Just minutes after the comeback lineup for the 2022 edition of the DMV area’s Broccoli City festival was announced, one of the biggest names on the flyer and hometown hero, Wale, announced he was no longer performing at the festival. Wale, once of the area’s most popular artists and a mainstay of the Washington DC rap scene for years, quote-tweeted a fan’s post about how good the lineup is, responding “I’m pullin out this show.”
Although Wale has yet to explain the decision, fans have gravitated toward the theory that the rapper — who could arguably be considered one of the first major rappers to put the DC scene on the map, paving the way for future stars like IDK, Shy Glizzy, and fellow Broccoli City performers Rico Nasty and Masego — felt slighted by the fact that 21 Savage, a native of Atlanta, was billed as the headliner instead opposite Ari Lennox, another DMV local hero.
Reactions ranged from fans empathizing with his supposed position to others criticizing Wale’s perceived sensitivity, for which he’s drawn fire in the past. However, whenever Wale has seemed upset about things on Twitter before, he usually shakes it off within a few days. Perhaps that’ll be the case here — after all, the organizers have until May 7 to sort things out.
For the first time ever in the festival’s history, Coachella is selling lifetime guest passes to the event, and it’s happening via an NFT called the Coachella Keys Collection. Ten tokens will be auctioned off that includes passes to the fest every April and VIP experiences in 2022 — which features headliners Billie Eilish, Kanye West, and Harry Styles — like front row views at the Coachella Stage, on-stage access at the Sahara Tent, and a celebrity chef dinner in the Rose Garden.
“We’ve all seen how NFTs enable true ownership of art and media on the internet,” Sam Schoonover, Innovation Lead for Coachella, said in a statement. “We wanted to take it one step further and use NFTs to enable ownership of experiences in the real world, too.”
In addition to the Coachella Keys Auction, which starts this Friday, Coachella is also offering two NFT collections that feature digital collectibles and physical posters and photo books, all through the FTX crypto exchange. There are 10,000 each of the Sights & Sounds Collection ($60), which features 10 digital festival images and a physical print of one of the ten. There are also 10,000 NFTs in the Desert Reflection Collection ($180), which includes 1 of 10 digital renditions of a Coachella poster by Emek and a copy of the photo book, Coachella | The Photographs 1999-2019.
FTX US’s President Brett Harrison added, “Not only are we excited to partner with a progressive forward-thinking music festival in Coachella, but also working together to make the world a better place.”
Lofty goals aside, it’ll be interesting to see how much the 10 Coachella keys NFT’s fetch at an auction. The sales go live online on Friday, February 4 at 10 a.m. PT through Friday, February 11 at 5 p.m. PT at nft.coachella.com.
On Monday, Rihanna confirmed what many fans had been suspecting for weeks: She’s going to have a baby with ASAP Rocky! The two cozied up together in their adorable pregnancy announcement photos, which made it clear they’ll be some very cool parents. Rihanna and ASAP fans everywhere were completely overjoyed with the news, and Rihanna’s father is in the same boat.
Ronald Fenty, Rihanna’s dad, chatted with TMZ about the news, sharing his excitement and hopes for the future. “When I got the news, I was so excited and ecstatic,” he said. “And I’m just hoping it will have ten fingers and ten toes.” Fenty will be excited about his new grandchild either way, but really hopes it’s a girl. “I’m looking for a girl. I already have two grandsons, so I’m looking for a daughter now,” he noted.
As for Rihanna’s future with ASAP, he has no doubt the two will make great parents. “I’ve met ASAP a few times already. He’s a very cool person, I like him,” he said. “I think he’s going to be a great dad and I know she’s going to be a great mom. She loves kids and I can see that as well. She’s over the moon about it, she’s so happy. She was always talking about having a child.” Fenty added that he isn’t sure if the two will officially tie the knot, but he sure hopes they do. “I don’t know if she’s going to have a wedding, but I would like her to have a wedding, make it official.”
While Fenty is happy for his daughter, their relationship hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing. In 2019, the pop star hit her father with a lawsuit, claiming he had used her name to benefit his own company and tried to book a tour for her over seas. She dropped the lawsuit last September after seemingly settling the case out of court.
LA is well-known for its near-constant traffic and the accompanying collisions, but one of the city’s most prominent artists recently had his own run-ins with the city’s infamous driving hazards. Mustard posted the aftermath of his recent accident on Instagram, describing how a drunk driver slammed his truck into the wall on the freeway, totaling the vehicle and destroying his Trek Bike, which was attached to the roof.
“Last night a drunk driver hit me and another car on the freeway slammed my car into the wall,” he recalled. “All the airbags came out totaled by my truck shit felt like a movie.” Fortunately, he says, he walked away with only “minor injuries no major injuries thank you god.” He even managed to point out he was more upset by the loss of his bike, writing, “On top of that my trek bike was in the back. My sh*t was broke. I was more mad about that than my car, man.”
DJ Mustard says a drunk driver slammed into his car on Sunday night. Fortunately, he was able to walk away with minor injuries. Let’s send him some healing energy and peace during this time! (: @gettyimages) pic.twitter.com/Yagr7iwiGP
Thankfully, he walked away relatively unscathed and he’ll no doubt be able to replace both the bike and the truck with the fruits of his past year of labors, which included production for Coi Leray, The Kid Leroi, and Roddy Ricch, while he’s also set to star in the upcoming movie Sneaks.
Ever since the start of the Verzuz hits battle web show during the lockdown of 2020, one person plenty of people wanted to see step on the stage is Nicki Minaj. Lil Kim said that she’d want to battle Nicki considering their history during the BET Awards red carpet last year, and surely fans agree. However, until now, Nicki herself hadn’t addressed the possibility of a Verzuz or who her own idea opponent would be.
This week, though, Houston radio station 97.9 The Box managed to get Nicki on-record pondering a potential matchup when she stopped by the Good Morning H-Town radio show to promote her upcoming single with Lil Baby. During the interview, Nicki shot down the idea of doing a battle against either of her Young Money compatriots Drake and Lil Wayne on the grounds that they’re more firmly established in hip-hop (arguable). But see, Drake and Wayne have so many bona fide hip-hop hits, so I don’t know,” she said, before giving hope. “But I do think there might be a female or two that can…[battle me].”
While she didn’t elaborate on which ones she thought would make it a decent battle (come on, now, the list is like… Cardi B and maybe Doja Cat or Megan Thee Stallion), she did reveal that she’d had conversations with the show’s organizers Swizz Beats and Timbaland. “They were talking to me about it,” she said. “If it’s going to be fun, then you never know. That’s all I’ll say about that. It should feel like a celebration, that’s exactly what I would like it to feel like. Fun, happiness. Because a lot of times with my career, stuff would feel like work. And now I’m just like, ‘No. Everything needs to feel good. That’s it.’”
Kelly caught COVID while in a federal jail in Brooklyn, according to a report from Rolling Stone. While his attorneys haven’t given an update on the status of the singer’s health, a judge did grant him an important extension due to his positive COVID test. US District Judge Ann M. Donnelly ruled on Tuesday that Kelly can have an extra two weeks to file an appeal in his federal racketeering case. That means he has until February 17 to formally fight his September conviction which found him guilty of all eight counts of child sex trafficking and one count of federal racketeering.
Kelly’s new lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean informed the court of the singer’s COVID status, saying it interfered with his ability to participate in his appeal. “It is vitally important that Mr. Kelly meaningfully participate in his post-trial defense,” Bonjean wrote in an official letter to the court. “The (jail) has not indicated when visits will resume which is less than ideal, but undersigned counsel is confident that she can accomplish necessary discussions with Mr. Kelly via upcoming scheduled Zoom visits.”
West Coast-based, Asian-centric label 88rising has been on the cutting edge of the digital festival scene since 2020’s lockdowns forced live entertainment online, and they’ve continued that tradition even as live shows have returned. While 88rising’s recent Head In The Clouds Festival was a rousing success, the label looks to maintain its foothold in the digital space with the Double Happiness festival celebrating the Lunar New Year and the upcoming Year Of The Tiger in the lunar zodiac.
Taking place on February 4 at 7 pm PT, the festival will follow 88rising’s established brand in featuring rising stars of Asian descent broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube, and SiriusXM radio. Headlined by Hong Kong rapper Jackson Wang, the event will include performances from singer Adawa, Toronto-based songwriter Alex Porat, New Jersey rapper Audrey Nuna, Thai rapper MILLI, Vietnamese singer Mỹ Anh, South Korean singer-songwriter Seori, Shang-Chi soundtrack artist Shayiting EL, Indonesian singer-songwriter Stephanie Poetri, Indonesian rapper Warren Hue, Korean-American singer-rapper Woosung, Thai rapper Youngohm, and Yuzhen.
88rising’s profile, well, rose in 2021 in part due to the return of the Head In The Clouds festival and in part due to the label’s participation in the soundtrack for Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. Just seven years after its launch, the label has become a true force in the music industry, and is worth paying attention to.
On February 13, a pretty large football game is happening, and in the middle of it, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige will perform the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. While those artists are the select few chosen to take the field at SoFi Stadium on the big day, the gravity of the Super Bowl means that there will be plenty of other music events taking place in the Los Angeles area during the weekend. We’ve rounded up the most major examples — which include performances by stars like Jack Harlow, Drake, Miley Cyrus, and many others, so check out the list below.
John Mayer Small Stage Series
Apple Music
This one comes a few days before Super Bowl weekend, but if you happen to live in LA or plan to be in town a few days early on February 8, there’s an opportunity to swing by the Hollywood Palladium and see John Mayer perform some of his Sob Rock songs in front of a live audience for the first time. On top of that, the show is hosted by longtime Mayer pal Andy Cohen and will be preceded by an interview between the two. Even if you can’t check this one out in person, the show will be broadcast on various SiriusXM channels.
Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest
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This annual event is perhaps the biggest non-halftime musical attraction of the weekend, or perhaps more so if duration is taken into consideration, as the festival runs for three days from February 10 to 12 at Crypto.com Arena. Halsey and Machine Gun will perform on the first day, and they’ll be followed by Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, and Mickey Guyton on the second night, then Miley Cyrus and Green Day will headline the third and final night. All in all, those artists make up a diverse roster that will have something to please just about anybody.
Shaq’s Fun House
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Shaq’s Fun House has become a Super Bowl weekend tradition in recent years, as Shaquille O’Neal takes the show around the country to wherever the big game ends up being played. This year, it’s going down at LA’s Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on February 11. The festival/carnival is set to feature performances from Shaq himself (as DJ Diesel), Lil Wayne, Zedd, and Diplo. On top of that, there’s going to be a full carnival, nightlife VIP experience, and a bunch of food vendors. The NBA great has one of the most infectious personalities in pop culture, so his Fun House is sure to be a terrific time.
MaximBet Music At The Market and DirecTC Presents Maxim Electric Nights
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DirecTV and Maxim are working together on a pair of events for the big weekend, both at City Market in Downtown Los Angeles. The first is MaximBet Music At The Market on February 11, which will feature Lil Baby, Gunna, and The Chainsmokers. The next day, they’re offering DirecTV Presents Maxim Electric Nights, a 50 Cent-hosted event that will feature Tiësto, Loud Luxury, and DJ Vice. All of this is going down in “a custom-built 45,000 square foot open-air pavilion representative of a 1980’s retro-futuristic setting.”
h.wood Group’s Homecoming Weekend
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While Drake isn’t part of the hip-hop-heavy halftime show (as far as we know, anyway), he will be making an appearance at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on February 12. If you can get into this event, it’s bound to be a good one. That said, good luck with that, as it’s an invite-only affair.
Sports Illustrated The Party x Palm Tree Crew
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If you’re looking for a party featuring premiere hip-hop talent that you can actually attend, Sports Illustrated and Palm Tree Crew are bringing a nice lineup to Century Park on February 12. Performing at their event will be a good mix of talent that includes Kygo, Jack Harlow, Frank Walker, David Solomon (yes, the Goldman Sachs CEO/DJ), and DJ Irie.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Even if you don’t follow country music super closely, odds are you’ve already heard of Mickey Guyton. The rising country star is part of a movement within the genre that is demanding the whitewashing in country must stop — and that artists like Morgan Wallen, who was caught on tape saying the “N word” and still saw a surge in sales and popularity — not be the only ones representing their genre.
Guyton’s debut album, Remember Her Name, was released in September last year, and she’s already preceded that with a couple of EPs and impactful singles that made waves, like “Black Like Me,” one of her earliest breakout hits “Better Than You Left Me,” and my personal favorite, “Rosé.” With the release of “Black Like Me,” Guyton became the first Black woman to ever be nominated by the Grammys for the Best Country Solo Performance category, and has been making waves in so many ways since.
One honor that Guyton is kicking off 2022 with is the opportunity to sing the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl. The Bengals will be facing off against the Rams, and Guyton will be there to help open up the biggest game of the year. “Look at God. I am shook, I am grateful, I am praise dancing…” she wrote on Twitter with the news. “So excited to be singing the national anthem at #SBLVI on February 13th!” Tune in to get a taste of her stunning vocals this Sunday at Super Bowl LVI.
Here’s some great news for residents of the DMV area: Beloved hip-hop and R&B festival Broccoli City is returning for the first time in three years after being canceled due to COVID concerns in 2020 and 2021. The festival’s organizers announced the dates and lineup today after the two-year hiatus, bringing a worthy selection of both hometown heroes and national favorites to the RFK Festival Grounds in Washington DC on May 7 and 8.
From the local side of things, Broccoli City has booked Ari Lennox, Masego, Rico Nasty, and of course, festival mainstay and DC’s unofficial rap ambassador Wale. Elsewhere on the bill, trap rap faves 21 Savage, Gunna, and Jeezy will bring the Atlanta sound to the stage, while drill pioneers Lil Durk and Babyface Ray will bring that unique sound. Rising stars Alex Vaughn, Don Toliver, Joony, Joyce Wrice, Larry June, Muni Long, and Tems will bring a variety of vibes, with Nigerian superstar Wizkid contributing some Afrobeats to round things out.
Broccoli City Festival is Back Bigger Than Ever!! May 7-8th.
The last Broccoli City festival that actually went on as planned took place in 2019, headlined by Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne. Interestingly enough, it also featured Gunna and Wizkid on the bill, so it’s nice to see them returning and bringing the festival full circle in its return. You can get more information and tickets at bcfestival.com.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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