Category: News

Yesterday (September 16), Diddy was taken into federal custody on charges that weren’t publicly specified at the time. Now, we know: Variety reports that according to legal documents, Diddy has been charged with “racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.”

Diddy is reportedly set to appear before a judge this morning, at which point the charges will be read. TMZ notes that outside the courthouse today, Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s attorney, said he will “fight like hell” to get Diddy released on bail. CNN also notes Agnifilo told reporters, “He’s not guilty. He’s innocent of these charges.”

Agnifilo also issued a statement following the arrest yesterday. It reads:

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.

He is an imperfect person but is not criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Father John Misty had a critical hit with his latest album, 2022’s Chloë And The Next 20th Century. It’s a tough act to follow, but now he’s ready to do it: Today (September 17), Misty announced a new album, Mahashmashana.

He also shared a video (in portrait orientation, interestingly) today, for the song “Screamland,” a seven-minute dynamic anthem. Meanwhile, A press release notes of the album title, “Mahāśmaśāna (महामशान)— great cremation ground, all things put going thither.”

Watch the “Screamland” video above and find the Mahashmashana cover art and tracklist below, along with Father John Misty’s upcoming tour dates.

Father John Misty’s Mahashmashana Album Cover Artwork

Father John Misty’s Mahashmashana Tracklist

1. “Mahashmashana”
2. “She Cleans Up”
3. “Josh Tillman And The Accidental Dose”
4. “Mental Health”
5. “Screamland”
6. “Being You”
7. “I Guess Time Makes Fools Of Us All”
8. “Summer’s Gone”

Father John Misty’s 2024 Tour Dates

09/17 — Bozeman, MT @ The ELM *
09/18 — Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory *
09/19 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^
09/20 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena ^
09/23 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center ^
09/24 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center ^
09/25 — Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy + Harriet’s *
09/27 — Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena ^
09/28 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena ^
09/29 — San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater *
10/01 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena San Diego ^
10/03 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum ^
10/04 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum ^

* with Omar Velasco
^ with Kacey Musgraves and Nickel Creek

Mahashmashana is out 11/22 via Sub Pop. Find more information here.

NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson oversees “seven hours of commercial-free football” every Sunday during the NFL season, so it must be a relief whenever he can talk about anything else — especially if it involves Dua Lipa.

Over the weekend, Hanson was doing his fast-talking thing when he noticed a CBS promo for the “Houdini” singer’s interview on 60 Minutes later that night. “And a TV timeout there [in the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals game], you’re not missing anything. We’ll come right back to the score — you could stay with Dua Lipa for a second if you want. No one’s going to complain about that,” he said as a clip of Dua Lipa dancing played. “Apparently that’s on 60 Minutes tonight. We’ll see you then, Dua.”

You can watch that moment here.

As for the 60 Minutes interview itself, Dua Lipa talked to Anderson Cooper about her upcoming Radical Optimism Tour. “I’m still, like, getting my timing while I’m rehearsing, those first beginning notes, the (singing), they’re really fast,” she said. “So I just have to, like, practice to make sure that I don’t slow the song down and miss my timing.” The tour begins in March 2025 and extends to October. You can see the full dates here.

Earlier this month, Bon Iver teased… something. On social media, Justin Vernon shared a black-and-white video featuring a clapperboard doing its thing before revealing Vernon, facing the camera with the brim of his cowboy hat obscuring his eyes. It also linked to his website and included a pre-save link for something without a revealed title.

Well, now we know more about what’s going on: Today (September 17), Bon Iver has announced “SPEYSIDE” (stylized as “S P E Y S I D E”), a new song. The track is set to drop this Friday, September 20, and here’s just about all we know about it at the moment: Aside from Vernon singing and playing guitar, the tune features regular collaborator Rob Moose on viola, with production from Vernon and Jim-E Stack.

There’s currently no word on if this means a new Bon Iver album is on the way. If there is, it would be the first since 2019’s i,i, although Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner teamed up to release the Big Red Machine album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? in 2021. Vernon has also delivered a regular stream of collaborations over the past few years, most notably including multiple songs from Taylor Swift’s albums Folklore and Evermore. Most recently, towards the end of 2023, he joined Zach Bryan on “Boys Of Faith.”

At this point in the 2024 presidential election cycle, most celebrities have made it clear where they stand when it comes to their candidate of choice. Pharrell, though, would prefer that most of those celebrities pipe down.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pharrell was asked if he’d let either Democrats or Republicans use his music as part of their presidential election campaigns, and he responded:

“I don’t do politics. In fact, I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you [who to vote for]. There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them. I’m one of them people [who says], ‘What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.’ When people get out there and get self-righteous and they roll up their sleeves and sh*t, and they are out there walking around with a placard: ‘Shut up!’ So, no, I would rather stay out of the way, and obviously, I’m going to vote how I’m going to vote. I care about my people and I care about the country, but I feel there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and I’m really about the action.”

Find the full interview here.

A newly filed lawsuit might have Miley Cyrus smelling the inside of a court rather than fresh roses. According to TMZ, Miley’s Grammy Award-winning and chart-topping hit “Flowers” is being accused of “intentionally copying” a beloved Bruno Mars record.

In documents obtained by the outlet, Tempo Music Investments is looking to restore the intellectual property protections of Bruno Mars’ song “When I Was Your Man.” The company claims to have an ownership in the track’s copyright, which they want the courts to enforce, despite Bruno Mars allegedly not being named as co-plaintiff in the suit.

A representative Tempo Music argued that “substantial” piece of Mars’ track through the melody, harmony, chorus, and even lyrics of “Flowers” are pulled directly from Bruno Mars’ 2012 record.

To be specific, Tempo Music referenced one of the single’s most standout elements, its chord progressions. Later in the filing, Tempo Music accused Miley along with “Flowers” producers and even her record label of having direct access to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”

Tempo Music is seeking financial damages, although the exact amount doesn’t seem to be disclosed. The company is also asking the courts to prohibit Miley from performing the record and ceasing any further distribution of “Flowers.”

The similarities are hard to ignore. Upon “Flowers” release, fans immediately drew attention to it. However, supporters find the lawsuit odd given that Bruno Mars doesn’t appear to be connected in any way.

For years, Dame Dash has led both a public and legal battle with his former business partner Jay-Z. Recently, Dame claimed to have made headway in offloading a piece of hip-hop history.

According to Dame Dash, his plan to sell his share of Jay-Z’s highly acclaimed debut album, Reasonable Doubt. During a recent appearance on America Nu Network (viewable here), Dame even claimed that Drake expressed interest in purchasing his stake. However, there appears to be some confusion over who actually owns the shares. Continue below for more information.

Can Dame Dash Actually Sell His Share Of Jay-Z’s ‘Reasonable Doubt?’

Based on an investigative piece conducted by Rolling Stone‘s Andre Gee (viewable here), Dame Dash doesn’t appear to be the rightful owner of the stake. Technically speaking, Dame Dash can not sell his stakes. According to the outlet, in order to “satisfy an $823K judgment” in his Josh Webber and Muddy Waters Films lawsuit, Dame was ordered to turn over his shares of Roc-A-Fella Inc (which own stake in Jay-Z’s album) over to the US Marshals.

Now, Christopher Brown, the attorney of Webber seemingly controls the stakes as in an effort to recoup the judgment on behalf of his client. So, it appears that the reports of an auction supposedly held on August 29 might have been true. But, Dame Dash having a deciding factor is allegedly a fallacy.

Since November 2023, Diddy has faced a slew of horrendous allegations including assault, rape, abuse, and sex trafficking. The former Revolt TV mogul was named in countless lawsuits from past collaborators Lil Rod, Dawn Richard, and former girlfriend Cassie.

Although Diddy maintains his innocence, law enforcement have seemingly begun to investigate the claims. Back in March, Diddy’s Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided. Now, according to TMZ, Diddy is currently in federal custody in connection with the ongoing case.

So far, the only detail shared regarding his detainment is where it took place. The outlet claims Diddy was taken to the FBI’s (Federal Bureau of Investigation) field office in Manhattan, New York.

Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s attorney, issued a statement regarding the matter to the outlet. Continue below to read.

We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sean “Diddy” Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.

He is an imperfect person but Is not criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.

Last week’s trend of band tension (hi, Jane’s Addiction) propelled another group’s bad blood into public discourse. Today (September 16), Morrissey appears to have called out his former The Smiths bandmate.

In a blog post titled, “The Plot Thickens” (viewable here), Morrissey seeming claimed that Johnny Marr co-opted the legal rights to their famed group behind his back.

“J Marr has successfully applied for 100% trademark rights / Intellectual Property ownership of The Smiths name,” he wrote. “His application has been accepted on whatever oaths or proclamations he has put forward. This action was done without any consultation to Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’. Amongst many other things, this means that Marr can now tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice, and it also prohibits Morrissey from using the name whilst also denying Morrissey considerable financial livelihood.”

He closed the note by declaring that he alone was responsible for the group’s naming. “Morrissey alone created the musical unit name ‘The Smiths’ in May 1982,” he wrote.

Upon search of the UK’s Intellectual Property Office public listings there are two registrants for separate previous ‘The Smiths’ filings. However, an initial search of newly filed and recently awarded trademarks for The Smith did not yield any results. Of the two older registrants, neither appear to be linked to Johnny Marr.

Johnny Marr has not issued a statement regarding Morrissey’s claim.

If you want to sweat the small things and cry over the bigger ones, Mark Hoppus has something just for you. The Blink-182 bassist and vocalist has officially announced the title and release date for his memoir.

With the support of journalist Dan Ozzi, the “Dance With Me” musician’s life story (so far) will be laid out in the book, Fahrenheit 182. Although the literary work is slated to hit shelves until April 2025, Hoppus was sure to tease its content in a promotional video shared to Instagram (viewable here).

“This book has everything,” said Hoppus. “A young man born in the California Desert joins a punk rock band and goes on to conquer the world. It’s got skateboarding, it’s got punk rock clubs, it’s got ’90s music, but that’s not all! Pre-order now, and we’ll throw in at no extra cost to you: Anxiety, depression, band breakups, loss of self, suicidal thoughts and ideation, and of course, everyone’s favorite, cancer! This sh*t gets dark. So order your copy today and make sure you don’t miss out on all the small things.”

Its publisher HarperCollins’ description mirrors Hoppus’ take but with a lot less sarcasm filtered for family-friendly audiences. “Threaded through with the very human story of a constant battle with anxiety and Mark’s public battle and triumph over cancer, Fahrenheit-182 is a delight for fans and also a funny, smart, and relatable memoir for anyone who has wanted to quit but kept going,” read the synopsis.

The memoir shouldn’t come as a shock to supporters of Blink-182. Back in 2022, long before the band’s reunion and after completing his treatment for stage 4 lymphoma, Hoppus hinted at documenting his medical journey & more.

Harper Collins will publish it on Apr. 8, 2025. Find more information here.