James Blake

James Blake

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New James Blake Album To Feature Rosalia, Travis Scott & More

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The British electro-soul singer/songwriter's fourth LP, 'Assume Form,' is due out Jan. 18 and also features collabs with Metro Boomin, Moses Sumney and André 3000
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 10, 2019 - 1:33 pm

Today GRAMMY nominee James Blake revealed details for his fourth studio album: Assume Form will drop next Friday, Jan. 18. His website now details its track list and pre-order details, revealing some exciting features and perhaps a deeper dive into hip-hop influenced beats in his own releases: GRAMMY nominee Travis Scott, Metro Boomin, Moses Sumney, Latin GRAMMY winner Rosalía and GRAMMY winner André 3000 all make appearances.

Assume Form is Blake's follow up to 2016’s The Colour In Anything, and will feature previously released single "Don't Miss It," plus 11 new songs. Hip-hop producer wunderkind Metro Boomin is listed on two tracks, with rap phenomenon Scott joining on "Mile High" and soulful L.A.-based singer/songwriter Sumney featured on "Tell Them."

Spanish singer Rosalía, who blends electro-pop sounds and hip-hop beats with traditional flamenco, sings with Blake on "Barefoot In The Park." Yesterday evening, shortly after teasing his new album in a post with a link to assumeform.com, he retweeted a clip of the two of them working in the studio together, with a snippet of what is likely their song together.

"Where's The Catch?" will feature André 3000, formerly of GRAMMY-winning rap duo Outkast. According to Pitchfork, the two have paired up before, on André's 17-minute song "Look Ma No Hands," released last May.

Blake will embark on a previously announced North American tour, beginning in Miami on Feb. 15. Tickets are on sale now. He has also just added three U.K. show dates in April and will be performing in Barcelona at the Primavera Sound music festival on June 1, along with Rosalía.

Despite only releasing two solo singles last year, he kept busy in 2018 with several headlining festival performances and quite a few big collabs: He worked with Scott in 2018 on "Stop Trying to Be God" on Scott's Astroworld, which is currently nominated for Best Rap Album. Another big 2018 collab for Blake was with GRAMMY winner Kendrick Lamar and GRAMMY nominee Future on "King's Dead" for the Black Panther Soundtrack. The song is up for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance and Album of the Year.

To see who wins at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, tune in on Sun. Feb. 10 on CBS.

Primavera Sound 2019 Features A "New Normal" Equal-Gender Lineup

Missy Elliott & Pharrell Williams

Missy Elliott & Pharrell Williams

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Pharrell Announces Something In The Water Fest Ft. Missy Elliott, Janelle Monae, SZA, Rosalia, Migos & More

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The new music festival curated by the GRAMMY-winning producer will get you dancing in his hometown of Virginia Beach from April 26–28
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 4, 2019 - 1:19 pm

GRAMMY-winning producer/singer/songwriter/rapper and all-around hit-maker Pharrell Williams announced his latest endeavor today: Something In The Water Festival.

The brand-new music festival curated by the musical powerhouse will take over his hometown of Virginia Beach from April 26–28 with a super-stacked lineup including fellow GRAMMY winners Missy Elliott, Diplo, Dave Mathews Band and Anderson .Paak with his band The Free Nationals. GRAMMY nominees SZA, Migos, Janelle Monáe, Travis Scott, J Balvin, Pusha T and Jhené Aiko are also slated to perform.

The three-day beachfront event will feature only one stage, meaning you can actually catch all of the performances. Rising acts include Canadian funky hip-hop producer Kaytranada, Spanish flamenco/pop innovator Rosalía and American singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers, who went viral after Pharrell gave a rave review of her "Alaska" demo during a class at NYU in 2016.

Related: Primavera Sound 2019 Features A "New Normal" Equal-Gender Lineup

The organizer himself will also perform; he's listed on the lineup as "Pharrell & Friends," for what is likely to be a collab-filled set.

Speaking of friends, fellow Virginians repping at the fest will be GRAMMY-nominated rapper DRAM, Dave Matthews Band, who formed in Charlottesville, Va., Elliott, who has collabed with Pharrell on multiple occasions, including their hit "WTF," and Pusha T. Pusha also grew up in Virginia Beach, where he and his brother formed the hip-hop duo Clipse and met and worked with Pharrell, then part of production duo The Neptunes.

At the 61st GRAMMY Awards last month, Pharrell earned his 12th GRAMMY win for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. He also won in the same category at the 56th GRAMMY Awards, the same year he earned a win for his work on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, which took home Album Of The Year.

Tickets for Something In The Water go on sale Fri. March 8; the full lineup and more info can be found on their website.

2019 Music Festival Preview: Noise Pop, Coachella, Ultra & More

Tierra Whack

Tierra Whack

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Red Bull Music Festival NYC: Tierra Whack, FKA Twigs, Rosalía & More To Headline

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Spanish singer Rosalía will kick things off at Webster Hall on April 30 and Philly rapper Tierra Whack will take over the Rainbow Room on May 10, marking their first headlining shows in New York
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 20, 2019 - 12:56 pm

Red Bull Music Festival NYC announced its 2019 lineup today, featuring Spanish flamenco innovator Rosalía, rising Philadelphia rapper Tierra Whack, British experimental R&B artist FKA Twigs and New York R&B singer Teyana Taylor. The fest includes 10 special events across NYC from April 30–May 18.

Latin GRAMMY winner Rosalía kicks things off at the newly remodeled Webster Hall on April 30, for a show she announced yesterday as part of her first-ever North American solo tour. GRAMMY nominee Tierra Whack will also make her New York headline show debut at none other than the legendary Rainbow Room above Rockefeller Plaza on May 10.

Related: Tierra Whack Talks Creative Process, Netflix Recommendations & Checkers’ Fries

FKA Twigs will perform for two nights, May 11–12, at the Park Avenue Armory, her first shows since 2016 and since recovering from a tumor removal surgery last year.

Taylor, along with an all-female production team, will follow with her "House of Petunia" show on May 15 at the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center.

Other events include a free show in the park with experimental Jazz ensemble Onyx Collective and other NYC-based artists on May 3. California social justice-minded rapper JPEGMAFIA will follow with a performance in Brooklyn on May 8.

Philly artist/activist/electro-poet Moor Mother will share her art concert/art installation piece "Red Summer" at BRIC in Brooklyn on May 9.

Avant-garde electro-pop artist Holly Herndon will present her new show "PROTO," blending A.I., music and art, in Brooklyn on May 16.

To close things out on May 18, Ugandan DJ Kampire and fellow Nyege Nyege Tapes labelmates will mark their U.S. debut in Brooklyn.

More details and tickets, which are purchased individually, can be found at the fest's page.

Primavera Sound 2019 Features A "New Normal" Equal-Gender Lineup

J Balvin & Bad Bunny

J Balvin & Bad Bunny

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KAOS Las Vegas To Feature Sets From J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz & More In April

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The soon-to-be-open club inside the Palms has slated a range of artists for shows and longer residencies, including previously announced artists Cardi B, Kaskade and Skrillex
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 19, 2019 - 2:14 pm

Spring is only a day away and whether or not your locale feels like it yet, the festival lineups, tour announcements and Las Vegas residency reveals have warmer days feeling oh-so-near.

Today, the new KAOS Dayclub & Nightclub inside the redesigned Palms Casino Resort continues to add to the excitement with more artists added for opening weekend (April 4–7) and beyond.

Latin urbano music heavy-hitters J Balvin, Ozuna and Bad Bunny, along with longstanding dance music kings Armin van Buuren, Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz add even more weight to an already stacked event calendar.

Previously announced artists for opening weekend include GRAMMY winners Cardi B, Skrillex and Kaskade, GRAMMY nominee Travis Scott, as well as Oakland, Calif. rapper G-Eazy.

KAOS officially kicks things off by opening their nightclub doors on Thurs., April 4 for the first installment of "F#%*IN' KAOS THURSDAYS" featuring EDM DJ/producer Marshmello. Both he and Kaskade have the most dates of any artist currently on the KAOS calendar, which has talent scheduled well into May. The weekly Thursday evening parties will feature rotating guests, which include Cardi B on April 18 and Bad Bunny on April 25, the only date slated for the Puerto Rican Latin trap star. Fellow Puerto Rican Ozuna also has one show listed, on April 28.

For most artists booked, the term "residency" is being used a bit loosely, with most artists only booked for one to three shows, although it is possible more dates could be added in the TBD slots and into the summer months. Cardi was among the first artists to be revealed with a residency at the new club, but only has two shows lined up, the Thursday party, as well as the previously announced opening weekend performance on Sat., April 6 with Balvin and G-Eazy. Latin GRAMMY winner Balvin has also had just one show added to the schedule, at the nightclub on April 26.

Deadmau5 marks his return to Vegas with dates at KAOS on April 14 and 20, which, as Rolling Stone points out, will be about four years since his 2015 residency at XS in the Wynn. Skrillex is currently set for one date during opening weekend, at night on April 5 with Travis Scott. Longstanding house, techno and laser show king Prydz is slated for three shows: April 13, 26 and May 11. Godfather Of Trance van Buuren also has three dates, May 16 and 17 during EDC Week and the following Sunday, May 26, for a day party.

Speaking of EDC, KAOS, as well as pretty much every club on and off the strip, has special events during the festival, taking place May 17–19 this year with a yet-to-be-dropped lineup. EDC Week always brings in big names in dance music, and is a festival megastar DJs like Deadmau5, Skrillex and van Buuren have played on multiple occasions in years past, so fans are hopeful for more dates from them

Regardless of the length of stay for each artist, it is clear that there are plenty of jams to be had at the new KAOS. The daytime space has a pool and thanks to a retractable dome and will "be the first Vegas megaclub to be built as a year-round venue," according to Las Vegas Weekly. The KAOs calendar reveals the pool will be open daily beginning April 9, operating as a dayclub with a featured artist on Fridays–Sundays, with the nightclub operating Thursdays–Saturdays, as well as some Sundays.

"We are incredibly proud to present the next generation of the Las Vegas nightclub and dayclub experience with programming that transcends so many genres of music," the General Manager of Palms Jon Gray said. "Every performance at KAOS will be unique to each artist with next-level production and unique technology that we cannot wait to share with our guests."

A true Las Vegas club wouldn't be complete without a plethora of VIP and bottle service options; visit the KAOS website for more info on all announced shows and ticket options.

Viva Las Vegas: Why Sin City Residencies No Longer Signify A Long Farewell

 

Anderson .Paak

Anderson .Paak

Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

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Anderson .Paak Drops Lead Single, Track List For Upcoming 'Ventura'

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The recent first-time GRAMMY winner's fourth studio album is rife with features, including fellow GRAMMY winners Smokey Robinson, Brandy and André 3000
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 15, 2019 - 1:42 pm

Just over a month since taking home his first GRAMMY for "Bubblin," Southern California-bred hip-hop artist Anderson .Paak is ready to give the world some fresh jams. Early this morning, March 15, he shared the upbeat, celebratory lead single, "King James," from his upcoming fourth studio album Ventura, due out April 12.

"King James" is classic .Paak, beginning with horns and a slow, bouncing beat that sets the tone as he opens, "We've been through it all, thought it could be worse." The song, as the name implies, offers a nod to NBA champ LeBron James, who opened a public school in his hometown last fall, as well as to activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

"Now I'm not much for games / But I play for keeps / And we salute King James for using his change / to create some equal opportunities," .Paak raps.

It is the seventh song on the 11-song album, whose track list (check it out below) he revealed on Twitter yesterday. It is rife with hot features across generations and styles; GRAMMY winners André 3000, Smokey Robinson, Lalah Hathaway and Brandy all make appearances. Rising songwriter/rapper/singer Sonyae Elise, who worked with .Paak on 2016's "Room In Here," also has a feature, as well as GRAMMY nominees Jazmine Sullivan and Nate Dogg, who appears posthumously.

.Paak spoke to Billboard about Ventura on Feb. 27, the same day he announced the album and his upcoming tour: "Growing up in Oxnard gave me the grit and the church to find this voice of mine. One town over I went further and found my depth."

He added: "The duality of each place inspired me greatly and from that I made two albums at the exact same time but held one back because that would have been too many songs to perform live for you all! I like ending things on an even number so welcome to Ventura."

Oxnard, his third studio album, was the third installment of .Paak's "beach trilogy," an idea he envisioned back in high school in Oxnard, Calif. His first LP was titled Venice and released in October 2014. All three names are nods to cities near Los Angeles, Calif.

Earlier this year at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, he earned his first GRAMMY win for Best Rap Performance for "Bubblin," a non-album single he dropped in May 2018. He was first nominated at the 59th GRAMMY Awards for Best New Artist and for Best Urban Contemporary Album for his sophomore effort, Malibu.

Following the release of Ventura, .Paak will be embarking on the Best Teef In The Game Tour, with dates across Europe and Northern America. The North American leg kicks off on May 17 in Nashville, Tenn. after several U.S. festival appearances, including Coachella.

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