Month: June 2020

Treasure hunters rejoice! Or… lament? Not sure how hardcore treasure heads feel about this, but famed antiquities/ art collector and author Forrest Fenn’s treasure has finally been found. The treasure, which had been hidden in plain sight in the Rocky Mountain Wilderness for 10 years, is said to be filled with jewels, gold, and other artifacts and valuables that are worth more than $1 million (though the idea that they should be returned to the Indigenous cultures that produced them is well-worth exploring).

CBS reports that Fenn told the Santa Fe based New Mexican in 2017 that the weight of the chest and contents combined equal out to more than 40 pounds, so it’s a legit treasure chest.

The treasure was located sometime last week and confirmed to Fenn via photograph by a man who Fenn told the New Mexican didn’t want his name released to the public, only revealing that he was from “back East,” which totally sounds like the way you’d describe a mysterious treasure hunter.

Fenn first shared clues to the location of the treasure in a 24-line poem published in his 2010 memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase,” part of which reads,

“Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.

From there it’s no place for the meek,
The end is ever drawing nigh;
There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.”

The treasure was hidden as a way to motivate and inspire people to venture into the wilderness and throughout the decade many have committed hours and money in search of Fenn’s elusive trove, sometimes meeting unfortunate fates, like a snowmobiler who died last March while searching through the Rockies.

In a statement shared to his official website on Sunday, Fenn announced that the treasure had been found but did not reveal its exact location, saying only that “It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forest vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago, I don’t know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot.”

Serious props to the person who uncovered the location using the clues in Fenn’s poem alone, because I felt sure it was underwater somewhere in New Mexico.

K-pop as a genre has one of the most fervent fan bases, but more than that, they are organized and impactful. Last month, for example, they managed to crash a police tips app by flooding it with performance videos. While supporters of the current protests have used a variety of hashtags to get their messages across on social media, trolls have tried to counter those messages with hashtags of their own. When that has happened, K-pop fans have been there to help drown these detractors out.

Last week, #BlackOutTuesday took over social media as virtually everybody online posted black squares on their social media pages in solidarity with George Floyd and the protestors who have taken to the streets since his death. The next day, however, 4chan users launched #WhiteOutWednesday, but K-pop fans were having none of that. The hashtag started trending, but K-pop fans quickly took it over by posting images of Wite-Out correction fluid. The same day, like they did with the police tips app, they also flooded the #Qaṇöṇ hashtag with “FanCam” performance videos.

This past weekend, 4chan users were trying to come up with ways to get back at the K-pop community, but considering just BTS’ fans managed to raise over a million dollars in a bit over a day, picking an online fight with K-pop fans is not likely to go well.

Australian songwriter Gordi getting ready for the release of her sophomore album, Our Two Skins, which is due later this June. The singer has previously shared a handful of singles off the record, but now she returns with the playful number “Unready.” Along with sharing the new song and visual, Gordi announces a handful of 2021 Australian tour dates supporting Bon Iver.

The accompanying video was directed by Madeleine Purdy and features a cameo from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actor Alex Borstein. Compiling slightly absurd and incongruous images, the visual sheds light on the upcoming album’s more lively side. “I asked my friend and collaborator, Madeleine Purdy, to make a video in the middle of a pandemic, and we finally arrived at this idea: vignettes of despair,” Gordi said.

About the song as a whole, Gordi said it’s a departure from the remainder of Our Two Skins:

“For me it sits quite separately to the rest of the record – it’s the only song whose lyrics predate the period of my life described by the rest of the songs on Our Two Skins. When it came time to record the song we tracked every guitar we could find for the big strum sound in the chorus. Singing it proved a challenge because it sits a little higher than my comfortable register. We had tried to do the vocal takes in the cottage but it wasn’t working so one night we ventured over to my parent’s house for a change of scene. Chris asked me (as a joke) if we had any strobe lights in the house to set the mood. We always joke that you could request any object from my Mum and she’d have it to you in minutes from some treasure trove of stuff in the house. Surely enough, we found a strobe light in the wardrobe of my brother’s childhood bedroom. We turned the lights off and hit the strobe, setting the perfect conditions to finally execute the vocal take for ‘Unready’.”

Watch the “Unready” video above and below, find Gordi’s Australian tour dates supporting Bon Iver.

03/27/2021 — Adelaide, Australia @ AEC Arena
03/29/2021 — Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver
04/01/2021 — Brisbane, Australia @ Riverstage
04/05/2021 — Sydney, Australia @ ICC
04/06/2021 — Sydney, Australia @ ICC

Our Two Skins is out 6/26 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.

For this year’s graduates, the months leading up to their commencements have been unlike any other before them. In most cases, students weren’t even able to enjoy an official ceremony celebrating their accomplishments as the world sheltered in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Fortunately, alternatives like YouTube’s “Dear Class of 2020” have provided this year’s graduates with messages of encouragement and inspiration, as well as offering some options for post-grad entertainment they’ll be able to return to again and again.

As part of “Dear Class of 2020,” not only were graduates given a commencement speech from Beyonce, they got a performance from Megan Thee Stallion, who put together a medley of some of her biggest hits including “Big Ole Freak,” “Hot Girl Summer,” “Captain Hook,” “Cash S*t,” and “Savage,” all performed from Megan’s own backyard. She even managed wardrobe change for a rendition of her “Savage” remix, dancing in the kitchen along with pair of friends. At the end of the performance, she encouraged viewers to “have a hot girl summer,” which may be complicated by ongoing coronavirus precautions, but is a nice sentiment.

Watch Megan Thee Stallion’s “Class Of 2020” performance above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Keeping up with the best new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw a much-needed (and highly anticipated) new record from Run The Jewels, and a similarly relevant mass of new hip-hop dealing with current events. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

Run The Jewels — RTJ4

Killer Mike and El-P released their fourth album as a duo a couple days earlier than expected, but either way, it could not have come at a better time. Its political themes are perfect for the times for the times we’re living in, and even aside from that, Run The Jewels just go super hard here. It’s easily the best new music we heard last week.

Meek Mill — “Otherside Of America”

Meek Mill is one of the latest rappers to address the current climate through music, having done so last week with “Otherside Of America.” He kicks the track off with a Donald Trump speech sample before tackling politics and race: “Reporting live from the other side / Same corner where my brothers died / Livin’ like we ain’t got care / Told my mama I ain’t dying here.”

YG — “FTP”

YG was another artist to discuss the post-George-Floyd-death country we’re living in, and he did so on “FTP.” On the track, he certainly doesn’t hide his feelings: “F*ck the police, that’s how I feel / Buy a Glock, break down the block, that’s how I feel / Murder after murder after all these years / Buy a strap, bust back after all these tears.”

Phoebe Bridgers — Inner Demos and “First Day Of My Life”

It was a busy week for the indie favorite. She covered “First Day Of My Life,” a career highlight from her frequent collaborator Conor Oberst. Then, she wrapped up the week by taking advantage of a Bandcamp fee-waiving day to share a collection of “first draft” versions of songs to benefit bail funds.

Drakeo The Ruler — Thank You For Using GTL

Technology makes it possible to record music in a variety of ways, but the way Drakeo The Ruler made his latest is different than how most projects come together. The rapper is in jail at the moment, and he was when he created this album, so he and his producer figured out how to record the whole thing over the phone.

Flatbush Zombies — Now, More Than Ever

The trio spent much of 2019 tending to Beast Coast affairs, but now they’re back with their first three-man effort since 2018. They previewed the six-track EP with “Iamlegend,” and brought things back to basics.

Terrace Martin — “Pig Feet” Feat. Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington, and G Perico

Joining the flock of protest songs that dropped last week was Terrace Martin’s collaborative “Pig Feet,” which includes assists from Denzel Curry, Kamasi Washington, G Perico, and Daylyt. Martin said of the song, “Someone asked, how do I feel? I told them hurt, fearless, angry, aware, and fully ready to protect me, my family, and my people at all cost. I got together with Black men that felt the same way and created a work of truth.”

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever — Sideways To New Italy

The latest from the Australian group is a dose of optimism in a time when people could use just that. The band’s Fran Keaney says of the album, “I wanted to write songs that I could use as some sort of bedrock of hopefulness to stand on, something to be proud of. A lot of the songs on the new record are reaching forward and trying to imagine an idyll of home and love.”

Conway The Machine — “Front Lines”

Conway’s contribution to the group of timely songs last week starts braggadocios, but he eventually gets into what’s happening in the US right now: “We ain’t takin’ no more, we ain’t just pressin’ record / Can’t watch you kill my brother, you gon’ have to kill us all.”

Lil B — I Am George Floyd

To reiterate once again, hip-hop responded to current events in a big way last week. Lil B chimed in as well with “I Am George Floyd,” on which the rapper name-checks an upsettingly long list of victims of police brutality.

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

In recent months, Juicy J has focused on producing music. The rapper has lent his hand on an unreleased collaboration between Megan Thee Stallion and SZA, as well as a track from IDK. But now, with protests persisting against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, Juicy J is addressing systematic racism on his new track “Hella F*ckin’ Trauma.”

On the single, Juicy J spits verses in his expeditious style. Through his lyrics, the rapper addresses police brutality, racism, and a recent dispute with his record label over the rights to his masters. “Got me ready to ride ‘round with that pipe / enough is enough / Man, that sh*t ain’t right, I know my rights / Enough is enough / I can’t sit back let them take my life / Enough is enough / All this racist sh*t gone f*ck around and make me send it up / They keep killing all these n****s / A ride ain’t enough,” Juicy J raps.

In other Juicy J news, the rapper previously hinted at the return of his veteran hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, which has materialized in the form of a reunion tour. The group previously hosted a stand-alone reunion in their Memphis hometown last fall, where DJ Paul and Juicy J reunited on stage with original members of the Hypnotize Minds crew. Now, Three 6 Mafia has rescheduled due to the pandemic and still has two more shows on the bill for October.

Listen to “Hella F*ckin Trauma” above.

As Just Mercy and Selma streamed for free over the weekend, The Help climbed into the top three of Netflix’s most-streamed movies. The 2011 historical drama (based upon a work of fiction) was beloved by the Oscars, like 2018’s Green Book, although both movies have been criticized for perpetuating the “white savior” trope, so it’s bewildering to see The Help trend as a preferred streaming selection while the Black Lives Matter movement continues to protest against police brutality.

One of the Tate Taylor-directed movie’s stars, Bryce Dallas Howard, has decided to open a dialogue. In a Facebook post, she expressed fond memories for working with co-stars that include Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Allison Janney, and Emma Stone. However, she’d like everyone to consider that the story very much arrived “through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers.” While stressing that “[w]e can all go further,” Howard expressed a desire to point people toward more essential viewing:

Stories are a gateway to radical empathy and the greatest ones are catalysts for action. If you are seeking ways to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, lynchings, segregation, Jim Crow, and all the ways in which those have an impact on us today, here are a handful of powerful, essential, masterful films and shows that center Black lives, stories, creators, and / or performers.

⁣

From there, Howard suggested Just Mercy and Selma, along with a handful of other projects, including HBO’s Watchmen, When They See Us (a much better Netflix option than The Help), and Malcolm X. They’re all solid recommendations that will hopefully draw a few eyeballs in a more deserving direction. Viola Davis would likely agree; in 2018, she listed The Help as one of her career regrets, although she (like Howard) still values the friendships with the “extraordinary human beings” who starred alongside her.

(Via Bryce Dallas Howard on Facebook & New York Times)

While the past two weeks of protests against police have been inspiring and unifying liberation movements across the nation, unfortunately, they are just the latest reaction to a recurring problem of American society. We last saw mass protests on a similar scale less than five years ago after several Baltimore police officers killed Freddie Gray.

At the time, Prince addressed the injustice with the song “Baltimore” from his final album, Hit n Run Phase Two. Yesterday, on what would have been Prince’s birthday, his estate re-released the song with a new lyric video as a reaction to ongoing protests against the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The estate also shared a handwritten note from his archives which reads “Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than intolerance [between] black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl. Intolerance.”

“Baltimore,” although specifically referencing Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, is more broadly about ending violence, but also incorporates the protest chant, “If there ain’t no justice, then there ain’t no peace.” Meanwhile, the video uses photos and headlines from the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the aftermath of Gray’s death that could just as easily taken place over the past weekend.

Watch Prince’s “Baltimore” video above.

Just over a week ago, Elias was hit by a car at the beginning of Smackdown, and had to be taken away to a Local Medical Facility. Whether that care was driven by Jeff Hardy or a red-bearded man trying to frame Jeff, the effect was the same for Elias — he was out of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament and off of Smackdown TV in general.

Obviously we all knew the hit-and-run was a work, but we’ve now learned that it happened in part to give Elias a storyline explanation for a real injury that’s expected to put him on the shelf for a while.

According to Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer, Elias really does have a torn pectoral muscle, and he’s expected to be out for months. Running him over with a car is certainly a dramatic way to cover for that absence. Plus there’s always the option to have him looking for revenge when he eventually returns, although of course the entire storyline may be completely forgotten by then. Memories are short in WWE.

This isn’t the first time Elias has been injured in the midst of a tournament. Just last fall, an ankle injury took him out of the King of the Ring Tournament that was eventually won by Baron Corbin. Hopefully whenever he makes it back from this, he has more of a chance to build momentum going forward.

As protests persist across the country in response to police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, many are pushing for cities to defund their police departments. The movement to defund police has been met with confusion, so John Legend offered his explanation as to what defunding police would really look like. No, it doesn’t mean abolishing police entirely. Rather, defunding police suggests redistributing budgets away from police and towards social programs.

Legend opened his explainer by acknowledging that many conjure up images from The Purge when envisioning American cities defunding police departments. “I know this word ‘defund’ has caused some controversy, even from some who are inclined to agree with a lot of the underlying arguments,” he began.

Legend pointed out that huge portions of a city’s budget are directly funneled into police departments. Money that could potentially benefit social service programs like health care and education, which are known to benefit low-income areas and reduce the crime rate, suffer at the expense of police surveillance.

Instead, Legend nudges his followers to envision a “healthier world” in which we use resources to uplift communities, rather than policing them. Legend explains that defunding police doesn’t mean getting rid of them entirely. It means there would be fewer police officers combined with more social workers touting expertise in areas like health care, conflict resolution, and drug treatment.

The singer explains that the operative word in the movement is “defund,” which is meant to signal a redistribution of resources away from policing forces and towards other programs. Electing to “reform” or “retrain” police would not be as effective, as many cities have been retraining officers for decades and yet police brutality still persists.

Legend ended his message by reminding his followers that increasing the minimum wage and passing gay marriage laws seemed impossible decades ago, but activists have successfully pushed legislation that has made progress a reality.

Read Legend’s full explainer on defunding the police above.