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Drake and his Anita Max Win world tour in the Oceania region kicked off near the top of the month and was slated to run until March 16. However, reports have emerged that Drake will halt the remaining days of the tour due to scheduling conflicts with a promise of rescheduling those dates.
Drake was scheduled for select show stops in Australia and New Zealand after kicking off the Anita Max Win tour on Feb. 4 in Perth. As seen on Rolling Stone AU/NZ, a rep for the OVO Sound honcho confirmed that the remaining dates will be put on pause and shared a brief statement.
From Rolling Stone AU/NZ:
“Due to a scheduling conflict, four of Drake’s 16 sold-out shows in Australia and New Zealand will be postponed. We are actively working on rescheduling these dates along with adding some additional shows.
All tickets for the affected shows will remain valid for the new dates. Refunds will be available for those who prefer, but please note that as these shows are sold out, any refunded tickets will be released for sale.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Drake and the entire team have had an incredible time doing these shows and are excited to return soon.
We look forward to sharing the rescheduled dates with you as soon as possible.”
Drake was scheduled to play shows on March 4 in Brisbane, then trekking over to Sydney on March 7. The final two shows on March 15 and 16 were slated to take place in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Roberta Flack, an enduring voice that the world got to know through her chart-topping and soul-stirring ballads, was a source of sound for several Hip-Hop producers over the years. As we continue to honor the life and legacy of the legendary vocalist, Hip-Hop Wired has compiled 10 songs that sampled Roberta Flack’s music.
My first time hearing Roberta Flack occurred when I was in elementary school via the song “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” a beautiful ballad written by the late Gene McDaniels. As I was still quite young, I didn’t know what the lyrics meant but what I could tell you then is that it sounded like what I imagined falling in love deeply was like. Roberta Flack’s serene, even-keeled voice sounded as if it descended from the heavens and few singers have had that effect on me.
As I aged, so did my pursuit of music which is where my devotion to Hip-Hop strengthened and learning about the intricacies of sampling in music production. However, few songs have captured the essence of Flack’s sonics to the level of The Fugees’ 1996 rendition of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and the beauty of it all is that The Fugees had the honor of having Flack perform the global hit with them.—D.L. Chandler
Flack’s music just didn’t boost the sonic profile of The Fugees, but also gave strong backdrops to the likes of Scarface, Gang Starr, T.I. Ye, Memphis Bleek, Lil’ Kim, Biz Markie, and countless others. Below, we’re featuring 10 songs that sampled Roberta Flack’s classic music. Let us know on social media or in the comments if we missed any of your favorites.
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The Wu-Tang Clan remains one of the most influential and dominant Hip-Hop collectives ever assembled, and it appears that they will embark on one last tour for their devoted fans. Announced earlier this week, the “Wu-Tang Forever: The Fina Chamber” tour kicks off this summer and will span North America well into July.
The Wu-Tang Clan began in earnest in 1992 and exploded onto the scene in 1993 with its classic debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and continued its winning streak via several solo albums from the core members of the Clan such as Method Man, RZA, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, U-God, and Cappadonna.
The tour will launch on June 6 in Baltimore, Md., and travel for 26 more dates across the continent before ending the tour in Philadelphia. Capping the bittersweet announcement, the “Abbott” of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, shared a statement.
“Wu-Tang Clan has shown the world many chambers throughout our career; this tour is called The Final Chamber. This is a special moment for me and all my Wu brothers to run around the globe together one more time and spread the Wu swag, music, and culture. Most importantly to touch our fans and those who have supported us throughout the years. On this tour we’re playing songs we’ve never played before to our audience and me and our production team have designed a Wu-Tang show unlike anything you’ve ever seen. And to top it off we’ve got the amazing Run the Jewels on our side,” RZA shared in a press statement.
With the crowd-pleasing and sonically adjacent Run The Jewels supporting the tour, this will be one of the hottest tickets around and looks to be a can’t-miss event.
Tickets for the tour will go on sale this Friday (Feb. 28) at 10 AM local time. While there isn’t a pre-sale launching for the tour, fans will have a chance to join the lines early via the Wu queue 30 minutes before the general public launch.
At the top of next week, Amazon Music and the Wu-Tang Clan will drop an exclusive live EP. A limited vinyl pressing run of just 1500 units will also be available.
To learn more about the tickets, VIP packets, and more, click here. Keep scrolling to see the official tour stop lineup.
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No matter what you think about controversial comedy legend Dave Chappelle, you have to admit he knows how to come through with words of encouragement right on time.
On Saturday night (Feb. 22) , Chappelle was honored at the 56th NAACP Image Awards with the President’s Award, and, in true Dave fashion, he delivered a speech aimed at positivity and people caring for each other while also getting in a few topical jokes.
“You know, look, I won a lot of awards recently, but this one tonight is probably the most special award I’ve ever gotten because it’s from this institution that represents these people, us, people of color, Black people,” the 51-year-old told the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
“My god brother is here tonight, Ben Jealous,” he continued. “Ben used to be the president of the NAACP, and I asked him, I said, ‘What do you think? What do you think I should say tonight?’ And Ben sent me a whole speech. But what was important, he said, in 1915, the movie Birth of a Nation came out, and had a hideous depiction of African Americans. And by 1927, the NAACP had opened its first office in Hollywood. And from then, 100 years ago to this very night, they have been chipping away at this industry so that people like me can stand up in front of people and tell my story or our stories each and every artist in here, every opportunity we get, every time we’re on camera on stage, we just keep chipping away at this monster of a machine.”
Chappelle wasn’t about to leave the stage without getting in a few quips, of course, so he joked about all the controversy his Netflix stand-up specials, which have been panned as anti-LGBTQ+, has stirred up.
“But tonight, man, tonight, I feel invigorated because all my Netflix checks clear,” he said to the laughter of the crowd.
Then Chappelle got serious while encouraging people to see each other through the “difficult” time we are currently experiencing under the current administration. (He doesn’t actually mention Trump, but we know what he was talking about during his speech, which came not long after former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her own fiery speech while accepting the Chairman’s Award.)
“Every time you see me, just know I’m only up there because I want to be right up there,” Chappelle said. “And I hope, I hope all of us who work in this industry feel strong and inspired and not discouraged, especially because this is a very difficult time right now. And your institution is, sadly, more relevant than it’s been in a long time. We got a lot of work to do, but it feels good to know that we’re not in it alone, that we got each other. And remember, community is everything.”
Shout out to Dave for telling the people what we all need to hear right now. Take care of each other, y’all, and we’ll make it through.
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It seems Irv Gotti’s lack of self-care led to his untimely passing. His brother Chris Gotti has confirmed the late producer suffered a stroke prior to his death.
As per TMZ, the former Murder Inc. Records executive was a recent guest on the 2WAY podcast. The older sibling revealed that Irv Gotti did not like being seen by medical professionals and didn’t find out that he was diabetic until a couple of years ago. “He’s 54. I believe he was diagnosed in his late 40s. But Irv doesn’t go to the doctor so that’s why he’s so late being diagnosed,” Chris explained. “And when he finally did go get a real physical and a check-up, they were like, ‘You’re diabetic,’ and he didn’t believe it.”
Chris confirmed that not only did Irv Gotti have Type 1 diabetes but their father, who died at age 86, was also diabetic. Even after the news Irv decided to live his life however he saw fit. “We all have to go at one point in time we just really want to go on our terms. And Irv, sadly enough, he did go on his terms. He just didn’t believe it and he was like, ‘I’m going to go the way I wanted’,” Chris added. “He ate a bunch of Chinese food while playing poker and had a massive hemorrhagic stroke, which is bleeding on the brain.”
You can see Chris Gotti discuss his late brother below.
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Jaguar Wright was presented with an award at the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump, raising numerous eyebrows.
On Tuesday, February 18, Jaguar Wright was honored with a special award from the nonprofit organization America’s Future, Inc. The award was presented by General Michael Flynn in a ceremony held at the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump. The foundation announced the “Defender of Freedom” honor via social media.
The caption of the foundation’s post shows Wright standing to the left of Flynn with the award, with the caption reading: “Tonight, Jaguar Wright was honored with the Defender of Freedom award, presented by General Michael Flynn, in recognition of her fearless dedication to truth and justice. As a bold and unapologetic voice in the fight for transparency and accountability, Jaguar continues to shine a light where others fear to tread.”
News of the honor surprised many, given that Wright has been a constant voice of controversial allegations involving famous musicians, which have bordered on conspiracy and haven’t been proven as factual. The musicians she has mentioned in interviews with outlets include Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Meek Mill, and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Wright has also declared herself to be a supporter of Trump, saying that “God wanted Trump” in an interview last summer. She went further in attacking former Vice President Kamala Harris: “Considering on the other side, everybody that was endorsing that candidate is an alleged ‘freak off’ attendee, I don’t see how god was rocking with that.”
Recently, she attacked Jay-Z along with Diddy in an interview with Piers Morgan, calling them “monsters.” Morgan would disavow the R&B singer’s comments after receiving a “desist” letter from Jay-Z and Beyoncé: “Jaguar, unexpectedly, made several serious allegations about Jay-Z and Beyoncé during that interview. As I said in the moment, they were not present to respond or defend themselves, but now they have. Their lawyers contacted us to say that those claims were ‘totally false’ and have no basis in fact, and we’ve therefore complied with a legal request to cut them from the original interview.”
Also present at the ceremony to receive honors were rocker Ted Nugent, Lt. Col Carolyn Rocco, Lt. Col Theresa M. Long, Lt. Col Stuart Scheller, CDR Robert A. Green Jr., and Former Lt. Col Matthew Lohmeie. Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was also in attendance, being more visibly present at the poolside reception.
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Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the former Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired from his position by President Donald Trump despite the general’s record as a decorated fighter pilot. Gen. CQ Brown Jr. was just the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was replaced by an official that some say isn’t as qualified for the role.
As reported by the Associated Press, the firing of Gen. CQ Brown Jr. took place last Friday (Feb. 21), who had only been on the job for nearly a year and a half. Taking to his Truth Social platform, President Trump thanked Brown for his service.
“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family, Trump wrote.
Brown’s political stances seemingly contrasted with that of the Trump administration, which appears to be on a crusade against all things DEI-related and the still-underbaked theory of “wokeness” taking over American institutions despite never explaining to the masses what that entails. Brown is also part of a sweeping firing spree that includes 5,400 probationary civilian employees and aims to cut up to $50 billion in programs the administration feels are wasteful.
In Brown’s place, Trump plans to insert retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as chairman. Caine, an F-16 pilot and former associate director for military affairs at the CIA, has never held a qualifying position for the role he’s been suggested for but Trump has the right to waive the requirement.
There has been some response to Brown’s firing by Senate leadership.
“A professional, apolitical military that is subordinate to the civilian government and supportive of the Constitution rather than a political party is essential to the survival of our democracy,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, offered in a statement. “For the sake of our troops and the well-being of every American, elected leaders — especially Senate Republicans — must defend that enduring principle against corrosive attempts to remake the military into a partisan force.”
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Paradise, the thrilling political drama featuring Sterling K. Brown, will see the adventures of Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins continue for another season. Hulu has announced that Paradise will be coming back to the streamer as the acclaimed first season is still underway.
Paradise, a Hulu Original series from Dan Fogelman centers on Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier Collins, which is set in modern times with much of the happenings in the show occurring in an underground bunker in Colorado. Without giving away too much of the plot, Collins is hoping to uncover the circumstances surrounding the death of the president, who is played by James Marsden. Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Aliyah Mastin, and Percy Daggs IV also star in the series.
Our brother site CASSIUS via the Black Watch segment says the “show is teeming with all sorts of twists and turns and even some sci-fi elements.”
According to a Deadline report, Paradise wraps its first season on Hulu on March 4 and will move to ABC for a full first season showing on April 17.
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Roberta Flack, an award-winning R&B vocalist, and songwriter who topped the charts in her time, died on Monday (Feb. 24). Roberta Flack earned her first big break after actor and director Clint Eastwood used one of her songs in his films.
Roberta Flack was born on Feb. 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, N.C., and grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Arlington, Va. As a child, Flack was inspired by the gospel singers of her local church and took an interest in learning the piano as an instrument. Flack’s skills as a pianist led to her earning a scholarship to attend Howard University at the age of 15. Upon graduating, the classically trained Flack worked as a student educator before returning to North Carolina to teach ahead of returning to the D.C. area to teach at several schools.
In 1968, at the urging of her vocal coach at the time, Flack became a professional singer and she became a regular performer at Mr. Henry’s restaurant, which still stands today in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. In the 1970s, jazz legend Les McCann discovered Flack singing at a D.C. nightclub leading to an audition and wrote inside the liner notes of her 1969 debut album, First Take for Atlantic Records.
Things took a turn for the better for Flack when the aforementioned Eastwood used the Grammy Award-winning song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” from First Take in his 1971 film, Play Misty For Me, helping the album soar to the top of the Billboard charts and cementing Flack’s status as a star.
Other hits for Flack include “Where Is The Love” alongside Donny Hathaway, “Feel Like Making Love,” and perhaps Flack’s biggest hit, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” another Grammy winner, which was remixed by The Fugees in 1996 en route to becoming a global smash.
On X, formerly Twitter, music fans are remembering Roberta Flack. Keep scrolling for more.
[h/t: The Guardian]
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SNL alums Martin Short and Maya Rudolph’s COVID-19 diagnosis led Steve Martin to refer to a “curse” on the cast of the anniversary special.
On Thursday night (Feb. 20), veteran comedic actor Steve Martin shared on social media that fellow comic Martin Short had come down with COVID-19 after the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live last Sunday (Feb. 16), potentially catching it from Maya Rudolph. Martin shared a photo from the night on Instagram, which shows Short and Rudolph sharing a kiss.
“Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real,” Martin wrote in the caption of the post, adding: “Unfortunately, we have to reschedule this weekend’s sold-out Durham and Knoxville dates to 10/17 Knoxville and 10/18 Durham. So sorry for the inconvenience. I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”
The Only Murders In The Building star might’ve been referencing a joke from current SNL star Colin Jost during the Weekend Update segment of the show. “Health experts are facing increased pressure this winter in the face of outbreaks of COVID, the flu, RSV, and norovirus, which they’re calling a quad-demic,” Jost said. “So we did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space.”
Rudolph and Short aren’t the only two dealing with illness after the special. EGOT winner and co-host of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, missed several tapings of the show this week after attending the special. “Whoopi is still out with the flu. It’s going around, be careful,” co-host Joy Behar told the audience on Thursday. “We hope you’re feeling better, Whoopi. Come back soon!”
The timing of the special did lead to a couple of notable absences. Dana Carvey, one of the show’s best-known figures who made a partial return to the show this season, shared that he had to miss the special due to recovering from the flu under doctor’s orders. Another beloved alum, Dan Akroyd, didn’t appear due to “prior commitments” and Bill Hader wasn’t present citing a “longstanding scheduling conflict.”