music blog
Earl Swavey, Los Angeles Rapper, Dies at 26
Los Angeles rapper Earl Swavey has died, his representative confirmed to Pitchfork. His cause of death is currently unknown. He was 26. Swavey grew up in South Los Angeles. He was raised by a single mother after his dad died when he was a baby. His brother started rapping when Swavey was young, and so did his cousin Jay Rock. Inspired by his family—as well as artists like T.I., Rick Ross, and 50 Cent—he began to pursue music and became a prolific artist. Among Swavey’s first releases was the 2013 mixtape Business Before Pleasure (BBP). It featured the song “Beef,” which was the song that prompted A$AP Yams to contact Swavey. It led to a kind of mentorship. “Out of all of the members of A$AP, Yams was really like a brother to me,” Swavey told Grungecake in 2015. “He would send m...
Kanye West Shares New Video for “Heaven and Hell”: Watch
Kanye West, the rapper legally known as Ye, has shared a new music video. It’s a visual for his Donda song “Heaven and Hell”—a dark visual of masked individuals and the swirl of floating bodies among the clouds. The video, which also serves as a Yeezy Gap ad, aired tonight on ESPN during the NCAA football championship game. Watch it below. Earlier today, Ye and Netflix released a new trailer and a release date for Jeen-Yuhs, a three-part documentary that comes to theaters on February 10 before hitting Netflix on February 16. Ye ended the year by publicly squashing his beef with Drake at the livestreamed Free Larry Hoover concert. Revisit “Ranking Every Guest Appearance on Kanye West’s Donda From Worst to Best” over on the Pitch. Content This content can also be viewed on the site it origin...
Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2022: Lineup, COVID-19 Guidelines, and Everything Else You Need to Know
It’s almost that time of year again, when festival-goers prepare to head down the rabbit hole and into the magical world of Beyond Wonderland SoCal. The Alice in Wonderland-themed electronic music festival returns to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26th. With just over two-and-a-half months until the event, EDM.com is here to help you plan for a fun-filled and safe experience. Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2022 Tickets Tickets to Beyond Wonderland 2022 are on sale now. Prospective attendees 18 years of age and over can purchase two-day GA tickets starting at $139.99 and two-day GA+ passes starting at $189.99. Two-day VIP passes start at $249.99 and are only available to festival-goers 21 and over. Find more information about purchasi...
R.I.P. James Mtume, Jazz and R&B Musician Dead at 76
James Mtume, the multi-instrumentalist who performed with Miles Davis before founding the R&B group Mtume, has died at the age of 76, Pitchfork reports. No cause of death has been revealed. The son of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath, James Mtume (born James Heath Jr.) grew up in a musical environment. He was raised by his mother, Bertha Forman, and pianist James “Hen Gates” Forman, who played in Charlie Parker’s band and introduced Mtume to the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Sonny Rollins. In 1969, Mtume took on percussion on his uncle Albert “Tootie” Heath’s album Kawaida, which also featured Jimmy Heath, Don Cherry, and Herbie Hancock. A member of the Black empowerment collective US Organization, Mtume released the album Land of the Blacks in 1972 under th...
Robert Durst, Real Estate Heir Who Admitted to Murder in HBO’s The Jinx, Dead at 78
Robert Durst, the heir to a billion-dollar real estate empire who was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to murder in the HBO miniseries The Jinx, has died at the age of 78. As TMZ reports, the cause was cardiac arrest, though he had also been battling bladder cancer, and was weakened after a bout with COVID-19 put him on a ventilator last year. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst aired in 2015 and examined the possibility that Durst was a serial killer. Incredibly, the series was Durst’s idea, having reached out to director Andrew Jarecki to volunteer himself for an interview. At the time, he was suspected in the deaths of three people: his wife Kathleen McCormack Durst, who disappeared in 1982; the 2000 murder of his friend Susan Berman; and the 200...
Clay Aiken Running for Congress in North Carolina
American Idol star Clay Aiken is running for Congress. On Monday (January 10th) the singer and self-proclaimed “loud and proud Democrat” announced his campaign for a congressional seat in North Carolina’s 6th District. “Can you believe it’s been almost 20 years since I first got to share my voice with you?” the 2003 American Idol runner-up wrote across social media. “That’s a long time. A LOT has changed! We need powerful voices more than ever, so I’m running for Congress.” A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Aiken ran for Congress in the state’s 2nd District in 2014. Although he won in the Democratic primary, he was defeated in the general election by Republican incumbent Renee L. Ellmers. Now, he seeks a seat in the redrawn 6th District, a more liberal area that includes Durha...
Kanye West Releases New Video for “Heaven and Hell”: Watch
Leave it to Kanye West to promote his Gap clothing line with a high-budget visual depiction of the Rapture. The maximalist video for “Heaven and Hell” features mysterious figures dressed head to toe in black Yeezy clothing (including black masks). Eventually, a god-like figure, who appears to be West himself, opens a portal that causes these figures to ascend to the sky. The video debuted during tonight’s College Football National Championship before going live online. In conjunction with the video’s release, West re-released the Yeezy Gap hoodies seen in the video. Described by Kanye as the “perfect hoodie,” it’s currently available to purchase in black and blue via YeezyGap.com. Earlier today, Netflix released a new teaser trailer for its upcoming three-part documentary on West, jeen-yuh...
Lil Yachty Confirms His Next Album Will Be “Alternative” and “Non-Rap”
Lil Yachty fans are in for an interesting treat as the rapper shared that his next album will be very different. In a recent feature with Icebox, he confirmed that he is trying something new for his Lil Boat 3 followup. “My new album is a non-rap album. It’s the first time I’m actually speaking on it. It’s a non-rap album,” Yachty shared. “It’s alternative, it’s sick.” He continued that he’s always wanted to do an alternative album, but now is the right time because of the different musicians and producers he’s met. Yachty affirmed that he recently collaborated with Tame Impala and added, “It’s like a psychedelic alternative project. It’s different… It’s all live instrumentation.” “I’ve changed my dynamic, you know what I’m saying?” he further stated. “I’m telling you, this album and on, I...
The Weeknd Hints at New Album Trilogy
With his latest album Dawn FM officially out, The Weeknd could be in the middle of a brand new album trilogy. The XO Records head took to Twitter to cryptically tweet the possibility, sharing, “i wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?” He didn’t divulge specific details, however with the release of Dawn FM and the record’s apparent connection to After Hours, it seems like his next album will culminate the trilogy. If the rumors are true, this will mark The Weeknd’s second trilogy following his 2012 compilation album that included House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. The Canadian crooner has been very open with how Dawn FM serves as a direct followup to After Hours, stating during his 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards speech, “Like I said before, the After Hours a...
Paper Route EMPIRE Announces Young Dolph Compilation Album ‘Long Live Dolph’
Paper Route EMPIRE is celebrating the life and legacy of Young Dolph with the upcoming compilation album, Long Live Dolph. The forthcoming project is set to release on January 21 and will feature Paper Route EMPIRE artists such as Key Glock, Jay Fizzle, Snupe Bandz, Big Moochie Grape, Kenny Muney and more. Its album art features Young Dolph’s famed dolphin pendant, which is an Avianne Eliantte exclusive. Authorities recently named 23-year-old Justin Johnson as the murder suspect in Young Dolph’s murder, adding that the suspect has been included to the TBI’s most wanted list, is wanted for first-degree murder, criminal attempt-first degree murder and theft of property worth $10,000 USD to $60,000 USD. Authorities also mentioned that he “should be considered armed & dangerous.” Youn...
Google Accuses Apple of Using iMessage To “Bully” People Into Buying iPhones
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Future Publishing / Getty Yes, “blue bubble envy” is real, and Google feels Apple is capitalizing on it. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Google is accusing the company that Steve Jobs built of “bullying” and using it as a deliberate strategy to make Android users look and feel like the bottom of smartphone users on its iMessage platform. It’s no secret that iPhone users rub it in the faces of Android smartphone users that iMessage has a bunch of cool features while constantly clowning “green bubbles” they receive from text from an Android phone. The report states that Apple is well aware of this and is using the fact that its phone and messaging platform has become some sort of status symbol among smartphone users and is using it to its ...
Timbaland Compares The Weeknd’s New Album To Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ & He’s Dead Serious
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Music production master Timbaland is really feeling The Weeknd’s new album Dawn FM a little bit too much after dropping this scorching hot take. Timbaland was out here in these innanet streets proclaiming The Weeknd’s new album is comparable to arguably the best pop album of all time and indeed the best-selling album of any genre—Michael Jackson’s Thriller. (OK, technically, the Eagles’ greatest hits album surpassed Thriller in sales in 2018, but since that album was released in1976, which is six years before MJ’s 1982 classic dropped, I’m still giving the King of Pop his crown.) “This album different, yo. This shi** right here, this on some Thriller sh**,” the Verzus co-creator said in a video originally poste...
