Month: January 2021

After making a fairly quick return to drop his 2020 album, My Life 4Hunnid, it appears YG could have more up his sleeve in 2021. Kicking off the campaign for the new year, the Compton rapper slides through with his latest track, “Hit Em Up.” YG’s latest effort sees him cruising with his 4Hunnid labelmates, Day Sulan and D3szn, over the track’s drill-leaning production.

The My Krazy Life rapper leads the way on the song while holding down the hook responsibilities for it as well. After YG completes his turn, D3szn lays an aggressive rap verse that shows a new side of the rapper than the one we heard on YG’s “Bloodwalk” effort. Last, but certainly not least, Day Sulan brings everything to a close with a hard-hitting verse of her own.

While fans shouldn’t expect another project from YG in 2021 just yet, there is a good chance he steps back to let his new 4Hunnid artists shine instead. Day Sulan and D3szn both signed to the label in 2020, but their solo releases have been far and few. Sulan has given fans just two singles: “Mascara” and “Big” with Rubi Rose so far, though she appeared on YG’s “Equinox” single last year. D3szn’s productivity has been about the same, with his growing fan base getting a preview of his potential thanks to three 2020 singles. A lot could change for them both this year, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

You can listen to “Hit Em Up” above.

Jazmine Sullivan is regarded as one of, if not the best, vocalists to step foot into the R&B genre over the last decade. Her debut album Fearless and her most recent release, 2015’s Reality Show were both met with undeniable acclaim while landing her a number of well-deserved Grammy nominations.

However, since that 2015 album, Sullivan stayed rather quiet for the most part before making her return towards the end of 2020 with a pair of singles. Now, the Philly singer is back in action with the release of her new EP, Heaux Tales, and one of its brightest and most thrilling moments comes on her “On It” collaboration with Ari Lennox.

On the Heaux Tales track, Sullivan and Lennox give a sultry number that finds them both detailing their desires to their lover. While their passion is high and fiery, they won’t allow their partner to explore their body and receive the blessing the ladies have to offer without first proving they deserve it. The two singers seek “something impressive” from them before embarking on a night of passionate love-making.

Heaux Tales also boasts strong singles like “Lost One” and “Pick Up My Feelings,” which both helped to create excitement for Sullivan’s project. Elsewhere, guest appearances from Anderson .Paak (“Pricetags”) and HER (“Girl Like Me“) are made on the Philly singer’s first release in over five years.

You can listen to “On It” above.

Heaux Tales is out now via RCA. Get it here.

For the first time in their careers, Russ and Lil Baby have joined forces for a new collaboration. The track, which is entitled “Ugly,” is one Russ has been teasing for the better part of the last week. The new release is an equally triumphant and egotistic effort that finds both rappers asserting their dominance and presence in whatever space they step in.

“I don’t gotta say, ‘What’s up’ to you, I don’t gotta say, ‘Hey,’” Russ proclaims on the track. “And if you talk sh*t, then it’s up with you, and that’s where it’s gon’ stay.” As the production’s trumpets continue to blare throughout Russ’ first verse, Lil Baby sticks to the track’s display of overconfidence with 16 bars that focus on his luxury cars, jewelry, and monetary gains while he brushes off issues in his love life as a result of his infidelity.

“Ugly” also arrives with a music video that sees Russ and Lil Baby in a strip club having the time of their lives as a slew of women dance around them. The song comes after a successful 2020 for both acts. Russ shared his third album, Shake The Snow Globe which was initially a 14 track effort with help from Rick Ross, Kiana Lede, Benny The Butcher, and more before a deluxe edition with seven more songs arrived.

He also dropped his Chomp EP which found him going toe-to-toe with some of today’s best lyricists including Ab-Soul, Kxng Crooked, and Black Thought. As for Lil Baby, he had last year on lock thanks to the success of his My Turn album and “The Bigger Picture,” the latter which helped him land a pair of nominations at the upcoming Grammy awards.

You can watch the “Ugly” video above.

Unfortunately for DaBaby, he’ll have to spend the early moments of the new year in handcuffs after he was arrested in Beverly Hills. According to TMZ on Thursday, the North Carolina rapper and his crew had just finished shopping at a Moncler store on Rodeo Drive when they were approached by officers who stopped and detained them, then conducted a search.

Sources close to the officers reveal that an employee at the store made a 911 call to report that DaBaby and the three other men that were with him were carrying weapons. Law enforcement discovered a loaded handgun during the search and ultimately arrested the “Rockstar” rapper on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded firearm.

Onlookers in the area captured his arrest on camera, one that was peaceful. At first, the rapper and his crew were all placed in handcuffs, but TMZ reports that DaBaby was the only one taken into custody. Fans will have to wait and see how the situation plays out, but for the time being the rapper and his supporters can look forward to the upcoming Grammy Awards.

DaBaby landed a number of nominations in categories that include Record of the Year, Best Melodic Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song, all of which boast his chart-topping “Rockstar” single with Roddy Ricch. He also earned a nomination in the Best Rap Performance category for “BOP.”

(via TMZ)

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

Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s most watched shows at the moment, making a long run for the period drama about courtship in London likely. But one of its biggest stars may have his sights set on a much bigger franchise if betting odds are to be believed.

According to Variety, an emerging candidate on the betting markets to become the next James Bond is the Duke himself from the Shondra Rhimes-produced drama. That’s Regé-Jean Page to those who haven’t streamed the steam drama, which premiered recently and has risen to the top of the platform’s most-watched shows.

And as the show’s popularity has grown, so have the odds that Page may actually be in the running to replace Daniel Craig in the role.

Ladbrokes’ odds on which actor will play the next Bond is a closely followed process in the U.K. Page is now just 5/1 in the betting with Ladbrokes to replace Craig as Bond, having previously been 40/1 before Christmas.

“Tom Hardy still leads the way as favorite, with James Norton close behind in second place. But it really is all to play for in the race for 007 and RJP has a great chance if the odds are anything to go by,” Ladbrokes representative Alex Apati tells Variety.

It would certainly be an interesting path to Bond for Page, who plays the Duke of Hastings on the Regency drama. And a Ladbrokes rep explained to Variety that these sort of shifts in odds tend to happen for actors who get notoriety for a particular role, only to have their odds drop once the attention fades. But with speculation that a new Bond will be announced before the last Craig-led Bond film hits theaters, Page may have become the talk of Netflix at just the right time.

[via Variety]

Through the first three weeks of the NBA’s regular season only one game has been postponed due to a team not being able to play due to COVID-19 protocols, when the Rockets were forced to postpone their opener with the Thunder on the first full night of the season.

However, that may soon change after what transpired in Brooklyn on Thursday night. The 76ers lost to the Nets, 122-109, but apparently learned of a positive test result from a player during the game that has resulted in the entire team being quarantined in New York while they go through contact tracing protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports Seth Curry, who did not play in Thursday’s game with ankle soreness, was the player who tested positive and was on the bench for the first quarter before results came back.

The Sixers were on the second night of a back-to-back, having played the Wizards on Wednesday in Philadelphia before traveling to Brooklyn on Thursday. As such, contact tracing is going to be very interesting to see what is determined as close contact as, while Curry didn’t play, he was in the locker room before the game and with the team in the traveling party. The Nets are still planning on flying to Memphis, without Kyrie Irving who missed Thursday’s game due to personal reasons, despite the Sixers news, likely because Curry was not on the floor.

It is not the first time the sports world has dealt with the issue of a player testing positive during a game, as it happened in the World Series with Justin Turner being pulled in the clinching game for the Dodgers. However, that was the final game of the season and as such, we never heard much about any fallout in testing or spread. Just as was the case with that news emerging, that Curry’s test returned positive during a game, even if he was out with an unrelated injury, calls into question the league’s protocols that allow games to be played before all the most recent tests are returned.

What comes next will be very important, both in how the Sixers contact tracing goes and what test results come back over the next week, particularly for the Sixers, Nets, Wizards, and their opponents. Philadelphia’s next scheduled game is Saturday against the Nuggets and then Monday in Atlanta against the Hawks and Tuesday back in Philly against the Heat (who play in Philly again on Thursday). Those three games would be the ones that, should contact tracing deem a majority of the team to be Curry’s close contact, would be potentially postponed under the league’s guidelines that call for close contacts to quarantine for seven days while registering negative tests each day before they’re allowed to return to the floor.

Michael Porter Jr. has not played for the Denver Nuggets in the last week due to contact tracing that has put him in the league’s COVID-19 protocols that requires a player return seven straight negative tests before they can return to play after being deemed a close contact of someone who has tested positive.

Porter Jr. is far from the only player to end up in a contact tracing situation, as we’ve seen it with John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant, and others to start the season. However, on Thursday, word broke from The Athletic’s Shams Charania that Porter Jr., who just cleared his seven-day quarantine, has had 10-14 days added on.

Given how the league’s COVID-19 protocols are written, the 10-plus day time frame would seem to indicate a positive test, as contact tracing calls for just a 7-day quarantine, like the one he entered last Thursday. In the four games he played at the start of this season, Porter Jr. averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on strong efficiency, as he entered the starting lineup and performed well offensively as the Nuggets sorted things out. In his absence, Denver has gone 2-1 with both wins coming over the Timberwolves, and are in action currently against Dallas.

On the lower end of his new quarantine period, Porter Jr. would miss at least four more games for Denver (they play Utah in 10 days exactly), while the 14-day timeframe would mean he would miss six games. Will Barton has re-entered the starting lineup in Porter Jr.’s absence and may have to remain there for some more time.

The Brooklyn Nets knocked off the Philadelphia 76ers by a 122-109 margin at Barclays Center on Thursday evening and, under normal circumstances, that result wouldn’t turn heads in the NBA world. However, the Nets operated without both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the game and received 28 points off the bench from Joe Harris to aid in pulling off the upset. The Durant absence was known as he remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, but just hours before tip-off word broke that Irving was not playing due to what the team listed as personal reasons.

After the win, a report from Joe Vardon of The Athletic states that the All-NBA point guard is not expected to join the Nets on their road trip to Memphis for their game on Friday.

The team confirmed the news shortly after Vardon’s report.

Nets head coach Steve Nash expressed before Thursday’s game that he had not spoken to Irving and was unaware of the reasoning behind his absence. First and foremost, there is the hope that everything is alright with Irving and his family at this time, and even with curiousness around the reasoning, it is important to keep that in mind.

On the basketball side, Durant remains out due to health and safety protocols and, despite the positive result on Thursday, the Nets are not in an ideal position to operate without both stars. Irving is off to a strong statistical start, averaging 27.1 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Durant looks to be close to his old self after missing a year with an Achilles injury. Standout guard Spencer Dinwiddie is also out with a long-term injury, and the Nets are constructed, at least in part, to support the talents of their top two players.

That said, Brooklyn will face a Memphis team that is also short-handed on Friday without Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and others. From there, the Nets return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday in their follow-up contest.

In 2021, the music industry isn’t exactly the main concern for 50 Cent. Nowadays, the Queens native spends his time producing one of the TV industry’s most popular shows, Power. However, despite this path away from creating music, it doesn’t mean that 50 won’t take a moment to celebrate his past accolades and successes, something he took a moment to do on Thursday.

In a post to his Instagram page, 50 Cent reflected on his 2003 hit, “In Da Club” on its 18th anniversary. His phenomenal 2003 year began with the release of the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ single and nearly two decades later, the record still finds its way into various spaces, giving 50 more than enough of a reason to celebrate.

“Hey you ain’t gonna believe this one, but 18 years ago today i dropped a song i recorded in LA and it’s still spinning 1,000 times a week at radio,” he said in the caption of the Instagram post. He also took a moment to thank Eminem for putting him on and helping to launch his rap career. “I tell @eminem i love him for what he did for me, he put me on.”

This is the second time in recent months that 50 had a reason to celebrate “In Da Club.” Back in November, the song became the second pre-YouTube era hip-hop video to surpass a billion views on the platform.

Getting back to regular business, 50 Cent also made sure to plug his “Part Of The Game” single and his upcoming Power Book III: Raising Kanan spin-off which is set to begin in the summer. You can view 50 Cent’ Instagram post above.

The NFL Playoffs begin this weekend with the Wild Card round and, in fitting fashion after a bizarre 2020 season, the slate features six (!) games instead of four. Obviously, football fans won’t be complaining about the extra action to consume, though, and it does provide a bit of additional opportunity for handicapping. Week 17 was also kind, at least in this space, with a 4-1 record that quite honestly should’ve been 5-0. Alas, the Seahawks and Rams put together an unbelievable, 34-point fourth quarter to zoom over the total, leaving us without the elusive perfect week.

Still, the end of the season was quite positive, giving us some confidence as the postseason arrives. Before getting into the five-pack of selections for this week, let’s check in on the full-season progress.

• Week 17: 4-1
• 2020 Season: 43-40-2

Come get these winners.

Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills UNDER 51.5 points

It’s a little bit scary to root for punts and field goals with this Bills offense right now. They’ve been a juggernaut for a while, and that explains why this total is where it is. With that out of the way, this number opened at 52.5 in most places and has fallen despite most of the action being on the Over. We like that indicator but, more than that, the Colts should be deploying a conservative, run-based attack that will keep the clock churning, and Indianapolis has the defense to at least slow Buffalo down a little bit. I wouldn’t love this any lower than where it is now, but it’s a good number.

Los Angeles Rams (+3.5) over Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks closed -1/-1.5 against the Rams two weeks ago at home… and now it’s 3.5? Los Angeles might be without Jared Goff but, as we said last week (in a winning spot for us), the gap between Goff and his backup does not project to be as large as you may think. The Rams have the better defense and a solid enough running game. Anything more than a field goal is juicy in this spot.

Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks UNDER 42.5 points

For the first time this season, we’re firing twice on the same game. This is hideous given how low the total is, but it’s also the right side. The Seahawks went Under in seven straight games before last week and, as noted above, that was a hideous beat on an Under that was quite clearly the right side. For whatever reason, Seattle has chosen to travel back in time, relying on a ball control offense and churning clock in the process. The Seahawks are also playing (much) better on defense and, well, the Rams are awesome defensively. A number this small is going to scare some people off, but not us.

Chicago Bears (+10.5) over New Orleans Saints

Look, I get it. No one wants to have Mitch Trubisky on the road. I don’t either. This isn’t your older brother’s Saints offense, though, and New Orleans laying more than ten points against a decent team is tough. This is admittedly my least favorite play of the five, but we must stand on principle.

Cleveland Browns (+6) over Pittsburgh Steelers

Prior to the news about Kevin Stefanski, I thought this number should’ve been +3. I understand a little bit of a move with the Browns playing without him, but this moving all the way to +6 is a bridge too far. The Browns should be able to keep things interesting using their running game and, if nothing else, Pittsburgh’s offense can’t be described as dynamic. Taking anything away from last week’s game would be a fool’s errand, but I would’ve liked the Browns +6 in Pittsburgh last week as much as I do now.