Posts made in November 2020

Free Ways to Have Fun in Montreal This Summer

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You don’t have to break the bank to have an amazing time in Montreal. The city is filled to the brim with stunning museums, gorgeous nature parks, and frequent cultural festivals. The best part? Most of the best things to see in Montreal are actually completely free.

Travelling on a budget may be tricky but in a city like Montreal, it’s easy to have an unforgettable trip without spending a fortune.

#1. Explore the natural beauty of Mount Royal Park

The namesake of Montreal is also one of its main attractions, the beautiful Mount Royal. This peaked hill stands tall in the centre of the city, surrounded by a nature park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the renowned architect who made New York’s Central Park a reality.

Mount Royal Park is especially beautiful in the summer for picnics, relaxing by Beaver Lake, or hiking to the top for some spectacular views. You can spend a whole day here and all without spending a bit.

#2. Create your own bike tour of the city and surrounds

A great way to spend a day without breaking the bank is by seeing the city on a bicycle. Montreal is crisscrossed with bike paths that total a length of over 500km and all are open to the public for free.

Cycle along the Lachine Canal into Old Montreal, pass the Olympic Village, and enjoy the sights of Parc La Fontaine along the way. If you’re feeling especially adventurous, you can even make your way off of the island to explore the north and south shores.

#3. Get your culture fix at one of the city’s amazing museums

The Musee des Beaux Arts

For lovers of art and photography, there is no better way to spend an afternoon for free than at The Musee des Beaux-Arts. Along with a permanent exhibition, the museum features artwork from Canadian and European artists like drawings, engravings, silverware, and works of art from ancient Asia, Egypt, Greece, and South America.

Modern art aficionados can also see Andy Warhol’s advertising on display too! Museum admission is free for all on the first Sunday of the month and every day for those 20 and under while seniors (65+) are admitted free on Thursdays.

The Redpath Museum

The Redpath Museum is named after a 19th-century sugar baron who financially supported the museum on the campus of McGill University.

History and science geeks will get a kick out of the wide range of fossils (including dinosaurs), skeletons of rare and extinct animals, rocks and minerals, and a fine collection of Egyptian antiquities that the Redpath has to offer. And best of all, admission is free.

#4. Partake in the summer festivals

Montreal is known as a festival town and it’s no wonder with locals that love to eat, drink, and celebrate life every day of the year.

The city is abuzz with music festivals throughout the year like the International Jazz Festival, Les Francofolies, Les Nuits D’Afrique, and the indie music festival Pop Montreal. Music lovers, rejoice! From shows and live entertainment, the summer is ablaze with music — and all of it is completely free.

#5. Enjoy the spectacle of the International Fireworks Competition

Summer visitors to Montreal will likely be familiar with the International Fireworks Competition there that takes place twice a week throughout June and July. This epic (and free) attraction draws locals and tourists alike to the waterfront of the Old Port, the Jacques Cartier Bridge, or the amusement park, La Ronde, for the best views.

#6. Stay in and relax

Whether you’re a Montreal local or on a summer holiday, some days you may just feel like staying in and snuggling up with a glass of wine and a good movie.

For a fun and free good time, put on your comfiest outfit and try your luck at one of Canada’s great online casinos with free spins that require no obligation and are easy to activate. Who knows? Your free spins might end up paying off!

MONTREALIVE

The vibrance of the city is undeniable, as is the accessibility for all types of travellers on any budget. There are delicious cheap food choices, it’s easy to walk or cycle around, and there are plentiful free activities to do and things to see – especially in the summer when nearly every week hosts some kind of festival, street fair, parade, or cultural show.

Montreal has been called many things throughout the years. From “The City of Steeples” to “Festival City”, “The City of Saints”, nothing captures the essence of the city as well as its most recent nickname: “Montrealive”.

StaySolidRocky- “Out Da Oven”

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Multi-platinum recording artist StaySolidRocky released his latest track “Out Da Oven” today via Columbia Records.

Standing strong alongside his previous releases “Demons”, which was recently featured on Pusha T’s Heir Wave Radio 002 playlist and slow-burning trap ballad “Viola”, “Out Da Oven” is produced by Huff47.

During his recent Rolling Loud performance, StaySolidRocky previewed “Out Da Oven”, leaving an astonishing fan response and the song is now available on all streaming platforms, listen here.

ELEVATOR Magazine said, “Rocky looks to not let his most successful single defy his career, but to continue proving that he’s more than just any other or another artist with a Billboard-charting single, but an artist who plans to make an impact on all platforms.”

Rocky spoke about his song and said, “It’s a nice catchy vibe, adlibs go crazy.”

As a true visual storyteller, StaySolidRocky released the official music video for “Out Da Oven” in addition to the audio. Watch the video, directed by LouieKnows, here.

Keep up with StaySolidRocky on Instagram and Twitter.

PURCHASE/STREAM “OUT DA OVEN”

Muni Long Releases “Black Like This”

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Muni Long, singer, songwriter and sonic anomaly released her debut EP today entitled Black Like This. The album is an ode to the rich essence and beauty of the black experience through her lens.

The 7 track EP, which boasts early single releases “Midnight Snack” Ft. Jacob Latimore, “Breakin Up” and “Nekkid” Ft. YFN Lucci, is accompanied by a stunning new visualizer that gives audiences a first-hand look into the highly stylized and eccentric world of Muni Long. Black Like This comes under Long’s co-founded label imprint, Supergiant Records. You can stream and download Black Like This everywhere by clicking here.

Muni Long, formerly Priscilla Renea, is known as one of the most successful and sought after songwriters in the music business. She spoke to VOGUE.com ahead of the release of Black Like This about the huge transition from behind the scenes and owning her own artistry.

“Muni Long is the part of me that I always needed. She’s the protector of Priscilla, said Long in Vogue. “I knew I wanted to focus on me. I’ve been serving others for the last 12 years, and I started to feel unappreciated and captive.”

Co-mingling R&B, rap, and pop, Muni Long beckons immersion with a stirring, striking, and soulful signature style. In 2019, a series of intimate and open conversations set the stage for the introduction of Muni Long.

“I’m really excited about this whole concept and reinvention. It’s like I hit, ‘Reset’” says Long. Muni Long is fearless, has intent and comes to life on her debut single “Midnight Snack” featuring Jacob Lattimore. Over a throwback sample of SWV’s “Weak,” Muni slinks into the pocket with seductive intonation and palpable confidence before locking into an intimate back-and-forth with Latimore. In the end, Muni Long fulfills her destiny with this music and much more to come.

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New Possible Key for Targeting Viruses

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“Position 4” didn’t seem important until researchers took a long look at a particular peptide. That part of the peptide drawn from a SARS-CoV virus turned out to have an unexpected but significant influence on how it stably binds with a receptor central to the immune system’s ability to attack diseased cells.

In a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed models at an atomic resolution that detail not only the binding but also, for the first time, the unbinding mechanisms that underlie a key component of the immune system.

They say a better understanding of the entire mechanism could lead to advancements in immunotherapy that boost the body’s ability to fight disease.

Rice computer scientist Lydia Kavraki, alumnus Jayvee Abella and postdoctoral researcher Dinler Antunes, led the study.

“Finding good targets to trigger a protective immune response is very challenging, especially in cancer research,” Antunes said. “The fact that this particular peptide was predicted not to bind to HLAs (human leukocyte antigens) by sequence-based methods highlights a blind spot in our current prediction capacity.”

“By incorporating structural analysis, we can detect the contribution of these secondary interactions to peptide binding and stability, hopefully enabling us to find better targets for antiviral vaccine development and T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy,” he said.

The researchers used their simulations to illuminate details of how the intracellular SARS peptide, QFKDNVILL, binds to an MHC receptor protein known as HLA-A∗24:02, primarily at dominant anchors on both ends of the peptide (at positions 2 and 9) and presents them for inspection to the immune system’s T cells.

Stable binding of a peptide and MHC is a prerequisite to the activation of T cells, which look for peptides not normally found in healthy cells. If the peptide and protein don’t bind, the T cell is not prompted to attack.

“That much was known from previous studies of the bound and unbound states of many such complexes,” Kavraki said. “What they didn’t capture was the intermediate states and the transitions that lead from one state to another, especially the unbinding.

“I think this is the only analysis that shows the unbinding of peptides from the MHC with atomic resolution,” Kavraki said. “Other peptides have similar characteristics and we think they would have similar behaviors.”

All of these interactions were revealed in great detail through Markov state models that analyze how systems change over time. In this case, the models revealed the importance of secondary sites that support the peptide’s primary anchors. That’s where position 4 stood out.

“There are the main, canonical anchors that people know, but there are these secondary interactions that contribute to the binding and the stability,” Antunes said. “These are harder to capture, but in this study, it seems that position 4 plays a very important role. When you mutate it, it affects the behavior of the peptide as it unbinds from the molecule.”

The researchers modeled mutations of the MHC to see how they would influence binding and found they supported the importance of position 4 to the stability of the complex.

“Our computational approach was able to make predictions on the effect of mutations that are then experimentally verified,” said co-author Cecilia Clementi, a former Rice professor who recently became Einstein Professor of Physics at the Free University of Berlin.

The researchers developed a two-stage process to simplify the computational complexity of atom-scale analysis of large molecules. The first stage used a technique called umbrella sampling to accelerate the initial exploration of the molecules. The second, exploratory stage used adaptive sampling, in which simulations are driven to accelerate the construction of the Markov model.

“The challenge is that these MHCs are pretty large systems for computational chemists to simulate,” said Abella, whose research on the topic formed much of his doctoral thesis. “We had to make some approximations and leverage advances in these classes of methods to move forward.”

“We’re not the first one to study unbinding, but what characterizes our work over others is that we keep full atomic resolution in our simulations,” he said. “Other works use a technique known as a Markov chain Monte Carlo, whereas we use molecular dynamics, which lets us incorporate time into our computation to capture the kinetics.”

Their methods can be applied to other peptide-MHC complexes with existing 3D models. “This was, in some sense, a feasibility study to show we can use molecular dynamics and build a Markov state model of a system this size,” Abella said.

The researchers also noted the study’s relevance to the current fight against COVID-19, as the SARS peptide they viewed, QFKDNVILL, is highly similar to the NFKDQVILL peptide in SARS-CoV-2, with the same binding pockets in positions 2, 4 and 9.

“These results suggest that both peptides can bind to HLA-A*2402 and provide targets for anti-viral T-cell responses, which are of great interest in light of the current pandemic,” said co-author Gregory Lizée, a professor in the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology at MD Anderson. “But these results also shed light on many other potential immune targets, including those of other viruses and even human cancers.”

Kavraki noted that experimental work by long-term collaborator Lizée and Kyle Jackson, a graduate research assistant at Lizée’s lab who produced the mutant proteins, were critical to validate their simulations. Kavraki’s own lab won a National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research grant to help identify fragments of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins as possible targets for vaccine development.

Kavraki is the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and a professor of bioengineering, mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the Gulf Coast Consortia, the NSF, the Einstein Foundation Berlin and the Welch Foundation supported the research.

Morgan Wallen Announces Dangerous: The Double Album

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As announced last night via his social media, Big Loud/Republic Records’ Morgan Wallen will release his highly-anticipated sophomore album, Dangerous: The Double Album, on January 8, 2021. The vast, 30-track double album is nearly three years in the making, written largely by Wallen throughout the chapter of his career that has established him as “the fastest rising young star in the country” according to Variety.

With the project’s arsenal of writers ranging from storytelling titans Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Hillary Lindsey, Rhett Akins and Lee Thomas Miller, to two of Wallen’s biggest musical inspirations Eric Church and Jason Isbell, to his closest musical confidants HARDY, ERNEST and Ryan Vojtesak (aka Charlie Handsome), Dangerous: The Double Album further establishes the signature sound crafted by Wallen and producer Joey Moi on his #1 PLATINUM debut, If I Know Me.

The double shot holds both of Wallen’s current Country radio singles – Top 3 “More Than My Hometown” and Top 30 “7 Summers” – as well as his critically acclaimed cover of Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” New Year’s surprise release “This Bar,” and the countrified album version of 3X PLATINUM Diplo collaboration, “Heartless.”

“As y’all may have heard, I announced a double album last night, and I couldn’t be more excited about it,” shares Wallen. “The ‘double album’ idea started off as just a joke between me and my manager because we had accumulated so many songs over the past couple of years. Then quarantine hit, and we realized it might actually be possible to have enough time to make it happen.”

“I also ended up writing quite a few more songs during the quarantine with some of my good buddies. After a few months of production and fine-tuning, I am so proud of what we came up with,” Wallen continued. “I know 32 (eventual) songs sounds like a lot to digest, but I truly did my best to make sure there’s not a song that I would press “next” on.”

“I also wanted the songs to speak to multiple phases of life and have multiple different sounds based on my influences and based on what I enjoy,’ said Wallen. “The three songs that we will put out next week will hopefully encapsulate a lot of the project for you and hold you off until January. Thank y’all!!”

Dangerous: The Double Album Track List:

DISC 1 –

“Sand In My Boots” (Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne)
“Wasted On You” (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith, Josh Thompson, Ryan Vojtesak) *
3. “Somebody’s Problem” (Morgan Wallen, Rodney Clawson, Jacob Durrett, Ernest Keith Smith)
“More Surprised Than Me” (Ben Burgess, Lee Thomas Miller, Niko Moon)
“865” (John Byron, Blake Pendergrass)
“Warning” (Ashley Gorley, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak) +
7. “Neon Eyes” (Morgan Wallen, Ben Burgess, Mark Holman)
“Outlaw” feat. Ben Burgess (Ben Burgess, Patrick Davis, Josh Kerr, Jordan Reynolds)
“Whiskey’d My Way” (Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Thomas Rhett, Josh Thompson)
“Wonderin’ Bout The Wind” (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith)
11. “Your Bartender” (Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Thomas Rhett, Josh Thompson) ^
“Only Thing That’s Gone” feat. Chris Stapleton (Morgan Wallen, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill, Josh Thompson)
“Cover Me Up” (Jason Isbell) •
“7 Summers” (Morgan Wallen, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
“More Than My Hometown” (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)

DISC 2 –

“Still Goin Down” (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Ryan Vojtesak)
“Rednecks, Red Letters, Red Dirt” (Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill, Josh Thompson)
3. “Dangerous” (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith)
“Beer Don’t” (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Jake Mitchell)
“Blame It On Me” (Ashley Gorley, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)
“Somethin’ Country” (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Daniel Ross, Ernest Keith Smith)
“This Bar” (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Jackson Morgan, Jake Scott, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)
“Country A$$ Shit” (Morgan Wallen, Chase McGill, Jordan Schmidt)
“Whatcha Think Of Country Now” (Dallas Davidson, Devin Dawson, Kyle Fishman, Mark Holman, Justin Wilson)
10. “Me On Whiskey” (Rodney Clawson, Mark Holman, Ernest Keith Smith)
“Need A Boat” (Morgan Wallen, Matt Dragstrem, Hillary Lindsey)
12. “Silverado For Sale” (Dallas Davidon, Marv Green, Ben Hayslip)
“Heartless” (Wallen Album Mix) (Morgan Wallen, Henry Agincourt Allen, Ryan Hurd, Thomas Wesley Pentz, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)
“Livin’ The Dream” (Morgan Wallen, Ben Burgess, Jacob Durrett, Michael Hardy)
15. “Quittin’ Time” (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Josh Thompson)

TARGET EXCLUSIVE BONUS TRACKS**

“This Side Of A Dust Cloud” (Morgan Wallen, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill, Josh Thompson)
“Bandaid On A Bullet Hole” (Morgan Wallen, Jacob Durrett, Ashley Gorley)*

All Songs Produced by Joey Moi

* Co-produced by Jacob Durrett

+ Co-produced by Charlie Handsome

^ Co-produced by Matt Dragstrem

Co-produced by Dave Cohen

**Target exclusive physical-only bonus tracks

Pre-order for Dangerous: The Double Album goes live November 20, alongside three instant grat tracks: “Somebody’s Problem,” “Still Goin Down,” and “Livin’ The Dream.”

Last night, Wallen returned to the stage at the 54th annual CMA Awards with a “gently rockin’” (Billboard) performance of “More Than My Hometown.” Making the night even more memorable, Wallen also took home his first-ever CMA Award for New Artist of the Year.

“Well, I did not expect this,” Wallen said from center stage. “I’d like to thank the good Lord first of all. I’d like to thank my mama for always being the one to push me to sing, my dad for always making sacrifices for me and my family so I could sing, and for my team. And for Nashville for accepting me into your family. It’s been a great five years since I moved here and thank you guys so much. God bless you!”

Earlier this week, the MULTI-PLATINUM hitmaker released the official music video for “7 Summers,” making his acting debut and already scoring nearly 1 MILLION views. Watch the eight-minute short film here. Wallen is currently nominated for two American Music Awards, Favorite Male Artist – Country and Favorite Album – Country (If I Know Me) – fans can vote here.

KEEP UP WITH MORGAN WALLEN

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Celeste – A Little Love

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Celeste today shares her new track “A Little Love” released via Interscope Records. The song was written and recorded for the UK’s John Lewis and Waitrose Christmas advertising campaign called “Give A Little Love,” which was unveiled today. “A Little Love” is the first original song commissioned for their Christmas advertising campaigns which – inspired by the kindness shown by the British public during the pandemic – encourages viewers to give a little love to others. Two new joint ads encourage the nation to spread kindness and help raise £4m for two charities – Home-Start and FareShare. A further £1m will be donated by Waitrose and John Lewis branches to local charities supporting families in need. Every time “A Little Love” is downloaded Celeste and Polydor Records will make a donation to the campaign.

Brit-Award winning Celeste was approached by John Lewis Partnership and asked to write a song which reflects the poignant theme of this year’s ad campaign, which celebrates kindness as the nation is encouraged to “Give A Little Love.” Celeste says, “I felt honoured to be asked to take part. I wanted to create something that felt classic but still true to who I am as a writer and performer.”

Commenting on the song Claire Pointon, Customer Director for John Lewis said; “We immediately knew that Celeste was right for our campaign. Her voice is haunting and magical. Her song blew us away.”

The song marks another milestone in the ascension of the British-Jamaican soul singer and songwriter who won both the BRITs Rising Star Award and BBC Music’s Sound last year and is the breakthrough artist of 2020. It follows the release last month of “Hear My Voice” which was co-written with Golden Globe®-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton and is the focus track of the Netflix film The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin. “Hear My Voice” is predicted by Variety to be an Oscars contender for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards next year.

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WestsideJhitt – B.H.N.

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Palm Beach rapper WestsideJhitt drops his latest single “B.H.N.,” out now via 10K Projects. The new track follows up his explosive SoundCloud hits “Martin & Gina” and “Violent” which have gained over 6.6M streams combined on the platform.

LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE “B.H.N.” HERE

Much of WestsideJhitt’s resiliency, and his passion for speaking on his trials and tribulations, can be traced back to his upbringing. Raised in the westside of Palm Beach, the son of two Haitian immigrants, he was always taught to go out and get it. Though he was born in 2001, Jhitt grew up listening to the generational icons of street rap: 2Pac, Boosie Badazz, and Jeezy. He first tried his own hand at rapping during middle school lunch breaks, beating on tables in the cafeteria and freestyling for his classmates.

It wasn’t until high school that Jhitt began to take music seriously. At 15, he started writing and recording songs about the violence and betrayal he saw in Palm Beach. One of his early songs, “Water Over Blood,” became a local hit, introducing listeners to Jhitt’s melodic delivery and heartfelt lyrics. “Whatever I was going through I just wrote about it and I still do,” he says. “Let’s say I get into and go through hard times with my family, I’ll write about it.”

In response to his growing local fame, Jhitt kept applying pressure, releasing three mixtapes in a year’s time. Last February, he released two songs — “Martin & Gina” and “Violent” — which have both surpassed three million plays on SoundCloud. They present two different sides of WestsideJhitt: “Martin & Gina” is a self-produced ballad, built around a piano melody that Jhitt would play in church growing up, while “Violent” is a melodic take on the dark side of street life. These releases showcased Jhitt’s unlimited potential, catapulting him to wider recognition and earning him a deal with 10K Projects. As Jhitt continues to build on his momentum, he’s dug deep into his own experiences to create catchy anthems and become one of South Florida’s most promising young voices.

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DaVido – A BETTER TIME

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Nigerian Afropop sensation Davido has officially released his eagerly anticipated third studio album A BETTER TIME out now via Davido Worldwide Entertainment/ Sony Music U.K. /RCA Records. The 17-track album is available on all DSPs and streaming services – LISTEN HERE.

A BETTER TIME sees the two-time MTV European Music Award winner call for unity at a time of civil unrest across Nigeria and other African nations as he pulls together sounds from all corners of his beloved continent, Africa. A BETTER TIME features African talent from across Nigeria (Tiwa Savage, Mayorkun, Bella Shmurda & C Kay) Ghana (Mugeez), Kenya (Sauti Sol) and South Africa (Sho Madjozi). Davido also reconnects with frequent collaborators Fresh VDM, Peruzzi and Speroach Beatz. Across the waters in the United States, Davido connects with a stellar line up of notable features. On “Birthday Cake” he collaborates with rap legend Nas and Grammy Award winning producer Hit-Boy. “Shopping Spree” sees Davido reunite once again with Chris Brown and Young Thug. Additional appearances from Atlanta’s finest Lil Baby on “So Crazy” and pop superstar Nicki Minaj.

The album’s first single “FEM” (produced by Napji) earned widespread praise and shot straight to the No.1 spot in the Apple Music charts in over 8 countries including Nigeria, where it held the top position for 4 weeks. “FEM” became the unofficial protest song embraced by the #ENDSARS movement against police brutality in Nigeria. The track has since enjoyed over 40 million streams globally, viewed over 11m times on YouTube and reached #19 on US iTunes chart.

“One thing about Africans – rich or poor, happy or sad, is that no matter what the situation going on in your country, you always find a reason to smile and just be happy. We (African people) always like to celebrate and A BETTER TIME is that outlet to be free, be happy and hopeful for a better future.” Davido commented.

A BETTER TIME is executive-produced by Davido and his son Ifeanyi Adeleke and follows the highly praised 2019 sophomore album A Good Time which has achieved over 1.2 billion streams to date globally.

A BETTER TIME – TRACKLIST

FEM
JOWO
SOMETHING FISHY
HOLY GROUND ft. NICKI MINAJ
HEAVEN
VERY SPECIAL
THE BEST ft. MAYORKUN
SHOPPING SPREE ft. CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG
SUNLIGHT
TANANA ft. TIWA SAVAGE
MEBE ft. MUGEEZ
LA LA ft. CKAY
SO CRAZY ft. LIL BABY
BIRTHDAY CAKE ft. NAS & HIT-BOY
I GOT A FRIEND ft. MAYORKUN & SHO MADJOZI
FADE ft. BELLA SHMURDA
ON MY WAY ft. SAUTI SOL

DAVIDO – SHOPPING SPREE

DAVIDO RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FT. YOUNG THUG & CHRIS BROWN, DIRECTED BY DES GREY

WATCH HERE

“SHOPPING SPREE” FT. YOUNG THUG AND CHRIS BROWN IS FEATURED ON DAVIDO’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALBUM A BETTER TIME – LISTEN HERE

WATCH “SHOPPING SPREE” FT. YOUNG THUG & CHRIS BROWN HERE

Today, multi-award-winning Nigerian superstar Davido releases the accompanying video to hit single “Shopping Spree” ft. Young Thug & Chris Brown, taken from his critically acclaimed third studio album A BETTER TIME released through Davido Worldwide Entertainment/ Sony Music U.K. / RCA Records. Taking it back to high school, we find Davido, Young Thug and Chris Brown kicking off their summer break. Watch all three star in the slick, summery visuals directed by Des Grey here.

Closing 2020 with the momentous release of A BETTER TIME–which is fast approaching a staggering 400M combined streams across all platforms and 32 million views across the official videos– Davido continues to cement himself as one of the biggest artists in Africa. The album dominated the No.1 position in the Apple Music charts across 8 territories, including Nigeria, where it maintained this spot for 4 consecutive weeks.

About Davido:

Born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Nigeria, 27-year-old Davido (real name David Adedeji Adeleke) has been a champion for the continent of Africa. He chose to chase his music dreams and whilst doing so earned over 30 awards including a MOBO for Best African Act, MTV EMA for Best International Act, three MTV Africa Music Awards, two BET Awards and two Nigerian Teen Choice Awards for “Top Featured Artist” and “Choice Male Artist.”

With an unmatched work rate, Davido has delivered back-to-back hits since his musical debut in 2011. Breaking out with successive singles “Back When,” “Dami Duro,” “Gobe,” “Aye” and “Skelewu,” the latter would enjoy attention from Major Lazer and Wiwek who went on to remix the single. His musical elevation would see further global collaborations with Chris Brown, Pop Smoke, Summer Walker, Young Thug, Mayorkun and more. Davido kick-started last year with a sold-out date at London’s prestigious O2 Arena, becoming the first solo African artist to do this. He created waves across America with his smash hit single “Fall“ which is certified gold in the US and in Canada.

With a discography attesting to over a billion global streams and over a billion video views, the Afrobeats forerunner has very much established himself as a force to be reckoned with.

Flawless Real Talk Virtual Concert

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Flawless Real Talk, the breakout star and first runner up in Netflix’s hit rap reality show Rhythm + Flow, is bringing Asia’s most popular live-streaming app called LIVIT with over 45 million global users to hip-hop fans with his free live stream concert today, November 13 at 7pm PT/10pm ET.

“It’s been dope to continue connecting to my fans on a platform that really allows me to grow authentic, real relationships with the community,” says Flawless. “I’m excited to bring live entertainment to a really innovative social media platform. Live streaming is the next big craze to hit America. ”

Rapper Flawless Real Talk to Perform LIVE on LIVIT Friday, November 13 at 7pm PT/10pm ET

Download the LIVIT app for free in the App Store or on Google Play

ABOUT FLAWLESS REAL TALK

Flawless Real Talk, is a rapper, producer, performer and entrepreneur who emerged to international acclaim following his success on Netflix’s 2019 smash reality TV show Rhythm + Flow. Originally from Rhode Island, Flawless broke into the music industry as an Atlanta transplant in 2010, opening for the likes of Ludacris, Rick Ross, and Tech N9ne. For more information about Flawless, visit http://flawlessri.com/

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Jay Gwuapo – Lost Files

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Today, 20-year-old Brooklyn drill rapper Jay Gwuapo releases a new track and visual for the deeply personal “Lost Files,” which is a track recorded as a letter to his late friends Pop Smoke and KJ Balla following their deaths earlier this year. After being in a dark place grieving their losses, Gwuapo turned to music for expression and healing. Along with the track, he shares the accompanying video via From Nothing Records/Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records. Click HERE to watch/listen.

Last week Guwapo returned with the release of “Black Mask” ft. Pop Smoke. The track is special to the rising rapper as it features one of his best childhood friends, the late Pop Smoke.. “Black Mask” is the only time the two had collaborated, but Pop credited Jay for encouraging him to pursue a career in rap. Click HERE to watch the interview clip with DJ Whoo Kid.

Along with “Black Mask” Gwuapo also released three additional tracks “Intro,” “Smoke Season Freestyle” and “Dangerous.” These four tracks honor and pay tribute to Pop as well as KJ Balla, who was a frequent collaborator, labelmate and friend of Gwuapo that was tragically killed earlier this year. Gwuapo has spent this year connecting with fans through his music releases on his SoundCloud and other platforms and these four tracks marked his official return.

Gwuapo’s releases this year also include, “R8” and “Back to Back” with KJ Balla, “Long Live The Woo,” a tribute to Pop following his death and a feature on Lil Tjay’s album with “Gettin Lit.”

Listen/watch “Black Mask,” “Intro,” “Smoke Season Freestyle,” “Dangerous,” and keep an eye out for more from Jay Gwuapo coming soon.

Listen/Watch “Lost Files”

Listen/Watch “Black Mask” ft. Pop Smoke

ABOUT JAY GWUAPO

Brooklyn’s long been a hotbed for the latest and greatest in rap talent, and Jay Gwuapo is the borough’s next rising star in the drill scene. The East New York native is just 20 years old, having picked up rap as a career two years ago—but he’s already making moves that artists with years on him have yet to accomplish. With a series of buzz-generating street singles and debut mixtape under his belt, Gwuapo’s talent and hybridized musical style will surely only gain more recognition to come.

Gwuapo started pursuing rap in earnest, pumping out unreleased tracks that started making noise in the NYC rap scene and eventually teaming up with Russ and K. Balla’s From Nothing record label. “Downbad” from 2018 marked his proper debut single, featuring chilly production and Gwuapo’s now-trademarked “R&B-drill” sound. Then came the languid, melodic “Drip Sauce,” a collab with fellow Brooklynite KJ Balla.

Since then, Gwuapo’s dropped a few more choice tracks, including “Steppin’ Out” and the grim, serious “Well Explained”. Eventually word got around to star-making label Polo Grounds Music, who’s B. Jacques took particular interest in helping Gwuapo take his career and talent to the next level. “A lot of people were reaching out, but no one connected with me like my son B,” he enthuses. “The love felt different from what I felt from nobody else.”

In 2019, Gwuapo announced his signing to Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records and released his debut project, From Nothing Pt. 1 which featured collaborations with label mate Calboy as well as Lil Tjay, Don Q and KJ Balla.