Lovers & Friends Festival Archives

Juvenile Calls Out Lovers & Friends Festival Over Not Receiving A Deposit

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The highly anticipated Lovers & Friends Festival, slated for May 2024 with headliners Usher, Janet Jackson, and Backstreet Boys, has found itself embroiled in controversy as yet another artist disputes their inclusion. This time, it’s the renowned Cash Money Records rapper, Juvenile, who took to Instagram to express his frustration and disappointment with the festival organizers. In an Instagram Reel posted on Wednesday, Juvenile didn’t hold back. In fact, he delivered a candid and less-than-cordial message to the Lovers & Friends team.

“Here we go again, man. These cats at Lovers & Friends. Whoever in charge of Lovers & Friends, man, y’all doing bad business,” he began. The rapper continued to detail his grievances. Emphasizing that despite being featured on the festival’s lineup poster, he hadn’t received any deposit or compensation for his potential performance. “Y’all done put my name on the flyer, and y’all know you ain’t sent me no deposit. Ain’t sent me no bread or nothin’. Keep on playing games. Talking ’bout y’all gonna get back at me. Look, y’all playing games with the wrong mothaf*cka, man,” Juvenile asserted in the video. His frustration was palpable as he conveyed his displeasure with the festival’s handling of the situation.

Juvenile Goes On A Rant

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A post shared by Juvenile (@juviethegreat)

The rapper’s message adds to the growing discontent surrounding the festival’s lineup announcement. Just a week earlier, Mary J. Blige had clarified on her Instagram Story that her inclusion was an error due to prior commitments. However, apparently a solution was reached because it was announced that Mary would in fact be there after all. However, Juvenile’s response was notably more direct and less diplomatic, expressing his dissatisfaction with the festival’s alleged failure to compensate him for the use of his name in promotional materials.

As the controversy unfolds, questions arise about the festival’s organizational practices and the impact of such disputes on the credibility of large-scale events. The Lovers & Friends Festival, initially hailed for its star-studded lineup, now faces scrutiny and skepticism from both fans and artists alike. Whether the festival organizers can address and rectify these issues will likely determine the success and reputation of the event in the eyes of the music industry and festivalgoers. For those eager to witness the performances at Lovers & Friends 2024, the festival is set to take place on Saturday, May 4, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

The post Juvenile Calls Out Lovers & Friends Festival Over Not Receiving A Deposit appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Mary J. Blige Says Her Lover & Friends Fest Inclusion Was A Mistake

January 25, 2024 by newhiphopnews

In a surprising turn of events, Mary J. Blige has found herself in the midst of a festival fiasco as she expresses regret over her inclusion in the lineup for this year’s highly anticipated Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas scheduled for May 4. The R&B icon took to Instagram on Thursday (Jan. 25) to clarify that her name being on the star-studded bill was, in fact, a mistake. Despite the overwhelming flood of kind words and excitement from fans following the festival announcement, Blige revealed in an Instagram story, “Unfortunately my inclusion was an error as I will be busy in preparation for my Strength of a Woman Summit just one week later!”

Moreover, she went on to express gratitude for the enthusiastic response, stating, “I have the greatest fans in the world and can’t wait to see you in New York in a few short months!” Blige had recently unveiled the sizzle reel for the upcoming Strength of a Woman Summit, generating anticipation for the event. However, specific details regarding dates and the lineup for this year’s summit are yet to be disclosed, leaving fans eager for more information. As fans eagerly awaited her performance at Lovers & Friends, it appears that Blige’s festival plans clash with her commitment to the Strength of a Woman Summit. Despite her attempts to rectify the error, a spokesperson for Lovers & Friends, at press time, had not responded to Billboard’s request for comment on Blige’s statement.

Mary J Blige Will Not Be At Lovers & Friends

Mary J. Blige says her inclusion in the Lovers & Friends Festival lineup was an error: pic.twitter.com/qY5Me72Bda

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 25, 2024

Sources close to the acclaimed artist informed Billboard that Blige’s representatives have diligently sought the removal of her name from the festival’s promotional materials over the past 24 hours, yet their efforts have been in vain, creating a discordant note in the festival’s lead-up. The festival, set to unfold on May 24 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, boasts an impressive lineup featuring Janet Jackson, Usher (performing “Confessions”), Backstreet Boys, Lil Wayne (performing Tha Carter III), Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, Nas, Ludacris, Ciara, Nelly, and many more.

However, Mary J. Blige‘s unexpected withdrawal from the festival adds a layer of intrigue to the event, leaving fans and industry insiders curious about the backstage dynamics and the potential impact on the festival’s overall atmosphere. As the saga unfolds, the festival organizers’ response and any potential adjustments to the lineup will be closely watched by fans eagerly anticipating what promises to be a monumental event. Mary J. Blige’s festival misstep adds a surprising twist to the narrative, making her absence a point of conversation leading up to the highly awaited Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas.

[Via]

The post Mary J. Blige Says Her Lover & Friends Fest Inclusion Was A Mistake appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Will Mary J. Blige Perform At Lovers & Friends 2024?

January 25, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Earlier this week, the Lovers & Friends music festival in Las Vegas announced their 2024 lineup. The single-day event on May 4 will feature Usher, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, and more talented performers.

However, some things have changed since that initial reveal, including the fate of Mary J. Blige‘s festival appearance.

Will Mary J. Blige Perform At Lovers & Friends 2024?

Just days after the Lovers & Friends lineup reveal, Mary J. Blige took to social media to share that despite being on the poster, she will not actually be there.

“I am beyond humbled by the response from all of you about the announcement of me on Lovers & Friends Festival,” Blige posted to her Instagram story. “Unfortunately, my inclusion was an error as I will be busy in preparation for my Strength of a Woman Summit just one week later! I have the greatest fans in the world and can’t wait to see you in New York in a few short months!”

As of right now, no other performers besides Blige have pulled out of Lovers & Friends. Presale passes will go on sale tomorrow, January 26 at 10 a.m. PT, with General Admission passes starting at $325. More information about the festival can be found here.

Mary J. Blige is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Hopefully You Weren’t Excited To See Mary J. Blige At Lovers & Friends 2024 Because She Actually Won’t Be There

January 25, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Mary J Blige Today Show 2023 — Getty Image

Earlier this week, Lovers & Friends unveiled its 2024 lineup. The festival will be headlined by Usher (performing Confessions for its 20th anniversary), Janet Jackson, and Backstreet Boys, while Lil Wayne (performing Tha Carter III), Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, and more. Mary J. Blige was listed on the stacked poster, but don’t get too excited.

“I am beyond humbled by the response from all of you about the announcement of me on Lovers & Friends Festival,” Blige wrote on her Instagram Story this morning, January 25. “Unfortunately, my inclusion was an error as I will be busy in preparation for my Strength of a Woman Summit just one week later! I have the greatest fans in the world and can’t wait to see you in New York in aa few short months!”

So, Lovers & Friends will have to forge on without Mary J. The festival is slated for Saturday, May 4, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. The ticket presale is scheduled for Friday, January 26, beginning at 10 a.m. PST. According to the Lovers & Friends official website, general admission tickets (starting at $325), GA+ (starting at $595), and VIP (starting at $695), and hotel and ticket packages (starting at $679) are available. All tickets start at $19.99 down.

Before Lovers & Friends, Usher will perform the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on February 11, the release date of Usher’s Coming Home album.

Lovers & Friends 2024: Here Are The Details To Know Ahead Of The Festival (January 2024 Update)

January 25, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Las Vegas’ Lovers & Friends music festival will be coming back for another year. With Usher, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg, and many more musicians set to perform, it is truly gearing up to be another jam-packed day for those attending.

Given the festival announced its 2024 lineup just a few days ago, there is a ton of new information to know about it — along with how to get tickets.

Here’s everything to help you be prepared.

When Is Lovers & Friends 2024?

The Lovers & Friends Festival will take place on Saturday, May 4, as the artists will be only performing at the one-day event.

Where Is Lovers & Friends 2024 Held?

The Lovers & Friends event is being held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

Who Is Headlining Lovers & Friends 2024?

There are quite a few headliners for this year, with Janet Jackson, Usher, Backstreet Boys, Lil Wayne, Gwen Stefani, and Snoop Dogg being among the top-billed performers.

When Does The Lovers & Friends 2024 Lineup Come Out?

The lineup for Lovers & Friends 2024 has already been released, as it dropped earlier this week. You can view the poster below.

Is Lovers & Friends 2024 Sold Out?

Right now, no. Tickets for the Lovers & Friends festival have yet to go on sale, but will likely wind up selling out.

Can You Still Buy Tickets For Lovers & Friends 2024?

Those interested in attending the festival can sign up for the presale through their website. The tickets will go on sale tomorrow (January 26) at 10 a.m. PT.

How Much Are These Lovers & Friends 2024 Tickets?

A General Admission pass starts at $235, and GA+ begins at $595. A VIP ticket starts at $695. There is also a VIP Cabana option, along with hotel and ticket packages starting at $679.

How Long Is The Lovers & Friends 2024 Festival?

January 24, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Earlier this week, Usher announced the return of his nostalgia-packed festival, Lovers & Friends, bringing both excitement and confusion from fans of turn-of-the-millennium hip-hop and R&B. Both emotions were largely reactions to the same thing: The sheer number of artists listed on the flyer, from headliners Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson, and Snoop Dogg to the one-hit-wonders hovering near the bottom of the list like Lumidee, J-Kwon, and Iyaz.

On one hand, there wer enough to justify the price of the ticket (and standing up for hours on end) for the millennials who came of age during the 2000s, but on the other, there are so many names, it’s hard to believe that they would all fit in just one day when the festival returns to Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 4. However, that certainly seems to be what the organizers will attempt to do, as the festival’s flyer only advertises a one-day event.

This reflects the flyer for the original event way back in 2020, when dozens of names were stuffed onto the flyer. However, after the initial confusion about who all was actually booked was cleared up, the festival added a second day, allowing for some adjustments to the lineup, and presumably, more equitable distribution of time slots. However, as with so many other events that year, Lovers & Friends was postponed, then moved to Las Vegas when it finally returned in 2022.

For those last two iterations, it remained a one-day festival, with last year’s concert headlined by Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, and Pitbull. So, it stands to reason that it will continue to be a one-day festival, but as the lineup continues to expand year after year, its fans would almost certainly love to see it expand once again to accommodate all those early-aughts favorites. Check out the full lineup below:

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

How Much Are Tickets For Lovers & Friends 2024?

January 23, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Usher, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson, and Snoop Dogg have been announced as the headliners for the 2024 Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas, and millennials everywhere are checking their bank accounts and stacking their coins in anticipation of the presale this week. Fortunately, if they miss the presale on Friday (January 26), they’ll have plenty of time to make arrangements ahead of the festival’s May 4 date (and cop some orthopedics). So…

How Much Are Tickets For Lovers & Friends 2024?

General Admission tickets start at $235, GA+ starts at $595, and VIP starts at $695. Friday’s pre-sale begins at 10 am PT, and if any tickets are left over, a general sale will follow. You can visit loversandfriendsfest.com for more information.

Find the full festival lineup below.

Lovers & Friends Festival 2024 Lineup

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

Jermaine Dupri Recalls Latto’s Appearance On “The Rap Game”

May 14, 2023 by newhiphopnews

Jermaine Dupri recently reflected on Latto’s appearance on the reality show, The Rap Game. Speaking with HipHopDX, he discussed how Latto blew up after the series aired and fired back at people who say he “dropped the ball.” At the time, Latto had been going by the name, “Miss Mulatto.”

“People keep saying, ‘Jermaine, you dropped the ball on [Latto],’” he told the outlet at the Lovers & Friends festival earlier this month. “But what people don’t understand is, I put Latto’s record out. The deal was, if you win on The Rap Game, you get a single from Jermaine Dupri. So that single came out.”

Jermaine Dupri With Latto

NEW YORK – MARCH 31: Miss Mulatto and Jermaine Dupri attend Miss Mulatto Visits Music Choice at Music Choice on March 31, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

He continued: “The problem was, was that Latto was 16 years old, and the outlets didn’t support it. And nobody was like speaking on it. Nobody talked about it. If you watched the TV show, you saw it. But people didn’t really start talking about Latto until she started making more vulgar records, dressing more sexual, and being more adult.”

The premise of The Rap Game was that five young rappers would face off in a competition to win a recording contract with Dupri’s So So Def imprint. The contestants were Miss Mulatto, Lil Niqo, Lil Poopy, Supa Peach, and Young Lyric.

Jermaine Dupri Reflects On Latto’s Career

Elsewhere in the interview, Dupri spoke about his 14-year-old artist, Young Dylan. In doing so, he called out hip-hop blogs for their lack of support for the rapper. Dylan made a name for himself as a contestant in America’s Got Talent at the age of 10. He also stars in his own Nickelodeon show. “I’m the young man game giver. But everybody keeps saying it’s a young man’s game. So if it’s a young man’s game then why hasn’t — you know, if it is and all these different sites claim – like AllHipHop, they claim it’s all Hip Hop. But they ain’t posted a Dylan record,” Dupri complained. “The Source is supposed to be the source of Hip Hop. They ain’t talked about the Dylan project.”

[Via]

N.O.R.E. Gives Rare Show At Lovers & Friends Festival, Hints That It’s His Last

May 11, 2023 by newhiphopnews

N.O.R.E. was one of many hip-hop legends that performed at the Lovers & Friends Festival last Saturday (May 6) in Las Vegas. However, he was perhaps the only act in attendance who teased that it would be his final performance. The Drink Champs host has obviously found a lot of success with that show, and he hinted at it being time to fully enter a new chapter. Regardless of that info, the Queens MC still played through many of his greatest tracks much to the excitement of the crowd. Still, it’s quite the bittersweet affirmation from the rapper, as fans are always going to want more.

With that in mind, it’s actually been quite rare for N.O.R.E. to perform these days. As such, maybe this revelation, as unofficial as it may be, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to many hardcore fans. Even considering his increasing focus in the podcasting space and other media avenues, people usually go for a farewell tour. Just look at 50 Cent, who recently announced “The Final Lap” tour and hinted at his last hurrah in the trek’s title.

N.O.R.E. Hits The Lovers & Friends Festival Stage

pic.twitter.com/tXZxYDgR9s

— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 10, 2023

No matter his seemingly relinquished performance duties, the 45-year-old is still very proud of what he’s built on Drink Champs. While catching up with HipHopDX at Lovers & Friends, he revealed that his interview with Nas was the most surreal for him to do. “That’s my brother and I never really wanted to interview him at all because he’s my brother, but the fact that he did sit down… it’s very weird to ask people questions that you don’t wanna ask them,” N.O.R.E. expressed. “I’m not the police, and they know I’m not the police, but at the end of the day, I wanna have fun and I wanna make them surreal.

“At the end of the day, all hip-hop stars is superheroes,” he continued. “But the thing is what makes Drink Champs Drink Champs is I don’t make ’em superheroes. I make them Clark Kents.” Considering that, N.O.R.E. might not hit the stage again, but he’ll surely continue contributing to the culture in a positive and influential way. For more news and the latest updates on the hip-hop heavyweight, check back in with HNHH.

[via]

50 Cent Brings Out BIA At Lovers and Friends Festival

May 10, 2023 by newhiphopnews

During Usher’s Lovers and Friends Festival, 50 Cent brought out BIA as a special guest. Despite the drama leading up to the festival between Chris Brown and festival organizer Usher, there were many wholesome link-ups. During Fif’s set at the nostalgic Hip-Hop festival, he showed love to the new school by bringing out BIA so she could play a few songs. Attendees captured the moment of the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ mogul embracing the “Best On Earth” rapper. 50 Cent was hyping up the Boston native as she slapped the crowd with all her hits.

Furthermore, it’s nice to see 50 show love to the up-and-coming artists now and again. However, that wasn’t the only wholesome connection Fif made while at the Lovers and Friends Festival. 50 Cent, N.O.R.E., and Nelly all were scheduled to perform at the festival. N.O.R.E.’s had a quick set on the Crunk Stage. Nelly was scheduled to be on the Friends Stage in the afternoon. Meanwhile, 50 was kicking his set off on the Lovers Stage evening slot.

50 Cent Shows Love To BIA

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A post shared by The Neighborhood Talk (@theneighborhoodtalk)

Moreover, while it was a more than busy day for all three rap icons, they still made time to link. The three joked about their early beginnings for a minute. However, N.O.R.E. had to let them both know jokingly that he felt he was the first one that put them on causing laughter amongst the group. Furthermore, aside from playing festivals with his contemporaries, 50 Cent has been busy with new business ventures. Recently, the POWER creator has teamed up with Shaq and Kenya Barris to buy BET. The bids for the network have been flooding in viciously. One of the highest bidders, Tyler Perry, set to buy as much of BET as he could.

However, the power trio set to purchase the entire television network in a joint venture. Reportedly the bid is being financed by investment firm CVC. Not only that, the bid has now become the frontrunner to buy BET. Sources told TMZ that it wasn’t a done deal just yet, however, they’re deep in the process. What do you think about all the moves 50 Cent is making right now? Let us know in the comments below. Follow HNHH for the latest music news.

Juvenile Goes On A Rant

Mary J Blige Will Not Be At Lovers & Friends

Will Mary J. Blige Perform At Lovers & Friends 2024?

When Is Lovers & Friends 2024?

Where Is Lovers & Friends 2024 Held?

Who Is Headlining Lovers & Friends 2024?

When Does The Lovers & Friends 2024 Lineup Come Out?

Is Lovers & Friends 2024 Sold Out?

Can You Still Buy Tickets For Lovers & Friends 2024?

How Much Are These Lovers & Friends 2024 Tickets?

The Full Lovers & Friends Festival 2024 Lineup

How Much Are Tickets For Lovers & Friends 2024?

Lovers & Friends Festival 2024 Lineup

Jermaine Dupri With Latto

Jermaine Dupri Reflects On Latto’s Career

N.O.R.E. Hits The Lovers & Friends Festival Stage

50 Cent Shows Love To BIA