Hip-Hop Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Kneecap and Sprints are the latest artists to announce their withdrawal from this year’s South By Southwest Festival in solidarity with Palestine.The Irish artists join the likes of Lambrini Girls, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom and Squirrelflower in pulling out of performing at the festival due to the event’s association with the US army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Palestine conflict.The annual music, culture and arts showcase takes place in Austin, Texas from March 12-14.Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap shared in a statement yesterday (March 10) that their decision to not perform was made “in solidarity with the people of Palestine”.They also highlighted the “unacceptable deep links” the festival had to the US army – which is a “super sponsor” of the event – and defence contractor RTX Corporation, which has supplied weapons to Israel.The group added that the US military and other platformed weapons companies who are “at this very moment are enabling a genocide and famine against a trapped population”.The band continued that their decision would have a “significant financial impact” on them, but that it wasn’t “an iota of hardship when compared with the unimaginable suffering being inflicted every minute of every day on the people of Gaza”.A post shared by KNEECAP (@kneecap32)Kneecap also cited the platforming of collins Aerospace and BAE Systems as a reason for their boycott, adding that collectively with RTX, the companies were selling the weapons that have “murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children”.Sprints made their own statement this morning (March 11) in which they announced their withdrawal, writing: “In solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a stand against the US Army

Kneecap have made their explosive US TV debut performing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – watch it below.The Belfast hip-hop trio appeared on The Tonight Show to rap their latest single ‘Sick In The Head’, taken off their upcoming debut album ‘Fine Art’. It is set to drop on June 14 via Heavenly Recordings and was produced by Toddla T.The band – consisting of Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí – also shared a pro-Palestine statement, writing: “If you’ve just started following us because of our appearance on The Tonight Show – welcome a chairde (friends).“Tonight was a pre-record performance, which meant our ability to make a statement on current events was not possible.

Every Friday, The FADER's writers dive into the most exciting new projects released that week. Today, read our thoughts on Tony Shhnow's Out The Woods, Kim Gordon's The Collective, Bolis Pupul's Letter To Yu, and more.

Ice–T has hit out at Keir Starmer after the rapper fell for a fake online interview with the Labour leader.On Wednesday (March 6), the parody X/Twitter account Women For Wes – named after Labour politician Wes Streeting – shared a section of an interview allegedly given by Starmer.In the caption, WFW wrote: “Labour leader Keir Starmer is facing backlash online after criticising Ice-T (@FINALLEVEL) in a magazine interview, describing the Law & Order star as ‘corrosive’ and someone whose online conduct may encite [sic] his followers to ‘seriously hurt’ others.”The politician was asked in the spoof article to provide an example of a public figure he found “corrosive” to society, particularly young people. He responded: “Ice-T.”The faux Starmer continued: “My son is fifteen.

In November, Tony Seltzer visited Atlanta for the first time, more for business than pleasure. He’d recently been in the studio with Bronx rapper MIKE, where the pair had recorded a song so good it planted the seed for their collaborative album Pinball, released just yesterday.

Dreamville of your dreams is here.On April 6-7, J. Cole expertly curated annual festival returns to Raleigh, NC’s Dorothea Dix Park for two action-packed days of Hip-Hop, R&B and good times.Headliners joining J.

Romy and Sampha have teamed up for a collaborative cover of André 3000‘s ‘Me & My (To Bury Your Parents)’ – listen below.The pair recorded a rendition of the former OutKast member and soloist’s song for the most recent edition of Sampha’s Apple Music 1 show ‘Wave Therapy’.Sampha spoke to Romy of The xx during a studio session when the latter was recording her debut solo album ‘Mid Air’, which was released last September. The two friends opened up about grief and the loss of their parents, as well as sharing the meanings behind particular songs.Additionally, they joined forces for a cover of André 3000’s emotional 2018 ballad ‘Me & My (To Bury Your Parents)’.In a statement, Sampha said: “That song really hit me deep as I’d already made my own song ‘No One Knows Me (Like The Piano)’ which was about my mother and there was times where I questioned releasing and writing a song that was so personal to me.“And hearing one of my favourite musicians meditate on his loss of losing his parents made me feel OK to express myself in this way.”He added: “Not necessarily everybody has to do but that’s how I felt like processing some of my grief, and I feel like Romy has been in a similar place so it was a special song to cover together.”In a four-star review of Sampha’s Mercury-winning debut album, 2017’s ‘Process’, NME described ‘No One Knows Me (Like The Piano)’ as the “saddest” track on the record.

Kid Cudi is on the pursuit of happiness…and a worldwide arena tour while he’s at it.The 40-year-old Hip-Hop icon, actor, fashion designer and filmmaker just announced he’s embarking on his North American ‘Insano Tour’ from June through August this year with special guests Pusha T, EARTHGANG and Jaden Smith.Along the way, the “Day ‘N Nite” rapper will drop into Newark’s Prudential Center on Wednesday, July 17 and New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, July 23.At all shows, fans can expect to hear cuts from Cudi’s recently released 21-track record that shares a name with the tour.“I think this album is a triumph,” Cudi told Zach Lowe in an interview.

Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday 2 Tour’ is hitting arenas all over North America with special guest Monica and painting the town(s) pink in the process.That includes major stops at Newark’s Prudential Center on Thursday, March 28, New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 30 and a pair of gigs at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Thursday, April 4 and Wednesday, May 1.Given the spectacle surrounding the tour — which includes elaborate pink sets, in-show costume changes, 30+ songs (!) and, yes, a bit of twerking as seen on Minaj’s Instagram — some tickets are surprisingly cheap.At the time of publication, we found seats going for as low as $48 before fees on Vivid Seats.Other concerts have tickets starting anywhere from $53 to $241 before fees.Curious how much it will cost to hear “Super Freaky Girl,” “Anaconda,” that famous verse from “Monster” as well as all the hits from the new record and more live in your city?You’re in the right place, future Gag City residents.We’ve got all the information you’re looking for and more about Nicki Minaj’s 2024 ‘Pink Friday 2 Tour’ below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete calendar including all North American tour dates, venues and links to buy ‘Pink Friday 2 Tour’ tickets can be found here:(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout.)Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign — are hosting ‘Vultures 1 Listening Experience’ concerts at Phoenix’s Footprint Center on Sunday, March 10 and San Francisco’s Chase Center on Tuesday, March 12.At the shows, fans can expect to be treated to the duo’s controversial new, chart-topping “Vultures” album “in a high-fidelity audio and visual showcase, crafted by Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign,” according to a press release.That’s not all, though.In addition to upsetting, controversial moments at past “Listening Experiences” — while wearing a Jason Voorhees mask, West delivered the lyric “And I’m still crazy, bipolar, anti-Semite.

Drake is going out with a bang.The Hip-Hop superstar, currently on his ‘Big as the What? Tour’ with J. Cole, just announced he’s going to conclude the nationwide trek by co-headlining back-to-back concerts with Lil Wayne and Lil Durk at Newark’s Prudential Center on Thursday, April 4 and Friday, April 5.These shows will be Drake’s first in the Garden State since he performed at Holmdel’s PNC Bank Arts Center back in August 2014.Prior to the pair of Jersey shows, Champagne Papi, Lil Wayne and Lil Durk are slated to share the stage at Belmont Park, NY’s UBS Arena on Friday, March 29.As of now, tickets are available for all three spring concerts.Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster for the Prudential Center concerts until Friday, March 8, fans who want to ensure they have tickets ahead of time can purchase on sites like Vivid Seats before tickets are officially on sale.Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.At the time of publication, there’s no word on whether or not Weezy will join the Drake and Lil Durk for their Thursday, March 28 UBS Arena gig.J. Cole is not scheduled to join Drake for the NY and NJ shows.A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues, scheduled co-headliners and links to buy tickets can be found below.On top of the mini run with Drizzy, Lil Wayne has a number of gigs lined up this year as well.If you want to catch the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive” live, click here to see where he’ll be from March through July.At most concerts on his summer 2023 tour, Drake performed a

Ice Spice has expressed her love for Lana Del Rey, saying that she is “obsessed” with the singer-songwriter.The New York rapper spoke about Del Rey after being named Billboard‘s 2024 Women In Music Hitmaker, with previous winners including Charli XCX and Dolly Parton.When asked by the outlet to reveal some of her “favourite hit-makers of all time”, Ice Spice – real name Isis Naija Gaston – replied: “Well, first, shout out to them; they’re iconic, each in their own way.“I would say Lana Del Rey – I’m obsessed with her, and I feel like all of her songs are hits, even the ones that aren’t as big as the others. Rihanna, too. I have both [her and Del Rey’s] vinyls.

Drake promised to pay off the $160,000 mortgage of a fan’s late mother during a recent show.While performing at the T-Mobile Centre in Kansas City on Saturday (March 2) as part of his ‘It’s All A Blur Tour – Big As The What?’, a concert attendee on the front row passed the rapper a note, asking him to pay off his late mother’s house.“This is it? You said, ‘Pay off my mom’s house, rest in peace.’ Your mom passed away?” he asked the fan. “And you owe – Oh, this is the outstanding balance right here? It’s a lot of money right here, but you know what? I’m going to pay off your momma’s house for you.”He continued: “This is a lot of money right here! That’s 160 bands [$160,000], but I’m going to pay out of my pocket.

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (“Porsche”) and The FADER are returning to South by Southwest® (SXSW®) on the evening of March 9, with legendary rapper Common performing a special live set at Brazos Hall alongside 9th Wonder, plus a DJ set from Diamond Kuts.

When I hop on a Zoom call with Bear1Boss, he immediately notices the embarrassing amount of wrestling action figures displayed on the bedroom wall behind me. Like wrestling fans tend to do when they meet a fellow member of the tribe, we start debating our personal GOATs. Turns out we have the same favorite wrestler: CM Punk, the scrappy underdog from Chicago who swaggers to the ring to the massive riffs of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” and never backs down from a fight.

The Weeknd and Travis Scott joined producer Mike Dean onstage during his show in Los Angeles on Friday night (March 1) – check out the footage below.Dean played a 14-song gig at LA’s Wiltern Theatre, opening the set with ‘The Lure’ – his collaborative song with The Weeknd from the soundtrack to The Idol (per Setlist.FM).Later, The Weeknd – aka Abel Tesfaye – took to the stage to deliver a synthy cover version of ‘In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song)’ from the 1977 David Lynch film Eraserhead. He then assisted on a joint rendition of his unreleased cut ‘Take Me Back To LA’.Scott – who enlisted Dean to produce on all of his studio albums, including 2023’s ‘Utopia’ – joined Dean and The Weeknd to perform their collaborative track ‘Circus Maximus’.

Cardi B has said she is releasing her second album this year, telling fans that there are “100 songs” ready to go.Yesterday (March 1) saw the New York rapper return with a new single called ‘Like What (Freestyle)’, marking her first track of 2024. Later, she took to Instagram Stories to tease the much-delayed follow-up to 2018’s ‘Invasion Of Privacy’.“Look how long I’ve had this fucking record for,” Cardi explained as she scrolled through numerous files titled ‘Cunty’ on her computer.

Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song. L’Argent, the final film from French auteur Robert Bresson, doesn’t really have a main character: the title of the minimalist thriller translates bluntly to “Money.” Instead of a single protagonist, the film follows the journey of a forged Franc note from one hand to another, as the flow of capitalist economics connects people whose lives might otherwise never intersect.

Cardi B has dropped “Like What (Freestyle),” her first new song of 2024. The track samples Missy Elliott’s 1999 Da Real World track “She’s a Bitch,” and it arrives with a music video directed by her husband, Offset.

Cardi B has shared a brand-new single called ‘Like What (Freestyle)’ – you can listen to it below.The track, which marks the New York rapper’s first release of the year, contains a prominent sample of Missy Elliott’s 1999 single ‘She’s A Bitch’ from her album ‘Da Real World’.“Classy and a cunt/ Blocks and money gettin’ spunt/ Like, like what?/ Like a Coach bag, baby, this ain’t what you want/ If I ask for it, all I wanna hear is, ‘Yes’/ Bitch said she wanna be my opp, God bless,” Cardi raps in the first verse.‘Like What (Freestyle)’ is accompanied by an official video directed by Cardi’s husband Offset. The visuals see the star lounging around the pool at a mansion and participating in a photoshoot.At the end of the clip, we see the following message displayed onscreen: “This is just the beginning… stay tuned.” Watch here:Fans continue to await official news on Cardi’s yet-to-be-announced second album following numerous delays.

Donna Summer has sued Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign for the alleged illegal use of ‘I Feel Love’ on their collaborative album ‘Vultures 1’.According to the Associated Press, the copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, California yesterday (February 27) by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano in his role as executor of the estate.The suit alleges that representatives of West had asked permission to use the 1977 song on the track ‘Good (Don’t Die)’. However, it claims they were rejected because the Summer estate “wanted no association with West’s controversial history”.Sudano claims that West and Ty then approached Summer’s record label, Universal Music Enterprises, in a bid to be granted permission, but the label also denied their request.Ye and Ty have been accused of “shamelessly” including re-recorded parts of the hit that were “instantly recognisable” on the ‘Vultures 1’ cut.The suit states: “In the face of this rejection, defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission.”The lawsuit names both West and Ty as defendants, as well as Yeezy Record Label, LLC, the company Yzy Snd, and 10 Does.

21 Savage is returning to the stage.The 31-year-old British rapper just announced his ‘American Dream Tour’ — which shares a name with his recently released album — alongside special guests J.I.D., Nardo Wick, and 21 Lil Harold that will send them to venues all over the U.S. and Canada this May and June.Midway through the run, the Grammy winning artist is scheduled to swing into Queens, NY’s Governors Ball Music Festival on June 8 and Camden, NJ’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on June 9.While 21 Savage has co-headlined with Drake and J.

Late last year, Evilgiane was sitting in a New York recording studio waiting for an artist to show up. He wasn’t the only one — the label arranging the session had four other producers on deck.

Kanye West and and daughter North West performed ‘TALKING’ together during the recent Paris ‘Vultures’ Listening Experience. Watch footage below.Earlier this month, West and Ty Dolla $ign released the long-awaited first instalment of their ongoing collaborative ‘Vultures’ album trilogy.

Earlier this month RiTchie of By Storm (FKA Injury Reserve) shared his first solo single. The track wasn't a one-off, with news today that the rapper's debut album Triple Digits [112] will be released on April 5.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of a lawsuit filed by music producer Rodney Jones Jr., the New York Times reports. Jones, who is also known as Lil Rod, alleges that Combs subjected him to sexual assault, grooming, and improper payment while they worked on last year's The Love Album. Diddy, via his lawyer, denies all claims.

Diddy’ Combs has been sued by a male producer who worked on his most recent album, with accusations of sexual assault and harassment.The suit was filed in federal court in New York on Monday (February 26), and accuses Combs of forcing him to have sex with prostitutes, in addition to claims that the hip-hop mogul drugged and threatened him for over a year.The producer, named as Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, says in the lawsuit that he lived and travelled with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, and produced nine songs on Combs’ recent record ‘The Love Album: Off The Grid’.Among the claims is that Combs made him solicit prostitutes and pressured him to engage in sex acts with them. He also claimed that Combs gave laced alcoholic drinks to people at his house.The lawsuit includes claims of screenshots from gatherings at Combs’ homes where underage girls and sex workers were present, some of whom he said were provided with laced drinks.

Kid Cudi has revealed that he will be taking a break from making music for a year to focus on his film and television career.January saw the Ohio rapper release his 10th studio album ‘INSANO’– a more trap-inspired record that included verses from Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, DJ Drama, Pharrell and Travis Scott – before he dropped the LP’s sequel ‘INSANO (Nitro Mega)’ last week; taking a more experimental and alternative route assisted by the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Layzie and Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony and Pusha T. The two records mark Cudi’s final albums as part of his Republic Records deal.Shortly after the release of ‘Nitro Mega’, Cudi took to X/Twitter to tell fans he would be taking a break from music and to expect new music “every other year.””“My next album is already about 80 per cent done, and it’ll be out in 2026,” he wrote.

Free Nationals have returned with their first new music since 2020 in the form of the single ‘Gangsta’, featuring Anderson .Paak and A$AP Rocky – check out the video below.The free-flowing, jazz-flavoured track sees the Californian R&B and funk group reunite with .Paak, for whom they have often appeared live as the backing band. It is the first time that they have appeared on record together with Rocky.Check out the video for the single below, which sees the band, .Paak and Rocky portrayed by kids who are being forced to defend themselves in court.The band are expected to release more music in 2024, with the possibility of a second studio album, to follow up their self-titled debut in 2019.

Snoop Dogg has teamed up with media personality and comedian Druski for a new comedy song called ‘Standin’ On Bihness’.The Instagram blog The Shaderoom dropped a snippet of the music video, showing Druski and Snoop sporting black and white checkered shirts while rapping menacingly over a modern trap beat. They can be seen getting rappers to sign dubious contracts and dancing around a dark basketball court.Snoop Dogg’ rapped about signing to Coulda Been Records: “Ten toes down, no woulda been / Back in the hood again, bitch this Coulda Been / Sign on the dotted line / 1 per cent is yours, 99 is mine / Coulda Been House – one by one, all you n****s getting kicked out.”The music video for the song is one of the many skits in Druski’s upcoming mockumentary-style reality show, Coulda Been House – which sees the comedian as the CEO of the record label Coulda Been Records (a parody of Birdman‘s Cash Money Records) and inviting a group of aspiring rappers to complete challenges to win $50,000 (£39,430.50) and a contract with the label.The DMV star shared the trailer for the web series earlier this month which heavily featured Snoop talking to the contestants, trying to convince them to sign to his label Death Row Records – which Dogg acquired in 2022 – over Coulda Been Records.