Drake unleashed his highly anticipated Scorpion double album to close out last month (June 29), notching the 6 God his eighth No. 1 project on the Billboard 200. Drizzy also compiled a record-breaking seven tracks within the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated July 14. One of the B-side's standout cuts that debuted at No. 6 was the anthemic "In My Feelings."

A beatific Kanye West just executed his vision of having five-albums executive produced by Yeezy himself, 36 tracks in total as part of G.O.O.D. Music's summer of domination.

XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, died at the age of 20 on Monday (June 18) after being fatally shot during an armed robbery in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Billboard has confirmed. According to reports, he was found without a pulse in his vehicle and was quickly transported to a nearby trauma center.

Kid Cudi burst onto the scene when he helped craft Kanye West's genre-shifting 808s & Heartbreak album back in 2008. Since then, their special (and sometimes fraught) creative relationship has survived a number of highs and lows. On Friday (June 8), the duo added a new chapter to that legacy with their highly anticipated Kids See Ghosts joint album, the third installment of G.O.O.D. Music's summer domination that has already seen solo releases from Pusha-T and West.

Kanye West unleashed his highly anticipated eighth studio album, ye, on Friday (June 1). The 7-track project was premiered with a livestream on the WAV app to thousands of viewers spanning the globe. Yeezy was joined by family, friends, and members of the media outdoors at his creative safe haven in the mountainous Jackson Hole, Wyoming region for a unique listening experience with booming speakers surrounded by a bonfire.

Nicki Minaj is gearing up for her highly anticipated appearance on Saturday Night Live, where she will hit the stage as the official musical guest for the third time in her decorated career on May 19. She teams up with SNL veteran Tina Fey, who has been tapped to host for the sixth time, closing out season 43. The pair are preparing to shoot a feature film possibly titled Get Ya Life Ugly shortly after their Saturday Night Live stint, according to Nicki.

Just four days after his announcement of a new album, J. Cole returns to unleash his fifth studio LP, KOD. The polarizing 12-track project clocks in at 42 minutes of storytelling from hip-hop's premier reporter. Boasting subdued production, the 33-year-old is given the opportunity to shine brightest with urgent emphasis carefully placed on each word throughout his introspective journey of varying flows.

Teens packed out the famed Irving Plaza on Monday night (March 26) as Lil Skies brought his Life of a Dark Rose Tour blazing through NYC for back-to-back entertaining shows on the same night. The 19-year-old maintained commanding stage presence much like a hip-hop veteran, as he delivered an energetic half-hour set leaving fans satisfied. Skies even brought out Ski Mask the Slump God for a special appearance to help close out the sold-out show, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

UPDATE: Jase Harley shared a note on Instagram clearing the air about the situation: I feel extremely humbled to be recognized and labeled as one or the original inspirations for one of the most important pieces of music and visual art of our time.

It’s finally NBA Draft week and there is still much to be decided outside of the consensus No. 1, sending Arizona’s transcendent center DeAndre Ayton to Phoenix, with some of the most turbulent franchises picking in the top 5. A draft class that was once thought to be weak now has turned into another stacked group loaded with talent throughout the lottery.

Billboard caught up with the Purple Haze artist after his performance to talk about his beef with his onetime "Horse & Carriage" collaborator Ma$e, how he ended up starring in Dame Dash's forthcoming movie Honor Up, a possible Dipset project in 2018 and why he defended Kanye West on The Program.

Lil Xan has a special bond with his fans aka Xanarchy Gang. “I love you to death” declared the 21-year-old star speaking directly to the 100 plus members of the youthful audience on Wednesday night (Nov. 29) in New York City. The California native took over famed NYC venue SOB’s, where stars from Kendrick Lamar to J. Cole have rocked early in their careers.

After completing his transition to global superstar, and a trilogy of ground-breaking educational themed albums, Kanye West was looking for his next mountain to climb. Disaster then pierced the heart of West, who seemed unbreakable through his ascension. His mother, Donda West, whom he was very close with, unfortunately passed away from cosmetic complications in November 2007. Yeezy also broke off his year-and-a-half-long engagement with ex-girlfriend Alexis Phifer in early 2008.

Wednesday night (Nov. 15), Fabolous and Jadakiss played cuts from their heavily anticipated Friday on Elm Street album at the New York City Universal Music offices for about 60 friends, family members and members of the media. The 11-track project releases Black Friday (Nov. 24) as the native New Yorkers are sticking with the Freddy vs. Jason theme on the collaborative album.

Hip-hop star French Montana suffered from creator's block prior to the Uganda trip that sparked the visual to the now 9x Platinum, Swae Lee-featuring record "Unforgettable." It's bigger than music for the Moroccan artist, who saw himself in the kids of Uganda. Montana credits his experience as his first true vacation giving him newfound creative inspiration as a rapper.

“We said Wu-Tang is forever, so we’re always going to keep that theme going, whether it’s performed by us or the next generation that’s inspired by us." So says RZA of the inspiration behind the Wu’s latest offering, The Saga Continues. DJ Mathematics has been in the Wu-Tang Clan camp for a long time, as RZA even had him design the iconic “W” that has become synonymous with the legendary group.

"I make music for those that went through the same shit I did growing up," admitted Yo Gotti to viewers at the premiere of his TIDAL exclusive I Still Am documentary Thursday night (Oct. 26) at the luxurious iPic NYC movie theater, where fellow Roc Nation artist Fabolous made an appearance in support of Gotti'€™s accomplishments.

Nicki Minaj boasts one of the most dedicated fan-bases in all of music making for one of the most unique fan to artist relationships in the industry. And the Barbz are thirsty for new music as the Queens native is hard at work on her upcoming fourth studio album, which will be her first official release since The Pinkprint in late 2014.

After embarking on an all-encompassing media tour of NYC Tuesday (Oct. 17), Hamilton director Lin-Manuel Miranda's night culminated at the TIDAL X concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to continue his non-stop relief efforts for Puerto Rico. Billboard caught up with Miranda on the red carpet prior to the star-studded event where he continued to advocate for the people of Puerto Rico as he has since day one of the post-hurricane crisis.

"€Hip-hop was started with blacks and Puerto Ricans hand-in-hand. Hip-hop has to be a huge supporter of Puerto Rico because it doesn'€™t exist without them,"€ Vic Mensa told Billboard prior to Tuesday night (Oct. 18) TIDAL X concert for disaster relief at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. When artists come together and use the power of music to heal, the unthinkable can be reached. All ticket proceeds were donated to a handful of foundations to help those victimized in the recent natural disasters.