30 Jul

Beyoncé has made a comeback.

Six years after releasing Lemonade, Queen Bey has released Renaissance, her latest solo album. The 16-track LP, the first instalment of a “three-act project,” features lead single “Break My Soul” as well as songs featuring Jay-Z, Skrillex, 070 Shake, The Dream, Drake, and others. The album does include two songs with guest vocalists: Jamaican-born, Miami-raised reggae artist Beam appears on “Energy,” and Grace Jones and Tems appear on “Move.”

Renaissance was recorded over the course of the pandemic after nearly three years of work. “Creating this album gave me a place to dream and find escape during a frightening time for the world,” she said in press materials. “It gave me a sense of freedom and adventure at a time when little else was moving…My intention was to create a safe haven, free of judgment. A sanctuary from perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, let go, and feel free. It was a lovely journey of discovery.”

Renaissance interpolates music written by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder (“I Feel Love” on “Summer Romance), James Brown (on “Church Girl”), Teena Marie, and others, in addition to a diverse cast of co-composers. “Break My Soul” includes a synth line reminiscent of Robin S’ classic house hit “Show Me Love” and a vocal sample from Big Freedia’s 2014 LP Just Be Free: “Release your anger/Release your mind/Release your job/Release your time/Release your trade/Release your stress/Release your love/Forget the rest.”

Nova Wav, No I.D., Raphael Saadiq, Mike Dean, Honey Dijon, Chris Penny, Luke Solomon, and others also contribute to the album. Nile Rodgers’ guitar is featured on “Cuff It,” to which Sheila E. contributed percussion. “Alien Superstar” samples Right Said Fred’s 1990s pop hit “I’m Too Sexy.” “Milkshake” by Kelis is interpolated on “Energy.” Kelis referred to online rumours of Beyoncé sampling her work as “theft.”

The album leaked two days before it was supposed to be released. Beyoncé issued a statement shortly before the album’s official release, thanking her fans for their patience. “So, the album leaked, and you all actually waited until the proper release time so you can all enjoy it together,” she wrote. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t thank y’all enough for your love and protection. I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early. It means the world to me. Thank you for your unwavering support. Thank you for being patient. We are going to take our time and enjoy the music. I will continue to give you all my all and do my best to bring you joy. I love you deep.”

entertainment Pop Culture

29 Jul

Jennifer Lopez, who recently turned 53, is exposing herself once more as she launches her latest project.

Jennifer Lopez, who recently turned 53, is exposing herself once more as she launches her latest project. Following her surprise wedding to Ben Affleck, the actress celebrated her birthday on July 24 by launching her new JLo Body line from her JLo Beauty line, beginning with the FIRM + FLAUNT Targeted Booty Balm. Jennifer poses naked in one of her sexy campaign photos.

entertainment Pop Culture

29 Jul

Yet another tragedy happened on the set of a movie as a crew member on the hit US TV crime drama Law & Order was gunned down on the show’s New York set in a shooting that could well have been scripted.

According to the New York Post, Johnny Pizarro, a 31-year-old married father of three, had just begun his shift on the set of Law & Order: Organized Crime on Tuesday, local time. Around 5.15 a.m., he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that was saving a parking space in the Brooklyn suburb of Greenpoint when another man suddenly opened the driver’s door and shot him, according to officials and friends.

entertainment Pop Culture

29 Jul

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

We reported some weeks ago that famous celebrities Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had gotten engaged yet again, years after they got to the same stage but called it off. Weel, this time they’ve gone through with it, to the joy of adoring fans. The couple got married in Las Vegas, the actress has confirmed.

“We completed the task. Love is lovely. Love is gentle. Love, it turns out, is patient. Twenty years of endurance, “On her fan website OntheJLo, she wrote.

In January 2004, the couple called off their first engagement. The news of the couple’s rekindled love sent fans into a frenzy last year, as they publicly displayed their rekindled love on social media. Lopez intends to change her name to Jennifer Affleck, according to the Clark County Clerk’s Office in Nevada, where Las Vegas is located.

The actress and singer revealed on her OntheJLo website that the couple flew to Las Vegas on Saturday and queued for a marriage license alongside four other couples.

“When they said, ‘all you need is love,’ they were right,” she wrote. “We are so grateful to have it all, a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life we have never had more reason to look forward to.”

Chris Appleton, her hairdresser, posted a video of the star in her wedding gown on Instagram as she prepared for the wedding. The new and joyous bride also posted a selfie in bed wearing her new wedding ring the morning after their wedding.

Their long love story started when the couple met on the set of the film Gigli in 2002, got engaged in 2003, but broke up the following year due to “excessive media attention.”

However, since reuniting, they have regularly posted photos and videos online of romantic vacations and family moments, prompting fans to update the couple’s former portmanteau nickname Bennifer 2.0.

This is the fourth time Jennifer would be married, she was famously married to singer Marc Anthony (the singer of the hit song “I need you”) from 2004 to 2014, and the couple has twins. Ben on the other hand from 2005 to 2018 was married to actress Jennifer Garner, with whom he has three children. The hype around this marriage now isn’t just because they’re celebrities, but it feels like true love winning.

Lopez said in a statement that the ceremony was the “best possible wedding we could have imagined… one we dreamed of long ago and one made real at long, long last.”

Pop Culture

29 Jul

Johnny Depp will avoid the courtroom this month after his lawyers reached an agreement with the City of Lies crew member who accused the actor of assault in 2017.

Gregg (Rocky) Brooks, the film’s location manager, filed the lawsuit in 2018, claiming Depp punched him twice on set and offered him $100,000 to punch the actor in return. The civil trial was set for July 25 in Los Angeles, according to Variety. The judge was notified of the settlement on Monday. The details of the settlement are not known yet as they’ve not been made public.

Pop Culture

29 Jul

Jabu the herd boy (An African Story)

There was a young herd boy named Jabu. He took great pride in the way in which he cared for his father’s cattle. His father had many cows, over 25 of them and It was quite a task to keep these silly creatures out of trouble, away from the farmers’ corn and out of the dangerous roads. Jabu had some friends who also kept their fathers’ cattle, but none of them had even half the herd Jabu did and none of them was as careful as Jabu. It was a sign of Jabu’s father’s pride and trust in his son that he entrusted such a large herd to such a young boy.

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