Watch Latin American Music Awards Joe LaPorta understands the fast-paced nature of rap music. “[When I left New York University], the industry was completely different,” says the 44-year-old mastering engineer who has worked with everyone from Imagine Dragons to Miley Cyrus to, most recently, Future and Metro Boomin. “It was still a physical medium. There […]

Watch Latin American Music Awards This week in dance music: We talked to current Billboard cover star Peggy Gou about her ascent and forthcoming debut album, we talked numbers with Steve Aoki, we learned the value of the global dance music industry in 2023 amid IMS Ibiza and we saw Dua Lipa make history over on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news And of course, we heard fresh music. These are the best new dance projects of the week. HYPERBEAM, “Okay Fine” [embedded content] Hyperbeam, the collaborative project from Australian producer Odd Mob and L.A.-based artist Omnom, releases its debut EP today via Insomniac Records. The Unexplained is a four-track amalgamation of tech house and bass house that’s steeped in a generally ravey late night vibe, which will surely work wel during the duo’s upcoming sets at festival’s including EDC Las Vegas, Hangout Fest, Ubbi Dubbi, The Concourse Project and Electric Forest. The previously released “All Day, All Night” and “Mind Awake, Body Asleep” have both become scene hits, with the equally hypnotic “Okay Fine” likely to become the same. Justice, Hyperdrama [embedded content] After months of hype, along with debut of a new live show at Coachella earlier this month and a Billboard cover story preceding it, the fourth studio album from Justice has arrived via the duo’s longtime label, Ed Banger Records. The French duo’s first studio album since 2016 — “Because the album cycle is so long every time, we’re both like, ‘OK, is there going to be anybody that’s still interested?’” the pair’s Augé jokingly told us — Hyperdrama is an often intense, sometimes lightly psychedelic and altogether satisfying 13 track collection that contains elements of classic Justice while also pushing their catalog forward into a kaleidoscopic future. The album includes high-caliber collaborators like Miguel, Thundercat, Conan Moccasin and Kevin Parker, with the latter artist appearing on the album’s lead single “One Night/All Night” and the just-out “Neverender” — a gliding, punchy, lightly psychedelic melody-forward production on which the Australian singer-producer’s voice takes on the same string quality as the disco stabs the track is structured from. salute & Rina Sawayama, “saving flowers” [embedded content] Vienna-born, Manchester-based house producer salute — a 2023 Billboard artist to watch — sets the stage for their debut album, True Magic, with the project’s lead single, “Saving Flowers,” a lush jacking house production outfitted with silky vocals from Rina Sawayama. Coming in July via Ninja Tune, salute’s forthcoming album also features Disclosure, Empress Of, Karma Kid, Sam Gellaitry, piri, Léa Sen, LEILAH and Nakamura Minami, with the producer posting up at a house in the English countryside to work with this crew. “In dance music there always seems to be this focus on doing everything yourself,” they say, “but I wanted to get a team around me to develop the ideas I had. One thing I’m really proud of is how organic the work with the collaborators is.” Chris Lake & Sammy Virji, “Summertime Blues” [embedded content] It’s only April, but Chris Lake, British producer Sammy Virji and The Boxer Rebellion vocalist Nathan Nicholson already have the summertime blues. A subtly bumping ode to letting go of the kind of memories that haunt, the track makes an interesting key change in its final phase, like when the summer sun finally burns away everything that’s been bumming you out. “We wanted a drop that felt like the warmth of sunshine and that’s how it makes me feel,” Lake says of the track, which is out via Astralwerks and his own Black Book Records. Kasbo, “Resenären” [embedded content] In our hyperspeed era, seven minutes can feel like an eternity. We suggest that you stop what you’re doing, close your eyes and devote that amount of time to the latest from Swedish producer Kasbo, who on “Resenären” delivers an emotive and ever-lusher production that doesn’t have vocals but still easily transmits a message of cerebral bliss. “The goal of this track was to take the listener on a journey and take time doing it,” the producer says. “The name ‘Resenären,’ which means ‘the traveler’ in Swedish, sort of speaks to that. With my album theme being centered around slowing down in an ever-accelerating world, I wanted to push that concept and take my time leading up to the final climax with this song. In 7 minutes, it’s the longest one I’ve ever made.” Kasbo’s album, The Learning Of Urgency, is out June 7 via Odesza’s Foreign Family Collective.

Watch Latin American Music Awards In another life, Janet Jackson is one of the O.G. members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in this one, that honor belongs to Halle Berry. The “That’s the Way Love Goes” singer revealed in her Friday (April 26) appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show that she was almost cast […]

Watch Latin American Music Awards Normani might as well be talking to herself on new single “1:59” when she purrs, “don’t talk too much, just do this s–t.” Sure, in the context of the collab with Gunna that dropped on Friday (April 26) the focus is on get-down-to-business pillow talk. But the sexy refrain could just as well be channeling the thoughts of fans who’ve been waiting nearly six years for the former Fifth Harmony star to drop her full-length solo debut since that fateful day in 2018 when she tweeted, “I have my album title y’all.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Just do this s–t!” you can hear them yelling after the string of singles she’s released since leaving FH in 2018, including her Billboard Hot 100 No. 9-charting solo debut with Khalid, “Love Lies.” Then there was her No. 7 2019 collab with Sam Smith on “Dancing With a Stranger,” that year’s irresistible “Motivation” and Charlie’s Angels soundtrack song “Bad To You” with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, as well as songs with Megan Thee Stallion (2020’s “Diamonds”) and Cardi B (2021’s “Wild Side”) and Calvin Harris (2022’s “New to You” with Tinashe and Offset) in the time since. But still, no album… until the singer announced the title in February, Dopamine, and teased the riding-a-rocket-in-a-leather-bikini-cover, and then, on Friday, finally, the release date: June 14. “I know what it’s like to put out music and records that I don’t wholeheartedly believe in. When we were in [Fifth Harmony], we didn’t have the opportunity to have a real opinion until the last project we did,” the singer tells ELLE in a new cover story that details how her plans to release the LP — which at one point was called 1906 for the address of her grandmother’s house where she was raised, then Butterfly Effect — was serially delayed in part due to her parents being diagnosed with cancer; they are both doing better now. Pile on what the profile describes as heartbreak, “intense, unwarranted internet scrutiny” and a fight for creative control early in her career and you can easily understand the delay. “I promised myself, ‘If God gives me another opportunity to do things in my own way, I’m not going to take that for granted,'” she says of the collection described as mixing uptempo dance tracks with songs exploring those struggles during and after 5H’s split. “I think that there’s a false narrative that because of how long this process has taken, that means I don’t care, or that means I’m more interested in doing other things than putting this body of work out. Nobody wants this project to come out more than me. I think that at the end of the day, if I stand behind this wholeheartedly, it doesn’t matter what the world thinks.” To put a finer point on it, she says, “this body of work really is just a representation of my resilience.” One of the key parts of the album cycle so far has been the outpouring of support she got when she announced the album earlier this year, especially from her former 5H bandmates: Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane. “This is a milestone, knowing everything that I went through in order to just get to this point. I wanted to be present in that and not allow any negative comments,” she tells the magazine. “I really wanted to just celebrate myself. In terms of the support from the girls, that’s really full circle, to be quite honest. We were put in very unrealistic circumstances. We did our absolute best with what we had, but I think that it’s really cool to just see everybody prosper. It was cool that that moment [for me] could also be a moment that could bring us all together.” She says the album title is a representation of the “highs and lows” she’s endured, while the rocket-straddling cover feels “energetic… it feels like a hit.” Asked how she feels about the state of women, especially Black women, in music right now, Normani turns to hers, and many others’, north star: Beyoncé. “I want to see more women in charge. I want to see more Black women as chairmen. I want to see more Black women as CEOs,” she says. “I want to see more Black women produce. I know that all of those exist, but it’s just about getting the opportunity and the recognition.” Normani specifically points to Bey “taking over the country space” with her Cowboy Carter album, which she dubs “revolutionary… Those are the types of things that I set out to do. Now you have country artists who look like us coming out and just being like, ‘We’ve always been here.’ I think that it’s educational not only for music lovers, but also in the Black community. We’ve pioneered a lot that we don’t get recognition for. I think that it’s just really cool being able to witness Beyoncé be fearless and do something that is much bigger than herself. That’s honestly what I want to see more of in every single space of the music industry, because we deserve that. I also want to see Black women not have to fight so hard. It gets exhausting. We’re just as brilliant. We have amazing ideas, and our resilience.” Listen to “1:59” below. [embedded content]

HipHopWired Featured Video Source: WWD / Getty / Thandiwe Newton Season 2 of Netflix’s hit original series Wednesday, will boast some serious star power. Variety exclusively reports Thandiwe Newtown is joining the cast of Wednesday. Her role in the megahit show remains a mystery. She is the latest big name joining the show in its second season, joining Steve Buscemi.  Netflix declined to comment on Newton’s hiring, the website reports. Newton is no stranger to the small screen. Her most notable role was on the HBO original series Westworld, which earned her three Emmy nominations for best supporting actress, taking home the award in 2018. She also starred in The Slap, Big Mouth, Human Resources, and Rogue. Regarding the big screen, Newton’s other roles include the polarizing film Crash, Mission Impossible II alongside Tom Cruise, Beloved, The Pursuit of Happyness, and W. Wednesday is a spinoff of The Addams Family that follows the titular character played by Jenna Ortega. In the show, which became a megahit for the streaming network, Wednesday enrolls in Nevermore Academy after a suspension from her previous high school. The plot thickens when Wednesday develops psychic abilities and becomes embroiled in a murder mystery she eventually solves while uncovering secrets about her new school and her parents’ past. The show became one of the most popular series on Netflix, receiving critical praise from critics and fans while earning 12 Emmy nominations. Details on season 2 are scarce except for the news of Ortega’s return. Variety reports production should begin in Ireland in April. Season 2 of Wednesday already sounds like it will be another hit for Netflix.