Kendrick Lamar landing the coveted Super Bowl halftime show felt like the final nail in the coffin to his much-publicized feud with Drake, but some might wonder after this weekend if he has another high-profile rap beef on the horizon. Ahead of the "Not Like Us" rapper's New Orleans performance in February, Louisiana native Lil' Wayne had to speak his piece about having the opportunity to perform in his city "ripped away" from him.

Wayne performed over the weekend in New Orleans as part of the Lil' Weezyana Fest. The performance, put on by Live Nation Urban, was live-streamed on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. So when the rapper directly referenced the fact he was overlooked as an artist to headline the Super Bowl, word traveled pretty fast. The comments came in the midst of him talking about his past Super Bowl trips, specifically when he watched the Saints win against the Indianapolis Colts (via @big_business_). As he put it:

Weezy F received a roar of approval from the crowd, which was expected at a festival centered around him in his hometown. If there was ever a time to speak out about being snubbed from the Super Bowl, this was it. I don't imagine it'll convince anyone in the NFL to flip the script on Kendrick Lamar and give Lil' Wayne the bid instead, but who knows for sure?

Perhaps the most valuable outcome would be for NFL execs to be fully clear on why Lil' Wayne was so upset to lose out on the Super Bowl bid in general, and that it wasn't just about losing out to Kendrick Lamar. Wayne has been a good friend of Drake for decades thanks to their being part of the Young Money rap label, but while some might've thought Wayne's initial frustration indicated the rap feud between Kendrick and Drake reached a new level, this was more about Tha Carter rapper feeling personally slighted.

Readers should remember, however, that Lil' Wayne's love for sports runs deep. Years ago, he thought about jumping into sports announcing and retiring from music, and up until Skip Bayless' retirement from Undisputed, he appeared on there from time to time as a guest. Those who follow Wayne likely knew it was never about Kendrick Lamar, though I'm not discounting the possibility it could become that as the months drag on.

Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar have collaborated on a song together called "Mona Lisa," so there is a possibility he'll get to be on stage even if he isn't headlining the whole performance. It all depends on Lamar's setlist, and if he listens to Usher's advice about playing the hits.

If he is offered the opportunity to perform, one has to wonder how Lil Wayne would respond. After publicly stating how important it was to perform, one can't help but think it could jeopardize his friendship with Drake to be onstage as the world sees Kendrick Lamar play "Not Like Us." Lamar performance period has to be a nightmare for the successful rapper, but to have a friend onstage as well would be salt in the wound.

The Super Bowl isn't until Sunday, February 9th, so there's plenty of time to see what may develop between Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, and any other household-name rapper of the past two decades. I'm just hoping we get a great halftime show, though I'm not too worried with Lamar headlining.

It’s been weeks since the Writers Guild of America members have gone on strike, picketing outside of major studios, as they seek fair wages and contracts in the age of increasing popularity in streaming, as well as provisions regarding artificial intelligence. The work stoppage for the union’s 11,000 members has shut down production on several projects and threatens to delay the starts of upcoming seasons of everything from Grey’s Anatomy to Stranger Things Season 5. Amid the strike, actors and others in the entertainment industry, including Mariska Hargitay, Pete Davidson, Flavor Flav and Merle Dandridge, continue to show solidarity with the writers. 

While no progress has been made, actors and others in the business continue to show their support for the unions, either by joining the writers on the picket lines, continuing to provide pay to their employees while production is shut down, or providing food to the striking workers. Let’s take a look at what they're doing and saying. 

Merle Dandridge

The cast members of Station 19 have been voicing their support for the Writers Guild of America members, with Danielle Savre joining the picket line in the early days of the strike, per The Wrap. On June 1, her co-star on the ABC firefighter drama Merle Dandridge joined the protests as well. She said of the writers (per SAG-AFTRA’s Twitter page): 

Station 19 is set to return this fall for Season 7, but as with all scripted content, that’s a big question mark right now.

Lil Wayne And Flavor Flav

Rapper Lil Wayne showed his “appreciation and support for the writers” by sending a Fatburger food truck to the workers on strike outside the Warner Bros. office in Burbank, California, on May 25. Several people posted photos thanking the “A Milli” artist: 

Flavor Flav made a similar move the week prior, providing those on the picket line outside the same office with pizza, burgers and fries. 

He reportedly danced along while “Fight the Power” blared on a boom box, Billboard reported, and numerous tweets showed him firing up the crowd as he fed them.

Mark Ruffalo

MCU actor Mark Ruffalo also joined the protests, talking about how high the stakes are right now for talent in the entertainment business, given how audiences are consuming movies and TV shows and the constant strides being made in artificial intelligence. He tweeted his support for SAG-AFTRA members to authorize their own strike, saying:  

Mark Ruffalo is just one SAG member who asked others to vote for a strike ahead of the start of the union’s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which begin today. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher sent union members an audio message late in May in support of a strike, Deadline reports, saying “acting careers are at stake.”

Mariska Hargitay

Law & Order SVU star Mariska Hargitay joined the picket line outside of Paramount Global’s New York City office on May 25, where she credited her success on the longtime NBC drama to the writers, saying: 

Many of the actors who have spoken out tend to agree that they would not be able to do their jobs without the writers.

Pete Davidson

Pete Davidson was set to return to Saturday Night Live as a guest host before the strike went into effect, and while we hate to think about what were sure to be some hilarious sketches on that episode, it was cool to see the comedian delivering pizzas to the writers protesting outside Silvercup Studios in New York. As he dropped off lunch, he told onlookers: 

It wasn’t just Pete Davidson’s SNL gig that was affected by the strike, but he also just wrapped the first season of Bupkis on Peacock with no news about its future. Davidson co-wrote the show with Judah Miller and Dave Sirus, who were also present on the picket line. 

Amanda Seyfried And Olivia Wilde

The conversation about fair wages and the changing landscape of entertainment was a big one in the days leading up to the strike, and a few actors had the chance to weigh in as they climbed the famed staircase at the Met Gala on May 1. Amanda Seyfried didn’t hold back her blunt opinion about what the union members are owed, telling Variety: 

Olivia Wilde also weighed in at the Met Gala, saying during a red carpet interview that she thought the strike was going to affect every part of the entertainment industry and even those beyond. However, this was a move the unions needed to make to get what they deserve. You can listen to her comments below: 

The Don't Worry Darling star said while she wished it didn't have to come to this, she supported the union and the writers.

Jennifer Coolidge

Jennifer Coolidge used her platform during the MTV Movie & TV Awards to show her solidarity with the writers. After being awarded the Comedic Genius award, The White Lotus actress said (via CNN): 

The support in Hollywood for the thousands of Writers Guild of America members on strike has been plentiful, with dozens of other celebrities standing with them either literally on the picket lines or through their words or actions. Rob Lowe, Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Elizabeth Olsen, Yvette Nicole Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Drew Barrymore, Melanie Lynskey, Snoop Dogg and so many more have lent their voices to ensuring the union members are given the fair wages and contracts that their work has earned them. 

The last time the WGA went on strike was 2007, and the 100-day work stoppage took a big toll on every facet of the entertainment industry, including the audience. It remains to be seen how much longer the protests will continue before the two sides can come to an agreement, and what that means for the 2023 TV schedule going forward. 

For singers, rappers or performers of any kind, anything can happen when up on stage in front of a live crowd. Artists often have to deal with embarrassing falls, forgetting lyrics, hecklers in the audience or sometimes even mishaps resulting in major injuries. Audio issues were the cause of a particularly thorny response from Nicki Minaj after the rapper — and the throng of fans watching — was left frustrated during her return to the festival for a surprise appearance during Lil Wayne's set. After struggles with synced-up audio led to someone on the crew playing incorrect music multiple times, the rapper’s frustration spilled over in a message to the DJ and sound guy.

Lil Wayne was among the rappers to take the Rolling Loud stage on March 4 for the second night of the Los Angeles hip-hop fest, and he surprised his fans by bringing out Nicki Minaj — who headlined last year’s New York-based festival. The “Starships” artist wanted to celebrate the release of her latest single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” but was forced to stop the music two times, yelling to somebody backstage to fix the mix. After a couple of more snafus, the rapper and model was clearly annoyed, saying: 

While the expression on Nicki Minaj’s face was the definition of nonplussed, she attempted to keep her cool, smiling through several starts and stops of her music. But the awkwardness of the situation was impossible to ignore with every few seconds that passed. 

She told the crowd to make some noise for themselves, and an amused Lil Wayne kept the mood light by dancing around to the beginnings of the songs that played while puffing on what may or may not have been a mood-lightening substance, before taking the opportunity to wish a friend happy birthday. By all means, it was the kind of issue's one might expect to see at a high school talent show, and not one of the biggest live rap performances of the year, as it was live-streaming on YouTube, no less.

The duo ended up performing Nicki Minaj’s song “Truffle Butter,” which featured Lil Wayne, before she exited the stage. The crowd seemed disappointed that things weren’t going as planned for Minaj’s Rolling Loud performance, and exasperated groans could seemingly be heard. You can watch it all go down in the video below, with Nicki Minaj making her entrance around the 30-minute mark, and things going downhill a few minutes later.

One Twitter user said they fully understood why the “Super Freaky Girl” was upset, but despite Nicki Minaj shading two specific members of the crew, festivalgoer DJ R-Tistic pointed out that the issues didn’t actually seem to be the fault of the DJ, since there were no other technical difficulties during the rest of Lil Wayne’s set. He wrote: 

Then I guess she covered her ground well enough with her second swipe at the "sound guy." Not that she'd be quick to say "excuse me, Mr. DJ" before apologizing, at least not in th emoment.

Nicki Minaj is no stranger to conflict. She has a well-known and long-standing beef with Cardi B, and she was also accused of being “too rough” on The Real Housewives of Potomac stars when she co-hosted their reunion show. But surely Minaj has dealt with techincal difficulties before, and while it was certainly frustrating and disappointing that Nicki Minaj’s moment didn’t go as planned, this Rolling Loud blunder (probably) won’t go down as one of her biggest feuds. 

Janelle Monáe, Lil Wayne and many others have been seen rocking a pair of big red boots all over the place, including a Super Bowl afterparty, and now they’re taking over the internet. These boots, which look like they are made for an animated character to wear, have become a sensation, so move over Uggs, there’s a new boot in town. 

These big red boots are made by MSCHF, a collective based in New York that is known for “trolling consumer culture” as NYT explained. However, the article noted that the company said these boots are no joke. They are expected to drop later this month and will cost $350, but many influencers and celebs have gotten their hands on the Big Red Boots early, and they are wearing them all over the place. Like Rich the Kid, who rocked the shoes that he called “Clifford steppers” to Drake’s Super Bowl after party, he posted the fit on Instagram, check it out: 

I must admit, while I think these boots are a bit silly, they did fit the vibe set by Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show with the bright red and puffy look. Not only did Rich the Kid show up to celebrate the biggest football game on the 2023 TV schedule, he also came in style by rocking these Big Red Boots.  

Lil Wayne rocked the boots during fashion week, he styled the massive red boots with yellow and black pinstripe shorts and an oversized white button-down. While it’s not a look I would have picked, it for sure stands out, and it goes along with this up-in-coming trend. 

Janelle Monáe put the $350 boots functionality to the test by posting a video playing basketball in them. She was seen wearing the boots while preparing to play in the 2023 Celebrity All-Star Game. I gotta say, she is moving in those boots. Also, considering Monáe’s tendency to constantly push the envelope with her fashion, I can’t say I’m shocked to see the Glass Onion cast member thriving in these boots during her warm-up.   

It’s not just celebrities who are getting early access to the Big Red Boots, influencers are too, like the grandfather/grandson duo jaadiee. One TikTok from them shows the grandfather styling a bunch of different fits around the Big Red Boots. And let me tell you people are loving it! The video has over 13 million likes and over 94 million views, check it out:

It will be interesting to see if these Big Red Boots stick around and become a major trend after they are released to the public. I know there are many other celebs out there who would probably love to rock the boots. I'd assume Megan Fox, who is currently wearing a bright pink wrist brace, would absolutely rock these boots. I could also totally see Machine Gun Kelly wanting to add these boots to his wardrobe, considering the rocker's edgy fashion, and passion to defend it by clapping back at viewers who bash his looks. 

However, these boots aren’t for everyone. While Florence Pugh has fearlessly worn sheer bright pink dresses, I’d assume she would not be seen wearing these bright red boots, although that would be quite a sight. While she and Fox share a sense of fashion from time to time and are both extremely fashion-forward, these boots aren't something I could see celebs like the Don't Worry Darling star rocking.

Overall, these boots are making an impression on the internet, and it will be interesting if they jump up to being a trend or get stomped out because people think they’re a bit too absurd. 

Jimmy Kimmel has been getting a lot of attention this week thanks to his feud and subsequent resolving of said feud with Kanye West. Much of that attention is well deserved given how fascinating his make-up interview with the hitmaker turned out to be, but for hardcore fans of the late night host, that sitdown wasn’t the only interesting thing that happened this week. Kimmel released yet another version of his incredibly popular Mean Tweets series.

As you can see from the above video, this version revolved around famous musicians. Kimmel and his producers assembled a slew of famous faces with great senses of humor about themselves like Kid Rock, Adam Levine and Demi Lovato and had each read something horribly offensive that was tweeted about them. Without question, my favorite is 2 Chainz reading the message about how much he looks like Whoopi Goldberg. Based off the look on his face, you can tell he can’t quite figure out whether to bust out laughing or fire back, which is the perfect reaction Kimmel and company are looking for.

The reason why this segment works so well every single time is because it’s nice to see celebrities who can smile about their critics. All too often they’re so obsessed with their own art they can’t behave like regular human beings and share the occasional laugh at their expense.

You can check out the hilarious NBA edition of the series below…

Nicki Minaj is a bit of a loose cannon. She’s an incredibly talented wildcard willing to play everything from the bad bitch card to the overtly sexual card. This season on American Idol, she was late for a taping, feuded with Mariah Carey and repeatedly referred to contestants by wild nicknames she made up on the spot. That being said, she also brought an incredible magnetism never before possessed by any of the judges. When she spoke, viewers stopped what they were doing and listened because anything could potentially come out.

Last night at the Billboard Music Awards, that unpredictable quality was on full display when Minaj hit up the stage and decided to give Lil Wayne a lap dance. She keep her clothes on during the encounter, but judging by Weezy’s face, he still had a damn good time watching those curvy features up close.

The Billboard Music Awards are often a bit of a snoozefest. Between Justin Bieber get booed and this lap dance, however, last night was anything but pedestrian and ordinary. Here’s to hoping all future ceremonies have this much spark. Lord knows viewers at home will take it, as will Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne’s fans might like his unapologetic aggression and his willingness to cross lines to generate laughs and thought-provoking conversations, but apparently, the fine people over at PepsiCo aren’t quite as enthused about those same attributes. This weekend, the popular beverage company announced it has severed ties with Weezy over the jab he took at civil rights martyr Emmett Till and the subsequent apology many deemed half-hearted.

The lyric in question refers to beating a “pussy up like Emmett Till” and was spit on the Future track “Karate Chop (Remix)”. After the deceased fourteen-year-old’s family expressed outrage, Lil Wayne released a statement calling the line a “miscue” in the spirit of wordplay. That’s almost certainly what it was, but the family was looking for an overt apology and thus, wasn’t extremely pleased with Weezy. They called for a boycott, and while that almost certainly wouldn’t have worked, the ensuing publicity was enough to convince PepsiCo to sever ties.

Here’s a portion of the official statement, as per MTV…

PepsiCo’s termination of Weezy’s contract is just the latest in a series. Last month, Rick Ross was axed from Reebok and just days ago, Tyler The Creator had his Mountain Dew commercial yanked because some deemed it offensive. Did the companies overreact? Probably. But given how sensitive large organizations are to negative press nowadays, no one, least of all any of these musicians, should be surprised by what happened.

PepsiCo’s decision will hit Weezy’s pocketbook, but luckily, the loss won’t have any tangible impact on his overall wealth given how well he’s done financially. Here’s to hoping Lil Wayne’s health problems will improve and any future partnerships will go a little more smoothly.

Lil Wayne had yet another traumatic health scare last night. Details are still extremely fuzzy at this point, but apparently, the thirty-year-old rapper was rushed him to Cedars Sinai Hospital by his bodyguards. He was treated by doctors immediately after arriving and recovered sufficiently enough to go home this morning.

According to TMZ, Weezy’s specific medical problem was yet another seizure. He’s been hospitalized numerous times and forced to alter his life in numerous ways to deal with his health concerns. If you take it from him, he’s been an epileptic since childhood, and despite medication, this is just something he needs to deal with. If you take it from his biggest critics, however, much of the blame for his recent issues should fall at the feet of purple drank.

Lil Wayne hasn’t spoken publically about this latest trip to the hospital, but one would imagine he’s starting to get fed up with being in what feels like a constant state of medical flux. Maybe he needs to change medications. Maybe he needs to alter his lifestyle. Maybe he needs to seek another medical opinion. He’s got too many great songs to write and too many skateboarding tricks to master to waste away too much more time confined to a hospital bed.

Pop Blend’s sincerest thoughts go out to Lil Wayne, his entire family and all of his friends during this time of need. Here’s to hoping he finds something that allows him to live at least some measure of a normal life. Even if his body can take all this strain, I’m not sure those who love him can take the mental toil of seeing him spend so much time in the hospital.

Lil Wayne is finally heading home. The beloved rapper was released from Cedars Sinai Hospital this evening after a six-day stay, the majority of which was spent in the Intensive Care Unit. The specifics of his condition haven’t been made public, but fans can rightly assume he’s made dramatic improvements since doctors think he no longer needs constant monitoring.

The happy news was first made public by Lil Wayne’s buddy Mack Maine on Twitter. You can check out the tweet in question below…

The basic outline of what happened to Lil Wayne is pretty clear. Everyone agrees he had another seizure, wound up in the ICU and was just released this evening. As for the specifics of what happened and how serious it got, however, there’s almost no agreement. MTV seems to feel the rapper never got close to death and was dealing with a natural problem, while TMZ thinks he almost kicked the bucket following a purple drank overdose.

Regardless of whether purple drank was involved or not, Pop Blend sends out its sincerest thoughts to the popular music mogul. He may have had more than a lifetime’s worth of success already, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be able to spend the next few decades skateboarding up a storm.

Earlier this month, Lil Wayne was booted out of Miami’s American Airlines Arena during a game between the hometown Heat and his beloved Los Angeles Lakers. In the week or so since, the rapper has talked plenty of smack about the organization, but this week, his aggression went to a new level when he told a large crowd of concertgoers that he had sex with Heat all-star Chris Bosh’s wife.

The incident in question happened in Houston, Texas during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. Lil Wayne told the crowd the NBA banned him from events by request of the Miami Heat. Then he asked the crowd to join him in fuck-the-NBA and fuck-the-Miami-Heat chants.

According to TMZ, after the chanting, he explicitly said, “I fucked Chris Bosh’s wife.” Not surprisingly, the comment was treated with plenty of shock from the crowd and was quickly picked up by quite a few news services, though whether Lil Wayne was just talking shit or actually had relations with Adrienne Williams Bosh is unclear.

All the bad blood traces back to the musician getting the heave-ho a few weeks ago. The security guards who actually threw him out said they did so for raising hell and allegedly making a gun gesture at another patron during an argument, but if Lil Wayne is to be believed, the actual reason was because he was very loudly supporting the Lakers in the Miami Heat’s building.

We’ll let you know if either Mr. or Mrs. Bosh publically responds to this allegation.

Over the past few years, Lil Wayne has gotten obsessed with skateboarding. From building skate parks to practicing new tricks backstage, he wants to be “vital” in that large, thriving community, and if his current plans remain unchanged, that quest will lead him to drop music after Tha Carter V in order to get more invested in skating and another hobby he’d like to turn into a career.

Here’s what Lil Wayne told Sway Calloway during a recent interview with MTV about what he sees for himself in the future…

The sports analyst career might seem like a crazy pipe dream, but the mogul is actually taking steps to make it happen. He’s partnered with Nelly, and the two rappers are working on a sports show. They haven’t signed on with a network yet, but they’re hoping to create some good content to prove just how knowledgeable and entertaining they can be.

With his recent passing of Elvis Presley as the artist with the most Hot 100 chart appearances, it’s understandable that Weezy would want to try his hand at something new. Talking about sports takes a unique skill set and plenty of time to work out the kinks. Maybe he’ll prove a natural, or maybe he will not. Regardless, betting against Lil Wayne has proven to be a disastrous idea plenty of times in the past, and there’s no reason to think he can’t climb this mountain as well.

Lil Wayne is reportedly recovering well from the medical scares that forced two separate planes to make emergency landings over the past few days, but unfortunately for the rap star, there may be consequences to what happened beyond just those to his longterm health. Weezy is currently in the middle of court proceedings over a documentary made by Quincy Jones III. He was scheduled to testify Friday to explain why he should be entitled to compensation for the use of his music in the scandalous film. With all of the medical scares, however, that didn’t happen.

According to TMZ, the judge gave everyone the day off on Friday, but if he’s unable to appear on Monday, there’s a strong possibility his legal team will either need to present their case without him or ask for a mistrial and try their luck at some point down the road. If a judge had the ultimate decision in the case, a few weeks or longer could be sought, but there’s no way the jury will be made to wait more than a day or two more.

Luckily for Wayne, he’s got plenty of money, whether he wins a judgment in this case or not. Consequently, he should spend his mental energies staying positive and trying to get better. He doesn’t need any unnecessary stress in his life, and at this juncture, this lawsuit is unnecessary.

Pop Blend’s sincerest thoughts go out to the musican who thanked fans earlier this afternoon for their prayers. Here’s to hoping he’s at one hundred percent in no time.

Given all the success Lil Wayne has had over the past thirteen years, it’s strange to think he’d celebrate a song he merely guested on landing at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100, but that’s exactly what Weezy is doing thanks the larger milestone the charting represents. Between 1958 and 2003, Elvis Presley landed 108 entries on the Hot 100. Thanks to the Game’s “Celebration”, which Wayne features on, the rapper now has 109.

According to MTV, the majority of Weezy’s chart appearances were in the form of featured slots on other artists’ songs. All of the times Presley charted were for work he was the lead on, but considering there’s a separate record he still holds for that, it’s pointless to get worked up about it. Plus, that would undermine Wayne’s incredible accomplishment. It’s crazy that in a little over a decade he’s been a part of this many songs people have loved.

There’s no telling how high the thirty-year-old might push this figure before he’s down, but it would be a real shock if he didn’t wind up topping 200. He’s got his hand in too many cookie jars and his influence over too many promising careers not to find himself in the right place more times in the future, and that's to say nothing of his own critically acclaimed work.