Pop experimentalist Empress Of has her sophomore album on the way, and from the sounds of its first single, the effervescent “When I’m With Him,” it sounds like it will be her most straightforward effort to date. The song, which has the dusty, throwback appeal of a Dev Hynes production …
Read More »Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Distances Himself From Eminem's 'Fall'
Eminem‘sKamikaze, the album he unexpectedly released Thursday night, was designed to sow controversy. Its most incendiary track is likely “Fall,” which features open disses towards a host of Eminem’s perceived foes, from hip-hop commentators Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks to Tyler, the Creator, who Eminem calls a “faggot” on the …
Read More »Hear Everlast's Heartbreaking New Ballad 'It Ain't Easy'
Country-fried hip-hop/alt-rock troubadour Everlast returns next month with his first album of original songs since 2011, Whitey Ford’s House of Pain. The latest single, the chiming, heartbroken folk ballad “It Ain’t Easy” was written during a time of turmoil for the “What It’s Like” songwriter. “My oldest daughter was born …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Luke James, 'These Arms'
Louisiana-born crooner Luke James has appeared on a slew of great singles this year thanks to his star turn in the soapy Empire spinoff Star; he joined the cast in season two as comeback-trail-riding bad boy Noah Brooks, whose trip back to the top of R&B’s heap caused chaos even …
Read More »Hospitalized Girl That Drake Visited Receives Heart Transplant
Sofia Sanchez, the 11-year-old girl who Drake visited last week at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, received a heart transplant on Monday, the Associated Press reports. The rapper visited Sanchez after she appeared in a video dancing to Drake’s “In My Feelings.” Surgeons operated on Sanchez for nine hours. Cardiovascular surgeon …
Read More »Watch Steven Van Zandt, Richie Sambora Team Up on Marvin Gaye's 'Can I Get A Witness'
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora joins Steven Van Zandt for a rollicking rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Can I Get a Witness” in the first clip from the new Blu-ray version of Van Zandt’sSoulfire Live!The concert video is expected to arrive later this year with a seven-LP vinyl box set. Van …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Esnavi, 'The Way'
Radio’s reluctance to take a chance on unknown, independent acts is almost cliche at this point: The airwaves are dominated by a few major-label records that are played into the ground. But along comes Esnavi, whose independently-released “The Way” is getting played by two brave R&B stations, WBLS in New …
Read More »Annie Lennox on Aretha Franklin: 'Her Voice Will Soar Forever'
Eurythmics singer-songwriter Annie Lennox released a statement Thursday honoring the life of Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday at age 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Both lifelong champions of women’s rights, Lennox sang beside Franklin on their 1985 duet, “Sisters Are Doin’ it for Themselves.” The song featured on …
Read More »Nicki Minaj Freestyled 90-Percent of 'Barbie Dreams' in One Take
Last Monday, Aubry “Big Juice” Delaine went into the studio for a marathon recording session with Nicki Minaj. He didn’t leave again until Thursday night, when they had finally completed the rapper’s new Queen album, which hit streaming services Friday around noon. Delaine has served as Minaj’s go-to recording engineer …
Read More »Flashback: Elvis Presley's 'Aloha From Hawaii' Marks His Final Truly Great Moment
Elvis Presley stayed on the road until the end of his life, playing his final show at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana less than two months before his death on August 16th, 1977. But with a handful of exceptions, the gigs he played in his last years were …
Read More »