entertainment blog
Afropunk Brooklyn 2022: The Roots, Burna Boy, Isaiah Rashad, Earl Sweatshirt, More
Afropunk has announced the lineup for its Brooklyn festival, set to take place September 10-11 at Commodore Barry Park. The Roots and Burna Boy will headline across the two days of the event. Isaiah Rashad, Lucky Daye, Freddie Gibbs, Earl Sweatshirt, Tierra Whack, Bartees Strange, Adekunle Gold, Mick Jenkins, Pink Siifu, and other artists are also slated to perform. Check out the full lineup below. It’s been three years since Afropunk last took place in Brooklyn, following a virtual edition of the festival during the pandemic and a location change to Atlanta in 2021. A statement from festival organizers promises “a set that draws from their decade-spanning catalog” to celebrate the Roots’ 30th anniversary as a band. It will also be a historic night for Burna Boy, too, as it’s his first-eve...
Logic Addresses Rumors of Him Supposedly Dissing REASON on “Vinyl Days”
Logic publicly addressed the ongoing rumors that he dissed TDE star REASON on his latest track “Vinyl Days,” finally putting an end to the hearsay. Taking to Twitter to clarify the situation, Logic directly tagged REASON and stated that the speculations behind the line “Come on, homie, listen to the voice of reason/Yeah, you talk a lot of shit but don’t want the beef like a vegan” were not true. “Hey bro @reasonTDE my boy @thisisrory said you thought I dissed you on my song Vinyl Days. If I was going to diss you, I’d diss you,” he tweeted. “I love you, you’re my brother. Let’s get ice cream together some time.” Rory of Rory & Mal quoted Logic’s tweet and simply replied, “And here I was just trying to be sensible… smh.” As of writing, REASON has yet to respond. Back in 2020, Logic and R...
Lady Gaga To Join Joaquin Phoenix In ‘The Joker 2’, Rumored To Be A Musical
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty Todd Phillips’ 2019 surprise hit The Joker was supposed to be a one-off film showcasing how a man let a selfish society turn him into Batman’s most dangerous villain. But a few Oscars and $1 billion dollars later, Warner Bros. has decided that maybe a sequel isn’t a bad idea. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joker: Folie à deux is officially a go with Joaquin Phoenix set to reprise his role as the Clown Prince of Crime, but adding a bit more star power to the film will be one Lady Gaga as she’s been cast to star opposite Phoenix in what’s being described as a musical. We not gonna lie, a musical between The Joker and Lady Gaga would be pretty damn interesting. Naturally Gaga won’t be playing herself but rumors have her playi...
The First Trailer For Issa Rae’s New Comedy ‘Rap Sh!t’ Is Giving City Girls Vibes
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Alicia Vera/HBO Max Insecure is done, but it looks like Rap Sh!t will be picking up the baton. It’s A Bad B*tch Rennaisance In Rap Sh!t The first trailer for Issa Rae’s new comedy Rap Sh!t has arrived, and it will be taking viewers on a trip to Miami. The roughly one-minute teaser follows two estranged high school friends from the 305, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), reuniting to form a rap group. The brief look at the show coming to HBO Max on July 21 encapsulates Shawna and Mia’s adventures trying to establish themselves in the Hip-Hop game while navigating life in the United States’ popular vacation destination. Related Stories If you also got City Girls vibes while watching the two stars try to make their rap dreams a reality, there is ...
Who?!: XXL Freshman Class 2022 Class Revealed
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Travis Shinn / Courtesy of XXL On Tuesday (June 14), XXL magazine revealed its annual XXL Freshman list of up and coming rappers and MC’s. This year’s class features a dozen artists and includes some names that may already be familiar like Saucy Santana, Big Scarr and Nardo Wick. According to XXL, the list was determined via daily meetings (in person and via Zoom) with the eventual selections to help determine who was making a name for themselves and establishing themselves for an actual career in order to avoid one-hit wonder status. It all started in January before wrapping up in April. While the staffes picked what was thought to be an initial nine selections, the tenth spot was via fan vote. Yes, this is where we point out that 12 people made the list...
‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ Main Villain Revealed
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Sony Pictures Animation / Sony Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse might be delayed until 2023 but fans got a sneak peak at what to expect when we’re finally able to take in one of the most highly-anticipated sequels of the past few years. Variety is reporting that during the Annecy presentation Across The Spider-Verse directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson blessed those in attendance with a look at the film’s main antagonist, The Spot. Though he’s not exactly as popular as say a Venom or even a Black Cat for that matter, The Spot will be recognized by hardcore Spidey fans who’ve followed the superhero for most of their lives. “For those who are not hardcore canon nerds, The Spot is one of the deepest cuts in Spider-Man’s r...
Lizzo Changes “Grrrls” Lyrics After Criticisms of Using “Ableist Slur”
Lizzo announced a change in the lyrics of her latest single “Grrrls” after receiving criticism for using an “ableist slur” in the track’s opening. Taking to Instagram to acknowledge the responses, she clarified that it was not her intention to “promote derogatory language” in any of her music and that she believes in the power of words: “It’s been brought to my attention that there is a harmful word in my new song ‘GRRRLS’. Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language. As a fat black woman in America, I’ve had many hateful words used against me so I understand the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case unintentionally). I’m proud to say there’s a new version of GRRRLS with a lyric change. This is the result of me listening and taking action. A...
AFROPUNK Returns to Brooklyn With Burna Boy, Freddie Gibbs and More
AFROPUNK is making its way back to Brooklyn after three long years. The famed festival is billed as “[a] celebration of Black joy and a testament to the resilience of the Brooklyn community,” with the event setting up shop at the Commodore Barry Park on September 10 and 11. A myriad of big names are set to hit the stage for the two-day festival, including big names such as The Roots, Burna Boy, Freddie Gibbs, Isaiah Rashad, Lucky Daye, Tierra Whack and Earl Sweatshirt and rising stars like Bartees Strange, Adekunle Gold, Rodney Chrome and more. Citi Cardmember-exclusive presale tickets are available now while the AFROPUNK Community presale kicks off June 16th and the general on-sale tickets on June 17. Check out the lineup below. AFROPUNK Brooklyn takes place September 10 to Sept...
A New 3-Day Yoga and Electronic Music Festival Is Coming to Colorado
In a cozy winter wonderland nestled just outside of Aspen, Colorado the debut Drishti Beats Yoga & Music Festival will unfold next month. Be it through skiing in the winter or mountain biking in the summer, travelers typically visit Snowmass to connect with the natural world. But soon visitors to Snowmass will connect with Mother Earth through the vitalizing combination of electronic music and yoga at Drishti Beats, which kicks off the weekend of July 8th, 2022. Drishti Beats was an act born out of the desire to explore the connection between movement and music through the “yogi” lens. Initially starting as a niche attraction within the festival and fitness communities, the brand has since expanded to support a standalone festival in its own right. A yoga ses...
Music Producers Are Flocking to Remix This “Stranger Things” Song: Listen to Our 5 Favorites
When Kate Bush released “Running Up That Hill” in 1985, we’d wager she didn’t expect the song to top the Billboard 200 chart 27 years after its release. But sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. After finding new life in Netflix’s hit sci-fi series Stranger Things, the persevering song’s meteoric rise has attracted a new faction of admiring music producers looking to put their spin on it. Read on to listen to five of our favorite remix interpretations of “Running Up That Hill.” Running Up That Hill (Lookas Remix) With his invigorating remix, Lookas aptly captures the spirit of the mysterious Stranger Things universe by pairing bellowing horns with curiously percolating synths. Running Up That Hill (A...
Chew for Change: This “Rave Supplement Gum” Aims to Promote Harm Reduction at Festivals
Chew on this: the makers of the world’s first “rave supplement gum” have launched a new, nitrous oxide-boosting pre-workout product. Everyone who enters the gates of an EDM festival is entitled to a safe experience, regardless of the substances they choose to take. This tenet is at the core of VitaPLUR, a company engineering supplement-rich products that promote wellbeing at raves. Festival-goers who chew a fresh piece every 30 to 60 minutes, VitaPLUR says, will ensure a steady stream of supplements during the peak hours of EDM events. According to the company, they created the gum to augment harm reduction, a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. “We leveraged chewing gum as the ultimate su...
Zedd Is Giving Away a Six-Month Supply of Healthy Ice Cream
If you’re lactose intolerant, you should stop right now and refrain from reading about Zedd’s new partnership—unless you want to “Stay The Night” on the toilet. Zedd has announced a sweet giveaway in partnership with N!CK’s, a healthy ice cream brand who have developed a custom flavor for the Grammy-winning DJ called “Chilly Mango.” He says he was “blown away” when he first discovered the Swedish-style light ice cream brand and has been a supporter ever since. Fans can now enter the giveaway for a chance to win a six-month supply of Zedd’s favorite N!CK’S pints as well as two VIP passes to the 2022 return of “Zedd in the Park” in Los Angeles. The show is scheduled for July 8th at Los Angel...
