Music

Nas has dug into his massive catalog to bring new life to some of his classic records from the 1990s. The rap veteran tapped Freddie Gibbs, Cordae, and his Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy to finish his track “Life Is Like a Dice Game.”

Nas recorded the original version as a freestyle during sessions for his classic 1994 debut album, Illmatic. He says industry vet Carl Chery convinced him to finish the record for the RapCaviar x Spotify Singles collaboration series. 

“Spotify pulled out a leak from the ’90s that I did ago and asked if I could resurrect it,” Nas tells Complex. “I can’t remember where I recorded it or who produced it — maybe Easy Mo Bee, he was killin’ the game at the time. Carl Chery from Spotify suggested we connect with Freddie Gibbs and Cordae to bring the song new life, and I loved it.”

Projecting it to be a hit, Nas concluded “Life Is Like a Dice Game” with the declaration, “When I finish this s***, it’s gonna be a hit.”

Nas also released an expanded edition of his sophomore album, It Was Written, to celebrate its 25th anniversary today. The upgrade features the cassette-only bonus track “Silent Murder,” and a bonus verse on “Street Dreams.”

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The latest episode of Queen‘s weekly YouTube video series Queen The Greatest premiered today, and the feature focuses on the successful songs that bassist John Deacon has written or co-written for the band.

The installment begins by noting that although Deacon didn’t write as many songs as his three band mates, some of his compositions were among Queen’s biggest hits.

The narrator first points out that it was John’s bass part that helped drive the band’s classic 1981 collaboration with David Bowie, “Under Pressure.”

The episode then looks at one of the first tunes John contributed to the group, “You’re My Best Friend,” which appeared on Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. The song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the U.K. singles chart.

Next up is “Spread Your Wings,” from 1977’s News of the World. Cited as a “fan favorite” by the narrator, the song also broke into the top 40 of the U.K. singles chart.

The third song profiled is none other than “Another One Bites the Dust,” which sold over seven million copies worldwide, making it Queen’s best-selling single. The funky tune, from the band’s number-one album The Game, spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.

The fourth Deacon-penned track that the episode looks at is “I Want to Break Free,” from 1984’s The Works. The single, whose memorable music video featured the band members in drag, just missed the top 40 in the U.S., but reached number three in the U.K.

The final song showcased in the episode is 1986’s “Friends Will Be Friends,” which John co-wrote with Freddie Mercury.  It hit #14 in the U.K.

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Taylor Swift is promoting “Renegade,” her new collaboration with Big Red Machine, by posting a collage on her Instagram, but fans are focused on who contributed one of the images in that collage.

The collage features a lyric from the song along with images of roses, a photo of Big Red Machine’s Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon, and a picture of Taylor holding up what looks like a piece of fabric.  In the caption, Taylor gives credit for the collage to a photographer named Graham Tolbert, but specifically indicates that the photo of her was taken by James Reynolds.

So why is this a big deal?  Because James Reynolds is the name of the daughter of Taylor’s very good friends Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.  Taylor used James’ name — and the names of the couple’s other two kids, Inez and Betty — for characters in her Grammy-winning album folklore.

Oh, also, James is only six years old.

“JAMES REYNOLDS IS 6 YRS OLD AND HAS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED MORE IN HER LIFE THAN I CAN EVER INSPIRE (sic) TO,” tweeted one fan.

Another fan, quoting a lyric in “Renegade,” wrote “James is out here shooting professional cover art as a child. I really do need to get my s*** together!”

Yet another fan wondered, “how is a 6 year old more talented than me[?]”

James is quite the prodigy: She made her recording debut in 2017 on the song “Gorgeous,” on Taylor’s album Reputation.

ABC Audio has confirmed that the James Reynolds who Taylor credited is, indeed, THAT James Reynolds.

 

 

 

 

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In 2002, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II marked 50 years on the throne with a Golden Jubilee celebration featuring big pop stars. In 2012, she marked her Diamond Jubilee, 60 years on the throne, with another big bash with another bunch of pop stars.  Now stars are being lined up for next year’s Platinum Jubilee, during which Her Majesty will celebrate 70 years on the throne.

The British tabloid The Sun reports that the BBC is already booking huge stars to perform at its June 2022 Party at the Palace TV special, and the organizers have reached out to Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder to ask them if they’d take part, since they performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  In addition, they’re trying to work something out with Elton John.

Apparently, Elton has a scheduling conflict with his farewell tour around that time, but a source says, “Whether it is something pre-recorded, like he did for…the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, or if he’ll be able to appear via a live stream, they want him on board.”

“Given the events of the past year and everything that has happened in the pandemic, the organizers want the Party at the Palace to be the biggest celebration of not only Her Majesty but of everything that is great about the UK,” the source adds, noting that viewers can expect “the best of the best when it comes to the line-up.”

Stars who played at the BBC’s Golden Jubilee special included Phil Collins, Bryan Adams, Annie Lennox, Queen, Elton, Eric Clapton, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood and Paul McCartney. 

In addition to Ed and Stevie, The Diamond Jubilee featured Elton, Paul, Tom Jones and Annie again, as well as Jessie J, Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue and others.

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Chance the Rapper has partnered with Starbucks for their new “Made-Ready” campaign to promote their ready-made coffee drinks as outrageous orders keep overwhelming baristas in stores. 

Chance says their partnership coincided with his new-found interest in cinema, which he says is reflected in the campaign’s commercial.

“I don’t know how to describe it, but I’ve kind of just been self-educating myself in cinema and film and behind-the-camera work. And kind of going through this educational journey on Instagram,” he tells ABC Audio. “I guess somebody from Starbucks or from the creative agency, I don’t really know, saw that and was like, ‘Hey, we’d love to do a commercial in your spot about how the coffee is ready-made or made ready.”

Chance encourages others to be self-sufficient in the Starbucks “Made-Ready” campaign video, filmed at his House of Kicks production space in Chicago. 

“They’re like, we can make a video or an ad and kind of symbolizing the overlap between those two things, which is just that they’re both about having to get somewhere and being self-sufficient and relying on yourself, and it ended up being pretty cool,” Chance says. “I like the way the commercial came out a lot, actually. It was recorded at my office.”

This weekend, Chance is stepping away from his creative space to enjoy the Fourth of July with his wife, Kirsten, and their two daughters, five-year-old Kensli and one-year-old Marli.

“We’re going to go to a friend of the family’s BBQ in Chicago and kick it, get some food off the grill. [I] got some illegal fireworks, so it’s going up,” he says. 

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Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard has released a new song called “4th of July” with his band Painted Shield.

The track, which is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, is a meditation on “the moral injury experienced by many service members as they return home from conflicts abroad.”

“The lyrics to this song were inspired by the stories of friends of mine who have served in the military,” says vocalist Mason Jennings. “It touches on the recovery work needed to integrate back into civilian life after being in conflict.”

With “4th of July,” Painted Shield is also hoping to raise awareness for No One Left Behind, an initiative to protect Afghan interpreters from potential danger as the U.S. leaves Afghanistan.

A companion music video for the song has been posted on Painted Shield’s official YouTube channel. The clip includes footage of urban areas devastated by war.

Along with Gossard and Jennings, Painted Shield includes keyboardist/vocalist Brittany Davis and onetime Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain. The group released their self-titled debut album last fall.

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Mickey Guyton is no stranger to facing hate on social media, but when it comes to hateful messages directed at her infant son, Grayson, the “Black Like Me” star doesn’t mind naming names.

This week, Mickey shared a screenshot of a DM she received from a stranger on Instagram, calling baby Grayson “the ugliest child I’ve ever seen.”

“[Y]ou should take it and go back to the projects,” the message continued, in part.  “Nashville doesn’t need trash like you.”

“This deserves front and center attention,” Mickey explains in her caption, sharing the username of the person who “came for my child.” She shared the same image on Twitter, as well.

Several of Mickey’s fellow country stars quickly turned out in the comments section to voice their support. “The truth is these are the types of messages we see and get all the time. Good thing is you know who you are sis and your worth. These lost hearts can’t take your smile,” replied Jimmie Allen.

“So despicable,” added Morgane Stapleton, who is Chris Stapleton’s wife and backup singer. “Keep that pretty head of yours held high. You and your precious family are loved by so many!”

Mickey has long been vocal about her experiences with racism as a Black woman in country music. While pregnant with Grayson last fall, she also opened up about her fears regarding raising a Black son.

“I’ve seen racial injustice happen to my husband. I’ve had a ‘Karen’ falsely make claims against him and say some of the most heinous things, like the n-word. I’m growing this Black child in my belly that is going to have to face this,” Mickey told People at the time, adding of her then-unborn son, “I pray for him.”

 

 

 

 

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Miley Cyrus is ready to move on to a new property. 

The real estate website Dirt reports that Miley has sold her 1950s-era home in LA’s exclusive neighborhood of Hidden Hills for a whopping $7.2 million. 

It was just last year that Miley purchased the property for a bit under $5 million. She then worked with her mother, Tish Cyrus, to transform the interior of the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom estate from an all-white design to a more colorful aesthetic.

Photos taken by Architectural Digest earlier this year show a multi-colored seashell-shaped chair and blue couches in the black-walled den, and custom tiger face wallpaper made by Gucci in the powder room. Another room boasts leopard wallpaper, while Miley’s studio features an array of neon signs and a colorful motif on the wall. 

The 1.2 acre property also includes a lagoon-style swimming pool, an open-air pavilion with an outdoor kitchen and rolling green hills.

The superstar singer also owns a property in Studio City in LA and a 33-acre ranch just outside her native Nashville, Tennessee. 

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