Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images Lil Jon says performing at the Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where he joined headliner Usher along with Ludacris for their 2004 hit “Yeah!,” took a lot of work. “It was quite a process to do,” Jon tells XXL of putting the show together. “It was a lot of hard work. It was a lot of figuring out the proper…
Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images for The House of Creed and Remy Martin While Usher was in Las Vegas, he didn’t just rock the Super Bowl halftime show — he also tied the knot. After word came that the singer and his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea, had obtained a marriage license, ABC Audio confirmed on February 13 that…
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic After Usher‘s viral, star-studded performance at Super Bowl 58, which CBS reports was the most-watched game in history, bids came in from artists who believe they should be next in line for the big gig. One of the artists, T-Pain, says a halftime show featuring his many hits is a no-brainer. “What If?…” reads a Super Bowl graphic, alongside…
On this day in Black history, February 13: — In 1907, Wendell P. Dabney established The Union, which became the longest-running Black newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its motto was, “For no people can become great without being united, for in union there is strength.” — In 1920, Baseball Hall of Famer Andrew “Rube” Foster and team owners came together to form baseball’s Negro National League.…
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Killer Mike made headlines at the Grammys February 4 when he was handcuffed and escorted out of the Crypto.com Arena, shortly after winning three rap awards. In an appearance on The View Monday, the Atlanta rapper said he isn’t ashamed about what went down. “All of my heroes have been in handcuffs…
Ethan Miller/Getty Images via ABC Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, J.Cole and Drake are among the hip-hop stars who will be vying for Artist of the Year at the XXL Awards 2024, which launched Monday. Killer Mike, Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert are also nominated for Artist of the Year, while the Best New Artist category includes Sexyy Red, Destroy Lonely, Finesse2tymes, Centrel Cee, Teezo Touchdown, Lola Brooke and Rob49. Throughout the week, the XXL Awards board, which is made up of 255 music…
Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images Anybody listening to Usher? A lot of us are, apparently. Thanks to his Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where Usher played some of his biggest hits and welcomed a few special guests like H.E.R., Alicia Keys and Ludacris, his musical catalog saw a rise in streams. Immediately following the performance, Spotify logged a near 550% increase in streams of…
Ethan Miller/Getty Images Usher‘s Super Bowl 58 halftime performance was jam-packed with memorable moments that had the internet talking. Many called out the R&B crooner for the nearly 2 minutes he shared onstage with Alicia Keys when singing their 2004 hit, “My Boo,” since they say he might’ve been a bit too touchy with Keys, who’s married to producer Swizz Beatz. But Swizz is setting the…
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign finally released their long-awaited album, Vultures 1. The 16-track project, previously announced as a three-part series, arrived in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 10, following a listening party in New York the night before. The album includes features from Lil Durk, Quavo, Chris Brown and Ye’s daughter North West. Lil Durk announced he has joined Drake and J. Cole on the It’s All a Blur – Big…
On this day in Black history, February 12: — In 1865, Henry Highland Garnet became the first Black person to speak in the U.S. Capitol, delivering a sermon to the U.S. House of Representatives on the abolition of slavery. — In 1898, educator Booker T. Washington gave his “Madison Square Garden address” in New York City. In his speech,…