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Universal Music Group (UMG) has partnered with Hook, an AI-powered social music platform, to give fans new ways to legally remix and create mashups using music from UMG’s catalog. Under the new partnership, Hook will expand its library of licensed UMG recordings, allowing fans to create AI-assisted remixes and other forms of user-generated music content…
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Anderson .Paak and Cordae are officially joining forces for a full-length collaborative album titled Heavy Is the Crown, bringing years of musical chemistry into one project. The duo announced the album on August 19, revealing that Heavy Is the Crown will be released on October 23, 2026, through APESHIT, Mass Appeal and EMPIRE. The project…
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Beninese music legend Angélique Kidjo has made history as the first African musician and first Black African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The five-time Grammy Award winner was honored on August 18, 2026, during a ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard, receiving the 2,854th star in the Walk of Fame’s Recording…
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Colombian superstar Shakira has pledged an initial $1.25 million toward rebuilding schools and restoring educational infrastructure in her home country following a devastating earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10. The singer made the commitment during a surprise visit to Quibdó, in the Chocó province, one of the regions hardest hit by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake.…
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The MTV Video Music Awards have discontinued the Best Afrobeats category for the 2026 edition of the ceremony, removing a category that had become an important platform for African music on one of the world’s biggest music award shows. The category was introduced in 2023, with Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” becoming its inaugural…
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Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed counterclaims against music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, escalating their long-running legal battle and continuing to deny Jones’ allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. The new filing was submitted in response to Jones’ $30 million lawsuit, which was filed against Combs in 2024. Jones had accused the music mogul of…
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Ayra Starr has opened the era of her third studio album, Starrgirl, with another major global streaming achievement. The Nigerian Afropop star’s 16-track album has debuted at No. 2 on Spotify’s Global Top Albums Debut chart, giving Starrgirl one of the biggest global album openings by an African female artist in 2026. Released on August…
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Jamen Capital and Merlin have completed their acquisition of Curve Royalty Systems from Virgin Music Group, officially returning the music royalty-processing platform to independent ownership. The transaction closed on August 18, 2026, following final approval from the European Commission, which had required Curve’s divestment as a condition for approving Universal Music Group’s $775 million acquisition…
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Ayra Starr has opened the era of her third studio album Starrgirl with a major streaming milestone, recording 3,941,409 global Spotify streams in its first full day of release. The figure places Starrgirl among the biggest first-day streaming performances for a female African album in 2026, reportedly ranking as the second-highest debut of the year…
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Claressa Shields has added another historic achievement to her extraordinary boxing career, defeating Australia’s Kaye Scott by sixth-round TKO at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The victory saw Shields reclaim the WBA and WBC middleweight titles, returning to the 160-pound division for the first time since 2023. The 31-year-old dominated the fight with her superior…