Young Thug is officially returning home after pleading guilty in a criminal case accusing him of leading a violent Atlanta street gang. The rapper was sentenced to 15 years probation and no prison time on Thursday (Oct. 31).

Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) pleaded guilty in Georgia to several counts, including possession of drugs and firearms, and pleaded no contest to others including the racketeering accusations that alleged he was the leader of a criminal gang, Young Slime Life. Thug has been in custody for two years after he along with 27 others were arrested in May 2022 as part of a sprawling 56-count indictment for violations of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Before his sentencing, Young Thug told the court he takes “full responsibility for my crimes and for my charges,” adding, “I know what I bring to the table and I know what I am. I know the heights I’ve reached and I know the impact I’ve got on people in the community.”

Following the news, Travis Scott took to his Instagram Stories to write that his “bruddda otw home” with a series of brown hearts. Similarly, Metro Boomin shared a series of photos of Thug to his Stories.

“Welcome Home lil bruddah, It’s been too long… Time to get back to it!!!” T.I. wrote on Instagram alongside photos of the duo. On X, Sexyy Red wrote, “THEY LET TWIN OUT!!!,” in reference to the duo’s physical resemblance.

Kevin Liles, the CEO of 300 Entertainment which houses Thug’s YSL Records, wrote on Instagram, “Words can’t express the incredible happiness and relief I feel to learn of Jeffery’s freedom. There will be a time to discuss the criminalization of hip-hop lyrics and the use of bond denial as a weapon against defendants, but in this moment everyone should feel nothing but joy that this amazing artist and even better man can hug his children, parents, siblings, and other loved ones tonight.”

When Gracie Abrams took the stage at a Kamala Harris rally at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday night (Oct. 30), the 25-year-old singer/songwriter urged young voters to support the Harris/Walz campaign so there’s still a democracy left to “fix it when it is our turn.”

“I know everybody who has been onstage tonight and will be onstage tonight wouldn’t be anywhere else for anyone else except … for the next president of the United States: the amazing, compassionate and brilliant Kamala Harris,” Abrams said. “For many of us here onstage and in this crowd tonight, this is either the first or second time that we’ve had the privilege of voting in a presidential election. As we know, we’ve inherited a world that is struggling and it’s easy to feel disconnected and disillusioned. Between the advent of social media in our childhoods and COVID and relentlessly targeted disinformation, we’ve been through some things. It’s easy to be discouraged, but we know better. We know that unless we vote and keep our democracy intact, there is nothing we will be able to do to fix it when it is our turn.”

Abrams wrapped her speech by declaring of Harris: “She is the right leader at a very tricky time and we could not be luckier.”

In addition to her speech, Abrams and her band — who are currently opening up for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour on its final North American leg — also performed “I Love You, I’m Sorry” (which just peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 this month) and “Free Now”; both are from her most recent album, The Secret of Us, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart over the summer.

Mumford & Sons also performed at the rally, playing “Little Lion Man,” “Awake My Soul” and “I Will Wait” — their highest-charting hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 2013. In 2021, the group’s guitarist-banjo player Winston Marshall left the band after a controversial social media post calling right-wing provocateur Andy Ngo a “brave man” for his book Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.

Remi Wolf hit the stage too, performing “Cinderella” and saying in a speech that America should feel like “a place where we feel safe, accepted and free. That is why I’m here today to support our future president, Kamala Harris, in her efforts to create this safe space for us again. She understands that the right to make decisions about our own bodies is fundamental. She’s committed to tackling big issues like climate change and, like me, she’s a girl from the Bay Area who loves to laugh and have fun.”

Also at the music-heavy rally, Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger from The National dedicated their song “I Need a Girl” to Harris.

Aretha Franklin’s estate seems to think the Queen of Soul would have been a Kamala Harris supporter.

In a new campaign ad, the Democratic presidential candidate talks about  the “full-on attack on hard-fought freedoms,” as Aretha Franklin’s 1968 classic “Think” plays in the background. As Harris reminds voters of freedoms achieved over the decades over historic footage, including the right to vote for Black Americans and women, as well as a woman’s right to “make decisions about her own body,” the song’s “Freedom” refrain plays.

Billboard has learned that Franklin’s estate reached out to the Harris campaign, making her music available, and specifically suggested “Think” as a good option. The campaign fully embraced the idea for the get-out-the-vote ad, which is running on YouTube and other online outlets, as well as connected TV/premium streaming services. Billboard will update as soon as it learns more.

Franklin supported Democrats for decades, including performing the national anthem at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. She sang a majestic version of “My Country, Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. She also sang at a farewell event for Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, in 2015.

When Franklin died in 2018, Obama released a statement that read in part, “Aretha’s work reflected the very best of our American story – in all of its hope and heart, its boldness and its unmistakable beauty.”

While the Harris ad uses “Think,” which Franklin and her ex-husband, Ted White, co-wrote, her signature song, “Respect,” also played a vital role in the civil rights movement in the ‘60s. In her autobiography she wrote of the song that it spoke to “the need of the average man and woman in the street, the businessman, the mother, the fireman, the teacher — everyone wanted respect…It was also one of the battle cries of the civil rights movement. The song took on monumental significance.”

Primus fans have been left reeling after the band’s longtime drummer, Tim “Herb” Alexander, made an unexpected exit from the band.

In a message shared on social media on Oct. 29, Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde revealed that Alexander had resigned suddenly on Oct. 17 via email “effective immediately”, citing a “loss of passion for playing”—a reason that Claypool and LaLonde admitted “came as a complete shock.”

“On the heels of a wonderful spring & summer of touring and some fabulous plans ahead, it has been a bit bewildering for us that Herb would so abruptly opt out,” Claypool and LaLonde said.

“After several attempts to communicate with Herb, his only response was another email stating that he has ‘lost his passion for playing.’ As disappointing as that is, we respect his choice and it’s forced us to make some tough decisions.”

Primus will move forward with their New Year’s Eve show in Oakland, California, enlisting members of Claypool’s other projects, Holy Mackerel and Frog Brigade, for a “special, one-time event.”

Additionally, for their upcoming Dominican Republic festival date, they’ll be joined by Tool drummer Danny Carey. Heading into 2025, Primus will begin a search for “the Greatest Drummer on Earth” to join them for the second leg of Maynard James Keenan’s Sessanta tour.

Alexander’s exit marks the end of an era for Primus, whose musical legacy is peppered with chart-topping moments and fan-favorite tracks that have kept them thriving since the ’90s.

Primus’s journey in the music world is as bold and unpredictable as their sound. They made their Billboard breakthrough with Sailing the Seas of Cheese in 1991, and by 1993, their offbeat style had firmly resonated with fans. Their third studio album, Pork Soda, debuted at an impressive No. 7 on the Billboard 200, proving that there was a place for Primus’s funk-infused rock in the mainstream. The success didn’t stop there—Tales from the Punchbowl hit the top 10 on Billboard as well.

Singles like “My Name Is Mud” and “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” brought even more attention to the band, becoming alternative radio and MTV staples. And despite their unconventional style, Primus pulled in platinum certifications from the RIAA for Sailing the Seas of Cheese and Pork Soda.