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AstroBlack Revives R&B with Latest Single “What You Came For”

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Hip-hop and R&B duo AstroBlack delivers a new single, “What You Came For,” reminding listeners to get with the vibe or walk away. The single is authentic and uninhibited — listeners can feel the pulse running through it — while introducing the world to AstroBlack’s fresh take on old-fashioned R&B and hip-hop.

AstroBlack is the brainchild of musicians KingJu1c3 and AcWolf. KingJu1c3 is a Bellflower, California, native who has transformed from a combat veteran into a full-time musician. With a deep understanding of pain, struggle, and war, KingJu1c3 explores the contradictions of life through a positive lens as much as possible. His style is influenced by ’90s R&B and early 2000s hip-hop, creating a new layer with his penchant for authentic storytelling.

“I started writing music in high school,” shares KingJu1c3. “Then life got in the way, and I took a hiatus. Now I’m back and figuring it out.”

When he first began, KingJu1c3 looked to Michael Jackson for inspiration. It wasn’t until the 2000s that R&B — particularly Ne-Yo — took over.

“That was the prime era that I want to encapsulate in a bottle.”

AcWolf hails from Inglewood, California, where the artist developed a passion for music through overcoming obstacles, including gang life. AcWolf now guides others toward spirituality and personal growth, inviting listeners to partake in the higher vibrations of life.

“What got me started in music was, at a particular point in my life, I was going through different things, and music was the outlet I could be heard and be completely transparent. It was the vehicle to express everything going on in my mind and heart — music was my pulpit.”

AcWolf found inspiration in many musical talents, including the late Nipsey Hussle, also from Inglewood. After leaving gang life, AcWolf found solace in music. Nipsey taught him to appreciate his viewpoint of struggle.

“It’s a space where others can learn, and you can’t judge a book by its cover,” adds AcWolf. “It’s about recognizing that light and believing in yourself.“

AcWolf also admires Drake’s ability to talk about life authentically, openly.

The artists chose the moniker AstroBlack as a representation of a more spiritual side.

“When we look inward, there’s a black shadow we all have,” shares KingJu1c3. “Inward, there’s a shadow of the things we hide. Astor is the possibility that we can create infinitely. It’s all connected.”

AcWolf adds, “The universe is vast. There are different meanings and factors. Everything is part of the design. Nothing is confidence or happenstance. It’s all part of the process of you becoming complete.”

It wasn’t until KingJu1c3 and AcWolf joined forces as AstroBlack that AcWolf jumped into the music scene. Together, they created “What You Came For” to capture a very real sentiment.

“We out living life, and there’s a higher level inside that’s taking place here,” shares AstroBlacK. “‘What You Came For’ breaks down the wall of social nonsense. It gets the foolishness out of the way. We’re literally high off life, not substances. It’s a euphoric space.”

The single tells listeners, “I know why you are here and what you came for. We’re vibing and you’re coming in with foolishness.”

As authentic as its message, the song came together organically during a recording session. While browsing beats, AcWolf was thinking about KingJu1c3’s versatile style and how they needed a song to bring that out.

“When I came to the studio, I put the beat on and described an event, like when we were two boys. And we tuned into that,” shares AcWolf, recounting an adventure they shared driving through Iowa.

“I was seeing him in that space. The ride, the road, clear and dark. Cornfields. The sky all clear. It was that perspective I wanted to fall on this track.”

 “We’re just trying to get back to the chord, the reality of the art,” AstroBlack explains.

“What You Came For” is meant to capture the feeling of what comes after all the chatter is done.

“This record creates the feeling of being made in a space of organic flow. Life is chaos, but in the midst of it, we’re thriving. We’re here for what we came for. Bring the right energy and be synergetic, or I’ll look at you like, ‘Why you over here?’”

“What You Came For” will be followed by AstroBlack’s EP, Watch Close, coming in August. The duo is also planning to perform in the Coast to Coast rap competition.

“We’re doing this for the people, not for the recognition,” they add. “We already know we’re great. This is to inspire and uplift—and inspire others to be creative and use their talents and gifts as well.”

Make sure to stay connected to AstroBlack on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

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  • Deadpan Robert Smith interview resurfaces as The Cure singer celebrates 64th birthday

Deadpan Robert Smith interview resurfaces as The Cure singer celebrates 64th birthday

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It’s Robert Smith‘s birthday so, naturally, fans of the singer are sharing what is commonly believed to be one of his greatest moments.

The musician, who is the frontman of The Cure, turns 64 today (Friday 21 April).

In 2019, he became a viral sensation on Twitter thanks to his hilariously deadpan response to an excitable reporter.

Smith was in attendance at that year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where The Cure were being inducted alongside Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, Def Leppard, The Zombies, Radiohead and Roxy Music.

The singer approached a chipper interviewer at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre, who said to him: “Congratulations, The Cure – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2019! Are you as excited as I am?”

Smith, without missing a beat, replied: “Um, by the sounds of it, no.”

The interviewer, brushing off the response, laughed in response, and asked him: “Oh, no, what are we going to do?”

Smith continued: “I’m sure we’ll get there eventually. It’s a bit early, isn’t it?”

The clip, which has been viewed more than 10m times, has been shared on social media to mark Smith’s birthday.

“One of my absolute favourite Twitter clips of all time. Perfect!” one Twitter user wrote in response.

In March, Smith hit out at Ticketmaster after fans sent him screenshots of the high fees they were being charged when buying tickets to see The Cure live.

The Cure singer Robert Smith
The Cure singer Robert Smith (Getty Images For The Rock and Ro)

The frontman used Twitter to express his frustration at the pricing system by the ticket site, which he says artists cannot “limit”.

“We had final say in all our ticket pricing for this upcoming tour, and didn’t want those prices instantly and horribly distorted by resale,” he wrote.

“We didn’t agree to the ‘dynamic pricing’ / ‘price surging’ / ‘platinum ticket’ thing…,” wrote Smith on the new higher tier system Ticketmaster has been trialling.

He later detailed what he meant by the tweet, writing: “I had a separate conversation about ‘platinum’ to see if I had misunderstood something… but I hadn’t!”

“All artists have the choice not to participate… If no artists participated, it would cease to exist,” he added.

However, when tickets went on sale, fans were reportedly hit by large fees that meant the cost of tickets was more than doubled.

Samith then announced that Ticketmaster would issue partial refunds to fans.

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