A woman died Friday afternoon after falling from the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, authorities said. The San Diego Police Department received a report that a woman … Click to Continue »
Nearly 123,000 new students have received private-school vouchers after state lawmakers this year passed a major expansion of voucher programs, while a group that administers the programs says they will … Click to Continue »

Bad Bunny and Gael García Bernal are bringing the heat in Cassandro.

A clip from the new film was released by Entertainment Weekly on Friday (Sept. 15) in which Bad Bunny’s Felipe and García Bernal’s Saúl give in to their curiosities and share a kiss. Felipe eventually pushes him away, before Saúl assures, “It’s okay, don’t worry. Don’t freak out.”

Before walking away, Saúl tells Felipe, “See you around, stud.”

In the film, Saúl from El Paso, Texas, dreams of becoming professional luchador after his father first introduced him to the sport. In the process, he transforms into Cassandro, an “exótico” who wrestles in drag. Felipe, meanwhile, is a drug dealer who’s introduced to the wrestler by his promoter. 

It’s not Bad Bunny’s first role on the big screen. Last year, the Puerto Rican superstar starred in Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt. The world of wrestling is also familiar to the hitmaker. In 2021, Bad Bunny ventured into the wrestling world by jumping off the top rope at the 2021 Royal Rumble. Most recently, the “Me Porto Bonito” singer defeated Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight at WWE’s premium live event Backlash in May.

Watch the kissing scene here, and catch Cassandro in theaters starting Friday (Sept. 15) before it premieres on Prime Video on Sept. 22. 

Vic Mensa talks about his sophomore album, Victor, the Black Star Line festival in Africa, working and collaborating with other artists such as G-Eazy, Common and Chance the Rapper, his cannabis brand 93 Boyz and more!

Vic Mensa:
We broke out the sage.

Tetris Kelly:
Oh, of course!

Vic Mensa:
Or the palo santo! And just like, “Yeah, so what you thinkin’?” What’s up, y’all? I’m Vic Mensa, and you’re watching them Billboard News.

Tetris Kelly:
It’s Tetris with Billboard News. A lot of swag just hit the couch. What’s up, Vic?

Vic Mensa:
How are you doing, man?

Tetris Kelly:
Let’s talk about this music. You got your sophomore album coming, and I feel like your name has been around so long. It’s crazy this is only your second offering. So tell me how’s it feel to put your second piece of work out?

Vic Mensa:
I’m very excited about it. It’s really a story of redemption and triumph, and spirituality and love and pain and struggle — human experience. That’s the place I write from. That’s what I aim to communicate and to convey. And I’m just so excited to open that conversation with any and everyone who listens to this album.

Tetris Kelly:
We’ve got some great collaborators G-Eazy, Common, Ty Dolla $ign. Love Ty. So how do you go about deciding who you want to bring into a project?

Vic Mensa:
I think first and foremost, it’s like, the relationships as a human being, as a man with those brothers in particular, like those are people that have long-standing personal relationships with so as I’m creating music, and I hear a voice to do something — Common, for example, is my favorite MC since being a little kid. When I made this song called “Southside Story” that is featuring Common, immediately I knew it’d be crazy to have his voice on here, and his paintbrush, his texture.

Watch the full interview above!

We get those goosebumps every time we see the new trailer for Disney+’s Goosebumps that arrived on Thursday (Sept. 14).

The two-minute clip introduces Justin Long’s character Nathan Bratt, a teacher who becomes possessed by a dark entity. The teaser then shows the journey of five high schoolers (played by Zack Morris, Isa Briones, Miles McKenna, Ana Yi Puig and Will Price) “as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle – while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past,” according to the film’s description.

Travis Scott‘s 2016 hit “Goosebumps” fittingly soundtracks the trailer for the new series, as a number of jump scares and bone-chilling scenes weave across the screen. Goosebumps, which is inspired by R.L. Stine’s beloved book series, will unveil its five episodes on Disney+ and Hulu on the spookiest date of the year, Friday, Oct. 13.

The Kendrick Lamar-assisted “Goosebumps” was made a single three months after Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight release in September 2016. While the song peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, the track remains known as one of the rapper’s biggest career hits.

Watch the Goosebumps trailer below.

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.

The WNBA playoffs are here! Round one of the finals continues with four games on the schedule for the weekend.

First up, the Washington Mystics face New York Liberty at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on Friday (Sept. 15). Also on Friday, the Atlanta Dream play thet Dallas Wings at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT. Both games will air on ESPN2.

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Drop Everything! BTS’ Suga & the NBA Just Dropped Officially Licensed Merch…

Want to catch the action in person? Click below to purchase tickets to this year’s WNBA playoffs. Ticket prices range from approximately $20 and up at Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, StubHub and on WNBA.com.

WNBA Playoffs Tickets

Keep reading for ways to watch and stream live from anywhere.

How to Watch the 2023 WNBA Finals Without Cable

No cable needed! You can stream the WNBA playoffs (on your TV, laptop, phone or another device) with a free trial from a platform that carries ESPN, such as DirecTV Stream, Fubo TV and Sling TV.

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Get instant access to ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, FX, Bravo, MTV, VH1, BET, AMC, TLC, TNT, USA and more with DirecTV Stream, plus you’ll get a free trial for five days and DVR storage.

Fubo TV’s best value package is $75 a month after a free trail. The streaming package includes 168 channels, 1,000 hours of cloud DVR and you can stream on up to 10 screens at once.

Join Sling TV and pay just $20 a month for a limited time. The Sling Orange package offers access to ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.

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Hulu + Live TV offers over 90 channels for $49.99/month for three months, thanks to a special sale that ends soon. Save $60 over three months when subscribe to Hulu + Live TV by Oct. 11. Besides live channels, the subscription includes Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ and unlimited DVR.

Game 2 between the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces takes place on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on ABC. Rounding out the weekend, Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ESPN. See the full WNBA playoffs schedule here.

Streaming from outside of the U.S.? Use ExpressVPN to watch your favorite channels and streaming platforms internationally.

Ed Wright, a trailblazing entertainment industry executive whose multi-faceted career encompassed radio programming, music promotion, artist management and private consulting for film and TV, died of natural causes in Cincinnati on Monday (Sept. 11). Wright, who also played a pivotal role in initiating June as Black Music Month, was 82 years old.

Calling Wright a “mentor, friend, colleague and client,” Grammy-winning producer Don Mizell tells Billboard, “Ed was a smooth, congenial visionary and efficacious navigator at the cutting edge of the momentous advances first instigated by the Black music industry during the ‘70s. His warm and gracious personality, diplomatic style and versatility served the emergent needs of Black music’s growth at a crucial time.” Mizell also noted that Wright engineered his being hired as the first Black executive at Elektra Records when he was appointed GM of the label’s jazz fusion/urban division before later ascending to its VP.

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Wright was just 13 years old when he became a part-time announcer at WCIN in Cincinnati, where he was born in 1940. After going full-time at the station in 1958, he later became its news director and production manager. Wright also majored in communications at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Between 1962-66, Wright served as program director of Cleveland radio station WABQ, where he helped foster today’s modern urban radio format. Also during that period, he became the youngest president of the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers (NATRA), an organization representing Black broadcasters. In the latter half of the decade, Wright segued into the music industry as the head of Liberty Records’ Minit division, whose roster included the O’Jays and Bobby Womack. In addition to managing artist development, production, promotion and sales in coordination with the Liberty branch distribution system, Wright supervised marketing for the Blue Note jazz label.

Wright hung up his own shingle as president of the Edward Windsor Wright Corporation (EWW), focusing on promotion and public relations, from 1969-1976. In addition to Blue Note, the company’s clients included major and independent labels such as CBS Records, A&M, Warner Bros., Capitol, MCA, Stax, United Artists and Philadelphia International as well as ABC Circle Films (Barry Diller) and New World Pictures (Roger Corman). At one time, EWW’s management division boasted a roster ranging from Womack, the O’Jays, Teddy Pendergrass and Herbie Hancock to Natalie Cole, Billy Paul and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Kenneth Gamble of legendary production duo Gamble & Huff, and co-founder of Philadelphia International, first met Wright at a NATRA convention. The pair would later co-found the Black Music Association, out of which arose the declaration of June as Black Music Month.

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“Ed was a forward thinker,” Gamble tells Billboard. “There was lack of knowledge and comprehension about the economics of our industry. Ed, along with Clarence Avant, Jules Malamud, Glenda Gracia, Dyana Williams and artists like Earth, Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder among others, helped advance our culture. Ed was one of the primary leaders who created economic opportunities for Black professionals as well as the establishment of Black Music Month, now in its 44th year.”

Wright’s career resumé includes his establishment of GEI Communications, specializing in market research, consultation and public relations, and the artist management firm Global Entertainment, which launched in 1977. He was also co-owner/president of the Long Beach, Calif., FM station KNAC in the ‘80s and later managed artist Chico DeBarge and the reconstructed group DeBarge featuring Bobby DeBarge.

Former Mercury Records president Ed Eckstein was 19 years old in 1973 and “a green-behind-the-ears music journalist” for Soul magazine when his assigned beat put him in contact with Wright’s firm, EWW.

“Ed and his trusty lieutenant Bob Brock were head and shoulders above all PR firms specializing in representing contemporary R&B artists,” recalls Eckstein in an email to Billboard. “I reflect fondly on that period when I would get a call querying my interest in talking with a young, pre-Teddy Theodore Pendergrass Jr. of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes or in spending a day with the O’Jays’ Eddie Levert. And in spending the better part of an evening in the studio while Epic Records artist Minnie Riperton was finishing her career-defining Perfect Angel album with Stevie Wonder. Ed was a businessman of dignity, class and professionalism who ran a first-class operation and whose mentorship and tutelage fueled my career from its nascent stages through the ensuing decades. Rest well, Ed. You touched many lives with your gentle hand.”

Wright’s survivors include his sister, Bedria Sanders.

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