Israeli producer Mita Gami brought his signature brand of sexy, funky, stylish house music to the spring 2026 edition of CRSSD festival in San Diego, Calif., on March 14.

Playing the festival’s Palms stage, the Maccabi House label cofounder delivered a 90-minute set that wasted no time getting into it, with Gami immediately tearing through stylish, high-energy tracks from producers including Fran Martinez, Millero 7 Alt Control and Oskar Guerrero. Also listen closely for bits of Prince’s “Sexy M. F.,” The Mama & The Papas’ “California Dreamin’” and Gami’s own remix of Rüfüs Du Sol’s “Lately,” all woven into the grooves.

“The buzz around CRSSD was overwhelming and I’m happy to be sharing it here for you all for a quick moment!” Gami tells Billboard. “That California energy is unmatched.”

Gami’s CRSSD Spring 2026 appearance happened amid a run that included dates at Brooklyn Paramount and EDC Mexico, with the artist’s upcoming tour schedule including appearances across Europe, a Maccabi SF show with his frequent collaborator and Maccabi House cofounder Adam Ten and another Maccabi House show in New York’s Central Park on July 25. Gami also has a run of Ibiza dates lined up for the 2026 season at island clubs including Pacha and DC10, along with the Ibiza edition of the global-trotting Mayan Warrior party.

The CRSSD spring 2026 lineup also included Polo & Pan, Deborah De Luca, Vintage Culture, Tycho, Chris Lake, Tokimonsta and many others. The biannaul festival has been a mainstay on the Southern California festival circuit since launching in 2014.

Live Nation, SiriusXM, Symphonic Distribution, Music Business Association, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and more have been named standout companies for women in music.

The latest edition of WIM Best Places To Work — the study conducted by nonprofit organization Women in Music in partnership with company reviews platform InHerSight — also credited Ticketmaster, Spotify, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Loeb & Loeb, Nettwerk Music Group, The Mechanical Licensing Collective, The Orchard, A2IM, The Syndicate, The Recording Academy and Bright Antenna Records for excelling in workplace inclusivity and employee satisfaction.

“We know that statistically, women in workplace leadership enhance financial performance and drive innovation, but they remain underrepresented,” said Women in Music president Nicole Barsalona. “This year, we’re excited to highlight companies that are working to fix a system that too often fails to create a culture where women can thrive. Companies like Live Nation and The Recording Academy had high response rates, demonstrating openness and commitment to transparency and accountability, increasingly rare and commendable these days.”

“This recognition reflects the culture Live Nation Women is committed to helping build every day,” said Live Nation Women president and chief strategy officer Ali Harnell. “One that supports women at every stage of their lives and careers so they can grow, lead, and drive impact across industry.”

Big Picture Media, Music Business Association, Bright Antenna Records, The Orchard and A2IM all came in with perfect scores for equal opportunities for women and men. Meanwhile, Big Picture Media, Bright Antenna Records, Music Business Association, The Orchard and A2IM all had perfect scores in women in leadership. The top companies for salary satisfaction were SiriusXM, Music Business Association and Bright Antenna Records.

“As an independent company built from the ground up, this recognition is especially meaningful,” said Symphonic founder and CEO Jorge Brea. “From day one, our focus has been on people, creating a culture where our team feels supported, valued, and empowered to grow. That foundation has allowed us to build a global company without losing the human touch that got us here.”

Despite the individual company accolades, persistent disparities continue to plague women in the workplace. The survey found that nearly half of women say they would not recommend their workplace, and 45% of women believe company support for women has declined. More than 70% of women plan to start or continue looking for a new job in 2026 due to better-paying opportunities.

“The past year has had a devastating impact on women’s careers. Women have left the workforce in droves, and the areas where they are currently thriving like healthcare and education are often undervalued and underpaid,” said InHerSight co-founder and CEO Ursula Mead. “Meanwhile, many companies choose to remain silent, quietly stepping back from or dismantling initiatives that support women’s advancement — advancement that has historically made our workplaces more innovative, creative, and profitable. That’s why the transparency we’ve seen in this year’s Women in Music® campaign is so encouraging at a time like this.”

The WIM Best Places to Work survey is conducted on an opt-in basis at 185 companies. More than 6,875 recipients replied to the survey that was first conducted in 2025. The survey inquired about management opportunities, flexible work hours, maternity and adoptive leave, employer responsiveness and other factors for women.

Big Picture Media, Bright Antenna Records, Music Business Association, SAG-AFTRA and The Syndicate scored perfectly on the company’s sense of belonging, with Universal Music Group, Live Nation, The Recording Academy, The Orchard, Concord, Spotify, The MLC, Kobalt, Nettwerk and more receiving high marks in the category.

“Being recognized by the 2026 Women in Music Best Places to Work list — in categories such as, Women in Leadership and Sense of Belonging — is a true honor and a testament to the intentional, people-first culture we’ve built at the Recording Academy,” said Recording Academy chief people and culture officer Shonda Grant. “We believe that when our team feels seen, supported, and empowered, they do their best work on behalf of music creators everywhere.”

Women in Music is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, unaffiliated with Billboard, founded in 1985 to educate, empower and advance women in the music industry. WIM hosts year-round educational and career development programming in chapter markets around the world, with equity-focused initiatives that include WIM Safe(r) Spaces, the WIM Workplace Initiative, the WIM Mentorship Program and the WIM Executive Internship Program. To become a charitable partner or to make a donation, go to womeninmusic.org.

If Beyoncé‘s next album is rock-inspired — as it has long been rumored — there’s practically no one better to serve as a guest artist on the project than Hayley Williams.

That’s why one fan at the Paramore frontwoman’s solo show in Maryland on Wednesday (April 15) took the chance to ask her flat-out whether she’s going to be featured on Bey’s Act III. As captured in a video taken at the concert, Williams coyly told the shouting concertgoer, “What do you want me to do if I am?”

“Girl, I don’t know if I am or not,” the vocalist continued. “I have no answer. I wish I could tell you. If I could tell anyone, it would be you right now.”

Williams added, “You might know before I do.”

Bey has been in the process of rolling out a trilogy of albums since 2022, when she dropped Act I, Renaissance. In 2024, she released Act II, Cowboy Carter; both projects topped the Billboard 200.

The first two albums in the series both marked distinct genre pivots for the Destiny’s Child alum, who experimented with dance music on the first act and country on the second. Fans have long wondered which genre she’ll explore on Act III, but the most popular guess is arguably rock. And since Cowboy Carter featured so many guest artists — from Dolly Parton to Willie Nelson, Shaboozey, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone — it would make sense for the trilogy’s finale to follow suit.

With all that in mind, Williams — one of modern rock’s foremost stars — could be the perfect person to feature on Bey’s highly anticipated next album. For now, the “Misery Business” singer is busy with her tour in support of her 2025 album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. Following her stop in Maryland, she’ll play next at The Fillmore in Minneapolis on Friday (April 17) before traveling through more parts of the United States this spring and Europe this summer.

You know that old saying about “don’t quit your day job?” Well, that’s excellent advice for Zohran Mamdani, who has a solid gig as New York’s Mayor since his election last November. But according to the New York Times, on Thursday (April 16), Mamdani, 34, and his wife, graphic designer Rama Duwaji, released the details of their joint tax return and let’s just say it’s a good thing his new gig pays in the mid-$250K range, because the cash coming in from Mamdani’s previous rap career isn’t going to keep the couple afloat.

The paper said that the couple reported a total 2025 income of $145,000, most of it coming from Mamdani’s state assemblyman salary of $131,296. A much smaller portion, $1,643, came in the form of royalties from Mamdani’s former gig as a rapper under the name Mr. Cardamom, with more than half of that figure coming from abroad. At press time it was not known what Mamdani’s previous-year hip-hop-related earnings amounted to.

Even though the royalties were modest, according to Luminate, Mamdani’s U.S. streams exploded in 2025. The six songs from his 2016 EP, Sidda Mukyallo, credited to Young Cardamom and Mamdani’s musical partner HAB (Abdul Bar Hussein), pulled in a combined 58,000 U.S. official on-demand streams in 2025. To date, the EP has 79,000 streams, meaning that 74% of its lifetime streams came last year.

In addition, his 2019 single, “Nani,” had 219,000 U.S. official on-demand streams in the U.S., which is a majority of its 232,000 lifetime total. Young Cardamom and HAB’s 2016 “#1 Spice” song had 243,000 official on-demand U.S. streams in 2025 out of its 595,000 lifetime total.

Before his rise to Mayor, Mamdani had a side hustle as a rapper under the stage names Young Cardamom and then Mr. Cardamom. As he gained more name recognition during his run for the city’s top office, his catalog picked up steam, with his streaming numbers getting a significant bump.

In addition to the Sidda Mukyaalo EP — on which the two men rap in six different languages, while drawing from their shared Ugandan heritage — they also released “#1 Spice” on the soundtrack to the Disney biographical drama Queen of Katwe.

Previously, the U.S. streams for Young Cardamom and HAB’s catalog went from less than 1,000 in late May of 2025, before Mamdani’s secured the nomination, to more than 15,000 from June 13-19, the week before he became the presumptive Democratic candidate for Mayor, with streams rising by 582% during that period.

Check out Mr. Cardamom’s “Nani” below