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Chuck D has always fought the power, and that includes gun crime.
The rap legend and co-founding member of Public Enemy, Chuck D, like so many others is shocked by the murder of Takeoff, one third of the hip-hop group Migos.
“This is a tragedy, the pain is unbearable,” he tells TMZ Live.
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Earlier in the week, Takeoff became the latest in a growing list of hip-hop stars killed by gunfire, a death that could have been averted.
Sadly, he points out, a death by bullet has been normalized in popular culture in ways that didn’t exist in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
“It’s not normal behavior,” says the Rock And Roll Hall of Famer, but “through culture, it’s been normalized over the years.”
Speaking as a member of the Hip-Hop Alliance, Chuck D insists “the peace, unity love aspect of hip-hop should be revered, and that’s the basis of the foundation.”
He adds, “we’ve taken the motive to making statement to let everybody know that the music and the art form is beautiful,” and that someone holding a gun should be considered “abnormal behavior.”
Early Tuesday (Nov. 1), Takeoff was at a private party with 40 others (including his uncle and bandmate Quavo) at a bowling alley in downtown Houston when investigators say shots rang out.
The chart-topping rapper, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was reportedly shot in the head or neck and died from his wounds. He was 28.
He’s one of many in the hip-hop community who’ve been murdered, a troubling list that dates back to Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, and beyond, and includes, in more recent years, the likes of Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle and, in September of this year, PnB Rock.
Chuck D doesn’t mince his words. “This is gun violence,” the iconic emcee says. “This has been going on for so long, the access to guns, the access to drugs.”
All I want for Christmas is a Mariah Holiday Apron. And a Naughty and Nice Adult Onesie. And maybe a Merry Christmas Red Ornament.
Mariah Carey fans have their wishlists sorted, now that the Queen of Christmas has unwrapped her new holiday merch collection.
Just hours after Carey reminded us that, yes, Christmas is coming, the pop superstar ushered in her latest range of presents.
Prices for her exclusive apparel, accessories, music and more are priced from $15 – $140 and are available at MariahCareyShop.com.
Carey is the undisputed Queen of Christmas, with her 1994 holiday original topping the Billboard Hot 100 for eight non-consecutive weeks and ranking as the most popular song of all time on the Billboard Holiday 100.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the evergreen hit briefly held the U.K. record for the longest journey to No. 1, when it hit the summit in December 2020 — 26 years after its release.
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In Australia, where Christmastime is a summer sweat-fest, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” took 24 years to reach No. 1, finally doing so in December 2018.
Meanwhile, Mimi is prepping for four holiday concerts in New York City and Toronto in the wake of releasing her new children’s book, The Christmas Princess.
“I’m trying to make [these shows] as magical as possible,” she said of the series of “Merry Christmas to All!” concerts at Madison Square Garden and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena in mid-December. “Oftentimes as a child, or even throughout earlier parts of my career, I did not feel loved. I certainly never felt unconditional love, and that’s what I have with my fans: that connection. So I’m extremely excited.”
She got one gift early when, on Tuesday, a songwriter who sued her over accusations that she stole “All I Want for Christmas is You” from his earlier song has dropped his lawsuit — for now.
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The late Takeoff, who died on Tuesday (Nov. 1), at age 28, shaped an entire chapter and sound of hip-hop as one-third of the rap group Migos. The rapper, born Kirshnik Ball, formed the trio near Atlanta with Offset, his cousin, and Quavo, his uncle, and began recording in the early 2010s. Migos made its first Billboard chart appearance in July 2013, as “Versace” debuted on a handful of sales and airplay charts. From there, the trio established itself as one of hip-hop’s most popular acts, with multiple top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 — Culture in 2017 and its follow-up, Culture II — the next year.
Though Migos was on an “indefinite hiatus,” per Rolling Stone in an October interview, Takeoff and Quavo teamed up for a 2022 album, Only Built for Infinity Links, released Oct. 7. The set became yet another top 10 success on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 7, and debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums list.
As fans and his fellow musicians mourn the rapper, let’s recap Takeoff’s impact through a countdown of his biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100, both as a solo act and member of Migos.
Song Rank, Title, Artist (if other than only Migos), Peak Position, Peak Date
20. “Notice Me,” featuring Post Malone, No. 52, Feb. 10, 2011
19. “Bon Appetit,” Katy Perry featuring Migos, No. 59, June 3, 2017
18. “Handsome and Wealthy,” No. 79, Nov. 8, 2014
17. “Key to the Streets,” YFN Lucci featuring Migos & Trouble, No. 70, Nov. 5, 2016
16. “Having Our Way,” featuring Drake, No. 15, June 26, 2021
15. “Need It,” featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, No. 62, June 6, 2020
14. “Hotel Lobby (Unc & Phew),” Quavo & Takeoff, No. 59, June 4, 2022
13. “Fight Night,” No. 69, Sept. 6, 2014
12. “Narcos,” No. 36, Feb. 10, 2018
11. “Drip,” Cardi B featuring Migos, No. 21, April 21, 2018
10. “Straightenin,” No. 23, June 26, 2021
9. “Slippery,” featuring Gucci Mane, No. 29, July 22, 2017
8. “Slide,” Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean & Migos, No. 25, June 3, 2017
7. “Pure Water,” with Mustard, No. 23, May 4, 2019
6. “T-Shirt,” No. 19, Feb. 18, 2017
5. “Walk It Talk It,” featuring Drake, No. 10, Aug. 14, 2018
4. “I Get the Bag,” Gucci Mane featuring Migos, No. 11, Nov. 4, 2017
3. “Stir Fry,” No. 8, Feb. 17, 2018
2. “Motorsport,” with Nicki Minaj & Cardi B, No. 6, Dec. 30, 201
“Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, No. 1 (three weeks), Jan. 21, 2017
Migos’ Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 through Nov. 5, 2022. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, certain eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
Cody Simpson just might be Australia’s renaissance man. The 25-year-old Queenslander has enjoyed a pop career (with five appearances on the Billboard 200 chart), pivoted into the ranks of elite swimming, and he’s thrown what energies he has left into an eco-clothing business.
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On Tuesday (Nov. 1), Simpson brought his love of music and sport together when he performed the national anthem at the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse.
Wearing a pin-striped three-piece suit, Simpson delivered a mature rendition of “Advance Australia Fair,” with a packed crowd of 80,000 race-fans watching on.
He’s no stranger to performing the anthem for the big occasion. On Australia Day 2016, he delivered it during the Cleveland Cavs’ home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first time “Advance Australia Fair” had rung out prior to an NBA contest.
Speaking ahead of the so-called “race that stops the nation,” Simpson admitted he hasn’t considered hanging up the guitar and mic.
“Music’s still a massive part of my life and I train full time, but everybody needs something to help balance them out, and music for me is just that,” News.com.au quotes Simpson as saying.
“I still play guitar pretty much every single day to relax, and I certainly will be jumping around back to music once I’m done with the pool.”
A butterfly specialist, Simpson collected Commonwealth Games gold earlier in the year, as part of the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, along with silver in the 4x100m medley. His efforts earned him selection to Australia’s squad for the 2022 Duel in the Pool against the U.S.
In August, the Gold Coast native unveiled Prince Neptune: The Label, and its range of eco-wear, from tees to hoodies, shirts, bandanas and more — all stamped with the freshwater god’s trident.
Simpson also found time in April to release a fourth album, via Coast House Collective, a self-titled studio set containing singles “Nice to Meet You” and “Let Go” as well as the Ben Harper collaboration “It’s a Dream.”
In 2019, he won the inaugural Australian edition of The Masked Singer.
Sony Music increased its annual forecast for revenue and operating income on Tuesday (Nov. 1) as it reported quarterly revenues were up 5.9% on the strength of its subscription streaming income and chart-topping hits.
Releases from artists including Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Future and Doja Cat helped Sony dominate Spotify’s Top Songs Global chart, with an average of 48 out of top 100 coming from the music major’s artists so far this year, executives said. That is up from an average of 36 songs in 2021.
Total Sony Music revenues rose 5.9% year-over-year to $2.58 billion (¥359.3 billion) for the second fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30. Operating income rose 23.9% to $570 million (¥78.7 billion) over the same period compared to a year ago.
Recorded music revenue rose 14.2% to $1.62 billion (¥224 billion). Within that segment, streaming for recorded music revenues rose 6.8% (in US dollars), physical revenues declined 4.2% (in US dollars) and “other” revenues, which includes sync licensing, merchandise and touring revenues, rose 33.4% (in US dollars) as the industry rebounded from a pandemic-led slowdown.
Publishing revenues overall rose 24% in US dollars. The visual media and platforms segment’s revenues declined 9% due to a softening in the Japanese company’s anime business.
Sony Music’s parent company believes the risk of a global economic slowdown is increasing due to rising tensions with China, high energy costs, persistent inflation and interest rates hikes in various countries. “We are taking steps to prepare for further deterioration of the business environment in each of our businesses,” said Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s executive deputy president and chief financial officer, during the earnings call.
However, Totoki is less concerned about the prospects of its music division. Sony Corporation raised Sony Music’s revenue target for the full fiscal year by ¥90 billion yen to ¥1.37 trillion ($9.8 billion at Sony’s assumed exchange rate for the second half of the fiscal year). Executives also raised Sony Music’s operating income target by ¥35 billion to ¥265 billion ($1.9 billion at the assumed exchange rate). “Streaming is very successful and we don’t really have that much of a concern,” he said when asked by an analyst about what risks the music segment faces.
In addition, the company’s recorded music and publishing segments’ operating income benefitted from a one-time benefit of $41.2 million (¥5.7 billion) in the quarter from settlements of multiple copyright infringement lawsuits.
Volatile foreign currency markets in the quarter negatively impacted Sony’s sales and operating income, executives said, and caused a divergence in the company’s earnings as reported in Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar. This positively impacted Sony Music’s earnings as calculated in yen – about 61% of the yen-denominated gain came from the impact of foreign exchange rates – and negatively impacted the company’s earnings when converted to dollars.
The company’s operating income margin rose 22%, or 3.3 points year-over-year, while its EBITDA margin, a key measure of company profitability, was up 26.5%, or roughly 3 points.
No one but OutKast could make us shake it like a Polaroid picture. Kique, however, shakes it with his very own style.
Robert “Kique” Gomez, a Miami-based Cuban singer, stepped into the Knockout Round of NBC’s The Voice on Monday night (Oct. 31), for a reboot of OutKast’s classic 2003 single and nine-week leader on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The teen did it his own way, inserting a new groove, style and some low, low notes.
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Just 18 years of age, Kique opened Team Gwen’s three-way knockout, going up against Destiny Leigh (performing Christina Aguilera’s “Impossible”) and Rowan Grace (Billy Joel’s “Vienna”).
“One of my favorite things to do is change songs,” Kique remarks. “I really want Gwen to see that I’m not just a singer. I’m also a musician. I like to create compositions and make music and change things and make them my own.”
With his switcheroo, he got the place jumping and created for himself a good chance of staying the distance in this competition.
John Legend enjoyed what he heard. “For you to take that song and do what you did with it was so audacious,” the EGOT star says. “Truly one of the most compelling performances we’ve seen in three rounds on this show.”
“If this was a video game,” Camila Cabello notes, “you just skipped 20 levels today. For you to do a cover that was on the cutting edge of a song that was on the cutting edge was, like, Inception. I felt like a star was born. It was beautiful to watch.”
Stefani was left with a “very hard decision” decision to make. In the end, she sent Kique through to the live rounds.
“Kique is just a very unique type of singer, and I can’t wait to see what we do together next,” she explains.
It’s not all over for Rowan Grace, a student at Rapid City Central High School, who earned Blake Shelton’s steal.
Watch below.
Halloween is officially done, now it’s time for the Queen of Christmas to shine.
As the calendar flipped to Nov. 1, Mariah Carey let us know what time it is with a seasonal social post.
The clip opens in black and white with Carey on a stationary bike, dressed as a witch and surrounded by jack o’lanterns and CG bats.
Then, with a sucker punch of color, we’re thrust into Mariah’s winter wonderland. “It’s time,” she squeals. And, of course, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rings out.
Carey is the undisputed Queen of Christmas, with her 1994 holiday original topping the Billboard Hot 100 multiple times over the last few years and ranking as the most popular song of all time on the Billboard Holiday 100.
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Her gift of Christmas spirit continues to grow in the U.K., where “All I Want for Christmas Is You” finally hit No. 1 in December 2020 — 26 years after its release. That long journey to the summit set a new chart record. Several weeks later, the record was broken again, when Wham’s “Last Christmas” finally claimed the crown, 36 years after its original release.
In Australia, where Christmas is peak summer, and a time for hitting the beach, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” took 24 years to reach No. 1, finally doing so in December 2018.
Carey will get into the swing of things next month with a four-performance run celebrating her “repertoire of classic holiday songs.” Her “Merry Christmas to All” dates, presented by Live Nation, will take place in December with performances in New York and Toronto.
For the record, it’s not time yet. Christmas is 54 days away, but who’s counting.
Taylor Swift has another titanic battle on her hands, as the U.K. albums chart race enters the final straight.
Last week, Swift’s Midnights (via EMI) saw off the challenge of Arctic Monkeys and their seventh studio album The Car (Domino Recordings). This time, it’s the Beatles with Revolver (EMI).
A special deluxe rerelease of the Fab Four’s 1966 album blasts to No. 2 on the midweek chart, behind Midnights.
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Swift last week landed her ninth U.K. chart crown – and snapped several records — as Midnights surged to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with more than 200,000 chart sales, easily a career-best week for the U.S. pop superstar.
With that effort, Swift sailed past Kylie Minogue for outright second place in the list of female artists with the most U.K. No. 1 albums, with nine, all consecutive. Madonna leads that particular ranking, with 12. And the leader among all acts? The Beatles, with 15 U.K. No. 1s, a tally that includes Revolver, which led the survey following its original release.
Behind Swift and the Beatles on the midweek chart is Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s Together In Vegas (Decca), which is set to become their fourth consecutive top 3 as a duo. It’s new at No. 3 on the Official Chart Update, while the top 5 is completed by DJ Fred Again’s Actual Life 3 (Atlantic), and Massive Wagons’ Triggered (Earache), respectively.
Also eyeing top 10 starts are Foo Fighters’ new hits retrospective The Essential (No. 6 via Sony Music CG), Tom Odell’s Best Day Of My Life (No. 7 via Urok Mtheory), Paul Weller’s triple-album Will Of The People (No. 8 via Universal Music Recordings) and Blue’s Heart & Soul (No. 10 via TAG8).
Over on the singles chart blast, Swift maintains her lead with “Anti-Hero.” If it holds its position, and its parent album does the same, Swift will make it a second chart double in as many weeks.
At the halfway point in the chart cycle, “Anti-Hero” leads Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI) and Rihanna’s new release, “Lift Me Up” (Def Jam), respectively. Rihanna’s comeback track, which will appear in Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, had trailed just “Anti-Hero” earlier in the week.
All will be revealed when the U.K. singles and albums charts are published Friday (Nov. 4).