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For our entire lives we’ve been warned about the dangers of cocaine and how it could lead to a life of addiction and ultimately overdosing. But apparently, the president of Colombia feels otherwise as he likened the dangerous narcotic to that of alcohol aka spirits.
According to Raw Story, Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently declared that cocaine was “no worse than whiskey” during an live broadcast of a government meeting. As shocking as that statement may be to most, we imagine that President Petro probably partakes in nose candy, which prompted him to make such a comparison. Known as the cocaine capital of the world, Colombia is infamous for producing some of the most notorious drug kingpins the world as ever seen, including Pablo “El Padrino” Escobar and Griselda “La Madrina” Blanco.
Still, Petro apparently feels that cocaine is demonized not because of the damage it’s capable of inflicting on it’s users lives (it really can turn people into coke fiends), but because it’s a Latino product. In other words, racism.
Per Raw Story:
During a six-hour ministerial meeting — broadcast live for the first time ever — the leftist president said “cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whisky.”
“Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whisky,” he added, suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be “easily dismantled” if the drug were legalized worldwide.
“If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking),” he said. “It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”
If they legalized cocaine around the world, Colombia would probably have the best economy known to man. So yeah, we get why he might be advocating for the schedule II level drug.
Still, he did make a valid point when he said that fentanyl was the drug that was “killing Americans and it is not made in Colombia.”
“Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals” and those who consumed it “became addicted,” he added.
While we’re sure many cocaine users will agree with Petro’s sentiment, we’ll go out on a limb here and say you probably still shouldn’t use booger sugar as a recreational drug. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think about President Petro’s feelings about cocaine being as “harmless” as whiskey? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Elon Musk and his alignment with President Donald Trump was under scrutiny long before the inauguration, and now, the DOGE chieftain is wielding seemingly unchecked power within the federal government despite not being elected. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency, has been ordered to shut down and possibly be moved under the direction of the U.S. Department of State under President Trump’s orders, and workers for the agency are speaking out.
To explain the function of USAID, the agency was established in 1961 under the guidance of President John F. Kennedy and provides funding for humanitarian efforts around the globe. Over 100 countries benefit from the agency’s billions and does not absorb a large portion of the federal budget. The agency employs over 10,000 people.
However, Trump has vehemently expressed that the agency is a tool of his political opponents and wants to stamp out what he feels is criminal activity and has employed Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to head the cleanup effort.
Trump ordered an end to foreign financial assistance with Musk taking a larger role in the handling of shutting down USAID despite not being an elected official and a foreign national. It has been an unprecedented takeover of the federal government that has largely been endorsed by the Republican Party, which has marched lockstep along party lines.
Surprisingly, some Democrats have warmly embraced the actions of Trump and Musk, and some Democratic Party senators have voted in favor of the president’s controversial cabinet. A coalition of Democratic Party has staged protests to halt the rapid nature of the Trump administration’s moves, which has run into a few legal snags yet not nearly enough to halt the carnage.
Of the damage left in the wake of Trump and Musk are USAID workers who have been cut off from their workstations and ripped away from assisting those in need. One worker shared details that Musk’s DOGE squad, a grouping of engineers largely new to the workforce and assumably not at the federal government level. One of the named DOGE engineers was a former software engineer for Twitter, now known as X.
In a small glimmer of hope for the agency, the AFL-CIO and other government unions have sued DOGE to protect the data of workers from Musk’s engineering team.
From the information and reactions we’ve gleaned on X and from government websites, we’re sharing thoughts from the public at the recent happenings between DOGE and USAID. Those responses can be viewed below.
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Photo: Getty
Amsterdam’s electronic, queer-inclusive Milkshake Festival recently announced that rapper Azealia Banks would be joining the lineup for its 2025 festivities. Now, two days later, the event has cut her from the lineup altogether.
In an announcement posted on Tuesday (Feb. 4), the organization revealed that Banks would be “serving C-NT” at its July 2025 festival. But in the comments of that announcement, a number of fans implored Milkshake to reconsider the choice. One commenter wrote in Dutch that Banks was “an artist who has repeatedly spoken negatively about the LGBTI+ community, and especially about our transgender friends.” Another added in Dutch that as “a festival that claims to stand for a safe and inclusive community,” Milkshake should instead “give the stage to artists where everyone feels safe and welcome.”
In an initial statement posted to its Instagram on Wednesday (Feb. 5), Milkshake told fans “we hear you,” and said that it would “try to create a platform for artists who haven’t always had equal access to popular spaces” at the annual festival. “We strive to pay homage to the roots of club culture, a community that has always been at the forefront in fighting for equality,” the statement read. “We have reached out to the management of Azealia Banks to get a clear statement. Please allow us some time to manage this situation.”
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Commenters continued to call for Banks to be removed as a performer — and on Thursday (Feb. 6), Milkshake confirmed that the “212” rapper would no longer be performing at the festival. “It is clear to us that we made a mistake and that we have overlooked essential information. We sincerely apologize for this,” the statement read. “The safety of our visitors, our team, the artists, and crew will always be our main priority. Furthermore, we will assess our initial social media response for learnings and improvements.”
Billboard has reached out to Banks’ reps for comment.
While the festival was praised by some commenters for its decision, others continued to criticize the organization for enlisting Banks in the first place and for their various responses. One commenter summed up their feelings on the matter in Dutch: “Maybe it’s time to take a hard look at the exploitation of the queer and trans community and make Milkshake a fairer festival as a whole,” they wrote.
Banks — who has become well-known in recent years for her inflammatory rants on social media — does indeed have a track record of making homophobic and transphobic comments online. Back in 2015, Banks compared the LGBTQ+ community to “the gay white KKK’s” and was filmed hurling homophobic slurs at a flight attendant. In 2020 and 2021, she made a series of transphobic comments about trans women, specifically when it came to gender-affirming healthcare and surgeries.
On Tuesday (Feb. 4), though, Banks appeared to backpedal some of those comments when she called out Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling for her transphobic comments. “I love you down sis, but [trans women] are not a threat to your femininity,” she wrote on her X account. “You are really too rich and legendary to keep spewing the same stuff over and over and over.”
Read both of Milkshake Festival’s full statements regarding Azealia Banks below:
After the devastating Eaton and Hurst fires impacted the community of Altadena in California, local residents share their firsthand stories of how the fires burned their homes down, how they’re trying to rebuild and more.
Keep watching this Billboard News special to learn more about those impacted.
Julian Perry:Just seeing around, like the waves of black smoke coming over the houses and looking down the street, and I can’t even see down the street, but I can see the house over there. You know, it was fully engulfed in flames.
Adam Clingmon:I lived here for 40 years. This was just my community. This is where I grew up, my neighbors, my friends, we got the emergency text around 6:30, maybe little earlier than that. Then we saw it on TV that there was a fire in Eaton Canyon. And maybe 15 minutes after that, we get another text saying that we have to evacuate.
The Edwards Family:Every house, except for three on our street, burned down. And then she lives pretty far. I remember … Yeah, one mile, far in the sense of a fire, but yeah, she lives exactly one mile away, west of it.
Julian Perry:Hearing the loud explosions and the pops and that crunch of the wood was, you know, was terrifying.
Adam Clingmon:Most people are freaking out. I’m staying calm thinking, like, “You know, we’ve had these before, it’ll be all right.” And so we start packing stuff up. My mom, my sister, my nephew, they evacuate. My dad wants to stay. So I was like, “I’m gonna stay as long as my dad stays.” But then around 8:39 o’clock, the power goes out, and that’s when it gets scary. And then we go outside, and we can see a huge glow on the mountain, a huge glow. That’s when I got scared.
Keep watching for more.
From Theodoros Bafaloukos’ classic film Rockers (1978) to Steve McQueen’s more contemporary anthology entry Lovers Rock (2020), the luscious melodies and charming lyrics of lovers rock – a particularly romantic reggae subgenre – have been enrapturing and inspiring artists for decades. Montreal rapper Skiifall (pronounced “skyfall”) is the latest rising star to be bitten by the lovers rock bug, but he’s not wholly unfamiliar with the style.
Hailing from Barrouille in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Skiifall moved to Montreal, Canada, with his family as a child, and spent his high school years falling in love with Atlanta rap, moving away from the soca and reggae that soundtracked in his childhood. After a few years of toiling in local bands and honing his chops with partially government-funded studio time, he released his breakthrough debut single, “Ting Tun Up,” in 2020. The song garnered massive buzz in the U.K., leading to a remix with Knucks and increased eyeballs and ears on Skiifall. Though his sound morphed into something closer to hip-hop than soca, Skiifall’s sonic profile never completely abandoned his roots: think of the infectious dancehall pulses on “2 Charming” from his 2023 Woiiyoie Vol. 2 – Intense City EP.
Montreal-based producer and DJ YAMA//SOTO is billed as a co-lead artist on “Ting Tun Up,” and that song kicked off a professional relationship that would soon bring both parties into brand new creative spaces. The idea of making a lovers rock project started with “Yama sharing this playlist with me in 2022,” says Skiifall. “From there, I went to Spotify and learned how to use the algorithm to find new music. Once I found one, I couldn’t stop there. It’s now a 12-hour playlist, filled with lovers rock.”
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In his exploration of lovers rock, the music became more than the background noise he used to disregard it as. He and Yama worked on a few early cuts and “from that first session, we knew that we were going to make a whole project – but we didn’t know exactly what we were going to make,” Skiifall recalls. In less than two weeks, the pair had three songs they worked on with Kenny Beats, a genre-agnostic producer whose penchant for live instrumentation made it easy to wade into the world of lovers rock. Their sessions eventually culminated in Lovers Till I’m Gone: a breezy, earnest seven-song lovers rock set that explores stories of contemporary Vincy love and includes a guest appearance by Grammy-nominated U.K. R&B star Jorja Smith. The full set arrived on Jan. 10, with the Smith-assisted “Her World” garnering over one million Spotify streams in less than a month.
In a candid conversation with Billboard, Skiifall recounts how his producers helped him find the coverage to reimagine lovers rock for the 2020s.
When did your family move to Montreal?
My mom moved away before I did; she got me to come join her about two years after in 2009. I was around eight [years old] at that time.
I used to love this movie called Monster House, and the only way I would imagine overseas was through that lens as a kid. I thought that when I got to Canada it would be autumn all the time, but when I arrived, it was fully snowing – like snow to your knees-type s—t [laughs]. I remember being held by the flight attendants waiting for my mom to come pick me up. It felt like a movie, like a new start.
Did you grow up listening to a lot of Vincy music?
When I was small, yes. Soca music has always been a part of my life, reggae music as well. When I got older and went to high school, it was the first time [I had my own phone] and was able to download music. I automatically gravitated towards rap; I started listening to a lot more American music from that age: Rich Homie Quan, Young Thug, Migos, Travis Scott, K Camp, 2 Chainz, etc
It’s only in 2021 that I tapped back in with reggae. I didn’t like it so much because I felt like everywhere we went, it came on. Parties, barbecues, everywhere – that’s all you’re hearing. I wanted to hear some rap.
When did you start working as Skiifall?
Around 2018. But I really started making music as Shamar, at 12 [years old]. I was a vocalist in a band, and we did summer sessions together where we would write albums and perform in front of a bunch of people. We would [also] have studio sessions, which are offered to you while you’re in school. While I was in high school – from 12 to 18 – there were studios in Montreal that allowed you to record for free. You get free recording and free mixing and mastering, so I’ve been going there for a long time. Most of my early music that came out was made there.
I’m super open to exploring and seeing what I can pull from, whether it’s jazz or classical. I take bits and pieces and merge them all together. For [Lovers Till I’m Gone], it was important to try something like that. Me and Yama made a few good songs and then later showed them to Kenny. That spiraled into us like making “Mystery Man” in our first session in 2022. From there, we knew that we should definitely continue to build it. In our first three sessions, we made “Mystery Man,” “Sandy” and “No More.” I remember walking around L.A. at the time and blasting [“Mystery Man”].
I automatically knew what to do [in those sessions], but I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be able to do justice to some of my faves. Yama, Kenny, Venna and Nami [Ondas] really gave me that boost — whether it’s lyrics or the beat or just saying something that might inspire me. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to make [this project] by myself.
What was it like working with Kenny Beats and bringing him into the reggae world?
I think it just came naturally. If you’re a fan of music, you’re able to make whatever you wanna make. If the right parts are there, then the machine is gonna move. Kenny’s aura is the perfect vibe; he makes you feel at home. If you’re not inspired, he’s not gonna force it. He’s gonna let it be and try again the next day. I’m looking forward to making more music [with him] for sure.
Our managers are friends, so that’s how we met. He’s also a fan of my music as well. The first time we met was at his home in 2022 after he DMed me on Instagram. That’s the day we made “Mystery Man.”
How did you get Jorja Smith on “Her World?”
She’s been a fan of mine ever since I blew up, and I was always a fan of hers as well. Her name kept coming up during the process of figuring out who would be the best person to join forces with and build a great song. Luckily, at the time our managers were friends, so she was down to work on the song. She got the song, and she was pretty down, so I waited for her to send her verse back and the rest was history.
At first, I didn’t like “Her World” because I didn’t think it sat on the same level as “Mystery Man,” but Jorja brought it to that level. She gave it a different flow. She bodied that because I’d never heard anybody do lover’s rock like that; she just broke it down and built it back up.
What are your plans for the visual world of Lovers Till I’m Gone?
I have this film coming that’s supposed to be sort of like Rockers (1978). I worked on it super closely with my director Simon [Davis] and my dad; we went back to Saint Vincent to shoot. It’s about 17 minutes and is meant to showcase the country and the vibe going on there.
I remember speaking to Kenny about not wanting to [recreate] the ‘80s or what people looked like back then. We wanted to keep it [focused on] how it is currently – what people are going through right now and how they’re living and all that. It’s kind of like a documentary but with music.
What should we know about the Montreal music scene right now?
I think you should know nothing because… yeah.
Do you plan to stay in the lover’s rock space a bit longer?
This project was recorded a long time ago, so I already have all the stuff that I’ve been working on ready to go. I’m ready to be out on the road as well. If this lifetime grants me the time, I will definitely keep making reggae. I love rap, so reggae is gonna be occasional. But when it’s done, I have to make sure that it’s done well because I feel like it’s not been treated well in some ways. If I’m going to personally attack it, then I have to do right by it.
Who are your top three favorite lovers’ rock artists?
Billy Boyo, Dennis Brown and Johnny Osbourne. My favorites of all time are two very different people: Sister Nancy and Yellowman. Jah Cure is in there too.
It’s the fifth week of 2025, and Argentinians La T y La M and Malandro de America have held strong atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 as their first collab, “Amor De Vago,” adds a fifth week at No. 1 on the chart dated Feb. 08. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]
Charli XCX might have taken over 2024 with her Brat era, but something new might be on the horizon for the pop star as she works on her new album. The breakthrough album’s co-writer and co-producer Finn Keane told Grammy.com that the 32-year-old star has “a desire” to “do the complete opposite thing again, which […]
Over the past four months, three little syllables have taken over the world: “ah-pah-tuh.”
They started out as the chant of a popular Korean drinking game, but ever since October, they’ve become better known as the hook of ROSÉ‘s international smash with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” a youthful, dynamic pop tune that’s currently on its 12th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with a music video that just became YouTube’s fifth-fastest to surpass a billion views. The lead single off her debut solo album Rosie, the track has both solidified the BLACKPINK member as a bonafide solo star as well as helped secure yet another imperial era over pop culture for the Silk Sonic musician, with his “Die With a Smile” duet with Lady Gaga once again resting at No. 2 on the Global 200 this week after spending eight weeks at the summit before “APT.” came along.
But before millions of people could hardly get the three-part incantation out of their heads — and before Mars himself was even involved in the project — “APT.,” like most runaway hits, started in a small room of collaborators who had no idea that lightning was about to strike. Producer Rogét Chahayed, a classically trained pianist who in the mid-2010s made the pivot to producing pop and hip-hop hits such as DRAM and Lil Yachty’s “Broccoli” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” still remembers how effortlessly the song came together with ROSÉ in the fall of 2023 once all-star collaborators Omer Fedi, Cirkut, Theron Thomas and Amy Allen decided to throw propriety to the side and lean into the unadulterated silliness of “APT.”
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“We didn’t overthink this — it happened so quickly,” Chahayed tells Billboard more than a year after that initial session first went down in Los Angeles. “Every now and then, the world needs a song that just sort of breaks the rules.”
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When the group left the studio that day, the hitmaker says they had no idea what “APT.” would become — not just on the charts, but in terms of ROSÉ’s trajectory as well, with the song eventually being picked by her team to lead the rollout for one of the most highly anticipated K-pop solo album debuts in recent memory. Chahayed didn’t even learn that the project had turned into a duet until he heard about it in passing from mutual friend and frequent Mars collaborator D’Mile at a Fourth of July barbecue last year, something he still didn’t fully let himself believe to be true until he heard the “Grenade” singer’s cut of “APT.” later on.
“Sometimes you just gotta keep working, put your head down, you don’t see it coming, then boom, you have a song with Bruno Mars,” he says now, laughing incredulously.
Hooked on the experience, Chahayed is hoping to write and produce more K-pop songs in the future and is planning a work trip to Korea later this year. But for now, he’s still drinking in the success of “APT.,” and to celebrate its ongoing momentum, Billboard caught up with the producer on how all of the pieces fell into place for a song that’s deeply unserious to have a commercial run that’s anything but.
From bonding with ROSÉ in the studio to challenging the norms of pop music, see Chahayed’s recollections on “APT.” below.
How did “APT” come together?
I had been asked if I wanted to do a session with ROSÉ, and I was like, “Yeah of course, I would love to work with her.” We got a really good room together with Cirkut and Omer Fedi, who I produced the track with. Then we had Theron Thomas and Amy Allen in there to help us write. We started off with a different vibe — it was a little more R&B, and slower. After like 20 minutes of trying to do that, we were like, “We should try something a little more upbeat or fun.”
Right around that time, [ROSÉ] was talking about this drinking game she played in Korea and showing Amy how to play it. It kind of looked like patty cake or something like that. Theron was like, “What is that? That’s so cool, we should put that in the song.” She explained how the game starts — they say that “Gaaame, start!” — and we were like, “We should make that the intro.” Then [the writers] just started saying ‘APT’ over the drum beat. Me and Omer were thinking about the music, and we were like, “We should just do some simple brass hits, one-note things,” ’cause it felt very open and cool. Then we put those chords in the pre-chorus and the hook.
It felt really different and special, but I think off the top I was just like, “This is very unconventional and strange — in a good way.” When we left that day, we didn’t really know what we had. We were just kind of like, “This is really cool, but what is this?” [Laughs.] I think Rosie felt the same way.
Did the room have any reservations about releasing a song with such an unorthodox chorus?
Yes. [Laughs.] Rosie sort of felt like, “Did I really just put a drinking game that I grew up playing into a song? What am I thinking, what am I doing?” I sort of felt the same way, even though most of the big songs I’ve done — “Broccoli,” “Sicko Mode” — those are also all weird songs as far as the chords and the sounds. In many ways, it’s risky. It’s bold to want to do something like that and be like, “Is the whole world going to think this is cool, or is this just ridiculous?”
That’s the magic of being in the room with certain people. You can just think really big, and the fact that everyone was really open to it and wasn’t like, “Oh this is silly, this is dumb, we can’t do this …” Every now and then, the world needs a song that just sort of breaks the rules and defies a proper structure and a proper hook. You can’t really plan it, though. You can’t go in the room and be like, “Let’s make something weird and big.” It’s chemistry. It’s like scientists accidentally spilled something in a pot and it became this crazy formula.
What was your reaction to hearing Bruno’s version of the track?
I knew we had something really good already, but what he added to it was just unbelievable. He beefed it up a lot, helped [ROSÉ] with some of the verses and the hook. It just became a monster.
Having him come into Rosie’s world and be down for keeping the song basically the way it was with the drinking game in there … It’s really cool that somebody as big as him and as legendary as him is putting this international stuff on the map. It’s a huge move for the culture, for many cultures — for K-pop, for American pop music, everything. It’s just a global worldwide smash.
I definitely messaged him after the song had come out like, “I’m so excited about this song, thanks so much for everything,” and he told me congrats. I hope to work more with him in the future.
What was ROSÉ like as a collaborator?
Rosie is such a sweetheart and such a nice person. I didn’t know what I was walking into. I was like, “Am I walking into a situation where there’s going to be a whole entourage around and all these people telling us what to do?” In a lot of sessions, especially with K-pop, there’s a formula … a method of making big stars and big songs. But she literally just came in with one of her friends. Once I saw her, I was like, “Oh, she’s totally normal, totally nice.” You know she’s a star when you look at her, but the aura that she gives is just very genuine.
I grew up playing piano, and she plays the piano as well. During the session we took a break, and she was telling me about this beautiful piano duet from this Chinese movie she liked (Jay Chou’s 2007 film Secret), and I pulled up the sheet music on my iPad and we played through a few pages just for fun. It was a really sweet moment to bond with her through that – I’ll never forget it. She’s one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met, and so talented. She works really, really hard.
Was the pressure on knowing that ROSÉ was working toward an incredibly highly anticipated debut solo album?
I think we were all feeling the pressure in the beginning, especially when we were making the first [R&B-inspired] idea that didn’t work out. Sometimes having something like that happen in the beginning of a session, it’s like, “Ugh, are we failing? Are we not going to be able to work together after this?”
Coming from something like BLACKPINK, which is all massive, incredible songs and hits and worldwide stardom … You sort of have to forget about it when you’re in the room and be like, “At the end of the day, we’re five human beings working in a room together trying to have fun and make something happen.” The rest is just kind of up to God, up to the universe.
Why do you think this particular song ended up doing so well commercially?
There’s something about the simplicity of the melody; it almost feels like a lullaby or something. I have a 2.5-year-old niece, and she can sing the song so perfectly, and she can’t even really form sentences yet. Most of the big songs I’ve been a part of have this simplicity that’s so catchy and so genius in that way, [which makes it] something you’re going to remember forever.
I think the reason why this song is so big is because we had fun making it. If we hadn’t had a good time making it, if we’d been stressed out, if we had gone back and forth 100 times with A&Rs and labels and this and that, you may have heard or felt that in the song. But it was just a fun ride all the way through, and I think [ROSÉ] coming from that vulnerable, honest place, it just panned out and worked out for all of us.
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Source: Noel Vasquez / Getty / LeBron James
LeBron James seemingly had the perfect response to Drake following the rapper’s light jab at him during his first show on his Australian tour.
On Wednesday, LeBron James took to Instagram to express his excitement for Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance.
James shared a clip of an old K.Dot performance that was part of Dr. Dre’s epic medley during 2022’s star-studded Super Bowl Halftime show performance.
“He gone kill that [poo emoji]!!!! Can’t wait *Bart Scott voice,” Luka Doncic’s new running mate said in his Instagram Stories post.
Usually, this wouldn’t mean anything, but now it’s part of the ongoing battle between Drizzy and Lamar. Drizzy is still licking his wounds after “Not Like Us” has declared that anyone who rocked with Lamar and bopped to the Grammy-winning diss record is an enemy, including those he once considered friends like James.
Drake Has Been Taking Numerous Shots At LeBron James
Drake has been taking shots at LeBron James. During the opening night of this Anita Max Win Tour, the Six God changed the lyrics of his song “Nonstop.” In the original lyrics, Drake raps, “How did I go from 6 to 23 like I’m LeBron?”
During his performance on the Anita Max Tour, he switched the lyrics to criticize Bron, rapping, “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron, man?”
This was not the only time Drizzy expressed his distaste for James. In his song “Fighting Irish Freestyle,” the Canadian Hip-Hop star seemingly criticized the Los Angeles Lakers superstar and DeMar DeRozan for attending Lamar’s epic Pop Out concert.
Fighting Irish is a nod to LBJ’s high school basketball team.
“The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets / Seemed like they loved every minute / Just know this shit is personal to us, and it wasn’t just business.”
James tried to show no love lost on his end, rocking a pair of The Boy’s Nike Air Force One sneakers with “Love you forever” etched on them, adding the infinity emoji to the post.
Meanwhile, Drake is still big mad and recently rocked a bullet hole-filled hoodie to signify all the shots he took and that he’s still here despite the “Not Like Us” kill shot.
Detroit’s Movement Festival has added a crew of heavyhitters to the lineup for its 2025 event. Belgian techno titan Charlotte de Witte has been added as a headliner, with hard techno star Sara Landry, rapper A$AP Ferg, Underground Resistance co-founder Mike Banks, rapper and DJ Zack Fox, Dutch producer Mau P, Nina Kraviz, HAAi, Boys Noize, The Blessed Madonna, Goldie b2b Photek and many others also joining the bill.
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These artists join the previously announced phase one lineup that included John Summit, Carl Cox, Jamie xx, Anfisa Letyago, Carl Cox, Chase & Status, Ela Minua, DJ Minx, Sammy Virji and more.
“Movement is a techno institution in Detroit so for me, it’s like reuniting with an old friend,” Cox says in a statement. “I’m going to make up for the years I’ve missed with a show that’s going to send Detroit to another dimension!”
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The festival will happen at its longtime home in Detroit’s Hart Plaza May 24-26. Tickets are on sale now.
Movement is produced by the Detroit-based Paxahau, which took over the festival in 2006. The event is known for focusing on the city’s homegrown techno genre along with house music, and has long championed rising stars, especially local ones, from each genre.
“One of the great things about [Paxahau’s] culture is we aren’t goal focused, but direction focused,” Paxahau Founder Jason Huvaere told Billboard in 2023. “It’s always been about the trajectory, the journey, the emotion. It’s never been about, ‘I need to get this thing done,’ or ‘I need to get this thing acquired.’ For the future, I just want to preserve that.”
See the complete Movement 2025 lineup below.
Movement 2025 lineup
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