R&B/Hip-Hop

31 Dec 2024

Doechii Calls on ScHoolboy Q & Zach Fox for New ‘Denial Is a River’ Teaser

Doechii is gearing up to drop her rumored Comedy Central show, Denial Is a River, on Jan. 2, and she continued the rollout on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) by releasing another comedy sketch.

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The clip, which features Zack Fox and ScHoolboy Q, is fittingly titled “Can I Hit THat?” and opens with Q peeking through the door of a kitchen before lighting a joint on the stove. The scene then flashes to him in conversation at the table, with the “What It Is (Block Boy)” singer explaining, “Q, you know how I am. I’m an alpha female. It’s different for me. He does everything for me, he helps me set up the house. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke.”

Fox then arrives, immediately contradicting Doechii’s praises, asking ScHoolboy Q, “Woah, is that zaza?”

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“You’re kidding. Comedian! He’s so funny,” Doechii noted, before Fox kept pushing for the joint, noting, “It’s the roach. I love when it’s the roach, and it’s almost done and it tickles your lip a little bit.”

At last, Fox asked one more time, “No weed?” before Q bluntly replied, “No.”

It’s been an exciting year for Doechii, who is coming off the release of her Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape, which came in at No. 10 on Billboard‘s Best Albums of 2024 List. The Florida native’s rise also resulted in her jumping to No. 6 on the Hottest Female Rappers list for 2024 after not appearing on the first iteration earlier this year.

Watch the new Denial Is a River teaser below.

31 Dec 2024

Cardi B Wants to Sell Her Atlanta Mansion — and This Rapper Is Showing Potential Interest

Cardi B is in a New York state of mind. The Bronx native revealed on X over the weekend that she’s done with her Atlanta residence, and appears ready to unload the estate and settle down once again in the Big Apple.

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“My casa….. I don’t want it nomore tho,” she wrote in response to an X account complimenting her Georgia home with a photo of the castle-like mansion featuring a beautiful backyard pool.

Cardi then explained that she doesn’t enjoy living in Atlanta — where her estranged husband Offset is from — and prefers to be back in New York full time.

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“I don’t like living in Atlanta ….i actually don’t like living nowhere else but NY,” she responded to a fan on X who asked why she no longer wanted the lavish home.

Cardi and Offset reportedly purchased the five-bedroom home in 2019 for more than $5 million. She also owns property in New Jersey and the Dominican Republic. The “Bodak Yellow” rapper filed for divorce from Offset for a second time over the summer. They have three kids together.

Though the Grammy-winning artist may no longer want the mansion, another musician may be interested. A blog reposted the photo of Cardi’s tweet of the Atlanta home, and it eventually landed on Rick Ross’ radar, who inquired about the mansion’s cost. “Asking price??” he wrote in the comments section.

Billboard has reached out to Cardi B and Rick Ross’ reps for comment.

The MMG mogul has quite the real estate portfolio himself, including the 109-room Fayetteville, Ga., estate that previously belonged to boxing legend Evander Holyfield.

Rozay also bought Meek Mill’s Atlanta residence for $4.2 million in 2023 after the property sat on the real estate market for more than two years. Meek’s former crib boasts a swimming pool, tennis court, movie theater and more to go along with the eight bedrooms and nine baths.

31 Dec 2024

Looking Ahead: A Release Calendar of Upcoming Albums in 2025

Long before 2025 even kicked off, many artists were already starting to tease fans, hinting or downright saying they should expect new music in the upcoming year.

Take The Weeknd, for example. The artist born Abel Tesfaye began teasing his fans on Jan. 7, 2024, via social media. In an Instagram carousel, he shared the covers for After Hours and Dawn FM, followed by a black square with a giant white question mark in the center and a tiny parental advisory sticker in the bottom left. His caption? A single “3.” He finally revealed the title of the final album of his trilogy — Hurry Up Tomorrow — in September, and the day before Thanksgiving, shared its release date.

Then there was Lady Gaga. Mother Monster surprised the Little Monsters with a simple message at the end of the Gaga Chromatica Ball concert film, confirming that her seventh album is indeed in the works: “LG7 GAGA RETURNS.” But the tease, which debuted on the HBO Max film in late May, did not offer any hints as to when the highly anticipated release would arrive. It wasn’t until her September Vogue cover story that Gaga revealed LG7 would arrive sometime in February 2025. As of press time, a specific release date has not yet been revealed.

And of course, things don’t always go as planned. Joe Jonas announced in July that his new solo album, Music for People Who Believe in Love, would arrive Oct. 18, then shared in a September tweet that the set “is gonna come out later now” because he wanted to add some “final touches.” A new release date has not yet been announced.

With surprise album news, moving release dates and the sheer number of album announcements, it can be hard to stay on top of when new music by favorite artists is arriving. To help make sure fans don’t miss out on big arrivals, Billboard‘s calendar of 2025 new album releases — which will include the most notable releases from artists across genres, spanning hip-hop, K-pop, Latin, rock, pop, country and more — will be updated regularly as new music is announced.

The calendar is organized chronologically by month and week, and includes a section for albums that artists have announced, but have not given an exact release date.

Keep checking back for the latest 2025 album release dates!

31 Dec 2024

Here’s How SZA Responded to the ‘Weird’ Body-Shaming Comments About Her on Social Media

SZA is firing back at body-shaming critics on social media.

On Monday (Dec. 30), the 35-year-old Grammy-winning artist shared a since-deleted throwback video on X reflecting on her time living at her mother’s house during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the mental toll the quarantine period took on her.

While many fans left positive comments, one user remarked on her changing appearance, writing, “aka before she got big and bbl culture like.” SZA quickly responded, explaining that such comments are part of the reason she has distanced herself over the years.

“Yall say weird s— like this and wonder why I’m different and don’t feel comfortable w yall anymore . Lol,” she wrote. “Yall do realize I mean different as in I don’t go on live+ talk and don’t communicate w yall like that anymore lmao not different as in change my appearance tf.”

While some fans noted that SZA seemed happy in the video, she clarified that the pandemic was an especially tough time for her.

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“Covid was hard … my granny had just died .. I was hella depressed n masking . Not eating. Over working out,” she explained. “but I always had my childhood home to n get lost . Still do . Grateful to be in a much better mental space now. s/o to those days tho.”

SZA has been open about her mental health struggles in the past. In a May 2021 Instagram post, she shared her battle with anxiety, writing, “I hate being outside more than I can explain,” she wrote at the time. “I really have debilitating anxiety and I’m only posting these cause Y’all woulda found em anyway. Thank you to my team n my mama. Least I’m alive.”

In her December cover story for British Vogue, the singer also discussed her decision to get a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) and how she feels about the results. “I have other s— that I need to work on about myself,” she told the publication. “I need to get my f—ing mental health together … Not to say you can’t do those things simultaneously, just, for me, I realize wherever you go, there you’ll be.”

SZA hasn’t ruled out more cosmetic procedures in the future. “I’ll do a whole bunch more s— just like it if I want to before I’m f—ing dead because this body is temporary,” she said.

The hitmaker is currently experiencing a chart resurgence as the deluxe edition of her 2022 album, SOS, returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. SOS Deluxe: Lana, which includes 15 additional tracks, earned 178,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 26.

SZA also announced that SOS Deluxe: Lana will get yet another update in the coming days. On Monday, she revealed that she would be tweaking some of the songs on the tracklist and adding new music.

“Just got word all updated Mixes and new songs will be added Jan 6th,” SZA tweeted, noting that her fixes had been delayed until “the label comes back from holiday.”

31 Dec 2024

Tina Knowles Shares Social Media Advice Son-In-Law Jay-Z Gave Her After ‘Hacked’ Account Liked Rape Allegation Post

Beyoncé‘s mom, Tina Knowles, has had a busy week flying her matriarch flag. First, on Friday, she took to social media to defend Bey’s eye-popping Christmas Day NFL halftime show during the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. When some commenters took issue with the 12-minute set highlighting songs from Bey’s hit Cowboy Carter country-influenced album, Knowles wrote, “It is mind-boggling to me that you would take your precious Christmas day and watch a performance of someone you hate and you don’t think has talent so that you can talk ish about it later.”

Then, on the Run-Through With Vogue podcast Knowles, 70, talked about a recent social media hiccup in which it appeared she liked a post about allegations that her son-in-law Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted an unnamed 13-year-old girl in 2000; Jay-Z has denied the allegations.

“I’m a protector of my kids and I just feel like that’s my job,” Knowles said on the New Year’s Eve episode of the pod (social media talk begins around 21:30 mark). “And, you know, my kids are always like, ‘Mama, just ignore that.’ But it gets to the point where I’m just like, ‘I’m sorry. This is enough. It’s enough.’ You know? Because imagine being a mother and somebody’s lying on your kid. It’s hard to watch.”

That said, Knowles explained that just because she appeared to like a negative post about Jay doesn’t mean she did it on purpose. “It’s so funny because you know how many times I’ve liked something that was negative about my own children?” Knowles said. “Because if I’m busy and I’m going through the thing, I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s Beyoncé with so and so.’ I like that. And then the fans come back and say, ‘Miss Tina, please erase that because you’re liking some negative post.’ I mean, that’s what happens to 70-year-olds on social media. It’s true.”

Earlier this month, many fans were surprised when it seemed as if Knowles liked a post about the rape allegations against Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter) that are part of a civil suit against the two rappers; Combs is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering and is the subject in more than 10 civil suits related to allegations of sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment and other charges. Combs has also vehemently denied the allegations and Jay-Z has called the suit a “blackmail attempt.”

After Knowles initially liked the post, just days later, the like was gone and she informed followers that she had been “hacked,” adding, “As you all know I do not play about my family. So if you see something uncharacteristic of me. Just know that it is not me !”

Knowles did not take on the allegations against Jay, but she did share some sage advice the rapper has given her about social media etiquette. “I know that it doesn’t understand what I’m saying, and it’s got crazy stuff,” she said of her Insta comments, many of which feature captions that are created using voice-to-text and some of which are misinterpreted due to her Southern accent. “And my son-in-law, Jay will say, ‘Listen, if you’re gonna read somebody, at least spell your words right. Don’t misspell your words, Ma. You can’t do that. Take your time and go over and spellcheck your stuff!’”

While she appreciates the tip, Knowles admitted, “I don’t have time for that.”

The chat also found Knowles talking about fashion and shopping, describing how as a Texas native she’s always appreciated cowboy fashion. “I’ve always worn boots and cowboy hats,” she said, noting that some people used to make comments in not “such a great way” when she showed up in L.A. in her Cowboy Carter finest. She also reminded any lingering haters that costumes she designed for Destiny’s Child back in the day hinted at the family’s Texas roots, with “a lot of fringe and cowboy hats and cowboy boots.”

31 Dec 2024

SZA & Kendrick Lamar’s ’30 for 30′ Debuts at No. 1 on Hot R&B Songs Chart

Twelve tracks from the deluxe edition of SZA’s SOS album explode onto Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart, led by a No. 1 entrance for “30 for 30,” a collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. The influx, on the chart dated Jan. 4, 2025, comes after the long-awaited release of the SOS deluxe (dubbed SOS Deluxe: Lana on digital and streaming platforms) on Dec. 20.

For its coronation, “30 for 30” registered 17.5 million official U.S. streams, airplay audience of 385,000 and 2,000 digital song downloads in the tracking week of Dec. 20-26, according to Luminate.

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With “30 for 30,” SZA adds her seventh No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart and breaks a tie with Rihanna for the most leaders by a woman on the chart since it launched in October 2012.

Here’s a review of SZA’s chart-topping collection:

Song Title, Artist (if other than SZA), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1

  • “The Weekend,” one, Jan. 3, 2018
  • “I Hate U,” one, Dec. 18, 2021
  • “Kill Bill,” 30, Dec. 24, 2022
  • “Snooze,” 32, July 29, 2023
  • “Slime You Out,” Drake featuring SZA, two, Sept. 30, 2023
  • “Saturn,” five, March 9, 2024
  • “30 for 30,” with Kendrick Lamar, one, Jan. 4, 2025

The new champ, notably, gives frequent collaborators, future joint-tour headliners and former Top Dawg labelmates SZA and Lamar their first Hot R&B Songs No. 1 together. The pair’s previous best on a shared track was a No. 2 finish for the Black Panther soundtrack single “All the Stars” in 2018.

Lamar, meanwhile, lands his second No. 1 on Hot R&B Songs, following “Die Hard,” with Blxst and Amanda Reifer. The track, from the superstar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album, ruled for one week in 2022.

Elsewhere, “30 for 30” premieres at No. 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart – where another SZA/Lamar collaboration, “Luther,” is No. 1 for a third week – and at No. 45 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. The disparity between the positions traces to holiday streaming’s apex triggering an avalanche on the Hot 100, with 35 of the 44 titles above “30 for 30” some type of seasonal fare.

As aforementioned, “30 for 30” leads a parade of a dozen new SZA titles onto Hot R&B Songs, upping the singer-songwriter to 57 career hits on the chart. Here’s the full account of this week’s debuts:

  • No. 1, “30 for 30,” with Kendrick Lamar
  • No. 3, “Drive”
  • No. 4, “Diamond Boy (DTM)”
  • No. 5, “What Do I Do”
  • No. 7, “No More Hiding”
  • No. 8, “Crybaby”
  • No. 9, “Kitchen”
  • No. 10, “Another Life”
  • No. 11, “Love Me 4 Me”
  • No. 12, “Chill Baby”
  • No. 13, “My Turn”
  • No. 15, “Get Behind Me (Interlude)”

31 Dec 2024

Joe Budden Charged With Lewdness in New Jersey

Joe Budden has been charged with lewdness in New Jersey, according to the Edgewater Police Department.

The EPD released a statement on Monday (Dec. 30) confirming law enforcement was dispatched to an apartment complex in Edgewater on Dec. 4 for a report claiming a man was standing naked outside a residence around 7:21 a.m. ET

According to the release, the person who called police had been alerted to a man at their door by the doorbell camera, and the caller recognized the man as 44-year-old neighbor Budden. The clip showed Budden attempting to enter numbers onto the keypad multiple times before heading back to his residence across the hall.

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Budden was charged with lewdness, a disorderly persons offense, on a complaint summons. He’s due back in court on Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. ET.

“These charges are merely accusations,” chief of police Donald A. Martin noted in the press release. “The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Billboard has reached out to Joe Budden’s reps for comment.

The “Pump It Up” rapper detailed his absence from his eponymous podcast and the incident earlier this month. “I just sleptwalked somewhere I shouldn’t have sleptwalked,” he told his co-hosts. “You know how I sleep — butta–. Nice nakeda–. Good naked sleepwalking. I just did it again.”

Budden continued to explain to his puzzled co-hosts: “Nobody could go through this stuff but me. It’s only me. So you gotta deal with what comes with that. You would’ve never guessed it.”

“No need for think pieces guys, I’m dealing with a personal family matter, pls allow me to do so personally,” Budden tweeted on Dec. 10. “Super grateful to each member of the crew for holding it down in my absence, thank you.”

In the time since, Budden returned and The Joe Budden Podcast has been filming episodes at a different location.

31 Dec 2024

The Weeknd Hints at ‘The End’ of an Era With Ominous Billboards Around The World

The end is nigh. At least according to a series of ominous billboards that have popped up across the globe featuring the message “The End Is Near” that fans are speculating are part of the elaborate roll-out of The Weeknd‘s next permutation.

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According to fans sightings, the messages — which are written out in six different fonts representing Abel Tesfaye’s various eras — have gone up in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Paris, London and Melbourne, according to fan snaps.

In two posts on Monday (Dec. 30) teasing the tease, Tesfaye wrote “8 beautiful chapters in this story,” accompanied by a composite image featuring iconic looks from those eras — with the same TheEndIsNear branding — followed by a list of his albums. It begins with 2012’s compilation/major label debut Trilogy (which scooped up his three previous mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence), followed by 2013’s Kiss Land, 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, 2016’s Starboy, the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, 2020’s smash After Hours, 2022’s Dawn FM and his upcoming sixth studio album.

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In a second post, he shared a 24-second video of “The End Is Near” billboards compiled on a digital display atop a building on a busy street. At press time a spokesperson for the singer had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional information on the billboards.

Tesfaye has been teasing his next LP for months, with Hurry Up Tomorrow slated for release on Jan. 24. The set will be the third and final installment of the latest trilogy in the Weeknd’s career, following on the heels of 2020’s After Hours and 2022’s Dawn FM. To date he has released three singles from the collection, including “Dancing in the Flames,” “Timeless” with Playboi Carti and “São Paulo” featuring Anitta.

He debuted those songs and other tracks from Hurry Up Tomorrow during his one-night-only show at the Estádio MorumBIS in São Paulo, Brazil. Weeknd has planned a one-night-only gig at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles on January 25. Earlier this month he again hinted at the major reboot, posting “New Album, New Tour, New Movie, New Everything.”

In addition to the album, Weeknd is slated to make his feature film debut in the parallel Hurry Up Tomorrow big screen psychological thriller, directed by Trey Edward Shults (It Comes At Night) and co-starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan; the film is due out on May 16.

Back in May 2023, in a W Magazine interview, Tesfaye intimated that his next studio release would be his final one as the Weeknd. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn,” he said at the time. “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”

Check out Weeknd’s teases below.

30 Dec 2024

Jack Harlow Sets the Record Straight With Gloomy ‘Tranquility’ Video: Watch

Jack Harlow has heard the critics, but he’s not going anywhere. The Louisville rapper capped off his 2024 with a final message to the fans as well as the opposition with the introspective “Tranquility,” which arrived on Sunday (Dec. 29).

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Harlow also released a gloomy visual finding him walking around the city on a chilly, overcast day while bundled up in a pea coat and black scarf.

The 26-year-old seemingly addressed the criticism from his November cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and relayed that he’s not seeking any validation from hip-hop.

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“Y’all boys lame s–t killing me/ Need to be reintroduced to humility/ I ain’t lookin for no hip-hop credibility/ Give a f–k who feelin me, I’m feelin me/ I’m really him, I’m really that remedy/ Himothée Chalamet, pretty girls salivate/ On the low, off the grid, in the cut, out the way/ My prime’s in full swing like a Callaway,” he raps while referencing the A Complete Unknown star. He also shouts out Julie Greenwald, who left her position as CEO of Atlantic Music Group on Sept. 30, 2024: “Julie Greenwald asking if I’m on schedule / Label ready for the next record, I’ll let you know” (Harlow is signed to Generation Now, an imprint of Atlantic).

Despite the final day of Harlow’s inaugural Gazebo Festival being canceled due to inclement weather in May, which caused the rapper to allegedly lose a few million dollars, Missionary Jack plans to continue putting the fest on for his hometown of Louisville.

“People that betrayed me don’t even f—ing know that I know/ It’s something that I just file away/ Lost a few m’s on the festival/ Okay, and I can’t wait to do the second one,” Jack proclaimed.

Jack Harlow returned from hiatus to kick off the rollout of his next project with “Hello Miss Johnson” in November. The bossa nova-tinged single peaked at No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and fans can expect plenty more from Harlow in 2025.

Watch the “Tranquility” video below.

30 Dec 2024

SZA to Tweak ‘Lana’ With New Songs & Updated Mixes: ‘Thank Y’all for Your Patience’

Ten days after the release of SOS Deluxe: Lana, SZA has announced that she’s giving the project another makeover.

Despite the LP being out in the world for over a week — and already topping the Billboard 200 this week — the 35-year-old hitmaker revealed on X Monday morning (Dec. 30) that she’s officially tweaking some of the songs on Lana‘s tracklist in addition to adding new music to the fold. “Just got word all updated Mixes and new songs will be added Jan 6th,” SZA tweeted, noting that her fixes had been delayed until “the label comes back from holiday.”

“Sorry they can’t do it any sooner,” the musician added. “Just wanted to keep y’all in the loop … Thank yall for your patience ”

The announcement comes after SZA finally unleashed the highly anticipated expanded version of her hit 2022 album SOS via RCA Records following a lengthy rollout with several false starts on Dec. 20. On the same day, the Grammy winner shared that she had three more songs that she wanted to retroactively include on the tracklist — “Take You Down,” “PSA” and “Open Arms” — as revealed in a screenshot of a text thread with now-former manager Terrence “Punch” Henderson that she posted on X.

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Around the same time, SZA confirmed that she and the Top Dawg Entertainment president had parted ways, telling fans on Instagram that he had “stepped away abruptly” from their working relationship and that “sometimes ppl grow apart and that’s okay.”

On Dec. 23, SZA gave another update. “After listening w a clear mind I’m Switching some mixes out when I add stuff on Christmas lol,” she tweeted. “This means nothing to you but had to say it for me lol . Who knows u might notice ??‍♀️”

Christmas came and went with no new additions, but fans can now expect the finished Lana to arrive Jan. 6, per SZA’s latest alert.

But while SZA may not yet be happy with Lana as it is now, listeners have certainly embraced the second chapter of her SOS era. Selling 178,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its first week, Lana propelled the singer-songwriter’s second studio effort back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Jan. 4 a full 22 months after she first dropped SOS — the longest gap between weeks at No. 1 ever recorded since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.

Prior to Lana, SOS spent nine weeks atop the Billboard 200 in late 2022 and early 2023. It also earned SZA an album-of-the-year nod at the 2024 Grammys — which Taylor Swift ended up winning with Midnights — and took home best progressive R&B album at the same ceremony.

See SZA’s tweet below.