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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will not remove Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap from their coverage of this month’s Glastonbury Festival, the broadcaster has announced.
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The English festival – which takes place from June 25-29 – will feature the controversial Belfast outfit performing on the West Holts stage on Saturday, June 28. Their inclusion on the lineup comes following calls for the group to be removed in the wake of member Mo Chara, born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, being charged with a terrorism offense by London’s Metropolitan Police.
Ó hAnnaidh was investigated and subsequently charged for allegedly showing support for militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in historic videos. Both are proscribed as terror groups according to U.K. law, and considered an offense under the Terrorism Act 2000. Ó hAnnaidh is due to appear in the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.
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Despite politicians throughout the U.K. writing to organizers of festivals which have booked the band, the group remain on the final lineup for Glastonbury this month, though were recently removed from Scotland’s TRNSMT festival this July following safety concerns from law enforcement.
The announcement of Glastonbury’s final lineup also coincides with the BBC’s plans to air artists’ sets, with the broadcaster telling British publication The i Paper that Kneecap’s performance will be included as part of their coverage.
“As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers,” a spokesperson said. “Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our broadcast output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”
However, it was noted that all performances aired on the BBC must meet their editorial guidelines, indicating that “unjustifiably offensive language” will likely be excised. Similarly, the broadcaster’s responsibility to air a broad range of opinions so as not to be seen endorsing specific campaigns means that some aspects of the band’s live show may also be removed ahead of airing.
In April, Kneecap made global headlines following their appearance at the Coachella festival where they projected strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”
Despite apparent attempts to censor the band or hinder any of their successes, Kneecap this week announced their biggest-ever English show, with a huge headline date at London’s OVO Wembley Arena set for September.
Epic Records chairwoman/CEO Sylvia Rhone being presented with the Vanguard Award was one of several highlights that took place during the inaugural Black Women in Music dinner, held Tuesday evening (June 3) at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles.
The Black Music Month fete also honored Grammy-winning artist Ciara, music executive Phylicia Fant, creative director/costume designer June Ambrose, media personality DJ Kiss and photographer/photojournalist Florence “FLO” Ngala. Celebrating the global impact of Black women in the music industry, the dinner also served as the first fundraiser for its presenter, The Connie Orlando Foundation, which supports breast cancer prevention, care and research in Black communities.
As the first Black woman CEO of a major record label, Rhone accepted her award from Grammy- and Stellar Award-winning gospel powerhouse Yolanda Adams. In making the presentation to the industry trailblazer — also known as “The Godmother of the Music Industry” — Adams said of Rhone, “You are a beacon of hope and a powerful champion for change.”
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Flo Ngala, DJ Kiss, Sherrese Clarke, Phylicia Fant, Connie Orlando, Ciara, Sylvia Rhone and June Ambrose attend Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
Grammy-nominated artist Normani presented the Avant Garde Award to Ciara, saluting the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/entrepreneur as “the blueprint for leveling up.” Emmy-winning actress Niecy Nash stepped onstage to honor hip-hop and R&B style pioneer Ambrose with the Guardian of Vision Award. “She taught hip-hop how to wear its crown — and how to do it in a fresh pair of heels,” Nash remarked.
Grammy-winning singer and actress Andra Day, alongside co-presenter/entrepreneur Lori Harvey, paid tribute to veteran music executive Fant (Warner Bros. Records, Columbia Records, Amazon) and her work in music marketing and advocacy for equitable representation. “Phylicia has a deep understanding of how crucial Black artistry is to the future of business, and her work stands as a testament to this,” Day said.
Giveon attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
HarborView Equity Partners founder/CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares — also founding partner of Black Women in Music — gave out special Guardian Angel Spotlight awards to aforementioned culture-shapers DJ Kiss and Ngala. Citing Black Women in Music as a “platform to reshape narratives around Black artistry and leadership,” Clarke Soares further commented, “At HarbourView, we believe artists deserve more than just a seat at the table. They deserve ownership of their stories and the freedom to build their own.”
In thanking the audience as well as the evening’s supporters and sponsors, Orlando addressed the call to action needed to fight the breast cancer crisis affecting the Black community. “It is a privilege for me to curate this event to give these extraordinary women their flowers, to shine a light on how vital they’ve been to global culture and to just say, ‘Thank You,’” added Orlando who is also exec. vp/head of specials, music programming and music strategy at BET.
Connie Orlando attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
The inaugural Black Women in Music dinner/fundraiser was hosted by actress and comedian Zainab Johnson with performances by Giveon, Alex Isley and YULI. Hip-hop icon MC Lyte voiced the tribute videos, while DJ Midi Ripperton provided afterparty entertainment. In addition to The Connie Orlando Foundation and founding partner HarbourView Equity Partners, the event’s prestige partners were BET and BET HER; contributing partners included Jesse Collins Entertainment, Flavor Unit, Quality Control, CMG, Epic Records, Atlantic Records, OWN and Universal Music Group.
Zainab Johnson attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 3, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
50 Cent wasn’t feeling Cam’ron bringing up his ex Daphne Joy during a conversation with a male sex worker involved in the Diddy trial. During a recent episode of his Talk With Flee podcast, Cam’ron had on escort Sharay “The Punisher” Hayes to talk about his alleged exploits with Diddy and Cassie, and after Hayes […]
Russell Simmons is suing HBO for defamation over a 2020 documentary focused on the sexual assault allegations against him, claiming the film disregarded evidence in his favor — including “CIA-grade polygraph results” and Oprah Winfrey’s withdrawal from the project.
In a complaint filed Tuesday (June 3) in Manhattan court, attorneys for Simmons say the movie On The Record defamed him by ignoring key information — including from over 20 witnesses — that would have “refuted and rebutted” the allegations that were “falsely made against plaintiff in the film.”
“The evidence and information were made available to defendants, including then CEO of WarnerMedia John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, Casey Bloys,” the star’s lawyers write. “However, the Defendants disregarded and/or suppressed said materials.”
Spokespeople for HBO and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday (June 4).
Simmons, who founded Def Jam Recordings in 1984 and later built a formidable hip-hop empire, has faced a slew of abuse allegations since 2017 — first in an investigative article by the New York Times, then in the HBO doc. The film, directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, centered on claims made by Drew Dixon, a former A&R at Def Jam who says Simmons raped her, but also featured interviews with several other alleged victims.
In his complaint, Simmons says he provided HBO and the filmmakers with ample evidence that was “supportive and favorable” to him and would have countered those allegations. And he says the network was urged to consider that info by “luminaries in media and politics,” including “civil rights leaders and members of Congress.”
Simmons says the favorable evidence included “nine consecutive credible and favorable CIA-grade polygraph results” — presumably tests taken by him about the accusations. He also says HBO ignored the fact that Winfrey, the movie’s original executive producer, had withdrawn her support after “publicly noting inconsistencies in the accusations.”
“Defendants willfully, and/or recklessly, disregarded and suppressed said information and evidence, and published, and continue to republish defamatory content,” attorneys for Simmons wrote.
The lawsuit could face procedural challenges. The statute of limitations for libel lawsuits in New York is one year, a limit that has clearly lapsed for a movie released in 2020. Simmons’ lawyers will likely argue that he has continued to be defamed by new re-issues of the documentary, particularly in foreign markets.
The new case is a role reversal for Simmons, who has already been on the receiving end of a defamation lawsuit from Dixon over claims that he defamed her by suggesting during a podcast interview that she was lying about her allegations. He’s also facing a sexual assault lawsuit from another unnamed alleged victim.
Young Thug and Mariah The Scientist have been going strong for four years — even remaining together through Thugger’s two-plus-year incarceration — but their relationship may have never gotten off the ground if the YSL rapper didn’t remain persistent. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Thug and Mariah […]
Vic Mensa has shared his thoughts on being an artist in the streaming era, and spoke about the heavy emotional toll it can take on a rapper. On Tuesday (June 3), the Chicago rapper hopped on social media and recalled an emotional breakdown he had in the shower after thinking deeply about the intense public […]
It’s officially Lil Wayne week. Weezy is set to return with the sixth installment of arguably rap’s most decorated album series with Tha Carter VI arriving on Friday (June 6).
Seven years after C5, Wayne hopes to make more history and add to his decorated legacy. The project’s slated to be another star-studded affair with a range of rumored features from Miley Cyrus, Bono, MGK, Wyclef Jean, Andrea Bocelli and more.
Three decades into a hall-of-fame career, Lil Wayne changed the aesthetic of rappers and the genre’s sound in the 21st century. Take a look at all the “Lil”s in the rap game, the tattoos and dreadlocks, that can be attributed to Weezy’s influence. His intoxicating Auto-Tune-laced rhymes and witty punchlines that seemingly never end ushered in a new archetype of rapper.
“Before I stepped into music, everyone looked a certain way and everyone did a certain thing. Look at me. Now look at music. They all look like me,” he said in 2020. “I love it.”
At the end of every concert, Lil Wayne expresses gratitude to his fans, saying, “I ain’t s–t without you.” But Weezy wouldn’t but the artist he is without Tha Carter series—a staple in his discography and an artifact of hip-hop history. “Welcome back hip-hop, I saved your life,” he raps on Tha Carter 3’s “Dr. Carter.”
Lil Wayne’s prime heading into C3 circa ‘07-’08 was something you had to see to believe. In a genre with goliaths like Kanye West, Jay-Z and Eminem dominating, Weezy stood tall at 5’5”, in a league of his own. At times, his greatness was impossible to measure through sheer commercial numbers, with the droves of leaks and mixtape files being shared online between fans in a pre-streaming world.
“You scare me, man, every time you spit,” Ye told Wayne on stage at the 2008 BET Awards while referring to Weezy as his “fiercest competition.”
The New Orleans rap deity will take a bow and a well-deserved victory lap on Friday night when he celebrates Tha Carter VI’s arrival with his first headlining solo show at Madison Square Garden. How is that possible?
Billboard sifted through all five installments of Tha Carter and attempted to do the impossible, filing down a list to the 10 best tracks from the acclaimed series. (And a quick honorable mention to “Mirror,” “This is the Carter,” “I Miss My Dawgs,” “Got Money,” “Mona Lisa,” “Fly In” and “Comfortable.”)
“Tha Mobb”
50 Cent promised to let Donald Trump know what Diddy has said about him in the past, and he followed up on exactly that when posting a pair of clips on Monday (June 2) featuring Combs condemning the president.
“See Trump don’t like s–t like this buddy, you run your mouth to much,” 50 wrote in one caption.
The first video finds Sean Combs in conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, talking about a potential race war if the now twice-impeached president were in office. “If Trump gets elected, I really do believe in my heart there’ll be a race war,” Diddy said in the clip.
Another video shows Diddy condemning Trump on REVOLT, saying: “White men like Trump need to be banished.”
Fans hopped into the comments, chiming in about 50 looking to kill any chance of a pardon for Diddy by Trump, who recently pardoned YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
“We will have BREAKING NEWS….from the White House to address by noon tomorrow…I am sure you just took that man’s last hope for sure,” one fan wrote.
The G-Unit mogul has been relentless in his trolling of Combs, as 50 even posted an edited image of himself rocking a “Free Diddy” shirt on social media.
Combs remains on trial in New York for federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. During Tuesday’s 15th day of testimony, a hotel worker alleged Diddy paid them $100,000 to make sure the video of Combs assaulting Cassie never got out, per ABC News.
Last week, Trump was asked about a potential Diddy pardon during an Oval Office briefing and said he’d consider it, but would have to take a look at the case.
“I haven’t spoken to him in years,” Trump said. “He used to really like me a lot. I think when I ran for politics, that relationship busted up. … I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”
After each individually holding the record, Kendrick Lamar and SZA combine forces to claim the longest-running No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as their collaboration “Luther” reaches an unprecedented 23rd week at the top. The crowning feat, on the list dated June 7, dates to the chart becoming the singular standard genre survey […]
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 […]
