As the R&B and hip-hop worlds prepare to descend on Philadelphia, PA, for Roots Picnic 2024 (June 1-2), a bevy of the scenes’ hottest stars kept the headlines jumping.
Between Sean Kingston‘s arrest for fraud and theft last Thursday (May 23) and Nicki Minaj‘s live-streamed Amsterdam arrest for allegedly “carrying drugs,” legal woes continued to plague hip-hop in a year that’s included watershed cases — including several levied against Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose transgressions were painstakingly detailed in a harrowing Rolling Stone exposé on Tuesday (May 28).
In lighter news, Drake took a stab at the viral “BBL Drizzy” beat, Sexyy Red made her WWE debut and Kehlani gave an impassioned plea for her peers to speak up against the atrocities in Gaza. “[I don’t care] about the roll out the formula the strategy the algorithm at this point i’m begging U TO BE PEOPLE. BE A F–KIN HUMAN BEING,” she wrote on Instagram (May 28).
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Sugarhill Ddot’s Ginuwine-sampling banger to ASTN’s introspective take on navigating troubled waters in relationships. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Sugarhill Ddot, “Like This”
The sexy drill movement has taken over the NYC rap scene, and its momentum is only going to grow with the block parties and outside antics in store for the summer. The 15-year-old Sugarhill Ddot is a burgeoning star helping push the sub-genre to the mainstream, and he’s not even old enough to drive just yet. Luckily, since he hails from Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood, he doesn’t need a car to maneuver around the Big Apple. Ddot returned on Friday (May 23) with a love story putting his drill spin on Ginuwine’s classic “Differences,” which arrived nearly a decade before the Dominican rhymer was even born. An accompanying music video was also released depicting an all-too-familiar date night scene for teens at the local bowling alley. With co-signs from Drake and Lil Durk, the future is bright for the Priority Records signee.
FLO, “Caught Up”
For their second release of 2024, U.K. pop&B trio FLO pivot away from the lovestruck tone of March’s “Walk Like This” and return to the head-over-heart sensibilities of fan favorites like “3 of Us” and “Cardboard Box.” “I found some receipts last night/ That didn’t quite match up with your time/ You say that you’re with your boys on vacation/ And you just post a picture with the girl you say you ain’t hit,” Renée Downer [sings] over a mélange of sexy, skittering guitar licks and bouncy drums. The trio’s harmonies are as tight as ever, lifting into a slight modulation in a bridge that elevates the entire affair while helping the group zero in on a sound that evokes ’00s pop&B without falling into the pitfalls of pastiche. With names like Sevyn Streeter, Pop Wansel and Jay Versace in the credits, “Caught Up” earns its rightful spot in the lexicon of well-crafted warnings to doggish men.
Vince Staples, “Justin”
Vince Staples put a bow on his decade-long odyssey with Def Jam last week. Some of the Long Beach rapper’s most vivid storytelling comes on Dark Times standout “Justin,” where Staples recounts nearly falling for a love interest from Qatar. The ecstasy of a euphoric date night in Venice quickly becomes a nightmare when he’s stonewalled with an introduction to her actual boyfriend. She saves face by referring to Vince as her “little cousin Justin,” and Staples is left with DJ Khaled shouting in his head, “Congratulations, you played yourself.” While a story like this would surely spark intense debate with arrows shot across “relationship Twitter,” Staples says his piece on the outro, “Women lie a lot, put that on the dead homies/ Women lie a lot, on God.”
ASTN, “The Makeup Song”
Perhaps best known for his viral R&B-tinged reimagining of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” emerging R&B/pop singer-songwriter ASTN has unleashed the latest single from his forthcoming What a Night to Be in Love EP. The new self-penned, Jake Melvin-helmed track finds him perusing the rough patches of a relationship over sparse, forlorn guitars, airy synths, plucky 808s and a catchy staccato flow. “If you look my way, I’m in front of you/ Make that angry face, it made me fall for you/ I got time today, and you got nothin’ to lose/ So don’t stress all the little things,” he croons. Side-stepping flowery metaphors and opting for a more direct and upfront approach to lyricism, “The Makeup Song” is yet another winner from ASTN.
Tina (Hoodcelebrityy), “Pressure”
Jamaican-born, Bronx-bred rapper-singer Tina (previously known professionally as Hoodcelebrityy) has been hot in New York for years, but her genre-spanning new record, Tina vs Hoodcelebrityy, is setting her up for an explosive 2024. On “Pressure,” a standout track from the new project, Tina eschews dancehall synths for the brooding drill snares and cadences that have dominated the Five Boroughs for the last half-decade. “I cannot fold under pressure/ Some of these b–tches need lectures/ Talkin’ that s–t like I’m not finnna press her/ Flexing that ho like a wrestler,” she spits, effortlessly embodying the singular bravado and attitude of West Indian New Yorkers while drawing on the interconnected histories of rap and dancehall.
Groovy feat. Kanii, “Mariah”
Meshing the worlds of Jersey club and intoxicating R&B (which he’s coined as luv club), Groovy makes good on his name, all while hailing from the Garden State himself. His latest luv club offering comes in the form of his Crying in the Club EP filled with atmospheric tunes including an infectious collaboration with DMV singer Kanii titled “Mariah.” Over warm pulsating synths, Groovy comes to grips that the woman he adores is actually a liar (fittingly named Mariah), and the lust hypnotizes him into trying to look past the dishonesty. “You drive me crazy,” he comes clean. With Groovy’s father making waves as a Jersey club DJ, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Kehlani, “After Hours (Cater 2 U Mix)”
Kehlani is living her best 2004 life. After sampling the coolie riddim used in Nina Sky’s iconic “Move Your Body” for the hip-rocking dance tune “After Hours,” the Grammy-nominated R&B star turned to another 2004 hit to reimagine her latest single. Borrowing the sparkly synths of Destiny’s Child’s beloved “Cater 2 U,” Kehlani ups the breathless sexual tension of “After Hours” with an instrumental that focuses on dancing the night away in the bedroom instead of on the dancefloor. There are no new lyrics in this version of “After Hours,” and that’s probably for the better; the change in production does enough heavy lifting to highlight the duality of the song’s tone and concept.
