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Unapologetically gay disco pioneer Sylvester was one of the many LGBTQ artists whose lives were cut short by the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s while the Republican-led government willfully ignored the crisis or actively blamed its victims. But while Sylvester, the human being, died at 41 of AIDS-related complications in 1988, Sylvester, the Queen of Disco, is immortal — and Pride Month 2023 finds the legend being honored twofold.
A newly available anthology, Disco Heat: The Fantasy Years 1977-1981, draws on the six albums he recorded for Fantasy Records, covering his three Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits – “Dance (Disco Heat),” the undying classic “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and a version of “I (Who Have Nothing)” — as well as rare 12-inch mixes. After that, New York City’s venerable Lincoln Center is saluting the trailblazer with a tribute concert featuring performances from Inaya Day, Mykal Kilgore, Dawn Richard, Byron Stingily and Kevin Aviance on June 15.
Finally, it seems, the world is catching up to Sylvester – even if it is 50 years after his debut album. But when “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” began to gain traction in 1978, most people simply weren’t ready for a human as mightily real as Sylvester.
“The thing was, my brief for promoting Sylvester was to tell him to downplay his gayness,” Sharon Davis, who worked as a publicist for Fantasy Records in the U.K. in the late ‘70s, tells Billboard. “The U.K. just was not ready for this type of open-minded artist. And it was felt that his career could be dead in the water if he promoted his gayness, despite having an international dance hit under his belt.”
Regardless of any brief from the record company, Sylvester was hardly closeted. He wore women’s clothing, hit the stage wearing makeup and took gender-bending flamboyance to peaks that even a glam-era David Bowie never dared to scale.
Rudy Calvo, a veteran makeup artist who has worked with everyone from Patti LaBelle to Chaka Khan to Natalie Cole, remembers the first time he saw Sylvester and the Hot Band perform at L.A.’s Whisky a Go Go in 1973. “Sylvester and his posse hit the stage like an 5F tornado,” Calvo raves. “His hair was in a turban, and he was wearing lots and lots of bracelets you could hear clinking in the back of the room. His face was painted to perfection, which added to the drama of his androgynous stage persona.”
Davis – whose book Mighty Real: Sharon Davis Remembers Sylvester is currently being expanded and rewritten now that the film rights have been picked up – says Sylvester casually used feminine and masculine pronouns. “Sylvester was happy being a man,” Davis explains. “In leisure time, if he was in gay company, he would use the term ‘she’ but in public always referred to himself as ‘he.’” While she admits that the androgynous imagery of glam rockers like Bowie and Marc Bolan helped bring about “a certain tolerance in the U.K. music business,” people weren’t fully ready to embrace a gay-gay disco star. “Being bisexual seemed to be the get-out clause at that time,” she opines.
Despite Sylvester’s flashy threads — and a falsetto that soared so high it scraped heaven — both Davis and Calvo describe him as comparatively reserved in private. “He was quiet, softly spoken,” Davis says. “I loved the calmness about him. Yet he could be as stubborn as a mule if he didn’t want to do something.” Calvo – who became friends with Sylvester not long after he caught the artist’s 1973 show at the Whisky – recalls him similarly. “He was totally different from the person you saw on stage,” Calvo says. “The way he dressed, he seemed very flamboyant; in reality, he was very low-key.”
Calvo says he and Sylvester bonded over a shared love for “underground artists like Betty Davis” and a mutual respect for each other’s styles. The afternoon before Calvo caught Sylvester’s Whisky set in ’73, he had been scouring a flea market in West Hollywood for the perfect outfit to wear to the show. After picking up “a vintage yellow bowling shirt with silver threading woven throughout” to complement his bell-bottoms and platforms, Calvo clocked a striking man with bright pink hair also browsing the selections. Later that night, backstage at the Whisky, both Calvo and Sylvester realized they had been admiring each other’s fashion sense from afar at the flea market. “Oh, you were the guy at the flea market with the cool haircut,” Sylvester told Calvo when the makeup artist took off his hat to reveal a “short-spiked cockatoo” haircut. In turn, Sylvester “lifted off his turban to reveal his hidden pink electric hair,” says Calvo.
Four years after they first met, Calvo gave Sylvester a preview listen to Patti LaBelle’s self-titled debut album. “The first time he heard the song ‘You Are My Friend,’ he said, ‘I could do something like this.’” Two years later, Sylvester released a live cover of the song (backed by The Weather Girls) on his Living Proof album; the song became a top 30 hit on what’s now called the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and appears on the Disco Heat: The Fantasy Years 1977-1981 anthology. At one concert, the soul icon and the disco pioneer even performed it together. “When he hit the stage, it was like a church experience,” Calvo says. “He brought that energy of gospel to his music. It was like disco gospel.”
“His smile was wonderful, as it lit up his face, and his lisp so attractive,” Davis says. “A beautiful man on many levels. I shall always be grateful to have his friendship. And call him my brother.”
Courtesy Photo
Jacky Oh, a former castmember of Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out, has died at 32. At press time a cause of death had not been announced. BET confirmed the news in an Instagram post, which read, “We, the BET family, extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jacky Oh and DC Young […]
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It’s officially summer festival and tour season! The city of Barcelona is kicking off the warm weather with Primavera Sound 2023, from Thursday (June 1) to Saturday (June 3). For those of us who couldn’t get tickets or jet off to Spain, we typically would pray for snippets of performances to be posted on TikTok or scattered around the Internet, but Amazon had other plans.
Thanks to Amazon Music Live, you can actually stream the music festival straight from your couch. The streaming service has live coverage of the events for each day and will be showing performances from artists including Japanese Breakfast, Maggie Rogers, The War on Drugs, Calvin Harris, Måneskin and more.
What to Watch on Amazon Prime Video: Billboard Recommendations
06/01/2023
Rather than pack all your travel necessities and festival gear you can literally pop some popcorn and listen to live songs in your coziest leggings. You won’t even have to worry about reapplying sunscreen since you can literally watch in from your AC-filled home.
How to Watch Primavera Sound 2023
The music festival is streaming live exclusively through Amazon Prime Video, which means unless you’re a Prime member, you’re going to need to sign up for a membership. For those already subscribed, you can tune in Thursday (June 1) at 1:30 p.m. ET and start streaming Primavera Sound day one live. You’ll also find it under the Live Channels section on Prime Video.
Primavera Sound Live
$Free with Prime membership
Not a Prime Member? Click here or the buy button above to enjoy a 30-day free trial to stream Primavera Sound 2023 and other content in the mega-library of films, movies and TV shows. Prime Video has a large selection of original series and movies available to stream free of charge.
The massive collection of Prime Originals includes Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Swarm, The Powder, Harlem, Invincible, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Legend of Vox Machina.
Once the free trial ends, your Amazon Prime membership will cost $14.99/month (or $139/year). Besides Prime Video access, Prime members get access to Prime Music, Prime Gaming and Prime Reading in addition to free same-day, one-day or two-day delivery on millions of items, exclusive deals, groceries, savings on prescriptions and more. Amazon also provides 50% Prime memberships for qualifying students and EBT/Medicaid recipients.
You can also buy and rent movies on Prime Video and add channels like Paramount+, Max, Starz and Showtime.
Plan your viewing session and check out the full lineup of Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival here.
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Teyana Taylor is kicking off the month of June on a high note. The Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 “A Rose From Harlem” sneaker sold out within minutes of its release on Thursday (June 1).
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Luckily, fans can still get their hands on apparel from the Jordan x Teyana Taylor collection while it’s still in stock.
Taylor’s debut collaboration with Jordan Brand represents her “journey as a rose navigating through the concrete” and celebrates “anyone who’s overcome a struggle.” Taylor gifted stars such as Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled and Erykah Badu with pairs of the sneakers last month.
The Harlem native stars in the photo campaign for her Jordan collab alongside her mother, grandmother and eldest daughter, Junie. “The evolution of a rose 🌹 From a Bud … to a Bouquet,” Taylor wrote on Instagram on Wednesday before explaining that her youngest daughter, Rue, was asleep during the shoot. “I present my Nana, My Mama, and My Seed. (Rue was knocked … but we can say she was planted).”
The Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 “A Rose From Harlem” sneaker sold out and fans are not happy with “bots” apparently flooding the app. “It sucks your actual fans had to compete against bots,” one follower wrote in Taylor’s Instagram comments. “I placed my order at exactly 9 am and still didn’t get them. I’m so hurt.”
For those who are willing to pay a price increase, the sold-out shoe is available on resale sites such as StockX, Goat and Fight Club.
StockX
Teyana Taylor A Rose from Harlem Jordan High Zoom Air $193
Taylor’s “street and sporty” apparel collection, channels “early-2000s New York aesthetic and Jordan DNA.” The collection, which is priced from $60 to $175 and available in sizes ranging from XS (0-2) to XXL (20-22), includes fleece joggers, a mesh long sleeve top, tank tops, T-shirts and a $750 varsity jacket with beautifully embroidered rose on the chest and a floral interpretation of the Jumpman logo on the back.
Shop pieces from the Jordan x Teyana Taylor apparel collection below.
Nike
Jordan x Teyana Taylor Mesh Long Sleeve Shirt $75
Nike
Jordan x Teyana Taylor Women’s Fleece Pants $110
Jordan x Teyana Taylor Women’s Vintage T-Shirt $60
Nike
Jordan x Teyana Taylor Women’s Varsity Jacket $750
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You better werk your way over to the TV, as another season of Queen of the Universe is coming to screens Friday (June 2) on Paramount+. This time, a new cast of drag queens will sing in front of the Pop Diva Panel of judges and compete for the title of “Queen of the Universe,” along with a cash prize of $250,000.
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Rather than face a lip-synching showdown, drag queens will be singing using their real voices, while returning judges Spice Girls’ Mel B., RuPauls Drag Race: All-Stars season three winner Trixie Mattel, singer and Drag Race judge Michelle Visage and actress Vanessa Williams return to critique.
New episodes will arrive every Friday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m PT, and will feature contestants from all over the world, including Jazell Barbie Royale and Militia Scunt from the U.S., Italy’s Aura Eternal, Chloe V. from Brazil, Love Masisi representing The Netherlands, Maxie from the Philippines, Israel’s Miss Sistrata and more.
How to Watch Queen of the Universe Season 2
To catch all the action from the X-Factor meets RuPaul’s Drag Race competition show, you’ll need to tune into Paramount+. Those who are already subscribers won’t need to pay additional charges, but for those without one, you’ll need to sign up in order to watch the premiere or add the premium channel to your Amazon Prime Video account.
Paramount+
$Starting at $4.99/month after 7 days
Paramount+ offers a mix of plans you can choose based on your needs. New users can enjoy a seven-day free trial of the streaming service before being charged $4.99/month for the ad-supported Essential plan or $9.99/month for the Premium plan, which lets you stream without ads. Paramount+ also offers annual plans, student discounts and a bundle deal with Showtime ($11.99/month). Click here for ways to land a 30-day free trial to Paramount+.
The platform is home to a bunch of original shows and movies such as Fatal Attraction, Rabbit Hole, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, 1923, iCarly,The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill and Before I Forget.
Paramount+ is also on Prime Video for those with an Amazon Prime account. Not a Prime member?Launch your free 30-day trial here.
If you’re watching from outside the U.S., you can still watch Queen of the Universe through ExpressVPN, which gives you access to Paramount+, Prime Video and other platforms.
Check below to watch the trailer for Queen of the Universe Season 2.
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.
Barbie: The Movie may not come out until July 21, but for those itching for more Barbie content, Mattel just dropped an exclusive collection based on the film — and you can shop it now. You’ll be saying “Hi, Barbie!” to these fashion-forward, and, most importantly, pink dolls and accessories.
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The cast of the movie had the chance to see their characters in doll form and couldn’t get over how accurate they are to the film.
“It’s everything,” Margot Robbie, who stars as Barbie, said about her disco doll in a press release. “Wow, this is so good.”
Courtesy of Mattel
From Robbie’s iconic hot-pink cowgirl ‘fit to Ken’s beachy pink and light green matching set, you can add these movie-inspired dolls to your collection. There are even a few collector edition dolls you’ll recognize from the most recent trailer, including from the glamorous disco scene and Barbie’s classic pink convertible.
The doll, accessory and game collection ranges from $7 to $51, and will help turn your home into your very own Barbieland. You can shop the full collection wherever Mattel is sold, such as Amazon, Walmart and Target. Scroll down to shop the exclusive collection while it’s still in stock!
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of Fenty Beauty’s “Summatime” collection, the best Mermaidcore clothing and accessories and Dua Lipa’s Versace collection.
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Doll, Margot Robbie as Barbie, Collectible Doll Wearing Pink and White Gingham Dress
$25.00
We’re not surprised this is rated No. 1 for new doll releases on Amazon. Inspired by the scene of Robbie floating down from her dream house, this doll comes styled in an elegant and graceful pink-and-white gingham dress accessorized with pink heels, a matching bow and white jewelry to complete it.
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Ken Doll Wearing Pastel Pink and Green Striped Beach Matching Set
$25.00
You can’t have Barbie without her strapping sidekick Ken, and this beach-inspired doll has the stylish green-and-pink striped set with a blue surfboard to catch waves with.
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Doll, President Barbie Collectible
$50.00
Issa Rae’s President Barbie doll is an ethereal vision serving grace and sophistication in her gold and pink gown with a sash featuring the iconic Barbie font.
Target
Barbie: The Movie Collectible Doll Margot Robbie as Barbie in Pink Western Outfit
$50.99
Say “howdy” to this Western-inspired Barbie doll complete with pink bell-bottom pants patterned with stars and a matching top. You’ll be tipping your cap to this doll as you put her front and center in your display case.
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Collectible Ken Doll Wearing All-Denim Matching Set
$50.00
This Ken doll makes a case for the denim-on-denim look as he sports straight-legged jeans and an open vest with “Ken” boxers peeking out. He’ll certainly be setting trends both in and out of the box.
Walmart
Barbie The Movie Collectible Doll, Margot Robbie as Barbie in Gold Disco Jumpsuit
$49.97
Just one look at this groovy disco Barbie will have you ready to get on the dance floor in your sparkliest jumpsuit. It comes from the special collectible line of Barbie: The Movie dolls, which means that once they’re sold out, Mattel won’t be making any more.
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Doll, Margot Robbie as Barbie, Collectible Doll Wearing Blue Plaid Matching Set
$50.00
Showing off preppy perfection is this collectible Barbie in a blue plaid matching set. This doll is another collectible version, which means only a set amount were, made so you’ll want to snag her while she’s still available!
Amazon
Barbie The Movie Doll, Gloria Collectible Wearing Three-Piece Pink Power Pantsuit
$50.00
We love a power suit, and Barbie’s friend Gloria is showing off her best doll version of it as she wears pink pinstripe pants with a silky blazer and pink sweater top.
Amazon
UNO Barbie The Movie Card Game
$6.49
The classic UNO game gets a Barbie spin with each card featuring a character or setting from the film. Now you can combine your favorite card game with the iconic character as you wait for the film to come out.
Amazon
Hot Wheels RC Barbie Corvette
$54.99
Take the classic pink corvette for a spin with Hot Wheels’ remote controllable Barbie car. You can add your dolls in or just keep it empty. Either way you’re in control.
Target
Barbie: The Movie Fashion Pack
$50.99
Give your Barbie or Gloria an outfit change with this clothing and accessory set featuring more pieces to expect from the movie including a pink matching pajama set and blue and white dress and short set.
Amazon
Little People Collector Barbie: The Movie Special Edition Set
$24.99
Get a mini version of the dolls with Little People’s Collector Barbie: The Movie Special Edition Set, which includes Barbie, Ken, Gloria and President Barbie in a special collector’s box for you to display on your mantel.
Check below to watch the trailer for Barbie: The Movie.
Little Richard knew exactly what he was doing when he sang the seemingly gibberish lyrics “Awop-bop-a-loo-mop-alop-bam-boom/ If it don’t fit, don’t force it/ You can grease it and make it easy.” The iconic couplet he originally wrote for his 1955 breakthrough hit “Tutti Fruitti” is explored in a new episode of PBS’ American Masters, “Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which will debut on public stations on Friday (June 2) at 9 p.m. ET as pat of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month and African American Music Appreciation Month.
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The show, which features interviews with the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, Nile Rodgers, Pat Boone, Ringo Starr, Bobby Rush and Big Freedia, as well as activist/drag performer Sir Lady Java and Richard’s spiritual advisor, Rev. Bill Minson, tells the origin story of Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) from a child prodigy steeped in the world of gospel to global rock stardom; it features never-before heard audio recordings of Richard made by his authorized biographer, Charles White, who is also featured.
In a Billboard exclusive clip from the show (see below), Little Richard’s bandmates and contemporaries talk about the origin story of “Tutti Frutti,” which was birthed at the raucous Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans. “When we went into the Drew Drop Inn there was a piano… and that’s when I began to know and understand Little Richard,” says Specialty Records producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell.
“‘Cause that’s all you gotta do is give Richard an audience, turn the lights on and show is on,” Blackwell says. Richard’s longtime keyboard player and friend Ronald “Ron” Jones adds that one day Richard jumped on the piano and played the “alop-bam-boom” riff and his producers asked about the hook they’d never heard before, even though the singer — who died in May 2020 at age 87 of bone cancer — had been using it for years while playing to Black audiences on the Chitlin’ Circuit.
In the episode we hear archival tape of Richard reciting the next two lines in the chorus, “If you want it, you got it/ Tutti-frutti, good booty.” The lyrics, of course, could be interpreted as being about gay sex, laughs Deacon John Moore, a blues musician who recorded with Richard. “They’re not gonna play that on the radio. ‘Tutti-frutti, good booty!’ And everybody knew this ain’t about ice cream!”
The bottom line from Richard’s producer, though, was that regardless of what he was singing about, “Tutti Fruitti” sounded like a slam-dunk hit record. Informed that he would have to clean up the “smutty” lyrics a bit to get airplay, Richard agreed, with Blackwell explaining how they changed the first bit to “tutti frutti, oh rootie,” while adding girls named Sue and Daisy. After two or three takes, history was made.
The PBS doc follows on the heels of producer/director and former label exec Lisa Cortés’ recent doc, Little Richard: I Am Everything, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and has been streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV since April.
Watch the American Masters preview below and watch the full episode on Friday night.
For the better part of the last decade, Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has become as defined by his problematic antics as he is by his world-class talent. In the June 1 episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, who divorced Ye in 2021 after seven years of marriage, vented to her mother, Kris Jenner, about the stress and frustration she felt around her ex-husband’s hurtful and conspiratorial claims about her and her family.
The episode picks up where the May 25 season premiere left off, with the reality star saying, “Even how he looks so down on me for my sex tape, brings it up all over town, all over the media. Like, thanks for reminding people once again.” She continued, “All of his shenanigans is gonna be far more damaging to the kids one day than my tape will ever be, and I have to sit here and not say anything, ever, because I know one day my kids will appreciate that. And I know that is the best thing for them.”
Kanye and Kim share four children: North, 9; Saint, 7; Chicago, 5; and Psalm, 4. For Kim, who is set to star in the latest installment of FX’s American Horror Story, protecting their children is her primary concern. In a teary confessional, the SKIMS mogul shared, “I still feel the need to not talk about it and protect it from my kids and I always will feel that way, but God, if people knew … I just would never do that to my kids. It just is really crazy.”
From praising Hitler to revealing deeply intimate details about his marriage to crowds at political rallies, the “Off the Grid” rapper has kept his family in the headlines while simultaneously muddying his reputation and credibility. “Sometimes I feel like if he were to hit rock bottom, that’s his journey that he needs to figure out on his own. I used to run around and call everyone behind his back, and be like, ‘It’s gonna be OK, it’s gonna be OK, don’t worry. Just give him another chance,’” Kim expressed in the episode. “I used to spend hours and hours and hours of my day to be the cleanup crew. I just don’t have that energy.”
When her mother questioned if their children are aware of the drama, Kim responded, “[North] actually doesn’t know and that’s what’s so crazy. When stuff is said, it’s a chain to my whole household. No TV, only Apple TV. I can’t risk an Access Hollywood … or anything on the news coming up with their dad mentioned and they want to watch.” She added, “I have to figure out a way to protect and so they still haven’t seen anything, but then I go into crisis mode.”
In a final confessional on the topic, Kardashian, who was ruled legally single on March 2 of last year, noted: “I’m the one being accused of so many things and being blamed for so many things and it’s really hurtful and it sucks. But, I can control how I react and I can control if I’m a mess, [and] then my kids will see that … I really do believe in my soul that one day, my kids will appreciate my silence, my understanding and my grace, and I will try my hardest to keep it together at all times.”
Kanye “Ye” West has earned four chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot 100 and 10 No. 1 titles on the Billboard 200 including Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Donda.
Pride Month has officially arrived, and pop superstar Sam Smith is ready to help you celebrate with a new cover. On Thursday (June 1), Smith unveiled their cover of Christina Aguilera‘s 2002 anthem “Beautiful” exclusively on Amazon Music. Stripped down to focus on Smith’s sonorous vocal and a single guitar, the cover slowly grows, adding […]
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of Dave.
Dave Burd managed to wrap up the over-the-top third season of his series Dave with the most unexpected, how-did-he-pull-that-off stunt yet. After a two-episode will-they-or-won’t-they arc starring Rachel McAdams as a potential paramour for his rap alter ego Lil Dicky, the just-aired season finale opened with Dicky in bed with McAdams during the video shoot for his homage to The Notebook star, “Mr. McAdams.”
In another scene, Dicky raps, “Maybe I’m your Brad Pitt,” and in keeping with Dave‘s unpredictable, cameo-stuffed run, of course the real Brad Pitt then pops up. But Pitt doesn’t just do a drive-by, he hangs around playing a Brad Pitt type who is interested in getting into the music game only to get stuck in a hostage situation. There’s a shooting accident with a Looking for Love prop crossbow and an escape thanks to bear mace and Dave’s $7,000 set doll.
But the most important question is: How did they get Pitt? (And Drake, for that matter.)
Star Burd and co-star GaTa spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the surprise superstar cameos and why they decided to keep Pitt’s fate a secret.
“There was a lot of debate about how to play it. We even shot several versions of that outcome with Drake with us talking about, ‘Oh, he’s dead’ and like, ‘No, he’s alive,’” said Burd. “We had every iteration at our fingertips, but I chose to keep it slightly ambiguous. For me, as a viewer, if you look closely as the paramedics are running in, you can kind of see Brad’s hand go up and start to give the thumbs up. So, I take that as an indication that Brad will live on.”
Even more surprising, after a season-long arc about Dave looking for love on the road, when it comes down to finally going with his heart and trying to make it work with on-and-off girlfriend Robyn — and after Pitt very clearly warned him about the pitfalls of being a star — Dicky decides to chase after Drake rather than settle down with Robyn.
“What a twist, huh? I wanted to do something that was kind of a surprise,” Burd explained. “Not to oversimplify it, but every season we build toward this big decision. Am I going to do the right thing or the wrong thing?… It’s not just throwing [away] love and not learning anything the whole episode. I’ve been looking for love this whole season and I learned through this experience, and through Brad Pitt, that as confident as my character in his own greatness there’s clearly a gaping void in his soul that needs this validation. Until you actually love yourself and remedy yourself of that void, how can you possibly take on the love of another person?”
Burd said as much as he wanted to find love, he looked at letting Robyn go as a sign that he wasn’t ready for it yet. “That awareness was at the core of that final decision. I think I learned the lessons and was aware enough to realize that’s not where I was yet. So, in the meantime, I’m going to go to Drake,” he said.
As for Pitt’s near-death crossbow incident, GaTa said he never expected to be in that situation. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. We got Brad Pitt on Pro Tools with auto-tune AND we ’bout to kill this man?,’” he said. “I still can’t believe it. It’s just surreal even talking about it, like we got Brad Pitt doing all this stuff. It’s crazy.”
Asked how he keeps pulling off such amazing cameos — this season also featured Usher, Don Cheadle, Killer Mike, Demi Lovato, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross and many more — while keeping the Pitt pop-in secret, it all comes down to Burd’s persuasive letter-writing according to showrunner Jeff Schaffer. Earlier this year he told THR that he and the show’s other producers thought it was a bridge too far at first.
“None of us thought it was going to work, except Dave,” Schffer said while giving props to Burd’s big ideas. It also helped that two-time Oscar winner Pitt was reportedly a fan of the show. “It really speaks to the greatness of the show that all three of them just independently are huge fans of the show. Everyone who works on the show should feel like they got Brad and Rachel and Drake,” Burd explained. “The reason we got them is because they loved the first two seasons of the show.”
The rapper had never met McAdams or Pitt before, but he’d heard through the grapevine that they were fans. “It was a little reckless to anchor an entire three episode arc with Rachel McAdams and an entire finale on Brad Pitt, but for the themes that we’re talking about there is no one better,” he said, admitting that Drizzy was an especially big swing, since the MC had not done TV since his early days as a teen actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2001-2008 playing Jimmy Brooks.
“What better representation of like hopeless romanticism and love is there than Rachel McAdams, who was like my generation’s dream woman and who has been in films that have totally defined my interpretation of what love is supposed to be? Same with Brad Pitt. What better person to teach you a lesson about fame and validation than like the star of all stars, Brad Pitt? Drake is like the top of the mountain top musically and as a rapper. I had met Drake and he pulled me aside and told me the show is one of the more important shows of our generation and I knew he was a fan.”