State Champ Radio R&B/Hip-Hop
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Gunna is slated to host a youth football and empowerment camp this weekend in Frisco, Texas, alongside NFL stars Laremy Tunsil and Charles Omenihu. In partnership with DistinctlyHIS Ministries, the Atlanta rapper is welcoming 130 kids to the field on Saturday (June 21) for an afternoon filled with football drills, inspiration and community support free […]
Machine Gun Kelly has revealed the name of his daughter, nearly three months after he and Megan Fox welcomed their first child together. On Tuesday (June 17), MGK hopped on Instagram to share a clip of him playing music for their daughter on a ukulele. He captioned the post, “Saga Blade Fox-Baker, thank you for […]
Coi Leray and Trippie Redd are officially parents. Coi revealed that she welcomed a baby girl named Miyoco on Tuesday (June 17) with a post featuring a glimpse of her new child on her Instagram Story. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The adorable photo finds her baby […]
After giving media members an early listen to Let God Sort Em Out at Roc Nation HQ in NYC, Clipse returned to heat up the summer with the album’s second single on Tuesday (June 17) as the Pharrell-produced “So Be It” arrived.
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Pusha T and Malice trade fiery bars over Skateboard P’s chiseled production, but a ton of eyeballs went to Pusha’s scathing final verse, which finds him sniping at Travis Scott.
“You cried in front of me, you died in front of me/ Calabasas took your b—h and your pride in front of me/ Heard Utopia had moved right up the street/ And her lip gloss was poppin’, she ain’t need you to eat,” Push raps in what appears to be a reference to Scott’s split from beauty mogul and reality star Kylie Jenner.
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Billboard has reached out to Scott for comment.
Some speculated that the verse was about his former G.O.O.D. Music running mate, Ye (formerly Kanye West), but King Push confirmed to GQ that he had smoke for La Flame.
Pusha T explained that his issues with Scott were tied to the Cactus Jack rapper pulling up to Louis Vuitton HQ to play his 2023 Utopia album for Pharrell while Clipse was also working on their upcoming album.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, man, everybody’s here,’ he’s smiling, laughing, jumping around, doing his f–king monkey dance. We weren’t into the music, but he wanted to play it, wanted to film [us and Pharrell listening to it],” he recalled. “And then a week later you hear ‘Meltdown,’ which he didn’t play. He played the song, but not [Drake’s verse].”
Drake takes several shots at Pharrell on the track and says he’s going to melt P’s classic jewelry. “Melt down the chains that I bought from your boss, give a f—k about all of that heritage s—t,” he raps.
Having that verse on Utopia after playing the track for Pharrell didn’t sit right with Pusha T, as he feels Scott aligns with whoever when it’s convenient for him, but doesn’t stand by his loyalty to anyone.
“He’s done this a lot. He has no picks. He’ll do this with anybody. He did it with ‘Sicko Mode’… He was on the [Rolling Loud] stage like, ‘Play that, play that,’” Push said in reference to “Like That,” which sparked the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud. “He don’t have no picks, no loyalty to nobody. He’ll jump around whatever he feels is hot or cling onto whatever he feels is hot.”
Pusha T continued: “So, that’s where my issue comes in — like, dawg, don’t even come over here with that, because at the end of the day, I don’t play how y’all play. To me, that really was just like … He’s a whore. He’s a whore.”
Look for Let God Sort Em Out to drop on July 11. Watch the “So Be It” video below.
Shortly after filing for divorce, Cardi B and Offset welcomed their third child, Blossom, in September 2024. While she’s let her baby’s name slip during various social media posts, Cardi gave the Bardi Gang their first official glimpse of Blossom when posting a series of photos of her three kids to Instagram on Monday (June 16).
“It is you Miss Blossom Belles,” she captioned the pictures. It was a Louis Vuitton-filled pool day for Cardi and the family at home. Sporting a million-dollar smile, Blossom stars in the first photo while wearing a pink onesie and an LV scarf with pink bow socks.
Cardi was twinning with her daughter, Kulture, who posed poolside in a matching LV headband and handbag. She also showed some love to son Wave, as he looked unbothered while messing around on his phone and rocking a pair of Timberland boots.
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Motherhood could be in Latto’s future, as the Atlanta rapper hopped into the comments section saying she’s suffering from “Baby feverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr wtffffffff.” Anycia, GloRilla and Stefflon Don also gushed about the family Cardi’s built.
Cardi B’s new boo, Stefon Diggs, wasn’t present for the pool day, but the couple appears to be going strong heading into the summer.
On the legal side, the Grammy-winning rapper and Offset are still sorting out a bitter divorce after Cardi filed for the second time last August.
Last month, Offset filed for spousal support in the divorce proceedings with Cardi. The Migos rapper amended the filing with a request for an unspecified amount of alimony. Days later, Cardi went off on Offset during an explosive X Spaces.
“You such a f—ing p—y a– n—a,” she slammed her ex. “Word to my mother, I want you to die, but I want you to die f—ing slow. When you die, I want you to die slow in the bed. And when you die, n—a, you gotta think of me.”
Find Cardi’s family photos here.
Wiz Khalifa has become one of the faces of weed rap since his debut in 2005. The rapper’s also built up a tolerance for the smoke, according to a new interview between Khalifa and late night host Jimmy Kimmel. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Khalifa appeared […]
PinkPantheress is taking her Fancy That mixtape on the road, and announced a North American tour.
On Monday (June 16), Pink revealed that she’d be embarking on a residency-style North American tour titled An Evening With PinkPantheress. The nine North American dates will see the singer come to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and more cities for the first time, marking her first headlining U.S. shows since 2024’s Capable of Love ’24 Tour.
PinkPantheress’ artist presale begins on Wednesday (June 18) at 10 am local time, with Spotify presales beginning Thursday (June 19) at 12 pm local time. General on-sale begins Friday (June 20) at 10 am local time.
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While it’s exciting to have Pink back on road, the UK singer recently critiqued her own performance in an interview, saying it’s not a main driver for her music.
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“I don’t do music to perform, I think is the thing, and that’s perfectly fine,” she said in an interview with Capital Buzz. “I think that people are probably used to and also expect a singer to be able to perform well. And I don’t blame anyone for thinking that. I’m not the best performer. Again, it’s one of those things where I’m like ‘I’m going to get better.’”
She continued: “But the thing is, no amount of rehearsals can make a difference when you’re in front of like 10,000, 50,000, 100,000. No amount of rehearsal you can do, and as somebody that has got very bad stage fright… I think one of the things people say is like, ‘Oh, I think her performances are a hindrance to her career.’ And I do think there is a level of if you want to make it as like a big, big pop-diva.”
Check out her full list of dates below.
Oct. 24 — Brooklyn, N.Y. — Kings Theatre
Oct. 25 — Brooklyn, N.Y. — Kings Theatre
Oct. 27 — Toronto, Ontario — Massey Hall
Oct. 29 — Toronto, Ontario — Massey Hall
Nov. 1 — Chicago, Ill. — Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Nov. 5 — Los Angeles, Calif. — The Wiltern
Nov. 6 — Los Angeles, Calif. — The Wiltern
Nov. 12 — San Francisco, Calif. — The Masonic
Nov. 13 — Oakland, Calif. — Fox Theater
Chrisette Michele revealed she’s been diagnosed with autism. The 42-year-old singer opened up about her diagnosis in a post to social media on Sunday (June 15).
“I just learned I’m autistic. Official diagnosis. They used the word ‘severely,’” Michele wrote. “I’ve been quiet on here. But… I’ve been outside. Singing. … but learning to strip the mask. One show at a time. (The irony) Just… coming to grips with a lot and giving myself room to take it all in.”
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The R&B singer continued to say that the “challenges” she’s faced in life “finally make sense.” “My life and its challenges finally make sense,” Michele added. “So so much sense. Autistic. Would you get a load of that… I’ll talk more soon. Just wanted to say hi… from stage side.”
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Fans chimed in with messages of love and support for Michele. “Neurodivergent babes unite,” one person wrote. “There’s so much freedom in knowing and it’s truly like unlocking a whole nother level of understanding in yourself.. give yourself grace and love as you unmask, wishing you the best babe!”
Another added: “As a fellow neurodivedgent who was diagnosed last November, the grief and then immediate liberation from realizing I’ve been living for the comfort of others to mask knowing something was different inside. Whewwww, the shedding of the mask felt immediate. We are free.”
Michele performed in Atlanta on Sunday night (June 15) as an opener for Anthony Hamilton. These days, she’s also hosting her eponymous podcast. Her last album arrived with 2018’s Out of Control, which came a year after she faced backlash for performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“The first thing I thought was that I have an opportunity to get in front of these people who don’t seem to understand who they’re talking to and show them what we look like,” she told Billboard when defending her decision in 2017.
“I felt automatically committed to making sure that I stood up for the women who’ve felt disrespected and the minorities who felt disrespected, communities that felt that they weren’t being heard or understood,” Michele stated. “I thought that it was almost my responsibility to not just say yes but to say yes with purpose, so that was my reasoning. And no, I didn’t think twice about it.”
What a difference 10 years can make. That was the last time Billboard tackled the monumental feat of ranking the top R&B artists, dating back to the ‘50s. Michael Jackson, whose grew from his R&B roots to capture the King of Pop crown, ruled over that 2015 tally. Now as the music industry and fans celebrate Black Music Month 2025, Billboard is picking up the “best of all time” gauntlet once again.
Expanding from 35 to 75 entries and substituting artists with singers, this latest iteration begins its rollout with today’s (June 16) reveal of the singers ranked 75-51. The unveiling will continue over the next several days — Nos. 50-26 followed by Nos. 26-11 — with the curtain raising on Juneteenth (June 19) to reveal the top 10 honorees.
Staff discussions on how to go about determining the entries and rankings were, to say the least, heated. Helping to fuel these illuminating and sometimes raucous discourses were generational debates over old school vs. new school. At the same time, “Mount Rushmore” debates were also raging on the social media front as fans weighed in on which R&B artists — like Jackson, Chris Brown, Luther Vandross, R. Kelly and Usher — truly deserve to have their images carved in stone for all time.
In the end, Billboard staffers agreed on the following criteria: vocal prowess, body of work, career longevity, industry achievements, game-changing influence and enduring generational/cultural impact. While some singers who made the list are also known for their lyrical skills, songwriting wasn’t a major deciding factor in this instance. And legendary singers best known for fronting groups versus their solo work were not included — which means a ranking of the best R&B groups of all time is no doubt in the offing.
In the meantime, any best-of compilation automatically invites naysayers to the party. As these 75 singers are revealed, the expectant clamor will rise in response to our staff’s effrontery in deciding who’s now on or off the list, who’s risen or been dropped or who still has never made this latest version or the 2015 ranking.
More crucial, however, is understanding a chief intention behind Billboard’s 75 Best R&B Singers of All Time. It’s a teachable moment at a time when Black history, culture and its achievements are being erased or revised across the board. Black Music Month originated in 1979 via the efforts of the observance’s co-founders Dyana Williams, Kenneth Gamble and Ed Wright. And each year it drives home an insightful comment made by author/activist Maya Angelou: “You can’t know where you are going until you know where you have been.”
So here’s to the rich past and the unlimited future of the multifaceted jewel that is R&B.
75. Ruth Brown
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
06/16/2025
Listen to new must-hear songs from emerging R&B/hip-hop artists like Aaron Page and Nemzzz.
06/16/2025
