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Daily Music News Report for 08/04/2016


Suge Knight Allegedly Once Went After Eminem

(Radio.com) Former Death Row Records head Suge Knight has a reputation for getting his way, even if that means allegedly taking out those who oppose him. In a new interview from Eminem's former bodyguard, Byron 'Big Naz" Williams claimed Knight tried to take down Slim Shady after an incident at The Source Awards in 2001 went sour.

Speaking with Murder Master Music Show, Williams recounted, "That was our first encounter with Suge Knight and his henchman." The Source Awards wouldn't let bodyguards sit next the artists they were guarding, which made him uncomfortable at the time. "I think that was by design 'cause they really wanted the artists to be able to network with each other, but it also gives people who got beef with other artists to get at them," Williams said.

From the sidelines, Williams noticed Eminem getting into something with a bunch of guys wearing red shirts, and Knight was affiliated with the Bloods. "So I come from where I was at--I had to come back around--I noticed Em's face changing, he's turning like tomato red. There's a sea of red guys around him. I had to bust through the middle man and snatch him up. Like, 'Hey man what the hell's going on up here?' This is exactly what they said, 'Death Row, motherf--, Death Row.'"

When he began questioning the men surrounding Eminem, Williams learned they were there thanks to Knight. Williams said they told him, "Man, Suge Knight sent us to strongarm him and it's going down."

Things reached such a fever pitch that Williams tried to get Eminem out of awards show altogether. Read more here.

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Weird Al Reflects On 'Decades of Weirdness' With Prince

(Radio.com) Weird Al Yankovic mourned Prince's death with the rest of the music community, but it came with a bittersweet sting: the parody artist approached Prince with song ideas multiple times over the decades.

The response was always "no thanks." By the time of Prince's death, Weird Al had long given up on trying to convince the "Purple Rain" singer that a parody cover was worth doing.

"I hadn't approached him in about 20 years because he always said no, but I had this fantasy that he'd come out with a new song, I'd have a great idea, he'd finally say yes and it would erase decades of weirdness between us," Al told People. "But that's obviously not going to be the case."

In the interview, Yankovic gave readers a small taste of what could have been. "I had a parody of 'Let's Go Crazy' that was about The Beverly Hillbillies," Yankovic said. "And I wanted to do something funny with 'When Doves Cry' and 'Kiss.' For '1999,' I wanted to do an infomercial where you could get anything you wanted by dialing 1-800-something-1999." Read more here.

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Frank Ocean Cover of Radiohead Classic Surfaces Online

(Radio.com) Frank Ocean's new album Boys Don't Cry is excepted to be released this Friday (Aug 5), but some material that dates back to 2012 is taking the Internet by storm.

Unearthed from the bowels of YouTube, it's a video of Ocean covering Radiohead's 1995 classic, "Fake Plastic Trees." The ethereal live set was performed at a Spotify event just as Channel Orange was stealing listeners' hearts. As he finishes the Radiohead portion, he seamlessly transitions into "Voodoo," an unreleased gem from Orange.

If fans weren't already excited for Ocean's sophomore album, there's plenty of material from the vaults to mine. This Radiohead cover is sure to get everyone into the groove. Check it out here.

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Britney Spears Announces New Album 'Glory'

(Radio.com) Britney Spears has announced her highly anticipated ninth studio album will be titled Glory and revealed that the new effort is set to be released on August 26th.

"My new album & the beginning of a new era," Britney tweeted, sharing what is presumably the album's cover. "Available 8/26 on @AppleMusic. Pre-order tonight at midnight ET."

The lead single from Spears' new album is "Make Me," featuring G-Eazy; a steamy music video is expected to drop shortly. Check out Britney's tweet here.

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Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst Announces New Album 'Ruminations'

(Radio.com) Conor Oberst has announced a new album titled Ruminations which will be released on October 14th. The solo acoustic album features 10 new songs written by the Bright Eyes principle.

He had the following to say about the effort, "I wasn't expecting to write a record. I honestly wasn't expecting to do much of anything. Winter in Omaha can have a paralyzing effect on a person but in this case it worked in my favor.

"I was just staying up late every night playing piano and watching the snow pile up outside the window. Next thing I knew I had burned through all the firewood in the garage and had more than enough songs for a record.

"I recorded them quick to get them down but then it just felt right to leave them alone." See the track details here.

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Keith Urban And Family Cover Maren Morris' '80s Mercedes'

(Radio.com) Imagine what a sing-a-long would be like if you had Keith Urban for a dad. Faith Urban, 5-year old daughter of country rock star Keith Urban and award winning actress Nicole Kidman, gave fans a little inside peek to life with her country superstar Dad.

Urban posted the video of himself covering Maren Morris' "'80s Mercedes," giving credit where credit is due. "A little @marenmorris while we're hangin' at home. #80smercedes 🎥: 5 year old Faith Urban"

Maren Morris, along with Brett Eldredge, is currently opening for Keith Urban on his Ripcord tour. Check out Urban's full post including the video clip here.

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Charlie Puth Continues To Diss Justin Bieber

(Radio.com) What is Charlie Puth's deal with Justin Bieber? Remember a few months ago he yelled, "f you Justin Bieber!" while he was on stage? He later apologized and sent out a series of tweets giving him love but something didn't seem right.

Now it appears that Puth is throwing a little shade at the Biebs again. Justin took to Instagram to give a little song writing advice, saying, "If u write music take notes from the greatest writer to ever do it Jason Boyd aka Poo bear."

Although Justin was giving love to his boy, and Purpose collaborator, Charlie apparently disagreed because he sent out a tweet saying "If you write music, write from the heart. You don't take notes, you hear them." Check out the posts here.

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Lauryn Hill Taking Disapora Calling Festival On Tour

(Radio.com) Lauryn Hill is taking her festival Diaspora Calling! on tour beginning this fall. The popular three-day festival held in Brooklyn, NY this past April celebrated African Diaspora and featured performances from numerous multi-cultural artists, such as Machel Montano (Trinidad), and Stephen 'Ragga' Marley (Jamaica) and Mr. Eazi (Nigeria).

MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Concert Series will announce performers in the coming weeks, but each night promises to be a little different. Hill said about the tour, "The MLH Caravan allows me to continue the theme of unity and celebration of the many facets of cultural and artistic beauty throughout the African diaspora while on tour this summer and fall.

"In these days of tension, tumult and transition, an exchange of this kind can yield direction, expression, understanding and empowerment as well as connection, self Love and appreciation that hopefully overflows into our respective communities." Read more and see the dates here.

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Gwen Stefani Shares Special Night with Blake Shelton

(Radio.com) Gwen Stefani told her Detroit audience Tuesday, "It's a different level of special for me tonight." Stefani shared with her Michigan fans that "my dad is from Eight Mile (Road), Detroit!" She went on, "I feel like I'm connected to you--'cause I am. I feel like this needs to be one of the best nights of my life."

When Stefani's boyfriend, country star Blake Shelton, joined her on stage at DTE Energy Music Theater for a duet on "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," Stefani couldn't quit smiling.

Shelton and Stefani co-wrote the hit song, which appears on his latest album, If I'm Honest. They have performed it several times together, debuting the song on The Voice in May, which they were both judges on at the time. They also played it at this year's Billboard Music Awards on May 22, during Shelton's set June 18 at the Country Jam in Colorado and at Stefani's concert on July 16 in Virginia Beach, Va. Read more here.

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Kanye West Canceled On 'Carpool Karaoke' Twice

(Radio.com) James Corden has hosted some rather big names on his drive to work. The Late Late Show's popular "Carpool Karaoke" segment has seen Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder and many more grace the passenger seat of Corden's SUV. But not everyone is available to come play.

Corden has tapped Kanye West to participate not once but twice in "Carpool Karaoke," and unfortunately the rapper has had to cancel both times. Corden didn't specify why, simply explaining something had come up. "He'll do it eventually," he told British GQ. "He wants to do it."

But just because West had to back out that doesn't mean he was rude about it. According to Corden, West made sure to send along a memorable apology. Three dozen white roses to be exact. "Arranged in the shape of a cube," Corden added. "What could be more Kanye than that?" Read more here.

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Young Thug Announces 'Jeffrey' Mixtape

(Radio.com) We're just past the halfway mark of 2016 and already Young Thug has released two mixtapes: In February, he dropped I'm Up and in March, Slime Season 3.

After a four-month break from releasing mixtapes, Young Thug returns this month with the release of Jeffrey, due to drop August 16th. The mixtape's title is Young Thug's first name--the rapper was born Jeffrey Lamar Williams in Atlanta.

If Jeffrey is any indication, perhaps he'll mine some unheard autobiographical material this time around. Young Thug has begun teasing his forthcoming tape on Instagram. Read more here.

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Ariana Grande Releases A Cappella 'Into You' Video

(Radio.com) Ariana Grande released a bare bones lyric video for her single "Into You" off her 2016 album Dangerous Woman. Shot in black and white with Grande slightly out of focus in the background, she sings a stripped down version of the song.

The EDM-like beat and club feel that appear on the album's track are gone, replaced only with her voice as she conveys a different, more emotional tone to the song.

In the video, Grande sings to an empty room, her vocals echoing slightly off the walls and adding a slight haunting quality to the version. Rather than face the camera, she paces back and forth and lets the lyrics do their work. Since it is a lyric video, the song's words are presented in big bold letters rather than the clever animation that is so often seen in a lyric video. Check out the clip here.

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'10 Second Songs' Singer Covers Pokemon Theme in 20 Throwback Styles

(Radio.com) Ten Second Songs musician, producer, creator Anthony Vincent has jumped on the Pokemon Go train, releasing his own rendition of the animated TV show's theme.

Vincent has been been known for covers of songs by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Eminem and Adele, but this is a perfect choice, considering the popularity of the new Pokemon Go app.

The app was released nearly twenty years after the franchise started. Anthony Vincent recorded the viral hit in 20 styles, specific to the 90's, the decade that gave us Pokemon.

After a spot-on impression of the original track, sung by Jason Paige, Vincent switches from Aqua to Smashing Pumpkins, Bjork to Blink-182 and K-Ci and Jojo to Marilyn Manson with the ease of a master.

He also touches on Destiny's Child, Mase, Rob Zombie and singer-songwriter Paula Cole, whose track "I Don't Want to Wait" served as the theme for another classic Nineties show, Dawson's Creek. Check it out here.

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Jonah Hill Reveals Accidental Email To Drake

(Radio.com) Who hasn't clicked the 'send' button on an email only to realize it was addressed to the wrong person? Jonah Hill did just that, but his results were far more hilarious than the communication hiccups others may have experienced.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Tuesday night (August 2), Hill recounted a time he was trying to lose weight after gaining it for his latest role in War Dogs. His doctor asked him to track what he ate and then send along an email with the list. But after Hill did just that, his doctor didn't respond.

Hill told Fallon, "I was looking an hour later through my sent messages, and [my doctor] didn't e-mail back, and he usually says 'Okay' or something." It turns out he's sent it to the wrong person. "And it must have been 'DR' because it was 'doctor,' and I had sent it to Drake. So Drake, who I don't know well at all--I've met him once--he got an e-mail from me that just sent like 'Yogurt. Salad. Chicken.' And it just said 'Jonah' at the end of it."

But to add that hilarity the fact that Drake never responded to the random email. "He never wrote back," Hill said. "Never spoke to the guy. Another guy I gotta duck for the rest of my life on the long laundry list of people I can never speak to again." Watch the full story here.

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