Music
Finally, an arrest 30 years after Tupac Shakur’s murder
Las Vegas police arrested a man for the shooting death of Tupac Shakur, but the man police arrested was not the shooter. Shakur was shot down on September 13, 1996. He was 25. He was riding in a car with Suge Knight, the founder of Death Row Records. The suspect under arrest is Duane “Keffe…
Read MoreJann Wenner said Black musicians ‘are not articulate’
Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine and one of the founders of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been kicked off the board for making sexist comments about women singers and racist comments about Black singers, although many Whites emulate or borrow liberally from Black musicians. In his book, “The Masters,†which…
Read MoreTina Turner thought she was the reincarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh
Tina Turner once sang about being the reincarnation of the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut, a woman who dressed like a man and ruled over ancient Egypt. She was the fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, ruling from 1479 BC until she died in 1458 BC. Miles Davis, Prince, and Erykah Badu also borrowed inspirational lyrics from the pharaohs. How ancient…
Read MoreSmokey Robinson turns 83
William “Smokey” Robinson recently celebrated his 83rd birthday. He was born on February 19, 1940. He founded the “Miracles” and later became vice president of Motown, which launched his career. He also lived next door to Aretha Franklin.
Read MoreHitmaker Barrett Strong has died
Barrett Strong was tinkering with Ray Charles’s song on the piano when he wrote “Money (That’s What I Want),†which sold a million copies and helped ignite the Motown fortune. Strong died at 81 on January 29, a week before his 82nd birthday. Mr. Strong was an artist and songwriter who was present for the…
Read MorePharrell Williams is named Louis Vuitton’s creative director
Louis Vuitton has hired Grammy award-winning music producer, songwriter, and Oscar-nominated Pharrell Williams as creative director, succeeding Virgil Abloh. Abloh, who died November 28, 2021, of cancer, grew up in Rockford, Illinois, to Ghanaian immigrant parents. Williams’s return to Louis Vuitton is being called a homecoming. “I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after…
Read MoreBob Marley’s grandson Joseph ‘Jo Mersa’ Marley is dead
No cause of death given Bob Marley’s grandson Joseph “Jo Mersa†Marley died on Dec. 26 in Miami. He was 31. He was born in 1991. His representative told Rolling Stone on Tuesday of his death. He died in Miami. Jo Mersa’s death was reported in a tweet by journalist Abka Fitz-Henley, and according to WZPP Radio, he was…
Read MoreKanye West has been banned from Twitter again
Ye, also known as Kayne West, was banned from Twitter Friday morning for violating the platform’s rule for “incitement to violence,” after posting a swastika imposed over a Star of David, said Twitter owner Elon Musk. Musk did not elaborate on West’s comments. “I tried my best. Despite that, he violated our rule against incitement…
Read MoreMan charged in rapper TakeOff’s murder
After Patrick Xavier Clark allegedly shot and killed rapper TakeOff, Clark wanted to make a clean getaway, like out of the country. He applied for an expedited U.S. passport which would allow him to fly to Mexico with bundlers of cash. But the long arm of law caught up with him on Thursday and he…
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