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Naomi Sharon is looking for the nearest Sephora in New York City. She also needs to find a nail tech before she takes the Radio City Music Hall stage for a show the following day.
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Sharon, who signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label in early 2023, is on the road as part of Tems’ Born in the Wild Tour, and trekked directly from Philadelphia to the Midtown Manhattan Billboard offices earlier in September.
The 29-year-old Dutch singer stuns in a black floor-length bodycon dress matching her carefully curated midnight aesthetic. Sharon steals the attention of any room — and that’s even before hearing her ethereal vocals.
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Combining the worlds of dreamy R&B and ambient house, Sharon impressed with her dreamy Obsidian debut album, which earned her a spot on Billboard‘s 2024 Hip-Hop & R&B Artists to Watch list. The romantic tug of war found her opening up about the trials and tribulations of love throughout the stirring and vulnerable 13-track LP.
Now she’s turning the page to her sophomore album — and Sharon is excited about what’s to come musically before 2024 expires.
“I don’t want to say too much, but there is a lot of beautiful stuff coming this year. I’m very excited about it,” she teases to Billboard. “When I listen to Obsidian and the songs I have now, there’s some more maturity in it. It’s a nice shift. Hell yeah, the Obsidian project is here and we need to [elevate] now.”
Check out the rest of our chat with Naomi Sharon below, which finds her delving into her conversations with Drake, new music, touring with Tems and much more about her travels on the road.
How has the tour been?
Very exciting. It’s very nice to meet a new audience. It’s good to perform for a larger audience as well. I love it. The bigger the better. It’s a different energy. When I did my tour, people were familiar with me. Now some people are and some people are not. Which is also nice because sometimes you see them react to you. It’s fun to be on the road. I have a very nice team I do it with and we’re all Dutch.
How has it been winning over audiences? It can be a different experience as an opener.
It truly is. As an artist, you have an ego. I do have an ego as well. But I still want to challenge myself so I see it more as something testing me to be a better artist. I’m really focused when I’m [performing] for a new audience because I gotta draw you in without forcing it. I received a lot of messages from people. I think it’s important to build a relationship with your audience. By reposting their [Instagram Stories] you’re kinda showing them a thank you. I’m not sure I can do that forever.
We do meet-and-greets after and some people come with stories. One time it made me cry. I was surprised by it. Some girl came to the show and her father was the one who put her on my music, but he passed away in the months leading up to the show. I felt very grateful but at the same time I was like, “That’s what music does to people.” That’s how I listen to music as well.
Where did you built your whole aesthetic from? I’m assuming this is very intentionally done.
It is very much intentionally done. I think it started at a very young age. I had a moment in time I wanted to be a designer. I was very much into fashion. I’m pursuing that. It’s important to dress however you want to dress, but as an artist I want to be visible. I think it’s fun to dress. As an artist, you kinda have an excuse to be extra. The latex kinda represents obsidian. The black, maybe I’m a little gothic.
How did you connect with DJ Snake turning “Myrrh” into his own rendition of “Goodbyes?”
I know DJ Snake but I’ve never been in contact with him. I think it kinda came through the label. He liked it and said, “Let me do something to it.” When I heard it, it’s funny to distance yourself from the original song. I liked it and it grew on me. I was like, “Yeah, let’s do this for sure.”
What’s inspiring you creatively? Who are you listening to?
Life situations in general. That’s the most beautiful part about writing lyrics for me. Sometimes I’m like, “What’s next?” But there’s always something. That’s what I’m writing about. Sometimes a place can inspire me. For instance, I love Bali. It’s a place that sparks something because I’m at peace.
I listen to Sting. That’s something that never changes. I listen to a lot of old school music. New school, I love Yebba. I think she deserves her flowers. Feels stupid to say this, but I also listen to Drake.
Do you have a favorite Drake record?
One of my favorite albums is Honestly, Nevermind. I think that’s the European in me. I don’t think other people understood the assignment when it came out in the U.S. A lot of people aren’t used to that type of music. People were [comparing] it to Love Island. That’s our stuff in Europe. I love that album. I think it’s beautifully done. One song not from the album is “Passionfruit.” I think that’s one of his best songs.
I love seeing other artists show you love in your comments, like SZA or Snoh Aalegra.
I’m pretty good with both. One I see and speak to and the other one is supporting. I just love that in general with women in the industry supporting each other. Some are not as keen as others to do that. I think it’s so good. You don’t have to be afraid. Everyone has her own lane and I believe nobody can steal your path.
What did you see as success for your debut album? Would you have done anything differently?
Being proud about my own project that’s a big accomplishment. As soon as you go on and move on from it, and you grow into a bigger artist, you listen to your fans a little bit more. Then maybe you start to make music for your audience a little bit. I always try to stay a little bit true to myself. I’m the one that needs to perform it. I’m the one who needs to deliver it.
You put your entire life into your debut album. Is it like, “Where do I go from here?”
It’s a taste thing as well. People would say that about me as well with the new songs. But it’s an ever-evolving thing, right? In years, I’ll look back at Obsidian — I have already with other songs — like, my voice is even different. Not that I’m not sounding like myself, but you know you can hear that someone’s going through something. It’s a little lower, a little higher. When I listen to Obsidian and the songs I have now, there’s some more maturity in it. It’s a nice shift. Hell yeah, the Obsidian project is here and we need to [elevate] now.
Creatively, what’s next for you?
I don’t want to say too much, but there is a lot of beautiful stuff coming this year. I’m very excited about it.
How about potentially working with Tems since you guys are on tour?
I would love that. I think you don’t need to force anything. I think that will happen naturally. Of course, I’m on tour with her now, but I don’t feel the need to knock on her dressing room and be like, “Hey Tems, do you want to make a song right now?” That’s not gonna happen, but I do manifest it when I feel the timing is right. But I would love to.
How painful was your back tattoo? What was the inspiration behind it?
This was seven hours. Putting a tattoo on your body was kind of a thrill. This one was special because the artist is from Berlin and he’s doing this intuitively. So I was sitting in front of him and he goes with his pen first and he’s just drawing it on my back. After a few hours, I can look at it. I think it’s so beautiful. We had a conversation first and he takes a day per person to really sit with you and get to know you. He made this — seven hours, one break. It was painful. I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance. He showed me his work and was like, “What is your favorite?” Everything is very much his style and I had a few people coming up to me asking if it’s this artist. I love that. I want to have more from him. It’s a special person.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen about American culture since you’ve been traveling to all these cities on tour?
Now you’re touching the nerve. I’m always joking about this. I think in general American culture is very different from Dutch culture. One thing is so funny is you say, “Hi, how are you?” In one sentence and it actually means, “Hi.” It’s not a genuine question… That’s one thing I find funny. It refers to you guys being very open and happy to greet everyone. It has something beautiful as well. Dutch people in general are very down to earth. Too much sometimes. Whenever you go to a restaurant you kinda get ignored.
In comparison with Americans, it’s different. It’s not like, “Hi, how are you? I’m Steve and I’m gonna take care of your table today.” In Holland it’s like, “Hi. You have a table for two? It’s over there and I’ll walk you to it.” There’s no introductions. Dutch people are actually pretty straightforward and genuine. It depends where you go. I also know that native people from L.A. are different from transplants. People are straightforward in Holland and I think we come across as rude.
Have you picked up any hobbies on tour?
A couple went through my head. One hobby is going to Sweetgreen’s. I wanted to do horse riding in Texas and it didn’t happen. We wanted to go to the shooting range — didn’t happen. I do not support guns by the way, but it’s kinda nice to do it where you can do it. Those were the fantasy hobbies. The real hobbies are going to the gym three times a week and Sephora. I was just looking up where Sephora is. My phone said, “Visited yesterday.”
I feel like you’re always by some body of water. We see you surfing too. How about that?
How about that. I’ve been to Bali three times. The second time I was there for a month to do it properly. With surfing, you have to do it everyday. If not, twice a day. Last time I was there, I was like, “I’m gonna try it again. Not on a foam board, but a real board.” Then it happened and I was pretty good on it. I went to a spot where they take photos as well. They took it and was like, “This look good.”
Water is my element. I’m a pisces. I love water and think someone asked me that on my page about blue having a particular meaning. It’s just a color that calms me down. Sometimes I can be annoying about it because everything needs to be in the color range.
It was funny when you asked people to Photoshop the horizon clear out of your picture on Twitter.
I knew what I was doing. When that happened, it was funny and became a thing on Twitter. That went viral.
Are you aware when things go viral on Twitter and stuff? I see fan pages or music news accounts reposting.
Sometimes I’m like, “Oh, my followers are going up.” Then I’m like, “What’s going on?” And it kinda freaks me out.
Do you ever consider your brand and things outside of music overshadowing your [art]? Do you look at it as funneling more people toward your music?
That’s just who I am. That’s what I look like. I think almost every artist is doing that. It’s like a business card almost. That’s how I look at my Instagram. That’s why aesthetically it needs to be in place to welcome people in my world. That’s what you’re gonna get. Every photo that I post, I’m not someone that just posts photos.
You’re not gonna hit us with the Dua Lipa 20-slide vacation photo dump?
I can do that, but I’ll take my time. I think she does that as well. I don’t think she’s like, “Oh, I’m just gonna put this up.” You have your phone and you kinda select it. That’s just me and I think it’s fun with Instagram and TikTok and you can play back yourself instead of your label pushing certain photos or publishing things.
I was doing some searching Naomi Sharon on Twitter and a 2016 photo of you with The Lion King NL came up? I was like, “What is this?”
That’s not weird, dude. That’s my f–king job. That’s what I did in the past. I was a musical star. I was broadway — joking. I had a past life before this where I did musicals. I did Lion King then I did Tina Turner The Musical. Then I was like, “I’m gonna do this for myself.” During Lion King, I actually worked on my first song ever and I put it out. It kinda went uphill from that moment. When Tina Turner was going on, Drake hit me up. He was like, “I have a label. Would you [want to sign]?” I was like, “This is a clear sign for me to move on and to take the risk.”
Do you ever send Drake music?
Yeah, for sure.
How does that feedback work?
He’s one of the people that I send music to have an honest review on what it is. He has a funny brain that can pick things up well and make them popular. He’s a really good one for that. I send him stuff — and of course the man is busy, but whenever he replies to it I’m very grateful. I’m like, “This is something I can feel good about or something I need to work on a little bit more.” Of course, I have my own critique. It’s not that I take his critique and be like, “This is the answer.” But I take it very seriously. He’s just being honest and of course it’s nice when he says, “This is f–king great.”
Is there anything specific he gave a critique on that he was right about?
For sure — he gave me very good advice in the beginning, before the album. It was one of our first meetings ever. He was like… when he found me, he was intrigued by my music and the way that I did it. But he was like, “I can see you in different worlds that you can make your own. Why don’t you challenge yourself to go upbeat?” I made neo-soul the first few songs. He was like, “You can do that with your sound and with your world and cross over.” I actually was inspired by that, and that’s why Obsidian has some uptempo things.
You shied away from that typically?
Yeah — but when he said it, I was like, “I think he has a point.” Whenever a person like Drake says it, who’s been in the business for such a long time, you kinda maybe need to do something with it.
Eventually, are we gonna get the Naomi Sharon x Drake record?
Same thing with Tems, I don’t force things. We spoke about it, but it’s also whenever we feel it makes sense. I don’t think it’s gonna be a conversation. We’re both very sensitive people when it comes to hearing music. Whenever he hears something that will be great, then [we’ll do it]. That would be amazing.
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I like scripting. I like to write things down as if they already happened. Funny enough, I did one a few days ago for 10 years. I think it’s good and I also have a list and it’s funny to go back and it’s funny I forget I have one. I’ll go back like, “Oh, I did this already.” A few years ago I had [Billboard] on the list. Things like this, when you start as an artist you kind of gravitate to, “This would be a good moment if I have an interview with this or that.” You see other artists doing it. I would love to win an award or even be nominated for it. Do a world tour. They’re kind of obvious. I dream big and I believe in that. Everything I’ve accomplished right now is because I did that.
Who else do you want to collaborate with?
We’ve talked about Tems, we talked about Drake. I would love to work with Snoh [Aalegra] as well. That’s because she has such a major voice and sound. Yebba as well. I love to work with female artists. [I] would love to work with Frank Ocean.
To underscore the message in his new single “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” Stevie Wonder will be playing 10 select dates during October in advance of this year’s critical presidential election in November. Produced by Wonder Productions and promoted by AEG Presents in partnership with Free Lunch, the Sing Your Song! As We […]
It’s been six days and I can’t stop listening to “Groupies & Goofies.”
Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and play it on my phone a couple times before going back to sleep. It’s one of the best rap album intros of the year, right up there with the opening tracks of Future & Metro Boomin’s back-to-back collaborative albums. I didn’t know what to expect when Babyface Ray‘s team sent me his latest album, The Kid That Did, but I was immediately grabbed by the intro.
After diving into the rest of the album, I came away thinking that this is the Detroit rapper’s most ambitious project to date. He sounds confident, and with confidence comes big swings. Songs like “I Need Some Motivation” and “Delusional” showcase his versatility, while others like “Watching My Page” and “Nights Like This” “Legacy” show more of his personal side.
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Ray has been prolific over the course of his decade-long career, releasing a slew of mixtapes and EPs as a solo artist and as a member of Team Eastside. The Kid That Did, released on September 13, is his fourth solo album and his first since his Wavy Gang label entered a partnership with Empire earlier this year. With 20 tracks clocking in at under an hour, the album’s already spawned six singles with accompanying videos with more on the way. One notable single is “Count Money,” with BossMan Dlow, which samples the iconic pause music from N64’s GoldenEye 007. “We got the original composer from GoldenEye to do the beat over,” he answers when asked how they managed to get the sample cleared. But there’s much more to the story.
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According to one of his A&Rs, Dre Edwards, Babyface Ray’s team had a hard time clearing the beat (made by producer Rich Treeze), so they decided to reach out to Grant Kirkhope, the original composer of the GoldenEye soundtrack, to see if they could get it cleared. Well, it turns out that Kirkhope was already familiar with Ray’s music and gladly offered to collaborate with Treeze to make a version of the beat that would work for all parties involved. He even posted the video on his Instagram.
I caught up with Ray at the Billboard‘s New York office, where we talked about the making of what is probably the most important album of his career, how his rap style is informed by his parents and how he managed to get Rich Paul on the outro. Check out the interview below.
This album feels like your most ambitious. There are some records that feel big on there. Would you agree?
Yeah, big for sure. I know what you mean. I was just trying to show a little more growth this time and make it sound different from the last projects I put out.
When you were making this album, did you go in with the approach that this was going to be an ambitious record?
I think the records I picked were just more along the lines of what you’re saying. I had other records that I wanted to use, but I went more with that type of style.
Yeah, because some of the beats are different from the stuff you usually rap over. Were you aiming for that sound? Or were they beats that you were coming across that happened to grab your attention?
Yeah, what I was coming across and what I felt like wanting to do at that time.
Detroit has had its rap moments with the likes of Eminem, Royce Da 5’9″, D12, and J Dilla, but the last few years have felt different. What is it about this era of Detroit rap that resonates with fans?
Probably the rawness. Probably being able to connect with the music a little bit more.
What are some of your favorite records from this album?
“Nights Like This,” “High Off Life,” the intro. I like “Delusional.” I like “Stuck in My Ways.” There’s a few on there.
There’s a couple of tracks that you get real personal on. You mentioned a couple of them. Can you talk about why you felt the need to go super personal on some of those?
Really, just updating people on what’s going on with me type stuff. And, really on all my projects, it’s always gonna be a song on there that’s kind of like super personal and I get deeper on what’s going on for real.
The way you rap, it’s like you put people on game. Can you credit your style to your father being a preacher?
Yeah, if you know my dad, it don’t got nothing to do with religion or him being a preacher. That’s just how he comes off, putting us on game and just schoolin’ us and kickin’ it with us since we were little. I can definitely credit that to him, for sure.
Did you spend a lot of time in church when you were younger?
Hell yeah. All the way up until eighth grade, I went to church every Sunday. I wasn’t really too much a fan of church, though. Nothing against religion, but the whole going to church thing — I would just feel burnt out.
Did your parents give you a hard time for wanting to be a rapper at first?
They ain’t know. So, it was like — once I got old enough to get out the house and do my own thing, I was just doin’ that on the low. But I wasn’t a bad kid, so they didn’t have to worry about me too much. I was just doing it. They didn’t really find out until I became poppin’. And then people was telling them, and by that time, it was already too late. They couldn’t really have a conversation with me about it.
How do they feel about it now that you’re successful?
I mean, they ain’t trippin’, they love it, and even my dad, he be talking about it. You know, back then he really didn’t understand, but now he sees what I’ve grown into as a man. He can understand and enjoy my music. He can see where I’m coming from.
When would you say you felt that you was poppin’ as a rapper? When it felt real.
My first feeling was around probably 2011 or 2012. We used to get booked in the city a lot with my group [Team Eastside.]
In earlier interviews you had mentioned that you dropped out of college. Around what year was that?
I graduated [high school] in 2009, so it had to be around 2010.
That’s around the time you said you started poppin’, so you were already rapping?
I was already rappin’ throughout high school and all that stuff. When I got out of school, I was still staying with my parents. My pops was like, “You either gonna get a job or you gonna go to school.” So, I ended up choosing college and when that didn’t work out I just left the house completely.
Word, and you had said that they used church money to help send you to college.
Yeah, for sure. No cap. That really happened.
Rich Paul is on the outro. Can you explain that relationship? How did you guys link up? Was he a fan of your music?
He was a fan of my music. I met him through my partner, V, who owns a clothing line called Jack Ripp. He called me and connected me with Rich Paul, and then we hit it off just conversating about music. He really just wanted to talk about music, for real.
Has he given you any business advice?
Not really, head on. I just watch and learn from what he’s doing.
How do you feel about this album compared to your other tapes?
I feel good. I feel like I got some good records on there. I think people are gonna enjoy it. I’m geeked for it to get out, so I can see how the feedback is going to be.
Gillie and Wallo had mentioned that they noticed the ladies rock with your music on social media. Explain why you like to make records for them.
It’s always good to have a record or two for the ladies when you put a project out, because they’re consumers. And, really, I feel like it’s the women that get the men hip sometimes. You gotta have something that the ladies enjoy too.
Bossman Dlow seems to have that effect too. The ladies use his stuff on social media all the time. He did a show with Teezo for us recently and when he hit the stage, mad shorties ran to see him perform.
That’s fire. Dlow got a strong presence on social media with the women. I feel like the women be on it more than the men these days.
And you guys linked up on this project over the GoldenEye beat. How did that come about?
I had never met him. I was on Live one time just poppin’ shit and I said something along the lines [of] somebody talking to me in the club while the music was loud, and I was saying, ‘Stop trying to talk to me, Bossman Dlow is playing’ blah, blah, blah. And then it reached him and that kind of went crazy and he said something to me, and he came to Detroit, and we met up. We kicked it off like that. I did a song for him first, and then I was sitting on “Count Money” and I was like, ‘I think Dlow would sound good on here.’ I sent it to him and he sent it back.
You’re a video game head, right? What games do you play?
2K, Madden, NCAA. But I had woke up from my sleep, and seen my kids watching some s–t on YouTube, and I ended up downloading this new game called Little Nightmares. S–t fire. It’s like some horror-mystery shit.
You don’t play Grand Theft Auto?
I used to play Grand Theft Auto RP on my PC, but I stopped playing it. l was gettin’ burnt out on it.
You weren’t in Tee Grizzley’s world?
Yeah, I was in there. I was the only one with the Ferrari truck in there. That s–t turnt, for real, but I was getting burnt out.
What else you got planned for this album? You going on tour?
Yeah, I’m going on tour. I’m announcing the tour on Friday with the album [release]. That’s pretty much it. Hopefully, I can get a deluxe out because I do got some more records, more features, some more vibes that I wanna add to it.
You gonna put out more videos?
For sure, 100 percent.
Yeah, because you put out mad s–t already for this album.
S–t, I was just telling them. I got like seven videos already in, but I’m still trying to get at least two or three more.
Future dropped his first solo project of the year Mixtape Pluto on Friday (Sept. 20) via Freebandz and Epic Records. The 17-track project contains “Too Fast” and “Lil Demon,” which he teased earlier this month, as well as “South of France,” which Travis Scott teased even though the tracklist didn’t credit any featured artists. 808 […]
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ScHoolboy Q flooded the streets today by dropping three videos from his critically-acclaimed album Blue Lips. First, we have “THank god 4 me” (directed by Omar Jones,) which opens with someone wearing a wire as he gets ready to hop in a detective’s car. The rest of the video is a series of dream sequences […]
A$AP Rocky announced on Thursday (Sept. 19) that he will no longer be performing at iHeartRadio Music Festival 2024 this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“UNFORTUNATELY, I ENDED UP GETTING SICK & I WON’T BE ABLE TO PERFORM AT THE @iheartfestival. IM SORRY TO MY FANS & THANKFUL TO @iheartradio FOR THE OPPORTUNITY!” he wrote on his Instagram Story. “I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO PERFORMING SOME NEW MUSIC FOR YALL! ENJOY THE SHOW THE LINE UP IS [fire emojis].”
Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Gwen Stefani, Halsey, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboozey, The Black Crowes, The Weeknd, Thomas Rhett and Victoria Monét are still set to perform at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21, with a special appearance by Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
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Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the star-studded affair will also feature AJ McLean, Flavor Flav, Jacoby Shaddix, Lance Bass, Paris Hilton, Tiffany Haddish, Hugh Evans, Joe Gatto, Tara and Hunter Woodhall as presenters.
Rocky’s now-canceled iHeartRadio Festival performance might’ve featured new music from his highly anticipated fourth album Don’t Be Dumb, which he revealed in his recent Billboard cover story was pushed back from its original Aug. 30 release date to sometime this fall. He later explained on X that “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE BEST ALBUM EVER. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT.” He’s released three singles ahead of the album within the last two months: “HIGHJACK” (with Jessica Pratt), “Tailor Swif” and “Ruby Rosary” (featuring J. Cole).
It’s a full house on this week’s Billboard Unfiltered as the fellas break down all things surrounding Diddy’s federal indictment and Lil Wayne’s response to being snubbed by the NFL with Kendrick Lamar getting the Super Bowl Halftime Show headlining slot in Weezy’s hometown next year.
As someone who grew up on Bad Boy Records, deputy director, editorial content Damien Scott says it feels like a “betrayal” of the Diddy persona that supplied the soundtrack to his childhood.
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“It sucks,” he said. “It feels like a betrayal. This is a person who I think more than anybody else if you grew up in the ’90s listening to hip-hop and you’re from the East Coast, there was no larger figure than Diddy.”
Scott continued: “I remember speaking to a music exec years ago and I told him my favorite rap album’s [Ma$e’s] Harlem World. And he’s like, ‘That’s when hip-hop died.’ … It’s tough to reconcile and wrap your head around what was allegedly going on while he was building this world that you as a fan were so a part of. It’s pretty f—ed and devastating to learn.”
Diddy was arrested earlier this week on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. The unsealed indictment alluded to alleged sexual “freak-offs” and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube being seized from Combs’ home raids earlier this year.
“I just wanna know, Brother Love, why do you need a thousand bottles of baby oil? That’s a little crazy,” Carl Lamarre questioned.
Senior charts & data analyst Trevor Anderson is interested to see if any of Diddy’s collaborators distance themselves from him and remove their songs together off of streaming services. “It will probably be a little harder for them in the sense of who owns the music. … If they even have the rights to pull it down might be a contentious point,” he said.
After peers like Nicki Minaj and Master P spoke out in his defense, Lil Wayne finally responded to the NFL’s decision to not book him at the 2025 Super Bowl LIX halftime show and admitted he was devastated and that it “hurt a lot.”
Staff writer Kyle Denis doesn’t get the outrage and thinks K. Dot is deserving of the slot. “I feel like the fans deluding themselves into thinking one outcome was the only outcome that could’ve possibly happened is part of fans overstepping their boundaries,” he said.
Denis added: “I can’t remember another performer in recent memory actually putting up a video, ‘I’m heartbroken.’ What is that?”
Watch the episode below.
In this episode of ‘Billboard Unfiltered,’ Billboard staffers Carl Lamarre, Trevor Anderson, Kyle Denis and Damien Scott go in-depth about the controversy surrounding Diddy’s charges, arrest and how the world has reacted to it. The trio also discuss why Tyla & Tems aren’t categorized as Afrobeats artists, Lil Wayne’s comment about his Super Bowl snub and more.
Trevor Anderson:
I mean, this is a federal raid y’all. The FBI raided two of his houses. This is something that has been set up for so long. This had to be planned for months, if not years.
Damien Scott:
You can’t be mad at an artist for wanting their art to be received. You can never be upset at that.
Kyle Denis:
I can’t remember another performer in recent memory like actually going and putting up a video and being like, “Oh I’m heartbroken I wasn’t chosen.” What is that?
Carl Lamarre:
Hey, what’s going on, guys. Welcome to a fresh episode of ‘Billboard Unfiltered.’ Gentlemen.
Damien Scott:
Welcome back.
Trevor Anderson:
What’s up.
Kyle Denis:
What’s good.
Trevor Anderson:
It feels like the season premiere or something. Like now everybody’s back, everyone’s off of vacation.
Carl Lamarre:
Kind of like season 2, right? Well I wish we were going to start the show off very light, you know. But we’re going to get into the trenches of mud.
Damien Scott:
You brought the negativity back with you.
Carl Lamarre:
Sadly, man. I was on an island when I heard about this news right here, so Mr. Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. Per Billboard.com, “Federal prosecutors on Tuesday unsealed a criminal indictment against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs over sweeping allegations of sexual abuse, accusing the once-powerful rapper, producer and music executive of running a racketeering conspiracy that included sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery.”
Keep watching for more.
Pharrell’s Piece by Piece documentary is slated to arrive Oct. 11 and features his innovative storytelling on the silver screen, but in LEGO form. Skateboard P revealed to Variety in a recent interview that when seeking permission from his celebrity friends like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg to clear their cameos in the documentary, he left […]