Grammy-winning legend Patti LaBelle has brought her estimable music catalog to Primary Wave Music. The new partnership deal includes the singer-songwriter’s artist royalties across a catalog that encompasses 18 studio albums, three live albums, 14 compilation albums and 47 singles. To date, according to Primary Wave’s press announcement, LaBelle has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

“We are so honored to be in business with a legend such as Ms. Labelle,” said Primary Wave partner Steven Greener in a statement. “She’s a true icon and trailblazer. We are looking forward to doing great things together.”

Among LaBelle’s memorable hits are “Lady Marmalade,” “If Only You Knew,” “New Attitude” and “On My Own.” Recorded in 1974 by the group LaBelle, “Lady Marmalade” topped the Billboard Hot 100. The song then reclaimed that peak in 2001 for five weeks when it was covered by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim — whose version appeared on the film soundtrack for Moulin Rouge. “Lady Marmalade” was later chosen for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021.

“On My Own,” another of LaBelle’s aforementioned career highlights, is the singer’s duet with Michael McDonald. Released in 1986, the song reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it reigned for three weeks. Written by Burt Bacharach, it also earned a Grammy nomination for best performance by a duo or group. In addition to her No. 1s on the Hot 100, LaBelle counts 42 singles that have appeared on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and she has charted 20 albums on the Billboard 200.

In addition to her two Grammys and 13 nominations, LaBelle has received several other music industry accolades. Those include an American Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also an Emmy nominee, LaBelle has appeared in several films and TV programs (A Soldier’s Story, A Different World, The Masked Singer), written six books (most recently, the 20th anniversary edition of her best-selling cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine) and helms the successful food and lifestyle brand Patti’s Good Life.

Publishing company Primary Wave is home to a diverse roster of iconic singer-songwriters. Among its roster: Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, The Doors, Whitney Houston and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.

A$AP Rocky spoke about working with Denzel Washington and Spike Lee on Highest 2 Lowest and said there’s a reason why he doesn’t drop music that often.

In a new interview with Perfect Magazine, Rocky explained how working with Washington and Lee on Highest 2 Lowest was a “dream come true.”

“Their dynamic alone is just historical,” Rocky said. “So I’m honored to be an honorary member of their legacy.”

Rocky also explained how he helped Lee develop his Yung Felon character, adding that at first Rocky felt, “There were a few things the character needed to become more real.”

“[Spike Lee] let me develop my character full-throttle,” Rocky said. “They put me in the right environment that was familiar with a little nostalgia, and it allowed me to take the character to different places, and borrow stories from the people I was around growing up, and their circumstances. I appreciate that he [Lee] was receptive to all my changes for my personal character.”

Rocky also spoke briefly about Don’t Be Dumb and his music career as a whole, saying he’s not so eager to drop new music because he wants to make sure it all feels right for his legacy.

“It’s about who did it the best,” Rocky said. “Everything I do is based off building legacy. That’s why I’m not so eager to just drop, drop, drop. I don’t do things to just try and stay relevant, or keep my name in the conversation. I try to do natural things, creative, ambitious things that really satisfy me.”

The comments come as Rocky continues to tease his fourth studio album Don’t Be Dumb. In an interview with GQ back in February, he said it’s been so long, fans are likely tired of hearing about the album.

“I’m in the mixing and mastering realm of it,” he told the outlet. “But I think quite frankly, people are tired of hearing about updates about the album. They’re just ready to get this sh–, you know what I’m saying? I don’t think anybody wants to hear where I’m at with it, how far is it along and all that. They just want to hear some sh– just to see where I’m at, and I promise I got some new sh– in store. I’m challenging myself. It’s like anything, I approach it with a different tactic, degree, or finesse.”

Fat Joe says he got depressed once he reached age 40 because he worried his hit-making days might be over.

On the latest episode of Joe and Jada on Tuesday (Oct. 28), Joe opened up about aging in a career that values partying and young people, and said it was hard for him to reimagine his career.

“I’ve been rapping, I’ve been in the game since I’m 19,” Joe explained. “So, when I’m about to turn 40, all I know is standing on couches and popping bottles. But that 40 hit you like a different, like… I was depressed.”

He added that people had been telling him they’d “never [seen] a rapper hit one out the park after 40,” meaning it was hard to make a hit record once you hit middle age.

“So my man Dre [from] Cool & Dre came over on my birthday. I was straight depressed and he was like, ‘Yo, Joe, you know Tina Turner ain’t have her first hit till she was 47.’ So he start breaking all this down. Made me feel a lot better,” Joe said. “‘Cause I was scared of what the future was for what we’re doing…So what we’re doing is we’re selling this brand. We’re selling this and this and that. And then, for a guy like me, it felt like, Oh, they know I’m old now.”

Jada then joined in the conversation and said he’d actually planned on retiring from rap at age 30. “I remember saying, I don’t want to rap at 30,” Jada recalled. “When 30 came, that was out of the f—king question. Then when forty came, I’m like, ‘Yo, got to live a little.’ I felt like I had a lot of more work to do.”

A lot of rappers — including Lil Wayne and Raekwon — have had plenty of success in their 40s and beyond. However, André 3000 admitted in 2023 that his age was a big factor when it came to him hanging up the microphone.

“I’m 48 years old. And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does,” André told GQ. “And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about? ‘I got to go get a colonoscopy.’ What are you rapping about? ‘My eyesight is going bad.’ You can find cool ways to say it, but….”

Check out the full episode of Joe and Jada below.

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.

This week: Kehlani eyes a big chart move thanks to a new pack of remixes, a surreal viral trend helps put a rising singer-songwriter on the streaming map, basketball’s greatest soundtrack makes a comeback and more.

Star-Studded ‘Folded’ Remix Pack Lifts Kehlani’s Current Hit 

On this week’s Billboard Hot 100 (dated Nov. 1), Kehlani’s “Folded” ranks at No. 14, marking the highest peak of her career on the all-genre singles chart. Next week, thanks to her new Folded Homage EP, the Grammy-nominated R&B singer’s ascendant hit could slide into the top 10. 

Featuring Brandy, Toni Braxton, Jojo, Mario, Tank and Ne-Yo, the Folded Homage EP finds six ‘90s and ‘00s R&B heavyweights reimagining Kehlani’s hit, which recently topped Rhythmic Airplay. According to early data provided by Luminate, “Folded” earned 5.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams from Oct. 17-20. In the equivalent four-day period of the tracking week following the remix EP’s release (Oct. 24-27), that number leapt 20% to over 7.2 million official streams. Notably, the new set of remixes also spurred a boost in digital sales for “Folded.” Two weekends ago, the track sold just over 900 digital downloads, and that number jumped nearly 60% to nearly 1,500 digital downloads following the release of the remix EP. 

A frontrunner for best R&B song and performance at next year’s Grammys, “Folded” continues to impress as its run unfolds. – KYLE DENIS 

Lucky ‘Group 7’ for Viral New Sophia James Trend

To promote her new single “So Unfair” while simultaneously testing which content the TikTok algorithm favors, Sophia James devised a simple plan: post seven videos sorting viewers into different groups, based on which one they saw first. As it turned out, the ever-mysterious algorithm loves the number 7, with videos 1-6 getting a handful of viewers apiece, whereas the seventh one was shown to millions.   

With seemingly everyone and their mother pledging allegiance to Group 7 – including NFL teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots, fast-food chains Wendy’s and Jimmy John’s, and other brands such as Fenty Beauty, Oreo and Hellman’s Mayonnaise — James’ artist profile got a major boost. From the tracking week ending Oct. 16 to the following week ending Oct. 23, the singer-songwriter’s catalog experienced a 265.9% increase, jumping from around 44,000 official on-demand U.S. streams to nearly 162,000 according to Luminate. 

The growth on “So Unfair” itself was even more astonishing, with the track’s stream count jumping up 1,013% from just under  on-demand U.S. streams to 97,576 in that same time frame. That’s an increase of about 13,939 groups of 7. – HANNAH DAILEY

4 Non Blondes TikTok Trend Boosts Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” 

Between a recent interpolation courtesy of Cardi B and Lizzo’s “What’s Goin On” and still-trending mashup with Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz’s “Beez in the Trap,” 4 Non Blondes’ undying “What’s Up?” has experienced a huge resurgence on streaming. Now, Nicki’s track is getting in on the fun. 

For the period of Oct. 17-20, “Beez” logged over 608,000 official on-demand U.S. streams and sold over 160 digital downloads. For the equivalent four-day period the following week (Oct. 24-27), “Beez” spiked 55% to over 943,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, according to early data provided by Luminate. Of course, “Beez in the Trap” is one of the most memorable singles from 2012’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The 2 Chainz-assisted joint reached No. 48 on the Hot 100. 

The 4 Non Blondes/Minaj mashup trend dates back to an Aug. 11 post by user @dj.auxlord. TikTok users quickly latched onto the mashup’s bizarre dichotomy and used the accompanying sound, which now soundtracks over 726,000 creates, to showcase everything from Halloween costumes to seemingly oppositional vibes. Most clips using the remix feature two friends standing back-to-back with one person singing the “What’s Up” hook while the other raps Nicki’s “Beez” hook. 

Already parodied by Sabrina Carpenter and Marcello Hernandez for SNL, recent celebrities who have joined the trend include PinkPantheress, Ice Spice, Quen Blackwell, Jimmy Fallon, Malala Yousafzai, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez and 4 Non Blondes’ own Linda Perry. — KD

Long Live ‘Roundball Rock’: Basketball Classic Revived With ‘NBA on NBC’ Return

For the first time since 2002, the NBA returned to NBC last week. With NBCUniversal regaining NBA rights in 2024, starting with this current 2025-26 season, games aired both on the television broadcast network and on the Peacock streaming platform — giving longtime hoopheads a rush of nostalgia for the league’s ‘90s halcyon days airing on the channel. And of course, a large percentage of those good feelings were reserved for the iconic musical theme to the channel’s coverage: “Roundball Rock.” 

The rousing instrumental, composed by new-age musician and longtime Entertainment Tonight co-host John Tesh, has long been beloved by basketball fans of all stripes — and was even sampled in the ‘00s on songs by star rappers Nelly and Joe Budden. With the return of both the league and its onetime home network, Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” saw an unsurprising surge on DSPs last week, racking up 37,000 official on-demand U.S. streams — a 417% gain from the prior week, according to Luminate. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER 

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The Braxton family is back on TV, with season two of The Braxtons now airing on We TV.

The reality series stars Toni Braxton along with her sisters Towanda, Tamar, Trina and family matriarch Ms. Evelyn, as they give fans a look into their lives after navigating the death of their sister, Traci, who passed away from cancer in 2023. While season one was all about dealing with Traci’s death, season two promises “weddings, career wins, deep rifts, and real healing,” according to a press release.

“Toni, Towanda, Trina, Tamar, and Ms. Evelyn reunite with hopes of healing after tragedy, but life throws more curveballs than ever before,” reads a press release from AMC Networks. “While Towanda plans the wedding of her dreams, the family is rocked by medical emergencies, explosive emotional confrontations, and the fallout from a public scandal that threatens to divide them for good.”

Want to watch The Braxtons on TV and online? Here’s what you need to know.

How to Watch The Braxtons Season 2

The Braxtons season two airs on Friday nights at 8 p.m. on We TV. You can watch The Braxtons reality show on TV with a cable package that includes We TV as part of your plan.

Don’t have access to cable channels? You can watch We TV and other cable networks live online through streaming services like DirecTV or Philo. All of them let you watch live television from your phone, tablet, computer or smart TV.

DirecTV plans currently start at $49.99/month and include a live We TV feed plus dozens of other channels. Don’t want to commit to a plan? Get started with a free trial for five days and use it to stream The Braxtons online free.

Philo, meantime, gets you 70+ live TV channels plus access to HBO Max, Discovery+ and AMC+ for just $33/month. Philo’s channels include We TV, Lifetime, OWN, TLC, VH1, MTV and more. While you won’t get local channels on Philo, there’s a huge streaming library of cable shows and movies to binge. Get started with a seven-day free trial below and livestream The Braxtons on We TV without cable.

The Braxton family’s return to reality TV comes four years after ending the series Braxton Family Values. Want to catch up on older episodes? Braxton Family Values is available to stream on platforms such as Prime Video, iTunes and The Roku Channel.

A top cable original on Friday nights, season one of The Braxtons became We TV’s most-watched Season 1 original series, per a press release, ranking #2 among Black audiences ages 25-54.

Watch the a sneak peek of The Braxtons season two below.