entertainment blog
Madlib’s Mastery of Beat-Making Knows No Boundaries
From collaborating with Freddie Gibbs and Erykah Badu to the late legends MF Doom and J. Dilla, Madlib has been proving his beat-making skills for over three decades. Known for his meticulous approach to sampling — the act of reusing and remixing sound from another recording — it may seem like the producer has the process of engineering the perfect loop down to a science, but really, he says, anyone can do it. (Turns out, despite being one of hip-hop’s most influential names, he’s also a pretty humble guy.) According to Madlib, sampling is just about listening for a catchy sound to pull from a track and then chop, layer and warp to create something new. It’s a process that launched him to legend status following the release of 2004’s critically-acclaimed Madvillainy, the sole LP to come ou...
Rex Orange County Has Sexual Assault Charges Dismissed
A London court has dismissed six charges of sexual assault filed against Rex Orange County earlier this year, BBC News reports. The British singer-songwriter had denied a woman’s allegations of unwanted touching. In a statement today, he said independent evidence including CCTV footage and a witness account had failed to support the allegations. The Crown Prosecution service told the BBC that the evidence no longer met its test for prosecution. “I have never assaulted anyone and I do not condone violence or abusive behaviour of any kind,” Rex Orange County’s statement reads, in part. “It’s been a difficult time for everyone involved and I’d like to thank the people who have helped me through it as well as my family and loved ones for their continued support.” Prior to the dismissal, Rex Or...
Kate Bush Reflects on Nursing Strikes and the Queen’s Death in Christmas Message
In her annual Christmas message, Kate Bush has expressed support for striking nurses in the United Kinggdom, lamented Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the Ukraine war, and furthered her (already quite extensive) celebration of Netflix’s Stranger Things. “It’s a bombardment—the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen,” she wrote. “Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.” As British nurses strike for better pay and working conditions, Bush said, “I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated—they should be cherished.” Of her resurgent class...
Young Dolph’s Legacy Celebrated With Traveling ‘Dolphland’ Pop-Up Museum
Last week, Young Dolph’s estate released its first posthumous LP from the late rapper, entitled Paper Route Frank. The album dropped one year after Dolph, whose real name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was tragically murdered in his hometown of Memphis at the age of 36. The rapper’s estate, along with Paper Route Empire and the Trap Music Museum, will continue to celebrate Dolph’s legacy and impact on rap music through a touring pop-up museum exhibit. The museum, called Dolphland, will “display original curated art and personal items that reflect Young Dolph’s unforgettable lyricism, personality, entrepreneurial spirit, philanthropy, and historic moments from his legendary career,” the press release reads. The touring pop-up will kick off in New York City on January 13 through 15. It won’t...
Rex Orange County Has Sexual Assault Charges Dropped Before Trial
Rex Orange County has shared a statement saying that all charges against him in a sexual assault case have been dropped. In October, the musician, real name Alex O’Connor, was charged with six counts of sexually assaulting a woman in London — pleading not guilty to all of the charges at Southwark Crown Court. The singer-songwriter was accused of assaulting the woman on six occasions between June 1 and 2. He allegedly assaulted the woman twice in London’s West End — once in a taxi, and three times at his home in Notting Hill. Following the allegations, he was set to provisionally face trail on January 3, 2023. Now, in a statement posted today, Rex Orange County revealed that all the charges against him have been dropped. “Today, all charged against me have been dropped,” he said...
Mac DeMarco Covers “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
After releasing a jolly rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” last year, Mac DeMarco is continuing his tradition of covering Christmas songs with a new take on the classic, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” The two-minute track arrives with an accompanying music video, in which DeMarco and Dan McNeill explore Los Angeles on motorcycles dressed in inflatable costumes of Santa Claus and a gingerbread man. DeMarco has long covered Christmas songs around the holidays. In seasons past, the artist has also dropped renditions of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and “Wonderful Christmastime.” Outside of the holiday music circuit, DeMarco released his latest album, Here Comes the Cowboy, in 2019. The 13-track effort, which marked his fourth full-l...
Lizzo Shows Off Her New ‘Wolf Cut’ on TikTok
Lizzo, fresh off of her appearance as musical guest on SNL last weekend, has a fresh new look. She took to TikTok on Tuesday (Dec. 20) to show off her new hairstyle, a wolf cut featuring shaggy, wavy layers and bangs. “are we loving the wolf cut ???” she asked her followers on the post, which had reached 3.9 million views at press time. In the video, Lizzo mouths a Blair Waldorf line from the original Gossip Girl series: “Some people are simply better than others.” Her cute new hairstyle can also be seen in a second clip, in which the singer applied lipstick and showed off her outfit, a T-shirt dress with cut-outs. “I’m posting a lot today so beware,” she wrote. “Obsessed w how cute I was yesterday,” she added in an Instagram glimpse at herself in the mirror. See Lizzo’s new hairstyle belo...
SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ Fills No. 1 Spot on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart
One week after SZA’s first anniversary at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the singer-songwriter returns to the summit for her second career chart-topper thanks to “Kill Bill.” The track debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Dec. 24 and is one of seven SZA titles in the top 10, all from her new album, SOS. “Kill Bill” traces its chart-topping start largely to 36.9 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 15, according to Luminate, for a No. 1 opening on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The track also sold 1,000 downloads in the same period and pulled 22,000 in radio audience impressions. The low radio audience is due to the song not being an actively promoted single to radio stations — “Shirt” is the current track at R&B/hip-hop stations, while “...
‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters’: How to Stream the Limited Series for Free
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. “Just like old times, only better.” Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan, Melissa De Sousa, Terrence Howard and Harold Perrineau reunite in The Best Man: The Final Chapters. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The limited series, based on the film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, will premiere on Peacock on Thursday (Dec. 22). Fans of The Best Man will get a chance to catch up with the lives of Harper (Diggs), Robyn (Lathan), Jordan (Long), Lance (Chestnut), Quenti...
Rihanna’s ‘Lift’ Rises to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Rihanna conquers a new radio format with her long-awaited comeback single, “Lift Me Up.” The track, from the soundtrack to the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, crowns the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Dec. 24. It’s her first No. 1 — and top 10 — on the chart and her ninth charting song on the list to date. “Lift” jumps from No. 3 after a 24% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending Dec. 18, according to Luminate. Thanks to the double-digit improvement, the new champ captures the weekly Greatest Gainer honor for the biggest increase in plays among the chart’s 30 titles. “Lift” seizes the throne from Jazmine Sullivan’s “Hurt Me So Good,” displacing the latter after two weeks in charge. “Hurt” is pushed 1-2, despite a ...
Justin Bieber Reportedly Closing a Deal To Sell His Catalog for $200 Million USD
Justin Bieber is making big moves in the industry. Sources have confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the artist is set to close a deal to sell his music rights and cataloged to the Blackstone-backed company, Hipgnosis Songs Capital, for $200 million USD. The news, which has been rumored for weeks, has been confirmed by sources close to the deal, that the sale is imminent. Variety reports that the deal is not yet complete, but would include Bieber’s shares of his publishing as well has his recorded-music catalog. While the deal will relinquish his music rights, the song will still be administered and owned by Universal. The news arrives as Bieber recently postponed his remaining dates of the Justice tour until next year. The tour was originally supposed to begin in 2020, but due to com...
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Addresses The Future of ‘Black Adam’ In James Gunn’s DCU
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. Ever since Warner Bros. tapped James Gunn to run their DCU film division, Gunn and his partner-in-crime, Peter Safran have made it very clear that they’re all about “out with the old and in with the new,” and though we’ve learned Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Superman (Henry Cavill) are out the door, Black Adam (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) had been somewhat in limbo. No more. Yesterday The Rock took to Twitter to inform his millions (and millions!!) of Rock fans that his iteration of Black Adam wouldn’t be included in James Gunn vision of the DC universe, though he didn’t as far as to say that his character wouldn’t be returning to the big screen on his own. In a statement, Johnson confirmed that he met with James Gunn but...
