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Afrika Bambaataa, Hip-Hop Pioneer and Zulu Nation Founder, Dies at 67

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Afrika Bambaataa, a trailblazing DJ and producer widely known as one of the founders of hip-hop culture, has died at 67.

The artist, born Lance Taylor, died on Thursday, April 9 in Pennsylvania, allegedly due to complications from cancer, TMZ reported.

His death was also confirmed in a statement from the Universal Zulu Nation, the international hip-hop awareness group he founded.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Afrika Bambaataa, a pioneering architect and global ambassador of Hip Hop culture,” the group said in a Facebook statement shared by his friend and member Mickey Bentson. “Revered as the Godfather of Hip Hop, Bambaataa was instrumental in organizing, shaping, and elevating the culture from its earliest days in the Bronx into a worldwide movement rooted in the principles of Peace, Unity, Love, and Having Fun.”

The statement continued, “Through his vision, leadership, and unwavering commitment, he helped transform Hip Hop into a powerful force for expression, community building, and social change,” adding that his legacy “is permanently embedded in the foundation of Hip Hop history.”

Bambaataa grew up in the Bronx and gained early recognition in the 1970s by hosting parties that helped define the sound and culture of hip-hop. He later released a series of influential electro tracks in the 1980s and is widely credited as one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.

Through his work with the Universal Zulu Nation, Bambaataa helped spread hip-hop culture around the world.

[Read More at People.com]

Entertainment

Katy Perry & Zara Larsson React to Justin Bieber’s YouTube-Fueled Coachella Set

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Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Coachella

Justin Bieber’s 2026 Coachella set is generating buzz among his fellow music stars.

The 32-year-old pop superstar headlined the festival’s main stage in Indio, California, on Saturday night (April 11) with a hit-filled set that took festival-goers on a stroll down memory lane as he also showcased some of his early YouTube videos.

“Thank God he has Premium. I don’t wanna see no ads,” Katy Perry joked in an Instagram video she posted while watching Bieber’s set from the crowd.

Perry, who wore a shirt emblazoned with the phrase “Pls don’t give me a rip off your vape no matter what I say,” attended weekend one of Coachella with her boyfriend, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

@zaralarsson

He’s in my dream blunt rotation

♬ original sound – Zara Larsson

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Music

The Rise and Collapse of Maybach Music Group

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Maybach Music Group (MMG), founded by Rick Ross in 2008 as an imprint initially tied to Def Jam, exploded onto the hip-hop scene in the early 2010s as one of the most formidable collective forces in rap. Ross leveraged his own commercial dominance—following hits like Port of Miami and Teflon Don—to build a luxurious, boss-lifestyle brand centered around the iconic “Maybach Music” tag and the Self Made compilation series.

At its peak, the roster featured a powerhouse lineup including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, Omarion, Stalley, and Gunplay, delivering chart-topping albums, massive features, and an aura of untouchable success. The label secured major distribution deals with Warner and later Atlantic, churning out hits that defined the era’s lavish, street-meets-opulence sound and positioning MMG as a potential heir to empires like Roc-A-Fella or Young Money.

However, the empire’s collapse was gradual and multifaceted. Internal tensions, most notably the very public feud between labelmates Meek Mill and Wale, exposed cracks in the unity. Legal troubles plagued key artists, including Ross’s own high-profile cases and Meek’s incarceration, while several signees (Gunplay, Stalley, and others) failed to sustain mainstream momentum or deliver on their early promise. Distribution shifts, missed release windows, and a broader industry move away from traditional label collectives further eroded the brand’s dominance.

By the mid-to-late 2010s, MMG had largely transitioned from a bustling collective to primarily a vehicle for Ross’s solo career and occasional joint projects, such as his 2023 album with Meek Mill under a new Gamma imprint deal. Though the “Maybach Music” name and Instagram presence endure, the once-mighty label never fully lived up to its sky-high potential, ultimately serving as a cautionary tale of how even the strongest boss-led movements can fade when momentum, chemistry, and timing slip away.

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Pusha T Hit With Ghostwriting Allegations

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Pusha T made it his business to point out that Drake’s rhymes had been rife with ghostwriting. He put it in his rhymes to say “you don’t even write your songs.” The alleged ghost behind the written rhymes is Quentin Miller.

While the feud may have simmered and the two rap titans have mainly settled their differences, there are still veiled lines and subliminal shots issued from both sides.

The idea of ghostwriting has a complex history. All someone has to do is look at the credits to songs on an album to find out what writers involved themselves in a specific tracklist. In context, ghostwriting is something that has gone on since the dawn of writing songs millennia ago.

There is a greater sense of power when rappers use it, though. They know that the ghostwriter will get paid probably in residuals or as a lump sum up front. King Push and Drizzy have had their spat and the question of whether Quentin Miller actually aided either one of them in crafting rhymes.

[Read the full article at Vocal Media]

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