Month: April 2020

It’s a stacked week in hip-hop as rappers continue to take advantage of the downtime provided by social distancing to finish up their projects and capitalize on a very-close-to-literally captive audience. It’s also an extremely women-centric week, as not just one, but three women add to the rapidly growing canon of female focused rap music.

Here are all the best hip-hop albums coming out this week.

2kBaby — Pregame Rituals

At all of 19 years old, the Louisville, Kentucky rapper first garnered attention with his “Old Streets” freestyle, leading to a deal with Warner Records. His debut EP for the label features G Herbo, Lil Durk, and YFN Lucci, along with the single “Faxts” and a remix of “Old Streets.” He balances singing and rapping throughout his catalog, rhyming about the struggles and trauma of growing up in Louisville, in his words, “really starving.”

Asian Doll — Doll SZN Reloaded

10 projects deep into her career, Asian Doll is still ripping through fierce, no-holds-barred verses alternating between gritty, street-centric boasts and vulnerable, autobiographical rap ballads about her upbringing in Dallas, Texas. The EP is her first since splitting with Gucci Mane’s label, 1017. It features one guest appearance from King Von and all of her usual acerbic, unapologetic attitude.

Kari Faux — Lowkey Superstar

The title of Kari Faux’s latest is no fluke; as a veteran of the original early 2010s blog rap boom, she’s been around and buzzing for nearly eight years. Springboarding off of the success of her 2019 EP, Cry 4 Help, Kari’s billing Lowkey Superstar as her coming out moment as she comes into herself and overcomes some of the anxiety that’s held her back at parts of her career. As she admitted on her Instagram, she almost psyched herself out of releasing the project — let’s all thank our lucky stars she didn’t.

Kierra Luv — Take It Or Leave It

The third woman on this week’s list comes from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and raps like her life depends on it. She’s been co-signed by Cardi B, counts Diddy, Lil Wayne, and Nelly as her influences, and spits rapid-fire, complex raps with the mentality of a rapper several years her senior. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention? She’s only 18 years old. You might not guess it to hear her spit; she’s got an old soul and a flow to match — but she’s not a stuck-in-the-’90s rapper either, more than comfortable with modern styles.

Smoke DZA — Ringside 8

The prolific Harlem, New York rapper who calls himself “the Kush God” has dropped an absolutely unreal number of projects over the years — this one is his second of 2020. Fortunately, it’s a quick listen at just five songs, paying homage to his love of wrestling with producer 183rd. Sampling wrestlers’ intro themes — including Goldberg, Sting, and The Nation Of Domination — DZA raps clever, cool bars about his luxury lifestyle with all the slickness of a New York City hustler.

Tory Lanez — New Toronto 3

The final project on his Interscope deal, New Toronto 3 finds the Torontonian going solo for 14 of its 16 tracks. With the success of this Quarantine Radio livestreams, it’s likely to be one of his most successful projects as well.

YSN Flow — Flow SZN

At all of 16 years old, he’s one of the youngest buzzing rappers in the game, but he’s proved he deserves the looks. With a style reminiscent of New York’s Lil Tjay, and a gift for singsong melodies and sharply observant bars, he’s got a cross-generational appeal blended with a fresh outlook.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

No sports entity has been more defiant about continuing to hold events despite the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic than the UFC — well, unless you count WWE. Dana White has been insistent on UFC 249 still taking place on April 18, despite stay-at-home orders in most states currently lasting through April 30.

The plan was to have the event, headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, at a casino on native land in central California, where UFC 250 also would take place with a main event featuring Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz. However, with just over a week out from the fight, Dana White and UFC have apparently been forced to cancel UFC 249 and postpone all future events, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who cites White indicating things were taken out of his control.

According to Ariel Helwani, ESPN was not willing to put on the production of the events and put its staff in that situation, and due to their TV contract, UFC had no option but to postpone.

It is, ultimately, the right decision for the safety of all involved and may save UFC from a self-induced disaster should there have ended up being a fighter that competed and then later tested positive. Now, there will not be any fights happening in the near future, as UFC now finds itself dealing with the same uncertainty about when it can return as every other league and entity.

Despite not fighting in more than three years, Domnick Cruz is stepping immediately into a title fight at UFC 250 when he squares off with Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight crown.

The original title bout was scheduled to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 9, with Jose Aldo as the challenger. According to Globo, the UFC legend’s United States work visa recently expired, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, the American embassy in Brazil is not currently renewing work visas. The UFC 250 card has no confirmed location as of this writing, but it’s expected to held at the same spot as UFC 249, which is apparently at a casino on native land in Californa.

Cruz hasn’t competed in the UFC since he lost the bantamweight crown against Cody Garbrandt in late 2016. Injuries have kept him out of the Octagon as of late, but he was preparing for a return against a top contender, looking to earn his way back into a title fight. Instead, he’ll slide ahead of other top contenders to face off with Cejudo, who has won his last five fights.

In his first fight of 2020, Cejudo will look to follow up on a stellar 2019 that saw him successfully defend the flyweight title against TJ Dillashaw before claiming the vacant bantamweight belt in a TKO victory over Marlon Moraes.

Fresh off of the awards season wins that sent Bong Joon-Ho fans into a state of euphoria on social media, Parasite is now available to Hulu subscribers, and the streaming platform is understandably pumped about landing the twisted comedy. With audiences trapped indoors, Hulu made sure to let everybody know who has the Academy Award winner for Best Picture in a Twitter release video:

Considering this is social media we’re talking about, and again, people have a lot of time on their hands, Hulu’s tweet attracted Twitter trolls who are not fans of Parasite‘s anti-capitalist message, which has made the film a contentious topic in some corners. But what the trolls didn’t expect is that whoever runs Hulu’s social media accounts also has time on their hands, and they got to work clapping back at detractors. For example, one user called the film “pathetic,” which prompted Hulu to set them straight.

As that response quickly went viral, Hulu aimed its sights at another troll who apparently doesn’t care for reading subtitles or foreign movies in general.

The response to Subtitle Boy went even more viral. It became a whole thing. Debates about subtitles aside, detractors are obviously missing the fact that Parasite accomplished an incredible feat during awards season by shattering conventional norms around foreign films. Via IndieWire:

“Parasite” was the favorite to win the Oscar for Best International Feature Film ever since it won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but many in the film industry wondered if a non-English language drama could take the Academy’s biggest prize for Best Picture. No foreign language film had ever won Best Picture in the 92 years of the Oscars. Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” got close in 2019 but lost to “Green Book.” “Parasite” broke the glass ceiling, becoming not just the first foreign language Best Picture winner but also the first South Korean film to land Oscar noms.

Sure, you could call that “pathetic” or “trash” because it’s not English, but don’t be surprised to see an entire streaming platform jump in your mentions to tell you exactly how wrong you are.

(Via Hulu on Twitter)

Tiger King star Jeff Lowe recently claimed that an eighth episode in the hit big-cat docuseries would arrive before long. It didn’t seem like folks believed him, but lo and behold, this is actually happening. While there were rumors that this would be a reunion-type endeavor, chances for a shoot anytime soon seemed slim, given current social distancing limitations. However, this episode is now breathing down our collective necks, and it’s being described by Netflix as an “aftershow” called “The Tiger King And I,” which will be hosted by Joel McHale and drop on April 12.

Yes, that Joel McHale, who is still waiting on those “seven” Community movies to start shooting, is doing the next best thing. Watch this teaser, if you dare.

Rob Lowe must be so jealous, and the Stargirl actor shall henceforth be known as “Joel Exotic.” Nope, not sorry for that one, and it’s a damn good thing that someone’s wearing the Joe Exotic gear, since Joseph Maldonado-Passage can’t appear in the flesh for this installment while he’s sitting in a Texas penitentiary. We should not expect Carole Baskin to make a surprise appearance either, but the episode promises appearances by not only Jeff Lowe but wife Lauren, along with John Finlay, Saff (!), John Reinke, Joshua Dial, Erik Cowie, and Rick Kirkman.

Easter just got a whole lot more exciting, right? Even in these quarantined times, there’s still plenty of entertainment out there.

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Desus And Mero: A quarantine edition features illustrious guest Tracee Ellis Ross.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon: Beastie Boys Mike D and King Ad-Rock pop onto the show, along with Anna Kendrick and Dan White.

Devs (FX on Hulu) — Forest and Katie are antsy for the full Devs project completion while Kenton’s determined to look out for Number One and no one else.

Station 19 (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) — A fire in a storage facility plagues the crew while Dr. Jackson Avery stops in for a visit.

Superstore (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) — Cheyenne’s 21st birthday leads to conflict with Mateo, and Glenn’s playing matchmaker for Jerry and Sandra to no one’s delight.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, 8:30 p.m.) — The squad’s in competition with each other for who’s the biggest genius of the bunch.

Man With A Plan (CBS, 8:30 p.m.) — Adam’s determined to not lie to Andi anymore, but Joe steps up to squash that plan. Uh-oh.

Will & Grace (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) — The I Love Lucy-themed episode that fans have probably anticipated for decades finally arrives. Essentially, everyone wants to be Lucy.

Better Things (FX, 10:00 p.m.) — Sam’s visiting the weed store while ice cream is the name of the game for Frankie and Sam.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Don Cheadle, Regina Hall, Phoebe Bridgers

Late Night With Seth Meyers: Jane Fonda

Conan: Jon Meacham

A Little Later With Lilly Singh: Abby Elliott, Adam Pally

With the NBA 2K Players Only Tournament wrapping up this weekend, ESPN and the NBA are moving forward on another remote competition to draw some eyeballs during the league’s hiatus.

Starting Sunday, the NBA and WNBA HORSE competition will begin, featuring Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Allie Quigley, Tamika Catchings, Chauncey Billups, and Paul Pierce. The first round of the competition will be broadcast Sunday, April 12 from 7-9 p.m. ET, and, like the 2K tournament there are betting odds being offered by offshore sportsbooks. First, we’ll look at the quarterfinal matchups and the odds from BetOnline for each matchup, headlined by Trae Young (the overall favorite) taking on Chauncey Billups.

Trae Young (-200) vs. Chauncey Billups (+150)
Tamika Catchings (+300) vs. Mike Conley (-500)
Zach LaVine (-110) vs. Paul Pierce (-130)
Chris Paul (-300) vs. Allie Quigley (+200)

Catchings at +300 is far too juicy to pass up in a HORSE matchup, and both of the WNBA players in the competition are being undervalued overall. The overall odds show Young as the favorite to win the entire competition at +200.

Trae Young +200
Chris Paul +250
Mike Conley Jr. +300
Paul Pierce +400
Zach LaVine +500
Chauncey Billups +600
Allie Quigley +800
Tamika Catchings +1000

Again, given that this is HORSE and there are no dunks allowed (which only hurts LaVine, in theory), Quigley and Catchings both are getting undervalued and are probably worth a look here if you really want to put money on a remote HORSE competition.

While the nerds are all working on their bodies to emerge from social isolation as buff ass butterflies or whatever, the rest of us are exploring a world of home-cooked meals and baking shitloads of bread. We’ve already nailed the art of fried chicken and our focaccia rivals that of the finest Italian chefs. We’ve even got Dalgona coffee dialed in. Now it’s time for us to master the ultimate comfort food: ramen.

To lead us to the perfect piping hot bowl of Japanese noodles and broth, we’ve tapped ramen chef Hiro Mitsui of Washington D.C.’s Ramen by Uzu. Recognizing that certain ingredients are in short supply, he’s put together a special quarantine-friendly version of the dish for us. Chef Hiro’s recipe swaps out bone broth for an easy-to-make vegetable broth. Because while meat availability varies, grocery stores seem to be pretty well stocked on fresh produce.

In addition to the recipe, we also asked Chef Hiro for some basic ramen-making tips to keep us from messing things up. His advice will keep you fed now and help you refine your version of the dish later, when the quarantine ends and you have a few people over to impress.

Can you walk us through the process of cooking the perfect ramen noodle?

It really depends on the thickness of your noodles. If we are using very thick noodles, we cook them a minute to a minute and 10 seconds in boiled water. Then basically you mix with the soup base. With the stock… Basically, boil the chicken bone broth and make some soy base or miso base. Mix it all together.

Could you walk us through the different types of broths?

Probably the most famous broth will be tonkatsu, which is pork bone. It is aromatic, vegetables, carrots, onions, scallions. Some places use miso with it. Some places use kelp, which is like a seaweed. It really depends on the restaurant. A lot of places are using basically pork bone broth, which some people do not like. So we use chicken bone broth. It is one of the popular broths in Japan. We do 10 hours cooking stock, then rest 10 hours. So basically a 20-hour process.

What’s an easy at-home ramen recipe to make?

If you are prepared to do pork bone broth, buy pork belly, the broth of pork belly, and scallions, onions, ginger, garlic.

Put on the pot, fill it up the water. First, you have to boil it and turn down to simmer for two or three hours. Basically you just cooked pork and the stock at same time. And you make tonkatsu base, maybe you can put shoyu, which is soy sauce; mirin, which is like sugar with alcohol; salt. Mix it all together!

If you feel like you need to add more flavor to it, such as sesame oil, more salt, maybe black pepper. You can just add that. That’s a really basic, really easy recipe.

What are some common toppings that make for a nice looking bowl?

Usually, ramen comes with wakame, which is a seaweed… I mean shoyu ramen comes wakame, which is a seaweed. Menma, which is a bamboo shoot. You can find all those in Asian grocery stores. Noodles — of course — and the broth is topped with nori, which is dried seaweed, which you can also find in Asian grocery stores. Some people like sweet corn. Some people like chili paste. Or, if you like spicy, you can just do sriracha. Plus scallions and boiled egg. Soft or hard-boiled, whatever you like.

A famous combination is a lot of bean sprouts, a lot of onions, and garlic. That will be really filling.

What’s an easy and fast ramen dish to prepare that will leave you satisfied?

Aside from the pork ramen, which is fast… I don’t know if I should talk about this one — But basically you can add protein on top of those packaged ramens. I mean, of course, made from scratch is better. But if you want to make it really quick, just add stuff like vegetables and a boiled egg on top and it’ll be good.

What type of ramen do you think Americans generally overlook that is popular in Japan?

Whenever people come to the ramen restaurant, they automatically think tonkatsu ramen is the only ramen, which is made with the pork bone and is really, really rich. We have millions of kinds of ramen in Japan! My favorite is a fish-based sauce. Dried fish, and anchovy. Those constitute the fish base broth. That’s my favorite.

Hiro’s Quarantine Ramen Recipe

First, we need to make stock using ingredients that you might have at home. Just use as many of the ingredients that you can get your hands on. Ramen is a combination of stock + base (tare) + oil/fat. At Ramen by Uzu, we have chicken or vegan stock. For this at-home recipe, we will make a veggie stock.

Stock Ingredients

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch of scallions, stems removed and chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed with skin
• 1 piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 small apple, chopped 4 ways
• 1 sheet of kombu (kelp) (If available. This is for umami. If not available, don’t worry.)
• 1 medium brown potato, peeled and chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Fill the pot with water until all the ingredients are covered. Be sure to leave two inches at the top so the water won’t spill.
2. Boil on high heat. After the water comes to a boil, lower the temperature and simmer for 1.5 hours.
3. Gently smash the vegetables to get the most umami into your broth.
4. (Optional) For a more “authentic” flavor, throw in one handful of bonito. Leave it for 10 minutes.
5. Strain the vegetables from the broth. Compost the veggies or save them for some other recipe.

Base Ingredients

• 1 10.5 oz can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Mix one half can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom with the same amount of stock. (Ratio 1:1.
• You can adjust however you like. If you want a creamier soup, use more cream of mushroom.)
• Garnish
• Thin-sliced scallions
• Egg (hard-boiled or soft-boiled, your choice)
• Your choice of protein (pork, chicken, fried tofu, sautéed spam)
• Nori
• Canned corn

Method

1. Combine the stock and base in a small pot. Heat it up.
2. Cook your noodles. It’s great if you can get your hands on fresh ramen noodles. However, if that’s not possible, just use instant ramen noodles (just the noodles).
3. Cook the noodles according to the package. If you like your noodles al dente, cook them 30 seconds to one minute less than what the instructions call for. Strain the water.
4. Add the noodles to the soup.
5. Garnish with your preferred toppings.

*BONUS RECIPE* Chef Hiro’s Shoyo Ramen Recipe

This is a simple recipe where you don’t need to boil the stock for a long time. However, the flavor of this ramen is still very traditional and makes me feel nostalgic.

Stock Ingredients

• 8 oz pork belly
• 6 oz chicken thigh
• 1 oz Dried Anchovy
• .5 oz Konbu seaweed
• 2 stalk Scallion
• 1 Apple whole with skin
• 50 oz Water

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a pot.
2. Boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the temperature to low to medium heat. Cook for 90 mins.
3. After 90 minutes, take out the pork belly.
4. Add .5 oz bonito and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Strain stock and cool down with ice bath

Pork Belly Ingredients

1. 7 oz Soy
2. 4.5 oz Water
3. 1 oz Sake
4. .5 oz Sugar
5. .5oz Honey
6. 2 stalks of Scallions
7. 2-3pcs Peeled garli

Combine all ingredients in a pot.

Method

1. Boil. Once it comes to a boil, add pork belly from the stock. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, flipping the pork belly occasionally.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the pork belly and set it to the side to cool down.
3. Take the remaining juice (tare/soup base) and save it for later.

Assembly

1. In a small pot, warm 12 oz of stock.
2. Add 7 oz of tare into a ramen bowl.
3. Cook noodles in boiling water. If possible, use fresh noodles and cook them to your preference.
4. Add the warm stock to the tare in the ramen bowl.
5. Remove the cooked ramen noodles from the boiling water and add them to the ramen bowl.

6. (optional) Add one drop of sesame oil. 

7. Garnish with sliced pork belly, scallions, egg (soft or hard-boiled), sesame seeds, nori, and menma (bamboo shoots).

After The Weeknd called Usher’s 2012 hit “Climax” a “Weeknd song” in a Variety profile, Usher himself checked in with his #ClimaxChallenge on social media, teasingly responding with a passive-aggressive, acapella rendition of his own song on social media. Now, Usher’s “Climax” collaborator Diplo is chiming in with his own take on the “controversy,” giving The Weeknd himself the perfect springboard to address the fan backlash.

The producer admitted that The Weeknd was indeed an inspiration for his work on Usher’s standout. “The production on ‘Climax’ lends itself to House Of Balloons era The Weeknd,” he tweeted. “When I heard those early records they blew my mind — soulful in their silences, and a spacey iconic voice that felt uniquely internet. The idea of R&B having dark edges was what I wanted to bring to Usher, one of my favorite voices of all time.” He also noted that “It was a song that always had a crescendo but never felt like it reached the peak” and compared it to how “some relationships never make it to where you want them but for a moment it could feel like ecstasy.”
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The Weeknd used the opportunity to make his statement, posting a screenshot to Instagram and adding, “Of course media blows everything out of proportion and takes things out of context. Usher is a king and always an inspiration so it was flattering to hear what him and Diplo did on ‘Climax.’”

Check out Diplo and The Weeknd’s responses above.

As the global box office basically shuttered in early March, Birds of Prey became one of the first titles to break the 90-day video-on-demand release window in an effort to recoup losses. The Harley Quinn sequel hit VOD on March 24 after being in theaters for just six weeks. Normally, this would only make the film available for digital purchase until four weeks later when the rental period kicks in. But, once again, Birds of Prey is shattering conventions.

According to /Film, Birds of Prey is already available for the digital rental price of $5.99 just two weeks after its VOD release. Unfortunately, this surprise move by Warner Bros. led to inaccurate reports that the title is available for purchase at the lower price, but that is not the case. However, that doesn’t change the potential paradigm shift in how soon audiences can rent hot new releases:

The real story here is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has broken the traditional VOD rental window. For awhile now, major studio movies become available for digital purchase a couple weeks before they hit Blu-ray and DVD, but they’re not available for rental at that time. It’s when a movie is released on Blu-ray and DVD that a movie becomes available for digital rental. But in this case, with the Blu-ray and DVD release of Birds of Prey slated for May 12, the movie is hitting VOD rental over a month early.

As IndieWire notes, this move has rocketed Birds of Prey to #1 on iTunes, but movie studios could be “playing with fire,” considering audiences were never quick to jump on the $19.99 purchase price for VOD releases. If studios begin to signal that they’ll shorten the rental window, there’s a good chance that cash-strapped audiences might just wait for the cheaper price. Then again, the dramatic increase in digital rentals could be the shot in the arm that studios are looking for while movie theaters sit empty.

(Via /Film, IndieWire)