R&B / Hip-hop

1. New Nielsen Report Focuses on Mainstream Influence of African-American Women

   September 23, 2017 3:06 PM EDT The consumer segment is driving black buying power toward a projected $1.5 trillion by 2021. “We have power, we have influence, we can do things others have told us we can't do.” So declared Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) upon accepting the So ...

2. Business

   JAY-Z Pushes for Projects That Demand Social Justice: 'This Is Our Power' (Guest Column)

   June 22, 2017 9:45 AM EDT Trophies are nice, but some projects — like two Spike docs on the lost black lives of Kalief Browder and Trayvon Martin — can lead to far greater rewards, writes the rapper/executive producer. The power of one voice is strong, but when it comes to ...

3. Red Stripe, SUM Entertainment Enlist Nelly to Help 'Ignite' Talent Search

   March 30, 2017 10:14 AM EDT Red Stripe beer and music/entertainment technology firm SUM Entertainment are the principals behind Ignite Urban. The new digital A&R platform is the latest entry in the talent competition ranks, giving pop, R&B/hip-hop and reggae artists ...

4. Sprite Covering Its Cans With 2Pac, Missy Elliott and J. Cole Lyrics

   June 15, 2016 10:00 AM EDT Summer's here and Sprite is bringing back its Obey Your Verse Lyrical Collection, featuring limited-edition packaging adorned with 16 song lyrics from 2Pac , Missy Elliott and J. Cole . "We wanted to make sure we identified artists who ...

5. Hip-Hop

   Jermaine Dupri Signs with CAA

   February 05, 2016 11:00 AM EST Producer, artist and longtime music executive Jermaine Dupri has signed with CAA in all areas. The Grammy winner, who launched So So Def Recordings in 1993, has collaborated with such artists as Usher , Mariah Carey , Janet Jackson , Jay Z , Nelly ...

6. A$AP Rocky & Tyler, The Creator Announce Joint Fall Tour

   August 04, 2015 6:42 PM EDT A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator are teaming up for a co-headlining fall tour that will bring Danny Brown and Vince Staples along as support.  Tyler, the Creator Raps Dr. Seuss Dressed as Cat in the Hat: Watch The hip-hop heavyweights will kick t ...

7. Rick Ross Out of Jail on $2 Million Bond

   July 01, 2015 6:40 PM EDT After allegedly kidnapping man & assaulting him with a gun, Rick Ross is out of jail on bond.  The 39-year-old rapper appeared in a Georgia courtroom Thursday with his lawyer's $2 million request for bond approved by the judge, according ...

8. Louisiana Rapper Young Ready Killed in Shooting

   June 24, 2015 9:27 PM EDT Baton Rouge, La., rapper and record label owner Young Ready was killed in a shooting Tuesday in Bogalusa. Young Ready -- whose real name is Shannen Hudson -- was 31 and the founder of Bow Entertainment. The shooting took the life of 28-year-old Ja ...

9. Business

   Former Universal Republic Senior VP Elise Wright-Maharaj Passes

   June 22, 2015 3:29 PM EDT Elise Wright-Maharaj, formerly senior VP of urban music at Universal Republic Records, died of cancer on June 19 in New York City. A well-respected industry veteran with more than 15 years experience in marketing, promotion and publicity, Wright ...

10. Lil Mama's 'Sausage' Sizzles on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks Chart

    June 05, 2015 7:11 PM EDT Rapper Lil Mama returned to the Billboard charts this week for the first time since 2008, as her new single "Sausage" debuts at No. 16 on the Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks  dated June 13. The throwback cut (which samples Slick Rick  ...

11. 50 Cent Files Lawsuit Claiming Rick Ross is Responsible for Sex Tape

    May 22, 2015 7:44 PM EDT Curtis " 50 Cent " Jackson is claiming he was not responsible for leaking a sex tape in 2009 featuring the mother of Rick Ross ' child. With a new lawsuit against Ross, he states, it was actually the Maybach Music boss w ho leaked ...

12. The Last Mr. Bigg, Influential Alabama Rapper, Has Died

    April 29, 2015 9:52 PM EDT Rapper The Last Mr. Bigg from Mobile, Ala., has died, according to Al.com . Born Donald Maurice Pears, he was in his early 40s and reportedly died in his sleep sometime Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.  Seen as possibly the most influential r ...

13. Johnny Kemp, 'Just Got Paid' Singer, Dead at 55

    April 17, 2015 7:31 PM EDT Johnny Kemp , best known for the hit song "Just Got Paid," has died. According to various news reports, the 55-year-old singer/songwriter/producer passed away Thursday. His cause of death hasn’t been confirmed. Initial reports stated tha ...

14. Fetty Wap's 'Trap Queen' Tops Hot Rap Songs Chart

    March 26, 2015 4:19 PM EDT Fetty Wap rises 2-1 to crown Hot Rap Songs (dated April 4) with “Trap Queen,” earning the rapper his first chart-topper and ending Pitbull and Ne-Yo 's seven-week No. 1 run with “Time Of Our Lives.” An 11 percent increase in U.S. streams to 1 ...

15. Jazmine Sullivan Extends Reality Show Tour

    March 25, 2015 9:42 PM EDT In the wake of sold-out dates in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Chicago and Silver Spring, Md., Jazmine Sullivan is extending her Reality Show Tour. Jazmine Sullivan Conquers Heartbreak At New York City's Irving Plaza The tour’s 18-date se ...

16. Nicki Minaj Announces North American Summer Tour Dates

    March 16, 2015 10:05 PM EDT Nicki Minaj announced The Pinkprint summer tour dates Monday and she's bringing a solid cast of friends along with her for the North American run.  Nicki Minaj Road Crew Stabbing: Charge Upgraded to Murder Kicking off July 17 at the Gexa Ener ...

17. The Inside Story of How Mariah Carey and L.A. Reid Reunited (at a Fraction of Her Former $80 Million Deal)

    January 30, 2015 11:00 AM EST Just months shy of the 10-year anniversary of The Emancipation of Mimi , Mariah Carey and Antonio "L.A." Reid are prepping another kind of comeback. According to multiple sources, the 45-year-old singer is returning to Sony Music throu ...

18. Beastie Boys Want Another $2.4M From Monster Energy to Cover Legal Fees

    January 19, 2015 8:14 PM EST The Beastie Boys want to force the maker of Monster Energy drink to pay nearly $2.4 million in legal fees and costs so the rappers' $1.7 million jury award is not dwarfed by expenses in a copyright violation case, lawyers say. A Manhattan f ...

19. Beyoncé, Jay Z & Timbaland Sued by Hungarian Singer Over 'Drunk In Love' Use

    December 15, 2014 8:09 PM EST A hungarian singer is suing Beyoncé , Jay Z and Timbaland for allegedly using her voice without permission in the hit song "Drunk In Love."  Beyonce & Taylor Swift Dance Together at Justin Timberlake Show Monika Miczura Juhasz, kno ...

20. Iggy Azalea Announces 'Great Escape' North American Tour Dates

    December 15, 2014 6:57 PM EST Iggy Azalea has announced dates for her Great Escape North American tour next year, kicking off in Fresno, Calif. on April 14 and wrapping up May 24 in Austin, Texas.  Iggy Azalea Pays Tribute to 'Woman I Owe My Career To' at Women in ...

21. Mary J. Blige Earns 10th No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

    December 11, 2014 8:32 PM EST The queen of hip-hop/soul, Mary J. Blige , returns to No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with her new genre-spanning set The London Sessions . It's her tenth No. 1, tying Blige with Aretha Franklin for the most No. 1 albums among women in ...

22. Beyoncé Earns Eighth No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs With '7/11'

    December 11, 2014 7:09 PM EST In only its second week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Beyoncé 's "7/11" reaches No. 1, granting the singer her eighth chart-topping title as a solo artist. The Year in R&B/Hip-Hop: Beyoncé, Pharrell and Iggy Azalea Lead Honors ...

23. Usher Teams With Honey Nut Cheerios & Walmart, Offers New Song Available Exclusively in Cereal Boxes

    November 10, 2014 7:38 PM EST A new song by Usher will be the prize at the bottom of select cereal boxes. Starting Tuesday, a exclusive single will be available for download with specially-marked Honey Nut Cheerios packages purchased at Walmart stores across the country. Con ...

24. Young Fathers Beat Out Damon Albarn, FKA Twigs for 2014 Mercury Prize

    October 29, 2014 7:18 PM EDT Scottish hip-hop group Young Fathers have beat out Damon Albarn , Anna Calvi , FKA Twigs and others for this year's Mercury Prize for the best British or Irish record of the last 12 months.  Who Got Nominated For the 2014 Mercury Prize? The ...

25. DeJ Loaf's 'Try Me' Debuts on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

    October 23, 2014 6:58 PM EDT 23-year old rising hip-hop star DeJ Loaf — who recently signed with Columbia Records — has arrived on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "Try Me." The Detroit rapper's breakthrough track, which has been buzzing on the realti ...

26. Jhené Aiko Says Staff Member's Assualt Caused Her to Miss Def Jam's 30th Anniversary Concert

    October 20, 2014 6:57 PM EDT As Def Jam celebrated its 30-year anniversary Thursday with a massive Barclays Center blowout featuring performances by Rick Ross , 2 Chainz , Fabolous , DMX , Foxy Brown and many others, one promised guest failed to grace the stage. Jhené Aiko ...

27. Drake, DJ Mustard Take Top Honors at 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards: Full Winners List

    October 14, 2014 9:33 PM EDT The 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards aired Tuesday night, showing Drake , DJ Mustard and Kendrick Lamar take home some of the annual event's highest honors. Snoop Dogg hosted the night, which was originally filmed Sept. 20 at Atlanta’s Boisfeuillet ...

28. Waka Flocka Flame Arrested For Bringing Gun to Atlanta Airport

    October 10, 2014 7:48 PM EDT Waka Flocka Flame was arrested Friday for bringing a handgun to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.  Fox 5 in Atlanta reports local police responded to a call of a weapon found in the rapper's carry-on bag. Waka Flocka ...

29. Exclusive: Earth, Wind & Fire to Release First Holiday Album

    October 01, 2014 9:00 AM EDT Eight-time Grammy Award-winning group Earth, Wind & Fir e is adding another first to its long list of achievements: a holiday album. The aptly titled Holiday will be released Oct. 21 through Sony Music Entertainment’s Legacy Recordings divis ...

30. Aretha Franklin’s ‘Great Diva Classics’ Due Oct. 21

    September 28, 2014 10:21 PM EDT Aretha Franklin is showing some R-E-S-P-E-C-T to her fellow divas: The Queen of Soul will release an album Oct. 21 covering classic songs from other female singers. Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics will include songs such as Gladys ...

31. DJ Khaled Sues Former Record Label Over Unpaid Royalties

    September 26, 2014 11:08 PM EDT   DJ Khaled , via his DJ Khaled Productions, Inc., has filed a lawsuit against his former record label Entertainment One, also known as eOne, alleging breach of contract, accounting and unjust enrichment. Khaled is accusing eOne of failure to pr ...

32. Exclusive: Clive Davis Says Aretha Franklin Is 'On Fire' on New Album of Diva Classics

    September 18, 2014 7:10 PM EDT Following news Aretha Franklin is preparing a new album for release before the end of the month with Clive Davis overseeing production, there's great anticipation over what the legendary soul singer has put together with the help of Clive D ...

33. Aretha Franklin Album Coming This Month

    September 17, 2014 9:59 PM EDT A rep for Clive Davis has confirmed to  Billboard a new album with Aretha Franklin will be released Sept. 30.  Aretha Franklin Feeling Fit, Ready To Impress at Ohio State Fair According to a Showbiz 411 report Wednesday the album is nearly finis ...

34. Did Kanye West Dash to the Hospital in Australia?

    September 11, 2014 1:59 AM EDT Reps for Kanye West have no comment on claims that the rapper made an emergency hospital visit while on tour in Australia.  According to various published reports, the 37-year-old was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday just hours before his final ...

35. CeeLo Green Enters No Contest Plea in Drug Case

    August 29, 2014 2:09 PM EDT CeeLo Green has pleaded no contest to one felony count of furnishing ecstasy to a woman during a 2012 dinner in Los Angeles. CeeLo Green & Smokey Robinson Song Premiere The Grammy-winning singer entered the plea during a brief court hearing on ...

36. Young Jeezy Posts Bail

    August 28, 2014 9:48 PM EDT After he was arrested Sunday with five others at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif. following the discovery of an assault rifle on his tour bus, Young Jeezy has posted bail for himself and the five other individuals arrested. Youn ...

37. Ferguson Protest Songs Impact Real-Time Charts

    August 28, 2014 7:28 PM EDT The protests in Ferguson, Mo., over the shooting of Michael Brown on Aug. 9 have been an important topic of online conversation on Twitter, particularly among the hip-hop community. Watch Killer Mike Talk Ferguson on Fox News J. Cole , Lauryn Hill ...

38. News

    G-Unit Quietly Drops Six-Track 'The Beauty of Independence'

    August 25, 2014 4:23 AM EDT G-Unit surprised fans when its members reunited earlier this summer at the year's biggest hip-hop concert, and they have another surprise: they digitally released six new songs Beyonce-style early Monday. The rap group dropped "The Beaut ...

39. Tamia Signs With Def Jam Ahead of New Album

    August 22, 2014 11:42 AM EDT Grammy-nominated singer Tamia has signed with Def Jam Recordings, signaling her return to the major label ranks. Her first album for the label -- and sixth overall -- is expected in spring 2015. Tamia's most recent studio set, 2012's  Be ...

40. Drake & Lil Wayne Team Up for Big Chart Move

    August 15, 2014 10:00 AM EDT Drake experienced notable social gains during the charting week (ending Aug. 10) as his joint tour with Lil Wayne kicked off on Aug. 8 in Darien Lake, N.Y. The Street Fighter -inspired Drake vs. Lil Wayne trek launched with the release of a new co ...

41. Uncapped Concert Series Returns Aug. 19 With Run The Jewels and Jeremih

    August 14, 2014 10:01 AM EDT For the past three years, vitaminwater and The Fader's Uncapped concert series has been creating one-of-a-kind musical moments in intimate settings, from Frank Ocean and Bon Iver playing a New York City synagogue in 2012 to Solange performi ...

42. BET Orders Reality Series Starring Nelly, Keyshia Cole and Mann Family

    August 12, 2014 3:44 AM EDT BET is bulking up its unscripted programming. The Viacom-owned cable network has handed out series orders to docuseries starring rapper Nelly , a new entry with Keyshia Cole and one featuring Meet the Browns stars David and Tamela Mann . The untit ...

43. Jay Z Can Thank Supreme Court for Setback in 'Big Pimpin' Lawsuit

    August 07, 2014 5:14 AM EDT History might record Jay Z as being one of the first victims of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last May to allow Paula Petrella to sue MGM and 20th Century Fox over the Martin Scorsese film, Raging Bull . What does Jay Z have to do with Ra ...

44. Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Jack White’s Vinyl Sales Still Sizzle, Adele’s ‘21’ Nears 11 Million Sales & More

    August 03, 2014 4:29 PM EDT This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, 5 Seconds of Summer saw its self-titled debut full-length album arrive atop the list , selling 259,000 copies in the week ending July 27, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That sum is not only the third-b ...

45. Death Grips Post-Mortem: Better to Slash-and-Burn Out Than Fade Away

    July 18, 2014 10:36 AM EDT When noise collective Death Grips, anchored by drummer Zach Hill and vocalist MC Ride but with an always rotating roster, called it quits — announcing the news on July 2 with a note handwritten on a napkin — it was only the latest in a string of s ...

46. Beyonce Fashion Exhibit to Debut at Rock Hall Museum

    July 18, 2014 8:58 AM EDT A fashion exhibit centered on Beyonce will debut at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in a section previously featuring only Hall of Famers. The Rock Hall announced Friday that outfits from Beyonce's Super Bowl performance and music v ...

47. 'Straight Outta Compton' Studio Distances Itself From Offensive Casting Call

    July 18, 2014 8:42 AM EDT Universal Pictures and the filmmakers behind the planned N.W.A. biopic are distancing themselves from an offensive casting announcement for the film. The company said in a statement late Thursday that "the filmmakers ... did not approve and d ...

48. News

    Faith Evans Signs to BMG for Publishing, Artist Services

    July 18, 2014 2:51 AM EDT R&B Grammy winner Faith Evans has signed a worldwide exclusive publishing and BMG Artist Services deal with BMG Chrysalis U.S. for her first new studio album in four years, "Incomparable," which will come out this fall. Her eighth st ...

49. Michele Obama and Janelle Monae Discuss Arts Education at Grammy Museum Awards Event

    July 16, 2014 9:54 PM EDT First Lady Michelle Obama spoke about the importance of arts education Wednesday at the Grammy Museum's Jane Ortner Education Award Luncheon, emphatically declaring "we cannot be satisfied until every child has some exposure to the arts. ...

50. Billboard Artist 100 Chart Launches; Trey Songz Leads First List

    July 10, 2014 10:03 AM EDT Sam Smith, Ariana Grande, MAGIC! and Luke Bryan among others in the top 10 of Billboard's exclusive new ranking of each week's top acts Today (June 10), Billboard proudly unveils the Artist 100 , the first-ever weekly ranking dedicated t ...

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