Cindy Choek

Machine Gun Kelly hints at a return to rap on next album

Machine Gun Kelly has hinted that he could return to rap on his next album after a successful pivot to becoming a pop-punk star. 2020’s ‘Tickets To My Downfall’ album gave Machine Gun Kelly (real name Colson Baker) his first US Number One album and his first within the pop-punk genre after appearing to ditch his rap career. It was followed up by new album ‘Mainstream Sellout’, out last month (March 25). READ MORE: Machine Gun Kelly – ‘Mainstream Sellout’ review: the one-man pop-punk revival rolls on In a new interview about his future on the Audacy Check In, Kelly said: “I’m going to make a rap album for myself. For no other reason, no point to prove, no chip on my shoulder. If I keep doing things to prove things to people, I’m going to one, drive myself crazy and two, not make a good product.” Advertisement “I made ‘Tickets’ and ‘Mainstream Sellout’ because I wanted to make them,” he added. “I need to now also make people miss that sound. I’m going to do this tour and I’m gonna step into where I left ‘Hotel Diablo’ and expand on my storytelling as a rapper and find a new… Read More →

26APRNews

50 Cent says Snoop Dogg TV series will no longer be going ahead

50 Cent has revealed that the Snoop Dogg TV series he was working on is no longer in production due to the network dropping “the damn ball”. READ MORE: The biggest moments from the Super Bowl Halftime Show 2022 The pair announced last December that they would be teaming up on A Moment In Time: Murder Was The Case, an anthology series focusing on the criminal events that occur behind the scenes of hip-hop history. The series was to be set in 1993, during the time of Snoop’s trial for the murder of Phili Woldermariam, a rival gang member who was killed by Snoop’s bodyguard, McKinley Lee. Both Snoop (real name Calvin Broadus) and Lee were found not guilty of first and second-degree murder charges. Advertisement However, 50, who has made a name for himself in the TV world producing shows such as Power and BMF for the STARZ network, told fans on Twitter on Saturday (April 23) that the show is no longer moving forward. “@SnoopDogg Murder was the case is no longer in production at STARZ,” the G-Unit rapper wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “I give them the alley-oop, they drop the damn ball. Anyway I hope snoop tell his… Read More →

26APRNews

Listen to Mogwai’s soaring new single, ‘Boltfor’

Mogwai have shared a soaring new single called ‘Boltfor’ – listen to it below. READ MORE: Mogwai – ‘As The Love Continues’ review: cinematic post-rock that loses steam Released today (Apri 26), ‘Boltfor’ was “initially recorded during the sessions for ‘As The Love Continues’ at Vada Studios” according to a statement, “and then completed at the band’s very own Castle of Doom studios in March 2022.” Speaking about the song’s accompanying video, director Sam Wiehl said: “The video is a visual metaphor for the constant movement in life and the unceasing urge to move forward as individuals…in the form of a metaphysical road movie.” Advertisement Watch the video below: The band will soon begin their European and UK tour in Copenhagen on April 30, heading to London’s Alexandra Palace on May 27. All original tickets will remain valid, however a new date for their Utrecht show is still to be confirmed. Find tickets here. This follows the band’s North American dates, which began on April 5 in Washington, DC, rolling through a further 13 US and two Canadian cities before wrapping up in San Diego on Sunday April 24. Mogwai’s 2022 UK and European tour dates: APRIL 2022 Saturday 30 – Copenhagen, Denmark,… Read More →

26APRNews

Harry Styles adds new Melbourne and Sydney shows to 2023 Australian tour

Harry Styles has added two more shows to his upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand, after presale tickets for gigs in Melbourne and Sydney sold out in a matter of seconds. READ MORE: Harry Styles live at Coachella: spectacular showman makes a bid for rock god status Last week, it was announced that Styles will embark on the Australasian leg of his ‘Love On Tour’ next February, performing stadium shows in Perth, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Sydney and Auckland. Ticketmaster and Live Nation presales started today (April 26), ahead of the general sale beginning tomorrow (April 27). Citing unprecedented demand for those presales – especially given the cancellation of a long-delayed arena tour in January – second shows have now been added in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively taking place on Saturday March 25 at Marvel Stadium and March 4 at Accor Stadium. As with all of the previously announced shows, tickets to these go on sale tomorrow afternoon (12pm for Melbourne fans and 1pm for those in Sydney). Advertisement Styles was initially due to hit Australian shores in November of 2020, playing arenas in support of his then-recent ‘Fine Line’ album. Those dates were postponed indefinitely due to the… Read More →

25APRNews

Megan Thee Stallion says Torey Lanez offered “a million dollars if y’all don’t say nothing” after shooting

Megan Thee Stallion has shared more details of the night she was shot during a July 2020 incident involving Torey Lanez. In her first TV interview which aired today (April 25) on CBS Mornings, the rapper, whose real name is Megan Pete, told Gayle King what happened the night she says Lanez shot her in both feet at a party in Los Angeles. “I was ready to go, and everybody else wasn’t ready to go. But that’s, like, normal friend stuff,” she told King. “So I get out of the car and it’s like everything happens so fast. And all I hear is this man screaming.” Pete continued: “He said, ‘Dance, bitch’ and he started shooting. And I’m just like, ‘Oh, my God.’” She went on to tell King that she was worried that if she took a “wrong step” it could be fatal. “I don’t know if he’s gonna shoot something that’s, like, super important,” she said. “I don’t know if he could shoot me and kill me. I was really scared because I had never been shot at before.” The rapper also told King that Lanez attempted to persuade her not to speak out following the incident. “He’s apologizing…. Read More →

25APRNews

Arcade Fire announce new single ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’

Arcade Fire have announced details of ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’, the next single to be taken from their forthcoming album ‘WE’. The track will follow ‘The Lightning I’ and ‘The Lightning II’, both of which arrived in March and are the only tastes of the album to be shared so far. READ MORE: Arcade Fire’s new single ‘The Lightning I, II’ finds the band at their ambitious best The band first began teasing the release of ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’ on April 12, when frontman Win Butler posted a video on Instagram of a vinyl version of the album playing. “Next single is,” he is heard saying before a slow strumming song kicks off with the lyrics “Lookout kid trust your heart / you don’t have to play the part.” Advertisement Now, Arcade Fire have confirmed that the new single will arrive later this week. “Listen in to @zanelowe’s @applemusic show on Wednesday 5pm BST / 9am PDT / 12pm EDT to hear the first play,” they captioned a post on Instagram that featured a clip of the track. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arcade Fire (@arcadefire) The returning band previewed ‘Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)’ earlier this… Read More →

25APRNews

Eddie Van Halen left a $1million donation to US music education organisation

Late rock icon Eddie Van Halen reportedly left a contribution of at least $1million (£780,000) to the US-based music education charity Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF). READ MORE: Eddie Van Halen, 1955 – 2020: a colossus who turned guitar solos into a firework display For 26 years, the MHOF – named for the titular character of the 1995 film Mr. Holland’s Opus (played by Richard Dreyfuss) – has aimed to provide school-aged children from low-income backgrounds with the opportunity to enjoy music education, offering, among other avenues, access to musical instruments. According to a statement issued by the MHOF on last Wednesday (April 20), Van Halen left the charity a seven-figure bequest. An exact sum wasn’t specified, but the statement said the “transformative” amount would provide a “significant [increase to] the nonprofit’s capacity to support music programs across the country”. Advertisement MHOF CEO Felice Mancini added: “Eddie’s support and friendship over the years meant the world to us and to his fans. His passion for music and our work created a strong bond, which is evident in his extraordinary bequest. “To know how much our foundation meant to Eddie is intensely humbling and gratifying to all of us – and we know… Read More →

24APRNews

Chris Rock’s mother says Will Smith “really slapped me” at the Oscars

Chris Rock’s mother has spoken out over Will Smith‘s Oscars slap, saying that the actor “really slapped me” with his actions. READ MORE: The story of Slapgate: Will Smith and Chris Rock’s relationship through the years In an incident that has since gone down in history, Smith struck Rock onstage during the Academy Awards ceremony last month following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head. Following numerous apologies over the incident, the actor resigned from the Academy. He was later banned from all Academy events for 10 years. Advertisement Speaking to WIS News, Rose Rock spoke out over the incident, saying: “I told someone, when Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us, but he really slapped me. When you hurt my child, you hurt me.” Asked what she would say to Smith, Rock said she had “no idea, other than, ‘What in the world were you thinking?’ Because you did a slap, but so many things could have happened.” “Chris could have stepped back and fallen. You really could have gotten taken out in handcuffs. You didn’t think. You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went up, and you made her day because she was bowled over… Read More →

22APRNews

Fontaines D.C. “think they could do a really good tune” with Lana Del Rey

Fontaines DC have said they think they could do “a really good tune” with Lana Del Rey. READ MORE: Fontaines D.C.: “People are looking to me for answers. What the fuck do I know?” Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read, the band’s vocalist Grian Chatten said he wanted to write songs with Rey when discussing some possible future collaborations. “I just want to write some tunes with her,” Chatten told NME. “Her music leans into an era of cinema that I love, and she writes in a way where people can find stories in her music. I honestly think we’d do a really good tune together.” Advertisement The band also said they’d like to work with Northampton rapper Slowthai in the future. “Slowthai has got an incendiary quality,” Chatten said. “It’s just so refreshing to work with somebody who has an incredibly open mind. His charisma reminds me of something that I read about Mick Jagger before, where those around him would be able to identify his distinctive voice in an instant. That’s what Slowthai is becoming.” Fontaines D.C.. CREDIT: Fiona Garden for NME Elsewhere in the Big Read, Fontaines said that the future of the band could see them moving away from using… Read More →

22APRNews

Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire and more join Music Declares Emergency US

Music Declares Emergency has launched a new “US chapter”, with artists including Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire and Brian Eno supporting the cause. Music Declares Emergency (MDE), a group dedicated to guiding the music industry’s response to the global climate and ecological emergency, has launched its US initiative with support from artists who are passionate about the climate crisis. READ MORE: The music world on the aftermath of COP26: “The future needs reinforcements” As well as those above, other names pledging their support included The 1975, Major Lazer, The Pretenders, Annie Lennox, Tom Morello, Tom Odell and more. The official MDE US homepage can be found here. Advertisement Initially started in the UK in 2019, MDE is now also operational in France, Germany, Switzerland, Chile and Canada. It’s gathered over 6000 signatures from across the music industry supporting a declaration that calls for an immediate governmental response to do more to combat climate change. A statement said: “Now, more than ever is the time for the United States to loudly and proactively join the rally to curb and reverse greenhouse gas emissions. “The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time, and the power of music should take its place at the… Read More →

22APRNews

Win Butler on the making of Arcade Fire’s ‘WE’: “It was a very uncertain but beautiful time”

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler has spoken about the experience of writing the band’s new album ‘WE’ during the pandemic. In a new interview with the Montreal Gazette, Butler reflected on the making of their upcoming sixth studio album, during which he and his wife and bandmate Régine Chassagne, who were in New Orleans, were separated from the rest of the band due to lockdown. READ MORE: Arcade Fire’s new single ‘The Lightning I, II’ finds the band at their ambitious best “They were closing the borders to Canada,” he said. “We had written ‘Age of Anxiety’, ‘End of the Empire’ and a bunch of songs. … Régine and I were working every day in the studio. We didn’t know when or if it would be possible to get the band together. We were very inspired and very plugged in, but the world we were making the record for was changing so much.” Advertisement He continued: “The goal was to write — independent of genre — songs we could play around the piano with guitar, and to just work on structure, melody and the bones of songs as much as we could, because we had time.” Six months later, the pair… Read More →

22APRNews

Cynthia Plaster Caster, artist who made penis casts of Jimi Hendrix, Jello Biafra and more, has died

Cynthia Plaster Caster, the artist known for making penis casts of rock musicians, has died at the age of 74. Her representatives confirmed her death on April 21, noting that she had passed away in Chicago following a long illness. During her career as an artist, Cynthia Albritton famously made casts of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley, and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. Born in Chicago in 1947, she attended art school in the 60s, where she was asked to create a plaster cast of “something solid that could retain its shape.” Instead of going for something typical, Albritton decided to turn her attention to the frontmen of her favourite bands. Jimi Hendrix was her first famous subject, having agreed to being cast while on tour in Chicago in 1968. Hendrix was followed by two members of MC5: Wayne Kramer, and drummer Dennis Thompson, though Kramer’s penis cast didn’t go to plan. “He got the container that wasn’t designed to mix alginates in,” she said in an interview with The Chicago Reader in 2002. “And if you mix it the wrong way it sets prematurely. It set before he could push his dick all the way into the… Read More →

22APRNews

Sam Fender announces intimate charity show in Newcastle

Sam Fender has announced details of an intimate charity show that he’ll play in Newcastle next month. The ‘Seventeen Going Under’ artist will return to his native north east on May 24 for a special gig at Newcastle’s O2 City Hall, marking the first time that he will have played live at the 2600-capacity venue. READ MORE: Sam Fender live in Newcastle: a euphoric homecoming for the Toon’s finest The show will raise money for North East Homeless, who provide support to those who are vulnerable and homeless in the north east of England, as well as food and emergency equipment at street outreach sessions. Advertisement Fender, who is a patron of the charity, dedicated his BRIT Award for Alternative/Rock Act to the organisation back in February. This is going to be next level. Newcastle get ready, I’m coming to you for a special intimate gig at the @O2CityHall on 24th May. We’ll be raising money for @2014NEH Enter the ballot for £5 to win a pair of tickets, exclusively through #O2Priority from Monday 10am x #Ad pic.twitter.com/bMTyaRJzKG — Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) April 22, 2022 875 pairs of tickets for Fender’s O2 City Hall show will be made available through… Read More →

22APRNews

Johnny Depp once gave Marilyn Manson a pill “so that he would stop talking so much”

Johnny Depp has opened up about his drug use during his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard, mentioning his interactions with Marilyn Manson. The actor has been permitted by a Virginia judge to pursue his case against his ex-wife, suing her for defamation over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she wrote about surviving domestic violence. Heard did not mention Depp by name in the article, but Depp’s lawyers have argued that it falsely implies she was sexually and physically abused by Depp during their marriage. Heard has also filed a counterclaim against Depp, arguing he has created a smear campaign against her. Advertisement During his cross-examination in the ongoing trial this week, Depp was asked by Heard’s lawyer about his drug use with Manson, with the intention of further delving into the actor’s history with substance abuse. “We drank together, we’ve had cocaine together maybe a couple of times,” Depp said. Heard’s lawyer then asked if pills were involved, and Depp replied with a chuckle: “I once gave Marilyn Manson a pill so that he would stop talking so much.” Later, the lawyer showed the court a photo of a Keith Richards demo CD next to four apparent lines… Read More →

22APRHit Singles

Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal – Get On Board

The original Get On Board by blues icons Terry and McGhee was a 10” album released on the Folkways label in 1952, the eventual fruits of a partnership formed a decade earlier and which thrived well into the ’60s. The record’s contents were key texts in the early musical education of both Mahal and Cooder during their teenage years in California, and a shared love when both were members of The Rising Sons (although the band’s only album, recorded in ’65, went unreleased for more than quarter of a century). ORDER NOW: Miles Davis is on the cover in the latest issue of Uncut However, this second set to bear the title is far from a straight tribute or reworking of the first. Just three of the nine songs from the old masters’ release feature here, and a wider net is cast to fill the remaining berths with material from the subsequent Terry/McGhee catalogue, found on arguably better-known albums the duo recorded as their profile became more visible on the burgeoning club and coffee house scene of the late ’50s and early ’60s. The original three that do make the cut act as a template for the rest of the album,… Read More →

22APRNews

Shakira returns with new single ‘Te Felicito’

Shakira has shared her new single ‘Te Felicito’ – watch the video below. READ MORE: Shakira on the movie of her ill-fated El Dorado tour: “I knew someday I’d lose my youth or my beauty, but I never thought I would lose my voice…” ‘Te Felicito’, which translates to ‘I congratulate you’, sees Shakira teaming up with Puerto Rican singer and rapper Rauw Alejandro, in a song that fuses electro-pop and reggaeton. The track is the singer’s first single of 2022, following last year’s ‘Don’t Wait Up’, which was also her first completely English single since 2016’s ‘Try Everything’. Advertisement The accompanying music video for ‘Te Felicito’, directed by Jaume de la Iguana and filmed in Barcelona, features Shakira playfully dancing in a futuristic environment with a robot. She then constructs a robot boyfriend (Alejandro), who joins in as the pair take on some robot-inspired choreography. Shakira’s last album ‘El Dorado’ was released in 2017, and included the singles ‘Chantaje’, ‘Me Enamoré’, ‘Perro Fiel’ and ‘Trap’, the latter of which featured guest vocals from Maluma. In 2020, Shakira teamed up with Jennifer Lopez to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. The highly praised performance at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium saw… Read More →

21APRNews

Robbie Williams to showcase his paintings at new art exhibition

Robbie Williams is set to showcase his own paintings at his first-ever art exhibition. The singer and his creative partner, Ed Godrich, will present a series of their black-and-white paintings at Sotheby’s galleries on New Bond Street, London between May 13 and May 25. READ MORE: Better Man: eight classic stories the Robbie Williams biopic should include They’re also curating an art sale at the auction house that will feature works by some of their favourite artists, including Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Grayson Perry (via The Guardian). Advertisement Additionally, the sale is set to include one of Williams and Godrich’s pieces which is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000. The ‘Contemporary Curated’ sale runs from April 22-28. “Art is really whatever you want it to be. Just like music it has the ability to soothe and provide company when you’re lonely,” Williams explained of the venture. “Art and music have punctuated my ups and downs, but more importantly they both have the power to change how I feel in a moment.” The pop star has been painting in partnership with Godrich – who is an interior designer – for five years, with the pair having bonded over a… Read More →

21APRNews

Phoebe Bridgers says she might release more new music this year

Phoebe Bridgers has suggested she may release more new music this year, saying that she always “tries to do things that are exciting”. Last week saw the Los Angeles singer-songwriter return with ‘Sidelines’, a standalone song that was recorded for the upcoming TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Conversations With Friends. READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Phoebe Bridgers: “I definitely feel a lot less apologetic than I did before” Bridgers wrote the track with bandmate and collaborator Marshall Vore and Ruby Rain Henley. According to a press release, ‘Sidelines’ will be her only original new song of the year. Advertisement During an interview with KROQ at last weekend’s Coachella, the musician was asked whether this was the case. “Who knows, actually,” Bridgers replied. “I try to do things that are exciting so I never really know what I’m gonna do.” The singer went on to joke that she would be “dropping a mixtape tomorrow”. When asked about how ‘Sidelines’ came about, Bridgers explained: “[Marshall Vore] had this like love song idea… he sent it to me right in the beginning of the pandemic. And I was like, ‘This is insane’.” She continued: “I was so obsessed with it, I… Read More →

21APRNews

Sam Smith announces brand new single ‘Love Me More’

Sam Smith has announced a new single called ‘Love Me More’. READ MORE: Sam Smith – ‘Love Goes’ review: pop balladeer leans even further into heartbreak than before The London singer-songwriter will release the track next Thursday (April 28) at 11pm BST – you can pre-save/pre-add it here. Smith shared the news on social media yesterday (April 20) alongside the official black-and-white artwork for the upcoming track. Check out the post below. Advertisement ‘Love Me More’ will follow on from the star’s 2020 single ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’, a festive number that was produced and co-written by Labrinth. Smith’s most recent studio album, ‘Love Goes’, came out earlier that same year. Love Me More28th April. 11pm BST/ 3pm PDTPre-save/ pre-add: https://t.co/Oo6ViUgoqG pic.twitter.com/cJRfTlRAzJ — samsmith (@samsmith) April 20, 2022 In a three-star review of their latest record, NME wrote: “Smith slowly but surely is making their way toward healing, but they aren’t done lamenting what could have been just yet.” Details of a full-length follow-up are yet to emerge. Last November saw Smith contribute to an all-star charity cover of Fleetwood Mac’s classic single ‘Everywhere’ alongside the likes of Ed Sheeran, Yungblud and Lewis Capaldi. Proceeds from the single went to the BBC’s Children… Read More →

20APRNews

A$AP Rocky arrested in connection with shooting in 2021

A$AP Rocky has been arrested in connection with a shooting which allegedly took place in 2021. The Harlem rapper (real name Rakim Mayers) arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a private plane from Barbados after visiting his girlfriend Rihanna, when he was detained by law enforcement officials earlier today (April 20), according to NBC News. It is alleged that Rocky had been under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department over a shooting near Vista Del Mar and Selma Ave at around 10:20pm local time on November 6 last year. Advertisement The alleged victim reportedly told police that the rapper was walking with two others and approached him with a handgun on the street before shooting him three to four times. He also claimed one of the bullets grazed his left hand. Rocky’s attorney, Alan Jackson, confirmed to NBC News that his client had been arrested. A$AP Rocky. CREDIT: Michael Campanella/Redferns/Getty Images NME has reached out for a comment from the rapper’s representatives. Rocky’s arrest comes almost three years after he was detained in Stockholm on suspicion that he and his entourage had assaulted a man. He was later released that August before being found guilty of assault and handed a suspended… Read More →

20APRNews

Calvin Harris sets summer release date for ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.2’

Calvin Harris has announced that he’ll be releasing a new album, ‘Funk Wav Bounces Vol.2’, this coming summer. READ MORE: R.I.P. beat drops? We need to talk about Calvin Harris’ move away from EDM Taking to Twitter this afternoon, the DJ and producer shared an image of a billboard displaying the album’s title. While not revealing the exact release date, Harris captioned the image: “Summer ’22.” His forthcoming sixth studio album will be his first in five years – his last one being the first volume of ‘Funk Wav Bounces’, which arrived in 2017. Advertisement That album included the singles ‘Slide’, ‘Heatstroke’, ‘Rollin’, ‘Faking It’, and the chart-topping ‘Feels’ featuring Pharrell, Katy Perry and Big Sean. No further info has been shared on what to expect from volume two, however, with Harris set to perform at a number of big festivals this summer it’s fair to assume that new music will be released soon, or even debuted during some of his forthcoming sets. Summer ‘22 pic.twitter.com/ojGsbIarsH — Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) April 20, 2022 Earlier this year Harris shared a new track called ‘Lonely’, using his Love Regenerator alias. It’s the latest in a group of records the DJ has shared since launching… Read More →