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While his own artistry is absolutely something to recognize and appreciate, 6lack’s ability to stand beside a variety of artists no matter the genre is another quality that makes him great. In just the past few months, the Atlanta-born singer — who switches hats to rap on songs at times — has worked with the likes of JID, Lil Durk, Lil Tay, and Melii.

As he’s done a few times in his career, 6lack returns to the afro-fusion lane for a remix of Spinall and Fireboy DML’s “Sere.” The summery track takes life on Spinall’s 2020 album, Grace, and with 6lack’s addition, the song gets a nice boost without moving away from its original structure.

As of late, 6lack’s been a busy man. In addition to providing great guest features on a number of tracks, he singer stood by his fellow LVRN labelmates for a hard-hitting Rap Caviar cypher. With OMB Bloodbath leading the way, new names to the roster like NoonieVsEverybody and BRS Kash followed suit with confident verses of the own.

Next, the more familiar names of the label, Westside Boogie and 6lack himself, delivered bars of their own. Boogie’s verse focused on his fame and how it impacted his life and the lives of his homies while 6lack’s own was a slick-lipped contribution filled with enough metaphors to remind you of his original rap upbringing.

You can press play on the new remix in the video above.

Trust Coldplay to take it to the next level.

For their latest single — which is produced by Max Martin and leans decidedly pop — the band teamed up with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station to officially premiere the track in space. After a quick chat with the French spaceman that can be watched here, the band got right into a specially-recorded performance of the track, complete with alien holograms who danced along to the stadium-ready bop, and possibly irritated Lady Gaga fans in the process. Not to worry Monsters, the Chromatica crossover is truly quite minimal, aside from some minor merch similarities.

Although the UK band has dabbled with pop sounds before — “Viva La Vida” anyone? — this song definitely feels like a shift toward that shimmering, polished sound, and the involvement of one of pop’s greatest super producers definitely sends that message as well. The band will be performing the song on American Idol this coming Sunday and at the upcoming Brit Awards next Tuesday. They’ll also be performing it during Glastonbury’s Live At Worthy Farm livestream on May 22. And what do all those performances mean? There’s probably going to be a new album coming soon. Check out their new pop direction above, and look out for more Coldplay news coming soon.

One of the ways to tell if you’re in a healthy relationship is whether you and your partner are free to talk about other people you find attractive. For many couples, bringing up such a sensitive topic can cause some major jealousy.

Of course, there’s a healthy way to approach such a potentially dangerous topic.

Telling your partner you find someone else attractive shouldn’t be about making them feel jealous. It’s probably also best that if you’re attracted to a coworker, friend, or their sibling, that you keep it to yourself.

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But, being open about your sexual feelings, can be a way to spice things up in the bedroom and to let your partner know what you like.

Actress and mental health advocate Kristen Bell admits that she and her husband, actor Dax Shepard, have learned how to be open about their attraction to other people. The couple believes that being able to talk about such taboo topics without making each other jealous is a great way to preserve their relationship.

“He can tell me someone he finds attractive, female or male, ’cause he pauses the Olympics on a lot of runners, but it doesn’t make me feel like he’s going to leave me for that person because I’m not allowing my self-esteem to be affected,” she explained.

Bell believes that it’s completely normal and healthy for people in monogamous relationships to be attracted to other people.

“I know there are people on planet Earth that are more attractive than me, and well, we’re not dead. I have to acknowledge we’re monkeys,” Bell said. As an attractive, famous couple working in Hollywood, there is extra pressure for them to be able to handle their jealousy.

The couple has also done a good job at accepting the fact that Bell is the primary bread-winner in the family. Studies show men have higher levels of stress if their wives earn more than 40% of their home’s combined income.

About a third of women in the U.S. make more than their husbands.

While Shepard has had a successful career, acting in films such as “Idiocracy” and “Without a Paddle,” Bell has starred in some major hits including, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and the “Bad Moms” films.

She’s also made a pretty penny voicing Princess Anna in Disney’s “Frozen” franchise.

“I think I’ve always out-earned him,” Bell said about their careers. “I got a lot of opportunity, you’re sharing in it, we’re able to provide for a ton of our family members who may or may not be struggling,” she continued, as if addressing Shepard. “I don’t look at it like, ‘This is mine and this is yours.’ I’m like, ‘This is ours. Get over it.'”

Bell believes that the couple’s ability to get over petty jealousy is one way to make sure their unique relationship stands the test of time.

“Do you want to be on the porch with someone when you’re 80?” Bell asked. “We both want that.”

Every year, around 100 million carats of rough diamonds are mined to supply the world’s multi-billion dollar diamond jewelry industry, leaving both human and environmental damage behind.

The ethical issues at the heart of diamond mining, from violence to human rights abuses to forced labor, are no secret. The destruction of land and water in the mining process is also well known. Though an official chain of practices for creating “conflict-free” diamonds known as the Kimberley Process is supposed to reduce some of these issues, ongoing problems remain.

Science has a solution.

Instead of digging up gemstones that have taken a billion or more years to form in the earth, scientists can now make diamonds in a lab in just six to ten weeks—without the bloodshed and devastation involved in mining traditional diamonds.

Are they the same, though? If anyone were going to be a purist about gems, you’d think the world’s largest jewelry brand would. But Pandora, the Danish jeweler that boasts that title, is all in on lab-grown bling.

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Pandora has announced that it will not be using mined diamonds in its jewelry anymore and will be launching an entire line of lab-grown diamond pieces. The upsides of lab-created gems are plentiful; not only do they avoid the exploitation of workers, violent conflict, and environmental degradation of diamond mining, but they’re also significantly less expensive. According to Business Insider, a lab-created diamond can cost 30 to 40 percent less than a traditional diamond.

And according to Pandora, they do all that without sacrificing quality. Lab diamonds are still graded using the standard 4 Cs—cut, color, clarity and carat—as mined diamonds, and Pandora emphasizes that they have all the same “optical, chemical, thermal and physical characteristics” as well.

“They are as much a symbol of innovation and progress as they are of enduring beauty and stand as a testament to our ongoing and ambitious sustainability agenda,” said Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said in a statement. “Diamonds are not only forever, but for everyone.”

Of course, the marketing of diamonds has always been a bit of a ruse. The DeBeers family held a near-monopoly on the diamond trade for more than 100 years, and their control of supply created an illusion of scarcity and value that doesn’t reflect reality. A highly successful “Diamonds are forever” marketing campaign to make people associate diamonds with lifelong commitment added emotional value to the stone, which led us to where we are today.

In other words, the thousands of dollars that people will drop on a diamond engagement ring is almost completely due to a purposeful plan to make people feel that they need to do just that. That plan may have been brilliant or diabolical, depending on how you look at it, but there’s no question that it worked.

Pandora’s shift to lab-grown diamonds won’t change the association between diamonds and commitment, but it may at least help people recognize that diamonds themselves are not as precious and rare as we’ve been led to believe. It’s also a bid to younger consumers, who want their purchases to be more affordable and sustainably sourced.

The new lab-grown collection, Pandora Brilliance, launched today in the U.K., with pieces starting at US$350. It has also achieved CarbonNeutral® product certification in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. And when the collection becomes available globally next year, the diamonds are expected to be made using 100% renewable energy.

It’s great to see big companies stepping up their game when it comes to ethical practices and environmental sustainability. The planet needs it, consumers are asking for it, science is making it possible, and smart companies are moving the needle in their respective industries. Well done, Pandora, for being a leader on the jewelry front.

Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming sits on the wrong side of a rift in her party that her career may not survive. Her refusal to believe and promote the “Big Lie,” as she calls it, has not only put her leadership role as the third-ranking House Republican in jeopardy but her place in politics altogether.

The Big Lie is the right-wing conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and that the insurrection on January 6 wasn’t incited by GOP lawmakers.

Cheney has also become persona non grata in her party for being one of the few Republican lawmakers to vote to impeach the former president for his role in the Capitol riot.

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The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their bac… https://t.co/kMmjACP0xg

— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney)
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Unfortunately for Cheney, and Democracy, her reluctance to kowtow to the Trump cult of personality that’s overtaken the Republican Party has put her on the outside looking in.

“The conflict here does not stem from Cheney’s refusal to move on from the lies that sparked the Capitol riot, but from the fact that the Republican Party has embraced those lies as foundational to Republican identity in 2021,” Adam Serwer writes in The Atlantic.

Cheney made her position clear in an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Wednesday. Cheney argues that “The Republican Party is at a turning point, and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution.”

The op-ed was a brave move for the Representative who may be on the right side of history but the wrong side of the GOP rift. Given the damage that the Big Lie is doing to American politics, her decision to fight back is a clear example of someone putting country before party.

Cheney believes that Trump’s behavior is not only beyond the pale for a former president but dangerous to democracy itself. “Trump is seeking to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work — confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law. No other American president has ever done this,” she writes.

via Wikimedia Commons

The daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney believes that the GOP’s current antics is putting a fragile democracy at risk.

“I have worked overseas in nations where changes in leadership come only with violence, where democracy takes hold only until the next violent upheaval. America is exceptional because our constitutional system guards against that,” she writes. “At the heart of our republic is a commitment to the peaceful transfer of power among political rivals in accordance with law. President Ronald Reagan described this as our American ‘miracle.’

Her reference to “The Gipper” shows she still believes the GOP can be the party of Reagan which is probably wishful thinking. Her distancing from the rest of her party shows how incredibly loyal it still is to Trump. The party’s decision to demonize immigrants, scuttle free trade deals, embrace authoritarian leaders, support Trump’s vulgarity, and denigrate democracy shows how far it has moved from Reagan.

Cheney suggests three ways that the party can move forward. First, by supporting “the ongoing Justice Department criminal investigations of the Jan. 6 attack.”

Second, by supporting a “parallel bipartisan review by a commission with subpoena power to seek and find facts” relating to the January 6 attack. And finally, “to stand for genuinely conservative principles, and steer away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality.”

Cheney’s plea for the GOP to return to its traditional values probably won’t change many minds in a party that is still under the spell of Trump. But it’s a valiant effort that puts her on the record for being on the right side of history.

Her family name is synonymous with Republican politics, so standing against a strong political headwind at a time when she could easily go with the flow is commendable.

“History is watching. Our children are watching,” she writes. “We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be.”

Guy Ritchie made Jason Statham a star, with memorable turns in Ritchie’s acclaimed, Tarantino-esque British crime movies Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. But it was Luc Besson (and Robert Kamen) who made Statham a superstar in The Transporter. From then on, Jason Statham wasn’t just an actor but a name brand, synonymous with a particular type of character — a sort of hooligan James Bond, who drove flash sazz wagons, bedded fit birds, and delivered proper thrashins. (Ain’ dat roight, Tommy?)

Wrath of Man‘s intriguing project is to re-team Jason Statham as we now know him with his old pal Guy Ritchie as we now know him — director of everything from 2019’s Alladin to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (the best Bond movie of the last 20 years, if you ask me). They’re together for an English remake of the 2004 French film Le Convoyeur, by Nicolas Boukhrief (whose English title, “Cash Truck,” is infinitely better than “Wrath Of Man”).

Wrath of Man is crystal clear on which version of Jason Statham it wants to present, but the movie around him is a strange, fitfully compelling muddle. It’s a film that’s alternately odd and entertaining, but ultimately doesn’t quite translate, stuck halfway between The Transporter and Heat.

Jason Statham plays a character named Hill, a strong silent type applying for a job at a weirdly garrulous armored car company. His chummy evaluator, played by Holt McCallany from Mindhunter (an Easter Island statue of a man whose rough-hewn features are just fun to look at) tells Hill he needs to get at least a 70 on his shooting/driving/lifting test in order to get the job. Hill scores a 70 on the dot, in an evaluation that he’s clearly muffing on purpose. McCallany’s character welcomes him to the team with a handshake and a new nickname, “H.” McCallany, aka “Bullet,” introduces H to all the fellas — Boy Sweat Dave (Josh Hartnett), Hollow Bob, and Dana (girls don’t get nicknames, apparently).

It’s a great sequence, mostly thanks to the oddball tone, in which eager actors gamely attempt to chew their way through wildly unnatural dialogue that’s like neon marbles in their mouths. Every scene at the armored car company is so curiously over-written that it feels almost like a Yorgos Lanthimos movie, or Don Delillo remaking Troy Duffy. Sample dialogue:

Hey, is that coffee still hot?

Yeah, it’s hot enough.

You ever thought about uh, buying a coffee maker?

A coffee maker?

You know, one that’s got that, milk, uh froster thing?

Oh yeah, frother, I gotcha.

That way you can, uh, make your own cappuccino.

It’s like the script was written by a French man whose only model for Americans was cereal commercials.

Hollow Bob, incidentally, is played by British stunt actor Rocci Williams, one of a handful of actors in Wrath of Man doing American regional accents so badly that you can’t tell if they’re supposed to be meatheads or just hard of hearing. Ball-busting, unnecessary exposition, and masculine threat behavior combine in this Wrath of Man dialect-unto-itself, which I like to call “Crimespeak.” Crimespeak is miles from naturalistic, but weirdly entertaining, like a normal action movie refracted through the lens of a Frenchman not quite getting it. This surreal quality gets turned up to 11 when “H” fearlessly defuses a hostage situation by shooting all the bad guys in the head, and Rob Delaney shows up as an armored car company executive who wants to give H a promotion.

None of this is what you’d call “believable,” exactly, but it is thoroughly compelling in its uncanny valley oddness. The big question of the film is “who is this H, and why is he such a badass?” The biggest flaw of the film is that it goes to the ends of the Earth explaining H’s motivation, without ever getting who he is. Turns out, it all goes back to another armored car robbery, teased in the film’s cold open.

We end up seeing this opening robbery a handful of different times from different characters’ perspectives, Snatch style, including title cards. These scenes explore who did it, how H was involved, and his motive for taking the job at the loquacious security company. Curiously, the latter half of the film essentially drops the style of over-written dialogue established in the first half of the film and essentially turns into an orgy of violence.

Though perhaps “orgy” is the wrong word. People at an orgy are generally having fun. These scenes are utilitarian, more like the filmmakers going through the motions of killing off enough characters to get the movie finished than enjoying themselves. Which is a shame, because “fun action” is traditionally something Guy Ritchie has been pretty good at.

Act 3 of Wrath of Man seems to exist on the premise of “more bullets better,” and it’s not dull, exactly, it’s just hard to go from pitter-patter dialogue about milk frothing and handjobs to grimacing guys firing sub-machine guns and not have it be a bit of a letdown. Who is H? Why is everyone talking like that? Why did we stop having fun all of a sudden? I may have to go back and watch Cash Truck to figure it out.

‘Wrath of Man’ opens in theaters nationwide May 7th. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

Back in March, Marvel Comics announced it will introduce the first gay Captain America in a brand new mini-series starting in June, and now, the comics giant is back to unveil another new Cap who will make his debut in the road-traveling story. In another historic first, Joe Gomez will be introduced as the “Captain America of the Kickapoo Tribe.” This new Native American Cap will meet up with Steve Rogers, Bucky, Sam Wilson, and John Walker (yup, the guy from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as the four travel across the country on a mission to find Cap’s stolen shield.

Created by geoscientist and Lipan Apache writer Darcie Little Badger and Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation artist David Cutler, the new Native American Cap will appear in The United States of Captain America #3, which will explore Joe’s origin story as he finally gets a chance to meet Steve Rogers. Here’s how Darcie Little Badger described this new addition to the Captain American pantheon to Marvel:

“See, Joe Gomez is a construction worker, a builder in a world plagued by destruction. Every time a spaceship crashes into a bridge or a supervillain transforms a whole city block into rubble, people like Joe make things whole again. Work like that may seem thankless, but Joe genuinely enjoys helping his community survive and thrive. That’s why he won’t charge elders for home repair services (the Joe Gomez senior discount is 100%). That’s also why he’s willing to risk his life to save others. I know lots of people like Joe–many of them my Indigenous relatives–so it was wonderful to help develop a character with his values, strength, and extreme crane-operating skills.”

You can scope out artwork for Joe Gomez’s Marvel Comics debut below:

(Via Marvel Comics)

In just over a week, Mass Effect fans and newcomers alike will get the chance to climb aboard the Normandy and experience a newly-enhanced version of Commander Shepard’s epic story in Mass Effect Legendary Edition. To celebrate the upcoming release, and those next-gen character models, EA has provided fans with a Mass Effect Legendary Edition art creator. According to the website, the creator allows players to spotlight their “best friends, true loves, and favorite squaddies” and turn them into desktop background or even printable cover art they can insert in their game case.

Due to the nature of the Mass Effect series, which allows players a great deal of control over their character’s look, past, morality, and relationships, the art creator satisfies the want for a cover that reflects individual experiences. Regardless of how you play, who your battle-ready bestie is, and who Shepard is smooching, the art tool allows you to reflect your personal preferences.

The creator is simple to use, and guides players through, prompting you to insert your morality, favorite squamates, most trusted companion, cavalry members, back-ups, and favorite Mass Effect location. Once you’ve finished creating your very own Mass Effect Legendary Edition art, you can download it as printable cover art, a 4k background, or simply as a social media post. For those choosing to post theirs on social media, the site encourages fans to include the hashtag #MyShepard in their posts in order to partake in the creator community. Honestly, the hardest part of the experience is simply selecting your favorites.

me trying to choose squadmates for the #MyShepard cover pic.twitter.com/cVyZLDbxzw

— Jacqui Collins (@jacquicollins_) May 5, 2021

And hey, if you still can’t pick, some fans have created their own alternative covers. While the tool does not allow users to select the same character repeatedly, anything’s possible with creativity, Photoshop, and a deep appreciation for the game’s best companion.

excited to be reunited with my alien husband in 4k pic.twitter.com/egK3xKz4zQ

— chloe naylor (@echochlo) May 5, 2021

In addition to the cover art customization tool, EA is also giving away a variety of bonus content previously available in the Deluxe Editions of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, as well the original Mass Effect soundtrack, complete with new track “Resynthesis.” The bonus content consists of two digital art books, two digital comics, a digital lithograph of the series spaceship, The Normandy, and the aforementioned soundtrack. However, this giveaway is limited. According to the site, the promotion is available until May 31, 2021 or “until download capacity is reached.”

Mass Effect Legendary Edition comes to PC and both next and last generation consoles on May 14.

Here’s the thing with an infield shift: Yes, it is almost always going to be the right move, because baseball players are usually going to hit into it and make your life as a defense much easier. But when it backfires, the whole thing has the potential to backfire spectacularly, as evidenced by Thursday’s game between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks was up at the plate with a runner on first, so the Astros put shortstop Carlos Correa on the other side of second base and had third baseman Alex Bregman fill in at short. Hicks did hit the ball up the middle, but Correa failed to corral it, meaning that baserunner, Gleyber Torres, was able to take second pretty easily.

Then, Torres realized something: The Astros left third base wide open, so he did what any sensible baseball player would do and took it. He then realized that Houston catcher Martin Maldonado tried to cover third, but didn’t get there in time, which meant no one was covering home, so Torres took off and scored.

It ended up not costing the Astros too much — they went on to topple the Bronx Bombers, 7-4 — but it did mean that Torres will forever be included in YouTube compilations of baseball players who exhibit heads-up base running from now until the end of time.

That Damn Michael Che (HBO Max series) — This show’s title kindly tells us which SNL star will be front and center. However, several other SNL stars from today and yesteryear shall be right beside him, and that includes Colin Quinn, who previously admitted that he wasn’t the best fit for Weekend Update, but he seems to be a good fit for a priest who’s gearing himself up to hear all of Michael Che’s sins. Are those limited to comedic sins (recently, he did tell a controversial joke about Israel’s vaccine rollout), or sins in general? This season also won’t shy away from tackling the all-too-timely issue of policing. Yes, the series promises appearances from Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, Ellen Cleghorne, and Colin Jost. Also expect to see Billy Porter, Method Man, Omari Hardwick, and Geoffrey Owens as part of the lineup.

Girls5Eva (Peacock series) — Tina Fey and Robert Carlock haven’t swung and missed yet while executive producing together, and here’s their latest joint project about a one-and-done, Spice Girls-esque 1990s girl group who get one more shot at stardom. Unfortunately, they’re all balancing real-life stressors like family, day jobs, and aches and pains that one doesn’t exactly deal with during early-20s life when abusing one’s body simply comes with the territory. Busy Phillips stars alongside Sarah Bareilles, Paula Pell, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

From Cradle To Stage (Paramount+ series) — The premiere episode of this Dave Grohl-directed series following Dave and his mom, Virginia, taking a pilgrimage of sorts to Las Vegas, where they meet with Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and his mom, Christine. It’s the first of six similarly-themed installments that will warm the hardest of hearts.

Walker (CW, 8:00pm) — Walker, Stella, and August wanna put their fingerprints all over Sidestep, and Liam’s looking for career advice while Micki and Trey work things out.

Legacies (CW, 9:00pm) — Hope and Landon attempt to launch a mission after feeling inspired by Cleo, and after an unexpected turn, Josie and Wade must step in to help.

Clarice (CBS, 10:00pm) — Clarice finds herself emotionally drawn to a case after a medical student apparently commits suicide.

Rebel (ABC, 10:00pm) — Rebel and Grady are teaming up against corruption, and Sharon’s cause of death comes to light while Cruz deals with a medical emergency.

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Julianna Margulies, Daniel Dae Kim, Amythyst Kiah

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Jessica Alba, Marc Maron, Sech

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Mariska Hargitay & Christopher Meloni, Ziwe, Foo Fighters, Mario Duplantier

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Alec Benjamin

In case you missed these picks from last Thursday:

Looney Tunes Cartoons, Season 1D (HBO Max series) — This new batch of episodes couldn’t come soon enough. Tune in for Bugs to evade someone besides Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam while Daffy can’t cope with a photocopier, and Elmer Fudd’s looking for some legal advice. All in all, you’ll be able to stream 10 new shorts, and you’ll probably be left wanting more.

Yasuke (Netflix series) — Netflix will up its anime game with this dazzling series from Japanese animation studio MAPPA (Attack on Titan: The Final Season), and the project arrives with quite a pedigree, given that LaKeith Stanfield executive produces on lead voice work. Stanfield voices a character who’s based upon the real-life first African samurai, who struggles to shed his past life of violence while striving to keep a peaceful existence. However, he must reluctantly pick up his sword again when a war-torn, feudal Japanese village becomes ground central for warring daimyo. The score will arrive courtesy of Flying Lotus, who also produces, and creator/director/producer LeSean Thomas will build upon his proven track record (The Boondocks, Cannon Buster, and Black Dynamite) of interweaving anime and Black culture.