R&B/Hip-Hop
Page: 35
Young Thug made his first public appearance since being released from jail while hanging out with fellow Atlanta native T.I. on Monday night (Nov. 4).
Thugger and Tip appeared to be in the studio alongside T.I.’s son Domani when the “What You Know” rapper posted a clip to Instagram early Tuesday (Nov. 5) featuring a guest appearance from the freshly freed YSL honcho.
“I’m back,” Thug declared in one of his Sp5der hoodies. “I’m back, Jack. No cap in my rap. The right way!”
Trending on Billboard
T.I. added, “Ay man, no motherf–king cap in it. It’s time. Now go tell that!”
Tip revealed in his caption that he’d temporarily be putting an end to his rap retirement to hop in the booth with Thug. “Yeahhhhh YKWTFGO The Kings have Reconvened #KingJeffrey #KingSr,” he wrote. “Guess I’m officially outta retirement For tonight #Welcomehome.”
Fat Joe, E-40 and plenty more hopped into the comments section, sending their well wishes to Thugger now that he’s back home.
Young Thug — born Jeffery Williams — was released from jail on Halloween after reaching a plea when Judge Paige Reese Whitaker handed down a sentence of 15 years probation, which allowed Thugger to walk free the same day as Thursday’s hearing.
“I know you’re talented, and if you choose to continue to rap, you need to try to use your influence to let kids know that is not the way to go and that there are ways out of poverty besides hooking up with the powerful guy at the end of the street selling drugs,” Whitaker said.
Thug was imprisoned for more than 700 days since his arrest in May 2022 without bond. The YSL RICO trial is the longest criminal trial in Georgia’s history and still isn’t over — two of his co-defendants have declined plea deals, and are still facing trial.
While Thug and T.I. have teamed up in the past for anthems like “About the Money,” Thugger appears to be teasing music with another ATLien. Billboards have popped up across L.A. hinting at a Thug and Lil Baby reunion.
“Whatever Wham Says Goes,” the signs repeatedly read, as if they were written out on a chalkboard by a student in detention.
“Whatever Wham Say Goes,” refers to a June 26 tweet from Thug, which many connected to Lil Baby’s support for Thugger.
Steve Stoute holds his black hat to the camera, ensuring the words written on it are visible: “The future is independence,” a slogan that predicts where the music industry is headed in the coming years.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
During a Zoom call with Billboard in October, the UnitedMasters CEO looks back at launching the music distribution company in 2017. To Stoute, the word “independent” in the music business meant the major labels were a priority and everything else was a lower hierarchy. “When the internet blew up, nobody called every content creator that was making podcasts or visual stuff independent,” Stoute recalls. “They really were independent, but there was no classification.”
In Stoute’s eyes, independence was a stigma that made you feel “less than” if you didn’t sign a deal with a major label. He says the stigma needed to be broken, so independent artists could be comfortable with ownership. The stigma changed after artists didn’t need validation from a major label before growing their fanbase. “In today’s world, you find audiences first,” he says. “So really, do you need a label, or do you need a partner?
Trending on Billboard
“And that really was our goal from the beginning. It was to create partnerships, to let artists feel comfortable with being independent,” he continues, tapping the “future of independence” logo on his hat for added emphasis. “Owning their masters and everything that came with that. Running this ‘Believe’ campaign, we’re talking about very three prolific artists here who have all taken part in what we’re building. I’m just proud.”
Launched on UnitedMasters’ social channels at the end of September and rolled out in early October, the Believe campaign centered on messaging that if you believe in yourself, you can reach the heights of artists who distributed their music worldwide through UnitedMasters. Hip-hop artists Anycia and BigXThaPlug, along with post-punk indie artist Ekkstacy, were the faces of single-artist and multi-artist videos directed by Edgar Esteves. The short clips were published on Instagram and YouTube with the hashtag #BelieveWithUM, giving each artist a spotlight to detail their journey, from their early days to their ascension to star status.
The Believe campaign does more than just incentivize artists to sign up for one of UnitedMasters’ membership tiers, like the newly introduced DEBUT+ priced at $19.99 annually. Anycia, BigXThaPlug and Ekkstacy’s stories carry an emotional arc relatable to any artist in doubt, who needs a spark of inspiration. UM’s social assets set the stage: one moment, you have a bedroom view like Anycia, release a six-track EP (Bacc from the Dead) like BigXThaPlug, or perform solo shows in your garage like Ekkstacy, and then the next you’re on tour, performing in front of thousands of fans. “Believe in you. We do,” the campaign promises, directing followers to a landing page that demonstrates they believed in their artists’ music when no one else did.
Anycia, BigXThaPlug and Ekkstacy haven prove they aren’t overnight celebrities. The path to becoming a partner artist with UnitedMasters, an invite-only plan for emerging talent to get label-quality artist resources after they get upstreamed, begins with having faith in turning dreams into reality. If you choose UnitedMasters to distribute your music, they play the role of support. However, Stoute states that the difference between other distribution competitors and UnitedMasters is infrastructure, a collection of creatives, industry experts and engineers who work together to launch careers. “Whether it be Distrokid or Tunecore — part of the infrastructure is tech, part of the infrastructure is the people,” Stoute says. “When I built the company, I wanted to sit at the convergence of culture, technology, and storytelling. The technology is one thing, but you still need people first.”
He hammers this point: “Humans are for quality, machines are for scale. Don’t let the machines confuse you for quality.”
The ‘Believe’ campaign is a series of vignettes, zooming out from the artists’ concert crowds to how they fueled their visions for themselves. Anycia’s video starts in a bedroom, mirroring what the Atlanta rapper’s actual room would look like at her mother’s house throughout her life. For her, it represents nostalgia, imagery that has been depicted in her “Type Beat” video and the cover of Princess Pop That.
“I want to be the girl that you can have a conversation with and not feel judged. You can feel safe with me, which it always is. I’m trying to be everybody’s big sister, everybody’s auntie,” Anycia says. “I feel like the most comforting place for somebody to be is in a cozy bedroom.”
Before rapping, Anycia worked several jobs. Around 2022-2023, she didn’t feel confident about calling herself an artist, reflecting on a time when she was at a smoke shop and going to barber school. The work didn’t stop there for the struggling artist: She taught at a daycare and hosted at a nightclub in Atlanta. She used what spare time she had to work on music, and hit up studios that her friends had access to. After feeling stagnant, she quit both her jobs to do music full-time.
“I’m a strong believer in what is meant for me will be for me,” Anycia says. “So throughout my life, I’m not against trying. I’m a ‘You got to try it before you say you don’t like it’ type of person. I never really got a problem with cutting off things that I felt weren’t for me that I wasn’t happy doing.”
Anycia took a gamble on herself, reasoning that she was already charging people for features and beat placements. The game plan was there, she just needed to go all in. “I felt like it was going to work, because I was 100% being genuine and I was being myself.”
“So What,” built around a woozy Ciara sample and produced by Popstar Benny, started as a snippet on X with a few hundred views on YouTube. It became so popular that it got Anycia several label meetings before she settled with UnitedMasters. “They did find me pretty early in my situation — and the first thing I did when I walked up in that office was I asked everybody if they wanted a shot,” Anycia says. “I had to loosen everybody up. Pulled some reposado out of my purse and everything. I wanted to see the real everybody, and I liked it. Everybody was cool.”
BigXThaPlug’s video in the Believe campaign starts with him sitting in his living room. In it, he talks about before his album Amar – dedicated to his son – and repping all of Texas. In conversation, BigX knew rap wasn’t his dream or even what he planned to do at first. He was a rising star in football, playing any position on the offensive or defensive line in college. It took missing his son’s first birthday after going to jail that the rapper felt like he owed his child something. When he had no other options to earn money once he got out, he took heed to his friend Rosama’s advice, who suggested he should rap.
“I turned him down a couple of times,” BigX says. “He was the main person constantly in my ear about the music stuff. When it got to a point where I had nothing left and I had to do something, he came by with that something.”
While he’s had jobs before, BigX admits they never worked out. He was destined to be a CEO. “I never been the type to work for nobody. In my head, I’ve always been my own entity,” BigX says. “You always know when you’re meant to work for yourself, but you’re constantly listening to another person. I hate putting money in people’s pockets who I know don’t care about me. I wanted to do something more genuine and easily put my people on as well.”
UnitedMasters discovered BigX in 2021, when he had 500 monthly listeners on Spotify. During this time in his career, he released “Mr. Trouble” and “Big Stepper” on HalfpintFilmz’ YouTube channel. After those videos hit a million views in a short time, he started to see how his city of Dallas was reacting to him, and took Rosama’s suggestion to take rap seriously.
He remembers changing his hustle from working the street corners to being in the studio every day. “Every song that I made at that time, we made together,” BigX recalls. “‘Cause we was broke and we was paying for studio time. So two, three hours of studio time, we was paying $100 for and we would just split it. I would have the majority and Ro would be like, ‘I just want to record one song, I’ll just give you $25.’ I was like, ‘All right, bet.’”
BigX compared UnitedMasters to signing with a junior college, soaking in the knowledge they taught him about the music industry and better preparing him for the next level. Through signing with them, he benefited from the increased visibility and synch licensing deals, with his songs appearing on soundtracks for movies like Fast X and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. “I just knew I couldn’t sign with no major, that’s like going to a D1,” he says. “If I went to a major, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
The guidance he’s received through UnitedMasters has BigX feeling like “[Heisman-winning quarterback] Cam Newton at Blinn [College],” he explains. “I could go anywhere in the world right now, and wherever I go, we’re going to go win a national championship.”
Ekkstacy’s road to fame was similar to Anycia’s and BigX’s: filled with uncertainty and sheer will to be who they wanted to be. The Vancouver, BC native used to process returns at an Amazon facility and made some of his earliest records in his dad’s garage. He started his music career as a producer for a former high school friend who was a SoundCloud rapper. But Stacy had other ambitions of becoming a singer.
“After some years of being around him and him being like, ‘C’mon man, you can sing. You can do it. Just do it. Just do it.’ I’ll always be like, ‘Dude, I don’t have anything to say. Like, what am I going to sing about? My life is fine. My life is good,’” Stacy says, calling from his tour bus. “I went through some crazy psychosis sh-t when I was 16. And really overnight I was a completely different person. So that’s when I started writing.”
Ekkstacy struck viral gold when he uploaded “I Walk This Earth All By Myself” on SoundCloud. After his manager Andrew Mishko suggested he take it down, the song blew up again when he signed with UnitedMasters in 2022. “It went up on SoundCloud a bit, then it went up on Spotify and then it went super up on TikTok, and then it went even stupider on Instagram Reels,” he says. “It blew up four times. It’s a weird song for me.”
Although he started at Distrokid, he moved to UnitedMasters because they allowed him to create on his terms. “They’ve been great. They’ve done everything a label would have done without the f–k s–t,” Stacy says. “I’ve had good freedom in just releasing whatever I want, not having someone be like, ‘Nah, this isn’t you. You need to do this.’ It’s always been like, ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do.’”
During one of Stoute’s recent interviews with The Pivot Podcast, he established how UnitedMasters is a global platform, through FloyyMenor’s unexpected chart dominance with the viral hit “Gata Only.” As a fresh artist out of the Latin urban music scene, FloyyMenor went from downloading the UnitedMasters app in Chile to surpassing over a billion streams on Spotify with his breakout smash. The 19-year-old Chilean artist was a local who performed at clubs, recognized only by his face but not his name. He signed with UnitedMasters after A&R Gerardo Mejía flew to Chile to see him perform, and saw immediately how he was able to connect with an audience.
Speaking through a Spanish translator, FloyyMenor explains how he released “Gata Only” without Cris MJ in December 2023, seeing the streams pick up on DSPs. In February, he added fellow Chilean and rising star Cris MJ on “Gata Only” after he reached out about wanting to work together. He was surprised at how it was trending on TikTok in Chile, teased through images of cars or anything that looked along the correct aesthetic when paired with “Gata Only” lyrics. It continued to pick up in countries outside of Chile like Argentina, Mexico, the U.S., China, France, and Italy.
“Gata Only” was a significant breakthrough for FloyyMenor and Cris MJ, becoming the first Chilean artists to enter the top 10 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart in 25 years. Recently, FloyyMenor made history as the youngest Chilean artist to win the Global 200 Latin Song of the Year at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
FloyyMenor isn’t a one-hit wonder, either: Outside of “Gata,” his August EP El Comienzo has more singles streaming in the millions, namely “Peligrosa” and “Apaga El Cel.” These achievements are reminders of how proud he is to represent Chile, breaking language barriers with his addictive songs. The wins he’s had wouldn’t be possible without UnitedMasters establishing trust with the artist, showing their commitment to his talent has only opened more doors for him.
“I’ve had friends who had other distro deals and they talk about bad experiences,” FloyyMenor says of their dynamic. “It’s been cool to have a team that’s serious about what they say and what they do. It’s like a family. I’ve been able to work on what I want and go towards my goals. I’m happy with the team that I have.”
UnitedMasters’ ‘Believe’ campaign proves that their tools and platforms have set these artists up for success. At the beginning of 2024, Ekkstacy felt insecure about releasing his third, self-titled record, but was motivated by the love of his fans every time he connected with them on tour. Now, he continues to hit the road, adding an opening slot for blink-182 to his resume and touring over the summer with $uicideboy$ on their acclaimed Grey Day Tour. He recently got a Gold certification for “I Walk This Earth All By Myself.”
Anycia’s Princess Pop That was a defining debut for her, dubbed Atlanta’s new it-girl by her fans. She’s stacked up accomplishments, like appearing on Flo Milli’s Fine Ho, Stay on “New Me,” and scoring her first hit on the Billboard radio charts – Rap Airplay (No. 25), Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (No. 24), R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (No. 40) – with “Back Outside” featuring Latto, as well as going on tour with Kehlani.
Anycia describes her stage of independence as a “tug of war” phase. She explains it as she can either go “this way or that way.”
“I put it in my head, even though s–t was already going off for me, this Kehlani tour is the start of my career. I’m the opener, I’m the rookie,” she says. “Even if people don’t know me, my goal is to make people know who I am or trying to figure out who the hell I am whenever they leavin’. I want you to have gained a new artist that you’re about to add to your playlist. I’m proving myself right now. Not only can I put out music and be cutesy on the Internet, but I’m showing you guys that I can entertain you all. So just imagine what I can do whenever a b—h got a bigger budget.”
For BigXThaPlug, his wins in 2024 are his induction into the 2024 XXL Freshman class, earning multiple gold and platinum plaques for his singles, breaking into country music with his Shaboozey collab “Drink Don’t Need No Mix,” and embarking on his Take Care Tour with Rosama and Yung Hood. He has one of the most underrated independent stories in rap right now with his latest release Take Care, notching his first top 10 at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, behind major-label artists GloRilla’s Glorious at No. 5 and Rod Wave’s Last Lap at No. 2.
“It’s a blessing to know that now I am something that people can look at,” BigX says. “I’m a guide to where people want to be in life. That’s a blessing. In my music, I am letting them know. ‘Yeah, you can be here. I ain’t going to say it is easy to do, It is possible to do. But once you get here, you are going to deal with a lot so prepare for it.’”
After hearing what these artists have had to go through to become household names, Stoute can’t stress enough how proud he is. He’s amazed at how far they’ve come, listing where they’re originally from to show you can make it anywhere. He reminisces on when UnitedMasters was the launching pad for NLE Choppa and Lil Tecca. UM has made unprecedented partnerships with Brent Faiyaz and EarthGang since then, as well as expanded into finding new African artists through Davido and Nigerian producer Sarz. The norm is perhaps finally shifting towards independence.
“The fact that we were able to touch so many artists over the years and grow is absolutely moving to me because it was something in my head that I thought I could do,” Stoute says. “Building a team and finding talented artists to not only write great songs and perform great songs but also to believe in us as a platform that could help them. That says a lot about my belief in myself.”
Beyoncé kicked off Election Day by stealing some of its thunder. The superstar unleashed her first music video in years for “Bodyguard” on Tuesday (Nov. 5), which finds her channeling a trio of Pamela Anderson’s legendary looks for “Beylloween.” The Texas-bred superstar modeled looks inspired by the actress’ character in 1996’s Barb Wire, which features […]
As part of his closing argument to voters on Monday (Nov. 4), former President Donald Trump took yet another shot at Beyoncé for the R&B superstar’s support of rival Kamala Harris. While the current Vice President was headlining a star-studded event in Philadelphia with the likes of Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and hometown heroes the Roots, Trump once again hit out at a recent appearance by Queen Bey at a Harris rally in the singer’s hometown of Houston.
“Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs, and there were no songs,” Trump, 78, claimed about the Oct. 25 event where the 32-time Grammy winner appeared with her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to urge Texans to support the Harris/Walz ticket on election day (Nov. 5). “There was no happiness. It’s just like, ‘give me my check. I want to get out of here,’” Trump claimed about Beyoncé’s appearance.
At the rally last month, the singer joyfully voiced her backing for Harris, saying, “We are so happy to be standing here on this stage as proud, country, Texas women supporting and celebrating the one and only Vice President Kamala Harris. A woman who’s been pushing for what this country really needs right now: unity. It’s impossible not to feel the energy in this room, the positivity, the community, the humanity. We are at the precipice of an incredible shift. The brink of history.”
She added, “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.”
In addition to boosting Harris in Houston, Beyoncé gave the campaign direct approval to use her 2016 song “Freedom” as its campaign song. Bey’s camp later sent a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign for featuring “Freedom” in a social media campaign video from a spokesperson; that video was later taken down in the latest example of a musician asking Trump to stop using their music for his campaign.
On Monday in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, Trump also brushed off the lack of star power at his recent events in comparison to the many A-list actors and musicians who’ve lined up behind the Vice President, adding, “Just to bring it back into seriousness, we don’t need a star because we have policy.” His event was warmed up by former Democrat U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly — whom Trump insulted with a crude, sexist remark about menstruation after she moderated a 2015 presidential debate — and the son of late baseball legend Robert Clemente Jr.
Though he has repeatedly said celebrity support doesn’t matter, Trump’s campaign has welcomed endorsements by country singers Jason Aldean and Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as Amber Rose, former reality star Savannah Chrisley, Caitlyn Jenner, Kid Rock, Dr. Phil, Elon Musk, Azealia Banks, Kanye West, Joe Rogan and Lil Pump.
He has seemed particularly peeved by Beyoncé’s support for Harris, whose campaign has rolled up a galaxy of A-list supporters over the past few months, including Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX and many more.
A week after Beyoncé’s Houston speech, Trump took to the stage in Green Bay, WI dressed as a garbage man, where he again stressed that he didn’t need help from celebrities. “Four nights ago they got Beyoncé… uhhhh Beyoncé,” he said, pausing while audience appeared to boo the singer. “They got Beyoncé,” he repeated. “We don’t need Beyoncé, we don’t need anybody… all you got is me, and I don’t have a guitar.”
The Harris campaign never announced that Beyoncé was expected to sing in Houston and at the Green Bay event, though Trump added, “Ladies and gentlemen, they said Beyoncé’s coming to sing and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyoncé was leaving without singing even one song and they booed the hell out of both of them”; there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that the 30,000-plus Harris supporters booed Beyoncé’s appearance.
According to pollsters, Trump and Harris are in a neck-and-neck race, with most predicting that results may not be finalized as soon as voting ends on Tuesday night. If you are not sure where your polling place is, click here to find out.
Watch Trump’s comments about Beyoncé in Pittsburgh below.
After what has felt like the longest election season in American history, Cardi B is sweating the results already. The “Bongos” rapper took to X just after midnight on election day (Nov. 5) to share her anxiety about the too-close-to-call battle between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and twice impeached former President Donald Trump.
“I don’t know why I’m nervous for tomorrow,” tweeted Cardi, who appeared at a Harris rally last Friday in Milwaukee where she gave a passionate endorsement of the candidate vying to be the nation’s first female President while slamming convicted felon Trump’s stance on women’s rights. Cardi said in her post that she was so twisted up in knots about Tuesday’s vote that, “I feel like I’m running for president.”
Meanwhile, Rihanna — who was born in Barbados and is not a U.S. citizen eligible to vote — posted her own pointed message to fans about what’s at stake on Tuesday. “When protecting p—ies and firing p—ies can happen all in one vote #votecauseicant #TanSuitSeason,” the singer wrote alongside a pensive video of her staring out a window while wearing sunglasses. The comment appeared to be a reference to Harris’ vow to protect women’s rights to make choices about their own bodies in the wake of the repeal of Roe v Wade under Trump’s watch thanks to his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court judges.
Rihanna also had jokes, captioning her clip, “POV: me trying to sneak into the polls with my son’s passport #votecauseicant” Rihanna and partner Harlem native A$AP Rocky have two young sons together.
The stars are among the many A-listers who have lined up behind Harris in her bid to deny convicted felon Trump a second term in the former reality star’s third White House run. At the Milwaukee event, Cardi made it clear why she’s on team Harris. “I take seriously the call to show up, to speak out, and to share a message that’s been on my heart for a while now,” she said. “Like Kamala Harris, I’ve been the underdog, underestimated, and had my success belittled. Women have to work ten times harder and still face questions about how we achieved success. I can’t stand a bully, but just like Kamala, I always stand up to one.”
Harris made her closing argument in Pennsylvania on on Monday night at an event that also featured Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and the Roots on a night when music stars stumped for her in swing states across the country. At the same time, Trump made his final pitch in Michigan as well during a two-hour speech in which he called former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a “b–ch,” once again obsessed about his crowd sizes — while lying about the attendance at Harris’ rallies — as his running mate, JD Vance, referred to Harris as “trash” at an event in Atlanta.
See Cardi and Rihanna’s tweets below.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous for tomorrow… I feel like I’m running for president 😫— Cardi B (@iamcardib) November 5, 2024
Looks like Young Thug is ready to make music with fellow Atlanta rapper Lil Baby again.
Just a few days after being released from Fulton County Jail after a more than two-year ordeal that saw his record label YSL embroiled in a RICO case with the state of Georgia, Thugger took to X to tell Lil Baby aka “Wham” that he wants to release a song. “Wham let’s drop one on these rats peter,” he tweeted.
Wham let’s drop one on these rats peter— Young Thug ひ (@youngthug) November 3, 2024
Lil Baby then responded in kind on his Instagram Stories, telling Thug, “I missed you mf!!!! Welcome home my brudda! Thank God you able to get back to your fam in good health and spirits! Wish ya none but billions jack! #whatwhamsaysgoes.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Earlier today, billboards appeared around L.A. that say, “Whatever Wham Says Goes” multiple times as if the statement was written on a chalkboard during detention like Bart Simpson in the opening credits of The Simpsons.
Trending on Billboard
Young Thug & Lil Baby about to drop? 👀
“Whatever Wham Say Goes” billboards were spotted in LA… pic.twitter.com/nN8AXBDQRl
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) November 4, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
“Whatever Wham Say Goes,” refers to a June 26 tweet from Thug which many assumed referred to some comments Lil Baby said about YSL member Gunna during a performance.
Back in December of 2023, Lil Baby was on stage where he allegedly told the crowd, “F—k the rats, turn this sh—t off,” as the DJ played his Gunna collab “Drip Too Hard.” This came around the same time Gunna took a plea deal and was released from jail during the early moments of the the YSL RICO case.
Still, with all the controversy still surrounding Gunna and his plea deal, the judge gave Thug permission to work with his labelmate again. Gunna has denied the snitching allegations and even Thug’s father has came to his defense on multiple occasions. We’ll have to see how he and Thug’s relationship plays out, but for now we’ll wait on this new Slime and Wham that’s coming down the pike.
Michael Jackson needed some guidance. “The first time he came to my home he said to me, ‘I’m getting ready to do my first solo record for Epic Records,’” Quincy Jones recalled in Q, his 2001 autobiography. “‘Do you think you can help me find a producer?’”
Jones, a musician of unparalleled range and talent who had already overseen or arranged records for Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Aretha Franklin, ended up filling the role himself — over the objections of Jackson’s record label, who deemed the producer “too jazzy.” Thanks to Jackson’s collaborations with Jones on Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad, the two men are inextricably linked.
If there was a downside to helping Jackson become an icon and sell enough albums to populate a small planet, it’s that this achievement often obscures the breadth of Jones’ own accomplishments, reducing his career in the late 1970s and 1980s to a single sidekick role. Jackson did need Jones at his side to make the best music of his most classic period. But this dependency was not mutual: Jones’ productions during this era — for the Johnson Brothers, George Benson, Chaka Khan, and Donna Summer, among others — can hold their own against Jackson’s finest singles.
Trending on Billboard
Jones’ dance music is propulsive, but more than that, it levitates. It makes sense that when Jackson appeared to defy the laws of physics by moonwalking on national television in 1983, he did so to one of Jones’ productions. There is a lot of great disco, yet there are just a handful of songs from this period able to conjure the feeling that Jones reliably created: His productions seem to glide, reveling in the heady momentum of liftoff, cheerfully spurning the ground that the rest of us must rely on to generate forward movement.
Jones made this look easy. For him, producing was always a group effort. When preparing to work with Jackson, the producer rounded up what he called his “killer Q posse,” a group of musicians where “every one was a black-belt master in his own category:” the songwriter Rod Temperton, the engineer Bruce Swedien, the keyboard player Greg Phillinganes, the trumpeter/arranger Jerry Hey, the bassist Louis Johnson, the drummer John Robinson, and the percussionist Paulinho da Costa.
This group worked on Off the Wall, released in the summer of 1979, and most of them also contributed to Rufus & Chaka Khan’s Masterjam, which came out later that year. All Jones’ powers are on display in “Any Love,” the latter album’s second track, an indictment of a playboy — “You don’t really love from deep within,” Khan sneers — that’s as savage as it is danceable. In the first verse, the drums march stiffly, while the bass is excitable like the cad Khan targets, popping rudely and bounding showily into the chorus. Jones gradually ratchets up power, adding jolting brass and a string section that zigs and zags dramatically. This clears the way for a jaw-dropping eruption from Khan, the sort of vocal bulldozing that Jackson, with his more delicate register, couldn’t match.
The following year, the “killer Q posse” returned on a pair of albums produced by Jones, both of which aimed to conquer the nocturnal hours — the Brothers Johnson’s Light Up the Night and George Benson’s Give Me the Night. “Closer to the One That You Love,” from the former, is an intricate, slinky miracle, with a sudden, vertigo-inducing vocal climb from lead singer George Johnson. And on Give Me the Night, both the title track — which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and “Love X Love” are frisky and strutting, with guitar figures that skim across the brisk beats like smooth pebbles skipping across a pond.
Summer turned to Jones and his posse for their wizardry in 1982, managing to bottle lightning with “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger).” The soaring harmonies on the chorus, the nasty edge to the bass line, the way the horns add sizzle to an already piping-hot track; these are all the indelible hallmarks of Jones’ work.
“Love Is in Control” only made it to No. 10 on the Hot 100, which would surely have been a disappointment for its producer. “Number 1 is euphoric and addictive,” he wrote in Q. “Numbers 2, 6, and 11 are my least-favorite chart positions.” Of course, Jones enjoyed plenty of that “euphoric and addictive” feeling after Thriller came out in November 1982.
If Q is any indication, Jones didn’t seem to care much about his work with Summer and Benson and Khan — or even his longer association with the Brothers Johnson, for whom he produced four albums. Jackson, of course, looms large in the book. And Jones is proud of his work in jazz and film scoring. But vital albums he helmed in the 1970s and 1980s barely even merit a mention in his autobiography. Jones passes over these remarkable songs, which can still reliably light up the night, as if they were just another humdrum day in the office.
Play “Love Is In Control” for a casual listener, though. They’ll probably say, “that sounds like Michael Jackson!” In truth, it sounds like Quincy Jones.
Solange loves her some Sosa. Footage captured Chief Keef meeting Solange over the weekend and the heartwarming exchange found the Chicago drill pioneer in shock that the A Seat at the Table singer was a fan of his music.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“That’s you on the keys?” she asked Sosa about a certain song of his. He replied stunned: “What the f–k is going on?” All Solange could do was laugh at the interaction.
Another clip found Chief Keef calling her his “bestie.” “Y’all heard Solange my bestie,” he said. “That’s my bestie.”
Trending on Billboard
A bystander chimed in: “That’s hard!”
Fans lent their stamp of approval to the unlikely meet-up in The Neighborhood Talk‘s IG comment section. “I love how celebrities get star struck as well cuz Sosa ain’t wrong this is a wholesome moment frfr,” one person wrote.
Another added: “He was lowkey happy she knew who he was I love that for her!”
Chief Keef is currently on the road for his A Lil Tour run, which was rescheduled from earlier this year to close out 2024 due to a medical emergency. He’ll be making North American stops in Denver, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Detroit, Philly and more before wrapping up in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 24.
Solange and Sosa are yet to collaborate, but perhaps that could change in the future. Chief Keef delivered his delayed Almighty So 2 project in May, which debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200.
Solange has been laying low on the album front as her last LP arrived in 2019 with When I Get Home. Earlier this year, she teased writing music for the tuba. “I’ve started writing music for the tuba, and I am trying to talk myself into releasing it, but I can only imagine the eye rolls from people being like, this b—h hasn’t made an album,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
Watch the clip below.
Between the Election Day (Nov. 5) and the 2025 Grammy nominations reveal (Nov. 8), the week ahead promises to be one of the busiest in recent memory. The worlds of hip-hop and R&B are sure to be central to both of those events, but major cross-generational news has already made this week a heavy one.
According to his publicist, Quincy Jones, a 28-time Grammy-winning giant across entertainment, passed on Sunday night (Nov. 3) at his Bel Air home surrounded by his family. The producer behind Michael Jackson’s historic LP as well as iconic films such as The Wiz and The Color Purple, Jones’ contributions across music, film, television, and music journalism are immeasurable and his impact will continue to be felt for generations to come.
The news of Jones’ passing comes just days after the shocking conclusion to Young Thug‘s highly-publicized criminal trial. The Hot 100-topping rapper was sentenced to 15 years probation and no prison time after pleading guilty in the long-running case accusing him of leading a violent Atlanta street gang. The decision rocked the hip-hop world, with everyone from Sexyy Red to T.I. reacting to the news. R&B singer Mariah the Scientist, Thugger’s girlfriend, even skipped out on one of her shows on Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea tour to go spend some time with her man.
Trending on Billboard
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Jordan Hawkins’ rollicking ode to a “Love So Good” to Big Moochie Grape and Key Glock’s latest link-up. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: J.I the Prince of N.Y, “Get to Know Me”
Nearly a decade after he first appeared on The Rap Game, J.I the Prince of N.Y is still dropping heat. The Brooklyn emcee is always good for a track that seamlessly blends emotional vulnerability with New York braggadocio, and “Get to Know Me” is another winning addition to his catalog. “I know you brushing off ya pain, if you afraid to fall in love can you at least try to love me coldly/ You used to tell me bout ya day, now we dancing in the rain, do you really wanna get to know me?” he somberly sing-raps over a downcast R&B-inflected trap beat, courtesy of DopeBoyz and Buckroll Beats. “Get to Know Me” clearly positions J.I in the lane of A Boogie wit da Hoodie — and, in turn, the legacy of NY rap ballads (shoutout LL Cool J) — but his wordy hooks and stream-of-consciousness verses push him somewhere slightly different. J.I’s new track plays like a rambling apology, sometimes a pre-emptive atonement and other times he knows he’s already too late.
Nippa, “Pride”
London native Nippa has been steadily making waves on both sides of the pond with his slinky mixture of rap and R&B for some time now. “Pride,” a sultry Afrobeats-influenced ode to letting your guard down and giving into love, deserves to be his biggest hit yet. Over lovelorn guitar and a drum pattern that begs every waist in the room to start wining, he sings “Wonder if I try/ Take off my disguise/ Wonder how it feels to be you/ Feeds my ego, play and pick two.” The Louddaaa-helmed track is quite short, which perfectly positions it for endless remixes and extended version to further build out its atmospheric vibe.
Jordan Hawkins, “Love So Good”
Between Leon Thomas’ stunning Mutt LP and the ever-growing rumors of an impending rock album from Beyoncé, the union of rock and R&B has been growing notably stronger this year on the mainstream level — and North Carolina native Jordan Hawkins has something to say. “Love So Good,” a brash, raucous amalgamation of soul, rock, and gospel is a beautiful breath of fresh air. Beginning at the very apex of his falsetto, Hawkins tears through his ode to a life-changing love with an impassioned vocal performance that peppers his slight drawl with histrionic growls, effortlessly matching the rousing energy of the track’s instrumentation. Not too shabby for Hawkins’ first solo single of 2024.
Big Moochie Grape & Key Glock, “Manifest”
Big Moochie Grape is back. The Memphis rapper returned with his Eat or Get Ate 2 sequel project on Halloween. It’s a Paper Route Empire affair on “Manifest” with BMG calling on PRE honcho Key Glock for the braggadocious “Manifest.” Big Moochie manifested this life of luxury with some potent “za” in his pocket and $300,000 worth of ice around his neck. For him, it was always about the dollar signs. “All of these cap-a– rappers trying to fit in,” he raps over Bandplay’s cinematic production. “All I want is money, I don’t need friends.” Glock takes the baton and slows down the pace to balance out Big Moochie’s fervor.
BabyTron, “Nightmare On Yo Street”
Instead of Nightmare on Elm Street, BabyTron’s bringing a nightmare right to your block. With spooky season in full swing, Babytron adds to the terror with “Nightmare On Yo Street.” The Detroit rapper has carved out his own lane with a signature flow that feels like he’s talking directly to you while punching in every haunting bar. “This a f–king gun fight/ Why you bringing a knife,” he asks from the middle of a creepy cemetery in the official visual. It’s a welcomed addition to any ghostly playlist as BabyTron heads into his Tronicles album dropping on Friday (Nov. 8).
Ella Mai, “One of These”
An artist like Ella Mai wouldn’t typically appear in this column with hits on her resume, but “One of These” is an exception to the rule. The British singer may have found her next radio smash with the romantic tribute to her boyfriend and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Mustard samples Timbaland’s hollow bounce from CeeLo Green’s “I’ll Be Around” while Ella Mai implores women to get them “One of These.” “Wake up in the morning, he got flowers at my feet,” she sings. Although — there’s just not many 20-something-year-old NBA stars walking the earth who could already waltz to the Hall of Fame.
Worl Boss is finally free — and now the Jamaican musical and cultural icon is getting the podcast treatment.
Worl Boss: The Vybz Kartel Story, an eight-part podcast series from SALT, Big Wave More Fire and Gulfstream Studios, is set to debut on Dec. 16, 2024. Created by Tahir Garcia and Sam Griesemer and executive produced by Nick Panama and Max Musina, the audio series will explore the life, career and influence of the dancehall icon.
“There’s so many incredible stories that exist within dancehall and reggae music and the culture here in Jamaica, and so many of them don’t get shared with the public. The only time you hear these stories is if you’re lucky,” Garcia, who also narrates the series, tells Billboard. “We took a step back, two or three years ago, and decided that we wanted this space to be able to tell the story properly. Obviously, podcasting has become this huge thing. But one thing that’s missing, especially in Jamaican culture, is this concept of [podcasts] being scripted. There’s so much more that can be brought to it with sound design and actually sitting down and editing interviews to tell the narrative in a way that captures everything and really preserved the essence of [Vybz Kartel’s] story.”
The new podcast series is told entirely by Jamaican voices and will exclusively feature interviews with important figures within Kartel’s circle, including the first female member of Kartel’s Portmore Empire crew Lisa Hyper, Kartel’s former DJ Creep Chromatic and famed musician Wayne Marshall. These key players will also be joined by Winford Williams — host of On Stage TV, the longest-runnning dancehall interview series — as well as essayist Carolyn Cooper, author and professor Donna Hope, and Milk and Jay Will, two important collaborators on Teacha’s Pet, Kartel’s reality show.
Trending on Billboard
Earlier this summer (July 31), just over a week before Jamaica’s Independence Day (Aug. 6), Kartel regained his freedom after the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that he and his co-accused — Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John — will not face a new trial for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Although he was originally sentenced to 35 years in prison after a historic 64-day trial back in 2014, Kartel (and his co-accused) have always denied their involvement in Williams’ death.
“We have a lot of assets and we spoke to people at the source, including his camp, people in and around his orbit, fans and musicians. We did a pretty extensive job covering all the bases,” says Panama. “We have a lot of voices that are going to be represented and using that as a way to help breakthrough and create the world around the story is part of how we’ll successfully bring this to market. We’ve got some really great partners in the audio space that we’ll be announcing soon, and I think they’ll help amplify this project even more.”
Known for hits such as “Fever” and his Spice-assisted “Romping Shop,” Vybz Kartel’s raunchy music and slick wordplay have soundtracked multiple generations of dancehall listeners, and Garcia promises the new series will be for everyone: from first-time listeners to lifelong fans. “If this is your first introduction [to Vybz Kartel], it’s supposed to be just as impactful as it would be to someone who’s listened to him forever.”
In addition to his music and efforts to support Jamaica, Kartel’s legal woes have also become a major part of his legacy — one that Worl Boss does not shy away from. “Everything gets addressed and talked about. We just don’t dwell on that. It’s a part of the journey, but it doesn’t define the character,” explains Garcia, who also tells Billboard that, “the hardest part was getting people who are close to [Kartel] to speak freely — especially while he was still incarcerated — because nobody wanted to do anything that could potentially incriminate [him or themselves]. Everyone was very, very cautious about agreeing to do it, and what put them at ease was us not focusing on the mess.”
Although there are currently no additional details about the podcast’s distribution, Panama stresses that the podcast series is just one part of the story they hope to tell. “The second [part] is a documentary series and feature film that are in development with arguably one of the biggest Jamaican directors, and UTA’s representing the project,” he reveals. “That will probably be more of a late 2024 thing, but the reason we did those together is because the story is so dynamic. Dancehall is such a small genre from a small country that has an enormously outsized impact globally. To have a revered yet controversial figure at the heart of that with Vybz [Kartel] is such a fascinating character and cultural study.”
Since his release, Kartel has remained outside partying and enjoying his freedom ahead of a massive “Freedom Street” concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, on Dec. 31 — his first performance in 13 years. Production and filming for Worl Boss began before Kartel regain his freedom, but now “there’s a third act to his story,” Panama muses. “He wasted no time walking out of prison and getting his entrepreneurial and music endeavors back up and running and continuing to build his mythology.”
From February’s box office-topping Bob Marley: One Love biopic to Worl Boss, Jamaica has remained at the forefront of global popular culture throughout 2024. For his part, Garcia hopes this new podcast series is the beginning of several projects chronicling and preserving Caribbean culture and music history. “That’s one of the things we spoke about very early on in this process, what does the next step within this space look like?” he says. “Once [Worl Boss] starts rolling out, hopefully it reshapes what people think is possible, and that’s going to be even more exciting.”