Culture

Uptown Records Relaunches Under Republic With G Herbo and Yung Miami

Andre Harrell's Uptown Records relaunched under Republic Collective for its 40th anniversary, with a roster led by G Herbo, Yung Miami, and Trap Dickey, who signs via Top Dawg Entertainment.

Culture

SZA Says AI Models Trained on 238 of Her Songs, Calls Out Diplo Over Suno

SZA posted on Instagram that AI models were trained on 238 of her songs and accused producer Diplo of holding Suno equity to train it on Black artists' work — a claim Diplo's rep did not address.

Culture

André 3000 Releases Wordless Short Film '7 Piano Sketches' on MUBI

André 3000's '7 Piano Sketches,' a wordless short film he co-wrote and co-directed with Graham Mason, is now streaming exclusively on MUBI — a silent-comedy companion to his 2025 instrumental piano EP.

Culture

Drake Drops New Song 'Serious' in Oliver El-Khatib's SoundCloud Mix

Drake slipped a new song, 'Serious,' into OVO co-founder Oliver El-Khatib's SoundCloud 'Magician Mix (feat. Govi)' at the 3:40 mark — a loosie that lives in OVO's channels rather than on streaming.

Culture

New Music Friday: YG, Key Glock, and Tierra Whack Drop New Albums June 19

June 19's New Music Friday brings new albums from YG, Key Glock and Tierra Whack, Chris Brown's 'Chocolate Edition,' a Chlöe and Timbaland project, and singles from The Kid LAROI, Tyla and FKA Twigs.

Culture

Tay Keith, Grammy-Nominated Producer Behind 'Sicko Mode,' Dies at 29

Tay Keith, the Memphis producer behind Travis Scott's 'Sicko Mode' and Drake's 'Look Alive,' was found dead in his Nashville apartment on June 18 at age 29. Police say no foul play is suspected.

Culture

Alicia Keys Performs 'Empire State of Mind' at Knicks Championship Parade

The 17-time Grammy winner and Hell's Kitchen native closed the Knicks' championship celebration at City Hall with 'Empire State of Mind,' the unofficial New York anthem, on June 18.

Culture

Garth Brooks Explores Sale of Music Catalog Valued at Up to $2 Billion

Garth Brooks is exploring a sale of his music catalog valued at up to $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, a rare package that includes both the masters and publishing rights he still owns.

Music

New Music: Blxst, Rhye, Joey B, and Everything Else Worth Hearing This Week

Two albums, an EP, a Wale mix, and a run of African singles worth knowing about. The names you know are Blxst and Rhye. The most interesting listen is one you might not: Joey B's Sexy Highlife.

Technology

Suno Raises $400 Million at $5.4 Billion Valuation, Led by Bond Capital

AI music generator Suno raised $400 million at a $5.4 billion valuation led by Bond Capital — more than double its November 2025 mark, even as Universal and Sony press copyright suits against it.

Culture

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Exits Universal Music Group With $600 Million Profit

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has sold its entire stake in Universal Music Group, booking a roughly $600 million profit after two failed attempts to merge UMG with his SPARC vehicle and list it on the NYSE.

Culture

Sony Music Publishing Acquires Recognition Music Group's 45,000-Song Catalog

Sony Music Publishing agreed to buy Recognition Music Group — the catalog Blackstone built from Hipgnosis — gaining shares in more than 45,000 songs by Fleetwood Mac, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey, in a deal reported in the $2 billion range.