RapCaviar Presents, a new documentary series tackling current events through the perspective of today’s hip-hop stars, is airing this month on Hulu. Ahead of its premiere, a trailer has been released that features snippets of interviews with Megan Thee Stallion, Tyler, the Creator, Vince Staples and radio personality Big Boy.
Also expected in the six-part series are City Girls, Polo G, Roddy Ricch and Coi Leray. City Girls will discuss celebrating wealth and sexuality in a world steeped in misogyny and judgment; Polo will tackle the mental health crisis; Roddy will discuss the gift and curse of social media; and Coi will talk about proving herself as more than a TikTok artist, but rather a female rapper in hip-hop.
Bobby Shmurda, Fivio Foreign and Maino will also appear in the series, joining Killer Mike in an episode that touches on law enforcement’s surveillance of rappers, their lyrics and social media to build court cases.
RapCaviar Presents, based on the Spotify playlist of the same name, airs March 30.
Paul McCartney has never been one to play it safe in his career, but amongst all the risks he’s taken, he now reveals forming Wings was one of his biggest.
“The main question I had was whether to keep going after The Beatles, because it was a hard act – some might say, an impossible act – to follow,” he shares on his website in response to a question on Twitter. “Once that band had finished, I didn’t know what to do with myself, and trying something new was really risky.”
Paul notes that then deciding to put wife Linda in Wings was another big risk, because “she was not a ‘musician.’” He describes early reviews about her as hurtful: “But I rationalized it by thinking about when we started The Beatles and none of us knew our chords – over time we got better and picked things up.”
McCartney describes the beginning of Wings as going “back to square one.”
“I’d doubled back to almost being nothing – just some guy in the band – and now I was earning my fame again,” he says. “By the time the mid-70s came around when we were doing a big American tour, that was the vindication of it. We were so tight and had come up together, as it were. The risk paid off.”
He says his bandmate John Lennon was a much bigger risk-taker than he was, noting, “If there was a cliff to be jumped off, John would jump!”
“Obviously, I’m not completely square,” he says. “I do a lot of zany stuff! That’s in my character too, but I don’t live my life as a risk-taker. I try and work it out to some extent.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Oscar-winning screenwriter and the Emmy-winning creator of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, revealed he suffered a near-fatal stroke last fall.
Sorkin explained to the publication that months before he began rehearsals for a Broadway revival of Camelot, he woke in the middle of the night and couldn’t walk straight down his hallway.
His doctor recommended he get checked out immediately and quickly informed Sorkin his blood pressure was so high he was “supposed to be dead.”
The 61-year-old had suffered a stroke, his doctor informed him. For weeks Sorkin slurred his words; he feared he was “never going be able to write again.” He’s still having trouble signing his name and can’t taste food.
A heavy smoker for decades, Sorkin called the health scare “a loud wake-up call.”
He admitted, “I thought I was one of those people who could eat whatever he wanted, smoke as much as he wanted, and it’s not going to affect me. Boy, was I wrong.”
He began eating right and exercising, and quit smoking cold turkey — which proved difficult for the prolific writer. “[The cigarette] was just part of it, the way a pen was part of it,” he said.
Sorkin was hesitant about revealing his health situation, but reconsidered, saying, “If it’ll get one person to stop smoking, then it’ll be helpful.”
Carly Pearce has announced that her milestone 100th Grand Ole Opry performance will be on April 11. Now an Opry member, Carly first made her debut on the hallowed stage on May 30, 2015.
“When I made my Grand Ole Opry debut in 2015, I had hopes and dreams that I would be able to align with them in a much larger way as my career progressed,” Carly shares. “To now be at my 100th performance and to think about everything that has happened in the years that followed my debut, I am so proud to be a member of the Opry and know that they are a true partner of mine.”
Carly’s 100th performance show will also feature special guests such as Ricky Skaggs and The Isaacs, and will be aired on Circle Television’s Opry Live on Saturday, April 22.
Additionally, the “What He Didn’t Do” singer has launched a new Opry merchandise line, The Carly Pearce Collection, which includes items such as T-shirts and sticker packs.
“I am also so excited to have a new merchandise line launching with the Grand Ole Opry,” notes Carly. “It will forever be a huge part of my story & a huge passion in my life to continue to keep the Opry at the forefront of our genre.”
To view the collection, visit the Opry’s online shop.
Carly’s new live album, 29: Written In Stone (Live From Music City), drops on Friday, March 24.
Sly Stone is ready to tell his story. The legendary performer is set to release his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), on October 17, via Questlove’s new imprint, AUWA Books.
The book was written with Ben Greenman, who also wrote George Clinton and Brian Wilson’s memoirs, and features a forward by Questlove.
“For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story,” Stone shares in a statement. “I wasn’t ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”
Sly Stone is best known as the frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, and is responsible for such classic songs as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” “I Want To Take You Higher” and “Family Affair.” He and the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is available for preorder now.
Duane Prokop/Getty Images for The Wellness Experience by Kroger
Jewel claims her mother, Lenedra Carroll, stole over $100 million from her over the course of her career.
Recently appearing on the Verywell Mind podcast, Jewel said she wasn’t aware of her mother’s alleged misdeeds until she was older. Carroll once served as Jewel’s manager and oversaw her finances.
Jewel was about 22 when she released her breakout hit “You Were Meant For Me” off her debut album, Pieces of You. In the years since, Jewel has sold tens of millions of albums — but despite her success, she discovered about a decade later that she was in debt.
“I didn’t really realize what my mom was until I was 30-something… I woke up and realized she embezzled all of my money, over $100 million,” the singer claimed, saying she had to reckon with what her mother told her and what the truth actually was.
“I had realized that pretty much everything I formed my reality on was fiction,” she said.
“Thirty-four years old, realize I’m $3 million in debt, realize my mom stole it, realize everything I thought my mom was, isn’t what she was — very difficult psychological thing to come to terms with,” Jewel continued.
That led to her discovering even more uncomfortable truths about her childhood that she needed to work through.
The singer noted, “Having to go back as a 34-year-old and rework your psyche was not fun.” She is thankful she had the resources to do the work and has since dedicated her platform to advocating for mental health.
Jewel recently co-founded Innerworld, a mental health platform staged in the metaverse.
Foo Fighters, Green Day and Weezer are among the headliners for Canada’s 2023 FEQ festival, taking place July 6-16 in Quebec.
Other headliners include Imagine Dragons and Lana Del Rey, while the undercard features Lamb of God, The Smile, Bad Religion, Heart‘s Ann Wilson, Vance Joy, White Reaper and grandson.
For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit FEQ.ca.
Foo Fighters are also playing festivals including Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, Outside Lands, Louder than Life and Sonic Temple, as well as several headline shows in May and June. The performances are part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year.
(WASHINGTON) — Ukraine will get American Abrams tanks this fall, much sooner than expected, after the Pentagon decided to refurbish existing hulls in its inventory instead of building new ones from scratch.
Meanwhile. the Patriot air defense missile training for Ukrainian troops that has been taking place in Oklahoma will wrap up “in coming days” and the missile systems will be in Ukraine “in coming weeks” on an expedited basis, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.
In January, the Pentagon would be sending Ukraine 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks that would be built from scratch, a process that could take at least a year, if not longer.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon’s top spokesman told reporters that the switch to sending refurbished hulls equipped with modern weapons systems would get to the battlefield quicker.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, since the initial announcement in January, the U.S. has been committed “to exploring options to deliver the armored capability as quickly as possible.”
He added that after further analysis the Pentagon, in consultation with Ukraine, decided that choosing the M1A1 version will “enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year.”
“This is about getting this important combat capability into the hands of the Ukrainians sooner rather than later,” said Ryder.
The Pentagon had never given a timeline for when the 31 Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine, but Ryder acknowledged that “we were projecting it would be probably over a year or so before we would have been able to deliver” the more modern M1A2 variant.
Ryder said the M1A1 Abrams will have “a very similar capability” to the M1A2 that includes advanced armor, a 120 mm cannon, and a 50-caliber heavy machine gun.
The U.S. commitment to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine was the linchpin of a plan to get Germany to go along with the transfer of Leopard tanks in its own inventory or that of other nations.
The understanding was that the slower manufacturing pace of newly Abrams would meet Ukraine’s longer range military needs while the Leopards would have a more immediate impact on the battlefield as Ukraine prepares for an anticipated counteroffensive.
Some of those German-made Leopard tanks have already begun arriving in Ukraine where they will be paired up with Ukrainian tank crews that have been receiving training outside of Ukraine.
Ryder did not have any details on when Ukrainian troops might begin to train on the Abrams tank and where such training could take place.
“We will ensure that the Ukrainians receive the necessary training on these tanks in time for them to be delivered,” said Ryder.
On Tuesday, senior Russian officials expressed environmental concerns about the armor piercing shells used by British Challenger 2 tanks being given to Ukraine that contain depleted uranium. The Abrams tank also fires depleted uranium rounds, but when asked by reporters if the U.S. was going to provide similar rounds to Ukraine Ryder said “not to my knowledge.”
At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Army officials confirmed that the training of 65 Ukrainian troops on how to operate the Patriot air defense system is nearing its conclusion and that the system could soon be in Ukraine.
The Patriot missile training of Ukrainian troops at Fort Sill, Oklahoma is going to wrap up in coming days according to an Army spokesman who adds that the American Patriot battery being sent to Ukraine will arrive “in coming weeks”.
The Ukrainians will depart here in the coming days, go to Europe, and depart for Ukraine in the coming weeks,” Col. Marty O’Donnell, the spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa told ABC News.
The Ukrainian troops have trained at Fort Sill since mid-January in an expedited training cycle for how to use the Patriots, a training cycle that can normally last a year.
“In Europe, the Ukrainians training here will meet up with Ukrainians training in Europe, and with U.S., German, and Dutch equipment donations to validate the systems and ensure interoperability,” said O’Donnell.
The United States and Germany have each committed to providing a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine to assist with that country’s pressing air defense needs to counter Russian barrages aimed at its cities and infrastructure. The Netherlands has also committed to providing additional missiles and launch systems that will be incorporated into the German Patriot system.
The training for Ukrainian troops to use the Germany Patriot battery has been taking place in Poland.
Lizzo did her civic duty. The singer was summoned for jury duty and made sure she looked “Good as Hell” for the court, even though she wasn’t feeling it.
Lizzo updated fans on TikTok about her brief career change as a prospective member of the jury.
“I’m not excited by jury duty,” the singer admitted after telling fans not to judge her. Lizzo added, “I am actually really stressed about it ’cause, like, I just heard people getting like … really gruesome, like violent, cases.”
The singer said she has “a really sensitive mind,” so she was not looking forward to potentially hearing such details. “I will cry,” she confessed.
Lizzo glammed up with makeup and hair before showing off her “chill” outfit. “It’s giving law-abiding citizen,” she cracked before saluting with, “‘Murica.” She ultimately decided that outfit wasn’t it and dressed more casually with sweatpants.
Lizzo updated fans a few hours later, writing in all capital letters, “I got released from jury duty yall I wonder why tho.”
She also shared a photo of her flashing the peace sign outside the jury assembly room.
While being a celebrity may get one out of sitting through a trial as an impartial member of the court, that doesn’t exempt one from being summoned. All American citizens over the age of 18 are eligible for jury duty.
(DENVER) — A student who was under a “certain agreement to be patted down each day” at school allegedly shot and wounded two faculty members at East High School in Denver, authorities said.
The suspect, who was armed with a handgun, fled the school after the Wednesday morning shooting, but Denver police said they know who he is and a search for him is ongoing.
One faculty member is undergoing surgery and is in critical condition, police said, and the second is in stable and able to speak to authorities.
The high school is on lockdown, according to Denver Public Schools. There will be an “orderly, timed release” of students, authorities said.
This shooting comes two years to the day after a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that claimed 10 lives.
Last month, East High School students went to a city council meeting to call for action on school safety and gun violence after a 16-year-old student was shot near the school and seriously hurt, according to ABC Denver affiliate KMGH.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
