UK
From Little Simz to Central Cee: The 2024 BRIT Awards Nominees Are Here
Award season is in full swing. From the Grammy Awards to the Billboard Music Awards, boundary-pushing talent are looking to take home leading prizes. The UK has taken note, with the annual BRIT Awards scheduled for March 2, 2024. The nominees have been announced, seeing local singer-songwriter RAYE make history with seven nominations. She is the first to achieve the milestone since the inaugural ceremony in 1977. RAYE is up for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Pop Act, R&B Act, and twice for Song of the Year. RAYE's critically acclaimed debut album, My 21st Century Blues, mixes booming beats with R&B and hip-hop and topped the US charts while going No. 2 in the UK. English-Albanian artist Dua Lipa continues to stand her ground with three nomination...
Boiler Room Announces 2024 World Tour
London-based platform Boiler Room is a one-stop shop for all things music, hosting countless concerts annually. While previously welcoming James Blake, Fred Again.., and Jyoty, the incubator is taking over 2024 by announcing its Boiler Room World Tour. Boiler Room World Tour is an annual event that allows worldwide fans to dance the night away. The 2024 edition will head to Bogota, Lagos, Edinburgh, Shanghai, and more while returning to hotspots in London, Mumbai, Manchester, Milan, New York, Seoul, Toronto, Sydney, and Melbourne. The 2024 Boiler Room World Tour will be larger than ever before, enlisting dozens of international artists to participate. The first wave of talent has been revealed, including US rapper Rico Nasty, electronic producer Pearson Sound, and Copenhagen-based star Mam...
Skepta Gives His Directorial Debut ‘Tribal Mark’ an Official Release Date
Following the announcement of his directorial debut during the back-end of last year, Skepta, has announced that his film, Tribal Mark, will release on January 26 at Everyman Cinema.The production from Skepta, his production company, 1PLUS1, and long-time collaborator, Dwight Okechukwu, follows the poignant journey of a Nigerian immigrant navigating life in a foreign land, with the film also coming as an introduction to the world of an undercover Black Secret Service. The cast features a melange of up-and-coming Black actors, too, with the movie's protagonist, Young Mark, played by Jude Carmichael.Young Mark grapples with adapting to a new life in London; we meet him as a troubled child -- having moved from his native Nigeria -- and then as a young adult in a place that he struggles to mak...
Idris Elba Urges the UK Government To Address Youth Violence With New Track “Knives Down”
Idris Elba is calling on the UK government to take action with the issue of youth violence, releasing the track "Knives Down" as part of his Don’t Stop Your Future campaign.The cut features DB Maz and is produced by Fraser T Smith and FaNaTiX. Elba targets the government for their inaction on knife crime, while the accompanying music video shows him and the families of victims holding a debate in the House of Commons, as well as photos of the young lives lost. In addition, he appeared at Parliament Square with outfits laid on the ground symbolic of the youth that have been killed. He stood alongside Yemi Hughes, who was holding the clothes worn by her 19-year-old son Andre Aderemi when he lost his life to knife crime.Elba is demanding Parliament to "urgently prioritise the long-awaited ban...
New Banksy Stop Sign Art Stolen Less Than an Hour After Unveiling
A new Banksy artwork recently popped up in London. Fans were made aware of the piece after the artist uploaded a photo of the piece on Instagram on December 22. The anonymous artist confirmed that the traffic stop sign with three aircrafts that seem to resemble military drones, was a unique piece of his own. A video and Getty Images captured two men seen taking down the sign less than an hour after its unveiling on the intersection of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, South London. Authority have been alerted of the incident and said that the stop sign would be replaced. It is understood that Banksy himself is not behind the removal and there are currently two men arrested on suspicion of theft of the Banksy artwork. The two thieves appeared to use bolt cutters and Lime bicycl...
HBO’s ‘The Regime’ Sees Kate Winslet Play a Troubled Authoritarian Leader
HBO is closing 2023 by releasing the official trailer for its new political drama miniseries, The Regime. The six-episode show stars British actress Kate Winslet, who takes on the role of an authoritarian chancellor struggling to promote a falling UK country. The HBO Original written by Succession's Will Tracy invites interchanging directors Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs to juggle episodes. The Regime manages an extended cast, including Martha Plimpton, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Hugh Grant. The Regime follows Winslet's dictatorial rule as she fights to maintain control of a rebellious nation and skeptical political team. Her modern European regime unravels into chaos throughout the year as additional sovereigns seek a replacement against her wishes. Watch the inaugur...
Daniel Kaluuya’s ‘The Kitchen’ Will Be Available on Netflix Next Month
Following its successful debut at this year's London Film Festival, the new thriller The Kitchen -- co-directed by Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares -- is landing on Netflix next month. And to give viewers a real feel for the soon-to-be-released movie, the trailer has now surfaced online.Written by Kaluuya and Joe Murtagh, The Kitchen is set in a dystopian London, where the gap between the rich and the poor has been stretched to its limits. This means that all forms of social housing have been eradicated and only "The Kitchen" remains -- a location that over time, has built a solid community, one that refuses to move out of the place they call home. At this point in the story, Izi (Kane Robinson), the story's protagonist, is living by necessity and desperately trying to find a way out, whil...
Skepta and Jammer’s “Mas Tiempo” Performance at Drumsheds Was Unforgettable
London's massive new venue, Drumsheds', has already been proving to be a big success – and the venue's rich vein of form continued when Skepta and Jammer pulled up this weekend.After opening to the public in October, the 608,000-square-foot warehouse has welcomed guests for an experience like no other – with United Visual Artists and Broadwick Live united to turn the warehouse into a huge new space which offers cutting-edge lighting, and spatial design.Last weekend, Drumsheds staged an unforgettable display of UK talent and had Skepta and Jammer deliver a memorable set at their "Mas Tiempo" event. The duo's Drumsheds takeover was an unforgettable experience, toasting to an incredible year with a slew of special guests and back-to-back sets.Skepta and Jammer remixed classic tunes from legen...
Bang & Olufsen Opens Futuristic Storefront In London
Danish electronics titan Bang & Olufsen is expanding its horizons in 2024, entering the new year by unveiling its latest storefront in the British capital. Located in London's luxurious Mayfair neighborhood, Bang & Olufsen's futuristic oasis invites tech fanatics to experience an audio revolution on New Bond Street. The 4,000-square-foot venue is spread across three floors, guided by creative landscapes focused on art, design, and music. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to drench every corner, leading into three immersive areas for customers to explore. The Bespoke zone will enable visitors to design their own Bang & Olufsen devices with unique software and soft color palettes ranging from home speakers to record players. London shoppers can visit The Sensorium to e...
‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Returns to Netflix in Spring 2024 in Two Parts
Bridgerton is making a return to Netflix in the spring of 2024. The third season of the popular period drama is set to waltz onto the platform in two parts with the first four episodes debuting in May and the latter four in June. In an announcement posted to TikTok, Netflix released a video that put together previously seen footages of fans eager for the third season to arrive. The Shondaland series jumps right back into Regency-era London that follows the story of Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton's (Luke Newton) unfolding romance. Diverting away from the original Julia Quinn books, Penelope is expected to deal with her rift with her best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie). According to Netflix's description, there appears to be a new friend found in an ...
Ducati and Bentley Reveal Limited-Edition Collaborative Diavel
During this year's Art Basel Miami, Ducati and Bentley came together to reveal a collaborative limited-edition Diavel, available in two options, a standard make of 500 examples and a bespoke Mulliner option, limited to just 50 examples.The bike's design ethos is based on the ultra-rare Bentley Batur, a new sport and luxury concept car from Bentley, featuring a powerful 740 PS twin-turbo W12 engine and limited to just 18 production units.Mirroring the Batur, the Ducati Diavel for Bentley is designed to symbolize luxury, performance and craftsmanship -- achieved through the Ducati Centro Stile working closely with Bentley designers. Notable details include the Scarab Green paint, a signature of the Bentley Mulliner palette. Additionally, the bike's design elements, like the forged rims and t...
Prince Gyasi’s Pirelli Calendar Celebrates the Future of Black Greatness
The Pirelli Calendar is part of global fashion history. Known as "The Cal," it first migrated to photographic stardom in 1964, launched by Britain's Pirelli UK Limited. The Pirelli Calendar has become a cultural digest for artistic personas, welcoming esteemed photographers and modeling creatives annually. The multi-page diary combines fashion and glamour across mesmerizing images with a story to tell, curated by the selected photographer with the freedom to bring his vision to life. 2024 marks Pirelli Calendar's 60th anniversary, and who better to celebrate than Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi? Gyasi's Pirelli Calendar debut celebrates London and Ghana — the two cities he calls home. He gets up close and personal with an all-black cast, cementing their beauty with vibrant visuals. St...
