HipHopWired Featured Video Source: WILLIAM EDWARDS / Getty The genius of Ye fka Kanye West can be attributed to having “the soul” of a white autistic person, says far-right figure Nick Fuentes. According to white nationalist Nick Fuentes, there’s a reason why Kanye West is so creative – it’s because of white-coded autism. Fuentes made the claim during an interview last Thursday (April 18), with media personality Sneako during a livestream on the Rumble platform. The conversation, which began with Fuentes declaring his dislike for Playboy Carti, saw him declare that Ye was in effect a white autistic person. He cited Ye’s background and instances from when they worked together on Ye’s fledgling campaign for the 2024 presidential election. “He would have to kind of tone up the Blackness when he was with other Black people. I noticed this,” Fuentes said. “When he was with the Black people, he would kind of tone up how Black he was acting. When he knew he was safe, when he knew it was a judgement-free zone and he could be himself, that’s when he realized his mom was a professor. And he didn’t come from Chicago, he came from Hyde Park. Big difference.” The 25-year-old would conclude his assessment this way: “He came from the campus of University of Chicago. He liked art, he liked poetry. You know, he’s like a white autist in many ways. He’s got the soul of a white autist. That’s what fuels his genius; not playing into this gang banger, ‘I f*cked your b*tch’ whatever.” Fuentes’ association with Ye became more infamous as the rapper had ostracized himself with a series of antisemitic comments, which led to the dissolution of his partnerships with adidas and Gap. The white nationalist would also accompany him to a dinner with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort during the Thanksgiving holiday. Ye has claimed that he has autism, in a series of text messages sent to tech billionaire Elon Musk during his suspension from X, formerly Twitter, in December 2022 after issuing a series of antisemitic posts. “I’m not bi-polar. I have signs of autism from my car accident,” he wrote. The car accident Ye refers to was from 2002, which saw him have his jaw wired shut as a result – autism is widely regarded as a neurological condition one is born with and impossible to be induced by such a situation. 

There’s no need to keep score when it comes to this Drake and Rick Ross beef. The Miami rapper is naturally funny and learned a lot from his time battling the likes of 50 Cent back in 2009. Not only did he respond to Drake’s “Push Ups” diss song in record time, he was nice […]

Spotify’s stock jumped as much as 17.3% on Tuesday (April 23) following the company’s first-quarter earnings report showed the company is starting to deliver better profits and margins. The share price closed at $303.49, up 11.5%, after reaching a new 52-week high of $319.30 earlier in the day. Investors’ expectations for future quarters often drive large swings in stock prices when a company delivers results for past quarters. For Spotify, cost-cutting and newfound financial discipline are expected to produce tangible results next quarter. The company’s guidance for second quarter operating income of 250 million euros ($268 million) was well ahead of Guggenheim analysts’ estimate of 179 million euros ($192 million) and JP Morgan’s estimate of 199 million euros ($213 million), and was a vast improvement from the 247 million euro ($264 million) operating loss in the second quarter of 2023. Gross margin guidance of 28.1% far exceeded Guggenheim’s estimate of 26.6% and JP Morgan’s estimate of 26.9% and would be nearly four percentage points above the prior year period’s 24.3% gross margin.  First-quarter results often exceeded Spotify’s guidance from three months ago. Revenue of 3.63 billion euros ($3.9 billion) slightly topped the high end of guidance of 3.6 billion euros. Gross margin of 27.6% was more than a percentage point above guidance of 26.4%, although operating income of 168 million euros ($180 million) was under guidance of 180 million euros ($192 million).  Trending on Billboard Gross margin was 243 basis points — 2.43 percentage points — better than the 25.2% gross margin in the prior year period. Spotify said the improvement came from improved music and podcast profitability that was partially offset by costs from its growing audiobooks business. Operating income was impacted by 82 million euros ($89 million) in social charges and was helped by lower personnel costs and marketing spending.  "We consider this a real trend" rather than the result of one-off events, said interim CFO Ben Kung during Tuesday's earnings call when asked by an analyst what to expect from margin growth for the remainder of 2024. Although Spotify didn’t surpass forecasts for subscriber growth, it met expectations and generated more revenue, on average, from each paid customer. Average revenue per user improved 5% to 4.55 euros ($4.94) thanks to price increases in July 2023. Total monthly active users of 615 million was slightly below Spotify’s guidance of 618 million, but the 239 million subscribers matched the company’s forecasts.  "It is really a new Spotify, and we are being relentless resourceful in all of our costs," CEO Daniel Ek said during Tuesday's earnings call. Second-quarter margins were helped by decreases in streaming delivery costs and other costs of revenue, Ek explained. The podcast segment, which was a drag on profitability in 2023, is expected to be profitable in 2024, he added. The longtime knock against Spotify was it had a great product but wasn’t a great business. The economic demands of music streaming, which require Spotify to pay music rights holders most of its revenue, left little for R&D, marketing, salaries, and general and administrative expenses. Although the company has amassed more than 600 million monthly users — 239 million of them paid subscribers — it has been perpetually unprofitable.  Spotify’s fortunes began to change in 2023 after the company knuckled down, laid off 17% of its global workforce in December and jettisoned many high-priced, celebrity podcast deals — namely parting ways with Price Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Studio and striking a non-exclusive deal with the previously exclusive-to-Spotify The Joe Rogan Experience. 

If it’s possible, Record Store Day was even bigger this year than last year, when Taylor Swift caused a traffic jam at record stores across the nation, according to some of the merchants Billboard’s Retail Track columnist visited this past Saturday (April 20). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Retail Track Courtesy Photo This year, the Olivia Rodrigo “Stick Season”/Noah Kahan “Lacy” seven-inch was cited as the hottest seller by store managers and owners, but overall, a wider breadth of releases drove more traffic into stores, according to Rough Trade store manager George Flanagan. Other big sellers — or records that the retailers wished they had more copies of — included Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” seven-inch; the Sparks/Noël double LP No. 1 Song in Heaven/Is There More to Life Than Dancing?; Talking Heads‘ Live at WCOZ double LP; Sabrina Carpenter’s “Feather” seven-inch; and a 12-inch featuring David Byrne‘s cover of “Hard Time” and Paramore‘s cover of “Burning Down The House.” Trending on Billboard This year, Swift issued The Tortured Poets Department on Friday, the day before Record Store Day (RSD), and it has so far sold an astounding 1.5 million records in its first three days of availability. But independent record store merchants say that while the album was a solid seller for the weekend, this album didn’t have the impact that Swift’s exclusive for last year’s RSD, Folklore: the Long Pond Studio Sessions. That’s because this year’s album was widely available at mass merchants, Amazon, and on her website, and at sale prices just a little bit above their wholesale cost. Nevertheless, retailers say they will always warmly welcome any new release by Swift. Retail Track began the day at Darkside Records in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where at 9:15 — 15 minutes after the store opened — there were some 250 people waiting in line for their turn to enter the store. Letting customers in 15 to 20 at a time, the line — which lasted until nearly 6:30 p.m. on Saturday — stretched around the 9,000-square-foot store and deep into the filled-to-capacity parking lot. The first person in line showed up at 8 p.m. Thursday (April 18), according to Darkside co-owner Justin Johnson, who added that when he showed up to open the store on Friday morning (April 19), a full day before Record Store Day kicked off, there were already four people queued up. “It was absolutely an incredible turnout. Everyone was really cool and we had a great time,” Johnson told Billboard. “It was our best day ever and it blew away last year’s Record Store Day, which up to then had been our best day ever.” What’s more, one woman drove 11 hours from Michigan to shop at Darkside because of how the store had handled the autographed Taylor Swift CD last year, she told Johnson. “[She] wanted to support us for treating the Swifties so fairly and combating the bots,” Johnson said. And she showed up early enough at the store to be No. 10 in line, he added.  After leaving Darkside, Retail Track drove over the Hudson River to Middletown, N.Y. to visit Rock Fantasy, a record store/pinball machine/video game arcade. Open since 1985, Rock Fantasy leans hard rock/metal, but owner Stephen Keeler said the Rodrigo/Kahan single was the day’s top seller. He added that about 30 customers were in line when he showed up to open the store. Moreover, he says the store celebrated Record Store Day/420 by staging two shows on successive nights at Quinnz Pinz, the local bowling alley where he promotes shows. The weekend kicked off with a Grateful Dead tribute band, Gratefully Yours, on Friday night; while on Saturday night, Kiss tribute band Psycho Circus performed. On the afternoon of Record Store Day, Rock Fantasy held a pinball tournament in the store.  Some of the 250 music fans waiting on line for their turn to shop Darkside Records—a store logo displayed about the tent structures. Ed Christman Rock Fantasy’s layout is long and narrow, almost like a railroad apartment with five or six rooms. Besides the records, tchotchkes and other music memorabilia it sells in the front two rooms, the store also houses 53 pinball machines and a few vintage video games. Customers can choose to play on machines featuring Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Kiss, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, the Beatles, Elton John, the Rolling Stones and Guns & Roses, as well as machines licensed from movies like Jaws, Pulp Fiction, Godzilla, OO7 and Jurassic Park. Heading back to the other side of Hudson, Retail Track tried a little potluck with a store called The Vinyl Room in Beacon, N.Y. While it turned out to be more of a bar and restaurant than a record store, it was nevertheless a fun place to visit. The space had only two racks of vinyl, mainly used records, but the store’s interior design, which used records and other music memorabilia and ornamentation, more than made the trip worth it. Across the street, at the local VFW Hall, was the Beacon Record & CD Fest, a swap meet with about a dozen vendors where Retail Track lucked out by scoring a copy of the Tommy James & The Shondells single “Gingerbread Man” on Roulette Records. Staying on the same side of the Hudson, Retail Track next headed to Cold Springs, N.Y. and visited Half Moon Records at The Shoppes, an emporium-style setup with a number of different rooms and stores. Half Moon, which comprised the front two rooms of The Shoppes, was filled with records. One of the co-owners, Peter Hamboussi, said the store had just doubled the space devoted to records about a month ago; while co-owner Nicole Le Blanc said the store hopes to build its country music inventory. Like other merchants, Hamboussi said he wished he had received more copies of the Byrne and Paramore record, as well as the Cranberries. He said he usually does good business on Record Store Day later in the afternoon, as devout music buyers continue on their crawls. Finally, Retail Track headed back to New York City to visit Rough Trade Records, which had a line of about 100 people when the store opened, including customer George West, who was first in line at about 5 p.m. on the Friday night prior. West is usually first in line every year at the store for the event, reported Rough Trade’s Flanagan, who added that by 8 p.m. on Friday, five people had queued up. The line lasted all day Saturday until about 5:30 p.m., when the store stopped regulating the in-flow. Nevertheless, when Retail Track showed up at around 6 p.m., the store was jam-packed and still doing brisk business. Rough Trade and Rockefeller Center presented Indie Plaza in conjunction with Record Store Day, where eight bands and DJs entertained music fans, Rough Trade customers, and tourists from 1PM to 9PM. Pictured above is the Rough Trade booth, stocked with records and next to it is the artist merch booth selling wares from the bands. In the background, on the stage, Armand Hammer are working their way through their set. Ed Christman Another factor boosting traffic and sales at Rough Trade on Saturday was that it hosted Indie Plaza in Rockefeller Center, in the vast open space above the skating rink. During the day, DJs and bands alternated playing on a stage erected at the end of the plaza abutting 50th Street, keeping the crowd entertained until 9 p.m. Rough Trade set up a booth filled with music, while next to it was another booth with merch from the bands performing that day to sell to the fans enjoying the shows. Dave The Spazz, Sunrisa Disco, and Nancy Whang took turns helming the DJ booth in between sets by Cloud Nothings, Dehd, Armand Hammer, Glitterer, Sunny War, Corridor, Snõõper and Wishy. “Last year, Record Store Day was our best day ever and it’s worth noting that Taylor Swift was a huge part of our business that day,” Flanagan said. “I was convinced we wouldn’t be able to top that, but we did; we were up by 5% to 10% more. I think one of the reasons why [2024 RSD] became the store’s best day ever is because there was something like 20% more titles out this year.” For the last store visit of the day, the plan was to head back to home base of Astoria, Queens, to visit the semi-new Pancake Records on Steinway Street. But Retail Track ran out of gas (figuratively) and out of time (literally) — and the local bar with cold Pabst Blue Ribbon cans was beckoning.

YOASOBI hit the Mojave Stage on Day 1 (April 12) of opening weekend of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, taking part in the annual desert music festival featuring headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat. A correspondent for Billboard Japan was on site at the Indio, Calif., stage to witness the J-pop duo’s first-ever Coachella set. Ayase and ikura have been expanding their reach outside Japan, performing in the U.S. for the first time last August at 88rising’s Head in the Clouds Los Angeles event. At the Mojave Stage on Friday, some fans eagerly waited at the very front from the preceding act’s set to see YOASOBI up close, suggesting that the J-pop stars have been gaining recognition Stateside as well. The front row was packed with fans of various ethnic backgrounds — from local fans, to Asian fans, including those who traveled from Japan and Japanese residents in the U.S., and Latino fans, with conversations in languages other than English being heard all around during the change-over between acts. The common denominator was that they were all young and excited about the upcoming performance. The “Idol” duo’s set was downsized and simplified compared to their usual concert production, due to the nature of music festivals and the limited space onstage. But it also proved to be a fan-friendly environment where the distance between the audience and artists was close. Trending on Billboard The lights went dark at 8:20 p.m., the scheduled time of YOASOBI’s set, and the bandmembers got into their respective positions as lasers flashed from the stage and visuals shot across the screens. Ayase and ikura then appeared together on the approximately 6-foot-high platform with a screen in the center of the stage, and after the vocalist introduced themselves by simply saying, “We are YOASOBI,” the band kicked off the set with the duo’s breakout hit “Yoru ni Kakeru” (“Into the Night”). The voltage of the audience was high from the beginning, and Ayase couldn’t seem to hold back his joy as he smiled and waved to the crowd through dark shades. For the next song, “The Blessing,” ikura got off the platform and stood in the center of the stage, which underscored the closeness between the audience and the stage. Shouts of “I love you!” and “YOASOBI!” flew from the crowd, as well as heartfelt calls of “Aishiteru!” (“I love you” in Japanese) from fans who probably memorized the phrase for the occasion. The vocalist used English to address fans throughout the show, starting off by saying, “Good evening everyone, we are YOASOBI from Japan” and introducing herself and music producer Ayase. “Honestly, we’ve been waiting to meet you all. Being here at Coachella is so unreal. Oh my gosh,” she continued. “It’s honestly a big dream come true for us, wow! Thank you for being here as part of a magical moment. What an honor.” “We came ready to rock the stage. Coachella! Get ready to groove!” she then hyped up the audience. “Are you ready to dance? Are you ready to sing with us? OK, come on Coachella, make some noise!” The band launched into “Seventeen” and the audience shouted “Oi! Oi!” along to the hard-hitting rock track. The keyboardist Misohagi Zakuro danced to the song, highlighting her versatility as well as the band’s ability to deliver. Midway through the set, ikura said, “For the next song, I want to feel a sense of unity” and requested fans to turn on the light on their phones. The crowd was quick to react as the slow-tempo intro to “Probably” began, indicating their dedication to the hitmakers. During the next number, “The Brave,” some fans were jumping and headbanging along to the beat, each enjoying themselves to their heart’s content. “So, Coachella, we’re getting close to the end. Let me see your energy! More!” ikura said before performing their hit “Monster,” then on to “Gunjo,” where she switched the lyrics that mean “I’m irreplaceable” to “you’re all irreplaceable.” The band closed its hit-filled set with “Idol,” Billboard Japan’s song of the year for 2023 that topped the Japan Hot 100 for a record 22 weeks. While ikura used English to speak to the crowd during the 9-song, 45-minute performance, the set list featured songs performed in their original Japanese. As the singer explained during the set that the duo is “trying to bring our music from Japan to the world,” this was a memorable live performance that effectively delivered “our music” with Japanese lyrics to the audience gathered at the world-famous Coachella music festival and to listeners all over the world through livestream. YOASOBI also took the stage at the 88RISING FUTURES showcase on day three. The duo appeared after Tiger JK and Yoonmirae opened the set, and ikura again addressed the crowd in English before the duo first performed “Probably” for the Mojave Stage crowd. “I love you all so much. Thank you. Let’s sing together,” she said, and the intro to “Idol” followed. After ikura sang, “What type of guy do you like? / Who’s your partner? / Come on, answer me,” she called out, “Welcome, ATARASHII GAKKO!” and invited the four members of the group onstage. The alternative J-pop girl group joined in to add some flair to the show, performing what’s known in Japan as “otagei” (geek dance moves) during the chorus. The audience enthusiastically responded, “Hey! Hey!” in time to the music, bringing the euphoric moment to a climax.