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here seems to be an air of pretension among aficionados of jazz and classical music, psychological research is giving them good reason. A new study published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences suggests that those who prefer instrumental music tend to be more intelligent. Study author Elena Racevska, a PhD student at Oxford Brookes University, became interested in how musical preference is tied to personality traits as she learned about the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis, which presumes that more intelligent individuals seek more novel experiences compared to less intelligent people. “After reading Kanazawa’s papers, one of which was on the relationship between intelligence...

5:24 AM PT -- Cops say Kodak and 2 others attempted to enter the U.S. at the Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge in a Cadillac Escalade with a temporary California registration. They say Kodak was the driver, and officers discovered weed on him ... after further inspection of the vehicle they also found a Glock 9mm pistol which was undeclared by everyone in the Escalade. There was also a Porsche traveling with Kodak's team with three other individuals. The driver of the Porsche stated he had two loaded handguns and a third was found in the trunk as well as more marijuana....

the music video for Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" uses language of the Wild Wild West with a hip hop spin. The genre-blending tune was a breakout hit ... debuted on three Billboard charts at the same time: the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and Hot Country Songs.But Billboard quietly removed the song from the country chart the following week,...

UPDATED AT 8PM WITH DETAILS ON SHOOTING: Los Angeles police are reporting one person was killed and three others sustained injuries during a shooting incident at today’s funeral procession for slain rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.

One person has been stabbed and 19 were injured after violence broke out at a memorial for rapper Nipsey Hussle outside the Los Angeles store where he was shot dead a day earlier. Scores of fans were holding a vigil at the Marathon Clothing store in the South Los Angeles neighborhood on Monday night when the disturbance occurred. A Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman said they had received a report of a possible shooting or stabbing. Dramatic footage showed the moment a stampede broke out as terrified fans fled across the parking lot where the memorial was being held.

LOS ANGELES -- Cardi B is trying to clarify herself after a video resurfaced online where the rapper said she drugged and robbed men for money. The Grammy winner posted a statement Tuesday on Instagram that she had "very limited options" and needed to do anything to "survive." The former stripper says she wasn't trying to glorify her actions, but felt it was necessary at the time. **SNIP** Cardi says the men she spoke about in the video were ones she dated and they were "conscious, willing and aware."

50 Cent was on The Late Late Show Tuesday and while sitting next to Massachusetts Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren, he revealed how he could have made more money thanks to President Donald Trump. The rapper, actor, executive producer and all-around media mogul told host James Corden that Trump offered him “half a million dollars” just to attend his inauguration in January 2017. “I didn’t do it because I didn’t know if I could fix the damage,” 50 Cent said. 50 Cent told a similar story to Hot 97 back in 2017, only then the $500,000 offer was...

R KELLY is facing possible charges after he was allegedly filmed having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a video tape now in the hands of US prosecutors, it's been claimed. A grand jury has reportedly been convened in Chicago to look at potential criminal charges that could now be filed against the fallen star for sexual misconduct.

A failure to grasp how technology and social media is being used to coerce, control, blackmail and track the movements of children as young as 11 by “county lines” drug gangs has seen an epidemic of child criminal exploitation spiral out of control in the UK. “For the past seven or eight years we have been warning the government, the authorities, teachers, anyone who would listen, that technology is the central organising feature of the county lines business model,” said Sheldon Thomas, a consultant on gang behaviour through his organisation Gangsline. (snip) ...Snapchat is used heavily as a recruitment channel,...

Alarmed by the growing popularity of rap among Russian youth, President Vladimir Putin wants cultural leaders to devise a means of controlling, rather than banning, popular music. Putin says “if it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it.” […] Putin noted that “rap is based on three pillars: sex, drugs and protest.” But he is particularly concerned with drug themes prevalent in rap, saying “this is a path to the degradation of the nation.” …

Rapper and R&B star Akon claimed in a recent interview that he is “very seriously” considering mounting a presidential bid in 2020. “I’ve been thinking about running for 2020 very seriously,” Akon told Newsweek. “But I didn’t want to just do it because I feel like I want to continue doing what I’m doing and hope that builds me enough momentum [for people] to say, ‘You know what, if you run we’ll support you.'” Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and spent much of his childhood in Senegal. The 45-year-old entrepreneur,...

The song is called “PLB,” a French acronym for “hang the whites,” and it has launched a bitter public debate about “anti-white racism” in France. Nick Conrad, a previously obscure rapper who describes himself as “a black artist, Parisian, proud and sophisticated,” produced a provocative music video describing the killing of white babies in schools that was taken down from YouTube on Wednesday amid intense public outcry. The artist has received criticism from across France’s political spectrum and may soon face charges under the country’s strict hate speech regulations. On Thursday, a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor confirmed to...

Eminem says he felt uncomfortable with homophobic lyrics he wrote and released on his recent album, Kamikaze. He faced criticism for his language on album track Fall while speaking about Tyler, The Creator. Eminem says he "felt like this might be too far", in a new interview to promote the record on his own YouTube channel. "In my quest to hurt him, I realize that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it," says Eminem. "It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going 'I don't feel right with this'." Many others...

'Y'all Country Is Nuts': Citing Racism, U.S. Rapper Azealia Banks Vows to 'Never Ever Ever' Visit Israel Again Banks went on a tweetstorm about the racism and rudeness she says she experienced while in Israel for her concert in Tel Aviv American rapper Azealia Banks vowed on Wednesday never to visit Israel again, claiming she encountered racism while in the country for her show in Tel Aviv on Monday. Banks said she was treated badly on account of her skin color on multiple occasions, claiming that a rabbi sitting next to her on the plane offered her money for sex,...

Rapper Mac Miller has reportedly died, according to multiple outlets. He was 26. According to the Los Angeles Times, citing sources, Miller, whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick, was found dead inside his Studio City, Calif. home of an apparent overdose. Per TMZ, authorities were alerted after a male individual placed a 911 call from Miller's home.

AUSTIN, TX — A man shot dead by police early Friday on 6th Street has been identified by family members as a rapper from Baton Rouge, La. Aquantis Givens, 21, was shot behind the Terminal 6 bar on 6th Street after police responded at 1 a.m. to a report of shots fired. As police arrived, they took positions near the alley behind the bar when a man is said to have run towards them with a gun, police said. After repeatedly commanding Givens to drop the gun, eight officers opened fire, according to the official account. Givens was transported to...

Rapper YG took to Instagram after American Airlines kicked him off his flight for allegedly being too drunk. The artist claimed the airline was being discriminatory and racist.... .....YG is the latest name in a long list of rappers who have had problems with American Airlines, including Rich The Kid, Joey Bada$ and Offset, to name a few. YG drew media attention when he had 20,000 people screaming obscenities at President Donald Trump at Coachella earlier this year. He riled up the crowd calling for riots and the assassination of the US President. The song FDT was a three-minute rant...

A punch-up between two rival French rappers that descended into a mass brawl in the departure lounge of Paris’ Orly airport on Wednesday forced the brief closure of one terminal and caused flight delays. Some passengers scurried for safety while others took videos on their cell phones as rappers Booba and Kaaris and their minders swung punches and lashed out with kicks and crashed through cosmetics stands in a duty-free shop, videos on social media showed. A border police spokesman said the two artists had been arrested along with nine others from their entourages. ADP, which manages Orly, said...

When Beyonce and Jay Z are performing, all eyes are glue to the stage. Unless, that is, Barack Obama is rocking out behind you. Fans were delighted to spot the former U.S. president unleashing his best dad moves with wife Michelle beside him in a private booth at the FedExField in Landover, Maryland on Saturday. Throwing their arms in the air during Jay's track N****s in Paris, the former first couple were on their feet and clearly loving every moment as their old friends lit up the stage.

On Sunday, 6ix9ine, also known as Tekashi 6ix9ine, dropped “FEFE,” his new musical collaboration with Nicki Minaj. A matter of hours later, the rapper, whose given name is Daniel Hernandez, was reportedly kidnapped, pistol-whipped and robbed. According to the Associated Press, the New York Police Department confirmed the Brooklyn-born rapper visited a police station in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to the account he allegedly gave police, 6ix9ine was a passenger in a car around 4:30am when three men reportedly emerged from a second car, forced the rapper into their car and robbed him of “an undisclosed amount...