Rihanna Stars in A$AP Rocky’s New Video, ‘D.M.B.’: ‘a Classic Ghetto Love Tale’

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne of Kendrick Lamar’s great strengths as a rapper is his ability to acknowledge and criticize his own biases and prejudices and not place himself above the people he’s singling out. It’s a characteristic that appears frequently in his work, particularly on his deep and dense new album, “Mr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s safe to say that although Italian rock quartet Maneskin were pretty huge in their home country and parts of Europe when they took the Eurovision stage last year, their name recognition and popularity exploded when they won the coveted prize with their song “Zitti E Buoni.” Over the past year, the group has seen their streams, sales and tour itineraries soar, appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and at the Coachella festival — and perhaps most impressive of all, began working with Max Martin, the most successful songwriter-producer of the past 25 years (from Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys to Katy Perry to the Weeknd and Taylor Swift), on their next album.Although the group premiere a new, anti-Putin song called “Gasoline” at Coachella last month, the first fruit of the new partnership arrives tonight: the single “Supermodel,” which drops tonight. While Martin started off as a singer in a hard rock band, this is the first time in many years he’s worked with one — and it’s hard not to notice that the song’s riff owes more than a little to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “Yeeepppp,” bassist Victoria De Angelis acknowledges coyly.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBMG is ramping up its development of new stage musicals in both the U.S., with its first production “Punk Rock Girl!,” and in Germany, following the successful run of its first musical, “Ku’damm 56.”“Punk Rock Girl!” is the debut developmental theatrical production from BMG in the U.S., in partnership with New York-based theatrical company Lively McCabe Entertainment. It features a score of songs written and made famous by female artists and female-fronted bands from the BMG catalog, including Blondie, P!nk, Avril Lavigne, Pat Benatar and Sleater-Kinney, along with the title song, the Dead Milkmen’s 1988’s “Punk Rock Girl”; the full tracklist appears below.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSean “Diddy” Combs has announced the launch of a new R&B label called Love Records via a deal with Motown Records. According to the announcement, the new label “will be dedicated to R&B music and will release singles and collaborative projects from a collective of world-class artists, producers and songwriters.” Also according to the announcement, today’s news marks Combs’ official return to music.An album by Diddy himself will be Love Records’ first project, set to be released this summer.“Music has always been my first love, Love Records is the next chapter is about getting back to the love and making the best music of my life,” said Combs (pictured above, left). “For the label I’m focused on creating timeless R&B music with the next generation of artists and producers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt took a village to create Kendrick Lamar’s mind-melting new video for his song “The Heart Part 5,” which on the surface is just him performing in front of a red backdrop until you realize that his face deepfakes into those of OJ Simpson, Jussie Smollett, Nipsey Hussle, Kobe Bryant and Kanye West (who, ironically, himself dropped a video the same day using deepfake technology).While the video was directed and executive produced by Lamar and longtime collaborator Dave Free and features a host of creative collaborators (listed below), the deep fake is credited to Deep Voodoo, a studio launched by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to specialize in the technology — and the “The Heart Part 5” video appears to be the first fruit of a partnership between Lamar’s PGLang company and the “South Park” founders’ Park County banner to produce a new feature film for Paramount Pictures. (While Lamar, Parker, Stone and reps for PG Lang and Deep Voodoo all declined Variety’s requests for an interview about.) The Deep Voodoo studio — the name of which almost certainly was chosen in part for its phonic similarity to the term “deep doodoo” — made its first major splash late in 2020 with “Sassy Justice,” a spoof of a television investigative report on deep fakes done in collaboration with actor Peter Serafinowicz.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKendrick Lamar dropped his first new solo single in nearly four years on Sunday night, called “The Heart Part 5.” The song arrives just days before the long-awaited release of his fifth solo album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” on May 13.The song’s video begins with Lamar rapping by himself in front of a red screen, but occasionally has the faces of other rappers and controversial public figures photoshopped over his: Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson and Jussie Smollett are six that we noticed after one screening.  Lamar unveiled the long-awaited “Mr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation Entertainment posted the best first quarter in its history this year, according to financial results released Thursday for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.“Momentum has picked up for all of our businesses over the course of the first quarter, and as a result, we delivered financial performance that greatly surpassed our previous expectations, with operating income of $27 million and [adjusted operating income] of $209 million,” CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement accompanying the results. “Artists are back on the road and fan demand has never been stronger, a reflection that live events remain a clear priority for consumers as our social lives restart.”The company’s AOI of $209 million topped the previous record, Q1 of 2019, by $94 million, and was $361 million better than 2021 — when the industry had not yet begun to emerge from the pandemic — with a boost of $269 million in ticketing, $66 million in sponsorship and $26 million in concerts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two weeks before the release of his “Harry’s House” third solo album, Harry Styles has announced the dates for “Love on Tour 2022.”Coming off of a sold out 42-date arena tour in 2021 and two special “One Night Only” shows in New York and London, the 2022 tour works the “Harry’s House” theme by turning arenas in New York, Los Angeles (10 nights each), Chicago, Austin (5 nights each) and Toronto (2 nights) into Harry’s de facto house.Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Styles will continue his residencies in New York City for ten nights at Madison Square Garden, Austin for five nights at Moody Center, and Chicago for five nights at United Center, before wrapping up at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for 10 night run concluding on Tuesday, November 15th.

A$AP Rocky has released his long-awaited new single ‘D.M.B.’ – watch the video starring Rihanna below.Rihanna, who is expecting a child with Rocky, features prominently throughout the five minute video directed and executive produced by Rocky for AWGE. ‘D.M.B.’ is an acronym for Dat’s My Bitch’.The video is an ode to a classic love story, with Rocky and Rihanna depicting ride-or-die characters in a devoted relationship despite their circumstances.One minute the pair are living a ghetto fabulous lifestyle, toasting to the good life on an iron rail apartment balcony and then again in an expensive restaurant; the next Rihanna is greeting Rocky, who at one point sports a bespoke Eric Cantona Manchester United football shirt, as he’s released from prison on a number of different occasions.The track was produced by Lord Flacko, Skepta, Shlohmo, Hector Delgado & Kelvin Krash with additional production by D33J.Check out the video for ‘D.M.B.’ below:Rocky’s last solo studio album, ‘Testing’, was released in May 2018.

Say what you want about A$AP Rocky – I'm of the mind that the TESTING backlash was a bit overwrought – but the man knows how to make a music video. The visuals for his new single "D.M.B." (an acronym for Dat's My Bitch, not Dave Matthews Band) is one for the books even in the context of Rocky's impressive resumé.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorR&B star and former Fifth Harmony member Normani has inked a global publishing deal with Hipgnosis Songs Group — but the most eye-grabbing news in the announcement comes toward the end: “Normani has confirmed new music and a larger body of work is on the way.”Fans have been impatiently awaiting new material from the singer for years, and the announcement of a publishing deal often means (although does not guarantee) that its release is relatively imminent. She was named Collaborator of the Year at Variety‘s Hitmakers event in December.The deal includes all of the future works by Normani, a six-time BMI Award winning songwriter.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPearl Jam paid tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on the opening night of their “Gigaton” tour in singer Eddie Vedder’s hometown of San Diego on Tuesday night.Before performing “Quick Escape” at the city’s Viejas Arena Vedder paid homage to drummer Matt Cameron’s friendship with Hawkins, who died in Columbia while the Foos were on tour, and added a personal touch as well.“[Hawkins] emitted something very incredible and very special,” Vedder said to the audience, before turning to Cameron and saying, “We’re all missing him, and so, Matt, I’m sorry again for your loss. But it just gives us another chance to say how much we appreciate you as well.” Cameron and Hawkins formed a side ban called the Nighttime Boogie Association in 2020 after both took part in a tribute concert for the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell in 2019.On Sunday night, the  Red Hot Chili Peppers honored Hawkins as well, at Jazz Fest in New Orleans on Sunday while frontman Dave Grohl, Hawkins’ widow Alison, and other members of the Foo Fighters looked on from the wings.

A$AP Rocky has shared a new music teaser which stars Rihanna – you can watch the clip for ‘D.M.B.’ below.Rihanna, who is expecting a child with Rocky, features prominently in the 20-second clip, as she and the rapper are seen walking through crowds of fans and paparazzi.A link from the ‘D.M.B.’ teaser leads to a pre-save page which promises that new music from Rocky will arrive at 5pm today (May 5), with a music video also set to premiere here.The ‘D.M.B.’ teaser, which you can watch in full below, has been accompanied by a movie-style poster for an “AWGE picture”, which promises “a ghetto love tale” and features images of Rocky and Rihanna.The poster also reveals that the likes of Skepta, Hector Delgado, Krash, Nort Ollem, Shlohmo and D33J have all provided additional production on ‘D.M.B.’.It remains unclear whether Rihanna will guest feature on Rocky’s latest new music release, however.A$AP Rocky x Rihanna “A Ghetto Love Tale” releasing this Thursday. pic.twitter.com/MdIFG3EaRU— Rap Alert (@rapalert6) May 3, 2022Rocky’s last solo studio album, ‘Testing’, was released in May 2018.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMadonna recently became the first artist to top Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart for the 50th time, making her the first and only recording artist to have 50 No. 1 hits on any single Billboard chart.She is commemorating the event in characteristically outsized fashion with two new compilations: “Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones,” a new 50-track collection that includes her favorite remixes of her dance hits, and an abridged 16-track version, simply titled “Finally Enough Love.” The full tracklists appear below.The collections mark the first album releases to be part of the newly announced partnership between Madonna and Warner Music Group, which will feature an extensive series of catalog releases across her career.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated rapper and Variety Hitmakers cover star Jack Harlow unveiled the tracklist for his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” on Tuesday — and it includes features from Drake, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell and even a song called “Dua Lipa.”Pharrell guests on a song called “Movie Star,” Drake on “Churchill Downs” (presumably about the horse-racing track in Harlow’s home state of Kentucky), Lil Wayne on “Poison” and Timberlake on one called “Parent Trap” (in which he apparently plays the parent).The album drops Friday (May 6) via Generation Now/Atlantic Records and includes the singles “Nail Tech” and “First Class,” the latter of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month and boosted streams for Fergie’s 2007 pop hit “Glamorous,” which it samples.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSwedish pop innovator Tove Lo returns with a new song and video called “No One Dies From Love,” released on her own, newly launched Pretty Swede label through mtheory. The song was co-written with longtime collaborator Ludvig Söderberg.“When you’re with someone for a long time and it ends all of all sudden, it’s like a part of you has died,” Lo says of the song.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated Colombian music luminaries stars Bomba Estéreo have announced the most extensive headline tour of their career, with 33 dates across North America, Europe and Mexico. Tickets are on sale Friday.The duo recently released the official music video for their single “Tierra.” The video stars Bomba singer Liliana Saumet and Lukas Avendaño, a nonbinary Zapotec indigenous performance artist, and was directed by Fana Adjani.The song is from Bomba’s recent Grammy-nominated album, “Deja.”  “This album has a very special aura,” Bomba’s founder Simon Mejia Simon says.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLong-running indie duo Beach House — who released the sprawling 18-song double album, ‘Once Twice Melody,’ just a few weeks ago — are making their film-scoring debut with Netflix’s “Along for the Ride,” which is described in the announcement as “a sweet summer film based on the popular YA book by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen.” The film arrives on Netflix on Friday.Written and directed by Sofia Alvarez (who wrote the screenplay for both “To All the Boys I’ve Love Before” and its sequel), “Along for the Ride” tells the story of Auden (Emma Pasarow), who’s decided to spend her last summer before college in picturesque Colby Beach, according to the synopsis. While other teens party in the sun, loner Auden spends her time roaming the streets after everyone else is asleep.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorChris Thile, singer-songwriter and virtuoso mandolinist and member of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, will perform a concert to benefit pediatric cancer research at New York’s City Winery on June 1. Billed “Uncorked & Unplugged,” proceeds from the event will support Mount Sinai.Head here for tickets and more information.According to the announcement, “Uncorked & Unplugged continues the tradition of a grand New York bacchanal while raising money for and bringing awareness to cancer research.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing his recent headlining stint at Coachella and his long North American tour last fall, Harry Styles has announced a special “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena on Long Island on May 20. All tickets will be available for $25 all-in, including taxes and fees.According to the announcement, the show will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever.”American Express® Card Members have the power to unlock access to Harry Styles tickets for his UBS Arena show by registering for American Express® Early Access powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan*.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly 21 st century New York rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — singer Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Jay Chase — have announced new music and tour dates in the summer and fall. The group, which recently signed with indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian, say they will have new music in the fall.The group will play a brace of dates in Europe and Australia in the summer before hitting North America, with dates at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in October, where they will be joined by high school punk rockers the Linda Lindas on both dates and (in Los Angeles) by Japanese Breakfast.