Run the Jewels have revealed the release date for RTJ4. It will be released on June 5 via Jewel Runners/BMG. The album consists of 11 songs over 40 minutes. A number of heavy-hitters will feature on the album, including Pharrell Williams, Josh Homme Mavis Staples, 2 Chainz, Zack de la Rocha and more. RTJ4 was primarily recorded at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California and Electric Lady Studios in New York City and took two years to complete. Previously, the duo released “Ooh La La” that featured DJ Premier and Greg Nice and “The Yankee and the Brave.” Those songs are the album’s first two tracks. In addition to RTJ4, Killer Mike and El-P are launching a cannabis line in collaboration with the founder of the legendary Cookies strain. Preorder the album he...
Source: Prince Williams / Getty In what should be a surprise to no one, Future is the father. DNA testing has confirmed that the Atlanta rapper is the daddy of Instagram model Eliza Reign’s baby daughter. The homies at Bossip confirmed via court docs that the “Wicked” rapper is on the books as the papi. Reportedly, on Monday (May 11), a judge read in a family court hearing that the man born Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, 36 is 99% likely the father of Eliza Reign’s baby girl. In case there are any more doubts, said judge plans to issue a court order that officially names Future the baby’s father. Future was not present for the hearing, which occurred via teleconference. “The DNA did confirm that Mr. Wilburn is the child’s father,’ Reign’s attorney, Brandon Rotbart, told Bossip, who added that hi...
Source: Ronald Martinez / Getty Much to the dismay of OG’s, YG’s, and BG’s, Tekashi Snitch9ine made a pretty triumphant return to the rap game last Friday when he made his long awaited return to social media and had his latest music video rack up over 7 million views in just a few hours. But it wasn’t long before the dime dropping troll found himself in familiar territory as Meek Mill got on social media to let off more than a few shots and properly called out Hip-Hop’s “Henry Hill.” Continuing to beef with the government’s rainbow haired star witness, Meek took to Twitter to reference Tekashi by stating that real heads “control the culture” and he was ready to “set a example.” We control the culture lol and ima set a example lol. — Meek Mill (@MeekMill) May 11, 2020 But he didn’t stop the...
As Google looks to phase out its music streaming service Google Play by the end of the year, it has begun the process of migrating users over to the Google-owned YouTube Music. Starting today (May 12), Google Play users can expect an email instructing them on how to easily transfer their music libraries, listening histories and playlists to YouTube Music. All users’ Google Play podcast subscriptions, on the other hand, will be moved over to the company’s free Google Podcasts app. Google says in a press release that users will continue to have access to both services until it officially kicks Google Play to the curb later this year. Paying Google Music subscribers will be automatically granted the equivalent tier on YouTube Music, at the same price. As it retires Google Play, th...
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has named Joe Fang — a longtime media executive with a focus on global markets — its first-ever managing director, China. Based in UMPG China’s new Beijing headquarters, Fang reports to Andrew Jenkins, UMPG president, Australia and Asia Pacific Region. In his new role, Fang will oversee the publishing giant’s Chinese language roster, and lead the development of UMPG Hong Kong, working closely with Universal Music Group in China as well as local partners. UMPG recently joined the Music Copyright Society of China, and is deepening its cooperation with Chinese DSPs, tech companies and content providers. “Continuing with our efforts to be best-in-class around the world, we have put a strong and strategic emphasis on UMPG’s gr...
You may recognize Julia Michaels from her breakout single “Issues,” which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, or the rock-tinged “Uh Huh,” another track included on her 2017 debut “mini-album” Nervous System. But chances are, you’ve been listening to the 26-year-old’s catchy, emotive, and often tongue-in-cheek lyricism for longer than you think. Michaels began her music career as a songwriter, penning hits for the likes of Fifth Harmony, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. And her co-writing catalog spans a range of diverse artists and genres, from pop radio material to rugged acoustic sounds and rock. Most recently, Michaels imparted her songwriting wisdom on the Monday (May 11) episode of NBC’s Songland, where sh...
Bryan Adams posted an acoustic quarantine video performance of his 1983 hit “Cuts Like a Knife” on Monday (May 11) on the day that he was slated to kick off a run of shows at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London. But it was his angry rant about the COVID-19 pandemic that really caught people’s attention. “Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some f—ing bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus,” Adams wrote, along with the hashtag #banwetmarkets, the latest in a series of wet market criticisms from the vegan musician. “My message to them other than &...
Disc jockey John Peel was a music institution for almost four decades, highlighting influential bands and underground sounds on his BBC Radio 1 program. The shows featured over 4,000 in-studio sessions from over 2,000 artists — captured from 1967 up through his death in 2004. A good chunk of those recordings are floating around YouTube, but it’s exhausting trying to wade through them all. Now, thanks to blogger David Strickland, that process just got a whole lot easier. Over at his “Formally Known as the Bollocks” blog, Strickland is rounding up an exhaustive, alphabetized list of the Peel sessions available online — at least 1,000 so far. Highlights include two Nirvana performances (1990 and 1991), David Bowie’s 1972 recording with the Spiders from Mars, five sets from Siouxsie and the Ba...
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is a self-proclaimed Nirvana super-fan, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he covered one of that band’s signature tracks, “Heart-Shaped Box,” during quarantine. The performance, which originated from a Zoom session hosted for fans, finds the songwriter stripping back the heavy In Utero rocker to a quiet solo piano ballad. Decked out in a tank top and seated next to a massive plant, he plucks out the chords and nails the track’s verse-to-chorus dynamic shift — even replicating the guitar solo melody. Cuomo has gushed about his Nirvana obsession in the past, telling Rolling Stone in 2014, “In some ways, I feel like I was Nirvana’s biggest fan in the Nineties. I’m sure there are a zillion people who would make that claim, but I was just so passionately in lo...
This summer, The Beths will return with a sophomore album called Jump Rope Gazers. After previewing the release with last month’s “Dying to Believe”, the New Zealand indie pop outfit is unboxing a new single in “I’m Not Getting Excited”. While musically a jumpy, driving number, its subject matter is about denying oneself the freedom to enjoy excitement and success — all because of constant second-guessing. In a statement, lead singer Elizabeth Stokes explained this case of imposter syndrome, “People always ask ‘are you excited!?’ and it’s a fair question, because exciting things do happen to us sometimes. Support slots, overseas tours, music releases. Stuff we’ve dreamed about for years. So the correct answer is always ‘yes.’ But the truth is that deep down there’s a tiny Liz saying, ‘don’...
Disney is fast-tracking the release of a film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton, starring the original cast. Originally, the film was set to hit theaters in October 2021, but with millions of Americans currently stuck at home in quarantine, the studio is now altering those plans. Not only will Hamilton be released 15 months early — July 3rd, 2020, to be exact — but it’ll be streaming exclusively on Disney+. “In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” Disney chairman Bob Iger said in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to Disney+ on the eve of Independence Day, and we hav...
John Peel’s BBC 1 radio show was iconic at the time it aired. In hindsight, it’s only grown all the more legendary. The legendary broadcaster recorded over 4,000 sessions with over 2,000 artists, which is, objectively speaking, a lot. To help make sorting through the Peel Sessions archive easier, angel-in-disguise and blogger Dave Strickson has uploaded and alphabetized hundreds of available recordings from the show to stream online (via BrooklynVegan). Most of the original studio sessions from Peel’s radio show were released as Peel Session EPs by his label, Strange Fruit Records, but many of those are unavailable to stream online. Thankfully, listeners occasionally upload those almost-lost-to-time recordings to YouTube. That’s where Strickson comes in. To help make the process of di...