Nearly 25 years after issuing their debut album, bluegrass group Steep Canyon Rangers have become consistent hitmakers, tying Old Crow Medicine Show in 2024 for the most No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart since the chart launched in 2002.

The North Carolina-formed group’s Graham Sharp (banjo/vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin/vocals), Nicky Sanders (fiddle/vocals), Mike Ashworth (drums/vocals/dobro/guitar), Barrett Smith (bass/vocals/guitar) and newest member, guitarist/vocalist Aaron Burdett, who joined in 2022, are known for a style that takes traditional bluegrass styles and infuses them with progressive arrangements.

Yet, with their 15th studio album, Next Act, out today (May 22) on Yep Roc Records, the group keeps finding new ways to challenge themselves.

“I’ve never sang a song besides [a song he wrote] on a record, and Aaron’s never had somebody sing one of his songs besides himself,” Steep Canyon Rangers founding member Sharp tells Billboard. “I sing Aaron’s ‘Stubborn Love’ on this [album]. It’s so natural for the writer to be the one to sing it, but we were sitting backstage one time, and someone was like, ‘This sounds like something Graham could sing.’ We’ve learned where we all fit in that cast of characters and who is best suited to tell what stories. It’s giving everybody not just a chance to show what they can do, but to have their own kind of story to tell.”

In 2011, Steep Canyon Rangers and fellow songwriter-banjoist Steve Martin won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s entertainer of the year accolade. The new album features appearances from Martin, as well as singer-songwriter Edie Brickell and bluegrass group Della Mae’s Celia Woodsmith.

Below, Billboard speaks with Sharp about the new album, memories from the Grammy-winning group’s 25 years in the spotlight and what’s ahead.

When did you start writing for this project?

It’s kind of a slow accumulation of songs in general. Aaron and I, we have to get way out ahead of it. This morning I’m working on songs for the next record, and we may not record for a year, but I need to do my work farther out. I’ve learned that I always seem to want people to, as soon as I write it, to learn the song, but I think it’s important to give everybody a moment to have their own first impression. Everybody kind of has their places to plug in. Ashworth and Barrett, I might have a song with good bones and we develop it from there. Whereas, Nicky, he’s best to get involved in the process the day you’re recording, because once you’ve got it to that point, he’ll hear little things and have ideas to give it that last touch.

“Hard Luck Kid” has a lot of that vivid storytelling about a chance meeting with someone going through hard times. What do you remember about that incident that inspired it?

As soon as I walked in, you could see that he had this hang dog look to him and he came up to me and started talking. He started telling me this story about getting kicked out of school because he was sticking up for his sister against somebody who was messing with her. To me, he was looking for some kind of reassurance or just to tell a story. But on my end, [it felt like] there’s somebody who trusted me. There’s a line in there, “He shook my hand with all the kindness I could ever hope to find.” That’s kind of the fun with writing, you can write yourself kind of into those moments.

And there is no true resolution there; it’s more of a chronicling of the moment.

I reread this great book on writing by George Saunders, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain and he analyzes these short stories by these Russian writers. One of them, I can’t remember who it is, is like, “The job isn’t to solve the problem, it’s to formulate the problem correctly.” I love that because… most stuff doesn’t end up with a bow on it. He just wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

“Heart’s the Only Compass” delves into unraveling and relearning family history. Tell me about the inspiration for that.

I was visiting with my uncle who’s like 90, but he’s got a great memory and he started telling these stories of my grandparents and all their family. I knew little pieces of my family history and then kind of filled out the details in my mind, but when you actually got down to the details of the family and how people came through the Great Depression and World War II and all this stuff, I mean, it was almost dumb luck that brought them through … all these little choices and little chances that could have gone a different way.

Steve Martin joins you on “Heart’s the Only Compass,” and you’ve had a creative association with him for over 15 years. What was it like first working together?

He had never really worked with a band live, and his wife had connected us with him. His album [2009’s] The Crow had come out and he was going to come to a festival outside Asheville and play some songs. We met to rehearse and that was a real strength of the band. We learned that album note for note and he had never played it with people, so I think that made an impression. And then getting to know each other and trust each other over the years, we can talk about stuff and even on this record, he’s such an astute artist and listener that we wanted his opinion, and we ended up changing a few things on the record based on what he said.

What do you most hope that fans take away from hearing this project?

I’ve always hoped that there was no distinction between us playing this traditional stuff and us playing whatever is not traditional. It’s all felt like part of the same parcel and comes from the same place — it’s just which influences we decide to lean into. I hope this finds a place within all our other albums that we’ve done, and it stands on its own while also recalling all the work we’ve done leading up to it. It feels good to bring that back out because that is a big part of our DNA.

What are your creative goals for Steep Canyon Rangers at this point?

Honestly, I’ve hit them all. For me, I want to keep making good art and making good music. The band won a Grammy, but two or three of the guys weren’t in the band then. So, it’d be nice to get a Grammy for those guys at some point. But that’s one of those things that’s almost too weird to even want, because it’s such a crapshoot a little bit. Honestly, my ambition is to be able to keep doing this. I am still inspired to work on it every day.

From Grammy-nominated MCs like Jeezy to late ‘00s/early ‘10s icons like Lil Ru (“The Nasty Song”) and newer cats such as Dro Kenji, South Carolina has been an underrated hip-hop state for several decades now. Armed with an innately melodic Gulla Geechee accent, zany beat selection and a knack for endlessly quotable hooks, Trim is looking to be the latest South Carolina rapper to wave her state’s flag in the hip-hop mainstream.

Born Ahlaisha Kornickey, 19, Trim started rapping last year. She didn’t grow up scribbling bars in an old notebook, nor did she come up trying to memorize her favorite verses in the back seat, but she knew she needed to find her purpose. So, she started freestyling in her backyard, uploading clips to TikTok and quickly accruing a fanbase that rallied around early singles like “Maybach” and “Rocket.” Through developing her rapid-fire flow and bending her malleable accent to achieve different intonation effects, Trim found her voice — and quickly found an audience willing to listen to her.

“[I started rapping] so people could listen to me and so I could express my feelings for real,” she tells Billboard. “When you don’t have a lot of people that listen to you in real life, you might try to find your purpose by being around somebody who will listen to you.”

Last April, Trim teamed up with fellow ascendant South Carolina rapper Ashswervo for “Timbs,” the song that truly blew her up locally and helped her land a distribution deal with BuVision, the label founded by record executive Abou “Bu” Thiam and now operating in partnership with Atlantic Music Group. After closing out 2025 with a steady stream of standalone singles — including breakthrough single “Boat,” a guest appearance on Sunshine Benzi’s “Trump the Bill” and a remix of Monaleo’s “Putting Ya Dine” — Trim’s star skyrocketed at the top of the new year.

Just before Christmas, Trim tapped YKNiece and BunnaB, two Atlanta female rappers who broke out in 2025, for a remix to “Boat” that helped the song go from buzzy social media track to streaming hit. Also aided by a later Pooh Shiesty remix (one of the Memphis rapper’s few post-prison collaborations before getting back in trouble with the law), “Boat” has garnered over 33.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams in 2026, according to Luminate, good for a No. 48 debut on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

At the top of 2026, Trim scored another viral hit with the score-settling, Arctic Monkeys-nodding “Floor.” She maintained that momentum with “Guapo,” and a pair of eye-catching collaborations: “Chröme” (with Slayr) and “No Trick” (with Luh Tyler). Each of those tracks was a necessary step to “Coconut Water,” a dark horse contender for this year’s breakout summer hip-hop smash. Built around a hook that immediately lodges itself in your brain, the summery song got its live debut during Trim’s Rolling Loud set earlier this month (May 10).

Though that performance exposed some of the difficulties of balancing an explosive rise with the time and care necessary to craft a consistent stage show, Trim’s Rolling Loud debut made one thing clear: she’s hungry and coming for it all. And comparisons to more established MCs — or mean-spirited social media takedowns — aren’t getting in her way.

Below, Trim chats with Billboard about her fast-approaching Pass the Tiara EP, Zara Larsson being her biggest current performance inspiration, and why she’s claiming the Princess of Rap title with her chest.

You call yourself the “Princess of Rap.” Why do you think you deserve that title?

Well, when you’re putting in work every day, and you actually have a passion for rapping instead of letting people give you handouts and write for you — that’s why I deserve it. I don’t ask for handouts.

How would you describe your creative process? What does a typical writing or studio session look like for you?

I think of what I want to do in the moment and how I feel, and I put that in my songs. I freestyle and write. When I’m selecting beats, I listen for claps and a tropical vibe. Something with substance; something people can relate to.

Everyone from Doja Cat to Doechii to Odeal is co-signing “Coconut Water.” Did that song feel special when you recorded it?

No, it just felt like me. When you make your own songs, you know it’s you. People get songs written for them, so they know it’s automatically a hit. But when you expect [the] unexpected, that’s when you have a better outcome. All these celebrities like my songs because they come from me, and they can feel me. That’s why celebrities are not supporting people [who] don’t write their own music; they can’t relate to it, and they can’t feel it.

How did “Coconut Water” come together?

I freestyled [the first pass] because I knew what the topic was going to be, but when I wanted to make a catchier verse — since I already had my hook — I went back and wrote one part.

You were also in the studio with Hitmaka recently. What can you tell us about that?

Hitmaka provides beats for me, and I do [the rest] on my own, but he is very nice. I wouldn’t say I’ve learned anything because if you go into the studio and let people do the work for you, then you’re not really learning anything. But he has shown me that there are different varieties and routes you can take using different beats.

You’ve worked with Pooh Shiesty, Sunshine Benzi and Luh Tyler. Who are some other collaborators on your wish list?

I don’t have a wish list anymore, but I would say Michael Jackson if he [were] here. [I had one at first], but artists tend to lose their worth and value. I really don’t care to work with anybody unless they want to work with me.

Who are your hip-hop heroes?

I don’t have none. My only hero is my mom. That’s it.

She understood what I was rapping about, and she pushed me to keep rapping about things that I normally don’t do in real life. Growing up and becoming a woman, it’s things that you’re going to participate in, so she allowed me to rap about that so I can become bigger instead of judging me [based on] what I rap about. She pushed me because she knows it will be beneficial.

I didn’t want my family to be a part of my team, because the music industry is stressful, and I don’t want their life to be stressful. I’d rather just go through it myself, and they get the gold from it. I’ve done research on the music industry since I was 17, before I started rapping. I studied what goes on, and things have been exposed. Why would I want to put my family through that? And you shouldn’t mix family with business, first of all. I’d rather do it with somebody [who] already has experience and [whom] I feel comfortable with.

You played a few local shows before your Rolling Loud debut. What was that experience like?

I book my own venues, and I allow my supporters to come because you gotta gain power. If you let people book your venues, they take a percentage of what’s yours. Why not build my own show, so when I get in arenas I can rent out a damn arena; Imma be making way more money instead of people taking cuts from me. That’s why I started doing my mini shows.

You’re very business-minded. Where do you think that comes from?

From doing research and seeing what people don’t do. When you see mistakes other people make, you know not to make them yourself. And when you see things that people aren’t doing, I do it myself. Because why aren’t you doing it?

Talk to me about Rolling Loud.

It was exciting. I know I can do better, but it was so hot. I’m gonna definitely up my performances. I’m no longer using a microphone; I’m using a headpiece so I can actually give a show because that is one of my goals. I want to give people what they’re worth watching. I tried to do that in the beginning, but they didn’t give me a proper headpiece. There’s definitely things I need to work on.

What were rehearsals like?

Performance rehearsals are fun! I will continue to do rehearsals even if I don’t have a show coming up, so I can become a better artist. But the only person I still see doing performances — because they don’t care to anymore in hip-hop — is Zara Larsson. I’ve seen her working with a lot of hip-hop artists, too. She inspired me to want to do performances at that level.

As someone who was raised and blew up on the internet, how are you dealing with how nasty and intense the comments can get?

I take it as things that I need to work on, so I self-reflect and do things better. Not everybody’s trying to attack you; they’re actually trying to help you. Everybody has their moments when they cry about it, though, it’s just part of being human. But to be great, you have to cry. You have to be better. I take it all as a learning experience, even if I do something wrong that might not be wrong to me. And it’s not me trying to be perfect for the world, it’s just me growing as a person.

Do you have that same approach when it comes to people trying to compare you to more established artists, particularly those in the female rap arena?

Back in the day, those artists were [developed] way older. They were like 25-30 and had the experience of being a woman and being a man to have a good vocabulary. I like to have bars and a good vocabulary, but I really don’t care about those things right now because I am younger and I made it way younger than most of them. Some people are using ChatGPT, and they’re not actually writing; people be cheating and looking on the Internet for bars.

I didn’t go to college, but I did graduate high school. I didn’t graduate high school the proper way, so I don’t have these big words, but I know I can get them in the future. When people compare me to artists older than me, it don’t even make sense. I was 19 when I made it. My brain isn’t even as developed as theirs just yet. But I take it as a compliment because that means I’m on their mind.

How do you define success? What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goal is to make my own Super Bowl performance and not depend on anybody else. I want to do it myself. Some people may see it as impossible, but you have to think impossible to make it possible.

Who are some South Carolina rappers that we should know?

My crew, YTN [Young Turnt Nation], with 01Wavey and TrapStaxrC. TrapStaxrC was on my song “Bad Ho’s,” and me and Wavey are gonna have a song. That’s the only people you should look out for. That’s the male version of me, honestly.

[Before I blew up], the rap scene in South Carolina was about living the fast life and being outside. The energy reminds me of people from outside of the country, like Mexicans and Africans, because it’s so free-willed with the dancing, not caring what other people think. That’s how the people are in Charleston; it’s not like in Miami or L.A., where people care about how the world perceives them. We have more freedom, and we’re not scared to do what we want.

What can you tell us about Pass the Tiara?

It’s coming after I drop my single “Hey Boy,” so probably around August or September. And it’s an EP to let people know that I am the Princess of Rap — and to tell other people to stop calling themselves that. If you’re going to call yourself that, you have to have a high standard with music in general, not just an online presence. How are you the princess when you don’t even know who your fans are? You don’t have no Michael Jackson effect in them. I will be having that effect. It might not be as big just yet, but it will be bigger than what these other people have in person with their fans.

What’s the most surprising cosign you’ve gotten?

The only one y’all don’t know about is probably G Herbo, but I met Young Thug, and that was cool. It was a little bit awkward because when you meet people that’s older than you, you don’t know what to say and how to relate to them. But when we keep connecting, it probably will be better. That’s also why I want to start off collaborating with people in my age range.

What excites you most about this era of hip-hop?

I honestly feel like the people [who] are so-called the big dogs should look into starting a business so they won’t get washed up. If you keep releasing music and it [comes and goes] because your heart isn’t in it, why not start your own label and invest in other artists and give them the opportunity to be under your wing? They should let other people take over now because that’s what I would do. And I wouldn’t even wait so long to do it. If I was LeBron, I wouldn’t play till I was 40, because it’s getting washed up. I would be after my prime. But sports is a different conversation.

Would you ever sign to a major label?

Not right now, no, because I want to have my own freedom, and money isn’t the biggest thing for me.

Drake has set a new U.K. chart record following the surprise release of three studio albums.

With Iceman landing at No. 1, Maid of Honour at No. 6, and Habibti at No. 7 on Friday (May 22), he becomes the first artist to debut three studio albums inside the top 10 of the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart simultaneously.

The last artist to achieve a similar feat was Prince, who debuted three compilation records (The Hits/The B-Sides, The Hits 1 and The Hits 2) inside the top 10 back in 1993.

While Drizzy teased Iceman with an array of attention-grabbing stunts, Maid of Honour and Habibti were dropped with no prior warning. “Janice STFU” and “National Treasures” from Iceman land at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart.

In a ranking of Drake’s 20 projects so far by Billboard staff, Iceman was considered his sixth-best LP, with Maid of Honour at No. 12, and Habibti at No. 17.

Drake now boasts seven U.K. No. 1 albums overall with Iceman joining Views (2016), Scorpio (2018), Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020), Certified Lover Boy (2021), Her Loss (2022) For All the Dogs (2023).

Michael Jackson‘s The Essential compilation falls just one place to No. 2, having spent the past two weeks at the summit. Another of MJ’s catalog lands in the top five with Thriller closing at No. 4, and Bad (No. 8) and Off The Wall (No. 37) also performing well.

Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving continues to endure and finishes at No. 3, with Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide at No. 5.

Freya Skye debuts at No. 35 with her release Stardust and The Karma Effect clock in at No. 39 with Cruel Intentions. 

Nicki Minaj pulled up to SpaceX’s flight test in Texas on Thursday (May 21), but in this case, starships weren’t meant to fly, as the flight was postponed to due to technical issues with the the spacecraft.

She joined the SpaceX broadcast for a brief chat at Starbase for the launch of the Starship rocket. Fittingly, the Queens rapper was rocking a T-shirt that was emblazoned with a “Starship” graphic.

“Barbz, come on down, because this is a lot of fun. I’m excited,” she said in a video of her visit shared by SpaceX on X. “This is historic, this is a major moment y’all.”

The rapper — whose Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded lead single “Starships” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012 — made sure to bestow some praise upon SpaceX majority owner, Elon Musk, which saw her recognize the tech giant for his contributions to society.

“Major shout-out to Elon,” she gushed during her visit. “Thank you for everything that you’re doing for humanity.”

“Even did a lil video for the Barbz,” she added on her own X during her time at Starbase. Soundtracked by her 2012 Justin Bieber collaboration “Beauty and a Beat,” the clip finds Minaj posing in jeans and a matching denim coat, while holding a yellow designer bag.

Starships are meant to fly @NICKIMINAJ pic.twitter.com/gwprhU4AV2

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2026

After the failed launch, Musk explained on X that there was an issue with a faulty hydraulic pin, and they’d try another launch on Friday (May 22) at 6:30 p.m. ET if all went well with the repair.

It’s not too surprising to see Minaj aligning with Musk, who previously served as the senior advisor to President Donald Trump and headed the Department of Government Efficiency before leaving the administration in May 2025.

Musk and Trump are still on good terms these days, as the Tesla CEO joined the president during a recent trip to China, per The New York Times.

As for Minaj, she hasn’t been shy about her support for Trump while endearing herself to the Republican Party. The rapper has referred to herself as the president’s “No. 1 fan,” and she spoke to TIME about her support for Trump. “Many celebrities feel the way I do, but they don’t say it. Sometimes you just need one brave person to get the brunt of the impact. I think I am the catalyst for that change,” she said earlier in May. “Hopefully, when they see me and hear me speak and feel my energy.”

Live Nation is asking a federal judge to overturn the blockbuster verdict that the music giant is an illegal monopoly, arguing there was so little evidence during the trial that the jury’s decision “cannot stand.”

In a pair of motions filed in Manhattan federal court Thursday (May 21), Live Nation is urging the judge to undo the April verdict, in which jurors sided decisively with a coalition of state attorneys general who called the concert company a “monopolistic bully.”

Live Nation wants the judge to either reverse the verdict entirely or grant the company a new trial. It says the states lacked sufficient evidence to win the case and instead had relied on “cherrypicked” data and claims designed to “inflame and distract” the jury.

“In the end, the jury verdict is legally indefensible,” the company’s lawyers write in the filing, obtained and first reported by Billboard. “At the very least, a new trial is needed.”

Thursday’s filings are the procedural first step in Live Nation’s efforts to overturn the verdict. If denied — such post-trial motions face long odds in any lawsuit — the company will then take the case to a federal appeals court, and then to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Those efforts will have new stakes after the states formally asked earlier on Thursday that the judge must punish Live Nation by forcing it to sell Ticketmaster — a drastic change that would have major implications for the live music industry. Live Nation responded that a breakup is not legally available and the states’ request for one is “performative and political.”

The Department of Justice and dozens of states sued Live Nation in 2024, claiming the company (which acquired Ticketmaster in 2010) had grown into a monopoly that dominates live music: “It is time to break it up,” said then-attorney general Merrick Garland.

A week after the case went to trial in March, the DOJ agreed to a surprise settlement. But dozens of states pushed ahead, with the goal of splitting Ticketmaster from Live Nation. And on April 15, they won a total victory: A verdict that Live Nation had violated federal antitrust laws by illegally monopolizing the market for ticketing services and other elements of the live music ecosystem.

In Thursday’s filings, Live Nation argues that such a verdict was “contrary to the clear weight of the evidence” presented to jurors during the trial. Rather than concrete proof and valid legal claims, the company says the states’ case was mostly built on scaring jurors with “legally irrelevant” stories about harm the company had allegedly inflicted on music fans.

“Hours of trial time were spent on prices for lawn chairs and parking. Phrases like ‘robbing them blind baby’ and ‘velvet hammer’ were plaintiffs’ mantras,” the company’s lawyers write, referring to specific moments from the trial, including unflattering internal messages in which Live Nation execs bragged about raising prices.

“None of this evidence should have come in, and its devastating impact became more apparent as the trial progressed,” Live Nation’s lawyers write. “Without it, there is little chance the jury would have returned the same verdict.”