For all the great country songs out there about Christmas, Thanksgiving kind of gets a bum rap. Here are 13 songs to change that. Continue reading…
The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
It’s as much of a tradition as turkey on Thanksgiving Day, but why do we watch football after eating a hearty meal? Continue reading…
The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
You can not discuss the best 90s R&B songs without mentioning Dru Hill. In 1992, high school friends Mark “Sisqo” Andrews, Larry “Jazz” Anthony Jr., Tamir “Nokio” Ruffin, and James “Woody” Green formed a group eventually called Dru Hill, after Druid Hill Park in their native Baltimore. The quartet got their start at local and regional talent shows. (Not to mention their local fudge shop.)
They created a massive buzz after a few years, and landed a record deal with Island. Their debut album, Dru Hill, dropped in 1996 and went platinum on the strength of singles like “Never Make a Promise,” “In My Bed,” “Tell Me,” and “5 Steps.” The group often drew comparisons to Jodeci and Boyz II Men – influences they were happy to claim – and like many of the greats before them, their rich complex harmonies, rooted in soul music, met at the intersection of gospel, blues, hip-hop, and R&B. They were in their late teens and early 20s when they entered the world stage, but they crooned grownup tales of love and sex. Dru Hill also provided unforgettable visuals to match their tunes. That’s where many first saw their signature dance moves, like the Dru Hill bounce.
Dru Hill’s road through stardom wasn’t always smooth, especially after their sophomore album in 1998. There were label and group member changes throughout the years. The quartet became a trio at times, or a quintet, and then eventually back to a quartet. Despite the shifts in line up, though, they’re still making music. The focus in this introduction, however, is Dru Hill’s best songs from 1996 until 2002.
Dru Hill’s breakthrough was fueled by tantalizing love songs and signature dance moves. They came in hot with their debut single “Tell Me,” a melodious promise to deliver hot steamy love at all times. “Tell Me,” which first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1996 film, Eddie, peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the R&B chart. The video was also a treat, as they introduced their most famous dance move, the Dru Hill bounce, an energetic hop on both feet, one at a time, to the mid-tempo rhythm.
Even heartthrobs get their hearts broken, and “In My Bed,” the second single from their eponymous debut, was a scandalous tale of the sort. It spent three weeks at number one on the US R&B chart and peaked at number four on the US pop chart. Sisqo’s vocals lead this standard tale about suspicion of infidelity, but the steamy video ended with a twist that was unexpected for that time – Sisqo walking in on his girlfriend cheating with another woman.
“Never Make A Promise” was Jazz’s time to shine. His mellifluous tenor carries the song and his falsetto riffs at the end are the cherry on top. In the song, Jazz is promising to always protect the love of his life. In the song’s accompanying video, which tackles incest, he saves his lover from her abusive father. The mellow syrupy tune went straight to number one and stayed at the top of the charts for weeks.
If it wasn’t clear before that this group was rooted in gospel music, then “5 Steps” drives that point home via the powerful choral arrangements in the hook. This melancholy song finds the group singing about the short time we have on Earth and cherishing moments with loved ones while we still can. Meanwhile, “I Should Be…” is one of the best songs from 2002’s Dru World Order, which peaked at #25 on the Hot 100 and #6 on the R&B chart. It saw the group singing about what they knew best – how to be in love – with melodies as strong as ever.
There was a lot of pressure on Dru Hill’s second album, but “You Are Everything” quickly dispelled any concern. The song sees them trying to reconcile with the lover they spurned, and while the Jodeci influence can be heard throughout their music, it’s especially rich here. The single propelled the album, Enter the Dru to double-platinum status.
“Beauty,” penned in part by Nokio, is a soft and sensual ode to a beautiful but elusive crush. The ethereal song sounds like a dream sequence and is a nod to Nokio’s stellar pen and keen ear for melodies. (They didn’t call the then-burgeoning producer “Nasty On Key In Octave” for nothing.)
Dru Hill can get raunchy at times, but “These Are the Times” is the opposite. Penned by Babyface and Damon Thomas, this song about taking it slowly finds them tempted by carnal flesh but willing to wait for true love. Here, they cherish the moments of getting to know a lover first, but Sisqo makes it quite clear when he sings about his desire to swallow her like Reeses Pieces, that the wait is going to be hard. Once again, the group delivered on visuals with a Man in the Iron Mask-themed video, complete with a sword fight.
It’s rare that remixes are as good as (or even better) than the original hit song, but Jermaine Dupri outdid himself as a producer on this one. He turned the slow jam into an up-tempo groove that makes it really hard to choose one version over the other. It’s all helped, of course, by Dupri and Da Brat lacing the track with braggadocio rhymes throughout.
Dru Hill lent their vocal chops to the hook of Foxy Brown’s “Big Bad Mama.” The single, from the How to be a Player movie soundtrack, contained an interpolation of Carl Carlton’s “She’s a Bad Mama Jama” and went on to peak at #53 on Billboard Hot 100. It was one of Foxy Brown’s most successful singles and showcased Dru Hill’s ability to seamlessly blend R&B with hip-hop. “This Is What We Do” from Enter The Dru, meanwhile, never made it to the radio, but Method Man blessed this raunchy groove with a few bars, once again showing the group’s versatility in this unlikely pairing. The flirty song is all about the fun of the chase.
Dru Hill sang about self-care before it was cool. “All Alone” is another song about heartbreak, but they’re singing about overcoming that grief by taking some time to be alone and reflect on their feelings. It’s a rare cut where every member sings a verse. It’s great to hear Nokio, who often preferred to play the background and focus on writing and arranging. The song reveals his voice is breathy and chill compared to some of his more boisterous groupmates.
Woody didn’t sing lead as much as Sisqo or Jazz, but he was often allotted a verse or two on various group efforts. However, he really got to shine on “April Showers,” a love song he wrote for a high school girlfriend. It wasn’t a single, but its passion and beauty make it impossible to skip. His groupmates assisted his declaration of love by providing lovely background harmonies.
“Angel” is another Woody deep cut. At the beginning of the song, he mentions that people weren’t always aware when he sang lead and often told him that he should sing more. This was his way of recreating the magic he made with “April Showers,” now a cult classic, and reminding people that he had a strong voice, he was really good at love songs, and that he had a beloved place in the group. Mission accomplished.
Most of Dru Hill’s songs don’t have samples or contain interpolations, but they didn’t shy away from incorporating some remakes in their repertoire, paying homage to soulful groups who paved the way for them. Their first recorded foray into the world of remakes was their take on Con Funk Shun’s 1982 smash “Love’s Train.” The song appeared on their debut album and is another alluring call for a lover to join them in bliss. It sounds a lot like the original (a good thing), but its updated production, Sisqo’s signature riffs, and Dru Hill’s robust harmonies give it a boost.
Shop Dru Hill’s music on vinyl or CD now.
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Mary J. Blige is still grappling with the heartbreak of D’Angelo dying from pancreatic cancer and the earlier death of his former partner, Angie Stone, calling both artists “beautiful people” in a somber tribute.
The Grammy-winning singer opened up about the emotional toll of losing two close collaborators in the same year, describing the grief as surreal. Speaking to People, Blige recalled her time working with the neo-soul icon and Stone, who died in a car accident in March.
“I worked with him and Angie [Stone],” Blige said. “I knew Angie very well and I knew D’Angelo very well, and I’m just still shocked and surprised.”
She added, “I just can’t believe that both of them are gone.”
D’Angelo, known for his genre-defining role in the neo-soul movement, died on October 14, 2025, at 51 after a private fight with an aggressive form of cancer.
His family confirmed his passing in a statement, noting his strength throughout the illness.
Blige reflected on the kindness and spirit both artists brought to the studio and beyond.
“They were the most beautiful people and just really nice people to work with and to know,” she said. “D’Angelo was a beautiful, beautiful person.”
D’Angelo had been quietly working on his fourth studio album before his death. His influence stretched across decades, shaping the sound of neo-soul and inspiring a generation of artists with his raw, soulful delivery and innovative production.
His 2000 hit “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” remains a cultural touchstone, and his artistry left a lasting imprint on music lovers and fellow performers alike.
D’Angelo was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, and rose to prominence in the 1990s with his debut album “Brown Sugar.”
He followed it with the critically acclaimed “Voodoo,” cementing his place as one of the most influential voices in modern R&B.
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Kanye West broke new ground in digital music history as his third studio album, Graduation, surpassed 8 billion streams on Spotify, becoming the most-played Hip-Hop project ever on the platform.
Initially released in 2007, the Graduation album continues to pull in 4.4 million daily plays, according to Spotify’s internal data.
That sustained performance makes it the most-streamed rap album on the platform, outpacing newer releases and reaffirming Kanye West’s lasting imprint on the genre as the record nears its 20th anniversary.
Tracks like “Stronger,” “Good Life,” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” remain the album’s top-performing songs, driving the bulk of its daily traffic.
The project’s blend of electronic textures and traditional Hip-Hop rhythms marked a turning point in the genre’s evolution. Analysts credit Kanye West and Graduation with helping shift the sonic direction of mainstream rap, influencing a generation of artists who followed.
Streaming data shows that the album added over 1 billion plays in 2025 alone, making it the first release from the 2000s to reach that milestone in a single year. The surge is fueled by both longtime listeners revisiting the album and younger audiences discovering it for the first time.
Despite being nearly two decades old, the album continues to outperform many current releases. Its ongoing success has redefined how legacy albums are measured in the digital age.
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Kirk Burrowes is doubling down on his legal battle with Sean “Diddy” Combs by targeting the mogul’s mother in a fresh court filing that claims she held onto his Bad Boy Entertainment stock for nearly 30 years—then pretended she wanted to pay him back.
In a revised complaint, Burrowes alleges that Janice Smalls, Diddy’s mother, secretly held his 25% stake in the label since the 1990s and misled him for decades.
He claims he only discovered in 2024 that she, not Diddy, had been in control of the shares he earned while co-founding the Hip-Hop powerhouse.
Burrowes says Smalls “hid her role for decades” and misrepresented her intentions between 2019 and 2021 by requesting his banking details under the guise of restitution. He claims she never made any payments and had no intention of doing so.
The lawsuit portrays Smalls as an active participant in the early days of Bad Boy, rather than a passive bystander. Burrowes argues she worked from the label’s Times Square offices and continues to earn income from its business operations in New York.
According to Burrowes, Smalls’ involvement wasn’t limited to the 1990s.
He points to four separate instances between 1996 and 2021 when she allegedly misled him about the status of his stock. In one example, he states that she claimed she had never received the shares. In another, she allegedly told him that accountants would “arrange payment.”
Earlier this week, Janice Smalls called the lawsuit “preposterous” and asked the court to dismiss it. Her attorneys argue the case is legally void, expired under the statute of limitations, and lacks jurisdiction.
The court had given Burrowes until August 29 to amend his complaint or respond to the dismissal motion. He missed the deadline and later requested an extension, but failed to follow through on it.
Smalls’ legal team has requested that the judge dismiss the case with prejudice, which would prevent Burrowes from refiling.
They also claim Burrowes’ legal action is a recycled version of two previously dismissed lawsuits and was only revived following Diddy’s recent legal troubles.
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Olivia Rodrigo called out the Department of Homeland Security after discovering her song “All-American B####” was used in a government video promoting self-deportation, blasting the unauthorized usage as “racist, hateful propaganda.”
The Grammy-winning singer took to social media to directly address both the White House and DHS accounts, writing, “don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda.”
Olivia commented on the Department of Homeland Security’s Instagram post, which used her song “all-american b####” in propaganda related to ICE.
“don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda” pic.twitter.com/UUZsn0Wv13
— Olivia Rodrigo Daily (@DailyRodrigo) November 7, 2025
The track, which opens her 2023 album Guts, explores themes of identity and societal pressure—making its use in a federal deportation campaign especially contentious.
Rodrigo’s post ignited a wave of support online, with users praising her for taking a bold stance.
One comment read, “this 22 year old pop star with only 2 albums has taken more risks and has more of a backbone than most established singers with decade long careers.”
Another added, “the way she’s always on the right side of history.”
The video in question was part of a broader push by DHS to encourage voluntary deportation, a tactic that has drawn criticism from immigration advocates and artists alike.
The Trump administration has increased immigration enforcement efforts in recent months, prompting backlash from both political and cultural communities.
Rodrigo, a former Disney Channel star turned chart-topping musician, has consistently used her platform to speak on social issues.
Her latest rebuke adds her to a growing list of musicians—including BRMC, Jess Glynne, Zach Bryan and the estates of Woody Guthrie and Tom Petty—who have accused the government of misusing their work in political messaging without consent.
As of now, neither the White House nor DHS has issued a public response to the criticism.
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Anthony Hemingway defended “All’s Fair” and its embattled star, Kim Kardashian, after the legal drama was slammed by critics and saddled with a dismal 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The director, who helmed four episodes of the Ryan Murphy-produced series, addressed the backlash in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “You’re not going to please everybody.”
The show, which also stars Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts and Niecy Nash-Betts, has been widely panned despite its high-profile cast. Still, Hemingway stood by the project, emphasizing that personal taste plays a major role in how viewers respond to content.
“You may have certain criticisms, while there are a million others who love it. I think the show holds a mirror up to each person who watches it,” he said. “It’s just about: Can you connect to it or relate to it, and see yourself? It may be out of your league, it may not be anything you can connect to, and I think that goes for anything that gets presented on screen.”
Hemingway, who also served as an executive producer alongside Murphy, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, acknowledged the show might not resonate with everyone.
“It may not be for you, and that’s OK, but I personally enjoy the show,” he said. “I had a lot of fun relating to it in my own way. Not everything is for everybody, and you can’t also expect one person to define something and for that be the totality of what it is — I don’t agree with that.”
Drawing from his own experience, Hemingway pointed to the slow-burning success of The Wire, the acclaimed HBO series he worked on in the early 2000s.
“I also think sometimes things may take time,” he said. “I did The Wire. No one liked the show when it was out. They hated it. They didn’t watch it. Two people watched it every week. But it got to a point where it found a moment.”
He clarified that he wasn’t directly comparing the two shows but used The Wire as an example of how public opinion can shift over time.
“It becomes something totally different in another time,” he added.
All’s Fair premiered in 2025 and has struggled to gain traction with both viewers and critics.
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Diddy Denies Reports of Drinking Behind Bars as Social Media Speculation Grows
Diddy’s latest controversy isn’t about music, money or mogul moves. It’s about drank. Reports exploded online claiming the Bad Boy founder was caught drinking alcohol in jail, sparking a wave of speculation that he may have been celebrating his birthday with a little contraband.
Several outlets doubled down on the rumor, suggesting he might have been intoxicated during the incident. But according to new information, those claims may have been exaggerated—or flat-out false. A recent post from Diddy’s official X (formerly Twitter) account dismissed the reports entirely, calling them “completely false.”
So far, there’s been no indication that Diddy faced any disciplinary action related to the alleged incident at Fort Dix He hasn’t been placed in solitary confinement, nor has there been any mention of additional penalties. If true, that would suggest the story has more smoke than fire.
Still, the timing couldn’t be worse. The icon remains embroiled in a series of legal battles and is reportedly preparing to appeal a judge’s decision in this case that has him in prison in the first place. Any hint of rule-breaking inside the facility could complicate those efforts, even if the rumors don’t hold up under scrutiny.
The denial didn’t come directly from Diddy himself or his legal/social team, but the response carries enough weight to slow down the media frenzy that’s been circling him for months. Some critics argue that the narrative around Diddy has turned into a campaign to paint him as a hypocrite and a broken man rather than a defendant facing serious allegations.
For now, it seems the supposed jailhouse celebration was either blown out of proportion or completely fabricated. What’s clear is that the world continues to watch Diddy closely, waiting for the next twist in a saga that shows no signs of slowing down.
The rumors claiming Mr. Combs was caught with alcohol are completely false. His only focus is becoming the best version of himself and returning to his family.
— LOVE (@Diddy) November 8, 2025
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Kim Kardashian leaned into the backlash and turned it into a punchline after her acting debut in All’s Fair was met with a flood of harsh reviews.
The Hulu and Disney+ legal drama, created by Ryan Murphy, has been widely panned by critics, with some calling it “the worst TV show of the year.” But Kardashian didn’t shy away from the criticism.
Instead, she posted a carousel of screenshots on Instagram, poking fun at the brutal feedback.
“Have you tuned in to the most critically acclaimed show of the year!?!?!? All’s Fair streaming now on @hulu and @disneyplus,” she wrote, dripping with sarcasm.
Among the posts she shared was a viewer’s scathing but oddly affectionate take:
“All’s Fair on Hulu dares to ask the question, ‘Does a show need to be good?’ and the answer is no, it doesn’t. We have legendary actresses here giving the worst performances of their careers, it takes a special kind of talent to pull that kind of inability out of them. Amazeballs.”
Another added, “Some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen in my life alongside the most predictable storylines and the most ridiculous styling. I’m obsessed and I need 14 seasons.”
The nine-episode series, which follows a high-powered all-female law firm in Los Angeles specializing in celebrity divorces, features a heavyweight cast including Sarah Paulson, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts and Niecy Nash-Betts.
But even that star power couldn’t shield it from being torched by critics.
The Daily Telegraph called Murphy “the high priest of tacky, tasteless television,” adding that “this year he has outdone himself.”
The Times went further, declaring it “may be the worst TV drama ever.” The Guardian described it as “fascinatingly, existentially terrible.” All three publications gave the series zero stars out of five.
When All’s Fair premiered, it earned a rare 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes. That number has since inched up to 5%.
Despite the critical drubbing, Kardashian appears unfazed. Whether her post was defiance or just good PR, she’s clearly not letting the reviews slow her down.
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