Author: djfrosty
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Young Thug made his return to music on Friday (Jan. 3) when he appeared on Lil Baby’s new album WHAM for an assist on “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber” with Future.
Thugger doesn’t waste any time addressing his two-plus-year jail stint as part of the enduring YSL RICO case.
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“Yeah, n—a, King Spider back/ I don’t even believe I was locked up, for real, for real/ I was havin’ my way the whole time, fool, you know what I’m saying,” Thug raps about the jail bid over Wheezy’s skittering production.
Young Thug was arrested on racketeering charges in May 2022 and remained behind bars while the longest case in Georgia’s history yet unraveled.
He finally reached a plea deal and secured his release in October, when he was sentenced to 15 years of probation as Thug pleaded guilty to possession of drugs and firearms charges while pleading no contest to a handful of others.
Gunna was also arrested with Thug and 26 others in May 2022 as part of a sprawling 56-count indictment. However, he reached an Alford plea agreement in December 2022 and was released.
In the time since, Gunna has continued to battle allegations of snitching from fans, and Lil Baby, once a sidekick, has distanced himself from affiliating with the YSL rapper. Attorney Steve Sadow, who represented Gunna in the case, has vehemently insisted his client did not cooperate with authorities and had no impact on Young Thug’s case.
“This long post is solely to set out the truth. Gunna did NOT cooperate, and did NOTHING and said NOTHING to cause harm to Thug’s case,” Sadow tweeted in part on Friday (Jan. 3). “He spent 8 months in jail and was released in Dec. 2022 after entering an Alford plea. Gunna’s plea could not and was not used at Thug’s trial and he was never even named as a witness.”
He concluded his message: “THOSE THAT HAVE AND CONTINUE TO BAD MOUTH GUNNA, GET OVER IT. NUFF’ SAID.”
Young Thug hasn’t addressed his relationship with Gunna since his release outside of a since-deleted November tweet snipingat the Atlanta rapper. “Gunna stop acting like we friends on the internet, I don’t know you my guy,” he cryptically penned at the time. Minutes later, the tweet was gone.
Listen to Young Thug on Lil Baby’s “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber” below:
Neil Young is rolling out another gem from the vault. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon announced on Friday (Jan. 3) that one of his great “lost” albums, Oceanside Countryside, will be released on February 14 through Reprise Records.
“This analog original album was recorded in 1977 and unreleased. These songs are the original mixes done at the time of the recordings in the order I planned for the album,” Young said in a statement about the latest release in his Analog Original Series (AOS). The album was originally recorded from May-December 1977, just before the release of his 1978 folk/country album Comes a Time, which featured such beloved songs as the title track, “Lotta Love,” “Human Highway,” “Field of Opportunity” and “Four Strong Winds.”
“I sang the vocals and played the instruments on Oceanside in Florida at Triad studios and Malibu at Indigo studio,” Young aded. “I sang the vocals and recorded with my great band of friends, Ben Keith [steel guitar], Joe Osborn [bass], Karl T. Himmel [drums], and Rufus Thibodeaux [fiddle] at Crazy Mama’s in Nashville on Countryside. I hope you enjoy this treasure of an Analog Original recording, recorded by Tim Mulligan, as much as I do. Listening to it now, I think I should have put it out back then.”
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All the songs on Oceanside are performed solo by Young, with a group of friends joining him on Countryside, including Keith, Thibodeaux, Himmel and Osborne, with Tim Drummond on bass for “The Old Homestead,” which also features The Band’s Levon Helm on drums.
In addition to featuring many of the same musicians as Comes a Time, Oceanside Countryside also has a trio of songs (“Goin’ Back,” “Human Highway” and “Field of Opportunity”) that also appear on that album. The vinyl version of Oceanside will include tracks on the CD of the same name from Young’s Archives Vol. III release. Young noted that the tracklist for the upcoming album — which was recorded on tape — reflects how he originally planned to release the LP, which will be available in analog and on vinyl for the first time ever with the original mixes done at the time of the recording.
Though a number of the songs on Oceanside originally appeared on Archives Vol. III, the release noted that the versions are “not always the same.” Specifically, the versions of “Lost in Space,” “Captain Kennedy” and “The Old Homestead” on the analog original vinyl release date from the Hawks & Doves album from 1980. In addition, “Field of Opportunity” and “Dance Dance Dance” are the original versions that have backing vocals from Young instead of Nicolette Larson, whose vocals appeared on Archives Vol. III.
Check out the track listing for Oceanside Countryside below.
Side one: Oceanside
“Sail Away”
“Lost in Space”
“Captain Kennedy”
“Goin’ Back”
“Human Highway”
Side two: Countryside
“Field of Opportunity”
“Dance Dance Dance”
“The Old Homestead”
“It Might Have Been”
“Pocahontas”
Zendaya learned a lesson the hard way at a Beyoncé concert back when the Euphoria actress was 13.
While speaking to W as part of the publication’s best performances package, which went live Friday (Jan. 3), Zendaya revealed that she didn’t have many celebrity crushes as a tween — but she did “have a Beyoncé poster on my wall, because I went to her concert for my 13th birthday,” she said.
The Challengers star went on to share a humbling memory from the show. “I was devastated that she didn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me, because I guess it was close to her birthday and she was singing to the audience,” Zendaya continued. “My dad was like, ‘Do you want me to put you on my shoulders?’ I was like, ‘No, that’s so embarrassing.’”
“Then, after, I was like, ‘Damn, I should have let him put me on his shoulders so she would’ve seen me,’” the Golden Globe winner added. “Thirteen-year-old me was very devastated that Beyoncé didn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.”
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The “Break My Soul” singer may not have noticed 13-year-old Zendaya that day, but Bey certainly would in the future. In 2016, the Dune actress appeared alongside the 32-time Grammy winner in the latter’s Lemonade album film, and Bey’s mom, Tina Knowles, even said in April that Z reminds the matriarch of her famous eldest daughter.
In addition to the concert, Zendaya also opened up about another experience from her teens that she’s still a little salty about: coming in second place on season 16 of Dancing With the Stars. The then-16-year-old performer — whose dance partner was Val Chmerkovskiy — lost out to Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough in 2013, something which Zendaya said she’s “still harboring a little animosity.”
“I felt that loss,” she told W. “I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful. Being on live television every week? It’s so scary. I took it very seriously, which, in retrospect, I wish I didn’t. I wish I’d enjoyed it a little bit more and just was like, ‘Eh, whatever.’ You know what I mean? But I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that.”
See Zendaya on the cover of W below.
Ed Sheeran has secured his eighth No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart with his greatest hits compilation +–=÷× (Tour Collection). The collection is made up of Sheeran’s hits from his Mathematical series of records: 2011’s + (Plus), 2014’s × (Multiply), 2017’s ÷ (Divide), 2021’s = (Equals) and 2023’s – (Subtract). A number of […]
Gracie Abrams‘ “That’s So True” has returned to the top spot on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart for a sixth non-consecutive week. Following a three-week stint at No. 1 for Wham!‘s 1984 classic “Last Christmas” over the festive period, Abrams’ single returns to the top for 2025’s opening week (Jan. 3). “That’s So True” first […]
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Ever since authorities raided Diddy’s properties early in 2024, multiple documentaries about Diddy’s secret lifestyle have gone into production, and Peacock has just released their trailer for the first of what’s to be many Diddy documentaries.
On Thursday (Jan. 2), Peacock dropped the teaser trailer for their upcoming documentary, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy (clever title), and judging from the clips, it’s not going to be a something that “Brother Love” is going to, well, love. Featuring interviews from former colleagues, journalists, and even artists, the documentary is sure to shed some light on how the Diddler went about his disturbing business behind closed doors. According to Deadline, it’s sure to shock viewers who’ll no doubt indulge in the exposé of the music icon.
Per Deadline:
“Featuring never-before-seen footage and stories from those who know him best, Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy sheds light on his childhood, rise to fame, and recent criminal allegations, challenging viewers to rethink everything they thought they knew about the mogul behind the music—and the mugshot.”
The special features exclusive, never-before-seen footage of Diddy partying, at home and in the studio, as well as revealing interviews with some of those who’ve known Diddy best – including his childhood friend, his former bodyguard, and a “Making the Band” winner. Singer/songwriter/producer Al B. Sure!, who was Diddy’s label mate at Uptown Records and in a relationship with Kim Porter before she began dating Diddy, also speaks out for the first time.
Good thing Diddy’s locked up or else some of these people would be afraid to come forward. We already know that he has a thing for bombing cars, allegedly.
Check out the trailer for Diddy: the making of a Bad Boy, and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it premiers on Peacock January 14 in the comments section below.
Bad Bunny revealed the tracklist to his upcoming sixth studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, on Friday (Jan. 3). The Puerto Rican artist — who first teased “17 bomb tracks” on his X account on Christmas Day — revealed all of the track titles in an Instagram carousel post simply captioned with a baby blue […]
It’s a battle between SOS and Christmas this week on the Canadian Billboard charts. SZA’s new deluxe edition of her 2022 award-winner has pushed SOS back to the top spot on the Billboard 200. But in Canada, Michael Bublé’s Christmas continues to reign at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, with SOS rising […]
Ariana Grande is a hopeless romantic when it comes to Love Is Blind, which the singer revealed is her favorite reality TV series in a recent interview with W.
In her cover story for the publication’s best performances issue published Friday (Jan. 3), the 31-year-old singer-actress gushed that the experimental Netflix dating series is “just fantastic.” The show – which premiered in 2020 — blindly pairs up singles who aren’t allowed to see one another in person until they get engaged, at which point they have just a few weeks to live together before deciding whether they want to get married or part ways.
The legitimacy of the concept might raise some eyebrows, but Grande said that she has faith the show’s couples can go the distance. “Of course, I do,” she said. “Some of them do. I check sometimes.”
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“I’ll go to Instagram and find these people and make sure they’re still together,” the “Yes, And?” singer added. “I need to know what’s happening.”
Grande was one of several stars who posed for W‘s best performances package, for which she also spoke about her career-shifting role as Glinda in Jon Chu’s Wicked films. Her co-leading lady, Cynthia Erivo, as well as Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldańa, Zendaya, Paul Mescal and more also all spoke to the magazine about their respective breakout film projects this year.
In addition to all things Wicked and Love Is Blind, the R.E.M. Beauty founder also told the publication about the movie that’s always guaranteed to make her cry — and it’s not one you might expect. “The Waterboy, with Adam Sandler, makes me cry,” Grande said. “When they’re mean to Bobby Boucher, I cry. I don’t like it. I love Bobby Boucher.”
“He says, ‘Would you please still be my friend?’ and I lose it,” she added before conceding, “But I cry at everything.”
Watch Grande’s video interview above, and see her on the cover of W below.
Bad Bunny is gearing up to release his highly anticipated new studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, set to drop on Sunday (Jan. 5). Ahead of that, he’s premiered a short film on YouTube that serves as a companion piece to the upcoming LP. Written and directed by the Puerto Rican hitmaker (born Benito Antonio […]