Category: Music

Even with as much success as Drake has enjoyed, the 6 God is still insecure about some things. While he hasn’t been shy about revealing vulnerabilities in his music, Drizzy opened up about how Gracie Abrams helped him get past hating a birthmark on his arm.

Drake took to his Instagram Story on Monday (Aug. 4), posting a recent selfie of the “That’s So True” singer and then followed up with a photo of himself performing with a similar brown birthmark.

“I used to hate my birthmark but Gracie got the same one,” he wrote. “Now it’s art.”

Fans chimed in about Drake’s claim. Some are looking to manifest a collaboration between the pair of superstars, while others are curious about his motive.

“Whys drake obsessed with gracie,” one person wrote. Another added: “Now why is drake posting gracie abrams…”

It’s not clear whether Drake and Gracie know each other, but this isn’t the first time Drake has posted Abrams to his IG Story this year. Back in March, Drizzy reposted “I Knew It, I Know You” lyrics from the singer’s sophomore album, The Secret of Us, while championing the track’s beat switch.

“[GOAT]’d beat switch on this,” he wrote. “Second half is [sad emoji, brain exploding emoji, blue heart emoji].”

At that time, the OVO fans discovered the “I Knew It, I Know You” music video and flooded the comments section.

Drake and Gracie Abrams are both currently on the road for their respective tours. The 6 God is across the pond where he’ll hit the stage in Manchester and Belgium this week, while Abrams has a pair of shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

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Showing off your personality goes beyond your fashion and makeup style — you can also incorporate your tastes into your living space. For college students, this includes your dorm room, and if music is a big part of your identity, then incorporating vintage music posters should be considered your dorm essentials.

Whether you’re a fan of classic rock, pop, alternative or hip-hop, make note of your favorite artists and take a peek at Billboard‘s best album covers list to determine who and what pictures you’ll want displayed in your room. There are no rules when it comes to showing off your most-listened-to bands and/or singers, which means you can mix and match everything from genres to color palettes.

Curious which ones are the most popular? We rounded up some of our previously ranked album covers to help inspire you in your decorating journey.

Keep reading to shop our selection below.

In celebration of the late and great Ozzy Osbourne, you purchase a certified banger of a poster at Walmart depicting Osbourne on the cover of Rolling Stone from 2002. The poster is printed on heavy stock paper and measures 27 x 40 inches.

Your favorite artist’s favorite artist has a slew of posters available that would look pretty stellar on your dorm room wall. This one from Amazon is 24 x 36 inches and is printed on impactful high gloss paper.

For our Rodrigo fans, this poster serves as a homage to the singer’s stellar career thus far. The 12×18 inch poster is printed on sturdy canvas and features some of the singer’s most memorable looks and lyrics printed in a collage.

Frank Ocean’s Blonde album is a classic. The album holds a special place in the hearts of many, especially you skater boys (you know who you are). This poster retails for $2.96 and neasures 24in x 36in.

Buy: Woonkit Vintage Rock Band Posters for Room Aesthetic, 70s 80s 90s Retro Music Room Wall Bedroom Decor Art, Vintage Rock Concert Poster Wall Collage, Old Music Album Cover Prints (12 SET B, 7.8X11.8 INCH) $18.99

Rock ‘n’ roll fans will appreciate this set of posters, as it comes with a variety of vintage-inspired posters of artists including Queen, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, Kiss and more. Plus, you can arrange them on your wall however you want, making it 100% customizable.

Bring a pop of pink into your space with Tyler, The Creator’s Igor album cover poster, which features an all-pink background and a black-and-white photo of the rapper’s face. You can choose between two sizes: 12″ x 18″ or 16″ x 24″, depending on your preferences.

David Bowie takes the spotlight in this poster for Aladdin Sane as he sports the iconic painted lightning bolt on his face. It measures at 24″ x 36″ and is made with traditional poster paper.

Infuse your love of rap into your decor game through The Notorious B.I.G.’s popular ready to die album poster. It comes with a simple photo on a white background that’s minimalist-approved while showcasing your adoration for the music.

Score 15% off A$AP Rocky’s 2013 album poster that has a photograph of the rapper wrapped in the American flag. You can pair it with other black-and-white photos or surround it by color to make it pop.

Buy: SZA Poster SOS Poster SZA SOS Album Cover Poster Canvas Poster Bedroom Decor Sports Landscape Office Room Decor Gift Unframe-style 12x18inch(30x45cm)

Lovers of SZA can cover that blank wall space with her SOS album poster, which comes with the name and song titles printed underneath a sitting SZA. It’ll also go nicely with another round of you listening to her hits and more.

Buy: Pyramid America Led Zeppelin I Music Album Cover Cool Wall Decor Art Print Poster 60×90 $13.88

Show some love for Led Zeppelin with this retro album poster that’s not only less than $11, but comes with some subtle color that won’t take away from all your other pieces of dorm decor.

Buy: A Pink Floyd – Dark Side of The Moon Poster 36 x 12 (UNFRAMED) $11.27

Dedicated Pink Floyd listeners can enjoy a supersized version of the band’s Dark Side of the Moon album art as this poster measures at 36″ x 12″.

Buy: Trends International Beatles-Abbey Road Wall Poster, 22.375″ x 34″, Unframed Version, Bedroom $9.99

If you’d prefer to put up some of the greats, you can’t forget to incorporate the famous Abbey Road album poster. The photo displays all four of the band members walking across the street in London, while showcasing your love for vintage music.

Complete your shrine of Kendrick Lamar with a black and white poster of him and others posing in front to the White House. It’s made with a semi-gloss material and comes in two sizes to choose from.

Sophie’s poster will mesmerize you and your guests as it features a pearl-like background as she sits in water wearing a gorgeous multi-colored dress.

The Beyhive will be buzzing to cover their wall space with the artist and what better way than with a poster of her chart-making album Lemonade.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best music coolers, mattress sales and tarot cards.

It’s album time again for Gunna. The Atlanta rapper announced on Monday (Aug. 4) that his The Last Wun LP is on the way, and fans won’t have to wait much longer since it’s slated to hit DSPs on Friday (Aug. 8).

According to Apple Music, Gunna’s sixth album boasts 25 tracks in total, including previously released singles “Won’t Stop” and “Him All Along.”

Frequent collaborator and producer Turbo appears to be heavily involved once again, as he chimed in on Gunna’s Instagram comments, saying, “It’s time.”

Gunna’s announcement came accompanied by a cinematic trailer to a possible album documentary, showcasing the rapper’s fitness journey and a throwback clip of a neophyte Gunna looking to manifest his music goals.

“I want longevity in the game, to be honest,” a younger Gunna can be seen saying. “I love this sh–, I love rapping.”

Based on the finality of the project’s title, fans have been speculating that this is Gunna’s final project on YSL Records/300 Entertainment.

Gunna and YSL head Young Thug don’t appear to be on good terms since the YSL indictment, as Thugger dissed Gunna in a since-deleted tweet last year.

The 32-year-old hasn’t had a project top the Billboard 200 since 2022’s DS4EVER, but all of his albums have peaked inside the chart’s top three and gone No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums chart.

“It’ll come to me just through life and just living,” Gunna told Uproxx of the new project. “So for this album in particular, it’s no theme. It’s in current time of what’s happening with me.”

Watch the clip and find the album’s cover art below. Look for The Final Wun on Friday.

When it comes to milestones in standup comedy, selling out Madison Square Garden ranks among the top, and certainly is the pinnacle when it comes to arena performances. According to the venue, there is no comprehensive list of comedians who have done so, but it is in the neighborhood of 15 — a “very small club,” as Matt Rife puts it.

Rife performed two sold-out shows at the Garden on July 18 and 19 as part of his Stay Golden tour. To commemorate the occasion, the venue presented him with a golden ticket. (You can see it on his Facebook page).

“If you think about the performers who have played that venue, [it’s] not just sports teams, but every single one of your favorite musicians,” he raves. “And it’s in New York City, where anybody can go see great shows all over the city seven nights a week, 365 days a year.”

Rife didn’t just perform to sell-out crowds at the Garden. At the age of 29 — he turns 30 in September — he became the youngest comedian to do so, as well as Billboard Boxscore’s top-grossing comedian for the month of June.

In the wake of those achievements, Rife — whose confidence is palpable — spoke to Billboard about the personal significance of the accomplishment, the lengths that is his female fans will go to get his attention, his reaction to Marc Maron‘s snipe at him and what he’s planning for his second act. (Hint: he’s a fan of Adam Sandler.)

You are the youngest comedian to sell out two nights at Madison Square Garden. Thoughts?

A lot of times these kinds of accomplishments and accolades are hard to process in the moment, because everything has been happening so fast. A lot of the shows have broken records at venues, and I go, “Oh, that’s really cool.” But not until two or three months later do I go, “Oh my god, wow, that happened.”

This was one of the few times that I got to be in the moment and acknowledge that, “Wow, I’m one of [very few] comedians to ever sell out Madison Square Garden.” For a standup comedian, the Garden is pretty much as big as it gets. I think only five comedians have ever played a stadium.

When you’re first starting out on an open mic, the dream is the Garden. So, to get to play it twice, sold-out, before the age of 30, it meant everything to me. I’m so grateful for my fans, my team, my friends and my family and everybody who has helped me get to this point right now. It feels very surreal.

I can share with you another milestone. You are Billboard Boxscore’s top-grossing comedian for June.

No way. That is awesome. It didn’t even feel like June was that busy of a month. That’s the craziest part.

Do you still grade your shows?

I try not to, but I do.

What grade would you give your Garden run?

Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m going to give them both an A — not A+, but A. I really had a good time at those shows, and I felt like the audience did as well. That’s not always the case. Sometimes I have a good time, and I feel like the crowd didn’t. Sometimes I feel like the crowd had a good time, and I didn’t.

I mentioned this onstage – I don’t know if it was a mistake or not but I did mean it — New York typically isn’t my favorite place to perform. In the past, I would say I’ve given my shows there at most a B or B+. So, with it being the Garden, I went in with very low expectations. I thought it could go terribly if people aren’t on board.

No pressure.

I really had a good time. They were some of the more fun shows of the entire tour so far.

The first night you were at the Garden, you brought out Jesse McCartney to close the show. Did he perform the second night as well?

No, just first night. He had a concert in, I think, Wisconsin the next day. He flew out just for that. He’s from [Westchester,] New York.

I love that era of music — the early 2000s — and I’m always playing him in the car. I hit him up, and I’m like, “Yo, I’m in your hometown. I’m just curious if you happen to be around the area and want to pop in and do the Garden.” He’s like, “I’m not in town, but I’d love to come by and give it a show.” He’s a fan of mine, so he enjoyed watching the show as well.

So, you didn’t know him prior to the show?

No, we had never met before. On a whim, I was like, “I’m just going to hit him up.” That’s the power of social media.

Speaking of social media, I was looking at your Facebook post on the Garden shows, and there were a lot of comments about the photo of the woman you’re with in the photo where you both have your backs to the camera. Are you willing to share?

Yeah, it’s my girlfriend, Mariah [Morse]. I don’t post a whole lot about my personal life on social media because people are absolutely insane, and at this point I try to distance your personal and professional life as much as possible.

It’s funny, in the photo you posted, your hands are just above a trash can in the hallway, and someone commented that you were carrying a bucket together.

Hilarious. I didn’t see that. This is why you don’t share stuff from your personal life. People’s speculations are always 100% wrong.

A New Yorker profile of you reported that, in past years, you did so many dates that you exhausted yourself.

Absolutely. This tour that we’re on this year and next is perfect middle ground for me. It’s a cycle of one weekend on, two weekends off. I did that for a balance of maintaining somewhat of a healthy life — but also, I hate not performing. As much as I tell myself, “I need a month break,” I cannot go more than two weeks without performing. I go stir crazy creatively, energetically.

This pace feels like a very healthy balance to me compared to doing 40-50 shows a month for the last two years prior to that. We did [hundreds of] shows the year prior which was a very unhealthy balance. That gets to a point where you’re so physically and mentally exhausted that it starts to feel like work.

But I was performing all around the world, and we’re selling out shows and breaking records at these revered theaters. Oftentimes I go back to those cities, and people are like, “We saw you last year.” I’m like, “I was here last year?” That’s so disappointing for myself. I lived some of these amazing memories, and I was too tired to even enjoy them.

When you do that many shows, do you start to get tired of the material in your set? And how do you deal with that?

Any comedian who says they never get tired of the material is either a liar or doesn’t perform enough. I try to be as present as possible. That’s why I don’t use a traditional microphone because it stops me from just crossing my arms and hiding behind a microphone. It forces me to walk around and use the stage. I like being as present as possible.There’s nothing worse than standing up there, and the words are leaving your mouth but your brain is thinking about something else.

You used a Billy Idol homage for your tour poster, and I read that your grandfather introduced you to his music.

Yeah, my grandpa put me on to classic rock as far back as I can remember. It’s still my favorite genre of music. Both of my last tours have been inspired by classic musicians. I did The Doors for my Problematic Tour poster. And then this one I did Billy Idol, and I actually dyed my hair blonde for it. I’ve never done anything like that before. Funny how the world works out. I actually got to work with Billy on the promo he did for his current tour. I had him sign my arm, and I went straight to the tattoo shop. So now I have Billy Idol tattoo on my arm.

And he did a promo for you. I don’t know if it was really your house, but says he’s been living there for days.

That was not my house. Yeah, we had five minutes to shoot my promo versus two days of shooting his. I was like, “You know what? F—k it. Let’s just see if we can do something on a phone real quick.” He’s the nicest, coolest guy. How he speaks, what he speaks about, the stories he had to tell. I’d love to play him in a biopic someday.

So, what happens after this tour ends?

We’re going to do a second half of this tour next year. The cities aren’t out yet. We’re going to tour about the same as we are this year. We’re going to do international as well. Then when that tour is over at the end of next year. I probably won’t do any prominent tours like this for a while. I might do a full month of shows, and I’ll still be doing spots around town in whatever city I’m popping around to.

But the commitment of knowing I have shows in November and it’s only February — I probably won’t do [again] that for a very long time. I’m really looking forward to transitioning over to film and television and we have a lot of projects in the works that I’m looking forward to moving my focus towards.

Right. By my count, you’re doing Marriage Material with Emma Roberts, Rolling Loud with Owen Wilson, the Netflix series about FTX, The Altruists, and The Escort, which is being directed by David Dobkin of Wedding Crashers fame. Did I miss anything?

That I’m allowed to speak on? No. We’ve got a couple of things with Netflix. Rolling Loud is coming out at the end of this year. The project with Emma Roberts, we had to postpone due to The Altruists schedule. It’s incredibly unfortunate. I’m such a huge fan of her and her work. The Altruists is an incredible limited series that’s highly anticipated, and I’m very excited to do something that is not comedy. It’s fully a drama, and an amazing opportunity to expand my skill set.

You’re playing Ryan Salame, who’s in prison for his role in that scandal. Have you met him?

I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but I am about to meet him. Fingers crossed. It’s interesting playing somebody else, because usually it’s up to the actor to make that character their own. But the directors and producers of The Altruists have been very clear that this is not a biopic series. We’re trying to get as close as possible to telling the true story about how this giant scandal happened and let people know the kind of craziness that went on.

It’s wild. I don’t know anything about the crypto world, and now that I’ve done the research, I’m like, “Oh my god.” I had no idea how many people were affected by this.

Are you looking to follow the career path of, say, Adam Sandler, where you’re going to primarily do TV and film and just do standup when you feel like it?

It’s hard to say. Life is going to take me in whatever direction it wants. But if I had it my way, yeah.

This is the weird thing about accomplishing as much as I have by 30, including the Garden. It’s like, “What do I do now?” It’s the most blessed predicament I can possibly dream of. As far as standup comedy, my dreams have come true. I know it wasn’t pure luck. I’ve worked my ass off, but it almost feels like I’ve hit the mark of, I could retire if I wanted to. I won’t stop performing until I die, but now I have to start thinking about, is there something I’m passionate about that’s new to me?  

Yeah, the goal would be film and television, primarily film. Then doing standup whenever I feel like it — and performing with my friends as much as I can. That’s one thing I love about Adam Sandler is, he’s always kept that tight-knit group around him.

I was looking at the Rolling Loud cast. You’ve got Sexxy Red, Ty Dolla $ign, Ski Mask the Slump God, and that Slizzy superstar Henry Winkler.

Oh, yeah man. This was a wild film experience. Working with Owen especially was a dream come true. You talk about the Mount Rushmore of comedic actors. He’s somebody who made me want to get into acting, and to learn from somebody like him was another dream come true. He’s the nicest, most talented guy. And the rest of the cast – they’re perfect for this movie. Everybody showed up to work. A lot of the times people who aren’t necessarily actors show up late because dedicating a day to acting is a pay cut for them. It’s not necessarily a priority to them. It’s just something where they’re like, “Oh, that would be cool to do.” That wasn’t the case with this movie.

What role you play?

I play Owen’s coworker who ends up at the festival with him and helps him find his lost son.

Are you in the music business in the movie?

No. He and I sell furniture. We have the most boring group of people.

Since this is Billboard, who are some of your favorite music artists?

I’m actually going to see some of them this coming weekend. Right now, I’m really listening to a lot of Red Clay Strays, Sam Barber, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Tyler Childers, Waylon Wyatt.

So, you’re a big country fan.

I really have moved towards that. To me the rap game has kind of fallen off. Classic rock is my No. 1. That’s always my go-to, what’s playing in the car most of the time. But I’m also a big hip-hop fan. J. Cole is probably my favorite artist of all time. But there’s currently no good hip-hop music. To me, hip-hop dropped the ball so bad. Country swooped in and took all that momentum. I really am feeling this new wave of country, folk, rock kind of blend. It’s beautiful. It really is music for the soul. Do you know who Sam Barber is?

I don’t.

Man, let me tell you. He’s a 22-year-old kid out of Montana who puts out some of the best music I’ve ever heard. I don’t know who hurt this kid, but his songwriting and his voice are absolutely incredible. A big shoutout to him.

Marc Maron took a swipe at you in 2023 calling you the “It Boy of s–tty comedy.” Any thoughts on that in retrospect?

There was never a beef. He was just being a crotchety old man and I’ve never even met the guy. I guarantee he’s never watched one of my shows, so if he wants to be bitter and angry that I get to live his dreams — yeah man, you’re kind of being a d–k to somebody who might have looked up to you. I used to love to watch Marc Maron standup.

I don’t have a beef with a single comedian. I am living my life, dude. What do I possibly have to complain about? I don’t hate on anybody. I don’t talk s–t about anybody. I’m just out here performing to the best of my ability. I play with my puppy and I hang out with my friends. I mind my own business and anybody who has a problem with that, it’s clearly an internal battle.

I was watching the “MILF & Cookies” video online, and I’ve got to know, what’s the wildest proposition you’ve gotten from one of your female fans? The “blowjob” tee shirt you are offered in that video was like, whoa.

People will come to shows with tee shirts all the time that say, like, “I’ll leave my husband for you” or “Matt Rife can offend me anytime.” And the propositions are all over the place, from sexual advances to gifting me jars of their hair.

Seriously? Jars of hair.

Oh, yeah. People are nuts.

Oasis said Sunday (Aug. 3) that its members are “shocked and saddened” after a man fell to his death during a concert held by the band at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The Metropolitan Police force said officers and paramedics responded to reports of an injured person just before 10:30 (21:30 GMT) on Saturday night.

It said a man in his 40s was found “with injuries consistent with a fall.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The force urged anyone who saw what happened or caught it on phone video to contact police.

“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show last night,” Oasis said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press, offering ”sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.”

Stadium management said Sunday’s gig would go ahead as planned.

In a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter, a Wembley spokesperson confirmed, “Last night, Wembley Stadium medics, the London Ambulance Service and the police attended to a concertgoer who was found with injuries consistent with a fall. Despite their efforts, the fan very sadly died. Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers. The Police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.”

Oasis’ first tour in 16 years kicked off July 4 in Cardiff, Wales. Saturday’s concert was the fourth of seven planned shows at Wembley. The tour continues in North America, Asia, Australia and South America after its European run.