Music

Kodak Black is lending a helping hand to Haitians affected by extreme gang violence in the country. Lawyer Bradford Cohen tells TMZ the rapper is sending 35,000 bottles of alkaline water to those cut off from food and water as a result of the nation’s crisis and has already spent $50,000 on shipping costs.

The money, Cohen explains, is specifically being used to ship the water from Florida to Haiti via cargo ships. The rapper will now keep in contact with government officials to ensure the bottles are delivered to their exact destinations. 

According to the United Nations website, gang violence in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, led to nearly 100 deaths and even more injuries over a five-day period last month. Many were forced to flee their homes and hide indoors for safety.

The wars have also resulted in fuel shortages, increased transportation costs, and exacerbated malnutrition for individuals who have been denied access to drinking water and food. 

Cohen says Kodak is calling for an end to the fighting. The labels on the bottles sent to Haiti, he adds, read “LAST” as the rapper hopes this is the final time Haitians will ever have to go without water.

Kodak’s previous efforts to help the island include donations to food banks and orphanages to assist in getting Haitians health care.

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Nita Strauss has clarified her status with Alice Cooper‘s band following the announcement that she wouldn’t be joining the shock-rocker on his upcoming fall tour.

“It’s an interesting thing that everyone’s picked up saying it’s a ‘departure,’ but I don’t feel, necessarily, that I left,” Strauss tells Louder. “I took a step back and I’m stepping back from this upcoming tour but I don’t think anyone has ever used the word quitting or leaving outside of other people.”

Strauss first shared the news in a July Instagram post, writing, “it is bittersweet for me to let you guys know that I will not be joining the Alice Cooper band for the upcoming fall tour.” And while she did not explicitly say she’s leaving the group permanently, Strauss did write, “The past eight years together has been the experience of a lifetime,” which could be read as a reflection on the end of her time with Cooper.

As Strauss now tells Louder, not only is she leaving the door open for a possible return, but so is Cooper.

“When I had my last few shows with Alice, we had what Alice called a ‘Hiatus Dinner’ where he said, ‘We wish you the best, we love you, you’re welcome back,'” Strauss shares. “There’s no shutting of a door and changing of the guard, it’s just I’m taking a step back a little bit.”

“Depending on what the schedule looks like next year, I may have the chance to come back, I may not,” she adds. “But it definitely doesn’t feel as final to me and to the people in Alice’s band and the inner circle as it has been portrayed out in the world.”

Strauss is currently the guitarist in pop star Demi Lovato‘s live band.

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Zedd is going all-out to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut album Clarity, which was released in October of 2012.

He just announced he’ll perform the album in its entirety, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra, at LA’s Dolby Theatre October 9. Tickets for the special show go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. local time, via Zedd.net.

“When I was making the Clarity album I spent the most time on the melodic and harmonic elements of each song,” Zedd  explains. “Those motifs are the glue that hold the album together. It’s a dream to have the opportunity to play all of those ideas orchestrated and reharmonized with the instrumentation in the amazing orchestra we have put together.”

Clarity and its deluxe edition featured the hit title track with vocals by Foxes, as well as “Stay the Night” with vocals by Hayley Williams of Paramore. The song “Clarity” won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2014.

Other guests on the album and its deluxe edition included Ryan Tedder, Ellie Goulding, Matthew Koma, the surviving members of the legendary rock band The Doors, Skrillex, Bright Lights and Empire of the Sun.  It’s not clear if any of these artists will join Zedd for the special show.

On October 7, Zedd is playing Clarity in its entirety at the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium in San Francisco, but there’s no orchestra involved.

Zedd, Maren Morris and BEAUZ just released a new single, “Make You Say.”

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Harry Styles finally responded to the conspiracy theory that he’s secretly bald — and he’s just as confused as we are.

To recap, TikTok influencer Abigail Henry spread the rumor last month after reading a Reddit thread claiming an “A list musician/ occasional actor… has gone almost completely bald.” Henry believed Harry was the mystery celebrity because he once boasted about being able to escape public notice very easily — and, as she said, what could be easier than removing a toupee?

As it turns out, the hair on Harry’s head is, in fact, the real deal.

“What is it with baldness?” he asked Rolling Stone. “It skips a generation or something, right? If your grandad’s bald then you’ll be bald? Well, my granddad wasn’t bald, so fingers crossed.”

The “As It Was” singer first learned about the rumor from his friend and collaborator Kid Harpoon. “He’s completely obsessed with it,” Harry said. “He won’t stop sending me messages about [people] trying to work out if I’m bald.”

Speaking of viral trends, Harry also responded to how loudly people sing the “leave America” line when he’s performing “As It Was.” Multiple TikTok videos show the audience belting the line at the top of their lungs.

“They’re definitely reaching some decibels,” the Grammy winner joked. “It seems to be getting louder and louder right as I’m about to head back to tour America. So I’m intrigued as to what exactly will be shouted at that section when I’m in America.”

Harry got his answer — he’s currently performing in New York City for a Madison Square Garden residency and, apparently, the line hasn’t caught on in the states. In a viral TikTok video posted by iraiaaa.27, Harry seems stunned when no one shouts the line and he laughs while walking away from the microphone. 

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Arctic Monkeys have announced a new album.

The seventh studio effort from the English rockers — and first since 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino — is called The Car and will arrive October 21.

According to a press release, The Car “finds Arctic Monkeys running wild in a new and sumptuous musical landscape and contains some of the richest and most rewarding vocal performances of Alex Turner‘s career.”

Frontman Turner also speaks about the record in a new interview with The Big Issue, sharing, “I think we’ve got closer to a better version of a more dynamic overall sound with this record.”

“The strings on this record come in and out of focus and that was a deliberate move and hopefully everything has its own space,” Turner explains. “There’s time the band comes to the front and then the strings come to the front.”

No new music from The Car has officially been released, and it remains to be seen whether Arctic Monkeys will be taking the same approach they did with Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which was not preceded by any advanced singles. However, according to Setlist.fm, AM did debut a song from The Car, “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am,” live during their show in Switzerland Tuesday.

Here’s the track list for the Car:

“There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”
“I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am”
“Sculptures of Anything Goes”
“Jet Skis on the Moat”
“Body Paint”
“The Car”
“Big Ideas”
“Hello You”
“Mr Schwartz”
“Perfect Sense”

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If you’re dying to attend a BTS concert even though the K-pop superstars are currently taking a bit of a break, book your tickets to South Korea now.

Earlier this year, the group had committed to doing a concert to help promote the city of Busan’s bid to host the World Expo 2030, an international exhibition that’s held every five years in a different country.  The show, called “BTS in BUSAN,” will take place October 15 at Busan Ilgwang special stage in that city.

Admission to the show is free. One-hundred-thousand people are expected to attend in person, and another 10,000 will be able to watch a live broadcast in person at the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal Outdoor Parking Lot.  There will also be an online livestream.

As previously reported, the show is part of BTS’ new role as PR ambassadors for the city’s bid to host the Expo. Busan is competing with Rome, Italy; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Odessa, Ukraine for the rights.  The host city will be chosen in 2023.

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There are many people who didn’t believe in DJ Khaled, but his collaborators did. The producer unveiled the track list for his album God Did on Tuesday, revealing the list of those who agreed to hop on the new project. 

The 18-track album will include an interlude from Jadakiss, as well as features from Jay-Z, Rick Ross, John Legend, Lil Wayne, Lil Durk, Kodak Black, SZA and more. Future and Lil Baby, who are on the previously teased “Big Time,” appear on the album twice, as does Drake.

“The holy scripture. This is a gift to the world. This is a gift to the fans. This is a gift for us,” wrote Khaled while unveiling the track list. “GOD DID.”

God Did, the follow-up to 2021’s Khaled Khaled, drops Friday and supposedly includes what the producer believes is one of Jay-Z’s best verses to date.

“If there was a greatest hits of JAY-Z verses, it’s on there,” Khaled told the Drink Champs podcast. 

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Josh Groban fans know that he loves Stephen Sondheim, and one of his favorite musicals by the late theater legend is Sweeney Todd — so much so that Josh named his dog Sweeney.  Now, Josh might return to Broadway, playing the lead role in a revival of the famously bloody 1979 musical.

Broadway Journal reports that Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller is planning to revive Sweeney Todd on Broadway this spring, with Josh playing the title role, a barber in London in the 1800s who seeks revenge against those who unjustly imprisoned him. He murders his enemies and gives their bodies to his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, who bakes them into — eww — meat pies.

Among the songs featured in the Tony-winning musical is “Not While I’m Around,” which Josh recorded on his 2015 album Stages and also sang at a Sondheim 90th birthday tribute. Josh made his Broadway debut in 2016, starring in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Sweeney Todd would mark his return to the Great White Way.

Broadway Journal speculates whether or not the show, which might cost more than $14 million to stage, would be able to recoup its costs, even with Josh’s star power. 

There’s also the question of whether there’s such a thing as too much Sondheim. A revival of his 1987 musical Into the Woods, starring Josh’s pal Sara Bareilles, is currently running on Broadway, while a revival of 1981’s Merrily We Roll Along, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is being produced for November.

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