News

Swizz Beatz is anything but “Banned from TV.”

The hip-hop super producer has run a successful side hustle as an executive music producer on series like Godfather of Harlem (Epix/MGM+) and the short-lived ABC drama Queens, which should be best-remembered for the incredible beat Beatz made for lead single, “Nasty Girl.”

As The Hollywood Reporter previous reported, Swizz Beatz (real name Kasseem Daoud Dean) and Godfather of Harlem showrunner Chris Brancato have formalized their creative partnership. The duo also collaborated on Hotel Cocaine (MGM+) and are working together on upcoming MGM+ gang drama The Westies.

Right now, the standout track for Godfather of Harlem season four is “Danger, Danger,” which was not only produced by Swizz Beatz, but also features him as a rapper alongside Pusha T and the legendary Jadakiss. It’s pretty good company to be in — for all involved. The MGM+ series stars Forest Whitaker as...

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Cannes Lions Uncaged

L to R: Linda Yaccarino, Timbaland, Elon Musk and Swizz Beatz at Cannes Lions 2024

Musk enters Lions’ den: While we at Deadline know the Côte d’Azur best for the annual film and TV festivals, every year we have boots on the ground at the grand advertising confab Cannes Lions to get the latest from the wider world of entertainment. This year, the big, unexpected headliner was X and Tesla owner and free speech proponent Elon Musk, who zoomed into town for a talk on everything from the potential for global AI disaster to an explanation for why he told advertisers to “go fuck themselves” last year. Caroline Frost navigated one of the longest queues I’ve ever seen...

The art exhibit Giants, curated from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, will be displayed internationally on a global museum tour. Curated by Kimberli Gant, the exhibit opened at the Brooklyn Museum in February 2024 and will next appear at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.

In a statement announcing the global run, Keys and Beatz — born Kasseem Dean — shared: “Our mission has always been about making art accessible to everyone and showcasing these Giant artists. We realized quickly that meant this collection had to travel to communities...

Uber-producers and rappers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have explained why they were persuaded to bring their Verzuz webcast series to the X platform via the distribution partnership revealed yesterday.

The pair sat down with X CEO Linda Yaccarino at Cannes Lions Festival Thursday afternoon, a day after Elon Musk addressed the fest, and Beatz kicked off by explaining: “X played a big role in Verzuz – it was the conversation. Now we’re bringing the visual to the conversation in one place. It was a natural fit to have Verzuz on X because it was there already. We’re bringing the visual and the comments together.”

Beatz added that it was the double lure of being able to continue owning their IP and keep their own voice that sealed the deal.

“This needs to get spoken about more about the X platform, is how creatives have a voice – how Timbaland...

Swizz Beatz, rapper-producer and husband of the singer Alicia Keys, took to Instagram to encourage fans to celebrate his wife’s spectacular performance with Usher.

In his Instagram post, Beatz urged followers to recognize the grandeur of Keys’ moment and applauded the collaboration between Usher, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris.

Despite the various opinions on the night’s performances, it was Keys’ segment that garnered the most attention.

Alongside photos of Keys on stage, Beatz captioned his post, “Y’all talking about the wrong damn thing !!! y’all don’t see that amazing dress covering the entire stadium Tonight’s performance was nothing but amazing with 2 amazing Giants ! Congrats @usher and my love @aliciakeys that song is a classic .”

Beatz finished, “We don’t do negative vibes on this side we make history Go see Giants at @brooklynmuseum it’s open until July blessings ”

In Keys’ solo performance...

Swizz Beatz and his son Nasir hit above 60 mph as they drift through Japan’s “Gunsai” course in a first-look at Hulu/Onyx Collective’s upcoming series “Drive With Swizz.”

“I’ve never felt anything like this before. Like there’s no feeling that’s close to this feeling,” Prince Nasir Dean, Swizz Beatz’s oldest son says in the clip for the show. In the series, the father-son duo travel to Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Japan and Saudi Arabia in an effort to gain knowledge about each location’s car culture.

In the video, the pair take on Japan’s “very dangerous” course called “Gunsai.” And holding on tight as tight as they could appeared to be their main focus.

“No, we…the car had wings,” Beatz exclaims, applauding the drivers’ laser-sharp skills. “S–t, I got big respect for them. The amount of discipline and work to risk...

City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, honored Lyor Cohen, global head of Music at YouTube and Google, last week at its Music, Film and Entertainment Industry (Mfei) fundraising group’s Spirit of Life Gala.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and LL Cool J perform onstage during City of Hope's 2023 Music, Film & Entertainment Industry Spirit of Life Gala

Credit/Copyright: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for City of Hope

The annual event featured a special performance from LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff, plus a curated “DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live!” segment with – in order of appearance – Slick Rick, Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane, Mc Serch, Nice ’N Smooth, Epmd, Redman, Onyx, Warren G, Domino, Musiq Soulchild, Dru Hill, Ja Rule, T.I., Swizz Beatz and Public Enemy.

This year’s Spirit of Life campaign culminated at the sold-out gala held...

Busta Rhymes is bringing together the producer Mount Olympus for his upcoming LP. On Monday, Busta announced that Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams will be joining him to produce his upcoming LP, Blockbusta, which drops on Nov. 24.

“I’m so grateful that you chose me to be a part of your legacy,” Timbaland said in a video where the team discussed the album. “Timeless.”

“You really feel illuminated. This illumination is good because I think people are going to be able to get and feel that,” Pharrell added.

After the quick Zoom-like chat,...

Lil Wayne opened the 2023 MTV VMAs with a performance of his new single, “Kat Food,” marking his first live appearance on the awards show in a decade. Watch the performance below.

With no introduction, Wayne began his performance with a brief rendition of his 2018 song “Uproar” before going into “Kat Food,” which is built around an ominous beat sampling “Work It” by Missy Elliott. It felt like a particularly triumphant appearance for the rapper, who ended the show by saying hello to his mother and hugging his backup dancers.

Wayne was up for Best Collaboration at this year’s VMAs with his previous single, “Kan’t Nobody,” featuring Swizz Beatz and the late Dmx. In addition to performing “Kat Food,” Lil Wayne helped close out the VMAs with a special salute to hip-hop in honor of the genre’s 50th anniversary. Alongside Nicki Minaj, Dmc, Grandmaster Flash, Doug E. Fresh,...

Disney’s Onyx Collective is bringing the new docuseries “Drive With Swizz Beatz” to Hulu on Nov. 16. The producer and avid car collector will be joined by his oldest son, Nasir Dean, as the pair travel to Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Atlanta, Japan and Saudi Arabia to learn more about each area’s car culture.

All six episodes of the docuseries will be available to stream at once.

The official synopsis of the series reads: “Life is all about drive and the will to succeed despite the odds. Nowhere is this more evident than in the wildly inventive and passionate world of car culture, where enthusiasts show off vastly different vehicles in a display not only of automotive ardor but also of their own personal success.”

It continues, “In ‘Drive with Swizz Beatz, hip-hop legend and car collector Swizz Beatz visits car-loving destinations, where he’ll examine the area...

Lil Durk has dropped a new single “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole. The track will appear on the rapper’s forthcoming eighth LP, Almost Healed, set for release May 26.

The single arrives along with a music video, which was directed by Steve Cannon. The song, which Lil Durk teased on Instagram earlier this week, features a children’s choir as the rapper reflects on how far he’s come: “All my life, they’re never gonna keep me down. All this time, they never thought I’d make it out.

Swizz Beatz links up with Lil Durk and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie in the new music video for “Say Less,” their collaboration from the producer/rapper’s recent project, Hip Hop 50: Vol. 2.

The chrome-plated, black-and-white clip finds the three artists performing the menacing, braggadocious song primarily in front of an absolutely humongous monster truck. The music video for “Say Less” was directed by TajvsTaj.

Swizz Beatz’s Hip Hop 50: Vol. 2 arrived back in April; the EP is one of 10 that Mass Appeal is releasing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

Sunday’s 65th Grammy Awards averaged 12.4 million total viewers across numerous platforms, including CBS and Paramount+, up about 30 percent from the prior year’s special and the most since 2020. That tally include out-of-home viewing.

Thank the (super-)star-studded guest list, including winners Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Beyoncé, for the bump.

The 2022 Grammys drew an initial 8.9 million viewers, per Nielsen, which placed the show just ahead of the record low reached in 2021. That year-ago show would adjust up to 9.6 million total viewers when including those who watched from outside of their own homes. The Covid-impacted March 14, 2021 Grammy Awards settled for just 8.8 million initial viewers, and would adjust up to 9.4 million.

The Covid Grammys, for lack of a better shorthand term, plummeted 53 percent from the January 26, 2020 special, which nabbed 18.8 million viewers. Trevor Noah hosted all three of the shows; for the first two, he was the face of Comedy Central’s...

Over three months after Triller was sued by Sony Music over “failure and refusal to pay millions of dollars in contractual licensing fees,” the video app has removed that label’s catalog — as well as major labels Universal and Warner Music — from their service.

Merlin — which provided licensing for an army of independent labels — also had its catalog pulled from Triller after their agreement expired. The video app is now “reassessing each of our label deals as they come due as our catalogue music usage is a small fraction of our overall business with creators,...