Music News

28 Nov 2022

Miley Cyrus Is All Smiles at Her 30th Birthday Party: ‘Thankful For All the Love’

Miley Cyrus was all smiles at her 30th birthday party. The singer, who turned 30 last week, posted a pic from her celebration on Sunday (Nov. 27), cheesing it up while posing in front of a cake topped with candy bars and white frosting. “30. Thankful for all the love and kind birthday wishes,” she wrote alongside the snap.

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Some of her celebrity pals offered up some wishes as well, with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee commenting, “Happy f—ing Bday dude!!!! and Lisa Rinna writing, “Happy birthday Gorgeous!!!” Miley’s actual birthday was on Nov. 23, and that’s when her godmother, country superstar and brand new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton commented, posting a pair of pics of the two in glittering gowns surrounded by golden balloons.

“Happy birthday @MileyCyrus!,” Parton wrote. “I can’t wait to celebrate with you and ring in the new year!!” The kind note from Parton came just days after the two stars announced that they’d be co-anchoring NBC’s annual New Year’s Eve special.

NBC also shared a fun promotional video of Cyrus and Parton on the network’s official Instagram page, in which the former states, “Miley’s New Year’s Eve party is about getting glamorous and dressing your best.”

“Well, we do that every day — don’t we, Miley?” Parton chimes in, to which her goddaughter replies, “You taught me well” before their duet version of “Jolene” kicks in. Set to air Dec. 31 live from Miami, the sophomore outing of Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party will mark the second straight year Cyrus has lorded over NBC’s year-end festivities. Last year, she co-hosted the special alongside Pete Davidson with performances by Anitta, Billie Joe Armstrong, Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, Saweetie, 24kGoldn and more.

Check out Miley’s bday post below.

27 Nov 2022

Jon Batiste to Sing for Macron at Biden’s First State Dinner

Musician Jon Batiste is on tap to perform at President Joe Biden’s first White House state dinner on Thursday that will highlight long-standing ties between the United States and France and honor President Emmanuel Macron.

“An artist who transcends generations, Jon Batiste’s music inspires and brings people together,” said Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, whose office is overseeing dinner preparations.

“We’re thrilled to have him perform at the White House for the first state dinner of the Biden-Harris administration,” Valdivia said.

The black-tie dinner for Macron will be part of what is shaping up to be a busy social season at the White House. The Bidens’ granddaughter Naomi was married on the South Lawn earlier this month. And first lady Jill Biden was set on Monday to unveil the White House decorations that will be viewed by thousands of holiday visitors over the next month.

Reporters returning to the White House on Sunday with the president saw large wreaths studded with shiny Christmas tree ornaments and red bows suspended from the south side of the White House. Wreaths also were hung on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building. White lights were draped over the shrubs and other landscaping on the South Lawn. A Christmas tree could be seen through the windows of the Oval Office.

Batiste will be adding White House entertainer to an already long list of roles, including recording artist, bandleader, musical director, film composer, museum creative director and scion of New Orleans musical royalty.

He won five Grammy Awards this year, including for album of the year for “We Are.” During the awards show in April, Batiste ended his dance-filled performance of “Freedom” by jumping up on Billie Eilish’s table.

Batiste, 36, most recently was bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, leaving the broadcast after a seven-year run.

Batiste composed music, consulted on and arranged songs for Pixar’s animated film Soul. He won a Golden Globe for the music alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails. The trio also earned the Academy Award for best original score. For their work on Soul, Batiste, Reznor and Ross won the Grammy for best score soundtrack for visual media.

The Washington Post was first to report that Batiste will perform at the dinner.

27 Nov 2022

Gene Cipriano, Famed Session Musician and Woodwind Player in Hollywood, Dies at 94

Gene Cipriano, the always busy woodwind player who soloed on tenor sax for Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot and recorded with everyone from Miles Davis, Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra to Glen Campbell, Paul McCartney and Olivia Newton-John, has died. He was 94.

Cipriano died Nov. 12 of natural causes at his home in Studio City, his son Paul told The Hollywood Reporter.

Perhaps the most recorded woodwind player in show business history, Cipriano played soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxophones, all the clarinets and flutes, the oboe and bass oboe, the piccolo and the English horn.

Affectionally known as “Cip,” the session musician performed as a member of the Academy Awards Orchestra in the neighborhood of 60 times since 1958. (At the 1977 show, he exchanged “yo’s” with Barbra Streisand, who had just arrived at the podium after having won for “Evergreen.”) 

Cipriano on oboe is heard at the start of Sinatra’s melancholy “It Was a Very Good Year,” and he performed on several of Campbell’s early hits, including “Wichita Lineman” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”  

Like Campbell, he was an occasional member of The Wrecking Crew, the fabled set of studio musicians who recorded with the likes of The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, Nancy Sinatra and Sonny & Cher.

“It was a lot of fun because a lot of times the composer would say to the rhythm section, ‘Think of something wild that would fit this particular piece of music,’” Cipriano recalled in a 2019 interview for the website Making Life Swing. “They would think of something and then they’d ad lib and tell us what to play. Sometimes we’d make up music right on the spot.”

Shortly after moving from New York to California in the 1950s, Cipriano was hired by Henry Mancini to play flute on the new NBC crime series Peter Gunn. The pair then collaborated on CBS’ Mr. Lucky and in films including The Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Hatari! (1962), Charade (1963) and The Hawaiians (1970).

Cipriano worked alongside Johnny Mandel on The Sandpiper (1965) and with Michel Legrand on The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and was heard on West Side Story (1961), Cleopatra (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Point Blank (1967), The Wild Bunch (1969), The French Connection (1971), Marathon Man (1976), One From the Heart (1981), The Karate Kid (1984), Up (2009) and more.

Born on July 6, 1928, in New Haven, Connecticut, Cipriano started taking clarinet lessons from his father, Fred, who played on Broadway and with the New Haven Symphony.

“He put a clarinet in my hands when I was 8 years old,” he said. “I began to listen to Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

As a junior in high school, Cipriano landed a gig with Ted Fio Rito’s orchestra, where he met trumpeter Doc Severinsen. After he finished school, he worked with Clooney and her sister Betty in The Tony Pastor Band, with pianist Mancini in The Tex Beneke Band and with singer Frances Irvin, his soon-to-be wife, in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

After he relocated to California, Mancini gave him his big break on Peter Gunn. “That got me started because it became such a hot item and then all the other leaders said, ‘Well, get me those guys who played with Henry Mancini,’” he noted in another 2019 interview.

Cipriano also performed on Elvis Presley’s NBC comeback special in 1968. Over the years, he recorded with Shorty Rogers, Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond, Thelonious Monk, Elton John, Frank Zappa, Gerry Mulligan, Helen Reddy, Barry Manilow and Seth MacFarlane. He also played on many Emmy and Grammy telecasts.

In 2006, Cipriano recorded his own CD, First Time Out, a collection of jazz tunes.

In addition to his son Paul, survivors include his other children, Genie, Suzanne and Fred; grandchildren Grant and Alicia; great-grandchildren Natalie and Emily; and sister Marie.

His wife of 43 years, Frances, died in 1996. Four years later, Cipriano met singer Catherine “Cat” Conner, and they performed all over Los Angeles in a small band. She cared for him until his death.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

27 Nov 2022

The Real Story Behind Lionel Messi’s Favorite Soccer Song

Following Argentina’s nail-biting 2-0 win over Mexico during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Saturday (Nov. 26), social media was flooded with clips of the team singing triumphantly in the locker room. The song is “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” (which translates loosely to “Boys, We Have Our Hopes Up Again”) by La Mosca, the Argentine nine-piece band that plays a blend of ska, rock and pop, laced with tango pathos.

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“Muchachos” has been on global fans’ radar ever since striker Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the best soccer player in the world, claimed during an interview with an Argentine channel earlier this year that it was his favorite soccer song amongst dozens — and actually sang a bit live. On Saturday, after Argentina averted disqualification from the World Cup with its two goals, one scored by Messi himself, the song was again on the spotlight, and very appropriately so. After all, it mentions Messi in the opening line: “I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from the Falkland Islands, whom I’ll never forget.”

But it didn’t use to. Originally titled “Muchachos, Esta Noche Me Emborracho” (“Boys, Tonight I’ll Get Drunk”), it was a heartbreak song written in 2003 by La Mosca lead singer Guillermo Novellis and Sergio Cairat. In July 2021, fan Fernando Romero wrote new lyrics celebrating Argentina’s road to the final of Latin American soccer tournament Copa América. A chance encounter with a camera crew outside the final in Brazil made the song with new lyrics go viral, and caught the attention of Messi and his teammates.

It also caught the attention of Novellis and La Mosca, who recorded and released the new version (where Romero gets credit) just two weeks prior to the kickoff of the World Cup. Billboard caught up with Novellis, who, like Messi, is celebrating his high hopes.

Billboard: “Muchachos” is a rather melancholy song. Are you surprised it’s become a soccer anthem?

Guillermo Novellis: It’s a song that has a lot of tango in its lyrics and melody. But like all La Mosca songs, it’s put in a rhythmic, danceable context. Some five, six years ago, a local team Racing Club adapted the lyrics, and then, other clubs did too. But this version started with Copa América, and the new lyrics are really good. They have to do with our frustrations, our success, our hopes, the Falklands, finals lost and finals won. And of course, the hope of being champions again. Maybe that’s why it resonated so much with fans and players.

You released this new version the week prior to the World Cup. When did you decide to re-record the song?

If was something that our manager Santiago Ruiz pushed. We recorded it, and then a couple of weeks before the World Cup, they interviewed Messi and asked him what his favorite song was. He said “Muchachos” and actually sang it. I mean, it’s like arriving in Rome and being introduced to the Pope.

Do you personally know Messi?

Yes. We’ve seen him several times and even played for his birthday party when he turned 20. We’ve crossed paths several times. I can’t say we’re friends, but we’ll likely be from this moment on.

Just last week, Argentina lost against Saudi Arabia. Had you lost on Saturday, you would have been out of the World Cup. How worried were you?

We were all thinking about that match. But things have a way of shaking out. The World Cup is very short, and I want to win every game. You can only lose one match. And Argentina lost it at the very beginning. Argentina was coming from a great run, winning every single match they played, and maybe that bucket of cold water got our pride up again. There’s always a silver lining. Soccer is a marvelous sport and it doesn’t respond to statistics, like tennis or American football. With the band, we have a little mantra: We wish each other a Merry Christmas, because if it’s merry, it means everything fell in place.

Do you think Argentine fans are different from other fans?

I really do. We see it not only in soccer but also in music. The Argentine fan isn’t happy just being a spectator; he wants a starring role, from the stands, from the audience. And that’s great. As far as soccer goes, every single person in Argentina has played soccer at some point in their lives.

You’re in the middle of a tour. Will you also perform in Qatar this year?

That all depends on whether or not we have a Merry Christmas!

Watch the new version of “Muchachos” below.

27 Nov 2022

Bob Dylan Issues Apology Over His New Book With Replica Signature: ‘I Want to Rectify It’

Bob Dylan is apologizing to his fans following the controversy over “hand-signed” copies of his latest book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, which were inscribed using an autopen for a nearly $600 special edition.

The iconic singer-songwriter took to social media on Friday (Nov. 25) to explain that his “error in judgement” was partly due to a “bad case of vertigo” that made signing his new Simon & Schuster-published book difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy of Modern Song,” Dylan wrote on Facebook. “I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.”

He continued, “However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.”

Following the early November release of The Philosophy of Modern Song, fans who spent $599 on a limited-edition run of 900 copies — which came with a letter of authenticity from Simon & Schuster — began sharing images of their autographs through social media, only to find that they were exactly alike with no variation. Buyers quickly came to the conclusion that the special edition had been inscribed using an autopen, which prompted the publisher to issue an apology and offer refunds.

“To those who purchased The Philosophy of Modern Song limited edition, we want to apologize,” Simon & Schuster wrote in a Nov. 20 statement on Instagram. “As it turns out, the 900 limited edition versions of the books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this immediately by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”

Dylan concluded his apology on Friday, writing, “Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.”

Read Dylan’s apology on Facebook here.

27 Nov 2022

Dua Lipa Granted Albanian Citizenship

Albania’s president on Sunday (Nov. 27) granted citizenship to British pop star of Albanian origin Dua Lipa for what he said was the artist’s role in spreading Albanians’ fame internationally through her music.

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President Bajram Begaj said Lipa was granted citizenship ahead of Albania’s 110th anniversary of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Begaj said he considered it an honor to do so because Lipa has made Albanians famous throughout the world.

“I will be an Albanian with papers too,” Lipa said before taking her citizenship oath at Tirana city hall.

Lipa was born in London in 1995 to immigrant Albanian parents Anesa and Dukagjin Lipa from Kosovo.

Lipa, who started singing at 5 years old, was musically influenced by her father, a former singer and guitarist of a rock band. She started to post her songs in YouTube when she was 14. Her first debut studio album was released in 2017. In 2019 she won the Grammy Award for best new artist.

Together with her father, she co-founded the Sunny Hill Foundation in 2016 to raise funds with annual concerts held in her native Kosovo to help people experiencing financial difficulties.

“It is an indescribable great joy with such acceptance, love and everything,” said Lipa. The artist then took a passport photo, was fingerprinted and signed an application form for an identity hard and passport.

Lipa will wrap up her annual concert tour in Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square on Monday to commemorate Independence Day.

See the Lipa’s post on Instagram below.

27 Nov 2022

Ari Lennox, Muni Long Perform; Xscape, Morris Day Honored at Soul Train Awards 2022

Living up to its tagline as “the feel-good party of the year,” Soul Train Awards 2022 delivered two hours of impactful performances and special tributes focusing on R&B’s multigenerational appeal.

Taped earlier this month at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and premiering Saturday evening (Nov. 26) on BET, the festivities opened with singer-songwriter Muni Long. The newly minted Grammy nominee’s performance featured an onstage re-enactment of her seductive breakthrough hit “Hrs and Hrs” together with single “Plot Twist” about a cheating former lover, co-starring a cast that included DC Young Fly.

Between running gags about not being able to read the teleprompter and working to keep the show on schedule, comedian/actor Deon Cole kept the audience laughing throughout his debut as the show’s host. Welcoming “all Nick Cannon’s kids” during his initial remarks to the audience, Cole also paid tribute to Migos rapper Takeoff and other fallen artists due to gun violence.

An ensuing string of potent performances by both OG’s and next-gen artists underscored Cole’s declaration that “R&B ain’t dead at all,” beginning with a captivating turn by Ari Lennox on “Waste My Time.” Tank and J. Valentine heated up the stage with their sensuous hit “Slow,” while SiR performed his new single “Nothing Even Matters.” Celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Precious, Chanté Moore treated the audience to a hits medley that included “Love’s Taken Over,” “Chanté’s Got a Man” and a stirring “It’s Alright,” which elicited audience cheers when Moore hit and held a high soprano note during that performance.

The award show’s traditional Soul Cypher segment was helmed this year by producer/DJ D-Nice with artists Muni Long, Durand Bernarr, Alex Vaughn and gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard riffing and harmonizing on “Human Nature” in honor of the 40th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. And in a nod to newcomers on the R&B scene, the BET Amplified Stage showcased artists Coco Jones (“ICU”) and Q (“Today”).

Jermaine Dupri presented the first of the evening’s two special honors: the Lady of Soul Award to Xscape. The songwriter-producer’s first encounter with the ’90s girl group — Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, LaTocha Scott and Tamika Scott — occurred when they sang at his birthday party. “It blew me away when they sang ‘Happy Birthday,’” he recalled. “I said, I’m going to sign you … but I had no record label.”

When Dupri eventually launched So So Def Recordings, the first act he signed was Xscape. “People didn’t have belief; thought I was crazy,” Dupri noted. “But 30 years later, we’re here.” Thanking God, Dupri, their moms, husbands and fans, the quartet delivered a crowd-pleasing performance spotlighting such singalong classics as “Just Kickin’ It” with Dupri, “My Little Secret,” “Who Can I Run To?,” ”Tonight” and “Understanding” — with their pristine harmonies still intact.

Morris Day & The Time, recipients of the Legend Award, closed out the evening with a rollicking set that had the audience partying in the aisles to “Cool,” “777-9311,” “Jungle Love” and, of course, “The Bird,” featured in the 1984 film Purple Rain. Actor/comedian J.B. Smoove presented the award to Day and his mirror-toting side man Jerome Benton.

“I remember seeing the movie and being struck by two things,” said Smoove referencing Prince’s heeled boots and “that light-skin dude with the smooth dance moves. He had all the ladies; he even took Prince’s girl … just for a minute. And the band Time was funky fun.”

“For the last 40-plus years, I’ve been living and breathing music,” said Day after Smoove’s presentation. “It’s been a hell of a ride.” Thanking family, business colleagues, BET/Soul Train and the members of Time — whose original lineup included Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis — Day added, “And thanks most of all, may he rest in peace, to my brother Prince. You all know what he meant to me.”

Additional presenters on Soul Train Awards 2022, which also premiered Nov. 26 on BET HER, LOGO, MTV2 and VH1, included Queen Naija and Lucky Daye. The Soul Train Awards Red Carpet Special preceded the formal ceremony. Tank, LeToya Luckett and Novi Brown of Tyler Perry’s Sistas served as co-hosts. Pre-show performances and appearances were made by Baby Tate, DIXSON, J. Holiday, FLO and Vedo.

Encore broadcasts of the Soul Train Awards 2022 are slated for Sunday (Nov. 27) at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Thursday (Dec. 1) at 9 p.m. ET/PT on BET.

27 Nov 2022

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Alums Ben Platt and Noah Galvin Are Engaged

Ben Platt and Noah Galvin are engaged, with the Dear Evan Hansen stars announcing the news on social media Friday (Nov. 25).

Platt posted a carousel of photos to Instagram to celebrate the engagement, adding the caption, “He agreed to hang out forever.” The post includes images of the couple embracing, along with Galvin showing off his engagement ring.

Galvin also shared the same images to his own Instagram account, along with the caption, “I said yeehaw and then cried for like 7 hours.”

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Among those offering congratulations in the comments was Beanie Feldstein, Galvin’s co-star in Booksmart, who wrote, “I am so happy and havent stopped crying.”

Platt and Galvin are both known for playing the lead role in the Broadway production of musical Dear Evan Hansen. Platt, 29, won the Tony Award for originating the part before Galvin, 28, succeeded him in the role with a two-month run that ended in January 2018.

Galvin confirmed their relationship in May 2020 during an appearance on the Little Known Facts podcast, and Platt later explained that they had been friends for years before deciding to pursue a romance.

“We’ve been friends for like five years, and right before the pandemic, we finally decided to really give it a real shot,” Platt said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in June 2021. “We’ve kind of skated around it for a long time.”

Platt’s film credits include the first two Pitch Perfect movies, Ricki and the Flash, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and the 2021 big-screen adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, and he also starred on the Netflix series The Politician. Galvin has appeared on such series as The Real O’Neals and The Good Doctor.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

26 Nov 2022

Selena Gomez & BLACKPINK Are ‘Chillin’ in New Photos Together

Selena Gomez and BLACKPINK are together at last.

After collaborating on their sweet pop tune “Ice Cream” in 2020 — but filming the music video for the song separately, to be safe during the pandemic — Gomez and BLACKPINK have now crossed paths in person.

On Saturday (Nov. 26), Gomez shared a slideshow of photos of herself posing with Jisoo, Rosé, Jennie and Lisa, with everyone looking happy to be in each other’s company.

“Selpink chillin,” Gomez captioned her pictures with BLACKPINK.

Gomez wore jeans with a black to and coat, while the girls of BLACKPINK — who have been on tour — dressed in cute, coordinating band merch.

See their photos together on Instagram.

26 Nov 2022

Hovain Hylton, Hip-Hop Manager & Cinematic Music Group Exec, Dies

Jonathan “Hovain” Hylton, who was recently honored as one of Billboard’s 2022 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players, has died.

“It is with deep regret that we message to all family, friends and colleagues that Jonathan ‘Hovain’ Hylton passed away while at his home on Friday, November 25. He was a beloved and devoted father, husband, son, brother and a proud Brooklyn representative,” read a statement posted Saturday (Nov. 26) on Hylton’s verified social media accounts.

The statement continued, “We’d like to thank all of his close friends for all of the love and support that you have shown during this difficult time. We ask that you all continue to keep his family in your prayers and respect their privacy at this time.”

A cause of death has not been disclosed.

On Friday morning, Hylton had last tweeted, “Good morning and thank GOD for another day,” a message he had been putting out into the world daily.

Hylton, a Brooklyn native who was a vp at Cinematic Music Group, was named alongside founder Jonnyshipes on this year’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list.

“I’ve always prided myself on just being a good person and a hard worker. Never was big on awards. The way I came in this game was the independent route so I always knew caring too much about the politics wasn’t going to help me. But it feels good to be honored as one of Billboard’s Power Players alongside my brother and partner @jonnyshipes,” Hylton wrote on Instagram on Nov. 17. He added, “I think the biggest lesson is this is you don’t have to be a sucka or do corny s— to be recognized. Just be a good person and do your job and God will make the rest happen on his time.”

Throughout his career Hylton helmed projects for prominent New York rappers including Cam’ron, Styles P and Lloyd Banks, and alongside Jonnyshipes at Cinematic Music Group worked with artists including T-Pain and Flipp Dinero.

Hylton was also a professor at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, where he taught “The Business of Music,” an eight-week course offering students in-depth knowledge on publishing deals, business positions needed for an artist’s success and more.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to come from where I come from and to be asked to teach at such a fine institute,” Hylton told Billboard in 2021, when the course launched. “To share my love for music with the young minds who are looking to learn [will be a great experience].”

The music community mourned the death of Hylton on Saturday.

“Maaannnn we lost my brother in drip @hovain love you brother you always showed nothing but love and positivity. My condolences to your family,” Fat Joe wrote on Instagram. “Till we meet again RIP.”

“Damn Hov… Rest Up… Appreciate your knowledge & your positive energy… May God Bless your family with peace. Love & Light from my family to yours. Long Live Hovain,’ T.I. wrote on Twitter.

“Hovain had just hit me up about doing some music with lloyd banks,” Hit-Boy tweeted. “God bless his family.”