TV

Lil Nas X Is Pumped About Getting Mentioned In An ‘iCarly’ Joke

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iCarly was a defining Nickelodeon show of the late 2000s/early 2010s, and there has been enough buzz about the series since it ended in 2012 that a revival debuted on Paramount+ this summer. The finale of the new season debuted today, and it featured a funny reference to Lil Nas X, who was pleased with the nod.

In the episode, the characters find themselves outdoors, seemingly in an unfortunate situation. One of them, Millicent Mitchell, asks desperately, “Is this hell?” Another, Harper Bettencourt, replies with a reference to the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video, saying, “No! Hell at least has Lil Nas X!”

The rapper caught wind of the clip and seemed excited about the mention, tweeting, “oh my god let’s goooo icarly mention.”

Meanwhile, Lil Nas X just revealed that his album Montero is set for release on September 17, writing, “creating this album has been therapy for me. i’ve learned to let go of trying to control people’s perception of who i am, what i can do, and where i will be. i’ve realized the only opinion of me that really matters is my own.”

Meanwhile, iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove recently stopped by The Tonight Show and discussed the many memes that spawned from the original run of iCarly.

Check out the iCarly clip above.

50 Cent’s ‘BMF’ Trailer Showcases The Fast Life With Snoop Dogg, Wood Harris, And More

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Historical crime dramas are very in right now, what with FX’s Los Angeles-set Snowfall being renewed for a fifth season this spring and 50 Cent’s latest Power spin-off, Raising Kanan, currently airing on Starz, and a New Jack City reboot reportedly in the works.

It seems that audiences are, well, hooked on tales of drug kingpins rising to power — and falling off at their peaks — especially if those stories are at least loosely based on reality. With 50 Cent’s next Starz show, though, the line between fiction and history will blur more than ever as BMF explores the rise and fall of Detroit’s Black Mafia Family with some help from Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Wood Harris, who apparently will play an iconic drug dealer at every chance he gets.

Today, Starz released the trailer for the 50 Cent-produced drama series, which premieres on Sunday, September 26. It’s full of crack-era clothing, booming ghetto blasters playing Run-DMC’s “King Of Rock,” intense staredowns, and tersely-framed shootouts. Title cards tout the BMF‘s influence on hip-hop fashion, music, and culture (just check out Rick Ross’ “BMF,” in which he shouts out kingpin “Big Meech” while subtly nodding to the gang with the title’s acronym). Earlier this week, it was revealed that Eminem would have a role in BMF as well, portraying real-life FBI informant White Boy Rick — a role the real Rick approved of.

Watch the BMF trailer above.

‘Wom/n Worldwide’ Breaks Down The Fem Superheroes That Ruled The Summer

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Who ran the world this summer? Women, that’s who.

In Uproxx’s latest video series, Wom/n Worldwide, we’re giving a much-deserved shout-out to the fem superheroes that are filling up our timelines with some much-needed good news. And women? They’ve been BUSY this year. Host Drew Dorsey breaks it all down in this, shining a light on the athletes, activists, actors, and all-around badasses affecting positive change in their respective fields. From decorated Olympians like Simone Biles putting a spotlight on mental health — and inspiring us all to take self-care more seriously — to the hip-hop queens ruling the charts, and the women revolutionizing the film industry from behind the camera — we’re hyped for it all.

The Olympics are still on everyone’s mind so now’s a good time to remind fans of how superstars like Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Naomi Osaka changed the game when it comes to how we view excellence in sport, and a couple of 13-year-old skateboarding phenoms blew our minds in Tokyo too. Speaking of empowerment, plenty of female artists have been delivering body-positive bangers this summer — we see you Cardi B — as icons like Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Halsey get ready to drop new music this Fall. (Our playlists needed updating anyway.)

We’re also ready for the world to update its beauty standards so naturally, we had to applaud Nikkie Tutorials for leading the way, and if you didn’t have enough to watch already, we’ve got a couple more female-helmed films to add to your binge-watching queue. All that and an update on the historic Generation Equality Forum that took place in Paris this summer pops up in our inaugural episode.

Check it out above!

Lil Nas X Nearly Acted On HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ But Turned Down The Role

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With his single “Montero” inspired by the film Call Me By Your Name, it’s no secret that Lil Nas X is a movie buff. After a successful rise to stardom, the rapper hopes to one day pivot to acting — but just not quite yet. The rapper revealed he was actually asked to join the cast of HBO’s Euphoria, but ended up turning down the role to focus on his music.

Lil Nas X recent sat down with Variety for a cover interview to speak about his rise to fame. Along with discussing his upcoming album, which he says will arrive before the end of summer, Lil Nas X spoke about his acting dreams. The rapper said he eventually wants to make it to the big screen, but he’s just waiting for the right role. That’s why he turned down the chance to appear in Euphoria. “I was actually going to do ‘Euphoria,’ but I didn’t want to take time away from finishing my album,” he said. “I definitely want to get into acting, but I feel I have to give it my all, and I want to focus on music for right now. I want my first movie to be amazing.”

Following up on the statement on Twitter, Lil Nas X made it clear that his decision to decline the opportunity had nothing to do with the show itself. “btw this was not me saying im too good for euphoria, that’s literally one of my favorite shows right now,” he said.

While Lil Nas X may have turned down the Euphoria role, the hit TV show tapped a different musician to join their cast. Dominic Fike recently revealed that he has joined the series, and he said he plays a character that’s “exactly like me.”

Read Lil Nas X’s full interview with Variety here.

Nicki Minaj Will Replace Andy Cohen As Host Of The Next ‘Real Housewives’ Reunion Special

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Nicki Minaj may be working on a new album and a documentary about her career, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have time for some good, old-fashioned trash reality TV. By which I mean Andy Cohen has asked her to host the upcoming Real Housewives Of Potomac reunion special — according to a shared screenshot of her text conversation with the show’s publicist — an invitation she enthusiastically accepted.

She made the announcement in her usual fashion, by posting to her Instagram Story, then sharing a screenshot with her Twitter followers. “Who tf is ready?” she tweeted. On Instagram, she wrote, “Don’t move! Everyone binge-watch all the episodes cuz we finna get into some thangz hunty.” She also promised that “My questions will be well thought out, too. Mixed with funny & epic, of course.”

But, as is often the case, she had to include a quick disclaimer: “And Barbz, plz don’t send me a million comments about the album & doc chile just lemme have my moment.” She did toss her ravenous fans a bone, though, adding, “We almost there. Promise. Not lying this time. Love you.”

Naturally, the Barbz — who basically live for drama — were ecstatic to learn of this development. Get into their responses below, and follow along with the show’s cast Sundays on Bravo.

‘Dave’s GaTa Blurs The Line Between Fiction And Reality With His New Song, ‘Check Up’

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For those who watch the “gross, sweet” FXX comedy Dave, one of highlights of the show is the lead character’s interactions with his friend and hype man GaTa. As the show’s titular lead is portrayed portrayed by the real-life Dave Burd — aka Lil Dicky — so to is the show’s GaTa just a lightly fictionalized version of the actual GaTa, who has been Lil Dicky’s hype man since early in his career.

In both the show and IRL, GaTa is a talented rapper in his own right. While the show plays up GaTa using his connection with Dave to help himself breakthrough, in the reality, he’s been releasing a steady stream of his own music since before the two first linked up in the blog rap era. Viewers were reminded of this fact in the latest episode, where GaTa’s new song “Check Up” plays a pivotal role in the episode’s plot.

Of course, with this show, the lines between fiction and reality blur constantly, and so “Check Up” has turned out to be a real song released by the real GaTa to streaming services like SoundCloud, and it’s a catchy, charismatic, club-ready throwback to a time before rap songs were more humming than rapping.

Listen to GaTa’s new song, “Check Up,” below.

Janelle Monáe Unveils A Stirring New Song, ‘Stronger,’ From The Netflix Show ‘We The People’

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Janelle Monáe has released a brand-new song titled “Stronger,” taken from the soundtrack to the forthcoming Netflix show We The People.

Executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, the 10-part series features a number of big musical names, such as Monáe, HER, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Adam Lambert, who teach viewers about civil rights movements. Meanwhile, Monáe’s “Stronger” rolls out with an up-stroked reggae rhythm, as the Dirty Computer singer waxes poetic about seeking solidarity in the face of adversity. “Some of the friends taught me how to dream / Some of the friends taught me how to fight,” Monáe sings. “Even those times when we don’t agree / We know we all tryna save the same day / We don’t want the life without the liberty.”

Monáe has woven civil rights issues into her music over the last few years, such as when she released “Turntables,” for the 2020 documentary about Stacey Abrams, All In: The Fight For Democracy. Of writing music to inspire change, Monáe told Rolling Stone: “What is a revolution without a song? I started thinking about all the people on the front line. What could be my gift to them? It was this song to remind them that the tables are turning. We’re seeing that progress is being made, even in the midst of dealing with such traumatic events. We have figured out a way to be the solution. I wanted this to be my gift because revolutionaries need love too. They need inspiration, and they need an anthem. This is my stab at that.”

Listen to “Stronger” above, and check out We The People when it hits Netflix on July 4. Ahead of them, watch a trailer below.

The Weeknd Will Star In The Upcoming HBO Series, ‘The Idol,’ Co-Created By The Mind Behind ‘Euphoria’

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After an impressive year run that concluded with his sixth album, After Hours, The Weeknd will now bring his talents to the small screen. According to Variety, the singer will star in the upcoming HBO series The Idol, which is about a female pop singer who falls in love with an L.A. club owner who also leads a secret cult. The singer will also co-write and a co-executive produce the series alongside Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, with all the three being labeled as co-creators.

Joseph Epstein will also write and executive produce on the show in addition to acting as showrunner. Levinson is also responsible for HBO’s hit series Euphoria, which landed a number of Emmy nominations, one of which was given to Zendaya for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

This is far from the first time that The Weeknd has found himself on television . In 2020, he appeared as himself in an American Dad episode, titled “A Starboy is Born,” that we also co-wrote. He also played himself on the big screen, in the 2019 film, Uncut Gems.

On the music side of things, The Weeknd recently joined Doja Cat in a video for their first-ever collaboration “You Right.”

Killer Mike Is Making A Cameo In The Fourth Season Of ‘Ozark’

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According to a new feature on Billboard, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike has been cast in a cameo role in the fourth-and-final season of Netflix’s award-winning crime drama Ozark. Mike has apparently been a fan of the show for some time, remarking, “I went from waiting to find out what happens next to being part of it … I’m excited.” Although details about the role are sparse, according to Billboard, Mike’s character will meet teen criminal Ruth Langmore “at her lowest point.”

Emmy Award winner Julia Garner, who portrays Ruth, recently joked that she wanted to tell off anti-maskers at the real-life Lake of the Ozarks in-character on social media. The show recently wrapped up a production that was hampered by COVID-19 safety protocols which changed the way the show was shot, so her reaction is understandable. Co-star Jason Bateman remarked that it broke his heart to break the tradition of directing an episode or two himself, but he was willing to make the sacrifice to get the supersized season completed on-scheduled.

Meanwhile, Killer Mike had to make some similar tough business decisions regarding his barbershop, which he didn’t reopen during Georgia’s first wave of attempts to get back to normal last spring. Now that live entertainment is slowly coming back, though, he’ll be on tour with Run The Jewels and Rage Against The Machine next year.

Trevor Noah Dove Deep Into How Spotify Treats Non-Major Artists On ‘The Daily Show’

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For years now, streaming services like Spotify have faced criticism about how much they pay the artists whose music they depend on. It’s a nuanced situation, so on The Daily Show last night, Trevor Noah broke it down and spoke about how hard it is on make money on Spotify as a non-major artist.

After sharing a compilation of news clips that charted the music industry’s shift from CDs to digital downloads to streaming, Noah got into it, starting by calling streaming “the best thing to happen to the music industry since the government created LSD.” He then noted, though, that while streaming services have “arguably saved music,” they’re “not exactly sharing the wealth.”

Noah shared more video clips, ones illustrating how little artists get paid when their songs get streamed. Then, Noah got into Spotify specifically, giving them credit for providing smaller artists with valuable exposure. He went on to point out, though, that regardless of who subscribers listen to, a hefty portion of their money still goes to major artists. As Noah put it, “Even if you are way too cool to listen to the top ten artists on Spotify, they still get most of your money. And the bands that you do listen to get almost none of it.”

Noah concluded by noting, “For now, maybe the most important things for artists to do is get the word out to their fans.” Then, he introduced Aloe Blacc, who has been vocal about issues with streaming music since he earned just $4,000 from streaming for Avicii’s international hit “Wake Me Up,” which he co-wrote. For The Daily Show, Blacc wrote and performed a new version of his “I Need A Dollar,” with lyrics modified to directly address Spotify and streaming problems.

Watch the whole segment above or find just Blacc’s performance below.