Month: October 2021

Memphis rapper Key Glock’s hunger for money leads to him staging a brazen bank robbery in the video for “Ambition For Cash,” his newest solo single after wrapping up the promotion on his and Young Dolph’s joint project, Dum And Dummer 2. In the video, the Paper Route Empire star player pulls up outside the financial institution in question with his masked crewmates in a customized Chevy Impala convertible, storming the facility with automatic weapons, and emptying the vault. Clearly, Glock’s a fan of bank heist movies — but only the ones where the crew gets away in the end.

Key Glock, coming off an impressive 2020 that saw him release two well-received albums, Yellow Tape and Son Of A Gun, started off 2021 with the single “Aspen” and the announcement of Dum And Dummer 2, the follow-up to Glock and Dolph’s first project that helped Glock get his career off the ground. After releasing a string of ambitious videos for the project including “Sleep With The Roaches,” “Penguins,” and “Rain Rain,” Glock returned to his solo grind, sharing videos for “Move Around” and “I Can Show You.”

If Glock’s renewed output is any indication, he could be following up his impressive 2020 run by the end of the year.

Watch Key Glock’s “Ambition For Cash” video above.

Tom Brady is coming off of a pretty big week. Beyond the fact that he returned to Foxboro for the first time since his departure and beat the New England Patriots on Sunday night, meaning he has now beaten every team in the NFL over the course of his career, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ signal caller became the league’s all-time leader in passing yards. With former record holder Drew Brees in attendance as an analyst for NBC, Brady picked up the 68 yards he needed to get the record early on in the game and surpass the all-time high of 80,358 yards.

In celebration of his big week, Madden Ratings Adjuster and former Brady teammate Chad Johnson announced that the game will temporarily bump his rating in the game from a 97 to a 99. He’ll also get a pair of skill upgrades, as Brady’s deep throw accuracy is going from a 93 to a 99 and his speed will get bumped from a 59 to a 64. Sadly, they did not make his speed a 99, which would have been very funny.

The rating boost, Johnson said, is only going to be for a week. Brady is on the cover of Madden NFL 22 alongside Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The pair met in the Super Bowl earlier this year, with Brady out-dueling Mahomes en route to his seventh career Lombardi Trophy.

As someone who is an expert at staying out of the watchful eyes of the paparazzi, Adele stunned tabloids last year after sharing a photo of herself in a black mini dress. The post received over 12 million likes and appeared to show that the singer had lost nearly 100 pounds. Now, amid reports that her highly anticipated album is coming soon, Adele addresses weight loss rumors during her first interview in nearly five years.

The singer recently sat down with British Vogue for a lengthy conversation about her life in LA, her post-divorce experience (yes, she’s officially dating Rich Paul!), and gossip about her weight loss. The singer admitted to working out three times a day over the course of two years, saying that most headlines about her weight loss got it wrong. “No intermittent fasting. Nothing. If anything I eat more than I used to because I work out so hard. And also,” she said, “that whole thing of like, ‘Gets Revenge Body’… Oh my god. Suck my d*ck!” She continued: “It’s ridiculous. I think it’s that people love to portray a divorced woman as spinning out of control, like, ‘Oh she must be crackers. She must’ve decided she wants to be a ho.’ Because what is a woman without a husband? It’s bullsh*t.”

The singer said that, contrary to recent headlines, much of her weight loss was thanks to her anxiety:

“It was because of my anxiety. Working out, I would just feel better. It was never about losing weight, it was always about becoming strong and giving myself as much time every day without my phone. I got quite addicted to it. I work out two or three times a day. So I do my weights in the morning, then I normally hike or I box in the afternoon, and then I go and do my cardio at night. I was basically unemployed when I was doing it. And I do it with trainers. It’s not doable for a lot of people.”

But at this point, Adele says she’s sick her body being a constant topic of conversation. “People have been talking about my body for 12 years,” she said. “They used to talk about it before I lost weight. But yeah, whatever, I don’t care. You don’t need to be overweight to be body positive, you can be any shape or size.”

Read British Vogue‘s full interview with Adele here.

Fox News launched on this day in 1996, and to celebrate, The Daily Show cobbled together… a tribute of sorts.

Naturally, the satiric program decided to go balls-to-the-wall in a controversial way, and while bouncing off Bill O’Reilly’s scandalous ousting in 2017 following revelations that he paid out over $30 million for sexual harassment settlements. That was quite a fall for O’Reilly, given that media analyst Howard Kurtz once described him as “the biggest star in the 20 year history at Fox News,” and yet, O’Reilly swiftly fell from grace while, uh, stories spread about him about him grunting like a wild boar at a female colleague that he allegedly referred to as “hot chocolate.”

That’s not an easy reputation to shake, so the Trevor Noah-hosted program rounded up the “greatest hits,” so to speak, of chauvinistic on-air statements by O’Reilly. As luck would have it, too, there were also plenty of unfortunate utterances by Brian Kilmeade (who was remarking upon Ainsley Earhardt’s outfit), Geraldo Rivera, and more. Here’s a few selections that surface during this montage:

“If you’re wearing something, please get naked.”

“But I think what a woman brings to a marriage, more than anything else to a relationship, is her youth.”

“There’s gotta be some downside to having a woman president, right?”

“Many women who are pregnant are blasted out of their minds when they have sex, they’re not gonna use birth control anyway”

“Deltoid exposure.”

Yep, Gretchen Carlson (who sued former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment) did not look like she was having a good time in these clips. In closing, The Daily Show had this sign-off caption to offer: “Here’s to 25 more years of multimillion dollar settlements!”

It’s hard to ask for a better start to a music career than Khalid had. His debut album, 2017’s American Teen, peaked at No. 4 on the charts and made him an instant star. That’s thanks in part to a pair of top-20 singles, “Location” and “Young Dumb & Broke.” It’s been over four years since Khalid dropped that album, and naturally, as he has found his way into adulthood, his sound has undergone some changes. Now, for the fans who want more Khalid music like his American Teen era, he has something to say.

Yesterday, one fan tweeted at Khalid, “Gimme sum classic ‘American Teen’ music please.” His response was simple and probably the best way for that fan to scratch their American Teen itch: “just listen to American Teen,” Khalid replied. He added in a follow-up tweet, “I’m a whole 23 almost 24 years old, American Teen is not happening again.” He then offered a potential future album title, joking, “American Adult.”

Meanwhile, he also noted, “Next single comes out in 2 more weeks,” so keep an eye out for a new Khalid track on or around two Fridays from now, on October 22.

Khalid recently revealed that he’s had struggles with finishing his next album, Everything Is Changing, saying, “I only wanna be the artist I want to be, because creating is what keeps me from losing my my mind but my passion goes away a little more every day. I just want to finish this album and it’s really driving me crazy at this point.”

Nas is going from rapper to teacher thanks to MasterClass, where he’ll be directing a lesson on hip-hop storytelling available for streaming on October 14. In addition, he shares a new song, “Big Nas,” produced by Hit-Boy, with a video directed by Ben Dean. In it, a dancer defies gravity as they tip-toe and levitate through the locations near and dear to Nas’ heart, including the Queensbridge Housing Projects where he grew up and started his rap career over 30 years ago.

In an interview with Complex, Nas explains why he partnered with MasterClass to present “Nas Teaches Hip-Hop Storytelling,” which will spin off into other lessons including “Writing an Original Rap Song” and “Recording an Original Rap Song.”

“MasterClass is a great thing for people to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with artists, producers, actors, and people,” he says. “I think the whole thing is a great concept.” Although he calls his process “too much to say in one MasterClass,” he notes that it’s still important to watch experts in their respective fields because you can always learn something new. “You might see things that you do that are similar or that you didn’t see before in yourself,” he muses. “You might find that I gave you something that could add to what you’re doing, and I think that’s important. I think that’s where we’re at in the business: it’s to share.”

Watch Nas and Hit-Boy’s ‘Big Nas’ video above.

After Mike Lindell‘s claim of election fraud in Idaho completely blew up in his face, which is becoming a recurring theme for the MyPillow CEO, state officials are planning to charge him for the cost of conducting a baseless audit.

While appearing on CNN on Thursday, Idado Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck didn’t mince words as he said “there’s absolutely no validity” to Lindell’s claim that votes were electronically hacked, causing them to be switched from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. However, the state was obligated to conduct an audit even though it knew Lindell’s claims were bogus, and election officials plan to make him reimburse the cost to taxpayers. Via Mediaite:

“You are chasing your tail because of the MyPillow guy,” [CNN anchor John] Berman remarked. “Should he pay for this at least?”

“Well, actually we will be totaling up the expenses that were incurred in the process and we will be sending him a bill,” Houck said.

The state of Idaho has not been shy about its contempt for Lindell after he falsely accused the state of election fraud. Last week, election officials revealed that Lindell claimed to have the IP addresses for counties that don’t even use electronic voting devices. Essentially, Lindell said he had the IP address for paper election counts, which is impossible. The move made Lindell the target of local election officials who blasted him for tarnishing the reputation of several counties.

“Smooth move, Mr. Lindell,” one wrote in a damning public statement.

(Via Mediaite)

Despite 30 years of film and theater acting experience, it turns out even Academy award-nominated Jake Gyllenhaal isn’t immune to getting a bit of anxiety on set. While the seasoned actor has earned critical-acclaim for his performances in films such as Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, and Brokeback Mountain, Gyllenhaal has revealed that none of his previous tense and dramatic work quite prepared him for what it would be like to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.

In an appearance this week on the Howard Stern Show, Gyllenhaal told Stern acting in a Marvel movie was “a whole different craft,” explaining how production would “move with ideas” and how his late entry to the MCU was “hard.” The actor says it was like jumping on a moving train.

“It’s hard, man. That acting is hard. All of it. That world is enormous. And I joined that world way into that run; a train that was already moving. Normally, I come in way early on, and I get to figure it out [..] If someone has a good idea, they will shift an entire day around that idea.”

According to Gyllenhaal, his nerves ultimately got the better of him on the first day of shooting the second entry in Marvel’s Spider-Man series, shocking even himself. Gyllenhaal says he then had to turn to Peter Parker himself (Tom Holland) to help him work through his anxiety and remember his lines.

“I was freaking out,” he said. “It was a scene with [Samuel L.] Jackson, Tom … there were a number of actors in that scene. And I remember not being able to remember my lines. I was the wooden board. And they were like, ‘Whoa.’ And I went up to Tom Holland and was like, ‘Dude, help me out.’ He’s like, ‘It’s all good, man. Just relax.’ It was like he was me in so many situations. And I finally did. I just put a lot of pressure on [myself] because I love that world.”

Ultimately, fans and critics agreed that Gyllenhaal delivered a pretty fantastic performance as Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio, in Spider-Man: Far From Home, continuing the current Spider-Man‘s track record of creating real powerhouse villains for Holland’s Peter Parker to face off against. The next entry in the Spider-Man series, Spider-Man: No Way Home, swings into theaters December 17, and will feature Alfred Molina reprising his role as Dr. Otto Octavius, aka Doc Ock, much to the delight of longtime Spidey fans.

The NBA is on the verge of its 75th anniversary. The league has already announced a whole host of ways that it will celebrate the milestone, including an upcoming list of the 75 greatest players to ever grace the hardwood and some special uniforms. And on Thursday, the NBA decided to kick things off by debuting a short film narrated by Michael B. Jordan titled “NBA Lane.”

The video features 14 active NBA players, 20 ex-players who have headed off into retirement, seven mascots, and perhaps most importantly, Lil Penny. Jordan — the actor, not the basketball player — serves as the driver of a bus that takes a group of children around the fictional town, with the aforementioned NBA players leaning into some of the things that made them legends of the game. There are a number of nods to moments in league history, and at one point, a gigantic mural paying tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.

The NBA will kick off its 75th anniversary on Tuesday, Oct. 19 with a double-header on TNT. The reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks will start things off with an Eastern Conference Semifinal rematch against the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. EST, while the Golden State Warriors will head down to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers at 10 p.m. EST.

If ever there was a case to be made for the need for term limits, one need look no further than Chuck Grassley. In late September, the longtime Republican lawmaker from the great state of Iowa—who, at 88, is the GOP’s oldest senator—announced his plans to run for yet another term in the most grandpa way possible:

(We’re assuming the video attached to the tweet is in fact footage of Grassley, and not a commercial for some sort of dementia medication.)

While Grassley seems to be working harder than his shower grab bars to prove that he’s still “with it” despite his advancing age, his brain—and mouth—seemed to hearken back to a previous decade on Wednesday when, during a senate confirmation hearing, he told Korean American judicial nominee Lucy Koh: “I congratulate you and your people” for her achievement, as The Washington Post reports. The comment, which reeked of racism, sparked an immediate backlash.

Judy Chu, a Democrat representing California’s 27th District in the U.S. House of Representatives and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, was among the first to take issue with Grassley’s compliment-gone-wrong, tweeting that, “Even as a compliment, assigning any trait to a whole community is the definition of prejudice. Treating all members of a group as the same invites mistreatment. It may not be the same incitement to violence seen in other slurs, but is harmful nonetheless.”

Taylor Foy, Grassley’s spokesperson, was quick to issue a statement to the Des Moines Register clarifying his comments and insisting that Grassley was complimenting Koh and letting her know how touched he was by her story:

“Sen. Grassley’s intent was to be complimentary, not to insult anyone. Chairman Durbin invited Judge Koh to share the inspiring story of her family’s immigration to the United States. Sen. Grassley shared that he has similarly been inspired by the immigration story of his daughter-in-law, who is also Korean-American.”

For the record, Grassley’s full comment to Koh was this:

“What you said about your Korean background reminded me a lot of what my daughter-in-law of 45 years has said: ‘If I’ve learned anything from Korean people, it’s a hard work ethic. And how you can make a lot out of nothing.’ So I congratulate you and your people.”

Ummmm… Yep, still kinda racist.

(Via The Washington Post)