative [movie] deal with another entity,” Ian says of her reticence to participate. “I firmly did not want a puff piece.” But after viewing a 20-minute proof of concept from Bar-Kar, the Grammy-winning singer of “At Seventeen” felt like she could trust the director with her time and story.

“I wanted something that reflected the times,” Ian says of her dream for the project — and Bar-Kar’s engrossing, informative documentary does that superbly. Watching the film, one gets as much of a sense of America’s complicated, shifting identity over the decades as one does Ian’s own life and personal evolution. We watch the turmoil of the Civil Rights era inspire Ian, a 14-year-old girl from a farm town in New Jersey, to write “Society’s Child,” a song about an interracial romance smothered by external prejudices. Then, we see how American audiences – with all their contradictions and confusions – reacted: Some hailed her as an astonishing, bold voice, pushing the single to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967; others hurled racial slurs at her during concerts, reducing the teenage singer to tears for daring to suggest love could go beyond racial boundaries.

That song wouldn’t be the last time that Ian – who publicly came out as a lesbian in 1993 – would find herself alternately celebrated and pilloried by audiences and industry players. Named after the album that came out when she did, the film uses Ian’s unusually insightful music, her memories and fresh interviews with Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, Laurie Metcalf, Jean Smart, the late Brooks Arthur and others to tell the story of her impact and importance.

Ian and Bar-Kar sat down with Billboard one morning in Manhattan to discuss making the film, frustrations with music licensing, why the former’s performance on the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live isn’t included in this doc and plenty more. Janis Ian: Breaking Silence is in select theaters now, and hits streaming on April 29.

As we see in the documentary, Janis, you were a guest on Leonard Bernstein’s TV program at the age of 14. I know he did the Young People’s Concerts series – were you aware of him and how big of a deal that was at the time?

Ian: It didn’t even occur to me. The Bernstein thing didn’t compute that it would be any big deal. My parents and grandparents were freaking out, but for me, I had to get my Spanish homework done. Felicia Bernstein [Leonard Bernstein’s wife] helped me with that homework. (My parents) had wanted the second-generation immigrant dream (for me). I was clearly musically talented, so they wanted me to be a classical pianist. But if you look at my hands, the only thing I could’ve played was Mozart or Bach. And I wasn’t interested: the minute I discovered boogie-woogie and rock n’ roll, that was it. Either that or (they wanted me to be) a doctor, and I had zero interest in being a doctor. When I said I was going to be a singer-songwriter, nobody was thrilled. They were supportive, but they weren’t thrilled. Bernstein was like, as someone says in the film, the mark of God. He was hellbent on convincing the old guard that believed the only real culture was European that America had its own culture. He fought that battle his entire life…. “Society’s Child” aligned with his whole community service: the concept of the artist as someone of service to the community.

In the film, you talk about starting out by imitating Odetta and Joan Baez and taking a moment to find your own voice. Even so, you found it fairly quickly. Do you have any advice for young artists who are already making music but still searching to lock in on their own voice?

Ian: I think my generation in some ways was much luckier than this one. Lyrics were not usually with albums, so you would sit down with the new whoever album and copy out the lyrics. Any artist knows that when you imitate and copy, it’s just like a computer – if you put garbage in, you get garbage out. So by copying Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, Odetta as a vocalist or people like Joan Baez and Billie Holiday, I was really putting the best into myself. I encourage people to imitate other people, because it lets you know what you’re not good at. But the next step for me was that I realized I was not hearing the voice on tape that I heard in my head. So I apprenticed at (a studio) when I lived in Philadelphia for nothing. I swept floors, I did patching and I learned about cables, and in return they would let me work with the second or third-tier assistant engineer for an hour a night. Working with a really good Neumann microphone watching the meter, I learned how to sing without a limiter, which gave me this vocal control. Even now with my vocal scarring, my (doctor) told me I still have better breath control than most people. It took three years to get the voice in my head to come out on tape. Now, for better or worse, you don’t have the gatekeepers. You don’t have the time you had – or were forced into – to create yourself, because ultimately artists end up creating themselves. It’s difficult when you can put out music every three months, because the temptation is to believe whatever you’ve done most recently is the best. And a year later you’re looking at it thinking, “Oh, my God.”

Varda, this film includes a lot of vintage clips and music – all of which effectively puts you into each era, but it must have been a beast to license.

Ian: (laughs)

Bar-Kar: Finding them was fun. It was like a treasure hunt. The film took a number of years, I did a lot of research. I even read a whole book about the summer camps (Ian attended as a kid).

Ian: The commie-pinko camps (laughs). I sent her everything that I had digitized.

Bar-Kar: I went through all of that. My daughter, Paloma Bennett, was the archive producer and she has an incredible capacity for taking in a lot of material. And there’s a lot of music in there as well. With regards to the licensing…

Ian: It was a nightmare. She’s never going to use music in a film again and I told her I’ll make it up to her: she can use anything I own.

Bar-Kay: (laughs) I stuck it through, though.

Ian: We started off with almost 50 songs, and I don’t own all of them.

Bar-Kar: It was fun to research, but the music licensing part was very difficult.

Janis, you sang “At Seventeen” on the first episode of SNL, which is not featured in the movie. Was that a licensing issue with the footage?

Ian: I think we decided it was irrelevant. It was a blip.

Bar-Kar: Actually, it turned out to be very fortuitous.

Right, all the SNL 50 celebrations and movies.

Ian: They did our publicity for us.

Bar-Kar: Fate is amazing sometimes. We already had the Johnny Carson performance of “At Seventeen.” It’s one of those things where if you have too much, it diminishes it, it doesn’t add to it. It was smushing too much together.

Ian: And looking back now, people go, “Oh that was a landmark thing.” But then, it was very much not – nobody cared. The show didn’t have legs until the second episode when Paul Simon was on. But NBC has done a brilliant job of making a lot out of it.

Bar-Kar: It’s almost like a trilogy now: there’s the Bob Dylan film (A Complete Unknown), SNL 50 and now our film. They fill in the different gaps.

Ian: I thought the Queen film that came out before was one of the best biopics I’ve ever seen. That’s the only film I’ve ever seen where walking on stage in a huge amphitheater is actually accurate. Everybody thinks there’s all these people making a gangway for you, waving you on. No. There’s equipment flying past you, there’s people shoving you. They don’t care if you’re making 10 million dollars that night: they just don’t want you getting hit by the Anvil case.

Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sciaky, Billy Joel and Janis Ian in ‘JANIS IAN: BREAKING SILENCE.’

Peter Cunningham/Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

In 2022, Janis, you had to cancel your farewell tour due to scarring on your vocal cords. In the film, you talk about feeling deprived of a sense of resolution that farewell tour may have provided. Does this film, in some sense, give you that resolution?

Ian: No, there’s really no resolution for it. It’s difficult to know how to respond because I don’t know how I feel about it still. I think if I had been in my forties or fifties, I might have tried some of the surgeries, even though 90% (odds) it would just come back worse. But having talked to specialists, I know I’m really lucky I retained anything. It is what it is. My ENT [ears, nose and throat] guy, who I really trust said, “Look, you had a 60-year career full tilt. You made, what, 25 albums, toured nine months a year? That’s an unbelievable amount of vocal use. And the instrument is just not made for that.” I’m really grateful. I think as an artist, you live with a monkey on your back, and the monkey keeps saying, “you’re not doing enough, why aren’t you better? Why aren’t you more? Why aren’t you perfect?” And there is no perfect. This last album I made (2022’s The Light at the End of the Line) was the first time in my entire life I felt I had actually lived up to my talent. So to live long enough, to do that as a writer and a singer, that’s a resolution in and of itself.

It must have helped with that album that you were able to take your time – unlike, as you talk about in the movie, your Aftertones album, which you felt rushed into releasing after “At Seventeen” hit big.

Ian: Yes, Aftertones, bane of my existence. And the fact that (The Light at the End of the Line) got nominated for a Grammy [for best folk album] – I wasn’t even politicking at all – was astonishing. That gave me my tenth nomination. If I look at it that way, it’s an amazing career. And it still is.

And unlike some singer-songwriters who are decidedly more the latter, you truly used your voice to its full power.

Bar-Kar: [to Ian] I love your singing voice.

Ian: I can get away with a half a verse, maybe, but I don’t know what would happen if I tried to sing a full song.

Your song “Stars” has been covered by a lot of artists, including Nina Simone, which is a huge compliment. Did you ever get to spend time with her?

Ian: Old friends. Some people are hard to be friends with. Nina was not easy to be friends with. But worth every second. At the Village Gate she did a 10-minute show, and somebody said to me, “Why do you keep coming to see her?” I said, “I learn more in 10 minutes than 10 hours from anybody else.” That’s how amazing she was. That was the same night she came backstage complaining she missed her mother so much, and my mom was backstage with me, so I blithely said, “Why don’t you come for lunch tomorrow?” My mother said (whispers) “shut up, shut up.” She said, “You got us into this, you’re doing the shopping and you’re hosting.” (Simone) showed up with James Baldwin and they both proceeded to get seriously potted. My ex-husband had to carry Nina to the cab.

Bar-Kar: I highly recommend her autobiography. There’s so much more to her story than what’s in the film.

Ian: It’s out of print right now, but Random House gave me my rights back two weeks ago.

Bar-Kar: Wait two months and buy it.

Ian: You can still download it or download the Grammy-winning audiobook (smiles). I know a lot about song licensing because of (singing and narrating my audiobook). … I just went through a thing. Sony has my admin right now — just because I really like the person in L.A., that’s the only reason (I’m with) Sony, it’s a corporation. The royal British something-or-other wanted to use a song of mine in a textbook. To me, that’s a great compliment. It’s been eight months and they haven’t been able to get an answer. It becomes a ridiculous nightmare. There are a lot of people at corporations who should have nothing to do with music.

Bar-Kar: I heard it used to be different, that it was people who loved music and now it’s more of a business.

Ian: Failed musicians would go into the music industry. And then the suits came in the early ‘80s, late ‘70s, that was the first generation of Harvard Business School graduates. That was why I left CBS in ’83. I looked around and I thought, “This is all lawyers.” And I don’t have a problem with lawyers, but I do have a problem when you start phasing out everybody who cares about music. They made it impossible for the remaining people. They’re so big but they’re so understaffed because they wasted so much money – all that coke that went up the executives’ noses, I think. They always said the singers did it, but it wasn’t the singers as much (as them). We could do an entire Billboard magazine about that.

After beating a copyright lawsuit over her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Mariah Carey and other defendants say the little-known songwriter who filed the case must now repay more than $180,000 they spent on lawyers defending his “frivolous” arguments.
When a federal judge dismissed Vince Vance’s lawsuit last month – ruling the two songs mostly just shared “Christmas song clichés” – she sharply criticized the songwriter and his lawyers for “egregious” conduct during the case and ordered him to repay some of Carey’s legal bill.

On Wednesday, that bill came due: Carey and the other defendants in the case told the judge they spent a combined $185,602.30 paying a team of high-priced lawyers to work a total of 295 hours to defeat the “frivolous” motions advanced by Vance’s attorneys.

Trending on Billboard

If that sounds like a lot, Carey’s lawyers say its because Vance was making radical demands.

“The court should consider that [Vance was] seeking, among other things, $20 million in damages, injunctive relief, and even the destruction of all copies of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’” her attorneys say. “Considering such drastic requested relief, and the results obtained, defendants were perfectly justified in incurring the aforementioned attorney’s fees to successfully oppose plaintiffs’ motion.”

Vance (real name Andy Stone) first sued Carey in 2022, claiming “All I Want” infringed the copyrights to a 1989 song of the exact same name recorded by his Vince Vance and the Valiants. He claimed the earlier track received “extensive airplay” during the 1993 holiday season — a year before Carey released her now-better-known hit.

“Carey has … palmed off these works with her incredulous origin story, as if those works were her own,” Vance wrote in his latest complaint. “Her hubris knowing no bounds, even her co-credited songwriter doesn’t believe the story she has spun.”

Vance’s allegations were a big deal because Carey’s song is big business. The 1994 blockbuster, which became even more popular after it was featured in the 2003 holiday rom-com Love Actually, has re-taken the top spot on the Hot 100 for six straight years and earned a whopping $8.5 million in global revenue in 2022.

But in a ruling last month, Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani said Vance had failed to show that the songs were similar enough to violate copyright law. She cited analysis by a musicologist who said the two tracks were “very different songs” that shared only “commonplace Christmas song clichés” that had been used in many earlier tracks.

“Plaintiffs have not met their burden of showing that [the songs by] Carey and Vance are substantially similar under the extrinsic test,” Ramírez Almadani wrote at the time, using the legal term for how courts assess such allegations.

The judge not only tossed out Vance’s case, but also ruled that he and his lawyers should be punished for advancing meritless arguments that the judge said were aimed to “cause unnecessary delay and needlessly increase the costs of litigation.”

In Wednesday’s filing, the defendants told the judge how much Vance should pay under that order – saying they had been charged reasonable or even below-market rates from elite music litigators at top law firms.

Carey, repped by Peter Anderson and others from the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, asked for about $141,000; Walter Afanasieff, a co-writer on Carey’s track repped by Kenneth D. Freundlich, asked for $7,000; Sony Music, represented by Benjamin Akley, Donald Zakarin, Ilene Farkas and others from Pryor Cashman, asked for $32,000; and Kobalt, repped by Bert Deixler and others from Kendall Brill & Kelly LLP, asked for $5,000.

The judge will rule on the request at some point in the weeks or months ahead. Vance’s attorneys will be allowed to file a response disputing the calculation; they can also appeal the ruling dismissing their case, though such a challenge will likely face long odds.

Weezy season has returned. Lil Wayne made his Tha Carter VI release date official with the release of a clip on Tuesday (April 1) featuring some throwback footage of the New Orleans rap legend. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Tha Carter VI will arrive on June […]

With the first days of spring finally gracing New York City, the summer is just a few breaths away — which means dancehall riddims and reggae grooves are about to be heard on every block from Flatbush to the Heights.
After picking up some hardware at February’s MOBO Awards, Vybz Kartel picked up two more trophies at last month’s International Reggae & World Music Awards (March 30), taking home the Peter Tosh Award for recording artist of the year and concert of the year honors for last Decemeber’s Freedom Street extravaganza. New York will experience their version of Freedom Street when Kartel graces Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 11 and 12. On Tuesday (April 1), Worl’ Boss dropped the official DJ Khaled-starring “God Is Greatest” music video to reflect on his whirlwind journey since his release from prison last summer. Spice, who many hope will join Kartel at his New York shows next month, picked up a major win of her own with her victory at Red Bull Culture Clash London 2025 (March 7-8).

On the reggae side, we lost a legend. Jamaican singer Cocoa Tea passed on March 11 after going into cardiac arrest shortly after a recent six-month battle with pneumonia and his 2019 lymphoma diagnosis. Known for classics like “Rikers Island” and “Young Lover,” Cocoa Tea often infused poignant sociopolitical messaging into his hits, bolstering his cross-generational impact.

Trending on Billboard

Naturally, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs. So, without any further ado:

Freshest Find: Joé Dwèt Filé & Burna Boy, “4 Kampé II”

Late last year, the original version of Joé Dwèt Filé’s “4 Kampé” appeared in our weekly Trending Up column, which tracks the myriad songs and trends that are catching the industry’s attention. Just a few months later, the Haitian zouk-konpa singer has reinvigorated his global hit with an assist from Grammy-winning Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy. “Deja konnen mwen pral brile sa/ Excuse-moi, veux-tu danser konpa/ Mwen pat konn fanm ayisyen dous konsa/ Ou met mande, mwen se yon neg naija,” he croons in the intro, dipping into Haitian Creole to set the scene and introduce himself to a lady he’d like to dance konpa with. Burna Boy’s and Filé’s tones are an excellent match; their rich lower registers nicely contrast with the track’s seductive background guitars.

Ding Dong feat. Skeng & Kaka Highflames, “Street Jump”

Last month, “Badman Forward Badman Pull Up” singer Ding Dong announced his forthcoming debut album — 20 years after “Badman” became an intergenerational and international anthem. Keeping with the spirit of dance that’s grounded his entire career, Ding Dong calls on Kris Kross’ 1992 Hot 100 chart-topper “Jump.” Not only does he reimagine that song’s timeless hook into a more dancehall-flavored affair, but he also recruits dancehall superstar Skeng and rising Jamaican dance-turned-artist Kaka Highflames to bring their own delightfully manic energy to the track. When it comes to dance anthems that actually make you want to dance, few can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ding Dong.

Protoje, “Big 45”

Protoje isn’t one to inundate us with an incomprehensible amount of releases, but when he does drop music, it’s always worth the wait. He teased “Big 45” for several weeks before finally unveiling the official track, which boasts booming bass and sultry reggae groove courtesy of The Indiggnation and Winta James. Protoje’s rap-sung cadence pairs perfectly with their soundscape, effortlessly capturing the full-bodied sound of the peak sound system era.

Aidonia & Di Genius, “Agony”

“She waah agony oh she waah agony/ Early morning me a sleep and she a bother me/ She waah agony oh she waah agony/ Gyal waah wood, me give har the mahogany,” rhymes Aidonia at the onset of his new Di Genius-helmed single, “Agony.” Making the word “agony” shorthand for boning is certainly a choice, but if any deejay can make it work, it’s Aidonia with his sticky flow and devil-may-care delivery.

Yaksta, “Unconditional Love”

For his contribution to Crawba Production’s new Reggae Alive compilation, Jamaican singer Yaksta delivers a sweet, easy-rocking midtempo about the breadth of his unconditional love for his special someone. “I got this unconditional love/ And it’s only for you, baby/ No else but you,” he croons over steady classic reggae guitars and drums — a perfect soundtrack to a breezy summer evening. With an equally tender and earnest vocal performance, Yaksta infuses Crawba’s soundscape with the reverence that unconditional love often mirrors.

Mr. Vegas & Etana, “Trapped”

One of the best parts of trap dancehall is how the genre’s sparse, spooky snares allow artists the space to muse about society’s endless ills. “Trapped,” the new Rick Wizard-produced single from Mr. Vegas and Etana does just that. The two stars trade heady, heavy verses that zoom into the psyche of a child living in a fear and neglect-ridden household that only primes them for darker horrors. “Trapped, careless mumma wah mek you do your own pickney dat/ Yuh know sey di man a touch har and yuh nuh tell him fi stop/ Yuh turn yuh back pan har when di demon attack,” Mr. Vegas begins the song, immediately setting a chilling scene of child abuse and the nuanced conversations around it.

Pamputtae, “Rum Sexy”

To make a long story short, all Pamputtae needs is some rum to buss a wine. Though “Rum Sexy” has percolated on YouTube for a few years, the Jermaine Bailey-helmed track is finally on DSPs. A well-executed soca track that would sound right at home on any pre-game playlist for the road, Pamputtae’s animated delivery and bright tone are as effective as ever on this track.

Chronic Law, “Altar”

“If yuh pray, Jah will answer/ No weh yuh own anuh weh u can sponsor/ Have nuff things fi gave thanks for/ So me pray inna eh booth like altar,” Chronic Law sings at the end of the opening chorus of his new single, “Altar.” One of the hottest acts in dancehall, Chronic slows things down for a quieter, introspective moment in which he ruminates on the throughlines of prayer and his connection to God that have coursed through his life. Hungry Lion Records grants him the space to do so with an almost-morose mixture of trap snares and synths that invites listeners to focus on his soul-baring lyrics.

Najeeriii & Franc White, “Uptown”

Najeeriii doesn’t necessarily rewrite the trap-dancehall template — in fact, he explicitly leans on its most frequently used tropes here — but he does put his own stamp on it. Expected to appear on his forthcoming debut album, Book of Bob, “Uptown” finds Najeerii delivering a club anthem that sources its idiosyncracies from the way his youthful tone and nimble flows accentuate different pockets of Zini Record’s pristine beat.

Skeete, “Dem Dead”

Nottingham-hailing Afro-dancehall and R&B artist Skeete dropped his new 10-track mixtape Excuse My Language last month (March 20), and the saucy genre-melding set is every bit as global and unapologetic as its title suggests. Among the standouts is the tape’s penultimate track, “Dem Dead,” a fast-paced track that fuses the energy of ’90s dancehall with the melodic flourishes and warm electronic synths of ’10s R&B-informed hip-hop. He dexterously weaves in and out of different flows and dialects, never wavering in how comfortable he sounds playing the role of a dangerous uptown lothario.

Morgan Wallen says it’s been a while since he’s partaken in the bar scene.
The three-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper spoke with Theo Von during an appearance on comedian Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, where they talked about new music, Wallen’s family and the country star’s decision to stay away from drinking establishments since an April 2024 incident in which Wallen was charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct for hurling a chair from the roof of a Nashville building.

At one point, Wallen noted that while his career has brought him great successes, fame does come with elements that are harder to deal with, and it has forced him to make some lifestyle adjustments.

“It’s still weird and there’s parts of that that I don’t like,” Wallen said. “I mean, I think anyone who was to deal with that, it’s not ideal… you know, it’s not ideal to go everywhere, and even if you don’t get bothered, you were on edge the whole time because you thought you might. It’s like, there’s just things that you don’t do, you just don’t do them anymore. But that’s okay, that’s why I’ve taken up hunting so much, I think. Because I can go be with my buddies, I’m the middle of nowhere, I can be at ease, I can not stress out. You just find ways to supplement it.”

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When Theo Von commented that there would likely be “too much hassle” for Wallen to spend time in a bar given his fame and that staying out of bars might be the best thing for him, Wallen responded, “It’s definitely the best thing for me, you know. If you’re using the bar as a specific example, that’s definitely the best thing for me. I ain’t been in a bar since the last time I was in a bar that everybody knows about. The most public time I was in a bar, that’s the last time I was in a bar.”

That “public time” was when Wallen was arrested at Eric Church’s Nashville bar Chief’s in April of last year and charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment, as well as one count of disorderly conduct for tossing a chair from the roof of the building. Police were standing in front of the establishment when the chair struck the ground three feet from them.

Wallen pleaded guilty and was ultimately sentenced to seven days in a DUI education center and two years supervised probation.

Currently, much of Wallen’s time is likely being spent gearing up for the release of his upcoming album I’m the Problem on May 16, as well as his I’m The Problem Tour, which will launch June 20 in Houston.

Wallen said during the podcast that his new album may not feature as many trap beats as fans are used to hearing on his previous releases such as “Sunrise” and “Ain’t That Some.”

“It’s just subtle changes,” Wallen said. “It don’t have to be huge things, you know? My last album, I had plenty of trap beats and stuff like that. This time I was like, ‘Hey man, let’s tone that back a little bit.’ I’m tired of it, I’m tired of hearing it. So if I’m tired of it they’re probably tired of hearing it. It’s just certain things that, you can still get that same swagger, you can accomplish certain things without doing the exact same thing.”

So far, he’s previewed the album with songs including “Love Somebody,” “Lies Lies Lies,” “I’m the Problem,” “Just in Case” and “Smile.” “Love Somebody” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, while the other songs each reached into the top 10 on the chart.

Save this storySaveSave this storySaveTrust Records has announced a special reissue of 7 Seconds’ classic hardcore punk album New Wind that also includes Change in My Head, a new remix of the LP by Ian MacKaye—the album’s original producer—and Inner Ear Studios’ Don Zientara. New Wind and Change In My Head will be sold as one release, available across all digital retailers and in stores on May 23 via Trust. Listen to the previously unreleased song “Change in My Head” below.Change in My Head is billed as a unique snapshot of the essential Reno band that restores never-before-released tracks from their New Wind recording sessions in 1985 in addition reimagining the songs that originally made it onto the tracklist. Ahead of its release, 7 Seconds frontman Kevin Seconds and MacKaye will hold an in-person conversation about the making of New Wind and Change in My Head on April 15 at Los Angeles’ Brain Dead Studios.“The whole time period, between the winter of 1985 and all throughout 1986, was arguably the most important and life-changing period for 7 Seconds,” explains Kevin Seconds. “We all were starting to feel like the adults that we fought so rigorously to never become. Members were getting married, having kids, trying to hold down real jobs and face responsibilities while still maintaining our so-called “hardcore cred” and attempting to feel relevant. It was an incredibly emotional and complicated time for all of us but man, did it ever make us tough and more determined to do what we wanted to do as creative people and as a band.”Back in 2018, 7 Seconds called it quits after a 38-year-long run, citing drummer Troy Mowat’s injuries as well as bassist Steve Youth’s struggles with sobriety and his mental health. Their breakup didn’t last too long, though, because 7 Seconds got back together in 2022 for a North American tour with Circle Jerks and Negative Approach.Read about Fugazi’s Repeater in “The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s.”Change in My Head:01 New Wind02 Tied Up03 Opinion of Feelings04 Grown Apart05 Calendar06 Put These Words07 Man Enough to Care08 Compro (Unreleased)09 Somebody Help Me Scream10 Change in My Head (Unreleased)11 Expect to Change12 Just One Day13 The Inside14 Still Believe15 The Night Away

LISA of BLACKPINK is getting down with Blackstreet and Dr. Dre, jamming out to “No Diggity” with her White Lotus castmate Tayme Thapthimthong in a recent clip. Posted to Max’s Instagram, the video finds the pair sitting in press-junket chairs as Thapthimthong flexes his vocals while LISA giggles and dances along. “Shorty get down, good […]

Welcome to Publishing Briefs, our semimonthly bulletin of recent signings, deals and doings in the wide world of music publishing. Since the last time we rapped, NMPA chief David Israelite gave his annual State of Music Publishing address at a conference for indie publishers, Canada’s SOCAN reported a record-high number in total royalty distributions, and Billboard Español had a chat with Rimas Publishing president Carlos Souffront and managing director Emilio Morales about their vision for the company.
The Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) released its fourth Global Market View report, analyzing the indie music publishing industry’s performance and trends, including the impact of Generative AI. The report shows that the sector grew by 5.7% in 2023, the last full year of data, reaching a total value of 2.57 billion euros ($2.83B, as of the exchange rate on Dec. 30, 2023), up 105.6% since 2018. Despite a slight decline in market share from 26.7% to 26.3%, independent publishers collectively hold a larger market share than major companies like Sony Music Publishing, they said. Key priorities outlined in the report include addressing AI challenges and advocating for fair compensation from DSPs. The study warns that unchecked growth of AI-generated content could lead to a 24% revenue dip in music and a 21% drop in audiovisual by 2028, resulting in a cumulative loss of 22 billion euros, with 10 billion euros affecting music. The IMPF, which reps 230 indies, emphasizes the need for supportive tax policies and plans to monitor the U.S. Mechanical Licensing Collective for equitable practices. The report also raises concerns about consolidation/acquisitions of catalogs and indie publishers, which could negatively impact cultural diversity by reducing independent routes to the music market.

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Sony Music Publishing signed producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist MTech (Matthew Bernard) to a global publishing deal. This agreement covers his existing catalog and future songs, and is in collaboration with producer Sounwave’s new production division, new.ordinary. Mtech contributed on six tracks on Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. His credits on GNX include “Luther” and “Squabble Up,” both Hot 100 No. 1s. He has also worked on Lamar’s Euphoria, Kali Uchis’ Orquídeas, and Blxst’s I’ll Always Come Find You. Born in Los Angeles, MTech began his career at 17, later moving to Atlanta where he secured his first major TV placement on FOX’s Star and worked on The Four: Battle for Stardom. Returning to LA in 2022, he was introduced to Sounwave, who calls him a “superstar.” Sony Music Publishing manager, creative A&R Lauren Munroe said, “MTech’s exceptional talent is truly inspiring to be around, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with him. We’re honored to welcome MTech to the Sony Music Publishing family alongside the visionary Sounwave and excited for the incredible music ahead.”

Kobalt signed rock band Pierce The Veil to a global publishing deal. The band is on a successful tour following their fifth studio album, The Jaws Of Life, with sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and The Forum. Their I Can’t Hear You world tour will continue across Europe, Mexico and South America. With over a decade in the industry, PTV blends post-hardcore, emo and progressive rock, earning a devoted global fanbase, especially within the Latinx community due to their Mexican-American roots. Melissa Emert-Hutner, Kobalt’s senior vp of creative, praised the group’s unique sound and significant fanbase in both rock and Latin music communities. “We look forward to working closely with the band and their team to provide the support and resources they need as they continue to grow their fan base around the world,” she said.

Peermusic signed songwriter and producer Clint Lagerberg to a worldwide publishing deal, covering future works and select back catalog. Lagerberg’s career highlights include Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye” and co-writing and producing Josh Kelley’s “Georgia Clay.” He achieved massive success with Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” the singer’s top song on Spotify and his highest-charting hit on the Hot 100 (at No. 24, in 2016). His songs have been recorded by country stars like Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Matt Stell. Recently, Lagerberg contributed to Brad Paisley’s upcoming album as both a writer and producer, with additional production credits include Matt Stell, LoCash, Leanna Crawford, Kevin Jonas and Backstreet Boys, among others. Knox praised Lagerberg’s talent and process. “He’s already proven his ability to land songs on the top of the charts, but it’s his process that is really impressive to me,” he said. “Clint has the technical knowledge and ability to see it through from conception to song production and delivery.”

Concord Music Publishing signed music producer Dom Martinez to a worldwide publishing deal, covering his full catalog and future works. Originally from Denver and now based in Nashville, Martinez is known for his versatility across genres like pop, rap, folk, singer-songwriter, and R&B. Martinez has collaborated with emerging talents such as Myles Smith, Caleb Hearn and Braden Bales. Lily Bunta, A&R Manager at Concord, praised Martinez’s passion and “truly infectious” enthusiasm for music. 

Across the pond and then some, Concord Music Publishing ANZ signed up New Zealand power-pop band The Beths for worldwide representation. The deal covers their growing catalog, including albums Future Me Hates Me, Jump Rope Gazers, and Expert In A Dying Field. Formed in 2014 and led by vocalist Liz Stokes, The Beths have gained acclaim with their indie rock sound and performances at major festivals like Coachella. They were the first New Zealand act to win the Levi’s Music Prize in 2020. Jaime Gough, managing director at Concord Music Publishing ANZ, praised Stokes’ “deft lyricism and unique turn of phrase,” while Pennie Black, director at CMPNZ, called out their “infectious” indie pop sound as “a true reflection of their exceptional songwriting talent.”

Sony Music Publishing locked in multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jesse Fink to a global publishing deal. Based in Los Angeles, Fink has written major hits, including Myles Smith’s Stargazing, which spent 44 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped international charts, and Artemas’ i like the way you kiss me, which surpassed 1 billion Spotify streams and reached #1 on Billboard’s Global 200 Excl. US chart. His songwriting credits include work with John Legend, Dove Cameron, and Leyla Blue. A GRAMMY winner for Best R&B Album in 2021 with Legend’s Bigger Love, he recently earned two BRIT Award nominations for Song of the Year. Sony Music Publishing A&R manager Clark Adler lauded Fink’s passion and work ethic, saying these traits “elevate everyone around him.”

Over in The Volunteer State, SMP Nashville signed singer-songwriter Averie Bielski to a global publishing deal. Originally from Roswell, GA, Averie has quickly made a name for herself, first gaining attention in 2021 with her viral debut single I Do Too, which gained traction on TikTok. Since moving to Nashville, her songs have been recorded by artists like Callista Clark, Zach John King, Carson Wallace, Ashley Anne and Grace Tyler. Sony Music Publishing Nashville’s manager of creative A&R, Synnovea Halsel, praised her “fresh” lyricism and unique melodies — “From the moment I heard her first song, I was taken aback.”

Warner Chappell Music‘s Miami team signed Afro-Colombian artist Hamilton, also known as AfroRockStar. As a prominent figure in the Afrobeat movement, Hamilton has already amassed over 250 million career streams. He is gearing up to release his debut album, which includes “Mi Reina,” a new single with Nanpa Basico. Recognized as an artist to watch, Hamilton’s Afrobeats collaborations include Ryan Castro’s “A Poca Luz” and Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavárez’s “Atardecer.” He is signed to Cigol Music on the label side and Globalatino/Cigol Publishing.

PUB BRIEFS BRIEFS: Centricity Music signed the Texas-based duo Band Reeves to a recording and publishing contract. The duo features Reeves brothers Jeramy and Cody, who have crafted a sound that blends country and Christian music. Band Reeves is managed by Proper Management and will release a debut single soon … Electronic music producer Anyma signed a global publishing deal with Kobalt. The agreement covers Anyma’s entire catalog, including his work with the duo Tale of Us, as well as future releases.

Last Publishing Briefs: El DeBarge Signs With Reservoir