Music

The two men accused of killing Run-DMC co-founding member Jam Master Jay will not face the death penalty if convicted.

ABC News has confirmed that federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Karl Jordan and Ronald Washington, who have been charged with drug and weapons-related crimes that resulted in the death of Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay.

Prosecutors notified the judge of their decision in a letter on Monday. “Please be advised that United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has authorized and directed the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York not to seek the death penalty against defendants Karl Jordan, Jr. and Ronald Washington,” the letter reads.

Jam Master Jay was shot and killed at his recording studio in Queens on October 30, 2002. Prosecutors believe Washington and Jordan murdered Mizell after they were allegedly cut out of a drug deal. The two were charged with murder last year.

In March, Jordan, who was accused of firing the shot that killed Jay, was additionally charged with a count of conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs and use of firearms in connection with a drug-trafficking crime.

The new charges add the possibility of five extra years in prison.

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Travis Scott will issue full refunds for attendees who bought tickets to his Astroworld Festival in Houston, TX, where eight people died in a crowd surge on Friday, sources confirm to ABC News.

The rapper will also not perform at this weekend’s Day N Vegas Festival, where he was previously scheduled as a headliner.

The eight Astroworld victims have now all been identified and range in age from 14 to 27. Hundreds of other concertgoers were injured when the crowd OF 50,000 began to rush the stage at NRG Park in Houston during Scott’s set.  A second Astroworld show scheduled for Saturday was cancelled.

In statements on social media following the incident, Scott said he was “absolutely devastated” by what happened and is “working closely with everybody to get to the bottom of this.”

Two concertgoers have already filed lawsuits in the festival’s aftermath as of early Monday.

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Roddy Rich is stepping up to help those affected by the tragedy that occurred at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld Festival on Friday that left eight attendees dead and hundreds of others injured. 

In an Instagram Story on Saturday, the “Late At Night” rapper announced, “Please have the families of those who we lost yesterday reach out. I’ll be donating my net compensation to the families of this incident #Pray4Houston.”

Scott also issued a statement on Saturday offering his full support to authorities and pledged his commitment to “working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”

As more information regarding the devastating events of Astroworld come out, so have the lawsuits. 

Kherkher Garcia, LLP filed a lawsuit and announced in a Facebook post on Sunday, “We represent a concertgoer who was trampled by an uncontrolled crowd and seriously hurt.” According to court documents obtained by ABC News, they are representing Manuel Souza. 

Renowed civil rights Attorney Ben Crump, who is already representing concertgoer Noah Gutierrez, is expected to be taking on more clients in the Astroworld aftermath. 

Crump said in a statement Sunday night, “We are hearing horrific accounts of the terror and helplessness people experienced — the horror of a crushing crowd and the awful trauma of watching people die while trying unsuccessfully to save them.”

He added, “We will be pursuing justice for all our clients who were harmed in this tragic and preventable event.”

Roddy Ricch is donating his net compensation from Astroworld Fest to the families of those who passed away pic.twitter.com/3TlJdvdyMR

— XXL Magazine (@XXL) November 7, 2021

pic.twitter.com/ijXKslw7E2

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021

NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump has issued a statement & is representing victims in the aftermath of the Travis Scott Astroworld concert, including 21-year-old Noah Gutierrez who described a scene of chaos and desperation. pic.twitter.com/Tfo5EA4mVL

— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) November 7, 2021

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If Elle King can take home the CMA for Musical Event of the Year for “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” with Miranda Lambert on Wednesday night, she’ll have a matching set. 

Back in 2016, the “Ex’s & Oh’s” hitmaker took home the trophy for her chart-topping duet with Dierks Bentley, “Different for Girls,” and it was the beginning of an eye-opening experience for the rocker.

“I had had a really hard, mildly traumatic experience at the Grammys,” she recalls. “And I’d been nominated for two Grammys, and someone stepped on the back of my gown, and it ripped all the way up to my belly button. And we had to beg somebody to stitch me up right before they’re about to announce who won the award.”

Fast-forward to her subsequent appearance on the CMA Awards with Dierks, which left her a little bit dumbfounded — in a good way.

“I’m backstage at the CMAs,” she remembers, “and everyone has their dressing room doors open, and Luke Bryan is like, ‘Hey Elle, you want a drink?’ and putting his arm around me.”

“And everyone was genuinely kind and inviting and warm,” Elle continues, “and I was like, ‘Well, I think this is pretty fun.'”

“The rowdier I was,” she adds, “the more people like, amped it up. They know how to get down. And that’s when I was like, ‘Well, country’s more rock ‘n’ roll than rock ‘n’ roll.'”

To say Elle’s a favorite in the Musical Event category is an understatement. She was also nominated last year for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which Miranda cut with her tour mates. 

Tune in to see if Elle wins, as her backstage buddy Luke hosts the 55th CMA Awards Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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Two-time Grammy winner Kid Cudi launched his recording career in 2009 on Kanye West‘s GOOD Music label. His debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, was certified double platinum, igniting a very successful career. However, the 37-year-old rapper admits that he could not handle stardom and, eventually, became depressed and suicidal for five years.

Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, remembers that when West called him “the most important artist of the past 10 years” during a concert in Houston, it helped him escape his depression.

“My mom was visiting me,” Cudi tells the Los Angeles Times. “And [she] came up to me and was like, ‘Look at this.’ And it was Kanye in concert. I started bawling my eyes out. Like I just started weeping like a big baby. Because we had fallen out and there was beef. But that’s my brother. I just kind of realized in that moment … I realized that he really loved me.”

Cudi’s emotional story is told ​in the new Amazon Prime Video documentary, A Man Called Scott, which premiered Friday

It includes ​testimonials from West, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Jaden and Willow Smith, and Lil Yachty.

Cudi also appears in the film, Don’t Look Up, opening December 10, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett and Chris Evans.

​Last week, he received a nomination from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for On Screen Performance for the song “Just Look Up” that he recorded with Ariana Grande for the film. Cudi is also nominated in the Feature Film Category for his song, “Guns Go Bang” with Jay-Z, from The Harder They Fall.

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When Of Monsters and Men first started out in Iceland, they never thought they’d be playing outside of their home country.

Now, after a decade of selling out shows across the globe, the folk rock outfit is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album, My Head Is an Animal, with a deluxe reissue.

Speaking with ABC Audio, vocalist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir can pinpoint the moment when she knew Of Monsters and Men was breaking out: a 2012 performance at South by Southwest, just as U.S. radio was getting a hold of the single “Little Talks.”

“We walked into this bike shop, and we didn’t know what to expect,” Nanna remembers. “Then the place was just crowded and people were singing along, which was very surreal for us. I think that was one of those moments, where you were, like, ‘Oh, wow.'”

“After that, it felt kind of out of control, really,” she laughs. “[‘Little Talks’] just kind of kept spreading and we were just kind of chasing it.”

Of Monsters and Men followed My Head Is an Animal with two more albums — 2015’s Beneath the Skin and 2019’s Fever Dream — and another is in the works. The band’s sound has become more intricate over the past 10 years as they’ve tried to build on the “playful” energy of their debut.

Vocalist Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson sees the changing creative process like “when a child paints a picture” versus an adult trying to “capture that vibe again.”

“That’s, I think, the core of being an artist, is you’re trying to surprise yourself,” Raggi says. “You’re trying to not just go with what you know.”

“When you draw a smiley face when you’re 30, you just draw a smiley face and it’s instantly recognizable,” he says. “But it’s no fun.”

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Ed Sheeran had a pretty eventful weekend following his bout with COVID-19.

The singer not only was able to perform as planned on SNL, but his album = (Equals) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

The album becomes his fourth consecutive number one to top the chart, after 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project, 2017’s ÷ (Divide) and 2014’s x (Multiply). It has also hit number one in 14 other countries and counting, including Ed’s native U.K.

On SNL, Ed performed two songs off the album:  “Shivers” and “Overpass Graffiti.” He also participated in a sketch, playing himself as a guest on The Dionne Warwick Talk Show. Ego Nwodim as Dionne asks him a series of hilarious questions, starting with the first one: “You did a song called ‘South of the Border.’ My question is, are you nasty?”

“Yeah, a little bit,” Ed replies with a grin.

The sketch also featured Chloe Fineman as Miley Cyrus, Pete Davidson as Post Malone, SNL host and Succession star Kieran Culkin as Jason Mraz and a surprise appearance from the real Dionne Warwick herself.

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Sting recently turned 70, but unlike fellow rock star Elton John, he has no plans to retire any time soon…or ever, actually.

Speaking to USA Today, Sting says asking him to imagine never touring again would be like “asking a fish what it’s going to be like without water.” He adds, “I can’t imagine life without working onstage. I love it.”

In fact, Sting’s busier than ever. On November 19, he’ll release a new album The Bridge, which he says he recorded “as a way to save his mental health” during lockdown.  He also launched his first-ever Las Vegas residency, My Songs, which he jokes is “better” than Elton’s residency, The Red Piano.

On top of that, Sting did a comic turn as a murder suspect in the hit Hulu series Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

“I’ve worked with both Steve Martin and Martin Short many times over the years and they knew I could say lines at least,” Sting says of getting the part. “I’d never worked with Selena, and she was fabulous. It was fun.”

Sting’s Las Vegas show, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, runs through November 13, and will then return in June for more dates. Sting also has a European tour kicking off in March.

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