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Lil’ Kim’s career is being guided by Nick Cannon.
The rapper revealed her current connection to Cannon in Complex’s interview series “Hiking With Rappers,” for which she joined host King Keraun on some Los Angeles trails, but spent more time chatting about her career in a golf cart.
Lil’ Kim at first insisted she jogs five miles and takes a hike every day but later admitted, “I never hiked a day in my life, and I don’t like it.”
When asked about what’s next for her, Cannon’s name entered the conversation — since he’s apparently helping her make those decisions.
“I just shot a movie with Nick Cannon,” she said. “Nick Cannon, people don’t even know, like he’s one of my best friends. We’ve been best friends for years … And we just shot a movie called Miracle Across 125th Street. I really did that movie for Nick, but I love doing movies.”
“It’s part of my next level,” she added. “Nick is convincing me. You know he’s my manager?”
“I did not know that,” the host replied. “Your manager has like 20 kids.”
“Leave my manager alone,” Lil’ Kim joked.
(For the record, Cannon, who also keeps busy as a TV and radio host, is the father of seven children, four of whom were born in the last year. Earlier this month, he announced his plans to practice celibacy until 2022.)
Lil’ Kim’s most recent album, 9, was released in 2019. Three of her albums — 2000’s The Notorious KIM, 2003’s La Bella Mafia and 2005’s The Naked Truth — reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
She has an upcoming memoir titled The Queen Bee that’s slated for a Nov. 2 release.
Watch her discuss working with Nick Cannon in her hike-and-interview video below.
Hip-hop legends Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One will go head-to-head in New York City for the next Verzuz battle.
The face-off between the two MCs — who helped define the genre with in the late 1980s and early 1990s — will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday (Oct. 17).
Kane, who rose to prominence in the ’80s as part of the Queens’ Juice Crew — which also featured Marley Marl — set himself apart from the pack with his double-time flow, signature high-top fade and casual cool style on early hits, including “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” and “Smooth Operator.”
KRS-One blew up around the same time as Kane, but followed a different path to stardom, focusing on conscious lyrics and social commentary, first as part of the Boogie Down Productions crew alongside late DJ Scott La Rock and then as a solo act. With an in-your-face, rapid-fire attack, KRS pulled no punches on songs such as the squealing “Sound of Da Police,” BDP’s “My Philosophy” and “The Bridge Is Over.”
The Kane-KRS’ showdown follows the mid-September Verzuz battle between rap icons Ja Rule and Fat Joe at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Verzuz matchup between Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One takes place Sunday (Oct. 17) at 7 p.m. ET. For those unable to watch live from the Barclays Center, fans can catch the action on the Triller app, FITE TV or the Verzuz TV Instagram account.
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Nicki Nicole’s Tiny Desk
Joined by an 11-member band, Nicki Nicole presented her NPR “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” this week, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The blossoming Argentine star gave a select of her hits a different twist, kicking off with a tango-infused version of “Colocao.” She continues to flaunt her effortless swagger and soulful, powerhouse vocals in tracks such as “Mala Vida,” “Wapo Traketero” and “Freestyle.” Nicki also performed her stripped-down, ultra-personal ballad “Parte de Mi” and wrapped up with the groovy, chachacha “Baby.” In case you missed it, watch her performance below.
Bad Bunny on ‘Allure’ Magazine
This week, Allure magazine revealed Bad Bunny as its November cover star. Rocking different bold outfits for the photo shoot, the Puerto Rican global star opens up about gender non-conformity in the article. “When I was starting to make my music, my style came as part of the process of liberating my mind and liberating spirit,” he said. “Since I was young, I had it in me — I just had to liberate it.”
Maffio Partners with Cadillac
Latin hitmaker Maffio, currently making the rounds with his Gente de Zona-assisted “Hablame de Miami,” partnered once again with automotive brand Cadillac. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the 2021 Sport Escalade, the brand highlights the Dominican artist’s passion for music, culture, and rise as a successful Latino artist. “Life is about your legacy, this is why I am excited to partner once again with legendary brand Cadillac,” he said in a statement. “At Cadillac, we champion big dreams and bold ambitions,” added Juanita Slappy, head of multicultural marketing for the brand. “Maffio’s sound is the soundtrack of our creative reflecting our drive — powerful and innovative.” Watch the video titled “Mi Cultura, My People” for Cadillac below.
KOATI Movie
A star-studded green carpet premiere took place this week at Miami’s Silverspot Cinema for the new animated film Koati. Directed by Rodrigo Perez-Castro and executive produced by Sofia Vergara and Marc Anthony, the film “follows the adventures of Nachi, a mischievous, solitary and good-hearted Coati who embarks on a journey to save his fellow animals of Xo after their beloved leader dies.” Showcasing the magical realism of the Latin American jungles, the cast stars Vergara, Joe Manganiello, Evaluna Montaner, Adriana Barraza, Karol G, and De La Ghetto, to name a few. Koati is available at select theaters and will soon premiere on Prende TV.
Las Villa & Their ‘La Tortura’ Cover
Colombian duo Las Villa, formed by twin sisters Laura and Lucia Villa, released their version of Shakira and Alejandro Sanz’s “La Tortura” as part of Amazon Music LAT!N’s Hispanic Heritage Month initiative. On their cover, the girls flaunt their mesmerizing harmonizing vocals without compromising the authentic, catchy melody. The exclusive song appears on Amazon Music’s Breakthrough playlist, which “features emerging artists that are redefining the future of music and diversifying the industry.”
One of the rarest events in music is upon us once again. It’s Adele Season on Billboard’s charts!
On Oct. 14, the superstar released her first new song in nearly six years, “Easy on Me.” The piano ballad premiered at 7 p.m. ET across streaming services and digital retailers worldwide, alongside its official music video. (The song premiered globally, so, while it bowed at 7 p.m. ET in the U.S., it arrived concurrently at 12 a.m. in the U.K. on Oct. 15.)
“Easy on Me” is the first single from Adele’s upcoming fourth studio album, 30, due out on Nov. 19. Adele last released new music in November of 2015, with the release of her third album, 25. (And the 25 album came more than four years after her second album, 21.)
Adele’s track record on Billboard’s charts is impressive. Among her achievements from only three studio albums: two No. 1s on the Billboard 200 albums chart (with a combined 34 weeks atop the list), four No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, four No. 1s on the Pop Airplay chart, five No. 1s on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, five No. 1s on the Adult Contemporary airplay chart and three No. 1s on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart.
Her last two albums, 25 and 21, were led by the singles “Hello” and “Rolling in the Deep,” respectively. Both tracks hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 — “Hello” opened in the top slot (dated Nov. 14, 2015) and spent 10 weeks at No. 1, while “Rolling” ruled for seven weeks in 2011.
INITIAL U.S. SALES & STREAMS
“Easy on Me” sold nearly 15,000 digital downloads in its first five hours of availability in the U.S. (7 p.m.-midnight ET on Thursday, Oct. 14) according to MRC Data. Meanwhile, it collected over 3 million on-demand audio and video streams in the same time frame. (Digital retail stores and streaming services’ U.S. tracking week, as reported to MRC Data, ends at midnight ET [9 p.m. PT] every Thursday.)
On Friday, Oct. 15 in the U.S., “Easy” sold another 27,000 downloads, according to initial reports to MRC Data.
Adding up Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, the song has sold over 42,000 in a little over a day in the U.S. To put that number in perspective, only five songs have sold at least that many downloads in a single week in the U.S. in 2021, and four of them are by BTS.
Further updates on “Easy on Me’s” U.S. sales and streams, as well as its global sales and streaming performance, will be reported as the week progresses.
U.S. RADIO AIRPLAY
“Easy on Me” is off to a scorching start on U.S. radio.
The single drew 897 plays in its first five hours (7 p.m.-midnight ET on Thursday, Oct. 14), on 250 stations that report to Billboard’s all-genre Radio Songs chart (whose panel includes over 1,300 stations covering multiple formats). Those 897 plays translate to 3.1 million all-format audience impressions for the song in that span, helped by hourly plays on multiple radio chains.
In its first full day of tracking (Friday, Oct. 15), “Easy” was played 4,160 times, generating 21 million in audience, again propelled, in part, by hourly spins. It ranked as the No. 1 most-played and most-heard song on radio Friday, ahead of runner-up “Stay” by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber (4,114 plays, 13.2 million in audience).
“Easy” drew 25 or more plays from its release through the end of Friday on 111 Radio Songs reporters, including stations in each of the 10 largest radio markets.
The song is set to debut on at least three individual format radio airplay charts, which are due to update Tuesday, Oct. 19, on Billboard.com. It could launch in the top 10 on Adult Contemporary; if it does, it would claim the first top 10 grand entrance for a non-holiday song since the chart adopted MRC Data information in 1993. The track is also likely to begin in the top 20 of Adult Pop Airplay and the top 25 of Pop Airplay.
The charts measure plays on respective panels of adult contemporary, adult pop and mainstream pop radio stations in the U.S., with the next editions, dated Oct. 30, reflecting airplay covering Oct. 11-17. “Easy” could, thus, debut on the surveys from airplay over its first three full days, plus its first five hours of availability.
HOT 100
What will be the impact of “Easy” on the airplay-, sales- and streaming-based Billboard Hot 100?
The chart’s tracking week for those metrics runs Friday through Thursday each week. “Easy” is eligible to arrive on the forthcoming Hot 100 (dated Oct. 23; covering the tracking week of Oct. 8-14) from only its first five hours of activity on Oct. 14.
“Easy” will make its first seven-day impact on the Hot 100 dated Oct. 30, as well as on the Radio Songs, Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs charts dated Oct. 30, reflecting its performance in the Oct. 15-21 tracking week, the song’s first full week of release.
Highlights of the Hot 100 are revealed each Monday on Billboard.com, with the full chart, and all other rankings, updating each Tuesday. Highlights of the Oct. 23-dated Hot 100 will post this coming Monday, Oct. 18, with the full chart updating Oct. 19, while those of the Oct. 30 Hot 100 will publish Oct. 25, with the full chart posting Oct. 26.
BILLBOARD 200
While the 30 album will not be released until Nov. 19, expect Adele’s earlier albums to post gains on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Oct. 23), as well as the Catalog Albums chart.
On the most recently published Billboard 200 (dated Oct. 16, reflecting sales and streaming data in the U.S. for the week ending Oct. 7), 25 jumped from No. 174 to No. 83, while 21 surged from No. 198 to No. 119. Both albums rallied up the list in the wake of Adele’s Oct. 5 announcement of the then-forthcoming release of “Easy on Me.”
The top 10 of the Oct. 23-dated Billboard 200 chart is scheduled to be announced on Sunday, Oct. 17. All of Billboard’s Oct. 23-dated charts are scheduled to post in full to Billboard.com on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
Young Thug is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live tonight, and it looks like Travis Barker will be joining him.
The Blink-182 drummer posted a photo of himself with the Atlanta rapper just hours ahead of this weekend’s show.
“SNL tonight,” Barker captioned the image he shared on social media Saturday evening (Oct. 16).
Barker’s participation on this week’s SNL follows his name being the subject of a sketch last weekend, one in which host Kim Kardashian West playfully trolled her sister Kourtney’s highly publicized relationship with him.
Over the summer, Barker backed Young Thug during another performance, for his NPR Tiny Desk concert. Barker closed out the show with an impressive drum solo on “Ski.” Young Thug’s new album Punk arrived on Oct. 15.
The Oct. 16 episode of SNL will be hosted by Rami Malek. You can watch full episodes of SNL on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here.
See Barker’s SNL teaser picture on Twitter.
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