NEWS
R.I.P. Gloria Henry, Dennis the Menace’s TV Mom Dead at 98
Gloria Henry, the American actress who famously played Dennis the Menace’s mother on the widely popular CBS family sitcom, has died at the age of 98. News of her passing was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. Henry portrayed Alice Mitchell, mother of Denis Mitchell, on Dennis the Menace for four seasons between 1959 and 1963, staring opposite Jay North (Dennis), Herbert Anderson (Henry Mitchell), and Joseph Kearns (Dennis’ neighborhood nemesis, Mr. Wilson.) Tragically, the show’s run was cut short following the death of Kearns, who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage mid-way through season four. Even after the show’s cancelation in 1963, Dennis the Menace lived on in syndication for decades to come, with episodes often airing on networks like Nickelodeon and TV Land. The show&n...
BLACKPINK’s Rosé Does the ‘WAP’ Challenge & Cardi B Can’t Believe How Clean It Is
How you like that, Cardi B? BLACKPINK‘s Rosé recently hit the 10 million-follower milestone on TikTok, and she celebrated with a little dance — to the rapper’s viral “WAP” challenge, to be specific. “#10M !! Here you go,” the K-pop star captioned a TikTok video of herself getting down to the explicit track featuring Megan Thee Stallion. In the clip posted in the early morning hours of Sunday (April 4), Rosé — barefoot and in an oversized light gray hoodie and sweatpants — starts off with the high kick before quickly making it drop, and giggling as she finishes the dance on the floor. Only 10 hours after posting, the video of her dancing to Cardi B’s Hot 100 No. 1 song had already garnered more than 2.2 million views. And among the...
The Weeknd Donates $1 Million for Hunger Relief in Ethiopia
The crisis in the Tigray region has brought on thousands of deaths, and millions of people have been displaced. The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, was born in Canada but is the son of two Ethiopian immigrants. In June, he donated $1 million to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as $500,000 to nonprofit organizations committed to racial equality. He also pledged $300,000 to victims of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in August. See the singer’s statement about his latest generous donation on Instagram here. Donations to help with hunger relief in Ethiopia can be made on the U.N. World Food Program’s website, which explains that “the outbreak of conflict in Tigray last November coincided with the peak harvest period, leading to lost employme...
Livestreams & Virtual Concerts to Watch: Week of April 5
April 8-10: Roy Ayers, Meshell Ndegeocello and more are playing the virtual 2021 BRIC JazzFest. The event begins at 7 p.m. each day; tickets start at $20. Midland performs their hits from Billy Bob’s in Texas. The April 8 show begins at 10 p.m. ET, while the other two kick off at 11 p.m. ET. Tickets start at $12. April 9: JT Harding, Cassadee Pope and Matt Thomas perform live for the Bluebird on Third series from Nashville. The stream begins at 9 p.m. ET on Nugs.net; tickets are $8.99. Marcus Mumford, Wesley Keith Schultz of The Lumineers, Jensen McRae and many more are participating in Abolition 2021, a virtual concert benefiting the families of those incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola. The show begins at 8 p.m. ET; tickets start at $20...
Justin Bieber Surprise Releases ‘Freedom’ EP
Freedom‘s track list includes six songs: title track “Freedom” with Beam, “All She Wrote” (feat. Brandon Love and Chandler Moore), “We’re in This Together,” “Where You Go I Follow” (feat. Pink Sweats, Chandler Moore and Judah Smith), “Where Do I Fit In” (feat. Tori Kelly, Chandler Moore and Judah Smith) and “Afraid to Say” (feat. Lauren Walters). The Freedom EP follows the release of Bieber’s sixth album, Justice, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The 16-track set, released through Raymond Braun/Def Jam on March 18, follows his 2020 album, Changes. Justice was previewed by a quartet of top 40-charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart: “Holy” featuring Chance the Rapper...
Following Union Protests, Spotify Denies Demand for Penny-Per-Stream Payment
After months of campaigning for major changes to Spotify’s streaming model, the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) recently announced the streaming platform’s denial of their cornerstone demand: a penny per stream royalty agreement for all artists. According to Digital Music News, the update follows a series of worldwide protests on March 15th, hosted outside the Spotify offices in 15 cities. In addition to increased royalty payments, UMAW is also fighting for transparency in the company’s practices, especially for algorithms for playlist placement. “Spotify is the most dominant platform on the music streaming market,” UMAW’s website reads. The company’s premium subscription numbers topped 150 million in Fe...
Godzilla Vs. Kong Sets Pandemic Box Office Record with $48.5 Million Opening
Godzilla vs. Kong (Legendary) In news that will have movie theater operators smiling for days, Godzilla vs. Kong opened in the US this weekend to a massive box office haul of $48.5 million. It marks the biggest domestic opening for a film since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Variety. What makes the news even more impressive is the fact that Godzilla vs. Kong was simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max. Despite its streaming availability, as well the reality that some some 40% of theaters in the US remain shuttered (and those that are open are at a reduced capacity), the Legendary blockbuster still managed to triple the previous box office high during the pandemic. Prior to this weekend, Wonder Woman 1984 had the biggest three-day opening with $16.7 million, fol...
15 Things We Learned from Cam’ron on ‘Drink Champs’
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: YouTube / Revolt After more than two decades representing Harlem in Hip-Hop, Cam’ron’s illustrious career has seen enough drama to fill a book. So it made sense that Killa Cam’s highly anticipated interview on Nore’s Drink Champs podcast lasted more than three full hours. Though Cam didn’t partake in any alcohol or trees during the interview, the man did not need to get saucy in order to spill the beans on just about everything anyone’s wanted to know. From explaining where things started going south with Jay-Z when he signed to Roc-A-Fella to why he doesn’t want to get back with his ex-boo, Juju, Cam lays it all out there for our consumption and more importantly, entertainment. Here are the 15 things we learned from Cam’ron on Drink Champs. Cam’ron says ...
Martin Garrix Announces Release Date and Shares Preview of New AREA21 Release
Late last month, Martin Garrix and Maejor—also known as AREA21—shared a cryptic message stating that something’s coming. Now, the duo has followed up with the reveal of a new teaser and release date of new music. Shared across AREA21’s social media pages, the short video depicts an animated rendition of the two artists next to what appears to be a crashed UFO. There is an audio component of the video, but it seems to simply be an introduction of some sort. At the end of the teaser, the date “April 9th” is shown. Fans of AREA21 have already begun to speculate what will happen next week, but no official details have been shared at this time. It’s worth noting that in January 2021, the duo teased that a new album is on the way, so it’s fair t...
RL Grime’s “Scylla” Featured in First “Space Jam: A New Legacy” Trailer
Since the release of the 1997 Michael Jordan-led Looney Tunes and basketball crossover classic Space Jam, fans of all ages have been clamoring for a sequel. Now, 24 years later, director Malcolm D. Lee has revived the franchise with a different star wearing the number 23. Coming this summer is Space Jam: A New Legacy starring NBA legend LeBron James and a number of classic cartoon characters. Electronic music fans may have noticed a classic track in the debut trailer, which was released on Saturday, April 3rd. From the start of the video and reappearing throughout are portions of RL Grime‘s 2014 single “Scylla.” Released as a single from his VOID album, the song quickly became one of Grime’s most popular tracks and a favorite of fans o...
SLANDER and ILLENIUM Have a Collaboration in the Works
SLANDER have teased one of their biggest collaborations to date. Joining forces for the first time in their respective careers, the duo has joined forces with ILLENIUM for a new single. Across their social media pages, SLANDER announced that the yet-to-be-named song is completed and invited fans to join in on the hype. Melodic bass fans have been eagerly awaiting the day the two acts would team up on a song. This desire was further fueled in 2019 when SLANDER released a remix of ILLENIUM’s collaboration with Jon Bellion, “Good Things Fall Apart.” Other than the remix, the two have not released any original music until now. At the time of writing, neither SLANDER nor ILLENIUM have announced a title or release date for their completed collaboration. FOLLOW SLANDER...
St. Vincent Goes Back to 1973 NYC with Retro SNL Performance: Watch
St. Vincent performs on SNL St. Vincent delivered her first public performance in support of Daddy’s Home with a late-night appearance on Saturday Night Live. It was an appropriate venue for Annie Clark to debut material from her upcoming full-length, given that the album was heavily inspired by early 1970s New York City. “I would say it’s the sound of being down and out Downtown in New York, 1973. Glamour that hasn’t slept for three days,” she previously explained in an interview. In keeping with that aesthetic, Clark went full retro for her two-song SNL set. Lead single “Pay Your Way In Pain” saw St. Vinny perform in a chic full-body jumpsuit, singing into an old-school microphone. When she later returned to the stage to play her latest song, “The Melting of the Sun”, she was draped in a...
