Author: GoneTrending

Paris Hilton’s new book, Paris: The Memoir, was officially released on March 14. It’s an honest look at Hilton’s life, and in excerpts shared by Us Weekly, Hilton writes about her sex tape and how she responded to Pink parodying it in her 2006 video for the song “Stupid Girls.”

Of her status as a sex symbol, Hilton wrote, “The world thinks of me as a sex symbol, and I’m here for that, because ‘symbol’ literally means ‘icon.’ But when people saw that sex tape, they didn’t say ‘icon,’ they said ‘slut.’ They said ‘whore.’ And they weren’t shy about it.”

She then said of Pink’s video, “The whole video is a not-at-all-subtle send-up of ‘porno paparazzi girls’ in general and, specifically, me, in a parody of my infamous sex tape.” She added the tape was “released and monetized against” her will and continued, “Pink sang about ‘outcasts and girls with ambition’ and said, ‘That’s what I wanna see.’ But she chose not to see it in me.”

Hilton added, though, that despite all that, she’s not holding a grudge: “There’s no Pink-Paris feud. That’s not a thing. I have the attention span of a gnat, which means I suck at holding grudges. Anyway, anger doesn’t help; honesty does. So, I’m being honest right now.”

She also wrote, “The release of that private footage devastated me, personally and professionally. It followed me into every audition and business meeting for years. Even now, in a corporate world dominated by men, I look around a conference table knowing that most of the people sitting there have seen me naked in the most degrading way imaginable. […] It’s out there waiting for my children, who will be confronted with it someday.”

Revisit Pink’s “Stupid Girls” video above.

Hip-hop and electronic dance music have a lot in common – more than you might be aware of at first blush. Obviously, they share roots – both cultural and geographical – growing out of New York’s dense urban center to become internationally ubiquitous. They were both started by DJs in the inner city using innovative techniques to transform existing genres like disco, soul, and even gospel to offer an outlet for communities that were often ignored and oppressed.

They are both, at their cores, protest music, even when they don’t seem like it. They are a protest against that oppression. They are demands to be heard. They are revolutionary in that they invite their practitioners to defy the obstacles set in their path by system and circumstance. They feed the fire in the hearts of those looking for an escape, for liberation, even if it’s only for a moment or a night.

Nobody knows this better than Chicago rapper Ric Wilson. Like the shared history of the genres he blends together like coffee and cream, his name might not be familiar to you yet. But, if there’s any justice in the world, it will be. And it’ll happen soon; in just over two weeks, Wilson’s dropping a new EP, CLUSTERFUNK, with collaborators A-Trak and David “Dave 1” Macklovitch from Chromeo, two of dance music’s most prolific and respected producers today.

The nine-track project finds Wilson, who garnered critical acclaim in 2020 with his and Terrace Martin’s joint EP They Call Me Disco, branching out from the nu-disco elements that defined his early work and first put him on tastemakers’ radars, incorporating A-Trak and Dave 1s electro-funk sensibilities. But as their chunky bass licks and glittering keyboards move listeners’ butts, Ric aims to uplift spirits and raise awareness with his revolutionary-minded raps.

It’s a combination that sets him apart from his contemporaries in both hip-hop and dance; while similar artists like Channel Tres and Duckwrth also combine dance and rap, rarely do they sprinkle in references to collective economics and curses on unabashed capitalists like Elon Musk. The challenging political material might turn off listeners in another context, but Wilson hopes that the toe-tapping beats will be the sugar to help the medicine go down.

“That’s the content that I always was talking about my music,” he tells Uproxx while sipping an Orange Sunrise smoothie at Kreation juicery in Hollywood. He first began soaking up progressive politics at an early age, courtesy of Chicago Freedom School, a program that teaches teens in the Windy City about past social justice movements and teaches them to organize in their communities.

“My first performances, I was performing at protests,” Wilson recalls. “And I realized that I was starting to get on stages or panels and I was just talking about Black Death and it was just taking apart on me at some point. So I wanted to not keep talking about this oppression stuff. I want to talk about this real shit but then also feel like, ‘How can I do this in a way that I don’t feel so sad all the time and what’s the way that I would want to digest this and what’s something that I haven’t seen yet?’ What if we take Azealia Banks type beat and I talk about Black liberation, what that means to me? Or my own liberation or talk about things around me. So, that’s essentially where that idea came from. And sooner or later, that’s the thing that did make people notice.”

Among those people who noticed were Fool’s Gold founder A-Trak and Dave 1, who learned about Ric’s music through the rapper’s manager. The trio connected during the pandemic in 2020 and started working together throughout the quarantine, finishing the project in the past year. “It was nice to have someone like A-Trak guiding me through a project,” he says of the collaboration. “He was able to hear things and bring out certain things that I couldn’t even hear.”

The growth is evident in songs like the title track and the Zapp-influenced opening track, “Whiskey In My Coffee,” over which even the usually jubilant Ric sounds invigorated. Then there’s “Git Up Off My Neck,” featuring a surprising guest appearance from Dead Prez rapper Stic.man. It’s a voice and subject matter you might not have expected when you first hear the beats, which beg for dance floors to fill before Ric and Stic take advantage of the captive audience to spit some real Fred Hampton shit.

“I feel like in 2020, n****s as artists were important people, especially because niggas had to make a choice,” he explains of the potent move. “It was either literally fascism or talking about my version of what you think liberation is, and then the snowball effect into n****s looking into communism and socialism and all that. Because everyone’s like, ‘What’s the solution?’ You ask a n**** to ask questions and critique sh*t and ‘what’s the solution’ for so long, they’re going to try to look for it.”

It’s a much more proactive approach than a number of artists who got politically active in 2020 – and given the timing of its release, potentially even more effective. But he’s not going to stop at just one EP. He says he’s got a full-length release lined up for after CLUSTERFUNK drops, and he plans to play his first headlining shows in Los Angeles and New York soon as well. Like the dance musicians and rappers that inspired him, he continues to look for ways to spread the message of liberation. And he might have found just the right time for his unique blend of sounds, as the past year has seen a renewal of interest in the Black roots of EDM thanks to projects by Beyonce, Drake, and more.

“For sure Drake and Beyonce were listening to Kaytranada and Channel Tres,” he jokes. “But then what I also thought was really cool though, both of them tapped into a lot of people that have been doing this for a while. Drake tapped in with Black Coffee. I did a lot of sh*t with Defected, and I was working Huntington John and Luke Solomon and them, and Beyonce tapped into that scene. Got so many young Black writers that are in the dance world that now have a Grammy.”

And while those were revolutionary works in their own ways, what Ric Wilson is doing is shockingly original. Maybe enough so to help spark a major shift in awareness of dance-rap, to guide hip-hop as it incorporates sounds and sensibilities from its cousin genre, and to wake audiences up to the possibilities of liberation.

James Corden has made The Late Late Show a cultural staple since taking over the late-night program in 2015. The experience hasn’t been entirely positive, though, as it sure looks like a lot of people hate Corden. He certainly didn’t earn himself public favor last year with joke-stealing accusations and the infamous restaurant situation. So, on the latest “Carpool Karaoke” segment, Bad Bunny got to do something it seems a lot of people wish they had the chance to try: put Corden in a headlock.

Bad Bunny has a strong connection to WWE, and towards the end of “Carpool Karaoke,” that conversation topic came up. So, Bunny and Corden took to a wrestling ring, in which Bunny showed Corden some moves, including a headlock, a camel clutch, and more. Wrestling legend Rey Mysterio also made a surprise appearance and helped Corden develop a more intimidating wrestling attitude.

Bad Bunny is one of the last “Carpool Karaoke” guests before Corden leaves The Late Late Show, as his final episode is set for April 28. That last show will be preceded by a prime-time special, The Last Last Late Late Show. While Bunny is as of now the final confirmed “Carpool Karaoke” guest, given how important the segment has been to Corden, it feels likely there will be some sort of new installment in the special and/or the finale.

Watch Bad Bunny’s “Carpool Karaoke” above.

The first two games of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament delivered some high drama in Dayton on Tuesday night. First, it was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earning the right to face Alabama in the first round, dodging a game-tying three in the final seconds from Southeast Missouri State.

That was followed by an absolute slugfest between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh, playing to get into the first round against Iowa State on Thursday. After the two teams were on fire from three coming out of the gate, the scoring pace slowed down quickly as Pitt took a 35-34 lead into halftime, and a defensive struggle ensued in the second half as the two teams combined for just 50 points. Buckets were at a premium, and for a brief moment, it looked like Pitt would pull away as they took a 58-52 lead with just over three minutes to play on a deep three by Blake Hinson — the first made by either team in the half.

However, Mississippi State would claw their way back into the game, rattling off a 7-0 run of their own to regain the lead by 1 on a Tolu Smith layup in the final minute.

Pitt would find the answer on the other end in the form of a tough midrange pullup from Jamarius Burton, leaving the Bulldogs with 10 seconds to draw up a game-winner.

Guillermo Diaz-Graham then came up with a huge block on Tolu Smith with three seconds to play, setting up a baseline out of bounds for Mississippi State to once again try and win the game with a bucket.

They drew up a beauty to spring a wide-open three from the corner, but that went begging as did a clean tip-in attempt that bounded off the backboard and the other side of the rim to somehow allow Pitt to survive and advance.

It’s hard to fault a team for getting that kind of a look, but for a team that was dead last in all of D-1 hoops in three-point shooting on the season (26.6%), it’s hard not to look back in hindsight and wonder whether they should’ve been looking for something a bit closer to the rim. Pitt clearly wasn’t expecting them to run anything for a three, but they got away with a total defensive lapse to leave him unchecked in the corner and then failing to box out as the shot went up.

Early in the third quarter of Tuesday’s contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, Torrey Craig was retreating on a fast break and trying to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo. As Craig backpedaled, Antetokounmpo lowered his shoulder into the veteran forward, which caused Craig to stumble. After their initial contact, Antetokounmpo’s shoulder connected with Craig’s face, forced him to the ground and knocked out one of his teeth.

As play continued, Craig remained on the ground while holding his face and mouth in pain. Once Brook Lopez missed a three, Chris Paul collected a rebound and the Suns called timeout to allow Craig be tended to, at which point he stood up and grabbed his tooth off the court.

The timeout seemingly did Craig a significant deal of good. He stayed in the game after the break and missed a three on the Suns’ initial possession following the stoppage in play.

Antetokounmpo is one of the most challenging and imposing superstars in the league to defend, in part because of how physically he plays. Craig presumably already knew that, but he certainly does now. He appears to be OK following their collision and, hopefully, he can get some dental work soon. Fortunately, Phoenix’s next game is Thursday at home, so Craig should have some time to address his missing tooth.

Last year, Nigerian singer Asake shared his new album Mr. Money With The Vibe, which was met with critical success. He unveiled the music video, directed by TG Omori, for the song “Yoga” in January, produced by Magicsticks. Now he’s taken the track to late-night television along with “Organise.”

In a vibrant performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Asake imbued the songs with life and gave them a special meaning. Back when he released the music video for “Yoga,” he said that it “is about minding my business and guarding my peace so no one can disrupt it.”

Tragically, two women died in December at his sold-out O2 Academy Brixton concert after a barricade rush. It was reported that “a large crowd attempted to gain entry without tickets,” prompting emergency services to be summoned.

About the chaotic year, Asake wrote on Twitter, “Too many ups and downs, trials and tribulations but God is forever the greatest. Thanks to everyone who made 2022 awesome for me, Words can’t explain. May God bless 2023 for us. Blessings and Glory.” He also shared a lengthy statement about being “overwhelmed with grief” about the awful situation.

Watch his performance of “Yoga” and “Organise” above.

On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Raiders made a substantial move when they traded star tight end Darren Waller to the New York Giants for a third round pick in the upcoming Draft.

On the field, there figure to be big impacts for both teams, as Waller was among the best tight ends in the NFL when healthy and figured to be one of Jimmy Garoppolo’s favorite targets as he joins the Raiders — particularly considering Garoppolo’s fondness of George Kittle in San Francisco. Now, Waller will catch passes from Daniel Jones, as the Giants look to invest in putting weapons around their freshly extended QB.

Off the field, it forces Waller to move across the country less than two weeks after he tied the knot with Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum, creating Vegas’ first sports power couple.

The wedding, which took place on March 4, was apparently not meant to become public news beforehand, but Josh McDaniels spoiled that by telling some members of the media about it at the NFL Combine, which left Waller nonplussed with his (now former) head coach.

As that became a talking point on Twitter on Tuesday, Plum offered up a joking (or maybe real) explanation for the trade, noting McDaniels was not among those to secure an invite to the wedding.

It’s a great response from Plum, who has surely spent the day trying to figure out how to navigate what will become a long-distance marriage once Waller goes off to camp with the Giants while the Aces play out their season. The good news is there isn’t a huge amount of overlap between the NFL and WNBA seasons, but having to move cross-country after the season and have two residences is certainly less ideal than staying in one place year-round.

In any case, McDaniels has secured his place off the Plum-Waller holiday card list with this move, as Vegas’ newest power couple will now have to split their time in the desert.

Tucker Carlson has been on a tear lately trying, not very convincingly, to whitewash the Jan 6. riot as a peaceful gathering of “sightseers.” But on Tuesday, it appears the guy hated by some of his own colleagues had become the victim of fake news: As caught by The Daily Beast, the Twitter bio of Fox News rager suddenly bore some claims strange even for him.

“Non-binary climate change activist of color,” Tucker’s bio now read. “Visionary tech founder. CNBC market analyst. Informal Zelensky advisor.”

So was Tucker hacked? Soon before his Tuesday nightly show, @AnonOpsSE, the account belonging to members of the hactivist collective Annonymous, appeared to take credit for gaining access to his account, telling him, “you’ve been hacked.” That doesn’t explicitly lay claim to doing that deed. They could simply have caught the unusual new bio and made sure more people caught it.

Or was it some weird joke on Tucker’s part, furtively mocking all the progressives who’ve been trying to point out to his viewers how much he secretly hates Trump? The bio was still live as of this writing, on Tuesday night, and whoever was controlling it didn’t start tweeting or re-tweeting un-Tucker-y sentiments. In fact, the most recent tweet, posted towards the end of his latest episode, was a clip from him defending far-right troll Douglass Mackey.

There’s also theory number three: Tucker simply hasn’t noticed that his bio now tells people that he suddenly cares about climate change and Ukraine. If that’s true, maybe someone should tell him lest his fans believe he’s been coaxed to the right side of history. If that’s not true, then welcome to the resistance, Tucker Carlson.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Last year, Westside Boogie unveiled More Black Superheroes, a new record featuring guests like Soulja Boy, Snoop Dogg, and more. The rapper brought some of those songs to a special NPR Tiny Desk performance. On Tuesday, March 4, he was back with new music with the surprise three-track EP Live At The Novo.

The EP comes just days before Westside actually takes the stage at The Novo in Los Angeles, set for March 16. On Instagram, he described Live At The Novo as “[something] to hold y’all over because y’all my family,” he wrote. “2 more days til the ultimate turn up.”

The songs on the EP are “Cold As Love,” “Tell Me,” and “Mood.”

Hopefully the show doesn’t get too rowdy. In July of 2022, he shared why Eminem told him never to stage-dive at a gig. “Performance-wise, he told me stop stage-diving ’cause I can get sued,” he said. “That’s just a physical thing. He don’t like how I be jumping in the crowd ’cause he said I could get sued and how he got into fight for doing that. But I just like jumping into the crowd — it’s like my thing, you know what I’m saying? So I don’t know if that’s necessarily good advice, but that’s the advice he gave me.”

Stream the EP below.

A few months ago, Courtney Love made headlines for revealing on a podcast that she was fired from the film Fight Club for fighting with Brad Pitt about his role as Kurt Cobain. “I don’t know if I trust you and I don’t know that your movies are for profit,” she allegedly told the actor, “They’re really good social justice movies, but… if you don’t get me, you kind of don’t get Kurt, and I don’t feel like you do, Brad.”

Now Love is using her platform to call out a more widespread problem. First, music critic Jessica Hopper tweeted about the lack of female representation in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, pointing out that out of 719 inductees, only 61 are women. “That’s 8.48%,” Hopper wrote. “C’mon @rockhall, it’s F*CKING GRIM BRO when yr doing worse than women-artists-on-country radio numbers (10%) and women headliners at major music festivals (13%).”

Love quote-tweeted it, praising her for doing the math. “37 years in existence & women make up 8.48% of inductees out of 719,” she wrote. “See txt to Grohl.” She added a screenshot of a message she sent Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl about the situation, and tagged The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to make sure they’re aware.