R&B/Hip-Hop

06 Jul 2023

Cardi B Links With FendiDa Rappa for ‘Point Me 2’ Remix: Stream It Now

Allow us to us to point you to your next summer hip-hop anthem. Grammy-winning rap superstar Cardi B has finally unleashed her remix of FendiDa Rappa’s TikTok viral hit “Point Me To the S—s.” Titled “Point Me 2,” the new remix is the latest in a string of collaborations between Cardi and rising female rappers.

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Last September, Cardi linked up with Memphis rapper GloRilla for “Tomorrow 2,” a remix of the “F.N.F.” rapper’s original track. With Cardi’s help, the remix peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Just last month (June 2), Cardi joined forces with two-time Grammy nominee Latto for “Put It On Da Floor Again,” a remix of Latto’s original that landed a Hot 100 peak of No. 13. Although it has been over five years since Cardi released her last album, fans are still (im)patiently waiting for her follow-up. Nonetheless, the “Up” rapper has kept the verses coming as she continues to prep the release of her sophomore LP.

Hailing from Chicago, FendiDa Rappa has been garnering a lot of traction recently thanks to her viral hit. On TikTok, the official “Point Me To the S—s” sound boasts over 150,000 posts, and just two weeks ago (June 23), FendiDa Rappa revealed that she signed a deal with Giant Music. Though she has yet to find any success on the Billboard charts, that could very well change with the release of “Point Me 2.”

On the Billboard Hot 100, Cardi B has earned five No. 1 singles, including “Bodak Yellow,” “Girls Like You” (with Maroon 5), and the Megan Thee Stallion-assisted “WAP.” Invasion of Privacy, the Bronx rapper’s debut studio album, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has spent over 200 weeks on the ranking.

Stream “Point Me 2” below:

06 Jul 2023

Drake Says This Childish Gambino Hit Is ‘Overrated & Over Awarded’

Drake is firing back at Childish Gambino — albeit subtly.

During the rapper’s It’s All a Blur tour kickoff with 21 Savage at Chicago’s United Center on Wednesday night (July 5), a series of headlines scrolled across the stage screens as Drizzy fittingly performed “Headlines.”

Among one of the news lines captured by a fan on TikTok read: “The overrated and over awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record.”

The blow at Donald Glover’s 2018 Childish Gambino hit actually has some truth to it. The headline seemingly came in response to an interview Glover had with GQ back in April, where the artist revealed that “This Is America” started out as a joke and, yes, a Drake diss track.

“I had the idea three years before,” he says in a video interview with GQ. “I told [director] Hiro [Murai] the idea, and he’s like, ‘I really want to do that.’ The idea for the song started as a joke. To be completely honest, ‘This is America’ — that was all we had was that line. It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as like a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, this shit sounds kind of hard though. So I was like, let me play with it.”

Watch the TikTok featuring Drake’s “Headlines” performance below.

06 Jul 2023

Drake Gets Hit By Phone Thrown Onstage During Tour Kickoff

The string of artists getting hit by objects onstage continues, as Drake fell victim to the ridiculous, dangerous trend on Wednesday night (July 5).

The rapper took the stage at Chicago’s United Center for the opening night of his long-awaited It’s All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage, when he was hit in the arm by a cell phone.

In a TikTok video capturing the moment, Drizzy was Ginuwine’s “So Anxious” when the phone hit him. Drake then looked at his hand, before continuing the performance like a pro.

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.

Adele even addressed the concerning trend during one of her recent Las Vegas residency shows. “Have you noticed how people are, like, forgetting f–king show etiquette at the moment, people are throwing s–t on stage? Have you seen that?” she’s heard saying in a clip posted to social media. The “Easy on Me” singer, while striding across the stage holding a t-shirt gun, then added, “F–king dare you. I dare you to throw something at me.”

06 Jul 2023

Ice-T Has One Question After Criticism of Wife Coco’s July 4th Bikini Shoot: ‘Why Do You Still Follow Her???’

Ice-T has zero time for your judgement. The rapper/actor wasted no time hitting back at commenters who criticized his wife Coco Austin’s NSFW July 4th photo shoot. “Happy ‘4th of July’!! I’m celebrating in AZ. Yes, it gets HOT outside,” Coco wrote alongside an image in which she showed off her assets in a barely-there white string bikini bottom, red, white and blue sunglasses and a red half-shirt while holding an American flag between her teeth.

A second poolside shot showed the model from the front, where her curves were framed by two flags held aloft. “She’s a mom! Do you want your daughter to dress like that? Think about it,” wrote one commenter.

That’s the one that got Ice into meltdown mode, inspiring the longtime Law & Order: SVU star to respond, “If you have a Problem with Coco… Why do you still Follow her??? Weirdo s–t.” Elsewhere, the happy couple posed fully dressed for the holiday in a sweet snap in which Coco rocked a white tank top and red shades perched on her head while the MC sported a patriotic polo shirt and matching blue baseball hat.

“Coco and I wish EVERYONE a incredible 4th of July… and keep smiling,” he wrote.

Austin, whose Insta feed is proudly filled with pics of her in skin-baring swimsuits and curve-hugging outfits, kicked off the summer last month with a shoot by the pool with the couple’s 7-year-old daughter, Chanel, in which mother and daughter sported matching hot pink bikinis.

Check out Coco and Ice-T’s pics below.

06 Jul 2023

‘Business’ As Usual: Young Thug Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart

It’s business as usual for Young Thug on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where the rapper claims a third consecutive No. 1 – and fifth overall champ. His new album, Business Is Business, opens atop the list dated July 8 through 89,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 29, according to Luminate.

In line with nearly every rap album, streaming supplies most of Business’ bottom line. Eighty thousand units of the starting sum derive from streaming, equaling 106.32 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Of the remaining 9,000 units, album sales contribute 8,500 while track-equivalent albums comprise the last 500. (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.)

Young Thug and Business Is Business executive producer Metro Boomin announced the new album only hours before its release on June 23. The news drew extra attention, given that Young Thug is currently incarcerated and awaiting trial on racketeering charges.

With Business Is Business, Young Thug collects his fifth No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. He first led with Super Slimey, a collaborative album with Future in 2017, and followed with So Much Fun (2019), Young Stoner Life: Slime Language 2 and Punk (both 2021). Thanks to his 2021 efforts and Business Is Business, the rapper links a third consecutive No. 1 for his catalog.

Elsewhere, Business Is Business opens at No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums chart and yields Young Thug’s sixth leader (all five of his Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 1s and 2016’s Slime Season 3). It also begins at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Young Thug’s new album also does big business on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, with 13 debuts from the set. “Oh U Went,” featuring Drake, is the highest arrival, at No. 9, and gives Young Thug his 14th career visit to the top 10, while Drake adds a record-extending 119th trip to the top tier. “Oh U Went” is the most-streamed Business In Business song in the album’s debut week, with 15 million official U.S. streams, and, with 1,000 copies sold, is second among the album’s best-selling songs, after “Money,” featuring Juice WRLD and Nicki Minaj (2,000 sold).

Here’s a recap of all Young Thug’s placements on this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart:

  • No. 9, “Oh U Went,” featuring Drake
  • No. 11, “Parade on Cleveland,” featuring Drake
  • No. 16, “Cars Bring Me Out,” featuring Future
  • No. 18, “Wit Da Racks,” featuring 21 Savage, Travis Scott & Yak Gotti
  • No. 20, “Want Me Dead,” featuring 21 Savage
  • No. 26, “Hellcat Kenny,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert
  • No. 29, “Money on the Dresser”
  • No. 31, “Uncle M”
  • No. 39, “Abracadabra,” featuring Travis Scott
  • No. 40, “Gucci Grocery Bag”
  • No. 42, “Jonesboro”
  • No. 44, “Mad Dog”
  • No. 47, “Went Thru It”

06 Jul 2023

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Now Have 2 Shared Hot 100 Top 10s – How Rare Is That Historically Among Women?

The combination of Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (and Barbie) has made for a rare achievement on the Billboard Hot 100.

As previously reported, Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” with Aqua debuts at No. 7 on the Hot 100 dated July 8. The song, from the movie Barbie (due in theaters July 21), is the pair’s second shared top 10 after their “Princess Diana” debuted and peaked at No. 4 in April.

(Minaj now boasts 23 Hot 100 top 10s overall and Ice Spice, four.)

How rare is it for two women to have more than Hot 100 top 10 together, like Minaj and Ice Spice?

Over the Hot 100’s history, it’s an exclusive club, with Minaj boasting another partner, as she has also teamed up with Ariana Grande for two top 10s.

Similarly, Missy Elliott has two Hot 100 top 10s with both Ciara and Lil’ Kim.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the recipe for the achievement is a rapper teaming with a singer or another rapper, with the former mode seeking to maximize reach to both hip-hop and pop fans.

Below is a look at all the women that have teamed up for multiple Hot 100 top 10s together.

Notably, not on the list is another superstar duo: Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. Their “Telephone” hit No. 3 on the Hot 100 in April 2010, marking their second entry on the chart; “Video Phone” reached No. 65 the previous December.

Plus, Doja Cat and SZA have become a fearsome chart force: Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in July 2021. This April, SZA’s “Kill Bill” became her first No. 1 on the chart following the release of its remix with Doja Cat, although the latter was not credited on the survey, as the remix did not account for the majority of its consumption that week.

Meanwhile, male/female and male/male team-ups have yielded multiple Hot 100 top 10s, including Rihanna and Drake, and Rihanna and Eminem; Beyoncé and Jay-Z; and Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.

05 Jul 2023

Drake Reveals He Got High Before ‘Degrassi’ Audition

Before Drake was the wildly successful rapper he is now, Degrassi: The Next Generation fans knew him as Jimmy Brooks, a rising basketball star that became wheelchair-bound after a school shooting.

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Leading up to the kickoff of his highly anticipated It’s All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage at Chicago’s United Center on Wednesday (July 5), Drake took to Instagram to share an insightful audio message, in which he also revealed that he got high before the TV show’s audition.

“Someone asked me the other night what my biggest fear is, and I’ve never really had a good answer for it, but my answer was that all this is for nothing. Kind of the idea that, like, one day, life ends and it just all goes black. And I guess that question, like, sent me, you know, obviously deep into a spiral of thought,” he says in the clip. “And it makes me think about my life and how surreal it feels at times. I go back to this day when I was like 13 or 14. I had an audition for a TV show that ultimately shaped my life, and before my audition, I went to this kid’s house. And I, out of, I guess, a desire to be accepted, I would succumb to peer pressure, and I got high with these kids right before my audition.”

He continued, “I kind of wonder, like, if something bad happened that day or, you know, maybe I’m still high, maybe I’m in some coma. And this is just, like, me playing out my ideal life. And yeah, that concept has stuck with me for a lot of years. I mean, it feels like reality, it feels tangible. But I definitely wonder sometimes.”

Since Drake’s last tour, he’s released a number of album, including Her Loss with 21 Savage, which dropped in November. The set debuted and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earning him his 12th leader on the chart. Honestly, Nevermind arrived just months earlier in June 2022 and Certified Lover Boy in September 2021, both of which also skyrocketed to No. 1.

Listen to Drake’s full audio clip below.

05 Jul 2023

With ‘Special,’ Lizzo Lands First Adult R&B Airplay No. 1

Lizzo lands her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Special,” featuring SZA, crowns the list dated July 8. The single advances from the runner-up slot after a 9% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending June 29, according to Luminate.

“Special” unseats Usher’s “GLU” from the summit after the latter’s two-week reign.

With “Special,” Lizzo scores her first champ after coming up just short on her last appearance. Prior single “About Damn Time,” achieved a No. 2 peak in August 2022. Before that, she reached the chart with “Juice” (No. 19) in 2019 and “Truth Hurts” (No. 29) the following year.

For featured artist SZA, “Special” is her second Adult R&B Airplay No. 1, after “Love Galore,” featuring Travis Scott, reigned for nine weeks in 2018. Between the leaders, she came closest to recapturing the throne with “I Hate U,” which peaked at No. 4 in 2022.

As “Special” tops the list, SZA also logs her newest chart hit as new single “Snooze” debuts at No. 29. The single is already a smash mainstream radio hit, leading the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for a second week and having added 19% more plays in the latest tracking week.

Elsewhere, “Special” rebounds 18-16 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay to match its peak, first earned two weeks ago. On the chart, which ranks songs by combined audience on adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations, “Special” rose to 7.1 million in audience in the last tracking week, a 9% improvement from the prior frame.

“Special” is the title track of Lizzo’s latest studio album, which was released in July 2022. In addition to the incumbent Adult R&B Airplay champ, the album includes “About Damn Time,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and won the Grammy Award for record of the year.

05 Jul 2023

Cardi B & Offset Attend Paris Fashion Week Together Following Cheating Allegations

It looks like all is well with Cardi B and Offset, who kept things classy at a Paris Fashion Week show Wednesday morning (July 5).

The two rappers looked super stylish in matching luxury black looks at a Balenciaga runway showcase, at one point cozying up for photos together in a video captured on the scene by i-D. The day before, Cardi flew solo at the Thom Browne Haute Couture show, wearing a custom multi-color tweed blazer dress by the designer while sitting in the row with Diane Keaton, Anna Wintour and Baz Luhrmann.

“Custom couture @thombrowne ….I’m a very blessed girl,” the “WAP” musician captioned a carousel of Instagram photos from the Tuesday (July 4) show. “I’m thankful everyday that my work and my lord have me living my dreams.”

Cardi and Offset’s fashion week outing comes on the heels of their brief social media spat, which started when the Migos rapper wrote in a quickly-deleted Instagram Story that his wife had cheated on him with another man. Afterward, Cardi took to Twitter Spaces to shut down the accusation, pointing out how implausible a secret affair would be given her fame.

“So please boy, stop acting stupid,” she addressed Offset in the audio clip last week.
“Stop acting stupid. Going crazy over a f—ing space. Don’t play with me. What the f—. Stop playing. Thats all I’m gonna mother—ing say.”

The “Up” artist and her husband definitely aren’t the only stars in Paris this week. Shakira and Camila Cabello, for instance, were seated together Wednesday at the Viktor & Rolf show, and both Cabello and Latto were present the day prior at Iris Van Herpen’s showcase. Also at the Balenciaga show with Cardi and Offset were Rema, Michelle Yeoh, Natasha Lyonne and more.

See photos of Cardi B and Offset at the Paris Fashion Week Balenciaga show here.

05 Jul 2023

Beyonce Cancels Pittsburgh Renaissance Tour Date Due to Production, Scheduling Issues

Beyoncé‘s planned August 3 show at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium has been canceled. The venue announced the news on Wednesday (July 5) in a tweet, which said that due to unspecified “production logistics and scheduling issues” the Renaissance World Tour date has been scratched from the schedule.

Refunds will be automatically issued at the point of purchase.

At press time Bey had not commented on the Pittsburgh pull and a spokesperson had not responded to Billboard‘s request for additional information on the cause of the cancellation; the show is no longer listed on the roster of dates on the singer’s official site, which now has her playing Boston on August 1 and then moving on to Washington, DC on August 5-6.

The Renaissance tour kicked off on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden and found the singer performing in stadiums and arenas across Europe through the final show on June 27 at the PGE Narowdoy in Warsaw, Poland; according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Bey grossed $154.4 million and sold 1 million tickets across 21 European shows.

The North American tour is scheduled to kick off on July 8 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and keep Beyoncé on the road through a Sept. 27 gig at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The North American Renaissance dates will find Bey criss-crossing the U.S. and Canada at the same time as another powerhouse performer, Taylor Swift, fills stadiums on her Eras Tour, with Queen Bey playing a number of the same venues as her fellow Forbes’ America’s Richest Self-Made Women list honoree.

See the announcement below.