Latest news with #MichaelStipe
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
JPEGMAFIA on Why He Wants to Be a Superstar & Not Be Like Other Rappers ‘Making the Same F–king Song for the Last 20 F–king Years'
During JPEGMAFIA's rambunctious set at this year's Governor's Ball, I watched as a young teenager stumbled out of the crowd, caked in sweat and mud. His glasses were fogged up, tilted at an angle across the pointed frame of his nose. He correcte them and looked at me and my friend I brought along for the day. 'Do NOT go in there,' he exclaimed, his face radiating the sort of joy that made me think he probably wanted me to ignore this warning. More from Billboard 'Democracy Forward' Compilation Features Tracks From Michael Stipe, Wilco, Brandi Carlile, John Prine and Tyler Childers Gracie Abrams Shares Snippet of New Music & Gets Support From an Excited Olivia Rodrigo Cardi B Blasts Donald Trump's 'Dictatorship Vibe' Over ICE Raids & National Guard Deployment By 'there,' the young teen meant the mosh pit that had inevitably formed in the middle of the audience, a staple of every JPEGMAFIA show. As Peggy's set continued, I watched as young person after young person entered and exited the crowd in a dusty, sweaty and (in one case) bloody haze, all emanating the same joy. It was as if Peggy's mosh pit was a sort of exfoliant, revealing a newfound aliveness underneath those daring enough to try it out. This is the magic of JPEGMAFIA. Growing up, he was a ubiquitous presence in Baltimore's punk scene, and in turn has constantly toed the line between rap and hardcore. His latest two albums, 2024's I Lay Down My Life for You and 2023's Scaring the Hoes with Danny Brown are the closest Peggy's ever come to completely shattering that genre matrix. Both projects flip from jazz to metal to rap to punk to house to everything else so frenetically it can be nauseating — but like that notorious mosh pit, to embark upon these journeys leaves you fully awake by the end. You realize just how deep the rabbit hole goes in terms of how music can be deconstructed and reconstructed. In the world of JPEGMAFIA, there are no boundaries. 'There's no f—king rules, especially not in the music industry,' Peggy told me at his trailer just a few hours before his show. He's sitting in front of a full length mirror, tackling his skincare routine. 'Everything is f—king made up. All the contracts say we own you in all universes and then these n—as never been to Mars. They're just saying s—t. You get me? They're just saying s—t, I'm just saying s—t.' I spoke with JPEGMAFIA about the Director's Cut of his latest album, his haters, his thoughts on the state of rap and how it feels to be labeled an underground rapper while shooting for superstardom. What inspired you to take a approach to ? I looked up the word directors cut after I saw that Justice League, whatever, Snyder Directors Cut s—t, and I was like s—t, we need a directors cut in music. Because I do direct all these albums. I produce them, I mix them, all that s—t. So I was like, what can I do other than call it a deluxe? Cause you either do that for some old s—t or it's just being lazy. So the deluxe or the directors cut for me was I just put the original album out. Cause I cut the fat off of it, so I put the original one back out. I love it and I got inspired from SZA cause she did Lana and she put a whole f—king new album at the front of that b—h and I'm just like, 'Oh I didn't know you could do that.' Why choose these songs to be on the Directors Cut? I've had 'em around for so long I was like, 'OK, these still go. I still like these…' So I put 'Protect the Cross' and all that other s—t out. 'Protect the Cross' goes hard. Oh, they hated that s—t. They was hating hard. You have one lyric on 'Protect The Cross' I really wanna touch on where you say: '2025, your politics is a gang sign.' Tell me more about your thoughts on politics at this moment, and how that bar came together? When I say 'your politics is a gang sign,' I meant it — because who you affiliate with now really says a lot about you. Trump has done more racist s—t in the last six months than I think Ronald Reagan did in his whole f—king career. John Oliver said this, but I'm gonna paraphrase him: If Ronald Reagan woke up from the dead and saw the racist s—t Trump did in the last six months, he would c-m so hard he'd die again. So It's just like, if you wanna support that, that says a lot about you. But if you're on the other side that also says a lot about you because the Democrats are a losing, f–ked party. They're dismantled. So it really is a gang sign in the same way that gangs do that. It's the same way. Curious what the reception was to this album when it first came out? I know you've always had rock influences in your music, but there seems to be a lot more punk and noise energy in . Were people hating at first? I mean yeah, because they just wanna hate — and some people just don't like me, and they can't admit it, so they be tryna pretend because they don't like me the snares aren't hitting as hard or somethin'. [I Lay Down My Life for You] got the same reception it always does. N—as hated in the beginning, and [then] they was like, 'Oh wait this is actually good.' Yeah, f—k you. I get it. That seems to be sort of a trend with your releases. How does that feel when that happens? It happens every time. When I released Scaring the Hoes people were like, 'This is an abomination to music.' Now they asking me for Scaring The Hoes 2. It's so funny, when it comes out, n—as be hating. I'm just theorizing, but maybe it's like a risk-taker type thing? I am a risk-taker! I'm one of the only risk-takers in rap! The rest of these motherf—kers literally do the same thing. Alchemist, Earl and them? They've been making the same f—king song for the last twenty f—king years. Nobody gives a s—t. I'm not them. I'm here to evolve, go farther, go harder and I'm gonna do my s—t. I'm not here to give people the bare minimum and have that just be okay, n—a. That's not me. I'm not wasting my potential like those motherf—kers. I'm not like that. I'm maximizing my s—t. I'm 35 years old — and Tupac said when Black men turn 30, they lose their fire. I have no loss of fire. I'm hot as s—t. These other motherf—kers, whatever. Y'all go do that boring ass s—t. I'm not with that. I'm here to take this s—t forward whether y'all like it or not y'all can kiss my Black ass. And they're gonna pretend like I'm not doing what I'm doing, but I've been doing it! And I've been doing it so well that people have to hate. They try to take the title from me and they just can't, because it's me. You can't imitate me. I'm me, It came from my brain. Keep imitating Earl, and making hyper-pop songs, whatever the f—k these n—as is doing. I'm gonna be doing my thing like I've been doing, 'cause clearly something is working. Going off that, how do you feel about the state of rap right now? I think the state of rap is in the best state its been, ever. Because you have choices from everywhere. You can make any kind of rap you want. In the same way '90s rock was so big, Marilyn Manson got big. Rap is the No. 1 genre in the world, anybody can take off at any point off of one TikTok. It's like a free-for-all. I like that s—t. I enjoy that s—t because it evens things out. I don't have the same resources as some of these motherf—kers do so I gotta go off my talent. Some of these motherf—kers come out here, and they just be havin' pyro and they be sitting in they f—king room on stage and all this dumb ass s—t and I'm like, 'I don't wanna see all that s—t n—a, can you perform? And that's my thing. I'm gonna come with the production. I'm gonna come with all that s—t…because that's what I do. Same thing I did before I ever got in the music industry. I said, you know what? F—k these n—as. I can do this better. And I got in the music industry and I got better than all the f—king underground. Now it's time for me to take it farther. I don't wanna be in the underground no more. These n—as suck. They're boring and they're losers. How important is the live performance to you? When I first came in, I knew it was important to be a good live performer because it would make me stand out. And I came from the hardcore scene in Baltimore so I was used to that kinda s—t. I'm always gonna have my energy, I'm always gonna do that but it's not enough to carry you on forever. Eventually you got to, like, do some s—t that's interesting. My set now is like some Batman Returns s—t. Fogged out, lights everywhere. There's a podium, because I was watching the Democratic National Convention and I was like, 'Damn this s—t look crazy. What is this set up? A podium? Three drapes, and just a motherf—ker talkin' lookin important? I like that.' So I imitated that. I wanna keep evolving and growing, because I don't like being an underground rapper. Do you feel that definition doesn't suit you anymore? Do people still try to put that on you? They will try to put it on me, and that's fine, I understand it. I just wanna blow past it so hard where you say it and you sound crazy. It'd be like calling Steve Lacy an underground rapper. Why do you wanna blow past it? Because I'm not a trust-fund kid and I actually come from the projects. So I want actual success. I'm not, like, avoiding it because my parents already had it. I don't have the mindset that these other motherf—kers do. So I'm just like, 'No, I wanna take it to the tippy-top, because I came from the bitty-bottom.' You wanna be a superstar! Yes, and If I don't, fine, I'm fine being an underground rap legend, that's cool. But while I'm alive and active I'm gonna do everything to take this s—t to the top and not the middle. What do you see for the future of rap when it comes to fusing it with hardcore music? I think a lot of people are gonna jump on that because what people are gonna do is they're gonna realize what you guys are doing is boring as s—t. People yearn for something new, especially in rap. We're yearning, we're tired. We don't wanna hear Drake complain about b—hes anymore. We don't f—king care, he's 40. We need something different. I'm here to try to provide and cultivate that as much as I can because rap fans are f—king bored. Their idea of doing something different is taking different sounding s—t and throwing trap drums on it, and that's not what I'm here to do. I'm here to really f—k you up. You get what I'm saying? And If I'm not, I did not do my f—king job. Conscious rap has Nas, trap rap has Future, experimental rap is me. That's it. Do you feel there have been rappers that have come after you that have tried to bite your sound? I've seen plenty of it, but then I see guys like Matt Proxy from Minneapolis. He came out of my influence and he shows love and respect, but for some reason some of these guys, they come at me like we beefing or something. Sometimes I tweet a lot and you think I'm your friend. I'm not your f—king friend and I don't know you, and If you come up to me I'll slap the s—t out of you. So leave me alone. I see people d—k riding and copying, but they don't wanna give homage, because it's me and they're offended by something I say or do. It's the same reason you won't see me on certain festivals because certain n—as don't want me to be on that s—t. I'm the Real Deal Holyfield motherf—ker. Imitation don't look good next to the real thing, do it? It seems like you're very aware of all of these things that are going on. Everybody is. Everybody is. All artists are. When I was working with Ye, he was on his subreddit every day. Every day. Him and Bianca, every day, just looking at it. Everybody is. I'm not on my subreddit, but he was in there — because he was using it for, like, criticism and to be like, 'Oh let me fix this.' Do you think there's still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding who JPEGMAFIA is? People are kinda coming around, I see it a little bit. Because before it was literally just white teenagers projecting their insecurities on to me, and I was like, 'Y'all realize I'm not a 15-year-old white boy in my house with my mom, right?' I'm a 35-year-old man and I run a business. I don't mind, it's not [about] being white. It's the people that take that and try to remove my Blackness to make their little narratives sound better. It's just like, that's not real. So now people are starting to realize that these motherf–kers are just hating. I'm not doing anything egregious right now. I'm not getting on Twitter to say anything crazy, and when I do get on Twitter to say something crazy it's to promote an album. People just fall for it so well, you know? But I see a lot of people turning the tide and being like, 'Okay, maybe this n—a just likes to make music, and his personality is not a white teenage boy. Maybe he was born in 1989 and he might not think like me.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Democracy Forward' Compilation Features Tracks From Michael Stipe, Wilco, Brandi Carlile, John Prine and Tyler Childers
The 20-track Democracy Forward double album will feature songs from R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Wilco, Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and many more on a compilation focused on democracy, resilience and courage. The collection is a partnership between literary magazine The Bitter Southerner and national legal organization Democracy Forward. 'The work of Democracy Forward ensures that people and communities – that all of us – are heard and that our rights are protected,' said Skye Perryman, President & CEO of Democracy Forward in a statement about the collection that will be release on vinyl the week of July 3; pre-sales begin today here. More from Billboard Cardi B Blasts Donald Trump's 'Dictatorship Vibe' Over ICE Raids & National Guard Deployment Cloonee Postpones L.A. Shows Amid ICE Raids: 'I Will Not Throw a Party Whilst the Latino People Who Have Supported Me in This City Are Hurting' Leon Thomas' 'Mutt' Snatches Third Radio Crown of 2025 'At a time when so many communities across the nation are hurting and being targeted, music, art, and expression helps to bring people together in community, which creates the conditions for courage,' read the statement. 'We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have dedicated their music to support the American people's rights and our democracy during this consequential time. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice matters.' Proceeds from the album will benefit Democracy Forward's work, which includes free representation for people and communities in defense of their constitutional rights. Since the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, Democracy Forward said in the statement that it has been focused on 'some of the most significant issues affecting people, families, and communities to confront anti-democratic extremism head-on. From stopping the federal funding freeze, to blocking the decimation of the Department of Education, to protecting religious liberty, to safeguarding due process, to stopping DOGE and Musk from taking Americans' sensitive and personal data, and more – Democracy Forward has won court orders for people and is just getting started.' The album will open with Stipe's new original spoken word piece 'Invocation.' The singer and activist said in a statement, 'We believe in the importance of our democracy and also our ability to save it. The world is depending on us. This fight is not over. The day is not done.' Since Democracy Forward's formation in 2016, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has taken the Trump administration to court more than 100 times and worked with dozens of prominent groups to combat some of the administration's actions by partnering with organizations including: Abortion Fund of Ohio, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Parks Conservation Association, Alliance For Justice, National Resources Defense Council, New York Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The album announcement comes as Trump is attempting to muscle through his so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill,' a proposed tax and spending package that aims to permanently extend the president's big tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest individuals, as well as make deep cuts to social programs including Medicaid and food aid and roll back a wide variety of environmental regulations and green energy initiatives in an effort to focus on climate-warming fossil fuels. It also coincided with Trump's provocative deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles on Monday (June 9) — without the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom — in order to quell demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the city. Check out the track list for Democracy Forward below. Michael Stipe – 'Invocation' (new) Sierra Ferrell –'American Dreaming' Wilco – 'Cruel Country' Tyler Childers – 'Long Violent History' Brandi Carlile – 'Speak Your Mind' Hurray for the Riff Raff – 'Colossus of Roads' Brittany Howard – 'Another Day Tunde Abebimpe – 'People' Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee – 'Farewell Transmission' Fruit Bats – 'A Lingering Love' Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – 'Something More Than Free' (Live from the ACL Live) She Returns From War – 'Ruthless' John Prine – 'Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven' (Live at Fifth Peg Chicago) S.G. Goodman – 'Satellite' Allison Russell (featuring Brandi Carlile) – 'You're Not Alone' Langhorne Slim – 'Life is Confusing' Blue Mountain – 'Jimmy Carter' Danielle Ponder – 'So Long' Jim James – 'Here in Spirit' Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine – 'No Time For Love Like Now' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Macklemore's Seattle Home Burglarized By Intruders Who Bear-Sprayed Nanny: Report
Macklemore's Seattle home was the target of a robbery early Saturday (June 7). According to The Seattle Times, the pair of burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, shoes and designer watches after bear-spraying a nanny inside the Capitol Hill residence. Macklemore's three children were sleeping inside the property while it was being ransacked, but they were left unharmed. The nanny reportedly bit one of the burglars and escaped before going door-to-door in the neighborhood looking to be let in to call 911. More from Billboard 'Democracy Forward' Compilation Features Tracks From Michael Stipe, Wilco, Brandi Carlile, John Prine and Tyler Childers Gracie Abrams Shares Snippet of New Music & Gets Support From an Excited Olivia Rodrigo Cardi B Blasts Donald Trump's 'Dictatorship Vibe' Over ICE Raids & National Guard Deployment The pair of men entered the home through a patio door and maced the nanny, who was caring for the children, inside. One of the burglars allegedly helped clean her eyes of the mace while the other demanded they be brought to the location of the 'jewels.' A police report acquired by The Seattle Times stated that the nanny was then thrown to the ground and had her phone stolen. She claimed not to see any weapons on the burglars, who had their identities hidden behind face masks, gloves and tactical vests. Authorities arrived at the scene after the burglars fled and safely brought Macklemore's kids to the care of another family member. The rapper was performing in Ireland at the time of the burglary over the weekend. Billboard has reached out to representatives for Macklemore and the Seattle Police Department for comment. On the music front, Macklemore released his politically-charged single 'F—d Up' in February, which saw him stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. All proceeds from the single were donated to the non-profit UNRWA USA. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
The Hill
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Michael Stipe, Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell headline album to benefit legal group battling Trump
Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine, 'The Joke' singer Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are among the artists featured on a new album from a left-leaning legal organization that has gone head-to-head with the Trump administration in the courts. Songs and spoken word pieces from the musicians will be included on 'Democracy Forward,' the group of the same name announced on Tuesday. The double album from Democracy Forward and the literary magazine The Bitter Southerner will begin shipping at the end of the month and is poised to be released on vinyl in early July. Other artists performing as part of the compilation album include Tyler Childers, Brittany Howard, Wilco and John Prine. 'We believe in the importance of our democracy and also our ability to save it,' Stipe said in a spoken word recording featured on the album, according to the group. 'The world is depending on us. This fight is not over. The day is not done,' the REM lead singer said. Last week, Democracy Forward represented a coalition of democracy groups in a lawsuit against the State Department that challenged an agreement struck by the Trump White House with the government of El Salvador to transport more than 200 migrants to a prison in the Central American country. 'At a time when so many communities across the nation are hurting and being targeted, music, art, and expression helps to bring people together in community, which creates the conditions for courage,' Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward's president and CEO, said in a statement about the album's release. 'We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have dedicated their music to support the American people's rights and our democracy during this consequential time. Each of us has a role to play in strengthening our democracy, and every voice matters,' Perryman said. All proceeds from the $46 musical project, which is available for pre-sale beginning this week, will benefit Democracy Forward's work, 'including the legal representation it provides free of charge for people and communities to defend their rights under the Constitution,' the organization said.
The Guardian
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The ones we love: all 16 of REM's albums – ranked!
The REM album that REM appeared to hate: guitarist Peter Buck called it unlistenable, 'a bunch of people so bored with the material that they can't stand it any more'. In truth, the songs aren't bad, but there's something lifeless about Around the Sun: its best tracks sound infinitely better on the 2007 REM Live album. 'I guess a three-legged dog is still a dog,' mused frontman Michael Stipe after drummer Bill Berry's 1997 departure from REM. 'It just has to learn to run differently.' Thus Up was heavy on synths and drum machines, muted, crepuscular – and a relative commercial failure. It's too long and understated to a fault, but the best songs – Suspicion, Hope, Airportman – are worth trawling for. They had nearly split during the making of Up, and were now steadying the ship. Closer to the sound of 'classic' REM (though there's still a lot of electronics), Reveal is sunny but wistful. It may not be quite a return to peak songwriting form, but the single Imitation of Life is insanely catchy. REM ended their career with an album that feels weirdly career-spanning. Oh My Heart – recently given a boost thanks to TV series The Bear – recalls their early 90s; Überlin and Discoverer evoke their college-rock years. It wasn't the triumphant finale they might have hoped for – sales were indifferent – but no disaster either. Both Stipe and Buck threatened to end REM if Around the Sun's successor wasn't an improvement; hence this Jacknife Lee-assisted attempt to harness the power of their acclaimed live shows in the studio. There's plenty of grit and punch, with Buck's Rickenbacker ringing out, and the songs are strong without providing a classic. Stand and Pop Song 89 were REM at their most commercial, but Green was a darker, more introspective major-label debut than those singles suggested, as shown on World Leader Pretend, I Remember California, Hairshirt, and the oddly eerie love song You Are the Everything. The production makes it the most dated-sounding REM album, but there's still a lot to love here. Their debut mini-album offers REM at their rawest: despite the experimentation that apparently took place – producer Mitch Easter deployed tape loops and recorded Stipe's vocals outdoors – it sounded like a band playing live. In Wolves, Lower, Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) and Gardening at Night, it featured songs so great they needed no adornment. Widescreen and confident where Green was slightly scattered and tentative, Out of Time turned REM into superstars. Not everything here still works (although full marks for effort with the KRS-One collab Radio Song), but when Out of Time hits – Losing My Religion, Country Feedback, Me in Honey – it's hugely impressive. Made by a band in turmoil – they temporarily broke up during its recording – Monster is effectively old-fashioned REM (guitars far louder than vocals) put through a distorted glam-rock filter. Its lyrics are preoccupied with sexuality: Stipe came out after its release. Not what a mainstream audience wanted in 1994, it sounds pretty magnificent now. You would never know that Reckoning was written and recorded in a hurry by a band exhausted by touring. Crisper and more straightforward than their debut, it feels awesomely confident, although Stipe's vocals, plaintive but hard to understand, retained an enigmatic air, particularly on standout So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry). Partly recorded during the seemingly cursed Monster tour, this is perhaps REM's last unequivocal triumph. New Adventures in Hi-Fi is filled with weary disillusion – 'The fame thing, I don't get it,' sings Stipe, who had just signed one of the biggest record deals in history – but also with raggedly wonderful songs: the closing Electrolite is a career high. The REM album that most betrays their geographical roots – or perhaps the tense recording sessions. A southern gothic darkness hangs over even the upbeat tracks: Life and How to Live It deals with mental illness, and there's something ominous about Driver 8. Less ecstatically received than its predecessors on release, it sounds incredible 40 years on. Their biggest album at that point was also REM's bleakest, filled with intimations of environmental collapse and horror at Reagan-era America: even the joyous It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) has obvious apocalyptic overtones. Here they sound arena-ready, without compromising their vision or quality. A joy from start (the distorted folk-rock guitar figure that introduces Begin the Begin) to finish (the fantastic cover of the Clique's late 60s obscurity Superman), Lifes Rich Pageant was forceful where its predecessors had been oblique. It features an embarrassment of songwriting riches: Cuyahoga, Fall On Me, These Days. The genius of REM's debut album proper lies not just in the magnificent songwriting but the sense of mystery it conveyed. Everything – title, cover, lyrics, an atmospheric production that buries the vocals and pushes the drums – was inscrutable. Here is music rooted in various traditions, from folk-rock to post-punk, that at the time seemed utterly fresh. Not everyone was delighted by REM's huge mainstream success: naysaying former fans were winningly invited to 'kiss my ass' by Buck, and, listening to their biggest album, it's hard to see what their problem was. It's packed with fantastic songs, dark in tone (The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and Man on the Moon offer rare glimpses of light) and unexpected in its influences: opener Drive was inspired by David Essex's Rock On. Everybody Hurts is probably too overplayed to pack the emotional punch it once did, but Nightswimming is still incredibly moving, and if you're sick of the hits, the deeper cuts sound glorious.
