entertainment blog
Pete Rock To Sue Nas Over ‘Illmatic’ Royalties: Report
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty Money makes the world go ’round. Legendary producer Pete Rock is reportedly considering a lawsuit against Nas over allegedly unpaid royalties from the rapper’s classic debut album, Illmatic. Pete Rock reportedly told Page Six that he’s never received a dime in royalties from his work on Illmatic, which was released in 1994. The Mt. Vernon producer and rapper produced only one track on the project, but “The World Is Yours” proved to be one of the album’s standout joints and singles. Related Stories However, Rock and his lawyers say they cut a deal with Nas that would net him millions in royalties, which he has yet to ever see. Despite alleged pleas to honor the deal, nothing has manifested, per Rock and his legal team. “Nas and his peo...
Kremlin Ye?: Kanye West Plans Putin Sit-Down & Sunday Service In Russia
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: The Washington Post / Getty Kanye West is setting his sights on Russia, planning a major trip there this year which will include a meeting with President Vladimir Putin and a series of Sunday Service concerts marking his first-ever concerts in the country. An associate of the superstar rapper confirmed to Billboard that West is in the midst of planning a trip to Russia, with the timeframe for it set for later on in the year. Ameer Sudan, West’s strategic advisor, stated that he’s coordinating the details with Scott Balber, an attorney from the New York law firm Herbert, Smith, and Freehills. He also went on to say that they are liaisons between West and Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov and his son, Emin Agalarov who is a well-known musician i...
Young Dolph Murder Suspects Arrested & Indicted
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office / Shelby County Sheriff’s Office A month and change after Young Dolph was gunned down in his hometown of Memphis, TN, authorities announced that they have indicted two men who they say were behind the murder of the beloved rapper. FOX13 is reporting that 23-year-old Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith were booked and charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday, January 11. Related Stories US Marshalls say Johnson was captured in Indiana on Tuesday at around 3pm while Smith was arrested and booked into Shelby County Jail. Aside from facing murder charges, Cornelius Smith was also hit with attempted murder for shooting at Young Dolph’s brother who was with him at the time of the shooting at Makeda’s Cookies. Immediately followi...
Janet Jackson Weighs In On Michael Jackson Controversy
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty Janet Jackson is notorious for keeping her private life, private–but now it seems as if the Pop Icon is ready to bear it all after releasing the trailer for her upcoming documentary, ‘Janet.’ Taking to Instagram, the triple threat, along with A&E and Lifetime unveiled a new three-minute trailer from episode one of the two-part docuseries, which is scheduled to begin airing on Jan. 28. Executive produced by Janet and her brother Randy Jackson, the four-hour film, which was shot over the course of the last five years, features interviews with a host of celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg, Mariah Carey, Regina King, Ciara, Janelle Monáe, Tyler Perry, Missy Elliott, Teyana Taylor, Samuel L. Jackson, and Paula Abdul — who’ve wit...
Daryl Braithwaite Tests Positive For COVID-19
Two-time ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singer Daryl Braithwaite is recovering after testing positive for COVID-19. The former Sherbet frontman has postponed a string of upcoming Australian shows as a result of his diagnosis. “This morning I was notified that I had Covid-19,” he writes in a message posted Tuesday (Jan. 11). The 73-year-old artist says members of his band also tested positive, though he didn’t name them. Braithwaite has numerous dates booked for his Fabulous Caprettos tour of Australia’s east coast, which is scheduled to wrap up March 6, 2022 with a one-off show at Hobart’s Botanical Gardens. As frontman with glam-era pop outfit Sherbet, Braithwaite landed a string of hits in the ’70s with “Summer Love,” “Howzat,” “Cassandra” and others. Explore See latest videos, charts and ne...
Tones And I Talks Macklemore Collaboration, Sophomore Album
Tones And I is getting ready for round two. The Australian singer and songwriter who had a monster hit with “Dance Monkey” is reportedly making progress on her sophomore LP. “I’ve already started this next album that’s coming out in August; it’s very different,” she told triple j, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s youth network. “I kind of just told my managers when I started writing it when I was overseas. I was like, ‘I have to put this out’. I need to put it out quick because otherwise I’ll get sick of it. So I just told my managers, ‘I’m dropping an album’.” Tones (real name Toni Watson) has also teased a new collaboration with Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Macklemore. “This year I might be finally releasing a song with my favorite artist – Macklemore,” Tones explained, a...
Blossoms Postpone European Tour Dates Due to COVID-19 Outbreak
Blossoms have shelved their pan-European tour due to the latest, escalating health crisis. “We’re really gutted to have to announce that, due to the current situation with COVID, our forthcoming dates in Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands have been postponed and will no longer be happening in January and February,” a statement reads. New dates, the message continues, will be announced “as soon as we have more news.” pic.twitter.com/c7hWHdORSy — B L O S S O M S (@BlossomsBand) January 12, 2022 The indie-pop outfit formed in Stockport, near Manchester, in 2013, and boasts of a lineup of Tom Ogden (vocals), Myles Kellock (keys), Josh Dewhurst (guitar), Joe Donovan (drums) and Charlie Salt (bass). Explore Explore Blossoms See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and n...
Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival Secures New Local Producer
Seattle’s beloved Bumbershoot Arts & Culture festival has secured a new producer. Seattle Center – part of the Uptown Arts & Cultural District and home to Climate Pledge Arena – has selected the New Rising Sun coalition as its production partner to reimagine the local event. New Rising Sun is a coalition of Seattle-based arts, entertainment and cultural leaders. The group was founded by Neumos co-owner Steven Severin, Museums of Museums founder Greg Lundgren and McCaw Hall general manager Joe Paganelli. The founders will be supported by a team of Seattle’s business and community leaders, activists, artists and entrepreneurs in their work to develop a reimagined Bumbershoot. “Seattle arts are kick-ass, and we’re so excited to be partnering with Seattle Center to re-imagine...
Timbaland Posts Quincy Jones Meme Meant To Be Inspirational, Twitter Thinks Otherwise
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Gai Terrell / Getty Timbaland is getting off to a roaring start in 2022 in regards to controversial hot takes. After comparing The Weeknd’s latest album to one of the best albums of all time, the Virginia producer shared a meme regarding Quincy Jones that was meant to be inspirational but Twitter clowned it instead. As noted by Twitter, which kicked off the latest flurrying of replies, the meme Timbaland shared can be viewed below. On its own, one could see how Timbland’s sharing of this post was a bid to give some encouragement to those who feel like their grind hasn’t paid off. However, what Timbaland and many of his famous pals failed to note in the comments, Jones was a long-established producer, songwriter, and musician long before he helped Mi...
Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional Announce North American Tour
Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional have announced a co-headlining North American tour. The “Surviving the Truth Tour” kicks off February 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and stops in Wichita, Birmingham, Charleston, New Orleans, and more, before wrapping up in Houston on March 22. Sydney Sprague will perform opening slots throughout the trek. Check out the full schedule below. The “Surviving the Truth Tour” will follow the release of All The Truth That I Can Tell, Dashboard Confessional’s first new album in four years. It arrives February 25 via Hidden Note. Surviving the Truth Tour: 02-27 Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium03-01 Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion03-02 Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom03-04 Wichita, KS – The Cotillion03-05 Fayetteville, AR –...
Young Dolph Murder Suspects Arrested
A person has been arrested for the murder of Young Dolph, the 36-year-old rapper who was shot dead on November 17 in Memphis, Rolling Stone reports. Police took the suspect—23-year-old Justin Johnson, a rapper who performed under the name Straight Drop—into custody Tuesday afternoon in Indiana. The Memphis Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Crime Stoppers, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations announced on Wednesday, January 5, that they had issued a warrant against Johnson for first-degree murder. They also claimed that Johnson had an outstanding warrant for violating his supervised release in an unrelated federal weapons case. UPDATE: Rolling Stone reports that a Cornelius Smith, 32, a suspect arrested January 9, was indicted today (January 11) on first-degree murder, w...
Wilco Address Fans’ Call for Refunds to Mexico Festival
In May 2021, Wilco announced Sky Blue Sky 2022, a “destination concert experience” at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Mexico. It takes place next week from January 17-21. The originally announced lineup for the sold out event included three shows from Wilco, plus sets from Spoon, Kurt Vile, Thundercat, Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus, Nubya Garcia, Jeff Tweedy solo, and others. The starting price for ticket packages was $1699. In comments addressing the band and festival organizers on the event’s Facebook page, several people called for refunds and asked if the event would be rescheduled due to the widespread omicron variant of COVID-19. Today (January 11), the page shared the event’s schedule with an update: Soccer Mommy and Ohmme had joined the lineup as Waxahatchee, Mountain Man, and J...
