Despite Kendrick’s dedication to his neighborhood, he isn’t immune to local hate. According to XXL, a mural in Kendrick Lamar’s honor has been defaced. This isn’t the first time the piece, located on Rosecrans Avenue behind Honduran restaurant Mi Sabor has been defiled. Back in September, the visual piece was vandalized with gang graffiti.
The latest markings have not been identified, but the artist responsible for it, Sloe Motions, expressed his displeasure with its defacement yet again. “I was one of the artist who painted the mural and the guy who blacked out the Kendrick face literally just made it worse,” he wrote in the comment section of XXL’s upload.
After the release of Kendrick Lamar’s song “Wacced Out Murals,” where he addressed the first incident, Motions detailed his frustration when his first piece was vandalized. “A couple months ago our Kendrick mural got hit. Of course, we were pissed and wanted to fix it, but it just kept getting worse,” he wrote. “Flash forward to today and Kendrick drops a song about the situation. It doesn’t necessarily make it ok, but it does feel good to have our hard work for the community immortalized in a song by one of the greatest to ever do it. Thank you, Kendrick Lamar for making this situation a little better today.”
Kendrick Lamar has not addressed the latest vandalization.
For two decades, golf fans saw Tiger Woods dominate the rest of the PGA Tour with a kind of killer instinct and competitive fire not often seen on the golf course. Woods changed the game with the way he overpowered courses and opponents, becoming the greatest we’ve ever seen in the process.
However, over the last five years we have gotten to see a very different side of Tiger Woods, one that perhaps couldn’t coexist with the Tiger of old. We’ve seen Tiger the elder statesman, joking with younger players and having more fun on the course than we ever saw in his prime, and we’ve gotten to see Tiger the father, as his son Charlie has his own blossoming golf career.
Every year, Tiger and Charlie play together at the PNC Championship, the parent-child event that brings players from the PGA and LPGA tours together for a light-hearted event each December. It’s been cool seeing this side of Tiger as he’s gotten older, and on Sunday we saw him beaming with pride after Charlie made his first hole-in-one on the 4th hole.
Neither of the Woods’s actually saw the ball go in the hole, as Charlie just picked up his tee as the ball was on its way to the hole and started walking away, stunned when the crowd went crazy. Tiger had gone to take a break and came back knowing exactly what that crowd reaction meant, and gave his son a huge hug to celebrate a momentous occasion in any golfer’s career.
On December 20, Spotify slammed Drake’s accusations of “artificially inflating” the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” with the use of bots and colluding with UMG in a payola scheme. Now, Drake’s legal team is firing back.
In a statement shared with USA Today, a representative of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP doubled down on the claims made in Drake’s legal filing.
“It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists,” said the rep. “If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”
Although Spotify has requested that the “false” and “speculative” inquiry be dismissed, it appears Drake’s legal team is ready to go the distance in an attempt to prove their allegations.
Just as Spotify denied Drake’s accusation, so has UMG. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” said a representative for the label. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
A six-episode first season is the right length to hook viewers in and thank the streaming gods that a second season is coming. This is comfort food for those who enjoy spy and gay-best-friend content with John Wick callbacks aplenty. Keira Knightly recently admitted that she “would actually be the worst spy in the entire world,” so it’s a good thing that she became an actress and (to paraphrase) can portray one on TV. Ben Whishaw and his hair are the yin to her yang, and they shine alongside fellow cast members Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Buchan, Tracey Ullman, Ella Lily Hyland, and Andrew Koji.
9. Joker: Folie à Deux – WBD movie streaming on Max
After a majority of Joker viewers ditched the theatrical release for this musical, they are now at least watching it at home to the degree that it’s on the streaming charts. Never before has a film that was both a box-office and critical darling (and a The Hangover guys surprise) given the world such a middle finger in the form of a sequel. It’s safe to say that there will not be a third movie, but if you want to see how Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and “Lee” (Lady Gaga) ended up in the biggest-budgeted mishap of the year, at least it’s part of a streaming package now.
What, another Star Wars series so fast after The Acolyte? It’s happening. This series stars Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood, a pirate who tangos with the Force but probably not in a trustworthy way. Four kids cross paths with him after leaving their home planet and finding themselves lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy (far, far away). It’s like Stranger Things meet Star Wars, if an analogy needs to be made.
Get your dad on high alert if he didn’t hear that Clint Eastwood’s latest film hit streaming instead of spending time in theaters. Nicholas Hoult stars in this story that illustrates how jury duty might be dreadfully boring and terribly inconvenient for most people, but this guy is experiencing a worst-case scenario. Try not to think too much about current events while watching this and do enjoy the cast including The Night Agent‘s Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Toni Collette, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Messina, Leslie Bibb, and the possibly most omnipresent actor of our times, J.K. Simmons.
Michelle Randolph has opened up about that viral daddy-daughter scene that likely helped this show become such an immediate streaming hit for Paramount+. Beyond those banal jokes (and imagine Taylor Sheridan giggling to himself in his writing “bunker” while whipping that scene up), this show also offers a fine ensemble including Billy Bob Thornton at his most “Billy Bob” as well as Jon Hamm as a Texas-tea titan and Demi Moore as his underutilized wife. The show also stars Ali Larter going into full Real Housewives mode as well as Jacob Lofland, Michael Peña, and countless other ensemble members.
5. Subservience – XYZ films movie streaming on Netflix
Yeah, it never works out well when a M3GAN setup launches a film. Megan Fox stars as an android hired to cook and keep house when an ailing mother (Madeline Zima) needs bedrest. The father (Michele Morrone) can’t manage to keep it in his pants, so to speak, and then the Megan-bot grows jealous and homicidal, and sometimes, unsophisticated sci-fi is just fine for entertainment purposes. This film left sequel territory wide open, so we could hear more developments on whether Megan-bot will be back with a vengeance.
It’s obviously a big month for animated streaming series, and this show hails from the LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS crew with 15 episodes that function as love letters to gamers. An all-star cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Luna, Claudia Doumit, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Ariana Greenblatt, each of whom appear in episodes devoted to Warhammer 40,000, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, PAC-MAN, Exodus, and various PlayStation Studios games. Pull up your gaming chair and enjoy.
Every year, at least a few A-listers gather ’round and make holiday movies meant to keep the kids busy for at least a few hours. This year, the dominating pair would be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans. Naturally, this movie is about a frantic rush to save Christmas, and the specific permutations of how this film settles into the same customary holiday story structure might involve jacked-up deltoids. No? Maybe.
With the holiday travel season in full swing, of course this movie about Christmas Eve airport perils has taken off, too. Taron Egerton stars as a TSA agent who is being threatened through an earbud by a villainous Jason Bateman, who is aided by the always underrated Theo Rossi. This isn’t exactly the The Outsider and Emily The Criminal crossover that the world has been waiting for, but it’s close and worth putting in the queue.
1. Dexter: Original Sin – Showtime series streaming on Paramount+
Long before Dexter Morgan sailed into a hurricane and somehow survived being “fatally” shot in upstate New York, younger Dexter (Patrick Gibson) began his 1990s tenure with the Miami Metro Police Department as an intern. This series will see him realize his Dark Passenger’s presence while working alongside his dad, Harry, to hone his serial killing Code. This series stars Christian Slater, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Molly Brown, Patrick Dempsey, Alex Shimizu, and Reno Wilson. Don’t worry, Michael C. Hall’s voice still performs the inner Dexter monologue that his audience loves so well.
Two of the faces of women’s college basketball are going head-to-head on Saturday evening. JuJu Watkins and the seventh-ranked USC Trojans will make their way to Connecticut to play Paige Bueckers and the fourth-ranked UConn Huskies in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season. It has all the makings of one of the best games we’ll watch this regular season, and before things tip off, Watkins and Bueckers are going to take a moment to celebrate women’s sports and debut a special sneaker.
In conjunction with Nike and TOGETHXR, the two stars were scheduled to meet at center court in a unifying moment that recognizes women’s sports and those who have helped them become increasingly popular. And both will have a special pair of sneakers, the TOGETHXR Everyone Watches Women’s Sports (EWWS) G.T. Hustle 3, on their feet, with the Trojans and the Huskies wearing colorways inspired by their respective programs.
Both teams will enter Saturday’s game with a 10-1 record, with each squad losing to Notre Dame. Bueckers, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is averaging 20.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.1 steals in 29.9 minutes per game. Watkins, meanwhile, should end up being one of the favorites to go with the top overall pick in 2027, and does a little bit of everything for USC, as she’s putting up 24.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks a night.
Today (December 21), the “Like The End” musician was brutally honest with a fan. On X (formerly Twitter), a James Blake supporter tagged the recording artist in a tribute made with AI-generated music in his likeness. Unfortunately, the now-deleted songs did not earn a stamp of approval from Blake. “Hate all of them ,” he wrote.
Typically, entertainers would be shunned for emotionally violating a fan in this way. But, users online overwhelmingly threw their support behind Blake’s response.
“Now, why would he do this; we all know how much you hate AI,” wrote one user.
“It’s crazy that he decided to tag you of all people because anyone who knows the first thing about you knows that you would hate this arguably more than anyone else,” added another.
Other James Blake fans echoed their dislike of the attempted creative compliment. “They really did this to the most gorgeous song that is also written about this kind of technology ,” penned another.
“It’s almost like the person didn’t understand the meaning of the song,” chimed another.
Safe to say, James Blake’s response drew his anti-AI stance deeper into the musical sands.
It appears SZA is grateful she abandoned her intergalactic trip to Saturn. Yesterday (December 20), after a slight hiccup SOS Deluxe: Lana was finally uploaded to streaming platforms. Among the 15 new tracks, SZA couldn’t help but make yet another movie reference. On the first installment of the musical series, Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 hit Kill Bill was her film fix.
But now SZA is all about coveted filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and he is all for it. Over on Instagram, Scorsese’s daughter Francesca shared a subtle stamp of approval from her and her dad. With a photo of her father (viewable here), Francesca used SZA’s track “Scorsese Baby Daddy” that name-drops Martin along with the caption: “SZA, Queen sh*t”
Well, shortly after SZA shared her geeked about reaction to the show of love. “The fact that this isn’t AI, and it is actually Martin Scorsese ,” SZA wrote in her repost.
Although the song doesn’t reference any of Scorsese’s award-winning films, it does something even better—hail Scorsese has the king of dramas.
“I rolled up all my problems / And then I smoked about it / I could’ve called my mom up / I’d rather f*ck about it / Addicted to the drama / Scorsese baby daddy / Right there, just a little further down / Got a brand new reason to spiral out / Bad mood, baby, come work me out / Oh, I’ma crash out, baby, don’t slow me do,” she sings.
Given that SZA’s recent interaction with Ben Stiller online led to him starring in the music video for “Drive,” this could be the start of an epic visual saga.
Listen to SZA’s song “Scorsese Baby Daddy” above. SOS Deluxe: Lana is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Find more information here.
While, Lil Baby already announced his upcoming album, WHAM (Who Hard As Me), this isn’t the only project he has tucked away.
During an appearance on Lil Yachty’sA Safe Place podcast, Lil Baby confirmed that he will release two full length albums in 2025.
“At first, I was telling people I was going to drop a double album,” he said. “Now, I’m dropping the ‘WHAM’ album and ‘Dominique’ album.”
So far, the tracklist for WHAM (Who Hard As Me) has been revealed. But Lil Baby has not yet teased anything about Dominique. But later in the conversation, Lil Baby outlined what will separate the two bodies of work.
“’WHAM’ is more me on some young n**** sh*t — fast cars, girls, jewelry, money,” he said. “You know, the turnt lifestyle. And ‘Dominique’ is more the serious me, more personal. That’s a part of the new journey I’m on. I hate the word vulnerable, but I’m gonna be more open to my fans and my audience.”
But there will be slight crossover between the album. “I still put some of the songs I was gonna use for ‘Dominique’ on ‘WHAM’ [be]cause I know my fan base really want to hear them certain songs,” added Lil Baby.
Watch the full episode of Lil Yachty’s A Safe Place podcast featuring special guest Lil Baby above.
WHAM (Who Hard As Me) is out on 1/3/2025 via Quality Control / Motown.
Last month, the 2025 Grammys nomination list was officially revealed. However, due to recent album credit updates two musicians just secured another nods.
In the Grammy Update Center it was announced that both Charli XCX and Post Malone’s name were added to this coming ceremony’s Best Recording Package category for their respective projects (Charli XCX’s brat and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion).
Although both albums were previously nominated, neither musician received credit for artistic direction. But this was recently changed, which sparked the modified nomination. The art directors behind The Avett Brothers’ self-titled, William Clark Green’s Baker Hotel, Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love (Baskerville Edition), The Muddy Basin Ramblers’ Jug Band Millionaire, and iWhoiWhoo’s Pregnancy, Breakdown, and Disease.
With the new nomination, Charli XCX and Post Malone bring their overall total to eight. This means the pair officially surpassed Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar for the second most nominated artists at the 2025 Grammys. Charli XCX is nominated for Best Music Video (“360”), Best Dance/Electronic Album (brat), Best Dance Pop Recording (“Von Dutch”), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Guess”), Best Pop Solo Performance (“Apple”), Album Of The Year (brat), and Record Of The Year (“360”).
While Post Malone is nominated for Best Music Video (“Fortnight”), Best Country Album (F-1 Trillion), Best Country Song (“I Had Some Help”), Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“I Had Some Help”), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Levii’S Jeans”), Song Of The Year (“Fortnight”), and Record Of The Year (“Fortnight”).
The 2025 Grammys are scheduled to broadcast live on Sunday, February 2, 2025. Find more information here.
Robbie Williams’ Academy Awards dream has quickly morphed into a technical nightmare. The “Angels” musician’s biopic Better Man is slated to hit select theaters on Christmas Day (December 25). This means it is certain to be a topic of discussion for next year’s award season. However, reports suggest Williams will need to cross the Oscars’ Best Original Song off his wishlist.
According to Rolling Stone, Robbie Williams’ song “Forbidden Road” for Better Man as been removed from Oscars shortlist for Best Original Song.”
Although the track received a formal nomination for Best Original Song from the Golden Globes and Society of Composers and Lyricists’ SCL Awards, the Oscar nod is officially off the table. RS claims that the news of “Forbidden Road” disqualification was announced to members of the Academy’s Music Branch in a letter. The note revealed that because the record “incorporates material from an existing song that was not written” it dismissed due to the category’s technicality.
“Forbidden Road” which credited to Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, and Sacha Skarbek pulls from Jim Croce’s 1973 song “I Got A Name.” The song, which was authored by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel was featured in the film, The Last American Hero.
Robbie Williams has not addressed the reports.
Better Man will hit select theaters on December 25 and nationwide on Janaury 10. Find more information here.
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