Music

Anthrax is celebrating 40 years of thrashing with a stiff drink.

The New York City metallers have announced Anthrax XL, a signature whiskey marking the band’s 40th anniversary. Created in collaboration with Hillrock Estate Distillery, Anthrax XL boasts a 115 proof cask strength, and is limited to 400 hand-numbered, limited edition bottles costing $155, each of which is signed by every band member.

“On the nose, there is an explosion of caramel, toffee, and butterscotch with hints of dried cherries and fresh herbs,” guitarist Scott Ian says of Anthrax XL. “The palette has a rich texture of bright red fruits, baking spices, and toasted almonds. I’m drooling just reading that back. Get yourself a bottle, you deserve it!”

Also available are special “Golden Ticket” bottles, which comes with two tickets and a meet-and-greet during Anthrax’s upcoming 2022 headlining U.S. tour, the exact details of which have yet to be announced. Only 40 of those will be sold, and are priced at $350.

Anthrax was founded July 18, 1981 — 40 years ago last month. The band marked the milestone with a streaming concert, as well as a video series going through each of their albums.

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Drake has a long history of recording with Future and Young Thug, and reportedly the trio is dropping a new collabo on Friday.

The three rappers are releasing the single “Too Sexy,” according to DJ Akademiks, who posted an Instagram clip that appears to show them in a studio shooting a video, while decked out in all white.

Last year, they dropped the “D4L” from Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape. Young Thug also joined Drake and Gunna on “Solid” in 2021.

Future has recorded numerous songs with the Champagne Papi, including their RIAA nine-times Platinum “Life Is Good,” from his 2020 High Off Life album. In 2015, they united for the 11-track What a Time to Be Alive mixtape, featuring the quadruple-Platinum single, “Jumpman.”

It’s rumored that Kanye West will drop his long-delayed DONDA album Friday, so a Drake release on the same day would be his latest salvo in their ongoing feud.

As previously reported, fans believe that the beef was reignited Friday, after Trippie Redd dropped his song “Betrayal,” which features the Toronto native. On the track, Drake sings, “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know / Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go / Ye ain’t changin’ s*** for me, it’s set in stone.”

Kanye responded with a posted-and-deleted Instagram captured by TMZ, in which he shared the supposed location of Drake’s Toronto, Ontario property.

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St. Vincent has announced COVID-19 guidelines for her upcoming fall tour.

All attendees must show proof of being fully vaccinated, or obtain a negative test within 48 hours of entering the venue. Local mandates may also require you to wear a mask during the show, depending on the city.

Additionally, the September 8 stop in Pittsburgh has moved to an outdoor venue.

St. Vincent’s tour kicks off September 3 in Portland, Maine. She’ll be supporting her new album, Daddy’s Home, featuring the lead single “Pay Your Way in Pain.”

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Olivia Rodrigo is V Magazine’s newest cover star.

In an interview with SNL’s Bowen Yang for the mag, the 18-year-old talks about everything form fangirling over Taylor Swift and Dr. Anthony Fauci to being a role model for young Filipino-Americans.

“I sometimes get DMs from little girls being like, ‘I’ve never seen someone who looked like me in your position,’” Olivia says. “And I’m literally going to cry. Like just thinking about it. I feel like I grew up never seeing that. Also it was always like, ‘Pop star,’ that’s a white girl.”

Olivia also discussed the pressures young women in pop music face.

“[It’s] like this thing where you’re only successful if you’re under 30,” she says. “I’ve always resented that because I think I’m just going to get better with age.”

But at the moment, the “good 4 u” singer says she’s enjoying where she is in life.

“Honestly, I literally just turned 18, so there are so many normal teenage things that I’m really excited to do,” she says. “There’s so much in life that I have to learn and so many experiences to be had. So I’m honestly most excited for that. I love growing up. I feel like I get happier with age, so hopefully that’s a trend that continues.”

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Shawn Mendes was clearly a fan of Niall Horan’s guest-hosting gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this week.

“I need @NiallOfficial to have his own talk show one day !!!” Shawn tweeted Thursday. “Born to host and make people laugh and smile !!”

Niall responded and said he might be open to the idea — if the whole pop star thing doesn’t go as planned.

“Hahahah. Maybe one day,” he tweeted. “If I’m doing a talk show full time, you know the music career hasn’t worked out and that’s not a good thing.”

Hey, if Kelly Clarkson can do both, maybe Niall can too!

The former One Direction member filled in for Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night, where he played a hilarious game of golf with the Jonas Brothers and engaged in some heavy flirtation with Lizzo in a now-viral interview.

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Luke Combs officially released “South on Ya,” his love song to life in the rural Southeast, this week. It’s more than just an ode to the North Carolina native’s home turf: The song will also be this year’s brand anthem for the SEC Network.

That means that fans can hear Luke’s song throughout live college football events and on-air programming this fall.

“Man, this is pretty special,” the singer notes. “In the beginning of my career, I spent a lot of my time playing my music all over towns within the SEC. The fact that one of my songs is now such a big part of the Network is really cool to me. It feels like a full-circle moment, for sure. I am a huge fan of the SEC and am honored my song was chosen to be a part of it.”

In the lyrics of “South on Ya,” Luke shouts out every included state, from “muddy Mississippi” and “swampy Louisiana” to “the grass in Kentucky” and “the blue skies in Carolina.”

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Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the passing of Aaliyah in 2001, and her mother is accusing a writer of visiting the gravesite to promote an unauthorized biography.

“First and foremost I want to thank my dear ‘Special Ones’ (The Fans) that have been with us for years and supported every endeavor that came our way without hesitation,” Diana Haughton wrote on Aaliyah’s Instagram page. “However, due to the behavior of an individual that has been to Aaliyah’s resting place in order to promote a book, I have been forced to make a drastic change at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum.”

It is unclear what the change is at the cemetery, which is located in Hartsdale, New York.

“This person interrupted all my thoughts and ideas to make August 25th, 2021 a day of Remembrance and Love for my daughter,” Haughton continued, referring to the date of Aaliyah’s death. “Please accept my sincere apologies for this and know I love you and always will. Aaliyah’s life will shine no matter what.”

Kathy Iandoli, who last week published the book, Baby Girl: Better Known As Aaliyah, denies the accusation.

“I did not promote my book outside of Aaliyah’s gravesite. That is offensive to even suggest,” she responded on Instagram. “I have been told that fans have had my book there with them. Please no longer bring my book to Ferncliff. Apologies that fans can not visit Aaliyah’s resting place.”

As previously reported, on August 20, Aaliyah’s second album, 1996’s One in a Million, became available for the first time on all streaming platforms. Spotify will release her entire catalog, with the Romeo Must Die soundtrack following on September 3, her self-titled album on September 10, and the I Care 4 U compilation project, which was released in 2002, on October 8, according to Essence.

 

 

 

 

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Gorillaz has dropped a new EP called Meanwhile.

The set includes three previously unreleased songs: “Meanwhile” featuring Jelani Blackman and Barrington Levy; “Jimmy Jimmy,” featuring AJ Tracey; and “Déjà Vu,” featuring Alicai Harley. You can download it now via digital outlets.

Gorillaz previously premiered all three tracks during their concerts at The O2 in London earlier this month in support of the U.K.’s NHS healthcare system.

Meanwhile follows Gorillaz’s 2020 album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. The collaborative effort featured guests including The Cure‘s Robert Smith, Beck, St. Vincent and Elton John.

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While fans anxiously await the release of Kanye West‘s DONDA, the rapper has reportedly raked in millions from its delay.

One way the Yeezy founder apparently cashed in on his upcoming album is by holding listening events. The first event, held on July 22, was followed by another two weeks later. Both took place at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium, with 42,000 fans dishing out between $25 to $100 for a ticket, which Billboard estimates grossed between $1.5 million and $2.7 million.

Both times, DONDA failed to drop the following day, leaving fans on standby. 

A third listening party is now scheduled for Thursday at Soldier Field in Kanye’s hometown of Chicago, where he will likely rake in some more dough — and is also expected to finally release his highly-anticipated 10th studio effort. 

In addition to the live-streamed listening events, a source close to Ye says he snagged about $7 million in in-person merchandise sales. And that’s not all. 

The buzz around DONDA has also resulted in an uptick of people streaming Kanye’s music. The outlet reports that his U.S. streams rose 37% between July 19 and August 9, which earned him an estimated $350,000. 

So, if we do the math, Ye could have easily made somewhere close to $10 million before he even released DONDA. 

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