Aside from making music with his siblings as part of the Jonas Brothers, Nick Jonas keeps busy with a number of other endeavors, like serving as a coach on the latest season of The Voice. The 18th season’s finale was last night, and Jonas busted something special out for the episode: He penned a new quarantine ballad, “Until We Meet Again.”
The bluesy track is meant to provide a sense of optimism during these trying times, as he belts out lyrics like, “So until we meet again / I’ma keep smiling / We could be miles apart / But you know I’m never too far / My friend, until we meet again.” The song is streaming now, and proceeds will go to Feeding America.
Jonas also made a simple video to present on the show. Jonas found a nice grassy hill for the clip, where he sings the song and writes thank-you messages to healthcare workers on a whiteboard, offering his gratitude for their important work right now. Images of healthcare workers also flash on the screen. Jonas got some help filming the video from his wife, Priyanka Chopra, as the last shot shows Jonas taking the camera from her and giving her some playful kisses.
Though the 2018-19 Raptors excelled because of their depth and know-how, they never had to dip far enough into their bench to use Jeremy Lin, though he still may have been the most famous player on the entire roster. The 2019 NBA champions signed Lin late in the year as a reserve fill-in, and the veteran tagged along throughout the championship run. As it turned out, Lin had some reservations about his time in Toronto, namely that he struggled with the thought that he might not have deserved a ring.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated as he gets set to play in the restarted Chinese Basketball Association, Lin acknowledged he had to come to terms with his role on the 2019 Raptors.
“I got to the point where I was like, ‘Did I earn it?’ I didn’t contribute the way I wanted, but I was good enough to be on that team and to be an NBA player,” Lin told SI.
Few players would be honest enough to go on record with such qualms, but it’s a perfectly human reaction to worry over whether your accomplishments hold weight. Still, Lin is just 31 and hasn’t given up on his NBA aspirations. Because of an unfortunately-timed injury and a buyout from the Brooklyn Nets in 2018, Lin ended up joining a team abroad far sooner than he wanted. Many NBA players have revitalized their careers in the CBA, and though Lin is a star overseas, he yearns for an NBA return at some point.
Said Lin, “For me, I still have a lot of goals. I still have a lot of things that I want to accomplish. … And I still have time.”
Though backup point guard is a deep position in the NBA, Lin has been solid throughout his career and is one of the most candid, genuine people in the league. It’s hard to think a team wouldn’t benefit from having him around in some form or fashion.
It’s been a little over a month since WWE cut a large amount of talent from their roster. One of those sports entertainers, Heath Slater (real name Heath Miller), has been keeping his chin up, staying busy with his Face 2 Face Wrestling School in Georgia.
Slater recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. about WWE’s recent decision to go to empty-arena shows inside the WWE Performance Center. Unsurprisingly, the former WWE Superstar didn’t mince his words:
“I hate it. Everyone hates it because the people is what makes it. My goodness! When I was a heel, the best thing was when I would have a dude in a hold and I would hear something. Someone would say, ‘Oh, you suck’ and I’d be like, ‘Oh, you shut your mouth!’ I’d just go off on them and that’s the best feeling in the world. But if there’s no one there and I’m going, ‘Shut your mouth’ then they’re gonna be like what’s he talking about? Is he okay?”
Granted, Slater may just be commenting on this as a fan, as he hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since February 21, before WWE went into lockdown mode. But he likely has better backstage intel than most of us, even if he claims the intricacies of WWE’s TV contracts, which are largely being considered the reason why WWE hasn’t gone dark or just exclusively aired archival content, are above his pay grade:
“It’s one of those things where you have to go live, even if there ain’t no one there because you already signed the dotted line. Look what’s going on. Hell if I know. That’s above my head. I’m the guy who walks out to cool music and gets to have fun for 15 minutes.”
While Slater is still figuring out his next move, he has launched a ProWrestlingTees store. (I mean, he’s got kids, after all.)
After hip-hop’s A- and B-list stars spent the last several weeks dropping new albums to spite the quarantine doldrums, the next artist to join the parade of releases is Gunna, who announced that his new album, Wunna, would arrive this Friday, May 22. Despite taking a relatively relaxed approach to his rollout, Gunna turned up the intensity as his release date nears, dropping the title track and its video this week, finally coming through with the cover art and tracklist today on Instagram.
The tracklist reveals that the features list consists mostly of folks you’d expect, with appearances from Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Travis Scott, and Gunna’s YSL label boss Young Thug, as well as newcomer Nechie, who will have his work cut out to stand out among that who’s-who list of stars.
While Gunna has been pretty chill about promoting this album, he did share “Skybox,” the lead single, and tease a few other tracks that don’t appear on the tracklist, including “Quarantine Clean” with Young Thug and a Pop Smoke collaboration which seems to have missed the cut. If nothing else, the follow-up to Drip Or Drown 2 does have some timely features and one heck of a cool cover.
Check out Gunna’s tracklist for Wunna above. Wunna is due 5/22 on YSL Records and 300 Entertainment.
At the beginning of the year, Pharrell and Chad Hugo announced that the return of The Neptunes was imminent. At their height, the duo imparted their influence on a number of decade-defining singles like Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” Now, The Neptunes aim to make a comeback with a groove-driven single with groundbreaking producer Deadmau5.
Deadmau5 and The Neptunes shared the comeback effort “Pomegranate” on Tuesday. Boasting lush production, electro-pop-infused tones, and a clapping backbeat, “Pomegranate” stands as a triumphant effort by all three musicians with Pharrell’s recognizable cadence melting under comforting instrumentals. “So much you won’t see without open eyes / ‘Cause closed eyes, is closed sight / And closed mind, is closed vibe,” he sings.
“Pomegranate” was born out of a closed session between Deadmau5, Pharrell, and Hugo. Back in December, the musicians reunited in Miami for a secret session at The Neptunes’ Criteria Recording Studios to lay the groundwork for the sunny comeback effort.
The Neptunes’ Deadmau5 collaboration marks the first of many singles from the group. After announcing their return in January, the duo teased upcoming collaborations with artists like Jay-Z and Lil Uzi Vert while also hinting at projects with Blink-182, Brandy, G-Eazy, Miley Cyrus, and Ray J.
Listen to Deadmau5 and The Neptunes’ collaborative new song “Pomegranate” above.
We might still be in lockdown, but at least we’ve got plenty of streaming content to keep us entertained. You can thank Netflix for most of it. The platform is rolling out some big titles this month, including a campy comedy from Will Ferrell, new seasons of Queer Eye and The Politician, and a gritty Spike Lee flick about the Vietnam war. Here’s everything coming to, and leaving, Netflix this June.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix film streaming 6/26)
Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams take on the planet’s most-watched singing competition with this campy comedy about an Icelandic duo named Fire Saga set on achieving glory on the world’s biggest stage. Ferrell and McAdams play Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir, artists chosen to represent their nation in the Eurovision Song Contest, a real competition that features musicians from all over the world, often performing in wild get-ups. Dan Stevens seems to be playing a rival on the stage while Pierce Brosnan and Demi Lovato are set to make appearances. We’re calling it now: “Volcano Man” is going to be a bop.
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix film streaming 6/12)
Spike Lee’s latest streaming joint hits Netflix this month. Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman plays a Black Vietnam war vet and squad leader. Flash forward to the present, and his team’s returned to find the buried gold they left behind. The bigger struggle will be coming to terms with the price of defending their country and receiving no gratitude in return.
The Politician: Season 2 (Netflix original series streaming 6/19)
Ryan Murphy’s dark political comedy is back for round two. Payton Hobart has graduated from rigging high school elections to unseating New York Senator Dede Standish (Judith Light). First, he’ll have to get his old crew back together to take on the politician’s campaign manager, a savvy, dogged Chief of Staff named Hadassah Gold (Bette F*cking Midler), and that might mean exposing some conspiracy cover-ups and scandalous throuples along the way.
Here’s the full list of titles coming to Netflix in June:
Avail. 6/1 Act of Valor
All Dogs Go to Heaven
Bad News Bears
Cape Fear
Casper
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clow Card
Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura Card
Clueless
Cocomelon: Season 1
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The Healer
Inside Man
Lust, Caution
Observe and Report
Priest
Silence of the Lambs
Starship Troopers
The Boy
The Car (1977) The Disaster Artist
The Help
The Lake House
The Queen
Twister
V for Vendetta
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
West Side Story
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
Zodiac
Avail. 6/2 Alone: Season 6 Fuller House: The Farewell Season (Netflix Original) Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On True: Rainbow Rescue (Netflix Family)
Avail. 6/3 Killing Gunther
Lady Bird
Spelling the Dream (Netflix Documentary) .
Avail. 6/4 Baki: The Great Raitai Tournament Saga (Netflix Anime) Can You Hear Me? (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/5 13 Reasons Why: Season 4 (Netflix Original) Hannibal: Season 1-3 The Last Days of American Crime (Netflix Film) Queer Eye: Season 5 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/6 Queen of the South: Season 4
Avail. 6/7 Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj: Volume 6 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/8 Before I Fall
Avail. 6/10 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: Season 5 Lenox Hill (Netflix Documentary) Middle Men
My Mister: Season 1 Reality Z (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/11 Pose: Season 2
Avail. 6/12 Da 5 Bloods (Netflix Film) Dating Around: Season 2 (Netflix Original) F is for Family: Season 4 (Netflix Original) Jo Koy: In His Elements (Netflix Comedy) Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Season 2 (Netflix Family) One Piece: Alabasta
One Piece: East Blue
One Piece: Enter Chopper at the Winter Island
One Piece: Entering into the Grand Line
Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Netflix Family) The Search (Netflix Original) The Woods (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/13 Alexa & Katie Part 4 (Netflix Family) How to Get Away With Murder: Season 6 Milea
Avail. 6/14 Marcella: Season 3 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/15 Underdogs
Avail. 6/16 Baby Mama
Charlie St. Cloud
The Darkness
Frost/Nixon
Avail. 6/17 An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn
Mr. Iglesias: Part 2 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/18 A Whisker Away (Netflix Anime) The Order: Season 2 (Netflix Original)
Avail. 6/19 Babies: Part 2 (Netflix Documentary) Father Soldier Son (Netflix Documentary) Feel the Beat (Netflix Film) Floor Is Lava (Netflix Original) Lost Bullet (Netflix Film) Girls from Ipanema: Season 2 (Netflix Original) One Way to Tomorrow (Netflix Film) The Politician: Season 2 (Netflix Original) Rhyme Time Town (Netflix Family) Wasp Network (Netflix Film)
Avail. 6/21 Goldie
Avail. 6/22 Dark Skies
Avail. 6/23 Eric Andre: Legalize Everything (Netflix Comedy)
Avail. 6/24 Athlete A (Netflix Documentary) Crazy Delicious (Netflix Original) Nobody Knows I’m Here (Netflix Film)
Avail. 6/26 Amar y vivir (Netflix Original) Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix Film) Home Game (Netflix Documentary) Straight Up
Avail. 6/29 Bratz: The Movie
Avail. 6/30 Adú (Netflix Film) BNA (Netflix Anime) George Lopez: We’ll Do It for Half (Netflix Comedy)
Here’s the full list of titles leaving Netflix in June:
Leaving 6/1 The King’s Speech
Leaving 6/3 God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness
Leaving 6/4 A Perfect Man
Leaving 6/7 Equilibrium From Paris With Love
Leaving 6/9 Mad Men: Season 1-7
Leaving 6/10 Standoff
Leaving 6/11 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Series 1
Leaving 6/12 Dragonheart Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer
Dragonheart: A New Beginning
Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire
Cutie and the Boxer
Leaving 6/16 The Stanford Prison Experiment
Leaving 6/22 Tarzan
Tarzan 2
Leaving 6/24 Avengers: Infinity War
Leaving 6/27 Jeopardy!: Celebrate Alex Collection
Jeopardy!: Cindy Stowell Collection
Jeopardy!: Seth Wilson Collection
Leaving 6/29 The Day My Butt Went Psycho!: Season 1-2
Leaving 6/30 21
The Amityville Horror
The Andy Griffith Show: Season 1-8 Blow
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Brooklyn’s Finest
Center Stage
Chasing Amy
Cheers: Season 1-11 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chloe
Click
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ghost Rider
Happyish: Season 1 Here Alone
Inception
Instructions Not Included
The Invention of Lying
Julie & Julia
Kate & Leopold
Kiss the Girls
The Last Samurai
Limitless: Season 1 Little Monsters
Mansfield Park
The Mask of Zorro
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Minority Report
Patriot Games
Philadelphia
The Polar Express
Race to Witch Mountain
The Ring
Scary Movie
Sliver
Stuart Little 2
Tremors
Tremors 2: Aftershocks
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
Tremors 5: Bloodline
What Lies Beneath
Yes Man
Putting all the basement imprisonment jokes to bed, OVO has by far proved to be one of the strongest collectives in 2020. While the world continues to await the release of the sixth album of their label boss, Drake, OVO has delivered quality music on a month-to-month basis throughout the year. Led by the return of PartyNextDoor and DVSN, fans have little to complain about with the music coming from up north. Joining in on the returns to the spotlight, Roy Woods resurfaced with a new EP, Dem Times.
Bundled with six songs, including the previously-heard “I Feel It,” Dem Times steps into a year where R&B has produced some of its best work in recent memory. However, Roy’s latest project does not arrive with the goal of matching the excellence brought forth in the genre. Instead, Dem Times recalls the palette used on his 2017 debut album Say Less and uses it to show the growth – both musically and personally – of the Brampton native.
Roy Woods’ debut was a calculated blend of gritty croons over drowning 808s and energetic rhymes led by uptempo production. While Say Less featured more of the former, Dem Times finds comfort in the quick-paced production. Just two songs in, Roy Woods dusts the three-year-old dirt off his shoulder on “Neva Your Way.” The track brings listeners to hi-hat ecstasy as Roy dismisses the desires of a certain woman in his life who throws a fit about plans not going as expected. “Yeah, girl, you tried but you still a lil’ deceiver / You ain’t none but a lil’ motherf*ckin’ diva.” Bursting through ceilings of confidence on “Cool J,” Roy compares his style and aesthetic to LL Cool J. “I been goin’ everywhere he can’t go / Cool J, n****, with the Kangol,” he raps throughout the song’s chorus. Gliding over the hard-hitting bass, Roy makes it clear he’s one of a kind when it comes to money, hustling, women, and quite frankly, everything else.
Despite the shift in production, Dem Times both begins and ends the album in the pocket fans most recognize him for. Backed by dreamy production, Roy brings listeners on a late-night drive on “2 Me.” As the song unfolds, he opens up about his relationship issues and frustrations with an unreciprocated love. “Why don’t you pay me a lil’ mind, but watch how you talkin’ to me,” he sings. “You keep sayin’ that you’re mine, but you don’t feel mine to me.” Once on different pages, Roy Woods assures his partner that they are both on the same page on “I Feel It.” Putting his feelings of pain and solitude on wax, Woods tells his partner that their frustrations are one and that she should not push him away, but rather bring him closer so they can work it out. “Don’t tell me where to go / I came to win too long for you,” he begs on the song.
Giving listeners more of the uptempo production than what was delivered on Say Less, Roy’s EP brings forth both good and questionable moments sonically. One of those comes on “Like Pascal.” A feel-good record that finds him balling on the level of Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, Roy veers a bit too far out of his lane on the track, even sounding like Playboi Carti at various points. With a sound so distinct and true to himself, the move sounds too out of the box for him. A quick bump on the EP, Roy returns to form on the following track, “What We Do.” The tune finds him looking back at his time back home, both on the streets and with his family. Taking a moment to think about the city he left behind, Roy sings, “I left my city, feel like I just split ways / Said I won’t be back for a while, should’ve seen her face / What can I say? I can’t even leave LA,” proving home is always where the heart is.
After an almost three-year wait, one would expect a full-length project to emerge from Roy Woods as it did with his labelmates. Instead, Dem Times serves as the segway between chapters, one filled with anticipation and energetic sounds that would have performed well in the summer that once was. The EP doesn’t shine as brightly as his debut album did, but its components give hope in the Brampton native’s future.
Dem Times speaks on the relationships in Roy Woods’ life. The lyrics detail the situations with little to no filter, while the production brings listeners a feeling similar to what Roy experienced in his anecdotes. The EP plays like a snapshot of Roy’s continuous growth as it flashes moments of maturity and awareness towards the needs of his partner while seeking to accommodate them. On the other hand, it also finds him a bit dismissive and focusing on flashy things in life and showing them off. Dem Times takes one last look at what once was and what may never be again before one moves on to what lies ahead.
The NBA has been on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two months, and while there have been some steps towards a return — namely that players can workout at their team facilities should they so choose — there’s still plenty of ground that needs to be covered. Namely, the league has to figure out where it is going to play games, because while a bubble league appears to be the path forward, coming up with a location for said bubble league is still up in the air.
There have been several proposed locations, most prominently Disney World in Orlando and Las Vegas. On Wednesday afternoon, Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic brought word that hanging out with Mickey Mouse appears to be the most likely path forward.
The NBA has Orlando/Disney World as a clear frontrunner for return-to-play site for resuming 2019-20 season, sources tell me and @sam_amick. Orlando has gained significant seriousness among other cites such as Las Vegas.
According to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, there is a belief at Disney World that it will play some role in whatever the NBA decides to do.
Sources from Walt Disney World tell me: “We are confident we’ll be hosting the NBA in some fashion. It may not be the entire league, but we believe the NBA will be here to at least finish part of their season. Still hurdles to cross, but we are preparing as if that is the case.”
Amick and Charania laid out some of the rationale behind the league’s thinking on its two primary potential destinations. While Vegas has been a destination for the league for plenty of events in the past, including its annual Summer League and the home of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, and there is plenty of hotel space for players to reside in, there are some major questions. Las Vegas’ mayor, Carolyn Goodman, had a widely-panned interview on CNN about reopening last month, although they did make it a point to say that the timidity that brought has waned as time has gone on.
But is Sin City the right place for a basketball safe haven? It depends on who you ask. Some players with families would surely prefer a place with more open spaces and less glitz and glamour. Players who are single, quite naturally, would be just fine in that setting. It also depends on what sort of condition Vegas might be in by the time they arrived.
Nevada governor Steve Sisolak launched a phased reopening plan that began on Friday, but casinos are not part of Phase I. The Nevada Gaming Control Board will reportedly have the final say on when casinos reopen.
As for Orlando and Disney, the appeal is obvious: There is more than enough space to hold everyone, while the league’s main broadcast partner is ESPN, which is owned by Disney. If the league were to pursue a return in a centralized location, Disney, one could argue, makes the most sense. And to top it all off, the concept of doing something at Disney appears to have piqued the interest of the company’s boss, Bob Iger.
Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, who has strong relationships with Silver and National Basketball Players Association president Chris Paul, attended the remote Board of Governors meeting on April 17.
“It’s about the data, not the date (of a return),” he reportedly told the owners that day.
A report on May 12 indicated that the league wanted to have some sort of resolution on how it was going to move forward in 2-4 weeks. The ball appears to be moving on that, and perhaps we’re not far away from seeing the NBA put forth a plan.
Directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin over a phone call, the visual was shot from the singers’ respective homes. Van Etten, who is notoriously terse about her family life, offered a glimpse into her isolation with a glass of wine on hand. For Homme’s portion of the track, the singer similarly shows appreciation for his wife and two kids in the visual. Nick Lowe, the cover’s original songwriter, even makes an appearance.
In a statement alongside the visual’s relief, Homme discussed his collaboration with Van Etten further:
“I went to a Courtney Barnett Valentine’s Day concert that Sharon Van Etten was playing as one of a veritable buffet of musicians. She opened her mouth and my mind exploded—that voice, like fresh cream… with a hint of fine grit. When a week later the opportunity arose to sing with her, I jumped at it. This was of course before we had any idea that the world would be going into hiding for months. Recording this song had nothing to do with what we’d be going through… until we started going through it. In these times, it’s a blessing to feel lucky even for a moment… and I feel lucky to have been able to work with Sharon, Zach Dawes, Michael Shuman, Matthew Siskin and our families.
When you’re shooting at home you start out shooting only what you love. Then you get tired and stop. This video doesn’t deal with anything outside of what’s happening within its own little world we created — only what’s happening inside two households connected by what they love the most, nothing more.”
What Van Etten and Homme’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?” video above.
It might be odd to imagine the lovable and squeaky-clean Mr. Rogers making money from gangsta rap, but that’s exactly what happened, according to Ice Cube. The West Coast rap pioneer related the story to fans during an Instagram Live session celebrating the 30th anniversary of his solo debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. While talking about the creation, reception, and impact of that album, he revealed that one person who received royalties from it would have been unexpected to anyone not in-the-know: The host of the educational children’s TV show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, which was once sampled on the project.
The song in question, “A Gangsta’s Fairytale,” opens with a sample of a portion of the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song, which the usually agreeable television host took issue with, suing Ice Cube for royalties and eventually prompting Cube to remove the sample entirely from later reissues of the album. As he told fans who tuned into his Live:
“I actually wrote this for Eazy-E. But y’all know what it is, we weren’t getting down at the time so I had to take it myself. It’s a trip because off this song, Mr. Rogers sued us. He was mad because we had the Mister Rogers theme at the beginning of this sh*t. ‘It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood,’ and all that. The n**** sued us and was getting like five cents a record until we took that part off.”
I’m not sure what’s funnier — the thought of the wholesome Mr. Rogers checking his mail for a check from an album called AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted or the fact that Ice Cube apparently doesn’t know the words to the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhoodtheme song. In any event, you can check out the full Live stream above.
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