Lil Baby Named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year

Frank Schwichtenberg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rapper Lil Baby has been named Songwriter of the Year by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

ASCAP announced the news Tuesday in conjunction with the beginning of its 35th annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.

The virtual event is taking place on @ASCAP and @ASCAPUrban's social media channels through Friday.

It is the second consecutive win in the category for the 27-year-old rapper, who won his first Grammy in April as a featured artist on Kanye West’s “Hurricane."

A prolific songwriter, Lil Baby took part in the creation of some of hip-hop's biggest hits, while working with some of the genre's top artists such as Drake and DJ Khaled. A brief list of some of the hits he helped create includes "Every Chance I Get," "Girls Want Girls," "On Me," "Rags2Riches 2" and "Wants and Needs."

The artist made his studio debut in 2018 with "Harder Than Ever." The album was certified platinum. His second studio effort, "My Turn," topped the Billboard 200 in 2020, and "The Voice of the Heroes," a collaborative effort with Chicago rapper Lil Durk gave him his second project to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Earlier this year he announced his third studio effort would be out sometime this summer.

7/?/22 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

— Lil Baby (@lilbaby4PF) May 22, 2022

Other notable winners included the R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year award being presented to songwriters Orville “Buggs Can Can” Hall and Phillip Triggerman Price (a.k.a. The Showboys), Dion “Devious” Norman, Trè Samuels and Dave Welcome for “Go Crazy,” performed by Chris Brown and Young Thug. 

The hit song broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (29).

Click here for a complete list of winners.

'Break My Soul,' First Single Off Beyoncé's Seventh Studio Album, to Drop at Midnight

Drake may have won the weekend with the surprise release of his seventh studio album “Honestly, Nevermind," on Monday, however, Beyoncé made sure the Champagne Papi's f—k boy-anthem-filled, Eurodance opus wouldn't dominate the cultural zeitgeist for too long.

Just a week after setting the musical world atwitter by dropping her own bombshell on the day prior to the rapper's unexpected release — that her seventh studio album, "Renaissance" would be released on July 29 — she has decided to give fans an early preview, of her first full-length LP since 2016's "Lemonade," but she's making them work for it.

She announced subtly on social media that she would be releasing the first single at midnight, using the bios of her pages to share the news.

The Grammy-winner wrote, "6. BREAK MY SOUL midnight ET."

Not much is known about the song, which is expected to be one of 16 tracks on "Renaissance." A tweet by songwriter and frequent collaborator The-Dream raised speculation that the artist who helped craft songs like Beyoncé's mega-hit " “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” is involved in the production. 

6. Break My Soul midnight

— MUSIC ICON THE-DREAM (@TheKingDream) June 20, 2022

"6. Break My Soul midnight," he Tweeted, perhaps revealing that the song is also the sixth track on the album.

The track would be the first single off of her upcoming seventh studio album, "Renaissance," which is due out July 29.

Beyoncé's last single, "Black Parade" was also released on Juneteenth, in order to commemorate the holiday in 2020.

Beyoncé Releasing New Album 'Renaissance' in July

Beyoncé marked her return to music with a photo shoot for British Vogue.  

After two weeks of cryptic clues that had the Beyhive abuzz that their Queen B was on the verge of releasing new music, the Beyoncé stans were vindicated Thursday morning when their liege's record label took to social media to officially announce her seventh studio album.

Posting an image of a black square with "act i" and "RENAISSANCE" written in white on each side, the record label captioned the post: "Beyoncé. RENAISSANCE. July 29."

Tidal, the streaming music service formerly owned by her husband Jay-Z (who still retains a board seat) before he sold it to Square for $297 million last year, posted a similar message at the same time.

While the details of the album have yet to be officially revealed, BeyLegion shared a screenshot implying that the project will have 16 tracks.

The star's self-proclaimed "biggest fansite" has a solid record of breaking legitimate news about its subject.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Columbia Records (@columbiarecords)

"Renaissance" is the 40-year-old's first solo since 2016's critically acclaimed triple-platinum album "Lemonade."

During the six-year gap, she kept busy with collaborative projects. In 2018 she released "Everything Is Love" with Jay-Z, and in 2019 she curated and was heavily featured on "Lion King: The Gift" a soundtrack for Disney's live-action adaptation of the classic animated movie. She also released "Homecoming: The Live Album" that same year, which features live renditions of some of her biggest hits. In 2022 she earned an Oscar nomination for her song “Be Alive,” which was featured in King Richard.

An interview with Vogue's Rafael Pavarotti, done in conjunction with Beyoncé's cover shoot for British Vogue's July issue, sheds a little light on the project. In an excerpt, the longtime fan wrote:

She then asked me if I wanted to hear her new music. As someone who first saw her perform live with Destiny’s Child 23 years ago, a moment’s walk from my family home when the group played at the Notting Hill Carnival in 1999, I can feel the tingling excitement build as we make our way to her home recording studio. With minimal ceremony, she takes her laptop and plugs it in as we all sit on some sofas. Quietly, the superstar hits play on her upcoming album.

Instantly, a wall of sound hits me. Soaring vocals and fierce beats combine and in a split second I’m transported back to the clubs of my youth. I want to get up and start throwing moves. It’s music I love to my core. Music that makes you rise, that turns your mind to cultures and subcultures, to our people past and present, music that will unite so many on the dance floor, music that touches your soul. As ever with Beyoncé, it is all about the intent. I sit back, after the wave, absorbing it all.

Four unique box sets are currently available for pre-order on Beyoncé's website. Every purchase includes a CD, T-shirt, mini-poster and a 28-page photo booklet.