The hip-hop world has lost a lot of great people in the last few years. While death is a part of life, that doesn’t make it any less impactful. That is especially the case when the stories are still parts of our lives. One of the men involved in XXXTentacion’s murder was sentenced this week. Furthermore, Pop Smoke’s killer finally confessed last weekend.
Wiz Khalifa has never been afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. That was no more clear than the touching gesture that he incorporated into his set at a recent music festival. He performed at the Sauce Boyz Festival in Puerto Rico last month.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – APRIL 14: Rapper Wiz Khalifa performs onstage during day one of Tortuga Music Festival on April 14, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)Wiz Khalifa was performing at the Sauce Boyz Fest. As he began to perform “See You Again”, the screens behind him began to play a reel paying tribute to various stars of the industry that had been lost in recent years. Figures included Lil Peep, King Von, Young Dolph, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Mac Miller, and Takeoff amongst many others. Many of the people mentioned by Khalifa’s presentation were tragically taken in homicides or other violent acts.
It was a touching and heartfelt moment that highlighted the losses that the industry has felt. “See You Again”, the song that Khalifa performed, was originally by Khalifa in the wake of Paul Walker’s death. Walker, an actor best known for his role in the Fast And Furious franchise, died in a car accident in 2013. Featuring Charlie Puth, the song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100. While originally about Walker, it’s easy to apply the song to other deaths one may feel strongly about. Which artist’s death impacted you the most?
KATSEYE have officially begun a fresh chapter with the announcement of their forthcoming single, Pinky Up.
The K-pop girl group sparked curiosity online after sharing a string of mysterious posts that quickly had fans trying to piece together the clues.
The first teaser, posted on March 30, featured the Mona Lisa gently raising a hot cup of tea with her pinky finger lifted. The next video, uploaded the next day, showed an arcade claw machine labeled with the group’s name pulling a sword from a mix of sparkling plush toys and a single teacup. Making things even more intriguing, the caption stated: “We’re screaming from cloud nine!!”
Their third update finally revealed the song title along with its cover art. The image showed a figure kneeling on a rug next to a teacup and a toy cat, while the title appeared in bright hot pink text across the visual. The group also confirmed the release date as April 9.
Pinky Up will arrive just one day before KATSEYE appear at Coachella on April 10, which will mark their first time performing at the famous festival.
The single also marks their first comeback since HYBE and Geffen confirmed that member Manon Bannerman would be stepping away for a period of time to prioritize her “health and well being.”
In a message posted on Weverse, they shared: "Hello. After open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing."
The group expressed that they “fully support this decision,” and added: “KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us. We look forward to being together again when the time is right.”
While she is away, the group will continue promotions with Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung.
They closed their message by saying: “Thank you to our EYEKONS for your continued love, patience, and understanding.”
