As Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl consumed the zeitgeist and Nicki Minaj and Cardi B continued to reach new lows in their years-long feud, the worlds of hip-hop and R&B kept turning.
On Friday (Oct. 3), Judge Subramanian sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to over 50 months behind bars for violating federal prostitution laws. Accounting for time served, Diddy will serve a little over three years in federal prison. The judge noted that he hoped his sentence would “send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.” Two days prior (Oct. 1), Young Thug, another star rapper who was recently caught up in a federal investigation, revealed that R&B singer Mariah the Scientist broke up with him. “I got broke up, n—a,” he explained to Adin Ross live on stream. “I got a girl. She probably don’t got a boyfriend, but I got a girl.”
In lighter news, after spending some time laying low with her new beau, Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Klay Thompson, Megan Thee Stallion took to socials to tease her new TikTok-inspired, Total-sampling single. Latto seemingly confirmed some brighter romantic news, publicly claiming 21 Savage as her “husband” after years of speculation. When asked if she gets tired of people inquiring about 21, Latto replied, “No! My man, my man, my man, my man!” Rounding out the happier female rap news, Doja Cat graced Saturday Night Live season 51 premiere with performances of “Aaahh Men!” and “Gorgeous,” two tracks from her new Vie album, which recently debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 (chart dated Oct. 11).
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from a standout from the second-half of Bryson Tiller’s double LP to a smooth new collaboration between Karri and Kehlani. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
