Run The Jewels 4 Drops Early

Killer Mike and El-P came through for the people, dropping the highly-anticipated RTJ4 on Wednesday across all streaming platforms. Not only did the album hit airwaves a few days early, but the entire project can be downloaded on the official site for free.  

Gaga's Return

Lady Gaga is back at the top of the charts following the huge single "Rain On Me" featuring Ariana Grande, and the new album Chromatica received a thorough review on The Ringer. "There are lightning flashes of the classic, heedless, fearless Lady Gaga." 

A Conversation With Gibbs and Alchemist

Rounding out a full week of new music release news, Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist unleashed their collab project Alfredo on fans this week out of nowhere. The duo sat down with Complex Music to discuss one of the best and surprising rap albums of the year. 

Every week we take to Google Trends to see what people are searching for. Are people looking for WD-40 or E-40? What about Lil Yachty vs. Boat Rentals? Are people yawning, or looking up Yanni's discography? What's more popular; NASCAR or Coachella?  

"Damn homie, in high school you was the man homie," legendary words from 50 Cent that were inescapable once upon a time. Back when he first dropped Get Rich Or Die Tryin' there's a pretty good chance I took all of my loose change to my nearest Coinstar to put together a few bucks to grab another CD. So this week we're asking: Which money counter has the most Google stacks?

It's 50 Cent in a clean 50-state sweep. 

This week Hannah sent a pic of her rocking this awesome Ghost Prequelle raglan shirt, which is her "favorite" piece of merch! I know we've got plenty of Ghost fans out there who can appreciate this one. Thank you for sharing, and keep sending your fan pics in folks!

Back in 2003 Metallica was prepping to release St. Anger, with the title-track serving as the lead single. The band wanted to shoot the video at San Quentin prison, and in exchange, made a donation as well as played a 10-song set for inmates. And that is the story behind this very metal picture.

Dave Grohl's Heartfelt Letter

Dave Grohl lent his writing to The Atlantic, penning a sentimental letter on the irreplaceable thrill of live shows. I know we miss concerts, so this one plucks at our music-loving heartstrings.  

Stream An Amazing Prince Show Today

YouTube is launching a fully remastered Prince concert, premiering it via stream for free Thursday evening. Prince and the Revolution: Live was the first officially released Prince concert, filmed during the Purple Rain Tour, and we can't wait to bask in what will surely be a glorious event.

 Run The Jewels 4 Announced

Last but certainly not least, Run The Jewels 4 has a release date AND tracklist. RTJ4 drops on June 5, an 11-track album featuring Zack de la Rocha, Pharrell, 2 Chainz, DJ Premier and what looks like an amazing slate of guests. We. Can't. Wait.

Every week we take to Google Trends to see what people are searching for. Are people looking for WD-40 or E-40? What about Lil Yachty vs. Boat Rentals? Are people yawning, or looking up Yanni's discography? What's more popular; NASCAR or Coachella?  

To say we're excited about getting a release date for Run The Jewels 4 is an understatement; this resulted in several ALL CAPS direct message exchanges in our team. The question is: Are the jewels they're running uncut? Finding the right opponent for RTJ was tough, but Adam Sandler's high-anxiety Netflix original movie felt like the right fit this week.

If you get in the ring with The Sandman, you better not miss. Uncut Gems takes this one in a unanimous decision.

Hey Fans,

We're looking for pictures of our community wearing, sharing and loving the merch they've found on Merchbar! Bonus points if you tell us why you love that artist! Drop us a line at fans@merchbar.com.

For example, our guy Zack here shared this awesome King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard merch with us via social media. Tag us on Twitter and Instagram and we'll share your awesome finds with our community!

You guys didn't think we'd go this whole newsletter without paying our respects to the creator of rock and roll himself, Little Richard, did you? The world lost a legend, but the spirit of Richard Penniman will live on forever through his influence across music genres and eras. Rest in peace to The Originator, The Innovator, The Architect, and the man who rocked the world.