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01 Aug 2023

New York City Restaurant Sei Less Announces HipHop50 Menu Named After Iconic Songs & Albums

Beginning Tuesday (Aug. 1), popular New York City restaurant Sei Less will launch its special menu in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Paying homage to celebrated songs, albums and musicians in the culture, Sei Less created unique appetizers, entrees, desserts, and cocktails as a prix fixe meal for $50. 

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“We’re incredibly grateful for the hip-hop community’s support of Sei Less, so we wanted to find a special way to express our appreciation and honor the hip-hop artists that have pushed the culture forward,” Sei Less founder Dara Mirjahangiry tells Billboard. “Since we’re a New York City restaurant, we intentionally wanted to pay homage to a multigenerational group of New York City hip-hop artists that have played an integral part in our success. But at the end of the day, we’re thankful for all the artists that have dined at our restaurant and we’re proud to celebrate such an iconic anniversary for hip-hop.” 

Some of the meals consist of the “Unforgettable,” an ode to French Montana that is a crispy rock shrimp appetizer and a favorite of the Bronx rapper at the restaurant. Another dish is an entree, a nod to Cardi B’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “I Like It,” which is an order of Beijing chicken, a previous meal she had while dining at the establishment. On the dessert front, fans can devour the “I Know What You Want,” a double chocolate mousse with chocolate sauce honoring Busta Rhymes, or “The Last Temptation,” a vanilla creme brulee with raspberry and yuzu meringue saluting Ja Rule. 

Fans can also enjoy two premium-shelf VIP cocktails named after prominent albums from Jay-Z and Diddy for $50, respectively. Dubbed The Blueprint and The Saga Continues, each drink caters to the artists’ liquor brands D’USSE and Deleon. 

The extensive list of celebrities who have frequented the NYC hotspot ranges from Kanye West, Cardi B, Diddy, Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Future, Fat Joe and NBA superstar James Harden to French soccer star Kylian Mbappe. 

Check out the HipHop50 menu below. 

hip hop 50

Courtesy Photo

01 Aug 2023

Danny Goldberg and Susan Joseph Among Personal Managers Hall of Fame Inductees (Full List)

Eight managers, who have guided the careers of everyone from Nirvana to Robert Goulet, have been named as 2023 inductees to the Personal Managers Hall of Fame. Two of the managers, George Shapiro and Shirley Grant, are being honored posthumously.

The 2023 inductees will join 50 current Hall of Fame members, which include Sid Bernstein, Bernie Brillstein, Brian Epstein, Ken Kragen, Doc McGhee, Patricia McQueeney, Dolores Robinson, Jack Rollins and David Sonenberg.

“The Personal Managers Hall of Fame celebrates illustrious careers in entertainment, music, sports and talent management,” Clinton Ford Billups Jr., national president of the sponsoring National Conference of Personal Managers (NCOPM), said in a statement. “The 2023 inductees reflect the contributions, ethics and history of personal management that the Hall of Fame acknowledges and honors.”

Nominations are solicited nationwide from the personal management community. Inductees are selected by the national board of officers of the National Conference of Personal Managers, the nation’s oldest trade association committed to the advancement of personal managers and their clients.

The 2023 Personal Managers Hall of Fame red carpet reception and induction ceremony will be held Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

More information and tickets for the Personal Managers Hall of Fame is available at www.PersonalManagersHallofFame.org.

Here’s the full list of 2023 inductees to the Personal Managers Hall of Fame.

Phil Brock – CEO of Studio Talent Group, which for more than 25 years has represented actors for commercials, film, television and theatre, including Richard Moll, Mary Woronov and Emmy winner Pat Harrington Jr. (One Day at a Time). Brock was elected in 2020 as a member of the Santa Monica (Calif.) City Council.

Chris DiPetta – Veteran talent manager, television producer and owner of Atlanta comedy club The Punchline. For more than three decades, Chris DiPetta has managed the career of Billy Gardell, actor, comedian and star of the CBS sitcoms Mike and Molly and Bob Hearts Abishola.

Danny Goldberg – Has worked in the music business as a personal manager, record company president, publicist and journalist since the late 1960s.  His current management clients include The Waterboys and Martha Wainwright and three-time Grammy winner Steve Earle. 

Vera Goulet – For more than three decades, managed the career of her late husband Robert Goulet, who won a Grammy as best new artist of 1962 and a Tony for best actor in a musical in 1968 for The Happy Time. The singer/actor died in 2007.

Shirley Grant – During a career spanning more than four decades, guided the careers of Jonas Brothers, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Christina Ricci, Allison Smith and JD Roth, as well as Broadway stars Alex Boniello and Michael Lee Brown. Grant died in 2020. (Posthumous inductee)

Susan Joseph – A personal manager, concert promoter and branding consultant. Her clients have included songwriter Diane Warren, actress Nell Carter, singer Laura Branigan and actress Pia Zadora.

George Shapiro – A champion of comedy who guided the careers of Carl Reiner, Andy Kaufman, Peter Bonerz, Marty Feldman, Gabe Kaplan, Robert Wuhl, Bill Persky & Sam Denoff, Austin & Irma Kalish, and Norman Barasch. Shapiro died in 2022 at age 91. (Posthumous inductee)

David Spero – A music manager who has overseen the careers of Bad Company, Dickey Betts, Petula Clark, Billy Bob Thornton, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Survivor, Don Felder, Patty Smyth, Joe Walsh and many others. Spero is also a 1970s rock-radio pioneer and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board of directors.

01 Aug 2023

SM Entertainment and Kakao Launch Joint Division in North America

South Korean companies SM Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment have launched what they are calling a “local integrated corporation” in North American as part of previously hinted-at efforts to accelerate their joint stateside operations and build upon the successes of their K-pop artists in the world’s largest music market.

The companies said on Tuesday (Aug. 1) that the full-fledged firm’s topline goals are to develop and invest in new IP and build a “global 360-degree management system” to provide wide-ranging support for album releases, performances and promotional activities for their artist roster. SM/Kakao will also seek to bolster that roster with local artists and focus on strengthening collaborations with labels and distribution platforms.

The integrated corporation will be lead by Kakao Entertainment America chief executive Jang Yoon-joong, who pledges to “accelerate the global advancement and growth of Kakao Entertainment and SM Entertainment’s artists” and “expand the growth potential of Kakao Entertainment’s music business.”

The merging of Kakao Entertainment America and SM Entertainment USA into one North American integrated corporation will be “completed quickly within this year,” the joint announcement indicated. The companies said they hoped the new synergies will help “accelerate its advance into global markets such as Europe.”

SM Entertainment, home to such K-pop acts as NCT 127 and Red Velvet, and internet giant Kakao endured a bit of Succession-worthy drama earlier this year when the latter said it would buy a 9.05% stake in SM against the wishes of Lee Soo-man, SM’s founder. Lee then approached HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk with an offer to sell about 80% of his SM shares to the rival K-pop company. In the end, Kakao was able to increase its share of SME to nearly 40%, while HYBE reduced its stake to less than 9%.

Both companies have taken steps to build out their stateside operations this year, with SM stating in March that it wanted to acquire a U.S.-based company to expand into hip-hop or R&B, and Kakao Entertainment’s Starship Entertainment (Monster X’s label) partnering with Columbia Records to co-manage marketing and promotion of girl group IVE in North America.

SM’s chief rival HYBE is the furthest along in the U.S., of course, having acquired Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2021 and putting the mogul in charge of HYBE America, a genre-spanning collection of artist management and record labels that includes SB Projects, Nashville-based Big Machine Label Group and Atlanta hip-hop company Quality Control.

01 Aug 2023

Beyoncé Shouts Out ‘Queen’ Madonna During New Jersey Renaissance World Tour Show

Though Madonna‘s 40th anniversary Celebration dates in the U.S. have been postponed due to the serious bacterial infection that landed her in a New York ICU last month, the singer made it out to Beyoncé‘s show in New Jersey on Sunday in one of her first public appearances since the hospitalization.

Video posted by fans showed the 64-year-old legend enjoying Bey’s show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday night. In fact, Queen Bey noticed her special guest as well and during a run through “Break My Soul” she even gave her fellow royal some love from the stage.

“Big shout out to the queen,” Beyoncé said while working the stage during the song that got a “Queens Remix” last year featuring vocals from both powerhouses in their first official collaboration. “Queen Mother, Madonna, we love you,” Bey said in a performance that also slid in a nod to Madonna’s iconic 1990 club track “Vogue.”

Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, announced last month that the singer had spent several days in intensive care due to a “serious bacterial infection.” On Sunday, Madonna wrote a note to fans thanking them for their support during this difficult period. “Love from family and friends is the best Medicine. One month out of the hospital and I can reflect,” Madonna said.

“As a Mother you can really get caught up In the needs Of your children and the seemingly endless giving,” she added. “But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference.”

Check out some of the images of Madonna at the show below.

01 Aug 2023

Tim McGraw Speaks Out Against Concertgoers Who Throw Things at Artists: ‘You Could Really Injure Somebody’

As Tim McGraw prepares to hit the road in 2024 for his Standing Room Only Tour featuring Carly Pearce, the singer and 1883 actor is speaking out about the troubling trend of concertgoers throwing items onstage at artists.

“I think it’s terrible,” McGraw told CNN in a new interview. “I mean, you could really injure somebody and you could miss and hit somebody in the audience and injure somebody. What happens if somebody gets hurt? Then it ruins the show for everybody … if somebody can’t continue performing.”

In recent months, a rash of such incidents have occurred. Kelsea Ballerini had a bracelet thrown at her that hit her in the face. Kane Brown and Morgan Wallen have each been struck by boots that were thrown onstage. Bebe Rexha was hit in the face by a cell phone, requiring her to get stitches. Cardi B recently retaliated by throwing her microphone at a concertgoer who splashed a drink on the singer.

McGraw added, “I’m used to soft goods being thrown at me. And that’s fine, but don’t throw anything that’s got any heft to it that’s gonna hurt somebody. I just think that it’s just not appropriate to do. Everybody’s there to have fun and there’s just no need in any of that. Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but I’ll try to stay calm if it does.”

McGraw will launch his Standing Room Only Tour in March of next year, and is preparing for the release of the tour’s namesake album, McGraw’s 17th studio project, in August.

“I wanted this music on this album to reflect life in general and be life-affirming and positive,” he said of the music the album contains, noting that much of the album was crafted during the pandemic. “I wanted the music to sort of reflect that, living the good life and being the best person that you can be and knowing we all make mistakes, but you wake up the next day and try to be a better person.”

01 Aug 2023

‘Euphoria’ Star Angus Cloud Passes Away At 25

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Source: CHRIS DELMAS / Getty

Yesterday (July 31), fans of HBO’s hit series, Euphoria, were heartbroken to learn that one of the show’s brightest stars, Angus Cloud, had passed away at the young age of 25.

News of Cloud’s passing began spreading quick on social media on Monday afternoon (July 31) as his Euphoria character, Fez, quickly became a fan favorite and catapulted him to stardom over the past few years. Though his cause of death hasn’t yet been revealed, his family’s statement seemed to imply that Cloud was dealing with some mental health issues due to the passing of his father.

Vulture reports:

“It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today,” Cloud’s family said in a statement confirming the news. “As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways. Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence. We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.”

As a fan of Euphoria, this one hurts, b.

Since taking on the role of Fez when Euphoria premiered in 2019, Cloud quickly gained a following with his nonchalant, yet insightful drug-dealing character. Since then, he’s appeared in ads for Polo and has even starred in music videos for artists like Juice WRLD, Becky G and Noah Cyrus. The man was going places in life, but unfortunately, we’ll never know how far he would’ve gotten.

Rest In Power.

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01 Aug 2023

Cops Swoop Down On Nicki Minaj’s Home After Prank 911 Call

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Nicki Minaj

Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz

Nicki Minaj has fallen victim to swatting once again. Cops rushed to her home after a call was made to 911 saying someone was shot at her residence.

As spotted on TMZ Queens, New York native was the latest target of celebrity harassment. Last week an unidentified individual placed a phony phone call to local police claiming someone had been shot at her mansion. The authorities quickly rushed over to the Maraj-Petty household only to find out they were tricked by someone with a terrible sense of humor. The cops pulled up with sirens and lights the San Fernando property.

The celebrity gossip outlet says the “Chun Li” rapper was not pleased one bit at the fact that the force showed up ready for action on a Saturday afternoon. But unfortunately this is not the first time she has been on the receiving end of phony phone call to 911. Back in June cops were dispatched to her home after some called in claiming a child was being abused and that the house was on flames.

According to Dictionary.com swatting is defined as “the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.” Within the last couple years several celebrities have felt been targeted with swatting including Paris Hilton, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake.

Nicki Minaj has yet to comment on the matter.

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01 Aug 2023

Drake Flashed His New Tupac Crown Ring During Strip Club Interview

When you drop a milli on Tupac Shakur’s gold, ruby and diamond crown ring you want to show it off. So after first flashing the piece he recently bought at auction in one of his Insta stories last week, Drake put the historic piece on display again recently in an interview with Sidetalk NYC at the Starlets strip club.

The rapper bragged to the show’s host that his son Adonis’ mother, Sophie Brussaux, had a spot on the club’s wall of fame. “I’m wearing Pac’s ring,” Drizzy flexed while pushing his $1.01 million pinkie toward the camera to show off the custom piece worn by Shakur in his final public appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. “They got my baby mama on the wall over there.”

Asked to name the No. 1 thing he looks for in a “ting,” the single dad said “humor,” noting that if a woman watches his glassy-eyed interview and doesn’t think it’s funny she’s not for him. The video also featured footage of some of the club’s dancers tossing up piles of money and inviting viewers to come on down.

Drake had fun with host Trent Simonian’s all-black basic look, which included a self-promotional t-shirt, washed back denim and Converse sneaks, wondering if TS could “pull a batty” at the club with that outfit. For the record, Drake revealed that Denver has the greatest density of tingz as far as he’s concerned.

Drake and 21 Savage will bring the It’s All a Blur tour to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tonight (Aug. 1). The rapper canceled a previously postponed show at the FedExForum slated for Aug. 6 this week over what his team said were production issues; the Memphis show had previously been booked for June 29 as the tour’s kick-off date.

01 Aug 2023

Hayley Williams Slams ‘Weird Incel…Internet Bros’ For Criticizing Paramore Over Postponed Shows

The last thing you want to do when you’re not feeling well is fight internet trolls. But, there Paramore singer Hayley Williams was this weekend, hitting back at sexist haters who decided to criticize her for postponing four shows due to what she recently revealed was a lung infection.

“internet bros have been pressed by my proximity to rock music and all its subgenres since 2005,” she wrote in an Instagram Story according to People. “the only thing thats changed is the platform from which they spew their ignorance. don’t think for a second your fav bands – metal or punk or otherwise – endorse your weird incel ass lifestyle. so many of these bands have stood side stage at our shows and treat us with respect. why? bc they aren’t threatened by a strong woman front a great band in a completely diff genre of music.”

On Saturday, Williams gave an update on her health after the band rescheduled four shows in the U.S. due to what was originally described as an illness within the band. “We kick back up Saturday in Tulsa (!!!) after a week of misery, sadness, and bellyfuls of antibiotics and steroids,” Williams wrote, referring to the group’s July 29 concert at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. “For the record, we did not have food poisoning or a band-wide s— fest.”

On July 22, the band postponed a gig in San Francisco just hours before showtime before postponing three more shows in Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City; all four were rescheduled for this month.

“In all seriousness, this past week has been really tough,” she added in her original post. “Nobody would know this but I started getting sick in Houston (non contagious) and muscled my way all the way through LA. Adrenaline is a wonder! But by the time the excitement and the nerves from all the LA shenanigans wore off, my body just gave out.”

Williams’ since-expired Sunday Story also included a screenshot of a tweet in which someone noted that Metallica and Iron Maiden still “manage” to play shows when they are sick, “all of which are much older than you love.”

“Neither [Metallica singer] James [Hetfield] NOR [Iron Maiden singer] Bruce [Dickinson] are gonna suck your d–k for this, LOVE,” Williams shot back. She also responded to another commenter who noted that Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl came back on stage and performed after falling off a stage and breaking his leg in 2015.

Williams didn’t have time for that one, either. “I have a lung infection you soft s—! Not a broken limb,” she wrote to the person who called her “whiney,” noting, “One you can sing with for 2 hours, another you cant. But worry not! The shows weren’t canceled, merely postponed a week. Maybe you should come out to one of them… like Dave did.”

The latter was a reference to Paramore’s set at Bonnaroo last month during which Williams invited Grohl up to sing a cover of his band’s fan favorite “My Hero.”

01 Aug 2023

Drake Cancels Memphis Show With 21 Savage Over Production Issues After Previously Postponing It

Drake was originally scheduled to kick-off of his It’s All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage at the FedExForum in Memphis on June 29. That gig was postponed just days before and now the rescheduled show has been canceled with just a few days notice.

Drake was set to play the Forum on Aug. 6, but the Ticketmaster site now lists the show as canceled with no explanation other than “the event organizer has had to cancel your event.” According to the Commercial-Appeal, Drake’s team told the venue that, “Due to the magnitude of the production of the Drake concert, it is logistically impossible to bring the show as designed to the FedExForum on August 6th. Unfortunately, the show in cancelled.”

At press time a spokesperson for Drake had not returned Billboard‘s request for further comment on the show cancelation.

Fans who already bought tickets for the sold-out show ill get automatic refunds to the original method of payment, typically within 30 days.

Drake and 21 Savage are slated to play the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia tonight (Aug. 1) and the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Friday (Aug. 4); that show was recently pushed back one day, also citing the size of the production. The Memphis show is no longer listed on Drake’s official site.

USA Today noted that the headliner — whose dad, Dennis Graham, is from Memphis — still came to the city to visit his kin and receive an honorary key to Shelby County last week at a restaurant/nightclub called Railgarten.