Hip-Hop
8 Dead, 300 Injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival In Houston
Videos shared on social media show a chaotic scene. Early in the evening, in a separate incident, hundreds of concert-goers toppled steel barricades and stormed through security to access the concert. Later, as the tragedy was already underway, medical personnel can be seen carrying young people out on stretchers and attempting CPR on others. One clip showed Scott still on stage performing as several concertgoers attempted to inform security guards of the emergency. Friday’s festival lineup featured artists including SZA, Master P, Yves Tumor, Toro y Moi, Roddy Rich, Lil Baby and Scott, who was scheduled to close the night from 8:45-10 p.m. He brought out a surprise guest in Drake. THR reached out to Astroworld and Live Nation reps for comment but did not get an immediate response by early...
Astroworld Fest Confirms Saturday Is Canceled Following Friday Night Tragedy
According to Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña at a press conference, the “mass casualty” event occurred at 9:38 p.m. local time at Houston’s NRG Park. Estimating the crowd’s attendance at around 50,000, Peña said trouble started shortly after 9 p.m. when “the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage and that caused some panic and started causing some injuries. People began to fall out and become unconscious and that created additional panic.” Per Peña, Astroworld’s medical tent and staff was “quickly overwhelmed” by the scale of the incident, after which the Houston fire department stepped in and dispatched 50 units. Travis Scott — who brought out Drake as a surprise guest during his Astroworld...
Rap Song of the Week: Travis Scott Hatches an “ESCAPE PLAN”
Every week, our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down our favorite hip-hop tracks that dropped this week. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Travis Scott makes his grand return with “ESCAPE PLAN.” Fans were anticipating Travis Scott’s newest single, “ESCAPE PLAN,” for several months before it officially dropped today (November 5th). After it was first previewed back in June through a Spotify ad, then during a Cactus Jack for Dior fashion show, the superstar opened his sets at Rolling Loud Miami and Rolling Loud NYC with the track. Now it’s finally here, just in time for his own Astroworld Festival this weekend. Featuring a woozy, atmospheric beat by frequent collaborators Nik D and OZ, the sound of “ESCAPE PLAN” doesn’t stray from the formula that allowed Scott ...
JAY-Z on Dave Chappelle: “Great Art is Divisive”
JAY-Z weighed in on the controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle’s latest special, The Closer, arguing that “great art is divisive.” During a Twitter Spaces Q&A promoting new Netflix movie The Harder They Fall (of which JAY-Z is a producer), New York’s Craig Jenkins asked the hip-hop mogul if he had seen The Closer. (The question was especially relevant given that Chappelle helped induct JAY-Z into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week.) JAY-Z acknowledged that he had seen it and proceeded to call Chappelle “super brave and super genius. If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant.” Advertisement Related Video “I think he pushed a lot of buttons,” JAY acknowledged, adding that he himself felt uncomfortable at times watching The Closer. “But I think what happens with true art is that it...
Aminé Unveils New Project TWOPOINTFIVE: Stream
Aminé has released his latest project TWOPOINTFIVE via CLBN. Stream it below on Apple Music and Spotify. Clocking in at a brief 26 minutes, TWOPOINTFIVE contains the Pokémon name-dropping lead single “Charmander,” as well as tracks like the opener “YiPiYaY” and “Dididumduhduh.” It serves as a sequel of sorts to Aminé’s 2018 project ONEPOINTFIVE and is a direct follow-up to his 2020 sophomore album Limbo. “I worked a lot on Limbo,” explained the Portland rapper in an interview with Apple Music about the project. “It was almost mentally tiring for me because it was a lot of rewriting of verses and a lot of trying to construct this body of work that really hit a certain like line that I was trying to hit. And for this new stuff, I’m just trying to have fun. I don’t care what anyone think...
Ye (Kanye West) Sounds Off on Drake Beef, Cancel Culture & More on ‘Drink Champs’
N.O.R.E. also pointed out at the beginning of the episode that Ye was about to arrive on set with no security, something that he’s been seen doing more recently, even being seen taking commercial flights to places with his full-face mask on. But don’t be confused, the rapper still takes time to remind everyone that he’s the wealthiest person in the room, saying that he still owns 12,000 acres of property, 1,200 sheep, and various other forms of real estate. Ye also revealed that a deluxe version of Donda will eventually be released and some of the inspiration behind the album’s songs, like “24” being dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant. Ultimately, for better or for worse, Ye left no stone unturned in his inaugural visit to Drink Champs and gave us a glimpse at where his mind is at. To save ...
Travis Scott Drops ‘Escape Plan,’ ‘Mafia’ Ahead of Astroworld Headline Concert
Scott’s Bat Boy, however, is wearing dreads, has a stud in his ear, and appears on the bogus masthead Weekly World Truths. The artwork screams “The true dystopia is here,” “When the end arrives its really the beginning,” and “Who knows what lies beneath the surface?” The tracks are said to be lifted from Dystopia, a third solo mixtape, which would be followed by Utopia, a studio album. Rumors are swirling on both releases, though cold, hard details remain unconfirmed. As previously reported, Scott’s Friday night (Nov. 5) show at Astroworld will exclusively stream on Apple Music. The festival bears the name of his third and most recent album, Astroworld, which bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2018. Stream “Escape Plan” and “Mafia” below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you a...
Post Malone Delivers ‘One Right Now’ Featuring The Weeknd: Stream It Now
The song was teased by both artists earlier this week, and is rumored to be the first lifted from Malone’s forthcoming fourth album. Posty’s last LP was 2019’s Billboard 200 leader Hollywood’s Bleeding, though he has been doing the rounds on an irregular basis. In those past two years, he’s dropped a string of new numbers, including 2020’s Pokemon tie-in “Only Wanna Be with You,” and his most recent cut, “Motley Crew,” from July of this year. The Weeknd has been like Magic Johnson of late, dishing out assists left and right. The in-demand Canadian R&B artist has appeared on Swedish House Mafia’s comeback track “Moth to a Flame;” on “Hurricane” with Kanye West and Lil Baby; and “Off the Table” with Ariana Grande. Stream “One Right Now” below. You Deserve to Make ...
Post Malone and The Weeknd Drop Collaborative Single “One Right Now”: Stream
Post Malone and The Weeknd have teamed up for their new collaboration “One Right Now” via XO/Republic Records. Stream it below. Just two days before it hit streaming services, the two superstars teased the track with a social post hinting at the surprise. “PM&TW-ORN-Update.5.nonhyped.w1.mp3,” read the audio note, which contained a snippet of The Weeknd crooning, “You’re a stain on my legacy” over atmospheric production. The singer’s manager, Dre London, later confirmed the title of the mystery tune. “One Right Now” serves as the first single off Post Malone’s upcoming fourth album, according to a press release. The song was produced by Louis Bell, Brian Lee, and Andrew Bolooki. Advertisement Related Video The Weeknd is prepping his own new album, the follow-up to his hit 2020 album Aft...
Travis Scott Releases New Singles “Escape Plan” and “Mafia”: Stream
Ahead of this weekend’s Astroworld Festival, Travis Scott has shared two new singles: “Escape Plan” and “Mafia.” It marks his first new single since 2020’s “Franchise.” Scott teased the release just a few hours earlier with a spooky Instagram post: “FUCK IT LETS START IT UP NEW MUSIC AT MIDNIGHT,” he wrote. The graphic depicts him as a monster of sorts — with menacing eyes, pointed fangs, and oversized elven ears — on the cover of a satirical tabloid magazine called Weekly World Truths. “THE TRUE DYSTOPIA IS HERE!” reads the threatening headline, while the subhead forebodes: “When the end arrives it is really beginning.” Seems pleasant enough. Scott recently took the stage at a rain-soaked Rolling Loud NYC Halloween weekend. This weekend, he’ll be back in his Houston hometown for...
Megan Thee Stallion to Help Christen 713 Music Hall In Houston Hometown
Megan Thee Stallion will play a grand opening show at her new hometown Houston venue, 713 Music Hall on Dec. 3. Live Nation announced the booking on Thursday (Nov. 4), revealing that tickets for the show will go on sale beginning on Monday (Nov. 8) at 10 a.m. CT here. “It’s always special to come back home and perform in front of my OG hotties,” Meg said in a statement. “I can’t wait to take the stage and celebrate the grand opening of 713 Music Hall — it’s going to be unforgettable!” The name of the LN-managed 5,000-capacity venue honors the city by borrowing its area code. According to the release, the hall is locating in the city’s POST Houston downtown development project, which is transforming the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office into a hub for food, s...
Dwayne Johnson Shows His ‘Face Off’ Rap Skills on ‘Kimmel’: Watch
Dwayne Johnson is showing off his rap skills. During a joint appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday (Nov. 3) alongside Gal Gadot to promote their new movie, Red Notice, the former wrestler took a brief moment during the show to flex his verse on Tech N9ne’s “Face Off,” which has gone viral on TikTok in the weeks since its release. Before discussing the track, Johnson and Kimmel discussed his daughter passionately singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” during a car ride. Kimmel then asked if Johnson if his daughters have been listening to “Face Off” as much as their favorite children’s songs. “It’s their favorite song. They love it. My verse, I kill it. They attack it. They say all of the words, even the cuss words. It’s th...
