Category: News

Lil Yachty‘s new album, Let’s Start Here is already proving to be a buzzy project. Yachty’s latest effort features him taking on a psychedelic rock sound, a departure from his signature rap sound. On the heels of Let’s Start Here, which was released yesterday (January 27), Lil Yachty has shared the trippy new visual for “Say Something.”

On the song, Yachty croons, reeling over an unrequited love.

“We can live the dream life, wild / Got me feeling like a teen again / It’s feeling like it’s teenage love / If you feel the same way, then say something,” he sings in the song’s chorus.

It’s hard to explain exactly what’s going on in the “Say Something” video. In the clip, Yachty is seen sitting in a diner with a woman played by model Anok Yai. He professes his love for her, then imagines driving away with her and having a baby. In other scenes, Yachty is seen in a hallway as people pop up and laugh at him, and the baby suddenly explodes. When Yachty drifts out of his bizarre fantasy, he is brutally rejected by the woman, then literally drags his heart across the parking lot.

You can check out the video for “Say Something” above.

Let’s Start Here is out now via Capitol and Motown. You can stream it here.

Warning: Lil Yachty’s video for “Say Something” contains depictions of suicidal ideation which some may find triggering. Viewer discretion is advised.

Ice Spice‘s debut EP, Like…? has garnered much buzz since its surprise release last week. On the EP is the standout track “In Ha Mood,” which, like its predecessors “Munch (Feelin’ U)” and “Bikini Bottom” have become viral hits on TikTok.

On the track, Spice embraces her status as rap’s newest princess, saying, “I’m proud that I’m still gettin’ bigger / Goin’ viral is gettin’ ’em sicker / Let’s keep it a buck / B*tches too borin’, got ’em stuck in a rut.”

In the song’s accompanying video, Ice is seen looking fly while walking through a bodega, spitting rhymes surrounded by her clique, and getting styled up in a mirror.

The video was filmed earlier this month, on the day Ice was planning to shoot the video for her Lil Tjay-assisted track, “Gangsta Boo.” Tjay, however, was arrested that day, prompting Spice and her team to shoot the “In Ha Mood” video on the fly.

Over the past year, Ice has become one of the most recognizable names and faces in Bronx drill. In a recent interview with NME, she said she only anticipates for drill music to grow in popularity.

“I feel that it’s only gonna keep getting bigger and it’s just the start of a huge era,” Ice said. “You know when trap was really big and it became this movement? People thought it was gonna die down over time but it just became stronger and stronger. I feel like drill will become mainstream music at some point, and it won’t be so categorized. It’s already changing hip-hop, but we won’t notice until we look back.”

Check out the video for “In Ha Mood” video above.

Tom Verlaine, the singer and guitarist who founded the legendary New York punk band Television, has died at 73.

Television was a staple in the 1970s New York punk era, and their album Marquee Moon was one of the defining records of that time. The band formed in 1972, and broke up in 1978, before briefly reforming in 1992.

According to New York Times, Verlaine’s “death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Mr. Verlaine’s fellow musician Patti Smith. She did not specify a cause, saying that he died ‘after a brief illness.’”

Since news of Verlaine’s death broke, several musicians have taken to social media to express their condolences.

“Most nights we walk onstage to Marquee Moon- RIP to Tom Verlaine, the realest deal,” said Jason Isbell

Blondie guitarist Chris Stein recalled one of his early meetings of Verlaine, saying, “He had long hair and came to my apartment with an acoustic guitar and played some songs he’d written. Both Tom and Richard Hell have told me that I auditioned for the Neon Boys but I don’t remember.”

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. shared a tribute on Instagram, expressing gratitude for the impact Verlaine has on music.

“Bless you Tom Verlaine and thank you for the songs, the lyrics, the voice,” he said. “And later the laughs, the inspiration, the stories, and the rigorous belief that music and art can alter and change matter, lives, experience. You introduced me to a world that flipped my life upside down.”

Candace Parker is heading to the Las Vegas Aces. Parker, the 7-time All-Star and 2-time WNBA MVP, announced in a post on her Instagram account that she will sign with the defending WNBA champions.

Parker said her family drove her decision to head to Vegas, writing in the caption that while she is a Chicago native, “my family’s home is on the west coast.”

“I need to be there for my daughter, for my son, for my wife,” Parker wrote. “I can’t be without them for parts of the season when Lailaa is in school and I won’t miss her volleyball games or school dances simply because of distance. Lailaa starts high school in August and I need to be there for her, just as she’s been there for me.”

Parker was an All-WNBA First Team selection last season, and helped lead the Chicago Sky to an Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Connecticut Sun, where they lost in five games. The Sun would go on to fall to the Aces in four games in the WNBA Finals.

After spending the first 13 seasons of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks, Parker has played for her hometown Sky in each of the last two seasons. Last year, Parker averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 28.3 minutes per game.

Last season, the Aces went 26-10 and won the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Remember how Donald Trump is running for president again? The big guy announced his third campaign in November and it’s somehow taken him two-and-a-half months to make his first stop. On Saturday, he made up for lost time by scheduling not one but two appearances. The first stop wasn’t some arena. It was a high school auditorium. But if you thought that was small for such a once-powerful guy, then know that at least he’s still furious.

As per AP News, Trump’s soft-launched his campaign in New Hampshire, where he lost in both 2016 and 2020. The occasion was an annual meeting for the state’s GOP, and while formally announcing he was starting his latest campaign he allayed fears that he’d lost his mojo, telling the crowd, “I’m more angry now and I’m more committed now than I ever was.”

Great! If it’s one thing moderates love is the former president’s famously volatile and unpredictable temper. He’ll have to keep that ire going, as he had scheduled a rally in South Carolina — not a huge one, like the ones he was used to in the good old days, but a smaller one, without much in the way of GOP stars. Indeed, his team were stunned to find how difficult it was to get some of the party’s big wigs to care. Surely few are stoked to hear him rant about the many, many problems he’s faced since announcing he wanted to be back in the White House. But at least he can brag about winning a golf championship last weekend, sort of.

(Via AP News)

As recently as late October, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner was making a public case for why he should be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In late December, the posture reportedly shifted, with Turner and the Pacers opening up discussions on a potential contract extension to keep Turner in Indianapolis beyond his current deal that expires at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

Now, Turner’s new deal is reportedly a reality, with both ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and TNT’s Chris Haynes reporting a re-negotiated agreement on a new contract worth approximately $60 million.

Shortly after, Shams Charania of The Athletic brought the annual financial details.

This was a unique negotiating position on both sides. Turner is enjoying the most productive season of his career, averaging 17.4 points per game with a 64.7 percent true shooting mark, and he remains a top-tier defensive center. With those impressive efforts, Turner was in the position to command top dollar on the market, but Indiana had an interesting chip to offer.

Because the Pacers have operated more than $25 million under the salary cap after the Phoenix Suns matched an offseason offer sheet for Deandre Ayton, Indiana was able to offer Turner more money for the current 2022-23 season in a way that rarely happens in the NBA. Wojnarowski notes that the $17.1 million in new money for this season is the largest figure in league history, and that balloon payment also allows Indiana to keep Turner’s salary at a very manageable figure for the next two seasons.

With the Pacers exceeding expectations this season on the way to a 24-27 record, the positive vibes likely helped to push this deal over the finish line. Still, this is a good piece of business on both sides, with Indiana taking advantage of odd flexibility and Turner earning a nice bump in salary to combine with security over a longer term.

Lizzy McAlpine recently announced she would no longer be able to join John Mayer for his upcoming Solo Tour. The singer-songwriter revealed on social media that she could not be a part of the forthcoming tour due to “scheduling conflicts.” The “Apple Pie” singer was expected to join Mayer on tour alongside Alec Benjamin and a surprise guest (who has yet to be revealed). The 19-city tour is scheduled to kick off at the beginning of March.

“Unfortunately, due to a last minute scheduling conflict, I will no longer be able to join @JohnMayer on his solo acoustic tour,” she wrote on Twitter Friday, January 27.

McAlpine shared that while she will not be joining Mayer on tour, fans will have a chance to see her again during her own tour later. “I love u all, and I’ll see you in April for my headline tour,” she wrote.

Mayer’s upcoming North American tour — his first in 25 years — will make pitstops in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Toronto, and more.

“I’ll be playing old songs,” Mayer tweeted Thursday, January 26. “Newer songs. Songs you haven’t heard yet that I’ll be road testing — all on acoustic, electric, and piano. Hope to see you there.”

The Los Angeles Lakers are one game out of the play-in tournament in the Western Conference, and are 2.5 games back of the Dallas Mavericks for the 6-seed. This comes despite the fact that Anthony Davis is only just returning from an injury he suffered back in the middle of December.

The Lakers went 10-10 in the 20 games Davis missed, largely due to the fact that LeBron James continues to just not age. James, who turned 38 last month, averaged 34.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.6 assists in 36 minutes per game during the stretch with Davis on the sideline, and while other players performed admirably with AD out, James shouldered the biggest load.

What makes it more impressive is that Los Angeles appeared to be in major trouble following a 2-10 start to the year but have appeared to right the ship. This has really impressed Tristan Thompson, and during an appearance on ESPN on Friday, James’ former teammate in Cleveland expressed his belief that the Lakers star deserves to get into the MVP consideration if the team can get to the 6 or 7-seed in the West.

Another one of James’ former teammates, Kendrick Perkins could only put his head in his hands. Anyway, as of this writing, James is tied for 10th in MVP odds, so if the Lakers can make that happen, it sure seems like Thompson will get to see him in the conversation for the league’s top individual award.

You might recall that a month and a half ago people weren’t sure if Avatar: The Way of Water would make much money. Its own creator, James Cameron, even toyed with making fewer sequels if the second entry underperformed. How naïve we all were. Since opening in mid-December, the sequel has been Hoovering up cash worldwide, out-grossing one all-time hit after another. Now it’s surpassed one more.

As per Deadline, on Friday the worldwide total of Avatar 2 ballooned to $2.074 billion. That’s enough to make it the fourth highest-grossing film ever made (not adjusted for inflation, of course). That also means it bumped another biggie from that spot: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which grossed $2.068 billion back in 2015.

Next up: another James Cameron titan, Titanic, which currently holds the number three spot with $2.187 billion. As it happens, there’s a chance Titanic will end Avatar 2’s run as the number one movie in America when it’s re-released for Valentine’s Day. Still, Cameron already has three of the top grossing films in the all-time Top 4, which is nothing to sneeze at. (The only non-Cameron film in that bunch is Avengers: Endgame.) What’s more, it’s not far-fetched that it could nab the top spot, currently occupied by…Avatar 1, which has grossed some $2.9 billion. It’s James Cameron’s world, we’re just living in it.

(Via Deadline)

Joel Embiid got rather excited during a game against the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week. After finishing a layup through contact and drawing a foul, Embiid, a well-documented professional wrestling fan who has said that his favorite wrestler is Triple H, did the crotch chop made famous by D-Generation X. While he has done the crotch chop before, the NBA still did not like that he did this, and on Friday, the league hit Embiid with a $25,000 fine.

This is not exactly a ton of money for Embiid and, seeing as how much fun he had after the game with all of this, our hunch is that he is going to continue having two words for opponents as the season goes on. And if the league keeps hitting him with fines, Embiid has Triple H in this corner, as The Game took some time away from preparing for Saturday night’s Royal Rumble to let the big man know that he’ll chip in if Embiid wants to send a much larger check to the league to cover future crotch chop-related fines.

There is no word on whether Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, the New Age Outlaws, or (as of Monday night) Kurt Angle will join their fellow DX member in helping Embiid out with this one.