Tupac’s brother reacts to “bittersweet” arrest in murder investigation


Tupac‘s brother Mopreme Shakur has shared his thoughts on the recent arrest made in the late rapper’s murder investigation.

  • READ MORE: Is Tupac alive? A comprehensive guide to the rumours and conspiracy theories

Following Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ arrest last week 27 years after Tupac was fatally wounded from a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Mopreme Shakur spoke of his thoughts on the case’s development.

Speaking to TMZ, Mopreme said: “It’s bittersweet for a number of reasons – the time, of course, 27 years. It didn’t have to be this way, it didn’t have to happen at all. I wouldn’t even have to live in the reality that my brother’s not here.”

He continued: “Justice is accountability, that’s the sweet part in bittersweet but some form of accountability. I’m bracing ’cause it ain’t over. We still got to see if there were accomplices, we still got to see the motive.”

Mopreme also shared that the family were recently contacted by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department to reiterate that their investigation was still active, but the family weren’t informed of Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ impending arrest.

He also spoke to The NY Post, telling the publication that “the timing is so curious because why now 27 years after his death? [Davis] has said this whole time that he was in the car when his nephew [Orlando Anderson] shot my brother. This didn’t have to happen.”

Shakur died at the age of 25 on September 13, 1996, several days after he was shot on September 7. He was targeted in Las Vegas as he was leaving the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand and was en route to a nightclub with Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight.

A white Cadillac pulled up next to the pair’s vehicle on the passenger side and an unidentified gunman fired 14 shots. Shakur was hit four times, later dying from his injuries.

Davis has been known to investigators for some time and has admitted both in interviews and his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend that he was in the Cadillac from which the  shots were fired 27 years ago. He has also said he is one of the last living witnesses to the shooting.





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Lauren Pazienza sentenced following death of veteran vocal coach


An event planner has been jailed for eight-and-a-half-years for pushing veteran Broadway vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern to her death.

Lauren Pazienza, 26, pushed the 87-year-old vocal coach last March on a sidewalk in New York City, which caused Maier Gustern to fall to the ground.

Following the fall, Gustern died from brain injuries she sustained in the attack. The NYPD said at the time that she was pushed from behind by a woman who “crossed the street [and] pushed [her] in an unproved senseless attack.”

A search for the attacker then begun, with New York police chief of detectives James Essig saying: “We’re asking the public’s help in solving this disgusting and disgraceful offense committed against a vulnerable, elderly female who was doing nothing but walking down the streets of New York City.”

After Gustern’s death was ruled as a homicide, Pazienza – who the police had been chasing for a week after releasing CCTV footage of her on the night of the attack – turned herself in to the NYPD alongside her lawyer, the NBC New York reported at the time.

Pazienza was arrested for manslaughter following the death of Gustern, who had coached many singers over the years including Kathleen Hanna and Blondie’s Debbie Harry.

Now, Pazienza has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half-years in prison and five years post-release supervision, the Manhattan district attorney said on Friday (September 29).

Pazienza pleaded guilty last month to one count of first-degree manslaughter, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

“Barbara Gustern’s sudden, violent death at the hands of Lauren Pazienza left a family and community in mourning,” Bragg wrote in a statement Friday. “There is nothing that can bring her back, but I hope that the resolution of these proceedings can provide some sense of closure amid her loved ones’ ongoing grief” (via NY1).

Lauren Pazienza in court for sentencing – CREDIT: Getty

Following the attack, Bikini Kill singer Hanna took to social media to appeal for help identifying the attacker, writing in a now-deleted Instagram post (via Rolling Stone): “I can’t even fucking believe I am posting this.

“I really don’t want anyone else to ever have to go thru what the lovely, energetic, funny as hell Barbara Maier Gustern had to go through,” she added.

“I struggle to understand and cope with this world on a daily basis, and frankly this is beyond my ability to bear,” Gustern’s grandson wrote on Facebook upon her death being classed as a homicide. “Do what you can for your fellow human being, no matter how small. Make the time. Preventing needless loss and violence like this starts with us as individuals. We must care more for each other.”





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Watch Olivia Rodrigo and Sheryl Crow sing ‘If It Makes You Happy’


Olivia Rodrigo has joined Sheryl Crow for a performance of the latter’s 1996 hit ‘If It Makes You Happy’.

The pop sensation and the veteran singer-songwriter duetted on the lead single from Crow’s self-titled second album at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe [via Consequence].

It’s unclear when exactly the pair performed together.

Rodrigo shared a clip of their rendition via her Instagram yesterday (September 30), writing: “pinch me! sang one of my favourite songs of all time with the greatest of all time @sherylcrow !!!! what an honour!!!”

Last year Crow presented Rodrigo with the Woman Of The Year Award at Billboard’s Women In Music Awards. “I am happy to celebrate her,” Crow said of Rodrigo in a pre-ceremony interview. “I think she’s gonna be around a long time. She deserves to be where she is celebrating this moment.”

Rodrigo then praised Crow in her acceptance speech, saying: “Sheryl, I’m such a massive fan of you and your songwriting and I’m so grateful that you’re here,” she said. “It really means the world.”

Meanwhile, Rodrigo has shared her three favourite tracks from her new album ‘Guts’.

The pop star released her second album earlier this month, which includes singles ‘Bad Idea right?’ and ‘Vampire’.

The record scored five stars from NME, which praised the artist as a “pop sensation” who “secures her place as a generational talent”.

Now, the singer has revealed her own favourite tracks from the new release. “My three favourite songs off the album right now,” she began in a recent interview with Amazon Music, “are ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Logical’ and ‘Love Is Embarrassing’.”





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Watch Mind-Blowing Footage From the First Concert in the Vegas Sphere

After the venue’s first mind-blowing concert, it’s clear the Vegas Sphere will rewrite the rulebook of live music in Sin City.

The record-breaking Sphere, which contains the world’s highest-resolution wraparound LED screen, opened for the first time Friday night as U2 launched their long-awaited “UV Achtung Baby” residency. The orb’s $2.3 billion price tag was put to good use at the immersive venue, where mind-boggling, floor-to-ceiling graphics enveloped a rollicking crowd.

“What a fancy pad,” U2 frontman Bono said of the Sphere, which has over 160,000 speakers splayed throughout its massive interior audience bowl.

A star-studded crowd was on hand to witness the legendary rock band usher in Vegas’ new kid on the block. The audience included Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, Matt Damon, Ava DuVernay, Orlando Bloom and many more.

We’re salivating at the thought of a rave within the jaw-dropping orb, the world’s biggest spherical structure. Check out our list of five DJs who would be perfect for the Sphere and watch footage from its inaugural concert below.





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Graham Coxon says Blur tried to “kill any stink of Britpop” on ‘Blur’


Graham Coxon has recalled Blur‘s effort to distance themselves from the sound of Britpop on their 1997 self-titled album.

The band’s fifth album, featuring singles including as ‘Song 2’ and ‘Beetlebum’, was characterised by its aggression and heightened emotion in comparison to their previous work.

Coxon was the main member of the band pushing for a stylistic change and detailed in a new interview with Mojo how he tried to make that happen.

“I decided to write a letter to Damon because I wasn’t confident enough to broach conversations about my needs. It was something like: ‘I’d like to start scaring people again, because at the start, we were into unease, songs like ‘Oily Water’ and ‘Resigned’. Let’s make a bloody row, and have fun’,” he recalled.

“I didn’t get much of a reaction, but Damon did give me the steering wheel a little more. I think he was sympathetic, and keen, for everyone to express themselves, and for me to have moments to mess around with noise. I wanted to see what the guitar could do without much intervention from me.

“But Damon knows that when it comes to enveloping his voice in something beautiful, I can do that too. But Blur does get called a ‘Graham album’ a lot, because of things like ‘Essex Dogs’.”

Blur’s Graham Coxon. Credit: Mairo Conquetti/Getty

He continued: “We felt forced into this strange Britpop thing, which we had nothing to do with, but I suppose we tried to kill any stink of Britpop from our clothes and move away from our beloved Kinks – though there was still Bowie, because of Damon and [producer] Stephen Street. I think we found our own heavy psychedelia, rather than staying with Toad-of-Toad-Hall psychedelia.

“I don’t know what concerns EMI had, because they loved ‘Song 2’, which we had played them for a laugh. We had ‘Beetlebum’ too. We did ‘Strange News From Another Star’ for a lark, and maybe a B-side, but [Food label boss] Andy Ross wanted it on the album. It’s an unfocused album but each song has its own personality, which can be tricky to achieve.

“If anyone was going to have a go at a Blur album, it would have been this one, because of its self-indulgent moments. I can’t recall how it was reviewed, or particularly liked, but it came from an authentic place, and then it’s hard to rip it to shreds. Authenticity is an amazing force field!”

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher said recently that although he thought groups like Blur and Pulp were “great bands”, Oasis were “better”.

“They had one or two great tunes, but we had twelve. However loud they were, we were louder. However fast they were, we were faster. However good they were, we would trump it.

“They were all great bands, but we were better. It was as simple as that.”





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Watch Dave Mustaine kick security guards out of Megadeth gig: “I hate bullies”


Megadeth‘s Dave Mustaine kicked several security guards out of the band’s gig in Illinois earlier this week for harassing a fan.

Mustaine had to directly address the security guards towards the end of the band’s set, as they were playing ‘Symphony Of Destruction’. He even went as far to stop the song, shouting at security: “Dudes, don’t be fucking hitting people. That is totally uncool. Hey, fuckin’ stop hitting that guy.”

Mustaine then ran over to where the incident was taking place to more directly scold the security guards and said he would refuse to play any further until the guards had been ejected.

“I’m not gonna play anymore until those guys are escorted out of the building, so just hang on a second. That was so fuckin’ unnecessary. That was so fuckin’ unnecessary, you guys,” he said.

“… What’s on the back of your shirt? ‘Safety?’ It should say, ‘No Fuckin Safety,’ because you guys are punks, and you shouldn’t have fuckin’ hit that guy. Four of you on one guy. What a bunch of pussies… Get ’em out of here or I’m leaving. I don’t wanna fucking hear that they’re in the back. I want them out of here.”

After the security guards were escorted out of the venue, Mustaine continued: “These motherfuckers wrecked my song. Sorry, that stuff just makes me so mad. I hate bullies. I fucking hate bullies.”

Megadeth then resumed, finishing the set with ‘Holy Wars.. The Punishment Due’.

Last month, Mustaine revealed he was planning on moving to Italy.

According to Blabbermouth, during the band’s performance at the AMA Music Festival in Vicenza, Italy on Sunday (August 27) the singer told the crowd: “I have something very special I need to tell you guys… A couple of weeks ago I just bought a house in Italy. So think about that – you wake up tomorrow morning and you see me out your window, and I’m walking with my boxes. And you go, ‘Fuck, man, that looks like Dave Mustaine. Look at all those guitars. Shit, that’s gotta be him.’”

He continued: “I’ve gotta tell you, I am so excited to be able to call Italy a new place for us to live. And I wanna thank you all for your graciousness and helping teach me how to be a good resident here and to learn how to live the Italian life.”





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Ujuu Pushes Creative Boundaries With Mind-Melting Single, "Budder"

Ujuu’s rise in bass music can be attributed to two distinct traits: his unshakable will and drive to carve out his own lane within an oversaturated landscape. His new single “Budder” embodies them both.

Out now via his own Solace Family Records imprint, “Budder” is the perfect introduction to Ujuu’s masterful sound. Warbling synths, wonky basses and thunderous 808s lead the charge as his woozy sound design ebbs and flows through a heavy-hitting arrangement.

True to form, “Budder” is unpredictable front to back. It’s a transformative track within Ujuu’s experimental lane, and a true testament to what he’s built thus far with his project.

If “Budder” wasn’t enough to satisfy your cravings, Ujuu has plenty more on the way. This January, his five-track Untrapped EP will arrive via Solace Family Records, containing even more mind-melting music. Keep an eye on Ujuu between now and then as more singles arrive leading up to the EP. 

You can listen to “Budder” and find the track on streaming platforms here.

FOLLOW UJUU:

Facebook: facebook.com/ujuumusic
Twitter: twitter.com/ujuumusic
Instagram: instagram.com/ujuumusic
Spotify: tinyurl.com/mr3ack3h





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Shakira thinks it’s going to be “hard” for AI to imitate her


Shakira has shared her thoughts about AI, highlighting the mistakes that the technology still makes when trying to replicate a singer’s voice.

The pop star has reasoned, due to that, that it would be “hard” for AI to imitate her.

“I was shown how I sound with AI. But I don’t think they got it right yet. I don’t hear myself there,” she told Billboard in a new interview [via MusicNews].

“The letter E, for example, sounds like my voice, but not the other four vowels,” she continued. “I think it’s going to be hard for AI to imitate me. And I have bigger fish to fry right now.

“My biggest concern is figuring out how Milán [her son] can practice American football, soccer and baseball in the same week,” she said, joking.

Shakira. Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty

The use of AI in the creation of art has remained a hot button topic throughout 2023.

The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards also shared his opinion on AI recently, claiming it to be part of “toy town”.

“AI is like anything else. It can either be a tool, or it can be a toy. And most times, all of these things become toys. But it’s like how you use it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic discussed in an interview with NME how AI was used to complete “sketches” of old songs.

“I’m excited about the live shows on there, because they used AI. We took the digital audio tapes from the soundboard in Rome, Seattle and Los Angeles, then the AI can separate all the instruments and we got a really good mix out of it,” he said while speaking about the 30th anniversary reissue of Nirvana’s seminal album ‘In Utero’.

Earlier this week Spotify founder Daniel Ek revealed that the company will not be banning music generated by AI on the platform.

Artists that have spoken out against AI include Hozier (who has considered striking in protest), Noel Gallagher (who called the creators of a fake Oasis album “fucking idiots”) and Nick Cave (who described it as “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”).





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Sometimes I Get a Good Feeling: Classic Sample Gets a Dubstep Twist in Wooli and Tape B's "Dopamine"

You’ve screamed it, danced to it and maybe even cried to it—but we’re willing to bet you’ve never heard Etta James’ timeless lyric quite like this before.

You know the one: “Oh-oh, sometimes I get a good feeling.”

The refrain, which Avicii famously sampled in 2011 to release his generational dance anthem “Levels,” has now been repurposed into a dubstep anthem by Wooli and Tape B. The track, “Dopamine,” is out now after the duo cleared the influential sample with James’ team.

Imagine the fang-dripping intensity of dubstep entwined with the velvet elegance of Etta James—this new track harnesses both with breathtaking finesse. A festival favorite in the making, “Dopamine” is both soulful and sinister, oscillating between dulcet vocals and squelching bass drops. Take a listen below.

The release shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of Tape B, who has made nostalgic dubstep his calling card. Wooli, one of the genre’s most beloved artists, said he’s been eyeing a collaboration with the Turkish electronic music virtuoso for a long time.

“I have been a massive fan of Tape B for a while and it was only a matter of time until we did something together,” Wooli explained in a press release. “We originally layered the Etta James vocal over our instrumental as a placeholder. As we began playing it out, we fell in love with it and tried everything to get her team on board. We are honored to have been approved to use such a legendary vocal and we feel it really completes the record!”

You can find “Dopamine” on streaming platforms here.

FOLLOW WOOLI:

Facebook: facebook.com/woolimusic
Twitter: twitter.com/woolimusic
Instagram: instagram.com/woolimusic
Spotify: spoti.fi/3izVKDG

FOLLOW TAPE B:

Twitter: twitter.com/Tapebbeats
Instagram: instagram.com/tapebbeats
Spotify: tinyurl.com/2naz7wb7





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Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and Lou Reed had to convince Damien Hirst not to chop off his hands for an art project


Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart has revealed he and Lou Reed once had to convince Damien Hirst not to chop off his hands for an art project.

Stewart told the story as part of an interview for NME’s Does Rock N’Roll Kill Braincells? series, shortly after he was asked which comedian had played him in a ’90s Rock Profile sketch.

“He wanted to have his hands chopped off and then stitched back on by a surgeon in Mexico, while filming it as an art piece,” Stewart said. “He seemed dead-serious but myself and Lou Reed were trying to convince him: ‘No, this isn’t a good idea. This could go badly!’ [Laughs]. That was when we were all reasonably inebriated in The Village in New York. Thank god he didn’t do it!”

Elsewhere in the interview, Stewart is quizzed over which country Shakespear’s Sister’s hit ‘Stay’, which he co-wrote, was banned in and who played his escorts in the video for Eurythmics’ ‘Who’s That Girl?’

Dave Stewart of Eurythmics performs onstage during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 5, 2022 in Los Angeles CREDIT: Amy Sussman/WireImage

Stewart recently paid tribute to his late mentee Faye Fantarrow, who died last month at the age of 21 from a rare and aggressive glioma brain tumour.

He attended her funeral, which took place last week, and told BBC News afterwards that she was “the strongest person I know”.

“She was brilliantly talented, wrote songs one after the other, they were so great, she was full of joy and laughter,” he added.

Earlier this month, he announced a UK and European tour in which he is set to  hit the road with an female band for a series of shows which will mark 40 years since Eurythmics’ breakthrough album ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’.

It comes after Stewart previously played a one-off show at the London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2019 featuring the band’s greatest songs, with the blessing of Annie Lennox, who no longer tours.

The full list of dates are below and tickets can be purchased here.

NOVEMBER

7 – Baloise, Switzerland
10 – Sunderland Empire
13 – Salle Pleyel, Paris
14 – La Madeleine, Brussels
15 – Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Dusseldorf
17 – London Palladium
25 – Konzerthaus, Vienna
26 – Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt
27 – Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
28 – Vredenburg, Utrecht

 





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