Following a few weeks of teasing, NPR Music today (June 30) premiered its latest episode of their critically acclaimed “Tiny Desk” series, featuring Usher’s performance. As well as a top-of-the-line backing band, Vedo and Eric Bellinger provided background vocals for the R&B legend. The clip lasted approximately 25 minutes and featured Usher’s renditions of classic tracks such as ,” “Confessions Part II,” “Superstar,” “U Don’t Have To Call,” “You Make Me Wanna…,” “Nice & Slowand “My Way.”
His appearance on “Tiny Desk” follows his co-headlining responsibilities at this year’s Something In The Water festival, making him one of the festival’s biggest highlights. As Usher left the stage, he honored Pharrell Williams, who joined the party and helped create the festival.
Usher has not released a new album in six years; Hard II Love is a 15-track collection that features contributions from Priyanka Chopra, Young Thug, Future, and Rubén Blades. A total of 38,000 album equivalent units were sold in the first week to make the album Usher’s eighth top ten album on the Billboard 200. In his opinion, he is already working on the sequel to 2004’s Confessions, which he has been teasing since 2019. A part of Usher’s rousing performance for Cricket Wireless included the release of “Confessions Part III” , a song that, as his collaborator Jermaine Dupri explained on Twitter, turns the material of its predecessor on its head:
A female’s perspective is presented in “CONFESSIONS PART 3”. This song tells the story of a girl who cheats on him and gets pregnant with another man’s baby. This leaves her with the choice of keeping it or aborting it. Having learned this, should he stay or should he leave?”
It’s been a while since Jim Jones and Maino collaborated on anything, but they just did it with The Lobby Boyz, a 15-song effort with features from Dave East, Benny The Butcher, Bleu, Fivio Foreign, Fabolous, Young M.A, Capella Grey, and others. A new video from the album for “No Love” was released yesterday, which shows the duo maintaining a sense of self-preservation and keeping it real about street life:
The clip for “No Love” was directed by Tana and Will C., and it takes the viewer outside, namely, in an apartment lobby, hence the name of the group, and it takes place at a road intersection. As all of this is taking place, Philly’s own Meek Mill is seen riding around on a dirt bike.
As Maino stated in a recent interview with “The Breakfast Club,” he and Jim developed the concept of The Lobby Boyz together:
“After getting to know each other, I would pull up to [Jim] , whose studio was downtown, and we once recorded together at the time when Puff and Ross called themselves The Bugatti Boyz. When we finished recording, he said, “A shoutout to the Bugatti Boys, as well as me and Maino, we The Lobby Boyz.”
Earlier this year, Nafe Smallz released Legacy, a 16-song collection that features Unknown T, Young T & Bugsey, Lil Tjay, and D-Block Europe. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the UK’s Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums chart after its initial week of release. Nafe’s relationship with drugs and women is the subject of a new video he released last night (June 24) from his new album, “Moonlight” produced by John Luther and SharkShiesty:
In the accompanying clip, Young Kye & Craig Capone alternate between shots of Nafe Smallz and the woman he is in love with at separate residences. Both spend time with one another at different locations throughout their relationship.
Overnight, released in 2021, consisted of two songs to hold fans over until a new project could be announced. As part of his previous trapwave project, he teamed up with fellow trapwave peer M Huncho to produce DNA, which included 12 tracks and was assisted by Yxng Bane and Young Adz. In addition to being a top ten album on the Official Albums chart, DNA ranked first on the aforementioned chart.
A few months ago, Ace Hood shared his M.I.N.D. album, which had 10 tracks featuring introspective lyrics. The song has since been accompanied by visuals including “At War” and “Greatness”, which features Killer Mike. With a brand new single this week, the Florida-based artist returns with “Energy.” The new track switches up the tempo and shows off a quick flow:
Mr. Hood, Ace Hood’s first official album since separating from We The Best, was released prior to Mr. I.N.D. The project featured 14 tracks as well as appearances from Alexdynamix, OZ, Jacquees, and Slim Diesel.
In a recent interview, Ace Hood fans got a chance to get to know him a bit better as he discussed his journey toward financial empowerment:
Truth be told, I started investing in myself first. I believe that was my initial investment. My relationship with him started when I was a member of Dollaz N Dealz in Deerfield. I was aware that something strange was going on with our label, but at that particular time, I believed I could achieve something more. Being from a small city, I always had big dreams, so having a good grasp on finances was vital. To begin with I invested in myself, seeing myself as a business. My LLC was started many years ago with a business mindset and I have worked hard to take care of my money.”
Conway The Machine dropped his debut album, God Don’t Make Mistakes, in February. The 12-track project also includes contributions from Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Benny The Butcher, Beanie Sigel, Anderson .Paak, Westside Gunn, T.I., and more. The latest video from the Buffalo rapper is set to arrive today (June 23) for “Chanel Pearl track from his upcoming album God Don’t Make Mistakes featuring legendary rapper Jill Scott.
Featuring stunning cinematic shots of Conway and Scott in an illuminated mansion, the video was directed by Chad Tennies and Davi X. Pena, a striking contrast to the more dimly lit opening. The two collaborate on the song, which is an ode to nurturing relationships:
As well as these visuals, Conway The Machine has also shared visuals including: “Stressed” featuring Wallo 267, “John Woo Flick” with Westside Gunn and Benny The Butcher, and “Scatter Brain” by J.I.D. Conway and Ludacris have also appeared on other artists’ projects this year, such as Benny The Butcher (Tana Talk 4) and Action Bronson (Cocodrillo Turbo).
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