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Ben Affleck speaks out for the first time after his divorce from Jennifer Lopez. Keep watching to see what he had to say. What do you think of what Ben Affleck said? Let us know in the comments below. Tetris Kelly:After Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez break up for the second time, Ben opens up […]
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J Dilla’s “Welcome 2 Detroit” ain’t just an album; it’s a statement.
When it first dropped in 2001, it was a raw, unfiltered love letter to the D and a showcase of Dilla’s next-level production. Two decades later, with its 20th-anniversary re-release, it’s only right we give this classic its flowers.
From the jump, *Welcome 2 Detroit* let you know what time it was. Dilla wasn’t just a beatmaker; he was a whole vibe. “Pause” with Frank-N-Dank had that bounce that made your face scrunch up, while “Think Twice” flipped a jazz classic into something smooth yet undeniable. Then, you had joints like “Y’all Ain’t Ready,” where the bassline alone could shake the block. And Dilla wasn’t just behind the boards (he was spitting too), proving he could hold his own on the mic.
What made this album so legendary was how ahead of its time it was. Dilla wasn’t just making beats, he was building soundscapes, mixing hip-hop, soul, jazz, and even Brazilian vibes on tracks like “Rico Suave Bossa Nova.” He was in his bag, showing the world that Detroit had something different to offer.
Now, 20 years later, this re-release reminds us why Dilla is still that guy. His fingerprints are all over the game, influencing producers like Madlib, Knxwledge, and Kaytranada. *Welcome 2 Detroit* ain’t aged a day—it still slaps just as hard. Dilla changed the sound of hip-hop forever, and this album proves why his legacy will never fade.
Check out our friends at OkayPlayer’s deep dive on J Dilla’s classic album “Welcome 2 Detriot” here
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Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Christina Perri is adding another hyphen to her title as she becomes an author with her new children’s book A Thousand Years. Based on her hit song of the same name from 2011, the new picture book sees Perri joining forces with New York Times bestselling illustrator Joy Hwang Ruiz to create a stirring story. The book drops on Tuesday (April 1).
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Priced at $18.99 for a signed copy at Barnes & Noble, A Thousand Years follows a mother and daughter growing and developing together, as the child embarks on an adventure into the bigger world.
And if you have a Barnes & Noble Premium Membership, you can pre-order now and A Thousand Years will be delivered to your home for free with no minimum purchase.
Not a member? Sign up for $39.99 per year (about $3.33 per month) to take advantage of all that a Barnes & Noble Premium Membership has to offer, including an additional 10% off almost everything on BN.com (including on A Thousand Years by Christina Perri), 10% off Nook e-readers, 10% off Nook e-books, exclusive deals and offers and much more. You even get a free Barnes & Noble tote bag too. Learn more about Barnes & Noble Premium Membership and its benefits here.
The children’s book is available at BookShop.org for $17.66 (reg. $18.99), while A Thousand Years is also ready for pre-order on Amazon priced at $17.09.
Viking Books for Young Readers
Signed Copy
‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri
Release date: April 1
Meanwhile, the song “A Thousand Years” also served as the love theme from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, released in 2012. It went on to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States, Perri went on to release more hit songs, like “Human,” “Distance,” “Sea of Lovers” and others.
Available on Tuesday (April 1), a signed copy of A Thousand Years by Christina Perri is on sale for $18.99 at Barnes & Noble.
Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
Jeff Goldblum keeps busy. In between a boundless press cycle for Wicked and an anticipated second round ahead of its counterpart, Wicked: For Good, the acclaimed actor found time to record his fourth album — and stop by Billboard News to discuss it.
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Titled Still Blooming, the set arrives April 25 on Decca Records (and Verve in the U.S.). Recorded with his longtime band of 30-plus years, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, the album collects jazz standards from Broadway’s golden era and the Great American Songbook — and its superstar features match such stellar curation.
Scarlett Johansson guests on the aptly titled lead single “The Best Is Yet to Come” while his Wicked pals Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo each contribute a song of their own. When it came to tapping Johansson, Goldblum says they met thanks to working on two Wes Andreson films together — they both voice acted on Isle of Dogs and appeared in Asteroid City.
“We were at the premiere of [the latter] and on that occasion I got to talking about my musical life,” says Goldblum. “And she said, ‘Well, I’d like to do something.’ And she suggested that song.”
As for Grande and Erivo, Goldblum says, “I just think the world of them.”
“We were on set and I could’ve been intimidated, but they were so warm,” he says. “Pretty soon I was singing everything from The American Songbook, all of which they knew and joined in.”
One day, he recalls, he started singing, “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do).” Grande immediately recognized it, telling Goldblum her grandfather used to sing it to her all the time. And now, her rendition with Goldblum and his band opens Still Blooming.
As for Erivo, he remembers telling the star he would be equally honored if she wanted to sing on the album as well, and together they landed on “We’ll Meet Again.” She came to The Hobby Shop studio in Los Angeles to record her vocals and, as Goldblum says, there were “chills and tears as usual.”
Goldblum then shared how it felt to have a front row seat watching Grande and Erivo perform at the Oscars — and on the set of Wicked and elsewhere — saying he could cry just thinking about it.
Elsewhere in the conversation, he looked to the past — speaking of his long-lasting love for jazz, even sharing the weirdest place he’s ever hopped on the keys — and the future, sharing how else he hopes to continue blooming for years to come.
“I’ve always said I’m a late bloomer,” he shares. “I just had kids for the first time in my life, nine years ago. My acting feels like it’s better than ever and I’m getting opportunities to exercise that — and my music.”
Watch the full interview above.
Lady A member Charles Kelley and his wife Cassie let fans in on a secret on Tuesday (March 25), revealing that they are expecting their second child this fall. In an Instagram post shared by the couple, they captioned the photos, “Biggest surprise of our lives! Baby Kelley coming early fall 2025 🍼👶🏻🤰🏼 Big brother […]
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Santa Monica Studio / God of War
We can all use some more God of War in our lives, and according to a very reliable video game insider, we can possibly expect to beat up some Greek deities this year.
A new God of War game, reportedly in the form of a smaller spinoff like Insomniac’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, will see the franchise return to its Greek roots.
The buzz about the new game comes on the heels of PlayStation celebrating the franchise’s 20th anniversary with a free update for Ragnarök that features some dope cosmetics.
Outside of that, Sony Santa Monica has been very quiet about its plans for the God of War franchise in the future and its next project following the release of the Valhalla DLC for Ragnarök in 2023. Still, there have been rumblings of a remaster of older GoW games.
Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, who is basically the Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania, and Adam Schefter of video names, claims that a God of War “side-story project” will arrive sometime this year.
“OK. Everyone keeps asking about this, so I’ve tried to find out more: There’s still a Greek God of War thing coming out this year, but it’s not a remaster collection. It’s a new side-story project, ” Grubb wrote on Bluesky.
Jeff Grubb Is Not So Sure About The Remaster Collection
He also kind of threw cold water on the remaster talk, writing in another post on Bluesky, “I was never told about a Remaster collection, but I asked a source about the rumors (that I saw were focused on a collection), and they told me that nothing God of War would happen at the State of Play but something could show up at the anniversary.
Consider us excited for whatever Sony Santa Monica has coming.
In Grubb, we trust.
Playboi Carti continues his triumphant week on Billboard’s charts as he becomes the first rapper — and only third artist overall — to score at least 30 simultaneous hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week. The avalanche comes almost entirely from the 27-year-old Atlanta native’s new album, MUSIC, which concurrently storms in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
On the chart dated March 29, Playboi Carti claims 31 total hits on the Hot 100 — all 30 of his MUSIC tracks from the project’s streaming edition, and a feature credit on The Weeknd’s “Timeless,” from the pop/R&B superstar’s Hurry Up Tomorrow album. Thanks to the haul, Playboi Carti joins Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen as the only artists to capture more than 30 spots on the list simultaneously. Wallen owns the record, with 36 placements on the chart dated March 18, 2023, due to his One Thing at a Time drop, while Swift has crossed the 30-song mark twice: 32 on the list dated May 4, 2024, after her The Tortured Poets Department release, and 31 entries the following week.
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With 31 simultaneous hits, Playboi Carti rewrites the record for most Hot 100 entries by a rapper in a single week. Drake previously held the mark, with 27 appearances on the July 14, 2018, chart in the wake of the arrival of his blockbuster Scorpion album.
Playboi Carti’s MUSIC campaign begins with “Evil J0rdan,” which debuts at No. 2 on the Hot 100. The entrance matches Playboi Carti’s best Hot 100 showing as a lead act, tying the four-way track “Type Shit,” with Future, Metro Boomin and Travis Scott, which peaked in the runner-up spot in April 2024. Among all his credits, Playboi Carti featured with fellow guest Rich the Kid on Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival,” which topped the Hot 100 for one week in March 2024.
MUSIC sparks another Hot 100 top 10 in “Rather Lie,” with The Weeknd, which starts at No. 4. The new single, now being promoted to radio, is the pair’s third shared Hot 100 entry, after “Popular,” also with Madonna, reached No. 43 in June 2023, and “Timeless,” which opened at its No. 3 peak last October.
Thanks to all the MUSIC activity, Playboi Carti surges 75-1 for his first week atop the Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption — album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming — to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of the most popular artists. The rapper previously peaked at No. 2 in January 2021, following the arrival of his Whole Lotta Red album.
Here’s a complete rundown of Playboi Carti’s tracks on this week’s Hot 100:
No. 2, “Evil J0rdan”
No. 4, “Rather Lie,” with The Weeknd
No. 17, “Good Credit,” with Kendrick Lamar
No. 20, “Crush,” with Travis Scott
No. 23, “Timeless,” with The Weeknd
No. 25, “Backd00r,” with Kendrick Lamar and Jhene Aiko
No. 27, “Mojo Jojo”
No. 28, Philly,” with Travis Scott
No. 33, “Fine Shit”
No. 34, “Toxic,” with Skepta
No. 38, “K Pop”
No. 41, “Pop Out”
No. 43, “Radar”
No. 46, “Trim,” with Future
No. 48, “HBA”
No. 49, “Charge Dem Hoes a Fee,” with Travis Scott
No. 52, “Wake Up F1lthy,” with Travis Scott
No. 53, “Jumpin,” with Lil Uzi Vert
No. 54, “I Seeeeee You Baby Boi”
No. 55, “Crank”
No. 56, “Like Weezy”
No. 58, “Twin Trim,” with Lil Uzi Vert
No. 65, “Olympian”
No. 69, “Munyun”
No. 71, “We Need All Da Vibes,” with Young Thug and Ty Dolla $ign
No. 75, “Opm Babi”
No. 80, “Cocaine Nose”
No. 85, “Dis 1 Got It”
No. 86, “Overly”
No. 88, “South Atlanta Baby”
No. 96, “Walk”
On Sunday night (Mar. 23), Playboi Carti notched his second Billboard 200 No. 1 album with MUSIC. The colossal 30-track set scored a wondrous debut for the OPIUM leader, as he secured the biggest streaming week for any album in nearly a year. For Carti, this is his first album in five years, and its debut nearly triples the opening week-performance of his previous album, 2020 demon-driven effort Whole Lotta Red, confirming him as a leading light of this rap generation. Though Carti should savor this win, the late great Ben Parker comes to mind: “With great power comes great responsibility.” If Carti wants to be the undisputed torchbearer for hip-hop, he should consider a few crucial factors on his road to glory.
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Before his MUSIC atomic bomb detonated the charts, Carti was a proven features savant. His eccentric delivery and kooky flows made him a must-listen whenever he was penciled in on a guest slot. Over the last couple years, he’s left indelible prints on songs like Kanye’s “Carnival,” Future and Metro Boomin’s “Type S–t,” Travis Scott’s “Fe!n,” and The Weeknd’s “Timeless,” which all became Hot 100 flamethrowers, with the first becoming his first No. 1 hit. Though Carti is a missile on features, he’ll need more enduring hits on the solo front to cement his legitimacy as a bonafide hitmaker.
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His 2017 breakout “Magnolia” from his self-titled mixtape was a seismic force culturally and musically. The Pierre Bourne-produced hit was his first top-30 song and was beloved by rap fans, with the biggest one being Jay-Z, who dubbed the record “incredible.”But eight years later, “Magnolia” is still the only song with Carti as a lone artist to spend more than 10 weeks total on the chart. If Carti wants to be the “Travis Scott of Atlanta,” as he was rumored to have told Akademiks, he’ll need to churn out bangers of his own like his Houston brethren.
So far, Carti might have a heater on his hands with “EVIL J0RDAN,” which is in the early lead as MUSIC’s most popular record, netting nearly 53 million plays on Spotify and debuts just behind Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s five-week No.1 “Luther” at the runner-up spot on this week’s Hot 100. When you think of rap giants like Drake, Kendrick, Cole, Future, Travis, and now Tyler, they all landed a hit that lasted beyond their album’s opening week. The question going forward will be if “EVIL J0RDAN” can stick around in the top 10 longer than its opening week, and have the legs to compete well into the spring.
Carti’s steadfastness in his sound and lack of compromise is also something that will add to his legacy as he goes deeper into his career. Though he brought in the late-2010s rap Avengers in Kendrick, Future, Travis, and Uzi for MUSIC, he doesn’t sacrifice his sound to do that, which plays into his genesis as a superstar. Lamar, arguably in the midst of the most incredible run in hip-hop history, appears thrice on the project and is pretty malleable, sliding seamlessly into Carti’s orbit. Whether he’s playing lyrical hopscotch with his rap “twin” on “GOOD CREDIT” or ad-libbing alongside him on “MOJO JOJO,” Lamar slips into those pockets like a hand-in-glove, without spoiling Carti’s efforts.
Carti’s vision isn’t one that everyone can understand, especially those from an older era, but the fact that he has earned the trust and respect of both Mount Rushmore-caliber rappers like Lamar and Future and even current generational leaders like Uzi and Travis speaks to his unflappable influence. Whole Lotta Red was rage rap at its finest and, for some fans, a challenging departure from his Die Lit days. On MUSIC, though, Carti tones down the vamp rap and made palatable music for his day-one listeners while still showing love for his mosh-pit bandits, especially on “POP OUT.”
As Carti continues his quest for immortality, he must also continue to nurture his burgeoning Opium collective, which has thrived under his watch. The rise of Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson in the last few years has answered questions about Carti’s executive skills. Last summer, Carson notched his first Hot 100 hit with “Overseas,” and before that, he enjoyed a torrid set at Coachella and toured with revered rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. As for Destroy, last year, he earned his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with Love Lasts Forever, also debuting at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. Despite not having Carson or Lonely on the album, there’s always time for Carti to put out an OPIUM project to satiate fans’ hunger between releases, which would bode well for his team and excite fans about the collective’s promising future.
Lastly, the huge question mark is Carti’s productivity. After a grueling five-year wait with MUSIC, Carti can’t afford to make fans wait until 2030 for another album, even if he’s dropping fiery features. Past hip-hop greats have traditionally gone at most two to three years without releasing a project. Carti – still in the early stages of his career – needs to increase his output exponentially. There’s no reason why he can’t release at least two more projects before 2030, which would firmly secure his place as one of the decade’s preeminent greats.
With the “Big Three” conversation still oozing out of barbershops and every other rap podcast, the new topic of choice should be: Does Carti now need to be included in any such discussion? If he amps up his output, grows his collective and scores some huge hits of his own, he absolutely will be.
Outside Lands is returning to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Calif., this summer, and the festival released its star-studded lineup on Tuesday (March 25).
Tyler, the Creator, Hozier and Doja Cat lead the three-day event, which takes place from August 8 to 10. John Summit, Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, Vampire Weekend, Glass Animals, Gracie Abrams, Jamie XX, Doechii, and Gesaffelstein are also among this year’s highlighted performers.
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That’s not all. More major performers on the lineup include Bleachers, Jorja Smith, Still Woozy, Thundercat, Marina, Royal Otis, Finneas, Ludacris, Wallows, Role Model and BigXthaPlug, among others.
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“We are beyond excited to return to Golden Gate Park, where we’ll be celebrating everything that makes San Francisco truly world-class—its vibrant culture, its incredible community, and of course, our one-of-a-kind Outside Lands festival,” said Allen Scott, co-founder of Outside Lands and president of concerts and festivals at Another Planet Entertainment, in a press statement. “This year’s lineup captures the dynamic, ever-evolving tastes of the Bay Area. We’re proud to curate a festival that spans generations, bringing something unique and unforgettable for everyone.”
Three-day passes go on sale here on Wednesday (March 26) at 10 p.m. PT. GA tickets start at $499, and fans are encouraged to purchase at the time of the on sale for the lowest possible price. Payment Plans for 3-Day GA, GA+ and VIP tickets start at $99 down. Golden Gate Club passes will also go on sale along with reservations for Cabanas and Box Suites.
See the full lineup below.
DJing just got a bit more streamlined, with Apple Music today (March 25) announcing a new feature called DJ With Apple Music. The integration allows DJs to build and mix sets directly from the DSP’s catalog of over 100 million songs.
The technology was made in partnership with DJ software and hardware platforms AlphaTheta, Serato, and inMusic’s Engine DJ, Denon DJ, Numark and RANE DJ. It expands an initial Apple Music integration with Algoriddim’s djay Pro software.
“Apple Music is committed to supporting DJs,” says Stephen Campbell, Apple Music’s global head of dance, electronic & DJ Mixes. “With this latest integration, we’re taking that commitment even further—seamlessly connecting Apple Music with the industry’s leading DJ software and hardware. This innovation brings the full power of Apple Music into the creative workflow, making it easier than ever for DJs to access, play, and discover music in real time.”
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“The integration of djay with Apple Music across mobile, desktop, and spatial devices opens up a world of creative possibilities for both beginners and seasoned pros,” adds Algoriddim CEO Karim Morsy. “With instant access to Apple Music’s catalog of over 100 million songs, DJs can mix anytime, anywhere – transforming the way they discover and play their favorite music. Whether using Automix for a seamless, hands-free experience or crafting their own unique sets with djay’s powerful mixing tools, this integration marks a major milestone in making DJing more accessible than ever.”
With the launch, Apple Music joins the list of DSPs that allow DJing directly from the platform, with Tidal, Deezer, Beatport and Soundcloud all featuring similar technology.
DJ With Apple Music expands the platform’s investment in DJ sets, as last December Apple Music launched Apple Music Club, a live, 24/7 global radio station featuring curated mixes from a wide collection of DJs. Today’s launch also includes a new DJ with Apple Music category page listing, a statement by the company says, “a series of DJ-friendly editorial playlists, along with new curator pages for each DJ software and hardware platform showcasing any mixes or sample playlists that can be used to practice.”