How Sidhu Moose Wala’s Hologram Tour Was Made Without Using AI

The Signed to God World Tour which kicks off in Toronto this October aims to keep the late Punjabi star’s music legacy alive

In 2022, New Delhi company The Concert Production’s founders Sohail Mansuri and Zeeshan Siddiqui were putting finishing touches to the look and feel of Punjabi star Sidhu Moose Wala’s Back 2 Business World Tour when they learned of his assassination.

Siddiqui recounts to Rolling Stone India, “We did his last mega concert at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. His India tour was about to start in June and he died on May 29.” Mansuri was just about to get on a flight to prepare for the on-ground production of the India tour, and held back. “I was just so shocked; he was so young and his popularity grew so much even after [his death],” Mansuri says.

At the suggestion of Harpreet Singh, aka Hunter, founder of tour promoter Platinum Events, Mansuri and Siddiqui began exploring a way to bring Moose Wala back to the stage, this time as a hologram. The idea was audacious, but it came with the blessing of the late artist’s parents and team. With that, The Concert Production began work on the hologram show, attempting to recreate the experience of seeing him perform live.

Hunter pitched the idea inspired by legendary rapper (and Moose Wala’s oft-cited inspiration) Tupac’s hologram performance at Coachella Festival in 2012, which created global waves. Mansuri says, “He came up saying, ‘Let’s do a tribute concert for him, because people are actually in love with him. Let’s do a tour and keep him alive.’”

Three and a half years on, it’s led them to the Signed To God tour, set to kick off on Oct. 8, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, with more shows across North America and Europe to be announced. There are plans to bring the shows to India as well. “Through state-of-the-art 3D holography, fans will see Sidhu walk the stage, make eye contact with the crowd, deliver his powerful lyrics, and relive his most iconic moments. Every performance is synced with live lighting, sound, and stage effects, making the experience feel personal and unforgettable,” a description on the tour website states.

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While it’s being marketed as a hologram tour, The Concert Production makes it a point to clarify that the technique is actually called Pepper’s Ghost, which relies on 2D projection. A similar technique has been used for hologram appearances of Tupac, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, Ronnie James Dio, and more across the world. Now, Sidhu Moose Wala gets to become the first Indian artist to join the list.

Especially in the age of artificial intelligence, Siddiqui and Mansuri are quick to clarify that no AI was used in the creation of the Signed To God shows. Instead, they actually flew to Italy, worked with a body double and prosthetics team to create a real-life, living, moving model of Moose Wala to capture movements and body language to use for the hologram. “We created a person who is like Sidhu,” Siddiqui says. Incidentally, even the Tupac ‘hologram’ was based off of movements by a trained body double, making it an industry-standard practice.

Considering how all-encompassing the influence of AI has been in recent years, Siddiqui does mention that they attempted to create an AI-generated likeness of the artist around 2024 through an agency in the U.K. “But to be very honest, it was looking very kiddish. It was looking very gimmicky because the reaction, what Sidhu used to do, was not a frequent action with AI. That is the reason we used prosthetics and a body double. We needed him to look exactly how he did, right down to how thick his moustache was. All the detailing has been taken care of,” Siddiqui says.

Holed up somewhere in Italy with a European production and prosthetics team sourced by Platinum Events’ Hunter, Siddiqui says the body double was trained how to walk exactly like Moose Wala, along with his signature moves and gestures. “The prosthetic has been done by a Hollywood artist. The body double appears on the stage exactly how Sidhu used to look. No one can say that he is not Sidhu.” Mansuri adds, “Even the pagdi (turban) guy who ties the pagdi was flown from India. We had a tattoo artist work on all the same tattoos that Sidhu had.”

Mansuri says that they have to be “very skeptical” about every frame and lighting that goes into the Signed To God shows, because the projection “is being seen only from certain angles” to audiences. “Making the hologram [visible] to the whole arena is a very big task. Because of the hologram dispersion, where everyone should be able to see, we have to occupy only that much of the crowd. If the arena is about 10,000 people, we can only occupy about 6,500 to 7,000,” he adds.

The Signed To God tour is something both Mansuri and Siddiqui hail as a milestone for their company, formed in 2020 after the two grew tired of the complacency they faced in concert production. Having worked with the likes of Raftaar, Diljit Dosanjh (whose concerts Siddiqui considers his breakthrough in the music industry), Salim-Sulaiman’s Bhoomi shows, Badshah, DJ Chetas, Bismil, Sid Sriram and others, they have mounted shows featuring everything from colorful, Xylo bands (seen famously at Coldplay’s concerts) to moving stages that even get hydraulically elevated.

For all the scale and technology that goes into their shows, Mansuri notes that the starting point has always been the artist. “If there are no inputs from the artist, we don’t work with them,” he says matter-of-factly. He adds, “We love to work with artists who actually call us and talk to us about what they want, send us references. A lot of artists now put money from their own pocket to make their show better.”

Now, they’re taking on a whole different beast with Moose Wala’s Signed To God tour. They’ve seen a lot of rumor-mongering from fans and punters online, but this is the first time they’ve gone into details about what’s gone into it. “We were very skeptical at first if we’ll be able to do justice to Sidhu in terms of his stage presence. It should not look like a gimmicky thing, that’s one thing we’ve been clear about. We just wanted to create a reality for the entire show where people feel that Sidhu has appeared on stage and he is the one who’s performing.”

This story was originally published by Rolling Stone India.

d4vd looks on during his arraignment for the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez on April 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

Celeste Rivas Hernandez‘s parents have lobbied for the death penalty if D4vd is found guilty of the murder of their daughter, who would have turned 16 on Monday.

In a rare public statement since criminal proceedings against the singer began, the Rivas Hernandez family asked Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman to pursue the death penalty against D4vd as opposed to a life sentence if convicted.

“If the death penalty were activated, it would be perfect for this kind of human being, devoid of feelings and emptiness inside, and without conscience, who only caused pain to our daughter, our family, and the world that supports our precious daughter,” the family said in a statement to the California Post. “But that’s not in our hands, but rather in God’s, and the California justice system.”

Any decision to pursue the death penalty has been delayed in part because the singer born David Burke decided to drop his legal team last week and instead employ a public defender; Hochman told the press at the time he was awaiting a mitigation packet from the public defender arguing why Burke shouldn’t face the death penalty.

While California hasn’t executed anyone since 2006, and Governor Gavin Newsom announced a reprieve on all executions in 2019, Hochman opened the possibility of once again handing out capital punishment in extreme murder trials.

“Effective immediately, the prior administration’s extreme and categorical policy forbidding prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in any case is rescinded,” Hochman said in a statement. “In its place, the new murder with special circumstances policy will consider pursuing the death penalty only after an extensive and comprehensive review and only in exceedingly rare cases.”

At his rearraignment last week, Burke pleaded not guilty on charges he sexually abused 14-year-old Rivas Hernandez before killing and dismembering her and concealing her remains in the front trunk of his Tesla.

Ye in Chicago

For all the mythology built around Ye (formerly Kanye West) as a singular genius, the most convincing argument for his influence has always been crowded with other people. Look closely at almost any important period of his career and somebody else is standing there: a rapper he produced for, an artist he signed, a voice he pulled unexpectedly onto a record, a peer who challenged him, a protégé who eventually became a superstar or a collaborator with whom the relationship became almost as famous as the music they made together. At Soldier Field this week, Ye managed to put an astonishing amount of that history in one place, making a compelling case that one of his greatest contributions to hip-hop might be the world he built around himself.

That world has hardly been harmonious. Friendships have fractured, G.O.O.D. Music relationships have soured and collaborators have criticised Ye publicly, often receiving plenty in return. Yet, across two nights in Chicago, the distance between those chapters seemed to collapse: Big Sean and 2 Chainz performed “Clique” and “Mercy”; Rick Ross returned for “Devil in a New Dress”; CyHi resurfaced for “So Appalled”; Twista took things back to “Slow Jamz” and “Overnight Celebrity”; Lupe Fiasco performed “Touch the Sky”; Chief Keef brought “Love Sosa” and “I Don’t Like”; and Common, Consequence, GLC, Really Doe, Future, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Don Toliver all moved through the stage before Kid Cudi arrived, bringing one of Ye’s most complicated creative relationships into the homecoming too.

Seeing the names written together almost misses what made it so good, because these artists don't belong to one Ye era, and they certainly don't belong to one version of hip-hop. Twista and Chief Keef alone represent radically different moments in Chicago rap history, while Travis Scott belongs to a generation that came of age after many of the musical risks Ye helped push into the mainstream, whereas Consequence and GLC were there when Kanye West was still fighting to convince the industry that the guy making the beats could also be the guy making the album. What made Soldier Field interesting was precisely that none of this history arrived neatly organised; instead, more than two decades of it seemed to keep walking onto the stage.

Ye in ChicagoCambams Cam

There was something fitting about Ye’s hometown becoming the place where those timelines could meet. Twista performing “Slow Jamz” more than two decades after the song helped establish West as a rapper offered one kind of homecoming, while Lupe returning for “Touch the Sky” offered another. Chief Keef performing “I Don’t Like,” after Ye helped turn the song into a G.O.O.D. Music posse cut in 2012, completed a different circle entirely, connecting Ye with a generation that would transform Chicago rap after his own ascent. The city was not merely the location of these concerts; its evolving rap history was part of what made them matter.

The G.O.O.D. Music appearances carried a different kind of nostalgia. There was a period when a Ye posse cut felt like its own event, when “Mercy,” “Clique” or a G.O.O.D. Friday release could make his extended musical universe seem impossibly exciting. The intervening years made hearing those records again more interesting than a straightforward throwback, however, because the artists involved had become stars themselves, pursued separate careers and, in certain cases, fallen spectacularly out with the person who originally brought them together.

Big Sean provided the weekend’s most obvious example. Ye signed him to G.O.O.D. Music in 2007, but their relationship eventually deteriorated so badly that, during a 2021 appearance on Drink Champs, Ye described signing Sean as “the worst thing” he had ever done. Sean subsequently challenged Ye’s account of their relationship and aired frustrations of his own, which made their reunion at Soldier Field particularly striking. Ye introduced Sean as his “homie from the D” before the pair performed “Clique”; Sean then delivered the wonderfully awkward-in-context “I Don’t Fuck With You,” and 2 Chainz joined them for “Mercy.” By the end of the appearance, Sean had told Ye that he loved and appreciated him, with Ye returning the sentiment. Watching them enjoy the records they had once made together said more than a grand declaration of reconciliation could have.

Kid Cudi’s appearance carried even more emotional history. Their creative partnership has produced some of the most adventurous music in either artist’s catalogue, while their friendship has also broken down publicly more than once. Cudi’s contributions around 808s & Heartbreak, their subsequent collaborations and eventually Kids See Ghosts made him much more than another artist in Ye’s orbit, which is why seeing him embrace Ye before they performed “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1” and “Ghost Town” carried such weight. There was no need to pretend their history had been uncomplicated; the years of friendship, disagreement and reconciliation were precisely what made the moment affecting.

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Those appearances also highlighted something Ye’s reputation for singular genius can obscure: his greatest records have always depended heavily on collaboration, and much of his talent has been in recognising what somebody else can contribute to an idea. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy remains perhaps the grandest example, its maximalism emerging from an enormous cast of musicians, producers and rappers whose contributions could occupy an entire verse or last only a few seconds. Soldier Field effectively allowed an audience to see that creative instinct rather than simply hear it.

Celebrating that musical history, however, cannot mean treating the more disturbing parts of Ye’s recent history as another feud to be folded into a story about complicated relationships. His repeated antisemitic remarks and embrace of Nazi imagery are categorically different from disagreements with former friends or collaborators, and their seriousness is not diminished because some of those relationships have since been repaired. Nor should the presence of so many artists beside him in Chicago be interpreted as collective absolution; who chooses to reconcile with Ye personally is separate from the harm caused by rhetoric directed at an entire community.

At the same time, acknowledging Ye’s musical influence is not the same as excusing his behaviour, and Soldier Field demonstrated why both realities have to exist in any honest assessment of his legacy. The influence of 808s & Heartbreak does not disappear because its creator later made antisemitic statements, just as the music Ye made with Big Sean or Kid Cudi does not cease to matter because those relationships fractured. The harder, and more useful, task is to reckon with the work without allowing admiration for it to soften the seriousness of everything that followed.

That tension is ultimately what made Chicago worth considering beyond the spectacle of who might walk out next. Some of the people onstage had been there near the beginning, others entered Ye’s story much later, and several had long since built influential careers of their own. Over two nights in the city where his own career began, those histories briefly converged again, revealing both the extraordinary reach of Ye’s musical legacy and the complicated reality in which it now exists.

Ye’s independently produced global stadium run is being executed in the U.S. alongside IKON Presents, with the Chicago weekend alone drawing approximately 142,000 fans across two nights, according to organizers.

Lisa for ‘SaWaDiKa’

Lisa is saying “hello” to her new chapter. The rapper-singer has released her new supercharged single “SaWaDiKa,” which is a Thai greeting for “hello.”

The track finds Lisa returning to her rap roots, as she spits bars with the sharp prowess she’s known for. “I’m that bitch on your TV/In my Ferrari, indigo/La Lalisa, la diva,” she raps over sputtering drums. Produced by Thom Bridges, who has worked with Katseye and John Summit among other artists, and songwriting duo Ojivolta, the track is a thumping first look into Lisa’s forthcoming EP, Press Play, which arrives on Oct. 23 via LLOUD Co./RCA Records.

Along with the song, Lisa has also shared a show-stopping music video. In it, she rocks a handful of stunning looks, including a red, cut-out leather bodysuit and boxing shorts with “SaWaDiKa” in rhinestone letters across the waist. The visual was shot in Lisa’s native Bangkok, Thailand, and directed by Bang Jae Yeob, a Korean director known for his work on K-pop videos. Throughout the video, Lisa commands each shot as she walks through a handful of iconic locations in Bangkok.

“SaWaDiKa” is Lisa’s first solo single of 2026. In May, the rapper-singer released “Goals” alongside Anitta and Rema for the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album. The song comes after Lisa announced her upcoming documentary Always Lalisa, which premieres worldwide on Oct. 12.

It’s bound to be a busy year for the Blackpink member. In the fall, Lisa will kick off her Viva La Lisa Residency in Las Vegas, where she will perform at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Nov. 13, Nov. 14, Nov. 27, and Nov. 28.

Big Sean joined Kanye West at his Soldier Field homecoming concert to perform "Clique," "Mercy," and "I Don't Fuck With You"

Big Sean made a surprise appearance at Kanye West‘s homecoming concert at Soldier Field in Chicago to perform his hit single “I Don’t Fuck With You,” a sentiment that no longer seems to apply to the relationship between the two rappers who spent the past five years locked in a quiet feud.

West and Sean publicly fell out around 2021, when Sean claimed West owed him $6 million in a since-deleted post on X. That same year, West said signing Sean to his record label G.O.O.D. Music, through which his music was released from 2007 through 2021, was “worst thing I’ve ever done” — though it can’t have been worse than the antisemitic rants and racist remarks that have derailed his career over the past few years.

“Man, I know this man’s momma, bro, you know what I’m saying? I changed this man’s family and both John Legend and Big Sean — when I ran for office — got used quick by the Democrats to come at they boy that actually changed they life,” West said at the time. “And that’s some sellout shit. And I don’t rock with neither of them, and I need my apology. I ain’t saying they ain’t gonna change, but niggas is scared.”

Whether or not West has been holding a grudge against Sean all these years, his fans certainly were. In 2024, a West fan allegedly leaked much of Sean’s then-unreleased album online. “Since he wanna disrespect Ye so much, here’s the album. Fuck him and his whole team,” the fan said after Sean seemingly made a dig at West during an On the Radar freestyle. It’s all water under the bridge now.

Sean and West celebrated their reunion with performances of their collaborations “Clique” and “Mercy,” for which 2 Chainz also made an appearance at Soldier Field. “Chi-Town, I love you forever,” Sean said on stage. “Ye, I love you, bro, and I appreciate you.” West replied, “Love you, fam.” Other special guests at the show included Twista and Future.

Jann Arden arrives on the red carpet at the 2019 Juno Awards at London Convention Centre on March 17, 2019 in London, Canada

As Alberta heads to the polls for a referendum on its separation, Calgary-born singer-songwriter Jann Arden is coming home to headline a free outdoor concert this month to plea for a united Canada.

The Calgary Concert for Unity takes place September 20 at The Confluence Historic Site, formerly known as Fort Calgary. Arden will be joined by fellow Alberta artists including Celeigh Cardinal, Reuben Bullock and John Wort Hannam and Caity Gyorgy. The event is being billed as a family-friendly celebration of Canadian unity, with organizers encouraging Albertans to come together as “loud and proud Canadians.” The free event runs from 2 to 7 p.m.

On October 19, Alberta will hold a referendum that will ask voters, among other questions, whether they want the province to remain part of Canada or proceed toward a second, binding vote on separation. Supporters of independence argue Alberta would be better off outside of the Confederation, while opponents have raised concerns ranging from the economic consequences of separation to Indigenous treaty rights.

The only other Canadian province to have held a similar referendum is Québec, once in 1980 and again in 1995. Both were unsuccesful, though the 'No' won by a very slim minority, with results being 50.58% to 49.42%.