R&B/Hip-Hop
Page: 348
Yes, hip-hop is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. But 2023 also marks the golden anniversary for one of R&B’s most seminal albums, Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Let’s Get It On, the pioneering erotic and emotional follow-up to Gaye’s game-changing 1971 album What’s Going On, is now the centerpiece of a digitally revised 50th anniversary package. Released this week (Aug. 25) by Motown/UMe, Let’s Get It On: Deluxe Edition boasts 33 bonus tracks, 18 of which are previously unreleased and include songs from a lost session by jazz icon Herbie Hancock. The new package replaces a deluxe edition of the album first issued in 2001.
Rush-released as the lead single even before the album was completed, title track “Let’s Get It On” became a No. 1 R&B and pop hit. The album’s subsequent classics included “Distant Lover” and “You Sure Love to Ball,” as well as “Come Get to This” and “Just to Keep You Satisfied.” The eight-track album spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.
However, also captured sonically on Let’s Get It On: Deluxe Edition is Gaye’s fascinating, long-gestating journey that birthed the original August 1973 album. Beyond releasing that album, 1973 was an important year for Motown. Founder Berry Gordy’s storied label was also celebrating its first full year in Los Angeles after relocating from Detroit. And that celebration resulted in a host of other album releases. That 1973 bumper crop included The Temptations’ Masterpiece, Eddie Kendrick’s eponymous third album, Diana Ross’ Touch Me in the Morning, Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions and Smokey Robinson’s solo debut, Smokey.
Motown/UMe
At that point in time, an experimental Gaye was busy following wherever his creative muse led him. During six months of recording sessions, he was working with collaborators such as artist/songwriter/producer Ed Townsend, arrangers Rene Hall and David Van DePitte and top-notch musicians such as guitarist Melvin “Wah Wah” Ragin and bassists Wilton Felder and James Jameson, in addition to Hancock. It’s the unused music from these sessions — unheard mixes, intriguing instrumental tracks, unreleased versions of ballad recordings — that richly enhance the deluxe edition. They also spotlight Gaye’s versatility both musically and vocally at a time when he was in the throes of a broken marriage and a new romance while grappling with the issue of spirituality versus the flesh.
“Two of the greatest things that happened at Motown was when Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye produced their own music,” said Smokey Robinson during a special Grammy Museum event earlier this week (Aug. 23) commemorating the 50th anniversary of Let’s. Moderated by UMe vp of A&R Harry Weinger, the panel of special guests included songwriter/producer Jimmy Jam and Gaye biographer David Ritz (Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye). Among those in the audience: Gaye’s children Marvin III and Nona.
In outlining Gaye’s mindset in 1973, Ritz referenced a line from the album’s title track: “We’re all sensitive people with so much to give.” As Ritz explained, “Marvin was a beautiful soul, extremely charming and funny, a complicated man, always deep. [With this album], he was thrilled because he was able to express another part of his personality. He took the chaos in his life and harmonized it, taking disparate elements and weaving them together. He knew it was a heavy and autobiographical work. But it was one that people loved.”
Weinger also premiered several tracks from the deluxe edition, including “The Shadow of Your Smile” (“Marvin wanted to be the Black Sinatra; he could sing anything,” said Robinson) and the instrumental “Perfection” with Hancock on piano and Gaye writing/producing. Drawing “ahhs” from the audience was remix guru John Morales’ stripped-down mix of “Just to Keep You Satisfied” that exquisitely showcases Gaye’s searing vocals.
“Listening to this sounds like music in heaven to me,” said Jam of Let’s Get It On. “It’s a brilliant and sublime album with very powerful messages. With Marvin, the deeper you dig the better it gets.”
According to Motown/UMe, the original Let’s Get It On will also be available in Dolby ATMOS in honor of its 50th anniversary. Also in the works: Motown/UMe will premiere new video content for select tracks and an e-commerce-only colored vinyl edition of the original album.
Earlier this year, J. Cole made his intentions loud and clear on Lil Durk’s “All My Life”: “Lately, I just wanna show up and body some sh-t.” To his credit, Cole has been living up to his word, treating the rap circuit like a demolition derby. A proven features savant, this is familiar territory for […]
SZA rounded up some of the hottest male stars for her new music video for “Snooze” released on Friday (Aug. 25). In the sultry Bradley J. Calder and SZA-directed clip, the superstar lays in the grass, rolls a joint in bed, plays video games and more with co-stars Justin Bieber, Benny Blanco, Beef actor Young Mazino and Power […]
Polo G was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday (Aug. 23) while police raided his home, Billboard can confirm. It all started last week, on August 15, when Polo G’s brother Taurean Bartlett (a.k.a. Trench Baby) was identified as the suspect for a robbery in Granada Hills, Calif. According to LAPD reports, when the victim […]
Sixteen years after notching a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit with “Give It to Me,” the trio behind that track is reuniting for a brand new single. On Wednesday (Aug. 23), Timbaland shared a teaser video announcing a new collaboration with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. “WE BACK,” Timbaland captioned the Instagram post, alongside […]
Trippie Redd extends his top-10 streak on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, as his A Love Letter to You 5 debuts at No. 3 on the list dated Aug. 26. The mixtape opens with 37,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate.
Of the 37,000 starting sum, 26,000 units derive from streaming, a figure equaling 46.8 million official U.S. audio and video on-demand streams of the project’s tracks. Traditional album sales contribute 11,000 of the remaining units, with a negligible amount of activity from track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
With A Love Letter to You 5, which Trippie Redd stated is the last installment of his popular mixtape series, the rapper-singer banks his eighth consecutive top 10 release on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Here’s a recap of the eight projects’ chart results:
Album Title, Peak Position, Peak Date
Life’s a Trip, No. 4, Aug. 25, 2018
A Love Letter to You 3, No. 1 (one week), Nov. 24, 2018
!, No. 2, Aug. 24, 2019
A Love Letter to You 4, No. 1 (one week), Dec. 7, 2019
Pegasus, No. 1 (one week), Nov. 14, 2020
Trip at Knight, No. 1 (one week), Sept. 4, 2021
Mansion Musik, No. 2, Feb. 4, 2023
A Love Letter to You 5, No. 3 (to date), Aug. 26, 2023
Of Trippie Redd’s 10 appearances on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, only the first two A Love Letter to You chapters missed the top 10. The first edition peaked at No. 32 in February 2018, while its follow-up reached a No. 19 best in October 2017.
Elsewhere, A Love Letter to You 5 starts at No. 2 on the Top Rap Albums chart and at No. 13 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
[embedded content]
As A Love Letter to You 5 launches, three of its tracks debut on Hot R&B Songs: “Take Me Away” with Corbin (No. 16), “Thy Motion” (No. 19) and “How You Alive” (No. 23). The album’s overall arrival helps Trippie Redd score a No. 33 re-entry on the Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption – album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming – to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity. The return gives Trippie Redd his first visit to the list since February, when he raced to No. 23 as Mansion Musik debuted.
Latto achieves her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as her Cardi B-assisted “Put It on Da Floor Again” tops the radio list dated Aug. 26. The track ascends from No. 2 after a 7% gain in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. monitored R&B/hip-hop stations in the […]
Add another entry to the list of events saluting hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Rap legends Public Enemy and Ice-T will headline The National Celebration of Hip-Hop. The free concert and cultural event will take place in Washington, D.C. — at West Potomac Park on the National Mall — on Oct. 6-7.
Among the two-day event’s highlights will be DJ Hurricane’s Beastie Boys tribute set with special guests. Also joining the aforementioned headliners will be performers Kurtis Blow, Kid ‘n Play, Soulsonic Force, Roxanne Shante, CL Smooth, Melle Mel and Scorpio, The Sugarhill Gang, Peter Gunz, DJ Kevie Kev Rockwell, Mad Skillz, MC Sha-Rock, Busy Bee, Joe Ski Love, Positive K, Boogie Black, Mick Benzo, Gumbo and Donald D.
Additional artists will be announced soon. Rounding out the celebration will be various activities including guest speakers, comedians and public figures, as well as interactive events and exhibits.
The National Celebration of Hip-Hop is presented by executive producers Nathan Parienti and Lauren Bissell of Chasing Live. They’re working collaboration with producer Mickey Bentson’s The Art of Rap, which features Ice-T.
“We are honored to continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop against the backdrop of America’s capitol with a free event for everyone,” said Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav in a statement. “I can’t wait to get on stage and do our thing.”
Added fellow Public Enemy member Chuck D, “Hip-hop is beyond, not just a musical genre. It’s a cultural movement that has dominated art, fashion, politics, poetry, academia, film and every corner of the world for the past 50 years. This National Celebration brings it all together in one place for the people, by the people.”
Noted Ice-T, “We are coming to the National Mall itself to bring you authentic hip-hop for the 50th celebration!”
VIP pay and travel packages will be available for purchase. And sign-up for free general admission begins Wednesday (Aug. 23). More information can be found on the event’s website.
Courtesy Photo
It’s a sweet gesture familiar to any fan who regularly attends concerts: a star hands their microphone to an enthusiastic audience member who is visibly psyched to show off their knowledge of the artist’s songs by crooning a few lines. And, if they’re lucky, that fan might just surprise them by actually killing the vocal. […]
Babies get wild at concerts too! Flo Rida was performing CelebrateErie festival in Pennsylvania over the weekend, where he’s seen in a viral video posted by TMZ motioning a parent to send their baby over to the stage. Within seconds, the infant is crowd-surfing to the front, with fans gently moving the baby up over the […]