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Many people who know Cymande, the genre-bending British band from the early ’70s, have their own Cymande origin story. For the director Tim MacKenzie-Smith, “it was a mixtape that was passed to me at college, and it had no tracklist. It had 90 minutes of brilliant old American funk on it. Rare groove stuff, soul.”
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MacKenzie-Smith recognized most of the songs – but not all of them. As a Shazam-less college student in the mid-’90s, he spent the next several years wondering who, exactly, had recorded two tracks that he “absolutely adored.” Eventually, a record-collecting friend threw on Cymande in MacKenzie-Smith’s presence and the director had an epiphany: “Oh my god, that’s those tunes that I’ve been loving for the last five years!”
“Why does no one know about this music?” MacKenzie-Smith remembers asking himself. “That started me off on a journey of discovery that carried on for many years, shouting from the rooftops, telling people all about them.”
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Now, MacKenzie-Smith has moved from the proverbial rooftops to the silver screen. After premiering at South By Southwest in 2023 and hitting theaters in the British Isles earlier this year, his documentary, Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande, is opening in the U.S. on July 26. With the help of a diverse roster of talking heads – from the producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse) to the members of psych-funk trio Khruangbin to De La Soul’s DJ Maseo and Prince Paul – the film tells the story of an innovative funk band ahead of its time, derailed initially by an unreceptive music industry but ultimately embraced by the founders of hip-hop, house and disco music and the generations since.
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In the early ’70s, several young men in London’s Afro-Caribbean diaspora community, including bassist Steve Scipio and guitarist Patrick Patterson, formed Cymande. The band drew on its varied influences – not just the sounds of their Caribbean countries of origin, but the contemporary R&B of Otis Redding and Solomon Burke and the forward-thinking jazz of Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck – to create music that, while inviting, defied easy categorization. That proved an obstacle as Cymande tried to grow its profile.
“The industry at the time tended to pigeonhole black musicians in the U.K.,” Scipio, 74, tells Billboard from his Anguilla home over Zoom, recalling the straightforward “reggae stuff” that labels often requested when Cymande was shopping its demos. “We deliberately made a choice not to go down that route.”
Scipio and Patterson, also 74 and chiming in on the Zoom from London, argue that the British music business treated Black and white musicians differently when it came to creativity. “Young white musicians at the time who were experimenting with all kinds of different things, [the British music business] was accommodating for them,” Scipio explains. “As Black musicians, we were never given that kind of opportunity.”
Cymande eventually landed a deal with Janus Records, and released an album a year from 1972 to 1974. They even earned fans stateside opening for legends including Al Green, Jerry Butler, Patti LaBelle and Ramsey Lewis. But stymied by the industry in the U.K., the band took a break – Scipio and Patterson are adamant today that Cymande never broke up – that ended up lasting 40 years.
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However, while Cymande was sidelined, its music took on a life of its own. As Getting It Back recounts, when DJ Jazzy Jay and other early hip-hop artists in The Bronx began experimenting with using double turntable setups and duplicate copies of records to mix and extend tracks, “Bra,” a standout from Cymande’s self-titled debut, was one of the most common songs they threw on the decks. By the ’80s, legends like The Sugarhill Gang and Gang Starr were sampling “Bra.” With its infectious, easily isolated groove, the song also percolated to disco clubs and became a frequent pick for DJs at the dawn of house music. (Paradise Garage visionary Larry Levan was a fan.) Filmmaker Spike Lee also championed the band, using “Bra” in 1994’s Crooklyn and 2002’s 25th Hour.
“The sampling of Cymande’s material started quite early,” says Patterson, though he explains that, “in the early days of sampling, it was difficult to know who was doing what because it was a hidden culture.”
But after De La Soul released its seminal 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising, which includes the “Bra”-sampling “Change In Speak,” Scipio’s kids turned him onto it – and by extension, the fact that Cymande’s music had become a touchstone for the artists who followed them. “Something was going on with our music because they were hearing snippets of it in the music that they were listening to,” he says.
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Cymande’s publisher, Sony Music Publishing, has helped the band to identify usages of its music and “to ensure that we are properly recompensed,” Patterson says, with Scipio adding that all sampling matters have been resolved amicably. The sampling was a financial boon (like many Cymande songs, Patterson and Scipio are the two credited writers for “Bra”). And both heartily endorse sampling generally: “I’ve always supported it,” Patterson says. “Steve and I regularly say it’s a good thing, using creativity to make new things.”
In 2014, motivated in part by the decades-long groundswell of support for their music, Cymande returned to the stage in London. MacKenzie-Smith and eventual Getting It Back producer/editor Matt Wyllie were at the gig as the fans. Then, MacKenzine-Smith, who prior to Getting It Back had primarily made sports films, used Cymande’s song “Dove” to open his 2017 documentary about the British boxer Anthony Joshua – and a representative for the band got in touch to let him know they’d heard the synch. “We’d always said, ‘Man, whatever happened to Cymande?’” the director says of his conversations over the years with Wyllie. With contact established with Cymande’s camp, he shot his shot and inquired about doing a documentary about the band: “The only way we were going to find out was to go and make a film about them.”
The film became a labor of love for MacKenzie-Smith, and he embraced “a process of ridiculous research and just obsession, really” as he began searching for musicians who Cymande had influenced. And when the pandemic hit during production, the project’s logistics became even more daunting. “We always had in mind the story of the band itself,” MacKenzie-Smith said. “When there were those days where you thought, ‘We’re never gonna get this finished. Is this [film] ever going to see the light of day?’, then we always remembered that, ‘Hold on a minute – this is a band that took 40 years off and came back and found themselves to have a brand new audience of kids who found them on YouTube. It might take a while, but you get there in the end.’”
MacKenzie-Smith expects Cymande’s story of resiliency to resonate similarly with modern audiences. And he also thinks it encapsulates a fascinating aspect of consumption in the digital age.
“Everything’s a double-edged sword, because for artists to make real money from their art is so difficult these days – they get such small amounts of money from streaming, and everything’s available for free on YouTube,” he says. “But, ultimately, with this particular story, it’s actually showing the good in all that. Everyone will quite rightly discuss the bad and what needs to change. But the good in all of that is that a band who thought their time was done have found out that it’s not. And kids who are in their teens or their early twenties, who might be fans of Khruangbin or whoever, are finding this band.”
For their part, Patterson and Scipio still marvel at the continued influence of Cymande’s music. “We are really appreciative of their love for the music,” Patterson says of the musicians who appear in the film, and Scipio calls the process “enlightening … I wasn’t aware the extent to which the music was appreciated out there.”
Since reuniting a decade ago, Cymande has released an album (2015’s A Simple Act of Faith) and has toured periodically. And with Getting It Back propelling them – plus new music in the works and touring on tap for 2025 – Patterson and Scipio envision a new, fruitful era for Cymande.
“Our target now is to make sure that everything is rolling to break out in 2025,” says Patterson. With a laugh, he adds, “We hope to satisfy our fans and the listening audiences that we haven’t been wasting our time.”
After a record 10-week rule on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart by Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” the tally has its first new No. 1 since May: Blood Orange’s “Champagne Coast” jumps to the top of the list dated July 27.
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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity July 15-21. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Champagne Coast,” originally released in 2011 as part of Blood Orange’s (real name Dev Hynes) album of the same year, Coastal Grooves, started at No. 46 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 dated July 6 and has experienced a meteoric rise since, vaulting to No. 21 and then to No. 5 prior to its coronation.
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Multiple trends have highlighted the upsurge of “Champagne Coast.” One features creators uploading videos to the prompt “did we get rich?” or “did we hit the lottery?” in response to their younger self, and another argues that the uploader will stay single until the sound when they look into a prospective lover’s eyes sounds like “Champagne Coast.”
Concurrent with its TikTok Billboard Top 50 rule, “Champagne Coast” makes its first non-TikTok-based Billboard charts, paced by its No. 15 debut on the Hot Alternative Songs survey. In the week ending July 18, the tune earned 3.6 million official U.S. streams, up 17%, according to Luminate.
“Million Dollar Baby” falls to No. 2 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, ensuring that its now-12-week history on the chart has found it go no lower than the top two, while LeoStayTrill and Mr Reload It’s “Pink Lemonade (Str8 Reload)” lifts 4-3, a new peak.
“Pink Lemonade” is mostly driven by lip-synch videos to the song, which was released in May. It boasts 1.5 million streams in the week ending July 18, up 4%.
BlackMayo’s “Jus’ Know” and Ian’s “Magic Johnson” round out the top five, followed by the week’s top debut in 2KE and 808iuli’s “X-Slide,” which bows at No. 6.
“X-Slide,” the uploads of which on TikTok are led by its ultra-slowed version (though its standard version has gotten significant play as well), is highlighted on TikTok by workout and fitness videos, as well as clips from video games and anime.
Three other songs hit the chart’s top 10 for the first time: Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult’s “Alibi,” Clairo’s “Juna” and Charli XCX’s “Apple” round out the top 10 at Nos. 8-10, respectively.
“Alibi” has been paced by a dance trend on TikTok, one that began in the spring but has taken off in recent weeks. “Juna,” meanwhile, bows at No. 9 not long after the song’s July 12 premiere as part of Clairo’s new album, Charm; along with lip-synch clips and other general content, an underlying trend featuring the tune plays off its “you know me” verse with a photo explaining all of the user’s favorites and interests.
As for “Apple,” the song from Charli XCX’s much-talked-about 2024 album Brat has also benefited from a dance trend. It’s risen each week on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart since its debut on June 22 at No. 25, hitting a new peak of No. 7 on the latest tally thanks to 4.2 million streams in the week ending July 18, a boost of 55%.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
When 25-year-old Jordan Adetunji stumbled upon Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast episode with Kehlani last year, little did he know that the Cali-raised singer would become the unexpected muse for the biggest song of his career.
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“I was watching an interview on [Logan Paul’s] IMPAULSIVE podcast. It was in my living room, and I remember saying to my brother, ‘Damn. [Kehlani] looks great,’”says the Northern Ireland native. “But it wasn’t just that … It was how much she’s done over the years, and still been able to be such an uplifting person and a boss in her own way. I have always wanted to write a song about a woman who is a boss, creative in her way, and leads in her strides. For me, it just made sense. She was the picture of that. That’s why I put her name in there.”
Released in May, “KEHLANI” pays homage to the singer’s boss-like demeanor, and has soared on social media, becoming a go-to summer bop. Adetunji’s shifty vocal mastery over the slippery beat — based on a sample of Summer Walker’s “Potential” — helped spin “KEHLANI” into TikTok gold when the R&B star shared clips of her singing the song herself, igniting the flame for the track.
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“It’s funny ’cause I just kept posting it so many times, and I was like, ‘She’s definitely gonna see it eventually,’” Adetunji remembers. “When I saw the video [of her singing to it], I was sleeping. It was U.K. time. When I woke up, I had seen it in the morning. I was like, ‘Oh damn!’ Someone sent it to me. She actually did two videos instead of one, too. I was gassed.”
With a summer heater and a new deal with 300 Entertainment and Warner Records U.K. in his pocket, Adetunji looks to make his next move as soon as this week, when he unveils the song’s remix — with, you guessed it, Kehlani.
“Working with an artist like Jordan, who has such a strong vision for “KEHLANI” and the music space he is creating for himself, has been amazing,” says Adetunji’s manager, Dan Jenkins. “There have been a few challenges and lessons over the past few years, but I’ve watched Jordan grow massively as an artist and it was only a matter of time before this moment happened for him!”
Billboard spoke to Adetunji about the song’s climb up the Billboard Hot 100, teaming up with Kehlani for his biggest hit, and why he wants to work with Cash Cobain.
Are you from Northern Ireland?
I was born in London and I moved from there when I was 10 years old to Northern Ireland. So I grew up in Northern Ireland. I did all my life in school there — still live there — but I go back and forth from London. That’s currently where I do my music, where I started, and that’s where home is for me for now.
When was your first period of discovery with music?
[My early days on] the internet. The internet was my best friend. It’s funny because before that, when I first started listening to music, I used to have this green iPod Nano. That’s kind of how I used to listen to music. I used to have a family friend — he would put all these new songs on my thing, like early Drake, early mixtapes [from him] and Meek Mill. That’s how I first listened to [music]. He listened to a lot of R&B from female singers. That’s kind of what I started really listening to at that time a lot. A lot of Jhené Aiko. It was funny. A lot of stuff like that.
Was there a specific Jhené song or project that opened that gate up for you?
I remember hearing “The Worst” for the first time. One of the first projects she did, I really loved. A lot of that stuff. Even The Weeknd, House of Balloons, that was the first kind of R&B stuff I was listening to when I was young.
When did you decide that music was ultimately going to be your life’s passion?
When I was in school and I didn’t like doing work. I was like, “Yeah, I’m gonna be an artist.” That was from then when I was like 15, 16. That was the only thing on my mind. I was like, “I’m gonna make it happen, no matter what.” It’s a thing that I was motivated in. I played the trumpet in school. I only did that to get out of class, so I didn’t have to do school work. I used it as a thing. I enjoyed music. It set me free from anything. At that time, it set me free from school work since I didn’t like to do so.
What were the conversations like with your family about pursuing music, despite your school work suffering?
My mom was always supportive about it. She understands what’s it like to be a creative, because she’s a very creative person herself. So I did have freedom in that. As long as I did try my best, she was always happy and I’d try my best at anything that I put my mind to. As long as I was doing that, I think she was very supportive in that. They’d make sure to have structure in my life. That was always an important thing for her. I always felt like I’ve been able to do that. We’re here now. Everything is timing. That’s my favorite saying. I was ready for this moment and I’m ready for the next moments to come.
“KEHLANI” has climbed to No. 52 on the Hot 100 so far. You recorded that song in your bedroom. Take me back to that day and the creative process behind it.
It’s funny because I was watching an interview on [Logan Paul’s] IMPAULSIVE podcast. It was in my living room and I remember saying to my brother like, “Damn. She looks great,” but it wasn’t just that. It was the fact of how much she’s done over the years and still been able to be such an uplifting person and also a boss in her own way. I always wanted to write a song about a woman who is a boss and also creative in her own way and leads in her strides. For me, it just made sense. She was the picture of that. That’s why I put her name in there.
At the start, I was feeling like, “Ooh. Should I do that? How is it gonna go? This can go wrong,” but I’m a risk-taker. I don’t care. I’m gonna post this. It is what it is today. That’s why I’m happy I took that risk. Writing a song about someone, they might not mess with it, but she was a good sport. She’s really been supportive this whole process. Shout out to her for that, for real.
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How did she come across the record?
I was posting it on TikTok until she seen it. That was my goal, for her to see it and hear it. I remember I posted it on Instagram and I @’ed her account like, “I love you.” That was the first post, and it was an edit I made of her. I made like an Instagram edit, and I think she liked it. I started pushing it on TikTok, and she seen it. That was amazing. It’s funny, ’cause I just kept posting it so many times and I was like, she’s definitely gonna see it eventually. When I seen the video [of her singing to it], I was sleeping. It was U.K. time. When I woke up, I had seen it in the morning. I was like, “Oh damn!” Someone sent it to me. She actually did two videos instead of one, too. I was gassed.
What was the conversation like after when she finally saw the video?
She was so supportive and showed me so much love. She would tell me to just enjoy every moment. That’s one thing that I really appreciate about her. She took me and showed me that love. Like I said, it could have gone wrong. All these things, I see as a risk, but I’m glad she was able to show me love about it. Even listening to the song and listening to what I’m saying, I’m really trying to show love and uplift her ’cause she’s such a great human being. She was really supportive and sent me a ton of messages. She’s dope.
Are there discussions about a remix with Kehlani herself?
Yeah, there’s a remix. We’re gonna see how we’re gonna drop it. It’s gonna be an interesting one, but I’m excited for it — because her verse was fire. She was talking her stuff on that. I’m excited to get that one to the people, so they can hear it and really take it in.
Congrats on signing your deal with 300 and Warner UK. What made you decide to go with them?
It made sense culturally for me. A lot of people that’s been at 300, I’ve listened to them and their music. It really fit. I met Kevin [Liles]. He flew out here. That just showed me alone and it gave me family vibes. I thought that made the most sense to me, because they really felt like a family to me. It was the right move for me.
Kevin dubs you as a “generational talent.” How do you navigate your young career, trying to manage with those expectations?
I’m ready for that. I’m so ready for that because for me, the world gets to see how much I can give them. I feel like it’s my journey. I feel like it’s my world. Everyone has to come on the journey with you. They’re buying into your world. I’m excited for people to see mine and how I view the world. That’s how I see music and that’s how I see it for me.
Before the success of “KEHLANI,” you released an EP called Rock & Rave in 2023. What would you want fans to know about you during that era before all the fame?
It just shows my interests and how I kind of see myself. That’s why I made that. It’s all about the sonics with that mixtape I made and how diverse my music is and showing my influences. From dance music to rock music to R&B, it was about how I was fusing them altogether. That’s what that project was. The cover art is very anime. You see a lot of video games. I’m into video games and I like seeing myself as the main character, sometimes. I like altering the way things are perceived and making people scratch their heads. I feel like we’re in a simulation. I’m playing my own video game. That’s kind of how I wanna show my music. Like with all my visuals, my videos, I want them to buy into my world and see what it is.
Is there a specific video game or anime character you relate to most?
Itachi from Naruto. I always have this admiration for him. I love his look, I love everything. When it comes to video games, I love Tekken. I love the esthetic of the characters. It’s crazy. Another anime I love is Full Metal Alchemist. I love the storyline and stuff like that, but Tekken, look-wise, that’s always something I loved. I love Japan. I love Tokyo. I love that whole aesthetic.
What kind of chances are you taking on your upcoming EP on the production side that you weren’t quite able to do on Rock & Rave?
We’re definitely switching it up. It’s gonna be more sexy. You’re gonna still hear elements of Rock & Rave, but it’s just a different take of that in a smoother way. I feel like Rock & Rave is very experimental. It’s a different sound, a bit left, more feeling and a vibe this time.
Are there any features or special producers you’re looking for?
I’m open. I’m open to do features and stuff like that, but right now, I wanna get the songs right. Once I get the songs right, we’ll see about the features. I love what Cash Cobain is doing right now, and the boys in New York. I feel like their sound has influenced this new wave. I have to tap in with them and get that going.
Iggy Azalea is speaking out about her co-parenting relationship to her son, Onyx, with Playboi Carti — or lack thereof for that matter.
The “Fancy” rapper joined the Dinner’s On Me podcast hosted by actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Wednesday (July 24), and part of their 44-minute interview found Azalea reflecting on being a “single mother” to her only child, Onyx, whom she welcomed with Playboi Carti in 2020.
“I’m very much a single mother, I’m very much the only parent. No disrespect, but I am not co-parenting, really. That’s just the reality of it. It’s 24/7,” she candidly admitted to the Modern Family star around the 25-minute mark.
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Iggy and Carti publicly split later in 2020 just four months after Onyx was born. She dished further on braving the parenthood journey without much of an alleged presence from the Whole Lotta Red artist.
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“I owe my success in large part to my mother because she spent so much time with me and she just really gassed me up and made me think I was a superwoman genius, dancer extraordinaire, painter extraordinaire, chef, whatever it was,” Azalea said.
Iggy continued about what she felt was her duty as a mother to the four-year-old: “And it’s important to me, even when my son’s only four, that I know I’m there, instilling that confidence in him and just helping guide him. It’s my job as a parent. I think if you’re going to have a child, you should be prepared to do that and engage in that way. And I really want to. I toured two years with my son on a bus and it was time for that to end.”
Azalea went on to detail that Onyx enjoys some of her work like “Black Widow” with Rita Ora — which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and he’s even starting to write some of his own songs while following in his parents’ footsteps.
“He’s been writing songs lately, which terrifies me,” the 34-year-old revealed. “I’m like ‘It’s fine, it’s fine, he’s four. I really don’t want you to be an artist, don’t go in the industry, no.’ But you know I have to support whatever he wants to do and he is four, it’ll change a million times over.”
Azalea previously spoke about her split from Carti during an appearance on model Emily Ratajkowski’s High Low With EmRata podcast in February 2023. Iggy referred to their relationship as “volatile” and she had enough of the “toxic cycle.”
“I had something happen one day with my son’s father and me and it was just like one of those moments where you’re just like, I didn’t wake up thinking this is what my day would be. But by the end of the day, I was on a plane to Los Angeles and I never went back. And that was the end of it,” she said.
The retired rapper added at the time: “I decided in that moment, I have to be more accountable for myself into what I’m doing with my child and even if there are days where I wanna go back to this… I just never would do it. I will never do it. I’m leaving.”
Listen to the full episode with Iggy Azalea below.
Will Smith recently resurfaced a clip of him talking to the legendary Rakim about DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince‘s smash hit “Summertime.” Last year, while backstage at CBS’ A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop, Smith admitted to Rakim that he was trying to sound like him on the record. “I […]
Eminem is the best-selling rapper of all time, with more than 220 million albums sold throughout his Hall of Fame career. In what’s typically billed as a young person’s genre, Em defeated Father Time and has remained a commercial powerhouse for more than 25 years. In July, the Detroit legend returned with his first project […]
Travis Scott is looking to shake up the world every time he hits the stage. La Flame’s European leg of the Circus Maximus Tour rumbled through Milan on Tuesday, and the 80,000 in attendance sparked worries of a possible earthquake in Italy. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
During a recent stream, Kai Cenat played a new song by Drake and Lil Yachty titled “Supersoak.” The Toronto rapper opens the track with an apparent shot at Soulja Boy, rapping, “I’m watchin’ the moves, playin’ it close/ S.O.D., super soak.” Soulja, whose label Stacks on Deck is often referred to as S.O.D.M.G., recently went […]
Spotify is presenting The Gold Standard art exhibition next week to celebrate women in hip-hop, and Billboard is sharing an exclusive look at Latto‘s portrait Wednesday (July 24). Fine artist Manon Biernacki illustrated larger-than-life portraits of some of the biggest female rappers today, including Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, City Girls, Saweetie, Sexyy […]
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys gave New York City an official anthem with “Empire State of Mind,” and 15 years later, their ode to the Big Apple is certified diamond. The Recording Industry Association of America announced on Wednesday (July 24) that “Empire State of Mind” had gone diamond. It’s Jay’s second diamond plaque following Watch […]