As an unforgiving blizzard pummels the Northeast, hip-hop and R&B gave us plenty of music and headlines to pass the time.

Baby Keem kicked off the weekend (Feb. 20) with the release of Ca$ino, his first studio album since 2021’s The Melodic Blue. Assisted by Kendrick Lamar, Momo Boyd, Too $hort and Che Ecru, the new project features a few potential spring and summer smashes, as well as production contributions from eyebrow-raising names like Grown-ish actress Yara Shahidi (“Birds & the Bees”).

Jay-Z got a head start on the 30th-anniversary celebrations for his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, with the streaming release of the original version of his classic “Dead Presidents” single. With Reasonable Doubt-related posters popping up across Jiggaman’s hometown of Brooklyn, New York, even greater surprises could be in store as we draw closer to June 25.

In heavier news, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Lil Poppa’s death a suicide, via a gunshot wound to the head. The Jacksonville rapper (born Janarious Mykel Wheeler) died on Wednesday at age 25.

Finally, Jamaican reggae star Keznamdi followed up his first career Grammy win — he took home best reggae album earlier this month for Blxxd & Fyah (Feb. 1) — with the reveal of a pair of U.S. shows in New York and Los Angeles, exclusively announced by Billboard on Monday (Feb. 23).

With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from a seductive Kem single to a high-octane collaboration between Dess Dior and Belly Gang Kushington. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.