Col Joye, the pioneering musician and ARIA Hall of Famer renowned for his bringing rock and roll to the top of the local charts for the first time, has passed away at the age of 89.

Born in Sydney in 1936 as Colin Jacobsen, Joye first began his journey into the world of music in 1957, performing as part of his brother Kevin Jacobsen’s group, the KJ Quintet. 

After being invited to perform at the Jazzorama in the Sydney suburb of Manly, the group’s plans to change the name to Col Jay and the Playboys were swiftly nixed in favor of the soon-to-be-famous moniker of Col Joye and the Joy Boys.

Though later regretting this name change, the group forged on, and in 1959 Joye and his bandmates hit No. 1 on the Sydney charts with “Bye Bye Baby.” That same year, they became the first Australian artist to hit No. 1 om the national charts with “Oh Yeah Uh Huh,” which enjoyed four weeks at the top.

Further top ten hits followed, with the group becoming staples of television program Bandstand throughout the ’60s, ahead of Joye’s final chart-topper, 1973’s “Heaven Is My Woman’s Love.”

Alongside his work on the performance side, Joye and brother Kevin were noted entrepreneurs, setting up their Joye Enterprises and Joye Music companies, alongside their label and talent agency ATA.

One of the biggest successes in this field came by way of their signing of the Bee Gees, who came to their attention following a 1961 performance in Queensland. 

The Bee Gees would later become the first Australian act to have a song hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 with the release of “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” in 1971. The group would repeat that feat a further eight times over the following decade, while the members’ younger brother Andy Gibb (himself an ATA signee) would hit number one three times on his own.

In 1988, Joye was one of the inaugural inductees into the ARIA Hall of Fame, sharing the honor with fellow acts such as Joan Sutherland, Johnny O’Keefe, Slim Dusty, AC/DC and songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young. 

“From music to TV, publishing to concert promotion, artist management and live performances, Col Joye made a remarkable contribution to Australian music for more than six decades,” ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said in a statement.

“At a time when the local industry was dominated by US and UK artists, he proved that Australians would embrace local artists and local music. Our deepest condolences go to Col’s family. He will be sadly missed.”

Soulja Boy has been released from custody two nights after his arrest during a traffic stop in Los Angeles, with prosecutors determining that there’s not enough evidence to charge the rapper with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The 35-year-old “Crank That” rapper (DeAndre Cortez Way) was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning (Aug. 3) while riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was pulled over in West Hollywood, Calif. Police said they spotted a gun in the car and booked Soulja Boy on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm (the rapper has a criminal record for previous weapons violations).

But Soulja Boy was released from custody just before 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday (Aug. 5) after prosecutors opted not to bring charges against him, according to city jail records. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office tells Billboard, “A case was declined due to insufficient evidence.”

The rapper tacitly celebrated his release with an Instagram story, writing, “First day out” against a plain black backdrop. Soulja Boy’s legal reps did not immediately return a request for comment.

Soulja Boy was convicted in 2014 for carrying a loaded firearm in public. While he was initially sentenced to probation, the rapper was later arrested for violating the terms of that probation and served 240 days behind bars in 2019.

He’s also faced a series of civil lawsuits for alleged sexual assault and domestic abuse in the years since the success of “Crank That,” which spawned a viral dance craze and spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007.

Soulja Boy has already lost two trials over these abuse allegations, and he’s facing down jury verdicts totaling more than $4 million in cases brought by his ex-girlfriend Kayla Myers and an anonymous former personal assistant. Another anonymous ex-girlfriend has a pending civil lawsuit claiming Soulja Boy beat her while she was pregnant with their child.  

Myke Towers and Quevedo propel “Soleo” to the top of Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as the song jumps a spot to No. 1 on the list dated Aug. 9.

Their first collab, “Soleao” (which translates to “sunny” in English), was released May 20 on One World International/Warner Records/Warner Latina. It leads the way in its ninth chart week, after an 11% growth in audience impressions, to 9.1 million, across U.S. panel-contributing Latin radio stations in the tracking week of July 25-31, according to Luminate.

Towers claims his 15th Latin Airplay champ, and third consecutively of 2025, after one-week rulers “Otra Noche,” featuring Darell (February), and “Degenere,” featuring Benny Blanco (May).

Further, Towers adds to his satchel of wins as he accomplishes a third trio of No. 1s in a single year. Rewind to 2021, when (after landing two early chart-toppers, for that matter) the Puerto Rican delivered a streak of three straight No. 1s: “Bandido,” with Juhn; “Pareja del Año,” with Sebastián Yatra; and “Bésame,” with Luis Fonsi, that June, August and November, respectively. In 2024, Towers replicated the success with another trio of consecutive No. 1s: “Borracho y Loco,” with Yandel; “La Falda”; and “La Capi,” between that February and May.

Meanwhile, Quevedo makes a comeback to No. 1 on Latin Airplay. He previously led, for four weeks, with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” with Bizarrap, in 2022.

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Soleao” likewise lifts 2-1 on Latin Pop Airplay. There, Towers tallies a third No. 1 and Quevedo, his first. Further, the song adds a second week atop Latin Rhythm Airplay.

Banda Carnaval Ignites Regional Mexican Airplay: Elsewhere on the Latin charts, Banda Carnaval secures its eighth No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, and second of the year, as “Ya La Hice” bounds 9-1 with 6.6 million audience impressions, up 47%, in the tracking week. The act’s “Pude” led for a week in March.

“We are deeply grateful to our fans for taking ‘Ya La Hice’ to No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart,” Banda Carnaval tells Billboard. “This song represents a very special moment for us, and seeing it connect with people in this way fills us with pride and emotion. Thank you to everyone who has made it their own, to the composers for this great story, and to our team who continues to believe in our music. Let’s go all the way with Síganme Tirando!”

“Ya La Hice” earns Greatest Gainer honors, awarded to the song with the largest week-over-week increase in impressions at the format. Leading the charge during the tracking period are Univision stations, with standout support from KSCA-FM Los Angeles, KLNO-FM Dallas, and WOJO-FM Chicago.

Cara Lewis Group (CLG) has hired agent Ashley Ventura, who will bring her clients to the independent agency.

“CLG is an obvious fit for her talents,” said founder/CEO Cara Lewis in a statement. “The entire Cara Lewis Group team is thrilled to have her as a valued addition. We look forward to continuing our mantra of artist development, creating stars and long lasting careers.”

Ventura has worked as an agent in the hip-hop and R&B space for more than five years, previously working at MAC Agency. A press release announcing her hire described her as a “proven” leader and “one of the newest, most exciting agents in the industry.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Cara Lewis Group and to continue pushing culture forward alongside such a respected team,” added Ventura. “This new chapter marks an exciting step in my journey, and I’m looking forward to building with incredible artists and creating what’s next.”

Ventura will be bringing a number of talented artists to the CLG roster, including hip-hop icon French Montana and reality TV star and rapper Bhad Bhabie. Her other clients include Atlanta rapper Anycia, Bay Swag, Bktherula, Gashi, K Camp and Kentheman, all of whom are following her to CLG.

CLG’s roster currently includes Eminem, Travis Scott, Khalid, Don Toliver, Clipse, The Roots, Russ, Jill Scott, Ludacris, Ice Spice, BIA and Erykah Badu. Lewis is one of the most successful independent agents in hip-hop, having spent more than 20 years at William Morris as a partner, where she built the urban-pop division before joining CAA’s music department.

Lil Baby has been teasing a second album on the way for 2025, essentially since the minutes after his WHAM LP arrived in January.

Baby had fans’ minds churning once again on Tuesday (Aug. 5) when he captioned an Instagram post with “8.15.25,” which is next Friday (Aug. 15).

He fanned the flames surrounding his album talk with a follow-up post of a blurry photo to his Instagram Story featuring a whiteboard hinting at a project seemingly titled THE LEAK$. The picture also includes a list of 17 songs and possible appearances from Playboi Carti, Skooly, Veeze and Rylo Rodriguez.

Fans were hyped at the influx of Atlanta rap this summer, as Metro Boomin dropped last week while JID, Gunna, Young Nudy and now Lil Baby are on the way.

“Gunna this week Lil baby next week Can thug drop on the 22nd,” one person wrote to X.

Baby set off the year with WHAM, which brought Young Thug back into the rap universe with the Future-assisted “Dum, Dumb and Dumber.” The project, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 140,000 album-equivalent units, also featured Travis Scott, 21 Savage and GloRilla.

In an interview with Complex in January, Lil Baby teased the follow-up to WHAM being Dominique, an emotional project giving fans an unprecedented look behind the curtain of who he is.

“Well, I’m dropping two projects back to back: WHAM, then I’m coming with Dominique, my self-titled album,” he said at the time. “WHAM is more like my young nigga street shit. Then I show the transition I’m taking in Dominique, the more emotional and more vulnerable side I never really gave my fans.”