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When “Munch,” an unbothered slice of New York drill by rapper Ice Spice, exploded on social media and into the pop culture lexicon in late summer 2022, few listeners had heard of the talent behind it. But over the next year, the Bronx MC with the trademark ginger Annie ’fro (which she sometimes also wears in a buss down) leveled up — and raised her profile — with each single she released, all powered by her quippy, unfussy lyrics and the Jersey club-inflected beats of her longtime collaborator, RIOTUSA.
Her early singles, even if they missed the Billboard Hot 100, still resonated culturally, laying the groundwork for commercial wins. In February 2023, Ice earned her first solo Hot 100 entry with “In Ha Mood,” which has collected over 166 million official U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate. By the close of 2023, she had scored four Hot 100 top 10s, an achievement that tied Nicki Minaj (2012) and Cardi B (2018) for the most by a female rapper in a calendar year.
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Ice has earned over 1.7 billion official U.S. on-demand streams. Her Like…? EP, which yielded the Hot 100 No. 4 hit “Princess Diana” with Minaj, peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. In 2023, Ice also collected two top 10s on the Radio Songs chart — “Barbie World” (with Minaj and AQUA, No. 5) and “Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2” (with PinkPantheress, No. 8) — as well as her highest-peaking Hot 100 entry yet, for her appearance on Taylor Swift’s “Karma” remix (No. 2). With that momentum, she scored four Grammy nominations (including best new artist), an opening slot on Doja Cat’s Scarlet tour and prominent billing at Coachella this spring.
Now Ice — who was recently all over social media after accompanying Swift to the Super Bowl — is focused on prepping her forthcoming debut studio album, Y2K. “I think this is some of my best work,” she says, hinting that “it’s not going to be too long — it’s going to be sweet and to the point.” In the meantime, Billboard’s 2024 Women in Music Hitmaker honoree can’t stop putting out smashes: Her latest single, the new jazz-tinged “Think U the Sh-t (Fart),” has already garnered 11.8 million official U.S. on-demand streams in less than a month.
What defines a hit for you?
There’s so many different types of hits. But my favorite is the one that’s just, like, culturally important. Fans know the lyrics and care about it. They just love the song. Growing up, so many songs that I thought were hits and statistically weren’t really, like numberswise, if you care about that. But in my heart, it’s a hit and I know all the lyrics.
You scored four Billboard Hot 100 top 10s in 2023. Which is your favorite?
“Princess Diana” with Nicki [Minaj] because I felt like “Princess Diana” was already my best song on [Like…?], but then it didn’t chart or anything until Nicki got on it. I was just so happy to have both of those worlds where I felt like it was culturally a great song, but also it charted. And then I had my dream collab fulfilled at the same time.
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Did Nicki or Taylor give you any songwriting advice?
When I was in the studio with Taylor, like, I’ll never forget that. She told me, “No matter what, just keep making music and everything’s going to be fine.”
As you craft your debut album, what are you listening for?
First, a really hard beat. If the beat doesn’t instantly move me — like if I don’t physically feel the beat of the speakers — then I’m just going to keep moving on to the next one. But as soon as I know, I know I have that beat. It’s up from there.
Some past winners of this award include Charli XCX and Dolly Parton. Who are some of your favorite hit-makers of all time?
Well, first, shout out to them; they’re iconic, each in their own way. I would say Lana Del Rey — I’m obsessed with her, and I feel like all of her songs are hits, even the ones that aren’t as big as the others. Rihanna, too. I have both [her and Del Rey’s] vinyls. Taylor Swift. Of course, Nicki Minaj. Drake. The list is long!
Is there a hit of yours that you were surprised people latched on to — or one you thought would be bigger?
I thought that “Actin a Smoochie” would be a bigger song. Every time I hear it, I’m just gagged that it’s not bigger. [But] “Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2,” I never thought that song would be as big as it is. I knew it would be a big moment, but I didn’t think it would be triple-platinum.
For what it’s worth, when I was in college, the streets was definitely running up “Smoochie.”
Oh, see! Thank you! That’s what I care about.
This story originally appeared in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.
L.A.-based DJ/producer Sean G, best known as one half of Donovan’s Yard (hosts of one of LA’s best parties who also graced the stage at Coachella) just dropped a new project called Dipping Lotus. A blend tape that blends Dipset raps over Flying Lotus‘ beats, all accompanied by trippy visuals provided by Liam Sweeny for […]
Lil Wayne missed out on seeing a thrilling overtime win for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night (Feb. 29) as Weezy never made it to his courtside seats due to a dispute with Crypto.com Arena security.
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Shortly after the security confrontation, the Young Money boss voiced his frustration on X where he claimed he was “treated like s–t.”
Wayne speculated that the poor treatment was possibly tied to his criticism of Lakers star Anthony Davis earlier this season during an UNDISPUTED appearance.
“Wow! Got treated like s–t at the Laker game just now but I figured they’d do me that sooner or later either bc of what i said abt AD or simply bc they don’t fwm which I been got that vibe from em as well so all good I get it,” he wrote. “F–k em. It isn’t what it isn’t. I’m used to it.”
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A much calmer and collected Lil Wayne appeared on UNDISPUTED on Friday (March 1). He thoroughly went through the details of the situation and chalked up the misunderstanding to the staff “doing their job.”
“They were just doing their job. We tried to enter in one entrance of the court,” he began. “When we got there, security was like, ‘No, you guys go to another entrance.’ … The other entrance he told us to go to that entrance would be behind the people already sitting down and you have to tap the people on the shoulder and ask them to get up. They have to move the chairs… When I saw that being explained to them I halted, ‘Ay stop, let’s go where they told us to go.’”
Weezy continued: “So we go back to the first entrance that seemed okay. When I started walking to my side, the guy was like, ‘Ah, ah, ah, ah.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God. Not the ah, ah, ah.’ … He was like, ‘I told you guys to go to the other entrance.’ I was like, ‘That’s a bit much. Let’s just leave.’”
Footage emerged of the confrontation courtesy of TMZ and Wayne didn’t seem to want anything to do with the argument so he and his crew swiftly departed from the courtside area through the arena tunnel.
Unfortunately, Wayne and his friends missed a great game as the Lakeshow ended up defeating the lowly Washington Wizards — who did not win a game all of February — in overtime by a score of 134-131. Hopefully, the New Orleans rapper’s beloved Lakers can make it up to him during his next trip to Crypto.com Arena.
Watch Lil Wayne’s explanation on UNDISPUTED below.
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Wow! Got treated like shit at the Laker game just now but I figured they’d do me that sooner or later either bc of what i said abt AD or simply bc they don’t fwm which I been got that vibe from em as well so all good I get it. Fuck em. It isn’t what it isn’t. I’m used to it.— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) March 1, 2024
Kanye West isn’t letting up on Adidas. The rapper — who now goes by Ye — took to Instagram Thursday night (Feb. 29) to share photo of an alleged corporate document instructing the apparel giant’s employees how to talk to consumers about the company selling the Yeezy line once again.
With a publish date of Feb. 26, the alleged internal doc explains: “Adidas is the sole owner of the product, including the design rights for existing products as well as previous colorways. The products are existing Yeezy designs initiated in 2022. Adidas honored contractual obligations and discussed releasing products prior to the announcement with the former partner.”
The document also appears to ask employees to not continue extensive conversations with customers surrounding the Yeezy line, and instead points them to a general email to voice their concerns.
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“This is the document that they give employees at adidas when asked questions about Yeezy,” the rapper claimed in the caption of his post. “There is an overlap to adidas and Kim ignoring my opinion … or people ignoring my name change or the entire celebrity culture ostracizing me for my political opinion It all comes down to human rights which you sacrifice when you’re stigmatized with mental issues All these situations are actually far crazier than what I’ve been branded to be.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Adidas for comment, and has not yet been able to verify the veracity of the document. Billboard has also contacted reps for Ye and Kim Kardashian, who was married to the rapper from 2014 to 2022.
Adidas announced Monday that it would sell some of its remaining Yeezy inventory, after splitting with Ye in 2022 following his string of hate speech and antisemitic comments. Since discontinuing the partnership, Adidas says it has donated some proceeds from such sales to groups that “combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism.”
After Adidas’ announcement this week that Yeezys are returning to the market, Ye put the brand on blast for selling “fake Yeezys” and called for his fans to boycott the company altogether.
“Anybody who loves Ye would not buy these fake Yeezys I never made these color ways I’m not getting paid off of them and adidas is suing me,” he wrote at the time. “All the new non-approved 350’s are cooorny and everybody know the 350 been corny.”
He also alleged that Adidas was suing him for $250 million, but as of earlier this week, there’s no evidence that Adidas has filed any kind of new lawsuit against West or his companies.
However, Adidas disclosed that it had filed a private arbitration case against West’s Yeezy LLC in December 2022 on the grounds that the rapper’s “racist, antisemitic, and other offensive public statements and conduct” had violated their partnership agreement and had caused “considerable damage to its brand.”
West may be referring to the arbitration case in claiming that the athletic wear brand was “suing” him. It’s unclear whether $250 million is at stake in that case, or whether that case is still ongoing, since arbitration proceedings are litigated behind closed doors.
The company started to sell Yeezy products again in May 2023 after cutting ties with West in the year prior.
Sexyy Red juggles her man and her sneaky link in the mischievous “I Might” music video, featuring Summer Walker, released Friday (March 1). In the Des Grey-directed video, Red’s sneaking around with Atlanta rapper Hunxho (who’s featured on Billboard‘s 2024 R&B and hip-hop artists to watch list) while fighting with her main boo, Lil Scrappy. […]
When a star rises as slowly and as steadily as Victoria Monét‘s, you know they’ll be around for the long haul. After making a name for herself as one of the most in-demand songwriters in contemporary pop music, Monét has built an impressive career for herself as a recording artist. From sexy tracks such as “Freak” and “Ass Like That” to culture-shifting anthems such as “On My Mama,” Monét’s lush takes on the vast expanse of R&B subgenres have earned her not just three Grammys, but also the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Rising Star honor
Joining an illustrious list of Rising Star honorees that includes Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Chloe x Halle, here’s a brief overview of the major waves Monét has made as she continues to level up throughout her career.
Monét first made her Billboard Hot 100 debut back in 2019 with “Monopoly” (No. 69), a bubbly duet with Ariana Grande, who was named Billboard Women in Music‘s Rising Star in 2014. Four years after her first appearance on the Hot 100, Monét landed her first unaccompanied hit on the chart, the Grammy-nominated “On My Mama,” which peaked at No. 33 and spawned an acclaimed music video featuring original choreography by Sean Bankhead. Before “On My Mama,” however, Monét placed 22 tracks on the Hot 100 as a songwriter, including two No. 1 hits performed by Grande, “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings.”
At the top of 2024, Monét earned her first career Grammy wins: best new artist, best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical. She picked up the latter two awards for Jaguar II, which peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 22 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Already beginning 2024 with honors from music’s biggest awards shows, Victoria Monét is sure to continue her evolution from rising star to superstar.
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Cardi B couldn’t let the rest of the female rappers have all the fun, as she decided to put an end to her hiatus and dive in head-first. The Bronx bombshell delivered her first single of 2024 with the hard-hitting “Like What (Freestyle)” on Friday (March 1), which arrived with an accompanying sexy music video […]
When Victoria Monét looked in the mirror five years ago, she saw a successful songwriter whose growing list of estimable credits included co-writes on two of Ariana Grande’s biggest hits, “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings.” What Monét, then 30, didn’t see was a successful solo artist — a goal she had been tirelessly pursuing since 2009.
“It was a very difficult, uphill battle trying to get people to understand there’s a duality to me, that my relevance wasn’t only based on my proximity to somebody else,” Monét recalls. “Interview after interview, questions were snuck in about the artists I worked with. I just wanted to be a stand-alone artist with my own reputation.”
Monét’s long-held dream finally became reality with the 2023 release of her RCA debut studio album, Jaguar II. Her breakthrough single, “On My Mama,” and two earlier album singles, “Smoke” (with Lucky Daye) and “Party Girls” (with Buju Banton), created what she calls a “snowball effect” — and validated her solo artistry, not only in terms of chart position, different interview questions and her first headlining tour, but also in the form of golden hardware.
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At the Grammys in February, Monét — who entered with seven nominations, including record of the year and best R&B song — won best new artist, as well as the statuettes for best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical. Her best traditional R&B performance nod — for “Hollywood,” featuring Earth, Wind & Fire and her toddler daughter, Hazel Monét — was record-breaking in its own right, making Hazel the youngest-ever Grammy nominee.
Roberto Cavalli dress, Paumé Los Angeles ring, Elisheva & Constance earrings, choker and bracelet.
Sami Drasin
Oude Waag dress and Paumé Los Angeles earrings.
Sami Drasin
But Monét’s three wins — her first triumphs after three prior nods for her work with Grande and R&B duo Chloe x Halle — represent another pivotal moment for the Atlanta-born, Sacramento, Calif.-raised singer-songwriter, who began pursuing a solo career when she moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to audition for a girl group under development by Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins. Monét got the job and the group signed a Motown contract, though it was later dropped without releasing any music.
That setback, however, yielded the start of a friendship with future Grammy- and Academy Award-winning songwriter-producer D’Mile and pushed Monét to focus on the songwriting she had dabbled in while growing up in Sacramento. Shouting out D’Mile as a key supporter and mentor (“He let me and the girl group live in his place”), Monét worked with him on music she had begun recording on the side as an independent artist while she racked up writing credits with acts such as Travis Scott, Blackpink, Fifth Harmony and fellow rising R&B singer and new Grammy winner Coco Jones.
“It’s very hard to ask somebody to invest their time when you don’t have a label to push it through, a production or video budget,” Monét says. “But D’Mile was like, ‘I don’t care about that. I think you’re talented and love your voice … We got this.’ ”
Monét, who didn’t have a manager at that time (“Even when I opened for Ariana on tour in 2016, I did hotel bookings and routing”), found another kindred spirit when she met manager Rachelle Jean-Louis in 2018. “She has been my ride-or-die,” Monét says. “She saw things when no one else saw them.”
Jean-Louis, a former label executive and music supervisor, first crossed paths with Monét while working as the latter, placing Monét’s collaboration with RCA artist Lucky Daye, “Little More Time,” on HBO’s Insecure. “We’re mirrors of each other,” Jean-Louis says. “We both love music, are hard workers and passionate about what we do. Victoria’s melodies and the layering of her vocals reminded me a lot of early Marvin [Gaye] and Janet [Jackson], which was something I hadn’t heard currently at that time. And then hearing she wrote all of her songs … that’s a rare form of artistry that I’ve always admired.”
Oude Waag dress and Paumé Los Angeles earrings.
Sami Drasin
Music fans got their first taste of Monét’s solo work through four EPs she released between 2014 and 2018. While none of those projects charted, they featured Monét’s ’70s-influenced modern soul that began generating word-of-mouth buzz for the indie artist. But on her Jaguar EP, released in August 2020, the singer emphasized another side of herself.
“I had to learn how to survive,” Monét said during a Grammy Museum Q&A in December when comparing the music industry to a jungle. “The jaguar symbolized my journey up to that point.”
Her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist was in 2019, when “Monopoly,” a song she co-wrote and was featured on with Grande, cracked the chart at No. 69. The week before, Monét had reached No. 16 on the Emerging Artists list.
With the August 2023 release of sequel Jaguar II, which delivers a sonically mesmerizing mix of ’70s retro soul, dancehall and Southern rap — and, like Jaguar, was executive-produced by Monét, D’Mile and Jean-Louis — Monét hit her stride. The album debuted at No. 6 on Top R&B Albums and No. 22 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Meanwhile, “On My Mama,” which samples Texas rapper Chalie Boy’s 2009 track, “I Look Good,” peaked at No. 4 on Hot R&B Songs, while spending 24 consecutive weeks in the top 10. Since the first tracking week of 2023 (from Dec. 29, 2022, to Feb. 1, 2024), Monét’s songs as an artist have generated 342.6 million official on-demand streams, according to Luminate.
“Because songwriters are writing for other artists, it’s really easy to hear their songs but think of the artist they wrote for instead,” Jean-Louis says. “But with the music that Victoria’s making, you can’t do that. The only person you hear when you listen to Victoria Monét’s music is her.”
Victoria Monét photographed on January 16, 2024 at Cricket Ranch in Los Angeles.
Sami Drasin
Paumé Los Angeles ring, Elisheva & Constance earrings, choker and bracelet.
Sami Drasin
With Jean-Louis and a predominately female core team handling both her business and creative plus strong support from RCA (“It has been a real joy to collaborate with a [label] team that really sees me; RCA changed that narrative for me”) — the newly minted three-time Grammy winner is looking ahead to festival performances at Coachella and Governors Ball, along with the deluxe version of Jaguar II.
But, reflecting on her hard work, setbacks and wins thus far, Monét says it all makes her cherish her recognition as Billboard’s 2024 Women in Music Rising Star even more.
“I prefer it this way rather than [achieving] fame quickly or being given to me on a silver platter,” she explains. “I know I have a great foundation and legs to stand on because everything I built was brick by brick. A career takes an excellent amount of patience.”
This story will appear in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.
When Victoria Monét looked in the mirror five years ago, she saw a successful songwriter whose growing list of estimable credits included co-writes on two of Ariana Grande’s biggest hits, “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings.” What Monét, then 30, didn’t see was a successful solo artist — a goal she had been tirelessly pursuing since 2009. […]
All Chlöe Bailey wants is love. On her new single “FYS” — which stands for the NSFW title “F–k Your Status” — she croons of desiring a love that’s unattached to a person’s fame or wealth. Arriving on digital streaming platforms on Friday (March 1), “FYS” marks Chlöe’s first musical release of 2024. The Grammy-nominated […]