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22 Feb 2023

Family Of Malcolm X To File $100M Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against FBI, CIA, & NYPD

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US-CRIME-POLICE-MALCOM X

The family of Malcolm X announced on Tuesday (Feb. 21) intentions to file a $100 million lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD for conspiring to kill the great civil rights leader. Filed under the guidance of civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, the lawsuit was announced on the very day that Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965.

ABC7 reports that members of the family of Malcolm X gathered at the Shabazz Educational Center, which was formerly the Audobon Ballroom where the leader was shot and killed. Flanked by the family, Crump stated their intentions on gaining justice for their fallen loved one.

“Many things that will be put forth in our lawsuit that speaks to this factual evidence,” Crump said at a press conference held at the center. “We believe that now it could be substantiated based on the recent exonerations of those who were wrongfully convicted.

Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, two of the trio convicted in the death of Malcolm X, were exonerated of their crimes in 2021 after years of imprisonment. It was later revealed by former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance that an investigation headed by Vance and the attorneys for Aziz and Islam uncovered facts that the FBI and NYPD withheld evidence that would have cleared their clients of any wrongdoing.

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Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty

22 Feb 2023

What to Expect From Billboard’s 2023 Women In Music Awards Pre-Show

Billboard is kicking off its 2023 Women in Music Awards with a special pre-show that will further celebrate the successes of some of the most influential women in the industry. 

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The pre-show will explore some of the most notable accomplishments ever made by star-studded women and will feature interviews from some of the award recipients, whom know how invaluable it is to have support on your side.

The pre-show will also see Billboard staff come together for a roundtable segment, where women editors and executives –– including executive director of R&B/Hip-Hop Gail Mitchell, music publishing reporter Kristin Robinson, executive editor for West Coast and Nasvhille Melinda Newman, director of Billboard dance Katie Bain, and senior editor Lyndsey Havens –– discuss their own experiences in the music industry. The Nationwide-sponsored event will see the editors go into detail about their proudest accomplishments as industry professionals, as well as the unique challenges they face in the field as women and who has been on their side through the best and the worst of it all.

Nationwide has long championed musicians with their On Your Side Soundtracks campaign. As part of the campaign, each featured artist puts their own spin on the brand’s famous jingle with an original song that perfectly encapsulates Nationwide’s commitment to protection and care. 

Viewers can tune in via livestream to Billboard’s Women in Music Awards pre-show on March 1 at 6 p.m. PT/3 p.m. PT on Billboard’s Twitter and YouTube channel.

The 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards will then stream live from Los Angeles’s YouTube Theater at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Hosted by Emmy-winner Quinta Brunson, the awards show will highlight the impact made by women, specifically honoring SZA with the Woman of the Year Award, Becky G with the Impact Award, Rosalía with the inaugural Producer of the Year Award, Kim Petras with the Chartbreaker Award, Lana Del Rey with the Visionary Award, Doechii with the Rising Star Award, TWICE with the Breakthrough Award, Lainey Wilson with the Rulebreaker Award, Latto with the Powerhouse Award, and Ivy Queen with the Icon Award. 

22 Feb 2023

Brad Paisley Signs With Universal’s EMI Records Nashville

Brad Paisley has shifted labels, from his longtime home at Sony’s Arista Nashville, to EMI Records Nashville, under the Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) umbrella.

The move reunites Paisley with UMGN chairman/CEO Mike Dungan and president Cindy Mabe. Dungan was instrumental in signing Paisley to his first deal at Arista Nashville, while Mabe served as Paisley’s marketing point person through many of his early album cycles including Mud on the Tires and Time Well Wasted. He also joins a label group roster that includes several of his collaborators, including Carrie Underwood, with whom Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards for more than a decade and together earned a No. 1 Country Airplay hit with “Remind Me” in 2011. He is also now labelmates with his “Start a Band” collaborator Keith Urban.

“There were two people that should get the credit that you even know my name – Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe. I ran into Mike at the fishing department at Walmart after having met with several labels and he talked me into signing my first deal with Arista. They assigned this woman named Cindy Mabe to me – we graduated the same day at Belmont. I got to work with her on my first few albums and now I get to work with her at UMG,” Paisley said via a statement. “Cindy’s a genius and terrific human being. She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed. I’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm and empowerment. She said, ‘Make music that matters.’ It’s an amazing thing to work with Mike and Cindy again. It’s great to know they believe in this music as much as I do.”

For more than two decades, Paisley’s razor-sharp songwriting, keen wit and dedication to country music have garnered him three Grammy Awards, 14 CMA Awards, 15 ACM Awards and more accolades. He was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2001. During his career, he’s posted nine albums at the pinnacle of Billboard’s top country albums chart, and earned nearly two dozen hits on the Country Airplay chart.

Paisley’s first UMG Nashville album is slated for later this year, while he will release a new song from the upcoming project on Feb. 24. Titled “Same Here,” Paisley wrote the song with Lee Thomas Miller and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, with production by Luke Wooten.

“Brad is a true creative. He has no boundaries to what he uses as his canvas. He has used his voice and his words as a gift to heal the world through his philanthropy, his song writing, his guitar playing, his entertaining, his music videos, his sense of humor and his heart,” Mabe said via a statement. “He has been a part of the country music duo with Carrie Underwood that helped define country music to the world. And getting to reunite with my friend and collaborator in his next creative adventure is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I cannot wait for him to share the music he has created with the world.”

22 Feb 2023

Seeker Music Signs Writer, Producer and DJ Kito

Seeker Music has signed Australian-born songwriter, producer, DJ, and artist Kito to a publishing agreement. Known for her collaborations with artists like FLETCHER, Empress Of, Jorja Smith and more, Kito’s deal is one of the company’s first frontline signings.

Kito first became known as a DJ at the start of the 2010s, remixing songs like Beyonce’s “Run the World,” Saweetie and Doja Cat’s “Best Friend,” and MARINA’s “Venus Fly Trap.” Later on, as she developed her writing and production skills, Kito earned cuts with Mabel, BANKS, Tinashé and Jorja Smith and released her own EP Blossom, featuring Jeremih, ZHU and Terror Jr.

Seeker Music was founded in 2020 and quietly amassed a catalog of music IP over the next two years, including hits recorded by Run the Jewels, Christopher Cross, Ginuwine and more. The company is administered by Downtown and funded by London-based private equity firm M&G.

Seeker Music founder and CEO, Evan Bogart, told Billboard in a previous interview that his aim was always to become a multi-hyphenate music company, developing current songwriters and artists as well as building up a robust back catalog of songs, however, the company’s frontline efforts were hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I invest with my heart before money,” the executive explained, adding that meeting talent over Zoom made it difficult to foster camaraderie with potential signees. Now that in-person meetings and writing sessions have resumed, Seeker has bolstered its frontline business, signing acts like Kito as well as Sofía Valdés (Warner Records), Katie Pearlman (Kelly Clarkson, Grace Potter, Sabrina Carpenter), Sweetsound (Jesse Baez, Snoop Dogg, Natanael Cano), and MNDR.

Kito noted that she opted to sign with Seeker for its “quality over quantity” approach to its roster and that Bogart is a songwriter himself. Best known for penning hits like “SOS” by Rihanna and “Halo” by Beyonce, Kito says of Bogart “I trust Evan because he understands what it’s like to write a song and bring it into the world. He’s also built himself as a songwriter ‘business,’ and worked with, and mentored, some of the greatest writers in the world. The whole team at Seeker really ‘gets’ the creative process and what’s important to music creators. I’m excited for this next chapter together and everything we’re cooking up for 2023 and beyond.”

Bogart says of the deal, “everyone wanted to sign Kito and I couldn’t be prouder that she chose Seeker to be her family. She’s insanely talented and she’s going to dominate music, and the music business, in the years to come.”

22 Feb 2023

Billboard Woman of the Year SZA on Making Chart History and Preparing to ‘Pop Ass and Cry and Give Theater’ On Tour

In the five years that followed SZA’s culture-shifting 2017 debut album, Ctrl, the pressure to deliver another ambitious, eclectic project reached a boiling point. Yet somehow, she managed to cut through the noise, surpassing the astronomically high expectations set by Ctrl with her much anticipated follow-up.

When SOS arrived Dec. 9, 2022, on RCA Records and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), it didn’t just successfully steer clear of the sophomore slump — it elevated her to superstardom. Across its whopping 23 tracks, SZA embarked on a fearless sonic voyage, dipping her toes in gospel, grunge, rap and whatever else she fancied outside of R&B’s boundaries. Similarly, she took her writing up several notches with dynamic, vivid storytelling that tugged deeper at heartache and self-acceptance. And its commercial success has already made history: SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent seven consecutive weeks there, making SZA, Taylor Swift and Adele the only three women to rule the all-genre albums chart for that long. The set then returned to No. 1 for an eighth week on Feb. 9 and just claimed a ninth (on the chart dated Feb. 25), boasting more weeks atop the Billboard 200 than any R&B album since Usher’s Confessions ruled for nine nonconsecutive weeks in 2004. SOS‘s nine weeks at No. 1 also gave it the most weeks atop the chart for an album by a woman in nearly seven years, since Adele’s 25.

And yet, despite all that success, she still feels like she has to prove herself.

“Right now, I just have extreme gratitude because I swear to God, I never thought I’d be No. 1 for even a week, let alone seven,” the 33-year-old artist born Solána Imani Rowe tells Billboard in early February as she cruises along the Pacific Coast Highway — a brief moment of reprieve before she really hits the road this spring for her first-ever arena tour.

“SZA is a force,” says Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s manager and TDE president. “To go seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 is legendary. She’s a true generational artist, a cultural reset, if you will. For her album SOS to blend so many different genres together in a cohesive frame shows her genius and versatility. Then you have the voice, the words, the pain, the growth, the relapsing, the delivery, the stories, etc. … a true masterpiece.”

While the industry and public alike overwhelmingly share Henderson’s sentiment, Billboard’s 2023 Woman of the Year remains prone to self-doubt. Thoughts like “Do I deserve this?” and “I wish I did better” frequently creep into her mind, and she’s working on quieting them. She has already released new music since SOS dropped, by way of her February appearance on the remix of Lizzo’s 2022 song “Special.”

“Manifestation is real,” Lizzo tells Billboard. “I declare 2023 the year of SZA. But SZA has been Woman of the Year for me for at least a decade. I’m always such a fan of her music, a fan of her artistry, but I really love her as a friend. Solána Imani Rowe, you will always be ‘the one.’ ”

And, once she releases the deluxe edition of SOS — which will feature 10 additional tracks and is coming soon — SZA says she’ll be done trying to convince herself that she deserves her flowers.

“I guess I need to stop trying to figure out what it means,” SZA admits, “and start realizing and living in what it is.”

How did you feel after SOS was released? Did you have any hesitations about its reception?

You know when something is really popular, the positive is loud and the negative is loud? I’ve never been quite this popular before, so the negative is also really loud, and it threw me off. I was like, “OK, cool. Noted.” And I tried to figure out what actually resonates with me as a true assessment of my work and what is not true and something I can’t allow myself to internalize. I know people wanted [Ctrl’s] “Broken Clocks,” “Love Galore” and all that other sh-t again, but I departed from that by choice. Not because I couldn’t do that again; it was just because I wanted to grow. I wanted to do something completely different.

It’s hard making music as a Black woman [because] we don’t get the luxury to try something and have it be something that’s genuinely part of us. You have to allow people to get to know different parts of you. Some people may really f–king hate that, and some people might enjoy it. And I’m grateful for those who enjoy it.

Were you surprised that “Kill Bill” — which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 to become your highest-charting song to date — was the SOS song that took off?

I knew it would be something that pissed me off. It’s always a song that I don’t give a f–k about that’s just super easy, not the sh-t that I put so much heart and energy into. “Kill Bill” was super easy — one take, one night.

The chart success of SOS has put you in the same conversation as pop superstars. Is it important for you to be recognized outside of the R&B space?

To even be in the conversation with Taylor [Swift] and Miley [Cyrus], even the fact that our fans are fighting, is ridiculous because it’s like, “How?!” I just really appreciate the opportunity to be in that conversation at all. It’s something I never dreamed of.

What are your thoughts about your upcoming first-ever arena tour and performing this album in front of your fans?

It’s interesting because my other shows were intimate, and I felt like people were really coming to see me. But I know certain people are just coming to see what the hype is about, and that makes me nervous. But I just want to put on the best show that expresses my theatrical side.

I am deeply excited to pop ass and cry and give theater. I want it to feel like a play on Broadway, but more like Suspiria and Cirque du Soleil in the weirdest way. I want it to be smart and exhilarating and exhausting and exciting like a party, but also like a therapy session.

How do you tour an emotionally intense album like SOS? Do you insulate yourself from the material, or does it inevitably dredge up emotions?

I never know. When I was performing “20 Something” before my grandma died, it didn’t hit me the same. And then after my grandma died, I could barely get through it at rehearsal. Who knows what any of these songs will bring up for me in real life? Shooting the video for “Nobody Gets Me” was really f–king sad. I cried a lot. I’m just going to wing it and see.

What does it mean for you to be Billboard’s Woman of the Year?
It really scares me. But I really want to do something with my time in the sun right now. There’s so much I want to do for other people. I need to do something to deserve that in a way that has nothing to do with me, something that’s selfless and uplifts other women, people, period. It makes me feel more responsible than I was before. I feel like I owe everyone so much more than just smiling and getting onstage and waving. Part of it I know is just letting God use me and be myself and letting that be part of the work. But I know that there’s something more that I have to do.

SZA

SZA photographed on October 11, 2022 at Quixote Studios in Los Angeles.

AB + DM

You were the first woman signed to TDE in 2013. How did you manage to maneuver through the male-dominated label for nearly a decade on your own?

I didn’t mind the lack of female artists. I just felt like I was always the first to do something, and that was frustrating. It was me telling y’all I need hair and makeup because I’m super hands-on, on top of being a woman. I’m making PowerPoints trying to explain why I want to be in this type of publication versus that type of publication.

It was tough, but by the same token, I think all of us grew together at the same time. They never had to do anything like this before, and we were all being so randomly innovative together by trying to figure out what makes sense. And I also liked that they weren’t trying to clean me up and look like anybody else. They were just taking me as I was. That was really priceless, just to express myself visually how I wanted to and without the judgment of “Let’s make her pretty or sparkly and shiny and sterile.”

Who are some women in the music industry whom you look up to?

There’s nobody in the industry that f–ks with me and that I f–k with the way that Lizzo f–ks with me and the way I f–k with her. She never made me feel like because I don’t have a No. 1 song or I [previously] didn’t have a No. 1 album that I wasn’t capable. She’d been telling me that she thought I was the one for years. The way that she thinks of me so highly as a human being and as an artist means so much to me. I just have never met anybody like her in this entire industry.

There’s a lot of women I look up to in general that I don’t know personally, but watching them is incredible. Beyoncé, but who doesn’t look up to Beyoncé? I love Jozzy’s and Starrah’s energy. I love the way Nija is from New Jersey and has been able to transmute her energy from being a writer to an artist. Kehlani’s hella effervescent, and you can just feel the energy when she’s performing. I love Chloe Bailey and her commitment to perfection — I feel like she’s going to be a legend. Even Taylor letting that whole situation go with her masters and then selling all of those f–king records. That’s the biggest “f–k you” to the establishment I’ve ever seen in my life, and I deeply applaud that sh-t.

What does the future look like for SZA?

After I do the deluxe, I’m hoping to be able to accept that this chapter is done. I’m looking forward to actually feeling proud of myself and not just smiling and nodding at accolades but really feeling it internally and knowing that I’m good enough.

SZA

A version of this story will appear in the Feb. 25, 2023, issue of Billboard.

22 Feb 2023

Alabama Player Brandon Miller Gave Darius Miles Gun Used In Killing Of Jamea Harris

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Florida v Alabama

Brandon Miller, a standout player with the University of Alabama men’s basketball team, gave former teammate Darius Miles the handgun used in the fatal shooting of Jamea Harris. Despite Miller’s involvement in the capital murder case, he will not face charges in the matter.

AL. com reports in detail that Brandon Miller, a freshman forward for the Crimson Tide, provided the gun to Miles and Michael Davis that was used on the Tuscaloosa strip in the killing of Harris, who was 23.

According to testimony given by a detective working on the case, Miles contacted Miller to bring his gun to the location and Miles then informed Davis that the gun was loaded and had a bullet in the chamber. Miles then reportedly removed his girlfriend out of the way of gunfire as Davis reportedly pulled the trigger. Miller was also at the scene of the shooting along with another Crimson Tide player, Jaden Bradley.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Miles and Davis who are both facing charges in the Jan. 15 killing. The pair are longtime friends who grew up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In the hearing, the pair claimed they were acting in self-defense and their legal team requested that they be set free to go on bond.

Alabama Coach Nate Oats spoke about the case and says that Miller is not in any trouble with the team.

“We knew about that. Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time,” Oats said.

Miller, who hails from Tennessee, is seen by some analysts to be selected among the top five pics in this coming NBA draft.

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Photo: Brandon Sumrall / Getty

22 Feb 2023

Bebe Rexha to Perform at 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

Bebe Rexha is set to perform at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2023, airing live on Saturday, March 4, at 7 p.m. ET/PT from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

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Rexha will perform her global hit “I’m Good (Blue),” a collab with David Guetta that reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month. It also received a Grammy nomination for best dance/electronic recording, but lost to Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul.”

The Kids’ Choice Awards have a history of landing performances by major pop artists. Kid Cudi and Jack Harlow performed on last year’s show. Justin Bieber performed on the 2020 show, joined by Quavo for “Intentions.” Many current hitmakers grew up watching the Kids’ Choice Awards and have affection for the show and its signature green slime.

“I’ve always loved the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards!,” Rexha said in a statement. “I can’t wait to perform and see who gets slimed.”

The show will be hosted by social media personality Charli D’Amelio and football commentator and former wide receiver Nate Burleson. Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2023 will simulcast across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, TVLand, CMT and MTV2, and livestream on Nick.com and the Nick App.

The show will also feature appearances by Nick sitcom stars That Girl Lay Lay (star of That Girl Lay Lay) and Young Dylan (star of Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan), who will perform his new single “I Just Wanna.”

Fans in the U.S. can cast their votes across 31 categories on the official Kids’ Choice Awards website, KidsChoiceAwards.com, with an additional 32 international categories available in regions around the world.

Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2023 is produced by Nickelodeon Productions and overseen by Ashley Kaplan, executive vice president, Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Unscripted & Digital Franchise Studio; Paul J Medford, vice president, unscripted current series; Luke Wahl, vice president, unscripted creative; and Jennifer Bryson, vice president, production, tentpoles, events & music & specials. Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serve as executive producers, with Harriet Cuddeford and Andria Parides serving as co-executive producers.

22 Feb 2023

Graham Nash Releasing First Studio Album in 7 Years, Drops Reflective ‘Right Now’ Single

Graham Nash is gearing up to release his first studio album in seven years. The collection, Now, is due out on May 19 through BMG and will serve as the follow-up to his 2016 album, This Path Tonight.

“I believe that my new album, Now, is the most personal one I have ever made,” Nash, 81, said in a statement announcing the project. “At this point in my life, that’s something to say.” The record was produced by Nash and his touring keyboardist Todd Caldwell and serves as the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s This Path Tonight.

“I used to think that I would never love again/ I used to think that I would be all on my own/ I really thought that it was coming to an end/ And just the thought of it chilled me to the bone/ But not now… Right now, here I am/ Still living my life/ Right now, right now,” Nash sings urgently on the first single over a swarm of keening electric guitars. The singer will embark on his Sixty Years of Songs and Stories tour in April with a two-night stand at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA and will play multiple nights in most cities, including a five-night run at Chicago’s legendary Old Town School of Folk Music and three nights at the New York City Winery before winding down with two gigs at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA.

Listen to “Right Now” below and see the album track list and Nash’s upcoming tour dates.

Now track list:

“Right Now”

“A Better Life”

“Golden Idols”

“Stars & Stripes”

“Love of Mine”

“Theme From Pastoral”

“In a Dream”

“Stand Up”

“It Feels Like Home”

“Buddy’s Back”

“Follow Your Heart”

“I Watched It All Come Down”

“When It Comes to You”

2023 tour dates:

April 12 — Phoenixville, PA @ Colonial Theatre
April 13 — Phoenixville, PA @ Colonial Theatre
April 15 — Annapolis, MD @ Ram’s Head on Stage
April 16 — Annapolis, MD @ Ram’s Head on Stage
April 18 — Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
April 19 — Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere
April 21 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
April 22 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
April 23 — Carmel, IN @ The Palladium
April 25 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
April 26 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
April 28 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
April 29 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
April 30 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
May 2 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Dakota
May 4 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Dakota
May 5 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Dakota
May 7 — Columbus, OH @ Southern Theatre
May 8 — Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall
May 10 — Bethel Woods, NY @ Bethel Woods Event Gallery
May 11 — Beverly, MA @ Cabot Theater
May 13 — Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall
May 14 — New York, NY @ City Winery
May 16 — New York, NY @ City Winery
May 17 — New York, NY @ City Winery
June 17 — Malibu, CA @ Smothers Theatre
June 18 — San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
June 20 — Tucson, AZ @ Fox Theatre
June 21 — Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
June 24 — Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
June 25 — Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
June 27 — Steamboat Springs, CO @ Strings Music Pavilion
June 29 — Breckenridge, CO @ Riverwalk Center
July 1 — Park City, UT @ The Egyptian Theatre
July 2 — Park City, UT @ The Egyptian Theatre
July 3 — Park City, UT @ The Egyptian Theatre
July 7 — Sandpoint, ID @ The Panida
July 8 — Tacoma, WA @ Pantages Theater
July 11 — Berkeley, CA @ Freight & Salvage
July 13 — Berkeley, CA @ Freight & Salvage
July 15 — Santa Barbara, CA @ The Lobero Theatre
July 16 — Santa Barbara, CA @ The Lobero Theatre

22 Feb 2023

Latin Grammys Moving to Spain This Year

The Latin Grammys will take place in Spain in 2023, likely in the Southern city of Sevilla, according to sources.

In a press conference between the board of Andalucía and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Andalucía board president Juanma Moreno said the two entities had a “three year sponsorship deal” that included hosting the Latin Grammys and “two major concerts hosted by the Academy in 2023, and another major concert in 2024 and in 2025.”

The location for all events, said Moreno, would be announced “soon, once the Academy finalizes all details.”

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“We are considering Sevilla to celebrate the 24th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards this November, but we are still working through the logistics with our partners TelevisaUnivision. We will share additional details about the date and location of the next Latin GRAMMYs soon,” said Latin Academy Manuel Abud in an exclusive statement provided to Billboard.

Sources confirm the awards will take place in Spain and a formal announcement will be made soon. Since their inception in 2000, the Latin Grammys have always taken place in the United States, mostly in Las Vegas, although the award has also been held in New York and Miami. Rumors about the Academy taking the awards out the U.S. have swirled before, but this is the first time concrete plans have been made to host the awards elsewhere.

Although the Latin Recording Academy and the Latin Grammys were created in the U.S. as a sister organization to the Academy, its membership and its ethos have always been international representing recordings made in Spanish and Portuguese around the world.

While details of the negotiations to move the award show out of the United States were not provided, economic incentives clearly had a role.

Moreno estimated the economic impact of having the Grammys and the events in the region would be “in the nieghborhood of 500 million Euros.”

The Latin Grammys will continue to be broadcast on the Univision network.

22 Feb 2023

Nipsey Hussle’s Convicted Killer to be Sentenced

A man convicted of gunning down rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019 is likely to get life in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday (Feb. 22) in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Jurors in July found Eric R. Holder Jr., 32, guilty of the first-degree murder of the 33-year-old Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist outside the clothing store Hussle founded, the Marathon, in the South Los Angeles neighborhood where both men grew up.

Holder was also convicted of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm for gunfire that hit two other men at the scene who survived.

The sentencing has been delayed in part so defense attorney Aaron Jansen could move for Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke to reduce Holder’s conviction to manslaughter or second-degree murder, which the judge rejected in December.

Jacke will have a broad range of possibilities when he sentences Holder at the Thursday morning hearing, but the murder conviction alone carries a term of 25 years to life. The other convictions, and special sentencing circumstances that jurors found true, make it almost certain Holder will spend the rest of his life in prison. Holder was not eligible for the death penalty.

“We hope that there is some resounding peace in the fact that his killer will be in prison likely for the rest of his life,” the lead prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, said after the verdict.

Actor Lauren London, who was Hussle’s partner and the mother of his two young children, did not attend any part of the trial, nor did any of his relatives, and none are expected to give victim impact statements, as often happens at such hearings.

The evidence against Holder was so overwhelming — from eyewitnesses to surveillance cameras from local businesses that captured his arrival, the shooting and his departure — that his attorney conceded during trial that he had shot Hussle.

But Jansen argued to jurors that the heated circumstances of the shooting meant a lesser verdict of voluntary manslaughter was merited. The jury returned with the first-degree murder verdict after about six hours of deliberations. Jansen said afterward that he was “deeply disappointed” in the verdict, which they planned to appeal.

He did manage a minor victory for Holder by securing the attempted voluntary manslaughter convictions where prosecutors had sought attempted murder verdicts. The sentencing, originally scheduled for September but postponed at the request of the defense, brings an end to a legal saga that lasted more than three years and a trial that was often delayed because of the pandemic.

Hussle, whose legal name is Ermias Asghedom, and Holder had known each other for years growing up as members of the Rollin’ 60s in South LA. Both were aspiring rappers. But Holder never found the same success as Hussle, who would become a local hero and a national celebrity.

A chance meeting outside the Marathon, in a shopping center Hussle owned, led to a conversation the two men had about rumors that Holder had been acting as an informant for authorities. Jansen argued that being publicly accused of being a “snitch” by a person as prominent as Hussle brought on a “heat of passion” in Holder that prompted the shooting.

A woman who was with Holder that day took a photo with Hussle before becoming Holder’s unwitting getaway driver, was a key witness for the prosecution.

After years of devoted work that won him underground acclaim — his nickname was both a play on the name of comedian Nipsey Russell and a nod to the hustle the future hip-hop star showed in making music and selling CDs — Hussle had just released his major-label debut album and earned his first Grammy nomination when he was killed.

A year after his death, he was mourned at a memorial at the arena then known as Staples Center, and celebrated in a performance at the Grammy Awards that included DJ Khaled and John Legend.