Latest Hip hop and rap News
Cancellation of Atlanta festival sparks new fight over guns
ATLANTA (AP) — Tens of thousands of Music Midtown festivalgoers are no longer going to descend on Atlanta’s massive Piedmont Park next month to cheer on hip-hop star Future or watch beloved rock band My Chemical Romance take the stage. In fact, some people are convinced Atlanta...
Portsmouth to name street for hometown hero Missy Elliott
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — A Virginia city is honoring hometown hero Missy Elliott by naming a boulevard in a new entertainment district after her. The Portsmouth City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to change the name of a 1-mile (1.6 km) section of McLean Street to Missy Elliott...
Nicki Minaj to get Video Vanguard Award at MTV Awards
NEW YORK (AP) — Nicki Minaj will receive the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Awards later this month, joining such previous winning music luminaries as Madonna, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott. Minaj, who has won five MTV trophies for such hits as...
New this week: 'Day Shift' and 'Five Days at Memorial'
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES — One of the best movies of the year is finally streaming. “Belle,” Mamoru Hosoda's...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 14-20
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 14-20: Aug. 14: Singer Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 84. Singer David Crosby is 81. Country singer Connie Smith is 81. Actor-musician Steve Martin is 77. Actor Antonio Fargas (“Starsky and Hutch”) is 76. Bassist Larry Graham of Sly...
Review: 'Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2' is bigger, not better
Calvin Harris' last star-studded funk album in 2017 sported several hits but left listeners wanting more. Now, the DJ from the UK has delivered a second volume, titled “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2," featuring even more tracks and big names, but bigger doesn’t always mean better. The...
Driver gets 1 year in jail in death of Nicki Minaj’s father
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — The driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed the father of rapper Nicki Minaj last year was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail, in keeping with a promise the judge made when the man pleaded guilty in May. Charles Polevich, who pleaded guilty to leaving the...
Beyoncé to remove offensive word from new song
Beyoncé is removing an offensive term for disabled people from a new song on her record “Renaissance," just weeks after rapper Lizzo also changed lyrics to remove the same word. “The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” a spokeswoman for Beyoncé...
Mo Ostin, longtime Warner records chairman, dies at 95
NEW YORK (AP) — Mo Ostin, a self-effacing giant of the music business who with rare integrity presided over Warner Bros. Records’ rise to a sprawling, billion-dollar empire and helped discover and nurture artists from Jimi Hendrix to Green Day, has died. He was 95. Warner Records...
Harry Styles secures first Mercury Prize nomination
LONDON (AP) — Harry Styles has secured his first Mercury Prize nomination with his third solo album, competing for the British music award with acts like singer-songwriter Sam Fender and rapper Little Simz. Styles was shortlisted Tuesday for his album “Harry's House,” which has...
