Still feeling a little hung over from the game on Saturday? Looking to test those gag reflexes but not sure quite how? Watch Donald Trump host “Saturday Night Live!” The episode debuted on Saturday and featured a constant stream of jokes about the presidential candidate being a racist — we get it, “SNL” — as well as a cringe-worthy rendition of Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” The sketch may have been the only successful utilization of the host all night. It’s like “SNL” literally tried to sabotage the Republican Presidential candidate; it’s that bad.
You know what else is pretty bad? Balmain’s new H&M collection. Call me crazy, but I found it super underwhelming. Was I the only one under the impression that I wouldn’t have to pay $200+ for anything that wasn’t a T-shirt with “Balmain” written on it? Everything that Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid wore in ad campaigns is like $600. Fuuuuuck that.
Speaking of the Hadids, Gigi’s younger sister, Bella, who is arguably cooler and also dating The Weeknd, has a nipple ring! I don’t know why you should care about this, but you should. She posted an instagram with the bad boy peeking through a mesh dress last week. Are nipple rings cool now? Someone please quickly answer “no” before I decide to get one.
Someone already answered the controversial question in Complex last week: Why Did Everyone Claim to Enjoy Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’? Justin Charity’s article explored the supposed “overwhelming blackness” of the album, which aimed to make listeners uncomfortable but, instead, only elicited blind praise from critics. This reduction ultimately caused us to overlook the actual quality of the album; just because the project was important doesn’t mean it was enjoyable. The responses to this article read as overwhelmingly negative, calling the author pretentious and the post insulting. But at least it got people talking, something the album had, according to Charity, failed to do.
Spike Lee’s new film, “Chi-Raq” has a lot of people talking, too. The trailer for the upcoming flick, set to release Dec. 4, debuted to criticism that it was making light of recent gun-violence in Chicago. Lee responded, saying, “In no way, shape or form are we making light of the lives that have been murdered in this senseless violence. People, don’t get it twisted. This film is about serious business.” So there you go.
Fellow Chicago native, Kanye West, phoned in to Outkast veteran Big Boi’s radio show on Saturday to discuss his upcoming album, SWISH. Unfortunately, he confirmed what we were all afraid of — the album’s not dropping for a while. “Work is slow … It’s like a sonic painting getting better every week,” he told the host. It’s common knowledge that West’s already given away potential SWISH material — “FourFiveSeconds” to Rhianna and “Tell Your Friends” to The Weeknd – but little is known of what’ll actually be featured on the album. West recently performed 808s & Heartbreak in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl. Then, last month, he dropped a remix of 808s “Say You Will,” featuring Caroline Shaw, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, which prompted speculation that he could be returning to a colder sound.
Friend to West and newly crowned president of Def Jam imprint GOOD Music, Pusha T dropped a freestyle of Drake and Meek Mill’s now infamous “R.I.C.O.” this weekend. The 90 second track doesn’t touch the original but calls to mind the one time I saw Pusha perform at a club in Vegas and didn’t remember. Damn. Meanwhile, over at whatever’s left of YMCMB, Lil Wayne announced No Ceilings 2 will drop on Thanksgiving. Finally something to be thankful for! If you haven’t listened to “Watch My Shoes” in a while, I suggest you revisit the track.
And while you’re waiting for the No Ceilings follow-up, I suggest a few things to tide you over until the holiday season. After battling with Atlantic Records, Waka Flocka is set to drop Flockaveli 1.5 on November 19 for free! It goes without saying that there will be some straight bangers on there. And there’s not much I love more than ignorant rap. For a more mellow mood, listen to DIIV’s newest single, “Bent (Roi’s Song)” on repeat. The Brooklyn rock band’s second album, Is The Is Are, is slated for release in February and marks their first project together since 2012’s haunting Oshin. Even more haunting is the trailer for “Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston?,” a short film about iconic musician Daniel Johnston. Lana Del Rey does an aching cover of Johnston’s most famous song, “Some Things Last A Long Time,” for the film, which you can watch in full on November 11.
But whatever you do, remember, according to Drake and the mysterious billboard that popped up in Toronto last week, the 6 is watching.