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NLE Choppa Talks Growth, Depression, ‘From Dark to Light’ LP & More
Source: Johnny Louis / Getty At the top of 2020, NLE Choppa was in a different state of mind. Granted, none of us knew what to expect as the year wore on, but as we were all forced to slow down and be still, the Memphis rapper found himself embracing the quiet moments. “I’m a helper and I’m a healer.”—NLE Choppa From time to time, anyone can catch Choppa online, either tending to his garden, making a vegan breakfast or meditating in his backyard. In October, he tweeted: “I didn’t change. I just found myself.” Two months before in August, the rapper released his debut studio album Top Shotta, a nod to his Jamaican heritage on his mother’s side, but admits that by the end of recording it, he felt drained and listless. The fiery, devil-may care energy of Choppa’s music simply wasn’t mov...
Underground Vibes | 058
GunFight – “Virtual Séance” Bringing fresh and atmospheric industrial techno vibes to the table, GunFight’s latest offering, titled “Virtual Séance,” is arguably one of his best to date. “Just Friends” – YAMAN & Robbie Rosen Coming to bedroom-based label Esc. Records for their latest release, YAMAN and Robbie Rosen join forces for “Just Friends,” an intricate pop-dance record. “Stolen Dance” – LILO Covering Milky Chance’s 2013 hit “Stolen Dance,” mysterious producer LILO showcases his skills once again, turning the indie tune into a dancefloor-ready house vibe. “Palace” – Perk Pietrek A 6-time DJ Battle Champion in Singapore, Perk Pietrek is as skilled on the production as he is behind the decks, and his latest release on Quality Goods Records definitely proves ...
Racism on the Road: The Oral History of Black Artists Touring in the Segregated South
“We were happy, we were singing, we were joyful, we were away from home for the first time, youngsters on a magical show,” recalls Martha Reeves, lead singer of the girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, who toured through the South as part of Motown’s pioneering tours in the early ’60s. “But being met with the hatred, it was alarming — especially when the bus was shot at.” Below, Billboard presents an oral history of Black touring artists in the ’50s and ’60s, including interviews with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and one-hit wonders, stars from the Motown and Stax soul labels, and veterans of the Motown Revue and Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars. All remain shocked and angry at the racism they experienced, mostly in the South, but a...
How Telcos are Bringing Inclusion to Africa’s Financial Landscape
Sourced from IDG Connect Mobile financial services are a global game-changer with an open money network being the connection needed between the financial industry and telecom to increase both the commercial and social benefits. As the world grapples with an unprecedented crisis in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are cautious to use cash or making a withdrawal from an ATM and agent network. This has given mobile money a new dimension as customers can make payment anywhere at any time with their mobile devices as easy as sending a text message in geographies that are normally unable to benefit from banking structures. This allows customers to seamlessly purchase products or services without having to physically hand over cash or swipe a card. The freedom to send, spend and recei...
EDM.com Presents “Quarantini Chats” Episode #9: Plastik Funk
Whether they’re bedazzling eggs with rhinestones, baking their own sourdough from scratch, or concocting absurd cocktails, those in the social media community at large have embraced their creativity during their time in quarantine. Harnessing that creativity and manifesting it into the dance music community, EDM.com’s Instagram Live interview series “Quarantini Chats” invites the brightest music producers and DJs in the game to join our platform and craft a custom cocktail as they sip and dive into a wide range of topics with our special guest hosts, The Hotel Lobby. Dance music vet Plastik Funk is joining EDM.com for the ninth episode of “Quarantini Chats.” The German powerhouse is a mainstay on the biggest dance music labels in the world and is re...
Can the 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV Compete With BMW and Mercedes?
The new Escalade isn’t just for loyal Cadillac buyers anymore. Even German-brand fans should take a serious look at the redesigned Escalade, which has upped its game after watching the segment leapfrog it in the years since its comparison win in 2015. After spending some time in a loaded $113,565 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV—that’s the long-wheelbase Chevrolet Suburban-sized model—we have some thoughts on how the Cadillac excels and and how it falls behind the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS. The Luxury of Choice The Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator offer one luxury that Mercedes, BMW, Infiniti, and Lexus probably never will—two available sizes. Offering this additional layer of customization allows buyers to zone in on what they really want from a full-size three-row luxury ...
Check Out Which Dance Music Album Was #1 When You Graduated High School
Ah, graduation. A day you toss your cap into the swirling wind that will carry you to your next chapter in life. While graduation ceremonies were forced to retreat to the murky cobwebs of the virtual space thanks to the bulldozer that is COVID-19, their momentous nature was not lost. Students still graduated and they should be proud. To celebrate both graduating seniors and the optimistic nature of the dance music community, we put together a list of the records that topped Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the month of June each year dating back to 2004. If you didn’t graduate in the month of June, you can check which album topped the chart on your exact date here. 2020 – Lady Gaga, The Fame 2019 – Marshmello, Fortnite Extended Set 2018 – The Chain...
How Entering Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Financially Impacts Artists
They get a statuette, Wikipedia update and maybe even a legacy boost. But does being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall actually help artists financially? Particularly when a performer, while fully deserving of the honor, isn’t currently a stadium-level star? The Zombies, the English rockers known for haunting songs like 1968’s “Time of the Season,” were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2019 — after their fourth nomination in five years. “It’s going to give you a bump in activity on streaming and socials,” the band’s manager, Chris Tuthill, tells SPIN, “because people are talking about you and seeing you. But beyond that, it doesn’t automatically flip a switch. It doesn’t mean you’re going to draw more people to a show. It doesn’t mean the promoter’s going to pay you more, that you’re goin...
The Ford Explorer “Cherokee Truckster” Is Neither Jeep Nor Proper Family Truckster
See all 8 photos But what if the Griswold’s road trip took place a decade later? Would the family still hit the road in a station wagon? Maybe. Then again, Clark might have decided to join the hoards of families embracing truck-based SUVs such as the still rather new Ford Explorer. For better or worse, such a vision of this alternate timeline exists and is pictured here. The rather unfortunate vehicle bears the name Cherokee Truckster. Presumably a tie-in between the fictional Wagon Queen brand and Ford, the 1994 Ford Explorer Cherokee Truckster proudly wears its Blue Oval and Explorer badges. However, the Cherokee Truckster kit adds an unmistakably Family Truckster-inspired style to Ford’s family SUV. Green paint? Check. (This is reportedly one of just three Explore...
Times Flies When You’re Having Fun: SPIN Is 35…
“I hope I die before I get old,” sang Pete Townsend, never meaning that for a second — no right thinking person ever would! But rock magazines — and songs, albums, groups, videos, hairstyles and fashions — do get old, some very old, and, like the inevitably doomed nasties in The Raiders of the Lost Ark series, who age hundreds of years and their fleshless skeletons disintegrate to dust before our eyes, they do disappear into the ether. And rock magazines — both those words so gloriously anachronistic now! — really do age more in dog years than human ones. So, to be 35 years old now, is very old by canine and media measurement, and even by human is quite possibly older than you are. Ha! We’ve never felt better! Forgot to mention that we’re like Peter Pan. I’m not going to say we’re retarded...
The Silly Parties
The 1970 famed Monty Python Flying Circus sketch “Election Night Special” featured political parties ranging in silliness that ran against each other for local elections. The bit had two main parties: the sensible and the silly, but there were also other independents such as the slightly-silly and the very-silly. Full of ridiculously long candidate names and ludicrous costumes, the various parties may have parodied the UK elections, but are just as insightful when looking at the U.S. Over the last 35 years there have been many silly parties and candidates who have run for president of the United States and SPIN is taking you back through some of the absolute silliest! Election of 1988 – Mrs. Foggybottom, Cocktail Party CREDIT: Mrs Foggybottom campaign flyer In 1988, the elegant...
The Most Influential Artists: #35 No Doubt
As part of our 35th-anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #35. From Anaheim, California, here’s No Doubt. CREDIT: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images Disneyland, the Angels, NAMM, Orange County — for most people, that’s all that came to mind when thinking of Anaheim, and even that was a stretch. Enter No Doubt. Though they’d been peripherally circling the L.A. major label scene for a few years, Gwen Stefani kicked past the Orange Curtain and picked up where Mike Ness and Social Distortion left off, bringing OC to the masses. Stefani introduced a new type of frontwoman that would be often replicated, but never duplicated, in the years to come. Beginning with their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt set the standard for ska-blending p...
