Month: November 2020

Shawn Mendes has been on the up and up lately, with the new single “Wonder,” a thriving relationship with fellow pop star Camilla Cabello, and a new album on the horizon set for release the first week of December. His last self-titled album released in 2018 was a smash hit with critics, and he’s definitely looking to follow that up with Wonder.

Also on the up and up lately? Justin Bieber. His new pair of singles, “Holy” featuring Chance The Rapper and “Lonely” featuring Benny Blanco are both pretty astounding, the former is super loved up and the latter is full of so much earnest yearning, not a subject we’ve heard a lot from Bieber. All this to say, they’re both in a good place leading up to tonight’s collaboration, “Monster,” and though these two Canadian pop stars have a lot in common, they haven’t worked together before.

“Monster” is basically a song that stays in the same lane as “Lonely,” reflecting on the pressures of fame that both of these stars have faced at a young age. The downtempo track is full of falsettos and harmonies, the things these two do best. Right now, America’s sweethearts are these two Canadians, and their new song lets us know just how hard being up on that pedestal is. Listen above.

With just a few weeks left until the year comes to a close, it should be noted that IDK has had one of the more productive years in comparison to his peers. The DMV native shared his IDK & Friends 2 project, one that marked his fourth project in as many years, a span that is also highlighted by his major-label debut album, Is He Real?. This year also saw the rapper drop off a number of videos and make his debut late-night TV appearance as he brought his talents to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform “No Cable.” Keeping the streak alive, IDK doubles back with his new single, “2 Cents.”

The new tune finds the DMV native in a confident state as he flexes his awareness of life around him, which includes scheming women and untrustworthy friends. As a result, IDK keeps to himself more times than not and holds on to his “2 Cents.” The track comes after IDK put out a PSA to gather the troops and get into action on his bass-thumping single, “King Alfred.” The song was named after the “King Alfred Plan” from author John A. Williams’ novel The Man Who Cried I Am. Prior to that single, he called on two of today’s best young lyricists — JID and Kenny Mason — for his “Cereal” single which boasts production from DJ Scheme.

Press play on the video above to hear “2 Cents.”

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

Tulsa and Tulane occupied the lone college football slot on the Thursday night schedule this week and for the first 58 or so minutes, it was a relatively sluggish game. Tulsa entered their final drive of the game playing third-string QB Davis Brin down 21-14 and in need of a miracle.

With six seconds to play on the Tulane 37, the Golden Hurricane drew up a Hail Mary to JuanCarlos Santana in the back right of the end zone and, somehow, Tulane’s defense let Santana get behind them for the game-tying touchdown.

Tulsa would kick the extra point to force overtime, and in the first overtime period the two teams traded field goals to make it 24-24. At this point, those that bet the Under on a total of 55 were bracing for a disastrous loss, while the cover also hung in the balance at Tulsa -5.5. Tulane got the ball first and while facing third and goal from the Tulsa 3, managed to throw an interception to Zaven Collins, who motored 97 yards the other way for a game-winning pick-six to cover for Tulsa and, miraculously, preserve the Under.

It has to be up there with the wild Western Michigan-Toledo finish for craziest ending to a game this year, as the Broncos beat the Rockets on an onside kick and a fake spike. I’m not sure the Golden Hurricane’s finish is quite as spectacular but it’s damn close, and they remain undefeated in the AAC.

On Thursday, as with every day, there was a lot of news. A lot of it revolved around outgoing president Donald Trump’s increasingly desperate — and pretty illegal-sounding — attempts to flip the election in his favor. But almost all of it was drowned out by his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his latest trainwreck of a press conference. History will have to decide which was nuttier: the Four Seasons Total Landscaping fiasco or the latest one, in which Giuliani hatched bizarre conspiracy theories while black goo that may have been melting hair dye seeped down the side of his face. He also talked a lot about the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny.

Giuliani’s literal meltdown of a presser earned a lot of attention, on social media and on the news. While CNN’s Anderson Cooper was left exasperated, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah saw it in more hopeful terms — sort of.

There were jokes, of course. “Trump always said he had leakers in his administration, but I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Noah said of Giuliani’s sweaty performance. “What was going on with Rudy? Was his hair dye dripping? Was his brain s*itting itself? Honestly, I didn’t even know sideburns got periods. You know your legal strategy is f*cked up when even your hair starts crying about it.”

But Noah also had some empathy — kind of. “I’m not going to lie: Part of me feels bad for Rudy,” he said. “Because this was the biggest press conference of his life, his chance to get Donald Trump another term as president, and his hair ruined the entire moment. Can you imagine if Abraham Lincoln was reading the Emancipation Proclamation and his beard just walked away?”

He also saw some positive spin. After all, it really does feel like some kind of ending. “Maybe this is the perfect combination of evil and ridiculous to end the Trump era. I think it’s perfect,” he said. “Because think about it: If someone said in 2016 that this whole thing would end with Rudy Giuliani openly plotted a coup against the government, but no one would take him seriously because he had hair dye running down his face the entire time, you’d be like, ‘Yeah, you know what? That sounds about right.’” It sure does. And hopefully this is the end of this…interesting era.

You can watch the segment in the video above. The Giuliani business begins around the 4:47 mark.

(Via Deadline)

After 15 long years of diss tracks, most of them centered on the shooting of Jeezy’s associate — which Gucci Mane claims it was done out of self-defense — the Atlanta rappers have finally put their differences aside. Or so it seems. The two came together on Thursday for a Verzuz battle that found them playing the best songs from their catalogues. While the duel teemed with tension, one of its biggest moments came at the end, when Jeezy asked the fellow Atlanta rapper if he would join him in a performance of their lone collaboration “So Icy,” which Gucci accepted.

Their joint performance came just moments after tension ran high during the battle, which featured Gucci playing his Jeezy diss track “Truth,” a song he re-uploaded to various DSPs prior to the battle. He then proceeded to taunt Jeezy with comments about his late friend. Thankfully, nothing broke out of it and after they rapped together on the song “So Icy,” the 1017 rapper told his opponent that it was nothing but love between them.

You can view a clip of their performance together in the video above.

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

On Thursday night, nearly two million people tuned in to watch heated rivals face off in a highly anticipated matchup. No, not the Cardinals and Seahawks on Thursday Night Football with the NFC West lead on the line, but the Jeezy-Gucci Mane Verzuz battle, live from Magic City.

The two legendary Atlanta rappers have had a longstanding beef that escalated in the late aughts to the point of Jeezy putting a hit out on Gucci, who killed one of the men who came for him and beat a murder charge as it was determined self-defense. Nearly 15 years later, the two finally arrived on stage together for the first time at the legendary strip club for a battle that, at times, was incredibly tense with Gucci playing some of his most vicious diss tracks against Jeezy.

Among those watching and reacting along with everyone else on social media were some NBA stars like Bradley Beal and CJ McCollum, who live-tweeted their excitement — and anxiety — along with other NBA players and fans.

Gucci came out swinging with a diss track recorded specifically for the Verzuz battle, setting the tone for the next 90 minutes.

After some early Gucci diss tracks, the two settled in to play the hits, with Jeezy playing a ton from his iconic debut album Thug Motivation 101.

As the battle wore on, Andre Iguodala told the story of how his Sixers managed to beat the Hawks on a Tuesday, meaning they also beat the post-Magic City Monday “flu.”

Things were going well and then Gucci played “The Truth,” a Jeezy diss from 2013 that is as vicious as it gets talking about ex-girlfriends and his friend he killed. At that point, everyone watching grew extremely tense.

Jeezy’s response was to try to talk to Gucci and things only grew more tense, and given their history of violence between each other, there was some genuine concern things might spiral.

https://twitter.com/JCrossover/status/1329620880461238275

Jeezy’s response was to play “Get Your Mind Right” which won him over a lot of folks for the response.

But Gucci wasn’t stopping with the diss tracks just yet, which further elevated the concern.

However, at the end, it was revealed that it was something of a work all along, with the two coming together to perform “So Icy” for the first time in 15-plus years to the delight of everyone.

Wait, why would Gucci Mane play his Bruno Mars collaboration during Verzuz?

That was the question circulating after Guwop chose to play a fairly recently song he did with Kodak Black and Bruno, “Wake Up In The Sky.” The move was a flub because Gucci had just ridiculed Jeezy about living in the past and told him to play some new sh*t… but when he dropped his own “new” song, it was a complete flop and sort of undermined his point. Secondly, fans wanted to hear deep cuts and older, classic Atlanta rap record — not a sorta pop crossover. Gucci began the night playing diss tracks, so the slow tempo of “Wake Up In The Sky” didn’t do much for his aggressive momentum.

Overall, tonight’s Verzuz seemed to be a dead even match between the two longtime rivals, who have a history of intense bad blood between them. A slight misstep like Gucci opting for this extremely mid collab track angered and disappointed some fans, who were hoping he’d stay in the pocket with cult favorites and successfully win the battle. Check out some more thoughts on the move below, because as always, Twitter remains undefeated when it comes to telling artists exactly how they feel.

Meanwhile, the overall winner has been declared “the fans” as the two finished the night by doing their joint song “So Icy” together. Is that a real reconciliation? Well, it’s a start. Check out the whole playlist here.

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

On Thursday, Gucci Mane and Jeezy tookto Atlanta’s Magic City to duke it out in a 20-song Verzuz battle, which was watched by 1.6 million people around the world. To commemorate the duel, Travis Scott released Versuz-themed merchandise. One of them was a pair of “TM:1017” T-shirts, one in white and another in brown, that featured the Atlanta rappers’ iconic logos — Jeezy’s snowman and Gucci’s ice cream — side by side.

The T-shirts are just the latest piece of merchandise that Travis has made available this year. The Houston native previously teamed up with McDonald’s for three rounds of releases that included an action figure, cups, rugs, tote bags, hoodies, a keychain, a pair of house slippers, and so much more.

The Gucci Mane-Jeezy’s Verzuz battle was preceded by days of taunting from the 1017 rapper. Gucci reposted a meme that made fun of him shooting Jeezy’s friend and days later he mocked Jeezy’s The Recession 2 album cover outfit. On the day of the Verzuz battle, Gucci re-uploaded his Jeezy diss track, “Truth,” to streaming services as his latest act against the fellow Atlanta rapper.

Fans can purchase the T-shirts on Gucci’s website here.

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

NFL handicapping isn’t always fun. Sometimes, bad process dictates bad results, and we’ve had some of that in this space during the 2020 season. In fact, two selections in Week 10 were simply dreadful, and that happens. However, the brutal parts arrive when things simply go awry for no particular reason. Week 10 featured a Cardinals victory, but not a cover, in memorable fashion, and the Niners out-gained the Saints by more than 40 total yards, only to fail to keep the game within single digits due to a pair of muffed punts and four total turnovers.

Alas, we press on but, before diving into the Week 11 slate, it is time to take a look at the less than inspiring season-long results.

• Week 10: 1-4
• 2020 Season: 25-23-2

Come get these winners.

Atlanta Falcons (+4) over New Orleans Saints

There is at least a chance Drew Brees plays, but even if he does, the Falcons should be able to get us home. Atlanta has been much better in recent weeks, and they match up well with New Orleans, even in the Superdome. Anything more than a field goal, plus the uncertainty with Brees, and the Falcons are the move.

Baltimore Ravens (-5.5) over Tennessee Titans

A favorite of more than a field goal? Yes, indeed. Baltimore is now a team the public is quite skeptical of after some uneven performances, and that leads to a bit of value. Quite honestly, this line should be seven, and the Titans’ defense might be what the Ravens need to see to get on the right track.

Houston Texans (+2) over New England Patriots

The Texans were 2.5-point favorites on the look-ahead line. Then, the Patriots beat the Ravens, and now here we are. I’m willing to bet on this being an overreaction, and I’ll take the points with the best player on the field in Deshaun Watson.

Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos UNDER 45 points

Miami is real on defense and, despite recent success, that is not a particularly explosive or effective offensive team. Drew Lock is capable of just about anything for Denver, in both a good and a bad way for us, but I do trust the Broncos to be solid defensively. We may have to sweat a defensive touchdown and/or some short fields, but 45 should be enough.

Green Bay Packers (+2) over Indianapolis Colts

The Colts got steamed and this line is now silly. Indianapolis looked great last week, but the Packers are the better team in this matchup. Home-field advantage levels the playing field, but not to the point in which Phil Rivers should be favored over Aaron Rodgers. Take the small number.

On one hand, it would be hard for Rudy Giuliani — or anybody, really — to best the Four Seasons Total Landscaping fiasco in terms of sheer weird absurdity. On the other, maybe he did? On Thursday — almost two weeks after the 2020 presidential race was called for Joe Biden — the outgoing president’s lawyer once again embarrassed himself with an inventively wackadoodle presser. It was marred by black mystery goo and — why not! — random odes to My Cousin Vinny. And that’s not even considering the wild nonsense he was spewing about widespread voter fraud he could not prove.

It’s the kind of debacle that breaks even the most seasoned journalist. Seasoned journalists like Anderson Cooper. That night on CNN, the anchor weighed in on Giuliani’s literal meltdown of a presser, and what could he do but just mock it two ways from Sunday. The chyron for the entire segment was brief, not filling out the entire space. It read, simply: “Pathetic.”

“Did you see the press conference?”, an exasperated Cooper asked his audience, describing it as a “trainwreck,” with a sweaty Giuliani as its “conductor.” And while history may never decide which of the two notorious Rudy pressers was crazier, Cooper had an answer. “If you thought they couldn’t top the mishegooss of the press conference at the Four Seasons landscaping parking lot, next to the porn place, they took this one to 11. It was next level.”

He continued:

Can the producers from Intervention please get in touch with his people and set something up? Legendary New York columnist Jimmy Breslin once described Giuliani as “a small man in search of a balcony.” Now he’s just a hot mess. The man once described as America’s mayor appeared sweating with newly applied black hair dye rolling down his face. It wasn’t a press conference, it was a clown show, without any actual meaning or reality.

Cooper continued to play numerous clips from Giuliani’s spluttering, conspiracy-mad appearance, then rip them to shreds. He pointed out how he kept bringing up accusations that have already been shot down by various courts, as well as invent a new, also baseless one about voter fraud in Philadelphia (followed by a liberal amount of Philly bashing).

By the end, Cooper admitted one journalistic mistake on his part: “I said it was a clown show. I apologize to clowns.”