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Juice WRLD Makes History Thanks To His Five Songs In The Top 10 Of The Hot 100 Chart

Over the weekend, it was made clear that Juice WRLD’s new album, Legends Never Die, is a smash. The posthumous release debuted at No. 1 thanks to the biggest first week for an album this year. The album isn’t done making waves yet, though. Billboard, as it does on Mondays, revealed the top 10 of its Hot 100 chart, and of the ten tracks on the July 25-dated chart, five of them are by Juice.

As might be obvious, this isn’t something that happens all that often. In fact, Juice is just the third artist in the chart’s history to pull it off. Most recently, Drake scored seven tracks in the top ten (the all-time record) on the chart dated July 14, 2018. The only artist to do it before that is The Beatles, who did it twice, on April 4 and 11, 1964.

Four of Juice’s top-ten songs — “Come & Go,” “Wishing Well,” “Conversations,” and “Hate The Other Side” — make their debuts this week, which is good for another record. Four simultaneous top-ten debuts ties the all-time high mark: Lil Wayne did it on October 13, 2018, and Drake did it first, on July 14, 2018.

Elsewhere on the chart, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar” remains at No. 1 for the sixth week.

Read our review of Legends Never Die here.

Legends Never Die is out now via Interscope. Get it here.

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

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A’ja Wilson Opened Up About The Challenges Facing Black Women In America

Being a black woman in America can be difficult and exhausting and it often takes an emotional toll. Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Willson knows this all too well and wanted to share her experiences in a powerful essay published in The Players’ Tribune titled “Dear Black Girls.”

Wilson starts off in reminiscence of a poem or lyrics to a song that will be a black girl anthem.

“This is for all the girls with an apostrophe in their name. This is for all the girls who are ‘too loud’ and ‘too emotional.’ This is for all the girls who are constantly asked, ‘Oh, what did you do with your hair? That’s new.’ This is for my Black girls.”

The 6’4 forward is from South Carolina shared details of her heartbreaking first experience with racism while in the fourth grade after being invited to a birthday party by one of her white friends. Wilson was told she had to stay outside at the party because her friend’s dad didn’t like black people.

While this left her deflated and alone, the Aces’ star player knew that is what many black people have experienced in some form or another in their lives. It was valuable to her to learn about that painful reality at such a young age. Wilson also believes that black girls [women] are often stereotyped or silenced when we want to be heard. Words like “Loud,” “Angry” and “Ghetto” are thrown out there, she says.

“We’re a double minority,” Wilson proclaims. “It’s like the world is constantly reminding us — You’re a girl and you’re a Black girl.”

Difficulties of being the only black person in specific settings are all too familiar. The burden of being the only one is astronomical at times and leaves us with a range of hurtful and angry emotions. To be a black woman and stand up and let our voices be heard is very important. We can be smart, talented, and qualified but still, it’s not enough.

It is our responsibility to let little black girls know they are enough regardless of what society thinks of them. It is our responsibility to continue to speak up for one another. Sometimes we have to be the voice of the voiceless and stand up for what we believe in. As alone as Wilson felt being the only one in a majority white elementary, it was comforting to her to see a familiar face daily that looked like her. It was the school lunch lady that brought her a little excitement daily, which she wanted to note to show that examples can come from anywhere.

“You don’t have to be a WNBA player or a politician or a celebrity to have an impact on someone else,” said the WNBA All-Star.

Like the majority of black women and other women of color, Wilson just wants to be heard — all the time. “I don’t want to have to be UNAPOLOGETIC for you to hear me.”

Hear us!

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Here’s Everything New On HBO And HBO Max For August 2020

HBO has big plans for its streaming audience this August.

A handful of new series and feature films are slated to debut on HBO and HBO Max this month with highlights including the premiere of the genre-bending Lovecraft Country and the conclusion to the network’s latest prestige drama, I May Destroy You, over on HBO. On HBO Max, the newest player in the streaming game, Seth Rogen’s comedy film An American Pickle has plans to be the platform’s first original film, drawing on a beloved short story from New Yorker author Simon Rich.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO and HBO Max this August.

Lovecraft Country, Series premiere streaming 8/16 (HBO)
Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollet-Bell star in this adaptation of Matt Ruff’s literary achievement. The 10-episode series follows Atticus Freeman (Majors) and Letitia (Bell) as they take a cross-country road trip from Chicago through 1950s Jim Crow America in search of Atticus’ missing father. Along the way, they battle racism and monstrous creatures that even H.P. Lovecraft would balk at. We’re not sure which is more terrifying.

An American Pickle, Film premiere streaming 8/6 (HBO Max)
Seth Rogen pulls double duty in this comedic undertaking which marks the first feature from the new streaming platform. In it, Rogen plays Herschel Greenbaum, a 1920s-era immigrant who falls into a vat at the pickle factory and wakes up 100 years later, perfectly preserved thanks to the brine. He goes in search of family and finds Ben Greenbaum (also played by Rogen), a tech guy who couldn’t be more different than the offspring that Herschel had hoped for.

I May Destroy You, Series finale streaming 8/24
Michaela Coel’s excellent drama series ends its run this month. The show has held nuanced conversations about sexual assault and its aftermath over its first season, blending tough conversations with appropriately dark humor and Coel’s signature voice. It’s one of the best shows of 2020 and we have high hopes for how she’ll end this story.

Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn, Film premiere streaming 8/12 (HBO)
HBO’s latest documentary tells the story of Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager who was murdered in 1989 by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The tragedy, and the official response to it, revealed racial tensions that had been simmering between Black communities and the NYPD for decades, and though it happened over 20 years ago, it feels even more relevant to what’s happening right now.

Coming To HBO And HBO Max In August:

Avail. 8/1
10,000 BC, 2008
All the President’s Men, 1976
Altered States, 1980
Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Season 1
Bad Influence, 1990 (HBO)
Barefoot in the Park, 1967
Barkleys of Broadway, 1949
Batman, 1989
Batman & Robin, 1997
Batman Begins, 2005
Batman Forever, 1995
Batman Returns, 1992
The Bear, 1989 (HBO)
Bee Season, 2005 (HBO)
Before Sunrise, 1995 (HBO)
Before Sunset, 2004 (HBO)
Biloxi Blues, 1988 (HBO)
Blade Runner: The Final Cut, 2007
Blue Crush, 2002 (HBO)
The Candidate, 1972
Carefree, 1938
The Change-Up (Unrated Version), 2011 (HBO)
Chariots of Fire, 1981
Contact, 1997
The Dark Knight, 2008
The Dishwasher, 2020 (HBO)
Driving Miss Daisy, 1989
Elf, 2003
The First Grader, 2011 (HBO)
The First Wives Club, 1996
Flipper, 1996 (HBO)
Flying Down to Rio, 1933
Flying Leathernecks, 1951
Fool’s Gold, 2008
Fracture, 2007
The Fugitive, 1993
The Gay Divorcee, 1934
Get on Up, 2014 (HBO)
Go Tell It on the Mountain, 2004 (HBO)
Grace Unplugged, 2013 (HBO)
Hard to Kill, 1990
Harley Quinn, Seasons 1 & 2
Highlander: The Final Dimension, 1995 (HBO)
Highlander IV: Endgame, 2000 (HBO)
The Hindenburg, 1975 (HBO)
Hours, 2013 (HBO)
House of Wax, 2005
House Party, 1990
House Party 2, 1991
House Party: Tonight’s the Night, 2013
How to Be a Player, 1997 (HBO)
Idiocracy (Extended Version), 2006 (HBO)
Interview with the Vampire, 1994
Jeremiah Johnson, 1972
Jim Thorpe: All-American, 1951
Jojo Rabbit, 2019 (HBO)
Kung Fu Panda, 2008
Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011
Leprechaun, 1993 (HBO)
Leprechaun 2, 1994 (HBO)
Leprechaun 3, 1995 (HBO)
Leprechaun 4: In Space, 1997 (HBO)
Leprechaun: Origins, 2014 (HBO)
The Long Kiss Goodnight, 1996
The Lost Boys: The Thirst, 2020 (HBO)
The Lost Boys: The Tribe (Unrated Version), 2020 (HBO)
Love Field, 1992 (HBO)
Lovelace, 2013 (HBO)
Lying And Stealing, 2019 (HBO)
The Marine (Unrated Version), 2006 (HBO)
Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011 (HBO)
Marvin’s Room, 1996 (HBO)
Maverick, 1994
Monkeybone, 2001 (HBO)
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, 2007 (HBO)
Murder at 1600, 1997
The Mustang, 2019 (HBO)
My Blue Heaven, 1990
My Sister’s Keeper, 2009
Nell, 1994 (HBO)
New Year’s Eve, 2011 (HBO)
Ocean’s Eleven, 2001
On Dangerous Ground, 1952
On Golden Pond, 1981 (HBO)
Phantom, 2013 (HBO)
Pi, 1998 (HBO)
Raise the Titanic, 1980 (HBO)
Roberta, 1935
Romeo Must Die, 2000
Savages (Unrated Version), 2012 (HBO)
Say It Isn’t So, 2001 (HBO)
Serendipity, 2001
Skyline, 2010 (HBO)
South Central, 1992
Spy Game, 2001 (HBO)
Steven Universe Movie, (2019)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, 1939
Striptease, 1996
Swing Time, 1936
They Live by Night, 1949
Things Never Said, 2020 (HBO)
Three Days of the Condor, 1975
Time Bandits, 1981 (HBO)
Top Hat, 1935
Two Minutes of Fame, 2020 (HBO)
Walk the Line (Extended Version), 2005 (HBO)
Wedding Crashers, 2005
Without Limits, 1998
Yes Man, 2008

Avail. 8/2
I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, Docu-Series Finale (HBO)

Avail. 8/3
HBO Asia’s Invisible Stories

Avail. 8/4
Mob Psycho, Season 1
Promised Neverland, Season 1
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
The Swamp, Documentary Premiere (HBO)

Avail. 8/6
An American Pickle, Film Premiere
Doom Patrol, Season 2 Finale
Esme & Roy, Season 2B
On The Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries, Documentary Premiere (CNN)

Avail. 8/7
Habla Now, 2020 (HBO)

Avail. 8/8
Richard Jewell, 2019 (HBO)

Avail. 8/9
Perry Mason, Season Finale (HBO)

Avail. 8/11
Hard Knocks ’20: Los Angeles, Series Premiere (HBO)

Avail. 8/12
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (HBO)

Avail. 8/13
Infinity Train, Season 3 Premiere

Avail. 8/14
Carmen Y Lola (AKA Carmen And Lola), 2020 (HBO)

Avail. 8/15
Birds Of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), 2020 (HBO)

Avail. 8/16
Lovecraft Country, Series Premiere (HBO)

Avail. 8/18
Looney Tunes, Batch 3
Smurfs, Season 2

Avail. 8/20
The Fungies, Season 1A
Singletown, Season 1

Avail. 8/21
No Quiero Ser Tu Hermano (AKA I Don’t Want to Be Your Brother), 2020 (HBO)

Avail. 8/22
Queen & Slim, 2019 (HBO)

Avail. 8/23
Mia’s Magic Playground

Avail. 8/24
I May Destroy You, Finale (HBO)

Avail. 8/27
Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness, Docuseries Premiere

Avail. 8/28
Seneca, 2019 (HBO)
Steven Universe Future, Season Six

Avail. 8/29
The Way Back, 2020 (HBO)

Leaving HBO And HBO Max In August:

Leaving 8/25
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2009
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2007
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2001

Leaving 8/28
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Director’s Cut), 2005 (HBO)

Leaving 8/31
42nd Street, 1933
A Perfect World, 1993
Adam’s Rib, 1949
Along Came Polly, 2004 (HBO)
Cabaret, 1972
Dumb & Dumber, 1994
Full Metal Jacket, 1987
Good Will Hunting, 1997
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 2003 (HBO)
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, 2019 (HBO)
Kill Bill: Volume 1, 2003
Kill Bill: Volume 2, 2004
Love Actually, 2003 (HBO)
Magic Mike, 2012
Megamind, 2010
Misery, 1990
Monsters Vs. Aliens, 2009
Mystic River, 2003
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, 1989
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, 1985
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird, 1985
The Adjustment Bureau, 2011 (HBO)
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, 2004 (HBO)
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, 2005
Unforgiven, 1992
Veronica Mars, 2014
You’ve Got Mail, 1998

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Here Is Everything Taco Bell Is Removing From Its Menu Next Month

We ask for and expect very little from Taco Bell. For the most part, we simply want them to keep doing what they do well. And yet… they insist on regularly changing their menu. Usually by making additions. So it came as a bit of a shock when it was announced that the taco chain — and home to the super-secret Enchirito — would be making some substantial changes to their menu this August, exactly a year after their last big menu revamp and the changes would be all deletions.

“Beginning August 13, we will be simplifying our menu to streamline operations,” Taco Bell said in a statement. “This evolved menu approach comes after months of analyzing the new way we are running our restaurants. With safety top of mind, we want to ensure an easy and faster ordering experience for our guests and team members.”

The changes coming to the menu are actually pretty substantial and include many fan-favorites. On the chopping block are Taco Bell’s Grilled Steak Soft Taco, 7-Layer Burrito, Nachos Supreme, Beefy Fritos Burrito, Quesarito, Spicy Tostada, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes, Triple Layer Nachos, Loaded Grillers, Chips & Dips (why?), and the breakfast menu’s Mini Skillet Bowl. A $1 Beef burrito and a $5 Grande Nacho Box will be the only additions.

Taco Bell promises that the “simplified menu and innovation process will leave room for new fan favorites” and indicates that the cut items may reappear on a limited-time basis. Of course, Taco Bell is still holding strong on not adding a plant-based taco to their menu, a terrible call on their part.

Here is one last goodbye to some of our favorites!

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Zack Snyder Has Clarified Whether The ‘Justice League’ Snyder Cut Will Impact The DCEU

You’re probably aware that the Snyder Cut to Justice League is coming with a massive runtime (a topic that’s currently being recirculated in various reports and old tweets). It could be a four-hour director’s cut or maybe a six-chapter limited series, we really don’t know yet, officially, from HBO Max. However, Snyder has issued definitive word on how his version of the movie will dance around Joss Snyder’s theatrical cut, as well as how this might impact the future of the DCEU or retool what has happened already.

It’s a valid question, given that Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman helped plot out the DCEU as we know it, but in short, any modifications that take place with Snyder Cut shouldn’t really impact the DCEU at all. While speaking to Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph, Snyder reassured everyone that he’s not out to rewrite DCEU happenings that took place after his Justice League departure. Instead, he simply wants to finish the movie that he set out to make. Via The Playlist:

“Frankly, the DC cinematic universe has branched like a tree and blossomed and grown in amazing and great ways. But for me, where [‘Justice League’] falls, I believe that it really sort of represents its own path. It’s kind of separate now from the DC cinematic universe continuity. And I think that’s a good thing.”

It definitely sounds like Snyder’s filled with nothing but gratitude to be able to bring his Justice League vision to fans and has no intentions to disrupt the rest of the DCEU. All he wants to do is tie a bow on his chapter, given that he stepped down from finishing production when his daughter, Autumn, took her own life in 2017. Of course, Joss Whedon was hired to complete the movie, and Ray Fisher has made no secret of his distaste for what allegedly transpired on set following Snyder’s departure. As for Snyder’s perspective, he’s confining his talk to the project itself.

The Snyder Cut doesn’t have an official release date from HBO Max yet, but it’s all happening. You can watch Snyder’s full interview with Beyond The Trailer below.

(Via Beyond The Trailer & The Playlist)

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Ty Dolla Sign’s ‘Ego Death’ Lyric Video Features Animated Avatars Of Kanye West, FKA Twigs, And Skrillex

Ty Dolla Sign’s animated lyric video for his new song “Ego Death” is an appropriately psychedelic trip, matching perfectly with the song’s blend of driving house, arena rap, and over-the-top drug references. Projecting the lyrics on a field of stars, the imagery sees animated avatars of each of its performers acting out the lyrics and morphing into cartoonish caricatures.

The animated versions of each entertainer capture their personalities as well; Ty looks sanguine and stoned, Kanye is hectic and hyper, and FKA Twigs even does the martial arts that inspired her recent stage performances. Director/animator Emonee LaRussa perfectly captures their essences for an experience that heighten the initial art and feels a lot like imitating Ty’s character in the video.

Unfortunately for fans of Ty, the video still gives no hints to the eventual release dates of any forthcoming projects. His last full-length, Beach House 3, landed in 2017, so he’s definitely due for another sometime soon. Meanwhile, Kanye teased a release date for his own upcoming project, Donda, but deleted the tweet and instead seems to have put his focus on his political-campaign-as-promotional-tour, which has received a less-than-enthusiastic response.

Watch Ty Dolla Sign’s “Ego Death” lyric video above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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The Trailer For HBO’s ‘The Weight Of Gold’ Pulls Back The Curtain On Olympic Athletes And Depression

From the outside, Olympic athletes seem like high-precision machines built for the sole purpose of absolutely dominating the competition. But they’re not machines, they’re human beings. In the new HBO documentary The Weight of Gold, superstar athletes like Michael Phelps, Shaun White, Lolo Jones and others get candid about life after winning the gold in hopes that younger athletes will be prepared for the crushing lows that lie ahead.

In a sobering new trailer ahead of the documentary’s release at the end of July, The Weight of Gold reveals a rarely discussed aspect of life as an Olympic gold athlete. After getting the gold, many of these seemingly invincible competitors find themselves asking, “Is this all there is?” and often spiral into a long-lasting depression with sometimes tragic results. In an effort to warn aspiring athletes who are currently dedicating every moment of their lives to the pursuit of the gold, Phelps and others hope to establish a norm of eliminating the stigma around mental health as a “sign of weakness” and giving the next generation the mental health resources that they never had.

Here’s the official synopsis:

In a typical year, more than 3.6 billion people globally tune in to watch the Olympic Games. What most of these viewers don’t know is that just like one in five Americans, many of these Olympic athletes similarly face serious mental health challenges and struggle to find the necessary support and resources. The Weight of Gold seeks to inspire discussion about mental health issues, encourage people to seek help, and highlight the need for readily available support.

The Weight of Gold premieres July 29 on HBO.

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‘Street Food: Latin America’ Balances Culinary Escapism, Superb Cinematography, And Cultural Respect

A moment of escapism isn’t the worst thing in the world right now. With the possibility of international travel in 2020 growing slimmer and slimmer, a good food and travel show might be our only chance to live out our collective wanderlust. We need a reminder that there’s a great big, messed up world left to explore. And it’s fun to salivate over all the food we might eat whenever our next explorations come.

The backdrop of COVID makes the arrival of the second season of Street Food a very welcome addition to the food show streaming world. This round of episodes centers on the vast-ranging cultures of South and Central America, and is titled Street Food: Latin America. The general concept is the same as the previous iteration of Street Food — Chef’s Table-style cinematography paired with a more accessible fare.

After truly enjoying the first series, I was excited to dive in, but my optimism was measured. Profiling food in a massive region that contains the descendants of European colonialists, modern-day East Asian migrants, and Indigenous communities is a tall order. It was refreshing to see the show wrestle with this in a frank, clear-eyed way. From the outset, it was clear that we wouldn’t just be focused on the cuisine of the conquerers and Indigenous people weren’t there simply to be toil in the kitchens of the rich. This is a show about the food of the streets — it has to be created for and by the common folk in order to succeed.

As with its first run, Street Food: Latin America shines brightly by not hiding from difficult truths. The series opens with Argentina. In the introductory narration (after the cold open), food journalist and author Silvina Reusmann plainly states: “We’re more similar to Europe than other Latin American Countries. There aren’t many Native people.” She then goes on to to explain how “that population” was “almost decimated” by the Spanish conquests, stopping short of assigning any blame to the post-colonial Argentines who finished that genocide in the late 1800s.

Though Ruesmann’s statements don’t extend to the continued implications of colonization, they do offer a clear step forward in the recognition of the forces that shaped Argentina’s dominant culture and set the stage for an honest look at Beunos Aires street food as, primarily, the food of European migrants (who make up the majority of the population). Italian-descended stuffed pizzas and Spanish empanadas bolster the episode, but the real thrust of the story is chef Pato Rodriguez’s stacked tortilla Espagnole. It’s a massive baked Spanish omelet of egg, fried potatoes, ham, and mountains of cheese. The sort of decadent dish that usually gets relegated to Instagram.

Netflix

As the Argentina episode reveals, the heart of Street Food remains intact in season two. This is really the story of the people — mostly women — who strive and work hard every single day to provide food for everyone. This ideal shines the brightest when highlighting Indigenous women like Emiliana Condori. Condori is a member of the Indigenous Cholita community of La Paz (a mix of women from various Indigenous nations of the Andes) who work primarily on the streets as vendors. Like all Indigenous peoples in the Americas, Condori and her fellow Cholitas have faced generations of genocide, discrimination, and poverty. Still, Condori carries on by selling papas rellenos — a deep-fried mashed potato ball stuffed with meat and eaten with spicy salsa.

The episode starring Condori is built out by focusing on other Cholita women working on the streets selling foods that have come to define them through their family histories and Indigenous cultures. Placing the final episode of the series in contrast to the season opener truly brings into focus the vast issues still facing the Americas when it comes to Indigenous and colonial communities and the gulf that still remains between them — even when those communities exist in close proximity to each other.

Netflix

While Street Food gives varied voices a chance to shine, it steers clear of ever being laborious or didactic. There’s plenty of food porn fun packed into the episodes. Plus they each clock in at around 30 minutes, making them a breeze to watch.

The Brazil and Colombia installments of the series focus on Afro-Caribbean food cultures and reveal how each dish is truly unique and of its time, while still being influenced by pre-Hispanic foodways. In the Bogota episode, chef Luz Dary Cogollo walks us through her Afro-Caribbean roots on Colombia’s Caribbean coastline and shares how she transports that foodway down to Bogota, which is landlocked. Her signature dish, ajiaco (a pre-Hispanic Taino soup), had become a staple of the Colombian street food and cafe scene long before she started cooking, but Cogollo’s own version of the dish feels like a synthesis of everything Street Food wants to represent. It’s the past and present in a bowl — traded across cultures and finding new life in the hands of a skilled chef.

The aesthetics and storytelling on display in Street Food: Latin America are nearly unparalleled — this is the Chef’s Table crew after all. Each story is truly engaging and educational while also making you salivate for all of the food itself, and wish that you could travel once again. It’s a tightrope to do all of that while respecting communities and cultures that produce the food without ever getting tedious. The fact that the series pulls it off without losing bingeability is its ultimate marker of success.

‘Street Food: Latin America‘ premieres its full season on July 21st, 2020 on Netflix.

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Common Explains Why He Keeps Getting Cast As A ‘Gangster’ In Movie Roles

On this week’s episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli, the host is joined by fellow rapper and activist Common for in-depth discussion on his near-three-decade career in hip-hop — a career that overlaps with Kweli’s own — and their friend and collaborator Kanye West’s bid for the US Presidency. Clocking in at two hours long, the conversation covers a lot of ground as the two rap vets catch up and speak on a diverse array of hot-button issues, including his recent reveal that he was abused as a child.

One lighter subject that comes up, though, is Common’s tendency to get typecast in “tough guy” roles in his film career, which has included appearances in action films like Wanted, Suicide Squad, Smokin’ Aces, and John Wick: Chapter 2. Common is a famously nice guy in real life, so the contrast to his growing resume of playing scowling heavies makes for a delightful topic.

“Initially… I didn’t wanna be Rashid on screen,” Common admits. “If I have to play a chef, I like to learn how to cook… The first roles I was able to get were gangster dudes, but I wanted to do that.” However, he says, “Then I got cast in a couple more… the first five or six movies I did, I was holding a gun in each one. At a certain point I was like, ‘I gotta do something different,’ but the truth of the matter is I did want to play dark and different characters to start it off. And let’s face it: Hollywood, at a certain point, they just see ‘Black, he can play the gangster.’ We are consistently breaking down those ideas and concepts of them not really seeing Black people as different types of people.”

Watch the full episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli featuring Common above.

People’s Party is a weekly interview show hosted by Talib Kweli with big-name guests exploring hip-hop, culture, and politics. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

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Kanye West Reportedly Didn’t Manage To Get On The South Carolina Presidential Ballot

Kanye West is in the midst of an attempt at a presidential run, but it’s not going too well so far. A lot has happened since his backlash-prompting candidacy announcement, including a South Carolina rally this weekend that yielded a ton of Kanye sound bites. Apparently what it didn’t produce, though, was Kanye getting his name on the ballot.

TMZ reports that according to Chris Whitmore, Director Of Public Information for the South Carolina State Election Commission, Kanye’s campaign missed today’s deadline to get on the November ballot. He had a firm deadline of noon ET on July 20 to get the 10,000 signatures he needed as a petition candidate, but the State Election Commission apparently did not hear from Kanye and received no signatures of any kind. So, Kanye is not set to appear on South Carolina’s ballot as a presidential candidate.

In addition to his rally, Kanye also attempted to collect some digital signatures over the weekend, tweeting out a link to a sign-up website and writing, “Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations. You can also sign up at the website.”

As for the rally, it has certainly become the subject of much conversation. One of the most notable takeaways was his comments about Harriet Tubman, which his peers in music did not warmly receive.