Shakira to Receive Video Vanguard Award at This Year’s MTV Video Music Awards

Shakira is being celebrated for leading the way…

The 46-year-old Colombian superstar singer-songwriter will receive the Video Vanguard Award at MTV‘s 2023 Video Music Awards on September 12, becoming the first South American artist to earn the award.

ShakiraShakira will accept the award and perform at the ceremony for the first time since 2006.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is a four-time VMA winner and 30-time nominee.

She won her first VMA — the award for International Viewer’s Choice — Latin America (North) — in 2000 for “Ojos Así.” She snagged the same award in 2002 for “Whenever, Wherever/Suerte” and also scooped up the trophy for Best Choreography in a Video for 2006’s “Hips Don’t Lie” as well as Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration for 2007’s “Beautiful Liar” with Beyoncé.

Shakira has also earned three Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys in her career.

The Video Vanguard Award, named after Michael Jackson, went to Nicki Minaj last year. Previous winners include Beyoncé, Jennifer LopezKanye WestDavid BowieMadonna and RihannaThe Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester won the award at the first VMAs in 1984.

Shakira is nominated for four VMAs this year: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Latin for “TQG” with Karol G, and Best Latin for “Acróstico.”

Earlier this year, her hit collaboration with Bizarrap, “Music Sessions Vol. 53,” set a number of streaming records on Spotify and YouTube.

Shakira first performed at the VMAs in 2002 with her rendition of “Objection (Tango),” and was the first artist to perform a song entirely in Spanish at the ceremony alongside Alejandro Sanz when they sang “La Tortura” in 2005.

Taylor Swift leads this year’s VMA nominations with eight, while SZA comes in second with six nominations. Nicki Minaj, Doja CatMiley CyrusSam SmithOlivia Rodrigo and Kim Petras each have five nominations, and Blackpink and Diddy tie Shakira’s four. Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids are confirmed to perform at the ceremony, with MTV announcing more performers soon.

Cardi B to Appear on Remix of Latto’s Viral Hit “Put It on Da Floor”

Cardi B is ready to put in on da floor

Latto’s “Put It on Da Floor” has been taking social media by storm, and this Friday, she’ll treat fans to a new version of her latest viral hit with an assist from the 30-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar.

Cardi BLatto took to Twitter to reveal that Cardi B will appear on the official “Put It on Da Floor” remix.

First previewed during Latto’s performance at Coachella last month, “Put It on Da Floor” has since grown into a social media phenomenon, with fans literally ripping themselves out of plastic bags to emulate the track’s fiery opening lines.

“I put it on the floor, and, now, I’m ’bout to put it on the floor again. Remix this Friday!” Latto said in a video posted to Twitter. The “Muwop” rapper then goes on to recite the song’s opening lines before ripping a black plastic bag to reveal none other than Cardi B.

The new version of “Put It on Da Floor” is the first official collaboration between Latto and Cardi B, and the song also serves as Cardi’s first musical release of 2023.

Last year, the Bronx rapper appeared on a slew of singles, including “Hot Shit” (with Kanye West & Lil Durk), a remix of Rosalía’s “Despechá,” and the Billboard Hot 100 No. 9-peaking “Tomorrow 2” (with GloRilla).

Swizz Beatz to Participate in Grammys’ Star-Studded Segment Celebrating Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary

Swizz Beatz is helping celebrating hip-hop history…

The 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5, will feature a star-studded segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop that will include the 44-year-old half-Puerto Rican recording artist, music producer and entrepreneur.

Swizz BeatzWith a career spanning over two decades, his catalog includes “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem“, “Party Up (Up in Here)” (DMX), “Gotta Man” (Eve), “Jigga My Nigga“, “Girl’s Best Friend” (Jay-Z), “Upgrade U“, “Check on It“, “Ring the Alarm” (Beyoncé), “Good Times” (Styles P), “Bring ‘Em Out“, “Swing Ya Rag” (T.I.), “Hotel“, “I’m a Hustla” (Cassidy), “Touch It” (Busta Rhymes), “Ultralight Beam” (Kanye West), and more.

In addition to Beatz, the segment will include performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface and Too $hort.

LL Cool J will introduce the segment, perform and give a dedication to hip-hop.

Questlove will serve as producer and musical director, The Roots will provide music and Black Thought will narrate.

“For five decades, hip-hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage. It is just the beginning of our yearlong celebration of this essential genre of music.”

The Grammys will also honor hip-hop with one of three breakout performances in this year’s In Memoriam segment.

On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the Academy announced that the In Memoriam segment at the 2023 Grammy Awards will include breakout tributes to three diverse artists who died last fall — Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie and Takeoff.

Kacey Musgraves will perform Lynn’s 1970 classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to the country legend, who died on October 4 at age 90; Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt will team to perform “Songbird” from Fleetwood Mac’s album of the year-winning Rumours to honor McVie, who died on November 30 at age 79; and Maverick City Music will join Quavo for Quavo’s sentimental ballad “Without You” to honor Takeoff, who died on November 1 at just 28.

Also, Cardi B, who four years ago became the first female solo artist to win a Grammy for best rap album, will serve as a presenter on the show.

And the Grammys aren’t done celebrating hip-hop’s anniversary. In partnership with the Recording Academy, CBS will broadcast a special hip-hop music event later in 2023.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 5, at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

Kid Cudi Reveals Track List for Upcoming Album “Entergalactic”

Kid Cudi is teasing his entergalactic work…

The 38-year-old hal;f-Mexican American rapper, singer and songwriter has revealed the full track list for his upcoming album Entergalactic.

Kid Cudi “#Entergalactic SEPT 30TH HERE WE GO B–!!” Kid Cudi captioned the post, signaling the LP’s release date set for this Friday via Republic Records.

The 14-track project will serve as a follow-up to Kid Cudi’s 2020 studio set Man on the Moon III: The Chosen and contains the singles “Do What I Want” and “Willing to Trust” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

According to the track list, Entergalatic will also feature another Ty Dolla $ign collab (“Can’t Shake Her”) as well as the 2 Chainz-assisted “Can’t Believe It” and “Somewhere to Fly” featuring Don Toliver.

Bonus track “Burrow,” meanwhile, will feature Toliver, Steve Aoki and Dot Da Genius.

The album has been a long time coming, with Kid Cudi teasing its concept as far back as 2019, when he told Complex, “Entergalactic is a fantasy. It’s what I wish I had. I live a very lonely life, but I have hope I’ll find someone someday.”

Over the past couple of months, Cudi has opened up about his falling-out with onetime friend and mentor Kanye West, who blasted him (along with outgoing Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted) in a fake New York Times headline posted to Instagram in early September.

And just last week, the rapper was blown away when Martin Scorsese heaped praise on Pearl, the blood-soaked horror flick starring Mia Goth that he co-produced through his Mad Solar production company.

Cardi B Teases New Collaboration with GloRilla, “Tomorrow 2”

Cardi B is talkin’ tomorrow

The 29-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar has teased “Tomorrow 2,” her upcoming collaboration with GloRilla, via Twitter.

Cardi B“Tomorrow 2 ft Me,” the rapper wrote along with a shot of the single’s party-ready cover art.

For her part, GloRilla gave fans a bit more of a hint at the track’s lyrics, tweeting, “BUT DATS WHY I LUV TOMORROW,” she tweeted with a series of golden trophy and green checkmark emojis before adding, “it’s official me & my girl @iamcardib Linked up for TOMORROW 2 DROPPING FRIDAY 9/23 @ MIDNIGHT…presave the below let’s gooooooo.”

When it’s unveiled on Friday, the song will be Cardi B’s first release since she donated $100,000 to the middle school she grew up attending in the Bronx earlier this month.

The rapper’s hotly anticipated comeback single “Hot Shit” featuring Kanye West and Lil Durk landed at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its July release and earned Cardi a top 10 hit on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts at No. 7 and No. 5, respectively.

Cardi B also kicked off her upcoming 30th birthday celebration a few weeks early on Monday, September 19 thanks to a handwritten note she received from none other than Beyoncé.

https://twitter.com/GloTheofficial/status/1572634052691365889

Cardi B Announces “Hot Shit” Collaborators: Kanye West & Lil Durk

Cardi B’s next track is heating up…

The 29-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar has revealed that her upcoming single “Hot Shit” will feature Kanye West and Lil Durk.

Cardi BCardi B revealed the exciting news via the new single’s steamy cover art, which features the “I Like It” singer in the back of a luxurious car, wearing a metallic bikini with matching sunglasses and heels.

All three artists’ names are listed at the bottom of the photo.

https://twitter.com/iamcardib/status/1541572302030180354

Bad Bunny: This Year’s Most-Streamed Artist Globally on Spotify

It’s a second consecutive year at the top for Bad Bunny.

Spotify has revealed its annual end-of-year list of the platform’s most-streamed artists, songs, albums and podcasts, with the 27-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton superstar named the most-streamed artist globally.

Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny notched more than 9.1 billion streams on the platform globally to top the list ahead of Taylor SwiftBTSDrake and Justin Bieber.

In the United States, Drake dominated all artists on the platform, while Swift, Juice WRLDKanye West and Bad Bunny rounded out the top five.

The most-streamed song of the year globally was Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license,” which racked up more than 1.1 billion streams worldwide. Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” earned second place, followed by The Kid Laroi and Bieber’s “Stay,” Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” feat. DaBaby.

Rodrigo dominated the top two spots on the U.S. list with “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” marking the first time a woman has ever done so. Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” feat. SZAGlass Animals’ “Heat Waves” and “Levitating” rounded out the top five.

Rodrigo’s dominance extended to the global and U.S. albums tally, with her debut album Sour finishing in first place on both charts.

For additional details on Wrapped 2021, visit Spotify’s For the Record blog.

Mana to Launch Unprecedented Residency at The LA Forum

Mana is holding a forum

The Grammy award-winning Mexican rock band has announced an unprecedented Los Angeles residency at the Forum in Inglewood, with concerts starting in March and continuing indefinitely.

ManaIt’s the first-ever arena residency in the city of Los Angeles, and members of Mana said they promise to play “for as long as Los Angeles fans will have them.”

The Forum will be the only place in the United States where fans will be able to see Mana play live in 2022.

Long-term residencies at arenas in places like Las Vegas are commonplace among top-rank acts like Britney Spears, Celine Dion and Gwen Stefani, but they are unheard of in Los Angeles, even in the fabled Forum’s 50-year history.

Mana is one of the best-selling Latin touring acts of all time. From their first show in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palace in 1993 to their 2019 run at the Forum on the Rayando El Sol Tour, Mana broke the record as the first and only act to sell out seven dates at the Forum as part of a single tour since the venue’s reopening (previously held by Kanye West and the Eagles).

“We are proud to announce this historic residency with Mana, doing what no other band has ever done in Los Angeles,” said Geni Lincoln, general manager and senior vice president of booking for the Forum.

“On their 2019 Rayando El Sol Tour, Mana cemented their position as the reigning kings of the Forum, breaking the record for the most shows sold out on a single tour since our remodel and reopening. This residency is the culmination of an incredible journey, with an incredible band, and we look forward to hosting their fans from around the world for these historic shows.”

Mana got its start in 1986 when four friends from Guadalajara, Mexico, came together to fuse new rock sounds with Latin and Caribbean rhythms. The group’s current lineup includes Fher Olvera as vocalist, guitarist and main composer, Alex Gonzalez on drums, Sergio Vallin on lead guitar, and Juan Diego Calleros on bass. Mana released its first album Falta Amor in 1990. In 1992, they released Donde Jugaran los Ninos? — which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling Spanish-language rock album of all time.

“We have so many surprises in store for our fans at this residency,” said the members of Mana in a statement. “No two shows will be the same. Get ready to see Mana like never before — special guests, unique set lists and a kick-ass new production we put together special for these shows at the Forum. L.A. is a second home for us. We started here 30 years ago at the Hollywood Palace, and we’ve been rocking with L.A. fans ever since. We are amped to get back on stage in the City of Angels and want our fans to feel the same.”

The Forum is owned by billionaire Steve Balmer, who also owns the LA Clippers.

The performances will kick off on March 18 and 19, plus April 22 and 23, with more dates soon to be announced. Tickets will be available starting at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 19 at Ticketmaster.com.

Amazon Prime Video Releases Trailer for Kid Cudi Documentary “A Man Named Scott”

Kid Cudi’s life story is headed your way…

The 37-year-old part-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and actor, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, will be the subject of Amazon Prime Video’s new documentary A Man Named Scott.

Kid Cudi

The documentary comes 13 years after Kid Cudi’s debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi catapulted him into the hip-hop scene in 2008.

Helmed by director Robert Alexander, who has previously directed episodes of LeBron JamesHBO talk series The Shop, the film will cover Kid Cudi’s decade-plus tenure in the spotlight as both a “musical star and cultural hero.”

Amazon Prime Video will release the documentary globally on November 5.

The documentary will explore the creative choices that went into Kid Cudi’s records, including those outside the Man on the Moon trilogy, along with the personal struggles that affected his life throughout the process. The trailer features clips and dialogue from Kid Cudi about his philosophy as an artist, from fans about his music’s impact on their lives, and thoughts from his closest collaborators about Kid Cudi’s artistry.

Kid Cudi is most celebrated for his Man on the Moon album trilogy, which includes songs about topics like depression, anxiety and loneliness.

Before Man on the Moon: The End of Day‘s 2009 release, those subjects were treated as taboo in the hip-hop world, with the exception of influential records like frequent collaborator Kanye West‘s 808s and Heartbreakswhich came a year prior.

The documentary comes almost a year after Kid Cudi released his last full-length project, Man on the Moon III: The Chosenin December 2020 to close out the trilogy, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 144,000 album-equivalent units, and at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Cardi B Becomes First Female Artist to Win Best Hip-Hop Video Twice at BET Hip Hop Awards

Cardi B has earned a place in BET history…

The 28-year-old half Dominican American rap superstar and Megan Thee Stallion were the top winners at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards, which were telecast on Tuesday on BET.

Cardi B

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion took home three awards for their chart-topping smash “WAP“: song of the year, best hip-hop video and best collaboration.

Cardi B is the first female artist to win best hip-hop video twice. She won two years ago for “Money.” Among all artists, Drake is the category leader with five awards. T.I., Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar have each won twice.

This is the second year in a row that an all-female pairing has won best collaboration. “Savage” (remix) by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé won last year.

The awards show was pre-recorded on Friday at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta.

Here’s the full list of winners.

Hip hop album of the year
Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler, The Creator

Song of the year
“WAP,” Produced by Ayo & Keyz (Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion) \

Hip hop artist of the year
Lil Baby

Best hip-hop video
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”

Best new hip hop artist
Yung Bleu

Best collaboration
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”

Best duo or group
Lil Baby & Lil Durk

Best live performer
Tyler, the Creator

Lyricist of the year
J. Cole

Best international flow
Little Simz (UK)

Video director of the year
Missy Elliott

Producer of the year
Hit-Boy

Hustler of the year
Saweetie

Sweet 16: best featured verse
Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like” (Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z)

Impact track
Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like”

I Am Hip Hop award
Nelly

Rock the Bells cultural influence award 
Tyler, The Creator

DJ of the year and best hip hop platform will be revealed once the voting window closes on BET.com.