Culture
Quincy Jones Talks Michael Jackson, The State of Pop Music, The Trumps, and More
This year, Quincy Jones will be turning 85-years-old. With a Netflix documentary and a CBS special hosted by Oprah Winfrey in honor of Jones coming soon, the well-respected music producer, composer, and humanitarian has made quite an impact on the music industry, working with Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and more.
In an interview with Vulture.com, Quincy Jones provides a must-read article where he tells us unknown facts about Michael Jackson that may be hard to digest to die-hard fans, dating Ivanka Trump, his views on the current state of pop music, and much more.
Check out a couple snippets from the interview below and read the full tell-all article here:
On Michael Jackson stealing music:
Greedy, man. Greedy. “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” — Greg Phillinganes wrote the c sectionPhillinganes, an in-demand studio keyboardist, played on a handful of Jackson-Jones collaborations, including the 1979 album Off the Wall, from which “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” comes. Michael should’ve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldn’t do it.
What about outside of music? What’s misunderstood about Michael?
I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man. He’d always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bullshit.
On the state of pop music:
Do you hear the spirit of jazz in pop today?
No. People gave it up to chase money. When you go after Cîroc vodka and Phat FarmCîroc is the alcohol brand owned by Diddy. Phat Farm was the fashion label founded by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons in 1992. Simmons sold the company in 2004. and all that shit, God walks out of the room. I have never in my life made music for money or fame. Not even ThrillerJones may not have worked on Thriller for money, but co-producing the album (with Jackson) presumably made him a ton of it: The 1982 album is widely reported to be the biggest-selling LP of all time, having sold somewhere north of 66 million copies. . No way. God walks out of the room when you’re thinking about money. You could spend a million dollars on a piano part and it won’t make you a million dollars back. That’s just not how it works.
Is there innovation happening in modern pop music?
Hell no. It’s just loops, beats, rhymes and hooks. What is there for me to learn from that? There ain’t no fucking songs. The song is the power; the singer is the messenger. The greatest singer in the world cannot save a bad song. I learned that 50 years ago, and it’s the single greatest lesson I ever learned as a producer. If you don’t have a great song, it doesn’t matter what else you put around it.
Megan Thee Stallion‘s lawyer, Alex Spiro, addressed the lawsuit filed by Megan Thee Stallion’s former cameraman Emilio Garcia, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Spiro, in a statement to Page Six on Tuesday (April 23), dismissed the lawsuit as an opportunistic money grab and characterized it as an attempt to tarnish his client’s reputation.
“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” he said. “We will deal with this in court.”
The suit details an incident where Garcia allegedly found himself trapped in a moving SUV with Megan whileshe engaged in sexual activity with another woman during their time in Ibiza, Spain.
According to court documents, “The following day, STALLION inquired whether PLAINTIFF was in the SUV the previous night. PLAINTIFF confirmed that he was in the SUV. Subsequently, STALLION instructed, ‘Don’t ever discuss what you saw.’ STALLION berated and directed her fat-shaming comments towards PLAINTIFF such as ‘Fat Bitch,’ ‘Spit your food out,’ and that ‘You don’t need to be eating.’”
Garcia is seeking compensation of over six figures, Garcia’s lawsuit requests unpaid wages, overtime pay, and other benefits as per California labor laws, along with statutory penalties and punitive damages.
Chance The Rapper quietly revealed his upcoming mixtape, “Star Line,” via Instagram. In his bio, he simply stated, “Working on my mixtape it’s called Star Line.” The project will feature collaborations with notable artists like Lil Wayne, DJ Premier, Lil Yachty, and more.
On X (formerly Twitter), Chance shared a teaser clip featuring appearances from Wayne, Preemo, Lil Yachty, Jermaine Dupri, T-Pain, Jazze Pha, and Vic Mensa. Additionally, he gave fans a sneak peek of a new track titled “Buried Alive” and polled them on whether he should drop a music video for it.
I’ll be ready to go pic.twitter.com/zYliNZJsjj
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 21, 2024
“Star Line” marks Chance The Rapper’s follow-up to his 2019 album, “The Big Day.”
Saweetie took to social media Tuesday morning that her ex-boyfriend Quavo reached out to her via direct messages, following his mention of her in his latest diss track aimed at Chris Brown, titled “Over Hoes & B-tches.”
In the song, Quavo raps, “I can take a model chick and make a Saweetie, n-gga,” which Saweetie didn’t take lightly. She shared a screenshot from January 2024, showing Quavo’s message on Instagram, which she hadn’t opened. The preview read, “Damn. We used to mean af to each…” Saweetie’s caption for the screenshot humorously suggested she hopes the model Quavo compares to her.
hopefully the model he turns into me replies pic.twitter.com/eSqBcPh0wP
— ❄️ (@Saweetie) April 23, 2024
This exchange coincided with Saweetie attending a USC game with Chris Brown.
Saweetie reacts to Chris Brown's new track dissing Quavo. https://t.co/aBANHh04lj
— miixtapechiick.com (@MXCKdotCom) April 20, 2024
"You f–ked my ex-h-, that's cool, I don't give no f–k, lil n—a (Still a b—h)/'Cause I f–ked yo' ex when you were still with her, b—h, I'm up, lil n—a."
The two were spotted at a USC… pic.twitter.com/EqDEAVA44w
The history between Saweetie and Quavo dates back to their relationship from 2018 to 2021, which ended amid allegations of infidelity on Quavo’s part. Chris Brown didn’t hesitate to leverage their past relationship in his own diss track, “Weakest Link,” claiming to have been involved with Saweetie while she was still with Quavo.
“You fucked my ex-ho, that’s cool, I don’t give no fuck, lil n-gga/ ‘Cause I fucked yo’ ex when you were still with her, bitch, I’m up, lil n-gga,” he rapped.
Quavo previously dated Brown’s ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran, who filed for a restraining order against Brown after their breakup in 2017.
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