Meerkat pups welcomed at safari park
Meerkat pups are settling in and starting to 'show a bit of character' in their home at a safari park.
The four pups were born on May 10 to parents Cardi B and Biggie at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling.
It is the third litter for the pair since they joined the park in 2022.
Meerkat pups are born blind, deaf and almost hairless but keepers said that now, aged around one month, the animals have opened their eyes and begun exploring the outside world.
Meerkats are described as incredibly social animals and live in tight-knit groups known as mobs which work together to raise their young.
Carolyn Booth, Pets Farm Team Leader at Blair Drummond, said: 'The pups are just starting to find their feet and show a bit of character – it's a brilliant stage to watch.
'They're getting more confident by the day, and the rest of the mob has really stepped up to help raise them. It's a real family effort.'
The pups have now started nibbling on bits of solid food and spend time following the adults around and practising their digging skills.
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Sly & the Family Stone's 10 Best Songs (Staff Picks)
Funk, rock and soul maverick Sly Stone died at 82 on Monday (June 9). According to a statement from his family, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's passing came after 'a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues,' while he was surrounded by family and loved ones. More from Billboard Cardi B Stresses 'Music Is a Collaboration' While Accepting 2025 ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award The Doobie Brothers On 'Civic Duty,' 'Limitations' in Today's Music & Writing Songs With Charlie Puth Liam Gallagher Gushes About Oasis Reunion Drummer Joey Waronker: 'This Guy Is Special' 'While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come,' the statement continues. That legacy is indeed a singular one, and he built most of it with his eponymous '60s and '70s group Sly & the Family Stone. With the band, Sly Stone both scaled the greatest heights of Flower Power utopianism and plumbed the lowest depths of Nixon-era disillusionment, with incisive lyrics, brilliant hooks and grooves that could be as lock-step tight or as meanderingly loose as the song called for. Over the course of their original run, Sly & the Family Stone scored three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, released at least two albums considered among the greatest of the entire rock era, and played one of the signature sets at 1969's iconic Woodstock festival. Though the band largely fell into disarray in the mid-'70s, and neither the Family Stone or its leader ever were able to quite recapture their peak prominence, the music lived on through subsequent generations — and could be heard sampled and recycled on major hits by Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Cypress Hill, the Beastie Boys and countless other later acts. Below, Billboard rounds up our picks for Sly & Co.'s 10 all-time greatest — songs that captured turbulent times and spoke to universal truths, and remain just as potent over a half-century later. Opening with a drum roll and the shouted titular command, Sly & the Family Stone made sure their first masterpiece LP immediately snapped listeners to attention. But 'Stand!' is too melodic and empathetic to ever risk coming off didactic, with even directives like 'Stand for the things you know are right/ It's the truth that the truth makes them so uptight' delivered so tenderly it sounds like the band realizes it's not telling you anything you don't already know. And unlike too many protests, this one ends in unequivocal victory, as the song closes with a glorious parade of trumpets and jubilant 'na-na-na-na-na's. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER With lullaby organs and a drum groove so clipped and woozy it almost sounds like it's predicting J Dilla, 'Just Like a Baby' made it clear early in There's a Riot Goin' On that the Woodstock-era triumphalism of Stand! was well over. While even that album's angriest songs had energy and purpose to them, the band's uncertainty is felt throughout the narcotic groove and buried, often wordless vocals here, but with results just as spellbinding — and arguably even funkier. Future generations would agree, as you can hear traces of 'Baby' in everything from D'Angelo's Voodoo to Childish Gambino's 'Awaken, My Love!' — A.U. A Doris Day song from an Alfred Hitchcock movie might seem like unlikely material for a gospel-inflected funk cover, but Sly Stone never played by anyone's rules (even his own). Stone spent much of There's a Riot Goin' On and follow-up album Fresh tearing down the utopian hippie view of America he'd built in the '60s, and 'Que Sera, Sera' — which arrived on the latter album's side two – seems to be his shoulder-shrugging admission that just like everyone else, he ultimately has no idea what the hell is going on in this life. But when the funk is this mellow and the organ playing this heavenly, uncertainty doesn't sound so quite so scary. — JOE LYNCH Underpinned by a bold lead bass line, this 1973 hit that reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 features one of Sly's most impressive vocal performances, as he both growls and croons in due course to a girlfriend about what he needs to stay in a relationship. One of the most iconic basslines in funk, its genius is in its steady simplicity, allowing the organ, piano and horn flourishes to really breathe, and Sly's voice to shine, with no line delivered in the same way twice. Its parent album, Fresh, is one notorious for its overdubs, but even still 'Stay' has an improvisational feel, melding the backline rigor with the expressive fluidity that is a hallmark of great funk records. — DAN RYS Something of a thesis statement for the Family Stone, 'Family Affair' — which became the band's third and final No. 1 on the Hot 100 in late 1971 — is a more laid-back groove, with Sly's voice melting and oozing all over the track as he sings about sibling, parental and newlywed relationships, and what keeps them all together. Trading off vocals with his sister Rose, Sly keeps it simple, with a bass, rhythm guitar and keyboard holding down most of the track, a breezy wah-wah guitar providing flourishes here and there. But as with much of Sly's work, it's the sum of its parts that makes 'Family Affair' such an enduring cut more than 50 years later. — D.R. As the multi-racial, multi-gender Sly & the Family Stone emerged in the mid-'60s, its demographic composition wasn't the only radical thing about it – it also fused the worlds of R&B, soul, and rock and roll in ways that thrilled audiences, but confounded the suits. When the band's 1967 debut, A Whole New Thing, flopped, management told Stone it was 'too funky' and that he should 'just do something simple.' 'I said, 'OK, something simple, huh?'' Stone later recounted. That something simple: 'Dance to the Music,' which with its relentless rhythm section and direct lyrics, commands listeners to do just that. Stone would go on to make higher-concept music, but 'Dance To The Music' is a foundational text in psychedelic soul — and, perhaps more importantly, was a big enough hit that it afforded the ambitious musician the considerable creative freedom he would need moving forward. — ERIC RENNER BROWN Opening in medias rock, 'I Want to Take You Higher' is a blunt battering ram of blues, psych, soul and funk that was initially stowed away as the B-side to 'Stand!', but hit America's eardrums so hard that it went top 40 in its own right. This rallying cry is the sound of Sly Stone and his merry pranksters pushing James Brown's meticulously timed funk off its foundations, destabilizing it with the untethered energy of an off-the-rails rock n' roll jam session. The studio version feels like it might fling off into the ether at a moment's notice — and in concert (including at Woodstock), it often did. — J.L. For those rare times in life when there's no riot goin' on and nothing immediately pressing to take a stand over, there can simply be 'Hot Fun in the Summertime.' Sly & the Family Stone's most classic-sounding pop song — tone down a couple of those vocal ad libs and it could've easily been a Nat King Cole composition — remains an essential seasonal standard for its sun-tanned horns, nostalgic lyrics and impossibly breezy sway, one of the most topical bands of its era proving it could be be just as potent blissing out in the shade for two and a half minutes. But like all truly great good-time songs, 'Summertime' also comes tinged with the unmistakable sadness of knowing it's all too good to last: 'First of the fall, and then she goes back/ Bye, bye, bye, bye.' — A.U. This is the rare example of a band figuring itself out in a transitional period while still delivering its best work. Sly and the Family Stone achieved so much and evolved so quickly from 1967-69, it's no wonder that Stone felt compelled to craft a song that served as both a meta victory lap and farewell to his bright, buoyant first chapter before segueing into a lyrically and sonically murkier second act. But how many artists can write a song about their biggest, most beloved hits that's also better than damn near all of them? Larry Graham's slap bass gets a lot of the credit, but the tightly wound guitars, woozy horns and staccato vocals are equally hypnotic. — J.L. Sly & The Family Stone's first of three No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 was more than a massive hit – it was a reflection of contemporary American society. Released in November 1968, as one of the most tumultuous years in American history drew to a close, 'Everyday People' uses near-childlike simplicity ('There is a blue one who can't accept the green one/ For living with a fat one, trying to be a skinny one') to urge Americans to come together despite their differences. The song had an immediate impact and a lasting influence, from helping to mint a new catchphrase ('different strokes for different folks,' originally popularized by Muhammad Ali and later the inspiration for the title of the TV show Diff'rent Strokes) to featuring an early instance of the slap-bass technique. And few moments in Sly's catalog are as singularly stunning as when he and his bandmates arrive at the first chorus shout: 'I am everyday people!' — E.R.B. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
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Her resounding commercial success and cultural impact make her a natural successor to Usher, who received the same award last year. The Voice of the Culture Award is presented to ASCAP members who have had a major influence on music and culture, recognizing their success as creators and changemakers. Additional past recipients of the award include Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, D-Nice and T.I. 'I hate the idea that if you don't write every line on your own, it makes what you have to say not real. Music is a collaboration, it has always been. The biggest hits [and] the greatest records come from teamwork,' Cardi continued. 'They come from sharing experiences, energy, pain and joy. It's not about ego, it's about impact. I write, I co-write, I rewrite. I speak to what's true to me. My pen, my mind and my feelings are in every verse and in every hook. I respect every writer who brings their magic to the table. This award is not just for me, it's for the culture.' Cardi, who also picked up an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Award for her 2024 Hot 100 top 10 hit 'Enough (Miami),' made history in 2020 as the first woman to receive the esteemed ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Songwriter of the Year Award two years in a row. She has earned eight ASCAP Pop Music Awards and 23 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. At Monday night's BET Awards, Cardi will be vying for her third consecutive win for best female hip-hop artist, which would mark her first victory in that category this decade. Last week, the rapper dominated headlines after making her relationship with New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs Instagram-official. Kendrick Lamar's cultural juggernaut 'Not Like Us' was named ASCAP R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year. Co-written by Mustard, the searing Drake diss spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, swept all five of its Grammy nominations, and became the first-ever rap song to spend 52 consecutive weeks on Billboard's marquee singles chart. Lamar leads this year's BET Awards with 10 nominations, including album of the year (GNX), video of the year ('Not Like Us') and best male hip-hop artist. Swiss songwriter OZ earned this year's ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Songwriter of the Year honor, commemorating his contributions to hits like Drake and J. Cole's 'First Person Shooter,' Jack Harlow's 'Lovin On Me' and Travis Scott's 'I Know?' Cece Winans' 'That's My King,' co-written by Taylor Agan and Kellie Besch, earned the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Gospel Song of the Year title, and Sony Music Publishing was named ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Publisher of the Year. Some of Sony's biggest 2024 hits included Hot 100 chart-toppers like Beyoncé's 'Texas Hold 'Em' and Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy),' as well as year-defining tracks like Tommy Richman's 'Million Dollar Baby,' SZA's 'Saturn,' Sexyy Red's 'Get It Sexyy,' Muni Long's 'Made for Me,' Chris Brown's 'Residuals' and 'Sensational,' Lil Baby and Central Cee's 'Band4Band,' Cardi B's 'Enough' and GloRilla's 'Yeah Glo!' Additional 2025 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Award-winning songwriters include 21 Savage ('Prove It,' 'Redrum,' 'Surround Sound'), Offset ('Worth It'), Lil Uzi Vert ('Everybody'), Tee Grizzley ('IDGAF'), Playboi Carti ('Carnival,' 'FE!N,' 'Timeless'), Tasha Cobbs Leonard ('In the Room'), and Tye Tribbett ('Only One Night Tho'). The ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most-performed songs of the past year based on Luminate data for terrestrial and satellite radio and streaming services, as specified by the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards rules. 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Offset Seemingly Reacts To Cardi B's Romance With Stefon Diggs
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