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The Weeknd’s Music-Based Film With Jenna Ortega & Barry Keoghan Gets Release Date

December 20, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The Weeknd will release his upcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow on January 24, 2025, but that’s not the end of his rollout for this blockbuster finale of the moniker’s career. Moreover, Lionsgate is also putting out a film of the same name, which will star the Toronto superstar alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. It will reportedly release on May 16, 2025, Trey Edward Shults of Krishna and It Comes At Night will direct, and will apparently be a “musically driven psychological thriller.” In fact, some rumors predict that it will be a soft reboot of Misery with Abel Tesfaye playing a famous singer and Ortega playing an obsessive stalker.

All of this is good news for fans of The Weeknd who want to celebrate the end of this After Hours trilogy with a bang, as it seems like they will have a lot to indulge in. It’s been a big year for him even outside of the lack of an album drop, especially given his involvement in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. But that was more of a casual and arms-length effort, showing love to GNX and seemingly shading Drizzy all throughout.

The Weeknd Performing In 2022

The Weeknd Movie Hurry Up Tomorrow Release Date Music News — The Weeknd performs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Aug. 30, 2022. Entertainment The Weeknd Concert At State Farm Stadium. © Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, though, all sights are set on Hurry Up Tomorrow, both the album and this film. “I look in the mirror and feel both old and new, stuck in limbo and unable to move,” The Weeknd expressed in a teaser clip for the upcoming record. “I still haven’t faced myself. More songs could help, but what do I have left to say? Woe is me in my gilded cage, right? The very thing that once made me invincible failed me on the world stage. A new trauma surfaced, opening floodgates. A new path awaits. When today ends, I’ll discover who I am. Hurry Up Tomorrow.”

In addition to all this hype, The Weeknd will also celebrate the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow with a one-night-only show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. From the details we know from a press release, it’s shaping up to be one of his biggest and most impressive performances ever, which is saying a lot. Let’s see if the album – and film – lives up to expectations…

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Drea Kelly Explains How Beyonce Deals With The Haters

December 16, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Drea Kelly knows a thing or two about controversial celebrity culture, and the type of scrutiny that public figures get for either justified or unjustified reasons. On that last note, she recently spoke during a conversation with Carlos King on how Beyonce handles her haters and the amount of narratives that launched against her over the years. Overall, it’s not that different from other remarks about trolls and negative energy on the Internet that you have heard from other artists and celebrities in the past. But given where we’re at in 2024, it’s hard not to look at this clip in a darker context.

“Beyoncé don’t even do choreography to her own songs,” Drea Kelly remarked. “You ain’t never seen her do it. She ain’t gon’ never do it. […] It was the joy and the smile on her face that did it for me. ‘Cause it wasn’t like – when I say just smiling, happy, in her peace. ‘Cause I am you, and you are me, ma’am. Honey, they done called her everything from a witch to the Illuminati. So for her to know what it’s like to be in this space where people create this narrative about you, they love to hate you, they say what they want to, but they always lurking and watching what you doing.

Drea Kelly Voices Admiration For Beyonce’s Resilience

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“‘Cause y’all haters are the MVP, honey,” Drea Kelly continued concerning Beyoncé. “Y’all have perfect attendance, y’all are employee of the month. Y’all [haters] don’t miss a day to hate and. So to see that, to be, like, ‘What?’ She got it. And again, I’m not one for… Validation is for valet. It’s for cars. So it wasn’t a validation thing. It was woman to woman. Mother to mother. Being in this business. I see you, girl.”

Beyond Beyoncé, Drea Kelly recently responded to people blaming her for R. Kelly’s alleged abuse of their daughter. She said that she did everything she could to get her out of that situation, but the police always told her that there wasn’t much they could do. Sometimes, it can feel like the world is against you.

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Mario Brings The 2000s Back On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update

December 15, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Every year, while everyone’s cooking up their best music of the year lists (which we’re coming soon with!) in November and December, the music industry seems to slow down a little bit. While there aren’t that many massive releases to talk about most of the time, we have to give our thankful props to the artists that hold it down while everyone’s busy during the holidays. Moreover, our latest R&B Season playlist update is here to round up the best of the best that the genre had to offer this week as far as new releases. It’s pretty scant, but then again, it’s never a bad time for your favorite artists to drop.

First off, we wanted to shout out Mario for taking it all the way back to 2000s R&B with his new album, Glad You Came. He dropped off a couple of hot singles for it before, and we’re happy to say that new cuts like “Keep Going (Aaaaahhhhh)” live up to that hype. That cut in particular is a slow burner, so we’d highly recommend it if you want a sultry, passionate, and relaxing teaser.

HNHH R&B Season Playlist

Speaking of sensual and slow-riding R&B jams, we also wanted to highlight the new single from Ne-Yo, “Show Me.” This one isn’t quite as woozy, as it focuses melodically on some muted string work as opposed to more dreamy or psychedelic synths that the genre so often benefits from these days. It’s as lustful as any classic hit from the Arkansas native, with his trademark falsetto stacking up very nicely against some airy vocal harmonies. In addition, there’s also some slight variation in the vocal tones and delivery that switch things up for some more verse structure.

We’re sure we missed some other notable R&B drops this week, but maybe you’re looking for some more exciting or energetic fare. Our Fire Emoji playlist update this week took a stroll through hip-hop’s latest releases, the leader of which was easily Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s new comeback collab album, Missionary. It’s full of vibrant and funky instrumentation, so even if rap isn’t your thing, it’s worth a spin.

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Amanda Reifer Feels Like A “Woman Now” On New Single

December 15, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Amanda Reifer is coming out with her new album The Reifer Tapes very soon, and before we get that full treat, she’s giving us yet another appetizer. Moreover, the Barbadian singer and songwriter just released her latest single “Woman Now,” and it’s a much more dramatic and full-fledged piece of drama than her previous singles. These included the “B***h Like Me” intro, the “In And Out” and “Devastating” interludes, and the cut “Colonize.”

As for “Woman Now,” Sounwave, Take A Daytrip, and company’s production on here starts off on a ghostly, eerie note. High-pitched pianos, whistles, and airy pads sound like smoke coming through a window until the drums burst in and the melodies come more alive. Amanda Reifer does a great job of matching this sense of grandeur, tension, and conflict with an eccentric and stretched-out vocal performance. While it’s not the most original sound in the world in isolation, the fusions of these treatments and moods makes for a very engaging record. If this is what The Reifer Tapes will hold, then we’re in for a very unique experience.

Lyrically, “Woman Now” seems to focus on the push-and-pull of romance and whether or not Amanda Reifer can control herself from going after a potential partner. This track makes that conflict come alive in a pretty compelling way, even if what’s under the surface doesn’t sound all too complicated on paper. Then again, that’s exactly what passionate and engrossing songs like this aim to achieve in the first place.

Amanda Reifer’s “Woman Now”

Quotable Lyrics
Maybe I just fantasize this one,
Stay on my mind, thеn no damage done,
‘Cause no turning back if it’s onе-on-one,
Me on my back, then it’s done-and-done

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Usher Fan Loses Control Over His Cherries In Hilarious Viral Concert Moment

December 15, 2024 by newhiphopnews

It seems like all Usher does these days is put on incredibly fun concerts, and we haven’t even seen one fan complain about this yet. Moreover, his most recent show was an absolute romp thanks to a viral moment with a birthday girl in the stands as he fed her two cherries from his hand. She licked and sucked on the fruits for a while, which really riled the crowd up. Then, the woman dropped it low for the singer, who couldn’t help but keep a pretty flabbergasted but still cool face amid the situation. Somehow, that still wouldn’t be the most “Steal Your Girl” moment of his recent performances.

Jokes aside, this cherry-feeding display is a particular running bit at Usher’s concerts, along with plenty of other moments to break up the flow of the show. In fact, T.I. recently had a hilarious reaction to him feeding Tiny a cherry, which fans really enjoyed laughing and jesting over on social media. Some other partners have had much more hostile reactions to the Dallas native getting up close and personal, so props to Tip for keeping it cool.

Usher Is More Nervous Than His Fan Is During Cherry-Feeding

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But it’s not all just fun and games at Usher concerts. It’s also a chance for him to thank those who took him to superstardom, including Al B. Sure. “Aye, man, y’all don’t really understand,” the Coming Home icon remarked. “This is A-1 for real right here. My first album, Usher, this man showed me the ropes. He wrote songs for me, was patient with me. Long nights in the studio, I was going through vocal changes and all kind of s**t. We made some incredible moments together. But more than anything, you’re a big brother to me, and I just want to say thank you, bro. I love you more.”

Meanwhile, Usher’s name popped up in the headlines for more allegedly sinister reasons in 2024, specifically his bond with Diddy and the Bad Boy mogul’s alleged abuse of him. However, we want to make it clear that this resulted from social media speculation and rumor, not any instance of proof or significant legal action. Maybe these moments of levity during shows can be a solid distraction from that dark, looming cloud.

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Sade Adu Makes Her Grand Return On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update

December 8, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Even though the end of the year doesn’t yield much new music, our latest R&B Season playlist update is here to round up the best of the best recent drops within or adjacent to the genre. In fact, we have a massive one to talk about this week, as Sade Adu dropped her first official release in about six years, “Young Lion.” It’s for the TRANSA compilation from the non-profit organization Red Hot, which featured many transgender artists and focuses on the community. Moreover, this song is dedicated to the singer’s transgender son, and it’s a gorgeously atmospheric and calming cut.

Elsewhere in the R&B world, we also wanted to shout out Roy Woods for his brief but still captivating new project, Rolling Stone. It has a sole feature from 03 Greedo, so the vocalist carries his own weight for much of the tracklist and indulges in the genre fusions he’s well-known for. For example, one of the highlights on here is “Solo” thanks to its passionate and overwhelming vocal performance and how it contrasts with the airy instrumentation and steady drums.

HNHH R&B Season Playlist

Also, we’d be remiss not to mention the new deluxe version of Khalid’s Sincere, which adds a couple more collaborative cuts and solo records to the original tracklist. These include “Personal” with Normani, “Make It Up To You” with Ayra Starr, and “MIA” featuring Chlöe. That last one in particular is one of the bouncier songs on the whole LP, and the crisp percussion adds a pretty fun vibe to a tune that would otherwise sound more melancholy. Not only that, but it certainly helps that they’re both very talented singers with plenty of chemistry on this particular cut.

But the end of 2024 isn’t just giving us some new R&B cuts to enjoy. Our latest Fire Emoji playlist update also rounded up the highlights of the week within the hip-hop world, including the new single from Lil Baby, “Touchdown.” He just announced his new album Wham for January 3 of next year, and this more menacing and hard-hitting track indicates some bangers on the way. Hopefully he delivers!

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Rihanna & Angel Reese Lock In A Collab During Award Show

December 5, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Rihanna and Angel Reese just made their admiration for one another very clear thanks to some new social media posts from the Footwear News Achievement Awards in New York City on Wednesday (December 4). The latter received the honors for the Style Influencer of the Year award, whereas the former just hung out there with her boo A$AP Rocky. When they crossed paths, Reese shared some videos of their interaction to her Instagram page, with them even remarking on how they want to collaborate on something in the future. We have no idea what this link-up could look like, but either way, we’re excited for both of them to garner more pop culture crossovers.

Beyond Rihanna, though, Angel Reese has met plenty of other celebrities and musicians amid her newfound fame as a WNBA superstar. However, not all of them have the same results. For example, fans clowned DDG for a promo video he did with the Chicago Sky player, making it clear just how much shorter he is than her. He seemed to take it all in stride, though, as it’s hard not to anticipate those types of comments flooding engagement.

Rihanna & Angel Reese Link Up

Anyways, back to this collab tease. The most obvious and logical way in which Rihanna could work with Angel Reese is if they endorse or promote each others’ brands. RiRi has a pretty huge one in Savage X Fenty, so perhaps that’s the vehicle through which they can cause some pop culture mayhem. As for Reese, she has a boatload of endorsement deals, business ventures, and media spaces of her own, so she could always invite the Barbadian singer on for some of those.

Meanwhile, even if this collaboration doesn’t manifest, we’re sure that Rihanna and Angel Reese have some big plans for 2025. They often have to reckon with new music demands or creepy podcast interactions to get where they want to go, but those haven’t stopped them so far. Fans want to hear some new gems and see more great games. But it’s clear that these women have far more tools in their arsenal to build their presences and support each other.

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4batz Wants A “Hood Grammy” On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update

December 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Since the year is dying down and the music industry is going on a bit of a recess, it’s a bit light on our end for our latest R&B Season playlist update, which rounds up the best of the best genre-adjacent releases each – or close to this – week. But we still have a couple of great tracks to talk about that dropped recently, including the return of one of 2024’s breakout stars. 4batz recently came through with the new single “hood grammy.” It’s about as atmospheric and chilled-out as his other material (and with a similar flow), but the sharp snare and the more buzzing tones amp up the impact a little bit.

In addition, we wanted to shout out the new Miguel cut, “Always Time,” on our R&B Season playlist update. It’s a gorgeous guitar-led ballad that evolves little by little into a more dramatic, orchestral, and passionate outro by the end. The road there is also very captivating thanks to very striking and unique vocal harmonies, some subtle but welcome picking pattern and chord changes, and plenty of atmosphere. No matter how you slice it, it’s an incredibly gratifying record by the time it ends.

HNHH R&B Season Playlist

While our R&B Season playlist update is scant this week, we certainly got more than we expected last week, so we won’t complain. Kendrick Lamar shocked the world by releasing his new surprise album GNX after a ridiculous championship year. While most of the project focuses on West Coast hyphy bangers and compelling lyrical exercises, it also contains some of K.Dot’s most impressive and incredible melodic cuts across his whole discography. “luther” featuring SZA is an absolute treat, and its catchiness will truly take you over on impact.

In addition, we got some more new hip-hop this week on our Fire Emoji playlist update, including the final posthumous Juice WRLD album, a re-release of one of J. Cole’s classic mixtapes, and another single from Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s upcoming Missionary album. There have been a lot of amazing releases in 2024, but while things seem to be slowing down right now, this all excites us a lot for next year.

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Usher Halts Concert For Al B. Sure And Thanks Him For Early Career Support

November 28, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Usher is part of a massive musical family of some of the best songwriters, producers, and music industry talents across many decades. As such, he has a lot of people to thank for his incredible success, and often takes the chance to give everyone their due. Moreover, during a recent concert, the R&B superstar embraced Al B. Sure! in the crowd, the new jack swing sensation who worked as a writer and producer during the Dallas native’s rise. They even started to dance and sing together after the Confessions creative’s remarks, which is now a staple of his live performances.

“Aye, man, y’all don’t really understand,” Usher’s words for Al B. Sure! began. “This is A-1 for real right here. My first album, Usher, this man showed me the ropes. He wrote songs for me, was patient with me. Long nights in the studio, I was going through vocal changes and all kind of s**t. We made some incredible moments together. But more than anything, you’re a big brother to me, and I just want to say thank you, bro. I love you more.”

Usher Pays Tribute To Al B. Sure!

Usher stops his show to pay tribute to Al B. Sure for supporting him and showing him the ropes early in his career. pic.twitter.com/deuCYoj4J0

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) November 28, 2024

As far as other members of this musical family, though, the controversies roll in pretty fast. For example, Suge Knight recently accused Diddy of molesting Usher and Justin Bieber, as the Bad Boy mogul was one of the industry titans who introduced the 46-year-old to the world. “Everybody knows what Puffy did,” the Death Row boss alleged. “There’s not one person that didn’t know that Puffy was f***ing Usher. […] Usher spent the night with him and Puffy being in the same bed when they did an album. They never put out one song at that time.”

Meanwhile, Al B. Sure! has a complicated relationship with his son Quincy Brown, whose mother Kim Porter ended up dating Diddy. As such, many of these moving parts and crossovers have a darker context underneath, but that doesn’t mean some genuine love, care, and appreciation can’t shine through. Usher reflected that with this mid-show shoutout, even if the online whirlwind around the Sean Combs scandal and all its alleged connections continues to ravage.

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Kendrick Lamar & SZA Make Magic On Our New “R&B Season” Playlist Update: Stream

November 24, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Welcome back to our R&B Season playlist, the latest update for which has some of the very best genre-adjacent releases that came out this week. We have a big release to talk about that you’ve probably already bumped, and that’s obviously the new Kendrick Lamar album, GNX. While it’s mostly pretty fiery songs and performances, there are some softer cuts on here that are also excellent, two of which feature SZA. “luther” in particular is a very tender, woozy, and calming jam with a wonderful sample flip, gorgeous progressions, and some awesome interplay between both vocalists that we loved to hear back from after so long.

Next up is the new single from Savannah Ré, “Sex With My Ex.” As you can probably tell from the title, it’s a pretty conflicted push-and-pull lyrically, and one whose soft piano keys and often intruding sample kind of reflect that sense of complication. The vocal performance is pretty smoky, but it definitely has its more impressive runs that emphasize Ré’s melodies. Overall, it’s a pretty dark and sensual cut that might’ve benefitted from more involved percussion, but their stark sound as it is works just fine, too.

HNHH R&B Season Playlist: Update

Finally, we wanted to give a shoutout to the Unlocked edition of the British R&B group FLO’s latest album, Access All Areas. They have some interesting remixes, guest performances, and re-imaginings that weren’t there on the original effort, including some fitting and charismatic performances from the Bailey sisters, Chlöe and Halle, on a new version of “Soft.” It’s exactly what it sounds like, as light snaps, simple synth pads, and tight vocal harmonies give a lot of boisterous flair to an otherwise pleasant soundscape.

However, if you’re looking for something more lyrically involved and hard-hitting, make sure to stay up to date on all the latest hip-hop releases. To check out new cuts from Cordae’s latest album The Crossroads and more hot singles like Ray Vaughn and Isaiah Rashad’s new collab, check out our Fire Emoji playlist update from last week in the “Read More” section down below. Also, let us know what your favorite R&B Season pick was this week, as well as what else we missed, down in the comments. Check the playlist out above and, as always, come back to HNHH for more killer music drops around the clock.

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