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The build-up to the release of Eternal Atake was agonizing for diehard Lil Uzi Vert fans. There seemed to be controversy regarding the album’s delivery, and we later learned that there were delays that caused Uzi to have to hit the studio to refine his project. Eternal Atake made an unsurprising debut at the top of the charts, but even with a No.  spot secured, the rapper recently revealed that it wasn’t as powerful as he’d wanted.

Uzi chatted with W Magazine and discussed his acclaimed project, admitting that the final product wasn’t as impressive as his initial vision for the album.

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“All of my music for Eternal Atake got leaked, so I had to redo it,” said Uzi. “It didn’t reach its full potential—I just knew it wasn’t the sound I was going for. Let’s just say ‘Eternal Atake,’ for another artist, would have been really good, because it was super dumbed down to where everyone could enjoy it, but that’s not my artistry. I want my new music to be more intimate to my real fans. I wanted it to be almost cultlike.

Uzi also revealed that he’s switched up how he approaches creating music. “No, I’m just leaving songs how they are instead of trying to make the perfect song. I was following the other guys too much,” said Uzi. W wanted to know what “guys” the rapper was referring to. “I was listening to all the industry guys and their formats—it was confusing me, because these guys are getting No. 1’s.”

“But I realized the music ain’t even living; their No. 1’s are real quick,” he added. “I had to realize this is their beginning; they’re younger than me, so they have room to do that. I don’t have room to do that. I used to always look at all the young guys and be like, ‘Oh, shout out this guy.’ I ain’t shouting out nobody no more.”

Do you think Uzi’s formula should be the new approach? Revisit Eternal Atake below.

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21 Savage says he has an EP dropping this Friday titled Spiral, a partnership with the upcoming film, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw. The Chris Rock-produced film is set to release on May 14 as well.

“#Spiral Ep Drop Friday I Don’t Think Y’all Ready I Ain’t None To Play Wit,” he wrote on Instagram.

The theme song to the film, “Spiral,” was released on April 30th.

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Savage’s last project, Savage Mode II, a collaborative album with Metro Boomin, released back in October. The “I Am > I Was” rapper recently appeared on DJ Khaled’s newest album. Khaled Khaled, on “Let It Go,” featuring Justin Bieber. Khaled Khaled hit number one on the Billboard 200 Chart last week.

The ninth installment in the Saw film series will star Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, Max Minghella, and more in a story that follows police efforts to track down a criminal mastermind. Rock’s character, Zeke, will find himself “at the center of the killer’s morbid game,” according to the official plot summary.  

Spiral is Rock’s latest foray into non-comedic roles. In 2020, he received praise for his starring role in the fourth season of Fargo.

The first Saw film was released in 2004.

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Last month, it was reported that a series of words associated with AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, would be added to the dictionary. Language including “finna” and “chile” have been staples in Black culture for over a century, and throughout history, with the help of the popularization of the entertainment industry, those words have become cornerstones of what many deem to be “slang” in pop culture. Recently, scholars and educators began recognizing AAVE as its own language, more popularly promoted in previous years as Ebonics, and some people have insisted that certain terms, and even new slang words promoted by the Black community, shouldn’t be made fun of or misattributed. Hence, why Saturday Night Live found itself facing backlash on social media.

Last Saturday (May 8) was a controversial episode of the long-running series due to Elon Musk acting as host, but it was the “Gen Z Hospital” sketch, written by Michael Che, that irritated some viewers. 

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In the sketch, Musk acted alongside Kate McKinnon, Mikey Day, and Melissa Villasenior as they portrayed Gen Z teens who used words like “sis,” “on gang,” “catch hands,” “facts,” “the tea,” “taking a major L,” “sus,” and “cap.” The show was accused of mocking AAVE, and Che addressed the controversy with a joke or two.

“I’ve been reading about how my ‘gen z’ sketch was misappropriating AAVE and I was stunned cause what the f**k is ‘AAVE’? I had to look it up,” said the comedian. “Turns out it’s an acronym for ‘African American vernacular english.’ You know, AAVE! That ol’ saying that actual black people use in conversation all the time. Look, the sketch bombed. I’m used to that. I meant no offense to the ‘aave’ community. I love aave. Aave to the moon!”

Yet, critics were also targeted as they were accused of being overly sensitive about a comedy series and the point of SNL has always been about making fun of popular culture. Check out the sketch below.

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Seth Rogen recalled meeting Tom Cruise back in 2006 in an interview on Howard Stern’s radio show, Monday. Rogen says the weird encounter began with him peeing in a Snapple bottle and included Cruise giving him a lecture on Scientology.

Rogen explained that he didn’t want to ask Cruise to use his restroom immediately after meeting him.

“I stopped halfway up the driveway, [which was] kind of in the woods above Sunset Boulevard, and I peed in a Snapple bottle in my car,” Rogen told Stern. “I sealed the bottle and left it there, and went on to have a very absurd meeting with Tom Cruise.”

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He went on to explain that he realized later that there was a security camera watching him.

“I was passing the exact spot that I peed in,” Rogen said. “I noticed a red light in the woods and looked up and there was a security camera literally pointed at the same spot.”

He went on to talk about how Cruise pitched him on Scientology: “And it’s like with Scientology, he said, ‘If you let me just tell you what it was really about, if you let me, just give me 20 minutes to really just tell you what it was about, you would say no fucking way, no fucking way.’ Is that a good thing to be saying? Is that a bad thing to be saying?”

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Lakeith Stanfield portrayed Snoop Dogg in Straight Outta Compton, and with more biopics of Hip Hop artists being weighed by Hollywood producers, some are vying for the Long Beach icon to present the story of his life on the silver screen. Snoop has been in the industry for nearly thirty years, beginning as a teenager with Rap star dreams to being Martha Stewart’s bestie and co-star. Whether he’s Snoop Dogg or Snoop Lion, the impact that Calvin Broadus has laid in the industry is unmatched.

The D-O-Double G caught up with Yahoo Entertainment and was asked if he was interested in penning a script about his life for a biopic. The Rap mogul is interested in a project, but it may come differently than expected.

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“It depends on whose eyes [it’s] told through,” said Snoop. “You know, if it’s told through the right eyes, through the right lens, and it makes the most sense for me. But I think what makes the most sense to me is the ‘Snoop Dogg anthology,’ the life story of Snoop Dogg, where it starts with my mother and father meeting each other before I was even born, to me being born, to me growing through the ‘70s and ‘80s and the ‘90s. Me being the ‘Black Forest Gump,’ so to speak, seeing me in all of these highlighted moments in American history.”

This is more than just an idea. “We’re developing that, putting it together as we speak, just trying to take my time and put the right information out,” the rapper added. “I don’t want to rush to it just because [Straight Outta Compton] was successful, just to come behind it. I want to take my time and make sure that I’ve put together the right infrastructure of how I became me — you know, the people that inspire me, my upbringing, my mother, my father, my friends, community influences, inspirations that shaped and molded me.”

“I don’t see it being a biopic, because I can’t give all of this great information and entertainment in two hours,” Snoop said. “But if I give it to you in an anthology, you’re likely to get six or seven seasons of this.” Would you watch this anthology series? Check out a scene from Straight Outta Compton below.

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Former University of Hawai’i quarterback Colt Brennan died in Newport Beach, California, early Tuesday morning. His father, Terry Brennan, confirmed to ESPN that his son had ingested something laced with fentanyl and lost consciousness.

Terry explained that his son had tried to enter a detox program, just hours prior, but was rejected because of a lack of space.

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Terry said that the treatment program was something Colt was “really into.”

“It involved a lot of physical activity and he liked it,” Terry added. “He was working with soldiers who had come back from Afghanistan and Iraq with similar problems. He was doing quite well with it for four months. Then something happened and he went to the dark side, and it was just not good.”

Colt set multiple NCAA records while playing for Hawai’i.

He held the single-season record for touchdown passes with 58 until Joe Burrow surpassed it in 2019. Colt also ranks fourth all-time in career touchdown passes with 131.

Hawai’i’s athletic department put out a statement following news of his passing:

It’s hard to put into words the impact that Colt Brennan had on Rainbow Warrior fans and the people of Hawai’i. He was a phenomenal player and provided us some of the greatest sports memories we’ll ever have. But he was more than that. For all that he accomplished on the football field and the adulation he received for it, he always remained among the people. He never turned down an autograph, he never turned down a picture with someone. He inspired everyone, from our keiki to our kupuna. He had a Warrior mentality on the field but a true aloha spirit off of it. Today is any extremely tough day. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Brennan ‘ohana and we mourn together with all those across Hawai’i and Rainbow Warrior nation who were touched by Colt.

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No one faults Seth Rogen for being stunned when he ran into Beyoncé. The comedic actor has been building his successful Hollywood career for two decades and he’s acted alongside some of the industry’s most coveted talents, but when he saw Beyoncé backstage at the Grammys, he admitted to having a bit of a freak-out moment. Rogen visited E!‘s Daily Pop to talk about his new memoir Year Book and explained the cringeworthy moment with Beyoncé’s security.

“I actually write about it in the book,” Rogen said with a laugh. “I was at the Grammys and I saw Beyonce with Gwenyth Paltrow, actually, and they were together.”

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“And I charged over—instinct took over!—I was like, ‘I gotta go say hi!,'” Rogen continued. However, Bey’s security doesn’t play around. “And, yeah, I was hit so hard by her security guard that I spilled a drink. I was drinking a screwdriver, which is a bad drink, I deserve what I got. But I spilled it all over myself and then a second later, someone came up to me and was like, ‘Uh, you now have to present a Grammy.’ And I was covered in screwdriver and I was humiliated and I didn’t get to meet Beyoncé.”

“And I did have to present a Grammy, literally while holding my arms in a very weird position.” Watch Rogen share his story below.

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