Mixtape Mixup
With an array of big-name releases coming through today, including 6ix9ine, Lil Baby, and more (June 12), for this edition of First Beat, we give Tyla Yaweh’s latest single a run, see if 10K’s Iann Dior is ready for stardom and more. Check out our selections below. Tyla Yaweh, “Tommy Lee” Featuring Post Malone Tyla […]
With Black Music Month in full effect this year, African American artists are looking for ways to stay active, motivated, and committed on the fight for social change within their communities in light of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Adbery and more. Spurred by the callous disregard for Black lives, artists […]
Plus, they dropped 'No Mañana' featuring El Alfa. The Black Eyed Peas are gearing up for the release of their highly-anticipated studio album Translation, dropping June 19 via Epic Records. On Friday (June 12), the renowned musical group unveiled the album’s cover art, showcasing cartoon versions of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, as well as its […]
This was a great week for Little Monsters, as Lady Gaga’s new Chromatica album roared in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Gaga also appeared during YouTube’s star-studded “Dear Class of 2020” event, delivering an impassioned commencement speech: “There is much to be sad about, there’s also much to be celebrated… you are watching what is a […]
East London rapper/poet Kojey Radical is celebrated for his melodic rhythms and masterful lyricism that fluctuates from song to spoken word to rap, dealing with topics of race, love, and mental health. Over the last two years, he’s been on a steady upwards trajectory, ending 2019 on a high after releasing his fourth EP Cashmere Tears, kicking […]
On June 2 the playlist racked up nearly 6 million users, and its follower count jumped over two days from 40,000 to 450,000. After 28-year-old Sandra Bland died in a jail cell in 2015, three days after she recorded a confrontation with a state trooper in Texas, Spotify’s head of R&B and soul Mjeema Pickett […]
Other than buying a used 1992 CD on eBay, the only place to legally listen to Body Count’s anti-police-brutality classic “Cop Killer” is on a YouTube page posted by a user named thechannelsurfin100. Hundreds of thousands of people have been out in the streets of cities across America protesting George Floyd’s death at the hands […]
As music fans continue to champion a potential Verzuz battle between Kanye West and Pharrell, on Thursday (June 11), they received endless gems in a new interview between the two hip-hop luminaries. Covering i-D’s “The Faith In Chaos” Summer 2020 issue, Pharrell brought Kanye into the fold and spoke on a myriad of topics, including Michael Jackson, […]
Known as "Rocky" to many of his friends, Ford chronicled New York hip-hop culture for Billboard before helping launch it into the mainstream as a writer-producer. Writer-producer, hip-hop pioneer and former Billboard reporter Robert “Rocky” Ford Jr. died on May 19 of undisclosed causes, his wife Linda Medley confirmed to Billboard. He was 70. As […]
This year, Black Music Month takes a different turn. Because of the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and more, we at Billboard hope to uplift and empower African Americans during this cloudy and dubious time. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the remainder of the month, an artist will provide a playlist designed […]