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With week five of the Diddy trial now in the books, Billboard is recapping the biggest moments you might have missed this week — from Jane’s blockbuster testimony to Kanye’s surprise appearance to the mysterious mention of an unnamed rapper.
The trial, expected to last until early July, will decide the fate of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who federal prosecutors say coerced ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and others to take part in freak-offs — drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts for his entertainment. He has denied the charges; his attorneys say the events were consensual and part of a “swinger” lifestyle.
Combs is charged with five counts, including racketeering and sex trafficking, over those accusations. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential sentence of life in prison.
If you weren’t following along for every moment this week, here are the five big developments you need to know.
Jane On The Stand
The week was dominated by testimony from “Jane,” an anonymous former girlfriend of Combs who says she was forced to participate in the freak-offs with male prostitutes.
Like Ventura, Jane told jurors about a complex romantic relationship, according to NPR — one that included real affection for the superstar, but also coercion and manipulation, including through promises of more time together or of financial support.
During cross-exam, defense attorneys tried to show Jane as a willing participant in the events, per The New York Times, by showing jurors a trove of text messages in which she appeared to have positive thoughts about the freak-offs. But she insisted she was simply telling Combs what he wanted to hear and was “putting on a show” during the events.
Mystery Rapper
At one point during her testimony, Jane described a night she allegedly spent with another famous rapper in January 2024 — setting off a debate between the legal teams over whether the mystery celebrity could be revealed.
On the night in question, per USA Today, Jane told jurors that she traveled to Las Vegas with the rapper and ended up watching what amounted to a freak-off — a male prostitute having sex with a woman — in the celebrity’s hotel room. She said the event later sparked rage in Combs, who demanded to know: “How could you go to another man’s freak-off?”
Prosecutors quickly urged the judge to bar any reveal of the rapper’s name, warning that it might threaten Jane’s anonymity if the name were divulged. Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately agreed to keep the name hidden, but defense attorneys gave clues — calling him an “icon in the music industry” and someone with a close relationship to Combs.
Jane v. Teny
Midway through cross-examination, Jane got into a heated exchange with Teny Geragos, one of Combs’ defense attorneys, over designer handbags.
According to TMZ, it started when Geragos asked if Jane, like another Combs girlfriend, received a Chanel bag from the rapper. Jane quickly shot back: “I only got trauma.” When Geragos then asked her what a Bottega bag was, Jane replied, “I’m sure you have one.”
“How much does it cost?” Geragos quickly asked her. “How much does my body cost?” Jane fired back.
The tense exchange highlighted Jane’s unusual position in the case. As reported by the Times, she dated Combs right up until his September arrest, didn’t participate in the criminal investigation until she was subpoenaed, and met with his defense attorneys repeatedly before the trial began. She also confirmed on the stand that he’s currently paying both her rent and her legal bills related to the case.
When she wrapped up her six days on the witness stand on Thursday, per CNN, Jane made an unusual move: She hugged the attorneys who had been questioning her, including prosecutor Maurene Comey and Geragos.
Ye Stops By
Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, dropped in on the trial on Friday (June 13), telling reporters he was there to support Combs.
Dressed in all white, Ye arrived at the courthouse late in the morning and spent about 40 minutes at the trial. Per the Associated Press, he didn’t make it into the main courtroom where the judge, jury and attorneys are arguing the case, instead watching testimony on a closed-circuit monitor in an overflow room.
Though hardly in the same kind of hot water as Combs, Ye has faced his own controversies in recent years — including posting antisemitic rants to social media, running Super Bowl ads for swastika t-shirts, and making outrageous claims about Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s children.
This wasn’t the first support Ye has shown for Combs, a longtime friend. In February, he posted to X (formerly Twitter) asking President Donald Trump to “please free my brother Puff.” And in March, he dropped a song called “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine” that appeared to feature Combs’ voice on a phone-call recording.
When asked if he might testify on Combs’ behalf when the defense begins presenting its case, Ye didn’t respond.
Mistrial Denied
Early in the week, Judge Arun Subramanian denied a motion for mistrial filed by Combs’ lawyers over juicy testimony — a small but important moment.
Attorneys for the embattled hip-hop mogul had argued that prosecutors knowingly introduced false testimony by Bryana Bongolan, the witness who claimed that Combs dangled her from a 17-story balcony in 2016.
But at the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, Judge Subramanian said the alleged issue did not rise to the level of a trial-ending error: “This is not fodder for a mistrial. This is the adversarial process at work,” Subramanian said from the bench, according to ABC News.
R. Kelly’s attorney claims the disgraced R&B star and convicted sex offender has been placed in solitary confinement as retaliation for publicizing bizarre allegations that prison officials tried to solicit a fellow inmate to kill him.
Kelly’s solitary confinement is the subject of a court filing late Thursday (June 12) from lawyer Beau Brindley, who earlier in the week petitioned a federal judge in Chicago to cut short the 30-plus-year prison sentence imposed on the singer (Robert Sylvester Kelly) for two sets of sex crime convictions.
Brindley claimed on Tuesday (June 10) that prison officials at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C., are trying to have Kelly killed to keep him from divulging prosecutorial misconduct he’s supposedly uncovered since his trials. Brindley said a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang was tasked with Kelly’s murder.
Now, Brindley says Kelly is facing retaliation for publicizing his strange allegations. The defense lawyer claims Kelly was placed in solitary confinement within hours of filing the motion for release, without access to a phone to call his family or lawyers.
“Mr. Kelly has spiders crawling over him as he tries to sleep,” writes Brindley. “He is alone in the dark in miserable conditions.”
According to Brindley, Kelly has not eaten since being sent to solitary because he’s afraid that prison officials might have his food poisoned. Guards won’t let the singer access the peanut butter and crackers he previously purchased from the jail’s commissary, Brindley says.
Brindley’s filing reiterates his request to have Kelly immediately released on a temporary furlough or transferred to home detention.
Spokespeople for both the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago declined to comment on Brindley’s allegations on Friday (June 13).
While prosecutors have not yet responded to the substance of Brindley’s murder plot claims, they criticized the defense lawyer earlier this week for naming one of Kelly’s anonymous child victims in the Tuesday motion. The judge in the case made Brindley re-file the motion with proper redactions, and prosecutors are due to file their response on Monday (June 16).
Brindley, meanwhile, has been publicly asking President Donald Trump to pardon Kelly in conjunction with the long-shot allegations about a government conspiracy. In a statement earlier this week, Brindley said, “This is precisely the kind of prosecutorial corruption that President Trump has vowed to eradicate. We believe he is the only one with both the power and the courage to do it.”
Kelly was convicted in 2021 and 2022 at two separate federal trials, one in New York and one in Chicago, on a slew of criminal charges including racketeering, sex trafficking, child pornography and enticing minors for sex.
The former R&B star was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the New York conviction and 20 years in the Chicago case, although the vast majority of the second sentence will overlap with the first. Both convictions have been upheld on appeal.
Ye — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West — has shown up to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial in New York City, pulling up to the courthouse in an all-white outfit Friday (June 13).
In footage shared by TMZ, the Yeezy founder steps out of the backseat of a car and walks inside, shaking a couple hands and throwing up a small wave on his way. In addition to a matching white denim jacket-and-jeans set, he sports a pair of sunglasses.
According to Variety, Ye told one journalist that he had come to show support for the disgraced Bad Boy Records founder. The publication also reports that West’s name had been included in a questionnaire for potential jurors to test whether they were familiar with any of the “hundreds of celebrities and people in Combs’ orbit.”
Combs has been on trial since May on allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering, with federal prosecutors accusing him of running an elaborate criminal enterprise aimed at facilitating his so-called freak-offs — drug-fueled events wherein he allegedly forced people, including his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, to have sex with male escorts while he allegedly watched and masturbated. His legal team has denied all of the charges, with Combs’ attorney Teny Geragos telling the jury in opening statements a few weeks ago: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. We take full responsibility that there was domestic violence. Domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”
If convicted, Combs faces life in prison.
A few days prior to Ye’s appearance at the trial, Combs’ legal team’s motion for a mistrial was denied. The defense had tried to claim that the prosecution had knowingly introduced false testimony by Bryana Bongolan – a witness who last week alleged that Combs had dangled her from a 17-story balcony in 2016 — but Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately ruled: “This is not fodder for a mistrial. This is the adversarial process at work.”
Ye has previously shown support for Combs amid the latter’s legal issues, with the former asking President Donald Trump to “please free my brother Puff” on X in February. Combs had already spent months in custody at that point following his September arrest.In March, Ye dropped a song titled “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine” that appeared to feature Combs’ voice on a phone-call recording. “I just want to thank you so much for just taking care of my kids, man,” the voice seemingly belonging to Diddy said in the snippet. “Ain’t nobody reach out to them, ain’t nobody call them.”
Ye replies on the track: “Absolutely, I love you so much, man. You raised me. Even when I ain’t know you, know what I’m saying?”
The two hip-hop titans also worked together in the past, both appearing on Ty Dolla $ign’s “Guard Down” in 2015. In 2022, Ye presented Combs with the Lifetime Achievement honors at that year’s BET Awards.
After appointing himself chair of the Kennedy Center and replacing its board members with loyalists, President Donald Trump’s first-ever visit to the revered Washington, D.C. cultural center on Wednesday night (June 11) was likely not the warm welcome he expected. Taking his seat for the opening night of Les Misérables, the Associated Press reported that Trump was met with a mix of cheers and boos, as well as an unexpected parade of drag queens who sashayed past the first couple, seemingly in protest of Trump’s previous vow of “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”
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In addition, a dozen performers — from major cast members to ensemble performers — planned to sit out the show after being given the option not to perform on the night Trump was in the house to enjoy what he has said is one of his favorite musicals. The show about 19th century France features a song Trump has played at his rallies in the past, “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” a revolutionary anthem inspired by the 1832 rebellion against King Louis-Phillipe of France.
The song’s stirring lyrics about rising up against oppressive regimes has often been employed at pro-democracy protests around the globe, and on Wednesday one patron reportedly shouted “Viva Los Angeles” as Trump left the presidential box for intermission, a seeming reference to the now nearly week-long protests in that city over the administration’s immigration raids.
In his second term, Trump — who admittedly had never attended a performance at the Kennedy Center in his first term, or ever — has swiftly moved to remake the organization in his own image. After installing himself as chairman of the Center, Trump also placed a number of loyalists on the typically non-partisan board and vowed to remove “woke” shows from the roster. Subsequently, nearly two dozen events have been canceled or postponed, a number out of protest at Trump’s takeover, including Hamilton, the National Youth Poet Laureate Commemoration, Saigon Nights, as well as shows by Peter Wolf, Low Cut Connie, Rhiannon Giddens, Issa Rae and many more.
The AP reported that the show that tackles themes of protest, power, injustice and poverty featured the sounds of explosions and gunfire, with civilians clashing with soldiers on stage at the very same time that Los Angeles was put under curfew after protesters battled with police over immigration raids by ICE for a sixth day following Trump’s call-up of Marines and National Guard troops to quell the protests. “Someone explain the plot to him,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X.
In March, Vice President J.D. Vance and wife Usha were booed when they attended a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra and the AP also noted that sales of subscription packages have reportedly declined since the Trump makeover. CNNalso reported that while some cheered and clapped for Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as they stood up at the end of the first act, one woman in the orchestra section below shouted, “Felon, you’re a convicted felon!” to the first U.S. president to take the office after being convicted of a felony. The women then added, “Convicted felon, rapist!” before a security guard seemed to escort her out; Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in 2023 in a suit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll and in 2024 was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
In addition, as the crowd awaited Trump’s return to his seat, another person reportedly yelled, “F–k Trump! to cheers, while a supportive patron responded with “We love you.” The president seemingly reacted to the comments by pumping his first three times — reminiscent of his response after an assassination attempt last year in Pennsylvania in which a gunman fired at the then-candidate and nicked his ear.
Check out the mixed reaction to Trump’s Kennedy Center attendance below.
At the Kennedy Center, half the theater just started clapping when a group of drag queens showed up to find their seats at opening night of Les Miserables, which Trump, Melania, Vance and their top allies have all come out to see. pic.twitter.com/1WJHsGL987— Shawn McCreesh (@ShawnMcCreesh) June 11, 2025
Atlanta rapper Silento, known for his 2015 chart-topper “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting his cousin dead in 2021.
Silento (Ricky Lamar Hawk) had been scheduled to stand trial this week over the death of his cousin Frederick Rooks. Instead, the 27-year-old rapper took a plea deal on Wednesday (June 11).
The rapper pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, gun possession and concealing a death but said he was mentally ill when the crimes were committed. The manslaughter charge was downgraded from a harsher malice murder count in his indictment, while Georgia prosecutors agreed to drop another felony murder charge.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson sentenced Silento to 30 years in prison following the plea. He’ll get credit for the four years he’s spent in jail since his 2021 arrest.
Prosecutors claim Silento shot his 34-year-old cousin Rooks multiple times in February 2021 and then fled the scene. Silento allegedly admitted to killing Rooks during a post-arrest interview with investigators, and prosecutors say bullet casings recovered from the scene matched a gun found on the rapper when he was apprehended.
A rep for Silento said when he was arrested in 2021 that the rapper had been “suffering immensely from a series of mental health illnesses.” He was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder in jail, according to court filings.
Silento’s lawyer did not return a request for comment on the guilty plea and sentence on Wednesday.
“Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” spawned a viral dance craze in 2015 and spent 51 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 3. In 2019, Billboard named the track one of the 100 Songs That Defined the Decade.
Silento faced a number of legal troubles after the success of “Watch Me.” In 2017, he was held in the United Arab Emirates over a business dispute with a local concert promoter, after which a court ordered him to pay 300,000 dirhams ($81,500) for failing to play two scheduled shows in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi.
In 2020, Silento was arrested twice in two days in California for domestic violence and for walking into a stranger’s home holding a hatchet. Later the same year, he was arrested again for driving 143 mph on Interstate 85 in Georgia.
All the Jewish groups that have traditionally participated in the San Diego Pride Festival have pulled out of this year’s event due to headliner Kehlani‘s vocal support for Palestine. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, eight organizations and synagogues issued a joint statement this week saying that their decision was due to “serious safety concerns” prompted by what they called the R&B singer’s “repeated amplification of violent antisemitic rhetoric.”
Among those pulling out of the event slated to take place on July 19-20 in San Diego’s Balboa Park — Kehlani is slated to perform on the first day of the fest — are the Jewish Federation of San Diego, Anti-Defamation League of San Diego and the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. In a statement released last week, the organizations said their decision came after “The Finest Community Coalition released a statement last month, signed by nearly three dozen Jewish organizations, urging San Diego Pride to reconsider giving Kehlani a platform. That appeal has thus far gone unanswered, and as a result, there will be no organized Jewish presence at San Diego Pride this year.”
In addition to those organizations, the Chronicle reported that festival’s current director of medical operations and her assistant director have stepped down from their volunteer roles. In response to the actions, San Diego Pride’s board of directors said in a statement that it does not endorse the political views of any of its performers.
“Each member of our community must make their own decision about attending this year’s events, but we hope everyone will come out as a sign of solidarity for our queer community,” read their statement. “We honor the value of artistic integrity, the importance of free expression and the role that artists play in shaping culture, challenging systems and amplifying voices while respecting each other’s differences.”
Kehlani has been hit by a series of boycotts and cancellations due to her pro-Palestinian comments throughout Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas following the militant group’s terror attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023, during which raiders killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. In the ensuing war, Israeli bombing and incursions into the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian-majority territories have resulted in the deaths of more than 55,000 Palestinians according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not make distinctions between military and civilian deaths.
In May, Kehlani’s Central Park Pride concert in New York was canceled under advisement from the city’s mayor. The festival announced that the Pride with Kehlani show slated for June 26 as part of New York’s SummerStage series of shows was called off after it was notified by Mayor Eric Adams’ office that “they have concerns for security and safety issues.” Kehlani responded to that cancelation with a “lol” on their Instagram Stories. The SummerStage cancelation came after Cornell University pulled the plug on a planned Kehlani appearance at the school’s annual Slope Day event on May 7 over her public support for Palestinians and what they deemed her “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.”
Kehlani responded the the Cornell cancelation with a statement on April 26 in which they said, “I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again, for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew. I am anti-genocide, I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I am anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that’s what I’m anti.”
The singer added, “In fact, the very first Live that I did in the beginning of this genocide was with a really beautiful Jewish organization called Jewish Voices for Peace, and I still continue to learn from and work alongside really impactful Jewish organizers against this genocide.”
Oakland native Kehlani was also slated to be a headliner at SoSF, a new San Francisco pride festival, but they announced last week that they had pulled out of that June 28 event. Kehlani’s 2024 “Next 2 U” video featured the phrase “long live the intifada,” a reference to the two violent uprisings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip aimed at ending Israel’s occupation of those territories. It also depicted the singer and their background dancers waving Palestinian flags and wearing suits made of traditional keffiyeh scarves. In a since-removed Instagram video last May, Kehlani called out their musical peers for not joining in and commenting on Israel’s war against Hamas, saying, “You can’t speak? Disgusting… It’s f–k Israel. It’s f–k Zionism. And it’s f–k a lot of ya’ll too.”
R. Kelly is asking to cut short his 30-plus-year sentence for racketeering, sexual abuse and child pornography based on strange new claims that jail officials tried to solicit a fellow inmate to kill him.
The disgraced R&B star made the eyebrow-raising allegations in a Tuesday (June 10) court filing asking to be released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C., where he’s serving multiple decades after being convicted in two separate criminal cases.
Kelly claims he’s no longer safe behind bars because prison officials are trying to have him killed to keep from revealing prosecutorial misconduct he recently uncovered — namely, that his pre-trial cellmate stole his attorney-client communications and shared these private messages with prosecutors.
According to the motion, prison officials tried to stop this damaging information from getting out by soliciting fellow inmate Mikeal Glenn Stine, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, to kill Kelly. Kelly’s lawyers say that while Stine ultimately did not go through with the alleged assignment, the threat still lingers.
“More A.B. members are accumulating at his facility,” reads the filing. “More than one has already been approached about carrying out his murder. One of them will surely do what Mr. Stine has not, thereby burying the truth about what happened in this case along with Robert Kelly.”
The motion includes signed declarations from both Stine and Kelly’s former cellmate. In a statement shared with Billboard, Kelly’s attorney, Beau Brindley, said, “The evidence we have before us demonstrates the weaponization of the D.O.J. to pursue a public figure through corrupt and criminal means.”
Brindley added that Kelly’s legal team is seeking clemency from President Donald Trump, saying Trump “is the only one with both the power and the courage” to curb such alleged prosecutorial corruption.
Prosecutors did not immediately return a request for comment on the motion, but they quickly filed papers of their own asking Judge Martha M. Pacold to strike Kelly’s filing, which contained the name of a child victim who was anonymized during his trial.
“Robert Kelly is a serial sexual predator,” wrote prosecutors. “He even documented his sexual abuse of children on film — creating child pornography — such that the abuse would live on in perpetuity. That abuse and harassment continues with defendant’s latest filing.”
Judge Pacold struck the motion as requested and ordered Kelly’s team to refile it with the victim’s name properly redacted. The judge set a hearing on the matter for Wednesday (June 11) in Chicago.
Kelly was convicted of a slew of sex crimes at two separate federal trials. A New York jury found him guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in 2021, and he was convicted of child pornography and enticing minors for sex in Chicago in 2022.
The former R&B star was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the New York conviction and 20 years in the Chicago case, although the vast majority of the second sentence will overlap with the first. Both convictions have been upheld on appeal.
Former Newsboys member Michael Tait, who abruptly left the Contemporary Christian Music group in January, is speaking out about allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use brought against him over the past week.
In a lengthy Instagram post titled “My Confession, Michael Tait, June 10, 2025,” the singer-songwriter — who was also a founding member of Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk — directly addressed the reports, writing, “Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true. For some two decades, I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way. I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it– sin. I don’t blame anyone or anything but myself. While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.”
Tait noted that following his departure from Newsboys, he spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah, saying, “I was not healthy, spiritually or physically, and was tired of leading a double life.” He said he has been “clean and sober” since his time at the center, though he adds, “I still have lots of hard work ahead of me.”
He wrote, “I’m ashamed to admit that for years I have lied and deceived my family, friends, fans and even misled my bandmates about aspects of my life. I was, for the most part, living two distinctly different lives. I was not the same person onstage Sunday night that I was at home on Monday. … By His grace I can say that for the past six months, I have lived a singular life, one of utter brokenness and total dependence on a loving and merciful God.”
He also said that he is “committed to continuing the hard work of repentance” and that he will be doing so “quietly and privately, away from the stage and spotlight.”
He wrote: “I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality the rest of my life. I can only dream and pray for human forgiveness, because I certainly don’t deserve it. … Still, I want to say I am sorry to everyone I have hurt. I am truly sorry. It is my hope and prayer that all those I have hurt will receive healing, mercy and hope from the Merciful Healer and Hope-Giver.”
Last week, The Roys Report published what it called the results of a two-and-a-half-year investigation into allegations against Tait. The report included accounts from three people who claimed that Tait groomed and sexually assaulted them while on tour or at Tait’s home; the accusers alleged that the incidents took place between 2004 and 2014, while the report claimed that other sources said Tait had also been involved in drug use.
Current Newsboys members responded to that report last week, encouraging victims to come forward and stating, “We are horrified, heartbroken and angry at this report and in many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the past fifteen years.”
Prior to his work with Newsboys, Tait was also known for his work as part of the groundbreaking CCM trio DC Talk from 1988 to 2001. Alongside fellow DC Talk members TobyMac and Kevin Max, Tait found success with songs such as “Jesus Freak” and the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Between You and Me.” Their 1995 album Jesus Freak rose to No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy for best rock gospel album.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
The 20-track Democracy Forward double album will feature songs from R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Wilco, Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and many more on a compilation focused on democracy, resilience and courage. The collection is a partnership between literary magazine The Bitter Southerner and national legal organization Democracy Forward.
“The work of Democracy Forward ensures that people and communities – that all of us – are heard and that our rights are protected,” said Skye Perryman, President & CEO of Democracy Forward in a statement about the collection that will be release on vinyl the week of July 3; pre-sales begin today here.
“At a time when so many communities across the nation are hurting and being targeted, music, art, and expression helps to bring people together in community, which creates the conditions for courage,” read the statement. “We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have dedicated their music to support the American people’s rights and our democracy during this consequential time. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice matters.”
Proceeds from the album will benefit Democracy Forward’s work, which includes free representation for people and communities in defense of their constitutional rights. Since the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, Democracy Forward said in the statement that it has been focused on “some of the most significant issues affecting people, families, and communities to confront anti-democratic extremism head-on. From stopping the federal funding freeze, to blocking the decimation of the Department of Education, to protecting religious liberty, to safeguarding due process, to stopping DOGE and Musk from taking Americans’ sensitive and personal data, and more – Democracy Forward has won court orders for people and is just getting started.”
The album will open with Stipe’s new original spoken word piece “Invocation.” The singer and activist said in a statement, “We believe in the importance of our democracy and also our ability to save it. The world is depending on us. This fight is not over. The day is not done.”
Since Democracy Forward’s formation in 2016, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has taken the Trump administration to court more than 100 times and worked with dozens of prominent groups to combat some of the administration’s actions by partnering with organizations including: Abortion Fund of Ohio, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Parks Conservation Association, Alliance For Justice, National Resources Defense Council, New York Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The album announcement comes as Trump is attempting to muscle through his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” a proposed tax and spending package that aims to permanently extend the president’s big tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest individuals, as well as make deep cuts to social programs including Medicaid and food aid and roll back a wide variety of environmental regulations and green energy initiatives in an effort to focus on climate-warming fossil fuels.
It also coincided with Trump’s provocative deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles on Monday (June 9) — without the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom — in order to quell demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city.
Check out the track list for Democracy Forward below.
Michael Stipe – “Invocation” (new)
Sierra Ferrell –“American Dreaming”
Wilco – “Cruel Country”
Tyler Childers – “Long Violent History”
Brandi Carlile – “Speak Your Mind”
Hurray for the Riff Raff – “Colossus of Roads”
Brittany Howard – “Another Day
Tunde Abebimpe – “People”
Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee – “Farewell Transmission”
Fruit Bats – “A Lingering Love”
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – “Something More Than Free” (Live from the ACL Live)
She Returns From War – “Ruthless”
John Prine – “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven” (Live at Fifth Peg Chicago)
S.G. Goodman – “Satellite”
Allison Russell (featuring Brandi Carlile) – “You’re Not Alone”
Langhorne Slim – “Life is Confusing”
Blue Mountain – “Jimmy Carter”
Danielle Ponder – “So Long”
Jim James – “Here in Spirit”
Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine – “No Time For Love Like Now”
Social media star Khaby Lame was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being apprehended by authorities on June 6. According to an ICE spokesperson, Lame was granted a “voluntary departure” and has left the United States. The viral TikTok sensation’s Instagram Story showed him in Brazil as of Monday (June 9). The […]
