Year: 2024

Madonna is over four decades into her career a still managing to set massive records. So, past efforts to chronicle her career are now outdated. Although a biopic is reportedly in the works, according to Deadline, fans of the “Like A Prayer” singer could be in for historic hold over.

The outlet revealed that another Madonna documentary, supposedly titled Becoming Madonna, has been green lit with Optomen, the producers of Netlfix’s At Home With The Furys.

Becoming Madonna aims to show off: “A new side to the singer, starting with her as a professional dancer in the late 70s and ending in 1992 as she transformed through the decades.”

The single line description reads: “Chart Madonna’s rise to become the biggest female pop icon in history.”

Sky’s Acting Director of Documentaries and Factual, Hayley Reynolds, shared a statement with the outlet regarding the forthcoming project. “Since her debut in the 80s, Madonna has been a powerhouse in pop music and carved the way for many of today’s most popular artists,” she said. “This film brings a fresh perspective on an enduring icon, and we’re thrilled to be working alongside Optomen to bring her story to Sky audiences.”

An official release date for the documentary has not yet been shared.

Former romantic partners Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood tumultuous legal battle appears to be over. According to Rolling Stone, Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Hugh Warner) has dropped his defamation case against Evan Rachel Wood.

Back in 2022, Warner filed the initial lawsuit following the release of Wood’s two-part documentary, Phoenix Rising, which outlined his alleged abuse. However, in 2023 a judge dismissed the filing. Still, Warner moved forward in hopes of securing an appeal. Now, RS claims Warner has abandoned the effort and agreed to pay Wood’s attorneys’ fees nearing $327,000.

Following the decision, a representative for Wood shared a statement. “Marilyn Manson — whose real name is Brian Warner — filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career. But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed,” said the rep. “As the trial court correctly found, Warner’s claims were meritless. Warner’s decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.”

Warner’s attorney, Howard King also released a response to his client’s decision to the outlet, saying: “After four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life.”

During Kendrick Lamar’s increasingly vitriolic back-and-forth with Drake earlier this year, Questlove stepped in to express his dismay at how dark things got during their tiff, prompting some hip-hop fans to snub the veteran producer for being overly dramatic and out-of-touch. However, Kendrick himself seemed to agree throughout his new album GNX, and appeared to acknowledge Quest’s band The Roots in the video for his new single “Squabble Up,” which resembles the video for The Roots’ 1999 single “The Next Movement.” It appeared K. Dot was letting Quest know there were no hard feelings.

Quest acknowledged the nod on Instagram, thanking Kendrick for highlighting a moment in The Roots’ history that the drummer believed “no one saw or cared about” in a longer post about being floored by his work’s overall impact on younger generations. “I once joked I live a life in which someone knows Jordan JUST for the Hanes commercials only,” he wrote. “I own that I (was) the king of hiding in plain sight for decades & we live the reality we set for ourselves. HOWEVER… My number one love is the music I create in @TheRoots —that is the fuel to my fire & sometimes if you love something you must set it free. Then if it returns to you it’s real. That said I wanna thank @kendricklamar for acknowledging something I thought noone saw or cared about. Feeling seen is a great feeling and I dont take it for granted.”

He also gave Roots fans a little something-something to look forward to: “Yup, new album still coming lol.”

Hip-hop is the best. You can check out The Roots’ “Next Movement” video above.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since Muni Long released her breakout hit song “Hrs And Hrs,” but the veteran singer has basked in the success she used to dream of in the years since the song’s release. Long released two albums, Public Displays of Affection: The Album (2022) and this year’s Revenge, and added some hardware to her collection, including a Grammy for Best R&B Performance thanks to “Hrs And Hrs.” In just a few months, Long has the chance to land some more Grammy wins as she was nominated for Best R&B Performance (“Made For Me“), Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Make Me Forget“), Best R&B Song (“Ruined Me“), and Best R&B Album (Revenge).

These accolades, regardless of if they result in official wins, cap off a great year for Muni Long. With the holidays just around the corner, Long is definitely entering her own season of gratitude as she soaks in the wild ride that 2024 has been for her. She begins this season by teaming up with Amazon Music for their latest Amazon Music Original song “Give Love On Christmas Day,” Muni Long’s spin on the original Jackson 5 classic song.

Following the release of the song, Uproxx caught up with Muni Long to talk about teaming up with Amazon Music, being nominated for the 2025 Grammy Award show, how she plans to spend the holidays, and what she plans to do next in her career.

You recently released a cover of Jackson 5’s “Give Love On Christmas Day” with Amazon Music. What about this song resonates with you so well during the holidays? And what memory jumps out the most when you think about this song?

First of all, Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love all Christmas songs equally. I used to play Christmas music, soon as we felt in the spirit, we would bring it on and just leave it on around the house. So not a specific memory, but it’s definitely in there somewhere in my childhood. I feel like there’s so many times throughout my life, but specifically right now, it’s hitting different because of just what’s going on in the world. People are getting so rude and nasty and I would think, man, can we just be nice? It’s just very simple. We need to hear more stuff like that in our music and in general.

What are some of your other favorite holiday classics? Whether it be to just listen to or songs you love to sing.

I love The Temptations’ “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Chris Brown’s version of “This Christmas,” [and] “Silent Night” by The Temptations. I love “O Holy Night,” I also love “White Christmas,” Bing Crosby was killing that. One song that used to be my favorite, but that is very sketchy, and I feel like we shouldn’t be listening to it is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” If you really listen to the lyrics, it’s like um… I don’t know. Go back and [listen] and it’s like um, sir… this lady is trying to leave [laughs].

The holiday season always calls for a chance to reflect and look back at everything we experienced over the year, what’s something you’re grateful to have experienced this year?

I’m grateful to experience my little baby. My son is two, he’s becoming very self-aware. The other day, my mom asked him if she could have a grape and he just looked at her and shook his head, like, “No.” He’s just so funny right now, and being able to experience life through his perspective is going to be fun, especially this Christmas. We actually know what he likes. He loves Spider-Man, he loves cars, [and] he likes Paw Patrol — just being able to see him play with toys and really be interested in it. I remember buying him a Spider-Man pajama set the other day. I put it on and he was like, “Wow, amazing!” I just think that’s so cool. He’s so little, but he has so much personality. I’m super grateful for him and being able to just watch him have fun. That’s really the only thing. I don’t want anything, just for him to be happy.

You had plenty of big moments this year, most recently with the Grammy nominations you received for Revenge and a couple of songs on it — “Made For Me,” “Make Me Forget,” and “Ruined Me.” It’s not your first go-around with the Grammys, but did these nominations feel different because of the intent you had behind them?

I mean, it’s definitely great. It’s a great reminder for me to follow your gut [and] do what you like. This is like a recalibration, a reset, because sometimes listening to what people are saying — or the lack of opinion, sometimes, can be a little bit like, Well… okay? Hello? Is this thing on? I think people forget the Grammys are your peers. It’s the working members in the industry who are contributing to music [that] are voting. So you’re giving your opinion based on your level of expertise — which I’m assuming the people who take it seriously and they vote are highly successful — that head nod of like, “Hey, I see what you doing over there. It’s good, I like it,” it’s dope. Especially to like when in this generation of “TikTok music” and being a “TikTok artist,” sometimes people can be a little condescending when you have success. This acknowledgment sort of erases that gray area of you’re only hot because of TikTok. It’s like, Nah, there’s actually some taste, there’s a taste level. It’s actually really, really affirming. I don’t care what people say. They be like, “Oh, you don’t do it for the awards.” Yes, I do. Yeah, gimme my trophy. Move out the way. If you don’t want yours, give it to me. Since I was a kid, I wanted to do this. I wanted to be on MTV, VH1, BET. I wanted to go to the Grammys and I’m here! I’m not about to act like I’m not appreciative and I don’t love it, like c’mon now.

With Revenge, you said that you hope the music “can be a little bit of medicine” for listeners. Now that we’re a few months removed from the album’s release, has the album been that for you and what did it help you relieve?

No, you know, I don’t even listen to it, to be honest. Once I got it out my system — I mean I hear it in snippets obviously, when I’m using it for the soundtrack to whatever I’m doing, but no. My therapy was writing it and putting it together. Other than that, I’m off it. I’m onto the next one and making new music.

You’ve had a few moments and collaborations with Amazon Music, especially recently. They made a name for themselves by delivering on live performances and showcases, so if you had the chance to put together your own showcase with them, what would it look like? What would the theme be, what artists are you inviting, and what’s the overall goal with it?

Yeah, it would definitely give The Cher Show, you know? The Muni Show, variety show vibes. I’m bringing people, we’re cooking, we’re dancing, there’s some fashion, there’s gonna be hair, [and] I’m just gonna have so much fun in my own little weird, quirky world. I don’t know if people know I have so many weird talents, people have no clue, so I would just use it as a chance to showcase all of that.

What’s one thing you wish to have or experience during this holiday season?

It’s always going to give big back. I’ve got to have all that unhealthy, high cholesterol, extra cheesy macaroni and cheese, [and] fried turkey. I gotta have it and I look forward to it, I really do. Just peace and quiet, man. I’m definitely the cousin that when I get done eating, I go in my room, while everyone else is outside, I’m in my room, I’m sleep. I’m playing my video game, [and] I’ll probably take a nap. I can’t wait to just eat and hang out with my little stink butt, that’s about it. Holiday season now is a little different because everybody’s wanting to ask me stuff and it’s been like that for the last two years maybe? Where Christmas is not really Christmas-ing how it used to. Our house is a little more full with people who I haven’t seen in forever. It’s cute for the first hour and then after that, it’s like all right, I’m not taking no more pictures. I’m at home. I’m ugly right now, let me be ugly in peace.

Not to pull you out of the Revenge era just yet, but what’s the plan to continue elevating your artistry and status in the future? What’s next on the checklist for you if there’s one?

Nothing too scientific about it. I have things that I want to say and sounds that I want to explore. Definitely gonna stay R&B with beautiful and colorful chords and rhythms and things like that, but it’s just exploring, you know? Genre-bending. [I] just want to have fun, that’s it.

You can listen to Muni Long’s Amazon Music Original song “Give Love On Christmas Day” here.

While Detroit rap has had a burgeoning underground rap scene with figures like Babyface Ray, Babytron, Icewear Vezzo, Tee Grizzley, and others, it would be a shame to overlook some of Detroit’s other contributions to musical subculture, such as techno — or gettotech, a subgenre combining elements of electro, techno, and Miami bass. HiTech, a trio consisting of King Milo, Milf Melly, and DJ 47Chops, combines the trippy sounds of gettotech with irreverent raps, has been building a following over the past few months with songs like “Spank!” and festival performances. “Shadowrealm,” their new song with fellow Detroiter Zelooperz, continues their rise.

The video, taking cues from the chaotic energy of gettotech itself, features wild, black-and-white visuals, finding the boys surrounded by a group of plus-sized exotic dancers. The resulting, unhinged strip club energy calls to mind the ratchet-praising hits of Juicy J and the dark punk of Denzel Curry, combined with the cheekiness of fellow punchline-spouting Motown brethren like Sada Baby — all set to a delirious soundtrack that flashes the other side of Detroit city club culture. It’s probably not going to work for everybody, but for those in the know, it’s going to hit like a 10-inch sub.

You can watch HiTech’s video for “Shadowrealm” with Zelooperz above.

The long-awaited Wicked movie-musical has a $150 million budget (drum-playing rodents don’t come cheap), plus tens of millions of more in marketing costs. That sounds like a lot — until you learn that the Jon M. Chu-directed film made over $160 million in its opening weekend. But how much of that budget went to the stars of Wicked, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo?

Over the weekend, there were rumors that Grande was paid $15 million to play Galinda (or Glinda, if you prefer) compared to only $1 million for Erivo as Elphaba. But that is not the case. “Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a Universal Pictures spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

So, how much were they paid?

Ariana Grande And Cynthia Erivo’s Salaries For Wicked

Grande and Erivo’s exact paydays for Wicked is unknown, but the spokesperson added that the actresses received “equal pay” for their work. Whatever it was, it was worth it for Erivo’s high note in “Defying Gravity” and Grande’s hair flips alone.

Part two of Wicked, which also stars Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum, is due out on November 21, 2025.

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a solid start to the 2024-25 season, going 10-6 in their first 16 games with JJ Redick at the helm. Even with the actual play on the court going pretty well, the Lakers still manage to create a bit of controversy with the way they are handling the rookie season of second round pick Bronny James.

Bronny made his debut in the opener alongside LeBron, becoming the first father-son duo in league history to play together, and since then has made 6 NBA appearances — including in the Lakers visit to Cleveland, where Bronny was born. He’s also spent some time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, playing two games so far with the Lakers affiliate. The reason Bronny has only made two appearances in the G League is the decision was made not have Bronny traveling and playing road games with South Bay. That, of course, limits the opportunities for James to get in game action, which is the point of having him in the G League, but travel for G League teams isn’t by charter and the decision was made just to keep him in L.A.

That move has led to plenty of conversation, with much of it focusing on whether the Lakers are stunting Bronny’s development with their plan. Charles Barkley certainly thinks so, explaining on a recent radio hit on “The Bettor Angle” why he thinks it’s not fair to Bronny or the South Bay Lakers (10:00 mark of the below video).

“They’ve handled it awful,” Barkley said. “Awful. … I thought it was great, a little ceremonial first game, but the kid’s not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G League so he can play basketball. He’s not going to get better sitting on the bench. But also this thing where he’s only gonna play home games, it’s wild? You mean stupid. It’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine a coach of that — like, you come off a road trip and there’s a player you ain’t seen in a week or two, and then you feel like you gotta play him. I don’t think they’re doing Bronny any favors and they just handled this thing really bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I actually think it’s a bad look — I really like everything LeBron’s done, but this is a bad look for him in my opinion.”

There’s no doubt that Bronny needs game reps and keeping him off of the road certainly limits his chances to get those. As for the bit about a guy being on and off the roster throughout the season, if there’s anywhere guys are going to be accustomed to dealing with that, it’s the G League where you regularly have players going up and down to and from NBA rosters — particularly with two-way deals being so prominent now. The reasoning from the Lakers (and James family) perspective is likely that flying commercial and going to G League arenas brings some considerable security questions that are not guaranteed to be met for someone with Bronny’s popularity. That said, it’s hard to argue with the criticism that James isn’t getting the maximum opportunity to develop from a basketball perspective.

Should we check in on Taylor Sheridan to see what he’s been up to lately?

Taylor Sheridan is doing just fine. A trio of his shows — Yellowstone, Lioness, and Landman — are currently releasing weekly episodes. Tulsa King just finished its second season will more probably to come, and The Madison will continue the Yellowstone legacy after 1923 streams its second and final season sometime next year. Yet whatever happened to the 6666 series?

Well, Taylor Sheridan is a busy guy to put it mildly. He only gives occasional interviews, and over a year has passed since his infamous Hollywood Reporter profile, which included his vow not to kill John Dutton in a “f*ck you car crash.” He did (literally) keep his word, as Yellowstone viewers recently learned.

To go back to the beginning of 6666 talk, however, this spin off was formally announced as a Paramount+ series in 2021, but Sheridan didn’t mention the project in this 2022 video, in which he discussed so many other shows that he had on tap. And although Sheridan owns the “Four Sixes” (i.e., the real-life 6666 Ranch near Guthrie, Texas), it’s tempting to wonder whether the idea of that series was merely a fever dream.

Will Taylor Sheridan’s 6666 TV Series Ever Come Out?

Never say never, but to be blunt, there’s been no Sheridan-publicized movement on that spin off. That doesn’t mean it’s dead, though, and there might even be cause for some optimism. Jefferson White (who portrays Jimmy, who was thought to be a core 6666 character due to being shipped off to the Four Sixes and deciding to stick around) is part of Yellowstone‘s final run, as first pointed out by TV Insider.

White and Ryan Bingham (who was also rumored for a 6666 future) appeared together with other ranch-hand characters (in Instagram posts) during filming for Yellowstone‘s final Season Five episodes. As White further revealed, Jimmy got some “chaps with pockets,” which made him happy enough because he can carry a smartphone now. That’s not relevant to whether 6666 will happen, but Jimmy’s return to Yellowstone is the first positive hint related to this spin off in over a year. Perhaps Sheridan even plans on using Yellowstone‘s last episodes to make an explicit 6666 revelation happen.

Fingers crossed? For now, here’s the 6666 description from yesteryear:

Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666. Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately, where world class cowboys are born and made.

Yellowstone is currently airing new episodes every Sunday night.

Following last year’s edition with headliners SZA and Nicki Minaj and over 100,000 attendees, J. Cole‘s Dreamville Festival is returning in 2025. The artist-led music festival will be held at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, April 5, and Sunday, April 6, 2025.

The lineup for Dreamville Festival 2025 hasn’t been announced yet, but ticket presales begin on Wednesday, December 11 at 9:00 a.m. ET with two-day GA, GA+, and VIP packages. If any presale tickets remain (here’s a tip if you’re thinking of going: they won’t), a general ticket on-sale will follow. You can find more information here.

Outside of the music, Dreamville Festival, which brings in over $145 million to the local economy, features local vendors, food trucks, artisans, and muralists spread across the festival grounds. Attendees will also be able to enjoy “site-wide art installations; learn more about local community organizations through Dreamville Foundation’s Nonprofit Row; [and] ride the iconic Dreamville Ferris Wheel, which provides unparalleled skyline views of downtown Raleigh and the sprawling festival grounds.”

J. Cole recently shared two previously unreleased collaborations with Kendrick Lamar (he called his Kendrick diss track “the lamest sh*t I did in my f*ckin’ life” at last year’s Dreamville) on the Inevitable podcast. He also released The Come Up, Vol. 1 and The Warm Up mixtapes to digital streaming services.

Drake has doubled down on his current legal dispute with Universal Music Group, accusing the label of defamation in a new filing. According to Billboard, after filing a pre-action petition accusing UMG of promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” through underhanded means, Drake is now accusing his and Kendrick’s shared parent label (Drake licenses his music through Republic, while Kendrick licenses through Interscope, both subsidiaries of UMG) of defamation for not blocking the song’s release, because of the line(s) in which Kendrick accuses Drake of being a pedophile.

In the new filing, Drake’s attorneys (by way of Frozen Moments, LLC) claim UMG “could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed. But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”

While Drake has yet to file an actual lawsuit against Universal, these “pre-action” petitions ask the court to order UMG to turn over any records pertaining to the diss and its promotion ahead of any potential lawsuit. A judge will still need to review the paperwork to determine whether or not to grant this petition, although Drake’s legal team claims to have enough evidence to proceed with a lawsuit anyway. UMG has already denied the claims in a response of its own, saying through a representative, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”