Black filmmakers and black actors and actresses all came together to show each other love. From the Essence “Black Women in Hollywood” brunch to the Icon Mann and Spirit Awards, Black Hollywood has been showing solidarity this Oscar weekend. Stars such as Don Cheadle, Sanna Lathan, Regina King, Regina Hall, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Ealy all have been out on the town attending various ceremonies celebrating their own.

Spike Lee says the unification has to continue all year around: “It shouldn’t take award season for that to happen,” the outspoken visionary said at the Icon Mann awards at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. “We just gotta keep doing our thing. Everybody do their thing. That’s what it’s gonna take. No rivalries. Everybody doing their thing supporting each other.”

Of course Spike, for the first time, is nominated in the category of Best Director and Best Film in this year’s Academy Awards. His accolades come from 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” which was co-produced by Lee and Jordan Peele. While many feel that Spike should have won at least a couple times already with his outstanding body of work, especially his early classic, the Brooklyn born lens man calmly stated the obvious: “you gotta be nominated first. First time nominee for director. First time nominee for best picture. First time.”

During the Icon Mann ceremony, Lee was honored for his almost 35 years of cinema contributions along with Samuel L. Jackson and trailblazing stylist Ruth E. Carter, who’s up for Oscar for Black Panther in Costume Design.

“Her first job in cinema was in ‘School Daze,’” Spike said proudly. “The next one was in ‘Do The Right Thing.’ After that was ‘Mo Better...’Then she got a nomination in ‘Malcom X.’”

“What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “The Five Heartbeats,” “The Butler” “Selma” and the tv series “Being Mary Jane” are also on Carter’s resume. Lee has no doubt his longtime friend is taking home an Oscar on Sunday night.

“She’s gonna win. She’s gonna win,” he promised. When asked about his own chances, the New York Knicks’ number one fan said: “You never know. It could be ‘Black Night Oscars.’ You don’t know.”

Lee's prophecy came to fruition. Carter won and during her acceptance speech, she made sure to tell the world Spike gave her her start.

Is this your King? Definitely. Michael B. Jordan has ascended into Tinseltown royalty off the strength of his regal acting and proven bankability with successful franchises of “Creed” and “Black Panther.”

Today it was announced that Jordan will reunite with the man who produced his breakthrough film “Fruitvale Station,” for another potential blockbuster.

Gerard McMurray will write and direct Jordan in “The Silver Bear,” an action thriller centered around a hitman with an infamous reputation. The film is coming out through a joint venture with Nickel Pictures and Lion’s Gate. Jordan is also locked in as a producer through his Outlier Society company.

“Fruitvale Station changed our lives,” McMurray said in a released statement to the press this morning. “Six years later I’m reuniting with Michael in 2019 and directing him in one of the most exciting and intelligent kick-ass action projects Hollywood and Lionsgate has cooking.  It’s beyond dreams. Michael is an amazing, one-of-a-kind talent. He will bring a chilling and unnerving edge, authenticity and precision to the character of Columbus. The ‘Silver Bear’ is an incredible hunt-and-chase story about the most skilled and feared hitman in the underworld and I have a unique vision for how I want to bring that to life.  I am beyond honored and excited to be working with such supportive partners as Outlier Society, Nickel City Pictures and Lionsgate on my next film.”

“Every step forward on The Silver Bear has been the perfect marriage of the material to the creative talent involved. We could not be more amazed by the way this project has come together, especially with Gerard McMurray’s bold, creative vision for the movie and Michael B. Jordan’s immense skills as an actor and a producer,” added Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President Nathan Kahane. “We are confident the right team is in place to do something very special with Derek Haas’ action-packed, suspense-filled novel and are thrilled to be collaborating with daring filmmakers like Gerard, Michael and the team at Nickel City Pictures. As we re-energize our slate with films like this, Lionsgate intends to be a home where artists can bring and make their very best movies.”

McMurray is becoming white hot in Hollywood in his own right, with a string of hits as he’s transitioned into the director’s chair. He was the visionary behind “The First Purge” (the most profitable film in that franchise’s history), as well as the critically embraced “Burning Sands” Netflix original. Next on his slate is the new “Twilight Zone” reboot series, which fans are clamoring to see. McMurray’s production partner from the award winning “Fruitvale Station,” Ephraim Walker, will work on “The Silver Bear” as well.

“We are very excited by the addition of Gerard to direct ‘The Silver Bear,'" said Nickel City Pictures’ Vishal Rungta. “From the first meeting, it was clear that Gerard was the right person to realize the potential of the underlying material and is a perfect match for Michael’s talent and charisma. This combination will deliver an interesting, layered action film that today’s audience will love,”

Meanwhile, Jordan continues to keep a full schedule as both actor and producer. Outlier Society launched in late 2016 and are developing projects “Gen:Lock,” “Raising Dion,” and “David Makes Man.”

“The Silver Bear’s” release date has not yet been announced.

The 2019 Grammys seemed to be focused on sending one deliberate message from the moment this year’s show began – that they’re finally embracing diversity. The awards opened with a tribute to the Latin beat taking over the country, Camila Cabello sang “Havana” with some help from J Balvin, Ricky Martin, & Cuban jazz trumpet player Arturo Sandoval.

The opening performance rolled right into Host Alicia Keys’ monologue, and she brought out a few friends to help. Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez and former First Lady Michelle Obama to speak about the ways they had overcome obstacles. Alicia wrapped up that set with a call & response to the audience - “Who run the world?” The answer, at least last night – girls.

In stark contrast from last year’s awards, plenty of female artists took home Grammys: Dua Lipa, St. Vincent, Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves, and more. We also saw some record breaking wins from Cardi B – she became the first female rapper to take home Rap Album of The Year as a solo act - and Childish Gambino, who made history by taking home Record of The Year & Song of The Year for “This Is America”. This is the first time a hip hop song has received either of those honors.

Watch the video above for more of the best moments from the 2019 Grammys, and if you discovered any new music during last night’s show, you’ll enjoy Slacker’s 2019 Grammy Performers station. It’s live now!

So Sunday was the big game, The Patriots VS The Rams at Super Bowl LIII (cue the fireworks)! Parties were thrown, commercials were blasted, and Maroon 5 was the performance for the halftime show… eh? Through morbid curiosity, I sat down to watch the performance, to only regret it 1 minute in. It also didn’t help to be tricked thinking I was going to hear “Sweet Victory” from the legendary Spongebob Squarepants episode, only to have “Sicko Mode” played instead. However, as boring as it was to watch it,  the real fun was seeing some of the reactions on twitter. To make it easy for you I picked out some of my favorites of the night.

Mark Hoppus from blink-182

Ben Bruce from Asking Alexandria

Paolo Gregoletto from Trivium

Jordan Buckley from Every Time I Die

The best comment comes from the legend, Sebastian Bach.

At the end of the day, I have to point out one good thing that came out of this performance. It was reported that Maroon 5, the NFL, and Interscope Records made a $500,000 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ahead of Sunday's big game. For that alone Maroon 5, I think we can all forget a bad show at the Super Bowl… but I won’t forgive Travis Scott for “Sicko Mode” over “Sweet Victory”.

You’re gonna want to get your snacks ready early on Sunday, because Tim McGraw is headlining the Super Bowl pregame party on CBS. You won’t be able to see his entire show (unless you’re there in person, in which case, color me jealous!) but you will at least get to see him sing his new song “Thought About You,” which you can also hear on Slacker’s Nashville Now station here.

He’s been in a rehearsal studio getting ready, and you can see him doing some of the song right here.

As for the game? I don’t know who you’re rooting for, but I’m just in it for the party food.

Last week at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California, the rock and metal community came together for the annual Dimebash celebration, a tribute to late Pantera and Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. A legend who we lost too soon on December 8th, 2004.

To celebrate this great man, some of the best in the metal world stepped to the stage to pay tribute. The night featured full sets from Kill Devil Hill and Fireball Ministry, alongside an all-star jam playing a selection of Dimebag’s most well-known tracks.

Possibly the biggest thing people are talking about, is the recent footage that emerged with Dimebag’s Pantera bandmate Rex Brown, along with Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante, playing through the Pantera classic “Walk."

The only negative thing I can say about this performance is that… I was not there to enjoy it live!

Cardi B might have turned down a Super Bowl LIII halftime appearance with Maroon 5, but she’s still going to show up during the big game, thanks to an appearance in a Pepsi commercial.

As the GMA hosts point out, Pepsi has always been known to grab big name stars for their big game ads, and this year they’ve got at least 3 – Cardi B features alongside Steve Carrell & there’s definitely a lil bit of Lil Jon in there too.

Get ready for this weekend’s Super Bowl with The Twenty: Halftime – Slacker Radio’s look back at some of the most epic halftime moments in history. Or get pumped for this year’s halftime performers with Maroon 5: The Count Up, a look at Maroon 5’s biggest songs, ranked by Slacker listeners!

New Podcast Alert: Slacker launches "All Dollars. No $ense" with Josh Altman of The Altman Brothers, star of the hit Bravo series Million Dollar Listing. Go behind the scenes of the uber-luxury real estate market in the debut episode by clicking here.

It’s been long road for Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher. Last fall she revealed she’d gone through three miscarriages in the previous two years, so it was extra special when she was able to say she was pregnant again. At the CMA Awards in November, we found out she’d be having another boy when co-host Brad Paisley got her to say it (unlike four years ago when he spilled the beans by saying, “We could name him Garth!”).

Well… that Willie was born Monday (1/21), only he’s a Jacob Bryan.

Big congrats to Carrie, Mike, and big brother Isaiah!

It is not big secret that when it comes to the Grammy Awards, Metal is kind of kicked to the back of the line. For a genre with so much diversity, personality, and a huge audience, it is only given one category to celebrate the vast amount artist’s hard work of the year. However, instead of cursing the dark, let us celebrate what is in the light with this year’s nominees for Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Between the Buried and Me - Condemned to the Gallows

To start it off we have North Carolina’s progressive metal mad men, Between the Buried and Me, with their track Condemned to the Gallows. I am not going to lie, when I saw this on the list, I had to do a prompt to fist pump. Between the Buried and Me in 2018 needed recognition for the great work that they contributed to the metal world. The Automata I album was layered perfectly with the best elements of progressive sound & technical death metal. So it is unsurprising that the opening track Condemned to the Gallows was nominated.

Deafheaven – Honeycomb

Deafheaven and great albums just go together. Their last 3 studio albums could have all been huge contestants for metal album of the year. To be finally recognized for their 4^th albums track Honeycomb, makes me hopeful for the future of this category. Honeycomb is a 11 minute monster that takes the listener through a story of feeling. If you have not heard the song yet, please take a moment to listen to it.

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Oh if it isn’t my favorite mosh song of 2018! High on Fire just knows how to bottle raw aggression and adrenaline in their work, and Electric Messiah is full of it. It is a thrasher that needs more love, so a Grammy win could be that extra love. If the Grammy Awards had the guts, they would allow High on Fire to perform this on stage!

Trivium – Betrayer

I am so glad that this album was not slept on. 2018 was, in my opinion, the year for Trivium.  The Sin and the Sentence album was full impeccable qualities. However, nothing was more welcoming than hearing the return of Matt Heafy's screaming vocals that were absent in Trivium’s last album due to a severe vocal injury. The track Betrayer is nothing short of amazing and it deserved the nomination without question.

Underoath – On My Teeth

I was so happy to see Underoath’s return to music, but I was surprised to see that this was nominated in the Metal Performance Category. Not to say they do not deserve it. The Erase Me album was full of tracks that reminded us why Spencer Chamberlain is an amazing vocalist, but I felt that this track would have been better placed in the Best Rock Performance category instead. Still, great job on the nomination!

For all the nominees, I wish you all good luck and I can’t wait to skip the majority of the Grammys just to see who wins this category.