Kendrick Lamar has reached another historic benchmark in his career, officially crossing 50 billion total streams on Spotify. With this feat, he becomes only the 14th artist in history to hit that number and just the fifth rapper to do so, joining Travis Scott, Eminem, Kanye West, and his long-standing rival, Drake. Kendrick Lamar has officially surpassed 50 BILLION streams on Spotify, making him just the 14th artist in history to do so. He reached this milestone with only 251 credited songs — the third fewest of any artist, and the fewest of any rapper. pic.twitter.com/p0o23ix8JL — NFR Podcast (@NFR_Podcasts) August 20, 2025 What makes this achievement even more remarkable is how efficiently Lamar reached it. He did so with only 251 credited songs, fewer than any of the other rappers who share the milestone. The update arrives shortly after another accomplishment, when his 2017 classic Damn passed 10 billion streams earlier this month. Across his catalog, Lamar has released six full-length albums: Section.80, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, To Pimp a Butterfly, Damn, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, and GNX. Tracks that continue to dominate Spotify include “luther,” “All The Stars,” “Not Like Us,” and “Money Trees.” Each has played a part in keeping his music at the forefront of global hip hop conversations. The streaming success, however, has been shadowed by controversy. Drake is pursuing legal action against Universal Music Group, accusing the company of manipulating promotion in favor of Lamar’s hit “Not Like Us.” He claims UMG relied on “covert tactics” to push the track, which contains harsh lyrics aimed at him. On the record, Lamar raps: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles… Why you trollin’ like a b*tch? Ain’t you tired? / Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” While the legal battle plays out, Lamar continues to tour globally. His Grand National Tour with SZA will start again in Mexico City on September 23, followed by shows in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Australia.

Lance “Un” Riverea calls cap on Fat Joe, who said he made tracks with The Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. During an interview with The Art of Dialogue, Rivera addressed Joe’s assertion head-on, expressing skepticism and a touch of humor while firmly.  “I love Fat Joe, Fat Joe is my guy. I love the Jada & Joe show, and now I know why they’re running with the ‘Joe is the King of Cap,’” Rivera laughed. “Imma call cap, without even knowing, ’cause I don’t know for sure, but I’m calling cap […] If there was a real, legitimate album, I would’ve heard about that. I wouldn’t have heard about them doing songs,” he continued. The founder of  Untertainment Records, Rivera and Biggie, on several projects including Junior Mafia’s 1995 album The Conspiracay. So any songs featuring Fat Joe would have come across his desk. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Art Of Dialogue (@theartofdialogue) “And I wouldn’t have heard about them doing songs together, right? Because in Daddy’s House, Big go in the studio, you could get a verse or you might not get a verse, depending on his mood and how much money you had in your pocket. He was a ‘How much weed you got on you’ type sh*t, you know what I’m saying? But I call cap off that, Joe. Show me the receipts, Fat Joe.” In an interview from 2023, Fat Joe claimed to have recorded several songs that never saw the light of day because they included disses toward Tupac.  “We made a bunch of songs, y’know what I’m sayin’?” Joe said. “But it was really disrespectful and hateful, and so [Biggie] died and 2Pac died. They might have burnt them sh*ts, to be honest with you, ’cause you know, it was distasteful after the fact.”

Ciara has first-hand experience of what it means for an artist to own their master recordings. During a recent interview with Forbes, Ciara shared how she became an independent artist and how label drama led to owning her masters. “It was also one of my greatest meetings because that propelled me to become independent, because literally he did not see the vision of what ‘Level Up’ was,” said Ciara. “I remember going downstairs to the person that was my A&R at that time his name was Monti Olson […] I’m forever grateful for him because he also believed in me when I was like eight months pregnant to sign a deal with meHe was one of the executives that were actually still at the company when the old CEO went out.” “I asked for my masters and they gave it back to me for free, so let you know how much they didn’t believe, and now ‘Level Up’ is almost three times platinum,” she continued. Betting on herself turned out to be the best decision the “Goodies”  singer ever made. The success of “Level Up” helped to launcher her independent label, Beauty Marks Entertainment, which she established in 2017. The hit song became the first release from her label and debuted at 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on July 31, 2018 moved to number 59 the following week. It debuted at number 10 on the US Digital Songs chart that same week, becoming Ciara’s sixth top-ten hit on the chart and first since “Love Sex Magic” in March 2009.

Mariah recently stopped by Pitchfork for a game of “Over/Under,” where she shared her opinions on everything from lab-grown diamonds and Labubus to self-driving vehicles and Crocs. However, her most surprising answer came when she shared her thoughts on the Grammy Awards. Despite having 34 nominations and 5 Grammy wins, the “Always Be My Baby” singer declared that the iconic award show and its awards are, in fact, overrated. “I think the Grammys are overrated,” she tells the outlet. “But we love everybody.” Mariah Carey Says New Album Is On The Way In other news, amid a recent interview at the 10th anniversary of Apple Music with Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden, Carey made the announcement. “I’m trying not to tell too much about the new album,” Carey said.  “It’s a special occasion/ Mimi’s emancipation- that’s a lyric from one of my songs. What is next? The album is coming out,” she continued. “I don’t wanna tell too much about it because I just don’t want to reveal the whole thing. It’s finished.”  Carey dropped the news following the release of her newest single, “Type Dangerous.” She went on to say that the track was a “heavy record” and that it has “real weight to it.” “We got some Mariah ballads,” she said, adding that a second single will be released soon. “I’m very excited about it. It’s very summery. I like the beat as well.” Sampling Eric B. and Rakim’s classic 1986 single, “Eric B. Is President”, she performed ”Type Dangerous,” alongside Rakim at the 2025 BET Awards.  “I’ve always loved ‘Eric B. Is President.’ It wasn’t something like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna flip this’- I just wouldn’t think of doing it,” she explained. “But then we were in this restaurant in Aspen, and they had different music on, and they played ‘Eric B. Is President,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I love this song!’ We ended up in the studio a couple [of] months later and we did it.”

Kid Cudi accused Drake of “kicking him while he was down.” During an interview with CBS Mornings, Cudi detailed how he and Drake had a fallen out over ghostwriting allegations. In a tweet at the time,  Cudi said that Drake and Kanye West can’t be the greatest rappers with “30 people writing songs for them.” Drake responded in 2016 with a diss track “Two Birds, One Stone” and named Cudi who was in a rehab at the time. “I was like, oh okay, you wanna kick me when I’m down. Great,” Cudi said. “But he wanted to play the game with me. He wanted me to put him in my song or whatever and I’m not that type of artist. “I’m not going to the studio angry rapping about some other man and putting him in my art. That’s not what we’re gonna do here,” he contined. “I’m gonna come to your doorstep and I’mma let you know that I’mma see you. I’mma see you and that’s a promise.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by CBS Mornings (@cbsmornings) Eventually, the two rap stars were able to patch things up after West who set up a meeting between them. Cudi gave a guest verse on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. “I went on to do a record for him for his album, but granted, I haven’t heard from him ever since,” he expressed.  “It just let me know that time is over. We’ll never be homies like we were before. I don’t have any beef with him anymore and I’m not mad at him or anything,” Cudi said. “It’s just time has gone by. We are in different places. It’s all good. I know he loves me. I know that. And I know he respects me as an artist. That’s good enough for me.”

Chance the Rapper is set to release his highly anticipated sophomore album, Star Line, and tour. Due to drop on August 15, the project will be his first since his divorce was finalized from Kirsten Corley. In a recent interview with CBS Mornings, Chance spoke about co-parenting in this new phase of his life. “She’s good. Hey Kirsten! And hey, Kensli and Marli. You know, family is one of the biggest things for me, for her, for my kids, for my mom and dad,” Chance said. “So I think the most important thing for anybody that’s having to navigate that is making sure you keep an environment for the kids where they understand that’s the priority.” He also described his song “Space and Time” as one of his most “well-written” songs that he wrote after he and Corley split. “I think it’s a very personal song about, you know, what we were just talking about, navigating that relationship with the mother of my children,” he said. Chance said the song is his version of Homer’s  The Odyssey.  “I love to build a larger story. So it kind of reads as like an epic, like The Odyssey or anybody that’s like a seafaring or adventurous character in a book, Chance explained. “They go out on the search for some sort of success or thing that they value, and then they find that the thing that they value the mos,t they might have left at home.”  “It’s just coming to terms with the fact that sometimes it’s best if you love somebody the most, you let them go and you let them grow,” he added. In April 2024, Chance announced that he and Corley were separating. “After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways. We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together,” Chance wrote on Instagram at the time. “God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters who we will continue to raise together. We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition. Thank you -Chance & Kirsten.”

Teyana Taylor stopped by HOT 97 to talk with Nessa about her highly anticipated new album Escape Room, dropping August 22nd. She opened up about why she returned from her brief retirement and the meaning behind the album title. They talked about the new single “Bed of Roses” and the steamy visual with Aaron Pierre. Teyana gushed about how safe, loved, and understood Aaron makes her feel—and shared where their relationship stands today. She also explained why it was important for her to clear the air during her public breakup and make sure the narrative didn’t paint Iman as a villain. Teyana also shared how she chose Taraji P. Henson to narrate the powerful opening monologue in her song “Long Time,” which dives into heartbreak beyond just relationships—covering family, career, and friendship too. Teyana reflected on the hardest and most personal songs on the project, what moved her to tears while making the album, and how she uses narration to carry emotion throughout. She also spoke about her work as a creative director and her new film One Battle After Another with Leonardo DiCaprio, out September 26th, and how people describe her energy on set. From her music industry journey—including her return to Def Jam—to co-parenting, career pivots, and culinary school, Teyana shared insight into the many chapters of her life right now. Stream “Bed of Roses” now and get her album Escape Room on August 22nd!

Drake is once again in rollout mode—or at least that’s what fans are betting on. A recent Instagram post, packed with fan edits, TikTok jokes, and a cameo from soccer phenom Erling Haaland, has ignited buzz around his upcoming project Iceman and the tour he’s calling “$ome $pecial $hows 4 U,” with longtime collaborator PARTYNEXTDOOR. Alongside the images, Drake captioned the post, “Tired…too many bangers,” a nod, perhaps, to the project’s creative pace. Whether it’s a cryptic update or a playful brush-off, the sentiment has only sharpened curiosity. Tracks like “What Did I Miss?” and “Which One,” featuring Central Cee, suggest a stylistic range that could stretch from tightly wound bars to festival-stage anthems. With no official date yet, the rollout appears to be unfolding in real time, one post at a time. The bigger question is whether Iceman is days away or still getting polished in the studio. Either way, the breadcrumbs are multiplying. What once felt like distant hype now reads more like a calculated warm-up act. Legal drama brews, but Drake stays locked in Offstage, though, Drake is juggling more than music. His name has surfaced in a defamation lawsuit tied to “Not Like Us,” the viral diss record from Kendrick Lamar. The case targets Universal Music Group but intersects with Drake’s feud, dragging the narrative into legal territory. He was recently cleared to subpoena Kojo Menne Asamoah, a figure alleged to hold relevant details surrounding the case and UMG’s role in the matter. It’s the kind of legal entanglement that could rattle a less seasoned artist. But for Drake, who’s long operated at the center of pop culture crossfire, the balance of public spectacle and private litigation is familiar terrain. And if the rollout of Iceman is any indication, he’s not backing off—he’s doubling down. As fans wait, refresh, and speculate, the Toronto native remains locked in: teasing bangers, navigating lawsuits, and fine-tuning the next chapter of his catalog. View this post on Instagram A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)

Kid Cudi is revealing the details of his near-fatal overdose. In his upcoming memoir, Cudi,  described the fateful night when he was alone at his New York apartment in Tribeca, where he indulged in copious amounts of cocaine and that he “cryedg for hours.” “I was at peace with dying,” Cudi writes, according to  GQ, before he collapsed to the floor, almost comatose. “‘You made great music that people loved,’ I thought. ‘But this is the end.’” He also shared that he was doing cocaine lines as wide as his pinky finger “I couldn’t make sense of what was plaguing me. It was all happening so fast. The first Man on the Moon had been out for about a year and I was on a rocket ship,” Cudi continued. “Grappling with fame pushed me toward cocaine, which I only ever did alone. I was drawn to it in isolation, and my time by myself was increasing.” “I was feeling shut-in and I could barely even leave my house. The coke felt like a necessary countermeasure for my celebrity, but it was wreaking havoc on my life, creatively and personally. I had become super volatile emotionally,” he added. “My relationships were in shambles, and I couldn’t get songs out like I wanted. The anger was boiling in me. My rage came from my reality not aligning with my dream.” “My rage came from my reality not aligning with my dream,” he confessed. “I thought being set financially was going to save me and make everything all right. I thought being Kid Cudi would transform my life in all the best ways. It didn’t.” Cudi also acknowledged that his suicidal ideation returned during recording sessions for Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven. “After we’d finished a session, I’d be alone Googling exit bags,” he wrote. “I was thinking about a way I could actually do it. I was plotting it. There’s a song at the end of Speedin’ Bullet where I say good-bye, and that was meant to be my final album. I was going to kill myself at the end of that album, or before it came out, or during that cycle. I was not planning to live that year. Not many people around me expected me to either.” Cudi: The Memoir hits stores on Aug. 12.

Megan Thee Stallion turned into the ultimate fan-girl after running into the legendary Patti LaBelle during the filming of KPopped. The Apple TV+ series will premiere on Friday, August 29, and consist of eight episodes. According to Kpopped‘s synopsis, “A group of western artists reimagine their hit songs in collaboration with K-pop idols. They compete in battle performances judged by an audience in Seoul.”  Patti LaBelle is just one of the industry heavyweights expected to take the stage at KPopped. However, for Megan Thee Stallion, meeting with Patti seemed to be all that mattered. The two were spotted embracing one another, sharing a sweet conversation. At one point, the pair can be overheard discussing recipes, to which Megan reveals she’s a huge fan of LaBelle’s cookbooks. “Teach me,” the rapper says as she and Patti hold hands, to which she responds, “Yes.” Megan was presently surprised and overjoyed at the singer’s reaction. Patti LaBelle has authored over five cookbooks — three of which were New York Times bestsellers. Megan Thee Stallion meets the legendary Patti LaBelle. pic.twitter.com/Vy5dgWgoH7 — music data (@music__data) August 3, 2025 On a more sour note, the legal clash between Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez has taken a sharp turn, as the rapper’s attorneys accuse Lanez of launching “petty, misogynistic jabs” during a recent deposition. The allegations inject fresh tension into an already high-profile case that has remained in the public spotlight. In a filing submitted in Florida federal court, Megan’s legal team is asking the judge to sanction Lanez—born Daystar Peterson—who is currently behind bars. They argue he violated a court order that required him to explain why he should not be held in contempt. Their motion stems from a deposition earlier this month, which they described as “disruptive and inflammatory.” According to Megan’s lawyers, Lanez used the deposition to mock the opposing counsel’s physical appearance and hair color—behavior they say amounted to harassment rather than a legitimate legal exchange. “This was not about answering questions,” they wrote, “but undermining the process with targeted disrespect.”