Brenton J. Blanchet


Peoplemag •

E-40 Talks New Album, Learning How He Can 'Rap Forever'

After over three decades in the game, Earl “E-40” Stevens is still checking milestones off his bucket list. The last calendar year for the Bay Area rap legend, 56, speaks for itself: Earning an honorary doctorate from Grambling State University, penning a long-time-coming cookbook with friend Snoop Dogg, and even seeing his name appear on a street sign in his childhood stomping grounds of Vallejo. But as his new album Rule of Thumb: Rule 1 proves, 40’s extracurriculars haven’t kept him from th
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Doechii on Being 'Vulnerable' for Upcoming Album, Touring with Doja Cat and Ice Spice: 'The Rap Destiny's Child'

Doechii’s career over the last few months has been made up of milestones. From the charting success of her March single “What It Is (Block Boy)” to her support on Doja Cat’s The Scarlet Tour, which kicks off later this month on Halloween, the Florida musician and actress can see her journey approaching the next level in real time. “It's like when you're getting close to the finish line and you're about to hit the turbo button. It feels like that,” Doechii, 25, tells PEOPLE of her career trajec
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Rico Nasty Talks 50 Years of Hip-Hop: Odd Future, Nicki Minaj

Rico Nasty says she sees artificial intelligence like she sees herself: “Scary but cool.” When the DMV-raised musician takes a few moments to talk about hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, she isn’t as focused on the past as her peers are. She’s also really excited about the future, and the positive ways in which hip-hop and artificial intelligence can collide. “In Japan there's artists who are AI and they have holographic performances. It's weird and I want to see rappers do that,” she tells PEOPLE.
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Hit-Boy on 50 Years of Hip-Hop: 'I Just Hope to Be Looked at as a Great'

Hit-Boy has one piece of advice for producers looking to make their mark: “Prioritize everything.” The superstar beatmaker, 36, is known just as much for his 15+ years of hits — from “Sicko Mode” to “N—- in Paris” — as his latest Grammy-awarded five-album run with rap legend Nas. But regardless of how long he’s been making an impact in hip-hop, or how his approach to creating changes over the years, the decorated producer still feels like he’s brand new to it all. “I just still feel like a ne
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Chance the Rapper Talks 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Chance the Rapper may be the rapper, but he’s first and foremost a rap fan from Chicago. He fell in love with hip-hop through a Nas song meant for kids, realized its power through The College Dropout, and knew he was ready to do it all himself thanks to Lil Wayne’s legendary ‘00s mixtape run. And now, as he celebrates hip-hop’s 50th anniversary along with other influential figures who’ve continued to shape the genre and culture into a global force, Chance is reflecting on all that brought him
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Salt-N-Pepa on 50 Years of Hip-Hop

Salt-N-Pepa remember the first time they heard themselves on the radio. And how could they not? Sandra “Pepa” Denton hopped right out of the car. The now-iconic hip-hop group was driving around Queens in Denton’s beat-up Datsun when it happened, during the era when rap was only played for one hour every Saturday, they tell PEOPLE. “I don't even think we was thinking about it at the moment,” Cheryl “Salt” James says. “Maybe thinking they probably won't even play it. And then we heard it. Pep ju
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Ludacris on 50 Years of Hip-Hop: 'I Stayed True to Myself and Who I Am'

For Ludacris, life is about evolving. But that doesn’t mean his focus has changed. The legendary Atlanta MC's storied career isn't only a testament to the power of hip-hop in all avenues of entertainment — film included — but also what can happen when you stay true to your vision. “I stayed true to myself and who I am in all shape, forms and fashion of the word,” Luda, 45, tells PEOPLE. “'Ludicrous' means beyond crazy, wild, ridiculous.” “And things have changed just in terms of the progress
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Pusha-T Says He'd 'Love' to Release Another Clipse Project: 'Creativity's Just Been Flowing'

Clipse has been riding around shinin' on stages again for the past year or so — from festival performances, to fashion show appearances, to some brief reunions on wax. And while it's been nearly 14 years since the legendary rap duo released their third LP Til the Casket Drops, Pusha-T isn't ruling out another project from himself and his brother Malice. "I really would hope so," Push tells PEOPLE when asked about the possibility of a new Clipse project. "I really would love to, man. I really w
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50 Years of Hip-Hop, According to Slick Rick, Latto, Pusha-T and Over 30 Other Musicians

Slick Rick calls it the “purest form of art.” Chance the Rapper sees it as a “tool for mobility.” E-40 credits it for turning “dollar-ionaires into billionaires.” And Wiz Khalifa calls it a culture that’s been continually “pushing forward and redefining itself.” Hip-hop means something different to each of the artists who’ve helped shape it into the global force that it’s become over the last five decades. So to celebrate hip-hop’s milestone 50th birthday on Aug. 11 — the same day DJ Kool Herc
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Steph Curry Interview

Stephen Curry and LeBron James may be on-court rivals these days, but back in 2008, the two were simply fans of each other. In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, Curry, 35, reflects on one of his earliest memories of his fellow NBA great — when James, now 38, watched him compete during the 2008 NCAA Tournament. "I remember the emotions of that game specifically because it was the Sweet 16, we're at Ford Field in Detroit, we'd just come off the emotional high of winning the first two games
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Latto Talks Wingstop Meal, 'Surreal' Experience Working with Jung Kook

Latto’s week has been full of collaborations, and her latest has her feeling “on top of the world.” Fresh off the release of her team-up with BTS’ Jung Kook on “Seven,” the Grammy-nominated rapper has also launched her own meal with Wingstop — Latto’s Lemon Herb Remix. And as she tells PEOPLE, it’s all her. “I'm not putting out nothing if it's not stamped for real,” Latto, 24, says. “It's stamped. Let me tell you, we had a whole taste testing. But soon as we tasted this one, hands down, I knew
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Victoria Monét Talks 'Jaguar II,' Motherhood, Perfectionism

Becoming a mother has made everything feel "brand new" for Victoria Monét — because in her daughter’s eyes, it is. In between her breakthrough 2020 EP Jaguar and next month’s long-awaited follow-up Jaguar II, Monét welcomed her first child Hazel in February 2021. She may not have realized it at the time, but Monét was also welcoming her biggest fan, and as she explains to PEOPLE before the release of her new project, a little “A&R” who isn't afraid to share some music advice with her mom. “I s
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JC Chasez Has Been Busy Writing Two Musicals — and Dancing with Cats

JC Chasez knows it's been a minute since fans have seen him, but that's about to change thanks to a group of dancing cats. “A lot of people haven't seen me in a while,” Chasez, 46, tells PEOPLE over Zoom. “I don't put my name on a lot of things and that's for a reason. If I don't see any sense in it, I don't really mess with it. But if it looks fun, and if I'm into it, I do it.” But, luckily for those who have been waiting on the *NSYNC alum's next move, there are two things in particular that
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Mason Ramsey Talks Getting His Yodel Back, 'Emotional' Comeback Single 'Reasons to Come Home'

There's usually something that connect us to our hometowns after we move on. But even at 16, Mason Ramsey knows that some connections back home can't last forever. The teenage country star, who got his start with a certain viral Walmart performance back in 2018, knows his main reason to visit Golconda, Illinois isn't permanent. So for his first new song in four years, "Reasons to Come Home," Ramsey made sure to toast the man and woman who raised him since he was 3 weeks old: His grandparents.
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DJ Khaled Breaks Down His Morning Routine Minute by Minute — and How He Lost 15 Lbs. by Golfing (Exclusive)

DJ Khaled follows a particular schedule when he's not promoting an album — one that he'll openly break down for you, minute by minute, if you ask how life has been since the release of 2022's God Did. After waking up at 7:30 a.m., Khaled, 47, hops out of the shower at 8:15 a.m. and gets dressed while spreading "that cocoa butter all over me" by 8:47 a.m., he says. Then he's out the door and headed to the golf course by 9:30 a.m. after kissing his whole family — partner Nicole Tuck, 47, and sons
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Thundercat Breaks Down Tame Impala Collab, Tour and 'Star Wars' Cameo: 'Life Has Come Full Circle'

Thundercat wasn't short on options when naming his next headlining tour. Ultimately, he chose one that would "say a lot about the venue" if they spelled it out on their marquee. There was the She Going to Leave Anyway Tour, which the Grammy-winning bassist passed on. There was also another name he claimed would've encouraged someone to "throw a brick through my front window." But ultimately, the In Yo Girl's City Tour felt just right. "That's got a horrible ring to it," he tells PEOPLE with a l
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Matchbox Twenty Is Done with 'Manufactured '90s Angst' on New Album: 'Familiar in the Best Way'

Matchbox Twenty's first album in over a decade does indeed sound like it's from the same band behind "3AM," "Bent," and "How Far We've Come." It's unmistakable. Lead vocalist Rob Thomas will tell you that himself. But while the hitmakers hope there's some continuity from their early classics throughout Where the Light Goes, not everything from the '90s and early '00s necessarily has to stay. "We had finally, completely, and it happened gradually, like a disappearing McFly. But we have erased e
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Coi Leray Is Aiming for Icon Status and Defying Doubters: 'Always a Villain in Every Superhero Movie'

When Pharrell Williams says you're a disrupter in the music industry, nobody can tell you otherwise. At the top of the year, when Coi Leray shared studio time with the producer, fellow Trendsetter and one of her "biggest inspirations" to record four still-unreleased tracks, he made his perception of her clear: "He looked me in my eyes and he told me, 'You're a problem. And it's over,'" Coi tells PEOPLE of her session with Skateboard P. "He's like, 'You are it. Nothing is stopping you but you at
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