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A$AP Rocky‘s discography has just hit a major milestone. The rapper’s debut studio album, Long.Live.ASAP, recently marked the 10th anniversary of its release, and to celebrate, he dropped a new visual on Monday (Jan. 16) to accompany album track “Angels.”
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“TODAY MARKS THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR MY 1ST COMMERCIAL ALBUM! I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT & THINK ABOUT THE PPL I MISS & THE TIMES WE HAD,” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram Monday, when he shared a clip of the video. “RIP YAMS & VIRGIL , THANK YOU FOR THE HELP ON THIS 1ST PROJECT. LONG. LIVE. A$AP. ANGELS. PT 2 AWGE EDIT OUT NOW!”
“Angels Pt. 2” picks up where Rocky’s original “Angels” video left off: The rapper, surrounded by his posse of friends, dominating neighborhoods in both New York City and California. A$AP and his crew find themselves riding around town in flashy cars, gambling on sidewalks, smoking and generally doing as they please. To honor Yams, Rocky placed a halo on his head in the moments he appeared in the video. Yams, one of the founding members of the A$AP Mob, died from an acute mixed drug intoxication in January 2015.
Long. Live. ASAP was released on Jan. 15, 2013. The set — which features guest spots from Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Schoolboy Q and more — spent a total of 79 weeks on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and peaked at No. 1. The album spawned four singles: “Goldie,” “Wild for the Night,” “Fashion Killa” and “F—in’ Problems,” the latter of which peaked at No. 8 and spent a total of 27 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
Watch A$AP Rocky’s follow-up visual for “Angels” in the video above.
The Weeknd dropped his otherworldly video for “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” on Monday (Jan. 16). The dreamy song from the soundtrack to the box office juggernaut Avatar: The Way of Water is spotlighted in the Quentin Deronzier-directed visual featuring a frantic adventure for the film’s signature lanky blue-skinned Na’Vi, who frolic in their lush Pandora home before a raging forest fire forces them to flee to a watery world.
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The singer is briefly featured at the beginning of the clip, his profile illuminated by blue light amid flashes of fire and water before the action turns to the lush, bioluminescent jungles of Pandora. We watch as the Na’Vi sprint while fire engulfs their world, frantically running through the embers and flames to the strains of the song’s lush orchestration. The moody underwater shots give a small glimpse of the magical world conjured by director James Cameron in the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 original, the highest-grossing film of all time.
“Nothing is Lost” was written by the Weeknd, with production by Swedish House Mafia and the film’s score composer, Simon Franglen; it plays over the end credits of the movie that is already closing in on global box office receipts nearing $2 billion. The track takes a sonic cue from Gerard McCann’s “Cry Little Sister” from the 1987 cult classic The Lost Boys.
“I thought I could protect you from paying for my sins/ You give me strength/ I would do either way/ Nothing’s lost/ No more pain, just you,” the Weekend sings on the track.
Watch the “Nothing Is Lost” video below.
Rihanna gave fans a red-hot preview of Savage X Fenty’s upcoming Valentine’s Day collection on Sunday.
“Heartbreaker szn,” the superstar captioned one round of photos, which feature her posing in a lacy black bodysuit in a neon-lit room of pinks, blues, purples and reds. In another series of photos, she wears an orange and purple, psychedelic print set while perched on top of a glass table, her long black hair trailing down to her backside accented by a stream of tiny braids. “#savageXfentySPORT V-DAY drop,” she teased, hinting that the latest line will be available by mid-February.
The new Valentine’s-themed pieces aren’t the only looks RiRi has been readying as of late, either. Earlier this month, the “Needed Me” singer modeled her limited-edition Savage X Game Day collection in anticipation of her upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, when she’ll take the stage on Feb. 12 at Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium to mark her first major musical performance in six years.
The sporty drop includes a number of crop-top varsity jerseys, hats, hoodies, tube tops, sweatpants, beanies and even cotton boxers patterned with tiny footballs. One oversize white tee playfully has the words “RIHANNA CONCERT INTERRUPTED BY A FOOTBALL GAME, WEIRD BUT WHATEVER” emblazoned across the front in giant block letters.
Ahead of the recent Golden Globes attendee‘s long-awaited comeback, Billboard also mapped out our dream setlist for the halftime show — from “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Rude Boy” to “We Found Love” and (fingers crossed!) a new track from the ever-elusive R9.
Get a look at Rihanna’s new Savage X Fenty Valentine’s Day snapshots below.
Like her character in “Kill Bill,” the real-life SZA is sizing up the competition on pop radio and taking action.
The singer-songwriter sports two tracks from her new album, SOS, on Billboard’s mainstream top 40-based Pop Airplay chart (dated Jan. 21), led by “Kill Bill,” which soars in at No. 24, up 865% to 2,257 plays on 129 reporting stations (or, an average of 18 plays per panelist) Jan. 6-12, according to Luminate.
Meanwhile, SZA’s “Nobody Gets Me” pushes 37-30 on Pop Airplay, up 115% to 1,632 plays on 107 reporters (a 15 plays-per-station average) in its third week on the list. The tracks claim the second- and fifth-greatest gains, respectively, among all songs on the survey.
SOS, released on Top Dawg/RCA Records, has held the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart in its first four weeks, marking the first R&B album by a woman to achieve such a start since Janet Jackson’s janet. nearly 30 years ago.
Radio ‘Gets’ Two Tracks
RCA originally targeted ballad “Nobody Gets Me” for the pop format, but as streaming has stayed strong for “Kill Bill” – SZA’s not-her-best-idea-turned-murder fantasy (hopefully) – the label decided to formally promote both together. The latter debuted with 36.9 million official U.S. streams Dec. 9-15, followed by frames of 32 million (Dec. 16-22), 26.6 million (Dec. 23-29) and 28 million (Dec. 30-Jan. 5).
“Nobody Gets Me” started with 25.1 million streams Dec. 9-15 and drew 10.4 million Dec. 30-Jan. 5.
“Kill Bill” has so far hit No. 3 on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-driven Billboard Hot 100, debuting at the spot on the Dec. 24 chart and returning to its high on the Jan. 14-dated ranking, and ascends to the top of the Jan. 14 Billboard Global 200. “Nobody Gets Me” debuted at its No. 10 Hot 100 best (Dec. 24).
“When SOS came out this December, we immediately heard from pop programmers saying they wanted to play ‘Nobody Gets Me,’” says RCA head of promotion Keith Rothschild. “Heading into the holidays, most stations went into year-end countdowns [and paused on adding new music]. During that time, ‘Kill Bill’ became a streaming monster. On Jan. 2, I called [the RCA] pop team – [led by] Joe Daddio, Jessie Maldonado [and] Jeff Rizzo – and said, ‘What if we impacted both records at top 40 coming out of the break?’ I also asked a few key programmers, and everyone agreed: ‘Let’s do it.’”
(Fellow SOS track “Shirt,” which helped introduce the album with its release in October, is being worked to R&B/hip-hop and rhythmic radio. It climbs to new highs of Nos. 7 and 8 on the Jan. 21 Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts, respectively.)
Programmers: ‘The Data Speaks Loudly’
“There has been a great deal of interest in SZA from our [pop] programmers,” says Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia president of programming operations/digital music, citing growing support on the chain’s Pop Airplay reporters including WHTZ New York, KIIS Los Angeles, KYLD San Francisco and WHYI Miami.
“Typically, programmers tend to gravitate toward one emphasis single,” Zellner says. “‘Kill Bill’ is way ahead at this point. It’s always tough to determine whether any song will have staying power, but the song has a strong hook and a powerful message.”
“The data speaks loudly,” says Erik Bradley, assistant program director/music director at Audacy-owned Pop Airplay panelist WBBM (B96) Chicago. “Our core loves this album and these two singles feel like they’re strongly leading the way. They’re mainstream radio-friendly. It’s really hard to design a plan to have dual singles, but in this instance, the data demanded it, and that creates a no-brainer decision to have both songs simultaneously in regular rotation. Add to that the launch of SZA’s tour and it just feels like everything is teed up for a major 2023 win for her.”
“In radio and programming, we have rules about artist separation, and sometimes those rules need to be adjusted to mirror what our listeners are showing they want,” shares Molly Cruz, regional brand manager for Audacy’s Milwaukee, Wis., stations, including Pop Airplay reporter WXSS, noting prior success with simultaneous pop radio singles for Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, among others.
‘I Might (blank) My Ex’
Hedging against any potential concerns about the lyrics in “Kill Bill”– “I might kill my ex … his new girlfriend’s next …,” later the more damning “I just killed” – RCA has serviced two edits to radio, one in which “kill”/“killed” is simply omitted and one in which the words are replaced by the sound of a slicing knife. (So that’s how she did it! The song’s Christian Breslauer-directed official video, released Jan. 10, as well as its title, an ode to the 2004 film of the same name directed by Quentin Tarantino, with its focus on samurai swords, should’ve also given clues.)
RCA chuckles that while the edit for the song – which SZA wrote with Rob Bisel and Carter Lang – is being promoted, some programmers prefer the original version with the “kill” lyric to the “I might/just (blank) my ex” mix, as the latter could invite listeners’ minds to wander toward tawdry territory.
Historically, songs with similar sinister plots have become hits, however rare, often with the same tongue-in-cheek vibe as SZA’s. Johnny Cash famously boasted that he “killed a man … just to watch him die” in “Folsom Prison Blues,” a No. 32 Hot 100 hit that also topped the Hot Country Songs chart for four weeks in 1968; Eric Clapton confessed “I Shot the Sheriff” in his Bob Marley-penned Hot 100 leader in 1974; and The Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” reached No. 13 on Hot Country Songs in 2000 – notably, ending a streak of seven consecutive career-opening top 10 singles for the trio (even with the video’s serious portions offset by “Earl,” aka, Dennis Franz, dancing with the trio from the afterlife).
“I applaud her creativity and storytelling,” Bradley praises SZA.
“‘Kill Bill’ is my personal favorite,” Cruz says of SOS’ tracks. “It’s always fun when your favorite song is doing well and you have solid metrics to increase rotation. I think the songwriting on ‘Kill Bill’ is relatable to so many because it’s about the pain of seeing an ex move on and appear happier with their new partner.”
Muses Zellner about “Kill Bill,” “While violent, [it] certainly is creating a buzz. Are there really people who would rather go to jail or hell than be alone?”
When Iggy Azalea tells you that some “scandalous s–t” is coming, you should probably believe her. Just days after making that tantalizing promise, Iggy made good by dropping details on her upcoming year-long multimedia project, Hotter Than Hell. According to a release about the project, it will encompass illustration, poetry, photography, video, music and her fourth studio album. Oh, and some extra goodies that will cost you for a peek.
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The roll-out kicked off with the launch of her “Hotter Than Hell X OnlyFans,” a $25-per-month subscription deal that promises “first-look access and exclusive content from the project,” which is slated to wrap up in December with the release of a coffee table book.
Friday’s (Jan. 13) press release promises that Hotter will be a “creative, colorful, tongue-in-cheek fun and unapologetically hot. The project takes visual inspiration from the supermodels of the 90s, Pamela Anderson, the conception of the centerfold model, sexuality and its differing viewpoints between men and women, and Madonna’s book Sex. It is a collaborative project and features exclusive collaborations with producers, visual artists, and fashion photographers.” At press time a release date for the album had not yet been announced.
Azalea previewed Hotter with via a visual collaboration with collage artist Ian Woods, known for his mind-bending, cut-up images of famous athletes, actors and musicians. Describing the multi-media effort, Azalea said, “I’ve been working on Hotter Than Hellfor over six months already, and I’m full of excitement and nervous anticipation to begin revealing it to the world, layer by layer. Admittedly, I never knew OnlyFans was a place where I could be creative, so I didn’t expect to be collaborating with them on my biggest project to date!,” she said of the site that is is used by content creators to upload photos, video and live streams that sometimes feature explicit content.
“Once I looked beyond the surface level chatter about what it means to have an OnlyFans, I realized it was the perfect platform to launch a multimedia concept on,” she said. “I feel excited about not having to worry about the overwhelming and creatively limiting censorship artists have to navigate when sharing work on other digital platforms. The project is bold and fun – so is this collaboration – I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people.”
Check out a preview of the OnlyFans content and the Woods image below.
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Funk legend Bootsy Collins will take the stage on Sunday (Jan. 15) night to cheer on the Cincinnati Bengals for a halftime performance during his hometown team’s battle against the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
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Marking the funketeer’s first public live performance since 2019, the halftime set will feature the debut of his new track, “The Ickey Shuffle.” The thumping song is a tribute to legendary Bengals running back Ickey Woods — a beloved late 1980s-early 1990s fan favorite best known for his iconic end zone dance of the same name — and it showcases Collins’ song, Ouiwey Collins, on vocals and is accompanied by a high-energy video starring Woods, the Ben-Gals cheerleaders and some digital tigers.
Collins will unveil the song at halftime of the game that begins on NBC at 8:15 p.m. ET, with members of nearby Dayton, Ohio’s The Ohio Players (“Fire,” “Love Rollercoaster”) joining in on the jam; the performance was originally slated to take place during the ill-fated Jan. 2 game between the Bengals and Buffalo Bills, during which Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest.
“We was ready to funk it out with the Bengals Who-Dey Baby and something just wasn’t right, everything just went chaotic,” Collins said of the scotched performance in a statement. “I immediately started watching the monitor in my dressing room and seen that beautiful young man on the ground. Patti my wife immediately looked at me and I said ‘Patti, God is trying to tell us that we all need to be On The One right now’ and she agreed. Bless that young man.” Collins will also play his Bengals pump-up anthem “Fear Da Tiger” during halftime.
Bengals fans are invited to create their own version of the Shuffle, with partial proceeds from the track going to the Jovante Woods Foundation in honor of Ickey and Chandra Woods’ 16-year-old song, Jovante, who died in 2010 from complications of an asthma attack.
Before Woods takes it to the stage, the game will open with a performance of the National Anthem by a member of the Stranger Things family. The Bengals announced that Aidan Fisher, the guitar body double for Joseph Quinn’s Metallica-shredding character Eddie Munson, will shred the Anthem to kick off the wild card game that marks the third battle between the Ravens and Bengals this season and the follow-up to last week’s Cincinnati victory.
Watch the “Ickey Shuffle” video below.
SZA soars from No. 5 to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated Jan. 14), becoming the top songwriter in the U.S. for the first time, thanks to 15 charting songs on the latest Billboard Hot 100, all of which appear on her latest album, SOS.
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Leading the way is the album’s standout track “Kill Bill,” which jumps 11-3 on the Hot 100, returning to its peak, with 28 million official streams (up 5%), 1.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up a whopping 703%, as it’s now being promoted to pop radio, alongside the set’s “Nobody Gets Me”) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 1%) in the U.S. Dec. 30-Jan. 5, according to Luminate.
Here’s a recap of all 15 SZA songs on the latest Hot 100, with additional co-songwriters listed in parentheses:
Rank, Title (co-songwriters in addition to SZA)
No. 3, “Kill Bill” (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang)
No. 23, “Shirt” (Rodney Jerkins, “Freaky” Rob Gueringer)
No. 42, “Nobody Gets Me” (benny blanco, Rob Bisel, Carter Lang)
No. 45, “Low” (Rob Bisel, SANGE, Aire Atlantica, Jozzy)
No. 51, “Blind” (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Yuli, Will Miller)
No. 53, “Snooze” (Babyface, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Leon Thomas III, BLK Beats)
No. 56, “Love Language” (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, ThankGod4Cody, Yakob, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Ty Dolla $Ign, Ant Clemons, Jazzae De Waal)
No. 66, “Seek & Destroy” (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, ThankGod4Cody, Scum)
No. 76, “Used,” feat. Don Toliver (DJ DaHi, John Hill, Ely Rise, Danny McKinnon, John Key, Don Toliver)
No. 79, “Ghost in the Machine,” feat. Phoebe Bridgers (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Matt Cohn, Marshall Vore, Phoebe Bridgers)
No. 83, “Special” (benny blanco, Blake Slatkin, Shellback, Omer Fedi)
No. 85, “Open Arms,” feat. Travis Scott (Rob Bisel, Michael Uzowuru, Teo Halm, Dougie F, Travis Scott)
No. 90, “SOS” (Jay Versace, Rob Bisel, Gabriel Hardeman)
No. 94, “Gone Girl “(Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, ThankGod4Cody, Jeff Bhasker, Emile Haynie)
No. 100, “Notice Me” (Carter Lang, ThankGod4Cody, Teo Halm, Michael Uzowuru)
SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Dec. 24 and has ruled every week since (four and counting). The set tops the latest tally with 125,000 equivalent album units earned Dec. 30-Jan. 5. All 23 songs on SOS charted on the Hot 100 in the set’s opening week.
SZA is the first solo woman to lead Hot 100 Songwriters since Taylor Swift ruled for five consecutive weeks in November-December. Kate Bush is the only other woman to have led in 2022, with eight weeks at the summit, thanks to “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” her 1985 single that was revived thanks to its synch in Netflix’s Stranger Things.
SZA concurrently spends a 15th week at No. 1 on the R&B Songwriters chart and a fourth week atop R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriters.
On the latest Hot 100 Producers chart, Joey Moi returns to No. 1 for a 15th week on top, thanks to five production credits on the Hot 100, four via songs recorded by Morgan Wallen. Here’s a recap:
Rank, Artist Billing, Title (co-producers in addition to Moi)
No. 13, Morgan Wallen, “You Proof” (Charlie Handsome)
No. 22, Morgan Wallen, “Wasted On You” (Jacob Durrett)
No. 33, Morgan Wallen, “Thought You Should Know”
No. 38, HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson, “Wait in the Truck” (HARDY)
No. 77, Morgan Wallen, “One Thing at a Time”
Moi passes Greg Kurstin for the third-most weeks spent at No. 1 on Hot 100 Producers, dating to the list’s launch in June 2019. Dan Nigro has logged the most time at No. 1, 27 weeks, followed by Louis Bell (18).
Moi also adds a record-extending 90th week at No. 1 on the Country Producers chart.
The weekly Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100; plus, genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The full Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, in addition to the full genre rankings, can be found on Billboard.com.
SZA has quadrupled down on the success of her hit “Kill Bill.” On Friday (Jan. 13), the singer dropped a four-track “Kill Bill” bundle featuring the original song, as well as a sped-up version, instrumental and vocal takes. The track from the singer’s Billboard 200 No. 1 album SOS leapt to No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart this week, marking her first chart-topper on the list.
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“Kill Bill” raced to No. 1 from No. 11, surpassing its prior No. 5 high set upon its debut three weeks earlier. The song marks the first No. 1 for the St. Louis-born, New Jersey-raised singer-songwriter, among three top 10s.
The quad-song release came just days after SZA dropped the blood-drenched video for the fictitious murder-confession song directed by Christian Breslauer. The cinematic clip pays homage to Quentin Tarantino’s early aughts revenge film of the same name, and features a cameo from Vivica A. Fox, who played the kick-ass character Vernita Green opposite Uma Thurman’s sword-wielding Bride. The high-octane mini action movie blends anime, fantasy and buckets of blood.
“I love Vivica A. Fox’s character. I love Lucy Liu’s character. I even love Bill because he’s super complex,” SZA told EW of the original 2003-2004 films. “I feel like he doesn’t understand why he did what he did. He’s void of emotion, but he loved The Bride so much that he couldn’t stand her to be with anyone else. That was really complex and cool to me. It’s a love story. I just watched it again for inspiration for the music video that we’re gonna shoot for ‘Kill Bill.’”
Listen to the alternate versions below.
Meek Mill celebrated a momentous day on Thursday (Jan. 12) when he announced that outgoing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf had granted him a pardon on the 15-year-old drug and gun charges that for years bedeviled the rapper’s life and career. The moves means the offenses will be permanently expunged from his criminal record. “Thankyall. I’m only gone do more for my community on God!,” Meek wrote on Instagram alongside a slightly redacted copy of the official pardon document. “#newlevelsunlocked,” he added.
Over on Twitter, Meek, 35, added, “I got pardoned today…, I’m taking things really far from being a trench baby!” The pardon reads, “Therefore, know ye that in consideration of the premises and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the [redacted] said Robert R. Williams (Alias: Meek Mill) born on May 6, 1987, identified [redacted]… crime(s) whereof he was convicted as aforesaid, and he is thereby fully pardoned [redacted].
Mill (born Robert Rihmeek Williams), was convicted on drug and weapons charges in 2008 — when he was 18-years-old — and sentenced to 11-23 months in prison and released after serving eights months of his sentence and was later placed on probation for five years. What followed was a years-long series of legal entanglements that helped transform the rapper into an advocate for criminal justice reform.
Mill was arrested again in 2012 after cops said they smelled marijuana coming from his car, then was back in court two years later on a probation violation for booking performances outside of his native Philly without a judge’s approval, resulting in another prison sentence. The same judge sentenced him to 90 days of house arrest in 2016 for another alleged violation for traveling outside Philly, and once more in 2017 for violating his terms of probation, netting him a two to four year sentence in state prison.
In July 2019, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania granted Mill’s appeal, thereby overturning his 2008 conviction and ordering a new trial to be overseen by a different judge. That same year, Mill launched the non-profit REFORM Alliance, whose mission is to “transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing.”
See a copy of the pardon document below.
I got pardoned today …, I’m taking things really far from being a trench baby!— MeekMill (@MeekMill) January 13, 2023
A Boogie wit da Hoodie saw his mother suffer an injury when 16 SWAT officers filed a search warrant and raided his New Jersey home in December 2020. He remembers seeing men with heavy firearms burst through the door with his mother rushing down the stairs, not knowing what would happen to her family.
She rolled her ankle falling down the steps, and while writhing in pain, the SWAT team paid her no mind and continued with their search. Boogie was helpless seeing his mother in distress while the ice, cold handcuffs touched his wrists, and it was an image that still sits with him today.
“That’s what really woke me up,” Boogie tells Billboard. “When I seen Mom Dukes fall down the stairs that day, bro. I’m looking up to see what was coming behind her, and all I seen was a flashlight, and whatever kind of chopper those SWAT teams have. It was crazy, and I just froze up. I couldn’t do anything.”
Following the incident, Boogie reflected on the direction of his career and realized he needed clarity to help remove the turmoil away from his life. Isolation became essential to his growth as he took a hiatus from releasing music and honed in on his latest album, Me Vs. Myself. Released last month, Boogie charged his way into his fourth Billboard 200 top 10 album, debuting at No. 6
The 22-track album was stacked with features from H.E.R., Kodak Black, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, G Herbo, and Tory Lanez. Despite the starry guest list, it’s Boogie’s penchant for sticky melodies and punchy quips that kept fans enthralled during the hour-run marathon.
“In the beginning of this album, I purposely put myself through things to make the music, and I hated that about myself,” says Boogie. “I started the process thinking that I had to battle myself — like, have a rap song here, then sing here — but I started losing inspiration and experienced writer’s block for the first time in my career.
“I eventually learned when you don’t want something to happen, it hits more and I learned that through isolation,” he continues. “I didn’t want that raid to happen, but it woke me up. And even with the little things, anything can happen in your life that drastically changes everything, like how you approach things.”
Along with the raid, Boogie lost one of his closest friends in the industry when PnB Rock was murdered in September, during a robbery at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles in Los Angeles..
To honor his friend, Boogie released a deluxe edition of his new album with one lone new cut, featuring PnB, with all the proceeds going to his family. The record was the last one the “Selfish” rapper sent to Boogie, days before his untimely passing.
“PnB’s death hit home for me because there was a time neither of us could even get a $1000 for a club walkthrough,” says Boogie. “When it comes to someone close to me passing away, it’s hard, but I can’t lose focus because I have to be responsible and find the balance to deal with those tough losses so I can properly help out in any way I can. Isolation helped with that. I didn’t realize how good isolating myself was until I saw how much time I was spending with family and how good that made me feel. When I got back in the studio, ideas were just flowing — and that was important, because I speak through my music.”
With all that’s happened to him in the last two years, Boogie is entering a chapter in his career that’s defined by growth with Me vs. Myself. He also hopes that his listeners can take that same idea away from the project.
“I want this album to motivate people to do things that make them the best versions of themselves,” says Boogie. “I’m showing you what can happen when you separate yourself from distractions. I want somebody to hear this project while they training to be the next best boxer, the next best basketball player — whatever is [they] could do, I want them to be the best at.”
