Young Thug says he’s got quite a lot to say, and will possibly do so on an upcoming album.
The Atlanta rapper teased new music by sharing cover art on Instagram and asking of fans, “y’all ready??” In the image, Young Thug is seen shirtless, with his eyes shut and covered in what looks to be blood painting his face, neck and chest.
“These past few weeks gave me so much to talk bout..,” he captioned the post.
Fans immediately speculated that Thug would address the murder of LaKevia Jackson, the mother of the 14-year-old son the two share. Jackson was reportedly killed as a result of an argument over a bowling ball.
Young Thug has yet to speak publicly on the incident, though a suspect was arrested earlier this month in connection with last month’s shooting.
A week prior to the tragic news, Young Thug and his rap sidekick, Gunna, were featured as Billboard cover stars for their recent music achievements and influence on rap.
Keith Urban has long been open about his past struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, and he says he harbors no ill feelings toward his past.
In a candid interview with British newspaper, The Times, the Australian native shares how his father was an alcoholic and it took him a while to admit that he also had a problem, until he entered rehab in 1998.
“I realized I’m allergic to it. Someone said, ‘You have an allergy? What happens when you drink?’ And I said, ‘I break out in cuffs,'” Keith describes. “I don’t talk a lot about it because I love my audience being able to just come and have a great time. I’ve nothing against drugs or alcohol. Everyone does what they want to do to have a great time.”
Soon after Keith and Nicole Kidman married in 2006, the country star went back into treatment at the Betty Ford Center, later learning how to live in the world without being dependent on substances — a fact that didn’t impact the way he made music.
“I’m glad it didn’t change anything about my music. I wrote plenty of hit songs while drunk. I wrote plenty sober. I feel lucky it hasn’t defined my creativity,” Keith says.
The superstar is currently climbing the charts with his single, “Wild Hearts.”
Milky Chance has released an acoustic version of the band’s debut album, Sadnecessary.
“It’s been almost 10 years since we put Sadnecessary out,” says vocalist Clemens Rehbein. “Recording these songs in a different acoustic version felt like going through an old photo box with tons of memories and had quite the nostalgic feel.”
Originally released in the duo’s native Germany in 2013 before arriving stateside in 2014, Sadnecessary spawned Milky Chance’s breakout hit, “Stolen Dance,” as well as the single “Flash Junk Mind.”
You can listen to Sadnecessary Acoustic now via digital outlets.
Last month, Milky Chance released a new song called “Synchronize,” which follows their 2021 single “Colorado.” Their most recent album is 2019’s Mind the Moon.
Courtesy Trafalgar Releasing & Sony Music Entertainment
George Michael‘s final artistic statement, a documentary called George Michael Freedom Uncut, will debut in theaters worldwide on June 22.
The autobiographical documentary is narrated by the late star, who died in 2016. It focuses on the period after the release of his Faith album made him a global superstar, through the time following the release of his 1990 follow up Listen Without Prejudice: Vol 1.
The film shows how, during that time, George fought for his artistic freedom, met his first love, Anselmo Feleppa, and lived through Feleppa’s death from an AIDS-related illness, as well as the loss of his mother.
The movie features “exclusive, personal archive footage,” as well as never-before-seen footage from George’s iconic video for “Freedom! ’90.” The supermodels who starred in that video, including Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, appear in the documentary, as do Elton John, Stevie Wonder, James Corden, Ricky Gervais, Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier.
Freedom Uncut also features “timeless duets with George’s favorite artists,” and “explores how he influenced the cultural landscape,” according to a press release.
Avril Lavigne threw one heck of an engagement party. The “Love It When You Hate Me” singer is set to wed boyfriend Mod Sun, who proposed earlier this month in Paris.
Paris was the theme of the lovebirds’ engagement party, according to Avril’s Instagram Story. The two wore matching hot pink outfits — complete with berets — to their fancy outing, which boasted a table-running centerpiece of hot pink roses, green skull replicas and multicolored mini Eiffel Towers.
It appears berets were mandatory: a video of the impressive spread showed everyone at the table wearing the Parisian accessory.
As for food, the duo opted for a non-alcoholic drink to symbolize their love, offering guests lattes with their proposal picture etched in the foam. Machine Gun Kelly was among the guests and shared a snap of the fancy latte to his story, captioning it “Congrats f***ers.”
Guests dined on classic steak frites, sweet corn agnolotti, butter lettuce and endive salad, and roasted Dover sole meunière for the main course.
Those attending were also able to snack on “an array of Parisian delights,” according to Mod’s photo of the menu. He shared a snap of the offerings to his story, showing off a mountain of macarons, fruit tarts, eclairs and other mouth-watering delicacies spread across a table covered in rose petals.
He also grabbed a shot of their multi-layered engagement cake, which was decorated in white icing and drizzled with lime green piping. It also proclaimed, “He asked. She said … YES!”
Mod dubbed it, “The most beautiful engagement party ever” and showed off a line of candles lighting the walkways.
He and Avril announced their engagement on April 7. It’s unknown when they plan to tie the knot.
The New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) has fined the producers of Alec Baldwin‘s Western Rust $136,793 as a result of their investigation into the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2022.
The agency issued a “Willful-Serious citation,” declaring that “Rust Movie Productions, LLC management knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action.”
Hutchins was killed and the director of the film, Joel Souza, was injured when a live round in a pistol aimed by Baldwin discharged during a rehearsal in a New Mexico church. The actor insists he was assured the firearm was “cold,” meaning safe to handle.
Investigators later found on the set a mix of live rounds, inert “dummy” rounds — which should have been loaded into the pistol — and blanks.
“Rust Movie Productions, LLC was cited for the plain indifference to the recognized hazards associated with the use of firearms on set that resulted in a fatality, severe injury, and unsafe working conditions,” the agency said in a press release. It also noted that the investigation into the shootings “encompassed 1,560 hours of staff time, 14 interviews, and review of 566 documents.”
New Mexico Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said in a statement, “Our investigation found that this tragic incident never would have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had followed national film industry standards for firearm safety,” and said producers demonstrated a “complete failure…to follow recognized national protocols that keep employees safe.”
In response to the OHSB report, Stefan Friedman, the attorney for Rust Movie Productions, noted, “While we appreciate OHSB’s time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Halyna’s family.”
Jason Bowles, the attorney for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, declared in a statement that the OHSB report found that his client “was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively, despite her voiced concerns.” The Bowles statement further asserted that the OHSB report concluded that producers “failed to call Hannah in to perform her armorer duties and inspect the firearm right before its use in the impromptu scene with Baldwin. As we have stated before, had anyone from Production called Hannah back into the church before the scene to consult with her, this tragedy would have been prevented.
Rust Movie Productions has 15 business days to pay the OHSB penalty and provide the agency with certification of corrective action, or they can contest the citation.
Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death suit in February against a number of parties, including Baldwin and the film’s production, alleging in part that reckless behavior and cost-cutting led to Hutchins’ death.
Sebastian Bach and Dream Theater members James LaBrie and John Petrucci are among many artists taking part in an upcoming tribute album to Rush.
The two-disc compilation, aptly titled An All-Star Tribute to Rush, will be released June 24. It consists of 27 covers of Rush classics, including “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight,” “Fly By Night,” “The Spirit of Radio” and “YYZ.”
Other artists participating include Deep Purple‘s Steve Morse, Testament‘s Alex Skolnick, Kip Winger, Great White‘s Jack Russell, former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee, and Dokken‘s George Lynch. Additionally, the album also features contributions from late Warrant vocalist Jani Lane.
If that’s not enough Rush tributes for you, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante is releasing his own Rush covers EP, which will be available this Saturday as part of Record Store Day.
Soul singer Giveon has new music on the way. He announced on Wednesday that his upcoming single, “Lie Again,” is set to be released on Friday, April 29.
Giveon shared the single’s cover art in an Instagram post — a blurred image of the singer who looks to be standing on a balcony, wearing a matching button down and pant ensemble — as well as the pre-save info.
The California native recently performed his 2020 RIAA-certified triple-Platinum hit “Heartbreak Anniversary” during weekend one of Coachella. He’s set to take the stage again this weekend for the second and final weekend of the annual music fest.
The last two years for Giveon have been full of musical success and chart-topping singles like his 2021 ballad, “For Tonight,” which he recently performed live, and also was the latest artist to be profiled by VEVO’s Lift.
Wet Leg has announced a batch of North American headlining dates.
The newly added shows begin August 2 in Toronto, and run into September. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 22, at 10 a.m. local time.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit WetLegBand.com.
In addition to the headlining dates, Wet Leg will be playing a number of festivals this year, including Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and Life Is Beautiful. In October, they’ll play a run of dates opening for Florence + the Machine, followed by a trip to Australia in support of Harry Styles in February 2023.
Wet Leg released their self-titled debut album earlier this month. It includes the breakout single “Chaise Longue.”
Black Stone Cherry has announced a new live album called Live from the Royal Albert Hall…Y’All.
The record, which captures the Kentucky rockers’ 2021 set at the historic London venue, will be released June 24. You can watch the performance of the song “Ringin’ in My Head” streaming now on YouTube.
The Blu-ray release of Live from the Royal Albert Hall will also feature interviews with the band members, and archival footage of their first U.K. tour.
Black Stone Cherry’s most recent studio album is 2020’s The Human Condition.
Here’s the track list for Live from the Royal Albert Hall…Y’All:
“Me and Mary Jane”
“Burnin'”
“Again”
“Yeah Man”
“In My Blood/Island Jam”
“Ringin’ in My Head”
“Like I Roll”
“Cheaper to Drink Alone”
“Hell and High Water”
“Soulcreek”
“Devil’s Queen”
“Drum Solo”
“Things My Father Said”
“In Love with the Pain”
“Blind Man”
“Blame It on the Boom Boom”
“White Trash Millionaire”
“Lonely Train”
“Peace Is Free”
