Music

New York rapper Joey Bada$$ released his latest single, “Survivor’s Guilt,” in honor of the life and musical legacy of the late Brooklyn rapper Capital Steez. To commemorate his close friend’s birthday, Joey dropped the record on what would have been Steez’s 29th birthday Thursday. 

Steez, born Courtney “Jamal” Dewar Jr., died by suicide when he was 19, according to Complex. On the new track, the 27-year-old emcee opens up about the impact of his friend’s death and describes feeling at fault for the untimely passing. 

“Steezy told me get ’em so I got em. Now my n***a gone, he will never be forgotten / Ever since he left I’ve just been struggling without him,” he raps. “Yeah, we had some problems, but what brothers don’t? Sure. Then I caught a little wave and headed back to shore / And that’s when he started drowning. And he had no one around him so partially I feel it’s my fault.”

Speaking of the emotional track, Joey says, “This song is by far the most heartfelt song I’ve ever made and it felt incredibly therapeutic finally being able to put my thoughts and sentiments into words.”

“Survivor’s Guilt” arrives 10 years after his 1999 mixtape and ahead of his forthcoming album, 2000, which is expected July 22. Joey celebrates the milestone project with his 1999-2000 North American tour with help from New York artist Capella Grey.  

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1- 800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

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Sam Hunt took fans into his home life with the minute-long family video he posted to social media this week. The clip includes lots of shots of the singer’s extended family and even a few glimpses of his infant daughter, Lucy.

Lucy makes her appearance a little over halfway through the clip, with a shot of an older child cradling her on the couch. “Do you like holding the fish or the baby better?” Sam asks from behind the camera. “The baby,” the little girl replies.

In a second shot, another child is holding baby Lucy, who wears a light-colored onesie, blanket and matching bow for the occasion.

It’s adorable, kid-filled chaos for the country star and his family and marks the first time fans have seen Lucy since she was born a few weeks ago. Sam and his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, have been relatively private about the new addition to their family on social media, but Sam announced the birth of his baby girl at a show in early June.

Sam’s marriage went through a tumultuous time leading up to the birth of his daughter: Hannah Lee filed for divorce back in February, citing “inappropriate marital conduct” and “adultery.” Just weeks before Lucy’s birth, the couple seemed to reconcile, and Hannah called off divorce proceedings.

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Imagine Dragons is bringing the “Thunder” to the RIAA record books.

The band’s 2017 hit has gone Diamond in recognition of 10 million units certified. “Thunder” joins “Radioactive,” “Believer” and “Demons” as the fourth ID single to achieve that feat, making Imagine Dragons the first band with four Diamond-certified singles.

“Thunder” is included on Imagine Dragons’ 2017 album, Evolve. Its video has over 1 billion views on YouTube.

Imagine Dragons has already been having a big week with the release of the new album Mercury — Acts 1 & 2 last Friday. The double record combines last September’s Mercury — Act 1 with 18 more new songs, including the single “Bones.”

Following their current run through Europe, Imagine Dragons will return to the U.S. for a headlining tour beginning in August.

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Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles are doing very well back home in Merrie Olde England.

Ed’s album = (Equals) is the biggest-selling album of the year so far in the U.K., while Harry’s single “As It Was” is the year’s biggest-selling single, according to Britain’s Official Charts Company.

Equals has sold 256,000 units so far this year; since its release in October, it’s sold 689,000 copies in total. It’s also the most downloaded and streamed album of the year. Harry’s album Harry’s House is the second biggest album of 2022 in the U.K., with sales of 244,000, which means it could end up passing Ed in the near future. Olivia Rodrigo‘s album SOUR is #3, and Adele‘s 30 is #4.

On the singles side, Harry’s monster hit “As It Was” is the year’s top-selling single, having racked up sales of more than 855,000 units while spending 10 weeks at #1 on the British charts.

But in a mirror image of the album chart, Ed’s at #2 with “Peru,” his single with Afrobeats singer Fireboy DML. Ed also has the #4 and #6 biggest-selling songs of the year with “Bad Habits” and “Shivers,” respectively. Encanto‘s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is #3.

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Jenifer Lewis, Black cinema’s favorite auntie — or mom, depending on the role — will soon be getting her flowers from Hollywood as the 65-year-old actress is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

The dedication ceremony of the 2,726th star will take place Friday, July 15, at 11:30 a.m. PT, with special guest speakers Debbie Allen and Marc Shaiman. The ceremony will be streamed live on Walkoffame.com.

“Jenifer Lewis is considered a national treasure and a force to be reckoned with,” Ana Martinez, Hollywood Walk of Fame producer, said. “She is one of those performers who always keeps the audience on their toes! I placed Jenifer’s star next to one of her all-time favorite actresses, the legendary Katharine Hepburn. Those ladies are two peas in a pod, as both delved in human rights activities and are known to be as feisty as all get out!”

Over the course of her decades-long entertainment career, Lewis has appeared and starred in more than 400 episodic television shows, 68 movies, 40 animations and four Broadway shows. Some of her most notable credits includes The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, A Different World, Girlfriends, Think Like a Man, The Cookout, Baggage Claim and Five.

Lewis has been recognized for her philanthropic and charitable contributions, including most recently by The International Press Academy in April. She received the 2022 Honorary Satellite Award for her work with The Human Rights Campaign, The Los Angeles LGBT Center, The Coalition for At-Risk Youth, The Urban League and others.

Following her bestselling 2017 memoir, The Mother of Black Hollywood, Lewis’ follow up book, Walking in My Joy: In These Streets, is set for release on August 30. 

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Harry Styles, Adele, Goo Goo Dolls, Gavin Degraw and Sara Bareilles are now the proud owners of more RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum hits.

The agency noted that only three albums and 13 singles released this year have achieved Gold and Platinum status — and among the handful of acts is Harry’s “As It Was. In a press release, RIAA dubbed it the top digital single of 2022 after selling over two million copies, thus earning double Platinum status. It also should be noted that his 2019 hit “Lights Up” is also two times Platinum now.

Two Adele songs from her 30 album obtained multi-Platinum status with “Oh My God” selling a million copies, while “Easy On Me” went three-times Platinum.

Goo Goo Dolls are celebrating 10 of their songs earning Gold and Platinum status in this latest roundup. Four songs of theirs — “Here Is Gone,” “Come To Me,” “Sympathy” and “Let Love In” — are Gold, with sales of over half a million copies. “Iris” remains their best-selling single, now certified for sales of seven million copies, while their 1998 album, Dizzy Up The Girl, is now five-times Platinum.

The group’s single “Name” sold over two million copies, while “Better Days,” “Black Balloon” and “Slide” have all achieved Platinum status.

Meanwhile, Gavin DeGraw’s 2011 hit “Not Over You” is now certified four-times Platinum.

And just in time for the 15th anniversary of her debut album Little Voice, which is officially twice Platinum, Sara found out her breakout hit “Love Song” has been certified six-times Platinum, while her single “Gravity” is double Platinum.

RIAA awards are determined based on a song or album’s sales as well as the amount of on-demand streams in the U.S.

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The xx‘s Oliver Sim has released a new solo song called “GMT.”

The track finds Sim “pining over a love back home, thousands of miles apart on different time zones.” It was recorded in collaboration with his xx bandmate Jaime xx and samples “Smile” by The Beach Boys‘ Brian Wilson.

“I’d chased [Jaime] to Australia to escape the British winter,” Sim shares. “We worked in Sydney and road tripped down to Byron Bay, stopping at secluded beaches and listening to a lot of The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson on the way.”

You can listen to “GMT” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

“GMT” will appear on Sim’s upcoming debut solo album Hideous Bastard, due out September 9. It also includes the previously released songs “Romance with a Memory,” “Hideous” and “Fruit.”

The xx’s most recent album is 2017’s I See You.

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J-Hope of BTS is gearing up for the launch of his solo career. To further hype up fans for his upcoming debut album, he released the entire track list for Jack in the Box.

The album, which arrives July 15, will have 10 songs. J-Hope further revealed that the previously released song “More,” as well as the album’s final track, “Arson,” are the “main tracks that act as anchors in this album, conveying the core message that penetrates the whole album,” per a press release.

His label, HYBE, explained further of the first track, “‘MORE’ is an old-school hip-hop track that sings J-Hope’s flame-like aspirations and pure passion to get out there and show the world there is much more to him.”

As for “Arson,” the song embodies the singer “encountering the world outside the box and standing at the crossroads agonizing which path he should take.”

In order, the album’s track list goes: “Intro,” “Pandora’s Box,” “MORE,” “STOP,” “Equal Sign,” “Music Box: Reflection,” “What if…,” “Safety Zone,” “Future” and “Arson.”

Jack in the Box will be available to stream and purchase across all platforms starting July 15.

BTS is currently on break as the group explores solo careers. It is not known when they will reassemble as a septet, but all of them have promised that the hiatus is only temporary.

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A super-rich financial status isn’t the only thing Drake and Jeff Bezos have in common. On Instagram Wednesday, the Canadian rapper and Amazon founder bonded over their humble beginnings. 

Drake shared a series of throwback images — one of a younger version of himself, presumably during his days as an actor on the show Degrassi and another of Bezos many years ago, sitting at a desk in front of an old computer in what’s been referred to as the very first Amazon office. 

“Gotta start somewhere,” the rapper captioned the post, to which Bezos responded with the lyrics of a popular Drake song, “Started from the bottom now we’re here.”

In the first image, Drake is photographed in front of a door marked 1503. According to Complex, 1503 is the address of the apartment on 15 Fort York in Toronto, where the “God’s Plan” rapper and producer Noah “40“ Shebib recorded most of the work for So Far Gone, Drake’s third mixtape. 

Drake, 35, previously mentioned 1503 in the 2015 track, “Know Yourself.”

“Yeah, this that Oliver 40, Niko s**t man, 15 Fort York shit ya know,” he raps.

The Grammy-winning star was shocked to learn of Bezos’ comment. “holyyy Jeff knows about the man dem nobody can chat to me today!!! Big Bezos in the comments,” he replied.

According to Forbes, who has Bezos as the second richest man in the world with a net worth of $141.9 billion, the e-commerce giant started Amazon in 1994, out of the garage of his Seattle home.

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