Category: News

After her iHeartRadio Jingle Ball performance on December 14 in Atlanta, Georgia, Nicki Minaj is laser-focused on all things Pink Friday 2. That means leaving behind anything that will siphon off promotional attention from it, including older collaborations. Unfortunately, that means her leaked viral verse for Kanye West’s song “New Body” might never see the light of day.

After Nicki apparently refused to clear her verse, which was set to appear on West’s forthcoming joint album Vultures with Ty Dolla Sign, he went on a rant against her. Now, Azealia Banks has inserted herself into the mix to take up for Nicki’s artistic decision.

On Saturday, December 16, in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Banks tore into West. “Okay. Now I’m really pissed the f*ck off,” she wrote. “Regardless of how I feel about [Pink Friday 2], did fat, smelly loser Kanye West really just try to step all over Nicki’s release? Did I hear correctly when he tried to take credit for supporting her career.”

She continued, “Did he forget that Lil Wayne and Young Money [Records] supported her, believed in her, and shared their money, time, and resources with her to launch a female rapper to international icon status? Has Kanye ever successfully launched any artist he hasn’t sabotaged out of jealousy?”

Banks’ opinions on other artists tend to divide users online, but most fans support this take.

After her iHeartRadio Jingle Ball performance on December 14 in Atlanta, Georgia, Nicki Minaj is laser-focused on all things Pink Friday 2. That means leaving behind anything that will siphon off promotional attention from it, including older collaborations. Unfortunately, that means her leaked viral verse for Kanye West’s song “New Body” might never see the light of day.

After Nicki apparently refused to clear her verse, which was set to appear on West’s forthcoming joint album Vultures with Ty Dolla Sign, he went on a rant against her. Now, Azealia Banks has inserted herself into the mix to take up for Nicki’s artistic decision.

On Saturday, December 16, in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Banks tore into West. “Okay. Now I’m really pissed the f*ck off,” she wrote. “Regardless of how I feel about [Pink Friday 2], did fat, smelly loser Kanye West really just try to step all over Nicki’s release? Did I hear correctly when he tried to take credit for supporting her career.”

She continued, “Did he forget that Lil Wayne and Young Money [Records] supported her, believed in her, and shared their money, time, and resources with her to launch a female rapper to international icon status? Has Kanye ever successfully launched any artist he hasn’t sabotaged out of jealousy?”

Banks’ opinions on other artists tend to divide users online, but most fans support this take.

Lots of unprecedented things have happened on Capitol Hill over the last few years. There’ve been spats from gun-toting lawmakers over metal detectors. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog visited there and caused a mini-scandal. Then there’s that whole failed coup thing. Bet few were expecting to learn hardcore porn was shot inside the vaunted building.

Per Mediaite, footage recently leaked to the Tucker Carlson-founded The Daily Caller finds to unidentified men engaging in some anal sex in one of the Senate hearing rooms.

“A source identified the room to the Daily Caller as Senate room Hart 216- The Judiciary Room. The Caller blurred out his face because his identity has not been confirmed,” Daily Caller chief national correspondent Henry Rodgers reported. “It appears to be unprotected sex.”

The video originally was originally “shared in a private group for gay men in politics.” One member apparently leaked it to The Daily Caller.

There’s been some speculation about who is involved in the video. One person who came up was Aidan Maese-Czeropski, a staffer for 80-year-old Democratic Maryland senator Ben Cardin. Maese-Czeropski has denied the allegations. Cardin’s office has yet to weigh in on the video.

On the plus side, Congress last week bid adieu to its most chaotic member, which is saying something.

(Via Mediaite)

Rudy Giuliani is such a wreck his chaos is even spreading to those in his orbit. On Friday the fallen former “America’s Mayor” was ordered to pay a whopping $148 million to two election workers who sued him for defamation. His self-destructive comments came about in December of 2020. It was a wild time for him: He had the Four Seasons Total Landscaping debacle, he introduced the wine lady, and he had that mystery goo moment.

Now some three years later, there’s more Giuliani-related weird hair news. Giuliani and his posse appeared at a Georgia courthouse, where he received the bad news. Among him was his entourage, including someone who appears to be a bag man, one of his lawyers, or simply a staffer. Whoever he was, he had weird, weird hair.

The ‘do sure is a wonder. Most of the guy’s head is shaved, save a gigantic, continent-sized land mass towards the front of his head. To some it looked like Cillian Murphy’s early 20th century Irish gangster get-up from Peaky Blinders, if the hair was in the slightly wrong place.

Others thought it seemed like Hitler-y.

It also inspired tons and tons of jokes.

Currently the Giuliani associate’s identity is unknown, which is probably for the best. At least he’s doing better than Rudy, who before the verdict was so broke he can’t even afford a car in which to cry (or fart). The poor guy’s even jokingly (or not?) begging people for money on live television.

How are you doing? No matter how bad things are for you, you’re probably doing better than Rudy Giuliani. Mere days after it was claimed that he was basically broke, he was ordered to pay a whopping $148 million to two election workers who’d sued him for defamation. Luckily he’s taking it in stride, jokingly asking far right hosts if they’d lend him some dough — unless he wasn’t joking,

Per Mediaite, Giuliani was a guest on Newsmax Friday night where he and host Greg Kelly tried to find the humor in an apocalyptic situation. Kelly, of his part, sarcastically remarked, “That’ll be $148 million, please!”

That prompted Giuliani to reply, “You got any money you can loan me, Greg?” He then laughed.

Giuliani then took a more somber note. “How can you not be so sad for the country?” he remarked. “Here I am in the District of Columbia. The first time I came here, I had goosebumps. I’m gonna leave here thinking that this District of Columbia is a fascist court.”

It’s a similar tack used by his good pal Donald Trump (who left him out to dry): claim anyone holding him responsible for his actions is just fascist. Meanwhile Trump has repeatedly vowed to go full dictator if re-elected, if only on his first day, as if that’s any comfort.

Earlier in the week, Giuliani’s former press secretary Ken Frydman made some grim insinuations about his financial situation, saying, “He can’t even afford a new car, frankly; that’s how low on funds he is.”

(Via Mediaite)

The New York Knicks trailed by five at halftime in Phoenix on Friday night, as Kevin Durant had a big second quarter to push the Suns in front despite an early injury to Bradley Beal.

However, at halftime Knicks guard Jalen Brunson made a very good adjustment to simply make every shot he took in the second half, hitting all 12 of his shot attempts, including eight threes, en route to a career-high 50-point night. Brunson started to rain in threes in the third quarter, helping the Knicks close the gap to two heading into the fourth.

In that final quarter, Brunson remained a flamethrower and got some help from his teammates, as New York outscored the Suns 42-23 in the fourth to turn a nailbiter into a blowout.

Fittingly, it was Brunson who put in the dagger with a filthy stepback three, his ninth make in nine attempts on the night, tying the NBA record for most made threes without a miss in a single game.

After the kerfuffle in Milwaukee earlier in the week, Julius Randle made sure there was no question whether Brunson got the game ball for his career night, cheekily raising it high in the air after nabbing it from the official after the final buzzer.

Brunson finished the night 17-of-23 from the field (9-of-9 from three) with 50 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals, doing a bit of everything to lift New York to a big win on the road. Randle added an efficient 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while RJ Barrett had a nice night with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. That was enough to outduel Durant and Devin Booker, who combined for 57, but the Suns simply had no answers defensively for Brunson (or anyone else) in the fourth quarter.

The New York Knicks trailed by five at halftime in Phoenix on Friday night, as Kevin Durant had a big second quarter to push the Suns in front despite an early injury to Bradley Beal.

However, at halftime Knicks guard Jalen Brunson made a very good adjustment to simply make every shot he took in the second half, hitting all 12 of his shot attempts, including eight threes, en route to a career-high 50-point night. Brunson started to rain in threes in the third quarter, helping the Knicks close the gap to two heading into the fourth.

In that final quarter, Brunson remained a flamethrower and got some help from his teammates, as New York outscored the Suns 42-23 in the fourth to turn a nailbiter into a blowout.

Fittingly, it was Brunson who put in the dagger with a filthy stepback three, his ninth make in nine attempts on the night, tying the NBA record for most made threes without a miss in a single game.

After the kerfuffle in Milwaukee earlier in the week, Julius Randle made sure there was no question whether Brunson got the game ball for his career night, cheekily raising it high in the air after nabbing it from the official after the final buzzer.

Brunson finished the night 17-of-23 from the field (9-of-9 from three) with 50 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals, doing a bit of everything to lift New York to a big win on the road. Randle added an efficient 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while RJ Barrett had a nice night with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. That was enough to outduel Durant and Devin Booker, who combined for 57, but the Suns simply had no answers defensively for Brunson (or anyone else) in the fourth quarter.

Patti Smith provided fans an update after she had to cancel her Italian concerts, following a hospitalization. In an Instagram update, she expressed her gratitude to the hospital workers who had brought her back to good health.

“This is thanking all at the hospital for their help and guidance,” she wrote. “I am so sorry that we had to cancel concerts in Bologna and Venice. I will return to fulfill my happy obligations.”

“This is also to thank all the medical teams globally, who attend to the people’s needs, especially those altruistically serving under fire, all healers, physicians, nurses, attendants,” she added. “Also I want to thank everyone for sending messages of love and concern. I am resting, as the doctor ordered, grateful to have had such care, though being painfully aware that many are not so fortunate.”

The news originally arrived through the venue sharing the cancelation announcement on Instagram, which Rolling Stone translated from Italian.

“We inform the kind audience that the Patti Smith concert scheduled for today… will not be able to be staged due to a sudden illness that struck the artist,” they originally wrote. Smith is still scheduled for two shows in Brooklyn later this month.

Check out Patti Smith’s Instagram post above.

Ice Spice had a pretty serious rise this year, gaining traction on hits like “Princess Diana” and more. At the start of most of her songs, she gives a shoutout to her producer, RiotUSA, with the classic “Stop playing with ’em, Riot” line.

After the two met at SUNY Purchase, they have been collaborating on music since 2021. RiotUSA also recently gave a new interview to Billboard, where he discussed what their process is like — and the fact that Ice Spice’s debut album should be expected next year.

“It’s a fun time because she really be saying how she feels in that moment… from picking out vibes or punching in lyrics on the spot,” he explained about how he works with Ice Spice in the studio.

“Fans should know I produce and record too, so look out for my music,” he added when asked about plans for next year. “Also look out for new classics with Ice in 2024. We’re working on her debut album as we speak.”

Right now, not much else is known about Ice Spice’s debut album. In January of 2023, the rapper only dropped her debut studio EP, but she’s made a ton of progress since then. Here’s hoping fans will get to hear more about her full-length record soon.

The Phoenix Suns finally played their first game with their entire Big 3 all together on Wednesday night, a loss to the Brooklyn Nets. While it didn’t have the outcome the Suns wanted, it was what they hoped to be an important step towards finally building some continuity as a team.

Unfortunately, their second game with their star trio didn’t last long before another injury occurred, as Bradley Beal suffered an ankle injury after getting fouled on a three-pointer in the first quarter by Donte DiVincenzo.

On replay you could see Beal’s right ankle turn over badly as he came down and made contact with DiVincenzo, collapsing to the ground immediately in pain.

Beal was officially ruled out of the game shortly after he went to the locker room, and we’ll have to wait for testing on Saturday to determine how long he’ll miss for this latest injury.

Beal has appeared in just five games for the Suns this season, dealing with a back injury prior to his most recent return. Now he has to add what appears to be an ankle sprain to his list of ailments, and the Suns hopes of getting an extended run of play with all of their stars together will be put on hold for a bit longer.