Category: News

This article originally appeared on 05.14.18

Howard University alumnus Chadwick Boseman returned to the school to deliver its commencement address.

Speaking to Howard’s class of 2018, Boseman channeled his inner T’Challa for an engaging, inspiring half hour filled with bits of wisdom for students and onlookers alike.

“When you have reached the Hilltop, and you are deciding on next steps, you would rather find purpose than a career,” the 2000 graduate said, referencing the school’s nickname. “Purpose is an essential element of you that crosses disciplines.”

A lot of his speech for the school’s 150th commencement ceremony was standard fare for a graduation, with inspiring quotes about the importance of failure and perseverance on the path to success.

It was the portion of the speech about activism, however, that served as the true highlight.

He spent several minutes thanking the students for challenging the institution.

In March 2018, students staged an occupation of the school’s administration building, a protest that ultimately lasted nine days. It was incredibly successful — their work forced the school to revamp its sexual assault policy, to agree to more oversight on future tuition increases and the role of police on campus, to establish an on-campus food bank, and more.”You could have been disgruntled and transferred, but you fought to be participants in making this institution the best that it can be,” Boseman said.

Their demonstration illustrates why protests (and the right to protest) matter so much.

It’s important not to forget who benefits from protest — not just the people demonstrating but everyone who comes after.

Members of the graduating class won’t directly benefit from the concessions they won from administrators. But future generations of students will, and that makes it worthwhile. Protest is anything but selfish.

“Many of you will leave Howard and enter systems and institutions that have a history of discrimination and marginalization,” said Boseman. “The fact that you have struggled with this university that you love is a sign that you can use your education to improve the world that you’re entering.”

His acknowledgement that people can love the person or institution they’re protesting strikes at one of the most pervasive myths about activism: that if you protest something, it’s because you hate it. People protest institutions because they believe in them, because they see potential for growth, and because they care enough to invest energy in it. This fact often gets lost in discussions around activism.

Naturally, Boseman closed his address with a nod to “Black Panther,” doing the “Wakanda forever” salute while saying “Howard forever.”

Watch Boseman’s speech below.

It wouldn’t be an SNL cast member interview without a question about Pete Davidson!

It was all of yesterday when we learned from Chloe Fineman that the reason he’s dated so many famous women, including Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Kardashian, and Ariana Grande, is because he’s “deeply charming.” Today, it’s Kenan Thompson’s turn. Not to date Pete, although that would be interesting, but to be asked about his former co-star’s “secret” with the ladies.

“I mean, the one obvious and then the other one is they say that… what I say… he’s a very sweet, young man,” Thompson told E! News. “He’s a very kind and endearing, he loves his mom and sister. He has hyper admiration for his father and, I don’t know, he’s just a good hearted person. He’s grown up rough because the streets of New York, stuff like that or whatever, but instead I don’t think he’s out to harm a piece of cotton.”

You know what The King of Staten Island, the movie loosely based on Davidson’s life, was missing? A scene where he’s smoking weed in his mom’s basement and cough-laughing while watching Good Burger. Sure, he was only four when the All That spin-off movie came out, but you know he owned a copy on DVD. This, coincidentally, is also what a movie based on my life would look like.

You can watch the E! News interview with Kenan above.

When Death Grips last toured in 2019, they were on the heels of their mysterious, abrasive, and compelling last album, Year Of The Snitch. The Sacramento-forged trio of Zach Hill, MC Ride, and Andy Morin blazed a trail for horrorcore-minded experimental rappers who could never quite replicate the visceral nature of Death Grips’ music. Now they’ve announced a new tour of North America for 2023, but no word yet on if this means a new album is on deck.

The tour begins on May 4th, 2023 in Portland and the band will be touring furiously through the Western US (with a Canadian date) that month, before starting an East Coast swing in September and October.

Tickets for the Death Grips 2023 tour go on sale Friday, 12/9 at 10 a.m. local time here. Check out the full list of Death Grips tour dates below.

05/04/2023 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
05/05/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ Harbour Event & Convention Centre
05/06/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
05/08/2023 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
05/09/2023 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
05/11/2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
05/12/2023 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
05/13/2023 — Las Vegas, NV @ New Metal Festival
05/16/2023 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
05/17/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
05/18/2023 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory Santa Ana
09/13/2023 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
09/16/2023 — Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
09/17/2023 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
09/18/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/20/2023 — Boston @ House of Blues
09/21/2023 — New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
09/23/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
09/25/2023 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
09/26/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
09/28/2023 — Orlando, FL @ The Vanguard
09/29/2023 — Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live at the Backyard
09/30/2023 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
10/02/2023 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore New Orleans
10/03/2023 — Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
10/05/2023 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/06/2023 — Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom

The shooting case against Tory Lanez isn’t going well for the Canadian artist right off the bat, as Rolling Stone reports he’s been given a new, third charge to fight in addition to the existing felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Now, he must also defend himself from the additional charge of discharging a firearm with gross negligence in the 2020 incident that allegedly left bullet shrapnel in Megan Thee Stallion’s feet.

The trial, which was postponed again in September, is finally underway after over a year of delays requested by Tory’s defense. While the Toronto rapper was released from house arrest earlier this week to prepare for his defense, the new charge increases the stakes for him, as it carries a possible six-year prison sentence. Tory could also still be deported if convicted of this charge, even if he avoids the assault conviction. Tory has maintained his innocence ever since Megan publicly accused him of shooting at her feet and yelling, “Dance, bitch!” pointing to Meg’s initial testimony changing following the immediate aftermath of the incident. However, Megan has said she initially lied to protect the occupants of Tory’s vehicle in light of recent police shootings of Black citizens.

Meanwhile, witness testimonies have proven unreliable (as they so often are), but given that there were only four people in the car, including Megan, the possibilities for the shooter remain… well, limited. While Tory’s defense seems to be leaning toward suggesting that Megan’s then-friend Kelsey Harris fired the shots, Tory’s call to Harris from county jail apologizing for what happened could put the kibosh on that defense, provided Harris is willing to testify.

Opening statements in the trial are set to begin on December 12

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The White Lotus cast of characters are managing to do what most of would dream of as impossible. They’re jetting off to luxurious, eye-popping locales like Hawaii and Sicily, and they’re (mostly) miserable. At least Daphne is actually vacationing from life! And Cameron is still being Cameron, so there’s that. One odd detail about this show, especially this season, is that the characters don’t really seem to care about exploring any culinary lust. Nope, they’re all too busy boning or trying to bone or being angry about boning. Food seems to be falling by the wayside.

Instead, we get to see Harper angrily chomping on dry toast as she and Ethan’s vacation winds down. Is that even possible? I guess there are more important things to do than eat delicious food: like plot some murder. Someone is either plotting or will pop off soon, and it sure seems like Ethan might have a bone to pick, although it remains to be seen whether his hallucinations contain any truth.

For now, people are wondering why the heck no one is exploring Sicilian food. To be fair, at least Portia and Jack left the resort to eat, even if they didn’t pay, but beyond that wildness, viewers have the same complaint about the show:

HBO’s The White Lotus airs on Sunday nights.

Cardi B maintains an online presence on Twitter. Therefore, per the rules of being a famous person on the internet, she is often the target of Twitter haters. One of them tried to come at her today (December 6), but Cardi kept her composure and had a rock-solid response to the criticism.

This afternoon, a seemingly frustrated Cardi tweeted, “This why [I don’t] talk to yall.” In response, a Twitter user wrote, “Should have never done this music thing if you wasn’t truly passionate about it. Should been an entertainer or remained on Love and Hip hop.” Cardi wasn’t having that, though, as she replied in a now-deleted tweet, “I am passionate…I’m actually overly passionate that’s why I don’t drop lackluster music …..and if I drop something that ain’t my best I makes sure the next song or verse is my BESTEST.”

In other Cardi-on-Twitter news, she also recently shared her thoughts about Casey Anthony in light of the Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies docuseries, tweeting, “I don’t give a deum how they flip it ,switch it,turn it ,toss it Casey Anthony is a disgrace of a mother and she shouldn’t have a uterus.I don’t feel bad for her or for the daddy YALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED to that baby !!!!”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mike Lindell, the conspiracy theorist and once-omnipresent pillow infomercial pitchman whose company actually has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, is ready for his next challenge: Being in charge of the Republican party (something Seth Meyers cannot wrap his head around). Which, if we’re being honest, probably doesn’t make him the least qualified person for the job — but his “campaign,” as it were, is already off to a rocky start.

On Monday night, Lindell used FrankSpeech — his own live stream network — to discuss the many reasons why a crack addict-turned-pillow salesman who has spent an estimated $40 million of his own money to push bogus theories about the 2020 presidential election being rigged is the right person to lead the GOP.

Former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski shared a clip of Lindell attempting to sell himself to potential voters on Monday night during “The Lindell Report,” where he promised/threatened to raise 10 times as much money as anyone else could. But it was Lindell’s guest, political strategist Ivan Raiklin, who managed to hit Lindell right where it hurts him most: in the Carlsons.

Raiklin told Lindell that, according to his sources, he was hearing that RNC committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon would be appearing on Tucker Carlson’s show a little later, and that there were rumblings that she, too, had planned to announce that she was planning to challenge McDaniel for the top spot. Which really riled Lindell, who is naturally always at an 11 already:

I wonder if Fox News is gonna let me come on and say that, too, huh? Make it equal, huh?

(Survey says “no,” Mike.)

Lindell also promised that take whatever his salary might be and put it back into the RNC “if it’s legal,” promising that it won’t take “years and years” to fix all that is wrong with the RNC. “It’s going to get fixed right away.”

Lindell also made it clear that he’d love to debate, well, anyone — at any time. Before adding that “Everyone who I’ve called is voting for me. When they say you have to have like two states or something, I believe I already have like six. Five for sure, six maybe.”

Yes, because it’s impossible to believe that anyone would ever tell Mike Lindell whatever he wanted to hear just to get him off the phone.

Utah’s annual Kilby Block Party festival dropped their 2023 lineup, and it has some fantastic acts. The Strokes, Pavement, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are set as the three main headliners, bringing the 2000s indie rock nostalgia to Salt Lake City’s Utah State Fairpark from May 12 to 14.

The great performers don’t stop there. Pixies, Run The Jewels, Japanese Breakfast, Caroline Polachek, Parquet Courts, Faye Webster, Ethel Cain, Frankie Cosmos, Mannequin Pussy, Hippo Campus, The Backseat Lovers, and Indigo De Souza will be among those taking the stage(s) throughout the weekend.

Additional acts include Westerman, The Moss, Tamino, Spill Tab, Wallice, Julie, Momma, Grace Ives, Noso, Miya Folick, Tanuckichan, Tolchock Trio, Deeper, Sunsleeper, Worlds Worst, The Plastic Cherries, Kipper Snack, Fonteyn, Backhand, Hi Again, Homephone, Anais Chantal, Musor, Sunhills, Josh Doss & The Cancers, and more.

On the official lineup poster, there are even some acts that are starred out, meaning even more grand artist reveals are going to take place.

Tickets for 2023’s Kilby Block Party go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. MT. They are offering three tiers of 3-day passes currently: General Admission, VIP (which includes a special bar, premium viewing, and fast lane/re-entry into the festival), and Super VIP (an extra-special viewing platform and food truck access). Prices range from $209 to $399 without fees.

More information on Kilby Block Party is available via the festival’s website.

Masego’s live shows are a dizzying experience. The multi-instrumentalist hops from saxophone to keys and guitar, all while singing his ass off to jazzy, sexy R&B and soul jams. And while he’s been touring all over the world, he had a message for his North American fans in announcing the 2023 You Never Visit Me Tour. “To everyone that says I never tour in AMERICA, this is not a drill, I am going on tour in the states,” he wrote on Instagram.

Masego’s You Never Visit Me Tour begins next March in Southern California and it’ll see the “Lady, Lady” singer playing concerts at a range of notable mid-sized venues across the country. The tour features stops at The Warfield in San Francisco, New York City’s Terminal 5, and a tour-ending set at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, 12/9 at 10 am local time. A fan club pre-sale begins has already begun with code “gemini.” Check out the full list of Masego’s 2023 tour dates below.

03/13/2023 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
03/14/2023 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
03/16/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
03/17/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
03/18/2023 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
03/20/2023 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
03/23/2023 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
03/04/2023 — Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
03/25/2023 — Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
03/28/2023 — Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
03/29/2023 — Toronto, ON @ History
03/31/2023 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
04/01/2023 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
04/04/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
04/05/2023 — Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
04/07/2023 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
04/09/2023 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
04/01/2023 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
04/12/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
04/14/2023 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
04/15/2023 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
04/16/2023 — Miami, FL @ The Oasis-Wynwood
04/19/2023 — New Orleans, LA @ Republic NOLA
04/21/2023 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
04/22/2023 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
04/23/2023 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
04/26/2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
04/27/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern

While many of the world’s biggest musical acts have super fans, none are quite as loyal as Beyoncé’s Bey-Hive (more commonly referred to as the Hive). With a thirty-year career, the singer has built an unwavering bond with her supporters that many have tried to replicate.

Even after her seventh studio album, Renaissance, leaked earlier this summer, fans waited until the album was made public as their Queen Bey intended. Now, the “Break My Soul” singer is returning the love with a super-cut mashup video dedicated to them.

The video titled “Break My Soul (Hive Certified)” features a mega-cut of the songwriter’s most publicly supportive fans. TikTok star Otakoyakisoba’s mother, affectionately known as Mama Lulu, opens the video with the viral line, “get out of here before I break your soul.” Then the party begins with a collage of fans of all ages, gender expressions, and races dancing along to the track. Sprinkled throughout the video are a few familiar faces. The music star’s mother, Tina Lawson, actress Gabrielle Union, producer Amorphous, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Yvie Oddly, and media personality Kalen Allen all make an appearance.

In the description box of the visual, she left a message for her fans, “Thank you so much for all the love and for releasing the wiggle.”

This may not be the official video fans demanded online, but it will have to hold them over until the drop.

Watch the full video above.