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Rob Base, the legendary half of Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, passes away at 59 after a private cancer battle. Legendary rapper Rob Base left us on May 22, 2026, and Hip-Hop lost one of its most essential architects that day. The legendary half of Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock passed away peacefully at age 59 while surrounded by family, following a private battle with cancer. Just four days before his death, he’d celebrated his 59th birthday, still carrying the energy and spirit that defined his entire career in music. Growing up in Harlem with DJ E-Z Rock,...

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe Come on in, we're open Need a place just to hang out? This is it. We serve coffee, tea, conversation and music. I'm thinking something cold and tangy. Our AWESOME military, our AWESOME allies, and their families are welcomed and honored here. Remember those who gave all this weekend.No worries in the FReeper Canteen Just Hangin' Cafe. Grab a cup and start a conversation. You...

This time I will bring you a fun loop form! Different from the previous multi-part ensemble, it is possible to complete a piece of music in one go, and the process is quite interesting~ The use of guitar in Hotel California can be regarded as one of the classic arrangements in history, especially the 1994 live version. So I made some deletions in the vocal part, focusing on the two guitar solos of the prelude and the ending. Hope you like it! The costume this time is Wei Jin style wide-sleeved cross-collared Hanfu. For the convenience of plucking the instrument,...

(Rapper) Tekashi 6ix9ine is facing intense criticism online after telling guests at a gender-reveal party, reportedly in front of livestream cameras, that he would have urged his girlfriend, Aliday Alter, to have an abortion if their unborn baby had been a girl. The rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, made the remarks during the event, which was filmed and shared by TMZ, where the couple ultimately discovered they were expecting a boy. The backlash centres not only on what Tekashi 6ix9ine said in that moment, but on who he is and what his public record already contains. Alter announced...

VIENNA—On May 9, the day before the Eurovision Song Contest held its opening ceremony, protesters were already in the streets. Israel’s participation, a fact of Eurovision since the country joined in 1973, had become a flash point after the war in Gaza began in 2023. Ahead of this year’s contest, the 70th edition of Eurovision, the controversy reached a fever pitch. What began as calls from artists and activists for Israel’s exclusion transformed in the months leading up to the contest into an open revolt. Five countries—Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain—announced they would not attend. Numerous former contestants...

‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ is now the sort of phrase that you might find on the side of a naff secret Santa mug, but back when The Boomtown Rats reached their peak with the single in 1979, they had their mind on something far darker. At a glance, the new wave pop melody and upbeat stylings make this song seem like a conventional chart hit. Understandably, it was the sixth biggest song of the year in the UK. The story behind it is anything but chart-friendly, however, and with only half an ear for the lyrics, that becomes very clear....

nside the gilded clubhouse of Mar-a-Lago, there is a scatter of Donald Trump iconography that blurs the line between myth and memorabilia. A gold statuette depicts the President with fists raised in triumph, evoking his defiant pose after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. Nearby stands a hulking “Lifetime Achievement” trophy designating him as “The Greatest Historical President of All Time,” bestowed by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. A painting titled The Visionary casts Trump as a sunlit Adonis in tennis whites. On a recent afternoon, I’m waiting in this wood-paneled room, known as the Library Bar, when a...

Canadian rapper Drake surprised fans by releasing three new albums first thing Friday morning. The White House wasted no time appropriating art from one of those projects to promote the MAGA movement. The trio of recordings are titled “Maid of Honour,” Habibti” and “Iceman.” The album cover of the last features a sparkling glove against a black backdrop. It was introduced with a social media post titled “ICEMAN.” The White House’s X account responded by posting that same glove holding a diamond encrusted “MAGA” necklace. Its caption reads, “ICED OUT.”

An Oscar-winning musician has lost her honorary degree amid fallout after an investigation found she allegedly faked her Indigenous ancestry. Buffy Sainte-Marie, 85, was awarded an honorary Doctors of Law degree from the University of Toronto in 2019. At the time, university officials said she was being recognized for her work in music and the arts, as well as for her advocacy for 'the rights and dignity of all people.' But on Wednesday, a governing council at the university voted to rescind Sainte-Marie's honorary degree following a petition, CBC reports. The decision marks just the latest honor the singer, who...

Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley shared a stage in March 1960, when Ol’ Blue Eyes invited the singer of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ onto his show.When the rock’n’roll phenomenon, spearheaded by the likes of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, and Chuck Berry, exploded like the musical equivalent of an atom bomb in the mid-50s, it was greeted with both alarm and suspicion by some of the music business’s established artists, Frank Sinatra among them. The Chairman Of The Board invited The King Of Rock’n’Roll to be a special guest on the last of four hour-long TV shows sponsored by watchmakers Timex...

Paul McCartney, a longtime peace-oriented individual, still has an opinion on President Donald Trump and the effects of his administration. In a recent episode of the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, the Beatle spoke about how his music sometimes has the power to unite people despite their different backgrounds and political beliefs. "I mean particularly these days, too, you do something like 'Hey Jude' and you see this whole audience singing together," he said before turning his attention specifically to the president. "And in Trump's America — and the Republicans and Democrats all at each other's throats — when we...

Do you recall when Patrick Kielty boldly claimed that The Late Late Show guests could speak their minds without restraint? The absurdity of such a notion was highlighted in last Friday’s episode, where it became evident that this freedom didn’t extend to voicing support for the Jewish community. Among the guests was Boy George, and even by the show’s typically cautious standards, the recent controversy surrounding him couldn’t be brushed aside. Coincidentally, Boy George found himself in Golders Green on a day when two Jewish men were randomly attacked near a synagogue. The alleged assailant is a Somali Muslim man...

Taylor Swift has earned recognition alongside hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny on The New York Times' newly published list of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters. The unranked compilation, released Monday, represents the culmination of ballots submitted by hundreds of music industry experts before being refined by the newspaper's editorial team. The selection process aimed to identify artists whose compositions have shaped the American musical landscape over the past five decades. The comprehensive roster includes an impressive cross-section of American musical talent spanning multiple generations and genres. Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Carole King, and Stevie Wonder represent...

Eric Clapton cut short a concert in Madrid last week after someone in the audience threw an object that struck him in the chest, several news outlets report. Mr. Clapton had just finished performing “Cocaine” at the Movistar Arena last Thursday when someone hurled what appeared to be a vinyl record sleeve. The Clapton fan club Where’s Eric! said the incident occurred during the famed guitarist/songwriter’s first appearance in Madrid in 25 years. Mr. Clapton, 81, was not seriously injured and went on to perform in Barcelona on Sunday.

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Welcome Aboard! Future service members participate in a swearing in ceremony held during the 2023 Wings Over Wayne air show at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, May 21, 2023. The Wings over Wayne Air Show and Science and Technology Expo is a biennial event and has grown to be the largest free air show in North Carolina. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Leighton Lucero) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring...

The King and Queen of Pop resume their royal residences together on the Billboard Hot 100, as Michael Jackson charts four classics sparked by the new hit biopic Michael, and Madonna returns with her new collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, “Bring Your Love.” When did MJ and Madge last share spots on the Hot 100? More than 22 years ago. On the Jan. 3, 2004, chart, Madonna ranked at No. 83 with another high-profile team-up: “Me Against the Music,” with Britney Spears (the Princess of Pop). Jackson that week held the anchor spot, No. 100, with “One More Chance.” They first...

Brandon Clarke, forward for the Memphis Grizzlies, has died. He was 29 years old. It is unknown exactly when, how or where Clarke died. What they're saying:"We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke.Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten. We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time," the team shared in a statement on its official X account on Tuesday. Brandon Clarke, forward for the Memphis Grizzlies, has died. He was 29 years...

Four siblings who were part of Michael Jackson’s “secret family” revealed in an interview Sunday the vile ways the late pop star allegedly groomed and sexually abused them as children. The Cascio family sat down with “60 Minutes Australia” on Sunday night to describe how Jackson allegedly sexually abused all of them as children and supplied them with copious drugs and alcohol after wooing their family with lavish gifts and fame. The four siblings filed a lawsuit in February, alleging Jackson was a serial child sex predator who sexually abused victims at the homes of Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John....

Soccer fans are not happy after Katy Perry was announced as the headliner for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony. The 41-year-old singer was announced as the headliner on Friday, May 8, and many in the soccer community had strong opinions on the choice. Pop Crave shared the announcement on their X account and the comments section featured a mixed bag of reactions. Many were against the organization's decision to sign her as the headliner, with one commenter writing, "I honestly think they could've picked someone better." "On behalf of the football community we don’t know Katy Perry," another...

Like many, I consider symphonies to be the highest expression of the western canon of classical music. Partisans of opera, chamber music, and solo piano music may disagree, of course. I've put together a list of the symphonies which I believe to be the most important and/or interesting from the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as a few early Moderns. I was tempted to include piano and violin concertos as "honorary" three movement symphonies with extended solos, but decided against it. I've also excluded symphonic poems, e.g. those of Franz Liszt (even those he called symphonies), Richard Strauss, Claude...