Category: News

Last July, Atlanta hip-hop trio Migos filed a lawsuit against their former attorney, Damien Granderson. But now, as reported by Variety, the lawsuit has been dismissed.

The reports suggest that the complaint was filed based on the grounds that Granderson had “abused his position of trust and Migos’ fiduciary from the moment he was retained as Migos’ lawyer” and “cheated [the group] out of millions of dollars.” He was accused of “glaring conflicts of interest,” and favoring the group’s label Quality Control, which he also previously represented. While the lawsuit did not clearly state the amount of damages sought by Migos, instead it suggested Migos was asking for “millions of dollars” Granderson had been accused of stealing.

Damien Granderson had been working with Migos for over 5 years reportedly, and had helped them exit 300 Entertainment in 2017 to join Capitol, which the group suggests have not been in their best interest since. The lawsuit claims that Granderson cost Migos, namely Quavo (Quavious Marshall), Offset (Kiari Cephus), and Takeoff (Kirsnick Ball), millions of dollars during the time he was helping the group’s exit from 300 Entertainment.

As the group continues to be embroiled in legal issues, their long-awaited album Culture III is nowhere to be seen, as of February 2021. Quality Control’s co-founder Pierre “Pee” Thomas had called the complaint “nonsense”. In an Instagram post last year, referring to the death of Lil Marlo, an Atlanta rapper that was signed to Quality Control, Thomas said:

“It is unfortunate that the same people that we have worked hard, provided opportunities for, and championed for are now alleging that we have participated in any kind of immoral or unfair business practices or took advantage of them and their careers, especially while we are dealing with the death of an artist on our label that was dear to us”

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Just two days prior to his long-awaited Super-Bowl Half-Time Show performance, The Weeknd is set to release an album of his greatest hits thus far, aptly named “Highlights”.

The announcement came a week ahead of The Super Bowl, where The Weeknd will take the place of a long list of superstars to have performed in the Half-Time Show.

🏈 pic.twitter.com/yaptjyQygn

— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 26, 2021

Back and better than ever 🤩

The @SuperBowl returns to South Florida for a record 11th time! >> https://t.co/8gKAm4kKD0 pic.twitter.com/P5r1ptOlba

— Hard Rock Stadium (@HardRockStadium) January 23, 2020

A couple of weeks ago, Abel released the music video for his “After Hours” mega-hit “Save Your Tears”. The video immediately gained mainstream attention, thanks to its elegant and burlesque imagery, but also for presenting us with The Weeknd’s disfigured new look.

On February 7th, The Weeknd will take the stage and perform a run of these hits as Tampa Bay and Kansas City battle it out in the big game. The broadcast starts at 6:30 PM ET on CBS, live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

You can find the tracklist for “Highlights” below. At this time “Highlights” can only be purchased through The Weeknd’s official website in physical CD form. The album is available to pre-order for $12.

TRACKLIST:

1. SAVE YOUR TEARS

2. BLINDING LIGHTS

3. IN YOUR EYES

4. CAN’T FEEL MY FACE

5. I FEEL IT COMING FT. DAFT PUNK

6. STARBOY FT. DAFT PUNK

7. PRAY FOR ME FT. KENDRICK LAMAR

8. HEARTLESS

9. OFTEN

10. THE HILLS

11. CALL OUT MY NAME

12. DIE FOR YOU

13. EARNED IT

14. LOVE ME HARDER, ARIANA GRANDE & THE WEEKND

15. ACQUAINTED

16. WICKED GAMES

17. THE MORNING

18. AFTER HOURS

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Last Thursday night, January 28th, Haley Williams released a new song “My Limb” by dropping off a CD of the track to a superfan in Nashville and allowing the fan to leak the track. That night marked the Wolf Moon, which Williams acknowledged by also including a candle in the package she dropped off at Carly Butler’s house, the lucky superfan to receive the mysterious visit.

Carly Butler tweeted about the incident saying, “Did Hayley Williams drive to your house and drop off a candle and a CD with her new song on it or are you having a normal night.”

did hayley williams drive to your house and drop off a candle and a cd with her new song on it or are you having a normal night

— carly butler (@ylrac) January 29, 2021

Williams documented the delivery in a funny video. In it, she said, “Okay, we’re going to drop off a Sanctuary candle and a burnt copy of one of the songs to Carly in Nashville right now. I hope she doesn’t think I’m coming to murder her if she looks out her window at just the right time. Or I hope she does, I don’t know.”

Mission accomplished ✔️🤗 pic.twitter.com/2NsXv11vbI

— Paramore-Music.com (@paramoremusicom) January 29, 2021

In “My Limb” Williams sings “If you gotta amputate Don’t give me the tourniquet/ You wish that I would run away/ Sever what isn’t working/ But I let my body bleed out/ Lean into my left side/ If your part of me is gone now/ Do I wanna survive?”

The release of “My Limb” is the first new music by Hayley Williams in 2021. In 2020, the Paramore lead singer released her album Petals for Armor. 

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Justin Timberlake appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Friday, January 29th. Timberlake was on the show the promote his new movie, Palmer. Throughout the show and conversation, Timberlake hinted at new music and talked about his and Jessica Beil’s new baby boy, Phineas. 

Jimmy Fallon, the show’s host, asked Timberlake “Can we say? Is there a possibility that there’s going to be a new Justin Timberlake album in the works?”

Timberlake responded “Yeah, we can say that. There is a possibility.” He added “Let’s go with yes. I’ve been in and out of the studio working on stuff. I played you a few tunes.”

Check out the full discussion between Fallon and Timberlake on The Tonight Show below.

The artist didn’t provide any details regarding a time for the album’s release, only saying “I just take my time.” The most recent album by Timberlake was his 2018 release Man of the Woods. On January 20th, Timberlake collaborated with Ant Clemons at the Celebrating America concert following Joe Biden’s inauguration on the song “Better Days.”

Additionally, in the discussion with Jimmy Fallon last Friday, Timberlake mentioned a few artists he would like to collaborate with in the future, including Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott, and joked that he may even allow Fallon to be on a track of the new album. 

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Amanda Bynes, the former Nickelodeon child star, having starred in shows such as “All That” and “The Amanda Show” recently announced that she’s now in the rap game, as a rapper herself. 

Last week, Amanda Bynes released a snippet from her upcoming single: “Diamonds”, on Instagram. The snippet gained a lot of attention on social media with fans anxiously waiting for her to drop the full track.

The full track can be heard below.

Lil Uzi Vert was very quick to jump on the news, letting it be known that he’s interested in working with former Nickelodeon star:

I wanna work with Amanda Bynes .

SHE BETTER HIT THAT AMANDA PLEASEEEEEEE 🤓 on my shit !

— Uzi London 🌎☄️💕® (@LILUZIVERT) January 25, 2021

“I wanna work with Amanda Bynes,” Uzi tweeted before referencing one of her famous catch-phrases. “SHE BETTER HIT THAT AMANDA PLEASEEEEEEE on my shit !”

While the news came as a shock to fans and music-lovers all around, several key figures from the industry beg to differ, and stand by Bynes’ efforts, saying she’s been working on this for quite some time.

In 2013, Waka Flocka Flame said that he talks to Amanda Bynes often. At the time, he was helping her plan out her first project and was even set to produce a track titled “Shots.” He also let it be known that this isn’t a wavering hobby sparked by her documented struggle with mental health. 

“Not at all. She has it all together to me,” Flocka said when asked about her mental health. “She is cool as hell and ready for the rap world. I think she is going to kill the game.”

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

 

Having shocked the music world with his mega-hit “Whoopty”, Staten Island’s very own CJ is back at it again with his new single, “BOP”.

Back in November CJ told us he had some more heat coming after his breakout success of “Whoopty”, and he didn’t disappoint with his latest effort!

Real name, Christopher Daniel Soriano Jr, CJ was born in January 1997 in Staten Island, New York City. Starting to record music at the age of 16, with uploading songs to YouTube and Soundcloud, CJ gained mainstream popularity in the Summer of 2020 with his break-out single “Whoopty”. 

“Whoopty” recently went gold and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for the budding rapper. In case you missed our two interviews with CJ you can rewatch them on our YouTube channel and get all caught up with the next big rap star!

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Check out what new music was released this week, including album, and single releases from PartyNextDoor, Lil Durk, Weezer, FKA Twigs, Madlib, Arlo Parks, and Ani DiFranco.

Lil Durk dropped the deluxe edition of The Voice, featuring 12 new songs making the deluxe version 28 tracks long. This continues the trend of “deluxe edition” albums but hey who’s complaining about 12 new Durk records?!

R&B crooner PartyNextDoor is also releasing a project as his COLOURS album is finally slated to hit streaming services. The EP originally released in 2014 but until now has been unavailable on all major streaming platforms. Hip hop OG Madlib is back with his latest effort Sound Ancestors, including 16 new tracks. 

Weezer released their new album, OK Human. The album features a full orchestra and use of analog technology. The band described the album as “a Technicolor symphonic spree that meditates on how over-and-under-connected we all are.” Lyrical references to the recent lockdown situation, touching on loneliness, can be expected from the album. Check out Dash’s full article on the announcement of OK Human here. 

FKA Twigs released a new single and an accompanying music video on Tuesday, January 26, “Don’t Judge Me” featuring Headie One and Fred again.. When announcing the single, Twigs said “So proud to release ‘don’t judge me’ into the world. this project is very personal and special to me. It was an honour to shoot with kara walkers fountain exploring the interconnection of black history between africa, america and europe. thank you to everyone for making don’t judge me come to life.”

The 20-year-old London singer-songwriter, Arlo Parks, released her debut album today Collapsed in Sunbeams. The 12 song album features Parks’ warm, soothing voice and poetic lyrics which frequently feature her inspirations. Her music’s sound is undeniably unique with jazz, and pop influences. She is most well known for her debut sing, “Cola.” Arlo Parks describes her own music as “confessional, raw, and fluid.” 

Grammy award-winning folk artist, Ani DiFranco released a new album today, Revolutionary Love. DiFranco has talked about how she wrote the songs on the album before the pandemic but made it a point to record them before Election Day. She said, “I felt very strongly that I needed a horse to ride to try to help get out the vote — to get people inspired and get them believing in democracy, believing in each other and in themselves.” The title track “Revolutionary Love” speaks of just that. DiFranco sings of bringing revolutionary love to herself and the world.

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

On Saturday, January 23rd, the World said goodbye to one of the biggest media legends and renowned voices, Larry King.

At 87, King passed away a couple weeks following his Covid-19 diagnosis, leaving behind him three children (two of whom he succeeds in death), nine grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a trophy mantle that includes 10 Best Interviewer/Best Talk Show CableACE awards, the 1982 Peabody Award for Excellence in broadcasting and inductions into the National Radio Hall of Fame and Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame.

Statement from the family of Larry King pic.twitter.com/LgBiZKFwcJ

— Larry King (@kingsthings) January 24, 2021

Through the end of his career, the iconic radio host diverted his focus on the surging hip-hop community and following. After 25 years on CNN, King partnered with Mexican business giant Carlos Slim to form his own production company, Ora Tv.

King had a lot of musicians on air, but through the late 2010s, as Hip/Hop was on the cusp of taking hold of permanent dominance within the music industry, King produced some more memorable moments with his guests such as Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, DJ Khaled, Pusha T and many more. King never held back, as he never did in his life, and went on to divulge into the taboos of the Hip/Hop world and the rap scene head-first, celebrating its beauty the way it was supposed to.

Check out some of the interviews Larry King made with legendary hip-hop figures.

Mac Miller on drugs and battling depression, 1 year before Miller’s accidental overdose

Wiz Khalifa on smoking weed and Snoop Dogg mentorship

Tyler the Creator on profanity and gay rappers

DJ Khaled on Islam and the N-word

Rest in peace Larry King!

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |

Kobe Bryant was known for many things, his iconic basketball career, being an incredible father, an Oscar winner. One thing we tend to forget is before winning his first ring Kobe was also a rap artist. 

In an interview with ET, LL Cool J recently discussed a night where Kobe played him an entire “gangster rap” album. LL told Kobe to focus on other things, mainly basketball. He insisted that Kobe should stay away from the genre as it could affect his endorsements & overall game. 

This made us take a deeper dive into Kobe’s rap career & the story is very interesting. It all started back in Philadelphia where Kobe joined the rap conglomerate CHEIZAW. Inspired by the Wu-Tang Clan, the group’s name came from Kung Fu classics. 

Steve Stoute signed the group to Sony in the late ’90s. The label quickly turned the upcoming album from a CHEIZAW project to a Kobe featuring CHEIZAW album before deciding to dedicate the whole project to Kobe’s solo career. 

Kobe spent an entire summer with Stoute in New York. When he wasn’t training he was working on his music. He recorded at the famous Hit Factory, working with the legendary Trackmasters. He loved the challenge of conquering rap & partook in many ciphers.

While Kobe’s roots were lyrical, Sony had other plans. Sony wanted Kobe, the rapper, to be a sensation. They paired him with Bryan Mcknight & had the young Lakers draftee deliver a verse for “Hold Me”. 

This shifted Kobe from a “lyrical” rapper into what we saw, the commercial rapper who released verses with Bryan Mcknight, Destiny’s Child & Shaq. Sony wanted Kobe to become a rap icon & they took the commercial approach. 

The problem was Shaq’s recent album had flopped, as did Deion Sanders Primetime project. The athlete/rapper wave had passed & Sony was pushing Kobe to be less lyrical and more commercial. This led to Kobe performing “K.O.B.E.” at the 2000 All-Star game with Tyra Banks singing the hook.

The performance was mocked and considered a disaster. This marked the beginning of the end of his time with Sony. Stoute left Sony and shortly after they dropped Kobe. This led to Kobe helping in launching his own label, an endeavor that lasted only a year before the independent label collapsed.

Before it was all said and done Kobe worked with Clark Kent, Trackmasters, 50 Cent, Nature & others. Though his rap career was short-lived, those who were a part of the journey described Kobe as a competitive, lyrical & skilled rapper.

He showed the same traits that developed him into one of the greatest basketball players this world has ever seen.

While there are some songs online, the entire “gangster rap” album that LL Cool J heard may never surface. We can only hope that one day this album gets uploaded somewhere as we’re all curious what it sounded like.

Rest In Peace Kobe. 

On Friday, January 22nd, and Saturday, January 23rd, Flaming Lips performed concerts in Oklahoma City in “space bubbles.” At the shows, both the band members and all audience members were quarantined in inflatable bubbles.

There were 100 bubbles for audience members, and each bubble held a maximum of 3 people. The concerts took place at Oklahoma City’s The Criterion. 

The lead singer of the Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne, talked about the space bubble concert-style with Rolling Stone back in December saying, “We collect everybody and then we take them row by row to their bubbles. [In October], the whole thing happened in 20 minutes from everybody being inside to everyone being blown up in their space bubble, and that’s the part of it that we wanted to work on. Once you’re in the bubble you can do whatever the fuck you want, and that’s the beauty of it. That’s what we spent most of the time figuring out. The music part of it, we got that shit down.”

He added “I don’t want anybody to think this is some kind of fucking freak party. It’s a very restricted, weird event. But the weirdness is so we can enjoy a concert before putting our families and everybody at risk. And I think it can actually work, but just not when it’s this serious here. I think it’s a bit of a new normal — you might go to a show, you might not, but I think we’re going to be able to work it out.”

Coyne posted numerous photos from the concerts, both from the shows themselves and behind the scenes on the process of making it happen. Check out Wayne Coyne’s Instagram here to see photos from the Flaming Lips space bubble shows. 

The Flaming Lips’ OKC shows were originally scheduled for December 2020 but were postponed to this past weekend because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the area. 

| Hip Hop | Pop | R&B | Latin | Dance | Country | Rock | Afrobeats |