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“Let Me Calm Down” rapper Nicki Minaj is having a ball with her Barb fans in Gag City. With the release of her long-awaited album, Pink Friday 2, and the supporting world tour slated to launch soon, she’s been swamped with press obligations. Nicki even recounted with streamer Kai Cenat for a broadcast party where she and the crew jammed out to her new songs.

Whether out of pure coincidence or planned timing, Kanye West is looking to tap into the hype surrounding Nicki by releasing their past collaboration “New Body” on his Vultures album with Ty Dolla Sign.

Did Nicki Minaj Clear Her Verse For Kanye West’s ‘New Body?’

Based on her latest livestream, the answer appears to be no.

In a screenshot captured and shared by West, he reached out to Nicki via text message with his request but did not receive a response. So, he took to social media to tag the rapper, hoping fans would speed up the process.

However, when followers asked Nicki about clearing the record during a broadcast, she expressed no interest in doing so. She said, “Child, that train has left the station, OK? No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Now why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on, guys. You know?”

According to rumors, that’s not the only uncleared contribution on West’s forthcoming album. The Backstreet Boys also reportedly did not give authorization to West on the record in which he sampled their 1997 song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”

As we near the end of 2023, the time has come for Steven and Ian to revive their most sacred annual tradition: The Indiecasties! Like the Oscars, the Indiecasties goes long every year, so we actually are splitting it up into two episodes. (Part two drops next week.) Before that, however, the guys do a quick Sportscast about a wild week in Wisconsin-based athletics, including a Packers loss to Tommy DeVito and Giannis losing his cool against the Indiana Pacers over a lost game ball. Steven and Ian also address the viral TikTok video by Bethany Cosentino about her disappointment over the reception to her 2023 solo debut album, Natural Disaster, and the long tail of Peak Indie disappointment.

Then it’s on to the Indiecasties! There are five categories in this episode: Most Valuable Annoying Music Story, The Album Cycle Of The Year, The Feel-Good Story Of The Year, The Most 2023 Album Of 2023, and the Most Hyped Album That Turned Out To Be Actually Good. Who won? And who “won” (since winning some of these categories doesn’t feel like a victory)? Listen and find out!

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 168 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Rudy Giuliani is doing what anyone who might soon owe $43 million (money he doesn’t have) in damages to a pair of Georgia poll workers he defamed: feud with The Daily Show. “Yikes. This show hasn’t been funny in years. I didn’t even realize it was still running. I don’t even recognize the host other than to say he looks like a slob,” the slobbish former mayor wrote on X, referring to guest host Kal Penn. “…and what are you hoping for when you say, ‘the end of Rudy Giuliani?’ Sick people, and definitely not funny!”

Giuliani was replying to a Daily Show segment about his litany of legal woes, including his lawyer claiming that “if you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani.” Penn won’t be shedding any tears for the alleged groper. “The end of Rudy Giuliani? Oh no, that sounds… awesome,” he rejoiced this week. “The end of Rudy Giuliani is, like, the best-case scenario. Why is Rudy’s lawyer threatening the jury with a good time?”

Penn then imaged a scenario where Giuliani is “broke and sobbing like a little bitch” and “crying so hard, he pees his pants, and that pee gets all over the floor.” If only he could afford a new car to cry (and fart) in.

You can watch The Daily Show segment below.

Has it really been less than a year since AMC announced that they were finally moving on the long-awaited Rick Grimes standalone series? Amazingly, yes, and after that early January news arrived, two other spinoffs — the thrilling throwback of Dead City and the big ass-kicker of Daryl Dixon — already released first seasons with followups in the works. Next up? The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

That would be the official title for the “Rick Grimes and Michonne” spinoff starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira. Rick’s return, of course, has been a long time coming, although to be fair, it probably feels like the wait has dragged on forever, so let’s hash out why, along with what is coming.

Plot

Since it’s been awhile, let’s talk about the timeline, which is slightly blurry but not in an overwhelming sense. To clarify, Rick left The Walking Dead in Season 9, Episode 5, “What Comes After.” That episode aired in 2018, after which we heard both reports and supplementary speculation about a Rick Grimes movie. That never happened, given various other reasons that likely included the pandemic, but in The Walking Dead time, the show ended after Season 11, and Rick had been gone for a decade. The current three spinoff shows pick up shortly after the finale and run concurrently. Will they ever intersect? That has been neither confirmed nor denied.

Rick had ended his very bad final episode by falling off a horse, getting impaled, being pursued by a horde, and then blowing up a bridge to save his people. He was then swept off by Janis/Anne and the helicopter people, who ended up being the CRM. He was kept in servitude this whole time, as revealed in the series finale.

In the spinoff, Michonne will have been searching for Rick since the end of Season 10 after leaving Judith and R.J. (Rick Grimes Jr.) behind in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Things have obviously changed at home, and hopefully, Rick and Michonne will make their way back to the kiddos. (If you’ll recall, also, TWD ended with Judith and R.J. declaring, “We’re the ones who live.”) A teaser, thus far, has shown that the first season of this spinoff shows Rick looking bloody and worse for wear.

This moment ^^ (from that teaser) has sparked speculation that Rick will (also finally) end up losing his right hand like he did in the comics. We can also expect him to be a little more off the rails, given what he has surely been through in CRM captivity. It’s no surprise that Rick looks like hell, and Michonne, the machete-wielding badass, is looking much better.

Janis/Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) will also make an appearance in this spinoff, and that suggests that Michonne might be busting Rick out of CRM custody. Will there be revenge/hell to pay for how Rick ended up with the helicopter people? His life was saved, but he seemingly endured hellish conditions in the aftermath, being away from the group and especially Michonne and the children. Yet this will also be reunion time — Michonne had set off to find Rick after discovering that he was still alive after finding his possessions — so expect a fair amount of passion. I mean, Rick and Michonne will have business to take care of, but they are also only human and surely have some pent up “energy” to dispense with.

Would you like a nebulous and existential-sounding synopsis? Of course, and there will be more war to come:

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

Cast

Obviously, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are the only actors who could ever step into character as Rick and Michonne. Another familiar face, Pollyanna McIntosh) will appear as Janis/Anne from The Walking Dead and The World Beyond. Additionally, Lesley-Ann Brandt (Lucifer) will embody Pearl Thorne, and Matt Jeffries will portray Nat.

Release Date

Although some of the promotional material for this series has looked Valentine-y, Rick and Michonne will flout the actual holiday and arrive later in the month. Expect this spinoff to debut on February 25.

Trailer

AMC released a sneak peek with some footage and Danai talking about the “crazy love” of these two survivors.

And the aforementioned teaser trailer surfaced to confirm that Rick unsurprisingly hasn’t been doing so hot.

At long last, Rick Grimes will hopefully not ride a horse in the The Walking Dead realm again when The Ones Who Live arrive.

Has it really been less than a year since AMC announced that they were finally moving on the long-awaited Rick Grimes standalone series? Amazingly, yes, and after that early January news arrived, two other spinoffs — the thrilling throwback of Dead City and the big ass-kicker of Daryl Dixon — already released first seasons with followups in the works. Next up? The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

That would be the official title for the “Rick Grimes and Michonne” spinoff starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira. Rick’s return, of course, has been a long time coming, although to be fair, it probably feels like the wait has dragged on forever, so let’s hash out why, along with what is coming.

Plot

Since it’s been awhile, let’s talk about the timeline, which is slightly blurry but not in an overwhelming sense. To clarify, Rick left The Walking Dead in Season 9, Episode 5, “What Comes After.” That episode aired in 2018, after which we heard both reports and supplementary speculation about a Rick Grimes movie. That never happened, given various other reasons that likely included the pandemic, but in The Walking Dead time, the show ended after Season 11, and Rick had been gone for a decade. The current three spinoff shows pick up shortly after the finale and run concurrently. Will they ever intersect? That has been neither confirmed nor denied.

Rick had ended his very bad final episode by falling off a horse, getting impaled, being pursued by a horde, and then blowing up a bridge to save his people. He was then swept off by Janis/Anne and the helicopter people, who ended up being the CRM. He was kept in servitude this whole time, as revealed in the series finale.

In the spinoff, Michonne will have been searching for Rick since the end of Season 10 after leaving Judith and R.J. (Rick Grimes Jr.) behind in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Things have obviously changed at home, and hopefully, Rick and Michonne will make their way back to the kiddos. (If you’ll recall, also, TWD ended with Judith and R.J. declaring, “We’re the ones who live.”) A teaser, thus far, has shown that the first season of this spinoff shows Rick looking bloody and worse for wear.

This moment ^^ (from that teaser) has sparked speculation that Rick will (also finally) end up losing his right hand like he did in the comics. We can also expect him to be a little more off the rails, given what he has surely been through in CRM captivity. It’s no surprise that Rick looks like hell, and Michonne, the machete-wielding badass, is looking much better.

Janis/Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) will also make an appearance in this spinoff, and that suggests that Michonne might be busting Rick out of CRM custody. Will there be revenge/hell to pay for how Rick ended up with the helicopter people? His life was saved, but he seemingly endured hellish conditions in the aftermath, being away from the group and especially Michonne and the children. Yet this will also be reunion time — Michonne had set off to find Rick after discovering that he was still alive after finding his possessions — so expect a fair amount of passion. I mean, Rick and Michonne will have business to take care of, but they are also only human and surely have some pent up “energy” to dispense with.

Would you like a nebulous and existential-sounding synopsis? Of course, and there will be more war to come:

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

Cast

Obviously, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are the only actors who could ever step into character as Rick and Michonne. Another familiar face, Pollyanna McIntosh) will appear as Janis/Anne from The Walking Dead and The World Beyond. Additionally, Lesley-Ann Brandt (Lucifer) will embody Pearl Thorne, and Matt Jeffries will portray Nat.

Release Date

Although some of the promotional material for this series has looked Valentine-y, Rick and Michonne will flout the actual holiday and arrive later in the month. Expect this spinoff to debut on February 25.

Trailer

AMC released a sneak peek with some footage and Danai talking about the “crazy love” of these two survivors.

And the aforementioned teaser trailer surfaced to confirm that Rick unsurprisingly hasn’t been doing so hot.

At long last, Rick Grimes will hopefully not ride a horse in the The Walking Dead realm again when The Ones Who Live arrive.

There aren’t usually a ton of new music releases to look forward to in December, but one people have been getting excited about is Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures. That was expected to drop at midnight ET, but as this post is being written shortly before 9 a.m. ET, the project has not yet hit streaming services. So:

Why did Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s album Vultures get delayed?

So far, neither West nor Ty have publicly explained why Vultures isn’t out yet. One possible reason surfaced last night, though.

At 10:23 p.m. ET last night (December 14), 97 minutes before the album was apparently set for release at midnight, West tweeted a screenshot of a text he supposedly sent to Nicki Minaj. It said, “Hi it’s ye. May I call you about clearing new body on the new album.”

Minaj delivered her response during an Instagram Live broadcast that night. She explained, “Child, that train has left the station, OK? No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Now why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on, guys. You know?”

So, the delay could be due to clearance issues like that. Also, West has a history of delaying albums and working on them until the last minute, so other factors could be at play as well.

There aren’t usually a ton of new music releases to look forward to in December, but one people have been getting excited about is Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures. That was expected to drop at midnight ET, but as this post is being written shortly before 9 a.m. ET, the project has not yet hit streaming services. So:

Why did Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s album Vultures get delayed?

So far, neither West nor Ty have publicly explained why Vultures isn’t out yet. One possible reason surfaced last night, though.

At 10:23 p.m. ET last night (December 14), 97 minutes before the album was apparently set for release at midnight, West tweeted a screenshot of a text he supposedly sent to Nicki Minaj. It said, “Hi it’s ye. May I call you about clearing new body on the new album.”

Minaj delivered her response during an Instagram Live broadcast that night. She explained, “Child, that train has left the station, OK? No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Now why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on, guys. You know?”

So, the delay could be due to clearance issues like that. Also, West has a history of delaying albums and working on them until the last minute, so other factors could be at play as well.

SNL musical guests don’t usually share what songs they’re playing in advance, but that’s precisely what Billie Eilish did during Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show. One of them, at least.

“We’re building for Saturday Night Live. It’s coming up this Saturday. Kate McKinnon is the host, who is unbelievable. She was great in Barbie,” host Jimmy Fallon said before asking Eilish if she knows which songs she’s going to play. “I do,” she replied before sheepishly pointing at her hat: it read “Barbie.” Unsurprisingly, Eilish will perform “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack, which has been nominated for six Grammys, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, and streamed over 500 million times on Spotify. The other song is unknown — but maybe something new?

Eilish confirmed to Fallon that she and brother/co-songwriter Finneas are “almost done with this new album we’re working on,” adding, “So, at some point, you will know more, but I’m not going to say any more.” This tracks with previous comments made by Eilish, who told radio network Westwood One’s segment The Cookout, “There is lots of music coming. There is a whole album of music coming. We’re in the final stages of making it, so that doesn’t mean it’s about to come out, but it is getting there and it’s very exciting.”

You can watch Eilish’s The Tonight Show interview above.

As of this post, it’s nearly 8 a.m. ET, and Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign have not yet released their collaborative album Vultures, which was expected to drop at midnight ET. Given West’s history of album delays and working on projects until the last possible second, this isn’t particularly surprising. This isn’t even the first time Vultures has faced a delay, as it was reportedly once set to drop on October 13.

As for why the album isn’t out yet, it looks like West was trying to cross some T’s and dot some I’s before the final buzzer.

At 10:23 p.m. ET last night (December 14), 97 minutes before the album was presumably set for a midnight release, West tweeted a screenshot of a text he supposedly sent to Nicki Minaj, which read, “Hi it’s ye. May I call you about clearing new body on the new album.”

As NME notes, Minaj gave Kanye’s request a public “no.” During an Instagram Live broadcast last night, she said, “Child, that train has left the station, OK? No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Now why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on, guys. You know?”

In a February 2022 interview, Minaj said of “New Body,” a demo of which leaked back in 2018, “The public adored ‘New Body.’ ‘New Body’ is the biggest hit record that never came out. So what I thought was interesting was that Kanye made me write my ‘New Body’ verse four times over in order to fit into where he was creatively and spiritually in his life. […] I missed it by a year, I guess. Had ‘New Body’ been out when he was not in his gospel era, then it would’ve seen the light of day. But, it didn’t, so it wasn’t meant to be. Everybody knows that’s the hit that got away. […] I think the ship has sailed for ‘New Body,’ everybody has come to love the original way they heard it.”

All that said, it is still December 15 right now, so West and Ty still have well over half a day to get everything in order and release Vultures before the weekend if that’s something they’re committed to doing.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book III: Raising Kanan episode will be found below.)

Business is booming! Well, at least it is for Kanan in episode three of Power Book III: Raising Kanan season three. With his eyes set on establishing a name for himself, and more importantly, making more money for himself, Kanan launches a weed delivery business with some of the delivery boys in Famous’ neighborhood. It proved to be an instant success as he and Famous rolled in the dough without putting themselves in danger to do so. Though, they may have a problem on their hands as Ronnie is on to their new moves. For now though, it seems like Ronnie will be focused on getting Unique into shape as they both look to re-establish their position in the drug game, something Unique is making progress with thanks to some help from Italian and Chinese gang members.

As Kanan gets going with his operation, Raq is looking to finally put an end to hers. With her mission of killing Sal complete, her focus is now put on staying clean and far away from the view of federal investigators, making sure Kanan does the same, and enjoying her romantic moments with Unique (which one might say is a surprising narrative this season). She’s on her A-game and so is Marvin who is the best version of a dad that we’ve seen three seasons into Raising Kanan. He’s also extremely supportive of Jukebox’s singing dreams, especially in the days leading up to her big audition. Now, the same that’s said about Marvin, can’t be said about Lou-Lou who continues his spiral and lands at a new low. However, by the end of the episode, there’s hope that he’s finally turned the corner

Here are some of the major points and questions we had after the third episode of season three:

Kanan’s Undeniable Ambition Will Only Bring Him More Work

If there’s one thing that Kanan wants to make clear to himself, his friends, his family, and the world, it’s that he can hustle on his own and outside his mother’s shadow. In “Open For Business,” Kanan opens up shop for his weed delivery service that changes how customers place their orders and get them as it’s all done with Kanan behind closed doors and far from the streets. His determination to prove his independence to his mother Raq and his ambition to succeed has him off to a great start. On the flip side, the work is just starting as the orders are starting to pile up to overwhelming levels and Ronnie’s surprise appearance at the end of the episode signals a new enemy on the horizon. Kanan wanted to rise to the top, but he better be ready to fight and grit his way there and to continue doing so if and when he gets there.

Raq & Unique’s Relationship Is Pointless

I wouldn’t say that this foray between Raq and Unique is surprising, but man, it sure doesn’t benefit anyone. I get it, Unique saved Raq’s life in the season two finale and there may be a bit of trauma bonding as they both survived the ambush from the Mafia. And sure, they look good together as a couple, but what’s the point? Raq still wants out of the game, so connecting herself to someone so deep in it that they were once enemies doesn’t make sense — especially with federal investigators seemingly closing in on them. It’s like declaring an exit from gambling all to make frequent visits to a casino. There’s also the chance that her rep gets unfairly tarnished if word gets out about it. Then on Unique’s side, he’s still with his girlfriend whom he shares a child with. Add in Ronnie’s clear beef with Raq, which will surely cause a rift between him and Unique, and it’s not a great mix. The point is the benefits are limited here and I’m sure they don’t see it lasting long, but maybe I’m wrong. At minimum, I do think it’s a setup for a major event later on in the season.

Will Lou-Lou Get It Together?

There’s nothing Jukebox needs more than the support of her family. The unexpected death of her mother has certainly rocked her world, and as she recovers and deals with her grief, she’s taken up singing again to speed up the process. Her relationship with Raq is as good as it’s ever been, she and Kanan are cool, and Marvin is the best he’s ever been (we’ll get to that in a second).

Then there’s Lou-Lou who, considering his passion for music, should be an obvious and easy person for Jukebox to lean on. Yet, ever since his argument with Raq and the discovery that he killed Scrappy for no reason, Lou-Lou has been at his absolute worst. The drinking has skyrocketed and so have the fights, all while his productivity elsewhere is at an all-time low. If that wasn’t bad enough, he brought up Jukebox’s hope for a killer audition for a singing role, all to nearly ruin them and leave her hanging when she needed him the most all because he got drunken bar fight. Sure, he shows signs of cleaning up himself when he takes on a new role at the very bar he got into the fight at, after apologizing to the bar owner who knew his late father, but that isn’t enough. Lou-Lou’s gotta get himself together for the sake of himself and his loved ones.

Marvin Is At His Absolute Best

As mentioned in the previous section, Marvin is at his absolute best. The same Marvin who screwed up repeatedly with Raq and nearly destroyed his relationship with his daughter Jukebox after attacking her is the same Marvin who is Raq’s go-to, who earns a consistent smile and the occasion hug from Jukebox, and who completes tasks with little to no error. This is the Marvin we hoped to see for so long and it’s great that he’s hear now. His investment into himself as well as his daughter are the best things to see so far this season, especially in “Open For Business.” He’s got his operation up and running through a white neighborhood as the customers there are overpaying for his product. As for Jukebox, he’s been by her side supporting and pushing her music dreams, and was even in her corner for the audition. All that being said, I hope this is the Marvin we get to keep seeing for the foreseeable future.

Raq, Kanan, And Detective Howard: Who Gets Caught First?

Three episodes into season three of Power Book III: Raising Kanan and we have three characters doing their very best to hold and hide their secrets. There’s Kanan’s new weed operation, something he plans to keep from his mother for as long as he can. Then there’s Raq who seemingly wants to hide her relationship with Unique, but more importantly, wants to make sure she isn’t connected to the death of Sal Boselli, the leader of the Italian Mafia who she instructed Marvin to kill. The presence of the FBI has increased in Southside Jamaica, Queens meaning Raq has to be on her toes and not get caught where she isn’t supposed to be and with whom she isn’t supposed to be with.

Lastly, we have Detective Howard, who as a cop murderer, probably has the biggest secret of all as he’s the one who killed Detective Burke, a crime he disguised as suicide. Altogether, this trio is juggling a lot in their respective lives, and true to Power Universe fashion, there’s a chance someone doesn’t make it out unscathed. Sure, they might live to see the next day, but the consequences of their actions will change so much for not only themselves but others around them.

New episodes of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.