From some reflective tracks to a guided meditation album, check out this week’s New Music Friday for the culture’s latest and greatest in music. Lola Brooke, “Becky” — The Brooklyn rapper puts on for her borough in the new song “Becky” and its accompanying video, which she directed with STARR MAZi (Lil Baby, A Boogie). She teamed up with hip-hop…
Details
Photo by Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/picture alliance via Getty Images Spotify has launched a new series intended to celebrate classic albums that have stood the test of time, despite changes in the consumption and release of music. The first iteration of Spotify CLASSICS: Hip-Hop & RNB Albums of the Streaming Era spotlights 30 hip-hop and R&B albums from the streaming era, 2015 to…
Details
Dalvin Adams The New York City premiere of Tyler Perry‘s new movie, Mea Culpa, took place February 15, and the members of Destiny’s Child were in attendance. Kelly Rowland showed up as star and executive producer of the film, while Beyoncé and Michelle Williams appeared for moral support. Dressed in a black-and-white Balmain ensemble with a matching coat and sunglasses, Bey attended the event alongside husband Jay-Z and mother Tina Knowles.…
Details
ABC/Chrys Davis Megan Thee Stallion celebrated her 29th birthday Thursday, February 15, by doing a photo shoot and dropping her new collection with Nike. On her socials, she shared some of the final images, which captured her in a white dress adorned with red feathers, surrounded by red flowers and garland, alongside the caption, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.”…
Details
Katia Temkin If you team up with Mariah Carey for a remix, you’re not just going to let her sing the same thing as the original song’s lyrics, now, are you? Ariana Grande‘s remix of her #1 hit “yes, and?” with Mariah is out now. In the second verse of the song, Ariana originally sang,…
Details
Republic/UMe James Brown passed away in 2006, but fans are now getting to hear a never-before-heard recording from the Godfather of Soul. The previously unreleased tune, “We Got to Change,” features Brown’s band the J.B.’s, with William “Bootsy” Collins on bass, Phelps “Catfish” Collins on guitar and “Funky Drummer” Clyde Stubblefield. “James Brown always leaned into the social tip,” Bootsy shares of…
Details
On this day in Black history, February 16: — In 1923, Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith recorded her first record, Down Hearted Blues, which sold 800,000 copies for Columbia Records. — In 1951, the city of New York passed an anti-discrimination housing bill, which included protections based on race, creed, color, national origin and gender. — In 1970, Joe Frazier, nicknamed Smokin’…
Details
Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images Usher‘s discography has seen an increase in streams and sales following his performance at Super Bowl 58’s halftime show, Billboard reports. The publication cited initial reports from Luminate, which showed on-demand U.S. streams of his music went up 46% — from 24.6 million between February 9-10 to 35.9 million between February 11-12. His…
Details
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Kanye West is taking Vultures 1, his collaborative project with Ty Dolla Sign, to Rolling Loud. He broke the news Thursday, sharing an updated lineup of the festival to Instagram. “VULTURES COMING TO ROLLING LOUD,” West captioned the photo, under which Ty dropped a few video camera emojis. The festival later confirmed the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, “VULTURES HEADLINING…
Details
Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images PinkPantheress will be an honoree at this year’s Billboard Women in Music Awards. Billboard announced the news Thursday, noting she’ll receive the Producer of the Year Award at the event, which takes place March 6 at LA’s YouTube Theater. “We are thrilled to honor PinkPantheress as one of the most exciting young producers on the rise,”…
Details