R&B/Hip-Hop

21 Jun 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Unveils ‘MEGAN’ Tracklist Featuring UGK, GloRilla & Victoria Monét

Megan Thee Stallion’s anticipated MEGAN album is just one week away from hitting streaming services, and she teased the Hotties by serving up the appetizing tracklist for the LP.

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The H-Town rapper released the tracklist for the 18-song set on social media on Friday (June 21) and the project is loaded with versatile guests. Meg will team up with the Grammy-winning Victoria Monét for a moody collab on “Spin.”

She connects the generations of Houston as old school meets new school with UGK appearing on the album. It’s unclear if “Paper Together” invites a Bun B solo appearance or features posthumous vocals from the late Pimp C, who Meg is a massive fan of.

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Other features include her Hot Girl Summer tourmate GloRilla, 41’s Kyle Richh and Yuki Chiba. One of the song titles recalls a 2010s Billboard Hot 100 hit. David Guetta’s “Where Them Girls At” arrived in 2011 alongside Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida, which reached a peak of No. 14 on the Hot 100.

MEGAN is filled with previously-released serpentine-themed singles such as No. 1 hit “HISS,” “BOA” and album closer “COBRA.”

The Houston Hottie looks at this album as a “rebirth” of sorts after closing the book on the Tory Lanez shooting, which saw him sentenced to 10 years behind bars last August.

“This is music I would like if I wasn’t Megan Thee Stallion. I don’t want to say I’m tapping into other genres. I’m just tapping into other sounds. But it’s still very much Megan Thee Stallion. It won’t feel like I went so left. It’ll feel true to me,” she told L’OFFICIEL of the project. “You’ll almost be like, ‘I wouldn’t have thought she would’ve rapped over that, but this sounds great.’”

The 29-year-old wraps up the North American leg of her Hot Girl Summer Tour this weekend with a pair of shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Find the MEGAN tracklist ahead of the album’s June 28 arrival below.

21 Jun 2024

Mark Morrison’s ‘The Equalizer’ Synch Leads Top TV Songs Chart

Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack” snags top honors on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), for May 2024, appearing at No. 1 after a synch in The Equalizer.

Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of May 2024.

“Return of the Mack” can be heard in the eighth episode of the CBS drama’s fourth season; it premiered May 5.

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In May 2024, the song earned 17.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams and sold 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.

“Return of the Mack” was a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Morrison in 1997, peaking in June of that year.

The song previously crowned Top TV Songs in November 2015 when it received a synch in Netflix’s Master of None.

“Return of the Mack” reigns over Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” which places at No. 2 after being heard in the third season premiere of MAX’s Hacks on May 2.

“The Story,” Carlile’s breakthrough hit (it peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in 2007), accrued 2.1 million streams and 2,000 downloads in May 2024.

Amazon Prime Video’s newly premiered miniseries Maxton Hall boasts a strong start on Top TV Songs in its first appearance, ranking at Nos. 5 and 7 with Amber Run’s “I Found” and SYML’s “Where’s My Love,” respectively. The German-language series premiered each of its six episodes on May 9.

“I Found” earned 4.3 million streams and 1,000 downloads in May 2024, while “Where’s My Love” received 9.2 million steams.

See the full top 10 below, also featuring music from The Veil, Welcome to Wrexham, Pretty Little Liars and Clarkson’s Farm.

Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
1. “Return of the Mack,” Mark Morrison, The Equalizer (CBS)
2. “The Story,” Brandi Carlile, Hacks (MAX)
3. “Angel,” Massive Attack, The Veil (FX)
4. “Black Betty,” Ram Jam, Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
5. “I Found,” Amber Run, Maxton Hall (Amazon Prime Video)
6. “School’s Out,” Alice Cooper, Pretty Little Liars (Freeform)
7. “Where’s My Love,” SYML, Maxton Hall (Amazon Prime Video)
8. “Fire for You,” Cannons, Pretty Little Liars (Freeform)
9. “Golden Brown,” The Stranglers, Clarkson’s Farm (Amazon Prime Video)
10. “Voices Carry,” ‘Til Tuesday, Pretty Little Liars (Freeform)

21 Jun 2024

Mustard Taps Travis Scott for Soulful New Single ‘Parking Lot’: Listen

Mustard is wasting no time riding the wave of his and Kendrick Lamar’s No. 1 record “Not Like Us” becoming the topic of conversation once again after the latter’s Pop Out concert on Juneteenth.

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The L.A. producer is gearing up to drop his fifth studio album, Faith of a Mustard Seed, in July and on Friday (June 21), he dropped off the lead single, “Parking Lot” featuring Travis Scott. Over soulful production provided by Mustard, of course, Travis raps about enjoying a woman’s company in a parking lot during the summer.

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Mustard teased the song recently with an Instagram Reel of the two artists working on the track in the studio.

The video features a clip of Mustard trying to get Travis in the studio, saying, “I found the one. I need you, bruh. ‘Whole Lotta Lovin” times 30,” in reference to their 2016 collab.

Mustard also posted a carousel of images of him and Travis during a shoot before the song went live on streaming services.

Hopefully, this means a video will be coming soon.

Both have been in the news recently for very different reasons. Mustard was part of the Pop Out concert put on by Kendrick Lamar to celebrate L.A.’s rich hip-hop culture. The producer was one of the openers and brought out 310babii, Blxst, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy, Steve Lacey, Tyler, the Creator, Roddy Ricch and YG. Mustard also did a tribute dedicated to the late Nipsey Hussle.

Travis Scott, on the other hand, had a recent run-in with the law when he was arrested in Miami and charged with disorderly intoxication and trespassing. The Houston rapper poked fun at the arrest and made T-shirts featuring his mugshot.

21 Jun 2024

Diddy Deleted All His Instagram Posts, Including His Cassie Apology

Diddy is looking for a clean slate. The Bad Boy CEO has scrubbed his entire Instagram account, which included an apology to Cassie following the disturbing video leak of him abusing his ex in a L.A. hotel.

The mogul’s 20 million followers noticed Diddy had deleted all of the posts from his account earlier this week without any comment. While some side-eyed Diddy, others claimed this was not atypical behavior from theCEO when it comes to his social media activity

“For years, maybe, decades, Mr. Diddy has changed up his Instagram, Twitter, …, accounts … It’s nothing new for him to remove, publicly visible, posts … Wrong Right Sorry,” one person wrote to X.

Lost in the Instagram purge is the aforementioned apology video in which Diddy admitted to being “disgusted” with his behavior. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said. “I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”

Cassie accused Diddy of rape, sexual assault and more in a sprawling lawsuit in November. The two parties would settle the dispute less than 24 hours and terms were not disclosed. CNN shared a March 2016 video last month that saw Diddy physically abusing Cassie outside an L.A. hotel elevator bank and dragging her across the floor.

Following the backlash from the leaked footage and the myriad of sexual misconduct lawsuits piling up at Diddy’s desk, NYC Mayor Adams had the decorated music executive return the key to New York City he had been awarded. It’s the first time that an honoree has been requested to return the key.

The mayor’s office said Sean Combs returned the key after Adams sent letters to his offices in New York and California on June 4. City Hall received the key June 10. “I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” Adams wrote in a letter.

Combs has denied all of the misconduct allegations against him.

21 Jun 2024

Chloe Bailey Says Her Music Is Categorized As R&B Because She’s Black: ‘That’s Just the Way It’s Always Been’

From Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter to Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song,” 2024 has been a watershed year for Black artists excelling critically and commercially in genres that have traditionally tried to box Black artists out despite having a storied history of Black innovators. Conversations about the blurring of genre lines have dominated the music industry for years, and it’s a sentiment that Grammy-nominated singer-producer Chlöe Bailey is incredibly intimate with.

“Any music I do will easily and quickly be categorized as R&B because I’m a Black woman,” she told Nylon in her cover story. “If someone who didn’t have my skin tone made the same music, it would be in the pop categories. That’s just the way it’s always been in life.”

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As a part of the Chloe x Halle duo — which includes her Little Mermaid-starring younger sister Halle Bailey — Chlöe regularly traversed genres. On the duo’s two Billboard 200-charting Grammy-nominated studio LPs, 2018’s The Kids Are Alright (No. 139) and 2020’s Ungodly Hour (No. 16), the sisters dabbled in soul, electronica, house, hip-hop, alternative rock, contemporary pop, R&B and more. Chloe’s debut solo LP, In Pieces, featured a similar amalgamation of sounds, which helped her reach No. 119 on the all-genre albums chart. Despite releasing several pop-facing tunes, including April’s “Boy Bye,” Chlöe’s awards and chart success have primarily come in the R&B field. Of her five career Grammy nods, just one came from outside of the R&B categories — her 2018 best new artist nod as one-half of Chloe x Halle.

In her Nylon interview, the “Have Mercy” singer named Whitney Houston and Beyoncé as two artists she looks to for inspiration regarding standing firm in genre experimentation, specifically lauding the latter artist’s latest smash album. “That’s why I was really proud of Beyoncé doing Cowboy Carter,” she said, “because Black people originated country music. It’s just showing that possibilities are endless.”

The “Treat Me” singer also finds solace in knowing that her work is often ahead of the curve. “What I kind of love about my art is that it sneaks up on you,” she explained. “When In Pieces came out, not many people really got it. But now a year later, people are like, ‘Oh, it’s genius! It’s beautiful! It’s amazing!’ And if you think about it, that’s how it has been with me and my sister’s previous work as well. No one ever gets it when it first comes out.”

Chlöe is currently gearing up for the release of Trouble In Paradise, her sophomore solo studio album, which is slated to drop “later this summer.” The “Surprise” singer has released a pair of singles this year — “Boy Bye” and the moody R&B banger “FYS” — and she also used her Nylon interview to confirm some of the album’s collaborators, including Halle, Jeremih and Anderson .Paak. In Pieces — which she supported with 25-date North American and European tour — featured collaborations with Chris Brown, Missy Elliott and Future.

Chlöe made her official solo debut with 2021’s “Have Mercy,” a booty-praising hit that reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. To date, Chlöe has wracked up four Hot 100 hits, including “Treat Me” (No. 81), “You & Me” (No. 72, with Gunna) and the 2023 Amazon Music exclusive “Winter Wonderland” (No. 63).

See her cover and photos for Nylon below:

21 Jun 2024

The Game Addresses Not Attending Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out Concert

The Game went on Instagram Live to address his absence from Kendrick Lamar’s star-studded Pop Out concert.

The Compton rapper said in the video also posted to his IG grid Thursday (June 20) that he felt the need to clear the air after seeing the chatter online about him not being invited. Many believe he went against Compton and sided with Drake after he dissed Rick Ross. He started things off in the 17-minute clip by addressing the DMs he’s received and the noise in the blogosphere saying that he’s choosing sides.

“When the f—k you heard me say a motherf—n’ thing about who I’m sidin’ with and this and that?” he asked before alluding to industry playing a part as to why he wasn’t there.

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“There’s a lot of f–kery that goes on in this industry,” he added. However, he did big up the affair saying, “I ain’t have to be there to think that the s—t was motherf—ing cool and major.”

On his relationship with Drake, he referred to the Toronto rapper as his “brother,” saying, “As far as my relationship with Drake? Drake is my brother … And my loyalty is with motherf—ers that’s loyal to me.”

Most of the speculation that the Compton rapper was siding with Drake stems from two recent instances. First, he posted an Instagram Reel of the Toronto rapper’s 2015 song “Energy” playing on a screen with the caption, “I got rap n—s that I gotta act like I like.” Many questioned the timing of the since-deleted post because Drake’s “Like That” response “Push Ups” had been released a few days earlier.

Then a few weeks later, The Game took to his Instagram Stories to take shots at Rick Ross for trolling Drake after he released “The Heart Part 6” in response to Kendrick’s “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us.” The West Coast rapper said, “It’s quiet today Wingstop must be closed on Monday’s [sic]” and then added, “It be the fat n—s with the skinny legs always running they mouth.” He then decided to join the 20 v 1 Rap Royal Rumble and dissed Rick Ross with the song “Freeway’s Revenge.”

He gave his reasoning on the Joe Budden Podcast afterward. “A n—a sitting around just trolling, n—a, keep that same energy, n—a,” The Game said. “You wann rap, you wanna troll? N—a, let’s do it. Bump heads with a n—a that really do this s—t.”

The Game is from the same city as Lamar and has collaborated with both him and Drake over the years.

21 Jun 2024

Snoop Dogg Crowns Kendrick Lamar ‘King of the West’ Following Pop Out L.A. Concert

Kendrick Lamar is riding high coming off the success of his Pop Out concert in Los Angeles. With the dust settling, Snoop Dogg is passing the torch to K. Dot and crowned him as the king of L.A. following the epic show.

Snoop took to his Instagram on Friday (June 21) from Canada and saluted what Kendrick was able to accomplish in unifying different sections of the West Coast under one roof at his Juneteenth show.

“Sending a big shout-out to K. Dot and all the homies from the West that stood together unified, organized in peace [and] love,” Snoop gushed. “That was fun to watch. Beautiful to see all my peoples come together.”

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It’s not exactly Jon Snow being deemed King in the North in Game of Thrones, but then came the coronation from Snoop: “K. Dot, you are the King of the West. That’s the kind of s–t kings do, we unite.”

As an artist who’s just about seen it all in his three decades in the music business, Snoop understood how special it was to have Kendrick Lamar preach a message of unity and have peace in L.A., even if it was just for one night.

Kendrick electrified the Kia Forum crowd with his first show since feuding with Drake. Lamar’s victory lap saw the live debut of tracks such as “Euphoria,” his verse on Billboard Hot 100-topper “Like That” and the Mustard-produced “Not Like Us,” which he performed five times in a row.

Drake beef aside, Kendrick Lamar appreciated just being able to bring gang members from different sets and various Los Angeles luminaries with him on stage. “It ain’t got nothing to do with no back-and-forth records,” Kendrick said during his show. “It’s got everything to do with this moment right here. That’s what this s–t was about. To bring all of us together.”

It’s fitting for Snoop to crown K. Dot as the king of the West after he passed the torch to him back in 2011 following the release of Section.80. “I’ma say this and I’ma mean this. N—a, you got the torch,” Snoop said at the time. “You better run with it, n—a, because it’s yours.”

Listen to Snoop Dogg champion Kendrick below.

21 Jun 2024

Cardi B Teases Sophomore Release Title: ‘What Y’all Think My Album Name Is?’

Cardi B’s long-awaited sophomore album appears to finally have some traction. The Grammy-winning rapper took to social media to tease the title of her forthcoming LP.

While stopping short of revealing the name, Cardi invited the Bardi Gang to guess what she had in mind in a post to her Instagram Story on Thursday (June 20).

“What y’all think my album name is?” Cardi B asked while appearing to coverthe title with her hand on a photo of the rapper. The 31-year-old seemed to be messing around on her computer when making the post.

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As the wait for the album continues, Cardi is still churning out features left and right. She joined forces with Mexican rapper Peso Pluma to dish out some bilingual bars on “Put Em in the Fridge.” The track hit streaming services on Friday (June 21) as part of Peso’s Éxodo album.

Cardi B lent out another stimulus package in the form of a verse when she hopped on GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be,” which dropped May 31. It shot up to No. 15 the following week on the Billboard Hot 100.

The “WAP” rapper must’ve had a change of heart when it came to album plans, as Cardi claimed in May that she wasn’t planning to drop an LP. “Anyway NO album this year I don’t care I’m relaxing this year .. Dropping these features I already committed to and traveling and enjoying my summer,” she wrote to X at the time.

However, reps for the rapper confirmed soon after in her Rolling Stone cover that an album was still on the calendar for 2024.

Her debut album Invasion of Privacy arrived in April 2018, and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Every song on the project is at least certified-platinum by the RIAA, and she took home best rap album honors at the Grammys in 2019.

See Cardi’s post below.

21 Jun 2024

Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out Recap: What Will Drake Do Next? | Billboard Unfiltered

In the seventh episode of Billboard Unfiltered, Billboard staffers Carl Lamarre, Trevor Anderson and Kyle Denis break down Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out event and how Drake should navigate his next move after the show. They also dive into the new Verzuz and X deal, their favorite albums that have been released in 2024 in hip-hop and R&B and more.

Carl Lamarre: 

When I saw YG come out, I felt the knife. I felt the knife turn a little bit. 

Trevor Anderson:

Just on a tech level like X and Amazon. That’s a whole ‘nother beast level that’s coming.

Kyle Denis:

Shoutout to GloRilla, that mixtape is really hard. The girls and the guys were coming back this year. They said, “we still got something to say.”

Carl Lamarre:

So, first day of summer, we are here.

Kyle Denis: 

Finally. 

Trevor Anderson:

It feels like it if you’re in New York because this heat is no joke! 

Carl Lamarre: 

It is like 95 degrees outside. 

Kyle Denis:

Yeah.

Carl Lamarre: 

Happy belated Juneteenth. 

Kyle Denis:

Right sir.

Trevor Anderson:

That’s because we were not working yesterday. 

Kyle Denis:

We was not working.

Carl Lamarre:

You know, being Black. 

Trevor Anderson:

Always a good feeling. 

Kyle Denis:

Being real proud. 

Carl Lamarre:

Being proud because last night was a hip-hop celebration, a celebration for L.A.

Kyle Denis:

A moment in history. 

Carl Lamarre

A moment in history. In case you guys missed it, Kendrick Lamar had a Pop Out concert. That’s what it’s being deemed now. The Pop Out concert for Juneteenth in L.A. Star-studded. DJ Mustard, DJ Head and of course Kendrick and friends. DJ Mustard brought out Tyler, the Creator Steve Lacy, Ty Dolla $ign…

Keep watching for more!

21 Jun 2024

Doja Cat Gets Super Frustrated at Wardrobe Malfunction During Amsterdam Concert: Watch

Doja Cat has brought the Scarlet Tour to Europe, and things have been running smoothly until a wardrobe malfunction derailed a part of her Amsterdam show.

The “Say So” singer got noticeably frustrated during Wednesday night’s (June 19) concert at the Ziggo Dome when a white dress got stuck and Doja couldn’t unhook it, keeping her temporarily stationary until a crew member helped her out.

“F–k this dress! B—-h!” she sounded off into the mic. Doja Cat was left only with her corset, with the bottom completely ripped off as she scurried across the stage. Fans were loving it, though, cheering her on in the process of the organic exchange.

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“The walk off has me dyinnggg,” one fan commented on a TikTok clip. Another chimed in: “Me after a minor inconvenience tbh.”

It remains to be seen if the white dress will be part of her show going forward. Doja is set to hit the stage Friday night (June 21) in Paris, and then has a pair of dates in Portugal and Poland to wrap up things in Europe.

Doja Cat is coming off the release of her 2023 Scarlet album, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The 28-year-old revived the project in May with the Scarlet 2 CLAUDE deluxe featuring A$AP Rocky and Teezo Touchdown, along with seven new tracks.

The Grammy-winner isn’t the only one having problems recently on stage. Chris Brown was left suspended in midair until the crew helped him get down during a recent show in New Jersey. CB was performing “Under the Influence,” which has him glide through the air while hooked into a harness, but he realized he was stuck and was no longer moving, and had to signal for assistance.

Watch Doja Cat express her frustration over the wardrobe malfunction below.