A member of the USA Fencing World Team was asked to remove her hijab by a volunteer at SXSW in order to take a photo for her ID badge.

Sabre fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad took to Twitter to express her dissatisfaction over the religiously insensitive treatment she received. Although she explained to the staff she wears the hijab for religious reasons, they insisted she take it off. 

To add to the insult, Muhammad was then given the wrong ID. Her tweets have since been retweeted 4,000 times.

The skirmish is sure to be an embarrassment for SXSW, which markets itself as an interactive counterculture festival. Muhammad is the first Muslim woman to compete for America in an international fencing competition and the first US Olympian to ever don a hijab. She was attending the festival as a part of the panel, ‘The New Church: Sport as Currency of American Life’.

According to The Chicago Tribune, Muhammad told the panel that she “had a crappy experience checking in” and then added: “Someone asking me to remove my hijab isn’t out of the norm for me. Do I hope it changes soon? Yes, every day.”

When asked if she was worried about sponsors reactions who might not like her making a fuss out of the situation, Muhammad replied, “If a sponsor wants to walk away … they weren’t meant for me anyway.” Muhammad’s corporate sponsors include Visa.

SXSW has since issued an apology, stating: “It is not our policy that a hijab or any religious head covering be removed in order to pick up a SXSW badge. This was one volunteer who made an insensitive request and that person has been removed for the duration of the event. We are embarrassed by this and have apologized to Ibtihaj in person, and sincerely regret this incident.” The SXSW film festival volunteer has since been sacked.

This isn’t the only controversy to mire the festival. Crystal Castles was removed from Tumblr’s Feminist SXSW showcase due to member Ethan Kath‘s treatment of ex-member Alice Glass.

Muhammad, who is originally from New Jersey, began fencing at the age of 13 and competed at Duke University. She is currently ranked seventh in the world and will compete in the upcoming Rio Olympics this summer. 

Image: thecelebritea

The Nanny State. It’s real and it will come and find you. And fine you. As was the case for this New York expat in Sydney, who, as he put it, ended up paying $284 for a beer. Well, kinda. 

Josh Gaudry and wife Anoushka Szlagowska were back in Sydney after a two-year sojourn to introduce their baby to friends, and upon their return were bamboozled by the absurd amount of nanny state rules that had cropped up in their absence. 

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gaudry relayed how he was just catching up with a few old friends for a casual drink and was left dumbstruck by the complicated and nonsensical amount of road tolls, parking fees and street signage, prompting him to profess that “Sydney has lost the plot”.

In one night, Gaudry managed to rack up a $248 fine and had a brush with one of “Sydney’s most confusing parking signs”.

Gaudry detailed how he managed to accrue such a plethora of expensive tolls during the 40-minute drive from Kellyville, including the M7, M2, Lane Cove Tunnel and Harbour Bridge. “Each ‘bleep’ on the roam tag was like a tiny kidney punch to my wallet,” explained Gaudry. However, it was only going to get worse.

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Ouch. That’s gotta hurt. Source: Sydney Morning Herald

“Upon arriving in Pyrmont, I aimlessly circled the streets for 30 minutes trying to find a parking space. It felt like I was in a Hunger Games race for car space sanctuary.”

“Eventually, I found a spot. Or was it? Rubbing my eyes to ensure it wasn’t a mirage, I was confronted by four ambiguous, conflicting parking signs all piled on top of each other to create one monstrous ‘super sign’.”

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The offending sign. Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The sign is a confusing amalgamation of four others that has confused many would-be parkers. As any Sydneysider would know, parking where you shouldn’t can result in some heavy state-sanctioned penalties courtesy of your wallet.

“While sipping on my overpriced pint, old friendships were resumed with some deep debate about the order in which one should watch the Star Wars movies if you hadn’t seen any before.”

“I left the conversation to go and pay for more parking. I found an infringement ticket flapping under the windscreen wiper like a fish taking its final breaths. $248 for “disobeying a no stopping sign”. $248!!”

Unfortunately, the NSW Government Office of State Revenue refused Gaudry’s appeal.

“Yet the final crushing blow came with a definitive ‘computer says no’ response to my formal appeal to the Office of State Revenue. I based my case for leniency on the grounds of a) confusing, ambiguous signage b) the punishment not fitting the crime and c) it’s Christmas for F’s sake!” Said Gaudry.

“My carefully crafted case for consideration fell on the ears and eyes of the bureaucratic numbness of a government department that doesn’t appear trained to exercise ‘judgment’.”

However, the City of Sydney was a little more sympathetic in their response.

“The City has long been lobbying the state government to introduce kerbside line markings – as used in many cities around the world – to reduce the confusion that multiple signs create,” said a spokeswoman for city council

Gaudry has returned to New York, but not before he threw some serious shade at the city he once called home before he left. 

“Screw you Sydney and your overbearing nanny state. I would rather be back in the most heavily policed city in the world of New York. No meat-head bouncers telling me I can’t get in because they don’t like my shoes, no lock out zones at midnight, no food venue shutdowns because of some daft law to avoid loitering, no aimless circling for a carpark oasis that doesn’t exist, no excessive tolls to drive under a bloody tunnel.

“And certainly no mid-strength beer for $10,” he adds finally.

You go Josh Gaudry! Speaking the minds of every Sydneysider out there. Anyone below the age of 35 would know that one of the biggest travesties of the Nanny State to be seen in recent years would have to be none other than the lockout laws, which have since asphyxiated the Sydney nightlife scene and pushed punters into illegal warehouse parties in inner-city suburbs like Alexandria and Marrickville.

Brisbane too is under threat from having its own lockouts laws enacted. But you can help. Don’t let Brisbane suffer the same fate as Sydney. Sign this petition at change.org to protest Labor’s lockout laws and send a direct message to the State Government.

Under the proposed laws, up to 6,000 jobs and $150 million are at risk, and venues will have to shut their doors at 1am and close pubs and nightclubs by 3am. All shots will be banned after 12pm. Even a delicious single malt whisky will be banned after midnight.

We know lockouts don’t really work. They don’t work in Sydney, and they won’t work in Brisbane. Come on Brisbane, don’t be like Sydney.

Image: Sydney Morning Herald

Timbaland allegedly refused to perform at a Michigan charity benefit after he couldn’t get his hands on his champagne of choice. Due to perform at the Thursday night fundraiser for Flint Water Crisis Charity Show, the rapper became highly discontented after being offered Dom Perignon instead of his poison of choice, Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac, a.k.a ‘Ace of Spades’.

The owner and the promoter of Club Bleu Mitchell Jaworski has claimed that after this discovery Timbaland said “he did not feel like performing” his allocated 30-minute DJ set and instead “stood behind the decks and nodded his head” as another artist played.

However, apparently the mix-up in champagne didn’t matter to Timbaland and his crew, who then proceeded to drink everything in the VIP seating area, including two bottles of Patron, three bottles of Ciroc, two bottles of D’usse, and one bottle of Disaronno Originale Italian Liqueur.

“They had about 15 bottles of liquor and champagne which is extremely excessive for a charity event,” Jaworski told the Daily News, “They seemed more concerned about getting every drop of liquor.”

“They then insisted that we show them the signed contract for the night and where the stipulation was for the ‘live’ performance.”

“Finally management relented and literally had to wake Timbaland up so he could proceed to stand behind the decks and nod his head for 30 minutes.”

“It was a disaster,” added Jaworski’s wife, Aureila Jaworski.

Timbaland and his management allegedly tried to dispute a contract signed two weeks ago requiring a live set from the music producer, performing five to eight songs before a crowd of 300. Timbaland then refused to speak to club employees while posing for photos and was gone by 2am.

The charity show was intended to support the people of Flint, which has had its water supply rendered undrinkable after switching its water supply to the Flint River, resulting in millions of homes being infected with poisonous lead.

The event generated up to $3000 to buy bottles of water and filters for the affected residents of Flint. Singer Cher herself has personally sent 180,000 bottles to the city to help alleviate the problem, whilst Pearl Jam, Pusha T, 50 Cent and many more have also donated literally hundreds of thousands of bottles over the past few weeks..

A statement provided by Timbaland’s representatives denied the accusations that the producer refused to play.

“Unfortunately, the statement made by the promoter in Detroit is simply not true,” Timbaland’s rep says in a statement provided to Billboard.  Timbaland is an “extremely generous person who agreed to a much lower fee for this event to raise money for the Flint, Michigan’s water crisis,” the statement continues.

“The promoter was fully aware that this was not a full band performance on stage, yet still promoted it as such. The club was still able to raise money for charity, which was our goal in doing this event all along.”

Timbaland – real name Tim Mosley – reportedly repeated his antics at a regular concert at CAVO in Pittsburgh the following Wednesday.

A representative of CAVO said that the producer “embarrassed himself” by refusing to perform even after being served two bottles of “Ace of Spades”.

However, Timbaland took to Instagram to defend himself, responding to a fans comment by saying, “I want everybody to think I wasn’t suppose to perform think about it.”

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Source: tadall.com

“Why would I do that see what I need to do for now on call these promoter out that not rite for the fans and me now I’ve gave money and came and they ask me at las min sorry to the people who lied.”

He continued in another comment: “I’m the realest and I don’t let people down I’m here to uplift not disappoint so I’m sorry for the confusion.”

Image: BBC

Azealia Banks is a force to be reckoned with. Nary an artist has not felt the wrath of her sharp tongue on Twitter. But now, she has turned her acerbic insights to the upcoming Presidential election. In an epic Twitter rant that would put Kanye West to shame, the feisty rapper explained why she was voting for Republican frontrunner Donald Trump while throwing shade at the other potential candidates.

Banks explained her choice was the lesser-of-two-evils path, saying that Hilary Clinton was in the pockets of others, while Bernie Sanders had no influence or power.

Banks seems to really not like the Democrat candidates, going on to say they don’t truly care about the plight of minorities.

Heavy stuff… What follows is a stream-of-consciousness, anti-capitalist, nihilistic rant about the doomed fate of America under any new leadership.

Therefore Banks believes we may as well put a ‘piece of shit’ like Trump in the White House.

Banks then goes onto talk about a conversation she had with a friend about the systemic oppression and racism propping up the illusion of the ‘American Dream’.

The conclusion Banks comes to like the rest of us is that, yes, Trump is evil, and ‘America is evil’ and America needs to be… more evil?

The inevitable backlash Banks faced from her followers prompted her to reaffirm her position on the matter by explaining, “No, to sum up my rant the USA owes my people reparations so I can round them up and get the fuck out of here … And to sum up my rant: I am saying that politicians are inherently evil, I trust the one who is most transparent.”

While Trump is indeed very upfront about his views on things, that doesn’t necessarily translate to transparency. Banks is a vocal advocate of race and gender inequality, so how can she support someone who openly mocks prominent female journalists for doing their jobs and wants to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S?

While Banks continues to keep to Twitter feed ticking over with her colossal outbursts, she has dodged assault charges relating to an altercation she had with a L.A nightclub bouncer back in October.

The Harlem emcee allegedly attacked the bouncer after she was asked to leave Break Room 86 due to ‘unruly behaviour.’ The case was thrown out due to the amount of individuals involved and it was unclear who exactly instigated the brawl.

However, this outburst was followed by another squabble, with Banks reportedly punching and biting the breast of a female security guard at New York’s Up & Down. She was arrested on a third-degree misdemeanour charge and even made it to Page Six. Apart from that, she’s also called a flight attendant a ‘faggot’. Charming. 

Banks ended her Presidential rant with the revelation that her upcoming record will be called THE BIG BEAT and will be released on February 7.

 Source: Aceshowbiz

Leon Bridges is an old soul residing in the body of a jubilant 26-year-old, who manages to capture the essence of that spirit in his music so perfectly, it immediately conjures to mind some of the greats in the genre. One of the most defining and beautiful songs of his Grammy award-nominated album Coming Home, River, has lifted the melancholic beauty of his style and given it a new kind of life on the screen in the new music video.

The video is an homage to the recent turmoil in Baltimore and the lives lost along with it. Written and directed by Miles Jay, the clip pays tribute to the power of endurance in the face of great difficulty, which the people of Baltimore know far too much about.

The clip starts out with a man driving on a freeway, in the dusk or dawn – it’s hard to tell. Shipping cranes dot the horizon, evoking the imagery of the outskirts of a city. The driver and a passenger hum serenely to an unidentifiable tune, before the vintage car pulls up into a brightly lit motel lot.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hegd4xNfRo&w=560&h=315]

The view shifts to a woman walking down the corridor and entering a room, where Bridges sits strumming a guitar, looking up as she enters the room. As he begins to strum the track, scenes of Baltimore flicker on the television behind them. Bridges serenades the woman in a beautifully stripped back, raw version of the song as the camera circles round before segueing into a shot of a woman and her child in an untidy house.

A man covered in blood walks down the street, entering his house and stripping off his soiled clothing. A group of people gather in the street to hold a vigil, releasing black balloons into the sky, the grief evident on their faces as they mourn those who are lost.

The video pauses at a point when the rain begins to pour heavily, and Bridges’ female companion begins to sing softly as images of families, children and mourners intertwine in an emotional and moving montage.

The video manages to convey this intense grief and devastation felt by the communities of Baltimore, but also shines a light onto the hope through the symbolic presence of a baby. Bridges’ beautiful and heady vocals are filled with the bittersweet melancholy of someone beyond his years.

“The river has historically been used in gospel music as symbolism for change and redemption. My goal was to write a song about my personal spiritual experience,” Bridges said in a statement about River.

“It was written during a time of real depression in my life and I recall sitting in my garage trying to write a song which reflected this struggle … I want this video to be a message of light. I believe it has the power to change and heal those that are hurting.”

The video is incredibly poignant, and although 2016 has just begun, perhaps this could be one of the year’s best yet. Released on the first day of Black History Month, the video is a metaphor for purifying and cleansing ability of water coming from the River.

So far, Bridges has captured audiences worldwide with his incredibly moving live performances on Jimmy Kimmel and SNL. Let’s hope his debut album will take home the gold at the upcoming Grammys.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsPeNrOzzZ8&w=560&h=315]

Image: Stereogum

Human waste receptacle Martin Shkreli has come under fire again. The man who personally raised the price of Aids medication Daraprim has now earned the ire of none other than Wu-Tang alumni Ghostface Killah.

While Ghostface was not at all pleased that Wu-Tang’s one-of-a-kind album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin has fallen into the hands of Shkreli, in an interview with TMZ, rapper called Shkreli a ‘shithead’ and tells him to release the album for the greater good of Wu-Tang fans everywhere.

He also makes comment on Shkreli’s highly controversial aids medication price-gouging. “You don’t take an AIDS pill that you had for seven dollars, and then make it like 800 dollars. You don’t do that like that, I don’t care if you bought the Wu-Tang [album].”

“I don’t know him like that, but when I heard what he did with the AIDS [drug] like that, that’s not right,” said the rapper.

Shkreli replies about a day later to Ghostface on twitter, calling him a ‘non-profit rapper’.

Big mistake Shkreli.

Now, TMZ once again has tracked down Ghostface, who proceeded to lay into (verbally) Shkreli’s Michael Jackson-like features and extremely punchable face. He then mysteriously threatened Shkreli with: “I’ll break your heart in four days.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT_3o4-9WPw&w=560&h=315]

Shkreli is currently under federal investigation for securities fraud and became one of the world’s most hated men after he raised the essential Aids/cancer medication Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750.

Paddle8, the online auction house responsible for the sale, announced that the album had been sold to “an American buyer for an undisclosed figure in the millions.”

When it came out that Shkreli had bought the Wu-Tang Clan’s 31-track double album, people were understandably upset.

RZA told Bloomberg that, “The sale of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was agreed upon in May, well before Martin Skhreli’s [sic] business practices came to light. We decided to give a significant portion of the proceeds to charity.”

Ghostface was similarly disappointed, saying that the sale was “out of my hands”, and that “the people” should own it.

Image: TMZ

Emojis. They are in indispensable part of our keyboard lexicon. Without them, we’d be lost. That passive aggressive text telling your roommate to clean up his dishes would look a lot sassier if it were not tempered by a smiley face.

Considering that 75 percent of information is communicated by non-verbal cues, its no secret why celebrities would want their own brand of emojis. The latest person be immortalised in text? Why none other than The Game.

Following in the footsteps of other rappers Lil B and Cam’ron, the Compton emcee has partnered up with Moji Keyboard App for iOS to release 100 custom emojis he helped design. He’s been busily posting away some of the emoji designs on his Instagram.

The collection includes a woman pole-dancing, a tribute to his hometown Compton, and even an emoji of infamous drug lord El Chapo on the run.

You can use the hand signs for ‘on fleek’ and ‘thot’, covers for The Game’s albums and disturbingly dogs having sex. Not sure if we’ll be using that one too often, though.

Also included are emojis of The Game’s manager beating the crap out of rapper Stitches, a not-to-obvious reference to their ongoing beef and the boxing match Stitches challenged him to. 

 

Hell, there’s even an aubergine morphing into a penis in a reference to that photo of The Game getting his goods out (clothed in underwear of course) for the camera. 

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Taking candid to a whole new level. Image: hollywoodlife.com

The Documentary 2 rapper has hinted that other emoji companies may have turned him down initially, saying in his Instagram, “They don’t want me to have my own emOGi’s,” which also references one of DJ Khaled‘s many now incredibly popular (for some reason) catchphrases,

According to a press release from Moiji, “The Game’s new collection, available exclusively within the Moji Keyboard App for iOS, features nearly 100 custom emojis The Game helped design.”

“Throughout the creative process The Game made it a top priority to incorporate the L.A. culture which he grew up in. This new collection is a direct reflection of what The Game felt was missing from the existing emoji icons we have all become accustomed to using, with a bit of West Coast flavor added in.”

It’s the second time the company has collaborated with a major artist, partnering with Fabolous to release his YoungEmOGis collection.

Ever since Kim Kardashian launched her Kimoji has an entirely separate app, celebrities alike have been capitalising on the promotional value of their own personalised emoijis. At its peak popularity, Kim’s app was selling at 9000 downloads a second.

The Moji app is available to all iOS devices.

Image: rapbasement.com

Since David Bowie’s passing, there has been a rush of public outpouring for the beloved singer. Sarah Blasko, Arcade Fire and Lido have all done tributes to Bowie’s work in the form of covers, and today Miguel joins the ranks with a stripped down and moving performance of Space Oddity.

The singer performed the song at an intimate 300-person free-gig at Bardot in Hollywood, Los Angeles. With the help of only one guitar, Miguel does a sweet and poignant cover of one of Bowie’s most renowned hits. The tribute eventually segues into a rendition of Miguel’s own track, Waves from his album Wildheart.

The only video that exists thus far is shot on an iPhone, but even the granular footage is enough to demonstrate Miguel’s raw talent and ability as a live performer.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ozu2h637lA&w=560&h=315]

Over an hour, Miguel played a variety of tracks, including Simple Things, Hollywood Dreams and Adorn. “We need music and film and visual art. We need to seek knowledge in life,” said Miguel said to the crowd.

“There’s an amazing Kurt Vonnegut story about a society where they had these things attached to their heads where every 30 seconds there was a sharp ring where they forgot everything that happened in the last 30 minutes, and I feel like we’re being programmed the same way.”

“Tonight I just wanted to feel something… new. We all know that life is about being who you are, doing what you believe in, trusting yourself, trusting your instincts. There’s an infinite knowledge of wisdom that you already have that transcends all this programming.”

Back in October, Miguel states in an interview with NME that his wishes he had written Space Oddity, and listed Bowie as one of his biggest inspirations. “That song is just forever going to be classic,” he said. “At the time … we were just going to the moon. It’s just insane, the timing of it.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISJ7Z90zWo&w=560&h=315]

Since releasing Wildheart last summer, the accompanying videos for the singles have been steamy to say the least. Coffee, Waves …goingtohell are all sure to leave you red-faced afterwards. 

Image: www.bet.com

Shamir is back at it again with another cover song, this time choosing to lend his skills to Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran. His incredible falsetto makes for a surprisingly soothing cover, turning the classic 80s pop-banger into a slowed-down rendition saturated by Shamir’s dulcet tones and guitar strummed lazily in the background.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bnvxqHl7_M&w=560&h=315]

It sounds like the kind of song you’d dance to slowly at a prom, or song played at the end of an especially dramatic O.C episode. It’s his second cover in a month, choosing to lend his vocals to a performance of Jewel’s Who Will Save Your Soul.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOg5VxrRTi0&w=420&h=315]

Shamir has had a stratospheric rise to prominence lately, bursting onto the scene in 2014 with If It Wasn’t True, demonstrating his uncanny knack for giving pop, rap and R&B a fresh sound. His unique voice also earned him a place among some of the most individual artists to emerge in a long time.

Last month, Duran Duran announced their tour for later album Paper Gods, with Shamir in tow to support eight of their shows. The Vegas native will be down under soon for a performance at Laneway Festival and a pair of special sideshows:

Thursday 4 February: Howler, Melbourne
Tickets

Tuesday 9 February: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Tickets

Image: The Guardian

Is there anything Christian Bale can’t do? One of Hollywood’s most dedicated method actors, Bale has once again gone all out for his latest role. To get into the spirit of his character for the film The Big Short, Bale actually learned how to play drums over the course of two weeks by listening to Pantera and Mastodon.

In the Oscar-nominated film, Bale plays the real-life character Dr Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager who loves heavy metal. Burry likes to unwind from making the big bucks by playing the double kick-drum along to Pantera’s By Demons Be Driven.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgqG3ITMv1Q&w=560&h=315]

Speaking to Screen Rant’s Don Kaye via Blabbermouth, Bale confirmed that he had indeed picked up the skills necessary for drumming in two weeks.

“Yes, yes, yes. It was a wonderful crash course. Double-kick drum, Pantera ‘By Demons Be Driven’ — a fantastic song to begin with. This is how Mike Burry unwound. This is actually how he calmed down. He would listen to it all day long in his headphones — and not just that; Mastodon as well. But his brain is on fire so much that death metal calms him. He’s a very, very different individual to most of us.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO4SfKSZY_o&w=560&h=315]

However, just before filming was meant to commence for The Big Short, Bale blew out his knee while bouncing on the trampoline with his kids. “He completely blew out his knee — ACL, MCL, patella, everything,” said director Adam McKay in an interview with Studio 360. McKay suggested have a body double fill in for Bale, but he told him, “No, no. It’s gonna be all right. Let me just do it.”

Bale didn’t go at it alone, though. With the help of drummer Scott Wittenburg, he managed to pick up the right skills despite his blown out knee. Wittenberg, a member of Zen Robbi, is a drum teacher at the Musicians Institute. Speaking to Pitchfork, Wittenburg told Pitchfork how he ended up becoming the actor’s teacher.

“Well, I’ve been teaching the heavy metal class at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California for about 10 years. And Paramount Pictures called the school, asking if my boss had any guys he could refer. He gave a few names out, and I guess based off my metal background and teaching the metal class, I was the guy.”

On a scale of Bale-level dedication, this is nothing, however. For his role in The Machinist, Bale lost almost 29 kilos (or 33 per cent of his body weight) to get into character. If you think that’s impressive, then consider only 6 weeks after The Machinist Bale had his first screen test for Batman, a role which required him to bulk up rapidly.