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More than three years on from their last studio record, New York trio Big Thief have detailed their sixth album, Double Infinity.
Set for release on Sept. 5 via 4AD, Double Infinity serves as the follow-up to the band’s Grammy-nominated album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Recorded at New York City’s Power Station over the winter with longtime collaborator Dom Monks, the nine-track release arrived as the result of three weeks of marathon nine-hour sessions spent working with a tight-knit community of musicians.
The album’s announcement is also paired by the release of lead single ‘Incomprehensible,” a track which served as a staple of the band’s 2024 summer tour, and carried over into vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker‘s solo shows that same year.
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The new record is also the first to be released by Big Thief as a trio, having announced the departure of longtime bassist Max Oleartchik in July 2024, citing “interpersonal reasons” for his exit.
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Double Infinity’s impending release is also the latest in a series of happenings for Big Thief and its associated members this year. In February, Big Thief unveiled a new L.A. wildfires benefit EP, with Passional Relations collecting some of their “favorite unreleased songs” to aid relief for those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles.
In late April, Lenker would release the Live at Revolution Hall album, while drummer James Krivchenia released the record Performing Belief in early May. Days later, the group would announce a run of North American tour dates, with the Somersault Slide 360 Tour set to launch in September.
Big Thief first formed in 2015 following two years of Lenker and guitarist Buck Meek performing as a duo. Their debut album arrived in 2016, with their third album – 2019’s U.F.O.F. – peaking at No. 142 on the Billboard 200. Their latest album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, would reach No. 31, and receive a Grammy nomination for best alternative album, and best alternative music performance for second single, “Certainty.”
As Neil Young prepares to tour the U.S. this summer, he’s invited President Donald Trump to attend one of his shows as a way to remind him of “American values.”
Young’s comments appeared in a new post on his Archives website on Monday (June 2), which saw him ruminating on the current state of affairs in the U.S. ahead of the launch of his North American tour dates in August.
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“Our country and our way of life, that which our fathers and theirs fought for, is now threatened by our government,” Young wrote. “This is not what we voted for. This is our new reality. Our government is out of control, not standing for us. You can stand up for American values this summer, for our children and theirs.
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“When I tour the USA this summer, if there is not martial law by then which would make it impossible, let’s all come together and stand for American values,” he added. “We will not be doing a political show. We will be playing the music we love for all of us to enjoy together. President Trump, you are invited. Come and hear our music just as you did for decades.”
Young’s invitation to Trump aligns with the President’s previous comments about his fondness for the Canadian rocker’s music. “He’s got something very special,” Trump told Rolling Stone in 2008, reflecting on his numerous times seeing Young in concert and having him perform at his casinos. “I’ve met him on occasions and he’s a terrific guy.”
However, the pair have undeniably altered their opinions of each other since then, with Young having become increasingly more outspoken regarding Trump’s policies since his first term as President. In April, Young had even noted that he feared constant criticism of Trump may result in a potential blacklisting from the country ahead of his upcoming tour dates.
“If the fact that I think Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of our great country could stop me from coming back, what does that say for Freedom?” Young mused. “I love America and its people and its music and its culture.”
More recently, Young labelled Trump “out of control” in May after he made a Truth Social post which saw the POTUS describe Bruce Springsteen as “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock,” while saying that Taylor Swift is “no longer ‘HOT.’”
“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,” Young wrote in response to Trump’s comments. “You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”
Young is currently scheduled to launch his forthcoming tour with the Chrome Hearts in Rättvik, Sweden on June 18, with North American dates set to begin in Charlotte, NC on Aug. 8
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Last Thursday (May 30), the Department of Labor announced that they were beginning a “phased pause” of operations at all Job Corps locations nationwide, stating that it would be “an orderly transition for students, staff, and local communities.” In a statement, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeReamer claimed that the program no longer produces “the intended outcomes that students deserve,” adding that “a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis.” The announcement caused an immediate uproar, and has led some to wonder why the government wants to shut Job Corps down.Job Corps was created in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War On Poverty”, specifically to combat the rising rate of youth unemployment in the nation with vocational training while improving their basic education skills. It was modeled after past programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps during the era of the Great Depression. Participants are between the ages of 16 to 24 (or older depending on disability requirements), and from low-income backgrounds. Job Corps currently has 121 centers nationwide, with two in Puerto Rico with six regional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco. According to a study done by Mathematica in 2008, they found that it was “the only federal training program… shown to increase earnings for this [disadvantaged youth] population.”
https://x.com/_The_Twell/status/1929638183945621897The program has come under fire in the past for being costly. President Richard Nixon sought to shrink the program during his time in office, and President Ronald Reagan sought to eliminate it during his years in the White House, but he faced bipartisan pushback in Congress. That same support was evident last week, as Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) defended the program. “I urged Secretary Chavez-DeRemer to resume enrollment at Maine’s two Job Corps centers and to reverse the Department’s proposed elimination of the Job Corps program,” Collins said, adding that as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee that she’ll “continue to work to support this valuable program.”Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) also blasted the decision. “Congress appropriated funding for Job Corps, and the Trump Administration can’t just decide to not spend it because they want to make room for tax cuts for billionaires,” she said, noting the DOL’s remarks that their pause aligns with the current “big, beautiful bill” to create a new fiscal budget which aims to kick millions off of Medicaid as well as restrict federal judges’ oversight and rulings against the Trump administration.
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Even while behind bars Suge Knight is not the one to hold his tongue. He has now weighed in on Diddy’s ongoing federal trial.
The Deathrow Records founder recently conducted several in depth interviews spanning several hours with ABC News. During the conversations Suge Knight made it clear that while he still has his issues with Diddy, he believes that many of the problems within the Rap industry are systemic issues. “If you’re going to make Puffy answer, make everyone answer,” Suge explained. “Change the theme of the culture of the problems in Hip-Hop. I think it’d be a great thing to let Puffy tell his truth. Tell the real truth, and bring everybody accountable.” When asked about the notorious “Freak Offs” Suge said that there have been rumors about Diddy’s sex life since the 1990s. “Everybody knew that,” Knight revealed. “Puffy didn’t just pop in the industry and say ‘hey, I want to have sex with everybody. I mean, we don’t have enough time to name all the names.”
Since the trial has commenced Suge Knight’s name has been mentioned close to 50 times. Diddy’s former assistant Capricorn Clark testified that Combs frequently chastised her because she worked for Suge Knight prior. She also claimed that Diddy threatened because of her work history. “He told me he didn’t know that I had anything to do with Suge Knight and, if anything happened, he would have to kill me,” she said. Capricorn also alleged that Diddy blackballed her from the music industry making it nearly impossible to find other work.
Suge Knight detailed how someone of Diddy’s stature could easily do such a thing. “She did great things for Puffy. Anything he needed, she got it. Anything he wanted, if she didn’t have it, she made it happen,” he said. “A lot of people might say, well, Capricorn could have did anything else she wanted to do. She did try. If you go get a job at Universal and Puffy makes a phone call, you’re not getting that job. If you go get a job at a counter agency or in the movie business and Puff make that call, your career is over.”
Suge Knight also expressed some sympathy toward Diddy and his situation. “I feel that people in Puffy’s life, going on his journey growing up, they failed him,” he said. “Do I think he made some mistakes? I think he repeats what he’s seen. He repeats what he learned.”
Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. If convicted on all counts he could face life in prison.
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This November, New Yorkers will be electing the next mayor of the city and moving on from the corrupt clown show that Eric Adams subjected the citizens of the Big Apple to for the past four years. But interestingly enough we may be becoming more familiar with his son as he pursues a career in the rap industry. No, seriously.
According to The New York Post, Eric Adams’ 29-year-old seed, Jordan Coleman aka Jayoo, has just released a new EP, Jet Lag Dreams, after competing on the Albanian version of American Idol. While we doubt his father’s “popularity” will help his cause in any way, shape or form, we shouldn’t be quick to judge Jayoo’s work as his infamous daddy’s day job has nothing to do with his own talent or work ethic. Having worked as a child actor doing the voice of Tyrone on the Nick Jr. cartoon The Backyardigans and even having worked for Roc Nation’s film department in 2022, Jayoo’s been working hard following his industry dreams as he now works a regular nine-to-five to make ends meet.
The New York Post reports:
“I think that this right now is about to be the biggest chapter of my life, because I’m a young man and I have a lot of responsibilities, and I have something to say,” said Coleman, a substitute teacher and sports coach at Palisades Park High School in New Jersey by day, who released “Jet Lag Dreams” under his rap moniker Jayoo on April 25.
“I felt like who I really wanted to be,” the teacher, actor, musician and filmmaker told The Post, “like that last portal step where you step into the big-boy career — and so I realized I need to make music that people could relate to when I’m out there.
“I have a purpose that keeps me up at night and wakes me up in the morning,” said Coleman, who was a finalist in the European talent show.
“I have to prove it to myself I’m not just crazy with my ideas, and I have to prove it to the world that I have something beneficial for them, too.”
For his career’s sake it’s probably best he doesn’t boast that he’s the son of one of the most disliked mayors in New York City’s history. Just sayin’.
Now that we know Eric Adams’ son is attempting to break through on the music scene, all those parties and rubbing elbows with celebrities that Adams partook in while he should’ve been working is starting to make a bit more sense. The whole time we thought he just wanted to be part of the cool kid’s table, but in retrospect, he was probably looking to help get his son’s music career going… while making celebrity friends.
While it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Eric Adams will not be reelected as the mayor of New York City this coming November, he still has the support of Jayoo as he stumbles to the finish line of the 2025 mayoral race… apparently.
“I call it ‘portals,’ I was entering a new portal when my dad was getting into the office,” he said, “and I feel like this [current] portal … is the end, when he was first coming to office.
“Now we’re going to have a new portal to step into with him going for his re-election.”
Aight, b.
What do you think about Eric Adams’ son attempting to get his career in rap going? Have y’all heard any of the five party joints on Jet Lag Dreams? Will you give him a chance? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Today (June 4), Music Nation Copyrights Management, which handles music rights management in the United Arab Emirates, announced the company received formal approval to license, collect and distribute royalties from public performance and neighboring rights. The approval will deliver a vital new source of revenue for music rights holders, according to Music Nation.
Through partnerships with performing rights organization BMI and digital global collective management organization SoundExchange, Music Nation will be the industry’s first rights management organization capable of natively collecting performance, mechanical and neighboring rights.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for the UAE and Music Nation,” said Music Nation chairwoman Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak in a release. “After years of careful planning, Music Nation is positioned to become a cornerstone of music licensing, empowering the Emirates’ vibrant creative industry. As an Emarati, I am honored to establish a world-class music rights infrastructure that not only elevates local artists to greater heights, but also showcases our rich musical heritage and cultural traditions to the world.”
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Music Nation is part of a broad UAE initiative to support the creation of a thriving music ecosystem and to elevate the region’s music industry by protecting the rights of music creators and compensating them for the commercial use of their work.
“The Ministry [of Economy] continues its efforts to develop an advanced system for the governance of copyright and related rights, based on global best practices. This is achieved by developing regulatory and legislative frameworks, stimulating investment in creativity, and supporting effective collective management systems that ensure the protection of rights and enhance the confidence of creators and musicians in the country’s creative climate,” said undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh in a release.
He continues: “The collective management license for music plays an important role in promoting a creative culture in society, providing comprehensive protection for the intellectual property rights of musicians and artists, and providing mechanisms to ensure financial justice for artists and creators in the distribution of revenues and transparency in the collection and distribution of copyrights. This supports raising the competitiveness of the music industry in the country and making it an attractive destination for creative and cultural works worldwide.”
Music Nation will begin collecting royalties in the UAE for more than 2 million songwriters, composers, publishers, artists, sound recording owners and other music creators. That 2 million figure represents the combined copyrights held by clients of BMI and SoundExchange. Music Nation will collect and distribute royalties on their behalf in the UAE.
“We are thrilled to partner with Rasha, the Music Nation team and SoundExchange to ensure that music creators in the UAE have the opportunity to turn their passion into their careers by being paid for their creative work,” said BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill in a release. “BMI has always been an unwavering advocate for the songwriters, composers and rights holders behind the songs the world loves, and we’re excited to provide our music licensing infrastructure, expertise and deep experience fostering career development to benefit the region’s incredible creators. There are endless possibilities ahead that Music Nation will deliver, and we look forward to a bright future together.”
The UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remain the fastest-growing music market in the world, with the IFPI reporting the territory expanded in 2024 for a tenth consecutive year. Music revenue in MENA last year climbed by 22.8%, outpacing the global average of 5.9% growth.
“This is a major milestone and a vote of confidence from the UAE Ministry of Economy in the combined abilities of Music Nation, SoundExchange and BMI,” said SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe in a release. “We’re excited to get to work establishing the region’s premier collective management organization and serving creators with the same level of excellence we have for more than two decades in the U.S.”
Offset doesn’t seem too happy about Cardi B and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs going public over the weekend. The new couple went viral when videos of a yacht party surfaced just as the NFL’s organized team activities were starting up, and while the team activities weren’t mandatory, Diggs’ absence was frowned upon […]
It’s been a few months since Jim Jones dropped his eight studio album, At The Church’s Steps, and since then the man has been dropping visuals in support of the album on the regular and with the summer months officially here, Jones is looking to heat things up with more work for his day-one fans.
Dropping off a new video for the Trinidad James assisted “Flu Game,” Jim Jones leaves Harlem to take his talents to the Caribbeans where he kicks up some sand on the beach and ensures the warm weather doesn’t become too much to bare as he rocks all kinds of ice to keep him cool while politicking on the shore.
Elsewhere Starlito is finding out that the dating scene in 2025 is something else and in his clip to “Unblock Me,” the Nashville rapper takes it back to the days of Myspace and iPods to show how the digital era turned the dating scene upside down. It’s a digital zoo out there, b.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Rated R, Amir Jackson, and more.
JIM JONES – “FLU GAME”
STARLITO – “UNBLOCK ME”
RATED R – “PRONTO LLEGARA”
AMIR JACKSON – “PUFF”
DONAE’O – “BOUNCE 25”
$NOT – “JUST HAVE PATIENCE”
SAINTE – “DORA”
DUCKWRTH – “JUNE 1ST”
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Taylor Swift is enjoying quite the sales boost following her Friday (May 30) announcement that she had purchased the masters of her first six albums. Based on preliminary data from Luminate, we’re starting to get a sense of which albums Swifties are turning to most frequently to celebrate.
Looking at her Republic Records studio catalog, not including the Taylor’s Version re-recordings, all those albums experienced gains from Friday-Saturday (May 30-31), ranging from the slight 5.6% gain that The Tortured Poets Department experienced in sales when compared to the daily average of the preceding 11-day period, to the 21.9% increase her Evermore album enjoyed when comparing those periods, according to Billboard‘s calculations based Luminate’s on preliminary sales and streaming activity data.
Meanwhile, the Taylor’s Version albums almost all outperformed the Evermore increase, except for the 1989 re-record, which just missed out by growing 21.3% in the two-day average after the announcement versus the previous 11-day average: Red (Taylor’s Version) grew by 23.2%, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by 27.5% and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) by 27.9%, per preliminary data from Luminate, Billboard calculates.
Moving over to Swift’s Big Machine albums, the original 1989 album had the least amount of growth but even its percentage increase of 41.2% swamped the percentage gains posted by all the Republic albums. Leading the growth charge, Taylor Swift’s eponymous first album enjoyed a 484.4% increase, followed by Speak Now with a 343.9% increase in the two days after the announcement versus the 11 days prior; Reputation, up 328%; Red at 173.7% greater; and Fearless with a 140.4% rise when comparing the two periods, Billboard further calculates.
However, even with the original whopping percentage gains on a unit count basis for the two periods, none of those albums outperformed the Taylor’s Version albums in absolute sales for the post-announcement two-day period. For example, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) averaged a few hundred above 2,000 album consumption units for the two-day period, while the original version’s total album consumption was a few hundred over 1,000 units.
Even the original Speak Now, which saw a 343.9% increase, fell 10 units shy of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), when looking at the average total consumption units for the two-day period.
On a unit basis, Reputation the biggest gain — nearly 6,000 units — to bring total sales on average for the two-day period to nearly 8,000 units, versus the nearly 2,000 units the album averaged in the 11 days prior to the announcement. In fact, that album was by far the best performing album in the Swift catalog over the two-day period.
A second round of Spotify price increases have come to France, the world’s sixth-largest recorded music market. Starting Monday (June 2), Spotify individual subscriptions rose 9.2% to 12.14 euros ($13.81) from 11.12 euros ($12.65), a company spokesperson confirmed to Billboard. Additionally, family plans rose to 21.24 euros ($24.15), two-person “duo” plans increased to 17.20 euros […]