Eminem marked a very special milestone on Monday (April 20) when he celebrated his 18th year of sobriety. The 53-year-old MC posted an image on Instagram in which he held up his gold 18-year coin, which reads “to thing own self be true” across the top in black letters, with “unity, service and recovery” inscribed around a golden triangle with the number 18 etched inside in Roman numerals.

He captioned the post: “XVIII🏅.”

The Detroit-bred rapper born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, wore a special vintage T-shirt to mark the special day, paying tribute to fellow rhymer D-Nice’s 1991 To Tha Rescue album, the former Boogie Down Productions member’s second and final solo studio LP.

Em got plenty of love from friends and fans on the milestone day, including podcaster/comedian Theo Von, who commented, “Amen,” half brother Nathan “Nate” Mathers, who posted a pair of prayer hands and the message “proud of you big bro” and Roots drummer and director Questlove, who added “Awesome. Keep Goin [clapping hands emoji].”

Back in 2022, Eminem told his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg that it “took a long time for my brain to start working again” after a near-fatal overdose in 2007. “Didn’t you ask the doctors when I first started rapping again and sent it to you, didn’t you say, ‘I just wanna make sure he doesn’t have brain damage’?” Shady asked Rosenberg, who said he was definitely concerned at the time about Em’s ability to rap again. At the peak of his addiction, Em said he was taking 75-80 Valium a night, a potentially lethal amount.

Marshall has had a lot to celebrate lately, including becoming a grandpa recently when his eldest daughter, Alaina Scott — whom he adopted in the early 2000s — gave birth to a baby girl last week. Scott and husband Matt Moeller revealed that they welcomed a baby girl, Scottie Marie Moeller, on April 14. The child’s first name is a tribute to the last name of her birth mother, Dawn Scott, the sister of Eminem’s ex-wife, Kim Scott. It was the second time the rapper reached grand status, after his biological daughter, Hailie Jade, gave birth to a baby boy last March.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) is available 24/7.

Check out Eminem’s post below.

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Lil Tjay is in a moving car somewhere with bad signal, and he has a lot on his mind that he’s not allowed to say.

Two weeks ago, he walked out of Broward County Jail in Hollywood, Florida — arrested the night before on disorderly conduct charges in connection with the shooting of Offset outside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino — and gave reporters an interview that lit up every music blog within the hour.

He called Offset a “rat.” He recounted the scene. He threatened the Atlanta native with the kind of language that doesn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation.

Today, he’s considerably more composed.

“I’m just as confused as everyone else about that,” he says, when the situation comes up. “My lawyer told me not to touch on it too much. What I can say is the album will really hit home for my fans.”

One sentence. Door shut. On to the album.

The short version: a $10,000 casino debt, months of public beef, and then on April 6, Offset was shot outside the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Tjay was arrested that night on disorderly conduct charges. His lawyer called the reports linking him to the shooting “false rumors.”

Authorities never named him as the triggerman. He was out on bond by morning.

Two weeks later, he’s on the phone to talk about new music. The chaos is still there, humming in the background. But Tjay seems genuinely uninterested in feeding it.

“My week’s been active,” he says. “I’ve been putting everything together for my album, keeping content rolling so fans have things to watch.”

The album is They Just Ain’t You, due May 1 via his own imprint TrenchKid Records/ADA. It is, structurally and sonically, the most deliberate thing he’s put his name to — and the most personal, in ways that go beyond the music itself. This is his first fully independent project, built without major label infrastructure behind it. That shift is not incidental. It’s the whole point.

“The main thing — it’s completely me,” he says. “It’s an in-house project, no major label backing this time, unlike before. But the body of work should be just as strong.”

He’s not bitter about the label years. Good people, sometimes useful opinions — but a system that has its own gravitational pull. “You can get tied up in the business and people get too passionate,” he says. The outcome, for him, is simple: “Now I’m able to be my own boss.”

The lead single “Life On Edge,” out today, sounds like what that independence feels like from the inside — stripped back, a little isolated, pressure coiled underneath calm production. “

The more the struggle, the better the shine,” he delivers. “My life is a puzzle, but I’ve been hustling and juggling with times.” It doesn’t sound like a victory lap. It sounds like a man still in the middle of something, working it out in real time.

The album’s short film — a three-part visual series rolling out alongside the release — pulls from his Bronx upbringing in ways his earlier work touched on but never fully excavated. Going back to that material, he says, does something specific to him.

“It feels unrealistic sometimes,” he says. “The Bronx is different from anywhere else. When I go back it gives me a sense of accomplishment — reminds me what I’ve done.”

He acknowledges the gap between now and his last album plainly, without excuses. His 2023 release 222 was critically well-received — anchored by “June 22nd,” a raw account of the near-fatal shooting that nearly ended his career before this chapter could begin. But the label transition created a silence he knows cost him momentum.

“I fell short transitioning off the label and haven’t dropped an album since,” he says. “Now I plan to keep my foot on the gas and not take long breaks again.”

When asked about his musical inspirations, he brings up Justin Bieber — the recent Coachella moment, what it stirred up for him. Growing up in the Bronx, certain things were and weren’t acceptable to admit to. Liking the Canadian pop star was firmly in the second category. Tjay didn’t care then. He’s not apologising for it now.

“Where I’m from it wasn’t cool to be a Bieber fan, but I always rocked with him,” he says. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for him, I might not be an artist today.”

It lands quietly, but it lands hard. Because it explains something — about the melodic instinct that runs through Tjay’s catalogue, the emotional directness that helped him accumulate more than 18 billion global streams and a string of platinum certifications going back to his 2019 debut True 2 Myself. That sound didn’t come from nowhere. It came from a kid in the Bronx paying attention to whoever actually moved him, regardless of whether that was the approved choice.

That same instinct is what’s driving They Just Ain’t You. Not the noise. Not the drama. Not the version of Lil Tjay that walks out of a Florida jail and says what he says to the cameras. The version that gets back in the car, turns the phone on, and tries to make something true.

Asked what he wants fans to take from this era, he keeps it short.

“Stay on your own mission,” he says. “Rainy days come, but keep moving forward.”

From someone who has survived a near-fatal shooting, a public feud that ended in a casino parking lot, and more industry turbulence than most artists twice his age — it doesn’t read like a platitude. It reads like the only logical conclusion a person could reach after all of that.

They Just Ain’t You is out May 1.

The estate of Prince has released a previously unheard recording of “With This Tear,” a song the late artist originally wrote and later gave to Celine Dion in the early 1990s.

The newly unveiled version, issued via NPG Records and Legacy Recordings, features Prince’s original recording of the piano-led ballad, which he wrote, produced and performed himself. The track was first recorded at Paisley Park in November 1991, but had remained unreleased until now.

Dion’s version of “With This Tear” appeared on her 1992 self-titled album, marking one of several instances in which Prince contributed material to other artists while keeping his own recordings in the vault. His original take offers a more stripped-back interpretation of the song, foregrounding his vocal and piano arrangement.

The newly released recording has been updated with a fresh mix by Grammy-nominated producer Chris James, who has previously worked on multiple Prince-related projects. The release forms part of a broader effort by the Prince Estate to continue opening the artist’s extensive archive of unreleased material.

The timing of the track’s arrival is notable, coming just ahead of the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death. Since his passing in 2016, a steady stream of archival releases — including deluxe editions, vault recordings and previously unheard collaborations — has helped maintain his presence within contemporary music conversations while offering deeper insight into his prolific output.

“With This Tear” also reflects Prince’s long-standing role as a songwriter for other artists. Over the course of his career, he wrote and produced songs that were recorded by a wide range of performers, often delivering compositions that took on new forms outside of his own catalog.

The release follows renewed interest in Prince’s archive in recent years. In 2024, a demo of “Baby Doll,” a previously unheard collaboration between Prince and Kylie Minogue, surfaced online, highlighting the depth of material still contained within the vault.

While details about a potential larger vault project have not been formally confirmed, reports have suggested that additional archival releases may be forthcoming.

Coachella 2026’s three headliners — Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G — all make waves on the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 25), following their star turns over the first weekend of the festival (April 10-12).

Bieber has a career-high total of seven albums on the chart — including five re-entries and a debut — led by a top 10 return for SWAG. And all seven post individual gains of at least 100% in equivalent album units earned (in the United States in the week ending April 16) as compared to the previous week, according to Luminate. Carpenter has two titles on the chart, including one in the top 10; while Karol G re-enters the list with Tropicoqueta.

Carpenter, Bieber and Karol G headlined the evenings of April 10, 11 and 12, respectively, over the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and their performances were also livestreamed on YouTube. The trio repeated their headlining turns the following weekend (April 17, 18 and 19), and those gains will be reflected on next week’s charts (dated May 1).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 25, 2026-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 21.

Bieber’s SWAG zooms 55-7 with 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending April 16, a gain of 160% compared to the previous week. The increase was largely owed to streaming activity, as SWAG’s songs generated 42,000 SEA units (up 158%), equaling 41.48 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — across both its SWAG and deluxe SWAG II reissue that contained additional songs. (All versions of the album are combined for tracking and charting.)

Five more Bieber sets re-enter the list: Purpose (No. 32 with 22,000 units; up 173%), Believe (No. 34 with 21,000, up 241%), My World 2.0 (No. 38 with 20,000, up 268%), Justice (No. 110 with 13,000, up 100%) and My World (No. 147 with 12,000, up 563%).

Debuting on the chart is Bieber’s 12-year-old album Journals, entering at No. 111 with nearly 13,000 units earned (up 192%). Journals was originally released exclusively for purchase only in the iTunes Store on Dec. 23, 2013. However, sales from the iTunes Store were not reported to Luminate (then-named Nielsen SoundScan), and in turn, the title did not debut on the Billboard 200. The album eventually became widely available to all digital download and streaming services (and eventually iTunes began reporting the album’s weekly sales), and on CD and vinyl, but this week marks the first week the album had enough activity to chart in a single week.

With seven albums on the Billboard 200 at the same time, that marks the most titles Bieber has placed on the tally concurrently. The most he’s ever had on the chart at once is four, last achieved in January 2012.

As for Carpenter, her former No. 1 Man’s Best Friend jumps back into the top 10, climbing 18-10, with 40,000 equivalent album units earned, up 44%. Like SWAG, Man’s Best Friend mostly gained from streaming increases — it earned 34,000 SEA units (up 60%), equaling 34.39 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs.

Carpenter’s previous set, Short n’ Sweet, sizzles with a 24-17 jump (nearly 31,000 units, up 23%).

Rounding out the Coachella headliners is Karol G, who sees her Tropicoqueta album re-enter at No. 116 with nearly 13,000 units (up 51%).

SYDNEY, Australia – Fifteen years after Poof Doof first began spreading joy at parties across Australia, the legendary queer events and nightclub brand is entering the label business.

Poof Doof Records launches proper today with its first release, “All I Need,” from resident Poof Doof artist Jimi the Kween, the beloved drag queen and musician.

The label is an extension of the colorful business formed in Melbourne in 2011 by founder and Anthony “Hockers” Hocking. “We built up the community and we’ve seen so many young, queer artists come through the doors and perform and play for our events, that it was kind of like a natural progression to start our label,” Hocking tells Billboard.

Its mission: to continue uplifting, nurturing and providing pathways for queer talent in Australia. And to share their music with the world. The new venture, Hocking continues, “has been on my mind for many years.”

Distribution is handled by AWAL Records, with Poof Doof Records partnering with Positive Feedback and Powerhouse Management, and with John Davis, creative director / festivals co-ordinator, playing a guiding hand.

In its early stages, the label will accept submissions. “Over time,” explains Davis, “we intend to evolve toward a more traditional A&R model, proactively identifying and developing emerging queer talent.”

The inspiration behind the first release isn’t hidden from view; it’s right there in the title. “All you really need is the people that love and support you around to lift you up and have a really good time,” Jimi the Kween tells Billboard. “So it’s kind of all centered on being around like-minded humans and celebrating each other, and then you can, you know, live your fantasies and be yourself. So that’s also kind of why it’s the perfect message for the first release on the label, too. The messaging behind it is celebration, and it’s pride, it’s joy.”

Poof Doof’s cheeky name made the leap into Australia’s mainstream many years ago, where the team has hosted major activations, including queer precincts and stage takeovers at such shows as Splendour In The Grass, Beyond The Valley and Pitch Festival. Wherever Aussies want to party.  

Many of the biggest names in dance music have played its stages, including Carl Cox, Faithless, Seth Troxler, Melanie C, the Veronicas and many others.

Each year, the brand is front and center at Sydney Mardi Gras, getting the good times humming with a series of pool, boat and underwear parties, culminating in its iconic Mardi Gras Parade After Party. Its specialized events include Red Rave, Snap Crackle Pop XXL, POOF DOOF Drag Brunch and outdoor micro-festivals including A Gay On The Lawn and Yasss Queens Park.

“The Poof Doof audience at heart, a Poof Doof party, can be absolutely anything,” explains Davis, “but at the core of it, it’s about queer joy. Uplifting the community, good fun. Fun is the name of the game. If we’re not having fun, you’re not having fun. We are always about having a great time, making sure everything is colorful, inclusive.” And yes, “there’s confetti.”

With the launch of Poof Doof Records, out rolls its official website at poofdoofrecords.com. Label submissions can be made at music@poofdoofrecords.com.

Sonically, the label will be a broad palate, welcoming future-forward house and techno tunes, to artist-led pop and other styles. It’s unified not by genre, but by a joyful queer creative perspective, Hocking enthuses.

“If the music’s good, if the songs are good, we’ll put it out,” he says. “We don’t want to overpromise, we don’t want to stretch ourselves. But we’ll see what comes in the door.”

Timing is everything. Poof Doof Records launches ahead of June’s Global Pride Month. WorldPride 2026 will take over Amsterdam from July 25 to Aug. 8, 2026. Poof Doof will be on the ground, representing with its famous parties.

“With what’s going on, the world’s a pretty wild place right now,” notes Hocking. “All I Need” is a “feel good song that really speaks out to communities all over the world. The timing is right.”