R&B/Hip-Hop
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In terms of 21st-century music, there are few gospel artists who can traverse genres and retain the same levels of respect and integrity wherever their music takes them. One of those artists is Yolanda Adams.
Across her sprawling, nearly four-decade career, Adams has lifted contemporary gospel to staggering mainstream heights, including five No. 1s on Top Gospel Albums from 16 career top ten entries. 1999’s blockbuster Mountain High…Valley Low is Adams’ most impressive showing on the Billboard charts, spending a whopping 32 weeks atop Gospel Albums, reaching No. 24 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and spawning the massive crossover hit “Open My Heart,” which leveraged success across R&B, dance, and gospel audiences to No. 57 peak on the Billboard Hot 100. An accomplished singer, songwriter, and radio host, Adams has also doubled down on her acting bona fides with two hit seasons of Kingdom Business, a BET+ musical drama executive produced by fellow gospel icon Kirk Franklin.
It’s been 13 years since Adams’ last LP – 2011’s Dove Award-winning Becoming – and each of those years provides ample inspiration for 2024’s Sunny Days (out Sept. 13), created over the course of the past six years. Crafted in collaboration with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Donald Lawrence, John Jackson, Warryn Campbell, and Sir the Baptist, Sunny Days is a genre-fusing 16-track set that invites listeners to reevaluate their relationship with God and find ways to source inspiration from their own hearts and minds. “Church Doors,” the album’s lead single, arrived two weeks ago (Aug. 29) alongside a Fatima Robinson-helmed music video and two dance mixes featuring contributions from Terry Hunter and J. Ivy.
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To help promote the album, Adams will embark on the Reunion Tour, a 33-date North American arena trek that also features Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Fred Hammond, The Clark Sisters, and special guest Kierra Sheard-Kelly.
“I’ve been in rehearsals for two weeks. You may get a 30-minute or an hour break and then you’re back at it,” Adams explains to Billboard. “The closer you get to tomorrow, the more you’re trying to iron out the kinks, but I’m excited! I’m performing [two new songs from Sunny Days], ‘Church Doors’ and the remix.”
In an enlightening conversation with Billboard, Yolanda Adams details the making of Sunny Days, what she wants next in her acting career, taking the stage after a Trump-tainted NABJ Convention, and a possible RuPaul collaboration.
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1. Why was now the time to come back with a new album?
Yolanda Adams: Well, I’m like LL Cool J, don’t call it a comeback! [Laughs.] I’ve been busy, but it was finally time to make sure that the project we started in 2018 actually got done. I’ve told my daughter forever: If you start something, you got to finish it.
2. When was the moment you knew you had a full record on your soul?
Maybe about two years ago. Jimmy [Jam] and Terry [Lewis] and I have been working since 2018. As soon as [that year’s] Grammys was over, the next day I was in the studio writing and putting some stuff down. Getting together with those guys is magic all the time because we’re always on the same trajectory of where we want the music to go for the world.
We worked on like three songs and then went back home. I started touring and then [my daughter] Taylor graduated, we [moved] her into Howard [University], and then the pandemic started. We couldn’t get back into the studio because the world was locked. Then in the beginning of 2021 was the first season of Kingdom Business. Jimmy and Terry were [also] working with Babyface for a Vegas residency, and then all of a sudden they started talking about the second season of Kingdom Business, so in between all of that we were doing a song here and a song there.
This journey is just like the journey of life. You have your stops, you have your starts, you have your up days, you have your down days, you have your days of “Okay, what are we really doing?” And finally, we finished everything.
3. What was the song that finally made the album feel complete?
Once we finished the last two songs with Don Lawrence and Sir the Baptist. They were the two we were missing. We thought we had hit everybody who’s been a fan, and everybody who wonders “What can we get from Yolanda this time?”
4. Why did “Sunny Days” feel like the appropriate title track?
The world has been in such a weird place between 2018 and 2024. Sometimes we take for granted that the way we’re living today is going to be the same tomorrow or a couple of years from now. We have gone through [these] roller [coasters] of political and cultural craziness, and I wanted to write a song that expresses staying at an even type of keel, no matter what happens. No matter what you see, your perspective still has to be one of faith and optimism, so that’s why the entire album is called Sunny Days.
5. “On God” is a fantastic opener. How did that track come together?
That track came together because of a young man named Jamel [Smith], whose uncle John [Jackson] if I can say this, is our new “Big Jim.” He has this way of creating melodies, and Jamel has that young, fresh way of approaching gospel music without tearing down its integrity but giving it this fresh sound to where you want to keep listening to it.
6. On “When We Pray,” there’s a really poignant lyric that goes: “Pain ain’t exclusive to you.” What was on your mind as you were writing these songs and sequencing the album?
“When We Pray” is one of those songs that we wanted to hone in on because to get through life, you’re going to have to have an anchor. As believers, our anchor is prayer. That keeps us in communication with God. It keeps us grounded [and] balanced. Sometimes people feel that they’re on an island with their own pain, and that’s where the lyric comes from. There are eight billion people on this Earth, somebody at this present moment is feeling the same pain that you are. Don’t feel like you’re all alone by yourself, because He is the answer. When you pray, He hears exactly what you say.
7. There are a lot of different styles on the album – a bit of contemporary R&B, some funk, a little nod to Afropop – what were you listening to while crafting this album?
I don’t listen to anyone else in my genre when I’m preparing an album. I don’t listen to anyone in genres that I love — like jazz, R&B, techno, or funk — because I want to hear my sound for that particular project. I listen to seascapes and a lot of Beethoven. I don’t like listening to what someone else is doing in my genre, because I never want to compare myself to what they’re doing. Chances are, if they’re younger than me, I’ve been there and I’ve done that because what I was doing when I was their age is now standard.
I want to authentically be myself musically and spiritually, so I pull concepts and inspiration out of asking myself questions and journaling. I have notebooks all over my house. I call either Jimmy or Terry and I say, “Hey, this is what I’m listening to in my head, and think this is what I hear.” Then they [and Jackson] come up with these chord structures, and so does my [musical director] Rodney East. Music, just like life, is a collaboration. I don’t know anyone on this earth who doesn’t need anybody. That’s just the way great music happens and I believe that this album is going to change the way people view God.
A lot of people have fallen into the trap of this Christian nationalist way of looking at God, and God has never placed himself in a box. So, we should never place God in a box. When your God can hate anyone that He created, we have a problem. He created each one of us knowing us and loving us. If he can know us, create us, love us, and be proud of us, why can’t we do the same thing?
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8. What were the first and last songs recorded for this album?
The very first song we recorded after the 2018 Grammys was “I Give You Peace” That is our adult version of a lullaby for grown people. I had just gone through some business challenges, I was trying to put something in the market and the market didn’t grasp it. I was at a happy place in my music and life, but this product could not get off the ground. My daughter was about to go to college and she was in a happy place and all of that. And I’m like, why isn’t this working?
It was just as though I heard God speaking to me. I’m in my office right by the stairwell and I look and the piano is there, and I hear God say, “Embrace the change you go through because in time it will reveal. Now face the day with expectancy, for your wounded heart will heal. There is a moment that you will notice a joy washes over you and takes the pain away. Now, step by step, your strengths [are] renewed.” God is about movement. God is about energy. God is about a step-by-step learning situation. I may not have even written that song, without going through what I did.
“Church Doors” was the last song that we did and we were in Chicago.
9. Last song recorded but the lead single — how did that happen?
Isn’t that something?! Sylvia Rhone fell in love with both of those songs that Donald Lawrence and Sir the Baptist wrote. Now, of course, she loves Jimmy and Terry and she loves Warryn Campbell, who’s on there as well, but she fell in love with “Church Doors.” The first version of that song that she heard was the demo which was real gospel-y, and she loves gospel music. [Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis] was also like “Oh, this one right here,” so we were all in agreement.
10. You came out the gate with two very different mixes of “Church Doors,” why was that important for you to do?
Oh my gosh, I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but I love to dance! Growing up in a household full of music and siblings that had fun [together], there was this musical joy that we had with no restrictions. We were Baptists, and Baptists could smoke and drink and go to the bowling alley and wear pants and all that. I didn’t have all of the restrictions that everybody else did, God was cool enough to go to the bowling alley with us. [Laughs.] He was also cool enough to go to the movies and be at church studies.
[My team] sent a suggestion of the dance mix and I said, “Listen, if we’re going to do a dance mix, it better be fire.” Because if I have a dance mix, I’m going to dance! Me and Donald just cracked up, and he was like, “Sis, I got you.” So, they called J. Ivy and he hopped on it too. I’m just really excited that people get a chance to see all the versions of who I am and what I enjoy.
11. Talk to me about the music video. Did you know you were going a bit viral on X (formerly Twitter)?
Come on. I mean, we couldn’t ask for a better video! We couldn’t ask for a better choreographer or a better cinematographer. You get all of these views of different aspects of this song, which is really a testimony song. I think everybody can relate to it because there are times in our lives when we feel like we don’t know what’s going to happen and then you hear the Spirit of the Lord say, “Hey, you’re not done. You ain’t seen nothing yet, because your best is yet to come.” And you’re like, “When you let me get to those church doors, I’m going to tell them all what you’ve done for me.”
And then Fatima came in with some great choreography. She has a great eye. Everything worked together, I loved the clothes, the youthful look, the fact that some of the young people were from Kanye’s Sunday Service [choir], and that these were actual union dancers who did not feel any inhibition because “Church Doors” is a gospel/inspirational song. I just wanted them to have fun because I believe that God intends for us to enjoy our life, and you enjoy it the way you enjoy it.
Of course, Woody [McClain] is the icing on the cake. The connection that we had during the video was just like… thank you so much for being in the video, nephew! I owe you.
12. Do you have any cities that you particularly love to perform in or that you’re most excited to go to on the Reunion Tour?
I love all the cities that we’re going to, but if I had to pick a specific city it would be Houston. There’s nothing like performing in your hometown where people who grew up with you are happy to see you doing something great. It feels so good because I live in a city where I am applauded, and not just tolerated. I’m accepted in all areas of my city, politically and socially. I just love it.
13. You performed at the NABJ conference earlier this year. What was it like taking the stage after all of the Trump drama that had plagued the conference in the previous days?
I think the NABJ got a bad rap for being who they are. They’re journalists, and the journalist’s job is to get the story. I don’t agree with [Trump] on a lot of things, but I do [believe] that as a journalist, you should speak to those you agree and disagree with.
The problem with that specific incident is that [Trump] did not come with a heart to be open and honest. He had a whole bunch of stipulations, which you’re never supposed to give a journalist. They’re not asking him questions about Epstein Island or anything like that. They’re asking him legitimate questions as to why we should or should not vote for [him]. Because his M.O. is to attack, I think those ladies that were on stage were used.
I’m a part of NABJ in Houston because my first degree is in radio/TV journalism. To hear from Roland Martin and Joy Reid… they were heartbroken. When you’re on the board and you get sideswiped with some things, of course, you’re going to ask your people, “Hey, what’s up with that?”
Once we actually got to the performance on that Monday night, [the conference attendees] were ready for God to relieve them of that drama. By the time we got there, some folks weren’t sure if they wanted to be a part of this organization any longer. Sometimes, our job is to change the atmosphere and texture of people’s hearts so that they can get rid of the anger and stress and be softened again to do their jobs with the skill that they had been doing their jobs with before. And that’s one thing I’m very proud of when it comes to Team Adams — we understand our responsibility to make sure that wherever we go that atmosphere turns into [one] of love, acceptance, encouragement, and inspiration.
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14. Where do you hope Kingdom Business goes next?
I hope that Kingdom Business gets its rightful place in the annals of great Black television. Although it’s drama and fantasy to a certain extent, I want people to glean from this show that [regardless of who we are] we all have things in our lives that we wish weren’t there. And some of those things come from our upbringing.
[When I think of my character Denita, I think about] how many parents have nitpicked in their children’s lives to the point that the happiness that could have been theirs is not. Then that child turns into a grown-up who’s mad at the world. Not that we need to be the psychiatry of Black television, but I really think that we can speak to those dynamics that these two seasons of Kingdom Business kind of opened up. What I hope happens in [future[ seasons is that we start talking about those things that people are afraid to talk about. I ain’t scared of nobody, I’m Denita Jordan! [Laughs]. I’m not afraid to confront the past in a way that teaches us how not to bring certain things in the future. We have the opportunity of making this one of the premier African-American Emmy-winning programs, I think.
15. Do you have a dream role?
Of course, Denita stretches me, but anything that can stretch me past people’s imaginations of who I am [would be my dream world]. I want to play a multifaceted character that you haven’t seen a gospel artist or a person of inspiration play. That may be a Leontyne Price or a Lola Falana – I know Lori Harvey is playing Lola Falana in [Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist] — but them, or Josephine Baker, those kinds of people. They were multifaceted and they were politically astute.
Even Mahalia Jackson, she did a lot for the cause of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP and the Urban League. She would give portions of her concert revenue to make sure that those things were good. She would cook for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those folks. Those are things that I think people need to know about, African-American women who have really done some great things
16. In April, you scored your first number one on Gospel Airplay since 2005’s “Be Blessed.” What does it mean to you to have that kind of career longevity?
I’m still humbled by it. I am still astonished that after all these years, I’m still loving what I do and it’s not a chore to do it. Just give me some Chai tea with a couple of shots in it –- espresso! [laughs] — and some green grapes and I’m ready.
I deem it an honor and a privilege to be able to go all over the world and do what we do the way we do it. I am surrounded by brilliant people at this table, and in Chicago, New York, LA, and Houston. I’m a different kind of boss; I give everyone room to blossom because I think that’s leadership. I just believe that God continues to pour out not just his spirit, but his favor on all of us because we really want to make the world a better place.
17. Do you think there’s merit to the argument that today’s mainstream R&B singers are vocally lacking because they haven’t been trained in the church, or is that dynamic overblown?
I think there are some incredible singers out there in the R&B realm right now. I don’t think that anyone has to have church choir training or any kind of choir training. But as a person who grew up in the church and understands what that choir training means, the church – good, bad, and different – is your first stage. And that stage can build you, or it can break you down. And thank God, I was a part of a church that built me. From my very first church in the peewee choir to the present day, I get a sense of community. I get a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. I get the sense of a prayer commune, so to speak, that will not let me fall or fail.
Sometimes people just need a little guidance. I remember singing the solo one time, and the church was like [mimes deadpan expression]. I was like, “Well, I gotta go practice.” So, I do believe that there is some merit to having that foundation, and that means different things for different people. The one thing I can say is that I have never heard an R&B singer who came out of the church and could not sing. Tank is one of those, like, “Ms. Yolanda, my daddy was a pastor and blah blah blah.” I said, “I know, baby — because you do them kinda runs you only find in the tenor section of the Second Baptist Church!”
18. At the Grammys this year, you said you would collaborate with RuPaul. Give me three words to describe what that would sound like.
Fun, dancing, electrifying!
19. What voices most excite you in gospel music right now?
Oh man, so many! Almost 100% of the artists that are out. I love Jekalyn [Carr], I love Le’Andria [Johnson], I love all of the Tashas. There’s so much talent in gospel music. Koryn Hawthorne, Jonathan McReynolds, I just love gospel music and the expression of joy that comes in gospel music. We can sing a song for 15 minutes and not sing the same thing twice. I think people who are not fans of the [current] gospel [scene] are not giving it enough grace.
I said this years ago: I love Mahalia Jackson, but I can’t sing “Elijah Rock” like Mahalia Jackson did in the 50s and the 40s and be relevant to the times right now because there are people who have no idea who Mahalia Jackson is. But they do know who Yolanda Adams is — “Already Alright,” The Battle is the Lord’s,” etc. — and now they’re going to get a chance to enjoy even more with Sunny Days. You have to evolve with what’s going on in the world. We don’t have to change who we are, but move with the times so much so that people will say, “Oh! That’s a fresh take on that.”
20. What song from Sunny Days are you most excited for fans to hear?
It would have to be “Sunny Days.” It’s one of those songs that makes you smile when you hear it, and I want them to feel that sentiment in their lives.
It would be difficult to describe hip-hop in 1994 without being hyperbolic. Just look at all the albums celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Without pulling out the clichéd “Golden Age” descriptor, this period was to hip-hop what the Michael Jordan-led 1984 draft class (or even the Kobe-faced 1996 class) came to be for the NBA. So many great debuts arrived that year: There’s Nas’ 10-megaton blast of an introduction, Illlmatic; Outkast’s landscape-shifting Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik; Common’s ascension to the main stage, Resurrection; Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s sonic food for the soul, Main Ingredient; Scarface’s unrepentant opus, The Diary. And then there was Ready to Die.
Released in September 1994, The Notorious B.I.G’s debut album provided a slice of Brooklyn life. But what made it a work of art was its master class showcase of hip-hop’s key elements at play: beats, rhymes, and storytelling. It had a coterie of the genre’s esteemed beatsmiths: Easy Mo Bee, DJ Premier, and Trackmasters, among many others. They all had the greatest voice to lyrically lace up their tough-as-Timbs production. The combination of these ingredients blurred the lines between fiction and documentary, bringing raw vulnerability and behind-the-roving-lens realism to the stories from the underbelly of the beast, or as Big referred to it, “the everyday struggle.”
In this way, you heard the echoes of the cracked out aftermath of the Reagan era (“Things Done Changed,” “Everyday Struggle”), felt the stomach-rumbling reality that forces everyday people to make do with making do (“Gimme the Loot”), and got the fractured interiority of the trauma (“Suicidal Thoughts”) — all told through the lens of the buddha-bellied narrator’s stoop at 226 St. James Place in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn USA. “My life is real,” a 23-year-old Christopher Wallace told reporters on the red carpet of the 1995 Billboard Music Awards, where he won Rap Single of the Year (“One More Chance”) and Artist of the Year. “I wrote about it.”
Even with his honest calculations on the throes of life on the “crack side,” Big made the “rap side” seem both effortless and flawless, too. Against the backdrop of a volatile minefield of circumstances and emotions, Biggie lightened the mood with his sense of humor, wit, and warmth. For every unflinching depiction of hardships (“Used to sell crack, so I could stack my riches”), his wittiness kicks in to air out the cloudy fog (“Making money, smoking mics like crack pipes”). Whether unleashing his taekwondo flows over the funk of “The What” or outlining the 357-ways he can leave an emcee cooked on “Unbelievable,” his talent was as wide as his belt size. What came as a result was an album that shook up the rap landscape, taking it from the Bed-Stuy corners to the pop charts, and beyond. And to to think, it arrived on Friday the 13th.
Three decades since its arrival, Big’s bellow from the ghetto debut remains as prevalent as the sound of sasquatch feet. To celebrate, see how we ranked all 17 tracks.
“#!*@ Me (Interlude)”
Nicki Minaj isn’t letting anyone play with her name. After voicing her frustration with the NFL for overlooking Lil Wayne for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performer in favor of Kendrick Lamar, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith criticized her history of feuding while he defended Jay-Z.
“Who else you gonna get in a beef with. Lil Kim, Mariah Carey, Cardi B, Gucci Mane, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato. Every time we turn around it’s something, Nicki,” the sports commentator began on the Stephen A. Smith Show Thursday (Sept. 12). “You disagree with the decision, you disagree with the decision. You got to talk about [Jay-Z] like that? And why are we talking about Jay-Z like he’s some sort of sellout or something?”
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The First Take host continued: “You know how hard it is for a Black man to pull off what Jay-Z has pulled off in terms of making sure Black folks get that kinda center stage to promote their brand and build their profile. How unappreciative can you be? It ain’t about you as an individual — it’s about all of us as Black people. And that brother Jay-Z has been front and center pushing envelopes.”
Minaj didn’t waste time getting back on the offensive, sharing harsh words with Smith on X Thursday, when she essentially called him a sellout.
“Oh look yall another paid laughy taffy alien who only comes off his knees to turn around & back dat azz up. LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Stephen, we don’t care. Ima tell u right now. We don’t care. If I say more it’ll be your fault. Sit down ugly,” she replied.
Oh look yall another paid laughy taffy alien who only comes off his knees to turn around & back dat azz up. LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Stephen, we don’t care. Ima tell u right now. We don’t care. If I say more it’ll be your fault. 🤨 Sit down ugly 😅🤣 #GagCityBUFFALO TONIGHT #Dtlr https://t.co/qFNq19DafN— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 12, 2024
Stephen wasn’t you just moanin & groanin on live in your bedroom ? LMFAOOOO. And since we here in women’s business…ladies; when should men just shave their full head? Should it take its normal course like SAS Sassy ass or should he look into lace fronts? #GagCityBuffalo TONIGHT— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 12, 2024
The rapper then appeared to sarcastically mix Smith up with his First Take partner Shannon Sharpe, who accidentally went on Instagram Live while getting intimate earlier this week. She also clowned Smith’s receding hairline.
“Stephen wasn’t you just moanin & groanin on live in your bedroom ? LMFAOOOO. And since we here in women’s business…ladies; when should men just shave their full head,” she added, insult to injury. “Should it take its normal course like SAS Sassy a– or should he look into lace fronts?”
Lamar was announced as the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performer Sept. 8, and Lil Wayne publicly spoke out about the NFL’s decision early Friday (Sept. 13), admitting that it “hurt” him to not be selected.
“It hurt a whole lot. I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position,” he told fans in a video posted to Instagram. “So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt.”
Janet Jackson is opening up about another wardrobe malfunction. In an interview with British Vogue in which the 58-year-old pop icon flipped through a look book of some of her most iconic costumes, Jackson stopped on one of the military-inspired looks from her 1989 Rhythm Nation album.
“Funny story. I was performing for the Queen of England, and we were doing Rhythm Nation,” Jackson said of the late British monarch who died at age 96 in Sept. 2022. “Sure enough, as soon as I squatted, my pants split right up my booty crack.” Jackson said she “couldn’t believe” her terrible luck before realizing it was worse than she imagined.
“Then I started feeling air back there, so I knew it had really happened,” she said, revealing her quick-thinking fix for the sartorial nightmare. “I never turned my back to her, which, some of the choreography, I was supposed to. I just faced forward.”
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The story from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is extra poignant given the other wardrobe malfunction she is most commonly associated with. As you may recall, back in 2004 Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake at that year’s Super Bowl halftime show in Houston, during which JT famously ripped off a piece of Jackson’s costume, exposing her nipple for 9/16th of a second.
The moment that was probed in a 2021 New York Times Presents documentary led to a raft of complaints from viewers, as well as fines and significant professional implications for Jackson. For years, many fans and pundits noted that Timberlake appeared to emerge from the pre-social media viral moment with little or no backlash, while Jackson’s career was dealt a blow from the incident after her videos were pulled from Viacom properties including MTV, VH1 and CBS and she was uninvited to that year’s Grammy Awards.
The Super Bowl slip dubbed “Nipple-gate” also introduced the phrase “wardrobe malfunction” into common parlance and, in the wake of the #FreeBritney movement that blew up in 2019, led to Timberlake issuing public apologies to both Jackson and his ex Spears for the way he’d treated them.
“I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond,” Timberlake said at the time after the 2021 Framing Britney Spears documentary portrayed the “Cry Me a River” singer as acting callously following his split with Britney in 2002. “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”
Jackson is gearing up to launch her Las Vegas residency with back-to-back performances on Dec. 30 and New Year’s Eve at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Watch Jackson describe her royal de-pantsing below.
To those closest to him, he was Isaac Freeman III, but around the world, he was renowned as Fatman Scoop. Hip-hop’s premier hype-man and entertainer, Scoop died on Aug. 30 after collapsing on stage at a show in Connecticut doing what he loved — rocking the crowd. He was 56.
Less than two weeks later, Scoop’s peers, friends and family gathered not far from the Harlem projects he was raised in, at the famed Apollo Theater on Thursday (Sept. 12) for a celebration of life ceremony.
Hundreds filed into the legendary venue and felt the full spectrum of emotions. There were laughs shared from funny stories, heartfelt moments, tears shed and some partying to music along the way.
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While Scoop showed up for so many whenever called upon in his decorated life, plenty of recognizable faces returned the favor to be in attendance at the ceremony. For perhaps the final time, Scoop and his recognizable bark brought people from different walks of life together for one last party.
Sway Calloway played MC for the night, while fellow Harlem native Teddy Riley, Jim Jones, A$AP Ferg, Busta Rhymes, DJ Webstar, Angie Martinez, Kid Kapri, Ron Browz, DJ Enuff and more either spoke or performed in some capacity throughout the evening. Other familiar faces spotted in the crowd included LL Cool J, Maino, DJ Self, Treach, Datwon Thomas and more.
Beyond the hits such as “Be Faithful,” Grammy award wins and working with the likes of Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey, there were a few characteristics that continued to pop up in people’s pensive stories on Thursday, which spoke to Scoop’s infallible nature as a great human being past his art.
For one, he was always a phone call — or voice note text message — away and came through for his friends, even if it didn’t come with a bag. Two, Scoop doesn’t get enough credit for how prolific of an MC he was before charting a different path as a trailblazing entertainer. “[Scoop] told me one story how he was supposed to be the first Biggie. And, like, Biggie jacked his style,” Ferg said, which drew laughs from the audience.
Three, he never had issues or beef with anyone in the industry. “Fatman Scoop is probably one of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever met on this planet,” Busta Rhymes declared. “I don’t think I’ve ever ran into Fatman Scoop having an off day. I’ve never seen him angry, I’ve never seen him upset, I’ve never seen him perspire and worry about things outside of when he was on that stage busting a–.”
And four, the man stayed fresh and kept a bottle of Scope mouthwash on him at all times. “We had a crowd of people around and some girls were around, and Scoop was around and all the girls gave him the attention,” Teddy Riley said. “Why? He had the cologne. He had the cologne game on lock, but he had the Scope game on lock, and that’s why girls wanted to be around him. He didn’t have bad breath. I said to myself, ‘If I do that, would I be biting?’”
Fatman Scoop’s contributions to Missy Elliott and Ciara’s “Lose Control” earned him a Grammy award and a top five Billboard Hot 100 hit (No. 3) in 2005. Outside of music, he made waves as a reality star and overnight host at Hot 97, where he claimed to bring the first video camera into the station.
Hip-hop will be a bit quieter without Fatman Scoop’s signature raspy and resonant shout, but his life of the party legacy is etched into rap lore. Scoop is survived by his two children — Torrance and Tiana Freeman — and brother Kendall “Young Sav” Freeman.
While former President Donald Trump’s amplification of false claims during Tuesday’s presidential debate that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH are “eating dogs… eating the cats” have been widely debunked and endlessly mocked on social media, Wyclef Jean says it’s not funny and we need to keep our eyes on what’s important in November’s election.
The rapper/producer who was born in Haiti and emigrated to Brooklyn as a child told TMZ on Thursday (Sept. 12) that America’s historic embrace of immigrants is the nation’s “greatest asset.” Though he avoiding the repetition of the rumor spread by Trump and his VP pick, Ohio native JD Vance — which the state’s Republican Governor has said is without merit — ‘Clef stressed that we should all be taking this fall’s vote seriously.
“I will be forever grateful for my family’s life, for having a fair chance to live what is called the ‘American Dream,’” said Wyclef, who posted the TMZ chat on his X feed. “One of our greatest assets in America is that we are a country of immigrants. I speak from the heart when I say, Haitian people living in the U.S. are good neighbors and good people. We care about humanity. We care about our neighbors.”
Trump made the fallacious claim during his first, and seemingly, only debate with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris this week in a moment that instantly became fodder for ridicule and contempt on late night shows and social media. Wyclef, who has long been a proud supporter of his native country, urged his fellow Americans to stop spreading the dangerous rumors.
“On behalf of Haitian Americans, I ask that we stop these racist messages and accusations. Put our hands out in peace and say thanks for being my neighbor,” Wyclef said. “We need to respect one another and vote based on policies and facts, not crazy talk. And we need to shake hands with one another and be thankful we are part of an America for all.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine dismissed Trump’s claims in a CBS interview on Wednesday, brushing aside the fake news that first popped up on right-wing social media feeds before being amplified by Vance and other Republicans. “This is something that came up on the internet and the internet can be quite crazy sometimes,” DeWine said, noting that the city’s mayor has confirmed that there is no credible evidence to support the cat- and dog-eating claims.
The rumors appear to have started following an incident in nearby Canton, OH in which a woman was arrested for killing and eating a cat, then further boosted by a photo of a person holding a dead goose that some on social media claimed was of a Haitian resident of Springfield. The video taken in Canton depicts a woman who is not Haitian being arrested for cruelty to companion animals; after being charged with the fifth-degree felony the woman plead not guilty by reason of insanity. The images were picked up and widely distributed by white supremacists, as well as X boss Elon Music and Vance, who has a home 45 minutes away from Springfield in neighboring Cincinnati, OH.
“I think we go with what the mayor says. He knows the city,” DeWine said of the town that has seen a major influx of 12,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants over the past few years that has strained city services, but who the Governor said have filled jobs in the city and work “very, very hard.”
While DeWine did not go so far as to say that the amplification of the rumor that started on a Springfield Facebook group were endangering the city’s Haitian population, U.S. National Security spokesperson John Kirby did deem Vance and Trump’s comments “dangerous.” The racist trope claiming immigrants cook and serve household pets has been used to demean and ostracize migrants for more than a century. In the midst of his third run for the White House, convicted felon Trump, 78 has continued to double-down on the debunked animal-eating claim in appearances this week.
In comments on Tuesday, Kirby said, “What’s deeply concerning to us is you’ve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing, you know, yet another conspiracy theory that’s just seeking to divide people based on lies and, let’s be honest, based on an element of racism. This kind of language, this kind of disinformation, is dangerous because there will be people that believe it, no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt. So it needs to stop.”
Singer, activist and Springfield native John Legend also weighed in on the danger of spreading such hurtful lies in a video posted on his Instagram in which he touched on the rush of Haitian immigrants who’ve moved to his hometown to escape the political turmoil in their native country.
“I think all of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want our ancestors to have when they moved here with our Haitian brothers and sisters who moved here too,” Legend said in a video posted on Thursday. “And nobody’s eating cats. Nobody’s eating dogs. We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment. How about we love one another?”
Legend noted that he grew up in the Christian tradition that encourages everyone to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves and treat strangers as though they might be Christ. So how about we adopt that ethos when we talk about immigrants moving to our communities and don’t spread hateful, xenophobic, racist lies about them?”
According to the Huffington Post, Springfield City Hall and other downtown buildings received bomb threats prompting an evacuation on Thursday, with Mayor Rob Rue saying that the threat featured “hateful language” aimed at Haitians and immigrants. In addition, the president of the city’s nonprofit Haitian Community Help and Support Center told NBC News that the recent hateful attention on the city’s Haitian population has them “scared for their lives,” with some residents keeping their children home from school out of fear.
Watch Legend’s video below.
Lil Wayne has broken his silence about not being tapped to perform at the halftime show at the 2025 Super Bowl in his hometown a week after the NFL announced that Los Angeles native Kendrick Lamar will do the honors. In an Instagram post on Friday (Sept. 13), a serious-sounding explained why it took him a minute to speak out about the booking that “broke” him, while expressing gratitude for the friends and peers who’ve expressed support and questioned why Tunechi was passed over.
“First of all, I want to say forgive me for the delay. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking,” said a somber, clearly dispirited Wayne. “I’mma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all love and support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
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Wayne, seated on a couch and dressed in a red, white and blue track jacket and red shorts, got super vulnerable about how the news hit him. “That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” he said haltingly. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”
The pain and vulnerability clearly etched on his face, Weezy bounced from distress to gratitude for all the people who held him up after the news broke. “But y’all are f–king amazing. It made me feel like s–t not getting this opportunity and when I felt like s–t, you guys reminded me that I ain’t s–t without y’all… and that’s an amazing reality,” added the 41-year-old MC who has been repping his city for three decades.
“So, like I said, it broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together,” he continued. “But my God, have you all helped me. Thanks to all of my peers, my friends, my family, my homies on the sports television and everybody repping me. I really appreciate that, I really do. I feel like I let all of y’all all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me and I’m working. So thank you.”
Back in February, mega sports fan Wayne openly admitted that he coveted the halftime slot during what is typically the most-watched TV event of the year. “I will not lie to you, I have not got a call,” he said on YG’s 4Hunnid podcast. “But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I’m going make it very hard for them to … I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy.”
Since the new about K-Dot broke, a number of fellow rappers have come to Wayne’s defense over what they saw as a snub of the MC whose name is synonymous with the Crescent City. Among the supporters was Lamar’s chief rival Drake, who posted a series of photos of his mentor on Instagram on Tuesday, seemingly lining up behind Weezy without offering any context for his post. Other fellow Young Money/Cash Money family members including Nicki Minaj and Birdman have also spoken up about the perceived slight.
“Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!! Nola what’s good,” Minaj tweeted. New Orleans native and No Limit Records boss Master P also spoke out in support of Wayne, as did Cam’ron and Mase, with Cam calling the pass-over “egregious.”
After a dry-run sharing the stage with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent during the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show in Los Angeles, Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Lamar will do the honors at Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9. 2025; at press time no additional guests had been announced for next year’s halftime show and Lamar had not responded to the backlash about to the Lil Wayne brush-off complaints.
Watch Wayne’s video below.
Instead of being on the receiving end, Playboi Carti is giving out a gift for all of his fans on his 29th birthday. Carti unleashed his first song to hit streaming services since 2020 with the blood-stained “All Red” on Friday (Sept. 13).
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Carti surprised fans when rumors began circulating about a single potentially arriving. Shortly after being posted to YouTube, “All Red” indeed made its way onto DSPs.
“THIS 1 FOR YAL, I CANT LIE,” Carti wrote on his Opium label’s Instagram page.
The Atlanta rapper reconnects with frequent collaborator F1lthy, who provides the chaotic production. “Upside-down cross tat’ on my neck, shut ’em up, uh/ The Bentley is parked outside, my vibe tryna go for a ride/ I put VETEMENTS right on her thighs, I put the mask on ’cause I be fried,” he raps.
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Carti is no stranger to mixing up his vocals and he dropped the pitch of his voice once again here. Some compared his flow on “All Red” to sounding similar to Future. “Playboi Carti was definitely inspired by Future on “ALL RED” crazy how much influence Future has on all these rappers,” one fan wrote.
Another said: “All jokes aside that new Carti sound like future.”
There are finally some signals of Playboi Carti’s much-delayed I Am Music album being on the horizon. He posted various vinyl covers for the project to his Instagram and directed fans to his website.
Carti’s webstore is selling digital albums along with merchandise bundles, but there’s no release date and it’s only promised to arrive before October 2025.
PBC t-shirt bundles are available for $50 while pre-orders for the I Am Music hat and hoodie bundles are on sale for $65 and $100 plus fees, respectively.
“All Red” is Carti’s first streaming release since 2020’s Whole Lotta Red. Although he’s released a handle of singles to his YouTube page in the last year such as “Backr00ms” with Travis Scott, “2024,” “Evil J0rdan,” “Ketamine,” “H00dbyair” and “Different Day.”
Playboi Carti was honored at Billboard‘s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event in NYC last week with the artist of the year award.
He made a rare public appearance to accept the accolade. “I wanna thank my momma, I wanna thank God,” he began his speech. “Thank you Billboard — this my first award. Very happy to be here. R.I.P. Rich Homie Quan. ATL in the building. Shout-out to the whole New York. I love y’all. Thank you.”
Listen to “All Red” below.
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Big Sean joined Usher for a surprise love fest on Thursday night (Sept. 12) during the first of the Usher: Past Present Future Tour shows at Little Caesars Arena in the rapper’s home town of Detroit.
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Usher brought out Big Sean two-thirds of the way into the concert, during “Superstar” — which the latter samples on “Who You Are (Superstar),” a track from his just-released sixth studio album Better Me Than You.
“If we’re gonna come to Detroit we gotta make sure to shout out all the legends,” Usher told the crowd before introducing Big Sean, who spit out some lines from his track followed by his 2015 single “Blessings” as he and Usher waded into the crowd to walk to a second stage at the rear of the arena floor, which was decked out like a strip club, complete with a pole dancer and a bar.
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“Big Sean, I don’t mind you taking over the stage, but I gotta make a drink,” Usher said as he got behind the bar, mixing drinks for VIP fans in the area. Big Sean then took over with a rapid-fire mini-set that included portions of “So Good,” “A$$,” “Bounce” Back” and “I Don’t Fuck With You.”
He also told the crowd that Usher had accompanied him to the downtown Detroit Boys and Girls Club earlier in the day to inspect the facility, including its recording studio. Thanking Usher for allowing him to sample “Superstar,” he noted that “me and Usher haven’t done a song together. We made a promise we’re gonna do a song together,” although he did not say when, and even if, that might happen.”
Big Sean did get in a plug for Better Me Than You before heading off and leaving the rest of the show to Usher — who will be back at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Sept. 13.
It was the latest major performance for Big Sean in his home town this year. He performed on the opening night of the National Football League draft in April and was part of the nationally televised opening concert for the newly renovated Michigan Central, the city’s former railway station, in June. He was performing earlier Thursday evening for a private show at a nearby nightclub, and on Monday, Sept. 16, he’ll be performing “a very special acoustic you” sponsored by Amazon Music at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Usher — who performed the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 — kicked of the Past Present Future tour on Aug. 20 in Washington, D.C. and wrap up the North American leg with rescheduled concerts in his home town of Atlanta during December. A European tour begins March 29 in London with the first of 10 dates at the O2 Arena, as well as performances in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Guess who’s back? Eminem is spinning the block for another round of The Death of Slim Shady about two months after his 12th studio album arrived in July. The Detroit legend is getting spooky for Friday the 13th with the release of his The Death of Slim Shady: Expanded Mourner’s Edition. The deluxe edition gives […]