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Before Montez Ford grappled with heavyweights for a living, he wrestled with his love for hip-hop and whether he could make his rap dreams a reality. Today, the WWE superstar is certified in both arenas: He’s one-half of the tag-team group The Street Profits and is now a burgeoning MC looking to suplex the competition with his newest mixtape, God Is Good. Ardent supporters of Ford shouldn’t be surprised by his mixtape title, being that he’s posted the phrase on his Twitter timeline every day for over seven years and counting.
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“That God Is Good mentality applies throughout life in general, from being a kid to growing up now and putting the best foot forward and just putting positivity out there,” says Ford. “That’s usually what drives not just me and my wife, but our brand. That is a mentality. It’s not just a saying. It’s a lifestyle.”
With an unyielding faith in God, Ford’s acceleration in wrestling doesn’t surprise many. He’s received praise from The Rock, was previously a tag-team champion, and has the biggest support from one of the top stars in the company, his wife, Bianca Belair. The latter plays the duel role of fighter and cheerleader for Ford, and has done wonders for his confidence, as he pulls inspiration from her inside and outside of the ring. And though his animated demeanor remains his calling card amongst wrestling enthusiasts, God Is Good finds Tez in more of a reflective bag. In “Through the Valley,” Ford’s affinity for Sunday Service is the theme, as he and former WWE superstar AJ Francis take listeners to church. On the flip side, he flexes his rap muscles and channels the spirit of former NBA MVP Derrick Rose on this braggadocios effort “09 D. Rose.”
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“You’ll [hear] these conversations, songs, and melodies about different experiences that go through our minds and the conversation within ourselves. We may feel three different ways about something, and they all might be justified,” says Ford.
Billboard spoke to the WWE superstar about his new project, God Is Good, his love for Little Brother and Common, living up to his potential inside the ring, and who he would collaborate with on his dream album.
When did you first fall in love with hip-hop?
Montez Ford: I can go all the way back to even like grade school. At the time, when I was in middle school, high school, I was listening to people like 9th Wonder [and] Little Brother because they were based out of the state I was growing up in North Carolina. I heard Drake before Comeback Season because he used to do work with 9th Wonder who was a professor at the university where my sister was going. All these links made me have a hand in it. I loved recording. Listening to J Dilla for instrumentals and beats [and] Kanye when it comes to the tools. I been in love with it for as long as I remember.
I remember the deep-rooted stuff like listening to Common’s Be album, and I saw Common last week when we did Hot 97. I was like, “Bro, I just want to tell you that Be album changed my life.” At the end of every one having this long monologue about what you should be. I remember one of the kids said, “Be a wrestler.” See, I’m like, “This is it.” Hip-hop has this way of motivating you, but also getting you amped at the same time. It’s for the soul. I been in love with it as long as I can remember.
What other albums did you lean into when creating God Is Good?
Pretty much all of them. Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life because he’s got a funk type of groove but you don’t realize Stevie raps and got melody. He can do everything. I would definitely say Common’s Be album and pretty much everything Nas does.
Nas is actually my favorite of all-time. Kanye’s The College Dropout because pretty much when I did this College Dropout and Late Registration they have skits. I’ve always been a huge fan of concept albums because I ain’t the best rapper. If I can tell a story, then I feel like the concept of the album is better and it makes more sense. Just like in wrestling, if we’re telling a story with what we’re doing then everybody can relate to it more. I’m not just throwing out random bars because I only got so many bars.
You’ve been tweeting God Is Good the last seven years. Talk about that concept and why you ran in that direction.
I been in the church for as long as I can remember. My mother had us in New Friendship Baptist Church in Chicago. Church put us in the choir and we always been heavily based in the church. Our whole family is very church-oriented. Even after I moved to the south I was pretty much getting groomed to become a pastor. Who knows? When I retire I might pull a Ma$e.
I always been heavily rooted in the church and in the year 2000, I lost my sister to a car accident. The night she passed I was actually gonna be in the vehicle with her but she told me, “No.” Not only her being my savior, but just like reminiscing even this interview of us having right now, how every day is precious. Even me, I’m guilty of it and we take advantage of it. So I say God is good every morning because I have a chance to get it right and put positivity and happiness in the world. Maybe to correct a wrong or if I said something wrong to somebody yesterday, I have a chance to get it right.
Which songs on the album best define where you are right now?
It’s like a concept. Basically, it’s a conversation between a couple individuals and it’s their testimonies. It shows all of us have flaws. All of us have good and bad thoughts and that’s normal. All of us have perspectives and ideas and we’re all justified in everything we saw. Nobody is essentially really wrong but this is their viewpoint. That’s what these songs are. Just showing these different melodies and the experiences of the guys in the songs. I have artists on there but they’re not “mainstream.” It’s some guys I wrestle with and guys who have the same talent and love for this. It’s a chance for them to show that. It’s only so many bars I have out there.
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Tougher experience for you: First time in the booth or getting in the ring?
That’s crazy. I would say I was actually more nervous getting inside the booth than getting inside a ring. I been doing crazy stuff my whole life from climbing trees to the military to going out with a beautiful woman. Also, filled with music that’s when you’re the most vulnerable. Having a conversation and then you’re opening up to the world with these intimate thoughts and ideas and emotions within yourself.
Unmasking yourself like that can be pressure at first. It’s also how you deliver it. It’s one thing how you rap or sing a song – anybody can say words – but it’s how you say it. Not just the person you saying it to but are they getting the message? I would definitely say stepping in the booth is more nerve-racking. I been doing crazy stuff all the time. I don’t have to think when I do crazy stuff, I just do it.
In the booth, you get multiple takes. If you fumble one word, you can go back in and fix it up. Wrestling, hell nah. What y’all see is what y’all get. We have to fix it versus in the booth it’s just multiple takes. It doesn’t take away from an artist’s craft, but in regards to wrestling and preparing me for the booth it’s different.
Wrestlemania, for example, it’s 88,000 people out there and another 16 million people watching live. You go out there and you have your match entertaining the fans and everything is live. If you fall or break something, you still go. In the booth, it’s the same thing. You have your words and you’re vulnerable with your lyrics, but if you mess up a word you can go back and can deliver it even better. With wrestling, that intent has to be all there at once. It does help me prepare more when I do have to go to the booth because now I’m so used to doing things rapid at one shot.
When you played Bianca [Belair] your music for the first time, what was that moment like for you? Having somebody so close listen to you in that light.
I’m so glad you asked that question because she was actually the person I was the most nervous to let listen to it. Because this is the person I’m the most vulnerable with. I remember every time I’d go with her to something and make sure it’s polished and if there’s something I need to fix I’m like, “It needs a little bit more pitch there.” She’s the most nerve-racking person I’d want to listen because this is the person I want to please all the time and make happy. Also, I’m giving her my most vulnerable state of opinion, but I also trust it too. I’m not looking for her to tell me things I want to hear.
I know she’s gonna be very raw and honest if that ain’t it. She’s gonna be like, “Babe, that ain’t it. Re-do that.” She’s also the person I trust the most. That is nerve-racking itself. Especially the person you love and you gonna show her this thing and you saying these words in that tone. It’s like, “Okay!” She’s always been raw and honest. That’s why I choose her initially like to put it out there before I send it to anyone else. She might be like, “Alright babe, you might need to fix this.”
If you could pick one rapper and one producer to make the ultimate album with you, who would you choose?
I would say Alchemist and for the rapper Nas. If I can do two I’d say Hit-Boy and Nas. Nas has been my favorite. I always feel like his storytelling has been the absolute best, along with Common’s as well. Nas’ delivery, swag, intensity and the fact he can rap on anything.
I feel like Nas is one of the first guys to actually do the jazz beats and rapping over them and incorporating people like De La Soul and a lot of other individuals did as well. He’s one of the first people I heard.
Another one is Q-Tip. Nas is one of my favorites because of his delivery and presence. On a special note, I think “Blue Benz” is one of the greatest songs. If I had theme music for my life it would probably be “Blue Benz.” If me, [Angelo Dawkins] and Bobby [Lashley] had to get a commercial theme that would be our theme it’s so nasty.
Have you thought about taking any of the records from God Is Good and using them as your entrance music?
Yes. I would definitely use one. It’s one called “Through the Valley.” It’s crazy, we having this interview and the whole album is finished, and that’s the one I’m perfecting right now. That’s the one I’ve put the most energy into. It just reminds me of everything from childhood. From choirs to singing in the church and just God himself. Feeling the presence of everything in music.
“Touch the Sky” by Kanye West is one of my favorite songs of all-time. Just the band, the horns and how grand everything sounds. I’m not comparing myself to Kanye, but just how grand the music sounds. I’ve always been a fan of grand-sounding music in hip-hop. Nas can attest to that. Rick Ross’ music is very grand.
I spoke with Jey [Uso] about him and Jimmy [Uso] going one-on-one at Wrestlemania. That would be his dream match. Have you and [Dawkins] ever spoke about what a one-on-one match would look like if it ever came down to it?
Yes, 100 percent we have. We definitely would steal the show. We would literally steal the show and good luck to anybody that would try to follow us. I know him so well and he knows me so well.
When I first got signed, I used to go over to his apartment and Sami Callihan’s apartments to watch wrestling before I got signed to WWE. I knew [Ricochet] and you guys knew them and all them were in the business. That’s how I met all of them before I got heavy into wrestling. They’re like “You know to wrestle?” I’m like, “I’m signed but I ain’t gonna be able to have no two-minute sequence with you.”
Now it’s 2024 so it’s been over eight years. They say if you get to 10 that’s a lifetime. It’s already past lifetime. With my wife and Dawks, this is all I know. We always talk about how it would be so stellar and people would see the contrast in styles and we’d feed off each other so well. Speaking of Jey and Jimmy, they know each other longer than us so I only imagine the type of magic they could put on.
Potential is a word I love and hate because people can just hang on to it and never breakthrough. I feel like for you everyone is saying the potential is through the roof if you go into singles competition. How are you fighting against just living in a world of potential and hoping to crack that ceiling of being a WWE champion?
It’s being prepared. At this point, the only person I could feel sorry for if I don’t reach my potential is myself. Without being egotistical, if you know something for yourself, you know it. The worst thing you can not be is prepared. I feel like I would not even do myself injustice but I would do you all an injustice by believing and knowing and having so much faith in myself knowing I have these capabilities and knowing I didn’t fulfill them because I didn’t take advantage of those things or I wasn’t prepared.
I feel like, for me, it’s always being prepared when it comes to promos, appearances or my shape, ideas how I want to present myself. If I’m not prepared, then I’m failing myself. If you’re failing to plan, then you’re planning to fail. While having all this potential and insight, I thank God so much. For me, it’s like don’t just hear that, stay prepared because at any time – you know how opportunity is – if it comes knocking and you’re prepared, you’re ready. It’s like, “You’re good, you can do this.” Then the blessing comes by your door and you don’t answer it or you too late or you still thumbing up the papers because you not prepared. It’s only my fault that I just let it waste because it was there.
I feel like, for me, just always being prepared, which I am. I’m ready. For me, to handle it is always being prepared. Anybody with potential can get mad and say, “It should be happening.” If you’re not ready and they came right now it doesn’t matter how much potential you have. For me, it’s always being prepared when it’s time.
Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre have been sipping on “Gin and Juice” for 30 years, and now, they’re teaming up to launch a cocktail in honor of their collaborative anthem.
The West Coast rap legends joined forces on the heels of their Super Bowl LVIII afterparty performance to announce the Gin & Juice canned cocktail drinks, which began shipping to potential U.S. distributors on Monday (Feb. 12).
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Gin & Juice will be available in four flavors: apricot, citrus, melon and passion fruit. After shaking up the music world, Snoop and Dre are looking to make a dent in the spirits industry with help from record executive powerhouse Jimmy Iovine, who is an investor in the endeavor.
“Together, we always try to create magic. We’re having fun being creative, and everything about this product is really us,” Dr. Dre said in a statement. “There’s passion behind it, and friendship and love and a culture. We’re shooting to make everything we do magnificent, and fortunately, most of the time we hit the target.”
While Snoop added of entering the cocktail space: “Look where we’re at in our careers. Look at our age and look at what we’ve done, and we still love each other, so why not do something together? A lot of times people have been in a relationship for 30 years and can’t talk to each other, can’t hang out, so it’s just fun to be in a partnership with people that you actually love.”
Dr. Dre teased the launch of Gin & Juice with a commercial posted to social media over the weekend ahead of the Super Bowl, during which Snoop starred in an ad for Skechers.
The pair of hip-hop OGs have an extensive collaborative history that’s spilled into the business world. “Gin and Juice” landed on Snoop’s acclaimed Doggystyle debut in 1993, and the funky anthem became the album’s second single in January 1994.
“Gin and Juice” carried its momentum to the Grammy Awards, where the laid-back tune was nominated in the best rap solo performance category. The Dr. Dre-produced hit peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1994.
As for the Gin & Juice drinks, fans can expect the gin-based cocktails to hit liquor store shelves from now through the spring. Package sizes and retail prices are not yet known.
Instead of making a straightforward comeback for his first project in over a decade, Rhymefest challenged himself — and aimed to transcend the boundaries of conventional hip-hop. The Chicago native turned an iconic conversation between James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni, two of America’s greatest writers and activists, into a full-length musical composition that offers a poignant commentary on the state of the world today.
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James & Nikki: A Conversation became a reality through social media: the Grammy-winning rapper was scrolling one day and found himself intrigued by clips of the 1971 conversation between Baldwin and Giovanni for the program Soul!. In their discussion, the creatives explored what it meant to be Black in America, from the lens of both a man and woman, during a time of political, social and racial upheaval.
They addressed issues such as morality, freedom and justice, while giving listeners an honest look at how the United States operated back then. As the way that people discuss these issues and process information has evolved over the past 53 years, Rhymefest felt compelled to find a way to make the conversation accessible to a modern-day audience.
“How many people actually went to look at that interview to see what they were really talking about,” Rhymefest tells Billboard. “Baldwin was channeling the heterosexual masculinity, and Nikki Giovanni was channeling the femininity of one in a relationship with a man like that. When I saw that clip, bro, I had to dig deeper and see what was happening.”
He continues, “I saw teacher and student, man and woman, poets freestyling. I saw somebody who lived in Paris and may not have understood what was happening in the 1970s from where he came from. I saw the future that was coming through in the Black Panther movement. It was just so layered.”
Before long, Rhymefest figured out that turning Baldwin and Giovanni’s conversation into a musical project was the way to go, and re-imagined the dialogue as a lyrical exchange, infusing their words with new life and relevance in today’s sociopolitical climate. Rhymefest took various audio clips from the conversation and blended them with his rhymes and an eclectic array of production.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Rhymefest enlisted several under-the-radar female rappers — including Helixx C. Armageddon, Teefa, Frayne Vibez, Brittney Carter, Rell Suma and Abstract Mindstate — to channel Giovanni’s spirit, while also pushing him to level up his raps. The result is a sonic landscape that serves as a platform for timeless wisdom to resonate with a new generation.
Rhymefest spoke with Billboard about this special project, including its creation, getting Giovanni’s blessing, understanding today’s racial and social climate, and linking up with the Golden State Warriors entertainment division to release it.
After listening to James & Nikki: A Conversation, it feels like you’re speaking directly to the Black community. What do you think is going on with our community that made you feel this was the right moment to release this project?
I think what we call Black identity has been hyperbolically made extreme through technology, myths, and disinformation. I think that when people ask me if Dr. Umar is Martin Luther King or Malcolm X, I’m like, “You don’t understand the organizing power of Dr. King and Malcolm X. You looking at the Internet.” Come on, bro. Like when people are not talking about Tamika Mallory in a way that understands that she is the today’s version of Martin Luther King. She is today’s version of Fannie Lou Hamer. I think that the identity of Black was given to us because we weren’t Black, bro.
Baldwin speaks a lot about this, how white is an identity that Europeans gave themselves. After they did that, they gave us Black identity, and we’re trying to fight from under a system of injustice from a label that was given to us in injustice. I’m not caught up in Black, I’m caught up in values, bro.
This project is so important to you that you refer to it as more than an album — as a composition. Why is that?
The reason I do that is when you go to the orchestra, the conductor isn’t saying, “Yo, check out my new joint. I’m dropping my new album.” They call their work compositions, and guess what, those compositions last for 100 years. I think what we’ve done with our culture of hip-hop is we made it so cheap, so accessible. These ain’t songs or an album, bro. These are pieces and a composition. This project is speaking to the Black community of understanding and the black community that is ready to pivot into a majority instead of embracing the title of minority. This is more than an album.
I’m sure you met with Nikki Giovanni and let her know what you were trying to achieve with this composition. What was that conversation like?
Dr. Giovanni heard the original demo, which had different songs but the same audio clips from their conversation, and she was amazed. She said, “I only wish Jimmy was here. Jimmy would love this.” I couldn’t believe she was calling James Baldwin [who died in 1987] Jimmy, and I was hearing it from her. For me, that was like Kanye West talking to Stevie Wonder, or Mark Ronson talking to Quincy Jones. Here I am today doing my art, but I’m speaking to the person who cleared the brush and laid the road. I was able to make this project and be able to thank her, but not only thank her. This project is an example of giving flowers.
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Many consider James Baldwin a forefather of hip-hop because of the way he used his words over different musical sounds, as he did with his 1987 album A Lover’s Question. What does it mean for you to be a rapper, hearing that he would’ve loved this composition? That boy was cold, bro. There are things here in this project, because we intertwined Jimmy and Nikki, where I gotta go back and listen to what Jimmy is saying because he was so prophetic. He says, “No tyrant in history could read, but they all burn the books.” You see what’s happening in Florida, you see what’s happening around the country. James says things like, “Baby, it takes a long time to learn a little bit,” and that makes me think about my life and how long it’s taken me to learn a little bit, how long it’s taken me into my forties to not be selfish. You worked with several female rappers on the album, who were dishing out some heavy bars. Who gave you a run for your money? All of them [laughs]. There were times where I was stuck like on the song “Triggered.” Like I got to a point in a project where I couldn’t think of nothing, I was just at a block and I was stuck, man. It had to be finished. Helixx C. Armageddon came with the first verse and it was such a muse, and inspired me so much, and rebooted the whole project. A lot of the songs I would come with the vision and the way these women just rhymed, bro, it frightened me at times, and I’m talking for real. I ain’t had nothing out in decades, and I was like, yo, I can’t just be sitting up on my project getting burned. In a way, a lot of these women really rebooted my rap career and made me have to go hard like they did. We’re in a time right now in hip-hop where women are in the lead. How does the ongoing dialogue that rappers in their 40s and 50s have nothing to rap about make you feel? It disappoints me when I hear artists say, “Man, when you get a certain age, you don’t be rapping no more.” Then you have the young kids that stop all of that. It takes the wisdom of the elders and young people’s energy, and we don’t keep giving them these lived experiences through language. So we, as the modern-day prophets and ministers, this is a ministry, James & Nikki ain’t no album. It’s part of a ministry. We gotta keep rapping and keep giving them our lived experiences through an educational language that they understand. You worked with the Golden State Warriors’ entertainment division to release James & Nikki: A Conversation. How did that come together? You look at these record labels, and they destroyed others. There’s no way you could put out some of the negative energy a lot of these major record labels put out and the energy not return in a way that breaks your whole s–t up. Because of that I was never going to sign to another company again. I was never gonna get with a record label, because I was making music for therapy. I wasn’t putting anything out, and people were mad at me. I had producers stop talking to me because they felt I was wasting their time. I have a whole project with Black Thought that didn’t come out. When my man David Kelly, head attorney for the Golden State Warriors, said, “Look, we’re going to start an entertainment company, Rhymefest. We want you. What’s up? What you got?” I said, “No, bro, I ain’t signing on no labels, man. You crazy.” He said, “Let me ask you a question. What would success look like for you if you put out a project?” I’ve never been asked that question. Success has already been determined by many companies from how many streams you got, how much product and merch did you sell, how many numbers you got. David Kelly asked me what success looks like to me for a project. I said it looks like an impact was made. Can we make an impact in the community? Can we get the NAACP Image Award? Can our community receive this and love us, and can we do something from our community that’s for all communities?” And he said, “Oh, I like that vision of success.” That ultimately sealed the deal.What do you ultimately want your listeners to take away from James & Nikki: A Conversation? One of the biggest compliments I got on this project was from a young man who said, “Hey, man, this project is the conversation I wish my father would have had with me before he died.” So what I would like people to take away is that this project is the duality of humanity. The moral of the story is that life is brief, and enjoy it with James and Nikki in the background talking about our relationships. This is an experience, and I encourage everybody to take the journey with us. The people who James & Nikki is meant for know who they are, go get it and check it out. Jesus had a word when he said, “I ain’t looking for the perfect. I’m just looking for the willing.” For all those who are willing to grow with this experience, this won’t be the last. This is the first in a series and I’m only doing conceptual projects right now. You also completed a fellowship at the University of Chicago for the fall 2023 semester. What was that like? Hip-hop is entering another state right now. The one thing that we didn’t have in academia that we’re starting to see now when you see people like [Bun] B teach humanities courses at Rice, or hip-hop courses being taught at MIT. We’re not battling with rhymes no more. We all come at it with intellect and say, “You at MIT? I’m gonna go and get this political fellowship at the University in Chicago.” One of the things I’m proud of is that it wasn’t just like I’m teaching hip hop, like, you know what I mean? I’m teaching the intersectionality of politics and culture, because I ran for office. I’ll also be running for the school board in Chicago this year, so we’re doing it.
Kanye West is riding high with his and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 album finally arriving around the globe. But he shares that not long ago, things weren’t that great. TMZ caught up with Ye upon his return from Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII inside LAX on Monday (Feb. 12), when he told the […]
Justin Bieber sent a heartfelt congrats to his longtime pal and early supporter Usher after the singer brought down the house during his electrifying Super Bowl LVIII halftime show on Sunday. The all-caps Instagram post featured an iconic image of Usher in his blue and black glittery stage attire at the end of the performance […]
Up-and-coming rapper BossMan Dlow hits the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with his breakthrough single, “Get In With Me.” The song, released Jan. 19 on Alamo Records, debuts at No. 68 on the Feb. 17-dated chart with 8.4 million U.S. streams (up 89%) and 367,000 radio airplay audience impressions in the Feb. 2-8 […]
Usher’s high-energy Super Bowl Halftime performance featured an entire roller skating choreography section — but the skill slipped the singer’s mind in an Uber Eats ad that dropped on Monday (Feb. 12). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the 30-second clip, Usher is seen trying to […]
Last night (Feb. 11), not only did Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj‘s beef seemingly come to an end — the H-Town Hottie’s “Hiss” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 — the duo’s war of words took a backseat to a much more daunting showdown: the San Francisco 49ers v. the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ultimately, the Chiefs — led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift‘s loverman Travis Kelce — pulled out a last-minute win over the 49ers. As thrilling of a game as the Super Bowl was, all eyes in the hip-hop and R&B worlds were squarely fixed on Usher‘s dazzling halftime performance. A flashy, maximalist ode to Black performance history and Las Vegas iconography, the King of R&B sprinted through his hit-packed catalog, including anthems such as “Superstar,” “U Got It Bad,” “OMG,” “Nice & Slow” and “Yeah!”
Of course, the top-level entertainer was in prime form, showing off intricate footwork and boundless sex appeal as he trotted out surprise guests such as Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris. Between a major Grammy night for Victoria Monét and SZA — both ladies took home three trophies — and Usher’s three-pronged blitz of a killer halftime show, a star-studded new LP and a massive forthcoming headlining arena tour, R&B and hip-hop are starting off Black History Month with a bang.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Honey Bxby’s blunt Other Woman™ anthem to Nardo Wick and Sexyy Red’s meme-interpolating “Somethin’.” Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Honey Bxby, “Fkn Him Too”
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While some of her contemporaries would rather cry over a toxic situationship, Honey Bxby is relishing the innate messiness of being the Other Woman™ on her new single. “I’m f—kin’ him too!/ I don’t know what you’re gonna do/ It’s time you heard the truth/ That he don’t belong to you,” she proclaims in the chorus. Reverb-drenched backing harmonies and a booming 808-laden trap&B beat provide the song’s foundation, and Honey paints across the soundscape with a tongue-in-cheek tone that highlights the jauntiness of the track’s “F—k You Tonight”-evoking melody.
Jermaine Dupri feat. Nelly, Ashanti & Juicy J, “This Lil’ Game We Play”
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Reuniting Nelly and Ashanti for their first song together since 2008’s “Body on Me,” Jermaine Dupri delivers a joint that perfect captures the essence of the two stars’ era of R&B/hip-hop crossover collaborations. Assisted by Juicy J, Nelly and Ashanti contour Dupri’s Miami bass-inflected beat with heated lust as they wax poetic about the cat-and-mouse courtship game. To his credit, Juicy adds some of his trademark sexual brazenness to balance out the couple’s reliance on innuendo. “Don Julio, ass so fat, I might lose composure/ Take you back to my penthouse, see if you can squirt like a Super Soaker/ Gon’ head, touch your toes, baby, maybe we can do a little roleplayin’/ Maybe we can have us a night cap, maybe you can be my throat baby,” he rhymes.
Nardo Wick feat. Sexyy Red, “Somethin’”
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If you’re a late Millennial or early Gen Z, you know the glory days of IceJJFish’s social media reign. On their new track, Nardo Wick and Sexyy Red team up for a hood love song that hinges on a sample of one of IceJJFish’s viral tracks. “It’s somethin’ ’bout my b—h I love, I can’t put my finger on it,” Nardo chants in the chorus, riffing on decade-old “On the Floor.” Over an ominous, piano-anchored beat, the two rappers trade vulgar, no-holds-barred verses about the things they love about their significant other. Sexyy maintains her hot streak of enjoyable guest verses, finessing some hilarious onomatopoeia-centric rhymes in the process. “Have a hood n—a singin’, “Fah-la-la”/ Let him hit the c—chie like grrah, grrah, grrah/ Swervin’ all in traffic, gettin’ freaky in the car/ If he try to leave me, then it’s bah-bah-bah,” she spits.
GloRilla, “Yeah Glo!”
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It’s been some time since her dominant run of “F.N.F.,” “Blessed” and “Tomorrow 2” (with Cardi B), but GloRilla is back in top form with her latest single, “Yeah Glo!” A return to focusing on straightforward, unvarnished Memphis rap over too-obvious ploys for pop crossover success, “Yeah Glo” finds the Grammy nominee getting real busy over a rattling beat crafted by B100, Go Grizzly & Squat Beats. “Yeah, Glo! Stomp a lil’ p—y ho with some shell toes/ Slappin’ rap b—hes and makin’ bail, ho/ Two-tone Cartier match the nails, ho/ No competition, these b—hes stale, ho,” she chants in the chorus. Although she never specifies who exactly she slapped, her gruff Gangsta Boo-esque tone provides the perfect vehicle for her rambunctious rhymes.
Latto, “Sunday Service”
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Not even a week after “Hiss” vs. “Big Foot,” the rap ladies are now treating us to… “Think U the S—t (Fart)” vs. “Sunday Service?” Although Latto has skirted around plainly labeling “Sunday Service” as a diss record, there are enough likely shots at fellow ascendant rap star Ice Spice to warrant that label. Across a trap-rooted beat courtesy of Go Grizzly, Pooh Beatz & Bankroll Got It, Latto spends her first verse rapping about her wealth and looks, but by the second verse, she’s focused on addressing those that would rather tweet than rap. “Do you rap or do you tweet? ‘Cause I can’t tell, get in the booth, b—h/ Stop all that motherf—n’ yellin’, ho/ ‘Cause I ain’t buyin’ what you’re sellin’, ho/ Think I’m the s–t? B—h, I know it, ho / Jesus walked on water, I got ice boilin’ though,” she spits.
Kith, Cam’Ron & Swizz Beatz, “Last Stop”
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For the first-ever track under Kith Records, New York rap icons Cam’Ron and Swizz Beatz team up for a rousing new single titled “Last Stop.” Anchored by hearty drums and funky guitars, the Dipset frontman delivers several cocky couplets about his legacy, his sexual prowess, his rap skills and his unshakeable position as an elder statesman in the rap game. Even when he gets especially dirty — “Brought her friend with her, watch em eat each other out/ The way I f—ked her face, man, she gon’ need another mouth” — he makes sure to balance that out with more tasteful bars of good old fashioned New York braggadocio. “Different leader, same habits/ I know I’m what you want but you can’t have it/ You got bad habits, me I’m a bank magnet/ And the coupe roof missing like Frank Mathis,” he raps.
Usher, “I Am the Party”
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A new cut from the R&B maestro’s Coming Home album — released the Friday before his Super Bowl halftime show (Feb. 9) — “I Am the Party” finds Usher in a familiar gear: dirty macking as the top player in the game. Through lyrics that run the gamut from corny to cheeky (“Club in my house, I call it G-spot”), Usher paints, alongside longtime collaborators Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael-Cox, gently toes the line between dated slogs and enjoyable throwback pastiche. As per usual, Usher’s voice is the main attraction; he delivers a vocal performance so committed to the song’s eternal bachelor bit that you can’t help but be overwhelmed by his melismatic charisma. Oh, and who can resist, a nice warning shot to the competition: “N—as talmbout Verzuz with me, please stop/ Know you think he is, but baby, he’s not,” he croons.
Beyoncé formally ended long-rumored speculation about the second act of her Renaissance trilogy during the Super Bowl festivities Sunday (Feb. 11) with the release of not one but two country songs: “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
The former is a vulnerable yet empowering autobiographical ballad that finds the singer-songwriter’s melodious vocals riding along to a spare track. It’s punctuated by a hard-charging guitar during what will no doubt become another sing-along chorus for Queen Bey fans: “Sixteen carriages drivin’ away/ While I watch them ride with my dreams away/ To the summer sunset on a holy night/ On a long back road, all the tears I fight.”
That number 16 is significant: It’s how old Beyoncé was when girl group Destiny’s Child signed with Columbia Records and released its breakthrough single “No, No, No.” The song’s lyrics also carry other biographical references, such as “I saw Mama prayin’, I saw Daddy grind” and “Goin’ so hard, gotta choose myself …/ Still workin’ on my life, you know/ Only God knows.” All in all, the song paints a very visual picture of Beyoncé’s dreams and ever-evolving career and life pursuits.
On “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the Houston native turns playful alongside an uptempo, banjo-driven and folk-vibed track — accompanied by whistling at one point — for “a real-life boogie and a real-life hoedown” as she and her crew head “to the dive bar we always thought was nice.” It’s about running out for a fun night on the town in lieu of sitting back and worrying about all of life’s problems. “This ain’t Texas/ Ain’t no hold ‘em/ So lay your cards down,” Beyoncé proclaims. “I’ll be d–ned if I cannot dance with you/ Come pour some sugar on me, honey, too.”
This isn’t the 32-time Grammy Award winner’s first rodeo. She presented a peek inside her country alter ego in 2016 with “Daddy Lessons.” Appearing on Lemonade, her sixth studio album, the song also featured country icons The Chicks on its promotional remix, which both acts performed live on the CMA Awards in 2016. Submitted for inclusion in the country category that year for the next Grammy Awards, “Daddy Lessons” was rejected by The Recording Academy’s country music committee.
Given that song plus Beyoncé’s Texas roots (for some, another tip-off was the cowboy hat she wore at the recent Grammys), this move across the genre aisle shouldn’t be a surprise. On Renaissance: Act 1, she reclaimed house music, a genre that Black musicians and artists had a major hand in building. And now the same for country, whose longstanding foundation was laid by Black musicians and artists as well. And before Beyoncé, R&B stars Lionel Richie and Ray Charles (another multi-genre aisle-crosser who’s also a Country Music Hall of Fame member) made their own popular, top-charting forays into country. So why not Beyoncé?
Listen to her two latest singles below:
Killer Mike’s Grammy night on Feb. 4 was bittersweet after being placed in handcuffs by LAPD following an alleged altercation with a security guard earlier in the day. Mike spoke to the cast of The View on Monday (Feb. 12), following his Grammy trifecta, where he won best rap album and song, and best rap performance.
“All of my heroes have been in handcuffs – Malcolm, Martin, Mandela, Medgar,” he said reflectively. “I walked out with the same dignity and respect that I walked in with, and I would implore people to just take that from it.”
He also noted that the backstage area was jam-packed, and caused security to behave more rashly than usual. “Backstage was overcrowded, the winners were exuberant, and I think security got a little overzealous,” he relayed to the panel.
Detained for several hours following his arrest, Mike received a misdemeanor charge and was released. Then, he met his wife, Shana, and quipped about their encounter, saying: “I walked out to my wife in the rain,” he said. “It was like a romance movie. It was dope.”
After his arrest, the rapper released a statement about the incident. “As you can imagine, there was a lot going and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter,” he said in part. “We experienced an overzealous security guard, but my team and I have the utmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing.”
Mike’s whirlwind of a night didn’t end there. He later discovered that his 21-year-old son had finally found a kidney donor after waiting for three years. In an interview with GQ, he spoke about his initial reaction to hearing the news.
“The very next morning, I got a call that my child, after being on the list for three years, finally got his kidney. And I can just truly tell you that God is real. And the same way Christ gave us an example of being by himself, of being tempted by Satan, I understand that a lot better now because I could have succumbed to anger or evil and talked s–t. But I’m just grateful.”
Watch Killer Mike’s interview with The View below.
Rapper @KillerMike discusses his historic Grammy wins and addresses the night ending in controversy after an incident with “overzealous” security led to his arrest: “All my heroes have been in handcuffs.””I walked out with the same dignity and respect that I walked in with.” pic.twitter.com/JX2Yjfx9L4— The View (@TheView) February 12, 2024