A king steps down and the next class steps up. HitsCulture's New Music Friday guide to T.I.'s farewell and the newcomers worth your weekend.

T.I. called Verzuz "poor people activity." He got it backward. Inside the booming nostalgia economy, and the real anxiety hiding under the insult.

The Grammys hit 100 categories and gave R&B a new one. HitsCulture on why more trophies can mean less, and the only awards that still matter.

Cheryl "Salt" James teams up with gospel icon Erica Campbell for "Overcomers," a warm, soulful summer anthem providing a blueprint for personal reinvention, faith, and mid-life transition.

Half the trophies were decided in February. Here's the HitsCulture field guide to the BET Awards races that actually tell you where Black music is going next.

Jada Kingdom just scored two 2026 Caribbean Music Award nominations behind "G.A.D" and a back-to-back EP run. Inside the rise of dancehall's most complete crossover talent, and why the genre is about to revolve around her.

Clive Davis, the legendary music executive who reignited Aretha Franklin, crowned Whitney Houston, and helped build the labels that powered hip-hop and R&B's golden age, has died at 94. A HitsCulture tribute to the game-changer who kept betting on the culture and kept being right, from Columbia and Arista to J Records and a lifetime of hearing the future first.

Apple Music just crowned Drake its most-streamed artist ever, atop a top 20 dominated by hip-hop and R&B. Why the viral red graphic is really a Black Music Month story about who built the sound, and who still owns it.

R&B veteran Crystal Tamar steps into the spotlight with "Whachoo Doin?!," a chopped-and-screwed summer anthem produced by Grammy-nominated hitmaker Kosine. After years alongside T-Pain, Kanye, and Akon, the Houston-bred, Bay Area soul singer announces her sophomore EP This Changes Everything.

Grammy-nominated American Idol winner Jamal Roberts releases "Girl Dad," a heartfelt Father's Day single and video out now via BMG. The proud dad of three daughters, Harmoni, Lyrik, and Gianna, turns real life into a soulful fatherhood anthem about selfless love.

New Music Friday lands on Juneteenth weekend with full-lengths from YG and Key Glock, a Tierra Whack project, Chris Brown, a Ne-Yo 20th-anniversary reissue, and a deep singles run, all the morning after the culture lost Grammy-nominated Memphis super-producer Tay Keith at 29. Here is everything worth your stream.

Young Thug just announced an R&B album, but longtime fans know it is a homecoming. Here is the complete Young Thug Artist Guide: where to start, the essential run from Barter 6 to Jeffery, and why Beautiful Thugger Girls predicted his next move.