music
Rico Nasty Brings the Heat to Her Tiny Desk (Home) Concert: Watch
Considering Rico Nasty is easily one of the most versatile voices in hip-hop today, it makes sense that her Tiny Desk (Home) Concert would fit a wide array of sonics into just 13 minutes. During her guest appearance on NPR’s coveted performance series, the DMV rapper posted up with her all-female backing band in a yard adorned with plenty of flood lights to suit her colorful persona. Rico’s set opened with her recent soulful single “Magic” before diving into the boisterous fan-favorite, “Rage.” She wrapped up the show with tracks from her debut studio album, Nightmare Vacation: “OHFR?,” “Trust Issues,” and her breakout single “Smack a Bitch.” Seamlessly weaving between R&B, hyperpop, and her unique breed of punk-rap, Rico’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert is a sight to behold — black lipstick...
Paul Stanley Seen Without Mask Days After Testing Positive for COVID-19
Just days after announcing he tested positive for COVID-19, KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley was spotted walking inside of a Los Angeles hotel without a face mask. The Daily Mail published photographs of a maskless Stanley entering Sunset Marquis Hotel on Tuesday — five days after he announced his positive diagnosis. The following day, Stanley took to Twitter to say he was “staying clear of people for a few more days.” He added, “Do I think my ‘freedom’ ever includes jeopardizing other people’s health?… No, I don’t.” Advertisement Related Video Stanley’s KISS bandmate, Gene Simmons, has also tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the band has postponed seven tour dates. They hope to return to the road starting September 9th in Irvine, CA. Stay safe and mask up. Better yet, grab a fac...
Drake Leaks Kanye West and André 3000 Collaboration “Life of the Party”
Drake has leaked an unreleased collaboration between Kanye West and André 3000. The Certified Lover Boy rapper played the track, titled “Life of the Party,” early Saturday morning during a guest DJ set on SiriusXM’s Sound 42 radio show. “Life of the Party” appears to be a diss track aimed at Drake, as Kanye takes several swipes at the Toronto rapper. “I put Virgil and Drake on the same text/ And it wasn’t about the matching arc’teryx or Kid Cudi dress,” Kanye raps, referencing his recent text exchange with Drake and former collaborator/fashion designer, Virgil Abloh. “Just told these grown men stop it with the funny shit/ I might hire the whole team from ACG/ So don’t text me like I’m Juanita JCV.” A few bars later, Kanye fires off another warning shot: “Told Drake don’t play with me on GD...
Mark Hoppus Completes Chemotherapy Treatment
Mark Hoppus has completed his chemotherapy treatment, revealing to his former Blink-182 bandmate Tom DeLonge that his doctor “thinks the chemo did the trick.” Hoppus was diagnosed with 4-A diffuse large B-cell lymphoma earlier this year. His mother previously battled the same cancer and successfully beat it. In a text message exchange with DeLonge, which was subsequently shared to DeLonge’s Instagram, Hoppus shared that he has no more chemotherapy treatments currently planned. Advertisement Related Video “Doctor said I can take my port out,” Hoppus wrote, “I think because he thinks the chemo did the trick and I’m done but also if the chemo didn’t work[,] we do a different treatment entirely?” In response to the news, DeLonge offered some sage advice on how Hoppus should celebrate: “Time fo...
BTS Named to 2022 Guinness World Records Hall of Fame
BTS are adding yet another title to their long, long list of accomplishments. Today, the K-pop idols have officially been named to the 2022 Guinness World Records Hall of Fame. “THE Boys ARE IN THE BOOK,” the organization tweeted to share the news alongside a photo of the band holding their plaques. “After breaking countless records throughout 2021, they have also cemented their place in the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame.” The whopping 23 records set by the Korean boy band now include most streamed group on Spotify (16.3 billion), most Twitter engagements for a music group, most followed music group on Instagram (48.7 million and counting), and most tickets sold for a livestreamed concert (765,000). Advertisement Related Video Additionally, many of the septet’s latest world records r...
Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin Believes He’s Had COVID Three Times, Freestyle Raps During Bizarre Interview
Puddle of Mudd frontman and TMZ regular Wes Scantlin just offered up a half-hour of entertaining bizarreness during an interview with the YouTube channel Sofa King Cool. At one point in the conversation, the rocker even busted out a freestyle rap. Scantlin mentioned that he was feeling sick after his band’s recent tour, at which point the interviewer asked him if he received a COVID-19 test. “I’ve been tested for COVID,” replied the singer. “I totally believe that I have contracted the virus two or three times.” Later on, Scantlin was asked if he’d ever make a movie about his life, considering his successful music career and many headline-making run-ins with the law. “I’m desperately trying to get Fred Durst to get involved, and we can do some kind of a little movie or something,” he said....
Drake Pelvic Thrusts Through Video for “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug: Watch
Shield your eyes and gird your loins, Drake is pelvic thrusting in your direction in the new music video for “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug. The first official single from his just-released album Certified Lover Boy samples Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy,” playing off the original’s self-conscious humor and adding some chest-baring braggadocio for good measure. The video for “Way 2 Sexy” is a double shot of ridiculousness, as Drake and director Dave Meyers explore so many different expressions of horniness that you’ll never want to have sex again. The visuals begin amongst the skin-tight spandex of an ’80s workout video, and it only gets goofier from there. Drake gets animated alongside a melanated take on Jessica Rabbit, swashbuckles on the cover of a romanc...
Strand of Oaks Honors John Prine on New Single “Somewhere in Chicago”: Stream
Strand of Oaks has unveiled his latest single “Somewhere in Chicago” via Galacticana Records. Stream it below. On the track, the artist — otherwise known as Timothy Showalter — daydreams of the Windy City over layered, echoing acoustic guitars while referencing none other than John Prine. “John’s on a walk somewhere in Chicago/ Losing our leaders who you gonna follow/ Might’ve been the movies, might’ve been the lightning/ Might’ve been something much more frightening,” he croons over reflective instrumentation on the refrain. In a statement, the folk rocker described the new song as, “My ode to the late John Prine and the midwestern ethos he so perfectly embodied. The song dreams of the great city of Chicago where John can forever and happily wander.” Advertisement Related Video “Somewhere...
Iron Maiden Craft Their Most Diverse Album in Years with Senjutsu: Review
The Lowdown: Metal legends Iron Maiden were riding high prior to the pandemic. The band were in the midst of their “Legacy of the Beast Tour” — a career-spanning celebration of the band’s discography. The comprehensive setlist pulled from every era of Maiden — even the Blaze Bayley albums — hitting major highlights as well as obscure deep cuts. Somewhere in the middle of the jaunt, in early 2019, the band found time to hit the Guillaume Tell Studio in France to track the material that would become Senjutsu. Perhaps running through 40 years of songs every night worked as the ultimate songwriting stimulant, because Senjutsu is easily Iron Maiden’s most diverse work in years — no easy task for a band that continues to chiefly operate in a long-since-established heavy metal style. The Goo...
Rap Song of the Week: Kanye West Goes “Off the Grid” with Fivio Foreign and Playboi Carti
Rap Song of the Week breaks down the rap and hip-hop song releases you need to hear each week. Check out the full playlist here. For our latest installment, Kanye West teams up with Fivio Foreign and Playboi Carti for “Off the Grid.” Following three public listening events and several missed release dates, Kanye West’s much-fabled Donda finally dropped on Sunday morning. With 27 tracks to choose from, picking a standout song was no easy task, but “Off the Grid” fits the bill because it sees the G.O.O.D. Music founder at his best. Sprinkling his own touch on Brooklyn drill, Kanye brings out a lyrical side of Fivio Foreign rarely seen before, while also sounding right at home over the wobbling bass and gothic synths. The track was reportedly first made as a solo track for Playboi Carti, who ...
Kim Petras, Swedish House Mafia, Polo G To Perform At VMA Pre-Show
With the release of her empowerment anthem “Future Starts Now” last Friday, the German-born pop singer Kim Petras declared the beginning of a promising, glittering new musical era. And when she said now, she meant it: Petras will bring her unique style of house-tinged bubblegum pop when she performs the new single live at the 2021 VMA pre-show on Sunday, September 12. Petras’s performance will mark her debut at the awards ceremony, and she’s in good company. Rapper Polo G, who is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Hip-Hop, will also perform, delivering a live rendition of his No. 1 hit “Rapstar.” So will the seminal electronic supergroup Swedish House Mafia, who will showcase a medley of the songs “It Gets Better” and “Lifetime,” the trio’s first new singles ...
Blu Announces New Album The Color Blu(e), Shares “People Call Me Blu(e)”: Stream
Blu has announced the new — or should that be n(e)w? — album The Color Blu(e). The record is due out September 24th, and every song will come with the word ‘blu(e),’ including lead single “People Call Me Blu(e).” “This album is the ultimate cartoon series about myself,” Blu explained in a statement. “The Color Blu(e) is the cool breeze. Another day in the life of being Blu.” Produced by Exile, “Call Me Blu(e)” is a bracing reintroduction to Blu’s sample-forward, golden age throwback sound. Lyrically, the onetime J Dilla collaborator mocks people who try too hard while also sending up his own complacency. “Blue is the color of the sky today,” he spits, “And mostly everyday when you live in LA/ The problem is the smog can make the city turn grey/ And we all know that ain’t go...
