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https://www.essence.com/entertainment/donald-glover-gives-the-people-what-they-want-new-music/
If there’s one thing that’s been consistent with Donald Glover’s career as an artist, he does things his own way.
After midnight, he released Donald Glover Presents, a 12-track body of work streaming continuously on donaldgloverpresents.com. Previous reports cite guest appearances by SZA, Ariana Grande and 21 Savage plus the re-release of songs “Feels Like Summer,” “Warlords” and “Algorythm.” Although Glover, nor his alter ego Childish Gambino, have not confirmed titles, the respected site Genius.com has taken an educated guess at the track list:
Intro (Warlords)Little Foot Big FootWhy Go To the PartyFeels Like SummerDon’t Worry About Tomorrow (The Violence)Under the SunWe Are (Interlude)AlgorythmTime (Ft. Ariana Grande)Vibrate (Ft. 21 Savage & SZA)To Be BeautifulSweet Thing / Thank You
The album’s release isn’t the only enigma, as not much has been shared from Glover’s representatives. (ESSENCE has reached out for more info.) The mysterious release shouldn’t surprise fans, as he’s known for sharing minimal information in regards to the followup of his 2018 megahit “This Is America” and 2016’s Awaken, My Love! During an interview with WNYC, Glover’s “This is America” producer Ibra Ake had this to say about the future of Childish Gambino: “We’re working rapidly to just get as much out as we can. Especially this last run, to really make a big bang, because this is Donald’s last album.”
Could this be it? No one knows. Until then, for those actively practicing social distancing due to COVID-19, fans can happily spend the next few days deciphering Donald Glover Presents cover art, a four part panel of an unfinished black and white illustration of people running—or reveling—in chaos. One fan has already submitted the cover art’s multiple meaning. Posting on Genius.com, user StoRmEy4124 offered this explanation:
“The sharp, aggressive drawings (even minimalist in the background) emphasizes the terror and strong confusion ruling the scene. While people jump from smoky windows or go down by emergency stairs, those on the ground are shared between anxiety, atrocity and pure joy, raising their fists onto the sky.”
StoRmEy4124 continued: “One could perhaps remember ‘The party’, underrated track from his classic ‘Because the Internet’ of 2013, letting the audience know how an escalation could lead to brutality, even if the beginning seemed safe and calm.”
Whatever the meaning behind the art or why its release came shrouded in secrecy, fans—including this one—are happy Glover has given us new bops as we self-isolate.
To hear Donald Glover’s music, listen here.
The post Donald Glover Gives The People What They Want: New Music appeared first on Essence.
Nick Bruno and Troy Quane walked into the room one after another with bright eyes and high energy.
Blue Sky Studios’ new film Spies in Disguise is a kid-friendly film that is entertaining for the entire family. While on the studio visit, families were allowed and encouraged to bring their kids. When the directors sat down, they had the opportunity to speak about specifics that really stood out to the kids. Both of these talented men were ready for a barrage of questions from kids and their parents from a round table interview. BGN had a few questions of our own.
How big of a part would you say music played in the film?
Troy: Music was a huge part of this movie for us, all the way back to before there was even a movie. Nick and I both read the script and separated from one another. Then we started to put together songs that popped into our heads. So, we made a playlist. We just found songs that we liked, songs that had the right energy, the right sound, or the right rhythm that would help inspire certain sequences or just moods that we liked. And then we’d share and put that together.
Nick: Music is so inspiring. I’m sure when you listen to music, sometimes you can picture yourself going on cool adventures and saving the day. Even our animators when they’re animating Lance Stirling or Walter Beckett, they would animate to music. They sometimes put music in the background and you never hear that music in the movie. Lance would move with more swagger. He’d have a rhythm to the way he walks where Walter would have got great music. So, everything about him was a little bit more awkward and silly.
Troy: So, music is a huge part of filmmaking.
What is the biggest challenge in developing the narrative for this story?
Nick: That’s a great question because there are so many challenges with it. The biggest thing for us is we always have that teamwork message and the nonviolent philosophy. So, you hold those up as your North Star, like that’s your theme and everything has to be based around it. But it’s really hard because you have to service so many things. You have to service entertainment, story, making sure that everything that you’re doing is revolving around that theme, making sure it’s funny, making sure it’s sad and scary. If you’ve ever put together a paper for school, [sometimes] you put it together and you read it, you’re like, “This is not good.” Right? It’s hard. So, the great thing with our story team is we get to put stuff together. Often when we get to writing our pages, we’d sit in a room with our writers and come up with ideas, jokes, and feelings.
What did you look for when hiring your main protagonists?
Troy: With this movie, we started with Lance because we knew he was going to be a pivotal character for everything else in the story. He needed to be cool and smooth, and a little bit overconfident at times, which can be unlikable. So, he needed to be funny to offset that aspect of his personality. We looked at who was big when we were growing up, like who were those actors who embodied all that. Both of us kept coming back to Will Smith in Fresh Prince [of Bel-Air]. He was cool. He had musicality. He had a lot of swagger. But he was kind of dorky and at the times he had that, he was approachable. He had charisma.
Walter had to be somebody who was vastly different from Lance. So he had to be a little bit geeky, but sweet, naive but optimistic. So we had all these aspects. And we just found that Tom Holland had all those things; he was a genuinely nice guy. For this part, he had used his American accent.
How much input do big actors have when the film is being developed?
Nick: It’s less about official input and more about casting people for their talents, in every aspect of the movie, but especially with that, and you want them to have input in some of that.
One final question, when will the DVD be out?
Troy: Great question, it comes out March 10th.
There is something mesmerizing when two powerhouses decide to present on their work. Both Nick and Troy speak with such grace and eloquence that it feels as if they are directly talking to you. With their soft tones and funny jokes, the brief time that was allotted felt like anything is possible. I guess that is just the magic of Blue Sky Studios.
The post Blue Sky Studios Film ‘Spies in Disguise’: Behind the Scenes with Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
Source: Bill Tompkins / Getty
Floyd Mayweather is grieving the loss of Josie Harris, his former longtime girlfriend and mother of three of his children. The 43-year-old retired boxer posted a series of throwback photos of him and Harris dating back to the 90s. He posted captions like “My Heart,” “My Rock,” “My Love,” “My Sweetheart” and ” My Family.”
Harris was found unresponsive in her car outside of her home near Santa Clarita, CA Monday night and was later pronounced dead. The coroner’s office and investigators are working to determine the cause of death.
“It will take a while to figure that out,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told KABC-TV.
Harris and Mayweather have three children, 20-year-old Koraun, 18-year-old Zion and 15-year-old Jirah.
The former lovebirds had a rocky relationship throughout the years filled with domestic violence allegations as well as a lawsuit. Mayweather even served a 90-day sentence in 2010 after being convicted of assaulting Harris in their home in front of their children.
Mayweather later denied these domestic violence allegations during an interview with Katie Couric and alleged that Harris was absuing drugs.
“Did I kick, stomp, and beat someone? No, that didn’t happen. I look in your face and say, ‘No, that didn’t happen.’ Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence, then you know what? … I’m guilty of restraining a person.”
This led to Harris filing a $20 million defamation lawsuit against Mayweather. They were due back in court in Decemeber 2020.
Harris told USA Today back in 2014 that she would have to take Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, before every encounter with Mayweather.
“For some reason I still get anxiety when I know that he is on his way. I have no idea why, but I get really overwhelmed when I know that I have to be around him.”