R&B/Hip-Hop

01 Dec 2023

Beyonce Checks-In With Surprise Release ‘My House’: Stream It Now

It’s been a decade since Beyoncé set the Beyhive buzzing with a surprise album release. Bey does it again, this time dropping a new single,”My House,” without any prior warning.

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Set to a cracking trap beat and bold, brassy tones, “My House” (via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia) is both an early Christmas present, and a gift from the superstar U.S. singer to kick-off the opening weekend of her Renaissance concert film.

The tune comes with a parental warning for its “explicit lyrics”. On it, she sings, “I will always love you, but I’ll never expect you to love me when you don’t love yourself/ Let’s heal the world one beautiful action at the time/ This is real love.”

Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant contributes lyrics and production to “My House,” Bey’s first solo release since Beyonce’s hit seventh studio album Renaissance arrived in July 2022.

Arriving at the stroke of midnight, “My House” is accompanied with eye-catching artwork, with Queen Bey front and center, donning dark shades and a futuristic chrome helmet and top combo.

Ten years ago to the month, Bey dropped her self-titled fifth studio album without notice. Many have since copied the strategy, though few have replicated the success of Beyonce, which led the Billboard 200 for three weeks and is one of her seven leaders on the chart.

Bey continues to have it her own way. She bagged the year’s top-grossing tour, with Renaissance World Tour, which grossed $579.8 million and sold 2.8 million tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore between May 10 and Oct. 1.

Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is expected to put up impressive numbers.

On what is typically a slow post-Thanksgiving period, the movie is aiming for a $30-$40 million global opening, Deadline reports.

Distributed by AMC, the Renaissance movie is booked into 2,539 theaters domestically and another 2,780 abroad in 94 territories, with U.S. previews beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 30) before settling into a Thursday-Sunday schedule. Beyonce directs the two-and-a-half-hour flick.

Stream “My House” below.

30 Nov 2023

Ari Lennox Pauses Show, Threatens to ‘F— Up’ Fan After Getting Water Bottle Thrown at Her Onstage

Ari Lennox is refusing to be another victim of the dangerous trend in which concert attendees throw objects at artists onstage.

The “Pressure” singer was performing her opening slot for Rod Wave’s Nostalgia tour at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Nov. 29), when someone threw a water bottle onstage and hit her in the arm.

Lennox immediately stops the show, as seen in a video shared by TMZ, demanding to know who the perpetrator is. “I’ll f— you up,” she tells the crowd. “Who did it? Who the f— did it? I don’t play that s—. I’m a real a– b—- and I will f— your s— all the way the f— up.”

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She continued, “Don’t you ever disrespect a beautiful Black woman on the f—ing stage like that. I’m going to f— you up.” Before a fight could break out, Ari’s security guard escorted her off the stage.

Bebe Rexha, Lil Nas X and Kelsea Ballerini are among the slew of artists who have recently had their shows interrupted by the launching of various objects including, respectively, a phone, a sex toy and bracelet. Ava Max was also slapped by a fan who rushed the stage, and another concertgoer threw their mother’s ashes onto the stage during P!nk’s performance at BST Hyde Park in London on June 25.

Taylor Swift even addressed objects being thrown onstage while she was performing at Estadio River Plate for the Eras Tour in November. “Just because communication means having gentle, healthy boundaries,” said Swift, “it really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on the stage. Because if it’s on the stage then a dancer can trip on it.”

“I love that you bought presents and that is so nice, but just, can you please not throw them on the stage,” she stated (rather than asked). “I love you so much.”

30 Nov 2023

Watch Tyla Deliver a Sultry Performance of New Single ‘On and On’ on ‘Colors’

While Tyla‘s hit single “Water” hasn’t lost its steam yet, she’s quenching fans’ thirst for new music. The South African “popiano” singer performed her new single “On and On” on Colors Thursday (Nov. 30).

Over a warm vanilla background, Tyla’s honeyed, old-school R&B vocals transport viewers back to 1995. “Let’s take it back in time/ Party like it’s ’95/ I just wanna dance all night/ You know that I like it like that,” she croons. “Let the party go on all night long/ We can go on, on and on/ Let’s make the party go on all night long/ Wе can go on, on and on.”

On top of “On and On,” Tyla has also teased new singles “Truth or Dare” and “Butterfly” on her social media ahead of her debut album. “Tomorrow the pre-save for my debut album goes live with 3 new songs… Been working on the full project for 2 years now and I’ve finally gotten to a point where I’m ready to share it with my Tygers top of 2024,” she wrote on X.

Meanwhile, “Water” is still doing swimmingly on the charts. This week alone (in the tallies dated Dec. 2), she earned her first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Water,” which went No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Radio airwaves have been embracing the singer’s pop/R&B/amapiano smash as “Water” rose on Rhythmic Airplay (7-4), Pop Airplay (28-21) and Radio Songs (17-11) as well as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (5-4).

30 Nov 2023

SZA Explains Why She Was Originally ‘Frustrated’ by Rihanna Using ‘Consideration’ on ‘Anti’

Once upon a time, years before she was one of Spotify’s most streamed musicians of 2023, SZA had no choice but to hand over her song “Consideration” to an artist who was a much bigger star at the time — Rihanna, who ended up using the track on her 2016 album Anti. And though it was tough to accept at first, the “Kill Bill” singer now says she’s thankful it happened.

“I cared so much,” SZA reflected in a video interview with Variety published Wednesday (Nov. 29). “I was so, just, frustrated. And I felt like, ‘I’ll never have anything this cool again.’ I’ll never make anything this cool again, and that was so crazy and so wrong.”

SZA had recorded “Consideration” for her 2017 album Ctrl and even filmed a music video for the track, she told the publication. Days before its release, however, she says Rihanna asked to have the song for Anti and negotiations were made without SZA knowing. “It was already done,” the Grammy winner recalled. “Whatever the conversation, label-wise, was already done. It was just a matter of accepting.”

“[The song] was like the centerpiece to my album at the time,” she added. “And for her, it was just, like, part of her album. And I was like, ‘Please, no.’”

“Consideration” ended up serving as the opening track on Anti, with SZA billed as a featured artist whose voice can be heard singing the song’s refrain in between Ri’s verses. The exposure she gained from the switcheroo turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though, as difficult a pill as it may have been to swallow at first.

“Now I’m so glad that that happened, and that it didn’t cost me anything,” SZA said. “If anything, I gained a bunch from it. And I thank God that I made cool music outside of that. I don’t know why I just really thought my creativity would just stop, and this was the pinnacle of what I could make.”

Watch SZA’s Variety interview above.

30 Nov 2023

Nicki Minaj Teases Lyrics, Promises That ‘Pink Friday 2’ Is ‘Beyond Anything I Could Have Imagined’

Nicki Minaj offered up a stern warning and an exciting promise about her upcoming Pink Friday 2 album in a series of early morning tweets on Thursday morning (Nov. 30). “December 8th is COMING SOON,” she wrote about the collection due out on her birthday, before adding an ominous alert.

“If you on my $h!t list, you will never EVER recover. The. Fkng. End.”

Nicki also teased that her fifth studio collection is a certified classic that she can’t wait to share with the Barbz. “This album is just beyond anything I could have imagined,” she tweeted hours before. She also appeared to share some lyrics from an unnamed track on the collection, which read, “I just wanna watch him do his push-ups w/his sweats on/ Every time he hit it, he gon nail it like a press-on/ When I ride his d!&@ the only time he gettin flexed on/ Hit it from the bak with my pumps & my dress on.”

The hard-hitting bars are just the first in what Minaj promised would be a series of new lyrics, with a line slated to drop every day until Dec. 8. But before that, she let the Barbz decide something crucial: “on a scale from 1-10, how hard you want me to go on #PinkFriday2,” she asked, with the options including “TEN (to the white meat), EIGHT (foot on necks), FIVE (let’m live but ntm) and ONE (#NiceNicki #PopStar).”

Never one to soft-pedal her skills, Minaj has been stoking the hype train all week, assuring Barbz on Monday that it had just dawned on her that she is about to release “one of the greatest albums of ALL TIME.” She followed that promise up on Wednesday with an all caps second assurance that minds will be royally blown. “Right now as a type this mthaPHUCKAZ HAVE NO PHKNG IDEA WTF IS ABOUT TO PHKNG HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WILL CHANGE AFTER DECEMBER 8th, 2023!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SHALL APOINT BARBZ ONLY!!!! EVERY CONGRESSMAN, SENATOR, PRESIDENT, MONARCHY, YOU NAME IT!!!!!”

She also responded to a tweet from the Walmart account (“nothing but respect for the queen of rap! [heart emoji],” writing, “Can’t wait to go to Walmart & pick up my 5th album. My goodness [crying face emoji].”

Minaj pushed the album’s original Nov. 17 release date back earlier this month to avoid a conflict with good friend and longtime mentor Lil Wayne’s joint album with 2 Chainz, Welcome 2 Collegrove. The rapper previously said that she delayed the collection because she had writer’s block during her pregnancy and didn’t want to say “freaky” stuff. Pink Friday 2 is the follow-up to Minaj’s 2018 album, Queen.

Check out Minaj’s tweets below.

29 Nov 2023

Rihanna & Drake’s ‘What’s My Name’ Music Video Reaches 1 Billion YouTube Views

Rihanna and Drake’s sultry “What’s My Name?” music video has officially reached one billion YouTube views, 13 years since its release in 2010.

In the clip, the rumored ex-couple gets cozy in a convenience store, before cuddling up in a New York apartment, drinking wine, holding hands and even having a little pillow fight.

RiRi and Drake’s collaboration topped the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart upon its 2010 release, and also hit No. 1 on Digital Songs. Over the years, the two R&B powerhouses have collaborated a number of times on songs like 2016’s “Too Good,” 2016’s “Work” and 2011’s “Take Care.”

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“What’s My Name?” was featured on Rihanna’s November 2010 album, Loud, which was certified 3x platinum by the Recording Industry Associated of America and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album also topped Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Watch Rihanna’s “What’s My Name” music video featuring Drake below.

29 Nov 2023

SZA Says Songs Are ‘Ruined’ When They’re Leaked

SZA is Variety‘s Hitmaker of the Year, and the “Snooze” singer sat down with the publication for a wide-ranging interview about her career as one of 2023’s most prominent songwriters and artists.

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The Grammy-winning superstar is one of many artists that have fallen victim to a recent rising trend of fans leaking unfinished music, something she is particularly upset about. “When people leak my songs, they ruin them,” she tells the publication. “Then it’s not mine anymore; it’s actually yours. It’s something unfinished that you decided was ready to be shared. And it’s like, ‘F— you. Now I’m not releasing it.’ Play your leak, but you’re not gonna bully me into dropping music. I’m now embarrassed by this less-than-correct version that you put out. You’ve sent me into a weird space creatively when you could have just waited for me, but you’re selfish.”

On a happier note, SZA’s released songs have taken over the music scene in the last year due to her sophomore album SOS. The singer leads the pack of Grammy nominees for the 2024 ceremony with nine nominations — including record and song of the year nods for her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Kill Bill” and an album of the year nod for her 10-week Billboard 200 chart-topper SOS.

SZA previously won a Grammy in 2022 when her collaboration with Doja Cat, “Kiss Me More,” took home the award for best pop duo/group performance.

29 Nov 2023

Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ Dances Its Way Into YouTube’s Billion Views Club

The King of Pop reigns forever. Despite coming from a completely different era of media, Michael Jackson‘s seminal “Beat It” music video has become the latest clip to reach one billion views on YouTube, as confirmed by the streaming giant on Wednesday (Nov. 29).

“Beat It” is Jackson’s third music video to enter the Billion Views Club, following the Moonwalk-featuring “Billie Jean” and 1996’s “They Don’t Care About Us.” For the period of Nov. 17-23, MJ ranked at #58 on YouTube’s U.S. Top Artists chart and at #96 on their Global Top Artists chart.

Nearly 15 years removed from his tragic passing, Michael Jackson continues to earn new chart achievements off the strength of his timeless catalog. Earlier this month (on the chart dated Nov. 11), Jackson’s accidental Halloween anthem “Thriller” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 21, marking the sixth consecutive year that the song has reappeared on Billboard’s marquee singles chart. During its original chart run, the track reached No. 4.

In a matter of days (Dec. 2), a new documentary commemorating 40 years of Jackson’s historic Billboard 200-topping Thriller album will premiere on Showtime and Paramount+. Scores of chart-topping artists, including Usher, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell and Mark Ronson, are slated to appear for interviews in the new film, which will also include previously unseen footage of the making of the album.

Of course, “Beat It” appears on Thriller as one of the album’s seven Hot 100 top 10 hits alongside “Billie Jean” (No. 1), “The Girl Is Mine” (with Paul McCartney, No. 2), “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (No. 5), “Human Nature” (No. 7), “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” (No. 10) and the aforementioned title track.

Celebrate the King of Pop’s latest achievement by watching the official “Beat It” music video above.

29 Nov 2023

Drake’s ‘Dogs’ Deluxe Draws Double Debuts in Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

Drake scores another pair of top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “You Broke My Heart” and “Evil Ways,” featuring J. Cole, debut at Nos. 5 and 10, respectively, on the list dated Dec. 2. Both songs spring from the deluxe “Scary Hours” edition of the rapper’s latest studio album, For All the Dogs, which rebounds to No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and grabs a seventh straight week in charge of Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

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In addition to a top-five start on the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart — which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales into its rankings — “You Broke My Heart” also leads the six new deluxe Dogs additions in streams for the week. The cut registered 18.3 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week of Nov. 17 – 23, according to Luminate, and opens at No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart.

“Evil Ways,” meanwhile, wins the sales race among the new half-dozen tunes. The collaboration sold 2,500 downloads in the week, enough to nab a No. 3 entrance on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales.

With two new top 10 deposits, Drake’s account swells to 130 such hits on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It extends his record for the most top 10s among all artists, which the superstar took from James Brown in February 2018. Here’s an updated count of the acts with the most top 10s on the chart, dating to October 1958, when the chart became the first all-encompassing songs survey for the genre:

  • 130, Drake
  • 57, James Brown
  • 52, Aretha Franklin
  • 51, Lil Wayne
  • 48, Stevie Wonder

Plus, the “Evil Ways” arrival secures J. Cole’s 27th top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and third of 2023. Both prior visits this year – also through featured roles – captured the No. 1 slot, with the Lil Durk-collab “All My Life” leading the list for seven weeks and another Drake teamup, “First Person Shooter,” reigning for one frame.

Beyond the new top 10s, the other four deluxe Dogs cuts all land in the top 25 on this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. “Red Button” begins at No. 15, with “The Shoe Fits” (No. 16), “Stories About My Brother” (No. 18) and “Wick Man” (No. 23) closely behind.

29 Nov 2023

Offset Announces 2nd Annual Toyz 4 the Nawf Charity Event: ‘I’m Excited to Bless Others’

To close out his banner year — which included an appearance on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Year-End Chart (“Annihilate,” No. 100) — Offset has announced his plans and goals for his second annual Toyz 4 the Nawf Christmas charity event.

The event will return to Offsett’s hometown of Gwinnett County, Ga., on Dec. 2. “We had a great turn out last year, and I’m hoping for an even better one this year,” Offset said in a statement. “I’ve been so blessed this year, I’m excited to bless others. That’s the reason for the season.”

Offset launched the event last December with the assistance of more than 85 community volunteers and partnerships, including the Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club and BGLOs such as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. More than $35,000 in toys was distributed across 248 families, including around 500 children. Last year’s Toyz 4 the Nawf event netted both the charity and the “FAN” rapper an honorary key to Gwinnett County and an honorary key to the city of Lawrenceville, Ga..

As a father of five — including Kulture Kiari Cephus and Wave Set Cephus, his children with his Grammy-winning wife Cardi B — Offset’s own experience with fatherhood has spurred him to set even more ambitious goals for the sophomore iteration of Toyz 4 the Nawf. Most of the goals focus on expanding the services provided by the charity event, including a winter coat drive, on-site wellness checks, raising awareness for the Internet Affordable Connectivity Program, barber services for kids and a hope to double the number of families served.

This year’s event — which Offset is hosting in partnership with the Ann Cephus Family Fund Corporation — will have a “Christmas carnival” theme, with fun eats such as cotton candy and corn dogs available to all.

Toyz 4 the Nawf will help put a cap on a big year for Offset. In 2023, the Migos rapper unleashed his sophomore studio album Set It Off, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-charting singles “Jealousy” (with Cardi B, No. 55), “Say My Grace” (with Travis Scott, No. 48) and “Worth It” (with Don Toliver, No. 92).