Month: May 2024

The last time Madlib collaborated with Black Thought was four years ago, on the producer’s joint album with Freddie Gibbs, Bandana. “Education” gave listeners a glimpse of what a team-up between such a dynamic duo could bring, although it was mostly Gibbs’ show and Yasiin Bey came along for the ride.

Today, though, Black Thought secures a Madlib joint of his very own in “REEKYOD,” a portmanteau of his first name Tariq, and the initials of their collaborator on the new single, Your Old Droog. It’s a surprisingly low-key affair, with Madlib providing a muted, shuffling beat and Thought doing what he does best. Droog provides a more energetic counterpoint to Thought’s laid-back flow, hanging with one of rap’s premiere lyricists. If this doesn’t get you hype for a potential Madlib-Black Thought project, absolutely nothing will.

Such a project isn’t out of the realm of possibility, either. Black Thought has spent much of the past few years stepping out of his role as The Roots’ frontman, putting out a steady stream of projects with singular producers. Since 2020, he’s released albums primarily produced by Sean C (Streams Of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able), Danger Mouse (Cheat Codes), and El Michels Affair (2023’s Glorious Game). So, a Madlib project wouldn’t go amiss (if you guys are reading this… you know what to do). The press release for “REEKYOD” doesn’t specifically mention what else Madlib’s working on these days, but if he’s got the time, rap fans would almost certainly like to see it.

Listen to “REEKYOD” below:

Indie favorite Barry Jenkins is an unexpected pick to direct a photorealistic Disney prequel, but the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonlight claimed that there’s a lot of similarities between his previous work and Mufasa: The Lion King.

After Jenkins shared the teaser for Mufasa on Twitter on Tuesday, one of his followers wrote, “Barry, You’re too good and talented for this Iger’s soulless machine.” He replied, “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King. For decades children have sat in theaters all over the world experiencing collective grief for the first time, engaging Shakespeare for the first time, across aisles in myriad languages. A most potent vessel for communal empathy.”

Another Twitter user jumped into the replies to say that he interviewed Jenkins when Moonlight screened at Toronto International Film Festival in 2016, “and that Barry Jenkins wouldn’t have said what you just said. You can do a Disney movie for the check, in order to work on your passion projects at a later time, but you don’t have to shill like this.”

Jenkins had a lot to say about that. “Bruh what kind of logic is that? How about this, here are a few videos from the ‘same Barry Jenkins who premiered Moonlight‘ (as you put it) showing some of the things I was doing in my spare time AT THE SAME TIME I was writing Moonlight,” he wrote. Jenkins’ proof:

Jenkins added, “Children have figured prominently in every single one of the projects from Moonlight til’ now without exception. Like… BRUH. You can say whatever you want about the film but telling ME that something I SAID about why something is meaningful to me for children is CAP? Nah bruh.”

If Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King paycheck gives him the time and financial freedom to make another masterpiece like Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad, sure, whatever. He deserves the benefit of the doubt this time. But if Jenkins’ next movie is, like, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids… Again, then maybe we should be worried.

Mufasa: The Lion King comes out on December 20.

Drake has been taking hits from everybody lately, most notably/recently from Kendrick Lamar on the fresh diss track “Euphoria.” Drake seemingly indicated that he’s gearing up to respond, but Rick Ross has advised the rapper to give it up.

In a video shared on social media, Ross addresses Drake directly, saying, “He may not even heard this yet but look, white boy: I know we not friends, but let me give you this advice because you ain’t got nobody around you, you ain’t got no real n****s around you. Let me put it like that: ain’t no real n****s. Stop. Don’t respond. Don’t respond. You ain’t even peep when the intro came on with that Teddy Pendergrass, that was that Black vibe. Don’t do it. Don’t go write an 8-minute verse.”

Ross also addressed Lil Yachty and forgave him for his Drake association, saying, “I know you wanna get that money. You ain’t wrong, n****. Keep buying them big houses.”

Ross, by the way, recently came through with his own Drake diss via “Champagne Moments.” On the track, he goes after Drake with lyrics like, “You ain’t never want to be a n**** anyway, n**** / That’s why you had an operation to make your nose smaller than your father nose, n****.”

It’s Walton Goggins‘ world — we’re just living it. The actor has been killing it for years in The Shield, Justified, The Righteous Gemstones (you have that song stuck in your head, you know the one), Vice Principals, and multiple Quentin Tarantino movies, and now he’s more famous than ever after playing The Ghoul in Amazon Prime Video’s huge hit, Fallout. Goggins is also a long-overdue sex symbol, based on the replies to a recent Instagram post of his.

“A White Lotus day off… the Similan Islands… with these Trouble Makers! I love a Saturday. Sawadee Khap everybody,” Goggins wrote during a break from filming season three of Mike White’s HBO series. In photo #3, he’s looking mighty ripped, something that did not go unnoticed by his followers.

Holy pecs.

Didn’t know the Ghoul was shredded.

I need him in a way that’s damaging to feminism

I love these WL brothers! And their collective abs!!!

Seriously an amazing actor! The perfect Ghoul Daddy

Damn bro is smoking hot

need this man biblically

Here’s the post:

Goggins also shared a Deadline report that Fallout was seen by over 65 million viewers in its first 16 days of availability, making it the most-watched title on Prime Video since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

“65 Million viewers in 2 weeks. I can be loquacious but in this moment… I don’t have the words,” he wrote. “I could say Thank you on behalf of all the artisans who came together to make this show and mean it. Which we do. Truly. I could also say… if you see me on the streets of one of these cities please come up and say hello. I’d like to shake your hand. I mean that too.”

Maybe ask him for some workout tips, too.

(Via Instagram/Walton Goggins)

The saga continues: Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been embroiled in a feud for a couple weeks now, and after a bit of a wait, Lamar finally clapped back at Drake yesterday (April 30) with “Euphoria.” The world apparently won’t have to wait as long for Drake’s response.

One his Drake’s immediate reactions was to throw a perfectly fitting 10 Things I Hate About You clip up on his Instagram Story. It seems he won’t stop there, though, as he indicated during a surprise appearance at a Nicki Minaj concert last night.

Minaj played Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena yesterday and brought Drake out for “Needle.” At the end of the song, right before he departed the stage, Drake thanked the crowd and seemingly indicated that he was going to get back in the studio to fire back at Lamar: He said, “You know what time it is, you know what I gotta do.”

Minaj, by the way, is involved in some beef of her own right now, with Megan Thee Stallion. The two swapped diss tracks, but things eventually got out of hand when some fans were a little too into it, to the point where the cemetery where Meg’s mother is interred got involved.

No Giannis Antetokounmpo? No Damian Lillard? For the Milwaukee Bucks, this ended up being no problem. Milwaukee played host to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night with their backs against the wall, as the Bucks needed a win in Game 5 to keep their season alive for another game. Despite going into it without the team’s two best players, Milwaukee managed to dig deep and run Indiana out of their own gym en route to a 115-92 win.

The Bucks rode a dominant effort on the defensive end of the floor to victory. While the Pacers are known for having one of the NBA’s fastest and most explosive offenses, Milwaukee’s defense limited them to only 36-for-81 (44.4 percent) shooting from the field and 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) shooting from three. No one on Indiana scored more than 16 points.

And on the other end of the floor, a pair of gigantic performances lifted the Bucks to a win. Khris Middleton, who has done just about everything he can to keep his team afloat in this series, once again looked like an All-Star. He went for 29 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists on the evening, which marked the third game in a row that he hit at least the 25-point mark.

But the big surprise was the play of Bobby Portis, who bounced back in a big way from his early ejection in Game 4. One of the emotional leaders of the Bucks, Portis seemed to feed off of the home crowd en route to a new playoff career high, as he also went for 29 points and pitched in 10 rebounds for good measure.

All five of Milwaukee’s starters hit double-digit scoring, with Malik Beasley going for 18 points, Brook Lopez putting up 12 points, and Patrick Beverley getting a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists.

The series will now head back to Indiana for Game 6, and one question looms over everything: Will either Antetokounmpo or Lillard be able to go? Antetokounmpo has not played all series due to a calf injury, while Lillard has missed the last two games due to an achilles strain. Both were listed as doubtful heading into Game 5.

While a tip time has yet to be announced, Game 6 will take place on Thursday night on TNT.

The New York Knicks will have to play at least one more game before they can move on to the second round thanks to an unbelievable performance from Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers young star guard erupted for 46 points and nine assists to will Philadelphia to a Game 5 win in overtime in the Garden, producing some incredibly clutch buckets late in the fourth quarter to keep their season alive.

The biggest of them was his pullup three from the logo to tie the game at 97-97 with under 10 seconds to play, as he evaded a late attempt by the Knicks to foul up three, rising up off a high screen to force overtime.

It was an unbelievable shot and left the MSG crowd stunned, as they were ready to start the party after New York went up six with 30 seconds to play. Among the Knicks fans in shock at Maxey’s late game heroics was Jon Stewart, who was courtside and stood there staring in disbelief as Maxey celebrated his bucket running back up the sideline, creating a truly incredible picture.

After the game, Stewart poked fun at himself for ending up in the indelible image of the night, giving Maxey his props but noting he’s “too old for this shit.”

Stewart’s reaction was certainly kinder than some Knicks fans, including Tracy Morgan who reacted the way many in the Garden did, flipping off the Sixers star as he ran by him.

Those are pretty much the two ways to respond to that situation. You can either stand there in respectful disbelief, or let out some frustration in a more blunt manner. In any case, the Knicks will have to go back to Philadelphia for a Game 6 they definitely were hoping to avoid in front of the rabid Sixers faithful, and if the series does shift back to MSG for Game 7, it will be an absolutely electric — and tense — atmosphere.

It seems like Drake has responded to Kendrick Lamar‘s scathing diss track, “Euphoria.” Lamar has has had the internet abuzz after dropping the diss track today (April 30), and fans have been wondering when and if Drake will respond.

Earlier this evening, Drake took to his Instagram story, sharing a clip from the 1999 movie, 10 Things I Hate About You. In the clip, Julia Stiles’ character reads a poem directed at Heath Ledger’s character.

“I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair/ I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme! I hate it, I hate the way you’re always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.”

The clip in the Instagram story ends right before Stiles’ character says “But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”

Drake seems to have shared this clip mockingly in response to several gripes listed in Lamar’s song.

On “Euphoria,” Lamar raps “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater / I hate the way that you walk / the way that you talk / I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss / if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct.”

But it looks like Drake is having a laugh about the whole ordeal.

Now, the question is, will Drake respond in the form of a new song.

You can see Drake’s story above.

Beavis And Butt-Head are back. Sort of. In the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, host Ryan Gosling and cast member Mikey Day dressed as Beavis And Butt-Head, respectively. The sketch was set in a game show, hosted by Heidi Gardner, and proved so funny that Gosling, Day, and Gardner all broke character, visibily giggling throughout the sketch.

But that wasn’t the last we’d see of the characters. Tonight (April 30), at the premiere of Gosling’s new movie, The Fall Guy, Gosling and Day dressed up as the characters again. Not only did they arrive in costume, but in a video shared by Variety, Gosling and Day are seen emulating the characters’ personalities.

Earlier this year, Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Ken in Barbie. Though he did not win, he seems to still have his eyes on the prize. While on the red carpet, Gosling noted that with The Fall Guy, he is shooting to win an award in another category.

“This whole movie is a campaign to get a stunt award at the Oscars,” said Gosling, thanking the movie’s stunt performers.

You can see clips from The Fall Guy red carpet premiere above.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one win away from moving on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Despite not having the services of Jarrett Allen on Tuesday night during their game against the Orlando Magic, Cleveland was able to secure a 104-103 win to take a 3-2 series lead in the first round of the postseason.

In a game that was tight for much of the second half, Evan Mobley will go down as one of Cleveland’s heroes on the evening. The Cavs needed him to come up big with Allen sidelined, and he managed to put up 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting with 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. He also made the play of the game in the waning moments, as Cleveland was holding on to a two-point lead and Franz Wagner attempted to drive to the rim.

While it looked like Wagner had a path to the rim, Mobley was able to stay on his hip. And as he went up for a layup, Mobley managed to time things perfectly and use his length to pin Wagner’s attempt against the backboard.

Donovan Mitchell — who had 28 points on the evening — would go on to ice things from the free throw line. Now, Cleveland will head down to Orlando on Friday night with the hopes of winning a playoff series without LeBron James on the roster for the first time since 1993.