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Following the tragic, untimely death of Liam Payne, we’ve gotten public reactions from One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson. Now we have the final piece of the puzzle, as Niall Horan has shared his tribute to Payne.

Today (October 18), Horan shared a photo of him and Payne together in their younger days. He wrote:

“I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real.

Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure.

All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness. We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.

I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.

My love and condolences go out to Geoff, Karen, Ruth, Nicola and of course his son Bear.

Thank you for everything, Payno.

Love you brother.

Nialler.”

Find Horan’s post here.

This week’s episode begins with a quick Sportscast on some of the biggest buffoons in sports, who happen to work in Philadelphia and New York. From there, Steven and Ian talk about the final album from Japandroids, Fate And Alcohol, and how it gives their career closure. Then they discuss two recent critically acclaimed metal albums from Blood Incantation and Chat Pile, and how the genre has evolved in the past decade.

In the mailbag, a listener fact-checks Steven’s recent rant about sports stadiums in Milwaukee. They also address an email about “slow burn” album openers on recent LPs by MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee, and whether they set a good tone or are simply boring.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the latest from Touche Amoré and Steven recommends the new album from Tim Heidecker.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 211 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

It’s been remarked by both visitors and residents of Los Angeles that South LA is like a completely different country. The language, the customs, and the people are miles away — socially and geographically — from the glitz of Hollywood. As such, Ab-Soul and JasonMartin give a quick lesson in LA politics (with some help from Thirsty P) in their new video for “All That,” explaining the ins and outs of the culture. If you get it, you get it, and if you don’t… stay north of Pico.

Produced by frequent TDE collaborators Rascal and TaeBeast, “All That” features a rumbling beat and some head-spinning examples of LA slang and the two rappers’ always excellent wordplay. “All That” is the first single from Ab-Soul’s recently announced mixtape, Soul Burger, which has a November 8 release date. Soul Burger is a tribute to Soul’s childhood best friend, Doe Burger, who died in 2021. While Soul was normally known for introspective concepts and murky, slow-paced beats, Burger pushed Soul to make more upbeat music for fans to dance to at his shows.

Soul Burger will be Ab-Soul’s first full-length project since 2022’s Herbert, which itself was a return from a nearly six-year hiatus. It’s due on 11/8 via TDE.

You can watch Ab-Soul’s “All That” video featuring JasonMartin above.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Ferg was finished with music after a relatively quiet last few years — but not by Ferg himself. His latest single, “Thought I Was Dead,” calls out the doubters who wrote him off, defying them with boisterous boasts about his current circumstances over a thunderous, threatening beat produced by Mike Will Made-It. The song’s video opens with Ferg rapping amid brassy instruments decked out in angel wings and a matching durag, but after a beat switch on the bridge, resets to more familiar territory for the Harlemite: The streets of New York, surrounded by homies on ATVs.

“Thought I Was Dead” is the second single from Ferg’s upcoming album Darold. He announced the album’s impending release with “Allure” featuring Future, while his latest update brings the official release date for the self-titled album: Friday, November 8. Meanwhile, he’s been busy as a featured artist this year, as well, appearing on “Hot One” from Denzel Curry and TiaCorrine, and lending an assist to NBA star-turned-rapper Jaylen Brown on Brown’s debut single, “Just Do It.”

With a new nom de plume, a slew of collaborations in the cut, and his comeback album on the way, Ferg is certainly proving those who thought he was dead wrong.

Watch Ferg’s “Thought I Was Dead” video above.

Darold is due on 11/8 via RCA Records.

It’s often said that love has the potential to drive us crazy, but in the video for Ari Lennox‘s new single “Smoke,” the Dreamville singer makes that message literal. Set in an old-timey mental institution, the video opens with Ari getting electroshock therapy and sees her terrorizing the orderlies, performing in a facility talent show (clad in a dress made from her hospital gown), and staging a getaway with her backup singers. It’s the R&B equivalent of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, all set to her doo-wop-accented new single.

Mental health has been on the DMV area native’s mind a lot lately; she recently shared an update with fans that she would be permanently departing from social media, despite how much she’s used it in the past. “I’m working on a plan to transition off of social media for good,” she wrote. “I don’t believe I’ll ever mature and be happy as long as I have it. So my last day of socials will be December 18th, my 2-year sobriety anniversary. I will be deleting my FB, IG and TikTok permanently.”

She noted she would have made this decision sooner, after so many hairy experiences online, but fear of losing business opportunities kept her online. However, she called herself “exhausted with my addiction to the internet and gossip and attention and validation and yearning to be in control and over sharing,” telling fans she’d keep in touch through her newsletter instead. Whether “Smoke” will precede a full-length album from the singer remains to be seen; she has until December to make the announcement.

You can watch the “Smoke” video above.

Blackpink member Rosé has been rolling out her debut solo album, Rosie, all month, starting with the announcement on the first, and continuing this week with a teaser of her next single featuring Bruno Mars.

The single, “Apt.,” has arrived with a music video directed by Daniel Ramos and Bruno Mars, who was a big part in teasing its release. In it, the two stars rock out like a garage band, with Bruno on drums, Rosé on vocals, and matching black leather jackets on both to complete the rockstar look.

On Wednesday (October 16), Bruno shared an Instagram post recalling Rosé teaching him a South Korean drinking game that he said got him “saucy.” “Soon after, she tried to kiss me, and I was like ‘woah Rosie! what part of the game is this?’” he wrote. “She was like, ‘I ain’t playin games wit you anymore lil boy! Big Rosie bout that BIDNESS!’”

In a press release for the song, Rosé explained, “‘APT.’ is actually my favorite Korean drinking game that I play with my friends back home. It’s so simple, puts a smile on your face, and breaks the ice at any party. One night in the studio I taught my crew how to play the game. Everyone was fascinated, especially when I started the chant, so we played around with it and I said we should make a song out of it… and after Bruno joined the track, the rest became history!”

You can watch the video Rosé’s “Apt.” featuring Bruno Mars above.

Rosie is due on 12/6 via Atlantic/The Black Label. You can find more information here.

There were a lot of sporting events on television on Thursday night, with the ALCS and NLCS taking center stage, Thursday Night Football in New Orleans for a hideous Broncos-Saints matchup, and a pair of college football games. The game probably furthest from the radar for most fans was Georgia State taking a visit to Marshall for a Sun Belt showdown.

The Panthers were healthy underdogs, as they’ve struggled ever since stunning Vanderbilt earlier this season (which looks like an even crazier result now), catching more than a touchdown (8.5 to 9.5, depending on the book and when you got it) on the road in Huntington, with a total ranging anywhere from 47.5 to 51.5. This is important information because the only people locked in on Georgia State-Marshall on Thursday night with baseball playoffs, the NFL, and an ACC game all happening at the same time were either alums of the two schools or people who had money on the game.

After the first half, it looked like those with the Over and Marshall would be celebrating, as the Herd led 25-10, but the Panthers closed the gap and the scoring pace slowed way down, as Marshall’s lead had dwindled down to 25-20 with two minutes to play and the Herd with the ball deep in their own territory. Those with the Panthers and the Under had to feel pretty decent about their chances, as a first down or two is all Marshall needed to put the game on ice.

That comfort lasted one play, as Marshall’s A.J. Turner took a read handoff from the 12, turned the corner with blockers in front, and outran the entire Georgia State defense to the end zone.

That killed the Under and Georgia State didn’t have a last gasp TD in them, meaning folks who took the Panthers and the points did not get home either. It’s not the worst weeknight beat of the season (Michigan State kicking a field goal down three scores with 30 seconds left to cover still holds that title) but it’s certainly a gross way to start your week, losing on a straight run play that goes for 88 yards.

FKA Twigs’ third studio album, Eusexua, is due for release on January 24, 2025, and her singles promoting it have the heavy job of explaining its heady title. While the self-titled lead single shed some light on the subject, her latest, “Perfect Stranger,” takes a few more strides in that direction.

Directed by Jordan Hemingway and featuring cameos from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Yves Tumor, the video examines the various boxes that people put themselves into via glimpses at different relationship dynamics — some very traditional, others a lot more kinky (needless to say, the video is sorta NSFW). The above metaphor is very literal, as the camera pulls out at the end to show all of these different relationships being played out within a series of stacked cubes, Hollywood Squares-style.

In one, a relatively vanilla Twigs cooks dinner for her man, while in another, a scantily clad Twigs makes out with another woman. In yet another, she engages in every kind of pairing, from motherhood to BDSM. At the end, a title card explains, “Eusexua is a practice. Eusexua is a state of being. Eusexua is the pinnacle of human experience.” That clears everything right up.

You can watch FKA Twigs’ “Perfect Stranger” video above.

Eusexua is out on 1/24/2025 via Atlantic Records. You can find more info here.

Financial literacy has become a hot topic in the past few years; thanks to pandemics and recessions, it’s become more important than ever for average folks to learn to manage their money. Hip-hop, which has traditionally been all about flexing, has begun to play a bigger part in helping to educate the public, with Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion hosting classes and several artists releasing music related to the subject.

Kendrick Lamar’s PgLang has joined in, teaming up with Cash App to release a short film giving financial advice direct from TDE artist Doechii. The short, “The Barbershop,” sees comedian ExavierTV seeking advice from his barber and getting it instead from Doechii, who’s also in the shop getting her hair braided. Cash App’s ongoing “That’s Money” project aims to help teach hip-hop fans about money management skills. The short is directed by Calmatic, and continues threads from a prior film from “That’s Money” and PgLang’s Project3 initiative, “The Balcony,” which saw Kendrick himself offering up similar snippets.

“I’m at a place now where I’m starting to make a budget and set financial goals for my future,” Doechii said in the press release. “I think it’s so important to be honest with each other when we talk about money, which is why I’m excited to be part of this campaign and share what’s been working for me.”

You can watch “The Barbershop” above.

Today, a second member of K-pop boy band BTS was discharged from mandatory military service and his eldest bandmate was there to greet him as he took his first steps off-base. J-Hope, the group’s rapper and third-oldest member, completed his 18-month enlistment as of today, October 17, and met up with a flower-bearing Jin, who had recently completed his own service, as well as around a hundred fans, according to Reuters. While the entire band had reunited for Jin’s discharge, it looks like duties kept the rest of the Bulletproof Boy Scouts from being able to put on a similar show for J-Hope.

While the group is reportedly aiming for a 2025 reunion (although that’s not guaranteed, according to their agency’s CEO), they’ve got a slew of other projects on the table during their ongoing hiatus. For J-Hope, that could include a follow-up to his March 2024 EP, Hope On The Street, Vol. 1, and the J. Cole-featuring single, “On The Street.” With bandmate RM teaming up with Megan Thee Stallion for “Neva Play,” there’s a wide-open opportunity for more collaborations alongside American rappers to ensure BTS’ name remains buzzing as they wait for the rest of the band to complete their mandatory enlistments.

You can check out a video of J-Hope leaving his base here.