On Their New-Ish Album, 'Ghost Stories,' Blue Öyster Cult Defy The Reaper Once Again | GRAMMY.com (2025)

It's been eons since far-out classics like "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)," but Blue Öyster Cult are still enveloped in the sci-fi dream. At 79, singer and multi-instrumentalist Eric Bloom still plays video games every day. "I'm playing 'Diablo Immortal,' 'Nexus War' and 'Return of Shadow,'" he reports over Zoom, at home in Florida, with wall art of Saturnian rings and moons swirling overhead.

Later on, Bloom remembers Allen Lanier, their founding guitarist who passed in 2013, at age 67. "He was probably the brightest guy in Blue Öyster Cult intellect-wise," Bloom says of his late friend. "He always had a book." BÖC's been irresistibly brainy from the jump; they got saddled with the "heavy metal" genre tag, but that never made that style of music, nor fit that macho archetype.

So are the nuances of this cult classic rock band. If you only know the ever-spellbinding "Don't Fear the Reaper" and cowbell jokes — well, you have a lifetime of entertainment ahead of you. Happily, the band is still forging ahead at full capacity. Their last album of new material, 2020's The Symbol Remains, was excellent and one of their most consistent. (And, no, that's not graded on a legacy-act curve.)

Now, they've followed it up with Ghost Stories — an album of songs of yore whose recordings were never finished, until now. "It's for the hardcore BÖC fan," Bloom admits of this collection of tunes, which could have ended up on 1979's Mirrors or 1983's The Revölution by Night if things went in a different direction. (The limit of how much audio could fit on an LP, or cassette, was one factor.) But tracks like "Late Night Street Fight" and "So Supernatural" could make you one.

When you visit BÖC's homepage, you're greeted with an emblazoned "On Tour Forever!" — and not for nothing. In a 100+ show-per-year touring schedule that would flatten many bands half their age, Bloom and brother in arms Donald Roeser — that's Buck Dharma to you and me — carry the flame throughout the small theaters, state fairs and casino resorts of America.

Dharma's the only original member of the band, back when they were Soft White Underbelly — a paraphrasal of a Winston Churchill comment about Italy's role in World War II, by their manager, in-house poet and overall impresario, Sandy Pearlman. On Christmas Day, 1968, Bloom moved into the band house in Great Neck on Long Island, as their tour manager. The next year, he was their vocalist.

In 1971, they became Blue Öyster Cult, named from a Pearlman poem about a conspiracy of aliens taking over the world. (To get a handle on the lore, just read the lyrics to their 1988 album Imaginos, all drawn from Pearlman's bonkers poems and scripts.) And aside from one brief breakup during a rough '80s, they've been powering ahead ever since.

"We're not dead yet," Bloom deadpans from behind wraparound shades. But they're still telling Ghost Stories.

*Eric Bloom performing with Blue Öyster Cult in 1978. Photo: Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images*

The Symbol Remains did so well that their label, Frontiers Music out of Italy, chomped at the bit for more output. However, they couldn't make a new album at that juncture; the road dogs had to be on tour. Eventually, the idea came about to return to unfinished material from 1978 to 1983, de-mix them, remix them and complete them.

As the equally boyish and soft-spoken Dharma explains, the Ghost Stories multitracks weren't recorded in a proper studio, but in a rehearsal hall to eight-track tape. They got the tapes from their original audio engineer, George Geranios, who baked the tapes and, in effect, "pre-produced" the record (Bloom says with air quotes).

Afterward, Geranios sent them to Richie Castellano's studio and still found deterioration on the vocal of the first single, "So Supernatural." BÖC leapt at the opportunity to employ cutting-edge technology to complete the music.

"We deconstructed some of them with these AI software tools to separate the individual elements of the ones that weren't multi-track," Bloom explains. Original BÖC drummer Albert Bouchard, who left the band in 1981, stepped behind the kit to complete the tunes that weren't fully tracked. Albert's brother, their former bassist Joe Bouchard, who left in '86, followed suit.

Regarding "So Supernatural," "Joe Bouchard had to come in, current day, and re-sing it. I believe that's the only song that had a vocal re-sung," Bloom says. Neither he nor Dharma had to re-sing anything; he's not sure that Dharma played anything new, but knows Castellano had to replay elements that were missing. "Some of those older tapes had holes on them where they were abandoned before rhythm guitars were put on them, things like that," he says.

Overall, "It was a nice collaborative effort with the original band members," Dharma says. Naturally, as they flip through these Ghost Stories, both Dharma and Bloom's heads fill with memories of the original sessions. Especially of one very, very critical figure in the band's history.

"Of course, Allen Lanier is gone now," Dharma says. "But to hear him play, it makes me feel good to hear him and hear the band as it was at that time period. It's like a snapshot of what it was."

Dharma can mentally place himself in the room where this music was made. "It was sort of transitional in the band's career because 'Reaper' had been a hit, and once you have a hit, the record company wants you to get another hit," he says. "There's quite a bit of pressure to sustain your level of output and quality. It's a burden."

For a white-hot streak in the '70s and early '80s, Blue Öyster Cult were as big as your ZZ Tops or Cheap Tricks. In the '80s, "The Reaper," "Burnin' For You," "Godzilla," and the like remain staples of classic rock radio.

Still, "It's not like we were hitmakers in terms of writing or performing or posing or whatever you're supposed to do to be a hit recording artist," Dharma says. "We just always thought of ourselves as an album band. And we didn't mind taking the road less traveled as far as styles and going out on limbs and stuff like that."

"I think that's where we did our best stuff, when we just didn't give a thought about commercial success," Dharma concludes. "So, it was an odd time for us, but we persevered. And here we are. It's 2024, for crying out loud."

According to press materials, Ghost Stories "marks a fitting finale to the recording legacy of one of rock's most iconic fixtures from the past 50 years." This notion clearly irks Bloom; he denies it without reservation. "That is record label speech, and my answer to that is never say never," he says. "There's no reason why we couldn't do another project if there was a reason to."

*Buck Dharma performing with Blue Öyster Cult in 1978. Photo: Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images*

Beyond having eternal radio staples, Blue Öyster Cult have sneakily resonated with younger generations. Their catalog is vast, and full of treasures, oddities and are-they-or-aren't-they missteps to argue about; this is a band with a lot to offer to the instant-access Spotify generation.

By the way, Dharma's not buying the "Spotify is evil" line: "People bitch about the streaming and who gets the money and stuff, but actually streaming is more equitable to the artists than it ever was in the physical product days," he contends.

Rather, he puts the onus more on the predatory deals with labels: "The split is better, and the bookkeeping is much better, because every listen is logged and no one's really cheating on that. You may complain about who gets the percentage of what, but if your music is popular, you are making money now."

Everyone knows the Christopher Walken "more cowbell" skit from SNL, but BÖC heads have been found in many a writer's room; they've been referenced, and played, repeatedly on shows that burrowed into millennials' heads young, from "The Simpsons" to "That '70s Show." They've even infiltrated indie, punk and alternative: Bloom being credited as "E. Bloom" led one Dennes Dale Boon from San Pedro, California to become D. Boon.

Neither Dharma or Bloom ever met the Minutemen legend, who was tragically hurled from a van in the Arizona Desert in 1985, marking another member of rock's "27 Club." But their camps are close; Bloom has a fond memory of Mike Watt joining BÖC live to perform the blazing "The Red and the Black" — which, Watt has maintained over the years, was the first song he and Boon ever played together.

"I'm grateful for them giving a damn about Blue Öyster Cult, because I certainly appreciate what they did with it," Dharma says. And, unrelated, Bloom recently caught wind that none other than Dave Grohl's a huge fan.

"Every time our name comes up, it's always something positive," Bloom says. And whether or not Ghost Stories will mark the end of the line, Blue Öyster Cult are not apparitions to be relegated to the past. There've been ups and downs galore with this complicated, idiosyncratic, rewarding band — but as agents of fortune, Lady Luck's been with them indeed.

And to the Reaper — the main character in their greatest song, who will take us and everyone we know eventually — better luck next time.

Living Legends: Def Leppard's Phil Collen Was The Product Of A Massive Transition For Music — And He Wouldn't Change A Thing

From breaking records to making history, K-pop superstars BLACKPINK have taken over the world since their 2016 debut. Along the way, all four members have established themselves as stars in their own right — and on Dec. 6, ROSÉ fully introduced herself with rosie.

Across 12 tracks, ROSÉ creates an introspective masterpiece for her debut studio album, which expands upon her 2021 single album, R. As she did with R, the singer/songwriter led the entirety of rosie's creative direction and writing, further delving into ruminations on staying true to herself.

As a result, rosie is a fully realized version of R, embracing her earnest offerings of vulnerability that almost feels antithetical to BLACKPINK's signature, untouchable aura. She surrenders herself to a wholeheartedly honest version of ROSÉ, introducing fans new and old to the truest form of her as an artist.

Below, take a look at four ways ROSÉ's first full-length album helped her establish her own sound and style.

She Brings A New Kind Of Vulnerability

In line with the lacquered perfectionism characteristic to K-pop, many of BLACKPINK's hit songs (like "Boombayah" and "As If It's Your Last") have catchy, palatable choruses that are meant to make people dance, but often didn't have much depth lyrically. ROSÉ took the opposite approach with rosie, and the album not only feels much more vulnerable than her BLACKPINK beginnings — it's perhaps one of the most introspective works to ever come out of K-pop.

From flawless outfits to expertly placed makeup, K-pop stars are rarely captured without their armor. Yet, ROSÉ doesn't want to hide behind these walls. She's disillusioned by them entirely, instead opting to defy genre safeguards to allow her music to be as candid as possible.

ROSÉ confesses raunchier things K-pop artists aren't typically given space to talk about, from missing having someone in her bed on "two years," to being unafraid to tell an ex they "f—ed up" on "not the same." And at 27, she perfectly encapsulates the ups and downs of being in your twenties: confronting loneliness ("number one girl"), being let down in relationships ("call it the end"), and giving the wrong people too many chances ("not the same").

After years of maintaining a veneer of perfection, ROSÉ shows that she's more than the infallible star she's portrayed. It makes the name rosie feel all the more fitting, as she's reintroducing fans to who she really is — a girl who just wants to be heard.

She Proudly Details Her Mistakes

Much of rosie operates like a sonic version of a facepalm. ROSÉ is screaming at her past self, while also taking accountability for her own mistakes.

"Shame on me, should've known better/ I let you play me, whatever!" she asserts on "gameboy." Elsewhere, she reflects on how long she accepted the situationship hell she was in ("call it the end") and confesses to losing herself in her mind after ignoring red flags ("3 am").

As a whole, rosie shows ROSÉ's innate ability to inundate her lyricism with the highs and lows of the real, stupid and pathetic stuff you do for love. And while she dabbled in that level of honesty on her co-written BLACKPINK tracks "Yeah Yeah Yeah" and "Hard to Love," rosie helped her dig even deeper.

She Isn't Confined To One Sound

A large part of BLACKPINK's discography was driven by upbeat, anthemic songs, more meant to entice a crowd than challenge any of the members sonically. Throughout rosie, it's clear ROSÉ's vision was to wring out a quieter version of her K-pop persona. There's no brass-filled, punchy production behind a catchy chorus; instead, she opts for intimate tracks with soft synths ("toxic till the end") and piano-driven melodies ("call it the end").

Of course, she still offers some uptempo moments. The glitchy beat of breezy "drinks or coffee" deftly swaps her woe with confidence, flickering between love and lust. And ROSÉ is at her most electric on the Bruno Mars-featuring "APT," a windows-down, radio-booming pop earworm propelled by persistent hi-hats and an addicting bassline.

Whether she's earnestly telling a story through or showing off her musical range, ROSÉ proves that she's an artist who refuses to be put in a box — and that her poppier beginnings don't define her.

She Explores Her Sense Of Self

While the bulk of rosie's narrative centers around a romantic relationship (which has had fans in a speculative frenzy about her love life), ROSÉ also explores her relationship with herself. The album's introspective nature is one of its most compelling aspects, as it suggests that she isn't afraid to grow — even if it hurts.

She fearlessly admits her need for validation on "number one girl" ("Tell me I'm that new thing/ Tell me that I'm relevant") and "3 am" ("Say I'm not like anyone else"). But she also shows that, as a result, she's learned some lessons the hard way on tracks like "too bad for us" ("If love burns too bright, it burns out in a minute").

Through it all, ROSÉ uses rosie to confront the pains of the past, but ultimately move forward to a healthier, brighter future. And as she reclaims her narrative personally, she also puts a revelatory foot forward professionally; rosie hints that this is just the beginning of a beautifully vulnerable solo career.

In February 2015, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif launched the first-ever Rolling Loud festival. But while the inaugural Miami event was a success, it was also quite the learning experience for Zingler, who had to take matters into his own hands — literally.

"I booked companies to drop off bike racks [and tents]. They just dropped them off in the front of the building, and I had to set them up myself... in Wynwood in Miami, with a pistol on me, at 4 in the morning. There's homeless people and crackheads and s—. It was crazy as f—, dude."

Since that harrowing first year, Rolling Loud is no longer a DIY venture for Zingler and Cherif — it now bills itself as the biggest hip-hop festival in the world. Along with the annual Miami fest, Rolling Loud has expanded to California and Thailand, with other iterations having taken place over the years in New York, Australia, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria.

They've also overseen the emergence of Rolling Loud as what they proudly call a "lifestyle brand," with expansions into merchandise, including collabs with Modelo and the WWE. The latter marked the first time the wrestling league ever worked with a music festival, and the partnership expanded beyond T-shirts into actually having wrestling matches during the festival itself.

There's also a record label, which they launched with a Rae Sremmurd and Duke Deuce single in 2022. While there haven't been more releases yet, the founders have big plans for its future — as well as for a podcast (appropriately titled "The Founder$"), a movie, and more.

All of this — the worldwide concerts, the big-deal collaborations, the multimedia domination — shows that Rolling Loud is much more than a music festival. It has become an event, the founders say, that many artists plan their whole year — and their release schedules — around. The name has become synonymous with modern-day hip-hop, from the cutting edge to the mainstream.

"We're here to prove that hip-hop is a global force," Cherif says. "Our mission is to spread happiness to millions of people throughout the world while promoting hip-hop culture."

Ahead of the 10th anniversary edition of the festival — which takes place in Miami from December 13-15 and features Future, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti headlining — Cherif and Zingler sat down with GRAMMY.com to discuss those rough early days, how the festival has evolved, and the founders' plans for the future (hint: they involve outer space).

You guys have talked about how back when you were first promoting shows, you threw an event with Rick Ross that didn't go well. But I wanted to know some specifics: how on earth did you lose $30,000 in a single night?

Tariq Cherif: [Laughs] First of all, it was our first event at a club. Anything we had done prior to that was a house party. And second of all, we intended to produce concerts like we ended up doing shortly thereafter.

But with Rick Ross, we booked an after party with him when there was an arena show for FAMU homecoming in Tallahassee, Florida. This was in 2010. The arena show had a lot of the big rappers at the time, and just big personalities: Rick Ross, Waka Flocka, DJ Khaled.

We saw Rick Ross tweet an email address for after party bookings. And I was like, "Yo, Matt, we should book Rick Ross for this after party." We had no business promoting a Rick Ross after party. We're not after party promoters — we're concert promoters.

Also, we got beat out by the promoter for the arena show. At the time, there were only two nightclubs in Tallahassee. We had one booked, and the arena show promoter had the other. The arena show had their DJ pushing their nightclub the whole time, even though they didn't have any of the artists booked to show up. And we had Rick Ross booked — we were paying him.

Long story short, everybody went to the other party. That was what was dubbed as the official after party. But what's cool is, none of the artists went there. So if you came to ours, you got an eight or nine-song Rick Ross performance, but there were only like 100 people there. But if you went to the other club, it was 2,000 people but no artists.

What did you come away from that with?

Matt Zingler: The concept of a 2,000 cap club, selling tickets for $50, grossing $100,000, netting $70,000 because you pay the artist 30 grand — it's not a reality. When people don't buy the tickets, you're f—ed.

When we decided to go on to our next booking, which was Curren$y, we did an actual music venue and an earlier show that was an actual concert, and we priced it accordingly. We focused on selling an event instead of a nightclub and bottles and a late crowd.

Before Rolling Loud, you were booking concerts. Why create a festival, as opposed to continuing to promote individual artist shows?

Cherif: That came about organically. We grew into it. We were throwing hip-hop shows with one headliner and a couple support acts all over the state of Florida. By the time we launched Rolling Loud, we'd been doing it for five years, and we wanted to grow into arenas out of the small clubs that we were in. But it was really hard in Florida, especially at the time. All the arenas were controlled by Live Nation or AEG or any of the big corporations. We were kind of blocked from these bigger venues.

We also were seeing at our shows that artists in a similar subgenre would have the same fans. So Curren$y or Wiz [Khalifa] or Mac Miller or Action Bronson or any of those types of guys would have a lot of the same fans at the shows. And a Robb Bank$ or Flatbush Zombies or Denzel Curry would have a separate group of the same fans at their shows. At all of our shows would be some super hip-hop fans that would just come to every show.

We realized hip-hop has a lot of subgenres. If we could unite all of them on one show, we could do a bigger show than what we've been doing, charge more for a ticket, but also provide people a lot of value. So we found a warehouse in Miami, and the rest was history.

What was that first year like?

Zingler: The first festival capacity, I want to say, was around 5,000, 7,500 patrons. It was an indoor room. The stage was smaller. We had some kind of barricade — probably bike racks. Stage two was very small. It was an outdoor stage, kind of iconic because a lot of legends performed on that one. You had, like, Travis Scott. You had Post Malone there before he was anybody. You had XXXTentacion — a bunch of acts were on that stage.

It's a very, very large difference between what we do now and what we did then. I mean, our main stages now cost anywhere between $1.3-$1.7 million, just for the production for one stage. At the time, I want to say that the total stage cost was maybe 25, 30 grand. We're building stages now that are 80 feet deep, 280 to 320 feet wide — versus at that time, probably 20 feet deep by 40 feet wide. We don't even have a stage that small anywhere at our festival now. So there's definitely leaps and bounds.

Was it actually you two setting up the bike rack barricades?

Zingler: I was there late. Tariq was also in town. I booked companies to drop off bike racks. They just dropped them off in the front of the building, and I had to set them up myself until four in the morning. Same thing with the tent vendor: they just dropped off these tents and I'm like, "You gotta set them up." They're like, "You didn't pay for that." I was like, "I'll pay for it now." And they're like, "We don't have the people to do it." And I was like, F—.

So I'm literally setting up tents. This is by myself in Wynwood in Miami at four in the morning. There's homeless people and crackheads and s—. It was crazy as f—, dude. Definitely humbling, for sure.

So the next year, I assume you paid the setup fee?

Zingler: Next year I was like, "I'm not hiring your company unless you're setting up the tent and putting up the bike rack, and here's where I want you to put it." Lesson learned though, man.

Rolling Loud got associated in its early years with the SoundCloud rap movement.

Cherif: That was lightning in a bottle. It was a growing together situation where we were producing these smaller concerts throughout Florida. These artists you're talking about — Robb Bank$, Denzel Curry, XXXTentacion, wifisfuneral, Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, Pouya — we booked all of them for their own headlining shows, but we also would book them to open for artists when we'd bring them to Florida. So we were building this scene together throughout all of Florida, and really championing each other.

We were the guys doing the shows. They were the artists coming up that were lit. It was building it brick by brick together. When we launched Rolling Loud, we knew it was super important to represent that on the show, because we were watching the growth firsthand, and all those artists had earned it.

The first Rolling Loud has Denzel Curry, Pouya, Robb Bank$, wifisfuneral, Cashy. Some of the names aren't popping anymore, but at the time they were. And then by the second Rolling Loud we got XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God. By the third Rolling Loud, we got Lil Pump and Smokepurpp. We just saw that we were a part of that genre. Whether we were working with the guys, friends with the guys, helping manage them, tour manage them, promoting them — it was all hand in hand. It was an organic unfolding.

How did you expand beyond that genre without losing your identity?

Zingler: As the brand became larger, we got more stages and the ability to book up-and-coming talent. We've never lost our ability to see who's buzzing. SoundCloud was a unique time. Nowadays you have TikTok, you have Twitter, you have a bunch of different platforms you can scour to find budding talent.

Back then there was a strong Florida scene. I would say there's still a strong scene in Florida, but artists are popping up all over the map every day. It's different. You know, an artist one day has a song on TikTok, and he's a superstar within a week. That's changed a little bit of the landscape of music.

But when we book our lineups, if you look down at the bottom, you're always going to see the new hot buzzing guys, people you don't know. Fans love that. We're booking an average of 30 to 36 artists a day on Rolling Loud. It's a really custom-tailored product that you're going to see — 110 to 120 rappers at the festival.

We never lost our identity or connection with up-and-coming talent or the community. It's only gotten stronger. Because we put more shows up on the board and we platformed more artists, some of the artists that were an opener at one point became headliners — people like Travis Scott and Post Malone. Certain people in that wheelhouse have grown with us over time from the beginning and became something larger. So when we expand our brand in different markets, we definitely tap in and we know what's hot.

I wanted to ask about that expansion. It was just a couple of years into Rolling Loud that you guys went to LA, and from there put on shows internationally. What was behind the decision to expand the brand? Why not just have the biggest event in Florida once a year for the rest of your lives?

Cherif: That was a topic of much contention between Matt and myself, because I felt like before we look at expanding, let's be the biggest we can be in Miami, where we don't have competition.

But we kept talking it over. And Matt had a great point: you're only as good as your last show. Also, when it comes to the brand, we've got it right now. People want it in the West Coast, which we saw on our socials. People from all over the world were saying, "Bring this here," but we especially got a lot of that from California. So it's very much a Matt-driven thing that at first I disagreed with, but I think it was the right decision in the end.

Speaking of LA, there was a moment there in 2019 when you had to switch the order of the final acts at the last minute. Can you tell me about that?

Cherif: This was a super-tumultuous day for me. Very awkward, very stressful. At the time — even still today, but especially at the time — Lil Uzi Vert was one of our most in-demand artists. He was synonymous with the Rolling Loud brand. This is the first time we booked Chance the Rapper. And we love Chance the Rapper. Acid Rap is one of my favorite albums. We booked him prior to him releasing [The Big Day] that year, just taking a bet on the album.

On show day, we have an app. In the app, we see people build their schedules. Uzi was the most scheduled artist, and Chance was further down the list. We also just knew anecdotally from our socials and from looking at our crowd that he was super important.

So our artist relations team informs us, "Uzi's jet is grounded in Philly. They won't let them take off due to weather. He's gonna miss his set." And we're like, Oh no, we cannot have Uzi miss his set. This is when the song "Futsal Shuffle" had just come out, which they ended up shooting the video for at the show.

Uzi's team said, "They'll let it take off [later]. If you can mess with the schedule, he can be there to perform." So we made the decision to go to Chance and his team. It took a lot of hours and a lot of conversations. We basically explained to them, "Hey, Uzi is really important to us. I would really appreciate it if you would swap with him so he can still perform."

Some of the business people around Chance were like, "Screw that. Just pull Uzi off the show. No other festival would ever ask the headliner to go before the direct support act." We were like, "Yeah, but no other festival is Rolling Loud. We care about our fans and we know our fans really want to see Uzi. He's the most requested on our app and our socials. We need to make this happen."

Long story short, we made it happen. It was not easy, but it went down. Chance was very accommodating and did that for us, and we're very thankful for it.

There's only two of you guys. Has there ever been a festival where the two of you both were not on site? Could you see a point at which that would happen?

Cherif: We both go to every show. There's only one show that Matt couldn't make it, and that was Australia, 2019. I don't really count it, because it was a one-stage, one-day show that was pretty turnkey, and we had some good partners. But as far as us producing a multi-day, multi-stage, very involved show, we both go to every show.

Will that still be the case 10 years down the line?

Zingler: I think it's important for us to remain very active in the brand. We are the heartbeat to the festival. We are the heartbeat to the brand. It wouldn't be the same without both of us. You can duplicate what we do, but it will never be authentic. It will never have the history. It will never have the connection. It'll just be a dupe, a copy, a replica of something that can never be replicated.

What do you want Rolling Loud to be in 10 years?

Zingler: We're going to space. Elon, give us a call. We're going to be the first festival in space. We'll be with Elon, sponsored by SpaceX, on a new planet. Uzi will headline and come down in his spaceship.

You guys have been very open about viewing Rolling Loud as a brand. What does that mean? What is Rolling Loud beyond concerts?

Cherif: We used to say this before it was real, but Rolling Loud is a lifestyle brand. Our mission is to spread happiness to millions of people throughout the world while promoting hip-hop culture. We're here to prove that hip-hop is a global force. We just executed a show in Thailand with 40,000 Asian people all knowing every word to every song, all dressed in clothes that you'd expect to see at a hip-hop culture event.

The name Rolling Loud is synonymous with hip hop. When you think hip-hop, you think Rolling Loud, and when you think Rolling Loud, you think hip-hop. Other extensions of the brand separate from the festival are the merchandise, the content, music, film. Just building a whole world around hip-hop and being that vehicle to encapsulate the whole feeling and spirit of the genre.

With the flagship show on the horizon, what's a typical day like for you guys?

Cherif: Thankfully, we have a great team. So the days of Matt pulling barricades, and me talking to every artist manager, all the things that we used to do hands-on ourselves — we don't have to do those things anymore. But we do need to coordinate with all of our teams, our department heads and our festival director. We need to make sure everything's dialed in the way that we want it.

Also, continuing to market the show, because we want to make sure the show is sold out prior to gates opening. So we're on the phone with managers, agents, the artists themselves, getting them to post the flier and promote the show. We're trying to line up special guests. We're just doing everything in our power to dot our i's and cross our t's, and make sure that we have the best event possible, especially for our 10-year anniversary.

So day to day, we're waking up, we're in our group chats, we're at our office, we're on call. We're doing everything. Nobody's too big or too small for anything. So it's like, "Let's get it done. Who's got the bandwidth for it? Whose department does it fall in? All right, great, execute."

The GRAMMY Museum will begin offering free general admission to visitors aged 17 and under starting Jan. 25, 2025, the organization announced today. This new initiative aims to make the Museum’s interactive exhibits and exclusive collections more accessible to a broader audience of young music lovers. The Museum anticipates this new policy to increase the number of youths who visit the Museum's galleries each year by more than double.

The newly announced free-admission policy was made possible by the Stengaard Gross Family Education Initiative through a generous donation made to the Campaign For Music Education. First launched in 2022, the Campaign For Music Education aims to eliminate the financial burden to access music education and foster the next generation of music's creators and leaders. The fundraising campaign recently surpassed its initial fundraising goal of $5 million. With this initial milestone now achieved, the GRAMMY Museum is announcing that it has doubled its fundraising goal to $10 million, which it hopes to reach in 2026.

Additional funds will be used to expand education programs like GRAMMY Camp, GRAMMY In The Schools and the Quinn Coleman Scholarship Fund, which have collectively served over 550,000 students.

"The GRAMMY Museum has always been committed to increasing access to music education by reaching underserved communities where access to our Museum and programming could make a huge impact," GRAMMY Museum President and CEO Michael Sticka said in a statement. "Waiving admission for kids 17 and under will go a long way towards achieving that goal." Sticka, who has led the Museum since 2018, recently renewed his contract through 2029, underscoring his dedication to making music education more accessible.

Sonic Playground Exhibit Opens In January 2025

As part of this initiative, the Museum will debut Sonic Playground, a new permanent interactive exhibit designed to encourage creativity and exploration. Opening January 2025, the exhibit will feature 17 music-making, interactive experiences that allow visitors to play different roles in the music industry, from rapper and singer to producer and voice actor. Sonic Playground is a groundbreaking space designed for visitors of all ages, regardless of their skills or knowledge, to be playful and creative through music.

The exhibit is made possible by a generous donation from Deborah DeBerry Long, dedicated to the legacy of Jim Long. Additional supporters of the Campaign For Music Education include the Ray Charles Foundation, the Natalie Cole Foundation, and BeatHeadz.

The GRAMMY Museum’s ongoing commitment to music education is championed by its co-chairs, including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes, and Rosalía, who have helped amplify the campaign’s goals.

Learn more about the GRAMMY Museum’s free admission initiative, Sonic Playground and other Museum programs.

Few hip-hop acts have been as tight and integral to each other's success as Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Both personally and professionally, the West Coast legends have been closely associated since they began to dominate the rap landscape in the late '80s. In December, they'll release a new (and highly anticipated) collaborative LP, Missionary.

The duo have spent plenty of time reflecting on the history of their relationship. While promoting their Gin & Juice cocktail line back in July, Snoop reflected on how Dre has impacted his career following a fortuitous introduction from Snoop’s friend Warren G. "Dr. Dre has always been like a big brother to me," Snoop said. "But he taught me professionalism as far as how to separate from the hood and how to get on a business venture and look forward and not really pay attention to what’s behind you."

It’s this advice that has propelled them from burgeoning artists, to dominant rap stars, to two of our most celebrated celebrities. There’s a reason why they were pegged to help launch the arrival of the Olympics to Los Angeles in 2028. Snoop and Dre have transcended their careers as artists and have become cultural icons. With Missionary set to be released on Dec. 13, here’s a look at the history of the friendship and professional relationship between Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre.

1991: Snoop Dogg got his start the way so many hip-hop stars did before the internet became the main mode of music discovery: on a tape. Snoop was featured on a cassette that somehow made its way into the hands of Dr. Dre, who was at the time presiding over a record label called Future Shock. The label came to be after Dre parted from his deal with Ruthless Records, and established Future Shock with Suge Knight, D.O.C., and Dick Griffey. Eventually, the label would be renamed Death Row Records.

At the same time, Snoop, alongside his cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead, plus neighborhood pal Warren G, formed a group called 213 — named for the area code in their hometown of Long beach. A freestyle from Snoop as a part of 213 made its way onto a tape, and his bars over En Vogue’s "Hold On" impressed Dre. The 20-year-old Snoop was invited to audition for Future Shock by Dre, who was just 26 at the time.

1992: The audition was clearly a success, as Dre recruited Snoop Doggy Dogg to begin working with him almost immediately. First, they teamed up for Dre’s first-ever single, the theme song for the 1992 film Deep Cover. The track was a fruitful experiment for the duo, which led to Dre inviting Snoop to collaborate with him on the solo album he was working on, set to be titled The Chronic.

The album, which marked Dre’s first since departing N.W.A. and would go on to become one of the most influential albums in the history of West Coast rap, also served as a nationwide introduction to Snoop Dogg, who appears throughout the project. It would set the stage for Snoop’s emergence as one of rap’s most promising young stars, a status he fulfilled with his own solo debut a year later, Doggystyle.

1995: Snoop and Dre continued to dominate the West Coast rap landscape, alongside other icons like Tupac. The rivalry between the West and East Coast, led by the Notorious B.I.G., spilled over into the public eye during the 1995 Source Awards. Held on Aug. 3, 1995 in New York City, Biggie was the event’s big winner, taking home four awards. But Dre also played a role in the evening’s drama.

Dre earned the honor for Producer Of The Year, winning the award over fellow beatmakers DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, and Pete Rock — all of whom were deeply associated with the New York rap scene. When Dre was announced the winner, he and Snoop hit the stage, showered with a chorus of boos. Snoop earned his badge as Dre’s right hand man that night, getting after the crowd for their lack of appreciation.

"The East Coast ain’t got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg?" he asked. "The East Coast ain’t got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Death Row? Y’all don’t love us?" The boos, of course, only grew louder. Dre followed up, proclaiming that he (and, by extension, the West Coast) was making music for "everybody to enjoy."

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1999: As the year 2000 approached, Dre and Snoop’s professional relationship began to drift apart, through no fault of their own. Dre’s relationship with Death Row partner Suge Knight had grown beyond repair, so the producer departed the label and began to set up his Aftermath imprint. Snoop, still with Death Row, released 1996’s The Doggfather without any production from Dre.

Though Snoop joined Master P’s No Limit Records in 1998, his LP from that year, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, didn’t feature any songs with Dr. Dre. However, his 1999 album, No Limit Top Dogg, featured three tracks with his frequent collaborator, all of which saw the duo revisiting the g-funk style they pioneered in the early '90s.

That same year, Dr. Dre would release his second masterpiece, 1999, which featured Snoop and Dre reuniting once again. The D-O-Double-G was featured on "Still D.R.E.," which was written by Jay-Z and Scott Storch, plus "The Next Episode" and "F— You" with Devin the Dude.

2006: Snoop and Dre’s next big collaboration arrived in 2006 on Snoop’s Doggystyle/Geffen Records release, The Blue Carpet Treatment. The album, which was both a commercial and critical success, featured three beats from Dre, including the production for "Imagine," the blockbuster track that also features a vocal appearance from the producer, in addition to vocals from the legendary D’Angelo.

2010: Dr. Dre had long been rumored to be in the lab cooking up his third full-length LP, Detox, but actual music from that project hadn’t arrived by 2010 after, reportedly, nine years of production. It was supposed to be a third record in a trilogy, following albums from his two proteges, completing a run alongside 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct and Eminem's Relapse.

Despite the lack of news on the Detox front, Dre did once again reunite with his longtime collaborator, recruiting Snoop and Akon for "Kush," which featured the three artists singing and rapping over a beat from DJ Khalil. Though the song, alongside his other track from 2010, "I Need a Doctor," were rumored to be part of a new project, that new release never materialized.

Read more: Snoop Dogg's Biggest Songs: 15 Tracks That Display His Charismatic Style And Range

2012: While Snoop and Dre were well-deserved headliners for the Sunday closing slot at Coachella in 2012, they were joined by an even bigger star, resurrecting Tupac in hologram form to help them perform some classic hits. The duo debuted the innovative technological replica of Shakur, enlisting the hologram to help them perform "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" and "Gangsta Party." Elsewhere during the headline-making set, the duo were joined by Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Eminem.

2015: In 2015, Snoop and Dre reunited for Dre’s third studio album, Compton, which was released to coincide with the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton. Snoop appears on "One Shot One Kill" and "Satisfaction."

The project was noteworthy in that it also featured Dre collaborating with fellow legendary beatmaker, DJ Premier, on "Animals." Prem spoke with Pitchfork about their collaboration, having said: "I watched him work the boards old-school style. He’s got ProTools hooked up, but he’s still on the Control 24 board, turning the knobs, working each fader by hand. A lot of kids now don’t do that; everything is just a mouse and a computer screen."

2018: When Snoop Dogg earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was only right that Dr. Dre was by his side to help celebrate the honor. Dre said during his induction speech: "Snoop is always there for me, ready to work, and constantly motivating and pushing me and making me believe I could do it. I mean, I could always hear his voice in my head. I cannot imagine where I’d be in my life if I had not collaborated with Snoop."

Snoop also spoke at the event, offering up a humorous ode to his own career. He said: "I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I wanna thank me for having no days off. I wanna thank me for never quitting. I wanna thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive. I wanna thank me for trying to do more right than wrong. I wanna thank me for being me at all times, Snoop Dogg you a bad motherf—er."

2022: Fast forward to 2022, and Snoop and Dre brought the house down during the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show. The duo were joined by Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, with a special guest appearance from 50 Cent. Despite all the accolades and successes of their careers, the event stood out for Snoop.

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During an interview with the Associated Press before the big show, he said that the gig was a "dream come true." He added: "I’m still thinking I'm in a dream because I can't believe that they will let a real hip-hop artist grace the stage in an NFL Super Bowl. We're just going to wait for that moment and put something together that's spectacular, and do what we're known for doing and add on to the legacy."

Dre added during a different pre-Super Bowl interview: "We’re going to open more doors for hip-hop artists in the future and making sure that the NFL understands that this is what it should have been long time ago." That much has been accomplished, as Kendrick Lamar is set to perform at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show this coming February.

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2023: During 2023 GRAMMY Week, Dr. Dre received the inaugural (and eponymous) Global Impact Award courtesy of the Recording Academy and its Black Music Collective. On the GRAMMY stage, Dre was presented the award following an introduction courtesy of friend and collaborator LL Cool J. During his speech, Dre said: "What I love about this award is that it uses my name to inspire the next generation of producers, artists, and entrepreneurs to reach for their greatness and demand that from everybody around you. Never compromise your vision, at all. Pursue quality over quantity, and remember that everything is important. That is one of my mottos. Everything is important."

The award was first given during the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Honors event that was held during GRAMMYs week, which also honored Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, and Sylvia Rhone. During the Dre tribute,Snoop Dogg performed "Deep Cover" and "Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang" with Kurupt. Snoop also recruited Ty Dolla $ign to perform "Ain’t No Fun (if the Homies Can’t Have None)."

2024: Snoop and Dre linked up once again in 2024, announcing a number of projects and events together. The year began with Snoop repaying Dre the favor of being there for his Hollywood Walk of Fame star induction ceremony. Snoop introduced Dre, initially riffing on his own induction speech. He began: "I wanna thank me for taking the call from Warren and Dr. Dre in ’91, even though I hung up on Warren a few times ’cause I thought the n— was lying." He added: "I wanna thank me for showing up on time at the Super Bowl." Eventually, though, he paid tribute to his longtime collaborator, referring to Dre as a: "teacher, mentor, brother, guardian, protector, and most importantly, a good friend."

In February, the duo introduced their beverage, Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop, with a surprise performance at a Super Bowl afterparty in Las Vegas. Regarding the new line of spirits, Dre said: "Together, we always try to create magic, we're having fun being creative, and everything about this product is really us. There's passion behind it, and friendship and love and a culture. We're shooting to make everything we do magnificent, and fortunately, most of the time we hit the target."

Later in the year, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre helped with the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony, pre-taping a performance in Long Beach which was broadcast as part of the event. The performance was meant to kick off the countdown for the 2028 games in Los Angeles.

Up next? Snoop and Dre will continue their decades of domination with the arrival of Missionary, their first fully collaborative album. It marks Snoop’s 20th full-length effort, and Dre’s fourth LP. Artists set to be featured on the project include Tom Petty, Jelly Roll, Sting, Method Man, 50 Cent, Eminem, and others.

Speaking about the album back in January on "All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson," Snoop said he sounds like "a grown Snoop Dogg. There’s some growth to him. It’s the way he selects his bars, it’s the way he uses his voice. [Dr. Dre] uses me like a f—ing robot and I love it because I love to be produced. I love to be challenged."