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There’s a new No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart: FamousSally and YB’s “Wassup Gwayy,” which debuts atop the Sept. 23-dated survey.
The TikTok Billboard Top 50, which launched a week ago, is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity Sept. 11-17. (Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.)
“Wassup Gwayy” was released in June and has taken off on TikTok thanks in large part to uploads by users referencing the song’s lyrics “In the cut with my twin, we be vibin’,” with videos featuring not only actual twins, but friends and even people and their pets dancing along.
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One of the most high-profile proponents of the trend? Drake, who was seen dancing to the song with a young fan in early September.
Rappers FamousSally and YB have not yet made a Billboard chart outside the TikTok Billboard Top 50. Still, in the tracking week (Sept. 8-14) for Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based song charts dated Sept. 23, “Wassup Gwayy” earned 548,000 official U.S. streams, up 39% from 395,000 Sept. 1-7, according to Luminate.
“Wassup Gwayy” is the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s second No. 1 in the list’s two weeks of existence; the inaugural No. 1, Sexyy Red’s “SkeeYee,” drops to No. 2 on the Sept. 23 tally.
Chrisette Michele’s “Epiphany (I’m Leaving)” is another big mover on the latest ranking, leaping from No. 33 to No. 4. “Epiphany” is Michele’s lone Billboard Hot 100 entry as a lead artist to date, having peaked at No. 89 in May 2009. The 14-year-old tune has returned to prominence in 2023 sparked by a dance challenge largely set to the lyric “So I think I’m just about over being your girlfriend,” which kicks off the chorus.
“Epiphany” isn’t the only song from the 2000s/early ’10s in the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top 10. It’s followed by a trio of tracks in J. Dash’s “Wop,” featuring Flo Rida; Cee-Lo Green’s “I’ll Be Around,” featuring Timbaland; and Usher’s “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” featuring Plies, which round out the tier at Nos. 8-10, respectively.
“Wop,” released in 2007, has had multiple runs of virality over the years, initially reaching Billboard’s charts in 2011 and peaking on the Hot 100 in 2013 (No. 51), hitting critical mass that year when Miley Cyrus uploaded a video of herself twerking in a unicorn costume to the tune. The song has continued to be popular for choreography routines on TikTok and other platforms and leaps 17-8 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“I’ll Be Around,” which peaked at No. 52 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in January 2004, is scoring a viral bump due to dances using the song and surges 42-9 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, while “Hey Daddy,” a No. 24 Hot 100 hit in May 2010, premieres on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 thanks to uploads largely populated with women using a filter adding facial hair to their faces.
Check out the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart here to see additional debuts from Cardi B, HUS, Harry Styles and more.
Polo G is spreading the love. The rapper gifted each cast member of his emotional “Barely Holdin’ On” music video with $10,000, according to People. “It was an emotional roller coaster for many,” said director Arrad in a press statement. “Nobody was expecting to get the cash at the end. It was a huge surprise […]
If you’ve seen, read or heard anything about Snoop Dogg in the past 20 years, it won’t surprise you that the man can handle his smoke. But in a road video from Rotterdam on Tuesday (Sept. 19), Snoop showed off a truly impressive weed tally during just one day in the Netherlands. Naturally, the Doggfather […]
Adidas’ once glorious partnership with Kanye West turned sour, then legal, and unfolded as a headache of enormous proportions when the rapper made antisemitic comments on social media and in interviews.
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Almost a year after the German sportswear company cut ties with Ye, its CEO has no hard feelings.
Bjørn Gulden, the Norwegian CEO of Adidas, shared his thoughts on West and the background to that very public fallout for a recent podcast.
Noting that Kanye’s relationship with Adidas pre-dated his own appointment to the top job on Jan. 1, 2023, Gulden remarked, “I think Kanye West is one of the most creative people in the world, both in music and what I would call street culture. He’s extremely creative.” And together, both parties created the Yeezy sneakers line “which was very successful.”
Putting creativity to one side, Ye “made some statements which wasn’t that good,” Gulden continued. “That caused (Adidas) to break that contract and withdraw the product. Very unfortunate, because I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person, it just came across that way.”
Speaking with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, for the In Good Company podcast, Gulden said Ye’s remarks “meant we lost that business, one of the most successful collabs in history. Very sad. But again, when you work with third parties that can happen. It’s part of the game. That can happen with an athlete, with an entertainer. It’s part of the business.”
Adidas cut ties with Ye last October, raising questions about the fate of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of unsold Yeezys. At Adidas’ annual shareholders meeting in May of this year, Gulden revealed that Adidas would try to sell part of the remaining Yeezy inventory and “donate money to the organizations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said.”
By ending its association with Ye, Adidas took a bath. The split contributed to a loss of 600 million euros ($655 million) in sales for the last three months of 2022, helping drive the company to a quarterly net loss of 513 million euros. Adidas reported 400 million euros ($441 million) in lost sales at the start of 2023.
Gulden, formerly CEO of rival sneaker specialist Puma, succeeded Kasper Rorsted at the helm of Adidas, who was in charge of the business from 2016 until his departure November 2022.
Watch the interview in full below.
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After 25 years in the music industry, Mýa is showing no signs of slowing down. The pop-R&B star made her debut in 1998, when she put out her self-titled studio album via Interscope Records. The debut single from the album, “It’s All About Me” with Sisqó, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and put the world onto Mýa’s sultry, angelic voice and cutting-edge R&B sound that infiltrated the mainstream pop market while drawing influences from hip-hop, dancehall, techno and more.
She revealed in a new interview with Billboard News that the outfit she wore in the “It’s All About Me” music video, which was inspired by the traditional red Chinese wedding dress, is her all-time favorite look. “I sketched that outfit on paper, drew the designs that I wanted and I saw it come to life,” she said. “But this is something that I’ve been doing for years. I have this whole sketchbook of outfits that I wanted to create before I signed my first deal. And so, that was one of them. The seamstress brought it to life, and that was an amazing experience for me as a brand new artist.”
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In June, she re-created the UNC jersey dress from her 2000 “Best of Me (Part 2)” video, featuring Jay-Z, while she was performing at Charlotte R&B Music Experience. (This reporter also re-created the UNC jersey dress look, as well as Mýa’s outfit from the 1999 “Take Me There” video with Blackstreet, Mase and Blinky Blink, due to endless claims that she resembles the singer. Decide for yourself in the video interview above!)
Aside from her iconic looks, pop-dancehall collaborations have been another constant in Mýa’s storied career. Over the years, she’s worked with Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists like Beenie Man (“Girls Dem Sugar,” “Lie Detector,” “Docta”), Sean Paul (“Things Come & Go”), Spice (“Take Him Out”) and, most recently, Bounty Killer, on her latest steamy single “Whine.”
“Funny story is I had a solo version of the video shot two years prior to reaching out to Bounty Killer,” she says. “And I’ve always wanted a feature on that record. And so we went back down to Jamaica two years later, to the same location, and put Bounty Killer in the video, inserted him, and it all looks cohesive now.”
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Of her pop-dancehall collaborations, Mýa says they feel like a family effort. “Every time I go down there, it’s usually for music. But then my associates, music friends, become like family over the years. We understand the beauty of independency but also working together. And so, that’s a big part of the culture, too,” she explains. “I think it’s important also to just be authentic for representation, so it was important for me to be in Kingston, in the heart of Jamaica, to capture the essence of the good vibes and the music, the culture and the people and the dance.”
Outside of her debut LP’s 25th anniversary this year, Mýa also celebrated the 20th anniversary of her third album Moodring, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned her another Hot 100 top 20 hit with “My Love is Like…Wo.” (Missy Elliott co-produced the track two years after working with her on the five-week No. 1, Grammy-winning smash “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, P!nk and Lil’ Kim from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.)
Earlier this year, she collaborated with Interscope/UMe to release the digital deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Mya, the digital deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Moodring and the “25th Anniversary Remix” of “It’s All About Me,” accompanied by the Brian Friedman-directed choreography video. Come December, Mýa will ring in the 15th anniversary of her fifth album Sugar & Spice.
“I was a baby, I was a kid, everything was brand new. Working in the studio with Dru Hill for the first album was really like a family and a camp, so I had big brothers around me … I learned a lot from them, watching them,” she reflects. “It’s just a beautiful journey. I’m excited as well about what’s to come. I just love music, so it’s a blessing to just still be here 25 years later and still feel like it’s brand new.”
Watch the full video interview above.
Kid Cudi is getting in the Halloween mood, thanks in part to his sleek new tattoo. The star took to Instagram this week to show off his new ink done by Mr. Woo, marking the 10th piece he’s gotten done from the popular tattoo artist. “New ink by @_dr_woo_ Skeleton Hand Man My 10th Woo […]
This Barbie can’t cook! “Barbie World” rapper Ice Spice is no stranger to going viral, but she’s never taken over the internet because of her cooking — until now.
On Sunday (Sept. 17), Ice posted a now-deleted TikTok of her making some scrambled eggs, and things were rocky from the start. “Uh, I don’t know girl,” she said as she whisked together eggs, raw onion, tomatoes, spinach and a bit of water before scrambling them in an oiled pan. In all fairness, Ice did warn viewers that the eggs might be “really nasty because [she’s] not a cook and it’s [her] first time.”
Naturally, the Internet had to poke some fun at their “Princess Diana,” with one user calling noting that the dish “looks tragic,” according to Us Weekly.
Later that day, a user uploaded Ice’s TikTok to X (formerly Twitter) to the tune of 65.2 million views. “Ice Spice making breakfast and it looks… interesting,” captioned the user. “Well at least she’s eating her spinach 😭😭.” The “In Ha Mood” rapper then quoted the posted, cheekily writing, “pls delete” alongside of slew of queasy emojis.
Ice Spice’s culinary struggles are particularly hilarious considering how connections to food have followed her throughout her young career. She had her breakout moment with a song called “Munch” — although that song is about eating something a bit different from food — and her most recent single bears the title “Deli.”
Of course, all of this pales in comparison to her new Ice Spice Munchkin Drink at Dunkin’, which launched on Sept. 13. The coffee drink — which includes blended up pumpkin spice munchkins — gifted the world a hilarious commercial starring Ice and Oscar-winning actor Ben Affleck. The official spot debuted during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 12), where Ice was crowd best new artist. In the commercial, the two stars brainstorm the name and concept for the new drink. A hilarious new scene featuring a creepy Munchkin doll was released on Sept. 14.
Ice Spice has earned four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Karma” (No. 2, with Taylor Swift), “Princess Diana” (No. 4, with Nicki Minaj), “Barbie World” (No. 7, with Minaj & AQUA), and PinkPantheress duet “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” (No. 3). On the Billboard 200, Like..? — her debut EP — peaked at No. 15.
Check out Ice’s response to her viral cooking video here:
Summer may be ending. But having fun while living life on your own terms is always in season for Tech N9ne. And the indie hip-hop pioneer illustrates how he does just that in the video for his latest single, “Pull Out” featuring Head Da Don.
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Sliding into a brand new red Maserati with butterfly doors, Tech N9ne and fellow passenger Head Da Don cruise around Tech’s Kansas City, Missouri stomping ground, meeting women and handing out CD-styled invitations for a fly pool party at a mansion. Along the way, the pair rap to a head-boppin’, banging beat.
On the no-holds-barred first verse, Tech totes up his creds: “They said, ‘Tech N9na washed up.’ / I gotta tell ‘em, ‘Pull out the facts’ / Lot of ‘em stuck on planet rock / like I can’t pull out some plaques / What I scripted makes me tickets / Now I pull out the stacks / Cause I brought Independence, Overland Park and every hood out for rap.”
“When I heard that beat from Goodro, then that [pull out] hook from Head Da Don, I knew immediately that the song would get us back up on radio and the charts,” Tech N9ne tells Billboard. “This is just the beginning of the fire songs coming off my Bliss LP.”
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Released in July in the midst of celebrations for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Bliss is the follow-up to 2021 album Asin9ne. Describing Bliss as “a mirror to society,” the project marks Tech’s 24th album via his Strange Music label — which will celebrate its own 25th anniversary in 2024.
With its forays into R&B, soul, alternative and heavy metal plus a host of guests including Joyner Lucas, Durand Bernarr, RMR and Qveen Herby, the 25-track Bliss finds the prolific Tech still in full command of his signature fast-rhyming flow and fearless genre fusion.
In addition to “Pull Out,” album highlights include “Fatha Fig Ya (Food for Thought)” featuring RMR, “W H A T (We’re Hungry and Thirsty)” featuring Kim Dracula and Hu$h and “Knock,” a master seminar in lyricism with Tech (Kansas City), Conway the Machine (Buffalo), X-Raided (Sacramento) and Joyner Lucas (Boston).
“You’ve got a quartet of MCs from different regions just crushing it,” Tech says about the track in his recent bio. “My East Coast fans are always like, ‘We want to hear you on some boom bap!’ So we got this incredible beat from Dame The Producer. ‘Knock’ is amazing for 50 years of hip-hip.”
Between operating his successful merchandise empire and teaming with Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewery for his craft beer Bou Lou, Tech N9ne will be co-headlining a North America tour with rock band — and fellow genre-busters — the Hollywood Undead this fall.
The Hollywood & N9ne trek kicks off Oct. 16 in Chesterfield, Missouri and wraps in Nashville on Nov. 19. Stops along the way include Chicago (Oct. 18), Las Vegas (Oct. 27), New York (Nov. 8) and Atlanta (Nov. 14). For more information, visit hollywoodandn9netour.com.
If the lyrics to Sexyy Red‘s breakthrough hit, “Pound Town,” didn’t already make you blush, just wait until you get a load of the St. Louis-bred rapper’s new lip gloss line. The track — which leaves almost nothing to the imagination — will be honored with what Red said is an upcoming product extension that […]
As 50 Cent continues to truck through the U.S. for his Final Lap Tour, the G-Unit commander surprised the city of Detroit when he brought out Eminem for a performance. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Sunday night (Sept. 17), 50 tantalized fans by reciting his verse […]