Category: News

(SPOILERS for this week’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan will be found below.)

Episode eight in season two of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, titled “A House Is Not A Home,” ends with quite the cliffhanger. After having a long-awaited sweet moment with his daughter Jukebox, Marvin connects with Renee to ask her questions about what he can do to further repair his relationship with Juke. He also uses it as an opportunity to take her on a date of sorts as a small romance is brewing between them. This warm scene is quickly interrupted when two members of the Italian group show up and fire gunshots in Marvin and Renee’s direction. The episode comes to an end with viewers unsure of who, if anyone, was shot. We’ll have to wait another week to find that out, but until then, let’s explore Marvin’s eventful journey up until this point.

How Did Marvin Get Here?

The Italians’ murder attempt comes after Marvin hired Marco, the son of the Italian leader Sal Boselli, to help him execute a hit on Toni. If you recall from season one, Toni and Marvin had an intimate relationship that ended terribly once Marvin was arrested and learned that Toni was working with the police to snitch on him. For Marvin, that discovery hurt him a lot because of how much he cared about Toni. He bought her a dog shortly after they met, there were a lot of sex scenes, and he even got into a fight with someone in her defense.

Earlier this season, we learn that Marvin was able to avoid jail time because Toni refused to come to court and testify against him. As a result, Marvin is left to only complete an anger management class to ensure that he doesn’t go to jail. Despite this, Marvin has his eyes set on getting revenge on Toni. So when he spots Toni with her husband Hugo, he figures that now is the time. Marvin meets with Marco and hires him to kill Toni, and this comes with strict instruction from Marco to not tell his father. Marco brings his family associate Dominic, who isn’t the brightest, along for the job. The duo breaks into Toni and Hugo’s home and Marco quickly shoots Tonio in the head and kills her. Hugo rushes into the room and tackles Marco, and during their tussle, Dominic aims to shoot Hugo but misses and hits Marco who later dies. Dominic himself is hit a couple of times and he scrambles out of the scene.

In “A House Is Not A Home,” we see that Dominic successfully walked and crawled to a hospital despite bleeding out. It’s here that Sal pays him a visit and learns that Marvin was the one who hired Marco for the job to have Toni killed. This leads to Sal telling Raq that he will, unfortunately, have to kill Marvin for going behind his back to hire Marco and getting him killed. Raq doesn’t give him the green light to do so, and despite that, Sal sends a pair of his men to kill Marvin. Things are about to get really wild in Queens as we make our way towards the end of Power Book III: Raising Kanan season two.

New episodes of STARZ’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available to watch on Sundays at 12:00am EST.

Rex Orange County (real name Alexander James O’Connor) has been charged with six counts of sexual assault in the UK. According to The Sun, O’Connor appeared at London’s Southwark Crown Court today (October 10) and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In a statement shared with Consequence, a representative for O’Connor said, “[O’Connor] is shocked by the allegations which he denies and looks forward to clearing his name in court. He is unable to make any further comment because of the ongoing proceedings.”

Per The Sun, the 24-year-old singer is accused of assaulting a woman, who was identified as being over 16 years old, in London’s West End on June 1. Furthermore, he allegedly also assaulted her in a taxi and then three additional times in his Notting Hill home the next day.

After pleading not guilty, O’Connor was “unconditionally bailed” and currently awaits a three-day trial, which is set to start on January 3, 2023.

Around the time of the alleged assaults, O’Connor was on tour in the US, specifically in California. He performed at San Diego’s Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on May 29, at Santa Barbara’s Santa Barbara Bowl on June 1, and at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on June 4.

In July, O’Connor canceled his tour dates set for this fall due to “unforeseen personal circumstances.”

The Last of Us, one of the best video games of the 2010s, was released when Bella Ramsey was 10 years old. The Game of Thrones actress did not play it then — a big break for her parents who didn’t have to explain what a “Molotov cocktail” is — and she still hasn’t played it now, even after being cast as Ellie in the HBO adaptation.

“I was actually encouraged not to,” Ramsey told USA Today when asked if she’s played The Last of Us. “After my first audition, they asked me, ‘Have you played it?’ And I said, ‘Nope,’ and they said, ‘Keep it that way.’ [Laughs.] I did watch some of the game play on YouTube just to get a sense of it.” Hopefully she looked up a guitar tutorial for “Take On Me,” too.

Ramsey continued:

“I’m so excited for it to come out – it was such a big part of my life. I shot for a whole year, which is quite a long time when you’ve only lived for 19 years. Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, ‘How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.’ I thought it was a really sweet observation and I just had the best time.”

The Last of Us premieres on HBO in 2023, but until then, you can catch Ramsey in Lena Dunham’s oddly effective Catherine Called Birdy.

(Via USA Today)

For approximately nine months beginning in June 2015, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump were both angling for the GOP presidential nomination — rendering Jeb one of Trump’s favorite punching bags. In addition to famously (and regularly) labeling him as “low-energy,” some of Trump’s choicest other comments about the former Florida governor included calling him “an embarrassment to his family,” “a stiff,” “not a guy who can be president,” “desperate,” “sad and pathetic,” “loser,” “liar,” and “a nervous wreck” (and that’s just for starters). But, as The Daily Beast reports, Jeb mustered up enough of that low energy to hit back at Trump, who attempted to sully the name and reputation of Jeb’s dad — former president George H.W. Bush — over the weekend.

At a Sunday rally in Arizona, Trump continued obsessing over the FBI’s recent reclamation of several highly classified documents that the 45th president removed from the White House and brought home with him to Florida. While he seems to be bouncing back and forth between claiming the documents were declassified (possibly just with his brain), accusing the FBI of planting said documents, and brushing it off as no big deal, the former president opted for Door No. 3 during Sunday’s event. Without any evidence to back up his claims, he began rattling off how several of his predecessors had done the exact same thing that he had — but stored the documents they took from the White House in far less secure areas.

When he got to George H.W. Bush, Trump claimed that he had taken “millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant. They put them together. And it had a broken front door and broken windows. Other than that it was quite secure.”

The crowd sort of chuckled, but Trump didn’t seem to be kidding — and Jeb didn’t really know how to respond to the wild, and super-specific, accusation. So he did what most of us do after listening to Trump spin a yarn and admitted: “I am so confused.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Another day, another blunder by Dr. Oz’s campaign. Although, at least this time he wasn’t standing in front of Hitler’s car. It can’t get worse than that, can it? (It can.)

On Monday, New York Magazine published a blistering report from Rebecca Traister that zeroed in on the Oz campaign’s attempts to exploit John Fetterman’s health issues after the Democratic candidate suffered a stroke shortly before the Pennsylvania primary election. Oz’s people are also attempting to frame Fetterman as soft on crime, which has proven to be a more effective campaign tactic despite Fetterman’s history of combatting gun violence while mayor of Braddock, Pa.

Traister also brought up reports that Oz was involved in medical testing that led to the death of over three hundred dogs, which would not go over well with the TV’s doctor campaign. Via New York Magazine:

The inversions and ironies are mind-boggling. Oz, a man who came to politics after having been questioned on the Senate floor about making unsubstantiated claims regarding “miracle” weight-loss pills, is framing Fetterman as less than medically forthcoming. Oz, who built a daytime-television empire thanks to Oprah Winfrey and by telling women it’s bad to be fat, is feminizing Fetterman and shaming him for being lazy and overweight. Oz, whose medical research led to Columbia University being fined for cruel experimentation on and the deaths of more than 300 dogs, is running a billboard using the image of a little girl and a puppy to cast Fetterman as some sort of deranged pansy, while repeatedly calling him “pro-murderer.”

Surprisingly, Traister received a response from a campaign spokesperson for Oz — who mostly just wanted to insult her.

“Suppose you were the dumbest person in the world,” the spokeperson said. “Now suppose you were a reporter for New York Magazine. But I repeat myself.” However, as Traister notes, “He did not deny the allegations about the puppies.”

(Via New York Magazine)

On Friday night (October 7), Rosalía‘s Motomami Tour touched down in Inglewood with special guests that were even a surprise to her. During the concert, the Spanish pop star was joined onstage by her boyfriend Rauw Alejandro and MIA.

The Motomami Tour visited Inglewood’s YouTube Theatre on Friday and Saturday night. With the tour was in the LA area, Rosalía had a few friends and loved ones visit her during the concert. While she was performing “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi,” MIA emerged from behind the stage. Rosalía had a look of shock on her face when she recognized MIA. They shared a hug and MIA was whipping her hair to Rosalía’s hit.

Shortly after MIA’s appearance, Rosalía proceeded to perform the next song in her set, “Despechá.” She was once again in shock when Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro was the next guest to hit the stage. Rosalía was blushing when they were dancing together. At the end of the song, they shared a passionate kiss. Considering that “Despechá” sparked breakup rumors back in July, Rosalía and Alejandro showed during that song that they are very much in love.

After both special guests left the stage, Rosalía admitted to the crowd that she had no idea that either of them were going to pop out and join her. She also said that MIA was an “inspiration” for her as an artist.

Rosalía and Alejandro are the second most-nominated artists at the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards with eight nominations each. Rosalía’s Motomami album has an additional nomination in a technical category. Bad Bunny is the most-nominated artist of the year with 10 nominations.

Kanye West’s last week or so has been quite eventful — so much so that he’s released a 30-minute documentary about it titled, fittingly, Last Week. It also doubles (triples?) as something of a short film and music video, as it contains a belligerent new song in which he lashes out at his critics, as well as an extended sequence in which he plays himself as a sort of video game avatar.

The documentary section follows him as he holds meetings with business partners, including Adidas executives; during his Adidas meeting, he plays the attendees what appears to be porn. Afterward, he attends his daughter North’s basketball game as the sound mysteriously cuts out. In the new song he works on in the video, he raps, “You a fake b*tch/ You don’t really love Ye/ Go listen to Drake, b*tch.”

Kanye’s erratic behavior has been the subject of scrutiny all year, but the criticism ramped up last weekend after his YZY season nine fashion show in Paris, where models wore shirts reading “White Lives Matter” (West himself also wore the shirt, as did invited guest Candace Owens). After railing against the backlash the shirts received (or lavishing in it), West’s social media access was restricted after he made anti-Semitic remarks.

You can see Last Week below.

This July marked 10 years since Frank Ocean rocked the music landscape with Channel Orange, and its lasting impression can be quantified in a new way. The seminal album has now spent 100 total weeks on the Billboard 200, sitting at No. 157 on the chart revealed Monday (October 10). It joins Blonde, Ocean’s 2016 sophomore studio album, in achieving that benchmark. Blonde has charted for 298 total weeks.

Ocean, famously enigmatic, seemed to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Channel Orange on July 10 by reviving Blonded Radio on Apple Music 1, which had been dormant since last Christmas. Rumors about Ocean’s highly anticipated next album have been swirling for years. He dropped “DHL,” his first single in two years, in October 2019, followed by “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in March 2020. Come September 2021, a Hits Daily Double report surfaced that Ocean was “shopping a new album” to different labels by “taking meetings and playing the music for execs.” Still, no album.

And then in late September, Ocean wiped his Instagram page. That’s usually a universal indicator to fans that an artist is gearing up to begin a new era — we’re just one year removed from the Adele 30 frenzy — but any true Ocean fan knows better than to expect a conventional rollout strategy. The one confirmed morsel of information about Ocean’s near future? He’s expected to headline Coachella in 2023.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Quavo and Takeoff add a new wrinkle to the ongoing Migos drama and Alvvays dropping what may go down as one of the year’s best indie albums. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters. Also find our Uproxx HQ Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly with the best new music, at the end of this post.

Quavo and Takeoff — “Messy”

It sure looks like Migos is continuing as a sans-Offset two-man group: Last week, they dropped Only Built For Infinity Links, their first album as a duo (which is credited to themselves, not Migos). A particularly eyebrow-raising track from the LP is “Messy,” on which Quavo appears to address rumors of an affair between Offset and Saweetie: “B*tch f*cked my dog behind my back but I ain’t stressing / You wanted the gang you should’ve just said that, we would’ve blessed you.”

Alvvays — “Velveteen”

Alvvays have a hit on their hands with the just-released new album Blue Rev (it’s the most well-received album in their discography, per Metacritic). In his review, Uproxx’s Steven Hyden calls “Velveteen” “one of the album’s best songs” and notes, “Alvvays even take on the arena synth-rock sheen of another past collaborator of [producer Shawn] Everett’s, The Killers, with unprecedented swagger. ”

Carly Rae Jepsen — “The Loneliest Time” Feat. Rufus Wainwright

Carly Rae Jepsen has been making top-tier pop for well over a decade now, and more of it is set to arrive soon with her upcoming album, The Loneliest Time. The title track is, ironically, the only song on the album with a credited feature: fellow Canadian favorite Rufus Wainwright. The song dropped last week and it’s an upbeat duet with a fun arrangement and energy.

Jazmine Sullivan — “Stand Up”

Till, a new biopic about civil rights leader Mamie Till-Mobley, is in theaters now and Jazmine Sullivan played a part in bringing the movie to life. Her contribution comes via soundtrack cut “Stand Up,” a soulful and moving track that mirrors the movie’s theme of perseverance in the face of adversity.

Willow — “Ur A Stranger”

We’re fresh off a Willow weekend: Shortly after releasing her new album Coping Mechanism, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. One of the songs she played was the single she dropped to accompany the album’s release: “Ur A Stranger,” an intense track carried by metallic guitar riffs and Willow’s impassioned vocals.

Charlie Puth — “Loser”

In the lead-up to Charlie, Charlie Puth has made it a point to express as clearly as possible how vulnerable his new album is. Indeed, a number of individual tracks make that case, like “Loser,” which Uproxx’s Megan Armstrong describes in her Charlie review as being “soaked in self-loathing and blame for someone leaving.”

Fred Again.. — “Kammy (Like I Do)”

UK producer Fred Again… has been on a roll as of late, with Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9, 2022), his third album since early 2021, dropping at the end of the month. He previewed it last week with “Kammy (Like I Do),” a dance-ready number he says is “about diving further and further down into something that alienates you from everyone around you.”

Kali — “Bout U”

This summer, Kali was included in XXL’s Freshman Class Of 2022 and for good reason. She continued to live up to the hype last week with “Bout U,” and Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky notes “the track has a booming bass on top of which Kali repeats the title with an addictively infectious melody in her signature whisper-rap voice for which listeners love her.”

Gryffin and Tinashe — “Scandalous”

After his 2019 debut album Gravity (which topped the US dance charts), Gryffin has a new LP, Alive, set to drop this year. On the latest single, “Scandalous,” he gets Tinashe to take the vocal reigns, with her singing cooperating with the catchy and thumping instrumental to move the kinetic song forward.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out)” Feat. Roddy Ricch

It’s been nearly three years since Artist 2.0, but A Boogie has a new LP on the way at last. Me Vs. Myself drops in about a month and it sees him reuniting with regular collaborator Roddy Ricch on “B.R.O. (Better Ride Out),” on which both take time to reflect on and appreciate the friendships they feel so blessed to have.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

There’s plenty of Jeopardy! for fans to absorb these days, and trivia fans are loving the return to new episodes after the traditional summer break. Season 39 is well underway this fall, and with it comes new episodes of the syndicated game show along with a Celebrity tournament hosted by Mayim Bialik.

The show, of course, officially has two hosts in Bialik and Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings. And in a joint interview with Good Morning America, the two talked about the new season and the added wrinkles of having two different people at the helm of the same show. Jennings and Bialik say they have settled into co-hosting duties nicely, with Bialik noting that it “it doesn’t really feel different” this year despite their roles being official.

In fact, Jennings said there’s an underrated positive to officially having two hosts. Via ABC News and GMA:

“One of the nice things about having two hosts is the focus is a little less on who is the iconic host of ‘Jeopardy!’ And it’s really more about ‘Jeopardy!’ as a game,” Jennings said. “Some nights it’s gonna be me. Some nights it’s gonna be Mayim. But it’s always ‘Jeopardy!’”

Of course, that hasn’t stopped superfans from comparing and contrasting their performances. But the quote does speak to something late host Alex Trebek often said about Jeopardy! itself: the focus should be on the contestants, not who is actually hosting. And while the drama around who will host — and how that got decided in the first place — was great for generating buzz about the show, it was far from positive at times. As Bialik noted in the interview, both hosts are on the same page about what the show should be about: the people actually giving answers in the form of questions.

“I think for both of us, we feel like we’re really ushering in what Alex facilitated so beautifully, which is, again, highlighting contestants and the show that people know and love,” Bialik said. “I think for me and Ken, we do love the purity and the fun ‘Jeopardy!’ has been and will continue to be.”

That unified approach is welcome news to fans who want to focus more on the game than who is running it. The full interview has some fun moments from the new season, as well as some mistakes the two have made. But so far, everything seems to be going smoothly in the Alex Trebek Studio. Which is certainly a big change after a very tumultuous year or so on set.

[via ABC News]