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When Lola Brooke ferociously rapped the line, “Don’t play with it,” on her breakout viral track, she meant it. Since the track by the same name’s success, the Brooklyn native hit the ground running. Whether she was on the road as support for another act, securing guest verses on tracks with other artists, or appearing in different marketing campaigns, the musician is laser-focused on her goals.

Although Brooke has released a new song titled “So Disrespectful,” her smash hit “Don’t Play With It” continues to pave the way for the musician.

According to Billboard, the song has landed on its Hot 100 chart. Announcing the news on Twitter, the platform wrote, “Lola Brooke’s “Don’t Play With It” featuring Billy B or [the remix] featuring Latto and Yung Miami (of the City Girls) debuts at No. 69 on this week’s #Hot100.”

However, because the chart on the platform’s website has not been updated and the tweet’s vagueness, fans were confused about which version of the song earned the spot.

https://twitter.com/citygirlsfan305/stadidn’t42966348933242901?s=20

Billy B, featured on the viral song’s original version, didn’t mind celebrating despite the lack of clarity.

No matter which version has found a home on the charts, this is a joyous occasion for the recording artist. After the video for the remix was released, Brooke took to Twitter to thank her collaborators for jumping on the track.

“Thank you so much, Yung Miami and Latto! I appreciate y’all and love the verses! Y’all did y’all big one! This a moment for me and my city! This a big blessing to me! Thank you again, girlies,” wrote the rapper.

Lola Brooke is set to play Summer Jam 2023 this year alongside several other prominent New York native rappers.

For 32 years, Jim Nantz has been the voice of the Men’s Final Four, calling more than three decades of championships for CBS Sports. Prior to this season, Nantz announced this would be his last, as he would call the Final Four in the place his broadcasting career started when he was a college student at Houston.

That moment arrived on Monday night after a thoroughly impressive performance from UConn to win its fifth title in 25 years, and after the final buzzer sounded and Tracy Wolfson did her on-court interview with coach Dan Hurley, they sent it back to Nantz who did his best to fight off the emotion of the moment, delivering one final sign-off from the Final Four. In it, Nantz called back to his legendary welcoming line of “Hello, friends,” thanking Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson, the entire CBS crew, and fans of college basketball everywhere for “being my friend” for all these years.

For someone as stoic as Nantz, who never seems overcome with emotion in the moment (which, if anything, has been the knock some have of him as a play-by-play man when wild finishes happen), it was a perfect sign-off and about as emotional as you’ll ever hear him, as he choked up delivering his final line. Still, he got through it like the pro he is, and while his Final Four career is over, #NantzSZN rolls on unimpeded, as he’ll be taking the jet from Houston to Augusta for the event he’s become synonymous with, the Masters.

In November of last year, the music world was devastated and shaken by the tragic death of Christine McVie, a longtime member of Fleetwood Mac. She was 79. A statement said she “passed away peacefully at the hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30, 2022, following a short illness.” Her cause of death has now been revealed.

According to the death certificate obtained by The Blast, McVie passed due to an ischaemic stroke after being diagnosed with “metastatic malignancy of unknown primary origin.” This means that cancer spread through her body though no tumor was detected.

Following her passing, Fleetwood Mac shared an official statement to honor McVie on social media, praising her as “the best musician anyone could have in their band.”

“There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie,” the thoughtful post read.

“She was truly one-of-a-kind, special, and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed. — Fleetwood Mac.”

The UConn Huskies entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West Region but, for analytically inclined observers, the Huskies didn’t seem like a No. 4 seed. Dan Hurley’s team ranked near the top of the country by predictive metrics and, with top seeds falling all around them, the Huskies dominated the competition in Las Vegas before throttling Miami in Saturday’s national semifinal. Only one test stood between UConn and a national title on Monday and, despite a late surge from the San Diego State Aztecs, the Huskies led comfortably most of the way and cut down the nets with 76-59 victory.

The evening began in encouraging fashion for San Diego State, as the Aztecs did something that was foreign to UConn’s previous three opponents. San Diego State made its first three shots, including a pair of three-pointers, and UConn fell behind at the under-16 timeout after trailing for less than a minute in the previous three games combined.

UConn guard Tristen Newton struggled with early on-ball pressure, committing three turnovers in quick succession, but the Huskies were also able to establish control near the rim. UConn’s length was an immediate deterrent with strong contests and a pair of blocked shots in the paint, and the Huskies also opened by making six of their first eight shots.

San Diego State also encountered a lengthy offensive drought. The Aztecs missed 14 straight shots (the longest shooting drought any team had all tournament), failing to score for more than six straight minutes and eventually going more than 11 minutes without a single field goal. UConn used that dead period to mount an extended 20-5 run to take a double-digit lead.

After the Aztecs finally made a shot, things didn’t improve immediately for the underdogs. UConn zoomed to another 7-0 run, including a three-pointer that gave the Huskies a 16-point edge that felt utterly commanding.

San Diego State did turn up its defense near the end of the first half, keeping the deficit manageable in the process. The Huskies didn’t score for more than three minutes before halftime, and the Aztecs chipped away to climb back within a 36-24 margin with 20 minutes remaining.

UConn held San Diego State to just 8-of-28 shooting (including just 1-of-11 on contested shots in the lane) in the first half and, while some of that has to be attributed to the Aztecs’ struggles, the Huskies were locked in defensively for the final 12-plus minutes in impressive fashion. Still, UConn didn’t run away and hide, in part due to eight first-half turnovers that gave San Diego State a few extra opportunities.

Coming out of the break, the fireworks were at a minimum, with the margin hanging in the same range as it was during halftime. The notable exception was a missed dunk attempt by Jordan Hawkins, who tried to end the lives of anyone in his path and was unsuccessful.

On defense, San Diego State did more than enough to keep things interesting, forcing UConn to miss five of its first seven shots in the second half. The Huskies were able to keep their distance, though, as the Aztecs continued to struggle with shot creation and conversion. San Diego State was just 3-of-12 from the floor to open the half and still facing a 15-point deficit after more than eight minutes.

There was a run coming from SDSU, and it finally materialized over a three-minute period in the middle of the half. After a three-pointer by UConn’s Joey Calcaterra that put the Huskies back up 15, the Aztecs scored nine straight points behind a couple of jump shots from Jaedon Ledee, a triple from Keshad Johnson, and a layup from Darrion Trammell in transition. At the conclusion of that spurt, NRG Stadium sprung to life for the first time since the opening moments and the margin was down to six.

San Diego State climbed within five with 5:19 to go, prompting an eruption from a friendly crowd in Houston. On cue, UConn wing and projected first round pick Jordan Hawkins buried a gorgeous three-pointer off movement to at least briefly quiet the buzz.

That was followed by a couple of ugly moments from the San Diego State offense, including a drive to nowhere, a missed front end of a 1-on-1 at the free throw line and a couple of errant jump shots. That dry spell, coupled with a 9-0 run by a suddenly stabilized UConn unit, effectively spelled the end of the game with a 14-point margin and only two minutes on the clock.

San Diego didn’t wave the white flag, upping its pressure and trying to play the foul game with tempo in the closing minutes. However, no miracles came to fruition and, in short, the best team throughout the 2023 NCAA Tournament emerged with the title.

On offense, it wasn’t the prettiest night from UConn, especially when compared to its sky-high efficiency from previous rounds. Some of that credit goes to the San Diego State defense, but the Huskies did convert 24-of-27 free throws to take care of business. Newton bounced back from a rocky start and finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds at the point of attack, with Adama Sanogo adding 17 points and 10 rebounds and Hawkins contributing 16 points to go along with arguably the biggest shot of the game when things got dicey in the second half.

For San Diego State, the best season in program history comes to an end on a night when very little went according to plan on offense. The Aztecs shot just 32 percent from the field and 6-of-23 from three-point range. Even with its trademark quality defense, San Diego State needed more to overcome a talent and size disadvantage, and it wasn’t in the stars on this particular evening.

UConn, which entered the evening already rated as the No. 1 team in the country according to KenPom, didn’t play a perfect offensive game by any stretch, but the Huskies looked and felt the part of a national champion over the last three weeks while beating every tournament opponent by double figures. Dan Hurley’s team also ends the season without a single loss to a non-conference opponent and, with at least the potential for much of the roster to return, Huskies fans can start to dream big about another deep run in 2024.

The Louisiana State University Tigers women’s basketball team is dominating the headlines. Yesterday (April 2), after winning the NCAA tournament championship, several players, including Angel Reese, as well as the head coach Kim Mulkey, was thrust into the spotlight. However, there’s another breakout player that was already in the limelight prior to joining the team, but for another reason.

Guard Flau’jae Johnson was killing it on the mic before she ever found success with a basketball. Known musically known as Flau’jae, the Savannah, Georgia native has simultaneously maintained her athletic career with her passion for music. Flau’jae was featured on season three of the reality music competition show The Rap Game hosted by Jermaine Dupri, earned the first gold buzzer on America’s Got Talent for rap, and is currently signed to Roc Nation.

As her team celebrated their championship victory in the stadium you could hear Flau’jae’s song “Big 4” playing over the stadium’s speakers. When asked about her feelings by sports journalist Autumn Johnson, Flau’jae declared, “They just played my song while I’m holding the national championship trophy. Quit playing with me, man.”

That’s not the only rockstar moment, the hooper has also received compliments from Lil Wayne, who also Facetimed her after one of the team’s victories to congratulate them on their performance.

As for whether her future plans will focus solely on basketball or her music career, Flau’jae’s answer lie in her song’s lyrics, “Are you gonna rap or be an athlete / If I’m still doing both why you asking me?”

The Raw after WrestleMania 39 appeared to be heading directly into Cody Rhodes’ redemption after losing the main event against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The show opened with Rhodes teaming with an unlikely contender in Brock Lesnar against the Tribal Chief and Solo Sikoa, but ended with a detour.

In the opening minutes of the show, Rhodes demanded a rematch against Reigns after Sikoa cost him the belt the night before. When Reigns declined, Paul Heyman granted his request for a tag team match under stipulations that they must have wrestled at WrestleMania and they won’t be eligible for a championship match as long as Reigns holds the belts. Lesnar answered the call, but his loyalty to Rhodes didn’t last long.

As Rhodes made his entrance into the ring, Lesnar attacked him with an F-5 and continued to brutalize him around the ring.

Lesnar proceeded to throw Rhodes over the barricade, hit him with a steel chair, F-5 him through the announce table, F-5 him onto the stairs, and eventually ended the night by giving double middle fingers as the show went off the air.

For now, Rhodes’ return to the gain revenge on Reigns and earn his way back to the top looks like it’ll have to go through Lesnar first.

It’s been a good long while since the Harry Potter film series ended. Seriously, it’s been a dozen years as of his summer. Yes, there’s been the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, but those sure haven’t been even remotely as beloved as the ones about Harry himself. It’s no surprise HBO Max has been trying to turn it into a TV series, which they’ve been doing almost as long as the streamer has been alive. Now it appears the wheels are truly in motion, partly thanks to the involvement of the most controversial person involved in the IP.

That, of course, is Harry’s creator, J.W. Rowling, who decided that it was more important to speak out against transgender people than to be loved by fans of her work. While she’s alienated scores of her readers, she evidently hasn’t enraged those at Warner Bros. Discovery. Indeed, as per Deadline, execs and Rowling are reportedly in talks to make that TV series a reality.

For anyone trying to milk more cash from the Harry Potter-verse, Rowling’s involvement is a must. She has creative control over any take on her work, so a Harry series without her ain’t happening.

The series will reportedly be a reboot, with each season tackling a different Potter installment. Daniel Radcliffe, who shot to stardom after first playing Harry — and who recently moderated a discussion with trans youth for a YouTube series — has spoken about knowing he’ll see more Harrys in his lifetime. He even once shared his creative idea for a spinoff, which mischief-making group comprised of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Harry’s dad James Potter. Clearly HBO Max execs didn’t catch that one.

(Via Deadline)

Following the wildly successful release of Drake and 21 Savage’s collaboration album Her Loss, tickets to see them live were as high as a thousand bucks a pop. Fans were outraged about that, so they’re certainly not going to want to see the price Drake is charging to record in his home studio.

The “Hotline Bling” rapper’s home studio was found on StuFinder, a popular app used to find places to record music. The listing said that the studio was $250,000 per hour. Better be quick in there!

In a recent interview with Lil Yachty, Drake discussed regretting using ex-girlfriends’ names in his music. “The lyrics are never with ill intent,” he explained, “but I had somebody say one time, ‘You know, it’s not necessarily what you’re saying about me; it’s the fact that you said it. Just in the sense of, ‘You don’t know what it does to me. You don’t know who my boyfriend is at the time. You don’t know what my family or doesn’t know, and if you express any form of [ill will] for me in a song and call me by name, then all of a sudden, I’m left to pick up the pieces of my own life that I’ve tried to build up for myself.’”

Nicki Minaj brags about not having any musical competition and in some cases that may be true but the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rapper just took a minor loss in the court of law. Although the songwriter did secure a default judgement in February against a YouTuber who failed to respond to her defamation lawsuit. However, according to Vibe, Minaj’s luck did not pull through in her defamation case against lawyer Tyrone Blackburn.

The outlet is reporting that the musician’s motion to sanction Blackburn, the legal representative for her husband Kenneth Petty’s rape accuser (Jennifer Hough) was denied by the East New York judge presiding over the case.

In his statement to the court obtained by AllHipHop, Judge James R. Cho stated, “The court does not find Hough’s decision to pursue a motion for default judgment against [Nicki] sanctionable, notwithstanding [Nicki’s] claim that the motion lacked merit.”

Judge Cho continued, “Here, [Hough] did not have an obligation to withdraw her motion for default judgment against Nicki simply because counsel for [Nicki] considered the motion ‘frivolous.’”

On the other hand the judge was sure to drill home the point that Hough’s attorney still has a long way to go in this ongoing battle. “Blackburn should not take the denial of the motion for sanctions as in any way endorsing his behavior,” said Judge Cho.

The rapper and her husband have been battling with Hough in court since she filed suit against the couple in August 2021. In her suit, Hough accused them of defamation and witness intimidation.Minaj has continously denied the allegation.

The case reportedly gotten so bad that according to the outlet, in December 2022, a judge allegedly ordered Petty and Hough to come a settlement but that has yet to had.

Two years after stealing the show at WrestleMania 37, it appears that Bad Bunny is angling for a return to the ring.

WWE has been hyping Bunny’s return to the promotion over the last month as he’s set to host the premium live event Backlash in Puerto Rico on May 6. He first got involved in the lead-up to that event at WrestleMania 39, stopping Dominik Mysterio from hitting his dad with a chain and helping Rey Mysterio get the win on the Grandest Stage of ‘Em All.

On Monday night at the Raw after WrestleMania, that feud continued when Dominik cost his father a match against Austin Theory, then proceeded to give him a beatdown after the bell. Dominik then spotted Bunny at ringside and went to give him a piece of his mind. Bunny responded by connecting on a straight right to Dominik, which led to Bunny’s former partner, Damian Priest, tossing him over the ringside barricade. Back on his feet, Bunny attacked Dominik again before Priest hit him with a short clothesline and then choke slammed him through the announce table.

No match has been set as of this writing, but it appears WWE is setting things up for Bunny — who, it must be said, can really go — to return to action.