Month: October 2020

Smino’s third album could arrive at any point in the near the future. After all, the Midwest rapper revealed back in February that the upcoming project was “done” and in the mixing stage, with famed TDE producer Derek Ali — more commonly known as MixedByAli — making the final tweaks. As the wait for the album continues, Smino surprised fans with a new song and video for “Donny Outthaway.”

The song finds him in the studio with a few of his friends as a soulful instrumental plays in the background. Smino’s lyrics touch on real-world issues, with lines like, “I be thinkin’ lot more ’bout the system I beat / Than ’bout what I did to a beat” and “F*ck around vote, sh*t, f*ck around don’t / Workin’ on a world where I can govern my own.”

Smino has made the wait for his third album fairly easy. The “Netflix & Dusse” rapper gave fans his surprise project She Already Did back in April — a 16-track effort that offered guest appearances from Sevyn Streeter and T-Pain. On top of that, Smino joined MadeInTYO and Chance The Rapper for “BET Uncut,” remixed Thundercat’s “Dragonball Durag” with Guapdad 4000, and traded bars with JID on their Kenny Beats-produced song, “Baguetti.”

You can listen to “Donny Outthaway” in the video above.

Guapdad 4000 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Clemson had to go into Saturday afternoon’s tilt against Boston College without star signal caller Trevor Lawrence, who was sidelined with COVID-19. In his stead, the Tigers turned to former five-star recruit DJ Uiagalelei, and while there were some obvious concerns about sliding a youngster in during any conference game, a Eagles defensive touchdown had more to do with the Tigers’ usually sure-handed running back making a mistake.

Facing a 14-7 deficit, Clemson had the ball on the doorstep and turned to standout running back Travis Etienne. While he is usually as reliable as they come in these moments, the Boston College defense blew up Clemson’s front at the point of attack and swarmed the All-ACC back. As a result, the Eagles forced a fumble, which was scooped up by Brandon Sebastian.

Instead of falling on it and retaining possession, Sebastian was able to scoop the ball up and burst in the opposite direction. No one on Clemson’s offense was able to lay a finger on him, and as a result, the Eagles went up two scores.

Obviously it was an outstanding play by Sebastian, but even more impressive was what this meant for the Tigers. Not many teams have been able to get any separation from them in recent years, but for the first time since 2014, a team went up on them by two scores in a regular season tilt.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Kaytranada, it’s that the Canadian producer can work with a number of artists in a wide range of genres. In just the last year, Kaytranda has shared collaborations with Lucky Daye, GoldLink, Tinashe, Mick Jenkins, Pharrell, and more. Now he’s linked up with JID for their new track, “JIDtranada Freestyle.” It’s their first collaboration, but their chemistry on the new release says otherwise. The song’s relaxed production slowly builds up over the minute-and-a-half duration, as JID gets to work with some lyrical exercise and a bit of singing as well.

Prior to the “JIDtranada Freestyle,” JID released his “Cludder Freestyle,” a track that was his first solo release since 2018’s DiCaprio 2. The Dreamville rapper is currently hard at work on his upcoming third album, but that isn’t to say that he’s been inactive since his sophomore album two years back. JID appeared on a few tracks for Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation, including “Down Bad” and “Costa Rica.” More recently, he reunited with his Spillage Village collective for their album Spillagion. On the project, you can find JID on tracks like “Judas,” “Baptize,” and “End Of Daze.”

As for Kaytranada, the Canadian producer is a little over a month away from celebrating the one-year anniversary of his album Bubba. He’s released videos for “Worst In Me,” “Need It,” and “10%.”

You can hear the track in the video above.

On Saturday, October 31, it was reported that Sean Connery, the legendary actor and the first to portray James Bond on the big screen, had passed away. He was 90 years old. Connery had a long and diverse career. He refused to let the character that made him a star define him, breaking free from 007 after only five films. And though he returned twice after that, he was was hard to pigeonhole. While other actors replaced him as Bond, he was busy being himself, doing blockbusters and genre fare and serious dramatic work, even winning an Academy Award, for 1987’s The Untouchables.

Inevitably tributes were quick to pour in, over social media and elsewhere. Daniel Craig, the sixth big screen 007, sent his own statement to Deadline:

“It is with such sadness that I heard of the passing of one of the true greats of cinema. Sir Sean Connery will be remembered as Bond and so much more. He defined an era and a style. The wit and charm he portrayed on screen could be measured in mega watts; he helped create the modern blockbuster. He will continue to influence actors and film-makers alike for years to come. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones. Wherever he is, I hope there is a golf course.”

The account for fellow Bond actor Roger Moore, who died in 2017, weighed in as well.

As did the official Bond account.

Sam Neill acted alongside Connery in 1990’s Tom Clancy submarine picture The Hunt for Red October.

Hugh Jackman weighed in, too.

As did filmmaker Edgar Wright.

And Kevin Smith.

And Stephen King.

And Viola Davis.

And fellow Scotsman Robert Carlyle.

And Paul Feig.

Elizabeth Hurley:

Cary Elwes:

Election Day 2020 is only a few days away, and though many people have made their feelings about incumbent candidate Donald J. Trump loud and clear, there’s one person who’s gone above and beyond: The guy who keeps destroying the president’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

According to Deadline, Trump’s star has been once again destroyed by a pickaxe by one James Otis, who has done the deed multiple times since 2017. His most recent attack came early Friday morning. The star had even been surrounded by plywood and a fence, to protect it from Otis and people like him, who may have wanted to make their thoughts on the president known ahead of the election. But that didn’t stop Otis, who did the deed once more and then turned himself in.

The last time Otis came for Trump’s Hollywood star was less than a month ago, on October 4. That time was a little different from his past Trump star smashes: He came dressed as the Incredible Hulk, wielding, once again, a pickaxe. That time he was charged with a felony for his vandalism. Presumably he’ll receive similar punishment. But it looks like charging him with serious crimes can’t stop him from making his feelings about the sitting president known.

Trump earned his star not for appearing in movies such as Zoolander, Two Weeks Notice, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and the Bo Derek rom-com Ghosts Can’t Do It, but for producing the Miss Universe contest, where he used to veto certain winners if he considered them “too ethic.”

(Via Deadline)

Sean Connery, the Scottish actor who made history as the first to play Ian Fleming’s dashing spy James Bond in a major motion picture — and who had a thriving career after he ditched the role that made him a superstar — has died, according to Variety. He was 90 years old.

Connery first assumed the mantle of 007 with 1962’s Dr. No, a relatively low-budget affair that took Fleming’s popular, globe-trotting, womanizing, martini-soaked, and shamelessly imperialist espionage novels to the big screen. He wasn’t the first actor to play Bond; a 1954 episode of the show Climax! adapted the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, with American actor Barry Nelson squaring off against Peter Lorre’s villainous Le Chiffre. Dr. No was a huge smash, launching the longest consistently running film series in history; its 25th entry, No Time to Die, starring the sixth big screen Bond, Daniel Craig, has been repeatedly delayed due to the pandemic, and is currently due in April of 2021.

Sean Connery stayed with Bond for four more films, retiring with 1967’s You Only Live Twice. He returned to the role twice, for 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever — replacing one-and-done 007 George Lazenby, star of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service — and again in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, a non-canonical Bond movie made by a different company and which competed that year with the Roger Moore-starring Octopussy. (It wound up being a box office draw.)

But Connery’s career was never solely defined by Bond. His post-007 life was a rich and varied one, a mix of blockbusters, serious dramatic work, and genre fare. While still Bond, he worked for Alfred Hitchcock, in his deranged 1964 masterpiece Marnie, and repeatedly for director Sidney Lumet, in The Hill (1965), The Anderson Tapes (1970), The Offence (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Family Business (1990). Other great directors included John Huston (1975’s The Man Who Would Be King), Richard Lester (Robin and Marian, in 1975, and 1979’s Cuba).

One of his most unusual films is John Boorman’s Zardoz, released in 1974 and a batty, brainy sci-fi set in the future, where he spent most of the movie clad in a loincloth and a ‘70s porn mustache. Another is Terry Gilliam’s 1981 hit Time Bandits, in which he plays Greek king and warrior Agamemnon. In the script, the role was described thusly: “The warrior took off his helmet, revealing someone that looks exactly like Sean Connery, or an actor of equal but cheaper stature.” To their surprise, they actually got Sean Connery himself. And of course, there’s Highlander, and its sequel.

Connery is still the only Bond actor to win an Oscar, for Brian De Palma’s 1987 hit The Untouchables, in which he played mentor to Kevin Costner’s Elliott Ness, helping him take down Robert De Niro’s Al Capone. A decade later it inspired a famous monologue in 1996’s Trainspotting, in which Jonny Lee Miller’s on-off heroin addict and Connery fanatic calls the win “a sympathy vote,” arguing that he deserved it for general career-spanning excellence.

After his win, Connery comfortably assumed the role of elder statesman, appearing in a run of hits. Among them were playing dad to Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a defecting Russian naval captain in The Hunt for Red October, and breaking into Alcatraz with a wigged-out Nicolas Cage in The Rock. He famously turned down a string of big roles, including The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, but said yes to what would prove his last on-screen, live-action role, as adventurer Allan Qatermain in the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.

After that he quit acting, save for two voice-only turns in the animated movie Sir Billi and the documentary Ever to Excel, both in 2012. Otherwise he tended to his retirement in the Bahamas, his legacy secured. He, and his distinctive voice, one of cinema’s finest, will be missed.

(Via Variety)

The Walking Dead debuted on Halloween Day 2010, exactly ten years ago today. It has since become one of the longest-running dramas on television and remains the most popular show on cable television, a decade on. The show itself has gone through dozens of characters, four showrunners, and spawned two spin-offs (so far). It’s also helped to launch the careers of dozens of actors (there have been over 40 series regulars) and inspired a lot of people to name their babies Negan. Over the last decade, the AMC series has also revolutionized television.

Famously, the series — which had originally envisioned casting Thomas Jane in the Rick Grimes role — was shopped around to a number of networks in the late aughts, but they all passed, including HBO. However, NBC (the network that had first dibs on in it) entertained the idea of picking up the series but asked the show’s original showrunner, Frank Darabont, if he could do it without zombies. When Darabont insisted on zombies in his zombie show, NBC came back and asked him if it could be a procedural where the two leads would “solve a zombie crime of the week” (ironically, years later, a show called iZombie would do just that).

Eventually, AMC (a network with two nascent dramas in Breaking Bad and Mad Men) picked up The Walking Dead, which has completely transformed the network over the years, for better or worse (given the network’s output in recent years, it’s basically become The Walking Dead channel with that one Breaking Bad spin-off). In fact, before the pandemic arrived, AMC had scheduled 40 back-to-back Sundays with programming from The Walking Dead universe, which is not only the most dominant television series of the last decade, but it has also been put in a position to play savior, to try and prop up cable as it slowly gives way to the streaming wars.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that The Walking Dead was television’s first major horror show, either (True Blood and Vampire Diaries both preceded The Walking Dead), but it certainly brought the horror genre into the television mainstream. At its peak, The Walking Dead was being watched by nearly 20 million viewers a week, on par with shows like American Idol and twice more popular even than The Office at its ratings peak on NBC. The ratings explosion of The Walking Dead, in fact, inspired a number of other zombie shows, some great (The Returned), some funny (Santa Clarita Diet), some socially conscious (In the Flesh), procedural (iZombie), historical (The Kingdom), terrifying (Black Summer), and thoroughly mediocre (Z Nation).

It wasn’t just zombie shows, either. If the The Walking Dead didn’t outright inspire horror shows like American Horror Story, Grimm, and Bates Motel, etc., it at least signaled to the networks that horror shows like those had a potential audience. Moreover, while The Walking Dead wasn’t the first comic series turned into a television show (there were scores of animated series, and live-action superhero series), and while it wasn’t the first live-action horror series turned into a television show (that was Swamp Thing in the ’90s), The Walking Dead certainly opened up the possibilities and gave rise to serialized live-action shows based on comics like The Boys and Preacher and Watchmen, among many, many others.

Don’t forget The Talking Dead, too. There’d been after-shows for reality programs on networks like Bravo before The Walking Dead, but The Talking Dead was the first of its kind: a show to discuss the scripted show that just aired, featuring celebrity fans of the show, cast members, writers, and directors. Others have endeavored to create their own after-shows, but nothing has been quite as successful as Chris Hardwick’s series.

It’s worth mentioning the show’s diversity, too. While The Walking Dead got some criticism early on for killing off its Black characters, by midway through the series run, The Walking Dead was being singled out as one of the most diverse series on television. People of color were still being killed off, but that’s only because they made up such a large percentage of the cast that there was no other choice. More recently, the series has grown even more diverse behind the camera, in the writers’ room, in the director’s chair, and in showrunner Angela Kang, who also brought the series back from its creative lows in seasons seven and eight. She is now poised to end the series in 2022 on a creative high note.

The Walking Dead may not have been the most critically acclaimed series of the decade — there were a few seasons where Emmy noms were considered, and it did receive a Golden Globe nod for Best Drama — but it was the most popular, as well as one of the most innovative, diverse, and groundbreaking shows of the last 10 years. It may not be what it once was, but a decade in and with the end in sight, The Walking Dead will go out as one of the defining shows of the 21st century.

Dominic Fike released his aptly-titled debut record What Could Possibly Go Wrong in July. Though having his first record drop during a pandemic has hindered much of his original release plans, Fike is still making the most of it.

In the last few months, the singer joined Halsey to film a video for her Manic track “Dominic’s Interlude,” appeared in Anderson .Paak’s hit visual “Lockdown,” and even performed an hour-long concert in Fortnite. Now, the singer returns just in time for Halloween with a spooky visual to his track “Vampire.”

Directed by Jack Begert, the visual depicts Fike as a real-life vampire. The singer and his entourage hit up a costume store to find the perfect disguise for a party, but he instead ends up finding the perfect date. Before showing up to the event, Fike leads his new love interest to a graveyard where he gives a brief performance of the track, complete with an impressively staged backflip.

Once at the party, Fike’s date realizes something is awry when a cut on her finger causes the entire crowd to look hungrily in her direction. The visual also pays brief homage to Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video as the cast busts out a few of the iconic moves in formation.

Watch Fike’s “Vampire” video above.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong is out now via Columbia. Get it here.

There were so many things about the NBA Bubble in Orlando that were unprecedented. The primary concern was the healthy and safety of everyone involved, as the league worked to navigate the global pandemic that has infected millions around the world and cost the lives of nearly a quarter-million people in the United States alone.

But the NBA was also facing the dilemma of restarting its season amid nationwide protests over the killing of unarmed black people by police. That came to a head in late August after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin when players made the bombshell decision to briefly stop play during the opening round of the playoffs in order to put pressure on the league and the owners to come up with a meaningful social justice initiative.

Stopping play wasn’t an easy decision to make, and with LeBron James being the de facto face of the league, it fell upon him to bear the brunt of the decision as to whether they would cancel the season altogether or find a way forward. LeBron has been vocal about the fact that he and other players were fortunate to be able to turn to former president Barack Obama for advice, and during the latest episode of his HBO show The Shop, LeBron had a chance to thank him personally.

“We were ready to leave too.”

LeBron on the players’ strike in the bubble after the police shooting of Jacob Blake

(via @uninterrupted)pic.twitter.com/mHjy8uXgkk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 31, 2020

It was a wide-ranging discussion on a number of relevant topics, with Obama during one segment imploring voters not to give into the frustration and cynicism and make sure they make their voices heard on election day.

“Don’t let the frustration turn into cynicism where then you just think nothing can change”@BarackObama on channeling our anger into action #TheShopHBO @HBOmax pic.twitter.com/A5AJXRB0os

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) October 31, 2020

The entire episode is well worth the watch. One of the best moments was when LeBron talked about his mother voting, for what he believes is the very first time, followed by Obama giving her a special shout out.

.@KingJames explains how he was proud of his mom for voting for the first time.

A new special episode of #TheShopHBO: Uninterrupted featuring @BarackObama in conversation with @KingJames and @MavCarter premieres Friday at 9 p.m. ET on @HBOMax pic.twitter.com/cNhlLdSmtz

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2020

The episode is available via HBO Max.

Action Bronson returned in September with his latest album Only For Dolphins, but the rapper had apparently set his sights on a larger project. While Bronson was the star of his own TV show F*ck, That’s Delicious and also made a cameo in the Netflix film The Irishman, he’s hoping to make it on the big screen. The rapper recently revealed he auditioned for a part in the upcoming The Matrix 4 movie, but it didn’t go as well as he expected.

In a recent interview with NME, Bronson described why didn’t manage to score the role:

“I definitely didn’t get the role. I would have known, I would’ve acted in it. I would have been in a f*cking harness hanging off a wire from a bridge or something. I definitely read for it, though, but it was bizarre. It was during COVID and the reading was over the phone. It was just a weird situation. I’m better in person, I have to charm you. You’ve actually got to see the whole me. It’s not good to just get a snippet of me over the phone, you know? You have to really take in the Baklava experience.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bronson said owns over 5,000 VHS tapes, which is why he made many references to his favorite films in Only For Dolphins. “I was just nerding out. I’m a nerd when it comes to movies and shows,” he said. “I feel like I just know so many of them from back in the day and so many obscure ones too. I have over 5,000 VHS tapes in my possession. That stuff is easy for me. It’s low-hanging fruit.”

Only For Dolphins is out now via Loma Vista. Get it here.