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      Want Free Central Park Concert Tickets? Keep Trying.

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      The first batches of free tickets to the “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” are being released online this week. They can be gotten, with patience.Plenty of things require patience in life. Cobbling together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle while in lockdown comes to mind, as does doing your nails — basecoat, color, topcoat.Now add to that list waiting in the virtual line for tickets to “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert.”Yes, they are free. Yes, there are more than four million fully vaccinated New Yorkers who qualify to attend. And the lineup for the Aug. 21 show — including LL Cool J, Bruce Springsteen and punk rock goddess Patti Smith — was sure to draw some interest.So perhaps it was no surprise that I found my first attempt a ticketless dead end, an exercise in frustration.It began at 10 a.m. Monday, when the free tickets first went up online. I learned quickly that to get a ticket you need a Ticketmaster account. So began a frantic scramble to remember my own.That was followed by a long wait in line, locked in a staring contest with a glowing white orb that represented my place in “The Queue.” I was told, with cold precision, that more than 2,000 people were ahead of me.But by 10:41 a.m. I was at the end of my road. Suddenly, the oval signifying the availability of general admission tickets faded from blue to gray.As in, No Longer Available.But New Yorkers wait online for a living. So on Tuesday, at 7 a.m., ready for Round 2, I clicked on the “We Love NYC” block on the Homecoming2021.com website. Sure enough, the previously gray, “unavailable” general admission block had been replenished with tickets and was now blue. At the edge of my seat, I selected two tickets and hit “Next.”“Sit tight, we’re securing your Verified Tickets,” the screen read. But then, as I refreshed, I began getting the same error message — “Sorry, we could not process your request, please try again later.” I tried for another hour and it did seem as if more tickets became available after the first batches were gone. But each time I got shut out.But there are success stories out there, people. I know early risers who had better experiences than I did. And all you have to do is go to Stub Hub to witness how many people have scored free tickets and now hope someone will pay dearly for them: A lot of those were on sale Tuesday, some as low as $48, general admission, all the way up to $12,789. Selling the free tickets is “violating the spirit of this historic concert,” a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office said on Tuesday.The city has not said how many tickets are made available each day. (Those interested can try again on Wednesday at 9 p.m., Thursday at 7 a.m., Friday at 10 a.m. or on Saturday at 9 p.m.) Clive Davis, the producer, has said he is looking for a crowd of about 60,000 on the Great Lawn and the mayor’s office has said that 80 percent of the tickets were going to be free.Now the good news for some is that if you fancy yourself a V.I.P., and are looking to spend from $399 to $3,450 or even up to $4,950 — tickets for those seats seem easier to get.The most expensive tickets — platinum V.I.P.s — promise seats right in front of the stage, entry into an exclusive backstage lounge featuring a “Complimentary Eclectic Selection of Hors D’Oeuvres,” an open bar and a special entrance.The gold V.I.P. tickets, price tag $3,450, include seating just behind platinum and all the comforts, food and drink of the backstage lounge, plus that special entrance.For $399, you still get a good ticket, but wave goodbye to that backstage lounge. Still, there will be a dedicated concessions area — and V.I.P. restroom facilities.Everyone — the free, the V.I.P.s and the V.I.P.s of the V.I.P.s — has to present proof of vaccination to enter the concert, either by showing up in person with their vaccination card or a photo of it, the New York City COVID SAFE App or the New York State Excelsior Pass. And if you can’t score a ticket, CNN will air the concert live.At an online news conference Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio was excited that the tickets were being distributed.“This is going to be amazing,” he said, “and it’s going to be a great sign of New York City’s rebirth.” More

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      Black Rob, Rapper Known for His Hit Single ‘Whoa!,’ Dies at 52

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      A star for Bad Boy Records after the Notorious B.I.G.’s death, the rapper had a husky, seen-it-all voice even as a young man.Robert Ross, the rapper known as Black Rob, whose husky, seen-it-all voice powered turn-of-the-millennium hits like “Whoa!” and “Can I Live” for Bad Boy Records, died on Saturday at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He was 52.The cause was cardiac arrest, said Mark Curry, a friend and one-time Bad Boy artist, who added that Mr. Ross had numerous health issues in recent years, including diabetes, lupus, kidney failure and multiple strokes.Mr. Ross had been undergoing dialysis and was discharged from Piedmont Atlanta Hospital this month, Mr. Curry said. In a video that was posted online and spread across the hip-hop world, Mr. Ross detailed his ailments and recent struggles with homelessness.“He didn’t have a home, but he always had us,” said Mr. Curry, who called Mr. Ross “a true poet.” He added: “He’s known for telling stories and his music described his life. You can feel it.”Last week, Mr. Curry, along with the producer Mike Zombie, began promoting a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. Ross — “to help him find a home, pay for medical help and stability during these trying times,” the campaign’s description said. The fund-raiser collected about half of its $50,000 goal.Mr. Ross, who was born in Harlem, N.Y., began rapping around the age of 11, influenced by local artists like Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, whom he credited for helping to develop his storytelling prowess. He also internalized the essence of his musically ascendant neighborhood, citing its “pick-me-up kinda sound.”“It’s like, ‘Oh, it’s got a little flavor, I could dance to this’ — you’re gonna talk about a little bit of money, a little bit of drugs,” Mr. Ross said in a 2013 interview. “We were the flashiest.”Best known for the hard-hitting 2000 single “Whoa!”, which reached No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a string of electric guest verses on songs by Mase, 112 and Total, Mr. Ross could sound both motivated and weathered even as a young man.Thrust into more of a leading role after the murder of his Bad Boy label mate, the Notorious B.I.G., in March 1997, the rapper became another fast-burning star under the imprimatur of the budding hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, better known as Diddy, by the end of the 1990s.Mr. Ross’s debut album, the fittingly named “Life Story,” was released by Bad Boy in 2000, when he was 31. Already, he had spent more than a decade of his life in and out of juvenile detention, jail and prison, and the music reflected that.“It’s hell,” the rapper said at the time of his past. “Once they get their teeth on you, they keep biting, until they feel like, ‘Let’s throw away the key on this cat.’”“Life Story” featured intricate street tales of stickups, shootouts and the family struggles that could lead to such things, and it reached No. 3 on the Billboard album chart, eventually becoming platinum.Five years later, “The Black Rob Report,” the rapper’s second album, failed to find the same success, in part because Mr. Ross was back in prison, having failed to report to sentencing for a 2004 larceny charge. His career never recovered.“Bad Boy left me for dead,” Mr. Ross said upon his release from prison in 2010. Two subsequent independent releases on different labels foundered.Mr. Ross is survived by his mother, Cynthia; four siblings; nine children; and five grandchildren.Many people on social media offered condolences for Mr. Ross, including Diddy, the entrepreneur Daymond John and the rappers Missy Elliott, L.L. Cool J, GZA and Styles P.On Twitter, L.L. Cool J described Mr. Ross as a storyteller, gentleman and an M.C.Ms. Elliott lamented that the death of Mr. Ross closely followed that of another New York rapper, Earl Simmons, known as DMX, who died this month.“It’s hard finding the words to say when someone passes away,” Ms. Elliott said on Twitter. “I am Praying for both of their families for healing.” More

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      Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and Mary J. Blige Among Rock Hall Nominees

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyJay-Z, Foo Fighters and Mary J. Blige Among Rock Hall NomineesSeven of this year’s 16 nominees are women, including the Go-Go’s, Dionne Warwick, Kate Bush, Carole King, Chaka Khan and Tina Turner.Jay-Z in concert. He’s on the list of nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame released Wednesday.Credit…Brian Ach/Getty Images North America, via (Credit Too Long, See Caption)Feb. 10, 2021Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Iron Maiden and the Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti are all first-time nominees for the 36th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the hall announced on Wednesday.They lead a group of 16 nominees, including several who have received nods at least twice before: Devo, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Todd Rundgren.After many complaints that the hall’s hundreds of inductees over the years have been overwhelmingly white and male, this year’s ballot is its most diverse yet. Seven of the 16 nominees are female acts, and nine feature artists of color.Women on the ballot include the Go-Go’s and Dionne Warwick — both receiving their first nods — along with Kate Bush, Carole King, Chaka Khan and Tina Turner.This year’s induction ceremony is planned for the fall in Cleveland, home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.To some extent, the latest crop of nominees extends a pattern that has taken hold over the last half-decade or so, with a handful of alt-rock heroes and rap gods as all-but-guaranteed sure things; Foo Fighters and Jay-Z have just crossed the hall’s eligibility threshold of 25 years since the release of their first commercial recordings. Dave Grohl, the leader of Foo Fighters, is already in the pantheon as a member of Nirvana, class of 2014.From left, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Taylor Hawkins, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, and Pat Smear of Foo Fighters. The band only recently became eligible for induction.Credit…Kevin Winter/Getty Images for IheartmediaA few recycled names from previous years’ ballots give a sense of the advocacy projects among the Hall of Fame’s secretive nominating committee. Rundgren, the eclectic singer-songwriter and producer whose solo career goes back to the early 1970s, has been nominated in each of the last three years; Rage Against the Machine, the agitprop rap-metal band whose planned reunion tour last year was disrupted by the pandemic, has been nominated three times over the last four cycles. LL Cool J has now gotten a total of six nods.Iron Maiden, whose lightning guitar riffs and demonic imagery helped shape heavy metal in the 1980s, has been eligible since 2005.But this year’s nominations also include some surprises. Kuti, the Nigerian bandleader and activist who melded James Brown’s funk with African sounds to create the genre of Afrobeat — and was introduced to many Americans through the 2009 Broadway musical “Fela!” — would be the first West African honoree. (Trevor Rabin, a member of Yes, which was inducted in 2017, is from South Africa.)And the hall’s nominating committee — a group of journalists, broadcasters and industry insiders — has clearly made an effort to highlight some of pop music’s many deserving women. The pressure to do so has been mounting for years. In 2019, the critic and academic Evelyn McDonnell tallied the 888 people who had been inducted up to that point and found that just 7.7 percent were women.Mary J. Blige performing in New Orleans. She’s on the list of hall of fame nominees for the first time. Inductees will be announced in May.Credit…Amy Harris/Invision, via Associated PressWhen Janet Jackson and Stevie Nicks gave acceptance speeches that year, they called on the institution to diversify its ranks. “What I am doing is opening up the door for other women to go, like, ‘Hey man, I can do it,’” Nicks said.If chosen, King and Turner would join Nicks as the only female artists to be inducted twice; King was admitted in 1990 with her songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, and Ike and Tina Turner joined in 1991.The nominations will be voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. The hall will once again enter a single “fan ballot” based on votes collected from members of the public on the hall’s website, rockhall.com. Inductees are to be announced in May.In December, the Hall of Fame and Museum announced plans for a $100 million expansion, which would increase the footprint of its museum by a third.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      LL Cool J 'Going Somewhere Else' With His First Album in Seven Years

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      WENN

      The ‘Lip Sync Battle’ host teases that he is exploring something different with his new album, which will become his first studio installment since 2013’s ‘Authentic’.

      Nov 8, 2020
      AceShowbiz – LL Cool J’s new album will surprise fans, with the star teasing it’s “not going to be what you expect.”
      The star has dropped 13 studio albums since his 1985 debut “Radio”, with his last LP “Authentic” released in 2013. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, he updated fans on his latest project.
      “Well, me and Q-Tip are executive producing an album right now, my new album,” teased the hitmaker. “We’ve been working and having a lot of fun. He’s a real talented dude, really smart, and I think we have some really interesting music that people are going to be excited. I’m actually excited!”

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      He added of his new musical direction, “I can’t describe it because it’s not going to be what you expect. You know what I’m saying? I’m going somewhere else with it, but you’ll see.”
      Earlier this year, the rapper did a freestyle to vent his frustrations over police brutality against African-American suspects following George Floyd’s death. “For 400 years you had your knees on our necks/ A garden of evil with no seeds of respect/ In America’s mirror all she sees is regret/ Instead of letting blood live they begging for blood let,” he spat.
      Meanwhile, the star, who hosted Grammys several times in the past, blasted Kanye West for peeing on the Golden Gramophone. “With all due respect, I think Kanye should just–maybe he should just piss in a Yeezy,” he said. “Look, now don’t get me wrong, there have been some foul things that have happened to some artists around the Grammys; they are not without flaw. But piss on one those f**king space shoes or something.”

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      LL Cool J Tells Kanye West to Urinate His Yeezy Instead of Grammy Trophy

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      WENN/Instar/Ivan Nikolov

      In a new interview, the former Grammys host admits he doesn’t understand the ‘constant disrespect’ towards the recording academy, saying, ‘What the f**k is he doing?’
      Oct 3, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Remember the one time when Kanye West made the Internet baffled by urinating his Grammy trophy? LL Cool J let it be known during his recent appearance on “Desus & Mero” that he is not here for his fellow hip-hop star’s action, telling him to urinate his Yeezy stuff instead of the trophy.
      “With all due respect, I think Kanye should just–maybe he should just piss in a Yeezy or something instead of pissing on a Grammy,” he said in the episode. “Piss in a pair of one them Yeezys, B. I felt some kind of way about that shit. I didn’t love that shit, because I’ve been with the Grammys for five years.”

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      Even though LL Cool J, who has hosted the annual show several times in the past, admitted that the recording academy is not entirely innocent, they also didn’t deserve the “constant disrespect” from Kanye. “Look, now don’t get me wrong, there have been some foul things that have happened to some artists around the Grammys; they are not without flaw,” he pointed. “But piss on one those f**king space shoes or something … C’mon, man. What the f**k is he doing?”
      Last month, Kanye created headlines by posting a video of him urinating one of 21 Grammy trophies that he put in a toilet bowl. His action was a part of his effort to get back his own master recordings and help other artists suffering from similar situations.
      “When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights. Without the masters you can’t do anything with your own music. Someone else controls where it’s played and when it’s played. Artists have nothing accept the fame, touring and merch,” he said at the time, adding, “The artist deserve to own our masters…artist are starving without tours…Ima go get our masters…for all artist…pray for me.”

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      LL Cool J Recalls Being Left Confused by Kobe Bryant's Gangster Rap Album

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      WENN/Instar/Adriana M. Barraza

      Attending a memorial service for the late basketball player, the ‘Going Back to Cali rapper’ remembers the time the former signed a record deal for his first rap album as ‘the funniest moment’ of his life.
      Feb 26, 2020
      AceShowbiz – LL Cool J urged Kobe Bryant to scrap an album of gangster rap recordings after admitting to being “confused” by the concept.
      The “Going Back to Cali” star attended a memorial service for the late basketball player on Monday, February 24, who along with his teenage daughter Gianna was one of nine victims of a helicopter crash last month.
      Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the hitmaker, real name James Todd Smith, recalled the time Kobe signed a record deal for his first rap album, preceded by the lead single “K.O.B.E.”, which the star remembered as “the funniest moment of my life”.
      “We talked about rap,” he said. “He played me this album, this gangsta rap album and I was like, ‘Kobe,’ I said, ‘Come on dog. That’s not what you need to be doing’.”
      “He had a gangster rap album. He played me that album, we’re sitting in a parking lot. I was confused, I was sittin’ there like, ‘What are we doing? You got endorsements, what are you doing?’.”
      He joked: “It had to be the funniest moment of my life, listening to him do gangster rap.”
      [embedded content]
      The “Rock the Bells” hitmaker also spoke about the NBA (National Basketball Association) player’s performance of “K.O.B.E.” at the 2000 All-Star Game with Tyra Banks, adding: “Yeah, we’re not gonna pretend like we wasn’t laughing. Like yeah yeah yeah the world was laughing, that was not — but you know, he took his shot. He took his shot.”
      [embedded content]
      Stars including Beyonce Knowles, Christina Aguilera, and Alicia Keys took the stage to perform at the star-studded memorial, with the proceeds from ticket sales for the Celebration of Life benefitting the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which Vanessa relaunched earlier this month.

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