Month: February 2021

Before Wednesday, it had been a few weeks since we’d heard from Marjorie Taylor Greene, the new, QAnon-obsessed congresswoman who kicked off her tenure by alienating everyone who wasn’t a die-hard Trumpist. But back into the spotlight she roared. First she forcibly adjourned a vote on the AOC-co-shepherded Equal Rights Act, partly by going on an anti-trans tirade. Then she got owned by AOC herself. A couple hours later it was made public that one of Greene’s close associates admitted to being part of the failed MAGA coup of January 6.

But that wasn’t all: She stepped up a fight with a fellow representative — and office neighbor — in the most bigoted way possible. That colleague is Illinois representative Marie Newman. She has a trans daughter. And when Greene called the pro-LGBTQ+ bill “an attack on God’s creation,” Newman decided to put up a pro-trans flag in her office, which is across the way from hers.

Greene then decided to return in kind — or with the addition of some prejudice. She posted a video of her putting up a sign outsider her office, bearing the words, “There are two genders: Male & Female,” followed by “Trust the science!” in scare quotes.

That Greene would proudly troll a colleague who has a trans child is probably not surprising: Before she was elected she’d written violent things about certain congresspeople. That didn’t mean people weren’t still disgusted with her behavior:

Some questioned her understanding of science.

Some pointed out that she may have too much time on her hands — probably because she was kicked off various committees for her past behavior.

It also seemed like a real HR issue.

One person fixed the sign for her.

Maybe she was trying to cover up her close connection to the storming of the building in which she works.

Although some pointed that she’d probably be in a very different spot in her life had she not been elected to Congress.

And some had enjoyed that respite from hearing from or about her.

(Via The Hill)

R&B duo They. was one of the many artists that appeared on Uproxx‘s Most Anticipated Albums Of Fall 2020 thanks to their second album The Amanda Tape. The project eventually arrived at the end of October and was heralded all over the R&B world, coming in at No. 17 on Uproxx’s Best R&B Albums of 2020 list. Now, the duo looks to extend the life of the project with a brand new remix of “Count Me In” with Kiana Lede.

The new version arrives with a sultry video, as well as an equally impassioned verse from the R&B songstress. They.’s Drew Love leads the way with a verse centered on committing to love, so long as one’s potential partner is all for it. Then Kiana steps forth to lay down the law and reveal her requirements for a relationship. “Only thing that I can trust is a ‘f*ck me’ kinda love,” she sings. “You gon’ f*ck up me standin’ up / So you can’t let me down.”

Along with They., Kiana Lede offered another 2020 highlight in the R&B world. Her moment came much earlier in the year with the April release of her debut album, Kiki. This project also appeared on Uproxx‘s Best R&B Albums of 2020 list at No. 12.

You can watch the “Count Me In” remix video above.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were expected to be the NBA’s worst team this season after they traded away, well, just about everyone this offseason. However, the young Thunder will not go quietly, thanks in large part to the efforts of third-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been sensational this season.

On Wednesday night, Gilgeous-Alexander set a new career-high against the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 42 points (along with eight rebounds and four assists) in what ended up being a 112-109 win in OKC. He had 38 of those points through the first three quarters, exploding in the third in particular to push the Thunder to the lead.

Late in the fourth quarter, though, it was Luguentz Dort who played the hero, as he finished the night with 16 points, including some key late three-pointers, none moreso than the game-winner from the corner on a beautiful ATO play drawn up by Mark Daigneault.

Al Horford does a great job to push his man up the floor on the denial and then seal him on the lob to the elbow, turning the corner to force help from the weakside and then kicks it to Dort who, while best known for his defensive prowess, was able to drill the three. The win moves OKC into 12th in the West at 13-19, just ahead of the Kings, and while that may not seem wildly impressive, for a team that seemingly moved every veteran from last year’s playoff team and was clearly shifting to a rebuild, the performance on the floor this season, led by SGA but buoyed by some excellent effort each night on both ends from a young team, has been terrific.

After teasing the album for more than two years, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin finally delivered Savage Mode II last October. The project was met with rave reviews and later became the second No. 1 album of their careers. Months later, the two return with a new video for the track “Glock In My Lap.”

The pair begin the video in the midst of thick smoke and beaming red lights. The song’s co-producer, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., eventually joins them and moments later they are approached by a chainsaw-wielding killer, who ends up being no match for the trio. C.N.O.T.E. and Metro pull out their guns to unleash a storm of bullets on their opponent, taking them down with little resistance.

The video is of a piece with previous Savage Mode II videos, which also have a cinematic flourish. “My Dawg” finds the pair taking the roles of menacing businessmen while “Runnin” depicts a rags-to-riches story as they returned to their hometown to show off the Grammy that 21 earned for his 2019 single “A Lot.” The duo also paid homage to the late King Von during a performance of “Runnin’” and “Mr. Right Now” on The Tonight Show, where 21 said, “The world lost a legend.”

Elsewhwere, 21 recently joined YBN Nahmir to throw an outdoor party in their video for “Opp Stoppa.”

Watch the “Glock In My Lap” video above.

Lately Ted Cruz has been a lot like Sideshow Bob relentlessly stepping on rakes. (Or moreso than usual.) His old miserliness towards other states requesting emergency aid got dug up as his own state fell victim to a freak winter storm. He got busted trying to flee on a family vacation. Once he promptly returned home, he got mocked some more, including for trying to blame the catastrophe on the New Green Deal — a thing that hasn’t even been voted on, let alone enacted. We now know one reason he tried to do that: He chatted with a notorious climate change denier.

As per Vice, both Cruz and Texas Governor Greg Abbott held pow-wow sessions with one Joe Bastardi, a meteorologist who’s made a pretty penny saying climate change is “naturally occurring.” He also believes progressive “weaponize” extreme weather tragedies caused by climate change to push their evil socialist agenda. Moreover, he’s a policy advisor to the Heartland Institute, whose warm and fuzzy name obscures their longtime aggression towards climate change consensus, and who have reportedly received tens of millions of dollars from Exxon and foundations linked to the right-funding Koch brothers.

And which matchmaker hooked Cruz and Abbott up with this skeptic? Why, Sean Hannity, of course. Bastardi is a frequent guest on Hannity’s show, though it was on The Glenn Beck Program that he admitted he’d educated Cruz and Abbott, both of whom were dragged for trying to pin the blame on wind turbines. The truth was that the majority of blackouts were due to gas wells and pipes being frozen and blocked by cold weather. But it’s so like Ted Cruz to ask the wrong person about science.

(Via Vice)

Bruce Springsteen received some good news on Wednesday. The singer had DWI charges stemming from a November 2020 incident dropped due to a lack of evidence. According to Asbury Park Press, Springsteen told a judge that he consumed two shots of tequila after he pulled over his motorcycle to take pictures with fans at Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. He was stopped a short time later by a park ranger and, while he initially refused to take a breathalyzer test, he eventually took one at a ranger station where he registered a blood alcohol content level of .02 — well below the legal limit of .08.

As a result, U.S. Attorney Adam Baker asked a judge to drop the charges of DWI and reckless driving. Hours after the ruling, Springsteen’s Jeep Super Bowl ad was reinstated. The company pulled the ad after TMZ broke the news, saying in a statement that they would wait “until the actual facts can be established” before re-airing it. Now that the charges have been dropped, a representative for the company returned with an update to Variety, saying “Now that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film.”

While the DWI charges were dropped, Springsteen was left to pay a $540 fine for consuming alcohol in a federal park.

There was a lot of anxiety when Disney absorbed Fox, inheriting a wide swath of the entertainment industry and making a corporation already too big somehow even bigger. Among the less important concerns was this: Would they neuter Deadpool, the giddily blue comic book property? Or perhaps worse: Would Deadpool be their only R-rated superhero? So here’s some good news and (possible) bad news: Deadpool will stay adult-friendly. But it looks like, for now at least, their reboot of Blade will not.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MCU honcho Kevin Feige meant to allay some fans’ fears only to inflame that of others. All MCU movies have been a family friendly-ish PG-13, but he says they’ve “never been held back” by the rating. “If we ever are, then certainly there could be a discussion to be had …. but that just hasn’t been the case yet.”

Thing is, that suggests they haven’t considered an R-rating for their reboot of Blade, which is in the works and which finds two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali stepping into shoes previously occupied by Wesley Snipes. All three of those films, released from the late ‘90s through mid-aughts, were gleefully R-rated. Snipes’ vampire-who-hunts-vampires slashed and diced his way through the undead, none more beautifully than in Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II. But Ali may have to keep the actual blood-letting to a minimum.

Mind you, Feige could have misspoke. He could see the backlash that followed and change his mind. Or maybe Deadpool really will be the exception that proves the PG-13 rule. Nothing’s settled! But once people put two and two together, people on social media were not happy.

Some thought Mahershala Ali deserves better.

One roped in another classic Wesley Snipes buttkicker.

Some were (jokingly) cool with it.

And many were peeved that there’s only one hyperviolent cusser in the MCU.

Meanwhile, Snipes spoke with Uproxx recently about Coming 2 America, and he took the time to say that while he isn’t involved in Marvel’s Blade reboot, he supports them. He also adds that he was only a white belt when he made Blade. “It’s wonderful what we did, but, brother, we’re so much better than we were then,” he told us. He also says he has another movie in the works that he describes as his “Blade-killer.” So watch that space!

(Via THR)

Tekashi 69 has come after a number of artists and celebrities throughout his career. It was just last week that he was involved in an altercation with Meek Mill at a Miami parking lot. Now, Tekashi has shifted his attention to a new target: Cardi B. In a post to his Instagram Story, the rapper asked his followers, “If I took women to hotels and drugged them and then robbed them would I be canceled?” The question was a reference to a March 2019 Instagram Live session that Cardi held in which she said she drugged and robbed clients back when she was a stripper.

Cardi joins a long list of people Takashi has attacked, in one form or another. Last year, a video of him allegedly taunting boxer Gervonta Davis made its way to social media, though at least it didn’t escalated into an actual fight. He also mocked King Von’s death just days after the rapper passed away from a gunshot wound in Atlanta. Tekashi left a laughing emoji under an Instagram post that detailed how Lil Durk, a close friend of Von, learned about his death, an action that left hip-hop fans extremely furious at him.

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

When the NBA All-Star reserves were announce on Tuesday night, a few notable names were surprisingly left off of the rosters. Among those in the West was Suns star Devin Booker, who LeBron James called the most “disrespected player” in the NBA currently.

Booker, who is averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game on strong efficiency for the surging Suns, who are currently fourth in the West, was a first-time All-Star a year ago but just missed the cut this year. However, with Anthony Davis named to the team and sitting out with a right calf strain, the expectation was one West spot would still be up for grabs. On Wednesday, confirmation came from the league on that front and Booker was named the injury replacement for Davis by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

The other top competition for the spot, at least in the eyes of most, was Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz, who has long been considered one of the NBA’s best players to have never made an All-Star roster, largely due to the crunch of star guards in the West where he’s spent his whole career. Conley doesn’t have the raw stats to match Booker, but his impact on the NBA’s best team has been immense and there was a push for him to get the honor for the first time in his career.

Still, it’s hard to argue with Booker, who has been especially great of late during Phoenix’s own winning streak, and he’ll join teammate Chris Paul in the backcourt for the West reserves. That should just about finalize the rosters, barring something happening in the next week-plus of games or someone pulling out for other, non-injury related reasons.

While the craft lager scene has exploded over the past few years, it still doesn’t rival the sales of the industry-dominating IPA. Whether it’s a dank West Coast, juicy New England-Style, or even a rich Milkshake IPA, you won’t find a craft brewery in the country without at least a handful of these hop-centric brews on tap.

While we definitely like IPAs around these parts, we know they can feel played out, overly hoppy, and redundant. Still, there are serious gems out there — gems which we all need a little help finding, because of the sheer number of these brews produced each year. In the past, we’ve shared our own IPA faves and called on bartenders for their picks, this time we grabbed the BeerAdvocate Top 10, drank them all, and reordered them according to flavor.

Check our tasting notes below and don’t you dare try to argue with us!

10) Ballast Point Sculpin

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The fact that this classic West Coast IPA consistently makes top ten lists is amazing because it’s available at pretty much every grocery store in America. Many others on this list aren’t nearly as easy to find. This subtly bitter, hop bomb gets its flavor from being hopped five different times during the brewing process.

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to nose this IPA and you’ll be met with strong pine and citrus aromas. The first sip is full of notes of fresh mango, citrus zest, orange peels, and guava. It all finishes with a nice, bitter bite of hops at the very end.

Bottom Line:

If you only try one beer on this list, make it Ballast Point Sculpin. It’s so damn easy to get. Grab a sixer the next time you’re shopping for groceries and see what the fuss is about.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 4

9) The Lone Pint Yellow Rose

ABV: 6.8%

Average Price: $11.99 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

The Lone Pint’s most renowned brew, Yellow Rose, is technically a SMaSH (Single malt and single hop IPA). It’s brewed with whole-cone Mosiac hops and then dry-hopped with even more Mosaic hops. It gets its name from the famous Yellow Rose of Texas.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find a massive spicy, pine needle aroma with a subtle hint of fresh fruit. The first sip is full of sweet berries, juicy pineapple, tart grapefruit, and more resinous pine. The last sip is refreshing, mellow, and full of more tropical fruit flavors.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of Mosaic dry-hopped IPAs, this is the beer for you. It’s the only hop included and it’s definitely enough.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 3

8) Alpine Nelson

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $13.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This year-round 7% IPA from Alpine Beer Company in Alpine, California gets its name from the Nelson Sauvin hops that give it its flavor. These natives of New Zealand are added during the brewing process and dry-hopped to give it a memorable mix of floral and tropical fruit flavors.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find strong tropical fruit and piney hop aromas. The first sip is bursting with more resinous pine, malts, and notes of guava, grapefruit, and mango. It all ends in a final flourish of fresh, crisp hop flavor.

Bottom Line:

This is the highest-rated IPA for a reason. It’s crisp, light, smooth, and perfectly suited for any day of the year.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 1

7) La Cumbre Project Dank

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $13.99 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Project Dank is one of the top ten IPAs on the list, but it’s a strange selection because it’s an every-changing beer recipe from La Cumbre’s “hop laboratory.” That is to say that every time they release a new “Project Dank” using different hops and hopping techniques it’s completely different than those that came before it. It must be great every time or it wouldn’t hold such an esteemed position on BeerAdvocate’s list.

Tasting Notes:

The Project Dank we tested was filled with a garden of flowers and a basket of oranges on the nose. The first sip was honey, guava, grapefruit, and candied orange peels mixed with flowers and pine needles. The finish is slightly bitter with a large hop presence.

Bottom Line:

If you buy a few cans of Project Dank and enjoy it, save one to compare to the next batch. That is unless you can’t stop yourself from drinking it.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 5

6) Creature Comforts Tropicália

ABV: 6.6%

Average Price: $9.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

One of the easier beers on this list to find at your local grocery store, Tropicália is a well-balanced, fresh, juicy, hazy, and downright crushable summer (and any other time of the year) staple.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is filled with the scents of fresh-picked citrus fruits, sweet peaches, and just a hint of spicy hops. On the palate, you’ll find flavors of fresh tangerines, sweet passion fruit, and subtle pine that all end in a nice lingering but pleasing bitter undertone.

Bottom Line:

In a world of bitter and hoppy IPAs, this might be one of the most well-rounded. It’s also the most likely to appeal to IPA haters.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 9

5) Societe The Pupil

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $12.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

If you see that an IPA is made in San Diego, there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to be a subtly bitter, hoppy treat. The city is well-known for its prowess in the IPA game and Societe The Pupil with its Nelson Sauvin, Centennial, and Citra hops is no different.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll be greeted with hints of fresh-cut grass, resinous hops, and fresh-squeezed oranges. The first sip is loaded with tart grapefruit, sweet passion fruit, juicy guava, and a nice subtle malt backbone to round it all out in the end.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the most popular beers in Southern California and only recently became available in cans. If you see it in a store, buy it. You’ll be happy you did.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 7

4) Surly Axe Man

ABV: 7.2%

Average Price: $18 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Surly refers to its beloved Axe Man as a “double dry-hopped journey to IPA Valhalla” and we couldn’t agree more. This 7.2% flavor bomb is brewed with Mosiac and Citra hops as well as Golden Promise Malts. The result is an aromatic, crisp, hop-centric brew.

Tasting Notes:

Take a moment to breathe this IPA in and you’ll be greeted with aromas of lime zest, orange peel, and fresh fruit. The first sip is refreshing and full of tropical fruit and crisp citrus flavors. It’s tied together with a nice malt backbone and ends with a final kick of subtly bitter, piney hops.

Bottom Line:

This is a bold, hoppy beer. To truly get the most out of it, you should dress up like a Viking and drink it out of the horn of some type of majestic creature. Or a pint glass, if you prefer.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 2

3) Russian River Blind Pig

ABV: 6.25%

Average Price: $5.69 for a bottle

The Beer:

When it comes to brewing legends, it’s hard to top the brewing prowess of Russian River. Since it opened in 1997, the Sonoma County, California brewing has consistently made some of the most sought-after beers in the country, this includes its hazy, citrus-filled Blind Pig IPA.

Tasting Notes:

This well-balanced brew starts with a nice bouquet of floral scents followed by citrus and subtle pine. The first sip yields notes of pine resin, grapefruit, lime zest, tropical fruits, and a dry, subtly bitter, pleasing finish.

Bottom Line:

While many drinkers go crazy over Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, they’re completely missing out on a fresh, juicy, special beer if they forget about Blind Pig.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 8

2) Maine Beer Lunch

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $7.99 for a 16-ounce bottle

The Beer:

We love that many craft breweries hire artists to draw, paint, and sketch elaborate, eye-catching designs for bottles and cans. But we can also appreciate that the beer inside Maine Beer Company’s containers is so good that they merely need a simple, white label detailing what’s inside. And what’s in this bottle is a 7% IPA bursting with citrus fruit and pine tree goodness.

Tasting Notes:

Before you sip, take a moment to breathe in the aromas of fresh pine, crisp grapefruit, and just a hint of sweetness. On the palate, you’ll find massive lemon zest, ripe orange, resinous pine, sweet papaya, and a gentle hint of caramel sweetness at the very end.

Bottom Line:

If I was going to drink beer for lunch, I would hope it would be a bottle or two of this epic, citrus-filled hop beast.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 6

1) Lawson’s Finest Triple Play

ABV: 11.1%

Average Price: $16.49 for a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Regardless of its name, this 11.1% monster isn’t playing around all. However, the “Triple Play” name doesn’t actually refer to baseball at all. It’s a reference to the three hop varieties in its recipe (Citra, Simcoe, and Amarilla).

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, this beer is a hop monster. The aromas are all pine, citrus, and floral. The first sip is splashingly juicy and filled with dank hop flavors along with pine, grapefruit, orange, and subtle honey at the finish.

Bottom Line:

Lawson’s Finest is easy to find in Vermont, but not so easy in other places. If you can get your hands on this beer, drink it fresh. That’s the way they prefer it.

BeerAdvocate Rank: 10