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New Summer Walker is on the way! While performing at Dreamville Festival over the weekend, the critically acclaimed R&B singer announced her new EP, Clear 2: Soft Life, will arrive on May 19 via LVRN and Interscope Records.
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The project serves as the follow-up to 2019’s Clear, which featured four songs: “Riot,” “Grave,” “Wasted” and “Settling.” Clear arrived months before her debut studio album, Over It, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. At the time, it earned the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album by a woman with 154.7 million on-demand audio streams for the LP’s songs, surpassing the debut week of Beyoncé’s Lemonade, which had 115.2 million.
“I just wanted to let you guys know that I have an EP dropping. May 19. Go to my website if you wanna pre-order it. It’s a little somethin’, somethin.’ Y’all ready for some new music?” she teased before being met with roaring applause. Later on in the weekend, she was caught shooting hoops at Dave & Buster’s with J. Cole, who headlined the festival alongside Drake, who watched her in awe as she won $440 “on accident,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.
In an interview with Billboard, who gave Walker our Chartbreaker Award during Women in Music 2022, she talked about being “hella excited for Clear 2. The last one was like four songs. This one — I want it to be a lot longer so I can really get that sound out. That’s my favorite type of sound,” she said at the time. “I make what I got to make for the radio, but I’m very excited for [Clear 2]. Hopefully, my budget will be permitted. [If not], we got to protest.”
Pre-order Clear 2: Soft Life EP here, and see the moment she announced it below from Amazon Music’s live stream of the 2023 Dreamville Festival.
This year, renowned New York radio station Hot 97 looks to shake things up with its annual performance staple, Summer Jam, with Cardi B set to headline June 4 at UBS Arena.
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Cardi B looks to bring her laundry bag of hits, including Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers “Bodak Yellow,” “WAP,” “Up” and more. The Bronx dynamo will have a practice round when she headlines Rolling Loud Thailand April 13-15 along with Travis Scott and Chris Brown. In June 2022, Cardi B headlined Wireless Festival, and in December, she reportedly netted $1 million for a 35-minute set at Art Basel. “I got payed 1 million dollars to perform at this elite bankers private event for 400 people and only for 35 minutes,” she tweeted in response to a mocking her “backyard set.”
In addition to Cardi B, Hot 97 enlisted a phalanx of female upstarts to perform along with the touted superstar, including Ice Spice, GloRilla, Coi Leray and Lola Brooke. More New York representatives will also hit the stage at UBS Arena, notably French Montana, Lil Tjay and Fivio Foreign. To commemorate 50 years of hip-hop, The LOX will lead the way.
Younger artists such as NLE Choppa, Kenzo B, 2Rare, Sha EK, McVert and TQ will perform at a pre-festival show hosted by Montana. According to the radio station, more acts will be announced later. Tickets go on sale Saturday (April 8) at 10 a.m., with presales starting today.
“HOT 97’s Summer Jam is a hip-hop staple, and we are excited to bring the most electric show of the summer back to New York for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary,” said Bradford Tobin, president, chief operating officer and general counsel in a press release.
“The show is all about bringing hip-hop’s biggest stars to the stage, and we are honored to have New York’s own Cardi B as our headliner this year,” added TT Torrez, multimedia personality and VP of artist and label Relations. “I am so proud of the strong female presence in our lineup, which represents women’s dominance over the airwaves this year.”
See the lineup below.
J. Cole and Drake showed Raleigh, North Carolina, why they’re at the top of their class on Sunday night (April 2) with an incredible close-out set at the 2023 Dreamville Festival.
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For the first weekend in April, the Dreamville collective turned Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh into what felt like the biggest family cookout of the year, with over 100,000 fans being treated to various performances across the Rise and Shine stages. Jessie Reyez, Sean Paul, City Girls, Ari Lennox, Waka Flocka Flame, Burna Boy, Summer Walker (who announced her upcoming project CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP) and Usher tore down the house over the two-day event — but there was no questioning who people were really there to see.
J. Cole kicked off the main event at the Shine stage with an explosive rendition of the North Carolina anthem “Who Dat,” off his debut album 2011 Cole World: The Sideline Story, before going into a medley of hits from his decorated catalog. Fans erupted at each record that rang throughout the festival grounds, such as “9 5 . s o u t h,” “m y . l i f e,” “G.O.M.D.,” “Fire Squad,” “Power Trip,” “The London” and more.
Midway into his set, Cole called upon his Dreamville army, inviting JID, Lute, Cozz, Omen and Earthgang to join him on stage for electrifying renditions of “Under the Sun,” “Down Bad” and “Stick.” At one point, Cole even dipped into his nostalgic bag and saluted his Friday Night Lights era with a performance of “Villematic.”
Just when fans were getting situated with Cole’s amazing set, Drizzy Drake took the reins and brought the night to another level. The 6 God arrived with his fiery verse on Travis Scott’s “SICKO MODE” before putting on his Nike sports gloves and running through his own medley of classic hits, such as “Over,” “Energy,” “Nonstop” and “Marvin’s Room.”
Fans tried to get a grip on Drizzy’s thrilling set, but the Toronto megastar brought out a heap of guests to keep the crowd guessing and continue the party well into the night. GloRilla got a chance to take the stage after missing her performance earlier in the day with a quick rendition of her hit single “F.N.F (Let’s Go)” and Lil Uzi Vert made time to hit the crowd with a two-song set of signature smashes “XO TOUR Llif3” and “Just Wanna Rock.”
The biggest special guest, though, was Lil Wayne, who shocked the crowd with his arrival during Drake’s run-through of their 2012 collaborative hit “The Motto.” Weezy F. Baby then took over to perform “Uproar” featuring Swizz Beatz and “A Milli,” which had the North Carolina faithful passionately recite every word.
Towards the tail end of the show, Drake promised he had one more surprise up his sleeve — which had fans pondering what else he could do to put a fitting cap on an already-amazing night. That question was answered by 21 Savage popping up on stage to help Drake perform “Knife Talk” and “Rich Flex.”
Before Drake gave Cole the stage back, he took a second to give his “brother” his flowers, as he asked the 100,000-plus guests to sing their hearts out to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Cole was taken aback by the moving gesture, as he looked on at the massive sea of people hitting their high notes in unison as a sign of appreciation for everything he’s done for them in his 16-year career.
The incredible night finally saw its end once J. Cole grabbed the mic to praise Drake, with the two of them embracing and sharing a hug. Cole then eventually loosened the grip he had on the night and sent fans home with a fireworks-filled rendition of his 2014 Forest Hills Drive standout, “No Role Modelz.”
Once the show was over, there was not one upset face in the crowd, as people were smiling from ear to ear — with many even calling Dreamville Festival one of “the best events of the year.”
Snoop Dogg showed up to this weekend’s WrestleMania 39 at Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium to provide ringside commentary. But in classic WWE fashion, he somehow ended up in the ring as part of the action. The hometown rapper was supposed to co-host a segment between bouts with wrestler Mike “The Miz” Mizanin when he spontaneously provoked the rapper into a tangle with Shane McMahon.
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The son of WWE founder Vince McMahon — returning after a year off — ran into the ring ready to take on The Miz. According to reports, though, he quickly suffered a torn quad in the opening minutes of his first bout in 14 months while executing a leapfrog move while trying to escape The Miz’s grasp.
With the medical crew looking McMahon over, Snoop did the noble thing and hopped into the ring to keep the match going, landing two punches on the former Real World star and two-time WWE champ and sending him crashing to the mat. Tossing aside his microphone, Snoop strolled around The Miz’s prone body and kicked Miz’s arms closer to his sides before striking a few poses and tossing his shades into the crowd. The Doggfather then flapped his arms and bounced his way across the ring and off the ropes before unleashing The Rock’s signature “people’s elbow” to win the match.
“My hat’s off to Snoop, just picking it up and like, ‘oh man, he’s hurt? That’s alright, I’ll fix that.’ Just a natural born entertainer,” WWE head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque told the AP. “I’ve known Snoop for years in this environment and what kind of a fan he is, but tonight he put himself on a different playing field and respect factor for me. I know a lot of guys that have been in business a long time; if that happened, they’d go, ‘what do we do?’ It was amazing.”
After the surprise slam, Snoop spoke to WWE’s Cathy Kelley backstage, who reminded the rapper that he had warned her to “expect the unexpected” during his appearance. When she said she didn’t expect him to win a match on night two, a glassy eyed Snoop said he didn’t either. “I didn’t even know I was gonna be in that match until the match actually took place,” he said of the completely unexpected ring appearance.
“But that’s what I love about WrestleMania, it’s always so much that’s unpredictable, it’s always something to keep you on the edge of your seat,” he continued. “And tonight I was able to be a part of it from the inside and not just on the outside. It was a great feeling to be able to be a part of it, to be able to do what I did and to hold my belt up high at the end of the night.”
Watch Snoop in the ring and post-match below.
Lauren London honored the late Nipsey Hussle on the fourth anniversary of his death on Friday (March 31) with a touching post on social media.
The You People actress, who was in a relationship with Hussle from 2013 until his murder in 2019, posted a pair of stark black-and-white portraits of the South Central Los Angeles native on her Instagram feed, writing, “I hold my breath all of March knowing I have to face the memory of the day you transitioned…. Holding on to ancient wisdom but the pain is the pain and nothing was ever the same… Eternal Being… Ermias Asghedom… I Love You.”
London then quoted a passage about death from the sacred writings of the Baha’i faith, adding, “‘To consider that after the death of the body the spirit perishes is like imagining that a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken, though the bird has nothing to fear from the destruction of the cage. Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird. We see that without the cage this bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore, if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist. Its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater, and its happiness increased. In truth, from hell it reaches a paradise of delights because for the thankful birds there is no paradise greater than freedom.’”
In February, Nipsey’s killer received a sentence of 60 years to life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder for gunning down the “Grinding All My Life” rapper outside his Crenshaw neighborhood clothing store the Marathon. Since his death, Hussle has been honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is being memorialized in a new Hulu documentary.
Read London’s tribute to Hussle’s memory below.
Eladio Carrión has been keeping it lit. He is freshly off releasing a Billboard-charting album 3MEN2 KBRN (pronounced tremendo cabrón), preparing his first ever festival Sauce Boyz Fest and plotting a national tour, which includes a stop at Coachella.
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While in Austin for his Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW performance earlier this month, the Puerto Rican rapper sat down with Leila Cobo, chief content officer of Billboard Latin/Español, to discuss his history and latest whereabouts.
“Tremendo cabrón because this album has all the cabrones,” says Cobo, congratulating the artist for his star-studded release, which includes guests such as Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Future, Fivio Foreign, Bad Bunny and more.
“We really got to get my favorite artists on this album. This one is a very special album for me and my team,” says Carrión. “[Lil Wayne] is one of my favorite rappers,” says Carrión. “He’s the reason why I don’t wait every four bars for a punchline. Every bar can have a punchline. Wayne used to do it, so I do it.” (The “A Milli” rapper starred on Carrión’s remix for “Gladiador.”)
The Latin trap star mentions that there was never a Plan B for the album, “If Plan A does not happen, let’s wait until it does. Plan A until the end of the world.”
Born in Kansas City, the Puerto Rican, whose father was in the Army, moved around often during his youth, from Hawaii to Baltimore and Alaska. And before he became a rapper, he was a comedian as well as a songwriter to other artists. “There came a point when I just wasn’t satisfied [writing for others] when the music came out,” he reveals. “I was just giving them a piece of me, and it was some personal stuff, it was like, ‘D–n, he didn’t go through that, I went through that. I want to tell my story.’”
Carrión discovered his love for the stage, saying that performing is a big part of what made him fall in love with being an artist and wanting to be an artist. He also tells Cobo to expect big surprises for his Coachella gig, which will take place the weekends of April 14 and April 21.
On May 18-20, the rapper will kick off his first-ever festival in Puerto Rico, and to expect performances from Argentine giants Bizarrap and Duki, as well as Dominican dembow performer Tokischa.
This week, his 3MEN2 KBRN album debuted at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums Chart, and reached No. 16 on Billboard 200.
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Eladio Carrión above.
It may be the last day of March, but we’re going out with a bang when it comes to new music thanks to releases by Jisoo, Boygenius, Chlöe and more.
The BLACKPINK singer became the final member of the the girl group to go solo with her single album ME, featuring songs “Flower” and “All Eyes on Me,” while Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers reunited for their full-length album The Record a full half-decade after forming their alt-rock supergroup for their self-titled 2018 EP.
Chlöe Bailey also unveiled her debut solo album, In Pieces, on the heels of previously released singles “Pray It Away,” Chris Brown collab “How Does It Feel” and the piano-driven title track. Plus, Tyler, the Creator re-upped on his 2021 opus Call Me If You Get Lost by dropping Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale — a deluxe edition with eight new tracks not on the original album, including single “Dogwood” and collaborations with Vince Staples (“Stuntman”), A$AP Rocky (“Wharf Talk”) and YG (the 2020 demo version of “Boyfriend, Girlfriend”).
Meanwhile, on the new song front, Taylor Swift stripped down her bombastic Midnights opener “Lavender Haze” for a ghostly acoustic version that could sound easily at home on her 2020 album Evermore.
Becky G and Peso Pluma delivered a horn-blasted Spanish-language duet with “Chanel,” and Charlie Puth teamed up with Dan + Shay for their boundary-setting ballad “That’s Not How This Works.” (A promised remix with Sabrina Carpenter is still a couple of weeks away.) Plus, rising U.K. pop star Maisie Peters offered yet another irresistible sneak peek of her upcoming sophomore album The Good Witch with the triumphant “Lost the Breakup.”
Vote for your favorite release in Billboard‘s latest new music Friday poll below.
A restaurant with ties to rapper Yo Gotti was the scene of a shooting on Wednesday that left two people dead and five injured in Memphis, Tennessee. According to WREG, the shooting took place after just after closing time at Prive, the soul food restaurant the hometown MC (born Mario Mims), 41, bought for his mother, Geraldine, who is the establishment’s manager and chef.
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When police arrived on scene that found two male victims, one of whom was pronounced dead and the other who was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. WREG reported that the five additional shooting victims — four as-yet-unnamed males (ages 37, 35, 31 and 30) and one female (25) — were all transported to hospitals in private vehicles after the shooting that police said was sparked by an altercation inside the restaurant.
At press time it did not appear that Gotti had responded to the shooting on his social feeds and a spokesperson for the rapper had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment; a spokesperson for the Memphis Police Department had also not returned a request for comment, or information about any arrests in the incident, at press time.
The station spoke to the owner’s lawyer, Arthur Horne, who said they were devastated by the shooting. “On behalf of Prive, they’ve been in business for ten years, and nothing like this has ever happened at their establishment.” Horne said, contrary to the police statement, the altercation took place outside the restaurant.
“It happened out in the parking lot, and it ended up in a shootout,” he said. “Nothing happened inside the restaurant. Despite any conflicting reports, they were closing, and this happened at the end of the evening in the parking lot.”
Three men were arrested on Thursday (March 30) and booking into the Palm Beach County jail in connection with an assault on rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, Rafael Medina Jr., 43; Octavious Medina, 23; and Anthony Maldonado, 25, were arrested on robbery and assault charges in connection with their alleged attack on the rapper on March 21 at an LA Fitness in Lake Worth, Florida.
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said the men were jailed on Thursday night after they allegedly beat the 26-year-old “TROLLZ” rapper (born Daniel Hernandez) in an incident caught in a cellphone video. In the clip, two of the men are seen descending on Hernandez, who is laying on the floor of the gym’s sauna area trying to defend himself as one of the men repeatedly kicks him.
Lawyer Lance Lazzaro told a Florida TV station that Hernandez suffered cuts to his face and bruises in the incident and was hospitalized. “Employees heard the disturbance and the perpetrators fled,” Lazzaro said. “Police in South Florida were called and he [Hernandez] was transported via ambulance to a local hospital.”
Lazzaro told TMZ several men began attacking Hernandez — who did not have any security with him — without warning, with police and EMS responding to the scene before transporting the rapper to an undisclosed hospital.
The site posted pictures of Hernandez’s swollen, bloodied face and reported that he also suffered injuries to his back, ribs and jaw. At press time Lazarro could not be reached for comment on the incident. In the video, a bald man can be heard saying, “take a picture, I’m gonna be famous now,” as he grabs Hernandez by the hair while another man kicks him.
Today (March 31), Quavo is back with another track dedicated to his late nephew and Migos bandmate, TakeOff, titled “Honey Bun.”
Previously teased earlier this week on Instagram, “Honey Bun” marks the third track released by Quavo since the November 2022 passing of TakeOff. First, he dropped his heartfelt tribute, “Without You,” in early January, commemorating his partner-in-rhyme. Later that month, Quavo teamed with The Maverick City choir to perform the melancholy record at the 2023 Grammy Awards. “I wish I had a time machine/ Just so you take a ride with me/ I miss just how you smile at me/ Unc & Phew until infinity,” sang Quavo onstage.
Then, Quavo continued his output when he dropped “Greatness” last month. The wholesome video spoke on a myriad of topics, most notably the status of Migos, in which the frontman debunked any possibility of a reunion.
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“Came in, swept the game like a storm with the motherf–kin’ flow, ni–a Take’ did that (On God) / So don’t ask about the group, he gone, we gone,” raps Quavo.
Despite still mourning the passing of TakeOff, Quavo found time this month to engage in some lighter activities, including his appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s new show That’s My Jam. The hour-long music and comedy variety games show found Quavo singing a “nonsense karaoke” version of Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz’s 2002 single “Get Low.” Other stars to appear on That’s My Jam include Chance The Rapper, French Montana, Saweetie, Keke Palmer, will.i.am and more.
Check out “Honey Bun” below.