Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus is hitting the road this April, though this time he’ll be promoting his new book instead of a new record.

The bassist and vocalist of the enduring Californian pop-punk band announced in late 2024 that he would be releasing his forthcoming memoir, Fahrenheit-182, on April 8. Co-authored with Los Angeles-based journalist and author Dan Ozzi, the book takes an in-depth look at Hoppus’ storied life, detailing his childhood in the ‘80s, a formative obsession with punk rock, skateboards and MTV, and how it all led towards his co-founding Blink-182 in August 1992.

“Threaded through with the very human story of a constant battle with anxiety and Mark’s public battle and triumph over cancer, Fahrenheit-182 is a delight for fans and also a funny, smart, and relatable memoir for anyone who has wanted to quit but kept going,” a description reads.

“This book has everything,” Hoppus himself said in a promotional clip for the book. “A young man, born in the California desert, joins a punk rock band and goes on to conquer the world! It’s got skateboarding! It’s got punk rock clubs! It’s got ’90s music! But that’s not all! Pre-order now and we’ll throw in with no extra cost to you: Anxiety! Depression! Band breakups! Loss of self! Suicidal thoughts and ideation! And of course everyone’s favorite: cancer! This shit gets dark.”

Now, Hoppus will be taking the book to the people, announcing a seven-date tour which will see him in conversation with a moderator as he discusses its writing and contents, and pairs it all with his trademark humor. The tour launches in New York City on April 9, and visits Somerville, MA; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia and Chicago, before wrapping up with two dates in California as he visits El Cajon and Los Angeles.

Tickets for Hoppus’ tour are on sale as of Feb. 21, with the musician urging audiences to buy up to ensure they “don’t miss out on all the small things.”

Hoppus’ tour comes following a busy couple of years for Blink-182 which saw them touring the world in support of their ninth studio album, One More Time…. The record was their third to peak atop the Billboard 200, and their first to feature co-founding guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge since his 2022 return, having split with the group for a second time seven years earlier.

This week also saw Hoppus announce the impending auction of a rare Banksy artwork that he acquired in 2011. The painting will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on March 4, and is expected to sell for up to $6.3 million.

Mark Hoppus 2025 Book Tour Dates

April 9 – Brooklyn Paramount, New York, NY
April 10 – Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA
April 12 – The 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
April 13 – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
April 16 – Park West, Chicago, IL
April 18 – The Magnolia, El Cajon, CA
April 20 – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA

A private funeral service for Murder Inc. co-founder Irv Gotti was held Wednesday (Feb. 19) at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York.

Among those in attendance, according to TMZ, were Murder Inc. artists Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Charli Baltimore and Vita. Also at the service, in addition to Gotti’s family, were Jay-Z (sitting in the front row), Gayle King, Fat Joe, industry executive Steve Stoute, music video/film director Hype Williams, fellow director Benny Boom and radio personality/podcaster Angie Martinez.

An emotional Ja Rule gave the eulogy, a clip of which appeared on X. “I won’t take up any more time,” said the rapper as he stood before the mourners. “I just want to say Irv, I love you. Everyone in this room loves you. You touched everybody in your own way and everybody has their moments of that with you. We’re all here in celebration of your life because it will live on forever. I love you my brother; see you when I get there.”

Gotti died on Feb. 5 at the age of 54 after suffering a stroke. In the wake of his success in helping to bring DMX to Def Jam, Gotti and his brother Chris co-founded Murder Inc. Records — titled after the crime syndicate of the same name — in 1998. As an imprint of the pioneering hip-hop label, Murder Inc. signed rapper Ja Rule as its flagship artist. Gotti also discovered and signed teenage singer and future R&B star Ashanti.

Over the course of his career as an executive and creative, Gotti logged producer credits on 28 charting Billboard Hot 100 hits from Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Fat Joe and Ye.

The honorees for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2025 were revealed Wednesday (Feb. 19) during CRS Honors as part of the Country Radio Seminar, which is happening in downtown Nashville Feb. 19-21.

This year’s radio category honorees are Ginny “Rogers” Brophey, Clay Hunnicutt and Gregg Swedberg. Honorees in the on-air personality category are Big D & Bubba, Mary McCoy and Rowdy Yates.

The honorees will be feted during the Country Radio Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner set for July 21 at the Virgin Hotel Nashville.

The Country Radio Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made a significant and enduring impact on the industry, with inductees being recognized in the categories of on-air personality (honoring the achievements of on-air talent), and radio (honoring professionals behind the scenes in programming, management and sales). To qualify, potential honorees must have worked in the radio industry for at least 20 years, with 15 years in the country format.

Big D & Bubba first joined forces in 1996 at WTGE in Baton Rouge, La., and launched their self-syndicated morning show three years later. They have been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. In 2014, they formed their own company, Silverfish, which continues to be the duo’s radio home, extending to 97 radio stations and partnering with 71 broadcast companies. Since 2011, the duo have been heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network each morning.

McCoy has been drawing in radio listeners in Conroe, Tex., for more than seven decades, a feat that has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. Her radio career launched in 1951 when she joined KMCO-AM in Conroe. In the early 1990s, McCoy was one of the first voices heard on KVST-FM, a new radio station in Conroe. She has since played country music on K-STAR Country 99.7 for more than 30 years. McCoy is currently heard six days a week with on-air co-host Larry Galla. She was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2010 and was part of the 2024 National Radio Hall of Fame class.

This year, Yates celebrates four decades working in radio. His career launched in Denton, Tex., in the mid-1980s, after which he ascended to dual programming/on-air roles in College Station, Tex., and Oklahoma City, Okla., before rising to roles at KIKK and KILT in Houston as well as KVOO in Tulsa, Okla. In 2004, Yates surged into nationally syndicated radio with an eight-year run hosting Country Gold. Since 2013, he’s owned, operated and worked as a host on Syndicated Media LLC Houston, and since 2019, he’s served as operations manager/PM for RFC Media/Suite Radio Houston, for country radio formats The Brand and The Legend. He also hosts The Rowdy Ride Home. Yates has been honored by the Academy of Country Music and the CRS-Country Aircheck Awards and is a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.

Brophey has worked in the radio industry for more than 40 years, with roles at WBOS, WKLB and WBWL. Since 2022, she has worked as brand manager/air talent/content creator at Townsquare Media’s WOKQ/Dover/Portsmouth. During her time at WBWL, Brophey joined the Country Cares radiothon program benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research, which earned her the “St. Jude Radio Partner of the Year” honor in 2019. Her St. Jude commitment included nine years of service on the St. Jude Radio Advisory Board. Brophey has been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, as well as by the CRS/Country Aircheck Awards and the New Hampshire Broadcasters Association.

Hunnicutt has earned significant success in the radio and label sides of the business. He started at WUSY/Chattanooga, where he served in roles including production director, imaging director, assistant program director and ultimately program director. He then worked as program director of WGAR/Cleveland, director of programming for Clear Channel’s five-station cluster in Nashville, and held day-to-day program director responsibilities for WSIX. Hunnicutt later took on a similar role for iHeart/Atlanta with country station WUBL, before taking on a series of corporate roles for iHeart, including executive vp of programming for the company’s major markets. At iHeart, he went on to serve as vp/brand manager of country programming for the company’s 143 country stations, as well as vp/GM of iHeartMedia’s national programming platforms. He’s been honored on Billboard‘s Power 31 list and named one of Radio Ink‘s top 50 programmers, and has served on the boards for the CMA, ACM and Country Radio Broadcasters. He also is a member of Leadership Music’s class of 2005. Later in his career, Hunnicutt started Big Loud Records as president, helping to launch the careers of Morgan Wallen, Hardy and more. He subsequently served as GM at Big Machine Records and most recently served as executive vp of label operations for all of Big Machine Label Group’s imprints.

Swedberg has spent 34 years programming at KEEY (K102) in Minneapolis, Minn. He was named K102 program director in 1992, then rose to operations manager, senior vp/programming, regional senior vp/programming and national country format coordinator for the station’s parent company iHeartRadio. Swedberg was previously a board member for the Country Radio Broadcasters and has been a member of Radio Ink’s most influential country program directors every year since 2000. KEEY has won multiple station of the year honors from the ACM and CMA. Several personalities on K102 have also been honored by both organizations during Swedberg’s time as program director.

Blink-182 co-founder Mark Hoppus is setting his sights on the art world, with the musician set to auction off his rare Banksy artwork.

The artwork, titled Crude Oil (Vettriano), was hand-painted by the anonymous English street artist in 2005 and will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on March 4. The painting is valued rather highly, attracting a sales estimate of up to £5 million, or $6.3 million.

Originally created for Banksy’s 2005 exhibit Crude Oils, the painting is itself a recreation of the 1992 artwork The Singing Butler by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. Hoppus would later acquire the piece in 2011.

As part of the exhibition (which was described as “A Gallery of Re-Mixed Master-Pieces, Vandalism, and Vermin” and featured works based off artists such as Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper), the original was altered to include a “sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheeling a barrel of toxic waste”. 

“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus in a statement. “Unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it. It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. It’s seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments.”

“This isn’t just an iconic Banksy, it is a Banksy that has been treasured by music legend, Mark Hoppus, who fell for this work for its rebellious spirit, raw edge and unfiltered expression—the fundamentals that also shaped Mark’s world: Punk culture,” Sotheby’s Europe chairman Oliver Barker said in a statement. 

“Street art and Punk Rock share the same vocabulary—they speak to the outsider, the rebel and the overlooked. Both movements were born from the margins. They challenge authority and rewrite the rules, a fundamental trait shared by Mark and Banksy. Now, by sharing Crude Oil (Vettriano) with the world, Mark will open others’ eyes to the true power art can have; to spark conversation and challenge the way we see the world around us.”

Remaining anonymous over his three decades of activity, Banksy’s artwork has become as iconic as it is divisive, with his creations adorning the walls of art galleries and album covers in equal measure. In 2021, his Love is in the Bin artwork sold for a record £18,582,000 (valued at $23,442,885 today), with the work itself having gained notoriety for its self-destruction upon its initial sale in 2018. 

Hoppus says a portion of the funds raised by the sale will go towards charities and funds aiding those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, including the California Fire Foundation, the Child Life Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research.

Crude Oil (Vettriano) is currently on display at Sotheby’s in New York until Thursday (Feb. 20), and will then be on display in London from Feb. 26 until March 4.

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has dismissed his bandmates’ decision to reform with Frank Carter on vocals, likening the whole endeavor to “karaoke”.

News of a tour from the Sex Pistols emerged in 2024 when it was first announced that the band – featuring original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock – were to reunite for a two-night affair to benefit West London’s Bush Hall. 

The reunion did not, however, feature Lydon, who served as the vocalist of the band under his Johnny Rotten moniker. Instead, the group was to be fronted by Carter, who has previously fronted acts such as Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes.

The initial shows soon led to further dates around the U.K. and Europe, with the band billed as Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter. Further shows have since been announced for Australia, New Zealand, and other European countries throughout 2025. In January, Jones confirmed U.S. dates would follow, though specifics are yet to arrive.

Lydon, however, had remained largely quiet in regard to the nascent shows from the band. On Thursday (Feb. 13), he spoke to British publication The i Paper about the tour, explaining that he largely felt “annoyed” by the whole affair and feared it would tarnish the group’s legacy.

“When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off,” he explained. “It annoyed me. I just thought, ‘they’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’ I didn’t write those words lightly. They’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke but in the long term I think you’ll see who has the value and who doesn’t. I’ve never sold my soul to make a dollar. It’s the Catholic in me – that guilt I don’t want to trip.

“Like Nancy Reagan, I’ve always found it easy to just say ‘no,’” he continued. “If something challenges your heart and your soul and your mind and your sense of purity of what is right and wrong in the world, then just say no. Which, according to the corporate thinking which riddles the music business earns me the title of ‘difficult to work with’ – a title of which I’m very proud.”

The new tour is not the first time, however, that Sex Pistols members have performed songs with a different vocalist. In recent years, Jones and Cook teamed up with Billy Idol and Tony James of Generation X to form the supergroup Generation Sex. Though initially a one-off occurrence in 2018, the group would later embark on a European tour in 2023.

Lydon touched on both the nascent iteration of the Sex Pistols and the Generation Sex group in another recent interview with the Classic Album Review podcast, claiming it’s his presence that makes for the genuine article.

“I wrote the fucking songs, didn’t I? I gave them the image,” he explained. ”I was the frontman. I am the voice what made the whole world sing. And now [they’re] going out, as they did the year before with Billy Idol. It’s just karaoke, really.

“I would love to be embarrassed by high-quality songwriting from them,” he continued. “They’ve had long enough to get that together now, haven’t they? But no. They profess their hatred for me, but they can’t live without me. I am the punishment that goes on giving.”

The Sex Pistols initially existed from 1975 until 1978, releasing their sole studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols in 1977. Lauded as a pioneering punk outfit despite their short initial tenure, the band would later reform in 1996 for a world tour, and undertook sporadic tours until 2008.

Famously, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, though refused to attend the ceremony, labeling the institution a “piss stain.”