MUSIC Major Lazer Album Title: Free the Universe Release Date: April 16 Due to artistic differences, Major Lazer producers Diplo and Switch have parted ways leaving Diplo alone to pilot the mainstream reggae revival currently underway. Diplo’s manager told Billboard that he’d like the audience to see Major Lazer as a band or crew. Whether or not the album’s featured artists will perform on Free the Universe tour dates is still up on the air, but appearances by Santigold, Amber of Dirty Proje... [Read more]

Diplo is having a bit of a moment right now. After little more than a decade on the scene, Diplo’s influence is felt far and wide and his reputation as a fixer, trendsetter and professional hitman is unparalleled. You may remember a little meme that popped up on the web recently called the “Harlem Shake.” After hearing the song in a BBC Essential Mix it was Diplo who released it through a subsidiary of his label Mad Decent. When Justin Bieber was putting together a team for his highly antici... [Read more]

Behind the record industry and the endlessly grinding gears of the hit factory stand an elite group of individuals who are responsible for churning out the latest, greatest pop music the world has ever known. The Darwinian process that sees songs made or broken by a fickle public with millions of dollars at stake ensures the survival of only the fittest, but there are a select few who transcend the zeitgeist and end up defining the sound of a given moment. They aren’t always the biggest seller... [Read more]

          “God dealt me a really f*cked up hand at birth. Half the sh*t I’ve been through & successfully gotten through would           blow some of your minds. God just dealt me a new hand today. I reaaaaaaaaaaallllly good hand [sic]” The most famous teeth and gums to hit the Internet in 2011 undoubtedly belonged to a 20-year-old rapper from Harlem named Azealia Banks. Banks’ teeth sprung onto... [Read more]