R&B/Hip-Hop
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Doechii is taking her Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape on the road this fall, as she announced her tour on Monday (Sept. 16). The 12-date jaunt will kick off on Oct. 11 at Atlanta’s The Loft and go through major international cities like New York, Chicago, Berlin, Paris, London and LA before wrapping on Nov. […]
Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — made his return to China for his first performance in 16 years on Sunday (Sept. 15) alongside Ty Dolla $ign. It was a family affair in Haikou, China. West brought his wife Bianca Censori, all four of his children and his ex Kim Kardashian with him for […]
Kendrick Lamar‘s video shoot for “Not Like Us” is at the center of a controversy between the city of Compton, local businesses, and DJ Akademiks.
Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported that local businesses in the city of Compton lost money because officials didn’t give them enough notice that Lamar’s music video was going to be shot in the area.
Corina Pleasant, who runs soul food restaurant Alma’s Place with her mother, told the Times that “it was really disheartening to have the electricity on and gas … I’m just running everything and making no money.” Pleasant ultimately put the blame on city officials, saying the business lost around $2,000 thanks to a lack of forewarning.
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DJ Akademiks then posted a screenshot of the story on his Instagram, with a section of the reporting written as the caption. As fans began criticizing Lamar for what happened in the comments section of the post, the official account for Alma’s Place vehemently disagreed. “THIS ENTIRE POST IS MISQUOT3D AND PUSHING A NARRATIVE THAT WE DO NOT REPRESENT,” the comment read. “People, please do not believe everything you read. Words have been twisted, and it’s not right.”
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The comment continued, once again placing the blame on the city rather than on K. Dot. “The city should have made better decisions with notification to tax paying business owners,” it said. “We, in no way have any negative commentary for Kendrick. This was a city issue! And @akademiks you better be careful about misquoting people and twisting words. WE NEVER Spoke To you, so how are you misquoting verbiage as fact!?”
In a statement to the LA Times, the City of Compton said they will try to be better at communicating with local businesses in the future. “Businesses in Compton, especially small businesses, are the backbone of our city,” the statement said. “We want to continue to keep an open line of communication and do everything we can to support economic growth.”
While some business were hurt by the video shoot, another benefited from being featured in a scene. According to the owners, Tam’s Burgers No. 21 saw around a 40 percent increase in sales after the video came out. Lamar was also credited with helping Toronto Chinese restaurant New Ho King with new business, after he mentioned the restaurant in “Euphoria.”
Check out Akademiks’ post, and Alma’s Place’s response in its comments section, below:
Kendrick Lamar went viral once again, but this time it wasn’t because of a surprise diss track. UFC 306 happened over the weekend in Las Vegas for “Noche UFC” at the Sphere to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, and a bunch of celebs were in attendance to catch the main event between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
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One of those celebrities was boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford, who was taking in the action as he was seated next to Turki Al-Alshaikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
However, while the producers of the telecast got Al-Alshaikh’s name correct, they confused Crawford for rapper Kendrick Lamar when the camera panned to one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Of course, fans took notice and posted videos of the gaffe all over social media, with one user telling UFC they will be, in fact, “going to hell.”
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Both Crawford and UFC boss Dana White had a laugh about the situation. Bud felt like it was done on purpose by some young, intrepid producer who’s been tapped in with the rap battle that defined the summer.
“To be honest, I think it was intentionally done just for laughter because how can you get us mixed up?” Crawford told TMZ. “All in all, it was funny to me.”
He also told the outlet that a bunch of people hit him up referencing when Kendrick name-dropped him in his Drake diss song “Euphoria,” where the Compton rapper told his rival, “I don’t like you poppin’ s–t at Pharrell, for him, I inherit the beef/Yeah, f–k all that pushin’ P, let me see you Push-a T/ You better off spinnin’ again on him, you think about pushin’ me/ He’s Terrence Thornton, I’m Terence Crawford, yeah, I’m whoopin’ feet.”
During the post-fight press conference, White also had some fun with the mixup and said he had already spoken to the boxer about the mistake. “I was talkin’ to Terence Crawford,” he said while laughing. “I don’t wanna call him … I don’t know who the hell did that and thought it was … Yeah, that was pretty bad. He did kind of look like Kendrick Lamar, though, let’s not f—k around … So, when I said we had a flawless production tonight, I take that back.”
Dana White says UFC mistaking Terence Crawford for Kendrick Lamar was the lone error of the #UFC306 broadcast from Sphere.”That was pretty bad. He did kinda look like Kendrick Lamar, though.” pic.twitter.com/zUVl79xO8W— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 15, 2024
In other K. Dot news, he dropped an untitled track with cryptic lyrics that seemed to be aimed at Drake and the rap industry at large where he proclaims that “it’s time to watch the party die.” This new song comes just days after he announced that he would be headlining Super Bowl 59 in February.
Lil Pump is and lambasting Taylor Swift for her endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The “Gucci Gang” rapper took to X on Monday (Sept. 16), where he put the pop titan on blast for supporting Harris and questioned her intelligence.
“Taylor Swift, you have no clue why ur even voting for Kamala,” he began. “Maybe cuz ur a billionaire and voting for her has 0 impact on ur life. You said do ur research, clearly you didn’t do ur research. Right after the debate u endorsed her lol Right after she lied many many times!”
Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment about Lil Pump’s tweets.
As part of his X rant, he also shared a fake comment from Taylor Swift that seemingly called Pump out and unleashing Swifties on him. Numerous users on X pointed out to the rapper that the tweet he purported to be from the superstar was not real.
“Stop acting like ur so innocent YOU ARE PUSHING PPL TO VOTE FOR KAMALA! Inflation through the roof and ppl are struggling to pay bills They def won’t be able to afford tix to ur shows,” he continued. “She said she will make changes right away, WHY DIDNT SHE THE PAST 3.5 years?”
In one particularly vulgar tweet, the Florida rapper questionably guaranteed he’ll be hitting the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage before T-Swift, and again pledged his allegiance to Donald Trump. “… vote 4 trump and never look back fam also i bet i perform at the superbowl before her cringe a–,” he spewed in part.
While his music hasn’t been able to cut through on the Billboard charts, Pump has pivoted to put his energy into advocating for Trump in his journey for a return to the Oval Office. The 24-year-old even declared that he’s leaving the United States if Harris wins the 2024 election.
“I swear on my dad’s grave, if this stupid-a– bi— Kamala Harris wins the f—ing election, I’m moving out of America, boy,” he said on Instagram Stories in early August. “I swear on everything.”
Even though Swift hasn’t name-dropped Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president lashed out at the pop star. “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” the business mogul — who in May was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records — wrote in all caps on Truth Social on Sunday (Sept. 15).
Following Sept. 10’s presidential debate, Swift made a political splash when endorsing Kamala Harris.She hailed the candidate as a “warrior” and a “steady-handed, gifted leader.”
“Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most,” she wrote. “As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.”
Flavor Flav is seemingly everywhere these days. The Public Enemy hype man who became Team USA’s number one athletic supporter this summer when he opened his heart, and wallet, to help Team U.S.A.’s water polo squad — and other athletes — has made a number of new industry friends during this year of the Flavaissance.
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But few have had as much of an impact was rapper-turned-country superstar Jelly Roll. In an interview with People magazine, Flav, 65, describes what it is about Jelly, 39, that he finds so endearing and inspiring. “I’m proud to say it… that’s my guy,” said Flav, who the magazine said put on a Jelly Roll T-shirt during the interview.
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“Let me tell you something: Jelly Roll is one of the most positive people right now, man. And his music is so positive, so dope and it ways so much,” Flav added of the singer who gearing up to release Beautifully Broken (Oct. 11), the follow-up to his 2023 breakthrough album Whitsitt Chapel. “And not only that, but Jelly Roll’s music helped out a lot of people that have been down, you know what I’m saying? And the whole nine.”
And while they don’t seem to have a lot in common on the surface, Flav said he thinks he and Jelly essentially serve the same purpose in their music. “That’s another role that I play. I play the role like a Jelly Roll, you know what I’m saying? Because there’ll be a lot of people that be down in life and when they see me, I brighten up their day and it takes away that negativity that’s going on inside of them,” said Flav, whose indefatigable energy and positive vibes are always on full display in much the same way Jelly uses his music to speak to others who are struggling in an effort to lift them up. “Jelly Roll has the same effect. So me and Jelly Roll have something in common, man.”
The two men’s bourgeoning relationship has been chronicled on social media over the past year, including their meet cute in Sept. 2023 backstage, in which Jelly told Flav how much he loved him as the PE rapper casually dropped a bunch of Jelly’s song titles to prove his superfandom. “I’m just the son of a sinner man… I’m just one drink away from the devil,” Flav joked. In December, Jelly posted an Instagram video in which Flav brought him a birthday cake before his slot at last year’s Jingle Ball.
They also hung on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles in April and Flav spoke out in support of Jelly later that month when some online trolls were bullying the singer over his weight.
“On a personal note, Jelly Roll is one of the nicest, one of the absolute nicest men on the planet,” Flav said at the time. “A lot of people would love to be like Jelly Roll. All y’all trying to judge my boy Jelly Roll, I think y’all need to take a step back and judge yourself.”
Flav also introduced Jelly Roll at his The Night Before show in Detroit in April and was spotted shouting along to “Somebody Save Me” at one of Jelly’s shows in August.
Much has been made about Kendrick Lamar’s selection as the headlining performer at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, but 50 Cent thinks it’s K. Dot’s time to shine. 50 stopped by The Talk on Friday (Sept. 13), where he defended K. Dot being the right pick to take the Super Bowl LIX stage in […]
Cardi B is sharing her home movies. After announcing that she and estranged husband Offset welcomed their third baby together on Sept. 7, Cardi pulled the curtain back on her bundle of joy in a one-minute TikTok video on Sunday (Sept. 15). The clip from Cardi’s hospital room entitled “Babygirl” [followed by three pink flower […]
It’s a new era for Nicki Minaj. The Barbz leader announced over the weekend that instead of releasing the Pink Friday 2 deluxe, she’s decided to turn those songs into a completely new project with the third installment of the Pink Friday series.
Minaj was supposed to drop her PF2: Gag City Reloaded deluxe last Friday (Sept. 13), but the release date came and went without the set. Nicki clarified the album’s situation on Sunday (Sept. 15), when she revealed that Pink Friday 3 is on the way, and fans can expect another announcement regarding the project’s arrival in the coming weeks.
“Instead of doing a DELUXE to Pink Friday 2, I’ve decided to do a brand new album. I’ll still incorporate new songs like #Mamita & [The ‘anxiety’ song] for the remainder of the tour tho…and I’ll announce the new date within the next couple weeks,” she tweeted. “The new music is just too good to be thrown away on a deluxe album. Last night, the songs I recorded were just way too iconic. I love you guys so much. You know that. I know you do. I’ll still give you something leading up to the announcement, so no worries.”
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Nicki continued: “PF3 is about to do PRECISELY wtf BEEN needed to be done. TRUST ME BARBZ. IM SO EXCITED. BLESSED. LOVED (by the Barbz) & fortunately (for the Barbz & me), I’ve learned A LOT since 12/08/23. PF2 means so much to me. As my 1st album as #PapaBear mama, it’s just very special to me for so many reasons you guys aren’t aware of. I put every song on there in a specific order, etc. So to honor that, I’m going to give it the respect & integrity it deserves as a beautiful body of work & not add anything else to it.”
The Queens rapper explained that “1 or 2 songs is no big deal but 5-7 songs feels a little sloppy right now (In my humble opinion).” She added: “This era has just been so successful, rewarding, satisfying, etc. after much thought, I want to be for CERTAIN that I am being intentional about every single decision being made around both PF2 AND PF3.”
Dear Barbz, IMPORTANT #GagCity ANNOUNCEMENT:Instead of doing a DELUXE to Pink Friday 2, I’ve decided to do a brand new album. I’ll still incorporate new songs like #Mamita & [The “anxiety” song] for the remainder of the tour tho…and I’ll announce the new date within the next…— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 16, 2024
Nicki Minaj is currently on the road for the second leg of her North American Pink Friday 2 World Tour. She’ll be in Dallas on Tuesday (Sept. 17), and then makes stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Miami and Raleigh, and wraps up in Queens on Oct. 11.
Pink Friday 2 arrived on Dec. 8, 2023, and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 228,000 album-equivalent units, according to Luminate. That sum is the largest week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade, and the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.
The Weeknd is turning down the heat. Just days after releasing his new electro pop single, “Dancing in the Flames,” the singer (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye), switched things up and stripped things down on an unplugged version of the song. The acoustic take on the first single from Tesfaye’s upcoming […]