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When Lonzo Ball first injured his knee in January 2022, the expectation was for him to miss 4-6 weeks. More than a year later, Ball remains sidelined as he deals with pain and discomfort, and the star guard appears no closer to a return amid numerous setbacks.

On Tuesday morning, the Chicago Bulls announced Ball was being shut down for the season, making official what many feared after recent updates revealed he was still experiencing pain.

Jeopardy! is the thinking person’s game show, but Wheel of Fortune is harder than it looks. You have to wake up early, and you might be waiting all day for your episode to film (as detailed here), and you’re under hot lights, and you’re afraid of looking like a dope on TV with your friends and family members watching. That’s a lot of pressure. So, the next time you watch a contestant fail to correctly solve a puzzle, have empathy.

That being said: YOU DON’T SPELL “FRESH” WITH A “G.”

If I was on Wheel of Fortune and the audience groaned like that at one of my answers, I would leave mid-episode and never return. Props to Khushi for not doing that.

In another Wheel of Fortune news, the show was recently renewed was for five more years, through the 2027-2028 season. Will Pat and Vanna call it quits before then? “We’re getting near the end,” Sajak told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s been a long [time]. We’re not gonna do this for another 40 years. The end is near. It’s an honor to have been in people’s living rooms for that long. We’re happy and proud.”

The rage he feels for Wheel of Fortune contestants keeps him young.

This year’s Grammys isn’t the only award ceremony in which Beyoncé is pulling record numbers. NAACP’s annual Image Awards, held yesterday night (February 20), had a few trophies of its own to dish out to the singer.

The “Break My Soul” singer won the most awards, including Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Soul/R&B song for the single “Cuff It,” and Outstanding Album for Renaissance.

Rihanna also won for Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album for her song “Lift Me Up” from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The next top winner was surprisingly Chris Brown, despite Kendrick Lamar being the second most-nominated act of the evening. Brown won two awards. The first was Outstanding Male Artist and Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary) alongside Wizkid for his song, “Call Me Every Day,” from his album Breezy.

Last night’s winners were part of the non-televised ceremony. The televised ceremony will be filmed on February 25th and air exclusively on BET on February 26. To watch the 54th annual NAACP Image Awards live, click here.

A complete list of the awards handed out the first night follows.

Outstanding International Song
Wizkid — “Bad To Me”
Fireboy DML & Chris Brown feat. Shenseea — “Diana”
Burna Boy — “Last Last”
Tems — “No Woman No Cry”
Davido feat. Sunday Service Choir — “Stand Strong”

Outstanding Jazz Album – Instrumental
Boney James — Detour
Henry Franklin, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge — Henry Franklin: Jazz Is Dead 014
Kaelin Ellis — The Funk Will Prevail
Javon Jackson — The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni
Ragan Whiteside — Thrill Ride

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
Marvin Sapp— “All in Your Hands”
Tennessee State University — “Fly (Y.M.M.F.)”
Erica Campbell — “Positive”
MAJOR. — “Whole World In His Hands”
Jonathan McReynolds — “Your World”

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
Tye Tribbett — All Things New
Tasha Cobbs Leonard — Hymns
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin — Kingdom Book One
James Fortune — My Life
Tennessee State University — The Urban Hymnal

Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration (Traditional)
Kendrick Lamar feat. Blxst & Amanda Reifer — “Die Hard”
Mary J. Blige feat. H.E.R. — “Good Morning Gorgeous Remix”
PJ Morton feat. Alex Isley and Jill Scott — “Still Believe”
Silk Sonic — “Love’s Train”
Summer Walker, Cardi B, and SZA — “No Love”

Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Beyoncé feat. Grace Jones and Tems — “MOVE”
Chris Brown feat. Wizkid — “Call Me Every Day”
City Girls feat. Usher — “Good Love”
Future feat. Drake and Tems — “Wait For U”
Latto feat. Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled — “Big Energy (Remix)”

Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
Lizzo — “About Damn Time”
Beyoncé — “Be Alive”
Rihanna — “Lift Me Up”
Tobe Nwigwe feat. FAT, Pharrell, and Olu of EarthGang — “Lord Forgive Me”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”

Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis, and Dave Jordan
Bridgerton Season Two (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) — Kris Bowers
Entergalactic — Kid Cudi
P-Valley: Season 2 (Music From the Original TV Series) — Various Artists
The Woman King — Terence Blanchard

Outstanding Male Artist
Brent Faiyaz — Wasteland
Burna Boy — Love, Damini
Chris Brown – Breezy (Deluxe)
Drake – Honestly, Nevermind
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

Outstanding Female Artist
Ari Lennox — age/sex/location
Beyoncé — Renaissance
Chlöe — Surprise
Jazmine Sullivan — Hurt Me So Good
SZA — SOS

Outstanding Soul/R&B Song
Lizzo — “About Damn Time”
Beyoncé — “Cuff It”
Mary J. Blige feat. H.E.R. — “Good Morning Gorgeous Remix”
Jazmine Sullivan — “Hurt Me So Good”
Rihanna — “Lift Me Up”

Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
Armani White — “Billie Eilish”
Fivio Foreign — “City of Gods”
Quavo & Takeoff — “Hotel Lobby”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”
Future feat. Drake and Tems — “Wait for U”

Outstanding Album
Ari Lennox — age/sex/location
Chris Brown — Breezy (Deluxe)
Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Beyoncé — Renaissance
PJ Morton — Watch the Sun

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

We are just days away from Gorillaz eighth studio album, Cracker Island. While Gorillaz fans are elated to finally hear the band’s much-anticipated record in full, they may be disappointed to learn that an upcoming Netflix movie starring the band isn’t going to see the light of day.

Gorillaz creator Damon Albarn confirmed the news during an interview with Belgian publication HUMO, which was conducted in Dutch, but Google Translated to English.

Albarn said the project was “permanently suspended” after Netflix recently purged several of its animated projects and downsized their animation departments.

“They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings,” said Albarn. “And, as has been classic Hollywood practice for decades, the guy we were working with has moved on to another company. From then on you have lost your guardian angel, and there seems to be a bad smell hanging on you. Hollywood is quite territorial: if a new guy comes along, he must and will have a different opinion, even if he secretly agrees with his predecessor.”

Cracker Island is out 2/24 via Parlophone. You can pre-save it here.

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

Bryan-Michael Cox has a laundry list of accomplishments to his name, but the Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter is far from done with his music career. Today, the hip-hop and R&B label Love Renaissance (LVRN) announced that Cox was appointed as the label’s Senior Vice President, A&R, and Executive Producer. The news comes after Cox collaborated with DVSN, who is signed to LVRN under a management deal, on their recent album Working on My Karma. Cox contributed to five of the album’s 12 songs.

In his role, Cox will focus on breaking new talent as well as furthering the label’s strong roster of artists that include Summer Walker, 6lack, and more. “A&R has become a lost art in this new generation of music because of the gap in relationship between A&R, the artist and the label,” LVRN co-founder Justice Baiden said in a press release. “Bryan-Michael Cox is a respected and accomplished producer and executive, and he’s the perfect addition to our team to help continue in bridging that gap. Bryan not only speaks the same language as the artist, but he also shares the same values as LVRN.” He later added, “When I think of someone who handles music with care, I think of Bryan and we’re excited to welcome him home to Atlanta and LVRN.”

Cox also shared his excitement about his new role in the press release. “The time is right for this union because what LVRN has been able to do culturally is incredible,” he said. “The commitment to the full picture of artist development is something that this business has been missing. From the single selections to album track listing to the rollouts, each artist has been launched uniquely with care.” He continued, “I have a great track record of being able to bond with artists, get the best out of them, and, of course, being able to create or identify hit records. This is a perfect fit.”

Cox’s addition to the LVRN team comes after the label was valued at over $100 million after Matt Pincus invested $25 million in the group. Pincus is the co-founder and CEO of MUSIC, a holding company he co-founded.

After the nepo baby discourse has died down somewhat, it seems Liam Gallagher is finally offering his thoughts about it all. And, in typical fashion, he did not hold back one bit.

“All this snizzle about famous folks kids out earning a crust least they’re not out mugging old people zip it ya jealous ugly f*cks LG x,” he tweeted today (February 21).

The Oasis musician has two sons, Lennon and Gene, and two daughters, Molly and Gemma. Gene has performed as a drummer with his father during last summer’s Etihad Stadium show in Manchester. A few days earlier, Liam confirmed that he will be joining him again for this summer’s shows.

His mother, Nicole Appleton, posted a photo of Gene behind the kit at the time, captioning, “My boy!! Soo proud!!.”

Both of Liam’s sons also recently appeared at the Burberry show at London Fashion Week. Gene was seated in the front row while Lennon walked the runway. (Iris Law, Jude Law’s daughter, was also among the famous models in the fashion show.) This might have been why Liam chose to weigh in now.

“Lennon smashed the Burberry show. What did you think? Is he cooler than you yet?” one fan asked.

“He is at the moment as I’m mash up but I’ll be back saucier than ever,” Liam replied, leaving things optimistic.

The news of De La Soul member Trugoy The Dove’s death was met with a wave of appreciative and grief-stricken posts from all over hip-hop, but the voices of his bandmates were conspicuously (and understandably) absent. And although Posdnous — aka Plug One — has yet to return to social media, Maseo — aka Plug Three — returned to Instagram for the first time in almost a week to share a few nostalgic posts in a guided tour down memory lane.

One photo he shared featured the three Plugs and their then-producer Prince Paul as they signed their initial recording contract with Tommy Boy Records — the same contract that they only recently resolved to win back control of their publishing rights.

In another post, he revealed that he still has his leather medallion from the 3 Feet High And Rising era. The Afrocentric trappings of De La’s early output are still seen as an antidote to materialism and excess in hip-hop, and clearly, Maseo is still proud to have offered that alternative to rap fans.

The timing of Trugoy’s death was especially tragic, as De La Soul had just announced that their catalog would finally be available to stream in just a few weeks. They should finally get some of the flowers they always deserved — no pun intended — but one of their number won’t be around to enjoy it.

David Fincher has some bad news for Mindhunter fans. The FBI series has been on hold at Netflix and the chances for a Season 3 have only gotten slimmer as time goes on. That said, some of the show’s creatives have hinted that there’s a possibility that Netflix could bring the profiling series back if enough fans watch the previous seasons, but Fincher doesn’t seem to believe that’s the case.

While talking to the French publication, Le Journal du Dimanche, here’s what Fincher said about the prospects of a Season 3 and it doesn’t look good. That said, Fincher’s response is via Google Translate, which could be why it starts to sound like a fortune cookie at the end:

I’m very proud of the first two seasons. But it’s a particularly expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we haven’t attracted a large enough audience to justify such an investment. I don’t blame them, they took risks to launch the series, gave me the means to do as I dreamed Mank [his black and white film on Hollywood in the 1930s] and they allowed me to venture on new paths with The Killer. It’s a chance to be able to work with people capable of audacity. The day when our desires will no longer be the same, we will have to be honest to separate.

Fincher’s assessment tracks with previous reports. The show is not cheap and wasn’t bringing enough views for Netflix to justify the expenditure. Which is a real shame because the third season plot sounded pretty great.

“What they were going to do with season three was they were going to go [to] Hollywood,” Mindhunter director Andrew Dominik revealed to Collider last year. “So one of them was going to be hooking up with Jonathan Demme and the other one was going to be hooking up with Michael Mann. And it was all going to be about profiling making it into the sort of zeitgeist, the public consciousness.”

(Via Le Journal du Dimanche)

(Spoilers for You will obviously be found below.)

You switched gears in Season 4 by taking Stalker Joe to London, and the show became less compulsively watchable and more filled with ennui, given that Joe became the stalker and also lost a lot of his fire. That hasn’t stopped viewers from flocking to the show, however. Variety reports that Part 1 of Season 4 has churned out respectable numbers with the show scoring 92.07 million hours streamed in the first week. That’s not top-tier stuff, but that’s Top 10 territory in 90 countries.

One can expect the show to still keep going after Season 4 Part 2 arrives on March 9, if Netflix decides that it’s worth the ride. Will producers of the show want to keep going, though? Penn Badgley has already gone on record (a few times) to declare that he’s no longer interested in doing sex scenes, and showrunner Sara Gamble was apparently good with this. As well, Gamble sounds like she’s “in” if the call gets made to make Season 4. Here’s what she told The Hollywood Reporter:

“We have an idea for season five that we’re excited about. It was never anyone’s intention to run this one into the ground. When we’re done, we’ll be done. And we’ll pack it up. Even in the early conversations with Penn, the idea was not to crank out episodes forever; it’s to feel like we have told the complete story. And though I feel like tonally, we’re very different and we are not trying to sell Joe as any kind of a hero with a straight face. This is a show that is in the tradition of these single-lead shows with a guy who does increasingly bad things. The beautiful thing about it is that when his arc is complete, so is the show.”

So, it sounds like there will be a Season 5? God only knows that Netflix will feel the wrath of several million Joe fans if they make the call to quit it. As well, Penn Badgley will probably keep boogying on TikTok in his spare time, so viewers can always get their fix.

You returns on March 9.

Little Simz’s latest album, No Thank You, is the hip-hop gift that keeps on giving. After its surprise release late last year, the UK rapper has been tactic yet patient with her promotional efforts. Immediately following the announcement of the project by way of a supporting short film, the musician took to social media to share a poignant message: “Emotion is energy in motion. Honor your truth and feelings. Eradicate fear. Boundaries are important.”

Just days ago, Simz took to the BAFTA stage to perform the latest single off the album, “Heart On Fire.” Now, continuing her live performance run of the single, she stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to do the same. With The Harlem Gospel Choir, The B-String Quartet, and The Late Show band, Simz delivered a chilling rendition of the track.

Differing from her BAFTA set design, Simz focused in on the reclusive nature of the song. Seated in an antique wooden chair and dressed in an elegant draped white gown, Simz raps the song. As the camera pans out, it is revealed Simz is not just staring into the void, she’s been dictating these hard-hitting truths to herself as she’s emotionlessly staring into a framed mirror. After Simz transitions out of her depressive solitude, she walks into the light as she joins The Harlem Gospel Choir and The B-String Quartet center stage.

The opening lyrics — “It’s a setup and you’ll be next to those prior / The devil works hard, but the business works harder / I vowed from now to work smarter” — sting, especially given that the star has been open about her mental health struggles which caused her to cancel her tour last year.

But Simz wants to ensure fans that despite her struggles, she has a few guardian angels, as she raps, “They won’t do it like us, for the people, by us / Why they wanna fight? Our spirit on higher / God made truth of everything I desire / I ain’t need much, as long as I got my baby, he a rider.”

If that wasn’t enough reassurance the chorus drills it home, as Simz raps, “My life is a blessing / But it comes with the stresses / And I can take it all / Just don’t let me down when I’m in the fire.”

Watch Little Simz perform “Heart On Fire” on The Late Show above.