As a native New Yorker, there are places throughout the city that hold special meaning for Jay-Z. He’s given fans an opportunity to visit those spots — or at least discover those locations — by teaming with Google Maps.

Together, they have highlighted those locations on a map that includes descriptions explaining their significance to Hov. Among the featured spots are Jungle Studios, where he recorded some of his 12th studio album, Magna Carter Holy Grail; the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where he performed for the first time in 1997 and a few times after; the creative hub where he developed and recorded Blueprint 3; and Barclays Center, which he helped bring to Brooklyn. The map also features locations for pop-up experiences and merchandise celebrating Reasonable Doubt, which turned 30 on June 25.

Hov made appearances at some of those pop-ups with daughter Blue Ivy Carter to thank fans and interact with his supporters.

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The BET Awards 2026 returned Sunday night, honoring Black excellence across music, television, film and more.

T.I. kicked off the show fresh off the release of his final album, Kill the King. Host Druski then took the stage to revive his viral church skit and lay out the rules, including a 30-second speech limit.

Throughout the night, he also spoofed the BET Hip Hop Awards cypher, brought his Coulda Been Records auditions to the stage and shared a comedic moment with Martin Lawrence.

Leon Thomas took home best male R&B/pop artist, while Kehlani won best female R&B/pop artist after performing a stripped-down rendition of “Folded” alongside Jamie Foxx on piano and his daughter Anelise on guitar. Doechii and SZA accepted the BET Her Award, with Doechii teasing new music. Other winners included Clipse, whose Let God Sort Em Out earned album of the year, and Cardi B, who won best female hip hop artist.

Among the night’s special honors, music executive Sylvia Rhone received the Ultimate Icon Award following a speech by Kelly Rowland.

Teyana Taylor was presented the Icon of the Year by Janet Jackson. She hugged Janet, telling her, “There is no me without you,” before reflecting on her career, saying she had “worked my a** off” to be honored as an Icon.

The evening ended with a tribute to Living Legend Icon recipient Ms. Lauryn Hill, featuring The War and Treaty, SZA, Doechii, Tems, Doja Cat, Nas, Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Common and others. Lauryn then surprised the audience with performances of “Ex-Factor” and “Everything Is Everything,” and encouraged fellow Black artists not to “sell your gift short.”

Additional performances came from Don Toliver, RAYE, Cardi B, French Montana, Max B, Rick Ross, Tems, Baby Keem, KWN, Kenny Iko and Erica Campbell during the in memoriam, with Ari Lennox, George Clinton, Durand Bernarr, and BJ the Chicago Kid paying homage to D’Angelo.

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BET has announced the artists who will come together for its all-star tribute performances during Sunday night’s BET Awards.

Helping honor Ms. Lauryn Hill, who will receive the Living Legend Icon Award, are Alexia Jayy, Common, Doechii, Doja Cat, Lizzo, Nas, Queen Latifah, Rapsody, selah, Tierra Whack, The War and Treaty, Zion Marley, YG Marley and more.

Ari Lennox, BJ the Chicago Kid, Durand Bernarr, George Clinton and RAYE will unite to pay tribute to the late D’Angelo, alongside his children.

Erica Campbell and Le’Andria Johnson will also take the stage during the in memoriam segment, which will be anchored by the music of late gospel star Richard Smallwood.

The BET Awards 2026 will air live on BET at 8 p.m. ET, with an encore presentation at  8 p.m. PT. 

The performance lineup also includes Baby Keem, Cardi B, Don Toliver, French Montana, Kehlani, Max B, Rick Ross, Tems, T.I. and more. Teyana Taylor will be honored as Icon of the Year, and Sylvia Rhone will receive the Ultimate Icon Award.

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You might have recently seen Naturi Naughton showing off her acting chops on Power, Power Book II: Ghost and The Nowhere Man, but now, she’s ready to perform live. Twenty years after making her Broadway debut in Hairspray, she’s landed another Broadway role, this time in The Great Gatsby.

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby follows the love story of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, played by Reeve Carney, and his former love, Daisy Buchanan, played by Eva Noblezada.

Naturi will take on the role of Jordan Baker, replacing Samantha Pauly starting July 31. The character is a close friend of Daisy Buchanan and becomes romantically involved with narrator Nick Carraway, played by Corbin Bleu.

“Twenty years ago, I made my Broadway debut in Hairspray and now I get to come back to the theater as a new woman with new money as the fabulous Jordan Baker! The Great Gatsby is a classic and I can’t wait to party with a live audience!” Naturi said in a statement.

Other cast members include John Behlmann as Tom Buchanan, Linedy Genao as Myrtle Wilson, Charlie Pollock as George Wilson and Matthew Saldívar as Meyer Wolfsheim.

Tickets for The Great Gatsby are now on sale.

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Steve Lacy teams with SZA for his new single “is it cool?” It’s described in a press release as a “confessional reckoning with self-sabotaging habits and tumultuous romances, brought to life by two of R&B’s most influential voices.” “is it cool?” is set to appear on Steve’s upcoming album, oh yeah?, due out on July 17.

After premiering at Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2027 Men’s Show in Paris, Quavo’s single “HAVVIN” is now on streaming services. It was recorded at Louis Vuitton Studio and serves as the first single from an album that will be executive produced by Pharrell.

Remy Ma is putting people on to a version of her that people haven’t yet seen via her new single “Put Em On.” “I think a lot of people expect my music to be angry or super aggressive because for a long time that’s the narrative I let people believe,” she says in a statement. “But in this season I’m literally having the most fun I’ve had in my life, and I wanted this song to reflect that.”

Other releases:

Russ, “Sunday to Sunday“

YoungBoy Never Broke Again, More Leaks 2 (ML2)

Ravyn Lenae, “Saturday Night“

Lucky Daye, “Nowhere Fast” 

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Drake is making amends with anyone named Janice following the release of the Iceman track “Janice STFU.”

Taking to his Instagram Story Thursday, he wrote, “All my Janice’s in NY, LA, MIA, TO, HOU, look out for my invitation for Sunday.”

Now Toronto later followed with a report of an event scheduled for Sunday at Cactus Club in Toronto. The party will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is exclusively being held for people named Janice, who must present a government-issued ID to gain entry. Details for the parties planned in the other cities will soon be revealed.

“Janice STFU” appears on Drake’s Iceman album and includes shots at the media, critics and fellow rappers. With the apology parties, Drake seems to be making it up to the real Janices who may have been offended or caught in the crossfire.

Fans, however, are still unsure whether Janice refers to an actual woman or is just a metaphor for someone else.

“Janice STFU” peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. It currently sits at #7.

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