R&B/Hip-Hop
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Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight haven’t seen eye-to-eye for years, and the Long Beach legend took his beef with his former boss to his new Iz It a Crime? album.
Snoop fired away at Knight on the explosive “ShutYoBitchAssUp,” on which he boasted about taking ownership of Death Row from Knight, and then went on to label the incarcerated former music executive a snitch.
“I can see why you mad/ I bought everything you own/ Now you in PC snitching on the phone/ But I can slap the taste out your muthaf–kin’ mouth/ Pull up on your n—a, make you wanna reroute/ And if he hit the main line, he gon’ see what we bout/ Oh b—h-ass n—a, I’m a rich-ass n—a,” he raps.
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Snoop Dogg’s abrasive bars come months after Suge Knight claimed Snoop was “destroying” hip-hop’s credibility along with Death Row during an interview from prison with The Art of Dialogue.
“You trying to create something that Suge Knight created, but instead of making something big, you disappointed the world by making everything flops,” Knight said in March. “When I put out Tha Dogg Pound, they sold records. You put out Tha Dogg Pound, they sold nothing — it flopped.”
He continued: “You don’t got to talk tough. We don’t got to talk about each other that gets [us] nowhere. One person or three or four people is not bigger than hip-hop. We should be trying to figure out how to make hip-hop better. Everybody destroying hip-hop — you guys are making it worse. If you have Death Row, you destroyed it. You messed up the name.”
While Snoop acquired the Death Row Records brand from the Blackstone-controlled MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music) in a February 2022 deal, Suge Knight still isn’t buying it.
Knight demanded that Snoop show some paperwork before Suge gives him his respect on that endeavor. “Snoop, you said I’m mad because you bought Death Row,” Knight said, also on The Art of Dialogue. “What you buy? Shut me up. Show me where y’all paid the money to buy it. Show me the paperwork — show me what you own.”
Suge Knight, 59, is currently serving a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter charges that are tied to the death of businessman Terry Carter and injuries to his rival Cle “Bone” Sloan. The former rap mogul is eligible for parole in October 2034.
Iz It a Crime? arrived on Thursday (May 15) and features assists from Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell Williams and Sexyy Red.
Listen to “ShutYoBitchAssUp” below.
Just one month after shutting down Brooklyn’s Barclays Center with two sold-out headlining shows — his first Stateside performances in 20 years — Vybz Kartel has announced an 11-date world tour alongside a new single titled “Pretty Girls.”
Kicking off May 17 at Miami’s Amerant Bank Arena, Kartel’s Freedom Street World Tour will visit Trinidad’s One Caribbean Music Festival, London’s Wireless Festival and Jamaica’s Reggae Sumfest — alongside arenas in Atlanta and Baltimore — before concluding with two shows in Malta on Sept. 11 and 12. The Freedom Street World Tour — which sources its name from the massive homecoming festival the King of Dancehall mounted on New Year’s Eve last year (Dec. 31, 2024) — serves as Kartel’s first trek in more than 20 years. Last summer, the dancehall legend walked out of prison a free man after serving 13 years of a now-overturned life sentence for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
Kartel has been incredibly active since his visa was reinstated at the top of the year. In January, he made his Billboard cover debut and released a ten-year anniversary deluxe edition of his 2015 Viking (Vybz Is King) album, featuring seven new songs. The following month (Feb. 2), he attended the 67th Annual Grammys, where he enjoyed his first career nomination for best reggae album (2024’s Party With Me EP). Two weeks later (Feb. 18), he delivered a sizzling career-spanning medley and received the Impact Award at the 27th MOBO Awards in the U.K. The same month he shut down Brooklyn with a pair of star-studded concerts — featuring guest appearances from Spice, Shenseea, Moliy, Busta Rhymes and more — Kartel picked five nominations at the third annual Caribbean Music Awards, which will take place in Kings Theatre on Aug. 28.
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In addition to his splashy tour announcement, the King of Dancehall also shared a brand new single. “Pretty Girls,” a bright, Now or Never Miami-helmed dancehall track dedicated to his eternal music, marks Kartel’s first release in partnership with Steven “Steve-O” Carless’ Defiant Records.
“I have had so many blessings this year,” Kartel said in a press release. “The summer is ours, and we are ready to take the world by storm, more passport stamps, more ‘Pretty Girls’ and endless possibilities.”
Stream “Pretty Girls” and check out Vybz Kartel’s Freedom Street World Tour dates below:
May 17 – Miami, Fla. @ Amerant Bank Arena May 24 – Georgetown, Guyana @ Guyana National Stadium May 31 – Port of Spain, Trinidad @ One Caribbean Music Festival June 6 – Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm Arena June 14 – Atlantic City, N.J. @ Boardwalk Hall June 27 – St. Kitts @ St. Kitts Music Festival July 5 – Cologne, Germany @ Summerjam Festival July 13 – London, U.K. @ Wireless Festival July 18 – Montego Bay, Jamaica @ Reggae Sumfest July 26 – Baltimore, Md. @ CFG Bank Arena Sept 11–12 – Malta @ Freedom Street Europe Festivals
Lil Tjay’s rise from the gritty Fordham neighborhood of The Bronx to the Billboard Hot 100 and performing at the O2 Arena across the pond is being turned into a documentary.
Per Variety, Hangtime and Standard Projects are collaborating to bring the doc to life while detailing Tjay’s turbulent upbringing and career.
Producers on the project include Hangtime co-CEOs Frank Murray and Frida Torresblanco as well as Clayton Barmore, Deon Douglas and Heather L. Boucher.
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Before the fame, Tjay’s life was never the same following the fatal stabbing of his childhood friend, Smelly. As a teenager, Tjay went all-in on a rap career while spending a year in a detention center after being arrested for robbery.
Two years later, Tjay (born Tione Jayden Merritt) broke through with his multiplatinum hit “Brothers” in 2018, which led to him inking a lucrative deal with Columbia Records.
He cracked the Hot 100 top 15 when teaming up with Polo G for their “Pop Out” anthem, which peaked at No. 11 on the chart in 2019. Later that year, Tjay was stamped as one of the leaders of the new school in NYC’s rap scene with the release of his True 2 Myself album, featuring hits like “F.N.”
“Witnessing a young man transform pain into purpose is what moved me to begin the journey to tell Lil Tjay’s story,” Torresblanco said in a statement. “He is a wounded poet whose resilience speaks to an entire generation.”
She continued: “This documentary is about more than music; it’s about strength, growth and the quiet wisdom that can only come from living through what most of us will never have to experience. His voice shows young people that beauty can arise from hardship, and his legacy reminds us that even the most difficult struggles can inspire hope.”
Lil Tjay nearly lost his life in 2022 when the rapper was shot seven times in a botched armed robbery attempt in New Jersey.
The 24-year-old returned to release his 222 album in 2023 and then followed up with the arrival of Farewell in 2024 featuring NLE Choppa, Polo G and G Herbo. Earlier in May, Tjay returned to unite with Detroit rapper 42 Dugg for his “Different” single.
The untitled documentary will be introduced later this month at the Cannes Film Festival, while a director is set to reportedly be announced at a later date.
50 Cent says Diddy should have taken a plea deal after hearing Cassie‘s gut-wrenching testimony in Puff’s ongoing sex trafficking trial. On Thursday (May 15), 50 hopped on Instagram to share some more thoughts about the ongoing criminal trial, which just wrapped its third day with cross-examination of the disgraced mogul’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. During […]
YG revealed he was the victim of sexual abuse when he was a teenager on his poignant “2004” single in March. Now, the Compton rapper is opening up to about being sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old when he was just 14 years old.
“I kept it inside for a long time,” he told ABC News on Wednesday (May 14). “My family’s first time hearing about that was when the record came out.”
The 35-year-old said he played the candid track for some of his male friends and was surprised to hear that many could relate after enduring similar experiences growing up. “90 percent of the people that I played it for — the men, the males — they all got similar stories. That was the conversation everyone was having,” he said. “It was like, ‘Yeah, I was sexually abused.’”
When the encounter took place over 20 years ago, he thought it was “lit” and didn’t realize he had been sexually assaulted. “It wasn’t a thing that I did some with an older woman — it’s lit,” YG explained of his thought process at the time. “You go through life and you see stuff and you learn stuff and it’s like, ‘I got raped.’”
“2004” came together when J.LBS (J Pounds) pushed YG to open up about something he had never talked about before on a record during a studio session. “He like, ‘You gotta talk about something you ain’t never talked about. You gotta dig deep! What’s something that you ain’t never told somebody that nobody know,” he recalled. “Then I was like, ‘Bop twice my age.’ And everybody was like, ‘What?!’”
YG hopes his honesty influences peers and fans to tell their own stories. “Especially coming from an artist — somebody like me — it’s unexpected,” he added. “People put me in a box… They look at us like we gang members, we animals, we not human, but it’s like, bro, I’m human. I go through real-life stuff.”
While “2004” came as a shock to many of YG’s fans and friends, it’s only the tip of the iceberg as far as his personal story goes, and he’s planning to delve deeper into his life with the arrival of his The Gentleman’s Club album this summer.
“People say I live a dangerous life — I talk about that and I give it to you straight like that,” he said. “Now me going through this growing stage of my life, it ain’t hard for me because I’m telling my truth.”
This year marks a chapter of change in YG’s life, who was baptized for the first time with his children in March. “2004” arrived with an accompanying music video, co-directed by the rapper himself, which boasts over 1.5 million views on YouTube.
Watch the full interview with YG below.
If you or someone you know is struggling and in need of help in the wake of sexual assault, please contact RAINN at 800-656-4673 or at online.rainn.org.
It’s been 13 years since Xzibit dropped his last album Napalm, and a whole lot has changed since.
Not just with Xzibit, who has since ventured into the cannabis industry, acted in dozens of films and gone through divorce — but to the music industry as a whole. The way albums are marketed and rolled out now is completely different than it was when Napalm dropped, while Xzibit’s core fans are now well into their 30s and 40s.
I ask if the rap veteran is aware people may not be as quick to tune in to his music. “This’ll be the litmus test,” Xzibit says of his new album Kingmaker, which drops on Friday. “Let’s see what happens. It’s a nice science experiment.”
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Regardless, the former Pimp My Ride host is not nervous or worried, he’s amped. The album has colossal features from big West Coast names like Dr. Dre, Ty Dolla $ign and Ice Cube, and Xzibit has steadily promoted the project for months, appearing on seemingly every podcast known to man.
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Kingmaker is an ambitious return to form, with Xzibit fully embracing his veteran status in the hopes of spreading some knowledge. Songs like opener “Play This At My Funeral” aim to inspire the youth, and offer guidance to those in need of it.
“I’m not preaching, I don’t wanna preach,” the rapper clarifies. “The church and politics are way too violent, I’ll stick to gangster rap.”
Below, Billboard chats with the rapper about his new album, his reunion with Dre, his Pimp My Ride legacy, his thoughts on the state of rap media and more.
You haven’t put out a record since 2012. I’m curious as you started getting back into the studio if there was any imposter syndrome or insecurity creeping in during the album’s early days?
I think the benefit of being able to have had a career spanning from 1996 to now, the self-doubt kinda [goes] out the window. I’m coming into the energy of where music is right now — and not necessarily ignoring what’s happening in music, but just realizing I need to do what I need to do extremely well. I don’t need to chase a trend or follow a sound, I just need to do Xzibit music really well.
What was it like then putting the album together? How did your sound change after all those years away from the booth?
I started and stopped the album like four or five different times because I didn’t like what was coming out. There are three songs that made it from the first original Kingmaker sessions, only three. Everything clicked when we did “Play This at My Funeral.” Now, that song gave me a nod to what the messaging should have been about, and that messaging was speaking from a position of power. If this was my last project, what would I wanna leave the game? That was the voice that I needed to find.
Tell me more about “Play This at My Funeral.” At what point in the creative process did that song transform into more of an anthem for your entire career?
I didn’t name the song until after it was done, and when I listened back to it, there was no hook. Just one long verse. When I heard the statements that were being made in it, and how final and immovable [they were] — the song has nothing to do with me dying, but it has everything to do with the state of the union of how I feel about music. How I feel about the state of affairs in this world that we’re living in. I just thought it was very fitting to start the album off with that.
So at this moment, how are you feeling about the state of hip-hop right now?
I think it’s grown substantially — and, to be fair, the state of hip-hop is well. There is so much music that comes out, and it’s hard to kinda grasp the way it was. There are new ways of communicating, new ways to get through to the audience. I think because it’s grown so much hip-hop is experiencing some growing pains. The only way we can keep going is to tend to it and make adjustments accordingly.
For example, I think hip-hop has grown to the point now where it needs sub divisions. It needs adult contemporary, alternative hip-hop, and I think looking at it from an objective point of view: it’s too hard to lump everybody in and just call it hip-hop. If you look at the birth of what Travis Scott is doing and the energy he brings to it, that was birthed around the Anger Management time when we were going out with Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. That kinda energy merged those audiences, so now it’s a hybrid. It’s something different and it needs to be addressed as such.
Is that difference inherently good for hip-hop?
Absolutely! Hip-hop was once just one piece of music, now it permeates through all things. That’s a double edged sword as well.
After being in the game for so long and watching the extinction of albums and physical media and the rise of streaming, does it worry you at all about how music is consumed?
The audience and the artists are great, what we’re experiencing are the gate keepers trying to keep control of the gate. It’s the middle men that are trying to keep the revenue going a certain way. Music has been here since the beginning of time and will continue to be here. As far as how it’s consumed, how we communicate, that’s the main thing I worry about. The tug of war of who’s in control.
On “Shut Yo Mouth,” you rap: “Here to address the nation like a congregation/ While you gossip like a b—h in your conversations.” Compton AV rapped a bar about Akademiks in the song too. What are your thoughts on hip-hop media after watching it evolve over the years?
I feel like hip-hop media is like the Basketball Housewives, and ain’t none of ’em married. It’s the drama of it, and I get it, but it reminds me of the tabloids from back in the day, the National Enquirer‘s. It’s about everything but the music. People are making livings off that media, I get it, but I think: Where’s the other side of it? The real hip-hop reporting that’s being drowned out? Now, the essentials of what hip-hop needs to be recognized for — the people behind the scenes and behind the music and networking of hip-hop — are being drowned out by the drama of hip-hop. There needs to be a balance.
“Shut Yo Mouth” is just the anthem for telling people to shut the f—k up. We’re in a world now where everybody has a soap box and a megaphone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone needs to be heard.
You expressed some concern regarding Kendrick and Drake’s beef when it happened last year, but now that it’s been a little over a year, I’m wondering if you’re still worried about the precedent this sets for rap beefs moving forward?
I’m not worried it’s just that history repeats itself. That was a David and Goliath moment and it played out how it played out, but my worry is when people start being physically hurt. It happens so often, we loose so many good people that way. That doesn’t happen in any other genre of music. The spirit of competition is always welcome in hip-hop. It’s when it starts translating into other things.
What does it mean to be a Kingmaker?
I’m giving you the information you need to make yourself a king or queen in your own right. Some people, this is gonna go over their heads, some people, it’s gonna hit a bullseye. Everybody has a different understanding of life, but this is the best way I could communicate my journey and my experiences in this art form.
What was it like to link back up with Dr. Dre on “Leave Me Alone?”
We were supposed to come out on March 28, and then [“Leave Me Alone”] came in. I was like, “Oh s–t!” It was crazy. Swizz Beatz actually did the track and Dre did co-production, and just to have both of them together on a track, I don’t think that’s ever been done. It was really exciting. To have Dre on the album after all this time means the world to me. He’s my brother, he’s coach.
What was your most memorable studio sessions with Dre over the years?
The first one is always the best. When we did “B–ch Please” together. The insanity of it was being a fan first and then you basically get recruited into The Avengers. I’ll never lose that feeling, because it keeps things in perspective. The direction Dre gives when he’s in the studio only elevates the record, because you rely on his experience. Even if it takes you out of your comfort zone.
Obviously, I have to ask you about Pimp My Ride. The show really became a cultural force of nature on its own. Looking back on it, what was the biggest lesson you learned from that time in your career?
The power of television and how you become essentially part of people’s families. You’re part of people’s childhoods and developments. You’re in their homes. I didn’t realize the impact of that show until I was in Italy at one of the fountains. I was just sitting there, and this little old lady pushes past my security and starts, literally, grabbing my face with no fear. Just pushes past these gigantic dudes, and it dawned on me that people fell in love with my character. It has nothing to do with my music.
How do you think that show impacted pop culture?
Pimp My Ride‘s impact was unexpected — it really was amazing to see it grow into what it was — but what I take away from it was it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about the cars. It wasn’t about the garage. It was about wish fulfillment, and people having that feeling that, “This could happen to me.” I think that was dope man, I’m glad we were able to put something out that was positive when reality television at the time was really bent on people’s embarrassment.
Still, you have random people pinching your face in public. Was it scary to go from being a rapper to the face of a mainstream movement like Pimp My Ride?
I didn’t realize what was happening. I wanted the world to know me as Xzibit the hardcore punch-him-in-the-face rapper, but life has a weird way of showing you different paths, and it’s up to you to be brave enough to go down it. That’s kinda what I just relied on, and sometimes those paths aren’t very well lit. It’s a risk, but I’ve never been afraid of taking risks. So I just went down that path… I didn’t wanna live with regrets.
Did taking that path negatively impact your rap career?
It took a backseat. I wasn’t able to tour [or] record. It was a constant film schedule, so I knew I had to dedicate time to do [Pimp My Ride] and I did. I’m glad I did it, but on the music side, it definitely was a disconnect. I was doing music, but I wasn’t able to give it the attention that I wanted to give it in order to proceed with it. You can’t be in two places at once, but I still got the same gratification building something outside of music as I did [with] music.
You were also one of the earliest rappers to pivot into the cannabis industry. What are your thoughts on the industry now?
It’s interesting to see people try to own the plant, which you can’t do. What we can do is come with the best versions of it and the most reliable versions of it. When you try to dominate it, and I think that’s this capitalist idea of “cornering the market,” it’s not gonna work. You can’t squeeze out and make it difficult for the people who are part of the culture. Cannabis is culture, it goes hand in hand with so many other things. You can’t corner that. Nobody’s gonna buy “McDonald’s Cannabis.”
What I think needs to happen is that Big Pharma is gonna need to come in when it’s federally legal to partner with the people who have been part of the culture from the beginning. You’re gonna need that bridge. Cannabis is not like alcohol or clothing where you can just slap a hip-hop label on it and put some funky music behind it. People need cannabis to work.
Having dabbled in all these different industries, how do you feel about this point in your rap career? Do you feel any pressure to try and cater Kingmaker to the younger audience or to the algorithms that seem to run music?
People will find me if they find me, but you can’t perform an algorithm. My audience is in front of me at that stage. My algorithm is in live performances, but whatever this album does, I feel really good about getting back in front of my people. I feel really good about the music I’ve created, and let’s let this thing be a good time, man. This is gonna be a really big moment for me. I worked really hard on this record. Still being able to do it at this level is a blessing, I can’t tell you enough how excited I am.
Snoop Dogg has responded to the comments Warren G made on the Ugly Monkey podcast April 29, during which the “Regulate” rapper said he would like Snoop and his stepbrother Dr. Dre to hit him up more often.
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“Snoop and Dre get down and they doing things,” he said at the time. “And it’s no diss to neither one of them or anything like that, but it’s like, y’all could call Warren to come do a cameo or come hang out or something. I don’t want no money or nothing from nobody, just call me to be around.”
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Warren also mentioned not being able to get backstage during Dr. Dre‘s headlining Super Bowl LVI halftime performance in L.A.
Snoop and Warren go way back to their neighborhood in Long Beach, Calif., where they started the rap group 213 with the late Nate Dogg. Warren was also the one to introduce Snoop to his mentor Dr. Dre during the early ’90s.
So when Charlamagne Tha God of The Breakfast Club asked the Doggfather what Warren G means to him, the rapper answered, “Warren G is probably the best friend that I got that only me and him understand each other. Like, the passion Warren G has for me and had for me as an artist in the beginning is like Don King — like a promoter that promotes a fighter, like believing in Snoop before anybody else.”
Snoop then added that their friendship has been able to grow and evolve as they’ve gotten older and have become parents. “When he lost his mom, I didn’t understand, but I was there for him,” he said. “Then when I lost my mom, I didn’t understand and he was there for me. There’s been certain situations where we have become super close behind tragedy and behind love.”
However, he believes the two friends never fully addressed how their respective careers have turned out. “The music industry is trifling, it’s crazy,” Snoop continued. “You think about how he brought me to Death Row, but Death Row didn’t sign him, so there’s a lot of animosity and frustration and anger in him off of that. Not at me, but at the situation at whole.”
Added Snoop, “As an artist, if you’re pushing for me, you want for me to do this. But as an artist, I’m feeling f–ked up because they left my homeboy. These are things that we’ve never had a chance to fully get a understanding on because its pain.”
Watch Snoop’s interview with The Breakfast Club below.
SZA gave one lucky fan some free tickets to her latest show with Kendrick Lamar, and even shouted him out on stage after spotting him in the crowd. On Monday (May 12), a fan named Michael Chiaravalloti waited outside the venue in Foxborough, Mass. just for a chance to meet the R&B star. Documenting the […]
Suge Knight has an interesting theory when it comes to Diddy and President Donald Trump. When talking on the phone from prison with Chris Cuomo on the journalist’s News Nation show CUOMO in an interview that was posted Wednesday (May 14), Knight suggested Diddy has enough power and influence to warrant a possible pardon from […]
Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Coco Jones brought the house down during her sold-out NYC stop on the Why Not More? Tour — even in the middle of a rainstorm. On a wet and windy Wednesday night, fans wrapped around the block in ponchos and hoodies, eager to witness the rising star’s undeniable presence. For many, Coco […]