Now Playing
(Image Group LA/ABC)Here are a few more notable music highlights that happened in 2015:
Drake and Meek Mill: The beef heard ’round the world ,and it all stared when Meek slammed Drizzy for allegedly using a ghostwriter on their collaborative song, “R.I.C.O.” In July, Drizzy released two scathing tracks targeting Meek, “Charged Up” and “Back to Back,” which only caused Meek to issued a retaliation song called “Wanna Know.” Many felt the beef ended in favor of Drake, who also enjoyed chart-topping success with If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and his joint album with Future, What a Time to Be Alive. Joe Budden told ABC Radio the entire spat was his favorite highlight of the year in the hip-hop culture: “It might have to be Drake and Meek and that whole exchange, I know the entire industry was watching that one, waiting for the next move so that was pretty big,” Joe said before adding,”Drake won.”
Wiz Khalifa: His Charlie Puth-assisted “See You Again,” topped the charts for 12 weeks and earned him three Grammy nods, including Song of the Year.
Nicki Minaj: Aside from finding a bestie in Beyonce following their collaboration “Feeling Myself,” the rapper publicly beefed with Miley Cryus during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Missy Elliott: The rapper ended her hiatus by returning to the stage with Katy Perry at the Super Bowl earlier this year. Fans also received her Pharrell Williams-assisted single “WTF (Where They From),” which the duo also performed together on The Voice. Missy ended the year by receiving the Innovator honor at the Billboard Women in Music gala.
Big Sean: The rapper enjoyed lots of success early in the year, beginning with his hit single “I Don’t F*** with You,” lifted from Dark Sky Paradise, his first number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart.
Future: After splitting from Ciara, the rapper bounced back with two successful music projects: Dirty Sprite 2, as well as his collaborative project with Drake, What a Time to Be Alive, each of which landed atop the Billboard 200.
Omarion: The singer may have been upset that his hit single, “Post to Be”, featuring Chris Brown and Jhené Aiko, wasn’t nominated for the 58th annual Grammy Awards, but the video earned over 100 million views.
N.W.A.: The pioneering rap group — consisting of DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and the late Eazy-E — were among the latest inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The news came on the heels of their box-office-winning biopic, Straight Outta Compton, which astonished industry pundits when it raked in $60 million its opening weekend.
New artists made a lot of noise on the charts, too. Among them:
Fetty Wap: The most successful new artist of 2015, according to Billboard chart data, the rapper broke through with “Trap Queen” and followed it up with two more top-10 hits: “679” and “My Way.” His debut album entered the chart at #1 and earned him two Grammy nominations.
Silentó: The teen rapper had the whole country whipping, nae-nae’ing and doing the stanky leg with his novelty hit, “Watch Me.” He recently signed a contract with Capitol Records.
Jidenna: The singer received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for his certified platinum hit, “Classic Man,” with label mate Roman GianArthur. “We had a hell of a year,” Jidenna said in a statement. “The main course will be served in 2016.”
Travi$ Scott: The rapper found a hit with “Antidote,” which appears on his debut album, Rodeo. Aside from reportedly dating Rihanna, Scott accompanied The Weeknd on The Madness Fall Tour over the fall.
iLoveMemphis: The rapper has a lot to be thankful for following the success of his debut single, “Hit the Quan,” which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The hit single has generated more than 150 million YouTube views and sold more 450,000 copies to date.
Andra Day: The singer released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, which spawned her empowering anthem “Rise Up.” Day received two Grammy nominations, including Best R&B Performance for “Rise Up,” and Best R&B Album.
Tory Lanez: The Canadian newcomer gave everyone serious nostalgia with “Say It,” which samples “If You Love Me” by 90’s girl group Brownstone. The singer has signed to Benny Blanco‘s Mad Love Records and Interscope Records.
Bryson Tiller: The singer had a breakthrough year with “Don’t,” lifted from his debut album, T R A P S O U L, which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
