Pop Culture

Twenty-five years after last working with Spike Lee, the consummate character actor took a role that changed his career. Here, the star of Da 5 Bloods goes deep on his difficult reputation, his abiding self-belief, and his rise to the ranks of great leading men. By Mosi Secret Photography by Paola Kudacki April 20, 2021 Vest and

The actor is starring in a live-action version of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Why stop there? By Gabriella Paiella April 20, 2021 Photo Illustration by C.J. Robinson Yesterday, news broke that Vin Diesel will be starring in a live-action movie version of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, a game in which children make plastic

The late Bad Boy rapper leaves behind a legacy of plenty of great verses and album cuts besides “Whoa!” By Eric Diep April 20, 2021 NEW YORK CITY – AUGUST 3: Black Rob attends the taping of “Good Morning America” on August 3, 2001 at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella,

The TV series Them is the latest in a line of shows and movies to traffic in brutal depictions of racism in order to shock. By Julian Kimble April 20, 2021 Them, 2021.Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video In recent years, horror has become a popular lens through which Black filmmakers examine the variety of experiences

The rapper who gave us “Whoa!” and other classics died Saturday at age 52. By Miles Marshall Lewis April 19, 2021 Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images America eats its young. The maxim often holds twice as true for African Americans, and not only because of the country’s unchecked police violence. Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, high

With Glenn Close poised to tie Peter O’Toole as the actor who’s lost the most times without ever winning once, let’s look at the players and directors who are always a nominee, but never an Oscar-winner. By Colin Groundwater April 19, 2021 Amy Adams congratulates Anne Hathaway for her Best Supporting Actress win in 2013

What The Wire did for the cop show, the French drama Le Bureau is doing for the 21st-century espionage drama. By Chris Cohen April 16, 2021 ©Sundance Film / Courtesy Everett Collection Spy shows set in and around the War on Terror don’t have a great track record as a TV genre: Homeland had critics

For her first solo exhibition, GQ photographer Adrienne Raquel spotlights exotic dancers at Club Onyx. By Kate Silzer Photography by Adrienne Raquel April 16, 2021 Eye to Eye, 2020 Photographer and art director Adrienne Raquel is back in Houston, only half an hour from the famed strip club Onyx, whose dancers are the subject of

For a few years, Vince Staples was everywhere—and then the Long Beach rapper retreated from the public spotlight to focus on himself. Here, in conversation with Desus Nice, Staples goes deep on life off the Internet and growing into the person he knows he’s supposed to be. By Desus Nice Photography by Tyrell Hampton April

Queue up this wordless black and white film about a pig that Paul Thomas Anderson praised as “pure cinema.” By Gabriella Paiella April 15, 2021 Gunda, 2020.Courtesy of NEON Want to watch animals on film? You’re in luck. You can get stoned and turn on Planet Earth or Blue Planet. You can see man befriend

A new deluxe edition of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band promises an exhaustive document of the former Beatle screaming out his pain with the help of the once- fashionable but now-discredited “primal scream” technique. By Tim Grierson April 15, 2021 Andrew Maclear  In the spring of 1970, the publishing company G.P. Putnam’s Sons was trying to

DMX’s passing has unearthed a treasure trove of testimonials, random interactions, and anecdotes that prove he was “The Bill Murray of hip-hop.” By Grant Rindner April 14, 2021 DMX performs at Howard University in Washington, D.C., October 15, 2001.The The Washington Post / Getty Images DMX will be remembered for his soul-bearing music, unwavering sincerity,

The visual for “Count on Me,” directed by Kevin Abstract, is a romantic drug trip. By Willa Bennett April 14, 2021 From Brockhampton’s Count On Me, 2021.Courtesy of Happy Place Last week, Brockhampton returned from a relatively quiet hiatus with a new album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, and last night, the 13-person hip-hop collective

Against all odds, the Bruce Lee-derived drama is getting a new season, and the executive producer/Fast 9 director says it will address anti-Asian violence. By Maureen Ryan April 14, 2021 Andrew Koji in Warrior, 2020.Courtesy of David Bloomer for Cinemax / HBO Here’s a piece of good news that should warm the hearts of action-TV

He made every mistake a child star can make, including the ones that nearly destroyed him. Now—fortified by God, marriage, and a new album, Justice—Justin Bieber is putting his life back together, one positive, deliberate step at a time. By Zach Baron Photography by Ryan McGinley April 13, 2021 Jumpsuit, $4,200, by Dior Men. Justin Bieber

In the summer of 2017, in the middle of a massive world tour, Justin Bieber was staying at an idyllic Irish castle, alone. It was a low point for the singer—after years of public screw-ups, Bieber had lost touch with his ability to feel joy. So he made a difficult decision—he cancelled the rest of

The long-running show about an irascible detective hits all the right pleasure centers. By Jason Diamond April 13, 2021 Peter Falk in Columbo.Everett Collection / Courtesy of NBC There was a point last summer that I swore off cop shows. My wife and I were in the middle of Brooklyn Nine-Nine because we just wanted

The pop star gave GQ a tour of his lair, where he’s been lounging and preparing for tours for the past year. By The Editors of GQ April 13, 2021 All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The alternative to Venmo has become ubiquitous in rap lyrics. How did that happen? By Grant Rindner April 12, 2021 Photo Illustration by C.J. Robinson For the rapper Guapdad 4000, Cash App isn’t just a useful tool to share money or another passing fad in hip-hop. It’s a literal part of his creative process. “I

X’s star turn in the Hype Williams cult classic showed he had full command of glossy aesthetics just as much as the grimy. By Paul Thompson April 11, 2021 DMX in Belly, 1998.Everett Collection Sixty seconds into Belly, an acapella arrangement of Soul II Soul’s “Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)” hums awake.