Arianators, a whole lot of joy is coming to your world. Ariana is heading up a Christmas special with some very important announcements and everyone is invited. On December 5th, Ariana Grande is teaming up with a handful of stars including Pharrell, Maroon 5, and Tim McGraw for a television holiday special.

It will be the first ever iteration of a televised concert series called “A Very Grammy Christmas Special” and the stars will each be performing a mix of their own hits, alongside Christmas classics.

After all, Christmas carols aren’t going to sing themselves, and although we’re most excited to hear what Ariana brings to the table, this well-rounded mix of country, rock and R&B singers sounds like the right crew to celebrate the season in all its polyphonic glory. Can Pharrell work out a “Happy” and “Joy To The World” medley? Christmas, as they say, has no genre, but if it did then it would be pure, golden happiness.

Kind of like the happiness I feel when Ariana Grande is performing her tremendous rendition of “Last Christmas.” But if all that isn’t enough, the show will also be used to announce this year’s Grammy Award Nominees. That’s a good excuse to crack open the marshmallows and hot cocoa early if I’ve ever heard one.

Ezra Marcus

2 Chainz has been busy as ever hosting the GQ show “Most Expensivest Shit,” which is about exactly what it sounds like. In between eating $300 hamburgers and brushing his teeth with $5000 toothbrushes the artist formerly known as Tity Boi has managed to record some new music. “Xanny,” featuring Skooly and Cap 1, emerged today on a mixtape called The Other Guys: Street Execs Priorities, by DJ Ace, DJ Penny Lane, DJ Tephlon, and DJ Tekniz.

The production rests on an eerie, repeating piano figure, overlaid by buzzing 808 programming. 2 Chainz fills up the space with typically Chainz-ian boasts about the consumption and distribution of narcotics, both in titanic quantities. He offers some brief medical advice: “If I can’t sleep, I’m gonna pop a xan. Then I get some money, I’m gonna pop a band.”

Chainz then switches into a rapid, Migos-inspired flow when discussing distribution: “Okay I don’ figured it out/I know what you n—-s about/We slangin’ narcotics you know that we got it/There’s never ever a drought.”

More than 10 years into his career, 2 Chainz is a skilled technician—while this flow isn’t totally original, Chainz has a way of swallowing and enunciating words that works effectively with the material.

Head over to Livemixtapes to stream the track or download the entire mixtape for free.

Ezra Marcus

Iggy Azalea and Jim Carrey appeared together in a promotional clip for the forthcoming episode of Saturday Night Live this weekend. Carey starts off the clip with a typically zany gag, repeating “Iggy. Iggy! IGGY!” in increasingly goofy voices, his face the same elastic rubber ball as always. He has an enduring, invincible personal brand.

Iggy loses her patience eventually: “You done?” she snaps, her Aussie accent bone-dry. He’s not done. Get a glimpse of the duo’s humor below:

The episode they’re promoting is in celebration of Halloween, so accordingly, Carrey slips on a pair of false teeth, and laughs maniacally. “Thank you for that,” responds Azalea, smirking coldly. The false teeth make a second appearance when Carrey slips into parody rapper mode: “Yo yo yo, J-Car and Iggy Azalea, dropping mad rhymes and…”—he’s interrupted by the false teeth slipping from his mouth, which is probably for the best

Both artists are going on “SNL” tonight (October 25) to promote new projects. Carrey is touting his upcoming Dumb and Dumber 2, a sequel to his class 90’s hit out November 14th. Iggy, meanwhile, will perform a new song called “Beg for It” for the first time, featuring Swedish popstar MØ. She is also promoting an upcoming album, Reclassified, out next month.

Tune in tonight at 11:30 p.m. to catch the all new episode.

Ezra Marcus

The Supreme Court has struck down a temporary injunction barring Texas from enacting one of the strictest voting ID laws in the country. The New York Times reports that new ruling will allow the state to enforce the law in the upcoming election.

In 2011, a law was enacted in Texas demanding that voters present photo ID. At first, the law was blocked under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires approval from the Federal government before any changes to voting law. The Supreme Court struck down Section 5 in 2013.

After that, Texas officials began to enforce the ID legislation.

In September, a federal judge struck down the law, on the basis that it placed “an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.” Texas appealed, and the case went to the Supreme court.

Dissenting, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a six-page brief alleging that the decision “risks denying the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.”

“A sharply disproportionate percentage of those voters are African-American or Hispanic,” Ginsburg continued, “racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact.”

Joined in dissent by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, she added that law “replaced the previously existing voter identification requirements with the strictest regime in the country.” Ginsburg argues that the law would place a heavy burden on low-income and minority voters, who tend to vote Democratic.

Since acquiring a government issued ID requires a certified birth certificate, which costs money, Ginsburg argued that this law amounts ...

The show must go on. And on, and on. An Irish pub on the Las Vegas strip is doing it’s best to break the Guinness World Record for Longest Concert By Multiple Artists.

The Ri Ra Pub in The Shoppes at Mandalay Bay has not stopped hosting live music since October 1st. How have they managed to pull off this sonic marathon?

According to the AP, Ri Ra has been flying in Irish musicians for weeks to fortify their attempt at the record. This includes Liam Reilly of Irish band Bagatelle and Dave Browne, who is something of a secret weapon: Browne holds the current Guinness World Record for Longest Marathon Guitar Playing. In 2011 he played for 114 hours and six minutes at the Temple Bar Pub, in Dublin.

The previous concert record was 15 days, set in 2011 at a Michigan Cafe.

In order to qualify for the record, artists at Ri Ra have been playing nonstop, with only 25 second breaks between songs and five minute breaks between sets. You have to respect the indomitable spirit of any musician willing to play Irish music at 7 a.m. on the Strip.

Yesterday at 1 p.m. the record was finally smashed after more than 360 hours of music.

Ezra Marcus

Anyone who has been through the grueling process of a funeral knows how emotionally draining and socially trying the process can be. Unfortunately, celebrating the life of someone you loved—along with everyone else who loved them—can take a lot out of you. First you have to go to the funeral itself, and then, probably the reception, and sometimes an extremely long wake. If only you could swing by and pay your respects without having to chat up the old preacher and all those weird in-laws… well if you live in Michigan, now you can.

The Associated Press reports that The Paradise Funeral Chapel in Saginaw has begun offering drive-thru funerals for mourners on the go.

Ivan Phillips, president of the funeral home, thinks plenty of customers will choose the automotive route. It’s simple: curtains in front of the drive-thru window connect to sensors in the pavement. When you pull your car up the curtains open and music plays, as you gaze mournfully at the remains of your loved one. Each car will have three minutes with the body, then it’s over.

Phillips explains that part of the impetus for offering this service was to better serve those mourners who have physical limitations. Only a few families have tested out the service so far, but Phillips told the AP he thinks more people will want to use it after it becomes more established.

According to Phillips the drive thru-window is separate from the indoor viewings, so you can get in and ...

Sometimes you want money. Sometimes you want cheese. Sometimes you need both. For Shad Da God and Young Thug on “Pesos Queso,” that time is now.

Directed by Philly Fly Boy, the video — which premiered on shaddagod.mtv.com on Saturday (October 11) — drips with fame and luxury. Shad Da God is a rising Hustle Gang signee, and several of his influential friends drop by to show support.

Birdman and Rich Homie Quan join their Rich Gang compatriot Thugger onstage at a packed concert, inscrutably pouring vodka on their watches. T.I. strides down a hallway sipping a styrofoam cup and laughs it up with his protégé in a studio. We’re treated to several close-up shots of substantial bank rolls, Maseratis and Maybachs. Thug wears Yves Saint Laurent.

He kicks off the track with a verse of immeasurably sticky sing-song hooks: “Therefore I gave her $2500 for a quaaaaaarterrrr,” he warbles, transforming a prosaic line into a melodious shard of sound. Planet Thug long ago kicked off the shackles of gravity and traditional song structure, setting off into the uncharted void. He’s never seemed more like a star.

“Life’s good,” intones Shad. Judging from the lifestyle on display here, he’s telling the truth.

Ezra Marcus

Gucci Mane has an infinite talent for turning prosaic subject matter into poetry. Case in point: “Speed Bumps,” a song he’s shared off his upcoming Trap God 3 project.

Gucci elegizes the common speed bump, transforming mounds of cautionary plastic into metaphorical indicators of narcotic largesse. “I’m in the kitchen tryna make it do the long jump,” growls Gucci on the chorus. “Big knots in my jeans look like speed bumps.”

Producer Mike Will Made It provides the thundering foundation for Gucci’s vivid imagination. If your car contains suitable woofers, consider this song an invitation to go for a ride. Obeying speed bumps, of course.

Gucci Mane’s also revives his longstanding beef with Jeezy, which extends back to a 2005 misunderstanding involving Gucci and Jeezy’s hit single together, “Icy.” Almost a decade later, Gucci addresses their conflict with typically memorable imagery — and perhaps a tinge of bittersweet nostalgia:

“Ain’t no secret, you n—-s know that I don’t f–k with Jeezy
It was tragic, wars everywhere, they say the boy was bleedin’
It was easy, I eat your crew up like some Reese’s Pieces
This is skreet sh-t, so once you say this sh-t you can’t delete it.”

Trap God 3 is but another drop in the torrential volume of music Gucci has released from prison this year. Fittingly, the 1017 Brick Squad label bosses plan to drop it on October 17.

Ezra Marcus

Knock, knock. Trick or treat. It’s the son you thought was dead.

The Halloween scares came early for a couple in Anchorage when they ran into their son two hours after Alaska State Troopers had notified them that he’d been killed.

Karen And Jay Priest knew things weren’t right when police officers woke them up in the middle of the night on Thursday (October 9).

“He knew right away, the dread. It’s not good when a trooper knocks on your door at three o’clock in the morning,” Karen told the Associated Press.

The officers informed them that one of their sons, Justin Priest, had died in a car crash. The grieving couple drove into town to inform their other son, Cody, of the tragic news.

The family’s next stop was at the home of Justin’s girlfriend, Julia. Karen described the scene when she opened the door:

“It opens and right here is Justin. I don’t even see it but Jay is sobbing. It doesn’t compute to me. Then I see him. You want it to be true, but you go, ‘Am I hallucinating?’ Justin didn’t know what was going on.”

After “lots of hugging, lots of tears,” Justin called the police to inform them of their mistake, prompting the department to formally apologize for the misplaced anguish.

“I’m almost speechless for words,” Chief Bryce Johnson told the AP. “This shouldn’t happen.”

Apparently, the department had asked the troopers to call the Priests in order to determine if the victim of the automobile accident had, in fact, been ...

What would you do if you were a 38-year-old former MTV star with an ear for weird rap and a lot of time on your hands? Sell real estate? Do voice-overs in Japan? Of course not. You’d paint your face like ILoveMakonnen’s famous doll and record an unsettling video about buying skittles with hundred dollar bills.

Andy Milonakis released his “original concept video” for iLoveMakonnen’s “Too Much” without warning this afternoon and in it, he seems to have achieved the impossible: he’s made ILoveMakonnen’s already loopy universe seem even weirder, without dipping into overt, unfunny parody.

While he’s clearly having a laugh, Milonakis respects the song’s goofy-yet-romantic tone: he stares at the camera on the brink of tears, the red clownish painted smile contrasting with his still-youthful pout.

Related: Drake Signed ILOVEMAKONNEN To OVO Sound

Milonakis’ odyssey begins when he enters a convenience store and throws a wad of cash at the register, and loads up on Skittles. The rest of the video concerns his relationship with a young woman who initially rebuffs him, before finally comforting the disconsolate protagonist in a bathtub. It’s a love story for the ages.

While Makonnen wasn’t involved in making the video, Milonakis made clear in the Youtube description that he signed off: “I spoke to Makonnen about doing a video to one of his songs, he gave me the green light,” Andy wrote. “Not sure he expected a full music video, but I hope he is pleased with the outcome. I have permission from ...