Month: April 2020
“I watched like three people die on Saturday — nothing we can do. Zero,” one New York City doctor told BuzzFeed News.
Why is this year different from all other years? To start with, the Seder will be happening over Zoom.
Videos showed hundreds chanting Capt. Brett Crozier’s name as he walked off his ship after being fired for voicing concerns for his crew following a COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Way back in 2015, just six months after releasing his sophomore album Honest, Future shocked the world with Beast Mode, his collaborative mixtape with trap production pioneer Zaytoven. It was the second of his impressive, fan-favorite series of mixtapes which included Monster and 56 Nights that solidified Future as superstar and a production machine who could drop entire album-quality projects at an unprecedented clip. Unfortunately, Beast Mode had never been available for fans to officially stream — until today.
For the first time, Beast Mode has hit DSPs, allowing Future to collect the revenue he once told Uproxx he was missing out on by not being able to monetize his old projects — although he was able to capitalize on Beast Mode somewhat by releasing a sequel in 2018. However, last October he was able to upload Monster on its fifth anniversary as one of several rappers to bring a beloved catalog classic to streaming services. Now that he’s followed up with Beast Mode, it looks pretty much inevitable that he’ll have fans clamoring for 56 Nights to join the trilogy (as of today, the project is available to search and view, but the only playable track is “March Madness”).
Beast Mode is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.
After a five year hiatus, Justin Bieber returned in 2020 with the smooth record Changes. Since the record’s release, Bieber has been proactive about providing visual content. The singer began his Changes: The Movement campaign which released a choreography video to nearly every track on his album. Now, Beiber returns with a nature visual accompanying his album’s title track to give fans a taste of the outdoors while stuck in quarantine.
Directed by Michael D. Ratner, Bieber’s visual shows the singer exploring a vast and frozen landscape. Bundled up, Bieber turns introspective while examining the changes he has recently undergone in his personal life. “I just wanna be the best of me / Even though sometimes, I forget to breathe / So that I can be the best for you / That’s all I wanna do,” he croons.
Ahead of his album’s release, Bieber shared the 10-part docuseries on YouTube titled Seasons. The series arrived as a deep dive into the singer’s five-year hiatus. In the documentary, Bieber spoke about getting married to his wife Hailey Baldwin, being diagnosed with Lyme disease, quitting a tour due to insurmountable pressure, and getting back into songwriting for his latest record.
Watch “Changes” above.
Changes is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.
Amid the current pandemic, information on whether the general public should wear masks is, well, conflicting at best. Recent CDC advice suggests that community spread could be lessened through widespread use of the devices. Yet given rampant shortages of masks, the leading U.S. public health institute knows that formally advising civilians to wear masks will only further jeopardize access for first responders and medical professionals. However, many people would feel more comfortable wearing some sort of face protection because that’s (probably) better than nothing when it comes to a highly contagious, potentially life-threatening virus that can spread through respiratory droplets. If nothing else, a mask can remind people to stop touching their faces, which is the easiest way to contract the disease.
Enter Colin Hanks, whose parents (Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson), were among the first U.S. celebrities known to have contracted the virus. Colin’s been doing the social distancing thing, and here’s his tutorial on how to fashion a makeshift kerchief mask.
Also important? His advice to watch these kerchiefs regularly, which (again) is more protection than wearing nothing at all while making necessary grocery runs. If you do happen to have any extra N95 masks lying around, the New York Times published guidelines for how to donate them to medical workers. Stay safe out there, everyone.
This year’s WrestleMania is one of the most unique and troubled events in the show’s almost four decades of history. So far we’ve seen top stars drop out of main event matches due to health concerns, the loss of the ability to shoot the show live, and even a complete relocation that ruined the “pirate ship” motif.
In an interview with TV Guide, EVP of Global Talent Strategy and Development and resident gamesman Triple H talked about the “different alternatives” WWE had considered for this year’s Showcase of the Immortals and how the global pandemic moving Mania from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to the company’s Performance Center in Orlando gave WWE the chance to, “do things differently, shoot them differently, present them differently.” One of those is the Firefly Funhouse match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt, which El Juego declares will be, “different from anything we’ve ever done.”
From the interview:
“I think that given the fact that WrestleMania will expand out, we had the opportunity to expand it out over multiple days and really do things in a way that we’ve never done before. We have Rob Gronkowski hosting with us, which it’s tough to plan around Rob because Rob kind of… you’ve got to just deal with Gronk. It’s Gronk’s world, we’re just all living in it. He’s got his own plan, so that’s unique in and of itself. But [there’s] the ability for us to then, because there are no fans, because we aren’t in the stadium, we can do things a little bit differently. So there are some matches and some components and things that will take place this year like we’ve never done before.
“Bray Wyatt and John Cena will have a Firefly Fun House match, which will be different from anything we’ve ever done in the WWE. The Undertaker and A.J. Styles will have a Bone Yard match, and they will be doing that from an off-site location. So the opportunity to do things differently, shoot them differently, present them differently. Hopefully, we’ll open up this WrestleMania in ways that people have never seen before and give them an opportunity to be entertained in ways they never have before.”
The “Firefly Slaughterhouse” t-shirt made for the match to sell at WrestleMania depicts Cena and Wyatt as hand puppets, so maybe we’ll be getting some abrupt media changes? Maybe they’ll wrestle some of it as people, some of it as puppets, some of it as cartoon characters? Even if they’re just fighting on a haunted children’s show set, it should be interesting.
One thing guaranteed to be less interesting, however? Entrances. Because how can you do WrestleMania-level ring entrances in an empty gym?
“Yeah, obviously some of that has had to be scaled down somewhat. We don’t have a stadium with a much longer ramp way, and the pyro and everything else that we would have. So, we’d have to work within certain parameters of changing what the spectacle is, but still trying to keep this as entertaining and as fresh as possible for fans. We’re going to do the best that we can, and I promise you we’ll be entertaining and it will be a spectacle in and of itself. Different, but still a spectacle.”
We get the feeling next year’s event is going to give everyone a big entrance and enough pyro to burn down a stadium.
It was just about one year ago when KofiMania officially ran wild. It was April 7, 2019, when Kofi Kingston, a 15-year veteran who had long been viewed as a “good hand” in WWE but was never elevated to the top of the card, finally broke through the glass ceiling and became the first African WWE Champion after pinning Daniel Bryan. In the year since, Kingston had a 180-day championship run, defeating the likes of Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler along the way, putting him in the top 20 longest reigns in modern WWE history.
Since losing the championship to Brock Lesnar, Kingston has stayed at or near the top of Smackdown’s tag team division alongside his New Day stablemate Big E. The pair will be competing this weekend at WrestleMania 36 in a tag team triple threat match for the Smackdown tag championships against the Usos and John Morrison and the Miz — well, maybe. Speculation has been running rampant online that this match was changed during the pre-taping of Smackdown and WrestleMania, which we ask Kingston about, among many other topics (such as just who is WWE’s Joe Exotic). Read on, and feel the power!
UPROXX: You’ve competed at nearly every WrestleMania since 24 — you even competed twice at Mania 31. Besides the obvious answer of Daniel Bryan, what’s been your favorite Mania match?
KOFI KINGSTON: You took away the easy answer for me! There’s a couple. My first time really being on the WrestleMania card was the Money In The Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 25. That was really special to me. The standard was set so high with ladder matches, so for us to be able to go and put on a ladder match, and for me to do some things that had never been seen before, I thought was great. It was one of the first times I came back through the curtain and everyone had a standing ovation. It was because we were able to do so many cool things. I take a lot of pride in that.
The first WrestleMania the New Day actually got to compete in was great, because everyone told us we sucked, and here we are, on WrestleMania. We fought so hard to get on TV as a group, and for us to actually be on WrestleMania, it was such a crowning achievement. We made moves because we believed in ourselves, and eventually people came around and started believing in us.
Even this year’s WrestleMania is so unique. You would never plan to have WrestleMania in this way, shape or form, but this is the situation we’re in. When we all get past this whole Coronavirus situation, we’re all gonna look back and be like, “Hey, remember that WrestleMania when we went to Orlando and taped in front of no people at WrestleMania?” It’s gonna be something that’s historic.
When you’re thinking about your old WrestleMania matches, how often do you watch tape of yourself? And when you do, are you looking for mistakes you made as ways to improve yourself, or just as a way to reminisce?
To be honest, I don’t really watch a whole lot of old footage these days. On Twitter, there’s a couple of people who do, “On this day, this happened,” and the day will come up where I wrestled so-and-so, and sometimes I’ll have no recollection of the actual match. But every WrestleMania is so different. I’ve never been in the same kind of match year to year. If I ever go back to watch any kind of footage, it might be, “Okay, we have a ladder match coming up,” and I’ll go back and watch different ladder matches we’ve done just to get the juices flowing — and that’s even rare too. I usually have a pretty good memory as far as what we did. I go a lot more on feeling and how I felt at this WrestleMania or at this ladder match, let’s try to emulate that feeling in this match, or go that route.
I don’t really have a whole lot of time, especially being at home with my family most of the time — my time is very limited. Unfortunately I don’t spend a whole lot of time watching older stuff I’ve done. If I watch older stuff, it’s older stuff other people have done to see how I can emulate the greatness that came before me.
Given that WrestleMania was pre-taped this year, this will be the first time you’ll be able to watch it with your family on your couch in your own home, which is probably pretty surreal. When the show was taping, did you purposely go out of your way to avoid the other matches as to not be spoiled of the outcome?
It was a crazy scene. We didn’t really get to sit around and watch what was going on. Any WrestleMania, before you wrestle, you don’t really watch everybody else’s match because you’re so worried about getting your own match together. It was kind of the same thing this year, because we didn’t know what was being taped from the arena. We were concentrating on our own stuff. I’m excited to see how the other matches went. There’s a lot of results that I don’t know. It’ll be really, really cool to sit down with the family and watch it, because it’s something that’s never happened before, and it probably won’t happen again until I retire.
You’re in Austin right now, which has an amazing food scene. Where are you getting your WrestleMania spread from?
Honestly I haven’t even thought about it! But now that you mention it, we’ll have to see. There’s a lot of great options, Tacodeli being one of my favorites. JuiceLand is great too. There’s a lot!
Reports came out last week that your scheduled WrestleMania match — a triple threat tag title match against the Usos and the Miz and John Morrison — was turned into a ladder match that you were not listed as being involved with. Can you comment on that?
Well that is the greatness of WrestleMania, all the rumors that have been going around. That’s why we watch. We got two special days of jam-packed WrestleMania action, and we’ll all have to watch and see how things unfold and we’ll all find out together. But I’m enjoying all the rumors and the buzz that’s going around, as far as what’s happening and what’s not happening. The one thing about taping these shows in advance is that you do have these rumors. It’s interesting to see just what is true and what is not. Like I said, it’s a long-winded non-answer, but you gotta stay tuned and watch. Smackdown is tonight, and WrestleMania is the next couple of days.
This is by far the most time you’ve had at home in years. How has it been readjusting to not only being home all day, but being a full-time dad with your kids also at home all day?
It’s great! I love it, man. My son is whispering in my ear, “I wanna FaceTime, lemme Facetime!” I literally have one kid on my lap and the other one over my shoulder. I did an episode of [Fox Sports’] First Things First — I woke up real early in the morning and I warned them that my kids would probably come bursting in, and sure enough, three minutes later, my son came bursting in and he was a part of the interview. This is just the life I live.
But I’m loving it. I’m getting to spend so much time, quality time and quantity time, with my kids that I wouldn’t normally get to do. For all the uncertainty and the weirdness that’s going on with everybody being at home, it’s actually giving me a sense of normalcy because I get to be at home like a normal dad spending a lot of time with kids. It’s kind of been a blessing to be able to spend all this time with my family. I love it.
I have to imagine the New Day‘s podcast, Feel The Power, has been a huge help keeping the three of you connected in a physical sense since Xavier Woods has been off the road due to injury. But now the three of you are once again scattered because of the COVID outbreak. How are you handling being apart from your two stablemates?
It definitely helps to see their faces. We’ve been recording the podcast remotely. It’s strange to not see and feel and touch my amigos, but I did see them just last week — it feels like an eternity that we’ve been home for so long.
Being able to have this podcast has been great not only for us but there’s a lot of people who say that listening to the podcast has provided a sense of levity for them throughout these difficult times. That’s really what it’s all about for us, entertaining and putting smiles on peoples’ faces. We’re lucky to be experiencing this chemistry on a different platform, and it’s been successful. I think about what I’m going to do post-WWE, and this podcast has legs.
I loved the two-part episode about the TV show March Madness. So I have to ask you: What is your all-time favorite episode of Nip/Tuck?
Oh my gosh. I thought you were gonna say Dragon Ball Z! How dare you? How dare you? Nip/Tuck?!? I am flabbergasted that you could leave the fate of Game Of Thrones to a coin toss. Are you kidding me? Are you joking? March Madness, indeed.
It made for great entertainment on the podcast, though.
For you guys! I was hot!
Speaking of Game Of Thrones, who was your favorite character? Who did you identify with the most?
I think I identified the most with Jon Snow, but my favorite character was undoubtedly Khaleesi. You were rooting for her, then you were rooting against her. Her frustration in the way her hands were tied and the power she got, and the effort she took to not be like her father but then ended up being just like her father… I thought it was a beautiful story arc for her in particular.
Last question: Have you watched Tiger King yet?
My wife and I just finished the finale yesterday.
Great! I’m going to give you a person from the show, and you tell me who from the WWE locker room best represents that person.
[Laughs.] Okay!
First up: Joe Exotic.
I gotta say Michael Hayes. One hundred percent. The outfits, the blonde hair, the attitude, don’t give a care about nothin’ in the world. Gotta be Michael Hayes.
Carole Baskin.
Woo-hoo, oh boy. I don’t know. Is there a Carol Baskin on our roster? I don’t know. That’s a real accusation to throw at someone.
Doc Antle.
Oh boy. Doc Antle has got to be… maybe Baron Corbin? He’s a little slimy, you know.
How about Joe Exotic’s first husband, John Finlay?
These are difficult, man! Everybody has all their teeth, you know?
Cesaro lost a few.
I was gonna say Cesaro, because he’s got the buzz cut like him too, but he doesn’t have any tattoos. You know what? I’ll say Jamie Noble. They got the same accent.
Last but not least, Jeff Lowe, the guy who stole Joe Exotic’s zoo. Who’s the heel?
I probably should’ve saved Corbin for this one! Maybe Kevin Owens? I know he’s a good guy now, but you can’t forget that Kevin Owens turned on his best friend, Sami Zayn. We welcomed Kevin Owens to be an honorary member of the New Day at one point and he turned on us. Maybe KO.
WrestleMania 36 airs Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET on the WWE Network and via pay-per-view.
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With Harley Quinn season 2 debuting today, we’ve got Harley Quinn co-creator Justin Halpern returning to the Frotcast. You may know Justin from Harley Quinn, Shit My Dad Says, or Surviving Jack, but if you’re a regular Frotcast listener you probably know him for being basically our all-star guest, the guy behind such classic stories as Danzig and the Pile of Bricks, Jilted Boyfriend Drives Off Listening To Papa Roach, and Fred Durst Trolling People On NextDoor.
He returns this week to talk about Michael Bay’s 6 Underground for Netflix, whether Michael Bay is a better director than JJ Abrams, and the entire genre of “bro, wouldn’t it be sick” films. We also discuss life under quarantine, Europe’s history of trying to cure the plague through pogroms, Justin’s history of failed Netflix pitches, and Thomas Middleditch’s interview about being a swinger. If you hadn’t subscribed before, this is the week!
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