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05 Sep 2024

T&P: Xitter Blasts Governor Brian Kemp For Georgia School Shooting Response

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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s terse response to a high school shooting was thoroughly rebuked by many on social media.

On Wednesday (September 4), four people were shot and killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia which is an hour’s drive east of Atlanta. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s comments in the wake of the shooting weren’t well received, and social media users made it a point to remind him of his culpability in the situation. Kemp spoke at a press conference held at the scene on Wednesday night, stating: “Today is not the day for politics and policy, today is a day for investigation,” and said that the victims and their families are in his prayers.

The Republican governor also touched on his ties to the area in his remarks to the press, reflecting on representing Barrow County as a Georgia State Senator over 20 years ago. Kemp was previously scheduled to speak before the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nevada but canceled the trip. He then gave way to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey, who provided details about the victims  – 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and instructors Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie – to the press. The 14-year-old suspect, a student at the school named Colt Gray, was apprehended by school resource officers on campus. Investigators said that he used an assault-style rifle in the shooting, and will be charged as an adult for murder.

Kemp’s remarks received substantial outrage and pushback on social media. Many pointed out his signing of a bill in 2022 expanding gun rights in the state allowing residents to carry handguns in public without a background check or a license. He also vigorously defended his stance in 2021 when told of Georgia’s failing grade from the Giffords Law Center on gun control. “I’ll wear this ‘F’ as a badge of honor,” he said at the time. Journalist Mehdi Hasan was among those pointing out Kemp’s political ad where he talked with teenagers while holding a rifle in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Kemp has also been a firm ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Check out more of the social media responses to Kemp’s remarks below.

1. Tre’ Easton

2. Black African Extraordinaire

3. Booker G. Washington

5. Sean C. Duregger

6. ZSay_610

7. evAdvocate.org

8. Emily Bloxton

05 Sep 2024

Mike Will Made-It Shares 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DNA’ | Billboard

Mike Will Made-It shares five fun facts about Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” and his album Damn. Keep watching to see what they are!

Mike Will Made-It: 
Hey, yo. It’s Mike Will Made-It, and these are five things you don’t know about “DNA.”

No. 1: I wrote that song, OK. I’m playing with you. Y’all didn’t know I made that in Swae Lee’s backyard. They had this little shed. I don’t know what that shed was for, you know what I’m saying, because it was real small, but we used to have, like, a little setup in there. When I made that beat, I was just thinking, like, man, this would be like a big performance record, like, Beyoncé, or, like, somebody big could do this, and whoever do arenas or stadiums. I never sent it to them. I only sent it to Kendrick. He ended up hearing the beat and liking the beat.

Another thing you probably didn’t know that me and Kendrick were already cool for seven years, but we just never had a song. We never landed a song. Probably gave him 1,000 beats before. I gave him beats for Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, To Pimp a Butterfly and then Damn. It’s, like, he ended up calling me and told me, like, “Yo, I’ve been going in.” He sent me, like, a little snippet video. “I’m like, damn bro, I’m about to be in L.A. in like, a week. Like, Imma pull up on you,” and he’s, like, “Call me when you get there.” So I came to the studio, and then he let me hear “Humble,” he let me hear “DNA.” He let me hear “XXX.” 

Keep watching for more!

05 Sep 2024

50 Cent Talks Debut Novel, Celibacy and Never Getting Married on ‘Late Show’: ‘I’m Not a Happy Hostage’

According to 50 Cent, marriage is good for thee, but not for he. The hip-hop mogul sat down with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Wednesday night (Sept. 4) to chop it up about his happily unwedded lifestyle, as well as doubling down on a vow of celibacy he claimed has allowed him to stay super-focused.

“Listen, when you calm down you can focus,” 50 said after Colbert read a recent magazine headline touting the near-billionaire’s sex-free lifestyle. “I’ve been good to me.” Colbert wondered what the money was for then if not to share with the love of his life, with 50 (born Curtin Jackson) explaining, “[Money is] when things start getting complicated, things start getting confusing, ‘cause people come in for different reasons.”

When Colbert asked the father of two if he’d ever been married, 50 snapped back with, “I’m safe. I’m not a happy hostage. I’m here. I’m free. I made some mistakes, just not that one.” Colbert, who often touts his endless love for his wife of 31 years, Evie, pivoted to asking what the life of an unmarried man is like, after explaining that his typically begins with the Wordle.

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50 said he goes to the gym or works out at home, while trying not to brag as he casually mentioned that he typically grabs 105-pound dumbbells. Colbert sweetly suggested that Curtis’ solitary lifestyle sounds, well, lonely. “I want you to have someone you can love in your life, Curtis,” Colbert said.

“I want someone I can love in my life too, just not right now, I’m fine,” 50 assured him.

Colbert also put up an adorable pic of 50 Cent chilling with his 12-year-old son, Sire Jackson, on the little man’s birthday this weekend. “What’s it like do you think to have 50 Cent as a dad?” Colbert wondered. “Great,” the rapper said with a wide smile, describing a special dinner at a steakhouse he had for his son that included a pop-in from Dr. Dre, which in typical tween fashion did not impress Sire as much as 50 thought it might.

The interview also featured 50 running down what the audience was like in Almaty, Kazakhstan when he performed there for the first time on his Final Lap tour last year. “They don’t know I’m not Michael Jackson… it was so cool. It was unbelievable,” 50 said, recalling how fans chased his car as if he was actually the late King of Pop.

Multi-hyphenate 50 was ostensibly in the house to promote his debut novel, The Accomplice, which the “In Da Club” MC said he essentially dictated to writer Aaron Philip Clark based on a rough outline he came up with. And, 50 being multimedia mogul 50, he said he’s already in talks with some TV networks about adopting the story about the first Black Texas Ranger on the hunt for master criminal Desmond Bell.

Watch 50 on The Late Show below.



05 Sep 2024

Ariana Grande Promises to Tell the Witch of the West’s ‘Whole Story’ in New ‘Wicked’ Trailer: Watch

Before she was the Wicked Witch of the West, she was just Elphaba — and Ariana Grande is here to tell her story.

In the second full-length trailer for the upcoming Wicked film, the pop star steps into her role as Glinda while recounting the untold tale of her green-skinned former frenemy to the citizens of Oz. “Fellow Ozians, the Wicked Witch of the West is dead!” she says, dressed in the Good Witch’s signature pink ball gown. “Let me tell you the whole story.”

“Our paths did cross at school,” Grande adds in the teaser, which cuts to previously unseen clips of Glinda and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba meeting at Shiz University, becoming pals and traveling to the Emerald City together. “She had her secrets.”

The trailer also features new snippets of the R.E.M. Beauty founder and Erivo belting out “Defying Gravity” together. “There’s no fight we cannot win, just you and I defying gravity,” they sing in unison.

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The new preview comes with just a couple months left until the first of the two Jon M. Chu-directed Wicked films arrives in theaters Nov. 22. It was preceded by several other teasers, while the first full trailer was shared by Universal Pictures in May.

To build hype ahead of the premiere, the Wicked team has also been rolling out collaborations with brands such as Mattel — which saw Grande and Erivo getting their own Barbie dolls — and partnered with NBC Olympics to bring the Emerald City train to life in a promo for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Wicked has also shared multiple behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the films, which are based on the Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire novel of the same name. In one, the “Yes, And?” musician and Erivo explained how their friendship offscreen translated to their portrayals onscreen.

“These two very different women just fall completely in love with each other, and that is mirrored experience of what happened with Cynthia and I,” Grande said.

Watch the new Wicked trailer above.

05 Sep 2024

Azealia Banks Announces Show With Cleotrapa Amid Ice Spice Beef

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Azealia Banks may have unfairly garnered the disdain of music fans due to her outspoken nature but when she speaks, the world listens intently to the gems she drops when she speaks on social media. Amid the Cleotrapa and Ice Spice beef, Azealia Banks opened up a show slot on Halloween and has chosen a side.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Azealia Banks defended Cleotrapa and took swipes at Ice Spice and her manager, James Rosemond Jr. With Rosemond accusing the “Von Dutch” rapper of clout chasing by raising issues with Ice Spice over alleged mistreatment while serving as her tour support, Banks held nothing back in a series of replies on X that hit their intended marks.

At first, it appeared that Banks fired a shot at either Baby Storme, who is also in the beef mix, or Cleotrapa by writing, “Welp. Baby toad…. looks like I gotta hand this one to ya. . . You got it sis.”

The X reply sparked a flurry of angry responses from fans defending Storme and Cleo, with some attempting to slam the trajectory and status of Banks’ career. She immediately made it clear she was on Cleotrapa’s side in a following reply, never addressing the fans who tried to ridicule her.

“I was super into the lil’ orphan Annie vibes + her being the only female rapper without a wig/weave. But it is all Hella low budget, the y2k aesthetic was amiss plus I absolutely adore Cleo…….. oh well poor dat,” Banks wrote.

To further stamp her support, Banks shared that she’s set to host a show next month on Halloween in New York.

“I don’t like how everyone is trying to make cleotrapa look. Any f*cking who @iamcleotrapa will be performing with me on Halloween Oct 31. at @Terminal5NYC. She will – be paid, have her own space to glam, whatever she wants on her rider.. because i have f*cking respect & class,” Banks wrote.

With fans of Ice Spice, Clepotrapa, and Azealia Banks invested in all the chatter, we were able to grab some replies from the X platform to share in the gallery below.

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Photo: Getty

05 Sep 2024

English Teacher’s Lesson Plan for Indie Stardom

The Leeds, England-based English Teacher released its debut EP, Polyawkward, in 2022, and its first album, This Could Be Texas, in April. So it surprised even them that they sold out New York’s Bowery Ballroom in June — on a Monday, no less.

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Frontwoman and lyricist Lily Fontaine and lead guitarist and producer Lewis Whiting chalk it up to relentless touring, which has honed the band into a tight unit that melds Radiohead-style guitar and synth sonics with hard funk flourishes and elegant melodies that showcase Fontaine’s literary lyrics about place, identity and broken relationships. (The quartet has actually been playing together since 2018 when they were a very different dream pop band called Frank.) At the Bowery Ballroom, Fontaine’s electric stage presence also galvanized the crowd, as she paced the stage and alternated between rhythm guitar and synth.

English Teacher 'This Could Be Texas'

English Teacher ‘This Could Be Texas’

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English Teacher’s road work and original sound resulted in This Could Be Texas garnering stellar reviews and a Mercury Prize nomination this year. At the end of August, they continued their momentum with a new EP, English Teacher: Live From BBC Maida Vale — which includes covers of Billie Eilish‘s “Birds of a Feather” and LCD Soundsystem‘s “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” — and on Sept. 15, they return to the road, playing a slew of dates in North America and Europe.

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Fontaine and Whiting (briefly) Zoomed in from the United Kingdom to talk about the band’s success, the origin of its name, its songwriting process and its plans for the future.

You’re a very tight band. Is there a lot of practice involved?

Whiting: Less than you think.

Fontaine: We’ve been on tour for at least the past four or five months, and we’re about to start up again. We don’t really have time to practice because we’re playing the set over and over again.

That’s practice of a sort. I do think that strong live shows are crucial to building a fan base. Lily, you’re riveting onstage. Were you influenced by any other artists in terms of stage presence.

Fontaine: It’s not really a conscious thing to be honest. I’ve been doing it for such a long time — 10 years — that I feel quite confident now on stage. I also think that being a music fan, the affectations of people that I have enjoyed slip in with my stage personality.

How did the band’s name come about?

Fontaine: Ugh.

Whiting: It was a name Lily came up with quite a while back. There are different ways of looking at it. Like, a lot of our family members we’re English teachers and it’s a bit of a connection.

Fontaine: Now, I like the idea of what an English teacher is. We go to so many different countries, and the English language is so prevalent— people do speak it everywhere now — that people sometimes resent it. I hate the name, but also I like the idea of an English teacher being perceived negatively or positively depending on which country you’re in.

How did you all get signed to Island UK?

Fontaine: It was baby steps.

Whiting: Yeah. We’d gotten some support slots, Our guys were floating about. Nothing happened for a long, long time after that. They must have been aware of us and then yeah, the EP came out, we started to play more and they started sniffing around a little bit more.

A number of bands are striking deals with labels that enable them to keep their masters. Was that something you did?

No. It was like a split. We have a percentage.

What are the best and worst parts of touring?

Whiting: The best parts are being able to travel to places and play music that we’ve written to people who don’t know it as well. That’s the best bit, and then I suppose all the rest of it is the bad bit. The traveling is taxing for sure.

The price of touring has ratcheted up, which particularly effects indie bands. What has your experience been?

Fontaine: We don’t really make money. We only ever break even or lose money.

Regarding the title of your album, This Could Be Texas, you could have chosen any state or city here. Why Texas?

Whiting: It must have been in our minds subconsciously because it had just come up on the news about [us playing] South by Southwest. I think it was the best descriptor for where we stood. It was a really hot day and we were at a car park. At first it was a bit of a joke phrase, but then it morphed and attached itself to the song, which is about the process of writing the album. Then it became us saying this should be the title for the album. It wasn’t a sorted-out thing from the start. It just kind of presented itself.

Lily, on “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab,” you sing, “I’m the world’s biggest paving slab, and the world’s smallest celebrity.” Can you give me some context behind that?

Fontaine: I grew up in Colne, Lancashire, and outside the town hall there’s a giant paving slab and that’s one of the town’s local celebrities if you will. The song is about exploring this great display and not necessarily ever leaving the town. It’s a juxtaposition of exploring feelings of grandeur and feelings of self-deprecation.

There also seems to be a little bit of, “Don’t tread on me.”

Fontaine: Yeah, definitely. I think that’s the grandeur element.

Do you and the rest of the band write songs collaboratively?

Fontaine: It’s different every time. Sometimes, one of us will come in with a song quite finished and sometimes just a bit of poetry and a riff come together. Sometimes it’s separate songs. Sometimes it’s all together. It’s different. We like to work like that. So far, it’s been all right.

Whiting: It’s a quite chaotic approach. It’s kind of just throw things together.

Another standout song on the album is “R&B.” On it, you sing, “Despite appearances, I haven’t got the voice for R&B.” Is that subtext about expectations of you as an artist because of your skin color?

Fontaine: The whole song isn’t about that, but part of it is. At the time, I had writer’s block and the only thing I could come up with in my head was a melody for an R&B song. I thought that was so ironic because that is the genre that people always assume that I make when they look at me. Not always, but there’s been times when we meet another musician, and the look on their face is a big shock when I say that I make guitar music.

You come from a mixed-race family?

Fontaine: Yeah, my dad’s side of the family are from Dominica in the Caribbean and my mum’s just I don’t know, England I guess. They’re both British.

Now that Kamala Harris is a presidential candidate, race issues are at the forefront of the campaign. I don’t know if it made news in the U.K., but Donald Trump made headlines here when he said that Harris only recently had decided to identify as Black instead of Indian. Is that kind of racism familiar to you?

Fontaine: Definitely. It’s so funny because it depends on who you’re with. It depends on how Black you are, how white you are. So, if I’m with my white friends, then I’m the Black one, but if I’m with my Black family I’m the whitest person in the room. Race is fluid in a sense — and what a prick [Trump] is. Sorry.

Are you following the presidential race here?

Whiting: I’m following it closely. Biden dropping out was an extremely good call. I can’t say I knew a crazy amount about Harris before this, but I like following American politics. I’m an avid American politics podcast listener.

Fontaine: I don’t have as much knowledge of [politics] as Lewis because I don’t listen to any podcasts or anything. I’m glad that Biden dropped out. I think that was an obvious decision. We’re going to be in the U.S. when the election is happening, so it will be an interesting time to be there.

Lily, the lyrics to “Broken Biscuits” are quite powerful and sound very personal. Is there an autobiographical element to it?

Fontaine: That’s probably the most personal song on the album actually. Yeah, it’s really personal. There’s this John Cooper Clarke poem, “Evidently Chickentown,” that has a lot of repetition, and I wanted to see how many different ways I could use the word “broken.” Then I was seeing how I could use all those different ways to relate to things in my life that were broken or that have been broken.

There are references to all sorts of things: breaking in shoes and broken homes, but also “Smithereens,” which is a Black Mirror episode and the show’s creators [Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones] call their company Broke and Bones, which I use in the lyrics. There’s lighthearted stuff in there as well. It’s not all sad. But a lot of it is quite dark actually.

Do you come from a broken home?

Fontaine: That’s me. Yeah, my parents split up when, I don’t know — maybe I was like one. It was when I wasn’t conscious, which is a blessing probably.

I noticed that the band worked in more melodies on This Could Be Texas than you have on prior work. Has that been a natural progression?

Fontaine: That’s probably because when we were writing the first EP and some of those earlier songs. I was listening to more post-punk. That was the time of the post-Brexit, post-punk resurgence in the U.K., and I was quite influenced by that. That trend wore off, and I was listening to a lot of classic songs — not classical music. I’m coming to music as a singer, and I felt it was just natural that I would probably go back towards that eventually.

At the end of August, English Teacher put out a live EP that includes covers of Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” and LCD Soundsystem’s “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” Why did you choose those?

Fontaine: LCD felt natural, because we all really like them, especially that song. I think it felt like a song that we could tackle given the instruments that we had at our disposal. With “Birds of a Feather,” we were asked to do a cover for BBC Radio One which is as you probably know is more of the pop end of the spectrum. So, we looked at what had come out recently — and my boyfriend said, “You should do this song.” We listened to it together, and I was just crying. I found it really moving, and I was like, “I want to do this.” We put it together in a day, and it felt right.

Are you working on the next album?

Fontaine: Yeah, we’ve got a few songs written actually. It seems like it’s come around so fast. Yeah, I’ve got ideas of the concept for it and everything.

Can you share the concept?

Fontaine: It’s too early to say really, and it’s not entirely up to me. But I don’t think I would want to put out a body of work that didn’t have some kind of unifying aspect to it. It happens naturally when you pull everything together that something connects it. It’s not exactly a concept album but always a bit of a through narrative. Thematically, it will probably be a sadder and darker album.

You are clearly into literature, poetry and media. Is there anything that has your attention these days?

Fontaine: Yeah. I’m going through a big phase with Octavia Butler, the science fiction writer. I’m obsessed with her and I just finished the second of two of her books. I’ve immediately ordered the next one because I want to read it whilst I’m still in that world.

She’s my focus at the moment. I’ve been watching The Bear. I think it’s amazing. The writing is brilliant, and the acting is so realistic that it’s kind of scary that people can act but also be so human at the same time. I love food as well so it’s a good one.

05 Sep 2024

Spain’s Recorded Music Revenue Up Nearly 17% in First Six Months

The Spanish recorded music industry is having a promising year, so far. PROMUSICAE (Productores de Música de España), which represents more than 95% of Spain’s recording industry, recently released half-year figures — and they continue to ascend. The recorded music industry has generated a total revenue of 249.8 million euros ($277.3 million) during this period, reflecting an impressive growth rate of 16.6% compared to the same period in 2023 when the income stood at 214.3 million euros ($237.9 million).

“It is very encouraging that in this first part of the year the figures growth of recorded music in Spain keep over 16%, as this highlights that the efforts and talent of Spanish artists and recording companies bear fruit, and music continues grabbing the interest of the public,” said Antonio Guisasola, president of PROMUSICAE.

The digital market remains a catalyst for this growth, experiencing a significant rise of 18.8%. Digital formats now account for 89.7% of the industry’s turnover, totaling 224.15 million euros ($248.82 million). That’s nearly all streaming, which captured 88.8% of the total market and generated revenues of 221.86 million euros ($246.28 million) — up 19.1% compared to the first half of 2023.

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Audio streaming represented 83.5% of all consumption and contributed 185.22 million euros ($205.6 million) to the industry. Video streaming accounted for 36.64 million euros ($40.67 million), totaling to 16.5% of streaming.

Karol G, Sabrina Carpenter, Spanish indie rock band Arde Bogotá, Dani Fernández, and Benson Boone are some of the artists that have placed No. 1 songs on the Spanish charts. Meanwhile, albums by Quevedo, Karol G, Bad Bunny, Aitana, and C.Tangana continue to dominate the 100 Albums annual chart.

Guisasola added, “Streaming is obviously the main way in which we consume recorded music and the greatest economic support of recording market, but the public is still demanding physical products such as vinyl, which sales steadily grow and is most valued by consumers.”

The physical market this year so far matches the growth of the same period of 2023, ever so slightly increasing to 0.03%. The consumption of vinyl rose 11.9% in 2024, like last year, whereas CD purchases decreased by 15%. Other formats also decreased compared with the same period of 2023, down 32.9%, and DVD salesdecreased by 15.1%.

“The challenge remains to push the Spanish recording production even stronger, helping companies of our country to invest in national talent, for which it is essential to be supported with public measures as can be tax incentives to Spanish production and the support to internationalization of our recording production,” stated Guisasola.

He mentioned that the challenges the industry faces is to get the public to “make a decided commitment to consume music through payment subscriptions, as it happens in our surrounding advanced countries.” Guisasola stated that this not only enhances the listening experience but also provides the financial returns needed to continuously support our artists’ talent.

Spanish Recorded

Spanish Recorded

PROMUSICAE

05 Sep 2024

Corey Kent on the Meaning of ‘Black Bandana’: ‘When You Want to Wave a White Flag, It Encourages You to Raise a Black Bandana’

Corey Kent has Willie Nelson to thank for changing the course of his life.

By age 16, Oklahoma native Kent had already spent years playing music, including five years as part of a Western Swing group, but by his mid-teens, he was pondering quitting music. When Nelson played a show in Tulsa, Kent got a ticket, and quickly engineered a plan to perform with the legendary country entertainer.

“I got a piece of cardboard out of the trash, found a Sharpie from a lady at the concession stand, and wrote, ‘It’s my dream to play a song with you,’” Kent recalls to Billboard. Kent continued holding up the sign until Nelson called him onstage — and at Kent’s request, they sang Bob Wills’ “Milk Cow Blues.”

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“From that point on, I knew I was never going to stop until I got where I wanted to go — but that [had been] the closest I ever got to throwing in the towel,” he says. “But Willie was there for me, and he probably didn’t even realize just how much that moment meant to me.”

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It was what Kent calls “another of those black bandana moments.” That symbolism is woven throughout his sophomore major label album Black Bandana, out Friday (Sept. 6) via Sony Music Nashville. The bandana — which serves as inspiration for the album’s title, title track and cover art — has long been a favored cloth of cowboys, bandits and gang members. But for Kent, his own black bandana has been a practical deterrent from rocks or dust while riding his motorcycle. Kent drove his motorcycle to meet with his managers at Triple 8 Management for the first time and walked in with a black bandana around his neck.

“We had the formalities, and they were like, ‘You need to think about keeping that. That might need to be a thing as part of your image and onstage, to help you stand out in a sea of male country artists trying to break through,’” he explains.

A songwriter at heart, Kent also recognized the image’s deeper meaning. With his co-writers Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi and Brett Tyler, Kent put the inherent rebellious spirit symbolized by a black bandana into song.

“’What’s the opposite of a black bandana? A white flag,’” Kent says. “Then it took on this whole meaning of staying the course and keeping on, even when everyone else quits. This is for when you want to wave a white flag, it encourages you to raise a black bandana.”

Kent notes that the album was originally to be called Bixby, in a nod to his Oklahoma hometown. After realizing “Black Bandana” served as the fulcrum and centerpiece for the project, the album’s other songs, such as “Rust,” “Ain’t Gonna Lie,” and “This Heart,” were written around themes of grit, tenacity, love, faithfulness, and hard-fought triumph — music for those whose lives have been seasoned by rocky times.

Those are themes Kent is well-acquainted with, having moved to Nashville to pursue music, only to land and then lose a publishing deal. He left Nashville for Texas just before the COVID-19 pandemic. With concerts paused, his family of five had to sell their house to continue paying his band members. Undeterred, Kent also worked at a pavement company, with his family living on an income he says hovered just above the poverty line for a while.

“It was a crazy tough time,” he recalls. “There were a lot of moments, a lot of exit ramps that would’ve been way easier to quit than to keep going.”

His breakthrough came in 2022, with the song “Wild as Her.” He was quickly signed by Sony Music Nashville. “Wild as Her” reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and has since been RIAA-certified platinum. He released his major label album debut Blacktop last year. But on his latest, he says he’s realized a wider, deeper scope of impact: “It’s the first record I’ve made that I had bigger motives [behind] than just writing about my own life.”

Each song, he says, points to a heartier, deep-rooted, flintier kind of love, fashioned from years of enduring together hardships and triumphs. For instance, “Never Ready” details milestone moments — finding love, raising children, facing the death of a parent — that many people face whether they feel prepared or not. “I got tired of hearing all these love songs where it was just like the honeymoon phase only,” He explains. “What about people like me, who are seven, or eight years in and have tough times but still are making it work and love their wife? Where’s that song? It’s not all glamorous.”

He also eschewed the typical Music Row writing rooms, instead bringing a host of songwriters — including Joybeth Taylor, Austin Goodloe, Rocky Block, Brett Tyler and Lydia Vaughan — out to his residence in Texas for writing sessions. Kent is a co-writer on six of the album’s songs, including “Rust” and “So Far,” but was intentional about recording only the most standout songs, disregarding whether or not he was a co-writer on them — a defiant goal ossified through Kent’s early career days of trying to make it as a songwriter.

“I had a lot of holds, but I never got into big cuts, because I wasn’t in the rooms with the writers who were co-writing with the artists,” he recalls. “I remember going, ‘That sucks for somebody like me that gave everything just to be right here in Nashville writing songs. Now I don’t get a shot, even though I wrote a great song, just because I didn’t write it with the guy that’s putting the record out.’ That frustrated me to my core.”

One of the few outside cuts was “Now or Never,” an ’80s-tinged power ballad he performs with “Road Less Traveled” hitmaker Lauren Alaina, as they sing of a couple on the precipice of a relationship-altering decision.

“I was supposed to just put the song out myself — it was already recorded — but the more I listened to it, the more I realized it could be a strong duet,” he says.

Kent was playing a radio event at Billy Bob’s Texas when he first met Alaina. “I was blown away when I heard the power in her voice — the tone, the control, it checked all the boxes,” he raves. When Kent brought up the idea of Alaina singing on the track, she agreed.

“She’s a complete pro,” Kent says. “She was every bit as good in the studio as she was live, and she gave this song a really cool dynamic that it didn’t have before.”

Kent’s relentless underdog spirit has resonated with his fans, including the video he posted on social media on his way to this year’s ACM Awards in May. 

“I was driving my old 1996 Bronco. I was just reflecting, and said something like ‘On my way to the ACM Awards with zero nominations, one badass record on the way…” and I dedicated it to anyone still putting in the work,” he recalls. “They’ve got their head down. They’re outworking everybody. I realized how many people identify with that, and those are usually the pretty soft-spoken people, those who aren’t necessarily going to jump up and down and say, ‘Look at what I’m doing.’ People resonated with that and a few weeks later, we wrote ‘Black Bandana.’”

In late September, the WME-signed Kent will take the album on the road for his headlining Black Bandana Tour, visiting 25 cities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, including Atlanta, Boston, Dublin and London. Joining him on select dates will be openers Braxton Keith, Kaitlin Butts, Max McNown, Karley Scott Collins and Lauren Watkins.

Parallel with music, Kent recently launched his Bus Call podcast, which features Kent in conversation with a mix of music industry friends and non-industry friends he’s met along the way, including songwriter Kevin Fowler and Mac Terrence Sr., who works to bring positive influences to at-risk youth.

“I just wanted to make people aware of some really cool people in my life that I’ve met along the way,” he explains. “A lot of these people, I’ve met on the road, so that’s why we call it ‘Bus Call,’ because we bring them on the bus in whatever city we’re stopping in. Most times, it’s just me catching up with friends and having the same conversation we would regularly have, except we have a microphone in front of us.”

Black Bandana may be Kent’s second major label project, but as he prepares for its release, he again draws inspiration from Nelson, his sights set on playing the long game.

“I’ve put my work in, I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I plan to be here 20 years from now,” Kent says. “When you look at Willie Nelson, [whose] about to put out his [76th solo studio album], the second one doesn’t seem all so do or die. You owe it to yourself to take the pressure off and create something you’re passionate about. Let the chips fall where they may, and then you move on to the next one. That helped me lower the pressure on the new album and realize I’m looking at this from a 20-year perspective, not a next-year-only perspective.”

05 Sep 2024

How The Shoe Surgeon Saved Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

When Usher calls, you pick up. The pop and R&B deity ran into trouble just over a week out from his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance in Las Vegas when it came to the footwear portion of his Off-White glittery jumpsuit.

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Enter Dominic “The Shoe Surgeon” Ciambrone. The custom sneaker design savant has rose to prominence over the last decade as one of the most prolific cobblers in the world. Connected through mutual friend Lil Jon, Ciambrone was originally working with Usher on designing his deconstructed sneaker roller skates before the chaos ensued.

About a week before having to take the Allegiant Stadium stage on Feb. 11, Usher found out Jordan Brand wouldn’t be able to deliver the custom chrome Jordan 4s he was looking for, so the hitmaker turned to The Shoe Surgeon to work his magic in time for the Big Game.

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“I’m like, ‘Yeah, easy,’” he recalls in conversation with Billboard on Zoom. “[Jordan Brand] made it at a time they didn’t make a whole pair, and it was Chinese New Year so everything was closed and they couldn’t get it done. I think we had a week to do everything — and that shoe was incredibly difficult.”

Ciambrone continued: “The chrome material needed to shine so bright, and we remade that pair of shoes 20 times. We finished Saturday night before Super Bowl, and a friend of mine drove it from L.A. to Vegas straight to me.”

The Shoe Surgeon and his team worked overtime at his 20,000 square-foot L.A. studios finding the right chrome materials to match the proper Jordan 4 sole, while replacing the signature heel Jordan Jumpman with a bedazzled “U” for the man of the hour in Sin City.

Ciambrone handcuffed himself to the precious cargo’s carrying case while transporting the kicks to personally deliver them on game day to Usher himself hours before kickoff. After seeing his blood, sweat and tears in the form of the chrome 4’s on the Allegiant Stadium field, that’s when everything hit him at once.

“I was crying,” he admits. “It was a beautiful moment for me and my team, because we work so hard on these projects. I don’t think people understand how difficult this is.”

It was also a full-circle moment for Ciambrone, whose prom suit inspiration came from Lil Jon’s “Yeah!” video camouflage outfit. Find the rest of our interview with The Shoe Surgeon below, where he details the entire story of collaborating with Usher at the Super Bowl, teaming up with Drake and other projects he’s currently working on.

The first time Shoe Surgeon was on my radar was the Nike “Misplaced Checks” with John Geiger almost a decade ago. 

I kept hitting [Geiger] up, and finally he was like, “I got three shoes I want to do.” He’s like, “Yo, I want a Gucci swoosh on the wheat Air Force Ones and swooshes all over my Air Force Ones.” I cut a bunch of colors and put them on, and he wore it to Agenda. Nice Kicks hit him up, “You should release those.” He hit me up, “Can we release those?” I was doing everything by myself out of a garage, so I was like, “Hell no!” Then I was like, “Let’s try it.” Then we kept doing it and it shifted customs and releases. 

Take me back to saving the Super Bowl Halftime Show for Usher, with the Air Jordan 4 you made for him.

I had become friends with Lil Jon over the years and he’s been a client for a while. I hit him up and he was like, “I’m in Vegas because I’m gonna be in the Super Bowl show.” This was weeks before the [game]. I was like, “Hit Usher and I can do his whole outfit.” He put me in touch and Usher was like, “Yo, I’m in L.A. I want to come by.” I have two 20,000 square-foot studios. One has a full basketball court and a bar and there was a class going on. He was blown away, like, “You could do more.” He was hyped and we talked about his skates.

Off-White was already doing his outfit. We kept designing stuff back and forth, and he was so busy preparing for the show it was hard to get information out of him. I was sending designs blindly. 

A week before, he hits me up, “What are we doing?” I was like, “You tell me.” He was like, “Could you remake this?” And sent me a photo of the silver Jordan 4.

While we’re making that shoe, we’re making the skates. Finding the material was hard. We made it so many times, and it was coming out wrinkled. I think that’s also why it feels like they didn’t want to make that shoe. Even if they’re Air Force 1s, that material creases really easy. The material is so iconic. The team was working late to get it done, making it over and over. It was getting stressful, because he was like, “Did you get it done?” We’re like, “We’re gonna bring it.”

It got delivered the morning of Super Bowl at 3:00 a.m., and as soon as we woke up, we went straight to the Super Bowl, and I had it handcuffed to my wrist. We figured out a way to walk straight in — which is very tough to do. We walked straight back to Usher and gave him the shoes and saved the moment. It was a blessing. Lil Jon and Usher inspired me my senior year of high school, when I made a camouflage prom tux based off of Lil Jon’s camo tux in the “Yeah!” video. 

What was the feeling when you finally finished and what did he say when you delivered them?

It was amazing. Once you saw the halftime show, that’s when it all came up for me. There’s no money to be made with how much time and material we spent, and how many times we made the shoe — that costs us a lot of money. But to see him perform in them after, I could’ve left the Super Bowl at that point. I’m done.  

Have you guys been in contact since?

We been working on a few other things. We talked to Reggie Saunders at Jordan Brand, and they thanked us for getting it done. For us, it’s being able to create something quickly to help the brands capture those moments. There’s a lot of times where they can’t get things done. 

Was it weird to connect a roller blade bottom to a sneaker sole and making it work?

It was different, because it was a super hightop skate, and we haven’t done that yet — but we’ve done so many football cleats, soccer cleats and all types of stuff. We also made George Kittle’s cleats that he played in at [the Super Bowl]. We did a gold-and-tan Chunky Dunks, but a Jordan 1 version. 

Was this the most gratifying experience for you?

It was one of the first moments — I’ve been working on my emotional intelligence and allowing myself to feel these moments. Everything at an early stage in my career was numb to me. Allowing myself to feel those emotions and cry was really good to feel. It was gratifying, but I wouldn’t say most challenging.

Do you take a loss to make the kicks?

For me, it’s worth it. It’s about creating something going above and beyond. So many people would’ve said no. We wanted to get it done, at the best quality possible. We bought multiple pairs of Jordan 4s to redo the sole. There are so many details we had to get right. I wouldn’t even know the math of the actual cost of this to do. 

What was the toughest part of this?

The chrome material is definitely the toughest part. Then it was the logo on the back. We made it slightly different than Jordan Brand did, based on time constraints. You couldn’t even tell. There’s so many details — but that chrome material is very unforgiving, especially when you make it by hand. 

What are some projects you’re working on? I saw you working with [tennis star] Frances Tiafoe.

This was a lifestyle shoe. I think there’s still a lot to be done in the tennis space. I think Frances Tiafoe is doing a lot for the game in growing it. I believe all sports need to evolve. Whether [or not] it’s Frances, I think there’s a big opportunity to do their shoes. 

What are some great stories on the rapper side that come to mind? I’ve seen you work with Drake, Fat Joe, Nelly and more. 

I have a cool story with Drake. This was about four years ago, and I saw he was really into Stone Island. He was with Jordan Brand, so he had his own OVO Jordan 12. I was like, “Let me create a Jordan Brand x Stone Island x OVO Jordan 12.” I did it based on how I saw it. We made one — a blue one, because I loved how blue looked with Stone Island material. The shoe is sick, because we used the collar from the jacket into the ankle collar of your foot. Nobody asked me to do it. And it went viral. Then Drake hit me up and he was like, “Yo, I need Black!” I’m like, “Of course, I got you.” I find some Black denim from Stone Island and nylon and I make the shoe. 

They hit me up saying they were in town and asked me to go to Dave Chappelle’s show at the Peppermint Club. I pull up to Peppermint Club and nobody’s outside. I pull up with the box and I got to the front and there’s a guy working the front. I’m just like, “I’m here to deliver some shoes for Drake.” They’re like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’m walking back to my car because I valeted it, and Drake’s security walks from the back like, “I know who you are. Come with me.”

I walk through the back door with Drake’s security and hand-delivered the shoes to Drake. Everyone takes their phones at Dave Chappelle’s shows, and I’m in there videotaping everything and everyone’s looking at me like I’m not supposed to. I’m like, “Why is the security looking at me?” Oh, because my phone’s out. It was a funny experience. Drake was like, “You want a drink?” I was so nervous at that time I’m like, “I don’t drink.” Because at the time, I wasn’t drinking. He got on stage with Dave Chappelle and it was a fun night. It was a cool Drake experience to have.

Any NFL players you’re working with for this season on their cleats?

Working with Justin Jefferson, always Odell [Beckham Jr.], George Kittle. Recently, George called out the staff for wearing crappy shoes, and I was like, “Let’s fix that problem.” I do all of Jake Paul’s outfits and boots, but I’m working on getting Mike Tyson. Personally, [I’m] working on some music as a creative outlet for me. Getting into different art forms to express myself. 

What do you think is the biggest difference in sneaker culture now compared to 10 years ago?

That’s a huge jump, because right now, it’s messed up. 10 years ago would be close to Misplaced Checks. Around that time is when customs started becoming more cool and shoes were at the peak still and getting hotter. Now I think it’s super oversaturated. Whether that’s for resale or just too many of them. It’s kind of boring and tired. Most kids want the Travis Scott lows. There’s gonna be a big shift and it’s already happening.

When you brought up that question, I’m thinking of the Cali Dunks. I remember going to a skate shop to get these Cali Dunks. That was the peak of it, because a lot of people didn’t know what they were, but it was hard to get. I remember having those and none of my friends had them. Everyone had the Jordans and Iversons, but nobody had the skate Dunks like I did. 

05 Sep 2024

Pearl Jam Rocks Out — and Gets Serious — at 50th New York City Show

“Welcome to Pearl Jam’s 50th show in New York City,” Eddie Vedder said to a rapturous response on stage at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night (Sept. 4), the second of two shows the iconic band from Seattle played at the World’s Most Famous Arena this week.

“And for that we are grateful and want to pay that back. So enjoy yourselves to the finest — and Mike McCready promises to do the same,” he added, before the lead guitarist ripped into a searing version of “Evenflow,” playing an extended epic solo with his guitar behind his back.

That was one highlight of a show full of them, and one that captured the band in its element: pushing songs to the limit, having fun with the crowd and also getting serious about some of the big issues in the country and the world at large. 

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“The rights of women are not just being threatened, they are already being taken away,” Vedder said after “Evenflow,” a handful of songs into the band’s two and a half hour set. “I know it’s a little early to be getting into this s–t, but let’s get it over with! So the right to choose issue, it used to involve religious fanatics, and then politicians got involved, not because they care one way or another, they just would like the votes. And it’s evolved into judges, and women of all ages are up against a Supreme Court. So there’s good news: It’s time to vote, and as the great Patti Smith said, people have the power. Never have truer words been spoken. Women, feel empowered; women, vote for your own interests, and help a sister out while you’re at it.”

The band then went into “Daughter,” with an extended outro to the melody of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In the Wall Pt. 2,” in which Vedder changed the lyrics to sing, “Keep your bans all off our bodies/ politicians leave our girls alone/ Judges leave our girls alone.”

It wasn’t the only time Vedder, wearing a Walter Payton Chicago Bears jersey, and the band addressed the outside world. On a day in which the U.S. saw another mass school shooting, in which four people were killed and more wounded at a high school in Georgia, the band pulled out a seldom-performed song from its sophomore album, Vs., called “Glorified G” — a cynical sneer at the false bravado of gun owners, with Vedder introducing it by saying, “I hate guns!” More poignantly, and more somberly, two songs later, the band played “Jeremy,” its first breakout hit from the group’s debut album, which is about a boy who brings a gun to school and shoots himself in front of his classroom bullies. Delivered with full energy, the subtext wasn’t lost.

Otherwise, the band clearly enjoyed the 50-show milestone, with Vedder telling a story of the first time he ever came to New York City (“as a Chicago kid, and then on the West Coast, I had never been East of Chicago before”) while introducing “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town,” while there were huge crowd reactions for the high-energy performances of songs such as “Rearviewmirror,” “Hail Hail” and “Do the Evolution.” (The latter, for this fan at least, takes on a different tenor after watching three episodes of the docuseries Chimp Crazy, but I digress.)

After a set break, Vedder came out solo to perform the Steven Van Zandt-penned “I Am a Patriot” and the latter-career gem “Just Breathe,” before bringing tour opener Glen Hansard — “Good human, great Irishman” — to the stage to perform the latter’s “The Song of Good Hope,” shouting out a few fans who had been going through rough times and saying that the song had helped him through troubles of his own. The full band — plus former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and producer Andrew Watt, who chipped in with a few solos over the evening — then returned for John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” and the punk anthem “Sonic Reducer.”

The band then ripped through another rarity in fan-favorite “Leash” and its iconic anthem “Alive,” before Vedder brought Little Stevie himself on stage to run through a joyful “Rocking In the Free World,” complete with Hansard, Watt and the full arena lights on, before closing out with their unreleased classic “Yellow Ledbetter” and sending fans home into the Manhattan night.

Set List

  • “Garden”
  • “Corduroy”
  • “Hail Hail”
  • “Evenflow”
  • “Daughter -> Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2”
  • “Dark Matter”
  • “React Respond”
  • “Won’t Tell”
  • “Not for You”
  • “Wreckage”
  • “I Am Mine”
  • “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town”
  • “Glorified G”
  • “Do the Evolution”
  • “Jeremy”
  • “Waiting for Stevie” (with Andrew Watt)
  • “Rearviewmirror”

—

  • “I Am a Patriot” (Eddie solo)
  • “Just Breathe” (Eddie solo)
  • “The Song of Good Hope” (with Glen Hansard)
  • “Gimme Some Truth”
  • “Setting Sun”
  • “Sonic Reducer”
  • “Leash”
  • “Alive”
  • “Rockin In the Free World” (with Little Stevie, Glen Hansard and Andrew Watt)
  • “Yellow Ledbetter”