Music

The Same Security Company From Astroworld Festival Worked The Show Where Dave Chappelle Was Tackled

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Travis Scott Astroworld Festival 2021
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It’s never a good sign when a company has two widely publicized incidents on its hands. Live Nation discovered as much in the wake of Astroworld Festival with the attack on Drakeo The Ruler at Once Upon A Time In LA just a month later, and now, the security company that worked Astroworld is learning the same lesson. According to Buzzfeed News, Contemporary Services Corp. is one of North America’s largest event-security companies — and may face added scrutiny after the recent Netflix Is A Joke Fest show where Dave Chappelle was tackled by an armed man during his set.

Even worse, Buzzfeed’s report found that CSC’s practices may have opened the door for these failures. Due to hiring inexperienced staff as independent contractors, CSC shields itself from liability at the expense of the overall safety of events. One staffer told Buzzfeed, “We were told there was going to be a big crowd and to get them in as fast as possible. There were no details on what that meant and how to do it — just get them in as fast as possible.”

Incidentally, just before he was tackled by the 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, who had a concealed knife on him (in the shape of a gun), Chappelle joked about “increased threats against comedians” as an oblique reference to the Oscars, where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage. Chappelle had brought members of his own security onstage, and it was them who subdued Lee, although Chappelle later joked that he, Busta Rhymes, Jamie Foxx, and (lol) Jon Stewart had “stomped” Lee backstage.

Meanwhile, the venue, the world-famous Hollywood Bowl, is “reviewing its “existing procedures both internally and with the assistance of outside experts.” CSC, which also worked the Astroworld Festival and the Route 91 Harvest festival in 2017, is reportedly named in a number of lawsuits from event attendees and former staff, including those stemming from the Astrowold disaster. In 2020, CSC, along with MGM and Live Nation, settled a lawsuit with 4,400 people impacted by the mass shooting for $800 million.

Big L Will Have A Street Named After Him In Harlem

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Though Big L’s career was unfortunately cut short when he was fatally shot in 1999, just four years after releasing his debut album, he has been heralded for decades. The recognition will continue in a big way as the late rapper is set to have a street named after him in Harlem, his hometown.

Big L’s official Instagram page announced this past weekend, with a flyer, that 140th and Lenox Avenue will be renamed “Lamont ‘Big L’ Coleman Way” and an official ceremony will occur at noon on May 28. The caption was full of gratitude, thanking the 500 people who signed the petition to make this happen.

“It took a whole lot of effort and Support to get to this great point but as an collective we made it happen, The Biggest Thank you’s go out to the Dope 500 plus people who signed and passed the petition around so we could get this street renamed,” the caption read. “There are entirely tooo many good people that gave this their Support, so with all my Heart I personally want to say THANK YOU!!!!”

Big L got his start alongside The Children Of The Corn group, which also featured fellow Harlem wordsmiths Mase, Cam’ron, Herb McGruff and Bloodshed. Big L is known for his debut LP Lifestylz Ov Da Poor & Dangerous featuring tracks such as “Put It On,” “MVP,” “Street Struck,” and “Let Em Have It L.” He was shot and killed at the age of 24.

Here’s Why Travis Scott’s First Public Concert Since Astroworld Charged $50,000

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Travis Scott has slowly been returning to performing after the Astroworld tragedy in November that left ten dead. In March, he took the stage at a pre-Oscars party, and then at a Coachella afterparty a month later. He also announced his headlining festival return, with a spot on the roster for the Brazilian festival Primavera Sound in November.

According to Rolling Stone, the “Sicko Mode” rapper made a comeback over the weekend with his first public performance since the tragedy. It was in a Miami club; online pre-sale tickets were $50, while tickets at the doors were $300 for men and $200 for women, as per the doorman.“Travis Scott usually costs half a million dollars to perform at your venue,” the doorman told the magazine. “And he hasn’t performed in seven months, so this one is highly anticipated. We pre-sold all our tables. Reservations were averaging $50,000 tonight.” To skip the line was an extra $200. The writer noted that despite the venue being at full capacity, no one was moshing.

Filmmaker Charlie Minn recently released Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy, a documentary about the Astroworld tragedy. In an interview, Minn said: “Travis Scott to me is a punk. In my opinion, he is a criminal. Ten people died. How do we get around that?”

Tupac’s Mom Explains Her Unique Parenting Style In A Teaser For The FX Docuseries, ‘Dear Mama’

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This fall, a new docuseries about Tupac Shakur and his mother, Afeni Shakur, is coming to FX and Hulu. Dear Mama offers “an intimate wide-angle portrait of the most inspiring and dangerous mother-son duo in American history, whose unified message of freedom, equality, persecution, and justice are more relevant today than ever.” The series is directed by Allen Hughes and will air on FX and appear on Hulu the next day. Since yesterday was Mother’s Day, FX shared a teaser from the show featuring Afeni explaining her unique parenting style.

“It was my responsibility to teach Tupac how to survive his reality,” she says in voiceover, as black-and-white photos of Afeni with a baby Tupac appear on the screen. “So, Tupac do something wrong: ‘Take your little sorry self in that corner, get the New York Times, and let’s have a debate about it. Not a discussion, a debate. Let me hear what your idea is, stand up, defend it.’” Naturally, Tupac’s seminal 1995 single “Dear Mama” plays over the title card.

Afeni Shakur was a former member of the Black Panther Party and later, after her Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer son’s death, founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation while running a media company also named after him. She was also the executor of his estate until her death in 2016.

Watch the Dear Mama teaser above.

Kanye West Gets Nostalgic In His Deepfake ‘Life Of The Party’ Video

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Kanye West’s love for his mother is very well-documented, but he will always take any moment to pay more homage to Ms. Donda. This time, he did so through the sentimental “Life Of The Party” video which debuted on the evening of Mother’s Day. The two-minute, 39-second visual functions more as a photo album, showing photos of young Kanye in school or with his family. Instead of static photos, each shows a different iteration of the Chicago artist rapping along to the lyrics of the record via deepfake technology.

Andre 3000 and his verse are noticeably absent, perhaps due to the drama surrounding “Life Of The Party” when the world first heard it on OVO Sound Radio. While that version of the song featured a heartfelt verse from one half of Outkast, West took the opportunity to throw more jabs at his formal rival Drake.

The “Life Of The Party” video is also set to appear in the first TV commercial for Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga. According to a press release, new products from the collaboration will be shown in the commercial before being made available to purchase on May 25 through the Yeezy Gap website, as well as Farfetch, Mytheresa, and Luisa Via Roma.

Bad Bunny Had Spotify’s Biggest-Ever Streaming Day After Dropping ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’

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Bad Bunny just released the massive, highly anticipated LP Un Verano Sin Ti. Through cinematic music videos and a themed Airbnb, the star has been successfully garnering as much attention as possible and rising as one of the most popular musicians right now. On Friday, the day of the album release, Spotify announced that he broke two records, with Un Verano Sin Ti becoming the most-streamed album in 2022 and Bad Bunny becoming the most-streamed artist globally in one day.

This isn’t too surprising. Last year, the Puerto Rican rapper received the most streams on Spotify out of any other artist around the world. According to Spotify’s data, he was streamed 9.1 billion times globally this year, an impressive feat for an artist who didn’t even release an album in 2021. Following behind Bad Bunny in worldwide streaming numbers is Taylor Swift at No. 2, BTS at No. 3, Drake at No. 4, and Justin Bieber at No. 5.

Last month, Sony announced that Bad Bunny is going to star in El Muerto, a Spider-Man spinoff. The movie was introduced by Sony Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch at CinemaCon and it’s set to be released in theaters on January 12, 2024. This role will make Bad Bunny Marvel’s first live-action Latino lead.

Tame Impala And Diana Ross Seemingly Have A Star-Studded Album Coming Out Soon

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A few months ago, it was reported that Tama Impala and Diana Ross (aka one of the best lead singers of all time) were working on a new song together, with a source telling The Sun at the time, “Diana might be 77 but she is determined to push musical boundaries and challenge herself. She loves reinvention and melting genres together. She’s really excited to work with Tame Impala and is ecstatic with the track — she can’t wait for fans to hear it.”

Now it appears the two got along so well that they’ve actually made an entire collaborative album.

NME reports that some posters started showing up in London over the weekend which seem to tease a full-length project from Ross and Tame Impala. The colorful poster teases something that’s “coming soon,” produced by Jack Antonoff, and that features Tierra Whack, HER, Brittany Howard, Jackson Wang, Bleachers, Phoebe Bridgers, GEM, Heitor Pereira, Weyes Blood, Kali Uchis, Verdine White (of Earth, Wind & Fire), Thundercat, Caroline Polachek, RZA, St. Vincent, Gary Clark Jr., and Brockhampton.

This comes after Ross released Thank You, her first album of new original material since 1999’s Every Day Is A New Day, in November 2021. Antonoff and St. Vincent contributed to that project, too.

Kendrick Lamar Remembers Nipsey Hussle And Raps From His Perspective On ‘The Heart Part 5’

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Kendrick Lamar 2022 music video
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Four days before his fifth album Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers is set to arrive, Kendrick Lamar made a grand return on Happy Mother’s Day with “The Heart Part 5.” The song is the fifth installment in Kendrick’s “Heart” series which began in 2010 and was last updated with 2017’s “The Heart Part 5.” The song is a lengthy one as it clocks in at a little over five and a half minutes, but through it, Kendrick speaks on Black culture and how he views it nowadays. In a video attached with the song, Kendrick uses deep fake technology to morph into several faces that included OJ Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollet, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle.

One of the biggest moments on “The Heart Part 5” comes during the song’s third verse. Here, Kendrick honors the late Nipsey Hussle and raps from his perspective to close the song. From Nipsey’s perspective, he indirectly reflects on his contributions to his community, rapping:

“Reflecting on my life and what I’ve done
Paid dues made rules change out of love
Them same views make schools change curriculums
But then change be starin’ down the barrel with a gun
Should I feel resentful I didn’t see my full potential?
Should I feel regret about the good I was into?
Everything is everything, this ain’t coincidental”

Just a few bars later, it becomes a bit clearer that Kendrick is rapping from Nipsey’s perspective:

“To my brother, to my kids, I’m in Heaven
To my mother, to my sis’, I’m in Heaven
To my father, to my wife, I am serious, this is Heaven
To my friends, make sure you countin’ them blessings
To my fans, make sure you make them investments
And to the killer that sped up my demise
I forgive you, just know your soul’s in question
I seen that pain in your pupil when that trigger had squeezed
And though you did me gruesome, I was surely relieved
I completed my mission, wasn’t ready to leave
But fulfilled my days, my creator was pleased”

Finally, Kendrick mentions Blacc Sam, Nipsey’s older brother, and it’s now undeniable that this verse is told from Nipsey’s point of view.

And Sam, I be watchin’ over you
Make sure my kids watch all my interviews
Make sure you live out our dreams we produced
Keep that genius in your brain on the move
And to my neighborhood, let the good prevail
Make sure them babies and the leaders outta jail
Look for salvation when troubles get real
‘Cause you can’t help the world until you help yourself

You can listen to “The Heart Part 5” in the video above and you can read some fan reactions to the verse below.

Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers is out 5/13 PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Heart Part 5’ Arrives As An Appetizing Prequel To His Long-Awaited Fifth Album

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Finally.

Late last month, Kendrick Lamar arrived with news that the music world spent the last three or so years waiting to hear from him. He revealed that his fifth album, titled Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers, would arrive on May 13. The announcement was made in a statement from his PgLang agency, which he founded with longtime partner Dave Free. Aside from the album’s title, its release date, and some very early projections of the project’s first-week numbers, there’s little we know about the nature of Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers. With just less than five days until the album arrives, officially launches his new era with “The Heart Part 5.”

The new track is the fifth installment in the series that Kendrick has run in between albums since 2010 with the last edition coming in 2017 with “The Heart Part 4.” Just like “The Heart Part 5,” the 2017 track was released a short time before Kendrick’s fourth album Damn. “The Heart Part 5” is the first piece of music with Kendrick as the lead artist that we’ve received since his contributions to the 2018 Black Panther soundtrack. One of his more recent musical contributions overall came on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties,” which the two won a Grammy award for last month.

The new track also arrives after Kendrick appeared beside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige at the upcoming Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. As the group’s performance neared, rumors swirled that Kendrick would use the marquee weekend to make his long-awaited and that turned out to be the case.

One final note about Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers: it’s set to be Kendrick’s final album on TDE, a label he’s called home since 2004. Once Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers is released to the world, it remains to be seen what Kendrick’s next moves as one of rap’s biggest superstars will be.

You can press play on the video above to hear “The Heart Part 5.”

‘Drunk’ Drake Had Nothing But Jokes After He Crashed Jack Harlow’s Kentucky Derby Interview

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This weekend was quite the active one for Jack Harlow and Drake. The former released his second album Come Home The Kids Miss You which featured an appearance from Drake as well as Lil Wayne, Pharrell, and Justin Timberlake. Harlow and Drake’s collaboration, “Churchill Downs,” is named after the famed horse racing complex in Harlow’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. It’s also the site of this year’s Kentuck Derby which Harlow and Drake both attended on Saturday along with other big names like DJ Drama, Michael Jordan, Lewis Hamilton, and David Beckham.

Jack Harlow took a moment to speak with an NBC Sports reporter during his time at the Derby, and it’s here that things took a hilarious turn. In the middle of the interview, Drake steps in and says, “I was just trying to listen to what you guys got going on, adding, “I just want to hear the conversation. I’m not really here to speak on nothing.” That didn’t last too long as an intoxicated Drake soon took a moment to show some love to Harlow. “I just had to show up. I’m so proud of this guy,” Drake said before adding, “And we’re drunk.” He’d quickly correct himself and clarify that he was drunk while Harlow was sober.

The duo was then asked if they placed any bets on a horse. “We got a lot going on,” Drake said. Harlow added, “We were forced to make a move, on the one and only Happy Jack. He’s really giving a good description of how I feel right now. [If there] was a Happy Aubrey, we’d run that too.” Unfortunately for Harlow at least, Happy Jack finished in 14th place while Rich Strike, who entered with an 80-1 shot of winning, took home the Kentucky Derby crown.

Towards the end of Harlow and now Drake’s TV interview, the rappers seemingly received a cue from the production crew to wrap up the interview, but Drake wasn’t quite ready to end things. “You can’t give the wrap-it-up signal,” he said. “What are you gonna cut to? What are you gonna cut to? A shot of, like, poorly manicured grass, or something?”

You can watch clips from Drake and Harlow’s time at the Kentucky Derby above.

Come Home The Kids Miss You is out now via Atlantic. You can stream it here.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.