Mexican Singer Assassinated

Singer Sergio Vega, known as El Shaka, was murdered as he was on his way to perform at a concert in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on Saturday night. Earlier he had told La Oreja (the Ear), an entertainment news website, that news of his death was untrue. Mr. Vega, a founding member of the groups Los Hermanos Vegas and Los Reyes del Norte, was famous for performing "narcocorridos," songs about the drug trade. More here from the BBC.

Read more about narcocorridos in Elijah Wald's book Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas.