The Oscars are making some much-needed changes. On Thursday, the board of governors behind the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences met to discuss the next phase of their ensuing equity and inclusion initiative, which began in 2015 following the much-publicized #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Today, they’ve announced Academy Aperture 2025, a renewed initiative that involves a number of new protocols and adjustments. The most integral of them all is a ruling that pairs Oscar eligibility to representation and inclusion standards, the likes of which will be developed and implemented by a new task force. That’s not all. The Oscars will once again return to a guaranteed total of 10 Best Picture nominees, there will now be a “quarterly viewing process” to ensure year-long considerations...
Last month saw Rico Nasty contribute a song called “My Little Alien” to the new Scooby-Doo movie, and join IDK on “495” for the Showtime doc Basketball County. The rapper is back today with more soundtrack work, this time for the latest season of HBO’s Insecure. On new cut “Dirty”, Rico dismisses her haters, while also talking about her raunchy bedroom activity. “You was hating back then/ Well, look at me now,” she says early on, continuing, “Imagine if I gave a fuck about how these bitches felt.” Regarding her and her partner’s between-the-sheets playtime, Rico raps on the chorus, “He like his bitches dirty, dirty, dirty… He like the sex dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty.” Sounds like one heck of a romp. Listen for yourself below. Issa Rae’s Insecure has in the past featured music from...
With an array of big-name releases coming through today, including 6ix9ine, Lil Baby, and more (June 12), for this edition of First Beat, we give Tyla Yaweh’s latest single a run, see if 10K’s Iann Dior is ready for stardom and more. Check out our selections below. Tyla Yaweh, “Tommy Lee” Featuring Post Malone Tyla Yaweh is undoubtedly on the precipice of stardom. “High Right Now” and, “I Think I Luv Her” proved why the Florida upstart is more than just an understudy of his mentor Post Malone. On “Tommy Lee,” Yaweh connects with his big homie for the guitar-laden anthem, which pays homage to the ’90s rock legend. Young T & Bugsey, “Don’t Rush (Remix)” Featuring DaBaby After entering the Hot 100 wi...
With a confirmed date for the 2021 ceremony, the Recording Academy is now focused on pandemic-proofing the show. The show will go on. That’s the word from Recording Academy chair and interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. about the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, slated to take place Jan. 31, 2021. Less certain, in the age of the coronavirus, are all of the other particulars, including whether the ceremony will air live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center as planned. Mason says he is in “constant communication” with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, medical advisers, network partner CBS, the venue and executive producer Ben Winston regarding the latest updates that inform the reopening process. California is currently in stage two — and concert venues in the state do not reopen until ...
Mariah Carey‘s self-titled debut album turned 30 on Friday (June 12). And while every Lamb knows their queen loves a festive moment, the singer announced that she’s putting off the celebration in light of the nationwide fight for racial justice. “Thank you lambily, for all the celebratory messages for today’s #MC30 anniversary!” Mimi wrote on Instagram over top of the 1990 album’s classic cover art. “I had planned to share some surprises and rarities with you, but prefer to postpone them to a later date.” The superstar then turned her attention to the more serious social issues at hand, writing, “As we continue to fight for equality and justice within our broken systems, I thank you for using your platforms to educate, inform and invoke...
Usher returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs airplay chart for the first time in nearly eight years as “Don’t Waste My Time,” featuring Ella Mai, advances from the runner-up spot. The duet reaches the top in its 25th chart week through an 11% boost in plays in the week ending June 7, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. “Time” marks Usher’s fifth Adult R&B leader. He first led with 2008’s “Here I Stand,” a seven-week champ, and followed with “Papers” (three weeks, 2010), “There Goes My Baby,” (one week, 2010) and “Climax” (one week, 2012). “I genuinely am a fan of her voice, and also felt like the song was perfect for both of us,” Usher told Billboard about the collaboration last year. “I was working with Bryan Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta, and…the more I list...
Throughout Bob Dylan’s illustrious career, the singer-songwriter hasn’t been keen on doing many interviews. However, on the heels of releasing his latest album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan sat down for a rare interview with his friend Douglas Brinkley with the New York Times where he talks about everything from his musical influences to the global pandemic to the killing of George Floyd. “It sickened me no end to see George tortured to death like that,” he told The New York Times of what happened in his native Minnesota. “It was beyond ugly. Let’s hope that justice comes swift for the Floyd family and for the nation.” Of course, the conversation focused mainly on music. Dylan spoke about loving the Eagles, wishing he wrote the Rolling Stones’ “Ventilator Blues” and “Wild Horses” and h...
Justin Hawkins, the lead singer and guitarist for The Darkness, was rushed to the hospital after an accident that left him with melted shorts and chemical burns. Hawkins got into the accident while trying to fix the swimming pool at his home in Switzerland. “There was a problem with the pool, a pump thing and some chemicals came out of it,” he explained in a video on the celebrity personal message site Cameo, which has since been deleted. Thinking that there was a problem with a chemical in the pool that was affecting its acidity, he said he “was trying to fix it and I touched my legs and my shorts melted onto my legs, so then I had to go to hospital. [sic]” He had to go through emergency treatment and is believed to have made a full recovery since the accident took place. Hawkins, who’s b...
Next week, Neil Young’s long-awaited (and it’s long-awaited) Homegrown album that he recorded in 1974 will finally be released. Young previously shared “Try” from the album that he once considered way too personal to release. That song featured Levon Helm and EmmyLou Harris. Today, he’s shared another tune from the collection. “Vacancy” is a stompy rocker that is more accustomed to the impending era with Crazy Horse that would come to define the latter part of the ’70s that is sharply reflected on Live Rust. This tune would have been at home on that collection. Though he hasn’t released one in a few weeks, Young has been active during the quarantine. He’s shared five Fireside Sessions livestreams, including the last one that featured guest appearances by ...
Source: Cassidy Sparrow / Getty If there were ever a time for music artists that create music around the current social-political movement that’s rocking America to it’s core, it’s now and artists like Dax and others are taking a moment to do just that. For his new visuals to “Black Lives Matter,” Dax takes a moment in the desert to reflect on the world while using footage of the protests going on in damn near every city in the United States which demonstrate just how powerful unity can be when it comes to racial injustice. While the streets continue to heat up during the early summer months with calls for justice and equality, French Montana heads to a body of water for some jet skiing fun with Swipey and some young women for their clip to “Freca.” Check out the rest of today’s drops incl...