Torrance Hatch Jr., known professionally as Boosie Badazz, is an American rapper/songwriter.His career began after Boosie’s cousin Young Dee introduced Boosie to Baton Rouge rapper C-Loc in the 1990s. He was mentored by Young Bleed, C-Loc and MD. In 1996, he joined the group Concentration Camp. In 2001, he signed with Trill Entertainment as a solo artist and released his debut album “For My Thugs.” He has released the albums “Bad Azz” (2006), “Superbad: The Return Of Boosie Badazz” (2009), “Incarcerated” (2010), “Touch Down 2 Cause Hell” (2015) and “Boosie Badazz: Bigger And Badder Than Ever” (2018).

Raheem Devaughn is an American singer/songwriter. He initially showed interest in music as a young child. His love of music solidified during his teens, where he began to envision a career path. While working at Tower Records, he began performing with various groups, including Urbanwave31, and at such venues as the State of the Union and Bar Nun, all while having CDs of his music on hand. He eventually gained local success, winning awards and releasing music independently for several years. He signed with Jive Records in 2002. He has released the albums “The Love Experience” (2005), “Love Behind The Melody” (2008), “The Love And War Masterpiece” (2010), “A Place Called Love Land” (2013) and “Love Sex Passion” (2015).

Happy birthday

Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943-April 10, 2003)

Singer Fantasia Barrino 34

New York City based singer Xav. A. has released the visual for his latest single “All In.” The clip shows Xav A. sharing a romantic day date with a significant other as the two stroll hand in hand through a park while staring into each others eyes. Xav A. is a singer/songwriter/producer who channels 90s music in order to remind the world how much fun life can be. Based in New York City, he has performed at such venues as SOBs. His career began in 2011 after he was featured on season three of the NBC series The Sing Off, where he won second place along with the group Pentatonix. He’s definitely an artist to watch. Rising Atlanta singer Felixx captivates listeners with his new single “Empty For You.” “Empty For You” is the follow up to his previous single “Thot.” A classically trained singer who has been influenced by Mozart, Prince, and Anthony Hamilton, Felixx has shared the stage with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Babyface, Cee Lo Green and Sheila E. among others. Felixx will appear on Episode 4 of the Fox series The Four Battle For Stardom!. The show features Sean “Diddy “Combs, DJ Khaled and Meghan Trainer as fudges. Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas host the show. Rising singer Masego’s new single “Lady Lady” has received a great deal of attention, so much so, that he’s slated to embark on a headlining tour. The tour will begin on October 16 in Boston and visit New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia and New Orleans before concluding on November 18 in Los Angeles. Before that, he’ll support Leon Bridges’ U.S. amphitheater tour as the opening act this summer.

Kid-N-Play is an American hip hop duo from New York City which rose to prominence during the 1980s. The duo consisted of Kid (Christopher Reid) and Play (Christopher Martin). The duo worked along side Mark “DJ Wiz” Eastmond. The pair met while performing in separate groups The Turnout Brothers and The Super Lovers, and were initially billed as The Fresh Force Crew. In 1986, the pair recorded “She’s A Skeezer” and “Rock Me.” In 1987, they changed their name to Kid-N-Play. They went on to record the albums “2 Hype” (1988), “Funhouse” (1990) and “Face The Nation” (1991) with the assistant of producer Hurby “Love Bug” Azor, who also produced Salt-N-Pepa. The duo also worked as actors, having appeared in the “House Party” franchise and “Class At” among others.

Chaka Khan is an American singer/songwriter whose career spans five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist and focal point of the funk band Rufus. She has won ten Grammy awards and sold over 70 million records worldwide. Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953 in Chicago, IL,  she was introduced to music by her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz. She later became an R&B fan as a preteen and formed an all female group called the Crystalettes, which included her sister Taka. In 1970, she replaced Baby Huey of Baby Huey & the Babysitters after Baby Huey’s death. The group disbanded a year later. While performing with local bands, Khan was spotted by two members of the band Rufus and became the band’s lead singer. They signed with ABC Records in 1973. Rufus went on to score such hits as “Tell Me Something Good”, “Sweet Thing”, “Once You Get Started”, “Hollywood” and “At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)”, to name a few. In 1978, Khan released her debut solo album “Chaka”, which contained the hit “I’m Every Woman.” She went on to score the hits “Clouds”, “Papillion”, “Through The Fire” and “I Feel For You.” She has released the albums “Chaka” (1978), “Naughty” (1980), “What Cha Gonna Do For Me” (1981), “Chaka Khan” (1982), “Echoes Of An Era” (1982), “I Feel For You” (1984), “Destiny” (1986), “OK” (1988), “The Woman I am” (1992), “Come 2 My House” (1998), “ClassiKhan” (2004) and “Funk This” (2007).

Miles Parks McCollum, known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper/singer. He rose to prominence in December 2015 after the Soundcloud version of his single “One Night” was used in a viral comedy video. He later appeared as a model in Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion line at Madison Square Garden. In April 2016, Yachty collaborated with DRAM on the single “Broccoli”, which hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. On May 26, 2017, Lil Yachty released his debut album “Teenage Emotions.” “Lil Boat” appeared in 2018.

Teyana Taylor is an American singer/actress/dancer/model from Harlem, New York City. Born on December 10, 1990, Taylor began her career as the choreographer of the Beyonce visual “Ring The Alarm.” In 2007, she signed a recording contract with rapper/producer Pharrell Williams’ label Star Trak Entertainment through Interscope Records. In 2007, Taylor appear on the reality series “My Super Sweet Sixteen”, a show which depicted the birthday parties of rich teenagers. That same year, Taylor appeared in rapper Jay Z’s video “Blue Magic”, where she can be seen popping and dancing. Taylor continued acting with appearances in the films “Stomp The Yard” and “Stomp The Yard: Homecoming.”  To find herself as an artist, Taylor left Star Trak Entertainment in 2012 and signed with rapper Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music on June 12, 2012. She has released the albums “VII” (2014) and “K.T.S.E.” (2018).

Happy birthday

Singer Lauren Jauregui (Fifth Harmony) 22

Beyonce proteges Chloe X Halle have released the visual for their latest single “Happy Without Me”, a collaboration with rapper Joey Bada$$, taken from their album “The Kids Alright.” In the clip, the duo are like glittery ocean nymphs who hang around an angel, aka a man who resembles Joey Bada$$ and wears angel wings. The talented sisters performed at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and they can be seen on Beyonce and Jay Z’s “On The Run 2 Tour” when it begins in on July 25 in Cleveland. Singer/songwriter Priscilla Renea has released her latest musical effort “Coloured”, a ten song project that blends R&B, Soul, Pop and Country. Priscilla Renea has written songs for Rihanna, Pitbull and Fifth Harmony among others. She has a long, illustrious career ahead of her. After a five year delay, Grammy winning singer/songwriter Drew Scott has completed his EP trilogy  “Places I’ve Ever Been Vol. 3” (Vol. 1 was released in 2013 and Vol. 2 was released in 2014). Vol. 3 features the singles “Unhealthy” and “Mindful.” He also released the visual for the single “Simple”, which inspired Radio Head’s 1997 hit “No Surprises.” fans will enjoy this one. Hip hop artist TK Kravtiz has finally released his highly anticipated EP “TK Kravtiz 2.0.” Lead by the single “Ocean”, featuring Jacquees, the twelve track project includes collaborations with 2 Chainz, Jacquees, KeKe Palmer and NBA Youngboy. TK Kravtiz is poised to make a lot of waves. Arriving in time for barbeques and other summer time activities is “I’m Doing Me”, the debut album from emerging singer James “Stuff” Hardin. Inspired by the 1990s and 2000s, the South Carolina native has a vocal style that will ensure that he has a long, illustrious career. “I’m Doing Me” is perfect for  those who enjoy partying and want to snuggle with their significant other later. “I’m Doing Me” can be purchased at iTunes. BMI, a global leader in rights management, has announced that R&B legend Janet Jackson will receive the BMI Icon award at the 2018 BMI/R&B/Hip Hop Awards. Jackson joins an elite group of recipients who have received the BMI Icon Award. Past recipients include Patti LaBelle, Nile Rodgers, James Brown, Snoop Dogg and Al Green. It’s been an amazing year for Jackson, who won the Impact Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards on Saturday. She also received the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. Next, she’ll appear at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 8. Following that appearance, she’ll begin her “State Of The World Tour” on July 11 in Austin, TX. Juice WRLD has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the beginning of 2018, from Soundcloud to mainstream success with two singles gracing the Billboard Hot 100. The single “All Girls Are The Same” has received an added verse from Lil Yachty on the remix. Lil Yachty tried to upload the remix to Soundcloud  on Monday, but it was repeatedly taken down for unknown reasons. The Quality Control rapper keeps the romance going by detailing his prior experiences with women.  Lil Yachty has released his collaborative project with Valee “Wombo.” He also hosted a candlelight vigil  for XXXTentacion on Monday in Atlanta. While it’s unclear when Drake’s forthcoming album “Scorpion” will be released, the Toronto native did release a trailer promoting the project recently. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.