Month: August 2020

The 2020 Democratic National Convention is going virtual this year due to the current state of the world, but it still promises great entertainment value. Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, yes, but there’s going to be great music, too: Set to perform across four days between August 17 and 20 are Billie Eilish, John Legend, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Porter, Prince Royce, Stephen Stills, and others.

Stephanie Cutter, 2020 Democratic National Convention Program Executive, says of the performances, “In just three days, we will kick off a Democratic National Convention that will look and feel very different than past conventions. It will truly be a convention across America, and these incredible artists will help us tell the story of where we are as a country today under Donald Trump’s failed leadership, and the promise of what we can and should be with Joe Biden as president. These artists are committed to engaging with, registering and mobilizing voters to get us over the finish line in November.”

Eilish is only 18 years old, but she has taken time to address important issues. In just the past few days, she has explained why she’s voting and talked climate change for a new ad campaign.

Jaden may have take some inspiration from the surf rock stylings of The Beach Boys on his last single, “Cabin Fever,” but don’t get twisted; he’s still a hip-hop head at heart. His latest CTV3 single “Rainbow Bap” is all the proof he needs, sprinkling in references to old-school heroes of the genre like KRS-ONE and Slick Rick while showing off a complex flow. The song has a lot of heart too, though, as he switches to crooning to an ex-lover and reminiscing on better times.

The tracklist for Jaden’s upcoming mixtape, CTV3: Cool Tape Volume 3 revealed that the project won’t only feature “Cabin Fever” and “Rainbow Bop,” but it’ll also have a reunion between Jaden and one of his oldest collaborative partners, Justin Bieber. The duo last worked together in 2010, when both were just teens, and is Jaden’s best-selling — though not highest-charting — single, with a 5x Platinum certification. As Jaden’s profile has grown, so too has his Billboard standing, as his 2017 single “Icon” peaked at No. 3 in 2017 as well as achieving Platinum status. With the release of the third installment of his Cool Tape series, both feats might well be in his reach once again.

CTV3: Cool Tape Volume 3 is due 8/28 via MSFTSMusic / Roc Nation Records. Pre-save it here.

Listen to Jaden’s “Rainbow Bap” above.

We live in strange times. Everyone knows this. This isn’t exactly breaking news here. Still, even in an era so rife with absurdity, there are times virtually every day where we see or hear something, and many of us have to stop and go, “Wait, is this real?” This is especially true for those of us who spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet — many of us have become hyper-aware of hoaxes and deep fakes to the point where everything is approached with a large degree of skepticism. (This isn’t a bad thing, mind you.)

That all said, the clip above of Mike Pence addressing a group of farmers and ranchers in Iowa certainly caused many to question its authenticity, due to the fact that it feels like very much like something straight out of Veep. It is, however, an actual thing that happened. The vice president of the United States did, in fact, stand before a gathering of Americans in the middle of a pandemic and awkwardly proclaim, “Well, I’ve got some red meat for you: We’re not going to let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cut America’s meat!”

Some background: back in 2019, Sen. Kamala Harris — Joe Biden’s recently announced running mate — commented that Americans should eat less meat, both for the health benefits for themselves and for the benefits to the environment, assertions backed by considerable scientific research.

“I love cheeseburgers from time to time, I just do,” Harris said. “But there has to be [a consideration of] what we do in terms of creating incentives that we will eat in a healthy way, that we will encourage moderation, and that we will be educated about the effect of our eating habits on our environment. We have to do a much better job with that and the government has to do a much better job with that.”

We can only assume that “they want to take away your meat” may become a part of the Trump/Pence campaign’s core messaging. Meanwhile, it looks as though America’s bungled handling of COVID-19 outbreak might be the thing that actually does that for some people. The only thing that’s probably certain here is that people will be making jokes about Mike Pence and meat for a while.

Newly honored XXL Freshman Chika has even more reasons to celebrate this week, as she makes her film debut today with the release of Netflix’s Project Power. Not only does she have a role as main character Robin’s best friend, she also wrote all of the character’s raps for the film. Robin’s an aspiring rapper, so her rhymes needed to be airtight and Chika not only ensures that, she also provides the film’s theme song, “My Power,” which dropped last night with the movie’s premiere on Netflix.

In addition to making her acting debut and securing the big bag for screenwriting a main character’s rhymes, Chika is fresh off the release of her new single, the lush “U Should” and a surprising Instagram Live session with an OG of the game. Snoop Dogg crashed Chika’s recent live session with her fans to give her plenty of praise and work out plans to collaborate on a Black country song sometime in the near future. Meanwhile, Chika’s reaction to being selected as a Freshman and her snappy comebacks to mean tweets about her selection are further highlights of the week worth checking out.

Listen to Chika’s “My Power” above.

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

Tomorrow (August 15) would have been Nipsey Hussle’s 35th birthday, but of course, the rapper was tragically killed in 2019. It’s been nearly a year-and-a-half since his death, and the Los Angeles icon is still sorely missed. Fellow California rapper Snoop Dogg didn’t want to let Hussle’s birthday past without commemorating the occasion, so he has done so today with a new song, “Nipsey Blue.”

The song is heavily based on a sample of “Misty Blue” by Dorothy Moore and it features Snoop singing over Moore’s vocals, but tweaking the lyrics to more directly address Hussle. For example, Snoop sings on the chorus, “Oh, it’s been such a long, long time / Looks like I’d get you off my mind / But I can’t / Just the thought of you / Turns my whole world Nipsey Blue.”

Not long after the death of Hussle (who apparently almost portrayed Snoop in a biopic), Snoop praised him and compared his impact to that of Jesus, saying, “Look at the impact that he had, the same impact Jesus had. A lot of people didn’t know him, but they sure wanted to know about him once he passed away. Then once they found out about him, they understood what his legacy was about. Now, his legacy is living even bigger with him not being here. So that’s why I say, ‘I ain’t never seen Jesus, but I’ve been hearing about him.’”

Listen to “Nipsey Blue” above.

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

Tom Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie have been working over time to get production restarted on Mission: Impossible 7, but just as things were starting to turn around for the action spy movie that’s been stuck in a holding pattern due to the pandemic, filming has already been shut down after a motorcycle crash led to a $2 million fire on set.

The good news is nobody was hurt, and surprisingly, Cruise wasn’t part of the stunt. (He was filming with parachutes in a separate area, so just assume he was busy plummeting to the earth as Tom Cruise does.) According to the Daily Mail a multimillion dollar setback occurred when a motorcycle exploded during a stunt. The Sun has more fiery details about how the stuntman missed his mark:

“The idea was for the stuntman to land on some huge pillows filled with card to cushion the blow, while the bike safely crashed to the ground a few metres away.

“Unfortunately, it was miscalculated.

“The heat and the friction of the tyres meant that when the bike crashed, the cardboard padding sparked and went up in flames. The smoke was so bad they had to close a nearby RAF airfield.

Production on the film has now been delayed (again) due to the fire damage, and Cruise is reportedly “frustrated.” The actor has been anxious to get Mission: Impossible 7 back on track ever since it was one of the first films to shut down during the pandemic. He’s been personally contacting government officials in Norway to grease the wheels so the film can make its 2021 release.

The motorcycle crash also arrives just as writer/director McQuarrie defused a growing controversy over the production allegedly blowing up a historic bridge in Poland. A media outcry threatened to derail that explosive stunt, but it appears that things were smoothed over only for disaster to strike again.

(Via Daily Mail & The Sun)

Between Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Peacock, CBS All Access, and more (Quibi?), there’s so many streaming services to keep up with these days. Too many? Well, Ryan Reynolds is done with the very serious business of last week and has moved onto more pressing matters… like launching another streaming service! Sort-of.

“Every tech company needs a streaming service. So…” the Detective Pikachu star tweeted. “introducing Mint Mobile +. The world’s most affordable streaming service!”

A few hangups here. The streaming service is actually “free,” although if one visits the website, you’ll only see one movie available for streaming: 2003’s Foolproof, a Canadian heist film starring Reynolds and Kristin Booth.

There’s also a section that teases some “unoriginals,” but don’t get too excited. Reynolds also announced that his “crack data team” advised him to shut down the service by this weekend and return “to focusing on premium wireless.” This, of course, is all only an add for Mint Mobile, the phone company for which Reynolds purchased an ownership stake in 2019. At the time, he joked that, in order to keep the mobile service affordable to customers, he’d only be paying himself $15 per month.

Well, enjoy Mint Mobile+ for a few days, folks. This isn’t quite as funny as continuing the Peloton Lady’s story for Aviation Gin, but it’ll do.

The Chicago Bulls are in the market for a new head coach. The team announced on Friday morning that Jim Boylen, whose two-year tenure at the helm of the franchise was noted for its issues getting off the ground back in 2018, has been fired, and a search to figure out his replacement will begin immediately.

“After doing a comprehensive evaluation and giving the process the time it deserved, I ultimately decided that a fresh approach and evolution in leadership was necessary,” Artūras Karnišovas, the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said in a statement. “This was a very difficult decision, but it is time for our franchise to take that next step as we move in a new direction and era of Chicago Bulls basketball. Jim is a great human being that cares deeply about this organization and the game of basketball. I want to thank him for his professionalism and commitment to the franchise.”

Boylen took over following the team’s decision to part ways with Fred Hoiberg. From the jump, there appeared to be serious issues, as Bulls players no-showed a practice following a blowout loss they suffered early on in his tenure. While he eventually cleared the air with star guard Zach LaVine, this never translated into consistent winning, as Chicago went 39-84 during his time in charge.

A recent report indicated that Boylen’s job was safe due to financial concerns. That didn’t come to fruition, and now, Chicago needs to figure out who will take the reins of its young roster as it looks to usher in a new era.

There was actually a time when Justin Bieber didn’t have a bunch of No. 1 singles to his name. His first (in the US) was 2015’s “What Do You Mean?,” which came six years after his debut single. He still had great success before that, though. One of his most popular songs from that era is “Never Say Never,” his collaboration with Jaden Smith (now just Jaden) that is still looked back upon fondly. The song came out in 2010, and now, ten years later, the duo is ready to return with a new song: Today, Jaden put his latest project, CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, up for pre-order, and in the tracklist is “Falling For You,” which features Bieber.

“Never Say Never” is Jaden’s most commercially successful single, as it has achieved 5x Platinum certification. It’s not his highest-charting song, though, as that honor goes to the also-Platinum “Icon,” which peaked at No. 3 in 2017 (versus the No. 8 peak of “Never Say Never”). As for Bieber, although he has had a handful of No. 1 singles since “Never Say Never,” the track is still one of his best-selling songs.

Jaden and Bieber have actually worked together a few times since “Never Say Never.” Jaden features on Bieber’s Believe bonus track “Fairytale,” and he (along with a bunch of other celebrities) made an appearance in Bieber and Ariana Grande’s “Stuck With U” video earlier this year.

Netflix drops a Jamie Foxx-starring superhero flick this week, and this movie looks sick. It’s a sci-fi action-packed romp set in New Orleans with Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and a magic pill that gives you powers for five minutes.

Here’s everything coming to Netflix this week of August 14.

Project Power (Netflix film streaming 8/14)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx star in this insane-looking sci-fi flick that puts a spin on the traditional superhero tale. In this gritty action film, Foxx plays a revenge-driven veteran, and Gordon-Levitt plays a New Orleans cop trying to save his city. both are drawn into a seedy underground of gangs peddling a drug that promises superhuman abilities that come with an expiration date — and possibly a death sentence.

Teenage Bounty Hunters (Netflix series streaming 8/14)

Two teenage fraternal twins get sucked into the wild world of bounty hunting while also attempting to navigate normal high-school matters like dating and study hall within their strict Southern community. This series is executive produced by Jenji Kohan (Orange Is The New Black), so expect plenty of offbeat comedy amid the teenage drama.

GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event (Netflix special streaming 8/10)

Netflix is recruiting some of its most popular family sitcoms for a comedy crossover event that’s giving us major TGIF vibes. The casts of The Big Show Show, Mr. Iglesias, Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love, and Family Reunion deliver special episodes of their respective series all with a competitive theme but don’t worry, you don’t have to be a fan of all of them to tune in.

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 8/8/20
The Promise
We Summon the Darkness

Avail. 8/10/20
GAME ON: A Comedy Crossover Event
Nightcrawler

Avail. 8/11/20
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids

Avail. 8/12/20
Scary Movie 5
(Un)Well

Avail. 8/13/20
Safety Not Guaranteed
Une fille facile / An Easy Girl

Avail. 8/14/20
3%: Season 4
El robo del siglo
Fearless
Glow Up: Season 2
Project Power
The Legend of Korra: Book One: Air
The Legend of Korra: Book Two: Spirits
The Legend of Korra: Book Three: Change
The Legend of Korra: Book Four: Balance
Octonauts & the Caves of Sac Actun
Teenage Bounty Hunters

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 8/18
The Incident

Leaving 8/19
Some Kind of Beautiful

Leaving 8/20
Bad Rap

Leaving 8/21
Just Go With It