Month: July 2020

The UFC will serve up its biggest card of the year on Saturday night. UFC 251, the promotion’s first event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, features a trio of title fights at the top of the bill, with the main event coming together in less than a week. Following Gilbert Burns needing to drop out due to a positive COVID-19 test, Jorge Masvidal will step into the Octagon to challenge for Kamaru Usman’s welterweight title.

This isn’t the only big event on Saturday involving the UFC and Masvidal. It was announced that the Miami native will appear on the cover of UFC 4 alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

“I am the face of a new wave of UFC fighters, so it feels right to represent the sport on this new generation UFC game,” Adesanya said in a release, per Game Informer. “I look forward to my fans playing as me as much as I have enjoyed playing as myself.”

“MMA is more than about the belt,” Masvidal said in the release. “It’s about who you are as a person and the determination that drives a fighter to go from unknown to selling out arenas all over the world. I grew up backyard fighting so it’s exciting for me to see that style of fighting come to UFC 4 where players can bring out their Gamebred mentality.”

The first UFC release from EA Sports since 2018, UFC 4‘s trailer — which features both cover athletes and shows off the game’s Backyard and Kumite environments — was also released.

UFC 4 is available for pre-order now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It drops on August 14, and as an added incentive, those who pre-order the game will get heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as playable characters.

Late last month, Kanye West emerged from a lengthy period of silence with a slew of announcements, which he dubbed “The West Day Ever.” Among the revelations were a 10-year partnership with Gap for a Yeezy Gap line, a trailer for he and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghost animated show, even aa music video to his 2004 track “Spaceship,” off his debut album, College Droput. Just over two weeks later, Kanye returns with another big announcement.

This one involved Kanye’s Yeezy Sound company, with the rapper-musician-presidential candidate revealing its roster of talent. Among those included were that hip-hop duos Abstract Mindstate and Clipse, Cyhi The Prince (who is also signed to GOOD Music), and jazz drummer Tony Williams. West also added the name “KC,” which, according to Billboard, may refer to Jodeci singer K-Ci. He also included himself and his daughter North West.

Yeezy Sound was reportedly trademarked in 2017 for “streaming of music, audio, images, video, and other multimedia content, over the Internet,” according to The Blast. This announcement comes after West announced in a tweet that he would be joining the 2020 race for president. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”

Check out West’s Yeezy Sound tweet above.

Novelty musicians tend to have short careers, achieving one-hit-wonder status and then disappearing back into the ether. And then there’s “Weird Al” Yankovic. The parodist and accordion enthusiast is on his fifth decade of relevance, perhaps partly because his lampoons come from love, not hate. Take his 2018 song “The Hamilton Polka” — a five-minute mash-up devoted to the instant classic Broadway sensation. Yankovic so clearly adores the source that, after the movie version dropped on Disney+ last weekend, he was quick to give the song a new music video.

Mind you, this isn’t some slick montage starring Yankovic himself. It looks like it was made by Yankovic himself on iMovie. All the images are from the movie version itself — which was filmed on stage with the original cast at peak powers — with Yankovic (or whoever was doing the editing) trying to make it look like the performers are singing along to his loving parody.

Again, the song itself came out two years ago, included on the comp Hamildrops, comprised of covers and originals inspired by the show, Yankovic included. Most (though not all!) of the artists Yankovic has parodied consider it an honor to get the “Weird Al” treatment, and Hamilton creator/star Lin-Manuel Miranda is no exception. When you’re done watching the new “Hamilton Polka” video, watch Miranda appearing to wipe away tears as he listens to the song in a slightly happier era.

(Via The A.V. Club)

In one of the most glaringly hypocritical moves in recent history, the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum is suing black blues singer Anita “Lady A” White, to use her stage name she’s performed under for over three decades.

Lady Antebellum announced it had changed its name to Lady A on June 11 as part of its commitment to “examining our individual and collective impact and marking the necessary changes to practice antiracism.”

Antebellum refers to an era in the American south before the civil war when black people were held as slaves.

However, White hasn’t accepted the band’s overtures to use her name so they’ve decided to sue her instead of choosing another one.

It seems the band’s commitment to “antiracism” doesn’t apply to the practice of wielding the bands considerable wealth and power to take what isn’t theirs from a black woman.

On July 7, the band filed a lawsuit after coming to the conclusion “that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”

In 2010, the band secured a trademark for the name “Lady A” which was a nickname that fans used for the group. It’s unclear whether the band knew about Lady A, who was performing in the Pacific Northwest or if White knew about the trademark.

“We hope Anita and the advisers she is now listening to will change their minds about their approach,” the band wrote in a statement. “We can do so much more together than in this dispute.”

The artists discussed recording a song together and recording the process documentary-style, but talks fell through because, according to White, the band never dealt with her in good faith.

White also claims that the band’s initial attempts to rectify the situation had no substance.

“It said that we would coexist and that they would use their best efforts to assist me on social-media platforms, Amazon, iTunes, all that,” she told Vulture. “But what does that mean? I had suggested on the Zoom call that they go by the Band Lady A, or Lady A the Band, and I could be Lady A the Artist, but they didn’t want to do that.”

White countered by asking for $10 million. She planned to use $5 million to re-brand and donate the other $5 million to charities that provide support to fellow independent Black artists.

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum didn’t agree.

“But here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a Black person, even though they say they’re trying to help,” she added “If you want to be an advocate or an ally, you help those who you’re oppressing. And that might require you to give up something because I am not going to be erased.”

NASCAR was one of the first professional sports leagues in North America to successfully return to competition amid the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, holding stock car races at tracks closed to the public in an attempt to finish its season after months away from the track.

Things have gone relatively smoothly in the transition from virtual racing to real live events, though Jimmie Johnson’s positive coronavirus test in early July sent shockwaves through the racing community that has dealt with other significant news since its return to racing. But according to reports Friday, the sport’s governing body is concerned that lax safety standards could cause a COVID-19 outbreak that could threaten NASCAR’s ability to keep competing and admonished teams and staff to adhere to wearing masks correctly.

WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni reported Friday that NASCAR sent teams a memo reminding them about safety standards to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including proper mask wearing and other safety standards, noting that “one cluster outbreak” could end the racing season well before it’s supposed to conclude if teams and staff contract COVID-19. The AP’s Jenna Fryer also reported on the memo Friday, sharing on Twitter the contents of the letter sent to NASCAR’s teams and their employees.

The note highlighted the rise of COVID-19 cases in southern states where most NASCAR tracks are located and acknowledged that more drivers and staff will contract the disease, but that its spread must be limited otherwise it “will threaten our ability to continue racing.”

[via WCNC]

“More people in our industry are going to contract the virus,” NASCAR said, “The key is limiting it.”

“It is important for everyone to do their part ALL THE TIME. One cluster outbreak can derail our season.”

It’s an alarming admission that more cases will hit NASCAR and its drivers and crews, though it is certainly one that is rooted in reality. America is past the point of properly containing the spread of the virus and lacks the tracking and testing mechanisms to limit exposure, and its state-by-state guidelines for mask wearing and other health and safety standards means outbreaks will continue across the country despite the best warnings of health experts. Any attempt to conduct sports in this environment is rife with dangers and potential exposure, and NASCAR is making it clear to its staff that just because the season has been able to continue amid growing caseloads nationwide, that may not be the case if people are not more careful.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This week, Summer Walker released the follow-up to 2019’s Over It with a 5-track EP entitled Life On Earth and Snoh Aalegra came through with her latest single “Dying 4 Your Love.” Also, R&B act Dvsn teamed up with OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars for an official slowed-up remix to their album A Muse In Her Feelings. Check out the rest of the best new R&B below.

Summer Walker — Life On Earth EP

Summer Walker has proven herself to be one of the best things to happen in R&B with the major success of her 2019 debut album Over It and today, the talented musician shared her 5-track EP Life On Earth. Short and sweet, the project features PartyNextDoor as well as up-and-comer No1-Noah who blesses his presence on the sensual tracks “White Tees” and “SWV.” Fans seemed to love No1-Noah’s features so much that he was trending on Twitter for his effort. Donald Trump‘s official Twitter account even liked a tweet praising the “stripper” vibes Life On Earth gives. Summer previously threatened to quit making music and thank God she hasn’t.

Snoh Aalegra — “Dying 4 Your Love”

Iranian vocalist Snoh Aalegra sings the unnerving truth about love on her latest track “Dying 4 Your Love.” The ethereal visual for the song was directed by I.P.W. and features Snoh somewhere in the future amongst the moon and the stars. To celebrate the release of “Dying 4 Your Love,” the singer is selling merch in collaboration with non-profit Until Freedom as an effort to combat systemic racism and police brutality.

Dvsn — A Muse In Her Feelings (Chopnotslop Remix) Feat. OG Ron C & DJ Candlestick

Dvsn‘s third studio album A Muse In Her Feelings is a continuation of an euphoric love affair from 2017’s Morning After and the duo tapped in with Houston legend OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars to further bring out that drunk-in-love ecstasy embodying the project with the official ChopNotSlop remix. The historic chopped and screwed effect comprehensively has the ability to take music into another realm and outstanding tracks such as “For Us,” “‘Flawless’ Do It Well” with Summer Walker and “Friends” with PartyNextDoor are just a few examples of how the sonic H-Town tradition can elevate the musical experience.

Dinner Party – “Sleepless Nights” Feat. Phoelix

There’s a jazzy Dinner Party with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder, and everyone is invited. On the menu is the funky jam “Sleepless Nights” featuring Phoelix, as well as an animated visual based in the heart of Los Angeles. It’s a sweet vibe that smoothly blends contemporary jazz and R&B energy.

Kiana Lede — “Crazy.”

Off Kiana Lede‘s 2020 debut Kiki, the singer shares an intimate music video for her track “Crazy.” It’s a relatable serenade resulting from the effects of being in a toxic relationship. “You done pushed me to a point that got me looking crazy,” she croons. “I done had my share of fuck boys, they be talking crazy.” It’s real life and it’s a mood.

Baby Rose — Marmot

The remarkable Baby Rose seriously impressed with her feature on Dreamville‘s Revenge of the Dreamers III track “Self-Love.” The contralto singer is continuing her musical footmark with the release of her sultry track “Marmot.” It’s a deeply rich ballad that pushes Baby Rose into a lane of her own.

Ann Marie — “Stress Relief” Feat. G Herbo

Ann Marie synced up with Chicago rapper G Herbo for her latest track “Stress Relief.” Ann Marie sings of keeping her bae safe, while Herb delivers bars about being there for his better half. “Stress Relief” is just a taste of what the Chi-Town crooner has in the bank. Her debut project is expected to arrive this summer.

Joy Denalane — “I Believe” Feat. BJ The Chicago Kid

MoTown recording artist Joy Denalane and BJ The Chicago Kid‘s collab track “I Believe” is a soulful love journey. Joined by the crashing sounds of hi-hats, horns, and an intoxicating bassline, the German singer sings sultry sounds of love. Joy and BJ’s chemistry on the track is undeniable.

Noah Cunane — “Call Him”

Burgeoning pop-R&B act Noah Cunane‘s latest single “Call Him” has been described as the “anti-fuckboy” anthem. Instead of remaining in a toxic situation and playing games, Noah sings to his potential love to let go of the past. With a voice like Noah’s, the encouragement is certainly convincing. “Call me up after you call him,” he sings. It’s refreshing single with a new perspective that anyone can appreciate.

Sally Sossa — “Who You Are”

Sally Sossa is an upcoming artist out of Houston who can both sing and rap. On her latest single “Who You Are” she thoughtfully does both. The 18-year-old singer already has co-signs from the likes of Lil Durk and French Montana, making her one to watch.

Check out this week’s R&B picks, plus more on Uproxx’s Spotify playlist below.

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

Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler found herself drawing scorn from numerous WNBA players and the league’s players association earlier this week. Loeffler, a Republican who was appointed to fill Georgia’s vacant seat in the United States Senate earlier this year, expressed her opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement getting celebrated when the WNBA begins its restart at IMG Academy in Florida a little later this month.

Following the response, Loeffler offered up a response of her own, going onto Fox News and saying that Black Lives Matter seeks to “destroy American principles.” This, again, drew plenty of scorn, and on Friday afternoon, the Dream’s players decided to address Loeffler’s collection of comments with a statement of their own, one which was tweeted out by the Dream’s official Twitter account. In the statement, Atlanta’s players declared that saying Black Lives Matter is not “a political statement,” but rather, it is “a statement of humanity.”

Several players followed this up by tweeting out the letter, with center Elizabeth Williams saying, “We’ve read the letter. We reject the letter.

While Williams did not specify any races in which individuals should vote this November, Loeffler will participate in a run-off election against four other individuals for her Senate seat on Election Day this year.

An eye-opening Tumblr thread posted to Reddit shows how federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs designed to help disabled people actually help keep them in poverty.

Reddit user iDogeYT posted this thread that explains how people with disabilities are not allowed to have more than $2,000 to their name or the benefits they depend on are automatically shut off.

This leaves them unable to save for a rainy day, educational opportunities, or to buy a home or car.

via Reddit

According to Disability Secrets, “To be eligible to receive SSI benefits based on disability, an SSI applicant or a current SSI recipient who is single cannot have more than $2,000 in assets.”

If the disabled person is married (even if only one person is eligible for disability), the asset limit is $3,000. The only assets the able-bodied spouse can have are an IRA or pension plan.

If the disabled person has a child under the age of 18, they are only allowed $2,000 in resources.

Resources that are counted in the $2,000 limit, include:

— Money in a checking or savings account

— Cash value in life insurance policies (over $1,500)

— Stocks and bonds

— Household goods and personal effects (over $2,000)

— Motor vehices (except for one), and

— Real estate (other than the home in which a claimant resides)

If a person on disability exceeds their asset limits their benefits can be immediately cancelled.

So, to put it simply, the same program that’s supposed to help disabled people can keep an entire family impoverished and unable to accumulate any assets.

via Alexander Edward / Flickr

There is one way that disabled people can accumulate assets, through the Achieving a Better Life Experience program. This allows people who experienced an “onset of disability” before the age of 26 to put up to $100,000 in tax-advantaged savings without having their disability benefits affected.

Since the act was passed in 2014, over 34,000 people have opened up ABLE accounts and over $171.7 million have been invested. The program is available in 41 states and Washington, D.C.

However, what if you became disabled after the age of 26? What if you were the victim of an accident or had a disease? What if you returned home from war in Iraq with a missing limb? Then sorry, you can’t have more than $2,000 in your bank account.

Democratic Senator Bob Casey from Pennsylvania is trying to change the law so more people with disabilities are eligible for ABLE accounts. He has sponsored the ABLE Age Adjustment Act which would raise the age for the onset of a disability to 46 and allow up to 6 million more people save for the future.

“Sometimes the onset of a disability can occur much later in life,” Casey told a small crowd of individuals with disabilities last year.

Disability programs are designed to give people more independence, not confine them to a life of poverty. In a capitalist society where cash is king and social programs are lean, financial independence is as important as being physically or mentally independent.

The government should reconsider its punitive limits on the assets of disabled people so they can become more independent and and have a greater chance to be fully integrated into society.

Grab a tissue, folks, because this is one of those stories that has so almost too much love and goodness to bear in it.

Sara Verkuilen was working at Hair Cuttery in Round Lake Beach, Illinois last winter when an older couple walked in for a haircut. “I don’t think I had ever done their hair before,” Verkuilen told Upworthy. “They were walkins.”

The man and his wife were “just really cute together,” she recalled. “He was so sweet with her and obviously very in love.”

Little did Verkuilen know how much of an impression her personal service and professional skills would have on both them that day.

The stylist shared a letter she received recently from the husband, signed only as “a grateful customer.” The letter reads:

“Dear Sara,

This is a little bit awkward. But I’ve waited a really long time to pass this on to you.

My wife and I came in for haircuts shortly before Christmas of last year.

My wife was suffering from dementia, and you treated her as if you’d been working with dementia patients all your life. You let us sit next to each other, and when it came time for her cut you turned her chair towards me so I could watch her expression as you cut her hair.

It turned out even better than I thought it would.

Sadly, she died in March. And that haircut was one of the last, best moments of her life. She felt so pretty. She visited the mirror in her bathroom several times during the day and would come out beaming.

To see her so happy was priceless.

Looking back, it was likely dozens of haircuts you gave that day. But one which revitalized a woman’s sense of self and her singular beauty. I. hope you always realize the power of your profession.

It’s so easy to take things like that for granted.

Sincerely,

A grateful customer”

Verkuilen said she wishes she could contact the man. She doesn’t remember the couple’s name and the letter didn’t give any personal information, but it meant a great deal to her to receive it. She says she’d been feeling kind of stuck and bored in her career, which she’s been in about eight years, and this letter gave her the boost she needed.

“Receiving this letter was a huge reminder why I do what I do,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling seeing someone look in the mirror after a transformation and smiling. Seeing how beautiful they feel, how confidence levels change. But it’s an extremely difficult career. I get burnt out easily. I hope this letter can restore faith in other stylists that are maybe doubting if this career is right for them. We touch more than hair and I hope all the stylists out there realize how important they are and how what we do can have such an impact on our clients.”

She also hopes seeing the letter helps clients understand that stylists don’t “just cut hair.”

What a beautiful reminder to appreciate people who work in service jobs, the little things that make us happy, the “singular beauty” our loved ones, and the time we have with them.

Right now, the U.S. is engaged in deep debates about how to handle school re-openings in the fall in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a question with no good answers, unfortunately. But the question itself is shining a spotlight on the various functions schools serve and what we’ve come to expect out of teachers and schools beyond just teaching kids—expectations that, when you see them all written out, actually seem quite absurd.

An award-winning teacher from Iowa, Allison Hoeman, has beautifully explained how society has dumped most of its failings onto the shoulders of schools and teachers, and now expects them to offer themselves up as tribute during a literal pandemic.

Hoeman wrote on Facebook:

“Society: In the richest country in the world, between 11 and 13 million children live in food insecure homes.

Schools: We can help….. Kids can eat breakfast and lunch at school, and in many places, teachers will spend their own money on snacks. For the most needy, we will send food home for dinner and weekends.

Society: Over 4 million children in the US do not have health insurance or adequate healthcare.

Schools: We can help….. we will bring doctors to do free physicals, eye exams, and dental treatments right at school. In many places, school nurses will spend their own money on sanitary supplies for girls.

Society: Over 17% of US children live without basic necessities.

Schools: We can help…. we will install washers and dryers in schools. We will hand out clothes, school supplies, shoes, and winter coats for free. Many of these items are purchased by school nurses and teachers.

Society: There are 5.5 million reports annually of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect of minors.

Schools: We can help…. schools will be safe places and teachers will be safe people. We will have some counselors, but not enough…. some therapists, but not enough, right in the schools. Teachers with minimal training in trauma will come to school early and stay late to mentor these children. Teachers will spend more time with their students than with their own children. Teachers will cry and sometimes crumble at the thought of not being able to do more for the innocent children in their care.

Society: Almost 25% of US children have parents that work past school hours.

Schools: We can help…. we will install before and after school programs in thousands of schools where kids can get another meal, get help with their homework, and participate in organized activities.

Society: Almost 14 million children in the US are obese.

Schools: we can help… Physical Education classes will be mandatory and we will incorporate lessons about healthy food choices.

Society: The US averages one school shooting every 77 days.

School: We can help… we will do lock down drills and train our students to hide and be quiet. And if need be, teachers will literally die for their students.

Society: We are in the midst of a global pandemic which our government has failed to control. Almost 130,000 Americans are dead and the numbers are rising, not declining, in many places. Because we have chosen to ignore, for decades, the racism, inequality, and discrimination that is at the root of all the aforementioned problems, we now need schools to reopen so that kids can eat, get healthcare, get clothes, shoes, and school supplies, be safe, be healthy, and be supervised. Oh, and so that they can get an education. It appears that COVID doesn’t affect children, so let’s go back to school.

Teachers: We can help…. of course we will help, that’s what we do. We miss our students and want to be back at school with them…. but what about the 25-30% of us that are over the age of 50? What about those of us who are immunocompromised or live with someone who is? What about those of us who are pregnant… we still have very limited data on what COVID does to unborn children. Will you have PPE for us? Will you have hand sanitizer for us? What if we get sick, and don’t have enough sick days to cover the time that we are out? What if a family member gets sick and we need to care for them?

Society: Wow, why are you suddenly being a bunch of crybabies? Before you were always willing to sacrifice your time, your money, your mental health…. and now when we need you, you aren’t willing to sacrifice your health and possibly your life? But 75% of you are women…. and that’s what we, as a society, expect women to do… sacrifice yourself for others.

*For decades, schools and teachers have been the band-aid on society’s failings because we care about children. Schools and teachers are not the ones that can fix our broken America. At the same time, we cannot be the lambs sent to slaughter because no one else cared enough to actually fix the racism, discrimination, and inequality while schools and teachers were holding it all together with said band-aid.”

Since everything is already turned upside down anyway, perhaps now would be a good opportunity for us to reexamine how we as a society—one with a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”—handles issues like hunger, poverty, child abuse, health and healthcare, working parents balancing childcare, etc. The fact that we’ve tacitly decided to address these problems through underfunded school systems with overworked teachers and school personnel is rather ridiculous. It’s not fair to teachers, parents, or kids to expect schools to fix everything. It’s high time to tackle our ills head on, with resources and experience and expertise that makes sense, and stop treating gaping holes with bandaids that weren’t designed for such a purpose in the first place.