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The fallout from Drake’s feud with Kendrick Lamar hasn’t put a damper on his summer. According to his Honestly, Nevermind collaborator Gordo, the producer hasn’t seen Drake happier. Gordo, formerly known as Carnage, provided an update on the 6 God’s state of mind during a conversation with People in an interview published on Wednesday (July […]
Snoop Dogg is completing another side mission in life when he joins NBC as part of the coverage slated for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics. While breakdancing is now an Olympic sport, rapping won’t be at the Olympic Games in Paris. However, if there were a team for rap at the Games, Snoop Dogg knows the three hip-hop legends he’d be taking with him to represent the United States.
“Definitely would take Eminem,” Snoop tells Billboard on a Wednesday morning (July 24) conference call from Paris. “Gotta have that global experience. I definitely would take Rakim. Old school. Then I would go grab a female. I’d go grab Queen Latifah. Just so that way, I got some royalty. Then, naturally, I gotta take Snoop Dogg. Come on, man. What are we talking about? I mean, dream team. Let’s go.”
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With Snoop joined by Rakim, Eminem and Queen Latifah, were rapping an actual Olympic sport, he’d be bringing quite the potent mix of rhyming icons with him as part of Team USA, with his picks boasting plenty of experience in the hip-hop realm.
It’s slated to be a very busy few weeks in France for Snoop Dogg once the Opening Ceremony kicks off the Olympic Games on Friday night (July 26). He’ll join NBC’s Mike Tirico as part of Primetime In Paris, which will provide wall-to-wall coverage of Olympic competitions, and will go behind the scenes with some of the world’s favorite athletes.
Snoop Dogg will also be serving as a torchbearer at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Death Row alum is set to carry the lit-up torch through the streets of Saint-Denis in northern Paris.
“It says a lot about America as far as where we at in this world,” he said later in the call about having the torchbearer honor bestowed upon him. “I look at it as a prestigious honor. I would’ve never truly dreamed of something like this. I’ma be on my best behavior. I’ma be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breath slow, walk fast and have a smile on my face.”
Snoop continued, “I’m thinking back to Muhammad Ali and when Muhammad Ali was holding it. It was emotional for all of us to see the champ holding that torch and walking it up there. That’s what it feels like to me. My own version of it.”
The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be streaming on Peacock.
Eminem could tweak the lyric of one of his most famous hits to “Love the Way You Stream.” The American rapper has received a Brit Billion Award by the BPI, which represents the U.K.’s leading music companies. The award recognizes artists who have achieved more than one billion U.K. career streams – a mark that […]
There are plenty of songs you could pick to get pumped up for your one big moment. But if you only have one shot at an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime, there is only one that guarantees that you will own it and never let it go: Eminem‘s iconic Oscar-winning 2002 8 Mile […]
At this point, Rihanna‘s Navy will take whatever she wants to give them. While the eternal wait for R9 appears to be ongoing, on Tuesday (July 23), RihRih flashed something else that revved her fans’ engines: her underwear. The singer took to the streets in a blue button down over a black Savage x Fenty […]
On Monday, Snoop Dogg took to Instagram to share the sad news about the death of his older cousin, illustrator Darryl “Joe Cool” Daniel, the artist behind his Doggystyle album cover.
The post simply says “R.I.P. my big cuzn joe cool” along with a video Daniel took while hanging out at the studio with Snoop’s 2017 song “Promise You This” playing in the background.
Joe Cool, as cousins Snoop and Daz Dillinger called him, was instrumental in Snoop’s branding. Signing his work under the name Joe Cizzool, he illustrated the iconic artwork for the Long Beach rapper’s seminal debut album Doggystyle. Daniel was also responsible for the Gin and Juice single artwork, as well as the back of The Doggfather CD and the cover art for The Last Meal.
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Daz also paid tribute to his late cousin with a picture of him, Snoop and Joe Cool hanging out as well as a couple pics of Daniel highlighting his art.
The caption reads, “REST N PEACE DARYL JOE COOL DANIEL. MY BIGG CUZZN THIS REALLY HURTS WE GREW UP TOGETHER U WAS THERE FROM DAY ONE IM GONE REALLY REALLY MISS U BIGG CUZ.”
According to an interview with HipHopDX in 2013, Daniel said he was incarcerated and on drugs when his younger cousin asked him to do his album cover, but he didn’t believe Snoop was rapping with Dr. Dre at first. While he was doing a bid in California State Prison, he sent his sister a drawing of Snoop, and when his little cousin was visiting Daniel’s sister, Snoop hopped on the phone.
“He told me he was rapping with Dr. Dre,” Joe Cool told HipHopDX. “I told him, ‘That’s a goddamn lie. Blow that smoke up somebody else’s ass. Put my sister back on the phone, lyin’ ass n—a.’ He’s like, ‘I’m serious, man. I’m rapping with Dr. Dre.’ I’m like, ‘OK. All right.’ I said to my sister, ‘He rapping with N.W.A Dr. Dre?’ She said, ‘Yeah, he come out and get ’em.’ I said, ‘No sh–. Put him back on the phone.’ I said, ‘Give me 25 dollars.’ He said, ‘All right. I ain’t got no money right now, but I’ll send it to you… Joe, I’mma be the sh—, man.’”
Daniel started to believe his cousin when he played an early version of “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” over the phone; he then made good on his word and sent the money. “Then he sent me that $25, that’s when I believed him.”
He said Snoop pleaded with him to stop using drugs. “‘Get yourself off that sh–,’” Joe Cool says Snoop told him. “’I want you to do my album cover, man. I’m doing Dre’s album. Then my album gonna come out.’ He said, ‘Get your sh– together, Joe Cool.’”
That conversation changed both of their lives. “I didn’t think it would be iconic, man,” Daniel said of Doggystyle. “And then when it sold as many as it sold, and I seen my sh– up there, it just gave me…like damn. I can’t believe it. My artwork is out there, ’cause Snoop let it come. He gave me the opportunity, man. He got me a little bit of 15 minutes of fame up in the world. It’s been 20 years, man. He gave me that opportunity. Man, I love him for it.”
Rest in peace, Joe Cizzool.
They say good things come in threes, and The Weeknd is putting the finishing touches on his After Hours/Dawn FM trilogy. Abel posted the cinematic trailer previewing the intoxicating track on Tuesday (July 23), which is another signal the third chapter is on the way from the Canadian crooner. “When you gaze long enough into […]
Eminem has a massive week on Billboard’s charts (dated July 27) thanks to his new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).
Released July 12 on Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records, the set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 281,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in its opening week, according to Luminate. It arrives with the biggest week (by units) for a rap album in 2024.
The set becomes Eminem’s 11th career Billboard 200 No. 1, tying Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Ye (formerly Kanye West) for the fifth most, after The Beatles (19), Jay-Z (14), Taylor Swift (14) and Drake (13).
All 16 songs (excluding spoken-word skits) on the album concurrently land on the Billboard Hot 100, led by lead single “Houdini” at No. 10. Here’s a recap (all of which are debuts except where noted).
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Eminem on the July 27, 2024-dated Hot 100:
No. 10, “Houdini” (up from No. 18; peaked at No. 2 in June)
No. 19, “Habits,” with White Gold
No. 20, “Renaissance”
No. 21, “Fuel,” with JID
No. 24, “Tobey,” with Big Sean & BabyTron (up from No. 27; new high)
No. 25, “Brand New Dance”
No. 27, “Somebody Save Me,” with Jelly Roll
No. 30, “Evil”
No. 31, “Trouble”
No. 37, “Lucifer,” with Sly Pyper
No. 39, “Antichrist”
No. 45, “Guilty Conscience 2”
No. 56, “Temporary,” with Skylar Grey
No. 59, “Road Rage,” with Dem Jointz & Sly Pyper
No. 69, “Bad One,” with White Gold
No. 72, “Head Honcho,” with Ez Mil
“Somebody Save Me” notably reworks Jelly Roll’s “Save Me” (with Lainey Wilson), which ranked in the Hot 100’s top 40 earlier this year after reaching No. 19 last November. “Save Me” also topped the Country Airplay chart for two weeks in December.
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With 14 debuts, Eminem ups his career total from 98 to 112 Hot 100 entries. He becomes the 19th act to chart at least 100 songs dating to the survey’s 1958 inception and now has the 11th-most appearances.
Artists With the Most Hot 100 Hits:
333, Drake
264, Taylor Swift
207, Glee Cast
199, Future
186, Lil Wayne
157, Kanye West
148, Nicki Minaj
140, Lil Baby
117, Chris Brown
117, Travis Scott
112, Eminem
109, Elvis Presley (whose career launch predated the Hot 100’s start)
108, Lil Uzi Vert
106, Beyoncé
105, Jay-Z
105, Justin Bieber
104, YoungBoy Never Broke Again
103, 21 Savage
101, The Weeknd(as of July 27, 2024)
Of Eminem’s 112 Hot 100 entries, 63 have reached the top 40. That’s the eighth most, after Drake (205), Swift (165), Lil Wayne (88), Elvis Presley (81), Ye (78), Nicki Minaj (75) and Future (67).
Meanwhile, thanks to their featured appearances on The Death of Slim Shady, Sly Pyper, Dem Jointz and Ez Mil all score their first career Hot 100 visits.
Sly Pyper, who debuts via “Lucifer” and “Road Rage,” is a longtime songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who has also collaborated with Dr. Dre, The Game, Kendrick Lamar, Shaggy and Snoop Dogg in various roles. He previously worked on Eminem’s No. 1 albums Recovery (2010) and Music to Be Murdered By (2020).
Dem Jointz is likewise an established songwriter-producer who claims his first Hot 100 hit under an artist billing with “Road Rage.” Before this week, he logged seven songs on the chart as a credited producer: Eminem’s “Lock It Up,” featuring Anderson .Paak (No. 89 peak in 2020); Ye’s “Jail” (No. 10, 2021), “Believe What I Say” (No. 28, 2021), “Jail Pt. 2” (No. 63, 2021) and “New Again” (No. 68, 2021); Fivio Foreign’s “City of Gods,” featuring Ye and Alicia Keys (No. 46, 2022); and BTS’ “Run BTS” (No. 73, 2022). Dem Jointz has also collaborated with aespa, Dr. Dre, Janet Jackson, NCT 127 and Rihanna. Dem Jointz (real name: Dwayne Abernathy Jr.) shared the 2022 Grammy Award for best rap song for his contributions to Ye’s “Jail.”
Ez Mil also earns his first Hot 100 entry, thanks to his featured credit on “Head Honcho.” The rapper first reached Billboard’s charts in August 2023 with another Eminem collab: “Realest” reached No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart. The 25-year-old, from the Philippines, signed a joint venture deal with Shady Records, Aftermath and Interscope.
NFL star Joe Burrow was bumping Eminem’s new album so much this past week that the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback showed up to training camp doing his best Slim Shady impression. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Burrow traded his golden locks for a clean buzz cut with […]
If you scroll down Blxst’s discography, you’ll see his name plastered alongside some of the biggest acts in hip-hop, including Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Snoop Dogg and more. Though being a perennial hook-man would quench many artists’ thirst, Blxst has a more insatiable appetite: being a jack of all trades.
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“I like to focus on just making the best body of work,” he said ahead of his debut album, I’ll Always Come Find You. “I love albums. So, in songwriting, I practice those things versus a hook. That’s one talent alone, down to the verses, the production, and the space on a song. All of it comes to mind when I’m making a record. I don’t only think, ‘Ok. So the hook is gonna go, so all of it is gonna fall into place.’ Nah, every detail gotta line up, too.”
Released on Friday (July 19), I’ll Always Come Find You is the masterwork Blxst had dreamed of making since childhood, hearing Ye’s Graduation or 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The 20-track entry is a cinematic thriller imbued with love, ambition, and triumph as Blxst navigates through the worlds of Birdie and Big E, fictional characters devised by the singer.
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“The characters Birdie and Big E are two versions of myself,” he says. “Birdie is my inner child, and Big E is the wiser version of me, and I’m dead center channeling the energy of my inner child but trying to be this greater version of myself. It’s just a journey, and I want people to be able to reflect and relate to it.”
With assists from Anderson .Paak and Becky G, Blxst takes creative leaps, proving his versatility. Most notably, on the latter, he rubs shoulders with the Latin megastar on “Rewind,” showcasing his ability to skate beyond L.A. lines. “I’m well aware that I’ve developed a sound that people can identify me with, which is my West Coast two-step that people love me for, but I’m also planting those different seeds of things that I’ve been inspired by as an artist,” he says.
Billboard spoke to Blxst about his debut album, I’ll Always Come to Find You, seeking inspiration from 50 and Ye, the importance of Kendrick’s Pop Out concert to L.A., and more.
You’re coming off two great mixtapes. What was the shift for you mentally knowing that you’re entering your debut album at this point of your career?
I would say the shift was channeling that inner child that fell in love with music in the first place and pulling those different inspirations. No Love Lost and Before You Go, I think I did a good job in developing a sound that people can identify me with, but also, it wasn’t everything that I am. I felt like with I’ll Always Come Find You, I was in position to have the resources to really make that dream album, and that dream album is a concept album, in my opinion — just keeping that art alive. 20 piece, skits and all. We got the short film attached to it. There’s so many layers that people can peel back.
That’s the type of fan that I am when I listen to my favorite albums — like [Kendrick Lamar’s] good kid, m.A.A.d city, and still being able to peel different layers back years down the line. That’s what I plan for fans to do with this one.
You grew up a fan of certain concept albums like Graduation or Get Rich or Die Tryin’. What did you take away from those projects when creating I’ll Always Come Find You.
I love how 50 made it bigger than just the music. It kind of remind me of how they do with Disneyland, for example. You got the audio, but you also can see it on ice or you can go meet Mickey Mouse. You can buy his ears. That’s how I wanted to create a world for my album. So we got the audio, which is a soundtrack to the short film and then we got the activation where we’ll bring the characters to life with the tour and all that.
You mentioned skits earlier on and you have E-40 speaking on a few of them. Talk about the importance of having skits and using them to thread together the story you’re trying to tell.
I think it just heightens the details of what you’re trying to get across the album. It’s mostly about the sonics — they’re here for the songs — but the glue is the skits and that’s what amplifies the story. We put details into that. We scored the skits and everything.
How selective were you when picking the right features, knowing that this isn’t only your debut album, but a concept release?
It’s kind of crazy because I started off sonically like, “What’s organic?” Who are the artists that rock with me naturally? Before I’d be like, “OK. This artist would fit perfect for this story.” I just tried to see who was rocking with me ’cause it’s tough just reaching out to everybody and banking on them to be a part of a rollout. Everybody on the album, I can genuinely say they’re rocking with me on a personal level or they reached out to me and was a fan of my music. Just breaking it down to the hero’s journey — if you look at the concept of a hero’s journey, it’s always that one person that’ll help you navigate through the journey that you’re about to embark. That’s how I look at each feature. These are different people that I came across on the journey that’s helping me get to that next stage.
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I remember Nipsey told me he started working on Victory Lap in 2014 and the first record he worked on was “Real Big.” For you, knowing that you were actively working on your mixtapes, were you also piecing together your album at the same time?
Mentally, I was because I wanted to complete a sentence. So it’s No Love Lost, Before You Go, I’ll Always Come Find You. So that was always the goal — but musically, that was later down the line.
You have two home run features in Anderson .Paak and Becky G. Did you have to step out of your element to make those features work, especially with the latter?
Anderson .Paak, I don’t really feel like that was too far of a step, maybe because of the fan that I am of him and just studying his catalog, being a super fan of Malibu. I literally have a tattoo on my neck of a bird because of his lyric, “A bird with a word came to me/ A sweetness of a honeycomb tree.” I’m a huge fan of him.
Does he know that?
I don’t think I’ve had a chance to tell him yet. [Laughs.] But I just think of me being a fan, I know the direction that he goes in with music. I know he loves live instruments and it was perfect combination. He’s from Cali at the end of the day, so it wasn’t too far.
I will say with Becky G — I knew it was gonna throw people off, but being from L.A., we blend with the Latin community like bread and butter. It was only a matter of time before I merged into that lane and I think we should do more of that just being where I’m from, but also just hip-hop. It started with Black and Brown anyway. So these moments need to be amplified.
You mentioned in the past how Ty Dolla $ign is a sensei to you. What are some things you’ve taken away from his artistry?
The limitlessness. He’s multi-dimensional. He’s from where he’s from. He always takes LA whereever he goes, but you can’t put that man in a box at all. I just like how he leads by example moreso than anything. When everybody was going left, he always went right. It was always unpredictable, but it wasn’t a reach. It was a perfect blend and he kept it soulful, too. Anytime he “crossed over,” it was still that soul and tone of voice that still related to what you love him for.
On “Long Way Home,” you speak about losing LA heroes like Nipsey and Drakeo The Ruler. You were part of the Pop Out last month. Do you feel like the Pop Out was a step in the right direction in terms of preserving and protect LA artists?
Hell yeah. [Kendrick] relit a certain flame that LA needed. It’s a certain light and pride that we uphold that I feel like we’re back on that bullsh-t again. Luckily, I was able to have an album in motion around this time to be able to pop out and continue that energy, but even being from LA and seeing what’s going on right now, the collaborative spirit is at an all-time high. It’s inspiring to see what one artist can do and it took somebody like Kendrick who’s at the top of their game to pull up young artists and say, “Y’all might not ever seen these faces before,” but they need some light too and we’re keeping that energy alive.
You were on “Die Hard” from Kendrick’s Mr. Morale era, and he’s clearly on a different type of time now. How would you compare Kendrick then and now?
Man, that’s another unpredictable guy. As soon as you think he’s going left, he’s gonna go right. That’s what I love about him as an artist.
He’s a Gemini, man.
He’s crazy and bipolar. [Laughs.]
You and Amanda Reifer teamed up again after appearing on “Die Hard” together. What made you guys reunite on this album?
We were Grammy-nominated. I wanted to keep that energy going. So I wanted to set the tone early and I got in with Amanda. This was actually our first time meeting each other like beyond the success of the “Die Hard” record. We got in and Sounwave executive produced this entire album. He did the “Die Hard” record, too. It was a good combination, man, and I’m glad we started the album like this. The title alone, “Long Way Home” just embodies my whole mental state in approaching the music industry.
You also brought the legendary Fatman Scoop back on this album. What made you decide to have him along for the ride?
For my album, I wanted some kind of nostalgic piece. I always go back to my childhood when I try to pull inspiration and my sister was a huge Missy Elliott, Ciara fan and them moments that made you dance. Hearing him hype up the song, there’s a certain element that we don’t really have today. There’s a few people that do it like Mustard and Khaled, I just wanted to keep that element alive and bring it back on a nostalgic level from the source.
How do you feel you’ve grown as a songwriter since the release of No Love Lost on this album?
No Love Lost to now? I think just naturally experiencing life. I still go through real life experiences. I’m a father of two boys. I come home to my family and I chill with them every Sunday, so I also like to express their stories for the ones who don’t write music. I think also being a listener moreso than anything kind of adds to that because I don’t really like talking a lot. I like to put it in the music and express myself in a artform. I think naturally over time that helped me progress my pen and how I narrate my story.
How was your Coachella experience and how did that help raise your confidence level as a performer?
Man, that’s one of the biggest stages that I’ve ever been on. So many legends that touched that stage, I didn’t wanna just jump on the stage with no regular, degular show. That’s why we added the theme of foreshadowing an album. We brought The Grand National that’s gonna play a part of the album on stage, and even down to the outfits, the storyline, the graphics, everything was all consistent and cohesive. The fans are gonna be able to peel the layers later down the line, but it was an honor. I take everything serious, because it’s an opportunity at the end of the day. I don’t have to. I get to. That’s how I approach everything.
How elevated is the tour going to be knowing the storyline behind this album?
Man, my team is going to have to talk me down because I been dreaming big! I’m thinking, like, how can we make it a play on stage? Bring the characters from the short film on the tour, where they can pop out and give a monologue.
Who’s gonna play Birdie?
Man, I’m Birdie.
Oh you’re gonna try to do double duty. Say less.
Right. [Laughs.] But we’re still experimenting and throwing ideas out there right now, but it’s definitely gonna be an alignment of the album.