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At the intersection of 615 Day 2023 and Juneteenth Weekend lies the inaugural Blavity House Party. Holsted by Blavity Media Group, the new festival took over Nashville, Tennessee, on June 14 and 15, treating locals and travelers alike to two nights of fiery performances in celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Month.
Hosted by Zack Fox, Bridget Kelly and Mani Millss, Blavity House Party boasted a slew of performers across the myriad genres of the Black diaspora, including Monica, Rick Ross, K. Michelle, Dru Hill, Uncle Waffles, Blxst, Ryan Leslie, Leon Thomas, Big Freedia, Freeway, Lil’ Mo, Travis Porter, Reyna Roberts, Nesta, Domani and more. In addition to the two performance stages (one outside and one inside Music City’s storied Municipal Auditorium), the patio hosted a bevy of local Black-owned businesses for festivalgoers to support.
The festival’s opening day got off to a semi-sanctified start with a rousing performance from Sainted Trap Choir. With a tight choreography and tighter arrangements, the choir ripped through a medley that combined both secular and pop hits, including Travis Porter’s “Make It Rain,” Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama,” Tyla’s “Water” and Kirk Franklin’s “Melodies from Heaven.” Big Freedia kept the energy high with a NOLA-exalting bounce set that featured endless twerking and racy fellatio demonstrations from her backup dancers, while Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Leon Thomas enraptured the audience with his honeyed vocals and impressive guitar skills.
Despite strong performances from day one’s performers, the meager audience turnout was impossible to ignore. As the day went on, the floor started to fill up, with legendary R&B group Dru Hill drawing the most passionate crowd of the night. Celebrating more than 25 years of hits, Sisqó led his fellow group members in impressive renditions of timeless hits like “Tell Me” and “In My Bed,” flaunting the power of their live vocals and pristine harmonies. With their set, Dru Hill was able to capture lightning in a bottle and truly make Blavity House Party feel like a must-see festival. Nonetheless, that energy quickly dissipated as the crowd waited anxiously for Lil Wayne — who was scheduled as the night’s headliner — just for the “A Milli” rapper to ghost the festival, providing no reason for his absence.
In an effort to make up for the last-minute disappointment of day one, Blavity House Party packed on several additional performers for the festival’s second day, including Lil Scrappy, Rick Ross and Tennessee native K. Michelle. Standout performers from day two included outlaw country princess Reyna Roberts — who put on a blazing show to match her red-hot hair — and hip-hop trio Travis Porter, who have provided a timeless soundtrack to Black house parties for nearly 15 years and counting. Lil Scrappy, something of a musical forefather to Travis Porter, also lit up the auditorium with lively performances of ’00s classics such as “Head Bussa” and “Neva Eva.”
Clearly an eleventh-hour addition, K. Michelle breezed through a six-minute set that included renditions of “Can’t Raise a Man” and “V.S.O.P.” Curiously, the chart-topping R&B star did not perform any of her country songs, though she did confirm that her long-awaited country album is still on the way. Headliner Monica took fans down memory lane with a set that spurred mass sing-alongs to some of her most beloved tracks, such as “So Gone” and “Before You Walk Out of My Life.”
Once again, the show threatened to fly off the rails near the end of the night. Rick Ross’ music was shockingly cut short about six songs into his set. After requesting his DJ drop the next track, silence ensued. The DJ continued to press buttons to figure out the situation, but within the next seven minutes, Ricky Rozay had given away a bottle of Belaire champagne, threw on his backpack, and exited the stage for good, making for a sudden and unforgettable end to the inaugural Blavity House Party.
Here are the six best moments from Blavity House Party 2024.
Leon Thomas Mounts Swoonworthy Set
Five-time Grammy winner Lalah Hathaway is back with a new album and a national tour that will kick off in August. VANTABLACK is the singer-songwriter’s eighth studio album — and first new set since 2017’s Honestly. Featuring guest turns by Common, Rapsody, MC Lyte, Michael McDonald and Willow, among others, the 16-track set has already spun off two […]
After picking up his first Grammy (best R&B song for co-writing SZA‘s “Snooze”) earlier this year, Leon Thomas is gearing up to launch his new studio album.
“This new album is definitely a different breadth of sound and sonics and even lyrical choices,” Thomas told Billboard before his performance at Nashville’s inaugural Blavity House Party on Friday (June 14). “I feel like the work that I’m doing now is definitely elevated and continuing to grow and build on who I am as an artist, [and] doing shows really played into that. There’s a lot of energy to what I got going on.”
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In August 2023, Thomas dropped his debut album, Electric Dusk, which featured collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign (“Love Jones”) and Benny the Butcher (“X-Rated”), as well as the breakout single “Breaking Point.” He released the set on Motown Records via Ty Dolla $ign’s EZMNY Records imprint, to which Thomas was signed as the label’s first artist in 2022.
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“[The last album was] post-breakup. ‘Breaking Point’ was the flagship song talking about it,” he explained. “[Going into the new album], I was on my single journey just doing my thing and I documented a lot of the things I was going through. It’s called Mutt, like a dog, because I feel like at that time I was being a dog. I was happy being single and I wanted to document that in the landscape of R&B, and [there are] many different ways that I do it. It’s not all super toxic, a lot of it is very introspective and vulnerable as well.”
Thomas, of course, is no stranger to traversing the vast range of tropes that comprise R&B and hip-hop, having lent his talents to songs from Toni Braxton (2014’s “I’d Rather Be Broke), Kehlani (2019’s “Butterfly”), Ariana Grande (2020’s “Nasty”), Giveon (2021’s “For Tonight”), SZA (2022’s “Snooze”) and Ty Dolla $ign & Kanye West (2024’s “Burn”). While the cast of players on Electric Dusk remained relatively tight, a host of collaborators are in the kitchen for its follow-up.
“Me, Ty Dolla $ign, Wale, Baby Rose, we all came together and did a bunch of different joints on there,” Thomas revealed. “I’m trying to see if we’re going to keep the Madlib joint that I have, hopefully, that makes the album, that would be a really cool song for people to hear.”
Thomas released his most recent single, “Dangerous Game,” a collaboration with ESTA, on May 24.
Tommy Richman is riding high with his breakout anthem “Million Dollar Baby,” which he followed up on Friday (June 14) with “Devil Is a Lie.” Billboard delves into the Virginia native’s story and details his meteoric rise to stardom this year with the latest Billboard Explains video.
Richman hails from Woodbridge, Virginia, and got his start experimenting with music on platforms like SoundCloud in 2016. He gained some recognition from peers as a college freshman with the release of “Pleasantville,” which led to him dropping out of college altogether to pursue music.
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The genre-blending artist signed to Brent Faiyaz’s indie creative agency ISO Supremacy in partnership with Pulse Music Group in 2023.
Richman earned his first collaboration with Faiyaz last year when he hopped on the R&B star’s “Upset,” which also featured Felix! and landed on Brent’s Larger Than Life album. The track peaked at No. 6 on the Hot R&B Songs chart.
Richman released a few solo singles before striking gold with “Million Dollar Baby,” which exploded upon arrival thanks to a viral TikTok snippet in the days leading up to its release.
“Million Dollar Baby” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and currently sits at No. 3 on the chart dated June 15. It also debuted atop the Streaming Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
Richman will look to build on the success of “Baby” with his new “Devil is a Lie” single, which hit streaming platforms on Friday. As far as what’s next, fans can expect a “Million Dollar Baby” music video, and the 24-year-old remains working on his debut album Coyote.
After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Stray Kids’ chart success, Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.
For most of rap music’s history, homophobic language – whether in lyrics or interviews, coming from artists or executives – was completely acceptable. (On more than one occasion in the ‘90s, I left a sitdown with a major rapper feeling an implied f-slur in my direction). Of course, it wasn’t only rap – offhand queerphobia was ubiquitous in mainstream culture.
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Major progress has been made since then, yet (as with culture at large) recent years have seen a palpable backslide in the discourse, even as we’ve enjoyed increase visibility for trans and gender-nonconforming persons. High-profile people engage in nonchalant trans erasure, misuse pronouns, promote stereotypes and freely drop the f- and t-slurs – and defend their right to do so.
So for an artist previously seen as male to announce they identify as nonbinary, and begin presenting in a genderfluid way, it’s a big deal. That’s what Tyler Brooks — the 23-year-old rapper, singer and producer who records as skaiwater — did early last year in an understated, matter-of-fact post. It was something they needed to do, and they received massive support from fans – clearing the way for skai to move forward and get back to making music with as few boundaries as possible. On Friday (June 14), the result arrives: gigi, a thrilling mashup of flavors and styles that is sweet, raw, open, funny and soulful. It’s the sound of musical and personal liberation.
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Since they first began posting music in their late teens, as a kid of Jamaican heritage living in Nottingham, England, skai has been a work-in-progress. During their early years (which produced nearly 30 singles and EPs), they created melodic trap with an emo bent. But 2022 proved to be both a commercial breakout, with the TikTok-fueled success of “#miles” followed by “eyes” and the full-length rave — as well as a pivot from rap toward more club-ready sounds.
gigi doubles down on that move. An exploration of “different pockets of Black dance music” is how skaiwater has described the inspiration for gigi. While the LP is certainly danceable, it might also be described as future soul. That’s especially true of the opening track, “real feel,” and sparkling recent single “wna torture me tn?” on which skai’s Auto-Tuned vocals are nearly blown-out and married to classic ‘70s soul. “Play” is a sugary standout recalling the PC Music collective; “richest girl alive” feels primed for half a dozen remixes; and “choke” offers dancehall vibes and a lyric about “the dark side.” The album even features a verse by Lil Nas X, a longtime friend and champion, on “light!”
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“Back in 2018 skai was the first artist to work with me,” Montero posted when the track came out. “So this a real full circle moment. And i’m so excited to watch her grow as a musician and a person!”
But unlike Lil Nas X, skaiwater is not spoiling for a crusade. “gigi is not a coming out,” clearly states the bio for the new album. skai is simply living their life honestly in Los Angeles, their home since April 2023. And for the last year, they’ve been accompanied by Biggi, an adorable caramel-colored cockapoo who’s featured on eight single covers and gets a cameo in the ”light!” video.
While Biggi dozed by their side, skai opened up to Billboard about their influences, musical pivots, online commentors who have a problem with nonbinary individuals, Lil Nas X and more.
Congratulations on this beautiful record. I liked rave a lot too, but I feel like you’ve made another step forward. Unlike rave, where you had to be back in England for months after its release and maybe you weren’t able to support it in the way you would have liked, gigi seems different.
It definitely feels different. Honestly, I feel like the past couple of weeks I’ve started to feel like it’s the first time where I’ve woke up and learned what I was supposed to be doing as an artist, every day. Not just creating, but also getting the music heard. It definitely feels completely different than when rave came out. Rave was me letting the world have its way with what I was doing. [laughs] So I definitely wanted to be intentional and strategic about how I was putting out music this year.
That last album also marked a real musical shift for you into more dance-oriented music, with “#miles” and “eyes.” Do you feel like gigi is yet another change?
I honestly don’t feel like gigi is as much of a pivot as I took with rave. Rave was really my first time experimenting with a full project of something outside of rap. I was trying to make a dance album. But I think with gigi it was just taking restrictions off of myself and just opening the doors more to what I can create as an artist.
In a statement you said gigi was “inspired by different pockets of Black dance music, asking myself how I could elevate the genre in my own way.” Can you expand on that?
When I was younger, at least, I grew up around a lot of garage music, bassline music, drum & bass, that’s what I was around when I was super young, when it came to Black dance. At least in that space, in Nottingham. And then when I started traveling out here, I saw like the Philly scene, like house; the New Orleans bounce scene; and the Chicago house scene too, and just how Chicago paved the way for house music. And I felt like there was a connection and community when it comes to a lot of those scenes. It showed me how similar things can be even when they’re so far away.
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It’s funny you should mention Philly because while it is a club record, there are places, like “wna torture me tn?” and “princess” and the opener “real feel,” where it reminds me of a space-age take on old Philly Soul, like 1970s O’Jays, Stylistics type of thing. Those artists weren’t on your radar of influences were they?
The O’Jays were, for sure. When I first started the project we were going through a lot of different soul references, R&B influences. Even from before, when I started rave, I started honing into that side of my sh-t, because that’s what I always really wanted to do. I have always been a melody person, a writing person.
You’ve many times cited Kanye West as being a musical influence, and that is still apparent. What hasn’t gotten as much attention is that going back a few years you’ve also mentioned Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, SZA…
Mm-hmm.
And that’s interesting to me that people didn’t pick up on that because honestly, it’s not every day that a young – I’m gonna use the word “male,” because I think that’s how you were perceived at the time —
It’s okay. Yeah, I mean, socialized as a male, growing up, for sure.
But for a young male artist to cite women in R&B as influential. In 2019, you even had an EP called After God Fear Eve. I mean, hello? If the idea of you saying you were nonbinary made some people’s jaws drop, I don’t know – maybe they weren’t paying attention, a little bit?
At all, bruh! [laughs] And that’s one thing that’s maybe been a shock for the past year and a half, people really just must not have been paying attention. It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. But honestly, I think you’re right – maybe you pick on it more, but I’ve definitely got a lot of that early soul and R&B influence from my mother, and her side of the family. And, I think maybe me, not knowing the verbiage, but me identifying as a nonbinary person from very young – I think a lot of men just feel like it’s feminine to like R&B.
And regarding the feminine, or nonbinary, energy embodied in gigi. As I understand it, that name refers to the goddess Gaia?
So, when I started the project, I was starting a project called Gaia. And just my initial reason for it, before I started on any of the music, just a balance between masculine and feminine energy. Being a male-presenting artist in rap, but also playing on that line, I was naming the project after Gaia, which is a goddess of earth [in Greek mythology]. So, as it evolved into whatever it is, we now just kind of ended up with gigi. “Gigi” is kind of a nickname for that, and I just kind of for the era of the music that I am making and putting out.
While the melodic, emo trap of your early years has given way to much more of a dance orientation, one thing that hasn’t changed is that Auto-Tune remains your friend.
[laughs] Yes.
But here on gigi it’s to the max, almost like your vocals are willfully buzzy and blown-out at times. It’s really striking, and cool.
I feel like I had to go back to a lot of my early influences. And I think a part of that was punk, maybe not punk music, but the punk sentiment. The way I’ve been mixing recently, I am trying to make sure that I am staying on my own pivot. I feel a punk sentiment is important just to art in general, but also just to keep it running through my music. I mean, as you say, Auto-Tune is my friend, but it’s definitely a creative choice. I feel like I could hold my own without it.
You new bio makes a point of saying “gigi isn’t a coming out” but rather an opening up to new artistic possibilities.
Yes.
And lyrically, in fact, it’s more these images of fraught relationships, with you on either end. The specificity of some lines – “I put that bitch through hell, I put that b-tch through college” or “F–k would you burn my sh-t for no reason?” or “Take my money, send me to my f–king grave” – sound like you have one person in mind.
Relationships definitely mean a lot to me. They’re a big part of my life. I think I can be on the good and bad end of the stick, but I’m definitely overly self-aware and emotional, so I will definitely put whatever I’m going through into the music. And yeah, I feel like all my music refers to an individual, for sure.
So, one individual? Was there a muse for this record?
Well…no I wouldn’t say every song on the new record is. I wouldn’t say that. But there is definitely an individual in mind for every song.
You told Rolling Stone that operating as a nonbinary artist in a more alternative space, things are freer but also leaves open the possibility for the “mishandling of messages”?
Yeah. I feel like just things can be misconstrued, or taken the wrong way, very easily these days.
Misconstrued in terms of image? Like you put out a picture or video of yourself looking more feminine and everyone has an opinion on it?
Yes, and that’s what I’ve had to realize, bruh. It’s that you kind of have to just let things fly. You can’t control how people feel. But my identity, at least from a public perspective, very much just comes from my everyday life. I don’t feel like I’ve ever had to amplify it or do too much. I feel like if anything, two years ago I was at my home, feeling like, “People don’t know just straight-up who I am!” kind of thing. A lot of the moments that have helped me grow the most have just been me documenting me, being myself.
So you don’t ever feel the need to correct people or be like, “No, this is what ‘nonbinary’ is…”?
No, because I can’t control it. I mean there’s eight billion people on earth, the majority all have internet, we all have opinions. We all grew up different ways, learning different things, around different people, seeing different things that we’re never all gonna feel the same. But no – I just don’t have the energy. Nobody in the world has the energy to convince eight billion people of who they are. They can just be themselves. I feel like that’s the best you can do.
Recently I actually think there’s been a been backsliding from the progress that had made over time. Fans might get pressed because Carti appears to be wearing a thong, or people going after Dwyane Wade for supporting his trans daughter. How does a nonbinary artist navigate that world?
You know what, bro? I mean, it’s definitely something that is prominent in the space. But I’ve never been one to care about how people feel about me. You know what I mean? At least from an ignorant perspective, ‘cause I can recognize ignorance. If someone is just ignorant and that is why they don’t f–k with me, well then, just stay over there, kind of thing.
You seem able to let that sh-t roll off of you, a lot.
Yeah ’cause there’s more to me than – I don’t know bruh, it can seem serious, or it can seem very silly, you know, ’cause it’s the internet — and life and humans and opinions. People always are going to feel something. For me it just feels like it’s an easy thing for people to be upset about. People are always going to feel some way, and find some reason to like or dislike something. And yes, it’s wrong. But I think we as humans are to blame for our miseducation. And I feel like a lot of issues we have come from a fear of the unknown, and just miseducation, or not seeing, meeting or knowing. And that’s speaking to all different types of people. Whether it’s a race thing, a gender thing, a sex thing.
You’ve known Lil Nas X for a long time now – he features on “light!” and he’s obviously one of the most entertaining, no-f–ks artists on the planet. Not to conflate being nonbinary with being gay, but has Montero’s approach and attitude in any way offered a blueprint for you? Or – maybe there is no blueprint?
Yeah, I wouldn’t say “blueprint,” ‘cause I feel like we do think differently, but the journey I’ve watched him go on, I definitely have learned from him. I don’t know if there is a “blueprint” kind of thing. I’m just trying to create.
Different artists seem to have different ways of dealing with their own journeys.
A hundred percent. We’re all human beings. I think what you were saying about the back step in progress – I think progress takes longer than we think it does. And I think seeing different types of queer artists – especially in this space – I think it helps people understand we’re not just one group. We’re all just – everybody is just literally people.
Life is good for Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs. After capturing back-to-back Super Bowl titles and the team’s third and five years, the team was honored at a Super Bowl ring ceremony on Thursday night (June 13) in KC.
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Footage of the moment Mahomes and Kelce unboxed their rings at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art surfaced on social media, as the superstar quarterback brought his first two rings with him to complete the trifecta and flex for the cameras.
Mahomes reposted a photo of him showing off his three rings that look like he’s holding a heavyweight diamond-encrusted pair of brass knuckles. “BIG ME,” he captioned the picture while quoting lyrics from Kendrick Lamar’s atomic appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.”
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“Motherf–k the big three, n—a, it’s just big me,” K. Dot raps on the track taking aim at Drake and J. Cole.
Mahomes didn’t appear to be taking aim at anyone specifically, but making his claim that he’s the top dog of the NFL. After defeating the San Francisco 49ers in an overtime thriller at Super Bowl LVIII, Patrick became one of only five quarterbacks in NFL history have three Super Bowl rings, and the 28-year-old doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to done.
Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs will look to secure a three-peat next season, and join the Green Bay Packers (1965-1967) as the only franchises to do so.
While Taylor Swift was across the pond and couldn’t attend the ceremony, she made sure to still support her boyfriend Travis. “YESSSSSS,” the pop star wrote in a series of comments to an Instagram broadcast. She continued: “CONGRATULATIONS,” “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” and “JOINING THE PARTY FROM LIVERPOOL LETS GOOOOOOO.”
Becoming a football savant, Swift even congratulated Super Bowl hero Mecole Hardman for signing a contract extension with the team, writing, “AND WE GET ANOTHER YEAR OF MECOLE.”
Check out the unboxing and Patrick Mahomes’ post below.
Shaq’s classic with Biggie is finally available on streaming services. The news was broken by FakeShoreDrive on X earlier this week, and the Hall of Fame big man confirmed the news Thursday afternoon (June 13). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The year is 1996 and Shaquille O’Neal […]
Tommy Richman’s follow-up to his smash single “Million Dollar Baby” is here. The Virginia crooner dropped his new song “Devil Is a Lie” along with the video at midnight Friday (June 14), and it looks like the kid is two for two. He feels the same way because he replied to a now-deleted tweet calling […]
A new era calls for a new name: Nearly ten years after she first hit the scene with the hypnotic “Wine Pon It,” Jamaican-born, Bronx-bred singer-rapper Tina has shed her Hoodcelebrityy moniker, opting to go by her given name instead. “Hoodcelebrityy” may have been demoted to a parenthetical – the SEO gods are always watching – but the persona that earned her her very first Billboard chart hit, 2017’s “Walking Trophy,” remains in full force throughout her fiery new project.
Released via KSR Group on May 17, Tina vs. Hoodcelebrityy – her second full-length project and first in seven years – diligently hones Tina’s unique mixture of reggae, rap, dancehall and R&B, resulting in a breezy 10-track set that explores her dual sonic profiles while offering a sultry prelude to Caribbean Heritage Month. Her softer, more melodic side shines on standout tracks such as “Roses” and “Dolly,” while her gruffer, New York drill-informed side reigns supreme on cuts like “Hype Me Up” and “Pressure.” Seven years after Trap vs. Reggae reached No. 9 on Top Reggae Albums, Tina takes the binary approach of that record and flips it into a lens through which she can honor the different parts of her cultural and sonic identity.
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“My biggest hope for this project is for people — not just my fans — to see the quality of my music and how versatile I am as an artist and to not ever put me in a box,” she muses.
With a performance at Reggae Fest and a tour on the horizon, Tina is ready to reintroduce herself to the world with a collection of records that are sexy, fearless odes to the wonders of genre fusion. In a thoughtful conversation with Billboard, Tina details her new project, the evolution of New York’s sound, working with Shaggy, her name change, and what she still carries with her from growing up in Jamaica.
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1. What’s been your favorite thing that’s happened to you this year outside of the new project?
Just finding peace [and] really finding myself. I feel like [the COVID years taught] me a lot about myself. Stuff that I didn’t know. I really understand that you can have everything you want and still be depressed, lonely, etc. For me, it’s the simplest things that I find make me happy.
2. You recently put out Tina vs. Hoodcelebrityy. Talk to me about the concept behind the project and how the whole thing came together.
Tina: My fans dem know how versatile I am. I had this whole thing going on like, I want you to tell me which record y’all think is Tina and which record is Hoodcelebrityy. I feel like they kinda figuring that out as we speak. Tina vs. Hoodcelebrityy is just me against myself, always me trying to be better than who I used to be.
We got Tina, where you get the melody, the soft records, and then we got Hoodcelebrityy, where you get the hardcore, reggae deejay part. I can embody both Hoodcelebrityy and Tina. It’s all about making my fans dem see two different sides.
3. This is your first full-length project in about seven years. How do you think you’ve grown as a person and as an artist since Trap vs. Reggae?
When I hear some of my records on Trap vs. Reggae, even though my fans still love those records, I can tell the growth. My voice, my pitch, the melodies, how I hold certain notes — it’s definitely a lot of growth. Before, I used to rush, especially when I first came out [with] “Walking Trophy.” I was rushing records like, I got to make another one like this. Now I’m just really taking time with the music and not being so hard on myself, because I feel like when you hurting yourself, you don’t really get the best work. Right now, I’m just having fun with the music.
For my fans and people who didn’t know, I took a little break before because I had got [really] sick and I was going through a lot. Like I said, you could have all the money, everything you want, but if you don’t have peace, you don’t have that clarity or your health… you don’t have nothing.
4. Getting to a point where you can take it easy on yourself has got to be difficult in this specific industry. Who did you open up to? How did you deal with those feelings going into this project?
Big shoutout to my cousin Melissa, she’s my mentor. She’s a therapist. I opened up to her, and I feel like she keeps me grounded a lot. [She] helped me understand that at the end of the day, I’m not doing this for nobody else. I do this for myself, I do it for my family. If you pay attention to the industry and to what people got to say, then you’re done. Once they find another you or something close to you, they put you right on the shelf. Nobody cares about you no more. That’s really what keeps me grounded. I block all that out and I’m focused.
5. You’re officially going by Tina now. Was there a particular moment that sparked that choice or did life just bring you there naturally?
Behind Hoodcelebrityy, Tina was always the author. COVID put me to sit down and really wrestle with finding myself and wanting my legacy to go down with Tina. Hoodcelebrityy is always gonna be that little girl that came out of The Bronx, showing other people from the hood that you can make it out. But I see more than just Hoodcelebrityy.
I see worldwide, I’ve been to Israel, [gone] back to Jamaica, the U.K., Toronto… I’ve been all over the world. I still have a lot more countries and places to go and I feel like when I get that Grammy, I want them to be like, And the Grammy goes to Tina!
For me, it’s bigger. People say they don’t judge, but they do. I don’t want to give no human being on this Earth a chance to put me in a box. When they hear that name, people automatically think, Oh, she’s just she’s just a hood celebrity. That’s where it stops. No, I’m way bigger than just that. And they’ve done it to me a lot.
6. Were you nervous or afraid to go through with that name change?
At first, I was allowing other people to project their fear on me because that’s what people do when they’re scared of change. After I really got comfortable myself and [sat] down and prayed and put God first, because that’s what I do, I wasn’t afraid. I understand that a change is going to be rocky in the beginning because I have people that are like, You changed your name, how are people gonna find you now? How they gonna find you on Spotify? I sit down and I’ll be realistic to myself, that’s why I put [Hoodcelebrityy] in parentheses, so I’m always going to pop up.
And my fans were with it. They tell me all the time that I’m bigger than just a hood celebrity, we’re so in sync and in the same headspace. People that really love you and care for you want to see you grow. Growth is always going to be scary, but you can’t stay in the same place.
7. What song do you think best represents the Tina side of the project and why?
“Roses” definitely was Tina. “Roses” is going to be a big record, because I’m really for women. I’m really for uplifting females and making them feel good about themselves. For women, there’s so much stuff out there that’s placed on us. It’s so much pressure that it got to be somebody to remind them that they’re beautiful and deserve their roses. Some people give you your flowers when you’re dead. Give women their flowers now!
I’m just that voice for a young girl or a grown woman — it don’t matter the age. I have a lot of people that I deal with that have no self-esteem. They don’t feel pretty and that’s because somebody made them feel that way.
8. “Skin Out Di Red” still slaps. Talk to me about working with Shaggy on that one.
Working with Shaggy was dope! This guy’s a machine, he don’t stop! I feel like I still have a lot more growing [to do], because I’m still a new, young artist. He’s a legend, and I learned so much from him. I was in Miami with him for four days and we recorded every single day.
Even when my voice was going out, he was like, Alright, we gonna take a break. He had his chef make me tea to get my throat back together, gave me an hour break, and then we went right back at it. I’m like, I thought when I said my throat was hurting, he was gonna say let’s go home! [Laughs.] I’ve been preaching this for so long, but hearing a legend say it was better – consistency is key. Whatever Shaggy tells me, I’m going to listen because he’s very successful. And for people who don’t know, Shaggy is really fun, he’s not stuck up. I had a great time. It didn’t just feel like work.
9. You also just put out “Been Pretty” and you were talking your s—t on there.
With “Been Pretty,” I want people to know that when they hear my music, I’m really sitting down to write it. And I’m not saying I don’t get help with some of my music when I’m in the studio with my team, but “Been Pretty” was a record that I sat down and just wrote myself on some I’m in my bag, this is really how I feel today energy.
10. One of my favorite things about the project is how intentional you were in terms of showcasing different parts of your identity. Being New Yorkers, that’s something that we really take pride in. How do you think being a New Yorker, being a Bronx girl specifically, has influenced your sound and your approach to music?
The confidence. You can’t be from the Bronx and you don’t feel like you that girl. The way I talk too. I have the Jamaican patois in me — but then I can shut it off a little bit and go full New York like, You buggin right now! You can hear it in my music, it’s really organic and natural for me.
I left Jamaica when I was 12, so growing up in the Bronx, then going Uptown, then to the White Plains to go visit my family, I get a mixture of both [cultures] and you can hear it in the music. It adds a bit of swag. It’s like cooking with a likkle black peppa and adobo, it just adds the seasoning and the swag to my music.
11. What from Jamaica do you think still lives in you as a person and as an artist?
Manners. Dignity. Self-love. It don’t matter how big I get in this industry, I got to have manners. That’s something that living in Jamaica for a whole 12 years [and] being raised by my great-grandmother taught me. You don’t say “good evening” when somebody come in or you don’t open the door if you’re ahead of somebody else, you’ll get your a– whooped. Being a celebrity or not, if I’m in front of you and we all going somewhere, I’m holding the door for everybody. I can’t stop, because it’s something that’s in me. And it’s not going nowhere because, as they say, train the tree when it’s young, so when they get old, they won’t depart from the training.
12. Cash Cobain is also from The Bronx and he’s having a moment with his “sexy drill” sound right now. Could we get a collab between you two?
Hell yeah! I think he’s dope. On my record, funnily enough, there’s a song [called “Funny Funny Funny”] that was inspired by that sexy drill sound. I would love to do a record with him.
13. Who else from New York would you like to collaborate with in the future?
I always say Drake. I know he’s not from here, but definitely Drake. Sheff G too, I think he’s dope. I think his music is fire. I’m more into talent, longevity, and things that make sense. I don’t like to do records with people because they’re popping. If I don’t feel the music, it’s not worth it. I went to school for music. I love music. I’m not doing this s—t for money or for attention, so I like to work with artists that I think are actually dope and have substance.
15. You said you went to school for music. What are one or two lessons from those days that you still hold on to now?
Just the passion, honestly. I went to high school for violin and dance, but I really went [in] thinking, I’m just going to be in there singing. I didn’t know I was going to be playing violin, it was something that I had to do, so I did it. Music school definitely taught me about passion, though. I have a passion for dancing too. I studied everything — I was doing hip-hop, ballet… that’s why I feel like I do all my dances on my tippy toes.
16. What do you remember the sound of New York being when you were growing up? What do you think it is right now?
For me, the sound of New York growing up was 50 Cent. [He’s] my favorite rapper. I feel like growing up, it was more hardcore hip-hop, especially in the beats. Now you get different varieties. We got the sexy drill, then we got the hip-hop, then you got a little bit of the R&B type of vibe. I feel like it’s different, but our young generation has their own sound.
That’s really what we’re doing, even for dancehall music. A lot of people are like, Oh, but we want to hear the old-school stuff and it’s like — thank God for all the old-school artists, because they paved the way, but the younger generation is coming with a whole new sound. And when something is new, people get scared. They trash it. They talk s—t about it. Everything has to change. Even some of the OGs and the legends – big up to Shaggy – are embracing that new sound because you got to try different things.
17. We had two big global clashes at the top of this year with Teejay vs. Valiant and Stefflon Don vs. Jada Kingdom. Which do you think produced better music?
I think both was dope, but I’m a female. I’m all for the females. Women, when we’re on to something, we’re on to something. I feel like they both stood their ground, and it was fun. It didn’t get violent, thank God. I feel like the [Stefflon Don and Jada Kingdom] one was better, they had more people talking.
I feel like the dudes were trying to play it chill. [Both ladies] did their thing and they both got a good fan base from it too. They was playing them on Hot 97 on [105.1 FM], I feel like that definitely did good for both their careers as well for people who didn’t know who Steff or Jada were. People like gossip, so it’s like, Oh, they beefing let’s see what’s going on.
18. Which one of these songs are you most excited to bring to life on the Reggae Fest stage.
I’m performing “Roses,” but one of my favorite records to bring on that stage is gonna be “Run Di Road.” It’s really that hardcore reggae. When that song come on, it’s like when you hear [sings Chaka Demus & Pliers’ “Murder She Wrote.”] No matter where you at, you feel like you in Jamaica. I feel like “Run Di Road” is definitely going to do that to that crowd.
19. Did you make it out to the Labor Day parade last year?
Of course! Last year was my first time going back in mad long. I thought it was a lot of people’s return to the parade life, that’s why I’m hyped for this year. What I love about Labor Day is that the energy never changed. Everybody wants to have fun. Nobody going there to fight, everybody’s going to have a good time.
20. Are you going to make it out to Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom concert next month?
I don’t think I will be, but if I’m going to be in New York, I might. That’s definitely gonna be crazy. I’m biased when it comes to anything that’s connected to Jamaica because I know what we go through [there.] I know the struggle, I know the backend of it. Being that little girl from Jamaica and having a dream and coming to America to really bring that to life… I got to support anything that’s connected to that because I know what it feels like.
Even if you don’t like me, even if I know that you don’t feel how I feel about you, I still have that in me — because that’s what keeps me going too. I came to America when I was 12, I didn’t have nothing. I couldn’t work any type of job that I wanted to. So making it out, I could just imagine someone that came from Jamaica two or three years ago and what life was like for them. So, anything surrounding that, I got to support it.
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