R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Mello Buckzz, Benny the Butcher, BabyChiefDoIt & More

Last week housed both the midpoint of 2025 and Independence Day — so, naturally, the stars were out.

On July 4, Beyoncé graced Maryland’s Northwest Stadium with her blockbuster Cowboy Carter Tour, featuring a flashy new American flag fur coat and the continued absence of “16 Carriages” and its flying car. The same day, Drake kicked off his Iceman album era with his scene-surveying new single, “What Did I Miss?”

The day before the holiday (July 3), however, featured an admirable display of class solidarity from Grammy winners LL Cool J and Jazmine Sullivan. Both artists were scheduled to appear at last Friday’s Wawa Welcome American Festival in Philadelphia, but they pulled out of their performances in support of a strike by nearly 10,000 city workers. “There’s absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage,” LL Cool J said in a video posted to his official Instagram page.

Of course, this weekend took place in the shadow of the verdict in the Diddy trial, which was delivered on July 2. The disgraced mogul was found not guilty on the two most serious charges (sex trafficking and racketeering), but was convicted on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian has yet to set a firm date for sentencing.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Ski Mask the Slump God’s new sequel to Benny the Butcher’s summer anthem. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.