Author: djfrosty
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For the past few months the entire Hip-Hop culture has been convinced that Diddy is pretty much cooked as his sex trafficking trial is set to get underway in just a few weeks. But low and behold former Diddy critic, Ray J, believes that Diddy will not only walk away Scott-free, but feels the charges lobbed against him are “nonsense.”
In a recent appearance on Sneako’s livestream, Ray J made the shocking prediction that the embattled music icon will be getting out of prison because he feels that the case against Diddy is a conspiracy, which will apparently somehow come crashing down and Diddy will once again be a free man.
“Puffy ’bout to get out too. On The dead homies, n*gga. Puffy getting out. All that sh*t they trying to charge that n*gga for is nonsense, bro. He did something bad that we all seen and that sh*t’s unacceptable, but that’s not what the charges are for. The charges are weak.”
Yeah, we don’t know about that, Ray. Unless he’s privy to some kind of inside information, it seems like the feds wouldn’t bring this big a case against someone like Diddy unless they had all their ducks in a row. But hey that’s just us.
Though Ray J talks about the laced bottles of baby oil and Diddy using remote controls as sex toys as “nonsense,” Diddy’s actually being charged with sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Things that seem like he might’ve done given the stories we’ve heard.
Still, this is 2025, and with a certain “business man” in power who’s known to get charges dropped for people who kiss the ring and even importing sex traffickers into the United States, Diddy may very well have a slither of hope of walking out a free man at some point during or after his highly anticipated trial. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think about Ray J suggesting that Diddy’s coming home sooner or later? Is he onto something or just straight bugging out? Let us know in the comments section below.
David Thomas, the howling lead singer of long-running Cleveland-bred post-punk rockers Pere Ubu has died at 71. The band announced the news on its Facebook page on Wednesday (April 23), revealing that the leader of the group — as well as their equally noisesome precursor, Rocket From the Tombs — had died after an unspecified “long illness.”
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The tribute added, “On Wednesday, April 23 2025, he died in his home town of Brighton & Hove [in the U.K.], with his wife and youngest step-daughter by his side. MC5 were playing on the radio. He will ultimately be returned to his home, the farm in Pennsylvania, where he insisted he was to be ‘thrown in the barn.’”
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The group noted that Thomas had been working on a new album with his band, aware that it would be his last. “We will endeavour to continue with mixing and finalising the new album so that his last music is available to all. Aside from that, he left instruction that the work should continue to catalog all the tapes from live shows via the official bandcamp page,” they said, adding that the singer’s autobiography was “nearly completed” and that they will finish it for him. They ended with a quote from Thomas, which they said, “sums up who he was better than we can”: “My name is David F–king Thomas… and I’m the lead singer of the best f–king rock n roll band in the world.”
David Lynn Thomas was born in Miami on June 14, 1953 and began his career in rock as the lead singer of the short-lived proto-punk Cleveland band Rocket From the Tombs after a stint writing for the Cleveland Scene alternative weekly newspaper under a variety of aliases, including Crocus Behemoth. Though they reveled in obscurity during their original one-year run from 1974-1975, and never released an album, the band’s distorted, frenzied sound — inspired by Detroit punk godfathers the MC5 and The Stooges — was a precursor to the worldwide punk revolution that exploded in the U.S. and U.K. in the mid-1970s.
After the band’s split, two members, guitarist Gene “Cheetah Chrome” O’Connor and drummer Johnny “Johnny Biltz” Madansky, went on to form legendarily shambolic Cleveland punk band the Dead Boys. Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner teamed up to launch the artier, spikier Pere Ubu, whose name wast a riff on the outré 19th century French play Ubu Roi.
The avant garde group inspired by the sound collage techniques of musique concrète released its debut single, “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” in late 1975 on Thomas’ indie label, Hearthan Records. After a handful of follow-up singles, their debut album, The Modern Dance, dropped in 1978, signaling a purposeful deep-dive into the noise pool from jump on album-opener “Non-Alignment Pact,” which begins with 20 seconds of ear-piercing tones. During a period when such soft rock air bubbles as Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun” and America’s “Tin Man” were topping the charts, Thomas’ unhinged howl and saxophone/keyboard player Allen Ravenstine’s free jazz strangulated stabs and otherworldly synth tones were an astringent antidote to mainstream AM radio fluff.
With a three-guitar attack combined with Thomas’ yelping vocals and his very un-punk like insistence on wearing suit jackets and a tie on stage, the band cranked out a series of influential, though little-heard-at-the-time albums over the next four years. The LPs included 1978’s classic, Dub Housing and 1979’s New Picnic Time, experimental, chalkboard-scratching noise bombs that helped inspire future acolytes from Sonic Youth to the Pixies and Gang of Four. With a constantly rotating group of players surrounding Thomas — co-founder Laugher left after the band’s first few singles and died in 1977 of pancreatic cancer — the band released three more albums, 1979’s New Picnic Time, 1980’s The Art of Walking and 1982’s Song of a Bailing Man before breaking up.
Thomas continued his experimental journey on a series of solo albums with his bands the Pedestrians and and Wooden Birds in the 1980s, before reforming Pere Ubu in 1987 for the recording of The Tenement Year, which leaned in a distinctly more pop direction (at least compared to the band’s earlier work), followed by 1989s’s Cloudland. Pere Ubu continued into the 1990s and early 2000s, releasing a string of albums including 1995’s Ray Gun Suitcase, 2002 St. Arkansas and their 19th, and final, studio effort, 2023’s Trouble on Big Beat Street.
In between Pere Ubu projects, Smith stayed busy with solo albums, Rocket From the Tombs reunions and experimental theater projects.
Check out some of Smith’s joyful noise below.
The launch of Bravas Entertainment was officially announced during an intimate Billboard Latin Women in Music cocktail reception at Telemundo Center in Miami on Wednesday (April 23).
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Founded by Sonia Clavell, Ivy Queen’s longtime manager, the new purpose-driven professional and artistic platform will provide education, guidance and resources to female artists with the hopes they can “develop their talents with freedom, dignity and purpose, breaking cycles of limitation and paving new paths for future generations,” according to a statement.
Bravas will offer services in music distribution, public relations, creative production, digital strategy, networking and professional mentoring.
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“This project has been in the making for four or five years. It’s the product of my experiences since I started in this industry,” Clavell, who first started selling chocolates at traffic lights before becoming a reputable music executive, said at the reception. “Brava isn’t born of success; it’s born of pain and exhaustion. It’s a project to build those women who have a voice but don’t yet have a microphone. We understand how difficult it is and how painful it is, but also how healing it is to have someone who believes in you. We’re not going to push doors; we’re going to build new ones.”
The invite-only event gathered industry leaders, honorees of the 2025 Billboard Latin Women In Music executive list and artists such as Ana Bárbara, Yailin La Más Viral, Darumas, Mirella Cesa and Ivy Queen, who is supporting the new platform and will have projects under Bravas.
“It’s difficult in the industry to make friends, but we need people who believe in our work and support our vision,” the Puerto Rican artist, known as the Queen of Reggaetón, said at the event. “Sonia’s work was born through my story. I started at 12-13 years old when everyone was a man in the genre. I didn’t know about copyright, royalties — anything. With this project, I know we’re going to save many women from things I’ve already gone through, and that’s gratifying.”
The first project under Bravas Entertainment will be a compilation album of female artists called La Liga Femenina, produced by reggaetón hitmaker Boy Wonder, and set to be released this summer.
The third annual Billboard Latin Women in Music special will air live at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 24 exclusively on Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.
Read Billboard’s Latin Women In Music 2025 executive list here.
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Draymond Green found himself trending on X after his teammate, Jimmy Butler, was injured by Amen Thompson during a play under the basket. Golden State Warriors fans called the play by the Houston Rockets a dirty one, prompting fans on X to call out Draymond Green’s well-documented record of being a physical player that others have referred to as dirty.
The Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets faced off in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday (April 24) in Houston. The play in question occurred when Amen Thompson shot a floater and missed, with Jimmy Butler going for the defensive rebound. As Butler grabbed the ball, Thompson undercut him, causing the forward to crash down hard on his tailbone. A foul was called on the play, and Butler shot two at the line before heading back to the locker room and never returned.
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Warriors fans, angered that their reliable star was out of the game, called out the play. There were even some suggesting that Green pushed Thompson into Butler, but that was debunked on video replay. What we saw in the replay was Green boxing out, not shoving anyone. That said, Warriors fans were upset about the play, but the counter from NBA fans was brutal.
On X, several examples of Green’s physical play and roughhousing on the court that he’s known for were shown, all in an attempt to frame Green as the truly dirty player and take the heat off Thompson. Others brought up some of Green’s past antics, such as stomping on the chest of a downed player and other reported acts of on-court violence.
Coach Steve Kerr defended his player by saying that the taunts from the Rockets fans were disrespectful and asked them to tone down the “F You Draymond” chants. Kerr’s comments also got a response from basketball fans on X.
We’ve got reactions from all sides regarding the Draymond Green, Amen Thompson, and Jimmy Butler dustup below.
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Photo: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Getty
A new musical inspired in a Latin American true story is heading to Broadway, with music and lyrics by no other than Cuban-American superstar Gloria Estefan and her daughter, songwriter Emily Estefan. BASURA (Spanish for “garbage”) will narrate the journey of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra, a group of young artists who turn scrap material into instruments and music into possibilities.
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The Thursday (April 24) announcement coincides with the third edition of Billboard Latin Women in Music, just one year after Gloria Estefan received the Legend award.
Based on the award-winning documentary Landfill Harmonic, BASURA brings the sound of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra to the theater as a “heart-swelling reminder that even in the most unlikely places, you can build something beautiful,” according to a press release.
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The show will first run at the Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theater in Atlanta from May 30 to July 12, 2026, before heading to Broadway.
“This is a story that has been close to my heart for several years since I first encountered the determination and ingenuity of the young people of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra,” Gloria Estefan said in a statement. “Emily and I are thrilled for our music to be a part of telling their story in this original musical. We could not be more excited for BASURA to begin its theatrical life in a city as influential and diverse as Atlanta with a theater as consequential as the Alliance.”
BASURA is directed by Michael Greif (Rent, Dear Evan Hansen), with a book by Karen Zacarías (Native Gardens, Destiny of Desire). Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In the Heights) is the musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger; Patricia Delgado (Buena Vista Social Club) the choreographer, and Ken Cerniglia (Hadestown, Newsies) the dramaturg.
The show was produced in partnership with Michael Shulman (Sand and Snow Entertainment) and Colin Callender and Daniel Unitas (Playground). Wendy Orshan and Jeffrey Wilson of 101 Productions, Ltd will serve as general managers.
BASURA was developed, in part, with support from The Orchard Project and Ari Edelson, artistic director.
Warner Music Group has filed a lawsuit against Crumbl, the Utah-based cookie company, for copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed on April 22 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, accuses Crumbl of using WMG’s copyrighted sound recordings and musical compositions in its social media marketing campaigns without proper licenses.
Crumbl has built its brand primarily through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, often featuring popular music tracks in its promotional content. WMG claims that Crumbl has misappropriated at least 159 sound recordings and musical compositions in its videos. These tracks, which include works by artists such as Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Beyoncé, are said to be key to Crumbl’s marketing strategy. Many of these videos rely heavily on music, with little to no dialogue, highlighting the central role of the unlicensed tracks in Crumbl’s advertising efforts.
WMG’s complaint provides several examples of this alleged misappropriation. For instance, Crumbl’s TikTok video promoting its blueberry cheesecake features the unauthorized use of “Blueberry Faygo” by Lil Mosey, the label said. Another video promoting Crumbl’s yellow sugar cookie, while also advertising the film Minions: The Rise of Gru, uses Coldplay’s “Yellow” without permission. A video promoting a butter cake cookie features — you guessed it — BTS’ “Butter.” Additionally, there’s a video featuring Crumbl employees dancing to K CAMP’s “Lottery (Renegade),” and Crumbl even referenced music used in some videos, such as a TikTok post featuring Lizzo’s “Juice,” with the caption repeating the song’s lyrics.
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Other songs that WMG contends were infringed upon by Crumbl include Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” Gwen Stefani’s “Holdback Girl,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.,” Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” and dozens more.
WMG asserts that Crumbl’s actions constitute direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement. The plaintiffs argue that Crumbl, which has over a thousand stores nationwide and is reportedly exploring a sale, according to Reuters, should have been aware of the need to secure licenses for the music used in its promotional materials. Despite this, Crumbl allegedly persisted in using WMG’s music without authorization, even after similar cases, including separate lawsuits against Bang Energy by Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, brought attention to the overarching issue.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and a permanent injunction to prevent Crumbl from any further infringement. The company is also pursuing statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each infringed work, potentially totaling nearly $24 million if the court awards the maximum penalty for all 159 cited works.
This legal action underscores the music industry’s ongoing efforts to protect intellectual property rights in the digital age, particularly as brands increasingly leverage popular music in social media marketing. The outcome of this case could have broader implications for how companies approach the use of copyrighted music in online promotions.
WMG is being represented by Sidley Austin LLP and Workman Nydegger.
Crumbl has not responded to Billboard‘s request for comment on WMG’s lawsuit.
We’ve been talking about it on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast for nearly half a year already, but it didn’t actually get here until last weekend: The Grand National stadium tour, co-headlined by Billboard‘s No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of 2024 (Kendrick Lamar) and our No. 2 Greatest Pop Star of 2023 (SZA) finally began […]
Grupo Frontera made its way to the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the band’s Tiny Desk debut, which premiered on Thursday (April 24).
Dressed in light blue denim and white shirts, the borderland band opened the set with its Billboard Hot 100 No. 5 hit “Un x100to.” Backed by a gospel-inspired choir, the group infused the upbeat norteño song with a touch of R&B, incorporating sparkling keys and slowing the tempo. Midway through the performance, the band transitioned back to the its signature cumbia norteña rhythm.
Accompanied by two female backup singers wearing cowboy hats, a trumpet player and Grupo Frontera’s signature ensemble of accordion, keyboards and guitars, the band delivered a dynamic and cohesive performance.
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“It’s a very special song for us, because we didn’t even know he was going to be on the song until we shot the video,” frontman Payo said about Bad Bunny’s feature in “Un x100to.” “The video came to us as a surprise, and [Benito] said, ‘Have you heard the song, the full version, with me in it?’ And we said, ‘What version?!’,” The band’s collaborator, Bad Bunny, had also stopped by the NPR offices earlier in the month to perform a few songs himself.
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Grupo Frontera continued the set with “Hecha Pa’ Mi,” during which the richness of the accordion shone. The band followed up with the bachata-infused “Ángel,” originally recorded with Romeo Santos, and the laid-back reggae-bop “Por Qué Será,” which features Maluma in the original version, showcasing their skill in blending norteño music with diverse genres. Grupo Frontera rounded out the set with “El Amor de Su Vida,” originally starring Grupo Firme.
On Wednesday (April 23), the Texas-based group received a nomination for best group or band at the 2025 Heat Latin Music Awards.
Watch Grupo Frontera’s full NPR Tiny Desk concert below.
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Word on the streets is that Marvel Studios is back (even though they never left), according to reactions from those who saw the latest entry in the MCU, Thunderbolts*.
Fans and critics, including our very own Bernard “Beanz” Smalls, got to see Thunderbolts* ahead of its May 2 release, and the consensus is that the movie is a return to the top-tier comic book movie form we have come to expect from Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios.
Most reactions praise the film for its surprisingly emotional tone, a quality often lacking in Marvel flicks. Others are praising Florence Pugh’s performance as Yelena, who is now headlining her first film since her debut in the underrated Black Widow film and a guest appearance in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
Pugh’s performance is being hailed as “superb,” with Beanz adding in his first reaction that she was the film’s “MVP.”
“#Thunderbolts was awesome. Tons of implications on how the MCU is moving forward. The team works well together, plenty of emotion. Yelena is my MVP. Definitely a super fun movie,” Beanz’s full reaction read.
Another reaction read, “#Thunderbolts is A24 meets Superhero character study. Raw. Fresh. Hilarious at times. Sad at others. It has you rooting for this scrappy ensemble on the edge of your seat. Big implications, but still it’s own thing. If this is how the MCU is doing films now, BRAVA.”
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
Film writer Emily Murray described Thunderbolts* as “easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time,” adding it “Has so much spark, charisma, and tells a genuinely emotional story you connect with. A tear was shed. Florence Pugh in particular superb, just walks away with it.”
“Biggest compliment I can pay #Thunderbolts is that it felt like Infinity era MCU. A focus on the characters and story, rather than fan service or future set-up (until lengthy post-credit scene). Terrific cast, led by the always-excellent Florence Pugh,” said another user on X.
Hit the #Thunderbolts hashtag on X, and you will be hard-pressed to find a negative reaction. We shall see if the critics all agree when reviews drop next week.
Until then, hit the gallery for more reactions.
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Travis Hunter’s story is already legendary, and it’s about to hit another level.
The Colorado State phenom, fresh off a Heisman-winning season, is headed to the NFL Draft with the spotlight all on him. But what’s making headlines just as much as his game? His dad, Travis Hunter Sr., just got court permission to stand beside his son on draft night, despite being on a three-year probation. After being on house arrest for a year following charges in 2023, the court gave him the green light to be there for the biggest moment of his son’s life. That’s real.
Hunter’s draft stock? Sky high. Projected top five, with serious buzz about the Titans possibly making a power move and snatching him or Cam Ward at No. 1. And let’s be real, Hunter’s the type of generational talent teams build dynasties around. Whether it’s locking down receivers, or torching DBs on offense, this man does it all.
His last season at Colorado State? Straight heat. 57 catches, 721 yards, 5 touchdowns on offense. On defense, 31 tackles, 3 picks, and 5 breakups. The man was everywhere. And the Heisman voters took notice, making him the second defensive player ever to win it.So come draft night, when Travis walks across that stage, he won’t just be stepping into the league, he’ll be bringing his whole story with him. From setbacks, to stardom, and now with his dad right there with him, it’s a moment built different.