R&B/Hip-Hop
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Lil Baby isn’t wasting any time in 2025. Following the arrival of his WHAM album, he’s not slowing down with plenty of heat in store for the rest of the year. The 4PF honcho gave Spotify’s RapCaviar access to “A Day in the Life With Lil Baby” where he revealed that he’s got a joint […]
Harbor Studios in Malibu, where stars including Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat have recorded blockbuster albums, has burned down in the Palisades wildfire, founder Zach Brandon revealed in a heartfelt Instagram post on Wednesday (Jan. 8).
“I am profoundly sad to announce that Harbor Studios has been lost to the Palisades Fire,” Brandon wrote alongside a photo showing the studio’s charred remains. “Harbor has been a staple in the music community since the 1990s — first, it was the recording studio for Joe Zawinul and his world famous Jazz Fusion group, ‘The Weather Report.’ Finally, in 2021, it became Harbor Studios. Named after one of the most important memories from my childhood, Harbor Studios quickly grew from a big, dreamy concept to a beloved staple in the recording industry.”
Plenty of star power walked through the Harbor Studios doors including Minaj, who recorded Pink Friday 2 in its entirety at the studio, while Doja Cat worked on her Scarlet album there.
Brandon continued: “I cried this morning, but not because Harbor burned down. I cried because it settled in with me that Harbor was taken from so many artists who cared so deeply about Harbor. It was a place of musical freedom… a sanctuary in the most literal sense of the word. I loved it.”
Brandon promised this isn’t the last of Harbor, stating that he and the studio builder have already begun taking steps toward reviving it in another iteration.
“This is not the end of Harbor. We are restarting from scratch (again)… nothing we haven’t done before,” Brandon wrote. “Not only that, but I have gained so much knowledge and experience from Harbor 1 that I will be implementing into the rebuild. I’ve taken the initial steps forward — the original studio builder and I have already begun planning what the new Harbor Studios is going to look like. Thankfully, the magic that has been bestowed upon us by our clients is something that can never leave. It’s in the soil, it’s in the air, and it’s in our souls. We will come back stronger from this.”
Thousands have been left devastated by the widespread wildfires across Los Angeles County this week, with three major blazes — also including the Eaton and Hurst fires — destroying homes and businesses and leading to mass evacuations. The fires have killed at least five people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, with the Palisades Fire alone leaidng to the evacuations of more than 70,000 people, according to the Associated Press.
For health alerts, evacuation updates and shelter information, check out L.A. County’s emergency website here.
You know who’s never performed at Rolling Loud? Drake. And it’s not for a lack of trying. Rolling Loud co-founder Tariq Cherif made an appearance on Big Boy’s Neighborhood recently and was asked which artist the festival hasn’t been able to book for whatever reason. Big Boy gave him an out by suggesting that he […]
Kendrick Lamar and SZA have teamed up for a plethora of hit records over the years. From “All the Stars” to “Luther,” and most recently “30 for 30,” fans have long been clamoring for a joint project from the former Top Dawg Entertainment teammates.
With Dot and Solana set to hit the road for the Grand National Tour in April, perhaps the idea of a collab project coming to fruition is closer than ever.
SZA stopped by Sherri on Wednesday (Jan. 8) in promotion of her upcoming One of Them Days movie coming to theaters next week, and she also discussed possibly teaming up with Lamar for a joint project at some point down the line.
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“I would love that,” SZA said point-blank when asked about a collab album. “I think that would be amazing. He’s such a genius. And a part of his genius is like him being so elusive and so mysterious and I love it.”
SZA also admitted she had no idea what version of her vocals were appearing on GNX that ended up becoming “Luther” and album closer “Gloria.”
“I don’t know what’s going on as much as you don’t know what’s going on,” she continued. “When ‘Luther’ came out, I said, ‘OK, that’s the vocals we’re using, period.’ Same with ‘Gloria.’ I said, ‘OK.’”
The Grammy-winning singer appreciates the unknown of working with Lamar, because it pushes her creativity outside her comfort zone at times.
“That’s also part of the fumbling and finding,” she said. “He’s a huge part of my fumbling and finding era because I’m trusting his expertise and being thrust into these moments and spotlight and saying yes. He’s so good at saying yes, but staying grounded. So I’m just like, ‘Teach me, sensei, what you know.’”
SZA and Kendrick embark on their stadium tour across North America starting April 19 in Minneapolis. The Grand National Tour will hit Houston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Toronto before wrapping up in Washington, D.C., on June 18.
Watch the Sherri clip with SZA below.
LaVar Ball’s only rival might be the late Joe Jackson.
For Drake, his next move better be his best move. The 6 God revealed he’s back in the studio as he turns the page to a clean slate in the new year. Drizzy took to Instagram for a colorful post on Tuesday night (Jan. 7) as he got back to work while showing off his […]
Ye — formerly Kanye West — had laid low for the first week of 2025 in his return to social media, but that changed on Tuesday night (Jan. 7), when he called out his former partner Adidas while attacking the company’s alleged search engine practices, and also took issue with designer Jerry Lorenzo in an Instagram post.
West believes when fans search for Yeezy on Google that Adidas is the first to come up before his own website, which he thinks is done intentionally to hurt his brand even though the apparel giant severed ties with him in 2022 over his repeated antisemitic remarks.
“When you google Yeezy.com the adidas site comes before the Yeezy site Members at adidas Stop doing this Stop doing your moves to hold me back Our partnership is done You’re a 60 billion dollar company that froze my accounts,” he wrote alongside a screenshot of his search results. “Now I’m back on my feet (no pun intended) and I’m not going to stand for this (no pun again) I did phenomenal work for you guys and because I stood up for myself yall tried to intimidate and oppress me everyone remembers I had major issues with adidas because of design theft and oppression before ‘the tweet.’”
Ye and Fear of God designer Lorenzo were close collaborators in the 2010s (they stopped working together in 2016), but the rapper criticized Lorenzo for continuing to work with Adidas. Fear of God teamed up with the company in 2020 for an athletic line, and the deal included the designer as creative director of Adidas Basketball.
“Y’all know Jerry was corny and disloyal for doing work with adidas after the way they handled things I still showed up to his show that was a copy of my Hollywood bowl show being the so called bigger man but I’m never doing that again for no one It’s Yeezy over everything,” Ye continued in his Instagram post of showing up to support Lorenzo at his 2023 Hollywood Bowl fashion show.
Billboard has reached out to Google for comment, as well as Adidas regarding Ye’s remarks about the the clothing company and Lorenzo.
For West, he’s done with the collaborations and those he believes are using him to create imitations of his work, as he’s “here to dominate as I always have.”
“Everyone that ever took a picture next to me that had their own clothing lines and agendas everyone knows they was acting like they were my friends to promote they weak ass fake Yeezy lines They never wanted to truly work for the king,” Ye added in his lengthy post. “They wanted to use the king Get paid more than they would get paid anywhere else be yes man and be happy for any time I didn’t accomplish what ‘we’ were working towards Now they banished NO MORE HUGS Yeezy over everything I’m not here as a platform for anyone else I am here to dominate as I always have.”
The Chicago native also said he’s sticking to his $20 price model for merchandise going forward, which he believes is “burning the game to the ground.”
After spending the first week of 2025 relaxing in the Maldives while celebrating wife Bianca Censori’s 30th birthday, it could be another busy year for Ye. He’s been teasing his Bully album, as snippets have hit social media. However, there’s still no firm release date for the project, which will serve as his Vultures 2 follow-up and first solo album since 2021’s Donda.
West and Adidas settled their longstanding litigation since the split in 2024. “Both parties said we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all the claims,” Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden said on October’s quarterly earnings call, before adding that neither party would be paying in the settlement. “No one owes anybody anything anymore. So whatever was is history.”
This summer’s Bonnaroo Festival will feature headline sets from Luke Combs, Tyler, the Creator, Olivia Rodrigo and Hozier. The June 12-15 mega fest on the ‘Roo Farm in Manchester, TN will also feature sets from John Summit, Dom Dolla, Avril Lavigne, Glass Animals, Vampire Weekend, Justice, Queens of the Stone Age and an “Insanely Fire 1970’s Pool Party” SuperJam curated by Remi Wolf.
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This year’s edition will also introduce the first-ever ‘Roo Residency, which will find prolific Australian rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard playing three sets over three days. Also performing on the fest’s 10 stages over four days: Marcus King, Insane Clown Posse, Goose, The Red Clay Strays, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Megadeth, Wallows, Foster the People, Nelly, GloRilla, Mt. Joy, RL Grime, Beabadoobee, Tyla, MJ Lenderman, Modest Mouse, Raye, Royel Otis, Dispatch, Aly & AJ, Action Bronson, Role Model, Natasha Bedingfield and BossMan Dlow, among many others.
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Tickets for the festival will go on sale on Thursday (Jan. 9) beginning at 10 a.m. CT exclusively here, with guaranteed lowest-priced tickets available during the first hour of sales (10-11 a.m. CT). In addition, fans looking for a heightened experience can opt for GA+ tickets, with unlimited access to the Centeroo GA+ lounge, as well as VIP and Platinum options featuring close-in and on-field viewing areas and other perks; click here for more information on VIP and Platinum tickets.
Among the new elements added this year is the “Infinity Stage,” described as a “one-of-a-kind” venue created in partnership with Polygon Live that will feature “spatial sound, synchronized lights and an unprecedented three-dome, open-air design to create the world’s largest, most immersive 360-degree live music experience.”
Check out the full Bonnaroo 2025 lineup below.
SZA’s unsinkable SOS sails to a new milestone on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart, reaching its 100th week at No. 1 on the list, which began in 2012. The album – far and away the record holder for the longest run atop the chart – has more than double the weeks of any other title in the top slot and has spent only eight of its first 108 weeks on the chart outside the penthouse.
SOS crosses the triple-digit mark on the chart dated Jan. 11, with 130,000 equivalent album units in the corresponding Dec. 27, 2024 to Jan. 2, 2025, tracking week, according to Luminate. While its first 98 chart-topping weeks were exclusively from its standard issue, the last two frames received a boost from the SOS Deluxe: Lana edition, which arrived Dec. 20 and added 15 new cuts to the original 22-song tracklist. (All versions of the album are combined into one entry for data tracking and chart positions.)
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With SOS’ latest achievement on Top R&B Albums, here’s a review of the projects with the most weeks at No. 1 on the 12-year-old chart:
Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Artist, First Week at No. 1
100, SOS, SZA, Dec. 24, 2022
40, After Hours, The Weeknd, April 4, 2020
33, 24K Magic, Bruno Mars, Dec. 10, 2016
27, Planet Her, Doja Cat, July 10, 2021
25, The Highlights, The Weeknd, Feb. 20, 2021
19, Lemonade, Beyoncé, May 14, 2016
18, American Teen, Khalid, Aug. 5, 2017
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Released in December 2022, SOS was the long-awaited follow-up to SZA’s well-received 2017 full-length debut, Ctrl. The five-year wait sparked immediate fan fervor, causing SOS’ No. 1 entrances on the all-genre Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts. The album quickly established dominance in the R&B sphere, spending its first 48 weeks on Top R&B Albums at No. 1 as hit singles such as “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” clocked 30 weeks and 32 weeks, respectively, atop the Hot R&B Songs chart. Thanks to its strong reception and high consumption numbers, SOS was the year-end No. 1 title on the Top R&B Albums chart for both 2023 and 2024.
While its standard edition already generated record-breaking results, the Lana deluxe addition should only expand SOS’ chart legacy. With 130,000 units in the latest tracking week, SOS pulled more than seven times the unit total of this week’s runner-up (which, by the way, is SZA’s Ctrl.) The Lana chapter could further extend well into the spring and summer, when SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National tour reaches nearly two-dozen stadiums in the U.S. and Canada.
Plus, even more music may be on the way. On Jan. 5, Terrence “Punch” Henderson Jr. — the president of SZA’s record label, Top Dawg Entertainment — posted on X, “Waiting for some clearances to clear up for the additional joints on the SOS Deluxe: LANA. Soon as that’s done it’s up!”
Five years after the release of the first posthumous Mac Miller album, the rapper’s family has revealed the track listing for his Ballonerism LP. According to a graphic posted on Tuesday (Jan. 7), the 14-track album, due out on January 17, will include a feature from SZA on the song “DJ’s Chord Organ.” Explore Explore […]