Justin Bieber tapped Chance The Rapper for a feature on his gospel-themed track "Holy."
The music video features Justin as a down-on-his-luck oil refinery worker who is involved an interracial relationship. Actress Ryan Destiny plays his Black girlfriend.
Screengrab: YouTube
"I don't believe in nirvana, but the way that we love in the night gave me life, baby," Justin sings.
The NY Times calls the song "devotional R&B, blending themes of loyalty and faith with those of romantic commitment."
Alicia Keys released her seventh studio album, Alicia, on Friday. The project, which was originally scheduled for release in March, is Alicia's first studio album since 2016.
The list of collaborations include heavy hitters Jill Scott, Miguel, Snoh Aalegra, and Khalid.
The first singles off the album, "Time Machine", "Perfect Way to Die" and the reggae-infused tracks "Underdog" and "Wasted Time," were warmly received by Alicia's fans.
The album's standout songs include the piano driven tracks "You Save Me" (ft. Snoh Aalegra), "Truth Without Love," and the melodic "Show Me Love" (ft. Miguel).
Black Twitter isn't feeling Jay Z's bars on Pharrell Williams' new track titled "Entrepreneur," set for release on Friday, Aug. 21.
The 50-year-old rapper teamed up with Pharrell, 47, for the new track, released in conjunction with the new TIME magazine issue "The New American Revolution" curated by Pharrell.
The issue celebrates the Black revolution in America. "I couldn't be more grateful to curate :The Next American Revolution" -- a special issue of @TIME Magazine that envisions a Black Future in an America where all people are actually created equal," Pharrell tweeted.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Jay Z, left, is pictured in concert with his wife Beyonce, right, and Pharrell in South Africa in 2018.
In a snippet of the song on Apple Music, Jay Z urges supporting Black businesses and being Black business owners.
But he got off on the wrong foot by diminishing Black Twitter.
"Black Twitter, what's that? When Jack gets paid, do you? For every one Gucci, support two FUBU’s."
Black Twitter was quick to denounce Jay Z for being out of touch with the times.
One Twitter user wrote:
"Jay Z today: Why y'all on black twitter? And buying Gucci instead of supporting Fubu?
"Jay Z four months from now: I'm very pleased to announce I'm collaborating with Gucci on their black twitter line."
Jay Z today: Why y'all on black twitter? And buying Gucci instead of supporting Fubu?
Jay Z four months from now: I'm very pleased to announce I'm collaborating with Gucci on their black twitter line.
— Aye throw that Boyz II Men on (@DragonflyJonez) August 20, 2020
Others chime in, knocking Jay Z for being too preachy about buying Black when he supported white brands in his music for decades.
"jay z for 25 years: “gucci, louis v, richard mille, goyard, fendi, louboutin, cartier, mercedes, in the box seats with the mink on brushing shoulders with the owners”
jay z in 2020: "buy more fubu."
jay z for 25 years: "gucci, louis v, richard mille, goyard, fendi, louboutin, cartier, mercedes, in the box seats with the mink on brushing shoulders with the owners"
jay z in 2020: "buy more fubu"
— dr. b. h. scalliwag, ph.d. (@such_A_frknlady) August 20, 2020
Take a seat pls ma'am the line just mean support black businesses more but apparently coming from him makes yall upset. Thats not that serious buy more Gucci and stay mad
I mean sure.But if you wanna dig deeper here then we can discuss how wrong he is about black twitter too. Black twitter is absolutely a community where black consumers support black entrepreneurs. He's off base on all of this. Whether you think he's speaking metaphorically or not
— Aye throw that Boyz II Men on (@DragonflyJonez) August 20, 2020
Folks will really ride for Jay Z without the smallest room for criticism
It’s it’s one things y’all niggas are going to do is critique Jay z. Stop acting like it’s a rare occasion, he friends with the owners of Gucci. They dress him and his family for free. The point here was silly but we know being over critical of Jay is the wave.
Disney spent millions promoting and marketing Beyonce's "Black is King" visual on Disney Plus, but fans didn't bother to purchase the project’s soundtrack album, The Gift.
According to HitsDailyDouble, Beyonce's The Gift landed at No. 10 on the sales charts with just over 6,000 albums sold.
HitsDailyDouble
It is a sure sign that Beyonce's star has faded to black, as the former superstar loses ground to rappers Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and newcomer Mulatto.
Disney Plus secured the rights to Beyonce's "Black is King" 90-minute visual in the hopes of registering new subscribers to the streaming service.
Unfortunately, Beyonce doesn't have the star power to register a blip on the Disney Plus meter.
According to Roger Friedman of ShowBiz411, the album's dismal sales figure could be a troublesome number for Disney if it can be compared to the number of subscribers who joined Plus just to see Black is King.
Friedman wonders if Beyonce fans understand that "The Gift" is the soundtrack to Black Is King and not the Lion King soundtrack.
Beyonce and her Parkwood Entertainment cut Sony out of the project, so they aren't doing much to help promote Beyonce's "The Gift."
Sony executives are probably somewhere laughing their butts off.
Cardi B recruited up-and-coming rapper Megan Thee Stallion for her new track "WAP". Megan outshines Cardi on her own track (which isn't difficult to do).
The ladies exchange verses over a sample from Frank Ski's - "There's Some Whores in This House", as Cardi raps:
Beat it up, nigga, catch a charge
Extra large and extra hard
Put this pu$$y right in your face
Swipe your nose like a credit card
Cardi and Megan wear matching pastel colored lingerie while touring a Miami modern-style whore house featuring rooms with strippers, tigers, snakes, and raunchy X-rated art on the walls.
Oh, and Kylie Jenner makes a cameo appearance as one of the whores.
The song itself is typical Cardi B fare, bragging about her manufactured body and her skills in the bedroom wile struggling to ride the beat.
"I don't cook, I don't clean/But let me tell you, I got this ring," she raps.
YouTube.com
Like she did for Beyonce, Megan will take this track to the top of the charts. Ironically, Megan, who was allegedly shot twice by her boyfriend Tory Lanez, raps about controlling her man. ("You can't hurt my feelings, but I like pain").
"Gobble me, swallow me, drip down the side of me
Quick, jump out before you let it get inside of me
I tell him where to put it, never tell him where I'm about to be
I run down on him before I have a nigga runnin' me (Pow, pow, pow)."
Megan totally outclasses Cardi and exposes her lyrical weaknesses on this track. I give this song 2.5 roses for Megan's stellar efforts to salvage this trash.
Megan Thee Stallion (left) limped into a studio to record a new track with Cardi B, weeks after she was shot in both feet, allegedly by rapper Tory Lanez.
Cardi B is hoping to replicate her collaboration success by teaming up with Megan on her latest track, titled "WAP."
The "Bodak Yellow" rapper has enjoyed modest success with tracks such as "Finesse" with Bruno Mars, "Motorsport" with Nicki Minaj and Migos, and "Girls Like You" with Maroon 5.
NYP/BLM / BACKGRID
The mom-of-one hopes to continue her hit streak by joining forces with Megan, who toppled her from her throne last year.
Megan is one of hip-hop's hottest stars, easily surpassing Cardi in popularity. Most recently she teamed up with Beyonce on a chart-topping remix of her tune "Savage."
Cardi, 27, shared the cover art for the new tune on her social media page. The image shows her and Megan, 25, sporting matching updos and sticking their tongues out.
"WAP" marks Cardi's first song as a lead artist since she dropped her single "Press" more than a year ago.
Jagged Edge released their 10th studio album 'A Jagged Love Story' on July 31. Jagged Edge fans have long anticipated the release of this follow up to their last album Layover in 2017.
Jagged Edge consists of identical twins Brandon and Brian Casey, as well as Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo.
The group reunited with producer Bryan Micheal Cox to helm the mid-tempo lead single "Seasons Of Us".
The group and Cox have a previous track record of making hits such as "Lets's Get Married", "He Can't Love U" and "Where The Party At?" All of the songs are written by the twins of the group, Brandon and Brian Casey and production includes legends; Jermaine Dupri, Brandon Michael Cox, Carl Breeding, Jay Fooley and Demetrius Bell.
Brandon reflected on the new album by saying, "A Jagged Story is about our love for music, what we do and the fans that allow us to do it. Thank you for allowing us to intersect."
'A Jagged Edge Love Story' is available now on all platforms. LISTEN: https://lnk.to/JEalbum
August Alsina is taking advantage of the buzz surrounding his past affair with Jada Pinkett Smith by dropping a new track, appropriately titled "Entanglements."
The R&B crooner recruited rapper Rick Ross to add his personal views about entanglements with married women.
The lovestruck singer proves he still hasn't gotten over Jada - even though she and her husband, Will Smith, have gotten over him and moved on.
"The definition of entanglement / It's?when?you're tangled in?the sheets / Girl I know?that we don't call it a relationship / But you're still f—in' with me," Alsina sings.
Alsina even taunts Will on the track, singing, "I'm on my way, yeah / I'ma pull up when he dip / He's always think me and you f—in' / If he see me, he gon' trip."
Will and Jada recently cleared the air about Jada's fling on her popular web series "Red Table Talk."
Will Smith denied giving Alsina permission to pursue his wife, and Jada claimed the affair happened during a "break" in her marriage.
"What August was actually trying to communicate — because I could actually see how he would perceive it as permission because we were separated amicably — I think he also wanted to make it clear that he's not a homewrecker, which he's not," Jada said.
Juice WRLD (left) replaced rapper Pop Smoke (right) atop the Billboard 200 chart after debuting his posthumous album, Legends Never Die.
Juice WRLD's new release topped the U.K. charts on Friday and now it landed at No. 1 in the U.S. with the biggest sales week of 2020. The album scored equivalent sales of 497,000.
Photo by FilmMagic
Juice WRLD (pictured) replaces another late rapper, Pop Smoke, at number one. Pop's debut album Shoot for the Stars falls to No. 2, marking the first time two posthumous releases have scored the top 2 spots.
Legends Never Die is Juice WRLD's second number one album in the U.S., following the success of last year's Death Race for Love, which topped the Billboard 200 in March, 2019.
The new album is the first release of new music from the rapper since his overdose death in December.
The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical falls to number three, while Lil Baby's My Turn and Hollywood’s Bleeding by Post Malone round out the top five.
The new artwork has been revealed to replace Virgil Abloh's much-hated original art for the cover of late rapper Pop Smoke's posthumous album titled Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon.
The original cover failed to inspire Pop Smoke's fans, who trashed the cover - and Abloh's artistic design skills - on social media.
The 39-year-old artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection unveiled the cover, a grayscale picture of Pop Smoke surrounded by metallic roses and barbed wire, in a since-deleted Instagram post on Monday.
Captioning the snap, Abloh wrote: "the last conversation i had with @realpopsmoke was about what we were gonna do in the future. this album cover was one of like 5 things we talked about. He mentioned his story felt like the metaphor of a rose & thorns growing from the concrete of his hood in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
But many fans of the 20-year-old rapper, who was shot and killed in L.A. in February, expressed their bitter disappointment in the image.
Very disappointed in the cover art for Pop Smokes album. It’s obviously a fail. Might be a small detail to some, but it still matters. It’s his posthumous album and you just give it that laziness? Cmon man
