Funk Pioneer, Betty Davis, Dies at 77

Betty Davis, a North Carolina native who transitioned from modeling to music during her storied career and earned the moniker Queen of Funk, died at 77 Wednesday. 

The news of Davis' death was confirmed to Rolling Stone by her friend Danielle Maggio, an ethnomusicologist whose work focused on Betty’s music and life.

Betty Davis, trailblazing Queen of Funk, has died at 76 https://t.co/pC5HkqzG9D

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 9, 2022

Amie Downs, communications director for Allegheny County where Davis lived, told the magazine that Davis’ cause of death was natural.

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Betty Davis, a multitalented music influencer and pioneer rock star, singer, songwriter, and fashion icon,” Connie Portis, another longtime friend of Davis, said in a statement. “Most of all, Betty was a friend, aunt, niece, and beloved member of her community of Homestead, Pennsylvania, and of the worldwide community of friends and fans. At a time to be announced, we will pay tribute to her beautiful, bold, and brash persona. Today we cherish her memory as the sweet, thoughtful, and reflective person she was…. There is no other.

Davis, who spent one-year married to fellow music legend Miles Davis in the 1960s, recorded the majority of her music between 1964 and 1975. Her signature raspy purr, combined with often erotic lyrics and outrageous costumes, helped her rack up a slew of hits including “Get Ready for Betty,” “It’s My Life,” and “If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up” amongst others. Davis recorded three solo albums in all and wrote much of her own music. 

Snoop Dogg Announces Acquisition of Death Row Records

B.O.D.R., Snoop Dogg's first album for his  

newly acquired label drops on Feb. 11.

Thirty years after signing the deal with Death Row Records that launched him to superstardom at age 21, Snoop Dogg is returning to the seminal west coast hip-hop label as its boss.

The rapper announced he acquired the Death Row Records brand from MNRK Music Group, which is controlled by private equity funds managed by global investment firm Blackstone, for an undisclosed sum on Wednesday.

"It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the
founding members. This is an extremely meaningful moment for me," the artist said of the move which puts him in charge of the once prestigious label founded by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, the D.O.C. and Dick Griffey in 1992. "... I’m looking forward to building the next chapter of Death Row Records.”

Snoop Dogg has pursued ownership of the label, which reigned supreme over rap for a stretch in the 1990s, thanks in part to releases from himself and labelmates Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur, for quite some time.

Just last year he told the hosts of the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast that all of Death Row — which filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was acquired at auction three years later for $18 million by WIDEawake Entertainment and eventually landing at Blackstone and MNRK — should be in his hands.

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“I should be running that sh—t. Just like I’m [in] a position at Def Jam, Death Row means more to me because I helped create that. I think they should give me that and let me run that shit with the merchandise out, with the music all over the world. [Add] some new West Coast acts.”
To celebrate Snoop Dogg is releasing a new album, B.O.D.R., an acronym that stands for “Back on Death Row," on Friday.

Beyoncé Biopic Ballad 'Be Alive' Earns Singer First Oscar Nomination

Kristopher Harris via Wikimedia Commons

Music megastar Beyoncé has 28 Grammy Awards, more than any other performer in history, and tied with legendary producer Quincy Jones for the most overall — but Tuesday the 40-year-old singer found a new frontier to conquer.

Her song, "Be Alive," which she co-wrote with songwriter Dixon for the Will Smith-led biopic "King Richard" about the life of Venus and Serena Williams' father, Richard Williams, earned the artist her first Academy Award nomination.

The nomination was one of six Oscar nods for the movie announced by actor-comedian Leslie Jordan and actor, CEO and producer Tracee Ellis Ross Tuesday via a global live stream as they revealed the nominees for the 94th edition of the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Will Smith as Richard Williams.

The moment may have been bittersweet for Beyoncé, whose husband Jay-Z didn't make the cut in the same category with "Guns Go Bang," from the black cowboy Netflix epic “The Harder They Fall," but it was well deserved according to the daughter of the film's subject Serena Williams.

 

"When the film came out, there was no other person that could do this song except for Beyoncé. I feel like we've had a similar path in our lives. We've trained since an early age to reach a goal," the tennis pro shared while on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in November, about approaching Beyoncé, whom she's collaborated with before about doing the original song for the movie. "For us it was really only one answer, and she embraced that. There was no doubt in her mind that it belonged to her as well. The original song is amazing, and I love it."

Check out the video below for the complete list of nominations or go to oscars.com.