50 Cent is bringing in the “big dogs” for his upcoming Starz series Black Mafia Family.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, 50 revealed that he had tapped fellow emcee Eminem to play White Boy Rick, the notorious Detroit teenager turned undercover FBI informant, on his new series. “I couldn’t do a show based in Detroit without incorporating the legend @eminem,” 50 wrote in part. As previously reported, BMF follows the real-life story of brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, who “rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in the country.” The series premieres Sunday, September 26, at 9 p.m. ET. and stars Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., Russell Hornsby, Snoop Dogg, La La Anthony and Serayah, among others.
In other news, Amazon Prime Video has announced this year’s installment of the Welcome to the Blumhouse movie series. Described as “unsettling thrillers” that center on diverse storytelling, the first set of double features includes Bingo Hell and Black as Night, which will both premiere on October 1. They will be followed by Madres and The Manor, which will debut on October 8.
Finally, Netflix has released the official trailer to the fourth and final season of Dear White People. As previously reported, the upcoming season will be a “’90s-inspired musical event” that will pick up in the “not-so-distant, post-pandemic future” where the cast will be looking back at “the most formative (and theatrical) year of their lives.” Created by Justin Simien, Dear White People stars Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Antoinette Robertson, DeRon Horton, John Patrick Amedori, Ashley Blaine Featherson and Marque Richardson. The final season of Dear White People premieres on Wednesday, September 22.
50 Cent is bringing in the “big dogs” for his upcoming Starz series Black Mafia Family.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, 50 revealed that he had tapped fellow emcee Eminem to play White Boy Rick, the notorious Detroit teenager turned undercover FBI informant, on his new series. “I couldn’t do a show based in Detroit without incorporating the legend @eminem,” 50 wrote in part. As previously reported, BMF follows the real-life story of brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, who “rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in the country.” The series premieres Sunday, September 26, at 9 p.m. ET. and stars Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., Russell Hornsby, Snoop Dogg, La La Anthony and Serayah, among others.
In other news, Amazon Prime Video has announced this year’s installment of the Welcome to the Blumhouse movie series. Described as “unsettling thrillers” that center on diverse storytelling, the first set of double features includes Bingo Hell and Black as Night, which will both premiere on October 1. They will be followed by Madres and The Manor, which will debut on October 8.
Finally, Netflix has released the official trailer to the fourth and final season of Dear White People. As previously reported, the upcoming season will be a “’90s-inspired musical event” that will pick up in the “not-so-distant, post-pandemic future” where the cast will be looking back at “the most formative (and theatrical) year of their lives.” Created by Justin Simien, Dear White People stars Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Antoinette Robertson, DeRon Horton, John Patrick Amedori, Ashley Blaine Featherson and Marque Richardson. The final season of Dear White People premieres on Wednesday, September 22.
(WASHINGTON) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who made history as the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history to be confirmed by the Senate, announced on Tuesday that he and husband Chasten Buttigieg are becoming fathers.
The former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, mayor revealed on Twitter that the couple, married in 2018, is growing their family.
“For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family,” the secretary wrote. “We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents! The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us. We can’t wait to share more soon.”
Pete Buttigieg, 39, spoke about wanting to have children on the campaign trail back in April 2019.
While answering questions about his views on paid family leave at a rally, he revealed that he has a “personal stake in” the issue.
“We’re hoping to have a little one soon, so I have a personal stake in this one, too,” he said. “We should have paid parental leave and find a way to have paid leave for anyone who needs caring.”
Chasten Buttigieg, 32, opened up more recently about their path toward parenthood in a July interview with The Washington Post, detailing their experience getting on adoption waiting lists for babies that have been abandoned or surrendered on short notice.
The couple have had several close calls, leaving them scrambling to purchase baby essentials, before the adoptions fell through, he told the newspaper.
“It’s a really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope,” he said in the interview. “You think it’s finally happening and you get so excited, and then it’s gone.”
Seether has premiered the video for “Wasteland,” a track off the band’s new album, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.
The clip mixes performance footage with a narrative surrounding two characters trying to escape from the pressures of social media. The characters are played by professional snake wrangler Danielle Wall and Tom Berninger, brother of The National frontman Matt Berninger.
“We were trying to figure out how to make some kind of statement about the evils of social media and it evolved from one idea to the video it is now,” says frontman Shaun Morgan.
“After spending such a long period of time without any kind of personal contact with the other band members, the live performance element was especially important to us,” he continues. “It was good for us mentally and emotionally, but it was also important to visually show that we’ve come out the other side after such a difficult time.”
You can watch the “Wasteland” video streaming now on YouTube.
Seether released Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum last August. It includes the singles “Dangerous” and “Bruised and Bloodied.”
Last week, Seether announced a new greatest hits compilation titled Vicennial — 2 Decades of Seether. It’ll be released October 15.
New details of late R&B star Aaliyah‘s life are being revealed nearly 20 years after her death.
Author Kathy Iandoli‘s new biography, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, out Tuesday, includes never-before-told stories about the hitmaker’s music, her relationships and the evolution of her career.
Iandoli’s book also explores Aaliyah’s long-lasting influence since her tragic death in a plane crash on August 25, 2001, at age 22.
During an interview with Good Morning America, Iandoli shared more about her reverence for the late music icon and what drew her to creating this biography.
“I wanted to create something that celebrated her because I was sick and tired of the other static that was coming in about her — the other things, the other news — and there’s only really one way to tell a story and it’s to provide this panoramic view of the artist,” she explained.
The author and music expert said Aaliyah’s death was overshadowed by the 9/11 attacks, so many fans “weren’t able to grieve.”
“What started to happen over the years was Aaliyah became an aesthetic — she became this like mythical creature, she became almost like a statue, a piece of iconography,” Iandoli said.
The book covers many points of Aaliyah’s career and her personal life, including her secret — and brief — marriage to disgraced rapper R. Kelly in 1994, when she was just 15 and Kelly was 27. The marriage was later annulled.
In the book, Iandoli also acknowledges the possibility that the late singer may have been drugged before boarding her final flight. Iandoli is clear in stating that this is just a possibility; she is not saying it happened or did not happen.
Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah is now available.
The Kid LAROI turns 18 today and he’s got a lot to celebrate. Not only is he currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with his hit, “Stay,” but he’s also number one in his home country of Australia. On top of that, he’s now besties with one of his idols, Justin Bieber.
On Twitter, the rapper, born Charlton Howard, wrote, “18 Years! WOAH. first of all, thank you to every single one of you mfs for supporting me. I LOVE YOU ALL BEYOND WORDS CAN F**KIN EXPLAIN MAN. you guys have literally changed my life and there’s nothing that I can ever do to repay you.”
LAROI then noted that, instead of gifts, he’d prefer that his fans donate to causes that mean something to him.
“I want to use this platform to continue to help others,” he explained. “This year I’m raising funds to help these amazing organizations —> https://pledge.to/the-kid-laroi-birthday u can also donate by texting LAROI to 707070.”
If you click on the pledge button, you’ll learn that LAROI is asking fans to help organizations that are working to help homeless young people in both Australia and the U.S. “Proper housing and the kinds of supportive programs that these groups provide can make all the difference for a young person,” writes LAROI.
(DESOTO, Texas) — After 12 years in a wheelchair, a paralyzed former football player walked for the first time since his injury at his college graduation.
In 2009, Corey Borner was a rising star at cornerback for the DeSoto, Texas, High School football team when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a routine tackle. After a nine-hour surgery, Borner was told that he had a C5-C6 spinal injury and would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“Being in a chair you have to make the best of it,” Borner said.
Leaning on faith and family, the 28-year-old Dallas native turned his story into his life’s mission as a motivational speaker.
“You just got to be thankful because it’s a blessing to be alive and still be here,” he said.
On Aug. 14, at the University of North Texas at Dallas, with the help of an exoskeleton suit from the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas, Borner was able to surprise his friends and family by walking across the stage at his graduation.
“It was amazing being able to walk across the stage. It was actually a surprise. I told everyone that I had a special guest,” Borner said.
For Borner, walking across the stage was a culmination of over a decade of work and only the beginning of his story.
“I plan on continuing to be a motivational speaker and share my testimony to others,” he said. “I made a promise to myself in 2009 that I will always keep my story alive.”
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a new warning about the dangers of high-powered magnetic balls and cubes.
The agency announced a mandatory recall on Tuesday of 10 million products from Zen Magnets LLC — Zen and Neoballs — due to an ingestion hazard and risk of death.
Most recalls are done voluntarily, with companies and the CPSC working together to get dangerous products out of consumers’ hands, but the agency said that since “Zen did not agree to a voluntary recall, CPSC sued the company to effect a mandatory recall.”
“When high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can interact with each other or other metallic objects (material attracted to magnets) and become lodged in the digestive systems. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning, and death,” the CPSC warned in a press release. “These injuries can occur when infants, toddlers, and teens access and ingest the magnets, including, for example, when teens use the magnets to mimic mouth piercings and swallow them inadvertently.”
Founder Shihan Qu shared a statement in response to the recall Tuesday on the company’s website.
“Zen Magnets is honored to have been the leading voice of the majority of consumers who believe that adults should be able purchase recreational high powered magnets, in the CPSC’s continual and uncompromising War on Magnets,” he wrote. “We’ve been offering a voluntary recall since 2016 allowing customers to return magnets for a refund for any reason, including if they didn’t feel safe with them, didn’t think they could keep them from being swallowed, or was unable to understand why they are dangerous, or didn’t like the name Zen Magnets.”
The founder added that his was “the first company to petition the CPSC for safer standards for recreational magnet sets after their 2016 ban was overturned by a Judge, for not having properly considered alternatives. After much work with other companies, doctors, and human factors experts, the spirit of our petition for safer magnet standards lives in a new standard ASTM F3458 — 21 which requires recreational magnets to have warnings stronger than cigarettes and fireworks combined, and packaging that’s safer that laundry detergent pods and on par with pharmaceuticals.”
In order to help protect kids from the potential hidden hazard, CPSC issued violation notices to companies that market dangerous, high-powered magnetic balls and cubes as toys for children, insisting that those companies notify purchasers and warn of the dangers of use by children. CPSC also works with major online platforms to remove these products from their sites.
“When consumers see these products marketed for children on trusted e-commerce sites, many of these items sold by foreign firms, consumers assume they are safe,” acting Chairman Robert Adler said in a statement. “But the reality is, these magnets can cause lifelong injury, or worse, to kids. That’s why it’s so important that e-commerce sites not allow these products to be sold to kids and why kids are safest when these products are not in the home.”
The CPSC also worked with e-commerce sites to issue safety alert notices directly to purchasers in the cases when magnet firms were not responsive.
Adler added that “until we can get these products off the market entirely, we just have to be vigilant.”
The nearly 10 million magnets, manufactured in China, were sold individually for 6 to 10 cents as well as in magnet sets for anywhere between $12 and $264 per set. The magnets were sold online and at certain Colorado retailers starting in January 2009.
Zen Magnets and Neoballs are high-powered 5 mm spherical magnets. Zen Magnets were sold individually and in sets of 72, 216 with 6 spares, and 1,728 with 8 spares. Neoballs were sold individually and in sets in the following colors: silver, gold, red, orange, green, red, blue and purple. “Zen Magnets” or “Neoballs” is printed on the packaging.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled magnets and contact Zen Magnets LLC for a refund.
As of time of publication, the CPSC said Zen Magnets LLC was aware of two children who ingested Zen Magnets and required surgery to remove them along with parts of their intestines and bowels. It was also aware of other reports of children and teenagers ingesting high-powered magnets and requiring surgery. A 19-month-girl died after ingesting similar high-powered magnets.
Nelly is calling on a few of his country friends for an upcoming episode of CMT Crossroads.
The Grammy-winning rapper is teaming up with frequent collaborators Florida Georgia Line, Kane Brown, Blanco Brown and Breland for CMT Crossroads: Nelly & Friends, which premieres on September 1 at 10 p.m. ET.
Nelly is making history as the first hip-hop artist to headline the long-running series that pairs a country act with an artist from another genre as they perform one another’s songs. The show will also mark Kane, Blanco and Breland’s CMT Crossroads debut.
All three acts are featured on the rapper’s upcoming country-influenced album, Heartland, which features FGL on “Lil Bit,” Kane on “Grits & Glamour,” and both Blanco and Breland on “High Horse.”
Nelly and FGL have been longtime collaborators, beginning with a remix of FGL’s “Cruise” that peaked inside the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. They’re currently climbing their way up the charts with “Lil Bit,” which is at #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and in the top 20 of the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Airplay chart.
If you just can’t wait for Josh Groban to return to the stage, you can watch him now on The Roku Channel.
The first season of a new game show called Eye Candyis now streaming, and Josh is the host. The show, based on a popular Japanese program, has contestants trying to determine, “Is it real or cake?”
Basically, contestants look at everyday objects and decide if they’re regular old inedible things — like a yoga mat or a box of crayons — or cleverly disguised delicious cakes. If they think something’s cake, they have to take a bite out of it — with often hilarious results.
Among the celebrity guests who are competing: Rachel Dratch, Michael Ian Black, Tiki Barber, Nico Tortorella, Nina Agdal and Ana Gasteyer.
When the show was first announced, Josh was quoted as saying, “I first saw this show in Japan when it was called Sokkuri Sweets and was obsessed with how fun and silly it was. To be the ringmaster of such insanity is a dream. Bon Appetit.”
