Month: August 2020

When I found out I was pregnant in October 2018, I had planned to keep the news a secret from family for a little while — but my phone seemed to have other ideas.

Within just a few hours of finding out the news, I was being bombarded with ads for baby gear, baby clothes and diapers on Facebook, Instagram and pretty much any other site I visited — be it my phone or on my computer.

Good thing my family wasn’t looking over my shoulder while I was on my phone or my secret would have been ruined.

I’m certainly not alone in feeling like online ads can read your mind.

When I started asking around, it seemed like everyone had their own similar story: Brian Kelleher told me that when he and his wife met, they started getting ads for wedding rings and bridal shops within just a few weeks. Tech blogger Snezhina Piskov told me that she started getting ads for pocket projectors after discussing them in Messenger with her colleagues. Meanwhile Lauren Foley, a writer, told me she started getting ads for Happy Socks after seeing one of their shops when she got off the bus one day.

When online advertising seems to know us this well, it begs the question: are our phones listening to us?

Mozilla

“There is a common myth that companies like Facebook are using the microphone on your device to passively listen to all your conversations,” says Marshall Erwin, Senior Director of Trust and Security at Mozilla and cybersecurity expert who worked for Congress during the Snowden disclosures in 2013. “This isn’t the case.”

However, your phone — just like your computer — is collecting your personal data.

It’s collecting this data with cookies and other web trackers embedded in the sites you visit, with the data you provide freely when you create social media profiles, use apps or buy things online, with your location data, and with your device ID.

“Your phone is the most complete surveillance device invented by mankind,” says Bruce Schneier, adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and renowned security technologist. “It knows where you live, it knows where you work, it knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep. It knows who you sleep with. It knows you better than your spouse.”

“Surveillance is the business model of the internet,” he adds.

For example, Schneier tells me, “the fact that we are talking is recorded somewhere and we actually don’t know which of our cell phone companies is selling that data. We don’t know which apps on our phone are grabbing that data and using it.”

Pretty much everything we do on our computers or our phones — which, remember, are mini-computers we carry around all day — produces personal data.

Our data is often then bought, sold, and correlated against other data to create a profile of who we are. That profile is in turn targeted in a variety of ways.

For example, internet advertisers, Erwin explains, can use it “to anticipate and target ads related to what you are thinking and talking about, without actually having to listen to your conversations.”

For example, a shoe manufacturer could use your data to target you simply because you’re in your 30s and you seem interested in sports. But they might also target you because you googled running trails or you recently visited a running hobbyist website. Meanwhile, a politician might use it to target you because you are white and live in a battle-ground state.

It’s easy to use (or misuse) your data.

Mozilla

“Data is what powers a lot of misinformation because it is easier to influence people with malicious messages if those messages are highly targeted towards susceptible groups or populations,” explains Erwin.

He continues, “Our data can be misused in discriminatory advertising, where job or housing ads are targeted to only certain racial groups, in violation of people’s basic rights.”

Personal data can also be targeted by malicious actors, especially when the apps on our phone aren’t secure. For example, the app TikTok had vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to manipulate and retrieve user personal information.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Well, the bad news is that there’s no way to fully protect your data.

“Your data isn’t under your control,” says Schneier, “Your email is held by Google, your photos are held by someone else, your files are on some company’s hard drive and your financial purchases are held by credit card companies. Your data is not yours anymore.”

“That’s the baseline,” he continues. “There’s largely nothing you can do about it.”

But you can take steps to limit the collection of your data.

1. Turn on your privacy controls.

“A lot of tech companies provide ways for people to enhance their privacy and to decrease the amount of data collected about them,” explains Erwin. “These privacy settings are often off by default, however, and need users to turn them on.”

2. Use a browser that turns those privacy protections by default.

Mozilla protects users’ data by turning on privacy features by default in the Firefox browser.

“For example, our Enhanced Tracking Protection feature prevents third parties from tracking you and building a profile of your activity from the websites you visit,” says Erwin. “And our DNS over HTTPS (DoH) feature protects that same data from people spying in the middle of the network, encrypting DNS traffic and ensuring it is only disclosed to parties with strong privacy practices.”

3. Use private browsing.

Private browsing — or incognito mode — allow you to browse the web without saving your browsing history. How? They automatically clear cookies and your cache, making it a little harder to track you and target you with ads.

If you use Firefox, you can also use enhanced tracking protection, which blocks a number of trackers before they’re even placed on your device in the first place.

4. Avoid public WiFi.

Public wifi networks are less secure and it’s easier for your data to be hacked.

5. Use a VPN.

The Mozilla VPN is available on Windows and Android devices and it will help keep you safe online by protecting your data, IP address and location. It also encrypts your activity and communications.

6. Adjust your phone settings

Watch this video for tips on how to do that:

Data Detox: Smartphones | Firefox

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Earthgang’s debut album Mirrorland has been out for a nearly a year now, but the Atlanta duo still has yet to end the promotion cycle for it. Over the weekend, they premiered the video for album standout “Top Down” on Adult Swim and today, they’ve made it available to watch online.

Like the other videos from across the Mirrorland cycle, “Top Down” finds a creative way to get Olu and Wowgr8 involved without actually needing them to be in the same place or employ the usual elaborate video shoots that would usually be needed to convey their creative ideas. Rather than appearing themselves, they utilize puppets in their likenesses, cruising through the city in a convertible and hitting a local strip club — also staffed by puppets, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Taking full advantage of all the surreal possibilities provided by their stuffed stand-ins, Earthgang takes “Top Down” to the bottom of the sea as well, where they’re joined by a few mermaids for a chorus of the song and also “smoke” a ridiculously huge blunt underwater.

Previous trips to Mirrorland have included videos for “Hypnotic Fields,” “Avenue,” and “Lala Challenge,” while the Atlanta boys took a break from their psychedelic creation to participate in the video for Spillage Village’s “End Of Daze.” Olu also paid tribute to his late father with a hair-raising rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Watch Earthgang’s “Top Down” video above.

Ever since making a name for himself in music, Jay-Z has been committed to giving back. The rapper often rears his head during matters of criminal justice reform and uses the legal side of the organization Team Roc to effectuate change. In February, the rapper teamed up with Yo Gotti and Team Roc to sue Parchman Prison in Mississippi after reports of “inhumane” conditions surfaced from inmates. While the case has been ongoing, there was just a major breakthrough in their push for justice.

Team Roc represented 227 Parchman Prison inmates and filed a class-action lawsuit against the prison’s healthcare provider Centurion. According to documents obtained by Pitchfork, Centurion announced it will be terminating its contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections this October.

Since Team Roc first filed a lawsuit citing poor conditions and a lack of necessary healthcare, several inmates have submitted questionnaires that show a lack of COVID testing options, social distancing measures, and protective equipment like face masks and latex gloves. The original lawsuit alleged inmates experienced “meals of just a slice of bologna with a packet of mustard, sightings of rats and mold, and nights spent on a mat on a cold, damp floor.”

In a statement filed by Centurion CEO Steven H. Wheeler wrote they “do not believe we can further improve the effectiveness of our level of care without additional investment from the Department in correctional staffing and infrastructure along the lines of what we have already recommended.”

Marcy Croft, Team ROC’s attorney responded to Wheeler’s statement, saying:

“We hope that Centene’s decision to end its relationship with the Mississippi Department of Corrections sends a clear message to Governor Tate Reeves—it’s time to invest in the health and well-being of the people in your prisons. There is no excuse for the 53 deaths across the Mississippi prison system over the past several months, many of which were preventable. We will not stop until the incarcerated receive consistent and competent medical care, especially now with the COVID-19 crisis. This must be a priority.”

While the NBA awards voted on by the media will not be handed out for some time — although voting has commenced for those — the National Basketball Coaches Association has named its Co-Coaches of the Year after voting from the 30 coaches in the NBA.

In a bit of a surprise, Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors is not one of the two co-winners of the award, as Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Billy Donovan of the Oklahoma City Thunder will share the award after a tie in votes, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nurse reportedly received one fewer vote than Budenholzer and Donovan, nearly making it a three-way tie.

Others receiving votes include Nate McMillan of the Pacers, Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies, Erik Spoelstra of the Heat, Brad Stevens of the Celtics, and Frank Vogel of the Lakers. If anything the vote represents just how strong the coaching around the NBA has been this season, as you can make a case for a number of coaches for the jobs they’ve done getting the most out of their rosters.

While Nurse is the expected frontrunner for the media award given the job he’s done keeping the Raptors as a top-two seed in the East despite the loss of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, what Donovan has done in OKC and Budenholzer has done in Milwaukee are each incredibly impressive. Bud won the award a year ago and after the Bucks shuffled around some roster pieces this summer around their top stars, the Bucks have only continued to improve. For the Thunder, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but Donovan has managed to bring young players and veterans alike into harmony, resulting in the current 5-seed in the West who look like a team no one wants to see come playoff time.

You can make similar cases for a number of coaches, as Jenkins has his young Grizzlies ahead of schedule in the 8-seed out West, McMillan continues to get the most out of Indiana despite injuries, Stevens has the Celtics still in the mix despite losing key frontcourt pieces, and Vogel has done a spectacular job coaxing one of the league’s best defenses out of the Lakers.

MTV recently announced the nominees for its 2020 VMAs, and one artist who wasn’t selected for the honor decided to vent his frustrations at MTV on Instagram Live.

Lil Yachty, whose “Oprah’s Bank Account” video accumulated well over 20 million YouTube views between two versions and lit up social media thanks to its creative re-imagining of Yachy as the media mogul, told viewers on his Instagram Live session that he felt disrespected by the perceived snub. Even Oprah loved Yachty’s ‘Oprah’s Bank Account’ video, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a VMA nomination.

“I be doing some sh*t. Putting my all in some sh*t,” Yachty said. “People be trying to sh*t on that and try to discredit some of the things that I’ve done, or try to downplay it or try to make it seem as if that sh*t ain’t nothin’… I don’t f*ck with that. That sh*t is wack, bro. I don’t know, that’s all I gotta say. VMAs is dumb wack for that sh*t.”

He also downplayed the VMAs, saying,” Nominations, all that shit is corny. N****s don’t be giving me no f*ckin’ respect.”

Had it been selected, “Oprah’s Bank Account” would have been in contention against DaBaby’s “Bop,” Eminem’s “Godzilla‘ featuring Juice WRLD, Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” and Travis Scott’s “Highest In The Room.”

Watch Lil Yachty’s reaction to being snubbed for a VMA above.

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

I’ve seen Toy Story 3 at least a dozen times, and cried during the incinerator scene every time (it’s not the saddest Pixar moment, but it’s up there). But one thing I’ve never stopped to consider is: if Woody, Buzz, etc. hadn’t been saved by the Claw-loving aliens, what would happen if they were engulfed by fire? Would Hamm’s consciousness be transferred to another piggy bank? Are toys immortal? Or would they, y’know, die?

Here’s your childhood-ruining moment of the week.

Over the weekend, Twitter user “mustard clown” tweeted, “My girlfriend and i are having a big fight bc i think the toys from Toy Story are immortal and she thinks they can die.” The replies to this philosophical question ranged from the scientific (“they aren’t biologically living, they’re just sentient. technically they aren’t even actually alive, just animated”) to the morbid (“ok so mr potato head can be completely dismembered and still be alive. but if you chopped off woody’s head… and put it far far away from his body where no one could put it back on… he must be dead. right?”), but the tweet caught the attention of Toy Story 3 and Coco director Lee Unkrich, who wrote, “They live as long as they exist. But if they were to be utterly destroyed? Say, in an incinerator? Game over.”

That 101 Dalmatians Happy Meal toy you put into the microwave because you wanted to see “what would happen”? You murdered it.

(Via Twitter)

LEGO recently unveiled plans to roll out a set of bricks for use by the visually impaired. Using each LEGO brick’s 3-by-2 grid of raised dots, the educational toy includes bricks imprinted with every letter, number, and mathematical symbol in the braille alphabet.

Why LEGOs? Well, the American Printing House for the Blind recently found that only 8.4 percent of visually impaired children read Braille, as opposed to 50 percent in 1960. With the advent of audio books and voice-to-text technology, reading and writing are becoming lost arts for the visually impaired, often for lack of resources or time — modern braille education methods include expensive “Braille writers” or a slate and stylus, both of which create text that is difficult for students to edit or erase. LEGO bricks are not only swappable, but children are already familiar with their mechanics!

There is a high demand for this kind of educational tool. The Danish Association of the Blind and the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind in Brazil have both called upon LEGO to make something like this in the past decade — even making their own product, Braille Bricks, which will continue to be compatible with LEGO.

How LEGO® Braille Bricks help kids learn!

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The Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom is helping to develop the bricks. David Clarke, the director of the institute, is quoted as saying, “Thanks to this innovation, children with vision impairment will be able to learn Braille and interact with their friends and classmates in a fun way, using play to encourage creativity while learning to read and write.” This is a truly wonderful partnership — pretty much a full redemption from when LEGO partnered up with Shell gas stations in 2014.

Smithsonian Magazine reports, “Currently, Lego has developed sets covering Danish, English, Norwegian and Portuguese, but will also have French, German and Spanish versions ready to go by the 2020 launch date.”

“With thousands of audiobooks and computer programs now available, fewer kids are learning to read Braille,” Philippe Chazal, Treasurer of the European Blind Union, recently said in a report by the National Federation for the Blind.

“This is particularly critical when we know that Braille users often are more independent, have a higher level of education and better employment opportunities. We strongly believe Lego Braille Bricks can help boost the level of interest in learning Braille, so we’re thrilled that the Lego Foundation is making it possible to further this concept and bring it to children around the world.”

In a year where Major League Baseball has been delayed, the 2020 Olympics have been postponed, and the NBA season has been moved to something called a “bubble,” a new sport has emerged as the ultimate athletic challenge in our COVID-19 world, at least for one British woman.

“Peak bagging” is an activity where hikers, mountaineers, and sometimes runners attempt to reach the summit of every mountaintop in a published list of peaks, and Sabrina Verjee, a British ultra runner, has just become the first woman to complete the 318 mile route through the 214 English peaks known as the “Wainwrights.” Oh, and she did it with a bum knee.

The 39-year-old veterinary surgeon ascended over 35,000 meters on her run, completing the trek in just 6 days, 17 hours and 51 minutes, just eleven hours short of the record, which was broken last year. She completed the race on July 12th, after beginning it on the 6th, and plans to do it again in the near future. When she finished there were two previous Wainwright record holders, Joss Naylor and Steve Birkinshaw, waiting to congratulate her at the finish line.

“I’m so happy to have completed my round and more than a little relieved. My right knee hasn’t been happy for a couple of days, so the final sections were very tough, especially as the fatigue really started to kick in,” Verjee said in an interview.

Sabrina Verjee isn’t new to pushing the limits of human endurance, just last year she took fifth place in the Montane Spine Race, a 270-mile ultramarathon through the blistering winter cold across the Pennine Way, an English national trail that runs through Scotland. She was also the first woman to complete the race. Before that, she came in second in the 2017 Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race, a Welsh mountain race that boasts ascents adding up to twice the height of Mount Everest. Despite her resume of being, perhaps, the greatest walker alive, Verjee claimed in a Facebook post that she doesn’t “claim any record for this achievement,” on account of her relying on her support due to a knee injury. She does, however, look forward to completing the challenge again in the future. More than 200 people have responded to the post, praising Verjee for her endurance and humility, and congratulating her for completing the challenge.

Despite being one of the most prominent athletes in her field, Verjee is also a veterinary surgeon based in Ambleside. She had been waiting for the go-ahead from Prime Minister Boris Johnson for British citizens in the pandemic to be allowed to participate in “unlimited exercise.” As soon as she got it, she completed the hike, despite having minimal support due to her insistence on taking COVID-19 precautions.

Verjee exhibits perseverance in an unprecedented time of anxiety, uncertainty, and immobility for the world as it faces the current pandemic. By continuing to train throughout quarantine, adjusting her support system to lower risk for potential COVID-19 transferrances and continuing to push through a knee injury that threatened to spoil the whole hike, Verjee proves that global pandemics aren’t an excuse for people to stop doing amazing things, as long as they’re gone safely, that is.

When the COVID-19 pandemic led to sports leagues shutting down en masse back in March, the XFL was among those that ended their season for good. Unlike established leagues, the fledgling spring football league didn’t have the infrastructure nor the full enough backing of owner Vince McMahon to be willing to eat all of the losses from ending its first season — even with how successful they were.

And so, the league filed for bankruptcy and went to auction, where there were initially some rumblings McMahon himself might try to re-buy the league. However, in part due to the backlash from that potential plan going public, the WWE chairman insisted he would not be part of the auction process.

We had not heard anything about the XFL auction process since May, but on Monday word broke that while McMahon wouldn’t be involved, the XFL was staying in the WWE family. Former WWE superstar, Miami Hurricanes football player, and currently one of the world’s most popular actors, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, announced Monday that he and his partners at Red Bird Capital had purchased the league.

Per Sportico, The Rock and company purchased the league for $15 million and got the deal done mere hours before the league went to auction as the only qualifying bid. Johnson will be an equal stakeholder with Gerry Cardinale as well as ex-wife and business partner Dany Garcia, per Sportico, and as long as it clears through bankruptcy court this week, everything should be finalized by the end of the month.

Getting The Rock on board to be the face of ownership will be huge for the XFL in terms of giving them some star power involved for a restarted second season, whenever that may be. Johnson has immense reach and popularity, particularly with the preferred demographic for a football league, and given the relative success of the XFL’s first season back in two decades prior to the pandemic, there’s plenty to work with once they decide on where and how to relaunch the league.

July was another strong month for rap albums. Unfortunately, there were two posthumous albums last month, from Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD. Both releases showed that they were stars in the making. On a brighter note, there were several impressive offerings from upcoming artists like Flo Milli, Che Noir, and SahBabii, who offered his first project in three years. Here are is the best rap albums of July, in no order:

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

50 Cent did a commendable job curating Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, a project that demonstrates Pop was on the road to superstardom. Songs like the “Many Men”-revitalizing “Got It On Me” and Fabolous-harkening “Something Special” show not just Pop’s New York rap fandom, but that he was primed to be next in line for the 2020s. “The Woo,” a breezy track featuring 50 and Roddy Ricch, similarly shows that he was primed to aim for the top of the charts with a charismatic mic presence that’s impossible to ignore. The potential that Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon shows it heartbreaking.

Juice WRLD — Legends Never Die

Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die was, sadly, the second posthumous album from a potential superstar to drop in the same month. The 21-track effort demonstrates how Juice gained his cult fanbase. Tracks like “Wishing Well” and “Tell Me U Luv Me” (with Trippie Redd) demonstrate that his melodic, earnest crooning over sentimental production is a winning formula. And tracks like “Stay High,” “Can’t Die,” and “Fighting Demons” are confessionals that resonate with a different level of pathos in the wake of his death by overdose. The Chicago MC has a prolific reserve of music, so there may be more even more posthumous projects coming. But if not, Legends Never Die is a fitting, heartfelt sendoff.

Westside Gunn — Flygod Is An Awesome God 2

Westside Gunn hinted that 2020 would be his last year as a rapper. But with the release of Flygod Is An Awesome God 2, his second project in several months, one of two things is happening: he’s trying to leave out with a bang or, like most rappers who threaten retirement, he’s realized he’s just too damn good at his craft to let go. Either way, his devotees should be thankful for the 14-track effort, which is another dose of street luxury over magnetic beats. A couplet from the bluesy “Michael Irvin” epitomizes his appeal: “Everybody think they fly now but ain’t nobody flyer / you ever cooked a half a brick in an air fryer?” Surely, 99.99999(9) percent of the population hasn’t, which is why his fans come to him for a surreal twist on trap aesthetics.

Currensy & Harry Fraud — The OutRunners

Currensy and Harry Fraud are a top-tier rapper-producer duo. The two make nothing but magic together, and their OutRunners project is another rabbit out of the hat. The nine-track project shows Currensy locked in over a suite of hazy, soulful Harry Fraud production. On “Cutlass Cathedrals,” he muses on how a trip to Rick Ross’ Georgia mansion inspired him to go “back to the grind for the first time in years.” Three tracks later, he boasted about the resulting Jet Life expansion on “Mugelo Red” with Rick Ross, contending, “these ain’t lyrics my n****, I spit it ’cause I did it.” And he continues to “do” it, delivering sage, lavish lyrics over arresting production.

Che Noir & Apollo Brown — As God Intended

One could rave endlessly about Che Noir’s wise-beyond-her-years lyricism — or explaining her brilliance could be as simple as saying she held her own with Black Thought on “Hustle Don’t Give” from As God Intended. Che was the ideal foil for Detroit producer Apollo Brown’s latest suite of impeccable head nodders, using the soulful canvas to reflect on why “since an innocent teen, my environment’s Freddy Krueger” as she noted on “Worth Gold.” She rhymed, “Close your eyes when I speak / It’s like watching a flick when I spit” on “Blood Is Thicker,” which could have easily been the first two bars of the project. Che offers a sharp perspective on how the decline of industry in Buffalo engendered poor communities — and a hoard of violent consequences.

Blu & Exile — Miles: From an Interlude Called Life

Blu and Exile’s 2007 Below The Heavens is an underground classic and 2012’s Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them was a strong follow up. Eight years later, the renowned duo finally reunited for Miles: From An Interlude Called Life, a 20-track project released on the 13th anniversary of their debut album. The project shows that their chemistry is intact, as Blu drops his pensive scribes over jazzy production that veers from the pristine “Music Is My Everything” to the free jazz of “Miles Davis.” The album is culled from 40 tracks they recorded, and their homage to the jazz great radiates a range of vibes.

Oddisee — The Cure

On the Bandcamp page for Odd Cure, rapper-producer Oddisee notes, ”For the first time in my life, the world has had a truly shared experience.” He sought to “provide a soundtrack to our thoughts, worries, hopes and dreams” on his surprise Odd Cure, which was written while he self-quarantined in March. The project is a thoughtful reflection on this surreal moment in history, as he explores COVID conspiracies on “The Cure,” economic inequality on “Go To Mars,” and what romantic fracture looks like during quarantine on “Strange,” with slick wordplay like “out front your place, I hide emotions but can’t mask depression.” COVID has everyone stressing, but we all had our own existential qualms before the pandemic hit. Oddisee explores our chaotic emotional fusion for us throughout his latest self-produced project.

Flo Milli — Ho, Why Is You Here ?

Flo Milli has been steadily buzzing over the past year off the strength of “Beef FloMix” and other songs that demonstrate a brimming bravado that’s delivered with a precocious, almost childlike vocal presence. Her debut Ho, Why Is You Here ? mixtape introduces us to the full scope of the Flo Milli experience through songs like “In The Party,” “Not Friendly,” and “Send The Addy.” She’s the center of her universe, and hating women, designer bags, and “weak n****s” (castigated on the SWV-sampling “Weak”) are mere dependents orbiting her ego. The effervescent, empowered project bodes well for Flo’s chances to be a winning personality for years to come.

Sahbabii — Barnacle

Atlanta’s Sahbabii seemed poised for stardom in the mid-2010s with his “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick” hit — then he disappeared. Last year it seemed like he had retired at just 22, but he’s back, animal theme intact on Barnacles. SahBabii is right back in his pocket on the 16-track project, floating over smooth, hypnotic production that feels like you’re in a submarine on cruise control. He sounds self-assured throughout the project, knowing exactly how to commandeer album standouts like “Poppin Sh*t,” “Pregnant,” and “Double Dick.” He reminded the rap world what they’ve been missing on Barnacles, which is one of the smoothest projects you’ll listen to all year.

Flee Lord — The People’s Champ

Queens rapper Flee Lord isn’t letting a thing hold him back. He’s released a project every month since February (after dropping five last year). His latest EP is a link up with legendary producer Pete Rock, who scored his latest collection of pyrex parables. From the jump, he lets you know what it is, rhyming that he’s “livin in the danger zone” and “smellin like cocaine cologne.” He explores much of the same themes throughout the project, rhyming over dusty drums and breakbeats like “24 Hollows” and “Mini Mac On A Fridge.” But he also tackles police brutality on “Givin’ Ya My View,” where he condemns the police system and commentates on Black people’s lack of self-defense, chastising “instead of buying guns you go and buy a grey Mercedes.”

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