R&B/Hip-Hop
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‘Tis the season to get turnt — with some help from Cardi B. The “I Like It” rapper’s alcoholic whipped cream company, Whipshots, re-launched its festive peppermint flavor for the holiday season, and Cardi stuns in the campaign photos, in which she’s seen sitting amid a winter wonderland full of trees and presents in a […]
Jack Harlow is lovin’ being on top. The Kentucky rapper took to social media Monday (Nov. 27) to celebrate his latest single, “Lovin on Me,” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Warming up. More coming,” he captioned his victorious Instagram carousel, which featured a text exchange between Harlow and one of the song’s […]
Jean Knight, the R&B singer best known for her 1971 hit “Mr. Big Stuff” died at 80 on Wednesday (Nov. 22). “New Orleans and the music world mourns the loss of one its most treasure musical daughters, Jean Knight,” her family said in a statement shared with USA Today. Rolling Stone also confirmed the singer’s […]
Brent Faiyaz took a trip to London just to hear how they talk, and soon, fans all over the world will get to see him sing during an exclusive Apple Music Live stream of his recent concert. Faiyaz just wrapped the European leg of his F–k the World It’s a Wasteland Tour, which is in […]
Thanksgiving week is historically a pretty slow week for new music, but that didn’t stop the hip-hop and R&B worlds from chugging through the rest of the calendar year. On Sunday night (Nov. 26), Keke Palmer hosted an intimate edition of the Soul Train Music Awards featuring performances by Muni Long, Dante Bowe, legend award winner T-Pain, Spirit of Soul award winner Janelle Monáe, SWV and Keke herself. SZA was the night’s biggest victor with four wins, including album of the year for her nine-time Grammy-nominated SOS, and fellow 2023 Grammy nominees Victoria Monét (two) and Coco Jones (one) also took home some hardware.
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Even as the Thanksgiving weekend forced everyone to prioritize leisure, a bevy of artists seized the opportunity to unleash some new music upon the world. With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Coco Jones’ aptly-tiled new Christmas anthem to Senth’s shape-shifting amalgam of Afrobeats and R&B.
Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Senth, “Bend It”
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Placed directly in the middle of Senth’s Wayyy Saucy EP — his first body of work this year — “Bend It” achieves peak sensuality with a tantalizing mixture of booming brass, pounding drums, and a lead vocal that morphs from whispery mumble to impassioned exclamations of sexual tension. Between notes of house, soul, hip-hop, and a rhythm that pulls from both Afrobeats and dancehall, “Bend It” traverses the musical multitudes of the Black diaspora with startling ease.
Otis Kane, “Closer”
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Steeped in the same reverence for the warmth of soulful old-school R&B that permeated 2023 records from the likes of October London and Lucky Daye, Otis Kane’s “Closer” channels the steady grooves of Marvin Gaye for a tender ode to the never-ending process of growing closer to your lover. There’s a levity to “Closer” that immediately separates it from the murkier contemporary R&B scenes; Kane’s slight rasp adds some dimension to his vocal performance, but it’s the way he floats over the instrumental that truly encapsulates the track’s dynamism.
Luh Tyler, “Change My Wayz”
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A year removed from the viral success of “Law & Order,” Florida rapper Luh Tyler takes a moment to reflect on his whirlwind rise with the introspective “Change My Wayz” — from his growth in relationship to his transition to real chains and jewelry. Unlike some of his most popular tracks, “Change My Wayz” does not rely on a quirky sample or a familiar hook-reliant song structure. Instead, Luh Tyler delivers a singular stream-of-consciousness verse over a mellow CashCache-produced beat. “Know I got to stay on ten, I got to keep my head on/ She mad cause I done fucked her friend, she like, ‘You know you dеad wrong’/ Damn, I gotta change my ways,” he spits.
Tink, “40x”
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Tink has helped shape the sound of R&B for close to a decade now, and her new single “40x” offers yet another dose of morose, guitar-inflected balladry. “Real bitches can’t be bought/ So tired of being strong/ Someone come keep me soft,” she croons. By the time she reaches the chorus, Tink has attached the “40” quantifier to everything from the number of nights since she’s cried to the amount of lies her ex-lover told her. Here, Tink balances her lyrical focus on the “blues” part of R&B with a melodic cadence that brings her closer to contemporary hip-hop while still showcasing the different shades and capabilities of her voice.
Adam Blackstone & Boyz II Men, “Greatest Gift”
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Mere weeks after adding two more Grammy nominations to his belt, Emmy-winning music director Adam Blackstone has gifted fans A Legacy Christmas, his first holiday album and second solo LP. Of the project’s 11 tracks, Blackstone’s collaboration with iconic R&B vocal group Boyz II Men was the instant standout. In characteristically pitch-perfect fashion, the trio delivers their trademark ear-melting harmonies with all of the wide-eyed earnestness that holiday music requires. Blackstone’s twinkling jazz-rooted arrangement offers the group a playground of pockets to play around with, making for a winning original Christmas collaboration in a year filled with them.
Coco Jones, “A Timeless Christmas”
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Coco Jones’ recent momentum is borderline unstoppable. As if securing five Grammy nominations and a Soul Train Music Award victory for best new artist wasn’t enough, the “ICU” singer also dropped off a terrific new original Christmas song, aptly titled “A Timeless Christmas.” Co-written with Tiyon “TC” Mack, the new holiday tune smartly employs Jones’ rich voice over lyrics that paint a gorgeous winter pastoral. “There’s laughter in our hearts, a special kind/ Sharing love and kindness in every rhyme/ Every rhyme/ We gather ’round with friends by our side/ And feel all the magic in the sky/ In the sky,” she coos. Complete with chugging percussion that offers a sleek sonic contrast to the background strings and jingle bells, “A Timeless Christmas” is yet another home run for Coco Jones.
50 Cent has made many, many millions during his long run as the G-Unit general. But in a new chat on Apple Music’s The Rebecca Judd Show recorded backstage at his Nov. 21 show at London’s O2 during the European leg of Fif’s The Final Lap tour, 50 tackled some burning questions tied to the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and the first purchase he made after hitting it big.
“I bought my grandmother a C220 Benz. I’ll never forget because when I got the car, I got it right away is the first thing I bought when the deal was done,” 50 (born Curtis Jackson) said of his 2002 signing to Em’s Shady Records, which was under the umbrella of Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records.
“And then I went on the tour and I came back and my grandfather was on the porch and he was having a moment,” 50 continued. “So he was like, ‘I just went to work. I went to work, hurt my back, came back, and she done brainwashed my kids.’ And he was talking about my grandmother because he was looking at her car in the front yard and he didn’t have a car. He had the older car and he said, ‘I went to work, hurt my back. Until my back hurt, everything.’”
Though he has since punched his own ticket and racked up millions through acting and brand extensions, 50 still can’t believe he was able to buy Mike Tyson’s fabled 50,000-square foot mansion in Farmington, CT. “We went on a world tour and we came back. I had $38 million in my account. The IRS are coming, [so it’s like] – buy it,” he said of the thought process behind buying the massive home in the interview in which he also pointed out his least favorite song on the Get Rich album. “Whatever you want, buy that s–t because they’re just going to take the money anyway. At that point, buy it or they need take it. You need expenses.”
Needed to show some expenses on his books, 50 said he could not think of something else that would “create a bigger comfortability for me at the time. And then anybody that you talked to in finances would look at it and say, yeah, you can… If you buy a property, it’s $3 million or $4 million and you just made $38 million. And yes, this is good for your taxes actually, that you made the purchase and you should buy some cars.”
That’s all well and good, but 50 also admitted that despite all that room to roam he still can’t walk around the house naked. You say, “How much did I pay to live in this motherf–ker and I can’t be naked, at all,” said the father of 11-year-old son Sire, who also has a 26-year-old son from a pervious relationship.
But it’s not because of the little one that 50 can’t participate in Naked Tuesdays.
“Other people can actually walk around their house naked if they feel like it. They bought the motherf–ker, they own it,” he said. “They can do what they feel like. Right? And I couldn’t because I bought a place that had a staff people there. And look, if I came out of the room naked and they saw me…”
As 50 Cent continues to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her magnum opus Get Rich or Die Tryin’, the G-Unit luminary is revealing more tidbits about the making of his lauded debut effort. In an interview with The Rebecca Judd Show on Apple Music 1 during his pit stop in the U.K., 50 disclosed his least favorite song from the decorated rap album.
“‘Many Men’ was my least favorite at that point because, musically we was in the boom-bap phase,” he explained. “We was in that hard-hitting intensity, the energy on the records, and it’s the slowest song on Get Rich or Die Tryin’. And it’s now the tempo that the artists are rapping to. So the fast tempo, hard-hitting beats, that was that era, that time period. And the whole album had it.”
Speaking about the 2003 set, which earned a Grammy nod for best rap album, the rapper reflected on what he wanted two decades ago and his thoughts on one-hit wonders. “If you had asked me to make a wish in 2003, I would’ve just wish that my music was a hit. I didn’t see 20 years ahead in music like that,” he told Judd. “I’m just that at the moment for it to work.”
“And then what’s crazy is most artists, they think they’re ready before they are,” he continued. “Most good artists, they’ve thought they were ready before they actually could at it, but they’ve had that window of time to work that allowed them to actually become good enough. That’s why we have one-hit wonders in hip-hop culture. Because when that happens, they have that first hit and then it takes them out of the studio to go perform and to go meet all the distractions to come with being a successful artist, and then they land back in the studio without being trained to know how to create the next song. So they be stuck with that one hit.”
Earlier this month, 50 celebrated “In Da Club” — the album’s lead single — earning a diamond certification from the RIAA. The record soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2003, marking his first single to reach the summit. It stayed on top for nine weeks, and remained on the chart for 30 weeks.
“My run was so uncomfortable that everyone would like to forget that it happened,” 50 said in an interview for Billboard‘s Feb. 9 digital cover story this year. “That’s just the way it is with the artist community. I didn’t come in being friendly because I had to find a way into it — not find a way to be good enough to work in the community. The biggest compliment in the early stages was that artists felt like they’d made it when they got the deal. You had to earn the right to have the deal.”
Ludacris made a huge entrance on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 26) during the Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game. The Fast & Furious co-star rappelled from the rafters of Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the stunt as he rapped along to his 2001 hit “Move B–ch.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
In kicking off BET’s “house party of the year” — aka Soul Train Awards 2023 — host Keke Palmer ticked off three rules for the annual affair premiering Nov. 26, whose top winners were SZA, Usher and Victoria Monét.
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“Welcome to Keke’s,” said a grinning Palmer to the mix of nominees, performers, presenters and invited guests ensconced on sofas in the opulent backyard of a Beverly Hills mansion. “Rule No. 1: Act like you all got sense. No. 2: Treat my furniture like it’s your own. And No. 3: When you’re at a Keke party, get up when the spirit moves you!” And those gathered did just that despite the uninvited, blustery presence of Los Angeles’ signature Santa Ana winds. In fact, at one point during the pre-taped show, Palmer humorously noted, “I feel like my wig is falling off.”
One special note: In tandem with the Soul Train Awards saluting the end of the writer’s strike, it was announced that for the first time in Soul Train history, the 2023 writing team was comprised of all females of color.
Featuring a cross section of established and emerging R&B/soul artists, the two-hour telecast’s performance highlights included:
Spirit of Life Award honoree Janelle Monae. Bedecked in a colorful flowered cape, matching boots and head crown and backed by an all-female horn section, Monae immediately revved up the proceedings, energetically sashaying her way through “Float” and “Champagne Shit.” Both tracks are from her latest album The Age of Pleasure, Grammy-nominated in both the album of the year and best progressive R&B album categories.
Muni Long, who joined forces with fellow Grammy winners Jermaine Dupri (who introed the performance) and Bryan-Michael Cox (providing piano accompaniment) on “Made for Me” —which the trio also co-wrote with Jordan XL. Dressed in sparkling silver trousers accented by a white blazer that was adorned by a long sheer train in the back, Long delivered a nuanced performance of her latest single. Boosting the ballad’s emotional quotient: the take-me-to-church, soul-searing vocals of Long’s six backing vocalists.
This year’s Soul Cypher, which featured R&B artists Nicci Gilbert (lead vocalist of girl group Brownstone), Arin Ray, Eric Bellinger and Marsha Ambrosius (one-half of the duo Floetry). Accompanied by Cox — who also doubled as the show’s DJ — the quartet freestyled over Usher’s 2001 Hot 100 No. 1 “U Got It Bad,” co-written by Dupri and Cox. Noted Ambrosius during her mic turn, “The last time I was here, I won song of the year.” Sealing the deal: the group’s pristine harmonizing on the song’s hook as the cypher came to an end.
A double showing by Coco Jones, who also won best new artist. Jones first delivered a mesmerizing performance of her London on da Track-produced single “Double Back,” which samples the SWV hit “Rain.’” Then that revered group’s members Cheryl “Coko” Gamble, Tamara “Taj” George and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons took center stage and showed off their still potent vocalizing on “Rain,” with Jones joining the trio to close out the performance. Later in the show, Jones teamed up with BJ the Chicago Kid on their mid-tempo single “Spend the Night” — which host Palmer rightfully described as “the melodic pairing we didn’t know we needed.”
Speaking of Palmer, the actress also turned in an riveting performance by way her latest single, “Ungorgeous.” Among the song’s lyrics is the line, “I’m tired of proving myself to you.” After sustaining a long note just before the ballad’s cold stop, Palmer the singer didn’t have anything to prove given the audience’s enthusiastic response.
The evening’s closing highlight was the presentation of the Legend Award to T-Pain. Rapper, activist and longtime friend David Banner spoke about the “rappa ternt sanga” whose new sound in the mid-2000s “had the whole world sprung. When people copied him, he stood. When people criticized him, he stood. He did not fold. That’s a legend in the making.”
Thanking Banner and his beautiful, “strong wife for dealing with his negatives and flaws” as T-Pain and his real name Faheem Rashad Najm — “a feat I haven’t figured out my damn self” — the artist reflected on turning 39 this year. “Receiving a legend award at 39 may be weird or a little early,” he acknowledged. “I feel like I’ve got two or three more songs I could probably do [laughter]. This is amazing. But to the new artists out there, I don’t want you to chase this. I don’t want you to base your life on how many of these people in this crowd can tell you that you can have this. I want you to know that you already got this. You already have this in your mind. on or care what other people say. Be who you are unapologetically. Be who you ever want to be.”
Then T-Pain shifted the audience into full-fledged party mode with a rollicking, get-up-on-your-feet medley of his many hits. Among those he reeled off were “Got Money,” “Good Life,” “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper),” “Bartender,” “Low,” “Blame It,” “Buy U a Drank” and “All I Do Is Win.”
One of the highlights of Soul Train Awards 2023 was Janelle Monae’s powerful acceptance speech after being presented with the Spirit of Soul Award during the show’s premiere on BET (Nov. 26).
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Delivered before a rapt and cheering audience, the current Grammy Award nominee’s remarks fervently underscored the core mission of the annual ceremony, launched by Soul Train dance show creator Don Cornelius in 1987.
Here’s the full text of Monae’s nearly five-minute speech:
“There’s nothing like being recognized by your own family. Thank you, Soul Train. Thank you, BET, for keeping soul alive. So many people have reinvented that word. I’m so honored to have something like this for us that continues to evolve and showcase so many different forms of what soul can be. As I think about this moment, [there are these] words: ‘I used to walk into the room head down. I don’t walk, now I float’ [reciting a lyric from their song “Float”]. When I think about where my spirit is today, my spirit is lighter. And as I think about the word spirit, I know y’all have heard this: Let the spirit use you, baby. My grandmother would always say that. And I’m just so thankful for her spirit. Her spirit was one of humbleness. Her spirit was one of taking care of our family. She would always tell me, ‘Take care of your family, baby.’
“And that is what I’ve tried to do since the beginning of my career: take care of my family. Y’all are my family. I wanted to shine a light on our community through my storytelling, through the art that I make through music, movies, fashion; bringing it back around to us, to our Blackness, to our beauty. And I cannot help but think about the spirit of so many who’ve had to whisper to me, ‘thank you,’ in my ear because they did not feel seen. They did not feel safe. And they felt unheard for far too long. I’m thankful to be able to show up for you. I’m thankful to show up for my people in ways that are rooted in love. I’m thankful for that.
“I’m thankful for the spirit of so many who have come before me. The spirit of Prince, whose spirit taught me ‘I’m not a woman. I’m not a man. I am something that you’ll never understand’ [lyric from Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U”]. I’m thankful for the spirit of Nina Simone, who reminds me that my job as an artist is to reflect the times. I’m thankful for the spirit of Grace Jones, who encourages me to remain a free-ass MF. I’m thankful to the spirit of Earth, Wind & Fire for reminding me if there ain’t no beauty, make some beauty. Have mercy [paraphrasing lyric from the band’s “All About Love”]. I’m thankful for the spirit of Stevie Wonder, who reminds me that love is still in need of love today [referencing the icon’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today”].
“As we continue as a people to fight against the systemic injustices and abuses of power that have gone unchallenged for way too long, y’all … we see it around the world. We see what’s happening. I ask us all to please let the spirit of love use you. Let the spirit of kindness use you. Let the spirit of empathy use you. Let the spirit of peace be your guide, always and forever. And may our spirits guide us toward creating a safe and equitable space for our people. May we all experience joy, the spirit of true joy. I love you. Let the spirit use you, baby.”