Music

John Forté, the rapper and producer who emerged as a key contributor to the mid 1990s New York hip-hop scene and close collaborator of Fugees, was found dead at his home in Chilmark, Massachusetts, on Monday (January 12), The Associated Press reports. There was no sign of foul play or a “readily apparent cause of

Back before he was the prolific bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea got his start playing trumpet. Now, after nearly 50 years of making music, he is returning to his jazz roots with his first solo album, Honora, out March 27 via Nonesuch. Ringing in the news is his new single “Traffic Lights,” which

One week after announcing it was leaving its longtime home of Miami for Orlando, Rolling Loud has unveiled the lineup for its 2026 edition. Headlining the event is Don Toliver, Playboi Carti, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again, with EsDeeKid, Chief Keef, Destroy Lonely, SexxyRed, and many more rounding out the list. You can check out

In 2025, Kim Gordon reworked her single “Bye Bye” into an indictment against the Trump administration. Now she’s back with a new solo album that similarly takes aim at politicians and the billionaire class; Play Me is out March 13 via Matador. Musically, Gordon is less steely than usual on its lead single, “Not Today,”

After starring in everything from TV’s First Wives Club to the RZA-directed film Love Beats Rhyme, actress and singer Jill Scott is making her long-awaited return to music with To Whom This May Concern, her first album since 2015’s Woman. You can hear the lead single “Beautiful People” and see the gorgeous cover by visual

I’m delighted to say that tonight, at the full moon, we will be beginninganother year of full moon releases under the name oi. The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings. I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it. We are sliding into a period of transition like

Drake has been accused of participating in a racketeering conspiracy built around the online casino Stake. A class action lawsuit filed in Virginia this week argues that Stake is running an illegal gambling operation in the United States, in which Drake, who is paid to promote the platform, is complicit. It further alleges that he

Chappell Roan, Mariah Carey, Post Malone, and dozens more performed televised sets last night (December 31) during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest to help ring in 2026. Moments before the ball dropped in New York City’s Times Square, Roan sang “The Subway” live in Kansas City, Carey performed a medley including

Brigitte Bardot, the French icon who glamorously embodied the postwar pop zeitgeist, has died. Her animal rights foundation announced the news in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse. No cause or date of death were given. Bardot was 91 years old. Bardot was born into a wealthy Parisian family in 1934 and trained as a

Perry Bamonte, the Cure’s longtime guitarist and keyboardist, has died following an undisclosed illness. He was 65. In a statement posted to their website, the band wrote that Bamonte, who went by the nickname “Teddy,” was “quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative,” as well as “a vital part of the Cure story.” Perry Bamonte

After years of niche acclaim—marred by her frustrating failure to ascend to the pop A-list—Peppa Pig is setting her sights on a breakout 2026. The little pink pop phenom has announced a major North American tour, titled Peppa Pig: My First Concert, kicking off next February. With the news comes an unprecedented crossover: Embark on

Tyler, the Creator has unveiled a new freestyle called “Sag Harbor” alongside a fresh “Sugar on My Tongue” remix. You can hear them both below. “Harbor” makes numerous references to Tyler’s triumphant 2025, including his surprise album DON’T TAP THE GLASS (“Son got his fourth number one in a row, I’m a champion”), his sold-out

Chance the Rapper and Jeremih have added to their growing Christmas music catalog with a new five-track EP called Secret Santa. It’s the duo’s fourth official holiday release, following 2016’s Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama and its two expanded editions: 2017’s Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama: Re-Wrapped and 2020’s Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps

Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs have filed a notice of appeal, requesting their client’s “immediate release” from federal prison and to “either grant a judgment of acquittal or vacate and remand for resentencing,” reports Rolling Stone. In the notice, attorney Alexandra Shapiro accused Judge Arun Subramanian of acting “as a thirteenth juror” during sentencing, adding,

CHE has unveiled a deluxe edition to his chest-rattling 2025 album REST IN BASS. “FUCKIT IM STEALIN XMAS,” the Atlanta rapper wrote on Instagram. REST IN BASS: ENCORE features 14 unreleased tracks, including “WHIPPIN” with OsamaSon, the follow-up to their REST IN BASS breakout “Hellraiser.” You can listen to the Christmas Day drop and see

U.K. police have ended their criminal investigation into Bob Vylan over comments the punk duo made on stage about the Israeli military. “We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the [Crown Prosecution Service] for any person to be prosecuted,” the Avon and Somerset Police

This post has been updated with Wayne Coyne’s statement Last week, Steven Drozd revealed in a since-deleted post that he’s no longer in the Flaming Lips after a nearly 35-year-long run. The band hasn’t formally released its own statement, but both frontman Wayne Coyne and current drummer Matthew Duckworth Kirksey have shared their thoughts. In

Just over a month after he was released from prison following a 16-year-long stint behind bars, Max B is back with his first new full-length in four years. The rapper has surprise-released Public Domain 7: The Purge, the seventh installment of his ongoing Public Domain mixtape series. You can listen to it below. Public Domain

A new Lady Gaga concert film will arrive on Christmas Eve. Lady Gaga in Harlequin Live: One Night Only was recorded last year during a performance at Los Angeles’ Belasco Theatre, where Lady Gaga performed Harlequin—her 2024 “companion album” to Joker: Folie à Deux, in which she starred as Harley Quinn—in its entirety. The film

Bon Iver, Gracie Abrams, and the National’s Aaron Dessner have released a new song, “Sold Out,” to benefit the gun violence prevention organization Everytown. Though Justin Vernon has often collaborated with Dessner, and Abrams and Dessner are ongoing songwriting partners—not to mention that Abrams has covered Bon Iver’s “Beach Baby”—“Sold Out” is the first formal

The staff of Pitchfork listens to a lot of new music. A lot of it. On any given day our writers, editors, and contributors go through an imposing number of new releases, giving recommendations to each other and discovering new favorites along the way. Each Monday, with our Pitchfork Selects playlist, we’re sharing what our

Last night, December 20, Ariana Grande returned to Studio 8H to host Saturday Night Live for the second time in as many years. During her monologue, Grande parodied Mariah Carey’s recently record-breaking “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and was joined by Bowen Yang, who is leaving the SNL cast midway through his eighth

Timothée Chalamet took a break from talking table tennis to hop on a “4 Raws” remix with mysterious U.K. rapper EsDeeKid. The move is an extended part of a dull internet conspiracy that maintained Chalamet—who used to rap under the alias Lil Timmy Tim and was once knighted by Lil B—was, in fact, EsDeeKid. You

A federal judge has overturned the conviction of one of two men found guilty in the murder of Jason Mizell, aka Jam Master Jay, reports Billboard. Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall granted the motion for acquittal of Karl Jordan Jr., who was found guilty in 2024 of killing Mizell, his godfather and the D.J. for legendary

At least one record label is happy to release new Morrissey music. The Smiths’ founder has signed a new contract with Sire Records, reports Rolling Stone, three years after the singer’s previous home, Capitol, shelved a finished album, and five years after BMG officially dropped him—a development Moz blamed on new management and, uh, “diversity.”

Xaviersobased is celebrating the end of his 2025 North American tour with a twitchy new single produced by Ooskully. Arriving a day after the New York rapper’s hometown show at Webster Hall, “Walk to Me” is the first offering since Xavier’s major-label debut, the surprise September EP Once More. You can check out the full

Kali Uchis is dipping back into her Orquídeas era. Months after “Muévelo,” a leaked demo from the 2024 album’s studio sessions, began making the rounds online, the Colombian American singer has unveiled the full version. “for my final act of self love this year i will release this song bcoz prior to tonight it was

Update: Well, that was quick. Less than a day after the all-Republican Kennedy Center board voted to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, construction workers could be seen drilling the new one onto the facade, reports The Washington Post. Original story follows: The board of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts

Fela Kuti, Whitney Houston, and Paul Simon are among those set to receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2026 Grammys, the Recording Academy announced today. Cher, Carlos Santana, and Chaka Khan will round out the honorees. Bernie Taupin, Eddie Palmieri, and Sylvia Rhone have been named as next year’s Trustees Award winners, and the Technical