Aurelia Butler

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    Drake Returns With Reinforcements at Wireless Fest in London

    At the end of the first night of Wireless Festival on Friday, after Drake had been hoisted out over the tens of thousands of fans who had taken over the bottom half of London’s Finsbury Park while Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” blared over the speakers and fireworks brightened the night sky, he asked the audience, and also festival organizers, for a little indulgence. Curfew was firm, but art has its own clock.This year’s three-day Wireless Festival, at Finsbury Park in London, was given over to Drake and his many spheres of influence.Emli Bendixen for The New York TimesBoom, there was Lauryn Hill, suddenly onstage performing the feisty Fugees classic “Ready or Not.” Drake had dropped down into the pit below the stage, and was looking up at Hill with joyful awe. He popped back onstage while Hill performed her biting kiss-off “Ex-Factor,” which formed the base for one of his breeziest songs, “Nice for What,” which he performed alongside her until the festival cut their mics off.This year’s Wireless Festival was a three-day affair given over to Drake and his many spheres of influence, and in a weekend full of collaborations and guest appearances spotlighting various corners of his very broad reach, this was perhaps the most telling. During her career, Hill has been a ferocious rapper, a gifted singer, a bridge between hip-hop and pop from around the globe. She is the musician who, apart from Kanye West (now Ye), provided perhaps the clearest antecedent for Drake and the kind of star he wished to be: eclectic, hot-button, versatile, transformative.Drake on night three with the British rap star Central Cee, one of many guests who shared the stage.Emli Bendixen for The New York TimesApart from a few dates on an Australian tour earlier this year that got cut short, this was Drake’s first high-profile live outing in over a year. That public retreat came in the wake of last year’s grim and accusation-filled battle with Kendrick Lamar — in which Lamar’s Not Like Us,” which suggested Drake had a preference for too-young women, became a pop anthem, a Grammy winner and a Super Bowl halftime showstopper, as well as the focus of a lawsuit by Drake against Universal Music Group, the parent company both rappers share.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    When ‘Clueless’ Made Movie Fashion History

    With grunge reigning in the mid-1990s, the looks of Cher Horowitz and her friends came as a fun shock. The costume designer takes us through her thought process.Power plaids. Matching sets. Athleisure. All fashion mainstays now, but in the summer of 1995, they weren’t exactly on trend when the murky flannels and shredded denim of grunge ruled. Until a fizzy comedy starring an 18-year-old Alicia Silverstone set at a Beverly Hills high school rolled into theaters like a white Jeep Wrangler with a monster sound system. No, you’re not totally buggin’, friends, it’s the 30th anniversary of “Clueless.”Directed by Amy Heckerling, who loosely based her screenplay on Jane Austen’s “Emma,” the teen classic centers on Cher Horowitz (Silverstone) and her well-intentioned matchmaking in the halls and malls of Beverly Hills. Cher’s circle of friends includes her bestie Dionne (Stacey Dash); her frenemy Amber (Elisa Donovan); Christian (Justin Walker), her crush; and Tai (Brittany Murphy), her protégée. But from the opening scene, the film’s fashion vibrates with main character energy — and that’s exactly what Heckerling and the costume designer Mona May intended.“We had to create these girls that are authentic but have a certain kind of fashion sense that wasn’t out there” at the time, said May, who drew on her childhood in India, a European sensibility and an encyclopedic knowledge of runway shows to create the movie’s bold styles.“Cher’s looks were completely over-the-top in the best way,” Silverstone wrote in an email. “But that’s what made her iconic!” Of Cher’s impact, Silverstone added, “She gave people permission to look like they cared about their fashion.” The costume designer had a clear vision, Silverstone recalled, adding, “Looking back it’s funny because they were the adults but were much more tapped into youth culture and fashion than I was.”Silverstone’s close friend, the designer Christian Siriano, featured several “Clueless”-inspired looks in his fall 2023 collection. “Growing up, there wasn’t a lot of film fashion that a young designer could fall in love with, and ‘Clueless’ was that,” he said. “Everybody wanted to dress like Cher.On a video call from her home in Los Angeles, May, dressed in a bright pink top, hat and necklace, broke down the movie’s most influential looks. Here are excerpts from her comments.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Christopher Reeve to David Corenswet: The Actors Who Played Superman

    Kal-El, Man of Steel, Last Son of Krypton: Superman has many names, and also many faces when it comes to live-action takes on the hero. With the release of “Superman,” David Corenswet joins the society of actors who have played arguably the most famous of all superheroes. But Superman, more so than a lot of his superpowered peers, often serves more as a symbol than a fully drawn character. Below is a rundown of some of the most prominent depictions of Superman in the last few decades and what these actors brought to their embodiments of the Man of Tomorrow.Superman I-IV (1978-87)The ArchetypeChristopher Reeve set the standard for Superman onscreen with his portrayal in the movie series from 1978-87.Alamy/Warner Bros., via HBOChristopher Reeve set the standard for a live-action Superman, creating a pop culture phenomenon on the big screen. Now the trend for those taking on the role is to find new angles on the hero, to modernize or subvert the character. Much of that can be attributed to Reeve’s portrayal, which was that of a quintessential comic book savior.His Superman is confident, upstanding and authoritative, and between his powers and his unimpeachable sense of justice, he’s downright unstoppable — as when he reverses the Earth’s rotation to go back in time to save a life. Whether he’s posed with his arms crossed in judgment of a foe or standing fists on waist and arms akimbo at the end of a battle, there’s a machismo power in his bearing. And his disarming smile and self-assured voice, which occasionally offers calm but firm scoldings to wrongdoers, paint him as a hero of the people. These early Superman movies were less about developing the character and more about reinforcing fans’ love for the original figure.Lois & Clark:The New Adventures of Superman (1993-97)Rom-Com SupermanDean Cain brought an aw-shucks quality to the character.Lorimer Productions, via Everett CollectionWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    The Gospel Star Tasha Cobbs Leonard Takes a New Leap: A Studio Album

    Inspired in part by a book she published last year, the singer and songwriter reveals more of herself on “Tasha,” an album blending gospel and pop.“Tasha,” the new album from the gospel music star Tasha Cobbs Leonard, tucks messages of salvation, hope and encouragement into songs shaped by hip-hop, R&B and even bluegrass. Guest appearances include a gospel music icon and an EGOT winner.But fans of the singer and songwriter, 44, will be most surprised by what the LP, releasing July 25, doesn’t feature: the sound of an audience. Since her major-label debut 13 years ago, Cobbs Leonard has only released live albums. As a worship leader, she is most comfortable singing in front of a gathering, whether in a church or in Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.“I’ve been doing this for almost 13 years,” she said during a recent video interview. “What keeps me relevant is stretching myself and doing the uncomfortable thing — not something completely new, but building on the foundation.”Walter Thomas, the senior vice president of Motown Gospel and TAMLA Records, said the goal was giving audiences a more three-dimensional picture of Cobbs Leonard. “We wanted to showcase who Tasha is outside of church,” he said. “There’s a pop side, there’s a fun side, there’s a family-oriented side. This body of work reflects that.”Cobbs Leonard has been slowly revealing herself for years. She’s a busy touring musician, a mother of a blended family of four and a pastor of the Purpose Place Church in Spartanburg, S.C., with her husband, the music producer Kenneth Leonard Jr. Chatting from her living room, wearing a baby-blue short-sleeve top that was nearly the same color as the walls behind her, a flourish of flaxen curls cascading across her forehead, Cobbs Leonard spoke candidly, smiling and laughing with the same infectious and welcoming enthusiasm she brings to her singing.“I’ve been doing this for almost 13 years,” Cobbs Leonard said. “What keeps me relevant is stretching myself and doing the uncomfortable thing.”Will Crooks for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Weird Al Is Enjoying His Rock-Star Moment

    At 65, Weird Al still commands the stage like a natural-born rocker, with high kicks and the panache to pull off what few other artists can (including a fat suit). During “Eat It,” a riff on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” audience members — many in Hawaiian shirts and sporting curly locks — were on their feet. Even a seen-it-all security guard danced. For “White & Nerdy,” Weird Al arrived via scooter, to the thump of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’.” Father-son pairs, arm-in-arm, knew every lyric. More

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    Putting Stars in the Sky With a Halftime Stage

    Global Citizen, which organizes charity musical festivals and is producing the halftime shows for FIFA, quickly learned some lessons for next summer, when 48 nations compete throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Hugh Evans, Global Citizen’s chief executive, said it must keep the performers cooler (temperatures were over 80 degrees) and improve the exposure of cameras because of the sun. But he was pleased overall, shedding a tear after watching the show. More

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    Billy Jones, Baby’s All Right Owner and NYC Nightlife Impresario, Dies at 45

    He opened Baby’s All Right and three other nightclubs, a restaurant and a record store in a dozen years, helping the city maintain its cultural verve.As a recent college graduate in the early 2000s, Billy Jones lived with his parents in Richmond, Va., but his fantasy life was elsewhere: in Williamsburg, the Brooklyn neighborhood that had become the world capital of indie rock. The closest he could get was visiting his local Barnes & Noble, where he would read magazines covering New York’s music scene.Then one day in 2002, he made the leap: He was leaving home, he told his father. He and the high school friends who made up his band, Other Passengers, had decided to try to make it big in New York.In Williamsburg, Mr. Jones began working as a barista, with dreams of indie-rock stardom. It wasn’t so far-fetched. At a cafe down the block, another barista, Kyp Malone, would soon gain renown as a singer and guitarist with the group TV on the Radio.There was passion in the moans of Mr. Jones’s singing, but he did not become a rock star. In time, the Williamsburg concert venues that had launched some of his peers — clubs like 285 Kent, Glasslands, Death by Audio — all closed. Rents in the neighborhood had skyrocketed. Aspiring young musicians left.And instead of achieving his own dreams, Mr. Jones wound up doing something else: He made it possible for other people to keep dreaming.In 2013, he and a friend, Zachary Mexico, opened Baby’s All Right, a club at 146 Broadway in Williamsburg. It became, as The New York Times wrote in 2015, the “nightlife preserver” of the neighborhood. It was a small enough venue to offer major acts an indie spirit that they could no longer find elsewhere in New York City, yet big enough to make unproven musicians feel that they had made it.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Songs for the Heat of Peak Summer: Welcome to Lizard Season

    Hear 10 songs from yeule, Momma, Four Tet and more.yeulePatrick LeDear listeners,A week ago, I went to two backyard barbecues and two rooftop hangs in the span of 24 hours. This past weekend, I crisscrossed from a block party to the beach to an outdoor concert to a different block party.In general, it has been a gray and mild summer in New York City, which has felt like treachery. We’re not supposed to do mild here. So I’ve relished the occasions this month when days of unfettered sun have trailed one after the other. Endorphins from UV rays gallop through my bloodstream. Blue skies hypnotize me out of my inhibitions. Agendas slip away like steam from a hot spring. At last, Lizard Season.Lizard Season, to borrow a term from my friend Morgan, is that stretch of mid-July and August when summer is at full force. Those of us who celebrate feel our moods soar along with the sun’s highest and longest route across the sky. Embracing Lizard Season means welcoming its sweet, hot sting against your skin; leaning into the melt; basking in the too-muchness, knowing that one day soon there won’t be nearly enough.This week, as guest host filling in for my culture desk colleague Lindsay Zoladz, I’ve made a playlist of 10 new songs that channel the spirit of peak summer. Tracks by Fade Evare, Wishy and yeule shimmer with the languorous luxury of an afternoon picnic. It closes out with more up-tempo jams by Georgie & Joe, Deki Alem and deBasement — music for dancing on a rooftop under a 9 p.m. sunset.Find me outside,ReggieListen along while you read.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More