J. Cole Raps Over Drake’s ‘Pipe Down’ on Surprise New Song, ‘Heaven’s EP’

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLava for Good, the multimedia platform founded by Lava Records’ Jason Flom and Jeff Kempler, has announced a new slate of advocacy-oriented podcasts with the goal of “revealing underlying truths and amplifying the voices of contemporary social justice champions to inspire action towards a more informed, empathic and just society.”Founded and led by Flom and Kempler in association with Signal Co.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, Blackstone and Hipgnosis Song Management have launched a $1 billion partnership to invest in songs, recorded music, music IP and royalties, the companies announced Tuesday morning.

Demi Lovato is honoring their late friend. The 29-year-old singer took to Instagram on Saturday to announce the release of a new song, "Unforgettable (Tommy's Song)," in honor of their late pal, Thomas Trussell III, who died in 2019 after a battle with addiction.«Two years ago I lost someone who meant so much to me,» Lovato wrote alongside a snippet of the song.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter more than twenty years of horrifying and damning accusations, as of today R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJack White made sure the opening of his Third Man Records Store in London over the weekend was a memorable event, playing a special set for an invite-only audience in the store’s Blue Basement performance space before moving outside and rocking neighbors with a short set on artist Damien Hirst’s nearby balcony.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAtlanta rapper 21 Savage, the British born-artist who was arrested by ICE in 2019 for overstaying his visa, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday night on drug and weapons possession charges stemming from his earlier arrest. He was released on bond, his attorney confirmed to Variety.Savage (real name: She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was taken into custody by ICE during Grammy Week in February of 2019, which amplified awareness of his immigration status.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSome things never change, and nearly 40 years after they first formed, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are still goofballs.

J.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s set during the 1979 all-star “No Nukes” concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden is legendary, but only one song from it had been released — until November of this year, when Sony Music Entertainment’s Premium Content Division in partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.”The film features ten never-before released Springsteen performances from the concerts, and

The trend for rapping over Drake beats continues. Whether it was the multiple "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" riffs or Freddie Gibbs flexing over Certified Lover Boy-opener "Champagne Poetry," there has been no short supply of turning to Drake for inspiration in 2021.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFrom the Venice Film Festival to the Met Gala, the Emmys to training for a half marathon, Cynthia Erivo manages to find moments of pause in her jam-packed schedule. While blurs of kinetic energy roil around her, the London-born multi-hyphenate sits serene at the center.“Sometimes I’ll get a nice couple of hours of sleep on the plane,” she laughs.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDrake’s “Certified Lover Boy” topped the Rolling Stone albums chart for a second week, holding the No. 1 spot with more than 232,000 project units, according to Alpha Data.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBTS spoke and gave a special performance at the United Nations in New York on Monday, addressing the assembly and then cutting to a video they filmed, in respectful suits, at the iconic building’s auditorium, lobby and front.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe beach in Asbury Park, N.J., may have at first seemed an unlikely venue to host Pearl Jam’s first concert in more than three years, but it turned out to be a highly appropriate locale the weekend of Sept. 18 at the third-annual Sea.Hear.Now festival on the Jersey Shore.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a major overhaul of its Awards department that began in May with the elimination of the controversial “secret committees” that determined final Grammy nominations and continued with the departure of longtime awards chief Bill Freimuth last month, the Recording Academy has appointed Ruby Marchand to the position of chief awards & industry officer, with Joanna Chu elevated to vice president of awards.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFighting the gender gap in the music industry is not a role that Mattel’s Barbie doll traditionally has taken on, but the company has used the iconic figure for exactly that purpose with its awesome Music-Producer doll, which it announced earlier this week.The company, which partnered with veteran songwriter-producer Ester Dean for the series, is making empowerment the primary theme for the doll too, saying it is “designed to introduce girls to an underrepresented

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records today formally launched Imperial Music, a new independent music company led by former Astralwerks executive Glenn Mendlinger that soft-launched last year.According to the announcement, the New York-based label is a new division of Republic and signs, develops and markets emerging independent artists and creators, and partners with Ingrooves Music Group for distribution services.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAlthough Dua Lipa had the misfortune of dropping a party album just as the pandemic was starting, “Future Nostalgia” became one of the biggest albums of the past 18 months — and she’s finally announced North American arena tour in support of the album, for next year.The tour makes 28 stops across the U.S., including her first-ever headline show at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Forum in Los Angeles.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYebba — a.k.a. Abbey Smith — is a prodigiously talented 26-year-old singer who’s been buzzing for so long it’s hard to believe “Dawn” is her debut album.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKevin Lee, better known as Coach K, is cofounder of Quality Control, the multifaceted Atlanta-based label and music-and-sports management company that has brought the world Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, City Girls and more, and also manages many athletes.In just eight years, Coach and cofounder Pierre “P” Thomas have built an empire that is not only one of the biggest independent companies in hip-hop, it’s also a strong force in the sports world as well.