Lauryn Hill, Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones to Headline Afropunk NYC 2015

The performance lineup for Brooklyn’s one-of-a-kind Afropunk Festival has been announced and Ms. Lauryn Hill will be headlining! The former Fugees singer/MC will share the stage with Grace Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Danny Brown, Kaytranada, Kelis and Thundercat, who was heavily featured on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. Afropunk—which has expanded to cities like Atlanta and Paris—will take place August 22 and August 23 at Commodore Barry Park with some new provisions: attendees will either have to pay for entry into the traditionally free concert, or perform some form of community service such as landscaping or feeding the hungry (via Afropunk Army).

Last year, the elusive D’Angelo closed out the Brooklyn Festival by teasing songs from his long-gestating Black Messiah album, which dropped four months later to widespread critical acclaim. Let’s just hope history repeats itself for L-Boogie.

Read it at Rolling Stone.

New Music Alert: Janet Jackson Single Dropping Within 30 Days

New music from the incomparable Janet Jackson may be arriving sooner than you think. After a seven-year drought since Discipline (which featured the underrated, spacey dance-pop single “Feedback”), MJ’s kid sister is set to release a new single within the next month, according to Radio Facts. It will be the lead record from the icon’s as-yet-untitled 11th album, which Billboard reports will arrive via BMG. Last month she tweeted a video message that suggested we’ll be seeing a lot of Janet in 2015: “I promised you’d hear it from my lips, and now you will. This year, new music, new world tour, a new movement. I’ve been listening. Let’s keep the conversation going.”

Read it at Billboard.

50 Cent Plans to Drop New Album in September

50 Cent is using his Power wisely. With the second season of the hit Starz show (co-starring and executive produced by 50) kicking off on Saturday (June 6), the rapper/mogul is putting the wheels in motion for his next LP: Street King Immortal. On the red carpet of Power’s premiere, he told reporters the album—which he first mentioned in 2011—will be released in September. The first look from S.K.I. is called “Get Low,” and features Jeremih, T.I. and 2 Chainz.

Read it at The Urban Daily.