Music

J. Cole invited Drake and Future to join on stage Friday in Miami, and Drizzy praised him as one of the best MCs in history.

Cole was headlining the first night of The Off-Season tour, and he invited the duo to perform their hit, “Way 2 Sexy,” according to Complex.

Drake said to the “My Life” rapper, “You did that ‘Pipe Down’ freestyle the other day. You was sayin’ in the freestyle that they gave you the bronze or whatever, me and Kendrick…I just want you to understand something. You are genuinely, without a doubt, one of the greatest rappers to ever touch a mic.”

The Champagne Papi was referring to Cole, ranking himself behind him and Kendrick Lamar in his new single, “Heaven’s EP.”

“I just want to let you know, there’s way too many people in the world that think and know that Cole is in the top position,” Drake continued. “I love you with all my heart, you’re my brother, one of my favorite artists. Always appreciate you having me out here.”

Cole continues his tour Monday night in Atlanta. He’s performing 19 shows, culminating with the Rolling Loud LA festival on December 11.

Additionally, on Monday, J. Cole announced that his Dreamville Festival will return in 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina after being canceled this year and 2020 due to the pandemic. He’s expanding to two days: Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

SZA, Big Sean, 21 Savage, Nelly, Teyana Taylor and Ari Lennox were among the artists who performed at the inaugural festival in 2019. The 2022 lineup will be announced at a later date. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 1 at 10:00 a.m. ET at DreamvilleFest.com.

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Silversun Pickups have announced a batch of headlining tour dates for this fall.

The outing is set to kick off November 1 in Minneapolis, and will wrap up November 21 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tickets go on sale this Friday, October 1, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SilversunPickups.com.

SSPU’s most recent album is 2019’s Widow’s Weeds. Last year, they released a cover of the ’80s Martika hit “Toy Soldiers.”

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Maybe this is the result of Adele dating a sports agent?  One of her number-one hits is now being used by the NFL to promote an upcoming game.

The ad ran during Sunday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, and promoted next week’s Sunday Night Football match up between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.  This is a big deal because it’ll mark the first time quarterback Tom Brady returns to Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium as a member of an opposing team since he left the Patriots in 2020.

That’s why, evidently, the NFL picked Adele’s “Hello” as the music for the ad, which has been edited down to 45 seconds of appropriate lyrics.

“Hello, it’s me,” she sings, as we see images of Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

“I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet,” she continues, as we see six Patriots championship banners unfurl.

“So hello from the other side,” she sings, as we see Brady running onto the field in his Bucs uniform. “At least I can say that I’ve tried.”

Then, more scenes of Brady in action as a Buccaneer are shown, followed by footage of Patriots fans, Gillette Stadium and Belichick.  One Pats fan holds a sign that says, “We’re still here.”

“It don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore,” Adele finishes. Cue Brady looking up expectantly.

The showdown, which the NFL is calling “The Return,” happens this Sunday on NBC at 7 p.m. ET.

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A federal jury has found singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking involving interactions with six women, among them the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

The verdict came in Monday afternoon after two days of deliberations following a six-week trial in Brooklyn federal court.  Kelly’s face was concealed by a mask as the verdict was read, making it difficult to see what reaction he may have had.

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told a Brooklyn judge that he would not testify. Now, the singer could face up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly previously avoided prison in 2008 when he was acquitted on 14 counts in a highly publicized child pornography case.  However, this time around, the jury believed Kelly was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that bolstered his music, his image and his sexual gratification by recruiting women and girls for sex, holding them against their will and threatening them if they misbehaved.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A federal jury has found singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking involving interactions with six women, among them the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

The verdict came in Monday afternoon after two days of deliberations following a six-week trial in Brooklyn federal court.  Kelly’s face was concealed by a mask as the verdict was read, making it difficult to see what reaction he may have had.

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told a Brooklyn judge that he would not testify. He now awaits sentencing.

Kelly previously avoided prison in 2008 when he was acquitted on 14 counts in a highly publicized child pornography case.  However, this time around, the jury believed Kelly was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that bolstered his music, his image and his sexual gratification by recruiting women and girls for sex, holding them against their will and threatening them if they misbehaved.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Britney Spears‘ lawyer Matthew Rosengart has already filed paperwork with the court explaining why Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, should be removed immediately as her conservator at a court hearing due to take place on September 29.  But he’s now filed yet another document, obtained by ABC News, citing information in a new documentary that he asserts is further evidence that it’s imperative to get rid of Jamie.

The New York Times reported the claim — also featured in the new FX/Hulu/New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears — that Mr. Spears and a security firm he hired secretly bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her conversations with her boyfriend, her kids and her former lawyer, and also monitored her phone, email and text conversations.

The New York Times noted, and Rosengart also mentions, that in the state of California, recording conversations in a private place like a bedroom and “mirroring” texts without both parties’ consent could be illegal. 

In his filing, Rosengart calls the alleged monitoring “horrifying and unconscionable,” and notes that attorney/client communications in particular are “a sacrosanct part of the legal system.”

“Regardless of the outcome of the allegations, what cannot be genuinely disputed is how deeply upsetting they are to Ms. Spears,” Rosengart adds, pointing out that the only issue the court may consider is whether booting Jamie Spears is in the “best interests” of Britney Spears, which he says it clearly is.

In a statement to ABC News, Rosengart says that the alleged monitoring is a “striking example of the deprivation of [Britney’s] civil liberties,” and adds that if her bedroom was indeed bugged, it “corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony.”

“Mr. Spears,” says Rosengart, “has crossed unfathomable lines.”

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The Weeknd and Angelina Jolie were spotted out having dinner together again over the weekend.

In photos obtained by British tabloid The Daily Mail, the two were seen Saturday at Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica, California. They reportedly spent over two hours in a private section of the restaurant, before leaving together in the same vehicle.

It’s not the first time the 31-year-old singer and the 46-year-old actress have enjoyed each other’s company. They were previously seen grabbing dinner together at the same restaurant back in June, and attending the same concert in July.

Their outings have sparked questions about the nature of their relationship — are they dating, just friends or working on a project together?

The Weeknd has been getting into more TV and film projects as of late, and sources speculate that he and Jolie could be meeting for business, not pleasure. But if you’ll remember, The Weeknd also once referenced Angelina in his song “Party Monster,” with the lyrics describing a beautiful woman as having “lips like Angelina.”

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Dream Theater‘s upcoming fall U.S. tour has been postponed because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

“This was an extraordinarily challenging decision to make but needed to be done after taking into consideration the varying local mandates across North America,” the prog metallers write in a statement. “In an effort to present the absolute most complete and engaging Dream Theater experience that our fans around the globe have come to expect, we feel we are all best served to postpone all touring activities to early 2022.”

The tour, which was originally scheduled to launch at the end of October, is now expected to kick off in February of next year, although the exact new dates have yet to be announced.

Dream Theater is set to release a new album called A View from the Top of the World on October 22.

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