Trent Fitzgerald (@BeatsandRants on X)'s Avatar

Trent Fitzgerald (@BeatsandRants on X)

@trentfitzgerald.bsky.social

Music Journalist / Sneaker Addict / Blogger

29 Followers  |  28 Following  |  103 Posts  |  Joined: 12.11.2024  |  2.52

Latest posts by trentfitzgerald.bsky.social on Bluesky

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The 50 Best Hip-Hop Album Covers of All-Time - Billboard.com

Another day, another rap list. I have mixed feelings about this list.

Lil Kim's "Hard Core" album cover is No. 1?!? Hmmm? πŸ€”

I'm very upset that Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions...." album artwork is not on this list. It should be No. 1 in my opinion. It's the gold standard.

26.11.2025 16:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff, the original rude bwoy, has passed away at age 81. πŸ™πŸΎ πŸ•ŠοΈ

His wife, Latifa Chambers, announced the sad news on Cliff's Instagram page. Read below.

Jimmy Cliff was the face and voice of reggae music.

Read Billboard's tribute here >> www.billboard.com/music/music-...

24.11.2025 16:02 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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[IVIDEO] Dave East and DreamDoll Go Head to Head on the Best Strip Club Anthems of All Time | Billboard Unfiltered - Billboard.com

My top 5 strip club anthems:

Juicy J - "Bandz A Make Her Dance"
Tyga - "Rack City"
Future - "Wicked"
2 Live Crew - "Pop tha Coochie" (I have to salute the OGs of strip club music)
Lil Jon - "Get Low"

Runner ups: Travis Scott/Drake - "Sicko Mode"

What are your top 5 strip club anthems?

24.11.2025 15:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Eddie Murphy to Be Honored With AFI Life Achievement Award - Variety.com Eddie Murphy is set to be honored with the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award in April.

Great news! And it's well deserved.

Hopefully, in 2026, Eddie will get an honorary Oscar for his lifetime of achievement in film.

22.11.2025 18:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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2000 Rewind: Remember Musiq Soulchild's Aijuswanaseing - Soulinstereo.com

Twenty-five years ago today, on November 14, 2000, Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing, a masterful collection of love ballads that defined the neo-soul movement. This is a great article that features some thoughtful critiques on the songs and the album's impact on R&B music.

14.11.2025 20:18 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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That New Hit Song on Spotify? It Was Made by A.I. Aspiring musicians are churning out tracks using generative artificial intelligence. Some are topping the charts.

"The music's quality or durability is secondary to its ephemeral impact; the goal is a clickability for the ears. The music might be forgettable, but that doesn't matter if listeners never play it more than onceβ€”and they probably won't, because it doesn’t have much weight beyond novelty..."

13.11.2025 22:59 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Interview: Erick Sermon Is Back to Business - Spin.com

Erick Sermon's new project, Dynamic Duos Vol. 1 β€” featuring collaborative pairings like Method Man and Redman, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, Conway the Machine and The Game, and more, arrives on Nov. 21.

13.11.2025 15:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Questlove Teases Posthumous D’Angelo Album: 'You'll See Soon' - Vibe.com

Questlove revealed that a posthumous album from late R&B icon D'Angelo is currently in the works during a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame interview.

12.11.2025 22:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

a classic album ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

08.11.2025 16:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny Lead 2026 Grammy Nominees - NYTimes.com

2025 Grammy nominations have been announced.
Rooting for Clipse and K-Dot.
Kehlani should win Best R&B Performance for "Folded."

07.11.2025 16:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Meet the Woman Behind Chart-topping AI Artist Xania Monet: 'I Look at Her as a Real Person' - cbsnews.com

This is the future of the music industry. It's very disappointing. It clearly shows record labels are looking to replace human artists with AI.

Gayle King throws a little shade at her during the interview. Gayle ain't with it. πŸ˜†

06.11.2025 14:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why 'Training Day' Still Hits in 2025 - Nofilmschool.com

Is anyone up for a 'Training Day' reboot in 2026? πŸ€”

Actor TimothΓ©e Chalamet "seemingly joked" that he would like to remake the film with him as Officer Jake Hoyt and NBA star Anthony Edwards playing Denzel's corrupt cop role.

The writer believes a Training Day reboot would work in today’s times.

05.11.2025 14:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Eve Remembers The Shock Of Getting A Call From Prince Early In Her Career - Huffpost.com

"He was talking to me about my music. He was like, 'Yo, I really love 'What Ya Want.'" And I was just like, 'This is insane. Like, what are you talking about? How do you even know this?'"

He's Prince. He knows everything.

Dope article.

#hiphop #rap #music #musicnews #journalism

04.11.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Russell Simmons Owed Millions to His Accusers. Have They Finally Found Justice? - RollingStone.com

"Two days after Rolling Stone sent Russell Simmons questions for this article, a lawyer for three of the accusers told Rolling Stone: 'The matter has been resolved,' but declined to provide any additional details. Russell Simmons, through one of his attorneys, declined to comment."

03.11.2025 16:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Burial of Black Genius (a.k.a. D'Angelo Lives!) - RollingStone.com Questlove honors his friend and collaborator D'Angelo: "He was one of the last pure artists in Black music.”

Y'all have probably seen Questlove's tribute to D'Angelo. But it's a bittersweet remembrance of a Black genius.

On a more somber note: D'Angelo's funeral is on Saturday (Nov. 1) in Richmond, Va. It will be a sad day for Black music.

Thank you, D' Angelo! πŸͺ½ 🌹

31.10.2025 17:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pierre Robert, Philadelphia's Voice of Rock Radio, Dead at 70 - RollingStone.com

An icon in Philadelphia radio, I gained my knowledge in rock music through his radio show on WMMR. He loved rock music to the fullest. On his show, Pierre would often tell origin stories of classic rock songs. He wasn't just a disc jockey, he was a historian.

Rest easy, Pierre Robert. πŸ™πŸΎ πŸ•ŠοΈ 🌹

30.10.2025 00:36 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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The Website Reshaping Live Music, One Set List at a Time - NYTimes On Setlist.fm, users track what songs artists play at concerts (and more). The availability of so much data has changed the ways musicians and fans experience shows.

Setlist.fm is a great resource for information on what songs artists performed at a show. I used it frequently when covering The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar on their past tour runs.

27.10.2025 15:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pulitzer-winning Journalist to Open Bookstore, Bar in Former Macon Hardware Digs - Brownstoner.com

"Whenever you have big book events in the city, they’re not at Black bookstores and they’re not in Black neighborhoods, so I really wanted to bring that to Bed Stuy [Brooklyn, N.Y]. People should expect all of their writing heroes," Nikole Hannah-Jones told Brownstoner.com.

24.10.2025 14:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Black Thought and Redman: A Lyrical Summit Between Two Legendary MCs - RollingStone.com

For Rolling Stone magazine's Musicians on Musicians issue, hip-hop lyricists Black Thought of The Roots and Redman sit down for an extensive interview about lyricism, fatherhood, longevity and what they have learned through their storied rap careers.

#hiphop #rap #journalism #music #musicnews

21.10.2025 14:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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'Everything in Our Lives Was Traumatic': Tupac Shakur's Early Years in Baltimore - RollingStone.com

In the book, there's a "Brenda's Got a Baby" story about the real-life Brenda reuniting with her long-lost son (now a grown man) that she abandoned when he was a baby. Crazy.

18.10.2025 15:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How D’Angelo Made His Masterpiece, β€˜Voodoo’ - NYTimes.com

πŸ˜” Thank you, D'Angelo. πŸ’

15.10.2025 15:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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D’Angelo, Neo-Soul Pioneer and 'Untitled (How Does It Feel)' Singer, Dies From Pancreatic Cancer at 51 - Variety

I'm totally devastated by this sad news. D'Angelo ushered in a new sound and swag to R&B and stayed true to his musical soul. He never followed trends and delivered an amalgam of funk and soul music that uplifted us as a people.

A music giant. Rest melodically, D'Angelo. And thank you. πŸ™πŸΎ 🎼 🎸 πŸͺ½

14.10.2025 16:59 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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John Coltrane's Endangered Philadelphia Home Is Finally Being Restored and Revitalized - Inquirer

This is great news! >>

"We want to open it up as a cultural landmark for creative and artists of all types, for seekers of musical and spiritual knowledge, and for those just looking to be inspired." - John Coltrane's son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane

#jazz #music #history #journalism #culture

14.10.2025 13:39 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
09.10.2025 05:17 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far - RollingStone.com

Here's another list.

Missy Elliott deserves all the accolades. So "Get Ur Freak On" being at No. 1 - πŸ‘πŸΎ

But I would have picked "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)." The song (and Hype Williams' eye-popping video) changed the game both lyrically and sonically.

So many great songs, 250 slots is not enough.

08.10.2025 17:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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President Trump Says Diddy Asked Him for Pardon - TMZ

Sean "Diddy" Combs Sex Crimes Post-Trial Update: Diddy asked the 🍊 man for a pardon.

06.10.2025 23:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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50 Cent Trolls Diddy Over 50-Month Prison Sentence: 'I'm Available' - Billboard

50 Cent is the absolute King of Trolling.

03.10.2025 23:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Sean Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison - RollingStone.com

Sean "Diddy" Combs has learned his fate. The disgraced rap mogul was sentenced to four years in prison.

03.10.2025 23:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Mass Appeal and Marvel Reimagine Nas, Ghostface Killah + More With Limited Edition Comic Book Series - Billboard.com

Hopefully, Mass Appeal and Marvel will have this comic available at their web stores. Not everybody can be at ComicCon.

30.09.2025 21:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time - Pitchfork.com

Another day, another nonsensical Best Rap Albums of All Time list. πŸ™„

Some criticisms:
Not enough women on this list. πŸ€”

Mobb Deep's The Infamous at No. 1? πŸ€”

Why are mixtapes included on this list? Mixtapes should be separate and not added on a best-of albums list.

What say you?

#hiphop #rap

30.09.2025 17:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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