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Bono Pens Essay Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Rock,

U2 frontman Bono has paid tribute to Nelson Mandela by writing an essay on the late anti-apartheid revolutionary.

The 53-year-old singer, who along with his bandmates contributed the song "Ordinary Love" to the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - based on the former South African President's autobiography of the same name - penned an extended piece on the anti-apartheid leader, who died last night aged 95, after hearing of his passing.

In 1051-word essay for Time magazine entitled "The Man Who Could Not Cry," Bono - who has helped try to end global poverty for a number of years - described Mandela as a "forceful presence" in his life since 1979. "As an activist I have pretty much been doing what Nelson Mandela tells me since I was a teenager. He has been a forceful presence in my life going back to 1979, when U2 made its first anti-apartheid effort. Over the years we became friends. I, like everyone else, was mesmerized by his deft maneuvering as leader of South Africa. It certainly fell to Mandela to be great. His role in the movement against extreme poverty was critical. He worked for a deeper debt cancellation, for a doubling of international assistance across sub-Saharan Africa, for trade and private investment and transparency to fight corruption. Without his leadership, would the world over the past decade have increased the number of people on AIDS medication to 9.7 million and decreased child deaths by 2.7 million a year? Without Mandela, would Africa be experiencing its best decade of growth and poverty reduction? His indispensability can't be proved with math and metrics, but I know what I believe..." he wrote.

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Metallica Pay Tribute to Green Day

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Performances, Covers, Rock,

Metallica paid tribute to Green Day after replacing them at a festival. The heavy metal group stepped in for the "Oh Love" punk band at the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans, after they cancelled all forthcoming dates due to frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's ongoing rehab.

Two songs into their set, Metallica singer James Hetfield told the crowd: ''We! Are! Green Day! - Except a little taller!" He later added, "You're hoping Green Day are going to show up, right? So am I. They're getting help. They're getting it sorted out. The world needs them." He also dedicated the track "Battery" to the front man, saying: "This one's for Billie."

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Nas Pays Tribute to Amy Winehouse

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Music Videos, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Nas pays tribute to the late Amy Winehouse in his new music video.

The tragic singer - who died last July aged 27 - appears from beyond the grave by singing in the rapper's latest song "Cherry Wine," with her image projected onto a brick wall. The tribute ends with a black and white image of Amy with the words, "In memory, Amy Winehouse (1983 - 2011)," and Nas believes the track came directly from "God and Amy."

"It was chilling. A feeling of bitter sweetness, wishing that she was here. The director was genius. My main concern was being able to put her in the video in a respectful way," Nas told The Daily Star.

Nas has hit back at critics who claim he was cashing in on Amy's death by using her image: "I'm gonna write for my sister, that's what we do. If what had happened to her happened to me I would have expected the same from my friends."

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Adam Horovitz Pays Tribute to Beastie Boys Bandmate Adam Yauch

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Beastie Boys musician Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz has paid tribute to his late bandmate Adam Yauch following his death.

The 45-year-old star praised the hip-hop group's fans, family and friends for all the "love and support" they have shown to the 47-year-old rapper, also known as MCA, since he passed away on Friday after battling cancer in his parotid gland and a lymph node since 2009.

"as you can imagine, s**t is just fkd up right now. but i wanna say thank you to all our friends and family (which are kinda one in the same) for all the love and support. i'm glad to know that all the love that Yauch has put out into the world is coming right back at him. thank you. (sic)" Ad-Rock wrote in a post on the band's blog last night.

A number of stars have paid tribute to MCA - who founded the group with Kate Schellenbach, John Berry, and Michael Diamond (Mike D) in 1979 with Berry leaving in 1983 to be replaced by Ad-Rock - including Madonna, who took to her Facebook page to express her sadness about his passing: "The Beastie Boys were one of a kind! And so was Adam! They were all an important part of my musical history and integral to the musical revolution that was happening at the time. I'm very sad to hear about Adam's passing. God bless him and his family."

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Celebrities Rush to Pay Tribute to Adam Yauch

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Hip-Hop & Rap,

A number of celebrities have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Adam Yauch.

The Beastie Boys co-founder - also known as MCA - passed away this morning after battling cancer in his parotid gland and a lymph node since 2009, and Justin Timberlake is just one of a number of celebrities who took to twitter to pay tribute to him. "Crushed to hear the news of Adam Yauch's passing. A true pioneer of art. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.#RIPMCA (sic)" he wrote.

The Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am wrote, "1 of my favorite hiphop groups...hiphop raised a lot of us & now we have to wake up because are hero's are dying too young (sic)."

Run DMC'S Reverend Run was equally distraught, writing, "R I P Adam... I'm devastated. Praying for Adam Yauch's family from the legendary Beastie Boys. Youll be missed!" while Snoop Dogg Tweeted, "RIP MCA U are a Legend and a pioneer. #BeastieBoys4life (sic)."

(FYI - You can also follow Albumista on Twitter.)

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Tupac Skakur Closes Coachella Festival

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Performances, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Tupac Shakur helped close the Coachella festival last Sunday - 16 years after his death.

The rapper - who was shot dead in a gang killing in 1996 - appeared on stage as a hologram to perform with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at the annual festival in California.

He gave a spooky rendition of "Hail Mary" before duetting with Snoop on "Ain't Nothin' Like A Gangsta Party," before leaving the festivalgoers with the line, "Coachella, I wanna say thank you for all the love over the years."

The Tupac hologram drew mixed reactions from fans, with one saying it was "wrong on so many levels."

Another person, however, wrote on Twitter, "This is dope," while someone else added, "I told y'all Tupac wasn't dead! (sic)"

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Green Day Tributes Amy Winehouse

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Performances, Pop, Rock,

Green Day have unveiled a tribute to late singer Amy Winehouse. The American Idiot rockers debuted the new track - which makes references to the "Rehab" hitmaker's troubled life up to her unexpected death on July 23 - at a secret show at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California, on Thursday.

According to lyrics posted on the band's official website, the opening lines are, "Amy, is your heart singing out of tune/ Are your eyes just singing the blues/ Dirty records from another time/ Some blood stains on your shoes."

The final part of the track laments Amy's premature death at the age of 27, as well as the drug and alcohol addictions which had plagued the star throughout since 2006: "You're too young for the golden age/ 'Cause the record bin's been replaced/ 27 gone without a trace/ And you walked away from your drink."

Green Day are the latest artists to pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, after U2, M.I.A., Coldplay and Dionne Bromfield have all dedicated tracks or dedicated parts of their live shows to the star.

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Video: Coldplay Pays Tribute to Michael Jackson with Billie Jean Performance

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Performances, Videos, Pop, Rock,

A few days ago at their concert in the Shoreline Amphitheater, Coldplay did a live performance of “Billie Jean,” paying tribute to Michael Jackson, getting the crowd into it as well. The video is shot from the crowd, and starts just a bit into the performance.

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Listen to Michael Jackson Tribute Station on Slacker

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Pop, Rock, Free Music Downloads,

Slacker, our favorite free online music steaming service, has set up a custom Michael Jackson station, titled “In Memory of the King of Pop - A Michael Jackson Tribute” and we’ve had it playing all day. Best part? You can listen to it absolutely free, just by heading to the Michael Jackson Tribute Radio page. Aside from all the Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 classic, you’ll also hear covers of his music by artists he influenced like Usher, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, and more.

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Michael Jackson Remembered By Stars

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Industry News, Pop, Rock,

We gve you a look at celebrities mourning Michael Jackson on Twitter, but many have released longer statements as well. Madonna says she “can’t stop crying” about the death of Michael Jackson.

The singer has been sobbing uncontrollably since she heard the 50-year-old Jackson had passed away yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. She said: “I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.”

Singer Sir Elton John was halfway though his annual White Tie and Tiara Ball when he heard about Michael’s death. He broke the news to his guests - including Liz Hurley, Hugh Grant, Lily Allen and Kelly Osbourne - before dedicating his song Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me to Michael. Nearly half of his guests left after they found out about the death.

Britney Spears was one of the first to express her grief about the pop icon’s passing. In a statement issued last night, she said: “I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!”

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