The Best Rap Album category at the Grammys has an odd history. It tends to reward the same artists again and again: Since 2000, Eminem has won a ridiculous six times, while Kanye West took home the trophy at four separate ceremonies, and Kendrick Lamar has already won three more. …
Read More »See Dan and Shay Sing Chart-Topping 'Speechless' on 'GMA'
Dan + Shay enjoyed a victory lap on Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning America, performing their romantic hit “Speechless” while the song sits at Number One on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a second week. On the GMA stage, “Speechless” is a showcase for Shay Mooney’s athletic vocals, diving …
Read More »Robyn, Rae Sremmurd to Perform at 2019 Red Bull Music Festival Los Angeles
Robyn and Rae Sremmurd are among the performers that will be featured during Red Bull Music Festival in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles installment of the music series – which explores music’s intersection with film, gaming, photography and more – kicks off on February 7th and runs through February 28th …
Read More »How Meek Mill, Jay-Z and Rick Ross' 'What's Free' Was Made (Including Its Homophobic Line)
The defiant centerpiece of Meek Mill‘s new Championships album is “What’s Free,” a bristling collaboration with Jay-Z and Rick Ross. Mill slyly subverts the National Anthem, quoting lines from Francis Scott Key even as he suggests that, for many non-white Americans, the “land of the free” is anything but: “Locked …
Read More »Review: Robert Hood Chases Dark Dancefloor Bliss on His New 'Dj Kicks' Mix
As a founding member of the pioneering Underground Resistance crew, Robert Hood is Detroit techno royalty, and thus, by definition, an EDM architect emeritus. His beats are so sublime, jazz composer Vijay Iyer wrote a tribute to him (see “Hood”). This hour-plus mix in the DJ Kicks series – dependably-curated …
Read More »Metallica Plot Acoustic Live Album for Charity
Earlier this month, Metallica played a rare acoustic benefit concert in San Francisco to raise money for their nonprofit All Within My Hands Foundation. They played a few hits that translated well to acoustic instruments (“Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters”), reworked some classics to fit the format (“Disposable Heroes”) and attempted …
Read More »Watch the Monkees' New Cartoon Video 'Unwrap You at Christmas'
The Monkees dropped their first-ever Christmas album in early October, and they’ve just released a video for the Andy Partridge-penned tune “Unwrap You At Christmas” to promote it. It shows the group as figures in a comic strip created by illustrator Michael Allred. Old school fans of the group will …
Read More »Flashback: Hear Pre-Fame Kate Bush Cover Beatles' 'Come Together'
Despite her lack of material the past 25 years — only two albums of all-new work since 1993’s The Red Shoes— Kate Bush has been one of those singers that always seemed to be famous; her singular, operatic voice has zero comparisons but countless imitators. But a year before her …
Read More »Watch 'SNL' Pay Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg With Sheck Wes-Inspired Parody
Saturday Night Live delivered a Sheck Wes-inspired rap tribute to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on its Steve Carell-hosted episode. Kate McKinnon reprised her “Weekend Update” portrayal of the judge dubbed “RBG,” with Pete Davidson and Chris Redd turning Sheck Wes’ “Live Sheck Wes” into an ode to Ginsburg. …
Read More »This Lil Pump, XXXTentacion, Swae Lee and Maluma Video Doesn't Need to Exist
“Arms Around You” is more algorithm than art. The Lil Pump, XXXTentacion, Swae Leeand Maluma song, which was released last month, is engineered for crossover success by sheer force of SEO optimization. The song tries to exploit a variety of disparate demographics first — SoundCloud rap, Latin pop market, EDM …
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