entertainment blog
Duke Concept Launches Live Nation Joint Venture
While Burna Boy will make history this spring when he becomes the first Nigerian artist to headline New York’s Madison Square Garden, the April 28 concert also marks a major milestone for promoter Osita “Duke” Ugeh, CEO of concert promoter Duke Concept, who has spent the past 10 years bringing African artists to the U.S. With Burna Boy’s Madison Square Garden show, Ugeh — who’s Nigerian-born and based in New York — launches a new joint venture with Live Nation to co-promote African artists touring in the U.S. Through Duke Concept, Ugeh and Live Nation have been co-producing concerts together for years, and under the new arrangement, Ugeh will retain the autonomy to continue to independently promote his own events. “Over the past few years working with Duke, our relationship has grown immen...
Mike Nesmith’s 12 Best Songwriting Credits: The Monkees, Stone Poneys & Beyond
If you want someone to extol the late Mike Nesmith’s virtues as a songwriter, you don’t have to look much further than the man who’s been standing beside him onstage for many of the past five and a half decades. “Nes is a great songwriter, always has been,” says Monkees mate Micky Dolenz, who most recently toured with Nesmith as The Monkees Present the Mike & Micky Show and who earlier this year released the album Dolenz Sings Nesmith. “You’ve got to credit him; He was writing incredible stuff from the get-go. He was way before some of the other country electric rock entities. He was way ahead of them in that kind of sound. He was doing that stuff in the ’60s, and I don’t think he’s ever gotten as much credit as he should as a singer-songwriter.” Explore See latest videos, charts and n...
Doja Cat Pulls Out of 2 Jingle Ball Dates After Crew Members Test Positive for COVID-19
Doja Cat will no longer perform at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball stops in New York City and Boston this weekend after members from her production team tested positive for COVID-19. She shared the update on her socials Friday (Dec. 10), just hours before NYC’s Jingle Ball was set to start at Madison Square Garden. Explore Explore Doja Cat See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We recently learned that a few members on my production team have tested positive for Covid 19 and are now on quarantine,” reads the message. “For the health and wellbeing of the rest of our crew, we are following all the appropriate safety measurements and necessary precautions, which means I won’t be able to perform at iHeartRadio’s New York Z100 and Boston KISS FM Jingle Ball. I’m extr...
Travis Scott’s Cacti Hard Seltzer Discontinued by Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch InBev revealed Friday (Dec. 10) that it is discontinuing its Travis Scott-backed hard seltzer brand, Cacti, less than nine months after the product first went on sale. “After careful evaluation, we have decided to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer,” said an Anheuser-Busch InBev spokesperson in a statement. “We believe brand fans will understand and respect this decision.” The discontinuation comes a little over a month after 10 people died and hundreds more were injured in a crowd crush that occurred during Scott’s performance at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 5. An Anheuser-Busch representative would not confirm whether the discontinuation was related to what happened at the festival, but a spokesperson for Scott tel...
Martin Garrix and Matisse & Sadko Reunite for Euphoric Song With John Martin, “Won’t Let You Go”
Longtime collaborators Martin Garrix and Matisse & Sadko have always had a magic touch when it comes to electronic music. So when they threw the iconic dance music vocalist John Martin into the mix, expectations were high. And to the surprise of no one, they all delivered. Martin’s signature cadence is as strong as ever in “Won’t Let You Go,” a euphoric progressive track designed for music festivals. The riveting tune quickly became one of Garrix’s most anticipated unreleased tracks over the course of the pandemic. He dropped it live as early as August 2021, when he threw down at Austria’s Electric Love festival. It seems “Won’t Let You Go” is a bellwether of a huge 2022 from Garrix. According to a press ...
Promising Electronic Music Producer CharlestheFirst Dead at 25
CharlestheFirst, a fast-rising DJ and electronic music producer, has tragically died at the age of 25. “Early this morning our beloved Charles Elias Ingalls passed away in his sleep,” reads a tweeted statement shared by Lab Group, a multimedia collective co-founded by CharlestheFirst. “Amongst many things, Charles was a larger than life presence that deeply moved and affected all who knew him.” “A son, a brother, a friend, a poet, and an absolutely brilliant musician,” the statement continues. “He lived his life with a sense of magic and inspiration that most people only dream of.” Known for his ability to blend hypnotic bass music with lo-fi and hip-hop, CharlestheFirst released his latest album SOLUS in March 2021. The expansive record was ...
Listen to Sam Feldt and Rita Ora’s Sun-Kissed Collab, “Follow Me”
Sam Feldt is closing out the year on a high note, connecting with Rita Ora for a summery collaboration called “Follow Me.” As he usually does, Feldt has put together a surefire crowd-pleaser, which arrives via Kygo’s Palm Tree Records. “Follow Me” encapsulates the Dutch producer’s sound perfectly, taking on the upbeat feel he’s known for. Ora’s unmistakable voice drives the arrangement, blending with warm piano chords and vocal chops to bubbly effect. In Addition to Feldt’s production, Ella Henderson—a collaborator of Kygo and Jax Jones, among many others—is attributed as a co-writer. “I had so much fun making ‘Follow Me’ with Rita, not just the track but also the video too, which we filmed out in the C...
Eyedress Gives an Inside Look at His Musical Journey and Life After ‘Mulholland Drive’
Driven by a lifelong passion for music, Eyedress has worked a jam-packed schedule while preparing for his fourth studio album. Like the fast-paced guitar rhythms on Mulholland Drive, which dropped in August, Eyedress doesn’t want to slow down. From creating visuals for songs to tapping in with other LA-based musicians, he’s motivated to keep his creative momentum flowing. Meeting up with HYPEBEAST Diaries, Eyedress warms up on his skateboard, which is where the roots of his music career can be found. “All my favorite skaters were these fools who wore tight pants and liked punk rock. That’s why I’m so into bands,” says Eyedress. Through years of skating and watching skate videos in the Philippines and America, Eyedress eventually developed the sound he wants to share with the rest of the wo...
Juice WRLD’s ‘Burn’ Track Receives a Music Video
Juice WRLD‘s highly-anticipated posthumous album Fighting Demons has officially arrived, and along with it, the title track Burn has received a music video directed by Steve Cannon. The music video snaps between clips of Juice Wrld in the studio rapping to the lyrics and Los Angeles burning under a barrage of meteor showers before the world is seen exploding. The song hears Juice WRLD rapping about his battle with addiction and anxiety in the chorus “Hands up in the fire, burn, burn, burn, burn. I pray to God for some water to wash down these Percs. I been cursed since birth, guess I never learn.” The Metro Boomin produced track continues with him explaining how his success and money couldn’t solve his problems with lyrics that read, “numb the pain with my wealth, a bag from Chanel match t...
David Lasley, Musician-Songwriter and Prized Backup Singer for Music Legends, Dies at 74
David Lasley — an American artist, songwriter and longtime backup singer for a slew of legendary artists — passed away on Dec. 9 at the age of 74, Billboard has confirmed. In addition to a solo career that netted him the 1982 top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit “If I Had My Wish Tonight,” Lasley sang backup for Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin and more. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Tributes to the late singer poured in after the news of his passing, with Desmond Child, James Taylor and more expressing their condolences online and sharing his music. Lasley co-wrote Bonnie Raitt’s “I Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again” and “Got You On My Mind.” Raitt took to social media with fond words about Lasley, stating, “I am so sorry to hear of th...
Michael Nesmith & The Monkees Set a Billboard Chart Record in 1967 That Still Stands Today
Michael Nesmith, who died Friday (Dec. 10) at age 78, and his fellow Monkees – Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz – set a record in 1967 that no other act has equaled: They became the first and only act to have four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in a calendar year. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news They were on top as the year began with their debut album, The Monkees, which had spent the last eight weeks of 1966 at No. 1. The Monkees spent the first five weeks of 1967 in the top spot, until it was replaced on Feb. 11 by the group’s sophomore set, More of the Monkees. That album logged 18 consecutive weeks on top. After a one-week interruption by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass – you’ll be reading more about them soon – The Monkees’ ...
Mary J. Blige, H.E.R, The Isley Brothers & Rick Ross to Perform at Jazz in the Gardens Festival
The star-studded lineup for the 15th annual Jazz in the Gardens has been revealed. On Friday (Dec. 10), it was announced that Mary J. Blige, H.E.R, Rick Ross, The Isley Brothers, SWV, The Roots and soon-to-be-announced local artists are set to perform at the event, slated to kick off at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on March 12 and 13. T-Pain, Stokely, Johnathan McReynolds, Mike Phillips and Mark Allen Felton are also set to make special appearances amid the two-day festivities. Radio personality and comedian Rickey Smiley will return as host for the 2022 event. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Attendees will be required to present a COVID-19 vaccination card or a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter. Social-distancing...
