R&B/Hip-Hop

31 Jul 2024

Ye & Ty Dolla $ign’s ‘Vultures 2’ Receives Its Third Release Date

There appears to be some clarity regarding the much-delayed Vultures 2 project from Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign. West’s YZY website provided an updated message explaining on Wednesday (July 31) that all orders have been fulfilled and shipped out, and V2 is set to arrive on Friday (Aug. 2).

Billboard has reached out to reps for Ty Dolla $ign.

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“ALL ORDERS FULFILLED VULTURES 2 COMING AUGUST 2ND,” the website’s homepage reads. Other than that message regarding the project and clothing orders, the white background features only the current date and time.

Fans were sent into a frenzy as word began to spread about the imminent release date. Some on social media were buying the hype, while others said they would believe it when they see, it as Ye has made a habit out of missing targeted release dates.

“Not believing it until the 15th listen,” one fan tweeted, while another echoed the sentiment, saying, “We’ve been through this a million times man.”

One person even updated the meme to add the alternate Vultures cover art to the collection of mythical Ye projects that never found their way to an official release on streaming.

Once upon a time, Vultures 2 was supposed to arrive on March 8 before being pushed to May 3, and then the sequel project became delayed indefinitely.

However, Ty Dolla $ign revealed in his cover story with Billboard in June that V2 was pretty much done, but they were deciding how to properly roll out the album.

“We got all the songs. Basically, it’s just like, ‘How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?’” he said at the time. “Certain people will probably expect you to just do the same exact sound. But that sound’s already out.”

A pair of Vultures listening experiences are on the calendar for August, with Ye and Ty set to head to South Korea (Aug. 23) and Taiwan (Aug. 25) next month — and fans are hoping new music is coming with them.

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign haven’t made any statements regarding a potential Friday release date for Vultures 2.

31 Jul 2024

Kehlani Gets Emotional During Career-Spanning NPR Tiny Desk Show: ‘It’s Been a Long Time Coming’

Kehlani‘s been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. After easing the audience in with the smooth R&B of “Nights Like This” from their 2019 mixtape While We Wait, the Oakland-bred vocalist — backed by a full live band and three back-up singers — told the public radio audience crammed in around her about the journey to this special moment.

“Hi everyone. Thank you for coming and tuning in to my Tiny Desk. It’s been a long time coming. I definitely know I’m overdue for doing this so thank you for making sure I was able to get here this far along in my process,” they said before easing into the 2016 Grammy-nominated jazzy slow jam “Distraction” from her debut album, SweetSexySavage.

Next up was the sexy soul burner “Can I” the fourth single from Kehlani’s second album, 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, on which she sings, “This s–t’s so good, should be illegal/ Need round two, I need a sequel/ Hit the backboard like a free throw/ You next level, you a cheat code.” Taking a break to chat up the gathered NPR staffers, Kehlani stumbled over their words, admitting they were “naturally shy” and kind of nervous — which is why it took so long to pull up to the Desk — as they made a political statement.

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“I want to take a second to say: Free Palestine. Free Congo. Free Sudan. Free Yemen. Free Hawaii. Free Guam,” said the vocalist who announced in June that she’d raised more than $555,000 in aid for the Palestinian people and citizens of war-torn Sudan and Congo with the sale of shirts from her “Next 2 U” single. “Beyond a cease fire we need an end to the occupation. It’s deeper than this. I need everybody that’s here right now, everybody that’s watching, to step up, to use their voices.” 

The set then came to close with the jaunty “After Hours” from Kehlani’s most recent album, CRASH.

Watch Kehlani’s Tiny Desk Concert below.

31 Jul 2024

50 Cent Says He Doesn’t ‘See a Loss for Drake’ Following Kendrick Lamar Feud

50 Cent is a savant in the art of war. With the litany of feuds 50’s been engaged in throughout his decorated career, the G-Unit mogul knows how to shrewdly navigate in battle, and he’s just about seen it all in hip-hop.

As part of his The Hollywood Reporter cover story published on Wednesday (July 31), Fiddy dished on the dust settling on the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud, which he doesn’t chalk up as a loss for the 6 God.

“This is hip-hop. I think it’s competitive to a degree, obviously. Even Drake, his position and the attitude and his choices, those are 50 Cent choices,” he began. “‘F–k it, everybody got to get it then.’ When it becomes Drake versus Kendrick, it’s because it’s the only thing you can put up against Drake’s success.”

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When an artist has a successful run as long and dominant as Drake’s, 50 believes other rappers are waiting to see him fall from the top so they could have a shot at the throne. The Queens legend thinks it came to the point that people were poking holes in Drake’s artistry that really weren’t there.

“Look, our culture loves to see you go up because it’s confirmation that they can go up,” he added. “But when you stay up — ‘I want this s–t forever, man’ — they go, ‘Well, goddamn. When you going to come down? If you don’t come down, I ain’t going to have my chance to go up.’ And then it’s these clouds that come over you, and that cloud is doubt, a shadow of doubt that doesn’t come from material or your work ethic.”

The “In Da Club” rapper continued: “It’s doubt from the artist community, where they say, ‘I don’t know, his new s–t is cool, but it’s not his first s–t.’ They do that to you and Drake’s just experiencing what you experience as a backlash from success, from the consistency he’s delivered over and over. I don’t see a loss for Drake. The people who bought Drake material are going to buy Drake material when his next song comes out.”

While 50 is confident Drake will bounce back, because of his own antics in battle, his enemies didn’t suffer the same fate. “Now, the s–t that I do, it ruins your whole f—ing career,” he gravely declared.

Kendrick and Drake’s back-and-forth came to a close in early May, and the fan consensus is that the winner was Lamar, with which Billboard agreed.K. Dot’s “Not Like Us” is still simmering and holding strong on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 3 on the Aug. 3 dated tally.

50 and Drake actually linked up earlier in July, and the Power creator teased a collaboration on the TV side from the duo. He shared a photo of the two together on Instagram and wrote, “Brainstorming last night me and @champagnepapi gonna get the [camera emoji] rolling biggest ting on your TV.”

31 Jul 2024

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Plays at Kamala Harris’ Atlanta Rally: Watch the Crowd Sing Along

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has infiltrated election season. Kamala Harris hosted a rally as the likely Democratic party nominee in the upcoming presidential election on Tuesday night (July 30) in Atlanta, and K. Dot’s Drake diss was played at one point.

Footage from the vice president’s livestream of the rally quickly went viral on social media, with the crowd singing along to “Not Like Us” and especially joining together for the “wop, wop, wop” and “A-minor” punch lines. One male fan specifically went viral for his passion while rapping to the song.

“The way everything in this song can apply to Trump too,” a fan responded on X. “She is so smart.”

Another added a shot in at Drake: “Even in presidential rally drake getting cooked!”

Even nearly three months following the release of “Not Like Us,” the track hasn’t lost steam while sitting at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 3. Lamar’s Drake diss has been swallowed up by other avenues of pop culture, including the political realm and the sports world.

Hip-hop was definitely in the building on Tuesday night, with Quavo also endorsing the vice president and speaking about his commitment to gun safety following the loss of his nephew Takeoff, who was fatally shot in November 2022.

“One of these issues that I care about is resolving the gun violence issues,” Quavo said to the crowd. “You can’t understand the struggle of gun violence if you not in the field or in the heart of it. So, one thing I learned from working with Vice President Harris is she always stand on business. From inviting me to the White House last year to discuss these solutions, to passing the biggest gun safety laws today.”

Megan Thee Stallion also hit the Atlanta rally stage in a blue pantsuit with her dancers, where she performed hits such as “Body” and the Yuki Chiba-assisted “Mamushi.”

“Now I know my ladies in the crowd love their bodies. If you want to keep loving your bodies, you know who to vote for,” she said to kick off her performance.

It remains to be seen if “Not Like Us” will remain a part of Harris’ campaign when she heads to Philadelphia next week (Aug. 6) for a rally where she’ll unveil her VP pick, per Reuters.

President Joe Biden stepped down from the presidential race on July 21, and plenty of artists have backed Harris in her pursuit of the Oval Office, including Cardi B, Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, Questlove and more.

31 Jul 2024

50 Cent Describes Initially Being Left Off 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show Roster: ‘Eminem Wouldn’t Do It Without Me’

If you don’t remember 50 Cent‘s name on the original lineup of artists for the iconic 2022 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem that’s because, according to 50, “they” didn’t want him there.

In a new feature in The Hollywood Reporter, 50 goes into detail about the drama behind the scenes of the Super Bowl LVI performance that featured him as a surprise guest, but which he said almost didn’t happen. “They wanted to leave me out of it. They didn’t want me there,” 50 said, echoing a since-deleted Instagram post from Sept. 2022 in which he said, “[Eminem] is the man, he wouldn’t do the show without me,” after the performance won three Emmy awards; rapper N.O.R.E. also mentioned the initial snub on his podcast around the time.

Asked who “they” were, 50 said it was Jay-Z’s Roc Nation who didn’t want him on stage that night. “Eminem wouldn’t do it without me,” 50 (born Curtis Jackson) reiterated about Marshall Mathers, who first signed Jackson and helped him release his smash 2003 debut studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. “That’s how I ended up on the show because he was not coming if I didn’t do it. When that happens, you go, ‘Damn, so you just lost Eminem because you didn’t bring 50? Damn. All right. Bring 50 then.’ But if it was up to them, they would not have me there. I’m the surprise. I’m not on the bill at all. But they couldn’t get Em to do it without me.”

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The long history of mutual admiration between the two MCs will extend into the future thanks to an upcoming project from 50’s G-Unit Film and Television company, which he said is developing a series based on Em’s 2002 8 Mile feature film. “50 is like a brother to me,” Eminem told THR. “50 has proven again and again that there’s really nothing he can’t do, and nobody gets in the way of him getting it done.”

The story also notes that 50 is expanding his already sprawling TV holdings with an animated series for Amazon Freevee called Lady Danger Agent of B.O.O.T.I. featuring Nicki Minaj. “He’s a blueprint to what resilience looks like,” Minaj said of 50, whose expansive TV portfolio includes the six-season Starz hit Power — and spin-offs Ghost, Raising Kanan and Force — as well as another Starz series, BMF and upcoming shows including the boxing drama Fightland and Queen Nzinga, about an African warrior queen.

“Whenever he’s been counted out in the real world or within the entertainment business, he’s risen to the occasion and come out triumphant. He’s smart. He’s a businessman,” Minaj added. “I can see past the ‘funny 50’ — I see a very deep thinker. He’s honest. He’s mastered the chess game of reinvention throughout many eras of music, entertainment and social media. Yet he still somehow always seems to remain authentic. That is a very difficult feat.”

50 also said he’s launching his own FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel, building his own film studio in Shreveport, LA and working on a novel about a Black female Texas Ranger.

31 Jul 2024

Travis Scott Expands Australian Leg of ‘Circus Maximus’ World Tour

Houston-born rapper Travis Scott has announced an expansion of his Circus Maximus World Tour in Australia, adding a second date at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium due to overwhelming demand.

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The tour expansion is part of a purple patch for Scott, marked by record-breaking album sales and tour performances.

The Australian and New Zealand leg of Scott’s tour will kick off after stops in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Mexico in September.

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On Oct. 9, between the Latin American and Australian legs, Scott will also perform for one night only at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Scott’s latest album, UTOPIA, released on July 28, 2023, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 496,000 album-equivalent units in its first week and earning Scott his third consecutive leader.

UTOPIA held the No. 1 position for four consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running top rap album of 2023. The album’s debut week also saw an impressive 330.68 million on-demand streams.

Featuring collaborations with music icons like Drake, Beyoncé, and The Weeknd, UTOPIA showcases Scott’s ability to create chart-topping hits. The album’s lead single, “ESCAPE PLAN,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The North American leg of the Circus Maximus World Tour has proved equally impressive, grossing $95.7 million across 44 dates with a total attendance of 686,000​​ and making it the highest-grossing rap tour of 2024. He also made history with a show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where he became the first rapper to headline the venue in 2023.

Currently on the European and U.K. leg of his tour, Scott has already grossed over $23.6 million with nearly 200,000 attendees across the first seven dates.

His performance at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium drew over 48,500 fans and grossed more than $6.6 million, marking his largest headline show to date and breaking the stadium’s merchandise sales record.

30 Jul 2024

Quavo Backs Kamala Harris’ Commitment to Gun Safety at Atlanta Rally

Quavo gave a moving speech during Vice President Harris’ rally in Atlanta on Tuesday (July 30), sharing his support for Harris’ commitment to tackling gun violence and running the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

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“One of these issues that I care about is resolving the gun violence issues,” Quavo told the crowd. “You can’t understand the struggle of gun violence if you not in the field or in the heart of it. So, one thing I learned from working with Vice President Harris is she always stand on business. From inviting me to the White House last year to discuss these solutions, to passing the biggest gun safety laws today.”

He continued, “So, it’s only right in the birthplace of the culture is also the same place to launch the first African-American woman to run for president.”

In 2022, Takeoff, Quavo’s nephew and Migos bandmate, was tragically shot and killed. Since then, Quavo has remained steadfast in his commitment to gun violence prevention, having been involved with the Office of Gun Violence Prevention since its inception.

If elected, Harris would be the first woman, first person of South Asian descent and first HBCU graduate to serve as president of the United States of America.

While the Harris campaign has yet to name the Vice President’s running mate, the operation has notably embraced pop music as the election cycle barrels onwards. In addition to explicitly referencing Charli xcx’s Brat and Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon,” the Harris camp also used Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy-nominated anthem “Freedom” as their official campaign song.

30 Jul 2024

Quavo Set to Speak at Kamala Harris Rally in Atlanta

Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign is in full swing, Billboard has learned.

According to a source, Quavo will join Vice President Harris at her rally in Atlanta on Tuesday (July 30), where he will give remarks about Harris’ commitment to tackling gun violence and running the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The news comes just one day after Megan Thee Stallion was announced as a performer at the rally.

In 2022, Takeoff, Quavo’s nephew and Migos bandmate, was tragically shot and killed. Since then, Quavo has remained steadfast in his commitment to gun violence prevention, having been involved with the Office of Gun Violence Prevention since its inception. Last month (June 18), Quavo hosted the inaugural Rocket Foundation Summit, where Harris joined him in a fireside chat, during which the two declared June 18 “Takeoff Day” in the late rapper’s memory. The year prior, Quavo met with Harris at the White House and spoke on a panel about combating the issue during the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference in Washington.

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On July 21, President Biden ended his 2024 presidential re-election campaign and endorsed Harris in her quest to defeat former president Donald Trump. Harris’ likely move to the top of the Democratic ticket has spurred a surge of support, especially among musicians, including Cardi B, Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzo and more. If elected, Harris would be the first woman, first person of South Asian descent and first HBCU graduate to serve as president of the United States of America.

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While the Harris campaign has yet to name the Vice President’s running mate, the operation has notably embraced pop music as the election cycle barrels onwards. In addition to explicitly referencing Charli xcx’s Brat and Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon,” the Harris camp also used Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy-nominated anthem “Freedom” as their official campaign song.

Billboard reached out to Harris’ and Quavo’s teams for comment.

30 Jul 2024

Polo G Announces ‘Hood Poet’ Album Featuring Future, GloRilla & The Kid LAROI

Polo G’s long-awaited Hall of Fame follow-up is finally on the horizon. The Chicago rapper announced plans for his Hood Poet album on Tuesday (July 30), with the LP set to hit streaming services on Aug. 9.

Before the project arrives, Polo is feeding fans with a final single to warm up the streets as “3 Headed Goat” collaborator Lil Durk will join the 25-year-old on “We Uh Shoot,” which arrives on Friday (Aug. 2). “Hood Poet August 9th … The Wait Finally Over + Me & Smurk This Friday #weuhshoot #freetrench,” he wrote to Instagram.

The purple cover art features Polo G at the mic with a pair of affiliates in ski masks and bullet-proof vests behind him protecting a goat — which plays off his 2020 The Goat album.

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Polo G is billing the album as a cinematic experience or “music documentary” where he’ll enlist Future, GloRilla, 42 Dugg, Offset, The Kid LAROI, Lil Durk, G Herbo, Hunxho and Fridayy as his co-stars.

While plenty of fans were hyped that the album is finally coming, there was a contingent disappointed that his frequent collaborator Lil Tjay wouldn’t be making an appearance. “Bro how is there no tjay,” one person wrote.

The “Pop Out” rapper’s Hood Poet album will include previous singles “Barely Holdin’ On,” “Distraction” and “Angels in the Sky.” The effort comes complete with 18 tracks in total and was previously said to be fully-produced by 808 Mafia’s Southside.

It’s been over three years since Polo G’s last album, Hall of Fame, which was released in June 2021 and gave the rapper his first No. 1 album atop the Billboard 200.

Check out Polo’s Instagram post below:

30 Jul 2024

October London’s ‘Mulholland Drive’ Cruises to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

October London scores his second consecutive No. 1 single on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as his song “Mulholland Drive,” featuring Snoop Dogg and Latoiya Williams, glides 3-1 to rule the list dated Aug. 3. The singer’s previous release, “Back to Your Place,” reigned for 10 nonconsecutive weeks between August and December of 2023.

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“Mulholland Drive” parks atop Adult R&B Airplay after an 11% jump in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of July 19 – 25, according to Luminate. The new champ unseats J. Brown’s “If You Could See You” after its one-week rule.

As both of October London’s first two Adult R&B Airplay appearances have yielded No. 1s, he’s the first act to achieve the feat since Tems last year. The Afrobeats and R&B singer’s first leader came through a feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” which dominated for 14 weeks in 2021. The second, her own “Free Mind,” posted nine weeks in charge beginning in February 2023. (An extra dimension to Tems’ achievement – “Essenc”” was the year-end No. 1 for the Adult R&B Airplay chart for 2022 and “Free Mind” took the honor the following year.)

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For Snoop Dogg, his guest credit on “Mulholland Drive” gives the veteran rapper his first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1. He came close to the summit in 2018, when he and Ball Greezy featured on Lil Duval’s “Smile (Livin’ My Best Life),” which stopped at No. 2. Snoop Dogg has racked up 12 Adult R&B Airplay entries in his career; as a lead act, his best showing was a No. 20 peak for “California Roll,” featuring Stevie Wonder, in 2015.

Singer Latoiya Williams, meanwhile, grabs her first Adult R&B Airplay champ through her first time on the list.

Elsewhere, “Mulholland Drive” speeds 20-12 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 track swells to 6.2 million in audience, a 16% improvement over last week.