April Fools is canceled, as extreme as that sound the reality does seem so. With the Coronavirus seemly closing down most of the country, you can still prank your parents or your roommates, but while the spirit is there, it is just not the same. Every year the internet would be flooded with trailer after trailer of fake ads and products meant to excite, but overall trick the viewer. The pranks were so elaborate and realistic that April 1, would also be known as the official Stay Away From the Internet Day. Apple and Google were the biggest contributors, every year they would come up with some of the best pranks.
One of the most memorable pranks was when Google turned Google Maps into Pac-Man:
Video games also seem to have the most fun with April Fool, IGN.com loves to make up elaborate trailers for fake products, and of course the infamous Live Action Legend of Zelda Movie:
These trailers were over the top, but this was the spirit of the holiday, to make people believe that this was real, just to go for a simple lol kidding. When I was younger, I opened magazines that had ads for products and games that made me lose my mind, just to find out that I was getting pranked. Respawn Entertainment shock the internet when they did a Titanfall x Transformers crossover:
Television channels and streaming also had their own fun with the holiday, with Netflix adding over-detailing categories of films and their own categories made entirely of cooking shows. Not to be outdone by Cartoon Network: Their Adult Swim block brought back Toonami, and for April Fools they showed all their programs in Japanese:
Outside of the big companies, Youtubers and Comedians also flood the internet with their pranks. Outside of jokes, and clickbait April Fools also helps bring the spirit of spring. There is something uplifting about going to the internet on a sunny day and laugh at all the great pranks. While there have been some pranks posted this year, all the major players decided to skip this year, pretty much announcing that April Fools Day is canceled. This article is not meant to upset people but to remind people of some of the best April Fools pranks, so please, during this hard time, stay safe.
On Monday 24, 2020, it was announced that Mission Impossible 7 had halted productions over the Coronavirus outbreak. Production for the film was set to take place over three weeks in Venice. After the reported accounts of the Coronavirus case in northern Italy, the production of the movie was placed on hold.
Left to right: Director Christopher McQuarrie, B Camera/Steadicam Operator Marcus Pohlus
and Tom Cruise (right) on the set of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7,” a spokesperson for Paramount, the studio behind the “Mission” franchise, told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. “During this hiatus, we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.”
The Mission Impossible 7 hiatus is one of the highest-profile cases of the impact the Coronavirus is having on Hollywood; however, it is not the most significant. One of the markets that suffered the most, do to the Coronavirus is the Chinese film industry. Globally China is viewed as the world’s second-largest territory in terms of box-office, where any movie can make its money back. Chinese companies also fund different film projects, which is why a lot of newer movies tend to lean more towards a Chinese audience. Chinese New Year is viewed as one of the most important weeks of the Chinese film industry. However, due to the Coronavirus and the increasing death toll, many guarantee blockbusters were delayed days before their release. Recently the Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Chinese release date was postponed until a TBA date. Other delays that were announced were Disney’s Mulan Chinese release date been delayed indefinitely, and MGM also canceled the Chinese premiere of No Time to Die.
The financial impact the Coronavirus is having can not be underestimated, according to box-office data company Comscore box-office receipts in China in January and February totaled only $238 million, a significant downturn from the $2.148 billion revenue during the same period in 2019, and $2.378 billion in 2018. Box office revenue for the whole of 2019 was a record $9.2 billion, having risen 5.4%. A significant downturn such as this can not be taken lightly because it shows just how financially unstable to cinema market is in China, and how it could affect international movies who try find new life in the Chinese market.
imax theater China/ Corbis
Recently, The Berlin Film Festival also felt the impact of the Coronavirus as days before leading up to the event more than 118 cancellations from people attending either the festival. Director Jia Zhangke spoke in an interview with Indiewire the directors gives an inside look at the impact that the virus is having on movies moving forward. During the interview, Jia had this to say, “For some film companies and studios involved in pre-production, a lot of costs are going down the drain, and those that already started production have to be somehow cut short or suspended,” Jia said. “Some of them are already in the process of distributing films and they’ve paid for a lot of promotion and PR costs. The economy is now taking a huge hit, and I think the investment side will be hugely impacted as well.”
La Scala opera house announces further closure over coronavirus fears. Picture: Getty
The Coronavirus has already spread to other countries, with more than 230 cases reportedly effect in Italy. As a direct response, to control the spread, the Italian Government has announced that their northern areas Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli Venezia-Giulia and Emilia Romagna will shut down all public events, this includes closing all schools, museums, concert halls and cinemas. According to ANEC, the National Association of Cinema Retailers, an estimated 850 cinemas or 1,830 screens, which represent 45 percent and 48 percent of the country’s total, respectively, have been closed in response to the outbreak. Week by week, the Italian box office has taken significant hits with a total gross from February 27 to March 1 was €2m ($2.2m) compared to €8.3m ($9.23m) for the first weekend of March 2019, according to Cinetel. Overall Italies’ box-office has dropped 75% since the Coronavirus outbreak reached the country.
In Japan, the Japanese government issued a directive urging the cancellation or postponement for at least two weeks of sporting events and other public gatherings. The closures are meant to protect the children, who are out of school for spring break, from exposure to the coronavirus. Shochiku, a Japanese studio, distributor, and theater operator, started offering refunds for advanced ticket viewers. Toho, an operator of the nation’s largest chain of theater, also made refunds available to customers last Friday.
A composite image showing a closed restaurant and empty baseball stadium in Hokkaido. Getty Images
South Korea, on the other hand, hasn’t necessarily canceled all filming, nor shows. Instead, producers have taken steps to minimalize exposure to the virus. A live press conference for the Korean Netflix series My Holo Love, starring Yoon Hyun-min and Ko Sung-hee, was canceled. Instead, the cast attended an online conference, answering questions the press sent in advance. CGV, South Korea’s largest theater chain, has shut down all nine of its venues in the southern city of Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest urban center, where nearly two-thirds of the confirmed infections have been reported.
A woman wearing a face mask walks past a poster for the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” in Bangkok on Feb. 28. (Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images)
In February, revenue in South Korea slid nearly 70 percent. According to KOBIS, the country’s national box office service, ticket sales for last month totaled KRW 62 billion ($52 million) from 7.3 million admissions, compared to KRW 189 billion ($158 million) from 22.3 million admissions over the same period last year.
“The situation now is much worse than what we’ve seen during the outbreak of [Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus] MERS in 2015,” said an official at the Korea Film Commission. “The audience dropped to more than 40 percent then, but there was no such thing as theater closures and the market revived after about a month. That’s not going to be the case with coronavirus. It’s very unusual to see a daily admission fall below 100,000. But that is happening now, and the outlook is unpredictable.”
Middle Eastern audiences have also chosen to stay away from theater admits the sudden outbreak of the virus. Outside of Italy, U.K has yet to reach the same number of coronavirus cases. Until the numbers increase, the U.K government will not make any drastic closures that will affect the film industry. However, it is estimated that the Global Film industry is set to lose $5 billion in revenue over the coronavirus.
Ever since the initial outbreak, the Coronavirus has had a massive impact on the global market. While it is not clear how long the virus will last, the effects are already being felt. With an estimated loss of $5 billion, it will be interesting to see where we are by the beginning of the summer.
Pop music sweetheart Lawand, (@LawandMusic), is painting the town gold with her infectious new single. The fresh-faced songstress slid onto the music scene late last year, with a combination of upbeat singles and dope covers. As a result the 21 year olds music is a medley of captivating sounds and rhythms. Lawand is creating a niche lane in the music industry by being featured on legendary music platforms such as The Source and indie platforms such as #MusicCrushMondays with @DyeTai of New Yorks Hot 97. Her fans, or “Wander-ers” as the singer affectionately calls them, have surpassed the 50k mark on IG with the help of eye-catching visual campaigns like #SheAintGold. A campaign for her latest single that featured women and girls of all ages beautifully displaying their self-love and empowerment.
Today I caught up with
Lawand as she filmed an interview at the famed Stronghold Shop, a fashion and
cultural hot spot in the heart of Bloomfield, NJ. Scroll down to see how it unfolded:
This Interview is edited for clarity and length.
All Photos by Bruce Arthur Jr. @MagitheProphet
Notez: So
Lawand, what started your love for sneakers?
Lawand: I
always liked the way sneakers looked they were just cool. They always had a
bunch of designs and they’re really comfortable. So like whenever you just
needed something to put on you just got a pair of sneakers!
Notez: What
was your first pair of kicks?
Lawand: My mom put me in
whatever she felt like putting me, like these little baby Jordans or something.
But the first pair of sneakers that I bought with my own money, I got these
Nike Air Force Ones, the black and gray ones.
Notez: Okay, that’s actually
my first pair pretty crazy.
Lawand: Really? And I had to
get them boy’s size.
Notez: That’s the thing about girls, you can wear our
sizes and its cool.
Notez: So I gotta ask,
sneakers or heels and why?
Lawand: I’d say heels,
because I’m really tall, so heels accentuate my height. But it depends on the
day but overall I would pick heels. Well If I had to go pick up money from
somebody, I’d put my sneaks on.
Notez: Yo if you owe her
bread son, you betta pay up !
Lawand: That is the vibe
(Both Laughs)
Notez: How would you describe
your style?
Lawand: I would describe it
as street/glam because I do like to wear sneakers and heels. So heels is more
glam, sneakers is more street and I kinda like to combine the two. I’ll wear
heels with a street graphic tee and make it a dress.
Notez: Yeah you have to
switch it up on them. I actually like the fact that we both have the pink vibe
going right now.
Lawand: On Wednesday’s we
wear pink and today is Wednesday!
Notez: What’s your go to
kicks?
Lawand: Converse. Yeah, these are actually Converse yea that have a lil fuzz and a lil platform. I love Converse. You can do anything with Converse.
Notez: Obviously the converse
they are the kind of go to versatile sneaker. Shout out Chuck Taylor one time.
Lawand: Their stylish, their
functional, they cover your ankles if you didn’t put lotion on. You should
always put lotion on!
Notez: So when you put that
drip on, are you looking for more lifestyle or function?
Lawand: I feel like my
lifestyle and my function is style.
Notez: So they coincide its
one thing?
Lawand: Yeah so my function
is to be stylish. So I gotta put on something that’s fly, like walk out the
door and just be fly to death.
Notez: Walk out the door and
just take off?
Lawand: Like Red Bull –
Wings!
Notez: She’s always on point;
you’ll never catch her lacking. So now that you’re becoming a young drip lord
do you only go out to the new items or do you still rock some older pieces or
you prefer older pieces?
Lawand: I really like old
stuff honestly; vintage is really cool to me. I feel like new fashion is all
just vintage stuff making a come back. I’m all about the overall look and
getting a certain style and feeling across through an outfit. So I don’t think
it really matters if it’s old or new.
Notez: Whatever the look
requires, that’s what we’re going to do.
Lawand: Yea ‘cause if I
already have it in my closet, why would I go out and buy something new!
(laughs)
Notez: Alright so I gotta ask
you, what you got going on for yourself?
Lawand: I just dropped a music video called Gold.
Notez: Let’s get it!
Lawand: My singles out also
called Gold.
Notez: Fire! Go get that! All
Platforms!
Lawand: Every platform, all
of them! My EP’s coming out in like a couple weeks. We’re having a party that
we’re going to do for the EP. So lots going on all the time.
Notez: She’s already saying
summer is hers fall back. Nobody’s working harder to her right now in these
streets. STAMPED IT! STAMPED IT! LAWAND!
Lawand: What do you have
going on? What are you doing?
Notez: Who Me? Honestly I’ve
got some really cool things, like I have this interview with this girl Lawand,
you feel me. She’s supposed to be here but you know girls ha-ha she’s always
late. (laughs)
Lawand: She late! Go get her,
ha-ha, go get her. She ain’t never late! (laughs)
Notez: So I got that going
on! And this! The Strong store! The Strong Palace! The Drip Factory! What ever
you want to call it!
Lawand: The Ice Box!
Dripping, Icy! Gotta come through!
Notez: It’s your boy Notez, I
want to thank Lawand for pulling up on me today at the strong factory.
Lawand: Thanks for having me
Notez: Today we talked drip; make sure all of you out there, everybody viewing this, and they friends, and they friends friends friends friends! Make sure you use that hashtag #SneakersToHeels and go check out my girl music. Its lit baby!
Watch the interview below and drop a comment to let us know what you think!!!
Every 5-10 years a new generation of great artist appears, to not only take over the game, but to change it. In the 90’s, during hip-hop golden era, we had Tupac, B.I.G, Snoop Dogg, DMX, Ice Cube and so on (Seriously the 90’s was stacked for no reason, no wonder there were so many beefs). In the 2000’s, we had Jay Z and Nas (Even though they started making noise in the 90’s, were putting them here for spotlight purposes) Kanye West, T.I, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Eminem and many others. Now my generations greats are JCole, Drake, Kendrick, Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi. Now you old heads don’t crucify me for not mentioning Wu Tang and Scarface and please you wet behind the ear new heads don’t kill me for not mentioning Future and Gucci Mane or Young Thug. There are definitely a lot of rappers from each era that I missed, not because I don’t know them or recognize their influence on the game, but I have to keep the list to a minimum. There’s a difference between having a nice run in the game versus having influence and breeding the next crop of talent like some of the names mentioned above. Everyone’s time comes and goes no matter how great you are. The challenge is to know when its your time to bow out and leave gracefully or eventually you see your fans turn on you (ex. Nicki Minaj).
All the current greats know their time is coming; some have mentioned it such as Drake when he said ” My biggest regret is not knowing how to bow out gracefully”.
Then there’s also speculation that J.Cole’s next two projects “The Off Season” and ” The Falloff” will be his last two. Cudi’s time has come and gone but his music is forever, you hear and notice his influence on this generation as well as the next. Without Cudi, we wouldn’t have artist such as Asap Rocky, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi, Juice Wrld and a lot more. So now its time to talk about the next set of Goats or artist that will be running the game.
First, this is my OPINION and nothing more. Also this list will be influenced by where these particular artists are at in their careers and their potential in the future. The first artist is 6lack because he already shown that he is cut from the cloth of Drake and Cole and will takeover that climate of hip-hop once there done. The cloth I’m talking about is being able to bounce between lyrical rap and smooth R&B without comprising his talent or comfort. 6lack has been in the game for a while now whether it was battle rapping, being signed to Flo Rider or now having released two studio albums out now titled ” Free 6LACK” and “East Atlanta Love Letter”. 6lack has been around for while. I listened to “Free 6LACK”, where he talks about his label problems, and how he couldn’t release music, and wasn’t getting paid. Thank God that’s over! The moody and hypnotic R&B album standout tracks are “PRBLMS” and ” Ex Calling”. These songs help break him out onto the scene in a strong manner. But my interest with him didn’t start until his second album. From the moment you start ” East Atlanta Love Letter” you realize this is somebody who has learned a lot from his struggles, especially when it comes to love. 6Lack knows how to take you and place you right in the center of his world and mental space. As he stated on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show, “It wasn’t just verses, it wasn’t just appearances, it was people stepping into my world and saying things they might not say on their own tracks.” He accomplished this with tracks like “Pretty Little Fears” (ft. J.Cole). You should watch the video to catch the complete vibe. Although this is an R&B album, but 6lack still flexes his rapping skills with tracks like “Balenciga Challenge” (ft Offset) and “Nonchalant,”. He even takes a shot at a certain somebody with lines like ” These niggas drop they second album then fell off”.We’re still waiting to see who that’s about. From his wordplay to beat selection to knowing how to make people gravitate to his chill vibe and smooth voice, its very easy to immerse yourself in his world. 6LACK is a force to be reckoned with and he’s only going to get better from here.
My second artist is none other than our favorite rock star, Lil Uzi Vert. Lets be serious, Uzi is already a superstar and has even created a new lane in hip-hop. His influence can be seen in these new rock star rappers like Playboi Carti, Juice Wrld, Rich the Kid, Smokepurrp, and a lot of these lil’s and Yung (no pun intended) rappers. Uzi has changed the game in his short career and when the generation after him starts rapping you will see his influence more. From his rock star antics infectious raps, hooks, and ad-libs what’s not to like about him. The one problem Uzi has is his label. Don Canon and DJ Drama hold his music for too long. Instead of letting him have complete dominance over the game, they’ll hold his music keeping his fans constantly clamoring for new music. Uzi has been disgruntled with this process, I feel like his clout will eventually end. We get snippets here and there but very rarely do we get a full track, his projects 16*29( which was announced last September) and his album “Eternal Atake” which was announced in June have yet to get a confirmed release date.
I know you have to build the anticipation up, but if this album falters it could kill a lot of the Uzi buzz, especially with young rappers like Lil Baby and Gunna having the whole country on a drip wave right now. Hopefully it will be worth the wait but they need to take advantage of the Uzi hype now, especially with the popcorn mindset of the hip-hop fandom. Atlanta has the whole culture on a wave with Gunna and Lil Baby, two of the hottest artists out. Cut from the cloth of Future, Young Thug and Gucci Mane, this duo is unstoppable. They were already killing it separately; whether it was Gunna bragging about his drip on his project series “ Drip Season” or Lil Baby taking us through his struggles of growing up in Atlanta. You knew they were primed to become superstars. The reason why I mention them together is because depending how their respective labels handle them, Gunna and Lil Baby could either be a great run or an amazing continuation of Atlanta’s dominance in the rap game. QC and YSl both see the hype for both artists wasting no time in releasing their joint project “Drip Harder”. In my opinion it’s good body of work, but felt a little rushed. Half the songs on the album sound the same and are very repetitive, which even the audience realized.
The label realized they needed to take advantage of the hype for these two, but rushing the project and giving their sound away to everyone can be detrimental to their respective careers. It also raises the question, can they continue this amazing pace? Only time will tell with these two.We’re all waiting to see if in a couple of years they will either be a forgotten commodity like Fetty Wap or stay relevent like their predecessors Future and Young Thug. I personally think Gunna is going to be the better of the two. Now, to round out my new top 5, I think we have to go to Baton Rouge to get our .38 baby Nba Youngboy. Youngboy wears his emotions on a sleeve while telling his painful story of growing up in Louisiana. He has a well-documented history with the law, but as somebody that comes from Louisiana I can definitely see how he’s a product of his environment. Youngboy’s ability to make us feel the pain he went through is reminiscent of Chief Keef and G herbo and Louisiana’s own Kevin Gates. Youngboy is going to be a superstar because of his reliability, whether it’s from the people in his circle showing disloyalty, girls not showing him love and leaving when times were rough, the struggle of coming up in poverty and being told you have no chance, being misjudged for his mistakes, we can all remember experiencing those feelings in certain situations. NBA Youngboy’s album “ Until Death Call My Name” is a perfect project for people who don’t know who he is, right from the start he immerses us into a story making us feel like we’re right there with him.
Until Death Call My Name Reloaded – YoungBoy Never Broke Again: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIn8RYZBBIH4KPlNY6kt0CO9NIy9GyTt
Youngboy is here to stay because everyone can relate to his pain songs. The only person stopping his star from shining bright is him. If keeps getting in trouble, he’ll be just another lost star to the system but if he can make a change he could new face of Gangsta and Trap music. These artist have proven their talent and demonstrated why they’re to stay. Only time will tell if it’s for the moment or if we’ll still be talking about their impact 10 years from now like we do with many greats. This is still only my opinion and I know there are people I’m probably missing. But right now these 5 have the game on lock. Feel free to comment on who you think I’m missing and why. Also comment on why you disagree with some of my picks. Goats change the culture for new stars to be born.
![[Music] #SneakerstoHeels Lawand Interview w| Notez](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MG_8380-1.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
![[OP-ED] SAME LANE DIFFERENT ERA](https://i0.wp.com/sloppyvinyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DA8000B0-08A8-4FE7-8D3C-649B647DBAC0.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1)
Until Death Call My Name Reloaded – YoungBoy Never Broke Again: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMIn8RYZBBIH4KPlNY6kt0CO9NIy9GyTt