Category: Worldwide

The Golden State Warriors will be the host team for the upcoming NBA All-Star Weekend, as the basketball world will descend on San Francisco for the annual midseason festivities. All-Star Weekend has become more than just a basketball showcase, as it’s become a cultural event with stars from the worlds of music, TV, film, and entertainment all coming through.

This year, the Warriors are using All-Star to shine a light on the Bay Area and their unique musical scene with an album, “For The Soil”, that’s being released through the team’s label, Golden State Entertainment. P-Lo is producing the album and we spoke with him earlier in the year about the project and why he was so excited to partner with the Warriors to bring together some of the biggest names in Bay Area hip-hop for it. On the latest single from that album, “Had To,” P-Lo is joined by two of the Bay’s most legendary artists, E-40 and Too Short.

You wouldn’t get far in a conversation about Bay Area hip-hop without mentioning E-40 or Too Short, and they lend their distinct style and sound to the track. Both are big Warriors fans, with E-40 noting his status as a courtside season ticket holder in his verse, and a celebration of music in the Bay would’ve been incomplete without them.

It’s been a while since Oklahoma indie favorites Broncho released 2018’s Bad Behavior, their most recent album. Now, the drought it about to be over: Today (February 10), the group announced Natural Pleasure, the fifth album and first in six years.

It arrives on April 25, and today, they’ve shared two new songs. The group’s Ryan Lindsey notes “Imagination” “was written in the early hours of a pandemic morning in my garage,” adding, “I imagine the whole neighborhood might have heard me writing that one.” He also says of “Funny,” “Although none of our songs are written about any one subject, ‘Funny’ is loosely based on my ability to steal my girlfriend’s jokes.”

The album was recorded primarily at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma. A press release notes of the LP, “Listening to Natural Pleasure is a sensory journey — a plunge into a dimension where reality blurs into something more fluid and profound. With this record, Broncho reaffirms their status as indie rock stalwarts, delivering a masterpiece that’s alive, unpredictable, and deeply human.”

Listen to “Funny” and “Imagination” above. Below, find the Natural Pleasure album art and tracklist.

Broncho’s Natural Pleasure Album Cover Artwork

Broncho’s Natural Pleasure Tracklist

1. “Imagination”
2. “Funny”
3. “Cool”
4. “Get Gone”
5. “I Swear”
6. “Original Guilt”
7. “Save Time”
8. “You Got Me”
9. “Think I Pass”
10. “Surely”
11. “Way Into Magic”
12. “Dreamin”

Natural Pleasure is out 4/25 via Broncho Worldwide. Find more information here.

Calvin Klein cultivated a distinct, clean aesthetic in the ’90s, and Lucy Dacus is paying tribute to it in her new video for “Best Guess,” the latest preview of her upcoming album Forever Is A Feeling.

The video (for which Dacus had an open call earlier this year) features a bunch of models — among them Cara Delevigne, Towa Bird, and Muna’s Naomi McPherson — doing model things (playing pool, arm wrestling, throwing darts, lifting weights, dancing, striking poses, and what have you) in white rooms and black rooms, mostly wearing some variation of a classic black suit with a white shirt.

Dacus previously said of writing the album, “I got kicked in the head with emotions. Falling in love, falling out of love. […] You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life. […] You can’t actually capture forever, but I think we feel forever in moments. I don’t know how much time I’ve spent in forever, but I know I’ve visited.”

Dacus’ Boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker appear on the album, along with Hozier, Blake Mills, Bartees Strange, Madison Cunningham, Collin Pastore, Jake Finch, and Melina Duterte.

Watch the “Best Guess” video above.

Forever Is A Feeling is out 3/28 via Geffen Records. Find more information here.

TV audiences can’t quit their spy and assassin stories coupled with covert romance. Not even Killing Eve‘s Game of Thrones-esque series finale could dampen long-lasting enthusiasm for the fusion of espionage and romance, either, so word of the Mrs. & Mrs. Smith reboot’s renewal was met with enthusiasm. Then silence. Then award nominations. And more silence.

At least that cliffhanger ending will see followup, so let’s talk about what we can expect when the second season finally arrives.

Plot

By all indications, the existing structure will stick. Married assassins will appear as part of a vast network in which Smiths might cross paths with other Smiths. Those Smiths might be out to assassinate the Smiths that accrue too many strikes from the mysterious bosses. The TV show has also taken a very episodic approach, even picking up months later and with unclear timelines on various assassin assignments. (With that said, the show would do well to take a trip back and visit Alexander Skarsgård ^^^ and Eiza González’s John and Jane, if only for an episode, no matter who the next “main” Smiths are.)

For the second season, Donald Glover is onboard as ongoing writer and executive producer. Will he appear onscreen again? That remains a mystery, but his schedule is perpetually packed, and he recently postponed Childish Gambino tour dates over an unexpected medical condition. A similar situation exists for Maya Erskine, who announced a pregnancy last spring.

For that matter, we do not know whether Glover and Erskine’s John and Jane survived the first season finale, but it sure as hell didn’t look possible. With only one bullet left between them and John seemingly close to death, it’s extremely unlikely that either of them survived a hail of bullets (with blasts visible in the window during the season’s closing shot) coming from Parker Posey’s Jane. Speaking of which, Posey recently spoke with Screenrant and disclosed that nobody has called her about the second season. She did, however, praise her John, portrayed by Wagner Moura, as a “a dreamy guy.” Moura’s character surely didn’t recover from his wounds, which adds to the possibility that none of these four characters will return.

Showrunner Francesca Sloane previously declined to confirm or deny who lived and died, although she noted that she and Donald found supposed “source” claims to be hilarious: “[W]e’re like, ‘Who are these sources?’ We wrote a cliffhanger, we thought about it long and hard. It was one of the first things that we wrote. Why in the world — we haven’t said anything — but why in the world would we ruin a cliffhanger based on a headline?” Erskine has further stressed to Entertainment Weekly the importance of staying mum:

“I totally understand why there’s speculation. It was funny when the article came out proclaiming that we’re not in it because there was no announcement made. But Fran said it best. She talked about how it’s sort of like Christmas: Don’t open the presents until it’s Christmas day. You don’t need to peek inside. I’m trying to follow along in their footsteps because I have a big mouth, and if I could, I would just say everything right now, but I can’t. I don’t want to ruin it.”

News will eventually arrive, but hopefully, that happens soon because the first season arrived nearly a year ago.

Cast

With the way that both Maya Erskine and Donald Glover have been down for teasing (both on late night shows), it sounds like they could be in for a quick cameo, maybe pre-death if their characters didn’t survive for more. Perhaps they will even take the form of Ultra High Risk Smiths that Parker Posey and Wagner Maura did in the first season. But if they do not return, and a central pair of Smiths enter the assassin field this season (and Deadline has reported that this is the case), the return of supporting cast members Michaela Coel or Paul “Hot Neighbor” Dano would be a joy, too.

Bottom line, however, is that Amazon hasn’t announced a replacement set of main assassins or who might return, but Variety has reported that Anora‘s Mark Eydelshteyn has been added to the cast in some shape or form.

Release Date

This season’s development has been so secretive that late 2025 might be possible if Amazon is keeping new cast members under wraps. If they’re waiting for Donald and Maya to be available again, then 2026 is more likely.

Trailer

In lieu of related footage, rewatching the first two minutes of the series could stir up desires to see the backstory of squirrel-loving assassins.

11 minutes into Kendrick Lamar’s historic Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, about halfway through his trademark juggernaut of a diss song, “Not Like Us,” an unexpected guest appeared on millions of American’s television screens: international tennis superstar Serena Williams. Standing under a lamppost, the athlete-turned-mogul exhibited a joyous, familiar demonstration of the South Central Los Angeles-spawned, gang-related two-step, the crip walk.

For those deep into Kendrick Lamar lore, the appearance was fitting; like the Pulitzer Prize-winning rap poet, she hails from South Los Angeles’ Hub City, Compton (as does this writer), a point of pride for both and contention for their critics. Furthermore, her appearing during a song dissing one of hip-hop’s most recognizable figures made sense, as well; the two were occasionally linked romantically by tabloid writers throughout the early 2010s.

But there was a third dimension to Williams’ appearance, the one I think both Kendrick and Serena were most concerned with. Because, you see, on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9, 2025, “Not Like Us” ceased to be just about Drake. Just like Kendrick’s entire set, it was a challenge to America. It was a shot at an institution. It was a message. It was a reminder. You can’t cancel Black history. There are no diversity and inclusion initiatives you can kill that will erase this nation’s original sin. You are Not Like Us.

America wants to be like us. It tells itself stories of overcoming adversity. Like Drake, it lies about starting at the bottom. It takes credit for the innovations and creativity of those it oppresses. It demands entertainment of those whose humanity it refuses to acknowledge. I don’t have to provide examples. You know. Even as you fix your lips to deny it, even as you poise your thumbs to type out that “I don’t see color”… you know, in your heart of hearts, the truth.

Before it celebrated the accomplishments of a Black girl from the city of Compton (you call it an “inner-city,” despite it being a suburb, and you call it a ghetto, when it produces celebrities, cowboys, MBAs, and music writers), America spat on Serena Williams and her sister Venus. When Serena was on their way to becoming the winningest women’s tennis player of all time, America had nothing but criticism for her braids, her attire, her attitude, her drive, her figure, her business moves, her audacity to be Black in a sport that prides itself of its…”exclusivity.” That prides itself on telling Black folks “you are Not Like Us.”

America had so very much criticism for Serena when, upon winning the Wimbledon tournament in 2012, she danced a few steps of the C-walk in celebration. The first question she fielded upon leaving the court was, “All people know that the crip walk is not just a dance… I was wondering, do you have any regrets doing it in front of everyone?” As though celebrating your history, your heritage, your community, is something to be ashamed of. At the Super Bowl, Serena, alongside Kendrick, reversed the dynamic. They were the center of attention. They held the spotlight. And with it, a mirror. We are who love, who you want to be, who you emulate, who ask to create your biggest cultural moments. And you are Not. Like. Us.

The grin that slid across Kendrick’s face as he delivered the slick “Say Drake” that kicks off the most vicious stanzas of “Not Like Us” was his acknowledgement of the fact that so many in the audience would miss the point. They’d miss it, despite his incorporating Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam to level exactly the same indictments that America has issued to Black artists for over 100 years in a knowing satire. They’d miss it, despite his dancers coming together to form the image of an American flag, draped in red, white, and blue, co-opting the jingoism that has taken over the NFL and its consumer base in the same way they’re so happy to co-opt the language and the look of hip-hop. How many country stars these days started out as “rappers” and still fill their songs with 808s and AAV?

Throughout the course of his set, Kendrick highlighted just how long his Cold War with Drake had chilled before the cold snap of 2024. Songs with layered, sublimated shots sizzled with the scintillating realization that he was always pointing the finger in indictment. But not just at Drake. Drake was just a useful puppet, an effigy. Drake was just the Great and Powerful Oz; Kendrick always wanted the man — or rather, the system — behind the curtain. The one that props up empty vessels like Drake, the one chooses which version of hip-hop to prop up — the combative, fractious battle rap, the deleterious gangsta rap, the toxic drug rap — and slipped up, just this once, and let in the one that would stand on the field at the single most-watched television event of the year and demand some accountability.

There’s a lot of chatter online today about how Kendrick “should have” played his older hits. He should have made us dance. He should have — and this is the quiet part they think we can’t hear — shut up and dribbled. Tap danced. Put on that ol’ grease paint and that great big smile. He smiled, alright. Smiled as he got away with it. Smiled as he spoke truth to power. Smiled as he did what they didn’t want him to do. He reminded America that there is no America without Black history. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to like us. If you hate us, it’s only ’cause you ain’t us.

It is what it is. But you need us. You like having us around. That’s cool. We aren’t going anywhere. Just remember: We are the standard. We are the bar. And you are…

Not. Like. Us.

Father John Misty can’t escape Kendrick Lamar.

Last year, the “She Cleans Up” singer released a new album, Mahashmashana, on November 22 — the same day that Lamar surprise-dropped GNX. When a fan apologized for the unfortunate timing, Father John Misty replied, “it’s okay only other times it’s happened was 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2022.”

2012 saw the release of Fear Fun and good kid, m.A.A.d city, while 2015 had I Love You, Honeybear and To Pimp A Butterfly. The coincidence continued with Pure Comedy and Damn in 2017, Chloë And The Next 20th Century and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in 2022, and Mahashmashana and GNX in 2024.

Father John Misty even got personally overshadowed by Lamar on Super Bowl Sunday.

This Sunday was the 10-year anniversary of I Love You, Honeybear, one of the best indie albums of the 2010s. To celebrate the occasion, Pitchfork share their decade-old review of the album (8.8) on X, which FJM quote-tweeted. “had to do his super bowl performance today of all days,” he wrote, “nice.”

Father John Misty has already put out a “diss track” aimed at Kendrick. For his next move, he should start a petition to perform during next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Or he can stay home and watch The Matrix. Either works.

In the course of the near-60-year history of the Super Bowl, the big game has had some pretty legendary halftime shows, ranging from Michael Jackson’s game-changing 1993 show, which sparked the tradition of celebrity-led mega-performances, to Prince playing “Purple Rain” IN the rain, with everyone from Beyoncé to Lady Gaga to Dr. Dre sprinkled in between.

But if you were to ask actor Ben Stiller, there’s only one correct answer for “which one was the best?” and that’s Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX, starring Kendrick Lamar. “Best halftime show ever,” he wrote on Twitter (never calling it X).

Of course, he might be biased because of Kendrick’s guest star, SZA. Stiller and the TDE singer have exchanged artistic admiration a few times over the past year, culminating in the Severence creator’s starring in SZA’s music video for the Lana cut, “Drive.”

Before recruiting him to ghostride the whip, SZA urged the Hollywood veteran to increase his output regarding the hit Apple TV show. As she wrote on Twitter, “Was tryna be polite but I really need a new season of ‘Severance’ right the f*ck now.”

After sheepishly replying, “Ok ok, got it,” Stiller helped SZA announce the release date for the long-awaited Lana, a deluxe edition of her fan-favorite album SOS.

Speaking of deluxe editions, SZA tacked four new songs onto Lana during the performance. You can check them out here.

Over the past year or so, creatives have been more vocal with speaking out about the issues with fame, particularly newfound fame (thanks in part to rising star Chappell Roan bringing these topics to the forefront). Roan has gotten a bunch of support for her takes, and now Ariana Grande has a related idea: Young artists should have therapy provided to them by film/TV studios and record labels.

Grande is a guest on a new episode of the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, and there, she said (as Variety notes):

“It’s so important that these record labels, these studios, these TV studios, these big production companies make it a part of the contract when you sign on to do something that’s going to change your life in that way, on that scale. You need a therapist to be seeing several times a week.”

She added that labels and studios “should be responsible for protecting” artists from the negative impacts of fame and other drastic life changes that come with it.

Grande also said, “When these people are cast in these life-changing roles, or when they get that record deal, when they get that moment, that should be non-negotiable in the contract. Because to be an artist, you are a vulnerable person with your heart on your sleeve. […] So the same person who is meant to do art is the exact same person who is not meant to deal with that sh*t.”

Find the full episode here.

Last year, Afrobeats star Rema took the biggest step yet in his career with the release of his second studio album, Heis. The polarizing album offered a jolt to the genre, opening up new avenues of sound for it to explore. He continued that trend this month with the release of the single “Baby (Is It A Crime),” which samples fellow African star Sade Adu. And now, he’s revealed the dates for his upcoming Heis World Tour, which include his debut at Coachella in April.

Tickets for the 23-date tour go on sale on Thursday, February 13 at 10 AM local time, while pre-sales begin on Tuesday, February 11 with artist pre-sale, followed by Spotify pre-sale on Wednesday. You can find more info here, and see below for tour dates.

Rema’s Heis World Tour Dates

04/11 — Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Expo Centre
04/13 — Indio, CA Coachella Weekend 1
04/20 — Indio, CA Coachella Weekend 2
04/24 — Mexico City, MX @ Cercle Odyssey
04/27 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
04/30 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
05/03 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/06 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall
05/10 — Montreal, QC @ Place Bell
05/11 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
05/24 — Mauritius Island @ Cote D’Or
06/06 — Berlin, Germany @ Uber Eat Halle
06/08 — London, England @ The O2
06/14 — Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
06/18 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ TAP 1
06/20 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
06/22 — Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
06/28 — Paris, France @ Accor Arena
07/20 — Okinawa, Japan @ Okinawa Arena
07/22 — Afro Jam Festival Osaka, Japan @ Ookini Arena
07/27 — Afro Jam Festival Tokyo, Japan @ Musashino Sports Plaza
08/01 — Malmo, Sweden @ Dream Park Festival
08/03 — Barcelona, Spain @ Poble Espanyol

James Gunn has his work cut out for him in setting the DCEU aside and constructing the DCU for WBD. Of course, John Cena’s Peacemaker is now being grandfathered into the fold, but Creature Commandos counts as the DCU’s official launch with Gunn’s Superman (and Krypto) reboot and Lanterns among the entries set for theatrical and streaming release, respectively.

Then there’s Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, which is slightly further down the release schedule but is a high priority for Gunn in establishing his vision for adapting DC Comics titles going forward. Let’s piece together clues on what we can expect from this movie.

Cast

Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) scored the Kara Zor-El role following an extensive search. Recently on social media, Gunn revealed a cryptic look (shown at the top of this post) of Alcock on set while confirming that cameras were rolling with Craig Gillespie as director. Gunn further called Alcock “phenomenal” in the role while adding, “Craig brings an incredible sensibility to this story, and Milly is every inch the unique #Supergirl envisioned by Tom King, Bilquis Evely & Ana Nogueira.”

Former Aquaman Jason Momoa will fill Lobo’s antagonistic shoes. Momoa had floated himself for this role during a Fandango interview, in which he called Lobo “always my favorite… I’m like, ‘Hello? It’s the perfect role” and “a f*ck yeah” decision if WBD ever called him. Momoa later followed up in an Instagram post to dramatic effect: “They called.” God only knows if Momoa’s take on the antihero/thuggish bounty hunter (who happens to have regenerative powers) will utter the “nuking the earth into guacamole!” line.

Also? We know that Gunn loves Krypto, and there’s certainly reason to believe that Superman’s dog will crossover between DCU movies. Look (again) at how cute he is. Those ears, man.

Plot

When word first surfaced of this movie in 2023, Gunn revealed that his script is heavily inspired by Tom King’s ^^^ limited comic series. In short, this version of Supergirl is “hard-core” and has seen some sh*t:

“We will see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl, raised on a rock, a chip off of Krypton, and who watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life and then come to Earth. She is much more hard-core and not the Supergirl we’re used to.“

DC Comics has provided a more extensive synopsis of King’s story:

Kara Zor-El has seen some epic adventures over the years, but finds her life without meaning or purpose. Here she is, a young woman who saw her planet destroyed and was sent to Earth to protect a baby cousin who ended up not needing her. What was it all for? Wherever she goes, people only see her through the lens of Superman’s fame. Just when Supergirl thinks she’s had enough, everything changes. An alien girl seeks her out for a vicious mission. Her world has been destroyed, and the bad guys responsible are still out there. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost. Now a Kryptonian, a dog, and an angry, heartbroken child head out into space on a journey that will shake them to their very core.

More specific details are obviously being kept under wraps. If we’re lucky, Momoa will keep on talking and won’t be able to resist posting set videos.

Release Date

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow will soar into theaters on June 26, 2026.

Trailer

Since it will be awhile before a trailer emerges for Supergirl, Gunn’s Superman vision is on full display (including Krypto) in the below teaser trailer.

This newer TV spot delivers a few more visual angles.