Music News

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie thinks more women are talking about feminism because of Beyonce.
The Nigerian novelist, whose TED talk about women being expected to aspire to marriage, was sampled on Beyonce's track 'Flawless', thinks the 'XO' hitmaker is inspiring.
She told The Times newspaper: "Because of Beyonce many young women are talking about feminism and hopefully young men because she has such a following."
Chimamanda realises what Beyonce has been singing about in her new music is a departure from her 'Single Ladies' track, in which she asked men to "put a ring on it" but doesn't think it makes her less of a feminist.
She said: "Well, I suppose there are different feminisms. I am all about bringing people to the party and having a good conversation, rather than saying you can't come in. I have had young people in Nigeria who probably would have never heard of my TED talk without Beyonce and who are now talking about feminism."
She added: "I like the idea that Beyonce's song might make girls feel that they can ask to try to do these things."

Lily Allen says her feud with Azealia Banks helped "find her voice."
The 'Hard Out Here' singer admits that her song-writing "sounded terrible" during her four year hiatus from music, but claims her Twitter spat with the '212' hitmaker - which started after the New York rapper called her children "ugly" - inspired her to pen new material.
Lily, who has daughters Ethel, two, and 15 month old Marnie, with husband Sam Cooper, told The Sun newspaper: "I tried to write through my pregnancy with my youngest, but the hormones were really weird and it was just really forced and sounded terrible.
"Then it wasn't until I stopped breastfeeding, six months on Azealia tweeted me on Twitter, that I was like, 'Yes you know who I am.' "
Azealia also took a swipe at the 'Not Fair' singer's husband Sam by saying he looks like a "thumb", which forced Lily to brand the rapper a "one-hit wonder".
However, Lily insists the harsh comments all contributed to her comeback record 'Sheezus'.
She explained: "I found my voice again then, I just bashed it all out. It was like two years of writing before I found it."

Rick Ross thinks it's "lame" when artists choose to collaborate with others just because of their chart success at the time.
The rapper, who has worked with the likes of Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Jay Z on his album 'Mastermind', insists he didn't just want to work with stars who are popular now and also decided to collaborate with 70s soul singer Betty Wright on the track 'Sanctified'.
He told The Sun newspaper: "When you're speaking about collaborators, you have to mention Betty Wright on 'Sanctified'.
"I don't pick people based on chart positions at the time, that's one of the lamest things an artist can do.
"Me, I base it on the emotion I know an artist will bring to this piece of work."
'Sanctified' also features Big Sean and Kanye and Rick claims it's the longest he's spent working on a song with the 'Bound 2' rapper.
He explained: "The chorus started out as a sample then we tried a vocalist, then another, then another.
He said: "In the end, we just said, 'Let's get a fo' real gospel singer to give us that feeling'. I reached out to the beautiful, talented Betty Wright, who has always been shining in Miami, and she showed some love and it paid off."
The 38-year-old star, who was shot at but uninjured while driving with his girlfriend in Florida last year, also admits the near-death experience has changed his outlook.
He said: "I wouldn't be honest with myself if I said it didn't change my outlook.
"But you stay focused and not let it overwhelm you or stop you making a classic album. That's what I did.
"I looked at the album differently but I didn't want to dwell on it. I did want to make it clear that I'm still hustlin' every day."

Courtney Love hugged Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic as Nirvana were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night (10.04.14).
The Hole singer put aside her differences with late husband Kurt Cobain's former bandmates at the ceremony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center as they remembered the singer, who committed suicide 20 years ago.
Courtney said: "I just wish Kurt was here to do this."
Bassist Krist paid tribute to his bandmate, saying: "Nirvana fans walk up to me every day and say thank you for the music. When I hear that, I think of Kurt Cobain."
After being inducted by R.E.M. star Michael Stipe, Joan Jett then joined the surviving members of the group to perform 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', with Lorde, St. Vincent and Kim Gordon also teaming up with the rockers.
Also honoured at the ceremony were the original members of KISS - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley - who took to the stage without their famous make-up, who were introduced by Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, who spoke of how he was bullied for liking the band.
He said: "Tonight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the high school bullies and critics were wrong. KISS fans were right."
Bruce Springsteen inducted his E Street Band into the Hall of Fame, which included posthumous honours for saxaphone player Clarence Clemons and keyboardist Danny Federici.
He said: "We suffered aging, illness and death together. We took care of each other when trouble knocked, and we hurt each other in big and small ways. In the end we stuck with each other."
Other inductees included Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Yusuf Islam, who was formerly known as Cat Stevens, and Linda Ronstadt, who didn't attend the ceremony because of ill health.
Instead, a selection of her hits were performed by Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Glenn Frey and Stevie Nicks.
The first two artist managers were also inducted into the Hall, the late Brian Epstein, who managed the Beatles, and Andrew Loog Oldham, of the Rolling Stones.
The 29th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air on HBO on May 31

Linkin Park claim they need to "weed out the emo" when it comes to their new album.
The band - made up of Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon, Mark Wakefield and Dave Farrell - are working on the follow-up to their 2012 record 'Living Things' and rapper Mike wanted to take a different approach.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "It needed to be visceral. We need to weed out a lot of the soft, emo kind of approach to our music, and we need to weed out anything that feels aggressive for aggressive's sake.
"We're not 18-year-old kids making a loud record - we're 37-year-old adults making a loud record. "And what makes a 37-year-old angry is different than what made us angry back in the day."
The album, which will be made up of 12 tracks, isn't finished yet, but Mike plans to have it mixed in coming days ahead of its release on June 17 and the band's summer tour.
Mike also feels their upcoming record could be the "loudest" they've ever made.
He added: "We didn't make the heaviest record of all time. I'm very aware that there are super, super heavy bands out there that make music that is really, really gnarly.
"We didn't make a Botch record. We didn't make a Meshuggah record. We made a really loud and aggressive Linkin Park record, maybe the loudest we've made."

Kelly Rowland has recruited Pharrell Williams for her fifth solo album.
The 33-year-old star is planning the follow-up to 'Talk A Good Game' and has managed to get the 'Get Lucky' hitmaker to work on new material with her in the studio.
She told Billboard.com: "I'm at the very very beginning stages of the record. We're at the point now where we are all talking - writers [and] producers - we're all excited.
"There are fresh ideas coming into the studio right now. We're trying different beats. It's a really great start.
"Pharrell [Williams] is on board. We already talked about it. I'd love for Timbaland to be on board. We've had discussions as well.
"I want to try to some new talent as well. There's so much new talent ... There's somebody out there with something new to give and I'd love to tap into that as well."
Kelly recently revealed she's parted ways with Universal Republic for a "fresh new start" and wants to try something different.
She said: "I need something new and I've earned the right to make my own choices and make my own decisions.
"I wish them well. They wish me well. No hard feelings, I just needed a fresh new start."

Ed Sheeran has revealed that he was high on MDMA when director Peter Jackson texted him to ask if he would write a song for 'The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug'.
The 23-year-old singer-songwriter admits he decided to try the drug for the first time while on holiday in Ibiza, attending his producer Jack Gossling's wedding.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "If I was ever going to try it, it would've been there.
"I thought the text wasn't real, because I was like, 'Is everything just great today?'"
The 'Lego House' hitmaker, who went on to write the track 'I See Fire' for the film, also spoke about his upcoming album, 'x', and claims he wanted "raw, honest songs from the heart."
He explained: "When you hear that Kesha-Pitbull song, you know it's a hit, but it doesn't make you want to cry or laugh or sit in a corner for five hours just repeating it."
Meanwhile, Ed also recently revealed one track from his album 'Don't' is about an ex-lover and singer who cheated on him in a hotel with a friend while he was downstairs.
He said: "It's 100 percent not about Taylor [Swift]. Taylor's one of these people that if you p*ss her off and she writes a song about you, it's not good news for you.
"I've never dated Taylor. I've dated a few singers, though."
Ed revealed he has played the song for Taylor and claims she told him: "Whatever happens, ever, between us as friends, I never want to p*ss you off that much."

Aloe Blacc believes talent shows have no interest in producing "real artists".
The 'I Need a Dollar' hitmaker appeared as a guest advisor for Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine on the United States version of talent show 'The Voice' but he claims the show bosses have no real intention of creating real music stars.
He told BANG Showbiz: "They're [talent shows] making a lot of money for producers, definitely. That's what talent shows are for; entertainment for viewers who are watching TV.
"They're not there to produce real artists. They're there to make a lot of money."
However, the 35-year-old star - whose real name is Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III - thinks that when people truly understand what talent show producers want, they can become very successful.
He said: "Sometimes, if one of the contestants really understands what the game is, they'll make a great success for themselves."
Aloe insisted, however, that to make music that will really resonate with people, you have to be passionate about it and do it because you love it not because you want to be famous.
He said: "It [music] has to be genuine and authentic. You always have to start with the music first that you truly love because you have to live with it for the rest of your life.
"So my songs have to stand for me now and even when I'm dead and gone."
Aloe Blacc's new album 'Lift Your Spirit' is out now.

Kanye West raps about his "trophy wife" Kim Kardashian in a new track.
The 'Yeezus' rapper has unveiled his new song 'I Won' which features lyrics about his fiancee Kim, 33, who he's set to marry in May in lavish ceremony in Paris.
According to The Sun newspaper, he raps: "You the number one trophy wife. So it's only right to live the trophy life."
The 36-year-old star also gushed about Kim's assets in the song, singing: "I want to dip that ass in gold. Baby, we should hit the south of France so you could run around without them pants," also mentioning Kim's siblings, he added, "You could look at Kylie, Kendall, Kourtney and Khloe. All your mama ever made was trophies, right?"
Kanye also had a dig at Kim's ex-boyfriend Reggie Bush and ex-husband Kris Humphries, who she split from after just 72-days of marriage in 2011.
He boasted: "I made it over NBA, NFL players. So every time I score it's like the Super Bowl."
The star, who has 10-month-old daughter North with Kim, also mentioned putting an "angel in your ultrasound" and referenced his 'Bound 2' video, in which Kim appeared naked on a motorcycle.
Kayne raps: "My trophy on that Bound bike, I gave you only pipe. If people don't hate then it won't be right."