entertainment blog
Maxi Jazz, Frontman for British Band Faithless, Dead at 65
NEW YORK (AP) — Maxi Jazz, a DJ and singer who fronted the eclectic British dance band Faithless known for such hits as “Insomnia” and “We Come 1,” has died. He was 65. Faithless announced his death on social media Saturday, saying he “died peacefully in his sleep last night.” “He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and a message to our music. He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible,” the band’s statement reads. Additional details about his death were not immediately available. Born Maxwell Fraser in London, Maxi Jazz emerged in the British club scene in the 1980s as a DJ on pirate radio and founder of the Soul Food Cafe System. He later formed Faithless along with producer-instrumentalist-DJ Ro...
Adele Shouts Out Megan Thee Stallion After Tory Lanez Verdict: ‘Do Whatever You Want Now, Baby!’
Adele is making Megan Thee Stallion feel her love. Just hours after Tory Lanez was found guilty in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, the “Easy on Me” singer is sharing her support for the “Savage” rapper. During her Friday (Dec. 23) Weekends With Adele residency show at The Colosseum at Cesars Palace in Las Vegas, the 15-time Grammy winner shouted out the Houston Hottie. She began by telling concertgoers about a viral TikTok mashup in which Megan does the choreography to her own hit “Body,” but which was edited to make it appear as if she were dancing to “Water Under the Bridge” from 25. “Someone said, ‘Why doesn’t Adele have backup dancers?’” the singer recalled. “And then someone made a video of ‘Water Under the Bridge’ with Meg Thee Stallion doing the dance do it. Remember...
Tamar Braxton Rushed to Hospital After Enjoying Christmas Fun: ‘I Thought God Was Calling Me Back’
Tamar Braxton wants people to take the flu seriously this season. The singer and TV personality revealed on Friday (Dec. 23) that she had to be rushed to the hospital due to the severity of her symptoms. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The “Love and War” singer started out her Instagram post by pointing out that she wasn’t seeking attention, but that her message was to bring attention to the seriousness of the flu. “I was with my best friends … shopping and doing Christmas fun sht and the VERY NEXT DAY I had to be taken to the hospital by AMBULANCE, needed oxygen cause I thought God was taking me home cause I could not breathe and my chest was on FIRE!!” Braxton explained in her carousel, which kicked off with a video of her and her pal...
Barack Obama Reveals His Playlist of Favorite 2022 Tunes
Barack Obama knows what’s good. The former president revealed his playlist of favorite songs from 2022 on Friday (Dec. 23). “I always enjoy sharing my end of year music playlist with all of you — and this year we heard a lot of great songs. Here are some of my favorites,” he tweeted. “Are there any songs or artists I should check out?” Indeed. Of the 25 songs he listed, 13 of the artists who created those tunes are nominated for 2023 Grammy awards. And the genres are quite diverse. Obama’s favorites run the gamut from hip-hop to country, Afrobeats to pop, Latin to rock and more. So what did he spin on repeat this year? Everything from Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” which the artist surprise dropped days ahead of the May arrival of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers; to Bad Bunny’s “Ti...
Maxi Jazz, Singer and Founding Member of UK Dance Group Faithless, Dies at 65
Maxi Jazz, the singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with the electronic band Faithless, has died, The Guardian and Rolling Stone report. Members of Faithless confirmed the news on social media earlier today (December 24). “We are heartbroken to share that Maxi died peacefully in his sleep last night,” Faithless keyboardist Sister Bliss wrote on Twitter. He was 65 years old. Maxwell Frasier was born Brixton, London in 1957. He got his start as a musician in the 1980s, performing with his band, the Soul Food Cafe System, and hosting a hip-hop show called “In the Soul Kitchen with DJ Maxi Jazz” on the pirate radio station Reach FM. He later started the label Namu Records to release music from the Soul Food Cafe System, and toured Europe with the group. Frasier formed Faith...
Morgan Wallen’s ‘You Proof’ Breaks Record as Longest-Leading No. 1 in Country Airplay Chart History
Morgan Wallen makes history on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “You Proof” leads the list (dated Dec. 31) for an unprecedented ninth week. The song, released on Big Loud Records, dethrones two titles that dominated Country Airplay — which began in January 1990 — for eight frames each: Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003) and Lonestar’s pop crossover hit “Amazed” (1999). In the tracking week ending Dec. 22, “You Proof” increased by 2% to 25.4 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. (As previously reported, this week marks a switch to a Friday-through-Thursday tracking schedule for Billboard’s individual-format airplay charts.) “Breaking this record is simply a testament to a huge song and Morgan continuing to evolve and strengthen as a vita...
Brooklyn Drill Rapper Dusty Locane in Jail for Gun Charges
Buzzing Brooklyn rapper Dusty Locane pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from 2019 and 2020 offenses. On Nov. 24, the drill artist posted to Instagram that he would be turning himself in on Nov. 30 to serve his sentence, which includes a mandatory minimum of one year with a maximum sentence of three years. “Been fightin [these] cases for damn near 4 [years],” the 23-year-old wrote in an Instagram caption. “Now I gotta go handle up ima take care of dis short bid n ima be bacc nine five times stronger ‼️” Dusty Locane hasn’t let the time behind bars detract from his release cycle. The rapper dropped an EP, CATCH DA FLU, on Dec. 5 and shared a music video for album cut “WAY BACC,” re-released on his Halloween project, NIGHTMARE ON DA FIFTH. ...
Chris Isaak’s Love of Holiday Music Runs Deep: Behind the Setlist Podcast
Chris Isaak doesn’t just dabble in holiday music — he’s loved it since growing up in Stockton, in California’s Central Valley, listening to Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Vince Guaraldi, Gene Autrey’s “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and Roy Orbison’s version of the Willie Nelson song “Pretty Paper.” Those influences come through on his latest album, Everybody Knows It’s Christmas, released Oct. 14 through Sun Label Group. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I guess whatever you listen to when you’re a kid, that’s in your head and that’s really Christmas — because you’re never going to beat that excitement,” the singer tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. Everybody Knows It’s Christmas is Isaak’s second studio album of holi...
Sia Gives Her Favorite ‘Survivor’ Season 43 Players Major Cash Prizes
Turns out Survivor contestants don’t necessarily have to outwit, outplay or outlast in order to win a big cash prize. That’s because Sia has once again given away huge spoils of her own to her favorite season 43 contestants. In a video shared by Entertainment Weekly on Friday (Dec. 23), the pop star doled out $200,000 to three players who fell short of the CBS competition’s $1 million grand prize when the Sole Survivor was announced on Dec. 14. “Hi, Jesse! It’s your biggest fan, Sia!” she begins during a video chat with Jesse Lopez, who finished in fourth place. “I really think that you deserved to win, and I think you just played the most epic, sneaky, wonderful game in the whole world. … So I wanted to give you $100,000.” “Oh my god!” a shocked Lopez exclaimed. The pop star then went on ...
Barack Obama Names SZA’s “Shirt,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” as Some of His Favorite Songs of 2022
Barack Obama is closing out 2022 with his annual list of favorite songs. 44 took to social media to share his year-end music playlist which featured the likes of SZA’s “Shirt,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Rosalía’s “SAOKO,” Koffee’s “Pull Up” and Burna Boy’s “Last Last.” “I always enjoy sharing my end of year music playlist with all of you — and this year we heard a lot of great songs. Here are some of my favorites,” he wrote on Twitter. “Are there any songs or artists I should check out?” he also asked, prompting users to reply with their own picks. Check out Obama’s full playlist below. I always enjoy sharing my end of year music playlist with all of you — and this year we heard a lot of great ...
Meyhem Lauren ft. Westside Gunn “Trigger Point Therapy,” Rich Homie Quan “Money” & More | Daily Visuals 12.22.22
HipHopWired Featured Video While Hip-Hop heads await a new Griselda project to bump on the block while hugging it to death, their individual members have been doing their thing on both the solo tip and guest features on other artists cuts. Such is the case with Westside Gunn who hops on Meyhem Lauren’s visuals to “Trigger Point Therapy” Gunn rolls around the town and blazes some chronic while Meyhem counts his stacks on the same table where his street sweeper is laid out. That’s one way to do it. Speaking of counting stacks, Rich Homie Quan does the same (minus the heat) and in his clip to “Money” flaunts all kinds of cash which he uses to make it rain on one lucky young lady in the privacy of his own home. Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from 38 Spesh and Ransom, Icewea...
Memphis Rapper Big Scarr Dies at 22
Big Scarr, the Memphis rapper known for his breakout single “Make a Play,” has died, TMZ and Fox13 Memphis report. He was pronounced dead on Thursday (December 22) by local police, who declined to share his cause of death, stating the investigation is still ongoing. He was 22 years old. Big Scarr was born Alexander Woods, and he grew up in the Magnolia neighborhood of South Memphis, where he lived with his grandmother until he was 13. After she died from lung cancer, he moved in with his father. As a teenager, Scarr was in a car accident that left him with multiple scars on his face; the incident inspired his stage name. In 2020, Scarr was shot and had to undergo surgery to have his appendix removed as a result of the wound. Scarr began rapping after a close friend encouraged him to give i...
