Month: February 2021

The White House is America’s house and it feels a lot more like home these days after the arrival of Champ and Major, President Biden’s German Shepherds. There’s something about the presence of pets at the White House that gives it a sense of warmth. It also makes the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seem a lot more human.

Dogs have a special way of connecting us to nature and reminding us what’s really important in life, a nice walk, a cuddle, and a rub on the belly.

The White House missed that sense of normalcy in the Trump era. According to an article published by The Atlantic, Trump thinks owning a pet is “low class,” so the White House was dogless for four years.

Champ has been with the Biden family for more than a decade after being purchased from a breeder. Major joined the Biden clan in 2018 after they fostered him from the Delaware Humane Association.

via Delaware Humane Association

Major is the second rescue dog to live in the White House. President Biden says a reason why they adopted him was to have a younger dog around the aging Champ to keep him spry. Lyndon Johnson’s dog Yuki was a mixed-breed pup abandoned by his owner. Johnson found the dog on the side of a Texas road and gave him a forever home.

President Biden celebrated the two new First Pooches by posing with them for a photoshoot. In the photos posted to Instagram and Flickr Monday, Champ and Major sit regally in the Oval Office while the president smiles at his new desk.

The White House Flickr account recently shared a shot of Champ watching over the proceedings as Biden met with senior advisers on Feb. 9.

via The White House / Flickr

The photos of the dogs in the Oval Office may be a bit of shade directed at Newsmax. Last Friday, the conservative news outlet aired a segment where host Greg Kelly took aim at Biden’s dog Champ, making fun of his appearance.

The segment was an embarrassing example of the lengths partisan media will go to criticize the other side. It was also an indication of how well Biden is doing as president. If all you can do is make fun of his dog, he must be doing pretty well.

“Did you see the dog?” Kelly asked, referring to Champ. “Doesn’t he look a little, uh, a little rough? I love dogs, but this dog needs a bath and a comb and all kinds of love and care. I’ve never seen a dog in the White House like this.”

Kelly then compared Champ to Buddy, former President Clinton’s Labrador retriever, and Millie, former President George H.W. Bush’s English springer spaniel.

“I remember Buddy. I remember Millie. I remember lots of dogs but not a dog who seems — I don’t know. I don’t know how much love and care he is getting,” Kelly said.

Champ and Major will be sharing the spotlight with another pet in the coming weeks. Last November, after winning the election, the Bidens announced they would be adding a cat to the first family.

There’s no word yet on how the folks at Newsmax plan to take down the First Feline.

For obvious reasons, today is a great day for Bobby Shmurda: After being behind bars for six years, the rapper was released from prison this morning. He actually has even more than that to celebrate right now: Today, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) has given him four new certifications, including a pair of Platinum ones.

His breakout single “Hot N****” (sometimes also known as “Hot Boy”) is now certified 5-times Platinum, indicating sales of at least 5 million units. It was previously certified Gold and then Platinum in 2014. His only other officially released single as a lead artist, “Bobby B*tch,” also earned itself a Platinum certification today. Meanwhile, Rowdy Rebel’s “Computers,” on which Shmurda features, earned a Gold certification today, as did Shmurda’s EP Shmurda She Wrote.

So far, Shmurda has had a big day since his release. Quavo made good on his word to pick Shmurda up from prison and did so with a private jet, sharing a video of them landing on Instagram. He also had a video call with his mother and had 50 pounds of oxtail cooked by her, per his request. After all this celebration, the rapper’s plan is apparently to focus his efforts on his music, as his mother has said.

Ted Cruz simply cannot move away from showing off perpetually bad looks after jetting away for an ill-advised Cancun vacation while millions of Texans froze during a catastrophic, mega-power outage. The last we heard from Cruz (after his morphing excuses, none of which could justify leaving even his dog, Snowflake, in the cold), he was hopping mad. He podcasted his anger about those “a**holes” who leaked his wife’s texts about the Mexico getaway, and so, what’s Ted Cruz doing while back at work?

He’s been sitting in the Senate chamber and staring at his phone. Cruz did so while apparently not-listening to former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund during his opening testimony about the MAGA insurrection on the U.S. Capitol that Cruz helped (along with Josh Hawley and Donald Trump) to incite. Here’s Sund talking about how intelligence didn’t warn of the magnitude of the violence that transpired in the January 6 riot, which left at least five people dead, including Officer Brian Sicknick (and two other officers committed suicide after the attack). And here is Ted Cruz, playing on his phone.

Via CNN, Sund also called the riot “the worst attack on law enforcement” that he saw during his 30-year career. He described the MAGA insurrectionists as “criminals” who “came prepared for war” and attacked with “fists, pipes, sticks, bats, metal barricades, and flag poles.” Sund added, “I’m sickened by what I witnessed that day.” As for Cruz, he did not appear to be sickened while listening to the testimony. People definitely noticed his behavior and let him have it. Yes, there were Cancun travel jokes, but people were also disgusted at Cruz not seeming to care much at all (except maybe an Expedia deal).

Also, he’s being roasted as the “Last Responder” after his water-dropoff photo op over the weekend. His reputation has never been great, but it’s really in the can these days.

Cardi B and Mariah Carey may soon have some new music featuring both on the way, according to their recent conversation in Interview Magazine. In the midst of a discussion about the differences between being a civilian and a celebrity, prejudice in the music industry, and the sexual awakening in pop culture since Carey’s heyday, the two made plans to collaborate on a song together — and on a bra line, after Cardi admits that she couldn’t find one that gave her the right mix of coverage and exposure.

After Carey asks Cardi “Do you have a favorite bra?” Cardi replies, “I don’t know because I’m not really a bra person. These titties be hanging. Even when I wear a certain bra, I have really big nipples, so I need a bra that shows my cleavage but could really tuck my nipples in. There ain’t none yet.” That prompts Mariah to suggest, “We need to do a bra line. We need that specialty line.”

The two then briefly discuss the music industry’s inherent prejudice against Black women, which is something Carey believes she and Cardi can fix. “We’re going to do that,” she vows. “We’re going to do our bra line, and one of these days, can we do a song together?” Cardi agrees, “I would love that. I would love to do a record that touches souls. You had me heartbroken when I was 11 years old and I didn’t even have a boyfriend.”

During the interview, Cardi also acknowledges her past job as a stripper, saying it made her feel “on top of the world.”

Read the full interview here.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Travis Barker has been very busy in the past year. After coming off of his Blink-182 tour with Lil Wayne, Barker began collaborating with rappers like Rick Ross and Trippie Redd. Now, he’s pivoting to focus on a different endeavor: Barker is officially breaking into the CBD market.

Barker Wellness, the name of the musician’s brand, differs from other CBD companies as it focuses on lesser-known cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, and CBC. The three main areas Barker wants to target with his products are fighting insomnia, aiding recovery, and general “maintenance.”

Speaking about Barker Wellness in an interview with Rolling Stone, Barker explained the reason why he first started using CBD products:

“As a symptom of being in the music space and just touring, I would always do a CBD bath or an epsom salt bath or take a ton of CBD after shows and I started to notice that recovery was an issue, especially touring for months [and] doing five to six shows a week. And the process became like, ‘How do I feel with recovery?’ I tried everything from cryotherapy to massage therapy, but CBD was like the best kind of result that I got. […] I used to have trouble with sleep and I would take a ton of melatonin, valerian tea, Tylenol PM, or Nyquil. And before that it was actually Ambien. I was addicted to that at one point.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Barker laid out his vision for his new products. “In a perfect world for me, I want the product to be everywhere, from places like Erewhon to Sephora to CVS,” he said. “This isn’t a Band-Aid, one-time project,” he adds. “I really want this to help people.”

Check out Barker Wellness’ products here.

While many view Black History Month as a time to celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans, JID wants to call a little attention to America’s history of institutional abuse of its Black citizens. His new single, “Skegee,” is named for the city of Tuskegee, Alabama, a city central to both Black achievement and where the US conducted the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study from 1932-1972.

In the first verse, JID addresses the conflicting choices with which many Black Americans are faced: “You peep all the karma that come with makin’ the cream,” he rhymes, posing the dichotomy before pulling back the curtain to reveal the game behind the game. “Get your eyes cleaned for something you have never not, not seen.” An interview with former mayor of Tuskegee, Ronald D. Williams, also reveals insight into the city’s history.

In the second verse, he shows how these forced choices are the results of policy, not just tough situations that cropped up out of nowhere. Although JID says he was recruited to Tuskegee University, a prestigious historically Black institution, the name only calls to mind the 40-year experiment in which Black citizens of Tuskegee were involuntarily studied for the effects of untreated syphilis and denied treatment (or even information about the existence of treatment once it had been developed). While JID’s recollection isn’t entirely accurate (there’s no evidence that the unethical study deliberately infected its subjects), his song may very well be many fans’ first-ever introduction to the existence of such a study — and why it remains important to this day.

With so many Americans currently refusing COVID-19 vaccination, it’s important to understand why some of them might mistrust the government, knowing this history, as well as acknowledging how much work is left to be done to repair that broken trust if true progress is to be made.

Meanwhile, JID fans continue to eagerly anticipate his follow-up to 2018’s breakout DiCaprio 2. In the meantime, he’s had several standout moments on compilation albums such as Revenge Of The Dreamers III, the Judas And The Black Messiah soundtrack, and as part of Spillage Village’s fourth studio album and major-label debut, Spilligion.

Watch JID’s “Skeegee” video above.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new albums from The Hold Steady, Another Michael, and Wild Pink, as well as new tracks from Manchester Orchestra, Matt Berninger, and more. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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The Hold Steady – Open Door Policy

The Hold Steady have been more or less prolific since their 2004 debut, and Open Door Policy is their second album in two years — as well of one of their best in recent memory. The album marks what feels like a new beginning for the veteran rockers, with Steven Hyden calling it “their most mature record and one of their darkest, but it also evinces the genuine joy that’s enabled them to endure.”

Another Michael – New Music & Big Pop

After their debut album was delayed significantly by the pandemic, the three members of Another Michael had time to re-contextualize the record and discover a whole new appreciation for it. Despite the delay, New Music And Big Pop is still an overwhelming achievement, imbued with what I called in a recent feature, “a sense of liberation and raw talent that feels rare in 2021, a breath of fresh air that creates a unique lane and a promising future for a new band like Another Michael.”

Wild Pink – A Billion Little Lights

One of indie’s best and most underrated bands is back with another new album. Spanning just ten tracks, A Billion Little Lights is full of of gorgeous Americana flourishes and synth-rock soundscapes. In a recent feature for Uproxx, Steven Hyden called the album John Ross’s “most ambitious and overall best work, infused with deep lyrical craft and impeccable melodies that set Wild Pink apart from the indie-dude pack.”

Katy Kirby – Cool Dry Place

Katy Kirby is a force to be reckoned with on her debut album Cool Dry Place, which showcases the Nashville-based songwriter’s full range of skill. Across the album, you can hear the influence of Kirby’s musical upbringing as a singer in church, channeled through a unique indie rock lens.

Cassandra Jenkins – An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

Cassandra Jenkins’ sophomore album is a lean affair, spanning just seven tracks. But the album’s shorter tracklist allows Jenkins to keep the songwriting focused and polished, often incorporating aspects of character study to examine grief, helplessness, and fortitude in the wake of tragedy.

Manchester Orchestra – “Bed Head”

Almost four years removed from 2017’s A Black Mile To The Surface, Manchester Orchestra are finally back for more. Their sixth studio album, The Million Masks Of God, is prefaced by “Bed Head,” an upbeat rocker that Andy Hull described in a statement as “two old friends existing in two separate realities. It’s a conversation about the lives they lived, the consequences of life’s decisions, and finding purpose in trying to be better.”

Serpentwithfeet – “Same Size Shoe”

After gaining traction with his 2018 debut, Soil, Los Angeles songwriter Serpentwithfeet is gearing up for his sophomore LP Deacon. “Same Size Shoe” is the latest preview of the album, a swooning single that “explores both the tender and passionate sides to love,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx. “Over a fluttering beat, Serpentwithfeet gently delivers heartfelt lyrics about finding passion with someone who fits into his life in more ways than one.”

Matt Berninger – “Let It Be”

Matt Berninger’s excellent solo debut Serpentine Prison was released late last year, but there were a few tracks that were left on the cutting room floor during Berninger’s early sessions with producer Booker T. Jones. Now, some of those tracks are set to see the light of day on a deluxe version of the album due out next month, starting with “Let It Be.” The track is what Caitlin White calls for Uproxx “a harmonica-laden affair that is decidedly not a Beatles cover.”

Ian Sweet – “Sing Till I Cry”

Ian Sweet’s forthcoming album, Show Me How You Disappear, was written in the wake of time spent at an intensive outpatient psychiatric care program. “Sing Till I Cry” is a reflection on the aftermath of trauma and an exploration of finding meaning in the little things, culminating in what Carolyn Droke calls for Uproxx a “euphoric and resonating” track.

Man On Man – “1983”

With their new collaborative project Man On Man, Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen) refuse to be limited by the classification of genre or even time period. “1983” incorporates modern indie rock fuzz to it, with an electronic drum track reminiscent of the new wave era. In addition to releasing new music, Man On Man have launched Chosen Family, a project to connect the LGBTQIA+ community in meaningful ways, starting with a worldwide pen-pal project and newsletter.

stillhungry – “Best Costume Wins/”Paper Lanterns”

Stillhungry originally began as an exercise in songwriting, but has since evolved into a full-fledged project. The double a-side single, comprised of “Best Costume Wins” and “Paper Lanterns,” is the first glimpses at the group’s unique combination of the best of alt-country and infectious indie pop that is sure to make waves around their Tri-State area homeland.

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

Stability has never been an ally during Zach LaVine’s seven-year NBA journey. Six head coaches. Six losing seasons. A torn ACL in which a relocation from Minnesota to Chicago interjected during rehab. A dearth of surrounding talent. Unimaginative offensive schemes.

Cliche as it is, the lone constants of his career are unceasing improvement and skill development. In year seven, that improvement is finally being accompanied by competent coaching and complementary talent, synthesizing for an All-Star-caliber campaign.

Through 30 games, the 25-year-old is averaging 28.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists (3.8 turnovers) and 1.1 steals on 64.8 percent true shooting (.518/.434/.864 split). He’s played his way into the NBA’s elite offensive club this season, and the nuances of his numbers enhance their exceptional nature.

The term “three-level scorer” can be irresponsibly attributed, but LaVine’s production has legitimately warranted the label thus far. He’s at 43.4 percent beyond the arc, 46.6 percent from mid-range and 66.5 percent inside the restricted area. Excellence in the first and third category are really what’s powering his blistering scoring, and propelled him to a nearly unguardable stratum.

Knocking down 37.9 percent of his 1,554 triples over the prior five seasons, including 35.9 percent of his 818 pull-up threes, the long ball has never been detrimental to or a weakpoint of his game. Rather, he’s elevated its utility from merely good and beneficial to absolutely lethal, shooting 42.1 percent on 5.1 pull-up threes per game, both of which are career-highs. Just six players launch more each night, and he’s tied for second in efficiency among the 43 guys with 60-plus attempts.

With coils for legs, he brandishes a springy step-back jumper. Quietly, he owns one of the more deceptive up-fakes in the NBA, disguising it as a pass or shot, whatever baits opponents into compromising their positioning. His excellence as a slasher presents a troublesome dichotomy for defenders to either blitz and discourage the three or guard against the drive. Knowing this, he primes triples with a fear-invoking jab downhill, tilting guys onto their heels before rising for a three.

Airspace isn’t a requirement for him, though. He’s one of the league’s premier tough shot-makers, burying buckets in the face of pressure, and also has expanded his range well behind the three-point line. Squarely in the prime of his career, these faculties are merging to accelerate his rise from very good outside threat to downright bonkers shooter.

While making the jump from high-30s to low-40s 3-point bomber is pivotal, it’s likely overshadowed his growth as an interior scorer. After converting 48.4 percent of his two-pointers during his first six years, he’s hitting a career-high 57.6 percent, particularly excelling as a dribble-drive scorer. Among 95 players averaging at least three field goal attempts per game on drives, LaVine ranks seventh in field goal percentage (58.1). Over the prior four seasons, he shot 46.6 percent on drives.

Similarly, he’s finishing 66.6 percent of his looks at the rim, a significant uptick from the past four years, when he never shot better than 61.7 percent inside the restricted area (59.8 percent, total, over that span). According to DunksAndThrees.com, he ranks in the 88th percentile in rim frequency and 69th percentile in rim efficiency, achieving a coveted blend of high-end volume and success from the most valuable scoring region.

An eruptive attacker, LaVine deliberately stirs before exploding past defenders or gracefully slicing through space, and navigates congested quarters with ease and swift change of direction. He teleports from spot to spot at a rate defenders do not anticipate or cannot contain.

One of his best traits is a varied stride length, often elongating his final few steps near the rim to cover ground, distancing himself from a trailing defender or slipping past an anchored big and securing the chance for a score. Upon arrival, he touts ingenuity, strength, ambidexterity and contortion, confronting the opposition with an imposing task to prevent him from scoring.

Raw assist and assist-to-turnover numbers do not convey this, but he’s also refined his passing a considerable degree, better equipped to punish defenses for prioritizing his scoring. He’s averaging the most potential assists of his career (10.6) and points created off assists (13.8). Some of that is assuredly tied to his usage, though tune into the LaVine Show and you’ll see a facilitator who’s more decisive and timely in working off of his gravity to create for others.

Because Chicago does not have another viable perimeter initiator, many teams trap him on pick-and-rolls to coax the ball out of his hands. Rather than retreat, wilt or force the issue, he’s regularly slipping passes to short-roll extraordinaires Thaddeus Young and Wendell Carter Jr. for 4-on-3 scenarios or darting around defenders to identify the open man. And credit to head coach Billy Donovan for utilizing those two big men as playmakers, something Jim Boylen failed to do, especially with Young last season. LaVine is prompt and entirely content to spur power plays derived from his individual prowess.

Perhaps the best indicator of his passing metamorphosis is the fact he’s averaging 2.22 assists for threes each night, on pace to exceed his career-high of 101 by the 51st game, according to PBPStats. Opponents are keying in on him and he’s responded by sparking threes — the shot worth 1.5 times as much as any other field goal attempt — at a previously unseen rate.

The juxtaposition that resonates for me are these two passes, three seasons apart, yet linked in required execution and style. Just look at how differently they play out.

Flowing downhill left to right, he first whirled an errant live dribble swing to Kris Dunn — instead of an open Lauri Markkanen — that disrupted any momentum and rhythm. Last month, against the Houston Rockets, he slithered downhill, saw PJ Tucker rotate in and rifled a live-dribble bullet to Markkanen’s shooting pocket for the three. The scoring gravity has existed for a while, it’s about knowing how to discern value and passing reads off of it.

Lavish offense has never been the most prominent barrier between LaVine and a seat at the table for All-Star discussions. The scheme-crumbling defense, unaware and mistake-prone off the ball, and inability to adhere to steadfast responsibilities, barred him from garnering All-Star legitimacy among most crowds. While some still subscribe to an outdated notion of his defense, he’s working to spurn that label this season, becoming a passably bad defender whose offensive greatness glows brightly over his defensive shortcomings.

His Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) is minus-0.2, which ranks in the 48th percentile. He’s never ranked higher than the 37th percentile before 2020-21. For a couple years now, as he’s sharpened his screen navigation, his on-ball defense has been quite serviceable. That remains the case, and he even enjoys a number of auspicious sequences on the ball.

The primary difference, however, is his fulfillment and recognition of off-ball duties. LaVine is not someone who fails to provide effort. Assuming that was the downfall is misguided. More concerning, the issue was a failure to recognize and identify off-ball responsibilities. Don’t help on a drive from the strong-side. If you stunt at the nail, be sure to recover effectively. Zone up between two shooters on the weak-side.

Catch him on the wrong possession or night, and those flaws might manifest, suggesting he’s the same defender he’s always been. Overhelping off the ball, improper positioning and awareness deficiencies are yet to be fully ironed out. But catch the Bulls regularly and a star guard who positions himself correctly, maneuvers screens, rotates in help and pesters on the ball materializes. The ugly plays still exist, yet their frequency has reduced in favor of profitable outcomes (check out this breakdown from Stephen Noh, too).

Many of LaVine’s staunch skeptics, especially those wary of defensive upswing, will point to Chicago being 14.6 points better defensively — and 4.1 points better overall — this season without him on the floor. The counter to that, though, is his status as merely a cog in a viable defensive machine. He is not good enough to consistently thwart or deter plays and be the one to punctuate connected possessions with a stop. Certain actions, yes, but there is almost always another leak to exploit or target instead. Defense is really hard. Most guys cannot ensure their decisions influence every endpoint, let alone someone such as LaVine, who is still south of neutral defensively.

The lineup construction is not conducive to amplifying any plus-minus while he’s out there. The Bulls rely on him to try and buoy some janky units. He is constantly tasked with anchoring youth-heavy lineups, predominantly ones featuring Coby White and Lauri Markkanen, a pair of porous defenders, and his on-off splits reflect that. Flank him with suitable veterans like Young, Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky and the two-way play is sturdy.

In 86 minutes together, that quartet has a plus-34.9 net rating. In three-man lineups, LaVine and any combination of two veterans has a net rating of plus-13.6 or better, with each of those three trios having already played over 120 minutes together.

Context is central to any worthwhile data sets. LaVine is proving he harmonizes with satisfactory ancillary talent, and that’s the rub here: Young, Temple and Satoransky are not All-Stars or even close to it. They’ve earned rotation minutes based on merit, not imperative youthful development, and that’s what LaVine needs around him to stamp a positive imprint.

His seventh year is bearing witness to a blossoming. The surface-level output, 29-5-5 on 65 percent true shooting and 43 percent from deep, pop even amid this season’s offensive avalanche. He ranks 18th in EPM (plus-4.1). He’s shouldering a titanic load every game, and thriving. The numbers are there and the tape reinforces them. When everything comes into focus, a bold-lettered message emerges: Zach LaVine is an All-Star.

Just days after her 18th birthday, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” became the first debut single to ever spend six week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been co-signed by big pop stars like Halsey and Taylor Swift, and was even the subject of a hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch this past weekend. So to celebrate her musical success and to reflect on the past 18 years of her life, Rodrigo made a playlist of some of her favorite songs.

The singer described the playlist as “18 songs that made me who I am… plus 1,” referring to her breakout track “Drivers License” as the 19th song. Alongside her debut single, Rodrigo added “Picture To Burn” and “Betty” by Taylor Swift, “Sullen Girl” by Fiona Apple, “Funeral” by Phoebe Bridgers, “It’s Too Late,” by Carole King, “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath, and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan.

Before curating her playlist, Rodrigo landed a spot on the Time100 Next list, which highlighted emerging artists and leaders making an impact. For Rodrigo’s blurb, Time tapped Gwen Stefani to share some kind words about the young singer. “Every line in ‘Drivers License’ feels like it was ripped out of Olivia’s diary,” Stefani wrote. “Each one containing a beauty and level of detail that makes you feel like you’re with her, driving through the suburbs of Southern California at night, lost in thought. Rare is the artist who can transport that way, especially at such a young age.”

Listen to Rodrigo’s 18th birthday playlist on Spotify above.

DaBaby’s pugilistic reputation has again reared its head as Variety reports the pugnacious rapper is being sued for assault after having a music video shut down. The owner of a Runyon Canyon rental property tried to stop DaBaby from shooting a video and the rapper allegedly got rough, knocking out the owner’s tooth, spitting on him, and stealing his phone and some “valuable kitchenware.”

In the lawsuit, the owner, Gary Pagar, says DaBaby rented the property on the condition that it would be occupied by no more than 12 people in keeping with COVID-19 safety regulations. DaBaby — who has flouted COVID safety in the past — supposedly brought 40 people to shoot his music video. Pagar says that when he arrived to put the kibosh on the proceedings, someone pushed him to the ground, DaBaby sucker-punched him in the mouth, taunted him by tossing his phone back-and-forth, and threatened him not to call the police. When someone else called the police, Pagar says DaBaby and company fled the scene, taking his phone and the kitchenware with them.

He also says they only paid a portion of the rental bill and left behind thousands of dollars of damage, including destroying a security camera in the hopes of keeping their activities a secret. Oh, and Jake Paul is allegedly involved because of course Jake Paul would be involved. He’s said to have been sitting in a car with DaBaby when Pagar arrived.

DaBaby is currently battling multiple assault cases, including ones stemming from a driver he allegedly attacked in Las Vegas, a Los Angeles hotel employee he supposedly beat up for filming him, and a woman from a Tampa club he struck while blinded by a camera flash.