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Warner Records CEO Mo Ostin Remembered by Producer Russ Titelman: ‘He Had No Ego’
Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman first met Mo Ostin, the legendary executive who ran Reprise and then Warner Records from 1960 to 1994, in the early ’60s when Titelman was still a teenager and freshly signed to Screen Gems-Columbia Music as a songwriter. Eventually, Ostin, who died July 31 at 95, and then head of A&R Lenny Waronker convinced Titelman to come to Warner Records, where he had an extraordinary run as an in-house producer for 25 years, working with such artists as Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan and so many more. Titelman, whose Grammy wins include record of the year for Winwood’s “Higher Love” (1986) and again for Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” as well as album of the year for Clapton’s “Unplugged” (1992), talked with Bill...
Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Controversies, From Kelis Sample to Lyric Changes
Beyoncé’s highly anticipated Renaissance release was full of excitement and dancefloor-ready hits, but did not come without its share of drama. Throughout her seventh album’s rollout, Bey has navigated an unexpected leak, frustrations over interpolations, shade about the number of songwriters credited on the tracks due to those interpolations and post-release lyric changes due to the use of offensive language in the song “Heated.” And while there were a few bumps in the journey, it’s still smooth sailing for Queen Bey, as Renaissance is heading for a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart with one of the biggest weeks of the year. If it opens atop the chart, it will be the first album released by a woman in 2022 to hit No. 1. All six of her solo studio albums also deb...
Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball World Tour: Where to Buy Tickets
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball world tour is in full swing! After being postponed twice, Mother Monster’s highly anticipated tour launched in Germany in July and will roll into Toronto this weekend, followed by Washington, D.C., on Aug. 8 and Gaga’s hometown of New York City on Aug. 11. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news First announced in 2020, the tour was pushed back two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fans have been showing up in droves to rock out with the Oscar winner and 13-time Grammy winner. The...
Chaka Khan Still Angry About Kanye West “Through the Fire” Sample
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Phillip Faraone / Getty 10-time Grammy Award-winning R&B legend Chaka Khan told an interviewer this week that she is still dissatisfied with the way her voice was used on Kanye West’s debut single, “Through the Wire.” “That’s what he [Kanye] did with his music,” Khan told Good Day DC. “I was upset about sounding like a chipmunk because he didn’t put that when he asked could he use [sample] my song. He didn’t mention he was going to speed it up three times its normal speed. Had he, I would’ve had something to say, but since I didn’t think of that, believe me, I think of it now.” Related Stories Khan did clear the sample for the 2004 hit song—which launched West’s rap career. However, she has frequently criticized it. In 2020, she did an interview...
Kanye West Calls Out Adidas For Making “Yeezy Day” Without His Approval
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Jonathan Leibson / Getty On August 3, “Yeezy Day” once again had the sneaker world in a frenzy as Yeezy sneakers and slides dropped every hour all day and had sneakerheads counting more L’s than a MF. Interestingly enough, Kanye West himself not only had nothing to do with the sneaker holiday, but took to social media to call out adidas for creating the day without his blessing. Continuing his war on the striped brand for using his ideas for their own profit, Kanye West DM’d a lengthy rant about how adidas continues to use his products without so much as informing him of their ideas. Related Stories Accusing adidas of making “Yeezy Day” without his approval, Kanye also called them out for stealing his styles, colorways and material ideas for his sneakers ...
Oh Bey Have: Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Faces Criticism From Monica Lewinsky & Anti-Ableist Community
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Robert Gauthier / Getty Beyoncé has ushered in a Renaissance—but it appears not everyone is thrilled. Following backlash and criticism from disability advocates, Bey announced that she will remove the word “spaz” from one of her new songs, “Heated.” Used twice in the spicy song, Queen Bey was heard singing, “Spazzin’ on that ass, spaz on that ass.” Though the word was ostensibly used in a colloquial way to mean going crazy or wild, “spaz” — which is derived from “spastic” — has a history of being used as a slur for those with disabilities, especially cerebral palsy. According to a statement released to Rolling Stone, Beyonce’s team pledged to change the lyric saying: “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.” Staying true ...
HHW Gaming: ‘NBA 2K23’ Courtside Report Details Improvements & New Gameplay Features
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Visual Concepts / NBA 2K23 It’s time to learn what’s coming to our favorite basketball video game franchise. Wednesday (Aug.3) 2K dropped an NBA 2K23 Courtside Report detailing gameplay and new features. Every year developers announce new features and improved gameplay coming to the annual basketball video game franchise that either disappoints or pleases fans. Developers are hoping for the latter with a bevy of detailed information that hints at them focusing on offense, mainly attacking the basket, hanging on the rim, curbing over dribbling, and more. Upgraded Pro Stick Related Stories In NBA 2K23, players can look forward to a Pro Stick that will see “the addition of new gesture combos,” Courtside Report One details. With the introduction of “double th...
Rony Seikaly Enlists Matthias Tanzman, Paco Osuna, Audiojack and Harry Romero for “Moonwalk” Remix Pack
Driven by an innate passion for DJing, Rony Seikaly is rapidly forging a path in the world of house music. Still buzzing off the release of his colossal, 26-track debut album Moonwalk earlier this year, the celebrated DJ and producer has enlisted a formidable roster of remixers. Seikaly has now unveiled the full remix package for Moonwalk after rolling it out over the month of July. Kicking off the bundle was Matthias Tanzman, who masterfully put his spin on “Bad Boys” (with Diddy) the album’s lead single. Paying homage to the original, he curates a mesmerizing atmosphere filled with crisp drum programming and irresistible dance grooves. Following Tanzman was acclaimed DJ and producer Paco Osuna, who took “Samba Drone” for a spin, infusing it with crisp percussion, i...
Skream Reveals Collaboration With Subtronics In the Works
Worlds will soon collide when one of dubstep’s early champions meets one of the genre’s biggest current-day stars. The iconic Skream took to Twitter after taking a month away from the studio, telling fans he’s itching to produce some riddim music. Minutes later, he followed up and declared it was time for some “out of order wonky fuck off basslines” before calling on one of dubstep’s modern superstars, Subtronics, to join him. In case that wasn’t enough to get fans excited, shortly after the initial tweets, Skream announced that he and Subtronics are onboard and fans can expect to hear a collab soon. While there’s no word on what the song will sound like just yet, Skream’s enthusiasm and masterful production capabilities combined with S...
Charlotte de Witte Makes History As First Woman to Close Out Tomorrowland’s Mainstage
One of techno music’s modern day icons, Charlotte de Witte, has landed herself in a page in the EDM history book. The renowned Belgian DJ and electronic music producer has become the first woman and techno artist to close out the iconic Mainstage of Tomorrowland, the world’s largest EDM festival. It was a hometown triumph for de Witte, who was born in Ghent, Belgium. de Witte has performed at Tomorrowland every year since 2017. This year, she was one of 600 artists who took the stage at the festival. Artists like Nicky Romero, Eric Prydz and Martin Garrix lit up the night sky and paraded festival-goers with a barrage of festival-driven anthems prior to de Witte’s historic closing DJ set. Watch de Witte’s full 2022 Tomorrowland performance below. Scroll to...
A TikToker Is Making Over $49,000 a Month Inviting Followers to Blast EDM While He Sleeps
TikTok creator Jake Boehm makes a good living by allowing his livestream viewers to control his entire room while he sleeps—or at least tries to. Boehm has garnered nearly 1 million followers by going live on the app and allowing viewers to set off a series of wild events in his room while he sleeps. He calls this the “Interactive Live Sleep Stream,” and he’s reportedly raking in an astounding $49,000 each month. Boehm goes live every night, all-night on TikTok. His room, which is rigged with bubble machines, lights, inflatables, lasers and a swath of irritating sound effects, is controlled entirely by viewers of his livestreams. They can purchase “gifts” directly in the stream to activate various gadgets configured throughout the room. Pur...
Young Jesus Announce New Album, Share Song Featuring Tomberlin
Los Angeles–based group Young Jesus have announced a new album. It’s called Shepherd Head and it arrives September 16 via Saddle Creek. Today, the band has shared lead single “Oceans,” along with a music video directed by Stuart McClave and shot by Kadri Koop in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The new song features additional vocals from Young Jesus’ labelmate Tomberlin. Check out the visual below. Shepherd Head follows Young Jesus’ 2020 full-length Welcome to Conceptual Beach. Frontman John Rossiter crafted the album following the death of a close friend, opting for a collaborative and improvisational songwriting process. Instead of the band’s usual method of rehearsing for months prior to recording, Rossiter and his band cut Shepherd Head live-in-studio in less than a week. Rossiter also ad...
