State Champ Radio R&B/Hip-Hop
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It’s impossible to overstate just how influential Too Short is to hip-hop culture. He is the only rapper to have worked with all of The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and 2Pac, and over the span of his career, he’s dropped dozens of acclaimed projects. He is former Vice President Kamala Harris’ favorite rapper, and perhaps the only MC to have released albums across five different decades, starting in the ’80s.
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While these are all groundbreaking accomplishments in their own right, the kicker is that the music is still awesome. On his latest project, Sir Too $hort Vol. 1 (Freaky Tales), his new records carry a youthful urgency, and include plenty of pockets where Short still raps like the rent is due.
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“And out of all rappers since the beginning of hip-hop/ Who got more platinum albums than me?” he raps on “Check the Stats.” “And don’t count greatest hits, let’s go/ Jay-Z, Eminem, 2Pac, OutKast, Nas, Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye/ Who got more platinum albums than Too $hort?”
The answer is: nobody. Considering one of the biggest records of his career — “Blow the Whistle,” which turns 20 next year — didn’t pop off until Short was 40 years old, he’s long been known as someone who probably has a smash hit still tucked away in his back pocket.
“How long can a rapper rap?” Short asks Billboard. “How long can a rapper rap and release relevant music? To what age is it appropriate to rap on stage and actually put on a good performance? What are the limitations of hip-hop? It hasn’t been written yet.”
Short will be turning 59 next week, and he openly discusses his age on his latest album, flexing it like a veiny bicep after a good pump. “I thought you knew, I’m still rappin,” he spits on opener “Still Mackin.” “I thought you knew, b—h, I’m still mackin’/It’s the 2020s and I’m still rappin’.”
Short spoke with Billboard about his new album, ageism in rap and what it felt like stepping into the production chair for the film Freaky Tales.
“I won’t stop” are the first words uttered on Sir Too $hort Vol. 1. You’ve had an unbelievable career, but do you ever feel pressure to stop rapping because of your age?
That ageism is biased on both ends. ‘Cause the older guys think that the younger guys aren’t skilled enough to be in their game, and the younger guys are like, “C’mon OG! It’s my turn.”
I’m comparing my activity to B.B. King and The Temptations — like, people who aren’t in my genre, that went well beyond their senior citizen years and kept performing and satisfying audiences. I’m not measuring this towards other rappers, because rap has not all the way gone there yet. When it’s all said and done I would love for a younger rapper, just one, to say, ‘Man, I wanna stick around like E-40 and Too $hort’. Motivation!
The ageism is there — but at the same time I’m in that battle of just making the narrative. This is what I’m doing, and nobody in there is dictating what it should or shouldn’t be. It’s just me figuring it out.
It’s been five years since your last album, a notable break for you. What inspired this break and why did now feel like the right time to get back in the studio?
I make a lot of songs, and a lot of the songs I make are really good songs — I just haven’t been releasing them. Sort of because of how the industry is. Like, are you gonna be independent? Are you gonna try to get a deal with a major? What’s gonna happen with the marketing and the singles and stuff? It just changed a lot from the OG way I used to do it — and then the results I would get, I wasn’t really feeling like I needed to prove anything.
How has your love for hip-hop deepened over the years? What about the artform keeps you here at almost 59 years old?
It’s just painting pictures. I think I have some of a pre-music video mindset approach to writing songs. When I say pre-video, I mean everything before MTV, where you listen to how songs were written and a lot of songs before videos were made, you actually see a picture when you listened to the song. You see the movie, you see the scenes, because they’re explaining it to you in such a way that there’s no need for a film. It’s songwriting! I like to write visual songs, and I’m a part of that old guard.
What are your thoughts then on the use of social media and TikTok now? For someone who’s been around since rap’s early days, how are you feeling about the state of the genre now?
I’m jealous of the new artists! I’m jealous of the tools they have and opportunities they have. What you can do with popularity now was definitely not available to me, and definitively the tools to market and even make music were not available to me, either. As in sports, you have to survive your era. You have to be on the top of the game in your era, whatever that is. Just maximize it. I’m very curious to see where [hip-hop] is goin’, in a positive way. I know it never stays in one place and I think hip-hop is in good hands — because as a business it did not collapse. A lot of people come in the game every year and get a lot of money, and if they weren’t, I would say it’s a problem.
How are you feeling about West Coast music right now, specifically?
When you have artists that continually break out, fom the G-Eazys to the YGs and Kendricks, you’re proud of your region. As the OG’s, when our youngsters emerge we have to support them, and we do that. The West Coast is a unit that rides for each other. I think the state of West Coast rap is wonderful. One of our guys just survived something nobody else has ever survived, and that’s an onslaught from Drake.
“Blow the Whistle” turns 20 next year. Tell me about how you feel about that record now.
It’s like a parent who has three, four, five kids — and you clearly love one of your kids more than the rest. It’s that kid. You can’t even hide it. I made that song when I was 40, I’d already had multiple platinum albums and gold albums — and it turns out [“Blow The Whistle”] is gonna be my signature song. You couldn’t find one artist who strung a bunch of top-selling albums together in a row and after making all of that albums made their signature song. Nobody did that. Zero. Zilch. Nobody. That’s a Too Short thing!
What was the recording process like? Did you know it was gonna be a smash?
I can’t say I can pick hits. I don’t know how to pick hits, not yours or mine or anybody’s. I feel like that’s a jinx, to name a song a hit before it leaves the studio. “Blow the Whistle” was originally made in 2005. Lil Jon produced it and he was really into Crunk Rock at the time. “Blow the Whistle” — at some point there were rock guitars that were added to the song, and when it was mixed and mastered it was mixed with the guitars. I had a conversation with Jon about not using the guitars, and he’s like, “Nah man, that’s hot!” He assured me the new way with the guitars was the best way. So I just went in the studio and muted out all the guitars and that’s the version we all know and love.
Was Lil Jon upset?
At some point — after a while, he came and said, “You won this one.” We had disagreements in the studio prior to that where he would be right. He held his opinion firm — and I don’t know if he felt some kind of way for a while, but when it was successful, those feelings went away. I do just wanna add that my next album, Sir Too $hort Vol. 2, is 100% produced by Lil Jon.
How did you get into the producing chair for Freaky Tales?
It didn’t take me long to say yes. I read the script before they did any filming. I knew about the chapter that was focused on me. They were asking me to, “Please attach yourself to this project,” and I was like, “Please attach me to this project!” It was mutual. At some point, they fit me in the script as the narrator. I don’t even know if that was their plan or not, and they gave me a cameo. It’s an Oakland movie, shot in Oakland, named after one of my songs. I’m on Cloud Nine right now, bruh.
To add to that, you were also put on the bill for the Rock the Bells Festival. How does that feel?
Oh you just told me, I didn’t even know, s—t. I consider myself 100% to be part of the Rock The Bells family. The motivation for the people over there is really just to uphold the legacy of hip-hop and to not let you forget, and I’m just really proud to be a part of that. I receive a salary for the [radio show] I do, but I promise you I do not do that show for the salary. I do it because I really signed up to be a part of what LL Cool J is preaching over there.
LL was very, very arrogant and very unapproachable as a young rapper — but as an old rapper, OG rapper, he is a hell of an ambassador. Open heart and a whole different L. He played his rap persona to a T… but now It’s nothing but love to all of hip-hop.
Next year will also mark the 15th anniversary of Wiz Khalifa’s “On My Level,” which I feel like introduced a whole new generation of Too Short fans.
That was another one of those bridges. I’m an OG rapper in ’05, ’06 and I’m just riding my wave. I’m out there doing what the game gives me and another bridge comes along. It turned out to be a song because of the new look it gave me, I used to open my show with that song! It would reel the crowd in. I love Wiz for that man. He put me on a gooooood song.
What are some tips you have for younger artists that wanna have longevity like Too Short?
I think loyalty in this game has a lot to do with longevity. Sticking with the people who are really your friends that you started with, who really know you and love you and tell you you ain’t s—t — cause at that moment you really ain’t s—t. I think a lot of our young artists are turned off by the industry because it’s not instant enough, it’s not Folger’s coffee. The one’s who are supposed to be here will be here, cause they’ll endure.
Everybody that’s had a long career, it wasn’t just one long run. Big f—ing dry spots in the middle where you gotta figure it out. Big moments of doubt. The crossroads come, I wouldn’t say often but they continuously come and when you stand at that crossroads you have options. So you might make a wrong turn. So what? Find your way back on track.
Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap have responded to calls from Sharon Osbourne to have their U.S. work visas revoked following their airing of anti-Israel messages during the trio’s second Coachella weekend appearance. In an email to Rolling Stone, group member Mo Chara (born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) said that the messaging was in keeping with their career-long views on Palestine.
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He said the group have talked about Palestine “at every single gig since the band’s formation, long before [the deadly Hamas attack on Israeli civilians] October 2023 as the oppression and brutal occupation of Palestine has been ongoing for 77 years.”
Kneecap claim that their anti-Israel messages were censored on the livestream of their set during the first weekend of Coachella, but at the end of their show last Friday (April 18) they closed by projecting the phrases: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people… It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.” The audience then reportedly broke into a “Free Palestine” chant.
“Not the only thing that was cut – our messaging on the US-backed genocide in Gaza somehow never appeared on screens either,” Kneecap wrote on their social feeds in response to reports about the first weekend feed cut. “Back next Friday Coachella and it’ll be sorted,” they promised before the controversial second weekend set.
“We believe we have an obligation to use our platform when we can to raise the issue of Palestine, and it was important for us to speak out at Coachella as the USA is the main funder and supplier of weapons to Israel as they commit genocide in Gaza,” Chara told RS. “As I said from the stage, ‘The U.S. government could stop the genocide tomorrow.’ It’s important that young Americans hear and know it.”
He added that the band didn’t initially realize their political statements were not viewed when the YouTube livestream was cut off. “We only heard about it the next day and haven’t heard from anyone officially,” he said. “It’s not surprising, large companies don’t like to hear the truth unless it suits their narrative and pocket.”
Chara said the “Free Palestine” chant is something that “happens at all of our gigs from Spain to Scotland and Ireland to Iceland because people know what’s happening is wrong and are angry about it. The crowd chanting ‘Free Palestine’ at Coachella was a message of solidarity to the people of Gaza from regular Americans who want to see an end to the genocide, despite their government’s arming and funding Israel.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, insiders claimed Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett was “blindsided” by Kneecap’s actions. In lengthy note condemning Kneecap’s actions, Osbourne decried what she called the politicization of Coachella, saying that this year’s shows will be remembered “as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity… Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression,” she said of the event, where a number of other acts, including Green Day, Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead, respectively, altered lyrics to reflect the plight of Palestinian children and displayed Palestinian flags on stage. “At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse,” Osbourne said.
“While festivals like Coachella showcase remarkable talent from around the globe, music’s primary purpose is to unite people. It should not be a venue for promoting terrorist organizations or spreading hate,” London-born Osbourne added, ending with a call for the “revocation of Kneecap’s work visa.”
“As someone with both Irish Catholic on my Mothers side and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on my Fathers side, and extensive experience in the music industry, I understand the complexities involved,” Osbourne, who has managed husband Ozzy Osbourne for more than 45 years, added. “Goldenvoice’s claim of being ‘blindsided’ by Kneecap’s performance seems implausible given the circumstances. I know for a fact that certain people in the industry had written to Goldenvoice, airing their concerns around the booking of Kneecap.”
In the wake of Hamas unprovoked attack on Israeli citizen on Oct. 7, 2023 in which nearly 1,200 mostly civilian Israelis were killed and nearly 250 were taken hostage, Israel has waged a devastating war against the militant group in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in which a reported 50,000 people have been killed and most of the territories’ infrastructure has been decimated. One of the most devastating attacks on Oct. 7 was a raid on the EDM Nova Music Festival celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, where Hamas militants killed 364 civilians, as well as wounding and sexually assaulting scores more.
Kneecap’s actions at Coachella are in keeping with what has been described as a long-held solidarity between the people of Northern Ireland and Palestinians based on the 800-year British occupation of Ireland that lasted until 1921.
Organizers of the Nova Festival have invited Kneecap to view the Nova Oct. 7 6:29 a.m. – The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Los Angeles — a chronicle of the Hamas attack on the music fest brought to the U.S. by HYBE America CEO and former Justin Bieber manager Scooter Braun — to “experience firsthand the stories of those who were murdered, those who survived, and those who are still being held hostage,” according to RS, which reported that Chara did not respond to questions about whether they’d accept that offer.
The call from Osbourne to have Kneecap’s visas revoked for their anti-Israel sloganeering comes as the Trump administration has been targeting universities for defunding and revoking the visas and/or deporting students who it says participated in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Kneecap, which also features members Naoise Ó Cairealláin (stage name Móglaí Bap) and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (stage name DJ Próvaí), are slated to launch their largest North American tour to date in October.
The shift in Loyle Carner’s persona in recent times is exemplified by the opening songs on his two most recent LPs. On “Hate,” the scorching opener to 2022’s hugo, the south Londoner starts by offering to “let me tell you about what I hate.” He rages against racial profiling, the limited opportunities for young Black men, the pitfalls of his own success and his relationship with his father, concluding: “I fear the color of my skin.”
Now, on his upcoming fourth album, hopefully ! (Island EMI), he strikes a different chord. The opening track — as yet unannounced — is built around a skittish drum beat and soft guitars, and sees Carner, a father of two, singing amid the hum of domesticity. His son plays the xylophone while Carner ponders about his sleeping youngsters, “What language do they speak inside your dreams?” It has the feel of light peeking through the curtains amid the dawn chorus. Let him tell you what he loves.
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When we meet Carner for his first Billboard U.K. cover shoot — and first interview about hopefully ! — he brings that lightness with him. The 30-year-old arrives in London on a break from filming a TV project in Scotland, excited about an upcoming holiday with his girlfriend and two children. hopefully ! (due June 20) is about healing, unconditional love and this new phase of his life; recent double A-side “all i need” and “in my mind” both showcase a sense of serenity and contentment with his lot.
“My relationship with [hopefully !] throughout was quite healthy,” he says in a quiet corner of Shoreditch Studios. “I didn’t have grand expectations and didn’t put loads of pressure on myself. I was able to get to the point where I’m lucky to be able to enjoy it.” In the past, he was “trying to prove something, worrying about what people think” of his music. Now he’s just grateful for the joy these songs give him. He wears a beaming smile as he speaks.
For the past decade, attention has closely followed Carner (born Ben Coyle-Larner) on his journey to becoming a British youth icon. His debut live performance was supporting MF Doom at a show in Dublin, and by age 17, he was on tour with hip-hop don Nas. Debut LP Yesterday’s Gone (2017) was a love letter to the rap that supported him following the death of his stepfather and earned him a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize; his sophomore record, Not Waving, But Drowning (2019), spawned a number of streaming hits, including the jazz-tinged “Ottolenghi.”
Throughout his career, he has used his platform to campaign for better awareness of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), something that he lives with, and the benefits of cooking to help manage those symptoms. His singular voice is a crucial one for Gen Z at a time when British male stars are lacking, and his live shows attract a wide cross-section of U.K. youth culture.
hugo was a huge leap forward. Across the record, he ruminated on his mixed-race heritage (Carner’s mother is white; his biological father is Guyanese) and his place in British society, enlisting esteemed poet John Agard for a spoken word meditation on “Georgetown,” produced by Madlib. On “Blood on My Nikes,” Carner contemplates the knife crime epidemic among young men — both as victims and perpetrators — in the capital. It’s a socially conscious record, but not overwhelmingly bleak, either; he knows when to pair light with shade in order to document the human experience.
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
It was his depiction of a difficult relationship with his biological father that resonated with listeners. For many years, the pair were estranged, with Carner describing him as “present at times and not present at other times.” hugo was written and recorded as Carner became a father himself, reflecting on the cycle of resentment and anguish, and how to rebuild a parental relationship. The album closed with “HGU,” seeing the pair share a mundane conversation about driving lessons, which Carner took with his father during the pandemic lockdown.
hugo became his highest-charting and best-selling album yet, landing at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart and earning him another Mercury Prize nomination. The Guardian called it a “beautiful, blistering masterpiece.” He reimagined the album with an orchestra for a one-off show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, headlined Wembley Arena and then hosted an even bigger performance at London’s All Points East Festival in August 2024. The 35,000-capacity gig cemented his place at British music’s top table, with a supporting cast of OutKast’s André 3000 and, to come full circle, Nas. In June, he’ll headline Glastonbury’s The Other Stage, putting him on a par with Charli xcx and The Prodigy.
“I think that [hugo] was necessary for a lot of people,” he says of the album’s success. “I still have people messaging me saying, ‘Yo, I just heard that album for the first time yesterday, and it made me want to go and connect with my mum, or grandad,’ or whoever. That to me is the beauty of it, that it’s still doing its job.”
hopefully ! is something of a departure for Carner. More in tune with his love for alternative and indie music, his hip-hop stylings make way for inspiration by Irish rockers Fontaines D.C., cult star Mk.gee, Big Thief, Idles and more. The band he assembled for hugo’s live shows followed him into the studio to bring new textures to his compositions.
“It’s a lot of pressure to step out singularly as a rapper. And I’m not even, like, a ‘rapper.’ I just make music, and people like to put me in that box,” he says. “I loved the anonymity of being in a band. I wanted to be around when the magic is happening and to not just be sent a beat after all the fun parts had already happened. I wanted to move away from the words being all that I can contribute.”
Carner’s pen is still mighty, but in a different way. Since his earliest releases, his words have been what has carried him forward and provided renewed inspiration. On 2019’s “Still,” which he described as his “favourite-ever song” during its performance at the Royal Albert Hall, he speaks about his insecurities with a disarming honesty. The rhyming couplets on hugo’s “Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)” and “Homerton” show remarkable dexterity. He knows when to build tension, but also when to let the words breathe. It’s a skill he learned from his poet heroes like Agard and the late, great Benjamin Zephaniah, the man Carner was named after.
As his family has grown, Carner’s techniques and influences have changed. He describes his son as his muse, and his presence is felt throughout the album. hopefully !’s artwork features a snap of Carner and his son, with colorful scrawls and additions only a child can make with such purpose. His voice babbles away throughout the record and his mischievous personality shines. Words could not contain the emotions Carner feels toward him, so the songs became looser, less literal but still emotionally resonant, and with a greater focus on capturing his son’s “melodic” personality in his songwriting structures.
On one album highlight, Carner speaks of the transition of becoming a father and notes that he’s “falling asleep in a chair I used to write in.” Later, he speaks directly to his son, saying, “You give me hope in humankind.” He has learned to embrace sonic imperfections and to capture a feeling, letting broad brushstrokes stand proudly. There’s a childlike wonder to the rawness of these songs; from snatches of phrases to choruses that linger in your head long after music has ended.
“If you try and color around something or touch it up… you always f–k it up,” Carner says. “That’s what I love about my son’s paintings. It might even be just one line across the page, but the simplicity of how he works and moves on. That’s how I feel now.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
Carner used the opportunity to embrace his role as a producer-curator. “As a rapper, the insecurity is that I don’t have any musical talent or whatever, so I’m like, ‘F–k, I better fill every gap so people know that I was there, too.’ But now I don’t mind people hearing a song and I’m barely on it, because I’m so across from everything else [in the creative process].”
He sings much of what’s on hopefully !; singing with his son on his bike, in the car and at home encouraged him to let his voice shine. “He never says, ‘Dad you’re way out of tune,’ even if I know that I am.” Here, Carner’s voice has an intimate quality, like he’s caught singing under his breath without a thought as to who might hear it.
He adds: “It’s fearless, but I’m not embarrassed about it and I don’t care because that’s the truth of how I felt. It’s that kind of bravery to me that is a reflection of what it was like to be a man. This living, breathing, feeling, flawed, emotional person that is willing to turn over heavy stones and be accountable for failing.”
Entering his 30s and becoming a parent for a second time brought Carner an emotional clarity about his relationship with his biological father. His stepfather, Nik, who raised him alongside his mother, Jean, died suddenly in 2014 when he was 19. The forthcoming LP encouraged him to embrace his softer side and the personality traits that Carner wished he had experienced with his biological father.
“Me and my dad are cool now, but he wasn’t really around when I was young,” he says. It was time to take a different approach. “My inner child is getting an experience of fatherhood that I never had, which is crazy. I’m not only being a father to my son, I’m also being a father to myself. I’m a person that I never thought I could become.”
Making the record has given Carner a greater perspective about his role and place in the world and in the family dynamic. “I’m not the main character in the movie any more. It’s my son and daughter’s film, and I’m just some extra in that.”
Carner has long been an advocate for a more healthy relationship with masculinity, having worked with suicide prevention charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). He gave a passionate speech at Reading & Leeds Festival in August 2023 decrying the “toxic masculine bulls–t” that plagued his childhood. His records and shows have helped unlock certain conversations, but the issue remains prescient. Netflix’s streaming hit Adolescence, which examines the fallout from a misogynistic murder by a 13-year-old boy, has sparked new discussions around the manosphere and its pervasive influence.
Carner saw the intensity of the show — which uses one-shot takes — up close on-set; he’s close friends with actor-creator Stephen Graham and director Philip Barantini. The topics at hand need urgent attention, Carner says. “We’re at an essential need for conversation for young boys to let go of this fear, frustration and anxiety and be able to pass it to someone.
“I’m very glad that my son has my daughter to live with,” he adds. “That’s a huge thing for me, and also for me to be in the presence of someone who is growing up to be a woman. For my son, it’s even crazier, as it’s so natural and safe and understood and demystified.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
The aforementioned Zephaniah features on hopefully !, a full-circle moment for Carner, given his profound influence on his life and as a male role model. Zephaniah, who died in 2023 at 65, was a towering figure in literature, music and politics, vocalizing the Black experience in post-war Britain. Carner honors his hero by sampling a clip of Zephaniah speaking on the Brixton riots, but also the potential and hope of the youth to change things.
“He articulates something that my brain has always wanted to say about masculinity,” Carner says. “Kids that look like me or are stereotyped are full of feeling and emotion and pain, shame, joy, guilt, hope and naivety. And nobody knows how to deal with it.”
Why that clip? “He’s saying what I’m saying about having pent-up rage and emotion; I’d rather use my pen to express it that way in a palatable and safe way.”
Zephaniah’s work, Carner says, taught him how to be a man who feels secure in himself. “His work shows the joy of not taking life so seriously and realizing that it’s fine to be a bit lighter or softer, and know that it doesn’t discredit my legacy or my story to be silly and to let go.”
Later this year, Carner will head on a mammoth U.K. and Ireland tour that takes in residencies at some of the nation’s most historic venues, like London’s Brixton Academy and Manchester, England’s Victoria Warehouse. Before then, he’ll headline The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival on the Friday-night lineup (June 27) alongside Charli xcx and The Prodigy; it follows his 2023 top billing on the West Holts stage. Recent headliners on the coveted Other Stage include Megan Thee Stallion and Lana Del Rey — comfortably putting him in the big leagues alongside international superstars.
When the slot is mentioned, he’s speechless for a moment. “It feels like an amazing, monumental part of my career,” Carner eventually says. His whole family will be coming to watch on Friday, and then he can celebrate the rest of the weekend and “go see Doechii” the following night on the West Holts stage.
It’s just one page in this new chapter. In March, it was announced that Carner would star in an acting role for BBC’s upcoming crime drama Mint, directed by Charlotte Regan (Scrapper) alongside Emma Laird (28 Years Later) and Sam Riley (Control). The new disciplines that have come with being on-set have inspired him to write and direct his own upcoming project. He wants to promote poetry workshops in schools to the next generation. There are many strings to Carner’s bow as a complex, charismatic cultural figure.
He’s most excited for hopefully ! to come out and for his children to hear the snapshot of this moment, about this family, and about the man their dad was when they were little. But what about the fans’ reaction to the new sound and what they might take from it? “Honestly, I don’t care. It’s totally up to them. They could take nothing and not find it for 10 or 20 years or even hate it, but…”
Carner throws his arms up and laughs. “I haven’t even thought about it, actually. I hope that people that do find it and that it can be a good friend to them.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
Shoot production by WMA Studios. Photography by Lily Brown. Styling by Lucas Smith. Grooming by Marina Belfon-Rose. Shot at Shoreditch Studios, London.
Jimmy Kimmel is now the biggest, the largest. Texas’ very own BigXthaPlug made his late-night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform his hit songs “The Largest” and “Mmhmm.” But before he hit the stage, the Dallas native gave Jimmy his official “Chaining Day” by gifting the late-night host a custom chain made by […]
Feeling inspired by Travis Scott‘s guest appearance at WrestleMania, Killer Mike was compelled to step into the booth and drop a fiery freestyle over La Flame and Playboi Carti’s “FE!N” beat. “I woke up with ‘Mania on my Mind. This beat is so cold I had to kill it,” The Atlanta rapper wrote to X […]
Kevin Gates pulled up to the Los Angeles Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night (April 22), which had social media buzzing on the heels of his controversial remarks about Lakers star LeBron James and his wife, Savannah James.
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Over the weekend, Kevin Gates took to social media detailing a conversation he had with a friend regarding how he wouldn’t want to switch places with LeBron James and explained that he didn’t like the way James’ wife looked at her superstar husband.
“We was talking about how LeBron do the little handshake with Savannah. Then I came, maybe I notice s–t people don’t notice. They were like, ‘What if you had LeBron money?’ He one of the greatest players to play the game, but I wouldn’t want to trade places with him,” Gates said. “I said because I don’t like the way Savannah look at LeBron. I like the way them white women look at LeBron.”
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KG later compared Savannah to the “warden of the jail” and feels that she “polices” James. “I couldn’t do it,” he said. “It hurt me to see that… I love LeBron and I hate that he gotta go through that.”
James typically doesn’t respond to social media chatter involving him, but many fans took his Instagram post on Monday (April 21) as a possible dig at Kevin Gates.
“‘Kings don’t concern themselves with the opinions of peasants.’ Where to next Queen?!?! Let’s get it,” he captioned the pair of photos, laughing with his wife.
Symba, Victoria Monét, D-Nice and more applauded James for showing love to Savannah. “[fire emoji] and that’s that on that,” Monét wrote in his comments.
Unlike when he confronted ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, James appeared to pay Gates and his girlfriend, Brittany Renner, no mind during game two against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James and Luka Doncic led the Lakers to a much-needed 94-85 victory on Tuesday night to even the series at one game apiece. King James finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to help power the Lakers.
Find Kevin Gates’ original post addressing LeBron below.
Atlanta rap legend Jeezy has announced the TM:101 Live Tour — teased as a “black-tie symphonic tour” — with special guest DJ Drama to celebrate his third studio album and commercial debut, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, as it turns 20 this year. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
Two decades into his decorated career, Wiz Khalifa remains in demand. On the heels of dropping his Kush + Orange Juice 2 sequel, the Taylor Gang boss stopped by The Joe Budden Podcast earlier this week.
Budden inquired about Khalifa’s rates during his hitmaking run of the mid-2010s, which was capped off by the Billboard Hot 100-topping No. 1 smash “See You Again” in 2015. While 10 years have passed, Wiz says his paychecks remain the same when it comes to his guest verses and shows.
“They’re still the same,” he insisted. “250.” Khalifa doubled down on his $250,000 feature price tag and says the six-figure sum doesn’t even come with a music video appearance, just a verse.
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“Shows, honestly, go up to two Ms a show,” he added. “That’s because I have worldwide songs. I got stuff that people sing in China or Brazil or New Zealand and Thailand and Germany [and] Norway and stuff like Korea. I’m talking Saudi Arabia. You know what I’m saying?”
Even though the checks continued to clear, Wiz recently reflected on seeing the industry switch up on him depending on how hot he was at the time in the music game.
“Being in the industry, it’s clear when people are or aren’t f—ing with you,” Khalifa told the Call Her Daddy podcast on the April 18 episode. “When they’re f—ing with you, you’re at every party, every show, every this. When they’re not f—ing with you, you’re calling, and you’re like, ‘Ay, this party’s coming up.’ They’re like, ‘I know, but you don’t have an invite this year.’”
He continued: “You’re like, ‘Damn, they’re really ain’t f—ing with me.’ I didn’t do nothing. I didn’t change. I just maybe didn’t put up the numbers that they wanted me to or they got more people that they’re in line to do things for. So it’s like fighting for that position.”
Fifteen years after his classic mixtape, Wiz Khalifa returned on April 18 with his Kush + Orange Juice 2 sequel. The project features assists from Gunna, Ty Dolla $ign, Curren$y, Juicy J, Chevy Woods, Max B, Luh Tyler, O.T. Genesis and more.
Nearly a decade after indie R&B tastemakers and college students across the country first swooned over her self-released EPs and early collaborations with Monte Booker and Smino, Ravyn Lenae has earned her first Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Love Me Not” (chart dated April 12).
Lenae, who signed to Atlantic Records in 2016, originally released the bouncy, soulful, rock-inflected song in early May 2024 as the lead single from her sophomore studio album, Bird’s Eye. Thanks to a wave of TikTok momentum — one that’s also benefitted Janet Jackson’s “Someone to Call My Lover,” a kind of foremother to “Love Me Not” — the single steadily grew throughout the late winter and early spring and now reaches a No. 70 on this week’s Hot 100 (dated April 26). The Dahi-produced track also became the landmark 25th production credit for the Grammy-winning hip-hop/R&B producer.
With “Love Me Not” securing Lenae her long-awaited breakout moment, the song’s success also previews what’s shaping up to be the biggest year of her career. In April, the Chicago-bred singer-songwriter bewitched both weekends of Coachella-goers, perfectly priming both in-person and virtual audiences for her forthcoming stint as an opener on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet tour. She’ll also visit her hometown for Lollapallooza (July 31-Aug. 3), where she’ll continuing playing sets built around Bird’s Eye, which Billboard staff named the No. 3 Best R&B Album of 2024.
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“I’m just happy for all artists who have been in this 10-plus years and are feeling the love and the benefits of so much time and effort and hard work,” she gushes to Billboard the day before her Coachella debut. “It’s a lot of that happening right now at the 10-year mark. The 10-year thing is real!”
In a conversation with Billboard, Ravyn Lenae talks her slow-burning success, drawing inspiration from Janet Jackson, gracing the Hot 100 for the first time with “Love Me Not,” and witnessing the power of TikTok firsthand.
Where were you when you found out “Love Me Not” hit the Hot 100?
I was at home watching TV, and my manager called me and told me that it was a real thing. I had a great day that day. I had great tacos, I called my mom, everything was going right. The weather was beautiful. I had a really emotional talk with Dahi and thanked him for being such an important person in my life and doing this with me and believing in me and challenging me.
Was there a specific moment in which you decided that you wanted to pursue music professionally?
I would say when I was in high school and I started putting music out on SoundCloud and I saw how much of a response I got. That made me feel like, “Oh, this is something that not just resonates with me, but people actually like this and they’re looking forward to the next thing that I do.” I think that gave me an inkling. Once Noname took me on tour [in 2017], that’s when I realized it was a possibility to do something I love every single day and be able to pay my bills too.
What was the inspiration behind “Love Me Not?”
That song was one of the first ones that we landed on for Bird’s Eye. I remember when Dahi played me the beat, I was like, “This is something I feel like I haven’t heard in such a long time.” For some reason, it reminded me of when I heard “Hey Ya!” [by OutKast] for the first time. That mix of soulfulness with pop sensibility that anybody could sing and dance to and feels like it could have came out in any era — that’s my favorite type of song.
Lyrically, I like to play with relationships and the push and pull of knowing you love somebody even though you know it can’t work. That really elementary approach to writing is one of my favorite things. I love when the lyrics feel a little sad, but the music feels upbeat, or even the inverse. [“Love Me Not”] has all the qualities of a really timeless song to me, so I knew that one had to be on [the album] and be the first [single].
Why did you decide to release “Love Me Not” alongside “Love Is Blind”?
“Love Me Not” was something that I really, really loved and I was excited for my fans to hear. But I also knew that it was a branch-out from the type of colors I dabbled in on [2022 album] Hypnos. I thought to support that, I should have something that felt like the most “Ravyn Lenae” song ever. “Love Is Blind” was a good pairing for people to see where I was going with [Bird’s Eye while] still rooted in my R&B bag, my sensuality and my yearning lyrics. I wanted people to understand where I was going, but also where I am and where I’ve been at the same time.
How did the how did the Rex Orange County remix come together? When did you know that you wanted to do a remix?
I knew I wanted a remix for the song a few months after I dropped it. I remember us talking about a feature on the song originally, so it was always in my head that I thought I heard another perspective on the song, especially a male perspective, almost like a duet type of feel. But I couldn’t think of who it was going to be, and I don’t like to decide things quickly.
My manager [John Bogaard] sugested Rex [Orange County], and I thought he was the perfect voice and perspective to add to the song and introduce it to a whole other audience.
The success of “Love Me Not” has been a real slow burn, not unlike your career in general. Are there times you wish everything would just click or are you content with the journey of it all?
I am constantly on a journey of balancing both of those extremes because it feels like two sides of my brain. One that’s like, “Get on the train!,” and the other part of me — like when I talk to my mom and my manager — [understands] that timing is everything. I have to trust that. I have to believe that. I have to stay patient and diligent and focused, and things will start to turn over for me. We’ve seen it over and over again.
I just saw Doechii [with whom she collaborated for 2022’s “Xtasy” remix] a few days ago in San Antonio. I hadn’t seen her since this major shift [in her career], so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to catch up with her. I was like, “Girl, when you won your Grammy, I started bawling!” I didn’t expect that [emotional response] to happen, but whenever I see those glimpses of hard work paying off, it reassures me that I’m on the right path. That’s what I’m holding on to right now; I’m trying not to get ahead of myself and stay right where I’m at and be happy about that.
I’m just happy for all artists who have been in this 10-plus years and are feeling the love and the benefits of so much time and effort and hard work. It’s a lot of that happening right now at the 10-year mark. The 10-year thing is real!
What else do you have planned for “Love Me Not?” You’ve been showing fellow Bird’s Eye track “Genius” a lot of love on TikTok recently.
I hope that I’m able to keep getting “Love Me Not” in new ears. I want that song to keep growing and reach as many people as possible. “Genius” is another one that I think has really strong potential to reach those super-large audiences. I’m just gonna keep pushing, working, performing, meeting people and being a good person. Beyond that, I’m working on new music that I’m so excited about.
What was your experience on the artist side watching TikTok help blow “Love Me Not” up?
Before it happened, I would have really negative thoughts like, “Maybe that type of viral moment isn’t in the cards for me.” You’re making TikToks and you feel like [they’re] not reaching anybody and you’re just putting stuff out into the void.
This was an exercise of me stepping outside of my comfort zone in a good way. Seeing people discover me and this song and then dive into my whole discography has really [shown that TikTok is] such a beautiful tool. Even beyond me, just seeing how accessible it is for people’s lives to change overnight.
I can’t help but draw similarities between “Love Me Not” popping off right now and also Janet Jackson’s “Someone to Call My Lover” having a revival. What do you think it is about these songs that are pulling in listeners right now?
I literally asked myself this the other day. I’m like, “This is too much of a coincidence!” First of all, “Someone to Call My Lover” is one of my favorite songs, so when I saw that happening it really felt like a shift. Janet is one of my biggest inspirations; she’s been able to blend R&B, alternative, rock and pop in the most beautiful, seamless way. I aspire my career to be like that too. I think people are just open to a mishmash of sounds and don’t care really who it’s coming from. Even the fact that [TikTok users] mixed “Love Me Not” with [Solange’s] “Losing You,” there’s definitely a shift happening. I think people want that soulful pop back.
What can you tell us about the new music right now?
Tricking my listeners into liking things that they probably wouldn’t have liked otherwise is something I’m really into. I’m always finding new ways to push and find new colors in my voice, get a little uncomfortable and get a little more raw. Pulling back those layers is something that I try to do with each song and each album.
A version of this story appears in the April 19, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ precipitous fall from grace will be chronicled in the upcoming BBC investigative documentary P Diddy: The Rise and Fall. According to the BBC, the doc will examine the highs and lows of Combs, “whose influence and impact is undeniable, but whose legacy could not be indelibly tarnished.”
The doc — the latest in an increasingly long list of such films and series exploring Combs’ highs and lows — will be hosted by award-winning broadcaster Yinka Bokinni and air on the BBC Three and iPlayer on April 28. Combs has been in jail for nearly eight months as he awaits the May 5 start of his upcoming trial in a federal criminal case in which he is charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, with prosecutors alleging that he “abused, threatened and coerced women” in the furtherance of a “criminal enterprise” that allegedly involved kidnapping, arson, bribery and forced labor. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges and last week lost a bid to delay the start of the trial.
He is also facing dozens of other lawsuits accusing him of rape and assault, allegations he has denied.
The BBC said that Bokinni will explore how Combs “has gone from being the world’s biggest Hip-hop mogul, to hemorrhaging friends and fans in a matter of months,” mapping both his extraordinary success and influence in fashion, music and culture, “while meeting those close to him to understand what may have led to this very public disgrace… [and] unpack[ing] the interplay of power, money, moral corruption, and sexism, which underpins this story.”
Bokinni said, “My job is to tell stories — but never did I imagine I’d be telling this one. Investigating the alleged actions of Diddy has forced a spotlight onto the darker side of an industry so many of us dream of belonging to. We sang his songs, bought into the lifestyle, watched the shows and wanted more. This has been an emotional, sometimes difficult experience. And with a trial on the horizon, what happens next will no doubt be gripping — in the most sobering way.”
The BBC effort is one of a raft of docs exploring Combs’ undoing, including Max’s The Fall of Diddy, TMZ’s The Downfall of Diddy, as well as Prime Video’s Diddy: Monster’s Fall, Diddy: Summit to Plummet and an upcoming Netflix doc from 50 Cent’s G-Unit Films whose release date has not yet been announced.
