AfroFuture, the celebration of Black innovation, culture, and community that originated in Ghana, is coming to the United States for the first time this year.
Formerly known as AfroChella, the music festival will be held at Bedrock’s Douglass Site in Detroit, Michigan, from August 16 to 17. The lineup includes Davido (who is releasing a new album next month), “coolest mfer in earth rn” Kaytranada, and rapper Tee Grizzley, as well as Ludmilla, Gims, Flavour, and Lojay. More acts will be announced at a later date.
“With an explosive lineup across two dynamic stages, we’re blending Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip-hop, and techno with art, fashion, beauty, and food. From a Black designer marketplace to interactive cultural experiences, every moment celebrates heritage while embracing innovation,” AfroFuture CEO and co-founder Abdul Karim Abdullah said in a statement.
AfroFuture’s mission is to “connect the Global Diaspora and build a new AfroFuture. The AfroFuture platform offers a suite of cultural experiences tailored for the modern global audience, encompassing fashion, art, music, and culture. We bring the world to Africa and take Africa to the world.”
Tickets for AfroFuture Detroit are on-sale now. You can find more information here, and check out the poster below.
In the early 1960s — when he was still a young man, but past the point of being a consistent hitmaker — Little Richard recorded a song whose title summed up the arc of his career and, it seems, the trajectories of pretty much anyone who manages to achieve success. It was called “He Got What He Wanted (But He Lost What He Had).” The idea is that the lucky few who realize their dreams almost never get there the way they envisioned. And that “success,” as it were, is usually a complicated proposition infused with unexpected loss.
Michelle Zauner, the 35-year-old author and musician, is the latest person to experience this Faustian bargain. Notice that I put the word “author” ahead of “musician” — while Zauner originally rose to prominence as the singer-songwriter behind the indie-rock band Japanese Breakfast, her profile increased dramatically upon the release of Crying In H Mart, the 2021 memoir that spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list. The book made Zauner the type of writer whose work populates airport waiting areas and Middle American book clubs. And it dwarfed the relatively modest audience for Zauner’s music, even as Jubilee — the album she put out within two months of H Mart four years ago — wowed critics and established Japanese Breakfast as a fixture at music festivals.
I interviewed Zauner for the Jubilee album cycle and found her to be both refreshingly humble and delusionally ambitious, particularly when she expressed interest — in addition to everything else on her plate — in directing the film adaptation of Crying In H Mart (a project that now appears to be shelved, temporarily or not). In time, Zauner would come to see the wisdom in slowing down. In an interview promoting the new Japanese Breakfast album out this week, the awkwardly titled For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), she spoke candidly about the burnout brought on by the tireless touring that unfolded in the wake of her literary fame.
“As soon as I was able to begin financially supporting myself by playing music and not having to work at a restaurant on the side,” she told Vulture, “I was like, ‘I’ve won the lottery — I need to just run as fast as I can and do everything and be grateful. I have to keep going at this clip.’” This eventually led to “getting crazy stage fright and health problems.” After the tour, she decamped to Korea and unplugged from western culture for a year.
Actually, before that Korea trip, she recorded For Melancholy Brunettes at Sound City, one of LA’s most iconic studios, with producer Blake Mills, a celebrated wunderkind who has worked with Alabama Shakes and Bob Dylan and whose name also appears in the liner notes of upcoming releases from Lucy Dacus and Perfume Genius. Listening to the album, I wonder if Zauner would have been well-advised to wait until after her overseas sabbatical. While the album on paper scans as a “leveling up” move — it’s her first time working in an actual studio, with the assistance of tenured studio vets like Jim Keltner and Matt Chamberlain — it plays like an exhausted reiteration of the previous record. Zauner’s frayed edges are foregrounded throughout, from the very first line of the very first song, “Here Is Someone.” Zauner sings, “Quietly dreaming of / slower days, but I don’t want to / Let you down, we’ve come so far / Can you see a life where we leave this behind?”
With all due respect, there’s nothing much “quiet” about this declaration, even if Zauner expresses it in a soft, dulcet croon. It’s about as direct a declaration of personal and artistic malaise as can be imagined. And when For Melancholy Brunettes — a musically sumptuous if emotionally inert record — does not just come out and state this feeling explicitly, it does so, over and over, implicitly. Whereas Jubilee was constructed in the style of bombastic, aughts-era indie-rock in the mold of Arcade Fire, Joanna Newsom, and Bright Eyes, the follow-up is aggressive only in its incessant, understated tastefulness. A sense of urgency is decidedly lacking. It makes me wonder if Zauner would be better off living the (seemingly) comfortable life of a bestselling author rather than trudging along as a mid-level indie rocker. Or, rather, I wonder if Zauner herself is wondering this.
Perhaps anticipating that kind of reaction, Zauner was careful in that Vulture interview to position For Melancholy Brunettes as “a slower burn.” And, to be fair, there’s some validity to that. Upon repeat listens, the considerable craft on display does seep in. Zauner has said that she’s re-embraced the guitar, and you can hear her delicate, finger-picked lines fluttering amid the baroque-pop trappings of songs like “Leda” and “Little Girl.” If Funeral and I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning were on Zauner’s mood board for Jubilee, the new record sounds enraptured with the musical lore of Los Angeles, particularly the highly orchestrated records that Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann made with Jon Brion, which is evoked by two of the stronger numbers, “Mega Circuit” and “Winter In L.A.” And then there’s the most SoCal move of all — recording a duet, “Men In Bars,” with quite possibly the laziest man in Los Angeles County, Jeff “The Dude” Bridges, a likeably odd choice that unexpectedly pays off.
Nevertheless, a discernible sleepiness persists. After listening to For Melancholy Brunettes on repeat for a few days, I went back to Soft Sounds From Another Planet, the second Japanese Breakfast album from 2017. And I was immediately pulled into the opening track, a surging six-and-a-half-minute rocker called “Driving Woman.” What struck me was how, like so many great indie-rock songs, it sounded like Zauner was reaching for something grand and immense that otherwise seemed impossible to realize for a DIY musician on the basement-show circuit. The thrill of the track was hearing someone strive for those heights anyway.
For Melancholy Brunettes, in contrast, sounds like the work of someone who has the means to achieve grandiosity, but not the ideas or the energy to make those aspirational reaches compelling. I wish Zauner would have produced more songs like “Honey Water,” which harkens back to the scrappiness of the earlier records, but with a more lavish budget. Otherwise, this album sounds like what it may very well be — a side project for a celebrity author currently at work on her second, highly anticipated book.
Tomorrow (March 21), Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are set to release the collaborative album I Said I Love You First, which will be Gomez’s first LP since 2020’s Rare. Ahead of that, the pair shared a behind-the-scenes teaser for their upcoming “Younger And Hotter Than Me” video.
Based on what Gomez and Blanco say in the video, it appears the song and the visual will reflect on Gomez’s younger days. Furthermore, the video features multiple shots of a set featuring furniture covered in white sheets. People online were quick to notice that the layout of the room looks just like the living room from Wizards Of Waverly Place, the show that initially put Gomez in the pop culture spotlight.
Blanco recently described the writing and recording process for the album, saying, “She’d wake up, I’d have a pen out, and I’d write what was on her mind. Then we’d go into the other room and create it, and it became a song. It was such a cathartic and therapeutic experience. All the songwriting, it’s all our friends. There’s no, like, ‘Man, we’re gonna get in with this person for the first time — I wonder how this is gonna go.’ We also kept this one really close to the chest, because I feel like it was so important for it to be written exactly how we wanted it and to feel exactly how we wanted it to feel.”
Check out the teaser above.
I Said I Love You First is out 3/21 via SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records. Find more information here.
“Of course, she can talk a little bad now and then,” she said. “I told her, I said, now, I don’t cuss. I don’t make fun of Jesus. I don’t talk bad about God, and I don’t say dirty words, on camera, but known to if I get mad enough.”
In the original version of “Please Please Please,” Carpenter sings, “Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another / I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf*cker.” That line is changed to “heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another / I beg you, don’t embarrass me like the others” in the clean(er) version with Parton.
Parton also shared her excitement for working with artists like Carpenter, Beyoncé, and, most impressively, The Wiggles.
“I think that’s been the greatest joy is just thinking, ‘Yay, Beyoncé wants to sing with me! She wants to sing my song!’ Yeah, absolutely. Which train do I get on that’s going to get me there the quickest?” she said.
You can listen to Sabrina and Dolly sing “Please Please Please” above.
Last month, A24 announced that their 2012 movie Spring Breakers — starring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine — would be getting a special, one-night-only IMAX screening. That was set for yesterday (March 19), and Selena Gomez, alongside fiancé and musical collaborator Benny Blanco, surprised the audience at a New York screening (as Variety notes).
At the screening, Blanco said he and Gomez wanted to do something special for attendees, so they shared with them a new song from their upcoming album I Said I Love You First, called “Bluest Flame” (here’s a short clip).
Gomez also told the audience (here’s a video), “Thank you so much. This movie means the world to me, and just that you guys are here, it’s so special. I’m so grateful for you guys and hope you enjoy everything that we put together. So, thank you guys.”
Gomez recently said of the movie, “It was wonderful. It was so long ago now, but I think that was one of the moments in my life that I felt like, ‘Oh, this is what art can feel like.’ Not just the typical way I had been doing it my whole career. That’s when I got the bug. So to be honest, I’m just happy to be a part of such an audacious, special, and important movie.”
Severance is one of the most expensive TV shows ever, but that’s alright. Millions of people, including Sabrina Carpenter and SZA, are tuning in, which adds up to plenty of new subscribers for Apple TV+. This week, many of those viewers also began to wonder how long the second season finale was due to whispers of competing lengths, as reported on X/Twitter.
Fortunately, Ben Stiller was happy to set rumors to rest and reassure viewers that there will be time to address every lingering mystery (except the ones that he and showrunner Dan Erickson have saved for a third season, that is).
How Long Is The Severance Season 2 Finale?
As noted above, inquiries were going wild, including from one social media user who wondered, “I keep seeing this on here but AppleTV says it’s 45 minutes and there’s so much left to happen I NEED it to be 76 minutes.” In response, Stiller duly confirmed, “It is 76 minutes”
On Apple TV+’s interface, the correct runtime is currently listed:
https://tv.apple.com/
If you were wondering what will come next, Stiller has assured IndieWire that there will not be another three year wait (if a third season happens), and much of the second season delay was due to The Hollywood strikes. Then “[i]t took us a little bit to regroup, and the show, we shot for 186 days on Season 2,” he revealed. “Editing takes a while, but thank goodness the audience was there when we came back.” And the rest is Innie and Outie history.
There’s no place like The Bay. Even the local sports teams know this; it’s why you’ve seen NBA teams like the Golden State Warriors team up with local labels and artists like EMPIRE and P-Lo, who recently recorded an anthem for All-Star Weekend with hometown heroes E-40 and Too Short.
Vallejo viceroy LaRussell sees the action, and he wants in. Today, he shared his latest in a long, never-ending stream of singles, called “Nothin Like It.” On Twitter, he called the upbeat jam the “new season anthem for the SF Giants” and in its video, he performs just outside Oracle Park in an orange-and-black Giants windbreaker jacket, showing his team spirit.
The song celebrates the local MLB franchise, with lyrics like, “We get it done, strikes and home runs / You feel the ground shakin? The Giants finna come.” The chorus proclaims there’s nothing like catching a game at Oracle Park, while the bridge puts a hyphy spin on the ol’ Seventh Inning Stretch classic, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.”
So far, there’s nothing from the Giants that suggests “Nothin Like It” is part of the franchise’s official marketing, but knowing LaRussell, his unstoppable hustle could very well ensure it’s getting played at the Park sometime very soon.
You can watch LaRussell’s video for “Nothin Like It” above.
Neither a hurricane nor well-placed gunshot wounds could keep Dexter Morgan down. Showtime’s enduring serial killer refuses to succumb to his own mortality, and as a result, Paramount Plus decided to run with multiple (in addition to New Blood) spin offs, including Dexter: Original Sin and Dexter: Resurrection. The former finished rolling out a first season earlier this year, but the latter is one that blood-slide fans have really been looking forward to seeing. Sure, we’ll probably receive another objectively awful series finale that we’ll also forgive, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
This revival series will introduce an array of new faces including Krysten Ritter (as Mia Lapierre) and David Dastmalchian (as Gareth), who have posed together for Instagram as “goth fam.” They will be joined by Peter Dinklage (as Leon Prater), Uma Thurman (as Charlie), Eric Stonestreet (as Al), Steve Schirripa (as Vinny), and Neil Patrick Harris (as Lowell).
Filming has been ongoing in not only New York City but also Miami, which could alternately point toward an ongoing investigation into Dexter’s misdeeds or perhaps his utter stupidity in returning to the scenes of his crimes. Maybe both? That guess is as good as any right now, but today, we’re here to talk about which characters will make their (both logical and unlikely) returns.
Dexter Morgan: You know it. Michael C. Hall, baby. Although Patrick Gibson served the younger serial killer’s origin story well, the baton will be passed to the present day again, and Hall previously remarked to Variety that he found it as “unbelievable” as everybody else that Dex lives by popular demand. He then remarked, “There’s something about this world, something about this character that captivates people.”
Harry Morgan: Yes. James Remar will return as Dexter’s (extremely dead) adoptive dad, Harry Morgan (after Christian Slater did prequel duties). No clues have confirmed whether he’ll be a ghost or a zombie in this series.
Harrison Morgan: Yep. Jack Alcott will presumably keep Dexter’s son trekking down the Dark Passenger path, although I remain miffed that no treadmill references were made in New Blood.
Debra Morgan: Sadly, no. Jennifer Carpenter recently told People that she was sitting this season out after ghosting-it in New Blood. “I feel like I’ve completed that box. I’m proud of it,” she divulged.
The Trinity Killer: Yes, although this one doesn’t seem possible. John Lithgow confirmed that Arthur Mitchell remains alive despite being (fittingly) bludgeoned with a hammer by Dexter, and Lithgow will “come back sort of as a phantom, as he gradually comes to life on a hospital bed.” A Trinity Killer prequel is also in the works from universe chief Clyde Phillips.
Angel Batista: Yes. David Zayas’ fedora wearing detective (who could use a promotion) will return after being portrayed in Original Sin by James Martinez.
Hannah McKay: Nope. Yvonne Strahovski’s fellow serial killer, who finished raising Harrison, succumbed to pancreatic cancer before New Blood, according to Harrison. No reports have surfaced regarding a surprise comeback, either.
James Doakes: Dammit, we will not see a reprisal of “surprise motherf*cker” to the scene. This franchise can bring almost everybody back from the dead, but it cannot work miracles. 🙁
It looks like not everyone has turned on Drake in the wake of the onslaught of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Sexy drill poster boy Cash Cobain pays homage to Drake’s breakout hit in the video for his fan-favorite viral track “Dunk,” which he released today, seven months removed from his debut album Play Cash Cobain.
Since the song’s called “Dunk,” it only makes sense that it’d be basketball-themed, but Cash and director KZA go a step further, taking inspiration from the clip for Drake’s 2009 single “Best I Ever Had.” In both videos, the rappers play the coaches of women’s basketball teams, with Cash remixing Drake’s “motivational” halftime speech to his team to reference the title of “Dunk,” encouraging his players to do just that despite the obvious flaw in his plan.
However, things do turn out a little bit better for Cash’s team than they did for Drake’s, which “lost” their game. Likewise, I’m sure the reception for the “Dunk” video will probably be better than it was for “Best I Ever Had” (people complained the video didn’t match the song, which… I’m not sure they were really listening).
The throwback nod works pretty well alongside the Soulja Boy sample on “Dunk,” highlighting the New Yorker’s penchant for repurposing the past to make something different from his peers.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.
SZA starred as Catwoman in a State Farm advertisement and Davido took a step closer to his upcoming album 5ive with his new single “Be There Still.” 4Batz returned with his new single “Mortal Kombat,” and Lauryn Hill gave big co-signs to Doechii and Samara Cyn at the 2025 Jazz In The Gardens Festival.
Here are the new music releases you need to listen to:
4Batz — “Mortal Kombat”
With his sophomore project en route, Dallas native 4Batz gets the ball rolling with his new single “Mortal Kombat.” The track positions him as a fighter in love who goes above and beyond to preserve a relationship, even when he’s to blame for its possible demise.
Raiche — “Girls A Gun”
After kicking off her 2025 with “Standards,” Raiche takes a step closer to her next project with “Girls A Gun.” The fiery anthem captures the singer standing firm on her self-worth and setting boundaries for her own benefit. “‘Girls A Gun’ is my empowerment anthem — I wrote it when I was done with being pushed around,” she said about the song in a press release. “Sometimes, you just gotta speak up and let ’em know what’s what!”
Cautious Clay — “Tokyo Lift (5am)”
Cautious Clay announced his upcoming album The Hours: Morning with “Tokyo Lift (5am).” The new single re-creates a calm morning after a night of wild fun. “‘Tokyo Lift (5am)’” is a song I wrote about a time I spent out at a karaoke bar until 5 AM,” said about the song in a press release. “This particular night was perfect; the music was perfect, the drinks were flowing, and everyone was completely losing track of time. The energy and sonics of this song is something I really wanted to match the feeling of one of those nights.”
Zyah Belle — “About Time” Feat. Ben Reilly
The incomparable Zyah Belle is back with new music as she recruits Ben Reilly for their new single “About Time.” The groovy single captures the duo’s realization about the feelings they share and the actions that follow afterward. “‘About Time’ is the soundtrack to the moment you finally make your move,” Belle said about the song. “This song is about breaking the ice and taking that chance. It’s flirty, fun, and full of that ‘butterflies in your stomach’ energy.”
Chikoruss — “Bestfriend”
Montreal singer Chikoruss keeps his hot streak alive with his new single “Bestfriend.” The bouncy and intoxicating record amplifies Chikoruss’ determination to break out of the friendzone with a woman he has his eye on. “While making this song, I was thinking about what I would say to a female best friend who I liked more than a friend,” he said about the song. “So, this became an ode to me pouring out my feelings while I’m drunk or letting the liquor talk.”
Khalil — “Hard To Explain” Feat. Dee Gatti
Sacramento singer Khalil closed 2024 with a pair of singles, “Change Of Plans” and “No Surprise V2,” and now he’s back in 2025 to pick up where he left off. He returns with “Hard To Explain” alongside Fort Worth singer Dee Gatti, a collaboration he says he’s “glad we could make happen.”
JayDon — “I’ll Be Good”
LA singer JayDon, who is just 17 years old, recently signed a deal with Usher and LA Reid’s label Mega and celebrated the feat with a new song. “I’ll Be Good” arrives as a sweet blend of nostalgic and modern R&B. The new song is the latest single from his upcoming EP Me, My Songs and I set for release later this year.
Josh Levi — “Feel The Bass (Prelude)” Feat. Beam
With his debut album on the way, Josh Levi builds up the hype for it with “Feel The Bass (Prelude)” alongside Beam. Pulsating synths carry the uptempo track that Levi says “represents the adrenaline, energy, and the vibration that is to come in my debut album.” He adds, “This one is for all the people that like to feel music in their veins and are ready to ride along with me into something special.”
ABIR — “Made 4 U”
Moroccan-born and Los Angeles-bred singer ABIR shares her second single of the year with “Made 4 U.” The track joins “Butterflies” as singles from her upcoming EP First Quarter. As for “Made 4 U,” ABIR uses the song to share a heartfelt message to a lover whom she sees as a blessing from God for her to share her unique love, loyalty, and trust.
No Guidnce — Confessions Of A Loverboy
British R&B boyband No Guidnce touch down with their new EP Confessions Of A Loverboy. The five-track project is a bold and emotionally-driven release that blends traditional and contemporary R&B. The new project is highlighted by “Lovers To Enemies,” which the group calls “a real boyband anthem.”
Eli Derby — “Cadillac Dreams”
DMV singer Eli Derby’s first entry of 2025 arrives in the form of his new single “Cadillac Dreams.” The fresh track is the result of a moment of reminiscing which led to Derby making the record that he says sounds like “the ’60s.”
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