A$AP Rocky had no idea Denzel Washington was going to throw Nas at him.

Midway through Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” a New York riff on Akira Kurosawa’s “High to Low,” wealthy music executive David King (Washington) has cornered aspiring rapper Yung Felon (Rocky) after he tried to kidnap King’s son. They meet in a music studio. A rap battle ensues.

While the scene was scripted, much of what Washington freestyled — mixing in lines from Nas, Tupac, DMX and others — startled his professional rapper co-star.

“I’m like: How does this man know who Moneybagg Yo is?” Rocky says, sitting alongside Washington.

“And I’m 70,” Washington says with a grin.

“Highest 2 Lowest,” which A24 releases in theaters Friday, two weeks before it lands on Apple TV+, is a heist thriller that hits hardest when Washington and Rocky are going at it. Washington, o ne of the mightiest of living actors, is, of course, an imposing presence. Even though Rocky might usually have the upper hand in the studio, he’s just beginning to prove himself as an actor.

“Denzel is such a powerful force. Not a derogatory term, but he’s a beast,” Lee said. “Rocky is from Harlem, uptown. So I knew that he’s not going to punk out. He’s going to stand there, feet planted to the ground, as a heavyweight fight, blow to blow to blow. If you got somebody who don’t got it, Denzel is going to slaughter them. SLAUGHTER.”

But in “Highest 2 Lowest,” Rocky proves that he can go toe-to-toe with a titan like Washington. In the annals of movie face-offs between the veteran and the up-and-comer, the scene is a riveting showdown. Not that Rocky is claiming victory.

“I had to go with the flow with him,” Rocky says. “You’ve got to realize this guy’s a pro. He’s a wordsmith for real. It’s not a joke. So when he went, I caught his drift. But I lost a rap battle to this man. And I’m a professional f—— rapper.”

With that Washington roars and slams the table. “But I’m using other people’s material,” he adds. “And I’ve been practicing.”

“It doesn’t matter,” replies Rocky. “I lost, man. It’s unfortunate that that’s my profession in real life.”

Washington’s rapping skills

But as he showed in a recent interview, Washington’s envy for his co-star’s day job is more than for show. Washington’s hip-hop affection runs deep. Asked how he approached the big scene with Rocky, Washington takes out his phone and begins playing Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” and raps along: “I keep some E&J, sittin’ bent up in the stairway.”

“All right, would you ever in a million years expect the Denzel Washington to be able to recite classic quotes and lines from hip-hop?” exclaims Rocky.

But Washington was just getting started. He grandly spat a verse of DMX (“Lucky that you breathing, but you dead from the waist down”), a few bars of Outkast (“Yes, we done come along way like them slim-ass cigarettes”) and cackled joyfully at a line from Samara Cyn and Smino’s “Brand New Teeth”: “Spent my rent money on these brand-new teeth.”

“For me on the outside looking in, it was like this guy was Method acting,” Rocky says. “He was just being himself. He should have been a rapper.”

Washington shakes his head. “No, I play one on TV.”

Yet Washington has as much facility with Wizkid as he does Shakespeare or August Wilson. Pushed to explain his mentality going into the scene, Washington still demurs.

“I can’t, man. I don’t have one,” he says. “I just flow. I can’t tell you what I’m going to do, because I don’t know. I never know how it’s going to go. I don’t plan. But I have been practicing for a long time, and nobody knew! I never had the platform.”

‘I’m still on top’

In “Highest 2 Lowest,” Lee — in his fifth film with Washington — surveys a changing entertainment industry. Washington’s once supreme music executive is losing his grip on what sells — and what sells matters less than how many followers someone has. The movie weaves in some of Lee’s other obsessions — the New York Yankees; New York, itself — but it casts the moral questions of Kurosawa’s classic against a media landscape where authenticity can be hard to find.

Asked if he identified with his character’s quandary, Washington pauses to consider the question.

“If I had an ego, I’d say no, because I’m still on top,” says Washington. “And I’m getting better.”

Rocky, though, sees some of himself in Yung Felon. It’s a moniker Rocky, himself, suggested replace the scripted name, MC Microphone Checka. Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, shot “Highest 2 Lowest” in the run-up to his recent trial over a 2021 incident in which Rocky was accused of firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a former friend and collaborator known as A$AP Relli. Rocky was found not guilty in February on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

The verdict gave Rocky a new lease on life just as his film career might be taking off. He also co-stars in the upcoming “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” a hit at Sundance. Meanwhile, he’s preparing his long-awaited fourth album, “Don’t Be Dumb.”

Who are ‘the new rappers’?

For Rocky, the music industry backdrop of “Highest 2 Lowest” rings true. Music sales, he notes, are way down. Artificial intelligence is taking over.

“They’ve got to figure out how to regulate it,” Rocky says. “People in music are already doing it. Not to put nobody on the spot, there are people with No. 1 records and it’s not even them. It’s not even their voice on the track.”

“This is a smart kid here,” says Washington.

But Washington is resistant. “People trying to sound like me don’t sound like me, to me,” he says, doubting artificial intelligence’s potential. He peppers Rocky with questions. Rocky, 36, already sounds like an old-timer.

“The kids, they don’t want to be rappers anymore,” Rocky says. “They don’t want to be ballers. They want to be streamers. It’s basically another word for ‘YouTuber.’ They all want to be YouTubers, I promise you.”

Washington: “How will they make money doing that?”

Rocky: “They make all the money now.”

Washington: “From what? What do they do? Without the talent, without the thing to go see…”

Rocky: “What’s the substance? That’s what I’m saying is the big question. The performers are obsolete. Nobody’s watching. Nobody cares. They’d rather watch an 18-year-old with millions of viewers open up a bag of chips and tell you how good it is. These guys are the new rappers.”

But for now, at least in “Highest 2 Lowest,” Rocky and Washington are still the performers. They’re the rappers, even the two-time Oscar winner. Rocky, who grew up watching Washington in “Malcolm X,” can hardly believe it.

“He gives you that confidence he walks around with,” Rocky says. “A lot of times, people tell me that I embody this self-confidence — I see it all in him. Just him embracing me, them embracing me, it was so chill. I waited my whole life for this.”

“Me too!” bellows Washington, with a laugh. “And that’s the truth! I’ve been a closet rapper for 40 years. Finally I get the chance.”

18

Bradley Martyn, one of the most recognizable names in the fitness influencer world, has revealed that he completely severed and lost part of his pinky finger in a shocking dirt bike mishap.

The 35-year-old YouTuber and gym owner discussed the incident with his followers during a livestream earlier today.

According to Martyn, the injury happened during what was supposed to be a routine task: loading a dirt bike into the back of a truck with a friend.

“Typically, I could just lift the bike up into the back of the truck, like, with me and a buddy,” Martyn explained. “My pinky was hanging off just enough. As we’re like to go, ‘one, two, three, go up,’ all I felt was almost like a snap. And then I was like, ah, fuck, I hurt my hand.”

“I Saw My Bone”

The moment Martyn looked at his hand, he knew something was very wrong.

“I looked at my hand briefly, and I saw my bone, like the white bone you see in an anatomy diagram, prong forward,” he recalled. “Then I looked at where my hand was on the bike. The cut-off portion of my finger was sitting on the piece of metal on the dirt bike.”

Shocked but composed, Martyn immediately alerted his friend. “I said, ‘It cut my finger off. We need to go to the hospital.’”

Emergency Hospital Dash

Martyn was rushed to the emergency room, where doctors assessed whether the severed portion of his pinky could be reattached. The answer, unfortunately, was no.

“They basically cut off like a centimeter away from my cuticle,” Martyn said. “I have the bottom part of my cuticle and a little bit of nail. If there was more of it taken off, they could have reattached it, but they couldn’t justify reattaching it.”

Surprisingly, Martyn noted the pain was not as intense as one might expect. “Wasn’t super painful,” he said, though he admitted the sight of the exposed bone and detached finger was jarring.

Related

Diana Ross will not be the godmother of Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas after all.

On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, her team confirmed she would no longer be able to participate in the ship’s upcoming naming voyage, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” 

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Diana Ross will be unable to appear,” her representative said, per People magazine. 

The disappointing update arrives after the 81-year-old legendary musician was announced as the new ship’s godmother in June. The initial announcement revealed Ross would preside over the newest Icon-class ship’s christening during a three-day showcase voyage departing on Wednesday, August 20, from Port Canaveral, Florida, with a stop at the line’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

Royal Caribbean CEO and president Michael Bayley said in a release that he “couldn’t imagine a more fitting godmother for Star than Diana Ross.”

“I am truly honored to join the Royal Caribbean family,” she said in the release. “Having spent years creating beautiful music and memories and bringing people together from all over the world, this feels like a perfect continuation of my journey as godmother of Star of the Seas.” 

Speaking to People magazine about the honor, she said, “I’ve always felt a deep connection to the ocean and the magic it represents — peace, adventure and awe. When Royal Caribbean reached out to invite me to be the godmother of Star of the Seas, I knew it was something truly special.” 

She added that her whole family, including her kids and grandkids, had been invited to join her during the christening voyage. 

“That’s really what this ship is all about — joy and family fun,” she said. 

In the world of cruises, the role of godmother is steeped in maritime tradition. For centuries, ships have been bestowed with blessings for safe passage, prosperity, and protection, often marked by a ceremonial champagne christening. 

Today, cruise lines often choose women who embody inspiration, achievement, and global appeal. Royal Caribbean has previously honored several Black women in this role, including Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, and, more recently, Whoopi Goldberg, who was named godmother of the viral Serenade of the Seas, which embarked on a nine-month world cruise last year. 

In response to Ross pulling out, Royal Caribbean said it was “disappointed” but “excited” to name a new godmother soon. 

Meanwhile, Ross, who just completed an arena tour in July in the U.K., is slated to start her “Beautiful Love” tour in the U.S. on August 16, in Saratoga, California.

12

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS singer Rei Ami has responded at criticism that HUNTR/X’s popular single “Golden” was made by artificial intelligence. The cheeky response came after the song became the first solo female K-Pop artist ever to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, sparking jubilation and outrage.

The Historic Chart Moment

On Monday, Billboard announced that “Golden” by HUNTR/X, the virtual girl group star of the animated movie KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, reached the top of the Hot 100. The feat became history on multiple fronts:

• First female K-Pop solo artist to ever hit #1
• First girl group to hit #1 since Destiny’s Child
• Second track from an animated film to occupy the top of the Hot 100 this decade

The success of the track is a watershed moment for both K-Pop and animated soundtracks, catapulting the movie’s fictional band into the actual music charts with unprecedented momentum.

The AI Controversy

The celebration was soon dampened by a viral tweet from X user @TheTitanBaddie, who was skeptical about the news and wrote:

“Y’all realize this is one step towards AI completely taking over the music industry as well right?”

The post received over 12 million views, triggering a wave of speculations that the voice performances on “Golden” were computer-generated.

Rei Ami’s Blunt Response

Rei Ami, Zoey, a member of HUNTR/X, and a singer on “Golden,” was not about to let the rumor slide. She dropped a scathing refutation on X, putting up:

“EJAE, AUDREY NUNA AND I ARE NOT AI ARE U BITCHES DUMB?!

She followed it up with a sarcastic blow at the absurdity of the charges:

“Yall I just learned I’ve been AI 30 years omg help I’m just code oopsie oh noooooooooo me sad”

Related

August 12, 2025

With an upcoming Netflix documentary about his alleged hate crime hoax, Jussie Smollett maintains that onlookers don’t have the real story of what happened on January 29, 2019.

The “Empire” star spoke to Variety about his career now as an actor and recording artist, and he, of course, made several comments about the bizarre hate crime scandal that started with his police report detailing that he had been attacked and ended with the investigation being turned on him.

“I’m not an investigative reporter or a detective. I can’t sit and tell you exactly, beat by beat, what happened,” Smollett told Variety. ‘I can only tell you what did not happen. And what did not happen is the story that’s been out there for almost seven years, that somehow I would have even a reason to do something as egregious as this.”

At the start of 2019, Smollett reported that he had been attacked by two masked men who beat him, threw chemicals on his face, and tied a noose around his neck. He also said the attackers called him racist and homophobic slurs and referred to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” An outpour of support from fans, celebrities, and politicians followed. This changed when Smollett became the target of the investigation he initiated, and Chicago police charged him with disorderly conduct and with filing a false police report.

The Netflix documentary, titled “The Truth About Jussie Smollett?” will be released later this month. It was produced by the creators of “The Tinder Swindler.” The case took many turns as all of the charges were dropped against Smollett in March 2019, but continued when the City of Chicago sued him in April of that year for not compensating the Chicago police for the resources and manpower used for the investigation. By the next year, Smollett had six additional charges brought against him for lying to the police. He was found guilty at the end of 2021 and sentenced to 150 days in jail, along with a $145,000 fine. His lawyers appealed, he spent just six days of his sentence in jail in 2022, and his conviction was eventually overturned in 2024. In May 2025, he reached a settlement with the city, where he donated $50,000 to a non-profit organization, and in a statement posted to his social media, he made it very clear that the city of Chicago received neither money nor an apology.

Smollett told Variety that the “villains” of the story are the two men who allegedly assaulted him, the Chicago Police Department, and the Chicago mayor at the time, Rahm Emanuel. When the first charges were dropped against Smollett, Emanuel called the decision a “whitewash of justice.”

Smollett posed the conspiracy that Emanuel and the police framed him, insinuating that he was used as a distraction from information that they were trying to hide.

“Could it be that they had just found out about the missing minutes and the missing tape from the murder of Laquan McDonald? Could it be that the mayor helped hide that?” he said. “We’re living in a world where the higher-ups, their main mission, in order to do all of the underhanded things that they’re doing, is to distract us with the shiny object.”

It appears that with time, Smollett has only become more unwavering in his view when reflecting on the case. He compared his circumstances to Michael Jackson’s, who was accused of sexually abusing minors and was investigated between 1992 and 2005, and in 2013, after his death.

“I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it,” Smollett said. “And people will be like, ‘I believe it!’ God rest his soul, but homeboy Michael Jackson tried to warn us.”