music
Snoop Dogg and DMX to Go Head-to-Head in Verzuz Battle Tonight
Snoop Dogg and DMX, two of hip-hop’s biggest heavyweights, will go head-to-head in a Verzuz battle on Wednesday. It’s scheduled to go down tonight at at 8:00 p.m. ET via Verzuz’s Instagram. For the uninitiated, Verzuz is an Instagram TV show of sorts that pits two producers, rappers, or songwriters side-by-side to revisit their career highs and lows, with the ultimate goal of determining who has the best catalog. As Vulture writer Craig Jenkins notes, each battle consists of 20 rounds, sees contestants play a hit and then hear a rebuttal, and revolves around rules that come together “on the fly.” Past battles have featured Nelly vs. Ludacris, Timbaland vs. Swizz Beatz, and Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, among others. It’s a dog eat dog world, and tonight, one pup will come out on top....
J. Cole Drops Two New Songs “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice”: Stream
J. Cole, photo by Ben Kaye J. Cole is back with new music. The North Carolina rapper has just released a pair of singles, “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice”, both of which can be streamed below. “The Climb Back” was produced solely by J. Cole, whereas “Lion King on Ice” features additional production credits from jetsonmade and T-Minus. Apparently both songs are from The Fall Off, the long-hinted-at follow-up album to 2018’s KOD, which means yes, the album is actually real. But according to J. Cole, there’s no set release date scheduled. “Taking my time, still finishing,” he wrote on Instagram. Editors’ Picks Just last month, J. Cole dropped a surprise single called “Snow on tha Bluff” after marching in the streets with protestors. On the track, he appeared to take aim at Chicag...
Mamamoo’s Hwasa Just Made Harry Styles’s Song Of The Summer Even Hotter
Though British singer Harry Styles released his ecstatic single “Watermelon Sugar” back in November 2019, the delicious slice of pop escapism has since become 2020’s song of the summer, thanks in part to the fruit-filled music video “dedicated to touching” that he dropped in May. Now, Hwasa, of the K-pop foursome Mamamoo, is putting her own sultry spin on Styles’s hit. Hwasa’s cover of “Watermelon Sugar,” which released the day of the singer’s birthday on Wednesday (July 22), doesn’t stray far from the Style’s original melody, the K-pop idol captures and builds on the track’s windows-down, wind-in-your-hair vibes of the track with her sweltering, moody vocals and a cozy music video f...
The Weeknd Taps Japan’s First Black-Owned Anime Studio For ‘Snowchild’ Video
It’s no secret that Abel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name The Weeknd, is something of a cinephile. Last year, he made his acting debut — as himself, no less — in the Adam Sandler-led film Uncut Gems. And his Warren Fu-directed video for “I Feel It Coming” featured atmospheric shots pulled from Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterwork 2001: A Space Odyssey. But he is also, apparently, an anime fan. While the “I Feel It Coming” video co-starred the Japanese actress Kiko Mizuhara, well-known for her work on the wildly popular anime Attack on Titan, his latest video goes full-on Ghost in the Shell. The visuals for “Snowchild,” which dropped on Wednesday (July 22), filter The Weeknd’s career through ...
AKAI’s New ‘MPC Beats’ Music-Making Software Is Here To Help Get Your Beat-Making Off The Ground
Source: AKAI Professional / MPC Beats Have you always wanted to become the next Pharrell, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Just Blaze, or old Kanye West? Akai is now giving you that opportunity and won’t cost you a dime. Akai, who is more well-known for his beat-making hardware like its popular button-mashing MPC machines, is now looking to push its software. The company announced its new ‘MPC Beats’, a streamlined digital audio workstation. The new software seemingly builds off its existing desktop software, making it more straightforward for the entry-level beat maker but for the price of free 99. Once downloaded and installed, users, will have access to Akai’s three virtual synths (Bassline, Tubesynth, and Electric) plus 80 effects plugins. On top of that, it comes loaded with 2GB of sampl...
Senators Introduce “Save Our Stages” Legislation to Help Music Venues During Pandemic
There may be hope for music venues struggling to get by during the coronavirus pandemic after all. Earlier today, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced a new piece of legislation called the “Save Our Stages Act”. It’s a relief bill that aims to provide financial support to music and entertainment venues across the country, particularly those that are in danger of shutting down permanently, reports Rolling Stone. According to a press release, the “Save Our Stages Act” will offer six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.” The legislation is geared towards operators, promoters, and talent reps at primarily small, independent venues. The specific grant amounts ...
Ashe Is So Over It On New Single “Save Myself”: Stream
If you’ve been on Spotify, Netflix, or TikTok at any point within the last year, chances are you heard and bobbed your head to Ashe. The San Jose indie pop artist’s breakout single, 2019’s “Moral of the Story”, was featured in the film To All the Boys: P.S. I Love You, as well as in over 900,000 TikTok videos. Today, Ashe is back with a follow-up song titled “Save Myself”. “Save Myself” was technically recorded after “Moral of the Story”, but their backstories are closely linked — both are tied to a failed relationship and its messy aftermath. “I look at ‘Save Myself’ as the precursor to ‘Moral of the Story’ instead of the follow up,” Ashe explained in a statement. “People say there are five stages of grief; I wrote ‘Moral of the Story’ in the fifth stage of grieving my relationship: accep...
FUZZ Announce New Album III, Share Lead Single “Returning”: Stream
FUZZ are back and they’re ready to blow out your speakers. Ty Segall’s beloved garage rock trio have announced a new album as well as a lengthy tour that extends through next year. They will be touring in support of the new record, III, which is due out October 23rd via In the Red Recordings. This is the first new album FUZZ have released in five years and serves as the follow-up to their 2015 full-length II. As such, this eight-track album sees Segall on drums, Charles Moothart on guitar, and Chad Ubovich on bass performing raw, headbang-worthy songs. Best of all, they’ve linked up with Steve Albini, who serves as the album’s producer and mixer. FUZZ are celebrating the news with “Returning”, the lead single and “mission statement” of the album. The song meditates on the power of solitude...
Fiona Apple Pens New Song “New York Doesn’t Like Your Face” For Apple TV’s Central Park: Stream
As reported in May, Apple TV’s new animated series Central Park features music from Fiona Apple, Cyndi Lauper, Aimee Mann, Sara Bareilles, and more. Apple specifically contributed to the show’s upcoming season one finale, “A Fish Called Snakehead”. In anticipation of that episode, her song, titled “New York Doesn’t Like Your Face”, is being shared today. Apple co-wrote the piece with David Lucky, a friend, composer, and collaborator whom she’s previously described as “one of my favorite people in the world.” The track itself is sung by Central Park character Ashley, voiced by the six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald. Watch a clip of Ashley singing Apple’s “New York Doesn’t Like Your Face” below. The full episode airs July 24th, which is the same day the entire soundtrack arrives. Editors...
Dave Grohl Defends Teachers, Slams Trump’s “Foolish” School Reopening Plan
Despite a spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, Donald Trump and his administration are keen on reopening schools. The dangerous move will undoubtedly put teachers and children at risk — especially students of color, according to one former CDC director. Teachers have responded with concern, anger, and even lawsuits aimed at the government. Now, Dave Grohl, former student and the son of a teacher, has been moved to speak up in defense of educators. The Foo Fighters frontman argued on behalf of teachers in a new audio version of his True Stories Instagram series, as well as in a lengthy essay written for The Atlantic. Together with helpful insight from his mother and a former teacher, Virginia, Grohl outlined the importance of “essential worker” teachers and emphasizes the hazar...
Elon Musk Says People Will Eventually Consume Music Through Brain Chip
Headphones may soon be a thing of the past if Elon Musk has his way. The tech bro and Kanye loyalist believes his latest product, a brain chip implant, will be able to stream music directly into our brains. Neuralink, a startup recently co-founded by Musk, has been developing “computer-brain interfaces” with the intention of “helping humans keep pace with advanced artificial intelligence.” As TechCrunch further explains, the idea is to “implant gossamer-thin wires” — supposedly thinner than human hair — into a person’s brain. These would be connected to an external computer machine, but the aim is to one day make the connection between these two completely wireless. Musk first announced Neuralink last year, including details on “successful” experiments on mice and apes. He plans to reveal ...
Smino Teams with J.I.D and Kenny Beats on New Song “Baguetti”: Stream
J.I.D. (photo via artist’s Instagram/@jidsv), Smino (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Kenny Beats (photo by Aris Chatman) Three months after dropping his surprise mixtape She Already Decided, Smino is back with a new single called “Baguetti”. And this time around, the Chicago MC is joined by rising Atlanta rapper J.I.D and social media star/producer extraordinaire Kenny Beats. “Baguetti” is the sound of three artists working together with ease — not just because they so smoothly align with each other, but because the whole thing has a breezy, laid-back feel. While barely seeming to struggle for speed, the two vocalists layer lines atop of lines over Kenny Beats’ bluesy, sparse production. Speaker-vibrating bass pounds on the chorus like another vocalist, emphasizing lines likes, “I...
