R&B/Hip-Hop
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It’s Lucky Daye’s winning week on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as the singer achieves his first No. 1 in a lead role with “That’s You.” The song, released on Keep Cool/RCA Records and co-written by Bruno Mars, advances from the runner-up spot to rule the list dated July 13, although it declined 4% in plays for the tracking week of June 28 – July 4, according to Luminate.
Despite the drop, “That’s You” becomes the most-played song on U.S.-monitored adult R&B stations as last week’s champ, Keith Sweat’s “Lay You Down,” sank 18% in plays for the tracking week.
While “That’s You” gives Lucky Daye (born David Brown) his first champ in a lead role, the singer-songwriter previously topped the list thanks to his and Khalid’s featured spots on Alicia Keys’ “Come for Me (Unlocked).” The single ruled Adult R&B Airplay for two weeks in June 2023.
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Beyond the pair of chart-toppers, Lucky Daye claims two more top 10s on Adult R&B Airplay, from six total career appearances. His debut entry, “Roll Some Mo,” climbed to No. 8 in April 2019, while his supporting turn on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “You Want My Love,” resulted in a No. 2 peak in November 2021.
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In addition to Lucky Daye, the “That’s You” triumph also boosts the Adult R&B Airplay achievements for two of its co-creators, Bruno Mars and D’Mile. The two produced the track and co-wrote it alongside Lucky Daye, Mike “Hunnid” McGregor and Austin Brown. As an artist, Mars has become an Adult R&B Airplay staple in the last few years, with eight No. 1s from 2015 – 2022 thanks to his solo output and as one-half of Silk Sonic, his duo with Anderson .Paak. Producer and songwriter D’Mile, meanwhile, continues his standing as one of R&B’s steady hitmakers, composing 10 top two Adult R&B Airplay hits since 2019.
Elsewhere, “That’s You” advances 19-17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. There, the song enjoys its two-spot gain despite a 5% slide to 5 million in total audience, from 5.3 million in the previous week.
“That’s You” appears on Lucky Daye’s latest album, Algorithm, which was released on June 28.
We detail the back-and-forth that exploded on social media last night and carried over to this morning.
Now that 4th of July festivities are in the rearview mirror, we’re officially smack in the middle of summer. Despite arriving in the springtime (May 4), Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” continues to dominate the cultural conversation, with the track’s excellent new music video hitting YouTube on Independence Day, subsequently sending countless cookouts into a Kung Fu Kenny frenzy.
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Naturally, only an event like Essence Fest could cut through the mountains of additional discourse sparked by the “Not Like Us” music video. Featuring eye-popping sets from Usher, Janet Jackson, Victoria Monét, SWV, Lil Wayne, Charlie Wilson and more, Essence Fest rocked New Orleans with a sprawling collection of performances that bridged several generations of R&B and hip-hop. Of course, rising hits from recent major album releases — like Megan Thee Stallion & Yuki Chiba’s “Mamushi” and Camila Cabello & Drake‘s “Hot Uptown” — continue to make waves across the Internet as the summer heat continues to intensify.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from 42 Dugg’s and Lil Baby’s new link-up to Ken Carson’s ode to Emmy-nominated actress Sydney Sweeney. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
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Freshest Find: SAHXL & Kaash Paige, “Negligent (Remix)”
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Hailing from Sydney, Australia, R&B/hip-hop artist SAHXL has been making major waves in R&B circles, and the new Kaash Paige-assisted remix of his moody “Negligent” track is sure to continue that momentum. On the Sid Mallick & CRATER-helmed track, Kaash Paige sings from the perspective of the “pretty but messy” woman SAHXL waxes poetic about on the original song. “You be calling me like 4 in the morning/ I don’t see why your ass be so annoyed/ I don’t answer, your ass be paranoid/ And that’s just so not cool,” she croons menacingly, expertly playing up the emotional immaturity and overall toxicity that grounds the aptly titled song. Though the two singers don’t actually end up harmonizing together, that stands as a smart artistic choice that underscores their refusal to move as a unit in a romance with a flimsy foundation.
42 Dugg feat. Lil Baby, “No Love“
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The ominous 42 Dugg whistle has returned. The Detroit native reunites with his “We Paid” collaborator Lil Baby, as the duo looks to make another standout entry into their joint catalog. Baby sets the tone by comparing himself to prime ‘06 Gucci Mane and lets the rap game know he’s ready to get active, even with an alleged nine-figure net worth. That number might need to be fact-checked; either way, it sounds good. Then the 4PF boss passes the baton to Dugg, who is surprised to find out it’s the women – allegedly – snitching with loose lips since he’s been getting reacclimated to the free world.
Khalil, “Cancer”
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In a past life, Khalil was a close associate to then-labelmate Justin Bieber. Now, with his atmospheric new “Cancer” single, the Sacramento singer emerges as a fully-realized artist in his own right. “Can’t look into your eyes, ’cause I’m blind, girl,” he gently croons over desolate acoustic guitar strums. Less of a full-bodied song and more of a snapshot of the feeling of being drawn to someone who ultimately harms you, “Cancer” uses its moody guitars to mask the bite of lyrics like, “I still want you to stay tonight/ Don’t care if you’re no longer mine.” Khalil isn’t relishing this situation at all, but it’s his ability to showcase truly anguished vulnerability that makes “Cancer” such a captivating listen, if only for just over two and a half minutes.
Ken Carson, “SS”
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Ken Carson decided it was time for more disorder when he returned to tack on seven more tracks to his A Great Chaos album, turning it into A Greater Chaos. “SS” serves as an ode to film and TV star Sydney Sweeney, and he somehow compares her voluptuous breasts to the drum mags attached to his gun. X Man even hopped into her IG comments, appearing to shoot his shot with the actress. The Opium rapper then moves on to detail his Paris Fashion Week romantic escapades, and ends the journey by dissing Rolex and anyone rocking with the luxe Swiss brand. “I can buy 15 Richard Milles, why would I cop a Rolex?” he scoffs.
Ovi Wood, “Problems”
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Across a murky soundscape built around skittering hi-hats and brooding synths, Ovi Wood attempts to explain the mental torment that prevents him from showing up as the lover that he would like to be. “When my anxiety goes through the roof/ I’ve been hurting bad and I feel so consumed,” he sings, squeezing each word out as if he’s trying to fit them into the gasps of air that punctuates a good crying session. On one hand “Problems” is a song about working through anxiety as it relates to romantic relationships, on the other, it’s a disarmingly honest ode to the solace that music provides. “Music the only thing to get me through/ Music the only thing to heal my wounds,” Ovi sings in the final chorus, perhaps the only time he sounds certain about anything in his life on the track.
Shordie Shordie feat. 03 Greedo, “Ride With You”
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Shordie and Greedo’s “Ride With You” passes the car test and the breezy Cali bounce provides the perfect soundtrack to a summer sunset cruise in the Baltimore rapper’s baby blue Corvette. “Come over you can slide too/ I just need something I can ride to,” the Warner signee melodically raps with a raspiness washing over his flow. If only the ride from Shordie’s Baltimore to Greedo’s Watts, California was as smooth as their freshest team-up. The Captain Hook rapper delivered a pair of projects in 2023, and he should have more heat in store for 2024’s second half.
Ab-Soul is always representing for Top Dawg Entertainment, but he believes redemption is possible for Drake in the wake of the fallout of the 6 God’s feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Soul, a longtime Kendrick Lamar affiliate, took to X on Tuesday morning (July 9) to get some thoughts off about Drake and the beef, which he deemed to be not a “rap battle,” but “scripture.”
While he was always riding with K. Dot and the West Coast, the TDE rapper thinks there’s a path back to the top for Drizzy thanks to his potent skillset. “If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table,” he wrote.
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Fans were surprised to see Soul sticking up for Drake, as a heated back-and-forth broke out in his replies while the tweet went viral.
“After the 2Pac AI verse? Nah. the moment he did that he lost the battle forever. I hear you But that settles it for me,” one person wrote.
Another said, “It’s genuinely hilarious how yall talking like he got outrapped but when yall remove this obvious bias yall have it can def be argued that he won the war of bars.”
Soul continued to clarify, “Key word ‘MC.’” He also made sure to explain he was backing Kendrick when it came to the rap war, as he didn’t want his rant taken out of context.
“But b4 my rant gets out of context. He could never Fucc wit da Gang’Nem on sum rap shyt. That was Never a question,” the 37-year-old declared. “We could still ‘potentially’ match ‘artistry’. (Removing my obvious personal/educated bias).”
Ab-Soul also hit the stage to help Lamar perform the live debut of his “6:16 in L.A.” Drake diss at the Pop Out concert on Juneteenth. In the past, they’ve connected on tracks such as “P&P 1.5,” “Illuminate” and “Ab Souls Outro.”
The consensus (including Billboard‘s) was that Kendrick Lamar was the winner in the Drake feud, and he’s continued to take a victory lap this summer. Dot delivered the “Not Like Us” video on July 4, which could give the diss track a boost on next week’s Hot 100, where it sits at No. 3.
Find Ab-Soul’s tweets about Drake and Kendrick below.
This was not a rap battle. It was scripture.— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024
If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table.— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024
But b4 my rant gets out of context. He could never Fucc wit da Gang’Nem on sum rap shyt. That was Never a question.— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024
We could still “potentially” match “artistry”. (Removing my obvious personal/educated bias)— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024
Quavo and Travis Scott released their Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho joint project to close out 2017, and there are rumblings the duo is looking to spin the block for a sequel seven years later. The Migos rapper previewed a melodic unreleased collaboration with Travis Scott while cruising on a luxurious speedboat off the coast of […]
Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is just days away, and the “Lose Yourself” rapper raised anticipation surrounding his 12th studio LP when revealing the album’s cover art. The Detroit dignitary took to social media on Tuesday (July 9) to post the official album artwork, which finds Em wide-eyed while getting zipped […]
Busta Rhymes wasn’t feeling the crowd’s energy during his first-ever performance in New Orleans at Essence Fest over the weekend.
Bus-A-Bus attempted to shake the audience up for his Saturday night (July 6) set, and he wasn’t thrilled with those in the crowd not standing up, and hiding behind their cell phones instead.
“New Orleans, y’all look like y’all tired,” he proclaimed. “You motherf–kers ain’t ready. Everybody that’s in here, get the f–k up. Ay, f–k them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird a– devices down. I ain’t from that era. Them s–ts don’t control a soul. F–k your phone.”
Bus continued to rant: “33 years of doing this s–t, I ain’t used to n—-s sitting down at my show. The reason there will be zero tolerance for bulls–t energy in here is because this is my first time in New Orleans at the f—ing 30-year anniversary of the ESSENCE Festival. Make me feel like we home!”
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A look into the crowd and footage showed that there was sparse attendance with fans spread thin across the floor seats, while the lower and upper bowls appeared to be more full.
Fans had plenty to say about Busta’s rant, and comments came from both sides. “This is when you are too old as an artist to realize your time and audience is old,” one person wrote on X. “It’s not 1999. If you gotta beg for energy, what dies it say about you as the performer?”
Another chimed in, “Busta is a legendary MC but that dont give you the right to talk to people like that, especially after they paid for tickets. Bad take man, he should of just performed like Redman and Meth, address it after the show.”
After the dust settled, Busta Rhymes expressed gratitude for being able to take the stage for the first time in New Orleans and appreciated the love he received from the Big Easy.
“WHEN THE TRUTH IS UNDISPUTED YOU DON’T GOTTA EVER BE CONCERNED WITH THE S–T TALK AND THE FALSE NARRATIVES,” he wrote on Instagram. “WE ARE TO BLESSED TO BE MAD ABOUT ANYTHING THAT WE LOVE TO DO!! EVERY PLATFORM WE APPRECILOVE Y’ALL BUT WHEN YOU TALK MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT TOU TALKING ABOUT OR SILENCE IS THE BETTER OPTION, JUST FOR THE RECORD WHAT Y’ALL SAW THEM GIVING WITH THAT WRONG NARRATIVE ABOUT FRUSTRATION WITH THE CROWD NOT ROCKING WITH US IS CALLED ‘SHOWMANSHIP’ RESPECTFULLY!!”
Bus added: “FROM THE REST OF TH E WORLD’S POINT OF VIEW IT LOOKS LIKE AND SOUNDS LIKE AND FEELS LIKE NEW ORLEANS WAS TURNT ALL THE WAY THE F–K UP AND WE ALL ENJOYED IT!! THANK Y’ALL SO MUCH AND WE LOVE Y’ALL!!”
There’s no time to waste, as it’s right back on the road for Busta, who is supporting Missy Elliott on her first-ever headlining tour, alongside Ciara and Timbaland. The North American trek kicked off north of the border in July in Vancouver, and has shows lined up this week in Oakland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Watch fan-captured footage of Busta’s rant below:
So #BustaRhymes went off at the crowd while performing at the 2024 Essence Festival (New Orleans). I love THIS energy and he had every right to call them out!! Like he said, he’s not USED to people sitting still in their seats and watching purely through their phones. I’m glad… pic.twitter.com/1sNeMS4YRG— Dr Configa (PhD) (@Configa) July 6, 2024
It’s Celebrity Family Feud week, and the survey says: Team Megan Thee Stallion will be matched up against Ne-Yo and his clan. Ahead of Tuesday night’s (July 9) premiere on ABC, Billboard exclusively obtained a clip from the episode featuring the Houston Hottie going toe-to-toe with the “Because of You” singer in the face-off round. […]
After decades of brushing off the label, Eminem is finally embracing the title of “White Rapper.” Now, to be fair, he’s doing it as part of a promotional team-up with slider slingers White Castle as part of the roll-out of his upcoming album. The burgers and beats collaboration was announced on Monday (July 8) in […]
“Still fabulous!” That was one of the compliments overheard as fans filed out of the Hollywood Bowl following Patti LaBelle’s 8065 Tour kickoff on Sunday evening (July 7).
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The numbers refer to LaBelle’s double celebration this year: her 80th birthday in May and 65-year career in entertainment. Those 65 years represent a pioneering, Grammy-winning music career that began in the early ‘60s as frontwoman for Patti Labelle & the Bluebelles, which evolved into the innovative trio LaBelle in the ‘70s with Nona Hendryx and the late Sarah Dash before LaBelle embarked on a solo career.
After opening her set with the emotion-packed “You Saved My Life,” LaBelle was definitely in her element as she kicked off her shoes not once but twice, cracked jokes (“Don’t get it twisted, I want my shoe back,” she told an audience member who’d caught one of them), busted a couple of dance moves with her singers and even did some of her trademark wing flexing. She also dedicated her own moving take on “If You Asked Me To” to Celine Dion (who covered the song after LaBelle in 1992).
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LaBelle’s soaring vocals especially took center stage on the ballad “If Only You Knew” (a surprise as it wasn’t on the set list provided by the Bowl) — eliciting a standing ovation — and on show closer “Lady Marmalade.” For the latter, she chose several males from the audience to join her onstage and try their hand at singing the hit themselves, which met with audience cheers and laughter. Her nearly 90-minute performance also included classics such as “Love, Need and Want You,” “On My Own” (her duet with Michael McDonald) and “You Are My Friend.”
Upcoming stops on LaBelle’s 8065 junket include Sacramento (7/20), Phoenix (8/11) and Memphis (9/12). In between, she’s still busy with her successful food company, Patti’s Good Life, which recently added a new pancake and waffle mix to its menu. And coming soon: Patti LaBelle Wines. In an interview with Billboard prior to her Hollywood Bowl show, LaBelle reflected on her career, the new wave of R&B female artists and the R word: retirement.
What else can fans expect when they catch you on this 2024 tour circuit?
I’m very eclectic and very spontaneous. I will do a whole lot of different kinds of music. You never know what I might do, but it’s going to be nice. They [the shows] will be about who I am: a Bluebelles girl, a member of Labelle and then Patti LaBelle. It will be a reminder of what I’ve done all my life, you know? I just want to give a public thank you for all the years that people have been on my page with me. I can’t take that for granted because people can spend their money in other places, on other entertainers. But when they decide to see a Patti LaBelle show or to buy a Patti LaBelle record, I feel blessed.
Are you working on any new music?
I have been working on something for the last two years. But you know, sometimes when you record, of course, you’re going to start, and then you’re going to stop. Or something might come into play where you say, “Well, God, I have to stop this right now and then go back into recording again when I get good music.” I’m very picky. I want to do age-appropriate music for an 80-year young woman. I can’t do anything that makes me feel as if I’m stretching out on something that I shouldn’t be. So this is going to have to be something that’s well thought out. It’s hard for me to find good material that I want to put out. But I’m not going to stop. I hope that something might be out in the next six months.
Did you ever envision having a 65-year career? A lot of people can’t say that.
Because of my three sisters dying before they turned 50, I would always pray that I could make 50. When I did, it was like a miracle. God has given me grace and I’m still here. And to say that I’m still here at 80, still doing what I did when I was 20, 30 and 40 … it’s another blessing. Because you can’t always take for granted that you’re going to be here at the age of 80, still performing and still in your right mind. So every day I say, “Thank you God for another day.”
Nona Hendryx, Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight attend Patti LaBelle’s Surprise 80th Birthday Celebration at The Glasshouse on May 23, 2024 in New York City.
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Patti’s Good Life
Please describe the feeling that you get as you’re preparing to step on stage.
It’s a rush that I’ve gotten all my life. I’ve never, ever not been nervous before a show; I’m always petrified. Especially when you go out and see the crowd standing or saying your name and making you feel just wonderful. That doesn’t happen all the time for a lot of people, but it’s still happening with me. My band and I have our prayer before we go on. They continue to push me and keep me feeling good onstage for 75-90 minutes. I’m always saying to myself, “God, I wonder if they’re going to care for me tonight like they did years ago.” That’s always on my mind because I don’t want to become an afterthought, like “Why is she still singing?” I just don’t want to be that person. So every time I go out there, I’m praying that they [the audience] will accept me.
Where do you get your energy?
That’s God, girl. Like I said, I’ve outlived most of my family members but I still have a show to do tomorrow, the next night and the next night. So that’s energetic for me. Sometimes my body might be sore, but I’m going to go out there and do my thing. I don’t feel any pain when I’m performing, you know? And I thank God for that after a show. And that makes me feel great that I can still do it. I don’t know what 80 should feel like, so I don’t know if I feel 80. Maybe I feel about 40 inside [laughs]. For exercise, I have a pool that I get in. I can’t swim but I can kick. And I walk my dog. I move my body to do things that I know will help me.
What one life lesson have you embraced during your 80 years? And what one music career lesson do you still carry with you after 65 years?
For the first: to not hold grudges. In 80 years, you can have a lot of things that could set you off or put you in a place where you say, “I hate this. I hate that.” But I don’t have hate in my life. I’ve learned to forgive those who have put me in such awful positions that you can’t think a person will forgive someone for doing that. But I’ve always taken the high road. So the older I get, the more I’ve become a forgiver. Because I always say there must be a real reason why a person is hurting, why they’re so ugly inside. So those people you pray for, and I sometimes bring them closer to me. It’s not going to hurt you to be nice to someone who’s not nice to you.
And for the second: that not everyone is going to accept me. There have been times in my 65 years of being in show business when there’s been a lot of rejection for Patti LaBelle: for my music, for my shows, for my acting, for whatever I’ve done in life. I know that everybody’s not going to accept it; that I’m going to get no’s and sometimes I’ll get some yeses. All of that stuff has happened in my life and will continue to happen because everybody’s not going to love Patti LaBelle.
Is there one song that you still love to perform after all these years?
I enjoy “If Only You Knew.” It’s a hard song to sing, but I can still sing it. Those notes at the end: I’m amazed every time they come out. So that’s one of my favorites for that reason. And I haven’t changed the keys to [my] songs; they’re in the original keys.
What do you think about the new wave of female singer-songwriters in R&B right now?
There are a lot of great singers in young women such as Coco Jones and Victoria Monét. I continue to bless them on, honey. Don’t stop; don’t stop. And of course Beyoncé, my girl. I’m just happy for her period for everything she’s doing and will continue to do. I’m seeing a lot of goodness in these young ladies performing and selling the way they’re selling. When Beyoncé did her country album, I said, “You go, girl” because music is music. And she is from Texas and she’s holding them. I just want her to continue to do any type of music that she wants to do. Music doesn’t have a color; it doesn’t have a race. Music is music period.
When I was coming up, it [the industry climate] was nowhere near what it’s like now. It’s a much better place being a Black female performer; much more so than when we — Sarah, Nona, Cindy [Birdsong, a member of the Bluebelles] and I — were doing it at the time. So I’m very happy about the climate where Black women are singing anything they want. I wish it had been like that when we were coming up. But then again, if it was like that I might not appreciate what I have now as much as I do. We paid our dues.
Is the R word — retirement — in your vocabulary?
How do you spell it? [laughs]. That’s not in my book. No way. I’m going to keep on going. There’s no reason to stop unless you just can’t do anything anymore, right? And how can you retire from something you love?