R&B/Hip-Hop
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Drake has entered his suburban dad phase — at least artistically speaking. The 6 God helms the “Rich Baby Daddy” music video — which arrived on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) — for which he serves as the vintage clip’s director and co-star. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
Streams and sales of Usher’s sizable catalog of music rose amid and following his performance at the halftime show of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
From Feb. 11-12, consumption of Usher’s music totaled 35.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, up 46% from 24.6 million between Feb. 9-10, according to initial reports to Luminate.
Additionally, his music accumulated 27,000 downloads Feb. 11-12, a 210% jump after accruing 9,000 Feb. 9-10.
The gains come despite higher-than-usual totals for the singer on streaming services thanks not just to buzz around his performance, but also the premiere of Coming Home, Usher’s ninth studio album, which was released on Feb. 9. Comparing the two-day period of Feb. 11-12 to the Sunday-Monday stretch of a week before (Feb. 4-5), the percentage gain is even higher – 299%, up to 35.9 million from 9 million. Download-wise, it’s a leap of 1,685% from 2,000 downloads to 27,000.
Leading the way is “Yeah!,” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, which accumulated 4.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams Feb. 11-12. That’s up 105% from Feb. 9-10, when the song earned 2.3 million streams.
Some of Usher’s biggest gainers were, like “Yeah!,” performed during the halftime show. The same can be said for “My Boo,” Usher’s duet with Alicia Keys (who made a cameo during the medley). The tune vaults 158% to 3 million streams Feb. 11-12, up from 1.2 million the previous two days.
“Love in This Club” (which features Jeezy) follows with 2.4 million streams Feb. 11-12, a 147% boost from 961,000, and then comes “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” (featuring Pitbull) via 2.1 million streams, up 83% from 1.2 million.
Sales-wise, “Yeah!” also paces the pack, racking up 7,000 downloads Feb. 11-12. In the previous frame of Feb. 9-10, it earned 1,000 downloads, giving the song a 424% leap.
“U Got It Bad” boasts the next highest sales count at 3,000 Feb. 11-12, a 349% jump from 1,000 Feb 9-10.
The full breadth of Usher’s catalog gains will be noted on the Billboard charts dated Feb. 24, which cover streams, sales and airplay accrued during the Feb. 9-15 tracking week.
02/15/2024
This year’s list is dominated by artists who encompass versatility from the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, and African music.
02/15/2024
As the entire world already knows, Beyoncé is in her country era. After hard-launching her new album — the as-yet-untitled second part of the three-act project she began with the Billboard 200-topping Renaissance back in 2022 — during the 2024 Super Bowl via a Verizon commercial, Queen Bey has released two new versions of the […]
Kanye West is trying to lead with love as he clarified that name-dropping Taylor Swift on Vultures 1 standout “Carnival” came with no ill will. “I mean since Taylor Swift, since I had the Rollie on the wrist/ I’m the new Jesus b—h, I turn water to Cris,” he raps on the anthem.
West posted a photo to Instagram on Wednesday (Feb. 14) screenshotting a fan’s tweet calling for Swifties to support Beyoncé’s pair of singles to help block Kanye from debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Carnival.”
“WHEN I SAID THAT I’M THE NEW JESUS B—H I WASN’T EVEN THINKING ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT THAT WAS A WHOLE LINE BEFORE BUT I APPRECIATE THE FREE PROMO,” he wrote.
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The Chicago-bred rapper — who now goes by Ye — went on to explain that he actually had Swift’s back when Scooter Braun purchased the masters to the pop star’s first six albums through a 2019 deal. (West dissed Braun on “Vultures,” with the rapper claiming that he had been intimate with the record exec’s wife in one lyric.)
“REMEMBER I WAS ON TAYLOR’S SIDE WHEN SCOOTER BOUGHT HER MASTERS BEHIND HER BACK,” he continued in his post. “SHE AND BEYONCÉ ARE BIG INSPIRATIONS TO ALL MUSICIANS WE ALWAYS SAY HOW BOTH SELL OUT TOURS AND MOVIES.”
Ye believes he’s been more “helpful” to Swift’s massive career as a pop titan than “harmful,” but wouldn’t exactly call himself an ally to the Swifties.
“ALSO, I’M SURE I’VE BEEN FAR MORE HELPFUL TO TAYLOR SWIFT’S CAREER THAN HARMFUL,” he added. “TO ALL TAYLOR SWIFT FANS I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY UUUM IM NOT YOUR FRIEND EITHER THOUGH LOL.”
Ye and Swift have a complicated history, to say the least. Their relationship is famously headlined by the infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards moment when the rapper crashed the stage during Swift’s acceptance speech to highlight Beyoncé’s video. He also took credit for making her “famous” on a The Life of Pablo track in 2016.
In the same IG post, West reflected on the turbulence of the last year caused by his antics and antisemitic remarks, which saw just about every brand associated with the rapper sever ties.
“LAST YEAR WAS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING FOR ME, MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I’VE BEEN BANNED FROM HOTELS, KICKED OUT OF COMPANIES, AND EVEN NOT ALLOWED TO EAT IN SOME RESTAURANTS,” Ye penned. “EVERYONE SAW VULTURES 1 GET TAKEN OFF OF PLATFORMS TO LIMIT OUR FIRST WEEK NUMBERS. THIS REMINDS ME OF THE MISTREATMENT OF MY PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF OUR SKIN.”
Even through all of the controversies, Yeezy is vying for what could be his 11th album earning the No. 1 spot atop the Billboard 200 after this week thanks to Vultures 1.
See West’s post below.
Fresh off a Las Vegas wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Jenn Goicoechea, over Super Bowl Weekend, Usher is opening up about one of his first true loves in a new People magazine cover story. The singer, 45, spoke to the magazine about his intense romance with TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, whom the “Yeah!” singer met when he moved to Atlanta from his home in Chattanooga, TN as a teenager.
Describing himself as someone who “was always charming the older ladies,” Usher said he was smitten when he met Chilli, now 53, who was seven years older than him when they began dating in 2001. “If I am to be honest, I was her No. 1 fan, and she was my superstar,” he said, adding that he had Chilli’s poster on the wall of his childhood bedroom when he was eight-years-old.
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“[I] said, ‘Man that girl is so beautiful. One day I’m going to meet her,’” he recalled saying at the time. And though meeting the woman of his dreams and beginning a relationship with her was magical, Usher said the affair ultimately fizzled because of differing priorities. “I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn’t work for me,” he told People of the singer who starred in the videos for Usher’s hits “U Remind Me,” “U Got it Bad” and “U Don’t Have to Call.”
“We were missing each other. I really did want to have a different type of relationship where she was there with me, and she couldn’t be,” said Usher, who wowed the crowd at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas during Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show. “She didn’t believe that I was actually in love with her as much as I was.”
Despite the difficulties, Usher said his plan to marry Chilli went sideways. “I proposed and she told me no. I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up,” Usher said. “I hurt her too,” he added, noting that the split also “broke my heart.”
Usher, now married for a third time, and Chilli — who began dating actor Matthew Lawrence in 2022 — reportedly remained friendly after their split; Chilli previously told People that they were on-and-off for years after the break-up, reconnecting when they weren’t dating other people. But Usher told the mag that when it ended, he was done for good.
“We were cool with each other, but I was very careful with that,” he said. “I really did love that girl, and I was like, I don’t want to play with you. Like, ‘I can’t give you what I gave you. I did everything that I thought you would’ve wanted me to do, but I guess my good wasn’t great enough.’” But, he noted, these days the two are “cool with each other” and it’s “always light” when they see each other.
Usher dropped his new album, Coming Home, last week. The 20-track collection boasts guest spots from BTS’ Jung Kook, Burna Boy, H.E.R. and more, and is expected to compete with Kanye West’s Vultures for the top spot on the Billboard 200 next week.
Say it ain’t so. After 54 years, nine gold albums and a string of hits including “Before I Let Go” — which Beyoncé lovingly covered on her live album Homecoming — Maze frontman Frankie Beverly is announcing his farewell tour. The I Wanna Thank You Farewell Tour kicks off in Atlanta at the State Farm Arena on […]
Drake has been giving back to his fans quite a bit while on the road. During his Monday night (Feb. 12) stop in St. Louis asking, the “6 God” rapper spotted a fan asking for his help covering an upcoming costly surgery — and Drizzy stopped the show to let them know that he would […]
Lil Yachty shocked the world with his Let’s Start Here psychedelic rock album, and now he’s gearing up to make another creative pivot with his next body of work. Lil Boat revealed on Tuesday (Feb. 13) that he’s readying a genre-blending joint project with James Blake titled Bad Cameo.
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“I think James has worked with a quite substantial amount of hip-hop artists,” Yachty said in a clip posted to Instagram. “But this project is so left for both of us. Then, aside from the one picture that James posted, which he doesn’t have many followers actually, I don’t think people know that we know each other exist.”
While they are yet to release anything together in an official capacity, Blake is no stranger to the hip-hop world, as he’s earned recent production credits working on Kanye West’s Vultures 1 and Travis Scott’s Utopia.
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Fans figured that Blake and Lil Yachty could have something in the stash when a photo of them in the studio went viral last March. The British singer-songwriter detailed meeting up with the “Poland” rapper months later in an interview with DIY Magazine.
“[Yachty and I] had been working on something, and it just happened that he was in London. I asked him if he fancied going out to a club. I don’t think he probably knew what it would be like,” Blake said. “He happened to turn up at exactly the moment that the Ragga Twins came on stage. Suddenly, he was just stood there like, ‘Oh f—ing hell, this is a bit different.’”
Yachty dropped his “Cold Sunday” single earlier this month, and has notched guest verses with Kid Cudi, Chief Keef, Faye Webster and Fred Again in 2024.
Let’s Start Here arrived in January 2023, and debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 36,000 album-equivalent sales in the first week.
“I did what I really wanted to do, which was create a body of work that reflected me,” Yachty told Billboard in his cover story of the solo album last year. “My idea was for this album to be a journey: Press play and fall into a void.”
Watch Yachty announce Bad Cameo below.
Killer Mike visited The Daily Show on Tuesday night (Feb. 13) to talk about taking home three 2024 Grammy Awards for his deeply personal Michael album, as well as his arrest that night for what police said was a physical altercation with venue security. But what host Jordan Klepper really wanted to know, though, was […]