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In exclusive news, iOne Digital is relaunching Elev8, a new platform with a spotlight on a new wave of Christian Hip-Hop and R&B artists.
As the world is undergoing some turbulent times, there are many online who are looking for a sort of safe space to find motivation and attain reflection on topics related to mind, body and culture. In that spirit, the return of an online hub dedicated to that mission was announced Thursday (April 4). Elev8, pronounced “e-le-vate,” seeks to be a bedrock for those Black men and women seeking out nontraditional sources to further their interconnected well-being.
Elev8 is starting this mission out strongly with a new cover story covering seven talented rising artists in the world of Christian Hip-Hop and R&B. The artists – Childlike CiCi, Franchesca, Lee Vasi, Wande, Jor’Dan Armstrong, Mike Teezy and Stevie Rizo – got to sit down and talk extensively with Elev8 Digital Director Aliya Faust about their commitment to their faith influencing their music in various ways allowing them to push envelopes and appeal to the public.
“I’ve always been a wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve kind of girl and that’s been kind of amplified in this Christian genre because it’s really soul work that this music is stemming from,” said Lee Vasi in the profile. For Armstrong, who’s attained the No.1 slot on Billboard charts recently, the new shift is remarkable. “I remember 10 to 15 years ago, we didn’t have these types of opportunities,” he states. “We didn’t have these types of platforms. We were frowned upon because we were different or because we had a different approach to what gospel sounded like. I’m grateful to be a part of what God is doing in the industry and the genre that we’re in.”
As Faust explains: “I think it’s important to have a brand like Elev8 because we acknowledge that what you feed your mind and body matter. Health is multifaceted. I always refer to four of the eight dimensions of wellness. Spiritual health, emotional health, physical health, social health, etc. – it’s all interconnected. When we nurture them in harmony, life is elevated.” In addition to more in-depth articles on each of the aforementioned artists, Elev8 will feature more soul-stirring conversations on all of those topics in conjunction with featured videos, exclusive digital profiles, and daily articles along with a newsletter.
Check out the first profile at Elev8 here.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Fashion, tech and music come together in a new collaboration between Alo Yoga and Beats featuring a limited-edition pair of Beats […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. The release of Cowboy Carter hasn’t just given us new Beyoncé music, it has also resulted in a Western fashion revival, […]
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Two premiere middleweight fighters go head-to-head as the main event during UFC Vegas 90 on Saturday (April 6). South-Carolinian Brendan “All In” Allen (23-5) takes on Ohio-native Chris “The Action Man” Curtis (31-10) in a re-match. Allen is looking for revenge after Curtis knocked him out in Dec. 2021.
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UFC Vegas 90 takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a start time of 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. However, the main card starts at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Want to watch UFC Vegas 90 online? This event is streaming on ESPN+ for subscribers only.
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If you’re not a subscriber, you can get a ESPN+ monthly subscription for $10.99, or pick up an ESPN+ annual subscription for $109.99. The annual subscription bundle is the best deal because it saves you nearly 20% overall instead of going month-to-month.
In addition, you can also get the Disney Trio — which comes with ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ — starting as low as $14.99 per month.
Check out the full fight card below, and livestream UFC Vegas 90 here.
Main Card, 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis (Middleweights) — Main Event
Alexander Hernandez vs. Damon Jackson (Featherweights)
Morgan Charriere vs. Jose Mariscal (Featherweights)
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Christos Giagos (Lightweights)
Valter Walker vs. Lucasz Brzeski (Heavyweights)
Trevor Peek vs. Charlie Campbell (Lightweights)
Prelims Card, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT
Court McGee vs. Alex Morono (Welterweight)
Norma Dumont vs. Germaine de Randamie (Bantamweights)
Alateng Heili vs. Victor Hugo (Bantamweights)
Piera Rodriguez vs. Cynthia Calvillo (Strawweights)
Dan Argueta vs. Jean Matsumoto (Bantamweights)
Dylan Budka vs. Cesar Almeida (Middleweights)
Nora Cornolle vs. Melissa Mullins (Bantamweights)
UFC Vegas 90 is available to stream on ESPN+ on Saturday, April 6 starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT with the main card at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. In the meantime, watch the trailer for the event, below:
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Want more deals? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
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A columnist’s criticism of the New York Police Department’s handling of subway crime led to department heads blasting him and Mayor Eric Adams chiming in.
The topic of crime in New York City’s subways has been a heated one, and a new column taking the NYPD to task for not having plans to aid those mentally ill despite the increase in officers present has compelled the department to lash out in posts on social media, with Mayor Eric Adams also chiming in. The column in question was written by columnist Harry Siegel and published in the New York Daily News Saturday (March 30). Siegel criticized department chiefs for making television appearances downplaying the trouble and pointing to the amount of officers, especially after high-profile incidents including a person being shoved off the platform in East Harlem last week.
Siegel was attacked by NYPD Head of Transit Michael Kemper in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Your readers deserve more accurate reporting. This article is filled with misleading and straight up false information,” Kemper wrote, adding that Siegel incorrectly listed 10 deaths that had occurred in the subway system this year instead of four.
The newspaper would issue a correction afterward, but that didn’t stop NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kay Daughtry from also leveling a personal insult toward Siegel. “We are the police. And you are a gadfly — who should consider revising their definition of madness to: reading a Siegel column expecting a useful takeaway,” Daughtry wrote. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell would go on to blast Siegel’s column on Sunday, saying it “demonstrates the overall disdain for the NYPD.” He would also call Siegel “anti-cop” in an interview on 1010 WINS Monday. Siegel would admit his error but also fired back at the police brass in a post, calling it “Incredible cop talk.”
Mayor Adams offered his two cents after both police representatives spent three days haranguing Siegel during his weekly press briefing Tuesday (April 2), calling Siegel’s column “distasteful” as it was published on the day of Officer Jonathan Diller’s funeral out on Long Island. “What you saw from Chell and Daughtry, you saw a human reaction,” he said. Adams has been particularly sensitive after coming under fire in an interview with activist and lawyer Olayemi Olurin on The Breakfast Club where she took him to task for “fear-mongering” and the NYPD’s racial profiling.
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The former spokesperson for right-wing figure Kyle Rittenhouse is telling all to combat bigotry – and it’s not pretty.
As Kyle Rittenhouse is trying to capitalize on his infamy after being acquitted of shooting three people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin to be a conservative voice, a person who was once the spokesperson for him and his family during his criminal trial is now coming forward to expose his true nature. David Hancock, a retired Navy SEAL, dropped a bombshell in a post on X, formerly Twitter on Monday (April 1), detailing how much went into remaking Rittenhouse’s image. Which included getting the middle school dropout a rushed high school diploma.
https://x.com/davehan06/status/1774751376889057282?s=46
“Regarding his online high school diploma, we had to force him to complete the four years of credits in just ten months, which he did using the “Google machine,” Hancock revealed before adding how Rittenhouse also had applied to join the Marines but couldn’t even pass the basic aptitude test. As another user on X, RogerZenAF explained, “The maximum score on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery – the test to get into the military) is 99. The minimum score to join the Marine Corps is 31. Surprising absolutely no one, Kyle Rittenhouse scored “far below” the required minimum.” Rittenhouse would ultimately be barred permanently from joining the Corps after sending in a video of himself stripping an AR-15 unsolicited to recruiters.
The actions of Rittenhouse during and after his trial, who Hancock says “believes he is the show pony we created” soured Hancock about working further with him. “Instead, he squandered a full scholarship to study any subject at any university in the country to become a divisive douchebag and antagonize black Americans on college campuses,” he wrote. “Kyle failed to learn a single thing. He remains the same uneducated, arrogant, and antagonistic individual, incapable of telling the truth.” The 21-year-old was recently booed off the stage at an event at the University of Memphis held by the conservative Turning Point USA group.
Hancock would also issue an apology to one of the men Rittenhouse shot, Paul Prediger aka Gaige Grosskreutz. Prediger was at the Kenosha protests as an ACLU observer with a legal concealed carry permit and medical training, which was in contrast to Rittenhouse and his defense team’s arguments in the 2021 trial.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Lululemon has built a loyal fanbase who would likely deem the store as arguably one of the best athleisure brands out […]
Afrobeats superstar Tiwa Savage is set to make her acting debut in Water & Garri, which was announced Thursday (April 4). The new film will premiere on Prime Video on May 10. Directed by Meji Alabi, Water & Garri tells the story of Aisha (played by Savage), an ambitious fashion designer who has spent the […]
Days after dropping their minisode 3: TOMORROW EP, TOMORROW X TOGETHER performed the project’s lead single “Deja Vu” on The Kelly Clarkson Show. The K-pop boy band — made up of Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai — brought a cinematic performance to the daytime show on Wednesday (April 3), marking the first U.S. TV […]
Spoiler alert: This story contains the identity of the contestant eliminated on Wednesday night’s (April 3) episode of The Masked Singer.
The Lizard’s lifespan has been cut short after getting eliminated from The Masked Singer on the competition show’s “Shower Anthems” episode Wednesday night (April 3).
From the beginning of season 11, which kicked off last month, judges Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Rita Ora accurately guessed the smooth-singing Lacertilia’s real name a few times — with Ora in particular revealing she was quite excited at the possibility of the early 2000s R&B icon being the one under the mask. When host Nick Cannon finally removed his scaly green head, Lizard’s true identity was revealed to be someone who embodies a much larger (and fire-breathing) reptile: Sisqó, the “Thong Song” singer who’s embraced the nickname “The Dragon” ever since his solo albums Unleash the Dragon and Return of the Dragon charted in the Billboard 200 top 10 in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
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Though the Dru Hill alum’s energy was high and his riffs plentiful up until the end of his time on the anonymous contest, he admittedly only made it as far as he did by the skin of his two layers of teeth. He wound up in the bottom twice in a row leading up to his final episode, delivering smackdown performances of Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out” and the Scooby Doo cartoon theme song before he was sent home.
His one regret? Not being able to compare heights with Kevin Hart, who appeared in the Masked season premiere to play a prank on Cannon. “Both of us are short,” Sisqó tells Billboard in a post-elimination interview, laughing. “We was sitting down, so we never got a chance to see who’s taller … I think I got maybe an inch [over him].”
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“Being with The Masked Singer was just an awesome experience,” he adds. “I learned a lot, and I’ve been in the entertainment industry now for about 25 years. You kinda get stuck in your ways and you don’t think you can learn anything else, and I was wrong.”
Below, Billboard catches up with Sisqó about making heads or tails of his physically challenging costume, not knowing the words to Billy Joel’s songs and more.
Where did the idea for a lizard costume come from?
They figured, if I was “The Dragon,” people probably would’ve guessed automatically – even though I think they did guess automatically. I’ve been to Robin’s house before, and Robin and Rita Ora, they’re musicians. They knew my voice immediately.
From what I understood, because my wife is Elizabeth — Liz, Lizard. Also, Busta Rhymes, he was a dragon before.
What was it like to perform in the costume?
When I first put that mask on, man, I think I almost hyperventilated a little bit. The wardrobe people had to put a mini-fan up to the mouth of the costume, just so I could get oxygen in there. Meanwhile, I’m in there pouring sweat, it’s difficult to breathe, I can’t really see.
Whenever we could [rehearse] in the costume, I wanted to so that I could figure out how I could be as mobile as possible. It had this giant tail, so when somebody would call me, “Lizard!” [Mimes whipping around his tail]. BAM, I’d take out the whole craft services.
How did you push through the physical constraints of the costume?
It was a real sink or swim moment. I didn’t want to be the one who gave up at the last minute. I just had to basically face my fear in that moment.
Each show I got a little better. It almost seemed like the lizard was alive, bruh. He had a whole persona of his own, and figuring out how to merge the lizard and The Dragon was the true challenge.
Some of the judges correctly guessed your identity from the very beginning. How’d you react to that?
From day one! I was a little flattered, but at the same time, it was like, “Aw, man, I don’t think I’m going to be able to win this because they already know who I am.”
You were in the bottom two three weeks in a row. What were those smackdown battles like?
I knew not even one word of Billy Joel’s “Moving Out.” I didn’t know the melody, I didn’t know the words to the song. After that, the words were going, I couldn’t see the prompter, so I just threw caution to the wind and started riffing, singing along without singing actual words. That was the nail in the coffin, ‘cause they knew exactly who I was then.
I’m not used to losing things. I was so arrogant. [Laughs.] I heard everybody else sing in rehearsal. I was under the impression that this was only a singing contest, so I was like, ‘Well if it’s a singing contest, I’m about to sing these people under the …”
What were your favorite clues Masked Singer used to hint at your identity in the teaser videos?
What I really enjoyed was how they put things together from my life. Like, when they were talking about my son, I was like, putting an egg to bed and kissing it goodnight. Then there was a female lizard, who I guess was supposed to represent my wife.
They said something about Billboard … but they made it seem like it was an actual billboard instead of the Billboard charts. That was funny, because I hosted the Billboard Awards, I believe it was 2001.
Did you tell your family you were going on the show?
My family are big fans of the show. Ken Jeong, it seems once a season, he asks [a contestant] if they’re me.
Because my family is so tight-knit, they knew I was doing a TV show. But I didn’t tell anybody that I was the Lizard. These kids are smart. After a while they just started going through the DVR and picking shows and asking, “Is this the show?”
[I told them] look, I’m not gonna say anything. What I will say is if you see me and Mommy sitting together watching TV, then just come in there and watch it with us.
What’s next for you?
Be looking out for new music from The Dragon. It’s actually part two in a three-part series I’m doing. The first album is called Genesis. The second one that I’m working on right now is called Exodus and the next one will be Revelations. Look out for a snippet really soon.