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15 Mar 2023

Samantha Ronson Reacts to Lindsay Lohan Pregnancy News

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson had an on-again, off-again relationship from 2008 to 2009. The pair have remained friends — Lohan revealed during a 2019 interview with The Howard Stern Show that she and the DJ “were friends more than anything” — so how does Ronson feel about the actress’ recent pregnancy announcement?

“I wish her all the best,” she told TMZ on Tuesday. “It’s always great news when someone is expecting a baby.”

Lohan revealed that she was expecting her first child with husband Bader Shammas in an Instagram post Tuesday by sharing a photo of a white onesie with the words “Coming Soon …” printed on it. “We are blessed and excited!” she captioned the photo, ending her message with prayer hands, gray heart, baby face and baby bottle emojis.

The Mean Girls actress also caught up with TMZ and issued a statement about entering motherhood in the months ahead. “We are very excited for our new family member to arrive and we are looking forward to this next chapter of our lives!” Following Lohan’s baby news, several stars flocked to the comments section of her post to wish her well, including Paris Hilton, Donatella Versace, Quinta Brunson, Amanda Seyfried and more.

“Welcome to the Mommy Club!” wrote Hilton, who recently welcomed her very first child with husband Carter Reum via surrogate this year.

Lohan’s pregnancy comes a little under a year of being married to the financier. The star announced her engagement to Shammas in November 2021 and confirmed in July that that they had quietly married each other.

15 Mar 2023

Jim Jones Wants A LOX And Dipset ‘Verzuz’ Rematch [Video]

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Jim Jones

Source: Bernard Beanz Smalls / Bernard Beanz Smalls,

The LOX and Dipset Verzuz was one of the most memorable moments in Hip-Hop ever. Jim Jones is requesting both groups do a round two.

As spotted on Vibe Magazine the Harlem, New York native recently did an interview with AllHipHop.com. While he discussed a variety of topics include his new album Back In My Prime the hosts got him to speak about the iconic night at Madison Square Garden. Surprisingly the “We Fly High” rapper revealed he thinks a rematch is in order. “I don’t think that energy will ever be duplicated outside of New York unless we go for the rematch, you heard?” explained. “The way I’m thinking about it is last time, there was a lot going on. The venue was way too small. There were people on my back. There were people on people’s shoulders in there.”

Jim Jones also went to say only one venue can really host an event of this magnitude. “I think we need proper respect of doing it in the Garden, the big Garden, with proper security, set up right so everybody have breathing room. Not using it as no excuse, but we need a rematch for the city. I’m putting it out there. I’m putting it out there like Rocky after he lost to Apollo Creed. And we gonna be ready like hot spaghetti.”

Swizz Beatz and Timberland have to comment on exploring a rematch. You can see Jim discuss his dreams for a round two below.



Photo: Bernard Beanz Smalls

15 Mar 2023

Ed Sheeran Says ‘Eyes Closed’ Is About ‘Losing Someone,’ Remembers Late Friend Jamal Edwards

Ed Sheeran is gearing up to release his new song, “Eyes Closed,” on March 24, and on Wednesday (March 15), he gave fans some insight on the heartbreaking inspiration behind the track.

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“This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and every thing just reminds you of them and things you did together,” he wrote alongside two black-and-white photos of himself drinking at what looks to be a run-down bar. “You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it.”

The four-time Grammy winner went on to mention his friend Jamal Edwards, a music entrepreneur who died in February 2022 of cardiac arrest at age 31. “Blue was Jamal’s colour, but now is all I feel. And I guess music helps heal, so I’m dancing with my eyes closed to try get through it,” Sheeran concluded his message.

Earlier this month, Sheeran announced that – (pronounced Subtract), the last installment in Sheeran’s decade-long mathematical album era, will be arriving on May 5 via Atlantic Records.

“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art,” he explained of the upcoming album in his announcement.

“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air,” he shared. “As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”

15 Mar 2023

Just Blaze Discusses Discovery of Lost Michael Jackson Vocals

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De La Soul's The DA.I.S.Y. Experience at Webster Hall

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Just Blaze reveals how he stumbled upon vocals that Michael Jackson had recorded for one of Jay-Z’s greatest songs, which had been regarded as an “urban myth”.

The Grammy-nominated producer recently appeared as a guest for the latest episode of the Idea Generation series hosted by journalist Noah Callahan-Bever. As they talked, the discussion turned to what has been considered an urban legend in Hip-Hop – the fact that the legendary Michael Jackson had recorded vocals for Jay-Z’s smash hit “Girls, Girls, Girls”. Just Blaze confirmed that the vocals exist and how finding them surprised him as well.

“So Michael Jackson is on the Girls, Girls, Girls remix. The A version. And I never knew that,” he began. “I don’t know if I didn’t go to the studio that day. I thought it was an urban legend or something that Jay said like in jest one day or just was some kind of a myth. So one day I was looking for something on the server and I find this straight folder that says MJ vocals.”

Just Blaze then detailed what he found as he looked through the files from the recording sessions for Jackson’s “You Rock My World” remix from 2001 that he did with Jay-Z. “And I’m like MJ- don’t that mean Michael Jackson- oh whatever. And I’m thinking it’s probably stuff from- remember Jay had or remember they had the Rock My World- so I’m thinking it’s like takes from that session.”

He continued: “And I’m like I don’t think they recorded this at Baseline but let me take a listen and see what it is. And I realize as I’m listening to it, it’s him singing on Girls, Girls, Girls. And I’m like… it’s true. Like I never- the last 20 years- I just found it during quarantine. So all these years I’ve never known it was actually a real thing. And turns out the files had been sitting downstairs this entire time.”

The conversation with Callahan-Bever also covered how the first moniker Just Blaze was ever tagged with was “Just Hot”…which he turned down. “It came about during the Mase sessions actually. Super Sam and, rest in peace, Huddy Combs. They were like yo you gotta come up with a name. I was just DJ Just. They were like you can’t just be Just. You gotta be something better than that. I think it was Sam who was like yo, your name should be Just Hot. And I was like I am not naming myself Just Hot.”

Check out the entire Idea Generation episode below.



15 Mar 2023

Sotheby’s Auctioning Off Michael Jordan’s Game-Worn Air Jordan 13’s From ’98 NBA Finals

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Michael Jordan's Game-Worn Air Jordan 13's

Source: Sotheby’s / Sotheby’s

Another pair of game-worn Air Jordans are set to hit the auction block, and best believe these’ll fetch a pretty penny after it’s all said and done.

Michael Jordan's Game-Worn Air Jordan 13's

Source: Sotheby’s / Sotheby’s

Hypebeast is reporting that Sotheby’s will be selling off a rare pair of Air Jordan13’s that Michael Jordan wore during game two of the 1998 NBA Finals in which the GOAT made sure that Karl “The Mailman” Malone went home with an empty satchel. It’s amazing how someone like Michael Jordan doesn’t keep all his game-worn attire, which ends up hitting the auction block. But as far as this particular pair goes, there’s actually an interesting story as to how these ended up in someone else’s hands.

From Hypebeast:

This is the only complete pair of his game-worn shoes from the 1998 NBA Finals that have been authenticated by The MeiGray Group. This particular pair is also the final pair of Air Jordan XIII Breds that Michael would ever lace up in an NBA game. These sneakers were given to a ball boy from Jordan after the game. The basketball star took the sneakers off in the locker room after Game 2 and signed each one before handing them over to the ball boy as a thank you for his services and hospitality during the Bulls visits.

Can’t be mad at that at all.

With the rarity and history behind these Air Jordan 13’s, Sotheby’s expects to haul in anywhere between $2-4 million. The rare kicks will be part of their VICTORIAM sales series which will feature sports memorabilia from iconic athletes from both the past and the present.

The auction is set to begin April 3 and will come to an end April 11. A public exhibition will be held at Sotheby’s New York on April 5 for everyone who wants a good look at what they can’t have.

Would you bid on these grails if you had the coin to spare? We’d personally prefer a pair of the Air Jordan 13 “Biggie” joints, but that’s just us. Let us know in the comments section below.

Michael Jordan's Game-Worn Air Jordan 13's

Source: Sotheby’s / Sotheby’s

15 Mar 2023

Ciara’s Jaw Dropping Vanity Fair Oscars Party Dress Had Holier Than Thou Twitter BIG MAD

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2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones - Arrivals

Source: Karwai Tang / Getty / Ciara

Happily married woman Ciara has social media chirping thanks to her jaw-dropping Vanity Fair Oscars Party dress.

Ciara made everyone forget about the Academy Awards and any drama when she showed up to the Vanity Fair Oscars party with her husband, Russell Wilson, rocking a see-through dress that left nothing to the imagination.

Ciara’s goodies were on full display in the sparkling sheer number from Dundas’ Fall/Winter 2023 RTW collection paired with flesh-colored nipple covers, long black gloves, a thong, and strappy Santoni heels.

Wilson, the current Denver Broncos quarterback, complimented his wife’s fly, rocking an all-black suit with a teal brooch.

The Purity Police Was Out In Full Force

To be expected, the purity police and holier than thou sect of Twitter came out blasting the singer for her dress for daring to show off the body she works hard to maintain.

They got Elon Musk’s sh*tty Twitter talking about that; as a married woman, and a woman of faith, Ciara should not be wearing such revealing clothing.

They said all that after seeing her husband proudly posing for photos with her.

Many People Came To Ciara’s Defense

Thankfully many people came to the defense of the singer calling out those who had nothing but righteous hate in their blood.

One Twitter user pointed out that Ciara’s dress followed the party’s theme of “old Hollywood barely there glam” while sharing a collage of the other women wearing sheer outfits.

“All of this talk about Ciara’s dress and y’all didn’t mention that it wasn’t for the Oscars, but an Oscar party themed-event “Barely there” this brings perspective,” the Twitter user wrote. 

Another user brilliantly flipped the argument using a photo of Russell Wilson in swimming trunks writing in the tweet, “I’m telling you ladies, you can’t turn no h*e into a husband! Look at Ciara’s husband, Russell Wilson, out here half-naked like he doesn’t have three kids at home looking up to him as an example. He’s a married man, and he’s disrespecting her in public with a risqué outfit.”

Points were made.

Ciara looked stunning. The haters can kick rocks and say all the hail mary’s in the corner. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

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Photo: Karwai Tang / Getty

2. Great question

15 Mar 2023

Micah Tyler Scores His First Christian Airplay Chart No. 1 With ‘I See Grace’

Micah Tyler banks his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart as “I See Grace” ascends to the summit in its 31st week on the survey.

In the tracking week ending March 9, the song increased by 7% to 7.5 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.

Tyler co-penned “Grace” with Zach Kale and Matthew West. It was produced by AJ Pruis.

Born Micah Tyler Begnaud, the 39-year-old singer-songwriter hails from Buna, Texas, and is now based in Nashville.

“Grace” became Tyler’s sixth Christian Airplay top 10. It follows “Walking Free,” which peaked at No. 6 in March 2022. His rookie entry, “Never Been a Moment,” hit No. 2 in April 2017, followed by “Different” (No. 6, December 2017); “Even Then” (No. 3, February 2019); and “Amen” (No. 2, June 2020).

Tyler has also charted on Christian Airplay with “Feels Like Joy” (No. 11, December 2020) and “New Today” (No. 15, March 2021).

Tyler is currently on the road with MercyMe on the band’s Always Only Jesus Tour, which also includes TAYA (who is part of the collective Hillsong United). Their next stops are in Cleveland (March 16) and Green Bay, Wis. (March 17).

15 Mar 2023

Crowder, Dante Bowe & Maverick City Music’s ‘God Really Loves Us’ Tops Hot Gospel Songs

Crowder and Dante Bowe’s “God Really Loves Us,” featuring Maverick City Music, rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Gospel Songs chart dated March 18.

On Hot Christian Songs, it climbs to No. 9, reaching the top 10 for the first time.

Crowder, aka singer-songwriter David Crowder, and Bowe co-wrote the single with Ben Glover and Jeff Sojka.

The song, which is being promoted to Christian radio by Capitol Christian Music Group, climbs 6-4 for a new high on the Christian Airplay chart. It increased by 9% to 6.9 million audience impressions in the week ending March 9, according to Luminate. It also drew 692,000 streams and sold 1,000 downloads in the United States in that span.

Crowder reaches the Hot Gospel Songs summit with his first entry on the chart. Bowe, a member of Christian and gospel collectives Bethel Music and Maverick City Music, notches his second leader with solo billing, while Maverick City Music scores its fifth chart-topper.

On Hot Christian Songs, the track gives Crowder his ninth top 10, Bowe his third and Maverick City Music its fifth.

The collaboration is the latest in a growing number of team-ups among Christian and gospel artists, with two other notable hits involving Maverick City Music, which leans more toward gospel than Christian. On Christian Airplay, the act and Kirk Franklin’s “Fear Is Not My Future,” featuring Brandon Lake, ranks at No. 26 (1.2 million impressions, up 5%). Gospel music star Franklin boasts nine No. 1s among 14 top 10s on Gospel Airplay. Lake, predominately a Christian singer-songwriter, has achieved two Christian Airplay leaders.

Plus, Maverick City Music and Christian music collective Elevation Worship united for “Jireh,” also featuring Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine. The song topped Gospel Airplay for two frames in March 2022, after it reached No. 41 on Christian Airplay in August 2021 (before a version without Elevation Worship hit No. 5 last July).

15 Mar 2023

Darren Criss Translates a Britney Spears Hit Into ’70s Soul, New Wave & Heavy Metal for ‘That’s My Jam’

Darren Criss competed on NBC’s That’s My Jam on Tuesday (March 14) and was tasked with several new spins on “Toxic” by Britney Spears.

The challenge came when the actor was assigned the brand new game “One Song, Many Genres” by host Jimmy Fallon’s giant chrome microphone lever. “I did Glee; I feel like I’m prepped for this,” Criss stated. “It’s kind of a complicated song, I would fare much better if I did this with a guitar. Is that OK if I play guitar on this? … So if I can’t sing it, at least I’ll be able to play.”

After coordinating with the band on the correct key, the Glee alum launched into Spears’ 2004 single in the style of ’70s soul. “Baby can’t you see I’m callin’?/ A guy like you should wear a warnin’/ It’s dangerous, I’m fallin’,” he sang before quickly having to transition to heavy metal, complete with a throaty growl. “There’s no escape, I can’t wait/ I need a hit, baby gimme it/ You’re dangerous, I’m lovin’ it.”

From there, Criss cycled through a litany of wide-spanning musical genres, from new wave and ska to Brazilian lounge and Eurodance before finishing up the song as a bluegrass jam.

Elsewhere during the episode, his teammate Sarah Hyland performed Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” in the pop-punk style of Avril Lavigne for “Wheel of Musical Impressions,” while Billy Porter nailed a gospel version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” and Patti LaBelle performed her own “Lady Marmalade” in a game of “Nonsense Karaoke.”

Watch Criss reinvent “Toxic” in seven different genres below.

15 Mar 2023

Believe Revenues Grew 32% in 2022 as Investments in Europe & Asia Yielded Results

Annual revenues for French music company Believe grew 31.8% to 760.8 million euros ($723.5 million) in 2022 as the company capitalized on investments and expansion in Europe, India and China. Digital sales accounted for 92% of Believe’s revenue while non-digital sources represented just 8%.

The company’s premium solutions segment grew 31.6% to 712.6 million euros ($677.7 million). Automated solutions, which includes the TuneCore distribution platform, improved 34.5% to 48.2 million euros ($45.8 million). TuneCore’s launch of an “unlimited pricing” plan in 2022, which allows artists to distribute an unlimited amount of music for a fixed annual fee, was “extremely successful and translated into an acceleration of growth,” CEO Denis Ladegaillerie said during Wednesday’s earnings call.

“We ended 2022 strongly delivering above our IPO commitments both operationally and financially for the second year in a row,” Ladegaillerie said in a statement. “In 2022, as we have done each year since 2005, we did what we said we would do … or better. We grew our market share; we improved profitability; we generated significant cash flow from our operations.” Free cash flow was 52 million euros ($49.5 million), an improvement from negative 30.7 million euros in 2021.

Believe also revealed that it invested in French pop label Structure, which it called “a new French pop label partnering with two successful producers, behind the recent success of several multi-platinum French pop artists.” It additionally noted an investment in Madizin Music, “a German well-known brand managed by two renowned producers, composers, and entrepreneurs,” as well as an exclusive partnership with Panorama Music, a new Indian label founded by a Bollywood film producer.

Digital revenues improved 34.7% organically as Believe served an additional 200,000 artists, to 1.3 million, either directly or through record labels. In France, Believe was the second-largest music company in digital local repertoire in 2022. Believe was the third-largest recorded music company in Germany “on local repertoire in the streaming market,” and the market’s second-largest company in hip-hop. The company pointed to the chart success of TuneCore artist Theo Junior and Milky Chance, who amassed 1.2 billion streams in 2022 on the strength of the track “Stolen Dance.”

In Asia, Believe has invested in India and Southeast Asia and now has about 80 people spread throughout five offices in China. “The level of activity remained sustained throughout the year as the digital monetization increased in Greater China, which led to the signings in Premium Solutions of more than 300 labels and above 250 artists directly,” the company said.

Looking forward to 2023, Believe expects to post organic revenue growth of 18%, improve its adjusted EBITDA margin to between 5% and 7% and again be cash flow positive. “In 2023, we will continue our profitable growth strategy: invest in our teams to grow market share, innovate in audience development products for our artists and labels, and further drive operational efficiencies through technology and scale to increase profitability,” said Ladegaillerie.