Category: News

If anyone’s in the mood for a diaper full of ’90s nostalgia, Paramount+ just released the official trailer for its upcoming revival of Rugrats, the classic Nickelodeon series featuring the adventures of Tommy Pickles and his toddler friends. Despite the obvious change in animation style that does its best to match the iconic look of the original series, the trailer shows Tommy and his pals getting all kinds of adventure (and trouble) in a way that feels, at the very least, familiar-ish.

While the kids are still voiced by their original actors, Paramount+ has brought in some heavy-hitters to voice the grown-ups, and it’s a pretty solid cast. Via Deadline:

Also joining the cast for the revival are Nicole Byer, Tony Hale and Natalie Morales, who will take on the adult roles in Paramount+’s revival. Hale will play Chuckie’s father, Morales as Phil and Lil’s mother and Byer, with Omar Miller, as Susie’s parents. Ashley Rae Spillers (Vice Principals) and Tommy Dewey, as Tommy’s parents; Anna Chlumsky and Timothy Simons, as Angelica’s parents; and Michael McKean, as Grandpa Lou Pickles round out the voice cast.

While Rugrats is one of the few to get a brand new revival series, it joins a rapidly growing list of Nickelodeon staples that includes the original Rugrats series, Hey, Arnold!, Doug, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life, and a whole slew of other favorites from your childhood. And for those with more juvenile tastes, a new Beavis & Butthead movie is also heading to the streaming service.

Rugrats premieres May 27 on Paramount+.

(Via Paramount+)

Dwayne Johnson and Matthew McConaughey, who make millions of dollars by fighting large CGI wolves and smoking weed with Snoop Dogg, respectively, have both expressed interest in becoming politicians. “I’m actually trying to look at the idea and give it serious consideration,” the Interstellar star said, while The Rock wrote on Instagram that he doesn’t think “our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club – but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people.”

Props to Johnson and McConaughey for wanting to make a difference (although one could argue that Luke Hobbs flexing so hard that his cast breaks did more good for the world than any politician ever has), but Howard Stern has a question for both movie stars: why? Why give up acting to become politicians? “You know what it is with these guys is that they don’t understand, once you run for office, you actually have to give an opinion,” Stern said during Tuesday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show.

The SiriusXM host called Johnson the “most non-controversial human being you’ll ever meet,” which is part of his appeal. “People in the military assume The Rock is pro-military,” Stern said. “People in the police force believe The Rock is a law and order guy. People who are Trump-y believe The Rock really secretly loves Trump. The people who are liberals are going, ‘You know what? The Rock is with us.’” Johnson spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention, but he endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

But according to Stern, once “lunkhead” Johnson has to double down on a divisive issue like abortion rights, “Oops! Suddenly people don’t like The Rock.” Stern said McConaughey would face that same dilemma when asked about school shooting and gun control. “As soon as he answers that, half of Texas is going to take him and throw him out a window,” Stern said.

A recent poll had McConaughey trouncing Texas governor Greg Abbott in a hypothetical election, but little is known about his politics. Everyone loves Matthew McConaughey as the shirtless bongos stoner guy, but when McConaughey the political shares his thoughts on the border, he risks alienating a large chunk of fans. Besides, as Stern said, “You’ve got to do a little public service before you get an important job like the governor.” He should know: he ran for governor of New York as a Libertarian candidate in 1994 before dropping out because he didn’t want to reveal his personal finances.

(Via the Daily News)

The music industry is a living and constantly evolving entity, as it proved last year by adapting to livestream concerts as the pandemic took over the world. Mitski is also breaking new ground for herself with her soundtrack for This Is Where We Fall, a graphic novel by Chris Miskiewicz and Vincent Kings. Today, she has shared a new selection from it: “The End,” which features narration from Miskiewicz. The instrumental has a huge anthemic rock sound to underscore Miskiewicz’s deep voice.

When the soundtrack was announced last year, Mitski offered a statement, saying, “It was exciting to make a soundtrack for a comic book. It allowed me to work outside of my usual songwriting form and try to approach it like a score, but without any of the cues that come with working alongside a moving image, which ended up being both freeing and challenging. I hope the end result helps to immerse you in the story!” Z2 publisher Josh Frankel added, “A project and partnership like this is the perfect marriage of a visual art form like comics, and music. Fans of Mitski’s music will not only get something new from one of their favorite artists, but a companion piece that completes the experience.”

The “innovative new science-fiction series” is described as delving “into complex questions on science, faith, mankind’s need to believe in something bigger than itself, while also questioning what defines the human spirit.

Listen to “The End” above.

This Is Where We Fall is out Now via Z2 Comics. Get it here.

Yasuke recently arrived on Netflix with striking visuals (from Japanese animation studio MAPPA) and a trippy score (courtesy of Flying Lotus), both of which help complete the experience of watching, but make no mistake: the story itself is consciousness-expanding. The six-part series dives into the mind of history’s first Black samurai and imagines what his life would be like after a nearly unfathomable trauma. Twenty years later, Yasuke’s attempting a quiet life in a feudal village, but he can’t shake the memories of his mentor, the warlord Nobunaga, committing forced suicide (by the ritual known as “seppuku”) in front of him. To somehow make matters even worse, Yasuke (voiced by LaKeith Stanfield) was tasked with cutting off Nobunaga’s head during the ritual, and let’s just say that all subsequent bets of a calm mind were out the door.

Following that trauma, Yasuke evaporated from the history books, which encouraged plenty of creative license in the writing department. That’s where Nick Jones Jr. (Hulu’s Casual) arrived as head writer alongside creator/director/producer LeSean Thomas (The Boondocks, Cannon Busters, and Black Dynamite). Together, they explored lingering fallout from Yasuke’s ordeal as a launching point for abundant creative liberties. So yes, that means magic and mechs were on the table, and it’s not too bizarre for a samurai to face off with a giant werewolf. In short, Yasuke picks up the sword again to protect a young girl from mysterious forces, and not all is what it seems. The series arrives in a compact package, but there’s still a lot to absorb, and Nick Jones Jr. was gracious enough to talk it out with us.

Nick, you recently tweeted about serving as a U.S. Marine in Japan and feeling “a bit of a full-circle moment” after writing about the first Black man to serve alongside Japanese forces.

Looking back, it’s just kind-of crazy knowing I was there and actually had the opportunity to work alongside Japanese military forces. It puts a lot of things in perspective, looking at Yasuke’s history of being a Black man and being in the same situation, working alongside Nobunaga and Japanese forces from the time, so it just felt right, like this full-circle moment, being able to look back and be like, “Yo, I was actually there, boots on the ground in my own way.” There was some synergy with things that I was able to do in my military career and the things that Yasuke did with his.

Not to take away from the way that Yasuke’s story hits hard culturally, but I was initially intrigued after hearing about this series because my grandmother was Japanese and married into the military, and that’s a whole mindset.

Yeah, this just hits people differently! And I think that this whole project, over the last couple of months, it’s come to a trip down memory line with us starting this process three years ago, and also to dive back into those emotions that I drew for in character development for Yasuke. This took me back to my military days and not just in Japan but while serving in the Marines altogether, and it’s tough, especially when you’re, in my case, a Black man that’s in a space that’s predominantly white, which speaks to the military experience as well. It definitely takes some maneuvering in a lot of places and for me, coming from the South, it’s crazy. It’s dope and took me through a lot of emotions that I’d had, and the honor that I had for serving my country in the military, which is probably the same feeling that Yasuke would have had, since he was given this purpose after being brought there and finding this new family and purpose and having honor and to fight for something. I don’t think there’s any greater feeling than having a purpose and finding something to fight for.

Why do you believe that Yasuke fell out of the history books?

There’s that quote, “The victors write the history books.” Obviously, with Nobunaga being the guy that he was and being progressive in a lot of ways, and Yasuke being a product of Nobunaga, the fact that ultimately he lost, it was a lot of “trying to hold onto traditions and the Old Way.” And in a case like that, someone like Yasuke, who was loyal to the losing side, I think that played more into it than anything else. Nobunaga wasn’t successful in the end, and a lot of things that Nobunaga stood for and people that he brought with him weren’t celebrated or hung onto in the way that they would have, had Nobunaga succeeded.

I was also thinking it could be along the lines of Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen, with history being resurfaced after certain parties, you know, intentionally buried it.

Oh, I remember watching that show and going on Twitter with people asking, “Did this really happen, is this real?” I knew about it, but that’s because it’s my history and not necessarily white history and history that people wanted to acknowledge, but Tulsa wasn’t the only place like that. They were doing it all over the United States. If there was a Black neighborhood, they were burning it down, and in Tulsa’s case, dropping bombs on it, literally. That’s a lot of the underbelly of a lot of the history that gets too mucky for some people to accept that it happened. Some people are like, “Nazis didn’t exist,” and I’m like, “Of course they existed, we fought them in a war!”

Well, during my review of Yasuke, I very classily wrote that I was wondering what you and LeSean Thomas were smoking when you wrote the show.

Ahhh yes, I laughed at that! You were like, “I don’t know what they were smoking when they wrote this stuff, but you should just go with it.” [Laughs]

So… were you smoking something or…. no?

Well, I can assure you that I wasn’t smoking something when I was writing it, but I can’t make the same promise as I watch it, soooo…. Obviously, LeSean brings in the anime pedigree with all of the stuff that she’s worked on, dating back to his time on Boondocks and how he brought in a lot of that flavor and style in the fight sequences in his show, Cannon Busters, so when Netflix brought us to together for this project, I was like, “Dope, dope, dope.”

And not only was there a lot of anime flavor, but a hefty emotional component to the writing as well.

One of the things that I wanted to infuse on my end was that military mindset that Yasuke would have, being that he’s a samurai and a general, and these forces in Japan, and also diving into some of the underlying emotions and trauma and PTSD, which I felt that he would definitely have, if we’re telling story twenty years down the line with the current storyline of him with Sake. Comparing that to my experience in the Marines and having friends that committed suicide, and having to personally carry their caskets at funerals, and knowing how that made me feel. You feel like you’re in quicksand and can’t move because any movement you make hurts, and knowing that pain, I felt like it would be like that plus some, being in a situation like Yasuke, where there are some that believe that he was Nobunaga’s Kaishakunin.

It doesn’t seem like anyone could shake that off, ever.

If you’re given that job, where someone commits seppuku, you have to chop their head off, how would you feel if your friend and mentor not only commits suicide in front of you, but you have to participate in the act? It would mess you up, and I wanted to start from that point and build the story out from there, emotionally. And it’s just like, what are the circumstances, events, and relationships that get you to that point, and then what’s the trauma and the emotion that lingers on after that point. And then after that, like I said, with LeSean bringing in that anime aesthetic, it’s like, great, let’s throw in the mechs, let’s throw in the mercenaries, let’s throw in the magic. And I was like, “Fuck yeah!” Oh wait, can I cuss?

Are you kidding? Go for it.

Yeah, and for me, just being an anime fan — I grew up and consumed as much as I could. Obviously, being in the South, I didn’t have a lot of outlets, but Cartoon Network Toonami saved my life, and I think USA Network had some anime on Saturday mornings at the time. That’s where I watched Street Fighter, but just being a fan of Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing, things like that. I think for me, it was obviously an opportunity and a dream to finally dive into the anime space and really do something that I felt would be a cultural event.

That anime space is so much more accessible in 2021 with Crunchyroll and every streaming service. Still, I think people are intimidated and don’t know where to start. Jim Belushi recently asked for recommendations on Twitter.

Tell him to start with Yasuke!

For when people want to dive in, do you have another go-to recommendation?

I’d say Akira and maybe Ghost in the Shell.

Not the movie with Scarlett Johansson, I take it.

Oh no no no, the original! And if you wanna jump into a series, Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing, that was one of my favorites growing up. Bleach is actually pretty cool. It’s out there, but it’s super dope, but there’s a lot of things Cowboy Bebop, but Akira and Ghost in the Shell, start there.

People wondered how Yasuke compares to Afro Samurai, which some believe was inspired by Yasuke’s legend. How would you differentiate the two?

Well, for one, I think there’s something to be said for Black creatives having the opportunity to tell the story about a Black man in Japan who was really there. And obviously, we’re diving off into alt-history and things of that nature, but to be rooted in fact with this particular historical figure. That sets it apart from anything else. This guy actually existed. He’s a real dude, and that’s the main point: we’re trying to shed light on someone real while telling a cool, trippy anime story on top of it.

What would you say about a Season 2? It seems like the story’s wrapped up in a nice bow, but maybe?

You know, I’d love to dive back in. I tried my best to seed in some stuff with prequels, and I think we’ve got some very cool supporting characters who could probably support their own side stories moving forward. And even with the nice bow we put at the end of it, I think there’s still an opportunity to continue on with Yasuke because, in the history books, he just kinda fades off, so we can write our own path for him like we did with this, where it’s twenty later, and what’s he been up to? Now that he’s been motivated to do what he does, I think there are a lot of avenues for him to move forward and to be this warrior that’s roaming Japan or maybe other places.

‘Yaskue’ is currently streaming on Netflix.

HBO Max announced earlier this year that a Sex and the City revival (titled, And Just Like That…) is coming our way, even though Kim Cattrall will not reprise her vampy Samantha Jones role. Whether the show can survive that omission remains to be seen, and given that Samantha is a fan favorite, there are definitely big heels to fill. TV Line is now reporting that, in addition to addressing criticisms about the original series’ lack of inclusivity by diversifying the writers’ room, there will be progression onscreen as well with returning showrunner Michael Patrick King in the driver’s seat.

TV Line reveals that the revival will be “dramatically expanding Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte’s social circle with roughly a half dozen new characters. And three of those newbies will be full-fledged series regulars and women of color.”

Additionally, it’s worth noting that HBO Max did not comment upon this tidbit upon request from TV Line, but the outlet did previously speak with HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys, who appeared to suggest that nothing terrible has happened to Samantha… and maybe she just moved onto a new circle of friends? “Just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave,” Bloys said at the time. “Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life.” He added that friendships in one’s 30s don’t always stick in one’s 50s, which is a fair point.

However, I will add that the confirmed return of Aidan Shaw, played by John Corbett, is not the most excellent news without further context. Nothing against Corbett’s portrayal, but he and Carrie were totally wrong for each other and went their separate ways (twice) for good reason. Perhaps Aiden will be in a non-Carrie-centric role this time around: much less drama that way, but who knows? Maybe they want that drama back.

(Via TV Line)

Over the past couple of years, LVRN has flown a bit under the radar in terms of labels that also function as rap crews. Where lots of attention is (rightfully) lavished on Dreamville and TDE for their tight-knit groups, Love Renaissance has seemed like more of a loose collective under one banner until recently. That changed last December when the label released its first compilation, which was, incidentally, also a holiday album showcasing the singing talents of its R&B roster. However, it looks like the rap unit is beginning to jell as well, as shown in the LVRN Cypher for Spotify’s RapCaviar.

For the first time, all of the group’s impressively gifted rappers come together on one track. While the better-known members 6lack and Westside Boogie may be the big draws, the track highlights the newbies as well, including OMB Bloodbath, who kicks things off with a breathless verse, BRS Kash, who shows he’s more than the “Throat Baby” crooner, and NoonieVsEverybody, who should increase the team’s trap appeal. The video sees the crew take over what looks like a bank lobby as DJ Kitty Cash spins from the concierge podium and the rappers do their thing in matching maintenance uniforms emblazoned with the LVRN logo.

It took a while for the Avengers to come together; now it looks like rap has a new superteam aiming at taking over, one verse at a time. Meanwhile, the team also released individual videos for each member with extended verses, ensuring even more content to hold fans over for whatever comes next.

Watch the LVRN RapCaviar Cypher above.

Despite experiencing massive success with both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that followed in the footsteps of The Mandalorian by dropping new episodes on Fridays, Disney+ is shaking things up when it comes to Loki. In a new video released by Marvel, the God of Mischief actor Tom Hiddleston breaks the news that not only will the Loki series drop two days early on June 9, but it will have its own unique release schedule as he declares that “Wednesdays are the new Fridays.”

As of this writing, there’s been no elaboration given for Loki‘s pivot from Fridays to Wednesdays, but much like WandaVision, the series seems rife for fan theories. Disney+ and Marvel probably won’t mind seeing discussions dominate social media for the back half of the week instead of getting lost in the weekend, particularly with summer approaching. The release date switch up also follows the series’ new Special Look that dropped during Monday night’s Warriors vs. Pelicans game.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Picking up immediately after Loki steals the Tesseract (again), he finds himself called before the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space, forced to answer for his crimes against the timeline and given a choice: face deletion from reality or assist in catching an even greater threat.

Loki premieres June 9 on Disney+.

(Via Marvel Entertainment on Twitter)

Bieber has a history of being accused of profiting off of Black culture, like how his recent Justice album sampled a speech from Martin Luther King Jr. without context before transitioning into a track about how much he loves his (white) wife. But the latest outcry comes from his new, allegedly culturally appropriating hairstyle. Bieber revealed he got his hair loc’d this week, and people are understandably mad about it.

Bieber has been very active on social media this week. He’s currently filming a video for his 21 Savage and DJ Khaled collaboration “Let It Go,” and apparently decided to take on a new hairstyle for it. Bieber shared several photos of his hair in locs, a style that has been very central to the conversation about cultural appropriation in the last ten-plus years. Loc’d hair has cultural and historical significance for Black people, not to mention that it’s an easy way to protect against hair damage.

After showing off his new hairdo on social media, people were quick to call him out for cultural appropriation.

Several people drew comparisons to the doll from Rugrats and even movie The Grinch.

But this isn’t even the first time he’s received backlash for a similar hairstyle. Bieber first loc’d and dyed his hair back in 2016, which he also drew accusations of cultural appropriation for.

One of the reported reasons Aaron Rodgers wants to leave the Green Bay Packers is his relationship with the team’s front office. In particular, Rodgers is reportedly not happy with how general manager Brian Gutekunst goes about his job, to the point that he has a nickname for him that’s not exactly meant to be flattering.

A new piece by Bob McGinn of The Athletic breaks down the current situation in Green Bay, which confirms reporting that has popped up elsewhere that Gutekunst keeping his job would mean Rodgers will not return to the team. In fact, Rodgers sees similarities between Gutekunst and former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause — who was blamed for not keeping together the Michael Jordan-led squad after winning a championship in 1998 — to the point that he straight up calls him “Jerry Krause” in communication with his teammates.

According to sources, Rodgers has mocked Gutekunst in group chats with his teammates in Green Bay by referring to the GM as Jerry Krause. The late Krause, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls during their run of six NBA championships, was loathed by Michael Jordan for some personnel moves with which Jordan disagreed.

Krause received plenty of scorn during his time with the Bulls, something that was reignited when The Last Dance aired last year. Of course, things were a bit more complex than “Jerry Krause ruined the Chicago Bulls,” but Rodgers is not letting that get in the way of what is admittedly a pretty good nickname.

MF DOOM is returning this week — in a way — thanks to Super What?, a joint album with Czarface (Esoteric and Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck) releasing this Friday, May 7. The project will be the first posthumous MF DOOM release since his death was announced by his family on New Year’s Eve last year, two months after his passing. The album is a follow-up to the trio’s 2018 effort Czarface Meets Metalface and was recorded and scheduled for release in 2020. Those plans were paused due to COVID-19 but will proceed this month as a tribute to the late, great DOOM.

Super What? is available for pre-order on both CD and vinyl on MFDOOM’s website GasDrawls.com, with a special edition vinyl already sold out (sorry) and a GasDrawls exclusive vinyl still available for the price of two standard editions. The album is accompanied by a comic book written by Czarface MC Esoteric and illustrated by Benjamin Marra. The ten-track tape features guest appearances from Gorillaz’s Del The Funky Homosapien and Run-DMC’s DMC.

DOOM’s passing sparked a renewed interest in the underground icon’s discography, as streams of his old projects leaped nearly 900% in the wake of the announcement of his death and tributes poured in from both collaborators like Open Mike Eagle and admirers such as Playboi Carti. Hopefully, Super What? will satisfy that interest as fans continue to await news on the Madvillainy sequel that was also reportedly in the works.

Super What? is due 5/7. Pre-order it here.