• Front Porch Step Tour Suspended After Sexual Assault Allegations

    Jake McElfresh — aka Front Porch Step — has faced serious heat in recent days after several sexual assault allegations cropped up against him on social media. The singer is charged with, among other things, sending lewd photos to underage girls.With these accusations at the forefront of the rock news cycle, McElfresh is suspending the rest of his current tour."I am taking the appropriate time to assess these very serious allegations against me and I am not taking them lightly," he said, via AltPress. "Until I can do that in a complete manner with all the information I have at my disposal, I will not be continuing with any current touring activities for the time being."Recent tour partners Have Mercy and future tour partner Allison Weiss had already backed out of any forthcoming shows."We, Have Mercy, in no way condone the alleged actions that have come to light over the past week, and hope that message above all is clear to our fans," the band said. "Safety in music, and life, should never be risked for selfish decisions. We were incredibly excited at the opportunity to hit the road this spring, and that is still our top priority."There has also been a petition to boot Front Porch Step out of this year's Warped Tour lineup. McElfresh, who began recording as FPS in 2012, dropped his debut album "Aware" in fall 2013 and recently followed that up with the "Whole Again" EP in December.

  • Iran to Ban Rap Music? Ministry Sees Hip-Hop as 'Problem'

    A few months ago, we reported that India was finally coming around to hip-hop. While the gigantic country does not host many rappers compared to the United States, it was a place for free expression and growth in the genre. Now, the somewhat-established Iran rap scene is in the news for a completely opposite reason: The country is trying to shut it down."The Jerusalem Post" reports that the Iranian government sees hip-hop as a threat to traditional music and a "problem."From the story:"For now and in the foreseen future, there is no real possibility that the Islamic regime will permit rap music concerts, in spite of a big underground music scene which includes this genre. In recent years, the Iranian regime arrested many Iranian rap band members and denied permission for concerts."All public concerts must be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, while any requests must go through a bureaucratic process that "can take a few months.""This music encourages wild behavior that could have a detrimental effect on society," a spokesman said. "We don't want to have it and we will prevent any unwanted incidents normally associated with such concerts and other events."

  • 'RHOA' Phaedra Parks Insists She Was Faithful to Apollo Nida, Will Always Love Him

    "The Real Housewives of Atlanta's" Phaedra Parks has been dealing with the fallout from her imploding marriage and then watching her husband Apollo Nida turn himself in to begin serving an eight-year prison term in just the last several months alone. She has had more than enough on her plate, not to mention a plethora of messy feelings to sort through when rumors made things even tougher.According to a variety of sources, not too long ago the gossip mill started buzzing with a story about Parks cheating on Nida. She has always tried to carry herself well, and that has been tricky while living her life under a microscope, and while there are many things Parks will not respond to, this allegation was different."It's very hard to be in the public eye, under such public scrutiny, have the type of trauma that I'm having in my personal life, and have it aired for everyone [to] make their own crazy suggestions. It was very troubling. For one moment, I broke my Southern belle code and whipped my purse around. If you're already at your breaking point because you really have so much on your plate and someone throws out such a ridiculous accusation, such as me cheating ...," she said."I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I have been a very faithful wife. I think I've been an excellent wife. I have two small children, and I'm raising my sons to respect women. It's ridiculous to think I would ever do anything inappropriate, and there has never been any documentation of any such thing," explained Parks in a recent "Access Hollywood" interview.She has also admitted to still loving Nida, in spite of everything.

  • St. Vincent Talks About David Bowie and Artistic Authenticity at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art [WATCH]

    David Bowie's influence on popular music has had a lasting effect on numerous artists over the years. There is no other act from 2014 that carries on Bowie's chameleon spirit like St. Vincent's Annie Clark, though. The artist's fourth, self-titled album was a big hit, and Clark stopped by Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art to discuss Bowie's influence.As "Consequence of Sound" points out, the MCA has hosted a special exhibit titled "David Bowie Is" since September. It features more than 300 items from the artist's personal collection, and the museum has also hosted live events in addition to the exhibit. Clark talked about some of her own career experiences before launching into Bowie."I am curious to unpack this idea of authenticity," Clark says in the video below, "and when did it become more authentic to just stand onstage with no lights or costume or theatricality and just stand up there with a beard and your feelings? Bowie's heroes were people like Little Richard who did '50s queerness with a wink and a smile because that was all that was palatable for the time."

  • The Band Perry Is Working with 'Little Red Wagon' Writer Audra Mae for Follow-Up to 'Pioneer'

    The Band Perry recently opened up about their new album, the follow-up to 2013's "Pioneer." The siblings are bringing in up-and-coming songwriter Audra Mae to help out on the record. Mae is known for writing Miranda Lambert's tune "Little Red Wagon." She also collaborated with The Forest Rangers a few times for FX's "Sons of Anarchy" in addition to her solo material.According to Taste of Country, Kimberly Perry called into iHeartRadio's Electric Barnyard with Broadway show to talk about the progress."[It's] goin' great, you know," she said. "We're slowly but surely recording band here in the Band Perry. I'd say we have about half of it done. It'll definitely — you guys will have new music certainly in the first half of 2015."The trio is especially excited to co-write tunes with Mae."We have interesting things happening and, you know, the co-writes are one thing that we're really excited about as well," Kimberly added. "A new girl that's been here in Nashville writing, her name is Audra Mae, she's a very spirited young lady. So we've just made a lot of new writing friendships and can't wait for you guys to hear it."

  • Hunter Hayes New Album: 'Storyline' Singer Spent Holidays Working on Music

    Hunter Hayes was able to take a break from the road this Christmas season, but that does not mean he was not working on new material. The Louisiana native said he would be working with other songwriters during the holidays before heading to Nashville for a couple shows at the venerable Bluebird Café."My favorite thing to do is just go down to Louisiana — that's where I'm from — and just chill with the family," Hayes told Western TV in December. "Just go and sit on the couch and talk. Quality time is one of my favorite things in the world because we're always moving. So to sit still for a day is kind of unheard of."He reiterated that sentiment to ABC News Radio this week, but added in some work plans."I just wanna chill," he said. "I just got a little bit of time to be creative in my little studio at home. Got some writers that are coming out to hang."While being at home is nice, it's not exactly Hayes's favorite place to be.

  • Hip-Hop Artists React to News of ESPN's Stuart Scott's Passing Via Twitter

    The relationship between competitive sports and hip-hop is an inspiring and important one. With many athletes looking to performing artists for motivational soundtracks to their daily workouts and hip-hop artists supporting athletes just the same, both teams were affected by today's news that ESPN sports anchor Stuart Scott has died after battling cancer.ESPN reported that the beloved anchor has lost his battle with cancer at age 49.Stuart Scott was known for interjecting elements of hip-hop culture into his reporting, such as coining hip catchphrases such as "Cooler than the other side of the pillow," and "Boo-Yah," to name a couple, to an audience hungry for journalists mixing it up in their reporting.As ESPN President John Skipper said, Scott spoke to athletes with a flair that "changed everything."The reporter was an inspiration for many beyond the realms of sports reporting and was known for pushing the envelope in everything he did.Stuart Scott worked at ESPN for 21 years, and in July accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, stating, "When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live."Clearly an inspiration to many. Check out what some members of the hip-hop community are saying on Twitter after hearing the news:

  • Gia Giudice's Tweet Raises Concern Hours Before Her Mother Teresa Begins Prison Sentence

    Can you imagine being 13 years old and knowing that you are about to lose your mother for 15 months because she has to report to prison? That is the position Gia Giudice is in now that her mother, Teresa Giudice, is hours away from turning herself in to a Connecticut prison camp. While Teresa was granted an extra three months of freedom so she could spend this holiday season with her kids, the time has come for her to pay for years of bank fraud and other financial crimes, and her oldest daughter is reportedly feeling the stress.On Saturday night, Jan. 3, Gia tweeted about not being able to sleep — it has since been deleted — because she had too much on her mind, and while she has always seemed like a tough kid, she certainly has a rough road ahead of her and she knows it. While "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star has claimed that she always puts her kids first, her presence is not going to be felt for more than a year, and that could potentially leave a lot resting on Gia's shoulders.Joe Giudice is expected to take over all the family duties, but that sounds problematic, especially since he originally used his alcoholism as a way of getting out of doing federal time. Now we know he will do that federal time after Teresa is released, and we also know he has spent the majority of his time these last several months drinking and avoiding the stress at home. It is a mystery how he will clean himself up in order to morph into the role of a responsible father.

  • French Montana and Lil Boosie Announce Future Movie Roles [WATCH]

    It is essentially a rite of passage for hip-hop artists to have a cameo or involvement in a major motion picture to elevate their careers. Hip-hop is a visual genre by nature, and that is not exclusive to solely creative album covers these days.French Montana and Lil Boosie agree with this sentiment and recently announced that they will be acting in movies as the new year continues.As told in a BET interview feature, French Montana spoke about his plans for 2015, saying, "Definitely next year (2015) [I'm] on the acting tip. I came in on the 'Cocaine' set of DVDs. I just love the visuals, so I definitely went to L.A. [and] I'm definitely trying to put something together as far as a movie. I've got a movie called 'Respect the Shooter' coming out early next year."Lil Boosie is also joining the fun and discussed his potential involvement in filming an autobiographical film to accompany his forthcoming album, "Touch Down 2 Cause Hell."Lil Boosie told BET, "In 2015 you can expect the album, you can expect the movie. I'm shooting my life story movie, it's crazy."The rapper has also referred to his idea for "Boosie the Movie" in the past, mentioning that in addition to song-writing, he writes his own films as well.

  • Run the Jewels Song Plays in ESPN Commercial for NFL Playoff Game [WATCH]

    Run the Jewels received more national attention this weekend when ESPN aired a promo for yesterday, Jan. 3's NFL playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals. The commercial features players from both teams getting psyched for the game while the band's lead single from their self-titled debut plays, "Deadspin" notes.Killer Mike and El-P had a big year in 2014. The duo dropped its second studio album, "Run the Jewels 2," in October. It hit No. 50 on the "Billboard 200" behind singles like "Blockbuster Pt. 1," "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)" and "Close Your Eyes (And Count to F--k)." The effort topped year-end lists by tons of media outlets."On their second album as Run the Jewels, noise-loving Brooklyn rapper-producer El-P and Atlanta's Killer Mike make the most explosive hip-hop you'll hear all year. The best tracks give criminal-minded menace a radical edge: 'Close Your Eyes (And Count to F--k)' is a prison-riot fantasy, and on the blazing 'All Due Respect,' Mike hints at the roots of his messed-up ways," "Rolling Stone" wrote, giving the album four out of five stars.

  • New Aiden Album, Tour Coming in 2015, According to William Control

    William Francis has been touring solo under the name "William Control" for the past couple years, but that does not mean his original band Aiden is completely out of the picture.Francis is the only remaining member from the Seattle group that formed in the early 2000s, and he took to the band's website to reach fans still interested in the project."2015 is going to be a very busy year," he wrote, before hashing out the following promises, via AltPress:• He will be opening his own screen printing shop. "I know it's frustrating waiting so long for the t-shirts and booty shorts you order to arrive," he wrote. "I'm going to try and streamline this process." Apparently, he has already rented out a warehouse and is in the process of readying it.• He will be playing "a few acoustic shows" in the next month near the West Coast. There will be more details on these shows soon.• William Control will be part of The Punishment Tour US in April. "This will probably be my last tour for a while as William Control," he wrote.• He is already working on the next Aiden record. "Yes you heard that right," he wrote. "There will be an Aiden record and most likely a tour."
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