Today, Ashanti confirmed the pregnancy rumors and announced her engagement to Nelly in an exclusive report in Essence, as well as an Instagram post with a LOT of production value.
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she told Essence. Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this with my family, fiancé, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”
Oh, Baby!
Congratulations to Ashanti and Nelly, who are ENGAGED and EXPECTING their first child together!
Ashanti shared the exciting news with ESSENCE exclusively.
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation. Motherhood is something… pic.twitter.com/FF6ykupinB
The two performers had originally dated from early 2003 after meeting at a Grammy Awards press conference and were together for about 10 years, splitting in 2015 after Ashanti intimated that she’d been “betrayed” by the “Country Grammar” rapper, although they did not reveal a specific reason for the breakup. Their reunion was greeted warmly by fans, with Nelly saying, “I think it surprised both of us though. It wasn’t anything that was like planned. I think we both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate, you understand one another more. See maybe what they see.”
Now it seems what the couple sees — or hears, rather — is wedding bells.
There’s a new freestyle going viral on social media and it’s got a lot of people talking. That’s because of the identity of the rapper spitting punchlines over the instrumental to Redman’s 1999 Doc’s Da Name 2000 standout “Da Goodness.” Chey (pronounced “Shy”) is a relatively unknown rapper with a VERY well-known familial connection. Chey’s full name is Cheyenne Smith and her dad is Clifford Smith — better known to hip-hop fans as Wu-Tang Clan member and 1990s hitmaker Method Man.
According to HipHopDX, Chey kicked off her rap career in earnest earlier this year, releasing her solo debut single “Hair And Nails” in January. In February, she followed it with “Boujee And Ghetto,” her second solo single. The first taps into the ever popular New York drill wave, while the second is a thumping, organ-driven anthem anthem. However, it’s her freestyle over her famous father’s frequent collaborator’s instrumental that is currently garnering all the attention, likely as a result of her wordplay-riddled verse over a nostalgic beat resonating with listeners who grew up on Red & Meth.
Technically, though, Chey made her debut in 2021 as a feature on the “Tag I’m Litt” remix from 2nd Generation Wu — a group made up of her brother and her “cousins,” who are all children of original Wu-Tang members. The group consists of Method Man’s son PXWER; Ghostface Killah’s son, Sun God; U-God’s son GFTD – iNTeLL; and Young Dirty Bastard (whose parentage should be obvious from his name alone). And while Chey declined any favors from Method Man in a recent interview, there’s just no getting around the advantage her pedigree might be able to give her as she works her way into the business.
Okay, so maybe dogs don’t understand everything we tell them exactly as a human would. But is that gonna stop us from having full blown conversations with them? Of course not. And the times they do seem to comprehend what’s being communicated—pure comedy.
Take this dog mom’s hilarious pre-grooming pep talk with Shih-Tzus Branston, Pickle and Gizmo. She minced no words telling them exactly how this trip was gonna go. And the message seemed to be received.
Branston (the troublemaker, apparently) got a firm warning of what not to do, including telling white lies about his upbringing.
“I don’t need you running in telling the first dog you see that this is what this is what your hair used to look like when you lived in the Bronx running up and down the block, cause I know for a fact, Branston, that you live in a rural village,” she tells him.
Viewers, however, seemed on board with Branston’s Bronx-affiliation, even if it was a little white lie. One person joked, “don’t be mad at the treats that I got, I’m still Branny from the block.”
In the video, Branston is also instructed to not tell everyone that he “identifies as a BUll Mastiff,” which gets the most adorable look of disappointment for wee little Branston.
As for Gizmo and Pickle—mom’s best advice is to pretend like they don’t know Branston.
Perhaps the best part is mom’s British accent, which makes the entire clip feel like something pulled straight outta “Ted Lasso.” That, or the complete shock the Shih-tzu trio has at being informed of their weight class.
Perhaps Branston, Pickle, and Gizmo’s mom isn’t totally off-base by giving them a talking to. According to the website allshihtzu.com, this breed had a “unique intelligence,” which gets best demonstrated by their attuned, empathic connection to their human families. Meaning that while they might not have the same kind of smarts as border collies or other herding dogs, their super power is picking up social cues.
And, again, even if they had no earthly idea what their mom was saying, odds are she’d still be talking to them anyway. Why? Because pets are our babies. And baby talk is fun.jk
In the United States, close to 10% of the population has depression, but sometimes it can take a long time for someone to even understand that they have it.
One difficulty in diagnosis is trying to distinguish between feeling down and experiencing clinical depression. This TED-Ed video from December 2015 can help make the distinction. With simple animation, the video explains how clinical depression lasts longer than two weeks with a range of symptoms that can include changes in appetite, poor concentration, restlessness, sleep disorders (either too much or too little), and suicidal ideation. The video briefly discusses the neuroscience behind the illness, outlines treatments, and offers advice on how you can help a friend or loved one who may have depression.
Unlike the many pharmaceutical ads out there with their cute mascots and vague symptoms, the video uses animation to provide clarity about the mental disorder. It’s similar in its poignant simplicity to the HBO short documentary “My Depression,” based on Liz Swados’ book of the same name.
When San Francisco photographer Lisa Robinson was about to have her second child, she was both excited and nervous.
Sure, those are the feelings most moms-to-be experience before giving birth, but Lisa’s nerves were tied to something different.
She and her husband already had a 9-year-old son but desperately wanted another baby. They spent years trying to get pregnant again, but after countless failed attempts and two miscarriages, they decided to stop trying.
Of course, that’s when Lisa ended up becoming pregnant with her daughter, Anora. Since it was such a miraculous pregnancy, Lisa wanted to do something special to commemorate her daughter’s birth.
So she turned to her craft — photography — as a way to both commemorate the special day, and keep herself calm and focused throughout the birthing process.
Normally, Lisa takes portraits and does wedding photography, so she knew the logistics of being her own birth photographer would be a somewhat precarious new adventure — to say the least.
“After some thought,” she says, “I figured I would try it out and that it could capture some amazing memories for us and our daughter.”
In the end, she says, Alec was supportive and thought it would be great if she could pull it off. Her doctors and nurses were all for Lisa taking pictures, too, especially because it really seemed to help her manage the pain and stress.
In the hospital, she realized it was a lot harder to hold her camera steady than she initially thought it would be.
“Eventually when it was time to push and I was able to take the photos as I was pushing, I focused on my daughter and my husband and not so much the camera,” she says.
“I didn’t know if I was in focus or capturing everything but it was amazing to do.”
The shots she ended up getting speak for themselves:
“Everybody was supportive and kind of surprised that I was able to capture things throughout. I even remember laughing along with them at one point as I was pushing,” Lisa recalled.
In the end, Lisa was so glad she went through with her experiment. She got incredible pictures — and it actually did make her labor easier.
Would she recommend every mom-to-be document their birth in this way? Absolutely not. What works for one person may not work at all for another.
However, if you do have a hobby that relaxes you, figuring out how to incorporate it into one of the most stressful moments in your life is a pretty good way to keep yourself calm and focused.
Expecting and love the idea of documenting your own birthing process?
Take some advice from Lisa: “Don’t put pressure on yourself to get ‘the shot'” she says, “and enjoy the moment as much as you can.”
Following a spat of online rumors claiming that Euphoria had cancelled, HBO released a statement where the premium channel denied that it had pulled the plug on the Sam Levinson-created series. However, the network did confirm that Season 3 has been delayed and won’t premiere some time in 2025.
Despite HBO’s assurance that Season 3 was still arriving, theories that the show might be cancelled persist. Adding to that speculation is HBO confirming that the cast has been free to pursue other projects in the interim. Several of them, including Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, have blossomed into full-blown movie stars. Aligning their schedules will be no easy feat.
One of the biggest stars of Euphoria is, of course, Zendaya. While promoting her new movie, Challengers, she was asked about the chances of Season 3 returning, and her response wasn’t confidence-inspiring.
Although the “Euphoria” star is an executive producer of the hit HBO series, she said she’s “not in charge” of whether or not the third season will really happen. But of course Zendaya wants to play Rue again.
“If it’s right for the characters and everything turns out the way it should, of course,” Zendaya told me at the “Challengers” premiere in Los Angeles Tuesday night. “But it’s beyond me.”
Zendaya’s diplomatic response arrives on the heels of reports that the actress was not thrilled with the initial scripts for Season 3 that saw her character, oddly, becoming a private eye. According to Variety, Zendaya later pitched a storyline where a now-sober Rue became a pregnancy surrogate. However, that idea was also reportedly scrapped as the scripts couldn’t find a fitting tone, and Season 3 was ultimately delayed.
Christina Applegate is coming off three seasons of Dead To Me success, which kicked her career into another gear. The accolades were well-earned, and I hope that Applegate has taken a page from her character regarding the therapeutic value of rage metal because, honestly, that remains one of the most relatable parts of that Netflix series. (She has also admitted to some well-placed frustrations, so metal might be rad there, too.)
What’s also relatable? Applegate revealed that, at one point about a decade ago, she was approached — possibly in an attempt to capitalize upon her Married… With Children run — to join the The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, but she declined the offer. Recently on the MeSsy podcast that Applegate co-hosts (with Jamie-Lynn Sigler), she revealed why that wouldn’t have been a good fit for her, and a franchise producer recently agreed. Via Page Six:
“And he’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, we asked you.’ I said, ‘Chris [Cullen, producer], now that you know me, would I have been a fun ‘Housewife’?’ He’s like, ‘No, it would’ve been the most boring s–t I’ve ever seen in my life.’”
“I wouldn’t have shown up to any dinners,” the “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” star shared. “I would’ve been in my sweatpants, and I’d be lying in bed. What fun is that? No, none of that … I would be the worst ‘Housewife’ anyway.”
Hmm, hanging out in sweatpants/yoga pantsor engaging in drama? That’s not a tough choice to make on multiple levels. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see much more of Applegate in special appearances like these, too. She has also been very frank about her ongoing MS experiences on the podcast, and surely, Applegate must be relieved to not have spent part of her acting years on a reality TV show. There’s always room for that later, if she so chooses.
Did you know that Beyoncé is a hardcore South Carolina Gamecocks fan? Apparently, she watched and supported the Dawn Staley-coached team all the way through the NCAA Women’s basketball tournament with her family and enjoyed them so much, she sent Staley a bouquet of flowers to commemmorate the team’s historic, undefeated season and championship win. Staley shared “a video thank you” to Beyoncé as she showed off the gift — which included Cowboy Carter merchandise, naturally — and read the card.”If you know, you know,” she said.
To Coach Staley and the entire South Carolina Gamecocks,
Me and my family watched your games and cheered you on through the entire season. I am so proud of you.
Staley also shouted out all the family members, and noted, “I’ve been in the South for 16 years. I’m a little country too.”
The delightful moment is just one in an endless procession of moments that prove that women’s basketball has arrived this year — and one of the few in which a high-profile voice actually congratulated the winners of the tournament, rather than a certain player on the runners-up.
Beyoncé’s bouquets are well known in the music industry; she has sent them to Cowboy Carter collaborators like Mickey Guyton and Jack White and actresses like Sheryl Lee Ralph for her Abbott Elementary Emmy win, but this is first time she’s sent one to an athlete (she gave Serena Williams a special Gatorade commercial in 2022 upon her retirement, unless she got them and didn’t tell us!) or coach.
The actor-to-psych-rock pipeline is weirdly niche yet more common than you might think. There was Joe Keery, the Stranger Things actor who played in Post Animal until 2019. Now, we have Caleb Landry Jones, who has been in films like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Get Out, and The Florida Project, heading down that pipeline. Jones’ fourth album, Hey Gary, Hey Dawn, opens with the one-two punch of “Hey Dawn” and “Too Sharp To Be My Carrot,” which respectively echoes In Utero-era Nirvana and Congratulations-era MGMT.
But what would a psych-rock album truly be without a late-career-Beatles-meets-Elephant 6 homage? Songs like “Corn Mine” and “Spot A Fly” accomplish exactly that. Jones doesn’t shy away from his influences, leaning into the playful, off-kilter reference points he faithfully conjures. And judging from what he lists as his hidden talents, he transfers that irreverent whimsy into his persona, too.
Following the album’s release earlier this month, Jones sits down with Uproxx to discuss how his mother inspired his music, levitating on water, and why Switchfoot was the best concert he has ever seen in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Inane, predictable, and colorfully coherent.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Doesn’t matter.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
My mother. She’s the first person I saw music transform.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?
Hard to say, I have had so many.
Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.
I saw Switchfoot in Dallas when I was a teenager. I liked his hair.
What song never fails to make you emotional?
The theme that plays during the opening credits for the film Catch Me If You Can.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Hey Gary, Hey Dawn album reviews.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
Never been on tour. Working on it though.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?
Our show in Brooklyn felt good. We’re excited to make it over to France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and Italy someday.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Nothing, he’s doing what he’s supposed to. It’s all a part of it. Wouldn’t change a damn thing.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I can levitate in water. I can see the moon from the ground when she shows herself. I can hear the worms wiggle and find beauty in a little lost bee.
If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?
There’s so many, I’d probably start one myself. Education is the key.
What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?
HAHAHA. Radiohead comes to mind.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.
Mmmmmm. Since this is a dream, they’re all a bit boney but wow, how marvelous it would be. Honestly though, I have no idea. The band I have now is the shit.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?
Not sure if i use it in that way. It’s nice seeing what your friends are up to randomly. Otherwise it’s promotion, promotion, promotion. “Everyone’s a star, a star!”
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
I’ve got so many freckles, the best I could do would be to connect em.
What is your pre-show ritual?
Make a setlist.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Ingrid Bergman, Jessica Rabbit, Cat Woman and Harley Quinn.
You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?
Hopefully I’m doing something. Looking to make a record in France. I hope to do one in Australia. I hope to do one in Vienna. Mexico would be a dream. Japan and China would be sawtooth wild. Nashville would be fun to try and hold down. I’m hoping to not be alone for any of it. Here’s hoping one of these things happen.
What is your biggest fear?
You don’t know till it’s on top of you. There’s always a bigger one out there.
It’s Phish’s turn: Starting soon, the legendary jam band is taking to the stunning new Las Vegas venue Sphere for a four-night residency. The shows run from April 18 to 21, and the good news is that they will all be available to watch via a livestream.
How To Watch Phish’s Las Vegas Residency Livestream From Sphere
Access to each performance’s livestream is available to access for $29.99, or $38.99 for access plus MP3s of the performance. There are also bundles including a t-shirt for $62.99. There’s also a slightly more expensive version of all of these options, but with the livestream in 4K. There is also a discounted rate for those interested in access to all four shows: $99.99 for the livestream, or $139.99 for the 4K livestream.
Find all of the band’s upcoming tour dates below.
Phish 2024 Tour Dates
04/18 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Sphere
04/19 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Sphere
04/20 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Sphere
04/21 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Sphere
07/19 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/20 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/21 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/23 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/24 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/26 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
07/27 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
07/28 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
07/30 — St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
07/31 — St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
08/02 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
08/03 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
08/04 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
08/06 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
08/07 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
08/09 — Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
08/10 — Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
08/11 — Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
08/15 — Dover, DE @ The Woodlands – Mondegreen
08/16 — Dover, DE @ The Woodlands – Mondegreen
08/17 — Dover, DE @ The Woodlands – Mondegreen
08/18 — Dover, DE @ The Woodlands – Mondegreen
08/29 — Commerce City, CO @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
08/30 — Commerce City, CO @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
08/31 — Commerce City, CO @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
09/01 — Commerce City, CO @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
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(@mrshaheedmalik) 
This article originally appeared on 06.30.16
