Snoop Dogg hit the ice running this week when he touched down in Italy for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games and got right to work. The Long Beach rap legend who will serve as both the first-ever honorary Team USA honorary coach and special correspondent for NBC during the Games re-posted a video on Tuesday (Feb. 3) in which he brings some California love to the rink.

Specifically, Snoop hopped on the side of a Zamboni to ghost ride the ice-smoothing machine at the Milano Ice Skating arena while wearing a full-length white winter coat with a blue patch on the back sprinkled with white stars over a red track suit. “We here,” he wrote in the caption along with an ice cube emoji. The NBC Olympics & Paralympics account originally posted the clip, writing, “Snoop Dogg is riding into the #WinterOlympics in style.”

As he did during his gig as a special correspondent for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris — where he served as a torchbearer during the Opening Ceremony in addition to providing hilarious commentary on the Games — Snoop got busy getting to know some of Team USA’s biggest stars.

Specifically, he chopped it up with “Quad God” Ilia Malinin, the two-time world champion figure skater who is the first, and only, skater to date who has successfully landed the hardest trick in the biz in competition: a fully rotated quadruple Axel.

“Dude, I’m speechless right now, honestly,” a flustered Malinin said upon meeting Snoop in a video posted by NBC Sports. “I have a crazy legend in front of me.” Snoop was equally impressed and blown away, saying, “You a legend, man! You’re going for a gold medal,” as he caught some footage of the skating giant on a mini cam while congratulating the 21-year-old skater for all the hard work he’s put into being one of the best and all the kids he’s inspired with his tenacity.

“It’s so many kids that want to be like you right now, man,” said Snoop, who then asked Malinin to give him a preview of how he heats up the ice. Snoop provided some of his patented delightfully surprised and energetic play-by-play, laughing, “Oh, he got moves too! Go ahead Quad God! I like the way you move! Damn! You see how he hit that?” as Malinin flawlessly pulled off a spinning jump.

“I like how you popped your collar,” Snoop said, praising Malinin’s effortless swagger by standing up and doing a shoulder shimmy. “Keeping it casual, you know?” Malinin responded. Snoop was doubly impressed when Malinin busted out a backflip, which is now allowed in competition after a nearly 50-year ban. “That was love right there, hoo!” Snoop howled. “You stuck the landing too! You stuck it!”

In another post of the two men hanging out, NBC Sports wrote, “The figure skating ice has never been more chill.”

Snoop will explore Italy’s landmarks and culture during the Games and host a Snoop’s Greatest Hits segment during the Games’ 16-day run.

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony will take place on Friday (Feb. 6), with the competition airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

Check out Snoop in Milano below.

🧊 we here https://t.co/xbthyQwTPU

— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) February 3, 2026

The vocalist and guitarist for Mark of Cain, one of Australia’s most influential and enduring alternative rock outfits, has come out as a trans woman.

After a lifetime of “inner conflict,” soul searching, and detailing her life as an “outsider” through the message of song, Josie Scott got “straight to the point with little or no bullshit” by way of a social media post.

“As I’ve aged, and mortality is ever closer, I’ve decided to embrace, rather than endure, who I am,” Scott writes in the post, shared Monday evening, Jan. 2.

From the age of 8, Scott has struggled with “gender dysphoria,” she explains, and “assumed I’d just live my life, complain a lot,” and leave cryptic notes in lyrics.

A bad bout of COVID in 2022 left Scott reassessing all of it. “I knew I would always regret not having the courage of my convictions to live my life,” Scott writes. “Seeing so many young people now able to embrace who they are and live authentically without as much bullshit as existed when I was young helped shine a light on the possibility that maybe I can finally be me in my autumn years.”

The process to open up and “finally live as myself” has been both liberating and challenging, she admits, “but the happiness I feel outweighs any obstacles I’ve faced so far.”

Scott’s family and close friends know her as Josie, Jo for short, she explains, “and given where I identify on the gender spectrum, I fit within the paradigm of being a trans woman.”

Hailing from Adelaide, South Australia, the Mark Of Cain formed in the mid-‘80s and, as the alternative rock scene exploded in the ’90s, emerged as a towering presence on the Australian scene.

Their breakthrough came about from extensive touring and prime festival spots, well-received records, extensive airplay on Triple J, and regular TV appearances on Recovery, Channel V and Rage.

TMOC’s fans include Henry Rollins, who produced their third album, Ill At Ease, which dropped in 1995, three years after his own band shared a stage with the rockers. The follow-up represented a band spreading its music wings with the remixes collection Rock ’n Roll, which led to reworkings of album tracks from Sydney electronic music master Paul Mac, dub practitioners Biftek and others.

In November 2023, Ill At Ease (via Civilians) reentered the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 40, thanks to the release of a deluxe edition. That chart result easily eclipsed the album’s previous peak position of No. 73.

The band remains active in the studio and on the road, and was forced to cancel its appearance at the Froth & Fury Festival on Jan. 31 due to “unforeseen circumstances,” reads a separate social post. “We hope to see our fans out on the road later in 2026 when circumstances allow,” the message reads.

What does Scott’s announcement mean for TMOC? “Absolutely nothing,” she continues. “We’ll continue to write, record and perform hard heavy music and I may look a little more androgynous but everything else remains the same.”

Tracy Zamot, who represented acts as ranging from matchbox 20 and Lil Wayne and companies including SiriusXM during her more than 30-year tenure as a publicist, has died following an illness. She was 56. Her sister confirmed her death on social media.

At the time of her passing, Zamot was working as a communications specialist with the Tribeca Festival and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, according to her LinkedIn page, but her roots were with major record labels. Variety first reported her death.

“Tracy and I met early in our careers when I was a young publicist at Shorefire faxing her ticket requests at Atlantic for Everything but the Girl’s tour dates back in 1994,” recalls publicist Laurie Jacobson, Jaybird Communications. “Twenty-five years later, she joined me at Jaybird and she was just a joy to work with. She was creative, funny and a very big Public Enemy fan. We used to do an album club during COVID and when it was her turn, she picked It Takes A Nation of Millions. I’m devastated to hear of her passing, and my heart breaks for her daughter, Grace, and her family.

Zamot, who was a 1991 graduate from State University of New York at Albany, started her career at Capitol Records, before shifting to Atlantic Records in 1992. During her decade there, she worked with Rush, Phil Collins, Collective Soul, Led Zeppelin and more, rising to vp of publicity. A stint at Virgin EMI Records, working with Lenny Kravitz and Iggy Pop, among others, followed. She also spent time as senior vp of publicity at Universal Motown Records before moving into corporate communications.

Zamot served as director of artist and music industry communications at Pandora from 2015 to 2017 before shifting to SiriusXM as vp of corporate communications in 2018. She worked at Jaybird from 2019 to 2022.

She is preceded in death by her husband, radio executive John Loscalzo, who died in 2015. They had been together since she was 20, and leave behind teenaged daughter, Gracie.

Shaboozey is responding to criticism of the speech he gave at the 2026 Grammy Premiere Ceremony, after declaring that “immigrants built this country” during Sunday’s pre-broadcast event.

When he accepted the best country duo/group performance Grammy for his song “Amen” with Jelly Roll, Shaboozey shouted out his Nigerian parents, who immigrated to America, where he was born and raised in Virginia. “Immigrants built this country, literally. So this is for them,” he said on the Peacock Theater stage as he accepted his first Grammy. “For all children of immigrants, this is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunities, to be part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it. Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions. You give America color, I love y’all so much. Thank you.”

Some on social media pointed out that his speech failed to recognize the history of many Black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved and brought to the United States against their will. “I understand what Shaboozey was probably trying to say, but my brother in Christ — it’s Black History Month!” one X user wrote on Sunday. “You have to word that properly if you’re going to bring it up, because the 400 years of building by African-American slaves is such a key part of the story.”

On Tuesday (Feb. 3), Shaboozey took to X to post an open letter in response to the online discussion and to share his apology.

“I want to be clear and unequivocal: Foundational Black Americans built this country. Period,” he wrote in the letter. “My words were not meant to erase, diminish, or overlook that truth, and I sincerely apologize for how they came across. That history, sacrifice, and resilience are undeniable, and I should have been more intentional in honoring that in my moment on stage.”

He also points out in his letter that he is the first Black winner in the best country duo/group category, which is “not just my achievement — it is a continuation of Black history. It stands on the shoulders of those who fought, created, and paved the way long before me. This moment belongs to all of us.”

“Amen” is a top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit for Shaboozey and Jelly Roll, peaking at No. 27 this week.

Read his full open letter below:

A letter from me 🖤 pic.twitter.com/DgcOavMHjx

— Shaboozey (@ShaboozeysJeans) February 3, 2026

First and foremost, I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who has supported and celebrated my journey as an artist. I also want to acknowledge and take responsibility for the conversation surrounding my acceptance speech.

I want to be clear and unequivocal: Foundational Black Americans built this country. Period. My words were not meant to erase, diminish, or overlook that truth, and I sincerely apologize for how they came across. That history, sacrifice, and resilience are undeniable, and I should have been more intentional in honoring that in my moment on stage.

I am a Nigerian American man and the son of Nigerian immigrants. In the overwhelming emotion of winning my first Grammy, my focus was on my parents and the sacrifices they made to come to this country. But I now recognize that their opportunity to come here — and my ability to thrive — rests on the foundation laid by generations of Black Americans who endured slavery, segregation, systemic racism, and continued struggles for equality. For that, I am deeply grateful.

Winning this award on the first day of Black History Month and becoming the first Black man to win Best Country Duo is not just my achievement — it is a continuation of Black history. It stands on the shoulders of those who fought, created, and paved the way long before me. This moment belongs to all of us.

My career has always been rooted in uplifting people, honoring where we come from, and expanding what’s possible. I am proud to be part of this legacy, and I commit to doing better in how I speak about and honor the full story of Black people in America.

With love,
Chibueze