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It feels like summer is just speeding by, and I haven’t done even half of the things I wanted to do.
What I have done in spades, though, is catch some really good streaming content.
Settle in on the sofa for this week’s first offering, but be forewarned that some of its festive scenes may get you in the mood to jump up and bust some moves.
Three things to watch
‘Wedding Season’
Many of us know about the pressure on single folks to get married.
So the plot of this new film, in which two young professionals pretend to be a couple during summer wedding season to get their parents off their back, resonates.
Of course, we know what happens as a result. Love a romantic comedy!
It’s streaming on Netflix.
‘Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head’
It’s the revival you may not have even known you needed.
Our favorite airheaded teens have traveled from the 1990s to 2022, and we get a chance to enjoy their shenanigans yet again.
There are some updates, of course, but the guys are still just as dim-witted as ever. Get ready for the nostalgia and the fun.
The new series, which follows on the heels of the Paramount+ movie “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe,” is streaming on the same platform.
‘Sweet Life: Los Angeles’ Season 2
Issa Rae is always giving us a slice of African American life.
This reality series follows a group of young, ambitious Black friends who are pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
Naturally, it’s not all a bed of roses — it is television, after all — but this coming-of-age show offers lots of opportunity to witness growth.
The second season of “Sweet Life: Los Angeles” is streaming on HBO Max, which is owned by CNN’s parent company.
Two things to listen to
Calvin Harris could have a music festival just with the artists featured on his latest project.
“Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2” features collaborations with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Dua Lipa, Normani, Offset, Halsey, Pharrell and Snoop Dogg, to name a few.
“I felt like the first one, the idea was there, but I didn’t fully carry it through,” the DJ/producer told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, as reported by Complex. “With this one, I wanted to have more live drums, guitars … I wanted the original essence. I wanted the layers and the grit and the dirt. And I don’t want things to be mixed too perfectly.”
The album dropped Friday.
Slim Shady has hits.
Eminem is releasing “Curtain Call 2,” the second volume of his greatest hits.
The album is “a hits collection comprised of the inimitable Detroit MC’s creative output since the 2005 release of Curtain Call: The Hits,” according to the rapper’s site.
“Curtain Call 2” will include music from all Eminem projects starting from 2009’s “Relapse,” including songs from various side projects, guest appearances and film soundtracks.
His performance during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show has me so ready for this release, out now.
One thing to talk about
The news that Zahara Jolie-Pitt will be attending Spelman College in Atlanta is quite a boon to HBCUs.
As the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the teen had her choice of schools. And by choosing one of the best known of the historically Black colleges and universities to matriculate at, she brings a great deal of attention to the liberal arts college.
Her mother proudly announced Jolie-Pitt’s choice on social media, and the excitement for her was palpable.
I get it, as I count several Spelman graduates as good friends. A supportive sisterhood awaits Jolie-Pitt.
Good luck to her and all the incoming freshmen across the nation this semester.
Something to sip on
Inclusion isn’t just about race.
That’s the lesson that resonates with Beyoncé’s agreeing to remove an ableist slur from her latest hit album, “Renaissance.”
After complaints that the song “Heated” contained a term that is derogatory to people with spastic cerebral palsy, reps for the singer confirmed that “the word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced.”
It’s a lesson that Lizzo also learned in a similar situation in June. She, too, was quick to rectify the issue.
Addressing these concerns goes beyond good public relations. It’s an example to us all about the need for sensitivity.