All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Keeping a tidy house requires owning a few essential cleaning supplies including a vacuum to help suck up any dirt that accumulates over time. TikTok has recently discovered the ultimate budget-friendly cordless vacuum that makes a worthy Dyson dupe — and it’s on sale for 60% off.
Walmart is offering a flash deal on the TikTok-loved Inse S11 Pro vacuum, which features a cordless design for easier mobility and has reviewers praising its suction power stating it “effortlessly” tackles “dust, dirt and pet hair.” For a limited time, you can snag the cordless vacuum for only $88 (reg. $220) and save yourself from having to drop more than $1,000 on a Dyson vacuum.
Pet parents will appreciate its ability to quickly suck up dog and cat hair, while the portable build makes it easy to take with you on the go. The cleaning tool also comes with multi-surface capabilities, which means you won’t need to rely on a carpet cleaner to keep your floor looking spotless.
The flash deal is only going on for a limited time, meaning you’ll want to act fast before the deal expires.
Keep reading to learn more and shop the discount below.
Your vacuum is about to become the ultimate household accessory once you get Inse’s S11 Pro in your hands. Besides showing off a bright and cute pink shade, the vacuum has three suction settings to choose from and has a lock switch to keep the device running while in use. On a full battery, the cordless vacuum can run for up to 60 minutes uninterrupted.
Unlike a robot vacuum, you’ll have more control over the cleaning gadget as you can move it where you want it and pick up spots without having to use an app.
Inse’s S11 Pro has also gained the attention of TikTok with user @tiffanyjewels gaining more than 12,000 views for her review of the cordless vacuum.
“I definitely give this vacuum a 10/10 when it comes to power,” she says in the video.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 22:00:572024-09-16 22:00:57This TikTok-Viral Vacuum ‘Effortlessly Tackles Dust, Dirt & Pet Hair’ for Under $100: Shop the Deal Here
Get ready to talk about the Super Bowl halftime show some more. During a new interview, Super Bowl halftime producer Jesse Collins was asked about the controversy surrounding Kendrick Lamar‘s pick as headliner and the supposed snub of New Orleans native Lil Wayne.
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“We love Wayne,” Collins told Variety when the subject was raised. “There’s always Vegas odds on who’s going to get to perform it. But I think we’re going to do an amazing show with Kendrick, and I think everybody’s going to love the halftime show. I know Kendrick is going to work exceptionally hard to deliver an amazing show.”
He then shed some light on who gets final say, ultimately revealing that it’s Jay-Z who makes the call, with his Roc Nation serving as halftime co-producer. “It’s a decision that Jay makes,” he said. “Since we’ve been onboard with that show, he’s made it every year, and it’s been amazing. He’s always picked right!”
With this season’s Super Bowl being in New Orleans for a record-tying 11th time, many expected Lil Wayne to get the call. After some of his peers came to his defense, the Young Money boss posted a video expressing his disappointment, saying not being chosen to perform “broke” him and that he blamed himself for assuming he was going to be picked.
Jay has been at the center of this decision, with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Birdman blaming his complicated relationship with both Cash Money and Young Money over the years as the reason behind the “snub.”
Back in 2019, Jay-Z and Roc Nation entered a partnership with the NFL that would task the mogul and his team with being the league’s “live music entertainment strategist” and to assist in social justice reform initiatives.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 21:53:362024-09-16 21:53:36Super Bowl Halftime Producer Says Jay-Z Has Final Say on Headliner: ‘It’s a Decision That Jay Makes’
From the moment Taylor Swift first spoke publicly about politics in 2018, the pop star has stood in opposition to Donald Trump — and the 45th president of the United States hasn’t kept quiet when it comes to her either.
Over the course of her evolution as a political advocate, Swift has done everything from call out Trump’s right-wing policies and incendiary language to urge her hundreds of millions of fans to vote against him in elections, with the “Blank Space” singer-songwriter more than once expressing regret over not doing more to prevent the politician from making it to the White House in 2016. Four years later, she promised Trump that the American people “will vote you out in November” after the then-president — whom she described as “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” — condemned the Black Lives Matter protests over George Floyd’s death.
As it turned out, Swift was right: Trump lost his re-election bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, who would initially run again in 2024 before dropping out of the race and passing the baton to his VP Kamala Harris. Through it all, the 14-time Grammy winner has remained steadfast in her resistance to Trump. Trump’s opinions on the musician, however, have been far less consistent, with the former president earning a reputation for praising Swift’s “unusually beautiful looks” one day and declaring his outright hatred of her the next.
From the pair’s early interactions long before either of them were politically involved to the heated criticisms they’ve lobbed at one another since, Swift and Trump go way back. Keep reading to see a timeline of everything the businessman-turned-president has ever said about the pop star below.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 21:20:352024-09-16 21:20:35‘I Hate Taylor Swift’: Everything Donald Trump Has Ever Said About the Pop Star
Tyler, the Creator is making his way to the big screen.
The artist is set to make his feature film debut in the Josh Safdie-directed movie, Marty Supreme, which is set to star Gwyneth Paltrow and Timothée Chalamet, according to Deadline. While the upcoming movie’s plot details and casting information are yet to be publicly revealed, the publication reports that the film is inspired by American pro ping pong player Marty Reisman.
Tyler, the Creator was set to headline two festivals this summer, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, before ultimately canceling his scheduled performance slots. “I hate saying this but i have to cancel lollapalooza and outside lands. i made a commitment that i can no longer keep, and that bums me out knowing how excited folks were,’ he wrote on social media.
He did, however, surprise California fans when he popped out to perform “Wusyaname” during Mustard’s set at Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., back in June. In April, he headlined Coachella, which featured songs like “See You Again,” “EARFQUAKE,” “NEW MAGIC WAND,” “WUSYANAME” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME.”
The multi-hyphenate’s last album was 2021’s Call Me If You Get Lost. He dropped an instrumental album, Wolf Instrumentals, in 2023.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 21:10:272024-09-16 21:10:27Tyler, the Creator to Make Film Debut Opposite Timothée Chalamet & Gwyneth Paltrow
After Wednesday night’s (Sept. 11) VMAs ceremony treated viewers to performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Eminem, GloRilla, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, and a special Def Jam 40th Anniversary medley featuring LL Cool J and Public Enemy, the past weekend in hip-hop and R&B had a lot to live up to.
Playboi Carti and The Weeknd both launched their new eras with the release of their lead singles “All Red” and “Dancing In The Flames,” respectively; Nicki Minaj announced a forthcoming third installment of her Pink Friday album series; and NYC banded together at the Apollo Theater to honor the life of Grammy-winning Harlem native Fatman Scoop (Sept. 12). It’s been a heavy few weeks for the world of hip-hop and R&B, with the losses of Scoop, Rich Homie Quan, Frankie Beverly and Tito Jackson hitting the community in quick succession.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Leon Thomas and Ty Dolla $ign’s scorching new duet to Jdot Breezy’s emotional new track. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Leon Thomas & Ty Dolla $ign, “Far Fetched”
Is it really toxic if you’re up front about it? With their latest collaboration, Leon Thomas and Ty Dolla $ign lay all of their cards on the table, and that commitment to honesty ultimately trumps the darkest parts of those cards. “She got dreams of love and marriage/ But that’s far-fetched, far-fetched/ ‘Cause if we don’t work out, girl, that’s a large check,” Thomas explains over a heavily percussive beat peppered with electric guitar and morose piano, courtesy of Oshi and Thomas himself. Ty smoothly slides in with a verse of his own that recounts all the money he’s put up for this lady, but there’s a hint of exasperation in his tone that calls back to Thomas’ overarching message: anything beyond the current state of this relationship isn’t feasible. “Far Fetched” follows “Mutt” as the second single from Thomas’ forthcoming Mutt LP, giving him two standout singles in a row.
Jay Swishes, “Mona Lisa”
On this Afrobeats-infused hip-hop joint, Ontario-born, Brooklyn-raised rapper Jay Swishes sings the praises of a woman so beautiful her only point of comparison is the Mona Lisa. “Melanin hit her like the sun, her complexion/ 5’2,” one not the two, no contestant/ She a lil freak, we Minaj with her best friend,” he sing-raps before dipping into a more dancehall-adjacent cadence, with X-rated bars like, “Make her suck pon di c–ky like breadfruit/ Put mi wood inna her belly, don’t run.” Accented by shimmering synths and fingerpicked guitar, “Mona Lisa” combines different elements from the year’s hottest sounds into one sultry banger.
Yolanda Adams, “On God”
Last week (Sept. 13), gospel icon Yolanda Adams dropped off Sunny Days her first studio album in 13 years, and she wasted no time to get things started with the terrific opener, “On God.” A sleek mélange of contemporary R&B and gospel, “On God” finds Adam honoring the Man Above for all of the times he showed up for her — even when times looked especially dark. “That’s my God, that’s my Rock, that’s my King, my Messiah/ Gave His all for mе/ He made a way out of no way/ That’s on God, on God, on God, on God, on God,” she croons over a sparkling R&B-infused arrangement crafted by John Jackson and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
Ray Vaughn & SiR, “Everybody Dies”
The Top Dawg Entertainment rapper wastes no bars with his layered messaging. “Everybody Dies” is a sobering reality and Ray Vaughn confronts a cross-roads in his life while internally grappling with if the juice is worth the squeeze when attempting to conquer your dreams. SiR takes the baton and angelically croons on the soulful chorus as he asserts his legacy will live on long after his physical existence on earth is over. With a handful of singles under his belt in 2024, it’s gotta be album time for Vaughn.
Babyface Ray & Hunxho, “Delusional”
Babyface Ray is The Kid That Did It. The Detroit spitter narrates his rags to riches story with his fourth studio album. “Delusional” serves as a project standout and the first team-up between Ray and Hunxho. A certain woman in Babyface’s life is using him, but he doesn’t even care at this point as he’s blinded by her beauty. Love can make you do crazy things and Hunxho promises to ink her name on his body so she knows it’s real. “I’m stuck on you, get a new b—h and look for you underneath/ I don’t even put names on my body, but I put you on my neck,” he raps with a heavy dose of AutoTune.
Jdot Breezy, “Heart of Flames”
It’s a game of fire and ice. If Rod Wave has his “Heart on Ice,” Jdot Breezy flips the script with “Heart of Flames” to serve as his apologetic Sorry I Took Long project opener. The Florida rapper vulnerably opens up about going to great lengths to win over a potential girlfriend. While he fits into the melodic rap landscape, Breezy has an old soul with shout-outs to Phil Jackson and shrewd wordplay referencing Morgan Freeman’s 1989 film Lean on Me. Look for Jdot to hit the road with his woozy tunes for the Straight Madness Tour next month.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:59:562024-09-16 20:59:56R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week: Leon Thomas, Jay Swishes, Babyface Ray, Yolanda Adams & More
Released Aug. 9 on ARXOXO/Columbia Records, the song debuts at No. 86 on the Sept. 21-dated Hot 100, becoming her first career entry on the chart. It arrives with 5 million official U.S. streams (up 9%) and 487,000 all-format radio audience impressions (up 111%) Sept. 6-12, according to Luminate.
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Rae first appeared on Billboard‘s charts on April 3, 2021, when she debuted on Emerging Artists largely thanks to her debut single “Obsessed,” which hit the Hot 100’s Bubbling Under chart. She reaches a new No. 23 high on the latest Emerging Artists list.
Her five-track EP AR, which includes “Obsessed,” later reached No. 19 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 45 on Top Current Album Sales in October 2023.
“Diet Pepsi” is Rae’s first song released since AR, and her major-label debut. She also hopped on a remix of Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” in March, after the pair teamed up on the AR track “2 Die 4.”
Rae (full name: Addison Rae Easterling), from Lafayette, La., first developed a following on TikTok. She’s currently the fifth most-followed person on the platform, with 88.8 million followers. Her videos have amassed 5.7 billion likes, the second-most among all users.
“Diet Pepsi” benefitted from that audience. The song has soundtracked over 194,000 videos on the platform to date.
Rae has additionally acted in several movie and TV projects, including the Netflix film He’s All That in 2021 and Thanksgiving in 2023.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:47:222024-09-16 20:47:22Hot 100 First-Timers: Addison Rae Debuts With Breakthrough Single ‘Diet Pepsi’
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Calling all Bachelor Nation fans! Get ready to watch Joan Vassos’ journey to find love as the first star of The Golden Bachelorette, premiering Wednesday night (Sept. 18) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Vassos quickly became a fan favorite on the first season of The Golden Bachelor. Despite her strong connection with Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner, she made the difficult decision to leave the show to address a medical issue involving her daughter.
Now, it’s Vassos’ turn to find the love of her life. “For the first time in Bachelor franchise history, 24 seasoned men in the prime of their lives will roll up their sleeves and step into the spotlight, all vying to make a lasting impression on Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos,” ABC shared in a press release.
Jesse Palmer returns as host of the new season. In July, the former Bachelor star posted a photo on Instagram featuring himself and Vasso in front of the iconic Bachelor Mansion with the caption, “It’s been a busy summer.”
Keep reading for details on how to watch the first season of The Golden Bachelorette.
How to Watch The Golden Bachelorette Online for Free
The first season of The Golden Bachelorette airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, and streams on Hulu the following day.
If you have cable, you can catch The Golden Bachelorette on your local ABC affiliate. For those without cable, ABC can be streamed online via ABC.com with a provider login. You can also access ABC through free trials from DirecTV Stream, fuboTV or SlingTV (and Express VPN or Pure VPN, if you’re outside of the U.S.). With these options, you’ll be able to watch the latest Bachelorette season live on TV or stream from your laptop, tablet or phone.
Fubo and DirecTV Stream offer free trials for up to a week (plans start at $75-$85/month). DirecTV Stream’s most affordable plan, the Entertainment package, comes with 90+ channels including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, MTV, ESPN, BET, VH1, TLC, WeTV, Lifetime, HGTV and more.
The Golden Bachelorette is also available to stream free with a Hulu subscription. Not subscribed for Hulu? Hulu is currently offering a 30-day free trial which you can use to watch new season of The Golden Bachelorette. You can also catch up on Vasso’s journey and learn more about her previous experience by streaming The Golden Bachelor.
You can catch episodes of The Bachelorette, The Bachelor and more with a subscription to Hulu+Live TV ($77) which includes, Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ in addition to 90+ channels.
Looking for another streaming option? You might want to consider subscribing to Sling TV. Subscriptions start at just $20 for the first month (regular $40) to stream dozens of channels including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox in select regions and cable channels such as Bravo, E!, MSNBC, TLC, USA, Food Network, Discovery Channel, FX, ESPN and more.
The Golden Bachelorette 2024: Who Are the Contestants?
A retired videographer, a chiropractor, a portfolio manager, a retired financial analyst, an insurance executive, a contractor and more are among the 24 men who compete for Vassos’s heart this season.
The full list of contestants range from ages 57 to 69, and come from all over the country.
William “Bill,” 68, a retired videographer from Portland, Ore.
Robert “Bob,” 66, a chiropractor from Marina Del Ray, Calif.
Charles K., 62, a portfolio manager from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Charles L., 66, a retired financial analyst from Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles “Chock,” 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kan.
Christopher, 64, a contractor from West Babylon, N.Y.
Daniel “Dan,” 64, a private investor from Naples, Fla.
David, 68, a rancher from Austin, Texas
Gary, 65, a retired finance executive from Palm Desert, Calif.
Gil, 60, an educator from Mission Viejo, Calif.
Gregg, 64, a retired university VP from Longboat Key, Fla.
Guy, 66, an ER doctor from Reno, Nev.
John “Jack,” 68, a caterer from Chicago, Ill.
Jonathan, 61, a shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa
Jordan, 61, a sales manager from Chicago, Ill.
Keith, 62, a girl dad from San Jose, Calif.
Kenneth “Ken,” 60, a property management treasurer from Peabody, Mass.
Kim, 69, a retired Navy captain from Seattle, Wash.
Mark, 57, an Army veteran from Leesville, La.
Michael, 65, a retired banking CEO from Denver, N.C.
Pablo, 63, a retired UN agency director from Cambridge, Md.
Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago, Ill.
Ralph “RJ,” 66, a financial advisor from Irvine, Calif.
Thomas, 62, a fire department chief from New York, N.Y.
Watch a sneak peek of The Golden Bachelorette below.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:47:212024-09-16 20:47:21‘The Golden Bachelorette’ Premieres This Week: Here’s How to Watch & Stream the Show for Free
Bowen Yang can say for sure that he’s been changed for good after becoming friends with Ariana Grande on the set of Wicked last year.
In a new interview with The New Yorkerpublished Monday (Sept. 16), the actor-comedian got candid about struggling with his mental health while shooting the Jon M. Chu-directed musical duology in England throughout 2023, during which he was also flying back and forth to work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live on the weekends. Luckily, there was someone looking out for him during that time.
“This cannot sound anything but name-droppy, but Ariana Grande was reaching out and going, ‘Are you OK? Come over! Let’s just watch a movie. Let’s get you better,’” Yang recalled. “She was there for me in a true way.”
The “Yes, And?” singer also recalled thinking that her friend’s hectic schedule was “worrisome.” “I understand what it feels like to travel back and forth so often and then have to perform the next day, with no time for your body or mind to figure out what’s going on,” Grande told the publication. “It is incredibly hard and unusual. So I just wanted to make sure he had an ear and a hug and the support he needed.”
The interview comes just a couple months ahead of the first Wicked film’s Nov. 22 premiere. As recently announced, the second installment will come almost exactly one year later.
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Just like in real life, Yang and Grande’s characters (a Shiz student named Pfannee and Glinda, respectively) are friends in the Wicked movies, which take inspiration from both the Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name. The Fire Island actor has also proven that he’s as much of a ride-or-die for the two-time Grammy winner as she is for him, with Yang coming to her defense on a March episode of his Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers.
“The narrative is wrong,” Yang said on the show of last year’s tabloid frenzy surrounding Grande’s romance with another Wicked actor, Ethan Slater. “I can tell you for a fact that what people out there seem to be clinging on to is incorrect.”
“If you think this invites karma, I’m here to tell you, your set of facts – I’m not going to reveal the actual facts, because they’re not mine to reveal,” he continued at the time, directly addressing critics who ran with the unsubstantiated narrative that Grande “home-wrecked” Slater’s relationship with ex-wife Lilly Jay, with whom the Broadway alum shares a young son. “But I can say that the matrix of information that you are using to draw a line to the karmic outcome you want is not existent.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:41:362024-09-16 20:41:36Ariana Grande Recalls Helping Bowen Yang Through a ‘Worrisome’ Rough Patch During ‘Wicked’ Shoot
In the weeks preceding my trip to Grenada to celebrate Spicemas 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris – amid her ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket – became the subject of a kind of Birtherism 2.0, in which former President Donald Trump attacked and undermined her Blackness because, in his mind, a person cannot be both Black and South Asian or any combination of races.
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While I am not mixed, I identified with those attacks. I grew up the only son and eldest child of two St. Lucian immigrants in a majority Afro-Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. I’m Black. I’m American. Ethnically, I’m Afro-Caribbean. Culturally, I’m a pretty solid mixture of Caribbean and African-American. I’ve always understood myself to be all of these things at the same time. Trump’s attacks on Harris’ Blackness hit so close to home, not because she and I share the exact same racial-ethnic-cultural makeup, but because his disrespectful jabs were an extension of a nefarious movement to strip non-American Black people of their Blackness. All this is to say, how I perceive and define my own Blackness was heavy on my mind as I boarded my flight to Grenada on Aug. 9.
I should note that I’ve yet to visit St. Lucia – fingers crossed for this winter – so this trip to Grenada was my first visit to the Caribbean, the place in the world where the majority of my roots lie. Upon reviewing the trip’s itinerary, which was painstakingly curated by the Grenada Tourism Authority, Industry 360 and Mel&N Media Group, I noticed that we would be learning the history of the Grenadian tradition of jab jab. Now, I had heard about jab jab here and there growing up, but with descriptors that often landed on some variation of “demonic,” I wasn’t really sure what I was actually getting into. I wasn’t afraid, but I was relentlessly curious. After feeding my musical soul at Soca Monarch and Panorama, I was ready to indulge myself in the rawer parts of my Caribbean heritage – and hear from actual Grenadians about this specific cultural practice.
On Friday, J’Ouvert morning, about two hours before the sun announced itself, my fellow revelers and I enjoyed a traditional Grenadian breakfast at Friday’s Bar, where we got to hear the true history of jab jab.
“Black was seen as the devil. Black was seen as bad, substandard, scum of the earth. So, we got even blacker,” explained Ian Charles, one of the founders of Jambalasee Grenada, a group committed to the preservation of Grenada’s culture and history. “You have to understand that jab jab utilizes satire, mockery, [and] ridicule to fight against a system which was designed deliberately to mentally, physically [and] spiritually break us.”
Dating back to 1834, the jab jab tradition finds its roots in freed Afro-Grenadians celebrating the abolition of British-operated slavery through masquerading. Across the island, Grenadians literally become “blacker” by coating their entire bodies in molasses, black paint, tar, engine oil, or the more recent (and more sustainable) combination of vegetable oil and charcoal powder.
Repurposed helmets adorned with either cow or goat horns crown their heads, while their hands drag loose chains (also black) in recognition of their freedom. Although we hit the road a bit later than anticipated, I was still able to catch a glimpse of the Capitals — individuals who lead different groups of jab jabs in call-and-response chants (also known as spellings) that blended unifying proclamations with historical and sociopolitical commentary.
Spicemas
As I rubbed the charcoal-oil concoction over my body – and eventually gave into the gravity of the engine oil’s richer pigmentation – everything clicked. Jab felt natural in a way that I wasn’t necessarily anticipating. Everything was so Black. From the dozens to the Black ballroom practice of “reading,” satire, sarcasm and a general finessing and manipulation of language is inherently Black. It shows up across the diaspora in the ways we converse and the ways our intonations shift mid-dialogue. By painting ourselves black, we were tapping into the tradition of “playing the devil.” (“Jab” means “devil” in Patois). If slave masters were going to call us devilish, we were going to take it, flip it and mock them. As we made our way down the road, I thought about the ways I’ve unknowingly “played Jab” in different contexts in my life.
I haven’t been on this Earth for too long, but my story is pretty lengthy: lots of twists, and a few turns as well. I’ll spare you all the details here, but there were more than a few instances in my life in which my Blackness was demonized with the hopes that I would try my best to detach myself from it. I doubled down every time. Yes, the scales are vastly different, but, to me, the essence is one and the same. When all is said and done, our Blackness will never be demonized; not by ourselves, and certainly never by those who are wholly unable to see Blackness for what it truly is.
In conversation with the late Greg Tate, hip-hop artist Djinji Brown said: “Sometimes when I’m rhyming on the [mic], I feel like there’s nothing inside me but blackness – no veins, no organs, just a shell physically, but open and full of universes from my toes to my hair follicles. There are rhymes coming out of me, because there ain’t no stomach, there ain’t no heart, no intestines to get in the way of that s–t.”
We weren’t rapping on the road – although some of those chants were a not-so-subtle sonic bridge between call-and-response rhythms and hip-hop song structures – but there was indeed nothing but blackness inside of and all around us. In that blackness lay a level of liberation that was hard-fought, and a predisposition for resistance that was inherited – and reinvigorated in the wake of Hurrican Beryl. Like everything else, my Spicemas experience exists in the context of all that came before it, including Hurricane Beryl, which particularly ravaged Grenada’s sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. While stepping into Grenadian culture, I couldn’t stop thinking about how the Global South – and its people, artists and culture – will be the first to feel the cruelest effects of climate change primarily spurred by superpowers in the Global North. It’s not fair and it’s not right. It’s just the latest effect of the incredibly violent and heinous project that is colonialism. But it’s also a stark reminder that we must protect the breadth of our West Indian cultures with every fiber of our beings.
Spicemas
Whenever my height doesn’t annoy me, it can be quite an advantage. My heart swelled as I took a look at the sea of Blackness in front of me and the waves of Blackness behind me. I was literally and figuratively consumed by Blackness on all sides and it couldn’t have been a more picturesque sight. I’ve always considered Brooklyn to be home, and I still do – those blocks raised me, after all – but the sense of connection I felt to the literal land of Grenada while playing jab forced me to, if only for a few moments, seriously reconsider how I understand the term “home.” As far as I know, I don’t have any family in Grenada, but the air felt familiar, as did the energy that permeated the atmosphere. Almost all of my family hails from another island just over 100 miles away, but I still felt the connection of a deep, shared history that I felt an innate responsibility to help protect.
From Miami to Notting Hill, the Caribbean carnival experience has evolved into myriad celebrations around the world – many of them inching further away from the history that grounds those practices. As we continue to wade our way through this particular era of globalization and the commercialization and corporatization of carnival celebrations, maintaining and respecting the rich history of its formative traditions will be paramount to protecting the integrity and sanctity of the Caribbean at large. Jab jab is resistance in one of its purest forms, rooted in the soil of Grenada. What’s Blacker than that?
Seeing how fiercely protective and reverent Charles was in his explanation of jab jab reminded me of something chart-topping Afrobeats superstar Remasaid in an Apple Music interview promoting his new Heis album. “Everyone is chasing something that the whole world can enjoy… we’re listening to the voices of the world too much,” he said. “We gotta listen to the voices back home to keep our roots. Our roots [are] very important.”
But how do we balance prioritizing “the voices back home” while inviting outsiders amid an effort to increase the amount of capital we can squeeze out of centuries-old cultural practices? That’s a question I toyed with a lot. After all, I’m a first-generation St. Lucian-American experiencing Spicemas by way of a press trip — is the call not coming from inside of the house, to some degree? For Jab King, a Grenadian soca powerhouse whose “Jab Did” was inescapable throughout Spicemas, it’s certainly a “bad idea” when cultural practices start bending to the whims of capitalism and corporatization, and we should “let the Carnival evolve on its own and control it along the way.”
Ideally, that’s the next frontier of this era of musical and cultural globalization: concerted efforts to protect the history of the cultures that so often get pillaged and bastardized for capitalism-blinded, voyeuristic eyes. The pessimist in me says that’s wishful thinking, but there was simply too much hope in that sea of blackness for me to let that voice win.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:37:112024-09-16 20:37:11What Can Spicemas 2024 Tell Us About the Future of Musical & Cultural Globalization?
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The Britney Spears Collectibles Set ($24.99) features four miniature figurines rocking some of Spears’ most iconic outfits from her music videos, including the school girl uniform from the “…Baby One More Time” music video complete with Spears-inspired pigtails and pink pompom hair ties.
Fisher-Price Little People Collector Britney Spears Figures, 4pk
The red jumpsuit from the “Oops!…I Did It Again” video also gets a miniaturized recreation in the set, along with the “I’m a Slave 4 U” look from Spears’ unforgettable MTV Video Music Awards performance and the blue flight attendant uniform from her “Toxic” music video.
“Toxic,” the fourth single off Spears’s In the Zone album, was released in January 2014 and went on to earn Spears her first and only Grammy award for best dance record. That’s not the only milestone Spears marked this year — her …Oops I Did It Again album celebrated its 24th anniversary in April.
Meanwhile Spears’ impact was felt throughout this year’s VMAs. Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae and Megan Thee Stallion all paid homage to the pop legend in different ways. Carpenter’s space-themed performance gave a nod to Spears’ infamous VMAs kiss with Madonna, Megan Thee Stallion channeled Spears’ epic “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance (python included) and McRae wore a black lace dress reminiscent of a Dolce & Gabbana look that Spears wore to the 2001 VMAs.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-16 20:19:372024-09-16 20:19:37Fisher-Price Is Releasing a Britney Spears Little People Collector Set: Here’s How to Pre-Order