R&B/Hip-Hop
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On the heels of an impressive feature run this year, J. Cole has announced the dates for Dreamville Festival 2024. Via a press release, the Grammy-winning rapper and his acclaimed Dreamville artist collective detailed all of the preliminary information for the event’s fourth iteration. The Dreamville Festival will return to Raleigh, N.C., April 6-7. An […]
At long last, the world finally has an answer to a question that has tormented social media for years. In a clip from Jay-Z‘s upcoming interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings interview with Gayle King, the music mogul weighed on whether it’s a smarter choice to choose lunch with him over $500,000 cash.
“You’ve gotta take the money,” the “Big Pimpin’” rapper said in a teaser clip, pointing out that all his wisdom is already in his work. “You’ve got all that in the music for $10.99.”
With a discography that spans 13 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, collaborative projects with Linkin Park and Beyoncé, and hundreds of memorable guest verses, the Brooklyn rap icon isn’t wrong when he says it’s all in the music.
“I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal. Like, take the $500,000, go buy some albums, and listen to the albums,” he continued. “It’s all there. If you piece it together and really listen to the music for the words, well, what it is, it’s all there.”
Jay-Z’s new two-part interview with King will feature an exclusive tour of the Brooklyn Public Library’s “Book of HOV” exhibit, a sprawling archival undertaking that chronicles the vast expanse of his career, from his lengthy Grammy-winning catalog to his landmark business deals across the realms of sports, music, alcohol, film and public service.
The “lunch with Jay-Z or $500K” meme has been going viral on social media — in various iterations — since at least 2017. The premise of the question is whether the rapper can provide an amount of wisdom and sound advice that would theoretically be worth more than $500,000 in cold, hard cash. The question has ignited passionate responses for years, with some pointing to Jay-Z’s storied career to justify choosing the meal option, while others place their bets on the money management skills and pick the $500K.
“Everything that I said was gonna happen, happened,” Jay-Z added in his chat with King. “Everything that I said I wanted to do, I’ve done.”
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Cardi B gave husband Offset props this weekend for being his own man and inspiring her to do things her way. “So proud of my baby!!,” Cardi wrote on Sunday evening (Oct. 22) of the Migos member and solo star.
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“Going against all odds… leaving his label, starting fresh, staying focused determined and not letting nothing break him… he did that!” she added. The “Bongos” MC then cryptically added, “MY TURN.”
At press time spokespeople for Offset and his former label, Quality Control, had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.
Back in August, Offset ended his lawsuit against Quality Control Music, the label that helped launch him and the Migos into superstardom. TMZ reported at the time that Offset would not work with QC moving forward as a solo artist and that “all disputes and differences were smoothed over.” A year earlier, the MC born Kiari Cephus filed paperwork in Los Angeles seeking a declaratory judgement “that Quality Control has no rights, title, or interest in or to Offset’s recordings” since he bought out his deal with the company in 2021. He alleged at the time that despite buying the rights to his solo works, QC continued to claim ownership over his recordings.
Billboard previously reported that Offset signed a production agreement with Quality Control in 2013 that covered his work in Migos and as a solo artist. According to court documents, as of January 15, 2021, Offset “negotiated a deal in which he reclaimed the rights to his own solo recording and songwriting from Quality Control,” and the new arrangement made the star the “sole owner of all rights, title, and interest in and to his services as a solo recording artist, entertainer, and songwriter.”
A judge formally dismissed Offset and QC’s suits against each other on August 16.
Despite that agreement, Offset claimed that QC continued to assert an ownership interest in his 2022 single “54321,” even though the track was credited to his then label, Motown Records; he is currently signed to Capitol Records.
Cardi has been teasing the long-in-process follow-up to her 2018 major label debut album, Invasion of Privacy, for much of this year, with no formal release date set at press time.
See Cardi’s tweet below.
So proud of my baby!! Going against all odds… leaving his label, starting fresh, staying focused determined and not letting nothing break him… he did that! ❤️ MY TURN.— Cardi B (@iamcardib) October 22, 2023
Just three shows into her tour in support of the 25th anniversary of her landmark debut solo Ms. Lauryn Hill has had to temporarily hit pause on her celebratory The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill outing. The Fugees MC and solo star posted a note on her socials on Sunday night (Oct. 22) informing fans in […]
The Doggfather only turns 52 one time, so it was fitting that when Snoop Dogg celebrated his half century plus two that his Step Brothers were on hand to give him his flower(s). At Saturday night’s Best Night of Your Life 2 Benefit, Snoop took the stage with host Will Ferrell and the actor’s Step […]
The holiday season is just around the corner, and Brandy got fans in a festive mood on Friday (Oct. 20) by announcing her upcoming album, Christmas With Brandy. The album will feature a fresh take on festive classics, including “Someday at Christmas,” “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls.” She’ll also team up with her daughter […]
While countless fans take Halloween as an opportunity to dress up as their favorite musicians, the holiday is a chance for those same A-listers to be somebody else just for a night. That might be why so many pop stars love going all out on October 31 every year (well, that and disposable income they […]
Pink Friday 2, the sequel to Nicki Minaj’s blockbuster 2010 debut studio album, arrives on Nov. 17, and the Head Barb has yet another special Pink Friday surprise for her Barbz. On Friday morning (Oct. 20), the “Last Time I Saw You” rapper took to her official YouTube account to upload a freestyle over Drake […]
While a herd of GOP candidates are trying to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to unseat Donald Trump as the Republican who will take on President Joe Biden in next year’s election, there is now at least one no-chance campaign you can scratch off the list.
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Kanye West‘s personal attorney, Bruce Marks, told Rolling Stone on Thursday (Oct. 19) that the rapper who now goes by just Ye will not throw his hat in the ring a second time. “He’s not a candidate for office in 2024,” said Marks, who is reportedly working on winding down the rapper’s campaign, seemingly before it even got started.
An October Federal Election Commission filing by Ye’s Kanye 2020 political committee showed that the campaign had allocated zero dollars for primary expenditures in all 50 states and U.S. territories in the most recent reporting period from January to September of this year; it also appeared to show that the campaign raised zero dollars in the most recent reporting period and had less than $25,000 cash-on-hand.
At press time Marks had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the winding-down of Ye’s presidential bid.
West’s once formidable music and fashion career melted down last year after the rapper went on a hateful string of antisemitic rants. He has kept a low profile since then and the news of his halted second bid for the White House is not surprising giving the anemic showing of his first run.
Ye announced the launch of his long-shot presidential campaign under the “Birthday Party” banner on July 4, 2020, so late in the game that he managed to get on the ballot in just 12 states. With only one campaign appearance and two 11th hour video ads, despite what could have been a major pop culture megaphone and built-in audience of millions, West’s vote totals in the election between one-term president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden resulted in a grand total of 60,000 votes after the rapper reportedly pumped $9 million of his own money into the failed bid.
The most recent Ye presidential campaign got off to a rocky start in May when British right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos proclaimed that he was the “director of political operations” for the “YE24” campaign; RS reported that Yiannopoulos — whom the Anti Defamation League has dubbed a “misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, transphobic troll” — is no longer on Ye’s political payroll. The magazine also reported that there were serious questions raised earlier this year about whether it was even legal to hire a foreign national to work in a decision-making role in an American political campaign.
An unnamed source also reportedly told the magazine that the unpredictable MC could change him mind, but that “there’s no plan to do that… there’s no campaign structure or anything along those lines in place,” dubbing chances of a possible reboot of the campaign as “beyond remote.”
At press time it did not appear as if Ye had commented on the report about his reportedly scotched bid.
“The enthusiastic acceptance of the new Hot 100 pop singles chart as the standard of the industry since its inception three months ago has made it possible for The Billboard to complete its plans to streamline its record research operation,” a story announced in the Oct. 20, 1958, issue of Billboard (to be formal, then The Billboard).
“Record dealers, disk jockeys and music machine operators have made it abundantly clear that their prime need in the pop singles area is the freshest possible data about breakout singles as well as established best-sellers,” the story continued. “This singles information is completely provided by The Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.”
After the Billboard Hot 100 began with the Aug. 4, 1958, listing, two new genre charts arrived: Hot C&W Sides and Hot R&B Sides, ranking 30 titles apiece. Today, they thrive as Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, each 50 positions deep and incorporating the same streaming-, airplay- and sales-based methodology as the Hot 100.
Billboard had presented various rankings for the two genres previously, with R&B first measured by the Harlem Hit Parade, starting in the Oct. 24, 1942, issue. Country popularity was first reflected by the Most Played Juke Box Folk Records listing, beginning on Jan. 8, 1944.
The makeover in 1958, as noted that issue, marked “a new and expanded form of service,” with Hot C&W Sides and Hot R&B Sides the first all-encompassing song rankings for each genre. “Hot C&W Sides provides the fastest and most accurate coverage available on country music records, with the emphasis on ‘traditional’ rather than pop-style disks,” Billboard noted that issue. “The other new chart, Hot R&B Sides, performs the same service for the rhythm and blues field.”
The first track atop Hot C&W Sides? Ray Price’s “City Lights,” which reigned for 13 weeks. Multiple covers have been recorded, with Mickey Gilley’s likewise a No. 1 in 1975. Price amassed over 100 entries on Billboard’s country singles charts in 1952-89, including six Hot Country Songs leaders among 33 top 10s.
Bobby Day’s “Rock-in’ Robin” flew in atop the inaugural Hot R&B Sides chart, leading for three weeks. It, too, became a hit in a new form, as Michael Jackson’s version reached No. 2 in 1972. Like Price, Day was born in Texas; “Rock-in’ Robin,” however, stands as Day’s only charted R&B single.
Sixty-five years on, Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” leads the latest Hot Country Songs chart (dated Oct. 21, 2023). “Flashing signs invite a broken heart to lose itself in the glow of city lights,” a lonesome Price sang in his hit; sings Combs, “Won’t have to drive too far, just across the border and into the city …”
Meanwhile, Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, launches as Drake’s record-extending 30th No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the Hot 100, it’s Drake’s 13th leader, tying him with Jackson for the most among solo males.