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Label Spotlight: 25 Years In, Om Records Is Still Aiming For That Goosebumps Feeling
Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, Om Records’ first office was on San Francisco’s legendary Haight Street. First hosting the musical counterculture of the late ’60s via local bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, three decades later Haight witnessed another sonic revolution in the form of electronic music upon Om’s arrival in 1995. In this era, the genre existed largely in underground scene hubs like San Francisco, where local producers were getting weird with their fusions of house, acid house, downtempo and hip-hop and other burgeoning experimental sounds. A quarter-century later, Om is still home to everything weird and wonderful, with artists including Kaskade, Groove Armada, Dirty Vegas and more delivering electronic sounds across the...
Sotheby’s First Hip-Hop Auction Headlined by The Notorious B.I.G. & Tupac Shakur’s Prized Possessions
Sotheby will host its first-ever hip-hop auction featuring two prized items from late hip-hop heavyweights The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. While reflecting on the “Golden Age” of the genre in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, the auction features 120 lots and showcases iconic artifacts, contemporary and fine art, one-of-a-kind experiences, vernacular photography, vintage and modern fashion, historic and modern jewelry and luxury goods, and rare flyers and posters. Monica Lynch, the former president of Tommy Boy Records in the ’90s who helped launched the careers of hip-hop legends Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Naughty by Nature among others, co-organized the auction. The two headlining items are the crown wo...
Wet, Wet, Wet: Cardi B Launches Waterproof ‘Wap’ Merch Line
Cardi B is making the most of her “WAP” summer, launching a line of waterproof merch to slide off the success of her hit Megan Thee Stallion single. The ode to female sexuality that has become a hot weather anthem — and source of outrage to some on the right — now has its own “Wapstore,” stocked with all your water-repelling needs. There is, of course, a transparent pink “WAP” raincoat ($125), which also comes in white and black, as well as black and pink “WAP’ umbrellas ($25) and a “WAP” crop biker set ($40) that comes with a nylon spandex bra with the song title airbrushed on the front and bike shorts with the name on the butt, of course. The “WAP” store has plenty of other merch that will make your grann...
Big Sean and Nipsey Hussle Reminisce About Paying Dues on ‘Deep Reverence’
The posthumous track with Nip appears on Sean’s upcoming “Detroit 2” album. Big Sean dropped a collab with the late Nipsey Hussle on Monday night (Aug. 24) with the reflective “Deep Reverence,” on which the two MCs reminisce about their struggle coming up. The song, which will appear on Sean’s upcoming Detroit 2 album (Sept. 4), was produced by Hit-Boy, along with Rogét Chahayed, Audio Anthem and G. Ry, and it features the two MCs coming together on the chorus, “F–k rap, I’m a street legend/ But I’m the don ’cause the streets said it/ Block love me with a deep reverence.” After a fiery first verse from Nip, who runs down the lessons he learned running in the streets and how it made him a legend, Sean breaks down the pr...
Kang Daniel Reflects on ‘Magenta’ Album, Teases New Projects & Collaborations
With his deep voice, boy-next-door looks and growing creative flair, Kang Daniel has elevated himself to a top-tier celebrity status that only a handful of artists can ever achieve—even after first finding fame as a key member of insanely popular boy band Wanna One who hit No. 3 on both Billboard‘s Social 50 chart and World Albums chart. After striking out solo and launching his own label last year, the phenomenon became one of the highest-earning and most significant male solo acts in K-pop. But despite a near-instant solo success with his debut Color on Me EP in 2019, the 23-year-old seems more level-headed than most artists of his stature. “I feel more pressure every time I release new music, but it feels good to feel pressure,” Kang tells Billboard. “Releasing a...
James Charles Says He Received ‘Death Threats’ After JoJo Siwa Makeover
James Charles had us “sister shook” last week when he unveiled his latest makeover, replacing JoJo Siwa‘s characteristic bows and glitter for a glam smokey eye. Despite the 17-year-old former Dance Moms star looking gorgeous at the end result, Charles took to Twitter to share that the video’s feedback wasn’t the most positive. [embedded content] The makeup mogul explained that some fans were expecting a celebrity other than Siwa for the makeover, and were disappointed at the reveal. “I said today’s collab was with someone I I [sic] waited two years to work with & I was so excited for and now I’m getting death threats because stan twitter assumed it would be their fav and it wasn’t there are a TON of huge artists I’d love to film with one day, be...
Justin Timberlake Recalls Recording ‘SexyBack’ With Timbaland & How Working With Him Fulfilled His ‘Prophecy’
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland have been cemented in pop music history as a certified hitmaking team, but as a 14-year-old boy, JT thought it was his “prophecy” to work with the megaproducer. In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Timberlake shared his Essentials Playlist that rewinds through 20 of his biggest hits old and new, from his career-defining No. 1 hit “SexyBack” to his reflective new sound on “Mirrors” to his “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” happy dance anthem from Trolls in 2016. But when it came to “SexyBack,” the 39-year-old hitmaker remembered the pushback he initially received. He told Lowe about the concerns those from the label had about the first single of his 2006 album FutureSex/...
Selena Gomez Is Celebrating Blackpink Collab With a Special Serendipity Ice Cream Flavor
Selena Gomez‘s “Ice Cream” collaboration with Blackpink is arriving later this week, and what better way to celebrate than with some actual ice cream? Ice cream brand Serendipity and the iconic Serendipity3 Restaurants announced on Monday (Aug. 24) its newest investor and ice cream flavor with Gomez. The pint, called Cookies & Cream Remix inspired by the upcoming collab, is made with pink vanilla ice cream, crunchy cookie bites and gobs of gooey fudge. In an Instagram video announcing the flavor, Gomez is seen eating it in the best way possible, by the spoonful straight out of the container. “So, basically, it’s heaven,” the singer said of the chocolate-y cookie goodness. “Growing up and loving the iconic Serendipity restaurant, I couldn’t be more ex...
BTS Bring the Summery Good Vibes in B-Side ‘Dynamite’ Music Video
BTS is heating up the summer with a bang. The group unveiled their retro-tinged B-side music video for their smash English single “Dynamite” on Monday (Aug. 24). Similar to the original music video, the clip finds the K-pop stars in a number of groovy outfits, busting a move everywhere from in their bedrooms and on a colorful basketball court, to in a record store, coffee shop and outside a disco club. The septet channel John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, breaking out their best hustle and disco finger points in the “B-side” footage. The OG music video from BTS counted 101.1 million views within 24 hours of its release, YouTube confirmed to Billboard, making it the music video with the biggest first-day debut to date. More than 3 million...
Which ‘Dynamite’ Song Blows You Away? Vote!
BTS lit up the internet over the weekend with their English-language single “Dynamite,” thus joining the list of powerhouse jams named after the explosive. The K-pop boy band clocked in 101.1 million YouTube views within 24 hours of the music video’s release, making it the biggest first-day debut to date on the platform, according to YouTube’s statement to Billboard. And in the single’s first three days, “Dynamite” already made BTS’ best debut on Billboard‘s Pop Songs radio airplay chart (dated Aug. 29) by securing a No. 30 spot. [embedded content] But pop and rock songs about the explosive matter have been around for decades with Taio Cruz‘s No. 2 Hot 100 hit “Dynamite” lighting up clubs since...
Hear a Dramatic Orchestral Version of a Nirvana Classic in ‘The Batman’ Trailer
There is definitely ‘Something in the Way.’ The dim, ominous first trailer for Matt Reeves’ the Caped Crusader re-re-boot, The Batman, features an unlikely star turn from a 1991 Nirvana classic. The preview of Robert Pattinson’s first trip under the cowl as the title character is in keeping with the bleak vibe of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but beyond the brief glimpses of the Riddler (Paul Dano) and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, the star that almost steals the show is a grinding, orchestral remix of “Something in the Way” from Nirvana’s breakthrough major label debut, Nevermind. The original version of the song, a delicate acoustic dirge though to be about the period where late singer Kurt Cobain lived under a bri...
Beyoncé’s ‘Brown Skin Girl’ Video Is Now Available Outside of ‘Black Is King’: Watch
The visual features appearances from Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o, Kelly Rowland and Blue Ivy Carter. Ring the alarm! Just weeks after unveiling Black Is King, Beyoncé has gifted the wider world with the stunning video for “Brown Skin Girl.” On Aug. 24, the superstar uploaded the celebratory clip as a standalone visual on YouTube. (Previously, the video for the fan favorite track had only been available to Disney+ subscribers as part of Beyoncé’s most recent musical film, which dropped exclusively on the streaming service July 31.) In the video, Beyoncé enlists (and name drops) the likes of Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to help laud and pass down the ideals of Black identity, heritage and beauty to fut...
