On Tuesday night, we closed out NYFW SS26 with Trapstar London’s Redline show in Brooklyn.
Earlier this week, we attended CHRISHABANA SS2026 NYFW debut show titled “POP” presented by PORNHUB.
Last week, we had the pleasure of attending Republic Records’ artist Sekou’s very first show in New York City.
On Thursday, September 4th, Billboard hosted its annual Hip-Hop/R&B Power Players Awards at Unveiled in Brooklyn, New York.
Jacksonville native & Yo Gotti protege Lil Poppa just wrapped his stint on CMG The Label’s “Gangsta Art” arena tour where he performed alongside Gotti, Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla, 42 Dugg, EST Gee, Mozzy, Blac Youngsta and Big Boogie. Poppa recently dropped his It’s Me, I’m The Problem EP after shining on “Gangsta Art 2” – CMG’s compilation album.
We caught up with Poppa to discuss his musical journey, from early influences at age 12 to learning how to write his first rap from his brother. We discussed the pivotal role Poppa’s family played in encouraging his musical development and supporting his career. Poppa also shared career highlights with us like meeting the legendary DMX and hearing himself on the ESPN finals.
Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
Yeah, I did. I always knew I wanted to be an artist. I asked my brother to sit me down, my brother was a rapper first, I asked him to help me write my first rap. I was 8 years old, and it was over with from there, I was just writing, writing, writing. I got in the studio when I was like 12 or 13 years old and I just started recording myself. I used to get asked a lot in school, what you want to be when you grow up and a rapper was never my answer because I didn’t want to be looked at like that kid with a bunch of high hopes. It ended up coming true, I ended up proving myself wrong and proving everybody else wrong.”
Who were some of your musical influences growing up?
Besides artists that wasn’t mainstream, my big brother because he was doing it at the time, locally. Then like mainstream artists I would say Bow Wow. I was young looking up to Bow Wow because I felt like if he could do it I could do it. Once I got older and seen the Chief Keefs, and the Kodaks, and the Youngboys that gave me another kick and push of inspiration that I could do it.
Was there anybody in your life motivating you to take music seriously?
Yes, for sure, my family because they always knew I had it. They always knew I was good at what I do. My big brother was doing it already, so they knew it was in him and then when I caught on to it and started rapping it was just like something that we all were gifted. That’s what we took it as.
Has your family been supportive of your dreams?
As I mentioned my family has always been supportive of me, every one of them. I don’t even think I had nobody in my family that ever doubted me when it came to music. They all believed like “ok, he got it.”
What have been your 3 biggest career highlights so far?
That’s kind of hard. Off the top of my head – meeting DMX, being able to have a conversation with him and being able to sit in the studio with him, watching him record a verse. I’ll never forget that day. Another highlight was hearing myself on ESPN on the finals. To hear my song and hear my voice, that was crazy. I’d probably just say these last couple of tours and just seeing the reactions to my fans – real love.
How does it feel having Yo Gotti as a mentor?
Its definitely a blessing, an honor. That’s somebody you grew up listening to, you grew up thinking that they’re in the position that he in and that’s just more motivation for me to know that I can do it. There’s no limits to what I can do.
What’s the most important piece of advice he’s given you?
Focus on the music and everything else will fall in line.
What are you currently working on? Any new music on the way? Any collaborations on the way?
I just dropped an EP, ‘It’s Me, I’m The Problem’ just to finish out the year. Going into next year I’m working on my album, hopefully we can have that by spring time. I don’t want to put too much on it, but with this last project it was just me. This next project you can be expecting a lot of guests, features and stuff like that. I want to step outside the box and try different sounds.
Last week Atlanta-born artist Chase Shakur graced SOBs with a live performance during the New York stop of his inaugural It’s Still Love Tour. Few artists can boast selling out shows during their first tour with no cosigns, but Chase has already demonstrated that he’s not like most artists in the best way possible. After releasing his It’s Not You It’s Me EP he followed up with the deluxe and is now on the road taking his talents across the country. Its Not You Its Me has already accumulated over 10 million streams with bonus track “sink or swim” sitting at 4 million streams on Spotify alone.
We caught up with Chase during his soundcheck to discuss his first tour ever, his musical beginnings and his latest project. Openers included the talented Destin Laurell, who warmed up the crowd before Chase hit the stage. Chase gave an unforgettable performance and played hits like “Cascade Road” “YSL” “No Savin” “X’s and No’s” and many others. Not only did Chase serenade his fans, he handed out red roses as well as fans screamed “We love you, Chase!” The crowd went crazy and it’s safe to say Chase shut SOBS down.
The Knockturnal: How old you were when you started experimenting with music?
Chase Shakur: I was 15 when I started. It started off with I guess this crush I had in seventh grade or middle school. She had this this summer program she was going to and they was teaching the kids how to do music so I applied to the drawing program because I loved to draw and I seen how much fun they were having doing music and I gave it a shot and started rapping.
The Knockturnal: At that time were you writing or freestyling?
Chase Shakur: I was writing back then. I was really trying to get my bars off. I was doing cyphers, I was on the corners rapping.
The Knockturnal: Your music has influences of r&b, rap, soul, funk and much more can you share what type of music you were brought up on?
Chase Shakur: It Was a balance of everything. My mom was into a lot of different genres of music so , she would play classical music like Beethoven or just r&b or reggae. I grew up in a house with a lot of people, so the women would play mostly r&b, but then the males would play dudes from the neighborhood.
The Knockturnal: Was there anybody in your life that was motivating you to take music seriously when you were first starting out?
Chase Shakur: I started doing music with two friends and we’d wake up at 6:00 AM and just walk to one of our boys’ house who had a home studio and we’d do that every morning for the whole summer when I was 16.
The Knockturnal: What motivated you to pursue music as opposed to another career?
Chase Shakur: It was my last year of college at Georgia State and I had a clear path. I knew, alright, if I drop school, I can completely focus on this and when I did my manager posted a video that went pretty viral on TikTok and everything else just kind of happened.
The Knockturnal: In your own words what have been the biggest highlights of your career so far?
Chase Shakur: Selling out my first tour with no cosigns. I think the biggest thing for me is that we’re doing all this off the strength of music and then signing with Def Jam.
The Knockturnal: How did it feel when you signed with Def Jam?
Chase Shakur: It just showed me that I wasn’t crazy.
The Knockturnal: What are your favorite songs off of it’s not you, it’s me?
Chase Shakur: “X’s and O’s” and “Slide,” but there was a song that was supposed to be on there, but I couldn’t clear the sample. It was called God. That’s my favorite.
The Knockturnal: Is this your first time performing in New York?
Chase Shakur: No, I’ve performed here four times. My first show ever was in New York with DJ Miss Milan.
The Knockturnal: What are you looking forward to most on your first tour?
Chase Shakur: I’m just ready to perform in front of my mom and my family in front of a bigger crowd.
The Knockturnal: What are you currently working on?
Chase Shakur: Probably after the tour we working on the first album. I’ve just been studying, really studying music, reading, listening.
The Knockturnal: Any collaborations on the way?
Chase Shakur: Got a song with Ryan Tracy. I got a song with Afrobeats artist Nonso Amadi.
Last Week Philly Goats held an intimate listening at Manhattan Beach Recording Studio where fans and tastemakers gathered to celebrate the release of their debut project Philly Goats. It’s no secret that Philly Club dances are taking over Tik Tok, and that Philly Goat Dyce (D Sturdy), Sou, and PGS Spence aka The Philly Goats are at the forefront of this viral movement. Philly Goat Dyce formerly known as D Sturdy has had viral hits like “Walk em Like a Dog,” & “Shake Dhat,” and has most recently partnered with his brother Sou and childhood friend PGS Spence to show the world the best of what Philly has to offer. What started out as a fun way to spend time together and have fun on Tik Tok helped the Philly Goats create a platform for themselves as the faces of the Philly Club movement. Philly Goats debut tape has already had viral hits like “Buckle Up” which has surpassed over 3.5 millions Spotify streams and “Get Off The Wall” which has accumulated over 5.6 million streams on Spotify alone. While at the listening we were able to catch up with Philly Goats to discuss their debut tape, chemistry working together and the power of social media.
The Knockturnal: What’s your favorite song of the project and why?
Philly Goat Sou: “Blick”
Philly Goat Spence: “Toot Dat” we did our thing on that thing, we set the booth on fire
Philly Goat Dyce: “Turnt” it give me a different vibe. It’s different from us because it’s not like a party song, but it’s a party song.
The Knockturnal: What’s it like working together?
Philly Goat Sou: I love working with my boys. It’s turnt.
Philly Goat Spence: I ain’t gonna lie. We put that work in.
Philly Goat Dyce: It’s us against everybody.
The Knockturnal: Who would you say is your biggest inspiration musically?
Philly Goat Spence: I’d say D Sturdy he inspired me to do a lot. After that first mil he started turning up.
Philly Goat Dyce: I’d say myself
The Knockturnal: How does it feel going viral at such a young age?
Philly Goat Spence: You got a lot of supporters running up on you, cameras, flashes, paparazzi lifestyle. It’s different.
Philly Goat Dyce: I ain’t gonna lie it’s fun. It’s lit for real. Like, I don’t know how to explain it. The kids love us and look up to us.
Philly Goat Sou: It’s all right. This nutty though. This ain’t for everybody. So don’t just try to go get famous. I’m telling you this not for everybody. You gotta be hard. You gotta have tough skin to be in this. That was real.
The Knockturnal: Can you elaborate on what it takes to be a star and what it takes if you really want this lifestyle?
Philly Goat Dyce: Grind. Till the sun go down you gotta grind. In the stu 24/7 putting that work in.
Philly Goat Sou: First of all, you gotta promote yourself every minute, every other day. Your managers tell you to promote.
The Knockturnal: What’s a typical week look like for you?
Philly Goat Sou: During a normal week Monday studio, straight studio, Sunday studio, every other day, studio.
The Knockturnal: What’s been your favorite thing to do since becoming famous that you never thought you would personally get to do before any of this?
Philly Goat Dyce: Performing at Powerhouse, doing big shows
The Knockturnal: Hoe does it feel performing in front of large audiences?
Philly Goat Sou: I feel like my dream coming true.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel dropping your first mixtape?
Philly Goats: Man, it feel crazy man. We’ve been one off singles our whole life and we just dropped the tape. Now it’s time to turn up and fuck the city up man.
Last week UnitedMasters hosted SelectCon 005, its annual conference bridging the gap between those established and emerging in the music industry. In partnership with Ally, Baileys, Bulleit, Delta, Johnnie Walker & VISA, this year’s UnitedMasters SelectCon 005 was held at Terminal 5, hosted by TT Torez, Ivy Rivera & V-Live. Talent included the legendary Spinall, special guests Earthgang, DJ Pope, Nickoog & Liana Banks. The list of this year’s panel speakers consisted of CEOs, international superstars and media moguls like UnitedMasters CEO Steve Stoute, global sensation Davido & RapRadar founder Elliott Wilson to name a few.
Program highlights included the Bulleit 100-hour mentorship & showcase which took place on Terminal 5’s rooftop, Building Your Brand with Elliott Wilson, How To Be Independent with LVRN & Dometi Pongo, and for the final panel of the evening Davido joined Steve Stoute to not only discuss his musical career but Music’s Global Future. Bulleit’s 100-hour mentorship program offers emerging artists exclusive one-to-one mentorship opportunities and valuable insight from industry experts.
The most exciting part of the evening was listening to Davido’s journey of going from independent artist to a household name. Davido reminisced about selling concert tickets door to door in his early days. He also shared that he always attempted to include people in his circle who were talented for any play that came his way. Additionally, Steve Stoute and Davido discussed the power of brand partnerships like Puma and pivoting to other markets from music. The evening was informative, enlightening and a celebration of music and music lovers.
Last week Ken Carson celebrated the release of his latest album A Great Chaos with a private concert in Brooklyn. Held at Silo music venue, the evening was a rager to say the least. Sponsored by Spotify, the album release gave fans the opportunity to experience A Great Chaos, live, hours before it went live on all platforms. Not only that, Ken surprised fans by bringing out Destroy Lonely to perform his features off of Ken’s new project. Fans were moshing, jumping ecstatically and turning up, but the excitement didn’t end there. The night was nothing short of legendary when Ken brought out Playboi Carti himself. Fans, myself included lost it when Carti graced the stage and joined his Opium artists. It was truly an unforgettable moment to witness Carti, Ken and Destroy come together to celebrate A Great Chaos.
After only a week of release, each track on A Great Chaos has individually amassed over 1 million streams each, on Spotify alone, with “I need u” sitting at over 26 million streams. A Great Chaos is a solid body of work and showcases Ken’s versatility. Standout tracks include “Rockstar Lifestyle,” “Fighting My Demons,””Singapore” ft. Destroy Lonely & “Like This” ft. Destroy Lonely & Lil Uzi.
Once again Genius returns with its annual BBQ filled with performances, good food and good music. We recently attended Genius’ annual BBQ, held at The Knockdown Center in Queens this year. With Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary this year, the entire industry gathered to uplift and celebrate Hip Hop with some of its biggest and upcoming stars. This year’s Genius BBQ lineup included Rich Greedy, Ashoka, Wynne, Chow Lee, Luh Tyler, Lola Brooke, Armani White & the legendary Clipse. Fans went crazy for their new favorite artists as well as hip hop heavyweights like Malice and Pusha-T. The evening consisted of performances, food trucks and a VIP lounge where artists and industry tastemakers were able to enjoy complimentary cocktails courtesy of PATRÓN EL ALTO as well take pictures at the Genius BBQ Photo Booth.
Other highlights from the evening included the Rap Cafeteria, with rap-inspired dishes from local NYC food vendors presented by Showtime Original Series The Chi. Not only that, the evening also showcased the So Fresh, So Clean Shop from Paco Rabanne 1M, an art installation from INFINITI featuring the new QX60. Fans went crazy for their favorite artists old and new and celebrated 50 years of hip hop during this unforgettable night with Genius.
Newer Posts