Month: August 2023

Donald Trump can boast all he wants about his interview with Tucker Carlson being “the Biggest Video on Social Media, EVER” (it’s not), but it sure seems like Carlson is missing Fox News. He’s, uh, not doing great based on a recent chat with Adam Carolla on The Adam Carolla Show podcast.

When asked by the former The Man Show host if “they” are going to let Trump be president (“they” is probably everyone who doesn’t roast their nuts in the sun), Carlson answered, “No, of course. I mean, look, if, you know, they protested him, they called him names. He won anyway. They impeached him twice on ridiculous pretenses. They fabricated a lot about what happened on January 6 in order to impeach him again,” etc. You get the idea. But then Carlson predicted Trump will get assassinated if he becomes president.

“If you begin with criticism, then you go to protest. Then you go to impeachment. Now you go to indictment and none of them work. What’s next? I mean, you know, graph it out, man! We’re speeding toward assassination, obviously, and no one will say that! But I don’t, I don’t know how you can’t reach that conclusion. You know what it been like. They have decided, permanent Washington. Both parties have decided that there’s something about Trump that’s so threatening to them, they just can’t have it.”

Carlson wasn’t done. He also claimed that in 2008, “it became really clear that Barack Obama had been having sex with men and smoking crack and a guy came forward, Larry Sinclair, and said ‘I’ll sign an affidavit and I’ll take a lie detector’ and he did.” That’s not the craziest part of the interview, however. Carlson’s camera angle is:

The man was on TV for decades. He should know better.

(Via Mediaite)

Kendrick Lamar has often been called a “conscious rapper” as he often uses his platform to talk about socioeconomic issues and inequality—while others might be labeled “trap rappers,” “Soundcloud rappers,” and “gangsta rappers.”

50 Cent is frequently labeled the latter, however, many rappers and hip-hop fans often find these categories corny and contrived. Still, Lamar revealed in a conversation with Tems for Interview Magazine that he liked the way 50 has subverted the label of “conscious rapper” and applied it to himself and a variety of other rappers.

“Now, I’ve always studied 50 Cent’s music and watched his interviews,” said Lamar, “and someone asked if he was a conscious artist. He said, ‘Yeah, I’m a conscious artist because I have a conscience.’ That sh*t blew me away. It gave me a different perspective—50 drops a lot of jewels that give me perspective, but that one right there gave me a sense of, okay, a lot of artists live and know how to project duality. That’s the true gift, because that’s what life is about in its wholeness.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Tems revealed that she took a lot of inspiration from Celine Dion and Destiny’s Child, and recalled purchasing a bootleg CD containing 30 Destiny’s Child songs, and would later memorize them all.

Jay last used Instagram to promote the Netflix film The Harder They Fall, which he executive-produced. And while music features extensively into that film’s structure, Jay himself only appears on a couple of tracks, including the Kid Cudi collab, “Guns Go Bang.”

Well, he’s back on the platform to promote a film project again, this time, The Book Of Clarence, another collab with Jeymes Samuel, and the trailer promises more new music from the mogul. (Fans are also joking in the comments that the account will be deactivated again in 24 hours, which is about how long he had it up before.)

For years, Jay-Z has insisted that he’s “not a social media guy.” While his knowledge of memes and online trends makes that claim seem somewhat dubious, it is true that he hasn’t maintained much of an online presence — at least, not publicly. But it turns out he’s also pretty good at social media, when he does deign to use it, whether that’s promoting new projects or simply expressing appreciation for his lyrical inspirations.

Meanwhile, The Book Of Clarence looks like a satire of celebrity told through the lens of a Bible-era scammer (played by LaKeith Stanfield!) seeking to present himself as a Messiah, inspired by Jesus himself. Samuels’ reach exceeded his grasp with The Harder They Fall, and if anything, this looks even more ambitious. We’ll see if he learned enough from his last outing to stick the landing this time in January 2024.

The United States is headed to the second round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. After picking up a pair of wins against New Zealand and Greece in their first two games of the tournament, the team capped off play in round one on Wednesday by taking on Jordan. It was the most emphatic win of their stay in the Philippines so far, as the United States pummeled Jordan, 110-62, behind 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists from Anthony Edwards.

Despite all of this, the U.S. hasn’t quite moved on to the knockout stage of the tournament yet. FIBA has the top-2 teams from each group go to a second round of group play, where they are teamed up with the top-2 finishers of another group. In the case of the United States, this means they’ll be joined in their new group by the runners-up in Group C (Greece) along with Lithuania and Montenegro, the winners and runners-up, respectively, of Group D.

The teams will make up Group J, and they’ll play a pair of games against the two squads they have not played already. Here’s how that will look:

Friday, Sept. 1: USA vs. Montenegro
Sunday, Sept. 3: USA vs. Lithuania

The top-2 teams will be determined on a point system where teams get two points for a win and one for a loss. The points accrued in the first round carry on to the second, meaning the U.S. and Lithuania enter with a leg up, as both went 3-0 and accrued six points. Montenegro and Greece have five points with a 2-1 record in their group.

Both Lithuania and Montenegro should provide interesting tests for the United States. Coming into the tournament, a major question was how the Americans would deal with size, and they haven’t really been tested in Group C. Both of their opponents in Group J, however, will coming in with NBA big men — Lithuania, the best rebounding team in the tournament so far, is led by New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, while Montenegro has a current and former Chicago Bull in the frontcourt in Nikola Vucevic and Marko Simonovic. Both Jaren Jackson Jr., who has had a good tournament but struggles as a rebounder and is known for getting in foul trouble, and Paolo Banchero, who head coach Steve Kerr has used as a small ball 5, will be under the microscope in the two games.

Should Team USA move on, it would set up a matchup in the quarterfinals against one of the teams from Group I, which is composed of Serbia, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Puerto Rico. Tip times and television info for Group J will be announced soon, but all of the games in the group will take place at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

50 Cent made Snoop Dogg upset after his recent post to promote his sold out concert in Los Angeles tonight.

“LA tomorrow night we are gonna turn it all the way up SOLD OUT!” 50 Cent captioned the Instagram post. He then encouraged fans to call Snoop Dogg if they wanted to get tickets to the Final Lap Tour.

“But call @snoopdogg for tickets, he can still get everybody in,” 50 added. “I’m turning my phone off. LOL #bransoncognac #lecheminduroi @thefinallaptour.”

While his phone number wasn’t leaked, Snoop later took to Instagram to share a video where he was still being bothered by all the calls coming his way.

“Hold on,” Snoop Dogg asked. “Why all you n***** keep calling me for these tickets to 50 Cent’s concert?”

“50 Cent, you told these n***** to call me for tickets?” he continued. “N****, I ain’t got no tickets to your show! I ain’t got no tickets to my show! So y’all can stop calling me, texting me, talking about, ‘Cuz, 50 said…’”

Later in the video, he told everyone calling him to go back to 50 Cent and take it up with him.

However, he also tagged 50 Cent in the caption with a bunch of laughing emojis and one shrug — so the two might just be joking around with each other.

Check out both 50 Cent’s post about calling Snoop Dogg and his reaction video above.

Los Angeles R&B singer/songwriter August 08 (real name Ray Jacobs), who was signed to Def Jam and collaborated with Jhené Aiko and the indie label 88rising, has died at the age of 31. The singer’s family confirmed his death with a flyer on Instagram honoring his life shared by his sister.

“As we all try to press through understand that we all come here to serve a soul purpose,” she wrote. “I find comfort in knowing that my brother lived a full life of abundance. He was able to travel the world, and touch millions of people while fulfilling his soul purpose as a musician. I am proud to have a brother who lives on through music, and I encourage you all to keep streaming his records and telling everyone how great he is. 08/08 = infinity I give thanks to you all for the calls, text, and prayers. Please keep us uplifted.”

88rising also wrote a statement on Instagram, which reads, “RIP August the kindest and most talented genius you will be missed beyond words. Thank you for being an amazing mentor and a steadfast friend through all these years. We are forever grateful to you and the joy you brought in every room, through every song. Your energy, guidance and care gave so much inspiration and strength that will be carried on always.”

Meanwhile, Jacobs’ label, Def Jam, sent a statement to Complex: “The entire Def Jam family mourns the tragic loss of Ray ‘August 08’ Jacobs,” it reads. “A brilliant songwriter, an accomplished musician and a singular artist, August will remain in our memory as a beloved colleague and friend. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones.”

August 08 most recently released the single “Bruises,” following the release of his 2022 album Seasick and EP Towards The Sun.

When it comes to memorable romantic comedies, Meg Ryan is one of the all-time greats. The actress dominated the genre with classics like When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle among others. Now, she’s back with her directorial debut, What Happens Later, and the trailer is giving off those old school rom-com vibes.

The film pairs David Duchovny with Ryan as two exes who haven’t seen in each other in 20 years, but are now stranded at an airport together where they’re awkwardly forced to reconnect. Being together quickly reminds them why they broke up, but like any good romantic comedy, they also start to remember why they fell in love.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Two ex lovers, Bill (David Duchovny) and Willa (Meg Ryan) get snowed in at a regional airport overnight. Indefinitely delayed, Willa, a magical thinker, and Bill, a catastrophic one, find themselves just as attracted to and annoyed by one another as they did decades earlier. But as they unpack the riddle of their mutual past and compare their lives to the dreams they once shared, they begin to wonder if their reunion is mere coincidence, or something more enchanted.

Now if we can just get some rom-coms starring our favorite beefy boys, all will be right with the world.
What Happens Later opens in theaters on October 13.

Drake’s It’s All A Blur Tour returned to Canada last night, stopping in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As it had back in July when Drake hit his hometown Toronto, the tour proceeded without its usual supporting act, 21 Savage, who cannot leave the US due to his immigration status. In Toronto, Savage’s set was replaced with one featuring J. Cole; on Tuesday (August 29), Travis Scott stepped up to take over, performing a set including his Drake collaborations “Sicko Mode” from Astroworld and the new “Meltdown” from Utopia.

The Vancouver stop was originally billed as the second night of two; however, the first night, Monday (August 28), was postponed at the last minute, leaving some fans perplexed and disappointed. According to the Rogers Arena Twitter (not calling it X), there were issues with a new videoboard, prompting the arena to reschedule the Monday show to Wednesday, August 30.

Travis and Drake’s performance of “Meltdown” marks the first time the duo has performed the song live. The song’s debut earlier this month caused some light controversy when fans wondered whether Drake’s verse is an attempt to rekindle his smoldering rivalries with Pusha T and Kanye West. You can check out more performance videos from the show below, and catch Travis Scott live on his Circus Maximus Tour, which was officially announced last night as well.

K-pop group Tomorrow X Together is making waves in the US. This past summer, they had a big hit with their Jonas Brothers collab “Do It Like That” and released an album called Sweet back in July. Now, almost two months after the release of Sweet, they have announced a new album. Tomorrow X Together will share their new album, The Name Chapter: Freefall, this fall.

The album was announced via BigHit Music’s social media pages yesterday (August 29) with as special teaser trailer.

The boys of Tomorrow X Together have been hard at work this year. In an interview with Consequence, member Beomgyu shared that he and his bandmates — Soobin, Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Hueningkai — see each other more often than their own families. But he also said he considers them family as well.

“The joy that I get the most in my everyday life is my members,” he said. “I think we were close to being best friends before, but now I think we are a true family.”

Pre-orders for The Name Chapter: Freefall will begin today, with the album to arrive in October. You can see the album trailer above.

The Name Chapter: Freefall is out 10/13 via Republic Records. Find more information here.

For those who might have missed it, Scooter Braun has been in the news, with reports of many of his famous clients including Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen, and more leaving his management company. While it hasn’t fully been confirmed, it hasn’t stopped those who dislike Braun to poke fun at the rumors.

Taylor Swift, who is re-recording her albums after Braun purchased her original masters from her former label, hasn’t spoken about it. However, it doesn’t mean her closest collaborators, like Jack Antonoff, have to be quiet. Antonoff recently posted a meme to his Instagram Story of the one where the Sims woman is so distracted on her computer that she doesn’t realize her baby is on fire.

“Not now, sweetie, mommy is trying to figure out why Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Idina Menzel just fired Scooter Braun as their manager,” the caption reads.

Right below it, he leaves a purchase link to the new Bleachers live album. Fans were instantly laughing over Antonoff’s story.

“Jack taking a break from his honeymoon to stir the pot,” one person wrote.

“Taylor gonna call him up to delete this in …. hahaha,” another added.

Others made jokes about the fact that Antonoff and Swift’s groupchat must be having a blast right now. Check out his story post below.