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Jack Harlow had an early Christmas gift for his hometown fans over the weekend when he teamed up with the Louisville Orchestra for a pair of “No Place Like Home 2024” shows at the city’s Whitney Hall. The fourth annual event — where attendees are asked to “dress to impress” — took place on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 29-30) and once again featured the Orchestra and conductor Teddy Abrams backing Harlow during a set of his classically-augmented classics.
Harlow added a bit of extra spice into the mix this year, though, when he busted out a velvety cover of Elvis Presley’s 1961 Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 weeper “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Fan video of the special moment found Harlow, dressed in a dark double-breasted suit with a light blue shirt and black tie, expertly crooning the song over the sweep of strings to whoops of delight from the audience.
Comments on the sold-out shows suggested that fans are ready for the rapper/actor’s pivot to crooner, including one poster who wrote, “he needs to release this,” as well as others who said, “countdown to the ‘i’m not just a rapper, i’m an artist’ interview,” “og fans know he can sing” and “Was so sweet for Jack to dedicate this song to his grandma in the balcony. The whole show was amazing, he should release orchestral versions of all of all his albums.”
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According to WLKY, that wasn’t the only singing detour Harlow took, as he also very capably covered Frank Sinatra’s beloved standard, “Fly Me to the Moon” on night two, which he dedicated to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday — and to his granny on Saturday, alongside hits from his catalog. The Courier-Journal noted that a couple got engaged during “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Harlow dropped his first new single since 2023’s “Lovin on Me” last month, the samba-esque “Hello Miss Johnson,” which he performed live for the first time at the shows. The song’s release was accompanied by a video that plays out on CCTV, where Harlow flirts with Miss Johnson’s daughter. The track is the second single from the rapper’s as-yet-untitled, unscheduled fourth album, Jackman, which was released in April 2023.
During a show at New York’s Brooklyn Paramount in September Harlow teased his next musical era, telling the audience, “I do got some very special s–t on the way… Next time I see you, we gonna have something to talk about.”
After contemplating for four years, Smino is ready for the world to hear his debaucherous side. The St. Louis, MO native stopped by Billboard‘s NYC office for an episode of Billboard Gaming, just before the release of his Maybe in Nirvana album arrival on Friday (Dec. 6).
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Maybe in Nirvana is a reflective and experimental album that explores themes of love, loss and self-discovery, while maintaining Smino’s signature innovative style. The project is anticipated to expand his artistic limits, fusing profound lyricism with immersive soundscapes that showcase his evolution as a musician.
We faced off with the rapper in several rounds of Mario Kart while discussing the inspiration behind his album, being an independent artist, and more. “Passenger Princess” has been getting a lot of love. Can you tell us about the creative process for that track and how it was working with Aminé on it?
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It’s cool because one of my favorite ways to end up working with people is just by being their homie. Aminé is a cool dude, so he just texted me and was like, “Hey, Smee bro, I got this song I want you to get on.” I ain’t even respond to him — I just sent it back the same day. That’s how it happened. And he was like, “Oh my God, we got to do a video.”
So it was that simple? Let the track speak for itself and just sent it on over?
Yeah. It was hard. I try to send s–t back as soon as possible. I love doing that s–t. Show people how you focus.
The lyrics of “Passenger Princess” feel personal and laid-back. Was there a specific experience or inspiration behind the song?
I mean, it’s no secret that, you know, I’m a lover boy, so. You feel me? Yeah. I’m just really talking about shorty, you know. Shorty I dealt with, what I learned. For real.
Your upcoming album, Maybe in Nirvana, is set to drop on December 6. How did you decide on this title, and what does it represent for you at this point in your career?
I actually just said “maybe in nirvana” in one of the songs — but honestly, it was an album I was being indecisive about putting out. And I was just like, s–t, well, maybe, you know, when I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my mind, you know, I’d be able to put this album out.
You feel me? ‘Cause I had made this album before I made Luv 4 Rent, the last album I put out.
Oh, so it’s like a bunch of old tracks?
Yeah. Yeah. It’s from 2020. And it’s mixed by Ali. And the pandemic happened, and I just started feeling like, d–n, I need to be like — I don’t know.
I wanted to just talk about peaceful things. I wanted to talk about things that were kind of a little more, I don’t know, thought-provoking. And on this album, it’s a lot more debaucherous. I’m talking about a lot more like — it’s just my young ass mind at work, just saying s–t, not really understanding my emotions and s–t like that. So, I felt like at the time it was just bad timing for it. But then when I went back and listened to it, I’m like, “This s–t is amazing.” Like, it still works.
Since these tracks were mostly from 2020, do you feel like you’ve grown since then, or do you still feel like the same person?
Nah, I definitely grew way much more since then. I was just telling the homie the other day, I feel like — I used to be a lot more ignorant just about s–t, just ’cause I could be. I was kinda like privileged as an artist who had some success, you know, to not have to worry about a lot of stuff in my own personal life. Like, my business ran itself when, truly, there were people running my business, and everything around me just kind of worked out for me.
After the pandemic, s–t — I don’t know if you did or anybody else did, but it forced you to do a lot of reflecting. And like, I was just like, “D–n, I’m low-key out here wilding. And I don’t know a lot of s–t. I don’t know what’s going on here.” I wasn’t hip financially with what I had going on. I knew I had money, but you know, all type of s–t I wasn’t paying attention to.
With Maybe in Nirvana, I was in a place where I’m just full-on rock star — like, fresh off tour, you feel me? Like, f–k it, bro, you know, I ain’t have to worry about s–t. But I think now I just naturally pay way more attention ’cause I’m a little older… You know, the pandemic made everybody age 10 years and s–t.
What can fans expect from Maybe in Nirvana? Are there any particular themes or messages you’re excited to share?
I was just being very honest and very blatant about my emotions. It was like single-era Smee, you know? So, I was having my little roster, talking about, you know, just being — basically, I was just wilding. The music still sounds grown though… a kid in a grown man body, that’s what it sounds like.
So, you mentioned having a roster. Do you still have a roster now, or have you calmed down since then?
Nah, nah, man. I’m chill as hell. I have zero roster. No way. No roster. I don’t need it. There’s only one on the roster.
Okay, so are you dating someone right now?
Oh, yeah. It ain’t no secret. Everybody know that.
What would you say is your favorite song from this new project?
It depends on the day. I’ll probably say the intro. It’s called “Dear Fren.” It’s like the most personal one. I wrote a letter to my grandma and to my little cousin, who both aren’t here anymore. They passed away. So, I’d probably say that song is my favorite personally, but I think everybody’s favorite song is “Taquan.” Because it’s Tequila and Wine, and that’s “Taquan.” Yeah, it sounds like a night in Kingston.
Kingston Jamaica? Why Jamaica?
I don’t know, bro. It’s like, it’s like reggae vibes on the beat and s–t like that. And I’m talking about getting lit. The whole song, I’m talking about getting lit, and I’m also just talking about like, somebody about to leave out of my life. So, I’m just outside, trying to, mask them emotions and s–t.
How’s your relationship with J. Cole?That’s my boy. Good people. Changed my life for sure. Definitely raised my price. Shout out to Jermaine. That’s a good dude.
I was watching one of your interviews earlier, where you mentioned giving Cole a track and then taking it back. Does that happen often?
Never happens. That actually never happens. I ain’t gonna stunt. I was almost scared to ask for it back, because I’m like, “I might blow this.” Blow the whole feature. But it was real cool, and [he] did the video, you know. Invited me to the crib, to his house, his actual home to finish it. He’s a solid dude. He had told me a long time ago that he originally wanted to sign me. And that’s some crazy s–t.
But you know, I’m glad I went my route that I went, you know. I got my own s–t, Zero Fatigue records.
How was it going independent and starting your own label?
It’s a lot more to do, it’s a lot more challenging, but it’s also, it feels good to know that I own my s–t.
It feels good to know I always own my masters. I never gave no masters up, it’s always licensing, but it feels good to own s–t. You just gotta pay a lot more attention to, like, spending money and all that, but it’s cool. It’s my first release independent like this though — this one that’s coming out.
So hopefully you guys support it.
What inspired you to own your own masters?
Ray Charles, no cap. Ray Charles ran up one of the best deals in American history.
So, you knew from the jump that you always wanted to own your own music?
It’s hella funny — this is a random story, my boy Chris Classic can attest. We was on the airplane, my first time ever coming to L.A. This guy, he randomly said –I must’ve looked like an artist to him. But I swear this dude just looked at me on the plane, and he was like, “Bro, never sign your publishing away.” I’m like, “What? What made you say that?” He was like, “Just never sign it.”
I swear it was like a sign or something, because I was literally going out there to talk to, what was it, Post Recordings or something like that? And it’s a publishing company. I’m like, “What the hell?” So, I don’t know, from that day I was just like, “I want to own all my stuff.” Like, I always have been scared.
I heard horror stories. I got family that was in the music industry and s–t like that, that went through a whole lot of s–t, never got paid. I don’t want to be that guy, bro. I’m trying to be around.
You said earlier this is your first album released independently. What challenges have you faced so far?
None. I record myself. I think the only challenge is having to budget — like, that’s some growing-up s–t. So I’ve been having to make sure I pay attention to budgeting myself.
Usually, the label would distribute the funds and all that s–t, give you what you need. But, yeah, I’ve been having to just pay a lot more attention to just little things like that.
Do you feel any pressure when it comes to budgeting?
Nah, man, my manager definitely does a good job of making sure I still feel like I’m just an artist. But being a businessman? It’s fire. I think it’s some fly s–t. It’s something I think I can do. I like challenging myself. Y I’ve been, like, a fire-ass, underground legend for years… at this point, it’s [just] stepping up my business and my business mind and all of that stuff. Like, that’s naturally the progression. I want to be like Hov and s–t like that.
You mentioned being underground — do you think you’re underrated at all?
Hell nah. Man, when people say that, I be like, “D–n, that’s crazy,” because I be getting so much love. You know what I’m saying? But I understand the sentiment and where they’re coming from, you know? The way I feel love, even just being out and about, when I move around, get free drinks where I go and s–t like that. But I get a lot of love, bro.
A lot of love for SminoEarth. I never feel like that.
What’s your goal five years from now? What do you see your experiences being? Where do you see your company going?
Five years? I want to have a new artist out on my own, you know, somebody that I helped break.
I’m working on an art school in St. Louis, starting an actual art school. I want to have some kids. I want my own weed brand. My clothing line, Bjorn, I’m working on that too.
And I still want to be able to perform this music, bruh. Like, I want to do a residency somewhere. A long-ass residency. I want to have, 40 nights in Vegas or some s–t like that. For real. 40 days and 40 nights. That’s what I’m going to call it. I mean, I’m going to perform on Noah’s Ark. On the gang, that’s hard.
A lot of people say that your lyrics are creative and playful. Do you agree?
Yeah, they have been. I’m pretty witty. I hear a word and hear a sentence; like, words sound like a sentence to me. That’s why my wordplay is what it is. The syllables of a word will make a phrase for me. But, I mean, as of late, like all my newer stuff, I don’t know.
I think it’s me growing up, but, like, I’ve been speaking a lot more linear. Like, it’s been a lot more trying to throw out versus, like, wordplay. I don’t know.
You were just on tour with J.I.D. How was that experience?
That was a good tour, bro. That s–t was crazy. Really crazy, actually. We did like a hundred thousand tickets, every night sold out. Yeah, a whole lot of debauchery and moshing going on.
What’s your touring experience like? When you’re finished with a show, what do you do afterward? Do you go out and party, or do you relax after rapping and singing all day?
Yeah, I go chill, bro. There’s no party better than my show — unless it’s an after party, unless somebody wants to give me a hundred bands for what I walk through, some s–t like that.
But I’m not the one that be like in the streets like that. I really be ducking back. Plus, my voice be hurting.
Looking at you now, you have like a fresh, unique style. How does your fashion inspire your music or vice versa?
The main s–t that inspires me is stuff I’ve never seen before. Or even if I have seen it, just not used in that way, you know? So, like, musically, I always try to — let’s say I got a melody going on — I’m like, “I’m gonna stack that s–t the same way I like to layer my clothes.” You feel me?
I like everything to have layers to it, not just be bland and basic and s–t like that. I think it’s all just personality s–t.
Do you feel like your clothes are a version of you? Like they express who you are without using any words?
Yeah, though, for sure. Like, getting fresh — like, the first time I’m creative in the daytime — that’s the first thing that inspires me, is my outfit. And after that, everything else comes.
A few months ago, I was talking to Dennis Smith Jr., and he said the connection between music and sports is that all the rappers wanna play ball and all the ball players wanna rap. Do you agree?
Hell yeah. Them n—as be tryna rap all the time.
Growing up, did you ever want to play ball?
Football? Yeah, I love football. I love football. I’m a Chiefs fan —go Chiefs! 8-0. The f—k are we talking about?
If you could create an Olympic team for football, but only use music artists, who would you have on your roster?
We’re going to be coached by Missy Elliott. My quarterback will probably be Kendrick Lamar.
Nah, he the running back, K Dot, because he’s short. And then my quarterback will probably be Monte Booker, the producer.
Two wide receivers: Young Thug and me are the wide receivers. We doing wide out. Me and Thug, you know what I’m saying? We wild. And then I have all gospel artists on the line because we need God to protect us.
That’s probably my team, my offensive team. I don’t know what positions I forgot.
Today would have been Juice WRLD’s 26th birthday and there’s no telling the heights he’d have taken his career to by now as one of his generation’s leaders and rap’s sui generis stars.
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There’s no perfect way to end Juice WRLD’s story but Grade A Productions CEO Brandon “Lil Bibby” Dickinson and Juice’s manager Peter Jideonwo approached the daunting task of putting a bow on the probable final studio album in the late rapper’s discography.
The long-awaited The Party Never Ends arrived on Black Friday (Nov. 29) — just days ahead of the fifth anniversary of Juice WRLD’s tragic passing (Dec. 8, 2019).
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“His legacy was decided from the first day to the last day,” Jideonwo tells Billboard. “Taking the negative and turning it into a positive. That’s the correlation to his music and the fan base he has, because he’s really been what 999 [his code for his overall lifestyle and message] stands for — which is helping people through depression and [helping] them see you’re not alone.”
Bibby and Jideonwo detailed the enduring process of digging through thousands of songs in different studio vaults and dealing with leakers, deciphering AI-generated tracks, navigating clearance issues, a rabid fan base demanding perfection and more leaks on the journey to The Party Never Ends.
“I wanted to close out the best way possible, and give the fans as much as they’re asking for,” Bibby adds. “A lot of the music been sad and I wanted to give them some type of uptempo, happy vibes to end it with.”
The duo wanted to honor Juice WRLD’s vision in various ways, like recruiting his favorite band (and fellow Illinois natives) Fall Out Boy for a rock-tinged “Best Friend” collaboration.
In the months before his death, Juice spent six figures on a private jet to meet Takashi Murakami, and they invited the Japanese contemporary artist to design the cover art for TPNE, which also drew backlash from fans.
While this is being billed as the final album, the Grade A executives aren’t ruling out more music in the future, and even a project that could possibly be tied to a Juice WRLD movie.
Check out the rest of the interview with Bibby and Jideonwo as they detail The Party Never Ends, the future of Juice WRLD music, favorite studio stories and more.
Billboard: How important was it to nail this as the final album for Juice? How did you go about piecing the album together and executing that vision?
Lil Bibby: Trying to find the right music is tough, because the fans leak them songs every f–king day. So it’s just going to the vault and finding some smashes the fans haven’t heard. It’s been kind of difficult. Every time I find a list of songs and they get to leaking those. The ones I find I gotta keep secure.
What does that entail? Is there a folder of Juice’s songs that you and a select number of people have access to?
Bibby: Nah, it’s the craziest s–t because he recorded in a lot of different places. He recorded a lot of his music with this one engineer Max Lord. I had to go pull up on Max and go through his vault, which — 90-something percent of it is leaked. I had to pick the best songs that weren’t leaked and go to other people. Everybody hitting me, “Oh, I got some songs that aren’t leaked.” I gotta pick through everybody’s s–t. A lot of the time they be leaked.
Has anyone hit you with AI tracks?
Peter Jideonwo: We’ve had a lot of AI. They will hear a snippet of a record and they’ll go finish it with AI and send it back like, “We got an unreleased song y’all need to put out.” The stuff is so good at this point you don’t even know, because Juice recorded so many places and studios. He was a studio whore everywhere he went. Last week, we had a studio say, “Somebody broke in trying to steal our hard drives for Juice WRLD’s music.”
The one particular AI memory is Adin Ross. This dude was sending us all the biggest songs and some we were looking for that snippets were out — and when we got them we were like, “Finally, we got the songs.” Then we listened to them and looked at each other and Bibby was like, “This is AI.” A lot of times, it’s the fans in leak culture paying $30,000 or $40,000 for a leak. These kids are paying money and they don’t even know if they’re getting a real song.
Do you guys have to litigate that and crack down on it? I’m assuming in the future you don’t want any part of Juice’s vocals being used.
Jideonwo: It’s hard because the internet is the wild, wild west. I can go to a public library and log into one of these AI sites and drag a 40-minute Juice WRLD interview and put another song on top of that and say, “Hey, make a song with this voice.” Then I could put it on Twitter and tag 10 Juice WRLD pages and say, “New Juice WRLD leak!” They’re gonna run it up. You don’t know where it comes from. It’s so many different parties doing it that you’ll be on the rat chase, and it’s a waste of money trying to find where it’s coming from.
How did you want to stay true to Juice’s vision — and did he ever say anything about a last album?
Jideonwo: I don’t think he ever came and said, “This is what I want my last project to be.” Juice was 21, so we never had those discussions. The quantity of music Juice made, he might be disappointed that this is his last project, to be honest.
Bibby: Just trying to remember some of the songs that he was most excited about — “Pills in the Regal.” A lot of the ones he made Instagram Lives too were ones he was most excited about. Giving them enough songs that were unleaked also.
Is it tough to finish certain records?
Bibby: It’s super tough, because Juice’s fans — once they hear a song, they want it to be the exact way they heard it. Even if you go in and mix or master it. A lot of times they hear a raw untouched song and they don’t realize it was gonna get mixed and mastered anyway.
Jideonwo: I think another way we did what Juice would’ve wanted, for example: the Murakami cover. Prior to Juice passing, a month or two before, in between his tour in Australia he booked a private jet for $200,000 and went and met Murakami. His goal was always to work with Murakami in any capacity. After he passed, we made it a priority to make sure Murakami had something to do with the final album, because it was that important to [Juice] when he was alive. He expressed his vision to him. Murakami’s just not out here doing album covers. We tried to do things like that he would’ve loved, to keep his legacy alive and aligned with what he’d want to do.
Hitting on the cover art, I saw a lot of backlash to it on social media. Was there anything you guys saw and thought to change it at all?
Bibby: Yeah, I saw a lot of the backlash, but Murakami did what he does. Can’t nobody tell him what to do with his art. A lot of fans said they didn’t like the cover. I think it’s okay. It gives me that feeling when Elon Musk released his Cybertruck and the same week Kanye did his dad shoes. People hated them at first then they grew to really like it. I hated how those shoes looked, but I ended up buying two pairs.
Jideonwo: With this album, there’s been so many leaks, and I think the universe formed a committee of leakers that were targeting the project from the cover to the songs to the Fortnite. When the original cover leaked, it was very low-definition. The first leak came from a phone screen. The fans were like, “I don’t like this. It’s not that good.” That started a trend. The environment we live in, nobody thinks for themselves anymore.
I think there’s a difference from the fans not liking it to somebody big saying, “Oh, this is fire.” If an HD one came out first and one of the big guys said, “This is the [most fire] s–t I ever seen.” They would’ve jumped on the bandwagon. I think all promo is good promo. A piece of art by Murakami lasts forever and I think in the long run it’s going to be very appreciated and be part of both fo their stories which makes it legendary.
How’d you secure the Em feature?
Jideonwo: Em has always been a longtime collaborator for Juice. They did “Godzilla” together. He’s always publicly acknowledged Juice. I think Em really cared about Juice. Bibby reached out and he said, “Whatever little bro wants, I’m gonna do it.”
I look at Em as someone who’s so hard to get into contact with and he’s just not gonna hop on any record.
Bibby: I wanted him on a few different records, but he was adamant on doing that one. He didn’t want to glorify the drugs and stuff. It’s tough [to get into contact with him] but we know some mutual people so it’s easier for me I guess.
Goodbye and Good Riddance had its biggest streaming day last week in nearly five years. What about that project has connected so well all these years later?
Peter Jideonwo: We put that in the category of classic. A perfectly put together album. That’s gonna span for generations. That’s like Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Juice is really Michael Jackson. That’s the Thriller of this generation. It’s gonna keep getting played and every five or 10 years it’s gonna have these moments where it’s spiking.
With this being the last album, is there any chance there could be guest verses or singles used in the future? Maybe something pops up on a soundtrack or is the pop kind of completely closed after this project?
Bibby: I think I want to get into making a movie. [An album] could probably be a soundtrack to the movie.
You mean like a Juice WRLD biopic movie, and his music would kind of soundtrack that?
Bibby: Yeah, I think we could probably put out a greatest hits album or something. As far as a studio album, I don’t know if I could keep [going]. I feel like it’s cheating. I don’t know if that’s the right word for it.
Jideonwo: If the right opportunity presents itself, you might see Juice here and there. It’s so crazy — I think what Bibby was trying to say was, what Juice is able to do five years later is almost unheard of. It should be almost impossible, that five years later with no promotion from the artist himself… That’s why Bibby says it’s cheating. Like, why not put out another project when the fans want it? This is too easy at this point.
Bibby: I wouldn’t say easy — it’s not fair. If I see crazy-enough engagement and they really, really want another one then maybe. I just don’t feel like it’s right to keep doing it.
It’s such a delicate situation — how do you make sure posthumous releases are done tastefully rather than feeling exploitative?
Bibby: I try to look at everything the fans are talking about. Juice’s mom always says, “What’s the meaning behind it?” Before I put out anything, I gotta think, “What is the meaning?” That’s what she would always say. So before we release something, it’s gotta mean something to me. Then I gotta come up with an idea and I gotta feel good about it.
Jideonwo: People are gonna say what they want regardless. They’re free to comment. I think we’ve done a good job. As far as tastefully, we haven’t overdone it where it’s OD. We’ve never sold a Juice WRLD verse to anybody. We’ve always tried to keep the integrity of the music. We’ve gone as far as keeping it tasteful where we haven’t put a random artist on a song just because. We try to keep everything in the ecosystem of people Juice looked up to or who he worked with in the past.
That’s how we keep the integrity of it. We haven’t chased numbers or the extras other people might do to make it something it’s not. I think Juice’s catalog has been treated pretty well. Even going back to what his mom does with the foundation and the charity and helping people with a mental health awareness program. We’ve tried to do the best job we can to keep his name in a good light.
Do you remember a time you were most impressed with Juice in the studio?
Bibby: The first day I saw him record it was crazy. It was me, my brother, G Herbo, Southside, Max Lord and his A&R Dash [Sherrod]. I saw him rap through the entire beat. I’m just listening, and when people freestyle they just say anything. But everything Juice was saying made perfect sense. He came out the booth and Herbo was like, “You gotta do this.”
He looked at me and I go, “I can’t tell you s–t! It sound like you been doing this longer than me. How long you been rapping?” I just knew that was some alien s–t. I was the only one freaking out when I heard that s–t. As soon as I heard him do it, I just never saw nobody do that. I spent a lot of time behind the microphone and I never saw nobody do no s–t like that. That s–t was insane.
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Following Kendrick Lamar’s name-dropping of Lil Wayne on GNX opener “Wacced Out Murals,” Weezy allegedly attempted to check in with Lamar and take his temperature on what he meant exactly, according to Joe Budden.
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On the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, Budden claimed on Wednesday (Nov. 27) that Wayne called Kendrick, and the Compton native didn’t respond.
“I’m hearing that somebody picked up the phone and tried to call and see what the energy was,” Budden stated. “I’m hearing that Kendrick didn’t answer. If I’m calling you rapper to rapper and you don’t answer.”
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Joe went on to say that he heard Wayne went in the booth after Kendrick allegedly deaded his olive branch, and presumably recorded something to send in the Compton rapper’s direction.
“Now I’m going in the booth,” he continued. “You have until I get in that booth to hit me back. I’m hearing that Wayne went in the booth.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick raps on the album’s opening track: “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/ Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.”
Word travels fast and Weezy got wind of Kendrick’s bars not long after GNX‘s arrival. “Man wtf I do?!” he tweeted on Saturday (Nov. 23). “I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love.”
Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) November 23, 2024
Wayne admitted he was hurt by the NFL’s decision to have Kendrick headline the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show next year with the big game in his hometown of New Orleans, which has seemingly caused static between the two.
“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” he said at the time. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”
Watch Joe Budden’s explanation below.
Joe Budden says Lil Wayne tried to call Kendrick Lamar about Wacced Out Murals and Kendrick didn’t pick up the phone which inspired Lil Wayne to go in the booth and make a response record to him 🧐🧐🧐🧐 pic.twitter.com/fhy14otgN9— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) November 27, 2024
How did Fugees member Pras Michél go from being a former member of one of the most beloved hip-hop trios of the 1990s to facing two decades in prison? Slowly, then, it seems, all at once. In a new interview with Variety magazine — his first since a jury convicted him on 10 counts last April in an illegal lobbying case — the 52-year-old MC described his entanglement in one of the world’s largest-ever financial scandals.
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“I don’t know if subconsciously it was a bit exciting for me too. I like spy movies, but I never wanted to be a spy,” said Michél about his role in an influence peddling scandal that wound up with him convicted on charges of violating campaign finance laws during President Obama’s 2012 re-election bid, as well as illegally lobbying the Trump administration in 2017; Michél is facing up to 22 years in federal prison at his January sentencing hearing.
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“I don’t think that’s sexy. But a part of it felt like that,” he said.
The article opens with a spy novel-worthy scene — based on firsthand accounts and court documents — in which the rapper is ordered to go to the front desk of the Four Seasons hotel in Manhattan and used the phrase “banana peel.” That secret message prompted a concierge to hand him an envelope with orders to circle the block twice and await further instructions.
According to the scenario laid out in court, Michél then returned and was ushered into an elevator reserved just for visiting dignitaries facing possible assassination risks on his way to a penthouse suite, where a high-ranking Chinese official booted up an email from then Attorney General Jeff Sessions about three American hostages being held in Chinese prisons. After discussing one prisoner, who was pregnant, the man made a call and moments later showed Michél the itinerary for the woman who was to be flown back to the U.S.
A week after that meeting, federal agents swooped in on Michél, claiming that he was involved in a massive financial scandal that resulted in the siphoning of $4.5 billion from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fun referred to as 1MDB, with the U.S. government tagging the rapper as a Chinese spy.
Recalling the oddity of the hotel meeting, Michél said he noticed a red flag that night in the form of the secret elevator, which, even as a celebrity used to some necessary cloak-and-dagger maneuvers, he was not familiar with.
“I’m going to tell you what was weird to me: the fact that the Four Seasons has a private elevator. I never knew that,” said Michél, who was first charged in the case in 2019. He was accused of funneling money from fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low through straw donors to Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, a well as trying to help scuttle a Justice Department investigation into an extradition case on behalf of China during Trump’s first term. “They have a private elevator for just certain people. But my life leading up to that point felt surreal, so part of that night felt natural,” he said.
Michél was convicted in April on counts including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government in the long-running investigation and trial that featured testimony for the prosecution by stars including Leonardo DiCaprio and name-drops of Kim Kardashian and Martin Scorsese during testimony. In January, Michél’s former attorney, David Kenner, plead guilty to criminal contempt charges over allegations that he leaked grand jury materials to reporters ahead of the trial.
Low, a free-spending financier who backed the 2013 Scorsese-DiCaprio movie The Wolf of Wall Street, became the toast of Hollywood for a time, with many celebrities partying on his private jet and accepting lavish gifts from the still-missing businessman whom Michél met at a 2006 party after a promoter introduced them. Prosectors said that Low later offered Obama fundraiser Michél $20 million for a photo with the President, money Michél accepted and kept most of, assuming, he said, that was how the rich go about meeting famous people.
Facing decades in federal prison, Yale-educated Michél told the magazine, “technically, I’m a foreign agent.” He said he was never friends with Low, but he connected the businessman to other VIPs and, to date, the rapper is the only in Low’s orbit who has faced serious consequences in the fall-out from the scandal. “The government needed a prize. They needed a head, and he was the low-hanging fruit,” said one of Michél’s attorneys, Robert Meloni.
For his part, Michél — who reportedly had nearly $80 million seized by the U.S. government as part of their sanctions, with prosecutors claiming he pulled in more than $100 million from his dealings with Low — told Variety that he’s going to fight and appeal his sentence, but realizes he might end up behind bars either way. “There’s a possibility that I’m going in while I’m fighting,” he said. “It’s just the reality.” He added that as he awaits his fate, “every aspect of my life has been disrupted. I can’t bank anywhere, been kicked out of 13 banks… Without getting too philosophical about it, it was about me being at the right place at the wrong time. Or the wrong place at the right time.”
Given the cinematic scope of the story, Variety reported that there are at least three books on the subject in the works, with Idris Elba in talks with Michél’s reps about acquiring his life rights and an upcoming documentary about the rapper’s part in the scandal. Director Ben Patterson showed some footage from the in-process doc during a secret screening at the Toronto Film Festival in September, reportedly to stunned silence from the audience. Some of the footage was reportedly shot by Michél, who kept his camera rolling during a meeting with Chinese Communist Party official Lijun Sun — who was sentenced to death in 2022 for taking bribes — during that fateful hotel room meeting.
In the end, Michél said he’s been abandoned by publicists, friends and, without naming names, seemingly his former Fugees bandmates LaurynHill and Wyclef Jean. “I’m done with that. They’re going to Europe [to tour]. I can’t go,” he said of the bail conditions that prevent him from leaving the U.S.
“It’s what it is. You can’t give people that kind of energy. So you could be frustrated, you could be disappointed, but I really believe in my path and in my journey, and I believe what’s mine, no one’s going to be able to take it away from me,” he said. “So it’s better that you have a small group of people who really believe in you and believe in what you’re doing than to have 100 people around you, and the minute something happens — boom. People just disappear.”
In the meantime, Michél filed a strongly worded lawsuit against Hill in October, claiming she defrauded him over proceeds from the group’s foreshortened 2023 reunion tour and that her “gross mismanagement” led to the abrupt cancellation of their planned follow-up 2024 tour; Hill responded, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.”
After a seven-week reign for Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, there’s a new No. 1, as GloRilla and Sexyy Red’s “Whatchu Kno About Me” vaults to the top of the Nov. 30-dated list.
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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Nov. 18-24. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Whatchu Kno About Me” leads a slew of songs new to the top 10 of the TikTok Billboard Top 50, some of which are chart debuts. The GloRilla and Sexyy Red collaboration has a lengthier history on the tally, ruling in its sixth week after debuting at No. 39 on the Oct. 26 ranking. It had never even been in the top 20 before the latest chart, with its best having been No. 24 on the survey dated Nov. 23.
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So, why now? Though “Whatchu Kno About Me” initially benefited from uploads by high-profile stars such as Taylor Swift, the song’s rapid ascent is thanks to a trend highlighting GloRilla’s “B—h, I’m from Memphis, what you know about me/ Big G-L-O in that GLE” lyric, usually set to lip synchs.
GloRilla earns her first No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, which began in September 2023; among eight appearances, her previous best had been a No. 17 peak with “Hollon” earlier this month. Sexyy Red, meanwhile, has her second ruler, as “SkeeYee” was the ranking’s inaugural No. 1 (though she had found success since, paced by the No. 2 peak of “U My Everything,” with Drake, in June.
Concurrently, “Whatchu Kno About Me” jumps 27% in official U.S. streams to 15.3 million in the week ending Nov. 21, according to Luminate. It leaps 26-17 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, its first time in the chart’s top 20.
Stepz’s “Rock” makes an even more sizable jump on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, vaulting 43-2 after previously enjoying a best of No. 29 on the Nov. 9 list. “Rock,” which represents Danish rapper Stepz’s first appearance on a U.S.-based Billboard chart, has had a dance challenge attached to it since October (the month it was released).
Though it’s yet to make a chart outside of the TikTok Billboard Top 50, “Rock” has been a steady climber as of late; in the week ending Nov. 21, it earned 1.1 million official U.S. streams, up 4%.
A pair of debuts round out the top four: Gia Margaret’s “Hinoki Wood” enters at No. 3 as her first TikTok Billboard Top 50 appearance, while Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” bows at No. 4.
“Hinoki Wood,” released by singer/pianist Margaret in 2023, is the soundtrack to the “chill guy” trend, with a filter that asks if the creator is a chill guy and asks them to choose between a series of prompts (relationship vs. no relationship, walk vs. run, etc.) before providing its determination. Other times, the “chill guy dog” in question is superimposed into creators’ photos to show how laid back they are.
Meanwhile, “Anaconda,” from Minaj’s 2014 album The Pinkprint, rises concurrent with a 10th-anniversary reissue of the full-length that was released Nov. 22. But its TikTok surge is via the #womeninmalefields trend in which women ask what would happen if they did the same thing a man often does to them in a relationship.
“Hinoki Wood” sports an 82% jump in streams to 310,000 in the week ending Nov. 21, while “Anaconda” is up 16% to 818,000.
Two other songs hit the top 10 for the first time. First there’s The Marias, whose “No One Noticed” soars to No. 6 in its ninth week on the ranking, following a previous peak of No. 28. It benefits from a newly released extended version, with the Spanish-language edition scoring the lion’s share of the engagement.
“No One Noticed,” which is up 111% to 15.5 million official U.S. streams toward the Billboard charts thanks in part to the extended version’s release (including a 68-22 leap on the Hot 100), is mostly used in uploads discussing relationships past and present, more often than not the former.
Then comes NLE Choppa’s “Gang Baby,” which debuts at No. 9 two months after the song’s premiere as part of the rapper’s Slut Szn album in September. Its initial gains on the platform were via a dance challenge that NLE Choppa himself promoted, though a more choreographed dance has taken over in recent weeks.
“Gang Baby” jumps 39% in streams to 4 million in the week ending Nov. 21 and concurrently debuts at No. 42 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
Quavo has some more heat on the way, and he announced a star-studded collaboration paying homage to his home state of Georgia alongside fellow Peach State natives Teddy Swims and Luke Bryan. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Huncho teased “Georgia Ways” on Tuesday (Nov. 26), and the […]