No matter individual opinions regarding Lil Nas X’s reimagination of the Devil and Satanism in the new visuals for his latest single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” one thing that’s for certain is that he does not care about the backlash. In the days since the release of the music video, the 21-year-old Grammy winner has gone on to release a line of “Satan Shoes” inspired by the Nike Air Max 97 silhouette (and be sued by the sneaker company as well). Despite this, the controversial kicks have received a co-sign from one very important institution.
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According to TMZ, David Harris, the head magister for the Church of Satan, reports that the shoes are getting a ton of appreciation within their church for its full embrace of the essence of satanism. They specifically cite the inclusion of an inverted cross, bronze pentagram, and a drop of human blood as their favorite points on the shoe.
For those unfamiliar with the church, Satanists do not actually worship Satan nor do they believe in God or the Devil. Rather, the Church holds beliefs opposed to anything supernatural or spiritual, with no belief in the afterlife. The Church also tells TMZ they believe in being your true self, personal achievements, and living life to the fullest, all values it says Lil Nas X aligns with in the release of his new shoe.
As mentioned briefly before, the shoe release arrived shortly after his polarizing visual for “MONTERO,” which features him giving a lap dance to the Prince of Darkness himself. Selling 666 pairs of the now-sold out kicks at $1,018 each, the money he’s earned from the shoes will surely help him fight his way out of the lawsuit Nike just hit him with.
Outside of the Church of Satan, public reception of the shoes and his overall use of Satan imagery has received mixed reviews. In true Lil Nas X nature, however, he’s taken all of the criticism in stride.
It’s not often that a rapper opts to body a harp, generally viewed as the orchestra’s most inherently docile instrument. And yet whenever it does get incorporated into hip-hop production, as is the case on Jay Critch’s Jahdiddat-produced “Been That,” the results tend to shine. Today marks the official arrival of Critch’s previously released single “Been That,” which comes equipped with an accompanying music video directed by Hundo x Lost Footage.
Originally released on his recent album Signed With Love, “Been That” serves as a solid reminder of what the New York rapper is all about. Lyrically, he opts to flex his accomplishments — “I’ve been bagging bitches before I could hold the groceries,” he raps. “It ain’t nowhere worth being real, you just posed to be / Fuck all the awards, I B-E-T I got a Role on me.” There’s a confident and defiant energy throughout the song and the visuals, one that compliments his style quite effectively. There’s a reason Critch has retained such a loyal fanbase, despite not being quite so prolific as some of his peers.
Check out the “Been That” video now, and sound off if you’d welcome a new project from the young lyricist.
Over the past few days, Lil Nas X has gone all-in on Satan, going as far as to give him a lap dance in the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video and to sell controversial “Satan shoes” themed after him. Reactions have been predictably mixed, but through it all, it turns out the Church Of Satan is on board with with Nas is up to and they’re a fan of the new sneakers.
TMZ spoke with David Harris — magister for the Church Of Satan, a high-ranking position — and notes the shoes “are getting a ton of love from the Church because they embrace the essence of Satanism” and that “Satanists are digging the way Lil Nas X is turning against religion to market” the shoes.
Harris also spoke about the “Montero” video with Rolling Stone for a recent feature and said, “He obviously did his homework. Whether he consulted with us directly or did his own research, he clearly put a lot of effort into this video.” He also describes the end of the clip, when Nas kills Satan and wears his horns as a crown, as “the most Satanic part of the video” and added, “We view ourselves as the most powerful beings in the world. The fact that he crowned himself as Satan — now, that’s Satanic.”
Ice-T remains an institution throughout the various realms of pop culture, going strong for over 30 years now. From his earliest 1980s solo rapper days to his heavy-metal stylings with Body Count (the group recently won a Grammy), his influence cannot be underestimated. Nor has his career remained predictable, although once Ice-T makes a move, he does not waver, which is precisely why Law and Order: SVU fans have dug him as Fin Tutuola since the year 2000. He’s done reality TV and tells it to everyone straight on Twitter, and the man has never been anything but consistently entertaining.
Such a reliable nature might work to Ice-T’s advantage with his new ad campaign for Tide alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. You’d probably never expect to see him associated with a laundry detergent brand, but he’s on board to educate people (through the #TurnToCold campaign) about the environmental (and money-saving) benefits of washing clothes in cold water. Not that Ice-T actually does the laundry at home, which is something that he had no problem admitting while he was cool enough to chat with us. We touched upon plenty of topics during our discussion, including when he’ll tour again, how he feels about working with Chris Meloni on the Law and Order: SVU crossover with Organized Crime, his approach to Twitter, and other assorted odds and ends.
Is this really the O.G. Original Gangster on the line here?
Hey! How you doin,’ Kim?
I should tell you that Law and Order: SVU was once a go-to syndicated show while I did cardio at the gym. Now we don’t go to the gym, and it’s a little bit sad!
Can I tell you a funny story?
Please do.
I was in Miami one time, and this lady walked up to me, and she goes, “I was on the treadmill, and I said I would go off when Law and Order went off, and it was a marathon, so I ran 26 miles.” I was like, she did a TV marathon and a marathon at the same time, okay yeah, be careful with that.
It’s strangely motivational to watch you guys take down the indisputably bad guys, and you’ve been on the show for over 20 years at this point.
Yeah, 22 years. I technically came in during the first episodes of the second season, but they shot it during the first season, so I try to claim the first season, but there’ll be arguments. [Laughs] But I’ve been on it a long time.
You’re a pretty fit guy. With gyms being closed and all that and touring not happening, are you still getting your workouts?
I stay in shape. I have a little mini-gym in my house, so I do my dips and my calisthenics, so I’ve always pretty much been in shape. You can get out of shape very easily as you get older, so I gotta stay on top of it. Since I’m on television all the time, I don’t wanna look at myself and say, “Look at yo’ fat ass!” I’m forced to be vain in that respect, but when you marry a swimsuit model, it’s not smart to get fat, so I’ve got a lot of motivation around to stay slim and trim, but I’m doing okay.
You’re SVU-ing it on an April 1 crossover episode, which is the premiere of Chris Meloni’s Organized Crime spinoff. What’s it like to have him back in the saddle?
Well, it’s fun for me. The thing of it is, the difference between me and the fans is that I’ve been in touch with Chris over the last ten years while he’s done his movies and while he had his show, Happy. Me and Chris kinda became friends because we worked together twelve years, so when we got back and we did our scenes together, it’s just like old times. We’re glad to have him back, but Chris wanted to do other things. A lot of actors, well, you don’t become an actor to just play one role for twenty years. It’s about being able to be different characters, and that’s what actors love to do. So, now he’s back, he’s happy, and he’s got his own show, so when you see this reunion, it’s gonna blow everybody away because it’s written well, and it’s good.
Speaking of blown minds… dare I ask how you got involved with your new Tide commercial?
I got cold-called. When people want you to do commercials, the first thing you do is ask, “Does the shoe fit?” “How am I gonna be connected to Tide?” Although I use Tide already, so they told me that cold washing helps the environment, it saves money, and also, it doesn’t ruin your clothes, which is smarter. And Tide does not require hot water to activate. It cleans just as well in cold water, so I thought that was cool. I was like, “Okay, okay, got that!” And then I figured out, “Oh, it’s because my name is Ice.” And they said, “The campaign will be you and Stone Cold Steve Austin,” so I was like, “I’m in.” I’m a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin, so we went and did the campaign, and it’s a really cool campaign. We’re cold-calling people and telling them about the benefits of using Tide in cold water. We cold-called Mr. T, and it’s kind-of a cool commercial.
And does Ice-T do the laundry at home?
No, I don’t do it. Coco does the laundry. We’ve got a very old-school family situation, so she loves doing laundry, and she’s like, “I’ve got this.” Because she knows that if I do the laundry, I’m gonna half-ass do it.
You know what people say: you can’t be good at everything.
But I told her, and she got the memo that we no longer have to use this hot water, from what I understand, to clean it. And I don’t have to shrink my clothes up and have the colors running and all that stuff, so it’s great.
You’re out there lobbying for an “edit” button while saying that you’ve heard all of the comments for and against one, but dammit, you want one.
I think it’s stupid that they don’t have one! I mean, Instagram has one. People are so concerned: “Oh, you could say something, and then you could take it back!” You can screenshot, and all the reasons they don’t want an edit button are negative. It’s just based around catching someone saying something and then trying to deny it. It’s based in negativity, it’s not based to help people. There’s a million different ways they could do an edit button. They can make it so that if you edit it, it says it’s been edited — it could have a little symbol. What they don’t understand is that I’ll put up a tweet, and it might get 2000 likes, and then I’ll realize that something’s spelled wrong, and then you don’t wanna take that one down. Because I’ve had times when I’ve had a bunch of people like something, and I took it down, and they got offended. But you know, it’s Twitter, and maybe Twitter’s just not wanting to be like IG, but you know, whatever. Then don’t comment on my spelling! All the spelling Nazis, stop.
Twitter is for bursts of 240 characters. Typos happen that way.
And also, Twitter’s something you’re doing on your phone! Your thumbs are moving, and they won’t have an edit button, but they’ve got autocorrect. So why do you have autocorrect if I’m talking slang? So whatever, it’s nothing… I just had a moment when I felt like saying it because I just tweeted something where I didn’t put an -ing on a word, and I felt like, “Man, why can’t I just edit this stuff?” Whatever, who cares.
There was quite a reaction to that saga on Twitter and on the news.
It was stupid. You’ve got real crimes and all that going on, and as far as arresting me? Yeah, I think they overreacted. They could’ve given me a ticket. A lot of times when a cop arrests a celebrity, it gives them the chance to be famous. They never arrested anyone, but they arrested JLo. So now, they get to say, “Ahhhh, I put JLo in handcuffs.” It’s something that they do for themselves. You know, as many crimes as I’ve committed in my life, and you’re gonna bust me for running a toll? It’s funny to me. If there’s nobody in the trunk, I’m not sweating, so I’m not really worried about it. The thing is, I was on my way to go play a cop! on TV! And you guys are busting me.
Speaking of your SVU character again, there was a Cameo you did for some John Mulaney fans, and they got you to poke fun at Fin Tutuola — that time that he took a long time to grasp the concept of sex addiction — and you played along, and that Cameo clip went viral. People ask you to say some really odd stuff.
I don’t even remember that one! On Cameo, most of the people just want you to say “hi” and “happy birthday” and anniversaries. There were some people who had a sixty-second wedding anniversary. When I first started Cameo, I didn’t think that was as cool as it was until I saw the reaction. When I saw the way that people reacted to cameos, I thought, “Oh, this is cool.” So there’s “tell my brother to stay in school,” or “congratulate my teen” for this or that, it’s a cool platform, and I enjoy doing ’em.
We are almost out of time here, but I’m a Body Count fan, and you guys won a Grammy this year. You once talked about your heavy metal influences, like Black Sabbath. Do you dig any particular contemporary metal bands?
We based our band off of Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies, and of course, Black Sabbath. I like Lamb of God and Fit for an Autopsy, which is the band of my producer (Will Putney). We’ve been out with so many bands. Of course, I like Power Trip, but it kind of sucks because this past year, we couldn’t tour. We put out Carnivore, and then the pandemic hit, so we dropped an album, and we haven’t been able to do a single show.
Do you know when touring will likely resume for you?
Everybody’s saying 2022, so we’re gonna come up with some other ways to get the music out to the fans. Right now we’re doing an EP to connect to Carnivore because we don’t wanna just step over that album like a dead body. We got a Grammy for it, so we’re trying to keep our fans entertained, so we’re thinking of different options. We just did a fan video for “The Hate Is Real.” Have you seen that, the one with the puppets?
Oh, I saw it on Twitter and did not click on it yet, so I’m doing fantastic here.
You’re gonna bug out on that one. I had a concept where I said, “The fans are gonna make the video,” and this one was the winner. It’s outrageous.
I’ll go watch it now, and it’s been real talking to you.
Well, keep following me and stay on Twitter. You never know what’s gonna happen, day by day. Someone might pop off, and I might need to let ’em have it.
‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’ debuts on April 1, and find out more about how to #TurnToCold via Tide’s website.
Saweetie is seemingly doing well post-Quavo, working on her upcoming album release and teasing some of her latest new music, including a record with Drakeo The Ruler. She’s prematurely declared that she’ll be taking over “Pretty B*tch Summer” and, with all of the moves she’s setting herself up for, that much could be true.
As she spends her first month as a single lady in a while, Saweetie appears to be embracing her new relationship status, making a minor shift on her social media accounts to reflect her current mindset. As many people have noticed, overnight, the Bay Area rapper changed her profile picture on Instagram to one of Katt Williams as “Money Mike”, a stereotypical pimp from Friday.
Instagram
The switch-up was noticed by popular blogs like The Shade Room and DJ Akademiks. While it doesn’t signal much in terms of what Saweetie has been up to, it does show that her mindset could be mirroring that of Money Mike. Perhaps she’s making the most of her single status, partying it up and enjoying life as Katt Williams’ character would do.
Days before her breakup with Quavo, Saweetie was a guest on Respectfully Justin where she spoke about sex, specifically revealing whether she would have a threesome with her partner. Many believe that her answer to the question could have sparked the split between her and Quavo. The hosts of the show have denied that.
What do you think of Saweetie channeling Money Mike?
The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams is in a world of pain. The hip-hop producer has come forward to speak out following the death of his cousin Donovan Lynch in last week’s Virginia Beach shootings. Pharrell Remembers His Late Cousin Williams went to his Instagram page to share a look at his late family member. Along with […]
There isn’t much that Master P hasn’t accomplished in an entrepreneurial sense, having earned his place as one of hip-hop’s great businessmen. Originally raised in the notorious Calliope projects in New Orleans, P managed to overcome the adversity of his environment and relocate to Oakland California, where he launched a record store called No Limit records — the first chapter in what would grow to become a hip-hop empire.
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Since then, P has gone on to achieve greatness in the music industry, having saved Snoop Dogg from a doomed Death Row deal in the late nineties among other crucial accomplishments. Today, P took a moment to share a bit of inspirational wisdom, once again sharing an epic throwback picture featuring himself and Eminem to further contextualize his message.
“When you come from poverty, don’t be afraid to grow, change and better yourself,” he captions, tagging Eminem’s page. “Don’t go backwards, go forward. There’s NO LIMIT to your dreams.” It should be noted that this is not the first time P has shared this particular image, having previously posted a similar message in 2018. Though he and Eminem have never collaborated on wax in any capacity, it’s clear that the pair of rags-to-riches legends have mutual respect for one another.
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Historians might recall that Eminem nearly signed a record deal with No Limit at the onset of his career, a tidbit previously revealed by P during a 2015 MTV interview. “Anybody you can think of called me for advice or thinking ‘What can I do to get with No Limit,’” P explained. “Eminem, to T.I. to anybody you could think of, we done had that conversation where they wanted to be with No Limit.” Though Em notably went on to make history as a key member of Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, it would have certainly been interesting to hear how he might have evolved bearing the No Limit banner.
Check out P’s Eminem throwback picture alongside Master P below, and sound off if you’d still like to see the pair collaborate in some capacity.
R&B superstar Jason Derulo is gearing up with first-time daddy duties with his girlfriend and vixen Jena Frumes. The inseparable pair have lit up social media to announce massive pregnancy news. Jason Derulo + Girlfriend Jena Frumes Expecting The couple went to Instagram to get the world excited about the huge news. Derulo took things […]
Justin Bieber surprised fans this month after releasing his sixth studio album Justice just thirteen months after dropping off his fifth studio album Changes. This album arrives on the tail end of his mini-Recording Academy protest and has quickly become the Canadian native’s most massive era. Justice became Bieber’s eighth number-one album, simultaneously making him the youngest soloist to ever achieve eight projects at the summit. Continuing on with his record-breaking streak, Bieber earned his seventh No. 1 single this week with the Giveon and Daniel Caesar assisted track “Peaches,” earning him a round of accolades.
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For starters, his latest No. 1 single has earned him the distinction of having the second-most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 debuts in history now with four total. He sits behind Ariana Grande, who has five under her belt. In addition to this major accomplishment, he became the first male solo act to ever debut atop the summit on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts simultaneously.
“Peaches” makes the 27-year-old the third artist in history to ever hold the top 2 major chart positions, behind only BTS and Taylor Swift, who have attained this feat twice.
Outside of Bieber, “Peaches” has been a mega-hit for both Daniel Caesar and Giveon, earning both the R&B stars their first-ever No. 1 single. The 26-year-old “Chicago Freestyle” artist took to Instagram to express his gratitude.
“Wow my first number 1! shout to my brother JB for letting me be apart of this moment. It feels even better cause I caught one with the bros,” penned the Long Beach-native on Instagram, tagging both feature artists. Congrats to the trio and check out “Peaches” below if you haven’t yet!
Generally, wherever Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad goes, J. Cole isn’t too far behind. The rapper’s manager recently revealed that he was present at the Detroit Pistons’ training facility, sharing a photo from their state-of-the-art headquarters. Alongside seven others, Ibrahim Hamad was welcomed by the team, thanking the organization for their hospitality directly following their meeting. Cole’s name was not on the banner addressing his manager, but the sheer presence of Ib at the Pistons’ facility has brought back speculation that the North Carolina-based rapper could be planning a move to the NBA.
Considering the team previously offered Cole a tryout for their team, it’s possible that they might be in preliminary talks to welcome him on their roster for next year. Of course, this could also be unrelated to Cole’s own basketball aspirations as Ib might be representing somebody else or working on some alternate business with the squad.
Recently, Snoop Dogg pitched a hip-hop basketball game on Instagram, which would include J. Cole. Perhaps we’ll see that get a date so we can check out even more of the NBA hopeful’s game.
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Do you think J. Cole has a future in the National Basketball Association?
