entertainment blog
HHW Gaming: Hip-Hop Star Tee Grizzley Links With XSET To Give Former Inmates An Extra Life
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: XSET / Tee Grizzley Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley is the latest big name to rep the set officially. Wednesday (Apr.6), it was announced Tee Grizzley would be joining XSET, the world’s most diverse, innovative, socially conscious gaming, esports, and lifestyle organization. The “First Day Out” crafter is a huge gamer and credits video games for keeping him off the streets and out of trouble. Wanting to return the favor, Grizzley is using his partnership with XSET to teach people, more specifically former inmates, that video games are not just for fun but can be used to earn a living. The new initiative will see Grizzley and XSET “provide personal consoles to ex-inmates that are looking to create a positive change in their life and invite them to join his Gri...
Action Bronson Drops New Track “SubZero” and Announces New Album ‘Cocodrillo Turbo’
Action Bronson on Thursday announced his seventh studio album Cocodrillo Turbo and dropped the official video for the record’s lead single “SubZero.” “I first came up with this album while in the water,” Bronson explained upon announcing the record. “I’ve spent many lifetimes in the water. I’m just a water man. I was born in the water, I’m a water sign.” Cocodrillo Turbo, which is slated for release on April 29, will include features from Conway The Machine, Roc Marciano, Hologram and Meyhem Lauren, with production from The Alchemist, Daringer, Roc Marciano and Bronson himself. “It’s on like it’s never been on before I promise,” Bronson wrote on Instagram alongside the album artwork. “Dr. Baklava is back again.” Directed by James Larese, the new “SubZero” visual sees Bronson boogie-bo...
Muni Long’s ‘Hrs and Hrs’ Hits No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
Muni Long’s “Hrs and Hrs” hits No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, advancing from No. 3 to lead the list dated April 9. The new champ’s coronation comes just two weeks after Muni Long’s independent label, Supergiant, announced a partnership deal with Def Jam Recordings. With Def Jam’s credit addition, “Hrs and Hrs” secures the label’s first R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 in nearly six years, since Desiigner’s “Panda” reigned for two weeks in June 2016. “Hrs and Hrs” ascends after it climbed to 20 million in radio audience and registered the highest listenership of any song from U.S. monitored R&B/hip-hop stations in the week ending March 31, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. The new champ improved 14% from a 17.6 million audience total in the prior week (ending M...
Record Label Market Share Q1 2022: Interscope Leads, Indies Gain, Disney Surges Into Top 10
We don’t talk about Bruno, but Disney is giving the music business something else to talk about: its impressive new share of the market. As 2022 got underway, the soundtrack to Encanto, the Disney film that was released over the holiday season, saw its Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned collection of songs become the biggest album of the year so far in the first quarter stemming from Dec. 31, 2021 through March 31, 2022. The success of the soundtrack — the first album of 2022 to pass 1 million equivalent album units, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data — has had a tangible effect on the market share rankings for Q1, as the Disney Music Group surged into the top 10 of overall market share, the most significant of several moves atop the rankings compared to Q1 last year. Interscope/Geffen/A&...
Diplo & Miguel’s ‘Don’t Forget My Love’ Hits No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay Chart
Diplo and Miguel lift to the summit of Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart (dated April 9) with “Don’t Forget My Love.” The song is Miguel’s first No. 1 and Diplo’s initial solo leader, following three trips to the top as part of Major Lazer and one as half of Silk City. As a member of Major Lazer (with Walshy Fire and Ape Drums), Diplo has reigned with “Lean On,” with DJ Snake and featuring MØ (13 weeks at No. 1, 2015); “Light It Up,” featuring Nyla and Fuse ODG (two, 2016); and “Lay Your Head on Me,” featuring Marcus Mumford (2020). With Silk City (with Mark Ronson), Diplo has led with “New Love,” featuring Ellie Goulding (two, 2021). Overall, Diplo has 19 solo Dance/Mix Show Airplay entries, including 11 top 10s. Miguel previously reached the chart as a featured vocalist on Kygo’s ...
Jack White Teases His Jay-Z Collab May ‘See the Light of Day’
Jack White shared in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that a collab between him and Jay-Z might be coming out soon. The White Stripes frontman is to release two solo projects this year, the first of which, Fear of the Dawn, is due Friday (April 8). In the interview, Lowe brought up the rumor that White and Jay-Z were “sitting on heat.” “It’s true, but it’s not me who doesn’t finish stuff. I’m not that guy,” White teased. “I’m more the personality, like, I’ll be there tomorrow. So it’s different working styles. So some of that stuff will see the light of day when those guys aren’t busy with other projects and stuff.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Sharing his experience working with the rapper, White said, “It was so different becau...
Whoopi Says Will Smith Will “Be Fine” After Oscars Slap
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty Whoopi Goldberg hasn’t been afraid to weigh in on the Oscars controversy involving Chris Rock and Will Smith, but she feels Smith will be okay in the long run. In the opening discussion on Monday’s (April 4th) episode of The View, the panel spoke about the recently publicized developments that Netflix and Sony have put film projects starring the King Richard actor on hold. This was reportedly in response to Smith slapping Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith at the Academy Awards a week ago. Related Stories “Some of Will Smith’s future projects are in question. The question is does he have a path back? Yes, of course, he does,” Goldberg said to open up the discussion with her co-hosts, chuckling....
Judge Says Tory Lanez Violated Megan Thee Stallion Restraining Orders, Ups Bail
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Jerod Harris / Getty Tory Lanez found out the hard way that his tweets could also land him in trouble with the law, and Twitter was here for the karma. Tuesday (Apr.5), Tory Lanez and his atrocious fade were handcuffed and reprimanded into custody after Judge David V. Herriford of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County said he violated a protective order and personal contact order. Reporter Nancy Dillion shared details on Twitter, noting that Lanez’s bail was increased from $250,000 to $350,000, and he would be released after he posted bail. The judge listened to arguments about Lanez’s social media activity for about an hour before concluding that some of them “seem to be clear messages” sent to Megan Thee Stallion. Dillion later shared that Lane...
Pusha T & Jay-Z Trade Bars On “Neck & Wrist” Track, Twitter Salutes The Penmanship
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty The Internet streets were abuzz with rumors that a certain Brooklyn rapper would connect once again with the crowned king of “Coke Rap” in Pusha T. The track “Neck & Wrist” has materialized and the feature from Jay-Z certainly had the fans and even some record executives discussing the bars. It’s been a few hours so the dust seems to be settling but Pusha T, who has been on a quick mini-run thus far in 2022, delivered quite a treat in securing the Jay-Z feature for “Neck & Wrist,” produced by the deft hands of Pharrell Williams. King Push employs a unique vocal style that emphasized the last line of the bars to great effect, but Hov came through and really crushed the buildings, respectfully. Jay-Z took time out of runni...
August Alsina Alludes To Jada Pinkett Smith Affair In New Song Because Of Course
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Will Smith’s meltdown at the Oscars has been the talk of the town ever since last Sunday night and while many felt Chris Rock earned that Big Willy slap he ended up getting, others felt that Will should’ve held onto that pimp hand for one August Alsina. Now a week after the slap hear ’round the world, the singer with whom Jada Pinkett Smith admitted to having an “entanglement” with is once again hinting at his affair with Will Smith’s wife in a new song dubbed “Shake The World.” Alluding to the backlash he caught when his affair with Jada was revealed, right out the gate August rapped “I heard I was canceled / Well, let’s speak on that / Red dot on my back / I became a target / And I’m flawed but flawless / That’s what makes me ...
Sharon Van Etten Announces New Album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
Sharon Van Etten has announced her new album. The follow-up to 2019’s Remind Me Tomorrow is called We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong and it’s out May 6 via Jagjaguwar. Check out the album’s trailer below. The new album’s announcement isn’t accompanied by the release of any new songs. In fact, she doesn’t plan to release any songs from the album until it’s released in full. “I wanted to approach this release differently, to engage my fans in an intentional way, in an effort to present the album as a whole body of work,” Van Etten said in a statement. “These 10 songs are designed to be listened to in order, at once, so that a much larger story of hope, loss, longing and resilience can be told.” The album doesn’t include the recently released songs “Porta” or “Used to It.” We’ve Been Goin...
Bush Tetras’ New Drummer Is Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley
In October—just prior to the release of the band’s retrospective box set—Bush Tetras’ founding drummer Dee Pop died at age 65. Prior to a handful of shows they’re playing later this year, the band members announced today that they’ve brought on a new drummer: Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley. In a statement, Bush Tetras said they’ve known Shelley for years. “We knew it would be impossible to replace Dee in many ways, but having Steve join us has been both comforting and invigorating,” vocalist Cynthia Sley said in a statement. “He just fit in seamlessly, like a missing puzzle piece. We can now see a future for the Bush Tetras.” Guitarist Pat Place added, “It’s been nothing but fun playing with Steve and we are really excited about our first official shows with him.” The band has been rehea...
