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Netflix bet big on the Neil Gaiman business with The Sandman as the mothership for the Dead Boy Detectives spin off, and a Death standalone mini season sits on fan wish lists. That character ignited what turned out to be the most beautiful episode in this universe as of yet by combining lugubrious vibes from The Sandman with the cheeky tone witnessed on Lucifer. Death is also tied to Dead Boy Detectives as a nice bond between series.

The second season of The Sandman is currently filming, and that leaves a lingering question mark on an unresolved inquiry.

Is Dead Boy Detectives Renewed Or Cancelled For Season 2?

The fantasy drama offshoot gathered up a devoted legion of fans despite — and this is only my suspicion — some viewers remaining out of the loop by not knowing that a The Sandman spin off surfaced. The marketing wasn’t entirely clear about the connection even while including a Death cameo that shocked Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s onscreen sibling, Tom Sturridge (Morpheus/Dream).

Since Netflix hasn’t provided a definitive answer about a second season with more Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) and Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew), it’s time to grasp at a clue: George Rexstrew is either having too much fun, or he knows something. In a cryptic Instagram reel that has now been noted by fans on Twitter/X, Rexstrew posted a quote from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Sack of the Gods” poem. That line reads, “as long as the red Earth rolls”

Those words match up to Death’s recitation toward a ghost during her Dead Boy Detectives cameo. What does this mean? It could pertain to everything or nothing relating to more episodes of the ghosts who pick up the paranormal mysteries that stump human detectives.

Co-showrunners Steve Yockey and Beth Schwartz have already told Variety that they are ready and waiting to greet another Endless member (Mason Alexander Park’s Desire) beyond Death and Despair. And now we wait.

The first Dead Boy Detectives season is streaming in full on Netflix.

Cash Cobain is unstoppable in 2024. In recent years, few artists have created a lane for themselves and not only thrived in it, but had the music world jumping at opportunities to take part the way he has. Since the start of the year, Cobain has made an excellent case that sexy drill could stick around for good in hip-hop. His 2024 singles — “Dunk Contest,” “Fisherr,” “Rump Punch,” and “Problem” — have all been standout moments that stamped and elevated his position in the rap game. Now, he takes it a step further with the release of his debut album, Play Cash Cobain.

The Bronx rapper and producer’s debut album is a 19-track promotion of daytime fun and nighttime debauchery. In short, it’s fun! Play Cash Cobain is a display of growth from Cobain, who rose to prominence by sampling R&B songs for his sexy drill record and earning a reputation as one of music’s horniest artist. While his sexy drill production thrives with or without a sample, Play Cash Cobain provides plenty of great sample moments.

Here are the five best sample moments on Cash Cobain’s debut album Play Cash Cobain.

“Act Like”

Sample: Tyrese’s “How You Gonna Act Like That” & Pop Smoke’s “For The Night”

“Act Like” was one of the most anticipated songs from Cash Cobain’s album. The track was previously teased by Slizzy member Marni and other associates during a livestream, and fans like myself quickly latched themselves to the record. “Act Like” begins with a sample of the first verse from Tyrese’s 2002 track “How You Gonna Act Like That” before Cash’s sexy drill production arrives. Echoes of Tyrese singing “it seems like” play throughout the track before the chorus arrives and in comes an interpolation of Pop Smoke’s “For The Night.” Cash thrives at using just enough of the sample for the song he creates, and this is a great example of that.

“All I Wanna Hear”

Sample: Elephant Man’s “Pon de River, Pon de Bank”

Jamaican dancehall singer Elephant Man’s most recognizable song is at the center of the third track on Cash Cobain’s debut album. “Pon de River, Pon de Bank,” an uptempo, high energy record, is slowed down for a more chill experience. On it, Cobain proves why he’s rap’s horniest artist with lines like “She said all I rap about is sex / I said, ‘That’s all I wanna hear,’” and “The other nickname for my d*ck is Jeff / It be Hardy.” This is what you get with the Cash Cobain experience and it’s a fun one to say the least. As for the sample, slowing down the keys on “Pon de River, Pon de Bank” is a simple yet very effective decision.

“CantSleep/DrunkInLuv”

Sample: H-Town’s “Knockin’ Da Boots”

Cash Cobain takes it back to 1993 with a sample of H-Town’s “Knockin’ Da Boots” for this song’s first half, “CantSleep.” Cash Cobain and H-Town both have the same energy, pursuing a foray into the bedroom. Once there, sleep is the last thing on the agenda as Cash suggests, but to H-Town’s point, “Knockin’ Da Boots” seems to be the priority. After introducing his song with a couple of lines from the hook of “Knockin’ Da Boots,” Cobain lets H-Town’s “good love” croons repeat in the background for the remainder of the song.

“Dunk”

Sample: Soulja Boy’s “Donk”

In a rare upbeat moment from Cobain, the Bronx native takes on Soulja Boy’s “Donk” for “Dunk.” While the focus of Soulja Boy’s “Donk” is to praise a woman’s assets, Cobain’s “Dunk” incorporates the same bluntless to achieve his goal of ending the night with a woman. He gets the job done with the same drum pattern as Soulja Boy’s original track, and in the end, we get a new sample of how expansive Cobain’s artistry can be.

“Problem”

Sample: Laila!’s “Not My Problem”

The singles Cash Cobain put out ahead of his album all did their job in grabbing the world’s attention. “Dunk Contest” was a great appetizer for the summer hit songs that “Fisherrr” and “Rump Punch” turned out to be. Next came “Problem” which samples Laila!’s “Not My Problem” and turned her record into a massive posse cut. For seven minutes, Cobain, Fabolous, Kenzo B, Big Sean, Lay Bankz, Luh Tyler, Anycia, Chow Lee, Kaliii, 6LACK, Flo Milli, YN Jay, Flee, Don Q, and Rob49 laid quick verses as Laila!’s “problem” and “not my problem” chants play at the end of each line. “Problem” is a great and fun moment on the album, and proof that everyone wants a part of Cobain’s sexy drill sound.

Play Cash Cobain is out now via Giant Music. Find out more information here.

Travis Scott’s breakthrough mixtape Days Before Rodeo has arrived to DSPs ten years after its release, and fans have been delighted to traipse down Memory Lane with the star making project — or delve into it in full for the first time after projects like Astroworld and Utopia have made Scott into a household name.

So, how does this collection of songs stack up to each other after ten years? Let’s take a swing at ranking the 12 songs from Days Before Rodeo to find out which one is the best.

12. “Zombies”

Let’s get this out of the way up front: Travis Scott has always been a case of style over substance, and he’s never exactly been the greatest rapper. While usually, his production is enough to mask the relative lack of punch provided by his more clichéd lines, “Zombies” is the weakest track on Days Before… because it skimps on the strongest aspect of Scott’s whole thing, pairing uninspired boasts with an absolutely plodding beat that makes it a total slog.

11. “Basement Freestyle”

Like “Zombies,” “Basement Freestyle” makes the misstep of drawing focus to Scott’s raps (calling it a “freestyle” is the largest factor in this), only this time, it wastes (or makes use of, depending on where you stand) a compelling — if a bit repetitive — beat from Metro Boomin and Lex Luger.

10. “BACC”

Travis is at his least convincing when he’s trying to convince us he’s a tough guy. This disconnect between the posturing of the hook (“Cuzzo back on the block, he back servin’ birdies”) and the empty boasts of the only verse causes the bonus track to fall a bit flat.

9. “Days Before Rodeo: The Prayer”

Days Before Rodeo starts out pretty strong, all things considered, but its mostly inspired intro, which has a fun Wondagurl beat built around a slick breakbeat sample, quickly disintegrates toward the end. Meanwhile, some of its motifs get repeated throughout the album, to diminishing returns.

8. “Don’t Play” Feat. The 1975 & Big Sean

The only feature-heavy song in the bottom half of the ranking, there’s something discordant about the pairings here; perhaps the high-art indie-rock nod provided by The 1975 doesn’t live up to similar cross-genre collaborations of the time period, while Big Sean’s energized performance overshadows Travis’ efforts to match his fellow Kanye co-writer.

7. “Quintana Pt. 2”

An uncredited appearance from Travis’ early benefactor T.I. once again exposes the flaws in Scott’s fundamentals, proving more effective with a well-worn old-man game than the Houston rapper’s more contemporary melodic approach. The fact that it sounds like the Scarface theme can be a plus or a minus, depending on how you feel about that particular gangster epic. The fact that T.I.’s verse was removed from the streaming version somehow ends up hurting more than helps, leaving behind a void that makes the latter half of the song drag.

6. “Sloppy Toppy” Feat. Migos & Peeway Longway

The first 20 seconds of this song promise a departure that the rest of it never really pays off, but nods to the soulful intro sample throughout the beat offered by producers Southside, AudioKlique, and C Gutta provide enough interesting things in the background to keep this one from ever eating its tail, while Migos delivers one of the signature performances that made them such an in-demand feature artist at the time — especially Takeoff (RIP!).

5. “Grey”

You can hear the seeds of Travis’ future hit “Pick Up The Phone” in this one, while his pen game takes a step up — not a massive one, mind you, but enough to make the imagery feel a bit more vivid, believable, and compelling. The second verse offers the sort of autobiographical detailing that Travis’ music could stand to use a lot more of.

4. “Mamacita” Feat. Rich Homie Quan & Young Thug

Long live Rich Gang. Quan and Thug were on one hell of a run in 2013-14, and their presence brings out something in Travis — perhaps not his “best,” but certainly a bit of energy that the rest of his catalog could stand to include. Thugger’s verse stings especially hard when you consider how long and hard he worked to get to the point of So Much Fun and Punk, only for the state to justify his “I don’t f*ck with America” statement, albeit for a different reason than he meant back then.

3. “Backyard”

One of the few songs on Days Before Rodeo that tries something different, its placement toward the end of the tracklist provides a burst of optimism in an apocalyptic sonic wasteland. Lyrically, it finds Travis being vulnerable again (“Every summer felt so cold, my daddy ain’t comin’ home ’til fall / That’s why my pimp game’s so moist, had that du-rag and all”), which is the best version of him. He’s got an interesting story, it’d be nice if he told it more.

2. “Skyfall” Feat. Young Thug

Ignore the first 10 seconds, which sound like we’re about to set sail on the high seas with a hold full of rum and an eye on the horizon. In fact, skip the entire first minute. That’s how good the rest of this one actually is: it’s the second-best track on the project, despite the first fifth being entirely skippable. Scott’s cautionary warning to aging artists, who even then were decrying the changing sound of hip-hop, still resonates, and his chemistry with Young Thug begins to solidify here.

1. “Drugs You Should Try It”

The undisputed fan favorite from the project, “Drugs…” features Travis Scott at the height of his powers — higher, even. The fact that this exists makes one wonder why he doesn’t push himself like this all the time. “Drugs as a metaphor for romantic feelings” is a concept as old as songs, drugs, and romance, but Travis Scott’s hazy approach to songwriting lends itself especially well to the trope, which buoys the substance of his songwriting to actually match the style. He’s flashed great moments like this since, but this one certainly left the most outsized impact.

“Somebody’s closer!”

“You eat pieces of sh*t for breakfast?”

“Grizzly Adams did have a beard.”

Happy Gilmore is one of Adam Sandler‘s most quotable comedies, and also among his most popular. Will he be able to do the unthinkable — make golf interesting and funny — again?

It was confirmed earlier this year that Sandler is working on a sequel to Happy Gilmore for Netflix. (Finally, Happy Gilmore and Gilmore Girls will share a home.) You would be a “jackass” not to learn everything we know about Happy Gilmore 2, including plot details and the cast.

Plot

Happy Gilmore ends with Happy (Adam Sandler) winning the Tour Championship over Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). He not only gets a gold jacket and the girl (Julie Bowen), he also makes enough money to buy back his grandmother’s house, much to the delight of Chubbs (Carl Weathers), Abraham Lincoln, and an alligator. Where will the sequel pick the story up?

Sandler hasn’t said, but he’s confident in the idea that he and co-writer Tim Herlihy came up with. “The idea that me and my buddy Tim Herlihy had and the more we talked about it and scene to scene worked on it, it built and we feel very strong about the movie itself,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re happy where it’s at and this is an exciting time for us. I don’t know how all of a sudden our brains said, ‘Let’s do that.’ It just kind of happened.”

In a separate interview on The Tonight Show, Sandler discussed the pressure that comes with making a sequel to a comedy classic. “We worked hard on the script. We didn’t want to let anybody down,” he said. “People have been asking me for a long time, ‘Do Happy Gilmore 2.’ And I was always like ‘Nah, I’ll only let you down.’… We’re really excited about it… We wrote our asses off. We’re continuing to try to make it a movie that I think you’ll like.”

Cast

So far, the only confirmed cast members are Adam Sandler, Nick Swardson (who will play Happy’s caddie), Uncut Gems co-writer and co-director Benny Safdie, and Travis Kelce. In May, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend said he would do anything to appear in the sequel, because like millions of white guys in their 30s (guilty!), he watched the original a million times. “Travis has… he mentioned it, so we have a nice something for Travis,” Sandler said on The Tonight Show about Kelce’s appearance. “He’s gonna come by. He’s a very nice guy. You guys would love him in real life. What a big, handsome guy. Funny and cool as hell. He’s a stud and he’s so funny.”

It’s unclear if Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald will reprise their roles as Virginia and Shooter McGavin, respectively, although McDonald has been in touch with Sandler.

Sadly, Happy Gilmore scene-stealers Carl Weathers, Bob Barker, and Joe Flaherty (“Jackass!”) have all passed away in the last year, but Sandler has an idea for how the sequel can pay tribute to the original cast. “I would love [current The Price is Right host] Drew Carey to be in this movie out of respect to Bob,” he said earlier this year on The Dan Patrick Show. “When we were writing stuff, Bob was alive. When we were writing stuff, Carl Weathers was alive. When we were writing stuff, Joe Flaherty was alive. It sucks, we love those guys. They were such a big part of the movie and just great people. But we’re going to get them involved somehow. They’ll be involved.”

Release Date

Happy Gilmore 2 starts filming in “a couple weeks,” so don’t expect it until 2025 or 2026.

Trailer

There’s no trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 yet, so it’s on me to pick a scene from the original film to put here instead. This is a high-pressure situation because it’s hard to pick just one. So, instead, I’ll punt and share the trailer for Sandler’s upcoming comedy special on Netflix instead. Love You (which is directed by Josh Safdie) comes to the streaming service on August 27.

Taylor Sheridan is a cowboy-drama dynamo showing zero signs of exhaustion despite writing most of what arrives onscreen under his umbrella. Perhaps being allegedly belittled as “11 on the call sheet” by a Sons of Anarchy-related attorney might have partially fueled that drive in a naturally creative person. Fast forward many years, and Sheridan not only has freestanding series like Tulsa King and Landman cranking out seasons, but he has continued to build out his Yellowstone stable of shows.

That house remains strong despite the flagship series’ final season winding down this fall and the second and final 1923 season soon bringing Jacob and Cara Dutton’s chapter to a close. Sheridan has multiple other Yellowstone series planned, including 6666 (exploring characters living and working at the legendary ranch) and 1944. Then there’s the Madison, which only recently received its official series name, so let’s get down to business on what this spin off will be about and who has signed onto the cast.

Plot

The Madison is the series previously known under the working title of 2024. This was also rumored to be show starring Matthew McConaughey, who appears to have fallen off the radar, possibly due to unrealistic demands, unless Sheridan is saving him for another project. No Matty whatsoever has been located in the cast announcements, which we will hit in a moment.

The series logline describes the series as a “heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.” With that location in mind, this show will likely tie into multiple Yellowstone shows, yet it also seems evident from the working title that this series takes place in contemporary times.

The show will surely land on Paramount+ for streaming and perhaps also on the Paramount Network, either initially or later like with the 1923 plan. The Madison is being produced by Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions along with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.

Cast

Michelle Pfieffer will portray a lead role, a matriarch with multiple daughters, with Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Beau Garrett (Firefly Lane) recently being confirmed as fellow leads with Kurt Russell still in the rumor mill for a prominent role. 101 Studios further announced the casting of Amish Miller and Elle Chapman.

According to Deadline, Chapman will portray Paige McIntosh, a spoiled New Yorker living off her family fortune and bolstered by an investment banker husband portrayed by Adams. Garrett will pick up Abigail Reese, another Pfeiffer daughter who is a resilient New Yorker and a divorced mom. Her eldest daughter will be portrayed by Miller.

Release Date

1923 is currently in the thick of filming for a mid-2025 release, and it’s worth betting that The Madison will be next in line for Yellowstone-centric airtime.

Trailer

Since it will be awhile before footage or a full trailer drops, how about a little Michelle Pfeiffer “ice cold” reference? She responds below to being mentioned in this (Scarface) light in Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”

Deadpool & Wolverine had time for Toad. Surely there was room for a cameo from Rob McElhenney, right? Apparently not!

Ryan Reynolds took to Instagram to share why the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star and Wrexham A.F.C. co-owner, who had a secret role as a Time Variance Authority soldier, was unfortunately cut from the second highest-grossing movie of the year. “While editing a movie, they say you ‘sometimes have to kill your darlings.’ And with a heavy heart (and through great outside intervention) I had to kill a darling with this cameo…” he wrote.

Reynolds explained that “the sequence wasn’t working the way we’d originally constructed it. Rob was the only reason it stayed in the cut for as long as it did, because even under a TVA mask and helmet, you can feel him smoldering with a raw and almost infinite reservoir of talent, writerly wit and ‘I create hit tv shows’ swagger. Don’t even get me started on Wrexham. I wouldn’t know a love like @wrexham_afc if it weren’t for Rob McElhenney.”

Reynolds is “mortified” that McElhenney “flew all the way to London for a cameo that wasn’t meant to be,” but he’s “grateful my friend was there with me on that set. When I see Rob, my heart-rate slows and my nervous system stops yelling at me. He shows up for people. And he showed up for me.” He ended the post with “RIP TVA Soldier” before adding “p.s. Rob would make an awesome Hydra Bob. @marvelstudios.”

Better yet: let the It’s Always Sunny gang play the Fantastic Four with Danny DeVito as Doctor Doom. The MCU is saved!

(Via Ryan Reynolds/Instagram)

Sports fans were treated to quite the spectacle during the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics. While the result went the way it usually does — the United States won a gold medal — the tournament was a joy, as a number of NBA players participated and gave us high-level hoops the entire time. And when it came to the Americans, their semifinal win over Serbia is one of the very best basketball games you will ever see, while their win in the final against France was an opportunity for Steph Curry to do some absolutely incredible things to get them across the finish line.

It was pretty remarkable to watch, even when the U.S. wasn’t involved and we saw the level that teams from other countries have reached. And on Friday, Netflix teased an upcoming project revolving around the tournament that is coming in 2025. While we don’t know much about it now, Netflix tweeted out a picture of a ball with the international jerseys of LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Franz Wagner, and Victor Wembanyama surrounding it.

“Relive the journey behind the tip off to Olympic glory,” the tweet read. “Coming to Netflix in 2025.”

Back in May, the International Olympic Committee announced it would team up with Netflix for a trio of series revolving around the Paris Olympics. While it’s unclear if the plans for the basketball series have changed at all, in the release, the IOC said, “Olympic Men’s Basketball will give all access to the sport’s promising hopefuls and medal contenders from across the world as they first battle to qualify for Paris 2024 before setting their sights on the Olympic podium. Through a generation of legends, the six-episode series will also explore what has led the game to become such a global, competitive phenomenon.”

In July, Queens Of The Stone Age announced they were canceling some tour dates due to Josh Homme needing emergency surgery. The band said at the time, “QOTSA regret to announce that Josh Homme must return to the United States immediately for emergency surgery. Every effort was made to push through and play for you, but it is no longer an option to continue.”

Well, now the band has again had to change their plans, as today (August 23), they announced the rest of their 2024 performances have been either canceled or postponed.

The announcement post reads:

“QOTSA regret to announce the cancellation and/or postponement of all remaining 2024 shows. Josh has been given no choice but to prioritize his health and the receive essential medical care throughout the remainder of the year. […] Josh and the QOTSA family are so thankful for your support and the time we were able to spend together over the last year. Hope to see you all again in 2025.”

It also lists the affected performances: headlining concerts in Boston; Cincinnati; Chicago; and Madison, Wisconsin; along with the Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut; the Mempho Music Festival in Memphis; and the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City.

The band has not specified what health issues Homme is facing. Worth noting, though, is that Homme previously revealed he had cancer in 2022.

Before the first date of The Eras Tour, there was a lot of speculation about which song Taylor Swift would start the concert with. That’s how little was known about the show, which go on to be the most successful tour of all-time. Would the setlist stay in order of her discography, beginning with her self-titled debut album and close with Midnights (that came half true!), or did she have something else in mind? I was there in Glendale, Arizona, for opening night, and as the digital clock ticked down to zero and the dancers took the stage attached to flowing, morning sky-colored clamshells, all us Swifties in attendance were somewhere between screaming from excitement and holding our breath in anticipation for the unknown.

And then: “It’s been a long time coming…”

It had been a long time coming since Swift’s last tour before Eras. The Reputation Stadium Tour concluded in November 2018. Less than a year later, in August 2019 (five years ago today!), Swift released her seventh studio album Lover, a colorful return to open-hearted love songs.

Swift was going to support the album at international festivals in 2020, followed by two shows each at SoFi Stadium in California and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, dubbed as Lover Fest West and Lover Fest East, respectively. Those dates were to feature “Taylor Swift and Friends” and a heart-shaped stage. But then the pandemic happened, and the tour, scheduled from June to August, was canceled. Save for a few scattered appearances, the live debut of Lover wouldn’t come until the opening era of The Eras Tour in 2023.

Lover has an interesting standing in Swift’s discography. The top-selling album of 2019 has some of her best songs, including “Cruel Summer” (still waiting on that music video), “Cornelia Street,” and “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” in particular the monumental bridge. But there are blemishes: it’s at least four tracks too long, and because “Me!” and “You Need To Calm Down” flopped as singles, it’s arguably the album of hers with the least cultural impact. But the main issue with the Lover era, as it were, is that it feels incomplete.

The typical album rollout for Swift, at least in the pre-pandemic days, went like this: first single with a music video; months of building hype through interviews, TV show appearances, and magazine covers; second single; release the album; and tour. Lover had all of that — except the tour. There wasn’t a chance for a community to build around the album, and when the opportunity finally presented itself on the The Eras Tour, it was sharing space with her other albums. Especially the ones that came before and after it.

I remember a feeling in the air when Lover came out that maybe Swift’s popularity had peaked, which is funny to think about now, when she’s as popular as she’s ever been. Maybe as popular as any artist has ever been. Folklore is a big reason why. It’s the album that made some-indie-record-that’s-much-cooler-than-mine people take her seriously as a lyricist. Folklore was a bright spot during a dark time (I love you, too, Evermore). Meanwhile, the consensus opinion around Taylor’s actually dark album, Reputation, has consistently improved since it came out: once misunderstood, it’s now considered an angsty, messy, and thrilling highlight in her discography. Lover sits between the extremes of Reputation and Folklore, somewhat uneasily.

But — to borrow (steal) a premise from Marvel — what if Lover Fest hadn’t been canceled? Would that have made the era feel fully realized? It’s one of many “what if” questions I have about Lover, including:

What if… the poorly received “Me!” wasn’t the first single?

What if… “hey kids, spelling is fun” was left off “Me!” in the first place?

What if… album MVP “Cruel Summer” had been released as the first single, or the second single (instead of “You Need To Calm Down”), or the third single (instead of “Lover”), or the fourth single (instead of “The Man”)?

What if… she returned to working with Max Martin?

What if… the tracklist was re-arranged to have a stronger opener?

What if… Lover had a more consistent sound — would that made it better or worse?

We’ll never know the answers to these hypothetical “what if…” scenarios, and if I think about this alternate timeline for too long, I’ll spiral out from imagining a world without Folklore, Evermore, “Hits Different,” “The Black Dog,” Traylor, and maybe even The Eras Tour (and, y’know, no pandemic).

Looking back at Lover five years after it was released, I’m intrigued by what could have been with Lover Fest but thankful for what we have. It’s not her best album, but it’s also not her worst. Lover is a friend instead of a loved one. And you know what they say: it’s nice to have a friend.

At this point, the likelihood of an Outkast reunion is a faint dream. However, members André 3000 and Big Boi are united on one front — protecting their intellectual property.

According to AllHipHop, Outkast’s company High Schoolers LLC have filed a lawsuit against EDM duo ATLiens for trademark infringement.

In the paperwork, the hip-hop legends accuse ATLiens of “improper, willful, unauthorized and illegal use and registration of the ATLIENS mark,” which is owned by Outkast.

As evident in their claim, Outkast referenced ATLiens upcoming 2025 show at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Outkast has taken issue not only with ATLiens’ selected stage name, but also its use in their merchandise, among other things.

Although Outkast acknowledges the word, made popular by their standout 1996 album, was thrust into pop culture, and as a result the world’s “cultural lexicon,” they firmly stake creative ownership of the made-up word.

“Upon information and belief, Defendant selected the name ATLIENS for their EDM duo to trade upon the tremendous fame and goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s ATLIENS album, song, and mark, or, at a minimum, to call to consumers’ minds Plaintiff’s famous ATLIENS album, song, and mark,” reads the document.

Outkast has demanded that ATLiens “permanently enjoined and restrained from, directly or indirectly” further usage of their trademark. They always also asked that the United States Patent and Trademark Office cancel the ATLiens’ live and active service mark as they attempt to “collect compensatory, incidental and consequential damages.”

On the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website, ATLiens’ mark has a notion of this request. The last of Outkast’s request include for legal fees reimbursement, and ATLiens to remove any and all online usage of their mark, which encompasses their website and social media profiles.

This seems to be a simple case for United States Patent and Trademark Office to decide, unlike Eminem’s filing against Real Housewives of Potomac‘s Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon.