In the wake of the late DMX’s tragic, untimely death, his fans and peers have been sharing their memories and stories that reveal just what made him such a formidable force in the hip-hop world. Who better to testify to X’s power as a live performer than one of the best and most influential New York rappers in the game, Jay-Z. As the clip below shows, in a recent episode of LeBron James’ show, The Shop on HBO, even Jay-Z found X a tough act to follow. Just as he showed his fallibility in a recent episode by admitting he sometimes forgets his own lyrics, Jay let James and crew know that following up a DMX set was no easy feat.

“X is about to go on, and I’m like, you know, I wanna see,” he begins. “X is going before me. And then he goes (growls), and the f*cking arena goes crazy. First of all, it’s deafening… and I’m like oh sh*t.” Jay goes on to explain the other elements of X’s set that get the crowd hype, including ripping his shirt off halfway through his set, and then, of course, leading the entire crowd in prayer as a closing act. Then, after all that, it’s time for Jay-Z to take the stage — a tough act to follow indeed. Check out his retelling of the set above, it showcases exactly why Jay is such a successful figure in pop culture in the first place, he’s a great storyteller. And if you’re craving more DMX, check out the posthumous Exodus album his label released this past Friday.

With the Clippers against the ropes, Kawhi Leonard picked the team up and responded in Game Three with a win in Dallas, bringing the Clippers closer in the series and keeping their championship hopes alive.

Leonard finished with 36 points on 13-17 shooting, played excellent defense around the floor, and gutted out an impressive 43 minutes despite consistent injury management over the past several seasons. He was able to consistently create openings for himself in the mid-range and get to the line.

Though the Mavs got off to a hot start and a double-digit lead in the first quarter, Los Angeles came back quickly to finish that period down just 34-31.

Still, Luka Doncic gave it all he had on the other side, putting up a 44-9-9 line that is right up there with his incredible performances through both of the past two playoff series between these two teams.

For the most part, nobody on the Clippers could guard Doncic, and Patrick Beverley went to the bench early in the game after a technical foul and did not play in the second half. Instead, we saw Clippers coach Ty Lue pivot to playing Terance Mann even more and even playing Rajon Rondo on Doncic at times.

Mann brought energy in his 19 minutes, scrapping defensively on Doncic and also getting into it with Willie Cauley-Stein at one point in a play that earned Cauley-Stein a technical foul. The physicality that came between these two teams in the Bubble has continued into this series and led to more than a few dust-ups.

The series will stay in Dallas on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET as the Clippers look to make good on their title dreams.

The Boston Celtics have taken a game off of the Brooklyn Nets. A perfect storm in Beantown came together to help the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference cut their series deficit to the 2-seed in half, as Boston picked up a 125-119 win on Friday night.

The man of the night, as is so often the case when good things happen to the Celtics, was Jayson Tatum. The All-Star forward set a playoff career-high with 50 points on 16-for-30 shooting with seven assists, six rebounds, two steals, and a block. He was magnificent, having an answer for seemingly anything and everything the Nets tried to throw at him and playing a major role in Boston overcoming an early 19-4 deficit.

Another thing that usually happens when Boston wins: Marcus Smart was able to score efficiently, dropping 23 on 8-for-11 shooting. Add in that Tristan Thompson (19 points, 13 rebounds) and Evan Fournier (15 points, five rebounds), and the Celtics were able to weather a not particularly good scoring night from Kemba Walker (six points on 3-for-14 shooting, although he had eight rebounds) and a mere 10 points off the bench.

It also helped that Brooklyn had an off night by its lofty standards. James Harden and Kevin Durant were unreal — the former scored 41 points on 11-for-18 shooting and a 7-for-12 clip from three with 10 assists and seven rebounds, while the latter scored 39 on 13-for-24 shooting with nine boards.

Outside of them, though, there wasn’t a ton of offensive output. Kyrie Irving, in his return to Boston, score 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting, while the remaining six players combined to score a total of 23 points.

It is still a testament to how well the Celtics played that they were able to win. For their relatively off night, Brooklyn still hit 45.2 percent of their attempts from the field, 42.1 percent of their threes, and made 27 free throws, which would be good enough to win under most circumstances. Boston, however, was scorching from the field, making 50.6 percent of their field goals and 41 percent of their triples. Thompson, in particular, deserves a tip of a cap for his work on the offensive glass, as he hauled in nine offensive boards, which ties a playoff career-high.

Despite all of this, the Celtics still barely held off the Nets, a reminder of how good Brooklyn can be and how fine the margins are when dealing with a team this talented. But for a Boston squad that has been to hell and back this year when it comes to injuries and players missing time due to COVID-19 protocols, picking up a win and making it a series against one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference is a nice boost. And who knows? If Tatum can have a few more games where he goes toe-to-toe with any combination of Durant, Harden, and Irving, perhaps Boston can elongate this series a little bit more.

Game 4 between the Celtics and Nets will take place on Sunday evening. Things are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. EST on TNT.

After cleaning up with a whopping ten wins at the Billboard Music Awards last Sunday — you hear that, Grammys? — The Weeknd is doubling down on his promise that new era is coming. Though the R&B superstar didn’t even get to tour behind his most successful album yet, due to the blight that was COVID-19 on 2020 live events, he’s already unveiling a new concept anyway. After teasing the new era as “The Dawn” in one of his many acceptance speeches at the BBMAs, Abel hopped on Twitter this afternoon to double down on his promise.

“Ladies and gentleman, the…” he wrote, a cryptic teaser that had fans quickly filling in the blank: “Dawn is coming.”

Of course, it’s also a reference to a now-beloved SNL meme, when Daniel Craig introduced the star on the show. So do with it what you will!

Tesfaye’s After Hours era was a dark one punctuated by his constant red suit and facial injuries and bandages, a visual shtick that kept fans guessing as to how he’d show up to public events. If the “Save Your Tears” performance at the Billboard Music Awards was any indication, that visual is now down. His crips black suit with a long trench was the new look, and even if Ariana didn’t join him for the BBMAs performance, her appearance at his iHeartRadio Music Awards for their new remix was another indication that the pair might have more new music in the works. This was Ari’s first appearance after her secret at-home wedding, so it’s a big deal that she made it out on that stage.

Whether The Dawn era includes Ari or not, it’s definitely coming soon. And new music from The Weeknd is the perfect way to head back into festival season.

The first two games of the Atlanta Hawks’ series with the New York Knicks have been defined by cagey, hotly-contested basketball, with the Hawks coming back to narrowly win Game 1 at Madison Square Garden and the Knicks rallying to defend their home court in Game 2. On Friday night, the series shifted to Atlanta, and the Hawks very much managed to rise to the occasion.

While the game’s first quarter was tight, Atlanta blew the doors open in the second and managed to keep New York at arm’s length for the remainder of the game from that point on. By the time the final horn blew, the Hawks picked up a 105-94 win to put the 5-seed in the Eastern Conference up on the 4-seed, two games to one.

Two things defined this game, with the first being Atlanta’s ability to get whatever it wanted on offense from a variety of players. As a team, the Hawks shot 42-for-81 (51.9 percent) from the field and 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) from three. Trae Young, as he oftentimes does, led the way with 21 points and 14 assists, but every member of Atlanta’s starting five scored in double-digits, as did a pair of players (Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter) off the bench.

Young didn’t have his most efficient game by any stretch, going 8-for-19 from the field and 2-for-6 from three, but his sheer gravity and ability to make plays led to him setting up his teammates with ease. He didn’t need to have a gigantic scoring night — even though he was the team’s top scorer — because Young was able to pick apart the vaunted Knicks’ defense with his passing.

Also defining this game was how horrific the Knicks were offensively. Atlanta’s defense deserves credit, as it once again frustrated Julius Randle (14 points on 2-for-15 shooting and an 0-for-8 mark on two-point attempts). Beyond him, though, New York’s offense could not do anything outside of giving the ball to Derrick Rose and getting out of the way.

Rose, to his credit, was quite good, scoring 30 points on 13-for-21 shooting while knocking down three of his five triples.

But otherwise, the Knicks’ offense was just flat-out bad. The team scored on 29 of its 81 field goal attempts and nine of its 30 threes, good for percentages of 35.8 percent and 30 percent, respectively. If not for some especially good free throw shooting from Randle (8-for-8) and Nerlens Noel (10-for-12), the final score could have been uglier. Credit goes to the Hawks, of course, which competed on defense and made the Knicks work for seemingly everything.

The series is hardly over, of course, but New York will need to figure out how to get its offense going in order to keep the Hawks from wrapping things up quickly. But for now, both teams will get a day off before returning to the floor on Sunday. The game tips at 1 p.m. EST on ABC.

Though it hasn’t been officially confirmed that Rolls Royce’s latest insanely expensive car was commissioned for Mr. and Mrs. Carter — aka Beyonce and Jay-Z — all signs point to the Carters. Partnering with the custom builder Coachbuild, the new Rolls Royce Boat Tail reportedly retails for around $28 million, making it one of the most expensive cars on the market.

According to the Rolls Royce website detailing the car’s custom features: “A double refrigerator houses the clients’ favorite vintages of Armand de Brignac champagne. Bottles can be rapidly cooled to precisely six degrees — the optimum serving temperature of the preferred vintage.” Of course, Jay-Z only recently sold his fifty percent stake in Armand de Brignac, back in February, to Moët Hennessy.

Other features of the car’s back deck include a parasol and picnic set, alongside the double refrigerators, and gossip sites like Page Six point to the Boat Tail’s blue color as another sign that the commissioners were Bey and Jay. I mean, considering they love the color so much that it’s their daughters name, it’s a pretty solid bet. The other fascinating bespoke feature in the car? A pair of Bovet 1822 timepieces that are two-sided, one for the lady and for a gentleman, which can be used in the car as clocks or worn. Check out more details of the rather magnificent car here.

Late last year, Pabst dropped cannabis-infused seltzer water. Way back then (felt like a lifetime ago!) we drank one and then quickly drank another — in part, because it was November 2020, the pandemic was raging, votes were still being counted, and sh*t was grim. But also because it was only formulated with 5mg of THC, which, for a regular smoker, is practically a microdose. 5mg of THC was just not doing it for us back then.

Now, with the country opening up, and parties and hanging out with friends being a thing again, we fear 5mg is really not going to do it for us for a whole different reason. So it’s a good thing that Pabst Labs just dropped High Seltzer, their new 10mg version of their cannabis-infused lemon seltzer water. For this expression, Pabst is doubling down on the THC and we’re setting out to see how that changes the experience.

Let’s get to drinking!

Pabst Blue Ribbon High Seltzer Lemon

THC: 10mg

CBD: < 2mg

Calories: 25

Sugar: 4g

Price: $7 (single can) $24.99 (4-pack)

The Seltzer

If you’re familiar with Pabst’s 5mg Original Lemon cannabis-infused seltzer, the 10mg High Seltzer is essentially the same thing. Same CBD content, calories, and sugar amount. The only difference is the High Seltzer version features an additional 5mg of THC — but that double dose doesn’t make the thing taste more herbal, or influence the flavor in any way, which is a good thing!

As far as lemon-flavored seltzers go, this is your standard fare, it’s citrus-forward and crisp without being too sweet, and because this is a standard seltzer and not a hard seltzer, its remarkably transparent — making it ideal for mixing in a cocktail. Which would turn it into a hard seltzer sure, but you can get a pretty fun crossfade going. Be careful if you’re not experienced ingesting THC though.

A zesty lemon flavor will stick to your tongue once you’ve crushed the can, but not in an obtrusive or overbearing way. Overall in the flavor department, Pabst hit the nail on the head. This is a good lemon seltzer, regardless of the THC content.

Another thing the High Seltzer shares with the OG formulation is the price, and at $24.99 for a four-pack, the value is better here. A big gripe we had with the original was that for people with a higher THC tolerance, you’d need to drink at least two cans just to get a decent head change. Now, all it takes is one can to feel a noticeable high, and since it’s stronger and more concentrated, that high is hitting you a lot faster. It’s a subtle difference but overall the effects are more pronounced with a single 10mg can than they would be with two 5mg cans, and a lot less exhausting to consume.

High Seltzer is also sold as a single can for $7. You would never buy a single can of the 5mg dose, the value just isn’t there. $7 for a single is still a little steeper than we’d like it, $5 would’ve been the Goldilocks zone, which is what Lagunita’s Hi-Fi Hops Reverb will cost you, and it’s also formulated with 10mg of THC. Here you’re paying a little more here for a less complex lemon flavor over the citrusy goodness of hops — that feels a bit unfair.

So from a value perspective, we’re going to say go ahead and grab that four-pack over a single. And good news: unlike the 5mg formulation, this one can be shared with friends!

The High

This time around I made sure to time myself. I wasn’t trying to kill a can immediately, but drink it at the pace one might drink it at if they were at a party or a Memorial Day BBQ with friends. It took me 18 minutes to finish a single can, and by the end of it, I was already feeling lightness in my hands and fingers. Over the next two minutes, a wave of tingles started radiating through my body, and then… I lost track of time. That’s a good sign! By the time I remembered, I was supposed to keep track of my experience, a full hour had passed, and then I was met with a pleasantly surprising subtle comedown.

The comedown wasn’t too heavy, I didn’t feel sluggish or burnt out, I simply felt normal. As a professional weed writer, I get stoned a lot — so I can’t speak for how long the duration will last for someone who only engages with THC occasionally — but I can say that whether you’re a heavy or light user, you’ll definitely feel the high with a single 10mg can. I also never felt the need to have more than one, like with the 5mg version, but I’d still love an even higher formulation.

Like the 5mg formulation, I’m going to go ahead and suggest experienced stoners mix this with a bit of gin and a twist of lime. Since you won’t be killing a single can in one cocktail, the effects won’t be too overwhelming and you’ll have that sweet crossfade going. Just make sure to drink water if you go that route.

The Bottom Line

In every way an improvement over Pabst’s 5mg formulation. Strong enough for experienced smokers to feel, fast-acting, but not so strong that the effects are going to dominate your day. Still, we’re going to go ahead and ask: Pabst, please deliver a 20mg formulation, we can handle it!

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from DMX, Eminem, Juice WRLD, and more.

It was a relatively light week for new hip-hop releases after last week’s monster one. Moneybagg Yo dropped his “A Gangsta’s Pain” video, J. Cole released his “Applying Pressure” video, Earthgang returned with their “Aretha” clip, and Toosii continued to roll out his new mixtape with “Red Die,” but days went by without many earth-shaking releases from big names — that is, until Friday.

Friday saw the releases of Eminem’s collaboration with Cordae and Jack Harlow on the “Killer” remix, Future and Hotboii connecting on “Nobody Special,” and Erica Banks’s “Toot It” remix with BeatKing and DreamDoll, along with the releases listed below.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 19, 2021.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Brianna Perry — Boss Bitch Boulevard

Brianna Perry deserves a lot of credit. She’s one of the few blog-era favorites who never quite blew up who has kept up a steady stream of releases into the modern streaming moment. The Florida favorite adapts admirably as well, showing off a flow unblemished by time over some truly impressive and eclectic production choices.

DMX — Exodus

One of the more anticipated projects of the year so far, DMX’s comeback album is unfortunately now his final one, released posthumously after an overdose earlier this year. However, it’s also promising and poised, the picture of an artist ready to face the future, along with a who’s-who of collaborators including Griselda Records, Jay-Z, Nas, and of course, X’s Ruff Ryders compatriots.

Juice WRLD — Goodbye & Good Riddance (Anniversary Edition)

An anniversary reissue may seem odd just three years later (usually, you’d think fifth or tenth-year anniversaries would fit the bill here), but considering we got a luscious remix of Juice’s breakout hit “Lucid Dreams” with an elevating Lil Uzi Vert verse attached, it’s a lot easier to accept the unconventional timing.

Rexx Life Raj — Untitled EP

A surprise release of three songs from the Bay Area indie stalwart sees Raj offering encouraging words of moral support to fans, friends, and even foes after a trying year.

Wretch 32 — Little Big Man

Grime mainstay Wretch returns with the follow-up to 2019’s Upon Reflection. Using the last lame-duck year to spend time working on this new project, Wretch stretches his style, exploring new, fertile creative territory and trying out new flows, aging every bit as gracefully as his fellow grime pioneers like Chip, Ghetts, Kano, and Skepta.

Singles/Videos

BbyAfricka– “Baby Mama Coochie” Feat. Saweetie

While the track originally got its release on Saweetie’s Pretty B*tch Summer EP last month, the song finally gets a music video to highlight BbyAfricka’s tongue-in-cheek visual aesthetic.

Cochise — “Tell Em” Feat. $not

With a Cole Bennett-directed video and a pulse-quickening beat, the Florida rising star brings along his fellow sunshine state native $not for a hypnotic banger.

Fenix Flexin — “For Me”

The newly solo Fenix shows he can hang even without the rest of Shoreline Mafia on this laid-back declaration of independence.

Larry June — “You Gotta”

You know what you’re getting with a Larry June joint; a funky beat, a clean flow, and boastful lifestyle raps delivered in a laconic cadence that belies not one care in the world.

Tommy Genesis — “Peppermint”

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from this pop-leaning model-turned-rapper but her comeback track is well worth the wait.

Taleban Dooda – “More Than Average” Featuring Yung Bleu

Rising star Dooda links up with fellow up-and-comer Yung Bleu to celebrate their respective climbs out of the trenches.

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

Joel Embiid is essentially a wrestling heel. The Philadelphia 76ers’ star is an entertainer at heart, and seems to relish in both drawing heat from opposing crowds and getting tons of love from his fans. This is why it’s probably not a huge surprise that Embiid tapped into his ability to ham it up during the Sixers’ 120-95 win over the Washington Wizards a little earlier this week.

Specifically, Embiid paid homage to Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ legendary stable D-Generation X by busting out a crotch chop while he laid on the ground.

It was very funny, which is usually the case when someone does the DX like this. One day later, Embiid further paid homage to DX by taking the famous way they’d end promos and adding a powerfully Joel Embiid twist to the entire thing.

Pretty good, eh? As it turns out, the two leaders of DX decided to get in on the fun, too, with both the Cerebral Assassin and the Heartbreak Kid giving Embiid a quote tweet and letting them know they’re behind him right now.

The official WWE account enjoyed this as well.

The whole thing got Sixers/WWE crossover fans really fired up.

What this all tells me is that we desperately need a Blazers-Sixers Finals so Embiid can do DX things while Damian Lillard can dress up like Stone Cold Steve Austin again.

For months now, Matthew McConaughey has been making waves about running for Texas governor, but the actor has been just as unsure about getting into politics as people are about where he actually stands on the issues. In fairness, he has described himself as “aggressively centrist,” but that only makes his policy positions even more vague. However, McConaughey has finally stuck his neck out on a hot button issue: masks.

While stopping by The Carlos Watson Show, McConaughey was asked about his gubernatorial aspirations, and true to form, he still seems to be undecided on whether that’s the next chapter in his life. But just when it seemed like he’d stick to his middle of the road approach, the True Detective star suddenly unloaded on “the damn dispute over masks.” Apparently, McConaughey still can’t believe the whole thing became politicized, and he called out people for being “scared of this little cotton thing” in an animated rant:

I don’t really feel that takes away your identity and your freedom. This is a short-term inconvenience for long-term freedom. Come on now. There’s no data that says it’s not a good thing. No data that says it’s harmful. Let’s all take one for the team here. We like to say we want to take one for the team. We like to say ‘the value of the human life is the epitome that we all-‘ [shakes his head] No, it’s not. We won’t admit it.

If the actor was hoping to win over Republicans in Texas where the state just got rid of mask mandates, he’s now in for an uphill battle. But maybe that’s part of the reason why hasn’t pulled the trigger on stepping into politics. He knows people can only handle so much of that raw McConaughey.

(Via The Carlos Watson Show)