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Looks like Lil Nas X got inked! On Thursday (Nov. 17), the hip-hop star used social media to give fans a look at his very first tattoo.
“Juh got my first tattoo,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of the process. In the first pic, his face is writhing in pain in a head-to-toe Dior ensemble as a tattoo artist is bent over his wrist. In subsequent photos, however, he seems quite pleased with the results, flashing his wrist to the camera from multiple angles.
And while some fans were left flummoxed in the comments section as to what the five-pointed symbol stands for — some thought it was a representation of Aries, Lil Nas X’s astrological sign, while others joked it looked like an IUD — it’s clearly important to the rapper as he also used it on the single artwork for 2021’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
Elsewhere in the post, which was geotagged from Barcelona, Spain, the rapper shared a video of himself performing another Montero single, “That’s What I Want,” on stage at San Jordi Club during the European leg of his ongoing Long Live Montero Tour. Next, he’ll head to Mexico City on Sunday (Nov. 20) before picking up the trek at the end of 2022 in Australia.
Earlier this week, the recent Coach model posted a nude, pre-tattooed selfie with his enviable abs on full display in a bubble bath while in Brussels, Belgium.
Check out Lil Nas X’s brand new tattoo and performance from his tour stop in Barcelona below.
Congratulations are in order for Big Sean and Jhené Aiko, who welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Noah Hasani.
Aiko took to Instagram to share the wonderful news, noting that the bundle of joy arrived on November 8. “After 24 hours of labor, a total lunar eclipse, and while it was pouring rain… he came,” she wrote alongside a series of photos from the hospital, surrounded by family and, of course, Sean. “my baby Yoda, my Sani [blue heart emoji].”
See her post here.
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Sean mirrored the same sweet sentiment over on his Instagram, along with a photo of his new son holding the rapper’s finger. “After 24 hours of Labor, A Lunar Eclipse, with rain from the beginning of labor til he was born, he’s here safe and sound,” he captioned the post. “Happy, Healthy and everything we could ever ask for and more. Any and everything for you Son.”
The Twenty88 couple revealed that they were expecting back in July, when the “Bounce Back” rapper confirmed the news via his Instagram Story. “Whole new motivation forreal! Very grateful God continues to bless us, thank you,” he wrote.
“Can’t wait to be a Dad,” he added alongside a black heart emoji. The “Sunshine” singer also subtly posted a childhood photo of herself holding her belly at the time. See the adorable post here.
Aiko already shares a 13-year-old daughter, Namiko Love, with singer O’Ryan. Noah Hasani is Big Sean’s first child. Sean and Aiko have had an on-again, off-again relationship since 2016. Their friendship began in 2013 while working together on the rapper’s song “Beware” and “I’m Gonna Be.”
The biggest and brightest stars and executives in the R&B and hip-hop world showed out at Billboard Live: R&B/Hip-Hop on Thursday night (Nov. 17) at Academy LA.
Billboard‘s deputy director, R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre and executive director, R&B/hip-hop Gail Mitchell started the evening’s festivities by thanking the R&B and hip-hop team, including reporters Neena Rouhani and Heran Mamo, and devoting a moment of silence to Takeoff, PnB Rock, Young Dolph, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle and more rappers who have died in recent years.
Future, who currently stars on Billboard‘s cover, presented the Rookie of the Year award to Blxst, who recently came off a sold-out world tour and earned two 2023 Grammy nominations for album of the year with Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers and best melodic rap performance with “Die Hard” by Lamar featuring himself and Amanda Reifer.
Fellow cover star SZA presented the Executive of the Year award to Tim Hinshaw, head of hip-hop & R&B at Amazon Music, who delivered a heartfelt speech that made sure there wasn’t a dry eye left in the room. And Vibe editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas presented the Rémy Martin x Vibe Impact and Excellence Award to SAINt JHN, which honors a musician who has made tremendous efforts in their community, as well as paving the way for the next generation of artists.
Opener Flo Milli performed songs from her 2020 debut mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here? and her 2022 album You Still Here, Ho? before City Girls took the stage and performed their hits such as “Jobs” and “P–sy Talk.”
From artists to executives, hip-hop luminaries flooded Academy LA on Thursday (Nov. 17) night in Los Angeles to celebrate Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event.
Billboard cover stars Future (who opened up about fatherhood and marriage) and SZA (who promises her new album S.O.S. is finally for real coming) were in attendance, as was Amazon Music’s Head of Hip-Hop & R&B Tim Hinshaw, who is Billboard’s executive of the year, topping our annual R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list.
“When I thought about the [music industry] landscape, it was like, ‘Amazon is already in everybody’s homes,’ ” Hinshaw told Billboard of his initial strategy. “I knew if I could authentically bridge the gap between company and artist and tell that story to consumers in an authentic way, I could help Amazon be a major player in this entertainment space.”
City Girls and Flo Milli performed, bringing down the house late into the night. Past Billboard cover star Pusha T was also in attendance, as was our rookie of the year Blxst, who has worked with everyone from Kehlani to Kendrick Lamar in 2022.
“I’m more about the art,” Blxst told Billboard about his approach to collaborating. “If I’m a fan of the song or if it fits with the direction that I’m going in, I’mma jump on a song off the strength. If I don’t like it, I’mma just not do it.”
SAINt JHN stopped by, as did Isabel Laurent, Sylvia Rhone and many more. See who else chopped it up at Billboard’s 2022 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event.
Billboard unveiled its 2022 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list that honors executives across the business and celebrated current cover stars SZA and Future at Billboard Live: R&B/Hip-Hop on Thursday night at Academy LA.
The night’s program began with Billboard executive director of R&B/hip-hop Gail Mitchell and deputy editor of hip-hop Carl Lamarre taking the stage. The pair congratulated the night’s honorees, which numbered over 200 on the Power List, thanked the rest of Billboard‘s R&B and hip-hop team, including reporters Neena Rouhani, Heran Mamo and Cydney Lee and charts team member Trevor Anderson, and devoted a moment of silence to Takeoff, PnB Rock, Young Dolph, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle and other rappers who have lost their lives in recent years as a result of gun violence.
Future kicked off the awards presentation by introducing the Rookie of the Year, Blxst, who sported a gray mohair shirt-jacket with matching pants and his shiny Evgle label chains. “Sheeeesh,” the LA singer-rapper-producer said to the crowd, his signature ad-lib, before beginning his speech. “God is real. I just came back from a sold-out world tour, so to come home to this is nothing short of amazing, you feel me?” he said. “For me, this is like a symbol of believing in yourself, trusting your heart, trusting the process.” Blxst then told a story about how he used to get in trouble for singing all the time, which was met with laughs from the crowd. “My dad used to be like, ‘You can always remember lyrics to a song, but you can never remember to be quiet.’ But I guess it’s just in me, not on me, but that sh– paying off now.” Blxst then thanked his Evgle team, Red Bull Records, his support system and Billboard.
Later in the night, SZA presented the Executive of the Year award to “a gentleman that has contributed so much to our culture,” Amazon Music executive Tim Hinshaw. “I’m overjoyed to accept the award,” he said after embracing SZA on stage, while thanking “everybody in this room for picking up my calls, answering my calls, showing up for me” as well as his wife and two children. “When I was growing up, I used to go see my pops in federal prison at Terminal Island, and everybody’s asking ‘bout my outfit. It was inspired by the canvas he used to wear,” Hinshaw explained. “I wanted my kids to see this moment so they remember.”
Then Hinshaw tearfully thanked his mother, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. “My mom worked in my high school, and I was going through so much. I didn’t want to go to school and I would embarrass my mom. The teachers would come and say, ‘He’s not doing his work.’ My mom would come and talk to me and I could see the pain in her eyes. I just couldn’t move in that moment because I was stubborn, I was going through what I was going through. But Mom, I hope this moment makes up for all the times that I embarrassed you. I really appreciate you.” Hinshaw, who reminded everyone he will forever be “Westside Timmy from the west side of Compton,” shouted out his Rotation team and assured there was no beef between him and Carl Chery, creative director/head of urban music at Spotify, who was gleaming nearby. “Carl told me I was the first streaming executive to receive this award, so I’m super appreciative. Thank you everybody.”
Vibe magazine and Remy Martin’s Impact and Excellence Award was presented by Vibe editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas to Guyanese-American artist SAINt JHN. “That’s a fantastic introduction,” he began, gazing down at his “well-designed” award. The songwriter extraordinaire, who self-identified as “well-spoken,” shared that the award was his first that he was invited to accept in person, speech and all.
In addition to the issue cover stars and award recipients, guests at the night’s festivities included artists, managers and executives, with DJ Drama, Nick Cannon, Hit-Boy, Pusha T, Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone, EMPIRE CEO Ghazi, Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence “Punch” Henderson in the crowd. The night also included a women-centric show, including performers Flo Milli and City Girls. Sporting a racy two-piece set, Flo Milli opened the show with her viral hit “Conceited” and later used a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 to record a thank you message to Samsung. Milli is a celebrity mentor for Billboard and Samsung’s NXT 2.0 competition to discover the next great unsigned artist.
City Girls’ JT and Yung Miami delivered an electrifying medley of their hits to a sold-out crowd, including “Jobs,” “Pussy Talk,” “Take Yo Man,” “Twerkulator” and their top 40 hit “Act Up.”
In early September, a 23-second clip posted to Twitter teased that Kelela’s five-year break from music was soon coming to an end — and sent fans into a frenzy. The clip comprised several fan tweets begging for her comeback; one, plucked from the opening sequence of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, characterized it best: “When the world needed her most… she vanished.”
After debuting in 2013 with her mixtape Cut 4 Me, the elusive, genre-bending singer upped the ante every two years, releasing her Hallucinogen EP in 2015 and then her critically acclaimed debut album, Take Me Apart, in 2017. Yet as the concurrent crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement took hold in 2020, Kelela says, “I think the uprising kind of led me into a place of wanting to rethink this whole f–king thing and, quite frankly, wanting to create a more liberatory model for myself.”
The 39-year-old Ethiopian-American artist born Kelela Mizanekristos has always been openly critical of the music business, calling out colorism and other issues in interviews. But what was happening in the world helped her feel more galvanized to free herself from business relationships that she felt didn’t advocate strongly enough for her artistry. In 2020, she wrote letters to the various people and companies she had business with explaining her needs, and based upon their responses — or lack thereof, from some — she cut ties, including with Sony Music Publishing. (The company responded the same day, a source says.) “Because we had an uprising, Black people now have more permission to be like, ‘I don’t like that,’ ” she says. “I am a darker-skinned, Black femme who makes left-of-center R&B/electronic music. I need to work with people who get it.”
Kelela’s music is uniquely situated between electronic dance and alternative R&B, with the music of her childhood in Washington, D.C. — ’90s R&B, soul, jazz and world, like Ethiopia’s Mahmoud Ahmed and South Africa’s Miriam Makeba — serving as key influences. She became a fixture within the rave community for the way in which she paired retro R&B vocals with futuristic club beats — and kicked it up a notch when she recruited Black queer musicians like Kaytranada and Ahya Simone to warp her lead vocals on a Take Me Apart remix album in 2018.
Kelela photographed on November 3, 2022 at Rein Studios in Brooklyn.
Jai Lennard
Throughout her career, Kelela has felt she has had to straddle two audiences: Black fans who are mesmerized by her lush R&B vocals and white fans who are entranced by her club production, thus becoming “a point of discovery for both,” she says. “That’s how I was always thinking about it.” With her long-awaited second full-length, Raven — due Feb. 10, 2023, on her longtime independent label home, Warp Records — she plans to “service the people who are there in the front row and have always been there,” says Kelela. “Queer Black people.”
On Raven, Kelela offers poignant reflections about not allowing herself to be swallowed up in her sorrow but rather celebrating her self-renewal and relishing in her resilience. “As a person who has always felt outside, there’s a deep catharsis in finding an entire social network of people who are also on the outside and making a group based off that marginalization,” she says. “When I service my immediate community, I service myself. Before, I was taking that for granted. I would be like, ‘Those people are going to always be there no matter what I do.’ And I think that’s anti-Black, or there’s some internalized sh-t there that I don’t like, and that’s not serving me, that doesn’t help me.”
She explains, while reading aloud from Wikipedia, that ravens “often act as psychopomps” known to mediate between two worlds, an idea she feels speaks to her own music. On Raven — made of self-recorded demos she later engineered herself along with different producers around the world — the moments where her vocals aren’t present can be the most powerful. In their absence, a specific blend of sensual pop-R&B balladry with atmospheric drum’n’bass beats comes into focus. Being Black is not a monolithic experience, and Kelela’s music cannot be consumed that way either. “My pursuit is to get you introduced to club music and then be able to enjoy it when there’s not a vocal guiding you every time,” she says. “You can see that I let go more.”
Kelela photographed on November 3, 2022 at Rein Studios in Brooklyn.
Jai Lennard
Beyoncé shared in that mission with her latest album, Renaissance, a dance collection with a diva house lead single, “Break My Soul,” which became the artist’s first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 14 years. The release ushered legions of Black people worldwide onto the dancefloor; Kelela believes it also provided newcomers a “reference point” to her music, which they might have overlooked even just a few years ago. “I’m so happy someone like B would help Black people own this music that has been obscured and not perceived as Black,” she says.
Ahead, Kelela confirms she’ll release a Raven remix set because, like last time, it allows her to not stress about the album version of each track. And she knows her community will always be ready for more. “Queer Black people have the range — and no one else has been having the range.”
Kelela photographed on November 3, 2022 at Rein Studios in Brooklyn.
Jai Lennard
This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
There are some who, to this day, side eye the description of BROCKHAMPTON as a boy band, but Kevin Abstract and his ragtag collection of rappers, singers, producers, videographers and creatives have proudly owned the moniker since much of the world first discovered them through the 2017 Vice documentary series American Boyband.
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And why not? Hip-hop had never seen anything quite like them: multiracial, matter-of-fact straight and gay, equally adept at bar slinging and soulful singing, each member bringing his own skill set and distinct personality, with an audience that locked in on their favorites. They were capable of biting, rowdy tracks but also melodic songs bursting with love. It was a beautiful thing, and to experience them on record and (especially) live was to experience, yes, a boy band. But boy bands, by and large, aren’t meant to last, at least not ones with a breakout star in their ranks. Just ask ‘NSYNC.
BROCKHAMPTON is no more. As much as the believers hoped the group had many more years in them, the Angelenos announced in January that after a decade-plus and six studio albums, they were going on “indefinite hiatus” and that there would be one final album. Now, it’s here; in fact, two new albums are here.
Released on Thursday (Nov. 17), The Family is jubilant, sentimental, bitter, funny and confessional, but its title is somewhat ironic. Because as much as BROCKHAMPTON often operated as a family, a large (13 members, as of this year) and collaborative band of brothers, it was never a pure democracy. Kevin Abstract (Ian Simpson) formed it as a kid in Texas, moved it to Los Angeles and ran it — the creative buck stopped with him. (Throughout its history, he simultaneously released his own records. If he hasn’t taken off solo-wise at Justin Timberlake levels – yet – he’s well-primed to chart his own course.) And The Family is effectively an Abstract solo joint.
The rapper and singer recorded it in the spring, in the wake of their Coachella shows, in New York – a continent away from most of his bandmates – working only with BH’s bearface (Ciarán McDonald), member and in-house producer Romil Hemnani, and a collaborator, the producer boylife (Ryan Yoo). The lead vocals are all Abstract, and The Family is very much the frontman’s take on the highs, lows, thrills and disappointments of a wild ride. Suffice to say, Abstract pulls no punches.
It starts off celebratory and nostalgic. “Let’s take it back to when me and Ashlan was out front scheming, right on Jefferson” Abstract leads on “Take It Back.” Over a player piano, a high-pitched chorus, bounce and handclaps he recalls flashes of those heady days, when he asked on a Kanye West forum while still living in Texas if anyone wanted to form a band. (He recalled that moment in an epilogue letter shared on the same day.) “United we stand, divided we fall” was the mentality, Abstract recalls, but reality sets in as he lets us know what’s to come on the LP: “I had to save the truth for the last sh-t.” And the truth stings.
The Family is a glorious romp, veering from hard-hitting spitters to string-filled soul and hip-hop, laced with pitch-shifting and samples that recall Yeezus-era Ye. But lyrically, there’s shoot-from-the-hip real talk. Over throbbing beats on “Gold Teeth,” Abstract confesses, “Nowadays all I want to do is party / All I made this is to get out the deal, partly.” And of BH’s famous camaraderie? “Don’t ask me if the crew is still talking,” he blasts. “Do we see each other? Hardly / Did we suffer too many motherf–king albuuuums? Probably.” In the letter, Abstract also admits to the members having moved in “separate ways, and focus on our individual careers and passions.”
“Money changes everything,” Cyndi Lauper famously sang, and it seems it was a familiar tale of quick money and fast fame – a 2018 deal with RCA worth $15 million – that was at the root of BROCKHAMPTON’s harmony going south: “I guess blowing up isn’t all that” Abstract declares over the deceptively sweet melodics of “All That,” contrasting the old days with the present, saying “now we hate each other just to hang out.” On closer “Brockhampton” he adds, “I wish I would have known that signing would change sh-t,” and recounts a falling out with bandmate Jabari Manwa that forever changed their relationship, saying the love has “never been the same since.”
There are lighter moments, like Abstract sneaking boys in and out of the house on sparkling single “The Ending,” and reflective ones, singing on “37th Street,” “If I could fly through a California night, I’d end up back on 37th Street” (the location of BH’s formative South Central L.A. home). But he concludes he has to move on, and fesses up to now living in Calabasas, the Valley enclave synonymous with the rich and famous. From the hard-hitting indictment “Good Time”: “I got my bags packed, it’s time to leave” he spits, ready for “no more changes, no more due dates, no more fake sh-t.” Despite his mom’s plea — on the song “RZA” asking him, “Ian, why don’t you keep the band together?” – he’s done.
There’s plenty of mea culpa, too. Abstract blames himself for not always being there “for my brothers,” for getting caught up in his own fame, drinking and being distracted by relationships. “I know I failed you” he admits on “37th St.” On the soulful “The Family” he speaks of growing egos, competition turning unhealthy and his jealousy over other bandmates’ successes, even brutally admitting, “I don’t feel guilty for cutting your verse from this beat / For my lack of empathy.” In contrast, it’s followed by the gospel-tinged “The Prayer” with its sweet, sung hook: “I love these n—-s so much”
The Family’s most moving track is its longest and last, “Brockhampton,” a lights-out collage of memories and remarkably open confessions. It opens with watery strings and a heart-tugging “I miss the band already” – a line that was the title of an album teaser last month, featuring old black and white footage of the group that surely put a lump in the throats of fans. And if there are any dry eyes left by record’s end, there won’t be by the time Abstract pays tribute to his mates and their particular gifts, by name: “JOBA, you’re the most musical motherf–ker / Matt, I know you’re a perfectionist but now you’re free / Dom, ain’t nobody fucking with you lyrically / Merlyn, can’t nobody match this n—-’s energy / Bari, the world bout to see who you finna be / Ciarán, you brought the truth out of me.” Ultimately, though, Abstract is ready to turn the page, ending the 17-track record shouting “The show’s over, get out your seats!”
And for fans disappointed that they didn’t get to hear from the rest of the guys on this ostensibly final album? You’re in luck. Because the final final BROCKHAMPTON LP dropped as a surprise that evening. Somewhat cryptically called TM, its eleven tracks date back to 2021 and unfinished sessions in Ojai, California that were seen to completion this year and executive produced by fan favorite Matt Champion.
As affecting as the honesty on The Family is, the BH faithful should revel in TM, which features the collective in much of its familiar hip-hop abandon, at least on its first half. Abstract, Champion, Manwa, Dom McClennon, JOBA and Merlyn Wood flow seamlessly in various combinations, from the melodic trap of “Listerine” to a raucous “FMG” to the pop rock of “Animal” to the rapid-fire flow of “New Shoes,” on which all five feature. On turnt-up standout “Keep It Southern,” Wood declares “God made music so I could make money,” while Abstract offers a line that feels directed at the industry: “Tell them motherf–kers they cannot control your life.”
The record’s back half is largely quieter. A Champion falsetto opens “Better Thangs,” the gentlest song of the collection, in a seemingly romantic context: “I just found a comfort in you / I don’t want nobody but you.” But given BH’s dissolution, a later line about moving “on to a better thing” seems prescient. A dreamy, soulful hook and faded rap verses make for a memorable “Crucify Me.” But two songs featuring JOBA and Champion serve true curve balls. “Man On the Moon” begins softly, but quickly lunges into full-on dance-pop. It’s the closest BH has ever come to disco, and it’s an absolute blast. And despite its title, closer “Goodbye” doesn’t wallow in sentiment. Its airy synth-pop makes the line “it’s over” sound actually forward looking. By the end, when the track ventures into New Order terrain, you want to thank the guys for sending us off on a high note.
Will we ever hear from BROCKHAMPTON again? Who knows. The old “indefinite hiatus” always leaves the door slightly ajar, and in The Family’s “Take It Back” Abstract imagines reuniting “some time, in another life,” but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Even their Wikipedia article now refers to them in the past tense. Because I am comfortable being corny, I will end by borrowing from Dr. Seuss: Don’t cry because BROCKHAMPTON are over, smile because they happened. And wish each and every one of them the best.
There’s plenty to mesmerize an audience onstage at Topdog/Underdog, the Pulitzer-winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks on Broadway now in a limited engagement (through Jan. 13, 2023). The production — starring Corey Hawkins (who portrayed Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (an Emmy-winner for HBO’s Watchmen) in roles originated by Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) and Jeffrey Wright, respectively — has received rave reviews for good reason: the story of two brothers (named Lincoln and Booth) bound by a gradually-revealed, traumatic family history and a love of the three-card monte street hustle, is by turns hilarious, haunting and heartbreaking, and Hawkins and Abdul-Mateen give performances that seem destined for Tony nominations.
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But audiences are talking about more than the spoken dialogue — they’re bopping along to the hip-hop and R&B playlist heard in the theater before the play even starts, between scenes, at intermission, and as the audience exits after the final bows. That collection of tracks is the handiwork of sound designer Justin Ellington, a theater veteran who’s also a composer, arranger, musician and academic. Topdog/Underdog’s creative team, led by director Kenny Leon, knew from the get-go that music “would play a huge role” in the show, says Ellington, so he worked to ensure that “storytelling was happening throughout the playlist, versus just feeling and theme.”
Justin Ellington
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The mix Ellington eventually landed on touches on diverse eras of hip-hop and R&B, adding to the timeless feel of the play’s action. “This is music we let into our homes to bring levity, balance…sometimes music is an escape, but it can also pull you in,” Ellington reflects. “This show does so much, so we’re constantly looking for balance, and the music helps settle us a bit throughout it.” He spoke to Billboard about some of the Topdog/Underdog playlist highlights, and what they add to an already multi-layered night at the theater.
“They Reminisce Over You,” Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth The pre-show mix is a tour through hip-hop/R&B classics and innovators, from Flying Lotus and Thundercat’s “MmmHmm” to D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie” to Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man.” But “’Reminisce Over You’ gets them every time,” says Ellington of the ‘90s classic. “That’s like the song that brings in a different generation. There are people that really love that song: it’s a touchstone in their lives.” And lyrically, “Wow, it’s on point. It’s offering a different perspective to the story you’re about to hear, preparing your ears for trial and tribulation among people and different forms of that. I think it’s one of the first songs in the mix where the lyrics are super present; there’s something about it that really stands out.”
“Alright,” Kendrick Lamar The first of two Lamar tracks on Ellington’s show playlist is also part of the pre-show mix. Ellington hopes the repeated “It’s gonna be alright” line sinks in with the audience before the play has even begun. “Sonically it’s in line with today’s contemporary music and hip hop – something that attracts young people,” he says. But “the sound of it really envelops all people. You can’t help but start to tap a toe, and some people are rapping along to it, like, ‘This is my song.’ At the end of the day, if I heard no music playing and saw this very diverse audience all moving and grooving in their own way — that’s the pleasure for me.”
“Grinding All My Life,” Nipsey Hussle Ellington knows that plenty of people who saw Topdog/Underdog when it premiered off-Broadway in 2001 have no idea who the late rapper Nipsey Hussle was — and, likewise, that most Nipsey fans may be totally new to the play. So he loved the idea of kicking off Act I with this track. “It makes audiences lean in a bit more,” he says. “Nipsey’s music comes on, and the world starts to change. For those who don’t know what the word ‘grinding’ represents outside of coffee, maybe that’ll be understood by the end of the show, or even by the end of the first scene.”
Lupe Fiasco, “Kick, Push”
At intermission, the audience has just learned that Lincoln, who’s vowed to get out of the three-card monte game for good, is ready to get back into it after all. “The character is basically saying, ‘I’m back,’” Ellington says. “I wanted to know the soundtrack that would motivate him to get out there and get back into his hustle — what would be this character’s energy?” Inspired in part by the skateboarders in the song’s music video — a metaphor, as Ellington sees it, “for moving forward, getting it” — he chose “Kick, Push” to kick off the intermission mix. It immediately makes heads start bobbing, with its dedication to “the homies out here grindin’…legally and illegally.”
“Move on Up,” Curtis Mayfield Another intermission mix track that stands out to Ellington. “It’s a long song – almost nine minutes — but the energy is up,” he says. “It probably has the fastest tempo of any song we play. Just this up-up energy. It’s a song from two generations before that people are super familiar with” — in part, he adds, because Kanye “Ye” West sampled it for his “Touch the Sky” — which ensures there’s no lull between acts. “It’s a bop,” and it’s also on theme, exploring the idea of striving for a better place than you’re in while still recognizing the obstacles to getting there and how to get past them.
“If I Should Die Tonight,” Marvin Gaye Director Leon gave Ellington fairly free creative rein in building the playlist, but the sound designer recalls this track may have been one of his few suggestions. “I know he’s a big Marvin Gaye fan, and we get to hear so much of that song with this dramatic entrance into the second act,” Ellington says. “It’s like a cinematic moment – we hear these lyrics that are just perfect for the moment: the angst, frustration, irritation, depth of love that [these characters have], this song just embodies it all.” Those familiar with the play, he points out, will recognize some literal meaning in the song title, too. “A lot of people know what we’re coming to, so you can be a little more bold [with music choice] and not worry about showing your hand too much,” he continues. “It’s just so perfect and heartbreaking.”
Kendrick Lamar, “The Heart Part 5” Once the play is over, the audience leaves the theater as this standout Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers track plays. “There’s something about the intensity of it – it starts with this tension, the same note playing over and over, this rhythm that’s pushing,” says Ellington. “And when he starts — ‘I come from a generation…’ — it’s setting it up like, “Listen to me,” and “me” could be Booth or Lincoln or the kid sitting next to you or yourself.” The track isn’t meant to speak directly to the stunning last scene of the play, but to “get people out of the theater with some kind of resonance of that intensity without speaking specifically to it. I don’t know what it would feel like if the show ends and it’s just applause and no sound at all – I feel like that would be draining,” Ellington explains. “Now we start to think about what we just saw – we start to process, because the feelings are deep and rich. Kenny [Leon] always says the show isn’t over until the ghostlight comes on – so that Kendrick song will always play all the way out.”
Kordhell stumbled upon the YouTube channel Evil Aesthetic (stylized Ǝ V I L Æ S T H Ǝ T I C) by happenstance while digitally crate-digging in 2020. The U.K.-born, Los Angeles-based producer had a background in black metal; Evil Aesthetic specializes in phonk — a style indebted to ’90s Memphis hip-hop. Kordhell heard a kinship. “Phonk sounded similar to what I was already doing,” he says. “It was super dark, with almost a horror vibe, but in a hip-hop way.”
The producer decided to try his hand at phonk, and since then, the genre’s profile and Kordhell’s have risen together. Phonk fandom had primarily been underground, but starting in 2020, it became increasingly popular on TikTok, popping up in clips of car racing, weight lifting and more. That same year, Kordhell scored a record deal with independent label Black 17 Media. He now has two of the most commercially successful singles associated with the genre and has landed a spot on the upcoming mixtape that will accompany the 10th Fast and Furious movie — much of which is phonk-based.
“I signed him in October 2020 when he was doing 5,000 plays a day,” says Tyler Blatchley, who co-founded Black 17 Media in 2015. “Now he’s doing 4 million plays a day on Spotify alone.”
While phonk encompasses a slew of subgenres, one macho variant known as drift phonk has become most popular. Drift phonk hits like Pharmacist’s “North Memphis” and Kaito Shoma’s “Scary Garry” are icy and volatile. They nod to lo-fi Memphis rap mixtapes — creeping basslines, caffeinated hi-hats, eerie, pitch-shifted electronic cowbells — and incorporate samples of drilling, rat-tat-tat lines from rappers like Kingpin Skinny Pimp and DJ Paul, founder of Three 6 Mafia.
Blatchley first discovered “Scary Garry” on TikTok, where it appeared in adrenalized automotive videos. Black 17 had previously distributed some of DJ Paul’s solo releases, making the label ideally positioned to clear Shoma’s sample and officially release the track. “Scary Garry” started to gain attention on Spotify, and after that, Blatchley says, “I found more of these phonk songs and started playing middleman, clearing the samples and putting them on Spotify.” Black 17 now works with more than 300 phonk acts.
Word spread in the drift phonk community that there was an avenue to officially release songs with Memphis samples — and actually make money. Blatchley estimates that 60% of his signings have been brought to him by another act he was already working with; as a result, Black 17 pays an A&R fee out of its profits to any artist that brings a future signing to the label’s attention.
Because many of drift phonk’s most successful producers are based thousands of miles from the source of the samples that animate their work, they may have little understanding of Memphis hip-hop lineage — or of the lines they are sampling. But DJ Paul and Kingpin Skinny Pimp, at least, have said they are happy to be poached from. Phonk’s recent popularity has offered both a new source of income and a new source of exposure: The two are often credited as featured vocalists on tracks with hundreds of millions of streams.
Black 17 focused its phonk marketing in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, and South America, both because the music was already resonating there, and because the cost of TikTok influencer and advertising campaigns is considerably less in those regions than it is in the U.S. Black 17 co-founder Jake Houstle led an effort to establish exclusive relationships with a number of TikTok pages that were active in the phonk scene, which helped drive attention to the label’s new releases.
At the moment, the biggest threat to drift phonk’s growth is geopolitical: Many of its most popular artists are from Russia and Ukraine, two countries at war. A number of acts on Black 17’s roster have tried to flee their homes since fighting broke out in February.
But this tumultuous backdrop hasn’t slowed phonk’s rise. Earlier this year, Artist Partner Group took notice of the genre’s streaming numbers and connection to car culture and decided it would fit well on the next Fast and Furious mixtape. (APG has worked on multiple installments of the Fast and Furious soundtrack.) “We wanted to use a lot of fun music and really lean into the genre,” says Olly Shepard, APG’s vp of film/TV and synchronization. And in May, Spotify launched its official phonk playlist.
Yokai, a “phonk connoisseur” who chronicles its artists and subgenres on YouTube, used to “not even bother trying to explain to most people what the music was,” figuring he’d only elicit blank stares. Now, he says, the genre “has grown to a point where most people have at least a passing familiarity with it.” By the end of 2022, Black 17’s roster of phonk signings is on track to earn over 4 billion Spotify streams. And after experiencing streaming success abroad, Houstle says, “we’ve reached a point where we have the marketing dollars to start playing around in the U.S.”
As for Kordhell, he recently became one of the 500 most popular artists on Spotify, a first for a phonk producer. He’s been busy with upcoming productions and remixes. “I’m exhausted,” he says. But he wouldn’t have it any other way: “I want to ride the wave.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
