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Awich dropped a new song called “Butcher Shop feat. FERG” on digital platforms last Friday (April 11) at midnight Japan time.
RZA, founding member of Wu-Tang Clan who has greatly influenced hip-hop history, produced the track, the first single from Awich’s album that he produced in full. The collaborative track is a bold number with a global and classic hip-hop feel.
The “Bad B***h Bigaku” rapper and Gravediggaz artist first met when the latter visited Japan a few years ago. They felt a deep resonance both musically and spiritually from the beginning and hit it off immediately. For RZA, who has incorporated Asian culture into his work with Wu-Tang Clan, and for Awich, who was preparing to make her U.S. debut, it was a natural progression from there to start collaborating. The YENTOWN MC spent time at RZA’s base, Wu Mansion, to take in his ideas and sound approach, and over time she built the foundation for her new album.
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Awich had been interacting with FERG, the featured artist on her new release, since before, when she performed at music festivals overseas and visited New York. At a live event hosted by Jordan Brand earlier this year, the rapper made a surprise appearance on stage with Awich and the two performed this song for the first time. Awich and FERG’s the backgrounds and skills clash in the mic relay of this track, thrillingly developed by RZA’s precise and cinematic production.
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“Butcher Shop is a place where the three realities of Okinawa, where I was born and raised, Tokyo, where I live now, and New York intersect,” says Awich about this single. “Together with the legendary RZA and FERG, a supreme artist who embodies the streets, we’ve carved out today’s borderless atmosphere with cutting words and beats. This song is a crossroads where everything collides: Japan and New York, culture, fashion, luxury, fun, sin and its price. Everyone brings their own ‘meat’ and carves up the truth. Welcome to our Butcher Shop.”
The accompanying music video, which the press release says is immersive like a short film featuring performances by Awich and FERG set to RZA’s signature dark and majestic worldview, was unveiled Monday (April 14) at 8 p.m. Japan time.
Awich’s new single follows her recent collaborative track called “ASIAN STATE OF MIND” featuring South Korea’s Jay Park, India’s KR$NA, Masiwei, the leader of the Chinese group Higher Brothers, and Cambodia’s VannDa released at the end of February.
The rapper has also been giving back to the community, organizing the Know The World – Awich Global Education Project – (Study Abroad in Atlanta & Study Abroad in the City) program for the second year in a row. This project reflects her wish to contribute towards solving the issues of child poverty, experience discrepancy and education in her home prefecture of Okinawa by providing free English learning opportunities to young people.
The program aims to foster a spirit of “turning adversity into strength” through international exchange experiences and studying abroad. 100 young people from low-income households in Okinawa, from first year high school to those aged 22, will be provided with free “study abroad in the city” homestay experiences with foreign families in the prefecture, and three people will be provided with free short-term study abroad experiences in Atlanta, where Awich studied, after the local homestay stint.
Over the last several years, Kota The Friend has been busy intentionally carving out a very normal life compared to other rappers.
While his rap peers may be chasing fame, fortune and relentless visibility, Kota’s been quietly utilizing what he’s got, building out a comfortable life for him and his family that’s fulfilling, sustainable and most importantly: Peaceful.
“One thing I really had to do was disconnect from social media, and disconnect from the numbers and what people think about me,” Kota tells Billboard. “Being so detached from that has allowed me to live a completely different life.”
The Brooklyn rapper returned with his latest album, No Rap on Sunday, last month, releasing the project exclusively on Even and avoiding DSP’s for the time being. Throughout the recording process, Kota was — and still is as of this interview — knee deep in renovating a new house he bought in Brooklyn. Throw in two kids and a wife to care for, there’s undeniably a lot going on, but in a way that Kota says keeps him focused and motivated on creating authentic music and an authentic life.
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“At the beginning I told myself if I could pay my bills, keep a roof over my head, I’d be good. If I can feed my kids, I’m great,” Kota says. “I kinda set my life up in a way where I can focus on the art.”
Since the beginning of his career, he’s rapped extensively about chasing that lifestyle. Throughout his Lyrics To Go series and on projects like Once In a Blue Moon, Memo and Everything, Kota has served as the Every Man rapper. His biggest songs have included numerous motivational gems about getting back to the basics. Get off your phone, connect with people that cherish you. Go. Outside. These are the fundamentals that Kota lives by.
“We tryna live in the now, I really ain’t tryna get caught up in back in the day,” Kota raps on his latest song “Michigan,” which Billboard premieres today (April 13), and which features a stellar verse from Big Sean. Being present in your life is the most important gift you can give yourself, and Kota knows what it costs to get to that point.
“It’s almost like, you go through something and it kind of is a struggle, and you get out of it and you’re a much wiser individual,” Kota says. “The wisdom plus the authenticity, I think it just created this beautiful album.”
Below, Kota reflects on his latest single, working with Big Sean, and how it feels to be an indie rapper in 2025.
What inspired No Rap on Sunday? Where does that phrase come from?
I think it was really me coming back home and building a house out here, basically from scratch. Ripping all the walls out, ripping all the ceilings out and going through that process. It really made me feel like, “Damn I’m actually building something in my hometown.” It inspired me to create this album that was about where I’m from that was about my roots, about my family, and really honoring them and honoring everybody that raised me in the city that raised me. [No Rap on Sunday] is about taking that time to focus on what’s real. Cause we’re living in a digital world. So No Rap on Sunday is really that breath of fresh air when you look around and you’re really planted in the moment of what really matters.
Like you said though, you’re building a new house, you’re a dad. How has your relationship to staying in the moment changed as life has thrown more things at you that demand your attention?
I’ve definitely been feeling like I appreciate the small things in life a lot more than I used to. I forgive a lot a lot easier. There’s a lot of things that used to really weigh on my shoulders and and kind of bring me down that don’t exist in my life or hold the same weight as they used to. So I feel much lighter. I’ve definitely been moving through life with a lot less baggage and it feels great. I feel like this is something that I’ve wanted for a long time that I finally got a hold of.
How has that feeling changed your creative approach? Or has it?
Yeah, with this album I was able to really speak from that authentic place that you can only really speak from when you get certain things out the way. When you stop caring about stuff that doesn’t matter and start focusing more on your contributions in the world versus the perceptions of other people. My mental has been changed so much that I feel like when I listen to [the album] I’m like, “man I’ve never had this perspective on life before even in my older music.”
Pivoting into “Michigan.” You sound hungry on that record. Tell me about where that hunger is coming from a little bit more.
The hunger is coming from a place where I feel like I’ve achieved so much and done a lot of things that I’ve I’ve wanted to do in this life, and on “Michigan” I’m basically expressing that this is the way that I’m moving to life from now till the end. I’ve got my head down on my work. I’m not focused on the drama. Like, I see it, I feel it! And I see the people trying to bring me down. I see people trying to bring other people down, and I’m telling everybody that I’m one, I’m not here for it so please don’t bring it my way. Secondly, I just don’t care about it. I’m too focused on what I need to do. I’m too focused on making sure my people are good and we are collectively moving forward in every sense of the word.
How did you link with Big Sean and how important was it to get him on that record?
Man, I loved it. I love that he got on the record. I don’t think that there’s anybody else that should’ve done that record and I feel like the universe really put everything in line for that to happen.
How do you feel about his verse? ‘Cause he was going crazy.
I love it. I feel like he really gave me one of those great Big Sean verses and I think it’s gonna be legendary when it drops.
The music video for “Michigan” is very cinematic. What was your vision for this video?
I wanted to make a video that really paid homage to Michigan. We went out there and went to different parts. We went to Detroit and then went to Sleeping Bear National Park and [the video] just shows the contrast between both places and that was kind of what I loved about it. I really wanted to show people that we were appreciating the town from the city to the middle of nowhere.
Tell me more about the rollout of the project. What made you want to release the little differently and go through Even before dropping it on streaming?
I’ve been kind of thinking about the music and the industry and the way I’ve been releasing music and just putting it on DSP’s, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. and I realized that it made me feel like all this work I put into the music, once I released it on [DSP’s], it made me feel like it’s over. It kind of ruined the album experience cause people are gonna listen to the album and then they’re just gonna add their favorite songs to the playlist, and now it’s out for all the critics and all of the spectators. I realized that I didn’t want to do that to my art. I didn’t want to just give my art out like that for free just for people to comment on. So I wanted to put it on Even for my true fans to invest back in me. I invested a lot into this album and so I don’t plan on releasing the album on DSPs until July, and for the next four months I feel like this is time that me and my fans can kind of celebrate this album uninterrupted. It’s not even about the money, it’s about the energy, you know? I put so much energy into making this, and it’s not just me! So many artists put in a year two years to make an album, and I was just saying the other day how the fact that it’s not on DSPs makes me feel good. because I feel like I’ve created value for this piece of art that I put so much work into.
Tell me about some of the other features on this album. You got Fivio Foreign on here as well.
Specifically I wanted Fivio on the album because he’s one of those rappers from New York who, he’s a drill rapper, but I respect him as a rapper. So one thing that I wanna do in the city is just bring art — like me and Fivio being on record? For some people it’s like, “What are y’all doing on a song together?” and I love that. I love that because I feel like that’s how we can bring New York together. We don’t have to make the same kind of music to make a good record together. We’re all from here and we all represent a different part of the city, and a different aspect, but we all walk on the same grounds.
How do you feel about New York’s standing in rap right now? Do you feel it’s lacking that sort of unity?
Yeah, I feel like New York definitely has to come together. We’re the Mecca of hip-hop, and I feel like we haven’t really had that resurgence of artists that are international artists and really doing that thing on a big level. I’m at the point where I’m tired of it and I see what Kendrick is doing on the West Coast and it honestly inspired me because we need to do that here.
How do you feel you fit in on the current state of rap?
Honestly, I don’t think I fit in at all with the current state of rap, and it’s not a bad thing either! Lately, I’m motivated to just work on music. That’s what I look forward to more than anything, being able to collaborate with different artists and create different opportunities for all of our music to be heard. One thing that I’m doing is definitely keeping my ear to the streets, cause I just wanna make good music with talented people.
Watch the video for “Michigan” below.
Cactus Jack was always meant for the desert. Travis Scott told Complex he always wanted to headline Coachella — he even rapped about the decorated festival on ASTROWORLD’s “SKELETONS” and he took full advantage of the spotlight on Saturday night (April 12).
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La Flame was tasked with designing the desert, and he continued to push the envelope with his innovative world-building when it comes to his performances, which are simply unmatched in hip-hop at the moment.
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A 60-plus person marching band combining brass members from Jackson State’s Sonic Boom and Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 gave Scott’s “4×4” and anthems like “SICKO MODE” and “FE!N” a renewed texture and shelf life.
Scott had wrung about as much as he could out of the UTOPIA era and delivered on his promise of Coachella marking a “new chapter” for the Houston rapper.
La Flame previewed a pair of unreleased songs with the first being a lucid track that’s tentatively titled “She Goin Dumb.” “You getting wasted, just don’t waste mine,” he sings on the chorus. While the second finds Scott in a fun pocket on the smokey tune seemingly titled “On Jacques.” “We brought magic to the stu because it get tricky,” Trav raps.
It’s unclear if they’re intended to kick off Scott’s next solo effort or will end up on the JACKBOYS 2 compilation project, but it’s a welcome sign for where La Flame is headed sonically.
Scott is always looking for new ways to test the limits of what’s possible with his shows. He had dancers suspended in mid-air like the cover of NSYNC’s No Strings Attached album. They were flipped upside down like a pack of bats in the midst of the ethereal “Stargazing.” Tate McRae, a potent dancer in her own right, appreciated the theatrics and lent her stamp of approval on her IG Story from the crowd.
In a shoulder pad vest equipped with sunglasses and a Nike headband, Scott himself got in on the action to scale the stage’s stanchion wall while rappelling down and performing “Skyfall.”
The 33-year-old isn’t shy about how much Kanye West has meant to his career. Being a branch on the West artistic family tree, Scott having a model strut down the catwalk as the muse for “90210″ felt like something out of Ye’s “Runaway” playbook.
An interesting moment and perhaps olive branch to mend the fences with Drake came when Scott performed a mash-up of “Modern Jam” and Drizzy’s “NOKIA,” which comes on the heels of a “Modern Jam” and “NOKIA” blend that went viral on X from user Spectre earlier this year. It seemed to make it onto La Flame’s radar and he messed with it so much, it made the cut for his Coachella set.
The HBCU-led marching band gave Scott another avenue of creativity to explore as an orchestrator and made his performance art feel that much richer. Catalog anthems like “SICKO MODE” and “FE!N” felt like they received a fresh coat of paint with the brass band’s involvement in the arrangement meshing with Scott’s AutoTune-laced vocals. Of course, in typical Trav and DJ Chase B fashion, they had to run back the chaos of “FE!N” a few times.
The thrilling 70-minute solo set took fans on a rollercoaster ride through Scott’s career from when he was couchsurfing in the early 2010s looking for his break to becoming one of the most lucrative brands in all of music. Whether it was “Mamacita,” “Goosebumps,” the dreamy “My Eyes,” or his verses on Playboi Carti’s MUSIC, there was something representing every era of La Flame.
“That was a great set,” a fan was heard saying as “TELEKINESIS” and a firework show ended the night, while another attendee looked visibly emotional when the lights came on.
And perhaps the best part after everything? He’s still not satisfied, as the hunger for greatness remains. A photo emerged on social media shortly after Scott’s set of the Cactus Jack honcho back in the studio, tweaking tracks with the Coachella euphoria fueling him.
While Scott’s called arenas home for the majority of his past two U.S. treks, La Flame’s creativity thrives when the stakes are highest and venues are biggest. Buckle up, the next chapter is here.
It seems like Drake has added another Pharrell chain to his growing collection. The Toronto rapper took to his moodboard slash burner account @plottttwistttttt recently and shared a picture of the producer’s N.E.R.D. brain pendant chain that was previously owned by Kid Cudi. The chain, made by Jacob & Co., is 14k white gold, rose […]
Ja Rule stopped by The Breakfast Club recently to promote his rye whiskey company Amber & Opal and talked about the passing of his friend and mentor Irv Gotti. And of course, 50 Cent was brought up because he mocked Gotti after his death in a social media post. When asked about it, Rule admitted […]
Ester Dean is responding after Keri Hilson expressed regret over her Dean-co-written “Turnin Me On (Remix)” aimed at Beyoncé.
The songwriter hopped on Instagram Thursday to clear the air after Hilson said during an interview with The Breakfast Club that the decision to shade Queen Bey on “Turnin’ Me On” negatively impacted her career. “It’s a regret,” Hilson said at the time, denying that she wrote the song and pointing to Dean’s pen instead.
Dean noted that her post is an “open letter” to Hilson and other creatives. “Back in July 2008, I started working with [producer] Polow Da Don in Atlanta,” she began. “Later, I moved to Los Angeles to write for Polow’s artist over at Interscope. I wasn’t famous. I wasn’t chasing clout. I was in the studio – day and night – writing 3 to 4 songs a day. No friends. No family. Just work.”
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She went on to rewrite some of the lyrics off the “Turnin’ Me On (Remix)”: “Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best/ You can dance, she can sing/ But she need to move it to the …,” which many believed to be in reference to Beyoncé’s 2006 hit “Irreplaceable.”
Those lyrics, Dean admitted in her open letter, were “tacky,” but not forced. “No. That was me. I wasn’t in the room with Keri writing this together,” she continued. “I didn’t know her personally. She was already a star. I was just a writer trying to earn my place. I did my job and left. Keri came in another time and wrote her own verse – her pen, her voice.”
Dean went on to clarify, “I didn’t work with Beyoncé until years later when I signed to Roc Nation as a writer. There was no ‘plot’ no ‘beef squad’. No secret industry mission. Just writers writing.”
She added: “Keri was already massive. She didn’t need saving. She was out here making history. Why Speak Now? Keri was speaking on big platforms I didn’t have access to – and it was her story to tell, not mine. I stayed writing. No hate. No shade. Just truth.”
Dean concluded her letter by noting that what Hilson went through was unfortunate. “She’s a great artist, a beautiful spirit, and she deserves grace,” the songwriter wrote. “She took her lessons. I’ll take mine.”
In Hilson’s aforementioned interview with The Breakfast Club, she said part of the blame belonged to Polow.
“I tried to fight him on it and I began writing my own,” the singer said. “The mistake that I made was not continuing to fight. But I was in tears, I was crying, I was adamant that I did not want to do that.”
Dean had previously come forward and issued her own apology on Wednesday (April 9) after Hilson’s interview, claiming the verse was “childish.” She wrote in what appears to be a now-deleted post: “I see how it hurt people, especially women, and I take full accountability.”
Check out Dean’s full response shared April 10 below.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA have dropped off the official music video for their Billboard-chart topper “Luther,” just days before launching their highly anticipated Grand National Tour. The minimalistic video debuted on Friday (April 11). Directed by Karena Evans — who notably helmed Drake’s videos for “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What” and “In My Feelings” — […]
Big Sean was faced with a difficult decision when he was asked to pick between his two favorite rappers, Eminem and Lil Wayne. In an interview with Uproxx, Sean Don covered a wide array of topics. However, he became immediately stressed out when he was forced to choose between Tunechi and fellow Detroit rap legend […]
YoungBoy Never Broke Again should be expecting a knock on his door and a fresh batch of homemade cookies some time real soon. The Baton Rouge rapper — who was sentenced to 23 months in prison last December while already serving time for a prescription fraud case — is back home early in Utah and […]
Tyla has bars. In her recent Nylon cover story, the South African singer revealed that she’s made “full-on rap songs” and plans to share one with fans someday. When asked if she had a specific pop star she wanted to emulate as a kid, Tyla answered that while she didn’t idolize one specific person, she […]