‘Guns Have More Rights Than Women,’ Says Taraji P. Henson; Janelle Monae Shouts ‘F— You Supreme Court’ at BET Awards

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCindy Blackman Santana said that her husband Carlos is “doing very well” after he passed out onstage during a concert earlier this week.The veteran guitarist was performing at the Pine Knob Music Theatre outside of Detroit on Tuesday night when he collapsed in mid-song due to heat exhaustion and dehydration, his rep later explained. He was immediately treated by medical personnel and waved to fans as he was wheeled offstage and taken to a nearby hospital.“Hi Everyone! Carlos & I thank you so much for your prayers, love, care & concern for him!,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday “Please know that he’s resting and doing very well! He was diagnosed with heat exhaustion & dehydration… it was 100 degrees on stage and 114 under the lights so that coupled with not enough water is what caused the issue.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorManny Charlton, founding guitarist of the hard rock band Nazareth and producer of Guns N’ Roses early demos, has died, according to a post from his grandson. No cause of death was cited; he was 80.He was Nazareth’s guitarist, producer and songwriter from the band’s formation until 1990, performing on the band’s most successful albums, notably 1973’s “Razamanaz” and 1975’s “Hair of the Dog,” which went platinum and featured the group’s biggest hit, a dramatic cover of “Love Hurts,” originally made famous by the Everly Brothers, that reaced the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.In 1986, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose reportedly wanted “the guy who produced Nazareth’s ‘Hair of the Dog’” to produce the band’s debut full-length.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJohn Mayer — singer-songwriter, virtuoso guitarist, solo artist, member of Dead & Co and definitely the funniest speaker at Variety’s Hitmakers event last December — has signed with CAA in all areas globally.He has won seven Grammy Awards out of 19 nominations and since his 2001 debut album “Room for Squares”  has earned three No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, with the triple-platinum “Heavier Things” (2003), double-platinum “Battle Studies” (2009), and gold-certified “Born and Raised” (2012). He has sold an estimated 20 million-plus albums worldwide.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary hitmaker and 12-time Grammy winner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds  has signed with Capitol Records, the company announced Tuesday. His first project for the label will be “Girls’ Night Out,” which is described as “a sonic journey through love, heartbreak and all of the emotions in between” and features a number of top young female R&B singers, including Ella Mai, Queen Naija, Ari Lennox, Kehlani, Doechii and others.

The BET Awards on Sunday night (June 26) were a celebration of the invaluable work of Black artists everywhere, celebrating the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Latto, and Kendrick Lamar. They also became a platform for those creatives to make their voices heard, as many attendees used the stage to criticize the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe BET Awards are officially a celebration of “Black excellence,” and Sunday night’s show featured blockbuster performances from Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Latto, Jack Harlow (who was joined by Brandy and Lil Wayne) and an elaborate tribute to Lifetime Achievement honoree Sean “Diddy” Combs that included an unannounced in-person speech from Kanye West.But for the second time in three years, the show coincided with galvanizing events in the United States: In 2020, it was George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police and the ensuing the Black Lives Matter protests, and this year it was the Supreme Court’s polarizing overturn of Roe v. Wade and the impending loss of a woman’s right to choose in many states in the country.

Janelle Monáe spoke out against the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, flipping off the US Supreme Court in the process.In early May, leaked documents showed that the US Supreme Court voted privately to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that made abortion legal on a federal level.

Janelle Monae used the BET Awards to send a strong message to the Supreme Court following the recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

The stars are stepping out for the 2022 BET Awards!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOlivia Rodrigo used her set at England’s Glastonbury Festival to slam the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLizzo and Live Nation will donate $1 million from the singer’s upcoming “Special” tour to support abortion access groups, after the the Supreme Court’s galvanizing decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.“I’m pledging $500k from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights.

Jack Harlow, Lizzo and Chance The Rapper are among those set to perform at this year’s BET Awards ceremony, with the event’s full roster – sporting 27 performers and 25 presenters – being finalised yesterday (June 24).10 of those performers will appear as part of a tribute to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who will receive this year’s BET Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to Combs himself, the special performance will feature Mary J.

2022 BET Awards! On Thursday, the network released the names of the night's big performers taking the stage on Sunday, June 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The annual awards show will be hosted by Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress Taraji P. Henson for the second year in a row, and features an impressive lineup of musicians putting on their best moves for their fans.The star-studded list includes Lil Wayne, Babyface, Chance The Rapper, Chlöe, Doechii, Ella Mai, Fireboy DML, GIVĒON, Jack Harlow, Joey Bada$$, Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin, Latto, Lizzo, Muni Long, Roddy Ricch and more to be announced.Up-and-coming artists GoGo Morrow and OGI will also be gracing the BET Amplified Stage, getting BET Music's stamp of approval on the next big thing in music.Additionally, BET announced this year’s list of presenters, which includes Big Freedia, Bleu, Carl Anthony Payne II, Crystal Hayslett, Daniel Kaluuya, Ebony Obsidian, Eva Marcille, Idris Elba, Irv Gotti, Janelle Monáe, Keke Palmer, KJ Smith, Luke James, Marsai Martin, Mignon, Nene Leakes, Ne-Yo, Novi Brown, Ray J, Sanaa Lathan, Serayah, Tamar Braxton, Terrence J, Tisha Campbell and Will Packer.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe music industry’s return to whatever passes for normal these days has been hit and miss, to put it mildly: Grammy Week, Coachella, and the first publishers’ week in three years have seen an uneven balance of caution and carelessness — some events have a relatively high percentage of masks and distancing, some have hardly any at all, and at each one you hear tales of how severe someone’s bout with Covid was or wasn’t, and that someone else couldn’t make it because they suddenly tested positive.The “publishers week” we’re referring to is the usual combination of A2IM’s Indie Week conference, the National Music Publishers Association’s annual meeting, and the closer, the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is one of the most unique and memorable awards shows in the business — which is a parallel event to the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala in that it’s invite-only and features a number of once-in-a-lifetime performances. Not only is it the annual family reunion for the songwriting an publishing industry, over the years we’ve seen performances from  Neil Diamond, Drake, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Van Morrison, Cyndi Lauper, John Prine, Leon Russell, Elvis Costello and dozens of others, along with several completely unique homages: Lady Gaga singing Four Non-Blondes’ hit “What’s Up” to Linda Perry; Stevie Nicks belting “The Rose” to Bette Midler; Emmylou Harris performing Eric Clapton’s heartbreaking hit “Tears in Heaven” for the song’s co-writer Will Jennings; and one year, the evening ended with Billy Joel and Garth Brooks duetting at the piano in matching Stetson hats.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy Awards are one thing, but being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame is another matter — the inductees are decided by a relatively small group of songwriting and music-publishing peers and celebrated at an invite-only event, and it’s a tough crowd.It’s a sadly common assumption that female pop stars don’t write their own songs — even Taylor Swift, one of the greatest and most distinctive songwriters of the past 25 years, is often greeted with skepticism. So for Mariah Carey — who was mocked in a widely shared meme when she made a statement beginning with the words “As a songwriter” — to be inducted is a big deal.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Grammys might be the most well-known music awards show in the world, but the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s ceremony is arguably the most unique. The invite-only event, being held June 16 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, and its awards honor the most important and yet most frequently overlooked people in the music business — the songwriter, duh — and it resembles a cross between the Grammys and an annual family reunion for the tight-knit songwriting and music-publishing community.At each ceremony, superstars receiving honors frequently tell the room that the accolade means more to them than any other award they’ve received, because it’s an endorsement and a validation from their peers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFoo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins’ family have announced the first round of performers for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert scheduled to take place in London in September.Performers include a mix of the late drummer’s friends and influences: Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, Oasis’ Liam Gallagher, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, Supergrass and Mark Ronson are on the bill, with comedian Dave Chappelle billed as a special guest.Also on the bill are Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Omar Hakim, Rufus Taylor (a Queen touring member), Wolfgang Van Halen, and Hawkins’ cover band Chevy Metal. The shows will benefit charities to be announced later, according to the band.