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Washington Post
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The musical world that Sly Stone made for us still spins
Not even in a world this big, bad, beautiful, wonderful, horrible, overstimulated and hyperbolic can we begin to overstate the importance of Sly Stone. His death on Monday at 82 feels too enormous, too unwieldy for whatever tools we have to measure it. He's one in a tiny handful of 20th-century visionaries who created the musical reality we've lived in ever since, standing shoulder to shoulder with his peer influences (the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, all of Motown) and the star students he inspired (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Janet Jackson, Outkast, all of hip-hop, all of everything). Pop's utopian impulse might not begin with him, at least not in a tidy, big bang way, but it doesn't grow so vast — so quickly — without the immensity of his imagination. When we grieve Sly Stone, we grieve a sense of what's possible in all music.
Black America Web
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
B-Side Bangers: Mariah Carey
Neil Libbert Get into any heated music debate, and the first thing a true fan will do is pull out the deep cuts to defend their favorite hitmaker. Sure, the singles and Billboard #1's will do the trick, but if you really want to win an argument while also gaining some brownie points it's all about coming through with the b-sides. As we launch 'B-Side Bangers,' a fan-focused editorial series that we'll be curating from time to time for all the audiophiles out there, it really wasn't a hard decision to kick things off with the incomparable Mariah Carey. Ironically enough, the era-defining pop queen has her own reason to celebrate today (5/30) with the release of her latest milestone project, The Emancipation of Mimi: 20th Anniversary Edition . RELATED: Outkast, Mariah Carey Among 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Recognized by many as her comeback album after a highly-publicized breakdown in 2001, less-than-stellar reviews of her shift into Hollywood with Glitter that same year and the criminally-ignored Charmbracelet in 2002, The Emancipation Of Mimi was a flex in every sense of the word and solidified her as an unbreakable force in the industry with no signs of slowing down. Even a full two decades later, what Mariah proved on this album resonated on future projects and the overall trajectory of her career. We don't even need to mention the legacy alone of 'We Belong Together' as a record-breaking single to make the point clear. As you get through the greatest cuts on The Emancipation of Mimi: 20th Anniversary Edition , in addition to some new remixes by way of Solange, KAYTRANADA, esentrik and others, take a look at our own b-side playlist that we put together of Mariah Carey deep cuts. We expect diehards to be singing along, and you can thank us later if some of these are new to your ears. 'Honey (So So Def Remix)' [feat. Jermaine Dupri & Da Brat] (UK CD single, 1997) Album: The Remixes (2003) 'Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) / House Top Celebration' (feat. Snoop Dogg & Jermaine Dupri) [2020] Album: Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special SEE ALSO Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
André 3000's No Bars Era: What It Means For Hip-Hop And Jazz Fans
As André 3000 turns 50, the backlash over his refusal to rap on recent projects like 'New Blue Sun' and '7 Piano Sketches,' reveals more about the hip-hop community's resistance to artistic growth than any failure on his part. People were expecting the 'Da Art of Storytellin'' 3K. The 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik' 3K. The 'Ms. Jackson' 3K. The 'Hey Ya!' 3K. However, that was over two decades ago. André was in his early thirties when Outkast released their last album, Idlewild, in 2006. Before dropping his first solo album, he certainly dropped bars across the hip-hop universe. Three Stacks and Big Boi reunited Outkast for the highly anticipated 2007 UGK collaboration 'International Players Anthem,' hopped on Erykah Badu's 2015 'Hello,' worked with Frank Ocean twice ('Pink Matter' and 'Solo'), appeared on N.E.R.D.'s 'Rollinem 7s,' and made several more surprise features with Rick Ross, Anderson .Paak, and James Blake. His last collaboration before 2023's New Blue Sun was with Kanye West, where he dropped bars on 'Life of the Party,' once again fueling hip-hop fans' desire to witness a living 3 Stacks bless the masses with profound, modernized bars. However, they were not prepared for what the Outkast emcee had in store. On Tuesday, the world commemorated André 3000 as he welcomed the ripe age of 50. For an adult man, this is typically a time for thorough self-reassessment. According to a German study by Dr. Kurt Seikowski on men and midlife crisis, as a man approaches 50, he is poised to qualitatively reorient himself. I am not suggesting that André 3000's recent projects are a reflection of the negative aspects often associated with a midlife crisis. Rather, I advocate the view that these works are the product of a legendary emcee's personal reinvention as he officially enters the next phase of his life—also a testament to his intellectual rigor. Moreover, the backlash that New Blue Sun and its successor EP, 7 Piano Sketches, received from a fraction of the hip-hop community suggests a growing forgetfulness of hip-hop's long-standing relationship with jazz. New Blue Sun was foreseen as the highly anticipated solo debut of André 3000, a man who, alongside Big Boi, is solidified as a hip-hop legend as a member of one of the most influential duos in hip-hop history, Outkast. Of course, it is 3 Stacks' signature cadential flow, displayed throughout the Outkast discography, that hip-hop heads were anticipating an aural blessing from. As warned on the cover of the work—adorned with an outline of the seasoned flutist and featuring a hard-to-miss lime green label: No Bars. The album is almost entirely instrumental, featuring a polyphonic blend of percussion, strings, keyboards, synths, and woodwinds, with André's flute driving the downbeat. There are only faint, textural vocals performed by Mia Doi Todd. Other than that, no vocals. No bars. This ruffled some hip-hop heads, who utterly dismissed André's official foray into jazz musicianship. Not only did a portion of hip-hop heads criticize the lack of rapping, but others accused the album and its various movements of lacking rhythm—a critique reminiscent of Western composers who once dismissed the advent of jazz. This is ironic, given that jazz is a precursor to hip-hop culture, forms a subgenre within it, and is heavily in classic hip-hop records, from Duke Ellington and John Coltrane to Miles Davis. The defining mark of jazz music is the act of improvisation. André 3000's recent works, including 7 Piano Sketches, feature an elementary approach to improv, as the hip-hop icon describes it, he simply spreads his 'fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose moves them around until' he found 'something that feels good or interesting.' This same 'feel good' spontaneity is present in Louis Armstrong's trumpet cadenza on 'West End Blues,' in Miles Davis' open trumpet solo on 'So What,' and in the four-note motif John Coltrane springs in 'A Love Supreme.' For those who listen to Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer and jazz enthusiast—improvisation is also the signature of his infectious musical movements. Some 20th-century critics held biased views about jazz, deeming it unoriginal, nonlinguistic, and musically untutored, ultimately suggesting a certain feebleness in the genre due to its embrace of improvisation. Sociologist William Bruce Cameron described jazz 'non-literate,' while others, such as British composer Constant Lambert, initially expressed a racist, anti-jazz bias. Lambert later conceded that a 'small section' of the jazz technique was 'genuinely negroid' and based on 'sophisticated material,' ultimately acknowledging its intellectual rigor. The criticism of the lack of rapping on André 3000's recent works is telling as to a certain forgetfulness, or perhaps unawareness, among some hip-hop heads, particularly those who value lyrical virtuosity, regarding hip-hop's historical connection to jazz. During hip-hop's golden era in the late 1980s and early 1990s, jazz rap emerged just as gangsta rap and pop rap were dominating the airwaves and climbing the charts. Thanks to crews like the Native Tongues (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, etc), Digable Planets, and Gangstarr, jazz class acts like Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Herbie Hancock, alongside a plethora of jazz-infused funk records (including the drum breaks on Bill Wither's 'Use Me' and the horn licks from Kool and the Gang's 'N.T')—jazz rap came into fruition through sampling and brewed a profound subculture. This subgenre stands out for its socially, politically, and spiritually charged lyrics and themes rooted in Afrocentricism. The culture of jazz rap often thrived in underground cafés, jazz clubs, record stores, niche unauthorized radio stations, and college campuses—including HBCUs like Howard, R1 institutions like NYU, and Ivy Leagues like Columbia. Its grand favor among college students is attributed to the subgenre's lyrical complexity, philosophical depth, and pro-Black rhetoric, all of which are seen as intellectually engaging. Jazz rap has frequently been regarded as an elite cerebral art form, with a magnetic pull for a highbrow, cultivated, and educated audience. With the documented history between jazz and hip-hop, it's reasonable to expect any practitioner of the genre to pursue a jazz musicianship in singularity. André 3000 appeared at this year's Black Dandyism-themed Met Gala, dawning a seven key piano shaped ensemble—a clever marketing ploy for his latest work, 7 Piano Sketches. Time and space are central to this work, as André revealed, most of the album was recorded over a decade ago on his iPhone and laptop while he and his son were renting a house in Texas. The music was recorded through pure emotional trial and error, rendezvousing his favorite piano composers, including Thelonious Monk, Phillip Glass, and Joni Mitchell. Though the release may have seemed sporadic and impromptu, it ultimately moreover solidifies the Outkast emcee's commitment to creating and releasing instrumental movements, professionally. These last two works are not the first time he is showcasing this ability. It has been burgeoning since the prime of Outkast. On Outkast's 2003 'My Favorite Things,' 3 Stacks played and arranged the piano which was a tribute to the great John Coltrane. In 2018, he released the EP Look Ma No Hands, featuring James Blake on the piano, which André himself on the base clarinetist—a straight up jazz piece and ode to his late mother, marking his first true jazz project which also shocked hip-hop heads. Over the past decade, he has also been spotted amid the wilderness of American civilization, unapologetically playing his flute on the corners of Soho, on church steps in Philly, and at airports throughout. New Blue Sun was nominated for two Grammys this year—Album of the Year and Best Alternative Jazz Album. While a portion of hip-hop heads disfavored the absence of rapping, jazz enthusiasts and abstract music lovers embraced the work. It is a reality to face regarding the nature of this backlash: although hip-hop heads are under no obligation to favor the work, it is fair to suggest that objectivity should be applied when evaluating the work. Consider the stage of life 3 Stacks is in, and acknowledge a potentially haunting reality for hip-hop heads: one of your top three might just evolve out of rap.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Karoline Leavitt suffers horrific social media bullying campaign: 'Gotta stop watching but I can't'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been subjected to a cruel social media campaign of edited videos calling her a b***h. Viral TikTok videos have emerged showing various clips of Leavitt along with the song Roses by hip-hop duo Outkast. Lyrics from the song include, 'Caroline, she's the reason for the work b***h,' and hoping she crashes into a ditch. Merciless commenters found the video 'hilarious', insisting Leavitt is the woman mentioned in the song - despite her only being six years old at the time of its release. 'Ok I gotta stop watching this but I can't,' one person said. 'This is Simpsons level foreshadowing,' said another. 'Ooohhh now we know what Karoline he met that inspired the song,' a third person said. 'This is not a joke, this is true,' said a fourth. 'Not a single person considered this song when hiring her, including her,' said a fifth person. 'Why can't I think of things like this? It's perfect,' added a sixth. 'That is making America Great Again,' said a seventh person. Others joked the White House will retaliate against chart topping duo for creating the song. 'The administration gonna sue Outkast for making this song in the 90s,' one person said. 'They will say he made this song because of her and will investigate him. Watch and see. Lol,' said another. This comes after New York running influencer Kate Mackz was met with merciless criticism following an interview she did with Leavitt. Mackz toured the White House with Leavitt, resulting in fans slamming the influencer. Several users suggested that Mackz had deleted the video on her TikTok page, but it has since been reposted and her Instagram post is now online but with moderated comments. While Mackz is known for running alongside her interviewees, Leavitt instead walked the influencer around the White House grounds. 'No miles because we're at the beautiful White House,' Leavitt said. 'But why don't I give you a tour?' Mackz wrote in the video's caption: 'From being at the White House last year speaking on a mental health panel and meeting President Biden, to being back again this year... thank you for having us. Truly surreal to walk through a place with so much history and meaning.' But the lighthearted tour of the historic grounds flooded her comments with outraged trolls. 'This is really, really disappointing. Yikes,' said one commenter. 'Reminder that this administration does NOT actually allow press from across the world into its press briefings. @apnews,' another wrote. 'What a dystopic slap in the face to every queer person who has ever supported you. I'm just really really sad about this,' scathingly wrote one user. 'Followed this account basically since the beginning but the lack of integrity shown with this one is gross and kinda sad.' 'The fact she wasn't even running - you put a torch to your platform for a video that doesn't even fit your own brand,' another pointed out.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
André 3000, Jennifer Coolidge, and Sara Bareilles were all in MA in May. Here's why
André 3000, Jennifer Coolidge and Sara Bareilles were all in Massachusetts this past month. No, Met Gala was not moved to TD Garden at the last second, these three celebrities were actually in the Commonwealth to deliver commencement addresses to the graduating classes of different colleges in Boston. Coolidge, recent star of "A Minecraft Movie," spoke at the graduation ceremony of Emerson College. The man known for the smash hit songs "Hey Ya" and "Ms. Jackson" and the woman behind the musical "Waitress" spoke at Berklee College of Music's graduation ceremony, with the latter two receiving honorary doctorates. Here's what these three superstars had to say. Coolidge, who was born in Boston, gave her commencement address to Emerson College's graduating class of 2025 in a way only she could, with powerful moments of inspiration carried by endearing asides and hilarious jokes. "Don't listen to the people who mess up the real story you've got going," Coolidge said to the graduating students. The actress, who graduated from Emerson in 1985, went on to say that she was so absurdly proud of the Emerson Class of 2025 and then said that they should give themselves the weekend to take a break, extending that break comically through New Years' Eve. "Congratulations, and as Elle Woods, my co-partner in crime, would say, "We did it," Coolidge concluded. André Benjamin, popularly known as André 3000 and for his work as part of the hip-hop duo Outkast, spoke to the Class of 2025 at Berklee College of Music, first talking about his musical beginnings. "You are the futures, and I'm excited to hear how y'all hear things," Benjamin said. Benjamin talked how he formed Outkast with his creative partner Antwan Patton, whose stage name is Big Boi. He said the graduating class should stay delighted in their work, that that passion will help them endure. "Don't worry about what people say, good and bad because the praise can kind of blind you," Benjamin said. "Stay on your path." Benjamin received an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee, making him an honorary member of the Class of 2025. Bareilles, also spoke to the graduating Class of 2025 at Berklee and also received an honorary doctorate of music. "Music and art lifts me and, lots of times, it lifts somebody else too," the songwriter said. "It heals me and maybe somebody else." She instilled her view of the brutal reality of the music industry into that graduating class: constant perilous uncertainty where artistic labor is at risk of being stolen or silenced by artificial intelligence and political demagogues. "And there are so many trap doors, but there are so many trampolines," Bareilles said. "And to find them, you just have to keep telling the truth, whatever that is, your blunt, broken, beautiful, perfectly imperfect human truth." Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@ This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: André 3000, Jennifer Coolidge, and Sara Bareilles were in MA. See why
