Did you miss the latest Kanye West drama? Do you need to know which concerts to hit up this week? Catch up with the latest music news with this week’s On the Radar.
Kayne West expresses Trump support (again); loses 10 million followers
Oh, here we go again. Kanye West’s latest antics haven’t slowed down, but this time he may have overdone Last week, Yeezy took to Twitter to defend his support of Donald Trump. He wrote “You don’t have to agree with [Trump] but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”
In response, Trump tweeted “Thank you, Kanye, very cool.” Then West posted a photo of his MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat signed by Trump. Shortly afterward, over 10 million of West’s fans unfollowed him on Twitter. Many of his peers also criticized West for his actions.
Janelle Monae said “I believe in free thinking, but I don’t believe in free thinking if it’s rooted in, or at the expense of the oppressed. If your free thinking is used as fuel by oppressors to continue to oppress black people, minorities, I think it’s bullshit and it’s not OK.” Snoop Dogg responded with “That’s mighty white of u Kanye” and Ice T said “This shit is outta control..I’M DONE.” You can see the whole ugly mess unfold on Twitter.
ABBA reunites for new music and tour
The original members of ABBA have announced they are reuniting to record new music for the first time in 35 years. The band released a press statement last Friday revealing they recently recorded two new songs. The new music will be featured on ABBA’s upcoming hologram tour.
The holographic version of ABBA will make their debut on a television special where they’ll also perform one of their new songs titled “I Have Faith in You.” The special will air on NBC and BBC in December.
New Prince album slated for September release
The Prince estate is opening up the vaults! Last week, Tory Carter and his company Atom Factory – the caretakers of Prince’s estate – revealed a new album featuring previously unreleased material will be released September 28. During an interview with Variety, Carter provided details about the upcoming release saying “Michael Howe, who’s been working with us on the archive, has done a tremendous job of finding some special pieces of work, and one of the pieces that he found, all of us fell in love with it and decided this was special enough for fans to hear. So we’re putting the final touches on it—it’ll come in the fall.”
Prior to that, the estate shared the original, unreleased version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and launched two new websites. One is a deep look into his discography and includes rare pictures, videos, and lots of information. The other is dubbed “Prince2me” a place where fans can share their memories of the musician. Prince’s memoir is also slated to be released later this year.
Upcoming Shows
Jessie Ware hits up The Vic on Monday, April 30. Make sure you get your tickets.
Catch Minus the Bear with The Coathangers at the House of Blues Friday, May 4. Get tickets here.
You don’t want to miss Love Jam 2018 featuring Xscape, K. Michelle and Lyfe Jennings. It all goes down May 5 at the UIC Pavilion. Grab tickets here.
DJ Kygo brings his Kids in Love Tour to the United Center on May 5. You still have a chance to get tickets here.
Chicago Artist Spotlight: PEEL
There’s a lot of amazing punk acts making waves in Chicago and PEEL are the latest rockers on the rise. Featuring Kyle Hickey, Pete Mueller, Dave Stach, and Jake Anderson, the band burst on to the scene with their debut album Marlboro Country in 2016. But the band really found their sound and crafted their style on 2017’s Goes Bananas. This release helped them gain major notoriety in the local scene. Soon after they began supporting bigger acts, which helped them grow their dedicated fanbase.
Instead of taking a break, the band is back again with their latest EP, Never Not Dead, which dropped last week. Featuring five new tracks the effort was recorded by Dave Vettraino at Chicago’s Jamdeck Studios. It was then sent off to Brooklyn for mixing and mastering by Bobby Lord. Check out their latest single “Wet Work” and try to resist the heavy riffs, brutal percussion, and the energetic vibe. Grab a copy of the EP here and make sure to follow PEEL on their Facebook for the latest updates.