Brazilian superstar Anitta sits down and talks to us about her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, what it’s been like to find success in America, what a Grammy win would mean to her, teases some possible upcoming music, and more!
YoungBoy Never Broke Again will release his new album I Rest My Case on Friday, Jan. 6, Billboard can confirm.
I Rest My Case marks the rapper’s first release since he signed to Motown Records in October. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native broke out in 2015 and signed to Atlantic two years later, going on to become one of music’s top acts. Since, he’s charted 24 albums on the Billboard 200 — 11 that were top 10, four of which hit No. 1.
Just last year, YoungBoy debuted six projects on the chart — five solo endeavors and one collaborative set with DaBaby (Better Than You). He’s charted four top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in 2022 — more top 10s than any other act this year — and has released four albums in the past two months: The Last Slimeto, Realer 2, 3800 Degrees and Ma I Got a Family.
His most recent studio album, The Last Slimeto, topped Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Take a look at the cover art below.
Phoebe Bridgers‘ father has died, according to a post shared on Tuesday (Jan. 3) by the “I Know the End” singer.
“rest in peace dad,” she captioned a throwback photo of herself with pink hair, smiling alongside her late father. She did not share any additional info regarding the cause of his death.
Bridgers has detailed her complicated relationship with her father over the years through interviews and music. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the 28-year-old shared that her dad was a scenic carpenter who had a “drug thing.”
The fan-favorite track, “Kyoto,” off her sophomore album Punisher, also touches on her paternal relationship. “You called me from a payphone / They still got payphones / It cost a dollar a minute / To tell me you’re getting sober / And you wrote me a letter / But I don’t have to read it,” she sings in the opening verse, later crooning, “I don’t forgive you / But please don’t hold me to it / Born under Scorpio skies / I wanted to see the world / Through your eyes until it happened.”
In an interview with NPR’s Sam Sanders for It’s Been A Minute in December 2020, she described their relationship as “a very weird combination of emotionally unavailable, but very present in a weird way.” However, she added that as she has grown into adulthood, she has developed more sympathy for each of her parents.
Wynonna Judd assured worried fans with a mental health update posted to Instagram on Tuesday (Jan. 3), which she decided to share after realizing that some of her followers were “genuinely concerned” about her.
“Well, I’m OK,” she began, in response to a comment that Judd displayed in the video, accusing the star’s manager “pushing her too hard.” The commenter wrote, “For God’s sake…she just tragically lost her mother. Seems like her manager is getting a little greedy at the expense of her health. She just doesn’t appear well. I would like to see her take an extended break for her own mental and physical health.”
“I am working so hard on my mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing,” Judd explained. “I have a great team. I’m really blessed, and I’m broken, and I’m working really hard at self care, which is not selfish. It’s sacred.”
Judd added that while she has a “full schedule,” she also spends time at her farm, takes walks in the woods and spends time with her family and dogs. She concluded by saying, “The last thing I’ll say is: can’t keep a good woman down too long.”
Wynonna’s mother, Naomi Judd, who had battled depression, died by suicide on April 30, one day before The Judds were set to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. “I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it, because she had had episodes before and she got better,” the 58-year-old shared of her mother’s death in a September interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “And that’s what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?’ I didn’t. That’s why it’s such a shock.”
Watch Wynonna’s mental health update below.
Gangsta Boo, a pioneering Southern female rapper and former member of hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, has died, according to Fox 13 in Memphis, Commercial Appeal and other reports. She was 43.
Boo, born Lola Mitchell, was reportedly found dead on Sunday (Jan. 1) at approximately 4 p.m. at a home in Memphis, Tennessee. The cause of her death had not been released at press time.
Shortly after the news of her passing, Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J shared tributes to their former bandmate on Instagram. DJ Paul shared an captionless photo of the late rapper, while Juicy J posted a snapshot of the pair accompanied by a broken heart emoji.
“Man we was jus together three weeks ago,” Lil Jon commented in DJ Paul’s post. “Rest well quenn.”
The Three 6 Mafia members’ tribute posts also garnered comments from Ludacris, Bun B, Outkast’s Big Boi, Ty Dolla $ign, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Krayzie Bone, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, and others.
On New Year’s Eve, Boo shared a video on Instagram about her accomplishments from the past year. “Some of the things that I did in 2022! So fun and productive, climbed out my shell alot!! 2023 go be 23’n! #JORDAN #BOOPRINT #recap Happy New 2023 everyone!” she captioned the clip.
Boo was born in the Whitehaven section of Memphis on Aug. 7, 1979. She joined local hip-hop collective Three 6 Mafia — founded by DJ Paul, Juicy J and Lord Infamous — at the age of 15 in 1994. That same year, she recorded her first solo song with the group, “Cheefa Da Reefa.” The track would set the tone for the Memphis femcee, who later unveiled her most popular hit “Where Dem Dollas At?” from her 1998 debut album, Enquiring Minds.
Boo went gone through a number of transformations during her career, renaming herself Lady Boo in 2001 and releasing numerous solo albums. In 2013, she joined Da Mafia 6ix before the passing of band member Lord Infamous in December of that year. In 2014, she and Da Mafia 6ix’s other femcee La Chat, also recorded Witch together.
In recent months, Boo was featured on GloRilla and Latto’s collaboration “F— The Club Up,” a play off Three 6 Mafia’s “Tear Da Club Up.”
Boo spoke with Billboard in December 2022, revealing that she was working on a new project called The BooPrint, which she hoped to release early this year. She also touched on her legacy as a rapper in the hip-hop scene.
“I would honestly say that I have to admit, respectfully and humbly, that I am the blueprint. I hear my cadence in a lot of men and female rappers,” Boo told Billboard. “My sound is a Memphis sound. It’s a Gangsta Boo sound, it’s a Three 6 Mafia sound. So, I am the blueprint and I wear that badge proudly as f—.”
The hip-hop community is mourning the death of pioneering Southern female rapper and former Three 6 Mafia member Gangsta Boo, who has died at the age of 43.
Drake, Missy Elliott, Ty Dolla $ign and Freddie Gibbs are among the many musicians remembering Boo, who was found dead on Sunday (Jan. 1) at a home in Memphis, Tennessee, according to Fox 13 in Memphis, Commercial Appeal and other reports. The cause of her death had not been released at press time.
“Rest in heaven Gangsta Boo,” Drake captioned a throwback photo of the late pioneering rapper in his Instagram Story.
Elliott shared a similar sentiment, tweeting, “Rest Peacefully @GangstaBooQOM.”
Ty Dolla $ign also took to Twitter to remember the late artist. “Long live my home girl Gangsta Boo Queen of the M,” he wrote.
Gibbs, meanwhile, shared what appeared to be a recent photo of himself hanging out with Boo. “Damn we was just together,” the rapper tweeted. “RIP Queen.”
Shortly after the news of her passing, Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J posted tributes to their former bandmate on Instagram. DJ Paul shared an captionless photo of the late rapper, while Juicy J posted a snapshot of the pair accompanied by a broken heart emoji.
“Man we was jus together three weeks ago,” Lil Jon commented in DJ Paul’s post. “Rest well quenn.”
The Three 6 Mafia members’ tribute posts also garnered comments from Ludacris, Bun B, Outkast’s Big Boi, Ty Dolla $ign, Jay Rock, Krayzie Bone, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, and others.
On New Year’s Eve, Boo shared a video on Instagram about her accomplishments from the past year. “Some of the things that I did in 2022! So fun and productive, climbed out my shell alot!! 2023 go be 23’n! #JORDAN #BOOPRINT #recap Happy New 2023 everyone!” she captioned the clip.
Boo, whose real name was Lola Mitchell, was born in the Whitehaven section of Memphis on Aug. 7, 1979. She joined local hip-hop collective Three 6 Mafia — founded by DJ Paul, Juicy J and Lord Infamous — at the age of 15 in 1994. That same year, she recorded her first solo song with the group, “Cheefa Da Reefa.” The track would set the tone for the Memphis femcee, who later unveiled her most popular hit “Where Dem Dollas At?” from her 1998 debut album, Enquiring Minds.
She went gone through a number of transformations during her career, renaming herself Lady Boo in 2001 and releasing numerous solo albums. In 2013, she joined Da Mafia 6ix before the passing of band member Lord Infamous in December of that year. In 2014, she and Da Mafia 6ix’s other femcee La Chat, also recorded Witch together.
In recent months, Boo was featured on GloRilla and Latto’s collaboration “F— The Club Up,” a play off Three 6 Mafia’s “Tear Da Club Up.”
“This one hit different,” Latto tweeted after discovering her passing. “I’m just glad I got to feel your embrace & give u ur flowers before u left us BIG BOO 4L.”
See more musician reactions to Boo’s death below.
Fred White, the former drummer of Earth, Wind & Fire, has died. He was 67.
The percussionist’s brother and bandmate Verdine White shared the sad news through social media on Sunday (Jan. 1). Neither the date nor the cause of White’s death had been disclosed at press time.
“Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member. Our beloved brother Frederick Eugene ‘Freddie’ White,” Verdine White wrote on Instagram alongside photos of his brother.
“He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte, and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels!” he added. “He was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous! And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light-hearted.”
Fred White was born on Jan. 13, 1955 in Chicago. He began drumming at the age of 9 and later performed with Linda Ronstadt and Donny Hathaway before joining Earth, Wind & Fire in 1974. He was the fourth of the White brothers to perform in the Grammy-winning R&B band.
White sat behind the kit for some of Earth, Wind & Fire’s most successful songs, including “Shining Star,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1975. He also scored top 10 hits with “Let’s Groove,” “September,” “Sing a Song,” “After the Love Has Gone,” “Boogie Wonderland” and others.
White left Earth, Wind & Fire in the mid-1980s, but he returned for the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2000.
During his career, White also lent his drumming talents to recordings for Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, Deniece Williams, the Emotions, Ramsey Lewis, Jennifer Holliday, and Diana Ross. Most recently, he collaborated with Ross on her 2021 album, Thank You.
Verdine White’s tribute post drew a slew of responses from fellow musicians, including Questlove, Lenny Kravitz and Nile Rodgers.
“Sending my love and deepest condolences to you and the family,” Kravitz commented. “I was blessed to have been in his presence and blessed to have been influenced by him. A true king. Rest in power.
See Verdine White’s tribute to his brother Fred on Instagram here.
Bad Bunny kicked off 2023 defending himself on Twitter after a mishap with a fan went viral on social media.
In a recent video that began circulating the Internet, the superstar Puerto Rican artist is seen walking with his group of friends and team when an excited fan approached him with her phone and began recording in selfie mode. Just seconds later, an annoyed Bunny grabbed the phone and threw it into the bushes. “You have to respect his space,” said someone from the crew.
The fan encounter occurred in the Dominican Republic, where the artist spent the holidays. On Monday (Jan. 2), the “Tití Me Preguntó” singer took to Twitter to express his point of view.
“The person who comes up to me to say hello, to tell me something, or just to meet me, will always receive my attention and respect,” he wrote. “Those who come to put a freaking phone in my face I will consider it for what it is, a disrespect, and I will treat it as is.” He also used the hashtag #SinCojonesMeTiene, which loosely translates to “I don’t give a damn.”
Meanwhile, the Bad Bunny fandom has mixed feelings about his actions.
“Let’s normalize the fact that artists are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect always,” tweeted one fan. “You are the number one artist in the world and you hope people don’t want a picture with you? Get your feet on the ground,” said another.
The incident comes just days after the reggaeton artist was spotted handing out toys to children in Puerto Rico as part of his “Bonita Tradición” event held by his Good Bunny Foundation, and later offered an impromptu concert on top of a gas station alongside urbano veteran Arcangel and newcomer Yovngchimi.
See his tweet below:
NFTs had a wild 2022. January began with euphoric highs and a record $4.8 billion traded on OpenSea. By contrast, December ended the year with a hangover — volumes down by 95% with just $283 million traded in the month.
Still, the crypto winter hasn’t deterred musicians from embracing Web3. December saw an uptick in music NFT activity thanks to legacy artists Armin van Buuren and Styles P, as well as high-profile drops from crypto-native musicians like 3LAU and Daniel Allan. The first “billion club” NFT was released, unlocking streaming royalties in a track with more than a billion Spotify plays. Meanwhile, the independent scene continued to flourish with a seventh-straight month of rising volume on Sound.xyz – the largest platform for independent musicians.
Across the 10 biggest music NFT projects tracked by Billboard in December, sales volume was up 28% in ETH terms (751 ETH) and 23% in dollar terms ($949,781) from November. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases combined with secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in December 2022.
1/ Styles P – “The Farmacy Fantoms”
Monthly trading volume: 205 ETH ($249,280 at month-end conversion rate)
Primary sales: 170 ETH
Secondary sales: 35 ETH
Drop date: Nov. 28
The Farmacy Fantoms is a music NFT project by rapper Styles P. The collection of 6,666 animated ghost characters come with different visual traits and one of ten different tracks. In the future, holders will also get access to events and discounts on Styles P brand products.
View the collection on OpenSea.
2/ Armin van Buuren – “Armin’s All-Access (AAA)”
Monthly trading volume: $210,120
Primary sales: $189,448
Secondary sales: 17 ETH ($20,672)
Drop date: Dec. 13
Superstar DJ Armin van Buuren launched an all-access pass in December, granting NFT holders entry into a Web3 fan club community. The NFT unlocks an exclusive section of the DJ’s Discord server, as well as access to unreleased tracks, studio livestreams and exclusive events. Each NFT comes with music by the Dutch producer and 10 variations of digital artwork by Rik Oostenbroek. The duo sold 952 passes in December, at $199 each.
View the collection on OpenSea.
3/ Reo Cragun x Daniel Allan – “Criteria EP”
Monthly trading volume: 138.67 ETH ($168,622)
Primary sales: 94.247 ETH
Secondary sales: 44.324 ETH
Drop date: Dec. 15
Two of the biggest names in the independent music NFT scene teamed up to end the year with a bang. Criteria is an 8-track EP fusing electronic production from Allan and hip hop vocals from Cragun – who previously collaborated on Flume’s “Quits” EP. In December, the duo released 2,500 NFTs with a unique rarity structure. The rarest track, “Criteria,” has just 25 editions making it significantly more valuable than the most common track, “Supercharged” with 1,000 editions. “Supercharged” has a floor price of 0.056 ETH ($68) on secondary markets while the rare “Criteria” has a floor price of 3 ETH ($3,648).
Criteria was the largest ever drop on music NFT platform Sound.xyz, and despite the broader bear market in crypto, the drop sold out in approximately an hour. The collection was heavily supported by the leading music NFTs collectors, or “whales,” — many purchased more than 100 each.
View the collection on OpenSea.
4/ Violetta Zironi – “Moonshot” / “Gypsy Heart”
Monthly trading volume: 59 ETH ($71,744)
Primary sales: 40 ETH
Secondary sales: 19 ETH
Drop date: April 2022
Violetta Zironi is establishing herself as one of the most consistent independent artists in the space, appearing in this top 10 for four of the last seven months. Her debut “Moonshot” collection — featuring artwork from her father, Disney animator Giuseppe Zironi — continues to generate strong sales on OpenSea with 19.24 ETH traded in December.
Her new collection Gypsy Heart is now being rolled out to existing fans and holders through an early access mint pass. Zironi sold 500 mint passes in December (out of a total 5,000), generating 40 ETH. The project will go live to the public in January.
View the collection on OpenSea.
5/ 3LAU – “Too Late for Love”
Monthly trading volume: $58,839 (48.3 ETH)
Primary sales: $58,839
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: Dec. 14
Electronic producer and DJ 3LAU set records back in 2021 with an $11.6 million NFT sale. Since then, he launched the Web3 music platform Royal, allowing fans to own a percentage of streaming royalties in tracks by The Chainsmokers, Diplo and others.
In December, 3LAU released his first single of the year, and his first NFT drop since 2021, “Too Late for Love.” Released via his platform Royal, the producer sold 330 gold tokens, each representing 0.1165% of streaming royalties in the track, and three diamond tokens, each granting 3.8488% of streaming royalties as well as backstage access to 3LAU events for life.
6/ Offset and Metro Boomin – “Rick Flare Drip”
Monthly trading volume: 42 ETH ($51,072)
Primary sales: 39 ETH
Secondary sales: 3 ETH
Drop date: Dec. 1
The first ever NFT from Spotify’s “Billions Club.” “Rick Flare Drip” has more than 1 billion streams on Spotify, and now fans can own a small piece of the future streaming revenue. The royalties were unlocked through a partnership with Bijan Amir — one of the producers on the track. “This is my first foray into Web3 and crypto,” said Amir. “I wanted to do something meaningful when I did. I love the idea of fans getting a share of my rights, instead of me selling a share of my masters to some investor.” The NFTs were sold via Anotherblock, a Web3 platform that sells streaming royalties in some of the world’s biggest tracks.
View the collection on OpenSea.
7/ KINGSHIP – “Key Cards”
Monthly trading volume: 25 ETH ($30,400)
Primary sales (in Dec): N/A
Secondary sales: 25 ETH
Drop date: May 2022
The Bored Ape supergroup secured its seventh-straight month in this top 10 thanks to consistent sales on secondary markets like OpenSea. In December, the group began teasing video footage from the studio where producers Hit-Boy and James Fauntleroy are currently working on the band’s music.
View the collection on OpenSea.
8/ Rae Isla – “Rocks”
Monthly trading volume: 23 ETH ($24,320)
Primary sales (in Dec): 20 ETH
Secondary sales: 3 ETH
Drop date: Nov. 28
Independent singer-songwriter Rae Isla was featured in November after selling the first 600 NFTs from her “Rocks” project — a collection of 1,000 NFTs made up of four tracks, each with different rarities and artwork released through Nifty Music — a music NFT accelerator. Isla returned to the top ten in December after selling the remaining 400 and capturing a further 3 ETH in secondary sales on OpenSea.
View the collection on OpenSea.
9/ WVRPS by Warpsound
Monthly trading volume: 20 ETH ($24,320)
Primary sales (in Dec): N/A
Secondary sales: 20 ETH
Drop date: January 2022
WVRPSound is the biggest music NFT project ever in terms of trading volume. Since launching in January last year, the collection of AI-generated music and animated characters have earned more than 6,000 ETH in volume (approximately $7.3 million). In December, the project gave away an album of AI music to holders which triggered a fresh wave of trading activity.
WVRPSound also announced a tool for artists to create multitrack NFT albums. Now, an entire album can be minted as an NFT with interactive buttons to skip tracks. It sounds simple, but this hasn’t been done before at scale. Until now the only other example was an early experiment by an indie band called Talk Time. WRVPSound made the technology open source for anyone to use.
View the collection on OpenSea.
10/ Sammy Arriaga – “Pixelated”
Monthly trading volume: 17 ETH ($20,672)
Primary sales (in Dec): N/A
Secondary sales: 17 ETH
Drop date: June 2022
Bringing country to crypto, Sammy Arriaga is a singer-songwriter that launched an NFT project called “Pixelated” back in June. Based around 12 different versions of one song, Pixelated is a collection of 4,000 NFTs, each with a unique pixelated profile picture which Arriaga’s fans use across their social media accounts. The Pixelated project has enjoyed steady volume on secondary markets like OpenSea since the launch, but volume picked up in November and December.
View the collection on OpenSea.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and combined with secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between Dec. 1 – Dec. 31, 2022. Conversion rates from crypto to US dollars were calculated on Dec. 31.
Disclosure: The author owns music NFTs from Reo Cragun and Daniel Allan, however, the above list is based purely on sales data.
As fireworks burst across the sky after the clock struck midnight Sunday, Ingrid Gonzalez, 24, and Roibyn Diaz, 26, welcomed their third child at Jackson South Medical Center in Kendall. … Click to Continue »
