Mashing up Los Del Río’s Macarena with the Disturbed track Stupify can only come from one person, and that superhuman is remixer Bill McClintock.
The Beatles’ Isolated Vocals For “P.S. I Love You”
“P.S. I Love You” by The he Beatles was released in the UK on October 5, 1962 as the B-side of their debut single “Love Me Do” and is also included on their debut album Please Please Me in 1963.
Hot 97 Summer Jam Returns To New York After Two Decades With Blockbuster Lineup
HOT 97, the New York-based global culture-setting hip-hop brand, unveils the lineup and details for the 2023 HOT 97 Summer Jam. After over 20 years, the iconic hip-hop music festival is back in New York at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY boasting a star-studded lineup with headliner Cardi B and some of the hottest names in hip-hop. Joining Cardi B on stage will be GloRilla, Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Fivio Foreign, French Montana, Lil TJay, and more. The LOX will also hit the stage to salute the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
Tickets officially go on sale April 8th at 10:00 AM EST at hot97.com/summerjam and Ticketmaster. American Express® Card Members can purchase pre-sale tickets before the general public April 4th 10:00 AM – April 6th 10:00 PM. Download the HOT 97 App for more opportunities to win tickets, exclusive content, and hip-hop news and updates. The highly anticipated 2023 HOT 97 Summer Jam will offer two stages featuring some of the biggest names in hip-hop, while putting a spotlight on the recent rise of women to the forefront of the hip-hop movement. The Main Stage performers include Cardi B, GloRilla, Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Fivio Foreign, French Montana, Lil TJay, Lola Brooke, and a number of exciting, surprise guest performances, which will make the night even more unforgettable. The show will also feature a dynamic performance by legendary group, The LOX, celebrating 50 epic years of hip-hop and culture.
In addition to the main event, the Warner Records Stage at HOT 97 Summer Jam will kick off the afternoon pre-show with host French Montana and feature some of the hottest emerging artists including, NLE Choppa, Kenzo B, 2Rare, Sha EK, McVert and TQ. From the Main Stage to the Warner Records Stage, the star-studded music celebration is guaranteed to be one of the best Summer Jams thus far.
“The show is all about bringing hip-hop’s biggest stars to the stage and we are honored to have New York’s own, Cardi B, as our headliner this year. I am so proud of the strong female presence in our lineup, which represents women’s dominance over the airwaves this year.” TT Torrez, Multi-Media Personality and VP of Artist and Label Relations.
Listeners can get more details about this year’s lineup and the Hip Hop 50th anniversary on the HOT 97 app, which allows them to enjoy the hottest hip-hop station and all of its amazing content from anywhere in the world. The app keeps fans up to date on the culture with breaking news, exclusive articles, video content, features from Ebro, Laura Stylez & Rosenberg, Nessa Funk Flex, TT Torrez, and other HOT 97 personalities, as well as access to a library of podcasts including Summer Jam Through the Years, Ebro in the Morning, and Tap in with TT.
Country Music Superstar Luke Bryan Teams Up With Smithfield Foods To Launch “Good Goes On” Initiative
Smithfield Foods’ portfolio of consumer favorite brands are collaborating with country music superstar and television personality Luke Bryan to help recognize and uncover the good all around us, at the table to beyond.
Starting with the food we eat, the Good Goes On with Luke Bryan platform is setting out to help people discover how to best nurture themselves and be inspired to share the goodness with those around them through mealtimes, social gatherings and special occasions.
The diverse portfolio of brands, including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan’s Famous and Carando, has provided shoppers with convenient, dependable and delicious meal options for decades. We nourish families and individuals throughout each day, but more importantly, we bring people together to eat, feel, and share good experiences.
“I’m proud to kick off the Good Goes On program because there’s always room for more good in the world,” said Luke Bryan. “I’m a believer in finding the good in every day, having fun and spreading joy. We have a few surprises up our sleeves this year, so be sure to follow us as we continue to find ways you can spread the good in 2023!”
“Our brands are excited to partner with Luke Bryan to help continue our mission of bringing goodness to households through the food we provide,” said Tim Zimmer, chief marketing officer for Smithfield Foods. “Over the years, we’ve enjoyed seeing that even small and simple acts of thoughtfulness can make a difference. This year, we’re proud to join with Luke Bryan to focus on the good around the table and showcase how our brands help nurture the communities we serve across the nation.”
To see what Luke Bryan will be up to next and stay up to date with Good Goes On, check out GoodGoesOn.com.
Maybelline New York Partners With Chloe Fineman For New Digital Campaign Featuring New Tattoo Studio Ink Pen Liner
Maybelline New York, the #1 Cosmetics Brand in the world, today launched its latest campaign with comedian Chloe Fineman to showcase the durability of the brand’s all-new Tattoo Studio Ink Pen Eyeliner in a campaign titled, “Ugly Cry, Perfect Liner.”
The Ugly Cry digital campaign is a 90s music video-inspired video that highlights the liquid eyeliner’s waterproof, smudge-proof, 24-hour longwear benefits. In the video, Fineman puts the new liner to the test through tears and rain, with the long-lasting formula delivering a bold and saturated impact that can last through it all.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Chloe for our new Tattoo Studio Ink Liner campaign, leaning into her engaging personality, and the ‘cry-proof’ nature of the product. Chloe was the perfect partner for the Ugly Cry campaign, bringing a comedic twist to showcase the product’s long-lasting formula, through thick and thin,” said Fernando Febres, Assistant Vice President, US Marketing, Maybelline New York.
Application Tips:
Apply the Tattoo Studio Ink Pen Liner starting with the inner corner and glide the tip along the lash line. The precise brush tip features 350 bristles for easy glide on application and a saturated color payoff with our darkest pigments yet.
Tattoo Studio Ink Pen Liner is now available online and at mass-market retailers nationwide, including Target, CVS, Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and more. SRP: $10.99
About Maybelline New York
Maybelline New York is the number one cosmetics brand in the world, available in over 120 countries. By combining technologically advanced formulas with on-trend expertise and New York City edge, Maybelline New York’s mission is to offer high-performing and innovative cosmetics for all. Maybelline New York introduced Brave Together in 2020, a long-term program dedicated to destigmatizing the conversation around mental health and funding mental health initiatives led by non-profits. The brand has pledged to donate $10 million to mental health causes with a goal of helping 1 million people access critical one-to-one support by 2025. For more information: http://www.maybelline.com
Sultans of String Win 2 Canadian Folk Music Awards: Global Roots Album Of The Year and Producer of the Year
Toronto-based Sultans Of String continues to lead the global music world with two wins at the Canadian Folk Music Awards: Global Roots Album Of The Year for their “Sanctuary” and Producer of the Year (John “Beetle” Bailey and Chris McKhool) for the same album.
Keeping within the band’s dedication to the global music scene, this multi-award-winning, 3x Juno-nominated and Billboard charting band creates “energetic and exciting music from a band with talent to burn!” (Maverick, UK). For more than a decade, Sultans of String have thrilled audiences with their genre-hopping passport of Celtic reels, Flamenco, Django-jazz, Arabic, Cuban and South Asian rhythms. The group celebrates musical fusion and human creativity with warmth and virtuosity, with world rhythms that excite audiences to their feet!
NY Times and Billboard-charting world music supergroup Sultans of String released their highly anticipated eighth album Sanctuary on November 5, 2021. It spotlighted a brand-new focus track Ariengue Arianga featuring the four core Sultans, as well as incredibly talented and inspiring special guests Donné Roberts & Yukiko Tsutsui.
Sanctuary is the second instalment in their Refuge Project. The first, simply entitled Refuge, was heralded as “a fantastic, moving, dreamlike, epic, timely album.” (Ken Micallef–Jazz Times, Stereophile, Downbeat) and won many awards including Producer of the Year at the 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards for bandleader and violinist Chris McKhool.
“We thought Ariengue Arianga would be the perfect focus track for the album,” says McKhool, “because it is a song that brings this incredible community of musicians together with one voice. Ariengue is an expression in Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, which means, ‘I am wishing you happiness,’ and being able to be together, creating this sound together in the same space again, certainly filled our hearts with joy!”
Donné Roberts wrote the song and plays electric guitar on the track, with lyrics that span decades. He started writing the first verse in 1984 and then finalized it in his new home of Toronto years later.
“I moved to Moscow when I was a small boy, seven years old. My father worked at the Madagascar embassy there. They opened a relationship back then, the Soviet Union and Madagascar. I was inspired by the music all around me and the experience of being displaced at a very young age. I returned to Moscow again later in life at a time when there were no computers around us. There was no internet at that time so it was a time when you could be inspired by different sounds and never hear them again. I returned to Madagascar when I was nineteen years old.”
By the time Donné returned to Madagascar at the age of nineteen, a lot of things had changed. “Things were completely different! The image I had of my home country was pretty different from reality. So, I kept writing this song about wishing someone happiness. It is about separation, for someone has to go somewhere else, wishing them the best of luck on a long way, and a feeling of hope. Who knows, maybe we will meet again.”
Donné finally found his way to Canada’s largest city. “Toronto has a lot of talent, and variety of music – completely different kinds of music, from Japanese to South Asian to Middle Eastern to Russian, Greek, jazz, blues, Brazilian, Cuban, and the thing that fascinated and amazes me is that it is done very well! I go to see bands play, and wow, what great musicians! There is some kind of magical language with music – it doesn’t have any borders or barriers. It is at the level of feeling.”
Joining Donné on this track is Yukiko Tsutsui, who found her way from Japan to Canada, studying and working in BC before moving to Toronto. “Singing Ariengue with Donné is so much fun. Every time we play that song live people get so excited, singing and clapping along.” Says Tsutsui. “The fact that it is in Malagasy is not a barrier, the music is so uplifting and makes people so happy. It is amazing to sing that song with Donné. I feel really blessed.”
“We need this uplifting music, especially this year, and this version is such a gift for people from all over the world to get to sing together and play together. It is so moving. The music has no borders. Everything, the instruments, drums, we can feel the rhythm and the melodies. We feel good, and we feel love, that is the amazing thing about getting together to play music, feeling the strong emotional bond between players and audiences and we are sharing a beautiful moment and that is a very big part of the meaning for me, that people from all over the world can get together and share the music and the moment and love together.”
UPCOMING SULTANS OF STRING TOUR DATES:
APR 14 – First Presbyterian Church (Young Audience), Lincoln, NE
APR 15 – First Presbyterian Church, Lincoln, NE
MAY 12 – Marble Arts Centre, Tweed ON
MAY 13 – Bancroft Village Playhouse, Bancroft ON
MAY 14 – Bryan Jones Theatre, Lakefield College, Lakefield, ON
MAY 26 – Brockville Arts Centre, Brockville, ON
JUN 24 – Mississauga World Music Festival
JUN 24 – Old Church Theatre, Trenton ON
JUN 27 – Wasaga Beach Gazebo, Wasaga Beach ON
ALL TIX LINKS AT: https://sultansofstring.com/calendar/
Tonia Cianciulli Returns With Emotional “Thousand Cries”
Everything can look fine on the outside, however, it’s what’s truly happening on the inside that matters most. The talented classical artist, Tonia Cianciulli, shares her own experiences of internal struggle on her newly released single, “Thousand Cries.”
The Newfoundland-born, Toronto-based singer and songwriter paints a beautiful, yet realistic picture of what her life was and is currently like as she moves through life the best she can, while dealing with painful and emotional struggles.
The lyrics of the song are deeply moving, exploring the pain and suffering when dealing with anxiety and depression. Cianciulli’s vocal delivery is raw and vibrant, capturing the heart-wrenching pain of grief and the longing to find closure on her every-day struggle. The opening lines, “She could feel the storm coming, she could feel the rage running,” shows she is aware of the approaching turmoil and is feeling overwhelmed by it all.
The multifaceted and versatile musician describes her motivation behind making this deeply moving song by saying, “I originally wrote ‘Thousand Cries’ in 2013 as a song to my inner child, and present self. It was written to address waves of anxiety and depression I’ve experienced over the course of my life.”
This new single appearing on her forthcoming album, Love Me Till I’m Me Again, showcases Cianciulli’s incredible vocal range and emotional power. The song’s melody that allows for her voice to take centre stage. You can hear the message she is conveying which is evident in the chorus:
“Her heart’s lost despite a thousand friends.
Oh what will it take this time?
She’s hearing a pounding sigh.
Oh what will it take this time?
She’s hearing a pounding sigh.”
Not only is Cianciulli a singer/songwriter, but also an award-winning author, and always available to offer words of encouragement to the listeners by saying, “Don’t be afraid to reach out to family and friends to ask for help, or to simply let them know you need a listening ear while you unload some of the chaos in your mind. These conversations are so critical to have because we are not alone.”
The final lines of the song, “Her soul will still show the way, it’s leading her she will stay,” depicts the difficulties and challenges she faces, yet her determination to keep moving forward. She is relying on her inner strength and resilience to guide her through the storm and is determined to find a way to heal and overcome her pain.
Cianciulli adds one last message remarking, “This song now takes on an even deeper meaning for me as I journey with my teenage daughter over familiar waves, and into new territory.”
Berlin-Based Afropop Songwriter and Producer Mister Wawa Releases “Amina, Amina”
With the current state of the world, it’s no wonder that everyone yearns for a bit of peace in their everyday lives. Berlin-based Afropop songwriter and producer Mister Wawa channels this desire into an upbeat new single “Amina, Amina.”
Soft whispers of “Amina Amina peace” open the song like a prayer before lead vocals by Ggrande makes a gentle plea for “Amina” to come to him and cure his restlessness. The song likens “Amina” to a female lover as Mister Wawa sings of his desire for connection and wisdom.
“Can you hear me
Can you hear me
We need to be connected
Tell me something baby, oh my boo
Oh my
Help me baby with all your wisdom
Eehl
To understand most of the necessary things
All that joy you can bring”
A steady Afrobeat rhythm from Dedrey featuring a light undercurrent of drums and dashes of pop, electronica, and jazz elements compliments the song’s prayer-like mood. This creates an atmosphere that is sensual, relaxing, and reverent to the listener.
Of the song’s inspiration, Mister Wawa states, “After a strenuous day, which was overshadowed by a personal tragedy and the war in Ukraine coupled with concerns about world peace, I came home and felt only the need for a bit of rest and security. My smartphone beeped: A friend from Kenya wanted to thank me for my recovery wishes and wrote: AMINA (Swahili for Amen).”
In fact, the song’s multi-layered production and meaning are its strengths. Although Amina may seemingly appear to be a female lover to the casual listener, knowing that Amina means “Amen” in Swahili allows a greater appreciation for the song.
Mister Wawa explains the song’s intricate meaning, stating, “In order to give the name or term AMINA with its different meanings a lot of space and to direct the listener to the essentials, the verses were deliberately kept short and concise. This also gave more room for different levels of singing, the interpretations of AMINA.”
German music artist Mister Wawa aka Jens Bosecker is a songwriter, music and film producer and DJ. His main influences are the pop culture of the 80s and 90s as well as jazz music and African rhythms.
In the years prior to the pandemic, he organized countless concerts and directed two renowned jazz festivals featuring renowned artists such as Steve Coleman, Bill Evens, David Murray and Dave Holland.
During the pandemic, Mister Wawa began to work in the studio on his own original music. In 2022, his album Immortal was released.
Toronto Rocker Nice Vice Releases “Regrets And Cigarettes” Pick-Me-Up For Your Week
Need a pick-me-up? “Regrets and Cigarettes” is what you need. The debut single by Toronto artist Nice Vice (a.k.a Seth Horst), out now, is a fiery radio-friendly rocker dedicated to everyone who’s “still in debt and making bets and trying to live that dream.”
Nice Vice is making their dream happen. His debut gig in January 2023 was sold out with the full-length coming out in May. And their riff-heavy take on honest rock’n’roll comes through loud and clear on “Regrets and Cigarettes.”
It wasn’t Nice Vice’s obvious choice for a first single. It was the last song written for the album. “Out of nowhere came this riff that I couldn’t shake,” says Horst. “After the guitar part was established, the lyrics flowed effortlessly into this abstract compilation of moments I hadn’t thought about in a long time. It quickly became one of our favourite songs to jam.” The rest of the album contains several different flavours, so choosing a single wasn’t easy, “but the desire to start with something fun and funky won out,” says Horst. The song also displays the strong influence of ’90s rock on Nice Vice, particularly Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Horst is also stoked for people to see the video, made by friends in L.A. “It’s nothing you would expect — which is kind of what we were going for,” He says. “I can say with confidence that is one of the weirder music videos you will see, but it was an absolute blast to shoot and turned out being quite funny in the end. Oh, and if you’re into extra-terrestrials — you’re gonna love it.”
2023 is gearing up to be a big year for Nice Vice and, more important: for rock’n’roll.