Lil Uzi Vert is still working on his Pink Tape album, which has seen a few delays since it was first announced. His longtime producer, Lyle Leduff,explained the multiple postponements while responding to fans’ inquiries about the album.
“lyle bruh why is Uzi and cannon not giving us pink yet. are the songs fr not that good rn???” the fan wrote, to which the producer responded, “songs are great. But they wanna make sure its right and not rush it.”
Lyle continued, “We all know yall ready for it but we wanna make sure its a classic and not just a bunch of random songs!”
In an exchange with another Uzi fan, Lyle also attributed the delay to the quantity of music the rapper records daily and the difficulty in narrowing it down for the project.
“He records 5 a day for the most part. Bruh still gets better and better,” Lyle explained. “Its hard to scale down 1500+ songs to an album.” TMZ Hip Hop previously reported Uzi had recorded over 680 songs for the project, and he did it all sober.
“It was challenging at first. But then after probably after a month, I got used to it,” Uzi said of the recording process at the time. “I thought that my creative process wasn’t going to be the same because I wasn’t on drugs no more. It was the same. Even better. Because I could think more clear and I could actually, like, instead of my words slurring, which is kinda of cool, everything made sense. I didn’t just make random music. How can I say? I didn’t play off the beat. I actually made song with topics this time.”
Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Scotty McCreery‘s 7-month-old, Merrick Avery, can now speak sentences. Well sort of, and it’s adorable.
The country singer recently posted a video of him sharing a special father-son moment with Avery. The clip opened with Avery seemingly uttering, “What’re ya doing?” before Scotty looked to his wife, Gabi, who was behind the camera.
“What are you doing? Did you just repeat what I said?” Scotty responded to Avery. He also captioned the video, “Avery skipping over first words and going straight to sentences??”
Avery was born in October 2022 and is Scotty and Gabi’s first child. The couple, who are high school sweethearts, got married in June 2018.
On the music front, Scotty’s “It Matters to Her” is currently in the top three and ascending on the country charts.
Foo Fighters are used to playing stadiums and arenas, but they returned to the club Tuesday night to help open the new Washington, D.C., venue The Atlantis, a replica of the city’s 9:30 Club.
Consequence reports the band treated the crowd of about 450 to a two-hour, 22-song set that opened with a hardcore reunion of Dave Grohl and his Scream bandmate Pete Stahl covering Bad Brains’ “At The Atlantis.”
The rest of the set included such Foo classics as “This Is A Call,” “My Hero,” “Best of You” and “Everlong,” along with a performance of The Colour and the Shape track “New Way Home” for the first time since 2011. The show also featured Grohl’s daughter Violet Grohl on “Shame Shame” and “Rope” and 9:30 Club owner Seth Hurwitz on drums for “Big Me.”
And the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, was once again remembered during the show, with Grohl dedicating “Aurora” to him. He also thanked their fans for helping them carry on following Hawkins’ death in March 2022.
Foo Fighters are headed overseas for their next set of shows. They play Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park in Germany on June 2 and 4, respectively. They return to the States June 14 for a show in Rogers, Arkansas. A complete list of dates can be found at foofighters.com.
(NEW YORK) — A top U.S. official for cybersecurity said Wednesday that humanity could be at risk of an “extinction event” if tech companies fail to self-regulate and work with the government to reign in the power of artificial intelligence.
The remarks came a day after hundreds of tech leaders and public figures backed a similar statement that compared the existential threat of AI to a pandemic or nuclear war.
Among the 350 signatories of the statement were Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, the company behind the popular conversation bot ChatGPT, and Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, the tech giant’s AI division.
Responding to questions about the joint statement, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly urged the signatories to self-regulate and work with the government.
“I would ask these 350 people and the makers of AI — while we’re trying to put a regulatory framework in place — think about self-regulation, think about what you can do to slow this down so we don’t cause an extinction event for humanity,” Easterly said.
“If you actually think that these capabilities can lead to [the] extinction of humanity, well, let’s come together and do something about it,” Easterly added.
Industry leaders on Tuesday sounded a sobering alarm. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” said the one-sentence statement released by the San Francisco-based nonprofit Center for AI Safety.
Supporters of the statement also featured a range of public figures like musician Grimes, environmental activist Bill McKibben and neuroscience author Sam Harris.
Altman, a top executive within the AI industry, said in Senate testimony roughly two weeks ago that he supports government regulation as a means of averting the harmful effects of AI.
“If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” Altman said.
“We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models,” he added, suggesting the adoption of licenses or safety requirements necessary for the operation of AI models.
Like other AI-enabled chat bots, ChatGPT can immediately respond to prompts from users on a wide range of subjects, generating an essay on Shakespeare or a set of travel tips for a given destination.
Microsoft launched a version of its Bing search engine in March that offers responses delivered by GPT-4, the latest model of ChatGPT. Rival search company Google in February announced an AI model called Bard.
The rise of vast quantities of AI-generated content has raised fears over the potential spread of misinformation, hate speech and manipulative responses.
During comments on Wednesday, Easterly described Chinese-backed hackers and artificial intelligence as “the defining challenges of our time.”
Easterly walked a familiar fine line between touting the possibilities of AI and warning against its harms.
“At the end of the day, these capabilities will do amazing things. They’ll make our lives easier and better,” she said. “They’ll make lives easier and better for our adversaries who will flood the space with disinformation who will be able to create cyber-attacks and all kinds of weapons.”
(WASHINGTON) — A deal to raise the debt ceiling faces a crucial vote in the House Wednesday night, the next step in averting a potential default now just days away.
The bill, titled the “Fiscal Responsibility Act,” cleared its first major hurdle Tuesday when the House Rules Committee advanced the bill in a 7-6 vote.
It is expected to pass the full House when voting is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., but frustration in both parties has leaders working around the clock to shore up enough support among their members.
“Today we’re gonna pass the largest cut in American history. It’s just a small step putting us on the right track,” a confident House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters as he entered the Capitol Wednesday.
McCarthy added that “everybody has a right to their own opinion but on history, I’d want to be here with this bill today.”
The vote will be a major test for the speaker, who faces a potential revolt from conservative hard-liners if he fails to get a majority of his conference (112 Republicans) to back the deal.
As of Wednesday morning, 32 House Republicans and counting said they were against the bill.
“If a majority of Republicans are against a piece of legislation and you use Democrats to pass it, that would immediately be a black letter violation of the deal we had with McCarthy … and it would likely trigger an immediate motion to vacate,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said Tuesday on Newsmax.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-N.C., told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that McCarthy’s “lost some trust in how this has been handled.” The speaker brushed off those criticisms Republicans were “outsmarted” by Democrats.
A motion to vacate, under new House rules agreed to by McCarthy during his speakership battle back in January, would allow just one member of Congress to bring up a vote on removing the speaker. A simple majority of the House would be needed to pass such a motion.
Adding another layer to GOP discontentment is a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that found the deal would actually increase the number of people eligible for SNAP food assistance, and increase the cost by $2.1 billion.
Work requirements for SNAP and other federal assistance programs were a major sticking point for Republicans in the negotiations between McCarthy and President Joe Biden.
McCarthy said late Tuesday the CBO was “totally wrong” and claimed the agency “double-counted.”
Amid the conservative uproar over the bill as cutting far too little, McCarthy announced Wednesday the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the federal budget to look for potential waste to be cut.
On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday House Democrats “will make sure that the country does not default.”
Several progressive Democrats have pushed back against provisions of the bill but two key groups, the 100-member New Democrat Coalition and the 46-member bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, have endorsed the deal ahead of tonight’s vote.
If it passes the House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said his chamber would immediately take it up.
“Once it is the Senate’s turn to act, I cannot stress enough that we have no margin — no margin — for error,” Schumer said in floor remarks Wednesday. “Either we proceed quickly and send this bipartisan agreement to the president’s desk or the federal government will default for the first time ever.”
A potential roadblock will be if a filibuster materializes, which could delay the process for up to a week.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s given his approval on the bill, calling it a “down payment on more progress that’s yet to come.”
“When this agreement reaches the Senate, I’ll be proud to support it without delay,” McConnell said Wednesday.
ABC News’ Trish Turner, Will Steakin, Lauren Peller and Noah Minnie contributed to this report.
Future‘s contributions to trap music will be honored by the Atlanta Trap Music Museum. On June 8, the organization will award the rapper with the 2022 Trapper of the Year title, accompanied by a custom ring that founder T.I. will present to him. An exhibit dedicated to Future will also be unveiled at the event, for which DJ Major Key will provide the music.
“Join the Celebration as Future Takes the Crown. 2022 TRAPPER OF THE YEAR!!!” the museum wrote on Instagram. “Stay tuned for the grand unveiling of his captivating new exhibit.”
Future’s forthcoming honor follows that of Moneybagg Yo, who earned the title for the year 2021.
He’s slated to appear on Metro Boomin‘s Across the Spider-verse soundtrack, which also features Offset, Wizkid and Lil Wayne. The project will drop June 2.
KISS has added one more show to their End of the Road Tour. The rockers just announced they’re headed to the Middle East, headlining a one-night-only show on Friday, October 13, at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.
A KISS fan presale will kick off June 5 at 10 a.m. GST, with a general on-sale happening Tuesday, June 6, at 10 a.m. GST. More information about tickets can be found at coca-cola-arena.com.
KISS kicks off the U.K./European leg of their End of the Road Tour on June 5 in Birmingham, England. The tour is set to wrap for good on December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A complete list of KISS dates can be found at kissonline.com.
(ALBANY, N.Y.) — A limousine company operator was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison Wednesday in connection to a 2018 crash in upstate New York that left 20 people dead.
Nauman Hussain was found guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter earlier this month.
Hussain was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for each count of second-degree manslaughter, however, the terms will run concurrently for a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Hussain pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide in 2021, but the case went to trial after a judge threw out a plea deal reached with Schoharie County prosecutors last fall that would have spared him a prison sentence.
The limousine was driving down a stretch of road when it barreled through an intersection and crashed into a parked Toyota Highlander in the town of Schoharie, about 40 miles west of Albany. All 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians were killed in the crash.
Hussain was in charge of day-to-day operations for the company, Prestige Limousine, when a group celebrating a 30th birthday party rented a stretch Ford Excursion SUV on Oct. 6, 2018.
The limo had failed an inspection by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles one month before the deadly crash and the driver did not have the appropriate driver’s license to be operating the vehicle, officials said at the time.
A report by National Transportation Safety Board investigators in 2020 found that one of the brakes was not operational.
After he was found guilty, Hussain’s lawyer said they plan to appeal the verdict.
“He chose profit over people,” prosecutors said at the sentencing hearing. Before sentencing, his lawyer said Hussain would not speak due to the pending appeal.
Prosecutors said Hussain made the conscious decision not to repair the car ahead of the crash and failed to get a second inspection before putting it back on the road.
The defense asked for the mercy of the court ahead of the sentencing.
The incident was the deadliest transportation crash in the U.S. since 2009.
(ALBANY, N.Y.) — A limousine company operator was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison Wednesday in connection to a 2018 crash in upstate New York that left 20 people dead.
Nauman Hussain was found guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter earlier this month.
Hussain was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for each count of second-degree manslaughter, however, the terms will run concurrently for a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Hussain pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide in 2021, but the case went to trial after a judge threw out a plea deal reached with Schoharie County prosecutors last fall that would have spared him a prison sentence.
The limousine was driving down a stretch of road when it barreled through an intersection and crashed into a parked Toyota Highlander in the town of Schoharie, about 40 miles west of Albany. All 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians were killed in the crash.
Hussain was in charge of day-to-day operations for the company, Prestige Limousine, when a group celebrating a 30th birthday party rented a stretch Ford Excursion SUV on Oct. 6, 2018.
The limo had failed an inspection by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles one month before the deadly crash and the driver did not have the appropriate driver’s license to be operating the vehicle, officials said at the time.
A report by National Transportation Safety Board investigators in 2020 found that one of the brakes was not operational.
After he was found guilty, Hussain’s lawyer said they plan to appeal the verdict.
“He chose profit over people,” prosecutors said at the sentencing hearing. Before sentencing, his lawyer said Hussain would not speak due to the pending appeal.
Prosecutors said Hussain made the conscious decision not to repair the car ahead of the crash and failed to get a second inspection before putting it back on the road.
The defense asked for the mercy of the court ahead of the sentencing.
The incident was the deadliest transportation crash in the U.S. since 2009.
(ALBANY, N.Y.) — A limousine company operator was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison Wednesday in connection to a 2018 crash in upstate New York that left 20 people dead.
Nauman Hussain was found guilty of 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter earlier this month.
Hussain was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for each count of second-degree manslaughter, however, the terms will run concurrently for a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Hussain pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide in 2021, but the case went to trial after a judge threw out a plea deal reached with Schoharie County prosecutors last fall that would have spared him a prison sentence.
The limousine was driving down a stretch of road when it barreled through an intersection and crashed into a parked Toyota Highlander in the town of Schoharie, about 40 miles west of Albany. All 17 passengers, the driver and two pedestrians were killed in the crash.
Hussain was in charge of day-to-day operations for the company, Prestige Limousine, when a group celebrating a 30th birthday party rented a stretch Ford Excursion SUV on Oct. 6, 2018.
The limo had failed an inspection by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles one month before the deadly crash and the driver did not have the appropriate driver’s license to be operating the vehicle, officials said at the time.
A report by National Transportation Safety Board investigators in 2020 found that one of the brakes was not operational.
After he was found guilty, Hussain’s lawyer said they plan to appeal the verdict.
“He chose profit over people,” prosecutors said at the sentencing hearing. Before sentencing, his lawyer said Hussain would not speak due to the pending appeal.
Prosecutors said Hussain made the conscious decision not to repair the car ahead of the crash and failed to get a second inspection before putting it back on the road.
The defense asked for the mercy of the court ahead of the sentencing.
The incident was the deadliest transportation crash in the U.S. since 2009.
