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J. Prince isn’t happy with YSL Woody and the prosecutors handling the ongoing YSL RICO trial. Earlier this week, the prosecution once again called Woody to the stand to ask him about statements he’s made to police. In one instance captured on video and shared on social media, a prosecutor asked about Woody allegedly mentioning […]
Former gang leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis had his bond once again denied on Tuesday (Aug. 27), and he will remain behind bars as he faces a first-degree murder charge for his role in the September 1996 shooting death of Tupac Shakur.
Per the Associated Press, Clark District Court Judge Carli Kierny made her decision known on Tuesday, and was uncertain of the origins of Davis’ potential $750,000 bail funds. According to the AP, Kierny said she was skeptical after receiving two letters that were identical claiming that it was music executive Cash “Wack 100” Jones who wired him the payment.
“I have a sense that things are trying to be covered up,” the judge stated after revealing the signature on one letter was from a person not connected to the business, and the second had a typo in the name as well as a return address to a doctor’s office.
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Prosecutor Binu Palal believes the defense may have committed a crime if they indeed submitted false paperwork. “The state takes that very seriously,” he said, according to the AP. “Be advised that it will not go uninvestigated.”
Wack 100 previously testified in June about his motives for wanting to help bail out Davis. According to the AP, Wack said that David has “always been a monumental person in our community … Especially the urban community.” He also cited Davis reportedly battling cancer.
Wack also discussed bailing out Keefe D during an interview with VladTV earlier this year. “It’s only $750,000,” he told Vlad at the time. “I’ve been thinking about going to get him with the stipulations that I’ll do the series on it.”
However, Jones also admitted in a June court hearing that he sometimes says things for entertainment purposes and to drive up engagement. Keefe D was preparing to post bond back in June, but when he went to enter his $750,000 bail, the courts blocked the process due to concerns about the legitimacy of the funds.
In addition to denying Keefe D’s bid to be released on house arrest, Kierny also pushed Davis’ trial back from Nov. 4 to March 17 on Tuesday.
Davis was arrested in September 2023 and charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection to the September 1996 Las Vegas shooting of Tupac Shakur. The legendary rapper ultimately succumbed to his injuries six days later on Sept. 13, 1996.
Drake left a Kendrick Lamar breadcrumb within his “100 Gigs” project.
In a two-minute video filed under MVI_7806.MP4 in the 2.0 NWTS_1 folder, he, OVO 40 and OVO Hush are listening to a beat produced by 40 and Omen meant for Drake and an unnamed guest feature. As 40 talks about how the beats builds, Drake nods in agreement and says, “For him, where he’s at, I know he’s gonna murder this.” 40 then replied, “When he told me Kendrick, it just made so much sense. Oh, the brilliance! So good.”
The Toronto rapper ended up not using the beat and the collab never happened. However, the beat did find a home, ending up in the hands of Queens rapper Action Bronson for his song “Actin Crazy” from his 2015 album Mr. Wonderful.
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Drake recorded his third solo album, Nothing Was the Same, between 2012 and 2013, and released it on Sept. 24, 2013. This is relevant information because Kendrick’s “Control” verse in which he called multiple rappers out by name, including Drake, dropped in August 2013.
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Drake talked about said verse twice: once in a Billboard cover story (August 2013) and again during 2013 a sitdown with Elliott Wilson. “I didn’t really have anything to say about it. It just sounded like an ambitious thought to me,” he told Billboard at the time. “That’s all it was. I know good and well that [Lamar]‘s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.” Then about a month later in September, he downplayed Lamar’s verse again, telling Wilson, “That [‘Control’] verse was a moment to talk about. Are you listening to it now, though?”
Those quotes led to Dot responding during TDE’s BET Cypher that aired in October 2013, in which he rapped, “Yeah, and nothing been the same since they dropped ‘Control’/ And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes.”
While Kendrick has remained quiet since releasing the “Not Like Us” video, Drake may have hinted at another round with the Compton rapper in the Stories of his finsta Instagram account @plottttwistttttt.
new posts by Drake’s finsta account alluding to Round 2/Game 2 👀 a picture of ‘A Better Tomorrow’ 1987 movieand the iconic 2004 Pistons Rasheed Wallace interview “yall put it on the front page, back page, middle of the page… we will win Game 2″they went on to beat the… pic.twitter.com/36CfjQcIDA— SOUND (@itsavibe) August 26, 2024
Flavor Flav served as a hype man and official sponsor of the U.S. water polo Olympic teams at the 2024 Games. Now, he’s looking to take his involvement to another level when the 2028 Olympics return to the USA in Los Angeles. The Public Enemy rapper joined iHeart’s Politickin podcast hosted by California’s Gov. Gavin […]
Tinashe has no idea why the zeitgeist has kept her in a “niche category” for more than a decade. The singer who broke big this year with the slow-bubble rise of her ear worm single “Nasty” — her first solo Billboard Hot 100 entry, which peaked at No. 61 in June — tells pal Kaytranada in a chat in Interview magazine that she now feels like she’s in a great position to break big during a summer when the women of pop are all over the charts.
“I have fans that love me, I’m able to tour, I’m able to make the art I want to make. So I’m pretty satisfied,” said 31-year-old Tinashe, who began her career as s child actress in the early 2000s before pivoting to music with her 2012 mixtape In Case We Die. “As much as I want all the success and the accolades, I have such a great career, so I’m thankful. But I don’t know why [it’s taken so long]. It could be the universe. It could be the way society’s set up. Being a Black woman in music is difficult. There’s been a lot of discrepancy over how to market me. In my early days, people were confused by my genre hopping and my lack of commitment to an urban direction.”
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With the Hot 100 chart packed with summer smashes from Billie Eilish (“Birds of a Feather”), Sabrina Carpenter (“Espresso,” “Please Please Please”), Chappell Roan (“Good Luck, Babe,” “Hot To Go”) and Charli XCX (“Guess” remix with Eilish), Kat asked a very crucial question: “are pop-girl rivalries a real thing?”
Tinashe said yes, but also no. At least not for her.
“Absolutely. I don’t have any rivalries. I love all the girls. But it’s classic. It’s an extremely competitive place to be in the music industry as a woman, because we’re taught that there aren’t enough seats at the table for everyone, so that creates a lot of competition,” she said. “There’s a lot of sneaky animosity, little things behind the scenes, people not supporting each other the same way that maybe male artists do. I’ve definitely felt that way over the years.”
Asked if seeing the successes and failures of other artists sometimes gets in her head, Tinashe said when she was younger and newer to the game it definitely had more of an effect on her. “Because part of the human condition is that we tend to compare ourselves to other people. And so, when you see the success of people that you consider peers, sometimes it can be hard,” she said. “I’ve definitely gone through eras where I’ve felt like, ‘Damn. Everyone who I consider peers are killing me off right now. Everyone’s doing so much better than me.’ So it’s a practice to not compare myself and focus on my own path.”
Plus, after a decade of grinding in the music business and releasing seven albums — including this year’s Quantum Baby — some of that pressure to look around and compare has gone away thanks to a legacy of work she can be proud of. “I feel like my work speaks for itself,” she said.
The pair also delved into whether Tinashe believes the myth of industry plants is a real thing. The answer again was yes — some people are “gassed the f–k up by the machine,” — but also no to the “full plant narrative” in the talk that also touched on the items on Tinashe’s tour rider and her wish list of A-list collaborators.
“My big bucket list items are, like, André 3000 — that would be a dream. Janet [Jackson], of course. James Blake, SZA, I think we could make something really amazing,” she said. “Rosalía, I think we’d make something really dope together. I like to collab with the girls. There’s not very many collabs with female artists, so I definitely want to do more of those.”
And finally, because of course he had to ask, is there anyone who matches Tinashe’s freak?
“I don’t know who matches my freak. Honestly, when it comes to romance and stuff like that, nobody,” she said to the likely disappointment of potential freakmates. “I’m out here dolo as f–k, doing my own thing. I’m having a fun-ass summer though, so I’m not mad in that regard.”
In a sweet second consideration, though, Tinashe said if pressed she’d have to say that her loyal fans match her freak. “They have been so supportive of this era and have been there for me throughout the highs and lows,” the singer said. “I just really, really appreciate everyone who’s held me down throughout every chapter of my career, because I wouldn’t be here without that support.”
Tinashe announced the dates for her Match My Freak tour earlier this month, a 23-date outing slated to kick off on Oct. 14 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif. before winding down in Sacramento on Nov. 25.
The wait is over: Kehlani dropped her While We Wait 2 mixtape on Wednesday (Aug. 28) via TSNMI and Atlantic Records. They released the “When He’s Not There” single, featuring Lucky Daye, earlier this week — four years after they featured him on “Can You Blame Me” from her 2020 sophomore studio album, It Was […]
Not many high-school reunions boast a Grammy-winning superstar, but Lauryn Hill popped out at her Columbia High School reunion in Maplewood, N.J., earlier in August.
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But according to videos shared by her former classmates, not only did Hill show up, she even picked up the mic and delivered an impromptu performance, during which the New Jersey native ran through classic hits from her discography.
She performed anthems such as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘s “Ex-Factor” as well as the Fugees’ “Ready or Not,” which saw her tweak lyrics with a salute to her old stomping grounds on campus. “CHS taking over/ Buffalo soldier/ Dreadlock Rasta,” she raps.
“God bless y’all. I love you so much,” she concluded.
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Hill’s classmates shared their excitement on social media about seeing the superstar show up and show out for them in such an intimate setting. One of her classmates said she was even left “speechless,” while another thought she was “dreaming.”
“People traveled from out of state to love up on their village. It was simply amazing. Still speechless from @mslaurynhill giving us an impromptu performance,” one person wrote to Instagram. “This reunion was SO good for the soul.”
Another classmate added: “I’m just waking up from last Saturday night….. Was I dreaming orrrrrrr????Did this really happen???? Ms. Hill is undoubtedly a gift from the heavens.”
Lauryn Hill and the Fugees were slated to head out on tour this summer, but quietly canceled the trek just prior to it lifting off earlier in August. Hill blamed a “narrative” that impacted ticket sales, but the tour’s U.K. and European shows are moving forward as planned.
“Last year, I faced an injury that necessitated the rescheduling of some of my shows. Regrettably, some media outlet’s penchant for sensationalism and clickbait headlines have seemingly created a narrative that has affected ticket sales for the North American portion of the tour,” she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “The trust and faith I have in my intentions and my commitment to my art seem to have been overshadowed by this unfortunate portrayal.”
Watch Lauryn Hill’s performance at the high school reunion below.
BigXthaPlug’s 2024 campaign just added another Texas-sized accolade to the mix of what’s been a banner year for the breakout rapper: BigX was named Amazon Music’s next Breakthrough Artist on Wednesday (Aug. 28).
Amazon Music looks to amplify emerging artists with its Breakthrough Artist program, which will allow BigXthaPlug to receive more visibility across Amazon’s playlists, livestream features, as well as marketing and social campaigns.
Working in collaboration with BigX, the United Masters signee will further connect with fans through Amazon’s properties and unique opportunities in the coming months as 2024 comes to a close.
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“BigXthaPlug has been one of the most exciting new voices in hip-hop, with an outsized sound that’s as big as his personality,” Alexis Cueva, artist relations for Amazon Music, tells Billboard. “We’ve already seen our customers respond to his incredible music on Amazon Music, and as our next Breakthrough Artist, we’re excited to help BigX connect with even more fans.”
BigXthaPlug has also been added to Billboard‘s Hip-Hop Live concert slated for Sept. 6. The show will be a celebration of the Hip-Hop/R&B Power Players event, which will take over the Xanadu roller rink in Brooklyn.
The 26-year-old joins an already loaded Hip-Hop Live lineup that boasts sets from DJ Miss Milan, the inspiring Mr. Pot Scraper himself BossMan Dlow, and headliner Teezo Touchdown. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased here for $32.
BigXthaPlug made his Billboard Hot 100 debut in October when his “Mmhmm” hit the chart at No. 93, and eventually reached a peak of No. 63.
He continued his ascension in August with the braggadocios “The Largest,” on which he teases his anticipated sophomore album. “Album done, finna drop me another one,” he raps.
BigX’s co-manager Brandon Farmer raved about the rapper’s ability to connect with his fans while on stage. “Stage presence, you just don’t really see that,” Farmer told Billboard earlier this year. “You can tell when somebody is a star. X is a star.”
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Clams Casino doesn’t believe in the age-old adage of having to finish what you start — at least in a single recording session. Born Michael Volpe (no relation to the New York Yankees shortstop and fellow New Jersey native Anthony Volpe), he rose to prominence serving as the sonic architect behind a majority of A$AP Rocky’s seminal 2011 Live. Love. A$AP mixtape, which ushered in a new era of NYC rap and kicked off the A$AP Mob frontman’s Harlem Renaissance.
But nearly 15 years later, Volpe’s atmospheric beats has continue to leave an impact on the next generation of artists. Being a fan of his work with Rocky, Clams Casino was already on The Kid LAROI’s radar when a mutual collaborator, Billy Walsh, connected the producer to the Australian musician when he was just 17 years old. Though nothing came of the initial studio session link-up, a year-and-a-half later, Clams Casino cooked up another intoxicating beat that he felt matched the vibe LAROI was looking for, and he turned out to be right.
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“I hadn’t spoken to LAROI in a long time and I just had a feeling,” he tells Billboard. “I sent him that one and he immediately responded that he loved it and went right in, recorded it on his own and sent it back in like a day.
“He used the MP3 I sent him as-is,” he continues. What came out was pretty much the original demo, which is cool about.” That result is the euphoric “Nights Like This,” which ended up landing on The Kid LAROI‘s debut album, The First Time, last November. And while it didn’t take off immediately, the track would slow-burn to success with the help of TikTok and break through in July on the Billboard Hot 100, where it has remained for the summer and currently sits at No. 67 in its ninth week on the chart.
The 37-year-old producer and LAROI then continued their magic with “Nights Like This Pt 2,” a heart-racing second installment that on The First Time‘s deluxe edition, released in August.
Below, Clams Casino breaks down all things surrounding “Nights Like This,” what stood out to him about The Kid LAROI and working with A$AP Rocky throughout his career.
How did “Nights Like This” come together? How did you originally get onto The Kid LAROI’s radar?
Clams Casino: It was a few years in the making. LAROI first reached out to me online when he was like 17. He was in the studio working with a mutual collaborator, Billy Walsh — I think he played him some of my stuff, and they were brainstorming and brought me out to [Los Angeles]. LAROI knew a lot of the music that I had done. Later on, he told me he was a big fan of the [A$AP] Rocky stuff. I went out to L.A. and we met up in the studio and we talked and played some stuff, but nothing really came out of that first time we met up. I kept it in the back of my mind.
I think it was a year-and-a-half later, and I was at my own studio in New York making beats. That [beat] came up, and I just thought this was the one to send to him. This is kind of what they were talking about what they wanted [during the initial session] and the sound they were referencing. I just sent that one beat. He was excited about it. I had a feeling this was the one and it worked out. Once it happened, it was quick, but the roots were a long time in the making.
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Do you remember actually cooking up that specific beat before getting it into his hands?
I had the melodic stuff sitting around a little bit. I knew it was a special one. I didn’t really know what to do with it. I had half of the beat kind of put away. I was like, “When the time is right, I’ll come back to it.” I don’t do full things in one sitting. A lot of stuff, I’ll come back to it months or years later. I messed around trying to do a different arrangement, and I think he was just stuck on the original demo. There was something about it; he kept going back to that. He was right about it. I tried some other things out, but he just wanted that original version, which is cool looking back on it.
What stands out about his artistry?
What’s exciting for me when I hear his music is that he has a very unique sense of melody — his delivery and his vocals. There’s something melodically that just feels like he’s delivering in the tones of his voice [with] a genuine feeling and it connects with his music because of that.
“Nights Like This” was teased back in 2022 and released in November. What do you think about its slow burn onto the charts?
It spread around very organically and I think that’s the best way it could happen. There was like zero push from the label at the beginning — they thought, like, “This is a little interlude or something.” I don’t think anyone took it seriously. From the beginning, I knew it was a really special thing and he did too. He was really excited about it. We had the freedom to do exactly what me and him wanted to do. People really connected with that.
Was there a moment you realized the record was taking off, and saw the fan reaction really moving?
I started seeing headlines, and all of a sudden, it was getting jumps in streams. I started seeing things online with people saying it was going crazy on TikTok. It just slowly started building. That’s how it really happened. I’m glad everyone’s hearing it now and they got around to it because that’s how I felt about it when it came out. I was happy and really excited and proud of that. Even just for it to come out in the first place I was happy, but I’m glad it got to that point. I always knew it was special. I’m glad it really connected with everybody else.
How did this lead into “Nights Like This Pt 2”?
The beginning of that idea came from something I made for myself. An instrumental solo project — that was the first thing when I was starting on my own new stuff. When I was listening back, I was going to save it for myself, and I was like, “Something about it feels like this should be the part two.” This was in March or earlier this year. So, a few months after the first was released. I sent LAROI not the full beat or anything, but melody stuff and it was a start.
He loved it, and he immediately started teasing it online. Ten minutes after I sent it to him, he was on Twitter saying, “Part two coming!” I was laughing about that — he was real excited about it. There was a little bit of back-and-forth after that. Him and [co-producer] Dopamine recorded it and did some other production and sent it back to me. We sent it back a few times. Dopamine did a lot of work on it and we went back a few times. We got it finished up.
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When did The First Time track “Strangers (Interlude)” come into play?
I actually didn’t know about that. I had no idea about that until the album came out. They had done that on their own. I felt like it set up [“Nights Like This”] really nicely. I love how it sounds sequenced on the album. It’s a clip from “Nights Like This” — just the intro to it and filtered out a little and a little skit on it.
Is there more to come from you guys?
Yeah, it feels like we’re just starting to figure it out. We’re both really excited. I’m like such a fan of his music and I’m happy that I’m able to bring what I bring to it. It just makes sense and it’s a beautiful thing. I’m always working on more that I want to send to him and we got some other stuff that we’re going to keep going [at] hopefully.
Outside of those collabs, what else are you working on?
I’ve been working on different stuff, like getting into scoring things. I worked on some original music for an independent movie that premiered at Cannes a few months ago. [It’s called] It Doesn’t Matter and the director is Josh Mond. I’ll definitely be doing more of that. In the meantime, I really have been having fun getting in with a lot of young producers and young people I’m inspired by. A lot of them have been inspired by me since they were younger, and now they’re coming up doing their own thing. It’s really crazy. I just been having fun getting in with all these new guys and seeing what happens. Producers [like] Evilgiane, who did the Earl Sweatshirt song recently. [I] been working with other guys like Ok. I did some stuff on the JT album with Aire Atlantica. I’m always experimenting and having fun doing stuff I haven’t done before. That’s what keeps me going.
Did you work on A$AP Rocky’s upcoming album?
We did work [on Don’t Be Dumb]. I don’t know what’s going to be used or not. It always seems up in the air until the last minute. We definitely had some things in the works. I don’t know what’s going to be released or not.
Can you speak to Rocky’s influence and his enduring legacy as a 2010s rap titan?
I’m just happy to be part of his story and the ride of his career. Seeing it from the beginning when we first met to where he’s at it now, it’s an amazing story. Remembering where it started and seeing where he’s at now, it’s awesome. I’m just happy to be able to see some of that and some of the behind-the-scenes things.
What do you think makes him special as an artist?
Overall, he has a clear sense of vision for everything. All aspects of it. The music, visuals and everything else. He’s always developing and sharpening that. I don’t really know what it is, but he’s got it.
Do you have a favorite collaboration over the years?
All of the first mixtape stuff [Live. Love. A$AP] is super important to me. That whole time, we weren’t really working in the studio. I was sending stuff, but then I’d come meet up with him every couple weeks and he’d play me what he did, but he was recording it [on his own]. The first song we officially did together was “Wassup.” Then we did “Bass” and “Palace” and all that stuff. It was happening one at a time over the spring and the summer leading up to the mixtape. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew something good was happening. Those songs are really special. There was an energy there that something was happening. For me, it was exciting and I didn’t know what was going to happen, and we just kept following it.
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For me, I think I gotta go “LVL.”
That was a little bit after the mixtape. That’s another special one doubling down on the sound that we started. That’s when it went from this internet mixtape thing to a major label and we were doubling down on the sound like, “This is what we’re doing.” That’s one of my favorites too.
A version of this story appears in the Aug. 24, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Flau’jae [Johnson], who’s about to start her junior season as an LSU Tiger and currently has the most lucrative NIL deals in women’s college basketball, just dropped a video with both her head coach and Lil Wayne. If you told us 10 years ago that a current college basketball player would be doing songs with Weezy and had her coach all up in her music videos, we’d call you crazy, but that’s the landscape for today’s NCAA athlete.
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Directed by Terrius Mykel, the video starts off with LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey drawing up a play for Flau’jae and her LSU teammates in a huddle. She proceeds to go off and even shouts out her pops, late rapper Camoflauge while holding her 2023 National Championship trophy as Wayne stands next to her. “And I just won a natty, did it for my daddy/ They seein’ my face, man, I’m in the paper/ Man, I’m one of them ones, you see thе trophy/ You don’t gotta respond if you really know me,” she raps.
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The track appeared on her Best of Both Worlds EP that she released earlier this month in June and she greatly appreciated that Wayne, her teammates, and her coach were able to show up for the video. In a press release, she had nice things to say about them all.
Of Wayne, she said:“Working with Lil Wayne on the ‘Came Out A Beast’ video was a dream come true. He’s a legend in the game, and being able to collaborate with him on this track was surreal. The energy on set was incredible, and we both brought that fire to the video. This is just the beginning, and I’m excited for everyone to see what we’ve created.”
Of her LSU women’s basketball teammates, she said:“Having my teammates in the ‘Came Out A Beast’ video was a real moment for me. We’re all grinding together on and off the court, so bringing them into this part of my life felt natural. It’s cool to show that connection in a different way, outside of basketball. I’m really thankful they were a part of this moment with me.”
Of her head coach Kim Mulke, she said:“Having Coach Mulkey in the ‘Came Out A Beast’ video was special. She’s always been in my corner, both on and off the court, pushing me to be my best. Her support means everything to me, so it was amazing to have her be part of this moment. It just shows how much she believes in all of us, not just as players, but as individuals with our own dreams.”
Flau’jae can make the case that she’s the best athlete rapper out right now.