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Vince Staples Clowns White Fans During Camp Flog Gnaw Set

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Camp Flog Gnaw

Vince Staples, from what can be gathered from interviews and podcast appearances, isn’t a man who enjoys the unwavering intensity of the so-called white gaze, creating sonic soundscapes with a certain demographic in mind. During his set at this year’s Camp Flog Gnaw with Tyler, The Creator at the helm, Vince Staples flipped a crowd participation moment into an opportunity to bark on white fans in attendance.

Vince Staples, who enjoyed a solid 2024 on the creative side with the warm embrace of his eponymously named television series on Netflix and his latest studio album Dark Times, was on hand for the annual Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles, now in its 10th year.

During his set, Staples, 31, paused his set to ask the crowd a particular question.

“Do y’all really like f*ck with that real n*gga sh*t,” Staples asks the crowd, which was comprised of several white fans who responded favorably to the shoutout but what came next was a classic retort from the talented Long Beach rapper and actor.

“A bunch of white people saying they like real n*gga sh*t”” Staples said. “It’s perplexing.”

Staples also called the crowd “stupid motherf*ckers” before launching into the rest of his set.

Vince Staples was one of the many standout acts at Camp Flog Gnaw with Erykah Badu, Action Bronson, Madlib, Sampha, Doechii, ScHoolboy Q, and more, including appearances from Sexyy Red, SZA, and others. There was also a segment of the festival dedicated to the memory of the late, great MF DOOM.

Photo: Getty

FINNEAS on Music for ‘Disclaimer,’ Working With Billie Eilish on ‘Hit Me Hard & Soft’ | Billboard News

FINNEAS shares his creative process for creating music for AppleTV+’s new show, Disclaimer, while simultaneously working on Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. He discusses creating hits for Turning Red with Billie and more!

FINNEAS:

In the world where I do all these different things, where I, you know, make music under my own name, I make music with my sister, I make music with other artists, and then I score TV and film. To me, it’s, it’s all in service of the project at hand, if that makes sense. To me, the goal is that, I think Disclaimer is an amazing show. I think it, I think the acting in it is incredible, the cinematography, the directing, the writing. I want to participate in this experience that I’m a fan of. And hopefully, you know you love the show and whether you are conscious of loving the music or not, hopefully it feels like a perfect marriage for that show. 

Tetris Kelly:

We talked to FINNEAS about composing music for new Apple TV+ show, ‘Disclaimer,’ and yes, he even did it while working on an album with his sister, Billie. We got the details with Billboard News. You’ve been involved in so many amazing film projects, Oscar winning. I mean, from ‘James Bond’ to ‘Barbie.’ Why was it time for television?

I think the short answer to that is that Alfonso, who’s a person I’ve known for a while and been an admirer of and a fan of for even longer, asked me to be involved in something, and I would have done whatever he asked me to do. 

Keep watching for more!

Madonna Asks Fans If Her Biopic Should Be a Series Rather Than a Film: ‘I Cannot Make This in the Normal Way’

Madonna is thinking of readjusting how she presents her much-awaited upcoming biopic.

The Queen of Pop took to Instagram on Monday (Nov. 18) to share a series of recent selfies and photos, reflecting in the caption on the difficulties she’s been facing in telling the story of her life. “After struggling for days in LA , listening to producers and agents Tell me why I couldn’t make my film —I(been working on it for 4 years!!!),” she began. “Downsize-down scale -think smaller-they say—I realized that everything in my life is going to be challenged.”

Madonna continued that the experience as well as hanging out with “creative friends” has allowed her to “think outside the box,” noting, “I did not have a normal life. I cannot make this in the normal way.”

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She continued, “We cannot shrink and make ourselves smaller. If you want something badly enough in life— the whole universe will conspire to [help] you get it.”

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Ultimately, the “Material Girl” singer asked fans for their input, asking if she should make the “story of my life into a series or a feature film,” with much of the comment section agreeing that she should, in fact, make a multiple-part show. See her post here.

The film, initially announced in 2020, was set to delve into the life and career of the beloved musician, and Inventing Anna actress Julia Garner was rumored to have been offered the role of portraying the pop superstar. However, in 2023, the biopic was reportedly put on hold at Universal Pictures for Madonna to focus on her global Celebration Tour.

In July 2024, the biopic seemed to be back in the works. She took to Instagram to share a slideshow of photos in which she’s seen posing with a typewriter, writing a screenplay titled Who’s That Girl, in reference to her 1987 film and song of the same name. While the script is blurred, there are circles and notes indicating edits.

Ticketek Australia Outage Has Fans of Twenty One Pilots, Other Acts Worried About Upcoming Shows

Australian ticketing company Ticketek was offline Monday (Nov. 18), causing a major outage across the platform while drawing concerns from fans of bands like Twenty One Pilots that the outage could affect upcoming shows this week.

On social media, ticket holders for a Twenty One Pilots concert at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday (Nov. 19) are increasingly voicing their concerns that the ticketing company won’t be back online in time for the show. Officials with Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust, which manages the arena, did not respond to questions from Billboard.

On Monday, visitors to Ticketek’s main web page discovered a message reading, “The Ticketek website is currently undergoing maintenance. We apologize that the update is taking longer than anticipated.”

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The cause of the outage is unknown, although a memo circulating online that appears to have been issued by a venue using Ticketek claims the company had voluntarily taken its network offline to “investigate some unusual cyber activity and, as a precautionary measure, the Ticketek Australia and New Zealand Websites and Apps have been temporarily offline today.”

The note adds, “Ticketek are working to reinstate access as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused. Ticketek are working hard to reinstate the site in the coming few hours.”

Ticketek’s pages in the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia remained operational during Monday’s outage.

Billboard reached out to representatives from Ticketek but did not receive a response.

Ticketek is one of the largest ticketing companies in Australia and falls under the umbrella of Australian promoter Paul Dainty‘s company TEG, which today is majority-owned by Silver Lake and was recapitalized in February in a deal with KKR Credit Markets and the Singapore government-owned investment firm Temasek. TEG’s portfolio also includes TEG Sport, TEG Experiences, TEG Dainty, SXSW Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena, Softix, TicketCharge, TicketWorld and Ovation.

Gracie Abrams Reacts to Scoring Her First Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Hit With ‘That’s So True’

Ooh, bet you’re thinking, she’s so cool about Gracie Abrams, who just scored her first-ever top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with her runaway hit “That’s So True.”

As revealed Monday (Nov. 18), the 25-year-old singer-songwriter’s The Secret of Us deluxe track has reached a new peak at No. 6, a full seven spots up from its previous apex at No. 13 the week prior. Released Oct. 18 alongside three other bonus songs from her June sophomore LP, the jealousy-riddled post-breakup anthem first entered the chart at No. 44 on the Hot 100 dated Nov. 2.

Shortly after news of her top 10 debut went live, Abrams shared her gratitude on Instagram Stories. “First top ten on the Hot 100,” she wrote, typing out about 28 sobbing emojis and 18 red hearts. “THANK YOU FOR LISTENING”

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The Los Angeles native also showed her disbelief with a keyboard smash — “Agdgdhebfnsnchsjhfehdnmsydywgeyyeys” — and reposted cowriter Audrey Hobert’s reaction, “WHAT ON GODS GREEN.” “No like,” Abrams agreed.

In addition to No. 6 on the Hot 100, “That’s So True” also reaches No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart. Since it dropped, the track has blown past Abrams’ other Hot 100 high points with The Secret of Us‘ “Risk” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” which reached Nos. 94 and 19, respectively.

Before “That’s So True,” the pop songwriter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was “Us.,” a duet written and recorded with Taylor Swift for The Secret of Us. Bowing at No. 36 in July, the ballad recently nabbed Abrams her second-ever Grammy nomination (for best pop duo/group performance) and has become a staple of her setlists on The Secret of Us Tour and as an opener on the Eras Tour.

“This album has meant so much to me because it has supported me through a period of transitions,” Abrams told Billboard over the summer. “I’ve learned about how I like to spend my time, about what works for me or doesn’t in relationships, about how having friends is ultimately the priority for me. I don’t need to know who I want to wake up next to every day, but I know that I want to be there for every chapter of my friends’ lives.”

“I’m learning every five seconds,” she added at the time. “We’ll have to find out what it all turns into, but that’s me today.”

Paul McCartney & Iggy Pop Dazzle on Day 3 of Corona Capital 2024

The third and last day of the Corona Capital 2024 festival on Sunday (Nov. 17) turned into an old friends reunion, fulfilling the teenage dream of guitarist Jack White who, along with singer-songwriter St. Vincent, was invited by the legendary Paul McCartney to join him on stage in what was the ex-Beatle’s debut at a Latin American music festival and the grand finale of his tour in the region.

In his fourth performance on Mexican stages — and his first time at the famous festival in Mexico City — McCartney achieved the feat of gathering the largest number of attendees the Corona Capital has seen in its 14-year history, according to promoter Ocesa, with nearly 82,000 people.

On the Vans stage, iconic rocker Iggy Pop starred in one of the most anticipated moments, giving a masterclass of what a rock lion does at 77 years old alongside special guests including Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner.

Beck, the “güero” cherished by Mexicans, reaffirmed his connection with the country, where he reunited with dear friends and colleagues at the festival, and practiced his Spanish.

For her part, former Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon raised the bar for women and delivered an experimental show that captivated the audience. Jack White, one of the stars on the third day of the festival, also led one of the most anticipated performances and, at the start of his set, performed a cover of Iggy Pop’s classic “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”

In total, Corona Capital 2024 brought together about 225,000 people over its three days, counting 74,000 on Friday, 69,000 on Saturday, and Sunday’s 82,000.

Below are five of our favorite moments from Day 3 of the Corona Capital 2024 festival. (Here are the recaps for Day 1 and Day 2).

J. Cole Announces New Audio Series ‘Inevitable,’ Calls Process ‘Therapeutic’

J. Cole has announced a new podcast series edited from conversations he had with his right hand Ibrahim Hamad and flimmaker Scott Lazer that will tell his story while also including unreleased music.

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The North Carolina rapper and businessman took to Instagram to make the announcement with a trailer and a lengthy caption attached. “It’s hard to write a caption to describe what this is,” he began. “I really don’t even know what to call it. We settled on calling it an ‘audio series’ but to me it plays like a movie in the form of a conversation. First, me and Ib spent mad days talking to Scott, recapping the whole journey up to present day. Front to back. It was new, it was fun, it was emotional and more than anything, it was therapeutic.”

Adding, “After that Scott took the conversation and did his thing with it… then it was time to listen back. When I heard it with fresh ears, I was glued to the story as if it was somebody else’s. At times I could feel my adrenaline rush when hearing about the ups and the many downs and how it all played out in the end.”

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He then continued on about how the process gave him a renewed perspective, writing, “I got so much clarity from it, and I understood more than ever the power of having a dream, the power of fueling that dream with strong vision, the magic that happens when we stay in alignment with God, and the darkness that can come in the times that we don’t.”

Cole then talked about his reclusiveness over the years when it came to interviews and social media. “As the years of my career grew I found myself much more hesitant to share details of my life with the world,” he admitted. “Even as I type this, I feel the last little bit of resistance. ‘You sure you want to do this?’ But if I was a younger version of myself, I know that I would get so much fuel from hearing this from somebody that went for theirs and ‘made it.’ For that reason, I think it’s worth sharing.”

Finally, he said he hopes this new audio series will inspire people to continue chasing the things that they’re passionate about. “So, if you rocked with me at any point so far on my journey, I hope this will give you even more perspective and fill in a lot of blanks,” Cole wrote. “If you have your own dream in life that you hope to achieve, in any field, I hope that this will feed your spirit, giving you confidence to believe in that dream and the encouragement to push through the tough times. To go for it even when you may be afraid to.”

Season 1 of Inevitable will be available starting today (Nov. 18) at 6 p.m. ET. You can find the series here.

Shyne Recalls Diddy Offering Him $50K After His 10-Year Prison Bid: ‘You Can’t Be Serious’

Rapper-turned-politician Shyne is on a media blitz promoting his Hulu documentary The Honorable Shyne. He sat down with The Breakfast Club and spoke on the time his former boss Diddy attempted to make things right by giving Shyne money back in 2012.

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“There wasn’t an instant forgiveness. I got out in 2009,” Shyne said. “There wasn’t an attempt at reconciliation until 2012, when I went to Paris to meet him. That was the first attempt of forgiveness, but I was still in a place of, ‘He owe me. He owes me his life.’ He’s a billionaire. If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t have been a billionaire. If I would have cooperated with the district attorney, he’d have went to jail, and heaven knows what would have happened to his career. So that’s worth at least a couple million dollars out of the billion that you’re worth.”

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Diddy did offer to compensate him monetarily — but to Shyne’s surprise and disappointment, it wasn’t enough. “He probably gave me, like, 50 racks, and I’m like, ‘You can’t be serious.’ That’s 10 years? Fifty racks?”

Shyne also revealed that Diddy tried to pay him a visit early on when he was sitting in Rikers before he was transferred to Clifton Correctional Facility in Upstate New York. “He came to see me once, and I think I tried to spit in his face in Rikers Island.” he recalled. “I didn’t even want him to come see me. I didn’t even know he was coming to see me. They just brought me down in the lawyer’s office.”

The Belizean politician recently appeared on The Stephen A. Smith Show and put rumors that he was offered money to take the fall to bed, telling Smith, “People say, ‘Oh, Diddy gave me millions to go to jail.’ Nothing! Probably made two what I thought were offensive contributions over the last 20-something years, which led to a breakdown in the relations. But I moved on.”

You can watch the full conversation below.

Skrillex Teases New Music, Reflects on His ‘Final Project for Atlantic Records’ & Recalls Meeting ‘My Absolute Hero’ Quincy Jones

On Monday (Nov. 18), Skrillex shared his thoughts about the music industry, teased a forthcoming project and reflected on once meeting Quincy Jones in a series of posts on X.

“I’ve never felt more inspired and in lockstep with my intentions as an artist,” the producer wrote in the first post. “As I’m nearing completion of my next work and my final project for Atlantic Records I can’t help but feel very existential about it all.”

The majority of Skrillex’s releases have been through Atlantic subsidiaries, including Big Beat Records and Skrillex’s own OWSLA imprint, with the partnership going back to his 2010 debut EP Weekends!!! and including his 2014 debut album Recess, his 2023 LPs Quest for Fire and Don’t Get Too Close, along with his 2024 singles “Push” and “Pepper.”

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Skrillex then referred to what seems to be a yet-unannounced project, saying, “I’m thrilled to get this out and focus on more release[s] in 25 as an ‘independent’ artist. But ‘independent’ is such a strange term because I still depend on my team as well as all the other creatives and executives to do what I do.

“But now I’m able to rethink/relook at how the structures are designed,” his posts continued, “I want to find ways to simplify [disseminating] music and art. I see lots of artists in a constant panic.”

He writes that “the industry is like politics, it’s designed to be almost impossible [to] understand. I’ve seen so man[y] artist get caught up in the illusion and delusion of the business. It’s a dangerous job to be a young artist. I’m blessed and lucky to have lived through what I’ve lived through and will continue to do my best as an artist and just makes things that provoke beauty and emotion.”

The producer continued his thread reflect on recently deceased music icon Quincy Jones, saying that “I got to meet Quincy jones once. He came to one of my shows and spent the time to chat after… I’ll never forget that. He’s my absolute hero and his passing has definitely put some things into perspective.”

This past February, Skrillex won the best dance/electronic recording Grammy for his Fred again.. and Flowdan collaboration “Rumble.” It was his ninth Grammy win. He’s nominated in the same category this year for his work co-producing Fred again.. and Baby Keem’s “leavemealone.”

He concluded his posts on X by writing that “it really is in the journey ..and the best things come when they aren’t expected…Make things for smile.”

LaMelo Ball Says He “Didn’t Mean To Offend Anybody” Following $100K Fine For Using Anti-Gay Term

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Source: David Jensen / Getty / LaMelo Ball

Charlotte Hornets superstar LaMelo Ball’s wallet took a hit after the NBA fined him for language it deemed “offensive and derogatory” during a postgame interview over the weekend. He’s adamant there isn’t a hateful bone in his body.

You can bet LaMelo Ball won’t be saying “no homo” during his postgame press conferences ever again. The professional hooper learned the term often associated with “pause” and made popular by rappers like Cam’ron and Ma$e and often used during their sports debate show It Is What Is when trying to signify they are not gay after saying something that would be considered “homosexual” in nature.

“We loaded up,” Ball said before making sure to add in, “no homo,” during the postgame interview following the Hornets thrilling 115-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Following Sunday’s 128-114 loss to the still-undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, Ball told reports that he “really didn’t mean anything” by the remark and doesn’t “want to offend anybody.”