R&B/Hip-Hop
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Lil Wayne is a living legend, and he was feeling the love from the raucous Kansas crowd. Weezy headlined Travis Kelce’s Kelce Jam 2024 presented by Jim Beam on Saturday night (May 18) about a half-hour outside Kansas City across the Missouri state line.
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Thousands filled the outdoor Azura Amphitheater on a sweltering day donning unique outfits celebrating their beloved Kansas City Chiefs as well as themed-fits surrounding the superstar tight end and his music icon girlfriend Taylor Swift, who was across the globe performing in Stockholm, Sweden, on her Eras Tour.
The New Orleans rap deity followed sets from 2 Chainz and Diplo while the crowd anxiously awaited the main attraction when Wayne popped out just shy of midnight CT to 2008’s Jay-Z-assisted “Mr. Carter,” bringing all of the fans to their feet.
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Patrick Mahomes, 2 Chainz and Travis Kelce on stage during Kelce Jam at Azura Amphitheater on May 18, 2024 in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
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As only Weezy could, he casually hit the stage smoking a blunt while rocking a Gucci hat, a black long-sleeve with baggy Gucci shorts and combat boots. “Trav, you brought ’em out tonight. One time for my motherf—-g n—a Travie, man,” Wayne said while taken aback by the staggering numbers in the audience, which seemed to be more than he anticipated. “God I didn’t even see ’em. Up top, make some f—–g noise, damn!”
The energy was taken to another level when Weezy brought out his Welcome 2 ColleGrove running mate and frequent collaborator 2 Chainz.
After running through “Rich As F–k,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end even joined the performance of “Duffle Bag Boy.” Kelce fittingly brought a Louis Vuitton duffle bag with him, but inside was the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which Chainz briefly rented from the three-time Super Bowl champ.
Earlier in the day, Kelce exclusively revealed to Billboard that “Duffle Bag Boy” was one of his all-time favorite songs and remains a pre-game playlist staple for him to this day before hitting the field.
“I’m a huge mixtape era guy,” Kelce says. “Wayne has been one of my favorites since high school, since the early 2000s. Since 2 Chainz is here, ‘Duffle Bag Boy’ is one of my favorite songs of all-time. I have it on my game day playlist and everything.”
Playaz Circle’s “Duffle Bag Boy” arrived in 2007 and reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Outside of the Tity Boi cameo, Lil Wayne kept the setlist similar to his Welcome to Tha Carter Tour from last year, which included fan-favorites like “Hustler Musik,” “I’m Goin In,” “Lollipop,” “Let the Beat Build,” “Blunt Blowin,” “Fireman,” “Mrs. Officer,” “We Be Steady Mobbin’” and “The Motto” before wrapping up with “A Milli.”
Weezy enjoyed himself so much throughout the hour-long set that he hopes to be performing at Kelce Jam 2025, if Travis will have him. “Trav, I don’t know if you do this every year. But make sure I’m on the list every f—–g year,” he pleaded with the Chiefs star.
As one fan bluntly put it while leaving the venue as Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” serenaded those left, “That was f—–g awesome.”
Watch a live stream of the entire festival on X. Lil Wayne’s set begins around the 4:11:00 mark.
Sean “Diddy” Combs won’t be prosecuted over a 2016 video that appears to show him assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
“We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the office of L.A. District Attorney George Gascón wrote in a statement on Instagram Friday (May 17). “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
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The statement added that law enforcement has not presented the L.A. County DA’s office with “a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
The contents of the video mirror an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November, in which she also alleged one instance of rape and another instance of Combs forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit late last year, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Read the L.A. County DA office’s full statement on Instagram below.
Lupe Fiasco is set to drop his follow up to 2022’s Drill Music In Zion as he links up once again with longtime producer Soundtrakk for a full project. Samurai has a release date of Friday, June 28 and features only eight tracks; a rarity in the age of music streaming. Today he released the […]
A 2016 surveillance video appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel, mirroring an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against the hip-hop mogul in November.
In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
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After briefly dragging Ventura down the hallway, Combs, wrapped only in a bath towel, appears to release his grip. Ventura is then seen standing up before gathering some of her things from the floor and moving toward a phone in the hallway near the elevators. Combs can then be seen returning and appearing to shove Ventura. Just seconds later, he sits in a chair, grabs something off of a table and appears to throw it at her. He then walks away before turning toward Ventura once more, just as one of the elevator doors opens and someone is seen walking out.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
A representative for Combs did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Ventura sued Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, claiming that he repeatedly physically abused her over the course of a decade, including one allegation of rape when she tried to leave him in 2018. She also accused Combs of forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated. In a statement at the time, Combs’ attorney, Ben Brafman, said the hip-hop giant “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” alleging that Ventura had made a “persistent demand” of a $30 million payout in the six months leading up to her lawsuit. Ventura’s lawyer responded by disputing Brafman’s claim, saying that Combs instead offered Ventura “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit.”
The case, which was filed under a newly enacted law in New York that created a limited window for abuse survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would otherwise be barred under the statute of limitations, was settled the day after it was filed.
Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Common has been a legend in the game for more than three decades. But even with all his success in hip-hop and on the big and little screens, there’s always that nagging “what if?” question about the doors you didn’t open as well as the ones you did.
Sitting down on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony and Kid Mero this week, the 52-year-old Chicago-bred MC, chopped it up about the NBA playoffs and his favorite ballers — as well as getting seriously trash-talked to by Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan — but he also shared some previously unheard stories about working with Ye, including the mountain of Kanye West beats he passed on early in his career.
“It’s at least, 10 Ye beats out there that I passed on,” he said of the tracks he didn’t take from fellow Windy City native West. “Even on one of those albums, he like, ‘Common passed on the beat, I turned it into a jam,’” he added in quoting the chorus from “Everything I Am” from Ye’s 2007 Graduation album.
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That wasn’t it, either. Common said he also took a pass on such future Ye tracks as “I Wonder” and “Heard ‘Em Say.”
“It’s crazy because I didn’t take any Ye beats, like in that ’96-’97, when-I-met-him era. But then in 2003, I’m like, ‘Ye, lemme get some beats, like come on!,’” Common said. “I felt like at the time No ID was at such a higher level that I was just like, ‘Ye, these beats ain’t doing it for me yet. You gettin’ there, but you ain’t there yet’… I got more memories of joints I passed on, beats that he made for me, that ended up being, like… a lot of his Late Registration album.”
For example, Common said Ye made the beat for ‘Heard ‘Em Say” just for him, writing the song in front of him in 10 minutes. “I was like, ‘This beat dope.’ He was like, ‘You want it?’ and I was like, ‘Man I gotta…’ because it didn’t feel like it was fitting in my album [Be]… So I was like, ‘Nah, you good.’ He said, ‘Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Nah I’m good.’” Looking back now, he told the hosts, yes, of course “that beat was dope.”
The pair have worked on plenty of other songs, including 2004’s “The Food” single and 2005’s “The Corner,” as well as Ye appearing alongside Common and John Legend on “They Say” from Common’s 2006 Be album, which was produced by West, how also had a heavy hand in writing the entire LP.
The deep-dive round ball talk also found Common saying that if he had to pick a baller to represent him as a rapper, he’s torn between retired three-time NBA champ Dwayne Wade or power forward-turned-broadcaster and round mound of rebound Charles Barkley. “I say that because D Wade had a lot of success too… but I think sometimes D Wade don’t get all the love [he deserves],” Common said, praising both men for pivoting to other careers after they hung up their jerseys.
For the record, asked how he felt about the recent Drake-Kendrick Lamar lyrical battle, Common said now that the war is over he’s confident calling it a “good heavyweight fight… I respected what each one delivered.”
Watch Common on 7PM in Brooklyn below (Ye talk begins around 51-minute mark).
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On the latest episode of his podcast A Safe Place, Lil Yachty spoke on a variety of topics pertaining to his proximity to the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud. The Atlanta rapper wasn’t too into being name-dropped by Kendrick on “Euphoria,” telling his producer, “I really didn’t want anything to do with it,” after revealing […]
Shortly after gracing Billboard’s digital cover issue this month, T-Pain hopes to achieve self-love on his latest song, “On This Hill.” “On This Hill” evokes powerful emotion, with T-Pain singing around a bonfire: “I’m telling you, I’ll die on this hill/ You can’t talk me off the ledge/ And I just gotta lock you out […]
Mother’s day has been and gone. Not for Wiz Khalifa. Every day is like mother’s day for the hip-hop artist, who accompanies his mom literally everywhere. Including strip joints.
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When he taped an interview for The Jennifer Hudson Show, Khalifa gave viewers more than they bargained for when he discussed his friendship with mom, Peachie.
“Me and my mom do everything together. We go to strip clubs together. We went to Mexico. We went to Coachella together,” he tells the show’s host, Jennifer Hudson. “We do everything.“
With that cat out the bag, the “See You Again” rapper shared more Khalifa family matters, from snaps of his son’s “west coast gangsta” themed birthday party, tales of his early days making music with his dad and uncle, and his formative years spent abroad, including Germany and the U.K., thanks to his folks serving in the military.
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On the music front, Khalifa is preparing the release of Kush & Orange Juice 2, a sequel to his “cult classic” mixtape from 2010. “I wanted to revisit that, just put some new flavor on it and get the fans something to have fun to,” he explains. “That’s what I’m known for, having a great time. So that same vibe I have in the studio I like to bring that outside.”
That studio vibe, he explains, is created with lighting up candles, incense and other items he chose not to go into.
Khalifa has landed 35 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including six top 10s and a pair of leaders, 2010’s “Black And Yellow,” and Furious 7 soundtrack from 2015 “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, which led the chart for a whopping 12 weeks. The 36-year-old dad also boasts five appearances on the Billboard 200, including a No. 1 with 2014’s Blacc Hollywood. A release date for Kush & Orange Juice 2 has yet to be announced.
The Grammy Award-winning artist’s full interview airs Friday, May 17 on The Jennifer Hudson Show, produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television and Telepictures. Watch snippets below.
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Saweetie got us wondering how she walk through, swingin’ that body on her new single “NANi,” which she released on Friday.
“Ooh, got that nani, nani, nani/ How she walk through, swingin’ that body/ Yellin’, ’Who gon’ stop me?’/ You ain’t got the time to clock me,” she sings. “Ooh, got that nani, nani, nani/ Big, bag, I’ma fill it up with money/ Yellin’, ‘Who gon’ stop me?’/ You ain’t got the time to clock me.”
“We gon’ fkkk up the Summer,” she wrote on Instagram earlier this week while revealing the single’s cover art. Last weekend at the 2024 Gold Gala — where Saweetie received the first-ever Billboard Gold Music Honor during the event dedicated to recognizing the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers in culture and society over the past year — she told Billboard on the red carpet, “‘NANi’ is that girl. ‘NANi’ is main character energy.”
When Billboard caught up with her earlier this year at Women in Music — where she presented Young Miko with the AMEX Impact Award — and asked what’s coming up for Saweetie in 2024, she responded, “Hopefully the album. I recorded over 300 songs. I have a lot of music, so we’ll get to it.”
“NANi” is her second solo single of 2024, after “Richtivities” from February, which was included in a six-song project titled PRETTY HU$TLER MIX featuring other previously released tracks: “Pretty Bitch Freestyle,” “BO$$ Chick,” “Pretty & Rich,” “Get It Girl” and her 2017 breakout debut single “ICY GIRL,” which reached No. 16 on Rhythmic Airplay. This year, she’s released collaborations with Indian singer-songwriter Diljit Dosanjh (“Khutti”), P-Lo (“Do It For The Bay”) and IVE (“All Night”).
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Listen to “NANi” below.
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Over two decades since 50 Cent strapped on his bullet-proof vest and dropped his iconic Get Rich or Die Tryin’ debut, the G-Unit boss is still making history. According to Billboard Boxscore, 50’s The Final Lap Tour has eclipsed $100 million in earnings, making him only the second rapper to ever surpass that mark. The […]