R&B/Hip-Hop
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None of this was promised for Travis Scott — from couch surfing in Los Angeles with rap dreams, to becoming the king of his hip-hop generation, with brand deals from Audemars Piguet to McDonald’s.
While he can look back on his 2014 fondly, there were definitely pockets of creative frustration at the time, when label executives didn’t trust La Flame’s futuristic vision — even after co-signs from the likes of Ye and Jay-Z.
Before the arrival of his debut album, Scott heated up with his second — and likely final — mixtape Days Before Rodeo. With the project celebrating its 10th anniversary earlier this week, and hitting streaming services for the first time, Trav took fans back to 2014 for one night only on Thursday (Aug. 22) inside the tight confines of Atlanta’s The Masquerade.
In collaboration with Cactus Jack and Spotify, the Days Before Rodeo concert served as a victory lap and blast from the past for La Flame, while some Gen-Z Ragers were introduced to the era. At the time, the music world didn’t understand the seismic shift that was about to take place between Scott’s mainstream explosion on the horizon, and Atlanta moving into the spotlight as America’s rap capital.
Fittingly, with Scott signed in part to T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records at the time (the deal has since expired, post-Astroworld), ATL heavily influenced the mixtape — with guest appearances by Migos, Young Thug, Peewee Longway, Rich Homie Quan and Tip (who doesn’t appear on the streaming services version).
The Houston native took The Masquerade stage around 11:30 pm ET following a brief set from Chase B where he was serenaded by the 1,000 lucky fans in attendance who formed plenty of sweaty mosh pits throughout the raucous show while rocking 10th anniversary DBR and Free Thugger merchandise in the intimate setting.
From the reckless “Mamacita” to the lucid “Drugs You Should Try It” and a Quavo appearance, Scott ran through just about the entire mixtape, before introducing tracks from the vault that didn’t make the original’s cut for the first time live.
If only the palpable energy could be bottled up forever — Trav didn’t want the show to stop there, as he continued to play the hits from his relentless discography to keep the rage going. Salute to La Flame for remembering all of his lyrics with ease too. Here are our eight favorite moments from the show.
Travis Gifts Fan Nikes Off His Feet
They say you should never meet your heroes. Well, they never told Jelly Roll that, because in a new behind-the-scenes video posted on Thursday (August 22) the “Save Me” country star details the out-of-body experienced he had in June when he flew to Detroit to meet his hip-hop top dog: Eminem.
The five-and-a-half minute clip opens with Jelly on the phone telling someone that he’s on his way to meet Slim Shady as he speeds down the highway with a police escort. In the clip, Jelly explains that his early morning road trip came after he played two shows at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry the night before, a whiplash of back-to-back career pinnacles that are truly hard to comprehend.
“I am fixin’ to meet Eminem. To some degree one could say we’re going from the Grand Ole Opry to meet Eminem,” he says while riding in the backseat of an SUV and stating the obvious, but also possibly talking himself off a ledge of disbelief at his good fortune. He explains that the trip was sparked by Marshall tapping him to sing in a Bob Seger tribute as part of the NBC Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central special that aired in June featuring Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean, Eminem and others celebrating the re-opening of the city’s restored train station.
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In the prime-time show, Jelly took the stage with event co-producer Eminem for a duet on Em’s 2002 song “Sing For the Moment.”
“Forty-year-old Jason DeFord is losing his mind,” Jelly says using his birth name. “Because I know for sure that 15-year-old Jason DeFord would faint! This is unreal, it’s really cool” he adds, staring out the window and contemplating this surreal moment. He then breaks down the mechanics of rappers expanding their local or regional fame to larger areas while recalling his attempt to break into the game more than a decade ago.
“Guys like Eminem were proud to be from Detroit, Michigan because superstars don’t come out of Detroit, Michigan,” he says, rehearsing an a cappella run of Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” which is interpolated in the Eminem song the duo performed. “We’re in the middle of some insanely historical s–t.”
Walking into the station and taking the stage for rehearsals, the big moment when the two men finally meet comes about half-way through the video. After a friendly greeting, Jelly admits to Marshall that he’s been “a little nervous” all day about their meet-up, wondering if the rap god even knows who he is. “Nah, I’ve been knowing you for a minute,” says a low-key Slim Shady.
Later, Jelly says that moment — standing next to Eminem and taking some promo shots — was on his Mount Rushmore of personal high points, along with meeting Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton. “Where I literally stood next to somebody and was like ‘this is f–king wild!,’” he says before picking out his wardrobe for the performance and having a chill hang with fellow performer Melissa Etheridge backstage.
The video ends with footage of the epic, orchestra-assisted performance and Jelly on his way out of town marveling at what just happened while re-watching the whole thing on his phone as he speeds to his next gig.
Watch Jelly Roll’s Eminem meet cute video below.
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Tommy Richman deposits his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart as “Million Dollar Baby” rises a spot to the top the ranking dated Aug. 31.
The song also marks the first leader at the format for the ISO Supremacy, PULSE Records and Concord labels.
The coronation marks the latest for Richman’s breakthrough hit, which ruled the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart for 10 weeks in May-July, the most for any title since the survey began last September.
The track has also led the Hot R&B Songs chart — for 16 weeks and counting — through the Aug. 24-dated tally; Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (three, May-June); the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart (three, May-June); the Billboard Global 200 (two, June); and Streaming Songs (one week, May).
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In terms of radio, prior to its Pop Airplay takeover, “Million Dollar Baby” led the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts for two weeks each in July. (It’s the third song to lead all three lists in 2024, following Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills” and Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me.”)
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On the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, “Million Dollar Baby” hit No. 2 in May. It has totaled 773 million in radio audience, 559 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 77,000 sold from its release through Aug. 15, according to Luminate.
“This is a big record, but this doesn’t define me,” the Woodbridge, Va., native told Billboard for June’s Chartbreaker spotlight. “I’m using this as, ‘We’re here. We arrived.’ Not as, ‘We made it!’ This is the start of a run.”
All Billboard charts dated Aug. 31 will update Tuesday, Aug. 27, on Billboard.com.
It’s always sweet when an artist invites a superfan on stage during a show to give them a special moment with their favorite singer. But a recent incident in Slovakia during a Macklemore set at last weekend’s Lovestream Festival should give anyone wanting to hop up pause. Or at least make them take a beat […]
Travis Scott re-released his second mixtape Days Before Rodeo for its 10th anniversary on Friday (Aug. 23). Days Before Rodeo was originally released on Aug. 18, 2014, via Grand Hustle Records. The 12-track project includes the singles “Don’t Play” featuring The 1975 and Big Sean, and “Mamacita” featuring Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug. Thug […]
The worlds of sports and music often collide, and the cultures have become synonymous with one another. Four MLS superstars have revealed what’s getting them in the zone before they hit the pitch to dominate.
On Thursday night (Aug. 22) Apple Music launched The Warm-Up playlists curated by FC Cincinnati’s Luciano “Lucho” Acosta, Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar, LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Columbus Crew member Cucho Hernández.
“Music helps me to release tension and lets me focus,” Acosta told Apple Music. He blends the worlds of hip-hop and reggaeton for his pregame jams, with picks like Kendrick Lamar’s atomic Drake diss “Not Like Us,” as well as a mix of Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, Anuel AA and Feid.
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Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” could motivate the laziest of individuals to run through a wall. Mukhtar brings that same intensity to Nashville SC as a rap savant with playlist selections including Drake, Cardi B, Lil Durk, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, Meek Mill and more.
While Bouanga relocated to the West Coast to suit up for LAFC, the star winger still favors his French roots with rappers such as SDM, Maes and Niska. He’s still nuanced in American rap, with Pop Smoke, Drake, DMX, Travis Scott being some of his favorites.
“Music plays an essential role in the preparation of my match. It allows me to put myself in my bubble and not think of anything at all. Once the headphones are removed, motivation and determination is already present. I just have to go to the field and win,” he said to Apple Music of his picks. “They make me do the ‘butterfly effect,’ which means making me move my head and sing!”
With Cucho Hernández thousands of miles away from Colombia, the talented striker gets a taste of home with Colombian Vallenato across his pre-game playlist. He presses “play” on Anuel AA, Bad Bunny, Maluma, J Balvin and more before taking the field.
“Music cheers me up,” the 25-year-old shared with Apple Music. “Helps me focus before training, concentrates us in the locker room, helps me concentrate and boost my vibes.”
Fans can catch Hernández and Bouanga in action on Sunday (Aug. 25) when they match up as part of the Leagues Cup, which can be streamed exclusively on Apple TV.
Listen to the players’ playlists below:
Hany Mukhtar:
Luciano Acosta:
Denis Bouanga:
Cucho Hernández:
Big Sean took to X last night and addressed biting accusations brought forth by some rap fans. The Detroit rapper dropped the video for his month-old single “Yes” a couple of days ago and some immediately accused him of using Baby Keem‘s flow, leading to both rappers trending on X. “We really live in a […]
A$AP Rocky‘s forthcoming fourth album Don’t Be Dumb was slated to arrive on Aug. 30, but in his new Billboard cover story that came out Thursday (Aug. 22), he revealed that he’s pushing the project to the fall. “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE […]
A$AP Rocky is finally ready to drop his long-awaited fourth album, Don’t Be Dumb, and on Wednesday (Aug. 21), he released the video for his latest single, “Highjack.” Directed by his creative agency AWGE and Thibaut Grevet, the video feels like a mix of Tim Burton’s Vincent and David Lynch’s Eraserhead as Rocky — dressed […]
A$AP Rocky’s ties with cinema run deep. The film aficionado made it a point to connect with acclaimed director Tim Burton ahead of Don’t Be Dumb‘s arrival. As part of his new cover story with Billboard, Rocky revealed he intended to have the Oscar-nominated director design the cover art to his TESTING follow-up, but their […]