entertainment blog
Russian “Troll Factory” Targets Daft Punk, David Guetta, Tiësto’s Social Media: Report
Electronic music pioneers Daft Punk, David Guetta and Tiësto‘s social media accounts have reportedly been targeted by a disinformation operation launched by internet trolls in Saint Petersburg, Russia. According to The Guardian, the “troll factory” is allegedly linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Internet Research Agency. The organization had been suspected of interfering in the United States’ 2016 election, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The headquarters of IRA are believed to be in a rented space in Saint Petersburg’s Arsenal Machine-building Factory, which manufactures military equipment and technology. Daft Punk, Guetta and Tiësto were appa...
Splice’s New AI-Powered Musical Sketch Pad Could Upend the Sound Discovery Process
Discovering sounds on Splice will never be the same. Splice’s new AI-powered technology, CoSo, is completely changing how music producers and sound designers discover and harness audio. Designed to provide creatives with a simple, effective way to discover new sounds for their work, the intelligent surface for music creation was developed by Splice’s in-house ML&Audio Science Innovation Team. CoSo is straightforward to use. Since it pairs Complementary Sounds technology with Splice’s massive sounds catalog, there are billions of possible tonal combinations for producers to discover. To get started, users can choose a “style” before CoSo spits out a unique “stack” of loops. Similarly to Tinder, users can swipe right for a new sound, left t...
Black Star Has ‘No Fear of Time’ in First Album in Over 20 Years
Black Star has officially released their first studio album in almost 24 years, No Fear of Time. Exclusively available on Luminary, the new project features production from Madlib and nine new tracks of yasiin bey and Talib Kweli, along with guest appearances from Yummy Bingham on the title track and Black Thought on the closer “Freequency.” bey previously shared in a statement, “What you will continue to get out of us is a sincere expression. It’s who we really are, what we’re really responding to, and what’s really important to us.” Kweli added, “This is very similar to how we did the first album. But the first album, there were no mobile studios. This entire album, we have not set foot in one recording studio. It’s all been done in hotel rooms and backstage at Dave Chappelle shows.” Kwe...
BTS, Justin Bieber Concerts Boost HYBE’s Quarterly Earnings
Korean music company HYBE, home to K-pop superstars BTS, posted revenue of 285 billion KRW ($226 million) in the first quarter of 2022, the company announced Tuesday (May 3). The result — which marks a nearly 60% revenue increase year over year but a decrease of 37.8% from last quarter — followed a record-breaking year for HYBE in 2021, when the company surpassed $1 billion in revenue for the first time thanks to its acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. The Q1 results were bolstered by a return to large-scale live events, including BTS’ Permission to Dance shows in Seoul in March, which drew over 45,000 fans in person. An additional 1.4 million fans viewed the livestream, which smashed box office records; the March 12 screening alone grossed $6.9 million in North America, making...
The Best Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gifts for Every Kind of Budget
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. Mother’s Day is less than a week away, but there’s no need to panic. You still have plenty of time to find a great gift. To make your life a bit easier, we took the liberty of curating a list of more than a dozen of the best, last-minute gifts to buy for Mother’s Day. No matter what your budget might look like, you’re sure to find something suitable on the list. The items listed below are available at Amazon (free delivery for Prime members) as well as in-store pickup via Target, Walmart and other retailers. For more Mother’s Day recommendations, see our rou...
The Kid Laroi, Tones And I Rule 2022 APRA Awards
With a hattrick of wins, The Kid Laroi led from start to finish as the APRA Music Awards returned to Melbourne on Tuesday night (May 3). The teenage superstar has rolled in a purple patch the likes of which few artists see. Now based in Los Angeles, the Sydney-raised artist led the singles and albums charts in the U.S. and Australia in 2021, and, along the way, logged a record-setting stay at the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Stay,” his collaboration with Justin Bieber. At the 2022 APRAs, Laroi nabbed the night’s top prize and the final category of the night, song of the year, and accepted the donut-shaped award by way of a live zoom from his studio in Los Angeles. Earlier, Laroi (real name Charlton Howard) scored most performed hip-hop / rap work for “Without You” and the coveted ...
Tyler, the Creator Earns 13 New Gold and Platinum RIAA Certifications
Tyler, the Creator is bringing home a total of 13 new gold and platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), adding to the previous 10 plaques he received about a week prior. The RIAA website confirmed that the artist acquired nine gold certifications for the tracks “Potato Salad” with A$AP Rocky, “OKRA,” “F*cking Young/Perfect” with Charlie Wilson, Chaz Bundick, Syd and Kali Uchis, “IFHY” with Pharrell, “Foreword” with Rex Orange County, “Where This Flower Blooms” with Frank Ocean, “Glitter,” “Domo23” and “Smuckers” with Lil Wayne and Kanye West, one gold certifications for the album WOLF and three platinum certifications for the Flower Boy cuts “911/Mr. Lonely” with Steve Lacy and Frank Ocean, “Boredom” with Rex Orange County and Anna of the North and...
Drake Signs Expansive Deal With Universal Music Group That Could Be Worth Around $400 Million USD
Drake has signed a new deal with Universal Music Group covering “multiple creative lanes and revenue streams.” Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge confirmed the news during the label’s Q1 earnings call, stating that The Boy’s wide-ranging deal includes recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects. Labelled by the music executive as “expanded portfolios,” Variety reports that an insider called the deal “LeBron-sized” and could be priced at around or higher than $360 million USD after Drizzy hinted at the signing with the bar “Three-sixty upfront, it all comes full circle,” which appears on the Scary Hours 2 cut “Lemon Pepper Freestyle.” A 2021 report from UBS Research named Drake as one of Universal Music Group’s 2021 “re-signings”; the label supposedly sp...
‘Yo! MTV Raps’ Reboot To Air on Paramount Plus
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Paramaount Plus / ViacomCBS The pioneering Hip-Hop program Yo! MTV Raps is making a comeback to television, and Paramount Plus will be its new home. According to reports, the landmark television program will be revived on the streaming platform Paramount Plus with new hosts. Yo! MTV Raps was a pivotal influence in the rise of rap music among the greater public, and the revival announced by the platform looks to tap into that energy through a “comprehensive deep dive into the current state of hip hop”. The new hosts will be DJ Diamond Kuts and the battle rapper Conceited, and the format will contain interviews in addition to live performances and ciphers. The direction of the show looks to focus on more intimate in-studio experiences with the artists and g...
Man Who Stole On Tekashi 6ix9ine Says Struggle Rapper Provoked Him
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: TMZ / TMZ A few days ago a video surfaced of a club goer living the dream and punching Tekashi 6ix9ine at a club in Miami. Although it didn’t land square on the famous snitch’s face, it did make enough contact to remind Tekashi he’s still loathed out in the streets. [embedded content] Recently TMZ was able to catch up with the man who touched Tekashin and not only does he have no regrets (why should he?) but he stated what we all felt: Tekashi deserved it. Interestingly enough though it seems like Tekashi actually provoked the punch from the man who goes by ItzMrBHN on social media as he says Tekashi and his new crew tried to bully ItzMrBHN and his peoples at Pilo’s Tacos Tequila Garden. How you ask? Well… Related Stories He claims Tekashi was filmin...
Drake Inks Monster Deal With Universal Music Group
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Cole Burston / Getty Drake has secured the bag, and it’s a massive one. Universal Music Group revealed that has renegotiated its contract with the Toronto rap star and it sounds like an all-inclusive and expensive affair. According to Variety, UMG’s Chairman revealed in its Q1 earnings calls, which went down Tuesday (May 3), that his company and Drake had “entered into an expansive, multi-faceted deal with the company that encompasses recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects.” Related Stories The specifics of Drake’s new deal, which was reportedly locked down in 2021, haven’t been shared. He has been listed as a re-signing, after his last proper album from his first Young Money/Cash Money contract, Scorpion, dropped in 2018. Neverthel...
HHW Gaming: Razer’s New Blade 15 Laptop Sounds Like Its Going To A Beast
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Razer / Razer Blade 15 Based on the specs, Razer might have just unveiled a beast of a gaming laptop. Tuesday (May.3), Razer announced its new Blade 15 gaming laptop, and it sounds like one powerful video game-playing machine. What sets this model apart from previous models is that it features an OLED QHD 240Hz display, which is unheard of on a gaming laptop. Razer boasts the Blade 15’s screen is brighter and has more vivid colors, plus performs at “esports-level speeds.” The screen is also paired with a 12th gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor and an NVIDIA®️ RTX 3070 Ti laptop graphics card making it the go-to machine for the gamers and creators. Related Stories The new OLED screen can also reach 400 nits brightness and include up to 100% DC...
