Entertainment
Page: 3
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Kent Nishimura / Getty / Roy Wood Jr.
While The Daily Show is out here rotating hosts, one of its former brightest stars, Roy Wood Jr., has finally gotten his own gig he doesn’t have to share.
Spotted on Variety, comedian Roy Wood Jr. will bring his flair for political comedy to CNN in hopes of helping the news network deliver the news with some laughs on Saturdays.
Republican nominee and disgraced former president Donald Trump supplies us with laughs it seems daily just from the dumb sh*t he says while trying to convince Americans, specifically Blacks, Latinos, and Caucasians who are not crazy and racist, to vote for him.
Now, we can look forward to Roy Wood Jr. taking those headlines made by Trump and his GOP cronies and whatever news Madame Vice President and hopefully future POTUS Kamala Harris make as we inch towards election day and making jokes out of them on the Have I Got News For You, the US version of the long-running BBC comedy series.
The show will kick off its 10-episode run on Saturday, September 14, at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN. It will air regularly on the network before episodes make their way onto CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming app Max.
This Was A Long Time Coming For Roy Wood Jr.
Wood was a popular correspondent on The Daily Show and successfully hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2017.
He left The Daily Show in 2023, expressing frustrations as Comedy Central began a search for Trevor Noah’s replacement. Fans were also unhappy because they felt Wood would have been the perfect replacement.
He expressed with Variety that he felt late at night had run its course.
“I do not believe late-night as we know it will be the way we continue,” Wood told the website. “Budgets are changing, and we are going into the age of some people, demographically, who did not necessarily always grow up with late night. So how do you engage those people and bring those people to the art form?”
Big congrats are to Roy Wood Jr.; hopefully, everyone who has been hoping for him to get his own show will faithfully tune in.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel / Marvel
A few years ago, Marvel surprised comic book fans and Hip-Hop heads alike when they dropped a variant cover for Deadpool No.1, which featured the legendary Notorious B.I.G. Now, they’ll once again be calling on Big Poppa to grace another variant cover for the Merc with a Mouth.
For the upcoming issue to Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII No. 3, the Black Frank White will once again be visiting the Marvel universe as Deadpool and Wolverine go toe-to-toe. Drawn up by Salvador Larroca, the special variant cover to the issue is available on Hustl.agency and is limited to just 3,000 copies, with an extra special spotlight virgin variant limited to just 1,000 pieces.
In a press release for the special edition comic, we get a quick explanation behind Biggie’s second appearance in the world of Marvel comic books:
The Notorious B.I.G. returns to Marvel Comics as the undisputed mayoral figure of Brooklyn. On his streets, he plays the diplomatic peacemaker, living out his iconic lyrics, “Spread Love, It’s the Brooklyn Way.” In Biggie’s second variant cover appearance, he comes back to break up the animosity between Deadpool and Wolverine on the very streets he helped build. Although Biggie is not in the story or series, the special variant cover is a limited-edition collectible issue.
If anyone can tame the likes of Wolverine while matching the wits of Deadpool, it’s Biggie.
Check out pics of the variant cover to Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII No. 3 above, and let us know if you’ll be picking up a copy in the comments section.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Chloe Bailey Cover Story Page | iOne Editorial | 2024-08-07 / Ione Digital – cs
GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter and NAACP Image Award-winning actress, Chlöe Bailey sat down with HelloBeautiful magazine for their digital cover to talk about her career–and the release of her sophomore album, Trouble In Paradise.
Bailey told Hello Beautiful the project was recorded and mastered in St. Lucia where she found solace, acceptance, and creativity.
“I can walk around with no makeup, I can walk around loving my body, I can go to the ocean, truly just pray to God and thank him for the blessings that I have. And it reminds me that life isn’t all about what my career is. It’s not about outer validation, but the inner peace,” said Bailey about recording on the island.
She added, “I just really wanted people to feel the peace and the love that this place has brought me, where it was able to open up my creative mind and my creative spirit to literally write my troubles away in paradise. And the album feels like what a summer fling feels like, the back and forth of it, the highs, the lows, the love.”
The 26-year-old star is also set to co-star in a new crime-drama coming to Peacock produced by Will Packer and Kevin Hart. Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist stars Samuel L. Jackson, Terrance Howard, Don Cheadle, and Taraji P. Henson.
In the limited series, Bailey plays Lena Mosley, a character she describes as sexy, but who still has a passion for “science, technology and engineering.” She said that she hopes the character reminds people that women are multifaceted.
“And what I’m really loving right now, I’m really loving Megan Thee Stallion, how she shares her love for the Japanese culture … and being a sexy Black girl who loves anime,” Bailey told HelloBeautiful. “I love – with even Doja. She’s sexy with curves, but she equally rocks her kitten heels … It’s like, yes, we can be sexy on stage, but we also have those cute little quirks that make us who we are. Who says we just have to be one thing? None of us are just one thing.”
“So when people try to get those viral tweets by saying, ‘Chlöe’s sex appeal is contrived because she’s this sweet nerdy girl,’ why can’t I be both? And it just kind of makes me giggle to myself because I’m like, you have no idea because you don’t know who I am as a person.”
Source: Dalvin Adams / for HelloBeautiful
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Ms. Lauryn Hill and her bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel collectively known as The Fugees canceled their national tour (the international dates are still happening) earlier this week—just three days before it was due to kickoff this week in Tampa.
In a statement, Hill blamed the media for “sensationalizing” the fact that she canceled her 2023 tour dates which, she said, resulted in low ticket sales.
In a social media post, Hill wrote, “Last year, I faced an injury that necessitated the rescheduling of some of my shows. Regrettably, some media outlets’ penchant for sensationalism and clickbait headlines have seemingly created a narrative that has affected ticket sales for the North American portion of the tour. The trust and faith I have in my intentions and my commitment to my art seem to have been overshadowed by this unfortunate portrayal.”
She noted that the scheduled shows in the UK and Europe are moving forward, adding, “The audiences in the UK and Europe not only haven’t seen the Miseducation Anniversary performance yet, they also haven’t seen the Fugees perform together in over 25 years!”
Hill noted, “Performing for my fans is a profound exchange of energy and emotion that excites me every time. Every show is a piece of my expression and testament to our connection and shared love for music. I can assure you that no one is more disappointed about not being able to perform than I am.”
She adds, “Know that I am not only grateful for those who appreciate and support my art, but that I FIGHT and push through all kinds of resistance to put together experiences that mean something for all of us. I love being able to bring these performances to you!”
Hill vowed to return and perform in front of North American fans again. She signed the statement, “With Love, Respect and Honesty.”
Some fans on social media lamented the tour’s cancelation.
But, others just thought it was more of the same.
The news comes amid continuing emerging rumors that Ms. Lauryn Hill is planning to finally release a sophomore album.
Meanwhile, Hill’s 1995 debut was named #1 on Apple Music’s list of the 100 Best Albums in May of this year.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The gworls are mad, and no I am not referring to the ones we love.
On Tuesday (July 30), after breaking the internet with an overwhelming amount of support following President Biden’s nomination, vice president and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, held her first presidential rally in Atlanta with the support of an array of artists including Quavo, Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion alongside lawmakers Stacey Abrams and Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Megan Thee Stallion brought the heat to Vice President Kamala Harris’ first presidential campaign rally, coining the slogan “Hotties for Harris” and sending conservatives into a meltdown. Her performance at the Georgia State Convocation Center was a far cry from her headlining set at State Farm Arena earlier this month. This time, she traded her shimmering leotard for a sleek blue pantsuit, dialed down the twerking, and censored her lyrics. Despite these adjustments, she still had her back-up dancers and a setlist featuring hits like “Savage,” “Girls in the Hood,” and “Body.”
“We’re about to make history!” shouted Megan Thee Stallion while rapping her Grammy-winning hit “Savage,” wearing a Democrat blue suit and a tie with a cropped white shirt revealing her midriff. Visible from the stage was also a sign that read “Hotties For Harris.”
Despite her conservative approach, the haters took to the internet to share their unsolicited opinions, with one right-wing commentator taking to X (formerly Twitter) to label the left-wing movement as “pure ghetto trash.” He continued with a list of derogatory movements supposedly supporting the presumptive Democratic nominee: “H*es for Harris, Hoodrats for Harris, Single Black Momalas for Kamala, White Dudes for Harris.”
The responses were swift and scathing, rightly calling out the racism and hypocrisy in his tone. “Trump has Kid Rock,” one reply noted. “What’s the difference?” Another chimed in, “Using racist inflammatory language to get attention as a grown man is WEIRD.” The misogyny and double standards couldn’t be more glaring.
Trump took a moment from berating his supporters and dodging court dates to chime into the conversation, further spurring his supporters, saying: “Crazy Kamala Harris, voted the WORST Vice President in American history, needed a concert to bring people into the Atlanta arena, and they started leaving 5 minutes into her speech,” the former president wrote on TruthSocial. “I don’t need concerts or entertainers, I just have to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
While this is expected from the weirdos on the right, what was alarming was the continued disrespect towards both Meg Thee Stallion and VP Harris by Black men. The rolled-up edge community and yellow-teethed brothers united and stepped out of their mother’s basements to join the pathetic party of men throwing vitriol at two successful Black women at the top of their field. From slut-shaming to their continued troll method of writing “Free Tory,” the misogynoir hate train was in full swing.
It’s time to address the pervasive misogyny and misogynoir targeting Megan Thee Stallion, Vice President Kamala Harris, and countless other women. Malcolm X once said, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.” This stark reality is evident in the disdain aimed at these prominent figures. The statistics are equally alarming: According to the CDC, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. African American women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence, facing rates significantly higher than their white counterparts proving that this abuse isn’t just a personal issue—it’s a societal failure.
Megan and VP Harris symbolize resilience and success, yet they are subjected to demeaning rhetoric that seeks to undermine their achievements and humanity. This behavior perpetuates a toxic culture that devalues all women, especially Black women. To create a more equitable society, we must stand against these injustices by elevating women’s voices, celebrating their accomplishments, and confronting discriminatory attitudes.
By stopping misogyny and misogynoir, we not only protect and honor the dignity of women like Megan Thee Stallion and VP Kamala Harris, but we also create a more just and equitable society for all women. The fight against these harmful biases is not just a women’s issue; it’s a human rights imperative.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: YouTube / lifetime
Rapper Robin “The Lady of Rage” Allen will star in a new Lifetime biopic about the controversial telephone psychic Miss Cleo. The film, Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall, also stars Shane Johnson (Power) and Ian Bohen (Yellowstone) and is directed by longtime Hollywood star, Tim Reid.
According to a press release from A&E Networks, the film starts in the late ’90s when single mom Youree Dell Harris finds herself desperate to take care of her family and takes a job at the Psychic Readers Network — only to become one of the network’s most beloved personalities, Miss Cleo.
[embedded content]
However, when the Psychic Readers Network is charged with being fraudulent and false advertising–fans criticize its most popular face. It is only now that the psychic reader known for her colorful turban and lilting Caribbean accent is having her story told.
Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall also stars Daphne Maxwell Reid, Cocoa Brown, Dwayne Boyd, Towanda Braxton, Jaida Standberry, Marley Taylor, Amelia Young, Stevie Baggs Jr., and Leslie Black. Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall is produced by Hillionaire Productions for Lifetime and produced by Jami McCoy-Lankford and Samone Norsworthy, Anthony Standberry, Ahmed Hussain and Jami McCoy-Lankford serve as executive producers, and William J. Cone serves as consulting producer. Tim Reid directs a screenplay by Camara Davis.
Following the biopic, Lifetime will also air the recent documentary, Call Me Miss Cleo, chronicling the icon’s rise, fall and reinvention.
The Lady of Rage was recently named by HipHopWired as one of the Greatest Female Rappers of All Time.
The 56-year-old rapper and actress struck it big with her 1994 single, “Afro Puffs,” from the Above the Rim soundtrack. Originally from Queens, New York, Rage is best known for her affiliation with the Los Angeles rap crew, Death Row.
In a recent Instagram post about the Lifetime biopic, Rage wrote, “I don’t even know how to process this! I’ll be back later to discuss…”
Rage recently collaborated on a new song with Tha Dogg Pound that also featured RBX, called “Who Da Hardest?” Check it out.
[embedded content]
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Bob Berg / Getty
It’s been almost 20 years since the Hip-Hop world mourned the sudden passing of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. And though many of today’s generation of Hip-Hoppers probably aren’t familiar with the man’s musical genius, A&E will be putting many on to game as they have a documentary centered around the “Brooklyn Zoo” artist on the way.
Recently, A&E announced that after years in development, they will be premiering Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys on August 25, and the documentary will feature never-before-seen footage of Dirt McGirt courtesy of his wife, Icelene Jones. Delving into the life of Russell Tyrone Jones, the man, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the entertainer, A Tale of Two Dirtys will showcase sides of the Wu-Tang Clan legend that many of us weren’t familiar with before he passed away in 2004.
With interviews from his fellow clansmen such as Ghostface Killah, GZA, RZA, and other music heavyweights like Mariah Carey and Damon Dash, the documentary is sure to shed light on the man that Big Baby Jesus (ODB) was whenever he wasn’t one of his many alter egos in the entertainment industry.
In a press release for the upcoming project, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s wife, Icelene Jones, explained how elated she feels to finally get this documentary out to the public.
Said ODB’s wife, Icelene Jones, administrator of the estate of ODB, “I am absolutely thrilled to have brought this project highlighting my husband’s life to the screen with my partners at Four Screens. They brought this dream to reality and I am forever grateful. ODB was and is an inspiration to my family, children and fans across the world. Like all of hip-hop, I have missed him dearly. And this project has solidified my belief that he is alive and well in all of our hearts.”
Yeah, heads still bump “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” like it was still 1995 ’round the streets of New York. We love that man.
Directed by Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Black Art: In the Absence of Light), and his son Jason Pollard, Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys is sure to have day one Wu-Tang Clan fans glued to their TVs and might even garner him some new followers come August 25.
Check out the teaser trailer for the documentary below, and hit up the comments section to let us know if you’ll be tuning in come next month.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: YouTube / Marvel Studios
You just know Sam Wilson (portrayed by Anthony Mackie) is always to be going through it, being the new Black Captain America and all that rocking the Steve Rogers’ vibranium and adamantium blended shield entails. In the teaser trailer for Captain America: Brave New World all his talents are on display; dispatching proper fades, protecting the President and keeping the world together despite clandestine Ops infiltrating the White House.
Source: YouTube / Marvel Studios
Sign us up.
The trailer starts off on a solemn note with the Prez (Thaddeus Ross, portrayed by Han Solo aka Indiana Jones aka Harrison Ford) asking Black Cap to officially be part of the military. But of course, Sam spots the jig, with ish going to hell when OG Black supersoldier Isaiah Bradley (portrayed by Carl Lumbly) (you’re familiar if you watched The Falcon and The Winter Soldier) seemingly tries to assassinate the President Ross.
From there we see glimpses of Dora Milaje, Sam letting you know his Falcon talents still formidable. But the chef’s kiss the end of the trailer where what looks like the Red Hulk snatches Cap’s shield out of the air and slams it to the ground.
Oh, and Giancarlo Esposito is in the flick. Did we already say, Sign us up?
We’ll have to wait until February 14, 2025 (Valentine’s Day is booked, people) to watch Captain America: Brave New World, but we can peep the trailer below.
[embedded content]
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Bennett Raglin / Getty
Busta Rhymes was simply not about the mincing of words at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, where he checked the audience for “sitting down at my show” instead of giving the Extinction Level Event rapper the energy he’s used to while delivering the kind of vibrant performances only he can deliver.
But Bus a Bus didn’t stop at cursing out the crowd over its lackluster participation, he also got on audience members for a relatively new thing that has been addressed often recently as it relates to live performances: audience members enjoying the show through their phones instead of being present in the moment.
“Ayo, f*ck them camera phones, too,” Busta Rhymes, born Trevor George Smith Jr., said to the crowd from New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome stage on the festival’s opening night. “Let’s get back to interacting like humans. “Put them weird-ass devices down. I ain’t from that era. Them sh*ts don’t control the soul. F*ck your phone.”
Apparently, some festivalgoers were slow to put their phones away as the former Leaders of the New School member demanded, so Busta emphasized that he was not asking, he was telling them to put the phones away while he was on stage.
“I will point every last one of y’all out until y’all asses is up,” he said, adding that he had “zero tolerance for bullshit energy” curing his first Essence Festival performance.
“Make me feel like we home,” the “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” artist demanded.
In a fiery Instagram post, Busta explained that his outburst over his frustration with the crowd was about “SHOWMANSHIP” and that he wasn’t “CONCERNED WITH THE SH*T TALK AND THE FALSE NARRATIVES” in regards to the backlash floating around social media in response to video clips of him going in on the audience.
Seriously, who doesn’t get hyped during a live Busta Rhymes show? Maybe that lack of energy is just what happens when you’re watching a live show through a small screen.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: WWE / Getty
After professionally wrestling for almost a quarter of a century, WWE superstar John Cena is calling it a career.
According to Deadline, the iconic wrestling superstar plans on hanging it up after 23 years of putting on amazing shows in the squared ring exclusively for the WWE. One of the very few wrestlers to have never left the company he started for, John Cena has spent the last two decades and change giving people reasons to both cheer him and jeer him while never once turning heel after becoming the face of the company. At one point, people began to boo him just because he was such a good guy that he became corny to them. It was hilarious.
Now, it seems like the 13-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion is prepared to move on to bigger and better things (Hollywood) as over the weekend, during a surprise appearance at WWE’s Money in the Bank event in Toronto, Canada, Cena shocked everyone when he announced that after next year’s WrestleMania you won’t see him wrestling in the ring ever again.
Per Deadline:
“Why am I here? Tonight, I officially announce my retirement from the WWE,” he said to shocked gasps from the audience.
Later in his speech, Cena revealed he plans to stay on to take part in Monday Night Raw as it makes the unprecedented move to Netflix in January 2025.
“This farewell, it does not end tonight,” he said. “It is filled with opportunity. Everybody, Raw makes history next year when it moves to Netflix. I’ve never been a part of Raw on Netflix, that is history. That is a first, and I will be there.
“And along with that history making first, we are going to build so many unforgettable lasts. The 2025 Royal Rumble will be my last. The 2025 Elimination Chamber will be my last. And I’m here tonight to announce that in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 2025 will be the last WrestleMania I compete in,” added Cena.
With John Cena at least outlining what his last year of wrestling will entail, we have to wonder what kind of storyline will lead to his exit. Who will be his last antagonist? Roman Reigns? Solo Sikoa? CM Punk? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but we just hope he puts on a helluva last run as he’s earned it over the decades.
“Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years,” said Cena. “Thank you so much always for your voice, because it’s really loud, and your honesty, because it’s beautifully brutal. And most of all, thank you so much for allowing me to be with you here tonight to let the whole world know that we are planning something unforgettable, which also involves me returning to Toronto to kick some ass!”