Category: News

This Friday, Future releases his third album of the year(!), Mixtape Pluto, following We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You with Metro Boomin earlier this year. With their tour for the diptych wrapping up this month, Future has turned his attention to his latest solo effort, with which he apparently vows to return to his mid-2010s heyday of fast-paced releases of ruthless trap rap. See below for all the information you’ll need about Mixtape Pluto.

Release Date:

Mixtape Pluto is due on September 20 via Freebandz. You can find more info here.

Tracklist:

Future revealed the tracklist earlier this week without features, which could mean he’s going to do the heavy lifting himself, or surprise listeners with the guest appearances that will assist him.

01. “Teflon Don”
02. “Lil Demon”
03. “Ski”
04. “Ready To Cook Up”
05. “Plutoski”
06. “Too Fast”
07. “Ocean”
08. “Press The Button”
09. “MJ”
10. “Brazzier”
11. “South Of France”
12. “Surfing A Tsunami”
13. “Made My Hoe Faint”
14. “Told My”
15. “Oath”
16. “Lost My Dog”
17. “Aye Say Gang”

Features:

As mentioned above, Future hasn’t revealed any potential features, but Travis Scott is rumored to be on “South Of France.”

Singles:

Unlike the rollout for his albums with Metro, Future has not released any singles ahead of Mixtape Pluto.

Artwork:

Tour:

With his tour with Metro ending earlier this month, Future probably isn’t going back on the road right away… but considering the work ethic he’s shown this year, don’t be surprised if he announces dates as early as spring 2025.

The WNBA is in the midst of an aggressive period of growth, as the league has sky-rocketed in popularity and is looking to capture the excitement for women’s basketball around the country by expanding their footprint. Two expansion teams have already been announced in the last year, as the Golden State Valkyries will join the league in 2025, while Toronto will add a team in 2026 (name TBA).

The league has been pretty clear in its goal to expand, but to do so in markets (at least initially) that already have the infrastructure for professional basketball. As such, it comes as little surprise that the 15th team in the league will be coming to Portland in 2026, joining the same year as Toronto’s new franchise. The WNBA officially announced the news on Wednesday, releasing statements from commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the new ownership group of RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home. We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organization in partnership with the Portland community and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

Portland previously had a WNBA team from 2000 to 2002, the Portland Fire, and it’s not clear if the new franchise will look to bring back the Fire name or rebrand completely. The return of the WNBA to Portland was expected to happen last year after Golden State got its team, but there were some apparent hiccups in the process that took an extra year to get the deal finalized.

The league’s expansion from 12 teams to 15 over the next two years is exciting, but it also means some considerable change is coming across the WNBA. With three teams needing to fill out rosters, the impending expansion drafts will be fascinating to watch, as will free agency as most players have structured contracts to end in 2025 due to the potential for a new CBA.

While some in hip-hop were adamant that Lil Wayne should perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans next year, Snoop Dogg — who actually did perform in LA in 2022 — was more measured in his response to the controversy over the NFL booking Kendrick Lamar instead. Appearing on Nightcap with hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Snoop addressed fans’ concerns while offering up a perspective some might not have considered.

“I don’t really have no opinion,” he said. “But what I do wanna say is that, just remember where the NFL was 15 years ago when it comes to hip-hop. How many hip-hop artists was able to grace that stage 15 years ago? So, I understand both sides of the coin and I understand how people feel.”

However, he acknowledged his own performance two years ago, noting, “I didn’t do any Snoop Dogg songs. I was up there helping Dr. Dre and it became a great moment for all of us.” Then, he reminded viewers that “it’s a 12-13-minute performance and you’re not getting paid. It’s more or less you have to spend money to upgrade your show to make it mass appealing for the audience that’s home watching.”

And that, more than anything, might be the reason for Kendrick’s selection over Wayne. Totally separate from the conversations we’ve already discussed here and here, what are the odds Wayne — who spent 15 years fighting Birdman for the rights and royalties to his music — would have the budget for a Super Bowl-level show? We’ve seen Kendrick do it time and time again, whether on tour for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers or on the Grammy stage.

While it would have been cool for the local act to get some shine in his hometown, the fact is, the show isn’t about the venue — it’s about keeping 100 million people from changing the channel between halves of The Big Game (true story; the Super Bowl Halftime in its current incarnation is the result of a ratings war with In Living Color). Those brands pay a lot of money for those Super Bowl ads, and they want people to see ’em. If the NFL feels that’s more likely with a contemporary superstar like Kendrick than a cult favorite like Wayne, then that’s just how it’s going to be.

Basketball fans are going to have to get used to a major change, as there will be no more Woj Bombs going forward. On Wednesday morning, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he will leave the network and retire from the news industry altogether, as he posted a statement onto his Twitter account indicating that his time reporting on the league has come to an end.

“This craft transformed my life, but I’ve decided to retire from ESPN and the news industry,” Wojnarowski wrote. “I understand the commitment required in my role and it’s an investment that I’m no longer driven to make. Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.”

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Woj told his bosses at ESPN this morning, and they were surprised by his move. Wojnarowski, who turned 55 earlier this year, already has his next move lined up. In a bit of news that Woj told Pete Thamel of ESPN, he’s heading back to his alma mater, as Wojnarowski will take over as the general manager for the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure.

“It is a thrill of a lifetime to be able to return to a university and community that I love in a role of service to our student-athletes, coaches and institution,” Wojnarowski said, according to ESPN. “I am hopeful that I can bring value in a lot of areas to our basketball program and open doors for our young men’s futures in ways both professionally and personally.”

Wojnarowski has been the NBA’s most prominent newsbreaker for nearly two decades, as he joined Yahoo in 2007 before becoming ESPN’s top NBA reporter in 2017.

In July, Haley Heynderickx dropped “Seed Of A Seed,” which was her first new song in years. As suspected, the tune was a tease of more to come: Today (September 18), Heynderickx has announced a new album, also called Seed Of A Seed, and shared a video for the new song “Foxglove.”

In a statement, Heynderickx says of the new song, “‘Foxglove’ is my daydream tune craving a slower and simpler pace of life. Sometimes it all feels so far away — living in a city being so removed from a life entwined with nature.”

A press release notes the new album features “Heynderickx’s signature intricate finger-picking” and “a lush tapestry of sound that makes you feel like you’re enveloped in something bigger.” Thematically, the release notes the album “explores how distant we can feel from nature and ourselves in a world of technology, overconsumption, and consumerism.”

Watch the “Foxglove” video above and find Heynderickx’s upcoming tour dates below.

Haley Heynderickx’s 2024 Tour Dates

09/22 — Sisters, OR @ The Belfry
09/23 — Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club
09/24 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
09/25 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
09/27 — Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
09/28 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
09/29 — Boulder, CO @ eTown Music Hall
10/01 — Albuquerque, NM @ KiMo Theatre
10/03 — San Diego, CA @ Lou Lou’s
10/04 — Los Angeles, CA @ Aratani Theatre
10/05 — San Francisco,CA @ Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
10/06 — Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre
10/08 — Sacramento, CA @ Sofia Theatre
10/11 — Seattle, WA @ St. Mark’s Cathedral
10/18 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
11/08 — St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/09 — Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
11/10 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/11 — Lakewood, OH @ The Roxy
11/13 — Albany, NY @ The Egg
11/14 — Somerville, MA @ Somerville Theatre
11/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Music Hall at World Cafe Live
11/16 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/17 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Seed Of A Seed is out 11/1 via Mama Bird Recording Co. Find more information here.

King of chaos Robert Pattinson is back with another weird voice.

Last year, it was Studio Ghibli masterpiece The Boy and The Heron as the titular heron, who sounds like Willem DaFoe after finishing a pack of smokes. Pattinson debuted his new goofy voice in the trailer for Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to Best Picture and Palme d’Or winner Parasite.

As Mickey Barnes, an “expendable” who dies again and again to supposedly move humanity forward, Pattinson went with a voice that’s somewhere between Joe Pantoliano and guy begging for his life in a mob movie. Chris Pratt as Mario and Garfield, this ain’t, and everyone loves him for it.

“Robert Pattinson doing another freaky little voice. We won,” one X user wrote, while another added, “pattinson is just an all time great. so many other actors would just do a normal american guy voice but not this dude. elevates the material.” He’s been compared to Porky Pig, Joe Pera, and nerd Bart Simpson.

Pattinson doing a freaky voice? Now that’s a good time. Here’s more on Mickey 17:

From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of Parasite, Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, Mickey 17. The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.

Mickey 17 comes out on January 31, 2025.

A few months ago, Zayn released his fourth solo album, Room Under The Stairs. For fans, the hope with a new album is that they’ll get to see the artist perform the fresh songs on a new tour. Well, Zayn has now delivered on that front.

He broke the news himself last night (September 17) by crashing The Tonight Show. During Jimmy Fallon’s monologue, Zayn emerged from behind the curtain, holding a coffee mug and a note. He then hit play on Fallon’s laptop to play his own “Stardust.” Before leaving without having said a word, Zayn handed Fallon the note. Fallon read it, confirming that Zayn is going on the Stairway To The Sky Tour, Zayn’s “first-ever solo tour,” and that dates would be revealed today. Sure enough, the official announcement has come.

Zayn previously teased the nature of a solo tour, saying, “Not too many fancy tricks,” and noting, “This type of music that I’m making just feels like the type of music I would perform. It makes sense in my mind.”

Find the list of tour dates below.

Zayn Malik’s 2024 Tour Dates: Stairway To The Sky Tour

10/23 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10/25 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
10/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall
10/30 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem
11/02 — New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
11/20 — Edinburgh, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy
11/23 — Leeds, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy
11/24 — Manchester, United Kingdom @ O2 Apollo
11/26 — London, United Kingdom @ Eventim Apollo
11/29 — Wolverhampton, United Kingdom @ Wolverhampton The Halls
12/03 — Newcastle, United Kingdom @ O2 City Hall

It has been an eventful past few days for Diddy (real name Sean Combs). On Monday, September 16, he was taken into federal custody. The next day, it was revealed he was charged with “racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.” Also yesterday, Diddy was denied bail.

As Rolling Stone reports, US Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky denied Diddy bail, due to her “very significant concerns” over his alleged substance abuse, his “anger issues,” and his supposed attempt to influence the outcome of his prosecution. Tarnofsky noted that she considered alternatives, but said, “Your lawyer asked us to trust you — [I don’t think] you can trust yourself.” She later added, “Your lawyer can’t control you.”

One of the alternatives Tarnofsky considered was Diddy’s request to be kept in his home with electronic monitoring and a $50 million bond.

Diddy was eventually taken away by US Marshals. After that point, Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s attorney, told reporters, “Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this until the end. He is innocent. We’re going to fight this case with everything we have.”

CNN notes Diddy is expected to appeal the decision today (September 18), at a court appearance in front of US District Court Judge Andrew Carter at 3:30 p.m. ET. In the meantime, Diddy is being held at the Special Housing Unit in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The Phoenix Mercury entered Tuesday night in the seventh spot in the WNBA standings with just two games left before the playoffs, and while there isn’t any drama regarding where they’ll end up in the playoff seeding — they’re locked into the 7-seed as the best they can do is tie the Indiana Fever for sixth, but the Fever have the head-to-head tiebreaker — they still want to head into the postseason on a positive note and have a chance to finish with a .500 season.

The good news was they were up against the league’s worst team in the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, but they found themselves in a more heated contest than expected, edging out an 85-81 win that featured some fireworks. At the end of the first half, Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson got tangled up while boxing out on a Mercury free throw and got into a kerfuffle that led to both players being ejected.

Griner clearly didn’t like something Jackson did and swung her elbow up high at Jackson to send a message, but the Sparks’ rookie star didn’t back down from the veteran and the two started jawing before squaring up at each other. As typically happens on the professional basketball court, the two were separated before anything went down, but they did enough to earn early exits from the game. That news came as a surprise to Jackson, who tried to walk back on the court from the tunnel before being informed she’d been tossed.

Phoenix would go on to win the game, as the Sparks weren’t able to hold onto their halftime lead without Jackson as the Mercury dominated the third quarter, 28-10, to take control of the game and held on in the fourth for the win.

Allison Russell is a fearless voice for social causes and music. Now, the “Stay Right Here” singer’s Grammy Award-winning vocals are heading to Broadway.

Today (September 12), Allison Russell revealed that this winter she will make her Broadway debut in Hadestown. On November 12, Allison will star in the production as Persephone. Over on Instagram, Allison penned a touching note about the career milestone.

“Impossible for me to fully convey how deeply meaningful, resonant, uplifting, full circle and THRILLING it is to be making my Broadway debut,” she wrote. “Starring in the role of Persephone (a Goddess and archetype I have explored in both poetry and song myself since childhood) in this generational masterpiece and my favorite musical.”

Currently, the role is held by Lana Gordon. Sadly, Yola is set to exit the production on October 20. But come November 12, Allison will join cast mates Stephanie Mills, Jordan Fisher, Maia Reficco, and Phillip Boykin.

Read Allison Russell’s full statement below.

And now it can be told… I first heard Anaïs Mitchell sing “Why We Build The Wall” in 2008 at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA. She was opening the show at a concert series called “Sings Like Hell” (really) for my partner’s band JT & The Clouds.

I was transfixed. When Anaïs told me later that night that she was working on a “folk opera” based on the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice all my hairs stood on end — I had a premonition that it would be become a piece that would outlive us all…

It has been a keen and continuous joy to have a front row seat to the evolution of this great opus – from the 2010 album to Off Broadway to the Edmonton Theatre to the London Theatre and finally to Broadway and the Walter Kerr Theatre and the Herstoric Tony Awards sweep in 2019. Anaïs has been and is a lodestar artist, writer and friend to me since that night in 2008…

Impossible for me to fully convey how deeply meaningful, resonant, uplifting, full circle and THRILLING it is to be making my Broadway debut, starring in the role of Persephone (a Goddess and archetype I have explored in both poetry and song myself since childhood) in this generational masterpiece and my favorite musical.

I am proud to be joining the sisterhood of artists who’ve embodied Persephone, proud to be joining this extraordinary ensemble, proud to become a part of this living, growing legacy. This is a World I’ve dreamt of and one I get to live in now. I am excited and grateful beyond measure to be joining Hadestown! See you way down under the ground!

Allison Russell’s run as Persephone in Hadestown on Broadway will begin on November 12. Find more information here.