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The hazing death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson earlier this year has stoked so many emotions, among them disappointment in the culture that surrounds fraternities. Comedian Rickey Smiley took aim at that during a recent appearance on the Spolitics podcast with Jemele Hill, speaking from his experience as a member of Omega Psi Phi, the same fraternity Wilson was pledging.“I don’t think Bishop Edgar A. Love would have punched anybody in the chest,” Smiley said. “Just, Love, Cooper and Coleman founded Omega Psi Phi at Howard University in 1911. A lot of these guys that started this culture, I don’t care if it started in the ’80s, I don’t care when it started. It is wrong. In 25 years in the frat, I have never put my hands on anybody.” Smiley has been a member of Omega Psi Phi since 2000, and has continually offered support to the Wilson family since 20-year-old Caleb’s death through his platform, relating to their grief due to the death of his own son in January 2023. But he found that the fraternity reportedly wasn’t as encouraging. “I called Caleb Wilson’s dad and offered my condolences because I’m a dad that also lost his son,” Smiley said to Hill. “You know what he said? You are the first member of your fraternity to call and offer your condolences.”
Wilson’s death, which led to the arrest of three men afterward, has sparked more conversation about Black Greek culture and the numerous hazing incidents it has dealt with in the past. Talledega College president and author of Black Greek 101 Walter Kimbrough wrote about the incident for MSNBC, focusing on the older individuals involved: “I call these individuals ‘extended adolescents,’ and they pose a particularly alarming risk to college campus safety.” He blasted the “gang-like mentality” that’s taken over in the fraternity in recent years. “I [joined] Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc, because of what it was founded on, not the culture that was created,” he explained. “Culture starts with cult. It’s gang activity…the last physical altercations that I’ve gotten into as a man was with Ques. Why?” Smiley did acknowledge that there are members who are working to break “the generational curse of hazing” and stated that he’d never give up on Omega Psi Phi.
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Raise your hand if you miss the classic Wii. We sure do.
When I was a kid, the console was a staple in my household. From Animal Crossing to Wii Sports, I distinctly remember playing on the Wii until my eyes burned. The console was and is one of the greats, in my humble opinion. With the introduction of the Wii U and Switch, however, the console became practically obsolete, and was eventually discontinued in 2013. For those of us chasing the magic and nostalgia factor of the Wii, we’ve got a deal you’re sure to love.
Wii Bundle
$112.94
$118.59
5% off
A Wii bundle equipped with controllers, charging ports, a sensor bar and more.
Right now, Amazon has a refurbished white Nintendo Wii Console available for $112.94. It comes with all the bells and whistles needed to play, including the Wii console, 2 Wii remotes, 2 nunchucks, 2 Wii remote jackets, sensor bar, Wii AC adaptor, Wii AV cable and a controller charging dock. Two rechargeable batteries for your controller are also included.
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This bundle deal is great for those looking to play on a system for cheap, especially considering some newer consoles retail for more than $500 without any inclusions.
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This console is family-friendly, amounting to endless hours of fun. The console’s age also means that finding compatible games should be pretty easy and cost-effective, too. You can play some pretty impressive titles on the Wii, from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to Mario Kart. The playable options are endless.
Hyperkin Hyper Strummer Wii Guitar Controller
$72.99
$76.99
5% off
A guitar-shaped Wii-compatible controller.
This deal comes at a perfect time, especially considering a new Wii-compatible Guitar Hero controller was just announced in January. The Hyperkin-made ultra-nostalgic guitar-shaped controller can also be purchased on Amazon and currently retails for $72.99. This controller is compatible with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band games on Wii consoles.
In other Nintendo video game console news, you can preorder the new Nintendo Switch 2 now via Walmart. The innovative setup is set for release on June 5, and currently retails for $449. The Switch 2 boasts three play modes: TV, tabletop and handheld. The console also features a larger and more vivid 7.9” LCD touchscreen with support for HDR and up to 120 fps. Plus, you can get the gaming console shipped to you for free if you’re a Walmart+ member, with delivery by 9 a.m. local time on launch day.
Nintendo Switch 2
A new Switch model with updated features.
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In Diddy’s ongoing sex trafficking case, things just got even messier.
A former hotel security guard, Eddy Garcia, says the Bad Boy mogul allegedly dropped $100K to get rid of a video showing him beating up Cassie in a hotel hallway. Garcia worked at the InterContinental Hotel, where the alleged assault happened. Garcia told the court Diddy was serious about keeping the footage secret. According to him, Diddy made sure it wasn’t saved online and said it *had to be* the only copy. Then, Diddy handed over an envelope with $100,000 in cash.
The former security guard claims money didn’t all go to him, but his boss got $50K, and the rest was split between him and another guard. In return, Garcia gave Diddy a USB drive with the footage and was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement that came with a $1 million fine if he ever spoke on it.
Garcia also said he talked to Cassie on FaceTime, and she told him she wanted the video gone too.
This comes on top of other wild accusations against Diddy. Rapper Kid Cudi says Diddy once broke into his crib and lit his car on fire. That’s not a rumor—that’s part of the court case too. All of this is painting a dark picture of one of Hip-Hop’s biggest names. What started as whispers is now turning into a courtroom drama with serious receipts. As the trial continues, more details are coming out—and they’re not looking good for Diddy.
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At the inaugural SXSW London taking place June 2-7, with nearly 900 speakers participating in some 500 sessions, one specific topic was of sharp relevance to the music industry — indeed, every industry and every attendee.
The climate crisis.
The past year saw extreme weather drive fires across the music capital of Los Angeles; a cyclone prompt cancellations of some two dozen live events in Australia in a single week; and more than 50 festivals in the U.K. either postponed or canceled due to forces including higher weather-related insurance costs.
“Climate change is not some distant threat,” said Leila Toplic, chief communications and trust officer of Carbonfuture, which provides verification of efforts to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
“The business case for taking action is still there,” remarked Helen Clarkson, CEO of the the Climate Group, a non-profit whiich has worked with more than 500 multinational businesses in 175 markets. (She spoke during a panel provocatively entitled “Canceling Sustainabilty,” about efforts to purse a green agenda in the face of new anti-environmental rhetoric in Washington, D.C.)
SXSW London organizers tapped the Bellwethers Group, which is focused on building a green economy, as its the official sustainability partner and the company hosted several days of panels at the Nature and Cimate House.
One of those panels focused on the role that advertising and public relations agencies can play in guiding businesses which claim to be concerned about the climate. Lameya Chaudhury, head of social impact for the mission-driven creative agency Luck Generals, remarked: “The question we’re asking of clients in 2025 is — did you really f–king mean it?”
SXSW London builds on the four-decade legacy of the South By Southwest music, arts, film and tech conference and festival launched in Austin, Texas, in 1987. Two years ago, Penske Media (the owner of Billboard) took a majority interest in the company which now presents conferences in Austin; Sydney, Australia; and now in the formerly industry district of Shoreditch in East London.
The climate-focused discussion that hit closest to home for the music industry took place Wednesday morning. Billed as “The Future of Sustainable Live Events,” it was moderated by Claire O’Neill, CEO and co-founder of the international nonprofit A Greener Future and co-founder of green energy specialists, Grid Faeries.
Panel participants included Sam Booth, director of sustainability for AEG Europe; Alex Bruford, founder, managing director and agent with ATC Live, whose clients include The Lumineers and Fontaines DC; and Mark Stevenson, co-founder of CUR8, whose mission is to remove 1 billion tons of carbon a year from the atmosphere.
Here are five key takeaways from their discussion.
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Heart is offering a reward for the safe return of two custom instruments that were stolen on the eve of the veteran band’s launch of their 2025 summer An Evening With Heart tour. “Members of the legendary rock band Heart were devastated to discover that two irreplaceable instruments were stolen from the venue, where gear […]
It is a mere 30 days until Oasis take the stage at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales to kick off their first tour in more than 16 years. The anticipation for the long-awaited reunion of formerly battling brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher has been slowly building as images of band members arriving for rehearsals have leaked out over the past week.
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And on Tuesday morning (June 3), singer Liam weighed in and gave a very positive assessment of how things are going. “We have LIFT OFF Rastas sounded f–king FILTHY,” he wrote on X. “I’ll tell thee that there for hardly anything.” When a fan asked if he was nervous to step to the mic, the singer brushed off the question, responding “Dont be ridiculous.”
When another commenter wondered “did you sound amazing?,” the cheeky vocalist said, “Cmon,” telling a different fan that rehearsing with the band again was “SPIRITUAL” and that rehearsals so far were “BIBLICAL.” Not one to get misty about much, Gallagher told an inquiring mind who wanted to know if it was “emotional playing with everyone” for the first time in 16 years, “no time to get emotional we have a lot of catching up to do.”
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By Wednesday morning (June 4), Gallagher was already seemingly getting a bit punchy, inexplicably posting “MOISTIFICATION for the NATION,” and replying to a question about his “greatest asset” with the blunt “My arse.” A follow-up query about how many songs the band rehearsed the day before got the answer “69.”
So far, the band is planning to spend most of July in the U.K. before jumping over to North America in August for shows in Toronto, Chicago, New Jersey, Pasadena and Mexico City, then hitting Asia and Australia in the fall and winding down with shows in Argentina, Chile and Brazil in November.
For now, there are no festival dates or non-headlining shows, but a persistent fan asked Liam if it’s possible that Oasis would make a triumphant return to the Knebworth Festival, where they played to more than 250,000 fans over two nights in 1996. “Let’s see how this tour goes if we still love each other after it,” Liam replied.
And while there is some trepidation that the internal strife that split the family band up in 2009 might rear its ugly head again, when a fan wondered if Tuesday’s rehearsal made it feel like the band had “never split up,” Gallagher affirmed, “Yeah like it never happened very spiritual.”
Some things never change, though. “How many hours do you rehearse every day,” one commenter wondered. “I do the set once then I scarper,” Liam said.
So far, longtime bassist Andy Bell has confirmed that he’s back in the band for the tour and a March report suggested that the Gallaghers could be joined by former guitarist Gem Archer, as well as Oasis co-founder and rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.). Liam rubbished the report, writing, “NME tell me who your source pots are that keep giving you info about OASIS and I’ll give you an exclusive interview about up n coming OASIS tour. You can have it all but how much do you want it.”
See Liam’s comment below.
We have LIFT OFF Rastas sounded fucking FILTHY I’ll tell thee that there for hardly anything LG x— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) June 3, 2025
MOISTIFICATION for the NATION— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) June 4, 2025
Swifties aren’t the only ones celebrating the news that Taylor Swift purchased the masters to her Big Machine albums last week. Less than a week after the singer bought back the rights to her first six studio albums from Shamrock Capitol — the private equity firm that purchased them from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in late 2020 — for what sources told Billboard was around $360 million, her longtime boyfriend Travis Kelce weighed in on the news.
In a trailer for Wednesday’s (June 4) new episode of his New Heights podcast with brother Jason Kelce, the siblings host former NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, who just can’t help himself when Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” comes on. Playing the Red hit on his phone and mouthing along to the lyrics “Once upon a time/ A few mistakes ago/ I was in your sights/ You got me alone,” Shaq was clearly feeling the news.
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As the hardcourt legend enthusiastically lip synchs to the tune, Travis and Jason bop along and smile, with Travis matching Shaq’s hand gestures. “That’s my favorite song in the world brotha,” Shaq tells the duo. “I love it.”
Both Kelces clap and laugh at the news. “You know it,” Shaq adds. “Shout out to Tay Tay,” Travis says with a big smile on his face. “Just got that song back, too,” he adds as Jason fist-pumps and shouts “Hell yeah!”
“Just bought all her music back. So it’s finally hers too man. I appreciate that dog,” Travis tells Shaq. It was the first public comment from Travis since the news broke last week via a letter from Swift about regaining control of Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017).
In her note, Swift wrote, “I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now. I’ve been bursting into tears of joy at random intervals ever since I found out that this is really happening. I really get to say these words: All of the music I’ve ever made… now belongs… to me.”
While it took a few days for Kelce to weigh in, Swifties wasted no time in celebrating the news. Billboard reported that following the 11:30 a.m. ET announcement on Friday, early data showed U.S. activity around the singer’s whole catalog — her six Big Machine albums, her subsequent albums and re-recordings on Republic — jumped to averaging nearly 35,000 consumption units for that day and Saturday (May 31), a 72.3% increase from the average daily activity in the previous 12 days from an average of 20,000 units.
Watch the New Heights preview below.
Run-DMC’s “It’s Like That” has been reimagined into a girl power anthem thanks to LEGO Group and Global Girls Crew. With shows like Bob the Builder and gender norms typically aligning males with construction, “She Built That” looks to challenge the status quo and show that girls can do it too. Explore Explore See latest […]
The countdown to Glastonbury 2025 is well and truly on. With just three weeks until music fans head to Worthy Farm, Somerset, England (June 25-29), the festival has unveiled its full lineup and stage times for 2025 – complete with gaps for secret sets.
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The event will host headliners The 1975, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, and Olivia Rodrigo on the Pyramid Stage, and Loyle Carner, Charli xcx and The Prodigy on the Other Stage. Other prominent names set to appear across the weekend include Doechii, Gracie Abrams, Noah Kahan, Wolf Alice and Busta Rhymes, among others.
Glastonbury will then take a fallow year in 2026, which sees landowner Michael Eavis and his family allow the festival grounds to recover every four years.
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The full lineup features over 3,000 performances, complete with new additions to the main stages. The Other Stage will now feature drum’n’bass stalwarts Fabio & Grooverider opening on Friday, playing tracks in symphonic arrangements with the Outlook Orchestra, plus pop acts Rizzle Kicks and Good Neighbours, and singer-songwriters Nadine Shah and Louis Dunford.
Glass Beams and Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are among those added to West Holts, while Jalen Ngonda, Ichiko Aoba, Horsegirl, John Glacier and Geordie Greep join other new names on the Park stage. Head to the festival’s official website for set times across all stages.
There are also 56 ‘to be announced’ slots lined up, including a gap on the Pyramid Stage on the Friday ahead of Alanis Morrissette’s set. A mysterious band called ‘Patchwork’ will also be playing the following day. In 2023, Glastonbury platformed another surprise act at the Pyramid called the Churnups, who turned out to be the Foo Fighters.
It has been widely speculated online that ‘Patchwork’ could actually be pop trio Haim. The band are playing an isolated one-off date in Margate on June 27 following the release of fourth LP I Quit, while a Reddit user has suggested the ‘Patchwork’ name may reference a novel written by Sylvia Haim.
Lorde, meanwhile, will be releasing her new record Virgin on June 27. She last played Glastonbury in 2022, and could possibly return ahead of her highly-anticipated album and accompanying world tour, which kicks off in September.
More TBAs include Woodsies early on Friday, whilst the Park Stage also has a gap on Saturday evening. Glastonbury 2025 will kick off on the evening of June 25 with two opening ceremonies, including a theatre and circus show in the Pyramid field, followed by a fireworks display.
Indian hard rock outfit Girish and the Chronicles turned up the heat on America’s Got Talent this week with a thunderous, riff-heavy cover of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” earning a standing ovation and four yeses from the judges during Tuesday night’s (June 3) episode.
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The audition marked the group’s AGT debut and quickly stood out as one of the most explosive performances of the night. Stepping onto the stage with long hair, leather jackets, and confidence to spare, Girish and the Chronicles proved that rock is alive and well — and ready for primetime.
Hailing from Gangtok, Sikkim, and now based in Bengaluru, India, the band gave the pop ballad a dramatic makeover, transforming Adele’s chart-topping hit into a full-fledged rock spectacle complete with wailing guitar solos, gritty vocals, and thunderous drums. With frontman Girish Pradhan commanding the stage, the band’s charisma and precision lit up the room and earned them a unanimous four yeses from the judges — Sofia Vergara, Simon Cowell, Mel B, and Howie Mandel.
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Formed in 2009, Girish and the Chronicles (often abbreviated as GATC) have become one of India’s leading hard rock exports. They’ve previously opened for artists like Poets of the Fall and Destruction, and they’ve toured internationally in places like Nepal and the U.S.
“Set Fire to the Rain” became Adele’s third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012, spending two weeks at the top. The track also surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify and won the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Elsewhere in the June 3 episode, AGT featured a wide mix of acts vying for a coveted spot in the next round. Ethiopian acrobatic troupe TT Boys wowed with a gravity-defying display of flips and balance work that earned a standing ovation. Dance group Kid Clippers, known for their work with the LA Clippers, delivered an energetic hip-hop routine full of charisma and synchronized choreography.
Phobias, a silent clown duo with a horror twist, brought eerie theatrics to the stage — complete with balloon popping and unsettling surprises — and successfully freaked out the judges (especially Howie Mandel). Meanwhile, the Messoudi Brothers stunned with a shirtless knife juggling act that had the judges on edge.
Also on the docket: Citilimitz, a trio of singing brothers who brought a nostalgic boy-band vibe; Amanda Badertscher, a gym teacher who nailed a trick football-throwing stunt; and Cole Swensen and his mother, who delivered a sweet family rendition of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”