Music News

13 Aug 2023

Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia’ Spends Second Week Atop Billboard 200

Travis Scott’s Utopia rules the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 19) for a second week, as the set earned 147,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 10 (down 70%), according to Luminate. The album charged in at No. 1 a week ago with 496,000 units earned in its first week — the biggest week for an R&B/hip-hop or rap album in 2023.

Utopia is the first rap album to spend its first two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in nearly two years, since Drake’s Certified Lover Boy logged its first three weeks at No. 1 (Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 2021 charts), of its five total (nonconsecutive) weeks atop the list. Utopia is the first rap album with more than a single week at No. 1 in over a year, since Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost claimed a total of two weeks at No. 1, in two separate weeks (July 10, 2021, its debut frame, and April 30, 2022, charts).

Utopia leads a sleepy top 10 on the Billboard 200, which is absent of any debuts in the region for the second time in less than a month. Just three weeks ago, on the July 29-dated list, there were also no new debuts in the top 10.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 19, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Aug. 15. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Utopia’s 147,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 10, SEA units comprise 110,000 (down 55%, equaling 145.99 million on-demand official streams of the streaming set’s 19 total songs), album sales comprise 37,000 (down 85%) and TEA units comprise less than 1,000 (down 58%).

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time rises 3-2 on the Billboard 200 with 92,000 equivalent album units earned (down 4%), while the Barbie movie soundtrack steps 4-3 with 74,000 (down 18%), Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) bumps 5-4 with 60,000 (down 9%) and Swift’s chart-topping Midnights ascends 8-5 with 56,000 (up 15%).

Swift’s former No. 1 Lover climbs 10-6 (51,000 equivalent album units; up 17%); Post Malone’s Austin falls 2-7 in its second week (50,000; down 55%); Peso Pluma’s Génesis slips 7-8 (47,000; down 6%); Swift’s former leader Folklore jumps 12-9 (44,000; up 9%) — as she boasts four albums in the top 10 for a third time, having become the first living artist to achieve the feat in nearly 60 years last month — and Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album falls 9-10 (43,000; down 4%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

13 Aug 2023

Lil Durk Calls Out Merch Thieves After False Active Shooter Report at Chicago Concert

Lil Durk has a message for the fans who stole his merchandise following a false active shooter report at his Chicago show on Saturday (Aug. 12).

The 30-year-old drill rapper took to his Instagram Story on Sunday morning (Aug. 13) to call out concertgoers in his hometown who were caught on video looting merch amid the chaos at the United Center.

“Don’t believe the hype we bigger then big thank you Chicago,” Durk wrote. “Till next time and who all stole the merchandise tag me so I can repost y’all crazy a–.”

The “All My Life” rapper was nearing the end of his concert Saturday evening when the Chicago Police Department received reports of an active shooter, TMZ reports. Fan-captured clips from the event show petrified audience members frantically running for safety within the venue. Other videos showed fans snatching merchandise items before making their exit.

Authorities showed up to the United Centers in search of an active shooter, but Chicago PD said it ended up being a false alarm, according to TMZ. No injuries or arrests were made.

Durk is touring in support of his eighth studio album, Almost Healed, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in June. The rapper was recently hospitalized for severe dehydration, forcing him to cancel several tour dates, including a performance at Rolling Loud Miami in late July.

13 Aug 2023

Tom Jones, Creator of the Longest-Running Musical ‘The Fantasticks,’ Dies at 95

Tom Jones, the lyricist, director and writer of The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in history, has died. He was 95.

Jones died Friday (Aug. 11) at his home in Sharon, Connecticut, according to Dan Shaheen, a co-producer of The Fantasticks, who worked with Jones since the 1980s. The cause was cancer.

Jones, who teamed up with composer Harvey Schmidt on The Fantasticks and the Broadway shows 110 in the Shade and I Do! I Do!, was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Fantasticks, based on an obscure play by Edmond Rostand, doesn’t necessarily have the makings of a hit. The set is just a platform with poles, a curtain and a wooden box.

The tale, a mock version of Romeo and Juliet, concerns a young girl and boy, secretly brought together by their fathers, and an assortment of odd characters.

Scores of actors have appeared in the show, from the opening cast in 1960 that included Jerry Orbach and Rita Gardner, to stars such as Ricardo Montalban and Kristin Chenoweth, to Frozen star Santino Fontana. The show was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991.

“So many people have come, and this thing stays the same — the platform, the wooden box, the cardboard moon,” Jones told The Associated Press in 2013. “We just come and do our little thing and then we pass on.”

For nearly 42 years the show chugged along at the 153-seat Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, finally closing in 2002 after 17,162 performances — a victim both of a destroyed downtown after 9/11 and a new post-terrorism, edgy mood.

In 2006, The Fantasticks found a new home in The Snapple Theater Center — later The Theater Center — an off-Broadway complex in the heart of Times Square. In 2013, the show celebrated reaching 20,000 performances. It closed in 2017, ending as the longest-running production of any kind in the history of American theater with a total of an astonishing 21,552 performances.

“My mind doesn’t grasp it, in a way,” Jones said. “It’s like life itself — you get used to it and you don’t notice how extraordinary it is. I’m grateful for it and I’m astonished by it.”

Its best known song, “Try To Remember,” has been recorded by hundreds of artists over the decades, including Ed Ames, Harry Belafonte, Barbra Streisand and Placido Domingo. “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You” are also among the musical’s most recognized songs.

The lyrics for “Try to Remember” go: “Try to remember the kind of September/ When life was slow and oh, so mellow/ Try to remember the kind of September/ When grass was green and grain was yellow.”

Its longevity came despite early reviews that were not too kind. The New York Herald Tribune critic only liked Act 2, and The New York Times’ critic sniffed that the show was “the sort of thing that loses magic the longer it endures.”

In 1963, Jones and Schmidt wrote the Broadway show 110 in the Shade, which earned the duo a Tony Award nomination for best composer and lyricist. I Do! I Do!, their two-character Broadway musical, followed in 1967, also earning them a Tony nomination for best composer and lyricist.

Jones is survived by two sons, Michael and Sam.

“Such a good guy. I truly adored him,” wrote Broadway veteran Danny Burstein on Facebook.

13 Aug 2023

Luke Bryan Powers Through Illness, Brings Slate of Party Anthems to Sold-Out Nashville Arena Show

Two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan brought a truckload of hits to his sixth consecutive time selling out Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night (Aug. 12) as part of his 36-city Country On tour. He last headlined the venue in 2021 and played two back-to-back, sold-out dates in both 2013 and 2017. Saturday night, the instant the lights went out, the cheers and screams went up, reaching the rafters as stage lights and smoke signaled the onstage arrival of one of the foremost country entertainers to emerge out of Nashville in the last 15 years.

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This hip-shaker and hit-maker, who also manages to be one of country music’s most relatable “everyman” personas, dubbed the evening a “big ol’ Nashville honkytonk party,” as he launched with “Kick the Dust Up,” and packed many of his 26 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits into a two-hour set.

Early in the evening, he took a moment to acknowledge his recent trio of show date cancellations, saying, “As y’all know last weekend I had to cancel three shows, but I was not going to cancel Nashville under any circumstances,” a declaration that elicited cheers from the devoted crowd. Bryan’s voice sounded slightly haggard around the edges, making it clear he was still battling illness. “So, I’m going to sound good on some songs and I’m going to sound like s— on some songs. But when you see me drinking out of this cup,” holding up a red plastic cup, “I’m drinking tequila.”

The sentiment became an ongoing humorous moment, with the crowd cheering each time he lifted the red cup to his lips. The singer-songwriter grinded it out Saturday evening, offering his fans the best he had to give — and those loyal followers stayed with him the whole way, taking over singing the words to songs such as “Crash My Party” and “My Kind of Night.”

The 47-year-old has long since diversified his brand beyond solely lobbing hit songs at the charts and headlining sold-out tours — in addition to his Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, which since its 2018 opening has been a staple in the pantheon of celebrity bars flanking downtown Nashville’s Broadway, he’s served as a judge on American Idol since 2017, and this year will reprise his role as a CMA Awards co-host, alongside NFL legend Peyton Manning. But in the end, key to his success as one of country music’s foremost ambassadors for more than a decade has been his long-perfected onstage blend of lovable goofball, sultry swagger and positive attitude, and his insistence on recording songs that largely bring — and keep — fans in those good spirits, from his debut single “All My Friends Say,” to his current top 15 hit “But I Got a Beer in My Hand”

The tour’s namesake brought a highlight of the evening, as Bryan, situated center stage with his guitar, paid tribute to farmers, military members, small-town denizens, U.S.A. and Music City itself, with the crowd offering chants of “U.S.A! U.S.A.!” as the song concluded.

“Thank you so much for this energy in here tonight,” he said, as he shared a bit of his journey. He played his breakthrough as a songwriter, Billy Currington’s 2006 hit “Good Directions,” and noted that he quickly tore through all the money he made as a writer on the song. “I bought a bass boat and two four-wheelers and I spent all my damn money.” His rendition of “Good Directions” proved a vigorous reminder that underneath that charismatic onstage persona is a sturdy songwriter who in addition to writing many of his own songs such as “We Rode in Trucks,” and “Someone Else Calling You Baby,” co-wrote songs for Bryan co-write songs for Florida Georgia Line (“That’s How We Roll,” a collab with Bryan) and Travis Tritt (“Honky Tonk History”).

Later in the evening, Bryan again acknowledged lingering vocal issues, joking, “If y’all give me a three-star review on Yelp tonight, I’m gonna be pissed.”

He saved many of his bigger hits for the second half of the show, piling on songs including “Crash My Party,” “My Kind of Night.” He welcomed two of his openers, Jackson Dean and Chayce Beckham, to the stage to perform the Jordan Davis hit “Buy Dirt,” which featured Bryan as a collaborator. The much-beloved song truly didn’t really need a vocalist Saturday evening, as the crowd took over singing the entire chorus, with Bryan ending by praising Davis for allowing him to be part of the song. The evening’s jamband vibe grew, as opener Ashley Cooke joined for a curious cover of Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” following by a crowd-rousing rendition of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”

Bryan switched to piano offering a snippet of the 1981 Lionel Richie and Diana Ross collaboration “Endless Love.” The rest of the evening would bring a mingling of covers and his own hits, such as his own 2009 hit “Do I,” Ronnie Milsap’s 1981 hit “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me,” Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” and Bryan’s “Rain Is a Good Thing.” He offered a solo acoustic rendition of his 2013 hit “Drink a Beer,” a tender ode to loved ones that has become a light-up-the-room staple in concert. He ended with his signature anthems “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “Play It Again” and the all-too appropriate “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” which found seemingly every fan in the house with hands raised high in boozy appreciation for the hit-filled evening.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be in this arena, playing whatever I want for two hours,” he told the crowd.

Ashley Cooke Takes Her Best ‘Shot’

Cooke made perhaps her biggest Music City showing to date, in the first opening slot on Bryan’s tour, flexing laid-back, accessible style with an infectious pop-punk energy as she regaled the crowd with songs from her recently-released debut album, Shot in the Dark. Her pitch-perfect vocals led “Getting Into,” before welcoming fellow concert opener Dean for a sultry take on another album cut, “What Are You on Fire About.” Commanding center stage, standing close and mingling their voices effortlessly, the two brought an undeniable energy and camaraderie to the stage.

“I can’t tell you how many years I dreamed of getting up on this stage..it’s pretty freakin’ cool,” Cooke said. Taking up a guitar, she took listeners through her musical journey, offering snippets of the first concert she ever saw — performing Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean,” and following it with Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” before she got a surprise when “Cruise” co-writer Chase Rice joined her onstage for the song. She offered T-Pain’s “Buy You a Drank” and Morgan Wallen’s “Chasin’ You.”

Cooke, signed to Big Loud Records, worked the early evening crowd with her conversational style and encouraging the audience to light up Bridgestone with a sea of cell phone lights for her performance of her RIAA-certified gold record, “Never ‘Til Now,” before rounding out her set with songs including “Back in the Saddle.”

Chayce Beckham Translates Television, Viral Success to the Stage

Beckham, a former American Idol winner and a polished entertainer and vocalist further bolstered his career surge thanks to his viral hit “23,” which has also cracked the top 40 on the Country Airplay chart. His 30-minute opening set at Bridgestone was a potent testament to the road-tested stage presence he’s forged in the two years since his Idol triumph.

Beckham launched with “Doin’ It Right,” following with “Keeping Me Up All Night,” and using his time before a Music City crowd to preview his upcoming Aug. 25 release “Little Less Lonely,” which drew a solid reaction.

Bryan’s openers generously have access to the full stage and walkway, which Beckham used to his advantage. Slinging his guitar over his back, he strutted to the front of the walkway, kneeling at the edge of the stage to shake hands with those in the front rows.

He dedicated “Til the Day I Die” to a friend, Lance, who died last year. With his dark hair and dark attire, he evoked a certain throwback country essence, as he namechecked Red Foley, Merle Haggard and the classic Haggard/Nelson song “Pancho and Lefty.”

“This is about staying true to who you are and not letting anyone tell you any different … we miss you, Lance.”

He concluded with a muscular rendition of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” and his own breakthrough hit, “23.”

“I moved to Nashville a few years ago,” Beckham said. “I never thought I’d be up here singing this song for you … I love calling this place my home.”

Jackson Dean Evokes a Gruff, Outlaw Cool

Newcomer Dean broke through last year with his freewheeling, defiance-fueled “Don’t Come Looking,” which became a top 5 Country Airplay hit. The song would be an apt introduction to Dean’s enviable musical talents with his soulful brand of country with its Southern rock-soaked edges and flashes of grunge. Ambling onstage in his signature feathered hat, Dean sang “I ran like hell from wedding bells/ And I rambled my whole life,” in his opening song, “Trailer Park,” staking his claim of freewheeling musicality early.

Though Chris Stapleton is a peerless vocalist, newcomer Dean shares a similar vocal essence — one uninhibited and unpredictable, veering from serrated to soulful on a whim. But his vocal gifts only tell half the story; it’s not that common for an absolute newcomer to release a live album — much less a live album recorded on the historic stage of the Ryman Auditorium — but that’s what Dean did earlier this year, following the 2022 release of his Big Machine Records debut album, Greenbroke.

On the considerably larger Bridgestone stage, he offered the fan favorite “Heavens to Betsy,” about a deceased man trying to reconnect with his daughter from heaven — or someone “looking for redemption in his own way,” as Dean put it. He followed with an adrenaline-fueled take of Fred Eaglesmith’s 1998 song “49 Tons,” before dipping into the gruff-yet-vulnerable “Fearless (The Echo).”

“I’ve walked in here a lot of times and I’ve always thought about playing int his room, and here we are,” he said, launching into “Don’t Come Looking.”

13 Aug 2023

8 Best Moments From BLACKPINK’s Celebratory ‘Encore’ Stadium Tour Kickoff in New Jersey

The history-making girl group leveled up the next leg of their Born Pink tour and honored their seventh anniversary from earlier this week.

BLACKPINK

Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa of BLACKPINK perform at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15, 2023 in Indio, Calif.

Frazer Harrison/GI for Coachella

Since BLACKPINK last performed in New Jersey nine months ago as part of their initial Born Pink world tour dates, the Billboard 200–topping troupe has headlined massive festivals like Coachella and BST Hyde Park, taken new challenges across music, acting, fashion and social media, and just this week reached their milestone seven-year anniversary as a group. Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa did not let the celebratory moment go unnoticed by bringing an upgraded version of their show to MetLife Stadium and honoring how far they’ve come as a group.

When the stadium’s main lights came down just after 9 p.m. local time, the stage production drenched the audience in the group’s signature magenta hue that was a mainstay through the night thanks to the sea of BLACKPINK hammer lightsticks that glow bright pink. Except for a few setlist edits (read on for more about that), the quartet focused on delivering stadium-sized versions of their hits and some time to get sentimental in the company of thousands of their fans, affectionately known as BLINKs.

“We’re so so proud to have you in this stadium with us,” Rosé told the audience in between songs, later adding, “We’ve learned so much.”

While seven years together is an accomplishment for any group, the number is particularly significant for K-pop groups as it traditionally marks the initial contract period for artists to decide if they’ll continue with their group and/or record label. While there is still no official news regarding BLACKPINK’s future, Jennie shouting “BLACKPINK and BLINKs forever!” to the delight of her members and the crowd, gives the sense that the group hasn’t shared everything with fans just yet and more history is soon to be made.

Read on for the 8 must-know moments from the opening night of the U.S. leg for BLACKPINK’s Born Pink ‘Encore’ Tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

12 Aug 2023

Billy Porter Shares Why He Still Has a Problem With Harry Styles’ 2020 ‘Vogue’ Cover

Billy Porter is once again taking aim at Harry Styles‘ appearance on the cover of Vogue in 2020.

In an interview with The Telegraph, published Friday (Aug. 11), the 53-year-old Pose star rehashes his negative feelings about Styles becoming Vogue‘s first male cover star. He also slams the magazine’s longtime editor Anna Wintour, who interviewed him shortly before Styles’ cover hit newsstands.

“That b—- said to me at the end, ‘How can we do better?’ And I was so taken off guard that I didn’t say what I should have said,” Porter tells The Telegraph, adding that he should’ve told her, “Use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement … Six months later, Harry Styles is the first man on the cover.”

The December 2020 issue of Vogue features a cover photo of the British pop star wearing a Gucci dress. In the story, he discusses his gender-bending fashion and drawing inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Prince and Elton John.

In his Telegraph interview, Porter explains that he doesn’t have a problem specifically with the former One Direction member.

“It’s not Harry Styles’ fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way,” the Tony-and Grammy-winner explains. “I call out the gatekeepers.”

He adds, “[Styles is] white and he’s straight. That’s why he’s on the cover. Non-binary blah blah blah blah. No. It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to elevate you. You haven’t had to sacrifice anything.”

This isn’t Porter’s first time airing his frustrations with Styles’ Vogue cover. In an October 2021 interview with The Sunday Times, the Kinky Boots star called out the “Watermelon Sugar” singer’s Vogue shoot, saying it was a snub to pioneers like himself who worked to make androgynous and genderfluid fashion more mainstream.

“I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do,” Porter said at the time. “This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned down. All he has to do is be white and straight.”

Porter later clarified his comments during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

“Apparently I’m famous now, and it was a slow news day, so the first thing I want to say is, ‘Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth,’” he told Colbert in November 2021. “It’s not about you. The conversation is not about you… the conversation is actually deeper than that. It is about the oppression and the erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture. That’s a lot to unpack. I’m willing to unpack it sans the dragging and culture of the Internet because I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. So when you’re ready to have the real conversation, call a b—-!”

12 Aug 2023

Tom Brady Had the Perfect Response to a Photo of Himself Attending Blackpink Concert With Daughter

Tom Brady was spotted at Blackpink‘s sold-out concert in New Jersey on Friday (Aug. 11) alongside his daughter and a group of her friends.

On Saturday morning, the retired NFL star comically responded to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, of a fan-captured photo of himself awkwardly standing on the floor of East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium. In the picture, a wide-eyed Brady is staring straight ahead while surrounded by Blinks.

“This is the most ‘dad takes his daughter and her friends to a concert’ picture ever taken,” wrote the former quarterback, who attended the show with his 10-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Brady, who retired from the NFL in early 2023, has been spending much of his time creating loving memories with his children. In July, he and his daughter embarked on an African safari, which the 46-year-old Super Bowl champ documented on Instagram. Brady also has two sons: Benjamin, 13, with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, and Jack, 15, with former girlfriend Bridget Moynahan.

Blackpink is approaching the end of their Born Pink World Tour, which launched in October in support of the group’s 2022 sophomore album, Born Pink. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the girls’ first project to top the chart, and spawned two No. 1 singles on the Global 200 chart: “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.”

Check out Brady’s response to his photo at Blackpink’s N.J. concert here.

12 Aug 2023

8 Best Moments of Hip Hop 50 Live: Nas, Run-D.M.C., Fat Joe & More

“If you remember anything from tonight, remember this one thing: I ain’t s— without you,” proclaimed Lil Wayne at the Hip Hop 50 Live concert on Friday (Aug. 11). As tens of thousands of fans descended upon Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most important and influential art forms in the world, Wayne’s message was proven correct.

Hip Hop 50 Live, which featured headliners Run-D.M.C. in their final show, was a celebration of the genre’s roots and evolution as much as it was a celebration of the fans and community that have kept pushing the culture forward for 50 years and counting. Featuring a crowd as diverse as New York City itself, the concert placed a heavy emphasis on honoring the genre’s pillars such as The Sugarhill Gang and Melle Mel. From undisputed icons like Roxanne Shante to new-school innovators like A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Friday night’s concert was the physical embodiment of the cross-generational impact of hip-hop.

Assembling a lineup that effectively conveys the cultural, regional, sexual, and generational diversity of a genre as multilayered as hip-hop is no easy task. While the show was notably lacking in contemporary stars, the concert’s lineup was more than capable of captivating the massive stadium. Performances included sets from Nas, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, Ghostface Killah, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Cam’Ron, T.I., Lil’ Kim, Trina, Remy Ma, Fat Joe, Slick Rick, EPMD, Snoop Dogg and more.

Hip Hop 50 Live specifically commemorated a legendary party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue hosted by Cindy Campbell and DJed by DJ Kool Herc — a party that birthed hip-hop. As such, the celebration took things all the way back to the beginning. The Sugarhill Gang delighted the audience with a rousing rendition of “Rapper’s Delight,” which is widely regarded as the first commercially released hip-hop song, and rap pioneer Grandmaster Caz rocked the house with performances of “It’s Us,” among other Cold Crush Brothers selections.

Of course, hip-hop is about more than just the rappers. DJs also got their due at Friday’s concert, with legendary DJs like Marley Marl and Mannie Fresh keeping the energy flowing with sets that frequently highlighted the sub-genres and sounds of hip-hop not present on the official bill.

As the night transitioned into lengthier sets, both Lil Wayne and T.I. reminded attendees that both have an endless stream of hits across eras and genres. T.I. held it down for the South and 20 years of Trap Muzik with a set that included such hits as “Swagga Like Us,” “Whatever You Like,” and “Live Your Life.” Lil Wayne, who masterfully tore through countless anthems, pulled out hits like “A Milli,” “Uproar,” “I’m Goin’ In,” and a cruel tease of “Back That Azz Up,” that left the crowd hanging.

Hip Hop 50 Live was co-produced by Mass Appeal, Live Nation, and the New York Yankees. Emmy Award-winner BASSic Black Entertainment CEO Adam Blackstone and producer and keyboardist Omar Edwards served as the concert’s creative music directors.

Here are the 8 best moments of Hip Hop 50 Live:

12 Aug 2023

Morgan Wallen Trades in Famous Mullet for Newly Shaved Head & His Fans Have Strong Opinions

Morgan Wallen debuted a brand new look at his Ohio concert on Friday (Aug. 11).

The 30-year-old country music superstar surprised fans at Ohio Stadium in Columbus by walking onstage without his signature mullet hairstyle. Instead, the “Last Night” singer wore a red baseball cap with a completely bald head peeking underneath, along with a freshly shaved face.

“Before we get any further, I didn’t like my long hair anymore, so I shaved it off,” Wallen told concertgoers in a fan-captured video on TikTok.

The bold transformation is drawing mixed reactions from fans on social media.

“Morgan Wallen shaved his mullet. No, I’m not okay and need 3-5 business days to process. Prayers welcomed,” one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Alright, I didn’t care for Morgan Wallen’s mullet, but bald ain’t it baby,” another person added.

A different observer agreed, commenting on X, “Hey @MorganWallen why’d you do us dirty. Lookin like a cue ball and took that beautiful mullet away from us. I SCREAMED and I’m HEARTBROKEN.”

But some fans are embracing Wallen’s hairless look.

“After @MorganWallen chopped off that mullet, bet there’s a mile long line at every barber in Nashville today. Looking sharp bud,” one person wrote on X.

Another added, “Yes, his mullet is gone, BUT he’s still sexy as hell. Look at that face, that smile, and …..that voice! Yup! Still sexy @Morganwallen You do you baby!”

Wallen is currently touring North American in support of third album, One Thing At a Time, which spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He’s also enjoying success with his hit single “Last Night,” which has spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

See more reactions to Wallen’s shaved head on X below.

12 Aug 2023

Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor Says Cancer Drug Has Extended His Life Five More Years

Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is sharing some positive news about his battle with cancer.

The 62-year-old musician, who revealed his stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis in November 2022 (he was initially diagnosed in 2018), says he expects to live another five years thanks to a “nuclear medicine” called Lutetium-177.

Taylor tells BBC Breakfast that scientists contacted him about the drug, which is designed to designed to specifically target cancer cells.

“It can’t see healthy cells,” says Taylor, who had his first treatment about six weeks ago. “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”

Lutetium-177 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2022. The drug has “proven to significantly improve prostate cancer survival rates and quality of life, as well as extend the time it takes for the disease to progress,” according to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Taylor revealed his cancer diagnosis through a letter read by his bandmates during their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall last November. The guitarist was expected to join members Simon LeBon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor at the group’s induction in Los Angeles, but had to miss it due to his illness.

Taylor told BBC that he was “massively disappointed” to miss the Rock Hall ceremony, which he referred to as “the biggest night of my life.”

The guitarist says the Lutetium-177 treatment is allowing him to finish his upcoming solo album, Man’s a Wolf to Man, which is scheduled for release in September.

Earlier this year, Duran Duran confirmed that Taylor will be contributing to the group’s forthcoming album. The band is also honoring the guitarist with a one-off benefit concert for cancer awareness at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, Calif., on Aug. 19.