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A$AP Rocky stars in his self-directed Beats Studio Pro campaign, which Rihanna makes a cute audio cameo in, that launched Thursday (July 20).
In the minute-long “Iconic Sound” campaign video, which marks the rapper’s directorial debut for a brand commercial, Rocky tinkers around with his new, Pharrell-produced single “RIOT (ROWDY PIPE’N) in his home studio before his superstar partner requests, “Babe! Can you go to the store? We ran out of diapers.” Rihanna’s wish is Rocky’s command, as he throws on his Timberland boots and new Beats Studio Pro headphones over the white tee he tied around his braids so he can go on a proper diaper run. For all of the fans who saw videos online of Rocky sprinting around New York in his Timbs while his doppelgangers followed suit, now you know why.
After flinging flowers, leaping over trash bins and skidding on top of cabs, Rocky finally pulls up to the AWGE Bodega, cleverly named after his creative agency, and buys AWGEY’s Diapers that features an adorable photo of his and Rihanna’s 1-year-old son RZA on the package. Like the song suggests, Rocky starts a riot outside the bodega as paparazzi chase him down the street before he makes it home.
“Babe! You gotta go back,” Rihanna yells from the other room after Rocky sits back down at his studio set-up. “These are the wrong size.”
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The Beats Studio Pro headphones are now available at the Apple store and Apple.com for $349.99 in the U.S., Canada, France and Germany, as well as at authorized resellers. The headphones come in four premium colors: black, deep brown, navy and sandstone.
“I’ve been a fan of Beats since the beginning, so this has been a full-circle experience,” Rocky said in a press release. “I had a vision in mind for this project, and they provided the space for me to zone in and fully express my creativity.”
“RIOT (ROWDY PIPE’N)” will be featured on Rocky’s upcoming fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb. He announced the new album was done during his Amazon Music Live concert last December, where he debuted his latest single “Same Problems?” before officially releasing it this January.
Travis Scott is bringing something sweet to fans, as he took to Instagram on Wednesday (July 19) to tease a new collaboration with The Weeknd and Bad Bunny. The star-studded team up is seemingly titled “Lollipop,” as the rapper shared the cover art featuring a single red lollipop and captioned the post with three lollipop […]
Cardi B is sharing her wealth with her loved ones.
The Grammy-winning rapper chatted with The New York Times in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, where she opened up about the “perks of fame” and how she’s been able to spoil her family. “When I bought my mom a house, that meant a lot to me. When I bought my house with my husband, that meant a lot to me. When I bought another house … damn, I bought a lot of houses,” she said.
She also shared the whopping price tag for an elaborate playground set she bought for her two children whom she shares with Offset — five-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari and nearly two-year-old Wave Set. “But it also do be the little things, right? I just bought this playground set for my kids and it’s huge. It looks insane. And I spent in the 20 thousands for it,” she admitted.
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While Cardi revealed that she’s bought more expensive things over her career, it’s important for her to buy nice things for her children because “this is what I work hard for, for my kids.”
She continued, “Overly spending on your kids doesn’t mean that you’re a great parent, but it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like that you’re living your childhood dream.”
The playground set is hardly the first lavish gift Cardi and Offset have given their children, as they’ve showered their babies with designer clothes, bags and extravagant birthday parties among other luxuries.
Last year, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Offset explained why he and Cardi find it so important to go all out for their son and daughter. “We do it big for our kids,” he said. “We love our kids.”
He added, “At the end of the day, we went through life and we didn’t have the opportunities. I bet if my mama had the chance, she would have went all out and did what she wanted to do for me. “So I’m just lending it to my kids. Just letting them see they can have another life too, you know? We work hard to do that.”
From the anthemic “EA” to the resilient “Pissy Pamper” — the latter of which never saw an official release due to sample clearance issues, but still thrived through repeated unofficial streaming uploads — Young Nudy has been helping drive the culture with his rap music for the better part of a decade. Between his idiosyncratic beat selections and bouncy cadence, Young Nudy has cultivated a sound that smartly balances ominous grit with genuine, unadulterated fun.
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Currently, he’s enjoying his biggest hit to date, with “Peaches & Eggplants” becoming Nudy’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. Boosted by its popularity on TikTok, its tongue-in-cheek take on sex-rap and “boaw boaw” ad-libs, the track from his February album, Gumbo, has spent six weeks on the all-genre songs chart.
“Peaches & Eggplants,” which features Grammy-winning rapper (and Nudy’s cousin) 21 Savage has reached a No. 61 best since its June entrance, tying for Nudy’s second highest-peaking Hot 100 hit. Previously, his first appearance on the chart came in 2019 as a featured artist on Dreamville’s Grammy-nominated posse cut “Down Bad” (No. 64); the following year, he returned with two more entries thanks to Lil Uzi Vert’s “Money Spread” (No. 89) and 21 Savage & Metro Boomin’s “Snitches & Rats” (No. 61); last year, Nudy reunited with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage on “Umbrella,” a track from the former’s Billboard 200-topping Heroes & Villains that gifted Nudy his highest Hot 100 peak yet (No. 23).
According to Luminate, “Peaches & Eggplants” has collected 78.9 million official U.S. on-demand streams and 3,000 digital downloads, as of July 18. As the song continues to build at radio, Billboard caught up with Young Nudy to chat about his Hot 100 success, the track’s music video and what comes next for the rapper.
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Tell me a bit about the creative process for “Peaches & Eggplants.”
I ain’t even gonna play like I was on some intentional s—t — it was just me playing around in the studio and being goofy. I was just being silly with my buddies.
How did you know that 21 Savage was the right choice of collaborator for this song?
Honestly, that was his choice! He wanted to hop on the motherf–ker. He heard it and was like, “What’s that lil “boaw boaw” song that you got? Let me hop on that s—t,” and we just made it happen.
The song has had a relatively slow rise — did you always know that this was a special one? Or did this level of success come as a surprise to you?
It was more a surprise for me. In my mind, when it comes to my music, I’m not really one of those types of people that’s concerned with numbers. I like to feed my fans, because I know I’ma do numbers regardless. When I seen how people were reacting to [the song], I was kind of shocked, like “Oh, this that radio type of music that they like.”
Why did you wait to drop the music video?
I don’t like to drop the song that everybody wants first. That wouldn’t make sense. I like to let my other songs get a little shine too. That’s why I dropped “Pancake” first, before I dropped “Peaches & Eggplants” — the one everybody was waiting on.
The music video looked like a great time. How did that come together?
That s–t ratchet! (Laughs.) That motherf–ker was lit though! It really wasn’t even that many people at first. I was like, “You know what? I’m finna make this s–t public for everybody to come.” Because I just want everybody to have fun. I’m a down-to-earth type of person, so I don’t really care about having a lot of people around me who just wanna kick it, when it comes to certain situations.
What was your reaction when you first saw people using “Peaches & Eggplants” on TikTok?
When I first saw it, it really ain’t hit me like that for real. When it first came out, I was getting videos with all my damn music, so I didn’t even really know when it first started to pop.
Have you started eyeing your next single off Gumbo, or are you thinking of moving on to another project?
I’ve probably got about two more videos I’m a shoot. I’m finna shoot “Passionfruit” and “Okra.” I just shot “Portobello” like two weeks ago. “Portobello” [is gonna] come out next after “Peaches & Eggplants,” then I’m a hit them folks with “Passionfruit” and “Okra.”
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You pick really unpredictable, eccentric beats. How did you go about matching each beat to its eventual food-centric title? What was your process for crafting and sequencing Gumbo?
When me and Coupe get together, we do magic. Really with any producer, I can lock in. If I don’t lock in with them, then s–t don’t come out the way I want it to sound or feel.
How are you handling your profile rising even more thanks the success of “Peaches & Eggplants?”
It’s really nothing that’s too new to me. I tell anybody — I been selling out shows, I been making a lot of money off this music s–t, so I ain’t even really tripping. But I’m grateful for it.
“Peaches & Eggplants” sits alongside some other spicy rap hits like “Slut Me Out” and “Pound Town” where they’re sexy, but they’re also kind of funny. What do you think about this recent wave of songs?
It’s a lot of freaky ass people out there in the world! [Laughs.] I been in the freakiness since “Yeah Yeah” though!
What does the Billboard Hot 100 mean to you? And what does it mean that you now have your very first hit on the chart as a lead artist?
I guess I’m really just grateful and thankful for it. I don’t really know too much what to say. I’m not trying to compete with no song or all that type of s–t. I’m a just keep making music and keep going hard. That’s all there is to it.
Do you have any more goals you’d like to hit with “Peaches & Eggplants”?
Hell yeah, I’m trying to get a No. 1! I wanna see how that feels. I get my No. 1, I might have a lot s–t to say to everybody on the Internet. [Laughs.]
A version of this story originally appeared in the July 15, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Ice Spice announced on Wednesday (July 19) that she’ll be releasing the deluxe version of her debut EP Like..? on Friday, July 21, via 10K Projects/Capitol Records. According to Apple Music, which just announced Ice as its new Up Next artist, the expanded edition contains four more tracks. Like..? was originally released on Jan. 20, […]
Ice Spice has shared her side of the story to how she came to be the featured artist on Taylor Swift‘s “Karma” remix, a collaboration which resulted in Ice getting her first ever Billboard Hot 100 No. 2, the chance to perform three times for a sold out crowd at MetLife Stadium and a long-lasting friendship with one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.
“I was home and my manager called me, and was like, ‘Oh, Taylor wants you on a record.’ And I’m like, ‘Taylor?’” the 23-year-old rapper recalled to Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1’s “Up Next” series. “I was having a really bad day also, I would like to say that. I was having a terrible day. I was crying all morning because I was just so mad at something. And then he called me with that news. And then I cried more, because it was good news.”
“My life is a rollercoaster,” she added. “How I started the day crying and I’m ending it crying, but for different reasons.”
Ice also took Lowe through the process of recording her parts on “Karma,” which she called “amazing.” “We went to the studio and [Taylor] is so humble and so nice,” she said. “I kid you not. I pulled up to the studio and she outside waiting for me. So she’s great. She’s so funny. We text all the time. She is f–king hilarious. I’m not going to lie. She’s the funniest person ever.”
At the first of three Eras Tour shows in East Rutherford back in May, Swift herself shared that she had been a major fan of Ice’s even before learning that the young star was interested in collaborating. “What she didn’t know at the time is that when I was training for the tour, I was listening to pretty much exclusively just her music every single day,” the “Anti-Hero” singer revealed before debuting the “Karma” music video at the show. “So we immediately went into the studio and I just not only fell in love with her, but just decided she’s the entire future.”
Later that night, Ice surprised the audience by taking the stage for the show’s finale, rapping her “Karma” verse before exiting the stage with Swift’s arm around her shoulders.
“The roar that you hear in a Taylor Swift show is unmatched,” Ice recalled to Lowe. “But her show was amazing, and I’m just so grateful. Like 200,000 people, I think we performed for.”
The Bronx native also touched on her relationships with mentors like Nicki Minaj, with whom she’s turned in two collaborations (“Princess Diana” and a remix of Aqua’s “Barbie World” for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie), and Drake. “I feel like I am absorbing advice from [Nicki] and learning from her and stuff,” she shared. And she’ll tell me, ‘Learn from my mistake, do this or don’t do that,’ or whatever. And I just really pay attention to what she’s saying. Because if there’s anyone I’m going to listen to it’s the queen.”
“We talk all the time and we’re always just laughing about some things that go on,” she added of Drizzy. “And I’ll ask him, ‘What should I do with this? Or how’d you go about this? Or did you ever experience that?’ It’s like coach vibes.”
Listen to Ice Spice’s Apple Music 1 interview above.
From surprise Blue Ivy performances to heartwarming gender reveals, Beyoncé’s blockbuster Renaissance World Tour has been an especially joyous trek for fans of one of music’s most towering icons. And at her Nashville show on July 15, the tour’s second U.S. stop, Beyoncé helped one lucky couple pick their wedding song. During her set, the […]
Grammy winners Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan and Miguel lead the performer lineup for the 2023 Honeyland Festival. Presented by IMG and Live Nation Urban, the inaugural, two-day music and culinary event will take place at Crown Festival Park in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside Houston, on November 11-12.
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The lineup of performers will also include Chlöe, Coco Jones, DJ Mr. Rogers, Spinall, Dende, Inayah, Jae Murphy, Kiotti & Keisha Nicole, Lenora, Lucky Daye, Tay Powers, Tems and Tobe Nwigwe. In a nod to this year’s celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, the Houston All-Stars — Scarface, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Z-Ro and Lil Keke — will also hit the stage. In addition, Nwigwe will serve as Honeyland Festival’s Houston Ambassador, exploring the immersive experience presented by the national and local restauranteurs and culinary talent that will be on hand at the event.
“We are excited to bring together icons of the music world with the leaders of Black cuisine and beverage, creating a culminating experience of Black expression for everyone at Honyland to enjoy,” said Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee in a release announcing the festival. “From Afrobeats to hip-hop, neo-soul to R&B, the best in music will meet the best in food and beverage.”
Honeyland Festival’s schedule of performances and events will be announced at a later date, while the general on-sale begins on July 21. General admission tickets include passes to the multiple stages hosting the music performances and conversations with special guests as well as food and beverage demonstrations and cook-off competitions. For further updates and ticket information, visit honeylandfestival.com.
Lil Durk has canceled several dates of his Sorry for the Drought Tour and backed out of his Rolling Loud Miami performance.
On Tuesday (July 18), 24 dates had been marked as canceled and only five shows remained unaffected, including two hometown shows at Chicago’s United Center.
DJ Akademiks said on Instagram that he got a statement from Durk “exclusively about these cancellations,” which reads as follows: “Since I’m still awaiting to get full clearance from my doctors to travel and perform again, I have no other choice but to cancel my headlining Rolling Loud performance. While I’m home resting, I am looking forward to my two homecoming shows on the 11th & 12th in Chicago. For the rest of the country, I’ll be announcing new dates soon. #StillHealing”
Billboard has reached out to Durk’s reps for more information but hadn’t heard back at press time.
The Aug. 11 Chicago show is part of his Sorry for the Drought Tour, while the Aug. 12 show is the 107.5 WGCI Summer Jam, where Durk is still slated to perform alongside Kodak Black, NLE Choppa and DD Osama, who were slated to join him on tour. The other three shows are his July 28 show at Tampa, Florida’s MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater, his Aug. 13 show at Noblesville’s Ruoff Music Center, and his Aug. 21 show at Houston’s Toyota Center.
His Rolling Loud Miami performance at Hard Rock Stadium was originally scheduled for this Friday, July 21.
TMZ Hip-Hop had reported last week that Durk had spent a week in the hospital earlier this month for severe dehydration and exhaustion. “My fans mean everything to me, you’re the reason why I do this,” he told the publication in a statement. “I was looking forward to touching all of my European fans, performing this week(end), attending the ESPYs and more but after performing and traveling daily I’ve become severely dehydrated and advised by my doctors not to travel due to exhaustion. Once I get my full energy back, it’s back to business which I’m looking forward to. #StillHealing”
Durk is expected to release the deluxe edition of his eighth studio album, Almost Healed, soon. He originally released the 21-track project on May 26, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Almost Healed contains the hit single “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rhythmic Airplay.
Looking for something new to try in the kitchen? Snoop Dogg and E-40 got you covered. The rap duo are teaming up for a new cookbook, titled Snoop Dogg Presents Goon With the Spoon, which is set to arrive on November 14 via Chronicle Books, according to People. The book, which serves as a follow-up […]