R&B/Hip-Hop

22 Apr 2025

Mustard Claps Back at Gordo After Being Called Out for Unfollowing Drake Producer

It all started last week when Drake collaborator Gordo tweeted out that Mustard unfollowed him on Instagram. “Oh, my God. Just noticed Mustard unfollowed me on IG,” he wrote on X. “Sad day…headlining [Coachella] must of got to his head.”

Mustard caught wind of the post and responded in kind, saying, “Ain’t going back and forth with a n—a that’s happy to change music on another n—a’s toilet seats,” he tweeted. “Let’s just end it here: I’m richer than you and have more hits than you. I have multiple houses with my own toilet seats and many of my own chains to wear.”

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He added, “The guy wants attention. Keep slaving at those overseas shows, brother. Don’t forget to buckle dude’s pants after you done,” he wrote, before mocking Gordo’s chain picture.

Drake’s “Sticky” producer then responded by saying that Kendrick Lamar didn’t bother to drive out to support Mustard’s Coachella set. “Imagine devoting your entire Coachella set to a guy that wouldn’t drive an hour to pop out for you.”

Earlier this month, Gordo tweeted that he apparently changed the music on a couple of Drake’s toilets up at the Embassy (his mansion) in Toronto. “When you use the bathroom at Drake’s house usually the toilet will play 2Pac,” he said. “But today I changed one toilet to play ‘Healing’ and the other one to play ‘Sideways.’”

Gordo also tweeted a picture of himself wearing Drake’s recently purchased N.E.R.D chain that was once owned by Pharrell and Kid Cudi, saying that he found it in Drake’s kitchen and that he’s “100 percent taking it.”

22 Apr 2025

Lil Uzi Vert Hospitalized in NYC for Illness: Report

Lil Uzi Vert was reportedly hospitalized in New York City on Monday (April 21) after falling ill at a Manhattan hotel.

Billboard has reached out to the rapper’s reps for confirmation.

According to TMZ, paramedics responded to a call for Uzi — who identifies as nonbinary — during the afternoon and transported them to a local hospital for treatment.

TMZ released footage from an eyewitness video showing someone who appears to be Uzi being wheeled into an ambulance around 2:30 p.m. ET. Along with City Girls rapper JT, Uzi’s girlfriend, security also accompanied the rapper and held up black umbrellas in an attempt to protect their identity.

Details of Lil Uzi Vert’s condition are not known at this time.

On the music side, the 29-year-old has laid low for much of 2025. They have yet to put out a single, but hopped on Skrilla’s “Walking Dead” in February.

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Lil Uzi returned in 2024 with their Eternal Atake 2 sequel, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 59,000 album-equivalent units earned in the opening tracking week.

Earlier in February, Uzi made headlines by jabbing at Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, which saw the rapper flex that their “diamonds are better lil big bro.” The post to their Instagram Story was accompanied by a photo of Hurts, but the Eagles QB has yet to respond to Uzi.

22 Apr 2025

Wiz Khalifa May Be a Flat Earther ‘Because I’ve Traveled So Much’

Wiz Khalifa seems to believe that the Earth is flat.

The Pittsburgh rapper is rolling out his latest album Kush + Orange Juice 2 and stopped by The Joe Budden Podcast to discuss a variety of topics — one of which is the age-old (and centuries-ago-answered) question: Is the Earth flat or round?

There’s clip floating around from the popular podcast’s exclusive Patreon episode where co-host Melyssa Ford asks Wiz straight up if the Earth is round. “I would say no,” he answered. And when she asked what shape the planet is, Wiz replied: “I just believe that we live on a flat plane, like a huge flat plane.”

He further elaborated after receiving an agreeable dap from co-host Ish and said he believes this “flat plane” theory because of how much he travels. “It’s only because I’ve traveled so much.” However, when guest host and academic Marc Lamont Hill asked him if he’s ever reached the edge of the Earth, Khalifa tried to clarify his point. “Nah, it’s not that. I think that there’s more masses than just what we see because it was one thing before and it spread out,” he tried to explain as he referred to the supercontinent Pangea.

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He continued by saying that there has to be way more land mass out there that humans haven’t discovered, adding, “Because when I travel, the routes that we take and how we do it, it’s not possible to go up and down. You’re just going straight. That’s the only reason I think that.”

He also questioned space exploration in general. “I don’t believe in space exploration at all,” he admitted. “I don’t believe that they explore space as much as they say that they do.”

The subject came up because the pod has been discussing the Flat Earth Theory recently — something they’ve done in the past — and Marc Lamont Hill had gotten into it with a Flat Earther on his YouTube series Night School Debate.

For what it’s worth, the conversation wasn’t that serious and fans jokingly pointed out that Wiz used a round Earth on the cover of Kush + Orange Juice 2.

Check out our recent interview with Wiz where we talked about his run of freestyles and his latest tape.

22 Apr 2025

Tech N9ne Tells Bunnie XO He Had an Inappropriate Relationship With His Middle School Teacher

Tech N9ne shared on Bunnie XO‘s latest podcast episode that he had an inappropriate relationship with one of his middle school teachers when he was going on 13 years old.

The artist born Aaron Yates stopped by the Dumb Blonde podcast Monday (April 21) to talk about his legendary independent career and also took a moment to discuss his childhood. In particular, he focused on a relationship he had with a teacher — whom he did not name — that he said changed his life forever.

“It all started when I showed her a picture of my father as a cop,” the rapper said around the 35-minute mark. “After class, whenever everybody’s leaving out, I would be in there and she would say, ‘Aaron is soo cute’ … She was beautiful, and I was like, ‘Oh, thank you!’ But she used to do it every day, like, ‘Aaron is sooo cute.’”

He said things started to escalate from there, and he used to skip lunch to go and visit his teacher in her classroom.

“I was in love, until she got married,” Tech N9ne said, adding that they got caught kissing by a student walking by the classroom. He got called up to “courtroom class” as a result, which was code for “Ms. Glen’s room” upstairs, where students would get sent following bad behavior.

“Ms. Glen, she was a Black lady, she didn’t want no f—k s—t,” Tech recalled with a laugh. “She said, ‘Aaron, there’s a student in here … that says they walked by Ms. So-and-So’s room and saw both of you kissing … I said, ‘Huh? Why would I be kissing a grown-up?’ I was smart.”

He continued to deny the kiss, and both the seventh grade teacher and Tech got called to the office, where she also denied the allegations.

“I remember her pleading her case and being real serious,” Tech said, “and nothing happened … ’cause I didn’t tell.”

But the rapper did confirm to Bunnie, who is married to country music star Jelly Roll, that he was also having sex with her outside of school.

“She got married in my eighth grade year, and after that we didn’t talk anymore,” Tech concluded, before moving into a conversation about his love of horror films.

Watch Tech talk about his relationship around the 28-minute mark in the video, and find the full episode on Spotify.

22 Apr 2025

50 Cent Squashes Beef With Joe Budden Over Irv Gotti Comments, But Takes More Shots From Ja Rule

50 Cent was able to squash his beef with Joe Budden at the New York Knicks game last night, but Ja Rule reminded him their beef is still very much alive.

On Monday (April 21), 50 and Joe ran into each other at Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks faced off against the Detroit Pistons, with the former eventually losing 100 – 94. The tense encounter came after both rap moguls had traded shots online over the death of Irv Gotti, who 50 has been clowning on social media since he passed in February. Budden claimed that 50 needed therapy for mocking Gotti’s death, which led to an online spat between the two New Yorkers.

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However, 50 clarified on Instagram it’s now all good between them. A fan had also snapped a picture of Joe and 50 Cent embracing at the game. “I ran into Joe at the game he said I don’t need Therapy No MORE!” 50 wrote in his caption.

Meanwhile, the Power creator’s longtime foe Ja Rule hopped on X to share a theory on why he believed the Knicks lost. “Man I knew my Knicks was gonna lose as soon as I seen that black cat (rat) in the building,” Ja wrote.

Ja and 50 had reignited their longstanding beef earlier this month over comments made about the late Murder Inc. CEO, with the former telling The Breakfast Club he thinks Fif’s antics made him want to go “nuclear.”

“The Breakfast Club should be ashamed of themselves asking questions that perpetuate violence,” 50 wrote in response to Ja’s comments on IG. “This fool has been ready to go what he calls nuclear for 22 years. LOL.”

Ja then fired numerous shots at 50 on X, including insinuating he cooperated with the feds.

“From now on your name boo boo that’s what they called you on the streets right lmfao,” Ja Rule wrote in part. “Boo boo the fool… [laughing face emoji] 50 cent is a street n—a from Brooklyn you boo boo from Queens… Mc gusto cb4 a– n—a. You’re right he told the Feds murder inc had him shot and they put us under federal indictment… [rat emoji]…@50cent Go ahead and lie tell these good people tell the paperwork fake so I can send this next shot… WE GOT RECEIPTS boo boo…”

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22 Apr 2025

Shaquille O’Neal Runs Off Live ‘Inside the NBA’ Set for Bathroom Break: Watch

When you gotta go, you gotta go. Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t wait until the next commercial break while filming Inside the NBA live, so he got up and headed to the bathroom mid-show on Monday night (April 21).

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While co-hosts Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith were recapping the thrilling game two finish between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, Shaq — aka DJ Diesel — made a mad dash for the Studio J exit, which took everyone by surprise.

“You all right, big fella?” Smith asked. “You catching a cramp? It’s that olive oil you been drinking. Hey, listen, he couldn’t hold it. Can’t hold it no more after 40.”

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DJ Diesel implored them to continue the show, while anchor Ernie Johnson wondered if this was some planned skit. “I didn’t like his gait as he left, that was not a typical walk right there,” Johnson said.

Smith took a jab at Shaq as he quipped: “He’s been drinking olive oil to clean his gut, he’s cleaning his gut all right.”

A few minutes later, O’Neal returned to the set and blamed drinking too much water along with Barkley’s loud mouth. “I’m sitting here like shut the hell up and hurry up,” he said to Barkley.

Add this to the many memorable moments of Inside the NBA as the TNT show will be exiting Turner Sports at the end of the NBA’s 2025 Conference Finals.

However, it’s not the end for Shaq, Chuck, Ernie and Kenny. The crew will be heading to the ABC/ESPN family starting next season.

On the music side, let’s hope DJ Diesel uses the restroom before his gig on Friday night (April 25) when he takes over the Silo for a set in Dallas.

Watch the full clip below.

22 Apr 2025

Miguel Talks 15th Anniversary of ‘All I Want Is You,’ Friendship With J. Cole & Collaborating With j-hope

Miguel is a firm believer in divine timing. Though he wrote his song “Sure Thing” at 18 and waited nearly seven years for its initial release, the precocious songwriter wasn’t flummoxed. At 25, he watched the song bloom and catapult his career as one of the premier R&B artists. At 40, the song, glittering in TikTok gold, reemerged and became a top 15 record nearly a decade and a half later, solidifying his pen and status as a songwriting marksman.

“I believe in signs, and for whatever reason, all of those variables didn’t come together for ‘Sure Thing’ at the time,” says Miguel in his new Billboard News In-Conversation interview. “I wrote that song at 18, 19, and years before Mark [Pitts] heard it. And then it took years for the song to be released. So there were a good six-plus years before writing the song and before anyone actually heard it. The game was so different.”

He continues: “‘Sure Thing’ went No. 1 on R&B and never went anywhere else. So it was really my core fans — the ones who were with me, gave me my flowers and gave the music a place to be and exist. I’m so grateful for that. Fast-forward two years, and new fans, younger fans, discovering the music is a testament to why I do this.”

Peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, “Sure Thing” resided on his debut album, All I Want You Is You, which turns 15 later this year and marked Miguel’s entry into the R&B game at a time where Usher, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo reigned supreme.

“It’s a journey,” he reflects. “You think about how much time it took to get that album out and what it took to get there in terms of cycles, growth, challenges, failures and learning experiences. To have all of the blessings between that point and this point in my career is beautiful. It’s a trip.”

Along with “Sure Thing,” Miguel also had his debut record, “All I Want Is You,” featuring a young and flashy J. Cole. The chemistry between the two then-rookies was palpable and sparked two more instant classics later on in their careers, including Cole’s “Power Trip” and the singer’s “Come Through and Chill.”

“I come from underground hip-hop, which is a big part of my development and career,” says Miguel. “A lot of that started with my education, love for hip-hop and deep, true lyricism. Those things, I think, informed how easy it was for Cole and me to make music, and I think with the grace of everything, I look forward to many, many more because he’s not going anymore, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“We’ve definitely talked about going back and forth on production and fun concepts. That just feels like timing,” adds Miguel about a possible EP with Cole.

While Miguel enjoys reminiscing about his past successes, he’s moving forward and in a new direction, especially on his upcoming album. Earlier this year, he released “Always Time,” a sharp contrast from “Sure Thing,” where his relationship turmoil drowns him in regret.

“I am the most reliable, most unpredictable homie. I am deep into a lot of conspiracy theories. I listen to metal music. I grew up in a punk city. Punk is a huge part of my upbringing. My father is Mexican, so I love all of the traditional things that I heard growing up. He also loved Black women. So I got to listen to all the great soul music in his car when we took rides. Where I take my fans will be about the truths I’m finally comfortable sharing with you.”

Watch Miguel’s Billboard News In-Conversation interview, in which he speaks about also working with j-hope on “Sweet Dreams” and diving more into his Mexican roots musically.

22 Apr 2025

Lil Wayne to Celebrate ‘Tha Carter VI’ Release With His First Headlining Show at Madison Square Garden

Nearly three decades into his Hall of Fame career, Lil Wayne is set to headline NYC’s Madison Square Garden for the first time on June 6. It’s going to be a celebratory night at one of the world’s most famous arenas, as Weezy will be releasing his anticipated Tha Carter VI album the same day.

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Artist pre-sale tickets will go on sale starting on Wednesday (April 23), and the general sale begins on Friday (April 25) at 10 a.m. local time on Live Nation’s website.

NYC fans will hear the live debut of many of the C6 tracks along with the other hits in Weezy’s catalog throughout the night.

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Tha Carter V arrived in 2018, and it’s been a long road to the sixth installment. Wayne confirmed the June 6 release date with a throwback trailer earlier in April, which came after the initial reveal in a Cetaphil ad surrounding the Super Bowl in February.

Rolling Stone had an early listen to the album and revealed features from Miley Cyrus, MGK, Andrea Bocelli, Wayne’s son Kameron, Bono and more. Wyclef Jean is also involved, while producers include Ye and Wheezy.

Tha Carter VI will mark Weezy’s first solo album since 2020’s Funeral, which debuted atop the Billboard 200. The last three installments of Wayne’s decorated Carter series have all gone No. 1.

The New Orleans native is yet to release a single in 2025, but he’s dished out assists such as hopping on GELO’s viral “Tweaker” remix in February. 

See his announcement below:

22 Apr 2025

Busta Rhymes, Redman, Remy Ma & More Head Rock the Bells Class of 2025 Festival

Rock the Bells returns this summer with the Class of 2025: Summer’s Kool. Standing at the head of the class when the festival makes its New Jersey debut at Newark’s Prudential Center on June 28 will be Busta Rhymes, Redman, Remy Ma, Too $hort and Scarface, among others. The one-night affair is being presented in partnership with the Black Promoters Collective.

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Spanning generations, genres and regions, the lofty lineup also includes Eric B. & Rakim, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Plies, Boosie, Fabolous, Lil’ Mo and Capone-N-Noreaga. Representing the underground will be M.O.P. and Coast Contra. There will also be a special Uptown Records Celebration. Curated by DJ Eddie F, the salute will feature performances by Al B. Sure!, Donell Jones, Christopher Williams, Monifah, Soul for Real and more. The entire evening will be hosted by recently minted Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree and rap pioneer Roxanne Shanté and soundtracked by the legendary DJ Kid Capri.

In a statement announcing this year’s festival, Rock the Bells founder LL Cool J said, “Rock the Bells has always been about the elevation, preservation and innovation of hip-hop. Class of 2025: Summer’s Kool is more than a festival — it’s a cultural homecoming. We’re celebrating the artists who built the foundation and the new voices pushing it forward, all in one night. This is hip-hop in its full glory — past, present and future.”

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Noted Shelby Joyner, president of the Black Promoters Collective, “Partnering with LL Cool J and the Rock the Bells festival is an extension of our shared commitment to celebrating Black culture through powerful live experiences. This isn’t just an event — it’s a cultural movement. We’re proud to help bring together generations of fans and legends to honor hip-hop’s impact and ensure its legacy continues to thrive on the biggest stages.”

Additional artists will be announced in the coming week. For more information about tickets, visit the Rock the Bells website.

Rock The Bells 2025

Rock The Bells 2025

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21 Apr 2025

Wiz Khalifa Takes Credit for Getting Snoop Dogg’s Kids Stoned for the First Time

Wiz Khalifa says he’s responsible for getting Snoop Dogg‘s kids high for the first time.

In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Sunday, Wiz Khalifa talked about his latest stoner album Kush + Orange Juice 2 and reflected on his monstrous career. Wiz recalled that during his time filming Mac & Devin Go to High School alongside Snoop back in 2012, he accidentally got the latter’s children high on weed.

“We were shooting High School, the movie, and [Snoop] was out of the trailer doing his part. And he came back in the trailer and was like, ‘Y’all little mother—-ers is high!’” Wiz recalled with a laugh. He had smoked with Cordae and Cordell, assuming they had already experimented with weed because of who their dad was. The two sons likely would have been around 18 and 15, respectively.

“I thought they had already smoked, though!” Wiz continued. “I’m like, ‘These are Snoop’s kids, of course they smoke!’ They got high with me first. Crazy.”

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The hilarious story comes after Wiz previously admitted he attends his son Sebastian’s parent-teacher conferences wile stoned.

“Hell yeah, I’m pulling up stoned,” Wiz said while a guest on Call Her Daddy over the weekend. “They expect it. They know what’s up. It’s not like back in the day where you’re considered a bad parent if you smell like weed. I’m pretty sure my son smells like weed. Like I don’t know because I can’t smell it, but I’m pretty sure he smells like pot.”

Check out the clip below.