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A Nigerian influencer has introduced a new term, “Christian BBL,” to explain a surgical procedure that she had, leaving many online confused.
According to Complex, the Internet was ablaze this week as Sophia Idahosa, known to her followers as Sophiology, posted a video to her YouTube channel to explain getting a surgical procedure that she referred to as a “Christian BBL.” In the 39-minute video, Idahosa explained the procedure to viewers beginning with her visit to Houston cosmetic surgeon Dr. Jung Money to get liposuction and a fat transfer to her hips. She then connected the procedure to her commitment to Christianity and addressed those making comments questioning her thinking behind this for being “judgmental” and “projecting their beliefs.”
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“I have never presented myself to be [a] holy, perfect example,” Idahosa said at the 6:30-minute mark of the video. “I’ve always vouched for the girls that love God and are not accepted by others.” The 29-year-old had been hit with comments calling out her behavior. Later in the video, she stated that “having surgery is one thing, but aftercare is everything.” In a separate video, she explained further saying: “I’m not personally that person. I’m here for anything that makes you look better, feel better, have more confidence and just enjoy your life.”
Her use of the “Christian BBL” phrase had many online perplexed and expressing as much in posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’ve been screaming at the idea of a Christian BBL for the last 13 hours,” wrote one user.
Others who commented jabbed her, with one YouTube commenter saying, “Leave religion out of it. You have the free will to be vain if that is what you want.” Another X user posted a meme featuring Blac Chyna (who has recently undergone surgery to reduce her butt and breasts) superimposed in front of a large cross, making fun of the term.
A Brazilian Butt Lift, or BBL, has become a common surgical procedure for women who want to be curvier, particularly around their hips. According to WebMD, there were 21,823 BBL surgeries done in the U.S. in 2020. That number dropped from 28,076 in 2019, but research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the decline. It’s also regarded as a dangerous procedure, as a report from the Aesthetic Surgery Journal noted that there were one to two fatalities for every 6,000 of those BBL surgeries, the highest such rate among cosmetic surgeries.
Demi Lovato and Clean Bandit‘s five-year-old duet “Solo” is the newest member of YouTube‘s Billion Views Club. The electronic dance track’s music video has been watched more than one billion times on the video platform since it was uploaded in May 2018. The wide-lens project finds Lovato, whose vocals are featured on the song, singing […]
YouTube has unveiled its Year on YouTube lists, including trending topics and songs that defined 2023. Remarkably — but not surprisingly — four Música Mexicana songs have entered the Top Songs (U.S.) list, further proving the genre’s dominance this year. No Latin urban or pop songs are part of the top 10. Driven by Shorts […]
Rihanna and Drake’s sultry “What’s My Name?” music video has officially reached one billion YouTube views, 13 years since its release in 2010. In the clip, the rumored ex-couple gets cozy in a convenience store, before cuddling up in a New York apartment, drinking wine, holding hands and even having a little pillow fight. RiRi […]
Two years after Foster the People‘s 2010 hit “Pumped Up Kicks” hit a billion streams on Spotify, the track is adding yet another milestone. “Pumped Up Kicks” has officially joined YouTube‘s Billion Views Club this week, more than 12 years after it was first shared to the platform.
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The video features the original Foster the People lineup — ark Foster, Mark Pontious and Jacob Fink — performing the track live with a small audience in attendance. The video also features footage of the trio recording the song, hanging out with each other around town and surfing in full-body wetsuits on an overcast day.
“Pumped Up Kicks” was released as the first single from the group’s debut album, Torches, in 2010. The track, which goes into the mind of a homicidal youth named Robert, is the group’s most successful song to date. It spent a total of 40 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2011 and peaked at No. 3 on the chart, earning the group a Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance.
The track, however, wasn’t without its controversy. Due to the song’s intense lyrics, MTV censored the lines “outrun my gun” and “run faster than my bullet” in the track while playing its video on air, and the song later would be banned on certain radio stations throughout the United States following the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Speaking about the track’s ties to such a tragic event, Foster told Billboard in a 2021 interview for Torches‘ 10th-anniversary reissue that the song is “always going to mark an ugly truth about our society,” loosely comparing it to “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and its associations with the Vietnam War.
“A few years ago, I was seriously considering not playing it again because I never want to be a vessel that spreads pain, or reminds people of something traumatic. But the song made me realize… if artists stopped talking about ugly societal truths, then that means all those ideas are left to incubate inside people’s heads,” he explained, referring to when he told Billboard in 2019 he considered pulling the song from live shows. “It’s important that artist voices aren’t censored. Music, comedy, film, storytelling and dance are all forms of art that help relieve the pressures of society. If we close off pathways for people to be exposed to dark ideas, then we’re in danger of having real life consequences where people act out in a physical way.”
Revisit “Pumped Up Kicks” in the video above.
The King of Pop reigns forever. Despite coming from a completely different era of media, Michael Jackson‘s seminal “Beat It” music video has become the latest clip to reach one billion views on YouTube, as confirmed by the streaming giant on Wednesday (Nov. 29). “Beat It” is Jackson’s third music video to enter the Billion […]
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The dynamic duo of Little Brother has a new documentary on their journey, and the premiere will take place on Black Friday.
On Monday (November 20), Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother announced that they would release their highly anticipated documentary, May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story on their YouTube channel. It will air on November 24, the day after Thanksgiving that’s been dubbed “Black Friday”. Fans were invited to subscribe to the group’s channel and to donate towards the film through the Southern Documentary Fund.
“The heart of the documentary lies in the unraveling and reconciliation between members Phonte and Big Pooh,” reads the press release that was issued. “Their relationship begins in the wake of their challenging upbringings in the South, strains while coming of age together in the music industry, and resolves with an enduring friendship, as the two men reunite and record their 2019 album, May the Lord Watch.” The documentary captures the two MCs on their journey after formerly operating as a trio with producer 9th Wonder, and it features exclusive footage from their tours and performances, interviews with the duo, and interviews with Questlove, DJ Drama, and many more.
“One of the things I’ve been hearing people talk about is how our music was either shared with them or they shared our music with someone else, sometimes even forming lifelong bonds,” Rapper Big Pooh said in a statement released with the announcement. May The Lord Watch has already received great feedback at screenings held in Atlanta, New York City, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles within the last two weeks before the announcement of the world premiere. “YouTube is the perfect intersection where all demographics meet,” he continued. “Having the ability to release our documentary via YouTube felt like the perfect way to share our story with Little Brother fans while leaving open the possibility of introducing ourselves to an entirely new group of potential fans.”
May The Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story premieres at 8 PM ET on Little Brother’s YouTube channel. Donations towards the film can be made at the Southern Documentary Fund’s website.
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The leaders in perhaps the largest known YouTube royalty scam in history, Jose “Chenel” Teran and Webster “Yenddi” Batista Fernandez, have been ordered to pay more than $3.3 million in restitution to their victims. The amount is just a fraction of the $23 million in total royalties the two fraudsters siphoned from mostly Latin music makers, including Don Omar, Julio Iglesias, Prince Royce and Anuel AA, from about 2016-2021.
In total, the duo’s company MediaMuv fraudulently claimed to be the rights holder of over 50,000 sound recording and composition copyrights. Proceeds from this scam were then used by Batista and Teran to fund their lavish lifestyles, including Lamborghinis, real estate, diamond-encrusted jewelry and other luxuries, until their indictment in November 2021. They were indicted on 30 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
The two will split the $3.3 million they are ordered to pay back to victims; one source explained that the money will be paid out slowly each month after their release from prison. Earlier this year, Teran was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and Batista was given four years.
The court is ordering Teran and Batista to pay just a small sampling of the many songwriters and artists who are owed royalties as a result of the scam. It stipulates that Regalias Digitales — a rights management firm that represents a number of the victims — is owed nearly $1.4 million, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — which also represents many of the victims — is owed more than $1.2 million, Jose Luis Perales is owed $153,000, Los Caminantes is owed more than $149,000, Nancy Ramirez is owed more than $100,000, Vagon Chicano is owed $98,000, Grupo Mandingo is owed $67,000, Grupo Ladron is owed almost $56,000, SPARX is owed $49,000, Don Omar is owed nearly $21,000, El Ojo is owed $15,000, INAMU — Argentina’s National Institute of Music — is owed $11,000 for its catalog of artists, Pappo is owed almost $2,000 and La Renga is owed over $700.
The latest court document reveals that Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny was also a victim of Teran and Batista’s false royalty claiming, which they conducted under the company name MediaMuv. The thieves stole $500 from the star, which they have been ordered to pay back.
Representatives for Regalias Digitales and the RIAA did not respond to Billboard’s requests for comment.
INAMU told Billboard it learned of Batista and Teran’s scam from its partners at AdRev, a digital rights management firm that is now part of Downtown Music. At the time, INAMU was working with AdRev to collect royalties on behalf of its catalog, and the organization subsequently got in touch with prosecutors. The Argentinian institute — which controls the rights to a recorded music catalog that includes Leon Giaco and Seru Giran — no longer works with AdRev.
AdRev was also a business partner of Teran and Batista. Over the course of the duo’s five-year scam, AdRev helped claim the duo’s royalties. To date, AdRev has not been accused of any wrongdoing by prosecutors, and Batista admitted to sending three falsified contracts with companies that “purportedly” managed artists to AdRev “for the purpose of deceiving [AdRev] into allowing [MediaMuv] to continue [its] fraudulent operation.” However, a previous Billboard investigation into the $23 million scam revealed that AdRev executives were warned of Teran and Batista’s suspicious ownership claims on many occasions but continued to work with MediaMuv despite those emails.
YouTube is launching an experimental feature Thursday (Nov. 16) that will create artificial intelligence-generated voices of well-known artists for use in clips on YouTube shorts. The initial selection of acts participating in the program includes Charlie Puth, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Demi Lovato, Troye Sivan, Charli XCX, Alec Benjamin and Papoose.
YouTube’s feature, called Dream Track, creates pieces of music — voice along with musical accompaniment — based on text prompts that are up to 30 seconds in length. For now, around 100 U.S.-based creators will have Dream Track access.
“At this initial phase, the experiment is designed to help explore how the technology could be used to create deeper connections between artists and creators, and ultimately, their fans,” according to a blog post from Lyor Cohen, global head of music, and Toni Reid, vp of emerging experiences and community.
The music industry has been wary of AI this year, but several prominent executives voiced their support for Dream Track. “In this dynamic and rapidly evolving market, artists gain most when together we engage with our technology partners to work towards an environment in which responsible AI can take root and grow,” Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “Only with active, constructive and deep engagement can we build a mutually successful future together.”
“YouTube is taking a collaborative approach with this Beta,” Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group, said in a statement of his own. “These artists are being offered the choice to lean in, and we’re pleased to experiment and find out what the creators come up with.”
YouTube emphasized that Dream Track is an experiment. The artists involved are “excited to help us shape the future,” Cohen said in an interview. “Being part of this experiment allows them to do it.” That also means that, for now, some of the underlying details — how is the AI tech trained? how might this feature be monetized at scale? — remain fuzzy.
While the lawyers figure all that out, the artists involved in Dream Track sounded enthusiastic. Demi Lovato: “I am open minded and hopeful that this experiment with Google and YouTube will be a positive and enlightening experience.” John Legend: “I am happy to have a seat at the table, and I look forward to seeing what the creators dream up during this period.” Sia: “I can’t wait to hear what kinds of recipes all you creators out there come up with.”
While YouTube’s AI-generated voices are likely to get the most attention, the platform also announced the release of new AI music tools. These build on lessons learned from the “AI Music Incubator” the platform announced in August, according to Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google Deepmind. Through that program, “some of the world’s most famous musicians have given feedback on what they would like to see, and we’ve been inspired by that to build out the technology and the tools in certain ways so that it would be useful for them,” Hassabis explained in an interview.
He ticked off a handful of examples: An artist can hum something and AI-powered technology will create an instrumental based on the tune; a songwriter can pen two musical phrases on their own and rely on the tools to help craft a transition between them; a singer can come in with a fully fledged vocal melody and ask the tech to come up with musical accompaniment.
Finally, YouTube is rolling out another feature called SynthID, which will watermark any of the AI-generated audio it produces so it can be identified as such. Earlier this week, the platform announced that it would provide labels and others music rights holders the ability “to request the removal of AI-generated music content that mimics an artist’s unique singing or rapping voice.”
YouTube will introduce the ability for labels and others music rights holders “to request the removal of AI-generated music content that mimics an artist’s unique singing or rapping voice,” according to a blog post published on Tuesday (Nov. 14).
Access to the request system will initially be limited: “These removal requests will be available to labels or distributors who represent artists participating in YouTube’s early AI music experiments.” However, the blog, written by vice presidents of of product management Jennifer Flannery O’Connor and Emily Moxley, noted that YouTube will “continue to expand access to additional labels and distributors over the coming months.”
This marks the latest step by YouTube to try to assuage music industry fears about new AI-powered technologies — and also position itself as a leader in the space.
In August, YouTube published its “principles for partnering with the music industry on AI technology.” Chief among them: “it must include appropriate protections and unlock opportunities for music partners who decide to participate,” wrote CEO Neil Mohan.
YouTube also partnered with a slew of artists from Universal Music Group on an “AI music incubator.” “Artists must play a central role in helping to shape the future of this technology,” the Colombian star Juanes said in a statement at the time. “I’m looking forward to working with Google and YouTube… to assure that AI develops responsibly as a tool to empower artists.”
In September, at the annual Made on YouTube event, the company announced a new suite of AI-powered video and audio tools for creators. Creators can type in an idea for a backdrop, for example, and a new feature dubbed “Dream Screen” will generate it for them. Similarly, AI can assist creators in finding the right songs for their videos.
In addition to giving labels the ability to request the takedown of unauthorized imitations, YouTube promised on Tuesday to roll out enhanced labels so that viewers know they are interacting with content that “is synthetic”: “We’ll require creators to disclose when they’ve created altered or synthetic content that is realistic, including using AI tools.”
TikTok announced a similar feature in September. Of course, self disclosure has its limits — especially as it is already reported that many creators experiment with AI without admitting it.
According to YouTube, “creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information may be subject to content removal, suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, or other penalties.”