Author: Rap Hooks

Nicki Minaj is stepping back from social media following her recent guest appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest.

As of Wednesday (Dec. 24), the 43-year-old rap superstar had deactivated her Instagram account amid backlash after sitting down with Erika Kirk, the wife of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk, for an interview in Phoenix on Dec. 21. Visitors to the account now see the message, “Sorry, this page isn’t available.”

Billboard has reached out to Minaj’s representatives for comment.

Fans were quick to note that Minaj has occasionally deleted her Instagram account, including in October.

During the interview, Minaj praised both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, calling them “amazing role models” before awkwardly referring to Vance as an “assassin.”

“Dear young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president and you have amazing role models like the assassin JD Vance, our vice president,” she said, quickly realizing the mistake. (Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 in what Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described as a “political assassination.”)

Erika immediately reassured Minaj after the slip-up. “Trust me, there’s nothing new under the sun that I have not heard. So you’re fine,” she said. “I love you.”

After the interview, Amber Rose defended Minaj against claims that her support for Trump could alienate the LGBTQ+ community.

“She didn’t say anything wrong,” Rose told TMZ. “She didn’t say anything about the LGBTQ+ community at all. Why do people think anyone over there is homophobic? I’m not homophobic, my assistant has been with me for 11 years; he’s Black and gay. I have a bunch of trans friend — so does Nicki.”

Vance also credited Minaj for a point she made during the conversation with Erika, noting that uplifting one community doesn’t mean putting down another.

“Nicki Minaj said something at Amfest that was really profound. I’m paraphrasing, but she said, ‘just because I want little black girls to think they’re beautiful doesn’t mean I need to put down little girls with blonde hair and blue eyes,” the VP wrote on X.

In addition to her appearance at AmericaFest, Minaj has become more politically outspoken in recent months. She voiced opposition to the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria, which led to her speaking at a United Nations event in November.

Jerry Kasenetz, who with his production partner Jeff Katz was the hottest producer of bubblegum music in the late 1960s, died Dec. 6 in a hospital in Tampa, Florida. He was 82. The reported cause of death was complications from a fall at his home.

Between 1967-68, Kasenetz and Katz produced six million-selling singles, including five that reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100: The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit o’ Soul” (No. 2); Ohio Express’ “Yummy Yummy Yummy” (No. 4); and 1910 Fruitgum Co.’s “Simon Says” (No. 4), “1,2,3 Red Light” (No. 5) and “Indian Giver” (No. 5). Their million-seller that missed the top five was Ohio Express’ “Chewy Chewy” (No. 15).

In 1968, they even had a top 30 hit on the Hot 100 as artists. Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestra Circus reached No. 25 in December 1968 with “Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run).” The song, written by Joey Levine and Artie Resnick, featured members from the groups they had produced.

“Little Bit o’ Soul,” which was a catchy pop-rock song, but not really bubblegum, was released on Laurie Records. Kasenetz-Katz had most of their successes on Neil Bogart’s Buddah Records: Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Co. and their own hit. They sometimes used the nameplate Super K Productions.

In 1969, Crazy Elephant (on Bell Records) took “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin,” another Kasenetz-Katz production, to No. 12 on the Hot 100.

Bubblegum reached its peak of popularity at the same time that hard rock, at the opposite end of the musical spectrum, became a major force. The best-selling single of 1969 was The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar,” which was not a Kasenetz-Katz production, but was in their wheelhouse. (Jeff Barry produced that smash, which he co-wrote with Andy Kim.)

Nearly a decade removed from their run of hits, Kasenetz-Katz produced one more big hit: Ram Jam’s rock-leaning rendition of “Black Betty,” a song recorded by Lead Belly in 1939, which hit No. 18 in September 1977.

Jerrold H. Kasenetz was born May 5, 1943, in Brooklyn, the eldest of five children. He met the Brooklyn-born Katz when both were undergraduates at the University of Arizona. They promoted a campus concert by the Dave Clark Five.

Kasenetz and Katz’s first production was for R&B singer Christine Cooper. “S.O.S. Hearts in Distress” bubbled under the Hot 100 at No. 101 in February 1966.

Bubblegum fell out of favor in the 1970s, though it influenced such pop smashes as Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” and The Grass Roots’ “Sooner or Later.” Talking Heads performed “1-2-3 Red Light” at some of their early shows; a live version can be found on the bootleg Gimme Heads.

In a 2008 interview with Billboard, industry legend Doug Morris remembered that Kasenetz and Katz played a key role in his own beginnings in the business. “I remember how I actually learned the business and decided to go into my own business: I bought a record, signed two guys-Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz – Kasenetz and Katz. And I think I paid $800 – no, $500 and 8%, and it was Laurie 3308.” [Editor’s note: That was the label number of The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit o’ Soul.”]

Morris, who was 28 at the time, basically learned the business while tracking “Little Bit o’ Soul” as it rose to No. 2 on the Hot 100. He called distributors, retailers and radio stations to learn whatever he could about why that record was taking off.

“At which point, with my hands shaking, I went up to the bosses and told them,” Morris remembered. “And they obviously put the mechanism to work, how to get records played in those days. And the record I believe went to No. 1 [Editor’s Note: Almost.] and from that one experience, I understood the record industry, how it works. To this day, nothing has changed.”

Kasenetz and Katz were never nominated for a Grammy, nor are they in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. But they found their niche and delivered hit after hit.

Kasenetz is survived by brothers Iver and Bruce, sons Darren and Brett and two grandchildren. Katz is still living at 82.

21 Savage banks his fifth overall – and consecutive – No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as What Happened to the Streets? starts atop the list dated Dec. 27. The set, on Slaughter Gang/Epic Records, earned 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States for the Dec. 12-18 tracking week, according to Luminate.

What Happened to the Streets? was a semi-surprise from 21 Savage, with its official announcement on Dec. 8, four days before its release. Its track list contains features from major hip-hop stars including familiar collaborators Drake, Lil Baby and Metro Boomin as well as G Herbo, GloRilla and Latto.

Of the first-week total for What Happened to the Streets?, streaming activity contributed 48,000 units, representing 65.8 million official on-demand audio and video streams of the album’s songs. 25,000 units came from traditional album sales, while a negligible amount of track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription tier or 3,750 ad-supported tier of official on-demand audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

With his new album, 21 Savage achieves his fifth No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, encompassing his last five appearances on the list for a streak-extending stretch. He first ruled with I Am > I Was, a two-week leader in January 2019, returned to the summit via collaborative projects with Metro Boomin (Savage Mode II, a one-week leader in October 2020) and Drake (Her Loss – four weeks on top in November – December 2022), and logged the three-week solo champ American Dream in January-February 2024.

Elsewhere, What Happened to the Streets? arrives as 21 Savage’s sixth No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums chart and at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

In addition to the album’s win, 13 of its tracks crash onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, led by the Drake teamup “Mr Recoup” at No. 4. Its entrance secures 21 Savage’s 37th top 10 on the ranking, while Drake extends his all-time record to 143 in the top tier.

Here’s a review of the What Happened to the Streets? track placements on this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart:

No. 4, “Mr Recoup,” with Drake
No. 11, “HA”
No. 14, “Where You From”
No. 15, “Stepbrothers,” with Young Nudy
No. 16, “Dog $hit,” with GloRilla
No. 22, “Pop It,” with Latto
No. 24, “Code of Honor,” with G Herbo
No. 26, “J.O.W.Y.H (JUMP OUT)”
No. 30, “Cup Full”
No. 31, “I Wish,” with Jawan Harris
No. 34, “Gang Over Everything,” with Metro Boomin
No. 35, “Atlanta Tears,” with Lil Baby
No. 48, “Halftime Interlude”

Pooh Shiesty enjoys an immediate welcome reception on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as he collects his first No. 1 with the debut of “FDO” atop the list dated Dec. 27. The comeback single is the 25-year-old rapper’s first track since his release from prison in October after serving three years behind bars of a five-year sentence.

For its chart-topping debut, “FDO,” released via 1017 Global/Atlantic Records, registered 23 million official streams, 1,000 digital downloads and 392,000 audience impressions in the United States for the tracking week of Dec. 12-18, according to Luminate. Thanks to those totals in the respective metrics, “FDO” launches at No. 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart and No. 6 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list. (Its first-week radio total places it below the threshold for R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, as is the norm for many new releases until airplay promotion campaigns pick up in later weeks.)

With “FDO,” Pooh Shiesty bags his first Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart No. 1 and surpasses his previous career best of No. 6, which he achieved with his first pair of entries. His own “Back in Blood,” featuring Lil Durk, peaked at the position in March 2021, and he equaled the mark the following month with a feature on Spotemgottem’s “Beat Box.” The new champ is Pooh Shiesty’s first appearance on the chart since his guest spot on Lil Baby’s “Shiest Talk,” which reached No. 26 in October 2022.

Elsewhere, “FDO” storms in atop the Hot Rap Songs chart, securing the Memphis, Tenn. rapper’s first leader and outdoing the No. 4 high of “Beat Box.” It also opens at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, notably, with 17 Christmas or holiday-themed tracks above it.

“‘FDO,’ I had to come with this particular song because it’s like the message,” Pooh Shiesty told XXL earlier this month. “It fit around the ‘I’m back’ typa vibe. The thought process on it, I really was getting it together as I was in there doing my time. But I couldn’t finish it because I’m getting new experiences and I’m going through new things. So, like I wrapped it up first day in the studio, with everything, the whole coming home experience. I couldn’t rap in the song on how my welcome was when I came home… I did it when I came home and everything just hit me and it came out perfect.”

Activity from “FDO” powers Pooh Shiesty onto the Billboard Artist 100 for the first time since June 2021. He returns at No. 77 on the ranking, which measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption – album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming – to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of the most popular artists. His career high remains his No. 8 result in February 2021 in the wake of his Shiesty Season album’s release.

Amber Rose became a staunch Donald Trump supporter in 2024, which found her speaking at the Republican National Convention ahead of last year’s presidential election, and she commended Nicki Minaj for being outspoken about her political beliefs when appearing in conversation with Erika Kirk at AmericaFest over the weekend.

TMZ caught up with Rose on Monday as Amber raved about Minaj’s AmericaFest appearance and defended her from the backlash for supporting Trump.

“I think she did a great job, an amazing job,” Rose said of her friend. “We live in a free country. She has a right to her own political opinion just like everyone else does.”

Amber Rose also pushed back against claims that Nicki’s support for Trump could be damaging to the Barbz in the LGBTQ+ community.

“She didn’t say anything wrong,” Rose stated. “She didn’t say anything about the LGBTQ+ community at all. Why do people think anyone over there is homophobic? I’m not homophobic, my assistant has been with me for 11 years; he’s Black and gay. I have a bunch of trans friend — so does Nicki.”

She continued: “I don’t know why people twist our words or think because we endorse Trump that we just hate gay people and trans people. That’s just not true.”

Rose and Minaj’s friendship goes back to the 2000s, and the pair remain close. Minaj made a surprise appearance at AmericaFest over the weekend, which found her raving about President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and the job the administration has done since getting back into office.

“Dear young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president and you have amazing role models like the assassin JD Vance, our vice president,” Minaj said.

In addition to the AmericaFest interview with Erika Kirk, Minaj has been more outspoken politically in recent months, as she voiced her opposition of the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria, which led to her speaking at a United Nations event in November.

Watch Rose’s interview about Nicki’s comments below.

The Kid LAROI is officially putting to bed any “misconceptions” regarding “Stay,” his smash 2021 duet with Justin Bieber.

“I wrote every single lyric on that song apart from Justin’s verse,” he said during his The Road to Before I Forget Twitch stream on Tuesday. “Justin wrote every lyric of his verse. There’s been some, like, misinterpretation somewhere along the line that the song was pitched to us. People think Charlie [Puth] wrote the song and gave it to us. That didn’t happen. I wrote every single lyric of that punch-in style.”

“Stay” ruled the summer of 2021, reaching No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200. In addition to its five wins at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, including top streaming song and top collaboration, LAROI and Bieber’s runaway hit became the first song in Hot 100 history to spend its 40 weeks on the chart in the top 10.

In a 2022 SiriusXM interview, Puth, who co-produced “Stay,” explained how he constructed the chords for the smash. Some online commentators interpreted the “See You Again” singer’s explanation to mean that he wrote the entire song without input from LAROI or Bieber.

“I definitely did get bummed when I started seeing people say I didn’t write [‘Stay’] because I was so proud of that,” LAROI reflected on-stream. “I was 17 years old. And I’m still so proud of that. … That’s an accomplishment and something to be proud of. … Like, ‘Damn, people think that this song was just given to me?’ That’s so crazy. Shout-out to everyone who worked on that song. There was a lot of work that went into [it]; not trying to make it sound like it was just me. Equally, everyone contributed, but every single lyric on that was me.”

On Jan. 6, LAROI is set to drop his sophomore LP, Before I Forget. The new record is the follow-up to 2023’s The First Time, which reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200. LAROI has already shared a pair of songs from the forthcoming record, including lead single “A Cold Play,” which many fans speculate is about his former girlfriend, Grammy-nominated pop star Tate McRae.

In 2026, Puth will perform the national anthem at Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8), and Bieber will headline Coachella for the first time.

Check out some clips from The Kid LAROI’s The Road to Before I Forget Twitch stream below.