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Dennis Quaid appeared on the PBD Podcast and talked about the time he starred opposite 2Pac, James Belushi and James Earl Jones in the 1997 movie Gang Related.
“That was so great,” the actor said of working with the rapper. “I was kinda familiar with 2Pac when we did that movie. We both loved Chinese food, it turns out. So, he and I would be in the trailer, like, every day. We had Chinese food five days in a row.”
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“At the time, I really didn’t know much about who he was,” Quaid continued. “I knew who he was, but it’s like we got in there and we talked about acting, we talked about growing up, we talked about our mothers. He had such a great heart. He was such a talented actor too and he had a thirst to learn.”
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“I didn’t know he was a poet, really, because that’s what he was. He told the story of how they tried to kill him before in New York, and it was hysterical the way he told it, but it was, like, for real. Then six months later he got killed,” he shared as his emotions started to get the best of him. “That one really hit me hard. It really did.”
Quaid then highlighted how vulnerable Pac was, and how much he could’ve given to the world: “He had so much to give the world, he really did. He would’ve wound up being such a uniter of people.”
The actor later added, “He was just a human being. He was a kid and he was a vulnerable person. He wasn’t like this ‘gangster,’ this, or that, or the other. He had a poet’s heart … It was his vulnerability and he had this curiosity about other people, including me. You never put the two of us together, eating Chinese food in a trailer. But there we were.”
Gang Related was one of several movies released posthumously after 2Pac’s September 1996 death; Gridlock’d, in which he starred alongside Tim Roth, arrived in January 1997.
Watch Quaid discuss the late rapper on the PBD Podcast below:
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Pitbull is always looking for way to make history, and Mr. 305 has done it again. The Miami resident has reached an agreement to purchase the naming rights to Florida International University’s football stadium, ESPN reports.
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According to the network, Pitbull and FIU entered a five-year deal in which the “Time of Our Lives” artist will pay $6 million to the university for FIU Stadium to be renamed to Pitbull Stadium.
“International recording artist Pitbull is purchasing the naming rights to FIU’s football stadium,” ESPN’s reporter Pete Thamel noted on X. “He’s expected to pay the school $1.2 million per year for the next five years to change the name of FIU Stadium to Pitbull Stadium, per FIU board documents.”
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Pitbull shared the news in a video on Instagram that shows him dancing on a giant screen above the football field, with a sign above that reads “Pitbull Stadium” as his song “Triumph” plays.
It’s a landmark agreement as Pitbull is the first musician to have a stadium bear their name in the history of college athletics. Once approved, Pitbull Stadium will take effect this upcoming football season with FIU set to host Central Michigan in their home opener on Sept. 7.
“What we’re doing here is groundbreaking. We’re making history. This is history in the making,” Pitbull told ESPN. “You’re going to see that every other university is going to want to do the same thing. But the difference is, we don’t do this for propaganda, we do it from the heart. We do it because it’s meaningful. We do it because I’m from the crib. I’m 305. I’m from the bottom. This is my backyard.”
ESPN also reports that there’s an option in the deal for the Grammy winner to renew the naming rights for another five years if he chooses to do so. Other parts of the agreement include Pitbull crafting an anthem for the school, posting about FIU 12 times per year on social media and make an annual appearance at a university fundraising event. ESPN also reported that the 43-year-old mogul will have access to the 20,000-person capacity stadium for 10 days a year, and his vodka company will be the “preferred” distributor for liquor served in the venue. He also will be given a pair of luxury box suites to every home game.
Pitbull will look to bring his mojo for success to the school as it’s been tough sledding for FIU on the gridiron. The team hasn’t had a winning season since 2018 and is coming off a pair of rough 4-8 campaigns under head coach Mike MacIntyre.
Watch Mr. Worldwide celebrate getting the stadium named after him in his post below.
Even without a gold medal draped around his neck, Snoop Dogg has been one of the big winners of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Snoop’s commentary on the Olympic Games in Paris has been priceless, and he completed another more familiar side quest on Monday night (Aug. 5), when he performed at the USA Basketball 50th anniversary party co-hosted by Comcast NBCUniversal.
A Celebration of Olympic Basketball party was held at the Palais Brongniart, which has been doubling as the Team USA House, ahead of the knockout round set to begin for the men’s team on Tuesday (Aug. 6) against Brazil, while the women’s team will take the court on Wednesday (Aug. 7) in the quarterfinal.
The hoop stars were in attendance, with LeBron James, Steph Curry, Anthony Edwards, A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi and more in the building. Even NFL legend Tom Brady made an appearance, as well as Team USA alums Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird.
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Snoop took the stage rocking a shirt featuring A’ja Wilson in her No. 9 USA jersey to perform hits such as Billboard Hot 100-topping anthem “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and he even covered Next’s “Too Close.” Eventually, some members of Team USA even joined him on stage to take part in the festivities.
Led by James, Kevin Durant and Curry, the men’s team is seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. After dismantling Puerto Rico 104-83 in the final game of group play, Team USA looks to take it up a few notches in the quarterfinal game against Brazil on Tuesday (Aug. 6), where the Americans stand as heavy favorites (-26.5) to advance to the semis.
As for the women’s team, the ladies are in hot pursuit of their eighth gold medal in a row at the 2024 Olympics. They’ll suit up against Nigeria — who made it out of group play for the first time in the country’s history — on Wednesday (Aug. 7) in the quarterfinal.
Snoop continues to live his best life at the Olympics. He perused the Louvre Museum, swam with Michael Phelps and got up close with horses alongside his buddy Martha Stewart, when he dropped an equestrian freestyle.
Check out some highlights from the evening and Snoop Dogg’s performance below.
All we saw were STARS. USA Basketball, the NBA, the WNBA, Comcast NBCUniversal and Team USA came together Monday for a spectacular Celebration of Olympic Basketball. pic.twitter.com/gtDR42MUFD— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 6, 2024
The Weeknd is definitely up to something, but at this point it’s still not clear exactly what the big picture will be. The “Take My Breath” singer (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye), posted yet another cryptic teaser video on Tuesday morning (August 6) as part of what has been tagged as “Chapter 3” in his musical evolution.
The three-plus minute CGI video, entitled “unprepared certainty,” arrived at midnight with no further explanation aside from the visual starring a digitally animated toddler making his way through a creepy house on the hill. “All I have is my… legacy,” Tesfaye sings at the outset over spooky keyboards bubbling alongside the computer generated sky pulsing with lightning.
As the child follows a shrouded woman into the home, a swell of dark keyboards gives the morose track a funereal feel while viewers follow the child’s progress and the track adopts a slightly lighter feel midway through. “You can change locations/ You can change your name/ They will always find a way,” Tesfaye sings in his signature falsetto over gently strummed acoustic guitars.
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At one point, the child strikes a pose with his left arm on his forehead, as if shading his eyes from a bright light, as he stares into a series of full-length mirrors that appear to show reflections of The Weeknd in a number of previous incarnations, including the signature red suit from his After Hours era. The video ends with the child sitting in the embrace of the woman, with Abel singing, “My mama told me it will never be the same/ They will always find a way.”
At press time a spokesperson for Tesfaye had not responded to Billboard‘s request seeking more information on the video.
The latest missive in the singer’s next era comes after he teased a song fans speculate is called “The Abyss,” which also featured a CGI video starring the unnamed baby and a similarly subdued track. That post was accompanied by a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…”
In another video teaser from July 18, Abel said, “There are Three Chapters in this Tale,” alongside CGI images of his red suit-wearing character driving a car alongside glimpses of some of his former incarnations.
Two years after the release of the Dawn FM album, Tesfaye is gearing up to return to the stage in September with a one-night-only concert in São Paulo, Brazil. The show is booked for Sept. 7 at Estádio MorumBIS and promises “never-before-seen production,” according to an earlier press release. The Live Nation-produced show in Brazil comes nine months after the singer performed in São Paulo for two nights (Oct. 10 & 11, 2023) during his After Hours Til Dawn Tour at Allizanz Parque, as well as Rio de Janiero’s Estádio Nilton Santos on Oct. 7.
Watch the new video (and the previous posts) below.
Tinashe is taking her body language on the road. The singer-songwriter announced her Live Nation-produced Match My Freak World Tour on Tuesday (Aug. 6).
The pop and R&B star’s 23-date trek is set to kick off on Oct. 14 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., before making its way to major market stops including Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville, D.C., Chicago, Brooklyn, Seattle, Toronto and more before wrapping up at the Ace of Spades in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 25. The announcement of the tour comes just ahead of the arrival of the “Slumber Party” singer’s seventh album, Quantum Baby.
Though Tinashe has announced only North American tour dates thus far, the tour poster teases that dates for Asia, the U.K., Australia and Europe are “coming soon.”
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Verizon customers will have a first shot at tickets for select shows via the exclusive presale, which runs from 2 p.m. ET Aug. 6 to 10 p.m. local Aug. 8. The Live Nation and Ticketmaster presales will kick off Wednesday (Aug. 7) at 10 a.m. local time, wrapping up at 10 p.m. local time Thursday (Aug. 8).
General onsale begins on Tinashe’s website at 10 a.m. local time Friday (Aug. 9).
For fans who are looking for more than just concert tickets, VIP packages will include access to the soundcheck, an exclusive performance, special merch, early entry, premium tickets and more. These packages will be available via Live Nation’s VIP Nation website.
Since launching her career, Tinashe has landed five songs so far on the Billboard Hot 100, including “2 On” at No. 24 with SchoolBoy Q in 2014, “Slumber Party” at No. 86 alongside Britney Spears in 2016 and “Nasty” at No. 61 in July. Over on the Billboard 200, her 2014 set Aquarius is her highest charting release to date, peaking at No. 17 in October 2016.
See the Match My Freak World Tour dates below:
Rihanna went home over the weekend to attend the Crop Over Festival in her native Barbados and, as usual, she came dressed to impress. The singer strutted in the parade on Monday in a towering bedazzled costume that featured brown and gold jewels snaking up from her ankles to her shoulders, with thin strips of […]
R&B singer-songwriter SZA is hitting pause on her live performances for the foreseeable future.
The “Kill Bill” singer made the announcement on social media following her headlining set at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival on Aug. 5.
Yesterday was my last show for a while . Finally bout to get my life together thank u God .— SZA (@sza) August 5, 2024
“Yesterday was my last show for a while,” SZA wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Finally bout to get my life together thank u God.”
The unexpected news comes after an extensive run of festival appearances and tour dates for the Grammy-winning artist.
SZA has been on the road since early 2023, performing 63 shows across the globe for her SOS Tour before launching into a packed summer festival schedule. Recent high-profile sets included Lollapalooza in Chicago, Glastonbury in the U.K., and her final performance at Osheaga.
Despite stepping back from the stage, fans shouldn’t worry about a lack of new music. During her Lollapalooza set, SZA debuted an unreleased track titled “Cry Baby,” telling the crowd, “It’s not out, but it will be.”
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She’s also been teasing a new project called Lana, which she says will feature previously unheard material.
“Will be dropping the leaks and outtakes from SOS as promised as the deluxe asap,” SZA shared on X in March. “Lana deserves more time and music no one’s ever heard before.” She’s also previously hinted at a potential collaboration with Paramore.
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SZA’s creative juices continue to flow even as she takes a break from performing. She recently shared her admiration for fellow artists on Instagram, notably posting about Chappell Roan’s performance at Lollapalooza.
“She makes me wanna keep making new music n art forever,” SZA captioned a video.
The singer’s decision to take a break comes at a time when she’s at the peak of her commercial and critical success.
Her sophomore album SOS, released in December 2022, has been a chart powerhouse. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has shown remarkable staying power.
SZA’s chart dominance extends beyond albums. Her single “Kill Bill” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2023, becoming her first chart-topper as a solo artist. The track showed stamina on the charts, spending multiple weeks in the top 10.
From a 2018 visit at the Oval Office to a 2022 Mar-A-Lago dinner, Ye — formerly Kanye West — and Donald Trump have been linked quite a bit over the years.
With 92 days and counting until Election Day, Trump’s campaigning made a stop by Adin Ross’ Kick stream on Monday afternoon (Aug. 5) with a select group of Trump fans on hand and donning red MAGA hats.
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Ross and Trump engaged in a quick hits segment where 45 gave his unbridled opinion on a litany of political figures, pop-culture stars and more.
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One of the photos that popped up happened to be Kanye West, and DT didn’t know where to start with Yeezy, but decided to channel Avril Lavigne’s 2002 Grammy-nominated hit with his description of Ye.
“He’s a very complicated,” Trump said of West. “Let’s say complicated because he is. He’s a really nice guy, but he can get some people into trouble. And he can get some other people. He’s got a good heart — he does, he does, but he’s complicated.”
Fans were shocked to hear Trump speak about Ye, but some didn’t think he was far off in his surface level description.
“Trump is honestly dead on target with this,” one person wrote while another chimed in on X: “Every time Trump speaks about Kanye he gives nothing but love to him.”
Donald Trump speaks on Kanye on Adin Ross’ stream“He’s a really nice guy, but he can get himself & other people in trouble, but you know he’s got a good heart. He’s complicated” pic.twitter.com/B21a56jzuL— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) August 5, 2024
Trump and West have been intertwined at times throughout the last decade. The former president sent his well-wishes to Kanye and Kim Kardashian after they tied the knot in 2014.
Ye had a fake Trump cast in the “Famous” video and later professed he would’ve voted for him in the 2016 election if he had voted.
Their relationship went to another level in 2018 when West pulled up to the White House in a red Make America Great Again hat, which he rocked a few weeks prior while performing on Saturday Night Live.
“It was something about when I put this hat on that made me feel like Superman. You made a Superman — that’s my favorite superhero — you made a Superman cape,” Ye told reporters at the Oval Office in 2018. “I think it’s the bravery that helps you beat this game called life. They tried to scare me into not wearing this hat — my own friends. This hat, it gives me power in a certain way.”
Ye went head-to-head with Donald Trump and Joe Biden in a failed bid to win the 2020 Presidential Election. The tenor of their friendship changed in 2022 when West pulled up to a Mar-A-Lago dinner at Trump’s club with his controversial political affiliate Nick Fuentes.
Per NBC, West criticized Trump for not covering the legal bills of those arrested during the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol and asked the former president to be his running mate in ’24.
Elsewhere in Trump’s interview with Adin Ross, he was gifted a free Cyber Truck and Rolex watch from the streamer, which Rolling Stone speculates could be a violation of FEC rules.
Lil Wayne fans have the chance to add the ultimate artifact to their collection with Weezy’s 1999 notebook filled with handwritten lyrics heading to the auction desk. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Moments in Time posted the auction earlier in August and is seeking $5 million […]
“A storm is coming” this summer: Chlöe revealed on Monday (Aug. 5) that her second studio album, Trouble in Paradise, will be released on Friday, Aug. 9, via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter-producer-actress shared the news alongside a picture of her wading in midnight blue water while wearing a neon green dress […]