Eight months after the release of CAPRISONGS, FKA twigs has dropped another visual from the mixtape, this time for the track ‘pamplemousse’. Check out the clip, directed by Aidan Zamiri and Yuma Burgess, below.
Since releasing the last CAPRISONGS video for ‘thank you song’, FKA twigs dropped a new single, ‘killer’, back in June. She previously shared visuals for ‘which way’, ‘honda’, ‘oh my love’, and ‘meta angel’.
Ciara and Summer Walker have joined forces for the new song ‘Better Thangs’. It follows ‘Jump’, Ciara’s first new single in two years, which dropped in July. Check it out below.
Ciara described ‘Better Thangs’ as “a feel-good R&B anthem for elevating every aspect of your life,” adding, “It’s meant to bring joy while inspiring the continuous evolution of one’s self.”
Of collaborating with Summer Walker, Ciara said: “I have so much respect for my girl Summer and it’s fitting to have her on the record because we connect on so many levels, from where we come from, to our journeys and our mission to inspire other people to go after what they deserve in life… better thangs!”
Ciara released her latest album, Beauty Marks, in 2019.
Coolio, the rapper best known for hits like ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ and ‘Fantastic Voyage’, has died at the age of 59. According to TMZ, the rapper passed away unexpectedly while at a friend’s house on Wednesday night and was later found by his manager, Jarez Posey. Jarez told TMZ the paramedics suspect the rapper suffered cardiac arrest, but an official cause of death has not been determined.
Coolio was born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. on August 1, 1963. After moving from his hometown of Monessen, Pennsylvania to Compton, California, where he attended Compton Community College, Coolio released his first single, ‘Whatcha Gonna Do?’, in 1987. ‘What Makes You Dance (Force Groove)’, recorded with Nu-Skool, came out the following year. As he started making waves in the Los Angeles rap scene, he joined the group WC and the Maad Circle, contributing to their 1991 debut album, Ain’t a Damn Thang Changed.
In 1994, Coolio signed to Tommy Boy Records and put out his solo debut album, It Takes A Thief. Its lead single, ‘Fantastic Voyage’ hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached Platinum status. The following year, he teamed up with gospel singer L.V. for ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, which appeared in the movie Dangerous Minds. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and earned him the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. “Weird Al” Yankovic famously parodied the track, reimagining it as ‘Amish Paradise’. Coolio’s sophomore album, Gangsta’s Paradise, was also nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1997 Grammys, while the single ‘1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)’ won Best Rap Solo Performance.
Coolio went on to release six more studio albums, his last one being 2009’s From the Bottom 2 the Top. In 1996, he wrote ‘Aw, Here It Goes!’, the theme song for Nickelodeon’s Kenan & Kel, and made several TV appearances throughout his career, including in shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Nanny, and Gravity Falls.
“We are honored to be a part of Coolio’s musical family,” his label casual wrote in a statement. “Coolio is a legend who has inspired a generation of artists to unapologetically share their visions with the world. We are beyond grateful Coolio shared his talents with us, and at the same time, we are extremely saddened to be a bookend on his amazing musical journey.”
Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn have previewed their forthcoming collaborative album with its second movement, which includes four tracks: ‘Sienna’, ‘Cerulean’, ‘Opal’, and ‘Saffron’. ‘Saffron’ also comes with a video directed by Richard and featuring dancers from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Check it out below.
“What would your last dance be? In all my struggles and pain, beauty, ugliness, and everything in between, all I’ve ever known is to dance through it all,” Richard said in a statement. “And if I had one hope in all the chaos of life, I’d ask God if he could save me one more dance before I go.”
Pigments is set for release on October 21 via Merge Records. It features the previously shared tracks ‘Coral’, ‘Sandstone’, ‘Indigo’, and ‘Vantablack’.
Caitlin Rose has released ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’, the second single from her forthcoming album CAZIMI. The LP, the Nashville singer-songwriter’s first in nine years, was announced last month with the track ‘Black Obsidian’. Check out the Austin Leih-directed video for ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ below.
“For a long time I was doing a little series on Instagram where I would punchline all of the old sheet music I was collecting,” Rose said in a statement about the new song, which was co-written with Daniel Tashian. “There’s a 1924 tune called ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ and I added ‘and nobody’s fool’ as a crack. I ended up taking it down because I knew it would be a really fun one to write. Daniel Tashian just happened to be on my schedule that week and was the perfect musical cohort to explore this. I wanted something anthemic and fun to play in sets and that definitely scratched the itch.”
“The video just came out of wanting to ride horses and, more specifically, that I always thought ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ was a perfect racing name,” Rose added. “We were able to film at the Loretta Lynn ranch thanks to some amazing friends. Crystal Lynn patiently guided me through an entire week’s worth of riding lessons in one day. I’m so thankful to the Lynn family for one of the best days I’ve had in a long time and for this perfect opportunity to become a born again horse girl.”
CAZIMI comes out November 18 on Missing Piece/Names.
Metagaming has become a common term in video games, online game tournaments, and esports over recent years, but the phrase is notoriously tricky to define. Part of the problem is that it means slightly different things depending on the gaming community using it. It also has alternative but related meanings outside the video game sector, while the root term ‘meta’ similarly has multiple definitions.
Understanding the meta
A gaming meta is the system and design of a game, behind or beyond the game world with which the player interfaces. It refers to the mechanics, conventions, rules, and so on that operate “behind the scenes” to make the game work. A player doesn’t need to know about the meta to enjoy and complete the game. Indeed, designers work on the assumption that the player is ignorant of the meta and will just proceed based on the information presented to them in-game.
Gaining an advantage
Metagaming is gaming based on knowledge of the meta or behavior of other players. It can refer to any use of knowledge, skills, and strategies from outside the game to gain an in-game advantage and beat the game or other players, achieve the highest possible score, finish the game quickest, or achieve other desirable outcomes more easily than would otherwise be possible.
A gray area
The difference between metagaming and cheating is a gray area. For instance, stream sniping, where a player eavesdrops on another player’s live stream to predict their moves, is considered underhand, if not illegal. Metagaming can also involve exploiting bugs and glitches within a game, and the fairness or otherwise of this is much debated. Increasingly, however, designers may deliberately incorporate opportunities for metagaming, and in most cases, it’s seen as a legitimate way to increase effectiveness.
Casino gaming
Metagaming can also be understood in terms of casino games, though these days, you’re more likely to hear it discussed in relation to Street Fighter or Hearthstone than online gambling NJ. But when a poker player tries to read his opponent, a blackjack or roulette player uses a complex system in an attempt to beat the house, or a slots player tries to predict the next payout, they are all indulging in metagaming. They are using knowledge and strategy from outside the game to try to affect the outcome.
Strategies and trends
In video and online multiplayer games, meta can refer to the latest or currently popular strategies and gaming trends. These are often based on the perceived strengths or weaknesses of in-game items, from playable characters to customized decks of cards. As rankings may change over time, strategies will change and evolve, too.
Specific scenarios
Different meta may also apply to different scenarios, environments, or battlegrounds within the same name. This, too, will change as patches and updates are applied to the game. Scenario-specific strategies will, therefore, also evolve alongside the scenario in question.
Meta refers to the mechanics of how a game works, and metagaming involves using your knowledge of this to your advantage. However, the specific meaning changes with different games and in various communities. It could be seen as a game within the game or even outside of the game – depending on your present perspective!
Many people will have heard, but not fully understood, about NFTs. These assets can represent genuine works of art that can be sold as if they were a traditional painting, and are also proof against theft or any of the other problems that can occur with a physical work of art that we are used to seeing and owning.
However, it is not only NFTs that give artists free rein, there are also real artists in more digital professions, such as illustrators for websites or web designers. Although sometimes these works are not appreciated as they should be or are undervalued in many cases, most of them are based on concepts that we can find in the best paintings in the world.
There are some sectors where one of the ways to make your product stand out from the competition and make the consumer choose your offer is precisely a good image and a visually beautiful product. This happens, to give an example that few people imagine, with slot machines. As we can see on many websites that compare online slot machines, we can see that those that are more advanced in graphics and design tend to be the most successful, except among the group of users who prefer classic slots.
Those who design video games also deserve a lot of credit. Remember the football games where you could only recognize a player if he was the only blond on the team? They weren’t graphics and designs that could make recognizable even such important figures as the best players in the world, people we are used to seeing on TV. And now that, according to some sports betting websites, there is a lot of betting on e-sports such as FIFA, organizing big tournaments and events around these competitions, it seems unthinkable that we can do this without good graphics to accompany the gaming experience.
Without a doubt, the world of NFTs and digitization will give us the option of getting to know more and more new forms of digital art that may arise, as it is a sector that still has a long way to go and is at a very early stage of maturity. In addition, the metaverse will give the option of including new designs and art never seen before. Can you imagine having museums in the metaverse where you can see the best works of the world in a totally digital format and in an immersive way? Well, there are already projects in this sense that aim to democratize access to art for each and every one of the citizens of this world.
This journey that still lies ahead of the digital world will undoubtedly bring us failures. But it will also bring us closer and closer to artistic experiences and greater recognition of digital artists. So the bottom line is likely to be positive for all of us who love art in all its forms.
Dubai is home to some of the world’s largest skyscrapers and has transformed into a tourist destination. Whether you want to let your hair down or take a long awaited vacation, Dubai is the place to be! If you are a bitcoin fanatic, you will indeed be looking for some activities that you can pay for, using Bitcoin. Well, you will be pleased to know that Dubai allows you the luxury to do so! Read on to find the top eight activities for which you can use Bitcoin in Dubai and prepare for your vacation.
The Arabian desert changes hues throughout the day but has an ever-lasting charm. Visiting the desert in the early hours ensures that the temperature is tolerable and the sand has a golden glow. Moreover, a morning safari allows you to view the stunning desert scenery and rare wildlife. You can also enjoy other activities like sandboarding, motorbiking, and dune bashing. The colourful visual treat will surely be the most exciting activity in your complete Dubai trip.
Vacation is for relaxing and irrespective of what anyone says, your prime focus should be on sleep. Dubai has great activities for both morning people and night owls. If you cannot wake up early, book a desert safari in evening hours. Evenings in the desert are also moderate in temperature and no less than a festivity. If you’re lucky enough, you can go for a camel ride and witness belly dancing and a magnificent fire show.
If you’re going to Dubai with your better half, an overnight desert safari is all you need. It will not only add a touch of glamour to your trip but also take it to the next level. You can also use Bitcoin to get complimentary services and create a romantic night picnic. Lay together and watch the beauty of the sky as dawn sets in. You could also gaze at the stars together and try finding some planets or constellations in the night sky.
What did you do if you didn’t enjoy Dubai in full-on mediaeval style? Bask in the sun and roam the desert on a camel. You will feel like royalty and enjoy life king-sized. We recommend you also indulge in mediaeval cuisine and complete this activity by evening. A camel ride in the evening makes you feel like a new person. Another pro tip – take all the pictures you can!
Quad bikes or ATVs form a major part of Dubai’s recreational activities. These are efficient in navigating through difficult terrains like sandy dunes and deserts. Dubai’s massive red dunes form the perfect location for quad biking and you are bound to miss out on a lot if you do not go quad biking. Dubai also offers several weekend itineraries for Quad Biking, which include a scrumptious authentic Middle Eastern meal.
Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie or want to try something new, a Dune Buggy Safari is the perfect opportunity to explore Dubai’s deserts. While all companies prioritise your safety, they will also make sure that you have a good time. With experienced instructors and professional equipment, you will be able to get a taste of what adventure means. Moreover, you can purchase an additional service – a private dinner to enjoy authentic Arabic cuisine. Generally, dune buggy packages include:
Dubai is known for its style and marvellous charm, and what better way to explore the city than in style? Book a VIP Hummer Desert Safari and experience the unmatchable thrill, fun, and adventure. The package also includes dune bashing, camel rides, and international buffets and barbeques for an all-in-one experience.
Dubai is not all about tall skyscrapers and modern architecture. The Hatta Oman Safari is a beautiful and unmatchable exotic desert safari that takes you all across the glorious Hatta and Hajjar mountains. You will surely enjoy the sensational views of the valleys and natural pools on the way to Hatta village. The village is famous for its historic beauty and architecture.
Dubai has a lot to offer and is a technologically advanced city. Whether you want to deal in Bitcoin or cash, Dubai has something for everyone. We hope the article helped you plan your itinerary for your next Dubai trip. Leave some comments below and let us know about your experiences!
Every roulette player dreams of winning a lot of money. You want to place a bet on a specific number and get it right. This way, your $10 wager turns to $350 instantly. A $100 bet becomes $3500 and a $1000 wager earns you $35000.
To be clear, roulette pays 35 to 1 even though the standard wheel has 37 or 38 numbers. This means you have 1 in 37 chances to win a bet in European roulette and 1 in 38 chances in American roulette.
How can you increase your chances of winning online roulette bets?
#1: Choose Single Zero Roulette
Roulette comes in several variants: European, American, French, mini, lightning and multi-wheel. European roulette is also known as single zero roulette. It has 37 number pockets, one of which contains a single zero.
American roulette is also called double zero roulette. It has 38 number pockets: 1 to 36, 0 and 00. Because of the extra pocket (00), American roulette has a bigger house edge (5.2%) and worse odds for all bet types.
Owing to that backdrop, it’s in your best interest to avoid American roulette. Choose European roulette instead. You will benefit from its lower house edge (2.7%) and overall better odds for every wager type.
#2: Pick a Top-tier Online Casino
Find a safe and trustworthy online casino for the best gambling experiences. A trustworthy operator will protect your data. It will also assure you of playing fair games and processing your withdrawals when you win.
Choosing a top-tier casino also ensures you get to play high-quality roulette games. You see, operators have different games. Top-tier casinos avail a variety of roulette variants, from European to French roulette.
What’s more, top-rated casinos give out bonuses to both new and regular customers. You can use these bonuses to boost your bankroll. Shop around to compare casinos before you choose the right operator.
Finding a top-tier gambling site can be challenging. But there are many online roulette casinos out there. For those of you living in New Zealand, we recommend checking the roulette sites listed here.
#3: Know the Bet Types, Odds and Payouts
By far, the main reason people lose at online roulette is because they don’t understand how it works. Knowing the bet types will help you decide the best predictions to make.
For example, a straight bet might promise a payout of 35 to 1. But it is arguably the last bet type you should make in the game. The chances of winning a straight number wager are extremely low.
By comparison, you have 50/50 chances to predict whether the wheel stops spinning at red/black. And if you don’t like the 1 to 1 payout, you can try a corner bet: four numbers forming a square. This wager type pays 8 to 1.
Bottom line: Learn all the bets you can place in online roulette. Discover the odds for winning these predictions and the payouts. Word to the wise: Select bet types with high odds of winning.
#4: Experiment Different Strategies
Like many online casino games, online roulette can be played using different strategies. However, roulette players rarely agree on the best system to use. As such, it’s up to you to experiment the different strategies to find the best system for you.
There’s the Martingale system. It involves increasing the bet amount after every loss. This way, your winnings will help recover previous losses. Another strategy is the Fibonacci rule. It works by betting the sum of the previous two bets, especially two lost wagers.
Experimenting different strategies can help you discover the most profitable system for you. And isn’t being profitable the goal of playing online roulette regularly?
#5: Use Casino Bonuses
Roulette is a game of chance. You could place one bet and win. Or you could spend your entire bankroll and not break even. To increase your chances of turning a profit, use casino bonuses.
Grab a no deposit or first deposit bonus. Let’s say you deposit $100 to receive an extra $100 bonus. You will now have $200 to spend. And in doing so, you will increase your chances of making a profit from your $100 deposit.
#6: Spread your Bankroll
You might have heard people joke about putting all their money on red. Don’t do it. There’s a reason financial experts recommend diversification. It helps reduce risk and increase profitability.
In roulette, diversification means breaking down your bankroll into multiple bets. You could place ten bets on red. Then you spend $30 on corner bets and another $30 on dozen bets.
Although you want to spread your risk, do it at high-odds bet types. Choose a few bet types with great odds and payouts. This will help you earn a decent profit from every stake.
#7: Play French Roulette
European roulette is great. But French roulette is even better. Not only does this variant feature a single-zero wheel, but it also comes with two rules that lower the house advantage from 2.7% to 1.35%.
The firs rule is called “En Prison.” It imprisons your stake after you place an outside bet and the wheel stops spinning at zero. For the uninitiated, outside bets include odd/even, black/red and high or low.
By imprisoning your stake, you don’t lose your bet. Instead, you get another chance to make the same bet.
The second rule is called “La partage.” When you place an outside bet and the wheel stops at zero, you get half of your stake back.
#8: Stick to your Budget
It’s incredibly tempting to bet more money than you should at online roulette. Maybe you’ve just lost five bets in a row. So, you think spending double your budget will help you recoup your losses.
In reality, chasing losses leads to more money spent. If you want to win regularly at roulette, bet within a budget. If you deplete your money without making a profit, don’t lose hope.
Find out why you’re losing so much. Try a different strategy or learn more about roulette games. Then play the game again on a different date.
From the moment they burst onto the New York post-punk scene, what distinguished the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was a kind of reckless abandon. As much as the band capitalized on their forceful presentation, driven in large part by Karen O’s unmistakably dynamic performances, they were also persistent in transforming their sound in ways that pushed against that initial impression. The adventurousness of the group’s first three albums has become a more defining aspect of their identity than any sonic signifiers, and it’s what’s kept them alive when the hype started to die off. After nearly a decade, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are finally coming through with the follow-up to Mosquito, a messy and underwhelming record that nevertheless did nothing to compromise on their creative restlessness. There’s a consistency to Cool It Down that therefore feels deliberate, but it’s also a confident and soaring return that captures moments of magic and vulnerability without relying too much on old tricks.
Lead single and opener ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’ launches into this new era with cinematic grandeur that’s laced by an undercurrent of doom. Even as it finds the band at their most triumphant and anthemic, the song doesn’t sound massive for dramatic effect – it tries feverishly to hold space for both hopelessness and defiance, with Karen O embodying each extreme and a guest appearance from Perfume Genius that’s steeped in vulnerability. Halfway through, Karen O – who recently became a parent – shifts perspective in pretty startling fashion: “Mama, what have you done/ I trace your steps/ In the darkness of one,” she sings, before Nick Zinner’s guitars pierce through the sky for a glimmer of light. Throughout the album, the nature of her delivery oscillates between conversational and performative. The following ‘Lovebomb’, one of the few moments where some of her lines and spoken rather than sung, opens itself up for an embrace: “Stars/ Don’t fail me now,” she pleads, falling into a melody as she repeats the word “light.”
‘Lovebomb’ is the longest and most nuanced track on Cool It Down, but it’s not exactly an outlier. Though the LP clocks in at just 32 minutes, the band seems to be in no rush to get things over with; and while the singles are obvious, there are barely any throwaway cuts. Aided by longtime producer David Andrew Sitek, they sound rejuvenated even when the songs are shot through with nostalgia, which the album has a complicated relationship with. Starting with ‘Wolf’, the record’s middle run feels like an attempt to cling to dancefloor euphoria, indulging in the kind of debauchery that belongs in the past. “The wilderness is becoming my addiction,” Karen O intones on ‘Fleez’, which stands out on an album that usually treats nature as more than a seductive metaphor. Yet each of these tracks has a slightly different edge to it: the Blondie-esque ‘Fleez’ nods to ESG’s 1981 song ‘Moody (Spaced Out)’, but it’s also spiked with the attention to detail that co-producer Justin Raisen brings to the table. Andrew Wyatt then lends a contemporary touch to the reggae-inflected disco of ‘Burning’, whose lyrical preoccupation with natural disasters takes us back into the present.
Karen O’s lyricism remains characteristically oblique, but the album’s evocation of an apocalyptic climate feels grounded in reality. “If the world is on fire I hope the most beloved stay protected and that we do all we can to protect what we cherish most in this life,” she said of ‘Burning’, a track that’s ostensibly neither political nor incredibly personal, just a powerful Yeah Yeah Yeahs song. But the breathless intimacy of songs like ‘Lovebomb’ and ‘Blacktop’ comes down to more than their quiet instrumentation; the radiant combination of Karen O’s voice and the music that lifts her up feels equal parts scary and liberating. ‘Mars’, the spoken word poem that Cool It Down ends with, inspired by a touching conversation with the singer’s son, isn’t particularly revelatory; like the rest of the album, it doesn’t sound like the band is really trying to break new ground. In a precious, galvanizing twist, it feels more like an act of tenderness and preservation, edging towards a shared sense of home when the one around us is crumbling.
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