Music News

Ranking Roger, lead vocalist for British ska punk band the Beat – known as the English Beat in North America – and founding member of General Public, died on Tuesday. He was 56. The news was confirmed in a statement on the Beat’s official Facebook page. The cause of death …

Bloc Party will perform their acclaimed debut LP, 2005’s Silent Alarm, in its entirety on an upcoming U.S. tour. The six-date fall trek launches September 16th in Washington D.C. and wraps November 20th in San Francisco, California. All shows go on sale Friday, March 29th at 10 a.m. local time …

Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations – which chronicles the epic career of the legendary Motown vocal group – opens up on Broadway this week. It’s a musical based on the 1988 memoir of Temptations founder Otis Williams, the sole living member of the classic lineup. …

CupcakKe hits a darkened warehouse-looking space, heightening her urgent, rapid-fire bars in her new video for “Bird Box.” It’s her second new single of the year, following the Chicago rapper’s previous released “Squidward Nose.” The minimalist new visual finds the rapper, alongside a silent friend as the two groove together, …

J. Cole has had it. After years of silence, he’s contemplating taking drastic measures to stop his fans from spreading one of the least funny memes in recent memory: “J. Cole went platinum with no features.” The joke/rallying cry’s genesis is simple. Cole’s last three albums — 2014 Forest Hills …

Vampire Weekend are a New York band. They famously formed while studying at Columbia University, they named one of the best songs on their 2008 debut after a crosstown bus line and their lyrics are filled with references to life in and around Manhattan. Though Ezra Koenig relocated to Los …

Beast Coast, the new hip-hop supergroup featuring Flatbush Zombies, Pro Era and the Underachievers, have unveiled their sinister debut track, “Left Hand.” “Left Hand” is a relentless posse cut that boasts production from Tyler Dopps and Sam Wish, and verses from nine MCs, including Flatbush Zombies’ Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice …

Until recently, Taylor Mac was known for making epic avant-garde theater that crossed easy categorization. His groundbreaking art concert, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, was Mac’s subjective history of the United States told through 246 songs — everything from World War I ditties to The Mikado to a mash-up …

The newly reunited Jonas Brothers are the subject of an upcoming Amazon Studios documentary. The as-yet-untitled project, produced in partnership with Philymack and Federal Films, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the band as they prep for an upcoming tour, Variety reports. “Our fans are the best in the world …

Beach House have scheduled a handful of North American tour dates for this spring and summer as they continue to perform in support of their latest album, 7. The run of shows starts April 30th at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, just ahead of the group’s previously-announced set …