The ladies of hip-hop and R&B ran last week’s news cycle.

Cardi B kicked off her arena-headlining Little Miss Drama Tour in four packed California shows, including two nights at Inglewood’s Kia Forum. Across those shows, Bardi brought out a slew of special guests, including GloRilla, Tyla, Kehlani, and Blueface. On the Sunday night show (Feb. 15), the Grammy winner also seemed to defend Stefon Diggs despite their recent split. “Just because I ain’t f–king with my baby daddy doesn’t mean you get to talk about my baby daddy,” she said before launching into her BIA diss track “Pretty & Petty.”

Beyoncé joined the rest of the country’s Super Bowl festivities with several fashionably late photodumps on her official Instagram page and website, most of which found her flaunting her bold new blonde bob. As anticipation for Act III continues to build, the final installment of her ongoing album trilogy consisting of 2022’s Renaissance and 2024’s Cowboy Carter, all eyes will be on Queen Bey ahead of her grand return to the MET Gala in May.

Finally, Brandy dominated the timeline with her intricately stacked rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday (Feb. 15). Assisted by R&B vocal group June’s Diary, the inventive National Anthem rendition garnered split reactions across social media, though nothing in comparison to the instant memeification of Fergie’s version from 2018.

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from a poignant Shae Universe single to a certified Feng banger. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.