entertainment blog
Pusha T Steps Down as President of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music
Seven years after assuming the position, Pusha T has resigned from his role as president of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label. The It’s Almost Dry rapper revealed the news in an interview with XXL on Monday. When asked directly if he’s still the president of G.O.O.D. Music, Pusha simply replied, “No. No, I’m not.” While it’s been reported that G.O.O.D. Music is no longer a part of Def Jam Recordings, he went on to clarify that he still has a separate deal with Def Jam. “I have a 50/50 venture with Def Jam,” Pusha said in the interview. “For my own music and for my label.” Pusha’s latest album It’s Almost Dry was released via G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam in April, making it one of the final projects to drop under the venture, alongside 070 Shake’s June LP, You Can’t Kill Me. The last time Pusha a...
Drake Responds to “Rich Flex” Memes: ‘I’m Almost a Character in Peoples’ Movies’
Drake has responded to the viral meme trend centering his 21 Savage collaboration, “Rich Flex.” Following its release, the Her Loss cut was used in TikToks to poke fun at the rapper for the line, “21, can you do something for me?” The rapper hosted a Q&A with the online casino Stake on December 16, where he shared his thoughts on the trend. “We were out last night at this spot, and this girl was like — it was loud and she was drunk — but she was like, ‘How does it feel that everyone’s always making fun of you? I wouldn’t be able to take it,’” Drake said during the livestream, per HipHopDx. OVO went on to say that the girl’s inquiry came up because the song “Rich Flex” was playing at the time. “I was just like, you know, I understand after all these years that I feel like I have a ...
Metro Boomin Talks His and Young Thug’s Process for Testing New Tracks
Metro Boomin didn’t become one of hip hop’s leading hitmakers overnight but rather through a long process of trial and error. Earlier this month, the producer put out his sophomore album Heroes & Villains, which featured collaborations with Travis Scott, Future, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Young Thug and more. While promoting the LP, Metro appeared on the Full Send Podcast, where he dished on his procedure for making platinum-certified tracks. During the lengthy conversation, Young Metro looked back to the earlier days of his career and his first few collaborations with Young Thug. When the rapper-producer duo first began working together, Metro said that they would burn CDs of new songs and play them at the club to gauge the crowd’s response. “Man, me and Thug used to do songs and like, s...
Beth Stern Names Foster Cat After ‘Angel’ Taylor Swift Following Singer’s Donation to Animal Rescue
Taylor Swift may be the “Anti-Hero” in some regards, but not when it comes to cats. Animal advocate Beth Stern revealed Sunday (Dec. 18) that the pop star made a big donation to her pet rescue foundation Beth’s Furry Friends, and in return, she named a new foster cat in honor of Swift, who turned 33 years old on Dec. 13. “Welcome new foster from Oman!!” wrote the Kitten Bowl host, sharing a photo of the new kitty. “Her name is Angel Taylor in honor of recent birthday girl, Taylor Swift who sent me a sizable donation to Beth’s Furry Friends to help me save more lives.” “When I learned about this horrifically abused kitty who was beaten and had her ears cut off, I reached out to @street_cats_of_oman to ask if I could assist in her journey to much needed medical help and a forever family,” St...
How Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ Became a Christmas Hit Decades After Its Release
Since the business of Christmas music is growing so fast – it occupies five of the top 10 places on the Billboard Hot 100 this week – we are re-presenting some of our stories from Christmas past. This piece, about how Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” came to be considered a holiday song, originally ran in 2019. The story of the song is recounted in the recent documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” with its ambiguous, imagistic lyrics about sex and spirituality, was once described by Jeff Buckley, perhaps the song’s most famous interpreter, as “the hallelujah of the orgasm.” So how did an a cappella version by Pentatonix get to No. 21 on the Billboard Holiday 100 in 2018 — after peaking on that chart at No. 2 in 2016...
These Two Former Billboard Staffers Produced One of Rap’s Biggest Christmas Hits
Since the business of Christmas music is growing so fast – it occupies five of the top 10 places on the Billboard Hot 100 this week – we are re-presenting some of our stories from Christmas past. This piece, about how two former Billboard staffers produced the holiday hit “Christmas Rappin’” for then-up-and-coming rapper Kurtis Blow, originally ran in 2019. Since then, in 2020, Robert Ford passed away. One groundbreaking Christmas hit didn’t just make the Billboard charts — it was produced by two former employees. In 1979, J.B. Moore and Robert Ford left the magazine to produce “Christmas Rappin’ ” for an up-and-coming rapper named Kurtis Blow. Released on Mercury Records, the single went gold, and Blow became the first rapper to sign a major-label deal. At Billboard, Moore ...
Revered Nashville Venue Exit/In Gets New Talent Buyer Under AJ Capital Partners
AJ Capital Partners, the new owners of revered Nashville music venue Exit/In, have named a new talent buyer for the iconic entertainment hub and plan to re-open the shuttered venue as early as this Spring after it temporarily closed in late November. Though there had been local speculation and concern that AJ Capital would turn to a large promoter such as Live Nation to book the 51-year old independent venue, the new owners are utilizing an in-house team with Dan Merker serving as Exit/In’s lead talent buyer. Merker, who oversees talent buying for all AJ Capital properties, has previously worked at Outback Presents, HUKA Entertainment and Tortuga Music Festival. “We are honored to carry on the legacy of this iconic venue and raise the bar for both the fan and artist experience,” Merker sai...
Honesty and a Career Change Led Jas Bell To Become SZA’s Art Director
It may have taken SZA more than five years to release her second studio album, but for Jas Bell — a.k.a. Leonardo Chop, her design lead and art director as well as the founder of streetwear brand Hazelwood — the work never stopped. There’s no denying that the gap between Ctrl, SZA’s debut album, and the recently-released SOS is lengthy, but Bell doesn’t see it that way. Instead, they utilized the TDE stalwart’s unique artistry to build “massive moments” sprinkled across that five-year interlude. “‘Good Days’ was a moment. ‘I Hate U’ was a moment. When we released the Ctrl five-year anniversary stuff, that was a moment,” Bell explains. “SZA’s a gem in a way that these moments she’s created carry us through eras. There’s always inspiration flowing, and we’re always creating.” Through Bell’s ...
Kid Cudi Earns His First Diamond Certification With “Pursuit of Happiness”
Congratulations are in order for Kid Cudi, who earned his first diamond RIAA certification with “Pursuit of Happiness.” The artist took to Twitter to celebrate the feat and thank his fans, writing, “Pursuit of Happiness is certified DIAMOND!! THANK U to everyone who connected w this song and played it over and over all these years. I love you all!!” He also confirmed that several of his albums have received new platinum certifications; Man on the Moon: The End of Day is now 8x platinum, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is now 2x platinum approaching 3x and Man on The Moon III: The Chosen and Indicud are now both platinum. In addition to his new plaques, Cudder confirmed that his 2016 album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ was initially meant to be Man on The...
Ricky Martin, Kid Cudi, Daddy Yankee & More Celebrate Argentina’s Win Over France at 2022 World Final
Musicians around the globe are celebrating Argentina’s exhilarating win over France at the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Artists like Ricky Martin, Kid Cudi, Daddy Yankee, Niall Horan and many more took to social media on Sunday (Dec. 18) to express their excitement over the thrilling match at Lusail Stadium, during which Argentina beat France in penalty kicks. “God. This was crazy!! Congratulations!!” Martin, wearing a blue and white Argentina jersey, captioned a video on Instagram of himself celebrating the win. “WHAT A GAME OF FOOTBALL!! Congratulations Argentina,” former One Direction member Horan tweeted. In one of the most dramatic World Cup games in history, Argentina beat reigning men’s champion France. In a 3-3 tie after extra time, Argentina sealed the victory with 4-2 in penalt...
Argentina Wins 2022 FIFA World Cup: Celebrate With These Anthems
Argentina has been crowned the new World Cup champion. The national team, led by soccer star Lionel Messi, won the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday (Dec. 18) on penalty kicks over France. The last team standing from Latin America, La Albiceleste took home the trophy after a riveting match against the 2018 World Cup champions. The last time Argentina won a World Cup was 36 years ago in 1986. The tournament was a wild ride for Argentina, who started in November losing against Saudi Arabia 2-1. But in a 360, the team won the rest of their matches against Mexico, Poland and Australia. Lastly, they beat Croatia and headed to the final match, which was played at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. And in keeping with Argentina’s big splash the team had a big star singing the country’s national anthem. Singer/...
Cecily Strong Leaving ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Says Goodbye in Character on ‘Weekend Update’ Segment
Cecily Strong is the latest castmember to depart NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Strong’s final show was Saturday night’s edition on Dec. 17. She appeared as Kimberly Guilfoyle in the cold open and other segments, including one about “Jewish Elvis” as well as “Weekend Update.” In the latter, she played recurring character Cathy Anne, who was saying “goodbye” because she was going to prison. She joked that she’d be fine because she had “friends on the inside, they seem to be doing OK” as a photo of recently departed castmembers Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant were shown onscreen in prison garb. “Everybody has to go to jail at some point, right? It’s my time now,” she added. Breaking character a bit toward the end, she said: “I had a lot of fun here. And I feel really lucky that I have had so many ...
