R&B/Hip-Hop
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Billboard honored the top power players across hip-hop and R&B on Tuesday (Aug. 8) and celebrated 50 historic years of hip-hop at the 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players Event and R&B Hip-Hop Live. Presented in partnership with VIBE, Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Live took place at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles and featured high energy performances by headliner Metro […]
Offset has ended his legal battle with Quality Control Music, the label that helped launch his career as a member of Migos, according to a report by TMZ on Wednesday (Aug. 9). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The publication notes that while Offset will not join QC moving […]
Da Brat and wife Jesseca “Judy” Harris-Dupart welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named True Legend, on July 6. On Thursday (Aug. 9), the elated couple has shared the first photos of their month-old bundle of joy.
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“It was only right,” wrote Da Brat in a caption of one of the three photosets she posted to Instagram this morning. In the photos, True Legend rests against a red background donning green-gray pants and hat, while holding a miniature microphone in one hand, and a tiny boombox in the other. In another photoset featuring a photoshoot helmed by People, Da Brat and Judy pose tenderly with their baby boy. “Look, this came out of my stomach,” Da Brat told People. “I cry every day. I just look at him and boo-hoo, because I’m so grateful.”
After marrying Harris-Dupart, who serves as the founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products, in 2022, Da Brat underwent in vitro fertility (IVF) treatments using eggs from Harris-Dupart and sperm from an anonymous donor. Following a devastating miscarriage, the “Funkdafied” rapper became pregnant with True Legend. “I never want to do that again,” Da Brat said, “but for him it was worth it.”
Another photoset, shared to both Da Brat’s official Instagram account and the page the couple created for their new baby, finds the family of three bonding in the hospital room moments after delivery. Da Brat notes that her and Harris-Dupart’s “love playlist” helped her relax during her cesarean section, not Biggie as she originally thought. “Who would ever think this? Da Brat-a-tat-tat from 1994!” she mused. “I’m with a beautiful, successful woman who completes me and inspires me to be better. I’m elated to be a mother. I never thought I would be, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I never need another thing in life.”
Da Brat has earned 13 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including the top ten hits “Funkdafied” (No. 6) and “Not Tonight” (No. 6, with Lil’ Kim, Left Eye, Missy Elliott & Angie Martinez). The award-winning rapper has landed four titles on the Billboard 200, including 2000’s No. 5-peaking Unrestricted.
“You want to go home or you want to keep going?” Metro Boomin asked the packed audience late into his set on Tuesday night (Aug. 8) at Billboard’s R&B Hip-Hop Live event at The Novo in Los Angeles. The answer from the crowd registered as an unintelligible roar — but it was clear they weren’t ready to leave.
The hitmaking DJ and producer, who most recently executive produced the Marvel soundtrack Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in June — played for over an hour following Billboard’s 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event in honor of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Joining him on the bill were “Players” rapper-vocalist Coi Leray and rapper Armani White (“BILLIE EILISH,” “Baazigar”).
Though he was the headlining act of the night, Metro made a casual entrance to the stage, sauntering out in white jeans, T-shirt and purple ball cap to take his place behind the boards. Over the course of the crowd-pleasing set, the hitmaker performed tracks including “10 Freaky Girls,” “Niagara Falls (Foot or 2),” “Creepin’,” “Umbrella,” “Minute,” “No Complaints” as well as Spider-Verse cuts including “Calling” and “Self Love.”
Metro also made several nods to his production work, performing “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (a cut off Kanye West’s Life of Pablo), Post Malone’s “Congratulations” with Quavo and “Heartless” by The Weeknd.
Metro’s “Self Love” collaborator Leray (sporting close-cropped blue hair) preceded him on stage with an ecstatic set that included such hits as “Bitch Girl,” “Baby Don’t Hurt Me,” “Bops,” “Get Loud,” “Make My Day” and “Players,” which became her first top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at No. 9 on the tally in April. The charismatic rapper was backed by a crew of fatigue-clad dancers, with one male member of the team executing some onstage acrobatics at several points during the performance. This being a Billboard event, Leray made sure to shout out her first Hot 100 entry “No More Parties,” which peaked at No. 26 on the tally in March 2021.
“This s–t real,” Leray said at the top of her set. “I remember when they say I was TikTok, hopped on Tiktok — now they say I’m [Billboard].”
Earlier in the evening, White pulled off spirited performances of such tracks as “SILVER TOOTH,” “Onederful” and “Thanksgiving.” At one point, the rising rapper referenced his big moment at Osheaga Festival on Saturday (Aug. 5), when Billie Eilish brought him out on stage to perform his hit single — you guessed it — “BILLIE EILISH.”
“I don’t know if any of y’all follow me, but I was on stage with Billie Eilish,” said White, clearly still drinking in the viral moment. “Some wild s–t, right?”
Lil Wayne, Nas, Ice Spice and more helped celebrate the genre.
Travis Scott storms to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Meltdown,” featuring Drake, launches atop the list dated Aug. 12. The track leads a parade of all 19 songs the streaming edition of Scott’s new Utopia album on the chart. The long-awaited parent set, first teased in 2020, debuts at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with the biggest week for any rap album in 2023, and gives Scott his third champ.
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“Meltdown,” released on Cactus Jack/Epic Records, traces its chart-topping start to 32.2 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Luminate, more than enough to secure its No. 1 entrance on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The tune also sold 2,000 copies in its debut week, prompting a No. 5 bow on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list. For the third and final metric that informs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – radio airplay – the collaboration registered 8,000 audience impressions – well below the threshold of any R&B/hip-hop radio chart, though the song is not being promoted as a single for radio airplay. (“K-POP,” the pre-release track with Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, is the current radio focus.)
Thanks to “Meltdown,” Travis Scott achieves his sixth No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Here’s a recap of his now half-dozen leaders:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Travis Scott), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“ZEZE,” Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott & Offset, one, Oct. 27, 2018
“Sicko Mode,” 10, Nov. 3, 2018
“Highest in the Room,” one, Oct. 19, 2019
“The Scotts,” with The Scotts & Kid Cudi, one, May 9, 2020
“Franchise,” featuring Young Thug & M.I.A., one, Oct. 10, 2020
Featured artist Drake, meanwhile, adds a record-extending 28th Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 to his account. It’s his second visit to the summit in 2023, after his one-week champ “Search & Rescue,” likewise debuted at No. 1 in April. As Drake further distances himself from the competition, here’s a review of the acts with the most No. 1s on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs since the chart became an all-encompassing genre survey in 1958:
28, Drake
20, Aretha Franklin
20, Stevie Wonder
17, James Brown
16, Janet Jackson
15, The Temptations
13, Marvin Gaye
13, Michael Jackson
13, Usher
11, Lil Wayne
11, R. Kelly
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Behind “Meltdown,” Scott floods Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as the entire 19-track Utopia album lands on the list, including five additional tracks in the top 10. Seventeen of the ranks go to debuts, with the lone exception being “K-POP,” which debuted at No. 2 last week.
Here’s the full Utopia recap on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week:
No. 1, “Meltdown,” featuring Drake
No. 2, “FE!N,” featuring Playboi Carti
No. 5, “I Know ?”
No. 7, “Hyaena”
No. 9, “Thank God”
No. 10, “Topia Twins,” featuring Rob49 & 21 Savage
No. 11, “K-POP,” with Bad Bunny & The Weeknd
No. 12, “My Eyes”
No. 13, “Modern Jam,” featuring Teezo Touchdown
No. 14, “Delresto (Echoes),” with Beyoncé
No. 15, “Telekenesis,” featuring SZA & Future
No. 16, “Sirens”
No. 17, “God’s Country”
No. 18, “Skitzo,” featuring Young Thug
No. 19, “Circus Maximus,” featuring The Weeknd & Swae Lee
No. 20, “Til Futher Notice,” featuring James Blake & 21 Savage
No. 22, “Lost Forever,” featuring Westside Gunn
No. 23, “Looove,” featuring Kid Cudi
No. 24, “Parasail,” featuring Yung Lean & Dave Chappelle
The Scott show is much of the same on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, where “Meltdown” opens at No. 3 as the highest Utopia track of the week. All 19 Utopia songs are present on the list as well, pushing Scott into the rare triple-digits club as he becomes the 15th act to surpass 100 career hits on the chart.
Luther Vandross’ soulful, luxurious tenor wrapped its way around a string of R&B and pop hits in the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s. So it’s only fitting that the Luther Vandross Estate and Primary Wave Music would collaborate with esteemed Irish luxury brand Waterford to launch an exclusive crystal collection.
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Paying homage to the eight-time Grammy winner’s 1981 platinum single “Never Too Much,” the limited-edition Luther 81 X collection will become available on Aug. 10.
Each piece in the Luther Vandross X Waterford collection of cocktail and barware features a karo cut design that underscores a key line in the song’s refrain: “A thousand kisses from you is never too much.” Each crystal piece is also emblazoned with a single hand-cut karo kiss on its base.
Waterford x Luther Vandross
Courtesy of Waterford
In an additional salute to the music and legacy of Vandross, who died in 2005, the House of Waterford has designed a unique crystal art piece commemorating the artist’s double-platinum debut album, also titled Never Too Much. The 12-inch wall-mounted crystal disc, set against a steel and brass backdrop, sports 81 polished precision-cut track grooves and a hand-etched center label featuring Vandross’ signature. It took more than 19 hours and four Master Craftsmen to forge the crystal album, using five specialized techniques: mouth blowing, cutting, sculpting, satin finishing and assembling. It will be available for purchase on the Waterford website for $15,000.
“Luther Vandross’ genuine affinity for crystal always mirrored the crystal-clear quality of his voice and spirit,” said Lisa Fruggiero, vp of brand partnerships at Primary Wave Music, in a release announcing the news. “Our collaboration with Waterford beautifully symbolizes this, adding a level of sincerity and elegance that embodies Luther’s legacy in a unique, tangible way.”
Courtesy Photo
David Gottlieb, manager of the Luther Vandross Estate, stated, “This unique collection honors Luther Vandross’ timeless legacy, beautifully capturing the spirit of his music in each crystal piece. It’s more than just barware — it’s a testament to Luther’s profound influence on music and his ever-present essence in our lives.”
With support from Waterford, Primary Wave Music and The Luther Vandross Estate, the Luther Vandross Foundation honored the singer’s dedication to helping students and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Held at Philadelphia’s historic Belmont Mansion earlier this year, the event showcased a custom-cut crystal decanter that prefaced the Luther 81 X line’s upcoming August launch.
Waterford x Luther Vandross
Courtesy of Waterford
“Music is an emotional thread that will be integral to our new brand narrative at Waterford,” said Waterford creative director Alice Bastin. “Luther’s music has inspired and bonded generations and his legacy lives on through the important work the Luther Vandross Foundation does. It’s incredibly important to me that Waterford supports the work of the Luther Vandross Foundation and promotes cultural conversations around diversity and inclusivity. It’s an honor for Waterford to be able to contribute to the important work of the Luther Vandross Foundation and to give talented students attending HBCUs the financial aid to further their passions in education.”
The Luther Vandross X Waterford collection will be available on waterford.com. It will also be available exclusively at Bloomingdale’s in the U.S., David Jones in Australia, House of Waterford in Ireland, and Harrods in the U.K. For more information, visit https://www.waterford.com/en-us/collections/collaborations/luther-vandross.
Hours after Travis Scott revealed on Tuesday (Aug. 8) that he was gearing up for a U.S. tour in support of his just-released chart-topping Utopia album, the mayor of his hometown, Houston, confirmed that the rapper has booked a gig at the city’s Toyota Center later this year.
While Scott has not revealed any of the dates or venues for the outing yet, other than to tease on Instagram “UTOPIA TOUR SOON, US AND EURO DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCE, I MISS THE ROAD I MISSS YALLL,” the Houston gig is notable because it will mark the first time since the Astroworld tragedy two years ago that the rapper will take the stage in the city.
According to ABC 13, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released a statement on Tuesday that Scott and his promotion partners “booked the Toyota Center for a concert in October.” Turner also noted that the 19,000-seat arena is a different type of venue than the one that hosted Astroworld in 2021, the parking lot at NRG, where 10 people died and hundreds were injured during a deadly crowd crush. Scott and Live Nation are still facing a number of civil lawsuits over Astroworld.
“The Toyota Center has been a good partner with the City of Houston, and we expect this to continue for this and every other concert. Before today’s announcement, Toyota Center representatives convened meetings with public safety officials and the City’s special events office,” the mayor’s statement read. “They will continue working together to ensure this concert’s safety, not unlike the many other concerts and events held at Toyota Center each year.”
A grand jury in Houston decided in June that neither Scott nor the organizers of the festival would face criminal charges in the incident following a 19-month investigation that found there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges against the rapper or other individuals who organized the event.
Though Scott has not confirmed the Houston date, KPRC 2 reported that local law enforcement agencies told the station that leaders in the Houston Police Department were not pleased with the news. “The HPOU found out early last week that Travis Scott would be returning to Houston for two concert dates. October 19th, and November the 20th, were the dates in which were proposed for the return. Like most we were in complete disbelief,” read a statement from HPD Union president Douglas Griffith after what was reportedly a tense meeting with the HPD and a number of officers who expressed their frustrations and safety concerns about the upcoming show by the rapper who in the past has encouraged his fans to “rage” at his shows.
“Only days after the release of a 1,200-page report describing the tragic events that took place during his Astroworld Concert, we are advised just days later that there will be another,” the HPD statement continued. “This is outrageous and the HPOU will be calling for all of our elected officials to stand up and say, Not in our city, not again! We truly do not want to ever make a statement like the one two weeks ago asking for prayers for the families of those lost at a Travis Scott concert.”
At press time a spokesperson for tour promoter Live Nation could not be reached for comment on the HPD’s reported concerns.
Scott celebrated the release of Utopia with a concert at Rome’s Circus Maximus over the weekend which featured a surprise appearance from disgraced rapper Kanye West (who now goes by Ye.) Utopia shot to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated Aug. 12, marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release.
On Tuesday evening (Aug. 8), hundreds of R&B and hip-hop executives gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate one another — and honor 50 incredible years of hip-hop. As the red carpet started to jam with guests eager to get the night started, those already inside Billboard’s 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event were treated to a […]
Travis Scott is ready to head out on the road! The rapper took to Instagram on Tuesday (Aug. 8) to tease his upcoming U.S. and European tours in support of his freshly released album, Utopia. “UTOPIA TOUR SOON, US AND EURO DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCE, I MISS THE ROAD I MISSS YALLL,” he wrote. […]