THE WEEKND: Scores With Tour
2022 was worth the wait for The Weeknd and his fans.
After numerous audibles and delays, including being pushed back due to COVID, and a shift from stadiums to arenas, the After Hours Till Dawn tour finally kicked off in June.
While there were still setbacks — including Doja Cat pulling out due to throat surgery and a mercy trailer catching fire, the North American run saw Abel raking in record number ticket sales, including $30 million from just the first four shows. One of the SoFi Stadium dates alone brought in $11 million, which allegedly makes it the highest-grossing show by a Black artist in history.
He’s not just keeping all the money — he’s been donating profits from each concert ticket to the XO Humanitarian Fund, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme.
We took a big step toward making things more fair for artists in court this year.
Legislation was passed by the New York State Senate back in May, limiting the ways that “creative expression”, including lyrics, can be used in court as evidence. The bill does not “ban prosecutors from presenting lyrics or other material to a jury, but would require them to show that the work is “literal, rather than figurative or fictional.”
The bill was supported by artists like Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Fat Joe and Robin Thicke.
In late September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act into law.
In October, New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman introduced a proposal for new federal legislation along the same lines, called the RAP Act.
R. KELLY: Justice Was Served
R. Kelly finally had to face the music this year.
In June, Kells was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking.
In July, a federal jury in Chicago found the disgraced singer guilty of three counts of child pornography and three counts of child enticement and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
He still has two trials coming up — one in Minnesota and another in state court in Chicago.
DR. DRE, SNOOP DOGG, EMINEM, MARY J. BLIGE, KENDRICK: Stadium Status
Hip-hop took center stage at the Super Bowl 56 in February.
Dr. Dre held things down at the Pepsi halftime show, bringing out some of his famous friends and collaborators. He brought out a who’s who of award-winning artists, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. There were even some surprise guests, like 50 Cent and Anderson Paak.
Looking ahead to the big game next year, it will be Rihanna’s turn to entertain between halves.
KANYE WEST: The Fall of Ye
In 2022, no artist managed to stay in the headlines quite like Kanye West.
This year was something of a roller coaster ride for Ye, in both his personal life and career. Romantically, he was linked to Julia Fox and later Candice Swanepoel, while working out his split from Kim Kardashian.
Things really started to go downhill for Ye in the fall. On October 9th, his social media counts were restricted after he posted an antisemitic tweet. But those weren’t the only consequences. As he continued to promote controversial views, he watched his net worth plummet as his various business partners, including Gap and Adidas, cut ties.
The fallout hasn’t just impacted Ye and his inner circle. In late October, Ye’s Donda Academy team was pulled from multiple national basketball tournaments, and just a few weeks later, the school abruptly shut its doors for the school year.
TAKEOFF: Gone Too Soon
Nobody expected to say goodbye to Takeoff this year.
Friends, fans and family were shocked when they learned the Migos rapper was shot and killed on November 1st. He was a bystander at an early morning dice game in Houston, when things got heated and shots were fired, with Takeoff being fatally struck by a stray bullet.
Takeoff was laid to rest on Friday, November 11th, with a funeral service at the Georgia State Farm Arena. Earlier in the month, Houston police arrested two suspects believed to be responsible for the murder.
Sissy Brown yesterday at 8:28 PM
THE WEEKND: Scores With Tour
2022 was worth the wait for The Weeknd and his fans.
After numerous audibles and delays, including being pushed back due to COVID, and a shift from stadiums to arenas, the After Hours Till Dawn tour finally kicked off in June.
While there were still setbacks — including Doja Cat pulling out due to throat surgery and a mercy trailer catching fire, the North American run saw Abel raking in record number ticket sales, including $30 million from just the first four shows. One of the SoFi Stadium dates alone brought in $11 million, which allegedly makes it the highest-grossing show by a Black artist in history.
He’s not just keeping all the money — he’s been donating profits from each concert ticket to the XO Humanitarian Fund, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme.
We took a big step toward making things more fair for artists in court this year.
Legislation was passed by the New York State Senate back in May, limiting the ways that “creative expression”, including lyrics, can be used in court as evidence. The bill does not “ban prosecutors from presenting lyrics or other material to a jury, but would require them to show that the work is “literal, rather than figurative or fictional.”
The bill was supported by artists like Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Fat Joe and Robin Thicke.
In late September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act into law.
In October, New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman introduced a proposal for new federal legislation along the same lines, called the RAP Act.
R. KELLY: Justice Was Served
R. Kelly finally had to face the music this year.
In June, Kells was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking.
In July, a federal jury in Chicago found the disgraced singer guilty of three counts of child pornography and three counts of child enticement and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
He still has two trials coming up — one in Minnesota and another in state court in Chicago.
DR. DRE, SNOOP DOGG, EMINEM, MARY J. BLIGE, KENDRICK: Stadium Status
Hip-hop took center stage at the Super Bowl 56 in February.
Dr. Dre held things down at the Pepsi halftime show, bringing out some of his famous friends and collaborators. He brought out a who’s who of award-winning artists, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. There were even some surprise guests, like 50 Cent and Anderson Paak.
Looking ahead to the big game next year, it will be Rihanna’s turn to entertain between halves.
KANYE WEST: The Fall of Ye
In 2022, no artist managed to stay in the headlines quite like Kanye West.
This year was something of a roller coaster ride for Ye, in both his personal life and career. Romantically, he was linked to Julia Fox and later Candice Swanepoel, while working out his split from Kim Kardashian.
Things really started to go downhill for Ye in the fall. On October 9th, his social media counts were restricted after he posted an antisemitic tweet. But those weren’t the only consequences. As he continued to promote controversial views, he watched his net worth plummet as his various business partners, including Gap and Adidas, cut ties.
The fallout hasn’t just impacted Ye and his inner circle. In late October, Ye’s Donda Academy team was pulled from multiple national basketball tournaments, and just a few weeks later, the school abruptly shut its doors for the school year.
TAKEOFF: Gone Too Soon
Nobody expected to say goodbye to Takeoff this year.
Friends, fans and family were shocked when they learned the Migos rapper was shot and killed on November 1st. He was a bystander at an early morning dice game in Houston, when things got heated and shots were fired, with Takeoff being fatally struck by a stray bullet.
Takeoff was laid to rest on Friday, November 11th, with a funeral service at the Georgia State Farm Arena. Earlier in the month, Houston police arrested two suspects believed to be responsible for the murder.
