R&B/Hip-Hop
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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is a massive Ice Cube fan, and he brought out the dance moves for the West Coast icon’s performance at the World Series parade celebration last week. Roberts joined Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts’ On Base podcast earlier this week where he joked with his manager about being a backup […]
At the end of the summer, A$AP Rocky released a music video that quickly took over the internet. The video for the song “Tailor Swif” was described as a surreal dream journey. However, anyone familiar with Soviet art, lifestyle, fashion, cinematography and aesthetics will notice many interesting references in the work. The video was filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine, just months before the war began. A particularly intriguing aspect is that the production company behind the video, shelter.film, is based in Kyiv. The company is co-founded and led by Albert Zurashvili, who is from Georgia. It’s even more notable that shelter.film now operates out of Georgia, continuing to work on numerous international projects.
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Recently, shelter.film received several prestigious awards for A$AP Rocky’s music video at the renowned Ciclope Festival. The project was among the winners in five categories, including the Grand Prix in the music video category.
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Billboard Georgia interviewed Albert Zurashvili, who shared insights about shelter.film and the experience working on A$AP Rocky’s “Tailor Swif” video. shelter.film was founded five years ago in Kyiv, with a vision established by Zurashvili. He explains that the talented professionals, who are now part of the shelter.film team, helped him bring this vision to life. Today, Gena Shevchenko and Marina Karmolit are his partners, and together they manage shelter.film. The company launched on April 1, a date that led many to believe it was a prank. “We were too busy launching the project to look at the dates,” says Zurashvili.
The core team at shelter.film consists of six members, and since its founding, it has grown into one of Ukraine’s most well-known production companies. Its international portfolio includes work for several leading brands, such as Chanel, Coca-Cola and Samsung. Now, shelter.film is operating worldwide with offices in Kyiv, Tbilisi and Brussels and is constantly exploring new horizons for their clients.
Despite its service-oriented business model, shelter.film is part of the creative industries, known for its innovative and artistic approach. In today’s advertising landscape, competition is incredibly fierce, with impressive videos being produced daily. Brands consistently launch creative campaigns that capture attention. Even in this competitive environment, shelter.film has carved out its own niche. A signature style runs through their work, showcasing that its creators treat advertising as a form of art. The shelter.film team aims to produce projects that leave a lasting impact on society.
“Shooting videos is generally not too complicated these days. But bringing it to storytelling within commercials with a high-end cinematography or just ripping eye-candy art is somewhat not as easy,” says Zurashvili.
According to him, the company strives to express its creativity. For shelter.film, the process is more than just completing tasks and delivering projects—it’s something that each team member truly enjoys.
“We are blessed to have the opportunity to get involved in socially impactful projects,” Zurashvili says. “We always support new names and evolving talents, as true progress in our industry lies in people, not just tools. Working in international markets these days, we are still getting top Ukrainian specialists involved in every project (physically or remotely) to keep those gems of people around and on track.”
As mentioned earlier, shelter.film has collaborated with many leading companies across various industries. Advertising projects, by their nature, consider numerous client briefs. When we asked how the shelter.film team manages to preserve the artistic value of each commercial video, Albert Zurashvili responded.
“It may sound tall, but we’re doing everything possible to avoid compromises,” he says. “We’re not overpromising but over delivering and never under budgeting. So we’re pretty straightforward about that — we can do it best within the budget line or not. No one wants failures, and we can foresee and avoid them. It’s not just a reputational risk – it’s actual damage for specialists and the image of the country on a global stage as a destination for films and celebrities. So we’re not choosing between commerce and art, I’d say. We’re creating commercial art.
“In recent decades, Ukraine has become a well-known destination for major brands and artists to film their best projects. For that to happen, service production companies collaborating with extremely skilled specialists have put years of sweat and passion into proving that this is the way to do it. After years of hard work and establishing the highest level of service in Eastern Europe, along with the most experienced crew, we started to see significant income for the country through all those worldwide projects. Many talented directors and other creative professionals are eager to bring their work to Ukraine or Georgia, as the level of achievement they attain and the excitement and involvement of the crews are just incredible.”
Marina Karmolit, Albert Zurashvili and Gena Shevchenko of shelter.film photographed for Billboard Georgia.
Ninutsa Kakabadze
Despite numerous high-budget commercials and various projects, one of shelter.film’s standout achievements is the A$AP Rocky music video. The concept for the video was developed by directors Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, a duo renowned for their work with many stars of the global music scene, including Coldplay, as well as brands like Nike and Apple. Shelter.film has previously collaborated with these directors on various projects, including a Dua Lipa music video.
“It was a freestyle of developing and polishing the details of every scene on the go in a short-term and extra-confidential manner,” says Zurashvili. “Most of the crew coming to the set were unaware of who we were shooting for and were surprised when they arrived. A few weeks later, A$AP and his gang arrived in town, and we spent a few amazing days in Kyiv shooting this crazy project, doing all the tricks possible, and filming it on a Kodak 16mm camera. Working with film is always exciting, as you don’t see the final result until the material is developed and scanned. It was an unforgettable experience.
“No need to mention there were tons of negotiations that took us more than half a year of constant discussion, but it was definitely worth it. One of the highlights for us is that we involved an incredibly talented Ukrainian director of photography, Denys Lushchyk, in shooting this music video.”
In one of the scenes of A$AP Rocky’s music video, a famous scene from the 1977 film Mimino, by Georgian director Georgiy Daneliya, is brought to life. As Zurashvili explains, this decision was made by the directors. “It’s a fantastic reference from Georgiy Daneliya and I’m happy we have it there,” mentions Albert. According to him, A$AP Rocky was deeply involved during both the filming and post-production stages, and the entire team worked to a high professional standard.
For the shelter.film team, visual communication is an art form and a unique way of telling a story. This approach is consistent whether they are working on a commercial advertisement or a music video. “Every art form, even if it’s commercial, has a timestamp,” Zurashvili says. “All great stories should be told. Art is about freedom of expression. I appreciate any brands and artists brave enough to be on the cutting edge of history. The loudness of your voice brings power and responsibility to those who trust and follow you. Positive change can happen only where there is responsible, kind, and intelligent dialogue. As I said, we’re happy to have our role in it and always contribute with full responsibility.”
Rosie Perez is the ultimate wingwoman. The White Men Can’t Jump actress sat down with Drew Barrymore on the latter’s talk show this week, where she recalled a pivotal moment in the 1990s when she and her late friend Tupac Shakur had each other’s backs. “So I was going to the Soul Train Music Awards […]
Tyrese ends a nine-year absence from the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Wildflower” rules the list dated Nov. 9. The single rises from the runner-up slot and becomes the most played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Oct. 25 – 31, according to […]
Tyler, the Creator earns his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart with “St. Chroma,” featuring Daniel Caesar, which debuts atop the Nov. 9-dated ranking.
“St. Chroma,” which was released on Oct. 28, earned 24.3 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week ending Oct. 31, according to Luminate. That means the song was able to reign despite having three fewer days of tracking than the vast majority of its competition.
The rapper’s previous top-performing songs on Streaming Songs, which began in 2013, had been “Earfquake” and “Wusyaname” (the latter featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign), both of which peaked at No. 3 in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
In fact, two songs from Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator’s new album, top his previous bests. “Noid,” the album’s lone pre-release single (it premiered Oct. 21), appears at No. 2 with 23.2 million streams in its first full frame.
It’s the first time since the Sept. 7-dated Streaming Songs that the same act holds the top two of the chart. Sabrina Carpenter did so with “Taste,” which debuted at No. 1 that week, followed by “Please Please Please” at No. 2.
As for Caesar, “St. Chroma” is the singer’s second No. 1 on Streaming Songs, both coming as a featured act and also as No. 1 debuts; he previously appeared on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” alongside Giveon, which ruled for a week in 2021.
In all, Tyler, the Creator boasts 13 songs – including five of the top 10 on the latest Streaming Songs list. Only Chromakopia’s “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” misses the 50-position survey.
“St. Chroma” also becomes his second leader on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs, following the one-week reign of “Wusyaname.”
Concurrently, as previously reported, “St. Chroma” sports Chromakopia’s top rank on the Billboard Hot 100 – No. 7 – and the album bows atop the Billboard 200.
Young Thug has a new lease on life after being released from jail last week on a plea deal, and he’s thankful for attorneys like his lawyer Brian Steel.
Thugger made a virtual special guest appearance over FaceTime during Steel’s Emory Law School class lecture on Wednesday (Nov. 6), where he was preaching the importance of defense attorneys, as videos online show.
“We had a situation that was daunting towards my life and I think that the justice system could be bad,” Thug said to the group of students while reflecting on his 700-plus-day stint behind bars. “You know, sometimes it could be bad, and you gotta always look at it, like, they’re there to put us in prison and you guys are here to keep us from prison.”
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The 33-year-old Atlanta rapper then made the case for the aspiring legal experts to become defense attorneys rather than working as prosecutors.
“I think you guys should become lawyers,” he suggested. “I think it’s very important to help people out of the situations they’re in the best you can. I mean, what side do you wanna be on? You wanna put people in prison for mistakes? Because everybody makes mistakes — we’re human.”
Thugger added: “And everybody in this classroom, you always need to know that you want one mistake away. Anything you need from me, I’m here always. We need y’all.”
Thug got a belly laugh out of the class while hyping up Steel as “the best person possible” and claimed that defense attorneys are doing a version of “God’s work.”
Young Thug — born Jeffery Williams — reached a plea deal on Oct. 31, and was released with no more time to be served, but will be on probation for the next 15 years.
“I know you’re talented, and if you choose to continue to rap, you need to try to use your influence to let kids know that is not the way to go and that there are ways out of poverty besides hooking up with the powerful guy at the end of the street selling drugs,” Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said to Thug.
Thugger ended up serving more than two years in jail after repeatedly being denied bond since his arrest in May 2022. The YSL RICO case became Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial ever, and isn’t finished yet, with two co-defendants still on trial.
Halle Bailey says she’s “extremely upset” after DDG and their son Halo made what she says was an “unapproved” appearance on Kai Cenat’s livestream Wednesday night (Nov. 6).
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The Little Mermaid actress voiced her frustrations on X about unknowingly having her almost 1-year-old son in front of millions of eyeballs on Kai’s stream.
“Hi everyone,” she began. “Just so you know I am out of town and I don’t approve of my baby being on a stream tonight. I wasn’t told or notified and I am extremely upset to have my baby in front of millions of people. I am his mother and protector and saddened I wasn’t notified especially when I am out of town.”
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Per Essence, Bailey added in a separate tweet that she was going through “severe postpartum” and wrote, “Nobody knows what somebody is going through until they snap.”
Footage of Halo’s appearance quickly went viral along with Bailey’s tweets. Cenat showered DDG and Halle’s son with plenty of gifts to take home.
Bailey later deactivated her X account.
Billboard has reached out to reps for Bailey and DDG.
DDG and Bailey went public with their relationship in January 2022, and Halle gave birth to Halo in late 2023. The couple announced their split in October when DDG posted a message to his Instagram Story that he and Halle would be going separate ways.
“After much reflection and heartfelt conversations, Halle and I have decided to go our separate ways,” he wrote at the time. “This decision was not easy, but we believe it’s the best path forward for both of us. I cherish the time we’ve spent together and the love we’ve shared.
DDG continued, “Despite the changes in our relationship, our love for each other remains deep and true. We are still best friends and adore each other. As we focus on our individual journeys and our roles as co-parents, we cherish the bond we’ve build and the beautiful moments we’ve shared.”
Halle opened up about her battle with “severe” postpartum depression as a new mother in April. She posted to Snapchat at the time, “I have severe, severe postpartum [depression], and I don’t know if any new moms can relate, but it’s to the point where it’s really bad, and it’s hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out.”
Beef has been the flavor of the year for hip-hop in 2024. Ice-T is well-versed going to battle for his fair share of wars over his career with the scars to prove it, but the rapper-turned-actor doesn’t believe it’s smart for rhymers to engage in feuds with social media prevalent.
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The West Coast legend hopped on the Boss Talk 101 podcast on Monday (Nov. 4) where he compared today’s rap beef to his previous decades, and pointed to social media as an amplifier in spoiling the fun to raise tensions.
“The disses that’s going on, like, I can outrap you is one thing. But then when you take it to the next level, like, ‘When I see you it’s a problem,’” he said. “The problem with beef is that it can escalate away from you. Say I have beef with Treach and I’m talking s–t about Treach. I could run into one of his fans on the street who wants to get active.”
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Ice-T continued: “Having beef is just not smart if you can avoid it… They didn’t have social media, big difference. Social media is an amplifier to everything. It amplifies everything… It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler.”
The 66-year-old explained that when beef goes to the internet and millions know about it, then it warrants a further response. “It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler,” he added. “Why people have beef and take it to social media is beyond me, especially if you know a n—as’ phone number.”
When continually asked about the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud earlier this year, Ice-T brushed off the commentary and only offered up that he was concerned with securing the bag at this point.
“I’m sorry if I’m not interested in current Rap Beef or random Male Gossip. I’m a HUSTLER. I’m only focused on the Bag,” he said on X at the time.
In the same vein as social media amplifying beef, Ice-T revealed he cleared up any static he had with Jay-Z when speaking to Big Boy earlier this year.
Jay’s multi-platinum top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit “99 Problems” interpolates Ice’s 1993 track of the same name and Hov caught up with Ice at the 2024 Grammy Awards to show him love and make sure there was no issue.
“I’m at the Grammys and Jay-Z comes to me. He says, ‘Ice, you know I love you, right?’” Ice-T said. “I say, ‘Yeah!’ He says, ‘Well, it’s on the internet that you mad.’ I said, ‘I’m not mad! They’re bringing up all kinds of interviews about it and they asked me the story, and I told them the true story.’”
Watch the clip below.
50 Cent is back on the Trump train. A week after boasting that he’d turned down a purported nine-figure payday to appear at former and now-future President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign stop, the “Wanksta” rapper appeared to be back in The Donald’s corner.
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“I don’t care how the fight goes, I’m leaving with the winner s–t,” 50 (born Curtis Jackson) wrote on Instagram on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6) in a post that featured two pictures of the rapper with Trump, who defied odds on Tuesday night to join Grover Cleveland as the only American to be voted into the nation’s top office to non-consecutive terms.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” 50 added along with a face palm emoji and “congratulations!”
In an appearance on The Breakfast Club last week, 50 claimed that he’d been offered $3 million to appear at Trump’s MSG rally. “Yeah. They offered me $3 million!” said 50, confirming co-host Charlamagne Tha God’s query about that event, as well as reports that 50 was also offered an undisclosed amount to perform his song “Many Men” at this summer’s Republican National Convention as well.
50 did not appear at either event, explaining to the Breakfast Club crew why he rejected the lucrative offer. “I didn’t even go far,” he said of the offers. “I’m afraid of politics, you understand? I do not like it. … It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, somebody passionately disagrees with you. Look, if you say ‘I stay away from religion,’ I stay away from politics. Religion, that’s the formula for the confusion that it sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan. So you know I’m like I don’t want to get in that, man.”
At the time, a Trump campaign source told Billboard that the story was not true, though they did not specify which part was erroneous — that Trump wanted 50 at the rally or that the offer was $3 million.
After a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s MSG event, a number of major Puerto Rican artists spoke out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Tuesday’s closely contested election to the former reality TV star who has continued to deny that he lost his second bid for the White House in 2020 to President Biden.
During that failed 2020 bid 50 initially supported the twice impeached former commander-in-chief before retracting his endorsement after former girlfriend Chelsea Handler called him out. “F–k Donald Trump, I never liked him,” the rapper later said in a retweet of Handler’s appearance on The Tonight Show in which she criticized her ex for his support of Trump, 78, who will become the oldest man, and first convicted felon, to ascend to the nation’s highest office when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Flavor Flav has no problem uplifting those around him. He’s basically been on a tour giving fellow celebrities he adores their flowers, and now it’s Selena Gomez’s turn. Flav took to X on Monday (Nov. 4), where he applauded Gomez’s strength and how candid she’s been with her mental health publicly. “I don’t know her […]