GRUNGECAKE

Category: News

  • J Cole plans to rerelease ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ with 8 unheard records

    The label co-founder announced it on Friday, November 29.

    To celebrate the tenth anniversary of his 2014 album ‘2014 Forest Hill Drive’, J Cole plans to rerelease the fan-favourite LP with eight new tracks that the public hasn’t heard. His lucky fans will have the gift of owning the album in vinyl or compact disc form. Ten years ago, J Cole released his ‘Forest Hills Drive’ album on December 9, 2014. The album launched hit records like ‘Wet Dreamz’, ‘No Role Modelz’, and more. It debuted at #1 and sold 371,000 copies in its first week. J Cole didn’t have any featured artists on the original album. The tenth-anniversary edition comes out on December 6.

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  • Miss America pageant’s operating company files for bankruptcy

    According to Bloomberg, Miss America Competition LLC owes an estimated four million dollars. The company seeks protection from its creditors, based on a filing made in the United States Bankruptcy Court District of Florida (West Palm Beach Division) on November 22. The business has faced difficulties maintaining cultural relevance in a post-feminist world. The Miss America pageant, as of now, is still scheduled between December 31, 2024, and January 5, 2025. Madison Marsh of Colorado will crown her successor, as the court ruled the pageant could continue operation with the ongoing litigation.

  • Drake announces 2025 Australian tour ‘Anita Max Wynn’: No venues announced yet

    It will be the global superstar’s first tour in Australia since eight years ago in 2017.

    Recently, Drake—one of the world’s largest artists of all time—visited famous streamer xQc to confirm his upcoming Australian tour in early 2025. The tour has been scheduled to stretch through at least thirty days—beginning on February 9 until early March.

    Particularly, Drake said, “February 9—for anybody that’s watching from Australia—I’m coming back to Australia for the first time in eight years. Coming back to Australia on tour. Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast… February 9 until like… March something.”

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  • J Cole announces Dreamville Festival 2025’s dates

    Today, J Cole announced the return of his lucrative Dreamville Festival, which rakes in more than $145 million. In 2025, the annual event will return to Raleigh, North Carolina from April 5 through April 6. According to the organisers, 100,000 attendees enjoyed themselves. The popular American rapper has yet to unveil his 2025 lineup, but tickets are to go on sale on December 11. We’re told a portion of the proceeds are to go to Dreamville Foundation and Dix Park Conservancy non-profit organisations.

  • Trey Songz ordered to pay injured cop $11 million

    According to TMZ, Trey Songz was ordered to pay Tyrelle Dunn, the injured police officer $11 million linked to his 2021 battery case. The incident allegedly occurred when the famous artist celebrated his thirty-seventh birthday in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the singer met Dunn’s wife. Dunn sued Trey Songz for his pain and suffering, punitive damages, and medical expenses.

    A report on iHeart.com explained, “Songz allegedly brought a group of women to his hotel room at The Cosmopolitan. In his lawsuit, Dunn claimed that his wife was in that group and was allegedly held against her will. She reportedly screamed for help while she was inside the room. Dunn tried to save his wife but Songz and his security guards allegedly attacked him. As a result, he suffered from multiple injuries including scarring that prevented him from working and fractured eye sockets. 

    Dunn filed a civil lawsuit against Songz after a judge cleared the singer after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the situation and decided not to file charges. According to Songz’s legal team, there was insufficient evidence and inconsistencies found during witness testimony. The case was closed but LVMPD said they would reopen it if more evidence surfaced. Songz never responded to Dunn’s lawsuit, which led to a default judgment against the singer.”

    At the time of the report, the troubled performer did not release a statement.

  • South Korea-based superstars XG to make Coachella debut as only Japanese act on lineup

    The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2025, one of the biggest music events in the United States, has announced its highly-anticipated lineup for next year. XG will perform for the first time at the acclaimed event. The festival will take place over two weekends: April 11-13 and April 18-20, in the Coachella Valley desert in Indio, California. XG will perform on April 13 and 20, as the only Japanese artist on the lineup.

    This year’s headliners include Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, and Megan thee Stallion. XG is listed on the second tier of the lineup—just below the headliners—a first for Japanese female artists, highlighting the buzz around their appearance.

    XG comprised of seven members—Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Harvey, Juria, Maya, and Cocona—debuted in March 2022 with their single Tippy Toes. Since then, they’ve made waves globally, becoming the first Japanese artists to top the Billboard Hot Trending Songs Powered by Twitter chart and appearing on the cover of Billboard magazine as the first Japanese girl group to do so. They’ve also performed at major festivals like Head In The Clouds.

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    In 2024, XG launched their first world tour, ‘XG 1st Wol’d Tour: The First Howl, performing in roughly thirty cities worldwide. The tour has drawn 120,000 fans across Asia and 50,000 in North America. Currently, they’re performing in six European cities, including Manchester, London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

    On November 8, XG released their second mini-album, ‘AWE’, which debuted at #3 on both the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking and Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart. Globally, it reached #12 on the Apple Music Worldwide Album Chart and charted in 48 countries and regions on Apple Music’s Top 200 Albums. The lead track, ‘Howling’, trended on YouTube in 10 countries and landed at #8 on the US Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales chart, cementing their reputation as a rising global phenomenon.

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  • Rosé signs global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music

    Rosé reigns as the top K-pop soloist with the most monthly listeners in Spotify history, at over 50 million

    Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global administration deal with K-pop superstar Rosé. Known as the lead vocalist of the world-renowned girl group BLACKPINK, Rosé is one of the most celebrated K-pop artists in history. Her recent collaboration with leading WCM hitmaker Bruno Mars on the single ‘APT’ has spent four weeks at #1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excluding US chart. It also debuted at #1 on both charts, making Rosé the first female K-pop solo artist to do so simultaneously. In addition, the single hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 – another historic milestone for Rosé as the first female K-pop act to reach these positions.

    On Friday, she released her newest single ‘Number One Girl’, and her long-awaited solo debut album, ‘Rosie’, is set to follow on December 6.

    Rosé said: “I am beyond excited to join the team at Warner Chappell. There is so much more to come that I can’t wait to share—it’s going to be an amazing journey.”

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    Ryan Press, President, North America, WCM said: “Rosé has earned this moment, and it’s a huge honour to officially welcome her to our Warner Chappell family. As she breaks record after record, she’s singlehandedly redefining the K-pop genre whilst also paving the way for a new era of cross-cultural expression. We’ve already hit the ground running with our partners at Atlantic to support Rosé’s bold vision and explore new creative opportunities for her songs. Above all, we can’t wait to see where her music takes us next.”

    Born in Auckland, and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Rosé moved to South Korea at fifteen-years-old to pursue a music career. In 2016, she rose to global fame as the lead singer of the K-pop quartet BLACKPINK. They quickly became a leading force in the music industry, setting new records as the first K-pop girl group to win a VMA and the first to appear on the cover of Billboard magazine. Additionally, they were the first Korean act to headline Coachella and become recognised by the RIAA with their gold-certified ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’, as well as join Spotify’s Billions Club with their hit ‘How You Like That’, amoung many other achievements. In 2021, Rosé launched her solo career with the release of her debut single, ‘R’, featuring the lead track ‘On the Ground’. The song debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding US chart.

  • Wizkid releases sixth studio album ‘Morayo’, dedicated to his late mother

    Today, Wizkid released his eagerly-anticipated sixth studio album ‘Morayo’. On the sixteen-track album, the Nigerian superstar doesn’t change course in his sound much and brings new faces to the fold (French rapper Tiakola and French and Gabonese singer-songwriter Anaïs Cardot). Regarding the project, the cut with Brent Faiyaz has to be my favourite track because it exists in its universe. Therefore, I wouldn’t mind hearing a joint EP with the two artists in this lifetime.

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    For context (for anyone unfamiliar), Wizkid’s beloved mother passed away in 2023. According to the description on Apple Music, this album is a tribute to the woman who gave birth to one of the world’s exceptional African entertainers.

  • Cordae announces 2025 headlining tour ‘The Crossroads’: See dates

    Two days ago, American rapper Cordae announced his 2025 North American tour. Don’t forget to listen to Cordae’s brand-new album, now available through Atlantic Records.

  • Hear Jack Harlow step into his loverboy bag for ‘Hello Miss Johnson’

    “Let’s go to Nice and give your sister a niece”

    As promised, Jack Harlow has released a new track detailing the depth of his admiration and commitment for someone’s daughter. On the track, he reveals how crazy he is about her, lists where he wants to go with her (Monaco and Nice) and happily shares the need to communicate with her daughter, whose eyes he gets lost in. Listen to the love-wielding track below to hear how this mystery woman has a strong hold over the Louisville-bred artist. Strangely, it feels like an opposing perspective to Outkast’s ‘Ms Jackson’.

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