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Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & More Stars Defend Taylor Swift After Damon Albarn’s Songwriting Comments
Don’t mess with Taylor Swift and her star-studded friends. Following Damon Albarn‘s Los Angeles Times interview, in which he claimed that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs,” a number of celebrities have come to her defense. Her Folklore and Evermore collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, were quick to jump on Twitter to comment on how they’re the ones who have actually seen Swift’s songwriting process firsthand — not Albarn. “i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb,” Antonoff tweeted on Monday (Jan. 24). Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Not sure why you @Damonalbarn would try to discredit Taylor’s brilliant songwriting but as someone w...
Be@rbrick x Casetify: Where to Pre-Order the Limited-Edition Phone Cases Before They Sell Out
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. From Olivia Rodrigo to Disney and Billionaire Boys Club, Casetify continues to secure epic collaborations. The company’s first ever Be@rbrick x Casetify collaboration inspired by the Japanese company Medicom Toy’s uber-popular toy art will be available for preorder on Monday (Jan. 24) at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET. The lineup, which features phone cases for iPhone and Android, limited-edition cases for Airpods and more, officially goes live on Tuesday (Jan. 25) at noon PT/3 p.m. ET. If this collection proves to be as popular as the others, then it won’t be around ...
Swizz Beatz Has an Answer To Dr. Dre’s Question of Who Is Worthy of Facing Eminem
Dr. Dre wants to know who is worthy of facing Eminem in a rap battle, and Swizz Beatz has the answer. The prolific hip-hop producer took to social media over the weekend to share a video of Eminem rapping the last verse of his 2020 hit “Monster,” adding the caption, “Marshall Mathers vs Who???!!” The simple question received almost 20,000 comments as of writing, and while some pointed out that no one can go against Eminem, Swizz Beatz threw one hat into the ring: Busta Rhymes. Nothing is officially set up for VERZUZ, however Busta has been a favorite in the community for some time now. In October 2021, Crazy Legs revealed that Busta told him that five rappers have turned down his invite to face him off in VERZUZ. Fat Joe also admitted that he could not take on Busta’s catalog, stating, “Pe...
When We Were Young Festival With My Chemical Romance and Paramore Announce Two New Dates
Two additional dates have been announced for the When We Were Young Festival, which will be headlined by My Chemical Romance and Paramore this October. The emo and pop punk-laden event will now take place on October 22, 23 and 29 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and will include almost the same lineup, with the exception of Alex G replacing Alice Wolf and the removal of La Dispute on the October 29 date. Attendees can look forward to the likes of My Chemical Romance, Paramore, AFI, The Used, Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, Manchester Orchestra, A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, I Prevail, The Story So Far, Dance Gavin Dance, The All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Car Seat Headrest, Sleeping With Sirens, Knocked Loose, JXDN, Avril...
Taylor Swift to Damon Albarn: “It’s Really Fucked Up to Try and Discredit My Writing”
Taylor Swift has responded to comments that Damon Albarn made about her in a new interview he did with the Los Angeles Times. Speaking with Mikael Wood for The Times, Albarn said Swift “doesn’t write her own songs.” Wood pushed back on Albarn’s statement, telling him, “Of course she does. Co-writes some of them.” Albarn continued: That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great. And some of the greatest singers—I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life. When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I’m a traditionalist in that sense. A really in...
Jazmine Sullivan Announces New Heaux Tales Deluxe Edition
Jazmine Sullivan has announced a forthcoming deluxe edition of last year’s Heaux Tales. Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe arrives on February 11. According to Variety, the release will include “Tragic,” on which U.S. Representative Maxine Waters makes a guest appearance. Sullivan told Variety that the deluxe edition is an extension of the themes she outlined on Heaux Tales. “I started Heaux Tales with the idea of having open conversations as Black women, and you can’t put all of that into one project. There’s always more to talk about,” she said. Sullivan is set to begin a North American tour on February 14 in Vancouver. Revisit Pitchfork’s feature “Jazmine Sullivan on Shamelessness, Heaux Tales, and Her Biggest Year Yet” and read more about Heaux Tales at No. 1 on Pitchfork’s list ...
Ty Segall Announces Whirlybird Soundtrack, Shares New Song: Listen
Ty Segall has announced his new soundtrack for Whirlybird, the 2020 documentary from Matt Yoka, with a new song called “Story of the Century.” It’s due out February 22 via Drag City. The film documents the exploits of Zoey Tur and Marika Gerrard, former partners and founders of the Los Angeles News Service who captured historic events like the 1992 riots and OJ Simpson’s low-speed chase from a helicopter. The soundtrack is Segall’s first, and features co-writing from Mikal Cronin (“Whirlybird”) as well as contributions on saxophone. Check out “Story of the Century” and the full tracklist below. Segall surprise-released his last LP Harmonizer in August. Earlier that year, he joined Bill Callahan and Bonnie “Prince” Billy in covering Johnnie Frierson’s “Miracles.” In 2020 he shared an ...
Neil Young Demands His Music Be Removed From Spotify Over “Fake Information About Vaccines”
Neil Young has posted an open letter to his website directing his management and record label to remove all of his music from Spotify. The letter, viewed by Pitchfork but no longer hosted on Young’s site, was addressed to Young’s manager Frank Gironda and Warner Bros. co-chairman and Chief Operating Officer Tom Corson. Young accuses the streaming platform of “spreading fake information about vaccines—potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.” “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote, referencing the Spotify podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which doctors have decried for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Young and Spotify for comment. Last year, Young rel...
Statue Of Spanish “Explorer” Toppled In Puerto Rico Prior To Visit From King of Spain
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Joe Raedle / Getty Puerto Ricans had a message to send to the King of Spain prior to his scheduled visit to the Caribbean island and it damn sure wasn’t a welcoming one. According to the Associated Press, a statue of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was toppled in the wee hours of the morning today (January 24) in Plaza San José just hours before King Felipe VI was set to meet with Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the founding of San Juan. While on the surface it just seems like a regular old statue of an oppressor, it actually carries some history in it’s own construction. “The statue was made of melted steel from British cannons and featured the Spanish explorer facing south with his left hand on his hip and righ...
Ye aka Kanye West Demands Final Edit Approval On ‘jeen-yuhs’ Netflix Doc
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Netflix / Netflix The highly anticipated documentary chronicling the rise of Kanye West through unseen footage is set to hit Netflix – but there are clouds over the release due to the rapper demanding to have the approval of the final edit beforehand. Directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is an in-depth look at the rapper and producer on his journey to be the popular and at times controversial superstar that he is today. But on the eve of the film’s release on the streaming platform giant, West has issued a public demand that he sees the project’s final version before giving his approval. In a post on West’s Instagram page made on Friday (January 21st), the caption to the image of his face and the film title read...
HHW Gaming: EA Reportedly Considering Making ‘Battlefield 2042’ Free-To-Play, Gamers Want A Refund
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: EA / DICE Could EA and DICE’s shooter Battlefield 2042 become free-to-play? A new report suggests that might be the case, and gamers who paid for the game when it launched are not happy about that. Battlefield 2042 might go down in history as one of the biggest flops in video game history. Per VG247, an insider from EA claims that the game’s developer DICE is considering going the free-to-play route. The drastic move is a product of the game flopping tremendously after it launched back in November. The game looked promising based on the trailers that we saw ahead of the game’s release. Battlefield 2042 arrived plagued with the issues that thankfully have been addressed through many patches, but that’s not stopping the mass exodus of players due to a...
He-Karen Gets Arrested And Fired Following Tirade Against Teens AT Connecticut Smoothie Shop
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: cream_ph / Getty What exactly does one call a male “Karen?” A “Ken?” A “Scott?” A “Brad?” How about a “James Iannazzo?” I guess that last one is a little too specific, but Iannazzo is certainly a man who checked off all the “Karen” boxes in a Tik Tok video that recently went viral showing him accosting a group of teenage employees at Robeks smoothie shop in Fairfield, Connecticut. Iannazzo—who was arrested and charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass behind the incident—claims he directed the employees not to put peanut butter in the smoothie he had ordered for his son. But the employees said he never said anything about his child’s peanut allergy (because simply not using peanut butter may not be enough to...
