Wu tang clan album 2017

“Take it as far as you can take it down,” RZA says, flashing a tranquil smile. Nine minutes into a Zoom interview from his Los Angeles home, he’s just taken 10 long seconds to draw a breath deep into his belly. The Wu-Tang Clan founder, record producer, actor, filmmaker, and composer is also an an avid meditator and proponent of healthy-living choices like veganism — and now, he’s become the latest celebrity to partner with the mindfulness app Calm , scoring a 34-minute “Sleep Story” called King of the Sleeping City and narrated by LeBron James. “I say meditation is better than medication,” he says. His approach to peaceful living helps with a busy creative schedule. Two weeks before the Calm drop, he was in Manhattan prepping for a still-unannounced film in which he’ll act, while also putting the finishing touches on the Sleep Story. The music was all written, but it still had to be mixed. “We had some technical glitches, which always come at the final hour,” he says. …

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Leave it to Parquet Courts , the ever-inventive, erudite indie rock outfit, to make a pandemic record before the pandemic. The Brooklyn band’s seventh album, Sympathy for Life , out October 22nd, is a meditation on technology, alienation, and impersonal relationships; masks are a recurring theme, albeit in a more classic psychological sense, but that doesn’t make it feel any less on the nose. The beacon of hope at the end of this morass is salvation through community, with Parquet Courts finding a new road map on the dance floor. “These are all feelings that became exacerbated during the pandemic,” says Austin Brown, one of the band’s two frontmen. “These were things that were always there, just maybe not as blatant or obvious. So I think that’s really interesting, that [this album] tells a kind of timeless story that we’re only now realizing since we’ve had so many of the luxuries of our personal and social lives taken away .” Sympathy for Life, which follows 2018’s …

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Ronnie Tutt, drummer and original member of Elvis Presley ’s TCB Band and the Jerry Garcia Band and a famed session musician who performed alongside Billy Joel , Buckingham Nicks and more, has died at the age of 83. Elvis Presley Enterprises announced Tutt’s death Saturday, writing on the Graceland website , “All of us with Elvis Presley Enterprises were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ronnie Tutt. In addition to being a legendary drummer, he was a good friend to many of us here at Graceland.” No cause of death was provided. “We enjoyed each time he joined us here to celebrate Elvis Week, Elvis’ Birthday and many other special occasions. Ronnie was an amazing ambassador to Elvis’ legacy – sharing his memories of working with Elvis with fans – as well as bringing Elvis’ music to arenas around the globe through later Elvis in Concert shows and performances.” The Dallas-born drummer joined Presley’s famed TCB Band (short for Takin’ Care of Business) …

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Kelly Clarkson has dropped her ninth studio album, When Christmas Comes Around… The 15-track holiday set includes a collaboration with Ariana Grande , “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me.” On the track that captures the holiday spirit with its cheery production, the pair tell Santa to keep the sleigh rides, gifts, and more. “I don’t need a thing/I sent a letter to you/On how to make my dreams come true,” the pair sing. “What I want for Christmas/Hasn’t come and I feel so blue/Tell me what can I do?/Keep the mistletoе…. Santa, can’t you hear me?” The single follows Clarkson’s previously released LP track “ Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You) .” She also teams up with Chris Stapleton for “Glow” and Brett Eldredge on “Under the Mistletoe” on the album. “ When Christmas Comes Around… captures how different the holidays can be for all of us during the varying stages of our lives, and I hope everyone can find something on the record they relate to,” Clarkson said in a statement. …

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Even in casual conversation, Cimafunk can’t help making music. On a Zoom call in Spanish from New Orleans, the Afro-Cuban artist constantly erupts into melodies and impersonations, scatting and singing nearly every chance he gets. When he describes his live shows, he talks about his audience itching to dance: “You start to see them going ta-ta-ta !” he says, breaking into movement. He opens up about his recent collaboration with the rapper Lupe Fiasco, whom he praises for finding the groove in hip-hop “like a machine. He’s like, pikita-pikita-pa-pik !” He excitedly imitates the spontaneous ad-libs that George Clinton flung into their new song, “Funk Aspirin,” nailing the quake of the funk pioneer’s voice: “He threw in lines that were classic George, like, ‘What’s a booty and how will I know if I’m shaking it?’ ” This perpetual showmanship and natural ability to hear music in everything is Cimafunk’s signature. The artist, whose real name is Erik Iglesias Rodriguez, grew …

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St. Louis’ Blueberry Hill was a special place for rock & roll innovator Chuck Berry . Not only did he perform his final show there in 2014, the musician played myriad shows at the restaurant and club in his lifetime. Now, the new live album Live From Blueberry Hill is slated for a December 17th release, featuring performances Berry recorded between July 2005 and January 2006. The album cut “Carol/Little Queenie” drops Monday ahead of the project’s release to coincide with what would have been the late singer’s 95th birthday. Live From Blueberry Hill features 10 tracks recorded with Berry’s Blueberry Hill Band. The handpicked group of performers included his daughter and son Ingrid Berry and Charles Berry Jr. on harmonica and guitar, respectively, as well as bassist Jimmy Marsala, drummer Keith Robinson, and pianist Robert Lohr. The finalized set list varies from covers (T-Bone Walker’s “Mean Old World”) to Berry’s biggest hits, including “Roll Over Beethoven,” …

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A day before Coldplay drop their new album Music of the Spheres , the band has announced a 2022 “sustainable and low-carbon” tour that will bring the new LP to stadiums around the world. The Music of the Spheres Tour — kicking off March 18th, 2022 in Costa Rica — aims to cut direct emissions from Coldplay’s last tour in 2017 by 5%, as well as power each show entirely by renewable, super-low emission energy; that includes installing solar panels at each venue, “kinetic stadium floor and kinetic bikes powered by fans,” and transporting around a mobile, rechargeable show battery to store the energy. “Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. We’ve been planning this tour for years, and we’re super excited to play songs from across our whole time together,” the band said in a statement of the eco-friendly efforts , a collaboration with Live Nation’s sustainability platform Green Nation. “At the same time, we’re very conscious that the …

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Midway through our phone call last week, the musician Oklou abruptly stopped talking. We were discussing the making of her critically-acclaimed EP Galore, which dropped last year, when she suddenly went silent, only to return a few minutes later, laughing. It turns out she stepped away to gaze at the evening sky from her Paris apartment. It must have been a pretty impressive sunset. That sort of romantic whimsy doesn’t come as a surprise, given the sonic landscapes the 28-year-old singer and producer tends to craft with her music. Oklou’s lush and entrancing sound makes for an almost dream-like experience. Last September’s Galore is at once devastating and enchanting — a reflection on the challenging and sometimes confusing gradient of human connection. On the standout track “Fall,” plucky and muffled strings play in the background as Oklou sings about allowing herself to fall in love, despite its inherent risks. “ It’s not a blessing and it’s not a curse/But a …

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Youngboy Never Broke Again was among 16 people arrested Monday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on various drug and firearms charges, local CBS affiliate WAFB 9 reports. According to the the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office website , the rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, faces three charges: possession of a schedule one drug and distribution/manufacturing of schedule two and schedule four drugs. WAFB, however, reported that Gaulden is also facing two firearms charges: felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearms. A representative for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office confirmed the rapper’s arrest but declined to provide specific details about the charges. Representatives for Gaulden declined to comment. However, a lawyer for the rapper, James Manasseh, told WAFB: “Kentrell is not guilty of any crimes. There’s nothing in the report that indicates that he did anything wrong. They arrested several people and there was no indication that he had …

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