Month: November 2020

What do rappers look like? The simple answer is “yes,” given by Nicki Minaj after posing the brazen hypothetical “f*ck I look like, hoe?” on “Up All Night,” a collaborative effort with Drake. While the acknowledgment of her affirmative style is simple, she speaks to the importance of image as a tool to build success in mainstream rap music.

Throughout history, swagger and spirit have etched career-defining moments onto pop culture timelines and boosted some profiles from rap artist to rap superstar. Since hip-hop culture emerged style, beauty, and fashion, began a symbiotic relationship with the genre. Artists at the forefront have pushed the envelope on personal style, amplified designer brands, and created fashion trends that define significant eras and illustrate what a rap artist looks like.

Pioneers of the sound ushered streetwear trends into the mainstream arena. As rap music became a viable industry, the sneakers, boots, caps, and gold jewelry — previously only worn by Black and brown teenagers and young adults — were now on magazine covers, posters, and, eventually, runways. As hip-hop evolved, so did the pathway from the recording booth to the fashion designer showrooms, department store racks, cosmetic campaigns, and now digital storefronts.

Rappers not only look the part, but they also sell it. Rocking designer labels, starting a brand, or launching a collection is a prerequisite to superstardom. Aligning with a brand benefits both the artist and company. For instance, LL Cool J’s Kangol cap or Run DMC’s Adidas jogging suits and sneakers became synonymous with their sound, building an identity that distinguished the artists from their peers.

Industry leaders such as Jay-Z, Diddy, 50 Cent, and T.I. added to their resume beyond their discographies with their own fashion brands to brag about on wax. There are outliers, however, that break the mogul mold. Acts such as Kriss Kross and Dem Franchize Boyz may not be the first rap acts evoked when the conversation is hip-hop style icons but their individual presentations and contributions add to the determination of what rappers look like and how fashion in hip-hop can empower careers.

Gender roles play a huge part in how rappers present, especially for the ladies. Women in hip-hop add to the answer with a defiant, creative expression. Taking on societal pressures and misogynistic double standards, from baggy clothing to spandex pants to purple pasties to pink bangs, artists such as Left Eye, Salt and Pepa, Lil Kim, and the aforementioned Minaj introduced their own version of femininity to a male-dominated game.

So, how to answer the question, what do rappers look like? Taking bits and pieces from every generation and the individual cycles that exist inside these constraints, the answer is a tattooed figure sporting a bold colored lace wig over a head of dreadlocks (also known as “locs”) on one side with a fresh cut fade on the other, wearing leather pants, a tall-tee decorated by gold chains, strutting on stage with one stiletto and one Timberland boot, finished with a bandana tied under a Kente cloth kufi.

In reality, a rapper’s look cannot be bound. They continue to evolve with an homage to the past, awareness of the present, and an eye for the future.

Below are five (but not all) of the looks, moments, and trends that define what modern rappers look like and cemented placements for artists in hip-hop style history.

J. Cole, DJ Drama and Brandon T. Jackson’s “Who Wore It Better” Moment

At the 2013 BET Awards, three men showed up in virtually the same outfit. J. Cole and DJ Drama joined actor Brandon T. Jackson, wearing a Versace print shirt, heavy chain, dark denim, and black shoes. The moment did not place anyone on a best-dressed list, however, it caused the North Carolina rapper to question the notion of looking like a rapper. During a 2019 interview with GQ, Cole shared how the style fail encouraged him to embrace an unconventional look without the pressure to conform.

“I’m like looking in the mirror like, ‘Who the f*ck is this?’” he questioned.

Now, on the rare occasions that J. Cole is spotted, cameras shoot free-flowing ‘locs, non-flashy clothes, and minimal jewelry. Although he is considered one of rap’s biggest talents to emerge this generation, his approach to looking like a rapper counters most of his peers, predecessors, and descendants.

Lil Kim’s “Crush On You” Video

Black women in hip-hop have pioneered mainstay beauty and fashion trends throughout the decades. In February 2020 in a now-deleted Tweet, JT, half of hip-hop duo City Girls, asked, “What color hair should I wear?” She went with a turquoise wig for the appearance. Her question, though simple in nature, highlights the versatility of Black hair and beauty brought to the mainstream by the hip-hop community. Since Lil Kim’s iconic multi-hued looks in the “Crush On You” video, the trend of colorful weaves and wigs officially maneuvered from the “girls on the block” to the girls on stage as the two became one. The primary-colored wigs rocked by Lil Kim are carved in beauty and fashion history, and as women continue to shake up the industry, their weave bundles and braids follow suit. Artists such as Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Saweetie not only wear multi-colored tresses, they rhyme fluently about the lavish lace front wigs expertly installed on their heads.

Cardi B x Fashion Nova

Cardi B’s career has been unconventional since her early days as an Instagram personality. Now the bonafide rap icon has sold millions of records, won a coveted Best Hip-Hop Album Grammy, and introduced the style of the Bronx “Binderella” to a global audience. Although she has worked with brands like Gucci, dressed in archival Mugler, and released her own sneaker with Reebok, her partnership with fast-fashion brand Fashion Nova is perhaps her most impactful fashion statement. Her curated collection gave fans the opportunity to wear the same clothes as their favorite, helped turn the brand into a household name, and made the company a style choice for other hip-hop artists. Her record-breaking releases highlighted rappers as influencers capable of boosting digital brands and also opened the door for burgeoning rap artists to partner with social media popular retailers.

Busta Rhymes 1997 VMA Kimono

The New York rapper’s eclectic looks never overshadowed the powerful punches landed by his rapid lyricism. Busta’s music videos and personal style helped to redefine what rappers look like by incorporating vivid colors, unconventional fabrics, and long-loc’d ponytails. Georgia rap duo Outkast also had a similar influence, juxtaposing campy fashions and videos against gritty storytelling and metaphors. Today rappers such as Young Thug, Amine, Lil Uzi Vert, and Tierra Whack are embraced for their similarly quirky, idiosyncratic approach to style.

Gucci Mane’s Ice Cream Tattoo

In 2011, a pre-rehabilitated Guwop debuted a fresh tattoo. The rapper sports a body full of ink, so a new piece of work did not surprise many but the location, however, caught some off guard. The Atlanta-bred rapper presented a freshly tattooed ice cream cone on his cheek. The cone reads his adlib “brrr” across the top and the three scoops are decorated with lightning bolts. While he is not the first rapper to pop out with face ink, his approach to the permanent art with a carefree attitude mirrored in his music was adapted by many to add to the definition of what rappers look like. The combined influence of Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne, whose face tattoos are more significant, produced a gang of inky bodies and faces.

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

For years, word has circulated that Christopher Nolan isn’t a big fan of phones, and that’s partially true. He doesn’t like to see phones on film sets, and his movies often feel larger-than-life and geared toward the big screen, so it’s easy to assume that he might not love people watching his movies on phones, but that’s not the case. The Dark Knight Trilogy director has been a huge proponent of the cinematic experience to the point that he was reportedly a major force behind Warner Bros. releasing Tenet in theaters, but a new book reveals that Nolan has always been fine with people watching films on their mobile devices. Why? Because the viewers’ mind will essentially replicate the theater experience for them. Via IndieWire:

“‘Well, do you have a problem with people seeing ‘Dunkirk’ on my phone or whatever?’” Nolan asked himself before answering, “No, I don’t. But the reason I don’t is because it’s put into these big theaters as its primary form, or its initial distribution. And the experience trickles down, to the extent where, if you have an iPad and you’re watching a movie, you carry with you the knowledge and your understanding of what that cinematic experience would be and you extrapolate that. So when you watch a TV show on your iPad, your brain is in a completely different mindset.”

While Nolan has a reputation for being an intense cinephile, at the end of the day, he fully recognizes that movie-making is a business, and his push for getting audiences into theaters is all part of the “bums in seat” mentality. Once that initial theatrical run is over, he has no delusions or expectations that people won’t whip out their phones to catch his latest blockbuster. In fact, Nolan welcomes it, which is probably a good attitude to have as the theater industry is facing some dramatic changes in the months ahead.

(Via IndieWire)

The Chris Paul era in Oklahoma City has come to an end, and the beneficiaries are none other than the Phoenix Suns. Rumblings popped up last week about a potential deal that could see Phoenix acquire the All-Star guard, and according to multiple media reports, that will come to fruition on Monday afternoon shortly after the NBA’s trade season began.

Both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic report that talks between the two sides have nearly reached their conclusion, with the 35-year-old guard moving to Phoenix.

The pair also confirmed the pieces that will be on the move beyond Paul. Phoenix will additionally acquire Abdel Nader from Oklahoma City, while the Thunder will bring in quite the haul of veteran players, youngsters, and a future first round Draft pick.

As for that pick, Charania offered details on the protections for that.

It is unclear if the Thunder plan on keeping Rubio in particular as they enter their youth movement, but at the very least, they possess a potentially valuable future pick and a collection of youngsters headlined by Oubre. As for the Suns, they landed perhaps the most coveted player on the trade market right now, and give Devin Booker a veteran backcourt mate who gives him a little more flexibility to play off the ball. Phoenix was the story of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble’s seeding games, going 8-0 and narrowly missing out on the postseason, but with this deal, it’s evident that they have zero plans on missing out on the playoffs in 2020-21.

Space-X CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter antics this year have, so far, resulted in a public call-out (after he tweeted, “pronouns suck”) from his partner, Grimes (who said, “I cannot support hate”), and a dressing down from an Egyptian official after Musk tweeted, “Aliens built the pyramids.” Now, he’s dug himself another hole over COVID after months of controversial statements, including his claim that by April 2020, there would be “close to zero” cases of the virus. On Sunday, Musk got sidelined from Sunday’s Space-X Crew Dragon launch after revealing that he “most likely” contracted the virus and was suffering cold-like symptoms, but he didn’t sound like he believed that he’s positive for COVID.

Elon seemed salty about being unable to join in the festivities, and he questioned whether something was amiss with the tests or on an even larger scope (yep, he’s edging toward conspiracy-theory-land).”Something extremely bogus is going on,” the billionaire tweeted. “Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD.”

Musk received some swift comeuppance from scientist Emma Bell, who not only dubbed him as “Space Karen” but explained why he was receiving different rapid test results.

“Rapid antigen tests trade sensitivity for speed,” Bell explained. “They return a result in [less than] 30 minutes, but can only detect COVID-19 when you’re absolutely riddled with it. What’s bogus is that Space Karen didn’t read up on the test before complaining to his millions of followers.” She continued with a graph-illustrated further rationale.

And at that point, a “Space Karen” photoshop appeared to speak with your manager. That hair! People couldn’t get enough.

Finally, this tweet will have The Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker” stuck in my head all week, and somehow, I’m not mad about it.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is beloved and reviled in equal measure. One on hand, you’ve got ironic hipster holdovers from the mid-2000s and anyone who can appreciate the mileage you can get out of a 30-rack of beer for $20. On the other, you have the IPA swigging microbrewery snobs who rank PBR just above Budweiser but pretty much below anything else produced on a mass scale, domestically speaking.

In a weird way, the brand enjoys a similar status as the whole category of hard seltzer. It’s both vehemently hated and cultishly beloved.

Maybe it was recognition of this symmetry (but more likely a simple desire to make money) that led Pabst to enter the hard seltzer game. PBR Hard Seltzers are pretty solid, but it’s an oversaturated market. Budweiser, Golden Road Brewery, Natty Light, Coors, Vive, Sauza, and Smirnoff have all jumped on the hard seltzer train. And let’s be honest, none of them hold a candle to the big two, White Claw and Truly. Innovation is needed to make a splash in the fizzy water game.

Enter weed. Not CBD but the real, “gets you stoned” stuff.

In early October, PBR announced that Pabst Labs — a beverage company founded by cannabis drink experts and former Pabst Brewing Company employees — would be producing a THC-infused official PBR-branded seltzer. The release was a first among hyper-visible beer brands: a product meant to intoxicate, but not with alcohol. If successful, it could change the game while creating competition and collaboration between beer and weed companies that actually benefitted us, the consumers.

Naturally, we had to try a can… or two. And since I’ve carved a niche out at Uproxx as both the resident weed and seltzer water guy, who better to dive into the world of cannabis-infused seltzer than me? Read on for my semi-stoned review of Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Original Lemon Cannabis-Infused Seltzer.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Original Lemon Cannabis-Infused Seltzer

THC: 5mg
CBD: < 2mg
Calories: 25
Sugar: 4g
Price: $24 (4-pack), $120 (24-pack)

The Seltzer:

Before you buy a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon Original Lemon Cannabis-Infused Seltzer, it’s a good idea to know who exactly this product was made for. At just 5mgs of THC per can and less than 2mgs of CBD, PBR Cannabis-Infused Seltzer is for people looking to microdose or first-time cannabis users looking to get high without smoking or vaping flowers, oils, or concentrates. If you’re a frequent or daily weed user, a single can isn’t going to result in much of a head change. You’ll likely need to crack open two to three cans to get a sufficient and enjoyable high. (Session beer, but with dope.)

The matter of dosage is relevant because it has an effect on the “share factor” of the brew. With just four cans to a case, frequent smokers can only share with one other person. In some cases, they may be inclined to kill a whole case single-handedly. Of course, you could drop $120 for a 24-pack, but that’s a steep price to pay for a mild high.

(Cost aside, this isn’t a huge problem. The seltzer is only 25 calories per can, meaning if you drank a whole case you’re looking at 100 calories and 16 grams of sugars — well under a typical weed brownie in terms of calories and sugar content. Still, drinking a whole case by yourself can be a little draining, so we don’t suggest frequent users jump on this train unless they’re looking to enjoy their seltzer with a blunt or a bowl on the side, at least until a stronger expression is released.)

If you aren’t a frequent smoker, there’s a lot to love about the PBR Original Lemon Cannabis-Infused Seltzer. I’ve tried all sorts of cannabis-infused beverages, and all of them, even the best tasting ones, have a strong herbal weed flavor. It’s not appetizing, but it’s what we’ve all come to expect from THC-infused drinks. Pabst smashes that expectation. This stuff tastes pretty indistinguishable from regular lemon seltzer. It’s got a nice zesty bite with a clean and crisp taste, making it a transparent mixer perfect for tossing together with some vodka or tequila for those craving a cross-faded experience.

Our only gripe? We wish it was just a tad bubblier. What can I say, I love me some fizz.

The High:

If you’re unfamiliar with how edibles work let us break it down. When you ingest an edible it is broken down by your stomach’s gastric acid before traveling into your small intestine where the THC is absorbed into the bloodstream resulting in your high. This is why it takes so long for your edibles to hit. But because PBR’s Cannabis-Infused Seltzer is already in liquid form, it travels through your body faster, giving you a quicker onset than a typical edible. So you’re looking at about 30 minutes to an hour to start to feel the effects of a single can, rather than the usual two to three hours that edibles generally take.

Pabst Lab’s recipe is proprietary and they aren’t telling whether the formula uses sativa, hybrid, or indica strains but from the user side: the high never felt too heavy. For a frequent user like myself, a single can was enough to eliminate any stress and anxiety and offer a slightly euphoric head change, resulting in a mostly cerebral high.

Bottom Line:

Perfect for microdosers and first-time cannabis users. Heavy users will need more than a single can to get a sufficient dosage of THC. Taste is better than anything else on the market.

The first season of HBO’s His Dark Materials might’ve been buried a bit under premieres of other prestige dramas (The Mandalorian and The Morning Show both dropped around the same time last year). That’s a shame because as the show gears up for more, complete with an all-star cast that includes names like James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, and Dafne Keen, there’s even more lore and action in store for fans.

Biblical battles between good and evil, alternate universes, talking animals, witches, and foul-mouthed aeronauts all pop up in Season 2, and since this show is based on the best-selling fantasy series by author Philip Pullman, there’s a lot of buzzed-about storylines that might make their way into this follow-up. Whether you watched Season 1 and are dying to jump back into this world, or just stumbled across the series because you saw Fleabag’s Hot Priest and Hamilton were in the trailer for Season 2, here’s a guide to all of the things we’d like to happen this go-around (complete with a quick recap of Season 1).

The Mythology Behind Dust

Philip Pullman’s best-selling series may be categorized as Young Adult fantasy but it deals with deeply philosophical, incredibly mature themes. Think Biblically mature. And in order to attract a wider audience than just fans of the novels — and Lin-Manuel Miranda stans — the show should lean into those darker, more complicated storylines. Fortunately, the second book of the series naturally does that, exploring the origins of Dust and revealing Lyra’s mysterious destiny along the way. Season 2 has plenty to pull from when it comes to the connection between the second fall of mankind (remember, the Magisterium views Dust as Original Sin and wants to eradicate it from Lyra’s world) and the role Lyra has to play in that. We hope the series touches on Pullman’s grander ideas (the war between God and Satan, the corrupt power of certain religions, the value of free thought) in a way that feels natural to fans of the book and comprehensible for newcomers to the show. That means explaining, in detail, how Dust came to be, it’s the connection to this idea of Dark Matter in our own world, and Lyra’s role in protecting it.

Will & Lyra’s Friendship

While His Dark Materials first focused heavily on Lyra’s journey to understanding Dust and discovering the truth about her origins, the show also deviated from the books in a major way, introducing the character of Will Parry early in its run. In truth, we shouldn’t have met Will until book two, but the decision to separately dive into his backstory before having him meet Lyra proved to be a good one. That’s because in The Subtle Knife, the bond between these two neglected rebels becomes central to the greater storyline and wasting valuable time showing us Will’s broken upbringing, mentally-ill mother, and missing father might’ve diminished that this season. Instead, viewers come fully aware of who both kids are, which means the show can (and should) spend time sussing out their relationship. It’s a complicated one — Lyra is a street smart hell-raiser who follows her gut, while Will is a somber, responsible teenager with a chip on his shoulder — and they’re often at odds, but it’s their budding connection that elevates the sequel book and sets up the climactic conclusion.

World-Hopping

In Season 1, the show jumped from Lyra’s magical universe to our own world where Will was struggling to come to terms with the truth about his father. One in the season finale did we finally get a bit of true world-hopping, as Lord Asriel ripped a seam between Lyra’s universe and some unknown city hidden within the Northern Lights. Will, too, seemed to accidentally stumble upon a door to another world, so we expect more world-hopping to take place in Season 2. That’s a good thing for the show (it means more action and more fantastical settings), but the writers will need to balance the change of scenery with sharper world-building. After all, both Lyra and Will’s world felt familiar. Even if you weren’t knowledgeable about the books, you could understand the order of things once the concept of daemons and Dust was explained. In the series second book, Lyra and Will constantly shift between worlds, heading to Oxford to chat with physicists about the nature of Dust before trying to survive the strangely adult-less city of Cittàgazze. Some of these places are so entirely foreign that the show will need to commit even more time to exposition, but the writers will have to do it in a way that feels engaging to fans who aren’t familiar with Pullman’s written lore.

More Witches

If you notice more supernatural beings in Season 2, it’s because the show expanded its writing team. Season 1 was written entirely by showrunner Jack Thorne, but he’s had help this time around and building out the storyline of witches like Season 1’s Serafina Pekkala while introducing new characters like Ruta Skadi the Queen of one of the witch clans, seems to be a direct consequence of that. In the second book, the witches take a bit of a back seat but with the addition of new cast members, that doesn’t seem to be the case for the show. There’s so much to explore when it comes to these powerful women — their strange relationships with their daemons, their connection to Lyra, their battle with the Magisterium, the hierarchy that rules them — that it would feel like a waste if Season 2 didn’t dive into their history and role in this fight at some point.

Hot Priest And Hamilton On The Run

Lee Scoresby — the wise-cracking Texan aeronaut who acted as Lyra’s pseudo-father-figure in Season 1 — is a fan favorite, on the show, and in the books. John Parry, Will’s father, and the explorer believed to be Stanislaus Grumman is a pivotal character in book two of the series. And both adults work to help and protect Lyra and Will over the course of the story. All good reasons to hope to see more of these two men. But we’ll be honest and say that the main reason we need more of this Daddy-duo is because of Miranda and show newcomer Andrew Scott (A.K.A Fleabag’s Hot Priest). Our reasons are our own, but they’re both charming, charismatic, possibly hero-like figures in the book, and Season 2 could use a bit more of their bromance.

Asriel’s War

Speaking of grown men we simp for, in Season 1, James McAvoy wore the hell out of a cable-knit sweater and took big steps towards bringing about the fall of mankind. His character, Lord Asriel, is a stand-in for Satan in the books, but on the show, he’s an even more divisive figure. Asriel bucks against the oppressive ideology of the Magisterium, looking for answers about Dust and other worlds, but he’s also a sh*t dad, a child-murderer, and a bit of an egotistical a**hole. Still, he has a vital role to play in this story and while book two of the series sees him largely absent, we’re hoping the show rectifies that. Because, once again, McAvoy can really do things for sweater season this year. But even if the actor isn’t a major player in Season 2, the show would do well to dive into the complicated motivations behind his holy war. He’s amassing rebel angels who have a grudge against God. He’s enlisting the help of witches and other magical beings to find the Knife capable of killing a deity. These aren’t things the show can just touch on with a couple of quick scenes. But if McAvoy isn’t signed up for more screen-time, this would be a great way to involve the witches, particularly Queen Skadi who follows Asriel on his quest in the books, in Season 2.

Mrs. Coulter’s Rise To Power

Another character who doesn’t get too much of the spotlight in Pullman’s second novel is the duplicitous Mrs. Coulter. Of course, on the show, she’s played by Ruth Wilson, and you’re out of your damn mind if you think HBO isn’t going to make the most of having that kind of talent in their arsenal. In Season 1, we saw Mrs. Coulter in largely different, unforgiving lights as a woman willing to bend the system to her advantage and a mother desperate to protect her daughter. But in Season 2, she delves even deeper into her dark side, manipulating the men in control of the Magisterium who both desire and distrust her while searching for the truth about Lyra’s destiny. She makes a world-altering decision by the end of book two, but to understand why it’s so tragic and heartless, we need to see more of the character throughout this season.

HBO’s ‘His Dark Materials’ returns on Monday, November 16.

This week’s Billboard 200 chart — the second since rapper King Von’s death two weeks ago — features no less than three entries from the late Chicago star as two of his albums re-entered the list in the wake of his passing. His most recently released project, Welcome To O’Block, also jumped into the top five as fans rediscovered or paid tribute to the Von. The previous two albums, 2019’s Grandson, Vol. 1 and 2020’s Levon James re-entered at No. 52 and 39, respectively.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the top five Billboard 200 albums included country star Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get at No. 4, Australian emo-rap star and Juice WRLD protege The Kid Laroi’s F*ck Love at No. 3, late Brooklyn drill rapper Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon at No. 2, and pop queen Ariana Grande’s recently released Positions at No. 1.

King Von died on November 6 after being shot outside an Atlanta lounge during an altercation with local rapper Quando Rondo’s crew. The shooter was allegedly a member of Rondo’s crew who opened fire after punches were thrown, prompting a pair of nearby Atlanta police to also shoot at the group. Two men were killed at the scene, while Von died at the hospital later. Welcome To O’Block reached No. 13 on the next week’s chart.

Just in time for the holidays, HBO Max and Amazon Fire TV have finally reached a long-awaited agreement, which will allow the WarnerMedia streaming app to be available to users starting this week. According to the official announcement, the HBO Max app will be ready for use on all of Amazon’s Fire devices on Tuesday, November 17. The app will also be available to users who subscribed to HBO through Amazon’s Prime Video Channel, which had been source of contention in hammering out an arrangement.

The Fire TV deal still leaves some other streaming users out of the mix, but there appear to be signs that HBO Max is starting to hammer out more deals. Via Polygon:

While HBO Max’s arrival on Amazon devices should make it much easier for more people to watch, the service still remains conspicuously absent from a few of the most popular streaming platforms, including Roku and the newly released PlayStation 5. But with WarnerMedia finding a way to work out and agreement with Amazon, it’s possible deals with companies like Roku could be on the way in the near future.

The Amazon deal also arrives on the heels of a Bloomberg report that Warner Bros. is considering making a big play for HBO Max subscribers through an unorthodox release plan for Wonder Woman 1984. According to the report, WW84 would still arrive in theaters on Christmas day, but two weeks later, it would start streaming on HBO Max in an effort to recoup the box office loss by picking up subscribers. However, it should be noted that this plan is not confirmed, and furthermore, it is reportedly very fluid and could change at any moment.

As for Roku users still waiting for the HBO Max app to become available, there is a new workaround available, which allows user to “cast” HBO Max from their iPhones, iPads, or Macs. Granted, it only works with 4K devices, but those are becoming more standard these days.

(Via Polygon)

Jack Antonoff’s fingerprints have been all over the biggest music of the past few years, as he has written and/or produced with/for Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and others. As far as his music as Bleachers, though, he’s in the midst of a big gap between albums; His most recent, Gone Now, arrived in 2017. Now, though, he is devoting more time to that part of his musical life with a pair of new songs: “Chinatown,” which features fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, and the B-side, “45.”

Antonoff shared a statement about the songs, writing:

“‘chinatown’ starts in NYC and travels to new jersey. that pull back to the place i am from mixed with terror of falling in love again. having to show your cards to someone and the shock when you see them for yourself. thinking you know yourself and where you are from…. having to see yourself through somebody who you want to stay… i started to write this song with these ideas ringing in my head. to further understand who you are pushes you to further understand where you are from and what that looks and sounds like. there are pieces in that that are worth carrying forever and pieces worth letting die. ‘chinatown’ and ’45’ are both the story of this – ‘chinatown’ through someone else, ’45’ through the mirror. as for bruce, its the honor of a lifetime to be joined by him. he is the artist who showed me that the sound of the place i am from has value and that there is a spirit here that needs to be taken all over the world.”

The songs serve as a preview of the upcoming third Bleachers album, which is set for release in 2021.

Listen to “Chinatown” and “45” above.

The 2020-21 college basketball season is set to begin in just over a week, and teams are already struggling with the logistics of trying to put on a season, in particular the challenges of making non-conference games happen while each conference has different protocols in place for testing. As such, some conferences have considered moving to a conference-only schedule (as the big college football conferences did) in order to at least have uniform rules in place for teams with all of their opponents.

The lack of a nationwide, NCAA protocol is among the biggest difficulties facing each conference, but that will be the case once 68 teams make it to March Madness. On Monday, the NCAA announced that this year’s tournament will be moved from its usual format of playing at various regional sites across the country to one single site for the entirety of the month-long event, playing in Indianapolis and the surrounding area. This will, in effect, help the NCAA produce a bubble-like environment and, they hope, allow for teams to come in, go through testing, and be able to play throughout the tournament in one place to mitigate the risk of the virus interfering with games.

“We have learned so much from monitoring other successful sporting events in the last several months, and it became clear it’s not feasible to manage this complex championship in so many different states with the challenges presented by the pandemic,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball in a statement. “However, we are developing a solid plan to present a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

The plan is to follow the same schedule as initially planned, just playing in the Indianapolis area at various gyms — such as the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler — for every round, including the First Four, with the Final Four still taking place April 3-5.