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The long, long wait for De La Soul’s early catalog to reach digital retail and streaming services yields big results for the group on the newest round of Billboard charts. After years of internal label conflicts and issues with sampling clearances, the trio’s first six studio albums became available across digital retail and streamers on March 3 and generated a swell of activity. In the tracking week of March 3 -9, the De La Soul catalog registered 12.5 million official on-demand U.S. song streams in the week ending March 9 and sold 28,000 albums (both digital download and physical copies combined), according to Luminate.
The six studio albums had long been out of print on physical formats in the U.S., and all were reintroduced on CD, vinyl and cassette on March 3.
De La Soul is comprised of Kelvin “Posnudos” Mercer, Vincent “Maseo” Mason and the late David “Trugoy the Dove,” Jolicoeur, who died on Feb. 12 at age 54. The trio formed in Long Island in 1988 and released its debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, on March 3, 1989, exactly 34 years before the early catalog’s digital and streaming debuts. In addition to 3 Feet High and Rising, the March 3 digital and streaming premiere included rollouts for De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001).
3 Feet is easily De La Soul’s biggest album for the week. The set returns to the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at No. 8 with 26,000 equivalent album units. It previously spent 36 weeks on the list in 1989-90, including five frames at No. 1, helped by the hit single “Me, Myself and I,” which topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for one week in June 1989, and follow-up hits “Say No Go” (No. 32) and “Buddy” (No. 18).
Most of the 3 Feet activity this week – 21,000 units – comes from album sales, with 4,000 in streaming-equivalent album units and the remaining 1,000 balance from track-equivalent album units. 14,000 of the sales sum came from vinyl LP sales alone — across multiple variants. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
In addition to its top 10 re-entry on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 Feet debuts at No. 4 on the Top Rap Albums chart, which began in 2004, and re-enters at No. 15 on the all-genre Billboard 200 for its 20th total week on the survey.
Unsurprisingly, “Me, Myself and I,” the trio’s biggest hit from their biggest album, leads the recap of De La Soul’s most streamed songs, with 1 million on-demand streams (including user-generated content [UGC], which does not count toward Billboard’s charts). More 3 Feet cuts, “The Magic Number,” which featured in the credits of the 2021 film Spider-Man: No Way Home, and “Eye Know,” rank second and third, respectively, with 618,000 clicks for the former and 511,000 streams for the latter. “Stakes Is High,” the title track of the trio’s 1996 album, lands in fourth place with 289,000 streams, while “Change in Speak,” another 3 Feet tune, rounds out the top five with 287,000 plays.
Speaking in a calm, almost sleepy tone, Princess Nokia sums up her ethos.
“That’s really what it is, in a nutshell: I’m just a music lover,” she concludes within the first few minutes of talking to Billboard. “Like in Almost Famous – I’m like Lester Bangs.”
It’s important to note that the New York City native singer and rapper compares herself not to the rock ‘n rollers featured throughout that 2000 cult-classic film, but the disruptive music journalist who studied the acts and even urged a young Cameron Crowe not to befriend them. (Nokia later adds that she, too, doesn’t have a ton of deep friendships with fellow artists). “I find myself writing about music more than I find myself writing music [itself],” she continues.
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It adds up, once you hear the self-professed music student’s catalog — each project living on its own distinct genre island, with the sufficient through-line being the multidisciplinary princess herself. “There are so many different types of Princess Nokia fans, because there’s so many different types of Princess Nokia music,” she says.
Before taking on the Princess Nokia pseudonym, the Arista signee (born Destiny Nicole Frasqueri) went by both Wavy Spice and her given first name, releasing danceable jungle tracks like “B—h I’m Posh” and the Puerto Rican love letter, “Yaya.” Even a decade ago, the self-titled “disruptor” knew she would never be confined, releasing cyber-pop flavors on her debut album, 2014’s Metallic Butterfly, alongside hard-hitting raps on “The Butterfly Knife Prequel.”
After making the switch to her “alter ego” Princess Nokia, the avid music student released five new albums, from the rap rhythms of 2016’s 1992 Deluxe to 2020’s punk-infused Everything Sucks. While she hasn’t had a ton of chart hits, Princess Nokia’s name continues to reverberate throughout the underground, with cuts like her 2020 mega-inclusive single “I Like Him” racking up nearly 200,000 TikTok creates and becoming the singer’s first single to earn an RIAA gold certification.
Today, Princess Nokia finds herself fascinated with grief. Her latest offering, i love you but this is goodbye (just released this Tuesday, March 14), takes an intimate look at the journey from heartbreak to self-love, through an amalgamation of her multidimensional selves: cyber-pop, drill, punk, hip-hop and dance music. “I wrote you this album for my closure,” she repeats six times, mantra-style, on the EP’s opening track. But even in an industry painfully bending itself outside of genre confines, the 30-year-old artist’s grab-bag project could still be considered uncomfortably experimental for tried and true label strategy.
“[Labels] know they’re signing up for a genre-defying artist who has a very devoted niche fan base that is going to stay with them ‘till the end of time, because that’s what the message of my music is,” she says, plainly pointing to the heart of her boundary-blurring success. “I hope the vulnerable parts and the emotional parts resonate with people, because love is emotional,” she explains. “But I hope the takeaway is that we all be happy with ourselves no matter what.”
Below, the singer and rapper talks with Billboard about her latest project, and the ways her views on love and relationships have changed over the years.
This new project, i love you but this is goodbye — it’s sort of like the stages of a breakup.
Exactly. I even wrote in my journal, it’s similar to the seven stages of grief. It’s about discernment with love, and taking the inspiration and the guise of love and being able to walk away from toxic or unfortunate circumstances. It’s dedicated to my dignity and my boundaries. I wasn’t trying to hop on any trends. I wasn’t trying to be at the zeitgeist of a sound. I wasn’t trying to make it TikTok-able. Not that I have anything against those things.
I think it’s cool how it encompasses so many different sounds, while remaining cohesive. Where do you think that cohesion comes from?
I think the cohesion comes from my understanding of music composition and producing. I had a hand in composing and co-producing a lot of this music, because there was a sound that I was specifically going for. I wanted to take inspiration from music I like and music that’s already popular now — and also dialed back to my roots, which is drum, bass, jungle and electronica. I’m grateful that people understand that music now, or that it crossed over from Europe to New York and to the states. It’s something that I’ve been drawing inspiration from for almost a decade.
Every song is a part of the Princess Nokia discography. And there’s ’90s alt-rock, U.K. garage, techno, and contemporary Spanish with New York drill made by Tweek Tune himself — he’s the guy that made “City of Gods.”
“Lo siento,” that’s probably my favorite song on the project.
Thank you. That’s actually the song that made this project. It was a cathartic process. I made ilybtig after I was leaving a tumultuous chapter in my life. Instead of holding it in, going back to the promises I made to myself of saying goodbye, I decided to write something from the heart and make something of substance. I had made all this music that I was sitting on, but it didn’t tell a story. But when I made “lo siento,” I saw potential for a record or a project no matter how short it was.
How does your personal music taste translate to what you create?
I just love so many forms of music that it translates into my personality. I do like to affirm my free will in making music, and that is confusing to certain people. But that’s the ethos of Princess Nokia. I can embody any musicality that I want, because it’s my autonomy to do so. And I have the dominion to do so. And that’s a very powerful and privileged and special thing that I am very grateful for.
Did you ever face pushback when it came to not adhering to one specific thing?
Yes, it always has. Sometimes from new fans. It’s always followed me my whole life. From the beginning of my career to even this very day. Every day, there is internal pushback, because I don’t want to feel like I’m confusing people. But then I realized, like — I’m not a confusing person. I’m the most square person, wholesome, happy go lucky person I know. But there’s never pushback where I’m making music; The producers I’m working with, my management, my label. Sometimes maybe my peers don’t understand me.
Did you struggle with that?
No, I always was comfortable with it — up until now. Now I suffer from imposter syndrome, as I think anyone would, being in the public eye. But I realized — and I made peace with it a long time ago — that I am meant to disrupt algorithms [and] societal and cultural norms. That was my premise, that’s what God told me to do. To be a disruptor. I am proud of all the music that I’ve made. And I really love the path that I chose — that chose me. It’s one that is a little bit more misunderstood, but it is completely of my own dominion.
What came to form your perspective on love?
I’m still figuring that out. But I know that it comes from a very godly, peaceful, unconditional and admirable place. I decided to use the [subject] of love, because I’ve never used that before. I have so many projects but I’ve never been vulnerable emotionally. I’ve never used the subject of relationships or love or heartbreak ever as a theme or motif ever — because I’ve always been conditioned to be a survivalist, a strong person, a leader. I never wanted to be clichéd. I always felt too emotionally vulnerable to share that part of my life with the world. I felt like I ain’t got nothing else to say — I done said “bitch” a billion times or talked about how great and grandiose I am. I’ve talked about everything under the sun that was going on in my soul or my heart or what I’m dealing with as a person.
Why is it important for you to do that publicly?
Because I’ve always adult-ified myself out of survival, making myself seem like a very strong person — which I am, but I’m also very fragile and vulnerable and I’ve been through some wild shit that people would have no idea of in any capacity. I felt like I can’t put out any music without putting my heart on the table. And I’m not trying to romanticize or hyper-sensualize anything, I’m really just trying to be vulnerable and honest about love. And love of oneself, even though centered around romantic love. There is a climax that happens at the end where it’s about loving myself again.
If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self about relationships, what would it be?
To never accept the bare minimum. And not to care about relationships. I’ve been dating seriously since I was 14 years old. And I wish I was in drama club. I wish I was in AP English. I wish I was in chess, wish I was fencing. I wish that I had more love.
I was an abused child. So I used intimacy and relationships as escapism because I wasn’t receiving love and empowerment and my house. My dad loves me very much and is a wonderful person in my life, but I didn’t get to live with him until I was 16. I didn’t have formative love, parent love. I was engaging in a lot of very mature love at a very early age. And I really wish that I would have started dating much further along in life. I want my childhood back, I want those sleepovers, I want that wholesomeness. I want and I deserved that.
Is not having that part of what inspires your love for Y2K that we see in your branding?
I call it my second adolescence. In New York, being fly was the universal language of our people. Unfortunately, for me, I wasn’t allowed to be cool. I wasn’t allowed to take part in the modern subculture that my peers engaged in. And I wanted to so bad, but I wasn’t allowed to wear the things that all my friends were wearing. I felt like the loser in school that everybody made fun of. Who had a Jansport backpack and fake Skechers. It really did f—g suck.
When I was around 17, I was like, “I am allowed to do anything I want now — I’m going to wear the things that I wanted to wear during those time periods. I’m going to start using that inspiration as my way of getting my adolescence back.” Whether it’s hip-hop, rock, rap, I think [the early 2000s] was an incredible time for artistic direction in pop culture.
Diddy comes full circle on the remix of Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage‘s smash “Creepin,’” which was released Friday (March 17) via Boominati Worldwide and Republic Records.
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“Creepin’” is a partial cover of the 2004 Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans, featuring Enya and Diddy — who reprises his role as a feature nearly two decades later — which is based on a sample of the Fugees‘ 1996 hit “Ready or Not,” which in and of itself contains a sample of Enya’s 1987 track “Boadicea.”
The original “Creepin’” has spent the last 10 weeks in the top 10 of the Hot 100, peaking at No. 3. “Creepin’” was featured on Metro Boomin’s latest album Heroes & Villains, which was released on December 2, 2022. The project peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Diddy and Metro both shared behind-the-scenes shots of the upcoming “Creepin’” music video and a comic book-like graphic of the four artists, respectively, on their Instagram acccounts ahead of the remix’s arrival.
Listen to the “Creepin’” remix below.
It’s been just three days since Drake announced his It’s All a Blur tour with 21 Savage, but the demand is so high that he has already added 14 additional dates to the upcoming North American trek.
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On Thursday (March 16), Drizzy added second shows in Houston, Dallas, Miami, Detroit, Montreal, Washington, DC, Seattle, Vancouver, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Las Vegas — as well as third shows in Brooklyn, New York City and Inglewood, bringing the tour to a massive 42 shows this summer. The tour will kick off on June 16 in New Orleans, and will wrap on Sept. 5 in Glendale, Ariz.
The shows in Drake’s hometown of Toronto, Canada, will be announced at a later date.
The tour is the “Jimmy Cooks” artist’s first since his 2018 trek, Aubrey & the Three Amigos. According to the press release, as the title suggests, the It’s All a Blur Tour is “a celebration of the last decade.”
Tickets for the new dates will be available at the general onsale, which kicks off Friday (March 17) at noon local time on DrakeRelated.com.
See the new list of dates below.
Fri Jun 16 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Mon Jun 19 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Wed Jun 21 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Thu Jun 22 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sat Jun 24 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sun Jun 25 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Wed Jun 28 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena
Thu Jun 29 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena
Sat Jul 01 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sun Jul 02 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Wed Jul 05 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Thu Jul 06 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sat Jul 08 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Sun Jul 09 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Tue Jul 11 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Wed Jul 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Fri Jul 14 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Mon Jul 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Tue Jul 18 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Thu Jul 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Sun Jul 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Tue Jul 25 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Wed Jul 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Fri Jul 28 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Sat Jul 29 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Mon Jul 31 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Tue Aug 1 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sat Aug 12 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Sun Aug 13 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Tue Aug 15 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
Fri Aug 18 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Sat Aug 19 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Mon Aug 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Tue Aug 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Fri Aug 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Aug 26 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Mon Aug 28 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Tue Aug 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Fri Sep 01 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Sat Sep 02 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Tue Sep 05 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
Moneybagg Yo caught up with Billboard R&B/hip-hop reporter Neena Rouhani ahead of the arrival of his upcoming 22-track album, Hard to Love. The Memphis rapper says that his project title is personal, considering he finds himself hard to love.
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“At the end of the day to love me, you have to understand me,” he says.
The artist and entrepreneur, who has had his fair share of Billboard Hot 100 moments, also dished on his social media influencer era, supported by girlfriend Ari Fletcher. On TikTok, Moneybagg Yo boasts more than one million followers, with nearly 10 million views on a single vlog video. Other videos show his push-up form and stretch routine, with a fan commenting, “you betta eat love pray!”
“I’m a creative person,” he says. “I tapped into [TikTok] because they don’t know enough about me, but I also don’t want to give them all of me.” The 31-year-old even walked the Billboard team through his push-up form at the studio, although he pointed out that the practice push-ups didn’t count toward his daily goal.
Coming off of his last album, A Gangsta’s Pain, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and 88 weeks total on the chart, Moneybagg Yo is feeling prepared for the next chapter. Although it was his ninth solo project, he says that many look at A Gangsta’s Pain as his first, since it was home to so many of his breakout hits, including “Wockesha,” “Time Today” and “Scorpio.”
“I just wanted to put something out there feeding the fans and it went somewhere else,” he says. “It’s bigger than life.”
Moneybagg Yo attributes the successes to his honesty and finger on the pulse of the culture. “I keep up with the culture and I ain’t afraid to say certain things,” he shared. When asked if Fletcher is OK with the things he raps about, Moneybagg Yo plainly noted, “She has to be — that’s what makes the money.”
In January, the CMG rapper released a joint track with labelmate GloRilla titled, “On Wat U On.” The track is a theatrical take on toxic relationships, and was initially supposed to be done with another female artist, but Moneybagg Yo later opted for GloRilla.
“Once Glo’s success started coming in and she was a part of the team, it made sense,” he explains. “We’re both from Memphis and our chemistry is there anyway.”
His advice to rising rappers is simple: “Force it on them, put it in they face, but at the perfect timing.”
Watch Billboard‘s interview with Moneybagg Yo above.
Chlöe Bailey is just weeks away from reintroducing herself with her debut solo album, In Pieces, and on Thursday (March 16), the singer revealed the stunning album cover.
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In the photo shared the Twitter, Chlöe is seen with red hair, dressed in a Victorian-style blue dress, holding her heart in her right hand. In another post, the 24-year-old star opened up about what inspired the cover art and the rest of her upcoming album.
“I saw a photo of a porcelain doll 3 years ago, holding her heart just like this and from then, I said this will be my album cover… that same day I also wrote heart on my sleeve,” she recalled. “The beginning of a scary and exciting journey for me. This cover represents so much for me, down to the color of my hair. When I had red hair 1.5 years ago, it was one of the darkest times in my life. That’s why I never wore it again.”
Chlöe added that after healing and working on herself, she has learned to find “beauty in the pain” that encompassed her. “I find the beauty in my flaws and how in actuality, that’s what makes me perfect,” she shared. “I find beauty in all of the cracks that show people I’ve been broken down before, because I’ve gotten up every time. I wear my heart as my armor.”
She concluded by sharing how she hopes In Pieces will connect with her fans. “In Pieces is for the ones who behind closed doors are breaking and don’t know how much more they can take,” she wrote. “In Pieces is for the ones who hold the people up around them while barely holding themselves. In Pieces is for the people who continue to get stabbed in the back, heart broken by the ones they thought they could trust, but STILL that doesn’t change their heart and how they love. In Pieces is for the ones like me, who wear their outer shell so well that you’d have no idea what they’re going through.”
The singer continued, “I hope this project brings healing to those who listen, as it’s been completely therapeutic for me and I can’t wait to share my heart with you, literally.”
In Pieces is set to arrive on March 31 via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. Chlöe has already released two songs from the album, including “Pray It Away” and her Chris Brown collaboration “How Does It Feel.”
See the album cover and inspiration below.
Nicki Minaj captures back-to-back No. 1 debuts on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs as her latest single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” starts at the summit of the chart dated March 18. The track follows Minaj’s last appearance on the list, “Super Freaky Girl,” which likewise opened at No. 1 on its way to an 11-week reign.
With “Sleeze,” Minaj collects her ninth No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. She extends her record as the woman with the most champs in the chart’s history, which dates to 1989, and moves out of a tie with LL Cool J for sole possession of fifth place on the overall leaderboard. Drake, with 27 No. 1s, heads the list, with Lil Wayne (11), Diddy and Kanye West (10 each) next in line.
As “Sleeze” joins the club, here’s a recap of Minaj’s nine chart-toppers on Hot Rap Songs:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Nicki Minaj), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1“Your Love,” eight, July 10, 2010“Moment 4 Life,” featuring Drake, nine, Feb. 19, 2011“Make Me Proud,” Drake featuring Nicki Minaj, one, Feb. 11, 2012“Anaconda,” six, Sept. 6, 2014“Only,” featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown, one, Dec. 27, 2014“Trollz,” with 6ix9ine, June 27, 2020“Do We Have a Problem?,” with Lil Baby, Feb. 19, 2022“Super Freaky Girl,” 11, Aug. 27, 2022“Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” one (to date), March 18, 2023
Minaj’s latest champ, notably, follows in its predecessor’s footsteps with the sample of a prominent former hit. “Sleeze” samples Lumidee’s “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh),” a No. 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003. “Super Freaky Girl,” meanwhile, sampled the Rick James classic “Super Freak,” which hit No. 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 1981.
Plus, the “Sleeze” arrival secures Minaj’s fourth No. 1 debut on the Hot Rap Songs chart, tying her with Travis Scott for the second-most chart-topping starts in the list’s history. The pair trail only Drake, who has launched eight songs at the summit.
“Red Ruby Da Sleeze” traces its No. 1 start on Hot Rap Songs largely to 14 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week ending March 9, according to Luminate. The figure makes for a No. 1 debut on the Rap Streaming Songs chart, where it becomes Minaj’s fifth champ. On the overall Streaming Songs list, “Sleeze” begins at No. 21, in an entrance affected by 15 Morgan Wallen songs above it from the country superstar’s new One Thing at a Time album.
“Sleeze” also sold 41,000 downloads in the same tracking period, making it the top-selling song of the week across all genres. As such, it starts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart and becomes Minaj’s 13th leader there. With the feat, she ties Drake as the rapper with the most No. 1s on the chart, which began in 2004, and matches Drake and Justin Bieber for the third-most chart-toppers in the list’s history. Taylor Swift leads the count with 25 No. 1s, with Rihanna in second place with 14 champs.
In radio airplay, the final metric that contributes to the Hot Rap Songs chart, “Sleeze” registered 2.7 million in audience impressions across all formats. The song also debuts on the Rhythmic Airplay chart at No. 38.
Elsewhere, “Sleeze” launches at No. 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 13 on the all-genre Hot 100.
Lizzo isn’t so far off from her pre-fame days that she can’t remember what it feels like to be a superfan memorizing her favorite singer’s choreo at home in the mirror and then busting it out at their show.
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Which is why it was extra sweet that she posted a video on Thursday morning (March 16) chronicling the moment when megafan Shyanne Barnes executed the entire “About Damn Time” live routine during a show at London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday.
“Rewind to the summer of 07, I learned the entire Beyoncé ‘get me bodied’ choreography… it literally saved me at a time I was dealing with depression & loss,” Lizzo wrote alongside the video of her shouting “are you ready to dance with us?” The star repeatedly made eye-contact with Barnes, who flawlessly matched the on-stage moves from the pit and then pointed to Barnes at the end of the song and said, “make some noise for this beautiful dancer.”
“Then I remember doing the ‘single ladies’ choreo at the Mrs Carter tour and she looked at me! It was a brief moment but absolutely world changing for me,” Lizzo added in the caption. So, in the great tradition of paying it forward, Lizzo made sure Barnes got her moment to shine. “Fast forward to last night when this young girl danced ‘About Damn Time’ (LIVE VERSION) with me & the big grrrls 🥹 what she doesn’t know is I cried backstage 🥹🥹🥹🥹 to know I mean to her what my favorite artist meant to me is so deeply touching. I LOVE YALL SO MUCH.”
Barnes definitely appreciated the shine as well, writing in comments, “Lizzo thank you SO MUCH ! I’m going to remember this forever , I love you and your music so so much ! you make me so happy ! I’ll see you again tonight!” In her Instagram Story, Barnes showed off her show-day outfit, a custom t-shirt with five images of the singer and a colorful sign that read, “I learnt the choreo if you need me 2 dance 4 you.”
The Story noted that the sign and shirt got Barnes pulled into the pit, followed by footage of her doing the dance with the caption, “core memory fr thank you so much I had the best time” and a clip of her absolutely losing her mind afterwards.
Check out the heartwarming clip below.
Fans will get a taste of the final music recorded by Coolio on Friday (March 17) when the first single from the “Gangsta’s Paradise” star’s posthumous album hits streaming. The song, “TAG ‘You It’,” features legendary West Coast MC Too $hort and it will preview the full-length, LONG LIVE COOLIO, whose release date has not yet been announced.
Coolio died at 59 in Sept. 2022 of suspected cardiac arrest; to date no official cause of death has been announced. According to a statement announcing the project, the first single from rapper’s follow-up to 2009’s From the Bottom 2 the Top was produced by and also features the rapper’s longtime friend DJ Wino. The statement about the collection and the video for “TAG” — which will also drop on Friday — says it was originally intended for release while Coolio was still alive and that they pay “homage to 90s hip-hop… the song is catchy, raunchy, and raw in all of the right ways. Paired with an extravagant video, this song is certain to create controversy and buzz.”
Indeed, the boxing-themed visual featuring a bevy of video vixens twerking finds $hort and Coolio dropping R-rated rhymes over a bouncy West Coast beat and the chorus, “Freeze tag, you it/ Freeze tag, she’s it/ Freeze tag, you it never gone be yours cuz it’s all about the bag.” After $hort’s predictably bawdy first verse, Coolio pulls up for his own NSFW run, including the lines, “Still livin’ with yo mama no plan to move though/ Common hoe, average hoe, Obama hoe/ She full of drama bro/ Find you a real one funky feel one/ One you can trust not have to kill one.”
Following his death, Coolio’s longtime manager, Jarez Posey, confirmed that the rapper (born Artis Leon Ivey Jr.) was found on the floor of a bathroom at his friend’s house and pronounced deceased at the scene.
Coolio placed six hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, including the No. 1 smash “Gangsta’s Paradise,” featuring L.V, from the film Dangerous Minds. The single spent three weeks atop the list in 1995 and finished as the year-end No. 1 song on the Hot 100. It also ruled the Hot Rap Songs list for 11 consecutive weeks. The track would go on to win the Billboard Music Award for single of the year, and a Grammy Award for best rap solo performance. In 2021, “Gangsta’s Paradise” ranked among the 100 Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs.
Are you ready, Barbz? Nicki Minaj shared a sneak peek Wednesday (March 15) of the music video for her latest single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.”
In the brief teaser, Minaj appears in a strappy black swimsuit, ferociously rapping the lyrics to the track atop a deck that overlooks the ocean. Other footage from the teaser shows her wearing a “red ruby”-colored silk robe, which she later takes off to provide a good look at her bathing suit.
More details regarding the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” music video are still under wraps, but the Queen Radio host did revealed the video was filmed in her home island of Trinidad and Tobago while she was spending time there for the island’s 2023 Carnival festivities.
“Red Ruby da Sleeze” — which debuts at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week — saw the the rapper interpolating Lumidee’s “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh),” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2003. The track follows a similar formula to her 2022 Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Super Freaky Girl,” which sampled Rick James’ 1981 song “Super Freak.”
Minaj was recently ranked No. 7 on Billboard and Vibe‘s 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list and the No. 10 on Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Stars of 2022 list. She also emerged as the winner of Billboard‘s inaugural Power Artist 2022 – Fan Choice bracket, where fans voted from the 32 artists who made the biggest impact on Billboard‘s 2022 year-end charts.
Watch the new teaser for Minaj’s “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” music video in Minaj’s Instagram post below.