Nicki Minaj has responded to Lil Nas X’s earlier admission that he denied his Barb status for fear of being outed as gay. In a moment of vulnerability, the “Trollz” rapper admitted that Nas’ denial hurt but also expressed empathy for his situation and gratitude for his honesty.
“It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a Barb, but I understand,” she wrote. “Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth.”
It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a barb, but I understand. Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth. @LilNasX
Nicki’s response came after Lil Nas’ reply to an earlier tweet of hers requesting a feature turned into a mini-therapy session between himself and a fan. When questioned why he always hid or denied running the @NasMaraj fan account, Nas said, “I didn’t want people to know I was gay,” then elaborated that because of stereotypes about Nicki Minaj fans and the hostile climate toward gay men in hip-hop, he felt uncomfortable with acknowledging the account. “People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to Nicki you are gay,” he said. “And the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.”
Fortunately for Nas, his massive success with “Old Town Road” and the 7 EP gave him the space and the standing to reveal that part of himself. He’s also now one of Nicki’s peers and not just a fan, so maybe he’ll get that feature after all.
Check out Nicki’s supportive response to Lil Nas X above.
Last night, J. Cole released “Snow On The Bluff,” an of-the-times confessional on which the North Carolina MC let the world know what’s on his heart. Unfortunately, many listeners wish he hadn’t. He used a sparse beat to offer his thoughts on the difficulties of learning about systemic oppression, and admit that he’s unsure if he’s using his platform correctly.
His indecision is understandable, but what’s unacceptable is that he spent most of the track criticizing an anonymous person who sounds an awful lot like Noname, an artist who’s been inspiringly decisive about her desire for revolution. The 28-year-old has started a book club highlighting seminal radical texts and exposes the interwoven dynamics of systemic oppression every day on her Twitter account.
Earlier this week, she was verbally undercut and gaslit by Boots Riley during a Haymarket Books-sponsored This Is An Uprising conversation. Now, Cole is accusing her of “conveying she’s holier” than thou, questioning the tone of her rhetoric. Cole’s idol Tupac once started a 1993 speech by noting that he was asked not to curse, then saying “f*ck that” because “it’s bad out there, it ain’t pretty…so let’s be real.” The crowd applauded him. But when a Black woman culls that same 400-years-simmering flame, she’s chastised.
The flagrant misogyny of “Snow On The Bluff” undercut whatever conversation Cole was trying to start within the Black community. The tone-deaf track showed Cole’s novice understanding of radical politics when he could have been uplifting Black women. Noname replied to the record by tweeting “Queen Tone” last night, seemingly joking Cole’s criticisms off. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the sentiment hurt her during a week that’s already been tough for Black women.
Earlier this week, Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old activist from Florida, was found dead days after publicly tweeting that she was sexually assaulted. So many Black women on Twitter grieved her loss and lamented that they felt in danger from both the state and Black men like Aaron Glee, who has been arrested for the crime. Salau was fighting for the liberation of people who didn’t have the courage to fight for her. But instead of releasing a song highlighting the tragedy of her loss, or affirming the people demonstrating for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade, Cole channeled his inner Fox News anchor and policed a messenger instead of promoting their message.
Cole has a penchant for penning explicative, observational verses about artists like Kanye West, his friend Wale, and the entire community of young “SoundCloud rappers” that, perhaps because of his earnest public persona, aren’t framed by fans as malevolent disses as much as tough love. It’s an ambiguous niche that he’s cultivated throughout the years, and it seems like Noname was the latest person in his crosshairs. Though Cole didn’t mention her (perhaps as a play on “Noname”), he rhymed about “a young lady out there, she way smarter than me / I scrolled through her timeline in these wild times, and I started to read,” leading many people to speculate that he was talking about Noname. He also said the following:
“She strike me as somebody blessed enough to grow up in conscious environment
With parents that know ’bout the struggle for liberation and in turn they provide her with
A perspective and awareness of the system and unfairness that afflicts ’em
And the clearest understandin’ of what we gotta do to get free”
With those bars, Cole committed one of the deadliest sins of being loud: being wrong. Noname has been open about not coming into the rap game with a radical praxis. Her original name was Noname Gypsy, and when people informed her that gypsy was a racial slur against Romanian people, she dropped the term from her name. He noted that his mindset was, “f*ck a retweet,” but Noname credits Twitter with opening her eyes. In June 2019, she tweeted that “capitalism isn’t evil,” and got “dragged” by Twitter users who informed her that a system predicated on a necessity for poor people was indeed wicked. The reaction to her tweet sparked her to start reading radical texts. A month later she started a book club, and she’s since become one of the most ardent abolitionist voices on Twitter.
When she was called out for her errant capitalism comment, she didn’t complain, she didn’t lash out or ask “how you gon’ lead, when you attackin’ the very same n****s that really do need the sh*t that you sayin’?” like Cole did. She absorbed the criticism and took it upon herself to create an avenue for others to grow along with her. It’s disappointing to see Cole use his “average” IQ as a reason that he can’t be similarly stirred by firm critique. There’s a legitimate criticism that some scholarly text is hard to decipher (Noname recently expressed it herself), but asking to be taught by activists and scholars “like children” at 35 exemplifies some men’s everlasting need to be coddled, even in a life or death plight.
Cole also rhymed that “lowkey I be thinkin’ she talkin’ ’bout me” when Noname tweets about the need for abolition. As a rich entertainer who’s a key cog of the consumerism that sustains capitalism, she definitely is. But it should also be noted that the term could just as easily apply to rappers like Gunna, Lil Baby, or Roddy Ricch, who have all been “top-selling rappers” this year. Like some of his peers (Lil Baby, YG) Cole could’ve offset his fixture in the establishment by releasing a record that galvanized people and affirmed Black women instead of stifled them. His devout defenders are arguing that he was aiming to start a conversation, and he has. But unfortunately, the topic is when are Black men going to let Black women be?
J. Cole is acting as a mouthpiece for men that reductively lament when sexually-liberated artists like Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B don’t present themselves as “conscious” in their music. But when they are progressive and outspoken like Noname, they apparently have to tone down the revolutionary fervor to an acceptable level. These men try to apply patriarchal standards to women vying to uproot patriarchy. And instead of using his influence over Black men to quell the divide, Cole deepened it.
Misogyny is real, and the intersection of Blackness and womanhood means that whether we want to accept it or not, Black men are very much a part of Black women’s oppression on a daily basis. They shouldn’t be expected to lead with love when they feel so little love reciprocated. Cole, who has defended the abusive XXXTentacion, 6ix9ine, and Kodak Black, and made the respectability politic-filled song “No Role Modelz,” may never understand that. And he doesn’t have to. As renowned activist Angela Davis recently explained, there’s no need to clamor for universal solidarity amongst Black people. Noname’s aim is radical solidarity, and a seat isn’t automatic at that table.
Cole has fashioned himself a leader of his generation, with songs like “Be Free” in the wake of the 2014 Ferguson uprising. Like Kendrick Lamar, who has been curiously quiet during this time, Cole has said that Tupac is one of his favorite rappers. This perilous moment is his time to similarly rouse the Black people who support him, but he managed to drop the ball on Pac’s birthday with “Snow On The Bluff.” Who knows what place a 49-year-old Tupac would take in the modern movement, but there’s one thing we can be sure he’d be doing: uplifting Black women instead of regulating them.
Currently, The Killers’ upcoming album, Imploding The Mirage, has been delayed to a currently unannounced date. Still, the promotional cycle presses on, and they’ve continued it today with a new single, “My Own Soul’s Warning.”
The U2-style anthem is the kind of song that would be a perfect show-opening track for when The Killers are eventually able to tour again, with its intimate start that blooms into a driving force. Brandon Flowers opens the track, “I tried going against my own soul’s warning / But in the end, something just didn’t feel right / Oh, I tried diving even though the sky was storming / I just wanted to get back to where you are.”
The single art was painted by artist Thomas Blackshear, who says, “Artists living across the world inspired by our people and way of life, is a total honor and true testament of the knowledge our people share. During this unprecedented time due to the COVID-19 Pandemic as well as the injustice of police brutality protests around the world. Our people recognize the need to also help keep our spirits positive.”
Soccer’s reintroduction from the COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for a few weeks. Germany’s Bundesliga keeps chugging along, Spain’s La Liga returned over the weekend, and while Italy’s top league, Serie A, starts back up on Saturday, Italian football returned last week via the Coppa Italia semifinals.
Now, all eyes are on England, where the Premier League is slated to resume action with a pair of fixtures on Wednesday. Aston Villa and Sheffield United will get things underway at 1 p.m. EST, while Manchester City and Arsenal will follow that up at 3:15. Both matches are slated to air stateside on NBC Sports Network, offering some lovely mid-week live sports on national TV. Following a day off on Thursday, the action will resume on Friday and run through Monday as the league looks to wrap things up in a timely fashion.
For those that are looking to get into the Premier League — or for those that could just use a refresher after a months-long layoff — we tossed together a quick explainer of the league, some of its best players, and a recap of everything that happened prior to its suspension in March.
Alright so what’s up?
The Premier League is back today, which is extremely good news.
Why’s that?
Well, the Prem is the best league in the world. While Germany’s Bundesliga is more fun, and Spain’s La Liga is the most reliably compelling title race on an annual basis, the best players and clubs are in England. There’s such a wonderful variety of types of player and approaches by clubs, almost anything can happen in a match. I think you’d like it!
Ah, interesting. So how’s the race for a champion going?
It’s basically done and dusted, it is the least-competitive championship race among the major restarting European leagues.
Wait I thought the league was good.
It is! The Premier League just has a team in Liverpool at the top of the table in the midst of an historically good campaign, is all.
Alright so tell me about them.
Liverpool, despite being a giant in the sport, have never won the Premier League, which has existed in its current form since 1992. They’ve won everything else several times over in that period, but the Prem has always slipped away from them (“slipped” is both a metaphor and literally what happened to them in 2013-14). This year, though, the Reds — which lost the title on the final day last year to Manchester City by one point and set a record for points by a runner-up with 97 — have decided to just leave a trail of destruction in their path.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have taken 82 of a potential 87 points. City are in second with 57 points. The gap between Liverpool and City is bigger than the gap between City and 14th place Southampton, which are on 34 points. They entered this season looking to win the Premier League and are a whole six points away from clinching it. City is the only team that can mathematically catch them, but they will not.
Good lord. What makes them so good?
Basically, Liverpool have everything you want in a club. Their goalkeeper, Alisson, is in the conversation for being the best in the world. Their defense features three guys with a claim for the world’s best at their position — left back Andy Robertson, center back Virgil Van Dijk, right back Trent Alexander-Arnold — and their attack of Sadio Mane-Roberto Firmino-Mohamed Salah is nothing short of brilliant. Their midfield exists to fill in any gaps that pop up, and they are outstanding at filling their roles perfectly. Fabinho is a devastating defensive midfielder, while Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum have been two of England’s best this year due to their abilities to do anything Liverpool needs on a given night.
There’s plenty of tactical stuff that contributes to their dominance — namely the way their fullbacks, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, are used in their attack and the way Firmino is able to hold up play while Mane and Salah make incisive runs — but the biggest reason for this team’s success, I would argue, is their unwavering belief that they will win every single match they play. It is absolutely staggering. According to my pal James Tyler of ESPN, the Reds have taken 16 points from seven losing positions this year. No club in the world is better at looking like they’re stuck in first gear for 60-70 minutes and then unleashing the wrath of god on opponents — you can tell, in every match where this happens, that both clubs believe that Liverpool rallying and winning is going to happen. I have zero idea how there are any Liverpool supporters left who have not suffered heart palpitations.
Liverpool hit a bit of a rough patch before the break. They were bounced from the FA Cup by Chelsea, got knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid despite playing way better, and lost in the Prem for the first time to lowly Watford. They are still, one can argue, the greatest side in Premier League history.
That’s high praise. Do you like them?
God no. I appreciate how they play, but I’m a Manchester City supporter, thus the “slipped” jab a few paragraphs ago.
Talk to me about them.
Happily! City have been the best side in England over the last decade or so. They have stockpiled trophies across every competition but the Champions League. The two-time defending Premier League champions, City won the league with a record 100 points in 2017-18 and 98 points in 2018-19. They have not been as good this year, not by a long shot, but at their best, they have a case for being the best club in the world.
What’s been up with them?
There’s seemed to be a sense of fatigue from how high of a level they’ve operated at the last few years and how demanding manager Pep Guardiola can be, but the big thing has been injuries. For a number of reasons (we won’t get into all of them), their defense was built around center back Aymeric Laporte, who has appeared in seven matches this year. With how City play, having a rock at the center of the defense is crucial, and that just has not happened, and that has led to a chain reaction of issues elsewhere. We won’t get into that, because this is already going to end up being like 2,350 words.
It also hasn’t helped that basically everyone has looked like they’ve taken a step back this year, which again, is due to the club’s general injury issues and the aforementioned sense of fatigue. The one exception to this has been Kevin de Bruyne, the Belgian midfield maestro who missed essentially all of last year and has, for my money, been the best player in the Premier League this year. The first half of what he did against Arsenal earlier this year was nothing short of spellbinding.
Still, on their best day, this is the best club in the world, with Bayern Munich and Liverpool having a case for that distinction, too. They need a decent amount to go right for those days to happen, and if they’re in a position to spend big this summer (it’s complicated!), they will do that to freshen up their squad. But there is nothing like when Ederson is picking passes no other goalkeeper can play, and Laporte is flying around putting out fires, and their midfield is working in perfect harmony, and the attacking trio of some combination Raheem Sterling/Leroy Sane-Sergio Aguero/Gabriel Jesus-Riyad Mahrez/Bernardo Silva is cooking. They’ll try to stay in the top-4 for a Champions League spot next year and as a chance to stay fresh for the Champions League and FA Cup, but the league is gone.
How’s the rest of the top-4 looking?
Pretty fun! The two clubs in pole position for the final two Champions League spots are Leicester City, which have been my favorite side to watch this year, and Chelsea, which boasts the biggest American star in the world, Christian Pulisic, and a handful of other players who are quite good (I quite enjoy Tammy Abraham and think N’Golo Kante is magnificent at his best). Leicester is on 53 points, while Chelsea is on 48. Both are capable of playing some really exciting football, particularly Leicester, which has cadre of delightful youngsters (Ben Chilwell, Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu, James Maddison) and some really good established players (Kasper Schmeichel, Jamie Vardy).
Lurking just outside are Manchester United — which sit in fifth on 45 points, have looked great since adding Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes in January, and get Paul Pogba back from injury once games start back up. Fifth is extra important this year, because if Manchester City’s Champions League ban is upheld, the team in fifth gets the nod. As such, United are in a battle with Wolves and Sheffield United. Both are on 43 points, with Wolves having played one more game. Both of these teams are quite fun: Sheffield are more pragmatic, but Wolves go for it legitimately every single match. Watch Adama Traore play, because he is bigger and faster and stronger than everyone else and it is just wonderful. I say this as someone who spent 180 minutes this year watching Traore eat my club alive.
A few more clubs are trying to crash that party. Tottenham and Arsenal, two clubs whose stated purposes are to make their supporters as mad as humanly possible at all times, are on 41 and 40 points, respectively, with Arsenal having played one fewer match. Burnley and Crystal Palace, meanwhile, are both on 39 points.
So Leicester and Chelsea, then?
Probably, although I am not counting out United, unfortunately.
I’ll give a few for each of the top-10ish clubs, cool?
Cool.
Ok!
Liverpool: Everyone, but pay special attention to Virgil Van Dijk, who has a claim for being the best player in the world. Cannot say enough good things about the work Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum have put in this year, too. I’d disagree with it, but Henderson appears to be the frontrunner to be named the league’s Player of the Year.
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne. He’s a marvel. Also: Every attacker they have is a freak of nature, but Leroy Sane — who has been hurt all season and is probably going to Bayern Munich next year — is cut from a different cloth. When healthy, no one in the world is quite like him.
Leicester City: Kasper Schmeichel has never quite gotten the credit in goal that I think he deserves. Keep an eye on 23-year-old center back Caglar Soyuncu, too, because he is going to be a superstar soon. And this year, no one has been better at putting the ball in the back of the net than Jamie Vardy.
Chelsea: Christian Pulisic, obviously. He’s good, not by the standard to which Americans are measured, he’s just straight-up good. Tammy Abraham is up there for the most dangerous young striker in all of Europe.
Manchester United: We have no clue if Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba can play together. If they can, United’s midfield is going to be outrageously good. If not, Pogba’s almost certainly going to be sent to a club in France, Italy, or Spain. Also: Marcus Rashford rocks.
Dang, Rashford seems pretty cool.
I agree.
OK sorry, continue.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Adama Traore. I have no idea how he is real. A smart club is going to pay a lot of money for Ruben Neves sometime soon, while Mexican international Raul Jimenez is on the list of the world’s most clever strikers.
Sheffield United: Hard to identify one player since they play so well as an 11-person unit, but recent midfield acquisition Sander Berge is going to be very good.
Tottenham Hotspur: They’re weird because they have a manager who plays pragmatically in spite of the fun attacking players he has — although in fairness, their attack has been super injured — but regardless, Son Heung-min is a blast and plays with a vivaciousness that few players can match. England captain Harry Kane is back from injury, too.
Arsenal: The 1-2 punch of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette up top is a blast, even if it can be awkward when they play together. Arsenal’s hanging its hat on its youngsters, though, and Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Martinelli is perhaps the most promising of the bunch.
Anything at the remaining — [quickly counts] — 11 clubs worth watching?
Of course! The great thing about the Prem is that basically every team has someone or something worth paying attention to. Take the current bottom-three for example: Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Norwich City. Bournemouth have a collection of youngsters (Nathan Ake, Harry Wilson, Dominic Solanke, etc.) worth your attention, Aston Villa is home to Jack Grealish, who might be a superstar when all is said and done, and Norwich have a 29-year-old Finnish striker named Teemu Pukki who is just wonderful.
The league’s flotsam isn’t as fun to watch as the Liverpools and Citys of the world, obviously, but you’re still going to have a good time if, say, you toss on an Everton match and watch Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, or a Southampton match where Danny Ings just cannot stop scoring. The Premier League is a joy, and even if the rest of the sports world was carrying on unabated, it would absolutely be worth your time.
This is all useful. Anything else I need to know?
Uhh there are two USMNT players other than Pulisic in the league — Newcastle United’s DeAndre Yedlin and Aston Villa’s Indiana Vassilev. As Total Soccer Show (you should listen, they’re better at this than me!) pointed out, Wolves may use Owen Otasowie, too. You didn’t need to know that but that’s out there, now.
There are no super crazy mega good matches this week, but Everton v. Liverpool is a derby, and both sides very much do not like one another, and Everton is going to do every single thing in its power to delay Liverpool’s quest to lift the PL trophy.
Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.
The 2019-20 NBA season was quite a ride for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves deployed Andrew Wiggins, Robert Covington and Jeff Teague at various points during the campaign, with all three fixtures exiled by the end of the run. From there, Minnesota made a big bet on D’Angelo Russell, an intriguing wager on Malik Beasley, and struggled mightily when it came to on-court success.
By the time the hiatus arrived, the Wolves were in a wildly interesting place organizationally, with a disappointing 19-45 record that even detractors didn’t foresee at the outset. As the extended offseason arrives, Minnesota is a team of great intrigue and there are numerous factors in play.
2020 Free Agents
Malik Beasley (RFA), Juancho Hernangomez (RFA), Evan Turner (UFA), James Johnson (player option)
2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)
It helps to have a legitimate franchise player, and the Wolves have one in Karl-Anthony Towns. The uber-talented big man appeared in only 35 games this season but, when he played, Minnesota was notably better than when he was on the bench, including an offensive rating (113.9) that rivals the best teams in the NBA. Towns is one of the most talented offensive big men in NBA history and perhaps the greatest shooting pure center of all-time. That may seem hyperbolic but, well, it really isn’t when considering his accuracy and volume from beyond the arc. Towns is in a tier of his own when it comes to Minnesota’s valuable assets, but the Wolves also have another talented initiator in Russell, as well as a budding contributor in 2019 lottery pick Jarrett Culver.
Areas of Need
For all of the advantages provided by a rebuilding team having its centerpiece already in the mix, there is a lot to fix in Minnesota. Aside from Culver and potentially Beasley, there isn’t a lot entrenched at the 2 through 4 positions and, considering the difficulty of luring talent at those high-profile spots, challenges await. More specifically, the Wolves desperately need contributors that can be game-changing on the defensive end because, to put it bluntly, the combination of Towns and Russell makes life difficult on that end of the floor.
Biggest Decisions
Because Minnesota is likely to operate over the salary cap this offseason, they have a different outlook than teams like Atlanta and Charlotte. The Wolves enter the lottery with the third-best odds and, when remembering that the team shipped its 2021 first-rounder to Golden State, it is wildly important that Minnesota turns their 2020 first-round selection into a strong asset for the future. Aside from that, the Wolves will have their full mid-level exception to utilize in an attempt to find a quality supporting piece, and Minnesota will need to decide what the breaking point is when considering a contract (or an offer sheet to match) for Beasley.
Overall Offseason Focus
Broadly speaking, the Wolves are charged with figuring out how to build a playoff-caliber roster around Towns, Russell, Culver and (perhaps) Beasley as core pieces. Acquiring defense-first players would be an obvious way to make things palatable but, on the other end, Minnesota could conceivably eschew defense almost entirely in an attempt to build the league’s best offense, other factors be damned. The team’s upcoming draft pick needs to be a “hit” but, other than that, the Wolves are in a strange place where they are locked in to a couple of pieces without proof that the formula works.
One of the more baffling criticisms thrown at HBO’s Watchmen (our third favorite series of 2019) was that it was pro-cop. That’s like watching The Wolf of Wall Street and thinking, “I want to grow up and be like Jordan Belfort,” or believing Rorschach is actually the hero in the Watchmen movie. You’re missing the point.
In an interview with Rolling Stone‘s Alan Sepinwall, Watchmen writer Cord Jefferson answered whether it surprises him that people still the show as being “copaganda.” “It does. I think if you only watched the pilot, you might. But I don’t think there’s any way you watch episode six [“This Extraordinary Being”] and go, ‘That show is pro-cop,’” Jefferson said. He was also asked about how other TV shows portray police officers.
“I don’t think shows like Law & Order and Brooklyn Nine-Nine need to go away, but I think that what we need is more shows like The Wire. More shows that offer a more nuanced perspective of policing,” Jefferson, who’s also worked on Succession, The Good Place, and Master of None (pretty good!), responded. “If more shows like The Wire existed, then it wouldn’t seem like Hollywood was so in the pocket of policing in the way that a lot of people are saying that it is.” Also, no more cop musicals.
For much of his nascent career, breakout star Lil Nas X has denied or avoided questions about his alleged Nicki Minaj stan account, @NasMaraj. Although many of his fans have assumed and accepted that before he was Lil Nas X, creator of “Old Town Road,” he was @NasMaraj, Nicki Minaj superfan. Nas himself has always played coy though — and today, he finally revealed why.
On Tuesday evening, after Nas sent Nicki Minaj a tweet requesting a feature verse, one of her fans asked him, “How come you never claimed her when people asked if you were a Barb? We all knew who you were.” The question seemed fair enough; after all, the question has been pretty thoroughly researched and once even got Nas in hot water for collaborating with Cardi B, Nicki’s assumed rival. There have also been some questionable tweets, which Nas has since apologized for.
Nas explained that he hid his past because, “I didn’t want people to know I was gay.” When the fan responded again to interrogate that claim, Nas pointed out the way fans online jump to conclusions and the hostile climate against gay men within hip-hop. “People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to Nicki you are gay,” he said. “And the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.”
Twitter
However, since Nas and other prominent performers such as Tyler The Creator and Kevin Abstract have come out, it’s probably fair to say that this is changing. As rap and the music industry become more accepting, the narrative can change, and fewer young people may feel the need to hide parts of themselves.
“Black Effect,” one of the songs from Beyonce and Jay-Z’s collaborative album The Carters, begins with a recording of a woman speaking about love. That woman is Jamaican dancer, choreographer, and artist Dr. L’Antoinette Stines, and it would seem she is not thrilled about her inclusion on the song: TMZ reports Stines is suing Jay-Z and Beyonce over the track.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on Tuesday, Stines was contacted by the famous couple in March 2018 to provide dancers for a promotional video for their then-upcoming tour. After getting the dancers, Stines was asked to be recorded speaking about her thoughts on love, and she was apparently told the conversation would be used “for promotional purposes” only, not in a song.
A contract was allegedly only given to Stines the day of the shoot, and she apparently signed without having the paperwork reviewed by her lawyer. She also claims she hasn’t been paid for her vocal work. Stines was surprised to hear her voice on “Black Effect,” and the suit said she felt “artistically raped.”
Stines is suing Beyonce and Jay-Z for copyright infringement and violation of her right to publicity. She is seeking damages and a writing credit on the song.
Neither Beyonce nor Jay-Z have publicly responded to the lawsuit.
David Fincher comes by his reputation for intense perfectionism honestly. Brad Pitt swears that the director’s also a funny dude, but Fincher’s body of work — Seven, Zodiac, Gone Girl, Mindhunter, Fight Club, and so on — more than suggests that he at least projects a certain air on set. Amanda Seyfried, who stars in the upcoming Fincher-directed Netflix movie, Mank, is revealing that working with The Social Network helmer is definitely a process, one that sounds both exhausting and invigorating.
During an interview with Collider, Seyfried discussed how Mank, in which she portrays actress Marion Davies (the movie is about the clashes between screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz and Orson Welles during the making of Citizen Kane), was the hardest job she’s done. She also describes the experience as extremely rewarding, but it’s miraculous that the film wrapped just prior to pandemic shutdowns because Seyfried says that she filmed one scene for an entire week:
I can’t tell you how many takes we did, but I would guess 200, maybe I could be wrong and could be way off. Um, I could be underestimating by five days of one scene when I didn’t have one line… ‘You think I can just relax?’ No, because there are probably about nine or 10 different camera angles that had been on me at one point.
Mank is projected to arrive on Netflix this fall and will hopefully stir up some Oscar fuss. The tussles between the streaming giant and Academy are also growing more intense with every passing year (The Irishman was profusely nominated in 2020 but still ultimately shut out from wins), and given that theaters will have taken a six-month-or-so forced break, and Spike Lee’s latest joint will also be a contender, the delayed ceremony should be a memorable one.
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Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth. @LilNasX
