Music News
UTFO’s Kangol Kid Dies After Battle With Cancer at 55
Kangol Kid, a member of the legendary hip-hop group UTFO, has died after a battle with colon cancer. He was 55. The family of Kangol Kid — whose real name is Shaun Shiller Fequiere — said in a statement that he died peacefully around 3 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 18) at a hospital in Manhasset, New York. He was diagnosed with cancer in February. Kid was known for often sporting the popular Kangol headwear and being a member of UTFO, which stands for Untouchable Force Organization. The four-member group was known for 1980s hits including “Roxanne, Roxanne” and “Ya Cold Wanna Be With Me.” Explore Explore UTFO See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Along with his hip-hop success, Kid became recognized for his efforts against breast cancer through the Mama Luke Foundatio...
Queen’s Brian May Tests Positive for COVID-19: ‘The Shocking Day Finally Came’
Queen guitarist Brian May has tested positive for COVID-19. The 74-year-old rock icon took to social media on Saturday (Dec. 18) to share the news with his fans. “Yep. The shocking day finally came for me. The dreaded double red line,” May wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of his test results. “And yes — definitely NO sympathy please — it has been a truly horrible few days, but I’m OK. And I will tell the tale.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The musician added, “PLEASE take extra care out there, good folks. This thing is incredibly transmissible. You really do NOT want it messing up YOUR Christmas. With love – Bri.” May recently lashed out at Eric Clapton, who said in July that he wouldn’t play any live shows that required attendees to sho...
Rod Stewart and Son Resolve Florida Hotel Assault Case
Rod Stewart and his son have pleaded guilty to battery in an assault case stemming from a New Year’s Eve 2019 altercation with a security guard at an exclusive Florida hotel. Court records released Friday (Dec. 17) show that the singer and his son Sean Stewart entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of simple battery. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “No one was injured in the incident and a jury did not find Sir Rod Stewart guilty of the accusation,” his attorney Guy Fronstin said in a statement. “Instead, Sir Rod Stewart decided to enter a plea to avoid the inconvenience and unnecessary burden on the court and the public that a high profile proceeding would cause.” The raspy-voiced Stewart, 76, is a British member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was knighted by Quee...
Wanda Young, Singer of The Marvelettes, Dies at 78
Wanda Young, a member of the 1960s Motown group The Marvelettes, has died, Rolling Stone reports. She was 78. Young, who also performed under the name Wanda Rogers, was the lead vocalist on Marvelettes songs like “I’ll Keep Holding On” and “Don’t Mess With Bill.” Further details about her death were not available at press time. “We are so saddened by the news of Wanda Young of the Marvelettes passing,” Motown official Twitter account wrote on Thursday (Dec. 16). “What an impact she has had on the world of Classic Motown and the lives of so many. Her legacy will continue to live on.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news We are so saddened by the news of Wanda Young of the Marvelettes passing. What an impact she has had on the world of Classic Motown ...
Jonas Brothers Enlist Joe Biden for White House Recreation of Viral ‘Joe Byron’ TikTok Video: Watch
Jonas Brothers are chiming in on TikTok’s latest viral video trend. On Friday (Dec. 17), Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas visited the White House and filmed a presidential TikTok with snippets from Sidetalk’s Coney Island Ski Club and Coney Island’s Finest videos on YouTube, which went viral on TikTok in September and aided in popularizing the slang term “bing bong.” The video had a special cameo from Joe Biden himself. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Nick, Joe and Kevin are seen in the video engaging in shenanigans around several rooms within the White House as audio from the now-infamous TikTok sound plays. “Bing Bong! Are you vaccinated? Yes sir. Ey yo!” the brothers take turns saying in the short clip. Nick then asks the video’s important question...
First Spin: The Week’s Best New Dance Tracks From Gordo, Marcel Dettmann & More
This week in dance music, we took a tour of the Brazilian scene with one of the country’s hottest exports, Vintage Culture; Porter Robinson, Alison Wonderland and REZZ topped the lineup for New Orleans’ Buku Music + Art Project 2022; Above & Beyond topped themselves by playing from the apex of a granite monolith in Colombia; we got the rundown from the new SoCal festival Desert Air; Madonna entered Hot/Dance Electronic Songs via the Sickick edit of her 90s hit “Frozen”; we got a behind-the-scenes tour of EDC Las Vegas 2022; and we selected our 20 favorite dance albums of 2021. (Watch for our best songs of the year list coming next week.) Explore Explore Carnage See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Beyond that, there was some quality music to check out a...
Lil Nas X Says He Has COVID-19 After Dropping Out of U.K. Jingle Ball Show
Sounds like Lil Nas X has COVID-19. On Friday (Dec. 17), the artist tweeted about having symptoms that disturbed his pleasurable Thursday night. “Covid really sucks. last night i was tryna watch porn then i sneezed snot all over penis lmao,” he tweeted — then deleted. covid really sucks. last night i was tryna watch porn then i sneezed snot all over penis lmao — MONTERO 🦋 (@LilNasX) December 17, 2021 His COVID revelations apparently came a little earlier in the afternoon, after Barack Obama shared his list of favorite music of 2021, which included Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” according to various outlets that captured the artist’s tweets before he nixed the entire thread. After the former president presented his playlist, the 22-year-old artist shared Obama’s tweet...
Astroworld Victims Died From Compression Asphyxia, Officials Conclude
HOUSTON (AP) — The 10 people who lost their lives in a massive crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston died from compression asphyxia, officials announced Thursday. Medical examiners with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston had to wait several weeks following the Nov. 5 concert by rap superstar Travis Scott for additional test results before making final determinations on cause and manner of the deaths. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The 10 people who died were among 50,000 who attended the festival and were in the audience when Scott’s concert turned deadly. The youngest victim was 9-year-old Ezra Blount. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27. Medical examiners said contributing factors in one man’s death were cocaine, methamph...
Khalid Says Soulful New EP ‘Scenic Drive (The Tape)’ Is the ‘Perfect Representation of the Person I Became’
R&B sensation Khalid is back with his all-new EP Scenic Drive (The Tape), which comes as a follow-up to his 2018 debut EP Sun City. The Grammy-nominated artist has also partnered with Coca-Cola to launch an all-new TikTok challenge that aims to give BIPOC creators more visibility and recognition. As part of Coke’s TikTok Challenge, which is an extension of the brand’s Real Magic philosophy, Khalid released his tune “Open,” featuring Canadian duo Majid Jordan, to which fellow creative Jalaiah Harmon launched a new “Real Magic” dance to the track. “Growing up, Coca-Cola has always been in my life, and with the release of my EP, it felt like the stars aligned themselves,” Khalid says of his new partnership. “They told me they were fans of my music as much as I’m a fan of them, so it’...
Watch Above & Beyond Play From the Top of a Granite Monolith in Colombia
Attendees of the most recent Above & Beyond show had to put in work to get there, with the trance trio performing Monday from the top of a looming granite monolith in the Colombian Andes. The show, hosted by electronic livestream series producer Cercle in partnership with ProColumbia and Medellin Travel, required audience members to take 740 stairs to the top of Piedra del Peñol, a 787-foot granite dome located in Guatapé, Colombia, about two hours from Medellín. Explore See latest videos, charts and news At the summit of this National Monument, the beloved UK act played an hourlong set that oscillated between the shimmering highs and darker outer edges of trance. Watch the complete performance below. Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki then sat down for a brief in...
Britney Spears Says She ‘Hated’ Her Old Touring Schedule: ‘I Don’t Think I Ever Want to Do it Again’
It’s been three years since Britney Spears has been on tour, and the pop star divulged on Instagram about how difficult life on the road was. In a new post Monday (Dec. 13), Spears reflected on all the gifts from A-listers she received on her 40th birthday earlier this month and took a moment to count all her blessings. But when it came to the hardships from her old life as an active touring musician, the “Toxic” singer revealed how much she “hated” her old, laborious touring schedule. “I know I’m not playing in huge arenas with my loud band anymore but I will be honest and say life on the road is hard !!!” she wrote in the lengthy post. “My first three years in the biz and on the road were great but I’ll be completely honest and say that after those three tours and the pace I was going … ...
Tool Drummer Danny Carey Arrested for Misdemeanor Assault After Airport ‘Disturbance’
Tool drummer Danny Carey has been arrested for misdemeanor assault after allegedly getting into an altercation at the Kansas City International Airport, Billboard can confirm. Around 7 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 12), law enforcement at the airport received a report of a “disturbance between two males at an airport terminal,” Joe McBride, the senior communications manager at the Kansas City Aviation Department, tells Billboard. Carey was arrested for misdemeanor assault and transported to a nearby Kansas City Police Department station. TMZ was first to report the arrest. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Carey, 60, is no longer in custody, McBride noted. “The police report has been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for review,” he said. Billboard&n...
