genius.com - 1 121 Showbiz News and Updates

Drake has been dropping hints about his next album for over a year now, and it finally feels like we’re closer than ever to a release date. In a recent Instagram Live appearance with Diddy, Drizzy divulged some more about his headspace while working on the project and how the COVID-19 pandemic has given him more time to focus on his music.

Earlier this week on April 8, Third Eye Blind celebrated the 22nd anniversary of their self-titled debut studio album.

Netflix’s crime drama, Ozark, recently returned to the streaming service for its third season. Jason Bateman stars as Marty Byrde, a financial advisor who gets involved with a Mexican drug cartel and is forced to relocate his family to the Lake of the Ozarks region of central Missouri.

Swizz Beats and Timbaland’s Verzuz series has drawn some of hip-hop’s biggest names into head-to-head battles, and the latest participants are RZA and DJ Premier. Two of rap’s most accomplished producers, the artists are facing off with the production from some of their biggest hits.

Green Day’s 2020 album, Father of All… (aka Father of All Motherf*ckers), includes nods to several classic rock songs. “Stab You In the Heart” takes the inspiration to another level by interpolating Little Richard’s 1995 classic, “Tutti Frutti.”

While the coronavirus epidemic is upending traditional music industry release schedules, it’s sent some artists into creative mode. ​twenty one pilots recently shared their take on the epidemic with “Level of Concern.” The track finds Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun creating a song and music video from scratch while in quarantine.

“The Hills” remains one of the biggest hits of The Weeknd’s career, sitting at 11x Platinum certification after peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. While the final product was a smash, The Weeknd revealed in a new Variety interview that it went through an extensive revision process after a SoundCloud snippet blew up.

Dua Lipa and The Weeknd’s latest projects, Future Nostalgia and After Hours, both contain songs that evoke nostalgia of the 1980s. From Dua Lipa’s “Physical” to The Weeknd’s “In Your Eyes,” the synths and rhythm call back to the dance floors of queer clubs of color from the late ‘70s and '80s. Genius spoke to Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan from Vox’s Switched On Pop podcast to break down why it’s possible for a song to capture the sound of a generation.

Selena Gomez has often drawn from her own life when writing her music, but there are some specific details on her new song, “Souvenir,” that go beyond your ordinary autobiographical gestures. The song appears to reference several moments in her past relationship with The Weeknd, pointing to specific locations in New York City, Los Angeles, and more.

Alicia Keys‘ hook on JAY-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” helped the Brooklyn rapper earn his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100, but the collaboration had some roadblocks along the way. In an interview with Beats 1’s Ebro Darden, the New York singer opened up about how she almost missed out on the opportunity and added that she also had to re-record her vocals on the track.

TikTok, which rose from the ashes of other short-form video apps like Vine and Musical.ly, is now one of Gen Z’s preferred platforms for funny memes and dance challenges. But as the app’s user base has grown, it has inadvertently become a place for music discovery, boosting the popularity of songs both within the TikTok ecosystem and outside of it as well.

One of the few bright spots during the COVID-19 pandemic has been watching the rise of Verzuz, the series of battles that started on March 24 when Swizz Beatz and Timbaland had an impromptu beat contest on Instagram Live. Since then, the superproducers have been hard at work pitting more producers and songwriters against each other in matchups that have delighted thousands of fans.

Baby Smoove has become one of the breakout stars of Detroit’s underground rap scene. On today’s episode of Verified, which premiered exclusively on Apple Music, Baby Smoove breaks down “Akorn,” the ode to lean that put him on the map.

On his new song, “Letter to the City 2,” Canadian rapper Tory Lanez takes the opportunity to address his issues with Interscope Records while borrowing a line from his former foe Drake. It appears on Tory’s latest album, The New Toronto 3, which marks his final release on the label.

Tory Lanez is known for being very confident in his own skills, not unlike Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor. Considering their similarities, it’s no surprise that McGregor’s voice shows up on Lanez’s latest album, The New Toronto 3. Tory uses one of McGregor’s infamous post-match speeches as the intro to the project’s third song, “Stupid Again.”

When The Weeknd set his release date for After Hours, he couldn’t have imagined the viral pandemic the world would soon be facing. Despite the looming uncertainty, however, he never thought about pushing back the project’s release—even though his team and label wanted him to.

Selena Gomez just released the deluxe edition of her third album, Rare, which comes three months after the original version. On April 7, she announced its release with an Instagram post revealing the new cover art that shows off her Rare-inspired neck tattoo.

The Strokes‘ comeback album, The New Abnormal, features cover art that might be familiar to Jean-Michel Basquiat fans. It contains a portion of the late artist’s 1981 painting, Birds on Money.

Less than six months after he dropped Chixtape 5, Tory Lanez is back with his new album, The New Toronto 3. It’s set to serve as his final release on Interscope after recent issues with the label.

The Strokes are back with The New Abnormal. The New York City rock band’s sixth studio album is produced by Rick Rubin and marks the group’s first full-length release in seven years.

Jack Harlow has been all over the internet this year after his hit, “WHATS POPPIN,” took over TikTok. He’s been in the rap game for a minute, and as his career has grown, his fans have devoured every song he drops.

Selena Gomez just released the deluxe edition of her third album, Rare, which comes three months after the original version. On April 7, she announced its release with an Instagram post revealing the new cover art that shows off her Rare-inspired neck tattoo.

In his new Variety cover story, The Weeknd reflected on the success of his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, pointing to Usher’s 2012 single, “Climax,” as an example of the project’s influence on R&B. The comment sparked a widespread debate on social media (and an indirect response from Usher), and now “Climax” producer Diplo has weighed in to confirm that he drew inspiration from House of Balloons.

Singer-songwriter Ed Maverick’s “Fuentes de Ortiz” is a breakout hit, racking up millions of views on YouTube and Genius. On today’s episode of Verified, which premiered exclusively on Apple Music, Ed Maverick explains how he fuses norteño influences with indie rock to create his unique sound.

Future recently announced his eighth studio album, Life is Good. It follows a recent flurry of singles highlighted by the Drake-assisted title track, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year.

Open Mic has seen a ton of amazing rap performances. Today, Genius is counting down the Top 10 rap performances from the series. From Ashnikko and Yung Baby Tate’s high-energy “STUPID,” to Denzel Curry’s impressive performance of “RICKY,” here’s a roundup of the top rap performances we’ve seen on the show.

Rod Wave just dropped his new album, Pray 4 Love, but it’s a song from mid-2019 that’s burning up the charts for him. The St. Petersburg, Fla. singer earned his first Top 40 hit this week with “Heart on Ice,” a song that he first dropped in May 2019 as a single for his album, PTSD. Nearly one year later, it’s introducing him to a whole new audience after blowing up thanks to a live performance going viral and a little help from TikTok.

Future’s 2015 mixtape, 56 Nights, is now available on all streaming services. The joint project with DJ ESCO was previously available on TIDAL under Esco’s name.

Before dropping her debut album, Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez had already released a platinum single, nabbed a Grammy nomination, and worked with artists like Calvin Harris. Her years of work finally culminated in her official debut, BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US, which arrived on March 27.

Detroit legend Eminem is known for more than just his bars. The hip-hop veteran isn’t afraid to show humor along with emotion in his music and his videos. Early hits like “My Name Is” showcased his sense of humor with memorable costumes ranging from Bill Clinton to Marilyn Manson, which provoked both praise and criticism from fans and rivals alike.