Musicians
Pharrell To Feature Korean Pop Sensation BTS On New Album ‘Phriends’
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Jemal Countess / Getty Legendary producer Pharrell is readying a new album and shared that it will be packed with special surprises including an appearance by multi-platinum superstar group, BTS. Per Rolling Stone, Pharrell and RM from the group sat down for a candid conversation for the magazine where he shared the news about the feature. “Well, my project, it’s called . . . it’s [under] my name, and the title of the album is Phriends. It’s the volume one,” he said. “You guys [BTS] are on there, obviously. And I’m actually talking about this way more than I’m supposed to, but it’s a song from my album that [BTS] sang and it’s amazing, and I’m super grateful.” RM shared the same sentiments, “I f*cking love it.” Per Hypebeast, RM is also finish...
Amazon Music To Air Concerts After Thursday Night NFL Games, Hosted By 2 Chainz
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince Williams / Getty In March 2021, when Amazon announced its “10-year agreements to exclusively broadcast 15 Thursday Night Football games and one pre-season game per year on Prime Video,” the response was overwhelmingly positive. The online retail giant—which also has television streaming and music DSP is now planning to kick off Amazon Music Live on October 27. Amazon Music Live will feature concerts after the football games featuring some of the hottest artists in the country. Lil Baby will be the first to perform. Also slated to appear is Megan Thee Stallion, who will take to the stage on November 3rd. According to Digital Music News, “more epic performances will be announced in the weeks to come,” for Prime subscribers. The concerts themselves wi...
Shakira Facing Trial In Spain For Alleged Tax Fraud
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Gisela Schober / Getty Pop superstar Shakira will be put on trial in Spain for alleged tax fraud after a judge approved the motion by prosecutors. According to reports, a judge in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat formally confirmed that the trial can proceed on Tuesday, (Sept. 27). The singer, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, is facing six counts of tax fraud. Authorities have accused her of failing to pay 14.5 million euros ($13.9 million) in taxes on income earned between 2012 to 2014, a time that the 45-year-old claimed she was “leading a nomadic life.” They first made the allegations in 2018. If found guilty, the singer could face a prison sentence of eight years along with a weighty fine. Her case is the latest in the country’s cra...
YouTube’s New Creator Music Program Is Its Solution to Copyright Strikes and TikTok
Uploading a video to YouTube is like bracing for impact. You never know when their Content ID system is going to hit you with a copyright strike. But YouTube’s newly unveiled Creator Music program aims to be the solution the company and its creators have longed for. The program is currently in beta testing, but it will add a large catalog of licensable music for creators to use in their videos. Users will be able to search, browse and purchase these tracks and agree to terms that aren’t bogged down by legal jargon. The way YouTube currently functions is through a very robust Content ID system. Creators can utilize YouTube’s stock music, but the library is limited and its song don’t always fit their content. Video creators have tried to use music ou...
Designers Craft Braille-Based Instrument for Visually Impaired Musicians
A trio of Korean designers have crafted an innovative new instrument that’s likely to appeal to a new generation of visually impaired musicians. The Vitar, short for “visual guitar,” was developed by Eojin Roh, Seonjin Baek, and Yujeong Shin. While few instruments exist today that are specifically catered to the visually impaired, the Vitar is servicing a populace of musicians who respond especially well to auditory stimulation. The Vitar, a new musical instrument for visually impaired artists. Eojin Roh, Seonjin Baek, Yujeong Shin As neurological studies have concluded, the auditory cortex of musicians with impaired sightedness often becomes enhanced, leading individuals to be able to better discern more precise differences in sonic frequencies compared ...
Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka’oir Expecting Their Second Child
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince WIlliams / Prince Williams/ATLPics.net Entrepreneur Keyshia Ka’oir and legendary Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane are expecting their second child and they made the announcement in a very touching viral video. Ka’oir shared a video this weekend of her walking into a room and showing Gucci the positive pregnancy test result. The “So Icy” rapper is seen in the video beaming at the exciting news. The video also showed the couple at an ultrasound appointment. The couple have not revealed the gender of their coming blessing. Related Stories “Let’s Have Another Baby ICE Needs Somebody To Play With,” Ka’oir wrote in the caption. The couple has a nearly two-year-old son together, appropriately named Ice Davis. Per Madame Noire, Gucci Mane shower...
SZA, Usher & More On 2022 Global Citizen Festival Lineup In Ghana
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Steve Jennings / Getty The Global Citizen Festival has announced a jam-packed lineup for its 10th anniversary concert to be held next month. There will also be an additional show in Ghana featuring SZA & Usher among the artists performing. Global Citizen announced the lineup for their concert festivals through their Instagram page on Friday (August 12th), which will take place on September 24th in Central Park in New York City. They also announced that there will be an additional concert to be held in Accra, Ghana to celebrate that nation’s 65th year of independence. Related Stories In addition to SZA and Usher, the lineup will feature Nigerian singing sensation Tems, H.E.R., Stormzy, Gyakie, Sarkodie, and Stonebwoy. The festival – which will be held ...
Grammy-Winning Artist H.E.R. Sues Label for Release
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty Singer-songwriter H.E.R. is suing her record label for release citing a California statute that limits contracts to seven years. H.E.R. née Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson filed for declaratory relief and violation of the business and professions code and is seeking to be released from MBK Entertainment. The company is owned by her manager Jeff Robinson who signed her in 2011 at the age of 14. Related Stories According to documents reviewed by The Blast, H.E.R. is named as an ‘exclusive employee’ for an initial period which “ended the later of 15 months after May 19, 2011 or 12 months after the commercial release of Wilson’s first album under contract, and up to five additional option period of more than one year each.” Wilso...
Erykah Badu To Executive Produce ‘The DOC’ Documentary
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty The documentary about rapper the D.O.C. is getting support from R&B Soul music legend Erykah Badu. According to Deadline, the film is directed by Dave Caplan in his debut. The documentary has been called a “love letter and inspirational hip hop archive” about the legendary West Coast rapper (although he’s from Texas), The D.O.C. The film chronicles his life more than thirty years after a devastating car crash which damaged his vocal cords, silencing his rap career. However, he went on to have a successful career as a ghostwriter and is considered one of the pioneers of West Coast rap. Related Stories “I am excited to announce that I am coming on board as executive producer of The DOC which recently will have its world p...
Splice’s New AI-Powered Musical Sketch Pad Could Upend the Sound Discovery Process
Discovering sounds on Splice will never be the same. Splice’s new AI-powered technology, CoSo, is completely changing how music producers and sound designers discover and harness audio. Designed to provide creatives with a simple, effective way to discover new sounds for their work, the intelligent surface for music creation was developed by Splice’s in-house ML&Audio Science Innovation Team. CoSo is straightforward to use. Since it pairs Complementary Sounds technology with Splice’s massive sounds catalog, there are billions of possible tonal combinations for producers to discover. To get started, users can choose a “style” before CoSo spits out a unique “stack” of loops. Similarly to Tinder, users can swipe right for a new sound, left t...
Good As Hell: Lizzo Slays Her ‘SNL’ Hosting Debut
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: NBC / Getty Superstar singer and rapper Lizzo capped off a week to remember as she pulled off double duty by hosting SNL in addition to being the musical guest. The Grammy Award-winning artist kicked off the latest episode of Saturday Night Live’s 47th season with a hilarious opening monologue. It was her second appearance on the show after appearing as a musical guest in 2019 performing her hit singles “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell” from her debut album Cuz I Love You. Decked out in a shimmery blue dress, she starts off by saying that she’s set on breaking the record for the most times the word “b—-h” has ever been said on television. She then shares that she’s reluctant to do so since her mother doesn’t like her cussing “but now I’m rich, so she’s lik...
ROLI Releases Seaboard RISE 2, a Reimagined MIDI Keyboard for Limitless Artistic Expression
ROLI’s new Seaboard RISE 2 rids any creative limits a typical MIDI keyboard may possess. The Seaboard RISE was first launched by ROLI in 2015 and has received praise from producers, musicians, and composers alike. Its diverse feature set and expansive soundscapes have become paramount to the sounds of TV series like Stranger Things and featured on albums like Drake’s Views and Ed Sheeran’s ÷. The new capabilities in the RISE 2 include a new Keywave2 playing surface, more versatile suite of bundled software, a burnished platinum blue aluminum chassis, and expanded compatibility with other instruments via MIDI port and USB-C. The Equator2 synth, Ableton Live Lite, and ROLI Studio are also included. ROLI’s Seaboard RISE 2. ROLI Scroll to Continue Recomme...
