Chloe x Halle just dropped the video for “Do It,” the second single from their second album, Ungodly Hour, and the people are taking notice.
For the first time, the Beyoncé signees are giving us a real banger and some choreo to boot. This is all part of the duo’s plan to show that they can give us bops along with the “musicianship” they’re known for.
Watch “Do It” below.
This past Sunday, the world lost R&B singer Bessie Regina Norris, better known as Betty Wright. If you’re not familiar with the name, I understand. And if you are, take this crown, king/queen.
Betty Wright wasn’t a big star, so even though she’d been in the industry since 1966 (at just 12 years old) and even achieved a top 10 hit in 1972, her fan base was generally limited to true R&B heads. However, so many of her recordings have been sampled in songs that went on to become major hits, including Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up.”
If there ever was an argument for sampling songs, it is that it sometimes allows for the discovery of good music that had otherwise been forgotten. At any given time, there is good music being ignored for whatever reason, but for black artists, especially black artists of a certain era, the marginalization of their work was protocol. And that marginalization is why artists as gifted as Betty Wright are denied the superstardom they so deserve.
I urge you all to take a deep dive into Betty Wright’s discography. No one did a spoken verse quite like she did, and as far as whistle notes are concerned, she was one of the best to ever do it. Word to Minnie and Mariah.
Our TBT pick is a live performance of “No Pain, (No Gain),” the first single from Betty Wright’s 12th album, Mother Wit (1988). Click play and thank me later.
There are stars, there are superstars, and then there are legends.
Today in 1950, a legend was born.
Signed by Motown Records at just 11 years old, Stevie Wonder has now giving us almost 60 years musical magic. At 13, he became the youngest artist in history to top the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, with “Fingertips” and Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius, respectively. In the decades that have followed, he has achieved eight more Hot 100 No. 1s and earned 26 Grammys, including three for Album of the Year — a record he shares with Frank Sinatra — and one for Lifetime Achievement. Also, his three Album of the Year wins were for consecutive releases. Because he was cookin’ like that in the early-to-mid ’70s.
So many of Stevie Wonder’s songs are now standards for life events like birthdays and weddings. His music is quite literally the soundtrack of our lives and is among the most sampled in popular music.
Below are my seven favorite Stevie Wonder tracks.
Earlier today, 6ix9ine just dropped a new video that looks a lot like one of his old videos.
Lyrically, “GOOBA” is also a lot like his other stuff — stoopid, dummy, etc. One small but critical difference is the absence of the “Treway” ad libs, which is understandable considering his relinquished membership of the gang he once repped.
Today is Tekashi’s 24th birthday, and he celebrated with an IG Live that attracted two million viewers — a new record. Also, with over 17 million views on YouTube in just eight hours, the “GOOBA” video is on pace to have highest number of views in 24 hours for a hip-hop video. That record is currently held by Eminem, who racked up 38.1 million first-day views for “Killshot” (which is technically not a music video).
Watch “GOOBA” below.
Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande linked up for “Stuck with U,” a soulful ballad that sounds like it was made just for everyone with a quarantine bae. For those of you without, I’m sure there are more suitable selections out there.
The video is a montage of a variety of cutesy quarantine clips, including cameos from Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk, and Steph and Ayesha Curry. Justin and Ariana also get some couple cam time with their respective significant others, Hailey Bieber and Dalton Gomez.
All proceeds from “Stuck with U” will be donated to the First Responders Children’s Foundation, which supports children of paramedics, EMTs, police, firefighters, and healthcare workers.
If you had 24 hours to live, just think, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you screw?
Mase tapped the LOX, Black Rob, DMX, and an uncredited Diddy for this track that will have you thinking about how you’d spend your final hours if you knew death was imminent. The bars on “24 Hrs. to Live” range from comical to poignant, with each rapper putting their very best foot forward.
Even though the song was technically an album cut, it was so popular on the radio that Mase did the needful and shot us a video. At the time, there were talks about Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Queen Pen and Missy Elliott coming together to make an all-female version of the song — discussions progressed to the point where Queen Pen even recorded her verse. However, according to Mase, plans fell through because Foxy wasn’t rocking with Kim nor Pen. Industry beef robs us of good music yet again.
As we continue to imagine the track that could have been, let’s take solace in the track that was. Click play.
Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a good week for remixes.
First, we had the H-Town linkup on the “Savage” remix, and now we have Doja Cat on the same track with the woman many consider to be her biggest influence: Nicki Minaj.
The “Say So” remix improves on the original, with Nicki joining Doja on both singing and rapping duties. As signaled on “Yikes,” Nicki appears to be in a good creative space and is rapping like it’s 2010 again.
In classic Nicki fashion, she didn’t miss an opportunity to take down an enemy, ending the song with what sounds like a dig at Wendy Williams, who she has called “demonic” in the past.
Today is Lloyd Banks’ birthday and Monday was Avant’s birthday, so it’s only right that this week’s TBT pick is their 2004 collabo, “Karma.”
“Karma” is the third single from Lloyd Banks’ debut album, The Hunger for More, and one of the rapper’s biggest hits. The hook of the song is arguably problematic, but chances are that most people were too distracted by its tuneful melody — courtesy of Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.” Check it out below.
Most of the time, remixes are not good as their originals. Every now and then, however, a remix might be just as good as its original, and in those cases, that’s usually because the song remained largely unchanged.
And then there’s the rare occasion where a remix is decidedly better than its original.
Today, we are blessed to be able to experience one of those rare occasions. Megan Thee Stallion tapped elder Houston statewswoman Beyoncé for the “Savage” remix, and Bey did what the fuck she had to do, outrapping Meg and adding all the right ad libs in all the right places.
The song runs about a minute too long, but I’m sure Meg couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a third verse from Bey Thee Yoncé. Check it out below.
PS: All the proceeds from the “Savage” remix will go toward COVID-19 relief in Houston.
JoJo is giving us big social distancing energy in her new video, which is for “Lonely Hearts,” the appropriately titled second single from her upcoming album, Good to Know. The video was shot while quarantining and is inspired by Kathy Ireland’s 1993 Sports Illustrated cover.
The track, which sounds like a Missy production circa ’02, is about self-love in the face of self-doubt and a lover that keeps sending mixed messages. Explaining the song’s message, JoJo says, “Choosing self-preservation over toxic relationships is this vibe right now.” Who could be mad at that?
Check “Lonely Hearts” out below.