entertainment blog
Joey Bada$$ Performs Extended Cover of Mos Def’s “UMI Says”
During an appearance on Australian radio station Triple J, Joey Bada$$ delivered a melodic cover of Mos Def’s ”UMI Says,” off his 1999 debut studio album. In Triple J’s “Like A Version” segment, which sees featured musicians perform one cover and one of their own tracks each week, Bada$$ performed a dreamy, extended version of “UMI Says.” His rendition was accompanied by Zimbabwean-born, Melbourne-based artist KYE. Following his performance of Def’s track, Bada$$ sang “Show Me,” which appears on his recently-released third studio album, 2000. In an interview with Triple J, Bada$$ explained that “UMI Says” is “one of [his] favorite songs of all time.” “It’s such a spiritual connection that I have to this song,” he said. “I feel like I could almost relate to what Mos Def is sp...
Watch Sam Smith Perform “Unholy” with Kim Petras on SNL
Sam Smith was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last night, performing “Unholy” and the title track from their forthcoming LP Gloria, due out next week. The episode was hosted by Aubrey Plaza. Check it out below. During “Unholy,” Smith wore a voluminous hot pink dress, which was flipped open to reveal Kim Petras sitting inside. Petras emerged and sang her part on the recorded single. For “Gloria,” Smith was joined by choir of hooded singers. In the foreground of the stage, a woman reclined on a sparkly chaise lounge; that woman was Sharon Stone. This was the third time Smith served as the musical guest on SNL; they made their debut in 2014 and performed again in 2017. Smith released their last album Love Goes in 2020. Watch Sam Smith break down their favorite vocal performances on P...
Met Opera Concert to Mark Anniversary of Ukraine Invasion
The Metropolitan Opera in New York will mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a concert to remember victims of the war. Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Soprano Golda Schultz, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, tenor Dmytro Popov, and Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi will be the soloists at the Feb. 24 performance. “Mozart’s Requiem is to remember the innocent victims of the war, and Beethoven’s Fifth is in anticipation of the victory to come,” Met general manager Peter Gelb said in a statement Friday (Jan. 20). The concert will be broadcast on radio and will be presented in association with the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. A...
8 Best Moments From Drake’s SiriusXM Show at New York’s Apollo Theater
“I’d like to take you on a little journey tonight, if that’s ok?,” Drake asked onstage at the Apollo Theater on Saturday (Jan. 21). After two postponements last fall, the Toronto superstar finally graced the stage at the legendary Harlem venue on Saturday night for his first of two shows there this weekend. In partnership with SiriusXM and his radio show Sound 42, the concert was originally meant to take place on Friday (Nov. 11) but was moved to early December to mourn Takeoff whose untimely death occurred a little over a week prior. The show was then delayed again due to production issues. Twenty-five minutes after his scheduled set time of 9:00 p.m., a white screen lifted to reveal Drake sitting in a bedroom made to look like his old room in his mother’s basement. The other ...
We’re In The Endgame Now: Crystal Dynamics Will End Development On ‘Marvel’s Avengers’
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Crystal Dynamics / Marvel’s Avengers The struggle train that is Crystal Dynamic’s attempt at a video game MCU with Marvel’s Avengers is coming to an end. After two long years of trying to follow its “roadmap” of content, Crystal Dynamics announced it will end active development on Marvel’s Avengers, saying it was a decision it “undertook in conjunction with our partners.” The sad news came in a blog post called “Final Update on The Future of Marvel’s Avengers” that hilariously dropped with a broken link, clearly indicating how doomed this video game was. In the post, Crystal Dynamic said it would discontinue support for the game on September 30, which will see all digital purchases end, meaning all those costumes and other DLC will be free. S...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (January 21)
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A Star-Studded Paris Fashion Week Spanish-language artists were present at the 2023 Paris Fashion Week, starting with Rosalía, who served as the musical curator at the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter 2023 Fashion Show and was also the first woman to ever perform live on the coveted runway. Rocking an outfit from the new collection, the Spanish singer performed some of her biggest hits at the top of a vintage car including “Despecha,” “Saoko,” and “Candy” from her Latin Grammy-winning a...
Billie Eilish, BTS and Khalid Songs Are the Best Music to Fall Asleep to, Study Says
Some A-list artists, including Billie Eilish, BTS and Khalid, are responsible for helping people fall asleep, according to a new study published Wednesday (Jan. 18). Researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark analyzed 225,626 tracks from 985 Spotify playlists that relate to sleep. The group then used the audio streaming platform’s software to compare sleep songs and general music. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Sleep music tends to be quieter and slower and features acoustic instruments. But according to their findings shared in journal PLOS One, a substantial amount of diversity was present among some sleep music in six categories. Authors of the study said they “investigated the characteristics of music used for sleep and found that even th...
WORLD CLUB DOME’s 2022 Winter Edition Was a Stunning Testament to BigCityBeats’ Innovation
Landing in Düsseldorf to close out a banner year for BigCityBeats, WORLD CLUB DOME reinforced itself in 2022 as the “biggest club in the world.” We were on the ground in Germany for WORLD CLUB DOME: Winter Edition, which returned to the gigantic Merkur Spiel-Arena from December 16-17 with a colossal lineup of 150 artists, who took the decks at the festival’s 15 stages. BigCityBeats, one of Europe’s most successful events brands for almost two decades now, remains laser-focused on innovation. A label, radio show, merchandise distributor and events producer, the company has curated unique dance music experiences throughout and beyond Europe, from Asia to the Caribbean and even into outer space back in 2019. 2022’s Winter Edition saw BigCityBeats’ found...
ROSSY Drops Soaring Future Bass Heater, “DON’T SAY”
Surging DJ and bass music producer ROSSY has returned to HARD Recs with a stunning new single, “DON’T SAY.” It’s the third track from her upcoming debut EP, Heaven’s Door, and it beautifully encapsulates her euphoric style with soaring saws and trappy percussion. Blending elements of future bass and Wave music, she starts off with dreamy pads and warm, distorted vocal swells before the arrangement picks up steam with a tense drum build. It eventually culminates in a thrilling drop dripping with nostalgia, a sound that is quickly becoming ROSSY’s signature. ROSSY. Robert Flagg “DON’T SAY” had been in the works since the end of 2020, according to a recent tweet from ROSSY, who has called her debut EP “a piece of [her] heart and soul...
NEMS, Ghostface Killah & Scram Jones “Don’t Ever Disrespect Me,” Freddie Gibbs “Rabbit Vision” & More | Daily Visuals 1.19.23
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Matt Jelonek / Getty For a minute now NEMS has been carving out quite the niche for himself in the rap game and today he welcomes a Hip-Hop legend to his Coney Island neighborhood to lay it down for the streets and remind everyone they ain’t the ones to test. Linking up for the new visuals to “Don’t Ever Disrespect Me,” NEMS and Ghostface Killah kick it in Coney but instead of taking to the boardwalk they two men take over a bodega to cause a ruckus before hanging in front of NEMS’ FYL store. All these decades later and Ghost still got that potent work. Props. From the East to the South, Freddie Gibbs is looking to kick off 2023 the right way and in his vintage looking clip to “Rabbit Vision” uses a collage of videos from his time on tour and in the studi...
Stephen A. Smith Apologizes To Rihanna For “She Ain’t Beyoncé” Remark
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Eric Espada / Getty Now, we all know that famed sports commentator Stephen A. Smith has a big mouth—big enough for him to occasionally stick his entire foot in it while using his other foot to walk things back a bit. Also, Smith is pretty old. So old, possibly, that he’s a little too detached from the popular music scene to understand that Rihanna arguably has as big of a “hive” as the Queen Bee herself, Beyoncé. (Can the “Rih-hive” be a thing, or is that a little too on the nose?) From TMZ Sports: Stephen A. Smith had a BOLD take this week, but it wasn’t about whether Dak Prescott is elite … it was his reaction to Rihanna performing the Super Bowl halftime show — simply saying, “she ain’t Beyoncé.” Related Stories The ESPN personality made the comment du...
Skepta Reflects on His Unreleased “Little Demon” Collaboration With Frank Ocean
British grime legend, Skepta, has openly reflected on a collaborative song that he made with Frank Ocean back in 2018 entitled “Little Demon.” Taking to his Instagram story on January 18 — a place where Skep often goes to vent — the Boy Better Know rapper spoke about the track he made with Ocean and the verse he provided. He explained how “fuc*in’ hard” it was, while also admitting that he couldn’t remember all of the lyrics. “Every once in a while I think about my verse on “Little Demon” with Frank,” he wrote. “The first 8 bars on that leak is so fuc*in’ hard but I don’t remember the rest of the lyric kmt.” Skepta reflects on “fuckin’ hard” unreleased Frank Ocean collab https://t.co/52WCdDsvQr pic.twitter.com/G43kGHlWKD — HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) January 19, 2023 Frank Ocean first teased “Lit...
