Month: November 2023

We’re at the start of a new era: At midnight last night, Megan Thee Stallion dropped her new single, “Cobra,” which is her first since since the end of the 1501 Certified Entertainment lawsuit. More than that, though, one thing fans are paying attention to in the wake of the new song is a line that appears to throw out an accusation of infidelity.

Megan starts the song’s second verse, “Ayy, damn, I got problems / Never thought a b*tch like me would ever hit rock bottom / Man, I miss my parents, way too anxious, always cancel my plans / Pulled up, caught him cheatin’, gettin’ his d*ck sucked in the same spot I’m sleepin’.” So, the implication there is that Megan caught somebody being unfaithful to her and doing it in the bed that they shared.

After the song was released, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts on the song, with many believing that the line is Meg accusing Pardison Fontaine of cheating on her.

It is believed that Megan and Fontaine broke up at some point in the first half of 2023. Meanwhile, starting in May, there were rumors that Megan was seeing soccer star Romelo Lukaku.

Today is November 3, and while Christmas is just under two months away now, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is already making its annual return to the music landscape: It’s up to No. 28 on Spotify’s latest top daily songs chart for the US. If you ask Carey, though, she’ll insist that her hit coming back so early isn’t her fault.

Carey was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! yesterday, and during the interview, Kimmel wondered if it truly is “time” already, as Carey declared in her November 1 video saying bye to Halloween and hello to Christmas. After a bit of back and forth, Carey said:

“I don’t disagree with you, by the way. I had to just go with the flow, because everybody was rushing the holiday season and they starting playing my song. So I kept being like, ‘Not yet, don’t play it yet. It’s not time yet, why are we playing Christmas songs?’ But they were doing it, so then I just was like, ‘OK.’ It became… it was a joke, it was just for laughs.”

What’s less of a laughing matter, though, is the lawsuit Carey is currently facing over the song.

Check out the full interview above.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

Power Book IV: Force has been relentless when it comes to the death of its characters in season two. Before episode nine, titled “No Loose Ends,” Walter Flynn, Brandon Doyle, Paulie, Leon, and more were among the names that had been killed this season. In episode nine, two more names were added to that list: Miguel’s mother and his longtime associate Nunez. Their deaths were both connected to Mirkovic in different ways. Mirkovic used Nunez to set up Miguel to be killed, but instead, Nunez decided to have Miguel’s mother killed in a move that he thought was more efficient. Unfortunately, it came back to bite him when Tommy (with help from Mireya) figured out that Nunez was the one working with Mirkovic to have Miguel’s mother killed. Tommy kidnaps Nunez and tortures him before bringing him to Miguel to deliver the news. Miguel, disappointed in his longtime friend, wastes no time shooting and killing him for the death of his mother.

This move from Tommy was the latest in his attempt to gain an upper hand on Miguel in the Chicago drug game. After thinking nothing of his moves initially, Miguel sees clearere than ever that Tommy is coming for his spot. Miguel then tells Mireya of his plans to counter Tommy’s moves and eventually kill him once and for all, something that Mireya made sure to tell Tommy the next time she saw him. It here that Mireya did what she knew she’d have to for quite some time: pick between Tommy and her brother. She sides with Tommy by telling him how appreciative of him she is of his love and support toward her. She takes it a step further by helping Tommy figure out that Nunez is the one who betrayed Miguel.

Then we have Diamond, who is still reeling from the death of Leon, a young boy from the neighborhood who was becoming more and more like a son to him. Leon was shot and killed at the end of episode seven, and this week, Diamond sets out to find his killer. He’s successful, but unfortunately, he cannot do anything about it as the killer in question is the nephew of a key member in the drug coalition that he and Tommy have been building in Chicago for quite some time now.

Diamond later shifts his attention to Leon’s father Jamal who was verbally abusive to Leon until Diamond stepped in and told him to stay away from the family. Now Jamal is back to get revenge against Diamond and it started by letting Diamond’s parole officer know that he’s back in the drug game. Diamond learned that Jamal was the one who told his parole officer about his involvement in CBI and he decided to take matters into his own hands and kill Jamal once and for it. The fit of rage from Diamond that led to him killing Jamal was a combination of Jamal’s failure to nurture and correctly raise Leon as well as his choice to snitch on Diamond to his parole officer. Altogether, it’s the latest in Diamond’s progression after Leon’s death which can either be looked at as a decline from his better days or his attempt to right some wrongs.

Elsewhere, we see Claudia and Shanti continue to make moves in the Chicago drug game in their attempt to make some noise for themselves after being cut out by the Flynn family and CBI. One of them involves teaming up with Detroit’s Marquez Cartel, something that impresses Tommy when he gets word of it. What Claudia doesn’t know is that Shanti and Tommy are working together, and it appears that sooner or later, Claudia will find herself in a hole.

How’s that for a recap? Now, let’s see who made the top five Power Players of the Week list based on the events that went down in the “No Loose Ends.”

5. Mirkovic

Though Mirkovic was initially skeptical about a partnership with the Flynn family and specifically Claudia, it seems like his decision to go through with it has paid off. After five episodes of work, he and Claudia inked a deal with the Marquez Cartel from Detroit which puts them back in competition with the drug game in Chicago as the Marquez Cartel is also looking to establish territory in the city. It’s a low-lift opportunity for Marquez as he’s tasked Claudia with supplying the money for the Marquez Cartel deal. Mirkovic lands another win in this episode by taking out Miguel’s grandmother and escaping from an attack when Miguel’s crew attempts to retaliate against them. Not too shabby this week Mr. Mirkovic.

4. Claudia

If there’s anyone who’s had to fight and claw for respect this season it’s Claudia. From being left out of the Flynn family operation to Vic severing ties with her, Claudia has had to fend for her own, but so far this season she’s done a good job of it. Most recently, she played a major role in Mirkovic and the Serbs’ ability to land a deal with Detroit’s Marquez Cartel and she’s also working with Shanti and her love interest Elise on infiltrating Chicago’s Viagra Triangle. Claudia continues to make the necessary moves to stand on her own and increase her position in Chicago, and though her time on the rise may be limited, she’s doing what she needs to at the moment.

3. Mireya

The character arc for Mireya this season has been getting herself out from under her brother Miguel’s thumb. In previous episodes, especially concerning her growing romance with Tommy, she’s been afraid to set out on her own and do what she really wants. Finally, we see a shift in “No Loose Ends.” Following the death of her mother and word from Miguel himself of his plans to kill Tommy, Mireya makes the step to stand up for what she wants and that’s a future with Tommy. She shows her commitment by staying at his place and helping Tommy figure out that it was Nunez who helped Mirkovic kill Miguel’s mother. Mireya is finally breaking free from the grasp of her family, and that’s a big win for her.

2. Diamond

Diamond is still reeling from Leon’s death in “No Loose Ends.” With Leon’s death came his spiral and additional left turns in his life. He killed his parole officer after he walked in on him in possession of a duffel bag of drugs and Gianna is no longer interested in something romantic with him. Despite this, Diamond is aware that there’s a business to handle with CBI and he’s able to take care of the necessary tasks. He also figures out who is responsible for killing Leon, but has to pause his plans to retaliate when he learns that the person responsible is the nephew of someone in the new drug coalition that he and Tommy built. Diamond did not give the same grace to Jamal, especially after he figured out that Jamal was the one who told his parole officer that he was back in the drug game. The anger behind that and Jamal’s failure to be a good father to Leon, who Diamond deemed a good kid with a very promising future, pushed Diamond to and over the edge as he eventually killed Jamal in retaliation. Diamond also received an early release from his parole. All in all, he’s fighting back and no longer being his cool calm and collected. There’s some good and bad to that, but this week was more of the former.

1. Tommy

Tommy’s back on top this week and it comes as a result of his progress in taking over Miguel’s position in the drug game within Chicago. When Miguel’s mother is killed, Tommy quickly figures out that Mirkovic is behind it and sets out to retaliate in order to appeal to Miguel’s boss. He doesn’t get the green light to do so, but he solves another problem for them by discovering that Nunez is the one who set up Miguel’s mother to be killed. Tommy eventually brings Nunez to Miguel and his boss to share his discovery and then earns the respect from Miguel’s boss that he was looking for. Secondly, thanks to Mireya, Tommy learns that Miguel plans to kill him once he can undermine Tommy’s growing status in the Chicago drug world. It’s because of this that Tommy tries to appeal to Miguel’s boss with the hope of gaining some sort of protection, a move that could prove to be beneficial to him. Lastly, Tommy discovers the snitch in the organization, and as viewers have known for weeks now, it’s none other than Vic Flynn. If you know Tommy, you know it’s about to be trouble for Vic, but we’ll have to wait until the season two finale to see what goes down.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

At last, Jung Kook’s debut album, Golden is finally here. With his debut album, the BTS member is setting the stage for a promising career in pop stardom, both sonically and visually. In celebration of releasing his hotly-anticipated solo record, Jung Kook has shared a new single, “Standing Next To You.”

Continuing the exciting loving feeling established in his Latto collab, “Seven,” while touching on the rhythmic elements of his Jack Harlow collab, “3D,” Jung Kook’s new song, “Standing Next To You,” features the singer making a profession of love over a groovy, ’80s-inspired pop track.

“Standing next to you / Standing in the fire next to you, oh / You know it’s deeper than the rain / It’s deeper than the pain / When it’s deep like DNA / Somethin’ they can’t take away,” sings Jung Kook on the song’s chorus.

In the song’s accompanying video, directed by Tanu Muino, Jung Kook shows off his dance moves in various apocalyptic settings. As the world falls apart around him and his crew, he will stop at nothing to be united with the woman he loves.

You can see the video for “Standing Next To You” above.

Golden is out now via BIGHIT. Find more information here.

Victor Wembanyama has impressed in his first two weeks as an NBA player, but a lot of the No. 1 overall pick’s highlights have come in flashes this season. On Thursday night in Phoenix, the Spurs second straight game against the Suns, the rookie sensation put together his best complete game performance, setting a new career-high with 38 points including a dominant stretch to close the game out in the fourth quarter.

After completing a massive comeback earlier this week to stun Phoenix, the Spurs were the ones that jumped out to a big lead early, thanks to a great first half from Devin Vassell and Wembanyama. The French star had 20 points in the first 24 minutes, as he put the full arsenal on display as the Suns were unable to figure out answers for the 7’4 big man.

Wembanyama’s abilities in transition and semi-transition particularly stuck out in this one, as he did a great job running the floor and creating mismatches the Spurs could leverage for easy buckets — or just flat out beating his man down the floor for hilariously easy dunks.

It was also enjoyable to watch the Spurs recognize in real time that a viable offense was just “throw it really high near the rim for Wemby,” as they just kinda threw it near the basket on a number of occasions in the first half and let him grab the ball and finish it over whoever Phoenix put on him.

However, Wembanyama also flashed his many skills beyond just being really tall and able to dunk/finish over people, going to work in the face-up game as well.

The Suns made a fourth quarter charge to erase the 20-plus point lead and tie things at 116-116, but from there the Spurs turned to their rookie star as Wembanyama completely took over. After drawing two fouls and making 3-of-4 free throws on back-to-back possessions, he posterized Drew Eubanks on what is becoming his patented move of “reaching from an impossible distance and throwing the ball in the basket.”

After that he got the ball 30 feet from the basket and drilled a pullup three off the dribble from the top of the key.

Then he caught the ball at the free throw line and immediately rose up for the dagger.

There were no answers for Wembanyama from Phoenix, which tried just about every tall, mobile player on the roster to slow him down in the fourth with little success. Kevin Durant, Eubanks, and Keita Bates-Diop all took their turn in the fourth quarter, but just nothing matters when he gets it going.

Wembanyama finished with 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting with 10 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, including 10 points in the final five minutes of the game to put a good Suns team that had both Durant and Devin Booker away. After five games of flashes from the top pick, Thursday night saw him put it all together and show the league what terror awaits if it all clicks.

A new era of Megan Thee Stallion is upon us. Just days after wowing the internet with her uncanny Halloween costumes, Meg has dropped a new single called “Cobra.” Tonight (November 2), she begins a new chapter as an independent artist, shedding away the troubles of the past and ready to start fresh.

On “Cobra,” Meg calls out her opps — the ones who left her at her lowest, and kicked her while she was down. Sonically, “Cobra” is indicative of fresh new sounds in the Megan Thee Stallion hottieverse, as the song is jampacked with rock-influence, particularly an intoxicating guitar riff near the end of the song. As a newly independent artist, Meg is confident as she is fully in control of her sound, and it is worth nothing that she is a co-producer on this new single.

“How I still kinda feel like you plottin’, watchin’? / Why is you speakin’ on me at my lowest, when you acted like you ain’t noticed / Hoe shit then, go crazy, and made lowkey hatin’, so they ain’t gon’ say sh*t,” raps Meg on one of the song’s verses.

In the song’s accompanying video, Megan emerges from the mouth of a snake, while making a treacherous journey through the forest, dancing her way through the pain.

You can see the video for “Cobra” above.

Just months after releasing her sophomore album, Guts, Olivia Rodrigo has new music — this time, for one of the year’s most anticipated movies. Ahead of the premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Rodrigo has shared “Can’t Catch Me Now” — a song she wrote for the movie’s upcoming soundtrack.

“Can’t Catch Me Now” has a sense of triumph, and features Rodrigo emerging strong amid adversity.

“I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze / My footsteps on the ground / You see my face in every place / But you can’t catch me now,” sings Rodrigo on the song’s chorus.

The movie’s soundtrack is expected to arrive in tandem with the movie later this month, and will feature songs performed by the film’s lead actress, Rachel Zegler — along with Flatland Calvary, Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and more.

The film itself is a prequel taking place 64 years before the events of the original Hunger Games movies and books, and will tell the story of a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), the last to walk of a failing lineage, the once triumphant Snow family who has fallen from grace following a war. In the movie, Coriolanus is assigned to a mentor named Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12, and together, they will work to shift their fates.

You can listen to “Can’t Catch Me Now” above.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes arrives in theaters 11/17.

Just over a year after releasing her fifth album, COPINGMECHANISM, Willow is back with new music. Tonight (November 2), she has dropped a new single called “Alone,” which features the 23-year-old artist at her most introspective.

On “Alone,” Willow is forced to confront her innermost thoughts on her own. But she later finds solace in her solitude.

“Nothing is what it seems / When you wake, when you dream / When you talk, is it not medicine for us all? / Show me something I cannot define,” she sings on one of the song’s verses.

Over the past few years, Willow has took on more of a rock sound, but “Alone” has noticeable neo-soul influences.

Willow has been making music since she was 10 years old. Not to mention, she’s the child of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith — one of the buzziest celebrity couples in the world. Shortly after news broke that Will and Jada had been separated for six years, Willow shared a cryptic post on Instagram, reading “I think solitude can be scary for humans sometimes. There is so much space to remember and reflect on things that may be really painful for us.”

While some thought that Willow may have been alluding to her parents’ shocking revelations as noted in Jada’s memoir, it seems that the most is more in conjunction with her music.

And through her music, it seems Willow is at peace.

You can listen to “Alone” above.

We are just a week out from The Kid Laroi’s hotly-anticipated debut album, The First Time. Ahead of the album, the Australian hitmaker has given us a new taste of the album. Tonight (November 2), Laroi has shared “Bleed,” a guitar-driven ballad, on which, Laroi displays pure emotion through his raw vocals.

On “Bleed,” Laroi has a tough time letting go following the dissolution of a relationship. Meanwhile, his past love already seems to have moved on.

“How did your heart mend so easy? / Mine still bleeds Hard to believe you don’t need me / All those memories we made are burnin’ in my brain,” he sings on the song’s chorus.

Continuing the run of cinematic visuals Laroi has delivered during this era, “Bleed” is accompanied by a haunting video directed by Ramez Silyan. In the video, Laroi is seen dreaming that he is drowning, to be revived by his past lover, a woman played by Ryley Ladd. This is juxtaposed with Laroi flying off the road on his bike, then later waking, presumably to deal with the emotional — and literal — wreckage.

You can see the video for “Bleed” above.

The First Time is out 11/10 via Columbia Records. Find more information here.

On Thursday morning, the NBA and Nike officially unveiled the 30 City Edition uniforms that each team will wear during the 2023-24 season, marking the eighth season of the locally inspired alternate uni set.

The official unveiling came a week-plus after the full set leaked online, and the fan response was not particularly good. As is always the case, when you see them on players and in professional photos, rather than low resolution leaks, they all look a bit better, but plenty of them still miss the mark. What began as a fun idea to be creative with a unique, local spin on a team’s image has become an almost dreaded part of the early season, as eight years in, the well of great uniform ideas has run a bit dry.

That’s unfortunate because there is a story and a lot of thought behind each one, with various details tucked inside each design that have a deeper meaning to the team or the city, whether it be fonts, trim, or other little detail points. However, at this point it feels like Nike and the NBA have gotten lost in those little details and hiding Easter eggs on the uniforms and forgotten what is most important in creating a beloved uniform.

Small details can enhance a uniform, but what matters is how it looks from afar. That’s how we consume them for the most part, by watching teams run up and down the court from a distance, whether you’re in the arena or watching on TV. As such, what matter most is how they pop in a macro sense, with the colors, logos, and graphics you can see from afar.

This year’s City Edition set is particularly drab, as more than half feature a mostly black, charcoal, or navy base, with limited pops of color. Individually, many of them are fine, but when shown as a set, they seem particularly uninspiring.

Beyond that, City Edition unis can get cluttered by swapping out city and team names for longer slogans or choosing fonts and numbers with weird kerning that are hard to recognize from a distance. Basketball uniforms aren’t meant to be viewed in a static sense, and a lot of this year’s City Edition unis miss the mark on the big picture.

That’s not always been the case, as there have been some truly beloved uniforms that have come from the City Edition line over the years. Miami’s “Vice” uniforms are the gold standard, and I still think they should have just become their permanent set. Phoenix’s “The Valley” and Utah’s gradient uniforms were so good they petitioned the league successfully to keep them around for multiple years — with the Suns running back the Valley theme again this year with a twist, and, unsurprisingly, they’re among the best.

What all of those have in common is that they managed to strike the balance between understanding what makes a jersey pop when zoomed out while also connecting to the local flavor of the city with a great story. As a group, almost all of this year’s uniforms hit on the latter point (although, I’d understand if you think the Heat uniform might just be mailing it in) but very few seem to remember the former.

The result has been a tepid response, at best, from most fan bases, and if the league and Nike are going to continue this, they’d do well to get back to basics a bit more going forward.