R&B/Hip-Hop

As Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” celebrates its 25th anniversary on Friday (Oct. 24), Erykah Badu revealed her doubts about being the muse behind the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit.

Badu joined Popcast for an interview earlier this week, where she discussed being the subject of hip-hop songs. While the neo-soul icon doesn’t think “Ms. Jackson” is about herself, her mother, Kolleen Gipson, certainly is taking credit.

“I don’t think ‘Ms. Jackson’ was actually about me. I don’t think so, but people say it,” she said. “[My mom] thinks it was about her. She got the bumper sticker and the airbrush t-shirt. I think it says, ‘Sorry, Ms. Jackson.’”

For years, there’s been fan speculation and theories that “Ms. Jackson” was an apology letter from André 3000 to Erykah Badu’s family following their split. The former couple dated from 1995 to 1999 and welcomed a son in 1997, Seven Sirius Benjamin.

“Ms Jackson” arrived about a year after the Three Stacks-Badu break-up, fueling rumors connecting the track’s content to their relationship. It was the second single on Outkast’s Stankonia album, which was released a week later on Halloween in 2000.

“Ms. Jackson” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for best rap performance by a duo or a group. The anthem has stood the test of time over the course of a quarter-century and feels embedded in the DNA of pop music with an earworm of a chorus.

Watch the interview below. Talk about “Ms. Jackson” takes place just shy of the 30-minute mark.

Diamonds are still dancing on Drake. The 6 God celebrates his 39th birthday in style on Friday (Oct. 24) with 16 new RIAA certifications, including six diamond plaques.

Among the diamond certifications are Take Care and hits like “Nice for What,” “The Motto” featuring Lil Wayne, “Headlines,” “Passionfruit” and “Nonstop.” The OVO rapper has extended his record with 15 diamond-certified songs.

Other certifications include Drizzy albums such as Views (9x), If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (5x) and For all the Dogs (3x).

Tracks moving up the certification ladder are “Chicago Freestyle” (5x), “Rich Baby Daddy” (3x), “Slime You Out” (2x), “Virginia Beach” (2x), “Hours in Silence” (2x) and “Rich Flex” with 21 Savage (5x).

Earlier this year, Nothing Was the Same‘s “Hold On We’re Going Home” and So Far Gone‘s “Best I Ever Had” entered the diamond club. With 16 plaques on the way, and more to come, it’s safe to say Drake will need more real estate in his trophy room.

Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, posted to Instagram on Friday with a photo presumably from the OVO birthday trip to the Bahamas. “Happy Birthday to my baby boy, what a time to celebrate with the ones you love,” he wrote.

After wrapping up the birthday festivities, all eyes will turn to Drake’s Iceman album’s arrival. Earlier this week, former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel recapped his week on social media while hanging with Drake.

In his caption, the OVO affiliate teased Iceman. “Caught a flight to the Bahamas cause it’s Iceman time and the baccarat tables were calling my name,” he wrote.

Megan Thee Stallion is head over heels for Klay Thompson. The Houston Hottie gushes about her NBA boo throughout her new single, “Lover Girl,” and she delivered a stunning accompanying visual on Friday (Oct. 24).

Between the stylish ’90s glamour wardrobe, sharp visuals and storytelling, Megan spared no expense in this video.

A black-and-white clip finds Thee Stallion flanked by four women in lingerie twerking in unison and moving into refreshing choreography. The scene’s aesthetic feels like Meg was taking a page out of the Beyoncé playbook, inspired by Bey’s 2011 “Dance for You.”

The Houston Hottie turns the neck of a martini glass into a stripper pole and she makes a lucky chair her dance prop. There’s plenty more twerking, and Meg even plays the role of Cupid in a corset and wings with a bow and arrow, searching for love.

Viewers who stayed until the very end of the video were in for a treat, as Megan left an Easter egg teasing what’s to come. Without much context, there’s an animal that appears to be a wolf growling in the darkness.

“Lover Girl” serves as Megan’s second single of 2025, following April’s “Whenever,” as she looks to be entering a new chapter of life with Thompson happily by her side. She pulled up to support her NBA boyfriend’s first game of the season earlier this week in Dallas.

Watch the “Lover Girl” video below.

Megan Thee Stallion is in her “Lover Girl” era. The Houston Hottie returned on Friday (Oct. 24) to deliver her second single of 2025 with “Lover Girl.”

Meg has posted several teasers of the track earlier in October before slapping an official release date on the Total-sampling single.

“My man, my man, my man, my baby, my baby… Spoiling me, driving me crazy,” she raps about her NBA boo Klay Thompson.

The Dallas Mavericks sniper and Megan Thee Stallion have been going strong since they went public with their relationship at the Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in July.

The Houston rapper pulled up courtside to the first game of the Dallas Mavericks season on Wednesday night (Oct. 22), where Meg cheered on Thompson and was spotted holding hands with the NBA baller in the arena postgame.

Thompson even pulled up to the game in a nautical-themed chain that Megan designed for her boyfriend, which also includes an iced-out ship steering wheel pendant. Unfortunately, the Mavericks were blown out by the San Antonio Spurs 125-92, while Thompson finished with just 10 points.

It’s a new era for Stallion, as she has only released another single this year in April with “Whenever,” and fans are hoping this will lead to her fourth studio album. Her last offering came with Megan in 2024, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Later this month, Megan will be celebrating spooky season with the return of her Hottieween party in Humble, Texas, on Halloween night.

Listen to “Lover Girl” below.