Fans pay tribute to slain rapper Takeoff in Atlanta celebration of life ceremony

Fans pay tribute to slain rapper Takeoff in Atlanta celebration of life ceremony
Fans pay tribute to slain rapper Takeoff in Atlanta celebration of life ceremony
Barry Brecheisen/WireImage

Thousands of fans gathered on a rainy Friday in Atlanta to pay their respects to Migos rapper Takeoff, who was shot and killed in Houston on November 1.

Fans were joined by family and friends of the slain rapper for a celebration of life in the rapper’s hometown. The memorial was held at the State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, where Takeoff was a regular.

“It’s a sad day but you have to celebrate because he is one creative person. He has brought joy to us. Not just us — internationally,” a fan told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV on Friday as she lined up outside the arena.

Takeoff, birth name Kirshnik Khari Ball, was shot and killed outside the 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston following a private event, police said. He was 28. Quavo, Takeoff’s uncle and one-third of Migos, who was also present at the time, was not injured.

Police said that shots were fired following an argument and urged the public to come forward with tips. There is no indication the rapper was involved in the dispute, according to police, who said the investigation is ongoing.

“[His loss] hit home,” a fan who was lined up outside the State Farm Arena told WSB-TV on Friday. “He did a lot for the culture. I just love their music.”

Free tickets to the celebration of life service were made available to Georgia residents, but the tickets sold out quickly; the venue asked fans who didn’t have tickets not to come to the downtown area.

The memorial service was not livestreamed, and media coverage was limited to outside the venue. The State Farm Arena did not share details regarding the program ahead of the event.

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Paul McCartney recalls discovering a reggae record “scam” while crate-digging in Jamaica

Paul McCartney recalls discovering a reggae record “scam” while crate-digging in Jamaica
Paul McCartney recalls discovering a reggae record “scam” while crate-digging in Jamaica
MPL Communications/UMe

This week Paul McCartney announced the release of The 7″ Singles Box, which collects 80 7-inch vinyl singles — packaged in a wooden crate. It also comes with a forward Paul wrote about his love of singles. Rolling Stone has an exclusive excerpt, in which he discusses the “adventure” of discovering reggae music in Jamaica.

“Some of my happiest memories of buying 7-inch singles come from the Jamaican record shop that we used to go to when we were on holiday in Montego Bay … There were records [that] you didn’t know what they were, they weren’t established artists,” he calls. “So it was kind of a great adventure, just asking the guy behind the counter, ‘What’s this like? Is it any good?'”

He recalls one in particular called “Poison Pressure” by Byron Lee and The Dragonaires, which was credited to Lennon & McCartney. He writes, “I had to buy that one. Had they just recorded one of our songs? No. It was something completely different and we all presumed it might be a couple of guys called Tony Lennon and Bill McCartney. Either that, or it was a total scam.”

Or not. It turns out the song is based on the melody of Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance,” which explains the credit. Paul also writes about how much The Beatles loved to put weird and wacky stuff on their B-sides, and he continued that tradition in his solo career.

“I still respect the B side – where else can you find songs like ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)‘ or ‘Ode to a Koala Bear‘?” he writes. “So, when my team suggested we put out this box of 45s, one of my hopes was that both sides of the record will be of interest to you.”

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“Last day”: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ teases Ellen Pompeo’s exit on February 23

“Last day”: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ teases Ellen Pompeo’s exit on February 23
“Last day”: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ teases Ellen Pompeo’s exit on February 23
ABC/Mike Rosenthal

ABC has released a tease of star and executive producer Ellen Pompeo‘s final episode as a series regular on Grey’s Anatomy. It will air when the long-running drama returns February 23.

“Last day,” her Dr. Meredith Grey says in the clip, which also shows her Grey Sloan colleagues toasting her.

“Meredith leaves Seattle to begin again,” a legend in the spot reads.

Thursday night’s episode saw Meredith emailing her letter of resignation; viewers previously learned she is bound for a new opportunity in Boston.

Pompeo had agreed to appear in eight episodes this 19th season; Deadline notes the February 23 episode will be the seventh, and she’s expected to return for the finale. She also may appear in future episodes, the trade explains, as well as contribute to the show’s voice-overs.

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Motörhead mourns “Lemmy’s old bandmate,” Hawkwind’s Nik Turner

Motörhead mourns “Lemmy’s old bandmate,” Hawkwind’s Nik Turner
Motörhead mourns “Lemmy’s old bandmate,” Hawkwind’s Nik Turner
Lemmy, left, and Nik Turner, right; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Before Lemmy founded Motörhead, he was famously a member of the “space rock” band Hawkwind — in fact, he named his new band after the last song he wrote for Hawkwind before they fired him in 1975. 

The official Motörhead Twitter shared the news Friday that a member of Hawkwind whose time overlapped with Lemmy’s has died. 

“We lost Lemmy’s old bandmate Nik Turner today,” the account tweeted. “Play some Hawkwind nice and loud! Brainstorm here we go!”

Multi-instrumentalist Turner died at home Thursday night, according to a post on his Facebook page. He was 82. Turner played saxophone and flute in Hawkwind, and wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s famous songs, including “Brainstorm” and “Master of the Universe.”

Turner had two stints in the band: from 1969 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1985. In between and afterward, he released many solo albums and collaborative projects, the most recent being 2019’s Final Frontier.

Referring to Turner as “The [Mighty] Thunder Rider,” the Facebook post noted, “He has moved onto the next phase of his Cosmic Journey, guided by the love of his family, friends and fans. Watch this space for his arrangements.”

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Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton says accuracy of scenes in ‘The Crown’ left him “shaken”

Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton says accuracy of scenes in ‘The Crown’ left him “shaken”
Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton says accuracy of scenes in ‘The Crown’ left him “shaken”
Netflix

Andrew Morton, the journalist who wrote the tell-all book Diana: Her True Story, said watching his time with the late Princess Diana being portrayed on the new season of The Crown left him shaken.

Morton wrote his 1992 bestselling book with the cooperation of the princess of Wales, who sent him audio recordings so that he could tell her story.

In the fifth season of The Crown, airing now on Netflix, Diana, portrayed by actress Elizabeth Debicki, is seen recording answers to Morton’s interview questions at her Kensington Palace home.

“When you see Diana talking, you’re really seeing what happened, and she’s using many of the words which she sent to me through tape recordings,” Morton told Good Morning America, explaining he consulted on the episode that featured his collaboration with Diana.

Watching the show “left me breathless … I don’t say this very often, but I was shaken,” Morton says.

The Crown season 5 focuses on the family’s modern history, including the marital troubles between Diana and King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales.

The couple officially divorced in 1996. Charles would go on to marry Camilla, now the queen consort.

Diana died in a car crash on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36, while fleeing the paparazzi in Paris.

Morton said of watching the show, “What I didn’t realize at the time was [Diana’s] sense of isolation, her sense of despair inside the royal system.”

In a first this season, Netflix added a disclaimer to its trailer for The Crown amid criticism from some, including actress Judi Dench, who accused the show of “crude sensationalism.”

The disclaimer added by Netflix reads in part, “… this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”

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Yungblud says he can’t relate to Arctic Monkeys and The 1975

Yungblud says he can’t relate to Arctic Monkeys and The 1975
Yungblud says he can’t relate to Arctic Monkeys and The 1975
ABC/Randy Holmes

Yungblud says he can’t relate to “older” bands like Arctic Monkeys and The 1975.

The 25-year-old Gen Zer explains to Rolling Stone UK that he feels “a generation apart” from these artists.

“When I look at The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys, they’re such a different generation to me,” he says. “When they speak, they’re profound now. I don’t want to be profound yet, I want to be on the f****** tarmac, on the ground.”

“I love Matty [Healy] and I love Alex [Turner] but I don’t relate to them as much as I used to,” he adds. “They’re older and it’s all very serious.”

Yungblud says there’s a “big difference” between him and these artists: “Different brains, different way of communicating.”

As for artists he can relate to, Yungblud names Mac Miller, Billie Eilish, Lil Peep and Lil Nas X. “That’s where my head is at,” he says.

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Maddie & Tae explain the song Maddie Font was scared to share on ‘Through the Madness Vol. 2’

Maddie & Tae explain the song Maddie Font was scared to share on ‘Through the Madness Vol. 2’
Maddie & Tae explain the song Maddie Font was scared to share on ‘Through the Madness Vol. 2’
ABC

Maddie & Tae’s Through the Madness Vol. 2 rounds out a 16-song musical chapter that the duo began in January with Vol. 1 of the project, and its songs mark a new step in their evolution as artists and songwriters.

But some growth is painful, and the band’s Maddie Font admits there was one song on Vol. 2 that she initially didn’t want to release.

“‘These Tears’ was one that I really did not even want to share with our A&R,” the singer explains to Kelleigh Bannen during a new installment of Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music Country.

“I was hiding it because we had written it and I was fresh out of therapy getting into my childhood stuff that I needed to work through,” Maddie continues. She and bandmate Taylor Dye wrote the song with co-writers Laura Veltz and Jonathan Green.

The song describes letting tears from old wounds flow, years after the fact — and Maddie strongly considered keeping the painful track to herself. But her duo partner ultimately pushed her to change her mind.

“We were just in the moment and Tae’s like, ‘You’ve got to play this.’ And so we did,” she recounts. “And it ended up on the record and I was so terrified.”

When she heard the finished product, though, Maddie knew she’d made the right decision. “It’s almost like my younger self is saying, ‘Thank you for doing that,’” she concludes.

 

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Lizzo named “The People’s Champion” for upcoming People’s Choice Awards

Lizzo named “The People’s Champion” for upcoming People’s Choice Awards
Lizzo named “The People’s Champion” for upcoming People’s Choice Awards
ABC

Lizzo is ending her 2022 on an even higher note, adding yet another award to her trophy case. The powerhouse singer has been named “The People’s Champion” and will receive the honor at the People’s Choice Awards.

The announcement was made on Friday as the organization laid out why Lizzo earned this year’s high honor. The PCAs highlighted her philanthropy, activism and how she uses her platform to promote positivity. Moreover, the organization saluted Lizzo’s work in championing diversity and inclusivity for all — regardless of race, gender, size or sexual orientation.

Of course, Lizzo will also be celebrated for her contributions to music and television. 

She now joins previous recipients Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonTyler PerryP!nk and Bryan Stevenson.

The singer will collect her honor on December 6 and could bring home up to five additional trophies that night.  Lizzo has been nominated for Female Artist of 2022, Song of 2022 for “About Damn Time,” Album of 2022 for Special, Social Celebrity of 2022 and Competition Show of 2022 — the latter for her Amazon series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.

It should be noted her reality show earned her an Emmy Award, which means she is officially halfway to EGOT status.

The 2022 People’s Choice Awards will be broadcast live from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday, December 6, at 9 p.m. on NBC and E!.

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Hear a cappella version of “All This Is That” from The Beach Boys’ new box set ‘Sail On Sailor – 1972’

Hear a cappella version of “All This Is That” from The Beach Boys’ new box set ‘Sail On Sailor – 1972’
Hear a cappella version of “All This Is That” from The Beach Boys’ new box set ‘Sail On Sailor – 1972’
Capitol Records/UMe

The Beach Boys have released another advance track from their upcoming box set Sail On Sailor – 1972, available on December 2.

This time, it’s a previously unheard a cappella version of “All This Is That,” which features just the vocals of Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and Mike Love — who also co-wrote the track.

“All This Is That,” inspired by the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” and by the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, originally appeared on the 1972 album Carl and the Passions – “So Tough.”

As previously reported, Sail On Sailor – 1972 examines the transformative period in The Beach Boys’ history during which they released that year’s Carl and the Passions and 1973’s Holland. It’s available in several configurations, including a six-CD Super Deluxe Edition that includes an entire unreleased live concert recorded at Carnegie Hall on Thanksgiving 1972.

Out of the 105 tracks in the package, 80 are previously unreleased and include rarities like unreleased outtakes, live recordings, radio promos, alternate versions, alternate mixes, isolated backing tracks and a cappella versions.

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Pierce the Veil announces new album, ‘The Jaws of Life’

Pierce the Veil announces new album, ‘The Jaws of Life’
Pierce the Veil announces new album, ‘The Jaws of Life’
Fearless Records

Pierce the Veil has announced their first new album in six years.

The Jaws of Life, their follow-up to 2016’s Misadventures, is due out February 10. The band also released a new song off the album, “Emergency Contact.”

“There’s so much desperation underlying the lyrics of this song,” frontman Vic Fuentes says in a statement shared with Kerrang. “It talks about a relationship where one person is ready to take things to the next level while the other is still unsure. One person is begging the other to either move forward or to let them out because being stuck in the middle is torture.”

Fuentes says he wrote the song in Seattle, a special place for him. “I love writing in Seattle because it gives me all of the ’90s grunge rock vibes,” he says. “Plus, it rains all the time, and I love the rain.”

As for the new album, he says it brought the band closer than they’ve ever been.

The Jaws Of Life is about how life can sink its teeth into you and try to devour you,” he says, according to Kerrang. “The negativity in the world and within your mind can be a vicious thing. We’re extremely grateful for this record, our fans, and the opportunity to play live music again.”

Here is the track list:

“Death of an Executioner”
“Pass the Nirvana”
“Even When I’m Not With You”
“Emergency Contact”
“Flawless Execution”
“The Jaws of Life”
“Damn the Man, Save the Empire”
“Resilience”
“Irrational Fears” (Interlude)
“Shared Trauma”
“So Far So Fake”
“Fractures”

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