Month: April 2021

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled to the second Super Bowl in franchise history this year, taking down the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. It was Brady’s first Super Bowl as a member of a team that wasn’t the New England Patriots, and in the aftermath of winning his seventh Lombardi Trophy.

It was, of course, a bit of a strange sight seeing Brady suit up for a team other than New England, but what might have been even more weird was watching him celebrate by appearing to have … let’s say one too many beverages and chuck the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to the next. During an interview with Michael Strahan of Good Morning America on Wednesday, Brady called the whole thing “pretty cool” based on “what I remember” from the boat parade, and then got into throwing the trophy across the water, which he wants back.

“First of all, there was not a lot going through my mind at that point,” Brady said. “I mean, that was not smart, for a couple reasons. One is, if we drop it, that’s a little bit of a problem. But the worst thing that could happen is the edges on that trophy are so sharp, and had those things clipped one of my boys in the other boat, it would have been an ugly parade.”

Between the regular season and the playoffs, Brady has thrown more than 12,000 passes in his NFL career, so we’re confident that this isn’t the first time he’s let it rip and wanted to take the throw back. Still, let this be a warning to future Super Bowl winning quarterbacks that you should not throw the Lombardi Trophy, particularly if you are throwing it to someone on another boat.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning that corporations should “stay out of politics,” or they will “invite serious consequences” after after several high-profile brands (including Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, and Major League Baseball) began making moves to protest the controversial Election Integrity Act that recently passed in Georgia. The act has been accused of being a major effort by Republicans to suppress the African-American vote, and considering that McConnell is up to the hilt in corporate donations and has been a major proponent of mixing private sector cash with politics, Stephen Colbert didn’t waste an opportunity to rip McConnell for his blatant hypocrisy.

As Colbert noted by highlighting a tweet from the Public Citizen watchdog group, in the past five years alone, McConnell has taken in over $4.3 million in corporate donations to his campaign. Which is why McConnell spent Wednesday morning clarifying that by “stay out of politics,” he doesn’t mean entirely. “I’m not talking about political contributions,” McConnell told reporters, which opened the door for Colbert to go to town with his impression of the Kentucky senator.

“No, no, I’m just sayin’ shush, darlin. You’re so much prettier when you don’t talk,” Colbert mocked around the 6:00 minute mark above. “Now, spread open that wallet, baby, and give ol’ Mitch a peek at that bottom line.”

Colbert also played a 2013 clip that showed McConnell arguing that the First Amendment guarantees that American corporations have a right to participate in politics just like any citizen would. “I’d call that a self-own, but he’s already 100 percent owned by corporations,” Colbert quipped, bringing the roast to an end.

As the world departed from an awful 2020, the hope was that the new year would bring a lot more happiness and a lengthier string of enjoyable moments. With the first quarter officially in the books, the horizon of relief and normalcy seems to be a bit closer than before, but there’s still a long way to go. However, for Key Glock and Young Dolph, they’ve delivered this thrill in the form of their new project, Dum And Dummer 2.

Key Glock and Young Dolph’s music has always resided in the pocket of braggadocious exuberance. The Memphis rappers brought themselves out of their respective childhood and adolescent hardships to a present-day lifestyle that sees them indulging in the shiniest of diamonds and lounging in a home bigger than their youthful dreams. For what it’s worth, the duo is entitled to enjoy their respective limelights when their worlds were so dark for an extended period of their lives. Dum And Dummer 2 extends this celebration, but rather it being a solo affair, Key Glock and Young Dolph stand as brothers to relish in their riches.

This celebration comes alive on icy tracks like “Penguins” and “Aspen.” The brisk theme of the respective songs brings a harsh punch to the ears of listeners like the wind that accompanies sub-zero temperatures in the Colorado city the duo rapped about. “My neck and wrist is Colorado rocky, yes, I’m havin’ it,” Glock declares on the latter track. “I’m cutthroat to the bone, I hope you n****s understand me, b*tch.” Their shiny jewels produce a reaction similar to their straightforward bars which both fall in line with their nonchalant attitudes, all bringing a chill to their supporters and opponents alike that causes a tight clench of the jaw.

The Memphis rappers are well-in-tuned with their distant approach to the world. A glance into their respective lives and it’s clear that they have no desire to reside in the public eye or get mixy with their rap colleagues. It’s why the law gets laid down from Dolph and Glock on “What U See Is What U Get,” with lines like “I know you never, ever, ever seen a youngin’ flex like this / I’m ’bout my cheddar, mozzarella, never catch me in the mix.” Glock doubles down on this line of thought on “In Glock We Trust,” one of five solo tracks he possesses on Dum And Dummer 2. “ Considering Young Dolph’s near retirement in summer 2020 and eventual sayonara from the game last month, you can’t help but accept their “IDGAF” approach as the farthest thing from a facade.

What’s real and truly undeniable about Young Dolph and Key Glock is their hardships and the often piercing struggles they endured to stand on their self-constructed thrones. They allude to it on tracks like “Sleeping With The Roaches,” which is upheld by a headbanging bass and fluttering keys that produce an erratic and near paranoia-inducing atmosphere. “I used to cut the lights on and all of the roaches started runnin’ through the kitchen,” Dolph raps, but this unsettling experience was only temporary as he updates it just a line later. “Now when I cut the lights on, I ain’t gotta do nothin’ but put on this Richard.”

Key Glock and Young Dolph’s Dum And Dummer 2 continues a streak of presenting their lives as-is in the form of music. There isn’t much to break down nor do hidden themes exist. It’s all delivered clear-eyed and unfiltered with the hope that listeners enjoy it or even get jealous of their possessions and motivate themselves to push further down their own path of success — that is, their definition of it at least. Another thing this project achieves is presenting another dazzling showcase of the Memphis natives’ unbreakable chemistry. For the past four years, the two rappers racked up a long list of memorable moments together. However, with Dolph bidding the rape game a solemn goodbye, it’s only right that he hands the keys over to his protege in the best way he knows how before walking out the door.

Dum And Dummer 2 is out now via Paper Route Empire. Get it here.

The year is 2008: The first Twilight movie is in theaters, Beyonce and Jay-Z are newlyweds, and Taylor Swift drops her No. 1 album Fearless just one month after getting her heart broken by Joe Jonas. Now, 13 years later, Swift is throwing it back to 2008 by debuting a handful of previously unreleased tracks. With her latest song “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” fans are convinced that it’s Swift’s way of slighting Jonas for their messy breakup.

The new track was written during her Fearless era and Swift even hinted that it touched on drama, so fans were quick to connect the dots and point out that “Mr. Perfectly Fine” must have been Joe Jonas. Throughout the song’s lyrics, Swift touches on how a man broke her heart and takes aim at his vanity, leading fans to imagine how Jonas is currently coping with the news.

Some fans pointed out how the new track arrives less than a year after Swift allegedly gifted Jonas a blanket to congratulate the birth of his first child.

Other Swifties wondered if the singer will share a song about her previous relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal after they briefly dated in 2010 ahead of her album Red.

Even if Swift’s song is a reflection on her break up with Jonas, the boyband singer’s wife Sophie Turner isn’t fazed by the drama. In fact, Turner publicly shared her support about the track on social media. “It’s not NOT a bop,” Turner wrote alongside a post about the track.

The Arizona Wildcats have decided to enter college basketball’s coaching carousel. In news first reported by Jeff Goodman of Stadium and then confirmed elsewhere, the program has opted to part ways with longtime head coach Sean Miller on the heels of a 17-9 campaign that saw the team miss out on the NCAA Tournament due to a self-imposed ban.

Miller went to Tucson after five years at Xavier and gave the Wildcats some stability following the Lute Olsen era. The team went 302-109 during Miller’s 12 years in charge with a 150-68 conference record. Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season title under Miller five times and won the conference tournament another three.

Prior to the 2018-19 season, Arizona made the NCAA Tournament seven out of eight years with Miller at the helm and one NIT. The team missed out that season and did not make it in 2020-21 due to the FBI’s investigation into a college basketball bribery scandal that prominently featured Miller — he was recorded on a wiretap discussing a payment of $100,000 that would ensure that then five-star recruit Deandre Ayton would commit to the Wildcats. It is unclear if his getting wrapped up into an investigation of this magnitude is what led to the university moving on from Miller or if it is due to the team’s performance.

According to reports, a number of names have been kicked around in relation to this job, with Jeff Borzello of ESPN reporting that Gonzaga associate head coach Tommy Lloyd’s name “buzzing” in recent days.

Atlanta rapper Yung Baby Tate is currently a hot commodity after releasing her album After The Rain and the breakout success of its single “I Am” with Flo Milli. Striking while the iron is white-hot, YBT told Fox Soul’s The Mix that a deluxe version is in the works and coming “very soon.” She promised “five or six” new songs, as well as a new single, before she begins work on a follow-up.

Elsewhere in the interview, Tate shares the inspiration behind her breakout hit “I Am,” and recalls how she was signed to Issa Rae’s Raedio record label. She also insists that the XXL Freshman cover should be all women, and talks relationships, including one she recently ended as a result of inconsistent communication.

Tate, whose rise to stardom included a standout appearance among the boys’ club on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III track “Don’t Hit Me Right Now,” also recently appeared on Australian rapper Tkay Maidza’s 2000s pop culture-inspired “Kim” video as a gigantic version of Kim Possible villain Shego.

You can watch the full episode of The Mix with Yung Baby Tate here.

Yung Baby Tate is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Shaquille O’Neal is known for his acts of charity. Every now and then, a story pops up about the Hall of Fame center coming across someone and opening up his wallet to give them a hand.

The latest example of this hit the internet on Tuesday, when a video popped up that showed Shaq running into someone at a jewelry store and paying off the balance that they had on an engagement ring they purchased. Shaq handed the young man his credit card, patted him on the shoulder, and gave him the all clear to pay his bill.

A few hours later, this moment was brought up during TNT’s Tuesday night NBA broadcast, which led to Shaq explaining that he likes using the platform he’s been given to lend folks a hand, bringing up a second example of this that occurred recently at a furniture store.

“This is something that I do every day,” Shaq said. “The other day, me and my wife went furniture shopping, and this lady, she had an autistic daughter, and she was also looking to pay for some furniture. I just took care of her. I’m into making people happy, so whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed.”

When Bridgerton announced that breakout star Regé-Jean Page would not be returning for Season 2, fans of the hit romance series were heartbroken, but the news wasn’t entirely unexpected. Page’s storyline was neatly wrapped up in the Season 1 finale (although it could have continued) with the show focusing more on other characters. A new report suggests Page’s exist was not so cut and dry, and that show actually did make moves to bring the Duke back despite the fact that it would go against the source material. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Sources close to the show tell THR that Page was offered an opportunity to return as a guest star in three to five episodes of season two — at a rate of $50,000 an episode — but declined for a multitude of reasons.

One of those reasons is Page is looking at a burgeoning film career and, thanks to the success of Bridgerton, his name is already being tossed around as the next James Bond. There’s also the fact that when Page agreed to do the show, part of the appeal was that he’d do a year, and then move on.

“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” Page told Variety when his exit was announced. “[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”

You can tell Page was serious about only doing of a year the show because even with Netflix ponying up more cash for him to come back, the Duke is sticking to his guns.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Last month, indie psych rockers Crumb ushered in a new era of music with their surreal track “Trophy.” It was the first offering of new music from the independent band since their debut album Jinx, which came out in 2019 to positive reception. Though Crumb have yet to shed light on details surrounding their sophomore release, the group previewed their upcoming project’s sound with two new singles, “BNR” and “Balloon.”

Crumb’s “BNR” track arrived alongside a sinister visual. It opens with a black-and-white shot of Crumb singer Lila Ramani walking through the streets. She eventually discovers the color red, and her world shift from monochrome to a muted array of colors. True to the band’s aesthetic, the visual also features a handful of surreal moments, like when Ramani bites into a crisp green apple only to discover that it has a rotten core.

Briefly describing her inspiration behind both of the new songs, Ramani said:

“’BNR’ is an ode to my favorite colors [black and red]. I had a weird obsession with those colors in winter 2018-2019 and felt like they would follow me around everywhere I went. ‘Balloon’ tells the story of a girl that dances so fast in the club that her head falls off.”

Watch Crumb’s “BPR” video and listen to their track “Balloon” above.

Gus Dapperton spent a good chunk of 2020 promoting a new album, Orca. There seems to be some unfinished business on the Orca front, though, as Dapperton has now returned with a new version of “Palms.” This version, titled “Palms (With Channel Tres),” features (drum roll, please) Channel Tres.

Dapperton says of the track, “I’m a huge fan of Channel and thought he would sound perfect on ‘Palms.’ I was so excited when he said he was down to do it and even more excited when I heard what his verse was sounding like. We met a while back at one of his shows and had a fun time hanging afterwards. So glad it’s come full circle.”

Dapperton and Tres also linked up on this month’s edition of Dapperton’s monthly “Cumulonimbus” Spotify playlist, which features a selection of hand-picked songs from both artists.

In a recent interview, Dapperton told Uproxx that Orca is about “feeling trapped, depressed, and having these people and unconditional forces of love in your life that reel you back in” and also noted, “When I’m feeling depressed and lost in the world, there’s not many things that help me. Therapy doesn’t help me very much. But putting it into the music is very therapeutic for me.”

Listen to “Palms With Channel Tres” above.