R&B/Hip-Hop
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Akon has chimed in on the tension between 50 Cent and Black Mafia Family co-founder Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory.
During a recent appearance on the BagFuel podcast, he talked about his relationship with BMF and Jeezy during the mid-2000s, and was eventually asked about Meech falling out with his business partner 50 Cent once he got out of prison. “Actually, me and Meech had some talks about that,” Akon revealed. “He does feel slighted ’cause he felt that, you know, him and 50 should’ve sat down and had a real conversation as men because he’s been in [prison] for 20 years. He don’t know the feud that’s going on with 50 and whoever else. All he know is that, when he got out, [Rick] Ross came through, showed some love. While he was locked up, Ross made a big ass song that was, you know, ‘They think I’m Big Meech, Larry Hoover.’ In his mind, Ross is just paying homage.”
He added that the former music executive and drug kingpin wasn’t fully aware of the music business politics that would “warrant what Fif’ did.”
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The “big ass song” Akon is referring to Rick Ross’ 2010 street anthem “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” featuring Styles P, which peaked at No. 60 on the Hot 100. The same song Rick Ross once told Billboard that he would clear for the show if 50 agreed to help promote Ross’ Wingstop franchises after the G-Unit boss expressed interest in using the track in another Billboard interview.
50 Cent and Big Meech have been in business together with the former producing a docuseries and a TV series for Starz about the latter’s rise to power alongside his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory in the Detroit underworld during the late ’80s, eventually turning BMF into a national crime syndicate and influential record label that was instrumental in breaking Jeezy’s solo career.
However, things turned sour when Meech and Rick Ross were seen together on social media, causing a back and forth between the Miami rapper, 50 and Meech’s son, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., who plays his father in the BMF series.
The fourth season of BMF is set to premiere on June 6.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) continues to be in hot water after attempting to release his highly controversial song “Heil Hitler.” After being yanked down by streaming services and DSPs on Thursday (May 8), CEO of Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jim Berk, shared a statement to Billboard, voicing his dismay and disappointment in the mercurial MC.
“Kanye West’s release of a song entitled ‘Heil Hitler’ on VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi regime, is hate speech, pure and simple—totally in line with the despicable messages we now expect from West,” said Berk.
Berk’s frustration didn’t stop there, as he directed his attention to Elon Musk’s social media platform X, for enabling such vitriol to be spewed by Ye and others.
“But his partner in spreading dangerous vitriol against Jews is X, which is allowing flagrant violation of its own rules reading, ‘You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.’”
He continued: “We call on X to remove West from its platform and for other platforms and distributors to refuse to host or monetize this song. There must be a clear line when it comes to glorification of genocidal regimes, particularly to millions of young people.”
After experiencing failed attempts on DSPs, West uploaded the song to SoundCloud, where it was later pulled down as well. This prompted Ye to share his thoughts on X.
“Heil Hitler by Ye has been banned by all digital streaming platforms,” Ye wrote. “While Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable They’re literally keeping the n—-s down.” Previously teased by Ye, “Heil Hitler” had terse subject matter ranging from the rapper’s nitrous usage to custody issues over his four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
Billboard reached out to Ye’s camp for comment.
When John Cena dropped his 2005 debut album, You Can’t See Me, critics wondered if the wrestling powerhouse had more brawn than bars. What began as a perceived gimmick evolved into a two-decade-long run, marked by unfiltered charisma, sharp wit and unshakeable confidence. Sure, his popularity and in-ring dominance made him box office gold, but when he unleashed his mic skills — especially over Jake One’s soulful beats — Cena cemented himself as the godfather of the rap-wrestling crossover.
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Released on May 10, 2005, You Can’t See Me — a collaboration with his cousin, fellow rapper TradeMarc — debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, also reaching No. 3 on Top Rap Albums — proof Cena had real appeal on the mic. Even while locking up with heavyweights like Triple H, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker each week, Cena carried that same grit and resilience into the booth. On tracks like “Just Another Day” and “If It All Ended Tomorrow,” Cena’s raw candor and introspection made him surprisingly easy to root for. As he raps on the latter: “You the new kid, now you gettin’ some shine/ When every vet sayin’ that it’s not yo’ time/ My hustle is non-stop and it’s not yo’ grind/ Plus I hear very clear, I’m not so blind.”
And though Cena was dubbed WWE’s Superman, his rap heroics on You Can’t See Me became every critic’s kryptonite. His bravado and swagger leglocked the doubters into submission. The album’s title track became his armor — its hook both a taunt and a shield — as he swatted away skepticism with a single phrase: “You can’t see me.” The song became both a gift and a curse: a champion’s anthem and rallying cry, but also a punchline for detractors who turned it into an easy jab, diminishing Cena even as he continued to dominate.
Now on his final lap as a professional wrestler, Cena’s recent partnership with Travis Scott — rap’s latest generational leader — speaks volumes about his influence across both arenas. WWE is in the midst of a renaissance, with pop culture once again reinvigorated by its presence. Hip-hop’s footprint in the ring is larger than ever: WaleMania just celebrated its 10th anniversary at WrestleMania, while wrestlers like Montez Ford and Trick Williams proudly showcase their rap chops with original music, and genre superstars like Drake, Metro Boomin, Lil Yachty, and Quavo now flood wrestling arenas with the same fervor and excitement as the everyday diehards beside them. Much of this stems from Cena’s early efforts to meld both worlds — what began as a desperate bid to save his WWE career ended up bridging a gap between music and wrestling, one that remains tightly connected to this day.
And while we may never get another album from the 48-year-old multi-hyphenate, You Can’t See Me still deserves a spin — for everything it gave to hip-hop, wrestling, and pop culture at large.
Fat Joe and Jadakiss have a new podcast called Joe & Jada where they talk about all things music, sports, and culture. On their recently released premiere episode, the two rap legends — who’ve seen their fair share of rap beef — talked about the one-year anniversary of the kick-off of the historic rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
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Jada started things off by clarifying that what went down wasn’t exactly “beef,” and that he couldn’t believe that it’s been a whole year already. “One year since the Kendrick and Drake discrepancy. What they like to call it ‘beef’ in the media world,” Jada quipped. “Thank God nothing really happened to anybody, physically. Personally, I thought it was about four or five months ago. I can’t believe it’s already been a year.”
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Joey Crack couldn’t believe that it’s been a year either, and then sparked a light debate between the two when he said he noticed that Lamar gets more airplay than other West Coast legends did in their prime. ‘Kiss fired back by saying, “Everybody from L.A. gets spins on L.A. radio.”
Joe then asked him when was the last time Jadakiss was out there, with both of them saying they were recently in L.A. and Joe adding, “Yo, bro, I never seen nothing like this. Every single song, they like, ‘Turn the TV off,” causing Jada to agree that Kenny does indeed get a lot of spin in Southern California.
“It’s a fact. Kendrick Lamar gets played nine out of every 10 songs in L.A. right now,” the Bronx rapper proclaimed. “Not even Snoop Dogg, not even Tupac Shakur — nobody from L.A. has dominated the paint like this guy. That last year? What they’re doing in L.A. — if you’re from L.A., you probably think there’s only one guy on Earth, Kendrick Lamar. I’m just keeping it a buck with you. You turn on that radio in L.A. — if you from L.A., you work at Target, Amazon, you’re delivering some s–t, you working at the bakery, panadería, wherever, East L.A., holmes — you thinking it’s one man breathing in hip-hop, it’s called Kendrick Lamar.”
Joe then shifted the conversation to rap beef in today’s landscape, asking the Yonkers MC what he thinks about historic hip-hop battles. “For me, I thought it was always good if you take it all the back to Wild Style and LL and Kool Moe Dee and all the way up to us and 50,” he began. “It’s always good as long as it stays on wax. “When it first started, somebody say something about you, you gotta go to the studio, you gotta immediately work on getting one back at there, knock the stick off your shoulders like a fight after school at three o’clock. Now, as the technology evolved, it turns into movie skits, animations, retrieving fake information… It got a little wacky for me. I like it to be beats and rhymes and keep it like that. Once it got out of my pay grade, it’s a little bit of disinterest to me because it’s turning political now.”
Fat Joe agreed about things getting political and brought up Drake’s controversial UMG lawsuit. “There’s even lawsuits behind rap diss records now. I never saw that,” he said, to which Manteca Jada replied, “That’s over my head, I don’t really understand… I just wanna see rhymes and song and hip-hop s–t.”
You can watch the full episode below.
E-40 is back with his first solo single since 2023, and Billboard has the exclusive premiere of his new music video. On Friday (May 9), E-40 dropped off his new track “Beating They Ass” alongside a new music video. The minimalistic, black and white visual includes a memorable cameo from Vital Versatility CEO Didier Morais […]
2025 could be Doechii’s year. The TDE rapper continued her winning streak on Friday (May 9) with her surprise guest appearance on The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s “Timeless (Remix).”
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Days after rumors ran rampant on social media of Doechii hopping on the Pharrell-produced hit, the “Timeless (Remix)” landed on streaming services on Friday (May 9).
Doechii bats leadoff and wastes no time bleeding her swagger into “Timeless” with a braggadocios assist flexing on the competition.
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“Hop in the booth, I advance on the beat/ B—h, it’s a wrap like lettuce and cheese/ Why would I f–k a n—a that’s fanned over me/ I do what you n—-s do with my hands on my knees/ This s–t too easy,” she raps.
The Swamp Princess closes out her guest appearance with a nod to her record label and Kendrick Lamar’s pgLang.
“Top Dawg cashin’ out Doechii stock/ Pull up to the pgLang on the dot/ Now I got a timeshare wrist watch/ I been that girl since hopscotch, I’m too legit,” she boasts.
“Timeless” sits at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and could receive a boost in the coming weeks thanks to the timely remix.
Coming off a Grammy Award win and her Met Gala debut, Doechii’s been in the mix for the first half of the year and it’s all eyes on when her anticipated debut album will arrive.
As for The Weeknd and Playboi Carti, they’ll kick off the After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on Friday.
The XO singer and Carti will be invading stadiums throughout North America with stops in Detroit, Chicago, Inglewood, Las Vegas, New Jersey, Philly, Miami, Toronto, Montreal, Atlanta and Orlando before wrapping up in San Antonio on Sept. 3.
Listen to the “Timeless (Remix)” below.
Clipse continue to tease their highly anticipated fourth album Let God Sort Em Out thanks to a new video from Pusha T. The Virginia Beach rapper posted a video of himself getting ready for the 2025 Met Gala on Tuesday (May 7), featuring a snippet of an unreleased song seemingly titled “So Far Ahead.” The […]
Ye (formerly Kanye West) attempted to release his new song titled “Heil Hitler,” but he claims the controversial track was taken down by streaming platforms and is banned by DSPs.
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West has been teasing the single for some time and he uploaded his new track to SoundCloud on Thursday (May 8), but it’s since been removed from the platform.
“Heil Hitler by Ye has been banned by all digital streaming platforms,” Ye wrote on X before pointing out the double standard he sees in streaming censorship. “While Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable They’re literally keeping the n—-s down.”
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The track finds Ye addressing his custody issues over his four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, while also claiming that banks are freezing his accounts and rapping about his nitrous use. “With all this money and fame, I still can’t get my kids back/ With all this money and fame I still can’t see my children,” he raps.
West also repeats the titular phrase on the song’s refrain and claims he “became a Nazi yet b—h, I’m the villain.” The horn-tinged outro features a portion of a German speech from Adolf Hitler.
Billboard has reached out to reps for Ye as well as SoundCloud and Spotify.
The song has been teased by Ye in recent weeks as various clips showed on Sneako’s stream while he was working on the song, which followed his series of antisemitic X tirades praising Hitler.
It’s been a turbulent week for West, who stormed off the set of a combative interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday (May 6) within minutes of it beginning after the Uncensored host got Ye’s follower count on X wrong.
“You’re not gonna take inches off my di–, bro.” the Chicago native said before he left the interview. “I’m a gift, bro. Why do all you people in media act like you haven’t played my songs at your weddings, or graduations or at funerals or when your child was born?”
He continued: “You take someone like that’s living, like a [John] Lennon or a Michael Jackson. That nuance right there is idiotic. It just shows the hate that you put out for people that put out love. There’s so much love in the art that I put out. This is what you get for now, we can circle back when you can count.”
From the Caribbean Music Awards to the mounting of several arena shows — April kicked off a season of head-turning announcements for the world of Caribbean music.
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On April 9, Billboard exclusively revealed the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards nominations, which will once again grace Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on Aug. 28. Fans had until May 1 to cast their ballots for over 40 categories featuring leading nominees Shenseea and Masicka, who snagged seven nods each. Soca superstars Patrice Roberts and Kes followed with six nominations, while King of Dancehall Vybz Kartel, genre-fusing soca star Nailah Blackman, and Jamaican dancehall stars Chronic Law and Kranium each earned five nods.
In addition to buzzy awards news, April also featured several blockbuster dancehall arena shows. On April 11 and 12, Vybz Kartel made his highly anticipated return to Brooklyn for his first U.S. live shows in 20 years. Worl’ Boss sold out two nights at Barclays Center just a few weeks before Aidonia headlined UBS Arena (May 3) for a 20th anniversary concert featuring Mavado, Sizzla, Govana, Jada Kingdom, Spragga Benz and more. Last week (May 1), Bounty Killer announced his first U.S. show in 15 years, The Return of the War Lord, which will grace Barclays Center on July 5. Later this month (May 24), Beenie Man will bring his headlining King of the Dancehall tour to UBS Arena, underscoring an impressive arena run for Caribbean artists this year.
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Naturally, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs. So, without any further ado:
Freshest Find: KA$E & Green Lion Crew, “What’s the Word?”
Rising Jamaican recording artist Ka$e teamed up with production duo Green Lion Crew for an upbeat new reggae tune titled “What’s the Word?” Across easy-rocking guitars, Ka$e rattles off his observations of JA’s latest happenings, and carries the legacy of roots reggae artists before him by taking those in power to task and demanding they do more for the island’s orginary people. “Face it! Land we love is govern by some wastemen/ Who feed their need for greed and nepotize them favorite/ Quick fi blame artists when dem portfolio failing/ If a we dem wah fi run it then say less,” he declares in the second verse.
Tifa, “We Got It”
Late ’00s and early ’10s Jamaican dancehall star Tifa has slowly been making her way back into the public eye, and “We Got It” is the latest in a string of standalone singles helping her recalibrate her positioning in today’s dancehall landscape. Over DJ Bunpun’s “Deep Fake” riddim, Tifa delivers an empowering anthem centering women and all their flavor and flair they bring to the dancehall.
Jah Vinci, “Cover Me”
Back with another powerful message that bridges the sanctificed nature of gospel reggae with the street-adjacent feel of trap 808s and Auto-Tuned crooning, Jah Vinci has another winner in “Cover Me.” Aided by a backing choir, Jah Vinci pleads for Jah to “cover [him] with His love and make him whole again” — a moment of musical humility that finds him submitting to the Most High and spreading his message to the rest of the world.
Patrice Roberts, “Ungrateful”
Trinbagonian superstar Patrice Roberts is best known for her soca smashes, but she veered into the Afro-pop lane for new “Ungrateful” single. Produced, mixed and mastered by Yannick Plate and featuring Kyle Ernest on guitar and Esther Tommy on backing vocals, “Ungrateful” finds Roberts kissing a no-good old flame goobye. With a promise to focus on herself, she proclaims, “Boy bye/ Take you s–t to somebody else.” Melodically, this is much more subdued than her previous power soca entries, but the relaxed soundscape allows for her voice’s character to shine through — and for her emoting skills to get some shine.
RajahWild, “Show Me a Sign”
Originally debuted as an “On the Radar” freestyle earlier this year (March 25), RajahWild’s “Show Me a Sign” finally arrived on April 11. Marked by its notable omission of foul language, “Show Me a Sign” effortlessly positions Rajah as one of dancehall’s brightest new stars,” his come-hither lyrics pairing perfectly with trap-forward Zimi Records production. “Mi hope yuh know mi nuh nice/ Hope yuh know you a star/ Hope yuh know you a baddie/ Mi hope yuh know you a shine,” he croons in the second half of the chorus, presenting something of a shift in dancehall lyricism where the man is, even if just for a moment, centering the feels and self-image of the woman he’s pursuing.
DJ Big Skipp, Yung Bredda & Hey Choppi feat. Pndrn & BYFar Mega, “Cho Cha!”
There’s essentially half a soccer team on this song, but it truly is a “the more, the merrier” situation. With the help of Yung Bredda, a triple nominee at this year’s Caribbean Music Awards, Hey Choppi, Pndrn and BYFar Mega pull from New York drill to inform they cadences they employ across the skittering snares of DJ Big Skipp’s production. While the union of dancehall and drill isn’t anything new, it’s very cool to hear Bredda bar up after dominating the first half of the year with “The Greatest Bend Over” and other soca and calypso hits.
Kaka Highflames, “Jackie Chan”
Just a few weeks after assisting Ding Dong on “Street Jump,” the lead single from the “Badman Forward Badman Pull Up” singer’s debut album, rising dancehall star and renowned dancer Kaka Highflames has unleashes his own new single: “Jackie Chan.” Accompanied by a new dance challenge, “Jackie Chan” find Kaka rapping across an old-school, early ’90s hip-hop-evoking beat with the constant refrain of “Don’t let my Jackie Chan kick ya.” Clearly engineered for dancers as opposed to average listeners, Kaka’s new single will certainly help keep the art of dancing at the forefront of dancehall culture.
Ky-Mani Marley, “All This Love”
For the third single from his forthcoming Love & Energy album, Ky-Mani Marley pairs his slightly raspy voice with sweet reggae guitars, ebulliant horns and a whistling background flutes. “So let’s shine our lights together/ So that we can heal/ So the world can feel/ All of this love/ Jah give me all this love,” he sings over Grammy-winner Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown’s lush production. From Ky-Mani to YG (who appeard on Coco Jones‘ recently-released debut album Why Not More?), the Marley legacy continues.
Yaksta, “Haffi Bun”
Yaksta is always full of surprises; a new single from his could be a three-minute look into virtually any genre in the world. With “Haffi Bun,” which he dropped two days before 4/20, Yaksta dipped into his ska bag and added smalls nods to doo-wop along the way. Produced by Partillo Productions, “Haffi Bun” is Yaksta’s aptly titled ganja tribute; he sings in the first, raps in the second and ties it all together with a jaunty hook that maintains the levity of the whole affair. “It was foolish of me to abstaining from the tree!” he sings, delivering the line with a slight decrescendo to add more verve to his vocal performance.
Armanii, “XOXO”
One of the buzziest names in dancehall right now, Armanii has just added another banger to his string of homeruns. Kicking things off in a delightfully nasty and classicaly dancehall way, Armanii attacks the trap beat with, “Open yuh mouth fi mi mek me see yuh throat back/ Dah bumpa deh gwan throw it back/ Cocky a buss inna yuh face, tell yuh hold dat/ She seh di f–k strong like Hulk Hogan.” With a strikingly melodic flow reminsicnent of Kartel himself, Armanii is quickly establishing himself as a dancehall force to be reckoned with.
Megan Thee Stallion has announced the inaugural Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala will go down in New York City’s Gotham Hall on July 16. The event, announced on Thursday (May 8), will be hosted by Taraji P. Henson, and feature DJ D-NICE at the turntables all night. It will also include a special musical guest who will […]