Macklemore‘s “f–k America!” chant has drawn condemnation from a trio of the Seattle-bred MC’s hometown sports franchises. According to Fox 13 Seattle, The MLB’s Seattle Mariners have joined the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and MLS’ Seattle Sounders FC in calling out the “Thrift Shop” rapper for controversial comments he made at last weekend’s Palestine Will Live Forever concert in the city.

“We are aware of the incident and agree with the other teams in town: Sports and music should connect, not divide us,” Mariners vice president of communication Tim Hevly reportedly said in a statement to the station. “We continue to monitor and research latest developments.”

Macklemore performed a new song at the event, “Hind’s Hall 2,” the sequel to his May song of the same name whose proceeds are meant to help the United Nations Relief and Words Agency (UNRWA), which provides assistance to Palestinian refugees. “Straight up, say it, I’m not gonna stop you,” Macklemore told the crowd in fan video from the show. “I’m not gonna stop you… yeah, f–k America.”

On Tuesday, Macklemore was dropped from the Las Vegas Neon City Festival lineup with no reason given for the scratch. In a lengthy statement on Wednesday, Macklemore — who has been a loud supporter of the Palestinian people in the midst of the yearlong war sparked by Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel — explained his mindset at the show.

“Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words,” he said, adding that he hasn’t been “OK” in the months since the Israel-Hamas war broke out after the militant group’s murder of more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of more than 250 others. ”I have been in utter disbelief with how our government is showing up at this moment in history. I don’t think I’m alone. Some days I don’t know how to love something that is hurting others so much. I don’t think I’m alone.”

In the wake of Hamas’ surprise attack almost a year ago, Israel has waged a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza that Palestinian health authorities say has killed more than 41,000 people and driven most of its two million-plus residents from their homes; Israel recently opened a second front in the war in Lebanon, where attacks on the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah this week have already killed more than 500 as the Pentagon fears a potential Israeli ground invasion that could lead to a devastating regional war.

Macklemore’s 2012 song “Can’t Hold Us” has been a staple of the seventh-inning stretch at Mariners games and the statement from Hevly comes after the Sounders and Kraken also distanced themselves from the rapper earlier this week; Macklemore and his wive, Tricia Davis, are among the minority co-owners of the Sounders and the Kraken.

“We believe that sports bring people together and unite us. We are aware of Macklemore’s increasingly divisive comments, and they do not reflect the values of our respective ownership groups, leagues, or organizations,” the Sounders and Kraken said in a joint statement on Monday. According to Fox 13, as the backlash over the comment continues to build, the Mariners, Kraken and Sounders are “evaluating their next steps regarding his involvement with their respective organizations.”

At press time a spokesperson for Macklemore had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

After a years-long hiatus, FORM Arcosanti is returning to Arizona on Oct. 4-6, with the festival today (Sept. 26) announcing that Beck is joining the lineup as a Friday night headliner. Esteemed duo Ho99o9 has also been added to the Friday night bill.

Happening at the artist community of Arcosanti, two hours from Phoenix, the weekend’s lineup also includes heavy hitters like Kim Gordon, Thundercat, Skrillex, Floating Points, James Blake, Empress Of, Bonobo, Kevin Morby and many others. See set times for the weekend below.

Programming highlights include Friday’s late night shows, which will feature a four-hour b2b set from Four Tet and Floating Points from 10-2 a.m. On Saturday, Jamie xx will close out the dancefloor from 12-2a.m., and on Sunday, James Blake will give a sunset hour performance that will be immediately followed by a performance from Thundercat. Later that night, Skrillex will perform from 11-2 a.m.

“In such a crowded festival landscape it’s a privilege to do a show with so much support from the artists themselves,” Zach Tetreault, who founded the festival with his band Hundred Waters in 2014, tells Billboard. “At only 2,500 capacity we don’t have the budget of other festivals, but we do have the heart. That’s clearly resonating, which is so inspiring. This year’s program has some of my favorite artists across genres from earth-shattering poets Aja Monet and Mustafa; to the most powerful living songwriters like Jessica Pratt, Angel Olsen and Sir Chloe; to my favorite DJs on the planet, Four Tet, Skrillex and Jamie xx. I feel like FORM attendees will take an emotional journey each day that ends in the best party ever each night.“

Along with the music, FORM will host daytime cultural programming that includes a discussion on global spiritual spaces and intentional communities, a talk on stopping state violence and protecting the freedom of reproductive decision making, a talk on decarbonizing the music industry, a discussion on the mythology of the afterlife, along with pool parties, nightly stargazing, a saxophone meditation session, a listening room presented by Discogs, an installation by land artist Jim Denevan and more.

“FORM celebrates those shaping the world we want to live in, despite the challenges,” cultural program curators Molly Hawkins and Kim Swift tell Billboard. “Through performance, discussion, social spaces, artworks, activities and partnerships, we explore different perspectives on how individual choices and creative acts can have positive and lasting impact on our world.”

Sony Music Publishing Latin announced on Thursday (Sept. 26) the renewal of its global publishing deal with songwriter, producer, recording engineer and musician Edgar Barrera. According to the publisher, the agreement extends the company’s partnership with the Mexican-American hitmaker, which began in 2014.

The renewal comes just a week after Barrera, for the second year in a row, tops the Latin Grammys nominations with nine nods in total, including songwriter of the year and producer of the year.

“I am very grateful and excited to extend my relationship with Sony Music Publishing, to start a new chapter on a journey that started 10 years ago,” Barrera said in a statement. “Jorge and Jon have always supported all of my crazy ideas and given me a safe space to continue growing as a writer and music executive.”

Billboard‘s 2023 Latin Groundbreaker honoree, the Texas-born artist has become one of Latin music’s most in demand producers and songwriters, penning songs for Karol G, Maluma, Shakira, Peso Pluma, Grupo Frontera and Selena Gomez, to name a few. In January 2021, he topped four genre charts — pop, rhythm, tropical and regional Mexican airplay — with four different songs, something no other Latin songwriter had done before. 

“Edgar is one of the most hardworking, versatile, talented, and smart songwriters I’ve had the pleasure to work with, period,” added Jorge Mejia, Sony Music Publishing president & CEO, Latin America and U.S. Latin. “Most importantly, over the years I’ve learned that for Edgar it’s not about the accolades or the records or barriers that he breaks time and again – it is about the music. With that mindset, I know Edgar is possibly just getting started. We are beyond honored to be part of his team and can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Edgar Barrera was represented in this negotiation by his long-time counsel Brian Alvarez.

The 35th anniversary of Billboard Latin Music Week, which will feature exclusive panels, conversations and performances by Latin music’s biggest stars, will take place Oct. 14-18 in Miami. Tickets are available now at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

With Sean “Diddy” Combs sitting in jail on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, he faces an uncertain path ahead in the immediate future — with unresolved issues over his detainment and how quickly he’ll face trial.

Combs, who was arrested and charged last week, stands accused of sweeping criminal wrongdoing, including physical abuse, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.

After Judge Andrew L. Carter denied him bail on the grounds that Combs posed a flight risk and might intimidate witnesses, the music mogul’s lead attorney Marc Agnifilo suggested he would appeal that ruling to a federal appeals court. But he has not yet filed that appeal, and such a challenge faces long odds.

Until then, Combs will likely remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — a federal correctional facility that has long been criticized for danger and dysfunction. In July, one of New York’s U.S. Congressmen called for an investigation, citing “chronic understaffing, perpetual solitary confinement and widespread violence.” Last month, a federal judge criticized “dangerous, barbaric conditions” at the facility.

In court filings, Agnifilo has called the MDC “horrific” and “not fit for pre-trial detention,” and he suggested at last week’s bail hearing that he would seek to have Combs transferred elsewhere. But Judge Carter told him that decisions on pre-trial jail placement were not within his purview, and in a court filing on Monday, Agnifilo declined to formally ask the judge for a change in jails.

How long will the embattled mogul be waiting at MDC? That depends on when his trial takes place, which is a harder thing to predict than you might think.

Anyone accused of a crime in the U.S. has a constitutional right to a speedy trial, which in federal cases means a jury trial must start within 70 days. Defendants often waive that right to give their attorneys more time to prepare a defense, since prosecutors usually have a head start. But Agnifilo declined to do so last week, saying he was “going to do everything I can to move his case as quickly as possible.”

“I’m going to try and minimize the amount of time he spends in very, very difficult and, I believe, inhumane housing conditions,” Agnifilo said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The demand for a speedy trial suggests that Diddy’s legal team believes there is more advantage to be gained from forcing prosecutors to quickly put their case before a jury, rather than spending more time preparing themselves or attacking the charges with pre-trial motions. The move could allow the government less time to find additional witnesses, and less time to sift through huge amounts of digital records and other evidence. “They’re going to have to accommodate me and him and give us a quick trial, and I’m going to be pushing for that,” Agnifilo said.

But prosecutors can, and very likely will, seek to slow down that timetable.

Under speedy trial rules, the judge can “exclude” certain time from the 70-day timer for a wide variety of reasons. Already, Judge Carter has said in court orders that he will exclude several weeks of time — starting with the Sept. 18 bail hearing and running to the next hearing next month — “in the interest of justice.” The next court date is a status conference currently scheduled for Oct. 9.

Another cause for delay would be if prosecutors filed so-called superseding indictments — an updated version of the case against Diddy. Such a filing could simply add new charges against Diddy based on newly-discovered evidence or testimony, or it could add new defendants to the case — not an unlikely outcome in a case that repeatedly references unnamed co-conspirators in Diddy’s alleged criminal enterprise.

At a press conference announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams suggested that could be exactly what prosecutors are planning. “I can’t take anything off the table,” Williams said. “Anything is possible. Our investigation is very active and ongoing.”

Don’t expect to see Lance Bass‘ name on the list of celebrities who’ve attended one of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ parties. The former *NSYNC singer and solo star told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday night (Sept. 25) that after hearing something the disgraced Bad Boy mogul said when Diddy opened for *NSYNC on the group’s final tour in 2002 he had no interest in spending time with Combs.

“I never had time to go to a Diddy party,” said Bass, who added that he’d totally forgotten that Diddy had warmed up the stage for *NSYNC until the rapper/producer was arrested in New York on Sept. 16 and accused by prosecutors of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.” Diddy was been denied bail twice while awaiting trial on the three felony charges of sex trafficking and racketeering that could land him a life sentence.

“It’s kinda horrible, but never kinda liked him because the very last show in Orlando I overheard him talking to Justin [Timberlake] being like, ‘You need to drop these… effers! You need to go solo! And I was like, ‘I don’t like you anymore Diddy.’ I’m like, ‘at my own show? What the hell?’” said Bass.

Timberlake did, of course, go out on his own after *NSYNC went on hiatus in 2002 and has released six solo albums to date, including this year’s Everything I Thought It Was.

Diddy was hit with another civil sexual abuse lawsuit this week from Thalia Graves, who claimed that Combs and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, drugged and repeatedly sexually abused her at Diddy’s New York City studio in 2001 and filmed the attack, which they allegedly then showed to others. Combs, who has denied all the allegations, has been hit with at least nine other similar civil suits over the past year, with each one accusing him of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing.

The Diddy story was ironic because elsewhere in the interview, Bass was asked by a caller about rumors of a possible *NSYNC reunion tour. “I can finally say we’re in talks right now, we’re actually talking,” Bass said to wild applause about the possibility that he will once again hit the stage with Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick.

He added that the renewed interest has been sparked by the beloved boy band’s studio reunion last year for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack song “Better Place” — and Timberlake’s EITIW album track “Paradise” — as well as the catalog bump for the band thanks to the inclusion of the *NSYNC classic “Bye Bye Bye” in the opening credits sequence of Deadpool & Wolverine.

“We’d be stupid not to do something… just hold your breath just a little longer,” Bass teased. “It’s gonna take a little time, but I think something’s coming.”

Watch Bass talk Diddy and potential *NSYNC reunion tour below.