Entertainment
Mexican Cuisine, Orchestral Sounds & ‘Mutual Appreciation’ of New Generation: How David Byrne Created His ‘Who Is the Sky?’ Album
David Byrne tested his cooking skills while gathering ideas for the songs that ended up in his latest album, Who Is the Sky?
“I should get out my cookbook and tell you what recipes I tried. Of course, I knew how to make a very traditional mole, the dark one,” Byrne tells Billboard Español in reference to mole negro during a video call from his home in Brooklyn, New York.
The British-American musician, producer, avant-garde rock pioneer and intellectual shares that he primarily cooked Mexican and Indian dishes during the pandemic, when the first notes of the tracks included in his first album since the acclaimed American Utopia (2018) began to take shape.
“I learned how to make tortillas, not so good at first. I decided, ‘OK, I’m going to try maybe for health not using the lard fat in the tortilla and see if I can put something else in,'” continues the 73-year-old artist. “But it didn’t work out at all. So I had to go back to the more traditional method.”
When it comes to music, though, the former Talking Heads frontman never follows a traditional method. Who is the Sky?, released Sept. 5 under Matador Records, features 12 songs as colorful as the album’s cover art. The rhythms used turn Byrne’s voice into yet another instrument in these subtle melodies, infused with avant-pop touches and orchestral textures. The lyrics are characterized by their ironic but always intelligent sense of humor. “Everybody Laughs,” with sublime backing vocals from St. Vincent, offers a joyful and hopeful moment.
For this project, Byrne enlisted Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), telling him, “I want this to be a good-sounding, accessible record, but I also want to do something a little bit unusual.” The orchestral arrangements, meanwhile, are courtesy of the New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. “I heard a record [from them] I guess in 2023 — a record of compositions and songs by a guy named Moondog, who was kind of a street poet and he wrote really beautiful music,” he explains. “They did an interpretation of his music. I really liked it.”
Longtime friends and new collaborators — including Paramore’s Hayley Williams on “What Is the Reason for It?”, drummer Tom Skinner from The Smile and percussionist Mauro Refosco from American Utopia — also contribute to the album.
Byrne and St. Vincent — whose real name is Annie Clark — previously collaborated on the 2012 album Love This Giant, with most of the songs co-written by the two. “She was always doing really interesting things and she lived just a few blocks from the studio where I was, so I called her up and said, ‘Annie, can you come by for just a little while, maybe sing on a song?'” Byrne says. “And we had a great time. She did great. She wanted to do more, but she had to get back to her baby.”
Collaborating with younger musicians has become increasingly common for the “Psycho Killer” singer. Pop star Olivia Rodrigo invited him to perform a duet of the Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House” at the Gov Ball festival in June.
“When I talked to her, I said, ‘Do you have time to rehearse a little bit of choreography? Can we work out some movement at the same time?’ And she said yes. So we had some rehearsals and worked out some movement. Some of it I think was inspired by [the Talking Heads’ 1983 concert film] Stop Making Sense.”
These collabs have shown the How Music Works author that many young artists appreciate what he and his band did in their time. “It’s very flattering and very exciting, that kind of mutual appreciation,” he says with satisfaction. “I like what they do too.”
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads, Byrne has explored many genres and global rhythms including from the Latin scene, with collaborations with artists like Celia Cruz, Café Tacvba, Los Amigos Invisibles, Los de Abajo, and Marisa Monte — some of them through his Luaka Bop label, founded in the late 1980s.
“Some months ago, I went to a concert here in New York of Mon Laferte. I know she’s Chilean, but she lives in Mexico. I like her music as well. I have to say, I was surprised at the concert. It was really, really good,” says Byrne. He also revealed that he’s a big fan of Natalia Lafourcade’s music, whom he met during the recording of Café Tacvba’s second MTV Unplugged in Mexico City in 2019.
Amid a busy work schedule, Byrne announced recently his marriage to financier Mala Gaonkar and the tour accompanying the release of Who Is the Sky?, which will take him to stages across the U.S., Canada, and Europe between 2025 and 2026. He also hopes to include Mexico on the trek next year. “I think in the spring,” he notes. “The dates are not set, but they are coming soon.”
NFL player Keion White was shot early Monday (Feb. 9) following an alleged argument with Lil Baby at a San Francisco nightclub.
According to ABC7, White was shot in the ankle at Dahlia’s, where the 49ers defensive lineman was hosting a Super Bowl party.
SFPD responded to calls for gunshots around 4 a.m. PT on Monday, according to ABC7. The San Francisco Standard viewed the police report, which, according to the publication, said a witness told law enforcement that White got into an argument with Baby as the rapper and his entourage tried to enter the private event, and was then shot, hours after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
Billboard has reached out to reps for Lil Baby and the SFPD for comment.
“Any violent incident in our city is unacceptable, and I’m hoping Keion recovers quickly. I’ve spoken with SFPD and 49ers leadership — we are all grateful to our SFPD officers for their quick response,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said on X. “As always, I will continue working with San Francisco law enforcement to ensure our neighborhoods and our residents are safe.”
According to the San Francisco 49ers, White underwent successful surgery on his ankle and the injuries are not expected to be “career-threatening.”
“A preliminary investigation revealed a verbal altercation occurred between two groups inside a business,” San Francisco police said in a statement, per ESPN. “The victim was injured when shots were fired by an unknown suspect.”
No arrests have been made yet, and no suspects have been named by the San Francisco Police Department.
Lil Baby was spotted attending Super Bowl LX with his son, Jason. On the music side, Baby has already notched collabs with Tkandz as well as Veeze and Rylo Rodriguez in 2026. The Atlanta rapper’s “Mrs. Trendsetter” held at No. 89 on last week’s Billboard Hot 100.
Don Toliver’s busy week across Billboard’s charts includes the rapper-singer’s first No. 1 hit on the Hot Rap Songs list, as “Body” debuts atop the ranking dated Feb. 7. The new champ, on Donnway & Co./Cactus Jack/Atlantic Records, captains his collection of 17 tracks this week’s chart. They’re all from his new album, Octane, which storms in at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with 162,000 equivalent album units.
The 17-track parade marks the most cuts that Don Toliver has posted on the Hot Rap Songs chart in a single week, and makes him only the sixth artist to claim 17 or more simultaneous appearances. He joins Drake, who has done it twice, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Baby, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott in the chart’s 34-year history.
“Body” owes its coronation on the multimetric Hot Rap Songs chart, a weighted combination of streaming, radio airplay and sales data in the United States, almost entirely to 14.3 million official on-demand streams for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5, according to Luminate. Thanks to that sum, it sparks a No. 1 debut on the Rap Streaming Songs chart. In the remaining categories, “Body” had 106,000 radio audience impressions and a negligible amount of song downloads.
With “Body,” Don Toliver achieves his first Hot Rap Songs No. 1 after 30 prior appearances. The performer previously peaked twice at No. 3 through featured roles: He and NAV guested on Internet Money and Gunna’s “Lemonade,” which reached the bronze in November 2020, while his and Future’s supporting turns on Metro Boomin’s “Too Many Nights” led to the same prize in December 2022. As a lead artist, his own “Tiramisu” set his previous career high of No. 6 in September 2025.
Similarly, “Body” leads Don Toliver’s ledger on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (No. 3) and the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 (No. 14).
With “Body” on top, here’s a recap of all 17 Don Toliver tracks on Hot Rap Songs. Among them, 15 are debuts, while “ATM” and “Tiramisu” nab their second and third weeks, respectively.
- No. 1, “Body”
- No. 2, “E85”
- No. 4, “ATM”
- No. 5, “Secondhand,” feat. Rema
- No. 6, “Rendezvous,” feat. Yeat
- No. 8, “Tiramisu”
- No. 9, “Rosary,” feat. Travis Scott
- No. 10, “Call Back”
- No. 11, “Gemstone”
- No. 12, “Excavator”
- No. 13, “Opposite”
- No. 17, “All the Signs,” feat. Teezo Touchdown
- No. 18, “Tuition”
- No. 19, “K9,” feat. SahBabii
- No. 22, “TMU”
- No. 24, “Sweet Home”
- No. 25, “Pleasure’s Mine”
Entertainment
Baby Keem Announces ‘Ca$ino’ Album Release Date & Previews Kendrick Lamar Collaboration
Baby Keem is back. Keem announced plans for his upcoming album, Ca$ino, on Tuesday (Feb. 10), and the sophomore LP is slated to arrive on Feb. 20.
“Ca$ino Feb 20, 2026 Limited Edition Vinyl Available Now,” Keem wrote on Instagram. The 25-year-old revealed the LP’s cover art, which features a photo of a young Baby Keem with the parental advisory sticker.
Ca$ino boasts 12 tracks, including collaborations with his cousin Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, Momo Boys and Che Ecru.
With the four-plus-year layoff, fans are anticipating Keem’s return. “Took your time bro this better be a classic,” one person commented. Another added: “USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS!”
Keem also released a Ca$ino documentary on YouTube to accompany the announcement. The Booman I doc features appearances from plenty of Keem’s family members describing his upbringing, including an appearance from Kendrick. “I understand the hardships before he was born. Knowing his mom, that’s my first cousin,” he said. “I already knew what she was going through, just the history of our family in general. We don’t call ourselves the hillbillies for nothing.”
Lamar continued: “Section 8, welfare … This is a story of a warfare environment and a warfare psychologically trying to change our generational curses.”
There’s also footage of Keem in the studio working on his collab with Lamar, “Good Flirts.” “Walking in the party, I don’t feel nobody/ What the f—k,” K. Dot raps on the hard-hitting track. “Is it fake, is it love, probably/ I smell something.”
Baby Keem’s debut album, The Melodic Blue, arrived in September 2021 and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. He released a deluxe for the LP in October 2022 featuring Lil Uzi Vert and PinkPantheress.
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