News

11 Jul 2023

Bad Bunny’s ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ Becomes The Most-Streamed Album In Spotify History

HipHopWired Featured Video

2023 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Weekend 2 - Day 1

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty

Even with all the backlash that Bad Bunny earned himself from the Latino community by dating notorious culture vulture, Kendall Jenner, his latest album, Un Verano Sin Ti, still continues to make history in 2023.

Already being named the most streamed album of 2022, Un Verano Sin Ti has now gone on to become the most streamed album in Spotify’s history as it’s beaten out Ed Sheeran’s Divide to sit atop that streaming throne. Who knew reggaeton would go on to be more popular than folk-pop these days? According to Digital Music News, Bad Bunny’s fourth studio album hit the stream running with 356.66 million on-demand streams in its debut week May 6, 2022.

It’s only been dubs and love from there as the king of reggaeton has enjoyed all the success from the fruits of his labor as he’s let his work speak for itself.

Digital Music News reports:

The record spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 22 songs from the set on the Billboard Hot 100, the most in a week for a core Latin music artist and the most in a week performed all in Spanish. Un Verano Sin Ti became the first non-English album ever to top the Year-End Billboard 200.

Featuring collaborations with The Marías, Buscabulla, and Chencho Corleone, the album also made history at the Grammys last year as the first Spanish-language album to receive a nomination for Album of the Year.

“I never dreamed I wanted to be the biggest one or No. 1. I simply wanted to make it. Why? Because I love what I do. I’ve been doing rhythms since I was 13 years old, writing, singing songs in my head,” Bad Bunny told Billboard last year. “I never said I want to be the biggest or the best or the richest. I did it because I loved it, and my only dream was to be able to make a living out of it.”

Hopefully, the Kardashian Kurse doesn’t hit him like it did some of Kendall’s exes such as Ben Simmons, Devin Booker (whom Bad Bunny threw a subliminal shot at over Kendall), Blake Griffin or Kyle Kuzma. Aside from Booker, all them dudes looked washed up these days, but Booker’s chances at getting a ring seem as slim as his teammate, Kevin Durant.

Luckily the “kurse” hasn’t affected Bad Bunny’s success, but if that next album flops both critically and commercially, y’all already know what happened. Just sayin’.

HipHopWired Radio

Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…

11 Jul 2023

Rihanna Shows Off Baby Bump in Sizzling Savage X Fenty Lingerie: See the Photos

Rihanna has never paid any regard to traditional maternity fashion, and that goes for lingerie, too.

In a series of photos shared to social media Monday (July 10), the 35-year-old musician-turned-mogul showed off her third-trimester baby bump while premiering a coral Savage X Fenty bra and panties set. Ri was smoldering for the camera in pink stilettos, and her tattoos were on full display from top to … ahem … bottom.

“new fav’s ….sheer x group dropping rn!” the “Umbrella” singer, who’s expecting her second child with A$AP Rocky, captioned the post. “head over to savageX.com.”

Based on the new products listed on the Savage website, Rihanna is sporting the Sheer X Demi Spacer Bra in the shade red pink in her new photos. The bra comes in three colors and features a small “X” charm in the center.

This is far from the first time Ri has modeled her own clothes, and certainly isn’t the first time she’s done so pregnant. In May, she celebrated the five-year anniversary of her clothing company with a bump-bearing shoot in Savage X Fenty underwear, and in June, she debuted a jokey T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “Use a Condom.”

And while Rihanna is clearly still very much involved with the brand, she stepped down from her role as CEO of Savage in June. Former Anthropologie CEO Hillary Super took over as the company’s leader, while Ri transitioned into an executive chairman position.

See photos from Rihanna’s latest Savage X Fenty shoot below:

11 Jul 2023

Porno For Pyros Announce First Tour in 25 Years, ‘Horns, Thorns En Halos’

Perry Farrell is cranking up the Porno For Pyros machine. The Jane’s Addiction singer and Lollapalooza co-founder announced on Tuesday (July 11) that his long-dormant other band will regroup for their first tour in 25 years for an outing they’re calling Horns, Thorns En Halos.

The 21-date outing — which will also celebrate PFP’s 30th anniversary as a band — is slated to kick off on October 8 at the Hard Rock Live Sacramento in Wheatland, CA and wind down at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, TX on Nov. 20. The Live Nation-produced tour is the follow-up to last year’s series of get-back shows, which included a July gig at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles that reunited Farrell on stage with Jane’s drummer Stephen Perkins, guitarist Peter DiStefano and bassist Martyn LeNoble.

The band went on to play at Florida’s Welcome to Rockville and Lollapalooza festivals last year, as well as at Chicago’s beloved Metro club. According to a release announcing the dates, the band has also been working on new material in the studio with a possible release due out before year’s end.

PFP originally formed in 1992 following the dissolution of Jane’s, releasing two studio albums, their 1993 self-titled debut and 1996’s Good God’s Urge, which featured the band’s signature psychedelic pop hits, “Pets” and “Tahitian Moon,” respectively. The band went dark in 1998 and briefly reunited in 2009 for Farrell’s 50th birthday and then again in 2020 for that year’s Lollapalooza YouTube show in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tickets for the reunion tour will be available during a presale beginning on Wednesday (July 12), with additional presales throughout the week until the general on-sale on Friday (July 14) at 10 a.m. local time here.

Check out the Porno For Pyros reunion tour dates below.

Oct. 8 – Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Live Sacramento

Oct. 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic

Oct. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern

Oct. 15 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas

Oct. 17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union*

Oct. 19 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium

Oct. 21 – Omaha, NE @ Steelhouse Omaha

Oct. 23 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee

Oct. 24 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

Oct. 27 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit

Oct. 29 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre

Oct. 30 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Nov. 1 – New York, NY @ Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom

Nov. 3 – Bensalem, PA @ Parx Casino and Racing*

Nov. 5 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring

Nov. 7 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte

Nov. 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle

Nov. 15 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

Nov. 17 – New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore New Orleans

Nov. 19 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas

Nov. 20 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

*Not a Live Nation Date

11 Jul 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Priscilla Block | Billboard Country Live

Priscilla Block reveals five things you didn’t know about her.

Priscilla Block:
Hey, I’m Priscilla Block, and here are five things that you might not know about me.

I am, like, a very great burper. I mean, I can hold pitch like it’s just a long burp … like belch. I don’t know. It’s very, very ladylike.

Another thing that fans might not know about me is I was supposed to be a twin. I think I ate my twin! I’m serious, that is actually real. I won’t go into all the details, but I have lived my life eating for two people. Thick thighs save lives, baby!

OK, this is a really good one. I sang “Wasted” for my third-grade talent show. Everyone else was singing Annie and, like, Beauty and the Beast soundtracks, and I sang “Wasted” by Carrie Underwood. The whole song is about being wasted. I definitely won.

Another thing that fans might not know about me: I can wakeboard. Not, like, decently great, but I mean, I can get up on a wakeboard, you know, cross the wake and everything. She really is a lot sportier than she seems.

There was one time I went to the hair salon, and this was, like, right after I signed my record deal, and this angel wanted to do my hair and she was like, “I’ll do it for free.” I walked out of there feeling like Carrie Underwood. I mean, my hair was blonde. It was so beautiful. I left the hair salon, and I called her immediately and I was like, “Hey, I love the hair. I just don’t think it’s trashy enough.” And she was like, “What?” And I was like, “I just need chunks in it. Like, it’s too blended. It looks too good.” And she was like, “OK …” So I felt really bad for her. I basically made her undo everything that she did. And I was like, “I’m really just going for more of, like, trailer park type vibe.”

Watch the full video above!

11 Jul 2023

Stem Raises $250 Million for Artist Advances

Distribution company and payment platform Stem said on Tuesday it raised $250 million from Victory Park Capital to expand it’s popular advance check product.

Stem first started offering the product in 2020 to artists at various career stages, including artists like Justine Skye, who used the capital as bridge financing when transitioning from a major label to independent career. Other artists to use Stem’s financing include independent artist Brent Faiyaz, who relied on eight different advance checks in the past three years as he created his album Wasteland, released July last year.

Launched in 2015, Stem was created with an aim to give artists greater transparency into music industry finances and alternative sources of funding to support artists who want to run their own businesses. Stem chief executive Milana Lewis said the funding from Victory Park Capital will help more, including those who want to use their catalogs as collateral for cash and artists leaving the major label system.

“Stem has demonstrated itself to be a premiere destination for artists, whether emerging or established, to grow their careers,” says Lewis. “This funding from VPC enables us to solve … both of these pain points in a way where the client can set their own terms.”

Mature artists who want to use leverage their catalogs as financial assets–rather than sell their catalogs for a lump sum–can get use Stem’s advances to get “market rate, near-term liquidity with flexible repayment” plans, according to a statement from Stem.

Artists who are leaving a major label who may not be able to take existing work with them, Stem can offer advanced cash backed by future projects. Stem says it does not take any ownership stake in the future works.

“Enabling access to capital is a major focal point for us, and we are excited to be partnering with Stem to help meet the financing needs of artists,” said Gordon Watson, partner at the Chicago-based financer Victory Park Capital.

11 Jul 2023

Tainy’s ‘Data’ Surges to No. 2 on Top Latin Albums Chart: ‘It’s Mind-Blowing’

After 16 years, Tainy returns to the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart as his latest album, Data, rallies 35-2 on the July-15 dated ranking after its first full week of activity.

See latest videos, charts and news

“I really try not to expect too much even though I’m working with superstars in this album,” Tainy tells Billboard. “My first thought is doing something both me and the artist love. I rather bring something amazing and different that at first could be weird, but grows on people with time. But I’m so happy it started the way it did, it’s mind-blowing.”

Data dropped June 29, the final day of the previous chart’s tracking week (albums are typically released on a Friday) and debuted on Top Latin Albums at No. 35 (July 8 ranking) from one day of activity. After its first official tracking week, the 19-track set surges to No. 2 with 31,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending July 6, according to Luminate.

Most of Data’s first-week sum derives from streaming, which equates to 40.52 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. The remainder balance is a negligible amount of album sales and tracking-equivalent album units combined. An equivalent album unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album (track equivalent album units, TEA), or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album (streaming equivalent album units, SEA).

Data gives Tainy his highest charting album in more than 16 years on Top Latin Albums, since Más Flow: Los Benjamins with Luny Tunes launched at No. 1 in 2006. His maiden champ reigned for two weeks, and granted indie label Mas Flow, founded by Luney Tunes, its first and only No. 1 there. Data follows Tainy’s co-released album Dynasty with Yandel, which peaked at No. 25 in 2021.

“Figuring out dates to work on tracks with the artists was the toughest thing,” Tainy adds. “They’re superstars, so they’re touring, doing their own projects so that takes time to put it together and make it sound cohesive. But it’s a process I knew was gonna take time, so we made it work.”

As Data hits No. 2 on Top Latin Albums, Tainy brings Neon16 similar fortune: The indie label founded by the Puerto Rican producer alongside former Roc Nation executive Lex Borrero concurrently picks up its first and only top 10 on an albums chart. Previously, Neon 16 Tape: The Kids That Grew Up on Reggaetón earned the indie label a No. 45 high in March 2020.

Tainy’s catalogue of projects date back to the 2000s, since he was 16 years old; he’s produced for reggaetón heavy hitters, some of which appear on the beatmaker’s 19-song new album. They include Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Wisin & Yandel, Arcángel, Zion, Ozuna and others, and share a space with a younger and varied range of collaborators, such as Julieta Venegas, Rauw Alejandro, Young Miko, The Marias, Kany García, Feid and more.

In the songs realm, Data was preceded by only one song, the No. 2-peaking “Lo Siente Bebe :/” with Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas (October 2021). Data also brings in three new recruits on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs, including one top 10: “Mojabi Ghost” with Bad Bunny debuts at No. 2, “Pasiempre” with Arcángel and Jhayco featuring Myke Towers at No. 28, and “La Baby” with Daddy Yankee and Feid featuring Sech at No. 47.

About the tracks Tainy concludes: “Each song represents me and my career in different ways, from artist and sounds that inspired me in the beginning to the new genres I’ve grown to love and artists that nowadays inspire me in a new way. Tough to choose just one.”

Beyond its No. 2 rise on Top Latin Albums, Data concurrently soars 19-1 on Latin Rhythm Albums, and debuts at No. 11 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

11 Jul 2023

‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Puma & Teddy Tighten The Screws & Give Two of The Newbies The Boot

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Courtesy VH1 / Black Ink Crew

On this week’s episode of Black Ink Crew, Puma, and Teddy get serious with the newbies after they feel things have gotten out of hand.

Ink Dreamy Finally Gets The Boot

On last week’s episode of Black Ink Crew, Ink Dreamy showed his polyamorous ass and almost came to blows with one of his cast members and even Teddy.

So it was no surprise when Teddy and Puma decided it was time for him to go so he could live his polyamorous life outside of the Black Ink Crew mansion.

During his confessional, Puma says Ink Dreamy got the boot because he felt he was too aggressive with the women, a major red flag, and that type of behavior is not what the Black Ink brand represents.

Ink Dreamy packs up his belongings and bounces. Puma and Teddy pull the remaining newbies left and warn them that more firings are to be expected.

Puma & Teddy Test The Newbies With Another Competition

With Ink Dreamy gone, it’s time to get back to business. Puma and Teddy announced to the newbies that they would be showing off their skills in a new competition that will, for the first time, take place in the mansion.

Teddy and Puma divided the newbies into teams led by Alex and Draya, giving them different jobs to handle while tattooing who Teddy described as “special clients.”

In an added twist, they assigned the newbies different jobs out of their comfort zone to see if they could handle it. As expected, Made Rich is unhappy to learn that he will be an AP and not do a tattoo, but he eventually gets over it.

It’s time for the competition, and the newbies struggle to perform the tattoos. Trilla has a tough time, even growing frustrated with the person he was tattooing, who was noticing some very rookie mistakes he was making.

The client is concerned when Trilla begins stenciling from the top instead of the bottom. He even shaves the client’s leg wrong, another no, no when tattooing Black skin. Trilla gets frustrated and storms off after he is swapped out for his girlfriend, Jahnova, who takes over doing the stencil.

Trilla was not the only one having issues during the competition. Liza raised the eyebrows of both the client and Made Rich and Alex when she said it’s okay to shade in from light to dark, a huge no, no in tattooing.

Puma & Teddy Warn Them Someone Will Not Be A Member of The Black Ink Crew

After the tattoos, we learn the “special clients” are tattoo artists. It was obvious because they knew a lot about techniques and what the artists should have done while working on the tattoos.

In critiquing Trilla following his poor performance, he gets some advice from the two artists, but he snaps back by telling them their advice is just their personal opinions. Alex tells him he could have handled the situation better if his customer service skills had improved.

Puma and Teddy tell the newbies that instead of judging them by teams, they will judge them on their performances, and someone will go home, instantly making them nervous because there was a lot of struggle during the competition.

Another Newbie Bites The Dust

It’s the day of reckoning for the newbies. Puma and Teddy arrive at the mansion and round up the newbies. They asked each of them to choose who they felt was the weakest link on their teams.

Santana, who had a poor showing during the competition, chooses herself, and even Trilla smartens up and picks himself cause he is acting like a fool. The final nail in his coffin came from his girlfriend, Jahnova, who tearfully says his name.

Trilla’s time is up.

After some daps, hugs, and tearful goodbye from his girlfriend, Trilla finally leaves but vows not to let the moment derail his dreams of being the best tattoo artist he can be.

Viewers had thoughts about the episode. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.

—

Photo: VH1 / Black Ink Crew

1. Trilla was doing a lot

2. Puma has some kind words for Trilla

11 Jul 2023

Hugh Jackman IS The Wolverine In New ‘Deadpool 3’ Set Pic

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: @deadpoolmovie / Marvel

Outside of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the last few films released under the Marvel Cinematic Universe umbrella have been struggle and fans have grown tired of what the MCU has been churning out as of late. But can Deadpool 3 revive an allegedly floundering comic book universe? Seems like it just might.

On Monday (July 10), Deadpool star, Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to share a shot from the set of the highly-anticipated Deadpool 3 and in the process blew away fans with a sight we’d never thought we’d see. In the post, we find Reynolds in full Deadpool attire and next to him we see Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine draped in the classic yellow and blue costume from the comic books that fans have known and loved for decades.

This was especially surprising given the fact that throughout the numerous X-Men and Wolverine films that Hugh Jackman has starred in, he’s never worn any of the classic Wolverine costumes from the comic books. Now we finally get to see the OG Wolverine costume in all its glory on the silver screen. We. Can’t Wait.

While plot details about the film are being kept under wraps, rumors have been circulating that the film will find Deadpool crossing over into the MCU via the TVA (Time Variance Authority) who punish Deadpool for messing with various timelines at the end of Deadpool 2. Aside from Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra being confirmed for the film, rumors also have Elizabeth Olsen reprising her role as The Scarlet Witch and Ian McKellen as Magneto in a House of M situation that’s supposed to play out during the film.

Needless to say, Deadpool 3 is about to get alllll the comic book fanboy money.

What do y’all think? Are y’all as excited about Deadpool 3 as we are? Will you be rushing to theaters when it premiers on May 3, 2024? Let us know in the comments section below.