R&B/Hip-Hop
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FLO announced on Sunday (March 3) that they will drop their first single of the year, “Walk Like This.” The British girl group also shared the cover art, which features all three members — Renée Downer, Jorja Douglas and Stella Quaresma — strutting their stuff while draped in various fur coats and tall leather boots […]
Joe Budden lambasted female rappers during the Sunday (March 3) episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, most notably, Cardi B. The famed podcaster didn’t hold back any punches, detailing why he believes the “girl rapper wave” is over.
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“Y’all ain’t gonna want to hear it from me, but the girl rapper wave is over. Just telling you what it is,” Budden said. “All of that ‘Go find a girl, send her to Columbia, get it done, put her in the studio with f–king [Mike WiLL Made-It] or any one of them n—-s.’ All that planting the girl in the scene, getting the record and it taking off, that wave is over.”
Though he hailed Latto, Flo Milli and Rapsody for their skills, Budden stayed on the attack, explaining his take on how he believes labels feel the pressure to push a female artist.
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“I think labels are looking at it like, ‘Very few of y’all are selling records, it’s too much work to get your coin back,’” he said. “‘We gotta do brand deals all over the world with y’all. Y’all are expensive, some of y’all are annoying, and none of these records are working.’”
Budden’s searing take came on the heels of Cardi B’s “Like What” freestyle, which arrived on Friday (March 1). During his podcast, he suggested that The Bronx MC is “scared” to release her sophomore album because she fears the potential backlash awaiting her.
“Cardi B is afraid and I’m tired of just nobody saying it,” said Budden. “Cardi B is scared to come out, it don’t take this long to come out.”
Billboard has reached out to Cardi B’s reps for comment.
Cardi’s blockbuster debut, Invasion of Privacy, dropped in 2018 and featured Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It.” The following year, the project scored a Grammy for best rap album, beating out Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap, Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Mac Miller’s Swimming and Pusha T’s Daytona.
Check out Budden’s thoughts below.
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From Cardi B‘s Missy Elliott-nodding “Like What” freestyle to RAYE‘s Brit Awards sweep and the kickoff of Nicki Minaj‘s highly anticipated Pink Friday 2: Gag City World Tour, it was a very eventful week for hip-hop and R&B. As usual, New Music Friday (Mar. 1), unleashed a tidal wave of new music, including a terrific new LP from ScHoolboy Q, a feisty new single from Chlöe Bailey and blistering EP from Meek Mill, which landed at the tail end of a social media spiral following the latest lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from 4batz‘s latest low-key anthem to Samara Joy’s impressive entry into the 2025 Oscar race. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
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4batz, “act iii: on god? (she like)”
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Any baseball player would tell you hitting a home run in each of their first three at-bats is nearly an impossible feat, but 4batz has accomplished the musical version of that. With “Act III: on god? (she like),” the atmospheric R&b singer-songwriter delivers more sweet vocals that rain from the clouds and aerate through his Black Shiesty ski mask. The Texas native heavenly croons about a toxic love, creating a paradox with the menacing visual featuring 4batz mobbing in the streets with his homies, only adding to the artist’s mystique. To quote the great hip-hop life coach Fat Joe, yesterday’s price is not today’s price, as record labels continue to wave lucrative checks looking to entice the rising talent to sign on the dotted line.
ScHoolboy Q feat. Rico Nasty, “Pop”
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It hasn’t even been a week but Blue Lips is already a career highlight for ScHoolboy Q — quite possibly a career-best effort. On “Pop,” a shape-shifting, rock-infused collaboration with Rico Nasty, Q plays straight offense, using the grimy boom-bap beat to soundtrack his and Rico’s snarling declarations of dominance over everyone in their way, inside and outside of the rap game. “Put fifty in that, n—a, a hunnid in this, I never could miss/ N—a, we jump out that b—h, yeah, check off the list/ You rappin’ this, n—a, we really do this,” he ruthlessly spits.
That Mexican OT & Moneybagg Yo, “Twisting Fingers”
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Texas Technician, the new album from That Mexican OT, is a loving tribute to his hometown and Southern hip-hop at large, and the Moneybagg Yo-assisted “Twisting Fingers” is an instant standout. The Bay City, TX & Memphis, TN link-up takes place across a laid-back beat — crafted by Bankroll Got It, Ben10k & Danes Blood — that’s reminiscent of old-school Texas rap. That Mexican OT and Moneybagg trade bars about staying true to their gangbanging roots, regardless of how famous they might become. “This s–t get gangster, ain’t no prankin’, outstandin’ member, high rankin’ / If you’re standin’ on what you rep, then twist your fingers like sign language,” Moneybagg closes his verse. Equal parts menacing and funny, “Twisting Fingers” is a stellar balancing act.
Skepta & Portable, “Tony Montana”
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The intersection of grime and Afrobeats has long been a fruitful one, and “Tony Montana” is another strong addition to that legacy. The latest single from Skepta’s forthcoming Knife and Fork LP, “Tony Montana” finds the Brits-nominated rapper joining forces with rising Nigerian rapper Portable for an anthem celebrating their respective impact and influence. With a title that directly alludes to the iconic Scarface character, the relatively jaunty production — courtesy of Jae5 — makes for a welcome sonic contrast that also provides a multilayered soundscape that pairs well with both Skepta’s cocksure flow and Portable’s slinky hook.
Samara Joy, “Why I’m Here”
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An original song for Netflix’s forthcoming Shirley — a biopic of Shirley Chisholm (the first Black woman to be elected to Congress) starring Oscar-winner Regina King in the titular role — “Why I’m Here” continues Samara Joy’s flawless streak of truly spellbinding vocal performances. Produced and co-written by Grammy-winner PJ Morton, the new song finds the jazz star taking a break from her home genre and briefly transitioning into a sweeping, cinematic sound that seamlessly carries her soulful pipes into a more straightforward pop realm. “An easy road was never promised/ And so much has been from taken from us/ But I won’t stop no matter how much I have to go through/ I won’t shed one tear, I know why I’m here,” she croons.
Asha Imuno, “Oozin…”
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22-year-old Moreno Valley, CA native Asha Imuno is on the rise, and “Oozin…” — a cut from his sophomore effort, Pins & Needles — is proof of why. In the contemporary R&B space, the word “oozin” has a sexual connotation more often than not. Here, however, Asha flips the phrase to refer to the anxiety and depression that pour out of him in moments of silence and aloneness. “Oozing/ The anxiety subsides in the moment the dream becomes lucid / & Bruises/ That I can’t hide in this light/ Quantify all the times I felt useless,” he coos in the heartbreaking chorus.
It’s rare for Travis Scott to be in Iowa, but women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark tends to bring the stars out. With Clark breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record for men and women on Sunday (March 3), La Flame had to be in the building to see the historic moment himself from a courtside view. […]
Since PinkPantheress started uploading her music to TikTok three years ago, her songs have gone from locked away on her hard drive to the Billboard charts — but the singer, songwriter and producer’s recording essentials remain the same: microphone, GarageBand-outfitted laptop and a killer ear for finding niche samples primed for her to mold into the next dance-pop earworm.
The 22-year-old from Bath, England, may have started enlisting fellow producers to help polish her work, as on her recent album Heaven Knows, but make no mistake: From her early viral single “Pain” to her 2023 hit “Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2” with Ice Spice, PinkPantheress has been the creative mastermind. In fact, the self-described perfectionist — whose team lovingly refers to her as “Pink” in lieu of divulging her real name — admits that she often finds herself seizing control of her studio sessions with collaborators.
“As soon as I’m at a point where I can’t do anything else, that’s where I go, ‘OK, now can you do the rest?’ ” she says of her process, laughing. “It ends up being a collaborative thing. I just like to get what I can do out of the way first.” When she comes across another artist’s track that she can’t stop obsessing over, that usually means it’s about to become the skeleton of her next project. “I’m just like, ‘I need to somehow make this my song,’ ” she says.
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She can recall only one time that she had to ax a track because she couldn’t get a sample — the original producer’s royalties demands were simply too high. But Billboard’s 2024 Women in Music Producer of the Year knew that what she brought to the table on her own was valuable — something that might inspire young girls who also want to make music — so she walked away.
“For whatever reason, I’ve always felt strongly about that,” she says of her sense of self-worth. “Obviously, it’s a good thing.”
Billboard’s last Producer of the Year honoree, Rosalía, gave you a shoutout during her Women in Music interview. Which female producers inspire you?
That’s really sweet. I didn’t know she knew who I was. Since she’s a [female] producer as well, it’s really cool. There’s obviously not many of us. I’m always going to say WondaGurl, just because she’s who I looked up to when I was starting. Obviously, Imogen Heap, but these are all veterans. I need to tap into more up-and-coming ones.
Sampling has been your bread and butter from the start. How has your process changed over time?
At the beginning, I wasn’t really adding anything to my samples. I was basically just singing over instrumentals. I didn’t mind sampling, but I didn’t like how people… I think people thought it was lazy, and part of me understood what they meant. I’m chopping them, speeding them up or slowing them down way more. I’m adding more instrumentation so it’s more hidden, whereas before it would kind of just be the actual track itself.
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You’ve said before that some of your songs are “crap.” Do you really think that?
I’m one of those people who, in my whole life, nothing is ever good enough. For better or worse, this is just how I am. I’ll put out a song and think at the time, “This is 100% amazing.” It’s only when I’ve put it out that I doubt myself. Does that mean I think the song’s actually bad? No. Because at the end of the day, I know it’s still a bop.
What advice do you have for other female producers trying to hold their own in the industry?
It’s the vibe you go in with that people judge to see if they can get away with stuff. If you know what you want to make as soon as you step into the room, there should be nothing stopping you from actually doing it. What I’m saying is, if there’s a MIDI keyboard there, ask to use the MIDI keyboard. If [other producers] say no, then that’s wild and definitely leave. But chances are, they’ll say yes.
This story originally appeared in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.
The season of giving never ends for Drake. The OVO boss has been feeling generous on his It’s All a Blur – Big As the What? Tour with J. Cole, where he’s given away thousands of dollars to fans in need. The latest came on Saturday (March 2) during a Kansas City stop, when a fan threw a letter on stage explaining their mother passed away and left them with an outstanding mortgage with no way to pay for it.
Drake paused the action at the T-Mobile Center to read the letter to the rest of the audience.
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“You said, ‘[Pay] off my mom’s house, rest in peace.’ Your mom passed away? Alright. And you owe …,” Drake said before briefly pausing in shock. “Oh, this is the outstanding balance right here. This is a lot of money right here.”
Drizzy took the moment in, then revealed he’d be offering to pay off the six-figure debt in full for the fan out of his own pockets.
“But you know what, Imma pay off your mama’s house for you,” Drake asserted. “That’s gonna come from me. Rest in peace to your mama. Hold on, wait. Rest in peace to Jennifer Schumer. Rest in peace. I love you.”
It’s far from the first time Drake has been charitable with his fans while on tour. In February, Drizzy blessed a fan with $100,000 for finishing chemotherapy after seeing her sign in the Nashville concert crowd that read: “Just finished chemo.”
“I hope my manager doesn’t kill me ’cause I’ve never really done this much, but, listen, I want you to cash this in at the end of the night,” he said to the cancer survivor. “We’re gonna give you $100,000.”
According to a report from The Tennessean, the fan was identified as Lauren Schwallie and she has been fighting breast cancer since 2022.
“One thing led to another and I was at the front of the stage and Drake blew me a kiss and told me that he loved me! That’s all I was focused on … And then just like the money on top of it is just insane,” she told the publication of the surprise.
He wasn’t done there, as he went to St. Louis later in February and promised to cover a fan’s surgery bills.
“You got a sign that says, ‘Please help me with my surgery.’ I don’t know what kinda surgery you need, sir. I really don’t but I’ma let you know from me to you St. Louis love, we gon’ take care whatever the surgery is,” Drake said. “We gonna help you out because we want you to be at the next show with us. You gotta show us love.”
The fan’s face appeared on the Enterprise Center jumbotron as he reacted to the rapper’s promise.
Drizzy and J. Cole’s Big As the What? Tour continues this week with a pair of shows in New Orleans before heading to Kentucky.
Watch a video of the moment Drake offers to pay off the mortgage below:
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.