Jennifer Lopez has released the first trailer for This Is Me…Now, a semi-biographical retelling of her much-publicized love life. Starring Lopez, as well as her husband Ben Affleck, the project is part-biopic, part-visual album. It will follow the ups and downs of Lopez’s love life, especially through the lens of how people external to Lopez perceived her relationships. The trailer hints at some of the massive music numbers the film will include. One appears to take place around a steampunk heart. Another appears to take place at one of Lopez’s weddings.
Lopez is joined by a star-studded cast that includes Keke Palmer and Sofia Vergara. Fat Joe also appears to play the role of Lopez’s therapist. Other musical stars teased include Kim Petras and Post Malone. And of course, Lopez’s own musical will feature heavily. A Prime exclusive, This Is Me…Now drops on February 16. You can watch the full trailer below.
Furthermore, This Is Me…Now is Lopez’s first on-screen appearance since 2023’s The Mother. The Netflix original saw Lopez playing an anonymous assassin who must protect the daughter she once gave up for adoption. The film pitted Lopez against a villain played by Joseph Fiennes and was written by Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green. It was a major step towards action for Lopez, who was better known for her comedic work (Shotgun Wedding) and drama work (Hustlers). Netflix had previously found success with films like Extraction, which filled a similar sub-genre.
However, the film received a mixed reaction upon release. The Mother received a 43% critic rating and 62% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While Lopez’s performance was praised, the film was too generic to really stand out. However, This Is Me…Now appears to be a spectacle that combines Lopez’s performance flair with her proven ability for dramatic acting roles. Will you be watching This Is Me…Now? Let us know in the comments.
Kanye West has been finishing up his first summer as Bianca Censori’s husband in Europe. Overseas, the couple’s outfits have been nothing short of head-turning. Earlier in September they made an appearance at London Fashion Week. The father of four notably surprised other Mowalola show patrons by teasing upcoming music. It’s unclear when he plans to release his latest work, but as it turns out, there are still previously unreleased tracks from Ye’s DONDA era that are only just now seeing the light of day.
As HipHopDX reports, DONDA: With Child, a visual album directed by Vanessa Beecroft leaked online on Thursday (September 21). It was initially expected to arrive on streamers in 2020. However, it’s now recognized as an early version of West’s DONDA, which landed in 2021 after a particularly tumultuous rollout. The rapper’s late mother is heard several times throughout the 35-minute effort. Listeners also received different versions of popular songs like “Off the Grid” and “Hurricane.”
On the leaked edition, Pusha T markedly carries us through the guest verse and hook of the former song. As for the latter, Big Sean and Ant Clemons gave a fresh perspective on Lil Baby and The Weeknd’s work. Other famous faces who appear on the tracklist include James Blake, Sheck Wes, Saint JHN, and Travis Scott, as per Reddit.
On the topic of La Flame, the father of two is once again in the news regarding the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy. He’s been sitting through hours of deposition hearings regarding the mass causality event, and it was revealed earlier this week that the phone prosecutors were hoping to collect as evidence is currently at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Read more about that at the link below, and share your thoughts on Kanye West’s DONDA: With Child visual album in the comments.
Beyonce recently brought her “Renaissance” tour to LA for the first time, performing at SoFi Stadium on Friday and Saturday night. The show was opened by DJ Khaled, who also brought a slew of his friends who took the stage. Fans were able to see performances from Coi Leray, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, and more. There were also countless celebrity guests in attendance, like Kris Jenner, Keke Palmer, LeBron James, and Gabrielle Union.
For obvious reasons, the show managed to get a lot of attention. Fans were thrilled to see so many familiar faces embracing the tour aesthetic with their outfit choices. With that being said, she has gotten some pushback for the show, with some attendees noting how she didn’t use most of the monitors at the stadium. This made it more difficult for those in seats far from the stage to see the show, and has left commenters comparing the tour to another major one that recently stopped at SoFi.
In August, Taylor Swift brought her “Eras” tour to LA, and made full use of the monitors. It’s rumored that Bey didn’t use all the monitors because the stadium charges artists to do so, but that’s unconfirmed. In other “Renaissance” news, recent reports suggest that Beyonce is shopping around a visual film for the album. Above The Line revealed that the “artsy” film was directed by Nadia Lee Cohen.
“It’s a visual album movie, but it’s like an art film, and I’ve also heard it’s better than Black Is King,” a source claims. The outlet also says that the source confirmed the Renaissance film was shown to various studios earlier this year, but nothing ever came of it. “I’m guessing the price and lack of replay value for the casual viewer,” the source explained. “Or maybe Beyoncé didn’t like how it turned out? I don’t know…” Keep an eye on HNHH for more updates on Beyonce.
Visual albums have always been an engaging yet fleeting creative outlet in album release space. However, the unique format has seen plenty of success in the past. Frank Ocean’s Endless counterpart engaged the audience in the setting of a grim black-and-white basement. Climbing up stairs that go nowhere, Ocean uses the setting to parallel a younger version of himself. Of course, the project would be overshadowed by the grandiosity and streaming success of Blonde. We also had the more public Beyonce’s Lemonade, a cinematically vivid masterpiece that vulnerably shattered her hard exterior. While the visual format has succeeded in music, it remains a rarity. Now, we have Keke Palmer’s Big Boss.
The latest to embark on a visual-music counterpart project, the Illinois-born and raised artist is looking to spotlight the music industry’s shortcomings. Of course, her career far transcends the musical space. From her electric performance on Jordan Peele’s Nope to becoming the Glamour cover star, Palmer has reached a unique level of stardom as she approaches her 30s. It’s a career that has been in the works since Palmer was an infant, with her parents briefly working in the acting space before settling into more stable careers. She even auditioned for a stage production for The Lion King at age 9.
Big Boss Chronicles Keke Palmer’s Personal Growth
After a multi-decade-long career in the acting space, Palmer is making her directorial debut with Big Boss. The project focuses on her navigation of a male-dominated industry, as well as a transition into a new phase of her life. She told HuffPost, “I didn’t budge on any aspect of putting this together. I really was fully sound and clear in my mind and what I wanted for this, and I followed through in a way that I never did before. I think it’s easy to just get sidetracked and just give up. And this time, I didn’t do that.” The project potentially signifies a more focused space into the sonic space for Palmer, whose musical ventures have primarily been side gigs as she’s put most of her energy into a burgeoning acting career. After releasing So Uncool in 2007, she wouldn’t release another album for over a decade.
However, Palmer’s talent in the music space has always been apparent. Her high-pitched vocal falsettos fill up any room she’s in, commanding a unique presence amongst the field of female artists. At five years, she was the hot topic of shows in her local church choir. Expanding on the narrative meaning of Big Boss, she stated, “A lot of that stuff happened when I was like 19, 20, 21, 22. This is a collection of experiences that happened over the course of that time period of my life.” As she puts it on the booming production of “Standards,” “This time, when I put me first, I will not regret it.” Facing uncomfortable narratives in the entertainment industry throughout her teenage years, she’s breaking free of that toxic treatment with Big Boss, which sonically mirrors groovy summer R&B tracks.
As for the visual counterpart of Big Boss, Keke Palmer chronicles her life through various interactions. Whether it’s with people in the music industry or an intimate conversation with her mother, the focus is on growth. Regarding the music label industry, she muses, “With the music, it seems even worse. They try to snatch your f***ing soul out.” This sets the stage for the 40-minute experience, which sees Palmer overcome being surrounded by masculine toxicity. There’s a suffocating pressure to fit into the people around her, which has Palmer escaping into solitude to catch her breath. A heart-to-heart with her mother would see Palmer break free from the expectations of those around her by the film’s end.
Big Boss solidifies Keke Palmer as more than a talented actor or musician. The visual album proves that as she approaches three decades into her decorated life, she’s looking to move into an influential activist role by opening up conversations surrounding the treatment of artists by music record labels. Along with Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 1 and Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 2, Big Boss is Palmer’s third project in as many years. That consistency hints at an upcoming decade that could see her more focused on album-making rather than moviemaking. However, this trend remains to be seen. If Palmer has proven anything, it’s that she can do it all. Big Boss will also give Keke Palmer more opportunities to work on the production or directing side of film in the future. It’s certainly been a huge 2023 for Keke Palmer. Outside of Big Boss, she also recently celebrated her first Mother’s Day.
