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Is this your card? Halsey just unveiled the latest piece of the puzzle for her upcoming album The Great Impersonator, sharing the track list with a clever video posted to the singer/songwriter’s socials Wednesday (Sept. 25). The clip shows a set of hands holding a deck of cards, deftly holding them up one by one […]
André 3000 had an interesting way of describing his jazz career.
During a recent interview with the Recording Academy, Stacks was asked whom he considers his peers now that he’s venturing into a different genre. “A long line of historical bands like Sun Ra, the Chicago Art Ensemble. Even rapper Lil B,” he answered. “I was joking to myself. I was like, ‘I’m almost the Lil B of this type of music.’ Lil B is… they call it ‘Based Rap.’ My son actually turned me on to Lil B.”
He then expanded on his Based God comparison, saying, “a lot of what he’s doing is made up or improv or really reactionary.” Adding, “It’s not this studied, perfect thing. Because I came up in the ‘90s, we came up with Nas and Wu-Tang and some of the [people] considered the best rappers around. It was about clarity. It was more of a studied kind of thing. A person like Lil B is not studied at all. But the way the kids respond to him, it’s because of that. It’s kind of like a punk way of rapping, and I like it. [And what I’m doing is] almost like punk jazz or punk spiritual jazz. It’s pure feeling.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, the Atlanta rap legend was asked about his visibility during the past year or so being that he’s tried to shy away from the spotlight in the past. He admitted that he somewhat prefers this era of fame because the lights aren’t as bright. “It’s almost like [laughs] superstar lite, like Coke Lite or Coke Zero. It’s like Superstar Zero,” he quipped. “You’ve got the fame, but it’s not as intense as it was before. It’s different. A lot of people are weirded out about the direction, so it’s not the same intensity of the whole world onboard with you — which is kind of cool for my age and tastes. I like this pace a lot, compared to just being all over everywhere all the time.”
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He also released the album film Listening to the Sun and said it’s to help remind fans that he dropped an instrumental flute tape. “The album has been out a year, and we recently dropped this film that we did to the album that came out a year ago, but we just released it on YouTube,” he said. “So, a lot of people are just now discovering the album. It’s like, ‘Yeah, we heard something about this flute thing,’ but they never heard it. Now that this video is out, a lot of people are hearing it again, or for the first time. So it’s a cool thing that you kind of get this second wave of people that are just now hearing it.”
Eight years later, we still get those goosebumps every time. Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar may need the Heimlich after seeing that their 2016 “Goosebumps” collaboration’s visual recently surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. The trippy BRTHR-directed clip gives Scott his second entry into the Billion Views Club behind 2018’s “SICKO MODE,” while K. Dot […]
The Weeknd announced Wednesday (Sept. 25) that he and Playboi Carti are officially releasing their “Timeless” collaboration on Friday. The two performed “Timeless” for the first time at The Weeknd’s one-night-only concert in São Paulo, Brazil earlier this month, where the Canadian-Ethiopian superstar performed his latest single “Dancing in the Flames,” his aptly titled “São […]
A-ha’s chart-topping hit, “Take on Me” reached two billion YouTube views this week, marking the first song released in that decade to achieve this milestone. The Norwegian trio — Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, who were 22, 26 and 24, respectively at the time — released their debut album, Hunting High and Low, in […]
Green Day celebrated a major career milestone on Sept. 16, when their 1994 album Dookie was certified Double Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was just the 13th album to reach that plateau, which signifies shipments of 20 million albums (or streaming equivalent units) in the U.S. Double Diamond albums were […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of the new episode of Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs,’ which will dive into the allegations of sexual assault and abuse made against him, as well as the recent federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking that the hip-hop mogul is facing.
In a new preview clip shared exclusively with Billboard, Lizzette Martinez, who is a survivor of R. Kelly’s abuse, shares her experience meeting Diddy in the late 1990s. “He’s like, ‘Hey, you have really pretty eyes.’ And said, ‘Hey, I’m having a party. You want to come with me?’” she recalls in the clip. “I didn’t have a good feeling about it and I just declined. Thinking about it now, it’s like, ‘Wow, I really dodged a bullet.’”
The disgraced R&B singer (real name Robert Sylvester Kelly) is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after he was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in 2021. In 2022, he was also convicted of six counts of child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Martinez noted that she thought R. Kelly and Diddy are “a lot alike,” claiming that they are both “predators” who like to manipulate. She continued, “They’re dangling a career in front of you. They use the power to get you to where they want you.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Diddy for comment. The music mogul — who has previously denied all allegations of sexual assault and abuse made against him — has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was denied bail twice, and is currently awaiting trial behind bars. After his arrest, his lawyer told Billboard in a statement: ” We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. … He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal.”
Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs’ will also feature an interview with Tiffany Red, a producer and songwriter who is friends with Diddy’s ex-partner Cassie Ventura, who filed a now-settled lawsuit against Diddy in November accusing the mogul of assault. She was also seen in a 2016 video obtained by CNN, in which Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
“I can’t unsee that Cassie video,” Martinez says of the clip, while getting emotional. “You can tell me whatever you want about him, but I can’t unsee that video. She helped others to feel like they can come forward and that’s huge, because you put yourself on the line.”
Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs’ begins streaming on Thursday (Sept. 26) on Hulu. Watch the preview clip featuring Martinez below.
Playboi Carti snatches his first top 10 as the sole lead artist on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “All Red” arrives at No. 3 on the list dated Sept. 28. The track rides a massive streaming wave to the top tier and extends his streak of consecutive top 10s – either in lead or […]
50 Cent’s upcoming documentary surrounding Diddy’s history of alleged sexual abuse is coming to Netflix.
Per Variety, the doc produced by the G-Unit mogul is currently in production and will call the streaming giant home, with Alexandria Stapleton directing. The untitled work will center around Sean Combs’ sexual assault and abuse allegations, and also tie in his recent federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking.
“This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” 50 and Stapleton relayed in a joint statement to Variety on Wednesday (Sept. 25). “We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives.”
They continued: “While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions.”
50’s G-Unit Film & Television division will executive produce the documentary, while Stapleton is on board to helm the project and also produce through her company House of Nonfiction.
The documentary does not yet have a release date time frame or details regarding how many parts it will include.
50 originally announced plans for the doc about Diddy in December following a bombshell lawsuit filed by the Bad Boy CEO’s ex Cassie a month prior.
A spokesperson for 50 Cent confirmed to Billboard in December that proceeds received by 50’s G-Unit Film & Television division from the project will go toward helping victims of sexual assault and rape.
50’s been relentless in his trolling of Diddy for months even prior to the music mogul being indicted. “I been telling y’all about all this weird s–t, I don’t do NO puffy party’s. you didn’t believe me but I bet you believe me now,” he wrote on social media Wednesday alongside his announcement of the doc coming to Netflix.
He didn’t stop there when jabbing his longtime rival. The Queens legend posted a Photoshopped picture on Instagram of baby oil, which he rebranded to a bottle of “Diddy Oil.” Investigators reportedly seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant when raiding Diddy’s L.A. and Miami homes earlier this year, according to the Associated Press.
Sean Combs was arrested on Sept. 17 in NYC and has since been denied bond twice. Diddy will remain in prison until his trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Find 50’s posts below.
On nights when there are no live acts playing Sphere Las Vegas, the venue’s Exosphere (its one-of-a-kind outer LED screen) reads, “U2 are not here.” However, five nights a week inside the immersive venue, U2 can be seen performing the best of their U2:UV residency that ran from September 2023 to March 2024 through concert film V-U2. Captured via the Sphere’s proprietary Big Sky camera system, the concert film is just as good as, if not better than, the Irish band’s actual show.
Directed by U2’s The Edge and his wife Morleigh Steinberg, V-U2 brings a slew of firsts to the almost one-year-old venue and its content creation capabilities. The film – captured over three nights of the band’s sold-out residency at Sphere – is part of a growing slate of programming for Sphere Experiences, which run when there is no live residency or special event at the Las Vegas venue. Sphere Experiences also include the Darren Aronofsky film Postcard from Earth.
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“V-U2 was born out of a conversation with the band, ‘How do we memorialize this moment’” of U2’s historic Sphere residency, says Sphere Studios’ senior vp of capture Andrew Shulkind, who served as the film’s director of photography. “For 100 years of movie making, we’ve been telling stories through a rectangular lens. This is a different kind of storytelling. There’s no way to tell this story in a traditional way. You could cut it up, have wide-angle lenses, or have a choppy concert film, but nothing could recreate the Sphere experience.”
Nothing except maybe the technology that makes the live sphere experience possible.
“Coincidentally, we’ve been building cameras to capture other content [outside] the venue,” Shulkind says. “If we can tell the story of what it’s like to be in a sulfur volcano for Postcard or flying over Mont Blanc, why not tell the story of being inside Sphere [during a concert] with our very own technology?”
When Shulkind was first commissioned to work at the Sphere in 2018, the company faced a dilemma of creating images sharp enough for their screens when off-the-shelf-cameras would not suffice. After pursuing different avenues, the Sphere team created the Big Sky camera in 2021. “The camera, lens and all its components are entirely internal technology on which we have 10 patents,” says Shulkind. “Nobody else needs that crazy level of resolution. Coincidentally, the game-changing technology has pushed the business forward.”
The Big Sky technology debuted in Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, capturing the images and video required for the Sphere’s 16K x 16K immersive display plane from edge to edge. It also features the largest single sensor in commercial use—a 316-megapixel, 3” x 3” HDR image sensor capable of a 40X resolution increase over 4K cameras. Big Sky can capture content up to 120 frames per second in the 18K square format and higher speed frame rates at lower resolutions.
V-U2: An Immersive Concert Film
Rich Fury/Sphere Entertainment
Using the same technology, producer Alan Maloney, U2, Sphere Studios and the venue, the teams collaborated to shoot over three nights of the 40-date residency (two in February and one in March) to create V-U2, the first film shot entirely on Big Sky cameras.
Working for more than two months on the edit of V-U2 at the Sphere Studios Big Dome in Burbank, Calif. – with a quarter-sized version of the screen and haptic seats and sound featured in the venue – Steinberg (who is an accomplished director and choreographer that choreographed many of Bono’s moves for the Zoo TV Tour in the 1990s) and The Edge wanted to make sure the final product wasn’t just a concert film or a documentary, but a faithful recreation of the live with the most precise view of U2 possible, down to the details on their shoelaces.
“Seeing the band like that—whether you’re high up or in the lower seats. That’s amazing for fans,” Steinberg says.
However, from the director’s perspective, the medium posed significant challenges. “You can’t easily see your edits. You’re either looking through an Oculus [headset] or at a very low-resolution image on a monitor. You quickly learn what you might not be seeing and make compensations for that,” Steinberg says.
One of the most complex production pieces was transforming the 100-minute U2:UV into the 82-minute V-U2. This called for interweaving the setlist of U2:UV with some of the classic covers performed throughout the residency, such as Elvis Presley‘s “Love Me Tender,” Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
The directors wanted to reflect the arc of the live show into the concert film and “also considered that this will be viewed by a broader audience, not just U2 fans,” Steinberg says. “People are coming to see what the Sphere can do. The first three songs of the film are a perfect example of that. However, we do ask the audience to sit through two songs where there are no [background] visuals [just a shot of the band]. Even if you aren’t a U2 fan, there’s much to enjoy and experience.”
Steinberg says the film captures the best moments of the residency in new depth and sharpness, with a fresh perspective. The rendition of “‘The Fly’ is a brilliant piece in the film … the space morphs and gives the illusion of the room becoming square. It is a true use of the word ‘awesome,’” she says. “There are shots from the stage, looking out at the audience, which is a new perspective you don’t normally have.”
The track “One” features a camera angle on Bono that Shulkind characterizes as the biggest close-up ever filmed. “The ability to show Bono in this very intimate moment during this intimate song that everybody knows was so powerful,” he says. “It blew everyone away.”
V-U2: An Immersive Concert Film
Rich Fury/Sphere Entertainment
“We had to shrink it down a little bit. It was even bigger,” Steinberg says of the stunning image that showcases Bono in grand detail. “The camera then slowly pulls back, revealing the band. The moment extends into an infinite view of the room, with everyone in the audience holding up their lights.”
The sound of the audience from the original live events also played a critical role in developing the concert film. Captured on crowd mics placed through the venue during the live shows in February and March, the audience can be heard during the film – between and over songs – responding to the band’s performance. “So much of that rawness and bits of unexpected magic parallel the imaging side,” says Shulkind. “You hear the show’s little imperfections and human aspects.”
V-U2 is set to play regularly as Sphere Experiences continue to be created. While it is not yet determined whether every band in residency at Sphere will get their own film, the content has been collected at Phish and Dead & Company shows and will be captured during the Eagles’ current run.
“We will continue to capture every band that comes through,” says MSG Entertainment’s executive vp of live Josephine Vaccarello. “Everyone who comes into our venue is learning how to play with the tools we have in the toolbox differently. We’re continually trying to figure out how we innovate and how we continue to grow, and this was one of the ways.”
“Every Sphere show is a unique moment in time,” Shulkind says. “We’re still figuring out what that looks like for other shows. It’s an endless journey of discovery because we’re learning how this new medium works.”
