Month: February 2022

The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka Of New York Opened ‘SNL’ With A Performance Of ‘Prayer For Ukraine’

by

Last week, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine reached a fever pitch when the former launched a “full-scale invasion” into the neighboring country. President Vladimir Putin might have believed that invading the nation would be an easy feat, but that has not been the case, as Russian soldiers have been met with strong resistance. Ukraine has made it clear that they won’t go out without a fight and the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is leading the charge on that front, having chosen to fight with his people instead of escaping.

The support for Ukraine has been strong. One example was on full display during last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live. Rather than their usual comedic cold open, the cast and crew of SNL welcomed the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka Of New York to begin the show. Following an introduction by SNL cast members Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, the choir sang “Prayer for Ukraine.” The chorus also performed in front of a table with candles that spelled out “Kyiv,” Ukraine’s capital.

The somber cold open was reminiscent of the first SNL episode, which also featured little in the way of humor, following the September 11 terrorist attacks back in 2001.

You can watch the performance in the video above.

Maeta Gets Vulnerable On Emotional New R&B Track “Frank For You”

by

On her melancholy new R&B tune, “Frank For You,” Maeta addresses her feelings about a man that she loves but doesn’t quite feel ready to commit to. “Maeta continues her quest to put the words and music to the good and bad of relationships. She knows her behaviour isn’t right, but neither is his,” a press release explains.

“Sometimes I get a little hopeless / But you’re no better than me, yeah / Sometimes I see your disappointment / But that’s no better than me (Me, Yeah, Oh),” the vocalist’s dreamy voice floats over the four-minute and nine-second long track’s chorus.

Last year, we received Habits, featuring titles like “Teen Scene” featuring Buddy, “Bitch Don’t Be Mad,” “Doesn’t Mean A Thing” featuring Leven Kali, and “Toxic” featuring BEAM.

Stream “Frank For You,” written by Maeta herself along with Krystin Watkins and produced by Rook Monroe below, and let us know what you think of the song in the comments.

Quotable Lyrics:

I know that I may do some things
To give you hope, boy
But you’re no better than me
And even when you finally found somebody else, boy
I kinda hope she won’t be everything you needed (Needed)

Big Sean Claims Viral Nude Photo Is Not His

by

As of late, Big Sean and his longtime partner and collaborator Jhené Aiko have been working on the second installment of their collaborative R&B duo TWENTY88 album. Their debut project under the name came in 2016, as fans loved the combination of Aiko’s lustful singing complemented with Sean’s sensual rapping.

But, as they have gotten their studio sessions underway for the album, Sean had a bit of a social media hiccup on Saturday (Feb. 26). On Twitter, a nude photo leaked that had apparently come from Big Sean’s private Instagram story. It seems as though he had allowed somebody to see that story that was not supposed to, and Twitter had a field day when they got ahold of the picture of Sean’s private part that he was comparing to a Nintendo Switch.

Some fans found it understandable for Jhené to be so in love with Sean, due to their approval of the nude.

Others made jokes about it would be hard to focus while playing Nintendo with Sean.

And, likely the most practical, Twitter users wondered who Sean had in his close friends list on Instagram that would leak the photo.

A few hours after the debacle played out on Twitter, Sean found a post on Instagram from The Shade Room that was discussing the leak, and Sean insisted that photo was not of his private part: “This is not me.”

We’ll leave it up to you to decide if you believe Sean here or not. Check out his response below.

Kanye West Sees Massive Jump In Spotify Numbers Amidst “Donda 2” and “Jeen-yuhs” Hype, Most Streamed Artist 2 Days In A Row

by

Kanye West has mastered the craft of manufacturing major moments in music. With the jeen-yuhs documentary and Donda 2 swirling around the audio/visual soundscape all at once, everyone’s eyes and ears are on Ye.


Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Act 1 of the jeen-yuhs documentary focused closely on his incredibly early music career, prior to releasing his debut album The College Dropout. We were invited in to watch his journey, seeing him shopping the demo version of tracks that went on to become worldwide hits. A pivotal moment in the first installation was Kanye (as he was known at the time) playing “All Falls Down” in Roc-A-Fella Records‘ offices and being brushed aside. Seeing that sparked a newfound appreciation for the classic Kanye West cut, driving the streaming numbers for the song through the roof.

In the weeks following the release of jeen-yuhs Act 1, Donda 2 news and information began surfacing at a geometric rate. Studio sessions, tracklists, updates, and details on how to access the album (exclusively through his Stem Player platform) poured from multiple sources, including Ye himself on Instagram.

The DONDA EXPERIENCE PERFORMANCE, held on February 22nd, the album’s supposed release date, showcased an unfinished version of the album and was intended to display some Donda 1 tracks as well. The second half didn’t exactly go as planned, but listeners were excited to receive the new project. Pieces of Donda 2 were then released on the aforementioned Stem Player site.

Days later, jeen-yuhs Act 2 was released on Netflix. The second installment chronicled the release of The College Dropout, and the surrounding activity and fanfare. The standout moment to many viewers was the conception of the Jamie Foxx and Twista featured track “Slow Jamz.” As was the case with “All Falls Down,” fans revisited The College Dropout en masse in appreciation of the effort and artistry of a young Kanye West.

All of the above resulted in Ye being the #1 streamed Spotify artist in the world on back to back days, without even releasing Donda 2 on their platform.

Stay tuned to HNHH for more news and information.