Velshi Banned Book Club: ‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo
Written in vivid detail with nuanced characters and artistic restraint characteristic of Lo, the hugely celebrated and widely acclaimed 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' is a poignant story of self-discovery and first love. Under the heavy shroud of McCarthyism and persecution of LGBTQ+ Americans - known now as the Lavender Scare - Lily bears the weight of her family, her Chinese-American community, her friends, her first love, and her identity. Though the novel tells a very specific story,
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16 minutes ago
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MGK Searches for the ‘American Dream' in New Album Trailer Seemingly Narrated by Bob Dylan
MGK's next album will be a tribute to Americana, and it seems that he tapped one of the subculture's biggest heroes, Bob Dylan, to narrate the project's trailer. In a clip previewing the August-slated LP posted Tuesday (June 10), a voice sounding very familiar to Dylan's can be heard reading a description of the rapper-turned-rocker's Lost Americana, calling it 'a personal excavation of the American dream.' More from Billboard MGK Talks Working With Lil Wayne on 'Alone In The Studio With My Gun,' Has Two Albums Coming & More | BET Awards 2025 Quincy Jones Remembered by Lucky Daye, Luke James & Miles Caton With Smooth 2025 BET Awards Tribute Jamie Foxx Honored by Stevie Wonder & Reflects on Health Scare at BET Awards: 'You Can't Go Through Something Like That & Not Testify' 'It's a sonic map of forgotten places, a tribute to the spirit of reinvention and a quest to reclaim the essence of American freedom,' the Dylan-esque drawl says over fuzzy shots of MGK smoking, riding motorcycles, hanging out with friends, taking in a mountainous landscape in awe and walking the Las Vegas strip. 'From the glow of neon diners to the rumble of the motorcycles, this is music that celebrates the beauty found in the in-between spaces. Where the past is reimagined, and the future is forged on your own terms.' MGK further teased that Dylan is in fact the featured voice by cheekily writing in the video's caption, 'narrated by …' without revealing any names. Later, the 'My Ex's Best Friend' artist not-so-randomly shared a black-and-white photo of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer on Instagram Stories Tuesday. Billboard has reached out to Dylan's reps for comment. Arriving Aug. 8, Lost Americana will mark MGK's seventh studio album, following 2022's Billboard 200-topper Mainstream Sellout. Leading up to its release, the artist born Colson Baker has dropped singles 'Your Name Forever' and 'Cliche,' which followed his 2024 collaborations with Jelly Roll, 'Lonely Road' and 'Time of Day.' And while a collaboration with the famously elusive Dylan might seem random, the Lost Americana trailer wouldn't be the first time he and MGK's worlds have collided (assuming that it really is the legend's voice in the narration). In February, Dylan left fans confused when, without explanation, he posted an old video of the 'I Think I'm Okay' artist rapping in a Florida music store in 2016 on Instagram. Whether that was Dylan's way of declaring that he's a fan of MGK or just a random moment, the younger musician was amused by the post. 'you having a phone is so rad,' MGK commented at the time. See MGK's Lost Americana trailer, seemingly featuring the voice of Bob Dylan, below. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Artistic head of Hamburg Ballet let go amid work culture complaints
Demis Volpi, a German-Argentinian choreographer, is to step down as artistic director of the world-renowned Hamburg Ballet Company following massive criticism from the ensemble over a "toxic work environment." Volpi's contract will be prematurely terminated following mutual agreement and the 39-year-old is set to leave the company at the end of the season, the local cultural authority in the northern German city said on Tuesday. As part of the agreement, Volpi is set to stop working at the ballet immediately, it said. Volpi, who succeeded the company's founder John Neumeier, a 86-year-old American, a year ago, has been the subject of widespread criticism, including from the company's dancers. In a letter to Hamburg's culture minister, 36 dancers - more than half of the company - accused him of creating a "toxic work environment" as well as a lack of competence. Seventeen former and current dancers at the Dusseldorf-based Ballett am Rhein, where Volpi worked previously, also sent complaints to the Hamburg minister. In response, management at the Hamburg State Opera, which includes the ballet company, launched a risk assessment to question all ensemble members anonymously about their work situation. "My vision - both in artistic terms and with regard to a contemporary structure that enables open and responsible collaboration within a ballet company - could no longer be realized under the current conditions at the Hamburg Ballet, despite intensive efforts," Volpi said. "In the interests of all those involved, we have therefore agreed to end my directorship by mutual consent." Following Volpi's departure, efforts are under way to find an interim artistic director to lead the company until the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
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How Sylvia Rivera Fought to Make the Gay Liberation Movement More Inclusive
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." 1951–2002 Sylvia Rivera was one of the most influential activists in the Gay Liberation Movement of the 1960s and '70s. A drag queen and transgender woman, Rivera was a key figure in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and later cofounded the Gay Liberation Front, which became a leading group in the movement. She also co-created the transgender rights organization STAR with fellow LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson. Rivera died of cancer in 2002 at age 50.$7.15 at FULL NAME: Sylvia RiveraBORN: July 2, 1951DIED: February 19, 2002BIRTHPLACE: New York, New YorkASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer Sylvia Rivera was born on July 2, 1951, in the Bronx borough of New York City. Rivera, who was assigned male at birth, was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent. She had a troubled childhood starting with her father's abandonment shortly after her birth. As a toddler, she was orphaned when her mother died by suicide. Her grandmother stepped in to raise her, but Rivera was rejected and beaten for her effeminate behavior. At age 11, she ran away from home and became a victim of child sexual exploitation. While living on the streets, Rivera met a group of drag queens who welcomed her into their fold. It was with their support that she took the name Sylvia and began identifying as a drag queen. Later in life, she considered herself transgender, though she disliked labels. Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, Rivera's activism began to take shape. In June 1969, at age 17, she took part in the famous Stonewall Riots by allegedly throwing the second molotov cocktail in protest to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Manhattan. The six-day event was one of the major catalysts of the gay liberation movement, and to further push the agenda forward, Rivera cofounded the Gay Liberation Front the next month. In later interviews, Rivera reminisced about her special place in history. 'We were the frontliners. We didn't take no shit from nobody. We had nothing to lose,' she said. Along with the establishment of the Gay Liberation Front, Rivera teamed up with friend Marsha P. Johnson to cofound STAR—officially the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries—in 1970. The group met regularly to organize and discuss political issues affecting the trans community. Soon after, the activists founded STAR House in Manhattan's East Village to provide food, clothing, and housing for LGBTQ youth in need. Like Rivera, Johnson had also been homeless as a teenager. River was only 19 years old at the time. Later, she recalled that she and Johnson had 'decided it was time to help each other and help our other kids.' Defiant of labels, Rivera confounded many in the mainstream gay liberation movement because of her own diverse and complex background. She was poor, trans, a drag queen, a person of color, a former sex worker, and someone who also experienced drug addiction, incarceration, and homelessness. For all of these reasons, Rivera fought for not only gay and trans rights but also for racial, economic, and criminal justice issues. But the gay middle-class white men and lesbian feminists didn't seem to understand or share her passion for uplifting marginalized groups within the larger LGBTQ community. Angered by the lack of inclusion, Rivera delivered her fiery 'Ya'll Better Quiet Down' speech at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally in Washington Square Park. Amid boos from the crowd, she said: 'You all tell me, go and hide my tail between my legs.I will no longer put up with this shit.I have been beaten.I have had my nose broken.I have been thrown in jail.I have lost my job.I have lost my gay liberation, and you all treat me this way?What the f––'s wrong with you all?Think about that!' Eager to protect the rights of trans people, Rivera advocated for the passage of New York City's Gay Rights Bill in the 1970s, which aimed to prevent discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. She was even arrested while petitioning in Times Square. Although trans people were initially included in discussions about the bill, the final version passed in 1986 only prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 'They have a little backroom deal without inviting Miss Sylvia and some of the other trans activists to this backroom deal with these politicians. The deal was, 'You take them out, we'll pass the bill,'' Rivera later explained. Feeling betrayed by the movement she had fought so long and hard for, Rivera left the city and disappeared from activism for many years. It was around this time that she started a catering business in Tarrytown, New York. Rivera eventually returned to fight for trans issues starting in the mid-1990s amid cultural conversations around issues like gay marriage and LGBTQ people serving in the military. She joined ACT UP, or the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Although she wasn't a founding member, she participated in protests and demonstrations with the organization in New York City, with the aim of raising awareness of AIDS and fighting for better treatment of people living with the disease. She also began working as food pantry director at Metropolitan Community Church. On the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, in 1994, Rivera was given a place of honor in New York City's pride parade. Following a suicide attempt in May 1995, she reflected on the on her place in the gay rights movement. 'The movement had put me on the shelf, but they took me down and dusted me off,' Rivera told The New York Times. 'Still, it was beautiful. I walked down 58th Street, and the young ones were calling from the sidewalk, 'Sylvia, Sylvia, thank you, we know what you did.' After that, I went back on the shelf. It would be wonderful if the movement took care of its own.' After years of living on the streets, in 1997, Rivera moved into Transy House, a collective in Brooklyn that provided housing to trans people. It was there that she met her partner Julia Murray. The two were close friends for a long time before they began dating in 1999. 'She's a person that has made my life different,' Rivera said of Murray to The New York Times that June. 'She's helped me—I'm not doing drugs, and I'm not drinking so much. It's just that we're happy together.' The couple stayed together until Rivera's death in 2002. On February 19, 2002, Rivera died from liver cancer at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in New York City. In honor of her activism in the gay and trans community, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project was founded just months after her death. The organization provides legal aid to trans, intersex, and gender-nonconforming individuals, especially people of color. The pioneering activist remains a pivotal figure in the history of the LGBTQ rights movement who ensured trans issues weren't overlooked. Rivera is the only transgender person included in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. We were the frontliners. We didn't take no shit from nobody. We had nothing to lose. The movement had put me on the shelf, but they took me down and dusted me off. Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned. We have to do it because we can no longer stay invisible. We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are. We have to show the world that we are numerous. I'm glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought: 'My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!' Before I die, I will see our community given the respect we deserve. I'll be damned if I'm going to my grave without having the respect this community deserves. I want to go to wherever I go with that in my soul and peacefully say I've finally overcome. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! You Might Also Like Nicole Richie's Surprising Adoption Story The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Mother Queen Camilla's Life in Photos
