Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance turned out to be full of surprises but the biggest one was the reveal that she’s pregnant with her and ASAP Rocky’s second child. A representative for the singer confirmed as much to The Hollywood Reporter amidst rampant speculation on Twitter after the performance.

At the beginning of the set, as Rihanna appeared on a floating platform high above the field, she opened her coat during a rendition of “Bitch Better Have My Money” to reveal what looked very much like a baby bump. Of course, the quick turnaround between babies #1 and 2 had many fans flustered over whether she was normalizing postpartum baby weight — a valid cause, to be sure — or boasting a new bundle of joy.

Fortunately, none of us had to wait very long for a confirmation.

Ahead of the show, Rihanna seemingly teased the reveal in an interview with Nate Burleson on NFL+ Friday night. When asked whether she’d have any special guests during the show, she cheekily said, “I’m thinking about bringing someone.” It just turns out the “someone” was not a musical star (yet), but the new addition to Rih and Rocky’s rapidly growing family.

Fans, of course, had a field day with the news — pun intended — although some were distraught that they might not be getting that new album or tour anytime soon.

source https://uproxx.com/music/rihanna-pregnant-second-child-super-bowl-halftime/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/rihannas-representative-confirms-shes.html

Ice Spice may have aspirations around dipping her toe into acting, but it’s her fan base, the Munchkins, that are causing a scene. The Bronx native has quickly risen to the top of new-age rap conversations thanks to her viral smash “Munch,” but she is still getting used to the outpouring of admiration in public.

However, the craze reached all new heights during her concert yesterday night (February 11) for New York Fashion Week. Appearing at Tia Adeola x Bowery Showroom’s collaborative concert at the Williamsburg Hotel Ballroom, Ice Spice was forced to end her guest set earlier due to the unruly crowd pushing up onto the low stage.

As the crowd begins to inch up on the rapper, she is heard yelling, “Relax,” to the overly excited concertgoers, but it doesn’t seem to work. Spice then tries to wait for attendees to follow her advice, but her security doesn’twant to risk it, quickly ushering her off stage to a backstage area.

From another angle, you can see just how chaotic the sold-out crowd is before Spice is rushed away. After Spice is moved to a secure location, you can hear the DJ saying, “I’m not going to lie, New York City, I am very disappointed in y’all.”

https://twitter.com/FashionxRadio/status/1624904493736361986?s=20&t=leZu-fqh92MfmgLJ05OV7Q

Before leaving the venue, did she have the opportunity to perform a few songs from her EP Like…?, including “In Ha Mood.”

Spice raps about being the new Princess Diana, but perhaps she didn’t look into the late royal family member’s life before making the declaration.

source https://uproxx.com/music/ice-spice-rowdy-crowd-cut-concert-short-nyfw/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/ice-spice-is-in-ha-mood-about-rowdy.html

SZA‘s latest album, S.O.S., has proved itself a commercial success. The album —her first project since 2017’s Ctrl — debuted at No.1 on Billboard 200 following its release last year. The 22-track album has stayed atop the charts for nearly eight weeks, a record once previously held by Taylor Swift‘s Folklore album. That means that S.O.S is the first album by a woman to spend eight weeks at No.1 on the Billboard 200, which is pretty impressive.

“SOS’ by @SZA is the first album by a woman to spend eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 since @TaylorSwift13’s ‘folklore,” Pop Crave reports.

The “Shirt” singer recently announced she would take her S.O.S album on the road. The North American tour will kick off next week on February 21 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus — it’s also expected to make pitstops in major cities like Boston, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Grammy-award nominee Omar Apollo is expected to be the tour’s opener.

Tickets for the upcoming tour went on sale on December 16.

You can check out the full tour schedule.

02/21/2023 — Columbus, OH @ The Jerome Schottenstein Center
02/22/2023 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
02/24/2023 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
02/25/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
02/27/2023 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
02/28/2023 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
03/02/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
03/04/2023 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/07/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
03/09/2023 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
03/10/2023 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
03/13/2023 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/14/2023 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
03/16/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
03/18/2023 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
03/19/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
03/22/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum

Some of the artists mentioned are part of Warner Music. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

source https://uproxx.com/music/sza-major-billoard-milestone-taylor-swift/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/sza-reaches-major-billboard-milestone.html

Legendary rap trio De La Soul has been making a musical comeback in a major way. Not only has the group managed to work through its legal dispute with its former label, Tommy Boy Records, but fans were enjoying the possibility of potential new music. Unfortunately, it has been revealed that founding member, Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) has died at the age of 54.

A representative close to the group has confirmed the news with several outlets, including The Grio and AllHipHop.com.

Although the details of his passing have not yet been released, in the past has been public about his health battles. Back in 2018, he opened up about his fight with congestive heart failure on social media confessing to his group member that he was struggling with being sidelined while they made professional progress relating to touring.

Saying, “I’m ready just to get back to the stage. I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys, and I want that back.”

Jolicoeur was again hospitalized in 2020, but following a live stream with Posdnous and Maseo (also of De La Soul), it seemed that he was making progress.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jolicoeur’s family, close friends, and his fans currently mourning the news.

source https://uproxx.com/music/trugoy-the-dove-dead-died-54-years-old/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/legendary-member-of-rap-trio-de-la-soul.html

The trial for the murder of XXXTentacion is underway. The trial has garnered a wide following, especially as artists like Offset, Quavo, and Drake have been ordered to deposition. In a new development, another suspect in the murder of XXXTentacion has reportedly denied Drake’s alleged involvement in the murder.

According to footage shared by Akademiks, Robert Allen told the court on Friday (December 10) that he had never met Drake. He denied receiving money from Drake and/or any of his associates and also said he did not know who XXXTentacion was at the time of his death.

In the clip above, we see that Allen is delivering his testimony by way of “yes” or “no” responses to questions asked by defendant Dedrick Williams’ attorney Mauricio Padilla. Padilla asks several questions, including “Your testimony to this court and to this jury is that you were never on the set of [Drake’s] ‘God’s Plan’ video, filmed in Miami in 2018? Is that what you’re saying?”

Padilla continued, asking, “But actually, in 2018 when this crime occurred, you didn’t know who X was? In 2018, you’re from Broward County, correct? You listen to rap music, correct? And you’re telling this jury that you didn’t know who literally probably the most famous rapper to ever come out of Broward County was in June of 2018? That’s your testimony?”

Back in January, Padilla reportedly subpoenaed Drake to sit down and offer a deposition in the case of the murder of XXXTentacion. The deposition is reportedly scheduled to take place on Friday, February 24.

If Drake does not make the deposition, then he will be required to appear in court on Monday, February 27.

source https://uproxx.com/music/suspect-xxxtentacion-murder-deny-drake-involvement/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-suspect-in-murder-of-xxxtentacion.html

Janelle Monáe seems ready for NBA All-Star weekend and has already compared herself to legends like Allen Iverson. The singer will be appearing alongside a bevy of celebrities and entertainers like 21 Savage and Cordae. The annual sporting event weekend will take place in Salt Lake City this year from February 17-19. Ahead of her upcoming game, Monáe posted a hilarious meme of her face photoshopped over Allen Iverson.

Before that, the singer and Glass Onion star shared her shooting skills on Instagram while sporting the infamous and now-viral MSCHF boots.

Monáe will be a part of former NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade’s team, alongside 21 Savage and Nicky James, while Utah Jazz governor Ryan Smith will coach the other team. Smith’s roster includes several stars as well, like Cordae, country star Kane Brown, and Latin trap singer Ozuna.

Other notable celebrities and professional athletes such as Albert Pujols, Calvin Johnson, DK Metcalf, the Miz, and WNBA stars like Arike Ogunbowale and Diamond DeShields are expected to participate in the celebrity sporting affair.

The All-Star Celebrity Game is scheduled for Friday, February 17, at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (5 Mountain Time).

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

source https://uproxx.com/music/janelle-monae-allen-iverson-all-star-game-2023/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/janelle-monae-continues-to-get-in-all.html

Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy era has been immortalized with a new wax figure at Madam Tussauds in London. The wax museum recently shared the announcement on social media. The Toronto rap star’s first wax figure — inspired by his “Hot Line Bling” video — has been on display at the museum’s Las Vegas location since 2019. His second figure will be part of a new exhibit, the Impossible Festival music zone, in its London location. The statue captures Drake’s look from his performance at the 2021 Wireless Festival in the British capital, complete with his notable Certified Lover Boy-era heart-shaped lineup.

In addition to his CLB-inspired lineup, the rapper’s wax figure was styled with adorned with a matching camouflage shirt and pants combo, a green cropped puffer jacket, and white-on-white Air Force 1’s and replica Cartier and Van Cleef jewelry, according to a press release.

“Drake has shown his love for London on numerous occasions, with his surprise appearance at Wireless Festival being just one example of this,” said Madame Tussauds London’s general manager Tim Waters in a recent statement. “With reports that he’s soon to call London home, we wanted to make sure we were able to give him a warm welcome to our streets and show that the love is reciprocated the only way we know how by immortalizing him in our famous attraction.”

But Drake isn’t the latest Grammy-winning hitmaker to receive a wax figure this year. Madame Tussauds recently released its new Rihanna wax statue inspired by her now-iconic 2018 Met Gala outfit.

source https://uproxx.com/music/madame-tussauds-unveils-clb-inspired-drake-wax-figure/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/madame-tussauds-unveiled-new-certified.html

Lil Durk‘s recent fashion choice has fans scratching their heads. The Chicago-bred rapper was recently spotted sporting a very unique piece of clothing while attending a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks at the Crypto.com Arena in LA. The “OTF ” rhymer wore what appears to be a fuzzy sweater with a broken skateboard attached to the front. Fashion designer Johnathan Anderson is the one behind the design of the peculiar garment which is causing quite a stir.

The sweater is part of the innovative designer’s namesake brand JW, which debuted last June during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.

As expected, the skateboard-adorned sweater caused quite a stir on social media. It didn’t take fans long to offer their hilarious opinions on the rapper’s recent fashion choice.

“Man, rich people be wearing anything now, next, you’ll see a whole kitchen as a fit,” one fan jokingly predicted.

“You think he kicked or pushed to get this on?” another person tweeted.

“He does know that’s just supposed to be runway art, right?” one person wrote.

But not everyone agrees. Some folks are actually a fan of Durk’s new look.

“That dude actually pulled it off y’all hating,” another fan tweeted.

source https://uproxx.com/music/lil-durk-fashon-choice-hilarious-reactions/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/lil-durks-latest-fashion-choice.html

Drake recreated his recent performance at the Apollo for a pre-Super Bowl bash. Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars attended the event —rappers like Lil Baby and Meek Mill and professional athletes like Odell Beckham Jr. and Serena Williams — at Hanger One, an event venue in Arizona Friday night. Drake hit the stage with another hitmaker that evening to help celebrate before the upcoming Super Bowl LVII, TMZ reports. The hitmaker in question? Cardi B.

Other stars who attended the event include Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Fox, Cher, and her new beau Alexander Edwards, Tyga, H.E.R., Winnie Harlow, Rich the Kid, Christina Aguilera, and Druski.

Drake seems very excited about the upcoming game. The “Rich Flex” rapper, who’s become known as a high-stakes gambler, recently placed a series of bets totaling nearly $1 million. The Toronto hitmaker took to Instagram to share the series of bets he made ahead of the big game, including putting $700,000 on the Chiefs to win. He also bet that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster would score touchdowns and Travis Kelce to win the MVP award.

Super Bowl LVII, which will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, this year, will premiere on February 12. Rihanna is expected to perform a medley of her hits during halftime.

source https://uproxx.com/music/drake-recreates-apollo-show-super-bowl-bash/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/drake-recreates-his-apollo-show-for.html

At long last, Kelela‘s sophomore album, Raven is upon us. Yesterday, she finally released Raven nearly six years after her critically-acclaimed debut, Take Me Apart. To celebrate this milestone, Kelela paid a visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed a Raven album cut, “Enough For Love.”

On the song itself, Kelela addresses the hypermasculine tendency for men to reject affection and softness. However, she reiterates that the toughest thing anyone can do is to welcome and invite in love.

“‘You forgot about us / But you’re not alone, not alone / Are you tough enough for love? / Give it up /But you forgot about us / No, you’re not alone, not alone / Are you tough enough for love? / You’re tough enough, not enough for love,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

During the performance, she wore shimmering make-up, with her hair styled up in a platinum-blonde bob. Though she was not joined by a backing band, her soft, silky vocals carried the performance, as she sang against a backdrop depicting a beautiful sunrise.

In a recent interview with New York Times, Kelela revealed the healing process behind crafting the melodies and lyrics for Raven.

While she didn’t set out to create a specific theme for the record, she wanted to write lyrics to “help Black femmes heal,” she said. “It’s gotta be a lyric that Black and brown women and nonbinary people, marginalized people, can scream in their cars on the way to work a job that they actually don’t want to do.”

You can watch the full performance above.

Raven is out now via Warp. You can stream it here.

source https://uproxx.com/music/kelela-enough-for-love-fallon/

source https://trapbeats2023.blogspot.com/2023/02/kelela-shined-bright-in-performance-of.html