Music

The World Needs More Blend Tapes Like This

L.A.-based DJ/producer Sean G, best known as one half of Donovan’s Yard (hosts of one of LA’s best parties who also graced the stage at Coachella) just dropped a new project called Dipping Lotus. A blend tape that blends Dipset raps over Flying Lotus‘ beats, all accompanied by trippy visuals provided by Liam Sweeny for @unnaturaltheatre.

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This is a marriage we didn’t know we needed. It looks and sounds like something you would have stumbled upon while browsing Tumblr before it was acquired by Yahoo!. We haven’t experienced something that feels like this since Knxwledge was doing his MEEK blend tape series.

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“Squalay Sirens,” “Last 2 Minute Report,” “Rambo’s Revenge,” and “Locked Garage” are the standouts, but it’s best to just let the whole project ride, preferably on a big screen with 3D glasses on or, if you got it like that, an Apple Vision Pro. Most of the half-hour trip is beautifully chaotic and pleasantly atmospheric. “Rambo’s Revenge,” with Max B and Jim Jones surfing over that Lotus instrumental, is the perfect example. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but it does.

Back in the day, you could go downtown in any major city and cop a bunch of blend tapes like this. DJs like Kid Capri would blend R&B vocals over hip-hop production to make something wholly original and new. As a matter of fact, Capri’s blend of Stephanie Mills“Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel)” and Eric B & Rakim’s “Impeach the President” back in 1989 is the gold standard that inspired an entire generation of artists and DJs.



The god Sean G on bringing the feeling back: “This is a project I’ve been wanting to work on for over a decade now. Both Dipset and Flying Lotus have such huge cult followings, but also completely different sounds. It kinda made no sense and all the sense in the world at the same time. It’s like the lyrics you yell and the beats you vibe to, but life is like that sometimes.”

Be sure to keep Sean on your radar, I’m sure he has more goodies like this in his bag.

Travis Kelce’s Barber Says Taylor Swift Is a ‘Super Sweet Person’

Patrick Regan is opening up about the friendship he’s developed with Taylor Swift in the process of making sure Travis Kelce’s hair never goes out of style.

In a recent appearance on The Tease podcast, the hairstylist — who’s been buzzing the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s hair for six years — gushed that “Taylor is a super sweet person,” who’s “always interested in what you’re saying.”

“She’s from the Philly area too, so we connected real well,” he continued, detailing how he’s gotten closer with the “Anti-Hero” singer between Kelce’s hair appointments. “She just seems like a girl I went to high school with. She’s a really nice person.”

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Since Swift and the football star hard-launched their relationship in September, it’s clear that the 14-time Grammy winner has gone out of her way to make friends with Kelce’s Kansas City crew. For instance, she often hangs out with Brittany Mahomes, who is married to Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, inside and out of Arrowhead Stadium. Plus, coach Andy Reid recently revealed that Swift baked the Chiefs’ offensive line a batch of homemade pop-tarts, and Mecole Hardman said in an interview that he and the singer have become pals after first bonding over card tricks.

Being in Swift’s orbit has definitely put the already popular Kelce under a more intense magnifying glass, but Regan thinks that’s a good thing. “It’s really cool to see how much of [Travis’] personality everyone’s getting to see,” he said. “He’s one of the best guys in the world.”

The “Karma” musician and Kelce were last seen together in Sydney, where the Ohio native flew to meet Swift and watch one of her Eras Tour shows in the audience. The day before the concert, the couple went on a date to the local zoo.

The next mini-leg of Swift’s trek kicks off Friday (March 2) with a string of shows in Singapore. After those are finished, she’ll take a two-month break from touring, during which she’ll drop her new album The Tortured Poets Department.

Watch Regan open up about Swift below.



Lil Wayne Clears Up Security Confrontation at Los Angeles Lakers Game

Lil Wayne missed out on seeing a thrilling overtime win for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night (Feb. 29) as Weezy never made it to his courtside seats due to a dispute with Crypto.com Arena security.

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Shortly after the security confrontation, the Young Money boss voiced his frustration on X where he claimed he was “treated like s–t.”

Wayne speculated that the poor treatment was possibly tied to his criticism of Lakers star Anthony Davis earlier this season during an UNDISPUTED appearance.

“Wow! Got treated like s–t at the Laker game just now but I figured they’d do me that sooner or later either bc of what i said abt AD or simply bc they don’t fwm which I been got that vibe from em as well so all good I get it,” he wrote. “F–k em. It isn’t what it isn’t. I’m used to it.”

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A much calmer and collected Lil Wayne appeared on UNDISPUTED on Friday (March 1). He thoroughly went through the details of the situation and chalked up the misunderstanding to the staff “doing their job.”

“They were just doing their job. We tried to enter in one entrance of the court,” he began. “When we got there, security was like, ‘No, you guys go to another entrance.’ … The other entrance he told us to go to that entrance would be behind the people already sitting down and you have to tap the people on the shoulder and ask them to get up. They have to move the chairs… When I saw that being explained to them I halted, ‘Ay stop, let’s go where they told us to go.’”

Weezy continued: “So we go back to the first entrance that seemed okay. When I started walking to my side, the guy was like, ‘Ah, ah, ah, ah.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God. Not the ah, ah, ah.’ … He was like, ‘I told you guys to go to the other entrance.’ I was like, ‘That’s a bit much. Let’s just leave.’”

Footage emerged of the confrontation courtesy of TMZ and Wayne didn’t seem to want anything to do with the argument so he and his crew swiftly departed from the courtside area through the arena tunnel.

Unfortunately, Wayne and his friends missed a great game as the Lakeshow ended up defeating the lowly Washington Wizards — who did not win a game all of February — in overtime by a score of 134-131. Hopefully, the New Orleans rapper’s beloved Lakers can make it up to him during his next trip to Crypto.com Arena.

Watch Lil Wayne’s explanation on UNDISPUTED below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=9LVE9tBDjho&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Pop-Tarts Challenges Taylor Swift to ‘Release the Recipe’ After She Made Pastries for Kansas City Chiefs

Whether it’s albums or baked goods, everyone loves Taylor’s Version. Days after Andy Reid revealed that Taylor Swift baked homemade Pop-Tarts for Travis Kelce and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line, the official toaster-treat brand has called on the singer to share her recipe — and it’s going to great lengths to get it from her.

To get Swift’s attention, the Kellogg’s brand took out a full-page ad in the Friday (March 1) issue of the Kansas City Star. “To KC’s most famous fan, we heard you have a Pop-Tarts pastry recipe,” it reads, according to a release. “We’re tortured not knowing more about this DIY delight. What’s the filling? Does it have frosting? Do they have little holes?”

The message continues with a company pledge to donate to Harvesters, a local food bank, as well as a promise to double its contribution if the “Anti-Hero” singer springs her recipe from the vault. “And this time, we’ll make sure coach gets a bite,” it concludes. “You in?”

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For good measure, Pop-Tarts also shared its message on Instagram, along with a mock Eras Tour poster with pictures of the brand’s different flavors replacing the photos of Swift in the original. “Release the recipe,” reads a challenge in bold letters at the bottom.

The snack company’s search for answers comes three days after Reid shared on a podcast that Swift had made the Chiefs’ offensive line a batch of the treats during the season. He also revealed that the pastries were quickly devoured by Kelce and his teammates, meaning he didn’t get the chance to try one.

“She didn’t give me one, and the offensive linemen definitely didn’t give me one,” he said at the time.

Swift has long been vocal about her love for baking, and was known in the past for sharing her confections with fans at Secret Sessions. In December, former NFL star Bernie Kosar revealed that she made cinnamon rolls for Kelce before one of his games.

See Pop-Tarts’ challenge to Taylor Swift below.

Justin Bieber Gets New Madame Tussauds Wax Figure for 30th Birthday: See Photos

Justin Bieber gets his peaches out in Georgia and his wax figures down in Hollywood. In celebration of his 30th birthday on Friday (March 1), Madame Tussauds has unveiled a brand-new life-size replica of the singer.

The statue, which is on display now at the museum’s Hollywood Boulevard location, is modeled after Bieber as he appears in the music video for his 2021 hit “Peaches.” Complete with a white beanie, ombre puffer jacket, neon-pink pants and sneakers, the pop star’s wax clone also features re-creations of his facial hair and neck tattoos.

In photos of the new installation, Bieber’s figure stands next to a blue and purple balloon structure and a large light-up “3” and “0,” signifying the beginning of his new decade of life.

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The two-time Grammy winner was first transformed into a Madame Tussauds wax creation when he was just 17, with the museum’s London location unveiling its premier model of Bieber — complete with his signature hair swoop — in 2011. The “Baby” musician was in attendance at the curtain-drop ceremony, as were dozens of screaming young girls.

In 2016, Bieber was again duplicated in wax form, this time posing shirtless at Tussauds’ Las Vegas venue. Wearing nothing but leathery pants and a few pieces of silver jewelry, the Sin City figure allowed fans to get up close and personal with the star’s muscles and body ink.

Bieber’s 30th birthday closes out a decade of success, with the Ontario native releasing three studio albums since turning 20 in 2014 — Purpose (2015), Changes (2020) and Justice (2021), each of which topped the Billboard 200. He’s also scored a whopping eight No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 over the past 10 years, including “Stay” with The Kid LAROI, “Despacito” with Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee, “Sorry,” “Love Yourself,” “What Do You Mean?,” “Peaches” with Daniel Caesar & Giveon and more.

See Justin Bieber’s new Madame Tussauds figure below.

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber

Madame Tussauds Hollywood

Jason Isbell Performs Real, Biden-Focused Fox News Headlines on ‘Daily Show’

Jason Isbell turned Fox News‘ hyperbolic headlines into song on Thursday (Feb. 29) for a hilarious segment on The Daily Show.

In a clip posted to Instagram, the singer is seen playing an acoustic guitar and singing various headlines focusing on President Joe Biden.

“Blue Collar Joe Appears With Backwards Hat / Biden Appears to Call Iowa Voter ‘Fat,’” Isbell sang, with the real headlines appearing next to him as he performed them. “Biden Refers to Trump as a Sitting President / Biden Collides With Flagpole at U.N. Event.”

Other headline highlights include “Biden Bizarrely Gives Jill a Dandelion,” “Peloton White House Security Risk?,” “Biden Has Not Addressed UFOs in 9 Days” and “Biden Trips While Boarding Air Force One Again,” among others.

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Watch the full segment here.

It was announced earlier this year that Jon Stewart would be returning to host the show on Mondays through the 2024 presidential election and take on the role of executive producer full-time on the program. He originally hosted the series from 1999 to 2015, before Trevor Noah replaced him. Noah announced in 2022 that he’d be departing the show.

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Isbell appeared on the show last week, where he talked about making music. “Most of my songs are complaints, at the end of the day,” he said. “I look at it like a huge field full of rocks and everything you need is under one of those rocks. And it might be under the first rock you pick up. But you might have to pick up a million of them. But if you just keep trying things, eventually you’ll get there.”

Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2024 Announces Lineup & New Layout: Four Tet & Peggy Gou to Make EDC Debut

The mother of all U.S. dance festivals is coming back with a characteristic bang, as EDC Las Vegas has today (March 1) announced the lineup for its 2024 fest.

It’s a dizzying array of mostly every big name dance act in the world (minus a few exceptions), with EDC regulars deadmau5, Diplo, David Guetta, Kaskade, Alison Wonderland, Tiesto, FISHER, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Dillon Francis, Carl Cox, Eric Prydz, John Summit, Valentino Khan, Seven Lions, Steve Aoki, Illenium, Paul van Dyk, Martin Garrix, DJ Snake, Zedd and many more all returning to the fest.

Four Tet, Peggy Gou and hard techno star Sara Landry will all make their EDC Las Vegas debuts this year. The event will also feature Subtronics, Mau P, Hamdi, Four Tet, HAAi, Dabin, Boyz Noize, Heidi Lawden and several hundred more artists spanning house, techno, tech house, EDM, hardstyle, bass and beyond. Get out your magnifying glass and check the complete lineup below.

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EDC Las Vegas 2024 happens at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this May 17-19. The festival starts each day at dusk and wraps up at sunrise. Ticket for the 18+ event are on sale now.

EDC Las Vegas is the flagship festival from the Los Angeles-based Insomniac Events, a global leader in dance music live shows that celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. The festival hosts artists across nine stages, each typically featuring a different style of electronic music. A few of these stages — bionicJUNGLE, quantumVALLEY, bassPOD, wasteLAND, and neonGARDEN — will all be moved this year in order to create larger dancefloors and better crowd flow.

Organizers note that the festival’s 2024 theme is “#kineticCIRCLE” which a statement says will “celebrate the profound impact circles have on our lives – circles of time, circles of trust, and circles of community.”

2024 EDC Las Vegas

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‘Feels Like the Very Fourth Time’: Jimmy Kimmel’s New Oscars Ad Invokes Foreigner Hit

Foreigner is having a moment. The band, which is currently nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, is also being saluted in an ad promoting the Oscars, which are set for March 10. The ad tweaks the title of Foreigner’s 1977 breakthrough hit “Feels Like the First Time” with the copy line “Feels Like the Very Fourth Time,” since this is comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s fourth time as host. The line has several of Kimmel’s trademarks – clever, a little bit corny and sweetly endearing.

“Feels Like the First Time” entered the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1977 and rose to No. 4, becoming the first of nine top 10 hits for the band.

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Foreigner has been in the news in the past month because Mark Ronson, stepson of Foreigner guitarist and principal writer Mick Jones, has been mounting a campaign to get the band in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Ronson assembled a compilation of videos from famous friends voicing their support for the band.

“We decided to go all out this year and really try and get Foreigner on the ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Ronson said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “I called in some favors. So there’s some people I’ve met along the way making music myself that I knew were fans of Foreigner, like Jack Black and Dave Grohl and Slash.”

The prize endorsement came from Paul McCartney, whose pitch was to-the-point and surprisingly off-color. “Foreigner not in the Hall of Fame? What the f—?” the legendary Beatles rocker declared in a video he sent Ronson.

Jones was the sole writer of such Foreigner hits as “Feels Like the First Time,” “Urgent,” “I Want to Know What Love Is” (which brought him a Grammy nod for song of the year) and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You” and teamed with Lou Gramm to co-write “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “Say You Will.” All of these songs reached the top 10 on the Hot 100.

The Oscars will air March 10 at a new, earlier time: 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions are set to be announced in late April.

Cody Johnson Canvasses Radio With ‘The Painter,’ His Second Country Airplay No. 1

Cody Johnson earns his second leader on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “The Painter” ascends 3-1 on the March 9-dated ranking. During the Feb. 23-29 tracking week, the single increased by 12% to 31.2 million impressions, according to Luminate.

Johnson, from Sebastopol, Texas, previously hit No. 8 on Country Airplay with “Human” in June 2023, and his first No. 1, “‘Til You Can’t,” which ruled for two frames starting in March 2022. Prior to his three top 10s, his first entry, “With You I Am,” reached No. 40 in May 2017. He broke through further with “On My Way to You” (No. 11, June 2019).

Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins co-wrote “The Painter,” which Trent Willmon produced. It’s the lead single from Johnson’s LP Leather, which arrived on Top Country Albums at its No. 5 best last November, becoming his fifth top 10.



Johnson’s additional song, and next proper single, on Country Airplay, “Dirt Cheap,” places at No. 58 (736,000).

‘23’ Is Top 10

Chayce Beckham’s “23” climbs 11-10 on Country Airplay (18.4 million, up 5%), becoming his first top 10. The Apple Valley, Calif., native was crowned the winner of ABC’s American Idol in 2021 and performed “23” live on-air during that season. He had written the song a year before, and became the first champ to win the competition performing an original song.

Beckham is the fourth winner in the Idol franchise to hit the Country Airplay top 10. He joins Carrie Underwood (30 top 10s, including 16 No. 1s, after winning in 2005), Scotty McCreery (eight top 10s, five No. 1s; 2011) and Kelly Clarkson (two top 10s, one No. 1; 2002, Idol’s inaugural season).

Meanwhile, “23” (not the same composition as Sam Hunt’s song of the same name that topped Country Airplay for a week in April 2022) is the chart’s first top 10 written by a single person since Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which led for five weeks beginning last July.

Kanye West Calls Out Adidas While Sharing Alleged Internal Document: ‘It All Comes Down to Human Rights’

Kanye West isn’t letting up on Adidas. The rapper — who now goes by Ye — took to Instagram Thursday night (Feb. 29) to share photo of an alleged corporate document instructing the apparel giant’s employees how to talk to consumers about the company selling the Yeezy line once again.

With a publish date of Feb. 26, the alleged internal doc explains: “Adidas is the sole owner of the product, including the design rights for existing products as well as previous colorways. The products are existing Yeezy designs initiated in 2022. Adidas honored contractual obligations and discussed releasing products prior to the announcement with the former partner.”

The document also appears to ask employees to not continue extensive conversations with customers surrounding the Yeezy line, and instead points them to a general email to voice their concerns.

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“This is the document that they give employees at adidas when asked questions about Yeezy,” the rapper claimed in the caption of his post. “There is an overlap to adidas and Kim ignoring my opinion … or people ignoring my name change or the entire celebrity culture ostracizing me for my political opinion It all comes down to human rights which you sacrifice when you’re stigmatized with mental issues All these situations are actually far crazier than what I’ve been branded to be.”

Billboard has reached out to reps for Adidas for comment, and has not yet been able to verify the veracity of the document. Billboard has also contacted reps for Ye and Kim Kardashian, who was married to the rapper from 2014 to 2022.

Adidas announced Monday that it would sell some of its remaining Yeezy inventory, after splitting with Ye in 2022 following his string of hate speech and antisemitic comments. Since discontinuing the partnership, Adidas says it has donated some proceeds from such sales to groups that “combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism.” 

After Adidas’ announcement this week that Yeezys are returning to the market, Ye put the brand on blast for selling “fake Yeezys” and called for his fans to boycott the company altogether.

“Anybody who loves Ye would not buy these fake Yeezys I never made these color ways I’m not getting paid off of them and adidas is suing me,” he wrote at the time. “All the new non-approved 350’s are cooorny and everybody know the 350 been corny.”

He also alleged that Adidas was suing him for $250 million, but as of earlier this week, there’s no evidence that Adidas has filed any kind of new lawsuit against West or his companies.

However, Adidas disclosed that it had filed a private arbitration case against West’s Yeezy LLC in December 2022 on the grounds that the rapper’s “racist, antisemitic, and other offensive public statements and conduct” had violated their partnership agreement and had caused “considerable damage to its brand.”

West may be referring to the arbitration case in claiming that the athletic wear brand was “suing” him. It’s unclear whether $250 million is at stake in that case, or whether that case is still ongoing, since arbitration proceedings are litigated behind closed doors.

The company started to sell Yeezy products again in May 2023 after cutting ties with West in the year prior.