Tag: music

Conservatives, NDP want to know if Liberals ‘lied’ about Irish bands entry ban

The immigration minister faces growing opposition pressure to clarify if Irish hip-hop group Kneecap is banned from Canada, following a since-dismissed UK terrorism charge.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s immigration critic, urged Immigration Minister Lena Diab on Thursday to confirm whether the group is banned, after officials repeatedly refused to answer for almost two weeks.

This follows Conservative demands for a clear explanation from Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, who made the announcement but has not yet clarified his reasoning.

On September 19, Gasparro denied Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh entry over legal troubles abroad. It’s unclear if the ban still stands.

The band states it has not received official notice of an entry ban or visa denial, according to media reports.

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Bodies found in Mexico may be missing Colombian musicians

Mexican authorities have recovered two bodies that match the description of the Colombian musicians reported missing a week ago in the country, the prosecutor’s office in the state of Mexico said on Monday.

Forensic tests were underway to obtain official confirmation of the identities of the deceased, the prosecutor’s office said.

Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that local authorities were investigating the whereabouts of reggaeton artist Bayron Sanchez, known as B-King, and Jorge Herrera, a DJ who performed under the name Regio Clown, after Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested Sheinbaum’s aid in locating them.

In a social media post on Monday afternoon, Petro appeared to confirm the musicians’ deaths by sharing a news article saying their bodies were found, blaming an “international mafia” that he said had been strengthened by the “war on drugs.”

“More young people killed by an anti-drug policy that is not an anti-drug policy,” Petro wrote.

On Sunday, the prosecutor’s office in Mexico City, which borders the state of Mexico, said the two artists were last seen on September 16 in Polanco, a high-end neighborhood in the Mexican capital.

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Mamdani for years used July 4 to promote self-styled ‘Taliban’ rapper who ‘worshipped’ 9/11 hijacker

New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani for years marked the Fourth of July by sharing a photo of a rap group that is infamous for its glorification of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and for its praise for one of the 9/11 hijackers.

Mamdani wished his social media followers a “Happy 4th” on Independence Day in 2021, 2023, and 2024 — less than one year before the failed rapper and socialist activist became the Democratic Party’s nominee — in tweets accompanied by a picture from a music video of the two lead singers of the controversial rap group called The Diplomats (also known as Dipset), who were famous — and infamous — for some of their pro-terrorism-tinged lyrics.

Mamdani, a longtime rap aficionado who took a largely unsuccessful stab at being a rapper himself, has tweeted “Happy 4th” exactly four times — sharing the picture of the pro-terrorist Dipset rap group on the Fourth of July in 2021, 2023, and 2024 — and then, only after becoming the Democratic nominee, sent out a much more anodyne, standard-fare, politician-style tweet in 2025 wishing his followers “Happy 4th” featuring pictures from a Democratic Club BBQ held in Queens.

Rappers “worship” ringleader of 9/11 hijackings that murdered almost 3,000 people

The Harlem-based rap group’s own lyrics from the 2003 album that Mamdani repeatedly promoted describe the hip-hop collective as the “Dipset Taliban”, “Harlem’s own Taliban”, and “Harlem’s Al-Qaeda” and described the group’s songs as “9/11 music” — while one of the group’s main singers compared himself favorably to Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and declared in a song that “I worship the prophet” Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the 19 terrorist hijackers on 9/11 and who piloted American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

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Musicians Vs. Machines: First Ever Record Contract to AI Music Creator Prompts Panic, Protest

When pop groups and rock bands practice or perform, they rely on their guitars, keyboards and drumsticks to make music. Oliver McCann, a British AI music creator who goes by the stage name imoliver, fires up his chatbot.

McCann’s songs span a range of genres, from indie-pop to electro-soul to country-rap. There’s just one crucial difference between McCann and traditional musicians.

“I have no musical talent at all,” he said. “I can’t sing, I can’t play instruments, and I have no musical background at all.”

McCann, 37, who has a background as a visual designer, started experimenting with AI to see if it could boost his creativity and “bring some of my lyrics to life.” Last month, he signed with independent record label Hallwood Media after one of his tracks racked up 3 million streams, in what’s billed as the first time a music label has inked a contract with an AI music creator.

McCann is an example of how ChatGPT-style AI song generation tools like Suno and Udio have spawned a wave of synthetic music. A movement most notably highlighted by a fictitious group, Velvet Sundown, that went viral even though all its songs, lyrics and album art were created by AI.

It fueled debate about AI’s role in music while raising fears about “AI slop” — automatically generated low quality mass produced content. It also cast a spotlight on AI song generators that are democratizing song making but threaten to disrupt the music industry.

Experts say generative AI is set to transform the music world. However, there are scant details, so far, on how it’s impacting the $29.6 billion global recorded music market, which includes about $20 billion from streaming.

The most reliable figures come from music streaming service Deezer, which estimates that 18% of songs uploaded to its platform every day are purely AI generated, though they only account for a tiny amount of total streams, hinting that few people are actually listening. Other, bigger streaming platforms like Spotify haven’t released any figures on AI music.

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“Whites Can’t Invent Anything!” – Joy Reid Says White People Stole Ideas and Inventions From Blacks

Former MSNBC host Joy Reid went on another hate-filled rant and trashed white people during her chat with far-left ‘journalist’ Wajahat Ali.

Reid was fired as the host of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” in February.

Joy Reid said white people can’t invent anything so they had to steal ideas from blacks.

This is just laughable.

“We black folk gave y’all country music, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, rock and roll. They couldn’t even invent that,” Joy Reid said.

“But they have to call a white man “The King” because they couldn’t make rock and roll,” Joy Reid said attacking Elvis.

“So they have to stamp “The King” on a man whose main song was stolen from an overweight black woman,” she said of Elvis’s hit “Hound Dog.”

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NEW MERCH SHOP!!!

After being extremely dis-satisfied with the previous incarnations of the Merch Shop and Merch Vault, we decided to give Fourthwall a try! Too many weird censorship trips and overall crappy service over at the other places. One platform deplatformed us after posting a single design.

In other words, we’ve been busy, Gentle Readers, but I think it was worth it…

Without furth ado, we present to you the Hellbound and Down Merch Shop…

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

New designs, lower prices and much more!

We’re going to be adding even more designs in the upcoming daze…er…days, so keep checking back!

Finally, if there’s any merchandise you would like to see, drop us a line hellboundndown@protonmail.com.

And don’t forget to visit our Youtube Channel for more Music like the playlist on this curiously curated website…and if you haven’t yet listened, give it a try or check out one of our themed playlists.

Don’t forget to drop us a line. We’d love to hear what you think.

Senators Blackburn, Warnock team up on bill to give entertainment industry some tax relief

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Raphael Warnock are usually on opposite sides of the aisle, but they are teaming up on a bill that would give the entertainment industry some tax relief.

The Creative Relief and Expensing for Audio and Television Enterprises Act, dubbed CREATE, would extend a $150,000 tax credit for production expenses incurred by entertainers, singers and songwriters through 2030. The credit is set to expire at the end of the year with an extension from Congress.

“Thousands of singers and songwriters call Tennessee home, and they should be able to write off recording production expenses that are critical to their work,” said Blackburn a Tennessee Republican. “The CREATE Act would support creators and keep America’s music industry strong by ensuring they can still count on this tax relief.”

Georgia has become a hub for filming television series and movies. More than 550 productions were made in Georgia in the past three years, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. During fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, film and television productions spent $2.3 billion.

“From productions like The Color Purple, to The Hunger Games, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Georgia has become a national leader in the arts and entertainment industry,” said Warnock, a Georgia Democrat. “Our continued investments in incentivizing domestic production for film, television, and music benefit our culture and our economy.”

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Massive Attack announce alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza

Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap have announced the formation of a syndicate for artists speaking out about Israel’s military assault on Gaza, who they say have been subjected to “aggressive, vexatious campaigns” by pro-Israel advocates.

Posting on Instagram, the musicians said their aim was to protect other artists, particularly those at early stages of their careers, from being “threatened into silence or career cancellation” by organisations such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

UKLFI reported the band Bob Vylan to the police for leading a chant of “death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” during their Glastonbury set and officers are investigating. It also reported the BBC for broadcasting the set. Bob Vylan have subsequently had several scheduled appearances cancelled after UKLFI sent letters.

Mo Chara of Kneecap was charged with a terrorism offence, accused of displaying a flag at a gig in support of the banned organisation Hezbollah after being reported to the police by UKLFI. Kneecap also had gigs cancelled after interventions by UKLFI.

While those actions were made public, UKLFI is also believed to have contacted other musicians, people and organisations connected with them without publicising the fact.

The post shared by Eno and others on Instagram says: “The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there and the role of the UK government in facilitating it.

“We’re aware of the scale of aggressive, vexatious campaigns operated by UKLFI and of multiple individual incidences of intimidation within the music industry itself, designed solely to censor and silence artists from speaking their hearts and minds.

“Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won’t stand by and allow other artists – particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability – to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.”

They encourage other artists to contact them to make a collective stand on demands including an immediate and permanent ceasefire, immediate unfettered access to Gaza for recognised aid agencies and an end to UK arms sales and licences to Israel.

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BEYOND PARODY: The Steve Miller Band Cancels All Remaining Tour Dates Due to Climate Change

The classic rock group known as the Steve Miller Band has announced that they are canceling all remaining dates on their current tour because of the weather, or more specifically, the ‘extreme’ weather conditions brought about by climate change.

Rock and roll just isn’t what it used to be, apparently.

The group made the announcement on Twitter/X.

Variety reports:

Steve Miller Band Cancels All Tour Dates Due to Recent Weather Disasters

The calamitous weather of recent years has taken many lives, caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage and is changing the climate and economies of countries all over the globe. But the Steve Miller Band’s 2025 North American tour may be the first to be canceled due to the ongoing trend of climate change-inducted weather disasters, rather than any single event.

The band has canceled all 31 scheduled dates of its American tour, which was slated to begin Aug. 15 in Bethel, NY and traverse the entire country before concluding in Anaheim, Calif. on Nov. 8.

The band made the announcement in a straightforward tone familiar to fans of the 81-year-old veteran singer, songwriter and guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, whose career stretches back to the mid-1960s and has released such classic rock anthems as “The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Jet Airliner,” “Take the Money and Run” and many more.

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