Busta Rhymes, Ice-T, Fat Joe and more honored the late hip-hop legend Biz Markie during a memorial service on Monday (Aug. 2).
The private service was held at Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts in Long Island, New York, to remember their dear friend and hip-hop icon.
“Biz was an icon. He is what we call hip-hop,” said rapper Busy Bee (according to Page Six), whose stage name served as the inspiration for Biz Markie’s own moniker. “He was peace, love, unity and having fun. That was Biz.”
The New York MC, born Marcel Theo Hall, died July 16 at age 57. He was hospitalized in April 2020 because of diabetes complications and reportedly suffered a stroke while in a diabetic coma last year as well.
Best known for his party anthem and Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Just a Friend,” Biz was bigger than his biggest hit, according to the Reverend Al Sharpton’s eulogy. “But he was more than just a friend. He was our icon. He was more than just a friend. He was our example! He was more than just a friend! He was our star! He was more than just a friend!” said Sharpton while referencing the record’s title. “The hit record doesn’t tell you the whole story. Thank you, Biz! You never let us down! You were more than just a friend.”
Al B. Sure! also spoke about the song and how Biz originally reached out to him and fellow R&B singer Keith Sweat to sing the iconic hook. “But I believe in Marcel’s case, nobody — and I mean nobody – could have rocked the chorus like the iconic, charismatic, signature Biz Markie,” he argued during his speech.
For the first time in 15 months, live music is returning nationwide after the global coronavirus pandemic ravaged the industry. Billboard’s “My First Fest Back” is a spin-off series off “My First Show Back,” dedicated to sharing stories from the return of Lollapalooza for its 30th anniversary — the first large-scale festival, bringing in 100,000 attendees each of its four days, to come back.
In the kick-off installment, Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell talks about the decision to continue with the festival even as the threat of the Delta variant lingers and why the 2021 edition of the fest is “an extremely important and special year.” (His comments have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
I think that this moment in time is extremely important in history as the country is coming back, getting through a pandemic. We’re right on the other side of it, [but] we’re still in it and it might be another year before we’re fully away from it. It depends on our actions. And I think there was a great divide that was caused by that last president, and other people around the world, and we’re all recovering from that but we’re gaining our strength and we are mighty — and we’re going to pull this off.
We’re in a very tough situation, but I love the fact that we’re actually in the eye of the hurricane and we did the right thing — and when I say we, I don’t just mean Lollapalooza. I mean the mayor, I mean the city of Chicago. We all figured it out together, “Hey, we can use this opportunity to vaccinate people.” That’s the mayor, that was her and her staff. And us, too, but she was the one who took all that pressure when people said, “You’re going to do that?” and being a politician I can imagine the pressure she’s under. “They’re not going to vote for me if I do the right thing,” because there’s more knuckleheads than there are smart people. She just said, “This is the right thing and it’s going to actually help the world,” and I’m just honored to be a part of it.
I do feel a small responsibility, but at the same time, I’m always thinking about God. What God would want is for us to continue refining the earth, and that’s just what we’re doing. And I love meeting young musicians and artists that speak for the generation and they carry that message of unity and brotherhood and wildness and freedom — it keeps me alive.
We rushed off to LP [first on day one]. She’s got a voice as great as there is on the earth. I watch people’s reactions to the [sets] and when I see ecstaticism, their body has just given itself up to nature and the sound of music, that is the best picture I have in my head.
I’m not going to say that nobody is going to catch anything, because it’s beyond me, but I can tell you that we really set a course in the right direction — and for that, I’m happy. I think [this 30th anniversary of Lollapalooza] is an extremely important and special year, because we all are hurting a little bit, we’re all a little afraid, but yet we’re exercising courage. Not to say people don’t have fear, we all have fear, but how much courage do you have is really the question. And I think this was a very, very courageous and smart and caring year. I’ll never forget it.
With the Delta variant of COVID running rampant across the world, Sir Paul McCartney is spreading one simple message for his fans: “BE COOL. GET VAX’D.”
The beanie- and face-mask-wearing 79-year-old rocker wrote this message on Instagram, while signing off as “Paul,” underneath a picture of himself getting his COVID shot from a health care professional on Monday (Aug. 2).
According to data from the U.K. government, more than 46 million people have received the first dose of the COVID vaccine, while only 38 million have gotten the second dose. The Beatles’ legend told The Sun in December 2020 that he was eager to get the jab when the top-priority groups — citizens over the age of 50 and those in high-risk categories — were eligible toward the beginning of 2021.
“The vaccine will get us out of this. I think we’ll come through it, I know we’ll come through, and it’s great news about the vaccine,” he said in the interview. “I’ll have it as soon as I’m allowed.”
See Paul’s snap of getting the jab below.
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These 10 tracks from artists like Aluna, Angel Olsen, Dermot Kennedy and Jungle will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Duckwrth & Phabo, “4K”
Duckwrth teams up with friend/fellow L.A.-based artist Phabo for “4K,” which finds them trying to find their post-quarantine celebratory sweet spot over otherworldly, blissed-out vibes and a laid-back trap beat. – Joe Lynch
Aluna & Punctual, “Summer of Love”
One of the most reliable voices in dance, Aluna teams up with U.K. production duo Punctual for “Summer of Love,” a thumping, late-night jam that will get you moving – but not so much that you sweat out half of your body weight. For a summer this hot, they’re keeping the BPMs at a reasonable level, and we salute them. – J.L.
Angel Olsen, “Safety Dance”
Slowed-down, moody covers of pop songs might be a tiresome trend at this point, but leave it to Angel Olsen to pull it off by tackling Men Without Hats’ “The Safety Dance” and imbuing the wonderfully goofy hit with an unironic commitment that emphasizes how durable this new wave hit actually is. – J.L.
Su Lee, “Socially Alive”
South Korean singer-songwriter Su Lee follows up her viral “I’ll Just Dance” with “Socially Alive,” a similarly sweet, heartfelt and cheeky piece of DIY bedroom pop. “I never thought I’d like to be a little bit more socially alive,” Lee sings, repping for all those introverts who came out of the pandemic ready to reconnect with friends but can’t quite remember how. – J.L.
Dolly Parton, “Sent From Above”
After earning a Billboard dance chart No. 1 in 2019 alongside Galantis, country icon Dolly Parton is dipping her toes back into the dance world with the effervescent electronic bop “Sent From Above,” a song that wafts in to accompany her recent fragrance, Scent From Above. – J.L.
Dermot Kennedy, “Better Days”
Ahead of the Irish singer-songwriter’s Lollapalooza set over the weekend, he released his new single “Better Days,” a well-timed, uplifting pop ballad that reminds us all better days are ahead. “I know you’ve been hurting,” he bellows as the beat picks up, helping the song feel even more positive — and believable. – Lyndsey Havens
Jelani Aryeh, “A Piece of Your Mind”
Last Friday, 21-year-old alternative R&B artist Jelani Aryeh released his debut album, I’ve Got Some Living To Do. “Piece Of Your Mind” particularly stands out for his sturdy opening vocal that quickly gets distorted over pulsing production and stellar drumming that functions as the song’s energetic backbone. – L.H.
Jungle, “Truth”
On Aug. 13, U.K. electronic production duo Jungle will release its anticipated album Love in Stereo, and so far, the project’s singles have all been promising. The latest, “Truth,” is perhaps the most rock-inspired; a racing beat and arresting riff create the perfect build-up to a wailing electric guitar solo halfway through. – L.H.
Amindi, “Slideshow”
California native Amindi has come a long way from dropping singles on SoundCloud. She released her debut EP, nice, last week and scored a feature on Isaiah Rashad’s latest album. Of the EP’s tracks, “Slideshow” stands out for the way it immediately drops listeners into the thick of it, starting with what could just as easily be an outro. Regardless, Amindi finds her footing and confidently takes hold of the track on which she asserts “You just want me ’cause I’m next.” – L.H.
Petey, “We Go On Walks”
You might know Petey from his hilarious TikToks, but he started out as a musician. The L.A.-based artist has developed an identifiable strain of indie rock on which he delivers thought-provoking lyrics about the most mundane of situations — from a haircut to, on his latest single, simply going for a walk. – L.H.
Bill Hutchinson, an eccentric real estate mogul who was arrested and charged earlier this month with sexually assaulting two teenagers, has filed a lawsuit against Kaaboo founder Bryan Gordon and president Seth Wolkov, claiming that the Colorado businessmen defrauded him out of $3 million and misrepresented key aspects of the failed festival at AT&T Stadium in 2019.
“KAABOO Texas was a colossal failure and was completely mismanaged from an operational standpoint” wrote attorney Gregory E. Stuhlman with law firm Chipman Brown Cicero and Cole in his complaint, filed July 29 in Delaware’s U.S. District Court. Organizers had hoped as many as 190,000 attendees would attend the event, but only 20,000 showed up, due to poor marketing and “an awkward gathering of touring acts” that were “past their prime,” Stuhlman alleges.
KAABOO Texas is the third event in the KAABOO series — the original KAABOO was launched in 2015 in Del Mar, California, and an offshoot event was held on the Cayman Islands in February 2019. The Del Mar festival was sold at the end of 2019 to Virgin Produced and has been postponed the last two years due to COVID-19. While the future of the Cayman Islands event is unclear, KAABOO Texas’ losses make a return unlikely.
“In addition to the negligible attendance, KAABOO Texas grossly underestimated its financial losses in its first and only year by $8 million, vastly eclipsing the original investment projections for the initial three-year period,” Stuhlman wrote. An investor update obtained last year by Billboard showed that the event lost a total of $19 million in its first year, far above the $11 million Gordon had forecast when pitching the event to Hutchinson in 2018.
The lawsuit comes just weeks after Hutchinson was arrested and charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old female and a 16-year-old female at houses he owned in both Texas and Orange County, California. The founder of Texas real estate investment firm Dunhill Partners, Hutchinson has pled not guilty to the charges. Billboard reached out to Hutchinson’s defense attorney Dan Hagood for comment but did receive a response. On July 14, Hagood told People that Hutchinson was “absolutely not guilty of sexually assaulting or sexually molesting anybody anywhere at any time.”
Hutchinson is well known in Dallas for his role on Lifetime’s reality show Marrying Millions, highlighting the 66-year-old’s marriage to 23-year-old Brianna Ramirez. The pair met while Ramirez was working at a Tex Mex restaurant in Dallas.
Hutchinson originally connected with KAABOO through former chief branding officer Jason Felts, who knew Hutchinson through Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. Hutchinson had been hired to build Virgin Hotels Dallas and was approached about investing in Virgin Fest, only to opt to invest in Kaaboo Texas instead after a meeting with Gordon.
Gordon is facing a half dozen lawsuits over the Kaaboo festival series, although Dunhill’s is the first to address the May 10-12 concert. Financial documents obtained by Billboard show that Gordon also owes $3.9 million to Blue & Silver, an investment entity controlled by the family of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, for its half of the $8 million in expense overages for KAABOO Texas.
Dunhill believes the event’s spiraling losses can be partially attributed to “management fees believed to have been funneled to Mr. Gordon and Mr. Wolkov,” Stuhlman wrote, alleging that the two men “enriched themselves by funneling the investor funds toward themselves through shell companies” he controlled, “including ticketing companies and event production companies. In other words, Gordon reaped windfall profits while cutting into the margins of the event.” Billboard reached out to Gordon for comment but did not receive a response.
Hutchinson is suing for fraud, conspiracy, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract and is asking for punitive damages.
