Entertainment

Pitchfork’s latest video stars Belgian musician Stromae, who provides behind-the-scenes insights and details as he breaks down some of his most popular music videos. Stromae’s videos, which are typically made in collaboration with his brother, the artistic director Luc Van Haver, often eschew straightforward simplicity in favor of elaborately layered concepts. On “Papaoutai,” a track about absent fathers, simply not casting a father was, as he says, “too obvious, too easy.” Instead, Stromae himself posed as a mannequin in the video, working with French choreographer Marion Motin to create a series of fantastic sequences where, as a child dances with the Stromae-mannequin, “we don’t even know if it’s a dream.” Even a deceptively “really simple” video like “L’Enfer” required filming take aft...

Earlier this spring, Florida rapper and singer Rod Wave was arrested on a felony charge of domestic battery by strangulation. The case is now being dropped, Wave’s lawyer Bradford M. Cohen tells Pitchfork. In a court filing, viewed by Pitchfork, an assistant state attorney wrote, “From the investigation which has been made, it is the opinion of the writer that this case is not suitable for prosecution.” According to the arrest warrant, viewed by Pitchfork, Rod Wave was accused of choking his ex-girlfriend at her Osceola County home until she couldn’t breathe. Wave, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, also claimed the woman was “talking to other men while they were broke up,” according to the arrest warrant. In an email to Pitchfork, Cohen described the incident as “a misunderstandin...

Vangelis—the composer who scored Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire, and many other films—has died, Reuters reports, citing the Athens News Agency. A cause of death was not revealed. According to The Associated Press, the musician died at a French hospital. Vangelis was 79 years old. Born Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, Vangelis was largely a self-taught musician. He found success in Greek rock bands such as the Forminx and Aphrodite’s Child—the latter of which sold over 2 million copies before disbanding in 1972. One of his earliest film scores, written while he was still in Aphrodite’s Child, was for a French nature documentary called L’Apocalypse des animaux. An innovator in electronic music, Vangelis is arguably best known for his work on Chariots of Fire and Ridley Scott’s Bl...

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, TMZ, Us Weekly, and Entertainment Tonight report. The baby boy was born on Friday, May 13, in Los Angeles, according to TMZ. Rihanna and Rocky have not commented on the reports or revealed their son’s name. Pitchfork has reached out to the musicians’ representatives for comment and more information. Rihanna revealed her pregnancy to the public via photos published at People and TMZ in late January. Throughout her pregnancy, Rihanna made headlines for her stylish maternity wear. Alhough they’d known each other for several years—Rocky had opened for Rihanna on her 2013 world tour, and she’d appeared in his “Fashion Killa” video—they began dating in 2020, and appeared together at the Met Gala in 2021. Since releasing Anti in 2016—her mos...