NEWS
Sevendust Announce Summer 2021 US Tour
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T19:54:32+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 3:54pm ET Feeling confident that the country is gradually opening back up, Sevendust have announced a month-long summer U.S. tour. The veteran hard-rock band will be out in support of their 2020 album, Blood & Stone. The tour kicks off June 26th in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and runs through a July 24th gig in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The band promises that the gigs will be socially distanced with COVID protocols per local guidelines in each market. The trek will mark Sevendust’s first chance to properly support their 13th studio album, after performing a few livestream shows during the pandemic. Related Video Heavy Consequence caught up with Sevend...
Burning Man 2021 Canceled Due to Coronavirus
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T20:27:36+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 4:27pm ET For the second straight year, Burning Man has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burning Man CEO Marian Goodell made the announcement on Tuesday, saying they will “double down” on the event in 2022. Burning Man was originally scheduled for August 26th through September 3rd in Black Rock City, Nevada. Goodell issued the following statement during a live video announcement: “For 2021, we know the need for community has never been stronger, and building community is what Burners do best. We also recognize the pandemic is not over. We’ve heard your feedback, and we’re really grateful for all of the work you have been doing to pre...
BABYMETAL Jump on the NFT Craze with Digital Trading Cards
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T21:04:22+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 5:04pm ET BABYMETAL are the latest music act to jump on the NFT trend, announcing limited-edition digital NFT trading cards dropping May 6th at 11 a.m. ET via WAX blockchain. The 10-card digital packs are limited to 1,000 and will be available for $100 for 72 hours. The purchase comes with at least one tangible object in the form of the band’s new best-of anthology, 10 Babymetal Years, on gold-colored vinyl. The 10 cards in each pack “represent all 10 episodes of the Metal Resistance — the 10 chapters of the band that have unfolded since their inception a decade ago,” according to a press release. At just 1,000 NFTs, the packs will certain...
Joe Rogan Tells Young People Not to Get COVID-19 Vaccine
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-27T21:25:04+00:00“>April 27, 2021 | 5:25pm ET Joe Rogan, who once coached the contestants of Fear Factor through drinking donkey semen, now says that healthy young people shouldn’t be vaccinated against COVID-19. Via Media Matters, the highly compensated Spotify podcast host and all-around moron contradicted CDC guidelines on his April 23rd episode, saying, “If you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I go no.” Rogan has long advocated for a kind of “thinking for yourself” that is unrecognizable as thinking: giving a platform to far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, spreading misinformation about the novel coronavirus, and repeatedly att...
Volkswagen’s Newest Desert Racer Is an … ID4 Electric SUV?
But that isn’t going to stop Tanner Foust from getting behind the wheel and Rhys Millen Racing from prepping the ID4 for the NORRA Mexican 1,000 that’s set to take place from April 25-29. But the ID4 won’t get very far in the race without a little help from Millen and his team. While the 82 kWh battery pack and the single electric motor on the rear axel will be left unchanged, there is some serious work being done to the rest of the SUV. For starters, rally-style coilovers will replace the stock suspension setup and the SUV gets new control arms up front and new boxed lower links at the rear—the result is a 2-inch lift and presumably more articulation. The radiator was moved higher up for better cooling and better approach angles, and 3/8-inch steel skid plates ...
Verboten Vezel: Honda’s Global HR-V Replacement Gets Mugen Upgrades
Mugen is once again massaging one of Honda’s latest offerings—this time the global version of the Vezel model, known in the U.S. as the HR-V. If this mainstream subcompact crossover sounds like an odd object of desire for a longtime Honda tuner, Mugen went ahead and gussied up the low-power people mover anyway. American enthusiasts haven’t been sold on the HR-V, which essentially serves as the replacement for Honda’s beloved Fit hatchback in the U.S., so maybe it’s for the best that this new Vezel won’t translate directly to the next-gen HR-V due here soon. The redesigned HR-V will be U.S.-specific, but what that means exactly is unclear. Whether or not it will resemble the global version or share enough mechanically to allow any of these new Mugen g...
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande Bring Years of Musical History to ‘Save Your Tears’ Remix
On the new Pop Shop Podcast, we talk about why the duo are a perfect match, from “Love Me Harder” through their latest team-up. When The Weeknd and Ariana Grande started teasing their new “Save Your Tears” remix last week, fans of both artists already knew it would be a perfect fit. The duo linked up early in their careers, on Grande’s second studio album My Everything, for the Billboard Hot 100 No. 7-peaking hit “Love Me Harder” in 2014. Then just last year, The Weeknd popped up on Grande’s latest album, Positions, for “Off the Table,” which is a top 40 Hot 100 hit without even being released as a single (yet). Now, Grande brings her ethereal vocals to a remix of “Save Your Tears” — already a top five Hot 100 hi...
Earth, Wind & Fire, Ludacris & More to Be Honored at 2nd ‘Saluting Our Culture’ Virtual Event
On June 6, Café Mocha Radio will stream their 2021 Salute THEM Awards show. The ceremony will honor individuals selected by Café Mocha in the areas of music, television, film, fashion and dance. The honorees are Sly Stone, June Ambrose, Jamal Josef, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bille Woodruff, Dr. Bobby Jones, Patrice Rushen, Ludacris and Darlene Love. The Salute THEM Awards will be co-hosted by Yo-Yo, Café Mocha Radio host and Grammy-nominated rapper, and Broadway actor Saint Aubyn (Ain’t Too Proud). It will stream from the new National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in Nashville, taking attendees on a historical journey of Black music curated by the museum. In celebration of Black Music Month, the event will be the second show in Café Mocha’s “Saluting Ou...
Legendary Recording Engineer Al Schmitt Dies at 91
Born April 17, 1930 in Brooklyn, Schmitt served in the U.S. Navy and began apprenticing at Apex Recording Studios in New York City when he was 19. It was there he began working with legendary engineer/producer Tom Dowd, eventually engineering a session for Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on his own when no one else was around. “Duke Ellington sat next to me, and I was so nervous and it was obvious. I kept saying, ‘You know, Mr. Ellington, I’m really not qualified to do this. This was a huge mistake,'” Schmitt told Billboard in a special tribute to the engineer in 2012. “And he kept patting me on the leg and saying, `Don’t worry, son. We’re going to get through this.’ And that was it. I got thrown in, we got it done, we did four sides. The ni...
Tyler Perry Accepts Humanitarian Award at 2021 Oscars With Plea To Not Hate Police Officers
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Handout / Getty Recent remarks from Tyler Perry have confused fans after announcing his refusal to hate police officers during his Academy Awards speech. On Sunday (April 25), the Atlanta media mogul recently took home the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his work in helping others and feeding people during the pandemic, per a Fox 5 Atlanta report. Perry using his billion-dollar wallet to help people in their time of need has been well documented over the year. His good deeds include: leaving $21,000 in tips at an Atlanta restaurant, paying the tab for seniors shopping at 73 groceries stores, offering to pay for the funeral of Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner, donating $100,000 to the legal defense fund of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, and feed...
Lakeith Stanfield Voices Lead For Netflix’s Black Samurai Anime ‘Yasuke’
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Netflix / Netflix The tale of Yasuke, thought to be the world’s first Black samurai, is a little-known fact that deserves a larger story. A new anime based on the legendary figure is set to make its debut this Thursday on Netflix. Lakeith Stanfield voices the titular character for Yasuke, who was said to be a servant of Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Vaglignano. The pair traveled to Japan around 1579, where they met warlord Oda Nobunaga. Because of his size, Nobunaga made Yasuke his personal bodyguard according to accounts. Yasuke’s time as a samurai was short-lived as Nobunaga was overthrown by way of a coup and the warrior was sent back to the missionary, and much of his story has been lost to history. The Netflix retelling of Yasuke’s story isn’t...
Kanye West’s 2008 Grammy Worn Air Yeezy Sneakers Sell For $1.8 Million At Auction
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: SOTHEBY’S / Sotheby’s The nostalgia for the old Kanye West is hotter than ever. His Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototypes from 2008 sold for a record-breaking $1.8 million via private sale. As spotted on CNN Sotheby’s announced this week that sneaker investing platform RARES has acquired the Kanye West ‘Grammy Worn’ shoes from 2008 for a record-breaking $1.8 million via private sale. The price sets a new milestone for a publicly recorded sneaker sale, shattering the current auction record for sneakers by almost three times, and establishes the Yeezy 1 Prototypes as the most valuable sneakers ever and the first recorded sneaker sale for more than $1 million. Source: SOTHEBY’S / Sotheby’s Worn during Kanye’s memorable and emotional performance of “Hey Mama” and ...
