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The rollout for Janelle Monáe’s new era has certainly been provocative, like with her recent NSFW teaser. Now, things are looking more concrete: Today (May 11), she shared “Lipstick Lover” and announced The Age Of Pleasure, her new album set for this summer. Now, she’s shared some of her thoughts about the project.

In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Monáe said of the LP and the mindset behind it:

“All the songs were written from such an honest space. Look, it never stops. Even with this album, this project. I’m just like, ‘You know what? It takes work.’ I have to learn things all over again. I have to practice. I have to… and thank God I love the songs. Yeah. So it’s always a fun thing to do to. It’s like starting on a blank canvas.

So I hope that people feel that when they listen to the music, that they feel that when they come and counter with me when I’m around, I definitely have had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring me pleasure, the things that perhaps I should rethink and rework. Sometimes it really is just saying, ‘You know what? Let’s get back to the basics and also let’s honor the present.’

So all the songs were written from such an honest space. And what I’m super excited about with The Age Of Pleasure is that… Listen, I’ve had my age of depression. I’ve had my age of anxiety. I’ve had my age of struggle. And again, it’s not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out… How do I create a space for myself? How do I redirect my mind on how I’m thinking about things? How do I realize that right now in this present moment, moments that we’ll never get back, this is where you need to find your pleasure? This is your moment. Don’t let it get confused that five minutes later, we’re going to try to go into doing something different. And again, this is just my experience where I’m at, even through, despite what I may be going through, there’s going to be a moment where this bad moment, I won’t even be around to even discuss it. I won’t.”

She also discussed how playing the album for people at parties helped her decide what songs to include:

“When I was writing ‘The Age Of Pleasure’, I wrote it with friends, four friends. I was just like, ‘If my friends f*ck with this, this is for us,’ because when we are together, I want them to want to play it. And what I would do is if I knew we were having a party on that Friday or Saturday, on Monday and Tuesday, I’d be like, ‘All right, we’re going to write three songs.’ If the songs can’t work at the party, they’re not going on the album. I was like, ‘If people are not trying to Shazam…’ Because I was like, ‘Don’t say it’s me. Don’t.’ If they know… whatever. I need them Shazaming. And so I have my friend who’s my DJ. He worked on some of the songs on the project with me. I was like, ‘Just play it. Put it after this song.’ We put it in the setlist. And that’s how we made the album. I was walking around. I was so scared. I almost went to the bathroom one time. But ‘Float,’ we did that. ‘Lipstick Lover,’ we did like that. I have a song called ‘Champagne Machine’ that’s on there. I don’t want to give away too much, but basically every song that you’ll hear on the project, that’s how I did it. I want it to be so specific to this Pan-African crowd who are my friends. I want it to be a love letter to the diaspora. And if they f*ck with it, it’s good. I’m great.”

Check out more from the interview here.

The Age Of Pleasure is out 6/9 via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jack Black is the MVP of the highest-grossing video game movie of all-time (and the biggest movie of 2023). In the music video for “Video Games,” Tenacious D‘s first new song in five years, he and Kyle “Rage Kage” Gass pay tribute to some of the most iconic video game characters ever, including Link (it’s almost Tears of the Kingdom Day!), Kratos, and Lara Croft. Black is also transported into Mario, but not as Bowser. This time, he’s Mario. Which I guess means Chris Pratt is now… Lakitu? That works.

In a statement, the D wrote, “It’s about growing up and leaving childish things behing… But then realizing that video games are more than just mindless toys… in fact they can be a true expression of huge ideas that belong in the pantheon of great works of art! It’s about time someone defended the honor and integrity of this bold new horizon. Leave it to the greatest band in the world… Tenacious D!!!” They’ll lead (and play video games) as two kings.

Tenacious D are on tour. Here’s where you can see them:

5/11/23 New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore
5/13/23 St. Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
6/2/23 Nuremberg, Germany @ Rock im Park
6/3/23 Nurburg, Germany @ Rock Am Ring
6/4/23 Prague, Czech Republic @ Forum Karlin
6/6/23 Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle
6/7/23 Berlin, Germany @ Zitadelle
6/8/23 Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Nova Rock Festival
6/10/23 Milan, Italy @ Carroponte
6/12/23 Zurich, Switzerland @ The Hall
6/13/23 Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
6/14/23 Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy
6/16/23 London, England @ O2 Arena
6/18/23 Clisson, France @ Hellfest Open Air Festival

A second Phoenix Suns starter will watch as the team attempts to stave off elimination from the playoffs on Thursday night. With Chris Paul already sidelined for Game 6 of their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets due to a groin injury, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that starting center Deandre Ayton will likewise be unable to go in what could be the team’s final game of the season.

According to Charania, Ayton will not be able to play due to a rib contusion. Ayton was previously listed as questionable on the team’s injury report on Wednesday.

While it’s not 100 percent clear when Ayton got hurt, the big man took a shot to the ribs by Bruce Brown during Denver’s Game 5 win, which left him in some pretty serious pain.

Ayton has struggled in the series as he’s battled against Nikola Jokic. The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and four fouls in 29.6 minutes per game over the five games the two teams have played. With Ayton on the sideline, it stands to reason that Monty Williams will turn to reserve big man Jock Landale, who has seen his share of minutes increase as the series has gone on.

Game 6 between the Nuggets and the Suns is scheduled to tip off on Thursday night at 10 p.m. EST on ESPN. Denver currently holds a 3-2 lead in the series.

Moneybagg Yo has been hyping the release of his mixtape Hard To Love for some time. Today, he not only revealed the tape’s impending release date but also the fact that he plans to drop another project later this year. In a post on Instagram, he shared an open letter to fans explaining the inspiration behind Hard To Love, which continues his Heartless mixtape series.

“I gained and lost more than I ever thought I would and had no other safe outlet for all the emotions and dark thoughts that came wit that other than making music,” he wrote. “I’m blessed to have an art form to express myself inside & out with you all. Demario is the one that all the sh*t happened to but nobody understood that I still gotta wake up and be Bagg every day to provide for my family and continue to carve my legacy but it’s not easy balancing the two.”

After detailing the string of unfortunate events that have plagued him since the release of his last album, 2021’s A Gangsta’s Pain, he explained that he had too much material recorded for just one project.

The first of these projects, Hard To Love, is due on May 26 via CMG Records/Interscope. The album will be announced at a later date.

The Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers are nearing the end of their NBA Playoffs battle at the moment, with Game 6 of the series coming up tonight (May 11). Before that, though, Pennsylvania native Lil Dicky (aka Dave Burd) hopped on ESPN’s First Take today and showed just how quickly his brain can work.

During the chat, Molly Qerim asked Dicky what a Dave scene involving co-host Stephen A. Smith might look like. The rapper/actor didn’t need much time to think about it before replying:

“Off the top of my head, I don’t know… I’m thinking about the Sixers and the Celtics, I’m just imagining: What if I got into a little bit of a gambling situation with the wrong bookie, and I need the Sixers to win or my life could end? And I find myself knocking on Stephen A.’s door at like 3 a.m. and telling him that tomorrow on First Take, he’s gotta do something that really eviscerates Jayson Tatum, to the point where it’s a distraction for the team. Something like… kind of a modern day Celtic Pride.”

Smith then came up with his own idea involving Dicky kidnapping a red-hot Tatum before Smith comes to the rescue.

Elsewhere, Dicky gave a pep talk to the Sixers ahead of tonight’s game, so check out the segment above.

Professional wrestling is at its very best when the audience feels an emotional connection. That connection between fans in Puerto Rico and the WWE has remained intact over the last 18 years since their last live event, and you could feel Backlash was going to be something special from the moment WWE announced its return to the island.

Puerto Rico is a slice of paradise, from the colorful buildings that line the streets of Old San Juan to the numerous restaurants and coffee shops that serve up local delicacies. But the weekend was built around Backlash at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, which turned out to be one of my most surreal WWE experiences to-date.

I’ve been to some of WWE’s big showcase events like WrestleMania and Royal Rumble. I’ve attended mad scenes like NXT TakeOver: Dallas and a few Raw after WrestleMania shows that involved offbeat chants and the occasional beach ball toss. But those experiences didn’t have quite the same energy Puerto Rico brought this past Saturday night. Maybe that’s recency bias, but a rewatch of the event on my flight home seems to back up this claim that it was, in fact, a night no one will forget.

What’s unquestionable is how proud Puerto Rico is of its heritage, and WWE built a card that allowed that to shine through. The island’s own Bad Bunny was the clear standout star of the show. Despite performing roughly midway through Backlash, it was appropriately billed as part of the double main event. Without his presence, the event still would have been incredible, but the energy for his entrance in San Juan is something WWE couldn’t recreate if it tried anywhere else.

This wasn’t a show that relied on being labeled as one of the traditional big events of the year — at best Backlash has historically reset rivalries that took center stage at WrestleMania. Instead, it had the energy of an old ECW show, unexpected crowd reactions like Raw after ‘Mania (it was lovely to see Iyo Sky get her flowers, unfortunately at the expense of the supremely talented Bianca Belair), and we even had a few nostalgia acts typically reserved for moments at WrestleMania.

Sky and Belair set the tone for the night with an absolute banger of a match. It felt WrestleMania-worthy both in quality and in reaction, with the locals living and dying on every false finish.

Stars like Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, and Sami Zayn got the reaction consistent with what we’ve seen in recent months. But the love Puerto Ricans showed for their own was unmatched. Zelina Vega previously described the reaction she expected as “a big welcome hug from everyone” before she battled Rhea Ripley in what was ultimately an unsuccessful bid for the WWE Smackdown Women’s championship.

Of Puerto Rican descent, Vega indeed received a hero’s welcome, with her family front and center for such a significant opportunity.

“I take that with such pride because it’s representation, not just for Latinos, but for the women as well to have somebody to look up to, somebody that relates to us in so many different ways,” Zelina Vega tells Uproxx Sports. “It’s cool to have those moments where you have people saying you’re an inspiration, because I just want to be what Rey Mysterio was for me growing up.”

The emotions, electricity, and energy from Vega’s match carried over to Bad Bunny’s showdown with Damian Priest, which pitted two Puerto Rican stars against each other in a perfect encapsulation of what the area is as a destination: a beautiful blend of past with the present.

The duo tore down the house, with Bad Bunny making headlines due to his commitment to perfecting his wrestling technique, taking bumps, and putting on a show. Priest was a perfect dance partner who kept the crowd restless and on its toes. Priest’s fellow Judgement Day members, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Bálor, hit the ring, and it didn’t feel like it could get much louder than when Rey Mysterio and the LWO made the save.

But when Carlito, a former WWE superstar and the son of legendary Puerto Rican wrestler and promoter Carlos Colón, made a surprise return in support of Rey, it felt like the roof was going to come off of the building.

Savio Vega’s cameo offered just the right touch of nostalgia to pop the crowd once more. And the image of the LWO, Carlito, and Savio Vega carrying Bad Bunny on their shoulders after his win while holding the Puerto Rican flag as the audience lost its collective mind should be one that makes WWE highlight reels for years to come.

“Puerto Ricans are so passionate, especially for their own. The response has been massive,” Zelina Vega said. “The Rock always said, (WWE has) the most electrifying fans in sports entertainment, but I never really understood what he meant fully until I experienced it while I was in the ring and felt that electricity from the fans. This is what he meant.”

That passion is what has solidified professional wrestling as an integral part of the island experience over the last 50 years. The event became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-viewed Backlash in history, with back-to-back sellouts for both Friday night Smackdown and Saturday’s premier live event. And for Puerto Rico, Backlash was another showcase that there’s more to the island than just the beaches and food, as its people can bring the energy to make for an unforgettable event.

Uproxx was invited on a hosted trip to Puerto Rico by Discover Puerto Rico for reporting on this piece. You can find out more about our policy on press trips/hostings here.

“The Goonies” is a classic ‘80s film about energetic, fast-talking kids searching for One-Eyed Willie’s treasure. It’s fun for two hours, but the day-in and day-out grind of working with the young cast was a bit much for director Richard Donner.

“Everyone we cast was high energy, and after a while, it kind of started working on Dick. It’d tear him apart a little bit, a piece [at a] time,” the film’s writer-producer Steven Spielberg later recalled in “Reunited Apart with Josh Gad.”

“And so by the end of the movie, in the last two weeks, Richard just kept saying, ‘Oh, my God, I got two weeks to go, and I can’t wait to finish, and I’m going to go to my house in Hawaii, and I’m gonna get away from all of this noise. It’s extraordinary, and I love ’em to pieces, but I can’t stand it anymore,’” Spielberg continued.

u201cWhen GOONIES wrapped, Richard Donner needed a vacation after working with the kids for an entire year, and went to Hawaii to finally relax. As a prank, Steven Spielberg flew the entire cast out (including The Fratellis!) to surprise Donner at home. Here’s that footage. Amazing.u201d

— SPENCE, TODD (@SPENCE, TODD)
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Donner’s exhaustion inspired Spielberg to pull an epic prank. He flew the cast of kids out to Donner’s house in Hawaii, including Sean Astin (Mikey), Josh Brolin (Brand), Jeff Cohen (Chunk) and Martha Plimpton (Stef). He also sent the actors who played the obnoxious Fratellis, Anne Ramsey (Mama), Robert Davi (Jake) and Joe Pantoliano (Francis).

Video of the prank recently surfaced on Twitter, where Cohen can be seen telling him, “We’re gonna stay with you the whole time we’re here.” Astin adds: “We’re gonna do a sequel to the movie.”

At the end of the clip, Donner laughs as he flips the middle finger to someone off-camera, presumably Spielberg, saying: “I’ll get you.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger fired a considerable warning shot towards Ron DeSantis during a recent earnings call. Iger has been steps ahead of DeSantis after the Florida governor waged a losing war on Disney following the company’s public pushback on the state’s highly controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Disney is currently suing the state for taking “retaliatory” action against its protected speech by attempting to take control of the special district where Disneyland resides and/or devalue it by placing a prison near the theme park. Iger denounced the tactic and revealed that the House of Mouse was set to invest over $17 billion into the state over the next 10 years, but not if DeSantis is willing to throw away a lucrative 50-year-old relationship for his culture war.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney paid over $1.1 billion in taxes to Florida last year — making the company the state’s largest tax payer, according to Iger, who stressed that Disney pays more real estate taxes as a result of the special district and employs tens of thousands of residents at wages above minimum wage.

If the goal is to level the playing field, he said there needs to be “uniform application” of how special districts are established. “There was no concreted effort to dismantle Reedy Creek until we spoke out on legislation,” he said. “This is plainly a matter of retaliation.”

After setting the record straight on how special districts work across the state, and that the Disney isn’t the only entity with one, Iger put the situation into blunt terms for DeSantis: “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

There are some people who are destined to be actors but not celebrities. A few examples include Robert Pattinson, who notoriously messes with people because he’s bored, and maybe sometimes Hugh Grant, who doesn’t feel the need to do any sort of successful promo anymore. And there are people like Cillian Murphy, who has appeared in several of the biggest movies over the last decade, but doesn’t seem to ever appear in public, which begs the question: what’s his deal?

As it turns out, Murphy is just like the rest of us: he doesn’t leave his house nor does he want people talking to him. That’s not abnormal, though it’s a little hard when he carefully chooses buzzy roles, like Shivering Soldier #1 in Dunkirk.

Murphy was recently asked by Rolling Stone UK how he feels about being in the spotlight, to which he implied that he has opted out of that life. “I don’t really partake. I don’t go out. I’m just at home mostly, or with my friends, unless I have a film to promote,” he explained. This must be why he only appeared out of thin air every few years like a little Irish cicada. “I don’t like being photographed by people. I find that offensive,” he added.

Not only does he keep it lowkey, but he also has problems with fan interactions and feels that people find him “underwhelming” compared to his Peaky Blinders character. “I think it’s the Tommy Shelby thing. People expect this mysterious, swaggering… it’s just a character. I do feel people are a little bit underwhelmed. That’s fine, it means I’m doing my job,” he admitted.

It’s true that being employed as an actor doesn’t mean that you should always be open and available to people, as evident by the massive amount of attention Pedro Pascal has been getting. But this is what Murphy finds frustrating. He added, “It can ruin experiences, because it fetishises everything: You can be walking down the street and someone takes a picture…but that’s part and parcel of it.”

Next time you see Cillian on the street, consider not doing or saying anything but just admiring him from afar. Or try to get Christoper Nolan’s attention instead, since they are always paling around together in the most depressing way possible.

(Via CNN)

It’s been a pretty good month or so for the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the team was narrowly unable to make it out of the Play-In Tournament, Oklahoma City established itself as a tough, fun, up-and-coming team in the Western Conference. Their star guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, earned All-NBA First Team honors, while first-year wing Jalen Williams nearly received a unanimous All-Rookie First Team nod.

All of this, mixed with a number of other fun youngsters and the impending return of 2022 first-round pick Chet Holmgren, gives the Thunder an ultra-bright future. One reason for optimism is head coach Mark Daigneault, who is one of the best Xs and Os coaches in the NBA. Daigneault is also apparently a golfer, and on Thursday, he got the chance to participate in a Pro-Am in Tulsa alongside Phil Mickelson. His first tee shot was, well, it could have gone better!

Here’s his tee shot from another angle, where you can see that Daigneault looked like he found the whole thing pretty funny.

In fairness to Mark Daigneault, this is a shockingly good impression of me whenever I try to hit a golf ball off of a tee, so I am choosing to take this as the highest form of flattery.