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Miss America goes red
Miss America, the iconic 100+ year brand, and Miss America’s Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3), announce a three-year commitment supporting American Heart Association’s women’s initiative, Go Red for Women® raising awareness of women’s heart health and bringing fitness initiatives back to the national competition stage.
Miss America’s CEO Robin Fleming feels that, “Empowering women in America means making health a priority—heart disease is the leading cause of death for women ages 20 and older. We need to raise awareness and incorporate fitness initiatives to create better outcomes.”
The American Heart Association, devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, has been on the forefront of fighting heart disease and strokes for a century. Since 2004, Go Red for Women has supported women through every season of life as their trusted, relevant source for credible, equitable health solutions.
“In the 20 years Go Red for Women has worked to save and improve women’s lives, one thing we’ve learned is women—particularly young women—need to know heart disease doesn’t discriminate,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “Anyone can be a lifesaver,” she continued. “You just need to know the signs and symptoms and have confidence to speak up. The life you save could be your own.”
Miss America’s support for the Go Red for Women movement will encompass public awareness campaigns, community outreach, fundraising for health initiatives and participant scholarship opportunities, as well as highlighting women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). All efforts to further an overall goal of improving women’s health and well-being. Both organisations will harness their collective reach to advocate for a heart-healthy America.
Nigerian star Zlatan joins forces with Ayox for ‘Walking Dead’: Watch
Coming off the back of his seven-track album ‘Last Son of a Widow’, Ayox teams up with Nigerian rapper Zlatan to deliver the visuals to ‘Walking Dead’—a tribute to MohBad. The record was produced by Karly Teros, whilst the official video was directed by Kambi Pictures.
South African duo 2woBunnies announce ‘Coming 2wo America’ North American tour: See dates
Recently, masked DJ duo 2woBunnies shared the dates for their upcoming tour in the United States. The dates will find the jockies in Oakland, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC. You haven’t heard any of their music yet? You’d want to check out ‘Dzepa’ featuring Marlode & Owams, ShaunMusiq, and Ftears below.
The Bunnies are Coming 2wo America 🇺🇸 !! USA , Y’all ready to party with the bunnies ? 🐰🐰🔥🔥
Which cities should we Add ? 😤
🚨 #2wobunnies #coming2woAmerica #PartyWithThebunnies pic.twitter.com/8jkJWbe2BM
— 2WOBUNNIES (@2WOBUNNIES) November 22, 2023
If you’re into music from other parts of the world, namely South Africa and its infectious Amapiano sound taking over the world right now, you may want to find time to catch the twosome live in a city nearest you.
Skepta announces first festival—Big Smoke—to launch in South London’s Crystal Palace Park
Approximately two hours ago, Skepta, one of London’s most famous artists, has announced his first festival. It is called the Big Smoke Festival; if you follow the star online, you know where the name comes from.
#BigSmokeFestival2024 pic.twitter.com/wFsGQa1ThP
— Big Smoke – (@Skepta) November 27, 2023
With an official promotional flyer, Skepta shared that the event will happen in Crystal Palace Park (South London, United Kingdom) on July 6, 2024. We’d all have to stay tuned for the lineup.
Busta Rhymes sharpens la guillotine for new album ‘Blockbusta’: Review
Three days ago, Busta Rhymes, one of my favourite rappers from my elementary school during his solo reign (1996’s ‘The Coming’), released a new album with playback value called ‘Blockbusta’, possibly an ode to the billion dollar video rental store from the eighties and a play on his name. The effortlessly-laid nineteen-track LP is executive produced by his longtime friends and super-producers Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz. Bringing the legendary Hip-Hop act to the 2020s with outstanding features from the new school superstars like Quavo, Young Thug, and Kodak Black, it is the launchpad that a star of his stature needed and could land due to his incredible talent, impressive collaboration with Chris Brown (‘Look at Me Now’ with nearly 400 million streams on Spotify) and some of them probably wanting to fulfill one of their childhood dreams.
On ‘Luxury Life’ with Coi Leroy, the pair tag team Brooklyn’s finest JAY-Z and Foxy Brown’s 1996 classic ‘Ain’t No Nigga’. Via ‘Big Everything’ with DaBaby, Busta Rhymes reminds his audience of his iconic tongue-twister delivery on Diplo and Afrojack’s viral producer, this time over production originally made for Bun B’s ‘Get Throwed’ featuring Pimp C, Young Jeezy, JAY-Z, and Z-Ro. Easing into the album with Jamaican Patois, Afro-Fusion global superstar Burna Boy joins him to [talk that] talk about choppers, diamonds, and someone losing their ability to stand up. I enjoyed every record on the album, but my absolute favourites are the opening track ‘The Statement’, ‘OK’, ‘Could It Be You’, ‘Open Wide’, ‘Hold Up’, ‘Homage’, ‘Slide’, Ghanian-American artist Blackway’s contribution to ‘The Return of Mansa Musa’ and ‘Slide’ with the unexpected Mystikal vocal sample—the fifty-three-year-old rapper is in jail since July 2022 for imple criminal damage to property; false imprisonment; domestic abuse, battery, and strangulation; simple robbery; and first-degree rape. According to his Wikipedia page, “If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.”
There’s something for almost everyone on the album (generational and taste); to me, it was an intelligent decision, and every record is a banger–making me feel like we still can make albums without skips in 2023 and beyond. Check out the stellar project below to hear how Blxst and Yung Bleu flip the same beat Miguel and J Cole owned on ‘All I Want Is You’ and the nostalgic choice of delivery for Busta Rhymes and Big Tigger’s outro (‘If You Don’t Know Now You Know). #Solid
Wiz Khalifa shares new laid-back track ‘Up the Ladder’
Last week, Wiz Khalifa released a single ‘Up the Ladder’ produced by Big Jerm and lnk from his forthcoming mixtape called ‘Decisions’. On the smooth, laid-back record, the Pittsburgh legend sings and raps about flexing, smoking the marijuana he owns, displaying his wealth, and the ease of everyone not knowing his lady’s whereabouts–a vast difference from his ex-wife’s lifestyle. Stream the track from ‘Decisions, set to come out on December 1–dubbed his third mixtape of the year.
André 3000: A man with a penchant for talent
André 3000 dares us all to unlearn and return to our child-like states as creators, bold enough to imagine, reimagine, learn, and experiment.
This month (November 17), André 3000, a legendary contemporary artist deeply missed by a generation (or more) of die-hard Hip-Hop/Rap fans, released a new solo wordless, prose bankrupt album spanning nearly ninety minutes of uninterruptible mental freedom. It, the music, comes in great timing as some parts of the world and its inhabitants ache from what has become their reality. For some, it’s things that they can’t control (the deadly flooding in Kenya and the spread of monkeypox in Congo), and for others, it’s warfare—uniquely described as genocide by a group of people who have once suffered similar treatment by extremists, particularly, Neo-Nazism.
What’s so enchanting about this boy of work is its ability to exist and coexist in the serene spaces I am currently in Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa. If you learned to enjoy your peace of mind or the stillness of being alone, here’s an eight-track LP you might like. Not to mention, the title of each song (seemingly odes to the culture and genre he’s most popular) gives you something to think about as you’re listening on your streaming platform of choice for the first time or through your record player.
Watch Cincinatti’s Skylar Blatt and Lola Brooke lyrically rule their new collaboration ‘Fuck Fame Pt 2’
Some weeks ago, the newly signed Arista Records artist Skylar Blatt, hailing from the streets of Cincinnati, released the official music video for her collaboration with Brooklyn star Lola Brooke. For the ‘Fuck Fame’ record, Blatt rides the beat to talk about feeling like a jackpot, taking a significant loss, and saving some of her earnings whilst Brooke raps about being a boss, spending thousands of dollars, being a star, and getting paid to flaunt her worldly possessions. Check out the video below to hear the young women shine.
Stream J Stone’s new album ‘The Definition of Success’ featuring the late Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Bun B, and more
Today, J Stone, the Crenshaw native rapper, released the fourth part of his album series—The Definition—inspired by his longtime friend Nipsey Hussle. On his new project, he covers personal time with the ladies on track #7 (“I fucked some R&B bitches, I ain’t namedropping”), narrating his level up on #11 (“Dedication made us all turn goals to reality/Get rich before a nigga turn old”), and moving around in spaces that aren’t native to his on #15 (“Now, I’m in the Hamptons, chilling with famous actresses”). He even throws a cheeky line about having a deceased friend called Benjamin Franklin in there on ‘Numbers Lie Too’.
For this album, J Stone gifted us with a posthumous Nipsey Hussle feature on ‘Foundation’ with Hit-Boy, Dave East on ‘Rich Roll’, West Coast legends Xzibit and Butch Cassidy on ‘Black Sheep’, his friend Dom Kennedy on ‘Hamptons’ and Houston’s finest Bun B and Trae the Truth. Following ‘The Definition of Loyalty’ (2019), ‘The Definition of Pain’ (2020), and ‘The Definition of Sacrifice’ (2022) comes 2023’s ‘The Definition of Success’. Stream the fourth and final part of the series below. It consists of eighteen tracks. Upon first listen, my favourite tracks are ‘Count Me In’, ‘Black Sheep’, and ‘Levels’.
Before you leave, don’t forget to watch the official music video for the single he’s currently pushing: Count Me In.
Orange and Spotify join hands to promote African talents
From yesterday, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and Mali and very soon in Guinea, millions of mobile users will enjoy music for free on Spotify platform when subscribing to an Orange mobile offer; The new partnership between Orange Middle East & Africa and Spotify will bring a new music journey to mobile users, thanks to a vast music catalogue and a user-friendly interface.
Orange, operating in eighteen countries across Africa and the Middle East, has recently partnered with Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming platform, to offer all mobile customers an exciting music experience. By offering complimentary data bonuses to access to Spotify’s service, Orange strengthens its position as an all-in-one entertainment service provider. With a worldwide community of over 551 million monthly active listeners, including 220 million subscribers, Spotify provides a wide range of African and international artists with a library including over 82 million tracks. Orange customers can now enjoy this personalised and enriching musical experience by creating for instance their own playlists.
Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Managing Director for Spotify in Sub-Saharan Africa, said “We are excited to partner with Orange Middle East & Africa to offer data bonuses to our customers in Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, and Mali, allowing them to enjoy our vast music library of over 100 million songs, without worrying about data. We are aware that data costs continue to be a hindrance for people who would like to stream music, that’s why we are actively working at Spotify SSA on partnerships like this one.”
Brelotte Ba, Deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, said: “We are pleased to partner with Spotify to bring a new experience to our customers in Africa and the Middle East. As a multi-service operator on the continent, we want to provide our customers with easier access to the rich musical culture in Africa and to the promotion of local talents. The deployment of this service in the countries where we are present will greatly facilitate access to an incomparable musical experience for all communities and thus contribute to the acceleration of digital inclusion on the continent.”
Music stands as the primary source of entertainment across the African continent. The vast community of Orange mobile users in several countries will enable Spotify to promote local talents and introduce them to a larger audience. This strategic partnership will constitute for
Orange a substantial progression towards enhancing the musical experience across the African landscape, fostering a deeper connection to cultural and entertainment elements. Orange is exploring opportunities to expand the offer in other countries.
