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      Cassie Settles Lawsuit Accusing Sean Combs of Rape and Abuse

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      The R&B singer Casandra Ventura and the music mogul did not disclose terms of the settlement, which came one day after Ms. Ventura filed an explosive complaint.Sean Combs and the singer Cassie have reached a settlement just one day after she filed an explosive lawsuit accusing the hip-hop mogul of rape and numerous instances of physical abuse.The parties announced on Friday evening that they had reached an agreement to resolve the case, though they disclosed no details about the terms of the settlement.“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, said in a statement. “I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”In a statement, Mr. Combs said: “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”For Mr. Combs, the settlement quickly shuts down what could have been a risky and potentially embarrassing process of legal discovery — in which reams of evidence are made public — and a possible trial. And Ms. Ventura, who has already aired her accusations through a public complaint, avoids a cross-examination by Mr. Combs’s attorneys.In a lawsuit that drew international attention, Ms. Ventura — who signed to Mr. Combs’s Bad Boy label in 2005, when she was 19, and dated him for about a decade — accused Mr. Combs of what she said was years of beatings, controlling behavior and various forms of sexual abuse, including a rape. In response, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, Ben Brafman, said, “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.”According to Ms. Ventura’s suit, which was filed on Thursday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Mr. Combs assaulted her numerous times, leaving her bloodied and bruised; she said his employees sometimes took her to hotel rooms for days to recover out of the public eye.In one of the suit’s most disturbing allegations, Ms. Ventura said that for years she was forced to participate in sexual encounters with a succession of male prostitutes, as Mr. Combs watched, masturbated and recorded videos. According the suit, Mr. Combs called these events “freak offs,” and they took place in a number of high-end hotels throughout the United States.According to Ms. Ventura’s suit, Mr. Combs controlled nearly every aspect of her life, paying for her homes, car, clothes and other necessities, and even had access to her personal medical records. The suit says Ms. Ventura never went to the police because she feared it “would merely give Mr. Combs another excuse to hurt her.”Mr. Combs, who started Bad Boy in 1993, became one of the most powerful and successful figures in the hip-hop industry, working with stars like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, and helping to transform rap music and culture into a global pop phenomenon and a major business.Still, his rise to fame has been dotted with allegations of violence, including that he and his bodyguards beat a rival music executive, Steve Stoute, with a Champagne bottle and other items.Last year, Mr. Combs received a lifetime achievement honor at the BET Awards, and in September he was given the global icon award at MTV’s Video Music Awards.Even with the settlement, however, the damage to Mr. Combs’s reputation and legacy may be substantial. In the day since Ms. Ventura’s suit was filed, past allegations of violence and abuse have been resurfaced, and various musicians have publicly signaled their support for Ms. Ventura.In a statement, Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ms. Ventura, said: “I am very proud of Ms. Ventura for having the strength to go public with her lawsuit. She ought to be commended for doing so.” More

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      George Brown of Kool & the Gang Dies at 74

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      Mr. Brown kept time for a group that combined funk, disco, R&B and jazz to create some of the most memorable pop songs of the 1970s.George Brown, a founding member and drummer of the group Kool & the Gang, who played on funk, disco and pop hits that featured prominently in movies and have been sampled numerous times, died on Thursday in Long Beach, Calif. He was 74.His death, at a hospital, was confirmed in a statement by the band’s publicist, who said the cause was cancer. Mr. Brown had said publicly that he had lung cancer.Mr. Brown, known as Funky, was a key contributor to several of the band’s biggest hits, including “Ladies Night,” “Jungle Boogie” and the party anthem “Celebration.”In a July interview with NPR, he described Kool & the Gang as “the sound of happiness.”In 1964, Mr. Brown linked up with Ricky Westfield and the brothers Ronald Khalis Bell and Robert “Kool” Bell, as well as other friends — Spike Mickens, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas and Charles Smith — to form a band that would combine jazz, funk, disco and R&B and create some of the most memorable pop songs of their era.Formed in Jersey City, N.J., the band first played jazz while members attended Lincoln High School. The band performed under several names, including the Jazziacs, but eventually settled on Kool & the Gang in the late 1960s.One of the band’s early names was Kool and the Flames but the group changed the Flames to the Gang to avoid confusion with James Brown’s group, the Famous Flames.Kool & the Gang in the 1970s. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesGeorge Brown was born on Jan. 15, 1949. His father, George Melvin Brown Sr., worked in the coal industry while his mother, Eleanor White Brown, was a maid in Fort Lee, N.J., and also worked as a key puncher.Both made music a constant part of Mr. Brown’s upbringing, Mr. Brown recalled in his memoir released this year, “Too Hot: Kool & the Gang & Me.”Mr. Brown, who took to drumming at a young age, wrote that he saved up from a newspaper delivery route to buy his first drum set.In a 2015 interview with Red Bull Music Academy, Mr. Brown described using butter knives as drum sticks when he first started playing.“Then I went down to a music store on Newark Avenue in Jersey City and took a $3 lesson from a gentleman who used to play with the Shirelles. He said, ‘Hey man, you’re a natural!’” Mr. Brown recalled. “So he gave me ‘Buddy Rich’s 16 Essential Snare Drum Rudiments’ book. I took one more lesson and never went back.”The band was signed by the producer Gene Redd to De-Lite Records 1969.The members were in an early recording session in New York for their instrumental debut album, “Kool and the Gang,” when Mr. Redd encouraged Mr. Brown and Ronald Bell to just “do something.” It led to a freewheeling recording session that produced songs like “Raw Hamburger” and the album opener, “Kool & the Gang.”“It just flowed. And we’re just grooving,” Mr. Brown told The New York Times in an interview last year.George Brown on drums in 1974.Getty ImagesThe sound carried over into the 1970s as the band found fame and added the vocalist J.T. Taylor.Songs like “Jungle Boogie” “Hollywood Swinging” and “Funky Stuff” became Billboard chart staples. “Celebration” — with its cheery chorus “Celebrate good times, come on!” — made it all the way to the top.The group would go on to release dozens of albums, tour worldwide and appeared on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978.The group’s songs have frequently appeared on film and television soundtracks, including for “Pulp Fiction” in 1994.In 2015, the band was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Mr. Brown was a producer on an album that the band released this year, called “People Just Want To Have Fun” in anticipation of the group’s 60th anniversary.Kool & the Gang had a broad influence, particularly in hip-hop.According to the website WhoSampled, the band has been sampled in almost 2,000 songs, among the highest of all time. The band’s song “Summer Madness” accounts for 249 samples, by artists including Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige.Ronald Khalis Bell, a singer, songwriter and saxophonist for the band, died in 2020. Mr. Thomas, who played saxophone, died in 2021.Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Hanh Brown, and five children: Dorian Melvin Brown, Jorge Lewis Brown, Gregory Brown, Jordan Xuan Clarence Brown and Aaron Tien Joseph Brown.Three years ago, Mr. Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer, according to an interview broadcast with the television station KCAL in Los Angeles. After surgery and chemotherapy, Mr. Brown recovered and returned to touring in 2022. But this year, the cancer returned.“I didn’t plan on being in a band known around the world, but I welcomed it when it came,” Mr. Brown wrote in his book. “I didn’t know where the music would lead me, but I knew that if I remained focused and persevered, it would happen as God had intended. And it did.” More

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      Who Is Cassie, the R&B Singer Suing Sean Combs?

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      The R&B singer was poised for a big breakout after her 2006 hit song “Me & U.” But her second album never arrived.Cassie, the singer, model and actress who is suing the music mogul Sean Combs for physical and sexual abuse, was supposed to be the next Britney Spears or Janet Jackson.Such a high bar for success was set by Combs, who in addition to dating the singer for more than a decade beginning around 2007 was also her label boss at Bad Boy Records until 2019. “Those two great artists have paved the way,” Combs said in 2008, while hyping up the singer’s much-anticipated second album.But it never came.After a promising start to her career in pop and R&B — including an infectious debut single, “Me & U,” that peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, and a well-reviewed first album — the singer, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, subsequently struggled for years to regain her footing as an artist. In pop music circles, she has long represented a “what if?” of unfulfilled artistic potential, even as she gained cult-favorite status among R&B obsessives and turned to releasing music independently.Ventura’s lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, may cast her abbreviated career in a different, darker light. According to Ventura’s claims, Combs, whom she met when she was 19, began a pattern of control and abuse that fused the singer’s personal and professional life as he plied her with drugs, beat her and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and recorded. As their relationship was ending in 2018, the suit says, he raped her after pushing his way into her home.Through a lawyer, Combs, 54, has denied the accusations, calling the lawsuit “riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”When they first became acquainted, Ventura, now 37, was an aspiring singer and sometime model from New London, Conn., while Combs was a larger-than-life hitmaker — known as Puff Daddy or Diddy — who was credited with developing the careers of the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and more. In February 2006, according to the lawsuit, Ventura signed a 10-album deal with Bad Boy. That summer, her debut studio album was released, with writing and production from the R&B polymath Ryan Leslie.“Just what we need: a young singer and a young producer who want to be the next Aaliyah and Timbaland, or maybe the next Ciara and Jazze Pha,” the critic Kelefa Sanneh wrote in The New York Times, praising her minimalist R&B sound. “No, seriously: It is just what we need.”“Cassie,” released by Bad Boy and Atlantic Records, reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first week. But promotional appearances on shows like MTV’s “Total Request Live” and BET’s “106 & Park” were rocky, with Ventura citing “significant performance anxiety” in her lawsuit.Combs, at the time, was her public defender, telling MTV, “It made me really appreciate what I really love about her: She’s a regular person.” He added, “You’ve got to understand that success for her is coming out of nowhere.”In the years that followed, despite singles featuring Lil Wayne (“Official Girl”) and Akon (“Let’s Go Crazy”), Ventura became known as much for her relationship and public appearances with Combs as for her music. A second album was routinely teased in the press — with Combs touting her artistic development: “she’s really cocooned into a butterfly” — but never materialized.Still, Cassie remained a pop culture presence. In 2008, she appeared as an actress and dancer in the film “Step Up 2: The Streets.” The following year, she signed a record deal with Interscope Records, in association with Bad Boy, but got even more attention for an experimental hairstyle in which she shaved half of her head. “I wanted to go all the way and kind of land in punk,” she said at the time.By 2012, with the release of the single “King of Hearts,” Ventura was still touting a comeback. “I’m just a laid-back person,” she told GQ of the six-year gap between albums. “Maybe laid-back to a fault.” She added, “It’s been too long, I know, but I got to start over and over again. It would be awesome to stay popular, but if I was only an underground artist, I would be OK with that.”In 2013, Ventura released a mixtape, “RockaByeBaby,” that was not promoted with the force of an official studio album, but was met with praise nonetheless. With appearances by the rappers Wiz Khalifa, Rick Ross and Meek Mill, the album showcased Ventura as “an on-mic presence that’s the equal to any of the rappers she’s recruited for features here,” a critic for Pitchfork wrote.It would be years before Ventura released music again. According to the singer’s lawsuit, on at least two occasions in 2009 and 2015, Combs beat her after seeing her speak to music managers at parties. “She had hoped speaking to this manager would allow her to further grow her career, and that Mr. Combs would be happy for her, but instead he became extremely angry,” the suit says of the 2009 incident.Following the filing of the lawsuit, two former Bad Boy artists expressed support for Ventura online. “Been trynna tell y’all for years,” the singer Aubrey O’Day, formerly of the Combs-backed group Danity Kane, wrote on Instagram. “Prayers up for this queen.” Dawn Richard, another former member of Danity Kane, wrote on X, “praying for Cassie and her family, for peace and healing. you are beautiful and brave.”In 2019, Ventura married the wellness consultant Alex Fine while pregnant with the couple’s first child; the “intimate backyard wedding,” with just 14 guests, was documented by Vogue. That year, Ventura also began releasing music again, putting singles online via her own Ventura Music label in what she called the Free Fridays Playlist.“I feel supported so I make decisions based on what’s best for me,” Cassie said in an interview about beginning a new creative phase as a mother. “I used to spend the most time overthinking the smallest things and always worrying about how people felt that I neglected how I really felt and what would make me happy. I wasn’t creating from the heart.”“The most valuable thing I’ve learned in starting a new chapter,” she added, “is that it’s OK to ask for help.” More

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      12 Grammy Nominees You Need to Hear

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      Some of the best competitions are the under-the-radar ones. Listen to nominated songs by Bettye LaVette, Molly Tuttle, Tainy and more.The soul survivor Bettye LaVette, who’s up for best contemporary blues album.Gioncarlo Valentine for The New York TimesDear listeners,I’m Jon Pareles, sitting in for Lindsay this week because while she’s on vacation, we couldn’t let the Grammy Awards nominations go by without a playlist.Like a lot of critics, in and out of music, I’m pretty skeptical about awards shows. That’s not just because they rarely agree with my own taste. Awards shows have conflicted agendas and contradictory incentives. They trumpet artistic integrity but crave star power. They claim accountant-verified objectivity but often appear cliquish and stuck in industry bubbles.The one thing that makes me indulge the Grammys is an aspect that infuriates some other Grammy observers: the chronic sprawl of awards categories. There are 94 this year. That’s a lot, but fine: Let a hundred flowers bloom. The Recording Academy is forever trying to trim and adjust those categories, consolidating or renaming or expanding the list. But music keeps eluding them, changing styles and constituencies, while little Grammy voter pools — hopefully specialists, realistically partisans — battle to boost their candidates.It’s complicated, fluid, arbitrary, far from perfect. What, exactly, is “alternative jazz,” one of this year’s new categories? But down in the trenches of concert bookings, “Grammy-winning” can make a bigger difference for someone on a club or college tour than for an act with radio hits and arena gigs. The Grammys can be good for something.I regularly watch the pre-Grammy, non-network, un-prime-time “Grammy Premiere” livestream — just go to live.grammy.com or YouTube — where the unsung majority of Grammy Awards are given out before the prime-time show. They’re dorky and unpolished; some winners read their thank-yous from their cellphones, and they don’t always have designer outfits. But the pre-Grammys also book niche-category performers who tear the roof off, because that’s what happens beyond the controlled sphere of pop. Music can upend everything we expect.Here are a dozen down-category Grammy nominees, who are unlikely to show up in prime time. They’re not necessarily popular — though some were huge hits — or fashionable. They just made recordings worth noticing.Listen along on Spotify as you read.1. Kylie Minogue: “Padam Padam” (pop dance recording)Kylie Minogue conquered dance floors, yet again, in 2023 with “Padam Padam,” her breezily confident assertion that “I know you wanna take me home.” The title is a heartbeat rhythm, the production uses reverb to play with space, and Minogue sounds quite amenable to a tryst. (Listen on YouTube)2. Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane: “Scientists & Engineers” (rap performance)Multifaceted ideas about creativity — as a calling, a compulsion and a career — unite Killer Mike and his guests in this ambitious, changeable track. Enfolded in restlessly blipping synthesizers and Eryn Allen Kane’s ethereal vocal harmonies, André 3000 and Future muse over past and present before Killer Mike arrives with a closing barrage. (Listen on YouTube)3. Allison Russell: “Eve Was Black” (American roots performance)Racism and misogyny are Allison Russell’s direct targets in “Eve Was Black,” which transforms itself from Appalachian toe-tapper to eerie rocker to jazz excursion to gospel incantation and asks the unflinching question, “Do you hate or do you lust?” (Listen on YouTube)4. Jason Isbell: “Cast Iron Skillet” (American roots song)A tangle of bleak, likely interconnected narratives — murder, death in prison, a family shattered by interracial romance — mingles with homey advice in “Cast Iron Skillet,” a modest-sounding but far-reaching ballad. (Listen on YouTube)5. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway: “El Dorado” (bluegrass album)The songwriter and flatpicking guitar virtuoso Molly Tuttle spins a brisk, minor-key chronicle of the Gold Rush. She sings about desperate characters and wonders, “Was it worth the blood and dirt to dig our lives away?” (Listen on YouTube)6. Bettye LaVette: “Hard to Be a Human” (contemporary blues album)The gritty-voiced, 77-year-old soul survivor Bettye LaVette embraces 1970s-style Nigerian Afrobeat, with its chattering saxophone and curlicued guitars, in “Hard to Be a Human,” as she wonders about humanity’s irredeemable flaws. (Listen on YouTube)7. Blind Boys of Alabama: “Work Until My Days Are Done” (roots gospel album)The Blind Boys of Alabama, a gospel institution since the 1940s, bring their vintage-style harmonies to a traditional song that’s more about diligence than worship. The arrangement is a two-parter, an easygoing shuffle that revs up midway through to something like sanctified honky-tonk. (Listen on YouTube)8. Tainy featuring Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas: “Lo Siento BB:/” (música urbana)Tainy, the Puerto Rican producer who’s an architect of reggaeton, racked up a billion streams across various platforms with “Lo Siento BB:/” (“Sorry Baby”). Julieta Venegas and Bad Bunny sing about her infatuation and his refusal to commit, juxtaposing cushy electronics and a blunt beat. (Listen on YouTube)9. Natalia Lafourcade: “De Todas las Flores” (Latin rock or alternative album)The Mexican songwriter Natalia Lafourcade’s album “De Todas las Flores’ isn’t remotely rock. It’s richly retro pop that harks back decades, with acoustic instruments and some orchestral arrangements. The title track is a rueful, elegantly nostalgic lament for lost love. (Listen on YouTube)10. Davido featuring Musa Keys: “Unavailable” (African music performance)Davido is from Nigeria, but he has international aims. In “Unavailable,” he infuses Nigerian Afrobeats with a South African style, amapiano, and he’s joined by the South African singer Musa Keys. They’re both playing hard to get. (Listen on YouTube)11. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society: ‘Dymaxion’ (large jazz ensemble album)The composer Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is an 18-piece big band that stokes suspense with dissonance, pinpoint timing and an arrangement that gets denser and denser throughout most of “Dymaxion.” Even when it eases back, the piece stays ominous. (Listen on YouTube)12. Ólafur Arnalds: “Woven Song (Hania Rani Piano Rework)” (new age, ambient or chant album)“Woven Song” originally appeared on Ólafur Arnalds’s 2020 album, “Some Kind of Peace,” with an eerie, sliding, untempered vocal. The Polish pianist and singer Hania Rani makes it cozier and more consonant in her “rework,” but the ghost-waltz spirit of the original persists. (Listen on YouTube)And I’d like to thank the Academy …JonThe Amplifier PlaylistListen on Spotify. We update this playlist with each new newsletter.“12 Grammy Nominees You Need to Hear” track listTrack 1: Kylie Minogue, “Padam Padam”Track 2: Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane, “Scientists & Engineers”Track 3: Allison Russell, “Eve Was Black”Track 4: Jason Isbell, “Cast Iron Skillet”Track 5: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, “El Dorado”Track 6: Bettye LaVette, “Hard to Be a Human”Track 7: Blind Boys of Alabama, “Work Until My Days Are Done”Track 8: Tainy featuring Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas, “Lo Siento BB:/”Track 9: Natalia Lafourcade, “De Todas la Flores”Track 10: Davido featuring Musa Keys, “Unavailable”Track 11: Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, “Dymaxion”Track 12: Ólafur Arnalds, “Woven Song (Hania Rani Piano Rework)”Bonus TracksCaryn the editor here flagging the rest of our Grammy coverage that’s gone live so far today:Ben Sisario’s big look at the field, with a spotlight on the top competitions.Our always-entertaining snubs and surprises, examining which genres were conspicuously absent from the biggest categories, and a delightful showdown between Olivia Rodrigo and the Rolling Stones.The full list of nominees: yes, all 94 categories. Yes, I formatted this myself.An interview with Victoria Monét, who has seven nominations (the second-most), and one for her toddler.And an interview with the indie-rock trio boygenius, who picked up six nods. More

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      Victoria Monét on Her 7 Grammy Nods (and One for Her Toddler)

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      The pop and R&B singer and songwriter has long aspired to be a solo star. Now she’s landed the second-most nominations this year, and is “trying to wrap my head around it.”On the morning of this year’s Grammy Award nominations, Victoria Monét, the pop and R&B singer and songwriter, had the champagne ready no matter what.Up early and gathered at a hotel with her 2-year-old daughter, Hazel, some members of her team and other collaborators via video chat, Monét was hoping for some industry recognition but ready for anything. “Worst case scenario, I just would have been really tipsy,” she said.When all the categories had been announced, there were at least nine reasons to celebrate: Monét scored seven nominations, tied for second-most overall, including record of the year (“On My Mama”), best new artist, best R&B song and best R&B album, for “Jaguar II.” Her longtime collaborator and “Jaguar II” producer Dernst Emile II, known as D’Mile, was nominated for producer of the year, nonclassical, for the second year in a row. And Hazel became the youngest ever Grammy nominee for her feature appearance — alongside Earth, Wind & Fire — on the song “Hollywood,” which is up for best traditional R&B performance.Having long aspired to be a solo star, Monét, 34, had previously found most of her success as a songwriter for other artists on tracks like “7 Rings” and “Thank U Next” by Ariana Grande, “Do It” by Chloe x Halle, and “Ice Cream” by Blackpink and Selena Gomez. Even after the well-received release of “Jaguar II,” her debut full-length album, in August, Monét said she had been told that it was “too early” in her story to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards.In a phone interview shortly after the Grammy nominees were announced, Monét discussed the vindication of this moment, the health of R&B music, her daughter’s reaction to her record-setting recognition and how the music industry views motherhood. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.What a morning! How much did you allow yourself to get your hopes up?Honestly, I didn’t expect anything, because I know that the Grammys is such a prestigious awards academy. I knew we submitted a lot and I really felt strongly about the album, but I don’t think that always translates. I just wanted to watch it with my team in a really clean and serene environment. So we came to the hotel, we got the champagne and balloons as if we’d already been nominated. We could’ve definitely fell on our asses, but we came out really, really happy and emotional. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.The whole field is dominated by women across genres. What does that say about the music industry at the moment?I think it’s kind of a reflection of where the world is at, in addition to the music industry. Because I think women are realizing their power and the world is more in support of it, and we’re being more unapologetic and seeing the fruits of our labor. I think there’s a tide change in the world, and that’s definitely reflected in the Grammy nominations and in music in general.What about R&B in particular? We’ve been dealing, for a decade-plus now, with the tired “Is R&B dead?” conversation. And now here you are with SZA, Janelle Monáe and Coco Jones with many nominations.I feel like that conversation has always been null and void. I don’t know whose idea or statement that was. I’m aware of it, but it just feels like it was a rumor started by some ghost and everyone I talk to disagrees.They’re definitely, obviously wrong. But it almost feels like when people say that, people go harder for R&B to prove that it’s not, which I like. So I do value it for that reason. Clearly, because of the Grammy nominations, you can see it proven over and over again. Even across pop music and rap, you can see the R&B influences.Between the release of the “Jaguar” EP and “Jaguar II,” you had your first child. Did you have to deal with anyone questioning how becoming a mother would affect your career?Oh, 100 percent. People were scared. I even got a PowerPoint presentation from someone about reasons why it’s a bad idea and what it would cost. But it’s just a fear and an old way of thinking. When I first was introduced into the music industry, there was a strong opinion and narrative that you can’t do it if you’re an older woman, you can’t do it if you’re a mom and you can’t do it if you’re in a relationship. Weird, weird things that the music industry had hovering over women’s heads. But we’re consistently breaking those narrative down over the last few years and proving that they’re incorrect.Your daughter, Hazel, is also nominated for her feature on “Hollywood.” How does she feel?She’s 2 and a half now, but at the time of the feature she was 4 months old. She’s now the youngest Grammy nominated artist in history, which is crazy. Oh my God, I’m so proud. She just has no idea. She’s just on the phone watching “Baby Shark.” I’ll have to explain this to her later. I know she’ll appreciate it because she does love music — she’s getting that bug, wanting to be onstage and sing. She’s making up songs and doesn’t even realize that she’s writing already. So I’m excited to share that with her when she’s able to understand a bit more. But, you know, humble flex for her at school.You and Ariana Grande have been a huge part of each other’s journeys and she’s always been a champion of yours. Have you had a chance to speak to her yet?I haven’t spoken to her yet. I know she’s such a busy woman, but I’m sure we’ll share time about this. She’s always congratulatory and supportive on all things. Every bit of the way, she’s been wishing for the best for me. I know she’s been here as an artist, as well. So now we can relate and I’m excited to ask her for advice. Like, “going into it, how did you prepare your mind?” It’s good to have a friend who’s been where you are.D’Mile is a bit of a Grammys whisperer, having such success with Silk Sonic and H.E.R.Oh my, God, yes.What did he bring to “Jaguar II”?More than music, D’Mile has brought family energy into the studio. Companionship. Someone I really, really trust wholeheartedly. I moved to L.A. in 2009 and I didn’t have a place to live. I was in a girl group at the time. He offered his place so that we could stay. It’s bigger than just “Jaguar I” and “II.” We’ve been rocking for over a decade. We were on FaceTime together as he got his producer of the year nomination. I’m so excited and thankful that he’s on this journey.You had a moment earlier this year when you were told you weren’t ready for the V.M.A.s. Is this the sweetest vindication?It’s really, really awesome. I think my entire story has been leading up to this moment. I felt like an underdog for so long. There’s always been this narrative on Twitter that I’m underrated, which I’ve always appreciated because I thought of it as my fans seeing more for me than what I already have. But now, everyone who was rooting has been able to see things come to fruition and see me get what they thought I deserved. It just feels like, finally. This is big release, but also celebration. I’m in complete gratitude.Any big plans for the show?I definitely have plans and dreams to perform at the Grammys, if allowed. But my first thought was, “Oh my God, Hazel will need something to wear.” More

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      SZA, ‘Barbie’ Songs and Young Women Lead 2024 Grammy Nominees

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      The indie-rock group boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and Victoria Monét are among the most nominated artists for the 66th annual awards in February.SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, the indie supergroup boygenius and the eclectic bandleader Jon Batiste are among the top nominees for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, leading a class of contenders dominated by young women.SZA, the R&B singer and songwriter born Solána Rowe, has nine nods — more than any other artist this year — for her album “SOS,” which led the Billboard chart for 10 weeks and spawned an in-demand arena tour. “Kill Bill,” its standout hit, is up for both record and song of the year at the next ceremony, set for Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.Swift and Rodrigo will face off against SZA in all three top categories, with Swift’s “Midnights” — the studio LP she released last year, in between a slew of rerecordings — and Rodrigo’s “Guts” up for best album, and Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Rodrigo’s “Vampire” each competing for both record and song.The awards were announced in an online stream Friday morning by the Recording Academy, the nonprofit organization behind the Grammys.Miley Cyrus and Batiste are also contenders in each of the most prestigious categories. Cyrus’s mellow, disco-inflected hit “Flowers” is up for record and song of the year, and “Endless Summer Vacation” for album. Batiste, the surprise album of the year victor in 2022 for “We Are” — a rootsy, uplifting collection that had barely made a dent on the charts — earned a string of nominations, including best album for “World Music Radio,” a high-concept amalgam of global pop that was also far from a hit. Its track “Worship” is up for record, and “Butterfly” for song. (Record of the year recognizes a single recording; song of the year is a songwriter’s award.)Boygenius, the project of three of indie-rock’s leading young women — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, all in their late 20s — will compete for record of the year with “Not Strong Enough,” and best album with “The Record.”Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, boygenius, Batiste and the Americana singer-songwriter Brandy Clark have six nods apiece, as does Billie Eilish, another Grammy favorite; Victoria Monét, an R&B singer and songwriter, has seven. Bridgers, of boygenius, also nabbed a seventh, through a collaboration with SZA.The “Barbie” soundtrack, curated by the producer Mark Ronson and filled with female artists — Eilish, Dua Lipa and Nicki Minaj among them — has a total of 11 nominations in seven categories. In best song written for visual media, for example, “Barbie” tracks occupy four of the five slots.The contenders for best new artist include Monét; the banjo-playing pop-folkie Noah Kahan; Jelly Roll, who started as a rapper before finding fame in Nashville; the British dance producer known as Fred again..; the R&B singer and actress Coco Jones; the husband-and-wife soul duo the War and Treaty; and two artists who have gotten a boost from their associations with Swift — the singer Gracie Abrams and the drill-meets-pop Bronx rapper Ice Spice.In past years, the Grammys have been criticized for failing to adequately reward female artists, and this year’s woman-heavy nominations will likely be welcomed in the industry as a sign of progress. Still, the key will be who ultimately wins.As always, the nominations included some surprises in the top tier, particularly when it came to country artists.Luke Combs, who had a cross-generational smash with a reverently faithful version of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 song “Fast Car,” got a nod for country solo performance, but not record of the year, which many in the industry had expected. (“Fast Car” was not, however, eligible for song of the year, since it had already been nominated for that award in the ’80s.)Zach Bryan, an admired songwriter who found chart success this year with a self-titled album, was recognized only in country categories, for that LP and for “I Remember Everything,” a duet with Kacey Musgraves. And Morgan Wallen, a streaming titan whose album “One Thing at a Time” was a blockbuster this year, is absent completely — a sign, perhaps, that the coastal industry mainstream has not forgiven Wallen for his use of a racial slur two years ago, as establishment Nashville seemingly has. (Wallen’s hit “Last Night” is up for best country song, though Wallen was not among its four writers.)Harvey Mason Jr., the chief executive of the Recording Academy, said in an interview that the nominations simply reflect the musical judgment of the academy’s 11,000 or so voting members.“There’s really no other explanation or calculus here,” Mason said. “The voters come in, they listen to the music, and the stuff they like the best, and feel is the most excellent, they vote for.”The nominations arrive two days after Neil Portnow, a former academy chief, was sued in a New York court by an anonymous female musician who accused him of drugging and raping her five years ago. The suit also accused the academy of negligence.Portnow has denied the accusation, and the academy on Wednesday called the woman’s claims “without merit.” Mason declined to comment about the case.The major Grammy nominations this year largely hew to popular hits, and they notably over-index with female artists, though country and hip-hop are scarce in the top categories.In addition to LPs by SZA, Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, boygenius and Batiste, the album of the year slate includes Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and Janelle Monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure.”Record of the year also includes Monét’s “On My Mama” and Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” from “Barbie.” Del Rey’s “A&W,” “What Was I Made For?” and another “Barbie” number, Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” round out song of the year.The number of slots on the ballot for the four top Grammy categories has been a moving target for years. This year, the academy set it to eight, after two years at 10. It was the third such change in five years.Among other rule changes this year, the academy moved the producer and songwriter of the year categories to the general field, which allows all voting members to vote on those awards.Nominees for producer of the year, nonclassical, include Jack Antonoff, known for his work with Swift and Del Rey; Daniel Nigro (Rodrigo); Hit-Boy (Nas, Don Toliver); Dernst Emile II, known as D’Mile (Monét); and Metro Boomin (Travis Scott; Drake & 21 Savage). Songwriter of the year, meant to recognize writers who largely work behind the scenes, has nods for Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shane McAnally, Theron Thomas and Justin Tranter.For best pop vocal album, Swift’s “Midnights,” Rodrigo’s “Guts” and Cyrus’s “Endless Summer Vacation” are up against Kelly Clarkson’s “Chemistry” and Ed Sheeran’s “-” (called “Subtract”).In the rap album category, Drake & 21 Savage’s collaboration “Her Loss” and Travis Scott’s “Utopia” will contend with Killer Mike’s “Michael,” Nas’s “King’s Disease III” and Metro Boomin’s “Heroes & Villains.”For country album, Bryan’s LP is up along with Kelsea Ballerini’s “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” Lainey Wilson’s “Bell Bottom Country,” Tyler Childers’s “Rustin’ in the Rain” and the self-titled album by Brothers Osborne.The contenders for best rock album are Foo Fighters’ “But Here We Are,” Greta Van Fleet’s “Starcatcher,” Metallica’s “72 Seasons,” Paramore’s “This Is Why” and “In Times New Roman …” by Queens of the Stone Age.For best African music performance, a new category, the nominees are Asake & Olamide’s “Amapiano,” Burna Boy’s “City Boys,” Ayra Starr’s “Rush,” Tyla’s “Water,” and Davido’s “Unavailable,” which features Musa Keys.In the audiobook category, Michelle Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders will compete with Meryl Streep, William Shatner and the music producer Rick Rubin.At the ceremony in February, the academy will give out prizes in 94 categories — the most in 13 years. The organization slashed many awards in 2011, but since then the number has gradually crept back upThe 66th Grammys will recognize recordings released from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 15, 2023 — an unusual eligibility window of 11 and a half months. This year, nearly 16,000 entries were submitted for consideration, down slightly from last year. More

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      Missy Elliott and Willie Nelson Join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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      Innovators from genres that have long been underrepresented in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were celebrated at the event’s 38th annual induction ceremony in Brooklyn.The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 38th annual class of musical heroes on Friday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, in a night dominated by strong women and giants from genres the institution had long treated as adjacent to rock.The latest inductees in the flagship performer category included Willie Nelson, the 90-year-old country icon; Missy Elliott, the hall’s first female rapper; the singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow; George Michael, the larger-than-life pop singer of Wham! who became one of pop’s first openly gay heroes; the soul vocal act the Spinners; Kate Bush, the eclectic British performer, who did not attend; and the political firebrands Rage Against the Machine, who were represented solely by their guitarist, Tom Morello.In other categories, the hall inducted DJ Kool Herc, who presided over hip-hop’s founding party 50 years ago; the rockabilly guitarist Link Wray; the spitfire R&B singer Chaka Khan; Al Kooper, one of rock’s most well-traveled musicians, who played with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and many others; Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s longtime songwriting partner; and Don Cornelius, the creator and host of the TV show “Soul Train.”The induction came less than two months after the Rock Hall ejected Jann Wenner, one of its founders, who made disparaging remarks about female and Black performers as part of a New York Times interview. This year’s class demonstrated the organization’s recent commitment to inclusion, but the night didn’t end without a barbed reference to the controversy.“I’m honored to be in the class of 2023, alongside such a group of profoundly ‘articulate’ women and outstanding, ‘articulate’ Black artists,” said Taupin, echoing Wenner’s comments in the interview.Here are some highlights from the show.Stars from beyond rock’s bordersWillie Nelson, the 90-year-old country star, was honored at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.Andy Kropa/Invision, via Associated PressSome of the most commanding presences were artists outside the traditional boundaries of rock ’n’ roll who claimed their places in music history proudly.In an arena-worthy spectacle that began with her own countdown clock, Elliott arrived onstage just after midnight outfitted in gold and surrounded by a phalanx of backup dancers. After an energetic spin through abbreviated versions of songs including “Get Ur Freak On,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” and “Work It,” she got emotional at the podium, revealing that this was the first time her mother had seen her perform. (Elliott hadn’t wanted to rap risqué records in front of her mom because “she from the church” she said, to laugher.)She mentioned women innovators who “gave me their shoulders to stand on,” including Pepa, Queen Latifah (who inducted her) and Roxanne Shante, and noted that on hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, she felt the magnitude of the moment: “You just feel like it’s so far to reach when you in the hip-hop world, and to be standing here, it means so much to me.”Earlier, Nelson sat stone-faced, in his signature red bandanna and long braids, as Dave Matthews gave a rambling but affectionate induction speech, praising Nelson’s longevity and history of activism — and his well-known penchant for marijuana.Nelson, who has been a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame for 30 years, cut to the chase in a brief acceptance speech, saying, “I never paid much attention to categories, and I’m not sure fans did either.” At 90, Nelson’s love of performing was still palpable. Seated and playing a weathered acoustic guitar, he nimbly ran through riffs and solos, leading his band on classics like “Whiskey River,” “On the Road Again,” and, joined by Crow, “Crazy,” his song made famous by Patsy Cline.Women celebrated womenSheryl Crow, left, was joined by Olivia Rodrigo for a duet of “If It Makes You Happy.”Andy Kropa/Invision, via Associated PressAs recently as 2016, there were years when the hall welcomed no women. But on Friday, they were a strong presence, and honored one another onstage and in supportive statements.The night kicked off with Crow, who began her career as a backup singer for Michael Jackson before breaking out on her own in the 1990s with hits like “All I Wanna Do.” She was joined onstage by Olivia Rodrigo, the 20-year-old pop star, for a duet of “If It Makes You Happy,” a power ballad about vulnerability. And Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac — in black lace and fingerless gloves — sang with Crow on “Strong Enough.”In a video segment, Nicks called Crow “everything that every girl should want to be.” In her acceptance speech, Crow thanked her parents “for all the years of unconditional love,” adding, “and piano lessons.”Khan sang her hits “Ain’t Nobody” and “Sweet Thing” with H.E.R. and “I’m Every Woman” with the pop singer and songwriter Sia, who entered the stage in a gigantic, rainbow-colored wig that obscured her face. In accepting her honor, Khan spent much of her time praising Jazmine Sullivan, the R&B singer who inducted her.Queen Latifah introduced Elliott by noting all the boundaries she’d broken: “Missy has never been afraid to speak out about the preconceptions, the stereotypes, the string of misogyny and the obstacles that have been placed in the way of women.”A night of notable absencesAfter a speech from Ice-T, left, Tom Morello spoke about his group Rage Against the Machine’s mission as a political band.Andy Kropa/Invision, via Associated PressThe ceremony was defined as much by who wasn’t there as who was.Bush, who shot up the charts last year when a decades-old song, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” was used in the TV show “Stranger Things,” did not attend. Neither did three of the four members of Rage Against the Machine. And some of the most uproarious applause in the arena was for Michael, who died in 2016.Bush, who has not performed in public in nine years, was celebrated for her singularly dark and theatrical vision. The singer St. Vincent, her wide eyes staring straight ahead, performed “Running Up That Hill” in a black puffy lace top. In a statement posted to her website on Friday, Bush thanked the Rock Hall for welcoming her to “the most extraordinary rostrum of overwhelming talent.”Michael was inducted by Andrew Ridgeley, his childhood friend and partner in Wham!, who appeared in a crisp purple three-piece suit. He spoke of Michael’s intense drive for fame as well as his talents in the studio as a writer and producer and added, “His beauty gave balm and succor to the listener.”Though Rage Against the Machine didn’t perform, Morello gave a fiery speech following Ice-T’s induction that endorsed music’s power to spark progress. “Can music change the world?” he said, peppering his remarks with profanities. “The entire [expletive] aim is to change the world,” he proclaimed.Smaller names who made a big impactElton John, left, embracing his longtime songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, who was inducted into the Rock Hall on Friday.Eduardo Munoz/ReutersSome of the most poignant moments came in celebrations of people who were never household-name stars. These fulfilled one of the Rock Hall’s key missions of contextualizing pop music history and shining lights on figures whose influence was greater than their fame.The Spinners began as a doo-wop group in Michigan in the 1950s, then spent years without fame at Motown before signing to Atlantic Records and making a string of hits that defined Philadelphia soul. DJ Kool Herc, who took the stage with a cane, was honored as a father of hip-hop and gave a tearful speech thanking various people from throughout his life, including artists like James Brown and Harry Belafonte.In a video inducting Link Wray, the rockabilly guitarist whose snarling 1958 instrumental “Rumble” became a controversial hit — it was banned in some cities, out of fear it would incite violence — Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin called Wray “my hero,” saying the song taught him “the drama you could set up with six strings.” He then appeared on the Barclays stage, leading a performance of “Rumble” with a three-piece rockabilly combo.John told of how his 56-year songwriting partnership with Taupin started randomly, when a record company paired them together, and spoke passionately about the underappreciated role of lyricists. Then, at the piano, John gave a stirring performance of “Tiny Dancer,” one of their most enduring collaborations.Taupin summed up his speech with an appeal to accept the all-inclusive borders of pop music.“It means no walls, no inherent snobbery,” he said. “It means we’re all in this together.”Caryn Ganz and Emmanuel Morgan contributed reporting. More

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      ‘Milli Vanilli’ Review: Blame It on the Fame

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      Luke Korem’s documentary retraces the manufactured pop duo’s rise and fall, while asking pertinent questions about the price of stardom.The performers Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus earn your empathy in the documentary “Milli Vanilli,” a jolting, eye-opening investigation on how fame destroyed them. The war-of-words film, directed by Luke Korem, unfolds like a whodunit.The film retraces the bonkers events of Morvan and Pilatus’s naïve rise to the top in the late 1980s as Milli Vanilli, the image-forward pop duo who secretly lip-synced prerecorded songs to live audiences. Their hits included “Girl You Know It’s True” and “Baby Don’t Forget My Number.”At first, the duo needed money to escape poverty, but their celebrity status kept them hooked, and their German producer, Frank Farian, held the bait.And then, the documentary revisits their fall: During a live performance on MTV in 1989, the song started to skip, exposing them as frauds. In 1998, Pilatus died of an overdose. “I lost my sobriety and every sense of reality,” we hear him say in the film.Impressively, Korem gets those who ran the business side of Milli Vanilli, including officials at Arista Records, to spill the juicy details on what actually happened to the duo: Morvan and Pilatus became Farian and the label’s scapegoats. As presented here, it’s easy to see how this could be the basis for a horror film by Jordan Peele.Morvan is the heart of the documentary; he reflects on the group’s past treatment (he thinks they deserved that revoked Grammy) and raises still-relevant questions about the way the music industry exploits vulnerable performers. Charles Shaw, one of the real singers behind Milli Vanilli, says that Farian, who also worked with the group Boney M., “made most of his money on Black artists, and it worked.”Milli VanilliNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes. Watch on Paramount+. More