Unreleased Beyoncé Music Stolen in Atlanta Car Break-In Ahead of Cowboy Carter Tour

Atlanta police issued a warrant for a suspect after unreleased music, set lists, and tour plans were stolen from Beyoncé’s choreographer’s SUV in a break-in days before her “Cowboy Carter” shows in Atlanta.

Just days before Beyoncé was set to light up Mercedes-Benz Stadium for four nights on her “Cowboy Carter” tour, a brazen theft rocked her inner circle — and may have jeopardized unreleased music from one of the most tightly guarded vaults in pop.

According to police and multiple local media reports, thieves broke into a black Jeep Wagoneer at the Krog Street Market parking deck on Tuesday, July 8, stealing multiple suitcases containing hard drives loaded with unreleased, watermarked Beyoncé tracks, footage plans for her shows, and both past and future set lists.

The vehicle belonged to Beyoncé’s longtime choreographer Christopher Grant and dancer Diandre Blue, who told police they had parked for about an hour while dining nearby. When they returned, they discovered the rear window smashed and two suitcases missing.

“The hard drives contained watermarked music, some unreleased music, footage plans for her show, and past and future set list,” an officer wrote in the incident report.

Also stolen were laptops, Tom Ford sunglasses, a book bag, clothing, and a pair of Apple AirPods Max headphones. The report notes that the stolen electronics included trackers, and that police used the Find My app to attempt recovery. Officers traced the headphones to a location where they conducted a suspicious person stop, but no arrests were made at the scene.

Cameras reportedly captured footage of the theft at the parking deck’s entrance, and police were able to recover two light fingerprints. An arrest warrant has since been issued, but Atlanta police have not released the suspect’s identity, and the stolen hard drives and files remain unrecovered.

Beyoncé, who has not commented publicly on the theft, arrived in Atlanta for a four-night run beginning Thursday, July 10. The incident unfolded as thousands of fans were descending on the city, part of the southern leg of her genre-bending “Cowboy Carter” tour — a cultural event that’s not just about music, but about reclaiming Black identity in country and Americana spaces.

Christopher Grant, the choreographer whose materials were stolen, can be heard in a 911 call saying, “They stole my computers and everything... I work with someone of high status. I really need my computer.”

The theft comes during a rare moment of tension surrounding a Beyoncé project — particularly one as daring and thematically resonant as “Cowboy Carter.” Critics and fans alike have praised the album as a boundary-pushing work of reinvention, and its stage show has been cloaked in secrecy.

That secrecy may now be compromised.

While artists at Beyoncé’s level typically store backup copies of creative materials in secure locations, the loss of sensitive files — particularly those containing performance plans and unreleased songs — raises alarm not just for the superstar’s brand, but for the tight-knit team that operates under her famously exacting creative control.

As of press time, there is no official confirmation whether the unreleased tracks have leaked. But the breach is a stark reminder that even in an era of global security and digital encryption, physical lapses can still upend the highest tiers of entertainment.

The case remains under active investigation. Beyoncé’s camp has remained silent.

Watch: Grown Men, Grown Bars: Clipse Returns with Grief, Gospel and God at Tiny Desk

In one of the most potent live moments hip-hop has seen in years, Clipse returned to the stage for their NPR Tiny Desk debut—a stripped-down yet searing performance that doubled as a celebration, a eulogy, and a cultural reckoning. Backed by a hard-hitting band and driven by the same raw precision that made them legendary, Pusha T and Malice brought decades of pain, reflection, and bravado into one of the most unforgettable Tiny Desk sets in recent memory.

It had been 16 years since Clipse last stood as a duo in front of a live audience. Since 2009’s Til the Casket Drops, the brothers—born Terrence and Gene Thornton—had gone their separate ways: Pusha ascended the solo ladder as a top-tier lyricist and G.O.O.D. Music president, while Malice found spiritual clarity and changed his name to No Malice, stepping back from the limelight entirely.

But for this moment—on a modest stage that’s become a proving ground for real artists—they stood shoulder to shoulder once again. The performance opened with an audible gasp from the crowd as the eerie first notes of “Virginia” set the tone. “I’m from Virginia, where ain't [expletive] to do but cook,” Pusha rapped, his cadence as cold as ever, while Malice stood stoic, surveying the room like a preacher searching for truth.

There was no band full of jazzy reinterpretations here, as NPR’s Bobby Carter revealed. The group insisted on keeping their sound uncut, unfiltered—heavy drums, haunting synths, no smoothing out the edges. Daru Jones, a hybrid drummer known for blending acoustic and electronic elements, was brought in to match their aesthetic. It worked. So did the chemistry.

The duo slid into “Keys Open Doors” and “Momma I’m So Sorry” with surgical timing, revisiting tracks from their 2006 masterwork Hell Hath No Fury. Then came “Chains and Whips,” a fierce new track from their 2025 album Let God Sort Them Out—their first full-length together in over a decade.

But the most human moment came with “Birds Don’t Sing,” a tear-stained tribute to their late parents, who died just four months apart. Malice described it as a “documented conversation”—their final words with their mother and father woven into the verses. It was less a performance than a confessional, with the band pulling back to let every syllable breathe. Pusha’s voice cracked; Malice stared straight ahead, as if speaking to ghosts.

Then came the gut punch. The unmistakable Neptunes beat for “Grindin’”—their breakout 2002 anthem—sent the room into controlled chaos. Fans shouted every bar. And for a moment, it felt like time folded in on itself: the Coke rap kings of the Clipse era reborn in front of NPR bookshelves.

The performance wasn’t just nostalgia—it was statement. Clipse didn’t just return to the stage; they reclaimed a place in hip-hop's living history. “Let God Sort Them Out,” released earlier this summer, dives deeper into mortality, legacy, and survival than anything they’ve recorded before. And the Tiny Desk concert made it clear—they’re not here to fade into the culture’s rearview.

They’re here to burn it into your memory, again.


Watch the entire performance below.

Tupac, Lenny Kravitz and A$AP Rocky Shine in Harper’s Hottest Men of All Time List

Tupac Shakur was ranked No. 2 on Harper’s Bazaar’s list of the “50 Hottest Men of All Time,” noted for his mix of poetic brilliance, political fire, and undeniable presence.

In a list stacked with silver screen legends, red carpet royalty, and pop culture crushes from every decade, it was a poet from the streets of Baltimore who stood out loudest. Harper’s Bazaar dropped its “50 Hottest Men of All Time” feature this week, and there — sandwiched between Hollywood heartthrobs and blockbuster superheroes — sat Tupac Shakur, shirtless and defiant.

Placed second only to James Dean, Tupac’s inclusion wasn’t just a nod to aesthetics. It was a reminder: style can’t be separated from substance. The magazine praised his duality, noting his ability to quote Baldwin one moment and deliver a blistering diss track the next. It was more than thirstbait — it was rare recognition from a mainstream outlet that Tupac’s magnetism wasn’t manufactured. It was revolutionary.

 

His “peak hot” moment, according to the write-up, came in the “Hit ’Em Up” video. That pick said everything. Not a red carpet photo or sanitized press image, but raw fury on tape — Tupac in full attack mode, shirt off, energy high, making sure nobody mistook him for anything less than a threat.

That kind of placement carries weight. Harper’s list reached from the golden era of Brando and Paul Newman to TikTok-era poster boys like Jacob Elordi and Charles Melton. A few names earned their spots with high cheekbones and prestige scripts. Others, like Lenny Kravitz, Bad Bunny, and Dev Patel, brought a mix of edge and cultural resonance. But for fans of true legacy, the list had some glaring omissions and unexpected wins.

There was no Biggie. No Snoop. No Rakim. No Nas. No Prince, even — an icon whose look and aura redefined masculinity in the ’80s. But Denzel made it in, honored for the abs he flexed in "The Hurricane." Michael B. Jordan got his nod for "Creed." Idris Elba and Mahershala Ali were rightfully present. Tyson Beckford — one of the original Black male supermodels — showed up near the end, low ranking considering his impact.

The biggest eyebrow-raiser? The lack of deeper hip-hop representation. If Tupac was worthy of slot No. 2, what did it say about the culture that helped shape him? If Bad Bunny’s Calvin Klein campaign made him a contender, what about LL Cool J’s shirtless “Mama Said Knock You Out” era? If Elvis could make the cut for shaking his hips in “Jailhouse Rock,” where was Bobby Brown?

Seeing Tupac listed alongside James Dean and Paul Newman signaled that hip-hop’s style icons can’t be boxed out of “sex symbol” conversations anymore. But the gaps — the glaring absence of other pioneers who made millions scream with a single look — were impossible to ignore.

Still, Tupac at No. 2 means something. It means the culture cracked through again. With the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame already behind him, holograms on festival stages, and lectures at Harvard dissecting his lyrics, this latest nod was less about heat and more about presence. Tupac stays on the list because Tupac never left.

Harper’s Bazaar: 50 Hottest Men of All Time

1. James Dean
2. Tupac Shakur
3. Charles Melton
4. Lenny Kravitz
5. Paul Mescal
6. Pedro Pascal
7. Hayden Christensen
8. Marlon Brando
9. Bad Bunny
10. Aaron Taylor-Johnson
11. Dev Patel
12. Harrison Ford
13. Jason Momoa
14. Robert Pattinson
15. Paul Newman
16. Jacob Elordi
17. Elvis Presley
18. Damson Idris
19. Keanu Reeves
20. Robert Redford
21. Jesse Williams
22. Bill Skarsgård
23. Rick Yune
24. Matthew McConaughey
25. Theo James
26. Denzel Washington
27. Heath Ledger
28. Jake Gyllenhaal
29. Henry Golding
30. George Clooney
31. Shemar Moore
32. Brad Pitt
33. Leonardo DiCaprio
34. Rami Malek
35. Clint Eastwood
36. Oscar Isaac
37. Chris Evans
38. Idris Elba
39. Ryan Gosling
40. Tyson Beckford
41. Channing Tatum
42. Michael B. Jordan
43. David Beckham
44. Mahershala Ali
45. Maluma
46. Henry Cavill
47. Zayn Malik
48. Gong Yoo
49. Chris Hemsworth
50. A$AP Rocky