Music News

16 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Speak Now’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With 2023’s Biggest Week

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 22), launching with the year’s biggest week for any album, and gives Swift her 12th No. 1, surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among women.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) bows with 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 13, according to Luminate, of which 507,000 are in traditional album sales. Both figures represent the largest week for any album in 2023 and the best since Swift’s last studio album, Midnights, debuted with 1.58 million units, of which 1.14 million were in album sales, last year (week ending Oct. 27, 2022; as reflected on the Nov. 5-dated Billboard 200).

2023’s previous largest week, by equivalent album units earned, was tallied by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which launched with 501,000 units in the week ending March 9, as reflected on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18. The year’s largest sales week was held by the debut frame of Stray Kids’ 5-STAR with 235,000 copies sold in the week ending June 8, as reflected on the June 17-dated charts.

Further, Swift has a total of four albums in the top 10 at the same time on the new Billboard 200, as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by her former chart-toppers Midnights (falling 4-5), Lover (8-7) and Folklore (13-10). She is the first living act to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the April 2, 1966-dated chart, when Herb Alpert also had four albums in the top 10 (Going Places at No. 2, Whipped Cream & Other Delights at No. 3, South of the Border at No. 9, and The Lonely Bull at No. 10).

Between Alpert and Swift, only one other act has placed at least four titles in the top 10 concurrently, and that was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he had five albums in the top 10 dated May 14, 2016. (Swift is the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)

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 July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 No. 1 Billboard 200 studio album Speak Now. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021. Both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5, the same day she began taking pre-orders for the album via her official webstore. The set sold as a digital download album, double-CD, double-cassette and in three color vinyl LP variants (orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color). It was also available to stream in its standard 22-track edition.  On the final day (July 13) of the album’s debut tracking week, Swift released a deluxe digital album download of the set exclusively sold through her official webstore, which added two bonus live tracks recorded during her ongoing The Eras Tour (“Dear John” and “Last Kiss,” both of which were originally released in their studio form on the Speak Now album in 2010).

Swift celebrated the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) during her Kansas City stop of The Eras Tour on July 7, where she premiered the music video for the album’s “From the Vault” track “I Can See You.” On stage, Swift was joined by the clip’s three co-stars, actors Taylor Lautner, Joey King and Presley Cash.

12 No. 1s: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks Swift’s 12th No. 1 on the Billboard 200, pushing her past Streisand (with 11 No. 1s) for the most chart-toppers among women since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. Swift ties Drake for the third-most No. 1s among all acts, with only The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (14) ahead of them.

Five Years in a Row of New No. 1 Albums: Swift is the only act to have achieved a new No. 1 album in each of the last five calendar years — 2019-23. She topped the list in 2019 with Lover; in 2020 she led with Folklore and Evermore; in 2021 she ruled with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version); in 2020 Midnights arrived; and in 2023 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has now debuted. Swift is the only woman with five consecutive years of new No. 1 albums. Previously, she was tied with Miley Cyrus for the most consecutive years of new No. 1s (Cyrus did it four years in a row, from 2006-09, including titles billed to her former Disney Channel alter ego Hannah Montana). The only other acts with at least five years in a row of new No. 1s are The Beatles (seven years, 1964-70), Drake (five years, 2015-19), Jay-Z (five years, 2000-04) and Paul McCartney (five years, 1973-77).

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 13, album sales comprise 507,000, SEA units comprise 206,000 (equaling 269.33 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 22 songs – the third-largest streaming week of 2023 and the second-largest streaming debut frame of the year) and TEA units comprise 3,000.

Country Time: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) scores the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a country album since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014. It surpasses the previous best week in that span of time, notched by the opening week of Swift’s own Red (Taylor’s Version), with 605,000 units in 2021. Plus, with 507,000 copies sold in its first week, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) garners the largest sales week for a country album in nearly 10 years, since the debut frame of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (528,000 on the chart dated Aug. 31, 2013). (Country albums are those that have charted on, or are eligible for, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

Version Vs. Version: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) logs the biggest week of the three re-recorded Swift albums, surpassing the opening frames of Red (Taylor’s Version) (605,000 in 2021) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (291,000; 2021). First-week sales of Red (Taylor’s Version) were enhanced by the availability of CDs signed by Swift sold in her webstore and via independent retailers. Fearless (Taylor Version)’s first-week did not include any signed copies or vinyl LP sales — which are traditionally quite large for Swift — as its vinyl did not arrive until months after the set’s initial release.

Swift Has Four of the Top Five Biggest Weeks Since 2019: Since January 2019, four of the top-five biggest weeks, by units earned, have been tallied by the debut frame of a Swift release: Midnights (1.578 million; 2022), Lover (867,000; 2019), Folklore (846,000; 2020) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (716,000; 2023). The only non-Swift week among the top five largest frames since January 2019 is the opening week of Adele’s 30, with 839,000 units in 2021.

Second-Largest Vinyl Sales Week in Modern Era: Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 507,000 first-week copies sold, vinyl sales comprise 268,500 — the second-largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. It is second only to the first week of Midnights’ vinyl LP, with 575,000 sold in its opening frame.

2023’s Second-Biggest Selling Album After One Week on Sale: After only one week on sale, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is 2023’s second-largest selling album. The year’s top-seller remains Swift’s own Midnights, with 636,000 sold in 2023. Midnights was the top-selling album of 2022, with 1.818 million sold that year.

Nine Albums With Half-Million-Plus Sales in a Single Week: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks the ninth Swift album to have sold at least 500,000 copies in a single week in the U.S. Since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991, Swift is the only act with nine different albums to sell at least a half-million copies in a single week.

As for the rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200… Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 2 with 104,000 equivalent album units (down 6%). One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 19 of its chart weeks. It extends its own record as the album with the most weeks of 100,000-plus units since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014.

Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape falls 1-3 on the Billboard 200 in its second week (61,000 equivalent album units earned; down 64%), Peso Pluma’s Génesis dips 3-4 (59,000; down 14%) and Swift’s Midnights is pushed down 4-5 (55,000; though up 2%).

Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album falls 5-6 (46,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Swift’s Lover climbs 8-7 (45,000; up 3%); SZA’s former No. 1 SOS descends 6-8 (44,000; down 1%); and Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse falls 7-9 (42,000; down 3%). Swift’s Folklore returns to the top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, as the set rises 13-10 (33,000; up 5%). Folklore was last in the top 10 on the chart dated Aug. 7, 2021, when it ranked at No. 9.

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.

16 Jul 2023

Britney Spears Sings ‘Jesus Loves Me’ & ‘Amazing Grace’ While Horseback Riding on the Beach

Britney Spears was in a singing mood during a recent visit to the coast.

On Saturday (July 15), the 41-year-old pop superstar shared a video on Instagram of herself singing a pair of Christian hymns while horseback riding along the beach.

“Southern girl singing on my horse!!!” Spears captioned the clip.

In the self-recorded video, the “…Baby One More Time” songstress is seen wearing a yellow and white bikini top while relaxing atop a horse and showing off beautiful waves crashing onto the shore. She opens by singing the hymn “Jesus Loves Me” before transitioning to “Amazing Grace.”

Spears hasn’t released a new album since 2016’s Glory, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Last year, she teamed up with Elton John on “Hold Me Closer,” a fresh take on his 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer.” The collab bowed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The pop princess’ beach video arrives days after she revealed that her long-awaited memoir, The Woman in Me, will be released on Oct. 24. The book’s cover features a picture of a topless Spears wearing silver pants, with her arms covering her breasts.

Watch Spears sing “Jesus Loves Me” and “Amazing Grace” while horseback riding on Instagram here.

16 Jul 2023

Jane Birkin, Actress and Singer, Dies at 76

Actress and singer Jane Birkin, who made France her home and charmed the country with her English grace, natural style and social activism, has died at age 76.

The London-born star and fashion icon was known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg. Their songs notably included the steamy “Je t’aime moi non plus” (“I Love You, Me Neither”). Birkin’s ethereal, British-accented singing voice interlaced with his gruff baritone in the 1969 duet that helped make her famous and was forbidden in Italy after being denounced in the Vatican newspaper.

The style Birkin displayed in the 1960s and early 1970s — long hair with bangs, jeans paired with white tops, knit mini dresses and basket bags — still epitomizes the height of French chic for many women around the world.

Birkin was also synonymous with a Hermes bag that bore her name. Created by the Paris fashion house in 1984 in her honor, the Birkin bag became one of the world’s most exclusive luxury items, with a stratospheric price tag and years-long waiting list to buy it.

In her adopted France, Birkin was also celebrated for her political activism and campaigning for Amnesty International, Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, the fight against AIDS and other causes.

“You can always do something,” Birkin said in 2001, drumming up support for an Amnesty campaign against torture. “You can say, ‘I am not OK with that.’”

She joined five monks on a march through the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 to demand that Myanmar let foreign aid workers into the country to help cyclone victims.

In 2022, she joined other screen and music stars in France in chopping off locks of their hair in support of protesters in Iran. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Birkin’s daughter with Gainsbourg and also an actor in her own right, cut off a snippet of her mother’s hair for the “HairForFreedom” campaign as Iran was engulfed by anti-government protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Birkin as a “complete artist,” noting that her soft voice went hand-in-hand with her “ardent” activism.

“Jane Birkin was a French icon because she was the incarnation of freedom, sang the most beautiful words of our language,” he tweeted.

French media reported that Birkin was found dead at her Paris home. The French Culture Ministry tweeted that Birkin died Sunday (July 16). It hailed her as a “timeless Francophone icon.”

Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak called Birkin “the most French British person” and “the emblem for a whole epoch who never went out of fashion.”

Birkin’s early movie credits included Blow-Up in 1966, credited with helping introduce French audiences to her “Swinging Sixties” style and beauty.

Birkin and Gainsbourg met two years later. She remained his muse even after the couple separated in 1980.

She also had a daughter, Kate, with James Bond composer John Barry. Kate Barry died in 2013 at age 46. Birkin had her third daughter, singer and model Lou Doillon, with French director Jacques Doillon.

Birkin suffered from health issues in recent years that kept her from performing and her public appearances became sparse.

French broadcaster BFMTV said Birkin suffered a mild stroke in 2021, forcing her to cancel shows that year. She canceled her shows again in March due to a broken shoulder blade.

A return to performing was put off in May, with the singer saying she needed a bit more time and promising her fans she would see them again come the fall.

16 Jul 2023

Eminem Joins Ed Sheeran Onstage for ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘Stan’ at Detroit’s Ford Field

Eminem and Ed Sheeran continued their musical collaboration on Saturday night (July 15) in the former’s hometown of Detroit.

It was rapper’s his first public performance since his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction last November in Los Angeles, joining the latest stop of Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour for a two-song surprise guest spot deep into the show.

“I’ve always been excited to come and play in Detroit,” Sheeran told the crowd of more than 65,000 at Ford Field, noting that Eminem is “one of my favorite” artists and talking about sampling the fare at the rapper’s Mom’s Spaghetti takeout nearby. “I wonder if I can play a cover of one of his songs for you?”

Sheeran — who’d also shouted out his love for Em during a Friday night (July 14) Subtraction Tour show at the suburban Royal Oak Music Theatre — and his five-piece band then began playing Eminem’s award-winning hit “Lose Yourself,” singing the opening lyrics until Eminem, sporting a dark hoodie and baseball cap, joined him to the roof-raising delight of a crowd Sheeran had already pronounced the loudest of the tour so far. The two worked through the first verse and chorus of the song, with Eminem commanding the already on its feet crowd to “stand up!”

Sheeran then told the fans that Eminem “was gonna come on and do one song, and I said, ‘You can’t come on in Detroit and do just one song. Do you want to hear another?’”

The two then recreated their Rock Hall performance of Eminem’s 2000 smash “Stan,” with Sheeran covering Dido‘s sung parts. The two shared a couple of hugs, with Eminem saying “Thank you, Ed. I appreciate you, Detroit. I love you. Peace!” before leaving the stage with a middle-finger salute to the audience.

“I don’t know about you, but that was pretty awesome,” Sheeran said before rolling into his next song, “Perfect.” He later gushed, “This has been such a memorable night. I will never forget it,” and for the encores Sheeran paid further tribute to Eminem during the encores by wearing a Detroit Lions jersey with the number five and the name Mathers on the back.

The two have been regular collaborators over the years, of course Sheeran guest on Eminem’s single “River,” from his 2017 Revival album, and also with 50 Cent on “Those Kinda Nights,” from 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By. Eminem, meanwhile, appeared on “Remember the Name,” from Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project in 2019.

Prior to the Rock Hall induction, Eminem performed at last August’s MTV Video Music Awards and with Snoop Dogg at ApeFest 2022 during June. Those came after being part of the Emmy Award-winning halftime show at Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood, Calif. Eminem hasn’t performed a full-length concert, however, since October 2019 in Abu Dhabi, one of seven international shows he played that year.

15 Jul 2023

Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation Raises $20 Million at 20th Anniversary Gala in New York

The Shawn Carter Foundation, co-founded in 2003 by Jay-Z and his mother, Gloria Carter, hosted a black-tie gala in New York City on Friday (July 14), raising $20 million that will be used to help people facing socioeconomic hardships further their education at postsecondary institutions.

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The fundraising included a $10 million legacy donation to the foundation from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. Jack Dorsey donated an additional $2 million as part of his annual contribution.

The organization’s Friday night gala at Pier Sixty celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Shawn Carter Foundation and welcomed a number of high-profile guests in music, sports, business and entertainment.

Jay-Z and Ms. Carter were of course in attendance, as was Beyoncé, who shared a series of photos from the evening on Instagram. See her first post featuring pictures of her dramatic gown here, and a video montage from the gala, which she hilariously set to the “My Husband” remix that went viral on TikTok. (“I am on to see my husband. I’m happy, I’m happy, to see my husband,” Beyoncé says in the audio clip.)

Guests included music artists DJ Khaled, Lil Uzi Vert, Meek Mill, Babyface, Miguel, Tinashe, A$AP Ferg and Saint Jhn. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and Fanatics founder Michael Rubin were also in attendance, as well as Regina Hall, Chazz Palminteri, Robinson Cano, Dez Bryant, Angie Martinez, Corey Gamble, Tamika Mallory, Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and more.

The Shawn Carter Foundation has provided college scholarships, study abroad opportunities, wealth building programs and more for underserved youth and families from disenfranchised communities.

Before the gala, The Shawn Carter Foundation and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism announced a partnership and teamed up to contribute $1 million toward stopping nationwide book bans and protecting educational freedom. Fanatics and Live Nation contributed an additional $500,000 each to this initiative, which will provide book donations, legal support, marketing assistance, publishing help and additional resources to protect creatives and institutions harmed by the nationwide book ban.

15 Jul 2023

Farm Aid Organizers Address ‘Ticketing Challenges’ for 2023 Concert: ‘Today’s On-Sale Was a Disappointment’

Farm Aid 2023 tickets went on sale Saturday (July 15), but high demand and reported “technical issues” encountered on Ticketmaster/Live Nation made obtaining tickets a challenge.

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General sale tickets for this year’s Farm Aid went on sale at 10 a.m. ET., following a pre-sale with limited availability earlier in the week.

Ticket buyers reported trouble Saturday securing tickets, tweeting complaints of waiting in a queue and carting tickets only to get error messages about the ticketing system being unable to process their payment. Farm Aid 2023 — set for Sept. 23 at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, with Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson — is now sold out.

On Saturday afternoon, event organizers posted the following statement on the official Farm Aid social media accounts:

“Today’s on-sale for Farm Aid 2023 was a disappointment to many frustrated fans trying to purchase tickets and to Farm Aid who wanted the process to go smoothly. Based on the excitement around our announcement, we knew there was great demand for tickets. We did not anticipate that the ticketing system would let us down.

We do everything that we can to make sure that Farm Aid extends the best hospitality in every possible way. It pains us that many people who wanted to purchase tickets to hear these extraordinary artists and to support family farmers encountered technical issues in the purchasing process today.

Despite ticketing challenges, many fans were able to get tickets and we are grateful to say that Farm Aid 2023 is sold out. We hope you’ll stay tuned for more ways to experience Farm Aid 2023 at home. We deeply appreciate all who have supported Farm Aid’s work to build a system of agriculture that values family farmers, good food, soil and water, and strong communities.”

Farm Aid’s lineup includes Young, Mellencamp and Nelson, plus Margo Price, Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, the Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir & the Wolf Bros. featuring the Wolfpack, Lukas Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Allison Russell, The String Cheese Incident, Particle Kid and more.

Since launching in 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $64 million to support programs that help family farmers.

This year’s event will honor Indiana family farmers and others who are taking on climate change using regenerative, organic and sustainable farming practices.

15 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Debuts ‘Speak Now’ Vault Track ‘Timeless’ Live in Denver

Taylor Swift kept “Timeless” in the vault for 13 years, then brought it to the stage just a week after its release on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).

The track about an ageless romance — a never-before-heard gem until the star dropped her re-recorded Speak Now on July 7 — is new to fans, but easily finds a place as one of the most classic love songs in Swift’s canon. She surprised the crowd with the first-ever live performance of the ballad at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High on Friday night (July 14).

Sitting at the piano during the acoustic section of her Eras Tour show, during which she switches things up with two surprise songs that aren’t on the regular set list, Swift kept the audience on its toes until she sang the opening line of “Timeless”: “Down the block, there’s an antique shop/ And something in my head said, ‘Stop,’ so I walked in.”

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Although “Timeless” has only been on fans’ playlists for about a week, the Denver crowd sang along while Swifties at home lamented not being in attendance for its live debut; they also showered praise for the song on social media. “idk i just think that if you dont like timeless or you dont get it, it’s probably because you didn’t fall in love with the classic storytelling country taylor,” one fan tweeted Friday night. “like look me in eye and tell me it wouldn’t be a smash on country radio in 2010.”

Before “Timeless,” Swift played her self-titled album’s “Picture to Burn” live, for the first time in more than a decade. (“In the spirit of nostalgia we should be exploring all the eras, including my first album that I wrote when I was like 14,” she announced.)

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which features re-recorded versions of the original album’s tracks plus six songs “From the Vault,” has already had the largest week of 2023 for any album in its first six days of release, according to initial reports to Luminate. The album’s first-week numbers are expected to be announced on Sunday (July 16) along with its debut position on the multimetric Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 22).

Watch a fan-filmed clip of Swift’s “Timeless” performance below. Check out the full list of surprise songs she’s brought to The Eras Tour here.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=BeOsaXtnDhg&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

15 Jul 2023

Lizzo Reacts to Fan Holding ‘I Chose You Over Taylor Swift’ Sign at Australia Concert

Lizzo showed some love to Taylor Swift during her tour opener in Australia on Friday (July 14).

While chatting up the audience at Perth’s RAC Arena, the “About Damn Time” singer spotted a concert-goer holding up a sign that read, “I Chose You Over Taylor Swift (Heart) Can I Get a Hug.” Before addressing the flattering message, Lizzo thanked fans for attending the performance.

“I’m going to start off be saying thank you for coming to my show,” the pop-rap star said. “I know tickets are expensive to everybody’s shows, so it means the world to me that you’re here.”

She added, “Taylor Swift is amazing as well. And you don’t have to choose, because I’m going to get you tickets to Taylor Swift! I’m just kidding.”

Lizzo then asked the crowd if Swift — who is currently touring North American stadiums on her The Eras Tour — had already toured in Australia.

“Did she already play? When does she come here? She’s not coming here?” Lizzo asked before joking, “How you choose me over Taylor?”

The singer-rapper then autographed the sign and commented, “I love TayTay too … there’s no competition here.”

In late June, Lizzo received backlash from Swifties after comments she made during an Instagram Live. “The most popular person of today ain’t even comparable to what Beyonce is doing,” Lizzo said.

Many of Swift’s fans believed her words were aimed at the pop superstar, who is currently dominating the Billboard charts with her re-recorded Speak Now album and breaking records with her Eras Tour.

Watch Lizzo react to the Taylor Swift sign at her Australia concert on Twitter here.

15 Jul 2023

Young Dolph Shooting Suspects to Stand Trial in March

A judge on Friday (July 14) set a trial date for two men charged in the killing of rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a bakery in Memphis, Tennessee.

Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith are scheduled to stand trial March 11 in the fatal shooting of the Memphis-born rapper, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee said during a hearing.

Johnson and Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder in the November 2021 shooting of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr. A motive for the killing has not been disclosed.

The 36-year-old rapper, label owner and producer was buying cookies near his boyhood home in Memphis when he was gunned down by two men who drove up to the bakery in a stolen Mercedes Benz, authorities said. The slaying rattled Memphis and shook the entertainment world.

Two other men have been charged in the killing.

Jermarcus Johnson, the half brother of Justin Johnson, pleaded guilty June 9 to three counts of accessory after the fact, and he could testify at the trial.

Jermarcus Johnson acknowledged that he helped the two suspects communicate by cellphone after the killing while they were on the run from authorities, and that he helped one of them communicate with his probation officer after the killing.

During questioning by prosecutor Paul Hagerman, he also acknowledged taking possession of car from Justin Johnson. The car was not the one tied to the killing, Hagerman said. Jermarcus Johnson also identified a photo in which Justin Johnson was wearing the same clothing as one of the two shooters accused of gunning down Young Dolph the day the rapper was killed.

After Jermarcus Johnson’s plea hearing, Hagerman said he had no role in the actual killing of Young Dolph, but that he was one of “multiple players” who did things connected to it.

Another man, Hernandez Govan, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy in the case. He is accused of arranging the killing. Govan has been released on bond.

Young Dolph was known in Memphis for his charitable works and his success as an independent musical artist and businessman. Young Dolph had been in the city to visit a sick relative and hand out Thanksgiving turkeys at a church when he was killed.

After his death, Memphis named a street after him and the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA honored him during a game. Murals of the rapper have been painted around the city and a pop-up museum featuring him was opened earlier this year.

The bakery, Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, became an impromptu memorial site for the slain rapper. It was closed for months after the shooting, but has since reopened.

15 Jul 2023

Asake & Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Estate Announce ‘Work of Art’ Paint & Sip Event in L.A.

Nigerian superstar Asake, his label EMPIRE and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s estate announced on Friday (July 14) that they’re curating a special event filled with art, music and drinks in Los Angeles, Calif. next week.

The exhibition viewing of Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure, guided paint and sip session, and album listening party of Asake’s latest LP Work of Art will take place next Friday, July 21 from 5 to 9 p.m. at The Grand LA. There will be multiple guided paint and sips seated sessions, which are limited to the first 120 guests who register for each session upon arrival. Last entry is at 8 p.m., as gallery doors will close promptly at 8:30 p.m. The event is 21+.

The event celebrates the release of Asake’s sophomore album Work of Art album that he released last month via YBNL Nation/EMPIRE. Work of Art reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s World Albums chart and No. 66 on the Billboard 200. Highlight track “Basquiat” peaked at No. 9 on U.S. Afrobeats Songs.



Basquiat’s sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux serve as the executive producers and curators of the Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition, in collaboration with Ileen Gallagher and ISG Productions Ltd. The exhibition consists of nearly 200 rarely seen paintings, drawings, ephemera and artifacts from the late, great artist as well as recreations of his NYC artist studio on Great Jones St., the Basquiat family home and the Michael Todd VIP Room of NYC’s iconic Palladium nightclub, for which Basquiat created two large-scale paintings.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, July 15 at 9 a.m. local time here.