Month: July 2020

Hip-hop heads love to rank rappers, and the rappers themselves have been getting in on the fun lately. Over the past few months, rappers like Drake and Eminem have shared who their favorites are, and now so too has Freddie Gibbs.

Guesting on a recent episode of the Bootleg Kev podcast, Gibbs was asked to name his five favorite rappers who are active today, and he obliged. He started the list with Kendrick Lamar and himself before mentioning Pusha T and Drake. After taking a minute to think about it, he threw Black Thought from The Roots on the list in the final spot. Kev then added Benny The Butcher and Killer Mike as his runners up, with which Gibbs agreed.

Before that part of the conversation, Gibbs discussed his appreciation for Lamar, saying, “I look at him and I be like, ‘Yeah, he’s sharp,’ you know what I mean? I wanna just be sharp like that. He’s one of the only n****s that I look at like that. Him and Black Thought. I be like, ‘Damn.’ I damn near don’t like doing songs with Black Thought.”

Watch Gibbs discuss Lamar and his other favorite rappers above.

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

The WNBA is preparing to begin a 22-game season in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy later this month, although a number of big names from Liz Cambage to Natasha Cloud to Jonquel Jones have all opted out of the restart. On Monday, the league announced the overall results of the first round of COVID-19 testing, indicating that seven of the 137 players tested came back positive.

As the release notes, the Indiana Fever have delayed their arrival to IMG Academy due to self-quarantine protocol, which would seem to indicate they had at least one of the players that tested positive after having interacted with others on the team. The good news is that, per Howard Megdal, none of the league’s staff or coaches headed to the IMG bubble tested positive in the first round of testing.

As for how the WNBA will handle testing on site, Arielle Chambers offered some clarification on that process, noting players will arrive in Bradenton, be tested, and then quarantine for four days before testing again and beginning practicing.

Like with the NBA’s first round of testing, positive results were expected — and having no staff test positive is indeed a rare bit of good news right now. The question, like every other bubble league, is whether they can successfully keep an outbreak from occurring once in Florida, particularly with players traveling commercial into a hotzone. That will be the big hurdle they must clear, and it remains to be seen if the four-day isolation period is long enough to detect any cases that may have been contracted during travel.

Hopefully it is and the league can begin its season as planned, but this coming week will be critical to whether that happens.

While speaking at a Black Lives Matter rally last month, John Boyega expressed concern that speaking out against racism might end his career, but “f*ck that,” as the Star Wars actor put it. “Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting,” he said. The speech was met with support from many filmmakers, including Oscar winners Matthew A. Cherry and Jordan Peele and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, and thankfully, Boyega’s career isn’t over: on Monday, it was announced that he joined the cast of Borderland, alongside Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Felicity Jones (Rogue One), and Jack Reynor (Midsommar).

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Borderland, directed by the Guard Brothers (The Uninvited), follows “Irish paramilitary Michael (Reynor), who, after a border ambush goes wrong, witnesses the shooting of his pregnant wife at the hands of an SAS sergeant Tempest (Boyega). When Tempest is sent back to London to lead a covert counter-terrorist operation, Michael joins a ruthless active service unit (ASU) wreaking havoc in the capitol. For Michael, the mission is personal — to hunt down Tempest — and he’ll stop at nothing to avenge his wife’s death.” Borderland should not be confused with Borderlands, although if Boyega wants to join Cate Blanchett, that would be cool, too:

“Borderland is a vengeance-fueled chase movie, fusing some pulse ticking action with a powerful message for our times,” said the Guard Brothers. “We’re thrilled that the script, driven as much by character as it is by plot, has attracted such a first-rate cast.”

Boyega is also set to star in Rebel Ridge, from Green Room director Jeremy Saulnier.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

Dreamville‘s Revenge Of The Dreamers III is officially a year old, and in celebration, the label’s president, Ibrahim Hamad, shared a new video of more behind-the-scenes footage from the vaunted Atlanta recording sessions for the album. The sessions included 100 artists and producers who were invited to collaborate on songs for a week, with the album — and its deluxe version — eventually bringing many of those participants their first platinum plaques.

“One year ago today we released Revenge of the Dreamers III,” he wrote. “Today in honor of that we put together some unreleased footage from those legendary sessions. Love to everyone who was a part of this album, and to the fans that always support Dreamville. Enjoy.”

The ten-minute video features more footage of the recording process from the sessions, as well as an impromptu J. Cole freestyle. The end results of the sessions included a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, as well as the singles, “Down Bad,” “Sacrifices,” “Under The Sun,” “LamboTruck,” and the recently released single “Don’t Hit Me Right Now.”

Watch Dreamville’s behind-the-scenes footage of their Revenge Of The Dreamers III recording sessions.

Typically this time of year, Kenny “The Jet” Smith is traversing the world and helping young hoopers hone their craft. With most of the world on lockdown and kids losing out on valuable chances to get better, Smith sprung into action with the Jet Academy, a live virtual basketball camp stacked with NBA and WNBA All-Stars who will give real-time advice and constructive criticism to kids from all over the globe.

Though other initiatives from the Jr. NBA and National Academy of Athletics have sprouted up during the pandemic, Smith knew his connections in pro basketball and his investment had the chance to take this program over the top. With kids of his own, Smith noticed there was no interest in popping into a video from months ago and watching for minutes on end, no matter how helpful the information.

“The one thing that separates from what everyone else is doing is, our kids consume and produce information differently, so I thought it had to be live,” Smith told Dime. “Our kids don’t consume information like that. They’ve been going to Zoom school and every social media site that has a live aspect to it, that’s what’s been the most popular, so they consume information live.”

Smith partnered up with some of the biggest names in basketball in order to turn this into a reality. All-Stars and MVPs from the NBA and WNBA will broadcast live on a daily basis, with many broadcasting straight from bubble leagues in Florida. The list so far includes Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Kemba Walker, Trae Young, Brittney Griner, and Victor Oladipo, with more to come.

The decision to incorporate WNBA stars was deliberate, Smith said. Too many camps overlook the fact that young women will participate and want individualized attention and to see themselves represented by their mentors.

“That was a very conscious thought, to say not only that I’m going to have them in the program, but have just as many,” Smith said. “In terms of women’s sports, a lot of moms, a lot of dads even realize (how many) less opportunities women get in sports. We all know how the association of team sports helps you develop as a person. I would have been remiss not to have that equal opportunity.”

The camp was created with inclusion and modern technology at the front of Smith’s mind, helping to manifest what Smith believes is true: Winter is where teams are made, but summer is when players are made. It may not be a substitute for AAU or in-person training, but at $29 per month, it’s a cost-effective semblance of summer workouts, with some of the most talented teachers on the planet.

When Smith asked the pro stars to help out, he made sure to tell Walker to teach the campers his trusty step-back crossover move. Walker might have to show modifications for younger campers, Smith admitted, but it’s impossible to measure how cool it will be for young girls and boys to hear directly from someone like the Boston Celtics’ star about one of the most iconic moves in basketball. He did, however, have one reservation.

“If I see Patrick Beverley online,” Smith recalled Walker saying, “I’m going to stop the session.”

Despite the majority of attention focused on the pros, great athletes understand what’s being lost if kids miss extended time in their childhood to work on their game and just be active and be on teams. Smith said in conversations with youth and college coaches, the belief is eyes will be turned toward the NBA restart to determine the viability of future on-court work and competition.

Until then, he wants to give them the chance to learn from the best. Smith himself is set to begin work on Inside the NBA again this month, so campers are effectively in line to be taught by a pro analyst on the biggest NBA show on television, as well as multiple pro All-Stars, from their bubble bunkers. It’s a symbol of Smith’s dedication, as well as the bizarre realities of summer 2020. The current situation of right now, however, is temporary, and on the other side, life will hopefully get to some sense of normalcy.

When that day comes, Smith wants to make sure that hoopers all over the world are prepared to get back into the gym and compete, asking Dime, “Why should kids who want to make their junior high school team, their high school team or play well in college stop because of social distancing?”

Keeping up with 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 Pop Smoke’s highly anticipated posthumous debut album and a pair of unexpected drops from Kanye West. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the best new music this week below.

Pop Smoke — Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon

Despite the minor album art controversy with the new Pop Smoke album, there was much rejoicing upon its release. That’s thanks in part to the stacked roster of guests on it, which includes Quavo, Lil Baby, DaBaby, 50 Cent, and a ton of others. Rumor has it that a deluxe edition could be on the way soon, too.

Kanye West — “Wash Us In The Blood” Feat. Travis Scott

Before he was a presidential candidate, Kanye West has a big week musically, offering a preview of his upcoming album God’s Country with the charged Travis Scott collaboration “Wash Us In The Blood.” This wasn’t the only song on which Kanye appeared last week, though.

Ty Dolla Sign — “Ego Death” Feat. Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex

Kanye also lent a guest appearance to Ty Dolla Sign for “Ego Death.” Those two artists comprised half of the eclectic all-star lineup featured on the track which also included FKA Twigs and Skrillex.

Sufjan Stevens — “America”

Sufjan Stevens is gearing up for his first solo album in half a decade, and he offered a preview of it heading into Independence Day weekend. He did so via the thematically appropriate “America,” a 12-minute epic that shares some criticisms of the country we call home.

Boygenius — Boygenius Demos

Boygenius released their first and only project, their self-titled debut EP, in 2018. Now, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker have dug through the archives to offer more: In the name of charity, the trio shared a collection of demos recorded before the EP. Those who haven’t heard of the release until now have already missed their opportunity to check it out, though, as the project was only available for one day.

Gucci Mane — So Icy Summer

It looked for a while like Gucci Mane was ready to leave his label. Instead, he teamed with Atlantic to form a label of his own, The New 1017. The outfit’s first release is a compilation, which features an album-worth of new Gucci Mane, as well as tracks from The New 1017 signees.

Tory Lanez and Kevin Gates — “Convertible Burt”

The New Toronto 3 was Lanez’s last work under his deal with Interscope, so now he is free to do things on his own. He kicked off his new era by recruiting Kevin Gates for “Convertible Burt,” a contribution to the Fast & Furious 9 soundtrack.

Pup — Live At The Electric Ballroom

Like Boygenius, Pop also shared a charity release that would only be out for a day. Instead of a demos collection, though, the Toronto rockers shared a raucous live album filmed last year at London’s legendary Electric Ballroom.

Disclosure — “My High” Feat. Aminé and Slowthai

Disclosure recently announced a new album, Energy, and last week, they previewed it with an appropriately upbeat single. They worked a lot of collaborations into their upcoming project, and they got two of today’s unique rap voices, Aminé and Slowthai, in on “My High.”

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie And Don Q — “Flood My Wrist” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert

Lil Uzi Vert has popped up on some tracks this year, and last week, he linked up with regular collaborator A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on “Flood My Wrist,” on which they were also joined by Don Q. The visual for the track is understandably iced out and takes place mostly in A Boogie’s tour bus.

…Remember tours?

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

Ennio Morricone, one of the most renowned and iconic composers in the history of film, has passed away at 91 years old.

The New York Times reports that the Italian composer died on Monday, July 6, in Rome. Morricone’s lawyer, Giorgio Assumma, confirmed the composer’s passing, and noted that he was hospitalized last week after fracturing his femur in a fall.

Morricone was perhaps best known for his score for the 1966 Clint Eastwood classic The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, which is widely considered to be one of the finest film scores of all time. The main title theme and “The Ecstasy Of Gold” have even enjoyed success outside of the film. For example, Metallica covered the latter for the 2007 tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone, and their rendition earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Morricone was also known for much more than just that one film, though. His career lasted for over six decades, during which time he scored more than 500 movies. The final film that Morricone scored was 2016’s The Correspondence. Immediately before that, he scored Quentin Tarantino’s 2015 film The Hateful Eight, which won Morricone the Academy Award for Best Original Score that year, his first competitive Oscar.

Drake seems to have kept busy so far this summer. When he hasn’t been playing cornhole, he’s been in the studio, working on new music. He dropped Dark Lane Demo Tapes back in May, and he also has a more traditional album on the way. He has occasionally shared updates from the studio, and he did so again last night.

In one photo of himself on his Instagram Story, he wrote, “80%,” a not-so-subtle suggestion that whatever he is working on is nearing completion.

Back in April, he discussed new music with Diddy, saying he’s been working on his next album for some time now: “I’m working on the album, I’ve been working on it for a while now. Another silver lining is, when God does get you to sit down. I remember the last time I had to sit down was when I tore my ACL. And I made a great album out of that. Obviously, God has us all inside the house right now sitting down, so the amount of focus I’m able to put into this album is probably way different than it would’ve been if I had to go through the residency in Vegas and be able to go meet up with Justin in Miami or whatever. Saying that, this is the most excited I’ve been about an album in a long time. A lot of little stuff has been trickling out, but all the stuff on the album is fresh, is brand new, and I’m excited. This is probably the most music I’ve been sitting on. I’m hyped.”

March 10, 2020. That was the day many Americans started to take the coronavirus seriously, as it was the day Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson revealed their COVID-19 diagnoses. (It was also three days before my “last” movie in a theater, The Hunt, though that’s slightly less historically significant.) “My wife lost her sense of taste and smell, she had severe nausea, she had a much higher fever than I did, [while] I just had crippling body aches, I was very fatigued all the time, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than about 12 minutes,” Hanks said about the contracting virus in an interview with the Guardian, so it’s no wonder he thinks you’re a “p*ssy” if you don’t wear a mask. (Or maybe he said “prick.” Hanks seems like a “gosh darn” instead of “damn” kind of guy.)

In that same Guardian chat, America’s Dad (whose new movie, Greyhound, comes out on Apple TV+ this week) also offered guidance to get through These Trying Times.

“It’s funny how this stuff blends into the art you hope to create. When we put together Castaway, we knew there was a card missing from that deck of 52, and the consternation over what was missing from that movie drove us insane. It was that elusive kind of beat, and it was what we’re talking about right now: how do you go on? In Greyhound, Krause has a little card that says: ‘Yesterday, today, and forever.’ That’s all we have as human beings and that’s all we have in the midst of the 19 different crises that we’re facing right now, between Covid-19, worldwide economic disaster, what happened to George Floyd – the great reckoning that we’re all going through. What do we have that we can have faith in? Well, we can have an understanding of yesterday, we can have a plan for today, and we can have hope for forever, and that’s it. That’s my wisdom. It ain’t much… but is there anything else?”

Thanks, Dad. Sorry I forgot to send you a Father’s Day card.

(Via the Guardian)

The BTS Army has mostly used their energies for good lately, like when they recently raised over $1 million for charity. The group’s fan base is a powerful force, and unfortunately, though, Charlie Puth recently found himself at the wrong end of it.

Over the weekend, BTS fans took to Twitter en masse to accuse Puth, who has reciprocated love shown by BTS’ Jungkook over the years, of using the group for “clout.” Puth caught wind of the conversation and decided to respond. He said he’s not even sure what is being said, and implored internet fan bases to be nicer to each other:

“I don’t usually pay any mind to things like this, but something has to be said. This dangerous, toxic, internet screaming match between ‘fandoms’ has to stop. I’m 28 years old, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me when some person I don’t know writes a nasty message to me saying things like ‘I used BTS for clout’. I don’t know what that means- I love those guys and they are super talented.

But what I do know is that 10 years ago, language like this directed towards me would’ve affected me deeply in a very negative way. And I’m thinking about all the other younger kids on twitter seeing stuff like this on a daily basis. It may sound cliche, but please be nicer to each other on here. No more screaming about made up nonsense. It does nobody any good. We all need to love each other MORE THAN EVER RIGHT NOW.”

Find Puth’s tweets below.

Charlie Puth is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.