Month: March 2023

After releasing two entrancing visuals for “DOGTOOTH” and “SORRY NOT SORRY,” Tyler, the Creator, gifts his fans Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale. 

The Billboard 200 chart-topper had a splashy debut in June 2021, as Tyler enlisted DJ Drama to narrate his newest concept. Under the guise of “Tyler Bauderlade,” the Odd Future frontman offers his ruminations on love and relationships. The 16-track effort includes top-tier features from Pharrell, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Brent Faiyaz, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, and more. Upon release, Call Me If You Get Lost earned 169,000 album-equivalent units, marking his second No. 1 effort, with his first dating back to 2019 (Igor). Last April, CMIFGL dashed back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after landing the largest week for a hip-hop on vinyl in the modern era.

After winning the best rap album for Igor in 2020, two years after, Tyler notched his second gold trophy for the same category for CMIUGL. Tyler bested Drake, Kanye West, J. Cole, and Nas. “First off, I’m hyped,” he said on his Instagram story last year. “Thank you to DJ Drama. You are fu–ing so important to rap music. Thank you to all of my friends for being my cheerleaders.” He also praised his team, which allowed him to “make an album where [he] can just flex all goddamn day.”

Tyler, The Creator, is also part of Hulu’s new docuseries Rapcaviar Presents, and there, spoke about why he enjoys his profession as a rapper. “We’re good with words. We’re good with rhythm. We know pockets. We hear a collection of sounds and one thing and say, ‘Ahh, I know what could go over this,’ that takes skill,” he said.

Stream Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale below.

Nearly seven years since BLACKPINK officially entered in our area, Jisoo is finally making her solo debut with the two-song project ME.

After two weeks of teases leading up to that included two different visual films released on March 15 and March 21, a poster with ME‘s tracklist and song credits on March 27, and the high-fashion music video teaser for lead single “Flower” on March 28, the full project has finally arrived for pop fans around the world.

The first ME song, “Flower,” is a subtle-yet-powerful sonic rollercoaster. It opens with a delicate blend of violin plucks and snappy, trappy production that spotlights Jisoo’s voice.

Like some of her best vocal moments on BLACKPINK records, “Flower” sees Jisoo letting loose with emotional warbles and passionate runs before the track shifts gear with a pitched-up vocal sequence that will likely become one of 2023’s most notable earworms. The second track, “All Eyes on Me,” points to Jisoo’s love of robust dance-pop records, which fans saw firsthand via her cover of Zedd and Foxes’ “Clarity” during their In Your Area world tour. Jisoo commands listeners to “Make me feel alive” before demanding “All eyes on me” amid a stomping synth-pop dance breakdown.

Along with ME‘s release at midnight on March 31, the official video for Jisoo’s “Flower” premiered on BLACKPINK’s YouTube channel.

With the release of Jisoo’s solo record, all four BLACKPINK members have now put out chart-topping solo music. The girl group’s solos kicked off in 2018 with Jennie‘s “Solo” single (which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart) before both Rosé and Lisa dropped two-song projects in 2021 (Rosé’s “On the Ground” hit No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S; Lisa’s “Lalisa” peaked at No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart while “Money” topped Rap Digital Song Sales). It won’t be long to see how Jisoo ranks alongside her beloved members.

Watch the “Flower” music video and listen to ME in full below:

Toosii achieves his first top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Favorite Song” jumps 12-7 on the list dated April 1. The rapper’s hit continues to rapidly improve in streaming performance in recent weeks, tracing to its viral strength on the TikTok social media platform. (Though TikTok plays don’t contribute to the Billboard charts, exposure on the platform aids in awareness of songs and helps generate streams through services like Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.)

“Favorite Song,” released on SouthCoast/Capitol Records, cracks the top 10 barrier largely thanks to its 18.4 million official U.S. streams in the week ending March 23, according to Luminate, up 29% from 14.3 million in the prior week. For the second straight week, “Favorite Song” wins the weekly Streaming Gainer prize on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the largest streaming increase among the chart’s 50 titles. The track also improves 5-3 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart for a new peak and races 18-8 on the corresponding all-genre Streaming Songs chart.

In addition to the streaming haul, “Favorite Song” posted gains in radio airplay and sales, the other two metrics that inform the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The cut sold 1,500 copies in the same period (a 31% weekly increase) and rises 19-16 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, and registered 3.4 million in radio audience impressions in the latest tracking week, up 120% from the previous frame. Airplay derives chiefly from the R&B/hip-hop and rhythmic formats: “Favorite Song” debuts at No. 34 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart after a 64% gain in plays in the tracking week. On Rhythmic Airplay, it moves 37-29 in its second week following a 93% surge in weekly plays.

As “Favorite Song” ascends, Toosii captures his first top 10 on his third Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart appearance. His first entry, “Love Cycle,” with Summer Walker, peaked at No. 44 in February 2021, while his second visit, “Love Is…,” managed a No. 33 best in July 2022.

Elsewhere, “Favorite Song” advances 5-3 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and pushes 36-21 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. On the latter, it also nabs the Streaming Gainer award. The Hot 100 appearance was a major highlight for the rapper, who called his Hot 100 debut “the biggest accomplishment of my career so far” in a TikTok post.

The TikTok platform has been instrumental to the success of “Favorite Song.” After the track’s release in February, it became a viral hit on the social media app, thanks to both the original and its sped-up version. Between them, the two renditions have soundtracked more than 847,000 clips.

There’s nothing sweeter than the relationship between Billie Eilish and her mom, Maggie Baird.

The “Bad Guy” superstar took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday (March 29) to celebrate her mother’s 64th birthday with a sweet post.

“Happy birthday mama,” Eilish captioned a snap of Baird smiling at the camera while playing badminton in a garden. “You make the world go round. I told you yesterday that when I think about how much I love you, I want to sob and throw up. @maggiembaird love you so much [pink heart emojis].”

See the post before it disappears here.

“She works so unbelievably hard,” the 21-year-old multi-Grammy winner previously told People of hers and Finneas’ mom. “She is so selfless, and she cares so much about people and the world in a way that I don’t think you could even believe is possible.”

She continued, “We, as people, hope for change, but often we just think it and say it. My mom is one of those people who really does it, and that’s so amazing to me.”

In 2022, Eilish and Baird were honored with the Environmental Media Association’s Missions in Music Award “for their incredible work as role models for sustainable behaviors,” including Eilish’s Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, the organization said.

Together, Eilish and Baird created “Overheated,” an extra component with climate-focused activities including clothing swaps, documentary screenings and veganism talks as part of an effort to communicate issues related to sustainable fashion and encourage fans to participate. It was organized in collaboration with Baird’s charity, Support + Feed, which takes on food insecurity and the climate crisis with plant-based food.

Tory Lanez is reportedly demanding a new trial after being convicted last year of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot, calling the guilty verdict a “miscarriage of justice.”

In a motion filed in Los Angeles court Wednesday, Lanez lawyers Jose Baez and Matthew Barhoma argued that Judge David Herriford made numerous errors during the two-week December trial that resulted in Lanez’s conviction, according to a report by Rolling Stone.

Among other arguments, Lanez’s attorneys said the judge should not have allowed jurors to see a key Instagram post from Lanez, which appeared to severely undermine the rapper’s central defense: that Stallion’s friend and assistant Kelsey Harris might been the one that actually pulled the trigger.

“The court erred on numerous questions of law in allowing the People to introduce this post, depriving defendant of a fair trial,” Lanez’ lawyers wrote in the motion, according to Rolling Stone’s report. “The only acceptable remedy for this miscarriage of justice is a new trial.”

Attorneys for Lanez and a representative for prosecutors did not immediately return a request for comment.

Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson) was convicted on Dec. 23 on three felony charges over the hotly-disputed July 2020 incident, in which the rapper allegedly shot Stallion in the foot during an argument after a pool party in the Hollywood Hills.

The shooting happened on the early morning of July 12, 2020, when Stallion, Lanez, Harris and a driver were traveling in an SUV following a party at Kylie Jenner’s house. According to prosecutors, after an argument broke out, Megan got out of the vehicle and began walking away, then Lanez shouted, “Dance, bitch!” and began shooting at her feet.

Immediately after the incident, Stallion initially told police officers that she cut her foot stepping on broken glass, but days later alleged that she had suffered a gunshot wound. Lanez was charged with the shooting in October 2022.

During the blockbuster trial, Lanez’s lawyers made their best effort to sow doubt over who pulled the trigger, painting a scenario in which Harris could have been the shooter. But a key defense witness offered only confusing eyewitness testimony, and prosecutors pointed to an interview in which Harris pinned the blame squarely on Lanez. Stallion herself offered powerful testimony that Lanez had been the one to shoot her; Lanez himself never took the witness stand.

At a sentencing currently scheduled for next month, Lanez faces up to 22 years in prison.

According to Rolling Stone’s report, Wednesday’s filing also cited California’s newly-enacted Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, a first-in-the-nation statute that aims to restrict when prosecutors can cite rap lyrics and other forms of creative expression as criminal evidence.

In the case of Lanez, his lawyers say prosecutors ran afoul of the new statute by showing jurors a shirtless photo of Peterson that revealed his tattoo of an AK-47 assault rifle, as well as by threatening to cite violent lyrics if he chose to testify in his own defense.

They argue that the use of that evidence violated the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act because it “painted defendant as a gun-wielding career criminal” and suggested to jurors that he had propensity for crime “based on his ‘gangster’ rapper persona.”