Rap Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Karen Bliss Elliot Page criticized Canada’s rollback of LGBTQ rights on the stage of the Juno Awards in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday night. “We are at a time in history where the rights of LGBTQ2+ people are being revoked, restricted and eliminated throughout the world, and the effects are devastating,” Page, a transgender Halifax native, said in a speech presenting twin singer-songwriters Tegan and Sara with the Junos’ humanitarian award.

Reading & Leeds would look very different this year if it weren’t for grassroots music venues.As revealed in a concept poster shared by the Music Venue Trust, the festival would be missing virtually all of its 2024 artists – including headliners Liam Gallagher, Fred again.., Lana Del Rey, Catfish And The Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon – if it weren’t for their foundations in grassroots venues.The reimagined poster highlights how many of today’s most successful artists came up by playing smaller music venues, which continue to face indefinite closure across the UK without urgent government action and investment.“Today’s festival headliners can only sell thousands of tickets because of the essential role played by these venues in their development,” the MVT shared in a social media post today (Monday 25).“Nurtured in grassroots music venues, they built their audiences from tens to hundreds, laying the foundation for their success on the grand stages of festivals like Reading & Leeds.”Check out the bare line-up poster below.The Reading & Leeds festival lineup poster, minus any artists who launched their careers in Grassroots Music Venues….Posted by Music Venue Trust on Monday, March 25, 2024Only artists like Reneé Rapp, who started in theatre, Digga D, who rose to prominence with freestyles, and Kenny Beats, who came from a production and industry background, would remain on the bill.It’s not just the Reading & Leeds line-up that would lose most of its acts were it not for grassroots music venues.

Drake has appeared to hit back at Kendrick Lamar, following the latter dissing him on a recent track.The tension between the two arose when Kendrick Lamar took aim at Drake and J Cole on a new track, ‘Like That’, which was shared as part of Future and Metro Boomin’s new collaborative album ‘We Don’t Trust You’.Others to star on the album include The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and Rick Ross, however, it was Lamar’s appearance that turned heads, seemingly responding to J Cole’s verse on ‘First Person Shooter’ from Drake’s 2023 album ‘For All The Dogs’.“Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali,” J Cole rapped on the track, with “K-Dot” referring to Kendrick Lamar (via Independent).However, on ‘Like That’, Lamar seems to dismiss the idea that they’re in the same league, saying: “Motherfuck the big three, n****, it’s just big me/ N****, bum, What? I’m really like that/And your best work is a light pack.”He also went on to liken their rivalry to the ‘80s conflict between Prince and Michael Jackson.This comes as in ‘First Person Shooter’, Drake compared his chart success to that of Michael Jackson, but On ‘Like That’, Lamar points out: “N****, Prince outlived Mike Jack.”Now, while both Drake and J Cole are out co-headlining their ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour, the former seems to have weighed in his opinion on Lamar’s comments.“A lot of people asking me how I’m feeling… the way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out of here feeling tonight about your fucking selves.

Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty have been ordered to pay $500,000 (£396,000) for an alleged backstage assault by a judge this Friday (March 22).According to security guard Thomas Weidenmuller in a lawsuit brought to an LA court, the incident was sparked by a fan climbing on stage with Minaj during a concert held in Frankfurt in 2019. The rapper allegedly blamed a female security guard for letting the fan jump over the barricade, and started to record the guard as she yelled at her.Weidenmuller then reportedly stepped in, telling Minaj it wasn’t fair to have the security staffer’s reputation “ruined” publicly.

Mac Miller deep cut that samples the score of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been made available for the first time on streaming services. The track, ‘The Quest’, had previously only been shared as a bonus track on the 10th anniversary edition of his second album, ‘Watching Movies With The Sound Off’, first released in 2013. ‘The Quest’ interpolates Jon Brion’s soundtrack for the classic 2004 Michel Gondry film, specifically the instrumental track ‘Phone Call’.

Kendrick Lamar has dissed Drake and J. Cole while appearing on Future and Metro Boomin‘s new track ‘Like That’.The track is featured on Metro Boomin’s latest joint album ‘We Don’t Trust You’.

Cypress Hill have announced a show at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, almost 30 years after it was joked about on The Simpsons.In yet another uncanny foretelling of the future by the hit cartoon show, the 1996 episode Homerpalooza saw the group accidentally book a gig with the London Symphony Orchestra while high. Following the episode, rumours of them linking up with the orchestra have circulated ever since.Cypress Hill had performed three shows with a symphony orchestra in the US last year, but now, they will be bringing that set-up to the UK on July 10.

The club on Saturday is like church on Sunday for those willing to live and love with abandon. Cakes Da Killa surely numbers among the faithful, these devotees to the riddims and nocturnes of the discotheque.

Cardi B ended up singing Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ over and over on a TikTok livestream, eventually pleading with fans to make it stop.During livestreams on the app, fans can send silly filters to creators while they’re streaming and a clip from Cardi’s latest stream shows her with her face covered by a cowboy hat and moustache. Every time someone pressed on that filter, she sang the “This ain’t Texas” hook from ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ in a Southern accent, but eventually had to tell the viewers to stop pressing the button.“Alright stop, dead ass,” she said.

Summerfest’s jaw-dropping 2024 lineup.Set to take place over three warm weekends — June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6 — the annual Milwaukee fest went above and beyond once again booking some of the biggest names in the biz to headline this year.On the first weekend, Kane Brown, Mötley Crüe, Goo Goo Dolls, Taking Back Sunday and Chelsea Cutler will take the stage along with a yet-to-be announced surprise act.Tyler Childers, Keith Urban, Illenium, MUNA and REO Speedwagon top the second three-day weekend’s bill.Finally, Maroon 5, Lil Uzi Vert, AJR, Ivan Cornejo and Bryson Tiller will take Summerfest home over July 4 weekend.In total, we counted 175 acts on this year’s lineup.And if you want to get in on the genre-hopping action, tickets are available for select shows as of today.Clicking into the American Family Insurance Amphitheater or BMO Harris Pavilion venue pages on Vivid Seats will take you to a number of shows to choose from — not just for Summerfest but all year long.Want to know more about the expansive extravaganza coming to Milwaukee this June and July?Keep reading, music fans.We’ve got everything you need to know and more about Summerfest 2024 below.A complete breakdown of all the events we could find taking place at Summerfest this year — including dates, artists and links to their performer pages to buy tickets — can be found here:Hoping for a closer look at this year’s sprawling list of performers?Feel free to sneak a peek and check out the 2024 Summerfest poster below.Hope you find a favorite or three of yours (personally, we can’t wait to see R.E.M.

Azealia Banks has criticised Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ as being “white women cosplay”.Beyoncé announced that she would be turning her sights to a country direction last year, and recently shared the cover and title of her upcoming album, ‘Cowboy Carter’.However, rapper Azealia Banks isn’t too happy about the finished product, and has taken to social media to slam the ‘Love On Top’ singer as being in “white woman cosplay”.

Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival were allegedly warned about potential issues with overcrowding in 2021, before the event took the lives of 10 concertgoers.According to new court documents, the head of safety for the festival raised concerns about the number of people that could be near the stage, 10 days before the event took place.“I feel like there is no way we are going to fit 50k in front of that stage,” Seyth Boardman wrote to the operations director for the Texas festival (via BBC News).This was just one of many examples given in new court filings.The amendments were submitted by lawyers for the families of those killed at the event and others affected by the tragedy, as part of the mass civil litigation filed against the organisers. The documents contained alleged conversations and supporting information that organisers of the festival foresaw issues with overcrowding before the festival took place.As highlighted by the BBC, the new additions suggest that organisers for Astroworld mistakenly thought that the fire safety code allowed for five square feet per person – two feet less than the actual number.This, it states, contributed to a crowd of roughly 50,000 people cramming into a space meant for only 34,500.

Megan Thee Stallion has announced she's embarking on a world tour and will appear in Glasgow this year.

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have confirmed that their new album is nearly complete.During their joint appearance on a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg revealed that they are nearing the finish line for the long-awaited sequel to their 1993 hit album, ‘Doggystyle’.Dr.

Eminem will be releasing a new album sometime this year, according to Dr. Dre.Dr. Dre made the announcement on a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which also featured Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent.

Megan Thee Stallion announced on Good Morning America she’d be going on tour.Last week, she made the news Instagram official revealing the cities she’d hit this spring and summer.Finally, on Wednesday, March 20, the “Hiss” singer has revealed the dates for her massive summer 2024 ‘Hot Girl Summer Tour’ in support of her upcoming album along with special guest GloRilla.Early on in the run, the Hip-Hop icon will stop in at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, May 21.“THEE HOT GIRL SUMMER TOUR IS HERE and I’m bringing my girl GLORILLA WITH ME,” Megan Thee Stallion shared on Instagram.

Charis McGowan Before her ninth and final headlining show in Buenos Aires’ Movistar Arena last week, Argentine singer-rapper Nicki Nicole offered everyone in her dressing room a drink — of maté herbal tea. Speaking fast and eagerly (which she later apologized for), she said, “Ah, but if maté is too sour for you, you should try terere — you’d love that, it’s so refreshing!” This sort of dorky openness puts everyone around her at ease, earning her a reputation for being humble and approachable despite her status as one of Latin America’s most in-demand Gen-Z stars and singer-songwriters. Since releasing her third album “Alma” last May, Nicole has earned three RIAA-certified plaques for singles including “8 AM” with Young Miko, “Dispara***” with Milo J, and “que le pasa conmigo” with Rels B.

Megan Thee Stallion has announced UK, European and North American dates for her ‘Hot Girl Summer’ 2024 tour.Stallion’s tour will consist of 32 dates across North America, Europe and the UK set for the spring and summer. The first show will kick off at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Flavor Flav has announced his plan to earn his high school diploma, which will be documented for an upcoming reality TV show.Over the weekend, the rap legend spoke to TMZ and revealed his return to reality TV will be happening this year – declaring that he never stopped dreaming of getting his diploma despite his success with hip-hop icons Public Enemy.“More reality TV coming up for [me] but no dating shows! It’s not the dating show thing, man,” he said. “I’m going back to high school to get my diploma! That’s what my show is going to be about; Flavor Flav goes back to high school to get his diploma.

Kanye West has reportedly tried to recruit Doja Cat and Ice Spice to feature on the long-awaited new version of leaked song ‘New Body’.Fans eagerly await Ye and Ty Dolla $ign‘s second instalment of their ‘Vultures’ album trilogy to be released, after it failed to drop on March 8. Last December, the duo revealed that the fan-favourite New Body’ would be on the tracklist for ‘Vultures 1’.This week, music entrepreneur and internet personality YesJulz (real name Juileanna Goddard) leaked a text exchange with West, detailing that she did what he requested her to do and reached out to other rappers to feature on ‘New Body’.

A.D. Amorosi From the distinction of becoming hip-hop’s first billionaire to being honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star this week, the accomplishments and confidence of the man born Andre Young — aka legendary producer-rapper-entrepreneur Dr.

BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend 2024, with RAYE, Charli XCX and The Last Dinner Party leading the way.This year’s edition of the festival is set to run between Friday, May 24 and Sunday, May 26, and will be held at Stockwood Park in Luton.Yesterday (March 18), the first run of artists, set to perform on the opening night, was revealed, and now organisers have also shared those lined up for the Saturday slots.RAYE has been announced as headlining the Main Stage on the night – following on from her record-breaking number of wins at the BRITs earlier this month – while pop icon Charli XCX will be headlining the New Music Stage. The slot comes ahead of her announcing details of her new album ‘Brat’, and dropping the huge lead single ‘Von Dutch’.Others set to perform on the Main Stage on Saturday include Aitch, Griff, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Mabel and Joel Corry, while BRIT Rising Star winners and former NME cover stars The Last Dinner Party will be performing at the New Music Stage.Both The Last Dinner Party and Charli XCX will be joined by Alfie Templeman, Caity Baser, Cat Burns, Dylan, Tems and Shygirl,Saturday at #BigWeekend Luton is gonna be veRAYE special ♥️For more details and info on tickets, visit https://t.co/BGPOsfilea pic.twitter.com/OB6xc2VFAC— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) March 19, 2024Tickets, priced at £29.50 (plus a £4.50 booking fee per ticket), will go on sale at 5pm GMT on Thursday (March 21) and can be purchased here.

Cardi B has said that she wants to collaborate with Rihanna – but only if she can present her with the “perfect” song.During a recent appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, the Bronx rapper was asked who was on her “wishlist” to work with in the future. “Like whoever comes, comes,” she responded.“There’s some people that I want to do like a song with, but I just feel like I don’t have that worthy song to like give it to them.

Kid Cudi and Boosie Badazz have responded to Kanye West saying he “invented every style of music of the past 20 years.”Last week, an interview with Ye and Ty Dolla $ign was released where they sat down with tenured rap authority Big Boy to talk about their ‘Vultures’ album trilogy. The chat came ahead of the trilogy’s second instalment, which has been now delayed and is expected to be released on May 3.“I done invented every style of music of the past 20 years,” he said.

Drake has paid a pregnant woman $25,000 after she asked the rapper to be her “rich baby daddy.”The rapper is performing across North America on the ‘It’s All A Blur Tour – Big As The What?’ with J. Cole and Lil Durk.

Kanye West has sparked controversy in a new interview, by comparing himself to God and weighing in his thoughts on abortion.The rapper – who now goes by Ye – discussed the topics during a new interview alongside his recent collaborator Ty Dolla $ign. Taking place shortly after their divisive headline set at Rolling Loud 2024 last Thursday (March 14), the two sat down with Big Boy TV for an 80-minute discussion.Both Ty Dolla $ign and West covered a wide range of topics, although it was their comments on religion that was the biggest talking point in the chat.Ye has embraced Christianity in recent years, and has shown his faith in past releases including ‘Donda’ and ‘Jesus Is King’.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, has spoken for the first time about her forthcoming debut album ‘Elementary School Dropout’.It comes after the 10-year-old announced the record at her father’s listening party for the upcoming release of his album ‘Vultures 2’ in Arizona last Sunday (March 10).Now in a clip from Rolling Loud 2024 on Instagram over the weekend, which you can veiw below, West did a short interview with young reporter Jazlyn, aka Jazzy, the 13-year-old behind Jazzys World TV.She gave very little away in terms of a release date but declared the album is “gonna be great”.A post shared by Jazlyn aka Jazzy

Kanye West has faced backlash from fans after he “barely” performed during his set at Rolling Loud 2024.The controversial rapper – who also goes by Ye – took to the stage with Ty Dolla $ign on Thursday (March 14) as the headliners for the opening night for 2024’s Rolling Loud Festival in Los Angeles.However, while the show was expected to be his first full-scale festival performance since the series of antisemitic remarks he made at the end of 2022, instead the rappers merely stood on stage for an hour while pre-recorded music of theirs played over the loudspeakers.The pair were clad in dark hooded outfits, with West wearing his often-seen hockey mask, and paced around the stage for an hour while their ‘Vultures 1’ album played. Afterwards, a DJ played hits from West’s earlier discography while the stage filled with dry ice.While the wording in the official announcement was vague – simply reading as “Vultures headlining new Thursday night” – there was a general understanding among fans that the set was going to feature live vocals.According to sources speaking to Variety, the festival organisers themselves thought the headline slot would be a more conventional performance too, and even erected a special stage with a circular lighting rig specifically for the set.They also clarified to a fan on X/Twitter that the set would see West and Dolla $ign “Perform”, before later adding: “Oops idk bro it’s on him” (via Mirror).Unsurprisingly, the Thursday show divided the opinions of those in attendance, with many taking to social media to criticise the rappers for the set.“I was there and didn’t even know ye came out,” one fan wrote on X, while another added: “I’m really disappointed in ye, he shoulda demanded a mic.

Lil Wayne is being accused of misleading the US government about his marijuana use in order to get a pandemic loan approved.Last week (March 11), Business Insider published a report in which it states that Wayne and his representatives sought a financial loan from the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2021.Part of the conditions of the application by Young Money Touring Inc. included an assertion that they ran a drug-free workplace.

Metro Boomin and Future have announced that they will be releasing two collaborative albums in the next month.The two rappers confirmed the news in a trailer released to social media on March 8, which features the voice of the late Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy.The clip sees the pair pull up in a pair of luxury cars in a remote setting, which then cuts to the title ‘We Don’t Trust You’, and the dates “3 22 24” and “4 12 24”.Great things come to those who wait #LLProdigy #WDTY @1future

Cardi B has shared that she wrote a verse for Ice Spice‘s ‘Munch’, but scrapped it out of anxiety.In a new interview with Complex, Cardi B revealed why she hasn’t dropped new music in a while, blaming anxiety. “I just feel like I lost myself like with everything like, you know like a lot of like music commenters and everything and a lot of people just be like, you know, ‘She’s afraid to drop an album, she’s afraid to drop music,’ Cardi told Complex.

Dr. Dre has said he “appreciates being alive” after suffering three strokes in 2021 following a brain aneurysm.The rap legend was appearing on James Corden’s SiriusXM show This Life of Mine on Friday (March 15) when he opened up about his near-death experience.“It definitely makes you appreciate being alive, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s something you can’t control, it just happens.

Giggs has announced a huge one-off headlining gig as part off Margate’s Summer Series, with Ghetts as a special guest.The ‘Zero Tolerance’ rapper will take over Dreamland in Margate on Saturday August 3 as part of this year’s series of shows.The gig will be a one-off chance to see these two legendary UK artists in the unique, summer setting of Dreamland Margate. Presenter and grime and rap tastemaker DJ Target will be hosting the gig.Speaking about the newly announced show date, Rob Waller, Founder and Programmer of the Margate Summer Series said: “We’re ecstatic to have Giggs and Ghetts joining us in Margate for this very special show.

Thania Garcia Cardi B is on a hot streak of releases, returning with a boastsome new single called “Enough (Miami).” The song came accompanied by a music video directed by Patience Harding that sees Cardi spitting the song’s punchy lines while sporting a series of looks. This is the second release the Bronx-born rapper has dropped in a matter of weeks, and is the follow-up to her “Like What (Freestyle).” Although Cardi has not officially announced the arrival of her long-awaited sophomore album (Cardi’s debut “Invasion of Privacy” dropped in 2018), the singer hinted on social media that fans could expect an album later this year.

Peter A. Berry Even before TikTok singles were a thing, Tierra Whack had already mastered the art of the nano-song. Released in 2018, “Whack World” is a debut mixtape as compact as it is brilliant: a kaleidoscopic, 15-track joyride where each song checks in at exactly one minute — and remarkably, most of the tracks are complete songs rather than snippets, even though they zoom past so quickly.

Little Simz has spoken about her forthcoming performance at Glastonbury 2024, teasing that fans can expect “an immersive experience”.The Mercury Prize-winning rapper is set to perform on the iconic Pyramid Stage at this year’s edition of the festival, which will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA.Simz headlined the Wests Holts Stage in 2022, with NME saying that the show delivered “flawless determinism from rap’s tour de force” in a four-star review. Before leaving the stage, the ‘No Thank You’ artist told the crowd: “See you next time on the Pyramid!”Speaking on BBC Radio 6 Music this morning (March 14), Simz told host Lauren Laverne that she was “buzzing” over her upcoming Glasto return.