music blog
Jet Black, Founding Drummer of The Stranglers, Dies at 84
Jet Black, one of the co-founders and the original drummer in beloved British new wave/punk band The Stranglers has died at 84. “It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our dear friend, colleague and band elder statesman Jet Black,” the band wrote in a statement on Thursday (Dec. 8). “Jet died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Fond adieu, fly straight JB.” In a lengthy tribute, the band said that Black (born Brian John Duffy on Aug. 26, 1938 in Essex, England) died on Tuesday (Dec. 6) of unspecified causes. “As the ‘elder statesmen’ of the group, Jet was already a successful businessman in the Guildford area when The Stranglers formed in 1974,” they wrote. “Jet owned a fleet of ice cream vans, one of which, as many fans will fondly remember, was used to tour the UK in...
The Weeknd’s ‘Save Your Tears’ Video Surpasses 1 Billion Views on YouTube
The Weeknd‘s billion views streak continues. The singer’s music video for “Save Your Tears” has hit 1 billion views on YouTube and becomes his fifth video in his catalogue to do so. “Save Your Tears” was formally released as the fourth single from The Weeknd’s critically acclaimed and record breaking fourth studio album, After Hours, on Aug. 9, 2020. The video for the track, however, did not arrive on the video-streaming platform until the following year on Jan. 5. The provocative visual sees the pop star — face drastically changed by numerous (fake) plastic surgeries — performing for masked attendees at a dinner party and engaging in disruptive antics such as dancing on tables, purposefully spilling champagne and walking around with a gun, which he later points to his head and shoots. Con...
A$AP Rocky Announces New Album ‘Don’t Be Dumb’
A$AP Rocky on Thursday appeared on 2 Chainz‘s Amazon Music Live concert series, where he not only revealed the official title for his upcoming album but also performed three new songs from the project. During a commercial break for Thursday Night Football ahead of his performance, A$AP Rocky appeared on screen to deliver some important news. “Thursday night football. Amazon. First time back on stage. Album finished. Don’t Be Dumb. Let’s go,” he said. A$AP Rocky just announced his album is finished during a Thursday Night Football commercial ? “My album is done, don’t be dumb, let’s go” pic.twitter.com/OjEdMMYMdV — NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) December 9, 2022 Aside from playing chart-toppers “Praise the Lord,” L$D” and “Yamborghini High,” Rocky performed three new tracks during the livestrea...
Blxst Drives Down the California Coast in New “Keep Calling” Music Video
Blxst has quickly been building out his discography over the past few years. In April, the Atlanta rapper dropped his ambitious and distinctly West Coast rap studio album, Before You Go. The following month, in May, he made an appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers on the track “Die Hard” alongside Amanda Reifer. Still reeling from his ambitious ascent in the industry, Blxst has returned with some new music, teaming up with fellow California rapper Larry June. “Keep Calling” is a laidback song about staying chill and keeping your eyes on the prize, but also enjoying the perks of your success. “ I’m in rare form, know that they prayin’ for him to stop / New foreign, I just did a coupe, two in thelot,” Blxst raps in the intro. “Entertainin’ the opps, know it hurt ‘e...
AZ “Respect Mines,” Big Boi ft. Adam Levine “Mic Jack” & More | Daily Visuals 12.8.22
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty AZ still remains one of the most underrated and underappreciated MC’s to have done his thing during Hip-Hop’s golden era as Doe or Die is still considered a street classic. Regardless of who gives him his flowers, AZ is still doing his thing and showing that his bars and rhymes are still as potent as they were in the 90’s. Coming through with some new visuals to “Respect Mines,” the Brooklyn MC finds himself shopping for some high-end attire made specifically for his physical degree before getting into some streetwear and donning some impressive pieces of ice. The man still got the flow and articulate word play to leave the booth steaming, b. From BK to The A, Big Boi returns to the rap game with some help (unfortunately not Andre ...
HHW Gaming: ‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ & Other Big Announcements From The Game Awards
Written By Bernard “Beanz” Smalls , Staff Writer Posted 6 hours ago @photosbybeanz Meet Bernard Smalls, better known as Beanz. He is the Men’s Lifestyle & Pop Culture writer for Cassius Life plus handles tech and video games for Hip-Hop Wired. Beanz has been with the company since 2019 and has been working as a writer for eight years. His favorite hobbies include video games, of course, and watching a lot of movies, mainly sci-fi. He also moonlights as a photographer in his spare time. @photosbybeanz Follow @photosbybeanz HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Respawn Entertainment / Star Wars Jedi: Survivor The Game Awards are not just about handing out trophies. We also get to see trailers for the games we are looking forward to and titles we didn’t know were comi...
YeDolf Hitler aka Kanye West Gets Honorary Degree Rescinded
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: MEGA / Getty Proud antisemite Ye fka Kanye West keeps stacking up the L’s. In the latest, the College Dropout rapper has had the honorary degree bestowed on him by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) rescinded. Should anyone be surprised, considering the hate he’s been spewing to anyone who places a mic in front of him, though? Related Stories The school’s President shared a letter citing Ye’s hateful, “Indefensible” rhetoric as the reason his honorary doctorate, which was awarded to him back in 2015, has been scrapped. Reports TMZ: According to a school letter, obtained by TMZ, honchos decided to rescind Ye’s degree, stating, “His anti-Black, antisemitic, and incendiary statements, particularly those directed at Black and Jewish communities...
Weezer Share New Song From Sznz: Winter EP: Listen
Weezer are back with a new song. “I Want a Dog” is the lead single from Sznz: Winter, the latest in a series of four EPs that began with Sznz: Spring, which the band released in March. Sznz: Winter is set to be the final EP in the series, and will be released on the winter solstice, December 21. Check out “I Want a Dog” and the EP cover below. Weezer’s Sznz series—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and, soon, Winter—follows the band’s 15th studio album, Van Weezer, which dropped in May 2021. Earlier this year, Rivers Cuomo and co. announced their first-ever Broadway residency, which they later canceled “due to low ticket sales and unbelievably high expenses.” See where Weezer’s 1994 self-titled album ended up on Pitchfork’s list of “The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s” and revisit Jill Mapes’ Sunday Rev...
8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: SZA, Valee, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, and More
With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums and EPs from SZA, Valee, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Leland Whitty, Hammok, Nathan Salsburg, Kamaiyah, and Bryce Dessner & Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork earns an affiliate commission.) SZA: SOS [Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA] Five years after the generation-defining Ctrl, SZA’s follow-up is finally here. As...
Knucks Drops Deluxe Version of ‘Alpha Place,’ Presents New Documentary Trailer
Hot on the heels of his recent Best Album Award at the 2022 MOBO Awards, U.K. rapper Knucks has just dropped a new deluxe version of his winning project Alpha Place – and the musician has also announced the release of a brand new, two-part documentary. The first installment of Alpha Place was a well-received one, featuring hit records such as “Leon The Professional,” Nice & Good” featuring SL, “Die Hard” with Stormzy, and the Breaking Bad-inspired single, “Los Pollos Hermanos.” However, this new deluxe version of the project features two new songs, “Lucious” with U.K. drill front-runner, Kwengface — which dropped earlier this year — and an all-new track in the form of “Don’t Look Up.” For Knucks, his music is rooted in various pockets across the rap universe; o...
Steven Tyler’s Health Issues Force Aerosmith to Cancel All December Vegas Shows
Aerosmith have been forced to cancel all of their December “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency shows due to singer Steven Tyler’s unspecified health issues. The band had canceled the December 2nd and 5th performances one at a time before eventually calling off the entire December slate, including a show tonight (December 8th) and on Sunday (December 11th). The residency had resumed in September after Tyler’s stint in rehab forced the cancellation of their June and July shows in Vegas earlier this year. Said Steven Tyler after the second December date was canceled [via Aerosmith’s Facebook]: “On the advice of my doctor, I’m taking more time to rest… there is nowhere we’d rather be than on stage surrounded by the greatest fans in the world..” Advertisement Related Video Earlier today the b...
Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Albums of 2022
Our 2022 Annual Report continues with our Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Albums list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here. Touring returned in full force in 2022, if not more so, as bands made up for lost time on the road. During that concert-industry shutdown of 2020 and 2021, many artists used the time to hit the studio. Veteran acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Slipknot, Rammstein, and Lamb of God, who had all just released albums in 2019 or 2020, were able to record new albums during their time off the road, and thus unleashed follow-ups in a relatively quick manner in 2022. Advertisement Other acts like Megadeth and Alexisonfire ended long waits, releasing their first albums in six...
