Music – Page 254 – 105.7 WDNY

Earliest known surviving recordings of 2Pac are up for auction

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Some of 2Pac‘s earliest known surviving recordings are set to go up for auction through Wax Poetics. The items come from the Ge-ology Collection, curated by Gerard “Ge-ology” Young, who had a working relationship with the late rapper, born Tupac Shakur.

Included in the collection is a cassette tape of 2Pac and his Born Busy members that was recorded in Geo-logy’s parents’ home in Baltimore in 1988, when 2Pac was just 16. The tape, which is considered one of 2Pac’s earliest recordings, predates any of his commercial releases. It was created so Ge-ology aka DJ Plain Terror could learn the verses and build beats around his voice, as well as Tupac, Darrin K Bastfield aka Ace Rocker and Dana “Mouse” Smith aka Slick D‘s voices, who were rapping a cappella.

The auction marks the first time Ge-ology is sharing the full cassette, which has never been commercially released. Other items in the collection include Tupac’s handwritten lyrics, a Baltimore School of the Arts graduation banner he signed, archive photographs and a birthday part invitation from Jada Pinkett Smith, whom Tupac met in Baltimore. The auction is now live and will remain open through Feb. 11.

“This wasn’t meant to be a performance or a release. We were recording [a capella] so I could learn the rhymes and build the beats around them,” Ge-ology said in a statement. “That tape is one of the earliest moments of Tupac being documented, before the world knew who he was. I’ve protected it for decades, and now it feels right for it to be shared properly, as history.”

He added that the collection is an act of preservation, intended to be told by those who were there and “safeguarded in contexts where they are respected, protected and historically understood,” according to a press release.

Ge-ology also discusses his relationship with Tupac in a new interview with Wax Poetics.

Luke Bryan crafts unique guitars from wood grown on his farm

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Luke Bryan‘s officially in the guitar business thanks to his collaboration with Bourgeois Guitars.

More than a decade ago, Luke asked founder Dana Bourgeois if the walnut trees on his Tennessee farm were suitable for making guitars. When he responded affirmatively, they picked out the specific trees, and the wood’s been curing for the past 10 years.

The Luke Bryan Signature Limited Edition is the result, made of Flint Rock Farms Black Walnut, and featuring a custom antler inlay pattern on the fretboard and headstock. There are only 30 of the guitars up for grabs, all numbered and signed by Luke. They start at about $9,000.

If you’re looking for a less pricey option, the Luke Bryan Touchstone Edition is virtually identical to the more rare version, though the black walnut wasn’t grown on Luke’s farm.

You can find out more about Luke’s guitar venture on the Bourgeois Guitars website.

Season of the sips: Noah Kahan announces signature soda collaboration

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

If you want to drink something other than alcohol ’til your friends come home for Christmas, Noah Kahan is here for you.

The “Stick Season” artist has teamed up with the beverage company Culture Pop Soda to create his own signature flavor, Noah Kahan’s Limited-Edition Sparkling Black Cherry.

“Culture Pop is the real deal,” Kahan says in a press release. “It’s not full of the fake stuff; it’s good for your gut, and Black Cherry is genuinely my favorite Culture Pop flavor to drink. Drink up, I hope you love it.”

As part of the collaboration, Culture Pop Soda is making a $100,000 donation to Kahan’s mental health initiative, The Busyhead Project.

“The best part about this collab is that it’s in support of The Busyhead Project, an initiative I founded to provide resources and information needed to end the stigma around mental health,” Kahan says. “Having a partner that supports that mission means the world to me.”

For more info, visit DrinkCulturePop.com.

In addition to a new soda, Kahan has new music in the works. He posted in a recent Instagram Story that his next album, the follow-up to his 2022 breakout album, Stick Season, is done.

Ghost teases official release of ‘It’s a Sin’ cover

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Ghost is set to officially release their cover of the Pet Shop Boys song “It’s a Sin.”

The recording, which was previously exclusive to deluxe editions of the 2018 Ghost album, Prequelle, will be available widely across streaming platforms on Friday.

The announcement was made in the latest chapter of Ghost’s ongoing mythology series, streaming now on YouTube.

Ghost previously released a covers EP called Phantomime in 2023. It includes renditions of songs by Iron Maiden, Genesis and Tina Turner, among others.

The most recent Ghost album is 2025’s Skeletá. The band’s Skeletour continues Jan. 21 in Orlando, Florida.

A$AP Rocky says his mother always wanted him with Rihanna

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

“Mother knows best,” according to the common saying, and A$AP Rocky seems to agree. During an upcoming episode of The New York Times’ Popcast, he revealed that his mother had hoped he would end up with Rihanna, even when the two were just friends.

“My mother used to say s*** like, ‘I know you like this girl that you [are] with right now’ — I ain’t gon’ say no names — ‘but I want you with RiRi,” he said in a teaser clip. “It’s like, ‘Ma, why you keep saying that? That girl don’t even want me like that.’” He later added, “Mothers know best.”

Reflecting on his relationship with Rihanna, Rocky said he’s grateful for the timing. “I’m thankful that she was put in my life at that time, because I think any time prior to that, I don’t think I was ready for something like that,” he said. “I don’t think she was either.”

Rocky also reflected on how Rihanna has been a positive influence in his life, saying, “Before I had my children, it was like being with my girl [would take] a blindfold off. As soon as you get with a girl, she’ll tell you, like, ‘That’s not your friend. That’s — that’s your friend. But that one? Nah.’”

Rocky acknowledged that he “got with a very special woman” and went on to describe their deep connection. “We were on the same page. Born the same year. My dad is from her country,” he said. “When I go back, I get to see both sides of my family. It’s so many similarities, it’s just funny. We laugh about it a lot.”

“She was always my boo, you know what I’m saying?” he added. “Like, I always f***** with her.”

The full Popcast episode comes out Thursday.

Pink celebrates 2 billion views of ‘Just Give Me a Reason’

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Pink celebrated her hit “Try” hitting 1 billion streams on Spotify in early January. Now she’s celebrating an even more impressive milestone.

The video for “Just Give Me a Reason,” her duet with Nate Ruess of Fun., has just reached 2 billion views on YouTube. “I can’t quite wrap my head around how big that number is,” she wrote on Instagram.

“When you write a song, you hope it finds its way into people’s lives, year after year,” she added. “Thank you for giving this song a place, and making it yours as much as it is mine.”

“Just Give Me a Reason,” released in 2013, became Pink’s fourth #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned her and Nate two Grammy nominations.

The post also included behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the video, which showed Pink and her husband, Carey Hart, lying together on a mattress floating in the water, and then together in the water, making out. In the footage, Pink is seen in the pool where they filmed the clip, looking upset.

“Carey’s a really, really, really great man. He’s not even complaining and this isn’t even his shoot,” she says of her husband. “I’m complaining. This is s*** 20-year-olds do. I’m a grown-a** woman.”

Carey, in the pool next to her, teases, “Having fun yet, baby?” “I wanna be mad at you, but I can’t!” she replies. “I want this somehow to be your fault.” Carey laughs, “Not today.”

Gorillaz shares two new ’The Mountain’ tracks, ‘The Hardest Thing’ & ‘Orange County’

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Gorillaz has shared two new songs off the band’s upcoming album, The Mountain.

The tracks are called “The Hardest Thing” and “Orange County.” “The Hardest Thing” features late drummer Tony Allen, while “Orange County” features poet and U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate Kara Jackson, Argentine producer Bizarrap and sitar player Anoushka Shankar.

The two songs are sequenced next to each other on The Mountain. You can hear them together as what a press release calls a “full two track 8-minute piece as intended” via an accompanying visualizer on YouTube.

The Mountain is due out Feb. 27. It also includes the single “The Happy Dictator.”

Gorillaz will be playing The Mountain in full during two shows in Los Angeles taking place Feb. 22 and 23. The band’s House of Kong exhibition will also be open in LA between Feb. 26 and March 19.

Chris Stapleton expands the 2026 All-American Road Show

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Chris Stapleton is adding four new concerts to his 2026 All-American Road Show.

Thanks to demand, the ACM male vocalist of the year is adding second shows June 27 in North Charleston, South Carolina; July 11 in Chula Vista, California; July 25 in George, Washington; and July 30 in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Tickets for the new stops go on sale Friday.

Currently, Chris has a top-20 hit with “A Song to Sing” with Miranda Lambert, just as his breakthrough, “Tennessee Whiskey,” became the only country song in history to be certified Double Diamond, moving 20 million units.

J. Cole releases ‘Disc 2 Track 2’ following ‘The Fall-Off’ announcement

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Hours after announcing the release date for his long-awaited album, The Fall-Off, J. Cole surprised fans with what appears to be a music video for its lead single. Titled “Disc 2 Track 2,” the video opens with a note in which he reflects on the decadelong process of making the album.

“For the past 10 years, this album has been hand crafted with one intention: a personal challenge to myself to create my best work. To do on my last what I was unable to do on my first,” Cole wrote. “I had no way of knowing how much time, focus and energy it would eventually take to achieve this, but despite the countless challenges along the way, I knew in my heart I would one day get to the finish line. I owed it first and foremost to myself. And secondly, I owed it to hip hop.”

The video then cuts to Cole seated in a room and holding a notepad, struggling to write as he rips out pages and tosses them aside. The lyrics find him charting his life in reverse, much like Nas did on his 2001 song “Rewind.”

The Fall-Off release date was revealed Wednesday alongside the album artwork and a video of Cole engaging in his daily activities. The clip was soundtracked by comedian Dan Harumi’s video “How Long Is America Supposed to Last?” in which he explores the natural cycle of success and decline of most things in the U.S.

The Fall-Off arrives Feb. 6, with Cole’s new song title leading to speculation that it will be a double project.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

See Rod Stewart lead a pub sing-along in Scotland

January 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Rod Stewart will sing anywhere — even in a Scottish pub on a weeknight.

The Glasgow Times reports that Rod was in the Scottish city of Falkirk on Wednesday to watch his favorite soccer team, Celtic, play. In video shared on the Instagram Story of his Wolfie’s whisky brand, Rod can be seen doing karaoke to the song “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, accompanied by his son Alastair Stewart and others.

According to the paper, as he left the pub Rod hugged one of the customers and said, “Cheers everybody, God bless.”

Rod released his version of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” as the first single from his 2006 album, Still the Same… Great Rock Classics of Our Time, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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