LL Cool J hopes to be a bridge for musical generations
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New York Post
15-07-2025
- New York Post
Bruno Mars jokes about gambling debt rumors at BLACKPINK concert
He's got jokes. Bruno Mars poked fun at the debunked rumors that he owed MGM Resorts $50 million in gambling debt following his surprise cameo at BLACKPINK's concert in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 'Treasure' singer, 39, shared an Instagram clip from his onstage appearance the day after and wrote, 'Almost out of debt BehhhhhBehhhhh!!! Preciate You ROSAAAAYYYYYY!!!! 🥳.' Advertisement 7 Bruno Mars at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Getty Images for iHeartRadio Mars' video showed him running on the stage at SoFi Stadium as confetti fell. He joined Rosé to sing the K-Pop girl group's hit 'APT' on their DEADLINE World Tour. 'THE CAPTION LMAO🤣🤣🤣🤣,' one fan wrote in the comments section. Advertisement 7 Bruno Mars makes a surprise cameo at the BLACKPINK concert on July 13. brunomars/Instagram 7 Bruno Mars performs with BLACKPINK at SoFi Stadium. brunomars/Instagram 'I can't with the caption😂😂😂,' another fan said. 'ALMOST OUT OF DEBT ☠️,' a third follower added. Advertisement In March 2024, a source alleged to NewsNation that Mars owed millions in gambling debt to MGM Resorts. The Grammy Award winner has had a residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas since 2016. 7 Bruno Mars performing at the 2021 American Music Awards. via Getty Images '[MGM] basically own him,' the insider claimed. However, MGM Resorts quickly denied the allegations about Mars. Advertisement 'We're proud of our relationship with Bruno Mars, one of the world's most thrilling and dynamic performer,' the hospitality empire said in a statement to The Post. 7 Bruno Mars attends the 2022 BET Awards. Getty Images for BET 'MGM and Bruno's partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect. Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he has no debt with MGM,' the statement continued. 'Together, we are excited to continue creating unforgettable experiences for our guests.' Mars previously made light of the gambling debt allegation during a major career milestone in January. After Mars 'became the first artist to reach 150 million monthly listeners in Spotify history,' he reposted the announcement and wrote, 'Keep streaming! I'll be out of debt in no time!' 7 Bruno Mars poses at the 2024 New York Comic Con at Jacob Javitz Center. Getty Images He was also asked if he wanted to speak on the gambling rumors during an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal last summer. 'Absolutely not! I love the lore that I am a Las Vegas lounge singer in debt to the mob. I can work with that,' Mars stated. Advertisement 7 Bruno Mars backstage at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. CBS via Getty Images Mars' successful Vegas residency was supposed to end in August 2023 before he kept adding more shows. The NewsNation report claimed he makes $90 million ($1.5 million a night) in his current deal with MGM. Mars has upcoming performances slated at Dolby Live at Park MGM up to Sept. 6.
San Francisco Chronicle
10-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lady Gaga hails Outside Lands performer Doechii as ‘immediately legendary'
Lady Gaga is singing the praises of hip-hop's rising star Doechii, calling the 26-year-old artist 'immediately legendary.' 'You don't often see someone come out of the gate with a pen that feels immediately legendary,' Gaga said in a new cover story for British Vogue published Thursday, July 10. 'That's Doechii to me. I fell in love with her music and her raw, deeply personal perspective. The power in her words, her vulnerability, the way she rhymes with this wild mix of audacity and emotional precision — it struck me to the core.' The endorsement follows Doechii's appearance at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she presented Gaga with the Innovator Award and credited the pop icon as a 'lifeline' for queer and alternative kids like herself. Now, it's Doechii who is in the spotlight. She's scheduled to perform at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival on Aug. 8, capping a breakout year that's included a Grammy win, viral performances and a headlining slot at Glastonbury Festival. In Doechii's Vogue profile, the Florida native reflected on her journey from a churchgoing teen in Tampa to a genre-bending artist with global reach. 'I was born to do this,' she said. Doechii's breakout track 'Anxiety,' which samples Gotye and Kimbra's 2011 hit 'Somebody That I Used to Know,' first appeared on her self-produced 2019 mixtape 'Coven Music Sessions.' A bedroom performance video of the song resurfaced and went viral online as her career began to take off, with fans drawn to its raw, confessional lyrics about mental health. Demand quickly grew for an official release, and within weeks, the song was added to streaming platforms. Known for genre-blurring artistry and bold statements — both political and stylistic — she's quickly gained a reputation for pushing boundaries. Beyond her music, Doechii has used her growing platform to advocate for mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. Openly bisexual, she has become a vocal supporter of the queer community and a representative voice for fans who see themselves in her unapologetic self-expression. At the BET Awards, she used her acceptance speech to criticize the government's use of military force against protestors. 'We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear,' she said. The artist, born Jaylah Hickmon, credits much of her success to her decision to embrace sobriety and authenticity. 'I dedicated myself to sobriety and God told me that I would be rewarded,' she said. 'And that He would show me just how good it can get.' She's now preparing a follow-up to her Grammy-winning mixtape 'Alligator Bites Never Heal,' teasing a sound that's 'very raw' and 'grungy,' with fewer effects and more vulnerability. 'I know it's gonna be a similar theme from my last project,' she said, 'of a real, deep vulnerability.' 'I love doing things that aren't allowed,' she told Vogue.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
LL Cool J, Jazmine Sullivan Cancel Philadelphia Festival Gig in Solidarity With Striking City Workers
LL Cool and Jazmine Sullivan canceled their appearances at a Fourth of July festival in Philadelphia in solidarity with the city workers who are on strike in Philly. Both the rapper and the Philadelphia-born R&B singer were scheduled to perform at the Wawa Welcome America Festival on Friday, but hours before the performance, LL Cool J announced in a video statement on social media that he would forego the gig in support of the 10,000 city employees — ranging from 911 dispatchers to trash collectors to water department workers, the Associated Press reports — who walked off the job Tuesday in an effort to secure better pay and benefits. More from Rolling Stone LL Cool J Takes a Trip Through NYC Rap History in New 'Hip-Hop Was Born Here' Trailer Lil Wayne Fleetingly Reminds Us Why He's One of the Best Rock the Bells Festival Is Back With a Class of 2025 Edition 'I understand there's a lot going on in Philadelphia right now, and I never, ever, ever wanna disappoint my fans, especially in Philadelphia…but there's absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage. I'm not doing that,' LL Cool J said. 'I've been coming to Philly my whole life. I have respect for the city. And I hope, I hope, I hope that, you know, the mayor and the city can make a deal. I hope it works out.' Sullivan wrote on her Instagram Stories, 'In this life we are only measured by how we uphold our morals and standards, by what we choose to fight for through participation or protest. Today I choose not to perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert and stand with Philly's DC33 until the city and union find a way to bring fair living wages to our working class. I love my city and I believe in you. Hopefully we will get to celebrate when things are better.' LL Cool J added that he would still travel to Philadelphia with the hope that an agreement between the workers and the city could be reached, but no deal materialized by Friday. 'I'm not gonna cross a picket line and perform for money when people are hurting,' he reiterated. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
