R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Jane Handcock, Syd, Cash Cobain, Lil Yachty & More

Between Drake touching down in Lodown for a three-night takeover at Wireless Festival and Clipse successfully restoring that classic hip-hop feeling with their excellent new Let God Sort Em Out album, hip-hop enjoyed quite a jam-packed weekend.

As Drizzy reacted to “F—k Kendrick” chants at Wireless, Kung Fu Kenny played “Not Like Us” just a three-hour drive away at the latest stop of his and SZA’s Grand National Tour at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. Across his three headlining Wireless sets, Drake brought out guests such as Vybz Kartel, Rema, Central Cee and Vanessa Carlton — and he also claimed that “nobody can out-rap London.” Notably, that claim came just days after Skepta made good on his promise to diss Joyner Lucas, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for a U.S.-U.K. battle.

In more touring news, Jay-Z once again joined Beyoncé onstage at her Cowboy Carter Tour — this time, on her third consecutive sold-out night at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In addition to performing his classic “Crazy In Love” verse, the hip-hop legend also treated fans to a blazing performance of “Public Service Announcement” that once again stirred up whispers about him headlining next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

On the R&B side of things, Grammy-winner Coco Jones announced her engagement to Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, yet another sports-R&B union following Normani’s engagement to Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf earlier this year. Justin Bieber also returned, dropping a Journals-adjacent surprise album titled Swag featuring collaborations with Gunna, Sexyy Red and Cash Cobain.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Syd’s new banger to Cash Cobain’s song of the summer contender. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.