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Kendrick Lamar rarely lends his stamp of approval publicly, but K. Dot gave his co-sign to a rapper in his former Top Dawg Entertainment family. Lamar declared Doechii to be the “hardest out” with an Instagram Story post on Thursday (Oct. 17), which featured the Florida native’s cover art to her acclaimed Alligator Bites Never […]
Jack Harlow is at a crossroads. The Louisville native was more 700 miles away from home as he took the stage in NYC at Brooklyn Paramount on Thursday night (Oct. 18) as part of the Citi Sound Vault concert series.
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Harlow has laid low on the music side this year, as he hasn’t unleashed as much as a single. His “Lovin on Me” bopcarried him through the early part of 2024 as the Oz-produced hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.
It’s been about 18 months since Jackman‘s arrival in April 2023, which pivoted from his pop curiosities and catered to his core rap fanbase. The project ended up peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
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After a year off, Harlow knows his next move needs to be his best move. The 26-year-old tuned out the noise and looked inward as he searched for “his why” when it comes to discovering newfound inspiration for his upcoming project — and he appears to have grasped onto something concrete.
“And I do got some very special s–t on the way,” he teased the crowd at one point, although he stopped short of making any official announcements regarding new music.
Emerging singer Laila! kicked off the night around 8 p.m. ET. The 18-year-old Brooklynite, who is Mos Def’s daughter, warmed up the crowd with her Brandy-esque vocals and self-produced eclectic beats packaged into standouts such as “Not My Problem” and “Like That!” Her Gap Year! project is more than worth a listen for R&B fans searching for bright talent, as Laila!’s a name to keep an eye on going forward.
The curtain dropped on Jack Harlow precisely at 9 p.m. ET as he faced the roar of 2,000-plus filling the venue. His set was more of a living room straight out of Architectural Digest. Rocking a black turtleneck and matching trousers, he initially sat on an L-shaped white couch, surrounded by lavish light fixtures and his DJ mixing from a wooden desk.
The ode to Miami Heat star “Tyler Herro” put Harlow’s set in drive as he ran through tracks such as hometown anthem “Route 66,” “They Don’t Love It” and “Is That Ight?”
“I was a little nervous tonight — it’s been a while,” Harlow admitted. “It’s been a great start though.”
Even with the time off, Harlow’s still a technician on stage with the mic in his hand. He sought out the day-one fans in the audience while performing “Warsaw,” “Sylvia” and “Way Out” before dedicating “21C/Delta” to the nurses in the building.
Missionary Jack took it to 2022’s Come Home, the Kids Miss You to perform “Movie Star,” “Poison,” “Nail Tech,” “Like a Blade of Grass” and “Dua Lipa,” while the British-Kosovo superstar performed at the noble Royal Albert Hall across the pond on the same night.
Harlow then pressed pause on the show to candidly provide some insight into his psyche as he plots on the next chapter of his career.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about how much art is being uploaded into the world. I sit there thinking about why contribute? Why add more? I spent this last year and a half thinking about it,” he reflected. “Why do you want to make music? What’s your contribution? And I think I’m getting pretty close. I appreciate all the patience you’ve shown me as I put some thought into why I would add more art to this cluster of art. I don’t know if I want to give anymore art to the world unless it’s worthwhile.”
Jack sent the fans home happy as he dipped back into his bag to run through a few of his massive hits including Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” his breakthrough “WHATS POPPIN,” the Fergie-sampling “First Class” and closed out with “Lovin On Me.”
Performing for just under an hour, Harlow finished out teasing his next era. “Next time I see you, we gonna have something to talk about,” he cryptically hinted.
From In the Heights to Hamilton, New York City – with its frenetic pulse and intoxicating contradictions – has been an intrinsic part of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s artistic palette. Even so, the EGT-winning musical mastermind is likely to confound more than a few fans with his and Eisa Davis’ new project: Warriors, a narrative concept album based on the 1979 cult film The Warriors.
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For those who do not reflexively think “come out to play” when they hear bottles clinking, The Warriors is about a Coney Island street gang forced to traverse the city after dark while a gaggle of gangs — each one sporting a distinct fashion aesthetic, from goth baseball to silken Harlem Renaissance — tries to murder them as revenge for an assassination they’re falsely accused of. It’s the violent, stylish stuff of midnight movie legend, and despite Miranda’s affinity for NYC-based tales, a surprising choice for a guy who was recently penning smashes for Disney.
With Warriors out Friday (Oct. 18) on Atlantic, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis (a playwright/actress who appeared in Miranda’s 2021 film Tick, Tick… Boom!), hopped on the phone with Billboard to discuss the inspiration behind their gender-flipped take on the subject matter, how they landed hip-hop royalty (Nas, Busta Rhymes, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Cam’ron, Ghostface Killah and RZA) for the project and what might be next for their Warriors.
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Lin — at a preview listening session, you mentioned that about 15 years ago, someone pitched the idea of a Warriors musical to you. You summarily shot it down but kept mulling it over. What was the “aha” moment where you had a breakthrough?
Miranda: That friend, Phil Westgren, approached me in 2009, and the bulk of my thinking why it couldn’t work is, “Well, it’s an action movie.” Action movies and musicals are always fighting for the sale real estate: When you can’t talk anymore — the emotion is heightened — you fight and/or sing. So doing it as a concept album first freed us from that. It allowed us to score the moment. We approached that in different ways throughout the album. Sometimes we dilated a moment of action, sometimes it’s a montage and you hear sound effects and by the end the Warriors are victorious. (laughs) The other thing that made it compelling to write was flipping the gender of the Warriors as a female gang. I had that notion in response to seeing GamerGate happen online around 2015. These toxically online men doxxing women’s home addresses, the chaos of it struck me as a very Luther thing to do. Luther shoots Cyrus, blames the Warriors and then watches the fun unfold. It seemed to be the same malignant chaos. That thought led me to thinking of the Warriors as a female gang and suddenly it got really interesting to write. Every plot point is wrinkled or changed in some fundamental way. I got excited by the notion of writing women’s voices surviving the night.
Eisa, unlike Lin, you said The Warriors was not part of your childhood. What was it that made you think, “I get it, I have something to say here”?
Davis: Number one: Lin asked me. Number two: Because they’re women, I thought, this is really exciting to look at the wrinkles and search for the ways that this is a specifically femme story. What is it that I’ve experienced on the streets of New York at night, or what is it that I want when it comes to protection and having a crew? We based the album on the movie; the movie is based on the novel; the novel was based on a Greek narrative from 400 B.C. Obviously, it has staying power and good bones. There’s something intrinsically human to the various responses to violence and adversity and loss that are in this story. One is that you can try and take revenge and continue the cycle of violence. Another thing the Warriors do is they defend themselves against the injustice of being falsely accused and develop more courage. Another response is to try and end that cycle of violence, try to create a peace not only in yourselves but the communities around you. All of those human responses being baked into the story, it has something very compelling to everyone.
What you said about GamerGate is interesting. Similar to the misogynist response to the 2016 Ghostbusters movie, do you think some perpetually online bros will get upset about the Warriors’ gender swap?
Miranda: Maybe. Probably. I know none of those people have seen this movie more than I have, and in many ways it’s a love letter to that original movie, too. I don’t think a beat-for-beat recreation of the movie would be satisfying. I’ve seen those adaptations, they’re not satisfying: You’re just waiting for the moment that you liked in the [original] movie. I think of this as a love letter to the original film and its own thing that could not be confused for the original film. To me, it’s the best of both worlds.
You really scored a murderer’s row of rappers to represent each borough: Nas, Cam’ron, Busta Rhymes, RZA, Ghostface Killah and Chris Rivers (Big Pun’s son). What was it like giving feedback to these legends? Lin, you’re a genius in your own right, but was that intimidating?
Davis: That’s such a great question because, of course, the only reason this murderer’s row, as you put it, are even on this album is because they already respect Lin and what he has accomplished. So everyone was on board and ready to do this. It was written for all of these rappers and what their rhythms are, but it was a question of, “Are they able to say someone else’s lines?” That’s a big deal.
Miranda: They’re used to writing their own features.
Davis: And have pride in never being ghostwritten.
Miranda: The shift was, “You’re not playing yourself. You’re playing the Bronx. You are the voice of Staten Island or the voice of Manhattan.” It’s having them playing these roles but bring what we love about them as emcees to the table.
The Warriors film is known for its violence and grit, things not usually associated with musicals. How did you go about ensuring there was a sense of danger on the album?
Miranda: It was freeing doing this as an album. Our job is to paint it as vividly as possible musically, to paint those slick sidewalk streets in your mind. To that end, we got the best artists we could find. We even got Foley artists to create some of the soundscapes of the subway and the city on top of these songs we’d written.
Davis: That really helped with creating that grit you’re talking about.
Miranda: The job is to create the sickest movie in your head possible. It’s also 1979 shot through 2024. I remember recording the scene where Luther calls an unknown associate and gives them a status update and someone said, “I don’t think young people know what a rotary phone sounds like anymore.”
Davis: That someone was Lin’s wife, Vanessa. (Miranda laughs) What we had to do was make sure we baked into the dialogue that this is a phone call, so people who had no idea what these sounds were would know. To make sure we didn’t have what you would call a pat musical theater score, something more cliché, one of the first things we did was make each other playlists and say, “This is an idea for this particular gang, they might have this particular sound.” Maybe there’s more of this Jamaican patois in the DJ so we have the Jamaican roots of hip-hop represented. Maybe we have this really amazing beat that can add this ballroom culture and have this queer, trans [vibe]. We were going for all of these vibes that would be legitimate for a pop listener.
As you’re saying, there are so many different musical styles on Warriors. Which was the hardest to get right, and which was the most fun to play with?
Miranda: They were all fun. The most joyous probably was going down to Miami to record with Marc Anthony and his orchestra. It would not sound as good as it does if we had not gone down to where Marc plays. We came in with a fully finished demo but by the time Marc is translating it to his orchestra with Sergio [George], his righthand man, he found another level of authenticity. Writing all of these was enormous fun. I think the one people will be most surprised by, considering what they’ve heard of my work, is our metal song, “Going Down,” with Luther. But I’m a big metal fan. The challenge was not so much writing the song and not blowing my voice out on my demo — because I don’t have a screamo voice — but finding the person to play Luther. My metal gods are all my age or older. (Davis laughs) We went to Atlantic and said, “Who is the next great metal singer we don’t even know about yet?” And I think Kim Dracula is one of the great discoveries of this album. Everyone who listens to this leaves going, “Who the f–k was that? And how can I hear more of that?” That was an exciting discovery.
Davis: Like Lin said, everything was so fun. It was wonderful to spend a week and a half with our Warriors, because they’re such dear friends, and hearing this gel together and sing was something only they could do. Another thing that was so joyful was to be with Mike Elizondo, our producer, at his studio, and being able to work with his band. What was challenging for me, as someone who does not have the same experience and Lin and Mike, was making sure the ideas of everything I heard was something I could articulate and share with all of our artists. Everything was so clear in how I could hear it, but how could I share how to get there? I had a nice learning curve.
I love that you flipped the Lizzies into the Bizzies, a boy band. Did you use any particular boy bands as sonic touchstones for that?
Miranda: We wanted to do the boy band to end all boy bands. The Voltron of boy bands, if you will. The Megazord. We wanted to connect New Edition all the way to Stray Kids and back again. You have Stephen Sanchez holding down the gorgeous falsetto crooner at the top; you have Joshua Henry holding down the soulful Boyz II Men era vocals; you have Timothy Hughes holding down the bass; and then Daniel Jikal representing the new school of hip-hop.
I love that you included K-pop boy band music on this, because that is the new school.
Davis: That was a flash of genius on Lin’s part. Of course, he doesn’t speak Korean….
Miranda: (laughs) How dare you tell them that!
Davis: We went to Helen Park, who is an incredible composer, and she dropped that instantaneously.
How much direction did you give her?
Miranda: We painted the picture for her: This needs to be the come on to end all come-ons, but then at the end, you sneak in the phrase “you killed our hope.” The folks who speak Korean will have a head start on how nefarious this gang is.
Ms. Lauryn Hill portrays the DJ on this, which is wildly impressive. At what point in the process did she enter?
Miranda: It was the first song we wrote. We had no plan B. We wrote it to Lauryn Hill’s voice. Essentially, we sent her manager a love letter from me and Eisa, the track and some test vocals for her to fill in however she pleased. And we stayed in touch. I learned from her manager she was an admirer of Hamilton. That kept the door from being all the way shut.
Davis: And then we prayed.
Miranda: And then a lot of prayer until one day the Dropbox came and it had all the vocals. It was so much better than we even imagined. The fact that she trusted us and sang the song we wrote will always be among the greatest honors of our careers, but then added so much of herself to it, added background vocals. She’s a co-producer on that track and she earned every bit of it.
I know you said making this a recording allowed you a certain freedom, but are you considering a staging?
Miranda: Yeah. It was an enormous privilege to be able to write it this way. This caliber of world-class talent, it’s hard to get them in the same room at the same time much less on a stage eight times a week. The fact that we get these fingerprints on these roles is incredible. And you’re talking to two theater artists. Of course, we’d love to imagine continuing to work together and what the next incarnation could be, but what we really love is that everyone gets the thing we made on Friday. It’s not a recording of the thing we made that you have to be in New York to see. Everyone gets it at the same time. As someone who lived through both Hamilton cast album going around the world and the relative inaccessibility of Hamilton because we could only serve 1400 people at a time, it’s enormously gratifying to give everyone the same gift at the same time.
Davis: If there’s a show, it’s a discrete thing. The album is its own thing and if we have a show, it’s its own thing. It’s another level of adaptation, just like we adapted the film. This is its own thing.
Final question for you both. In the movie, which is your favorite gang and why? And you can’t say the Warriors.
Davis: What’s the gang that puts their tokens in?
Miranda: (Laughs, coughs) In the opening montage, there is one gang that’s very courteously [entering the subway] like they’re on a school trip.
Davis: They’re like, “We’re going to uphold the social compact on the way to a meeting of gangs across the city.”
Miranda: My favorite gang is the Turnbull AC’s. The Turnbull AC’s walk to a Mad Max: Fury Road vibe. And a converted school bus of bats and chains is the most terrifying, awesomest thing.
Doechii is serving up some financial literacy for her fans. She’s been tapped by pgLang and Cash App to star in their The Barbershop ad as part of the joint venture’s That’s Money campaign, which arrived Thursday (Oct. 17).
The Top Dawg Entertainment rapper was minding her business getting braided when an annoyed customer voiced their frustrations to comedian Exavier TV — playing the role of a barber — about a quick flip of cash not working out.
“In the beginning, everyone had a plan for my money, but then I realized I had to do my own thing,” she began in the clip. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to monetize my career, but at the same time I don’t wanna be making moves that require me to do too much. I just want to put the money to the side, not have to worry about it, but still know that it’s growing.”
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Doechii then kicks some knowledge about interest and having “free money” work for you on its own without even paying it any mind.
“I’m at a place now where I’m starting to make a budget and set financial goals for my future,” the Florida rapper said in a statement. “I think it’s so important to be honest with each other when we talk about money, which is why I’m excited to be part of this campaign and share what’s been working for me.”
Calmatic directs the clip — he’s worked with LeBron James, Kendrick Lamar and McDonald’s creatively to name a few in the past — which progressively zooms out of the barbershop to the point it’s a small block lodged into a white screen.
“What I loved most about this project was the opportunity to essentially describe to the audience what ‘interest’ is in one of the most raw and straightforward ways I’ve ever seen in financial advertising,” the Los Angeles native said in a statement, “Interest is one of those words that you hear over and over but don’t really know exactly what it is.”
Kendrick Lamar lent Doechii the ultimate cosign when deeming her “the hardest out” with a post to his Instagram Story on Thursday.
Look for another iteration of That’s Money to launch later in 2024. On the music side, Doechii delivered her critically-acclaimed Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape in August, which reached No. 117 on the Billboard 200.
Watch the ad below.
Cardi B is loving the new chapter in life as she dives into being a single woman following her July split from estranged husband Offset, when she filed for divorce for a second time.
The Bronx bombshell joined an X Spaces Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 16), during which she provided fans with an update on all things Cardi B as she navigates motherhood for a third time after giving birth in September.
“Life has been really weird,” she said. “I’m single and I’ve been having fun, but I feel like me being single and me having fun, I have to stop it because I don’t want it to get in the way of my work … I’m paranoid to give people my time, I’m just playing around right now. [laughs] I just want peace.”
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Cardi B and Offset’s relationship issues got messy and spilled over into social media while she was in France for Paris Fashion Week in late September, when the Migos rapper accused Cardi of cheating on him while pregnant.
“I feel like two weeks ago, there was a lot of beef. I feel like things are calming down right now. I don’t want to have beef with anybody that I love,” she added. “All the divorce things that happen, I want peace and I want friendship. I just want, like, a healthy co-parenting relationship, and co-parenting means no f–king, no flirting … I want peace. I want to be like my mom and my dad, they don’t f–k with each other, they just there for me and my sister.”
While she’s having fun as a single woman for the first time since becoming a superstar, Cardi doesn’t want to lose focus of her career goals.
“Baby, I’m in heat right now,” she admitted. “So far I’m having a lot of fun. Somebody gave me a reality check yesterday: ‘You out here having fun, and it could distract you from your personal life, but don’t let it distract you from your work!’”
Cardi continued regarding juggling motherhood: “I’m also balancing my motherhood right now. I feel like I gave birth five months ago, but I really have a baby, baby. Sometimes my body be feeling weird, but of course, I gave birth six weeks ago. A lot of balancing going on right now.”
On the music side, the wait continues for Cardi B’s anticipated sophomore album. She also promised that the project is coming soon, but hasn’t shared a release date yet. “Album is coming really, really soon, announcements is coming really really soon,” she vowed. “Things are getting more done now! I’m not pregnant no more.”
Listen to the full Spaces below.
Zach Bryan recently said that he doesn’t want to be known as strictly a “country musician.” Luckily, an upcoming collaboration with one of hip-hop’s greatest living legends (Snoop Dogg!) might just help with that.
On Thursday (Oct. 17), the 52-year-old rapper revealed on Today that he and the “I Remember Everything” singer-songwriter have a little something in the works. “Zach sent me a song,” he shared with the show’s hosts. “I gotta put a verse on it.”
“I’m inspired, seeing that with him, with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen,” Snoop added of Bryan’s recent conversation with the “Born to Run” icon for Rolling Stone, in which the younger musician explained why he doesn’t like to be labeled under any given genre.
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“I want to be a songwriter, and you’re quintessentially a songwriter,” Bryan told Springsteen at the time. “No one calls Bruce Springsteen — hate to use your name in front of you — but no one calls Bruce Springsteen a freaking rock musician, which you are one, but you’re also an indie musician, you’re also a country musician. You’re all these things encapsulated in one man. And that’s what songwriting is.”
The Boss agreed that Bryan has potential beyond the country landscape, telling the “Something in the Orange” artist he sees “so much — and I don’t want to call it rock — just energy in your performance.” “You bust all those different genre boundaries down,” Springsteen added in the Musicians on Musicians feature.
If Bryan is looking to expand his sound further, he’s come to the right collaborator. The Doggfather is one of music’s most versatile duet partners, guesting on songs with everyone from Katy Perry to Bruno Mars, Mariah Carey, Benny Blanco and BTS, Jason Derulo, Akon, The Pussycat Dolls and more. Most recently, Snoop worked with a number of artists on the soundtrack for Peacock’s film Bosco.
Watch Snoop talk about working with Bryan below.
As the WNBA continues to soar, courtesy of its tremendous female athletes, rising young talents, and nail-biting moments, one team exudes a swagger and moxie that has been hard to replicate all season long: the New York Liberty.
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Not only are the Liberty backed up by two-time league MVP Breanna Stewart, three-time All-Star Sabrina Ionescu, and five-time All-Star and former MVP Jonquel Jones, but they also have the hip-hop world championing their every move and dribble along the way. And now, the team stands on the brink of a historic triumph: clinching its first-ever title in franchise history, after a hard-fought Game 3 victory Wednesday night (Oct. 16) against the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals.
“The New York Liberty is restoring the feeling of pride in the streets of New York,” Ja Rule tells Billboard over email after performing at halftime of Game 2 of the Liberty’s first-round series win against the Atlanta Dream last month. “Watching Breanna Stewart take someone in the post, and the crowd erupts, is the similar feeling to hearing the distant roar of the cheers from inside Yankee Stadium through the adjacent blocks outside of the Bronx when Derek Jeter slaps a home run! In translation: New York, we are back, baby! And we are on the backs of the New York Liberty.”
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What originally was the home that Jay-Z built in 2012 when he christened the Barclays Center as a former part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets has morphed into a basketball wonderland operated by the Liberty. After reaching the WNBA Finals last year, there’s been a growing appetite for seeing the team compete, especially amongst hip-hop stars. Since then, the Liberty has had Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Fat Joe, and A Boogie wit Da Hoodie attend its games on multiple occasions, cheering them on from the sidelines.
This connection to hip-hop royalty is not just a massive win but a source of pride for Liberty, whose chief brand officer, Shana Stephenson, wanted to take the next step: inviting artists to perform at the team’s home games. Stephenson, a born-and-raised New Yorker, is an avid lover of ’90s hip-hop and saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between her two loves, women’s sports and music.
“New York is full of rich culture, and hip-hop is a key ingredient,” she says. “Basketball and hip-hop go hand in hand in hand. As someone who loves hip-hop and grew up in ’90s hip-hop, it made sense to me.”
Last year, in honor of 50 years of hip-hop, Stephenson sought ways that the Liberty could pay homage to the genre’s most respected trailblazers. She accomplished that last August when the Liberty held a concert celebrating 50 years of women in hip-hop, and enlisted MC Lyte and Rapsody as the night’s performers. Stephenson’s love for legacy acts continued this year when the Liberty stormed into the Finals for a second consecutive season. With the stakes higher than ever, she tapped acclaimed rap stars Rick Ross and Jadakiss to perform at Game 1 and 2 of the Liberty Finals home games, with the latter being in front of a record-setting crowd of 18,000 fans.
And while the Liberty franchise has reveled in watching a hip-hop’s “Who’s Who” taking centerstage during their games, it has also used its halftime performances as a platform for emerging talent, especially those from New York to take advantage of.
“We see this as a platform for up-and-coming artists looking to get their music out there and in front of a different audience,” says Stephenson, who has had Cash Cobain, Maiya The Don, Lola Brooke, and more perform. “And we know that even though they aren’t as mainstream, they also still have followings, whether it’s cult followings or underground followings. That’s also an opportunity for us to tap into their core fan base, who might not be as familiar with the Liberty or fans of the WNBA. We see that as mutually beneficial.”
“It’s beautiful,” adds Maiya the Don. “For a long time, women’s sports, especially basketball, didn’t get the shine they deserved, but now the hip-hop community is showing love in a way that’s lifting these women up. It’s dope to see artists, especially in hip-hop, recognizing their greatness and supporting them. There’s a natural connection between basketball and hip-hop, so it’s about time the ladies got that same recognition. And honestly, it’s empowering. They’re paving the way for all of us to get the respect we deserve in our lanes.”
Maiya the Don at Atlanta Dream versus the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, New York on September 22, 2024.
Courtesy of New York Liberty
With the Liberty just one game away from potentially winning its first championship in franchise history, Stephenson envisions a future of even greater success. She dreams that icons like Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Rihanna and LL Cool J will one day grace the Liberty’s court at Barclays Center, further solidifying the bond between the Liberty and the culture.
“This is a championship we’re aiming for,” says Stephenson. “It doesn’t matter that it’s the WNBA; it doesn’t make it any less than if the Nets were competing for an NBA championship, or the Yankees or Mets competing for an MLB championship; it means a lot in the sports world to be recognized as the best. For everyone wanting to cheer us on, be supportive, be in the building for that, and know that a halftime performance can motivate the fans and players, it means a lot.”
Tyler, the Creator is back. The Grammy Award-winning rapper announced plans for his eighth studio album on Thursday (Oct. 17). Titled Chromakopia, the set will be released later this month.
Following an initial teaser on Wednesday (Oct. 16), Tyler revealed Chromakopia‘s cover art along with the project’s Oct. 28 release date, which is a Monday rather than the typical Friday.
“All songs written, produced and arranged by Tyler Okonma,” reads the text across the cover in a shade of emerald green. As for the art, it’s a black-and-white photo of Tyler as the soldier rocking a mask who fans got a glimpse of in the “St. Chroma” visual earlier this week.
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Chromakopia will serve as the official follow-up to 2021’s Call Me If You Get Lost. Tyler had released an album every other year since his Goblin debut in 2011, but that streak came to and end when no project arrived in 2023.
Fans can access the Chromakopia website, where they can pre-save the album and pre-order merch bundles filled with CDs, hoodies, hats, T-shirts, tote bags and mini commemorative Chromakopia containers.
Fans got their first taste of Tyler launching into his new era on Wednesday when the musician posted a clip of the “St. Chroma” video, which some fans believed to be the opening track of his next album. Solange Knowles, Lil Yachty, Gunner Stahl, IDK, Lil Dicky, Wolfacejoeyy, Laila!, Swizz Beatz, Doechii, Wynne and more hopped into his comment section on IG to show him love.
Call Me If You Get Lost arrived in June 2021 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 169,000 total album units sold in the first week. The LP won best rap album at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Next up, Tyler will be performing at his Camp Flog Gnaw festival at Dodger Stadium during the weekend of Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, where attendees will likely get to hear music from his upcoming album. A full lineup for the carnival is yet to be revealed.
Check out the Chromakopia cover below.
Cardi B is taking care of some business with a nine-day trip to Los Angeles. The Bronx native hopped on X Spaces on Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 16) to discuss her plans while on the West Coast, which include tending to her long-awaited sophomore LP.
“I’m also in L.A. because I have to do something pertaining the album. I know you guys are gonna be like, ‘What the f–k, b—h?’ But it’s something that’s gonna be done really f–king quick,” she said. “It’s just gonna be a one-two. I did it when I was pregnant, and nothing came out how I wanted it to come, out so we gotta do it again.”
Cardi continued without saying exactly what she had to do for the LP. “It’s gonna be amazing and unique because everything I do it gotta be amazing and unique,” she promised. “I’m sorry for the delay. It’s not gonna be a crazy delay. It’s gonna come out amazing. I’m gonna be out here for nine days.”
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It’s been more than six years since 2018’s Invasion of Privacy and Cardi has teased the album for 2024, but the calendar days left in the year are dwindling.
“Album is coming really, really soon, announcements is coming really really soon,” she promised later on. “Things are getting more done now! I’m not pregnant no more.”
Cardi delivered a pair of singles with Billboard Hot 100 hits “Enough (Miami)” and “Like What (Freestyle)” earlier this year, but then cooled off and leaned on a few assists while hopping on Rob 49’s “On Dat Money” and Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla’s “Wanna Be (Remix).”
The 32-year-old also gave birth to her third child with estranged husband Offset in September. Following her filing for divorce from the Migos rapper at the end of July, Cardi is enjoying her new chapter in life.
“Life has been really weird,” she added. “I’m single and I’ve been having fun, but I feel like me being single and me having fun, I have to stop it because I don’t want it to get in the way of my work. I’m paranoid to give people my time, I’m just playing around right now,” she said with a laugh. “I just want peace.”
Listen to the full Spaces session below.
Kendrick Lamar already has 17 Grammys to his name, and he could add several more if “Not Like Us” dominates next month’s Grammy nominations announcement (Nov. 8).
A strong contender for both record and song of the year, the Billboard Hot 100-topping diss track is also a frontrunner in the rap field categories of best rap song and best rap performance. Should “Not Like Us” take home the gold in both of those categories, it would become the fifth Lamar track to pull off the feat following “I” (2015), “Alright” (2016), “Humble” (2018), and “The Heart Part 5” (2023).
As can be the case across genres, there has been a fair amount of overlap between performance and songwriting categories in the rap field over the years. Since the best rap performance category was introduced in 2012 – several more specific categories were condensed in a major rehaul of the ceremony — eight songs have triumphed both there and in best rap song, which was introduced in 2004. In addition to Lamar’s victories, the other winners include Jay-Z & Kanye West‘s “N—as in Paris” (2013), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis‘ “Thrift Shop” (2014), Megan Thee Stallion & Beyoncé‘s “Savage” (2021) and Killer Mike, Future, André 3000 and Eryn Allen Kane‘s “Scientists & Engineers” (2024).
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Before the categories were restructured, two best rap song winners — Jay-Z, Rihanna and West’s “Run This Town” (2010) and Jay-Z & Alicia Keys‘ “Empire State of Mind” (2011) — also won best rap/sung performance (now called best melodic rap performance). In 2004, Eminem‘s “Lose Yourself” won best rap song — making him the inaugural winner in that category — and best male rap solo performance.
But what tracks could block “Not Like Us” from a rap field sweep? Let’s break down the leading contenders in both categories.
Best Rap Song
First, there’s the question of “Like That.” If Lamar’s Hot 100-topping collaboration with Future & Metro Boomin wins both best rap song and best rap performance, Lamar would still earn his fifth double-whammy. In the event that both “Not Like Us” and “Like That” earn nods in best rap song, Lamar would increase his tally to 10 career nods in this category — the fourth most of all time. A nod for “Like That” would earn Future his fourth nomination in this category and Metro Boomin his first.
Two non-Lamar Hot 100 chart-toppers could also earn nods here: Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” and Ye & Ty Dolla $ign‘s “Carnival.” Megan remains the first and only female rapper to win this category, and a nod for “Hiss” would be her first nomination in this category for a solo song. Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has the most wins in the history of this category (7); a nod for “Carnival” here would be his seventeenth — the most of all time — and Ty Dolla $ign’s first. “Carnival” could also earn career-first Grammy nods for Don Toliver and Playboi Carti, who are credited songwriters and featured artists on the track.
Carti is also in contention by way of Travis Scott‘s “FE!N,” which reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 2023. The duo performed the track at the 2024 Grammy telecast, where its parent album, the Billboard 200-topping Utopia lost best rap album to Killer Mike’s Michael. Between his globe-trotting Circus Maximus Tour and a historic re-release of his decade-old Days Before Rodeo mixtape, Travis has remained a consistent presence this year. Killer Mike, on the other hand, could bookend his 2024 victory in this category with “Humble Me.”
Two other massive 2024 Hot 100 hits — Jack Harlow‘s “Lovin On Me” (No. 1) and Tommy Richman‘s “Million Dollar Baby” (No. 2) — are also very strong contenders. Richman is looking for his first Grammy nod, while Harlow is looking to earn his second nod in this category following “Churchill Downs” (with Drake) in 2023.
There are also a number of other notable Hot 100 hits that are in contention, including: Sexyy Red‘s “Get It Sexy” (No. 20), Nicki Minaj‘s “FTCU” (No. 15), GloRilla‘s “Yeah Glo” (No. 28), Flo Milli‘s “Never Lose Me” (No. 15), Doja Cat‘s “Demons” (No. 46), Lil Baby & Central Cee‘s “Band4Band” (No. 18), Cardi B‘s “Enough” (No. 9) and 21 Savage‘s “Redrum” (No. 5). Both Lil Baby and Cardi B are seeking their second nominations in this category, while Minaj and Doja are each aiming for their third. 21 Savage, who won this category alongside J. Cole for “A Lot” in 2020, is looking to earn his fourth nomination in this category. Out of these contenders, Hot Girl Summer tourmates Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla are likely the strongest contenders, but both have a more favorable history in best rap performance.
As always, there are also a few dark horses for which to keep an eye out. Rapsody, a previous nominee in this category for “Sassy” back in 2018, could pull off a nomination for “Asteroids,” while ScHoolboy Q could earn his first nod in this category with “Thank God 4 Me.” Eminem is the inaugural winner of this category, and he’s since added four additional nominations. “Tobey” (with Big Sean and BabyTron) could earn Slim Shady his first best rap song nod since 2019, when his Joyner Lucas-assisted “Lucky You” earned a nomination. Lucas is also in contention with his Jelly Roll duet, “Best for Me,” which earned a nod for best video for good at the MTV Video Music Awards last month. Finally, Common could earn his second nomination in this category with “When the Sun Shines Again” (with Pete Rock and Posdnuos).
Our Fearless Forecast
So, which five songs have the best chance to be nominated in this Grammy category? The rap field is always unpredictable, but here goes nothing: “Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar), “Lovin On Me” (Jack Harlow), “Like That” (Future, Metro Boomin & Lamar), “Asteroids” (Rapsody) and “Carnival” (Ye, Ty Dolla $ign, Don Toliver & Playboi Carti)
Best Rap Performance
Given the history of overlap between best rap song and best rap performance, most of the aforementioned songs are also contenders in this category. Some other Hot 100 hits to keep an eye on include Bryson Tiller‘s “Whatever She Wants” (No. 19), Eminem’s “Houdini” (No. 2) and Megan Thee Stallion and Yuki Chiba‘s “Mamushi” (No. 36). A nod in this category would be the first for Tiller and Chiba. Also in contention here with “Hiss,” Megan is looking to add to her two previous nominations in this category. Eminem has earned 12 career nods across rap performance categories; he has won best rap solo performance three times in addition to one triumph in best male rap solo performance and two wins in best rap performance by a duo or group.
Other strong contenders include Doechii‘s “Nissan Altima,” Latto‘s “S/O to Me,” LL Cool J & Eminem’s “Murdergram Deux,” Big Sean‘s “Yes” and ScHoolboy Q’s “Blueslides.”
Our Fearless Forecast
So, which five songs have the best chance to be nominated in this category? I predict: “Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar), “HISS” (Megan Thee Stallion), “Like That” (Future, Metro Boomin & Lamar), “Murdergram Deux” (LL Cool J & Eminem) and “Yeah Glo” (GloRilla)