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It’s been quite a year for St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red. Over the course of the past few months, the breakout star has gone viral with catchy soungs like “Pound Town” and “SkeeYee.” She has also collaborated with the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, Summer Walker, and SZA. Now, Sexyy has even more to celebrate. Today (October 14), she took to Instagram, seemingly revealing that she is expecting another baby.

In the post, she is seen showing off her baby bump next to SZA.

The post’s caption simply reads “Team boy or team girl.”

The news arrived after Sexyy and SZA performed their Drake collaboration “Rich Baby Daddy” in St. Louis. The song appears on Drake’s latest album, For All The Dogs.

Sexyy has previously shared that she has a son, in her songs and in her interviews. In an interview with Complex, Sexyy shared that she hopes her career will result in building a better life for her family.

“I want to get on TV,” she said. “I want to have a makeup line. I want to sell clothes, hair. I want some stores. I know I’m going to accomplish all of these. And just get my son out of the hood, so he don’t got to grow up in the kind of environment I did. Money is the main route because I feel like money’s going to take you anywhere.”

She hasn’t shared more details, however, in a follow-up post, Sexyy is seen eating a plate of ribs. The post is captioned “Fat ma.”

You can see the posts above.

Michigan State thought it had its first Power 5 win of the season after taking an 18-point lead at Rutgers into the fourth quarter. Instead, Sparty capped off a series of special teams disasters by mishandling a Rutgers kickoff and turning it over, leading directly to Rutgers’ go-ahead touchdown four minutes later.

The Scarlet Knights had looked bad most of the game, turning it over three times in the first half and struggling to move the ball on offense, to put it mildly. Rutgers managed just 31 rushing yards on 13 attempts. To make it worse, rain began to pour down just before the third quarter began.

Michigan State hasn’t beaten anyone since September 9. But Sparty was in full control against Rutgers for the first three quarters, taking a 24-6 lead over the Scarlet Knights with 3:41 to go in the third quarter. New starter Katin Houser completed 17 of his first 26 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

That lead held entering the fourth, but Michigan State was preparing to punt on the first play from its own 22-yard line. Then punter Michael O’Shaughnessy fumbled the snap, and Rutgers’ Aaron Young recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

That cut Michigan State’s lead to 24-13 with plenty of time. Michigan State proceeded to go three and out while Rutgers mounted a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. Rutgers got the ensuing 2-point conversion and suddenly, Sparty’s lead was just three with 8:30 to go and all of the mojo was with Rutgers.

Michigan State still had the lead and a chance to settle down. But Tyrell Henry didn’t decide to attempt to field the kickoff until it was too late, and he ran straight into Rutgers’ Thomas Amankwaa, who was able to secure the ball instead.

Rutgers tailback Kyle Monangai ran it in from 21 yards out on the next play to give the Scarlet Knights the lead for good, 27-24.

Rutgers’ 5’9 tailback was a big reason for the win as he racked up 107 of his 148 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone on 13 attempts. Monangai was also responsible for all eight of Rutgers’ rushing first downs in the fourth quarter (the Scarlet Knights had just five rushing first downs up to that point).

And that was never more true than on Rutgers’ final drive, when Monangai got the ball every single play and kept his legs churning and the clock burning, picking up four first downs and ensuring Michigan State wouldn’t get another chance.

Rutgers ran just 44 plays in the first three quarters and 25 in the fourth alone, holding the ball for all but four minutes as it outscored Michigan State 21-0. It was the largest fourth-quarter comeback win for the Scarlet Knights since 2015 when they were down 25 at Indiana. And now, Rutgers is a win away from bowl eligibility.

The fourth-quarter stats were bleak enough for Sparty: outscored 21-0, -20 total yards, and zero first downs. And their next opponent? Michigan.

Troye Sivan’s long-awaited album Something To Give Each Other hit streaming platforms yesterday (October 13). The project features the singles “Got Me Started” and now “One Of Your Girls.” In the official video, Siyan had a draglicious transformation to stress the message behind the OZGO-produced record.

Throughout the visual, Sivan switches his appearance from man to woman to combat gendered stigmas. This is emphasized in the stanza, “Give me a call if you ever get lonely / I’ll be like one of your girls or your homies / Say what you want, and I’ll keep it a secret / You get the key to my heart, and I need it / Give me a call if you ever get desperate / I’ll be like one of your girls.”

In a statement shared with People, Troye Sivan discussed the inspiration behind the track. “I repeatedly found myself in this situation. ‘One of Your Girls’ is really me psychoanalyzing myself about, like, why is that something that was interesting to me? A lot of the boys that song is about, I feel like they probably would’ve bullied me in high school, and now here they are paying me attention,” he says. “So, at the sacrifice of my own self-worth, I’m throwing myself at them, and then you’re really just at their beck and call, and that can sometimes not feel so great.”

Watch Troye Sivan’s video for “One Of Your Girls” starring Ross Lynch above.

Something To Give Each Other is out now via Capitol. Find more information here.

The Nightmare Before Christmas wasn’t a monster hit when first released 30 years back, but there was no way a Tim Burton-produced movie with that title wasn’t going to have a long life. Sure enough, it’s become a staple of two holidays. It’s even spawned a concert that’s currently on tour. Given this age of revivals and reboots and belated sequels and prequels, how long will it be until it succumbs to that trend? Maybe a while — or never — but its director is holding out hope that it does.

Per People, Henry Selick — the stop-motion maven who would go on to tackle Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach movie and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, plus team up with Jordan Peele for last year’s Wendell & Wild — says he’s a little reluctant to go back to something he thinks is already “perfect.” He’s not the only one.

“I think Tim in particular feels like, why mess with that?” Selick said. “He certainly doesn’t need to make more money from a sequel. He has had so many other successes, and so far nobody’s come up with a great idea for a sequel. And I still think that Tim gets to decide. I don’t think there’s any idea that would convince him.”

Not that he hasn’t been thinking about doing another one anyway. “It might be more interesting to do a prequel,” Selick admitted. “There might be a more interesting story there about how Jack became the King of Halloweentown.”

Another person who would be into it? Chris Sarandon, who did the speaking vocals for “Pumpkin King” Jack Skellington. (Danny Elfman, who composed the music and most of the songs, took over for singing duties.) He said he’d “absolutely” be down to reprise his decades-old role.

“To quote Henry, ‘F*ck yeah,’ ” Sarandon told People. “If there were a sequel, I’d be there in a minute.”

Selick has often bristled at the idea that much of the public thinks Burton is the primary maker of The Nightmare Before Christmas. In truth he was a producer and is credited with the story. It’s Selick who lovingly, laboriously directed it, even though Burton’s name has sometimes been included in the title.

The Nightmare Before Christmas now streams on Disney+.

(Via People)

Offset’s highly-anticipated sophomore album Set It Off is out now. On it, he addressed several significant moments in his life. For Latto, who makes a guest appearance, she used her verse to clap back at a rumored foe. So, did Latto diss Ice Spice on “Fine As Can Be”?

If you look at the lyrics posted on Genius, it seems likely. Latto raps, “Double whatever they offer me / Buyin’ Chanels is comedy / I already bought me every color Birkin / Now I want the stocks and properties / That n**** munch / Yo’ bookin’ fee, ate it for lunch / I don’t do backends, need it up front / I’m big dawg, you b*tches is runts / Don’t pull wigs, don’t pull stunts / I pull triggers, and I pull blunts / I pull cars like it’s Tonk / B*tch, you couldn’t top me in a bunk.” In those lyrics, it seems there are two subtle references to Spice’s famous catchphrase.

This wouldn’t be the first time the two exchange blows. In July, Ice Spice shared the song “Butterfly Ku,” where she rapped, “Where she at? On the floor (Damn) / She get her money, but I’m gettin’ more (More) / I’m a player, you know I’m a score (Facts) / First they was hatin’, now I’m on the board.” Fans took to social media to call out the stanza as a shot at Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor.”

Listen to the full track above.

Set It Off is out now via Motown/Capitol. Find more information here.

The WGA strike may have ended late last month, but that doesn’t mean Hollywood has returned to normal. The union’s picketing partners at SAG-AFTRA are still out there, fighting for issues like improved residuals (or, you know, any) and regulation over AI. But that doesn’t mean all American shows are on pause from filming. For instance, what about the next season of House of the Dragon? Is that still filming? And if so, what’s the deal there?

The one-word answer is: possibly. In the early days of the WGA strike — long before the actions guild joined them — it was revealed that principal photography would continue. The slightly shorter season already had completed scripts. However, that doesn’t mean the writers’ jobs are done. They’re often on-set — or at least on retainer — for rewriters. As per WGA rules, scripts can’t be changed, not even a word, without the writers’ approval. But the show was willing to take that risk to bank footage.

But what about the SAG-AFTRA. Well, there’s a more study workaround there. As per Digital Spy, because most of the cast is British (or European), they’re members of a different guild: Equity, not SAG-AFTRA. They’re not even on strike. So that’s not been a problem.

As for whether they’re still filing, principal photography in Leavesden Studios was scheduled to be completed by end of September. So unless they ran way behind, the footage is in the can and ready for a summer 2024 release.

The Amazon Music Live concert series is back. Last week, Lil Durk took the stage. This past Thursday, October 12, it was producer extraordinaire Metro Boomin‘s turn. Metro’s artistic credits include some of the biggest names in music, so he was sure to bring out a special guest.

During the show, Metro and Offset came together for a surprise performance of the song “Night Vision,” off his sophomore album Set It Off. The track is an emotional examination of Offset’s trials over the past year. Here’s a sample of his lyrics:

“Man, I feel alone, but that’s how it gotta be / Man, I would be lying if I say I ain’t miss the three / Nights I wanted to cry, why them n****s blaming me? / I don’t want no sorry, n****, the pain I feel ain’t easy / I’m thinking spinnin’ bout’ my brother Take, this sh*t been eating me / I can’t get no peace when I be sleeping, seeing demons / Fake smile on my face but they don’t know that I be scheming.”

In the stanza, Offset references his departure from the superstar rap trio Migos and the untimely death of then-member Takeoff.

During a 2019 appearance on Power 106 FM’s The Cruz Show, Offset talked about his past creative process working with Metro Boomin:

“We had two different rooms. So, he’s doing 16-hour sessions. I’m doing 16-hour sessions rapping. He’s doing a 16-hour-session production. And then, right before the [Father Of Four], we did like another additional 12, just both of us in the room, saying what instruments sounded fire… It’s like the old-school days. It ain’t like nobody’s sending you an email with a pack of beats, and you just happen to make one out of the six, you know what I mean.”

You can watch Metro Boomin and Offset’s performances of “Night Vision” above.

Set It Off is out now via Motown/Capitol. Find more information here.

The early 1900s were a time of great social upheaval in our country. During the years leading up to the Ludlow Massacre, miners all around the country looking to make a better life for themselves and their families set up picket lines, organized massive parades and rallies, and even took up arms. Some died.

It’s always worth considering why history like this was never taught in school before. Could it be that the powers that be would rather keep this kind of thing under wraps?

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Here is Woody Guthrie’s tribute to the good people who fought in the battles of Ludlow to help make a better tomorrow for everyone — you can just start the video and then start reading, if you wish:

Coal Country, Colorado

100 years ago, the Rocky Mountains were the source of a vast supply of coal. At its peak, it employed 16,000 people and accounted for 10% of all employed workers in the state of Colorado. It was dangerous work; in just 1913 alone, the mines claimed the lives of over 100 people. There were laws in place that were supposed to protect workers, but largely, management ignored those, which led to Colorado having double the on-the-job fatality rate of any other mining state.

It was a time of company towns, when all real estate, housing, doctors, and grocery stores were owned by the coal companies themselves, which led to the suppression of dissent as well as overinflated prices and an extreme dependence on the coal companies for everything that made life livable. In some of these, workers couldn’t even leave town, and armed guards made sure they didn’t. Also, if any miner or his family began to air grievances, they might find themselves evicted and run out of town.

The Union

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) had been organizing for many years in the area, and this particular company, Colorado Fuel and Iron, was one of the biggest in the West — and was owned by the Rockefeller family, notoriously anti-union.

Put all this together, and it was a powder keg.

Strike!

When a strike was called in 1913, the coal company evicted all the miners from their company homes, and they moved to tent villages on leased land set up by the UMWA. Company-hired guards (aka “goons”) and members of the Colorado National Guard would drive by the tent villages and randomly shoot into the tents, leading the strikers to dig holes under their tents and the wooden beams that supported them.

Why did the union call for a strike? The workers wanted:

1. (equivalent to a 10% wage increase),
2. Enforcement of the eight-hour work day,
3. Payment for “dead work” that usually wasn’t compensated, such as laying coal car tracks,
4. The job known as “Weight-checkmen” to be elected by workers. This was to keep company weightmen honest so the workers got paid for their true work,
5. The right to use any store rather than just the company store, and choose their own houses and doctors,
6. Strict enforcement of Colorado’s laws, especially mine safety laws.

The Powder Keg Explodes

The attacks from the goons continued, as did the battles between scabs (strikebreakers) and the miners. It culminated in an attack on April 20, 1914, by company goons and Colorado National Guard soldiers who kidnapped and later killed the main camp leader and some of his fellow miners, and then set the tents in the main camp ablaze with kerosene. As they were engulfed, people inside the tents tried to flee the inferno; many were shot down as they tried to escape. Some also died in the dugouts below the burning tents. In the first photograph below, two women and 11 children died in the fire directly above them. A day that started off with Orthodox Easter celebrations for the families became known as the Ludlow Massacre.

The 10-Day War

The miners, fresh off the murders of their friends and family members, tried to get President Woodrow Wilson to put a stop to the madness, but he deferred to the governor, who was pretty much in the pocket of the mine companies.

So the miners and those at other tent colonies quickly armed themselves, knowing that many other confrontations were coming. And they went to the mines that were being operated by scabs and forced many of them to close, sometimes setting fire to the buildings. After 10 days of pitched battle and at least 50 dead, the president finally sent in the National Guard, which promptly disarmed both sides.

Union Victory

While close to 200 people died over the course of about 18 months before and after the battles at Ludlow and the union ultimately lost the election, the Ludlow Massacre brought a congressional investigation that led to the beginnings of child-labor laws and an eight-hour workday, among other things.

But it also brought national attention to the plight of these miners and their families, and it showed the resilience and strength that union people could display when they remained united, even in the face of extreme corporate and government violence. Historian Howard Zinn called it “the culminating act of perhaps the most violent struggle between corporate power and laboring men in American history.” And the primary mine owner, John D. Rockefeller Jr., received a lot of negative attention and blame for what happened here.

This article was written by Brandon Weber and originally appeared on 08.14.14

Belinda Hankins and her 13-year-old daughter, Bella, seem to have a great relationship, one that is often played out over text message.

Sure they play around like most teens and parents do, but in between the joking and stealing of desserts, they’re incredibly open and honest with each other. This is key, especially since Melinda is a single parent and thus is the designated teacher of “the ways of the world.”

But, wow, she is a champ at doing just that in the chillest way possible. Of course, it helps having an incredibly self-aware daughter who has grown up knowing she can be super real with her mom.

Case in point, this truly epic text exchange took place over the weekend while Bella was hunting for tampons at the store.

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Here’s how Belinda introduced it on Facebook:

“THIS was the highlight of my parenting week. Sending my 13-year-old daughter into the store for (whispers) ‘feminine hygiene products,’ and having the following text exchange.”

Let’s give this the fanfare it deserves.

Act 1: The “right” aisle.

Every woman, whether she’s 13 or 30 has said or thought “THEY’RE NOT HERRREEEEEE” while standing in an aisle, desperately searching for period products. It’s like they’re trying to make it a scavenger hunt for which we did not sign up.

Act 2: Everything is a lie.

Act 3: Success! Well, sort of.

That’s right, Bella. Vagina, like Voldemort, is a word some people refuse to invoke because they’re terrified what great, untamed powers doing so might unleash.

Act 4: The truth.

Only a truly great mom could put this in such a way that inspires laughter and fist-pumping agreement at the same time.

Act 5: Smash the patriarchy!

A brilliant conclusion, mom/daughter solidarity AND an accurate map that illustrates what women encounter on a daily basis? If this exchange were a stage play, it would receive five stars.

And many others have agreed; the Facebook post has already been shared over 57,000 times in just two days.

So hip-hip-hooray for moms like Belinda who are candid with their kids on issues big and small and teach them how to be strong using humor and real talk.

The more hilarious conversations like Belinda’s and Bella’s about vaginas and the patriarchy that there are in the world, the better.

This article originally appeared on 09.14.16

Ever fallen into one of those Internet dating quizzes? You know, the ones that promise to categorize you? Like “what your astrological sign says about your relationship style.”

They can be fun, but we all know they’re mostly fluff.

What if I told you someone did find a way to “categorize” your love style but with actual real science?

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Three relationship scientists asked about 400 couples to track how they felt about their relationship and how committed they felt to marrying their partner. They followed each of the couples for nine months. Not, like, literally followed them — that would be creepy. Instead, they just asked them a few questions and asked them to keep track of how committed they were feeling over time.

At the end of the nine months, the scientists collected all the couple’s responses and delved deep into the data. They found that couples did indeed tend to fall into one of four categories.

Prepare yourself for some soul searching because you might just be:

1. The Conflicted, but Passionate

This is the couple Facebook made the “It’s Complicated” relationship status for. Their levels of commitment tend to go up and down over time, especially after arguments. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These folks use those conflicts to help them make decisions about the relationship, and in fact, they didn’t appear to be any more destined for a breakup than any of the other groups.

Also, as a bonus, they tend to follow those turbulent downs with passionate ups. “These couples operate in a tension between conflict that pushes them apart and passionate attraction that pulls them back together,” said study author Brian Ogolsky.

2. The Partner-Focused

If your idea of a perfect date night is a long walk followed by eight hours of binge-watching “House of Cards” together, you might fall into this category.

Partner-focused couples tend to spend a lot of time together and share hobbies or leisure activities, and it’s that shared time that tends to propel them forward. They tended to be more careful and thoughtful about their relationship decisions — more likely to build from the inside out — and tended to be the most satisfied overall.

3. The Social Butterflies

On the other hand, if your perfect evening with your partner involves grabbing all your friends and hitting the bars or breaking out Settlers of Catan for the hundredth time, this might be the category that best describes you. Social couples usually share a friend group and use that time spent with friends to inform and build their relationship as a couple.

“Having mutual friends makes people in these couples feel closer and more committed,” said Ogolsky. They also tended to be pretty stable and have higher levels of love based on feelings of friendship toward each other, which can be a good indicator for long-term happiness.

4. The Dramatic

Unfortunately, not every couple’s path is easy. Things may start out good, but tend not to stay that way for dramatic couples. This type of couple tends to make decisions based on negative experiences or stuff from outside the relationship.

“These couples have a lot of ups and downs, and their commitment swings wildly,” said Ogolsky. “You begin to see little things eroding, and you start to see the relationship in a negative light, and soon you give up,” said Ogolsky.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, dramatic couples tended to break up the most, twice as much as other couples.

So what’s best? Well, here’s where this article differs from a lot of those Internet quizzes. Because the answer is that there isn’t a “best” kind of relationship.

Different couples work and grow differently. These are different pathways and it’d be a mistake to assume there’s a “correct” way to love someone. Or even that you’re forever locked into a certain style of relationships. “These are not predefined, for-life patterns,” said Ogolsky.

And even in a single relationship, these patterns aren’t predictors of destiny — a dramatic couple may, in fact, outlast a social one, and a partner-driven couple may be as passionate as anyone you could ever meet.

And the researchers willingly admit in their paper that their study doesn’t cover all relationships. Many very happy couples have no desire to marry, for instance. And, it should be noted, that it wasn’t too long ago that the U.S. didn’t even allow all couples to get married!

Wait, you’re not going to tell me how to find the perfect, golden, eternally-happy relationship?! Why even study this then?

Because, in our hearts, humans are social creatures, Ogolsky explained. Love, friendship, passion, and commitment are part of the human experience. Understanding relationships can be as important to understanding ourselves as studying chemistry or biology. They can even affect your health!

As for what you can learn from all this, the important takeaway is that what you use to make decisions — whether from conflict, from the inside, from the outside, or from friendship — can influence your level of commitment. It might be useful for couples to think not just about their choices but how they make their choices.

So … what’s your category?

This article originally appeared on 02.15.16