Music

J. Cole’s stint at a player in the Chinese Basketball Association has come and gone. After making his debut for the Nanjing Monkey Kings on Saturday, he shared a blog post recapping the experience.

“I want to say thank you to the Nanjing club and to the CBA for allowing me to have that incredible experience,” he wrote. “Also to my teammates who were mad cool, and who really wanted me to get a bucket!”

Cole played eight minutes in his appearance, getting “a few good looks” but failing to score. “A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way I’m fulfilled and grateful!” he said. “S***, I feel like I dropped 20 !!! And my knees felt like I played 40 minutes!”

“The biggest win,” however, was that his family “got to experience China for the first time.” He also expressed his appreciation for his international fanbase.

“I also didn’t realize there were so many people in China that rocked with my music!” he wrote. “Thank you to everybody who showed up and brought an album to sign. I was blown away. I felt the energy in the game that yall wanted me to hit those shots too! Appreciate it!”

He added that he’d consider returning “for a longer amount of games” after his upcoming tour as long as he “could stay in shape.”

For now, Cole’s time with the Monkey Kings is up. Though he was scheduled to play three games, visa delays limited him to just one appearance.

Cole is set to kick off The Fall-Off World Tour on July 11.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg has opened up regarding his firing from the band in 2023 in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Weinberg had joined the masked metallers in 2014 in place of original drummer Joey Jordison. In announcing Weinberg’s departure, Slipknot put out a statement calling the move a “creative decision.”

Weinberg tells Rolling Stone that leading up to his firing he was trying to find time to schedule a surgery to repair a torn hip labrum. He says he got the OK from Slipknot to undergo the surgery in November 2023 after they finished a tour.

“They were like, ‘Yeah, good to go. Go for your surgery,'” Weinberg says. “And then I woke up the morning after traveling home from our last show together, and I received a phone call from the band’s manager in which he informed me that the band had made a decision to not renew my contract at the end of the year. I was shocked and full of questions. I was like, ‘Why? What happened?'”

According to Weinberg, the ‘Knot’s manager told him the band wanted to put out a joint statement with him the next day. 

“I went on a walk with my wife to clear my head and process what had just happened,” Weinberg says. “And then 20 minutes later, they posted their own statement online.”

Reflecting on the firing now, Weinberg says, “It came without an explanation, no reason.”

“It was confusing then,” Weinberg says. “If I’m perfectly honest, it remains confusing.”

He adds, “Maybe I became a scapegoat for certain things.”

Weinberg has since launched a solo career and has released two songs.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Travis Barker was a surprise performer during the first weekend of Coachella 2026.

The blink-182 drummer joined rap duo Clipse onstage during their set on Sunday.

Barker previously played Coachella in 2023 with blink-182, which marked the band’s first concert with Tom DeLonge back since 2014.

Other surprise guests who showed up during Coachella’s first weekend included Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, who showed up for sombr and Teddy Swims’ sets, respectively. Jack White was also a last-minute addition to the lineup. 

The second weekend of Coachella takes place April 17-19. Like the first weekend, it will stream live on YouTube.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The “Cold Beer & Country Music” will keep flowing for Zach Top, as he extends his so-named tour throughout the summer.  

The 14 new dates include stops at Orange Beach, Alabama’s The Wharf Amphitheater, Boise’s ExtraMile Arena and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.

Marcus King Band, Lukas Nelson, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Jake Worthington, Cole Goodwin and Wyatt McCubbin will join him at different points during the run. 

Presales for the new dates on the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour start Wednesday, before tickets become available to the public on Friday. 

The “South of Sanity” hitmaker has five nominations at May’s ACM Awards, before he hits the stage for CMA Fest at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in June. On April 24 he plays Lubbock with George Strait, with more stadium dates coming up in August and September with Chris Stapleton.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The “Cold Beer & Country Music” will keep flowing for Zach Top, as he extends his so-named tour throughout the summer.  

The 14 new dates include stops at Orange Beach, Alabama’s The Wharf Amphitheater, Boise’s ExtraMile Arena and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.

Marcus King Band, Lukas Nelson, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Jake Worthington, Cole Goodwin and Wyatt McCubbin will join him at different points during the run. 

Presales for the new dates on the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour start Wednesday, before tickets become available to the public on Friday. 

The “South of Sanity” hitmaker has five nominations at May’s ACM Awards, before he hits the stage for CMA Fest at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in June. On April 24 he plays Lubbock with George Strait, with more stadium dates coming up in August and September with Chris Stapleton.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Snap Yo Fingers” and get ready to learn a little more about Lil Jon. He’s telling his life story in an upcoming memoir titled I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, set to arrive on Oct. 20 via Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster.

In the memoir, Lil Jon, born Jonathan Smith, discusses his rise as a pioneer of hip-hop’s crunk movement who helped bring Southern rap into the mainstream, starting with his first DJ job at the New York Sound Factory in Atlanta. He reflects on his work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and his collaborations with Usher, Pitbull, Ice Cube, Ciara, Too $hort, the Ying Yang Twins and more. Jon also opens up about deeply personal moments, including shocking family revelations, his commitment to meditation, healthy eating, mindfulness, herbalism and Islam, as well as the passing of his son, Nathan “DJ Slade” Smith, who died from accidental drowning in February, according to a release.

“I’ve worked on a lot of different projects over the years, but this one right here made me dig deep and turn inward,” Lil Jon says in a statement. “Y’all have heard my voice for over three decades, but here’s a chance to read what I really have to say about it all, and catch a glimpse into the innermost circles of both my professional and personal worlds.”

“I’ve been blessed to amass enormous wins, but with that I’ve also had to endure immense hardships and painful losses privately and publicly … and I’m finally ready to share that with you all,” he continues. “This ride ain’t been an easy one, but who ever said chasin’ your dreams was easy?” 

Jon dropped a mindfulness-focused book, Manifest Abundance: Affirmations for Personal Growth, in 2024.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Snap Yo Fingers” and get ready to learn a little more about Lil Jon. He’s telling his life story in an upcoming memoir titled I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, set to arrive on Oct. 20 via Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster.

In the memoir, Lil Jon, born Jonathan Smith, discusses his rise as a pioneer of hip-hop’s crunk movement who helped bring Southern rap into the mainstream, starting with his first DJ job at the New York Sound Factory in Atlanta. He reflects on his work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and his collaborations with Usher, Pitbull, Ice Cube, Ciara, Too $hort, the Ying Yang Twins and more. Jon also opens up about deeply personal moments, including shocking family revelations, his commitment to meditation, healthy eating, mindfulness, herbalism and Islam, as well as the passing of his son, Nathan “DJ Slade” Smith, who died from accidental drowning in February, according to a release.

“I’ve worked on a lot of different projects over the years, but this one right here made me dig deep and turn inward,” Lil Jon says in a statement. “Y’all have heard my voice for over three decades, but here’s a chance to read what I really have to say about it all, and catch a glimpse into the innermost circles of both my professional and personal worlds.”

“I’ve been blessed to amass enormous wins, but with that I’ve also had to endure immense hardships and painful losses privately and publicly … and I’m finally ready to share that with you all,” he continues. “This ride ain’t been an easy one, but who ever said chasin’ your dreams was easy?” 

Jon dropped a mindfulness-focused book, Manifest Abundance: Affirmations for Personal Growth, in 2024.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

No more Mr. Nice Guy, say hello to Mr. Grunge Guy.

Alice Cooper performed a cover of the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during his Coopstock benefit concert, which took place Saturday in Mesa, Arizona.

You can watch footage of the rendition via Cooper’s Instagram Story.

Coopstock raises money for Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which are located throughout Arizona.

Cooper launches a U.S. tour Tuesday in San Antonio. The trek will feature new guitarist Anna Cara, who is filling in for Nita Strauss while she’s on maternity leave.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

No more Mr. Nice Guy, say hello to Mr. Grunge Guy.

Alice Cooper performed a cover of the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during his Coopstock benefit concert, which took place Saturday in Mesa, Arizona.

You can watch footage of the rendition via Cooper’s Instagram Story.

Coopstock raises money for Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which are located throughout Arizona.

Cooper launches a U.S. tour Tuesday in San Antonio. The trek will feature new guitarist Anna Cara, who is filling in for Nita Strauss while she’s on maternity leave.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.