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Latto Brought Her Big, Big Energy Courtside To Support Angel Reese In Her WNBA Debut

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Latto Pre-GRAMMY Gala GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons 2023
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Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso headline a potentially trajectory-altering rookie class for the WNBA, and the 2024 season tipped off this week. Reese’s debut with the Chicago Sky came against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday night, May 15, and her magnetism was already apparent.

Latto sat courtside. When asked what brought her to the Sky and Wings’ season-opener, Latto plainly stated, “Angel Reese.” The multi-platinum rapper was also asked for her thoughts on the unprecedented attention surrounding the WNBA. “It’s the year of the woman, it’s the year of the female, it’s the year of the girl,” Latto said. “I’m here for the girl power, period. Let’s go, Angel Reese.”

Latto posted part of the clip on X (formerly Twitter), and Reese reposted it along with the message, “DUHHH!! THE BIGGEST [lips emoji]”

Roughly one year ago, Reese was fresh off capturing the first NCAA Division I basketball national championship in LSU history when she appeared in the video for Latto and Cardi B’s “Put It On Da Floor Again.” Reese also co-starred alongside Flau’jae Johnson, her now-former LSU teammate, in NLE Choppa’s “Champions” video.

Last month, Chicago drafted Reese at No. 7 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The 22-year-old star forward posted 12 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal in her W debut, a 87-79 loss to Dallas. The Sky will remain in Dallas to play the Wings again on Saturday, May 18.

Cardi B Detailed ‘Hurtful’ Comments From Fans Demanding Her Second Album, Including One TikTok That ‘Made Me Cry’

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Cardi B is a human being — a multi-diamond-certified human being, but a human being, nonetheless. Cardi B simply wishes BardiGang, her most fervent fans, and the general population at large would remember that when questioning why it has taken six years and counting for the Bronx-bred rapper to deliver her sophomore studio album, the long-awaited follow-up to her record-obliterating debut Invasion Of Privacy.

“Like yesterday, I was scrolling through TikTok and a b*tch made me cry,” Cardi B told Rolling Stone as the cover star for its June 2024 issue. “She was just like, ‘She has got to give it up. She’s better off being an influencer. You was cosplaying being a rapper. Because you don’t take it seriously. That’s why you don’t put out your music.’ And it’s like, I take my music so f*cking seriously that that’s why I don’t put it out. Because if it’s not perfect to my ear, if every f*cking word doesn’t sound like it’s pronounced right, if the beat is overpowering the words or the words is overpowering the beat, I don’t want to put it out.”

She added, “When you give so much and somebody just drags it down, like you’re just playing with your p*ssy all day, just watching Netflix all f*cking day long, it’s very hurtful.”

Elsewhere in the Mankaprr Conteh-written profile, an unnamed Cardi B rep confirmed that “an album in 2024 is still the plan,” and much of the story is dedicated to observing Cardi B hard at work in the studio — tormented over getting it right because she cares so deeply.

The tear-inducing TikTok is referenced again toward the end, when Cardi B showed Conteh an offer to perform a show for $1.5 million.

“If I was doing things for money, I would put out music every month because nothing pays me more than shows,” Cardi said. “I’m turning down these concerts because I don’t got no new music.”

So far in 2024, Cardi B has released “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami).”

Cardi B Explains Why She’s So Disappointed In Joe Biden And What That Means For Her Voting In 2024

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Back in 2020, Cardi B interviewed Joe Biden as part of his presidential campaign. Since then, she has soured on the now-President.

Cardi is the subject of a new Rolling Stone feature shared today (May 16). In it, she’s blunt about her feelings towards both Biden and Donald Trump: “I don’t f*ck with both of y’all n****s,” she said as confirmation that she doesn’t plan to vote at all in the upcoming election.

The piece goes on to note, “Before, she had seen Trump as a dire threat, but under Biden, she’s felt ‘layers and layers of disappointment’ from what she sees as domestic and foreign mismanagement. The cost of living is too high, wages are too low, and too little is being done about it, she says.” Cardi added, “I feel like people got betrayed.”

Cardi also said, “It’s just like, damn, y’all not caring about nobody. Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f*cking thing.” She later added, “[America] don’t pay for endless wars for countries that have been going through sh*t for a very long time. There’s countries [where] kids are getting killed every single day, but because the [US] won’t benefit from that country, they won’t help. I don’t like that America has this superhero cape on. We never did things to be superheroes. We did things for our own convenience.”

Check out the full feature here.

Soulja Boy Realized His Insensitive Tweets About Metro Boomin’s Late Mother Crossed The Line And Has Apologized

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Beef is permeating hip-hop at the moment, and over the past few days, Soulja Boy has been getting into it with Metro Boomin. Now, though, Soulja has acknowledged that he crossed a line and has apologized.

As Billboard notes, Soulja was apparently upset by a resurfaced Metro tweet from 2012 that reads, “My phone rings to come to the studio with Jeezy. Yours rings to send Soulja Boy a pack of beats. Sit down.”

In now-deleted tweets, Soulja wrote, “F*ck that n**** mama!!!!!!!!!! Don’t speak on my name b*tch! You sacrificed your own mom @MetroBoomin you a puppet.” He said in another, “All the streams, sales, money, and fame not gone bring your mom back @MetroBoomin was it worth it? can say f*ck this money and fame sh*t and still be a boss can you?” In one tweet, he also wished Metro a happy Mother’s Day.

Soulja put a stop to his antics yesterday, May 15, when he tweeted, “I apologize to @MetroBoomin for over reacting over an old tweet. Condolences to his mom. I’m going to seek therapy and anger management. I’m done responding to hate, new or old.”

Metro hasn’t directly responded to Soulja, but he did share some Mother’s Day tweets.

Spotify Is Facing A Cease-And-Desist Over Its Use Of Lyrics And More

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In early March, The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) acknowledged the expiration of its license with TikTok in late April by sending a letter to its members. “At this time, we do not anticipate that there will be an option to renew or extend the current NMPA licenses or participate in a new license with TikTok through NMPA,” it said, in part, as relayed by Billboard.

On Wednesday, May 15, the NMPA shifted its attention toward Spotify. According to Variety, the NMPA issued a cease-and-desist to Spotify due to Spotify’s “use of lyrics in its recently launched video function and podcasts, and its remix feature that enables users to speed up or otherwise edit songs to create derivative works. The trade association claims that such uses are copyright violations and must be paid for.”

Variety additionally notes that the NMPA and Spotify “are also at odds over Spotify’s new premium subscription plans that combine music and audiobooks, which will mean a lower mechanical royalty rate for songwriters on those plans, although Spotify claims that earnings for creators will continue to rise due to increased volume.”

The NMPA is demanding Spotify remove unlicensed lyrics, videos, podcasts, or remix features to avoid copyright liability.

A Spotify representative issued a statement, as relayed by Variety, in which the rep calls the NMPA’s actions “a press stunt filled with false and misleading claims.”

Read the full report here.

Kehlani Announced Their Fourth Album ‘Crash’ And Its Release Date With A Crushing Album Cover Reveal

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Kehlani is about to have the summer on lock. Last month, they released a new single, “After Hours,” a sexy ladies anthem sung over the Coolie Dance riddim — popularized in songs like Nina Sky’s “Move Ya Body,” Pitbull’s “Culo,” and Elephant Man’s “Jook Gal.” Today (May 14), Kehlani has announced their new album, Crash.

Set to arrive this summer, Crash marks Kehlani’s fourth studio album. On the cover art, they are seen seated on top of a car with a broken windshield, wearing a dress made out of shiny glass.

While the look of the album’s cover and the title itself may sound ominous, Kehlani revealed in an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe last month that recording Crash was the most fun they’ve ever had making music.

“I wanted to make things for once that didn’t feel reminiscent,” Kehlani said. “For once, I’m not attached to some story or some public thing or some trauma or some deep explanations. As we go out this process and we have to talk to each other a bunch to all these people, I have nothing but joyful things to say to you. I’m in such a happy place. I’m ready to be outside.”

You can see the Crash cover art below.

Israel Riqueros

Crash is out 6/21 via Atlantic. Find more information here.

French Montana Will Set Out On The ‘Gotta See It To Believe It Tour’ With Fabolous And Fivio Foreign

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Rap fans who haven’t seen much of French Montana recently will get a chance to do so soon, as the Bronx native has announced the dates for his upcoming Gotta See It To Believe It Tour in August. The Moroccan rapper, who is currently promoting his mixtape Mac & Cheese 5, will be joined on tour by frequent collaborators and fellow New Yorkers Fabolous and Fivio Foreign.

French was recently pulled into all the drama surrounding Drake and the entire rap game turning against the Canadian star when Rick Ross called out Drake for allegedly sabotaging the Mac & Cheese 5 rollout by withdrawing a verse that would have helped generate some buzz for the project. “I unfollowed you ’cause you sent the motherf*ckin’ cease-and-desist to French Montana,” Ross says on his track “Champagne Moments.”

Artist presale for the tickets starts on Thursday, May 16, while the general sale begins on Friday, May 17. You can find more information on livenation.com.

You can check out the full schedule of dates below.

08/01/2023 — Wallingford, CT @ Toyota Oakdale Theatre
08/02/2023 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
08/08/2023 — Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo RiverWorks
08/10/2023 — Chicago, IL @ Radius Chicago
08/15/2023 — Toronto, ON @ REBEL
08/16/2023 — Albany, NY @ The Palace Theatre*
08/17/2023 — Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues Boston
08/22/2023 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE*
08/24/2023 — Portsmouth, VA @ Portsmouth Pavilion*
08/25/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia

*Not A Live Nation Date

BADBADNOTGOOD Embraces Methodical Madness On Their New EP, ‘Mid Spiral: Chaos’

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Canadian alt-jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD has been dropping a relatively steady stream of collaborative EPs over the past year, releasing sets with collaborators both unusual (hardcore band Turnstile) and apropos (soul crooner Baby Rose). Today, they added to this growing collection with a more self-contained EP release, Mid Spiral: Chaos, which hearkens back to some of the band’s more improvisational, jazzy material.

“If this music makes your ears we thank you very much,” the band shared via Twitter (which will never be called by “X” under this particular byline). “We have new friends playing over the whole record with us and this is an exciting and fun chapter. Peace!” Those friends, according to a separate tweet, include Felix Fox-Pappas, Kaelin Murphy, Juan Carlos Medrano, and Tyler Lott.

Mid Spiral: Chaos arrives in a busy year for the band. Not only did they release their EP Slow Burn with Baby Rose just a month ago on April 12, but they have also played Coachella and recently been announced as one of the performers on Aminé’s brand-new Portland festival, The Best Day Ever. All this is coming off a year in which they opened for Daniel Caesar on tour.

You can listen to Mid Spiral: Chaos below.

Here Is Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Hot Girl Summer Tour’ Setlist

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One of the biggest tours of 2024 has landed: In Minneapolis’ Target Center last night (May 14), Megan Thee Stallion launched the Hot Girl Summer Tour. For those who are set to attend a future date of the trek, here’s what to know about what the setlist might look like.

Per setlist.fm, Megan’s Minneapolis setlist featured 29 total songs. She opened by giving her recent single “Hiss” its live debut, and she also performed “Boa” and “Cobra” live for the first time, too.

Back in January, Meg said of the tour, “I feel like I’ve never been able to be outside doing my own thing during the summer, since like 2019. So this is going to be the first time that I drop an album on time for the summer. I do want to give the hotties the Megan Thee Stallion experience.”

Check out the setlist below.

Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour Setlist

1. “Hiss”
2. “Ungrateful”
3. “Thot Shit”
4. “Freak Nasty”
5. “Megan’s Piano”
6. “Gift & A Curse”
7. “Hot Girl”
8. “Kitty Kat”
9. “Cobra”
10. “Plan B”
11. “Cognac Queen”
12. “Big Ole Freak”
13. “Girls In The Hood”
14. “Boa”
15. “Sex Talk”
16. “Eat It”
17. “What’s New”
18. “Captain Hook”
19. “Southside Forever Freestyle”
20. “Ride Or Die”
21. “Pop It” (Bankroll Freddie cover)
22. “Wanna Be” (GloRilla cover)
23. “WAP”
24. “NDA”
25. “Don’t Stop”
26. “Stalli (Freestyle)”
27. “Cash Shit”
28. “Body”
29. “Savage”

Madlib Teased His And Freddie Gibbs’ New Collaboration Album, ‘Montana,’ Revealing That It’s ‘Next Up’

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Producer Madlib celebrated a big milestone this past weekend. On Saturday (May 11) at a 10th anniversary celebration of his album Piñata, which featured raps by Freddie Gibbs. The celebration took place at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City.

During the celebration, Madlib spun some tunes and dropped some beats. Freddie Gibbs was set to come to the stage. But before he performed, Madlib teased some new music with his frequent collaborator.

“Y’all ready for Freddie Gibbs?,” Madlib asked the crowd, who responded with cheers. Madlib continued, promising the crowd “[I’m] About to drop this live sh*t on y’all. Montana up next.”

Though neither Madlib nor Gibbs indicated an official release date for Montana, fans are waiting with bated breath.

Montana will mark Madlib and Gibbs’ third full-length album together, their first being 2014’s Piñata and their second being 2019’s Bandana. The duo releases music under the stage name, MadGibbs.

In addition to these two — soon to be three — albums, Madlib and Gibbs have also released five EPs together — 2011’s Thuggin’, 2012’s Shame, 2013’s Deeper, 2014’s Knicks (Remix), and 2020’s The Diamond Mine Sessions, with El Michels Affair.

You can see a clip from the Piñata 10th anniversary show above.