Month: March 2021

British R&B singer-songwriter Tiana Major9 is currently working on the follow-up to her 2020 Motown debut At Sixes And Sevens, but while fans await more information on its impending release, Major9 has been sharing a string of acoustic performances and remixes of fan favorites from the confessional full-length, including today’s drop, the “Real Affair” remix featuring Vince Staples.

Although the song’s theme would appear to be outside of Vince’s usual wheelhouse — it’s a song about smoking away the breakup blues, and Vince is notoriously straight-edge — he acquits himself well, choosing to focus on the breakup blues part more than the smoking one. “If anything, I know we got through whatever roadblocks,” he muses. “I ain’t gotta feel on the flame to know the stove hot.”

Tiana’s remix EP is set for an April 2 release date and features her recently released collaboration with Lucky Daye, “On Read,” as well as an appearance from SiR of Top Dawg Entertainment. She recently revealed that she’s in “album mode,” teasing the phrase with a game of hangman on her Twitter. Meanwhile, Vince most recently popped up on Lil Yachty’s “In My Stussy’s,” but has otherwise been laying low, leaving fans to wonder when his FM! follow-up for Motown Records will arrive.

Listen to Tiana Major9’s “Real Affair” remix featuring Vince Staples above.

Cardi B gets pulled into conversations about cultural appropriation so often, that she feels as though she has to give a history lesson every few months. The rapper is Dominican and has long embraced her Afro-Latina roots, continually noting that nationality is different from race. Now, the singer aims to take the conversation off Twitter and into the beauty market with her own line of hair products that will educate consumers on various hair types.

Cardi has long been open about her hair care methods, which oftentimes involve natural DIY hair masks. But after being pulled into yet another Twitter conversation about race and nationality, Cardi wants to take her beauty secrets to the public while also educating people about Afro-Latina culture. “Hair texture def don’t make you a race however I am Afro Latina,” she responded to someone on Twitter earlier this week.

Detailing her new endeavor in an Instagram post, the rapper wrote that she has been working on at-home haircare for her and her daughter for some time now:

“This year I will be coming out with a hairline that I been working on at home for my hair and my daughters however,I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality,race and ethnicity.Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long , don’t make your skin light or don’t make your face features slim specially Latin countries from the Caribbean islands. Dna have something to do with your hair not your nationality but guess what you can always maintain your hair …..and one more things not everyone that speaks Spanish is Mexican.”

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

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 the impressive new album from Citizen, a stellar single from Mannequin Pussy, and a new 1975-produced track from Beabadoobee. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.

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Serpentwithfeet – Deacon

After gaining traction with 2018’s Soil, LA musician Serpentwithfeet is back with his sophomore effort, an album that manages to feel massive, while also displaying a palpable sense of Serpentwithfeet’s control and evoking a sense of calm. “I originally approached this project wanting to make something that felt very sensuous,” he explained in a recent statement. “This was my way of tapping into the energy many deacons possess.”

Citizen – Life In Your Glass World

On their latest album, midwestern heavyweights Citizen leave the emo infused pop-punk of their formative years firmly in the past. This is not to say that an album like Life In Your Glass World is any less intense than past Citizen efforts, but the aggression is, for the most part, set aside in favor of building the new songs around dance beats and infectious vocal hooks from Mat Kerekes.

The Antlers – Green To Gold

After seven years of silence, The Antlers are back with a gorgeous new album. Green To Gold takes on a more personal stance than the duo’s previous efforts — where Peter Silberman is usually writing about the human experience through a mythological lens, his new songs are more or less a reflection of the last few years of his life. The album is full of sparse, roomy arrangements that mark a triumphant return from the duo.

Early Riser – Vocations

Brooklyn’s Early Riser is a band that thrives on the energy of their live performance, and for their new album Vocations, the zeroed in on their collective strengths to capture that energy on record. Vocations is chock full of fun lo-fi punk tracks that have a unique freewheeling energy about them that is reminiscent of formative compilation albums.

Real Estate – Half A Human

After spending much of last week reminiscing on ten years of Real Estate’s Days, we shifted our focus to the present for the band’s new EP Half A Human. The six-track effort was produced remotely during the pandemic, but it doesn’t affect the band’s penchant for dreamy indie rock to create an essential vibe.

Mannequin Pussy – “Control”

Two years after 2019’s excellent LP Patience, Philadelphia punks Mannequin Pussy are back and better than ever for a new EP called Perfect. Lead single “Control” is what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “an exciting new track that starts with quiet guitar strumming and equally subdued vocals before exploding into an aggressive rocker.

Beabadoobee – “Last Night On Earth”

Beabadoobee’s debut album Fake It Flowers sounded like the soundtrack to a teen movie. Not even a year later, she’s back with even more excellent music, with a new EP produced by The 1975 due sometime this summer. Sure enough, “Last Night On Earth” sounds like what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “a mix of Beabadoobee’s ’90s-inspired work and the lighter tracks from The 1975’s recent output.”

Origami Angel – “Neutrogena Spektor”

Origami Angel made waves in the emo community with their debut album Somewhere City, with the most fervent fans calling themselves members of the “Gami Gang.” Well, now the DC-based band is back with an ambitious new double album paying tribute to those evangelists, called Gami Gang. “Neutrogena Spektor” is one of two singles that came with the album’s announcement, a “charged” emo number, writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “My Blue Suit”

More than 15 years after their first joint effort, Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy are back with Superwolves. “My Blue Suit” is the latest sampling from the LP, a sparse number featuring nothing more than an acoustic guitar and raw vocal.

Bachelor – “Stay In The Car”

A month after sharing their first collaborative track, Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and Jay Som’s Melina Duterte have announced a new full-length album under the name Bachelor. “Stay In The Car” is a song that Duterte says was “inspired by The Pixies and The Breeders,” building around a driving bass line and detailing a dramatic narrative.

Rosie Tucker – “Habanero”

Los Angeles musician Rosie Tucker has been hard at work since the release of their 2019 effort Never Not Never Not Never Not, releasing a string of impressive standalone singles. All those tracks, as well as the brand new shimmering indie gem “Habanero,” will be included on their forthcoming new album Sucker Supreme.

Downhaul – “Eyesight”

Richmond, Virginia’s Downhaul make the expansive, cinematic type of emo that sent people in droves toward bands like The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. Good news is, Downhaul’s latest single was produced by a member of that band, and you can hear the influence on the new track “Eyesight,” which takes on an air of drama and intensity as it continues building across its nearly five-minute runtime.

Shamir – “DsharpG” (Sharon Van Etten cover)

Sharon Van Etten’s upcoming reissue of Ten also comes with a full-album set of covers, and the latest installment is from Shamir. Shamir’s take on “DsharpG” gives the track a whole new life, bringing his signature authenticity while staying true to the original formation. Shamir’s music is truly original and a force to be reckoned with in his reimagining of a time where I grew up fondly, angsty & dreaming,” Van Etten wrote on Instagram.

Azure Ray – “Remedy”

Azure Ray went silent after 2010’s Drawing Down The Moon, but now the wait is over for new music. The new ten-track album Remedy was produced remotely during the pandemic, and the title track is a beautiful, flowing reentry for Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink.

Xixix – “Rich Kids”

Every time it seems like the days of bombastic, anthemic indie rock has officially faded into the rearview, there comes a band like Xixix that reminds us of how fun it can be. “Rich Kids” is a track that sounds like it was made for a festival crowd, creating a world of reckless abandon that makes it a perfect summer track.

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

Like most films scheduled to hit in 2020, Godzilla Vs. Kong saw its release date pushed into 2021, which was to be expected at that point. However, the next bit of news hit a little bit harder for director Adam Wingard, who was looking forward to his first major blockbuster eventually stomping into theaters. According to a lengthy new interview covering everything from his work on Godzilla Vs. Kong to his teenage obsession with writing a Thundercats screenplay that he’s finally getting to bring to life, Wingard reveals that the announcement that his massive monster battling film would debut on HBO Max left him “devastated.”

“This was my first big movie, a big opportunity. More than that, this is a movie that is meant to be seen on the big screen,” Wingard told Deadline. “If any movie is that, it’s Godzilla vs. Kong. You want to fill up the size of the screen, this is the one to do it with. I was depressed, upset, sad. It took a while to work out the details.”

But despite agreeing with filmmakers like Christopher Nolan who challenged Warner Bros.’s strategy, Wingard eventually came around to the streaming debut after seeing people’s reaction to the trailer:

“When it hit, I was blown away. We hit record numbers on trailer views, fans were putting out reaction videos. Those saved my life, watching people filming themselves watching the trailer, and reacting to it. It was special because we’d been deprived of blockbuster cinema in 2020, and finally, people were getting their first look at the biggest craziest popcorn movie you could imagine.”

As Wingard goes on to elaborate, why should he complain in the middle of a pandemic? “I thought, these people just need for movies to come out again. It means so much and if the only way certain people will see this is at home, so be it.” Fortunately, Wingard’s hope that Warner Bros. would keep its word and only use the HBO Max strategy for its 2021 film slate was not misplaced. The studio recently announced that it would be ending day-and-date releases in 2022 as promised, however, films will now have a 45-day window before hitting PVOD as opposed to 90 days, which was a change that was likely coming, pandemic or not.

(Via Deadline)

Better Call Saul lead Bob Odenkirk is currently out promoting his action flick, Nobody. When he’s not talking about his insane training regiment alongside Keanu Reeves, Odenkirk is still happy to field questions about the character that has made him famous, Saul Goodman.

In fact, Odenkirk is currently shooting the 13-episode final season of Saul, which is scheduled to continue filming for eight months. Though the scripts have been completed, Odenkirk doesn’t read ahead, although he knows enough from showrunner Peter Gould to understand that the final season of Better Call Saul will change the way we think about Breaking Bad.

“I’ve been told by Peter Gould that when Better Call Saul wraps up,” Odenkirk told The Hollywood Reporter, “everyone will see Breaking Bad in a different light. I don’t know what that means. I don’t have any specifics beyond that, except that he knows what happens throughout this whole season of Saul and I don’t. But I think there are more amazing things to come that will comment on or inform the actual incidents of Breaking Bad in a surprising way.”

It’s unclear, obviously, what incidents in Breaking Bad will be seen differently based on new context provided by Better Call Saul, but Odenkirk did warn viewers not to assume that just because we didn’t see a character on Breaking Bad that the character is dead. That also extends to Kim Wexler, the character played by Rhea Seehorn, who we do know is also in Albuquerque filming the final season, so she’ll obviously be around for much of it:

There’s some version of life where Kim and Jimmy stay married and live a Mary Matalin and James Carville-type situation. (Laughs.) Kim would be a superpowered lawyer with the white-shoe law firm, and he would be the complete scumbag ambulance chaser across town. And at night, they go home, take off their disguises and be kind to each other. I don’t think that’s where we’re going to go, but in real life, those weird and seemingly conflicting relationships can be very real. They can happen. It’s probably easy to think that Kim dies, or that anyone who’s not visible passes away. But there’s still a lot of people who die on these shows; the stakes are high.

I’m more inclined to believe that Kim Wexler is in prison rather than dead, although I will also accept a version of their lives where Kim realizes she’s fallen too far down the Saul rabbit-hole and has broken it off with him and skipped town, which would allow for the possibility of her and Gene Takavic reuniting in the present. We do know, after all, that Kim and Jimmy are separated by the time Saul changes his identity and heads to Omaha, because Gould has said as much, telling The Observer, “We know that something will eventually happen that separates them — whether it’s death or something less dramatic — as Kim is absolutely out of the picture by the time Saul flees New Mexico for Omaha.” Combine that with Vince Gilligan’s assurances that Saul will have a better ending than Breaking Bad, and I think we can assume the two eventually cross paths again.

Better Call Saul will return with its final season in 2021.

Source: THR

Snot’s streaming of videos from Beautiful Havoc continues with one of his most personal tracks from the Florida rapper’s sophomore album, “Life.” Contemplating the difficulties of living with himself, Snot admits, “I just wanna chill by myself ’cause I’m not okay.”

In the video, Snot stares out a bedroom window during a storm, watching his child doppelganger drive off in a station wagon. Elsewhere, Snot wanders through a field alone holding a pistol, which he points at another double of himself in a surreal, self-destructive murder-suicide. At the end of the video, though, his dark thoughts are interrupted by his child self embracing him, prompting a smile and a friendly wave out the window.

“Life” brings the total of videos from the project to seven. Snot kicked off the deluge in September with “Revenge,” then followed up a month later with the Flo Milli-featuring “Mean.” Although his next single, “Sangria” featuring Denzel Curry, was released ahead of the album drop, Snot’s frantic video for the track didn’t arrive until February this year.

Between then and now, Snot pushed out three more videos: The violent “Who Do I Trust,” the antisocial “Watch Out,” and the Iann Dior-featuring romp, “Like Me.”

Watch Snot’s ‘Life’ video above.

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

George R.R. Martin is getting a lot accomplished in prison.

The A Song of Ice and Fire author recently signed a five-year, eight-figure deal with HBO; he’s also executive producing the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon; (allegedly) writing the long-awaited The Winds of Winter; and according to the Hollywood Reporter, writing a play based on the book series.

A stage show set in the world of Game of Thrones is in the works, with Martin collaborating with award-winning playwright Duncan MacMillan (including the production of 1984 that made Jennifer Lawrence puke) and director Dominic Cooke. “The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery,” the official description reads. “Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centered around love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now.” A 2023 launch is the hope, with productions in New York, London, and Australia.

The still-untitled play will reportedly be set during the Tourney at Harrenhal, a lavish and thrilling tournament that took place roughly 16 years before the events of the HBO show, allowing familiar characters to return. Possibly including:

No characters have yet been officially confirmed for the play. But according to Martin’s previously published books, attendees of the event included a young, shy Ned Stark, his rebellious sister Lyanna, cocky teenage Jaime Lannister, powerful Lord Robert Baratheon, lovestruck Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, dashing Prince Oberyn Martell, and noble knight Ser Barristan Selmy, among many others (keep in mind, Martin’s Westeros timeline is different than the HBO series as the show had to age-up several characters in order to hire actors who could work with adult material).

If the Game of Thrones play is a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child-level hit, HBO should consider bringing more of its shows to the Great White Way. A “Tomlette and Greggs” song would bring the house down in Succession: The Musical.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

The Denver Nuggets overhauled their roster in advance of the 2021 trade deadline. The biggest investment was the package sent to the Orlando Magic to acquire Aaron Gordon, bolstering the team’s forward rotation, but Denver also added JaVale McGee and avoided real short-term pain in pushing some of their chips into the middle with the 2020-21 season in mind. Even before those moves, however, the Nuggets were showing signs of their 2019-20 form, and that could be scary for the rest of the Western Conference.

Denver is 11-3 in the last 14 games, jumping into a tie for the No. 5 spot in the West after a relatively slow start. Over that 14-game sample, the Nuggets lead the NBA in offensive rating, scoring 120.1 points per 100 possessions, and Denver boasts a +8.5 net rating since late February. Much of that can be traced to the continued absurdity that is Nikola Jokic’s 2020-21 performance.

For the season, Jokic is averaging 26.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game, earning legitimate MVP buzz and posting a 65 percent true shooting. He currently ranks in the top eight in scoring, rebounding, and assists and, while his efficiency is already stellar — Jokic is connecting on 59 percent of his shots and 45 percent of his threes in the last 14 games. Beyond his individual numbers, the Nuggets are 9.6 points per 100 possessions better when he plays (+7.9) than when he sits (-1.7), and the case for “most valuable” is pretty easy to make with the way Denver is playing.

Jokic does need more help beyond Jamal Murray, though, and that was signaled in full at the deadline. Gordon may not be a superstar in the way that his dunk contest pedigree may leave some to believe, but he is a good two-way forward who unlocks a great deal for Denver on paper. He is a potentially electric off-ball option on the offensive end and, with Jokic’s passing at the forefront, Gordon’s cutting should be quite useful. On the other end, he has the size and athleticism to defend the likes of LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard in playoff settings, and that is a hole the Nuggets needed to fill in the absence of Jerami Grant.

The fit between Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. may not be flawless on paper given that, in a vacuum, one could argue both are best-suited at the power forward spot. However, Gordon is more of a 4 on offense and a 3 on defense, while the opposite is true of Porter. From there, Porter’s shooting allows lineup flexibility and offense, and Gordon can take some of the defensive heat away from the budding standout in Porter. Gordon also takes some pressure off veterans like JaMychal Green and Paul Millsap, with McGee bringing a dynamic as a rim-runner on offensive and rim protector on defense that could be useful in certain matchups.

It is perhaps fair to wonder if the Nuggets are well-positioned to become Western Conference finalists for the third year in a row, especially in a world in which the Lakers are at full strength. After all, the Clippers look to be in fine shape despite last season’s loss to Denver, the Suns are playing at a very high level, and the Jazz are currently the best team in the NBA from a win-loss standpoint. Still, Mike Malone’s team looks much better on paper than it did just a few weeks ago, and that roster uptick is pretty appetizing when combined with the way the Nuggets are playing in March.

Where does Denver land in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let us find out.

1. Utah Jazz (35-11, Last week — 5th)

Following a bit of a dry spell, the Jazz have won six in a row, including a thorough annihilation of the Cavs on Monday. The schedule in that stretch was not at all difficult, but they are still the team with the best profile overall. Power rankings are often a “what have you done for me lately?” exercise, and Utah is back in the good graces after this run.

2. Brooklyn Nets (32-15, Last week — 1st)

This is a weird one. Yes, the Nets lost to the Jazz by 30 this week. That happened, and it is a datapoint that matters. Brooklyn also didn’t have a single member of its three-man core on the floor, so that game doesn’t mean much. Utah has the better resume overall, but the Nets are still 18-3 in the last 21 games.

3. L.A. Clippers (32-16, Last week — 6th)

L.A. is tied with Utah for the NBA’s longest winning streak (six) and they are scoring 1.26 points per possession during that run. The Clippers are also shooting an insane 41.9 percent from three for the season, and any concerns about a 5-8 stretch from mid-February to mid-March seem to be gone.

4. Philadelphia 76ers (32-14, Last week — 3rd)

For the season, Philadelphia is a respectable 8-7 without Joel Embiid. That is even better lately, though, with a 6-2 mark since Embiid went down. That probably isn’t sustainable, but it’s been impressive to see the 76ers bank wins.

5. Phoenix Suns (31-14, Last week — 4th)

Phoenix takes a small dip after a weird loss to Orlando this week, but they have been remarkably solid. They are a top-tier team on both ends with few weaknesses, and the Suns have an insane +16 net rating when Dario Saric (!?) plays this season. The schedule also opens up this week with three home games and a quick road trip to Houston.

6. Denver Nuggets (28-18, Last week — 8th)

Tuesday was supposed to be a Jokic vs. Embiid battle in Denver, but that will have to wait. The Nuggets do visit the Clippers in a nationally televised clash on Thursday, and that should be intriguing.

7. Milwaukee Bucks (29-17, Last week — 2nd)

No team has been streakier than the Bucks in recent weeks. Since the start of February, Milwaukee’s entire profile can be described by streaks in either direction. It began with five straight wins, then was followed by five straight losses. The Bucks then won 13 out of 14 games from late February to late March, only to lose the last three contests. We know the Bucks are good, but this is a little bit weird.

8. Los Angeles Lakers (30-17, Last week — 10th)

The Lakers shouldn’t really need to celebrate home wins over Cleveland and Orlando, but right now, they should. Los Angeles beating anyone without both LeBron and AD is noteworthy, and the victories still count in the standings.

9. Portland Trail Blazers (28-18, Last week — 11th)

Portland is a more than acceptable 7-4 since the All-Star break, but they are really testing the margins. On one hand, the Blazers are No. 2 in offense during that stretch, scoring more than 1.19 points per possession. On the other, Portland is the league’s worst defensive team by a wide margin in the last 11 games, giving up 120.6 points per 100 possessions. It’s really hard to keep winning more than you lose if you can’t get stops, but they’re doing it.

10. Dallas Mavericks (24-21, Last week — 7th)

The Mavericks lost two games this week, but Luka Doncic missed both with injury. Given how important he is to their overall approach, those contests are basically useless from an evaluation standpoint, and Doncic returned in a blowout win over OKC on Monday.

11. Sacramento Kings (22-25, Last week — 22nd)

With the entire middle of the league struggling right now, the Kings are rewarded with a huge jump. They have the third-longest active winning streak in the league at five in a row, and Sacramento is somehow only one game out of the play-in in the West. They still can’t get stops, but it hasn’t mattered much lately.

12. Atlanta Hawks (23-23, Last week — 9th)

After a season-shifting eight-game winning streak, the Hawks have lost three of four. That isn’t the end of the world on a West Coast road trip, though, and they are in a very solid position. Moreover, they are as healthy as they’ve been all season and the team’s remaining schedule is relatively soft.

13. Memphis Grizzlies (22-22, Last week — 13th)

Memphis is simply okay. Their .500 record tells that story, as does a +0.6 net rating that does place the Grizzlies at No. 12 in the league. One troubling trend is Ja Morant’s three-point shooting, though, with the budding star shooting just 23.4 percent from long distance this season.

14. New Orleans Pelicans (21-25, Last week — 18th)

The Pels are 4-1 in the last five games and Zion Williamson is a destroyer of worlds. New Orleans is still outside the playoff mix and, through that lens, it seems like Williamson isn’t getting quite enough attention for what he’s doing. Still, the Pelicans are out-scoring their opponents for the season with Zion on the floor, and he’s scored 20 points or more in 24 straight games. During that stretch, Williamson is shooting 64.9 percent from the field. He’s just impossible to defend.

15. Boston Celtics (23-24, Last week — 14th)

The Celtics are 11th in net rating, out-scoring their opponents for the season, but it hasn’t translated to win-loss results. The latest example was a home loss to New Orleans on Monday. Obviously, Evan Fournier isn’t going to miss every shot he takes in a Celtics uniform, but Boston just isn’t winning enough to make anyone happy.

16. Miami Heat (23-24, Last week — 17th)

Miami is intensely bizarre. They opened 11-17, then won 11 of 12 games. After that barrage, the Heat lost six in a row before winning at MSG on Monday. They did make some intriguing changes at the deadline to help their roster, but a team in “win now” mode with a 23-24 record and a negative point differential is also strange.

17. San Antonio Spurs (23-21, Last week — 12th)

San Antonio’s overall profile still looks just fine, but they’ve been shaky lately. The Spurs have lost five of six, including a pretty ugly performance in a 17-point home loss to Sacramento on Monday. Having a nine-game homestand is nice, but it’s better if you win more of those games than you lose.

18. Charlotte Hornets (23-22, Last week — 19th)

It is late March and Terry Rozier is still averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 41.6 percent from three. With LaMelo Ball out of action, Rozier is even more important, and his renaissance has been key for the Hornets in rising to the level of a legitimate playoff-level team.

19. New York Knicks (24-23, Last week — 20th)

The Knicks put together a 3-1 week, and that is commendable. They also beat the Wizards twice and the Bucks reserves once, so it would be too aggressive to take much from it. If nothing else, New York is still hanging around, and that’s all they need to do.

20. Indiana Pacers (21-24, Last week — 16th)

It was a generally positive week for the Pacers with a 2-1 mark, but the wins also came against the Pistons and the Luka Doncic-less Mavericks. In zooming out, Indiana is 6-10 since mid-February and they are just 9th in the East standings. They should be fine through the lens of the play-in tournament, but that probably wasn’t the intended measuring stick for Indiana.

21. Chicago Bulls (19-26, Last week — 23rd)

We’re doing some creative accounting to have the Bulls here. They’d be lower simply on results. Chicago did add Nikola Vucevic to the fold at the deadline, though, and the 0-2 start with him in the lineup is probably more about the schedule, with road games in San Antonio and San Francisco. The Bulls should be a playoff-level team with their current roster.

22. Golden State Warriors (23-24, Last week — 15th)

The Warriors won on Monday, in large part because Steph Curry played basketball. Golden State is 2-6 without Curry this year but, more importantly, the Warriors have a -6.6 net rating when he’s off the floor. That comes along with a league-worst offense, and it is remarkable how ugly it is when Curry is absent.

23. Washington Wizards (17-28, Last week — 25th)

Washington isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire, but Russell Westbrook is doing stuff. He put together a triple-double in a win over Detroit on Saturday and followed it up with a 35-point, 21-assist, 14-rebound explosion in a win on Monday. It would be fair to question how good the Wizards are, but it’s a good sign that Russ is still capable of that kind of thing.

24. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-27, Last week — 21st)

It wasn’t exactly a secret that the Thunder were not trying desperately to win games but, in case there was any lingering doubt, they put Al Horford on ice this week. Granted, it makes total sense for Oklahoma City to play the kids and look to improve Draft positioning, but they are getting close to an admirable impression of The Process. In the last 15 days, the Thunder have two wins and they came against the Rockets and Wolves.

25. Detroit Pistons (13-33, Last week — 26th)

Detroit was able to beat the suddenly woeful Raptors on Monday, helping to boost their standing. One point of concern, though, is the downturn in efficiency of Jerami Grant. Both Grant and the Pistons were rightfully praised after his torrid start, but in the last 19 games, the veteran forward is shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from three-point range. It will be interesting to see where his true baseline lands in the prominent role he takes on with the Pistons.

26. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-36, Last week — 27th)

The Wolves are playing better on the whole, but they are really benefitting from the mishaps of other franchises when it comes to their ranking here. Minnesota still has the worst record in the league and they are 1-5 in the last six games. The only win came over Houston. At the very least, Karl-Anthony Towns seems to be unlocked under Chris Finch, averaging 29.6 points and 11 rebounds per game in the last seven while shooting better than 51 percent from three.

27. Cleveland Cavaliers (17-30, Last week — 24th)

When the Cavs lose, they often lose badly. A 39-point shellacking at the hands of the Jazz on Monday was the latest example, and that isn’t going to help Cleveland’s league-worst net rating (-8.2). They are six games better than the Wolves in the standings, but still have a worse point differential.

28. Orlando Magic (15-31, Last week — 28th)

Good on the Magic for blowing it up. It was time for Orlando to lean into the void, but it wasn’t a guarantee they would actually pull the trigger. It would be easy to argue about whether the Magic got enough in return for Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier, but they added to their future chest of assets and ensured a pick near the top of the first round in the process.

29. Houston Rockets (13-33, Last week — 29th)

If you want to be positive, you could say that Houston is a more respectable 2-3 in the last five games. If you want to be more skeptical, you could say that Houston is 2-23 in their last 25 games. A win over Toronto keeps them out of 30th, but that’s not saying much.

30. Toronto Raptors (18-29, Last week — 30th)

The Raptors did win a game this week, and it happened right before the trade deadline with a distinct feeling that Kyle Lowry would be on the move. Of course, that didn’t happen, but Toronto then lost three in a row, including a 14-point loss to the Pistons on Monday. The Raptors certainly aren’t the worst team in the league, but they are 1-12 in the last 13 games. It’s not great.

Omar Apollo gained a sizeable following after the release of his acclaimed debut album Apolonio last October. But now, the musician shares an entirely different project that he has been working hard on: hot sauce. Apollo unveiled Disha Hot on Tuesday, a small-batch hot sauce made with habanero, lime, ghost peppers, and “mucho amor.”

Announcing the hot sauce’s release, Apollo said the recipe has been in his family for years: “finally releasing a small batch of my hot sauce, Dishahot on Friday,” he wrote. “We’ve been working on this project since the beginning of quarantine, but this recipe has been in my family for a while.”

The back of the bottle details the sauce:

“Omar Apollo is a first-generation Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and producer from Northwest Indiana. Omar started releasing music in 2017 and has generated hundreds of millions of streams since then. Omar’s parents immigrated to the US from Guadalajara and started a Mexican restaurant called El Super Taco, but sadly they had to close it after Omar was born. The recipe for Disha Hot has been passed down for generations and Omar has always been Omar’s dream to share it with the world.”

Disha Hot hits selves 4/2. Buy it here.

Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

CJ isn’t about to let the momentum of his “Whoopty” success slip away. After dropping a pair of well-received remixes — the “Whoopty NYC Remix” featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel, and the “Whoopty Latin Mix” with Anuel AA and Ozuna — the Staten Island native is following up with a new video from his debut EP, Loyalty Over Royalty. In the “Real One” video, CJ performs solo in an empty warehouse with moody lighting, with sultry shots of models seducing the camera cut in.

Lyrically, CJ insists that a romantic interest “wanna f*ck with a real one,” rhyming in a singsong flow to boast about his sex appeal and newfound success. It’s a short but effective song that shows his versatility, slightly departing from the catchy vocal sample and spare rhythms of his drill hit, but not so much that it might alienate the fans of that song who helped drive it and its multiple remixes to over 250 million cumulative views on YouTube.

Meanwhile, with songs like “Bop” and “Politics” racking up some respectable streaming numbers of their own, it looks like CJ has the tools to dodge one-hit-wonder status — although he should probably look into switching up his video locations and concepts sometime soon.

Watch the “Real One” video above.

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