Month: December 2020

It’s been rumored that DaBaby and DaniLeigh have been lovebirds for some time now, ever since the two were spotted hanging out together back in the spring. The two artists have denied that their relationship has been anything more than platonic, but on Friday that changed, when DaniLeigh shared a picture on Instagram that confirmed they’re an item. The post finds the singer hugging DaBaby from behind with a caption that reads, “My baby [heart emoji] idc.” DaBaby added a post of his own to the mix, sharing a fairly intimate video to his Instagram story.

The news comes after DaBaby referenced DaniLeigh on “8 Figures” off his EP My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G). “I wanna kill somethin’ too, G,” he rapped on the song. “Had to call my Dominican boo thing / Call me down, I’m on FaceTime, a movie.” (The “Dominican boo thing” is DaniLeigh.) The two have worked together on a number of occasions. The first time was on the set of the rapper’s video for “Bop,” where she served as choreographer. He, meanwhile, appeared on her track “Levi High,” off her newly-released Movie album. In the video, the two commit a heist together, only to be caught by police officers.

It’s been just shy of a month since the 2020 presidential race was called for Joe Biden, and his predecessor Donald J. Trump still refuses to concede, even after losing dozens of court cases in which he’s baselessly cried voter fraud. But the outgoing commander-in-chief isn’t the only one who won’t acknowledge the facts. A scarily small number of Republican congresspeople have publicly recognized Biden as the 46th president.

This comes from a report by The Washington Post, which reached out to 249 Republican senators and representatives, asking them a simple question: Who’s the next president? Of those, only 26 said Biden. Two actually said it was Trump — again, despite no proof in allegations about a “rigged” election. The other 221 didn’t reply at all.

Mind you, Biden himself — who famously has lots of friends on both sides of the aisle — has said that a number of them have privately told them that he, you know, is America’s next president. But that so many refuse to make that public is troubling. And when the Post’s report was posted, a lot of people took to social media to call them out.

This comes the day after Biden officially secured enough electors to be declared the nation’s next president. Inauguration Day isn’t for another month and a half, and surely that means plenty more opportunities for Trump’s bumbling legal team to find more wine mom “whistleblowers.”

(Via The Washington Post)

Anthony Davis signing a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers was something of a foregone conclusion, but there was a whole lot of intrigue over the length of the deal. Davis ultimately opted to go with long-term security over short-term flexibility, agreeing to a five-year extension to stay with the Lakers.

It was an interesting move, both because of how many options were on the table and because his superstar teammate, LeBron James, is famous for taking short deals so he could be in total control of his next move. But ultimately, Davis went with five years, and on Friday, he explained his decision, citing previous injuries as a major reason why he opted for something longer.

“That could have been a two-year, three-year deal,” Davis said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “[But] I have to think about, also, the reality of things, too. I do have a little history with injuries, and a two-year deal, you kind of bet on yourself. … God forbid, knock on wood, something happens.”

Davis went on to say that “I want to secure the most amount of years possible and be here long term with this team, so I thought the five-year deal was best for me in my situation.” Of course, giving anyone $190 million is going to be hard for them to turn down, but Davis has, of course, battled plenty of little knocks over the course of his career — watching many Lakers games oftentimes includes him taking a stroll into the locker room to get something quickly looked at. And as McMenamin noted, he has missed some time in his career, suiting up in 62 of 71 games last regular season and playing in 466 of the 574 games the Pelicans played during his tenure in New Orleans.

Davis was not the only Lakers’ tentpole to get paid this week, as James agreed to a two-year extension with the franchise prior to the big man’s decision.

Jeremih left much of the music world worried last month when news arrived that he was in the ICU of a local Chicago hospital, suffering from a strong case of the coronavirus. Thankfully, his health improved. Now, the singer is out of the hospital and he shared a statement with fans that thanked them for their support.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank God and the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for saving my life I will be forever grateful,” Jeremih said in a statement shared with TMZ. “I would also like to thank my family and friends for all their prayers and well wishes. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. A special thanks to Chance The Rapper, 50 Cent, and Diddy for their love and support.” He added, “I would like to thank all my fans and people around the world who prayed for me. I’m getting stronger everyday, and look forward to spending time with my sons.”

During his COVID-19 battle, Jeremih’s family issued a statement that thanked people for their support while reminding people to be safe. “His family would like to remind the world that COVID-19 is real and not to be taken lightly,” the statement said. “Also, It’s important for people infected to quarantine and let their families and friends know ASAP. There’s no shame in contracting COVID-19, and people that have it need to be responsible and considerate of others.”

(via TMZ)

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is an embarrassment of riches. It might even be director Tim Burton’s finest film. But among its most beloved moments — up there with Amazing Larry’s new hair, that epic studio lot chase finale, and the basement at the Alamo — is this: Large Marge, the ghost trucker who gives our man-child hero a terrifying ride, and whose stop motion-assisted corpse reveal has traumatized generation after generation. Well, it’s her birthday.

The news was shared by Pee-wee himself — or, rather, star Paul Reubens, in character — on Twitter, with a photo that shows the memorial in a truck stop populated by those who remember her well. Born on December 5, 1937, she turns 83 — or she would have had she not met a grisly end on January 11, 1974, at only 37.

And with that news, a lot of Pee-wee fans chimed in to pay tribute to one of cinema’s great one-scene wonders.

Some noticed that 37 seems pretty young.

And some remembered the scene scarring them for life.

Large Marge was played by actress Alice Nunn, who was actually ten years her senior and who appeared in movies like Mommie Dearest and Who’s That Girl as well as shows like Murder, She Wrote, Happy Days, and WKRP in Cincinnati. She died in 1988, three years after Adventure came out. Also, fun fact: Burton, who gave it a loving handmade quality, only directed it because the film he was going to make as his debut, the dark comedy After Hours, wound up being helmed by Martin Scorsese. So you can thank Scorsese for Pee-wee’s finest film being as great as it is.

There are a lot of perks to being an NBA superstar. Kawhi Leonard, for instance, has been one of the pioneering figures of a cutting-edge load management philosophy that has allowed him to strategically rest his body throughout the regular season in order to minimize the risk of injury and be as healthy as possible for deep postseason runs.

That wouldn’t be possible without the full consent and cooperation of both the coaching staff and the front office, nor would it work without wholesale buy-in from his teammates, who are put in the awkward position of being subjected to unequal treatment. It’s not the type of luxury that’s afforded to any old player — you need a resume/CV that warrants that level of accommodation and what’s more, points directly to its efficacy.

Fresh off of winning a title and being named Finals MVP with the Toronto Raptors, Kawhi had amassed the capital necessary to negotiate that type of arrangement when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers. And he didn’t stop there: He also had the leverage necessary to orchestrate the trade that brought Paul George in as his running mate, which he’d outlined as a precondition to his signing there.

The notoriously soft-spoken Kawhi had exercised a colossal amount of power and influence, setting up the Clippers to contend and dramatically altering the landscape of the Western Conference … on paper, at least. Much of that hinges on the premise that George is of the same or similar ilk, that his pairing with Kawhi is on par with that of the other elite duo in the same building, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

But what’s become increasingly and painfully clear for Clippers fans is that George appears to be on a different plane than Kawhi. That doesn’t mean Kawhi is above reproach. To be clear, Kawhi was as culpable as anyone for the Clippers’ epic collapse in Orlando. He uncharacteristically wilted in the worst possible moments against the Denver Nuggets as they watched a 3-1 series lead evaporate, appearing disengaged in the deciding Game 7 en route to an abysmal 6-for-22 stat line.

Still, it was George’s sustained struggles throughout the playoffs that were far more prominent. George’s slump was easily one of the worst stretches of his career. There were points when it was historically bad. His three-game skid during the Mavs series — 11.3 points in 38.1 minutes a night while shooting 21.3 percent from the field and 16 percent from three — was nowhere near what you expect out of an All-Star. Yet given the unprecedented circumstances, you could chalk it up as an anomaly. George himself has admitted that, like so many Americans during the pandemic, he was battling mental health issues brought on by isolation and malaise.

The problem is that George has been forced to do a lot of answering for his play the past few seasons. And time and time again, he comes armed with an explanation, whether it’s a comically-oversize ice-pack to remind us about his troubled shoulder, his opponent making a “bad shot,” or in his most recent example, a fundamental mishandling of his talent on the part of his former coach. George joined the All the Smoke podcast this week, during which he complained that Doc Rivers tried to use him last season like he would a Ray Allen or J.J. Redick, i.e. as more of a shooter off of pin-down screens, as opposed to the more free-flowing role that allows him to thrive and properly exploit his skill-set.

As others have pointed out, it’s not an entirely accurate appraisal of what happened last season, but that’s beside the point. Nor is it the first time he’s complained about how he’s been used. George balked at the idea of playing power forward in Indiana, just as the Pacers were attempting to move into the modern era and up the tempo.

The timing of his latest comments couldn’t have been worse. Just as they were gaining traction on social media, a new report claimed that George’s own Clippers teammates were resentful that he received “preferential treatment” last season when it was difficult to point to anything he’d done to earn it. From The Athletic:

But George’s treatment was more of an issue within the locker room, league sources said. George, while a perennial All-Star and All-NBA candidate, didn’t carry the same cachet with his teammates. There was a sentiment among certain teammates of, “What have you accomplished in the playoffs?” multiple league sources said.

It’s a valid point. What has George done to earn superstar treatment? His name often gets lumped in with the NBA’s top-flight talents, but it’s becoming harder and harder to remember the last time George was truly transcendent on the biggest stage. You could reasonably argue that you’d have to go all the way back to his playoff battles against LeBron and the Big 3 Heat during his Pacers heyday.

The memory of those moments fades a little more with each disappointing postseason exit, and the mythical “Playoff P” has begun to seem more and more like precisely that: a myth. George would remind you that he’s battled through serious injuries over the years, one of them nearly career-ending. It’s all true, and admirable. But that would only be half the story. The rest of it is more difficult to reconcile.

What’s evident is that new head coach Tyronn Lue has plenty of work ahead to repair some of the locker room dynamics that were clearly undermining their title hopes, some of which obviously involve George, his relationship to his teammates, and the question of whether he’s being held to the same standard as everyone else. Lue, of course, has plenty of experience managing mercurial superstars and their egos, including a proven ability to demand a certain level of accountability from his top guys, as he did so effectively with LeBron in Cleveland.

The challenge for Lue won’t just be coaxing elite-level production out of George on a regular basis and in the biggest moments. It’ll be getting him to show a willingness to shoulder the responsibility as a team leader, an approach that should have a galvanizing effect on his teammates rather than alienating them. It’ll require a culture shift to remove the perception of imbalance among the ranks.

Even then, it’s debatable whether the Kawhi-George pairing is the elite-level duo they would have us believe it is. The evidence so far hasn’t been very convincing. In fairness to George, he is still a tantalizing talent, capable of moments of pure basketball brilliance that set him apart from 90 percent of his peers, and his Per 36 numbers in the regular season were awfully similar to his numbers during his final season in Oklahoma City. The question is whether he can sustain something that approximates that level of play over the course of a long season and, in particular, a grueling postseason run during he which he and the rest of the Clippers will have a giant target on their backs from their opponents, fans, and the media alike.

The Clippers, of course, have no choice but to proceed under the notion that he is still that player, that together they are in fact capable of toppling the reigning champs, and that last season was somehow an aberration. George’s reputation depends on it, as does the future of the franchise. The weight of those expectations proved heavy last season. It’s now on the entire franchise and George in particular to respond.

Lil Wayne shared his No Ceilings 3 mixtape at the end of November, and has since released remixes of certain tracks by Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, Future, and more. Now there’s a video for one of its stand-out tracks, “Something New.” It follows him throughout his lavish mansion as he makes numerous outfit changes, and eventually taking a dive in the pool. He’s the only person in the video, apart from a nude woman who appears at the end.

There were a number of moments in No Ceilings 3 that caught the attention of fans. The project found him reconnecting with Drake for the first time in a few years, yielding the collaboration “BB King Freestyle.” Wayne also announced that his album I Am Not A Human Being III would arrive next year, news that was shared on the song “Lamar,” a remix of Jay-Z’s “Takeover.” On the flip side, he caught some flack for flexing his relationship with Donald Trump on “Life Is Good.” “I smoke it, she say pass it, she doing too much,” he said. “Haven’t done my taxes, f*cking with Trump.”

You can watch the “Something New” video above.

No Ceilings 3 is out now. Get it on DatPiff here.

The Republican party remains slavishly devoted to outgoing president Donald J. Trump. Indeed, a new Washington Post reports that only 25 Republican congresspeople acknowledge that Joe Biden is taking office in a month-and-a-half. But some go above and beyond in their Trump love. Matt Gaetz is one. Jim Jordan is another. A day after the former was dragged for attending a maskless party for young Republicans, the latter is being mocked for a pandemic tweet so dumb people thought it was a parody.

The Ohio representative and suit jacket-hater was taking umbrage with certain recommendations made by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been the voice of sanity and endless patience during the COVID-19 era. He advised Americans to not travel during the holidays, much as he did during Thanksgiving. Of course, these are mere recommendations. He has no power to stop people from exposing themselves and countless others to a highly contagious disease. And people aren’t listening to him anyway. Jordan is one of them, and as cases have spiked to record numbers — Friday saw 2,637 COVID-related deaths — he decided to thoughtlessly fan culture war flames.

“Dr. Fauci says Americans should “avoid travel” over the holidays,” Jordan wrote. “What will he cancel next? Saying Merry Christmas?”

Again, Dr. Fauci hasn’t “cancelled” anything. He’s merely begging people to do the sensible, selfless thing and not spread a disease that is worse than it’s ever been. But Jordan’s tweet was so thoughtless, so dangerous, so stupid that people — who may be lucky to have no idea who Jordan is — assumed it was a devastating satire of Republican idiocy.

But people who do know who Jim Jordan is knew that he was just dumb.

There were also familiar memes.

Others pointed out that one of the only reasons Jordan has his job is due to gerrymandering.

And others reminded everyone of his “Gym Jordan” and his still unresolved wrestling scandal.

It’s great when two great comic minds team up, even when it’s behind the scenes. That the case here: According to Variety, Issa Rae and Adam McKay are collaborating on a new HBO show. And because both are as serious as they are funny, it’s an adaptation of the popular podcast Nice White Parents, which examines segregation in Brooklyn schools and which garnered a lot of attention when it dropped over the summer..

Produced in part by Planet Money and This American Life contributor Chana Joffe-Walt, Nice White Parents looks at one school in the moneyed New York borough. Here’s how we described the podcast in an interview with Joffe-Walt (linked above):

The story was a personal one for Joffe-Walt, whose own children were approaching school age. Meanwhile, how our schools got the way they are and why we can’t just flip a switch to fix them turned out to be a complicated question, or at least an uncomfortable one. What was intended as a single episode or podcast segment about a desegregation effort in one public schools turned into a five-part stand-alone series about the disproportionate power white parents wield over public schools.

The TV version will turn it into a satirical half-hour series, lampooning hypocritical progressives who have let Brooklyn schools be disproportionately segregated.

(Via Variety)

A terrible thing happened in January of 1920. The National Prohibition Act (or the Volstead Act) was enacted and made the distillation, importation, and distribution of alcoholic beverages (except for medicinal spirits) illegal. Naturally, this led to organized crime and bootlegging. You can’t ask a whole county to give up their whiskeys, gins, and brandies out of the blue.

Inexplicably, this dark chapter in US history lasted for thirteen years before finally being overturned on December 5th, 1933. To pay homage to that bright day in American history (prohibitions deserve to fail, see: weed, mushrooms, MDMA, etc.), we celebrate Repeal Day every year. By drinking a lot of whiskey.

If you want to set it off, the best way to honor this important date is to drink some particularly potent whisk(e)y, the way they did it when hooch was banned. To help you find the best and strongest expressions to sip and mix with, we went to the professionals for help. A handful of our favorite bartenders told us their favorite high-proof whiskeys to drink on Repeal Day.

Check them all out below and hoist a dram to the end of Prohibition.

Dalmore 15

Fatima Kuras, general manager at 15 East @ Tocqueville in New York City

This Repeal Day I’m going to be drinking Dalmore 15 because it screams winter and holiday with its mandarin, vanilla, ginger, and crushed apple notes.

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

Anything Bottled in Bond is a Repeal Day staple for my libation library. If I had to pick one, it would be Rittenhouse Rye. It’s always spicy and works well for this and any other holiday.

George T. Stagg

Brooks Cloud, founder and managing partner of Proof Old Fashioned Cocktail Syrup in Decatur, Georgia

If I’m picking a high-proof whiskey to drink on Repeal Day, I’m cracking open a bottle of George T. Stagg, no doubt. It has a great peppery spice, sweet caramel, and subtle maple flavors that make it perfect for sipping.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve

Stefan Huebner, co-owner and head mixologist at Dot Dot Dot in Charlotte, North Carolina

Knob Creek Single Barrel or Booker’s will give you a nice 120 proof bourbon. For something more in-style, to pay homage to the old style of distilling, try Rittenhouse Rye, Old Overholt Rye, or even Old Tub Bottled-in-Bond.

Wild Turkey 101

Robert Gleim, managing partner at Bamboo Willie’s Beachside Bar in Pensacola, Florida

Wild Turkey 101. It’s an American Classic. Its strength is offset with the great spice and woodsy flavor that makes it a favorite, not to mention it’s been around for a long time.

Glenfiddich 15-Year-Old Distillery Edition

Sebastien Derbomez, brand advocacy manager at William Grant & Sons

During prohibition, Scotch whisky was regularly smuggled to the US, so what a better dram to pay homage to Repeal Day than Glenfiddich 15-Year-Old Distillery Edition? It is a special edition of the 15-Year-Old, non-chill filtered, which had been bottled at a higher strength.

This is a classic Scottish Single Malt with added complexity and character.

WhistlePig 10 -Year-Old Straight Rye

Gavin Humes, bartender at Scratch|Bar & Kitchen in Encino, California

I know what I’ll be drinking to celebrate, and that’s a nice pour of the WhistlePig 10 Year Straight Rye Whiskey. There are more expensive bottles, even from this producer, but for Repeal Day it’s not about drinking the most expensive, or even the fanciest. It’s about drinking something that is just delicious. And WhistlePig, even their “entry-level” bottle, is just that.

Maybe more interestingly, since most of the brand’s rye comes from Canada, it pays homage to all the Canadian spirits that got America through the dark Prohibition times.

Templeton Rye Barrel Strength

Jessica Balts, bartender at FireLake Grill House and Cocktail Bar in Bloomington, Minnesota

Hands down I’d go with Templeton Rye Barrel Strength. It was founded during Prohibition to keep their town afloat. Each release is a bit different, usually around 115 proof, but they don’t waver in their exceptionality.

Writer’s Picks:

Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition

If you’re going to lift a glass to the anniversary of the end of Prohibition in America, why not go with a whisky made to honor it? Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition is 100 proof, bold, brash, and filled with subtle spices, sweet vanilla, and dried fruits. Perfect on its own but shines in Prohibition-era cocktails like the ward eight, old fashioned, or a classic highball.

Old Forester 1920

Old Forester was one of only six Kentucky distilleries that were allowed to continue making whiskey (for medicinal purposes) during Prohibition. To pay homage to that era, the distillery launched Old Forester 1920, a prohibition-style whiskey, bottled at 115 proof and filled with flavors like buttery caramel, spicy cinnamon, and subtle rye pepper.