Month: May 2021

J. Cole may not have played himself onto the roster for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons but it appears his hoop dream isn’t done quite yet. It looks like he’s about to compete for a roster spot in the newly-created Basketball Africa League according to Rwanda’s English newspaper, The New Times Rwanda. The New Times‘ Twitter account posted a video of J. Cole apparently preparing to play for the country’s Patriots team. The newspaper confirmed that his name is listed on the roster.

If he makes the team, there’s no telling how it’ll affect the rollout for his new album, The Off-Season (aside from turning the title into the biggest misnomer in hip-hop), but it’ll be the culmination of a lifelong dream for him to play professional basketball — a dream that saw him taking advice from Master P, who once made it onto the Toronto Raptors’ preseason roster, and working with Puma on his own basketball shoe.

It’ll also make Cole a member of the BAL’s inaugural season, as well as one of the few Americans to play in the new league. The BAL is a joint effort between the NBA and FIBA (International Basketball Federation) to promote the sport on the continent, developing its talent for international competition. It consists of 12 teams and is scheduled to begin May 16, 2021, after being postponed from March of 2020.

According to Shams Charania, Cole is signing with the Patriots and will play three to six games, beginning with Sunday’s game against Nigeria.

Tucker Carlson’s been filling his Fox News hour of late with anti-vaccination screeds aplenty. Last week’s installments included his false claims that the COVID vaccine has killed thousands of people. And of course, he was citing an open source website (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS) where anyone can write anything, true or not. He then attempted to cover his butt by somehow blaming Joe Biden for the website’s existence, and long story short: Tucker’s only building upon his reputation as a conspiracy-pushing, fear-mongering anger bear, but this time, the results will chip away at herd immunity and be inarguably dangerous.

Even more dangerous than Tucker telling his viewers to harass people who wear masks outside? For sure, although Tucker’s pattern of escalation on this issue is impressive, even for him, although it’s worth noting that Tucker has not articulated whether or not he’s received the shot (as Fox News head honcho Rupert Murdoch definitely has). And that’s made people wonder whether Tucker’s being hypocritical and maybe secretly got the shot, but he’s pulling all of these theatrics for ratings?

It’s to the point where CNN medical advisor/analyst Jonathan Reiner called for Tucker to own up on whether he’s actually been vaccinated. “I have two questions for Tucker Carlson,” Reiner declared to Jim Acosta. “Number one, have you been vaccinated? And number two, why won’t you tell your audience whether you’ve been vaccinated? I’m tired of his nonsense.”

This question followed a highlighting of Tucker’s baseless claims that people must resist the COVID vaccine, or they will be forced to get “a lot more shots after this.” Acosta remarked, “I honestly don’t know what the hell he’s talking about,” to which Reiner concluded, “Yeah, so I think he’s really a saboteur.”

Well, Reiner isn’t the only person who’d like a simple answer from Tucker.

Also, this:

Big stars aren’t always known for busking after they blow up, but on Saturday, Saweetie was seen on the Santa Monica Pier, performing her hit song “My Type” and her new single “Fast (Motion).” The impromptu performance looked to be exciting for fans in attendance, but as usual, the Twitter peanut gallery found plenty of negatives to strike out at — mainly, the fact that Saweetie seemed to be collecting donations in a tip jar while rapping to her hits. Saweetie herself responded and explained why their jabs and jokes were out of pocket.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/COmMboqAZio/?utm_source=ig_embed

During an Instagram Live stream with fans the next day, Saweetie explained that she saw one of the pier’s usual buskers singing and asked if she could take over temporarily. The tip jar belonged to the singer and after her performance, she left the jar and all the money that had accumulated during her spur-of-the-moment show.

“Was I asking money?” she joked as she confirmed a fan’s question. “No, girl, I wasn’t asking for no money yesterday. Actually, yesterday was a spur of the moment and it was fun. We were at the Santa Monica Pier and I saw this upcoming artist, he was singing with his microphone. I was like, you know what, I got a new single so I’m gonna just perform for my fans because I love them so much and a couple of people noticed me. All the proceeds and donations from that tip jar was given to him.”

You can watch Saweetie’s explanation video below.

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

Florence Welch has been getting involved in stage and screen in a big way lately. It was revealed last month that the Florence And The Machine leader is writing songs for a new The Great Gatsby musical, and today, Walt Disney Studios has shared a snippet of “Call Me Cruella,” a new song from Welch for the upcoming movie Cruella.

In a statement, Welch said of the song, “Some of the first songs I ever learned how to sing were Disney songs. And the villains often got the best numbers. So to help create and perform a song for Cruella is the fulfillment of a long-held childhood dream. I’m so grateful to Nicholas Britell and Disney for allowing me so much creative freedom, and for trusting me with Cruella’s beautiful madness.”

Britell also added, “I am a massive fan of Florence’s, so it was a true joy to collaborate with her on ‘Call Me Cruella.’ With both this song and the Cruella score itself, the goal was to really embrace the raw rock aesthetic of ’60s and ’70s London. We recorded everything using all vintage gear and analog tape at Abbey Road and AIR Studios in London, melding orchestral elements with electric guitars and basses, organs, keyboards, and drums.”

Check out the video above.

Keeping up with the best new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw the start of J. Cole’s return and Coldplay also launch a new era. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

J. Cole — “Interlude”

Since 2018’s KOD, J. Cole fans have begged for even a crumb of new information about the rapper’s next project. He offered much more than a crumb last week, revealing that The Off-Season would arrive in a matter of days. Before the album drops this week, he offered “Interlude,” a soulful and brief (as you’d expect from a track called “Interlude”) new song.

Coldplay — “Higher Power”

Coldplay is starting a new chapter, Lady Gaga fans be damned. Although Chris Martin won’t technically confirm that a new album is on the way, it sure feels like one is: Last week, they shared “Higher Power,” an energetic and driving new single aided by the production talents of Max Martin.

Modest Mouse — “We Are Between”

Modest Mouse had a handful of one-off, non-album singles in 2019, but aside from that, fans are still waiting for the band’s first album since 2015’s Strangers To Ourselves. Well, finally, The Golden Casket is coming this summer and they previewed the effort with the catchy and huge-sounding “We Are Between.”

Bebe Rexha — “Break My Heart Myself” Feat. Travis Barker

Rexha may not have gotten a metal song on her new album Better Mistakes like she wanted, but she did manage to recruit Travis Barker to help out on “Break My Heart Myself.” The drummer’s presence doesn’t transform the single into a pop-punk tune, as Rexha instead confidently takes the track into jaunty-but-edgy pop territory.

Isaiah Rashad — “Lay Wit Ya” Feat. Duke Deuce

In a piece about patience paying off for Rashad, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams wrote of the rapper’s new single, “It appears to showcase an artist who hasn’t lost a step from his glory days at the height of the so-called SoundCloud Rap era — one who managed to not only adapt to ways the Southern rap sound has evolved since then but to adapt those sounds to his own unique style.”

Toosii — “Shop” Feat. DaBaby

Toosii is on an absolute roll: His new mixtape, Thank You For Believing, is his third new project since February 2020. He’s mostly solo on the album, but one highlight comes when DaBaby joins him on the new single “Shop,” on which the rappers portray themselves as a couple of tough guys you don’t want to mess with.

Health and Nine Inch Nails — “Isn’t Everyone”

As is made obvious by looking at the winners lists from recent film award ceremonies, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been busy providing memorable sounds for beloved movies. They still regularly carve out time for Nine Inch Nails, though, and they did so last week by joining Health on the perfectly industrial single “Isn’t Everyone.”

Saweetie — “Fast Motion”

A lot of recent headlines about Saweetie have been related to a former high-profile relationship, but let’s not forget that she’s one of hip-hop’s most exciting artists. She proved that last week with “Fast Motion,” a blood-pumping new single that shows off her energy. Imagine how good she’ll be after boot camp.

Coi Leray — “Bout Me”

Fresh off making her TV debut (on The Tonight Show, of all places), Leray is riding the momentum with a new single, “Bout Me.” After blowing up on TikTok with “No More Parties,” Leray keeps aggressively pushing forward and using “Bout Me” to address her haters, who she insists won’t be able to bring her down.

Conan Gray — “Astronomy”

With the release of Kid Krow last year, Gray has proven himself to be an exciting and diverse young artist. His two latest singles achieve the same feat: February’s “Overdrive” was a big, upbeat pop anthem, while the new single “Astronomy” inhabits decidedly more mellow territory, as its a tender-hearted ballad about the end of a relationship.

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

Over the weekend, Lily James and Sebastian Stan unveiled their surprisingly accurate transformations into Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee for the upcoming Hulu series, Pam and Tommy. Seth Rogen soon joined in by showing off his new look for the miniseries while readily admitting that his co-stars look “a lot cooler than I am.” Yes, it is pretty jarring seeing Rogen without his trademark beard. Sure, there’s a bit of stubble going on, but it’s been a long while since anyone’s seen Rogen this fresh-faced (for him).

As for Rogen’s role, he’ll be playing disgruntled electrician Rand Gauthier, the man who stole Lee and Anderson’s infamous sex tape. As the legend goes, the couple allegedly stiffed Gauthier on a $20,000 contracting bill. After repeated attempts to collect the money, Lee allegedly pulled a gun on Gauthier, which prompted him to devise a scheme to embarrass the rocker. According to a Rolling Stone feature on the wild heist, Gauthier disguised himself as a dog and snuck into Lee’s recording studio where he made off with a safe that contained the tape. (Police are still baffled at how Gauthier managed to get the safe out himself.)

With the tape in his possession, Gauthier went through everyone from the Hollywood porn scene to the actual mafia to cash in on the unbelievable find, and none of it went as planned. But if you’re not familiar with the story, you can watch Rogen, James, and Stan relive the infamous scandal when Pam and Tommy hits Hulu later this year.

(Via Seth Rogen on Twitter)

Billie Eilish famously posed for some uncharacteristically revealing lingerie photos for Vogue recently, to go along with an accompanying feature story. In the piece, Eilish anticipated some backlash to the shoot and insisted that she didn’t care about being perceived as a hypocrite for going with a new clothing style. Now she has clapped back at haters by co-signing a viral post in support of her.

In a recent Instagram Story (as NME notes), Eilish shared an Instagram post from writer Emily Clarkson, which has over 650,000 likes as of this post. In it, Clarkson posted a screenshot of a Daily Mail article that was titled, “‘Proof that money can make you change your values and sell out’: Billie Eilish shocks fans by swapping baggy clothes for lingerie in Vogue – despite years of vowing to ‘hide her body’.” However, Clarkson crossed out “Proof that money can make you change your values and sell out” and added, “proof that women can change their minds and reclaim autonomy over their own bodies. She also crossed out “bowing to ‘hide her body’” and replaced it with, “of being an actual child.”

In her lengthy caption, she decried the article and threw her full support behind Eilish, writing:

“oop, fixed it for ya xxxx

honestly where do you start on this?? We collectively GASPED at the strength emanating from Billie in those vogue images. Full f*cking POWER a woman standing up with total body autonomy and showing herself to the world in the way that SHE wanted to.

She hid her body for years because she didn’t want to be sexualised. She made this decision when she was a CHILD. Because she knew what grownups can be like. These decisions are ones we have all made – “‘chool skirts mustnt be too short or else they’ll distract the boys!!’ She went to those lengths because she had to. But this society – this perverted, f*cked up place, couldn’t let that be and they hounded her until they got photos of her body which they published without her consent. Those photos BLEW UP! The news was everywhere. Woman has body!!! It was like she asked us not to sexualise her and they took it as a challenge.

and now she’s a legal adult and she’s made another decision because that is what grownups are allowed to do (!!!!) and all of a sudden she’s a hypocrite going back on herself (note use of the word VOW, implying she’s committing some mortal sin and letting her fans down). An EXTRAORDINARY accusation when you really think about the fact she is literally 19. I didn’t wanna be sexualised in my school uniform (it happened anyway) but because of that I’m not allowed to ever claim any autonomy over my own body or embrace any sort of femininity?? What an extraordinary way to manipulate quite a reasonable request. This society is nuts. Keep an eye on it x”

Check out Clarkson’s post below.

John Oliver largely took a break from politics and lambasting the likes of Tucker Carlson on Sunday night. Actually, he did so after some breezy introductory coverage on voter suppression bills, and then he veered in a sharply different direction for his deep-dive segment on Black hair.

Of course, the Last Week Tonight host knows that he’s not the right person to explain Black hair. He knows that he can lay out the facts about how Black people have been (historically) subject to discrimination and punitive actions regarding their natural hair. This is the case even after the 1970s and the embrace of the natural hair movement, during which “Black hair’s natural texture and culturally significant styles had become a radical act of self-acceptance and political power.” However and as Oliver notes, “White people’s discomfort and ignorance around Black hair has very much remained.” So, Oliver enlisted some experts at the end of the deep dive (around the 22:00 mark).

First, the host included panels and audio recordings (including calls to hair salons, in which white stylists professed their utter ignorance on working with Black hair). To further compound matters, Oliver highlighted how some stores place products for Black hair within protective cases alongside the freely grabbable products for white hair. However, Oliver noted that The CROWN Act, which has been passed in a handful of states, prohibits discrimination based upon race-based hairstyles. That would include braids, locs, dreadlocks, yet furthermore, as Oliver emphasizes, “Black hair shouldn’t be viewed or corralled by white people. White people really don’t need to have an opinion on it and our laws should reflect that.”

In the end, Oliver kept with his stance that he shouldn’t be the one delivering the final word on Black hair. As such, he brought on a few guests (Leslie Jones, Craig Robinson, and Uzo Aduba) to tell white viewers where they can learn about Black hair:

“F*cking Google it.”

That’s straight-up. “It can be f*cking Bing, YouTube, Wikipedia. I don’t give a sh*t,” Jones elaborated. A few short moments prior, Robinson and Aduba had explained that there are questions that can, in fact, be answered by Google, like “what does a do-rag do?” and “how often do you have to wash black hair?” Jones further added, “Once you get the information, you can appreciate all the beauty and hard work it takes to keeping my hair laid and looking good.”

Don’t want to Google it? Jones delivers an alternative course of action: “F*cking off is always an option.” Enough said.

Space Jam: A New Legacy might have Daffy and Porky Pig, but it’s another movie coming out in 2021 that’s the true spiritual successor to the Looney Tunes. The teaser trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage begins with Venom preparing breakfast for Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy. It’s pure slapstick nonsense, something you might see in a cartoon with Bugs and Yosemite Sam, which is to say, it’s great. It’s the most overtly comedic moment in the trailer — outside of Eddie convincing Venom that, no, he shouldn’t eat the store clerk — but the rest of the footage looks great, too.

We’re introduced to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who’s been thinking about Eddie. “Because you and I are the same. Every decision we ever make, who do we leave behind? And how do we leave them?” Cletus enters the Ravencroft Institute (it’s to the Spider-Man as Arkham Asylum is to Batman), but he leaves as Carnage, Venom’s archenemy. “Welcome back, Eddie Brock. It’s been a long time,” Cletus says. “Missed you so much.” Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of MARVEL’s greatest and most complex characters. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film also stars Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, and Woody Harrelson, in the role of Cletus Kasady/Carnage.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage opens on September 24. Watch the first trailer above.

Event organizers are confident that the pandemic is finally starting to see itself out, as they’ve been planning concerts and festivals, mostly for towards the end of 2021. Now Slowthai has decided to get into the festival game, as he is launching his own, Happyland.

The event, presented with Goldenvoice (the folks behind big events like Coachella), will take place on September 25 at County Cricket Club in Northhampton, UK. Alongside Slowthai, the inaugural lineup also features Beabadoobee, Idles, Easy Life, Ethan P. Flynn, Greentea Peng, Izzie Gibbs, Pa Salieu, and Shygirl.

A statement accompanying the announcement reads, “Happyland with happy folk. The place where we can laugh and joke. The place you can be yourself without judgment, expectations and impressions of someone else. The space from the shackles of the everyday. The mountain where we climb to runaway. Imagine what you’ve never had when you come to Happyland… you will never be sad.”

He also wrote while sharing the news, “starting my own festival in my hometown!!! NN to the world… this has been a dream of mine forever. i’ll see you at the happyland.”

When it comes time for the festival, the rapper could have some new music out, as he said earlier this year he was making great progress on his next album.

Happyland tickets go on sale on May 14, so learn more about the festival here.