Category: Music

Last week, Matthew Allen, a Minneapolis rapper and activist who performs as Nur-D, put his body on the line to fight ICE. Just an hour after ICE agents killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, and days after Renee Good’s similar slaying nearby, Allen joined a protest on Nicollet Avenue. As Allen retreated from… Continue reading As ICE raids American cities, artists fight back before the Grammys with ‘More teeth … more rage’

As it turns out, ‘80s pop star Kate Bush and fictional girl group Huntr/x from “KPop Demon Hunters” have a lot in common. Over the last several years, Netflix has positioned itself as one of the few video streaming services focused on making an impact in the music industry. From the surprise revival of older… Continue reading How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ unlocked Netflix’s Grammy possibilities

As he mills around backstage at Inglewood’s YouTube Theater on a recent evening, John Janick could be just another of the countless dads who’ve brought their kids here to see the K-pop girl group Katseye. Dressed in jeans and a rumpled T-shirt, the 47-year-old looks on as North West — rapper, influencer, middle-school-age daughter of… Continue reading Interscope’s John Janick on the Grammys, AI and succession at UMG

For Ty Dolla Sign, the perfect Sunday begins in the sky, traveling back to Los Angeles from wherever his career has last taken him. The singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist lives in constant motion — our interview had a few interruptions because he was getting ready to fly to Las Vegas, where he would be performing… Continue reading How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Ty Dolla Sign

When Don Toliver set out to make his new album “Octane,” the rapper was first fixated on Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Mountains. Though it wasn’t the sparsely green terrain or occasionally snowcapped mountains that caught his eye, it was instead the historic collection of white domes and solar towers that make up the Mount Wilson… Continue reading How driving in L.A. fueled Don Toliver’s latest album, ‘Octane’

Ray J is under doctor’s orders to stay on bed rest, take all his prescribed medications and avoid drinking alcohol or smoking because of his damaged heart. The R&B singer, who revealed this week that his heart is pumping at far below capacity because of damage from his heavy use of alcohol and other substances,… Continue reading Ray J says obeying docs’ orders is hard. Heart failure? Harder

As is always the case, the Grammys this year will be dominated by pop, rap, country and rock. But the best races often lie in the less mainstream genres. Take best jazz vocal album, where Samara Joy, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap, Michael Mayo, Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell and Nicole Zuraitis are… Continue reading Grammy-nominated jazz vocalists Samara Joy and Dee Dee Bridgewater share intergenerational wisdom

Nicki Minaj, who revealed in 2018 that she was brought to the United States as an “illegal immigrant” from Trinidad and Tobago when she was 5 years old, flashed a Trump gold card Wednesday after an event formally launching the president’s IRA-style savings accounts for children. Her citizenship paperwork, she said on social media, was… Continue reading After Trump gig, Nicki Minaj says her U.S. citizenship is close

Bruce Springsteen released a new protest song Wednesday condemning “King Trump” and the violence perpetrated by his “federal thugs” — referring to immigration officers — in Minnesota. “I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis,”… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ denounces ICE killings

A year ago, Colorado firefighters Rick Balentine and Tim Cottrell were driving trucks carrying donations from Aspen to Los Angeles for victims of the Eaton and Palisades fires. As they headed west, they planned to stop in Las Vegas and, while there, made a spontaneous decision to see the Eagles’ residency at the Sphere. Balentine… Continue reading Why California’s fight over ticket fraud has become a proxy war against Ticketmaster and Live Nation