Jack Daniel’s recently hosted ‘Mix with the Mixer’ at VUrooftop in Chicago, honoring local DJs and their vital contributions to the city’s nightlife. The event, part of the ‘Jack & Music’ program, united nearly three dozen Chicago DJs to perform and connect.
As a platform for emerging artists, ‘Jack & Music’ aims to elevate live performances through partnerships and promotions. Special guests included Latin Grammy-nominated DJ, Mr. Pauer, collaborating with Jack & Music for a cross-genre mashup releasing this summer, and LA/Chicago-based DJ, GioSandz.
Attendees enjoyed a curated menu featuring crafted Jack Daniel’s cocktails, while an afterparty at ESCO featured sets by Mr. Pauer, GioSandz, and more. ‘Mix with the Mixer’ underscores Jack Daniel’s commitment to supporting local talent and fostering a vibrant music scene in Chicago.
Renowned artist 6LACK is set to hit the road again this summer following the success of his recent Since I Have A Lover Tour. The new tour, titled 6LACK: No More Lonely Nights Tour and produced by Live Nation, will feature limited intimate performances across seven U.S. cities.
The Since I Have A Lover album delves deep into 6LACK’s journey, exploring themes of mental health, healing, personal growth, and love. The upcoming tour aims to capture the raw emotion of these songs, offering fans an immersive experience of the artist’s introspective world.
The artist presale for tickets will begin on April 30 at 10 AM local time and run until May 3 at 9 AM local time. Tickets will be available to the public starting May 3 at 10 AM local time. Additionally, fans can purchase VIP Packages, including general admission tickets, Meet & Greet opportunities with 6LACK, photo ops, specially designed VIP gift items, and more. For further details, interested individuals can visit vipnation.com.
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador and multi-platinum recording artist, is extending his support to WFP’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza with an additional $2 million from his XO Humanitarian Fund.
This generous contribution will facilitate the provision of over 1,500 metric tons of fortified wheat flour, capable of producing more than 18 million loaves of bread, sustaining over 157,000 Palestinians for a month.
Tesfaye’s commitment follows his earlier donation of $2.5 million in December 2023, which provided emergency meals for over 173,000 Palestinians. Urging his fans to contribute, Tesfaye highlights the dire situation facing more than 1 million Palestinians grappling with hunger in Gaza.
“With famine looming in Gaza, Abel’s generous support will provide vital relief for thousands of Palestinian families who battle the grip of hunger every day. We are tremendously grateful for his contribution, compassion and for his unwavering advocacy for WFP and the people of Palestine,” said WFP’s Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Region, Corinne Fleischer.
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WFP’s ongoing efforts involve distributing food in U.N. shelters, communities, and camps, including specialized nutritional products. They aim to support over 100 community kitchens and provide 500,000 hot meals daily, while also aiding in the reactivation of local food systems.
Since becoming a Goodwill Ambassador in 2021, Tesfaye has been actively involved in WFP’s mission, raising $6.5 million through personal donations and the XO Humanitarian Fund. His contributions to Gaza operations total $4.5 million, with an additional $2 million allocated to emergency food assistance in Ethiopia.
“We are very grateful for Abel’s continued support as WFP works to respond to the urgent hunger crisis in Gaza,” said Barron Segar, President and CEO, World Food Program USA. “Hunger is a human-made problem, and as such, it is solvable. We have enough food in this world to feed everyone; all we need is the funding and safe access to make it happen. Thanks to Abel’s designation, families and children will receive the food they so desperately need.”
Through Tesfaye’s unwavering support, WFP continues its vital work in alleviating hunger and restoring stability in regions affected by crisis. For more information on The Weeknd’s collaboration with WFP, visit wfp.org/TheWeeknd.
Donald Trump is looking for your favorite rappers and ball players to support his presidential bid. According to The Boston Herald, Trump is looking to bring big stars in the Hip-Hop community to Madison Square Garden for a campaign rally.
Trump is also looking to appear in Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta. There currently isn’t a firm plan to engage the Black community, which is alarming for Trump’s campaign with just five months left until election day.
“To be quite honest, the Republican Party does not have a cohesive engagement plan for Black communities,” said Darrell Scott, a Black pastor and longtime Trump ally who co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump in 2016. “What it has are conservatives in communities of color who have taken it upon themselves to head our own initiatives.”
Any sports or Hip-Hop luminaree will likely receive a negative reaction from Black leaders. One of them is Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke against rappers who are standing in support of former President Donald Trump. During an appearance on MSNBC in Aug. 2023, Sharpton questioned how Black people, including rappers, could support Trump, recalling his history with the Central Park Five.
For a brief history lesson, in 1989, Trump, who was then a prominent New York City businessman, took out several full-page newspaper advertisements calling for New York City politicians to reinstate the death penalty following the brutal rape and attack of a female jogger in New York City. Five youth, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, and Kevin Richardson, were wrongfully imprisoned for 7-13 years until the attacker was caught. They had been coerced into giving false confessions and received substantial settlements. All are involved in criminal justice activism efforts now. Trump never formally apologized to the five, especially since he took out the ads before their trials began.
“Let’s go to the 1990s when five young Black and brown men were falsely accused of raping a white woman in Central Park,” Sharpton said. “It was Donald Trump that took out ads in the papers in New York saying they should get the death penalty.”
Sharpton later said, “Black men need to know they were all young Black men. One spent 13 years in jail. He was with us for the March on Washington on Saturday. Let them come and tell the rappers and other Black men being seduced by Trump what he did in his hometown to innocent to Black men.”
.@TheRevAl: "If they want to cite how Blacks have been abused by the criminal justice system, cite the case where we marched and eventually it was proven that these five young men that Donald Trump called on to get the death penalty, were in fact innocent." #TheReidOutpic.twitter.com/3toDjeAGv4
Around Trump, there are currently a lot of debates, and we became interested in how all these events have affected his popularity on social media. The analytical team at Casinoenligneguru conducted research and found that over the past month, the number of followers increased by 143,735. How much do you think Trump could earn on his Instagram if he published sponsored posts? With an audience of 24 million, his post would cost between $52,536 and $78,804.
Diddy is firing back at Aubrey O’Day’s claims against him. Over the weekend, O’Day stated Diddy attempted to buy her silence using her publishing.
O’Day also appeared in The Downfall of Diddy, a film from TMZ.
In response, Diddy told TMZ: “Aubrey O’Day got her big break because Diddy and Bad Boy cast her in their show with her group, Danity Kane. Last year, when he reassigned his portion of the publishing to Bad Boy artists, an unprecedented move within the industry and which he did not have to do, not all artists signed an NDA, contrary to what she claims.”
TMZ reported that last year when the mogul formerly known as Puff Daddy reassigned publishing rights back to Bad Boy artists, it was considered an unprecedented move within an industry known for unfairly withholding pub rights and revenue, and quite frankly, he didn’t need to do, artists were asked to sign NDAs. But O’Day says not all signed the silencing document and did not want parts of Diddy’s NDA to get back her publishing rights, which she contends wasn’t worth much.
O’Day was signed to Bad Boy Records in the 2000s, so she had a front-row seat to who Diddy was during that time. TMZ spoke to her for their new documentary The Downfall of Diddy, premiering on Tubi, which unpacks the Bad Boy CEO’s allegations and ensuing investigation after those major raids that hit his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Get this: O’Day claims she had wind of what may have been coming for Diddy as far back as September 2023. See, that’s around the time Diddy made that big announcement that he was giving his former artists (the one’s who are still alive) the rights to their music catalogs.
On the surface, however, left field felt like a generous move. However, according to Aubrey, there were strings attached behind the scenes. Aubrey O’Day claimed Diddy included as part of the deal that artists needed to sign NDAs. This maneuver was designed to silence them from speaking out on their experiences while at Bad Boy, and most certainly in the presence of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Aubrey shut that right on down. She feels her ability to talk about her time during her Bad Boy days is more valuable than what was being offered.
Not to mention, her talking now has been consistent with her energy for years. O’Day has been talking about Diddy’s behavior for a long time, and she has been sounding the alarm. No one was listening until the relatively recent accusations and civil suit brought on by singer Cassy and several others, which Diddy categorically denies even though he settled with Cassy less than 24 hours after the suit became public. And if you think that big to do about the publishing was about real money, think again. At least for O’Day, she contends the amount of cash connected to her publishing rights was disrespectfully low. If true, we’re talking about pennies. And TBH, she’s making real money on other platforms, such as her OnlyFans, so it’s no wonder she rejected the offer.
Authorities in Los Angeles are probing a shooting incident that occurred outside the lavish Encino residence of music producer Cash XO, known offstage as Amir Esmailian, co-founder of XO Records with Grammy-winning artist The Weeknd.
According to Fox 11 Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to multiple 911 calls around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, reporting gunfire near the 101 Freeway and White Oak Avenue. One caller, identified as the victim, alleged being shot near the guard shack by three armed individuals wearing medical masks and hoodies, who fled after the altercation.
The wounded security guard was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where he underwent surgery. Authorities later provided an update stating that he is expected to survive.
Investigators revealed that at least four individuals were inside the residence during the incident, suggesting Esmailian employed the injured guard. The motive behind the shooting remains under investigation.
The shooting has sparked concerns in the community, raising questions about safety and security in affluent neighborhoods like Encino. As authorities continue their inquiries, residents await further updates on the case, hoping for swift justice and increased vigilance.
This is the 6th full-length LP from Haverstraw, New York emcee Pro Dillinger. A member of the Umbrella collective as well as 1/2 of The Steiner Brothers, he has released a total of 5 mixtapes along with his last 5 albums & even 7 EPs. Favorites include the Finn-produced debut Pray for My Prey, the Machacha-produced Dirt Don’t Hurt, his 3rd EP MOSFoul, the Sting vs. Flair collab EP with Mickey Diamond & the Steiner Brothers’ eponymous debut. And with Dirty Work celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary this summer, the dirtiest of the Umbrella has brought Sean Kelly back to handle production for Reasonable Dirt much like Forever Foul.
“Bad Business” begins with a grand instrumental refusing to let anyone throw him off his focus whereas the funky “We Don’t Believe You” featuring Substance810 warns all these foul muthafuckas that there ain’t no more hiding & it’ll be lit when they catch ‘em. “So Guilty” goes into a jazzier direction with the beat talking about having murder on his mind, but then “Fall for Nothing” soulfully discusses wanting it all.
Blokkito joins Pro Dillinger for “Someday” jumping on top of this harmonious sample talking about being body snatchers & that they didn’t want them succeeding while “Home Team” delivers a smoother vibe overall to the beat telling everyone that they rockin’ with the best & he’s a part of bringing back the culture. Instrumentally, the song “Last Days” has this trippy mood to it so he can talk about becoming rich & going broke twice just before “The Change” incorporates another soul flip admitting that he’s caught up in the game.
“Selling Hope” featuring Big Trip weaves some pianos into the fold refusing to back down from any smoke that heads their way along with having the city on their backs & the squad chillin’ on a boat with everyone else bitterly watching from the background prior Reasonable Dirt’s title track finishing the album over synthesizers talking about rising from the soil, his amazing lineage & pouring beer on the flowers that’re growing from the sidewalk to make them stronger.
What we have on Reasonable Dirt is Pro Dillinger & Sean Kelly making a sequel album to Forever Foul that takes everything from the predecessor & turns it up to 11. Sean’s production still has the jazzy undertones from previously except you can hear that he’s grown as a producer over the course of these past couple years, Dirtius Jackson goes harder on the mic, there are a lesser amount of guests & Futurewave killed it with the mixing.
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador and multi-platinum global recording artist Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is allocating another $2 million from his XO Humanitarian Fund toward WFP’s humanitarian response efforts in Gaza. This support will provide over 1,500 metric tons of fortified wheat flour, which can make over 18 million loaves of bread that can help feed more than 157,000 Palestinians for one month.
This funding builds on the original $2.5 million, equivalent to four million emergency meals, that Tesfaye directed to WFP’s Gaza response in December 2023. It provided 820 metric tons of food parcels to feed more than 173,000 Palestinians for two weeks. Additionally, Tesfaye is making an urgent appeal to fans, calling on them to give what they can by donating towards WFP’s efforts in Gaza. More than 1 million Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger across Gaza and need urgent support.
“With famine looming in Gaza, Abel’s generous support will provide vital relief for thousands of Palestinian families who battle the grip of hunger every day. We are tremendously grateful for his contribution, compassion and for his unwavering advocacy for WFP and the people of Palestine,” said WFP’s Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Region, Corinne Fleischer.
WFP is providing desperately needed food to over a million people across Gaza each month and is working to re-activate collapsed food systems. Most food is distributed in central and southern Gaza, with food deliveries to the north increasing since March. Around 2,100 metric tons of food parcels and wheat flour have been brought into northern Gaza via land routes and an additional 45 metric tons have been airdropped.
WFP distributes food in U.N. shelters, communities and make-shift camps, including ready-to-eat food, wheat flour and specialized nutritional products for children, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. It also supports over 100 community kitchens and aims to provide 500,000 hot meals daily. WFP is helping bakeries become operational again, supplying four bakeries in the north and 12 bakeries in central and southern Gaza with wheat flour, fuel, yeast, salt and sugar.
