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Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Hang Out With Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers Bandmates at Coachella

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stole the show at the first weekend of Coachella 2024, where they made a surprise appearance to watch performances from the pop star’s collaborators Jack Antonoff and Ice Spice. And based on a newly shared photo, the couple also spent some quality time with friends backstage on Saturday (April 13) — specifically, with the guys of Antonoff’s band, Bleachers. 

Drummer Sean Hutchinson posted a group picture from the festival on Instagram Monday night (April 15), showing Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end smiling as they posed with band manager Evan Winiker and saxophonist Zem Audu. The “Anti-Hero” singer holds Kelce’s hand as he wraps an arm around her shoulder, both parties sporting baseball caps. 

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“Hutchella Weekend 1,” Hutchinson, who’s recorded drums for Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version), captioned the post. 

At a different point in the day, the 14-time Grammy winner and Kelce enjoyed Bleachers’ set from a backstage tent at the Mojave Stage, where fan cameras captured the pair kissing and dancing along to the music. Later, they enjoyed Ice Spice’s Sahara Stage takeover from the crowd, the football star wrapping his arms around his superstar girlfriend from behind as they jammed out to the rapper’s solo rendition of her hit collaboration with Swift, “Karma.” 

Swift’s Coachella appearance came almost exactly one week ahead of the release of her highly anticipated 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which drops April 19. She and her team have been hard at work getting fans fired up for the project, hiding one-word clues in the lyrics to the singer’s older tracks on Apple Music and unveiling a curated Spotify library installation in Los Angeles this week. 

Carol Burnett to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2024 Gracie Awards

Carol Burnett will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The award recognizes a woman whose work in media honors the legacy of Gracie Allen, a pioneering force in the industry and the award’s namesake. The awards are presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF).

Rachel Platten, who had a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015 with “Fight Song” and who won a Daytime Emmy the following year for a performance on Good Morning America, will perform at the gala.

“Carol Burnett is a true icon of television and entertainment, whose impact spans decades and resonates with audiences of all ages,” Becky Brooks, president of the AWMF, said in a statement. “Her groundbreaking work on The Carol Burnett Show set a standard for excellence in comedy and storytelling.”

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Burnett won her seventh competitive Emmy Award in January for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. The two-hour NBC special featured such pals as Julie Andrews and Cher and a performance by Katy Perry of “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together,” the theme song to The Carol Burnett Show.

That award gave Burnett a 61-year span of Primetime Emmys. She won her first such award in 1962 for outstanding performance in a variety or musical program for The Gary Moore Show.

In 2017, Burnett won a Grammy for best spoken word album for In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem & Fun in the Sandbox.

In 1985, Burnett became just the second woman (after Lucille Ball) to be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Her many other honorary awards include the Kennedy Center Honors (2003), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005), the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2013), and the life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild (2015). In 2019, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association created The Carol Burnett Award which is an honorary Golden Globe to celebrate outstanding contributions to television. Burnett was the first recipient.

Burnett co-stars in the new series Palm Royal for Apple TV, which premiered March 20. The cast includes Kristin Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas.

As a non-profit organization, AWMF is committed to developing educational programs, charitable activities and scholarship initiatives that directly benefit women in the media.

Future & Metro Boomin Announce 2024 We Trust You Tour: Here Are the Dates

Future and Metro Boomin are looking to heat up the summer, as the rapper-producer duo will be hitting the road in support of their pair of albums.

Live Nation announced the We Trust You Tour on Tuesday (April 16), and the arena trek is slated to kick off in Kansas City, Mo., at the T-Mobile Center on July 30. Openers and supporting acts have not yet been announced.

Metro Boomin and Future’s 27-date North American tour will be making stops in Detroit, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Boston, Philly, Houston, Toronto, Las Vegas, Seattle and more before wrapping up north of the border on Sept. 9 in Vancouver, B.C., at Rogers Arena.

Tickets will be available to Cash App card customers starting on Wednesday (April 17), while the general public will get their chance on Friday (April 19) on the Live Nation website at 10 a.m. local venue time.

VIP packages are also available for those interested in a package that will include a photo-op in front of the stage, access to a VIP lounge, a VIP gift item and more perks.

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Future and Metro sprinted out of the gates with their We Don’t Trust You album in March, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 251,000 total album-equivalent units in the week ending March 28, per Luminate.

Album standout “Like That” featuring Kendrick Lamar’s atomic bomb on the rap game is spending a third week atop the Billboard Hot 100. The fiery track soared to No. 1 on the Hot 100 and is the first rap song to spend its first three weeks at the summit since Drake’s “Nice for What.”

“HIP HOP IS ALIVE AND WELL #WEDONTTRUSTYOU,” Metro wrote on social media after learning “Like That” had notched him his first No. 1 hit as a billed artist. (He previously reached the summit as a co-producer and co-writer on Migos’ “Bad & Boujee” and The Weeknd’s “Heartless.”)

The duo could be making yet another splash on the charts as Pluto and Young Metro returned to give fans 25 more tracks packaged as another album, fittingly titled We Still Don’t Trust You.

Find all of the We Trust You Tour dates below.

July 30 – Kansas City, Mo. @ T-Mobile Center
July 31 – Saint Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
Aug. 2 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Fiserv Forum
Aug. 3 – Chicago, Ill. @ Lollapalooza
Aug. 4 – Detroit, Mich. @ Little Caesars Arena
Aug. 6 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 8 – Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm Arena
Aug. 10 – Columbus, Ohio @ Schottenstein Center
Aug. 11 – Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank Arena
Aug. 13 – Boston, Mass. @ TD Garden
Aug. 14 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 15 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Barclays Center
Aug. 17 – Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena
Aug. 20 – New Orleans, La. @ Smoothie King Center
Aug. 22 – Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
Aug. 23 – San Antonio, Texas @ Frost Bank Center
Aug. 24 – Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
Aug. 25 – Tulsa, Okla. @ BOK Center
Aug. 27 – Denver, Colo. @ Ball Arena
Aug. 28 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Delta Center
Aug. 30 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ T-Mobile Arena
Aug. 31 – Inglewood, Calif. @ Intuit Dome
Sept. 3 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Golden 1 Center
Sept. 4 – Oakland, Calif. @ Oakland Arena
Sept. 6 – Seattle, Wash. @ Climate Pledge Arena
Sept. 7 – Portland, Ore. @ Moda Center
Sept. 9 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Rogers Arena

Virgin Music Elevates Cindy James to General Manager in North America

Cindy James has been promoted to general manager of Virgin Music Group‘s operations in North America, the company announced on Tuesday (April 16).

The former executive of the week — and regular entry on Billboard’s Indie Power Players lists — joined the UMG-owned indie music distributor and label services company in 2019 as head of commercial marketing and most recently served as svp and head of commercial marketing.

“Cindy has been instrumental in providing leadership and insights across the ever-evolving landscape of our business,” said Jacqueline Saturn, president of Virgin Music Group North America and evp of global artist relations. “Having worked in offices in Australia, London, NY, and LA, she has amassed incredible global knowledge, commercial expertise, and invaluable relationships that will help take our artist and label partners to the next level.”

Prior to joining Virgin, James was vp of streaming and playlist strategy at Island Records. That move to the Universal family followed more than nine years at Sony Music Entertainment, where James rose to senior director of streaming and playlisting strategy and held other senior roles in New York, London and Sydney.

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She is currently based out of VMG’s global headquarters in Los Angeles.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be part of the independent music community than right now,” James said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside Jacqueline to continue building upon our important work as a key partner to the visionary entrepreneurs on our roster.”

James spoke with Billboard in 2023 on how the role of a distributor has changed in recent years, and how Virgin has managed to set itself apart from a crowded pack.

“People traditionally think of ‘distribution’ or ‘label services’ as one step removed from the process, but at Virgin Music Group, we look at ourselves as partners in this space and are entirely in the game of breaking artists, driving hits and label development,” she said. “We are globally connected and coordinated with the thoughtful strategy behind every move we make while always asking ourselves what’s right for the artist, the project and the label.”

Michael Bublé, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder & More Help Celebrate Centennial of Henry Mancini’s Birth

April 16 marks the centennial of Henry Mancini’s birth. The composer won album of the year at the inaugural Grammy Awards in 1959 (for The Music From Peter Gunn) and was the first composer to win back-to-back Oscars for best original song (for “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses,” both written with lyricist Johnny Mercer).

The Mancini family is celebrating the centennial on multiple fronts, and has announced The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company. The album, with a title that nods to Ray Charles’ posthumous 2004 hit Genius Loves Company, will be available June 21 via Primary Wave. The first single, “Peter Gunn” — featuring Quincy Jones, John Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Arturo Sandoval — is out now.

On being asked to contribute to the upcoming album, Michael Bublé said: “When the Mancini family calls and asks you to be a part of honoring the legacy of a genius, you say, ‘Thank you so very much. I would love to be there.’ … You say yes!” ​​

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Here’s the full track list for The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company.

  •     “Peter Gunn” feat. Quincy Jones, John Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Arturo Sandoval
  •     “Pink Panther” feat. Lizzo and Sir James Galway
  •     “Moon River” feat. Michael Bublé with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  •     “Lujon (Slow Hot Wind)” feat. Pat Metheny
  •     “Days of Wine and Roses” feat. Take 6 & Monica Mancini
  •     “Baby Elephant Walk” feat. Snarky Puppy
  •     “Moon River / Audrey’s Letter,” feat. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale, Stevie Wonder, and Audrey Hepburn

On June 23, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and special guests Bublé, Cynthia Erivo and Monica Mancini will raise the curtain on the Bowl’s 2024 season with a 100th birthday celebration for Henry Mancini conducted by Thomas Wilkins.

The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions

The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions

Courtesy Photo

Additionally, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Tuesday unveiled an installation on behalf of Mancini’s 100th birthday in its Cleveland Rocks gallery. The installation features Mancini’s Grammy for album of the year, a bomber jacket with embroidered “Hank” from the Pink Panther Tour, a handwritten score of Peter Gunn and more.

TCM will honor Mancini’s birthday Tuesday with a lineup of programming dedicated to the late composer. The full 24-hour schedule will feature classics that he scored, including The Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Two for the Road.    

This past Valentine’s Day, Tiffany’s in New York displayed a handwritten letter from Audrey Hepburn, the star of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to Mancini. Last week, Tiffany’s in Tokyo unveiled its display of Mancini’s two Oscars for the film (best original song and best original score) as well as Hepburn’s dress from the film. The exhibition is open to the public until June 23.

CBS Sunday Morning has aired two tribute episodes on the Mancini centennial, with a third episode to be aired prior to the release of the album.

On Aug. 4, music director, conductor and arranger Kevin Stites will explore Mancini’s music at the annual Gala Benefit Evening at the Ravinia Festival. Curated and hosted by actor Rob Lindley, “Mancini at 100: The Music of Henry Mancini” features Broadway vocalists Jessie Mueller, Norm Lewis and Karen Mason.

This fall, The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini: Official Graphic Novel will hit shelves. This new graphic novel, written by David Calcano and illustrated by the studio Fantoons, illustrates every step in Mancini’s journey.

Mancini’s songs have been covered by a broad range of artists, including Beyoncé, Carpenters, Frank Ocean, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and R.E.M.

“Moon River” ranked No. 4 on AFI’s 2004 list AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs, behind “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca and “Singin’ in the Rain” from the movie of the same name. (Of these four songs, only “Moon River” and Over the Rainbow” were written for those films.)

“Days of Wine and Roses” ranked No. 39 on that list. Mancini’s score for The Pink Panther ranked No. 20 on AFI’s 2005 list AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores.

Mancini was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy posthumously in 1995.

Mancini seemed to have a charmed life and career, except for dying at the relatively young age of 70 of pancreatic cancer. He died in Los Angeles on June 14, 1994, while he was working on the Broadway adaptation of Victor/Victoria. He had won his fourth Oscar for that 1982 film.

Hot 100 First-Timer: Chappell Roan Arrives With New Single ‘Good Luck, Babe!’

Seven years after releasing her first string of songs on streaming services, Chappell Roan is now officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist.

The pop singer-songwriter earns her first entry on the April 20-dated Hot 100 with “Good Luck, Babe!” The song, released April 5 via KRA International/Amusement/Island/Republic, opens at No. 77 with 6.6 million official streams, 67,000 in radio airplay audience and 1,000 downloads sold in the U.S. through April 11, according to Luminate. Chappell co-wrote the song with Justin Tranter and Dan Nigro, who also produced it. She performed it live for the first time Friday (April 12) during her Coachella set.



Chappell Roan (real name Kayleigh Amstutz; her artist name is a tribute to her late grandfather, Dennis Chappell, and the song “The Strawberry Roan”), from Willard, Mo., first reached Billboard’s charts in October 2023 with her debut full-length album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The set debuted at No. 3 on Heatseekers Albums. It debuted at No. 127 on the Billboard 200 dated April 6 and jumps to a new No. 66 high on the latest list.

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Chappell Roan initially signed to Atlantic Records in 2015 and released a five-track EP, School Nights, before she left the label in 2020. She subsequently teamed up with songwriter-producer Nigro – the chart-topping hitmaker who has collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray and Caroline Polachek – for her breakout songs “Pink Pony Club” and “Naked in Manhattan.”

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“My music [at that time] reflected the feelings of my first time in a gay club, my first time falling in love with a woman, my first time feeling homesick,” she told Billboard last year. “I had to go through all those experiences, that pain and suffering, to rebirth myself into where I am now.”

Chappell Roan maintained a cult following ahead of her Hot 100 arrival. Her music draws from ‘80s disco and early-2000s pop hits. On tour, she invites local drag queens to open for her and donates a portion of ticket sales to For the Gworls, an organization that raises money to aid Black transgender people.

“Especially as a queer person who has the privilege of making money off the queer community to support myself, it’s important to redistribute funds,” she told Billboard.

Chappell Roan is currently on her Midwest Princess Tour. Later this month, she’ll join Rodrigo on the European leg of the latter’s Guts World Tour. Along with the second weekend of Coachella, she is also slated to perform at Boston Calling, Governors Ball and Bonnaroo.

Katy Perry Excited About Next Album: ‘It’s Very Bright and Joyful and Fun’

It’s been almost four years since Katy Perry put on her clown nose on the cover of her sixth studio album, Smile. The follow-up to the somewhat dour 2017 album Witness featured collaborations with producers including Charlie Puth, Stargate and Zedd and an upbeat vibe fueled by the singles “Daisies” and “Smile.”

On Monday night (April 15), after suffering a near wardrobe malfunction on American Idol, Perry spoke to Access Hollywood about the incident and also gave a sneak peek at what fans can expect from her as-yet-untitled next album. “I just have yet to make a record from a place of feeling really happy and whole and full of love,” said Perry, who shares three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Daisy Dove Bloom with fiancé actor Orlando Bloom.

“Sometimes artists are like, ‘Oh, that’s boring, you want to make music from kind of like a tougher place,’ but actually it’s very bright and joyful, like pure joy and fun and playful and celebratory and a party.”

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While Perry has not announced any additional details about the album, on Monday night’s Idol — during which the top 20 were pared down to the top 14 — the singer almost had too much fun when the elaborate, sculptural metallic top she was wearing nearly came off during the broadcast.

“I wouldn’t call it a malfunction, I just call it an interesting moment on live television,” she told Access Hollywood about the incident that had fellow judge Luke Bryan trying to pitch in and mend the broken Kate Barton aluminum crop top as stylists scrambled to keep the singer from flashing a prime time audience on Disney-owned ABC. “Seems like every season I’m either tearing the seam of my pants or I’m just super expressive physically. I love this outfit so much and I knew I was rolling the dice, but I was like, ‘who cares?’”

Watch Perry tease her next album below.



SZA to Be Honored by Songwriters Hall of Fame With Hal David Starlight Award

SZA will receive the Hal David Starlight Award at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards dinner on Thursday, June 13, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

The award, named after the late lyricist and SHOF chairman emeritus, is presented to “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs,” according to the announcement.

It is meant as a balance to the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s top award, which is a career-capping honor. This year’s Mercer Award will be presented to Diane Warren. This marks only the second time that both the Mercer Award and the Hal David Starlight Award will be presented to female artists. In 2019, Carole Bayer Sager took the Mercer prize, while Halsey won the Starlight Award.

SZA will become the second Black woman to receive the honor, following Alicia Keys in 2005.

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SZA and Warren competed for an Academy Award for best original song in 2019. SZA was nominated for co-writing “All the Stars” from Black Panther; Warren for writing “I’ll Fight” from RBG, a documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Neither song won. The award went to “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.

The “Snooze” singer was the most nominated artist at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, with nine nods. She won three Grammys in February for her sophomore album SOS, though she lost the top prize, album of the year, to Taylor Swift (the 2010 recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award).

“This is such an exciting time for songwriters and music,” SHOF chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement. “Phenomenal artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are pushing the envelope of what success looks like, but who could argue that the last two years belong to SZA. Incredible songwriting, incredible performances, incredible artistry.  She so deserves to be the 2024 recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award!”

SOS topped the all-genre Billboard 200 for 10 weeks and headed Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 24 weeks. “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” reached No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.

Previously announced 2024 inductees are Hillary Lindsey; Timothy Mosley (aka Timbaland); Dean Pitchford; R.E.M. (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) and Steely Dan (Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker).

Here’s the complete list of recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award.

  • 2004: Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty)
  • 2005: Alicia Keys
  • 2006: John Mayer
  • 2007: John Legend
  • 2008: John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
  • 2009: Jason Mraz
  • 2010: Taylor Swift
  • 2011: Drake
  • 2012: Ne-Yo
  • 2013: Benny Blanco
  • 2014: Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons)
  • 2015: Nate Ruess (fun.)
  • 2016: Nick Jonas (Jonas Brothers)
  • 2017: Ed Sheeran
  • 2018: Sara Bareilles
  • 2019: Halsey
  • 2022: Lil Nas X
  • 2023: Post Malone
  • 2024: SZA

Decca Records U.S. Promotes Joseph Oerke to Executive Vice President

Joseph Oerke has been promoted to executive vice president, Decca Records U.S., the Verve Label Group announced on Tuesday (April 16). 

“I love classical music,” Oerke said in a statement. “In fact, I moved to New York to study oboe and got my first job in the gift shop at the Metropolitan Opera. I think that everyone can find at least one piece of classical music that stirs emotions and part of my job is to bring this music to more people. Leading this storied label is a dream for me.”

Dickon Stainer, president and CEO of Verve Label Group, added that “Joseph is propelling Decca U.S. into a new era as the leading classical record company in America.”

“With his boundless experience and formidable team-building skills, Joseph is perfectly positioned to serve the finest classical artists of the world, and their passionate US audiences,” Stainer said.  

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In 2023, Decca Records was responsible for 47% of the classical albums chart based on consumption, according to Luminate. The company also notched a single-week US sales record for a classical album on vinyl with Joe Hisaishi’s A Symphonic Celebration: Music From The Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki

“There is a massive population of people who listen to instrumental and classical music during activities like meditation, yoga, cooking dinner, studying and so much more,” Oerke told Billboard last year. “We’ve intensely focused on these spaces and created opportunities to highlight the genre.”

Oerke has also been passionate about using social media platforms to power the spread of classical music. “We are constantly monitoring trends and daily activity on social platforms like TikTok, Reels and Shorts and with our deep understanding of fan behavior we can double down on our consumer-led marketing,” he said in 2023. “Elevating [user generated content] with initiatives like influencer campaigns and plugging our artists and music into relevant cultural trends are just a few ways we work to position our artists at the forefront of online culture to give their music a chance to stand out amongst the thousands of tracks released every day.”

Hypebeast Alert: New SUPREME x Nike Spring Capsule On The Way

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SUPREME X NIKE CAPSULE 2024

Source: SUPREME / Supreme

Two of the culture’s most beloved brands are partnering up. A SUPREME and Nike collaboration is on the way.

Last week the New York City based label unveiled their newest cobranded effort. This time it is with Nike and as expected the capsule covers off on several streetwear staples intended to bring a twist to how most approach spring fashion. Included in the collection are a series of denim shorts, hooded sweatshirts with matching pants, headwear, buttoned-up short sleeve shirts and some outerwear pieces. While the drop is diverse enough to ensure there is something to fit everyone’s style needs the standouts in this collection are very clear.

The Ripstop Pullover and accompanying Track Pants are made of water resistant nylon with the Nike logo on the waist and on the back. These sets are available in three color ways including a cream, black with white stitching and a purple pink with a eye catching gradient effect. Some other items that are sure to be in high demand include the denim puffer vest with branding on the left collar and back. As for accessories we get some sleek bucket hats that will add point of difference to any streetstyle look.

The SUPREME x Nike spring collection will be available starting April 18.

SUPREME X NIKE CAPSULE 2024

Source: SUPREME / Supreme