Selena to Receive the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award

There’s no denying Selena’s life, cut too short, has left a lasting impression on the world. And, now the music industry’s learned academy is celebrating her impact.

The late Mexican-American singer, known as la Reina de la Musica Tejana, is among the six artists selected by the Recording Academy to receive 2021 Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Selena Quintanilla

Selena, who was shot and killed on March 31, 1995, 16 days before her 24th birthday, by her friend and the former manager of her Selena Etc. boutiques, received two Grammy nominations in 1993-94. She won the 1993 award for best Mexican American album for Live, marking the first time a female Tejano artist had won in the category.

Selena ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting a music genre into the mainstream market. She has sold around 30 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists in Latin music.

This year’s other lifetime achievement award recipients include Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Salt-N-Pepa, Talking Heads, Marilyn Horne and Lionel Hampton.

The honorees will be recognized on the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on January 31, and at greater length subsequently. For the last five years, the Special Merit Awards honorees were saluted on a PBS special, Grammy Salute to Music Legends.

“As we welcome the new class of Special Merit Award honorees, it gives us a chance to reward and recognize the influence they’ve had in the music community regardless of genre,” Harvey Mason Jr., chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.

Here’s a detailed look at this year’s honorees:

Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: The group was formed in the South Bronx in 1978. The group, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, consisted of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, The Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Mr. Ness/Scorpio and Rahiem. The group was praised for its use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, choreographed stage routines, and lyricism. The group’s 1982 classic “The Message” was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012.

Lionel Hampton: The jazz musician started his career as a drummer in Chicago in the 1920s before he played the vibraphone with Louis Armstrong. In the 1930s, he broke barriers with the Benny Goodman Quartet, one of America’s first integrated jazz bands. In the 1940s, he formed his own Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which became one of the longest running orchestras in jazz history. Hampton received five Grammy nominations between 1984 and 1991, but he never won. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1992. Hampton and his Orchestra’s 1942 classic “Flying Home” was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.  Hampton died in 2002 at age 94.

Marilyn Horne: The opera star, 86, received four Grammys, including the 1964 award for most promising new classical recording artist. (She has now officially fulfilled that promise!) Horne received 15 Grammy nominations between 1964 and 1993. She received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1995.

Salt-N-Pepa: The trio, consisting of Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton) and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper), was one of the first all-female rap ensembles. Formed in Queens, New York, in 1985, the group crafted hits such as “Push It,” “Shoop” and “Whatta Man.” The group received five Grammy nominations between 1988 and 1996. It won the 1994 award for best rap performance by a duo or group for “None Of Your Business.”

Selena: The Tejano queen received two Grammy nominations in 1993-94. She won the 1993 award for best Mexican American album for Live, marking the first time a female Tejano artist had won in the category. Selena was just 23 when she was shot to death in 1995.

Talking Heads: The group, formed in 1975 in New York City, helped to pioneer new wave by blending elements of punk, rock, art pop, funk, and world music with an avant-garde aesthetic. The group received two Grammy nominations (in 1983 and 88), but never won. Group member David Byrne went on to win a Grammy and an Oscar on his own for co-scoring The Last Emperor. Byrne also made the cover of TIME in October 1986 in a story titled “Rock’s Renaissance Man.” The other group members were Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison. In 2002, 11 years after the group disbanded, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Matthew Santos Appears on MAKJ’s New Soulful Single “Too Far Gone”

Matthew Santos has gone and done it…

The 34-year-old part-Spanish American rock and folk singer-songwriter, musician and painter appears on MAKJ’s latest soulful single “Too Far Gone.”

Matthew Santos

The song features a great mix of acoustic and electronic elements, a touch of retro nostalgia with spacey synths anchored by the raw power of Santos’ vocals.

“When producing this record, I found myself really digging deep into the organic music side of my brain,” MAKJ tells Billboard. “This record speaks on so many different years of my life. From the ’80s inspired synths, to the live drums, new wave rhythm, and vocals from Matthew. All of this was inspired from my childhood listening to Talking HeadsMen Without HatsThe English Beat and Savage Garden. Being able to really connect the dots with my childhood on this record where me, as MAKJ, can still be heard, but also I can push forward my influences of new sounds. I really wanted to make this an art piece, not just another single.”

“Too Far Gone” was released by KENZ / Empire Records.

In 2006, Santos was featured on Lupe Fiasco‘s Food & Liquor album on the song “American Terrorist.” And he was featured on three additional tracks on Fiasco’s The Cool, released in December 2007; “Superstar,” “Streets On Fire,” and “Fighters.”

Selena Gomez Teases New Single “Fetish,” Featuring Gucci Mane

Selena Gomez will be sharing her Fetish with the world soon…

The 24-year-old Mexican American singer/actress is set to release a new single, a collaboration with Gucci Man entitled “Fetish.”

Selena Gomez

Gomez teased the new single on Friday (July 7) via Twitter, sharing what appears to be the single’s album art — a vintage-looking image of the 24-year-old carrying grocery bags next to a broken-down car — along with a release date of July 13.

Selena Gomez - Fetish

The Revival pop star also revealed a trio of cryptic images tied to the forthcoming song on Instagram.

Gomez previously teased the project through a short clip that debuted at the end of Gomez’s recent music video for the Talking Heads-sampling hit “Bad Liar.”

Selena Gomez Releases New Single “Bad Liar” on Spotify

It’s a bad day for Selena Gomez

The 24-year-old Mexican American singer/actress has released her new “Bad Liar” on Spotify.

Selena Gomez

“With all my feelings on fire, guess I’m a bad liar,” she sings over a polished groove featuring rhythmic hand claps.

After hearing the vocal-free snippet, some eager Selenators figured track bore a striking resemblance to the Talking Heads classic “Psycho Killer.”

David Byrne, it turns out, is a fan of Gomez’ latest.

“Bad Liar” follows Gomez’s collaboration with Kygo, “It Ain’t Me,” which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

There’s no word yet on whether the heartbreak song will appear on an album project.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1nIz2JbAAL6wK0HS6Wb9aC

Full Trailer Released for the Rodriguez-Starrer “CBGB”

Freddy Rodriguez is celebrating a piece of music history on film…

The 38-year-old Puerto Rican actor stars as Idaho in the historical drama CBGB, the true story of the New York City rock club that spawned such acts as the Ramones, the Talking Heads and Blondie.

Freddy Rodriguez

Starring Alan Rickman as the club’s colorful founder Hilly Kristal, the film – which saw the release of it’s full trailer this week – features a large ensemble that includes Donal Logue, Ashley Greene, Johnny Galecki and Bradley Whitford.

The film crams in more than 60 songs and a dozen on-camera performances including Malin Ackerman as Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry, Rupert Grint and Justin Bartha as the Dead BoysCheetah Chrome and Stiv Bators and Foo FightersTaylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop.

“These kids have something to say,” Kristal tells a TV news crew. “We really should listen.”

Directed by Randall Miller, CBGB opens this fall.

The Exchange Acquires International Rights to Rodriguez’s “CBGB”

Freddy Rodríguez’s latest film will be getting international exposure…

The Exchange has acquired the international distribution rights to CBGB, which stars the 38-year-old Puerto Rican actor and former Six Feet Under star.

Freddy Rodriguez

Rodríguez portrays Idaho in the film about the infamous New York City underground music club.

Directed by Randall Miller, the film also stars Alan Rickman as Hilly Kristal, CBGB’s founder who took chances on bands like Blondie, Television, the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Dead Boys and The Police.

CBGB Poster

Malin Akerman, Rupert Grint, Johnny Galecki, Ashley Greene, Justin Bartha, Joel David Moore and Donal Logue also form part of the large ensemble cast.

The Exchange will offer the film to overseas buyers at the Cannes Film Festival; Paradigm has the domestic distribution rights.