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Artists are sending prayers DMX’s way after the rapper was admitted to a New York hospital following a reported drug overdose.
“DMX prayed over me once and I could feel his anointing. I’m praying for his full recovery,” Chance the Rapper wrote on Twitter Saturday (April 3).
“Prayers up for my brother DMX,” Ja Rule tweeted.
“Prayers for DMX and his family,” Missy Elliott echoed.
On Saturday, DMX’s representatives confirmed to Billboard that the rapper is currently hospitalized, and as of Saturday night, DMX is on life support, reps said.
TMZ had reported earlier that DMX experienced a heart attack triggered by the overdose, with one source saying he had “some brain activity” and another source saying that he as in a “vegetative state.”
“Come on X plzzzz,” Lil Kim wrote to the MC upon hearing the reports. “We need you. Prayers all the way up for you bro.”
“I love DMX SO MUCH,” said SZA. “praying hard for the king.”
“Today is 4/3/21 – it’s only right that we celebrate the talent and genius of my brother @DMX on the 4,3,2,1 song. We Love you X get well fast,” LL Cool J wrote about the rapper, whose long-running career has seen five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 15 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
See a roundup of messages and well wishes for DMX below.
Today is 4/3/21 – it’s only right that we celebrate the talent and genius of my brother @DMX on the 4,3,2,1 song. We Love you X get well fast.
pic.twitter.com/2YejrFdo5E
— LLCOOLJ (@llcoolj) April 3, 2021
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article reported an update from reps that DMX was breathing on his own and not currently in need of life support. However, it was later communicated to Billboard that DMX is still on life support as of Saturday night (April 3).
Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, a founding member of the band War, has died at the age of 71.
B.B. Dickerson, bassist and vocalist for the funk rock band, passed away peacefully at a Long Beach, Calif., hospital on Friday (April 2) after a long, undisclosed illness, a representative confirms to Billboard.
Dickerson, who was born in 1949 in Torrance, Calif., and got his start on the bass guitar at the age of 12, helped develop War’s signature sound co-writing and playing on tunes like “The Cisco Kid,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “Low Rider,” “Summer” and more.
He also sang for the band, and his lead vocal can be heard on War’s hit “The World Is a Ghetto.”
War peaked on the Billboard charts in 1973 with the album The World Is a Ghetto (which went to No. 1) and the single “The Cisco Kid” (No. 2).
Before forming War, Dickerson had performed in a group called The Creators along with his uncle Howard E. Scott. The Creators split during the Vietnam War, and while Dickerson was away in Hawaii, his uncle played with a band that became known as The Nightshift. Dickerson joined them upon his return. That group eventually morphed into the original lineup of War with Eric Burdon, with the track “Spill the Wine” launching War’s career.
Notably, Dickerson was onstage in London in 1970 when Jimi Hendrix joined War for what would end up being his last public performance before he died.
Dickerson is survived by his mother, his uncle and his children.
Donations in his name can be made to MusiCares.
Mariah Carey brought her fans with her to get the COVID-19 vaccine — virtually, of course.
The singer filmed herself getting her first dose of the vaccine, and her reaction to the shot turned out to be quite the musical moment.
“Vaccine side effect: G6,” she quipped in a caption for Saturday night’s (April 3) social media clip, which shows her talking to the camera as she waits, “excited and nervous a little,” for the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered. As the needle goes in, a Mariah high note comes out.
“Here we are, all the way from that first post washing my hands with Roc and Roe in New York, trying to encourage people to really be safe,” Carey noted. “You know, we’re still in this battle together.”
“Here we are, hoping for the best, encouraging you guys to do it when you can,” she added.
Experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine with Mariah in the video below.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards are coming up this weekend, and will look a bit different than in years past.
The pre-taped, one-hour event will air on Sunday (April 4) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on TNT and TBS. An encore will broadcast on TNT at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. For online viewers, both channels are available to stream live on Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV, Sling TV and FuboTV.
The SAG Awards won’t have a host this year, nor the usual banquet and red carpet event. However, the celebration will highlight the show’s signature “I Am An Actor” stories through funny and intimate docuseries-inspired interviews, which will be woven throughout the telecast. The show will also announce winners in 13 categories.
The late Chadwick Boseman earned four nominations for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, tying Jamie Foxx (2005) and Maggie Smith (2013) for the most nods in one year.
The Crown also gained a number of nominations for its actors, as did Ozark and The Queen’s Gambit.
The drummer for Grammy Award-winning rock band Alabama Shakes says he is innocent of child abuse charges filed against him, his lawyer said Friday.
Steven William Johnson, 35, was arrested last week after being indicted on charges of abuse of a child.
“Steve Johnson maintains his innocence on all of these allegations. And that’s what they are, allegations,” his attorney Nick Lough told The Associated Press.
The indictment listed no particulars about the charge beyond the criminal statute definition of child abuse to “willfully torture, willfully abuse, cruelly beat or otherwise willfully maltreat” a child under the age of 18 years.
His attorneys have filed a court motion seeking more information about the accusation. Lough said they have reason to believe the charge may involve what he described as a “spanking” incident.
Court records show that in 2019 a criminal complaint was filed against Johnson accusing him of hitting his son with a belt causing bruises on his buttocks and thighs. The case was later dismissed.
The latest indictment was returned in October. However, Lough said the arrest this month came days after Johnson had his parental visitation rights restored in court.
An arraignment date is set for April 7.
Johnson previously pleaded guilty in March 2020 to violating a domestic violence protection order in Limestone County. He received a suspended sentence of a year in jail, with 24 months on probation.
The Athens, Alabama-based band has been on hiatus since 2018, when lead singer Brittany Howard decided to focus on her solo project.
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