State Champ Radio

by DJ Frosty

Current track

Title

Artist

Current show
blank

State Champ Radio Mix

12:00 am 12:00 pm

Current show
blank

State Champ Radio Mix

12:00 am 12:00 pm


R&B/Hip-Hop

Page: 46

Kendrick Lamar is a 20-time Grammy Award winner, and he could be adding more to that tally later Sunday night (Feb. 2). Lamar’s “Not Like Us” won in the best rap song, best rap performance and best music video categories during the 2025 Grammy Premiere Ceremony ahead of Sunday night’s prime-time telecast. With his 20th […]

Is Ye finally looking to move past his troubled history with Taylor Swift?
On Sunday (Feb. 2), just hours before the 67th annual Grammy Awards, the rapper and fashion mogul — formerly known as Kanye West — raised eyebrows regarding his relationship with the pop superstar, posting a cryptic message on his Instagram Story to reveal that he was now following only one person on the platform: Swift.

“1 following,” Ye, 47, posted to his 20.6 million followers, sharing a screenshot of his Instagram page. The next post showed Swift, 35, as the lone person he follows.

As of Saturday night, Ye had unfollowed everyone — including his wife, Bianca Censori — except for Swift, according to TMZ.

Trending on Billboard

In addition to Swift, Ye also posted about his recent Grammy nomination for “Carnival,” his collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, which is nominated for best rap song at this year’s ceremony. The track, also featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart last March.

“Thank you to the Grammies for nominating Carnival,” Ye wrote on IG alongside a photo of a Grammy trophy. The image tagged the likes of Swift, Ty Dolla $ign, Playboi Carti, Rich the Kid and the Recording Academy.

It’s still unclear whether Ye will attend the ceremony, which is set to air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Swift and Beyoncé, both of whom are nominated for album of the year, are expected to be there. Bey leads the nominations with 11, while Swift has six, including her nod for The Tortured Poets Department, alongside Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter.

Ye and Swift’s relationship has been one of the most notorious feuds in the music industry. It all began in 2009 when Ye interrupted Swift’s VMA acceptance speech to declare that Beyoncé deserved the best female video award instead. Though the two eventually reconciled, their tension reignited when Ye claimed in his 2016 track “Famous” that the incident helped launch Swift’s career.

When Swift slammed Ye for the song, he claimed that he got the “Karma” singer’s blessing on a phone call before its release, which she denied. After that, his then-wife Kim Kardashian posted an edited recording of their conversation to portray Swift as a liar, something the latter spoke about as recently as last year.

“You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” she told TIME in her Person of the Year cover story in December 2023. “That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.”

Check out the complete timeline of Ye and Swift’s relationship here.

Beyoncé is taking her Cowboy Carter album on the road.
On Sunday (Feb. 2), the 43-year-old superstar officially teased her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour. Bey posted a short video on Instagram showcasing a large hanging neon sign that read “Cowboy Carter Tour,” accompanied by the sound of wind in the background.

In a follow-up post, she shared a promotional image of herself sporting blonde braids with the caption “Cowboy Carter Tour 2025.” Details about the upcoming trek remain under wraps, but the announcement came just hours before Sunday’s 67th Annual Grammy Awards, where she is expected to attend.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

After her headline-grabbing halftime show performance at the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game on Christmas Day, the 32-time Grammy winner posted a cinematic teaser on social media hinting at a mystery project set for announcement on Jan. 14. Many fans speculated the reveal would be related to a tour in support of her country album Cowboy Carter, which topped the Billboard 200. These theories gained traction when Live Nation, which also backed her Renaissance World Tour, reposted her teaser content.

When Jan. 14 arrived, however, Beyoncé postponed the announcement, citing the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

Trending on Billboard

“The January 14th announcement will be postponed to a later date due to the devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires around areas of Los Angeles,” she wrote on social media. “I continue to pray for healing and rebuilding for the families suffering from trauma and loss. We are so blessed to have brave first responders who continue to work tirelessly to protect the Los Angeles community.”

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour was named Billboard‘s top-grossing tour of 2023, earning nearly $580 million and attracting 2.8 million concertgoers across 56 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore.

In addition to her tour news, Beyoncé — who was named Billboard’s Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century in 2024 — is dominating the 2025 Grammy nominations with 11 nods. Cowboy Carter is nominated for album of the year and best country album. The set’s lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is up for song of the year, record of the year and best country song.

The 2025 Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday (Feb. 2) at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Nobody would confuse Tyler, The Creator for an Olympic athlete, but he’s centering his upcoming “Sticky” visual around the sports world. Tyler delivered the trailer for the self-directed Chromakopia video on Friday (Jan. 31), which jumps from a football team’s huddle on the gridiron to the Grammy-winner playing a brass family instrument in a marching […]

After years of linking up with the South’s buzziest rappers and crafting Billboard Hot 100 hits — like “Peaches & Eggplants” (No. 33), with longtime collaborator Young Nudy — ATL-bred producer Coupe added a very special accolade to his collection: his very first Grammy-nominated production. 
At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards – which will be held on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and also serve as a fundraiser for those impacted by the devastating January fires – Latto’s “Big Mama,” which Coupe co-produced alongside Oz and Masterpiece, is nominated for best melodic rap performance. Should Billboard’s No. 5 Hottest Female Rapper of 2024 take home the trophy, Coupe will receive a winner’s certificate.

Half come-hither rap ballad and half high-octane trap banger, “Big Mama” served as the third single from Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea album. The track reached No. 92 on the Hot 100 and No. 23 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Buoyed by celebrated performances at WHTA (Hot 107.9) Birthday Bash and the 2024 BET Awards, “Big Mama” helped its parent album hit No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Rap Albums, making Latto the first solo female rapper from ATL to ever top that ranking. In addition to “Big Mama,” Coupe also produced “Brokey” and “S/O to Me” from Sugar Honey Iced Tea.

Trending on Billboard

“Big Mama” will have to take down “Spaghettii” (Beyoncé, Shaboozey & Linda Martell), “3:AM” (Rapsody & Erykah Badu), “Kehlani” (Jordan Adetunji & Kehlani) and “We Still Don’t Trust You” (Future, Metro Boomin & The Weeknd) to take home the trophy, but the Recording Academy’s is still an incredible stamp for one of hip-hop’s most exciting producers. 

Outside of his work with Latto in 2024, Coupe also contributed tracks to hit albums from 21 Savage (American Dream) and GloRilla (Glorious). For the former, he produced the Summer Walker-assisted “Prove It,” which spent two weeks atop Rhythmic Airplay.  

With just days to go before Music’s Biggest Night, Coupe took a brief pause from working on a “Detroit R&B love record” for Real Boston Richey to speak with Billboard and reflect on working on his first Grammy-nominated song.  

“I’m probably gonna miss the Grammys [because] I got some family stuff going on, but I definitely will be coming soon,” he promises. “It means even more to me, because [music is] something that my dad wanted to do. He’s kind of living his dream through me. [“Big Mama” taking] the Grammy home would be next level.”

Tell me about the first time you linked with Latto in the studio. 

We had been trying to get together for a while, but our schedules weren’t aligning. But we finally got together at Doppler Studios, and I played her the beat for 21 Savage’s “Prove It” in our first session. She actually recorded something to that beat in the same vein as “Prove It.” We worked on a couple of other records too. The vibe was great, we told each other how much we were fans of each other. We just clicked instantly. 

How did “Big Mama” come together? 

When the first version of the track was made, it was still a two-part beat. She had the first part of it from Oz, and then the second part was from another producer. She had only recorded the first half of the song, and she had an idea of what she wanted based on what she and [producer] Go Grizzly did. She called me and was like, “I like this first part, but I’m not vibing to the second beat.” Her and Pooh Beatz, who was helping me out with the record, were like, “Bro, we need some Coupe stuff for the second part! We need something turnt to switch it up.” 

They needed the beat that day. We had a session at 8 p.m., they called me at like 6 p.m. and I made the beat in 5-10 minutes. I headed to the studio early and that’s how we got the full beat to the song; Oz and Kid Masterpiece did the first portion, and I did the second. We put them together and they matched perfectly, and then we finished the song. 

What went through your head the moment you heard the final track? 

We were like, “This is the one for sure.” She had been working on the album for two years, and I came in a year into [the process]. She was like, “I need some lit vibes; let me know what I’m missing.” [“Big Mama”] has a mellow tone to it, but also a turn-up tone; I felt like that’s what was missing from the whole [Sugar Honey Iced Tea] album [at that point].  

And I haven’t heard many girls do beat switches either. The males in hip-hop really love to do that, so to have a female rapper actually rap two different styles on one song felt groundbreaking to me. 

When was the first time you saw her perform the song live? 

The first time I saw her perform the song live was at [WHTA (Hot 107.9)] Birthday Bash – and that was before the song was officially out. That’s a big thing now in hip-hop, to have things leak or tease them early. She also performed it at the BET Awards and got a lot of positive comments. Those kinds of reactions let me know that the music is connecting. 

Where were you when you found out about the nomination? 

I was actually at my house with my family. I’m not gonna lie, it took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to do! It’s my first [Grammy-nominated] song and it’s a big thing, so I showed my kids, like, “Your daddy’s [song is] nominated for a Grammy!” They didn’t even know what it was because they’re so young. [Laughs.]  

The Grammys mean everything to me. It’s like winning the championship ring. You work your whole life from [childhood] making music, and you build yourself up to this point where the highest honor you can get is the Grammy. There’s nothing greater than it. When you win that, that’s like winning the championship. To even be nominated is like going to the playoffs or the finals. We gotta win these finals! 

How much of an influence was your father on your musical journey? 

I’ve been doing music all my life. I played drums in church from 5-6 [years old], up until I was like 10 or 11, then I started playing piano and organ. My dad taught me all of that; he’s been playing since his younger days. As soon as I was born, they threw me on an instrument and was like, “You need to play.” And I’ve been doing it since birth. I used to sing in the choir too. As far as producing, I started doing that in 2014-15. But my dad was pivotal to it all; he loved the ‘70s and Earth, Wind & Fire and Rick James. That’s why ‘70s is my favorite type of music now.  

What’s one ‘70s song that you’ve always wanted to sample? 

“Reasons” by Earth, Wind & Fire.  

You also worked on albums by 21 Savage and GloRilla last year. How do you adapt your sound for different artists while maintaining your artistic integrity? 

As producers, our job is to serve the artist. I just try to stay true to the artist’s sound while implementing my sound. Every artist has a direction that they want to go in for their projects, so I try to fill that void they’re missing. But I still keep my integrity; I have weird drum patterns, my hi-hats are loud, my kicks hit hard! 

GloRilla is from Memphis, for example. Three 6 Mafia loves Isaac Hayes, so that’s why I sampled “Ike’s Mood I” on “Let Her Cook.” That’s a traditional Memphis sound. 21 Savage loves R&B, so I wanted to sample Faith Evans’ “You Are My Joy,” which is one of the best R&B interludes ever to me. I use whatever tools they give me and then expound on them with my sound. 

What was it like hearing “Prove It” on the radio for the first time? 

Man, I loved it. It’s funny because I was in the car with a girl at the time. When it came on, she was like, “Ain’t this your song?” [Laughs.] It was definitely a moment for me. “Prove It” was one of those songs that, as soon as they sent it to me, I was like, “This is definitely going to be a radio record.” And once we got Summer Walker on it, it was a go. 

Who’s left on your bucket list of collaborators? 

Definitely SZA. She’s at the top of the list; I love her voice and her sound and the way her music reminds me of how I feel about Faith Evans back in the day. Of course, the GOATs Kendrick [Lamar] and Drake. André 3000 is definitely on that list too. I would love to do just one record with him. “Life of the Party” is a classic record to me, and I know he wasn’t even trying. He just needs to have fun and let it flow. Out of the older generation: he and Project Pat for sure. 

What you got cooking up for 2025? 

Me and [Young] Nudy are about to lock back in; we took a little hiatus to work on other things for the last two years. Might be a project between me and him, so I’m excited about that.  

Me and JT just locked in for like two or three days and, I’m not going to lie, we made some crazy records. Her and Latto, female-wise, I love them. They’re so talented.  

Who do you think will win best rap album? Who do you think should win? 

That’s a hard question, because usually any time Eminem is in a “best rap” category, he wins. But I definitely think that Metro and Future should win, because they shifted culture last year. I’m always about that. Kendrick’s “Like That” verse shifted the whole culture, and the album itself is so good – especially with them not working together for so long.  

Speaking of Kendrick, do you think he can pull off a win in record or song of the year (or both!) for “Not Like Us?” 

For sure. Kendrick is a groundbreaking artist. He’s definitely going to win both of those — more than likely. 

Drake is gearing up to take the stage in Australia for his Anita Max Wynn Tour kicking off next week. Before things get going, the 6 God took advantage of his trip down under by warming up his vocals with a karaoke session on Friday (Jan. 31). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news […]

Billboard Unfiltered closes out January with another jam-packed episode talking all things Grammy Award predictions, Snoop Dogg’s inauguration performance backlash response, DJ Akademiks’ Twitch ban and more.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Snoop Dogg was criticized by many fans for his involvement with the D.C. Crypto Ball following Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month and he brushed off the haters. “For all the hate I’m going to answer with love, I love too much,” he said. “Get your life right, stop worrying about mine.”

Trending on Billboard

On the public relations side, senior charts & data analyst Trevor Anderson believes Snoop took a major hit. “I don’t know if Snoop needed to do this,” he said. “You know who your fan base is… I don’t think Snoop needs a bag that bad. He was just getting paid a gazillion to be on the Olympics coverage.”

Staff writer Kyle Denis wasn’t surprised at Snoop’s decision to be involved with the Crypto Ball, but did call it “disappointing.”

“Knowing what his previous stance was… To see him go back on that was disappointing,” Denis added. “If the bag seems to be over where 47 is, that’s where people are going to go… I understand Trump pardoned ‘Harry O’ — Death Row co-founder — but you don’t gotta lick the boot 24/7.”

DJ Akademiks was reportedly banned from Twitch following a conversation with a 15-year-old streamer where he made inappropriate comments that were taken as grooming and subsequently went viral on X and IG.

Ak responded to the Twitch ban and promised to make it right while going off on other streamers such as Plaqueboymax, who condemned his comments. “I never need to be on Kai, Max, Adin’s stream,” he said. “I don’t need to be on anybody’s stream. I got my own thing going on.”

Deputy editorial director Damien Scott believes Akademiks has very little to fear with his platform moving forward. “Number one, he’s built this audience that doesn’t care what we consider to be moral norms,” he said. “Brands are gonna be tough for him. Even on YouTube, I’m sure his reach is going to be limited… He doesn’t really need a platform, he can go off and do something on his own and a good chunk of the audience will follow him there.”

Kendrick Lamar leads all rappers with seven nominations and many believe he’ll be taking home plenty of hardware on Sunday (Feb. 3) at the 2025 Grammy Awards, which kicks off a busy month as he’ll be heading to the Super Bowl the following week.

“I think the brother is going to take home five,” deputy director of R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre said of Lamar.

Scott thinks Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal is going to win best rap album. “I’m shocked at how well it’s been received,” he said. “It’s a good pick. It comes from a house that is known for producing super high-quality.”

While “Not Like Us” is favored to win best rap performance, Denis could see GloRilla’s “Yeah Glo!” pulling off the upset. “She got that momentum. That song is a hit, it’s a banger,” he said. “The only way I see [Kendrick] losing is if he splits enough votes between ‘Not Like Us’ and ‘Like That.’”

Find all of the crew’s Grammy predictions plus more much in the episode below.

Between Vybz Kartel‘s blockbuster Freedom Street homecoming concert, Machel Montano‘s historic NPR Tiny Desk set and the slow-burning crossover of new soca anthems like Kes‘ “Cocoa Tea” and Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over,” Caribbean music has gotten off to an excellent start in 2025.
On Sunday (Feb. 2), music’s biggest stars will convene in Los Angeles for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, which will be turned into a fundraiser for relief efforts in the wake of several devastating fires in the greater Los Angeles area. At this year’s ceremony, Kartel (Party With Me), Shenseea (Never Gets Late Here), The Wailers (Evolution), the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack, and Collie Buddz (Take It Easy) are the nominees for best reggae album. Kehlani‘s “After Hours,” which samples Codell “Skatta” Burrell’s Coolie Dance riddim, is nominated for best R&B song. Just three weeks later, Popcaan, Shenseea, Skillibeng, Spice, Valiant and YG Marley will duke it out for best Caribbean music act at the MOBO Awards (Feb. 18), while the Bob Marley: One Love film will compete in six categories at the NAACP Image Awards (Feb. 22).

Trending on Billboard

As these ceremonies celebrate the best of 2024, the new year is already heating up with new earworms to soundtrack the forthcoming Carnival season. Naturally, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs. So, without any further ado:

Freshest Find: Kranium & Masicka, “Cut the Link”

“You give dem everything dem ask for/ And dem end up turn dem back yeah/ Now I know/ Mankind, you can’t tame them/ Dem wah you die, mi realize/ Dem wah fi own di place where you reside/ Mi cut the link, I know the deal,” Kranium croons in the opening verse of “Cut the Link,” a somber rumination on overcoming leeches and detractors. Produced by TJ Records and featuring an assist from Masicka, “Cut the Link” delivers a dancehall track that deals with raw emotion and real-life struggles, topics that are always welcome and cherished in a sea of gun and gyal chunes. “Cut The Link” marks the third collaboration between Kranium and Masicka, following 2016’s “Beach House” and 2017’s “Fire in the Rain.”

Shenseea, “Puni Police”

In a few days, Shenseea could become a first-time Grammy winner, but her current focus is lambasting the “Puni Police.” “Hot gyal a nuh fi everybody, my yute/ Comment pon mi picture dem, a that a mad you/ You too insecure, so you lose/ That’s why I’mma need you to/ Gimme some room to breathe,” she spits over Di Genius’ siren-evoking riddim. Her self-assured lyrics of self-respect in the face of an overly possessive partner add beautiful color to the ever-evolving portrait of woman-helmed dancehall songwriting. Shenyeng and Di Genius last linked up for two Never Gets Late Here tracks: “Neva Neva” and the Masicka-assisted global hit “Hit & Run.” Clearly, the two artists have A1 chemistry.

Lu City & Didi B, “Petit Bonon”

St. Lucia’s Lu City and the Dominican Republic’s Didi B are a match made in heaven on their sultry “Petit Bonbon” single. A slinky mélange of Afrobeats-inflected dancehall and slight notes of soca drums, “Petit Bonbon” finds the cross-Caribbean collaborators joining forces to tribute an eye-catching young lady who’s reigning over the club on a given night. With a greater emphasis on melody and feeling over rapid-fire wordplay, “Petit Bonbon” is a nice conduit to bring the evening into a slower, more seductive place.

Hector Roots Lewis featuring Johnny Cosmic, “Celebration”

After spending last year basking in the success of the box office-topping Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack, Hector Roots Lewis is back with a brand new single. A modern roots reggae tune produced by Johnny Classic, “Celebration” serves as the fifth single from Lewis’ forth-coming project. “To my brothers in the streets/ To my sisters in the streets/ Leave the guns and leave the knives/ We don’t want no fuss or fight,” he implores over the easy-rocking reggae guitars and breezy percussion, maintaining the peaceful proclamations that decorated Marley’s catalog. Lewis’ voice is incredibly charismatic on “Celebration,” seamlessly switching from warm sustained notes in the verses to more staccato delivery in the outro.

Machel Montano, “Pardy”

After making history by bringing soca music to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series for the first time ever, Machel Montano hopped on a few more riddims in anticipation of Carnival season. Among his new drops is “Pardy,” a reminder that we all work hard, so we all deserve to party. “All work and no play/ Mi seh, ‘No way’/ We don’t want no part of that/ I need a stress reliever, two drinks in mi hand a gyal in the middle,” he sings in the opening verse, expertly setting the scene for an explosive release in the chorus soundtracked by Badjohn Republic and XplicitMevon’s high-octane drums. Packaged with a music video suitable for all ages and generations, “Pardy” is primed to take over the season in due time.

Lyrikal, “Road Anthem”

At this point, is it really a surprise when Lyrikal drops off another road march anthem? With some help from KesKeyz, the Trinidadian artist debuted “Road Anthem,” a song that accomplishes exactly what its title suggests. “Like the government, we go on di road/ Dem go talk about we for centuries/ There’s no other place that is on this Earth/ There’s no other place, there’s no other place/ I never want to miss this feeling again!” he sings, effortlessly invoking the inimitable energy and rejoiceful spirit of the road during Carnival. Like any great soca artist, Lyrikal is a master at pacing, always allowing the verses enough breathing room to stretch out the song’s ascent into a bombastic chorus.

Foreign Dan, Yung Bredda & Venumm, “Cocoa She Want”

After topping Trinidad & Tobaga’s Apple Music chart with his runaway hit “The Greatest Bend Over” late last year (Dec. 30, 2024), Yung Bredda found some time to link with Foreign Dan and Venumm for “Cocoa She Want.” “She don’t want no Lipton, she don’t want no Milo/ All she askin for is the pure cocoa,” Venumm croons over Foreign Dan’s jaunty production. When the soundscape opts for a sparser percussion line halfway, Yung Bredda flaunts his versatility, weaving in and out of harmony with Venumm as he delivers his own promises to share his “cocoa.”

Jahshii & Pop Style, “E.G.Y.G. (Every Ghetto Yout Great)”

With his new Pop Style-helmed single, Jahshii uses the gritty template of trap dancehall to craft an uplifting anthem for Jamaica’s ghetto yutes. When his impassioned, Auto-Tuned voice creeps into its upper register to proclaim that “every ghetto yout great,” Jahshii reaches an emotional apex rarely visited by his trap dancehall contemporaries. On this track, perhaps more than any of his previous efforts, Jahshii intricately understands how to find the emotion and humanity in an expressly digitized landscape, and he fills those pockets with the kind of gut-wrenching wails that demand not just attention, but close listening too.

Adam O & ARK Productions, “Ms. Masquerader”

With “Ms. Masquerader,” a tribute to the countless beauties on the road, Adam O makes himself at home in the role of ultimate ladies’ man. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines-born artist incorporates more Haitian and Dominican musical influences than your typical soca anthem, but between his raspy vocal performance and live instrumentation by Chryston Floyd (guitar), Konata (percussion) and Geremi Webb (bass), “Ms. Masquerader” stands as a smashing success. It’s a Carnival jam to keep your waistline moving and facilitate a steamy dance or two on the road.

Nailah Blackman & Skinny Fabulous, “Forever”

Both Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous are likely to have yet another dominant year in 2025, and their new “Forever” collaboration is a reminder of why that’s the case. “Carnival, it is my time/ I wanna catch the spirit, it is high time/ Twice is not enough, I need it five times/ For a lifetime,” they plead in unison on the pre-chorus, personifying Carnival as a being that holds the key to a very special kind of unfettered joy and celebration. With CMungal Music, Keiron “Ogoshhoyte” Hoyte, Anson Pro, David “Millbeatz” Millien, Evolution the Band and Johnny Q all contributing to production, “Forever” has notes of all the different traditional and innovative elements that made 2016 such a beloved soca year.

The Game has planted himself on the front lines of Los Angeles looking for ways to help the community and get the city back on its feet ever since the tragic wildfires began blazing through L.A. County earlier in January.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Following his inauguration, President Donald Trump paid a visit to California on Jan. 24, but Game took issue with Trump making a quick stop touring the Palisades Fire and not the other areas which were also left devastated.

Trending on Billboard

“Obviously Trump came to see the Palisades fire and everyone affected needs hearts, but these people are just as important,” Game told TMZ. “I think that President Trump and anybody else that is running the country need to come down here and do their due diligence here as well.”

The Compton native added, per HipHopDX: “I think President Trump went over to the affected areas of Pacific Palisades, but he didn’t make his way to Altadena. I’m not telling President Trump what he has to do or what he should do or nothing like that, but let’s not forget about Altadena.”

Earlier in the month, Game was boots on the ground helping Pasadena firefighters battle the blaze by delivering food, drinks and supplies like blankets.

“Me & my team have been down here with the brave men & women fire fighters on the grown day in & day out assisting anyway I can do make their days a little easier,” he wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post. “The hearts & level of humility in each & every soul down here is a beautiful thing to witness & be a part of. These fighters are coming from all over the city, state & country to help put an end to what has been a long week of catastrophic events caused by these fires.”

Game even shifted his focus to an animal rescue mission where he went around Pasadena and Altadena looking to find pets and reunite them with their owners.

L.A. radio legend Big Boy gave The Game his flowers for being outside during a time like this. “The Game is out there… I was reading the comments and it was so much positivity under that,” Big Boy said. “And if he can get someone else out there — just one more person out there, that’s beautiful.”

L.A.’s FireAid Benefit Concert took place on Thursday night (Jan. 30) with Billie Eilish, Lil Baby, Jelly Roll, Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma and many more hitting the stages at Intuit Dome and Kia Forum. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer matched every dollar donated during the concert.

Those wanting to donate to Los Angeles wildfire relief funds are encouraged to visit fireaidla.org.

In today’s episode of Billboard Unfiltered, Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson, Kyle Denis, Carl Lamarre and Damien Scott predict who will win big at the 2025 Grammys, discuss Snoop Dogg and Nelly performing during Donald Trump’s inauguration and more. Trevor Anderson:  I don’t think Snoop needs a bag that bad. He was just getting paid a […]