The world’s music industry has always been inspired by Africa, the continent of rich cultural heritage. In the African music scene, R&B is experiencing a significant comeback, despite the historical dominance of Afrobeats, Amapiano, Gengetone, and other genres. This is an exciting development for the continent.
Africa’s R&B scene is proof of African musicians’ uniqueness, versatility, and creativity. R&B has always been associated with romantic themes and soulful songs, but African musicians are giving the genre a distinctive new direction by incorporating elements of their own cultures and musical tastes.
Africa has a never-ending love for good R&B; South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and Uganda have the highest R&B listenership on Spotify. Collaborations between international superstars and African musicians in the R&B genre are becoming more frequent than they were a decade ago, mostly due to this tremendous rise.
From the mesmerizing strains of “Big FU” by David Guetta, featuring Nigeria’s finest Ayra Starr, to the captivating melodies of “Sensational” by Chris Brown, Davido, and Lojay, and Travis Scott jumping on Tyla‘s “Water,” one of Africa’s breakout songs of 2023. Africa’s stars are shining bright on the world stage.
And now, African singers are also connecting with one another to release global hits all on their own.
Soulful vocals combined with modern production techniques, Afrobeat loops, and traditional African rhythms are being skillfully blended by musicians all throughout the globe. This blend produces a sound that not only resonates with listeners but also bridges the gap between the past and the present.
In Africa, R&B is growing in popularity more than ever. We see that the power of music transcends all borders, whether by location or generation, as this global journey spreads like wildfire.
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On Friday, May 17, CNN obtained footage showing Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs physically assaulting his former girlfriend and Bad Boy artist, Cassie, at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
The surveillance footage, dating back to 2016, shows Diddy chasing Ventura, who was seen standing at a set of elevators, and proceed to grab and shove her to the ground. He then kicks her, and takes what appears to be her purse and suitcase from the floor. Diddy then drags her by her sweater towards a room. Ventura is later seen slowly getting up and collecting items from the floor.
Diddy returns moments later, sits on a chair, grabs an object off a table, and throws it at Ventura. He is then seen walking away, but turns back toward Ventura when an elevator door opens and someone exits.
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, told CNN: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
In November, Cassie, born Cassandra Ventura, initiated legal proceedings against Diddy, born Sean Combs, alleging years of control, rape, and prolonged physical abuse spanning over a decade. The two parties reached a settlement 24 hours later.
It’s been an entertaining two weeks as Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been sparring in a lyrical battle.
Since Kendrick’s diss towards Drake on Metro Boominand Future‘s We Don’t Trust You track, “Like That,” Drake returned fire with two diss tracks titled, “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” Kendrick Lamar then returned with two tracks towards Drake titled, “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.”
The two rappers aren’t done yet, as Drake has just released his response to Kendrick titled “Family Matters.” On the diss track, things get personal as Drake brings up Kendrick’s wife, Whitney Alford.
“Say you hate the girls I fuck but what you really mean / I been with Black and white and everything in between / You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem.”
Drake also implies that Kendrick’s kids aren’t his, but are actually Dave Free’s, Kendrick Lamar’s longtime creative partner.
“Why you never hold your son and tell him say cheese / We could have left the kids out of this don’t blame me,” he raps.
“Our sons should go play at the park / Two light-skinned kids, that shit would be cute / Unless you don’t want to be seen with anyone that’s Blacker than you”
Megan Thee Stallion‘s lawyer, Alex Spiro, addressed the lawsuit filed by Megan Thee Stallion’s former cameraman Emilio Garcia, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Spiro, in a statement to Page Six on Tuesday (April 23), dismissed the lawsuit as an opportunistic money grab and characterized it as an attempt to tarnish his client’s reputation.
“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” he said. “We will deal with this in court.”
The suit details an incident where Garcia allegedly found himself trapped in a moving SUV with Megan whileshe engaged in sexual activity with another woman during their time in Ibiza, Spain.
According to court documents, “The following day, STALLION inquired whether PLAINTIFF was in the SUV the previous night. PLAINTIFF confirmed that he was in the SUV. Subsequently, STALLION instructed, ‘Don’t ever discuss what you saw.’ STALLION berated and directed her fat-shaming comments towards PLAINTIFF such as ‘Fat Bitch,’ ‘Spit your food out,’ and that ‘You don’t need to be eating.’”
Garcia is seeking compensation of over six figures, Garcia’s lawsuit requests unpaid wages, overtime pay, and other benefits as per California labor laws, along with statutory penalties and punitive damages.
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