R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Reggie Becton, Big Moochie Grape, Jastin Martin & More

Somehow — between Beyoncé kicking off an unprecedented five-night mini-residency at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Kendrick Lamar bringing out AzChike for his second of three nights at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, and Joey Badass brushing off more West Coast disses — other things happened in hip-hop and R&B over the past week!

On Thursday (May 22), Kid Cudi took the stand during Diddy’s bombshell sex trafficking trial, prompting Young Thug to label him a “rat,” and that very evening, Detroit rapper Skilla Baby was the victim of a drive-by shooting. The next day (May 23), Sacha Jenkins, a pioneering hip-hop journalist, author, filmmaker and cultural historian, passed at age 54, underscoring a tumultuous end to the week. By Saturday (May 24), Drake crashed Central Cee’s Toronto concert to reveal OVO Fest’s comeback, which is currently set for summer 2025. The Toronto MC last hosted OVO Fest in 2022.

Drizzy, of course, headlines all three nights of London’s Wireless Festival in a few months (July 11-13), and that show doubles as one of the stops on Vybz Kartel’s forthcoming Worl’ Boss Tour. The King of Dancehall officially announced the trek — his first in over two decades — last week (May 21) and mounted its first show at Guyana’s National Stadium on Saturday (May 24).

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from AKIA’s sultry new jam to Big Moochie Grape’s latest banger. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.