Before this summer, Nicholas “Nico” Walker was known as an Iraq War veteran, a bank robber and a heroin addict. Now, he can add “novelist” to his resumé, care of his debut novel Cherry, out last month. But you won’t see him on a book tour in the near future; …

Andrew W.K. transforms into a literal beacon of light and hope in the new video for “You’re Not Alone,” the title track off the rocker’s most recent album. The simple but striking Jon Danovic-directed clip captures W.K. performing the track in a dark room, lit up as if he were …

The bishop who served as the emcee at Aretha Franklin‘s funeral apologized to Ariana Grande following accusations that he groped the singer onstage as well as likened the singer to a Taco Bell menu item. Following Grande’s performance of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at Detroit’s Greater …

Terri Clark has announced her first new album in four years: Raising the Bar will arrive September 14th. Ahead of its release, the Canadian country singer shared the carpe diem track “Young As We Are Tonight.” Backed by an aggressive beat and featuring Clark’s rich, twang-tinged vocals, the tune extols …

Twenty-year-old rapper Melii released another sledgehammer of a single on Wednesday, titled “La Envidia Mata” (“Envy Kills”). It is the fourth song Melii has released since March, following “Sh*t Talk,” “Charlie’s Line” and “Icey”— which spread rapidly after Rihanna featured the song in a recent Fenty Beauty ad. Most of …

In a surprise appearance on Chicago’s WGCI 107.5 Wednesday morning, Kanye West walked back the heel turn he embarked on this summer when he aligned himself with President Trump and posited that slavery was a choice. The rapper spoke unguardedly and issued a long-awaited apology for his infamous slavery comments …

Louis C.K. performed an unannounced, 15-minute set at the Comedy Cellar in New York on Sunday night, marking his stage return after admitting last year to sexual misconduct against multiple women. C.K. appeared around 11 p.m. ET, with the crowd of roughly 115 offering an immediate ovation, club owner Noam …

Sharp Objects, the riveting HBO miniseries starring Amy Adams as an alcoholic cutter returning to her Missouri hometown to report on a pair of child murders, was one of the TV highlights of the summer. Much of its creative success can be attributed to the work of Adams and the …

Boots Riley’s first feature film — a surrealist depiction of his hometown Oakland during capitalist wartime — came with a clamorous, giddy score by hometown heroes Tune-Yards; its layered vocal loops and stampeding beats kept up with each increasingly bizarre twist onscreen. The movie’s official soundtrack, which showcases Riley’s long-running …

It’s hard to tell when an action taken by President Trump or the White House is intended to distract from unfavorable news coverage. But it was pretty clear when Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan last week. The announcement, coming at the height of former …