Month: June 2021

On Friday, Nigeria gave Twitter a punch to the gut when it put a ban on the social media network. Yes, that’s right: No one in the entire West African country is allowed to tweet because of what Nigerian Information Minister Lai Mohammed called “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” The ban came just one day after the platform deleted a tweet from Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, in which he reportedly threatened secessionists. Trevor Noah dedicated a few minutes of Tuesday night’s The Daily Show to talk about the ban and what it means for the country, but there was one part of the assembled clip reel of news reports that he just couldn’t let go.

At the very beginning of the segment, The Daily Show featured a clip from CNN in which anchor Michael Holmes discussed the ban, but did so in a way that seemed… suspiciously superfluous. Here’s how Holmes introduced the story: “Nigeria is a country plagued by kidnappings, extremists, and bandits. But the government wants to crack down on a new type of criminal: Twitter users.”

Noah, for one, didn’t like this added bit of color commentary—which was in no way germane to the story. Nor is it something that you’d normally hear a reporter do when revealing news about a country. Even a country “plagued” with problems. (Aren’t we all?) In discussing this double standard, Noah had just one question for Holmes:

“Ok, as an African, allow me to say: What the f*ck? I mean, yes, that’s all true, but still: What the f*ck? You never hear a foreign news anchor talking about the United States that way. ‘America is a country plagued by school shootings, extremists, and failing infrastructure. But the government wants to raise the price of postage stamps!’”

You can watch the full segment above, beginning around the 4:50 mark.

(Via The Wrap)

The Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns will continue their Western Conference semifinal matchup with Game 2 on Wednesday evening. Phoenix prevailed in Game 1, overcoming a second-half deficit with stellar play and pulling away in what became a 122-105 win in their home building.

As often, Devin Booker and Chris Paul were tremendous in Game 1, scoring 21 points each (on strong efficiency) and combining for 19 assists. Phoenix holds a sizable advantage in the backcourt against Denver, particularly with the Nuggets operating without Jamal Murray. However, that wasn’t the only source of effectiveness for the Suns in Game 1, as Deandre Ayton (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Mikal Bridges (23 points) showcased their immense talent. While it may be aggressive to suggest that Ayton outplayed Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the fact that it was a close battle is a good sign for the Suns, leaving the Nuggets in a more urgent position as Game 2 arrives.

Jokic was crowned as the 2020-21 NBA MVP on Tuesday and deservedly so. He operated below his normal efficiency level despite 22 points and nine rebounds in Game 1, but the bigger issue for Denver was their defense, particularly in the second half. The Suns scored 65 points, despite a slow pace, after halftime, and it will be a challenge for the Nuggets to right the ship in their coverages for Game 2 and beyond. In addition, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone noted post-game that Michael Porter Jr. didn’t return in the fourth quarter due to a tweaked back, and Jokic needs all the help he can get as Denver tries to avoid an 0-2 deficit.

From a betting standpoint, Game 1 went Over the total of 222.5 points and Phoenix covered the closing point spread of six points as a favorite.

Game 2 TV Info

Tip Time: Wednesday, June 9; 9:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 2 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Suns (-400), Nuggets (+300)
Spread: Suns -6 (-110), Nuggets +6 (-110)
Total: Over 222 (-113), Under 222 (-109)
Money Line: Suns (-240), Nuggets (+195)

The Utah Jazz have drawn first blood in their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite going down huge early and trailing by double-digits by halftime, a supernova performance from Donovan Mitchell lifted Utah to a 112-109 win, even thought Mike Conley was out with an injury.

The first quarter began with Utah getting scorching hot before going ice cold. The Jazz jumped out to a 7-0 run early on in the game before going on to miss 21 shots in a row. In that time, the Clippers opened things up, ripping off a 22-2 run — powered by nine first quarter points from Luke Kennard — to quiet the crowd and give themselves a little breathing room in the unfriendly confines of Salt Lake City.

Not only did Los Angeles extend its lead in the second, it did so in one of the most unconventional ways you can. Playoff basketball is known as a place where rotations have to be tightened, but instead, Tyronn Lue dug deep into his bench and played 11 players in the first half. Some, like Ivica Zubac and Patrick Beverley, returned to the rotation after getting played off the floor against Dallas last round. Others, like DeMarcus Cousins, just straight up did not take the floor against the Mavericks.

The result: The Clippers found itself up, 60-47, at the half. Los Angeles was powered by a fairly egalitarian effort, with 11 points from Kennard, nine from Reggie Jackson, seven (with three rebounds and three assists) from Kawhi Leonard, and six from Cousins, Nic Batum, and Marcus Morris. The team knocked down 11 of their 23 attempts from three (45.5 percent), which the Jazz were bricklayers, going 7-for-27 (26.9 percent) from downtown. Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson led the way, combining for 22 points, but it came on 8-for-24 shooting from the field.

Utah came out of the half and caught fire, stirring the crowd into a frenzy with a 12-2 run right out of the gate to cut the Clippers’ lead to three. Four points from Leonard opened the lead back up, but the Jazz just kept coming. Each time they’d get on the doorstep, though, the Clippers managed to have an answer to give themselves a little breathing room.

Ultimately, the dam broke thanks to Royce O’Neale. A missed jumper by Leonard was pulled down by Mitchell, who pushed the ball in transition and into the waiting arms of O’Neale. Utah’s 3-and-D wing did the of the work from there, gliding in and kissing the ball off the backboard to give the Jazz their first lead since the first quarter.

The teams traded the lead back-and-forth to end the half, with things being so razor close that things were all tied up at 79.

The Jazz drew first blood in the fourth quarter, opening up a six-point lead early on in the frame.

While the Clippers would continue to threaten, the tables were turned from the start of the third quarter — every time L.A. would inch closer, Utah seemed to have an answer. It helped to have Mitchell, who came up huge time and time again down the stretch.

And yet the Clippers had a chance. George hit a three on the penultimate possession of the game to slice Utah’s lead in hald, followed by a Mitchell brick. Opting to not call a timeout, Los Angeles brought the ball up and tried to get off a game-tying triple. Both teams scrambled, the ball found Morris in the corner, and Gobert showed off his defensive excellence by blocking his attempt to get off a shot.

Mitchell was the man of the night, scoring 45 points on 16-for-30 shooting with a 6-for-15 clip from three. Clarkson and Bogdan Bogdanovic each had 18, while Gobert scored 10 points, pulled in 12 rebounds, and blocked three shots. For Los Angeles, Leonard’s 23 and seven rebounds led the way, George had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds — although he shot a paltry 4-for-17 from the field — and Kennard provided much-needed offense off the bench, going for 18 points.

Game 2 between the Jazz and Clippers will take place in Salt Lake City on Thursday evening at 10 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Now that festivals are officially back, the biggest hip-hop event in Texas — where else would it be? — is expanding beyond the state’s borders come Fall 2021. JMBLYA Fest will now travel outside of its home in the Lone Star state, beginning with an initial date on Labor Day weekend near Fayetteville, Arkansas then move back to Texas for stops in Dallas and Austin, and finally begin a first-time run through hubs on both coasts in Boston, Maine and San Francisco, California with a final stop in Phoenix, Arizona.

Anchored by artists like Future, Gunna, and Lil Tecca, along with The Kid LaRoi and Flo Milli, the event has been one of the biggest and longest running hip-hop festivals in Texas since 2013. Festival organizers ScoreMore Shows are also behind Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston, and ScoreMore’s President & Founder Sascha Stone Guttfreund said a nationwide move is part of the event’s ethos.

“Our business has always been about providing something different,” he said in a press release. “JMBLYA going nationwide is the culmination of the idea of bringing an affordably priced festival experience to markets that don’t have something like it. We are known for curated events that pair big-name acts with future superstars. If you look back on our lineups, you’ll see that many of the openers we book later go on to become headliners. Save that lineup tee. See y’all soon.”

Tickets for each individual stop will be available Friday, June 11 at local time. Pre-order will begin tomorrow, Wednesday June 9 at 10 AM. Sign up for JMBLYA’s newsletter here for access to pre-order, and check out the exact festival dates below.

2021 JMBLYA Festival dates:

Friday, September 3: Wal-Mart Amphitheater in Rogers, AR
Saturday, September 4: Dos Equis Pavillion in Dallas, TX
Sunday, September 5: Germania Amphitheater in Austin, TX
Saturday, September 25: Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, October 2: Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA
Saturday, October 9: Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA

One of the things that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe one of the greatest cinematic feats thus far is the same thing that drives some folks far away from it, and that is the unbelievable scope of the story it tells. As of right now, the MCU has gone through “three phases,” and currently has 23 interconnected films, as well as a handful of supplemental series. There is frankly a staggering amount to parse through in the MCU, so it’s only natural we need some kind of refresher before we dive into the “next big thing” which, in this case, is Loki.

The upcoming Disney+ mini-series follows Thor’s mischievous baby brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) as he decides to “play” hero himself — “play” being a keyword here because we hardly presume his intentions are entirely pure. So, if you’re wondering how we got here and what we should expect, we’re here to help you with that “glorious burden.” Fair warning though, we will be spoiling all Loki-related events in the MCU, so read at your own risk.

What we know so far:

Though Loki grew up in Asgard, it is important to remember one piece of information before we go further: Loki is not as Asgardian. Loki was born a Frost Giant in the Norse land of Jotunheim, and was abandoned by his father Laufey only to be found by Odin during the Asgardian invasion. However, rather than let him die, Odin decided to raise the child, and used his magic to disguise Loki as an Asgardian before bringing him back home to his wife Frigga and son Thor. However, at least in Loki’s eyes, Odin always treated him… differently, and seeing as he was never told of his heritage, it made no sense to him (not that him knowing would justify the cruelty). As a result, Loki grew to resent Odin and Thor –whom his father treated nicely and named heir to Asgard — whilst turning to his adoptive mother, Frigga, for comfort.

This tension caused Loki to play the villain in his first few movies, stirring up trouble in both Asgard (Thor) and on Earth (Avengers). Prior to his attempt to conquer the Earth in Avengers, it’s important to note Loki met with none other than Thanos, who gave him the means to take over the realm in exchange for the Tesseract (aka the Space Infinity Stone). As bad guys do, Loki ultimately fails and is imprisoned in Asgard, marking the start of Thor: The Dark World. In The Dark World, we see a new side of Loki as he actually helps his brother Thor out when Asgard falls under attack — though much of this is due to selfish reasons as well as intense agony at Frigga’s murder. At the end of the film, Loki seemingly sacrifices himself to save Thor. However, after Thor speaks with his father Odin and relinquishes his title as heir to Asgard to live among humans, we find out Loki is alive and has taken on the form of their father, and would use that form for years to effectively rule Asgard while Thor was away.

In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor busts Loki’s scheme and forces him to take a trip to visit their father on Earth, where he warns them about their sister Hela’s incoming invasion before his death. Loki and Thor then work together (mostly) to stop Hela’s invasion, though ultimately have to destroy their homeland in the process. At the end of the film, the brothers have reached an understanding and are loading the Asgardians into ships to establish a settlement on Earth. However, this plan is ruined in Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos attacks the ships and kills Loki in his final and most sincere act of self-sacrifice. Despite his death, Loki does make an appearance in Avengers: Endgame, when the Avengers travel back in time to attempt to steal the Tesseract from him. However, things don’t go quite as planned — which brings us to Loki.

Wait, so if he’s dead, when does Loki take place?

While “when” is certainly a factor, it’s a lot more so about… where. Loki takes place in an alternate universe created by the trickster god during the aforementioned ‘time heist’ scene in Avengers: Endgame. Turns out, when Loki used the Space Stone within the Tesseract to create a cosmic portal and escape New York, he kinda sorta ruptured the timeline. Therefore, the Loki we see in Loki is not at all the man (or god) we’ve come to know and love. During 2019’s San Diego Comic Con, Hiddleston explained it best — and got us pumped to see what’s next for his character — when he said:

“You guys saw Avengers, right? He’s still that guy. And just about the last thing that happened to him was that he got Hulk-smashed, so there’s a lot of psychological evolution that hasn’t happened yet, but Kevin Feige has generously showed me what his plans are—I can’t tell you any of them—but it is one of the most exciting creative opportunities I think I’ve ever come across.”

For those of you who might be heartbroken by the idea of all that growth vanishing as suddenly as Loki himself did, there’s a real silver lining to the situation: Loki is all about, well, Loki, meaning we won’t just see the gradual change over time, we’ll be invited to delve into how he views himself and the world. We already know he has the capacity for love and self-sacrifice, and now we get to see how it emerges.

Okay, makes sense. What is the show going to be about?
Loki follows the trickster as he faces the consequences for disrupting the timeline, which primarily consists of the wrath of the all-powerful and boringly bureaucratic Time Variance Authority, or TVA for short. The TVA is the organization in the Marvel universe responsible for disciplining the heroes and villains who tamper with time, which, in this case, includes Loki. Based on the trailers we’ve seen, it looks like Loki will be working with Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius — a high-ranking TVA agent — to repair and undo the damage he has done by going back in time to both famous events and correcting their course, kind of like a strange Doctor Who. Thanks to the trailers, we’ve already gotten a glimpse at one event — the infamous D.B. Cooper heist — but it goes without saying we’ll most likely be seeing Loki revisit famous Marvel events as well.

Oh no. So does this mean we have to watch him die at the end again?

I mean, at this point who could say! He’s already been “killed off” three times, yet in some way, shape, or form, he always seems to return to grace our television screens. While we can’t say for sure if we’ll see Loki sacrifice himself once more as he rights the events of Endgame, there is one piece of interesting news you should know: according to a leak, a second season is already in the works. It looks like Loki can’t get enough of us as much as we can’t get enough of him.

Sweet! So will Loki impact the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Based on what we know about Marvel’s slate of upcoming films? Absolutely. While we got a taste of time and space in the previous phases of the MCU, be prepared for things to get weird and multi-dimensional in phase four. In the comics, the idea of infinite universes with infinitely different timelines is frequently used to tell larger-than-life stories, and we can see that start to come into play in WandaVision, the upcoming Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It seems impossible that Loki’s meddling with timelines and alternate realities will not lead into these films in a major way.

Of course, everything above is speculation. Find out what’s next for yourself when Loki hits Disney+ on June 9.

Kanye West’s last album, Jesus Is King, came out in 2019. Before it arrived, the rapper said he would no longer make secular music, and the gospel-driven effort went on to win a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 2021 award show. It’s been nearly two years since its arrival, and his many fans are patiently waiting his next body of work, which Kanye has been teasing, now and again, ever since. Now West’s manager has finally arrived with some good news.

Abou “Bu” Thiam, said manager and who is also Akon’s brother, teased Kanye’s next album on Instagram. “WestDayEver. Album OTW.” he wrote under a post of a West’s first official release with Gap, with whom he partnered last summer for an upcoming collection.

It’s unknown if the title of West’s upcoming album is now titled West Day Ever, as the rapper was previously promoting a project under the title of Donda last summer. That effort was set to arrive on July 24, 2020, but the day came and went without any arrival. In March, after ten months of silence, frequent collaborator Cyhi The Prynce revealed that West had gotten back to work on the album around the end of 2020.

The Philadelphia 76ers entered Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks with a sense of urgency after a home loss in Game 1. While it wasn’t smooth sailing for all 48 minutes, the Sixers recovered nicely, dominating on the offensive end behind Joel Embiid and riding an unexpected wave from Shake Milton to a 118-102 victory to even the series.

The opening moments belonged entirely to the Sixers to the tune of a 23-6 run. Philadelphia generated an easy bucket just seconds after the tip-off and, with the Hawks shooting just 3-for-14, the home crowd was rocking.

Tobias Harris was enormous in the early going for the Sixers, scoring 12 points in the first five minutes of action.

Harris scored 16 points in the first quarter and Philadelphia led by as many as 18 points before settling in with a 13-point lead after 12 minutes. It wasn’t just the offense either, as the Sixers did a much better job against Trae Young.

Atlanta didn’t fade, though, as they started the second quarter with a 13-2 run. That slashed the deficit to two and, once again, Philadelphia’s bench leaked oil.

There were plenty of fireworks in the second quarter, first with Embiid and Clint Capela exchanging dunks.

Then, Embiid got caught up with Danilo Gallinari, with both picking up technical fouls in the final minute of the half.

With Embiid heading to the bench until the break, the Hawks put together a late flourish, with Kevin Huerter and Gallinari both converting triples to trim the halftime margin down to two.

Atlanta’s bench was dominant in the first two quarters, keeping them engaged. Huerter and Gallinari combined for 30 points and, whenever Embiid left the floor, the Hawks charged to stay in touch.

Coming out of halftime, the Sixers seemingly threatened to pull away. Philadelphia put together a 14-4 run midway through the third quarter, taking a 73-63 and flashing their upside.

The Hawks weren’t ready to fade, though, and they produced their best single run of the evening. Bogdan Bogdanovic converted back-to-back three-pointers to key a 12-2 run and, when it was over, Atlanta took its first lead of the night at 80-79 with 2:41 remaining in the third.

Atlanta’s lead didn’t last long, though, and Philadelphia extended their advantage to seven points at the end of the third quarter. It looked as if the Sixers would lead by only four, but Milton knocked down a deep buzzer-beater to give the home team a boost.

Milton wasn’t done, as he became the cult hero of the night for Philadelphia. He scored 14 points in his first 11 minutes of action, rewarding Doc Rivers for his faith and keying what became a 14-0 overall run for the Sixers to effectively put the game away.

The Hawks never made a run from there and, while Philadelphia’s ability to slow Trae Young was significant, it was the offense that carried the Sixers. Embiid was dominant, finishing with 40 points and 13 rebounds, and Philadelphia took care of the ball at an elite level (nine turnovers, including only two in the second half) while producing tremendous shooting efficiency (53 percent from the floor, 46 percent from three). Atlanta’s offense was reasonably effective for the most part, especially through the prism of Huerter and Gallinari off the bench, but the Hawks couldn’t get enough stops to weather the storm.

Ultimately, Atlanta secured the split that any road team is seeking in the first two games of a playoff series. Embiid’s health and performance are seemingly trending in the right direction, however, and the Hawks will need to recapture their Game 1 magic as they host Game 3 on Friday at State Farm Arena.

The Spider-Man franchise is getting a new, slightly different addition. Later this summer, Disney and Disney Junior will premiere the new show Spidey And His Amazing Friends, an animated series that shows Peter Parker save the day with help from fellow web-slinging friends Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales. It also features infrequent appearances from Kamala Khan, Black Panther, Hulk, and more. While it will be a while before it debuts, you can already listen to series’ theme song, created by Fall Out Boy lead vocalist Patrick Stump.

The ear-pleasing track came paired with a clip that portrays some of the adventures that Gwen, Peter, and Miles will embark upon throughout the series. As the trio swings through the city, Stump sings, “They’re your friendly neighborhood spiders / whoa-oh, go webs, go!”

This is not the first TV show that Stump has contributed to in recent years. He soundtracked “Night Begins To Shine” for Teen Titans Go! back in 2017 and the year before that he reworked the Ghostbusters theme song with Missy Elliot for the 2016 reboot.

On a more recent note, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and Weezer rescheduled their delayed Hella Mega Tour after the pandemic ruined the bands’ original plans to hit the road last year. The new tour kicks off next month in Dallas, TX.

You can listen to the theme song in the video above.

Geraldo Rivera is not what one would call “part of the resistance,” but ever since Donald Trump lost re-election in November, he’s been one of the only voices of reason on Fox News. (Although he’s still not as savage as Chris Matthews.) He’s been adamant about attacking those who spread 2020 election lies. And on Tuesday he didn’t hold back when a colleague on the late afternoon pow-wow The Five had a demeaning thing to say about Vice President Kamala Harris.

The group was discussing Harris’ attempts to handle the border crisis in the southern United States, particularly a curious statement she made to NBC News, in which she asked migrants “not to come” here. While his colleagues took evident glee in roasting her comments, Rivera was a lot more understanding.

“She has kind of a quirky nature that when pressed, remember in the presidential primaries, how unpleasant she sometimes comes across when she’s under pressure,” Rivera argued. He still called her tour of the border a “disaster,” but he allowed that she could “recover,” that she “can mature in office.”

But his co-hosts weren’t having it, especially longtime The Five participant Katie Pavlich, who went from attacking her actions to suggesting she didn’t properly earn her current gig. “This is what happens when you choose your vice president based on gender and skin color rather than actual talent and expertise,” she said.

Rivera wasted no time in pouncing on her, saying, “That’s so mean.”

“Oh, it’s mean?” Pavlich replied. “It’s actually true.”

“She was attorney general of the state of California, she was a United States senator,” Rivera shot back. “You can’t demean her!”

Pavlich continued to double down, claiming, “There’s a reason why she got zero votes and had to drop out of the race before they even started taking votes.”

Of course, Harris couldn’t have received zero votes if she ended her campaign before any votes were cast. But Pavlich moved on to attacking Barack Obama before segueing into a different segment critical of critical race theory.

Some on social media questioned Pavlich’s logic.

Same came for Rivera, too.

And others found the whole thing to be a quintessential Fox News moment.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Two years ago, DaBaby stepped into the mainstream with his breakout single, “Suge,” which was also the highlight of his debut album, Baby On Baby. Since then, the North Carolina-bred rapper has gone on to become one of hip-hop’s most commercially successful rappers. His 2020 album, Blame It On Baby, and its No. 1 single “Rockstar” with Roddy Ricch are both proof of that. And they’ve only made DaBaby more confident as a rapper.

DaBaby took to his Instagram Story to send a message to his competition. “Best mf rapper & I’m on ALLLAT shit these n****s LIE about,” he declared. “I’m him frfr. If a n**** ain’t tryna work with the real thang he SCARED. The best supposed to compete w/ the best These n****s just TALK like they like dat SHUUUUT UP.”

It’s unknown what exactly DaBaby feels people are lying about, but whatever it is, this outburst may join a growing list of his controversial moments. Last week, one of his Billion Dollar Baby artists, Wisdom, was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a firearm after he shot a man in the calf following a verbal altercation. On a lighter note, he recently joined Yo Gotti for their strip-club friendly track “Drop.”