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Severance, the mysterious sci-fi thriller featuring Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, and Brit Lower, is now in its second season on the Apple TV+ streaming platform. Fans of Severance almost got a cool treat after series director and producer Ben Still asked President Barack Obama to voice the role of the Lumon Building as seen in the show’s first season.
As shared by the great Deadline team, Ben Stiller was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week and shared the bombshell tidbit that he asked former President Barack Obama to voice the role of the infamous Lumon Building, which was part of a pivotal scene in the series.
From Deadline:
“I didn’t ask him in person, I knew someone who knew his lawyer and his lawyer said I can relay the request if you write an email,” Stiller told Kimmel. “So I wrote an email to him saying like, ‘Hey we have this show,’ whatever. And like two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama.”
In his reply, Stiller said Obama told him he was a “big fan of the show” and was awaiting the second season. However, the former President of the United States turned down the offer saying, “I don’t think I have time in my schedule to make it happen.”
Could you imagine hearing Obama’s smooth voice on Severance? That would’ve been cool. The show is deep into its second season, and the mysteries of Lumon, along with the dual lives of the “outies” and “severed,” are still under deep examination. If you’re in the market for a show that’ll have you talking for days after, we highly suggest it.
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Photo: Apple TV+
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Rolling Loud, an upcoming Hip-Hop comedy film, has several music stars attached to the project along with other familiar faces. Sexyy Red, Ty Dolla $ign, Ski Mask the Slump God, and more are all slated to appear in the project.
As evidenced by the title Rolling Loud, the film is based on the music festival of the same name, as seen in an exclusive report from Variety. Owen Wilson stars as a washed and concerned dad who gets his teen son into the Rolling Loud festival accompanied by his friend, who is played by comedian Matt Rife. Along with the aforementioned stars, Henry Winkler is also a member of the cast, alongside Christine Ko.
Filming is currently taking place in Atlanta, and the film’s screenplay, direction, and production are all helmed. by American High CEO Jeremy Garelick. According to the outlet, Garelick oversaw Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler.
Rolling Loud is set for a 2026 release.
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Photo: Ivan Apfel / Getty
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Serena Williams has been away from the game of tennis for just three years, but she’s now making new moves in the world of sports. The WNBA’s latest team, the Toronto Tempo, shared in a press release that Serena Williams has joined an ownership group for the organization.
On Monday (March 3), the WNBA’s website Team News section shared the official press release of the Toronto Tempo.
From the press release:
I am thrilled to announce my ownership role in the first Canadian WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo,” said Serena Williams. ‘This moment is not just about basketball; it is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes – I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity. I am excited to partner with Larry and all of Canada in creating this new WNBA franchise and legacy.
Williams joins an ownership group along with Larry Tanenbaum, Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures. The press release also noted that Williams made her professional debut in Canada and her inclusion the ownership group was met with glowing marks from Tempo team president, Teresa Resch.
“Serena is a champion,” Resch shared. “She’s the greatest athlete of all time, and her impact on this team and this country is going to be incredible.”
Resch added, She’s set the bar for women in sport, business and the world – and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring – we’re thrilled to be marking the lead-up to International Women’s Day with this announcement.”
Williams will also have some input into jersey designs and will also help the club’s visibility in other ways during her tenure in the ownership group.
Tanenbaum echoed Resch’s statement and made mention of Williams’ image and influence and how it lines up with the mission of the Tempo.
“Serena Williams is an icon, a role model and a force for change in the world” Tanenbaum said. “She’s earned every bit of her incredible success with hard work, tenacity and determination in the face of countless challenges. She exemplifies the very best of what the Tempo stand for – we couldn’t be more honoured to have Serena in our court.”
The league still needs to approve Williams as an owner. The Toronto Tempo will have its first tip-off in 2025 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum
Learn more here.
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Photo: Dia Dipasupil / Getty
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Source: Courtesy of Sie Less / Sei Less
A New York City hotspot announced a special Women’s History Month menu honoring industry trailblazers like Cardi B and Lil Kim, among others.
The midtown Manhattan Asian fusion restaurant Sei Less has become a beloved dining destination for many, including numerous celebrities since opening its doors in January 2022. And it’s adding to its prestige with the release of a new menu honoring several prominent women in the music, entertainment, and media industries for Women’s History Month. The new prix-fixe three-course menu is now available to all patrons at Sei Less as of Monday (March 3) for $50 per person.
The new menu features cherished items by celebrity diners such as the Angie Martinez appetizer of shrimp satay with peanut sauce, and the Cardi B featuring lobster poached in a “beurre blanc” butter with shallots and shiro-dashi wine. Actress and philanthropist La La Anthony is honored with her favorite Beijing Chicken, and the chocolate mousse is named after the Queen Bee of Hip-Hop herself, Lil’ Kim.
The Women’s History Menu is a continuation of Sei Less’ tradition of honoring the culture through their culinary offerings curated by veteran chef Allen Ma. In 2023, they released a special Hip-Hop 50 menu honoring New York City icons such as Jay-Z, Nas, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and French Montana, among others. In February 2024, they celebrated R&B and Hip-Hop love songs from Babyface, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, and SZA with a “Lover’s Menu.”
“We’re very fortunate to receive such amazing support from this incredible group of women from the greater New York area, so as a heartfelt tribute, we wanted to honor these remarkable trailblazers and their impact on culture in our own special New York way,” said Sei Less founder Dara Mirjahangiry in a statement. “We’re proud to celebrate their creativity and influence with a special menu for Women’s History Month tailored to some of their favorite dishes whenever they visit the restaurant. They have been long-time supporters of Sei Less and this gesture is simply our unique way of expressing our gratitude.”
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Blacc Sam, the brother of late rapper Nipsey Hussle, was seen on video getting into a verbal scrap with an assumed Crip gang member during what should have been a moment of celebration. From what is shown in the video, Blacc Sam and the gang member exchanged some words, and online sluetshs were able to connect the man in the video to Wack 100, who has made comments about Nipsey Hussle in the past.
As seen on All Hip Hop, the video was uploaded to the X social media platform by Poetik Flakko and shows Blacc Sam, Samiel Asghedom, and Rocstar 2800, who is apparently connected to Wack 100. It appears that Wack’s comments about his brother had Sam heated and he’s essentially telling Rocstar 2800 get away from the business or back up the beef words.
Nipsey Hussle brother Blacc Sam goes off on West Blvd Crip Rocstar 2800. He said anybody who don’t get cracking on people who disrespect Nipsey Hussle can’t come around them nomore until they get cracking pic.twitter.com/593UtD6Xmb
— Poetik Flakko (@FlakkoPoetik) March 1, 2025
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As Sam gets right in Rocstar’s face without flinching, he waves off an associate who wanted to get some space between the two, illustrating he was ready to throw hands or whatever else. Cooler heads prevailed and the men were eventually split apart.
On Instagram, Rockstar 2800 made light of the moment by posting an image that read “Damn All A N*gga Wanted Was A Burger” with a crying laughing emoji at the end.
As Hip-Hop Wired reported last month, Blacc Sam is working to release a posthumous Nipsey Hussle album.
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Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
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Source: Robert Smith / Getty
One of film’s finest (with some questionable past decisions) has finally received her long overdue acclaim. Zoe Saldaña has won an Oscar Award for her work in Emilia Perez.
As per The Guardian, the actor had one of the biggest nights of her professional career. On Sunday (March 2), the film industry gathered at the 2024 Academy Awards to celebrate the best performances of the previous year. The category for “Best Supporting Actress” was stacked with top tier talent including Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Ariana Grande (Wicked) and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave). Zoe Saldaña took home the award for her stellar work as Rita Mora Castro, a struggling lawyer who takes a Mexican cartel kingpin as a new client.
It was clear to everyone in attendance at the Dolby Theatre and viewers online that Zoe was taken by surprise with her win. “I am floored by this honor,” she explained. She first thanked her mother and remaining family but made sure to highlight her immigrant background. “I am a proud child of immigrant parents, with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands,” she said while trying to hold back her tears. “And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.”
She then closed out her speech with a reference to her late grandmother. “I hold the fact that I’m getting an award to a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish — my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted. This for my grandmother, Argentina Cesse. Thank you so much. Muchas gracias.”
While Emilia Perez has been met with general critical acclaim, the film has faced some ongoing criticism due to Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s protagonist. The actor’s old social media posts are where she made some very derogatory remarks about Islam, the murder of George Floyd and more.
Additionally, Mexican media was very critical of the film for how it represented the country. As spotted on Variety, after her Oscar win she addressed the criticism at a press junket. “First of all, I’m very, very sorry that many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention. We spoke from a place of love,” she explained in the interview room. “I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women.”
You can see Zoe Saldaña’s acceptance speech below.
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It’s been a few months since the heartbreaking passing of music icon Quincy Jones, and at last night’s Oscars Awards ceremony, his legacy was honored by Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and the Hip-Hop legend, Queen Latifah.
Taking to the stage, Whoopi and Oprah gave Quincy Jones his flowers when they spoke about his embodiment of the term “Black excellence.” According to Variety, they credited Jones for helping pave the way for Black artists to make an impact in Hollywood. “In 1967, Quincy Jones was the first Black composer nominated in the original song category for ‘The Eyes of Love’ in the film ‘Banning.’ 1967 was the first time. Just keep that in mind,” Goldberg said. “And Quincy was also nominated that year for original music score for ‘In Cold Blood.’ He received seven Oscar nominations for ‘The Wiz,’ ‘In Cold Blood,’ ‘For Love of Ivy’ and ‘The Color Purple,’ which me and her, we’re part of.”
After speaking their kind words, the good Queen Latifah took to the spotlight and with the help of some backup singers and dancers gave a rousing rendition of “Ease on Down the Road” from the cult classic film, The Wiz.
You can just see Queen Latifah gave it her all, and for that, we love her.
Check out the Hip-Hop legend perform “Ease on Down the Road,” and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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It finally happened.
After decades of being the baby face of the WWE, John Cena finally shocked the world when he finally turned heel and betrayed Cody Rhodes at Saturday night’s PPV event, Elimination Chamber. At the behest of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena suckered Rhodes into a bear hug before he kicked Cody Rhodes in the family jewels and proceeded to beat him with a gold watch, microphone, and the WWE Championship belt until he drew blood from his platinum blonde wig.
To make matters even worse (and hilarious), Travis Scott actually partook in the universal beatdown, and for whatever reason, put hands on the “American Nightmare” as he laid bloody and beaten in the squared ring. While we know all of this is theater and scripted, La Flame blessed Cody Rhodes with quite the pimp slap that would’ve made Iceberg Slim proud, as fans as far back as the 10th row heard the impact as soon as it landed on Cody Rhodes’ face.
Not bad, sir. We’re just glad he didn’t get any blood on those Jordan Jumpman Jack TRs. That would’ve hurt us.
While we don’t know if Cactus Jack will continue to play any role in the upcoming beef between Rhodes, The Rock, and John Cena, in a post-PPV interview, The Rock said that Scott actually wanted to get some blood on his hands, and truth be told, we enjoyed it.
Variety reports:
“He wanted to get his hands bloody,” The Rock said during a press conference after the event about Scott. “I whispered to him as he was going out [to the ring]. I said, ‘if you’re gonna get your hands bloody, make it count. Make it count. He slapped the shit of Cody tonight. He was really, really hyped up.”
“He loves the business,” the Rock said. “We get guys and girls like that who want to come in and who are already tapping in culture and disrupting culture in their own cool way. Maybe they want to sit and enjoy, maybe they want to be on camera.
“But then some want to get involved,” the Rock continued, “and then some, like Travis, deeply want to get involved. And that’s what you saw tonight.”
Now this begs the question, will Rhodes respond by bringing out a rapper of his own to help him neutralize the threat of Travis Scott? Might sound corny but with the way WWE does business you just never know. Either way, it was a helluva night for the WWE universe.
What do y’all think about John Cena going heel and Travis Scott putting hands on the WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Angie Stone, an amazing singer and songwriter who established herself as a soul star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, passed away on Saturday, March 1, at the age of 63. Although most music fans are well aware of Angie Stone’s singing career, her roots in Hip-Hop run deep, and Hip-Hop Wired examines those connections.
Angie Stone was born Angela Laverne Brown on December 18, 1861, in Columbia, S.C. It was in her hometown that she was a member of The Sequence, an all-woman Hip-Hop trio consisting of Cheryl “Cheryl The Pearl” Cook, Gwendolyn “Blondie” Chisolm, and Angie “Angie B” Stone. The group came together when the three were all in high school, and they were first noticed after a Sugarhill Gang performance along with Sugar Hill Records founder and CEO, Sylvia Robinson.
The Sequence was the first female Hip-Hop trio to be signed to the famed Sugar Hill Records label and made history with their 1979 single “Funk You Up,” the second single released from the label after “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. Stone is also credited on the pioneering Hip-Hop single, which helped usher the music to wider audiences and mainstream appeal.
The release and success of “Funk You Up” is significant as The Sequence was comprised of artists who hailed from the Southern United States, proving that Hip-Hop’s reach extended far beyond the five boroughs of New York.
Portions of “Funk You Up” have been sampled by the likes of Too, Short Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul, Ice Cube, and dozens more. Dr. Dre used sounds from the single for his 1995 single, “Keep Their Heads Ringin” as well. Although the group initially disbanded in 1985, the group made comeback songs in the modern era via a 2011 single “On Our Way To The Movies,” which did not feature Stone.
Stone worked with Hip-Hop duo Mantronix (DJ Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee) before becoming the lead vocalist for the Vertical Hold trio, releasing a pair of albums in the early 1990s. She then joined with Gerry DeVeaux, Lenny Kravitz’s cousin, and Charlie Mole as a member of the group Devox. While the group didn’t last beyond one album, Stone’s songwriting prowess honed in her time in the previous groups led to her providing songwriting credits on D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar and Voodoo albums. Stone and D’Angelo had a son together as well.
In 2003, by now well established as an R&B vocalist and songwriter, Stone appeared on Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life Worldwide” from the Texas singer’s Worldwide Underground album. Badu, and fellow featured acts Queen Latifah and Bahamadia all delivered bars with Stone on the anchor verse with “Funk You Up” as the backing sample.
In 2017, with the assistance of attorney Antavius Weems, The Sequence filed a Federal Copyright Infringement claim aimed at Bruno Mars, stating that his smash hit “Uptown Funk” used elements of “Funk You Up.”
Angie Stone and her contributions to music won’t be forgotten, as evidenced by the outpouring of adoration and regard from her fellow musicians and fans from around the world. Hopefully, those unaware of her strong roots in Hip-Hop culture are enlightened about her place in that great pantheon as well.
Rest powerfully in peace, Angie Stone.
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Diddy’s mother Janice Combs has been accused of fraud by a former Bad Boy Entertainment executive who says she inherited his share of the company.
As per HipHopDX, Kirk Burrowes, a founding partner in the label, has filed a legal complaint against Diddy’s mother. The talent manager says that he was forced to give up his 25% stake in the company under threats of violence when Diddy, who was accompanied by the label’s lawyer, allegedly walked into his office wielding a baseball bat. “By words and actions, Sean Combs and Kenneth Meiselas frightened and intimidated and assaulted plaintiff (Burrowes) and forced him to turn over his share certificate for 25 shares of Bad Boy Entertainment to Sean Combs,” the filing reads. According to exclusive statements made to The Daily Mail, he says Diddy then transferred that stake to his mother.
Janice Combs was not present during the alleged incident but when asked for advice on the matter she told Burrowes she had no idea the confrontation occurred. Kirk says otherwise and believes Diddy’s mother was in on it and even helped orchestrate it. Since being ousted from Bad Boy Entertainment Kirk Burrowes says he was eventually blackballed thus falling on hard times. “They blacklisted him from the music industry, blocked business opportunities, and destroyed his professional reputation, ensuring he would remain financially destitute and unable to reclaim what was rightfully his,” the lawsuit states. He also claims Janice organized “decades-long scheme of intimidation, violence, fraudulent misrepresentation and financial concealment.”
Not only did Burrowes serve as the Bad Boy Entertainment’s chief office but he is the godfather to Diddy’s first son Justin. He also claims he witnessed Diddy physically abuse his mother as well. Kirk Burrowes is seeking his original $100,000 investment into the company, his original 25% stake and additional damages.