News Analysis India

Tag: Grammy

  • Hip-hop and justice: Culture carries the spirit of protest, 50 years and counting

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: In the early days of hip-hop, plugging turntables into a light post and converting an outdoor basketball court into a discotheque may have seemed like a simple invitation to party.

    A closer look scene revealed the truth: Hip-hop was a response to social and economic injustice in disregarded neighborhoods, a showcase of joy, ingenuity and innovation despite a lack of wealth and resources.

    The music emanating from the DJ’s equipment might tell partiers to “move your feet,” and in the very next set, tell them to “fight the power.”

    Hip-hop has been an integral part of social and racial justice movements. It’s also been scrutinized by law enforcement and political groups because of their belief that hip-hop and its artists’ encourage violent criminality.

    Whether a warning, a demand or an affirmation, hip-hop culture and, especially, rap music have been mediums for holding the powerful accountable, for delivering lyrical indictments against systemic injustice. Hip-hop can champion the underserved and reclaim space, like tagged walls or impromptu breakdancing battles on a transit platform.

    Because it can threaten the concentration of power, certain forces have demonized the culture, said Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder and chair of the Black Music Action Coalition, a group of artists, lawyers, managers and producers unified against systemic racism in the music industry and in society.

    “Of course they want to weaponize it,” Stigger said. “The narrative can’t be that this genius cultural expression, that is the greatest cultural force that we have globally, grew out of a disenfranchised people.”

    Many trace hip-hop’s birth to a back-to-school party at a Bronx apartment building 50 years ago this month. And since its birth, emceeing, beatboxing, deejaying, and graffiti have done much more than entertain legions of fans around the world and generate billions of dollars in commerce – hip-hop’s four elements carry the spirit of resistance and free expression as a comfort to the afflicted and affliction to those who are too comfortable.

    __“Got to give us what we want/Gotta give us what we need/Our freedom of speech is freedom or death/We got to fight the powers that be!” – Public Enemy, “Fight the Power,” 1990

    __Social and religious conservatives of all stripes have long seen hip-hop as a threat to so-called traditional values, peace and order – but their attempts at stifling the culture have only propelled it to worldwide acclaim and grown its influence over public debates and democracy.

    However, racial justice activists and free speech advocates see the ongoing persecution of rappers as a proxy war primarily waged against Black and Latino men who are the early pioneers of the culture. And for hip-hop artists who live under repressive regimes throughout the world, “dropping bars” to air one’s grievances against the government can mean time behind bars or worse.

    “Black history is under attack, Black culture is under attack, rap music is under attack,” said US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democratic sponsor of federal legislation that would protect artists from having their lyrics and creative expression used against them in court.

    The Georgia congressman spoke in support of the legislation to the thousands who attended a Rolling Loud hip-hop music festival in Miami late last month. Johnson and fellow Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York sponsored the Restoring Artistic Protection Act, or RAP Act, to ensure that lyrics aren’t the only evidence supporting a criminal case. Similar legislation in a handful of states would require prosecutors to prove a defendant’s lyrics aren’t figurative, exaggeration or out-right fictional.

    A study by University of Georgia law professor Andrea Dennis, who co-authored the 2019 book “Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America,” found roughly 500 criminal trial cases dating to the late 1980s in which rap lyrics were successfully used as evidence. Dennis and other advocates believe the cases, brought against mostly Black defendants, have led to unjust incarceration.

    Some have pointed to the criminal street gang conspiracy case, brought under Georgia’s criminal racketeering law, against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and over two dozen purported affiliates of the rapper’s Young Stoner Life record label. In 2022, Fulton County prosecutors included lyrics from the rapper, referencing drugs and violence, as evidence of an “overt act in furtherance of a (gang) conspiracy.”

    Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffrey Williams, co-wrote the Childish Gambino hit “This is America,” which is a commentary on violence and systemic racism in the US The song made history in 2019 as the first hip-hop track to win the song of the year Grammy – and it was parodied by global artists to speak to corruption and injustice in Nigeria, Malaysia and Australia.

    __“Cops give a damn about a negro/Pull the trigger, kill a n——-, he’s a hero.” – Tupac, “Changes,” 1992

    __As hip-hop and rap music grew into a force in American culture, its pioneers used it as a medium to speak to their personal realities. In 1982, in the song “The Message,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five decried stark poverty and disinvestment that seemed especially concentrated in Black communities. A decade later, Tupac Shakur railed against police brutality in the song “Changes.”

    In 2016, following the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, rap music and protest were almost inextricably linked. It was rare then to attend a demonstration and not hear Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 song “Alright,” a celebration of triumph over adversity in the face of systemic oppression and injustice.

    “All Black creative expression is political because Black life is political,” said Timothy Welbeck, the director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple University in Philadelphia.

    Welbeck, who is also an independent rap artist and teaches courses on hip-hop in Temple’s Africology and African American Studies Department, said rap music’s accessibility is what makes the genre so popular and so impactful.

    “It makes sense that social movements would gravitate towards hip-hop, as a culture and rap music as a medium of expression,” he said. “And it also makes sense that rappers would position themselves in these movements, in part, because rappers are coming out of the communities that are experiencing the need to protest.”

    In an Associated Press interview earlier this year, Chuck D of Public Enemy said he sees hip-hop as a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

    “(BLM is) a collective where people felt the same way,” he said. “It spoke politically to the injustice regarding George Floyd and was a spark that connected around the world. Hip-hop has done the same thing. Hip-hop ties human beings for their similarities and knocks the differences to the side. It’s a movement.”

    Following worldwide protests over Floyd’s 2020 murder by police in Minneapolis, his brother Terrence Floyd joined an effort to fuse rap, gospel and spirituals on an album of protest songs. A former church drummer, Floyd said he wanted to use the music to affect change in his brother’s name.

    __“I’m at the preacher’s door/My knees gettin’ weak and my gun might blow/But we gon’ be alright.” – Kendrick Lamar, “Alright,” 2015

    __And then there’s hip-hop’s global influence on protest, resistance and political dissent. From the Arab Spring and the Palestinian freedom fight to feminism and class struggles, rap music is a popular medium for calls to action, as well as call-outs of despots and colonizers.

    Rap music videos produced by artists in African, Europe, Asia and South America often include beatboxers, breakdancers, graffiti and other elements of hip-hop.

    In 2016, on a visit to Vietnam during a historic tour of Asia, former President Barack Obama answered questions about human rights and free expression across the continent. One question came from Suboi, a female rapper known as Vietnam’s “Queen of Hip-Hop” who said she struggled against the Vietnamese stereotype that rap music isn’t a proper expression for Asian women.

    “Let’s be honest, sometimes art is dangerous and that’s why governments sometimes get nervous about art,” Obama said. “But one of the things that I truly believe is that if you try to suppress the arts, then I think you’re suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people.”

    Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, who turned 18 as hip-hop really took off out of his native New York, said rap music fueled the movement that has shaped much of his public life. At age 68, he believes hip-hop culture tilled the ground for the election of the first Black American president in 2008.

    “I didn’t come out of the ‘We Shall Overcome’ generation,” Sharpton said. “I came out of Fight the Power, Public Enemy.”

    He added: “Hip-hop took the chains off us and said, ‘No, we’re gonna say it our way, anyway.’ … It was that freedom. It was that raw, non-watered down kind of expression. We understood that rage and anger, even though we expressed it in different ways.”

    NEW YORK: In the early days of hip-hop, plugging turntables into a light post and converting an outdoor basketball court into a discotheque may have seemed like a simple invitation to party.

    A closer look scene revealed the truth: Hip-hop was a response to social and economic injustice in disregarded neighborhoods, a showcase of joy, ingenuity and innovation despite a lack of wealth and resources.

    The music emanating from the DJ’s equipment might tell partiers to “move your feet,” and in the very next set, tell them to “fight the power.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Hip-hop has been an integral part of social and racial justice movements. It’s also been scrutinized by law enforcement and political groups because of their belief that hip-hop and its artists’ encourage violent criminality.

    Whether a warning, a demand or an affirmation, hip-hop culture and, especially, rap music have been mediums for holding the powerful accountable, for delivering lyrical indictments against systemic injustice. Hip-hop can champion the underserved and reclaim space, like tagged walls or impromptu breakdancing battles on a transit platform.

    Because it can threaten the concentration of power, certain forces have demonized the culture, said Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder and chair of the Black Music Action Coalition, a group of artists, lawyers, managers and producers unified against systemic racism in the music industry and in society.

    “Of course they want to weaponize it,” Stigger said. “The narrative can’t be that this genius cultural expression, that is the greatest cultural force that we have globally, grew out of a disenfranchised people.”

    Many trace hip-hop’s birth to a back-to-school party at a Bronx apartment building 50 years ago this month. And since its birth, emceeing, beatboxing, deejaying, and graffiti have done much more than entertain legions of fans around the world and generate billions of dollars in commerce – hip-hop’s four elements carry the spirit of resistance and free expression as a comfort to the afflicted and affliction to those who are too comfortable.

    __
    “Got to give us what we want/Gotta give us what we need/Our freedom of speech is freedom or death/We got to fight the powers that be!” – Public Enemy, “Fight the Power,” 1990

    __
    Social and religious conservatives of all stripes have long seen hip-hop as a threat to so-called traditional values, peace and order – but their attempts at stifling the culture have only propelled it to worldwide acclaim and grown its influence over public debates and democracy.

    However, racial justice activists and free speech advocates see the ongoing persecution of rappers as a proxy war primarily waged against Black and Latino men who are the early pioneers of the culture. And for hip-hop artists who live under repressive regimes throughout the world, “dropping bars” to air one’s grievances against the government can mean time behind bars or worse.

    “Black history is under attack, Black culture is under attack, rap music is under attack,” said US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democratic sponsor of federal legislation that would protect artists from having their lyrics and creative expression used against them in court.

    The Georgia congressman spoke in support of the legislation to the thousands who attended a Rolling Loud hip-hop music festival in Miami late last month. Johnson and fellow Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York sponsored the Restoring Artistic Protection Act, or RAP Act, to ensure that lyrics aren’t the only evidence supporting a criminal case. Similar legislation in a handful of states would require prosecutors to prove a defendant’s lyrics aren’t figurative, exaggeration or out-right fictional.

    A study by University of Georgia law professor Andrea Dennis, who co-authored the 2019 book “Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics and Guilt in America,” found roughly 500 criminal trial cases dating to the late 1980s in which rap lyrics were successfully used as evidence. Dennis and other advocates believe the cases, brought against mostly Black defendants, have led to unjust incarceration.

    Some have pointed to the criminal street gang conspiracy case, brought under Georgia’s criminal racketeering law, against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and over two dozen purported affiliates of the rapper’s Young Stoner Life record label. In 2022, Fulton County prosecutors included lyrics from the rapper, referencing drugs and violence, as evidence of an “overt act in furtherance of a (gang) conspiracy.”

    Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffrey Williams, co-wrote the Childish Gambino hit “This is America,” which is a commentary on violence and systemic racism in the US The song made history in 2019 as the first hip-hop track to win the song of the year Grammy – and it was parodied by global artists to speak to corruption and injustice in Nigeria, Malaysia and Australia.

    __
    “Cops give a damn about a negro/Pull the trigger, kill a n——-, he’s a hero.” – Tupac, “Changes,” 1992

    __
    As hip-hop and rap music grew into a force in American culture, its pioneers used it as a medium to speak to their personal realities. In 1982, in the song “The Message,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five decried stark poverty and disinvestment that seemed especially concentrated in Black communities. A decade later, Tupac Shakur railed against police brutality in the song “Changes.”

    In 2016, following the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, rap music and protest were almost inextricably linked. It was rare then to attend a demonstration and not hear Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 song “Alright,” a celebration of triumph over adversity in the face of systemic oppression and injustice.

    “All Black creative expression is political because Black life is political,” said Timothy Welbeck, the director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple University in Philadelphia.

    Welbeck, who is also an independent rap artist and teaches courses on hip-hop in Temple’s Africology and African American Studies Department, said rap music’s accessibility is what makes the genre so popular and so impactful.

    “It makes sense that social movements would gravitate towards hip-hop, as a culture and rap music as a medium of expression,” he said. “And it also makes sense that rappers would position themselves in these movements, in part, because rappers are coming out of the communities that are experiencing the need to protest.”

    In an Associated Press interview earlier this year, Chuck D of Public Enemy said he sees hip-hop as a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

    “(BLM is) a collective where people felt the same way,” he said. “It spoke politically to the injustice regarding George Floyd and was a spark that connected around the world. Hip-hop has done the same thing. Hip-hop ties human beings for their similarities and knocks the differences to the side. It’s a movement.”

    Following worldwide protests over Floyd’s 2020 murder by police in Minneapolis, his brother Terrence Floyd joined an effort to fuse rap, gospel and spirituals on an album of protest songs. A former church drummer, Floyd said he wanted to use the music to affect change in his brother’s name.

    __
    “I’m at the preacher’s door/My knees gettin’ weak and my gun might blow/But we gon’ be alright.” – Kendrick Lamar, “Alright,” 2015

    __
    And then there’s hip-hop’s global influence on protest, resistance and political dissent. From the Arab Spring and the Palestinian freedom fight to feminism and class struggles, rap music is a popular medium for calls to action, as well as call-outs of despots and colonizers.

    Rap music videos produced by artists in African, Europe, Asia and South America often include beatboxers, breakdancers, graffiti and other elements of hip-hop.

    In 2016, on a visit to Vietnam during a historic tour of Asia, former President Barack Obama answered questions about human rights and free expression across the continent. One question came from Suboi, a female rapper known as Vietnam’s “Queen of Hip-Hop” who said she struggled against the Vietnamese stereotype that rap music isn’t a proper expression for Asian women.

    “Let’s be honest, sometimes art is dangerous and that’s why governments sometimes get nervous about art,” Obama said. “But one of the things that I truly believe is that if you try to suppress the arts, then I think you’re suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people.”

    Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, who turned 18 as hip-hop really took off out of his native New York, said rap music fueled the movement that has shaped much of his public life. At age 68, he believes hip-hop culture tilled the ground for the election of the first Black American president in 2008.

    “I didn’t come out of the ‘We Shall Overcome’ generation,” Sharpton said. “I came out of Fight the Power, Public Enemy.”

    He added: “Hip-hop took the chains off us and said, ‘No, we’re gonna say it our way, anyway.’ … It was that freedom. It was that raw, non-watered down kind of expression. We understood that rage and anger, even though we expressed it in different ways.”

  • ‘The Last Emperor’: Pioneering composer Ryuichi Sakamoto dies at 71

    By AFP

    TOKYO:  Pioneering composer and green activist Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose score for “The Last Emperor” scooped an Oscar and a Grammy, has died aged 71 after his second cancer diagnosis.

    Having shot to fame in the 1970s with the influential Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto’s electronic innovations helped lay the foundations for synth-pop, house music and hip-hop.

    But he was perhaps best known for his film soundtracks, including for the World War II drama “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence”, in which he also acted opposite his friend David Bowie as a prisoner-of-war camp commandant.

    The hauntingly catchy track “Forbidden Colours” from the 1983 film, with vocals by David Sylvian, became a global hit for Sakamoto, who also collaborated with Thomas Dolby and punk legend Iggy Pop in the 80s.

    Sakamoto went on to win an Academy Award with his score for the 1987 period epic “The Last Emperor”, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, which tells the story of China’s last emperor Puyi.

    He lived in New York for decades, but his prolific career made him a huge star in his home country, where he was renowned for his strident anti-nuclear campaigning.

    Despite his recent ill health — he survived throat cancer in 2014 — Sakamoto continued to win acclaim for his work, including the score for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 2015 film “The Revenant”.

    In early 2021, the musician said he was undergoing treatment for rectal cancer.

    His management team announced Sunday that he died on March 28th, and a funeral was held for close family only, at his request.

    “We would like to share one of Sakamoto’s favourite quotes: ‘Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short,” the team said in a statement.

    ‘The Professor’

    Born in Tokyo in 1952, Sakamoto grew up immersed in the arts, as his father was a literary editor for some of Japan’s greatest novelists, including Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe.

    He discovered the piano at a young age, and has said that Bach, Haydn and Debussy fascinated him as a teenager as much as the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

    He studied composition and ethnomusicology at university — earning him the affectionate nickname “The Professor” in Japan — and started to perform in Tokyo’s burgeoning electronic scene of the 1970s.

    “I was working with the computer at university and playing jazz in the daytime, buying West Coast psychedelic and early Kraftwerk records in the afternoon, and playing folk at night,” he told The Guardian in 2018.

    “I was quite busy!”

    In 1978, he co-founded Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, who died in January.

    Their high-energy techno-pop had an enormous influence on electronic music worldwide, and inspired the synthesised melodies of early Japanese video games.

    Groundbreaking US hip-hop artist Afrika Bambaataa sampled YMO in the 80s, and some of the Japanese group’s songs became international hits — including “Behind the Mask”, which inspired cover versions by Michael Jackson and then Eric Clapton.

    ‘Citizen of the World’

    After YMO disbanded in 1983, Sakamoto dedicated himself to his solo projects, exploring a plethora of musical styles from prog rock and ambient to rap, bossa nova and contemporary classical.

    He racked up collaborations with avant-garde artists, but also with stars from around the world such as the Cape Verde singer Cesaria Evora and Brazil’s Caetano Veloso, as well as Senegalese star Youssou N’dour.

    “I want to be a citizen of the world,” Sakamoto, who moved to New York in the 1990s, once said.

    “It sounds very hippie but I like that.”

    Sakamoto was also a dedicated environmental campaigner, who became a prominent figure in Japan’s anti-nuclear movement after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown.

    He staged and attended many rallies, and in 2012 organised a mega-concert against nuclear power near Tokyo, featuring his friends Kraftwerk, whose name means “power station” in German.

    He also founded a conservation organisation in 2007 called More Trees, which works to promote sustainable forestry in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

    Sakamoto, who married and divorced twice, is the father of J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto, born in 1980 to the Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano.

    TOKYO:  Pioneering composer and green activist Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose score for “The Last Emperor” scooped an Oscar and a Grammy, has died aged 71 after his second cancer diagnosis.

    Having shot to fame in the 1970s with the influential Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto’s electronic innovations helped lay the foundations for synth-pop, house music and hip-hop.

    But he was perhaps best known for his film soundtracks, including for the World War II drama “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence”, in which he also acted opposite his friend David Bowie as a prisoner-of-war camp commandant.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The hauntingly catchy track “Forbidden Colours” from the 1983 film, with vocals by David Sylvian, became a global hit for Sakamoto, who also collaborated with Thomas Dolby and punk legend Iggy Pop in the 80s.

    Sakamoto went on to win an Academy Award with his score for the 1987 period epic “The Last Emperor”, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, which tells the story of China’s last emperor Puyi.

    He lived in New York for decades, but his prolific career made him a huge star in his home country, where he was renowned for his strident anti-nuclear campaigning.

    Despite his recent ill health — he survived throat cancer in 2014 — Sakamoto continued to win acclaim for his work, including the score for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 2015 film “The Revenant”.

    In early 2021, the musician said he was undergoing treatment for rectal cancer.

    His management team announced Sunday that he died on March 28th, and a funeral was held for close family only, at his request.

    “We would like to share one of Sakamoto’s favourite quotes: ‘Ars longa, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short,” the team said in a statement.

    ‘The Professor’

    Born in Tokyo in 1952, Sakamoto grew up immersed in the arts, as his father was a literary editor for some of Japan’s greatest novelists, including Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe.

    He discovered the piano at a young age, and has said that Bach, Haydn and Debussy fascinated him as a teenager as much as the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

    He studied composition and ethnomusicology at university — earning him the affectionate nickname “The Professor” in Japan — and started to perform in Tokyo’s burgeoning electronic scene of the 1970s.

    “I was working with the computer at university and playing jazz in the daytime, buying West Coast psychedelic and early Kraftwerk records in the afternoon, and playing folk at night,” he told The Guardian in 2018.

    “I was quite busy!”

    In 1978, he co-founded Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, who died in January.

    Their high-energy techno-pop had an enormous influence on electronic music worldwide, and inspired the synthesised melodies of early Japanese video games.

    Groundbreaking US hip-hop artist Afrika Bambaataa sampled YMO in the 80s, and some of the Japanese group’s songs became international hits — including “Behind the Mask”, which inspired cover versions by Michael Jackson and then Eric Clapton.

    ‘Citizen of the World’

    After YMO disbanded in 1983, Sakamoto dedicated himself to his solo projects, exploring a plethora of musical styles from prog rock and ambient to rap, bossa nova and contemporary classical.

    He racked up collaborations with avant-garde artists, but also with stars from around the world such as the Cape Verde singer Cesaria Evora and Brazil’s Caetano Veloso, as well as Senegalese star Youssou N’dour.

    “I want to be a citizen of the world,” Sakamoto, who moved to New York in the 1990s, once said.

    “It sounds very hippie but I like that.”

    Sakamoto was also a dedicated environmental campaigner, who became a prominent figure in Japan’s anti-nuclear movement after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown.

    He staged and attended many rallies, and in 2012 organised a mega-concert against nuclear power near Tokyo, featuring his friends Kraftwerk, whose name means “power station” in German.

    He also founded a conservation organisation in 2007 called More Trees, which works to promote sustainable forestry in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

    Sakamoto, who married and divorced twice, is the father of J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto, born in 1980 to the Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano.

  • Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94.

    The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning Bacharach died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, publicist Tina Brausam said Thursday.

    Over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivaled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods, whether “Alfie” and “I Say a Little Prayer” or “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “This Guy’s in Love with You.”

    Dionne Warwick was his favorite interpreter, but Bacharach, usually in tandem with lyricist Hal David, also created prime material for Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and many others. Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra were among the countless artists who covered his songs, with more recent performers who sung or sampled him including White Stripes, Twista and Ashanti. “Walk On By” alone was covered by everyone from Warwick and Isaac Hayes to the British punk band the Stranglers and Cyndi Lauper.

    Bacharach was both an innovator and throwback, and his career seemed to run parallel to the rock era. He grew up on jazz and classical music and had little taste for rock when he was breaking into the business in the 1950s. His appeal often seemed more aligned with Tin Pan Alley than with Bob Dylan, John Lennon and other writers who later emerged, but rock composers appreciated the depth of his seemingly old-fashioned sensibility.

    “The shorthand version of him is that he’s something to do with easy listening,” Elvis Costello, who wrote the 1998 album “Painted from Memory” with Bacharach, said in a 2018 interview with The Associated Press. “It may be agreeable to listen to these songs, but there’s nothing easy about them. Try playing them. Try singing them.”

    A box set, “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello,” is due to come out March 3.

    He triumphed in many art forms. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for “Promises, Promises” and a three-time Oscar winner. He received two Academy Awards in 1970, for the score of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and for the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (shared with David). In 1982, he and his then-wife, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, won for “Best That You Can Do,” the theme from “Arthur. His other movie soundtracks included “What’s New, Pussycat?”, “Alfie” and the 1967 James Bond spoof “Casino Royale.”

    Bacharach was well-rewarded and well-connected. He was a frequent guest at the White House, whether the president was Republican or Democrat. And in 2012, he was presented the Gershwin Prize by Barack Obama, who had sung a few seconds of “Walk on By” during a campaign appearance.

    In his life, and in his music, he stood apart. Fellow songwriter Sammy Cahn liked to joke that the smiling, wavy-haired Bacharach was the first composer he ever knew who didn’t look like a dentist. Bacharach was a “swinger,” as they called such men in his time, whose many romances included actor Angie Dickinson, to whom he was married from 1965-80, and Sager, his wife from 1982-1991.

    Married four times, he formed his most lasting ties to work. He was a perfectionist who took three weeks to write “Alfie” and might spend hours tweaking a single chord. Sager once observed that Bacharach’s life routines essentially stayed the same — only the wives changed.

    It began with the melodies — strong yet interspersed with changing rhythms and surprising harmonics. He credited much of his style to his love of bebop and to his classical education, especially under the tutelage of Darius Milhaud, the famed composer. He once played a piece for piano, violin and oboe for Milhaud that contained a melody he was ashamed to have written, as 12-point atonal music was in vogue at the time. Milhaud, who liked the piece, advised the young man, “Never be afraid of the melody.”

    “That was a great affirmation for me,” Bacharach recalled in 2004.

    Bacharach was essentially a pop composer, but his songs became hits for country artists (Marty Robbins), rhythm and blues performers (Chuck Jackson), soul (Franklin, Luther Vandross) and synth-pop (Naked Eyes). He reached a new generation of listeners in the 1990s with the help of Costello and others.

    Mike Myers would recall hearing the sultry “The Look of Love” on the radio and finding fast inspiration for his “Austin Powers” retro spy comedies, in which Bacharach made cameos.

    In the 21st century, he was still testing new ground, writing his own lyrics and recording with rapper Dr. Dre.

    He was married to his first wife, Paula Stewart, from 1953-58, and married for a fourth time, to Jane Hansen, in 1993. He is survived by Hansen, as well as his children Oliver, Raleigh and Cristopher, Brausam said. He was preceded in death by his daughter with Dickinson, Nikki Bacharach.

    Bacharach knew the very heights of acclaim, but he remembered himself as a loner growing up, a short and self-conscious boy so uncomfortable with being Jewish that he even taunted other Jews. His favorite book as a kid was Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”; he related to the sexually impotent Jake Barnes, regarding himself as “socially impotent.”

    He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but soon moved to New York City. His father was a syndicated columnist, his mother a pianist who encouraged the boy to study music. Although he was more interested in sports, he practiced piano every day after school, not wanting to disappoint his mother. While still a minor, he would sneak into jazz clubs, bearing a fake ID, and hear such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie.

    “They were just so incredibly exciting that all of a sudden, I got into music in a way I never had before,” he recalled in the memoir “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” published in 2013. “What I heard in those clubs turned my head around.”

    He was a poor student, but managed to gain a spot at the music conservatory at McGill University in Montreal. He wrote his first song at McGill and listened for months to Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song.” Music also may have saved Bacharach’s life. He was drafted into the Army in the late 1940s and was still on active duty during the Korean War. But officers stateside soon learned of his gifts and wanted him around. When he did go overseas, it was to Germany, where he wrote orchestrations for a recreation center on the local military base.

    After his discharge, he returned to New York and tried to break into the music business. He had little success at first as a songwriter, but he became a popular arranger and accompanist, touring with Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers and Stewart, his eventual first wife. When a friend who had been touring with Marlene Dietrich was unable to make a show in Las Vegas, he asked Bacharach to step in.

    The young musician and ageless singer quickly clicked and Bacharach traveled the world with her in the late 1950s and early ’60s. During each performance, she would introduce him in grand style: “I would like you to meet the man, he’s my arranger, he’s my accompanist, he’s my conductor, and I wish I could say he’s my composer. But that isn’t true. He’s everybody’s composer … Burt Bacharach!”

    Meanwhile, he had met his ideal songwriter partner — David, as businesslike as Bacharach was mercurial, so domesticated that he would leave each night at 5 to catch the train back to his family on Long Island. Working in a tiny office in Broadway’s celebrated Brill Building, they produced their first million-seller, “Magic Moments,” sung in 1958 by Perry Como. In 1962, they spotted a backup singer for the Drifters, Warwick, who had a “very special kind of grace and elegance,” Bacharach recalled.

    The trio produced hit after hit. The songs were as complicated to record as they were easy to hear. Bacharach liked to experiment with time signatures and arrangements, such as having two pianists play on “Walk on By,” their performances just slightly out of sync to give the song “a jagged kind of feeling,” he wrote in his memoir.

    The Bacharach-David partnership ended with the dismal failure of a 1973 musical remake of “Lost Horizon.” Bacharach became so depressed he isolated himself in his Del Mar vacation home and refused to work.

    “I didn’t want to write with Hal or anybody,” he told the AP in 2004. Nor did he want to fulfill a commitment to record Warwick. She and David both sued him.

    “Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner,” Warwick wrote in a statement Thursday. “On the lighter side we laughed a lot and had our run ins but always found a way to let each other know our family like roots were the most important part of our relationship.”

    Bacharach and David eventually reconciled. When David died in 2012, Bacharach praised him for writing lyrics “like a miniature movie.”

    Meanwhile, Bacharach kept working, vowing never to retire, always believing that a good song could make a difference.

    “Music softens the heart, makes you feel something if it’s good, brings in emotion that you might not have felt before,” he told the AP in 2018. “It’s a very powerful thing if you’re able to do to it, if you have it in your heart to do something like that.”

    NEW YORK: Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94.

    The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning Bacharach died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, publicist Tina Brausam said Thursday.

    Over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivaled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods, whether “Alfie” and “I Say a Little Prayer” or “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “This Guy’s in Love with You.”

    Dionne Warwick was his favorite interpreter, but Bacharach, usually in tandem with lyricist Hal David, also created prime material for Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and many others. Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra were among the countless artists who covered his songs, with more recent performers who sung or sampled him including White Stripes, Twista and Ashanti. “Walk On By” alone was covered by everyone from Warwick and Isaac Hayes to the British punk band the Stranglers and Cyndi Lauper.

    Bacharach was both an innovator and throwback, and his career seemed to run parallel to the rock era. He grew up on jazz and classical music and had little taste for rock when he was breaking into the business in the 1950s. His appeal often seemed more aligned with Tin Pan Alley than with Bob Dylan, John Lennon and other writers who later emerged, but rock composers appreciated the depth of his seemingly old-fashioned sensibility.

    “The shorthand version of him is that he’s something to do with easy listening,” Elvis Costello, who wrote the 1998 album “Painted from Memory” with Bacharach, said in a 2018 interview with The Associated Press. “It may be agreeable to listen to these songs, but there’s nothing easy about them. Try playing them. Try singing them.”

    A box set, “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello,” is due to come out March 3.

    He triumphed in many art forms. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for “Promises, Promises” and a three-time Oscar winner. He received two Academy Awards in 1970, for the score of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and for the song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (shared with David). In 1982, he and his then-wife, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, won for “Best That You Can Do,” the theme from “Arthur. His other movie soundtracks included “What’s New, Pussycat?”, “Alfie” and the 1967 James Bond spoof “Casino Royale.”

    Bacharach was well-rewarded and well-connected. He was a frequent guest at the White House, whether the president was Republican or Democrat. And in 2012, he was presented the Gershwin Prize by Barack Obama, who had sung a few seconds of “Walk on By” during a campaign appearance.

    In his life, and in his music, he stood apart. Fellow songwriter Sammy Cahn liked to joke that the smiling, wavy-haired Bacharach was the first composer he ever knew who didn’t look like a dentist. Bacharach was a “swinger,” as they called such men in his time, whose many romances included actor Angie Dickinson, to whom he was married from 1965-80, and Sager, his wife from 1982-1991.

    Married four times, he formed his most lasting ties to work. He was a perfectionist who took three weeks to write “Alfie” and might spend hours tweaking a single chord. Sager once observed that Bacharach’s life routines essentially stayed the same — only the wives changed.

    It began with the melodies — strong yet interspersed with changing rhythms and surprising harmonics. He credited much of his style to his love of bebop and to his classical education, especially under the tutelage of Darius Milhaud, the famed composer. He once played a piece for piano, violin and oboe for Milhaud that contained a melody he was ashamed to have written, as 12-point atonal music was in vogue at the time. Milhaud, who liked the piece, advised the young man, “Never be afraid of the melody.”

    “That was a great affirmation for me,” Bacharach recalled in 2004.

    Bacharach was essentially a pop composer, but his songs became hits for country artists (Marty Robbins), rhythm and blues performers (Chuck Jackson), soul (Franklin, Luther Vandross) and synth-pop (Naked Eyes). He reached a new generation of listeners in the 1990s with the help of Costello and others.

    Mike Myers would recall hearing the sultry “The Look of Love” on the radio and finding fast inspiration for his “Austin Powers” retro spy comedies, in which Bacharach made cameos.

    In the 21st century, he was still testing new ground, writing his own lyrics and recording with rapper Dr. Dre.

    He was married to his first wife, Paula Stewart, from 1953-58, and married for a fourth time, to Jane Hansen, in 1993. He is survived by Hansen, as well as his children Oliver, Raleigh and Cristopher, Brausam said. He was preceded in death by his daughter with Dickinson, Nikki Bacharach.

    Bacharach knew the very heights of acclaim, but he remembered himself as a loner growing up, a short and self-conscious boy so uncomfortable with being Jewish that he even taunted other Jews. His favorite book as a kid was Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”; he related to the sexually impotent Jake Barnes, regarding himself as “socially impotent.”

    He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but soon moved to New York City. His father was a syndicated columnist, his mother a pianist who encouraged the boy to study music. Although he was more interested in sports, he practiced piano every day after school, not wanting to disappoint his mother. While still a minor, he would sneak into jazz clubs, bearing a fake ID, and hear such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie.

    “They were just so incredibly exciting that all of a sudden, I got into music in a way I never had before,” he recalled in the memoir “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” published in 2013. “What I heard in those clubs turned my head around.”

    He was a poor student, but managed to gain a spot at the music conservatory at McGill University in Montreal. He wrote his first song at McGill and listened for months to Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song.” Music also may have saved Bacharach’s life. He was drafted into the Army in the late 1940s and was still on active duty during the Korean War. But officers stateside soon learned of his gifts and wanted him around. When he did go overseas, it was to Germany, where he wrote orchestrations for a recreation center on the local military base.

    After his discharge, he returned to New York and tried to break into the music business. He had little success at first as a songwriter, but he became a popular arranger and accompanist, touring with Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers and Stewart, his eventual first wife. When a friend who had been touring with Marlene Dietrich was unable to make a show in Las Vegas, he asked Bacharach to step in.

    The young musician and ageless singer quickly clicked and Bacharach traveled the world with her in the late 1950s and early ’60s. During each performance, she would introduce him in grand style: “I would like you to meet the man, he’s my arranger, he’s my accompanist, he’s my conductor, and I wish I could say he’s my composer. But that isn’t true. He’s everybody’s composer … Burt Bacharach!”

    Meanwhile, he had met his ideal songwriter partner — David, as businesslike as Bacharach was mercurial, so domesticated that he would leave each night at 5 to catch the train back to his family on Long Island. Working in a tiny office in Broadway’s celebrated Brill Building, they produced their first million-seller, “Magic Moments,” sung in 1958 by Perry Como. In 1962, they spotted a backup singer for the Drifters, Warwick, who had a “very special kind of grace and elegance,” Bacharach recalled.

    The trio produced hit after hit. The songs were as complicated to record as they were easy to hear. Bacharach liked to experiment with time signatures and arrangements, such as having two pianists play on “Walk on By,” their performances just slightly out of sync to give the song “a jagged kind of feeling,” he wrote in his memoir.

    The Bacharach-David partnership ended with the dismal failure of a 1973 musical remake of “Lost Horizon.” Bacharach became so depressed he isolated himself in his Del Mar vacation home and refused to work.

    “I didn’t want to write with Hal or anybody,” he told the AP in 2004. Nor did he want to fulfill a commitment to record Warwick. She and David both sued him.

    “Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner,” Warwick wrote in a statement Thursday. “On the lighter side we laughed a lot and had our run ins but always found a way to let each other know our family like roots were the most important part of our relationship.”

    Bacharach and David eventually reconciled. When David died in 2012, Bacharach praised him for writing lyrics “like a miniature movie.”

    Meanwhile, Bacharach kept working, vowing never to retire, always believing that a good song could make a difference.

    “Music softens the heart, makes you feel something if it’s good, brings in emotion that you might not have felt before,” he told the AP in 2018. “It’s a very powerful thing if you’re able to do to it, if you have it in your heart to do something like that.”

  • Beyonce scripts history, becomes most decorated Grammy winner of all time

    By AFP

    LOS ANGELES: Pop queen Beyonce on Sunday reigned supreme at the Grammys, breaking the all-time record for wins with her 32nd prize and fourth of the night to resounding applause.

    The 41-year-old entered the day with the most chances at Grammy gold with nine, following the release of “Renaissance,” her rich, layered ode to club music.

    She clinched the title by winning the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for her smash “Renaissance,” thus surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who had 31 awards.

    “I’m trying not to be too emotional. And I’m trying to just receive this night,” Queen Bey said, wearing a shimmering, curve-hugging gown, her hair in mermaid waves as her peers witnessed the history-making moment.

    Beyonce thanked her family and paid special tribute to the queer community, who she credited with inventing the genre she celebrated in her historically layered record that pays homage to pioneers of funk, soul, rap, house and disco.

    Beyonce remains a powerhouse contender for the night’s major awards of album, record and song of the year — but the same goes for British balladeer Adele, whose introspective album “30” earned her seven nods.

    The 2023 face-off has prompted obvious comparisons to 2017, when Adele swept the top prizes at the glitzy music biz gala, shutting out Queen Bey’s culture-shaking “Lemonade.

    Despite breaking record after record, when it comes to the big three awards, Beyonce curiously remains something of an underdog in those categories.

    She has never won Album of the Year honours and although she has the most Record of the Year nods with eight, she’s never won that prize either.

    She only scored Song of the Year once, for 2008’s “Single Ladies.”

    Beyonce appears in the audience at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo | AP)

    Carlile, Lamar with three wins each 

    Both folk rocker Brandi Carlile and rapper Kendrick Lamar had scored three awards by midway through the ceremony.

    “This is one of my toughest records to make,” Lamar said of “Mr Morale and the Big Steppers.”

    “And it allowed me to do that and allowed me to share other people’s experiences. Going back and thinking back where I started with rapping, and how far I came, I would like to thank the culture for allowing me to evolve in order to make a song.”

    Actor Viola Davis became the latest showbiz heavyweight to earn a coveted EGOT — winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — by taking the Grammy for best audiobook, narration and storytelling for her memoir “Finding Me.”

    Bad Bunny kicked off the 65th annual Grammys gala by bringing the audience to its feet with the first performance, after which Harry Styles jumped out of the gate by winning the award for the best pop vocal album for his record “Harry’s House.”

    “Thank you so much. This album, from start to finish, has been the greatest experience of my life,” he said onstage.

    The star-studded 65th annual gala, hosted once again by comedian Trevor Noah, also featured performances from Styles, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, as well as an exuberant tribute to hip-hop music featuring a constellation of stars.

    Bad Bunny, indisputably the world’s biggest commercial artist, nabbed the prize for Best Musica Urbana album for his major drop “Un Verano Sin Ti,” also an Album of the Year contender.

    ALSO READ | Music composer Ricky Kej wins third Grammy Award, dedicates his trophy to ‘India’

    “Thank you to all the Latinos across the entire world,” he said in his native Spanish in accepting his award. “We will keep elevating this genre to the next level.”

    Industry watchers were also waiting to see whether pop juggernaut Swift — who hit the red carpet in a sparkling, deep blue ensemble alluding to her most recent album “Midnights” — could win the Song of the Year prize that has evaded her for years.

    The superstar — who has been making good on a vow to re-record her first six albums to gain control of her rights to them — has a chance at the award celebrating songwriters for her 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”

    She had already won the Best Music Video prize for her short film based on the song.

    Best New Artist hopefuls strike gold 

    After several Grammy years with clear Best New Artist favourites — Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion and Billie Eilish — Sunday’s race is wide open.

    The category has grown increasingly eclectic and reflective of the internet age’s impact on popular music, and many of the nominees — including Brazil’s Anitta, Eurovision rockers Maneskin and rapper Latto — have all found viral fame on TikTok.

    Wet Leg swept the alternative music categories, as several of the nominees jumped forward with early victories: Muni Long stole one of Beyonce’s nine opportunities in taking home the award for Best R&B Performance, while Molly Tuttle won for Best Bluegrass Album.

    LOS ANGELES: Pop queen Beyonce on Sunday reigned supreme at the Grammys, breaking the all-time record for wins with her 32nd prize and fourth of the night to resounding applause.

    The 41-year-old entered the day with the most chances at Grammy gold with nine, following the release of “Renaissance,” her rich, layered ode to club music.

    She clinched the title by winning the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for her smash “Renaissance,” thus surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who had 31 awards.

    “I’m trying not to be too emotional. And I’m trying to just receive this night,” Queen Bey said, wearing a shimmering, curve-hugging gown, her hair in mermaid waves as her peers witnessed the history-making moment.

    Beyonce thanked her family and paid special tribute to the queer community, who she credited with inventing the genre she celebrated in her historically layered record that pays homage to pioneers of funk, soul, rap, house and disco.

    Beyonce remains a powerhouse contender for the night’s major awards of album, record and song of the year — but the same goes for British balladeer Adele, whose introspective album “30” earned her seven nods.

    The 2023 face-off has prompted obvious comparisons to 2017, when Adele swept the top prizes at the glitzy music biz gala, shutting out Queen Bey’s culture-shaking “Lemonade.

    Despite breaking record after record, when it comes to the big three awards, Beyonce curiously remains something of an underdog in those categories.

    She has never won Album of the Year honours and although she has the most Record of the Year nods with eight, she’s never won that prize either.

    She only scored Song of the Year once, for 2008’s “Single Ladies.”

    Beyonce appears in the audience at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo | AP)

    Carlile, Lamar with three wins each 

    Both folk rocker Brandi Carlile and rapper Kendrick Lamar had scored three awards by midway through the ceremony.

    “This is one of my toughest records to make,” Lamar said of “Mr Morale and the Big Steppers.”

    “And it allowed me to do that and allowed me to share other people’s experiences. Going back and thinking back where I started with rapping, and how far I came, I would like to thank the culture for allowing me to evolve in order to make a song.”

    Actor Viola Davis became the latest showbiz heavyweight to earn a coveted EGOT — winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — by taking the Grammy for best audiobook, narration and storytelling for her memoir “Finding Me.”

    Bad Bunny kicked off the 65th annual Grammys gala by bringing the audience to its feet with the first performance, after which Harry Styles jumped out of the gate by winning the award for the best pop vocal album for his record “Harry’s House.”

    “Thank you so much. This album, from start to finish, has been the greatest experience of my life,” he said onstage.

    The star-studded 65th annual gala, hosted once again by comedian Trevor Noah, also featured performances from Styles, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, as well as an exuberant tribute to hip-hop music featuring a constellation of stars.

    Bad Bunny, indisputably the world’s biggest commercial artist, nabbed the prize for Best Musica Urbana album for his major drop “Un Verano Sin Ti,” also an Album of the Year contender.

    ALSO READ | Music composer Ricky Kej wins third Grammy Award, dedicates his trophy to ‘India’

    “Thank you to all the Latinos across the entire world,” he said in his native Spanish in accepting his award. “We will keep elevating this genre to the next level.”

    Industry watchers were also waiting to see whether pop juggernaut Swift — who hit the red carpet in a sparkling, deep blue ensemble alluding to her most recent album “Midnights” — could win the Song of the Year prize that has evaded her for years.

    The superstar — who has been making good on a vow to re-record her first six albums to gain control of her rights to them — has a chance at the award celebrating songwriters for her 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”

    She had already won the Best Music Video prize for her short film based on the song.

    Best New Artist hopefuls strike gold 

    After several Grammy years with clear Best New Artist favourites — Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion and Billie Eilish — Sunday’s race is wide open.

    The category has grown increasingly eclectic and reflective of the internet age’s impact on popular music, and many of the nominees — including Brazil’s Anitta, Eurovision rockers Maneskin and rapper Latto — have all found viral fame on TikTok.

    Wet Leg swept the alternative music categories, as several of the nominees jumped forward with early victories: Muni Long stole one of Beyonce’s nine opportunities in taking home the award for Best R&B Performance, while Molly Tuttle won for Best Bluegrass Album.

  • Beyonce ties Grammy record after leading nominations with 9

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Beyonce has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon: The star singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her tied ” with her husband Jay-Z ” as the most nominated music act in the history of the awards show.

    Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” reeled in record and song of the year nominations, while “Renaissance”  which ventured into the world of dancehall music — netted an album of the year nod.

    With Jay-Z also earning five nods this year, each spouse now holds the record for the most-ever Grammy nominations at 88 apiece. Kendrick Lamar came away with the second-most nominations, with eight. Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven nods.

    Harry Styles, Mary J Blige, Future, DJ Khaled, The-Dream and mastering engineer Randy Merrill each picked up six.

    Nearly half of this year’s leading nominees — announced by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, John Legend, Machine Gun Kelly and Smokey Robinson — are women and more than half are people of colour, according to the recording academy.

    The ceremony will be held February 5 here.

    “This makes me feel very proud, but it makes me conscious of the fact that we have to maintain the work we have done,” said Harvey Mason Jr, the Recording Academy’s CEO.

    He said there have been strides in the peer-driven voting system and increased membership, but he still believes more progress can be made.

    “This year, I’m pleased with the result and work the voters did,” he continued.

    “We have almost 13,000 voters now. I’m pleased to think they spent the time listening to the music and evaluating it. I think you see by the type of nominations that they are not only going for just popular music or music that has a lot of streams. It’s just music of high quality.”

    The academy added a special song for social change and five new categories including songwriter of the year, which Harvey says will further help diversify the 65th edition of the annual awards.

    The non-classical songwriter category will recognise one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year.

    It will take a different approach than the song of the year, which awards the songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.

    Harvey said implementing the songwriter’s category is a ‘significant’ step forward for the music industry.

    Last year, a rule update allowed any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on a work nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination.

    “The academy and voters are placing a high importance on the craft of songwriting,” Harvey said of the new category, in which nominees include The-Dream, Amy Allen, Nija Charles, Tobias Jesso Jr and Laura Veltz.

    “Personally, as a songwriter, I’m happy to see it being a significant part of our process. We realize that songwriting is at the heart of our industry. It’s one of the building blocks for every artist’s career.”

    Harvey said it’s his priority to earn the trust of the music community including The Weeknd and Drake, who are still unwilling to submit any of their music.

    Drake declined to submit his album “Honestly Nevermind” for the awards, but the Canadian rapper still received four nominations — including album of the year for his co-writing efforts on Beyonce’s —Renaissance.

    “Anything that has been looked at and talked about in the past, we’re going to continue to look at it and improve it,” Harvey said.

    “As we do that work, our hope is that all artists feel comfortable and confident with the work the academy does.”

    Beyonce, the most decorated woman in Grammy history with 28 wins, could break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record for most awards won if she wins four awards.

    Solti, who has 31 Grammys, has held on to the record since 1997. For the first time in Beyonce’s lauded career, she was nominated in the dance category.

    Her seventh studio project is up for best dance-electronic music album and ‘Break My Soul’ is nominated for best dance-electronic recording.

    Other nominations include best R&B song for ‘Cuff It’, R&B performance for ‘Virgo’s Groove’, traditional R&B performance for ‘Plastic Off the Sofa’ and song written for visual media for ‘Be Alive,’ the Oscar-nominated song from the ‘King Richard’ soundtrack.

    Other album of the year nominees include: Adele’s -30, ABBA’s -Voyage, Bad Bunny’s -Un Verano Sin Ti, Mary J.Blige’s -Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Carlile’s -In These Silent Days, Coldplay’s -Music of the Spheres, Lamar’s -Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lizzo’s – Special and Styles’ -Harry’s House.

    Bad Bunny made history, with his album becoming the first sung entirely in Spanish to compete in the category.

    Tracks competing with “Break My Soul” for record of the year include Styles’ “As It Was”, Doja Cat’s -Woman, Adele’s – Easy On Me, ABBA’s -Don’t Shut Me Down, Blige’s -Good Morning Gorgeous, Steve Lacy’s -Bad Habit, Lamar’s -The Heart Part 5, Lizzo’s -About Damn Time and Carlile’s -You and Me On the Rock- featuring Lucius.

    Three of Jay-Z’s nominations came through DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” a song featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend and Friday.

    The track is up for best rap performance and rap song along with a song of the year, which also has Jay-Z nominated for his writing efforts on Beyonce’s “Break My Soul”.

    The rapper also received a nod for album of the year for his work on his wife’s ‘Renaissance’ album.

    Young Thug and Gunna both received nominations despite being currently locked up in a racketeering criminal case.

    The rappers are up for best rap song and rap performance through Gunna’s ‘pushin P, featuring Thug and Future.

    Christina Aguilera’s comeback to Latin music with her self-titled album earned her two nominations for best Latin pop album and immersive audio album.

    Among the 10 nominees for best new artist are Muni Long, Latto and Eurovision winner Maneskin.

    LOS ANGELES: Beyonce has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon: The star singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her tied ” with her husband Jay-Z ” as the most nominated music act in the history of the awards show.

    Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” reeled in record and song of the year nominations, while “Renaissance”  which ventured into the world of dancehall music — netted an album of the year nod.

    With Jay-Z also earning five nods this year, each spouse now holds the record for the most-ever Grammy nominations at 88 apiece. Kendrick Lamar came away with the second-most nominations, with eight. Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven nods.

    Harry Styles, Mary J Blige, Future, DJ Khaled, The-Dream and mastering engineer Randy Merrill each picked up six.

    Nearly half of this year’s leading nominees — announced by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, John Legend, Machine Gun Kelly and Smokey Robinson — are women and more than half are people of colour, according to the recording academy.

    The ceremony will be held February 5 here.

    “This makes me feel very proud, but it makes me conscious of the fact that we have to maintain the work we have done,” said Harvey Mason Jr, the Recording Academy’s CEO.

    He said there have been strides in the peer-driven voting system and increased membership, but he still believes more progress can be made.

    “This year, I’m pleased with the result and work the voters did,” he continued.

    “We have almost 13,000 voters now. I’m pleased to think they spent the time listening to the music and evaluating it. I think you see by the type of nominations that they are not only going for just popular music or music that has a lot of streams. It’s just music of high quality.”

    The academy added a special song for social change and five new categories including songwriter of the year, which Harvey says will further help diversify the 65th edition of the annual awards.

    The non-classical songwriter category will recognise one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year.

    It will take a different approach than the song of the year, which awards the songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.

    Harvey said implementing the songwriter’s category is a ‘significant’ step forward for the music industry.

    Last year, a rule update allowed any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on a work nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination.

    “The academy and voters are placing a high importance on the craft of songwriting,” Harvey said of the new category, in which nominees include The-Dream, Amy Allen, Nija Charles, Tobias Jesso Jr and Laura Veltz.

    “Personally, as a songwriter, I’m happy to see it being a significant part of our process. We realize that songwriting is at the heart of our industry. It’s one of the building blocks for every artist’s career.”

    Harvey said it’s his priority to earn the trust of the music community including The Weeknd and Drake, who are still unwilling to submit any of their music.

    Drake declined to submit his album “Honestly Nevermind” for the awards, but the Canadian rapper still received four nominations — including album of the year for his co-writing efforts on Beyonce’s —Renaissance.

    “Anything that has been looked at and talked about in the past, we’re going to continue to look at it and improve it,” Harvey said.

    “As we do that work, our hope is that all artists feel comfortable and confident with the work the academy does.”

    Beyonce, the most decorated woman in Grammy history with 28 wins, could break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record for most awards won if she wins four awards.

    Solti, who has 31 Grammys, has held on to the record since 1997. For the first time in Beyonce’s lauded career, she was nominated in the dance category.

    Her seventh studio project is up for best dance-electronic music album and ‘Break My Soul’ is nominated for best dance-electronic recording.

    Other nominations include best R&B song for ‘Cuff It’, R&B performance for ‘Virgo’s Groove’, traditional R&B performance for ‘Plastic Off the Sofa’ and song written for visual media for ‘Be Alive,’ the Oscar-nominated song from the ‘King Richard’ soundtrack.

    Other album of the year nominees include: Adele’s -30, ABBA’s -Voyage, Bad Bunny’s -Un Verano Sin Ti, Mary J.Blige’s -Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Carlile’s -In These Silent Days, Coldplay’s -Music of the Spheres, Lamar’s -Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lizzo’s – Special and Styles’ -Harry’s House.

    Bad Bunny made history, with his album becoming the first sung entirely in Spanish to compete in the category.

    Tracks competing with “Break My Soul” for record of the year include Styles’ “As It Was”, Doja Cat’s -Woman, Adele’s – Easy On Me, ABBA’s -Don’t Shut Me Down, Blige’s -Good Morning Gorgeous, Steve Lacy’s -Bad Habit, Lamar’s -The Heart Part 5, Lizzo’s -About Damn Time and Carlile’s -You and Me On the Rock- featuring Lucius.

    Three of Jay-Z’s nominations came through DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” a song featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend and Friday.

    The track is up for best rap performance and rap song along with a song of the year, which also has Jay-Z nominated for his writing efforts on Beyonce’s “Break My Soul”.

    The rapper also received a nod for album of the year for his work on his wife’s ‘Renaissance’ album.

    Young Thug and Gunna both received nominations despite being currently locked up in a racketeering criminal case.

    The rappers are up for best rap song and rap performance through Gunna’s ‘pushin P, featuring Thug and Future.

    Christina Aguilera’s comeback to Latin music with her self-titled album earned her two nominations for best Latin pop album and immersive audio album.

    Among the 10 nominees for best new artist are Muni Long, Latto and Eurovision winner Maneskin.

  • K-pop megastars BTS on ‘hiatus’, here’s all we know

    BTS have been called “icons of progressive globalism” and have been said to embody the 21st century zeitgeist, but at heart, they're just entertainers.

  • Taylor Swift says she ‘would love’ to direct a feature film 

    By PTI

    NEW YORK:  Following the screening of her short film “All Too Well” at the 2022 Tribeca Festival, pop star Taylor Swift said she “would love” to direct a full-fledged feature film.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, the multiple Grammy winner attended the film gala on Saturday to promote the 10-minute short she directed based on her song of the same name which was released as part of her 2012 album ‘Red’.

    “It would be so fantastic to write and direct a feature. I don’t see it being bigger in terms of scale. I loved making a film that was so intimate with a group that was really small and a really solid group of people that I trusted,” Swift said during a discussion with director Mike Mills.

    The singer-songwriter also opened up about the process of making her short film “All Too Well”, saying it “started with meddling”. She said she started writing elaborate treatments for her videos and “outsourcing the directing” about a decade ago.

    “It felt very natural to extend writing a song and visualising it in my head to making a shot list and storyboarding it and picking who we wanted as the head of each department and who would help put all of this puzzle together,” Swift, who has also directed the music videos for her songs “Cardigan” and “Willow”, said.

    The 32-year-old singer said she began directing “almost out of necessity” on “The Man”, the song from her 2019 studio album ‘Lover’.

    “My first instinct was to write the treatment, send it out. I wanted a female director to direct it. And all of my favourite female directors were booked and busy, which is great. We love that. That’s fantastic. So I just figured maybe I could do it? I found it incredibly fulfilling.”

     She also addressed the challenges faced by female filmmakers. “I’m also extremely aware of my privilege when it comes to being a female filmmaker because I was able to finance this film myself.”

    “I have to constantly be aware that, as much as it’s a constant challenge for me to be doing something new, I also understand that it’s still extremely hard for women to make films, and I am always keeping an eye on that reality,” she added. The Tribeca Film Festival closes June 19.

  • Grammys add new categories, including songwriter of the year

    By Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES: The Grammys are adding a special song for social change award and five new categories including songwriter of the year, giving the Recording Academy an avenue to honour music’s best composer.

    The academy announced Thursday that the new non-classical songwriter category will recognize one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year. The category is taking a different approach than song of the year, which awards the songwriter or songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song.

    “This new category is truly for an expert person at the songwriting craft,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr told The Associated Press. Songwriters must have written a minimum of five songs in which they are credited “solely” as a songwriter or co-writer.

    “Somebody who writes their own music and records it would not be eligible,” he said. “They would have to be doing songs for others. We want to highlight the craft of writing songs professionally for artists.”

    “Songwriters are at the heart of our business and industry,” he said. “Nothing happens without songwriters. For us, this was a no brainer. It’s in alignment with all the changes. We thought, ‘How can we do more? Showcase more people and be more inclusive to different genres?’”

    The new category is another huge step for songwriters. Last year, a rule update allowed that any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on an album nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination.

    The four other categories include best-spoken word poetry album, alternative music performance, Americana music performance and score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media.

    The academy created a special merit award that determines best song for social change. The award will be based on lyrical content that addresses a timely social issue and promotes “understanding, peacebuilding and empathy.”

    “It’s always the right time to recognize music that’s changing the world,” he said. “I think it deserves a special recognition. These songs are important and impactful. We want to make sure we’re honoring and celebrating that artform. This is a great way to do that.”

    Mason said it was yearlong process of accepting proposals to make changes, additions and updates from music creators and professionals that make up the membership body.

  • Grammy winner Ricky Kej’s jibe on ‘Brand India’ stirs controversy

    By IANS

    BENGALURU: Two-time Grammy-winning music composer Ricky Kej’s jibe on ‘Brand India’ while criticising the immigration process at KempeGowda International Airport in Bengaluru stirred controversy on Sunday.

    Ricky had tweeted, “How are we expected to build ‘brand India’ if this is the welcome that everyone gets by the airports. The first impression of India for foreign travelers.”

    Following the mixed response and criticism for his tweet posted at 3 am, Ricky questioned on Twitter again later on Sunday that why not try and be among the best?

    Ricky stated “I see a lot of comments naming some other country immigration as being worse than Bengaluru. Our mindset needs to change. We are comfortable with ourselves if we are not the worst! Haha…We pat our backs if we manage to be second to worst. Why not try and be among the best?”

    Earlier Ricky had taken the authorities to task in his series of tweets. “Pathetic state of immigration at the Bengaluru International Airport. Been in line for over an hour now. Currently well over 1,000 people are waiting, not all counters working, staff is clueless, inefficient at Bengaluru airport. Why have so many flights when there is no capacity?” Ricky questioned.

    “Number of lines to enter Bengaluru, India at Bengaluru Airport, Air Suvidha check; immigration; check if immigration stamp is accurate (not joking this is another line); baggage screening- customs; collecting bags; customs may do additional screening,” he had listed out. He also suggested that “steps can be reduced.”

    Reacting to his tweet, Uttam Solanki questioned, “You can’t put something on social media and bad mouth brand India. As a responsible citizen you could have walked up to Bangalore airport authorities or management and put up your case. Can’t generalise it for the whole India. Why not put up experience with Mumbai or Delhi airports?”

    Free Speech K asked him if these are exempt in developed nations – immigration, baggage screening- customs, collecting bags, customs may do additional screening – just asking, he said.

    Sudeendra Gokulnath, wrote “saar, something goes wrong. You will tweet for that also.

    “Security and process lapse at BIAL.”

    CVA Puppala said, “Get well soon. All countries immigration is more or less the same.”

  • BTS announces new album, to be out on June 10

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: South Korean music group BTS will release their new album on June 10, their management agency BigHit Music announced Sunday.

    The development of the new album comes as BTS complete their ‘Permission to Dance On Stage’ tour at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, US.

    BigHit Music took to Weverse, the global fan community forum, to share the news. “BTS will be back with another new album on June 10, 2022,” the agency said in a statement. Details on the new album will be provided in a separate notice at a later date, they added. “We look forward to your love and support for BTS’ new album,” BigHit said.

    The official BTS Twitter page also dropped an announcement teaser covering the journey of the band that started in 2013.

    The 50-second-long video flashed ‘WE ARE BULLETPROOF’ and ‘2022.6.10’ towards the end of the clip. Many members of the ARMY, the fan group of the Grammy-nominated band, took to social media and asked if the name of the new album was ‘WE ARE BULLETPROOF’.

    [공지] #BTS (+ENG/JPN/CHN)https://t.co/Pxb2rZbyCc pic.twitter.com/qkuPPA4cmx
    — BTS_official (@bts_bighit) April 17, 2022
    BTS released the song “We Are Bulletproof: Part 2” in 2013 and followed it up with “We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal”, as a continuation of the previous track.

    The septet, comprising RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, released their last album ‘BE’ in December 2020. Post ‘BE’, BTS released two back-to-back English singles “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” in May and July 2021, respectively.

    They were nominated for the second time for the best pop duo/ group performance Grammy for “Butter”, but lost out to Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More”.