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Nas and Hit-Boy’s fourth collaboration in three years, King’s Disease III, is out Friday, and the duo has shared the official tracklist. The list includes references to Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, which might be an apt comparison of the relationship between Nas and Hit-Boy, but doesn’t appear to have any collaborations. While they could be saving those for a later date, it’s also easy to imagine that they are planning for their trilogy-capping release to forego any extraneous voices, giving Nas the opportunity to show out.

If they do have features, it’ll be interesting to see who comes to the table after the first two King’s Disease albums (and Magic) brought in a plethora of surprise collaborators from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Blxst to Don Toliver and Lil Durk. Nas also reunited with The Firm (the original lineup with Cormega instead of Nature) and Eminem, as well as bringing EPMD back together and getting Ms. Lauryn Hill to record her first new track in years.

1. “Ghetto Reporter”
2. “Legit”
3. “Thun”
4. “Michael & Quincy”
5. “.30”
6. “Hood2Hood”
7. “Recession Proof”
8. “Reminisce”
9. “Serious Interlude”
10. “I’m On Fire”
11. “Wtf Smh”
12. “Once A Man, Twice A Child”
13. “Get Light”
14. “First Time”
15. “Beef”
16. “Don’t Shoot”

King’s Disease III is out on 11/11 via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

The past two years have been huge for Chicago rapper Lil Durk. His 7220 album, which dropped back in March, generated several gold and platinum singles, including, “Pissed Me Off,” “Ahhh Ha,” and “Broadway Girls.” This time has also been rife with tragedy, as he lost his older brother, Dontay Banks Jr., back in June of 2021, to gun violence.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Durk revealed that he is aiming to put an end to gun violence in Chicago.

He said that he is still grappling with the death of his brother, as well as rapper King Von, who died the year prior to gun violence as well. Because of this, he has decided to change his approach to making music, as not to instigate conflict or any sort of violence.

“That’s why I’m not saying names no more [in my music],” he added. “I ain’t speaking on the dead no more — none of that.”

As the rapper’s star continues to rise, he wants to create a better life for himself and his six children, and to ensure the health and wellness of his family.

“I’m not chasing death no more,” Durk said. “I’m chasing a billion dollars. I want our kids to grow up safe and sound, to be able to have fun, to have a real life.”

Amidst their separation, Shakira and Gerard Piqué have reached a child custody agreement. Last night (November 8), the two superstars revealed that they worked on an agreement that’s in the best interest of their kids.

Back in June, Shakira and Piqué announced their separation. The soccer star reportedly cheated on Shakira, which led to their decision to part ways after over 11 years together.

“We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we request respect for (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” Shakira and Piqué said in a joint statement.

In another joint statement, Shakira and Piqué announced that they reached a child custody agreement for their two sons, Sasha and Milan. They kept details of their agreement private.

“We have signed a custody agreement,” they said in a statement. “Our sole objective is to provide our children with the utmost security and protection and hope that they can continue with their lives in a safe and calm environment.”

According to People, after growing up in Piqué’s home turf of Barcelona, the boys will move with Shakira to Miami early next year. The decision was described as what’s “best for the kids.”

On the music front, Shakira’s recent singles, “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro and “Monotonía” with Ozuna, seemingly touch on her separation from Piqué. In the former, she sarcastically congratulates a cheating lover for acting like a faithful partner, and in the latter, she sings about a relationship that has run its course.

“I can only say that either consciously or subconsciously, everything I feel, everything I go through is reflected in the lyrics I write, in the videos I make. When the glove fits, it fits. Like I said before, my music is that channel,” Shakira told Elle in September.

Tuesday night was Election Night, and The Daily Show was all over it with correspondents covering the events happening around the country. But before they got to all of that, Trevor Noah wanted to make one thing clear: the 2022 midterms weren’t just “a great day for democracy and for people who love waiting in line,” but very well may have been “the most important election of our lifetime.”

Have you heard that before? Yes. Have you heard Noah say it himself? Probably — not just in 2020, but during the 2018 midterms, and most definitely during the 2016 presidential election, too. And while it may seem hyperbolic, Noah has another take on why it seems that each new election seems to be touted as the most important one we’ll ever take part in. As The Daily Show host explained:

I know… some people say, ‘Well clearly none of these elections are as important as people say. They always say it’s the most important election.’ But maybe we’re thinking of it wrong: Maybe EVERYTHING is getting worse and worse, which makes every election more and more important. And I know I said that like it sounded good, but it’s not… My inflection didn’t match the feeling.

To better illustrate his point, Noah offered up the following analogy:

Think of it this way: When you’re in a car, the brakes are the most important safety feature. When you’re in your driveway, it helps to have brakes. But then when you get on the road, the brakes become more important. Then you’re on the freeway going 100 mph, the brakes are even MORE important. Then, a school bus gets stuck in front of you and then you realize that the school bus is full of puppies! And the puppies are holding the only copy of Rihanna’s new album!!

In other words: It’s all about perspective. And yes, each and every election can and very well may be the most important you’ll ever vote in… until the next one comes along.

You can watch Noah’s full explanation above.

Despite months of giddily prepping for a “red wave” during yesterday’s midterm elections, a Republican triumph failed to materialize, and many people are already blaming Donald Trump and the immense baggage he brings with him for the devastating blow. But, as CNN’s Jim Acosta reports, the former president isn’t about to take the blame — despite the fact that many of this latest election’s losers were cherry-picked by Trump himself (and typically election deniers).

Acosta took to Twitter to share snippets of his conversation with an unnamed Trump advisor, who told the CNN anchor that “Trump is livid” and “screaming at everyone” over the results of the midterm elections. While many of the candidates who lost their bids were specifically Trump-approved, the same adviser is now claiming that the reason for their losses is that “they were all bad candidates” and also, brilliantly, that “Candidates matter.”

No sh*t!

While any logical person — especially one with an ego the size of Trump’s — might want to press pause and take the temperature of the country before forging ahead with another presidential campaign for 2024, Trump is not a logical person. He acts on impulse and will do whatever he believes is least embarrassing to him personally. And in this case, as Acosta learned, that apparently means barreling forward with what many suspect will be his official announcement that he’s running for president again, which is set to happen on November 15th.

According to the same adviser, delaying the expected announcement would be “too humiliating” for Trump. Though some would say that losing the presidency for a second time in a row would be even more humiliating. But since when has Trump ever looked that far ahead?

As Mediaite notes, Trump isn’t likely to be any happier when he learns that someone within his inside circle is sharing intel with Acosta, with whom he regularly sparred while in office. At one point in 2018, The White House suspended Acosta’s press badge, though a federal judge quickly ruled that it must be reinstated.

(Via Mediaite)

The vibes surrounding the Seattle Seahawks are pretty good right now. After the team decided to trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos over the offseason, the expectation was that they’d need a little time to get back to the top of the NFC West. Instead, the team sits 6-3 and has looked like one of the most dangerous squads in the conference.

A big reason is, funny enough, quarterback play, where Geno Smith has been a revelation since taking over for Wilson. Smith has been flat-out better than Wilson this year, and more broadly has been one of the NFL’s most efficient and productive passers. And during a radio appearance on Monday, Pete Carroll praised one small thing that Smith does to help guide the offense while making it a point to mention that it’s a new addition to the process.

“If you notice, Geno’s going off the wristband, and that’s a big help,” Carroll told Seattle Sports 710 AM, per Pro Football Talk. “It’s smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up. And that’s part of it, too. We never did that before. There was resistance to that, so we didn’t do that before.”

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Wilson was the only person who did not like calling plays off of a wristband. But seeing as how Wilson’s not wearing one in Denver, either, it certainly seems like that isn’t his preference in how to go about running an offense.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was originally scheduled to come out on May 21, 2021, which was [checks Tick Tock Man watch] awhile ago. The fourth film in the John Wick series was delayed due to the pandemic and star Keanu Reeves being busy being filming The Matrix Resurrections, but it’s coming out soon — and the trailer is coming out sooner.

Lionsgate uploaded a “JW4 Countdown” video to its YouTube channel, with an hourglass and ticking clock to tomorrow and a phone number to text. I messaged the number (yeah, my phone plan includes unlimited texting, no big deal) and got the following reply: “Welcome. Click the link to become an esteemed member and be the first to receive a classified John Wick: Chapter 4 update. There isn’t much time left…”

After clicking the link and filling in my personal information (I’m sure a big corporation won’t use it for any nefarious purposes), you’ll get a second message that reads, “We now have your number saved. You will be rewarded when the sand runs out.” What’s the reward coming tomorrow? It’s hopefully a link to the John Wick: Chapter 4 trailer.

Also, John Wick’s personal number.

I am going to send John Wick so many Venmo requests.

John Wick: Chapter 4 also stars Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, and Ian McShane, the Nick Fury of the Wick-verse.

(Via YouTube)

After sweeping nominations during award season and topping the charts for eight weeks, Bunny’s album, Un Verano Sin Ti, continues to earn the international recording artist acclaim.

As if his year couldn’t get any better, reggaeton star Bad Bunny has just been named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year. This marks the first time a Latin artist has earned this honor (according to Billboard). With “Moscow Mile” still holding the record for all time by first-day streams worldwide for a Latin song, simultaneous entries by a single Latin artist on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100 chart, and having the top three Latin album slots by first-day streams as his highlights for the year, this decision was a no-brainer.

Vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Oliver Schusser, sang the Puerto Rico native’s praises, stating, “We’re thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Bad Bunny, whose influence on every corner of culture could not be ignored in 2022.”

Schusser added, “Watching Bad Bunny ascend from an Apple Music Up Next artist in 2018 to our Artist of the Year this year has been nothing short of extraordinary. We congratulate him on his record-breaking year and for continuing to bring Latin music to a massive global audience.”

When asked about his feelings on receiving the honor Bad Bunny humbly replied, “I’m grateful for everything I’ve accomplished and everything I’ve experienced. The Latin music movement has grown so much. I would never take full credit or say, ‘It’s because of me.’ No, it’s every one of us. A whole generation. Our energy and presence are always felt.”

To commemorate the occasion, Bad Bunny curated an exclusive playlist, La Fórmula, on the streamer. The playlist features tracks from Myke Towers and Rauw Alejandro, to name a few artists. To listen, click here.

When Avatar: The Way of Water finally splashes into theaters, the heavily-anticipated sequel will be packing a serious long runtime. Clocking in at a whopping three hours and 10 minutes, The Way of Water is nearly as long as Titanic. It misses the cut by a scant four minutes. Granted, the first Avatar was considered a lengthy film at two hours and 41 minutes, but that’s almost par for the course in today’s modern age of mammoth superhero films.

In a new interview, writer/director James Cameron justified ballooning the runtime for the sequel that’s been 13 years in the making. “We didn’t spend as much time on relationship and emotion in the first film as we do in the second film, and it’s a longer film, because there’s more characters to service,” Cameron told Total Film. “There’s more story to service.”

The iconic director then made a comparison that only James Cameron would dare to make:

Above all, however, The Way Of Water is a family story. This is because, 14 years after falling in love, Jake and Neytiri are now the proud parents of five children. “People say, ‘Oh my God, a family story from Disney? Just what we want…’ This isn’t that kind of family story,” Cameron clarifies. “This is a family story like how The Sopranos is a family story.”

While Cameron seems full of his usual bombast by comparing The Way of Water to one of the greatest TV shows of all time, the writer/director has been noticeably hedging his bets about the sequel’s box office potential. He recently revealed that he’s prepared to pull the plug and end the series with Avatar 3 if The Way of Water underperforms.

While citing that we’re in a “different world” thanks to streaming and the pandemic, Cameron is not immune to having doubts about audiences flocking to a new Avatar movie after so long.

“Maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theatre is all about. This film definitely does that,” Cameron mused to Total Film. “The question is: how many people give a sh*t now?”

(Via Total Film)

Eminem was recently inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as part of the 2022 class. “I know that I’m a rapper, and this is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and there’s only a few of us right now who have been inducted in already,” he said during his speech as he paid tribute to those who paved the way in rap and hip-hop.

This list of rappers that are currently in the Hall Of Fame includes Jay-Z, Run-DMC, Biggie Smalls, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, N.W.A., Tupac, Public Enemy, and Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five. During Eminem’s acceptance, he rattled off a giant list of his biggest influences — some of which were prior rappers in the Rock Hall Of Fame.

He also took the time to recognize some other notable artists who deserve a future spot, from Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Queen Latifah, Outkast, and at least a hundred in total.

“Those were my rock stars, man,” Eminem said after finishing his list. “And I just want to say those are just a few of the names that I hope will be considered in the future for induction. Because without them, a lot of us wouldn’t be here. I know I wouldn’t.”

“So, that’s all I have to say, man. I know this induction is supposed to be me talking about myself and sh*t, man, but f*ck that,” he continued. “I would not be here without them. I’m a high school dropout, man, with a hip-hop education, and these were my teachers. And it’s their night, just as much as it is mine. So thank you.”

View Eminem’s full induction speech here.