Tag: #MuteRKelly

NEWS ROUNDUP: Alice Glass, YouTube & More

Alice Glass, YouTube & More

By Jasmine Williams

The Indomitable Ms. Alice

Thanks to #MuteRKelly the #MeToo floodgates have opened in the music industry with more stories of rampant sexual abuse and harassment coming out every day. Just this week, allegations surfaced against Dee Dee Warwick and Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band. While it feels daunting to read more and more about disturbing abuses of power, there is a silver lining. Victims are finally being taken more seriously and with everything coming to the surface, the tides may finally be changing.

Case in point – Alice Glass. Last October, the ex-Crystal Castles front woman authored a blog post accusing her former bandmate Ethan Kath of almost a decade of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. In response, Kath attempted to  sue for defamation, calling Glass’ allegations “pure fiction.” His case was thrown out in February, in part because of Glass’ legal team’s citing of anti-SLAPP legislation.

Recently, Kath tried to re-open his defamation case and lost, again! Yesterday, Glass revealed that a judge denied Kath’s appeal. Glass’ statements are protected under the First Amendment right to free speech; she and her lawyer, Vicki Greco, were also able to prove that her comments were made in the public interest. Glass was also awarded $20,000 in damages for her legal fees.

It will be interesting to see if the Crystal Castles cases create a precedent for similar situations such as Gaslamp Killer’s case. The producer has filed a defamation suit against two women who alleged that he drugged and raped them in 2013.

The Stream Team

YouTube is throwing its hat in to the streaming ring. YouTube music will launch in several countries, including the United States on May 22nd. The video giant’s global head of music Lyor Cohen is on a publicity tour ahead of the launch. He sat down with NPR to discuss the future of YouTube and his hopes and fears for the industry. Cohen made his name with Def Jam and 300 Entertainment and has long been a controversial figure in the industry. Only last month he was accused of flashing a white power symbol in a photo with a MAGA-hat-wearing, Kanye West. Cohen maintains that his hand gesture has long been associated with 300 Entertainment.

That New New

Courtney Barnett’s new album is out today! Tell Me How You Really Feel is a more personal follow-up to 2015’s Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. Christine and the Queens is also back this week, she rolled out a new track called “Girlfriend.” Mitski also gave us a new single, as well as a video. She calls “Geyser” one of her “vaguest songs.” Lindsay Jordan of Snail Mail released the song, “Let’s Find An Out,” this week. The nineteen-year-old is getting lots of love in the media lately. She was recently profiled in The New York Times and W Magazine.  Disclosure fans got a gift this week – the brothers just released the six-minute track, “Ultimatum.” Australian duo Kllo dropped “Potential,” their first single since their 2017 debut album.

For more new music, check out recent Audiofemme features on Knotts and Maria Taylor.

End Notes:

  • Issa Rae has partnered with AfroPunk on a contest to find new music for her hit (amazing) series, Insecure.
  • Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” is number one on Billboard this week. His video also surpassed 100 million views. His choreographer celebrated the milestone by posting a dance tutorial of the routines in the clip.
  • This week in random Kanye tweets, the Trump apologist rapper showed some love for the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Christina Aguilera Returns, Time’s Up for R. Kelly & More

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Christina Aguilera, shot by Zoey Grossman for Paper Magazine.

Christina, Time’s Up For R. Kelly & More

By Jasmine Williams

Early noughties preteens, rejoice – Xtina is back! Yesterday, the Stripped singer announced the release date and tracklist of her upcoming album, Liberation. While the LP won’t come out until June 15th, the first official single just dropped yesterday with a clip that features the new, natural, Christina. Produced by Kanye, Aguilera’s “Accelerate” is the only positive thing we’ve heard from West in weeks!

Despite the fact that R. Kelly has been accused of many disturbing acts of sexual assault, pedophilia, and abuse, the music industry has been disturbingly slow to address the Trapped In The Closet artist’s misconduct. That may finally be changing – this week a grass-roots campaign that has steadily been working to create a widespread of boycott of R. Kelly gained additional traction with the help of some Hollywood heavyweights.

The #MuteRKelly campaign was started last July by Oronike Odeleye, an Atlanta Arts Administrator. Since the movement’s start, ten R.Kelly concerts have been cancelled. On Monday, women of color members of the Time’s Up movement put their considerable influence behind #MuteRKelly when they penned an open letter asking organizations (including Spotify and Apple) to boycott R. Kelly. He is currently represented by RCA Records, a division of Sony.

Read the full letter here and find out how you can help #MuteRKelly here.

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Director Ava Duvernay expressed her support for Time’s Up letter to boycott R. Kelly.

That New New

Princess Nokia dropped a new video yesterday. “For The Night” comes from her recent mixtape, A Girl Cried Red. Florence + The Machine announced that their highly anticipated followup to 2011’s Ceremonials will drop on June 29th. They just released “Hunger,” the second single off of the album. Dirty Projectors released “Break-Thru” a new video off of their upcoming album. Lamp Lit Prose is out July 13th and the band embarks on a massive support tour this summer. My Bloody Valentine, Angel Olsen, Raphael Saadiq, Death Cab for Cutie, Father John Misty, and Audiofemme favorite, Wax Idols, will also hit the road soon.


End Notes

  • NPR got the lowdown on the most random collaboration in recent memory. Hear Sting & Shaggy talk about their recent reggae-influenced album, 44/876, here.
  • BRIC has announced the lineup for their free concert series, Celebrate Brooklyn!
  • Rapper Meek Mill, who was freed from prison only last month, spoke openly about his opioid addiction and called for criminal justice reform at a press conference in Philly this week.

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