First Dibs: Why Are Fans Urging Jay Z To Cut One Of His Business Ties?

By Rahsheeda Ali

October 25, 2013 / 8:00 AM

Did The Flaming Lips split up? M.I.A. reveals that someone nearly died while creating her LP, and Blink-182 nearly missed the chance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of their biggest albums.

A petition appeared on Change.org, trying to persuade Jay Z to halt his partnership with upscale retailer Barneys New York. The store was recently hit with claims of racial discrimination, but Jay Z had previously been tapped to design its signature holiday window display. [AllHipHop]

M.I.A. says that Switch, one of her longtime producers, was severely injured during the making of her upcoming album. Apparently, he tried to dive off a cliff but slipped and wound up in the hospital. But as soon as he was well enough, he was right back in the studio. [NME]

A series of curious tweets appeared on The Flaming Lips' Twitter feed, including that the band had broken up. Frontman Wayne Coyne claimed the account had been hacked, and the odd messages have since been deleted. [Guardian]

Blink-182's Untitled (or self-titled, depending who you ask) LP came out nearly 10 years ago — and the guys almost didn't realize the anniversary was coming up until a fan alerted them to the fact. Find out how they're planning to mark the big milestone during their current tour. [MTV News]

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