Ari Lennox is putting herself first. Last month, the DMV native released her sophomore album, age/sex/location, after amassing incredible success with the project’s first single and Hot 100 hit, “Pressure.” The 12-track effort highlights Lennox’s liberating road to self-care and is an entrancing listen for R&B lovers and hapless romantics. 

“It’s a beautiful thing being single,” Lennox says in her latest Billboard News interview. “Dating is hard. I feel like it’s really responsible to make sure that I’m taking care of myself mentally before I decide to embark on any relationships. So I’ve just been focusing on self-love and pouring into myself.” 

Lennox admits that her boundless attempts at romance derailed her from focusing on the true love of her life: herself. “First, it’s about moving with intention and being more aware of what you’re doing, not just aimlessly, mindlessly moving around,” she says. Songs like “POF” and “Waste My Time” detail a renewed Lennox pouring into herself more and learning to stay accountable on the dating scene. “I’m also aware that there’s a lot going on inside, which would make me drawn to the red flags or terrible dates,” she says matter-of-factly. “I recognize that “POF” doesn’t have that much accountability.”

After stitching together her acclaimed debut album, Shea Butter Baby, in 2019, Lennox has bloomed into a surefire star in R&B and soul alongside her sister-in-arms, Summer Walker. The vivacious twosome first paired up on Walker’s 2021 “Unloyal” before linking back on Lennox’s newest record, “Queen Space.” 

“Summer is that girl,” Lennox says. “Summer is an IT Girl. She is modern R&B and phenomenal. [She’s] literally leading and phenomenal at it. I’m just honored that she always showed me love. We reached out to her, and ‘Queen Space’ felt incomplete until Summer sent that verse in. [It] changed my life. Cole came in and helped me add a beautiful pre-chorus that wasn’t there and made me fall in love with the record all over again.”

Watch her full interview with Billboard News in the video above.

Kanye West is back on Twitter after being restricted by Instagram.

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The 45-year-old rapper and fashion mogul, who now goes by Ye, returned to Twitter after a nearly two-year absence on Friday (Oct. 7) to call out Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for placing a hold on his Instagram account.

Ye was recently restricted by the Meta-owned social media platform after he made posts that some groups are considering “anti-Jewish,” NBC News reports. Instagram deleted content from Ye’s page and placed a restriction on his account because he violated the company’s rules and guidelines, a Meta spokesperson told the news outlet.

“Look at this Mark,” Ye captioned his tweet on Friday, which included a snapshot of himself standing alongside Zuckerberg. “How you gone kick me off instagram. You used to be my n—-.”

Billboard has reached out to Meta for further comment.

Meta did not specify to NBC News what content was removed from Ye’s Instagram page, or explain what content violated its rules. But the company’s decision arrives after a now-deleted post from Friday in which Ye shared a screenshot of a text message exchange with Sean “Diddy” Combs, which included the caption “Jesus is Jew.”

“This ain’t a game,” Ye wrote in the text to Diddy. “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business.”

The combative back-and-forth between the hip-hop icons stemmed from Ye’s decision to wear a “White Lives Matter” shirt during his Yeezy Season 9 fashion show. Earlier in the week, Diddy also shared an Instagram video about the controversial tee.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) took to social media on Friday to speak out against Ye’s recent remarks, which they called “anti-Jewish.” “These posts are dangerous,” the anti-hate group captioned a video on Instagram. The clip states that the Ye was using “anti-Semitic tropes like greed and control,” alluding to the rapper’s interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and his Instagram post.

On Friday, Ye also tweeted a photo of a black baseball cap with with the year “2024” emblazoned in white letters across the bill, echoing his last post from November 2020, when the rapper ran for president of the United States. “KANYE 2024,” reads the nearly two-year-old tweet, which features Ye’s silhouette amid an election map.

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Chris Brown‘s “Under the Influence” has stood the test of time, as the three-year-old track ascended into the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated September 24, 2022.

The song is from Indigo (Extended), a deluxe version of Brown’s 2019 album, Indigo, released that same year. Though “Under the Influence” was not released as a single at the time, its recent streaming success has led to Brown’s label, RCA, officially sending the track for play on U.S. rhythmic radio stations as of Sept. 20.

If you need a guide to follow along with Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence,” find the lyrics below:

Get up, get up
Kiddominant on the beat, better run it back

F—in’ Robitussin
I don’t know why this sh– got me lazy right now, yeah
Can’t do Percocets or Molly
I’m turnin’ one, tryna live it up here right, right, right

Baby, you can
Ride it, ooh, yeah
Bring it over to my place
And you be like
“Baby, who cares?”
But I know you care
Bring it over to my place

You don’t know what you did, did to me
Your body lightweight speaks to me
I don’t know what you did, did to me
Your body lightweight speaks to me

(Rain on it)
(Yeah)
(Yeah)

I can make it hurricane on it
Hunnid bands, make it rain on it
Tie it up, put a chain on it
Make you tattoo my name on it, oh
Make you cry like a baby, yeah
Let’s GoPro and make a video, yeah
Make you cry like a baby, yeah
Let’s GoPro and make a video
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Baby, you can
Ride it, ooh, yeah
Bring it over to my place
And you be like
“Baby, who cares?”
But I know you care
Bring it over to my place

You don’t know what you did, did to me
Your body lightweight speaks to me
I don’t know what you did, did to me
Your body lightweight speaks to me

(Rain on it)
(Rain on it)
(Rain on it)

Baby, you can
Ride it, ooh, yeah
And you be like
“Baby, who cares?”
But I know you care

Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Written by: David Adedeji Adeleke, Tiffany McKie, Ayoola Oldapo Agboola, Chris Brown

 

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“New season, new problems.” Jon Stewart is going viral after the first episode from season 2 of his Apple TV+ series, The Problem With Jon Stewart, debuted on Friday (Oct. 2).

In the episode titled “The War Over Gender,” Stewart questions Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge about the state’s ban on transgender children receiving gender-affirming medical care. Arkansas became the first state to issue such a ban, which has since been blocked by a federal appeals court.

A clip from the episode, posted to the show’s Twitter account on Friday, has received more than 38,000 likes and counting. Read on for details on how to watch the Emmy-winning show for free.

How to Watch The Problem With Jon Stewart for Free on Apple TV+

The Problem with Jon Stewart is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere on Fridays.

The show is available at no extra cost to subscribers, but even if you’re not subscribed, you can still watch for free.

Apple TV+ allows non-subscribers to access one free episode of select programs, plus a free trial for up to three months (with the purchase of an eligible Apple device). Join Apple TV+ today and enjoy your first week for free and stream new and old episodes of The Problem With Jon Stewart.

The membership will cost $4.99 a month after the 7-day free trial. Click here to find out how T-Mobile customers can receive a free subscription to Apple TV+.

Apple TV+

$4.99/month after 7-day free trial

Watch Ted Lasso, Severance, Loot, Bad Sisters, Schmigadoon!, The Morning Show, Central Park, Pachinko, Foundation, They Call Me Magic, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, and Carpool Karaoke: The Series and more on Apple TV+. The platform is home to a growing collection of comedies, dramas, feature films, non-fiction series, family-friendly programs and more.

Love baseball? Apple TV+ features Major League Baseball coverage, including Friday Night Baseball, must-watch highlights, and MBL shows such as Countdown to First Pitch and MLB This Week.

Watch the trailer for season 2 of The Problem With Jon Stewart below.

Nick Mara from PRETTYMUCH announced he’ll be breaking from the group to “take on new endeavors as an individual.” The group released a statement Friday (Oct. 7) saying goodbye to Mara, but assuring fans that they’ll continue to make music with four members.

The band, who have four other members in addition to Mara — Edwin Honoret, Brandon Arreaga, Zion Kuwonu, and Austin Porter — also shared their new single “H2L” made by the remaining members. The single, which they describe as a Web3 single, is the band’s first independent release and is fully written and produced by the band members, according to their post on Sound.xyz.

“We’d like to start off by saying we love each and every one of you for sticking by us and for showing us endless love for the last six and a half years,” the band said in a statement. “We’ve had some very difficult conversations as a band over the past month that is in no way easy for us to inform you about, but necessary. Nick Mara is formally leaving the band.”

The band is responsible for the hit R&B single “Would You Mind” which peaked on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart at No. 40. The American-Canadian boy band was brought together by Simon Cowell in 2016, similar to other popular bands such as One Direction and Little Mix.

“This is NOT the end of PRETTYMUCH,” the band said in the statement. “It is simply a new beginning where we can finally feed you guys the music and content you deserve in our own way!”

See their statement below.

David Guetta and Bebe Rexha topped Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Oct. 1) with their new collaboration “I’m Good (Blue).”

The song, which interpolates Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” a No. 6 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2000, also claimed top Streaming, Airplay and Sales Gainer honors on the chart.

If you need a guide to follow along with David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue),” find the lyrics below:

I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright
Baby, I’ma have the best f—in’ night of my life
And wherever it takes me, I’m down for the ride
Baby, don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

‘Cause I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright
Baby, I’ma have the best f—in’ night of my life
And wherever it takes me, I’m down for the ride
Baby, don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

Don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

You know I’m down for whatever tonight
I don’t need the finer things in life
No matter where I go, it’s a good time, yeah
And I, I don’t need to sit in VIP
Middle of the floor, that’s where I’ll be
Don’t got a lot but that’s enough for me, yeah

‘Cause I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright
Baby, I’ma have the best f—in’ night of my life
And wherever it takes me, I’m down for the ride
Baby, don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

I’m good, good
I’m good
Don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

So I just let it go, let it go
Oh-na-na-na-na-na
No, I don’t care no more, care no more
Oh-na-na-na-na-na
So come on let me know, let me know
Put your hands up, na-na-na
No, baby, nothing’s gonna stop us tonight

‘Cause I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright
Baby, I’ma have the best f—in’ night of my life
And wherever it takes me, I’m down for the ride
Baby, don’t you know I’m good, yeah, I’m feelin’ alright

Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Written by: Bebe Rexha, Camille Angelina Purcell, David Guetta, Gianfranco Randone, Massimo Gabutti, Maurizio Lobina