Month: July 2023

It looks like season 2 of the critically acclaimed Max original, Rap Sh!t is finally on the way. Created by Issa Rae, Rap Sh!t tells the story of friends Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) reconnecting to form a rap duo. The first season ends on a cliffhanger, with Mia and Shawna about to go on tour to support a rapper named Reina Reign (Kat Cunning). As they are celebrating at the hotel where Shawna works, a group of cops shows up at the hotel, with the intent to question Shawna. Throughout the first season, Shawna, with the help of her co-worker, Maurice (Daniel Augustin), funds her and Mia’s studio and production costs using credit card numbers of various hotel guests.

With this ending, fans were left wondering: Will Shawna go to jail? Did Maurice rat Shawna out? Will Mia be forced to hold the group down while Shawna’s locked up? Does Shawna somehow manage to get away with it all?

But first and foremost, fans are wondering when Rap Sh!t will return.

Is there a Rap Sh!t season 2 release date?

Max shared some exclusive first-look photos with Complex, who reported that Rap Sh!t “will return this summer.”

A premiere date for season 2 has not yet been announced.

A lot of shocking details have emerged since the OceanGate tragedy last month. Many of them concern the actions — and non-actions — of CEO Stockton Rush, who was among the victims aboard the imploding submersible. He ignored warnings. He cut corners. He also seemed to know (or at least joke about) what a death trap he’d built.

Insider spoke to Brian Weed, a veteran camera operator who boarded the doomed Titan for an (ultimately aborted) episode of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown. He and host Josh Gates were part of a test dive that was to be a “precursor” to the trip down to the Titanic wreckage. Passengers aboard the Titan were infamously bolted inside, making it difficult to get out.

Not long after being bolted inside, Weed asked a pertinent question: What would happen in case of an emergency and they had to quickly flee the Titan. Rush’s alleged response, as relayed by Weed, did not exactly inspire confidence:

“’Well, there’s four or five days of oxygen on board,’ and I said, ‘What if they don’t find you?’ And he said, ‘Well, you’re dead anyway.’”

The statement understandably unnerved Weed. “It felt like a very strange thing to think, and it seemed to almost be a nihilistic attitude toward life or death out in the middle of the ocean,” he said.

Weed summarized Rush’s response like so: “If you’re out there, and they don’t find you in that many days, you’re just going to die anyway — it’s over for you, so what does it matter if you can’t get out of the sub on your own.”

On top of Rush’s comments, the test dive was plagued with mechanical and communications issues. Eventually it was called off. Weed even wound up pulling out of the documentary show over safety concerns.

“That whole dive made me very uncomfortable with the idea of going down to Titanic depths in that submersible,” Weed told Insider.

Even after the accident, OceanGate was still advertising trips to the Titanic up until last week, when they finally suspended all operations.

(Via Insider)

We’re one week out from the WNBA All-Star Game, as the league will make its way to Las Vegas in the coming days ahead of the game on July 15. We already know the players who will make up the two teams, which are captained by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, but before that, we needed to figure out who will suit up for which squad.

That got all taken care of on Saturday afternoon on ESPN, with Stewart and Wilson sitting down and drafting their two teams. Here’s how the draft went for the starters, with Wilson getting the first pick and unsurprisingly selecting all of her teammates from the Las Vegas Aces.

1. Chelsea Gray (Team Wilson)
2. Brittney Griner (Team Stewart)
3. Jackie Young (Team Wilson)
4. Jewell Loyd (Team Stewart)
5. Aliyah Boston (Team Wilson)
6. Satou Sabally (Team Stewart)
7. Arike Ogunbowale (Team Wilson)
8. Nneka Ogwumike (Team Stewart)

And here’s how the the reserves were split up, with Stewart getting the first pick here.

9. Courtney Vandersloot (Team Stewart)
10. Kelsey Plum (Team Wilson)
11. Sabrina Ionescu (Team Stewart)
12. Allisha Gray (Team Wilson)
13. Ezi Magbegor (Team Stewart)
14. Alyssa Thomas (Team Wilson)
15. Napheesa Collier (Team Stewart)
16. Cheyenne Parker (Team Wilson)
17. Kelsey Mitchell (Team Stewart)
18. DeWanna Bonner (Team Wilson)
19. Kahleah Copper (Team Stewart)
20. Elena Delle Donne (Team Wilson)

The full teams look like this, and unsurprisingly, Wilson and Stewart preferred to draft players from their college and pro teams.

The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game will be broadcast on ABC on July 15, with coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST.

It’s a strange time for touring artists right now. These days, anytime an artist takes the stage, they assume the risk of having objects like a phone or a water bottle thrown their way. That, or fans handing them unusual objects.

Pink, who is currently on her Summer Carnival Tour has already had a fan hand her a wheel of cheese, and another fan hand her the ashes of their dead mother. But luckily, Pink was able to have a brief moment to enjoy herself — and a sweet snack during her show in Austria this past Thursday (July 6).

At her Vienna show, Pink began singing a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.” Though, it appears she caught a case of nerves. After singing a short introduction, she paused her cover.

“Sh*t,” she said, “I knew this wouldn’t be a good night for this.”

She went back to performing the song, but paused once again, hoping that a snack would do the trick.

“I’m gonna eat my damn chocolate,” she said. “I can’t concentrate.”

While her fans cheered her on as she at the chocolate, she was still very nervous, and told the audience, “If you guys could just make out with each other and not look at me, I think this would go better.”

She then performed the cover from the beginning. After the show, shared a video of the performance to her personal Twitter account.

“Leave it to me to really f*ck up a beautiful song,” she said.

You can see a clip above.

Geraldo Rivera may be out as a Fox News host — by his own volition, mind you — but that doesn’t mean he’s done with doing what he did best on the network: calling out fellow Republicans on their bull. He’s come for his longtime pal Donald Trump, calling out his 2020 election nonsense early and often. And he’s not been afraid to trash Tucker Carlson over his Jan. 6 bull, nor over his spreading misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Due respect to Tucker Carlson, but he’s as full of shit about Ukraine as he was about January 6th,” Rivera tweeted on Friday. “His smiley face doesn’t change fact Russia invaded sovereign Ukraine; 1000’s are dead, including women & children, the world order is assailed and Putin is a punk.

Carlson himself, of course, is no longer at Fox News either. Unlike Rivera, he was fired, for reasons that still remain unclear. He resurfaced on, of all places, Twitter. His occasional videos, attempting to replicate his Fox News broadcasts in semi-bite-sized form, started out strong but have since plummeted in viewership — although it’s unclear how many are watching the full things. To make matters worse, Fox News has threatened legal action over his breach of contract.

After Rivera left Fox News, he revealed that he departed over “growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences.” He added, “I hope it’s not my last adventure.”

(Via Mediaite)

One major issue the Philadelphia 76ers have had over the years revolves around the minutes where Joel Embiid is on the bench. Few, if any, players have managed to fill that role better than Paul Reed, the 2020 second-round NBA Draft selection who has endeared himself to Sixers fans and earned a spot in the rotation with his seemingly endless motor and his ability to impact games on the defensive end of the floor.

Despite that, Reed’s largely held a reserve role in Philly, which makes him an interesting player in restricted free agency, because interested teams would need to determine if they believe Reed’s success as Embiid’s backup could turn into a larger role. The Utah Jazz appear willing to make that bet, and on Saturday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN brought word that Reed agreed to an offer sheet worth $23 million over three years with Utah.

After appearing in 64 games during his first two years in the NBA, Reed became a far more consistent member of Philadelphia’s rotation during his third year in the league. The No. 58 pick out of DePaul appeared in 69 games with a pair of starts last regular season, and was inserted into the starting lineup twice during the playoffs when Embiid was sidelined with an injury. Reed averaged 4.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 10.9 minutes per game last season.

As Wojnarowski noted, the Sixers have until Sunday night to match the deal and bring Reed back.

One major issue the Philadelphia 76ers have had over the years revolves around the minutes where Joel Embiid is on the bench. Few, if any, players have managed to fill that role better than Paul Reed, the 2020 second-round NBA Draft selection who has endeared himself to Sixers fans and earned a spot in the rotation with his seemingly endless motor and his ability to impact games on the defensive end of the floor.

Despite that, Reed’s largely held a reserve role in Philly, which makes him an interesting player in restricted free agency, because interested teams would need to determine if they believe Reed’s success as Embiid’s backup could turn into a larger role. The Utah Jazz appear willing to make that bet, and on Saturday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN brought word that Reed agreed to an offer sheet worth $23 million over three years with Utah.

After appearing in 64 games during his first two years in the NBA, Reed became a far more consistent member of Philadelphia’s rotation during his third year in the league. The No. 58 pick out of DePaul appeared in 69 games with a pair of starts last regular season, and was inserted into the starting lineup twice during the playoffs when Embiid was sidelined with an injury. Reed averaged 4.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 10.9 minutes per game last season.

As Wojnarowski noted, the Sixers have until Sunday night to match the deal and bring Reed back.

Michael Cera doesn’t have a smart phone, and good for him. Humanity did just fine without them for an awfully long time. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss out on some of the finer things the technology offers. For instance, when all the various Barbies and Kens in Greta Gerwig’s apparently controversial Barbie started a giant group chat, he wasn’t able to participate.

“I don’t have an iPhone myself. … I have a flip phone,” Cera told People in a new profile of the movie. “But I still think I wouldn’t belong on [the group chat] anyway, because [my character] Allan is sort of in his own little world.”

Cera didn’t leave empty-handed, though. “Greta’s gift for me when I arrived was a picture disc of NSYNC’s No Strings Attached,” he said, “which felt like somehow a real guiding light in the backstory of this character.”

Gerwig had an unusually chummy set, with her massive cast finding creative ways to bond. For instance, Simu Liu, who plays one of the Kens, says star Margot Robbie hosted a sleepover for the many fellow Barbies. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t co-ed. Liu said the “Kens were allowed to either visit briefly or to phone in and say hi.”

There were other ways the cast and crew made the set fun. “Margot had this pink day once a week, where everyone had to wear something pink. And if you didn’t, you were fined,” said Ryan Gosling, who plays the main Ken. “She would go around collecting the fines, and she would donate it to a charity.”

Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21, won’t be the last time toy brand Mattel gets into the movie business. A dark, brooding Barney movie is also in the works.

(Via People)

Michael Cera doesn’t have a smart phone, and good for him. Humanity did just fine without them for an awfully long time. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss out on some of the finer things the technology offers. For instance, when all the various Barbies and Kens in Greta Gerwig’s apparently controversial Barbie started a giant group chat, he wasn’t able to participate.

“I don’t have an iPhone myself. … I have a flip phone,” Cera told People in a new profile of the movie. “But I still think I wouldn’t belong on [the group chat] anyway, because [my character] Allan is sort of in his own little world.”

Cera didn’t leave empty-handed, though. “Greta’s gift for me when I arrived was a picture disc of NSYNC’s No Strings Attached,” he said, “which felt like somehow a real guiding light in the backstory of this character.”

Gerwig had an unusually chummy set, with her massive cast finding creative ways to bond. For instance, Simu Liu, who plays one of the Kens, says star Margot Robbie hosted a sleepover for the many fellow Barbies. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t co-ed. Liu said the “Kens were allowed to either visit briefly or to phone in and say hi.”

There were other ways the cast and crew made the set fun. “Margot had this pink day once a week, where everyone had to wear something pink. And if you didn’t, you were fined,” said Ryan Gosling, who plays the main Ken. “She would go around collecting the fines, and she would donate it to a charity.”

Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21, won’t be the last time toy brand Mattel gets into the movie business. A dark, brooding Barney movie is also in the works.

(Via People)

Back in 2006, Nelly Furtado had the radio in a chokehold. Her third album, Loose, which was primarily produced by Timbaland, spawned several hits, including “Promiscuous,” “Maneater,” and “Say It Right.”

Now, Furtado is gearing up for a comeback. In a recent interview with Vogue, she opened up about her upcoming album.

Furtado’s new album will mark her first album in six years, and her seventh overall. She revealed that it’s almost done, and will have some more dance-oriented tracks.

Furtado also noted that she plans to work with Timbaland on more of her upcoming music.

“We have plans, for sure. I actually talked to Timbaland recently, and we had this amazing two-hour FaceTime call,” Furtado said. “We were talking about when we made Loose, and getting into all these stories.”

According to Furtado, Timbaland also enjoyed “Eat Your Man,” Furtado’s EDM collaboration with Dom Dolla.

“He told me he loved how I sounded on ‘Eat Your Man.’ It was nice to have his blessing on the new stuff, because Dom [Dolla]’s a really big fan of his as well,” said Furtado.

Furtado said the album is coming “soon,” however, it’s unclear whether her upcoming collaborations with Timbaland will be complete in time for the project.

But regardless, we can’t wait for new music.