Music

Near-Death Experiences “Because of what was going on in my brain, they had to wake me up every hour on the hour for two weeks." Dr. Dre thought he was going to die after he suffered a brain aneurysm last January. In an interview on the “Workout the Doubt” podcast, the rapper revealed to host Dolvett Quince that his condition was so bad that doctors actually invited his family in to say goodbye. “I’m at Cedars-Sinai hospital and they weren’t allowing anybody to come up, meaning visitors or family or...

Kenny Rogers was a cross-genre success story, with a decades-long, hit-filled career to back up his legendary status.Born Kenneth Ray Rogers on Aug. 21, 1938, in Houston, Texas, Rogers was the fourth of eight children of Lucille Lois and Edward Floyd Rogers. He was in high school when he formed his first band, a doo-wop group called the Scholars, and earned his first charting song, a solo number called "That Crazy Feeling," in the 1950s.Rogers performed in a jazz trio, the Bobby Doyle Three, and a folk music ensemble, the New Christy Minstrels,...

Nicki Minaj is not here for Kevin Federline’s nonsense. On the latest episode of her Queen Radio show, the rapper defended Britney Spears against Federline’s recent comments claiming that the pop singer’s sons, Jayden James and Sean Preston, are not comfortable being around her. “Do you understand what kind of a clown you have to be to be a whole grown fucking man and as soon as you see somebody happy and getting married and moving on and being free and feeling good in their own skin, to do the...

More than a year after its initial release, Eric Church is making his & album available to the general public. The project is the middle installment of his triple album, Heart & Soul, which Church released in April of 2021.While his Heart and Soul albums were original released to the public, Church's & album was an exclusive project reserved for his fan club, the Church Choir. That changed on Friday (Aug. 19), however, as the album is now available as a standard CD, vinyl and on all streaming platforms.The & album features...

Chicago, IL — R. Kelly’s alleged underage sexual assault victim, known under the pseudonym Jane and central to his child pornography federal trial in Chicago, was heard apologizing to her alleged abuser multiple times in more than one videotape clip submitted as evidence by the prosecution on Friday.  The graphic videotapes were shown to jurors on Friday at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where the tape — featuring clips from three different videos — was not seen by the public or media. Instead, audio was heard in the courthouse. Kelly is facing multiple...

Ben Farrell, a legendary concert promoter who played a major role in the career of Garth Brooks and many other artists, has died. According to a press release, Farrell died "peacefully" at his home on Aug. 10, "surrounded by his family and so much love."Born Ben Kerby Farrell on July 17, 1946, in Jackson, Tenn., Farrell had big dreams from an early age. His father, Kerby Farrell, was a professional baseball player and manager, and the family traveled extensively, during which time Farrell developed his own love of the game....

Lindsey Buckingham is hitting the road again. A year after releasing his self-titled album, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist is making stops across Europe and the United Kingdom, before another U.S. trek this fall. “As promised, we’re coming back on our US tour,” Buckingham tweeted Friday. The run kicks off Oct. 26 at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee and wraps Nov. 19 at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia. Ticket information is available on Buckingham’s website. Ahead of his album’s release last year, Buckingham spoke to Rolling...

Kane Brown will represent country music at this year's MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 28. Not only will he make history as the first male country singer to perform during the show, he is also nominated for an award.Brown's music video for "Grand" is up for Song of the Summer."Grand" is a fairly late entry into the category. The "Lose It" singer released the song on July 22, before dropping a futuristic music video shortly after. The video features several scenes in a warehouse lit by various colored...

Three separate generations of hip-hop will join forces at the 2022 Video Music Awards as LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, and Jack Harlow come together to revamp the traditional hosting gig for the awards ceremony, scheduled for August 28 at New Jersey’s Prudential Center. The trio will serve as MCs for the night, swapping out the traditional host title in a move MTV has described as “innovative and unique” compared to past shows. Last year, Doja Cat mixed up the hosting format with a fashion-forward take, rotating through five outfits...

Chapel Hart clinched their spot in the America's Got Talent finals with their Tuesday night (Aug. 16) performance of their original song, "The Girls Are Back In Town."The energetic, ultra-country tune finds the ladies singing about going out on the town, and it name drops country stars Tanya Tucker and Gretchen Wilson. Not only did the performance earn them a spot in the finals, but it earned a reaction from Tucker herself.Tucker took to social media Wednesday (Aug. 17) to share her thoughts on tune, in which the trio sings,...

Buzzy Collab "I wanted to try something new," the singer tells Rolling Stone Newcomer Aleesha has been playing with a wide sound palette: The up-and-coming singer might be known for silky R&B experiments, but recently, she’s been doing everything she can get her hands on. She jumped headfirst into lo-fi rock on the track “Amigos” last month, and she showed off her sleek balladry on “MIA.” Now, she’s teamed up with Dominican mainstays Haraca Kiko and El Cherry Scom for the dembow track “Melacomo.” Aleesha, whose based in Barcelona and...

Evan Paul hosts Taste of Country Nights, On Demand, a weekly country music interview podcast that focuses on the music. Follow wherever podcasts are found, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave a rating and review. ​​​​​​​​​​​This show is part of the Townsquare Media On Demand network.I recently had the time of my life chatting with Ben Rector. Ben started out the interview by telling me that his album had collaborations on it — everyone from a children's choir, to Kenny G and Snoop Dogg. I was instantly drawn to his collaboration with Snoop Dogg, of course. If you have ever heard Ben's...

You probably know Melissa Young as Kid Sister, who, in 2007, as a spritely Chicago MC earned a verse with the city’s burgeoning superstar, Kanye West, on her high-energy dance-rap track “Pro Nails.” Today, she continues to make music; she recently appeared on Black Thought and Danger Mouse’s boom-bap collab, Cheat Codes, and has seemed to earn credits as a contributor to esteemed Black-power-soul outfit Sault (“I’m not at liberty to say anything about anything,” she says when I ask her about her involvement with the group.) She’s been studying songwriting,...

On Aug. 18, 1998, Jo Dee Messina landed at No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart with "I'm Alright."The title track from Messina's second studio album, the Phil Vassar-penned "I'm Alright" features a woman who's down on her luck, but meeting up with an old friend (who perhaps might be an old flame) to catch up. Sparks don't fly — the man is now married, after all — but the rendezvous does help the narrator gain perspective on how her own life is going.Jo Dee Messina I'm AlrightCurbloading..."I've been...