R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: 3Quency, Queen Naija, Veeze, Errol Holden & More

As the first fall breezes start to drift across New York City, Billboard helped usher out the summer season with its annual R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players Week.

On Wednesday (Sept. 3), Unfiltered Live welcomed its very first in-studio audience for a Cash Cobain and Zeddy Will-led debate about the current king or queen of New York rap. That same day, The Orchard hosted a special conversation (“The Future of Hip-Hop Is Global”) at NeueHouse Madison Square. On Thursday (Sept. 4), Billboard honored several stars across R&B, hip-hop and African music at its Unveiled-hosted Power Players event, including cover stars Leon Thomas and Cardi B, as well as Wu-Tang Clan, Ravyn Lenae, Odeal, GELO, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and Alamo Records.

To close out the week (Sept. 5), Billboard also teamed up with UBS and EZMNY for a cocktail party honoring Thomas, Ty Dolla $ign and veteran A&R exec Shawn Barron. That very evening, Thomas, Lenade, Odeal, GELO and rising dancehall star Armanii blew the roof off of Webster Hall during Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Live concert.

Outside of Billboard‘s festivities, the hip-hop and R&B worlds remained busy. Mariah Carey (Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award) and Busta Rhymes (Rock the Bells Visionary Award) were two of the main honorees at the MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 8), Young Thug rocked the timeline with a series of leaked jail calls and an explosive new interview, and Kendrick Lamar took home his second career Emmy for best music direction for his seismic Super Bowl LIX halftime show.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from 3Quency’s debut single to Errol Holden and Black Thought’s new collaboration. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.