R&B/Hip-Hop

26 Oct 2023

Jay-Z Says Blue Ivy Used to Think He Wasn’t a ‘Cool’ Dad: ‘She Be Frontin’ On Me’

Don’t worry, parents — even Jay-Z‘s daughter doesn’t think he’s cool. In a recent clip from his multi-part interview with Gayle King about his Book of Hov exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library, the bestselling rapper and billionaire mogul admitted that Blue Ivy used to doubt his coolness levels.

“Blue, she be frontin’ on me a little bit,” Jay said of his 11-year-old, asked by King whether any of his kids think he’s cool. “But I catch her. I catch her in the corner, you know? Now she asks me, you know, if this is cool, if her sneakers [are cool]. She’s come back.”

“But there was a time where she was like, ‘Daaaad,’” he added, doing an impression of Blue’s voice while covering his face in mock embarrassment. “I’m like, ‘I’m cool. I don’t know what you sayin. At your house, your parents is cool.”

Blue Ivy is the oldest of Jay’s children with Beyoncé, with whom he also shares 6-year-old twins Rumi and Sir. As hundreds of thousands of fans across the world saw, the tween has definitely inherited her superstar parents’ stage ambitions; at certain Renaissance Tour shows, she joined Bey onstage to impress audiences with her “My Power” choreography.

Running through Dec. 4, Jay’s exhibit offers a free-of-charge, immersive look into his life and career, with artifacts and installations curated by the artist and Roc Nation. With King, the “Hard Knock Life” rapper discussed everything from his debut album Reasonable Doubt to the last song he played for Biggie — “Streets is Watching” from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 — as well as his move to reclaim ownership of his master recordings ten years ago, which he calls “the fight of my life.”

After working so hard to own his music, Jay-Z insisted he’ll never sell his masters — but if Blue Ivy, Rumi or Sir decide to do so later on? That’s their prerogative, he told King.

See Jay-Z’s “cool dad” confession below.

26 Oct 2023

B.B. King’s Legacy Is the Focus of a Branded Liquor Partnership, New Album With Quavo & More

To borrow from the title of B.B. King’s signature song, the thrill of his music and legacy isn’t gone. Relaying that message is the B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative, which is launching several new partnerships, retail products and brand concepts in honor of the blues and guitar legend who died in 2015.

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Leading the rollout is a bourbon and whiskey line from Washington state-based Heritage Distilling Company: B.B. King One Whiskey. Also in development is a new album of collaborations with contemporary artists featuring King’s music, a theatrical biopic, a documentary and a 24-hour B.B. King Blues Network.

“B.B. King’s music is for everybody,” Vassal Benford, chairman/CEO of The B.B. King Estate, The B.B. King Music Company and the Family Trust, tells Billboard. “He’s an iconic figure all over the world.”

Benford, who began overseeing the $250 million estate and trust three years ago, is a Grammy-nominated producer whose discography includes hits such as Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away,” Deborah Cox’s “Who Do U Love” and Diplo’s “Be Right There,” plus collaborations with Toni Braxton and U2, among others. He announced the establishment of the B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative, the soft launch of the liquor line and the other forthcoming projects in September at Resorts World Las Vegas during a celebration of what would have been King’s 98th birthday (Sept. 16).  

Justin Stiefel, CEO and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling, Vassal Benford and Jennifer Stiefel, President and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling.

Justin Stiefel, CEO and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling, Vassal Benford and Jennifer Stiefel, President and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling.

Vassal Benford

The vision behind the initiative began taking shape two years ago, Benford recalls, when he met with Bruce Resnikoff, president/CEO of Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).  “We were trying to create ways to keep B.B. King’s legacy alive,” says Benford. “That was the main thing. And of course, that starts through the music.”

Further stoking that vision was the then-unforeseen 2020 release of “B.B. King Freestyle” by Lil Wayne featuring Drake from the former’s No Ceilings 3 mixtape. “That showed us the hip-hop world loves B.B.,” adds Benford. “So we decided, let’s do an album with hip-hop artists.”

Among the contemporary artists involved with the upcoming project are Quavo, Jason Derulo and Swae Lee. The songs use samples of King’s original records such as “The Thrill Is Gone” and “You’re Gonna Miss Me.” Promises Benford, “The album is phenomenal.”

The aforementioned King documentary will feature a song from Quavo that pays tribute to the late icon and Quavo’s late Migos mate, Takeoff. Already recorded, the track may be released before the documentary, which is currently in production under the supervision of Benford’s partner, film producer Mark Canton (Den of Thieves, TV series Power). And with the writer’s strike now ended, Benford and his team are in the process of engaging writers for the theatrical biopic. In addition, a major commercial campaign on behalf of B.B. King One Whiskey will kick off after the first of the year.

In the wake of launching the B. B. King Life Legacy Initiative to preserve the icon’s legacy and introduce him to a new generation of fans, Benford says, “The blues has been an underserved market. Richie Sambora, Joe Perry, Eric Clapton … I don’t think there’s anybody that I’ve ever talked to who doesn’t love B.B. King. Even the younger guys. When you listen to them on this new album, you can just hear the respect.”

26 Oct 2023

Doja Cat Paints the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Red With Her Performance: Watch

Doja Cat just brought Scarlet to BBC Radio 1. The latest artist to stop by the Live Lounge, Doja performed two tracks off her new album, Scarlet, as well as a sultry cover of Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Red Room.” For both “Red Room” and her own red-themed track, Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Paint the Town Red,” the 28-year-old rapper and her band stood shrouded in deep crimson mist.

As for her third song, “Agora Hills” — which has so far peaked at No. 18 on the Hot 100 — Doja looked angelic in a lacy white top and matching furry jacket, backdropped by blue lighting. Throughout her performances, a red Solo cup sat next to her on a small side table.

The Thursday (Oct. 26) Live Lounge performance comes just over a month after the “Say So” musician dropped Scarlet, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The record’s standout single “Paint the Town Red” not only notched Doja her second ever No. 1 on the Hot 100, but also extended her record for most Pop Airplay chart-toppers.

Doja’s latest performance wasn’t the first time “Paint the Town Red” has been sung at the Live Lounge this month. Former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock made her solo debut on the BBC Radio 1 series Oct. 10 and covered the smash hit.

In other Doja news, the Grammy winner recently celebrated her birthday, getting the ultimate gift from Usher last week when the R&B crooner serenaded her directly at one of his My Way Las Vegas residency concerts. As Usher held her hand, Doja assisted him in singing his hit “There Goes My Baby,” after which Usher said, “Doja Cat, ladies and gentlemen.”

Watch Doja’s BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performances above and below.



26 Oct 2023

Beyoncé ‘Renaissance’ Concert Movie to Premiere in London, Los Angeles

Beyoncé will host the dual premieres of her Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé concert movie in Los Angeles on Nov. 25 and London on Nov. 30, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The roll-out will happen just a few days before AMC Entertainment and Bey’s Parkwood Entertainment open the film in theaters around the world on Dec. 1.

The doc chronicling the singer’s highest-grossing tour to date was co-directed by the singer, who also wrote it and executive produced the project. Tickets for international territories — including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean — will go on sale on Nov. 9 here; tickets are on sale now in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

A description of the film notes that it, “accentuates the journey of Renaissance World Tour, from its inception, to the opening in Stockholm, Sweden, to the finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It is about Beyoncé’s intention, hard work, involvement in every aspect of the production, her creative mine and purpose to create her legacy, and master her craft. Received with extraordinary acclaim, Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour created a sanctuary for freedom, and shared joy for more than 2.7 million fans.”

While locations for the U.S. and European premieres have not yet been announced, an invitation for London suggested a “formal opulence” dress code, while the L.A. premiere calls for “Cozy opulence,” a seeming reference to the Renaissance album track “Cozy.”

“When I am performing, I am nothing but free,” Bey said in the voiceover of the film’s two-minute trailer that also includes the singer casually walking to stage while flashing a peace sign, stretching pre-show with her kids — including rehearsing with backup dancer/eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter — and having a cocktail in the green room. Husband Jay-Z also makes a cameo, pumping his fist and smiling from the crowd in the clip that also featured the couple’s twins, Rumi and Sir.

The two-hour-and-thirty-minute unrated film is the latest concert film from Bey, following on the heels of her 2019 Netflix doc Homecoming — which chronicled her 2018 Coachella headlining set — as well as her 2013 HBO movie, Life Is But a Dream, a hybrid live performance and video diary project, and 2009’s I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas.

Watch the Renaissance trailer below.

25 Oct 2023

H.E.R. to Open 2023 World Series With National Anthem Performance

After performing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl in 2021, Grammy-winning R&B star H.E.R. is set to add another massive sporting event to her résumé. Via a press release on Wednesday (Oct. 25), Major League Baseball announced that the “Focus” singer will sing the national anthem ahead of Game 1 of the 2023 World Series.

H.E.R. will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Friday at the showdown between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Pearle Peterson, the 2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth Talent Performer, will perform the anthem the following day (Saturday) ahead of Game 2.

The news of H.E.R.’s World Series performance comes in the midst of yet another exciting year for the acclaimed multi-hyphenate. Earlier this month (Oct. 2), she performed alongside surprise guest Selena Gomez at Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour stop in Pasadena, California. H.E.R. served as the primary support act for the band’s sprawling, record-breaking tour. A few weeks later (Oct. 17), the “Damage” singer surprised a sold-out crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden when she joined Daniel Caesar onstage for a heartfelt rendition of their Grammy-winning duet “Best Part.”

Currently, H.E.R. is gearing up for the release of The Color Purple. The film adaptation of the Broadway musical will arrive in theatres on Christmas Day (Dec. 25), with direction from Blitz Bazawule and production credits from Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The Color Purple is also set to star Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Ciara, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi. H.E.R.’s silver-screen debut comes two years after she won her first Academy Award for best original song (“Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah, 2021).

H.E.R. has earned nine entries on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking as high as No. 24 with her featured turn on Jhené Aiko’s “B.S.” On the Billboard 200, the “Slide” singer has charted seven titles, including the No. 6-peaking Back of My Mind — her highest-charting entry on the ranking to date.

25 Oct 2023

Drake Replaces Himself Atop Streaming Songs Chart for His 20th No. 1

Drake replaces himself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, as “IDGAF,” featuring Yeat, rises to the top of the Oct. 28-dated tally.

“IDGAF” reigns with 26 million official U.S. streams earned in the Oct. 13-19 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song was down 36% from its opening week sum of 40.8 million streams, but it dropped by a smaller percentage than the previous ruler, “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole, which falls to No. 4 (20.3 million streams, a 52% drop).

“IDGAF” is the first song to spend its first week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs while being down in streams since Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which first reigned on the Jan. 7 ranking despite a 3% drop to 46.9 million streams that week.

“IDGAF” is Drake’s record-extending 20th Streaming Songs No. 1, the most since the list’s 2013 inception. Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift remain the next-closest acts with six rulers apiece.

Most No. 1s, Streaming Songs
20, Drake
6, Justin Bieber
6, Taylor Swift
5, Travis Scott
4, Ariana Grande
4, Cardi B
4, Lil Baby
4, Miley Cyrus

Drake is the first act to replace himself at No. 1 on Streaming Songs since he did it previously with “Nonstop” (July 14, 2018) followed by “In My Feelings” (July 21, 2018).

Meanwhile, “IDGAF” marks Yeat’s first Streaming Song topper. The rapper made the chart one time previously, with “Talk” debuting and peaking at No. 17 in September 2022.

Concurrently, “IDGAF” falls 2-4 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100. Its parent album, For All the Dogs, ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 164,000 equivalent album units earned in its second week.

25 Oct 2023

LMFAO’s ‘Sexy and I Know It’ Shuffles to One Billion YouTube Views

Defunct dance duo LMFAO hit a hard-partying high mark this week when the video for their 2011 electropop anthem “Sexy and I Know It” hit the one billion views mark on YouTube. The song that ran up to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in January 2012 is the second video from Redfoo and Sky Blu to reach that pinnacle, following on the heels of “Party Rock Anthem,” which has 2.3 billion views and counting.

“Sexy and I Know It” appeared on the duo’s 2011 Sorry For Party Rocking album, which also featured “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sorry For Party Rocking.” The “Sexy” video was filmed in Venice Beach, CA and it encapsulates the pair’s party-all-the-time ethos, as Redfoo makes his way down the famous boardwalk, dancing through a series of cameos from z-list stars (Simon Rex, Wilmer Valderrama, MMA fighter Alistair Overeem, porn star Ron Jeremy and their mascot, Shuffle Bot) in a clip firmly focused on a party below the mankini.

Redfoo (the youngest song of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy) and Sky Blu (Gordy’s grandson) announced in Sept. 2012 that they were going on an indefinite hiatus, from which they have yet to return.

“Party Rock Anthem” hit No. 99 on Billboard’s recently revealed list of the Best Pop Songs of All Time, with the writer praising it for perfectly marrying all the popular musical calling cards of the day: “the bass drop of EDM, the (almost) cleverness of pop-rap, and a built-in dance craze good enough to rival the Wobble, the Cupid Shuffle” and the Dougie.”

Watch the “Sexy and I Know It” video below.

25 Oct 2023

Drake Broke Bad at His Birthday Party With Celeb Bartenders Aaron Paul & Bryan Cranston

Drake‘s blowout 37th birthday party on Monday night (Oct. 23) was a typical low-key affair for the 6 God. Except, of course, for the celebrity bartenders, who appeared to trade in their signature fictional blue meth for real white Russians at the party. According to photos and videos of the event, former Breaking Bad co-stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston got behind the bar to serve drinks at the party.

“Pinkman, Walter White, and Walter Light…RIP to Mike but when it’s comes to records we breaking bad for sure…,” Drake wrote in a post in which he’s raising a glass alongside TV‘s favorite fictional drug-dealing duo; Paul reposted the pic on his Instagram Story and adding the message “hope you liked the cocktails” in another post. “I’ll be back with more f–kery and responses to all your love. I’m getting fried tonight though…” Drake wrote. “love you all dearly thank you for awarding me this honour to be a familiar voice in your lives.”

The post got plenty of love from Drizzy’s hip-hop brethren, with Slim Thug commenting, “Happy Gday many mo to go [100 emoji],” J Cole dropping a chef emoji and Benny Blanco writing, “casually having pinkman and walter white as the bartenders for ur bday is wild.” Videos of the night posted on Twitter found Paul — who co-founded the liquor brand Dos Hombres Mezcal with Cranston in 2019 — mixing up a Negroni for a partygoer, dancing to the Drake/21 Savage track “Major Distribution” and fellow friends toasting to the guest of honor over a gigantic cake covered with sparklers.

The Miami soiree coincided with Drakes’ fast food stunt on Monday, in which he teamed up with Dave’s Hot Chicken for a worldwide stunt in which the chain gave every fan a free hot chicken slider or tender in Drizzy’s honor; the rapper is an investor in the chain.

See a pic from Drake’s party below.

25 Oct 2023

J. Brown Earns His First Billboard No. 1: ‘To Finally Get Here Is So Surreal’

J. Brown captures his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart as “My Whole Heart” ascends to No. 1 on the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Oct. 28. After three weeks in the runner-up spot, the single crowns the list following a 9% gain in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the tracking week ending Oct. 19, according to Luminate.

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As “My Whole Heart” advances, it wraps the nine-week reign of October London’s smash “Back to Your Place.” The latter tied Tems’ “Free Mind” for the longest Adult R&B Airplay command this year.

“To have my first No. 1 record at Billboard has me speechless,” J. Brown tells Billboard. “I’ve had so many ups and downs in my career, and I’ve been close, but to finally get here is so surreal. When we recorded ‘My Whole Heart,’ it felt special. Carvin Haggins & The Ring Music Group [the writing and producing collective behind the song] pushed me to pull everything out of me. Thank you to everyone at radio, and of course, the audience. I feel like I’m dreaming.”

With “My Whole Heart,” J. Brown achieves his first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 upon his sixth appearance, and after four prior top 10s. Here’s a full recap of the Detroit native’s history on the list:

Song Title, Peak Position, Peak Date

  • “Sunrise Sunset,” No. 10, April 6, 2019
  • “Give It 2 U,” No. 15, Oct. 19, 2019
  • “Moon,” No. 7, Aug. 15, 2020
  • “Vibe,” J. Brown, No. 10, July 31, 2021
  • “Don’t Rush,” featuring Tank, No. 7, Aug. 13, 2022
  • “My Whole Heart,” No. 1 (one week to date), Oct. 28, 2023

Elsewhere, “My Whole Heart” pushes 18-14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which orders songs through combined audience on adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the track registered 6.9 million audience impressions in the last tracking week, up 11% from the previous week. Airplay strength helps the song retain its No. 20 peak on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart, which blends radio activity with streaming and sales for its rankings.

25 Oct 2023

Kodak Black Endorses Donald Trump Again: ‘I F–k With That Boy’

Kodak Black has not forgotten the kindness showed to him by Donald Trump during the one-term president’s way out of office when he pardoned the “ZEZE” rapper (as well as Lil Wayne).

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In a preview of his upcoming appearance on the Drink Champs show on Tuesday (Oct. 24), the rapper born Bill Kahan Kapri said he had a lot in common with the quadruple-indicted Republican party figurehead. “I f–k with that boy,” Black said after N.O.R.E. brought up the 11th hour pardon for the MC who was in federal prison after pleading guilty to a firearms possession charge after getting detained at the Canadian border in March 2020.

“He a Gemini like me — his birthday two days after my s–t,” Black added of his similarity to the 77-year-old fellow Floridian. “And that boy, like, he be vibin’ out here too.” Self-professed billionaire Trump is currently in court in a civil fraud trial in New York over allegations that he arbitrarily inflated the prices of his family company’s properties in a suit that could dismantle his real estate empire. The Donald also recently dropped off Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans (for the second time), which led host N.O.R.E. to wonder if Kodak would slide Trump $1 million if he asked for it, not that he needs it.

“Of course, n—a,” Black, 26, said without hesitation. Trump’s pardon resulted in Black getting freed from prison after serving a year for falsifying information on federal forms to buy four guns from a Miami firearms shop. In one of his frequent efforts to convince Trump to pardon him before his last-minute reprieve, Black said he’d donate $1 million to charity. Last year, Black doubled-down on his endorsement of the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief, writing, “We need Trump in office forever, man. Just like how them Chinese and Russian and Korean motherf—ers have their president. Trump the best thing for America.”

In January 2021, Black released a new song called “Last Day In,” a week after the pardon, rapping, “Trump just freed me, but my favorite president is on the money/ All they hatin’ presidents has become evident to me.”

Kodak isn’t the only MC who is stumping for Trump, who currently holds a commanding lead over the rest of the Republican field in the 2024 presidential race. Sexxy Red recently said she is on Team Trump, too.

“I like Trump,” Red told comedian Theo Von on his This Past Weekend podcast. “Yeah, they support him in the hood. At first I don’t think people was f–king with him. They thought he was racist, saying little s–t against women. But once he started getting Black people out of jail and giving people that free money. Aww baby, we love Trump. We need him back in office. We need him back because, baby, them checks. Them stimulus checks. Trump, we miss you… I love Trump. He funny to me,” she continued. “I used to be watching him talking to people. He used to be calling people fat. He just bold. He funny. We need people like him.”

Watch the preview of the interview below.