R&B/Hip-Hop
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To borrow from the title of B.B. King’s signature song, the thrill of his music and legacy isn’t gone. Relaying that message is the B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative, which is launching several new partnerships, retail products and brand concepts in honor of the blues and guitar legend who died in 2015.
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Leading the rollout is a bourbon and whiskey line from Washington state-based Heritage Distilling Company: B.B. King One Whiskey. Also in development is a new album of collaborations with contemporary artists featuring King’s music, a theatrical biopic, a documentary and a 24-hour B.B. King Blues Network.
“B.B. King’s music is for everybody,” Vassal Benford, chairman/CEO of The B.B. King Estate, The B.B. King Music Company and the Family Trust, tells Billboard. “He’s an iconic figure all over the world.”
Benford, who began overseeing the $250 million estate and trust three years ago, is a Grammy-nominated producer whose discography includes hits such as Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away,” Deborah Cox’s “Who Do U Love” and Diplo’s “Be Right There,” plus collaborations with Toni Braxton and U2, among others. He announced the establishment of the B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative, the soft launch of the liquor line and the other forthcoming projects in September at Resorts World Las Vegas during a celebration of what would have been King’s 98th birthday (Sept. 16).
Justin Stiefel, CEO and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling, Vassal Benford and Jennifer Stiefel, President and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling.
Vassal Benford
The vision behind the initiative began taking shape two years ago, Benford recalls, when he met with Bruce Resnikoff, president/CEO of Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). “We were trying to create ways to keep B.B. King’s legacy alive,” says Benford. “That was the main thing. And of course, that starts through the music.”
Further stoking that vision was the then-unforeseen 2020 release of “B.B. King Freestyle” by Lil Wayne featuring Drake from the former’s No Ceilings 3 mixtape. “That showed us the hip-hop world loves B.B.,” adds Benford. “So we decided, let’s do an album with hip-hop artists.”
Among the contemporary artists involved with the upcoming project are Quavo, Jason Derulo and Swae Lee. The songs use samples of King’s original records such as “The Thrill Is Gone” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” Promises Benford, “The album is phenomenal.”
The aforementioned King documentary will feature a song from Quavo that pays tribute to the late icon and Quavo’s late Migos mate, Takeoff. Already recorded, the track may be released before the documentary, which is currently in production under the supervision of Benford’s partner, film producer Mark Canton (Den of Thieves, TV series Power). And with the writer’s strike now ended, Benford and his team are in the process of engaging writers for the theatrical biopic. In addition, a major commercial campaign on behalf of B.B. King One Whiskey will kick off after the first of the year.
In the wake of launching the B. B. King Life Legacy Initiative to preserve the icon’s legacy and introduce him to a new generation of fans, Benford says, “The blues has been an underserved market. Richie Sambora, Joe Perry, Eric Clapton … I don’t think there’s anybody that I’ve ever talked to who doesn’t love B.B. King. Even the younger guys. When you listen to them on this new album, you can just hear the respect.”
Doja Cat just brought Scarlet to BBC Radio 1. The latest artist to stop by the Live Lounge, Doja performed two tracks off her new album, Scarlet, as well as a sultry cover of Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Red Room.” For both “Red Room” and her own red-themed track, Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Paint the […]
Beyoncé will host the dual premieres of her Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé concert movie in Los Angeles on Nov. 25 and London on Nov. 30, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The roll-out will happen just a few days before AMC Entertainment and Bey’s Parkwood Entertainment open the film in theaters around the world on Dec. 1.
The doc chronicling the singer’s highest-grossing tour to date was co-directed by the singer, who also wrote it and executive produced the project. Tickets for international territories — including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean — will go on sale on Nov. 9 here; tickets are on sale now in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
A description of the film notes that it, “accentuates the journey of Renaissance World Tour, from its inception, to the opening in Stockholm, Sweden, to the finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mine and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft. Received with extraordinary acclaim, Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour created a sanctuary for freedom, and shared joy for more than 2.7 million fans.”
While locations for the U.S. and European premieres have not yet been announced, an invitation for London suggested a “formal opulence” dress code, while the L.A. premiere calls for “Cozy opulence,” a seeming reference to the Renaissance album track “Cozy.”
“When I am performing, I am nothing but free,” Bey said in the voiceover of the film’s two-minute trailer that also includes the singer casually walking to stage while flashing a peace sign, stretching pre-show with her kids — including rehearsing with backup dancer/eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter — and having a cocktail in the green room. Husband Jay-Z also makes a cameo, pumping his fist and smiling from the crowd in the clip that also featured the couple’s twins, Rumi and Sir.
The two-hour-and-thirty-minute unrated film is the latest concert film from Bey, following on the heels of her 2019 Netflix doc Homecoming — which chronicled her 2018 Coachella headlining set — as well as her 2013 HBO movie, Life Is But a Dream, a hybrid live performance and video diary project, and 2009’s I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas.
Watch the Renaissance trailer below.
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After performing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl in 2021, Grammy-winning R&B star H.E.R. is set to add another massive sporting event to her résumé. Via a press release on Wednesday (Oct. 25), Major League Baseball announced that the “Focus” singer will sing the national anthem ahead of Game 1 of the 2023 World […]
Drake replaces himself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, as “IDGAF,” featuring Yeat, rises to the top of the Oct. 28-dated tally.
“IDGAF” reigns with 26 million official U.S. streams earned in the Oct. 13-19 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song was down 36% from its opening week sum of 40.8 million streams, but it dropped by a smaller percentage than the previous ruler, “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole, which falls to No. 4 (20.3 million streams, a 52% drop).
“IDGAF” is the first song to spend its first week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs while being down in streams since Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which first reigned on the Jan. 7 ranking despite a 3% drop to 46.9 million streams that week.
“IDGAF” is Drake’s record-extending 20th Streaming Songs No. 1, the most since the list’s 2013 inception. Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift remain the next-closest acts with six rulers apiece.
Most No. 1s, Streaming Songs20, Drake6, Justin Bieber6, Taylor Swift5, Travis Scott4, Ariana Grande4, Cardi B4, Lil Baby4, Miley Cyrus
Drake is the first act to replace himself at No. 1 on Streaming Songs since he did it previously with “Nonstop” (July 14, 2018) followed by “In My Feelings” (July 21, 2018).
Meanwhile, “IDGAF” marks Yeat’s first Streaming Song topper. The rapper made the chart one time previously, with “Talk” debuting and peaking at No. 17 in September 2022.
Concurrently, “IDGAF” falls 2-4 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100. Its parent album, For All the Dogs, ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 164,000 equivalent album units earned in its second week.
Defunct dance duo LMFAO hit a hard-partying high mark this week when the video for their 2011 electropop anthem “Sexy and I Know It” hit the one billion views mark on YouTube. The song that ran up to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in January 2012 is the […]
Drake‘s blowout 37th birthday party on Monday night (Oct. 23) was a typical low-key affair for the 6 God. Except, of course, for the celebrity bartenders, who appeared to trade in their signature fictional blue meth for real white Russians at the party. According to photos and videos of the event, former Breaking Bad co-stars […]
J. Brown captures his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart as “My Whole Heart” ascends to No. 1 on the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Oct. 28. After three weeks in the runner-up spot, the single crowns the list following a 9% gain in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. […]
Kodak Black has not forgotten the kindness showed to him by Donald Trump during the one-term president’s way out of office when he pardoned the “ZEZE” rapper (as well as Lil Wayne).
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In a preview of his upcoming appearance on the Drink Champs show on Tuesday (Oct. 24), the rapper born Bill Kahan Kapri said he had a lot in common with the quadruple-indicted Republican party figurehead. “I f–k with that boy,” Black said after N.O.R.E. brought up the 11th hour pardon for the MC who was in federal prison after pleading guilty to a firearms possession charge after getting detained at the Canadian border in March 2020.
“He a Gemini like me — his birthday two days after my s–t,” Black added of his similarity to the 77-year-old fellow Floridian. “And that boy, like, he be vibin’ out here too.” Self-professed billionaire Trump is currently in court in a civil fraud trial in New York over allegations that he arbitrarily inflated the prices of his family company’s properties in a suit that could dismantle his real estate empire. The Donald also recently dropped off Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans (for the second time), which led host N.O.R.E. to wonder if Kodak would slide Trump $1 million if he asked for it, not that he needs it.
“Of course, n—a,” Black, 26, said without hesitation. Trump’s pardon resulted in Black getting freed from prison after serving a year for falsifying information on federal forms to buy four guns from a Miami firearms shop. In one of his frequent efforts to convince Trump to pardon him before his last-minute reprieve, Black said he’d donate $1 million to charity. Last year, Black doubled-down on his endorsement of the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief, writing, “We need Trump in office forever, man. Just like how them Chinese and Russian and Korean motherf—ers have their president. Trump the best thing for America.”
In January 2021, Black released a new song called “Last Day In,” a week after the pardon, rapping, “Trump just freed me, but my favorite president is on the money/ All they hatin’ presidents has become evident to me.”
Kodak isn’t the only MC who is stumping for Trump, who currently holds a commanding lead over the rest of the Republican field in the 2024 presidential race. Sexxy Red recently said she is on Team Trump, too.
“I like Trump,” Red told comedian Theo Von on his This Past Weekend podcast. “Yeah, they support him in the hood. At first I don’t think people was f–king with him. They thought he was racist, saying little s–t against women. But once he started getting Black people out of jail and giving people that free money. Aww baby, we love Trump. We need him back in office. We need him back because, baby, them checks. Them stimulus checks. Trump, we miss you… I love Trump. He funny to me,” she continued. “I used to be watching him talking to people. He used to be calling people fat. He just bold. He funny. We need people like him.”
Watch the preview of the interview below.
Eminem is dropping a hot new joint on Thursday (Oct. 26). It is not, however, the one his fans were looking for. The MC revealed on Tuesday that he’s taking the “Lose Yourself” brand extension beyond the Mom’s Spaghetti restaurants he’s opened in his hometown of Detroit and New York.
“From the D 2 ur kitchen [spaghetti emoji] #momsspaghetti sauce is droppin 10/26,” he tweeted alongside a video cued to “Drop the Bomb On ‘Em” from his 2009 Relapse:Refill album. The clip featured jars of the spaghetti sauce falling through the sky and smashing on a traditional red-and-white checkered tablecloth accompanied by the message, “The sauce is dropping.”
Fans love anything Shady does, but the comments on the tweet said it all, with one writing, “DROP THE ALBUMMMMMMM,” with another seconding that emotion, “You drop album, I guy the sauce, deal” and a third lamenting, “This is not what we meant when we said drop the album.”
Mom’s Spaghetti is, of course, an homage to the iconic first verse of Em’s Oscar-winning 2002 song “Lose Yourself” from his film debut, 8 Mile, in which he raps, “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy/ There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.”
After opening the first Mom’s in D-Town in Sept. 2021, Em brought the chain to L.A. for a Super Bowl pop-up in Feb. 2022, then set down roots in New York in November of that year. The sauce news was sweet (or spicy, we don’t know the recipe yet), but what commenters really seemed to want was news on the follow up to 2020’s Music To Be Murdered By, which featured collabs with Ed Sheeran, Juice WRLD, Don Toliver, Q-Tip, Anderson .Paak, Young M.A. and many more.
Em’s sauce
Check out the Mom’s Spaghetti sauce ad below.