Music News
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Forest Hills Stadium in Queens says its 2025 season is officially on despite a long-running noise dispute with its neighbors. “As anticipated, we’re pleased to announce that the City of New York has given Forest Hills Stadium the green light for our 2025 concert season to proceed as planned,” reads a statement from a stadium […]
If a Mount Rushmore-like attraction commemorating white rappers is ever built, Machine Gun Kelly thinks his face should definitely be carved into the rock — despite what a recent viral mockup of the concept dictates.
Days after a seemingly AI-generated image of a fake “White Rapper Mt. Rushmore” started going viral on social media, the “My Ex’s Best Friend” musician spoke out against his omission from the choice of hip-hop stars featured in the picture. In place of the real-life monument’s lineup of past United States presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the faux Caucasian-rapper iteration showed stone-like renderings of Eminem, Mac Miller, Paul Wall and Russ.
“me not on the white rapper mt rushmore is blasphemy,” MGK wrote on X.
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In evidence of why he should have been included, the rapper-turned-punk-rocker also reposted a video of him freestyling in his home city of Cleveland while guesting on Gillie Da Kid and Wallo267’s YouTube series MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME in August. “I made 10 mil with someone, and we ain’t talking now/ F— the money, I just want the loyalty we talked about,” he spits in the clip as his posse cheers him on. “It’s no other side, it is only us/ I get cross-eyed watching y’all switch up.”
Though he’s earned a reputation for trying out different genres in recent years, MGK got his start in rap. His sophomore album, General Admission released via Bad Boy Records, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Since 2020’s Travis Barker-produced Tickets to My Downfall, however, the musician has been more focused on flexing his pop-punk and rock capabilities — most recently doing so on last month’s single “Your Name Forever.” Collaborating with Jelly Roll in 2024 on both “Lonely Road” and “Time of Day” after covering The Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” for Spotify Singles in July, he’s also been dipping into the country space.
But his music isn’t the only thing that’s experienced change lately. In March, MGK also welcomed a baby girl with ex Megan Fox, making him a father of two. He also has a teenage daughter named Casie from a past relationship.
“She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed,” the artist wrote on Instagram last month to announce the birth.
Wale recently took to X and opened up about how he once dealt with writer’s block, revealing that a fellow rapper once suggested meditation. “Music friends, how do y’all cure writers block,” he asked. “Over the years I’ve had different methods. Curious what y’all do.” Fans responded with a ton of suggestions that ranged from […]
04/15/2025
Whether it was Cardi B spraying Whipshots into the crowd or LISA shutting things down just by showing up, these were our favorite moments in the desert.
04/15/2025
Toby Gad, a German-born musician who made a name for himself in America as a hit songwriter, recently celebrated the deluxe edition of Piano Diaries – The Hits, a collection of his biggest songs (including two co-writes that topped the Billboard Hot 100, Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and John Legend’s “All of Me”) reimagined as collaborations with 17 fresh artists. The collection afforded the songwriter-producer the opportunity to look back on a career that has found him wearing many different hats; lately, he’s been donning a reporter’s cap, interviewing musicians about their careers, work habits and inspirations on his new podcast, Songs You Know with Toby Gad.
The podcast’s latest episode, which posted on Tuesday (April 15), finds Gad chatting with producer Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman about everything from growing up in Moldova to learning English through hip-hop to working with Hozier.
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Gitelman served as a producer on the Irish singer-songwriter’s 2023 album Unreal Unearth and its follow-up, the 2024 EP Unheard. Both projects were inspired by Dante’s 14th century classic Inferno, but Gitelman says he and Hozier initially bonded over a different part of the literary canon.
Meeting up during quarantine to work on new music in rural Ireland, Gitelman says he and Hozier spent “the first day or two just talking about James Joyce” (Gitelman says he’s a fan of Joyce’s Dubliners in particular). For the producer, those discussions were key to finding a trust that helped them as they worked on songs that bridged the gap between Irish folk and soul music (styles that Van Morrison, another artist the two discussed in detail prior to recording together, was especially adept at combining). “A lot of times it’s like, Andrew [Hozier], I don’t know what it is you’re saying in Gaelic, but let’s do,” Gitelman recalled.
The two also went deep on Gitelman’s time working with Mac Miller on Swimming, the final album released during the late rapper’s lifetime, as well as hitting the top 10 on three Billboard producer charts in the same week (Hot 100 Producers, R&B Producers and Country Producers) in November 2023 for his work on Jelly Roll & Jessie Murph’s “Wild Ones” and Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama.”
“It’s a cool statistic, I like numbers,” Gitelman says of the Billboard chart coup. “Coming up from an artistic, musical world, it’s nice. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops, like, ‘Hey I’m pretty good…’ To have the numbers do all the talking is really nice. I don’t think music is a competition… but man, the numbers sometimes give you the freedom to make the art you want to make.”
Check out the new episode of Songs You Know with Toby Gad below.
SoCal’s high holiday of music festivals, Coachella, returned to Indio, California, this past weekend, April 10-13. As always, the event offered far more music than one person can possibly consume, with some of the biggest music stars in the world turning up and turning out across the festival’s many stages. As an acutely hot Friday […]
Olivia Wilde has chimed in on the controversial all-female space expedition helmed by Jeff Bezos‘ space exploration company Blue Origin. The Don’t Worry Darling actress took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (April 14), shortly after the NS-31 rocket completed its 11-minute journey. She shared a meme featuring two photos of passenger Katy Perry exiting […]
Coi Leray has announced the sex of her baby with Trippie Redd, sharing the exciting news on Instagram. Sporting a cute pink outfit on Tuesday (April 15) that perfectly showcased her baby bump, Coi Leray announced to the world that she is having a girl with her ex-boyfriend Trippie Redd. “GIRL MOM,” Coi wrote in […]
Sean Kingston will soon be out on bond after getting hit with a guilty verdict last month related to a fraud scheme alongside his mother. On Tuesday (April 15), Kingston posted $100,000 bond. The agreement stated if the “Beautiful Girls” singer paid the bond, he could spend the months leading up to his July 11 […]
Janelle Monáe, RAYE and The Roots are all headed to Rhode Island this summer, with the musicians set to join dozens of other acts in holding down the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival taking place in the first few days of August.
As announced Tuesday (April 15), this year’s iteration of the iconic jazz music celebration will feature the above artists as well as Jacob Collier, Jorja Smith, Esperanza Spalding, Willow, Thee Sacred Souls, De La Soul, The Yussef Dayes Experience, Rachael & Vilray, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Dianne Reeves and Sofi Tukker. The Christian McBride Big Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Knower, Samm Henshaw, Cymande, Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, Kenny Garrett, Carrtoons and many more are also on the billing.
Taking place on three back-to-back days Aug. 1-3 at Fort Adams State Park, this year’s iteration of the festival will mark its 71st edition. Specially priced three-day passes became available for online purchase on a first come, first serve basis Tuesday, and on Thursday (April 17), more ticket packages will go on sale at 1 p.m. ET via DICE.
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Run by the Newport Festivals Foundation — which, in addition to running its iconic annual jazz and folk offerings, is dedicated to supporting music education and artist relief programs — Newport Jazz is one of the world’s longest running music festivals. Last year, the lineup featured André 3000, Laufey, Cory Wong, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Kamasi Washington, Elvis Costello, Brittany Howard, Robert Glasper, Thievery Corporation, Samara Joy, Noname, PJ Morton and more.
See the Newport Jazz Festival announcement and lineup below.