Month: August 2022

Latto continues to speak out against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The “Big Energy” rapper has joined forces with Planned Parenthood for a public service announcement urging people to join the fight for abortion rights and access.

“We already know who’s going to be hurt the most by these ridiculous abortion bans: Black women, Brown women, the LGBTQ+ community, and communities with low incomes,” Latto said in a statement. “Because of this country’s history of racism and discrimination, these folks already have a hard time getting the health care they need. We all deserve to be safe and it’s every person’s right to make decisions about their own bodies.”

She concluded, “As an artist, I want to use my platform to let these politicians know: My body is for no one to control, but me.”

The 30-second PSA arrives ahead of Sunday’s 2022 MTV Video Music Award, where the Atlanta rapper is nominated for four awards, including the video for good award for her new track “P*ssy,” a hard-hitting feminist anthem in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

This isn’t Latto’s first time advocating for women’s reproductive rights. Earlier this summer, the hip-hop artist spoke with Billboard about how to take action following the Supreme Court’s latest ruling.

“To be a woman in this industry is hard. And to be a woman right now in general is scary,” Latto told Billboard. “It’s a human right to control your own body. This is not just one person or group’s fight; we should all be shouting how unjust this is and supporting the right for someone to decide what happens to their body. I want to see men supporting by protesting alongside women and voting for candidates that push forward our right of choice.

She added, “We will continue to fight the fight for what’s right. Do your research on candidates, their policies and what they stand for. Every election, local or national, counts. Tune into the debates, show up and vote, set reminders for your local elections, and let your friends know. I’ll do my part to use my platform to remind my fans in Atlanta when to turn out to vote. The time to act is now.”

Watch Latto’s Planned Parenthood PSA below.

Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported.

The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late Thursday (Aug. 25). She was then taken to a prison pending trial.

The arrest sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate support from his religious and conservative ahead of elections in 10 months.

The charges were based on a joke Gulsen made during an April concert in Istanbul, where she quipped that one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from attending a religious school. A video of the singer’s comment began circulating on social media recently, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.

Gulsen — who previously became a target in Islamic circles due to her revealing stage outfits and for unfurling an LGBTQ flag at a concert — apologized for the offense the joke caused but said her comments were seized on by those wanting to deepen polarization in the country.

During her questioning by court authorities, Gulsen rejected accusations that she incited hatred and enmity, and said she had “endless respect for the values and sensitivities of my country,” the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Her request to be released from custody pending the outcome of a trial was rejected.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, called on Turkey’s judges and prosecutors to release Gulsen.

“Don’t betray the law and justice; release the artist now!” he wrote on Twitter.

The spokesman for Erdogan’s Justice and Development party, known by its Turkish acronym AKP, appeared however, to defend the decision to arrest the singer, saying “inciting hatred is not an art form.”

“Targeting a segment of society with the allegation of “perversion” and trying to polarize Turkey is a hate crime and a disgrace to humanity,” AKP spokesman Omer Celik tweeted.

Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools, which were originally established to train imams. The number of religious schools in Turkey has increased under Erdogan, who has promised to raise a “pious generation.”

Wiz Khalifa cut short a concert in suburban Indianapolis as people began fleeing the outdoor venue, leaving three with minor injuries, following a disturbance, police said.

People started exiting the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville about 10:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 26) after a reported disturbance on part of the amphitheater’s lawn, with some of them shouting about a possible shooting, The Indianapolis Star reported.

Police said in a news release early Saturday that no weapon was found following a sweep of the area at the venue about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Indianapolis.

The disturbance happened about 45 minutes into Wiz Khalifa’s show that was part of the Vinyl Verse co-headlining tour with fellow rapper Logic, according to The Indianapolis Star. The music stopped and Wiz Khalifa and his band left the stage immediately.

Three people reported minor injuries and were taken to hospitals for treatment after concertgoers “self-evacuated” the amphitheater, where all exits were opened in accordance with the venue’s emergency procedures, police said.

In a parking lot outside, some audience members were making cellphone calls as others wept and held each other, the newspaper reported.

A message seeking comment from Live Nation, the concert promotion company that owns and operates Ruoff, was left Saturday by The Associated Press.

Police did not immediately reply to a message seeking details on the nature of Friday’s disturbance.

After first entering the music scene in 2014 with his K-pop boy band GOT7, Mark Tuan has finally released his first full solo project with his introspective album The Other Side.

While Mark was one of the designated rappers in GOT7, the Los Angeles native gets the chance to showcase his true range across the 20-song project. Tuan boasts songwriting and composition credits across every track with most songs spotlighting Mark’s singing abilities front and center. While five vocal-focused singles previewed the album through the past nine months — “last breath,” “my life,” “lonely,” “save me,” and “imysm” — The Other Side also sees Mark return to the rap tracks fans first heard during his time with GOT7 on braggadocio-heavy cuts like “my name” and LP standout “change up.”

Beyond musical elements, the most striking part of The Other Side is the raw introspections the star shares. Through his lyrics, he explores the topics of self-doubt (“hard 2 love”), toxic friendships (“exhausted”), unfaithfulness (“broken”) and the pressure to be perfect (“only human”). The album’s straightforward, lo-fi production also better shines the light on these challenging topics.

While not explicitly clear, Mark also describes what appear to be all-too-relatable mental health struggles like when he sings, “I sink down way into the floor/ You pull me up, but I’m too far…I’ve never been this low” on “at my low.” Another striking lyric comes in “I’ll just get f-cked up instead, it’s easier this way/ I found a way to escape the evil thoughts inside my head” on “lonely.”

The Other Side was released along with the music video for album closer “far away,” a kiss-off track where Mark finally rids himself of a toxic lover. The song is told through a melancholy music video, reminiscing back at the tender moments and photographs from the relationship: “I gave you one last chance, and you f-cked it up/ Now you’re far away / And I hope, that you know, that it’s where you’ll stay.”

While The Other Side is entirely a project created and crafted by Mark and his DNA Official team, GOT7 is also showing support. Fellow GOT7 member BamBam shared a photo of his signed copy of The Other Side, writing, “me and IGOT7s will always support what you do bro,” referencing the group’s devoted fanbase.

Watch “far away” music video below:

Another Friday, another busy release day in the Latin music space.

This week, CNCO dropped their latest album, XOXO, which will be the very last album for the boy band, who in July announced they were splitting. This album is special because it’s one of their last projects together. The group is disbanding after nearly seven years together. “We always thought that if we split, it had to be natural, and that’s how it happened,” the band previously told Billboard. “We’ve lived many things together, and grew together in this industry, and we’re ready to try new things to expand our careers. We’re very excited.”

The red-headed Karol G is also back with a new single, “Gatubela” in collaboration with Maldy. Produced by DJ MAFF, the song is an old-school reggaeton track laced with infectious perreo beats. In the lyrics, Karol is fiery and unapologetic, singing: “I’m not with anyone but I’m hooked/ I’m elevated, I feel like a Catwoman/ It feels good when he moves my panty to the side/ It feels good when you kiss me down there.”

Meanwhile, Steve Aoki released a collaboration that has been in the works since the pre-COVID times. Titled “Ultimate,” the track features Mexican rappers Santa Fe Klan and Snow Tha Product and is a fusion of sounds (cumbia to rap and EDM). Santa Fe and Snow, representing Mexican rap culture, join Aoki in this trap-heavy song powered by an infectious head-bobbing reggaeton beat that will be part of his upcoming album HiROQUEST: Genesis, which is expected to drop in September.

Which is your favorite new Latin music release of the week? Vote below!

After months of speculation, NCT 127 is finally making their post-pandemic return to the U.S. this year for two dates in their ongoing world tour.

The K-pop boy band announced plans to play shows on both coasts in the U.S. this year. First up, hitting Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 6, followed by an Oct. 13 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The two dates come as part of NCT 127’s “The Link” world tour, first announced in November 2021 and officially kicking off with a three-date run in the Seoul Sky Dome. The trek has also visited Tokyo, Singapore and Manila with a press release sharing that Latin American dates will be announced soon.

The timing of the shows comes just after the Sept. 15 release of NCT 127’s upcoming album 2 Baddies, which the group announced and began teasing with new visuals and videos earlier this month. 2 Baddies follows up NCT 127’s Sticker album from 2021 that peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spent 17 weeks on the chart.

While speaking about his first solo single “Forever Only” released earlier this month, NCT 127 member Jaehyun also gave Billboard some insight into the upcoming LP, its accompanying dance elements and forthcoming tour dates. “The style of choreography this time is kind of free; where you can express more of your own dancing style,” he said in the interview. “It was really fun to do the choreography…hopefully we’ll have a chance to meet our fans all around the world.”

Tickets go on sale Monday at 3 p.m. local time via Ticketmaster.

Who knew Jamie Foxx could transform into Donald Trump? The comedian revealed his eerily accurate impression on Thursday during an interview alongside Snoop Dogg.

The hilarious moment happened during a sit-down with the Rap Radar podcast, where the stars were promoting their new Netflix vampire hunter flick Day Shift. In the middle of the chat, Foxx effortlessly broke out his Trump bit, saying, “There’s a lot of great people on both sides. Lots of great people on both sides. I know Harry O,” he said, referencing Death Row co-founder Michael “Harry O” Harris, whom President Trump pardoned and was released from prison last year. “He’s a great person. He couldn’t vote for me at the time. Now he can vote for me once he gets out. I love Snoop D-O-double-G, great person.”

As Snoop busted up laughing, host Brian “B.Dot” Miller kept the gag running by asking Foxx-as-Trump for his thoughts on Death Row Records. “I love Death Row, I love Death…’Scuse me. ‘Scuse me, ‘scuse me! Fake news. I love Death Row.”

When pressed by the host to name his favorite Death Row record, Foxx gave the most Trumpian answer possible: “All of them. All of the Death Row Records. Don’t try to pin me down, you see what he just…’Scuse me. ‘Scuse me, fake news. They tried to give me the virus! I beat the virus!”

While Snoop flexed his acting chops alongside Foxx for the Netflix movie, he’s also been busy recently launching his new breakfast cereal, Snoop Loopz, and the YouTube kids show Doggyland. This weekend, he’ll take over the stage at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards for a Metaverse-inspired performance with his Super Bowl halftime show co-star Eminem.

Watch Jamie Foxx slay his Trump impression for Snoop below.

Jennifer Hudson has officially joined the exclusive club of EGOT members, a.k.a those who have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.

The star’s final award of the four EGOT categories arrived in the mail on Friday (Aug. 26), and she took to Instagram to share the occasion. “Look what arrived yal !!!” she captioned her photo holding her Tony award, with her other three trophies keeping her good company on the piano beside her.

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A post shared by Jennifer Hudson (@iamjhud)

At the Tonys in June, Hudson took home a trophy as one of the producers of best musical winner A Strange Loop. Over the course of her impressive career, she’s also won the Oscar for best supporting actress (for 2006’s Dreamgirls), two Grammy Awards (best R&B album for 2008’s Jennifer Hudson, and best musical theater album for 2016’s The Color Purple), and a Daytime Emmy Award for 2021’s Baba Yaga.

By clinching EGOT status, the multi-hyphenate star joins an elite list of just 16 other Hollywood power players to have done the same, including Whoopi Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Menken and John Legend.

“Wow !!! I am overwhelmed by all the outpouring of love and support that I am Still receiving and I’m still processing this whole new ground,” Hudson wrote on Instagram on June 14 after winning her Tony. “What an honor ! Thank u all for being with me on this journey. I could not live this life without u. Like I said when I won my Oscar, look what God can do. Well He did it again!”

The second annual DAY.MVS XL went down in San Diego, Calif., earlier this month, and we’ve got the music to prove it.

Produced by the same crew that puts on San Diego’s longstanding CRSSD festival — and happening at the city’s Waterfront Park, where CRSSD also goes down — DAY.MVS XL 2022 hosted a lineup including Eric Prydz, Duke Dumont, Spencer Brown, Nastia, Dixon and Claptone, with 27 acts altogether playing over two stages during the weekend event.

Like CRSSD before it, DAY.MVS XL is a boutique festival that offers an alternative to larger, more commercialized events, with its manageable scale, discerning lineups, and down-to-earth vibe making it a destination for mature dance fans looking to get into the groove outside the confines of a club or mega-fest.

To get a sense of what went down (or to simply relive the good time you had there), we’ve got six exclusive DAY.MVS XL sets from German disco giant Purple Disco Machine, San Diego’s own Ciara B, Detroit legend DJ Minx, L.A.-based Dirtybird mainstay VNSSA, Brazilian phenom Vintage Culture and Billboard 2022 one to watch Bklava. Turn up your speakers and check them out below.

And if you like what you hear, the next iteration of CRSSD happens this September 24-25 back in Waterfront Park with a lineup featuring Jamie xx, Dom Dolla, ARTBAT, Caribou, Fred Again.. Duck Sauce and more.

Purple Disco Machine

Ciara B

DJ Minx

VNSSA

Vintage Culture

BKLAVA