FEATURES
Damien Chazelle’s Babylon Proves He Loves and Hates the Art of Cinema: Review
The Pitch: It’s 1926, and the movie business is a-boomin’. If you’re on top, you ride along with big-time movie producers to glittery bacchanals out in the California desert, uninhibited orgies stuffed with ticker tape, booze, cocaine, and elephants trudging through the masses of people. If you’re not, well, you sneak in anyway and hope for your big shot. It’s at one of these parties that we meet six figures who represent the end of one era and the beginning of another: Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a silent film star whose shine is wearing off after decades in the biz; Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), a hard-partying Jersey girl desperate to make it in the pictures; and Manny Torres (Diego Calva), a hustling assistant climbing the ladder one ludicrous favor at a time. There’s also Elinor St....
Best New Tracks: Rosalía x Cardi B, Ab-Soul and More
As the week in music comes to a close, HYPEBEAST has rounded up the best projects for the latest installment of Best New Tracks. This week’s lineup is led by Rosalía x Cardi B and Ab-Soul, who released the “DESPECHÁ (Remix)” and the long-awaited Herbert album, respectively. Also joining this selection are offerings from the late Juice WRLD, Lil Durk and his Only the Family collective, Azekel, Leon Thomas and Jacquees, and collabs from Diddy with PARTYNEXTDOOR, 24kGoldn with Bandmanrill and Meechy Darko with Flatbush Zombies and Col3trane. Ab-Soul – Herbert [embedded content] After a long, six-year wait, Ab-Soul’s Do What Thou Wilt. followup Herbert is here. The 18-track record features guest verses from Big Sean, Russ, Joey Bada$...
Inside the Chaos and Cameos of Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery. Do not read until after watching!] “We wanted the whole thing to feel like a surprise party, where just one thing after another happens,” showrunner Krister Johnson says about the newly released Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery, a special episode of the Netflix improv comedy series where the chaos of Season 1, released last February, gets amplified to a whole new level. In the special, hard-nosed and mustachioed Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is joined by not one, not two, but three clueless celebrities as he attempts to solve a murder; there are additional guest stars sprinkled throughout the double-length episode, along with plenty of other surprises. Advertisement “Th...
Ethics 101: Should crypto projects ever negotiate with hackers?
“A highly profitable trading strategy” was how hacker Avraham Eisenberg described his involvement in the Mango Markets exploit that occurred on Oct. 11. By manipulating the price of the decentralized finance protocol’s underlying collateral, MNGO, Eisenberg and his team took out infinite loans that drained $117 million from the Mango Markets Treasury. Desperate for the return of funds, developers and users alike voted for a proposal that would allow Eisenberg and co. to keep $47 million of the $117 million exploited in the attack. Astonishingly, Eisenberg was able to vote for his own proposal with all his exploited tokens. This is something of a legal gray area, as code is law, and if you can work within the smart contract’s rules, there’s an argument saying it’s perfectly legal. Alt...
Fan Chant: K-Pop Highlights of 2022 and Holiday Cheer
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter! December always seems to be a time to reflect on the year, and as our Annual Report continues to roll out, I’ve found myself thinking about the joys and surprises that came with being a K-pop fan in the year 2022. Fan Chant launched in August, and it’s been so fun to have a designated place to round up the week’s news and announcements, and I’m so excited to continue expanding the interviews and behind the scenes content here in 2023. (On the note of our Annual Report, be sure to check out my l...
Monaleo Is the Most Honest Rapper in the Game
Rapping was never in the cards for Monaleo – at the very least, “rapper” is a title she’s been reluctant to claim since achieving viral stardom. It was only two years ago that the 21-year-old Houston native, whose real name is Leondra Gay, tagged along with her brother, the rapper Yung Rampage, for one of his studio sessions. While she grew up singing in church, it was only after some familial encouragement that she got behind the mic herself, trading bars with her brother on-the-fly in a series of clips shared online. While documentation of the sister-brother duo’s early recordings has since been wiped from the internet, encouragement from fans on social media and the growing like count on her videos planted the seeds for Monaleo’s next move. Then a student at Texas’ Prairie View A&M ...
How to Use Apple Music Sing
Few people have at-home karaoke machines anymore, but if you want to plan a singalong without embarrassing yourself at a bar, Apple Music has you covered: the streaming service has just introduced Apple Music Sing, a new feature with real-time lyrics and adjustable vocals to customize your singing experience. The feature comes with a duet view for multiple singers, and even separates a song’s main lyrics and background vocals so users and their friends can get their lines straight. It may sound complicated, but it’s actually a pretty straightforward progression from features like Spotify’s Genius Lyrics insert on many of its songs. Before you begin your own karaoke session, scroll onward to read our guide on how exactly Apple Music Sing works. What Is Apple Music Sing? Anyone can sing alon...
10 Tenacious D Covers That Just Might Be the Greatest Covers in the World
“This is not the greatest song in the world,” Tenacious D sang on their biggest hit, “No, this is just a tribute.” Ah, but what a tribute. The genius of Jack Black and Kyle Gass — apart from face-melting guitar skills and a lead singer that can sound like the voice of the angels or Satan himself on any given line — has always been their joy in the music: even when it’s not the music they are playing, and even when it was written by someone else. These dudes love rock and roll. That love comes out in their live shows, which tend to be celebrations of their influences as much as they are presentations of music by Tenacious D. Few artists have spent as much time practicing such a wide variety of covers. In that spirit, we’ve collected 10 of their most thrilling performances of other peop...
Marty and Andrew Son Offer a Refreshing Visual Take on Music
Marty and Andrew Son see the world differently. As long-time freelance photographers, directors of photography and cinematographers, they have an eye for bringing lights, shadows and shapes into one cohesive shot that brings out the beauty in anything (and anyone) they point their cameras toward. Growing up, however, this career path seemed non-existent. Despite having an interest in music at an early age, the Manila-raised creatives grew up believing that the only way to have a legitimate career in music was by becoming musical artists. It wasn’t until they started seeing photos of their favorite local bands on then-rising social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook did they realize that they could pursue visual arts in music full-time. As adolescents, the pair made their way aroun...
5 Theories About Who Dies in The White Lotus Season 2, and the Answer
A new season of The White Lotus means another mystery to be solved — specifically, who died this go around? With the HBO series stepping into its sophomore chapter, the question of the deceased has heightened following Episode 5, “That’s Amore.” As the curtains near closure for this season’s whodunnit at the Sicilian resort, theories continue to be tossed around about who will end up dead. With Mike White’s murder mystery keeping all options open, the slew of potential characters to meet their demise makes this season’s conclusion a harrowing watch. Here are five theories for who dies in Season 2 of The White Lotus, updated with the actual answer. Related Video [Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The White Lotus, Season 2 Episode 7, “Arrivederci.”] Theory 1: Jennifer Coolid...
Song of the Week: SZA Goes Grunge on “F2F”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, SZA turns up the volume for her standout S.O.S cut “F2F.” “SZA goes grunge” was not a sentence I was ever expecting to write, but when the mastermind singer-songwriter teased her new album S.O.S a couple weeks ago, she mentioned she’d be drawing upon “surf rock and grunge” alongside her usual contemplative R&B sound. With “F2F,” an unexpected highlight on an otherwise immaculate collection of songs, we see what she meant: “F2F” is a pop punk jam through and through, and it’s a satisfying comb...
Rap Song of the Week: YG and Lil Wayne Reunite on “Miss My Dawgs”
Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, YG and Lil Wayne reunite on “Miss My Dawgs.” YG and Lil Wayne have been frequent collaborators over the past decade or so, first teaming up on the remix to YG’s breakout hit “My N****.” Earlier this week, YG acknowledged their close relationship by gifting his “favorite rapper” with a red 4Hunnid chain during the video shoot for their new collaboration, “Miss My Dawgs.” Featuring melancholy, piano-driven production by Gibbo and Ambezza, “Miss My Dawgs” serves as a tribute to YG’s late friend and rapper Slim 400, who was fatally shot one year ago today. The track’s title might be a nod toward Wayne’s 2004 track “I Miss My Dawgs,” too, as the rappers r...
