You’ve heard him as a rapper, you’ve heard him as a rocker, and now, MGK is embracing rootsy folk on his new album, Lost Americana.

Released on Friday (Aug. 8), the LP marks the artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly’s first full-length Americana project. It follows a string of hip-hop albums released earlier in his career as well as two pop-punk records: Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout, both of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Lost Americana arrives about two months after MGK announced the project with an album trailer narrated by Bob Dylan. “It’s a sonic map of forgotten places, a tribute to the spirit of reinvention and a quest to reclaim the essence of American freedom,” the folk icon described the album in the June teaser. “From the glow of neon diners to the rumble of the motorcycles, this is music that celebrates the beauty found in the in-between spaces. Where the past is reimagined, and the future is forged on your own terms.”

At the time, it wasn’t clear whether it was really Dylan whose voice was featured — but during a Tonight Show appearance a few days prior to Lost Americana‘s release, MGK confirmed that it was authentic. “To be honest, I have no idea how he even knows who I am to this day,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure that if I say the wrong thing I’ll mess it all up, so I’ll just shut up and accept whatever Bob Dylan throws my way.”

Led by singles “Cliché,” “Vampire Diaries” and “Miss Sunshine,” Lost Americana is the seventh album MGK has released over the course of his career. The Cleveland-bred artist as become known for experimenting with various genres, something he says is one reason people “hate” on him for no reason.

“I choose to not stay contained into a societal box,” he said in a recent interview with People. “I’ve realized they’re the conformists — you don’t even hate me for a reason that you can actually think of, because all I do is entertain, and entertainment can’t be that serious.”

Listen to Lost Americana below.

Just one week after announcing his debut Australian appearances, Jelly Roll has expanded his first visit Down Under with a string of headline dates.

The Tennessee native first detailed his forthcoming trek down to Australia on July 31, with the nascent Strummingbird Festival announcing they had secured both Jelly Roll and Shaboozey for the headliners of their inaugural 2025 events.

The three-date affair plans to visit the Sunshine Coast at the end of October, with a pair of dates scheduled across Newcastle and Perth at the start of November. A raft of local and international acts are also set to fill out the festival’s lineup.

Now, Jelly Roll’s upcoming visit has grown even larger, with Australian headline dates confirmed for Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The fittingly-titled Down Under tour will wrap on Nov. 8 following a one-off appearance in Auckland, New Zealand.

Fellow Strummingbird co-headliner Shaboozey will be joining Jelly Roll at these newly-announced dates, while Illinois’ Drew Baldridge will also round out the bill.

Both of the top-billed acts have received noted fame in Australia in recent times. While Shaboozey’s ubiquitous 2024 single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the Australian ARIA Singles charts last year, Jelly Roll debuted at No. 19 on the Albums charts in 2024 with his latest album, Beautifully Broken.

Their newly-announced dates come just months after the arrival of the collaborative single “Amen,” though no confirmation has been given as to whether the pair may perform the track together when in Australia or New Zealand. 

Jelly Roll – Down Under 2025 Tour

Oct. 25 – Strummingbird Festival, Kawana Sports Precinct, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Oct. 26 – TBA, Adelaide, SA
Oct. 28 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Nov. 1 – Strummingbird Festival, Newcastle Foreshore, Newcastle, NSW
Nov. 2 – Strummingbird Festival, Claremont Showground, Perth, WA
Nov. 4 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
Nov. 8 – The Outer Fields at Western Springs, Auckland, NZ

A major new court decision disposes of SoundExchange’s $150 million case against SiriusXM based on a judge’s finding that the royalties-collecting organization does not have the right to bring federal lawsuits, point blank.

The Thursday (Aug. 7) ruling from Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald is the first to weigh in on SoundExchange’s standing to file lawsuits as a means of enforcing royalty schemes. The organization, a nonprofit designated by the Copyright Royalty Board to collect royalties for artists, has been bringing these types of federal court actions for more than a decade against radio broadcasters like SiriusXM and music streamers such as Slacker and Napster.

All of these prior cases have either been settled or referred to the Copyright Royalty Board for resolution. But SiriusXM, having been accused by SoundExchange of “gaming the system” with manipulative bundling in order to withhold more than $150 million in royalties, filed a motion arguing that the organization actually has no right to sue in the first place.

Now, Judge Buchwald says SiriusXM is right. According to the judge, the federal statute that created SoundExchange, Section 114 of the Copyright Act, authorizes the organization to collect and distribute royalties but says nothing about bringing litigation.

“There is a dearth of evidence, let alone substantial evidence, for us to infer that Congress’s omission of any legal authority for SoundExchange in Section 114 was anything but deliberate,” writes the judge. “Absent such evidence, it would be wholly improper for a court to add terms or provisions where Congress has omitted them. Thus, the text of the Copyright Act clearly lacks an express conferral of a right of action upon SoundExchange.”

SoundExchange has argued that, regardless of the text of the Copyright Act, other factors like so-called “implied rights,” public policy goals and legislative history support its ability to bring lawsuits.

But Judge Buchwald is not convinced by any of these arguments — or by SoundExchange’s claim that it should be able to litigate royalty disputes as a representative on behalf of artists.

“SoundExchange exists to facilitate efficient royalty collection and distribution, not to champion the views and interests of copyright owners beyond royalty collection,” says the judge. “SoundExchange exists as a central clearing house for royalty payments, not a legal advocacy group.”

Reacting to Judge Buchwald’s ruling on Thursday evening, SoundExchange says it’s “currently reviewing the decision and will consider all options, including appeal and potentially filing actions in state courts to ensure the company’s continuing ability to collect all digital performance royalties.”

“Respectfully, SoundExchange firmly believes Judge Buchwald’s interpretation is entirely wrong on the law,” says the organization in a statement. “Despite this unfortunate and incorrect ruling, it is an established and long-accepted fact that SoundExchange has the right to sue negligent providers to compel compliance and payment of mandated royalty fees.”

Reps for SiriusXM did not immediately return a request for comment on the decision.

Adam22, the host of popular hip-hop podcast No Jumper, is facing a lawsuit from a man who says he was assaulted by rapper Luce Cannon and music manager Wack 100 outside the podcaster’s studio last year.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (Aug. 5) and obtained by Billboard, stems from a fight outside No Jumper’s Burbank, Calif., studio this past December between a man named Jermel Reed, who goes by the moniker J. Reed, on one side and Luce Cannon (Termaine Ashley Williams) and Wack 100 (Cash Jones) on the other. The brawl was captured on video and went viral on hip-hop social media channels.

Reed is not suing Cannon or Wack 100. Rather, he’s levying negligence claims against Adam22 and the entity that owns No Jumper’s studio, White Pickle LLC. Reed says Adam22 and his company knew that Cannon and Wack 100 “had a history of violent, criminal or dangerous conduct.”

“Despite this knowledge, defendant White Pickle and or defendant Adam Grandmaison negligently failed to exercise reasonable care in monitoring and supervising the premises while hosting podcast events,” reads the complaint.

Reed says he was “violently assaulted and battered” during the brawl, suffering bruised eyes, a broken nose and a concussion. He also claims Cannon and Wack 100 stole cash and valuables worth more than $10,000 from him.

Cannon, an alleged member of Los Angeles’ Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang, is currently in custody as part of the federal RICO case against gang leader and music executive Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr. Cannon is charged with extortion.

Reps for Adam22, Cannon and Wack 100 did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday (Aug. 7).

This is the second time this year that Adam22 has found himself in the legal crosshairs. In January, he was sued for sexual harassment by two former No Jumper employees; the claims have since been settled out of court.

In 2018, multiple women accused the podcast host of rape and other sexual misconduct. The accusations, which Adam22 denied, led Atlantic Records to sever ties with him and cancel plans for an imprint called No Jumper Records.