Ye Distances Himself From The Publicist Who Threatened A Poll Worker

Ye might still be plotting to run for president again in 2024, as his pinned tweet from last year would suggest, but the rapper has run into some hot water when it comes to last year’s election. Last week, it was reported that a publicist from Ye’s team accused a poll worker of faking ballots and pressured them to admit to voter fraud or else they would be thrown in jail. Obviously, that’s not a good look for someone who might run for office in the future, but Ye’s team is now distancing themselves from the publicist, saying she was “not associated” with Ye at the time.

Trevian Kutti, the publicist in question, reportedly told the poll worker that they were “in danger” and that they were a “loose end for a party that needs to tidy up.” By the time Kutti showed up and accused them of faking ballots, the poll worker had already been harassed by Trump supporters for weeks on end. After Kutti left, the poll worker found out that Kutti was a known Trump supporter and worked for R. Kelly before joining Ye’s team.

While Ye’s team doesn’t deny that Kutti worked for the rapper in the past, one of his spokespeople told Reuters that they weren’t working for him at the time and haven’t since. “Trevian Kutti was not associated with Kanye West or any of his enterprises at the times of the facts that are reported in these articles or since these facts occurred,” the spokesperson said.

Goldenvoice Sues Live Nation For Copyright Infringement Over A New Festival Planned For New Year’s Eve

Many festivals plotted a return in either 2021 or 2022 after the pandemic effectively shut down large-scale events, but one festival in particular is facing some legal issues. No, it’s not because of their COVID policy. Rather, it’s because of their name. The upcoming event Coachella Day One 22 is slated to kick off in California on New Year’s Eve, but Live Nation is now being sued by the massive festival promotion company Goldenvoice. The reason? Well, the name “Coachella” has already been copyrighted.

As reported by Billboard and NME, Goldenvoice filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement against Live Nation earlier this week. Not only does the upcoming event use the name “Coachella,” but it is also set to take place just miles away from the official Coachella festival site in Indio, California. Live Nation is not acting as the festival organizer, but the actual Coachella Day One 22 organizers are a group of Native American tribe members who are immune from this type of legal action.

Goldenvoice’s lawsuit states that they sent two cease-and-desist letters to Live Nation after the company began selling and promoting the event’s tickets. The lawsuit asks the court to put a temporary order in place that would make it illegal for Live Nation to continue to advertise, promote, market, franchise, or sell any good or service in connection with the Coachella name.

Foogiano Has Been Indicted On Federal Gun Charges For A Mass Shooting In South Carolina

Despite being sentenced to five years in prison for skipping house arrest, 1017 rapper Foogiano now faces federal charges stemming from a shooting at a South Carolina nightclub, according to Greenville News. Foogiano was billed as headliner for a show at Lavish Lounge on July 5, 2020. 10 people were shot as gunfire broke out, killing two. On Friday last week, Foogiano was arraigned and documents regarding the shooting were unsealed.

According to Greenville News, the shooting was one of the largest shootings in Greenville in recent history, prompting an investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to investigators, although Foogiano was not the one who pulled the trigger, he is at least partially responsible, as the man who actually did do the shooting, Jarquez Kezavion Cooper, is believed to be part of Foogiano’s entourage. Foogiano also had a Glock 40 on the night of the shooting — which, as a convicted felon, meant he was also committing another felony. He’s currently in custody in South Carolina, awaiting return to Georgia on his previous charges.

Foogiano isn’t the only 1017 artist facing significant prison time. Another recent Gucci Mane find, Pooh Shiesty, had his breakout year interrupted after being arrested on an aggravated battery charge following his own club shootout, then was indicted on a federal charge for a separate incident in which he allegedly shot and robbed a man during a parking lot sneaker sale.

Ye’s ‘Donda’ Bulletproof Vest Was Turned Into An NFT And Sold For A Lot Of Money

Fans began to grow impatient earlier this year while waiting months to hear Ye’s long-delayed album Donda. That’s why the rapper’s Donda listening parties were such a big deal. Ye took over stadiums, sleeping at one and building a replica of his child home in another, and played the entirety of his LP to eager fans. The events were so iconic that one of the bulletproof vests he wore to a listening party is being auctioned off for a lot of money — alongside an NFT that’s an exact digital replica of the vest.

After his Donda listening party in Atlanta was over, Ye apparently gifted his ballistic vest to one of the security guards working there that night. The security guard sold the clothing item back in August for $20,000, but now, it’s sold for even more than that. Auction company Christie’s come into possession of the vest. But rather than selling the vest by itself, Christie’s had an NFT made of it. According to NME, the vest and the NFT just sold for a whopping $75,000.

Sharing a video of the NFT on Instagram, Christie’s wrote:

“We are proud to offer a unique piece of music history: the bullet proof vest worn by Kanye during the August 5th debut of his DONDA album, complete with ballistics panels, hand painted DONDA and Kanye signed MBD, ‘my body different’, and the first 1-of-1 NFT of its kind sold at Christie’s, allowing this moment in music history to live on both physically and digitally.”

Check out the NFT vest above.

Action Bronson, The Alchemist, And Earl Sweatshirt Team Up For Their 2022 ‘NBA Leather World Tour’

The rollout for 2022’s run of long-awaited tours continues. Today, the trio of Action Bronson, The Alchemist, and Earl Sweatshirt announced their entry into the increasingly crowded arena with their NBA Leather World Tour kicking off in San Diego, CA on January 29. They’ll run through March 3 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ, with more dates to be announced. The tour will see the trio of frequent collaborators reunite after sharing a similar bill at The Warfield Theater in San Francisco in 2015 — one of the venues on this tour.

All three will have plenty of new music for the tour as well; The Alchemist has been more prolific than ever, even despite a pandemic, dropping two EPs this year and producing albums for Armand Hammer and Boldy James, as well as the Rapper’s Best Friend instrumental album. Meanwhile, he and Earl have apparently completed a new album, Sick, to be released in early 2022. And Action Bronson, despite not releasing new music in 2021, has his 2020 album Only For Dolphins to perform, as he was never able to play it live.

You can check out the tour dates below.

1/29 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
1/30 — Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
2/1 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
2/5 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
2/6 — Vancouver, BC @ Harbour Event Centre
2/9 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
2/11 — Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
2/12 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore
2/14 — Toronto, ON @ History
2/16 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
2/19 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem
2/22 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
2/23 — New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore
2/25 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues
2/27 — Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
3/3 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

Latto Is Headlining The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour In 2022

Latto, who had a big breakout in 2020 with the release of her debut album, Queen Of Da Souf, maintained her momentum in 2021 with songs like “Fast Lane” from the latest installment of the Fast & Furious film franchise, “Big Energy,” which marked a pop-leaning lane change for the normally hard-punching Atlanta artist, and “Soufside,” a rugged ode to her hometown. It looks like that trend’ll continue in 2022, as she preps the release of her sophomore album and announces a headlining spot on the upcoming Monster Energy Outbreak Tour.

The tour will begin in March in Santa Cruz, California, and continue through to April, when it will conclude right back in Latto’s hometown, Atlanta. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 am local time, with pre-sale events today and tomorrow. You can get more information at outbreakpresents.com. In a press release, Latto said, “Monster Energy Outbreak Tour has backed a lot of big artists in the beginning stages of their careers so I’m super excited to work together. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people so I’m looking forward to letting loose and having some fun.”

Latto was recently profiled by Uproxx as our Winter 2022 Digital Cover artist. You can read our cover story here.

Latto Is Headlining The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour In 2022

Latto, who had a big breakout in 2020 with the release of her debut album, Queen Of Da Souf, maintained her momentum in 2021 with songs like “Fast Lane” from the latest installment of the Fast & Furious film franchise, “Big Energy,” which marked a pop-leaning lane change for the normally hard-punching Atlanta artist, and “Soufside,” a rugged ode to her hometown. It looks like that trend’ll continue in 2022, as she preps the release of her sophomore album and announces a headlining spot on the upcoming Monster Energy Outbreak Tour.

The tour will begin in March in Santa Cruz, California, and continue through to April, when it will conclude right back in Latto’s hometown, Atlanta. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 am local time, with pre-sale events today and tomorrow. You can get more information at outbreakpresents.com. In a press release, Latto said, “Monster Energy Outbreak Tour has backed a lot of big artists in the beginning stages of their careers so I’m super excited to work together. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people so I’m looking forward to letting loose and having some fun.”

Latto was recently profiled by Uproxx as our Winter 2022 Digital Cover artist. You can read our cover story here.

Latto Is Headlining The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour In 2022

Latto, who had a big breakout in 2020 with the release of her debut album, Queen Of Da Souf, maintained her momentum in 2021 with songs like “Fast Lane” from the latest installment of the Fast & Furious film franchise, “Big Energy,” which marked a pop-leaning lane change for the normally hard-punching Atlanta artist, and “Soufside,” a rugged ode to her hometown. It looks like that trend’ll continue in 2022, as she preps the release of her sophomore album and announces a headlining spot on the upcoming Monster Energy Outbreak Tour.

The tour will begin in March in Santa Cruz, California, and continue through to April, when it will conclude right back in Latto’s hometown, Atlanta. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 am local time, with pre-sale events today and tomorrow. You can get more information at outbreakpresents.com. In a press release, Latto said, “Monster Energy Outbreak Tour has backed a lot of big artists in the beginning stages of their careers so I’m super excited to work together. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people so I’m looking forward to letting loose and having some fun.”

Latto was recently profiled by Uproxx as our Winter 2022 Digital Cover artist. You can read our cover story here.

Basically Every Popular Musician Performed On ‘The Voice’ Season Finale, Like Kid Cudi, Ed Sheeran, And Coldplay

Usually, your best bet to see a bunch of well-known artists performing on TV in rapid succession is to catch an awards show like the Grammys. Well, the next Grammy ceremony is set for late January, but ahead of then, last night offered a different kind of opportunity to watch a ton of musical firepower taking the stage on the same broadcast: The Voice aired the live finale episode of its 21st season last night and pretty much every musician you’ve ever heard of took the stage.

Aside from the show’s contestants, artists who performed included Coldplay and BTS; Walker Hayes; Tori Kelly, Keke Palmer, and some contestants; Ed Sheeran; Jennifer Lopez and Lukas Nelson; Carrie Underwood and John Legend; Alicia Keys; Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi; Kelly Clarkson; Blake Shelton; and John Legend.

Of particular note was Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande giving their Don’t Look Up single “Just Look Up” its live debut. Meanwhile, Coldplay opened the show with “My Universe,” and while BTS couldn’t be there in person, they did show up on stage as holograms. Later, Ed Sheeran, who was a Mega Mentor on the show this season, stopped by to play “Shivers.”

By the way, Ohio sibling trio Girl Named Tom ended up winning the season, making them the first group to do so.

Check out the other performances from The Voice finale below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Basically Every Popular Musician Performed On ‘The Voice’ Season Finale, Like Kid Cudi, Ed Sheeran, And Coldplay

Usually, your best bet to see a bunch of well-known artists performing on TV in rapid succession is to catch an awards show like the Grammys. Well, the next Grammy ceremony is set for late January, but ahead of then, last night offered a different kind of opportunity to watch a ton of musical firepower taking the stage on the same broadcast: The Voice aired the live finale episode of its 21st season last night and pretty much every musician you’ve ever heard of took the stage.

Aside from the show’s contestants, artists who performed included Coldplay and BTS; Walker Hayes; Tori Kelly, Keke Palmer, and some contestants; Ed Sheeran; Jennifer Lopez and Lukas Nelson; Carrie Underwood and John Legend; Alicia Keys; Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi; Kelly Clarkson; Blake Shelton; and John Legend.

Of particular note was Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande giving their Don’t Look Up single “Just Look Up” its live debut. Meanwhile, Coldplay opened the show with “My Universe,” and while BTS couldn’t be there in person, they did show up on stage as holograms. Later, Ed Sheeran, who was a Mega Mentor on the show this season, stopped by to play “Shivers.”

By the way, Ohio sibling trio Girl Named Tom ended up winning the season, making them the first group to do so.

Check out the other performances from The Voice finale below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.