Toni Braxton has her eighth career No. 1 on the Adult R&B Songs airplay chart, as “Long as I Live” ascends from the runner-up position. The single, off her latest album Sex & Cigarettes, tops the chart dated June 9, climbing with an 8 percent boost in plays in the week ending June 3, according to Nielsen Music.

Braxton’s eight chart-toppers also breaks a tie with Maxwell and R. Kelly to give her sole possession of the second-most No. 1s in the chart’s 24-year history. She now trails only Alicia Keys, who has 10 leaders on her résumé.

“Long As I Live” marks Braxton’s first visit to the summit in nearly four-and-a-half years. She last topped the list with “Hurt You,” a duet with Babyface that led for four weeks in December 2013-January 2014.

Here’s Braxton’s complete collection of No. 1s on Adult R&B Songs:

“Long As I Live,” one week to date, June 9, 2018
“Hurt You,” with Babyface, four weeks, Dec. 14, 2013
“Just Be a Man About It,” two weeks, Sept. 9, 2000
“You’re Makin’ Me High/Let It Flow,” 13 weeks, June 22, 1996
“You Mean the World to Me,” seven weeks, May 7, 1994
“Seven Whole Days,” six weeks, Feb. 5, 1994
“Breathe Again,” two weeks, Nov. 20, 1993
“Another Sad Love Song,” four weeks, Sept. 18, 1993

Notably, “Another Sad Love Song” was the first-ever No. 1 on Adult R&B Songs. Upon the chart’s creation, dated Sept. 18, 1993, “Song” topped the ranking for the first four weeks of its existence. (Thus, Braxton also reclaims the record for the longest span between No. 1 hits on the chart: 24 years, 8 months and 22 days.)

via Billboard

Beyoncé and JAY-Z are back on the run.

The superstar couple kicked off their “On the Run II” stadium tour with a grand showing in Cardiff, U.K. on Wednesday night (June 6). The international trek, a sequel to 2014’s original “OTR,” boasted intimate moments between the Carters on one of the largest stages ever built for a concert tour.

Billed as a “celebration of love, family, and culture,” the epic kickoff featured two catwalks, a floating platform over half the length of the stadium, 26-person vertical orchestra, and 17 dancers. JAY and Bey performed a massive 43-song setlist, mixed with their solo hits and collaborations including “Drunk in Love,” “Big Pimpin’,” “Baby Boy,” “99 Problems,” “Crazy in Love,” and “Family Feud.”

The Carters descended an elevator for the opening, an homage to 2014’s infamous elevator-gate incident. As “Holy Grail” played, Bey stunned in a shimmering outfit and matching mask, while JAY was sharp in an all-white suit. Bey switched up her wardrobe several times throughout the evening, from monogram Gucci boots to cutoff denim shorts to leopard-print lingerie.

The private couple, who celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary in April, shared never-before-seen footage and photos from their personal archives, including pics of Blue Ivy and twins Rumi and Sir Carter. Bey serenaded Jay with her Ed Sheeran duet “Perfect” while images of the famous family showed on the giant screens. During the “Young Forever” closer, the couple was shown dressed in white at what appeared to be a wedding ceremony, which some speculate was a vow renewal ceremony.

Presented by Live Nation, the “OTR II” tour will stop in 15 cities across the U.K. and Europe before hitting North America on July 25 in Cleveland with special guests DJ Khaled and Chloe x Halle.

See the epic “OTR II” setlist below.

OTR II TOUR SETLIST

01. Holy Grail
02. Part II (On the Run)
03. ’03 Bonnie & Clyde
04. Drunk in Love
06. Irreplaceable
07. Diva (with segments of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”)
08. On to the Next One
09. Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit
10. ***Flawless
11. Feeling Myself
12. Top Off
13. Naughty Girl
14. Big Pimpin’
15. Run This Town
16. Baby Boy
17. You Don’t Love Me
18. Bam
19. Hold Up”/”Countdown
20. Sorry”/”Me, Myself & I
21. 99 Problems
22. Ring the Alarm
23. Don’t Hurt Yourself
24. I Care
25. 4:44
26. No Church in the Wild
27. Song Cry”/”MaNyfaCedGod
28. Resentment
29. Family Feud
30. Upgrade U
31. Ni**as in Paris
32. Beach Is Better
33. Formation
34. Run the World (Girls)
35. Public Service Announcement
36. The Story of O.J.
37. Déjà Vu
38. Show Me What You Got
39. Crazy in Love
40. Freedom
41. U Don’t Know
42. Perfect Duet
43. Young Forever

Kehlani is an open book as the cover star of PAPER Mag’s new ‘Pride’ issue. In her brand new cover story, the R&B star shares ‘the softer side of savage,’ a play on the title of her Atlantic Records debut album, SweetSexySavage. Being an openly ‘queer’ artist and fully embracing the term on a personal side has been enlightening for the Bay Area native. During her in-depth and candid interview, Lani touches on everything from the perception of her image, sexuality, being mixed-race, lack of family support, advocating for mental health awareness and much more.

“I like feel people judge me a lot when they see me, because of what I look like,” the 23-year-old tells PAPER Mag’s Claire Valentine. “I get a lot of, ‘Why do you get your nails done? Why some days are you more masculine then you are feminine? People either expect me to be a quote-unquote dyke or femme, and it’s weird to me. Especially when queer people do it to each other, because I think when you truly understand the humanness of queerness, there are no rules to this shit.”

Although she is still young, Kehlani has experienced enough relationships with both men and women where she has learned a lot about the balance of presenting herself as she wants to be, and not overly masculine or feminine.

“I feel like I had to define it: I had to be gay or straight,” she says. “That was a big thing I went through for a long time. I was really butchy in 11th and 12th grade because I just felt, if you like girls, this is what you’re supposed to look and dress like. I wasn’t comfortable with my feminine side. I was definitely like, ‘If I’m touching a girl, she’s not touching me back because I’m the boy.'” She cites the mohawk she’s sporting in old pictures as evidence. “I only wore snapbacks, and it was really intense,” she says, laughing.

“Once I really understood that if someone likes me, they like me for all of me,” she says “I started being myself depending on how I felt that day, not based on who I was dating at the time.”

She’s also had her fair share of exchanges that have made her reconsider her place in the world as a queer, multiracial woman.

“I have to check myself with when I do give information,” she says. “I’m a bisexual woman who has been with men, and a lot of queer women are sensitive to that. I’m a mixed woman who is white presenting at times, and a lot of black people are very sensitive to that so I’m sensitive to that. And I’m a person who has mental health issues, but I live a ‘stable life’ in the eyes of a lot of people, so I have to be careful when I’m speaking on that.”

Kehlani’s thoughts on pronouns have evolved; where once she thought using them at all in her songs distracted from the music, now she appreciates the need for queer visibility in art. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Well, this is the gay artist,'” she says. “Now I’m like, ‘I’ll be the gay artist! I love it!’ I stopped being scared of letting it define me, because it does define me. It is who I am. If you look up my name in a dictionary, it’ll probably say Gay Ass next to it. I’m all for it.”

Read the full article here.

The Weeknd is Memento Mori.

The XO crooner is bringing his own radio to Apple Music’s Beats 1. While he spends late nights in Paris and learns French, he plans to share his discoveries and experiences during his new radio show. The name “Memento Mori” is derived from the medieval Latin Christian theory and practice of reflection on mortality, according to Wikipedia.

Taking to social media, The Weeknd explained where the inspiration came from. “While he’s been hiding out in Paris, he’s decided to start a radio show and present all of the music thats inspiring some late nights,” he said.

The first episode of “Memento Mori” airs on Friday (June 8) at 12 p.m. EST. It coincides with the three-year anniversary of the launch of Apple Music during which The Weeknd debuted his hit “Can’t Feel My Face.”

In addition to his radio show, The Weeknd is gearing up to drop a new black-and-white colorway of his PUMA x XO Parallel sneakers, which can be seen in the video for Belly’s “What You Want,” at retailers worldwide on June 7.

via Rap-Up

SZA is a local legend at her high school. On Monday (June 4), the TDE songstress returned to Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where she graduated in 2008, for her induction into the school’s hall of fame.

Vocal issues aside, Solana delivered a motivational speech to the student body and performed during two assembly periods.

In her speech, SZA told students to “design your own world right now,” before revealing that when she graduated she refused to attend prom because she wasn’t popular enough.

“It starts with trusting yourself, even if people are telling you you’re too young to trust yourself,” she said, before telling the teenagers to: “find the details and the inner workings of yourself.”

She also gave a shoutout to her favorite art teacher and explained how her “daydreaming” had helped her become who she is today.

SZA joins Columbia High School’s other very prominent inductee, Ms. Lauryn Hill, who graduated in 1993 and was inducted in 1999.

Just last week, SZA scared fans when she took to Twitter, in later deleted tweets, and revealed to her followers that she “permanently injured” her voice.

Bryson Tiller is looking to warm up for summer. The singer/rapper has been back in the studio, working on the follow-up to his underwhelming sophomore album True to Self.

Responding to a fan account on Twitter this week, the Louisville native revealed that his new project, ‘Serenity,’ carries an upbeat, feel-good tone. “the serenity project is full of summer vibes and songs that make me happy,” he wrote. “so summertime sounds about right, if all goes as planned of course.”

Tiller first teased the Serenity title last December. It’s unclear when the project will drop, but the wait shouldn’t be long since summer is only a month away.

The news follows his previous tweets about his sophomore album, True to Self. Tiller shared that he was battling depression at the time and admits that he “fell off.”

“i was depressed before i made that album and you can hear it in the music,” he said. “depression ended in 2017 and i been workin hard ever since.”

True to Self marked Tiller’s first No. 1 on the Billboard 200. However, it earned mixed reviews from critics and fans. “I’m my biggest hater and my worst critic, so when I see all these people saying things it’s like I’m agreeing with them,” he told Tim Westwood. “All these things just kinda took a toll on me, and not only that, but I went through a lot of crazy things with legal troubles and stuff with old management…I was in a dark, dark place after Trapsoul.”

BET has announced the first group of performers set to take the stage at the “BET Awards” 2018. The iconic annual show will feature performances by some of music’s biggest stars in Hip Hop and R&B including Nicki Minaj, Migos, Janelle Monáe, H.E.R., and Ella Mai.

It was previously announced that Academy and Grammy Award winner, Jamie Foxx, will return for his second time as the comedic host of the “BET Awards.”

DJ Khaled dominates this year’s nominations with a total of 6 including ‘Video of the Year,’ two for ‘Best Collaboration,’ with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller for “Wild Thoughts,” and with Jay-Z, Future and Beyoncé for “Top Off,” ‘Album of the Year,’ and ‘Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice.’

Kendrick Lamar follows with five nods including ‘Best Collaboration,’ with Rihanna for “Loyalty.,” ‘Video of the Year,’ ‘Album of the Year,’ and ‘Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice.’ Other leading nominees include Migos, nominated for four awards including ‘Best Group,’ and ‘Album of the Year,” and SZA, also nominated for four awards, including ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist’ and ‘Best New Artist.’

The BET Awards 2018 will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 24, at 8 p.m. EST.