Month: June 2024

The city of Boston is having a pretty good Friday. The Celtics won the 18th championship in franchise history this week, as they won Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. And after the players got a few days to celebrate, everyone came together and went through the streets of Boston with the Larry O’Brien trophy.

One thing that usually happens during big events like this is brands find a way to get involved with them as a way to promote stuff. You have almost certainly noticed this with quite literally anything and everything, and the fine folks over at Max did just that with the Celtics parade, as it used the event as a way to remind everyone that you can watch Uncut Gems.

If you have not seen Uncut Gems, the Celtics are very prominently involved in it, in large part because Kevin Garnett plays Kevin Garnett in the movie. It’s really good! Adam Sandler plays a degenerate gambler, he’s great in it. I highly recommend checking it out at some point, and if you still want to watch movies involving the Boston Celtics after that, maybe you can watch Celtic Pride or something.

Nigerian stars Rema and Shalipoppi put on for their hometown with an opulent video for their new single “Benin Boys.” Shot at various local landmarks — including Rema’s old school — the video puts Benin (and the boys’ love it) on display, with scenes shot at a local club, closeups of historical artifacts, and shots of the Benin sky as bats, a local fixture, fly overhead. The two stars flash money, drink expensive shots, and board a private jet, making the most of their recent successes.

Rema, who concluded 2023 with the Ice Spice collaboration “Pretty Girl,” has an even bigger 2024 in the offing, with headlining performances planned for Afro Nation’s festivals in Detroit and Portugal coming up. Although Rema has not announced a new album yet, the release of “Benin Boys” suggests that a new one could be on the way imminently.

The time is certainly right for a follow-up to Rema’s 2022 debut album, Rave & Roses, which featured the breakout hit “Calm Down” and “FYN.” It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard World Albums chart, and hit No. 81 on the Billboard 200. Shallipopi, meanwhile, just released his third album, Shakespopi, in April, supported by singles “ASAP,” “Cast,” and “Wet On Me.”

Watch Rema’s “Benin Boys” video with Shalipoppi below.

The price of everything seems to be going up, and it seems that way because it’s true. Now, though, Spotify has introduced a new “Basic” plan that is now its most affordable premium offering.

What Do You Get With Spotify’s New ‘Basic’ Plan?

The announcement post from Spotify says, “Enjoy the music streaming benefits of your Premium plan without the monthly audiobook listening time. Starting at $10.99/month for eligible users.” As for what the Premium plan offers, the post relays, “Enjoy offline and ad-free music listening anytime, anywhere with unlimited skips. Your plan gives you 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month from our subscriber catalog of over 250,000 titles. $11.99/month.” So, as stated, Basic offers all that except for the audiobook element.

As TechCrunch notes, this new plan comes just weeks after Spotify upped the price of the Premium plan from $10.99 to 11.99. With the introduction of the Basic tier, Spotify for $10.99 a month is back on the table after a brief absence.

As for when the Basic plan will be available, it actually is right now, as it’s currently an option on the Spotify Premium page.

The available Spotify tiers seem likely to undergo continued change beyond this. Last year, there were reports that a more expensive premium subscription is in the works.

Concerts, especially big-budget spectacles like Doja Cat’s ongoing The Scarlet Tour, are carefully planned affairs. That doesn’t mean that something can’t go wrong, though. That’s just what happened at a recent tour stop, where Doja was faced with a wardrobe malfunction.

As Billboard notes, this went down on June 19 at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Fan-shot video shows Doja struggling to get a dress unstuck from her corset, frustrated as she tugs at it. Doja, actually in rhythm with the song, then shouted into the microphone, “F*ck this dress! B*tch!” Eventually, a crew member emerged and managed to help Doja get the dress unstuck. Doja then angrily strutted away and gave a final, forceful “f*ck” into the mic for good measure.

If anything, this incident supports the point Doja made in April, that parents shouldn’t bring their kids to her concerts. In a trio of tweets at the time, she wrote, “idk what the f*ck you think this is but i don’t make music for children so leave your kids at home motherf*cker,” “im rapping about c*m why are you bringing your offspring to my show,” and “rappin about eatin dick and pissin on his v-cut, leave your mistake at home*.”

NewJeans’ new song is called “Supernatural,” but their rise to stardom is anything but. All it took was a commitment to reproducing (and updating) the infectious grooves and aesthetics of the mid-to-late-90s, silky smooth vocals, and this time, an assist from one of the ’90s’ most prolific producers, Pharrell Williams, via an interpolation of his 2009 collaboration with Japanese singer Manami, “Back On My Mind.” NewJeans’ longtime producer 250 pairs the sample with horn stabs straight out of Boogie Down Productions’ “South Bronx,” giving the quartet yet another modern throwback.

Drawing from the 1990s has become the group’s signature; in another single, “How Sweet,” they dug into Atlanta bass, a la Ghost Town DJs, while a previous track, “Bubble Gum,” borrowed sounds similar to Mariah Carey’s summery R&B anthems. “Supernatural” is one-half of a paired release alongside a second single, “Right Now,” which debuted on YouTube in May with a video directed by Takashi Murakami. That song utilized an uptempo jungle beat, while the video brought back the girls’ Powerpuff Girls-inspired animated alter egos. Check it out below.

Although Pharrell didn’t have a direct hand in the creation of “Supernatural,” he’d certainly appreciate its anime-inspired visuals. He recently employed Lego and computer animation for his upcoming biopic, Piece By Piece, which hits theaters on October 11.

Watch NewJeans’ “Supernatural” video above.

Kevin Costner has spent the last year learning firsthand that you can take the man out of the cowboy, but you can’t take the cowboy out of the man…so he will settle for a different franchise. Even though Costner is out to promote his latest movie, Horizon: An American Saga , he should have known that everyone would just be asking about that other cowboy ordeal instead.

Costner exited Yellowstone last year, which then sparked a tense back and forth between the actor and the Yellowstone camp, including Taylor Sheridan. Still, Costner has previously stated that he would be open to returning for at least some of the final batch of episodes, which are currently being filmed in Montana for a fall premiere. That offer has seemingly gone out the window.

The cowboy enthusiast took to Instagram to post a video directly addressing his fans, just hours after the Yellowstone season five part two announcement dropped… which was mere hours after his PEOPLE profile declared that he was open to returning. He sure knows how to keep fans on their toes, which is very hard in cowboy boots.

Costner said, “I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year-and-a-half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things that that’s required. And thinking about ‘Yellowstone,’ that beloved series that I love. That I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season Five B or into the future.”

The video message comes hours after his comments in PEOPLE stated that he “would step into [the role] if I agreed with how it was being done.”

Maybe Costner was tired of everyone asking him about John Dutton instead of his lifelong passion project, so he decided to put the whole thing to bed. “I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop,” he added to the fans. “And I’ll see you at the movies,” he said, taking a page from the Tom Cruise book of promo and marketing.

How will Sheridan possibly respond next? Maybe he’ll just drop the unfinished episodes and see what happens! Maybe that will inspire Costner to announce another Horizon sequel.

Yellowstone season five returns on November 10th. Kevin will not be there.

(Via Today)

One of the more entertaining things about championship parades is watching professional athletes who have worked their entire lives for this specific moment let loose a bit. That can manifest in a few different ways, but there have been plenty of people in the world of sports over the years who win a title and then got absolutely obliterated in the aftermath.

In the NFL, we got an example of this a few years back when Tom Brady won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and put on one heck of a performance at the team’s championship parade. It was one of the funnier moments of Brady’s lengthy NFL career, and on Friday afternoon, we got reminded of it by Al Horford, who wore a t-shirt with Brady on it to the Boston Celtics championship parade.

While we will have to wait and see if Horford (or anyone else on the Celtics) is going to put forth a Brady-esque performance as the team makes its way through the streets of Boston, we do know that Brady very much approves of Horford’s choice in shirts.

Horford’s waited 17 years to finally call himself an NBA champion, so I don’t think anyone would blame him if he decided to go off at the Celtics parade. And if he does, we’re confident Brady — along with Boston fans everywhere — is going to love it.

If you’re going to call your album The Great American Bar Scene, playing it in bars ahead of its release is one heck of a way to promote o. Zach Bryan just announced the release date for his fifth studio album, and along with it, the 23 cities getting a chance to hear the album early. While the country star is already on his Quittin’ Time Tour hitting arenas across the country, starting June 24th, a slew of “timeless bars” across the nation will be playing select songs from the album before its release on July 4th.

In a message on Instagram, Bryan wrote:

My intent with all this is to give everyone an early glimpse of this album, but more importantly, this is in the spirit of bringing people together for a memorable moment. I have chose(n) 23 bars across the country that embody the spirit of American culture. These bars will play select cuts from ‘The Great American Bar Scene’ starting June 24th. As much as I’d kill to play all these timeless bars, it won’t be possible. I will be visiting a few off the list to have a drink with ya’ll. ‘The Great American Bar Scene’ will be released on July 4th. With love from the road, ZB.

You can see the list of the bars playing the album early below.

The Great American Bar Scene is due 7/4 via Belting Bronco/Warner.

Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA
Barnacle Bill’s – Rumson, NJ
Blarney Stone Pub – Seattle, WA
Charlotte’s Room – Toronto, ON
Dobbies Bar – Dewey, OK
Egan & Sons – Montclair, NJ
Fox & Locke – Franklin, TN
Iron Horse Saloon – Oologah, OK
Larry’s All American Cafe – Covington, KY
McGlinchey’s – Philadelphia, PA
Mercury Lounge – Tulsa, OK
Million Dollar Cowboy Bar – Jackson, WY
Old Mountain Tavern – Marlington, WV
Polish Village – Berea, OH
Rooster’s Sports Bar & Grill – Owasso, OK
Sandy Hut – Portland, OR
Saratoga Lanes – St. Louis, MO
Shannon Tavern – Boston, MA
The Gold Mine Restaurant and Saloon – Idaho City, ID
The San Fernando – Glendale, CA
The Water Tank – Austin, TX

Apparently, Travis Scott’s a big Boogie Down Productions fan. The Houston rapper name-checks the Bronx-born DJ in the hook of his new collaboration with West Coast producer Mustard, “Parking Lot.” The track is the lead single from Mustard’s upcoming album, Faith Of A Mustard Seed, which he announced is due on July 26.

It’s a great time for him to release a new project, as his buzz was recently revitalized by the release of Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss record, “Not Like Us.” Not only did the song become an instant fan favorite, shooting to the top of the Hot 100 chart, but it’s also taken on a life of its own. K Dot performed the song five times in a row at his recent Ken & Friends concert at the Forum, where Mustard was also one of the friends in question. During his set, which was livestreamed to Amazon Music viewers worldwide, Mustard reminded fans just how many hits he’s got in his bag, including collaborations with Blxst (“Overrated,” “Chosen”), Ty Dolla Sign (“Paranoid”), Dom Kennedy (“My Type Of Party,” “When I Come Around”), Steve Lacy (“Static,” “Bad Habit”), and Roddy Ricch (“Ballin’”).

Listen to Mustard’s “Parking Lot” featuring Travis Scott above.

Faith Of A Mustard Seed is out 7/26 via 7/26 via 10 Summers Records and Interscope.

Despite the fact that the Boston Celtics wrapped up their 18th NBA title on Monday evening, the (very smart) decision was made to wait until Friday to hold the championship parade until Friday morning. It’s, of course, a day of celebration, as a ton of people flooded the streets of Boston to celebrate Joe Mazzulla’s team on the heels of its 5-game series win over the Dallas Mavericks.

But it also serves as an opportunity for reflection on this season, and of course, the chance to get the last word, if necessary. Jaylen Brown did just that, as the NBA Finals MVP wore a t-shirt for the parade that featured three simple words: State Your Source.

If you don’t know, this shirt is Brown’s way of getting back at Stephen A. Smith for a report from earlier this postseason. During the Eastern Conference Finals, Smith went onto First Take and said that Brown has a bad attitude, which has led to him being viewed as a guy who is “not as marketable as he should be.” It was a pretty weird report, and after it hit social media, Brown had this to say.

It will be interesting to see if Brown is more marketable after he was named the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.