NEWS
Dozens Of Black Playwrights Blast Lilly-White Theater Industry
Source: KLH49 / Getty The 40-Year-Old Version, one of the best films released this year from director and playwright Radha Blank, highlights the hidden and overt instances of racism in the theater industry. In a new profile piece, Blank and 39 of her Black colleagues share instances of when they’ve faced the same over the course of their careers. The Los Angeles Times published an excellent account of 40 playwrights, including Blank, who all share when they’ve been met with the looming specter of racism while pitching and attempting to bring their stories to life. The profile opens by mentioning a pivotal scene in The 40-Year-Old Version where the main character, played by Blank, is confronted with the passive racist barbs of a Broadway producer. With over three dozen accounts of these bra...
Three 6 Mafia to Play First U.S. Indoor Arena Concert Since Pandemic Hit
The United States is seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite numbers spiking for a third time, Three 6 Mafia just announced the country’s first indoor arena concert since the pandemic hit. The show is set to take place December 11 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, and safety protocols will be in place. According to the rap group, which currently consists of Juicy J and DJ Paul, masks will be required and tickets will be sold in pods of four people or less to ensure social distancing. Kentucky Sports Radio added that the venue will be limited to 15% capacity — 3,152 patrons and event staff — and concert goers will be subject to temperature checks upon entry. Project Pat is slated to be a special guest. The show will be hosted by Sean Da Don, and Gem and Real Gates are also set to...
Christopher Cross Calls Temporary Paralysis Due to COVID-19 ‘Worst 10 Days’ of His Life
Six months after revealing he was temporarily paralyzed due to COVID-19 complications, Christopher Cross is detailing his harrowing battle with the disease for the first time. The yacht rock crooner sat down with CBS Sunday Morning to tell his story. “There was some, you know, come-to-Jesus moments or whatever, where I was looking for any help I could get … to get out of this thing, because I wasn’t sure,” he admitted. Cross contracted COVID-19 during a trip to Mexico City with his girlfriend. After falling ill for three weeks in April, the 69-year-old felt well enough to go grocery shopping. When he returned home, his legs gave out. The singer was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome — a condition that causes your body to attack your nerves — that doctors believe was caused by...
Insomniac Announces In-Person 2020 Halloween Festival
Insomniac has announced an in-person Halloween festival in Florida amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Boo! Orlando is scheduled for Friday, October 30th and Saturday, October 31st at Orlando’s Lot 54 at The Vanguard. Friday night will feature performances from Carnage, Loud Luxury, SayMyName, ATLiens, and Jinx while Saturday’s billing boasts Valentino Khan, Nitti Gritti, Schade, Sloth, and a yet-to-be-named surprise artist. As those in the live music industry continue to experience the pitfalls of the virus’ impact, shows like this may become more frequent in the coming months. It’s important to note that a lot of artists depend on booking fees to generate income, and since streaming isn’t exactly a cash cow, many of them feel they must resume to...
How to Watch Run the Jewels’ ‘Holy Calamavote,’ With Pharrell, 2 Chainz & More
Killer Mike took home the first-ever Billboard Change Maker Award on Wednesday evening (Oct. 14) during the 2020 Billboard Music Awards for continuously speaking truth to power as a musician and an activist. “Adult Swim is honored to be a part of this cultural moment and to partner with Run The Jewels and Ben & Jerry’s to present the first performance of the acclaimed RTJ4 album,” Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, added. “We hope this special event encourages our fans to make a plan and exercise their Constitutional right to vote.” “Holy Calamavote” will stream at midnight ET on Saturday, Oct. 17, on Adult Swim’s website and HBO Max. Following the broadcast, the performance will become available on Adult ...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (October 17)
Rockabye Baby has released a lullabies album titled Lullaby Renditions of Pitbull on Oct. 16. The club hits-turned-lullabies set includes “Time of Our Lives,” “Give Me Everything,” “Hotel Room Service” and “Timber,” among others. You can now stream all 13 lullabies here. Gloria Estefan on Being Supportive of Her Daughter Emily In the latest Red Table Talk: The Estefans, Gloria Estefan opened up about coming to terms with her daughter Emily’s sexuality. The Latin icon confesses she “had no clue” that her daughter was gay but was “suspicious” at times. “I remember being in my bedroom and telling you, ‘Mama, are you gay?'” she says in the clip below. “‘Do you want to carry th...
30 Years of Billboard Latin Music Week: Watch Ozuna, Bad Bunny & More Before They Were Superstars
The Billboard Latin Music Awards 2020 will broadcast live on Oct. 21 via Telemundo, with awards to be given out in 59 categories honoring the top artists, songs, albums, labels, publishers, songwriters and producers of the year. MALUMA (2015) Five years ago, Maluma joined the conference as part of the “TV and the Music Star” panel, where he revealed how being a part of Colombia’s The Voice propelled him to stardom and how, at the time, he was able to become the most-followed Latin male artist on Instagram ever. In 2017, he sat down with Billboard’s Leila Cobo and Griselda Flores for the “Socializing Maluma” discussion on how he works his social media accounts. This year, Maluma will join Jennifer Lopez for a can’t-miss Superstar Q&A conversation, where they will speak about their new m...
ZHU Hit With $3.5M Lawsuit by Mind of a Genius Founder David Dann
Grammy Award-nominated electronic music producer ZHU has been sued by longtime collaborator and Mind of a Genius founder David Dann. According to a report by Pitchfork, who reviewed the legal filing, Dann is seeking at least $3.45 million in damages after his attorneys claimed that ZHU breached written and oral agreements. The suit, which was filed in July 2020, is scheduled for litigation in court on February 25th, 2021. The crux of the complaint stems from ZHU’s breakthrough song “Faded.” In the suit, Dann claims that he and ZHU met back in 2013, when ZHU showed him “a melody for what would later become the topline” for the track, which went on to garner a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2015. Dann a...
Steve Aoki is Debuting a New Song on Twitch Tomorrow
Steve Aoki is once again teaming up with Alienware to host a livestream this weekend, exclusively on Twitch. The stream will not be one you will want to miss, because viewers will get the first chance to hear his brand new song. In the past, Aoki has done everything from sneak previews of song production to sushi-making lessons with his mom. Aoki has also used his time off from touring to launch a plethora of new ventures, remaining his prolific self. He announced his Mozart musical, his voice acting role in the new animated comedy “Extinct,” launched the “Naruto” merch collaboration, and opened a shop with iconic sports memorabilia, Pokémon cards, and modern art. You can tune into the exclusive one-hour stream on Steve Aoki’s Twitch channel&nb...
T-Pain Teases Potential Collaboration with RL Grime
Back in 2015, RL Grime tweeted that T-Pain “predicted everything.” However, we don’t think anyone, including the famed “Can’t Believe It” singer, could’ve predicted a collab between the two. Fast-forward to today, when T-Pain took to Twitter to tease a collaboration with RL Grime, who remains one of the most profile producers in trap music. T-Pain was cryptic in his word choice, only writing, “I killed it bro.” RL Grime’s annual Halloween mix is approaching, of course, so fans can hold out hope that T-Pain contributed either to the introduction or an entirely new track. Just like our friends over at Your EDM, we are hyped. It’s a long shot, but we’re going to go ahead and imagine they made a song in a mansion in W...
2021 Honda Civic Sedan Ditches Its Manual Transmission, Just Like the Accord
The 2021 compact four-door Honda sedan is now on sale, and without its stick-shift option, it is only available with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The base 2021 Honda Civic LX sedan starts at $22,005, an increase of $250 compared to the previous year—albeit with the previously optional CVT included. It also happens to be quite a bit more expensive than the base Toyota Corolla sedan, which starts at $20,920. See all 31 photos Honda previously offered a six-speed manual transmission also on the four-door Civic Sport in addition to the LX, but not anymore. Prices for CVT-equipped Sport models have gone up $250, as have prices for the top-level Touring model. The EX-L is the only trim level that’s cheaper this year. Other than the loss of the manual transmission, ...
Here’s Why Jacob Tremblay Was ‘Nervous’ to Play Justin Bieber in ‘Lonely’ Music Video
“It definitely feels really weird to say it, because it just sounds like it shouldn’t be happening but, I am in a Justin Bieber music video, which is something I would have never seen coming,” he told the publication. He explained that after the pop star’s team reached out about the role, the two agreed to chat on the phone to answer some of Tremblay’s questions. “We kind of organized that we would call each other some time, but we didn’t really get an exact time, so he ended up calling me when I was in the grocery store… I was like, to my parents, ‘I have to go outside because Justin Bieber’s calling me.’” Tremblay went on to reveal that he was “nervous” about starring in the video, because he “had actually never played a real person before.” “I’v...
