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Toro Y Moi Signs With Dead Oceans And Is Planning To Release His First Album For The Label In 2022

Toro Y Moi has become an indie favorite over the past decade-plus. All of his albums were released via Carpark Records, but moving forward, Chaz Bear will have a new label home: It was announced today that he has signed with Dead Oceans, making him label-mates with artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, and many others. Furthermore, Toro Y Moi’s first album released on the label is set to arrive in 2022.

Bear said in a statement, “I’m excited to begin this next chapter with Secretly/Dead Oceans! Throughout the years they’ve continually maintained a conscious eye on the state of independent music and are pushing the boundaries of popular music. Thanks again to all my fans and supporters in making it this far with my music, your love and time is appreciated!”

Dead Oceans co-founder Phil Waldorf also notes, “Toro y Moi’s music has been omnipresent in our lives for over a decade now. Chaz has so many fans at Dead Oceans, and we’ve daydreamed a lot about what it would be like to get to work together. Chaz has such creative ambitions for Toro y Moi, and we can’t believe we get to wake up every day not just as fans, but as partners in his next chapter.”

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Toronto Raptors X-Factor: Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam was a Second Team All-NBA honoree two seasons ago. That feels like a distant memory at this point, as the ensuing year and a half has been unkind to him. All-NBA teams were voted on before play resumed in the Bubble, a context he struggled mightily in offensively. Then, he spent the duration of last season away from Toronto, as the Raptors were tucked away in Tampa Bay, Florida, and battled through COVID-19. While his 2020-21 was better than the narrative surrounding it suggests, it was still a notable step down from his pre-Bubble 2019-20.

As the Raptors embark on the post-Kyle Lowry Era, a return to the Siakam of old would be a significant boon. Siakam will open the year sidelined as he recovers from a torn labrum, but when he does suit up, his scoring, playmaking and rangy defense will be integral to Toronto’s chances of competitive basketball that possibly rubs shoulders with the play-in.

The Raptors’ roster is flush with mobile, sprawling, multifaceted wings and bigs. What it lacks, though, is scoring and creation juice — that’s why they were constantly running the break during preseason to seek easier offensive contexts. Although Siakam is somewhat of an overextended initiator, he is capable to degrees none of his Canadian contemporaries are. How this team consistently scores in the half-court before Siakam reappears is a dubious endeavor. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Goran Dragic will be tasked with lead duties. Gary Trent Jr., might also shoot his way into some responsibilities, but as their opener against the Wizards showed, this is a team with a creative need.

Siakam can significantly lighten the load for them if he resembles the All-NBA forward of yesteryear. Even if he’s closer to the guy we saw past December of last season, he will help substantially . But a full-fledged revival of sorts probably puts the Raptors in a position to balance a short-term playoff race — led by him, VanVleet and Anunoby — with the development of its various younger guys who fill the gaps on a quality team.

Prospects like Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa will greatly benefit from others bending the defense and allowing them to capitalize as rollers, cutters and connective facilitators (Barnes, mostly, on the last point). Siakam figures to be this team’s supreme bender of defenses. Success in that job hinges on what version of Siakam emerges this season.

Moving forward, how exactly Siakam accelerates Toronto’s developmental players and immediate aspirations could determine his future with the franchise. If he’s good enough to secure or truly vie for a play-in spot to accrue postseason reps for everyone, that likely means he’s a star who provides vital stability. If he’s guiding the Raptors to the purgatory of an 11th- or 12th-place finish, maybe the idea of leaning all the way into a rebuild becomes more alluring for the organization, while the 27-year-old Siakam prefers a situation that invites increased short-term winning.

All of this is speculation, but feel like sound outcomes and situations to expect this year. And all of it is contingent on who Siakam is in 2021-22 and how that impacts this team’s crossroads season.

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Trump’s New ‘Media And Technology Group’ Will Go Public In What Some See As A Clever New Way To Fleece His Supporters: The Stock Market

Can you say: Redirection? While the January 6th committee continues its investigation into the possible role Donald Trump might have played in the Capitol insurrection, Trump is on to the next thing—and he can’t make it happen fast enough.

On Wednesday, the former president—who has been booted off just about every legit social media platform the average American uses—announced that he was finally making good on his promise/threat to launch his very own social media site. It’s called TRUTH Social, which would actually be funny if it was tongue-in-cheek. But it’s not. The site will be run by a brand-new Trump company, the Trump Media & Technology Group, which might be one of the only Trump organizations that isn’t currently under investigation, but give it time. Because the other part of the announcement is that the Trump Media & Technology Group—yes, the company you had never heard of until yesterday—is also going public. So how exactly does that work?

Here’s the short version, a.k.a. Shady Stonks 101: Trump Media & Technology Group went public via a SPAC, which means it’s a “special purpose acquisition company,” or what’s more typically known as a “blank check company” or a shell corporation. Essentially, it’s a way to get a company listed on the stock market as a way to attract private investors who don’t want to deal with the whole IPO hullabaloo.

Twitter user @BillSPACman, who runs a substack specifically about SPACs, gave a great rundown of what he found out about the company, which is already shady as hell. You should read the whole thread, but here’s what he has so far uncovered:

In its marketing materials, Trump Media & Technology Group notes that its targeted competitors are Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Disney, and Hulu.

The company’s CEO is former investment banker Patrick F. Orlando, who is based in… Wuhan, China? And who purchased $11 million worth of shares a month ago, long before the news of the SPAC was made public.

The company’s CFO is Luis Orleans-Braganza, whom The Wrap describes as “a right-wing royalist and member of Brazil’s national legislature.”

Together, Orlando and Orleans-Braganza had a $7 billion SPAC with Giga Energy Inc. that fell apart just last month.

The company’s official address is a WeWork in Downtown Miami.

Others who weighed in on the deal were also skeptical:

John Aravosis, editor of Americablog News, was much more direct in his criticism of the transaction:

Trump now claims he’s going to launch a social media company that’s going to go public via a SPAC. In other words, they’re going to sell stock. So he’s going to fleece his own supporters, again. I give the man credit, he always finds a new way to profit off his own people.

This is certainly one way to get people talking about something other than January 6th.

(Via @BillSPACman)

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What To Watch: Our Picks For The Ten Movies We Think You Should Stream This Weekend

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

10. Cinderella (Amazon Prime)

AMAZON

It is time, apparently, once again, time for a new take on Cinderella, the classic story of a girl and her evil family and how magic and some rodents make her a star. This time around, we have Camilia Cabello in the lead role and Billy Porter as her fairy godparent and Idina Menzel as the evil stepmother and, look at that, Pierce Brosnan as the king. The whole thing basically puts a series of small twists on a story you’ve seen a few dozen times, but sometimes that’s okay. The cast is strong enough to make it all worth a shot. Watch it on Amazon.

9. The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

Amazon Prime

What we have here is an old-school erotic thriller — think Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction — with White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney as one half of a curious couple who spends a not-insignificant amount of time spying on their exhibitionist-type neighbors. Things get weird and twisted and steamy, as they do in these kinds of movies, which were super popular in the 1980s and 1990s and have since just about disappeared. Might be worth it to give it a try, but think about closing your own blinds first. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

8. Black Widow (Disney+)

Marvel Studios/Disney

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally gets a proper send-off in this actioner that aims to go back-to-basics but succeeds more on a personal level. The film fills in plenty of blanks following the events of Captain America: Civil War, but more importantly, we receive butt-kicking ladies in well-choreographed fight scenes and an emotionally resonant story that introduces us to the inner Natasha, as witnessed by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who’s allowed to tease Natasha, and their dynamic (and the chemistry between Scarlett and Florence) rules. The film also allows David Harbour to perform grunt-filled face work with a wild accent while the ladies swirl around him in hand-to-hand combat. It’s a winner. And it’s now available to subscribers with no extra fee. Watch it on Disney+.

7. The Velvet Underground (Apple TV+)

APPLE

The Velvet Underground is one of the most influential bands of all-time. But unlike other iconic 1960s groups like, say, the Beatles, there’s not a ton of footage of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Moe Tucker performing. To get around this, director Todd Haynes has made a documentary that captures the “idea” of the VU rather than a Wikipedia summary. Don’t walk, but “run run run” to watch The Velvet Underground! Watch it on Apple TV+.

6. Malignant (HBO Max)

HBO

James Wan, he of the Saw and Insidious and Conjuring movies, is back with a new horror film. This one focuses on a woman who has terrifying visions of brutal murders, which are ruining her life a little (as terrifying visions of brutal murders will do) and are also –surprise — actually happening in the real world (which is bad). None of it sounds like a good time for her. For you, though? Maybe. Watch it on Netflix.

5. Muppets Haunted Mansion (Disney+)

Disney+

Good news: The Muppets are back. Everyone’s favorite collection of fuzzy rascals take to Disney+ with a new spooky Halloween story about a haunted mansion. The Haunted Mansion, if we’re being technical. It might be a nice opportunity to fall down a Muppet rabbit hole again. There’s never a bad time to watch The Great Muppet Caper, after all. Watch it on Disney+.

4. The Many Saints of Newark (HBO Max)

HBO

The Sopranos are back. Kind of. The Sopranos are kind of back. Series creator David Chase’s long-rumored, long-awaited prequel movie about New Jersey’s most famous fictional crime family is finally here. What do we got? Well, for one, we’ve got Michael Gandolfini filling the role of a Tony Soprano and playing a younger version of the character his father made famous. We’ve also got a bunch more Moltisantis and 1960-70s fashion all against the backdrop of the 1967 riots in Newark. There’s a lot going here. You’ll probably want to check it out, if only to bask in a little nostalgia for a while. Watch it on HBO Max

3. Night Teeth (Netflix)

Netflix

The dark spirits compel us to remind you that Megan Fox has a horror-comedy coming to Netflix this week. It’s likely this reminder is retribution for how terribly we treated Fox’s other terrific horror entry, Jennifer’s Body. Will this one be as good? Who knows? It looks promising enough though, with Fox and Sydney Sweeney hamming it up as two LA-based Goth queens who mix a bit of human blood into their green smoothies. Lucy Fry and Debbie Ryan take up the most screen-time, playing a pair of hard-partying undead millennials that look to be the worst Uber passengers you’ll ever meet. It’s a wild noir-infused romp through the city that doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously. Watch it on Netflix.

2. Halloween Kills (Peacock)

Universal

Halloween Kills is a direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween, which was a sequel to 1978’s Halloween that ignored all the previous sequels in the franchise. It’s confusing, but really, all you need to know is that it’s a Halloween movie with Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Shape,” and an eerie score from John Carpenter. ’Tis the season (to watch horror movies). Watch it on Peacock

1. Dune (HBO Max)

HBO

At long last, Dune is here. Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic starring everyone you like (including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa) should probably be seen on the biggest screen possible. But it’ll still look darn good at home. Watch it on HBO Max.

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What To Watch: Our Picks For The Ten TV Shows We Think You Should Stream This Weekend

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

Get more streaming recommendations with our weekly What To Watch newsletter.

10. (tie) The Haunted Museum (Discovery+)

Discovery

Eli Roth has so much going on over at Discovery+ this month (following his recent real-life horror/Shark-Week film on the streamer) that one has to wonder… is he running the joint? It’s a valid question, but more to the point, he’s teaming up with Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans for this scripted anthology series, in which they illuminate nine of the world’s most cursed artifacts. These relics are actually in display in Bagans’ Vegas museum, but here, you’ll get the historic commentary in addition to having the pants scared off of you.

10. (tie) I Know What You Did Last Summer (Amazon Prime)

AMAZON

Sure, you remember the 1997 film and perhaps you’re aware that that was based upon the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, but this Amazon Studios collaboration with Sony Pictures Television wants you to relive the nightmare once more. Obviously, this version doesn’t have Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, or Freddie Prinze, but these teens seem more twisted by nature than the O.G. bunch, so perhaps that will add some shading to justify reviving their shared dark secret as they aim to survive. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

10. (tie) The Next Thing You Eat (Hulu)

HULU

Need to shake up your food game? Join the club. Chef David Chang teams up with director Morgan Nevill for six episodes that follow seismic changes in the way we eat. There’s a global perspective, and expect to see robots and lab-grown food and more surprising paths to tastiness. Watch it on Hulu.

9. Maid (Netflix)

Netflix

Margaret Qualley (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) stars in this heartbreaking adaptation of Stephanie Land’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. This will, clearly, be a difficult watch, but Qualley’s raw portrayal (of a woman who flees an abusive relationship to go through exceedingly difficult times to break the cycle for her daughter) yields a burgeoning star. Watch it on Netflix. Watch it on Netflix.

8. Invasion (Apple TV+)

APPLE

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Apple TV+ is winning the space race. This latest drama from the streamer imagines an alien invasion of Earth as told from different perspectives of people on different continents around the world. Sam Neill is one of those – he plays a small-town sheriff on the verge of retirement when these other-worldly guests arrive. X-Men producer Simon Kinberg is behind the series, so expect the show to have some terrific visuals and compelling storylines. Watch it on Apple TV+.

7. What We Do In The Shadows (FX/Hulu)

FX

Well, well, well. Guillermo turned out to be a vampire killer, which sure as heck came as a surprise to Nandor, Nadja, and Laszlo, and Colin. The four Staten Island roommates must figure out how to handle this conundrum, along with tackling the other challenges of this season. Those include dealing with wellness cults and gym culture, along with gargoyles, werewolves who play kickball, casinos, and more. In other words, this is still one of the funniest shows on TV. Watch it on FX and Hulu.

6. Inside Job (Netflix)

Netflix

Lizzy Caplan and Christian Slater star in this adult animated comedy show that revolves around a shadow government that’s all up in global conspiracies. There are secret societies and orgies and shapeshifters and psychic mushrooms, along with an idealistic agent who hopes that she can make a difference in a world filled with unhinged characters. Watch it on Netflix.

5. You (Netflix)

Netflix

If you find yourself commiserating with Penn Badgley’s obsessive serial killer Joe Goldberg when You’s third season drops this week, don’t take it personally. Relocating to a small town and having to interact with mommy bloggers and uber-masculine tech-daddies sounds like hell, sure, but it’s what he deserves. The show’s latest installment picks up where season two left off — with Joe and his new wife Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti at her best here) moving to the suburbs and trying to curb the worst of their shared homicidal tendencies. A new baby, new romantic distractions, anti-vaxxers, feminist wine retreats, and bro trips that end rather bloody all threaten their planned quiet life. And really, no amount of couple’s therapy can save a marriage when one spouse is constantly fantasizing about murdering the other. Happily ever after just isn’t in the cards for these two — but more dead bodies piling up in their basement certainly is. Watch it on Netflix.

4. Squid Game (Netflix)

Netflix

Netflix’s most popular show in, well, ever continues to burn up the discourse, and internet bandwidth all over the world. It’s been a while since we had a full-on phenomenon like this one. Get in there if you haven’t yet, or maybe get in there again if you have, if part to enjoy (?) all the class-based cynicism and murderous children’s games, and in part so you have something to talk about with your family during the quickly-approaching holiday season. Watch it on Netflix.

3. Only Murders In The Building (Hulu)

HULU

Selena Gomez stars alongside the legendary Steve Martin and Martin Short, and the three portray NYC neighbors who aim to unravel an apparent murder inside their apartment building. Yes, they’re all podcasting because everyone does it (duh), and before long, the killer might be after them, too. Martin hasn’t written a feature film since the Pink Panther movies and Shopgirl, and we don’t wanna come out and call this trio a “much cooler Three Amigos” update, but Martin wrote that, too, so why not? Season one just wrapped up this week. Time for a full-on weekend binge. Watch it on Hulu

2. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

HBO

It’s a mitzvah in a world like this to turn the other cheek, bite the tongue, and generally disregard the impoliteness, ridiculousness, and stupidity of others. But wow, what a lift. Perhaps that’s why it’s so freeing to see Larry David and a cavalcade of stars and familiar faces push against the minutiae of polite culture with serial honesty. Who else could reject someone’s plea to pray for a sick relative without getting stabbed or mock the fakery of gazing deeply into someone’s eyes during a toast when all you want to do is freaking eat? Larry is no hero. He’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole and he’s back for another round of Curb. Watch it on HBO.

1. Succession (HBO Max)

HBO

Everyone’s favorite collection of monsters is back, once again, this time for a slightly delayed third season. Things left off with the Roy family in turmoil, as always, although this time from friendly fire, thanks to noted screw-up and amateur rapper Kendall making a big move. The new season should get ugly in the best possible way, so hop on board week-to-week if you’re already a fan or load up a binge and get caught up to see what everyone’s yammering about all fall. Watch it on HBO Max.

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Tom Holland Goes On Globe-Trotting Adventures In Search Of Treasure With Mark Wahlberg In The ‘Uncharted’ Trailer

The first Uncharted video game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, came out in 2007 and the series — which now includes four main titles, a prequel, and a standalone — has been one of Playstation’s biggest sellers since. It follows Nathan Drake, an Indiana Jones-type figure who goes on globe-trotting adventures in search of treasure, often with his cigar-chomping mentor, Victor “Sully” Sullivan, and fellow treasure-hunter/potential love interest, Chloe. All three characters (but no Elena???) will appear in the Uncharted movie, starring Tom Holland as Nathan, Mark Wahlberg as Sully, and Sophia Taylor Ali as Chloe. Get ready for lots of jumping. So much jumping.

You can watch the trailer (which includes recreations of key moments from the video games, including this great moment from Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception) above.

Here’s the official plot summary:

Based on one of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed video game series of all time, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.

Uncharted is scheduled to open on February 18, 2022.

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The Rock And Ryan Reynolds Team Up To Have Gal Gadot Wipe The Floor With Them In The ‘Red Notice’ Trailer

A few years ago before (when time still mattered), Netflix revealed that they weren’t messing around while casting their biggest (and most expensive) movie ever, and they rustled up quite a trio: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. Well, we’re finally about to see what hundreds of millions of dollars purchased, so it should be a genuine blockbuster in your living room. And from the looks of this trailer, much of this movie has to do with Gal Gadot letting the guys know what’s up. She’s not going down without a fight, and she’s winning that fight.

Gal plays a notorious crook who mops the floor with Johnson’s FBI agent, who has enlisted Reynolds’ (also notorious) art thief, who seems to be cooperating so that people will respect him again? It might not have to make sense. All I really know at the moment is that a bull apparently knocked The Rock across a ring, so there’s probably a WWE joke in there somewhere. What’s important is this: Gal Gadot kicks ass in more than a Wonder Woman context. I hope they never catch her. From the synopsis:

When an Interpol-issued Red Notice — the highest level warrant to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted— goes out, the FBI’s top profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is on the case. His global pursuit finds him smack dab in the middle of a daring heist where he’s forced to partner with the world’s greatest art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) in order to catch the world’s most wanted art thief, “The Bishop” (Gal Gadot). The high-flying adventure that ensues takes the trio around the world, across the dance floor, trapped in a secluded prison, into the jungle and, worst of all for them, constantly into each other’s company… Red Notice is a stylish globe-trotting game of cat-and-mouse (and cat).

Red Notice streams on November 12.

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ABC Is Reportedly ‘Furious’ Over Meghan McClain’s Claim That ‘The View’ Is A ‘Toxic Work Environment’

In her new memoir, Bad Republican, Meghan McCain claims that she left The View due to a “toxic” work environment. She singled out an on-air exchange from a January 2021 episode, her first since returning from maternity leave, as a breaking point.

It happened after McCain joked to co-host Joy Behar, “You missed me so much when I was on maternity leave. You missed fighting with me.” Behar’s wildly-celebrated response: “I did not. I did not miss you. Zero.” In the book, she writes, “It is one of the most singular feelings of loneliness and anguish I have felt in my entire life. It was a perfect storm of hormones, postpartum anxiety, and a lot of demons on The View coming out to bite me.” McCain also said “working at The View brings out the worst in people.”

ABC is reportedly “furious” about McCain’s claims. From TMZ:

ABC execs say the notion Meghan left on her own volition is wrong, and ditto for her claim everybody except her was oozing toxicity. Our sources tell us Meghan was essentially forced out of her role after an internal investigation into the environment she describes — which we’re told was, in fact, real… but mostly due to Meghan’s behavior on and off camera, not her co-workers’.

TMZ also claims that ABC News president Kim Godwin did a “thorough investigation” and found that “Meghan was the source of a lot of the in-fighting that ultimately played out on the show… something Godwin had to address head-on in an emergency Zoom meeting.” McCain might have left The View, but her messiness remains.

(Via TMZ)

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Fans Speculate New Kendrick Lamar Music Is Coming Soon After A Spotify Update

Over the past few months, there have been rumors about potential new Kendrick Lamar music coming soon. Now, fans are picking up on yet another clue and getting excited about possible fresh material from the rapper: Lamar stans noticed that the rapper’s profile picture on Spotify just changed for the first time since 2017. Some also noted that tomorrow (October 22) marks the ninth anniversary of Lamar’s 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

Online updates don’t always mean new material is coming, though. Fans got a taste of that disappointment this summer, when the imagery on Destiny’s Child social media pages was updated and had followers thinking the group was reuniting. However, Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s father and the group’s manager, insisted the changes were just some routine maintenance done by the group’s record label and that no new music was imminent. So, it’s possible something like this is the case with Lamar, too.

In August, Lamar shared an update about his next album, saying it’s his last with Top Dawg Entertainment and noting, “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling. There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough.”

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Lil Nas X Returned Home To Atlanta To Celebrate ‘Montero’ And Was Given His Own Day In The City

Lil Nas X has had quite the year so far in 2021. Between his music, performances, awards, moments on social media, and more, the singer has remained one of music’s most popular names. One of biggest moment came last month when he finally released his long-awaited debut album, Montero. The fifteen-track release was highlighted by No. 1 singles “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby” as well as appearances from Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, Elton John, and Doja Cat. A month after sharing the album, Lil Nas X returned home to Atlanta where he was greeted by a ceremony to celebrate the album.

According to a press release about the ceremony, the event was hosted by legendary producer Dallas Austin and Gilead Compass Initiative, an organization that strives to help reduce HIV/AIDS-related disparities in the Southern United States. Guest appearances were made by Chloe Bailey, Kandi Burruss, Shanti Das, Miss Lawerence, BMI’s Vice President of Creative Catherine Brewton, and Native Son’s founder Emil Wilbekin. It was here that Lil Nas X was presented with a proclamation from Atlanta Councilman Antonio Brown that declared October 20th as Lil Nas X Day.

Elsewhere, Mardequs Harris of The Southern AIDS Coalition, a non-partisan coalition that brings together government, community advocates, business leaders, and people living with HIV to end the HIV epidemic in the Southern United States, put together a choir to sing select songs from Montero. The entire choir was made up of members of the LGBTQ community, allies, and faith leaders, with each member wearing purple in honor of GLAAD’s #SpiritDay on October 21.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.