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9th Wonder Wants To Hear Latto Over A Biggie-Style Beat: ‘[She] Can Rap’
9th Wonder seems to have an eye for hidden talent as he believes that Latto has yet to reach her full potential given her skills as a rapper.
Hard Driver – Backstabbers (Envy) [Official Hardstyle Clip]
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AMN Reviews: Kraanerg – Heart of a Cherry Pit Sun (2024; Not Music)
It takes a certain level of hubris to name your avant-rock band after a well-known Xenakis work for orchestra and tape. Despite inviting this comparison, Kraanerg the band follows Xenakis more in spirit than actual sound. Also for disambiguation purposes, this is the Houston-based Kraanerg and not the Boston-based avant-metal band of the same name. […]
Victoria & David Beckham Recreate Purple Wedding Outfits to Mark 25th Anniversary
David and Victoria Beckham are taking a trip down memory lane in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary.
In a joint Instagram post on Wednesday (July 3), the famous couple shared photos of themselves wearing what appears to be the same all-purple outfits they donned at their wedding reception on July 4, 1999.
“Look what we found…,” the Beckhams captioned a current photo of themselves seated in throne-style chairs and holding hands.
The former Spice Girls member, 50, and retired soccer star, 49, tied the knot during a lavish wedding in 1999 at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin, Ireland. Their iconic purple outfits were designed by Antonio Berardi.
In a second Instagram post, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham shared a gallery featuring several more photos of the pair sporting the matching amethyst duds.
“Yep, still got it! Can’t believe it’s been 25 years and they still fit!” she wrote. “We love you so much @BrooklynPeltzBeckham @RomeoBeckham @CruzBeckham #HarperSeven”
The Beckhams share four kids. Their oldest child Brooklyn arrived in March 1999, with son Romeo coming along in September 2002. They welcomed son Cruz in 2005, followed by daughter Harper in 2011.
The pop star and model also shared a handful of past and present visuals on her Instagram Story, including a comical video of her husband struggling to fit in his purple trousers.
The anniversary photos arrives after the beauty and clothing mogul celebrated her 50th birthday in March with a grand party, which was attended by former bandmates Mel B, Melanie C, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell. At one point, the quintet danced along to their 1997 hit “Stop,” a rare reunion captured by David in an Instagram video.
“Best night ever!” Victoria wrote at the time, also sharing the clip on social media. “Happy Birthday to me! I love you all so much!”
See the Beckham’s 25th anniversary post on Instagram here and here.
Kodak Black No Longer Performing ‘Super Gremlin’ After Getting Clean: ‘I Hate That [Song]’
Kodak Black has spoken about his new relationship with his single ‘Super Gremlin,’ admitting that he ‘hates’ the song after getting sober and won’t perform it.
Former porn actress accuses Diddy of sex trafficking
A former porn actress has filed a lawsuit accusing Diddy of sex trafficking.
Adria English alleged that Diddy, real name Sean Combs, forced her to have sex with a guest at a party in 2007, and claimed that the rap mogul also demanded that she have sex with guests at other parties he held in New York and Florida.
In her lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday (July 3), it was alleged that he threatened to wreck both her career and the career of her boyfriend if she didn’t agree to have sex.
According to the Los Angeles Times, English’s 114-page lawsuit makes over 30 allegations, including against the man she was allegedly forced to have sex with, as well as a woman who it is claimed facilitated the sex trafficking.
Combs’ lawyer said in a statement to TMZ: “No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won’t change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone.
“We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof.
“Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth and Mr Combs is confident he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court.”
Sources told NBC News that, last week, federal authorities informed Combs’ legal team that he’s the subject in a criminal investigation. However, it’s not been reported what the criminal investigation relates to specifically.
Diddy performing in 2012. CREDIT: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment
Combs is currently facing a number of lawsuits that have been filed over the last year, with the latest claims following a video shared in May that saw him appear to attack his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie. Following the video going viral online, Howard University stripped Diddy of his honorary degree.
In November, Cassie filed a lawsuit against him on allegations of physical and sexual abuse, which Diddy denied. They then settled the lawsuit “to mutual satisfaction” a day after it was filed.
Meanwhile, the mother of late rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. – who worked closely with Diddy throughout his career – said in May that she wanted to “slap the daylights” out of him.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
The post Former porn actress accuses Diddy of sex trafficking appeared first on NME.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sued by Woman Alleging Mogul Sex Trafficked Her at His White Parties
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a new lawsuit by exotic dancer Adria English, who claims she was a victim of sex trafficking orchestrated in the 2000s by the Bad Boy mogul and others she named in a sprawling complaint filed Wednesday (July 3) in New York federal court.
According to the lawsuit, filed by attorneys Ariel Mitchell-Kidd and Steven Metcalf, English was a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of Combs along with his fellow defendants Tamiko Thomas, who was allegedly an employee of Bad Boy Entertainment at the time, and a man named Jacob Arabov (a.k.a. Jacob The Jeweler). She alleges that the trio was “aided and abetted” by several companies also named as defendants in the complaint, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Global Enterprises, Sean John Holdings, VIBE magazine and its current parent company, Penske Media Corporation (PMC). (PMC did not own VIBE when the alleged events occurred.)
Notably, the complaint alleges that the actions of all defendants amounted to a violation of federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) laws, which have historically been used to target the mafia, drug cartels and other organized crime rings (a similar state-level law in Georgia has formed the basis of prosecutors’ case against rapper Young Thug, whom they allege leads a violent Atlanta street gang known as Young Slime Life). These types of racketeering laws make it easier for prosecutors to sweep up members of alleged criminal enterprises based on many individual actions.
English claims she first came into contact with Combs in 2004 — when she says she was working as a dancer at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club in Manhattan — after accompanying her then-boyfriend, model Anthony Gallo, to an audition for a Sean John modeling campaign. While at the audition, she says Gallo and another model were asked to perform fellatio on Combs as a condition of booking the job. After Gallo refused, she claims he was later told he could book the campaign if he commanded English to work as a go-go dancer at Combs’ Labor Day White Party in the Hamptons, N.Y. “In an effort to assist Mr. Gallo’s desire to become a model, Plaintiff agreed to what she believed to be legitimate employment,” the complaint reads.
While working the event, English says she was instructed to give lap dances and be “sexually flirtatious” with guests and “forced to consume liquor and illicit narcotics,” including bottles she claims were laced with ecstasy. She alleges she was subsequently invited to perform at additional White Parties, where Combs and Thomas — whom she compares to Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein — eventually “groomed” her into sex trafficking.
By her third White Party, English claims that Combs and Thomas demanded she partake in sexual intercourse with guests, using knowledge of her past work in adult films “to coerce” her into doing so. This activity, she claims, continued through 2009 at White Parties thrown at Combs’ Hampton and Miami residences.
One of the men English says she was forced to have sexual intercourse with during this period was Jacob Arabov (Jacob The Jeweler) at the behest of Combs, as she feared she could lose her job along with her boyfriend’s future modeling opportunities. “Plaintiff, fearing not only her safety, but her and her then-boyfriend’s job security, did as instruct and went with Defendant Jacob where she engaged in forced sexual intercourse with Defendant Jacob at the demand and behest of Defendant Combs,” the complaint reads.
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English further alleges that Combs kept hidden cameras in every room of his Hamptons and Miami homes and believes her sexual assaults were caught on tape, including when she was “unconscious.”
During this period, English also alleges that VIBE magazine published an image of her in a November 2006 story about Combs’ White Parties without her consent, claiming its use violates her “rights to privacy via misappropriation.” She claims she “did not discover the infringing use” until April 2024. She further accuses VIBE and parent company PMC of “intentionally and falsely marketing and promoting” Combs’ White Parties “as a high-profile networking and social event in an effort to disguise and deceive the real intent of the event…and to further the goals of the Defendants illegal and criminal Enterprise.”
English says she continued putting up with Combs’ demands in part due to promises that he would help her break into the music business by putting her in an all-female music group. She says she finally detached herself from Combs when she returned to California in 2009, at which point she claims she suffered from deep depression and anxiety in response to the past trauma of being assaulted and trafficked, along with her unraveling career.
According to the lawsuit, English’s victimization at the hands of Combs and his alleged co-conspirators has led her to suffer continued “extreme emotional distress” that has impacted every aspect of her personal life.
In a statement sent to Billboard, Combs’ attorney Jonathan Davis said, “No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court.”
Billboard reached out to Thomas and Arabov for comment but had not heard back by press time. PMC declined to comment.
This is the 10th sexual misconduct lawsuit to be filed against Combs since his ex-girlfriend, pop star Cassie, made waves with her sexual abuse suit against the mogul in November, which was settled less than 24 hours later. He has vehemently denied all cases against him. Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles homes were raided by federal agents in March, though no arrests were made.
In May, disturbing footage obtained by CNN showed Combs abusing Cassie in an elevator bank at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. Soon after the footage came out, Combs apologized for his actions, which he says he was “disgusted” by.
“I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses,” he said in the since-deleted Instagram clip. “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”
In the wake of the allegations, the fallout for Combs has continued to reverberate. Last month, his media company Revolt announced employees would become the company’s largest shareholders after Combs reportedly sold his stake to an anonymous buyer. Also in June, Combs’ Miami Day honor was revoked and Howard University withdrew an honorary degree it bestowed upon him.
Editor’s Note: PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
Sara Dufour – Semi-route Semi-trail | Canada Day 2024
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Essentials: The Top 10 Elvis Costello Americana Songs
Many of you will be used to seeing Elvis Costello watching the detectives, refusing to go to Chelsea or joining Oliver’s Army but in 1981 Costello released the album ‘Almost Blue’, an album of country music, which displayed the intent for Costello to leave his new wave, angry young man image behind and move onto other genres. Over the next four decades, Costello produced some of the most engaging and lyrically inspiring Americana music and worked with many revered musicians and singers. That is not to say he forgot his roots, returning often for some raucous rock’n’roll when the mood took him. Americana music influenced Costello throughout his career. His 1980 album ‘Get Happy’ was his Motown and Stax album. Costello’s first release ‘My Aim is True’ hints at his love for American-influenced music. The 2001 Demon Records release of the album featured an outtake of ‘Stranger in the House’ played in a country style which Costello recorded with George Jones for Jones’s album ‘My Very Special Guests’ along with versions of others as honky-tonk demos. There is so much to choose from when it comes to this Top Ten and it sparked memories of the old songs; if we had listened carefully we would have known what was to come. Listen to ‘Radio Sweetheart’, try ‘Shot With His Own Gun’ and of course the previously mentioned ‘Stranger in the House’. Costello played the songs of Hank Williams during his folk club days as Declan MacManus and there is the infamous story where he was asked to remove ‘The Best Of George Jones’ cassette from the tour bus on the ‘Live Stiffs 1977 tour‘ in case it confused the guest music journalists.
Number 10: ‘Good Year For The Roses’ (1981)
Taken from the album ‘Almost Blue’ Costello donned the bootlace tie and got down to work with legendary producer Billy Sherrill who had worked previously with Charlie Rich, Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill was frustrated and bemused by Costello’s song choices for the album and there was tension in the studio., Despite that ‘Good Year For The Roses’ was to give Costello his first Top 10 hit for 18 months. Written by Jerry Chestnut and originally cut by George Jones, Costello and the band faithfully take us through this classic break-up song that perfectly suits Costello’s voice.
Number 9: ‘Farewell OK’ (2022)
Fast forward 41 years and that old riotous Costello is back with the opening track from the album ‘The Boy Named If’. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for ‘Best Rock Album’ at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. Outlaw country-like guitar drives the beginning with Costello spitting out the vocals like he was in his twenties again. It felt right to include a track that covered Costello’s old self in a new light and sprang out of the speakers grabbing the listener by the ears. “Ran my hand in the rhythm along the ballroom wall, Felt the rumble of the bass through the entrance hall”; the old adage ‘Play loud’.
Number 8: ‘Suit of Lights’ (1986)
The classic ‘King of America’ album could easily have provided the full Top Ten, but some restraint had to be shown. ‘Suit of Lights’ is the only track on ‘King of America’ played totally by Costello’s original band, the Attractions. Lyrically it has been said that it is about his father performing in working men’s clubs, giving it his all, to be ignored by the patrons only there for the beer. We have all been to those venues where the clink of glasses, laughter and conversations from less interested patrons drown out the poor artists doing their best on stage. “And I thought I heard “The Working Man’s Blues”, He went to work that night and wasted his breath.” Equally, the lyrics would work for Elvis Presley and the Vegas years. Arguably Colonel Parker driving his main source of income into the ground but in his ‘jump’ suit of lights.
Number 7: ‘Complicated Shadows’ (2009)
Written originally for Johnny Cash, Costello released two versions of the song: the ‘Secret, Profane & Sugarcane’ one is chosen here. The other appears on the 1996 album ‘All This Useless Beauty”. This was a truer representation of how Costello originally envisaged the song sounding as this takes a country twist rather than the 1996 rock version. Lyrically about murder and redemption, produced by T-Bone Burnett, this version is played acoustically with Jerry Douglas on dobro. Cash never did record it. Strangely enough, he did record the track ‘Hidden Shame’ for his 1990 album ‘Boom Chicka Boom’, which is also on ‘Secret, Profane & Sugarcane.” Costello dusted off the song and recorded his version. ‘Complicated Shadows’ was always a favourite of mine
The slow-build guitar ends in a swashbuckling country riff as Costello sings “You can say just what you like in a voice like a John Ford film, Take the law into your hands, You will soon get tired of killing, In those complicated shadows.”
Number 6: ‘National Ransom’ (2010)
Politics is never more than an ‘F’ beat away in Costello’s work and ‘National Ransom’ written in the wake of another world monetary collapse and recession is a biting comment on how we are all left carrying the can for the people we entrust to lead us responsibly. As the liner notes say “1929 to Present Day” it’s been going on far too long. Lyrically hitting home with the lines “They’re running wild, Just like some childish tantrum, Meanwhile, we’re working every day, Paying off the National Ransom.” Opening the album in style Costello is joined by Jerry Douglas again, this time on lap steel, T-Bone Burnett on reverse piano and Buddy Miller adding vocal harmonies. All in all, it is a riotous attack on those in charge.
Number 5: ‘Either Side of The Same Town’ (2004)
‘The Delivery Man’ album landed in 2004 and features the Imposters throughout with guest vocalist, AUK favourite Lucinda Williams featuring on one track and Emmylou Harris on others. This is Costello’s country-soul record and this track delivers. The album was originally conceived as a concept album about a love triangle between Geraldine, Vivian and the delivery man. Harris plays the part of Geraldine and Williams plays Vivian. The idea was diluted along the way, however enough remained for the story to remain intact. ‘Either Side Of The Same Town’ is a country ballad with Steve Nieve’s piano to the front picking out a beautiful melody. “Now it’s hard to keep ignoring, Someone you recognise, And if I seem contented, It’s only my disguise.” There is a ‘Live In Memphis’ DVD out there, and if you can find a copy it is well worth hunting down. The set list recorded at the ‘Hi-Tone Café’ in Memphis includes an excellent rendition of ‘Either Side Of The Same Town’ and Emmylou Harris joins Costello on stage for a good portion of the set.
Number 4: ‘The Scarlet Tide’ (2004)
Sometimes the simpler something is, the more impact it has. Joined by Emmylou Harris for this version of the song Costello wrote for the film ‘Cold Mountain’ this final track from ‘The Delivery Man’ captures the song in an Appalachian, rural sense. Alison Krauss recorded the version for the film with a soft brooding piano accompaniment. Costello uses just a ukulele and voice. It may remind you of ‘Smiling Shore’ by June Tabor. Costello is a Tabor fan and used to include the song in his solo outings. ‘The Scarlet Tide’ perfectly captures the futility of war. Co-written with T-Bone Burnett who always said it was an anti-fear song. Joan Baez later recorded her version for her 2008 album ‘Day After Tomorrow’.
Number 3: ‘Country Darkness’ (2004)
More from “The Delivery Man” for which there are no apologies. Joined by former Doobie Brother, John McFee, on pedal steel guitar this track oozes class. Another country ballad, full of intrigue, opens with the lines “This tattered document, A mystery you can solve, Some burnt out filament, Flies buzzing around the bulb”. Costello is almost pleading as McPhee’s pedal steel cries in the background.
Number 2: ‘I Still Have That Other Girl’ (1998)
What could be more American than Burt Bacharach. Costello often covered ‘ I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself’ in his live shows many years before the collaboration. Rather than just releasing an album of previous classics, ‘as we all know where that leads’, Costello worked with Bacharach and released twelve original songs. It was a difficult choice as at least one deserved ‘Top Ten’ billing. They all exude a certain quality and you could argue why not ‘Toledo’, why skip ‘This House is Empty Now’ and it is not an easy decision. “Despite the temptation, I try to be very strong, In my reluctance it seems a surprise, It’s not that I don’t want you, But I just, Know I must hesitate Because I still have that other girl in my head” Powerful and brilliantly orchestrated. There is the feeling of nostalgia, lost love and regret throughout. Lyrically you could spin this around and say it captures a person on the precipice of an affair and the other girl is the reason to back off. Either way the song displays an emotional depth and the rise and fall of the music could be synonymous with a person’s feelings at the start of a new relationship or the end of an old one.
Number 1: ‘American Without Tears’ (1986)
That brooding cover, Costello wearing a crown along with his John Lennon-like glasses. No title, no band name. In 1984 Costello released ‘Goodbye Cruel World’. It came at the end of his 10-year marriage, financial woes and the end of Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley the album was possibly too slick. The band toured with the album and then Costello went solo. It was for these solo outings that he teamed up with T-Bone Burnett. Things were beginning to change, and mid-set Burnett and Costello got together as ‘The Coward Brothers’ to sing duets of ‘I’m Ragged But Right’, ‘Baby’s in Black’, ‘She Thinks I Still Care ‘ and ‘The People’s Limousine’ which was later released as a single. Costello (Howard Coward) was jovial, joking with Burnett (Henry Coward) and having a great time. A definitive moment for Costello, cumulating in the release of ‘King Of America’ in 1986 with T-Bone Burnett at the production desk. They would work an write together for many years to come.
The album artist was splendidly billed as ‘The Costello Show’ and was arguably tremendous from the off. Turn over the vinyl, remember it was 1986, and the opening guitar strums of the chosen number one begins, taking you into ostensibly another time but really into emotions, relationships and failed romance.
The G.I. bride angle is only one of the intricate emotions experienced in the song when love fades and you end up with a big reality check. Real life takes over rather than the fairytale. “In Revlon and Crimplene, they captured my heart, To the strain of a piano and a cocktail murderess, She was singing that, ‘It’s Too Late’, I agreed with that part, For two English girls who had changed their address’.
The lyrics indicate we have moved on over 25 years since the war as Carole King sings ‘It’s Too Late’. Poignant, emotional and brilliant listen after listen.
“Now it seems we’ve been crying for years and for years, Now we don’t speak any English, Just American without Tears.”