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It’s hard to grasp that the year is almost ending. There were a lot of pivotal celebrity moments this year, like the entire Don’t Worry Darling press tour, or Tom Cruise jumping out of planes at any given opportunity. But there was one so shocking and overly discussed that it would be impossible to end the year without mentioning it, and that is The Oscars Slap.

It’s been about 9 months since the moment that altered celebrities’ lives forever (or at least that’s exactly how they made it seem), yet we have heard very little from Will Smith, the slapper himself. Chris Rock, the Slapee, has had a few words about it, though we will possibly hear his story next year on Netflix — streaming live for the first time!

Smith stars in Emancipation, the upcoming movie that is attracting a ton of Oscars buzz. But after being banned from the awards ceremony, Smith acknowledged the viral event might impact how people view the film. Via Entertainment Weekly:

“The only discomfort my heart has around that is that so many people have done spectacular work on this film. My hope is that my team isn’t penalized at all for my actions. I think [director Antoine Fuqua] and [cinematographer Robert Richardson] and Ben and Charmaine — everyone has done such spectacular work. I definitely lose a couple winks of sleep every night thinking that I could have potentially penalized my team, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve.”

While Smith won’t be able to attend the ceremony next year, it doesn’t seem like there are any rules against the movie being nominated. Whatever happens…there will inevitably be a lot of jokes about it.

Emancipation will be released in select theaters on December 2nd, then on Apple TV+ on December 9th.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Trueno is continuing to consolidate himself as a Latin force in hip-hop: The Argentine rapper teamed up with JID in the music video for his new single “Lo Tengo” that was released on Friday (November 25).

In the past year, Trueno has emerged an artist to watch for in the Latin rap scene. In May, Gorillaz brought him out as a special guest during the band’s Quilmes Rock concert, where he performed a new freestyle over “Clint Eastwood.” In September, Trueno was featured in NPR’s Tiny Desk spin-off El Tiny for Latinx Heritage Month.

Now Trueno is getting a co-sign from the American hip-hop scene. Atlanta-based rapper JID jumped on Trueno’s single “Lo Tengo.” The feel-good track taps in funky beats that are reminiscent of rap in the ’90s. Trueno’s Spanish-language swagger sounds at home as he spits about his come-up from Argentina. JID slides in at the halfway point with a slick guest verse. “I’m gettin’ bands out in Buenos Aires / I’m with Trueno,” JID raps with his best Spanish accent. The chorus also features uncredited vocals from Trueno’s girlfriend Nicki Nicole.

In the video for “Lo Tengo” that was directed by Lucas Vignale and El Dorado, JID cruises with Trueno around California in a low rider. Trueno proudly represents his Argentine roots by sharing his mate drink with JID. Trueno released his Bien O Mal album earlier this year. He is also featured on the NFL’s Por La Cultura Mixtape with his song “Quién Si No.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

If you thought Drake was done with 2022, you thought wrong. After dropping his highly successful and controversial album with 21 Savage, Her Loss, the “Major Distribution” rapper plans another release, this time with footwear.

Drake has partnered with Nike to drop his Certified Lover Boy Nike Air Force 1s, which are set to release on December 2, according to Sneaker News. The Canadian rapper went on Instagram last week to offer fans a sneak peek of the sneakers.

In the post’s caption, the rapper noted that his mother was the inspiration behind the shoes, along with his favorite book as a child, Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. “Love You Forever AF1 dedicated to my incredible mother and our favorite book,” he wrote.

When it comes to design, while the shoe is reminiscent of its timeless silhouette and strikingly white color, this particular shoe contains an etching reading “Love you forever” toward the heel and three bejeweled hearts hovering above the message.

Additionally, Drake shared a note addressed to his mother, which read, “For my mother, Your perennial care and nurturing is never lost on me. This book is the time capsule of our love. I long for the days when it was this simple. — Aubrey.”

In an act of defiance, protestors in China have taken to the streets protest Beijing’s recent spat of draconian lockdowns. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the country has strived for a “zero COVID policy” that has repeatedly left citizens trapped inside their houses with little access to food or medical care. During the most recent lockdown, CNN reports that an apartment building fire killed at least 10 people after firefighters were reportedly delayed because of the aggressive COVID measures.

However, this time around, the people are fighting back and calling for the resignation of Chinese president Xi Jinping. They’re also finding support across the globe as a recent rallying cry for a return to normalcy went viral. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

A video showing protestors in Shanghai chanting, “I wanna see a movie!” was widely shared on WeChat among Chinese film fans and industry professionals over the weekend. The statement appears to be a reflection of one of the many everyday privileges that some in China feel they have lost as the third year of the pandemic wears on, with no end to Beijing’s COVID-zero policy in sight.

“Everyone was forced to give a final roar: I wanna see a movie!” wrote the head of one of China’s major theater chains on Wechat on Monday, in a post including the protest video.

Despite the Communist Party’s strict control of the country, Chinese film executives have continued to share the viral video with their supportive audience. As THR reports, the film industry in China has “withered” under the zero-COVID policy as well as “increased censorship control.”

While theaters have technically remained open in China, attendance has been dismal due to the rolling lockdowns and restrictions on freedom of movement.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Have you ever wanted to make your own festival lineup of your favorite artists from that year? Meet Instafest, the third-party app that allows Spotify users to turn their music listening history into a festival lineup poster.

While the popular music platform does a great job of keeping track of your favorite artists with one-of-a-kind curated playlists, Instafest allows users to show off their listening history outside of the app. Unlike many other music platforms, Spotify’s integration allows for third-party apps such as Instafest, which offer people an array of options for engaging with their music history.

Fortunately, the service is very straightforward. Here’s how to create your Spotify Instafest fake festival lineup:

1. Open the Instafest website.
2. Click on the green “Sign in with Spotify” button.
3. Log in to your Spotify account.

After a user grants the website permission to access their Spotify account and data, Instafest will generate the festival lineup poster based on the user’s listening history over the last six months. Additionally, if a user isn’t happy with their first generated image, several customization options are available. The app will let you select artists from either the last four weeks, the last six months, or all-time.

There are several aesthetics to try, such as Malibu Sunrise’s summer beach party, LA Twilight’s late-night city vibe, or Mojave Dusk’s wild desert.

(Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery spoilers will be found below.)

In Rian Johnson’s newest witty whodunnit, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Daniel Craig returned as Benoit Blanc, the savvy detective with a thick southern accent and talent for solving mysteries, alongside a new cast of deceptive suspects played by Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, and Kathryn Hahn. But beyond the principal cast is a series of impressive and unexpected cameos that made the movie feel almost like a Where’s Waldo of world-famous celebrities with familiar faces popping up around every corner.

In case you missed it with all of the excitement (there was a lot), here is a quick overview of all of the impressive cameos so you can keep an eye out when the movie hits Netflix next month.

The biggest cameo moment came from the legendary Angela Lansbury in her last appearance before her death this past October. The iconic former amateur sleuth herself made a quick cameo as one of Blanc’s gaming buddies (!!) along with Natasha Lyonne and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Director Rian Johnson told Entertainment Weekly it was “very, very special.” He added, “With Angela Lansbury, she’s extraordinary in so many ways in her connection to the genre. She’s just a hero.”

Not only did Lansbury get to grace the screen, but another legend also appeared in the scene: composer Stephen Sondheim, who was a “mystery nut” according to Johnson. This was Sondheim’s final on-screen appearance since he passed away last November.

On the other hand, Marvel just so happened to be filming Moon Knight right next door to the Glass Onion set, so Ethan Hawke popped over to play a COVID-conscious character who disinfects visitors before they enter the island. Of all the ways to add COVID into a movie, it could be worse!

Possibly the biggest cameo is a short but memorable moment with Hugh Grant portraying Detective Blanc’s partner in a flashback scene. It was rumored that Blanc would have a potential love interest, and Johnson even confirmed that Craig’s character is queer earlier this year.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the Cameo King himself, played a small but vital role: he voiced the hourly “dong” clock sound. It was a pleasant but expected cameo, as Gordon-Levitt has appeared in nearly every Rian Johnson movie. World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma also makes an appearance early on in the film, while Jeremy Renner gets a very ironic shout-out via his (fake) celebrity-branded hot sauce. It’s topical!

Finally, Serena Williams appeared as one of those futuristic workout instructors who watch you from a mirror, which would normally be creepy, but it’s Serena Williams, so it’s okay!

After a short stint in select theaters, Glass Onion will premiere on Netflix on December 23rd.

(Via Entertainment Weekly and US Weekly)

This article originally appeared on 03.26.20

The elderly have the most to worry about during the COVID-19 pandemic. If infected by the virus they have the highest mortality rate. So, obviously, they have a big reason to stay home and practice social distancing during the crisis.

Teenagers have a much lower risk of dying from the COVID-19, and in California, high school isn’t in session for weeks, if not months.

So Daniel Goldberg, a junior student-athlete at San Marcos High in Santa Barbara put two and two together and got his friends together to help the elderly.

Daniel created Zoomers to Boomers, a website where seniors in the Santa Barbara area can fill out a list online and have their groceries delivered the next day by one of his high school friends.

The site’s name is a generational play on words, the delivery people are all Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) and the recipients are mostly Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964).

“The first week off school I was just spending time with siblings, and I was trying to follow all the regulations of isolate at home, don’t go out and spread anything around,” Daniel told Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk.

“I felt I wasn’t helping when there was help that was needed,” he added.

Daniel was inspired to create the website because of his father, an ER doctor at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

“I saw my dad (Dr. Brian Goldberg) going into work at the ER every day and he was putting himself out on the front line,” Daniel said. “I was just sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. I was like: ‘There has to be something I can do to try help out in the community.’ I started thinking and brainstorming on how I can help.”

By Tuesday, Daniel had put together a staff of 13 high school kids to do the zooming. Many of them are fellow athletes at his school. The Zoomers must adhere to strict standards of sanitation and wear an N95 mask and gloves.

“All these people are people I’m comfortable asking, ‘Do you want to help?'” he said. “They’re friends from school and water polo, people I know.”

u201cGen Z stepping up to help Boomers in Santa Barbara delivering groceries and prescriptions to their homes. #zoomerstoboomers https://t.co/RMGXBfqFK3u201d

— Alys Martinez (@Alys Martinez)
1585079392

The great thing for seniors is that Zoomers to Boomers is free. The Zoomers don’t accept any payment for their orders and tips are donated to those in need in Santa Barbara county.

The project has been so successful it’s already spread to Denver, Colorado.

The site is simple to use. Customers click an “order here” tab to create a grocery list. Then drivers visit a local grocery store and fulfill the order. After the items have been purchased, the delivery person calls or texts the customer and tells them how much it cost and when it will be delivered.

Customers can pay through cash, check, or Venmo.

“They answer all the information we need and we send a driver out and we’ll have (the grocery) order to them by the next morning,” Daniel said. “For the non-tech savvy, they can send me an email. I can call a couple of people and make the delivery.”

Business is taking off quickly. On Tuesday, Daniel’s team fulfilled 50 orders, so he’s looking to hire more Zoomers.

“I’m going to try to grow the team a little more,” he said.

Carlos Rivera continues to serenade the world with his beautiful love songs. On Friday (November 25), the Mexican pop heartthrob released the music video for his new single “Un Viaje A Todas Partes.”

Since winning the reality TV competition La Academia in 2004, Rivera has become one of Mexico’s biggest pop stars. In 2017, he was tapped to sing the Spanish version of the theme song “Remember Me” from Disney’s Coco movie. In 2020, Rivera teamed up with Becky G and Pedro Capó for the playful “Perdiendo la Cabeza.” Later that year, he brought Maluma into the world of Mexican ranchera music with their duet “100 Años.”

This past year, Rivera has teased his next album with songs that could be inspired by his recent marriage to Cynthia Rodríguez. In September, he released “Digan Lo Que Digan,” an ode to a romance that prevails over any difficulties and naysayers. The ballad about championing love doubled as an anthem for his fans in the LGBTQ+ community. Rivera also dropped “Te Soñé,” a song that he wrote in honor of his home state Tlaxcala, featuring Carlos Vives.

“The lyrics in each one of my songs have everything from my own life, but they seek to identify with the everyday stories of my fans,” Rivera said in a statement. “That is where my music has found its place, in the hearts of the people.”

Rivera released an acoustic version of his “Un Viaje A Todas Partes.” In the soulful ballad, Rivera sings about looking back on the past year of all the sweet memories that he’s shared with a loved one. His soaring voice captures the power of love in his heartfelt message. With 2022 nearing its end, Rivera’s recollective love anthem arrives right on time.

Rivera’s next album is due out sometime in 2023. He is currently touring Mexico with his Gira de Palenques 2022 trek.

Well, this is disappointing. Despite both men narrowly avoiding spending the bulk of their respective adulthoods in prison, Bobby Shmurda and YoungBoy Never Broke Again have apparently decided that beefing on Instagram is more important than getting money and staying out of trouble. As usual, a bunch of accounts on Twitter have saved the back-and-forth exchange, which as usual, seems to have started over ego and ignorance.

The trouble apparently started when Smurda apparently requested a feature from the younger artist. After YoungBoy apparently rebuffed the request, he posted a screenshot of the Instagram DM conversation to his Instagram grid, mocking Bobby for even reaching out in the first place. Naturally, Shmurda was unhappy about the way the Baton Rouge rapper handled the situation, launching a long tirade on Instagram Live, threatening to “boom” a variety of foes “on camera,” including gossip blogger DJ Akademiks (who, ironically, reposted the video on his Twitter), controversial rap manager Wack 100, and YoungBoy, who naturally responded with some threats of his own. Check out the videos below.

Obviously, all of this becomes a problem when you consider that Bobby is only two years out from a six-year sentence for racketeering, gun possession, and violent acts, while YoungBoy has spent the better part of the year on house arrest while fighting gun charges. Although he was able to slide on those charges, he’s got other, federal charges as well yet to go to trial. This is the sort of thing that prosecutors are usually itching to use as evidence to keep rappers locked up; see: Gunna and Young Thug.

So, let’s hope these two can hash out whatever issues they have with each other without resorting to carrying out all these violent threats. Too many entertainers are already stuck behind bars for this nonsense as it is.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

You can’t keep a good stallion down.

While 2022 has been a very tumultuous year for Megan Thee Stallion, the money continues to roll in. Forbes estimates that the Texas rapper made around $13 million this year and has no plans on slowing down. She amassed her millions with the help of various successful business ventures — from royalties and ticket sales to endorsements and merch.

“I’ll take a break when I’m dead,” she told Forbes. “I’m trying to really build something.” The rapper noted that she doesn’t like being idle for too long and doesn’t want to give anyone a chance to take her spot.

The “Body” rapper continues to garner billion-dollar brand deals where ever she goes. She’s collaborated with Nike, Revlon, Cash App, and Popeyes. Her Superbowl ad with Cheetos was worth an estimated $2 million alone, according to Forbes.

When offering her endorsement, Megan likes to keep it real; if it’s not genuine, she’s not interested. “I cannot fake it,” she said. “If I’m not naturally into it, I don’t want to sell it.”

But the journey to her millions has not been easy — along the way, Megan lost her mother to brain cancer in 2019. In the summer of 2020, she was allegedly shot by Tory Lanez and was met with harsh criticism from social media trolls. She’s also drawn criticism for her provocative style from politicians and industry heavyweights.

On the business side, Megan is in a nasty battle with her record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, which she has sued for $1 million in a royalty dispute. Recently, the rapper was granted a retaining order against 1501.

Despite all this, 2023 is shaping up to be a good year for the rapper — from a new tour and album to working with Netflix to produce several new shows and even working with Time Inc. to produce a documentary on her life.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.