music
JAY-Z Has Forgiven Lil Mama for Crashing His and Alicia Keys’ 2009 VMAs Performance
JAY-Z shared in a recent Twitter Spaces conversation that he’s “forgiven” Lil Mama after she crashed his and Alicia Keys‘ performance of “Empire State of Mind” at the 2009 VMAs. Hov referred to Lil Mama as “our sister,” continuing, “Man, we love her. I wouldn’t recommend people just jumping on other artists’ stages but you know, we don’t wish her no harm. That’s corny.” He added, “She’s a New Yorker, you know what I’m saying? She got excited. Things happen. And of course, of course we love her. Yes, she’s forgiven. It’s all love and she was coming from a place of love it’s just… she may have been a little too excited.” Lil Mama also chimed in after hearing the conversation, writing a lengthy Instagram post about love for her “big brother, big sister and [her] city.” She continued: “It brin...
Latto Gives Back to Young Moms in Need During ‘Latto 4 The Ladies & Babies’ Christmas Event
Latto is spreading holiday cheer to moms in need. Last Friday, in partnership with her nonprofit organization Win Some Give Some and Georgia’s Rainbow House, the Billboard chart-topper hosted her first Latto 4 The Ladies & Babies Christmas party. The charitable event took place at the Virginia Gray Burton Recreation Center in Riverdale, Ga. During the celebration — which benefited teenagers, young moms and their children — families were gifted meals, Black Santa merchandise, toys, Visa gift cards, filled stockings, free skating passes to their local rink and more goodies. The 23-year-old rising star was thrilled to give back in Georgia, where she was raised. Ohio-born Latto first rose to fame as the inaugural winner of Jermaine Dupri’s The Rap Game in 2016. “It was immediate growth,” s...
Metro Boomin Hosts Fifth Annual Christmas Charity Drive Benefiting Single Moms
Metro Boomin is back with his fifth annual Christmas event. The charitable festivities took place on Dec. 16, in partnership with his label Boominati Worldwide and the McCaskill Treatment Family Home. The proud St. Louis native returned to his hometown to provide helpful resources and a special dinner for single mothers and their families at .ZACK Urban Ballroom. During the dinner, more than 200 families were gifted $200 gift certificates. Attendees also received Boominati gift bags complete with donated items from sponsors including McDonald’s, Republic Records, SalxCo, Essentia, Blk Water, Taco Bell, Baby Bjorn, Master Dynamic, Barebell Protein and Budgeting Buddies. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Since the first event in 2017, Metro Boomin has continuously given back to sing...
The Best Music Projects of 2021
Getting through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic is a cause for celebration itself. As music experienced a brief resurgence with festivals and smaller tours, artists like Isaiah Rashad, J. Cole, Lorde, Tyler, the Creator and Vince Staples also made their triumphant return with their well-received albums The House Is Burning, The Off-Season, Solar Power, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, and Vince Staples. It would be a tragedy if we failed to highlight the hot debate of Kanye West‘s DONDA versus Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy, which were released within five days of each other and became the world’s talking point for months afterward. 2021 also greeted us with diverse releases from both growing and all-time favorites, including pgLang star Baby Keem with The Melodic Blue, Little...
JAY-Z Claims No One Can Take Him a ‘VERZUZ’ Battle
JAY-Z is very confident in his discography, so much so that he claimed during a Twitter Spaces event with Alicia Keys on Tuesday that no one can compete with him in a musical showdown. our entire convo with alicia keys & jay z in case you missed it (or just want to hear those voices again).❤️ @aliciakeys @sc @robmarkman @kozza @twittermusic #KEYS #KEYsAlbum https://t.co/06llTJXBjw — Genius (@Genius) December 22, 2021 During the discussion, hosted by Genius, the 52-year-old icon was asked if he would ever participate in a VERZUZ livestream — a series produced by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz that brings two legendary artists together to perform their respective hits. “No disrespect. Everyone is amazing and [has] done what they’ve done,” he said. “There’s not a chance in hell t...
Congress Launches Investigation into Astroworld Tragedy
Congress is launching a bipartisan investigation into the tragic circumstances that led to the deaths of ten people at this year’s Astroworld Festival. According to The Washington Post, the probe will examine Live Nation’s role in the Houston-based event, including the company’s pre-show planning and logistics, and how it responded once it became apparent that a large crowd surge had killed or injured scores of concert-goers. On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee sent a letter to Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino seeking documents detailing Astroworld’s security and crowd control planning, and requested that Live Nation brief members of the committee by January 12th. “Recent reports raise serious concerns about whether your company took adequate steps to ensure the...
Chris Martin: Coldplay Will Stop Making Music After 2025
Chris Martin has announced that Coldplay will stop making music after 2025, prompting thousands of Facebook and Twitter users to post in unison, “They weren’t making music before.” Via i News, Martin made the announcement in a conversation with BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley. The interview will air Thursday, but Whiley teased a clip when she appeared on Wednesday’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. “He’s always very funny and I’m never quite sure if he’s joking or being deadly serious,” Whiley said. “Towards the end of the time we spent together he shared something pretty honest and pretty intimate which was a huge revelation.” In the clip, Martin said, “Well I know I can tell you: Our last proper record will come out in 2025 and after that I think we will only tour.” He ad...
Matthew West Tops Billboard’s Year-End Christian Songwriters Chart: ‘I Fell in Love With Songwriting as Much as I Did Artistry’
Since first entering Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart with his 2004 chart-topper “More,” Matthew West has earned 11 No. 1 singles as an artist on that chart. But over the past 17 years, he’s also written songs recorded by artists including Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Scotty McCreery, Rascal Flatts, Maddie & Tae, Casting Crowns, Mandisa, Billy Ray Cyrus and more. Explore See latest videos, charts and news This year, West earned several hits as both an artist and a writer, co-writing hits for Casting Crowns (“Scars in Heaven”), Anne Wilson (“My Jesus”) and Tasha Layton (“Look What You’ve Done”), while notching a five-week No. 1 Christian Airplay hit with his own single “Truth Be Told” and following it with another No. 1, “What If.” West’s string of songwriting credits landed him at N...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ Is the First Song to Reach 3 Billion Streams on Spotify
Ed Sheeran is closing out 2021 with a major achievement under his belt. On Wednesday (Dec. 22), the singer posted a video to his Instagram announcing that his 2017 hit “Shape of You” has become the first song in Spotify’s history to reach 3 billion streams. Explore Explore Ed Sheeran See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I’ve just heard ‘Shape of You’ has reached 3 billion streams on Spotify, which is absolutely insane. I remember this song hitting a billion and thinking that that was weird,” Sheeran said. “The first song to hit 3 billion streams and I’m really, really chuffed with it. Thank you, Spotify, for your support over the years. We’ve had a great 10 years together and hopefully, we have a great 10 years more.” The 30-year-old also took a brief mome...
CBS Highlights Nashville & Country Music’s Biggest Stars With New Year’s Eve Special
Nashville’s annual New Year’s Eve party will ring in 2022 with its biggest spotlight to date when the five-hour concert special New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash airs Dec. 31 via CBS Television Network, as well as Paramount+. The show, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, will feature more than 50 performances from several of country music’s biggest stars, including Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Carly Pearce, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell and Zac Brown Band — all airing from the heart of downtown Nashville. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Bentley will co-headline a free concert at Nashville’s Bicentennial Mal...
Sammy Hagar Says He Was Once Asked to Join Pantera (and Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe and Velvet Revolver)
If Sammy Hagar joined every band he was asked to be in, he could have fronted every act on one of the greatest theoretical one-day rock festivals himself. The Red Rocker says in a new interview that he was approached by Pantera’s manager to join the legendary metal group as their singer, and it’s certainly not the only time he’s been asked to sing for a high-profile band. Of course, Hagar will forever be known as one of the most notable replacement singers of all time, taking David Lee Roth’s spot in Van Halen. Granted, he already had a very successful solo career at the time. Hagar took a recent ride in Pantera’s old limousine, which was gifted to radio host Jose Mangin by the estates of late brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. Advertisement Related Video “How about if I tell you so...
The Matrix Resurrections and Brass Against: Why the Song Choice for the Final Scene Is So Damn Cool
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections, specifically the ending.] The Matrix Resurrections is a movie that’s distinctly aware of what came before, not only including actual footage from all three of the prior films, but offering up direct homages to the most iconic moments. And that’s especially found in the music choice made for the final sequence, which encapsulates the fourth film’s relationship to the original — a direct callback that also represents the new normal presented by director Lana Wachowski. If you need a reminder of how the original Matrix ends, it’s a relatively simple coda: With the wild action of Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) battle with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) now over, Neo places a polite phone call to the A.I. monitoring the Matrix in w...
