Kendrick Lamar hasn't released a new album since 2017's DAMN, but there's something he has that many of his peers lack -- longevity. When K Dot drops an album, said album can sustain its presence for years on end; such is the benefit of writing songs packed with meaning, a testament to his Pulitizer Prize-winning pen-game. Now, with the world standing up against police brutality and systemic racism following the death of George Floyd, many have once again turned to the wisdom of Kendrick Lamar for inspiration.

While it goes without saying that To Pimp A Butterfly is an appropriate protest record, so much so that it recently re-entered the Apple Music Charts, Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, maad City and DAMN have also seen renewed signs of life. As of last week, both of those projects re-entered the Billboard Top 200, with Good Kid climbing to 97 and DAMN sitting pretty at 106. 

According to Chartdata, To Pimp A Butterfly has also experienced a massive boost in numbers, with Chartdata pointing to a one-hundred-and-twenty percent increase in sales -- look for that to appear in the updated Top 200, unsurprising given that songs like "Alright" and "The Blacker The Berry" have regained life as protest anthems. Clearly, the world is hungry for some new music from Kendrick Lamar, and given everything that has transpired in the world since his last release, we can only assume that he's about to come out swinging.

Have you been revisiting some K Dot classics?

Though nothing that can bring back the Black lives lost to police brutality, thousands upon thousands have rallied across the world to ensure that change can pave the way for improvement. Since the tragic death of George Floyd, which arrived in quick succession after those of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, among others, the streets have been lined with protestors standing up for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

While in some places it has lead to heightened tension between police and civilians, other places have embraced the idea of change -- in Minneapolis, the City Council recently announced plans to "disband" the police force, explaining their decision following a City Council meeting. Council Member Jeremiah Ellison announced the decision on June 4th, writing "We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response. It’s really past due."

In the midst of all of the protests yesterday, Akon and 6ix9ine had the entire internet buzzing as they linked up for a preview of a new song. As many figured out, the song was a remix to Akon's smash hit "Locked Up." 6ix9ine was dubbing this song as "Locked Up Part 2" and fans are already split on how they feel about it. On one hand, some think the song sounds good while others are appalled that Akon would associate himself with someone like 6ix9ine.

After hearing about the collaboration, Tory Lanez took to Twitter in utter disappointment. As he explained, he couldn't believe Akon had given the "Locked Up" remix to another artist. However, all was not lost for Tory as Akon quickly chimed in noting that he would allow him to be on "Locked Up Part 3."

The Prince estate has re-released the artist's track "Baltimore" in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and everyone else who has been a victim of police brutality. The re-release includes a new music video uploaded to YouTube.

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"Baltimore" was originally released in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray. In the track, Prince sings:

Does anybody hear us pray
For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray?
Peace is more than the absence of war
Are we gonna see another bloody day?
We’re tired of the crying and people dying
Let’s take all the guns away.

Prince would have turned 62-years-old, Sunday. In honor of his birthday, his estate wrote on Twitter, "Prince dedicated his life to speaking out against injustice, advocating for black excellence, and spreading the message of 'Love 4 One Another.' In this note that he kept in his personal archives, he wrote a message that still resonates today."

"Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than INTOLERANCE (between) Black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl, INTOLERANCE," the note reads.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has returned, though it seems the public interest has decreased significantly since "GOOBA." Nonetheless, he's still up to his trolling ways with a new single supposedly coming at the end of the month. The song apparently has a major feature which many suspected could be Nicki Minaj, though there hasn't been any actual confirmation of that.

p>What we can tell you is that he's been in the studio with Akon. Earlier today, 6ix9ine shared a clip of himself in the studio with the Akon working on "Locked Up Pt. 2." Now, for anyone born post-2000, you may have been too young to recall how big of a song it was. With Styles P delivering a guest verse on it, Akon came through with an anthem for the streets that reached beyond the borders of the United States. That being said, many began tagging Styles P after the clip emerged with some sort of anticipation that he'd be upset. That isn't the case. In fact, Styles P is making it abundantly clear that he won't let Tekashi's recent IG post distract him from sending out his reminder to boost your immune system.

"My job is 2 remind you 2 boost the immune system n not get distracted by minor things i will always consider Akon a brother but we have not spoke or seen each other In years I don’t know 6’9 meaning all 3 of our paths are different.I live by my code n don’t hold others 2 my code," he wrote. "To make this even simpler 4 u wondering how I feel about the song.I honestly don’t give a fux the fact that this is even a topic 2 discuss with all the racial tension n plandemic/ pandemic makes me want to focus in harder on reminding y’all 2 stay golden n boost the immune!"

Check the tweet out below. 

Fans clowned Akon to no end for actually going ahead and collaborating with 6ix9ine, after the rapper posted a clip of them vibing to their unreleased song "Locked Up Part 2," a remix of Akon's 2006 track of the same name. It's no secret how Akon feels about 6ix9ine, as the singer has defended his snitching ways on multiple occasions, insisting that he would've done the same thing. The two of them were even supposed to go head-to-head for a hit battle last month, but it never panned out. Akon might be one of the only artists in the industry that still associates themselves with 6ix9ine—at least publicly—so it should come as no surprise that the two of them are working together, but for some reason, it still does.

6ix9ine posted the clip of the two of them previewing the remix on Sunday (June 7th), and it didn't take long for fans to pass judgement on Akon for his questionable choice of a collaborator. 6ix9ine's curious rainbow wig was also a big point of focus, for obvious reasons. 

This week on our “R&B Season” playlist, we decided to highlight a few of the protest anthems that R&B artists have recently dropped in order to show our solidarity with those speaking out against systemic racism and police brutality in light of the police killing of George Floyd and countless others. These past few weeks have been heavy and emotional, as they’ve served to further highlight these issues that have been prevalent in America for decades. People across the globe have been protesting these injustices in many different ways: signing petitions, donating to organizations that help Black communities, standing on the frontlines at rallies. Others have been using music to get their message across, including artists like Trey Songz and Eric Bellinger.

On Wednesday, Eric dropped his new song, “ENOUGH,” drawing on his own experiences with racism and calling for the end of this treatment of Black people. Trey Songz also protested through the art of music with the thematically similar tune, “2020 Riots: How Many Times.” We’ve also decided to include Trey’s duet with Summer Walker titled “Back Home” on “R&B Season” this week. Although “Back Home” already dropped earlier this year, Trey included it in the single release for “2020 Riots: How Many Times.” Check out our “R&B Season” playlist below, and stay safe out there.

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Ever since 6ix9ine came home from jail, legendary artist Akon has been going to bat for him. Akon defended why 6ix9ine ended up snitching on his fellow gang members and at one point, Akon seemed to be interested in doing a hit battle with Tekashi. Now, the two are going even farther with their newfound friendship as Akon has been hanging out at 6ix9ine’s house where the rainbow-haired rapper has his very own makeshift studio.

In the clip below, Tekashi and Akon are jamming out to a brand new track in which 6ix9ine speaks on being thrown in prison. Akon can be seen bobbing his head and eventually, we hear his hook from the classic track “Locked Up.” In 6ix9ine’s post, he refers to the song as “Locked Up Part 2” and that he is currently in album mode.

6ix9ine urged his fans to comment on the IG post and said that if he gets 100,000 comments, he will release the song. Tekashi has been teasing another track over the past few weeks and it was originally going to come out on June 5th but it got pushed back to June 12th.

With this latest collaboration in mind, perhaps there really is some steam to this whole 6ix9ine comeback tour.

The music industry may have pushed things back this week in wake of the ongoing injustices in America but the eruption of protests has clearly provided inspiration for some. Young Thug hasn’t ever been incredibly political in his music. However, if there’s one political statement that became a recurring theme in his music it’s ‘Fuck 12.’

The rapper recently hit Instagram where he shared a snippet of an upcoming single that he’s been recording. With luscious piano chords backing him, Thugger discusses the ongoing harassment of Black people by police officers and paints an image of the protests and riots that have taken place across the U.S. Thug didn’t clarify if this song has a release date or even a title but if it’s like anything else out of Thug’s catalog, it will likely find its way to the public in some sort of fashion. 

Thug made his position on the current protests clear once the riots began to erupt. “They’d rather let the nation burn than arrest 3 of their own… let that sink in,” the post reads.

Earlier this week, the four officers responsible for the murder of George Floyd were arrested. Derek Chauvin, the former officer who suffocated Floyd, was charged with second-degree murder. The three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

The road to Hollywood hasn’t been an easy journey for Rome Flynn. Prior to winning an Emmy for his role in The Bold & The Beautiful and before he starred in three seasons of How to Get Away with Murder, the Chicago native periodically lived in shelters with his mother and siblings when he was a child. As he got older, he learned from his mother’s tenacity, watching as she built a life herself and her eight children. Rome moved to Los Angeles on a whim and a prayer, working odd jobs until he landed his first major role in 2014: Drumline: A New Beat. Since that time, the past six years have seemed like a whirlwind as he’s shared acting spaces with Viola Davis, Cicely Tyson, Richard Roundtree, Tyler Perry, Loretta Devine, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, and many other noteworthy actors. Yet, not many people know that music is Rome’s first love, and while the budding actor is returning to a space that’s familiar to him, it’s a side of himself that he has yet to share with the world.

Recently, Rome Flynn released his single “Keep Me In Mind,” a sultry, sexy, side piece R&B jam that the musician has admitted is about his good friend Kehlani. The track is the second song we’ve received from Rome, as it follows “Brand New,” his first release last Fall. We spoke with Rome last October about “Brand New,” so it was only fitting that we follow up with the multihyphenated performer to discuss his transition from acting to the music industry. He described this stage of his journey as a “freeing experience” as he shared that he’s also “in a really good creative space.” Yet, there are multiple levels of vulnerability in choosing to walk this path of creativity, and as he presents this side of himself that people aren’t used to, he forges ahead into unchartered territory.

“I think that artists that do music and grow their fanbase from people that [have] grown accustomed to seeing them as artists, it’s a different kind of vulnerability,” said Rome. “For me, I’m really putting myself in a position where I’m allowing people to really judge who I am personally after kind of navigating them to judge me through the characters that I’ve played.” According to the actor-singer, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. “When I come and try to reintroduce myself to people [outside of my roles on televison], there’s a little bit of pushback just because change is always scary for people. And anything that doesn’t align with who they think you are, it doesn’t feel natural to them. It feels forced or it feels fake maybe or something to do. So, it’s a road that I’ve been having to travel…It’s a different vulnerable space.”

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“Brand New” and “Keep My In Mind” are but two pieces to a grander puzzle as Rome has been laboriously crafting his debut EP. When he spoke with us last year, Rome was clear that the project would be titled Energy, but things seem to have shifted. With growth comes movement, and Rome has put the idea of “energy” on the shelf for the time being. “As I was writing most of these records for this EP that will have probably six or seven songs on it, they’re in line with the vein I want to be in with [‘Keep Me In Mind’], so I don’t think ‘energy’ is something that—that’s something I may revisit another time but, yeah,” Rome said. “With art, it just evolves and I’m just allowing myself to grow. If I do grow in a different direction, I have to allow myself to do that.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many artists to press the pause button their plans as studios have closed, social distancing keeps people away from one another, and tours have canceled. Rome’s untitled EP, an album that’s “geared toward love,” is still slated for release this year, but things may take a bit longer to come together than he expected. Rome holds his cards close to the chest when sharing details about the project—a record the self-proclaimed “hopeless romantic” describes as “Trap-R&B”—but he did let us know that he’s looking at having “maybe two or three” features on the record, including a collaboration with Wale.

“I just spoke to him a few days ago about doing something with him,” Rome shared. “I’d love to do something with Bia. We’ve been talking about it.” His music tastes are clearly influenced by our favorite classic oldies as Rome told us he has Soul icons like Marvin Gaye and Teddy Pendergrass on rotation, but that doesn’t mean that this current generation of artists doesn’t move him. “I’ve been listening to Tory Lanez. I think that he has such a unique, kind of this Trap-Soul thing that’s similar to why I listen to Bryson Tiller a lot,” Rome admitted. “I listen to Chris Brown’s album a lot, Indigo. I like Eric Bellinger. He has his own kinda style. Erykah Badu. Those are a few R&B people. Khalid, too.”

While Rome Flynn’s looks have set him apart in Hollywood, the 28-year-old has often been pigeonholed as a vacant-minded pretty boy. If you take a quick stroll through his social media pages, you’ll find thousands of messages from people who have defined him strictly by his outer appearance—but his “intellectual property,” as he calls it, is a personal quality that Rome would rather be exalted over any physical characteristic. His life experiences have made him a person who sees far beyond the surface and he hopes that his audience will take the time to do the same as he exposes inner parts of himself rarely seen by the public. It’s clear that his river runs deep, but the assumption of superficiality plagues the rising star.

“I think that a lot of times people just see me for my photos and they only see me as some sex symbol or something like that. I never asked for any of that. It just kind of happened,” he said. “And because of that perception of people seeing the amount of attention that women give me or whoever, they have this idea that I believe it or I buy into it. But really, when people give me compliments on how I look, I frankly don’t take them with much credibility.” He added, “I’d rather be [noticed] for the work that I have put in, for my career, and where I came from. Those kinds of things. I think people think I’m pretty shallow and I’m actually the exact opposite. I probably think deeper into things than I should.”

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Regardless of how he hopes people will perceive him aside from his exterior, Rome understands that when it comes to being in the public eye, it’s impossible to control the minds of the masses. “Whether or not people love you or hate you or like your music or not, your job is to always just try to be true to yourself and allow those other things to weed themselves out,” he told us. It’s a bit of advice he’s received from his fellow artists as he moves from portraying Gabriel Maddox on HTGAWM into hopefully becoming the next R&B star. 

“I had a conversation with Kehlani about how she navigates being an artist. She’s one of very few artists who are just out in the open with everything and it’s a really vulnerable space, but she kind of elaborates it to being a freeing place to be,” Rome continued. “I can see how that can be. Having a conversation with her and recently having a conversation with Sevyn about her journey, too… Her kind of perception on that is being true to yourself. People are going to hate you or love you regardless, so as long as you’re happy with what you’re doing, that’s really all you really have control over.”

While fans await the Spanish version of “Keep Me In Mind,” watch the Riley Robbins-directed music video for Rome Flynn’s latest single below.