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Man convicted of killing Nipsey Hussle sentenced to 60 years to life in prison

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — Eric Holder, Jr., the man who was convicted in the 2019 murder of hip-hop artist Nipsey Hussle, was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison, according to ABC station in Los Angeles, KABC.

Holder was found guilty on July 6, 2022, of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of the rapper, whose real name is Ermias Asghedom.

Holder also was convicted of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, Holder also was found not guilty of attempted murder against two men who were wounded in the 2019 shooting attack.

Following the verdict, Holder’s attorney Aaron Jansen told ABC News there’s “deep disappointment” with the conviction and said that Holder plans to appeal his sentence.

“It was always going to be tough given the high-profile circumstances surrounding the case,” Jansen said. “We are grateful that the jury agreed with us, in part, that the case was overcharged and voted to acquit Mr. Holder, Jr. of the two attempted murder charges.”

Although Holder pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, he did not deny that he killed Hussle.

Jansen argued during the trial that while Holder did fatally shoot Hussle, it was a crime of passion and not a premeditated act.

“Mr. Holder has always been willing to accept responsibility for the charge of voluntary manslaughter for the life he took,” Jansen told ABC News in a statement on July 2, 2022.

Nipsey Hussle, known as “Neighborhood Nip” to his community and fans in South Los Angeles, was a Grammy-winning rapper who dedicated his life to building the streets of Crenshaw where he grew up and where he owned several businesses. It is on those streets that the rapper was killed on March 31, 2019, outside his Marathon Clothing store.

Holder, an aspiring rapper from the same neighborhood, belonged to the same gang as Hussle – the Rollin 60s of the Crips. But in the last years of his life, Hussle had worked to stop the violence and broker peace between rival gangs.

The rapper’s murder at age 33 sent shockwaves through the music world and the Marathon Clothing store, which has reopened at a new location, and become a memorial where thousands of fans flock to pay their respects to Hussle.

Since his death, millions have posted tributes to the rapper on social media, punctuated with #TheMarathonContinues – Hussle’s own metaphor for overcoming the struggles of life.

“I think I speak for the entire city of LA when I say that we’ve always known that Hussle was destined for greatness,” the rapper’s girlfriend Lauren London said as Hussle was honored as a hometown hero on Aug. 15, 2022, when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Nip would’ve been honored by this moment.”

“So whenever you’re in the City of Angels, and you see this star, I hope that it encourages you to break away from whatever might be holding you back, and for you to run your marathon until God says that it’s finished,” she added.

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.

‘Great Gatsby’ musical, featuring music & lyrics by Florence Welch, premiering in 2024

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Like the proverbial green light, Florence Welch‘s Great Gatsby musical is within sight.

The upcoming production, titled Gatsby, will finally make its debut in 2024 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As previously reported, it will feature lyrics and music by the Florence + the Machine frontwoman. The music will be co-written by Oscar and Grammy-nominated musician Thomas Bartlett.

Upon the musical’s initial announcement in 2021, which teased a “pre-Broadway engagement,” Welch declared that the original 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “has haunted me for a large part of my life.

“It contains some of my favorite lines in literature,” Welch continued. “Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald’s broken romanticism. It is an honor to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.”

Florence + the Machine previously recorded the song “Over the Love” for the 2013 Great Gatsby film adaptation.

BTS’ RM releases music video for “Closer”

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

BTS‘ RM delighted fans by releasing the all new music video for his song “Closer.”

The latest offering comes off his newly released solo album Indigo. The clip doesn’t star the K-pop artist but instead borrows scenes from the Korean drama movie Decision to Leave. The story is about a detective developing feelings for the woman who hired him to investigate the death of her husband.

The video shows the intense moments between actors Tang Wei as Song Seo-rae and Park Hae-il, before ending with Park’s character, Detective Jang Hae-jun, having a breakdown on the beach.

RM announced the video on Instagram, writing in Korean, “We mixed a little lo-fi arrangement to go with the mood of the video! It’s an honor to be part of this beloved film.”

He also tagged the movie’s director, Park Chan-wook, in the post. The director told Vulture in an interview that the BTS member loved the movie. “I met RM in person and he was a very intelligent man. He told me he enjoyed Decision to Leave — I think he said he watched it six times,” the director had said.

Sara Bareilles makes up a new song to shame her dog for making a mess of her clean rug

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Looks like Sara Bareilles is still struggling with puppy — or shall we say “poopy” — problems after her dog Louie decided to defecate on a newly cleaned rug.

The singer used the accident to publicly shame her dog while amusing her Instagram followers at the same time.

Sharing a video of the apologetic-looking pooch, Sara captioned the clip, “There were bells on the door but I never heard them ringing…no I never heard them at all…till there was you” — a spoof of the Beatles‘ song “Till There Was You.”

The video shows Sara pointing a finger at the guilty pup while singing, “I just had my rug cleaned professionally, then you went and pooped on it for everyone to see. And now you feel bad, you feel bad, yeah.” The following slide shows the crime scene, with a pile of plop resting on the multi-colored rug.

Sara had told her fans in April that she was having puppy problems and asked for advice on her Instagram Story to stop her dog from making a mess of her home.

She insisted that Louie had “no trouble until last night” and sought advice on how to correct this unwanted behavior.

Based on this latest post, especially with fans pointing out that Sara had now put aluminum foil beneath her furniture legs, it seems that Louie is still pooping wherever he pleases.

Fans are also asking Sara to release a full version of her “dog-shaming bop.”

Shinedown premieres video for crossover single “A Symptom of Being Human”

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Shinedown is crossing over to pop with the band’s latest single, “A Symptom of Being Human.”

The track, which appears on the “Second Chance” group’s Planet Zero album, is accompanied by a new video, which is streaming now on YouTube.

“‘A Symptom of Being Human’ is a deep breath in the face of an ever-changing world,” says frontman Brent Smith. “Everyone’s story is different. As human beings, we are all unique, and that’s what makes us individuals.”

“We will all experience highs, and lows in our lifetime,” Smith continues. “We will all be put to the test, and the challenges of everyday life. So embrace it, don’t run away from it. Live every moment to the fullest, and don’t worry…It’s all just A Symptom of Being Human.”

Planet Zero, the seventh Shinedown album, was released last July. It also includes the singles “Planet Zero,” “Daylight” and “Dead Don’t Die.”

Shinedown will launch a U.S. tour in support of Planet Zero in April.

Local German politicians and Jewish groups want to bar Roger Waters from performing in Cologne and Frankfurt

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Roger Waters‘ recent comments about the war in Ukraine and his alleged antisemitism haven’t just raised the ire of fans and his former bandmate David Gilmour: Germany isn’t too thrilled with him either.

The German news site DW.com reports that local politicians in Cologne, Germany, want to cancel a Waters concert scheduled to take place May 9. The city council’s members have sent an open letter to the manager of the venue where Waters is set to play, asking them to “do everything they can to prevent the concert” and questioning why the concert’s organizers would give Waters a platform.

It’s worth noting, though, that since the venue is private, the city council has no say in whether or not the concert takes place.

In addition, DW.com reports that an alliance of Jewish groups are calling for the cancellation of a Waters concert scheduled for Frankfurt in late May. In a statement, the alliance accuses Waters of antisemitic propaganda and of expressing “hostility toward Jews” at events.

The alliance refers to Waters as an “antisemitic conspiracy theorist and Israel-hater” and argues that “protecting human dignity in the public sphere” outweighs “freedom of expression.”

The Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media told a local paper that she can’t ban Waters’ concerts, but she’d like to see concert promoters stop booking him — and if they can’t do that, she’d like to see him “play to empty halls.”

Waters has said, among other things, that Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine was “provoked.” He has actively called on musicians not to perform in Israel.

“Joe” is coming as Luke Combs prepares for ‘Gettin’ Old’

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The arrival of Luke Combs‘ fourth album is still a little more than a month away, but the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year is keeping fans satisfied by releasing plenty of new music in the meantime.

The latest track from Gettin’ Old, titled “Joe,” will arrive on Friday.

Meanwhile, the most recent preview track, “Love You Anyway,” debuted at #3 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, having been streamed nearly 18 million times and selling 9,000 downloads.

At Berlin Film Festival, Steven Spielberg hints at a return to his “older, scarier movies”

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Steven Spielberg‘s classic horror-thriller Jaws gave birth to what we’ve come to know as the “summer blockbuster.” While accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival Tuesday, the director hinted at a return to the genre.

When Bono presented the filmmaker with his award, the 76-year-old director called the U2 frontman’s introduction, “one of his most beautiful songs.”

Spielberg also told attendees he wasn’t ready to say “that’s a wrap.”

The Oscar winner expressed, “I feel a little alarmed to be told I’ve lived a lifetime because I’m not finished. I want to keep working. I want to keep learning and discovering and scaring the sh** out of myself and sometimes the sh** out of you.” He quickly added, “I gotta get back to some of those earlier scary movies but that’s another story for later on.”

The legendary director said he felt like “no time had passed” since making his first feature film at 25 years old, noting he still feels the “electric joy” on every first day he has on a movie set.

“As long as there’s joy in it for me and as long as my audience can find joy and other human values in my films, I’m reluctant to ever say that’s a wrap,” he said.

Spielberg joked he’d “like to beat Manoel de Oliveira‘s record and direct my last film when I’m 106,” at which the audience applauded. “My dad, my father Arnold lived to 103 1/2, so theoretically I got the genes,” he added with a smile.

And I feel…old: Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ turns 25

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Twenty five years ago Wednesday — February 22, 1998 — Madonna managed to captivate both fans and music critics with her new Ray of Light album.

The first album Madonna released after welcoming her first child, daughter Lourdes, Ray of Light‘s themes included motherhood and mysticism, inspired both by the Queen of Pop’s yoga practice and her study of Kabbalah, Hinduism and Buddhism.

As her first collaboration with producer William Orbit, the album’s sound was much more experimental than Madonna’s previous work, incorporating electronica, techno-pop, ambient music, Middle Eastern music and more. In retrospect, it’s been credited for bringing electronic music — and especially EDM or Electronic Dance Music — into the mainstream.

Ray of Light spun off five singles, including “Frozen,” the title track and “The Power of Good-Bye.” Upon its release, it debuted at number two with what was at the time the biggest first-week sales by a female artist. Nominated for six Grammys, it won four and also brought Madonna a slew of other awards, including six MTV VMAs.

Critics were unanimous at hailing Ray of Light as Madonna’s best work, and she has at least at one point agreed: In 2012, she named it as the “evolution in [her] career that’s been [her] favorite/most fulfilling.” It’s landed on numerous “Greatest Albums of All Times” lists, and even Adele said that she used Ray of Light as a template for her best-selling third album, 25.

At the time, Adele told Rolling Stone that she felt creatively adrift after having her first child until she heard Ray of Light. She says she listened to it over and over and was particularly inspired by “Frozen.” As she told Rolling Stone, “I took that song as ‘I’ve gotten my confidence to come and do ‘me’ again.’ ”

Mark Lanegan co-wrote Nirvana’s “Something in the Way,” according to ex-QotSA bassist

February 22, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Mark Lanegan was an anonymous co-writer on Nirvana‘s Nevermind track “Something in the Way.”

That’s according to ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri, one of several artists who’ve shared their memories of the late Screaming Trees frontman for a new book called Lanegan.

“Mark said he wrote some lyrics on ‘Something in the Way’ with Kurt [Cobain] on Nevermind,” Oliveri says in an excerpt from the book published by Consequence. “But Kurt had played on some of Mark’s solo stuff, The Winding Sheet. So, instead of getting paid, they just did this thing where, ‘Hey man, I added a lyric on your song and you added a lyric on my song. Let’s just call it even. Whatever happens, happens.'”

“Little did Mark know, if he would have had publishing on ‘Something in the Way’ on Nevermind, he would have had a lot of money,” Oliveri continues. “I remember him kicking himself in the butt a little bit about that — ‘If I had that ‘Something in the Way’ publishing…”

Lanegan the book is out now, arriving a year after Lanegan passed away in February 2022. Among its other revelations is that Courtney Love had offered Cobain’s posthumous song “You Know You’re Right” to Screaming Trees before it was released as a Nirvana single in 2002.

“We never recorded it,” says Screaming Trees guitarist Gary Lee Conner. “But we learned it without Mark, and Mark came down to sing it…and he couldn’t. He changed his mind. And that was the end of it.”

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