Month: January 2021

From every corner of the NBA world, current and former players and coaches have excoriated the events that occurred in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Immediate reactions on social media to the riot — in which supporters of president Donald Trump attended a rally before storming the U.S. Capitol as Congress certified the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lose to President-elect Joe Biden — eventually turned into demonstrations and comments before and after games took place.

One such person who was particularly outspoken was Sacramento Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton, who used his Twitter account to, among other things, call Trump a “clown” as things were going down. And after the Kings beat Chicago, 128-124, on Wednesday evening, Haliburton spoke to the media and expanded on what he felt as he watched the scene in D.C.

“Obviously what’s happening right now in our world, and what happened today in particular, is nothing but a joke,” Haliburton said. “With everything that’s going on, the losses of many African-American lives and the plight of people of color, and then for these human beings to come out and act like they’re being discriminated against because they lost a fair election, or that they have to wear masks, is a complete joke. I think, obviously, the president is not going to say anything that means anything, and our president-to-be, Joe Biden, comes out and says, ‘America, we’re better than this. This is unAmerican.’ But to be honest, I’m 20-years-old, but I feel like this is as American as it gets. I think today was, of my lifetime, probably the biggest flex of white power and white privilege that there is.”

Haliburton explained that he sat on his phone for “an hour and a half” looking for something to say in the face of all of this, but ultimately, he said he felt like he couldn’t get it all into a tweet. He then referenced another thing that occurred this week: the decision to not press charges against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake, a Black man from Kenosha, Wisc.

“Yesterday, Jacob Blake in my home state, nothing happens,” Haliburton says. “Rusten Sheskey does not get charged for paralyzing a man, and I can’t even sit here and tell you that’s a joke, because there’s nothing funny about it. It’s just a shame, it’s just another example of this country failing African-Americans and people of color.”

The point was made by a number of individuals, including Haliburton on his Twitter account, that a major double-standard was on display in the response to Black Lives Matter protests over the summer and Wednesday’s situation in the capitol. While shows of force by police officers were both common and cheered on by the nation’s right wing as protestors demonstrated peacefully in support of racial justice and overthrowing systemic inequality, there was a far more subdued response as insurgents forced their way into the building in the name of the soon-to-be former president.

Chicago singer Jamila Woods shared her acclaimed LP Legacy! Legacy!, which stood as a tribute to several Black artists and visionaries throughout history, back in 2019. Woods followed up the album last August with “Sula (Paperback),” a tribute to the late Toni Morrison one year after her death. On Wednesday, Woods brought her moving Morrison tribute to a tranquil performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Taking the dimly lit stage backed by a full band, including a string section, Woods tenderly delivered a moving rendition of the song. “Sula (Paperback)” is inspired by Toni Morrison’s 1973 novel Sula and is penned from the perspective of protagonist Sula Peace and her relationship depicted in the book. Speaking about her inspiration behind the single in a statement, Woods said:

“It’s the first Toni Morrison novel I ever read and it inspired the first chapbook of poems I ever wrote. The novel shows the evolution of a friendship between two Black women and how they choose to navigate society’s strict gender roles and rules of respectability. On Sula, Toni Morrison wrote, ‘living totally by the law and surrendering totally to it without questioning anything sometimes makes it impossible to know anything about yourself.’ Returning to the story several years later, it gave me permission to reject confining ideas about my identity designed to shrink my spirit. It reminded me to embrace my tenderness, my sensitivities, my ways of being in my body. This song is a mantra to allow myself space to experience my gender, love, intimacy, and sexuality on my own terms.”

Watch Woods perform “Sula (Paperback)” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert above.

Yesterday was a dark day for the United States of America. As members of Congress met to officially count the 2020 presidential election votes from the Electoral College, a pro-Trump mob of insurrectionists broke into the Capitol building and stormed both chambers of Congress, forcing Senators and Representatives into hiding, and leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

The threat was, and is, real. United States lawmakers were temporarily prevented from performing their constitutional duty to count the certified election results—a duty that is necessary to ensure the orderly transition of power—by people who had just built gallows outside of the Capitol building and who carried guns and zip ties into Congress chambers. The storming of the Capitol was not a peaceful protest, but an act of terror by people who believe President Trump’s delusional rhetoric that he actually won the 2020 election in a landslide.

Unsurprisingly, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shumer has called for President Trump to be removed from office, either via impeachment or the 25th amendment. Also unsurprisingly, other Democratic leaders have voiced support for the idea.

However, it’s not just Democrats who are now calling for such measures.

This morning, Republican representative Adam Kinzinger of the 16th district in Illinois took the bold step of calling for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th amendment.

In a video statement, Kinzinger said:

“Yesterday was a sad day, as we all know. It was the day where fires stoked by the president and other leaders finally leapt out of the pit, and it lit the trees. Thankfully, the strength of our Constitution and democracy help, and we emerge today a little battered, but resolved.

What happened yesterday is a wake-up call to many, but it’s a call to accountability for others. In the past few presidencies, the administrations have been so concerned about even a moment of weakness that the 25th Amendment was invoked during minor surgeries, passing the duties to the vice president while the president was under anesthesia, because even for that moment to have the captain of the ship absent could cause a major catastrophe.

Sadly, yesterday it became evident that not only has the president abdicated his duty to protect the American people and the people’s house, he invoked and inflamed passions that only gave fuel to the insurrection that we saw here. When pressed to move and denounce the violence, he barely did so, while of course, victimizing himself and seeming to give a wink and a nod to those doing it. All indications that the president has become unmoored, not just from his duty or even his oath, but from reality itself. It is for this reason that I call for the vice president and members of the Cabinet to ensure the next few weeks are safe for the American people and that we have a sane captain of the ship.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows a majority of the Cabinet and the vice president to assume the duties of the office of presidency until the president is able to himself. It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment and to end this nightmare. We will rise from this, but we cannot forget what led us here. The liars and the conspiracy authors are already at it again this morning with false narratives about yesterday’s disaster.

Here’s the truth — the president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell, and the president must now relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily. God bless you, and God bless our enduring democracy.”

What a time to be an American, when members of a president’s own party are calling for his removal two weeks before he’s going to lose power anyway. In a truly dark time for our nation, seeing glimmers of truth and reason peeking through offer glimpses of hope for the future of the U.S.

After months of speculation regarding shortstop Francisco Lindor’s future in Cleveland, the 27-year-old star has reportedly been dealt to the New York Mets, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

The deal will reportedly include Mets shortstop Andres Gimenez as well as 2019 second-round pick Ryan Wolf, a pitching prospect, and young outfielder Isaiah Greene going back to Cleveland, but most importantly gives New York a reliably solid two-way middle infielder in the prime of his career.

A report from Mike Feinsand of MLB.com indicated veteran Cleveland pitcher Carlos Carrasco would be headed to New York as well.

After a down year in 2020 during MLB’s condensed 60-game scheduled in which he batted just .258 with an 102 OPS+, Lindor’s value seemed to be depleted a bit, but the Mets pulled the trigger here, anyway. Assuming Lindor’s salary is somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million after arbitration, the Mets are taking in a hefty salary for a player who will also be a free agent in 2022.

In a subsequent report, though, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that Lindor could soon be in talks to negotiate an extension with the Mets, similar to what Mookie Betts did after being traded to the Dodgers last offseason.

Still, Lindor is still just 27, so there is every reason to believe that he could come out rejuvenated in 2021 with a new ballclub now that Cleveland’s run as a perennial seems to be winding down. A fresh start could be good for Lindor, who was an All-Star from 2016-2019 and received AL MVP votes in each of those four seasons.

Stars are just like us — at least when it comes to undergoing the mind-bending boredom of quarantine — in Slowthai’s surreal “Mazza” video with ASAP Rocky. In the eye-popping clip, Slowthai and Rocky are next-door neighbors in a hotel where both seem to be sweating out an isolation period and suffering its negative effects on their minds. Slowthai hallucinates and expels excess energy while Rocky imagines himself as a white person while watching TV. Interestingly, the press release for the video notes that both artists’ scenes were filmed in their respective home countries and directed via Zoom

“Mazza” is the latest single from Slowthai’s upcoming Tyron album, which comes out on February 5. Other videos from the album so far have included “NHS” and “Feel Away,” which both came out last year, while Slowthai’s “Thoughts” video allowed him to take a step away from the heady and personal subject matter of the album’s songs for a throwback freestyle in the original grime mode. Artists to be included on the project include grime godfather Skepta, Florida rabble-rouser Denzel Curry, alt-pop-rocker Dominic Fike, and underground pop artist Deb Never.

Watch the “Mazza” video above.

Tyron is due 2/5 via Method / AWGE / Interscope Records. You can pre-save it here.

Just a few weeks before major cities across the US went in to lockdown, Vagabon and Courtney Barnett shared the stage together in LA. As the two artists are both fans of each other’s music, they decided to team up to collaborate on a single. Now, nearly a year since they recorded the song together, Vagabon and Courtney Barnett unveil the twang-heavy cover of “Reason To Believe.”

The song, originally written and recorded by Tim Hardin in 1965, has been covered by many artists. For their rendition, Vagabon and Barnett elected to give their take on Karen Dalton’s 1966 version of the song.

“I recently discovered the Karen Dalton version of ‘Reason To Believe’ for the first time,” Vagabon said in a statement. “I became obsessed and so a few days after discovering it, I was encouraged to record a cover of it in my garage. The decision to have Courtney sing it with me came after we performed it together live at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day 2020, a month before lockdown. It was fresh in our brains then so not long after the show, CB came over and we recorded her parts. Oliver Hill plays slide guitar on it.”

Echoing Vagabon’s statement, Barnett said: “I’m a huge fan of Vagabon and Karen Dalton so this was a dream. They both have a voice that absolutely knocks the wind out of me. I really admire Laetitia and am constantly inspired by her songwriting, production, and our sporadic FaceTime chats.”

Listen to “Reason To Believe” above.

As photos began circulating of MAGA insurgents attacking the Capitol building in an effort to stop the certification of the presidential election, people couldn’t help but crack jokes about the appearance of Jake Angeli, a.k.a. the “QAnon Shaman.” While dressed as some sort of furry, face-painted viking weirdo, Angeli’s outfit was quickly dubbed the “Chewbacca bikini,” and people were not thrilled with Chewie’s good name being associated with the violent insurrection committed in service to Donald Trump.

Fans of the beloved Star Wars character took to Twitter to slap down jokes about Angeli’s outfit while noting that not only was it not fair to Chewbacca, but it probably isn’t a good idea to inject humor onto a domestic terrorist, who participated in an assault on the nation’s capitol that left four people dead.

In the aftermath of the attack, the right wing media has been attempting to blame Antifa as the actual perpetrators of the attempted coup, which has not sat well with protesters like Angeli. The “QAnon Shaman” has pushed back on those claims and wants people to know that he has a known history of fighting against Black Lives Matter and Antifa. In a series of deleted tweets, Angeli rejected accusations by noted QAnon lawyer Lin Wood that Shaman was a plant. (Both men have had their accounts suspended following the assault in Washington.) Via Newsweek:

“Mr. Wood. I am not antifa or blm. I’m a Qanon & digital soldier,” he tweeted. “My name is Jake & I marched with the police & fought against BLM & ANTIFA in PHX. Look up OAN’s coverage of July 4ths rally in PHX capital. I was standing against the BLM mob out numbered but unphased.”

As Angeli makes it publicly known that he’s not a member of Antifa and was directly involved with the attack on the Capitol, the FBI is gathering the names of participants, so we’re sure they’ll appreciate the assist.

(Via Newsweek)

Welcome to 2021! We may be in the early days of the year, but we’re already getting some seriously exciting sneaker drops right out the gate. This is good news if you’re looking for somewhere to spend that remaining holiday money. But if 2021 hopes to compete with 2020, it’s going to have to step it up — last year was a truly great year for sneakers. And who knows, maybe, just maybe, we’ll actually be able to wear our new shoes out in public this year.

This week we’ve got fresh kicks from New Balance, Nike, and Adidas, and new fits from two of our favorite streetwear brands — Chinatown Market and Gelareh Mizrahi. So let’s dive into the best sneaker and apparel drops of the week in the first SNX DLX of 2021!

UNDEFEATED Nike Air Max 97 White (UCLA)

LA-based sneaker boutique UNDEFEATED snuck out a pretty dope Air Max 97 drop during the last week of 2020, which seemed like a puzzling move to us. Now it all makes sense, as the label wanted to reserve 2021 to showcase their best colorway of the silhouette yet. Featuring a UCLA inspired clean neutral white base with midwest gold and aero blue highlights, this Air Max 97 hints that 2021 might rival 2020 for great design.

The Undefeated Nike Air Max 97 is set to drop on January 8th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Adidas A-ZX 5000 Vieux Lyon

One of the most interesting colorways to drop at Adidas in awhile, the Adidas ZX 5000 Vieux Lyon utilizes Jacquard weaving and shimmer details atop a rubber midsole with lace jewels, and matching laces, resulting in an almost fine art rendition of the ZX 5000. We’re loving the carefully crafted details on this sneaker and it’s Torsion support will ensure it wears as luxuriously as it looks.

The Adidas ZX 5000 Vieux Lyon is set to drop on January 7th at Hanon via a raffle and January 8th stateside at Adidas for a retail price of $130.

Jordan 1 High Volt Gold

If you want to make it painfully obvious to everyone that you’re wearing a fly pair of AJ-1s, this new Volt Gold pair was made just for you. This high top Volt Gold features an exposed foam tongue and a reverse tag with tri-tonal color blocking that combines Nike’s iconic volt, sail, and university gold colorways.

It’s like wearing a highlighter on your feet!

The Air Jordan 1 High in Volt Gold is set to drop on January 8th for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Stray Rats x New Balance 574

We’re glad to see that New Balance is staying competitive with the other big two sneaker brands this year and that’s partly due to the fact that the brand keeps linking up with great collaborators who give shine to New Balance’s lesser-known silhouettes. This time around, it’s the Miami-based label Stray Rats who are resurrecting the 574 silhouette with two suede-adorned complementary colorways.

Featuring an upper of suede and nylon with Stray Rats branding on the heel and sock liner, this take on the 574 sees New Balance continuing their fruitful relationship with Stray Rats which began with the 990v3.

The Stray Rats x New Balance 574 pack is set to drop on January 8th for an unannounced retail price exclusively at Stray Rats.

Nike Air Force 1 07 Craft Mantra Orange

While it’s not a substantial release by any means, we appreciate Nike kicking off 2021 with a dope take on the Air Force 1. Featuring stitched overlays, suede detailing, and a fresh Mantra Orange colorway, this rendition of the AF-1 is a strong case for way why we hope 2021 shows a little more love to this classic silhouette than 2020 did.

The Nike Air Force 1 07 Craft in Mantra Orange is out now for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair at Nike.

Chinatown Market 2021 Collection

Chinatown Market, which is a brand we completely fell in love with over the course of 2020, started the year off with yet another playful drop, this time consisting of two graphic t-shirts, the brand’s best smiley face basketball yet, and a smiley face candle. Chinatown Market’s drops may oftentimes seem completely random, but they capture a youthful and carefree side of streetwear that feels a little lost as the aesthetic continues to be co-opted by luxury brands.

Shop the Chinatown Market 2021 collection at Chinatown Market.

Gelareh Mizrahi “Let’s All Be Friends” Set

Gelareh Mizrahi was one of the brands we strongly suggested you keep an eye on last year, and we’re going to go ahead and parrot that as we head into 2021. Set to launch Friday, the Miami based label will be dropping a new sweatsuit set dubbed “Let’s All Be Friends.” We’re not sure what else the brand has in store for the Friday launch, but it’s bound to be full of color and bursting with that bubblegum bodega aesthetic that we’ve quickly fallen in love with.

The Let’s All Be Friends set is scheduled to drop on Friday at 12 pm EST at Galareh Mizrahi.

Lil Durk’s latest single from his new album The Voice, “Still Trappin’,” helps keep Durk’s artist King Von‘s voice in the conversation as the two Chicago rappers trade verses full of threats and boasts. In the video, which Durk released today, Durk and his OTF crew invite some dancers to the studio, showering them with currency. Although the late Von couldn’t be in the video, Durk pays homage to him with a massive portrait of Von airbrushed onto the back of Durk’s custom jacket.

The Voice arrived on Christmas Eve after the rapper spent several months teasing the project and pushing it back in the wake of Von’s death in Atlanta. In the meantime, he kept the buzz going through a series of standout guest appearances with the likes of Bia on her “Same Hands” single and Queen Naija in the flirtatious “Lie To Me.” When Durk did promote The Voice, it was with singles “Backdoor” and “Stay Down,” for which he also released a fan-focused lyric video yesterday.

2020 was a breakout year for Von. Despite releasing music commercially since the Chicago drill outbreak of 2012, last year saw his biggest increase in popularity thanks to the release of his album, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, and a flurry of high-profile feature verses, including one on Drake’s comeback single “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Watch the “Still Trappin’” video above.

Filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer shared a photo of Ariel Pink and John Maus together in Washington, D.C. yesterday, which of course was the site of the Capitol Building riot. This prompted some to start asking questions about what Pink and Maus were doing in Washington, with one Twitter user citing the photo as proof that Pink was part of the crowd that stormed the Capitol Building.

Pink denied that to be true, responding, “proof that i stormed congress. yeah i dont see it. are u suggesting the congress building has a bed and breakfast we somehow got access to.” He added in another tweet, “i dont and never have advocated for violent confrontation or rioting. must be my boomer upbringing.”

Pink was then criticized for even being there, as the person wrote, “first of all a PANDEMIC is still occurring and you are putting others at risk by being at such a massive gathering in which protestors are not social distancing nor wearing masks. this puts vulnerable populations at risk and defeats the entire purpose of the stay at home orders.” Pink replied, “all the people at these events deserve whats coming to them. they took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?”

Elsewhere, the person insisted, “there’s photo and video documentation that you were at the event. whether you entered the building or not does not imply that u were not involved in the event. the instagram post referring to ur song expressed that u enjoyed today’s event and had fun along friends.” He responded, “i was in dc to peacefully show my support for the president. i attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. case closed.”

It is not clear what role Maus, who was filmed observing crowds outside the Capitol, had in the situation.