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Bay Area rapper E-40 talks with Carl Lamarre — Billboard‘s deputy director of R&B/hip-hop — about his new album Rule of Thumb: Rule 1, collaborating with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Gucci Mane and Too Short on the album, almost working with Nipsey Hussle, his favorite memories of Tupac, his entrepreneurship side hustles such as his cookbook with Snoop Dogg and more!
Carl Lamarre:
Happy birthday, brother E-40!
E-40:
Thank you. Appreciate it, brother.
Carl Lamarre:
We have these complimentary birthday shots — any word you want to say.
E-40:
I ain’t above you.
Carl Lamarre:
I ain’t above you.
E-40:
I ain’t below you.
Carl Lamarre:
I ain’t below you.
E-40:
But I’m right beside you …
Carl Lamarre:
But I’m right beside you.
E-40:
Cheers, playa.
Carl Lamarre:
Cheers, playa playa!
What’s really going on, y’all? I’m Billboard Deputy Director of R&B/Hip-Hop, Mr. Carl Lamarre, and we are here with brother E-40. How are you? How are you feeling overall, man?
E-40:
I feel good, man. I really feel good. I’m happy. I’m in a happy space. God is great.
Carl Lamarre:
This year … 50 years of hip-hop. You’ve been celebrating a lot of wins, but I’m just curious: Overall, what does 50 years of hip-hop mean to you?
E-40
Um, it means everything. They didn’t think to get this far, you know? Now it’s the No. 1 genre of music. Hip-hop, man, you see it in commercials, you see it in movies, you see it everywhere. It’s all related to sports and entertainment, and from the urban community. And look at it now! It even became even suburbian — it’s everywhere like air. You can’t get away from it, man! Fifty years — shoutout to … Kool Herc and the founders of hip-hop. Thank you!
Watch the full interview above!
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and Lifetime wants to get you in the holiday spirit with a festive lineup of holiday movies. The cable network will debut two new movies, The Holiday Proposal Plan and A Christmas Intern, on Saturday (Dec. 16).
The Holiday Proposal Plan stars Tatyana Ali and Jesse Kove as exes who reunite to their best friends get engaged. But working so closely could reignite a flame between the former lover birds.
In A Christmas Intern, Jackée Harry plays a retiree who takes an internship at her daughter’s gift-giving company for the holidays. The movie also stars Vivica Foxx, Ciarra Carter, Doug Rogers, Jasmine Avialotis and Michael Paré, and features an original song by Harry.
Read on for ways to stream Christmas movies on Lifetime without cable.
How to Stream Lifetime Movies Without Cable
Saturday’s double-feature starts with The Holiday Proposal Plan at 8 p.m. ET/PT and A Christmas Intern at 10 p.m. ET/PT. You can watch Lifetime and other cable channels on streaming platforms like Philo, Sling TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream and Frndly TV (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).
On a budget? Fubo, Sling TV are on sale for $20 for the first month and Philo is $25/month for 70+ channels, making it one of the most affordable streaming services for live television (and there’s a free trial for a week). Lifetime, LMN, Food Network, BET, MTV, VH1, A&E, TLC, WEtv and other channels are available on Philo.
You might not be as familiar with Frndly, but it’s another budget-friendly streamer that offers 40+ channels including Lifetime, LMN, A&E, History Channel and Hallmark Channel. Plans start at only $6.99/month after a seven-day free trial.
Lifetime’s roster of holiday movies includes Christmas Plus One, Plains, Trains and Christmas Trees, Silent Night, Fatal Night, Christmas at the Chalet, Ladies of the 80s: A Divas Christmas, and A Cowboy Christmas Romance.
In the span of just two years, RIOTUSA has become one of the industry’s in-demand producers — thanks to his hitmaking prowess with friend and best new artist Grammy nominee Ice Spice.
RIOT, who started making beats at 10 years old on GarageBand, began producing songs with Ice Spice in 2021. Then the dynamic duo hit the ground running the next year with the TikTok-trending drill song “Munch (Feelin’ U).” Co-signed by Drake, the single was later certified gold. Next to arrive was Ice Spice’s 2023 EP Like..? Executive produced by RIOT, the project peaked at No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It also spun off two more hits, “In Ha Mood” and “Gangsta Boo” featuring Lil Tjay, the latter of which became Ice Spice’s first Hot 100 entry.
The creative rapport between RIOT and Ice Spice has since yielded several more Hot 100 success stories. Those include Taylor Swift’s “Karma” remix featuring Ice Spice (No. 2) and co-written by RIOT as well as the RIOT-produced “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj (No. 4). RIOTUSA also produced Ice Spice and Minaj’s second teaming on “Barbie World” with Aqua from Barbie: The Album. Debuting at No. 7 on the Hot 100 and also claiming No. 1 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart, the song is a current Grammy nominee in two categories: best rap song and best song written for visual media. “Karma” is also a best pop duo/group performance nominee.
New York native RIOTUSA, who signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music this past summer, joined Billboard for a conversation on Threads. Here are some soundbites from the live Q&A session on Dec. 13.
On what his music appearing on the Billboard charts means to him and his career:
“It’s a blessing fr (for real). Billboard helped me understand how big the records I work on really are. It reminds you [that] hard work pays off. When I saw I was the No. 1 rap producer, I felt honored and grateful.”
On how he and Ice Spice met:
“We met in school [State University of New York Purchase] back in 2019. We had mutual high school friends and started hanging in the same circles.”
On what it’s like recording with Ice Spice in the studio:
“It’s a fun time because she really be saying how she feels in that moment … from picking out vibes or punching in lyrics on the spot.”
On working with Nicki Minaj for “Princess Diana” and “Barbie World”:
“Nicki is a legend, icon. She was so cool in person and welcomed me into her creative space. When I found out she was getting on ‘Princess Diana,’ I knew it was lit. But then finding out about ‘Barbie World’ with Ice too? I was like nah, this is New York City.”
On his other music idols and inspirations:
“Drake, Pop Smoke, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Tyler, the Creator, Young Thug, Ye.”
On some of the artists he’s currently working with:
“Ken [Carson], Lil Yachty, Scheck Wes.”
On what fans just discovering his music should know about him and expect from future releases:
“Fans should know I produce and record too, so look out for my music. Also look out for new classics with Ice in 2024. We’re working on her debut album as we speak.”
SiriusXM’s announcement that it planned to merge its stock with Liberty SiriusXM Group, a tracking stock of Liberty Media, helped the SiriusXM share price climb 16.4% to $5.40 this week after it lagged for much of 2023. Friday’s high mark of $5.78 nearly brought the stock back to where it ended 2022, at $5.84 per share.
The deal, which requires regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2024, “will create value for all stockholders by eliminating the tracking stock structure, enhancing liquidity and allowing former LSXM stockholders to participate directly in the ongoing performance of SiriusXM,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media president/CEO, in a statement released Tuesday (Dec. 12).
Elsewhere, Live Nation climbed 9.2% to $93.00 this week thanks in part to an investor note by Morgan Stanley analysts that raised the price target to $110 from $100. Analysts pointed to a “secular shift” in consumer spending on experiences, the company’s increased disclosure about its Venue Nation business and a “highly unlikely” chance the Department of Justice will break up the company following its antitrust probe. Morgan Stanley’s $110 price target implies the stock, which is up 33.4% year to date, has 18% upside after Friday’s close.
Those big gains from SiriusXM and Live Nation, as well as a 4.1% gain from Universal Music Group, one of the index’s most valuable components, helped the Billboard Global Music Index increase 2.2% this week to a record 1,522.78. Nine of the index’s 20 stocks finished the week in positive territory, 10 stocks lost ground and one was unchanged.
Other indexes soared this week after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged on Wednesday (Dec. 13) and indicated it would cut interest rates three times in 2024. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite set a record closing price of 14,813.92 on Friday, marking a 2.8% gain for the week. The S&P 500 is still 2% away from its high mark after finishing the week up 2.5% to 4,719.19. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7,576.36. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 1.8% to 2,563.56.
The Billboard Global Music Index’s second-largest increase came from Reservoir Media, which gained 15% to $6.82. The stock’s $6.89 closing price on Thursday was its highest since $7.06 on Feb. 16 and is 31.4% above its 52-week low of $5.19 set on Aug. 10. Chinese music streamer Tencent Music Entertainment gained 8.0% to $8.88.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund gained 4.9% to 0.701 pounds ($0.89) after the company announced on Monday (Dec. 11) the sale of 20,000 non-core music assets for $23.1 million. The proceeds will be used to pay down its revolving credit facility. On Friday, the company also announced the appointment of Christopher Mills as an independent non-executive director effective immediately. Mills, who has a reputation as an activist investor, is CEO/investment manager of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust and founded Harwood Capital Management in 2011. Following the news, Hipgnosis Songs Fund shares rose 2.3% on Friday.
Music streaming company Anghami dropped 30.4% to $0.94, bringing its three-week decline to 66.5%. Other than Anghami, however, no other stock finished the week with a loss greater than 5%. iHeartMedia fell 4.9% to $2.52 and MSG Entertainment dropped 3.2% to $31.16.
Nicki Minaj makes a guest appearance on Kai Cenat’s Twitch stream to talk about her new album ‘Pink Friday 2.’ Katharine McPhee and David Foster share their Christmas playlist. We run down some new music releases from Karol G, Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, Eladio Carrión, DDG in our Friday Music Guide and more!
Tetris Kelly
Nicki Minaj gets spicy on YouTube with Kai. New hits from Karol G, Reneé Raps and Megan Thee Stallion, we went to see Cardi B and Madonna. We sit down with the legendary E-40 ,and get in the spirit with David Foster and Katharine McPhee. It’s Friday December 15th, I’m Tetris and welcome to our last Billboard News episode of the year. Let’s start things off with our Friday music guide we’re getting a little mean with this one.
Tetris Kelly
‘Mean Girls’ star and pop star Reneé Rapp teams up with Megan Thee Stallion for “Not My Fault” off the new movie soundtrack.
Tetris Kelly
So much new music coming, but for now let’s get into the news.
Tetris Kelly
After a three hour delay Nicki Minaj put up to Kai Cenat’s live stream on Twitch at 3am to an audience of over 350,000 viewers.
Tetris Kelly
Perched on a pink throne fitting for the queen of rap.
Tetris Kelly 1:24
Nicki Minaj joined YouTuber KC3 for a late night livestream where Nicki was quick to call out the streamers lack of hospitality.
Watch the full news video above!
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