LIL UZI VERT

“Saturday Night Live” is ready to make its return, five months after ending its season early due to the writers strike.

An attorney for a man accused of fatally shooting rapper Takeoff last month says her client maintains that he’s innocent of the crime.

Police in Texas have announced an arrest in last month’s shooting death of the performer Takeoff.

Authorities say a man who has been accused of illegally having a gun at the time that rapper Takeoff was fatally shot last month in Houston has been charged in connection with the case.

Authorities say rapper Takeoff died from gunshot wounds to the head and torso following a shooting outside a private party at a downtown Houston bowling alley.

At just 28, rapper Takeoff had cultivated a rich hip-hop legacy with Migos along with a reputation as the trio’s most lowkey member before he was killed in a shooting.

This week’s new entertainment releases include LeBron James leading the Tunes against the Goons in “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” a sequel to the 1996 movie that had Michael Jordan headlining with Bugs Bunny.

NEW YORK – A decade after publishing his memoir “Decoded,” Jay-Z is forming a more lasting partnership with the book industry. Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by the rapper, is starting an imprint with Random House called Roc Lit 101. In a joint announcement Tuesday, Random House and Roc Nation promised “books at the dynamic intersection of entertainment and genre-defying literature." Future releases will include a book by Meek Mill on “criminal justice and survival,” memoirs by rappers Yo Gotti and Fat Joe and fantasy fiction from rapper Lil Uzi Vert, along with everything from cookbooks to children's stories. Roc Lit 101 will be led by Chris Jackson, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint One World and a recent recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Center for Fiction; and Jana Fleishman, executive vice president of Roc Nation.

NEW YORK – Roddy Ricch is the king of Apple Music: The rapper has the music platform’s most-streamed song and album of the year. The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” was the second most-streamed song of the year, followed by Australian singer Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey,” DaBaby and Ricch’s “Rockstar” and “Life Is Good" by Future and Drake. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year, was the most Shazamed song of the year (Apple acquired Shazam in 2018). Ranked by time spent viewing lyrics in Apple Music, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s raunchy hit “WAP” tops the list of most-read lyrics of 2020. Other songs in the Top 5 include “Dance Monkey,” YOASOBI’s “Yoru ni Kakeru,” Ricch’s “The Box” and Official HIGE DANdism “Pretender.”

NEW YORK Jay-Zs Roc Nation entertainment company is partnering with Brooklyns Long Island University to launch the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. The new school will begin enrolling students for the fall 2021 semester, and 25% of the incoming freshmen class will receive Roc Nation Hope Scholarships. Roc Nation Sports was founded in 2013 and has worked with many athletes as well as the NBA, MLB and NFL, even co-producing this years Emmy-nominated halftime show with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment will offer undergraduate degrees in music, music technology, entrepreneurship and production, and sports management. The school will also offer resources to high school students and those younger: Starting in spring 2021, the school will launch summer residential camps for high schoolers and Saturday programs for students ages 10-18 that focus on music and sports management.

1 on Billboard's 200 albums chart this week, marking the best first-week sales of the year and giving the pop star her seventh No. (Republic Records via AP)NEW YORK To no one's surprise, Taylor Swift's surprise album folklore" is dominating the music charts. Swift's Lover" album, released last August. Swift dropped folklore" in a surprise form, announcing the album's release a day before it came out on July 24. A digital version of folklore" came with a purchase of one of the merchandise items, counting as an album sale for Swift.