Categoría: Billboard

Jelly Roll is teaming up with Contemporary Christian Music hitmaker Brandon Lake for a new collaboration on a fresh version of Lake’s hit song “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Both Lake and Jelly Roll teased the song on social media this week, and the collaboration will officially release Feb. 7. In November, Lake earned his Billboard Hot 100 debut with “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which also became his sixth No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The song’s sound and message resonated with listeners, prompting Lake to release his eight-track EP Hard Fought Hallelujah: Heavyweight Edition, featuring various versions of the song, including live, demo, acoustic and instrumental versions. Lake shared a video snippet of the song on his Instagram, and Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO commented on the post, writing of her husband Jelly Roll, “My baby is fineeee.” Written by Lake with Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Elevation Church singer-songwriter Chris Brown and Rodrick Simmons, the song features lyrics including “I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail, story-to-tell hallelujah.” “I wanted to give my fans a taste of something special while on the road,” Lake shared of the song, according to CCM Magazine. “This song is about the battles we face, the grit throughout the fight for faith and the praise that comes after. I hope it resonates deeply with everyone.” The collaboration seems a natural pairing for the two artists, as Jelly Roll often includes faith-centered references in his own music, while Lake’s brand of worship music wraps in hard rock and soulful influences. Jelly Roll’s current album, Beautifully Broken, topped the Billboard 200 last year, while Lake most recently earned Grammy nominations for best contemporary Christian music album (Coat of Many Colors) and best Contemporary Christian music performance/song (for “Praise”). Lake also picked up songwriter of the year (artist) and Pop/contemporary album of the year (for Coat of Many Colors) trophies at the 2024 GMA Dove Awards. See a preview of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” below: Source link

Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana DeBose, FKA Twigs and Jack Black are among the music stars who are nominated for Golden Raspberry Awards. The Razzies, as they are commonly known, have been criticized as catty, cruel and sophomoric, but they endure because they offer an antidote to Hollywood’s ever-expanding season of self-congratulation. It’s a simple fact that in the life of a performer, some projects are successful and some aren’t. Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux did not find its audience, but, happily, even as her Razzie nomination is announced, her “Die With a Smile” collab with Bruno Mars is in its third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. And she is heading into the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 as a double nominee for that sumptuous smash. Six of this year’s Razzie nominees are past Oscar winners, which again shows that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, to quote an old Carole King song. In addition to Gaga, Oscar winners on this year’s Razzie list are Joaquin Phoenix (her co-star in Joker: Folie a Deux), DeBose, Cate Blanchett, Jon Voight and Francis Ford Coppola. Joker: Folie à Deux, the musical sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker (which received 11 Oscar nominations and won two) leads the field with seven Razzie nominations. Madame Web, Megalopolis, Borderlands and Reagan are close behind with six nods apiece. Joker: Folie à Deux is competing for worst picture with Borderlands, Madame Web, Megalopolis and Reagan. It is vying for prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel with The Crow, Kraven the Hunter, Mufasa: The Lion King and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. Leslie Anne Down is nominated for a Razzie for playing Margaret Thatcher in Reagan. Meryl Streep won an Oscar for playing the late British Prime Minister in The Iron Lady. The Razzie winners, if that is the right word, will be announced on March 1, the day before the Academy Awards. See the full list of this year’s Razzie nominations below. Worst Picture Borderlands Joker: Folie a Deux Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan Worst Actor Jack Black, Dear Santa Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie a Deux Dennis Quaid, Reagan Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Worst Actress Cate Blanchett, Borderlands Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie a Deux Bryce Dallas Howard, Argylle Dakota Johnson, Madame Web Jennifer Lopez, Atlas Supporting Actor Jack Black (voice only), Borderlands Kevin Hart, Borderlands Shia LaBeouf, Megalopolis Tahar Rahim, Madame Web Jon Voight, Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land and Strangers Supporting Actress Ariana DeBose, Argylle and Kraven the Hunter Leslie Anne Down (as Margaret Thatcher), Reagan Emma Roberts, Madame Web Amy Schumer, Unfrosted FKA Twigs, The Crow Director S.J. Clarkson, Madame Web Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie a Deux Eli Roth, Borderlands Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Screen Combo Any Two Obnoxious Characters (But Especially Jack Black), Borderlands Any Two Unfunny “Comedic Actors,” Unfrosted The Entire Cast of Megalopolis Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie a Deux Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller (as “Ronnie and Nancy”), Reagan Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel The Crow Joker: Folie a Deux Kraven the Hunter Mufasa: The Lion King Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver Screenplay Joker: Folie a Deux Kraven the Hunter Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan Source link

Rüfüs Du Sol will play a show benefitting Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts on March 6 at the Hollywood Palladium. The one night only performance will feature a DJ set by the Australia-born, U.S.-based group. 100% of the ticket proceeds from the Live Nation produced event will be donated to California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund, which is focused on directing resources with people most in need. Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster this Thursday (Jan. 23) at 10 a.m. PT. The show will happen six days before the launch of the trio’s previously announced world tour in support of their fifth studio album. The trek kicks off starts in Guadalajara, Mexico on March 12, extends through November and includes a sold out show at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was home to Rüfüs Du Sol when they first moved to the U.S. from their native Australia, with the trio writing “Los Angeles we love you,” on their social media post announcing the show. The show announcement comes on the heels of a new fire in the Los Angeles area, with the Hughes Fire forcing evacuations in Castaic, an area just north of Los Angeles, after starting on the morning of Jan. 22. Red flag warnings, which indicate an increased risk of fire danger, remain in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura counties until Thursday (Jan. 23.) With the show announcement, Rüfüs Du Sol joins a long list of artists getting involved in wildfire relief efforts. The FireAid concert is set to take place on Jan. 30 at the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome with a star-studded lineup including Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews & John Mayer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Green Day, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Peso Pluma, Stevie Nicks, Sting and more. The 2025 Grammys and its attendant MusiCare event has also announced a focus on wildfire relief efforts. After starting on Jan. 7, the Eaton and Palisades fires have decimated entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles, killing at least 28 people, displacing thousands and damaging or destroying at least 15,000 structures. Source link

If Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” wins record and/or song of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, it wouldn’t be the first hit conceived as a Drake diss track to do so. Childish Gambino’s 2018 smash “This Is America” started off as a funny Drake diss record, the rapper revealed in a 2023 GQ cover story. “This idea for the song started as a joke,” he said. “To be completely honest, ‘This Is America’ – that was all we had was that line. It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as like a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, ‘This s—t sounds kind of hard, though.’ So I was like, ‘Let me play with it.’” It wasn’t the first time Gambino (real name Donald Glover) took shots at The Boy. In 2014, he shut down Drake comparisons by rapping, “’This n—a think he Drake.’ Nah, I ain’t Drake. I sing better. I do better. My s—t’s wetter” during his show in Australia, where he also claimed he was “the best rapper” over Lamar, Drake and ScHoolboy Q. However, two months later, Gambino clarified that he didn’t hate Drake during a one-on-one conversation with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. “This Is America” went on to win four Grammys at the 2019 ceremony — record and song of the year, best music video and best rap/sung performance. Fast forward four years later, Drake projected the headline “The overrated and over awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record” during his performance of “Headlines.” “Not Like Us,” which arose from Lamar and Drake’s epic rap beef last year, is also nominated for best music video, best rap song and best rap performance on top of the two Big Four nods. It’s not the only accomplishment the song shares with “This Is America.” Both songs spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. “Not Like Us” and “This Is America” also won both best hip-hop video and impact track at the BET Hip-Hop Awards and have been nominated for best video at the MTV Europe Music Awards. “Kendrick just opened his mouth, someone go hand him a Grammy right now,” Drake rapped on “Family Matters” last year. And guess what, Drizzy? Someone just might. Source link

GloRilla links back-to-back No. 1s on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as her collaboration with Sexyy Red, “Whatchu Kno About Me,” replaces her own “TGIF” at the summit. The switch happens on the list dated Jan. 25, as “Whatchu Kno About Me,” released on CMG/Interscope/ICLG, jumps from No. 3 to become GloRilla’s third champ and Sexyy Red’s first leader on the radio ranking. “Whatchu Kno About Me” reaches No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, which ranks songs by combined audience totals across monitored adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations, with 16.3 million audience impressions in the U.S. in the tracking week of Jan. 10-16, according to Luminate, a 16% surge from the previous week. The new champ evicts GloRilla’s own “TGIF” from the penthouse after the latter’s 16-week domination from October to January. The move is actually the second straight self-replacement atop R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Directly before “TGIF” captured the throne, Kendrick Lamar successfully engineered a self-swap: The rapper’s “Like That” collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin ruled for three weeks in June before ceding the top slot to “Not Like Us,” which wrapped 15 weeks at the summit. Among women, GloRilla’s self-replacement is the first since Tems accomplished it in November 2022. Then, the singer-songwriter and Drake featured on Future’s “Wait for You,” which, at the end of its 13-week reign, yielded to her solo hit “Free Mind,” which scored 22 weeks in charge. With “Whatchu Kno About Me,” GloRilla achieves her third No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. In addition to the incumbent and “TGIF,” she posted a five-week reign through “Tomorrow 2,” a collaboration with Cardi B, in 2022-23. Sexyy Red, meanwhile, claims her maiden R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1. Before the current champ, the rapper previously had a career peak of No. 5 with “U My Everything,” a team-up with Drake, last September. In reaching No. 1, “Whatchu Kno About Me” outdoes the chart peak of its Southern rap classic sample, Lil Boosie’s “Wipe Me Down,” featuring Foxx and Webbie, which reached No. 8 in 2007 and spent 31 weeks on the radio list. Elsewhere, “Whatchu Kno About Me” wins a fifth straight week atop Rap Airplay following an 8% increase in audience and a second week at No. 1 on the spins-based Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 19% in plays for the week). Source link

Nominees: “Asteroids” (Marlanna Evans); “Carnival” (Jordan Carter, Raul Cubina, Grant Dickinson, Samuel Lindley, Nasir Pemberton, Dimitri Roger, Tyrone Griffin Jr., Kanye West, and Mark Carl Stolinski Williams); “Like That” (Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Kobe Hood, Leland Wayne, and Nayvadius Wilburn); “Not Like Us” (Duckworth); “Yeah Glo!” (Ronnie Jackson, Jaucquez Lowe, Timothy McKibbins, Kevin Andre Price, Julius Rivera III, and Gloria Woods) Analysis: Let’s be real, it would probably be the most shocking moment of the night if Lamar’s “Not Like Us” doesn’t take home best rap song and performance. A two-week Hot 100 chart-topper that transcended its beef origins and became a cultural anthem, “Not Like Us” is far and away the frontrunner here — even if it’s the subject of Drake’s explosive, ongoing lawsuit against UMG. Lamar is also nominated here alongside Future, Metro Boomin, and Kobe “BbyKobe” Hood for writing “Like That,” the Hot 100 chart-topped that kicked his feud with Drake into high gear. Future has earned three previous nods in this category, but he’s lost each time. A victory for “Like That” would give Future and Metro their first wins here, and help Kendrick break a tie with Jay-Z to become the rapper with the second-most triumphs in this category (five). But what if “Like That” and “Not Like Us” split votes? Perhaps, the Academy goes for somebody familiar like Ye (formerly Kanye West), who boasts the most nominations (17) and wins (seven) in this category’s history. Ye’s nomination comes from “Carnival,” his first Hot 100 chart-topper as a part of ¥$ (his duo with Ty Dolla $ign). With Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid in featured roles, a win for “Carnival” would reward hip-hop icons and new class alike. Rapsody and GloRilla are looking to join Megan Thee Stallion as the only female rappers to win this category. This is Glo’s first nod in a songwriting category, and while “Yeah Glo!” was undoubtedly one of her defining hits from last year, she probably won’t be able to beat out the stiff competition here. Rapsody earned her first nomination here in 2018 with “Sassy.” This year, she’s represented by “Asteroids,” the only song in this category outside of “Not Like Us” to feature just one credited writer. While she was able to score an accompanying nod in best melodic rap performance, missing out on a best rap album nod for Please Don’t Cry signals some weakness in her rap field support. Prediction: Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” Look Out For: Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar, “Like That” Source link

Ana Navarro took aim at Snoop Dogg during Tuesday morning’s (Jan. 21) episode of The View, likening the rapper to a “trained seal” after he performed at a pro-Donald Trump event during inauguration weekend. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The host, who is both a GOP Republican strategist and a Trump critic, made the comment after her cohost Sunny Hostin expressed disappointment in the Black performers who participated in the inaugural events, feeling as though it was hypocrisy to support a President that she believes hasn’t fairly treated minorities. Some of those artists included Snoop, Nelly and Village People member Victor Willis. Navarro called out the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper specifically — who performed at the pre-inaugural Crypto Ball — for appearing to change his beliefs in recent years, pointing out that “before the inauguration in 2017,” he did things like include a scene in his “Lavender” music video holding up a gun to the head of a Trump lookalike. In 2024, he told The Times that he has “nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump.” “If you opposed and stood up against Trump in 2017, but you were there now. If you spoke up against Trump Jan. 7, 2021, but you were there now applauding him like a trained seal — Donald Trump has not changed, you’ve changed,” she said. Billboard has reached out to Snoop Dogg’s reps for comment, but has not heard back at the time of publication. Watch the full conversation on The View below. Source link

In the earlier days of his career, touring wasn’t necessarily Kygo‘s favorite thing to do. “It was like every show was life or death,” says the Norwegian producer. “I was always very nervous. It was like, ‘This is the most important [thing ever], and if I mess up tonight, my career is over.’” With this extreme self-imposed pressure, the artist “wasn’t really able to enjoy the shows that much. At one point I was like, ‘I’m probably never going to tour again,’ because it was just so exhausting.” Flash forward to the present moment and Kygo — whose real name is Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll — has a fresh approach and attendant attitude, calling his current world tour “definitely my favorite that I’ve done so far.” Starting last September, the 35-date tour has hit arenas and amphitheaters in North America, Europe and Central America, averaging slightly over 10,000 tickets and $838,000 in revenue per show, according to numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore. The run is continuing into 2025, with shows in Asia and Australia. Additionally, the producer plays this Thursday (Jan. 23) in Toronto and Saturday (Jan. 25) in Mexico City, where Kygo will play what he calls “the biggest show of the tour by far.” See exclusive behind the scenes footage of this tour below. Despite this success, Shear acknowledges that the run hasn’t made the same headlines as other recent marquee dance tours, such as Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s 2024 Sweat Tour. “We’ve quietly been doing this unbelievable tour that’s sold over a half a million tickets,” he says. “There are a lot of tours out there. There’s a lot of stuff going on, and there’s a lot of new artists. But we’re going out there and doing the business. Kygo is just quietly winning in the dance music world.” This current run is behind Kygo’s 2024 eponymous album, the artist’s fifth studio project that hit No. 97 on the Billboard 200 after its release last June. The tour is also his first in six years, since the run behind 2017’s Kids in Love. (Golden Hour and Thrill of the Chase came out in 2020 and 2022, respectively, although Kygo wasn’t able to tour behind them because of the pandemic.) While the Kids in Love tour required 12 trucks to move it from city to city, this current tour requires 17 trucks and a crew of 58. When brainstorming the production, Kygo and Shear decided the music and visuals would lean into the fact that Kygo has been making music for a decade, with this kind of looking back approach inspired, Shear says, by Dead & Co.’s nostalgia-laced run at Sphere in Las Vegas last summer. As such, set lists featured visuals that nod to entirety of Kygo’s career thus far, while the setlist spans albums and hits. Vocalists including Justin Jesso, Zak Abel and Parson James are on the tour to sing their parts on “Firestone,” “Freedom” and “Stole the Show,” respectively. “Kyrre told me that doing a tour was extremely important to him,” says Shear. “It’s not like every dance artist goes out there like a rock band or a pop star and does hard tickets in arenas or stadiums. “He was like, ‘The fact that I’m able to do it, I want to do whatever it takes to make this tour happen.’” Kygo himself credits his ability to tour such big rooms — an option available to only a handful of dance acts including Illenium and Odesza — is a function of he and his team “not skipping any steps” while he was building his career. (Kygo is represented by Rob Markus at WME.) His earliest U.S. tour had him playing 200-700 capacity rooms, with each run getting progressively larger. “We were living with my parents at the time, and Kyrre was staying in my brother’s room,” Shear says of these early days. “I went in my brother’s room, and was like, ‘Hey man, we found this guy who used to work with Disclosure and other big artists. He knows how to build live shows, and I think we should build one. We emptied the bank account making that show.” This groundwork and investment has paid off, with Shear citing “the most tickets we’ve ever sold” on this current run. “I know so many people focusing on streams or on this or that, but the fans follow you as long as you do them right, take care of them and keep bringing an elevated show.” Sometimes, this elevation requires some extra effort. The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles doesn’t have the space to erect a B stage where Kygo typically performs his encore. As such, the team improvised for the Oct. 17 show, setting up a riser in the middle of the amphitheater amid the seats. Getting there from the stage just meant, Kygo says, “that we just had to run a little bit.” Kygo Johannes Lovund Outside the tour, Kygo and Shear’s multi-faceted Palm Tree Crew brand continues expanding. Its first brick and mortar space, the 115-room hotel and restaurant Palm Tree Club Miami, opened last December. Meanwhile, Palm Tree Festival has happened in Aspen, The Hamptons, Southern California and beyond over the last several years. Some of these festivals feature Kygo on the lineup, and some don’t. “I was with him in Paris a few weeks ago when he was playing Accor Arena, one of the biggest shows on tour,” says Shear. “At the same time, we opened a restaurant and club in Miami the night before and we were also throwing a music festival in Australia with 30,000 people and The Chainsmokers, and Kyrre isn’t even at either of them. I think that’s a true testament to a great brand we’ve brought to the world, and one that just sort of feeds off his demeanor.” This demeanor is one that’s also changed as Kygo has become more experienced, and over time more relaxed, about touring. “There’s definitely been some f–k-ups on the

Lil Wayne might be one of Travis Kelce‘s favorite musicians, but the Kansas City Chiefs definitely aren’t topping any of the rapper’s lists right now — but the tight end is taking it in stride. In a pair of posts on X Saturday (Jan. 18), Wayne accused the reigning Super Bowl champions — who that day bested the Houston Texans 23-14 — of cheating during games. “I hate the cheating azz chiefs,” the “Lollipop” musician wrote, followed by, “It’s not even impressive when u cheat and then clearly try to cheat … Just win baby.” Four days later, Travis — who’s previously been open about his love for Lil Wayne and invited the hip-hop star to headline his Kelce Jam festival last year — reacted to the slight on his New Heights podcast. In the episode posted Wednesday (Jan. 22), the Grotesquerie star’s cohost and older brother, Jason Kelce, was the first to bring up the subject, saying, “I’m sure you saw some of this, but [people] were complaining about the refs again, Trav.” “Even Lil Wayne,” continued the former Philadelphia Eagles center before reading the rapper’s first tweet — which prompted Travis to burst out laughing. “Shout out to Tunechi, man,” the Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? host then said, a big smile on his face. The rapper’s comments come about eight months after Wayne headlined Travis’ second Kelce Jam music festival in Kansas City, which celebrated the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl win in a row. In an interview with Billboard leading up to the event, the football player called the musician “one of my favorites since I was in high school.” At one point during the festival, Travis joined Wayne on stage with co-headliner 2 Chainz and held up the Lombardi trophy. While at the event, the tight end also raved about Tunechi’s music to Billboard, gushing, “I’m a huge mixtape era guy. ‘Duffle Bag Boy’ is like one of my favorite songs of all time. I have it on my gameday playlists and everything.” The Chiefs now have one game standing between them and a third Super Bowl in a row, with Kansas City preparing to face off against the Buffalo Bills at the AFC Championships Sunday (Jan. 26). Throughout the 2024-25 season, some NFL fans have accused referees of giving the Patrick Mahomes-led team special treatment, with one roughing the passer penalty on Houston at the Chiefs-Texans game in particular reigniting those claims Saturday. Watch the latest episode of New Heights above, and see Wayne’s posts below. I hate the cheating azz chiefs — Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 18, 2025 It’s not even impressive when u cheat and then clearly try to cheat. Just win baby — Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 18, 2025 Source link

2025 is only three weeks old and the rap world is in full-swing. Outside of the headlines, album and single releases are starting to pick up once again while the United States heads into a new era with Donald Trump back in the Oval Office. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news As Diddy remains behind bars awaiting the start of his trial, Hollywood has already started peeling back the layers on his downfall. Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy shook up Peacock with the documentary’s arrival last week. LiAngelo Ball’s “Tweaker” gave hip-hop its first breakout hit of 2025 (debuting at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100) while Lil Baby’s WHAM album beat out Bad Bunny for the top slot on last week’s Billboard 200. All eyes will be on the Grammy Awards and Kendrick Lamar’s anticipated Super Bowl Halftime Show this February, as fans are particularly counting down the days until Lamar hits the stage in New Orleans. With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Joey Bada$$’s continued shots at the West Coast to Jorjiana’s spin on elevator trap. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below. Jorjiana, “Elevator Spaghetti” Jorjiana is an acquired taste, but buy stock now before it’s too late. She carves out her own niche sub-genre of trap elevator music with the smooth “Elevator Spaghetti.” This is what we need playing in our office elevators going forward. The Indiana native’s flow has a Midwest drawl, but her style leans more toward elements of the DMV scene. While Jorjiana’s freestyles have caught fire on social media, her bars are still as direct as they come. “I’m bubbly as hell but I don’t drink pop,” she boasts over the samba jazz instrumental. As someone on YouTube crowned her, Atlanta Del Rey is here. – MICHAEL SAPONARA Joey Bada$$, “Sorry Not Sorry” Joey Bada$$ and Conductor Williams are 2/2 in 2025. The Brooklyn titan continues to represent for the East Coast while poking at the West. “N—-s Wit Attitude mad I’m bigging up my city, that’s something I had to do,” he spews. JB even delivers a possible swipe at J. Cole for exiting stage right from the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud while he’s ready to stand 10 toes down with more heat on the way. ​​”Might Deletе Later, I know damn sure that Joey won’t,” Joey raps. He even compares himself to being a combination of Biggie and 2Pac. If “The Ruler’s Back” was a warning shot, the sequel should have the alarms blaring. — M.S. Jagged Edge, “Just Might Get It” It’s 2025 and Jagged Edge is still doing the damn thing. Before hitting the road in March to celebrate 25 years of the R&B legends’ 1999 J.E. Heartbreak album, the Atlanta crew sets the stage for their upcoming 11th studio LP with the soulful “Just Might Get It.” Penned by founding member Brandon Casey, the moral of the song is essentially saying to be careful what you ask for, because you “Just Might Get It.” While the sultry track showcases the group’s evolution and maturity, the single doesn’t stray far from their signature R&B sound. Fans can purchase Jagged Edge’s All Original Parts Vol. 1 directly on Jan. 31 before it heads to streaming services. – M.S. NLE Choppa & Imagine Dragons, “Dare U” Nobody has NLE Choppa and Imagine Dragons joining forces for an explosive collaboration on their 2025 bingo card. Well, LiAngelo Ball delivered rap’s first hit of the year, so it seems to be another unpredictable campaign. Choppa called teaming up with the band a “dream come true” as they pushed him to tap into another side of his artistry. “Who got the most heart? I’ma show something,” he promises before passing the baton back to Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds. – M.S. 4Fargo & Eric Bellinger, “Your Love Is Gold”  4Fargo kicks off 2025 with his new single “Your Love Is Gold,” a heartfelt collaboration with none other than R&B powerhouse Eric Bellinger. The track dives into themes of deep appreciation, commitment, and the priceless value of a genuine relationship. Comparing love to gold — a symbol of beauty and lasting worth — 4Fargo and Bellinger express their devotion and admiration for a love they see as rare and irreplaceable. Lines like “You’re the prize, you don’t need no contestants” and “She authentic, I don’t need to see no proof” highlight unwavering trust, while “I’ll put you up somewhere safe” conveys a desire to protect their bond from outside influences. With smooth vocals and heartfelt lyrics, “Your Love Is Gold” is a soulful celebration of love’s enduring value. – C.C. Bryant Barnes, “Why Can’t You” 19-year-old rising singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Bryant Barnes is proving unstoppable with the release of his deeply personal track, “Why Can’t You.” The heartfelt song dives into themes of unrequited love, longing, and emotional vulnerability. Barnes explores the painful reality of loving someone who doesn’t feel the same, with the repeated plea “Why can’t you be in love?” echoing his frustration and confusion. The track touches on feelings of loneliness and the fear of a future without love, expressed in the line “I don’t wanna be alone for the rest of my life.” Balancing hope and heartbreak, “Why Can’t You” captures the universal struggle of holding on to a love that may never be returned. – C.C. THEY., “Choosin’”  R&B duo THEY. seems to be having a hard time with love. The pair dives into the complexities of love and success in latest track “Choosin’.” The song delves into themes of superficial relationships, trust issues, and the fast-paced lifestyle that often comes with fame. Through lyrics like “She don’t really love me, she just want the money,” the duo captures the frustration of feeling desired for status rather than true connection. The recurring term “choosin’” reflects a culture of opportunism, where