Veteran Chicago rapper and drill pioneer Chief Keef has launched a new label, 43B (“Forget Everybody”) in partnership with RBC Records and BMG, and his first signing is Atlanta-based rapper Lil Gnar (pictured above, right, with Keef). Since 2014, Chief Keef has released several albums through RBC — including “Sorry 4 the Weight,” “Thot Breaker” and “Mansion
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Skylar Grey’s co-signs and collaborators include Eminem and Rihanna (2010’s “Love The Way You Lie”), Diddy (“Coming Home”) and Dr. Dre (she contributed to 2011’s “I Need A Doctor” performance at the Grammys), and the singer and songwriter is herself a multiple Grammy nominee. Yet, for the last six years — since her last album,
Coldplay capped off a two-night stand at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday night (June 5) with an appearance by the Garden State’s own Ambassador, Bruce Springsteen. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took the stage with the band for a pair of songs, “Working on a Dream” and a spare
As part of the celebration around the late Lou Reed’s 80 th birthday, an album of his earliest demos — comprising a number of Velvet Underground classics recorded in 1965, along with several songs dating back to his college and teen years — will be released August 26 on Light in the Attic Records in
As June kicks off, competition heats up to determine which pop star will deliver the song of the summer. Will it be Harry Styles’ synth-heavy bop “As It Was,” Lizzo’s danceable “About Damn Time,” Jack Harlow’s glamorous track “First Class” or a song yet to be released? According to new data gathered by Spotify, these
It’s hard to remember any performer who been so on top of the world as Post Malone who has gone to such lengths to convince us he’s bottoming out as Malone does in “Twelve Carat Toothache,” his fourth album. It’s a common lyrical trope that success breeds discontentment, and Malone has already trod some of
As Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee festivities continue, a reissue of Sex Pistols‘ infamous anarchist anthem “God Save The Queen” hit the top of the charts in the U.K. on Saturday. The song was reissued on June 3 and almost immediately launched into the No. 1 spot — 45 years to the day after it
Mariel Semonte Orr, an Atlanta rapper better known by his stage name Trouble, has died at 34. The “Bring It Back” rapper, who was also known as Skoob, was reportedly caught in a fatal shooting altercation in Atlanta on Saturday night while sitting in his car. He had performed the same night, only hours before
Bassist Alec John Such, a founding member of Bon Jovi, has died at the age of 70, Jon Bon Jovi announced on social media today (June 5). A cause of death is as yet unknown. “We are heartbroken to hear the news of the passing of our dear friend Alec John Such,” Bon Jovi posted.
Not since Kanye and Drake played the Coliseum together six months ago has there been a coming together of forces quite so opposite on a stage in Los Angeles, or maybe anywhere. We’re speaking, of course, of the combined performance by the UCLA and USC marching bands (mentioned here in alphabetical order — no favoritism)
The Platinum Party at the Palace officially kicked off Saturday evening at Buckingham Palace with an opening sketch featuring Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear sharing a meal. “Perhaps you would like a marmalade sandwich? I always keep one for emergencies,” Paddington Bear asks Her Majesty, procuring a sticky treat from his red bucket cap.
Where to begin in assessing the multi-faceted life and career of Bob Neuwirth, the singer, songwriter, visual artist, mentor, creative catalyst, restless collaborator and provocateur who died May 18 in Santa Monica at 82? As good a starting point as any comes from three longtime friends and collaborators who agreed to share their reflections on
Anyone who wants to foster the tandem promotion of racism and sedition will have to do it somewhere other than the CMA Festival. The annual gathering has declared that Confederate flag imagery will be banned at the biggest country music festival in the world, which will take place in Nashville June 9-14. The CMA Festival
Classical composer Nico Muhly rarely writes for TV (the BBC “Howard’s End” was the last one, five years ago), making his score for Apple TV+’s eight-hour “Pachinko” something of an event. The century-spanning epic follows a poor Korean woman and her descendants as their lives intertwine, often unhappily, with those of their Japanese neighbors. Variety
Kenny Loggins was honored by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) in recognition of his musical accomplishments and his lifelong commitment to inspiring music-makers. The Music for Life award recognizes individuals or organizations that exemplify NAMM’s vision of music-making as a precious element of daily living. “I appreciate the honor,” Loggins tells Variety. “The
It’s entirely possible that in the fifth decade of her career, Kate Bush is enjoying bigger global popularity than ever before — particularly in the United States — thanks to the use of her 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill” as a pivotal plot device in the fourth season of “Stranger Things.” While the reclusive
For Adrian Quesada, co-founder of the psychedelic soul duo Black Pumas, all it took was the stillness of the pandemic to finally create the project that had existed only in his head for the last 10-plus years — his latest release, “Boleros Psicodélicos.” The 12-track album, out today via ATO Records, is infused with the
John Lydon — a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. — has written a brief and to-the-point editorial for the U.K.’s Times that ranges from his thoughts on the royal family to his wife’s struggle with Alzheimers, from Danny Boyle’s new biopic “Pistol” (which he fought legally) and his
When Ryan Adams walked onto the stage of Carnegie Hall in May for a sold-out show, his first public performance in nearly four years, he received a standing ovation that, by some accounts, lasted several minutes. The actual time span of the clapping (and several that are said to have followed over the next three
Twenty years ago today, Avril Lavigne released her debut album, “Let Go,” ushering in a new era of female-fronted pop-punk with her honest lyricism and skater aesthetic. In celebration of the acclaimed album — which was the biggest pop debut of 2002, went seven-times platinum and scored a Grammy nomination — Arista Records and Legacy
Jeff Beck announced during his June 2 concert in the English city of Gateshead that he’ll be releasing a new album with Johnny Depp next month. The album will mark Depp’s first major project released since the end of his highly-publicized defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp bowed to the crowd during Beck’s announcement.
Angel Olsen’s new album, “Big Time,” is the kind of rare, generation-spanning album that you could give to your sister, your aunt or your grandparents. Its 10 soulful, country-inflected songs recall everything from Dusty Springfield’s 1969 masterpiece, “Dusty in Memphis,” to Shelby Lynne’s 2001 Grammy-winning “I am Shelby Lynne,” from Tammy Wynette to Lucinda Williams
“The Sex Lives of College Girls” and Broadway star Reneé Rapp is making her solo music debut with “Tattoos,” a vulnerable tale about the fear that comes with growing up and falling out of love. “Fifteen and 16 I had to be strong/ 22 I’m still scared of it all,” Rapp belts in the song’s
Rapper Young Thug was denied bond at a hearing on Thursday in Atlanta for his role in the alleged Young Slime Life gang. In his announcement of the decision, Judge Ural Glanville said that he believes Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is a danger to the community and could intimidate witnesses if
Crime stories have been a TV staple dating back to the beginnings of the medium. And composers continue to find fresh ways to dramatize murder, mayhem, investigations and convictions, as demonstrated by series from the past year like “Only Murders in the Building,” “The Thing About Pam,” “The Dropout” and “Gaslit.” Siddhartha Khosla (“This Is
Science fiction has been the springboard for musical flights of fancy as long as TV and movies have been around. And this year there have been multiple examples of composers rising to the occasion for ambitious multi-part television series, . “Severance” is a rare TV project for Theodore Shapiro, a composer better known for his
“Almost Famous” is almost ready for Broadway. The specific New York theater has yet to be announced, but opening dates for the musical adaptation of the Cameron Crowe film were revealed by the Shubert Organization on Thursday, with previews set to begin Sept. 13 and an official opening night of Oct. 11. If not for
Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together,” a harrowing enactment of an ugly argument between lovers, is not a song most people will want to hear more than once. And even though it is expected to be the next video from Lamar’s brilliant and challenging new album “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” and premiered at No.
Orville Peck grew up in South Africa before moving to Toronto with his family when he was 15. A theater kid and a trained ballet dancer, he eventually headed to London and appeared in a play in the West End. But his acting career was short-lived because his true passion was making music — country
As the new face of Apple AirPods’ spatial audio campaign, Harry Styles is featured in a colorful commercial singing “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” from his new album, “Harry’s House.” Styles has announced he’s donating his appearance fee to the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid organization that is responding to the more than