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Afroman’s Catalog Rises Over 500% Following Legal Victory

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Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.

This week: Afroman turns a headline-capturing legal victory into newfound streaming popularity, while Nothing But Thieves gets a huge look from an Amazon Prime superhero show and 3OH!3 benefits from an animated dance challenge.

Afroman Turns Legal Victory into Streaming Triumphs, Led by “Lemon Pound Cake”

“Because I Got High” rapper Afroman found himself back in the zeitgeist after winning a jury verdict last week (Mar. 18). The jurors sided with the Cali rapper in a lawsuit filed by seven Ohio cops, who claimed the MC defamed them by releasing music videos mocking them after a failed, guns-drawn raid on his home in 2022. Naturally, the quirky lawsuit caught the public’s attention, as did Afroman’s testimony that the music videos fell with his First Amendment rights — a hot-button topic across the States right now. As a result, the rapper’s catalog exploded over 500% in streaming activity in the week following the jury’s decision, according to Luminate.

During the week of his the four-day period leading up to his trial (Mar. 13-16), Afroman’s discography earned 1.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams and just over 100 U.S. digital downloads. In the four-day period following the verdict (Mar. 20-23), those figures jumped 511% to 6.8 million official streams, and 2,113% to over 2,500 paid digital downloads. The buzziest track is “Lemon Pound Cake,” in which Afroman jeers at one deputy for apparently eyeing a cake on his counter. That song jumped 9,353% to 2.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams following the verdict (Mar. 20-23), and leapt a whopping 126,300% to over 1,200 U.S. digital downloads.

The streaming love isn’t exclusive to Afroman’s raid-related joints. His signature hit, the Grammy-nominated “High,” earned over 600,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the Friday following the verdict (Mar. 20), up 133%.

Lemon Pound Cake, the album that compiles Afroman’s police disses, has already hit No. 8 on Billboard‘s Comedy Albums chart (dated Mar. 28), and bigger gains could very well be in store. — KYLE DENIS


‘Invincible’ Season Premiere Revives Decade-Old Nothing But Thieves Single

English alt-rock band Nothing But Thieves has never totally crossed over on the Billboard charts, but it’s been a fixture on various rock charts for a decade now, since the release of its 2015 self-titled debut album. That set generated multiple hits on the Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and also led to a Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2024 when country superstar Morgan Wallen put his spin on the Nothing But Thieves deep cut “Graveyard Whistling.” But now, it’s one of the less-known singles on the debut that’s getting its moment in the spotlight: “If I Die Tonight.”

The power ballad, which never reached a Billboard airplay, sales or streaming chart during its initial mid-2010s release, got its biggest look yet this month with its inclusion in the latest season of Amazon Prime’s hit animated superhero series Invincible. In the season four premiere, “If I Die Tonight” plays over an opening montage showing the fallout from the previous season’s finale — and plays for over three minutes, giving viewers plenty of opportunity to make it one of the most Shazamed songs in the country the past week.

Plenty of those viewers went on to check out the song on DSPs, as well. After totaling under 17,000 streams during the first four days of the previous tracking week (Mar. 13-16), that number was up to 345,000 for the same period this week (Mar. 20-23) — a gain of 1,942%, according to early data provided by Luminate. It could lead to a big moment for Nothing But Thieves, and to even bigger musical moments on Invincible, now that it’s been confirmed as one of the more valuable shows for synch placements in 2026. – AU


Animation-Inspired Dance Trend Revives 3OH!3’s “Richman”

On Feb. 4, user @/hymnuslop shared an original animation featuring two My Little Pony-inspired characters dancing to Denver electro-pop duo 3OH!3’s “Richman,” setting into motion a streaming resurgence for the 18-year-old deep cut. The clip finds one character lip-syncing in the foreground while the other dances in the background — and the trend has now transferred to real people. 

User @/janabananathings was the human to kick the trend into high gear with her March 2 post, which has since garnered nearly four million views and over 540,000 likes. The accompanying sound, which originates from user @/hymnuslop’s clip, boasts over 52,000 TikTok posts. The official 3OH!3 TikTok account got in on the fun, sharing several clips of the EDM duo performing the song throughout the years. 

The week user @/janabananathings shared her video (Feb. 27-Mar. 5), “Richman” logged 429,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, up 193% from the week prior. The following week (Mar. 6-12), which accounts for a full week of the trend truly taking off, that figure leapt a further 133% to a little over one million official on-demand U.S. streams. Continuing its ascent, “Richman” jumped another 44% to 1.44 million official streams the next week (March 13-19). 

Over the past four weeks, “Richman” has exploded over 1,800% in streaming activity, bringing 3OH!3 back into the center of the pop conversation — with a song that was never even an official single. — K.D.


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Angelina Jolie’s Daughter Shiloh Makes Surprise Cameo in Dayoung’s ‘What’s a Girl to Do’ Music Video: Watch

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Shiloh Jolie is making a surprise appearance in Dayoung’s upcoming music video.

On Thursday (April 2), the K-pop singer shared a teaser for her forthcoming video “What’s a Girl to Do,” and fans were surprised to spot a cameo from Jolie, the 19-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Shiloh briefly appears in the 30-second clip, sporting slicked-back hair, a lacy brown top, hoop earrings and a lip ring. She is also seen in a choreographed sequence, where numerous dancers surround Dayoung as a pulsating beat plays in the background.

The “What’s a Girl to Do” teaser ends with the message, “She makes the first move,” as the April 7 release date appears in the background.

Shiloh was cast in the video as part of an “open audition” in the U.S., a representative from Starship Entertainment told Maeil Business Newspaper Star Today.

“We held an open audition in the United States of America (US) to cast performers for Dayoung’s music video,” the rep told the outlet. “Among those who took part were several performers affiliated with a dance crew called ‘Culture.'”

The agency insists Jolie’s casting wasn’t a PR stunt.

“Shiloh was selected in the final round and ended up joining Dayoung’s music video,” the representative added. “Even after filming, we had no idea she was the child of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and only found out by chance quite recently.”

After the teaser was released, many fans took notice of Shiloh’s resemblance to her famous mother. “Holy s—t, mamma’s good genes are sooooo strong,” one person wrote on X. “It’s the eyes and the lips for me,” another wrote. “Pure Angelina energy.”

This isn’t the first time Shiloh has demonstrated her talent in front of the camera. In May 2024, choreographer Lil Kelaan Carter shared a video on Instagram of the teenager dancing solo to “Tanzania” by Uncle Waffles and Tony Duardo, featuring Sino Msolo and Boibizza.

“Her movement is crazy … Thank you for your energy @sh1lohj,” Carter captioned the clip.

Watch the teaser for Dayoung’s “What’s a Girl to Do” video below.


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YouTube’s Tuma Basa to Exit as Director of Black Music & Culture

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Longtime YouTube executive Tuma Basa, who most recently served as the company’s director of Black music & culture, has announced his departure after eight years at the streaming giant.

“After eight great years at YouTube, I’m taking a leap of faith and stepping into my next chapter,” Basa wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday (April 2). “Thank you to the Music Team at YouTube, the leadership, the artists, the managers, the labels, the producers, the continents, the city specialists, the uploaders and YouTubeLovers and even the Gen AI haters that made this run.. a great run. Murakoze Cyane, Asante Sana, Siyabonga, Amesegenalew, Gracias, Obrigado, Merci Beaucoup.”

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Basa was born in Zaire (now Congo) to a Rwandan family, but spent his childhood in Iowa after his father entered the graduate studies program at the University of Iowa; he then relocated to Zimbabwe as a teenager. During his tenure at YouTube, which he joined in 2018 as director of urban music, Basa became known for spotlighting African artists, including Nigerian star Burna Boy, and helping fuel their growth in the U.S.

Initially harboring aspirations to start a rap career under the name B.2ma B., Basa eventually pivoted to the executive track and landed music programming roles at BET, MTV and REVOLT. In 2015, he joined Spotify, where he served as global programming head of hip-hop. While at the streaming giant, he rose to prominence in part for curating the service’s popular Rap Caviar playlist.

Billboard reached out to YouTube for comment on Basa’s departure.


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Yes Postpones European ‘Fragile’ Tour as Guitarist Steve Howe Prepares for ‘Essential Operation’

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Yes is postponing their European tour so that guitarist Steve Howe can undergo an “essential operation.”

The English progressive rock band took to social media on Thursday (April 2) to announce that the group is delaying the 11-date Fragile tour of Europe to allow Howe time to recover from an undisclosed surgery.

“The upcoming YES ‘Fragile’ UK and EU Tour, due to commence on 22nd April, has had to be postponed as guitarist Steve Howe requires an essential operation that requires recovery time,” Yes wrote on Instagram. “This decision has been made to ensure that Steve can return to the stage in full health and deliver the performances that fans deserve.”

The European leg of the tour was originally scheduled to begin on April 22 at Scotland’s Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and was set to feature a full performance of the band’s 1971 album, Fragile. The tour follows a North American leg, which took place in 2025.

Yes added, “We are working hard to reschedule the UK and EU shows to a later date, with full details to be announced after Easter. Please retain your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled dates.”

The band concluded their statement, “Tour dates currently being arranged for later in 2026 will proceed as planned. Steve Howe and YES would like to thank their UK fans and hope for their continued support at this time.”

Released in November 1971, Fragile was Yes’s fourth album and the third they released within a 16-month span. It became the group’s most successful release up to that point, building on the success of The Yes Album, which had reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200. Fragile would peak at No. 4, surpassed only by Close to the Edge the following year.

Of the original lineup that recorded Fragile, only Howe remains an active member. Drummer Bill Bruford left the group in 1992, while vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman departed in 2004. Bassist Chris Squire stayed with the band until his passing in 2015.

See Yes’ full announcement on Instagram below.

View this post on Instagram


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