EarthGang’s fifth studio album is on the way. Today (October 11), the first taste of Perfect Fantasy has hit streaming platforms. Although “Love You More,” which features T-Pain, was previously teased online, the full track is far more sensual than expected.
Throughout the record, EarthGang and T-Pain work to prove there is no competition when it comes to who’s the better romantic partner. The track opens with a chorus from T-Pain to set the mood. He sings, “No, I know this ain’t no competition / Tell me ’bout your day, I wanna listen / Hit the jackpot with you / Throw these racks out with you / Shot my shot and now I know, I hit the score / Bae, I cannot love you more and more / I love you more and more.”
Johnny Venus’ verse share the same thread, but he goes about it much explicitly, rapping: “Fat ass / Sweet thighs / I’ma spread ’em, make ’em do the peace sign / Tasty, I hop in that p*ssy waist deep / Then hop in the whip and take us a trip / And you can have anything you see / And excess success and whole lot of sex / Tiffany said no blood diamonds, but I cut these fool necks for you.”
Whether clean or raunchy love is love, and EarthGang as well as T-Pain has plenty of it to go around.
Listen to “Love You More” above.
Perfect Fantasy is out 10/29 via Dreamville/Interscope. Find more information here.
It looks like a new music power couple may be brewing.
Are Stormzy And Victoria Monét Dating?
Today (October 11), The Sun shared photos of Stormzy and Victoria Monét together at London’s Heathrow Airport. The photos show the two musicians hugging and kissing each other.
The publication notes Stormzy “grinned as he gave Victoria a hug before kissing her on the lips.” They also cite “an onlooker” as saying, “Both Stormzy and Victoria looked absolutely smitten with each other. They kissed and when he hugged her he picked her up in the air.”
While neither artist has confirmed there’s a relationship here, the two at least appear to be especially comfortable with each other.
This comes shortly after both artists revealed they ended relationships. In July, Stormzy and Love Island presenter Maya Jama announced their break-up in a joint statement that reads in part:
“We fell madly in love in 2014, broke up in 2019, and then spent five years manoeuvring life apart. We decided to try for the final time in August 2023, and we’ve spent this past year trying our best to make it work. However, we recently decided to call it quits. We were 21 and 20 when we first met-both at the beginning of our careers-and spent five years growing together and then five years growing separately, so this final attempt required a whole lot of figuring out, relearning, and unlearning. We tried, and it didn’t work, and that’s okay.”
Then, in September, Monét and John Gaines revealed in a joint statement of their own that they ended their relationship ten months ago. Together, the two have a 3.5-year-old daughter, Hazel.
You will, almost certainly, never have a reason to go to Olean, New York. Unless you are driving along I-86 in the state’s beautiful Southern Tier, Olean is just one of the thousands of little towns that exist in this country that you’ll never set foot in — hell, the only times I’ve ever been are because my phone told me the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts is off of Exit 24 and a few miles into town, a quick diversion on a trip to somewhere else.
If there is one thing you know about Olean, it is St. Bonaventure, the little Franciscan university with less than 2,000 undergrads in the middle of nowhere that is famous for its basketball program. And of course, there’s one alum who comes to mind when basketball fans in 2024 think about the Bonnies: Adrian Wojnarowski. Until recently, Wojnarowski was known as the top basketball insider in the game, a title he received thanks to his time at Yahoo and, more recently, ESPN.
And then, last month, Wojnarowski stunned basketball fans by announcing his departure from the Worldwide Leader in Sports via a statement he posted to his Twitter account. While he did not immediately reveal his next step, it eventually came out that Woj would accept a role as the general manager for St. Bonaventure men’s basketball. According to ESPN, “the role includes name, image and likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting successful Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt.”
It was news that caught plenty of people off-guard, which included Andrew Nicholson.
“I found out right when it got released,” Nicholson told DIME over the phone. “I’m really thankful for the career that he’s had, everyone loves that he’s coming on board for St. Bonaventure as a general manager. He’s had such a huge impact on basketball and basketball journalism, right? This famous legacy, and because of his reputation for breaking these amazing stories and shaping the modern sports media, is great to have him in our corner at Bonaventure.”
Nicholson had a decorated career in Olean, as he was named the A-10 Player of the Year and an All-American honorable mention in 2011-12. His number, 44, hangs in the rafters at the Reilly Center, and while it’s been 14 years, he’s the last Bonnies alum to get selected in the NBA Draft — the Orlando Magic took Nicholson with the 19th overall pick back in 2012, and he spent five years in the league with the Magic, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets before continuing his basketball career abroad.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Nicholson had a number of reasons for going to Bonaventure. It was a short drive from home, he’d have minimal distractions living in a small town, and as someone who wanted to major in chemistry, he was impressed by a recently-built science building on campus. And then there was the opportunity to be part of a basketball program that was rich in tradition but found itself in the process of building itself back up after falling on some hard times — the Bonnies won single-digit games in each of the five years before he enrolled.
Nicholson loved that Bonaventure is a “basketball crazy school,” which got hammered home on a college visit to the program’s midnight madness event. And at one point during his four years as a standout for the basketball program, Nicholson served as an instructor at coach Schmidt’s basketball camp, where he crossed paths with Wojnarowski. Nicholson thought it was “amazing” that the NBA newsbreaker was a Bonnie, and the two kept in touch throughout his professional career.
Fast-forward to today and it’s been a while since St. Bonaventure fell on the hard times that preceded Nicholson’s years in Olean — under coach Schmidt, the team has won 20 or more games in five of the last ten years, have two NCAA Tournament and NIT berths each, and have only finished under-.500 once. Things are, generally, going pretty well for the Bonnies, even before the recent high-profile addition to the program.
Still, Nicholson, who plies his trade for Korean Basketball League side Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, is optimistic that someone of Wojnarowski’s stature and with a large Rolodex of connections in the basketball world will be able to get both alums and outsiders to support the program as it strives to accomplish even more, whether it’s in NIL efforts or anything else it might need. He refers to Wojnarowski as “a legend,” and believes “a man of his notoriety and his stature is going to be tremendous in getting people to come in and help the school get to where it needs to go.”
The day before we spoke, Wojnarowski expressed the desire to do “compete and to win, and to do it the St. Bonaventure way.” When asked to explain what he believes that last bit means, Nicholson describes a sense of togetherness among the fans, players, coaches, and anyone else with a vested interest in the team.
And while Nicholson has not yet cut a check as things are in the, in his words, “strategy phase,” he’s willing to do anything necessary to help the program. He, once again, used the phrase “get to where it needs to go,” a sign of the kind of ambition that can convince someone to turn down a $20 million contract to go work for his alma mater’s college basketball program. As for what that means for a tiny school in the Southern Tier of New York State, well…
“Sky’s the limit, right?” Nicholson says when asked about his hopes for the Bonnies. “We just go one step at a time. We start setting goals — winning the A-10 tournament to winning the NCAA Tournament. All those are goals that we’re going to have. We just need to strategize how we’re going to best get the players to come in, alumni to come in to help get the program to where it needs to go.”
If a music video begins with a bra on an iguana’s head, you know it’s going to be a good time. A game of strip poker, a yacht party, and appearances from Anitta, Danna Paola, Lele Pons, Winnie Harlow, and Natti Natasha are the cherries (bra) on top (of an iguana).
Shakira has released the video for “Soltera,” the first single since her 12th album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, came out in March. The song is an ode to having unapologetic fun. “I have the right to misbehave / To have a good time / I’m on my own and now I can do what I want to do / It’s good to be single,” she sings in the (translated) chorus.
According to Billboard, part of the music was shot at LIV Miami, where Shakira abruptly cut a performance short after she appeared to notice someone in the crowd filming up her dress.
Shakira 2024 Tour Dates: Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
11/02 — Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure Arena
11/07 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
11/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
11/16 — San Antonio, TX @ Frost Bank Center
11/17 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
11/20 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
11/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
11/25 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
11/30 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
12/05 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
12/08 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
12/10 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
12/14 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
12/15 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
After making their way across the project’s 15 tracks, listeners have the same question — does GloRilla have kids? When you see the hip-hop party-starters’ washboard abs, that might not cross your mind at all. However, looks can be deceiving, and the Glorious album might have provided supporters with a few intimate clues. Continue below for more details.
Does GloRilla Have Kids? Fans Are Asking After Listening To Her ‘Glorious’ Album
As far as the GloRidaz (super fans) know, GloRilla does not have any living children. However, GloRilla’s verse on the track “Rain On Me” with Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard, and Chandler Moore, she hinted that there was nearly a baby Glo in the universe.
She raps:
“It’s hard to talk about my blessings, they be sayin’ I’m actin’ cocky / Always and forever humble, they just don’t wanna see me pop it / Five feet and I’m praisin’ You with every inch up in my body / So I pray You watch my back, along with those who say they got it / Watch over my family, Lord, and watch over all of my partners / And even though he hate me, Lord, watch over my baby father / Watch over my haters, they the ones that make me go the hardest / I just want us all to win, I just want us all to prosper.”
This isn’t the first time GloRilla opened up about a pregnancy in her music. On “Nut Quick,” GloRilla seemingly admitted to having an abortion, rapping: “Found out I was pregnant, got it gone, and I ain’t f*ck since.”
Back in January 2023, when a resurfaced photo appeared to show GloRilla caressing her baby bump, the rapper provided context to the image in an exchange with a user online. “Y’all slow as f*ck,” she wrote. “I was just playing on that picture. Nobody knew when I actually was pregnant until it was gone.”
Keeping that exchange in mind, supporters now believe the baby daddy in question mentioned on “Rain On Me,” is the biological father of GloRilla’s supposedly aborted kid.
Summer Walker, in one way or another, is “over it,” and has been for a few years now. It started with her 2019 debut album Over It, then continued with its follow-up, 2021’s Still Over It. Earlier this month, Walker revealed the next part of the Over It saga is coming.
She teased the project last week by revealing the album has a three-word title, following the Still Over It formula with a word before “Over It.”
Today (October 11), she made the big reveal on Instagram: The album is called Finally Over It. There’s no announced release date yet, but we do have a new single, “Heart Of A Woman,” on the way (at a date that has also yet to be revealed).
Walker’s teaser video shows Walker in her bedroom, listening to voicemails on her phone. One message from a mystery man says, “Damn, you gotta do me like that? I was just helping my cousin with groceries. Hit me back when you can talk. I know you’re finally over it, but damn, let’s talk about it, I love you.” Walker eventually is overtaken by emotion as she smashes the drink she’s holding.
The post also shares a phone number: “call me before I change my number 4044766404 & presave Heart of A Woman now!”
Summer Walker’s Finally Over It Album Cover Artwork
Jack Harlow is going back home to Kentucky, and no, it has nothing to do with Louisville Racing FC. Yesterday (October 10), the “Lovin On Me” rapper announced the fourth installment of No Place Like Home.
On November 28 and 29, Jack Harlow will team up with the Louisville Orchestra for a special evening featuring his buzz-worthy discography inside Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center. In a statement, Teddy Abrams, the Louisville Orchestra’s music director gushed about the upcoming performances.
“Jack Harlow is an icon and has already established himself as a Louisville legend,” he said. “We’ve worked together to build a unique, incredibly special set that shows Jack’s full range of artistry. His attention to orchestrational detail and compositional form is remarkable. I’m honored to build this program with Jack for our community, and I can’t wait for Louisville to hear what we’ve been creating together!”
The pre-sale for No Place Like Home 2024 launches on Tuesday, October 15 at 10 a.m. local time. The public sale will begin on Thursday, October 17 at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information here. Proceeds from No Place Like Home 2024 go towards the Louisville Orchestra. As a non-profit, the Louisville Orchestra’s work includes local educational and community programs focused on providing Kentuckians with access to music.
Jack Harlow 2024 Tour Dates: No Place Like Home 2024
11/29 — Louisville, KY @ Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center
11/30 — Louisville, KY @ Whitney Hall at The Kentucky Center
Variance is sometimes fun. Variance is sometimes not so fun. It hasn’t been for us to begin the 2024 NFL season, and that was magnified in Week 5. For a stretch of the Sunday afternoon window, a big week seemed possible, but things turn on a dime in the world of professional football handicapping. This time, it turned against us, with the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks letting us down to varying degrees.
Nevertheless, we press on in an attempt to dig out of the early-season hole. Before we hand out the Week 6 selections, let’s take stock.
Week 5: 2-3
2024 Season: 8-16-1
Come get these winners.
Jacksonville Jaguars (+1.5) over Chicago Bears – Widely Available
The Jags got home last week, even if they tried hard to maintain a winless tenor in 2024. We’re going back to the well this week in London. I would make this closer to a pick’em on a neutral field and, while Jacksonville is not playing “at home” in this spot, the Jaguars are all too familiar with the London life.
Baltimore Ravens (-6.5) over Washington Commanders – Widely Available
Laying almost a full touchdown against a team on a four-game winning streak? Yep, we’re doing that. Washington has been impressive to begin the season, but the Commanders haven’t seen a team like Baltimore just yet, especially when it comes to the Ravens defense. On the other side, I’m skeptical Washington can stop Lamar Jackson and company, and this is a favorable number.
Tennessee Titans (-2.5) over Indianapolis Colts – Widely Available
I don’t even want to talk about it. The Titans have been quite unkind to us in 2024. We’re taking the plunge at any number below three, simply out of principle.
Denver Broncos (+3) over Los Angeles Chargers – Widely Available
It gives me no pleasure to back this Denver team and root for the Broncos to score points. However, grabbing a full field goal at home in a game with a total of 35.5 is appetizing. I do trust Denver’s defense, and while the Chargers are the better team, they shouldn’t be laying three on the road here.
Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) over New York Giants – Widely Available
This is an out-of-character play for me. I (very) rarely endorse laying more than a field goal on the road in this space, but we’re making an exception. The market is giving the Giants too much credit, at least in my view, and the Bengals have been incredible on offense in the recent past. Make no mistake, Cincinnati’s defense is not my favorite, but with no Malik Nabers, I think they can do enough to take us to the promise land.
It’s been a decade since Becky G‘s breakthrough, and all this time later, she’s come through with her most personal album yet.
After first embracing her Mexican roots in last year’s Esquinas, she is continuing to make her mark in música Mexicana with a follow-up, Encuentros. Though the introspective LP includes a few features from rising stars like Tito Doble P and Óscar Maydon, Becky is largely shining solo across the 16 tracks this time around.
“We’re in otro capítulo [another chapter],” Becky G tells Uproxx. “My hair is different. I feel like I’m different. Esquinas was the beginning of a very personal healing journey. Encuentros is literally me being so invested and committed to that journey of healing.”
Becky G first made a splash in 2014 with the bubbly pop of “Shower.” In the years that followed, she tapped into her Mexican-American identity to record smashes in Spanish, like the risqué reggaeton of “Mayores” featuring Bad Bunny, or the girl power anthem “Sin Pijama” with Natti Natasha. Becky G has since dabbled in genres like dembow with El Alfa in “Fulanito” and disco-pop with the shimmering “Bailé Con Mi Ex.” She later blended elements of música Mexicana into one of her biggest hits, the fiery “Mamiii” featuring Karol G.
After scoring hits in multiple genres, Becky G has since put her pop spin on música Mexicana in songs like the heartbreaking corrido “La Nena” featuring Peso Pluma, as well as “Por El Contrario,” which received a Latin Grammy nomination. With Encuentros, she is continuing to push the genre running through her veins to new places with songs that represent a wide range of emotions.
Over Zoom, Becky G caught up with Uproxx about the latest chapter in her life, her therapeutic LP, and her upcoming tour.
Throughout your career, you have always proudly represented the Mexican-American community. Why is that representation important to you?
Well, it’s interesting: Even coming off this Latin Grammy nomination [for “Por El Contrario”], which is so exciting and so crazy, I’m still processing it. I don’t think it’s by coincidence that I’ve been doing music for so many years and making Spanish music for so many years. Now to have that mythical nomination in a música Mexicana category, it’s because I’m really owning who I am, my roots, and where I come from.
I have always been a proud Chicana. You can see it, from me bringing my family everywhere that I go, to my style choices, to the music videos I created in the past. People had yet to really feel that in my music since I was younger. Now that it’s all coming together in such a beautiful way, in the weirdest way, it feels like I’ve come home to myself.
Why did you want to continue exploring música Mexicana with Encuentros?
Esquinas was me going back to my childhood and reliving things that sadly, but in a beautiful way, I’ll never have again. I’ll never be a baby in my dad’s arms again listening to Ramón Ayala, or dancing to Selena with my mom in the living room. There’s just so much there with Esquinas, which opened a door to this healing that I really needed. I didn’t even realize I needed it as an artist. Music for me growing up was such an escapism. It became a safe place because it was so disconnected from my personal life. Now, in the most beautiful way, Esquinas gave me the opportunity to bring them together.
Encuentros is me accepting that there’s all of these things that will never be again. Then there are some things that will never change, which are our emotions. There’s this quote that says, “In order to feel genuine and true happiness, you have to know what it’s been like to be so sad.” You have to know what it’s like to have been hurt to also know what it’s like to heal.
Encuentros is the parts of me that I found throughout that journey of Esquinas and digging even deeper and becoming even more vulnerable. You can hear that through all my offerings from this album. There’s my anger, my fears, my hopes, my tears, and my happiness. It’s all there. It just encompasses this journey of healing for me.
In the song “Como Diablos,” you’re cursing in a Mexican way with Mexican slang. What was that experience like for you, to just go off and release those emotions in that song?
“Cursing in a Mexican way” is hilarious [laughs]! It was liberating. It felt very right. In the music video, there’s this very artistic interpretation of what anger feels like for me. Growing up, being the first-born daughter, I came out of the womb naturally like a very composed and collected person. Everything needed to be perfect. Everyone needed to be taken care of first. Any emotion that was not a positive one in my head, I wouldn’t allow myself to feel it. I realized in order to experience real happiness, I also have to allow myself to feel anger. In the video, you can see that anger and attitude, and it’s very much internalized and composed. It’s so strong that it makes the ground shake, the glass break, and the boys run away. I love that so much. It felt so empowering to step into that.
How would you describe the experience of sharing your spotlight and also being supported by música Mexicana acts like Peso Pluma, Iván Cornejo, and the artists who have featured on Esquinas and Esquemas?
I look at Peso. He invited me to his Inglewood show at the Intuit Dome. To see the growth of the genre itself and the artists within the genres is amazing. Música Mexicana is an umbrella term. There are actually so many sub-genres within the genre itself. It’s so diverse. It’s so colorful in so many ways. I feel like I’ve really found my place in that world because I’ve created this 200 percent [100 percent Mexican and 100 percent American] sound where it’s the music that raised me with a different interpretation of what that sounds like today. You have artists like Peso and Iván, who are doing the same thing in their own way, and everyone who has been a part of these albums. That’s so cool to be a part of. It’s so cool to feel embraced and accepted somewhere.
That was my biggest fear before even pursuing Spanish music: Am I Latina enough? Am I Mexican enough? Am I going to be enough? You don’t have to be anything other than yourself.
What was the experience like to collaborate with Peso Pluma’s cousin and frequent co-writer Tito Doble P on the song “Crisis”?
So cool! It’s so funny because I was saying, “It’s the Doble P’s and the Doble B.” That’s because my first name is Rebbeca with two B’s.
You know how important family is to me. This is such a full-circle moment. At an event I did recently with Patrón, Tito was also performing. That was my idea. I also asked them to invite Gabito [Ballesteros]. I threw out so many names there because we got to help each other out. You have to speak other people’s names in rooms that they can’t be in, so that we can keep pushing the movement. We also announced there that Tito would be on my album. “Crisis” was a really special collaboration.
The only woman who features on the album is Delilah. How did the song “Todo” come together with her?
She is just a little baby girl. I love her so much! She’s so freaking talented. I think her voice is absolutely incredible. I’m such a fan of Delilah and she’s barely getting started. She’s barely scratching the surface of what’s ahead of her.
There’s such a fusion in this song in particular. There’s a modern twist. It’s not typical música Mexicana. There’s an alternative flair to it, which is nice. I found that to be perfect.
She told me, “You know why my parents named me Delilah?” I was like, “No, I’m so curious.” She then started singing “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. That’s such an alternative rock song. It has nothing to do with música Mexicana. I was like, “We need to bring some of that inspiration into our song.” We are what makes it Mexican. Our roots are what makes it Mexican. Our sound is so much bigger. I think that our voices mirror each other so beautifully. I feel like a big sister to her.
The song “Otro Capítulo” is very reminiscent of Selena’s sound. How would you describe the experience of exploring those “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”-like rhythms?
Incredible! It felt so good. If there’s anyone who I’ve always wanted to give all my thanks and respect to in this time of being an artist and understanding what it means to be here, it’s Selena, for the path that she’s made and the bridge that she started. Unfortunately, she couldn’t finish that, but there’s so many of us that feel such a responsibility and a calling to continue building upon that foundation.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t see someone like myself reflected in music and in film. This album and leaning into my roots and who we are as 200 percenters, you can’t do that without honoring someone like Selena.
I noticed there’s an interesting interpolation of “Perdóname” by La Factoria in that song.
That’s a little hint. In “Mamiii,” there was an alternative intro that was very música Mexicana and mariachi. Then the song started and it’s like a pop and reggaeton song, but it has a Mexican feel. With “Otro Capítulo,” I was like, “How cool would it be if we brought a bit of reggaeton vibes to a cumbia song?” That was a little nod saying, “Maybe Becky is going to start making reggaeton music again”? [Flips her hair] Who knows.
Compared to Esquinas, in Encuentros, there are way fewer features and more of you. What was that an intentional decision?
You read into everything. I love it! That was super intentional. I love feedback from my fans. I stopped looking into the comments section a long time ago for wanting to please people and make everyone happy, which is impossible. Real feedback I got from Esquinas was, “I didn’t know you could sing like that. I can actually hear your voice.”
The genre itself is very live, raw, and simple. The way we mixed the songs, I feel like you can hear me. It’s like I’m talking to you. When I got that feedback from Esquinas, I was like, “I still have so much more to say and I want to keep this line of communication with everybody through my artistry.” Encuentros is definitely that telephone line straight to you guys.
What can we expect from your Casa Gomez: Otro Capítulo Tour?
It’s going to be so much fun. We released Esquinas the day of the first show of the Mi Casa, Tu Casa Tour. It’s terrifying to release an album and have to perform it when people haven’t had a chance to digest it and listen to it. I made it work. I was like, “We’re going to make the most of it.” It was incredible because by the end of the tour, everybody knew every song from Esquinas.
Now the same thing is happening this year with Casa Gomez: Otro Capítulo. The day before the first show, we are releasing Encuentros. I wanted to continue Casa Gomez. The concept of Casa Gomez debuted on the Coachella stage. Casa Gomez is me letting people in and inviting them to my house. In my house, we sing together, cry together, drink together, and dance together. To have that experience continue with my fans and only become stronger and more meaningful is going to be so fun. We have all the songs. Casa Gomez is going to get some renovations. Maybe she’ll have a little upgrade or something.
It’s been 10 years since you released “Shower.” What have you learned and taken from that decade-long experience in the music industry?
So much! I feel so lucky that I can sing that song today in a whole new way. In a way that feels like, “This is my song.” When I was younger, I got signed as a rapper. I got signed while doing songs like “Becky From The Block” and “Otis.” The song was my first hit song. For that, I will forever be grateful. The song was bigger than me. It was a song that really anybody could have sang. I think people loved it so much because literally everyone sings in the shower.
The lesson that I learned from that song was the power of my voice and my identity as an artist. Now “Shower” is having this resurgence of importance and going viral on TikTok again with people being like, “The Becky G that we know today sang that song?” It was like I was able to reclaim my power again as an artist and a young woman who had to grow up in this industry, and sometimes be a lot of other things that always didn’t align with me or who I wanted to be in this world. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey that teaches you. That’s how I feel about “Shower.” I love that song. I’m so thankful for that song.
You appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race earlier this year and the drag queens performed “Shower.” What does the connection you have with the LGBTQ+ community mean to you?
They’re also another reason why I’m here. That’s the truth. There’s so many chapters in my career where the community that I have always wanted to show so much love to, so much respect to, and fight for, has given me so much.
What do you want to accomplish next with your music career?
I’m just trying to enjoy the process. I feel like there’s something really beautiful in the unknown and surrendering to not knowing what’s going to happen. Now, if you asked me before if I saw myself here, I was definitely hoping to be successful. I don’t think that looked anything like what today looks like. I think the magic of it all is not knowing. I don’t know what’s next. I just know that I’m enjoying it all. I’m having a lot of fun. This is the most me I’ve ever felt.
Kris Murray had a difficult time establishing a rhythm during his rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers. The former Iowa standout spent the first two-thirds of the season playing sporadically, appearing in 34 of the Blazers’ first 54 games and averaging just 13.1 minutes per game. After being a first-team All-American at Iowa and the focal point of the high-flying Hawkeye offense, Murray had to adjust to the new realities of life as a pro by figuring out how to get himself on the court and earn the trust of his coaching staff and teammates.
As the season wore on, he realized he needed to embrace a different role and mentality. At Iowa, he was a scorer, but the Blazers aren’t lacking for on-ball shot creators. What Portland needed from Murray was to do the little things, which he took to heart, particularly on the defensive end.
“Defense gets you on the floor. I kind of came into the NBA as an offensive player, and I needed that mentality switch,” Murray told DIME. “And my defense probably was the biggest stride I took this last year, and just gave me a lot of confidence towards the end of the year. I was going against some of the best players in the league and was having some success, so it gave a big boost of confidence and helped me see the floor a lot more.”
After the All-Star break, Murray got moved into the starting lineup and averaged 32 minutes per game, as the Blazers fully shifted their focus to development and seeing what they had in their young players. It was a bit of trial by fire, but Murray came out of it with more belief than ever that he belonged, particularly as a defender and a connective piece. He was facing the league’s best wings every night, and quickly learned his mental preparation had to be right in order to take the strides needed to hold up.
“It’s definitely a lot of film,” Murray said. “Just seeing position-wise how I’m fighting through screens, ball pressure and how that affects the person on offense, different ways that I can put myself in a better position to succeed, especially on the defensive end. You don’t have a lot of time to react in the league, so the faster you can pick things up, the faster you can read tendencies, the more success that you’ll have.”
As he gets ready for his sophomore season, those last 28 games have buoyed Murray’s belief that he can be the kind of wing Portland needs alongside their young core of Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and their most recent top-10 pick, center Donovan Clingan. However, he’s well aware that he can’t afford another season of shooting woes if he wants to continue building his role, especially with a more crowded wing rotation with the addition of Deni Avdija.
Last year, Murray shot just 39.6 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three, far below the kind of efficiency both Murray and the Blazers hoped for. Some of that is the context around him, as floor spacing was not a strength of the 2023-24 Blazers as a whole — the team finished the year dead last in three-point percentage. Anyone who was a theoretical threat got tighter coverage, and with the various injuries and absences Portland had, it was difficult for anyone on the roster to get in a comfortable rhythm.
Even with that context, Murray needed to be better and knows that will be the skill that determines whether he establishes a regular rotation spot or goes back to spotty minutes. His main focus this summer has been dialing back in on the mechanics of his shot to get it more consistent and more NBA-ready.
“It’s definitely just shooting. This is probably the most shots I’ve ever got up in an offseason,” Murray said. “This is probably the most consistent I’ve been, just doing it every single day. At Summer League, I would want it to translate a little bit more, but I feel like my misses are good misses. I haven’t been missing left or right, really at all. It’s been on-line. It’s felt good, and the shot’s coming off really smooth. So the best you can hope for is just makes at this point, but that’s something I’ve been working on a lot.”
One of his focal points has been on making his release quicker, learning last year how fast the shooting window closes in the NBA. He doesn’t have to look far for some inspiration on how to do that, as he pointed to the Blazers’ veteran wing, Jerami Grant, as a guy he’s trying to pattern his shot after.
“The thing that I got from him was the catch high, keep high shot, where there’s no dip in your shot,” Murray said. “I got that from him. I’ve been able to use that a few times, and that’s kind of how I’ve been shooting it now. I don’t do a lot of dipping anymore. Jerami, he’s a really high IQ player on both sides of the ball, and doesn’t get rushed. He plays at his own speed. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on and get from him.”
Working on shot mechanics and building that muscle memory through repetition isn’t something new to Murray. In his spare time, the second-year wing makes his way to the golf course, where he finds a similar challenge in trying to build a consistent swing and has had to learn to let go of frustrations that are beyond his control.
“There’s a lot you can take away from golf into basketball, while also just helping you reset,” Murray said. “I mean, golf is a repetition sport. Every swing has to be the same. So, I kind of relate that to shooting. Every shot has to be the same, and your balance has to be the same in your base. And also it helps you mentally. There’s a lot of frustrating things about golf and things that aren’t going to go your way, that you can’t really control, and that can happen in basketball and in the NBA life, too. So, there’s things that I can take away from that that help me on the court, but also just gives me that reset off the court too.”
That mentality should serve Murray well. The Blazers are still in talent evaluation mode this season, but pretty soon they’ll be looking to consolidate talent and establish the group that will lead them into the future. With a leap as a shooter, Murray could certainly find his way into that group, as Portland needs wings that can defend and space the floor.
He believes his shot is smoother, quicker, and coming out of his hands more consistently on-line. Now, it’s a matter of getting shots to fall in game situations to secure himself a steady place in the rotation. Consistent minutes are never a guarantee, especially on a roster like the Blazers, but he’s confident that when provided an opportunity this season, he’ll be able to capitalize.
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