Music News

Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town’s Cause of Death Revealed

The cause of death for Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of rap rock band Crazy Town, has been revealed.

The star, who was born Seth Binzer, died of accidental overdose, according to People. “Seth Binzer, after struggling with addiction and Crazy Town’s rapid success with ‘Butterfly,’ never was able to reach out on a more successful level to deal with his addictions,” Crazy Town’s manager told the publication. “We all tried, but ultimately we all failed, or Shifty would still be here.”

He continued, “The cause of death was a combination of prescription drugs and street purchased drugs. Shifty was a friend and really wanted to get himself fixed — unfortunately no one had the exact tools to do this, myself included.”

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner is still awaiting a toxicology report for more information.

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On Monday (June 24), it was revealed that Shellshock died at home at age 49, per the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner

Shellshock met Crazy Town co-founder Bret Mazer in 1992, and the band went on to add various members, including Adam Goldstein (better known as DJ AM, who died from an accidental overdose in 2009), Rust Epique, Antonio Lorenzo Valli, James Bradley Jr., among others. The band released its debut album The Gift of Game in November 1999. It peaked at No. 9 on the all-genre Billboard 200 on the chart dated March 3, 2001, and remained on the tally for 34 weeks.

Watch Jelly Roll Jam Out to ‘Old Time Rock & Roll’ With Bunnie XO, MGK & Mod Sun

That kind of music just soothes the soul! Bunnie XO shared a sweet moment to TikTok this week, in which she’s seen jamming out with her husband, Jelly Roll, at a bar to Bob Seger’s classic 1978 hit, “Old Time Rock & Roll.”

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In the clip, the “Need a Favor” star is seen belting the lyrics to the chorus as Bunnie dances nearby. Soon enough, the couple’s famous pals, MGK and Mod Sun, join in and the whole group jams out together.

“The sweetest widdle family,” Bunnie captioned the video.

Earlier this month, Jelly made an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, where he revealed that he and Bunnie are trying to have a baby. “My wife and I are talking about having a baby, and it really made me realize that at almost 40, I was like, it means I got to live to at least 60. I got to see this kid into college,” Jelly Roll said. “My plan was never to be 60. It was to be like 55. I think [the Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry] Garcia died at 56. I was young, so I was like, ’56 would be great for me! …It’s better than 27 when all the other stars died. It’s 27 or 56 in the celebrity world. Let me be 56.’ But now I’m like, ‘I’d like to see my 60s.’ You know what I mean? And that really lit it up.”

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Meanwhile, Bunnie XO also shared a snippet from the podcast on her social media, adding in the caption, “God willing–Baby DeFord 2026,” and revealing that the couple is undergoing their own IVF journey.

Bunnie XO added, “Papa Bear dropped a surprise on this pod today. We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard and we have only just begun. We have been meeting with IVF doctors & exploring all our options to add to our family.”

Jelly Roll has notched three Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers to date with “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and his Lainey Wilson collaboration “Save Me.”

Kevin Hart Reveals Why He Looked Bored at the Club With Latto & Usher

Kevin Hart’s club days are behind him.

The comedian went viral recently when he was caught on video looking bored at the club next to Latto and Usher. However, he recently revealed that it was nothing personal.

Hart told Complex’s Jaelani Turner-Williams that the video “captured a real moment and a real face.” The 44-year-old added that he “was ready to go home.”

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“That moment was a real moment. Both of them are amazing people. Usher’s a really close friend of mine, and he told me we were going to a little lounge atmosphere, which is my vibe. I don’t mind,” he recalled.

“But we ended up being at what I would consider to be a club,” he continued. “So what you saw was just somebody who has the days of nightlife and partying at that scale, and I was ready to go home. I was ready to take my a— home.”

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Hart concluded, “My fear is just looking like the old guy in the club,” hI never want people to look up and [and people] go, ‘Why is he here?’ That to me, that’s aggressive. ‘Oh God, you see Kevin over there in the corner? Why is he here? It’s 21, 22 night. Why did he come?’ Bumping into my kids’ friends from school, that’s just aggressive. I don’t need those problems. I’ll take my ass home and be happy.”

Watch the OG viral video below.

Mase Tells Story About the Time He Says Big L Almost Had Him Robbed

On the latest episode of It Is What It Is, Mase talked about the times he and his late friend and collaborator Big L were at odds.

Both hailing from Harlem, New York, the two rappers were in a group together called Children of the Corn formed around 1993, but prior to that, Big L was already getting buzz in NYC’s underground rap scene, ultimately releasing his solo debut Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous in 1995. However, the younger Mase signed with Bad Boy a year later in 1996 and became a huge mainstream star. This was when the rift started between the friends, according to Mase.

“This was when I first got on. Because, you know, before we got on L was the guy.” Adding, “He took us everywhere… to Bobbito and different places to rap, and then when I got on it was like the whole wave changed, like this is what it looks like when a n—a really get on. So, me and L would get into it.”

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Mase then continued by saying he noticed some similarities between himself and some of Big L’s rhyme schemes. “He start using a few of my lyrics, like different compounds that I was using,” he said. Adding, “That’s when you make two words rap at the same time, so I checked the n—a.”

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After saying the conversation wasn’t a productive one, Mase revealed he was later confronted by Fat Joe — who was in another rap crew D.I.T.C. with Big L — in popular nightclub The Tunnel. “I told L, ‘I’ll knock you out, n—a. You fakin’, n—a. You know I know you, n—a.’ God Bless [the dead],” he recalls while laughing. “He went and got Fat Joe on me, he went and got some Bronx n—as ’cause he couldn’t find nobody.” Adding, “Next thing I know I’m in The Tunnel and the n—a Fat Joe come up to me,” he says. “Then Joe see me and Joe’s like, ‘I ain’t doing nothing to that n—a. That’s Mase, that’s something y’all got going on.’”

Fat Joe confirmed this story on the podcast Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson last year.



The Harlem rapper then brings up a second time when the two friends started arguing over a woman. He said was hanging out with childhood friend Dallas Mavericks assistant coach God Shammgod in their old neighborhood when the two were confronted by a stick-up kid. Mase said he had just purchased his first Rolex and had it iced-out. “A Spanish n—a just run out of nowhere like, ‘Yo, give it up, give it up, n—a, I’mma kill both of y’all n—as.”

After stalling a bit, Mase said he took his watch off slowly, threw it by the tires of a car, and he and Shammgod fled the scene. Luckily, the cops were in the area and were able to nab the stick-up kid and found the watch.

However, Mase claims he started getting phone calls from friends that were in the same jail as the robber and eventually found out that Big L was behind the robbery. “N—as got crazy on the dude in jail and then they beat the n—a so bad, he told us who did it.”

With all that being said, Cam and Mase laughed the entire time and still consider Big L their “brother.”

The stories begin around the 50-minute mark. You can watch it here.

Bratz Celebrates Pride Month by Re-Creating Hilary Duff’s Viral ‘So Gay’ Anti-Bullying PSA: Watch

Bratz is celebrating Pride Month by paying tribute to one of the most pivotal moments in LGBTQ history: Hilary Duff‘s iconic anti-bullying PSA from 2008, in which she concisely taught countless young viewers why it’s wrong to use the word “gay” as an insult.

In a clip posted to the doll company’s TikTok earlier this week, animated renderings of the “What Dreams Are Made Of” singer and the two other actresses featured in the original ad re-create the scene. “Do you like this top?” one of the girls says while trying on clothes in a boutique, to which another replies degradingly, “So gay.”

Overhearing the conversation from another part of the store, a Bratz-ified Duff steps in to dismantle their casual homophobia. “You know, you really shouldn’t say that,” she says. “It’s insulting.”

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“What if every time something was bad, everybody said, ‘Ugh, that’s so girl wearing a skirt as a top’?” the Lizzy McGuire alum’s avatar adds, earning a shocked look from the perpetrator. “Those are cute jeans though.”

“Happy *girl wearing a skirt as a top* pride!” the brand captioned its post, tagging Duff.

The Bratz homage is just the latest time Duff’s commercial has resurfaced over the years, having originally aired as part of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s “ThinkB4YouSpeak” campaign. Two years ago, the 36-year-old singer-actress herself re-created the skit with help from Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying and his now-husband Mark Manio, with the former lip-syncing along to her own dialogue as her co-stars served as the two girls trying on clothes.

In addition to being the LGBTQ community’s No. 1 ally, Duff is also a mother of four, having welcomed a new daughter last month with husband Matthew Koma. Baby Townes is her third child with Koma, and she also shares 11-year-old son Luca Cruz with ex-husband Mike Comrie.

Watch Bratz’s re-creation of Duff’s GLSEN anti-bullying message below.

Here’s How Drake Ended Up on Camila Cabello’s New Album

Camila Cabello is dropping her fourth studio album, C,XOXO, on Friday (June 28), and the project features a number of star-studded collaborations, including “Hot Uptown” featuring Drake and a track with the rapper on his own called “Uuugly.”

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Cabello opened up about collaborating with Drizzy in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, noting that it all started in the DMs. “I feel like, at least from what I know of myself, I feel like we’re musically aligned in a lot of ways,” she said of herself and Drake. “I think we have a lot of the same taste, and lyrically as well. I actually slid into his DMs too, and I was like, ‘I’ve been listening to you so much for this album,’ a lot of the wordplay and my aspiration for bars.”

The pop star revealed that Drake had been following her since around the time she released “Havana” in 2018. “I DMed him and then I played him my album and he f—d with it. I sent the idea for ‘Hot Uptown,’ and I wrote my part. I sent it back to him, and we chopped it to it felt like a duet. Then when he re-worked on his parts again, he gave me an outro which was the ‘UUUgly part,’” she recalled.

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She continued, “It’s a twofer because he didn’t really need to give me an outro, but for me, it’s like I don’t want to hear a song like ‘Hot Uptown’ and then have it go into this one minute thing where he is talking his s—, so we decided to just make it another song.”

Cabello and Drake made headlines back in December when they were spotted chatting on a boat while on vacation with friends in Turks and Caicos. “It was vacation plus some work,” Cabello said of the trip to Alex Cooper on the latter’s Call Her Daddy podcast in March.

Watch Cabello’s full interview on Apple Music below.

Blxst Announces the Release Date For His Debut Album ‘I’ll Always Come Find You’

Blxst announced on Thursday (June 27) that he’ll drop his debut album I’ll Always Come Find You on July 19 via Red Bull Records/EVGLE.

He dropped the album’s official trailer on his socials, which feature Blxst whipping through the city in a black Buick Grand National (featuring a “BIRDIE” California license plate) in black driving gloves before pulling up to the Evgle & Son chauffer car service garage.

“This is the most confident I’ve ever felt in my music. What I had to overcome while making this album changed my entire creative process, and the fans deserve to see the growth from that,” Blxst said in a press release. “I would be doing a disservice to not reach the heights I dreamed of reaching when I first started as an artist. No better time than now.”

The Grammy-nominated artist released his last project, Before You Go, in 2022. The 13-track set featured collaborations with Arin RayRick Ross, Grandmaster Vic and Zacari and reached No. 90 on the Billboard 200.

He’s dropped three singles in 2024 so far: “Heart Ain’t Empty” in January, “Rewind” with Feid in March and “Risk Taker” with Offset in May. Blxst will drop another single, “Dance With the Devil” with Anderson .Paak, on Friday, June 28.

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“I’ve been a fan of Anderson .Paak since his Malibu album. His approach as an artist and tone of voice inspired me while coming into my own artistry. Full circle moment, he organically reached out to me summer 2023 to collaborate with him and the group Free Nationals. I took it as an opportunity to shoot for the stars and asked for him to be a part of my debut album as well,” Blxst added. “This song is a perfect blend of two artists from California and is sonically undeniable from first listen. Conceptually, the song paints a picture of the tug-of-war with temptation in love and relationships.”

See Blxst’s trailer and official album art for I’ll Always Come Find You below:

I’ll Always Come Find You, Blxst

The Rise (and Rise) of a Midwest Princess: 5 Numbers That Capture Chappell Roan’s Current Explosion

Anyone paying the least bit of attention to modern pop understands that Chappell Roan has spent the past few months becoming a singular, undeniable star.

The Missouri singer-songwriter’s debut album, 2023’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, has gradually grown its audience through a mix of word-of-mouth and major-platform support; meanwhile, new single “Good Luck, Babe!” has built upon the album’s momentum and become a legitimate crossover hit. In the middle of those success stories is an uncompromising new voice in mainstream pop, whose sonic diversity, thematic focus on queer identities, penchant for viral trends and spectacular vocal power have coalesced into true stardom.

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Finding anecdotal evidence of Chappell’s rise is easy enough, but digging into her recent metrics makes for a staggering case study in new-school success. Here are five numbers that demonstrate just how huge Chappell Roan has become in 2024.

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68.36 million

At the beginning of 2024, Chappell’s full catalog was hovering under 3 million weekly streams, three months after the September 2023 release of Midwest Princess: in the chart week ending Jan. 4, 2024, for instance, she earned 2.51 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate. As her profile expanded — thanks in part to opportunities like opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour from late February to early April, and performing at major festivals like Governors Ball and Bonnaroo earlier this month — that weekly streaming total exploded.

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan

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Now, Chappell’s weekly streams are more than 20 times greater than they were at the start of the year, as her catalog earned 68.36 million streams in the week ending June 20. Helping to boost that weekly streaming total is “Good Luck, Babe!,” which was released in early April; now her highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 hit, the single has been a driving force within Chappell’s total catalog numbers, as well as a gateway for unfamiliar listeners to explore more of her music.

423,000

Following its release on Sept. 22, 2023, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess did not chart on the Billboard 200: Chappell’s debut album earned 7,000 equivalent album units in its opening frame, according to Luminate, and debuted at No. 3 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Rather amazingly, Midwest Princess did not crack the Billboard 200 until more than six months later, debuting at No. 127 on the chart dated Apr. 6 — right at the end of Chappell’s run on Rodrigo’s tour — with a little over 9,000 equivalent album units.

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan

Billboard

That was just the beginning, though: Midwest Princess cracked five-digit equivalent album units in the following chart week and never looked back over the next three months. In the week ending June 20, the album earned 46,000 equivalent album units — more than five times what it was earning each week at the beginning of April. And after debuting outside of the Billboard 200 altogether, Midwest Princess has earned 423,000 equivalent album units through June 20 — beyond the loftiest expectations when it debuted, and with a lot more room to grow.

55,000

Although the equivalent album units total for Chappell’s debut album factors in track and streaming units, the full-length is also being purchased by fans who want to own the full experience. Earlier this month, Midwest Princess reached the top 10 of the Top Album Sales chart for the first time, thanks in part to CD and vinyl copies being replenished across retail stores (the album comes in at No. 14 on the current tally).

After debuting with 3,000 in sales upon its release last September, Midwest Princess has multiplied its opening sales by 18, for a current total of 55,000 copies sold, according to Luminate.

19

While Chappell’s music is scoring tens of millions of plays across streaming platforms each week, “Good Luck, Babe!” is concurrently making inroads at multiple radio formats. The single reaches a new peak of No. 19 on this week’s Pop Airplay chart (dated June 29) in its seventh week on the tally, as well as a new peak of No. 30 on Adult Pop Airplay.



Meanwhile, “Babe!” makes its debut on the all-genre Radio Songs chart this week, at No. 49. If radio PDs continue to adopt “Babe!” in the coming weeks, Chappell will start reaching a different, robust audience — and potentially set herself up for even more radio hits in the future.

4

Speaking of which, the performance of “Babe!” on multiple radio tallies scratches the surface of Chappell’s ever-growing presence on the Billboard charts. Midwest Princess spends its first frame in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week, rising three spots to No. 8 in its 13th total week on the chart — a breathtaking feat, considering that the album didn’t even crack the chart when it was first released. Meanwhile, “Babe!” has spent 11 weeks on the Hot 100, and continues to push upward: this week, the single becomes Chappell’s first top 20 hit, rising five spots to No. 16.

Perhaps the most impressive chart stat for Chappell right now, though, is that she has four concurrent Hot 100 hits, with “Red Wine Supernova” (No. 54), “Hot To Go!” (No. 55) and “Pink Pony Club” (No. 90) all joining “Babe!” on the chart. The multi-song chart takeover confirms that Chappell’s rise cannot be ascribed to one hit single, and that, as her profile continues to grow, listeners are going to keep seeking out her full catalog.

Tupac Shakur Murder Suspect Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis Denied Release Over Bail Money Legitimacy Concerns

Duane “Keefe D” Davis, the man charged in connection with Tupac Shakur‘s 1999 murder, has been denied release despite coming up with the money to post bail, Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV reports.

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Davis had notified the Clark County District Court in Nevada on June 20 that he would be able to post his $750,000 bail and faced Clark County Judge Carli Kierny on June 25 to hear the conditions for his release to house arrest and to verify where the funds had come from. The next day, the magistrate denied releasing him due to concerns over the legitimacy of the funds posted by entertainment manager Cash “Wack 100” Jones, according to KTNV.

Jones, who currently manages The Game and Blueface, appeared in court through a video link and said the $112,500 down payment was “a gift” and claimed there wasn’t a quid pro quo arraignment between him and Davis.

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“The court cannot say that Mr. Davis has shown the funds were legally obtained,” the judge wrote in her order, according to the local ABC affiliate, which also provided video of the hearing.

Jones had appeared on VladTV in a video interview posted in early June and said he would bail Davis out if he allowed him to make a TV series about his life. “It’s only $75,000,” he told DJ Vlad at the time. “I’ve been thinking about going to get him with the stipulations that I’ll do the series on it.”

But Jones admitted to the court that he sometimes says things for entertainment purposes and to drive engagement.

“That’s what I said to Vlad, but Keefe D is already involved with somebody. I have no contracts with him,” said Jones, according to KTNV. “Before you go on Vlad, you have a discussion about what you’re going to talk about and what needs to be said to draw up views. There’s nothing about Vlad and nothing about YouTube that says that we’re being truthful about what we’re saying for entertainment.”



Prosecutors responded with a recorded jailhouse phone call between Jones and Davis, during which they seemed to be talking about a contract of sorts. “You got to remember, this s—t can set you up for the rest of your life,” Jones says on the call played by prosectors. “I will get you out, and then we’ll sit down and talk about all that.”

“While Mr. Jones testified he was bonding out Mr. Davis because Mr. Davis was fighting cancer and had been a pillar of the community, his previous interviews with VladTV suggested another motive,” some of the ruling reads, according to KTNV.

Kierny concluded the bank records that Jones provided were “insufficient to make the requisite showing that the $112,500 bail premium was paid by a legitimate source,” according to KOLO 8, a local ABC affiliate in Reno, Nev.

Davis has been in jail since last September, when he was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the murder of hip-hop legend Shakur.

Billboard Explains: Camila Cabello’s Ride on the Charts

Camila Cabello is dropping her fourth solo album, C,XOXO, on Friday (June 28), and to celebrate, we’re looking back on the pop star’s journey on the charts in the latest Billboard Explains video.

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We were first introduced to Cabello as a member of Fifth Harmony following their success on The X Factor in 2012. They made their chart debut with single “Miss Movin’ On,” which peaked at No. 76 on the Hot 100. The group had four top 40 hits on the tally including “Sledgehammer” at No. 40, “Worth It” at No. 12, “All in My Head (Flex)” at No. 24 and “Work From Home” at No. 4.

As a solo artist, Cabello earned her first solo Hot 100 hit in 2015 with her Shawn Mendes collaboration, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which peaked at No. 20. She went on to have four top 10 hits — “Bad Things” with Machine Gun Kelly at No. 4 and “Never Be the Same” at No. 6 — including two Hot 100 chart toppers with “Havana” and her second Mendes collaboration, “Señorita.”

Check out Billboard‘s full breakdown of Cabello’s chart journey in the video above.

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Chappell Roan’s rise to pop stardomRM’s chart successStray Kids’ chart successPeso Pluma and the Mexican music boomthe role record labels playorigins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groupsBBMAsNFTsSXSW, the magic of boy bandsAmerican Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 charthow R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S.how festivals book their lineupsBillie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battlesnonbinary awareness in musicthe Billboard Music Awardsthe Free Britney movementrise of K-pop in the U.S.why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albumsthe boom of hit all-female collaborationshow Grammy nominees and winners are chosenwhy songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs and more.