Month: July 2021

This is an attempted ranking of the sketches in the second season of I Think You Should Leave. It will be helpful to go over a few things first, which I will address via bullet point:

• This ranking, like all rankings, is subjective, and yours might look substantially different than mine
• I’m doing the best I can
• Please do not yell at me

Okay. Here we go. I’ve separated everything into four tiers, if only because this is all quite silly and adding tiers to it made it feel even sillier. That’s all we’re doing here. That and being thankful that the good show is back. So, those two things. But that’s it.

TIER IV — THESE ARE STILL GOOD SKETCHES

24. Credit Card Roulette (Episode 5)

The thing I like about this one is that Hal seems like a legitimately nice and fun guy who likes to party. Credit Card Roulette is a terrible idea with a table that big unless everyone is flush with cash, but still. Hal seems cool. He didn’t deserve this.

23. The Little Buff Boys (Episodes 1 and 5)

There’s nothing wrong with this sketch. It’s got so much going for it: Sam Richardson, Sam Richardson in a wig, little buff dudes in goose suits, a follow-up bit multiple episodes later from a franchise owner who eats at all the best restaurants in town. I think I just bumped it down because it made me miss the “Baby of the Year” sketch from season one. I don’t know. I’m sorry!

22. Stable Of Stars (Episode 5)

This is why you need a nice coffee shop or restaurant in your area. In case your bargain-basement celebrity impersonators are hitting your guests. Remember this when house hunting.

21. Tim Can’t Drive (Episode 5)

“You don’t want to help, you just want to yell” killed me because, like, yeah, sometimes we all do just want to yell a bit.

20. Huge Dumps (Episode 6)

I need you to really think about the concept of this sketch, about a person hiring a lookalike of his coworker to wreck the company bathroom over 150 times. I need you to think about it for two reasons: One, it is maybe the purest window into Tim Robinson’s mind that we’ve seen yet; two, if you think about that, you won’t think about Jerry from Tom & Jerry sneaking around and smelling people’s underwear.

Profoundly disturbing. in a number of ways. Good show.

19. Corncob TV (Episode 1)

My favorite thing here, coming in a close second to the general idea of a show called “Coffin Flops,” is that Tim Robinson has the full-on “stubble plus razor burn” situation going on here, which somehow sells the performance in a way no expensive makeup or prosthetics ever could.

18. Space Restaurant (Episode 5)

I wasn’t in on this sketch until Gary revealed that his dad shouted “Never let the party die!” right before his execution. That could have been a whole standalone sketch, and they’re just out here tossing it off as a nonsense punchline. I have no choice but to respect it.

TIER III — THESE SKETCHES ARE ALSO GOOD

17. The Bob Odenkirk One (Episode 2)

I like that Bob Odenkirk is in this one. I don’t know if I would like it less if another actor said all those things about owning doubles and triples of classic cars. I bet I would still like it if they had cast, say, Delroy Lindo. That might have been fun, too. But I definitely liked it with Odenkirk. Yes, I did.

16. Sloppy Steaks (Episode 2)

Almost all of the sketches on this show have a twist. Not even a twist, really. More of a “someone grabs the wheel and yoinks the whole car off the highway” thing. It’s one of the things I like so much about the show, how it keeps finding new and fun ways to do that one thing over and over without it getting tiresome. A lesser show would whiff way more often. It’s almost a magic trick, really.

The point I am getting at here is, of course, slop up those steaks, boys. You’ve earned it.

15. Claire’s (Episode 6)

Look, if you don’t see the humor in a mall-based chain of children’s jewelry stores showing people an ear-piercing testimonial from a ponytailed 58-year-old man named Ron who gets diarrhea when he gets nervous, maybe this isn’t the show for you. That’s fine. You’re missing out, on both this and presumably many other simple pleasures in life, but it’s fine.

14. Insider Trading (Episode 3)

I love how far this one went. From the hat with safari flaps to the dice in the pocket to the full-on boardroom meltdown. I wonder if the hat was a Stanzo. I hear they’re nice.

13. The Dan Flashes Saga (Episode 2)

Three things:

• “Dan Flashes” is an incredible name for a store that sells shirts with complicated patterns, and it would be my favorite fake name on the show if we weren’t on our way to discussing Jamie Taco
• I hope this brings back calling people skunks as an insult
• Just a marvelous piece of business to follow this up later with a hotel television commercial

Dan Flashes.

12. Tammy Craps (Episode 6)

The layers here are what I enjoy. The weight requirement is a result of a poisonous spray to cover up the fart smell; the little girl stuffing rocks in her pockets as a ruse to acquire a doll that poops; the whole thing kind of revealing itself to be a cigar commercial. But maybe my favorite thing: the fact that the main girl in this sketch is Julia Butters, who played the child star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. What a powerful career she is building. I am serious about this.

TIER II — I ALSO HATE BALD BOYS

11. Chode Jeans (Episode 6)

I laughed out loud, hard, when the “big wave” came and Tim flung the surfer off the table. And that was before it all got to the discussion about chode jeans. What a blessing this television program is.

10. The Hot Dog Saga (Episodes 1 and 3)

See, you think the highlight here is going to be some poor dope choking on a hot dog he hid inside his sleeve during a work meeting over lunch, and then, two episodes later, everything goes 8-10 steps further with a commercial for a hot dog vacuum that features the same poor dope shouting, “You sure about that? You sure about that’s not why?” straight into the camera in what is either the smartest take on cancel culture you’ll ever see or the dumbest thing you’ll ever see regardless of category. Could be both.

9. Ghost Tour (Episode 1)

It’s the real, genuine anguish on his face that sells this. The confusion and hurt, that he thinks he’s doing it right while failing miserably, almost crying as he asks about obscene things the ghosts may or may not be doing in the haunted house. That and his mom asking if he made any friends. It’s right on that line between hilarious and heartbreaking. Tricky line to dance on. Leave it to the experts.

8. Calico Cut Pants (Episode 4)

I could not believe how long and twisted this one was. It just kept going and going, past the point of being funny and circling back around to being funny again. I think, at the end, Tim Robinson’s character revealed himself to be the devil? All for a sketch that started with drips of pee on some slacks. Part of me wants to know if Tim Robinson is, like, okay, but a bigger part of me is already waiting for season three.

7. Capital Room (Episode 2)

Patti Harrison is the greatest. She is so funny in every sketch she’s in. Just the delivery on these lines. The wine ones. All of it. And it’s not even her highest-ranked sketch on this list. I feel bad for all my bald friends but this screencap is getting texted A LOT this week.

TIER I — I WILL BE QUOTING THESE FOR A WHILE, I AM SORRY

6. Jamie Taco (Episode 4)

The wild thing about this one is that it’s actually a sweet story about a man with a supportive wife who loves him as much as he loves her, which is so much that he becomes filled with regret immediately upon making a joke at her expense with the guys.

And that’s great. But I will never get over a guy named “Jamie Taco” stealing lines in a community theater production by shouting them out before anyone else. Jamie Taco. Come on. Incredible.

5. Whole Different Guy (Episode 4)

I don’t really have any great analysis here. It’s just a good sketch. I kept waiting for a second or third twist that made it darker but the twist was that the twist never came. And it wasn’t needed, it turns out. All it needed was dancing and barking dogs and Connor O’Malley shouting a lot. Please write that down if you are making a sketch show.

4. Professor Yurabay (Episode 3)

Three notes:

• The way he says “Give me that” is maybe the funniest single line-reading of the entire season
• All of this building to that horrible joke at the end was delightful
• This one is getting quoted in restaurants for many years to come

I’m just joking.

3. The Crashmore Saga (Episode 3)

I’ve watched these two sketches — the trailer and the press tour interview — a few times already. The first time through, it was the twist that it starred Santa that got me. Then it was the lines of dialogue Santa had, like “You’re so dumb” and “You suck,” as he filled goons with bullets like a festive John Wick. By the end, it was the thing where Santa explained the concept of his quote and getting “two mill” next time even if he does a bad job. Who knows what it will be next? A real treasure.

2. Driver’s Ed (Episode 6)

TABLES

TABLES

TABLES

1. Karl Havoc (Episode 1)

There’s a chance I’m overrating this one because it was early in the first episode and I was so amped up to be watching this show again after a long break, but there’s a much better chance that the idea of a guy in a ridiculous suit having a meltdown and asking “What’s that do for the greater good?” in the middle of filming a prank show is so strange and funny in a way no other show can wrap its arms around that it filled me to the brim with joy.

One or the other. Maybe both.

Season two of ‘I Think You Should Leave’ is now streaming on Netflix.

Lil Nas X had one of the most memorable music moments of Saturday Night Live‘s most recent season when he accidentally tore his pants during his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” performance. While having that sort of gaffe on live national television might be embarrassing, as is noted in a new New York Times profile on Nas, his torn trousers “weren’t even the worst thing to happen to him that night.”

After the performance, Nas was feeling good, so while at the show’s after-party, he shot his shot with somebody he had been chatting with online. The rapper’s advances were shot down, though, as the person said they were flattered but had a boyfriend.

“I was like, ‘Damn, you’re that loyal,’” Nas said. “I love it. You forget sometimes that people are, like, really loyal, and it’s like, I want to do that.” The rejection was still hard to stomach though, but Nas reminded himself that “no matter what I do or accomplish in this life or whatever, I’m never going to get everything I want.”

Nas left the party to return to his hotel room and get a hold of himself. Once he got there, he gave himself a pep talk in the mirror and then fell asleep on the toilet.

Read the full feature here.

This November will mark the 58th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy—a game-changing moment in the history of United States politics, and an incident that every American student learns about when discussing the history of our country. Yet Oliver Stone, who seems to only get more obsessed with age, is convinced that no one remembers a thing about that day… despite the fact that anyone who was alive at that time could tell you exactly where they were the moment the news reached them. And millions more have made some sort of “back and to the left” joke as a punchline, in reference to the so-called “magic bullet” theory.

Now, a full 30 years after he released JFK, the nearly three-and-a-half-hour epic about that terrible day in American history and the tumult surrounding it (and jam-packed with plenty of Stone conspiracy theories), Stone’s back at it again—this time in the form of a documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, which is slated to premiere at Cannes later this week. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about his ongoing obsession with the murder of the 35th president, and why he has continued his crusade for learning the truth about what happened that day, Stone had this to say:

“There’s a memory hole about Kennedy. And I think, before I quit the scene, I would like to reveal what I know about the case. I can’t put everything I know into this documentary. But I can assemble a lot of the facts that came out after the movie [1991’s JFK] as well as reaffirm some of the facts in that movie because it was attacked on a broad scale. It’s very important for my conscience for the people who care to have this exist. That’s what motivated the documentary. We got the documents out. Not all. Trump was about to release them in 2017. And 12 hours before, he backed off. There’s a lot of documentation that hasn’t been released, and that’s in addition to the Secret Service, which f***ed up unusually on that day and [later] destroyed everything.”

One of JFK (the movie’s) lasting legacies was that it renewed interest in the case, which prompted Congress to pass the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which declared that all documents related to the former president’s assassination be made available to the public no later than October 26, 2017. While many once-private documents were released, there were still some that scholars—and one keenly interested Oscar-winning writer-director who just cannot let it go—who were excited to have former president Trump announce his plan to release the remaining documents while in office… but that never happened. When asked why he thought Trump reneged on his promise, Stone had this to say:

“Who knows what Trump ever thinks. He’s a mystery man. I’m sure he got pressure of some kind. And then they told him, ‘We can’t do this for security reasons.’ He did back off other things, too, when it came to us challenging the intelligence agencies. Remember that quote from [Sen. Chuck] Schumer? Trump, don’t f*** with the CIA or they will destroy you.”

Will JFK Revisited answer any remaining questions, or just trigger a slew of new ones. Looking at the director’s past work, the latter seems more likely.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Jimmy Kimmel may be on vacation at the moment, but the job of dragging the rich dorks of the world for being rich dorks doesn’t take a break for anyone. So on Tuesday night, the formidable Wanda Sykes—who is filling in for Kimmel all this week—made sure to spend a few moments discussing the viral video of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg looking as out of touch with the real world as Gwyneth Paltrow while he paid tribute to the United States in what Skyes called “the dorkiest way possible.” Here’s a sneak peek:

It’s a short clip, but Sykes had plenty to say about it, which was presumably Zuckerberg’s way of thanking your parents and that one kid you went to kindergarten with then never saw again for sticking with his social media platform, which you can watch above starting around the 1:55 mark above: “For some reason, that offends me more than the people who stormed the Capitol,” Sykes said. “It wasn’t exactly Washington crossing the Delaware, was it?”

Sykes went on to describe “riding an electric surfboard by yourself while holding the flag” as “the saddest thing you’ve ever seen.” Though in many ways, she was also happy to see that American patriotism as we know it, along with stupidity in the name of celebrating the grand ol’ US of A, was back in full force this year, noting: “I will say, after dealing with nothing but COVID, it was nice for a change to have our emergency rooms crowded with people who blew their fingers off with fireworks. That’s progress… right?”

Sadly, yes.

Every actor (and actress) knows that playing a superhero (or supervillain, or antihero) means that posting proof of one’s “jacked” physicality is part of the game. Chris Hemsworth’s ripped arms know that there’s no pain and no gain, yet no one is better at these jacked photos than The Rock. Lately, he’s been even more jacked than usual, given that his jacked legs are looking more ripped than on a normal day (or month), due to the camera finally rolling on the long-gestating Shazam! spinoff, Black Adam.

Yet creativity is a must. Recently, Yayha Abdul-Mateen II, who is revisiting his Black Manta role in Aquaman 2, posted a chill photo instead to go against the grain, but The Rock’s shaking things up in a different way: with a rear view while signaling the final week of Black Adam production.

“Almost two years of hard core, intense training, diet, character prep and execution,” The Rock wrote in part. “You’ve been right there rockin’ with me all this time … And now it’s my turn and I hope to deliver the definitive antihero you deserve.”

Well, that’s one way to grab some attention. People haven’t seen The Rock in this way since his frequent WWE days, right? You gotta respect him posting a tush photo while promising, “The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change.” Well played, The Rock. Well played.

My husband and I own a short-term rental, and last year a woman rented it for a couple of months straight. She was friendly, personable, and overall a lovely guest. But she asked for things, a lot. Like, all the time. Big things, little things—it seemed like pretty much anything she thought she could possibly ask for, she asked for.

My husband, who manages the property and requests from guests, found himself getting irritated that she was asking for so many things.

“I don’t think she expects you to actually say yes to all of these things,” I finally told him. “I think she’s just an extreme asker.”

He looked puzzled. That’s when I pulled up this Atlantic article I’d read years ago about how some people are “Askers” and some people are “Guessers” and read it to him.

“Wow,” he said after I finished. “That is seriously life-changing.”

---

“Life-changing” is how practically I share this concept with describes it once they understand it. When you hear it explained, it seems so obvious, but it’s not something people articulate often.

It’s also not particularly scientific. The original Askers vs. Guessers explanation appears to have come from someone’s AskMetafilter answer in 2007, but it’s since been expanded and expounded upon by various people throughout the years.

Here’s the gist of it:

Some people are Askers, and in “ask culture,” it’s normal and expected to ask directly for the things you want. It’s also normal to say no to such requests. Asking culture is upfront, direct, and generally okay with saying no and being told no. If you want something, you simply ask for it without an expectation of any particular answer.

Other people are Guessers, and in “guess culture,” you don’t ask for things unless you’re quite sure the answer will be yes. You might drop hints or make vague allusions to what you want as you try to gauge whether the person would say yes, or even to get an offer without having to ask. If you think the answer might be no, you simply don’t ask.

Where Askers and Guessers clash the most is in the saying no part. Askers know sometimes the answer will be no, but they ask anyway. Because Guessers won’t ask if the answer might be no, they might assume Askers expect all of their asks to be answered with yes. Saying no is uncomfortable to a Guesser, so being put into the position of having to say no to someone’s ask feels rude.

I’ve had coworkers, family members, and friends say this concept totally changed the way they see and interact with people. Guessers tend to struggle with the bluntness of Askers and feel put off by their directness until they understand that Askers always just ask—the answer doesn’t always have to be yes. Askers tend to struggle with the seeming passive aggressiveness of Guessers and get frustrated by their pussyfooting until they understand that asking directly feels rude to them—Guessers just hate putting people in a position of saying “no.”

Much has been made about whether Asking vs. Guessing is a family upbringing thing, a cultural thing, or a personality thing, and also about whether one is better than the other. Certainly, some cultures around the world tend to be more direct, while others tend to be less so. The same goes for families, and even certain regions of the country. In my experience as an American, I’d say the U.S. is fairly evenly split between the two tendencies.

Of course, people don’t always fit neatly into two distinct categories, and th e relationship we have with people can impact all of this greatly. With people we are close to, we might be more of an Asker than with people we don’t know all that well. But overall, understanding the difference between Askers and Guessers can make social situations so much easier to navigate.

For example, let’ss ay you have a coworker who constantly seems to be asking for things or throws ideas your way all the time. They’re probably an Asker. They don’t necessarily expect you to act on all of their ideas or say yes to what they’re asking for. Or let’s say you have a neighbor who starts talking about their vacation plans and mentions they’re worried about their plants not getting enough water while they’re gone. They might be a Guesser who wants to ask you to water for them. They just don’t want to ask you directly.

The woman who rented our place was an extreme example of an Asker, and after my husband (who is a Guesser) got that, he found it so much easier to interact with her. He understood she wasn’t expecting a yes with every ask, so her questions didn’t feel so rude. And sure enough, when he was clear about what we could and couldn’t accommodate, she was totally unfazed by the things he said no to.

Life-changing, seriously.

While the Milwaukee Bucks fell in Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals, there was one silver lining: Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to play. After suffering a knee injury during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks, Antetokounmpo proceeded to watch on the sideline as Milwaukee wrapped up the series and earned a spot in the Finals.

Originally listed as doubtful, Antetokounmpo was upgraded to questionable earlier in the day on Tuesday and, after going through his pregame warmup, got the green light. He was one of the team’s bright spots on the evening, going for 20 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in the 118-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Antetokounmpo gave a glimpse into the last week or so of his life after the game, saying that when he originally got hurt, his fear was that he’d be on the bench for the remainder of the postseason.

“I haven’t watched the clip, but when the play happened I thought, ‘I’m going to be out for a year,’” Antetokounmpo said. “So, I’m just happy that, two games later, I’m back.”

As for how he felt after 35 minutes against a pesky Suns side, Antetokounmpo gave as positive of an update as he could, saying, “I felt good, I don’t feel pain. I can run, I can jump, I can set screens, I can rebound the ball, I can do stuff. So, I’m good, I’m happy, I’m happy that I’m out there.”

Still, Antetokounmpo is in a race against time. Time will tell how he feels when he wakes up in the morning after playing an entire basketball game, while Game 2 of the Finals is on Thursday evening. Milwaukee was outclassed in Game 1, and any path back into the series will almost certainly require Antetokounmpo being the former league MVP that he is. The question now is whether or not his knee will let him get to that point.

Nicki Minaj has a big surprise for fans and she’s asking them all to meet her on an Instagram Livestream later this week. It’s the latest in what’s been a comeback year of sorts for the famed rapper. Her last album came in 2018 with Queen while, prior to May at least, her last solo single arrived in 2020 with “Yikes.” After a lengthy wait, Nicki returned with three new songs — one of them being “Seeing Green” with Lil Wayne and Drake — that came attached to a reuploaded version of her beloved mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty. Now it appears Nicki has more on the way for fans.

“There’s something I URGENTLY need to share w you guys,” Nicki tweeted with a slew of siren emojis. “I’ll go LIVE on IG THURSDAY @ 10:30PM EST No, I won’t be late. In fact, I’ll be early. This is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Love you guys so much.”

The vague announcement left fans guessing what the “very very very important” news could. There’s a chance it’s regarding a new album from the rapper which would end her drought of three years without one. Other guesses have been that the livestream might be an update on her upcoming HBO Max docuseries. Nicki previously confirmed that the series will be made up of six half-hour episodes that dive into her professional and personal world while giving fans unique access to her life.

You can read the announcement from Nicki above.

Prior to tip-off of Game 1 on Tuesday evening, the major story surrounding the 2021 NBA Finals was the injury-related availability of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time NBA MVP was able to play in the series opener, however, and that added to the already considerable intrigue of a best-of-seven clash between two top-tier teams at something approaching full strength.

While Antetokounmpo performed admirably, it was another star that stole the show in Chris Paul. As a result, the Phoenix Suns took a 1-0 series lead with a 118-105 victory at home.

Out of the gate, Antetokounmpo looked to be moving well, including a designed play for a lob on the first possession of the game. He attempted four free throws in the first four minutes and, much like the reception Antetokounmpo received on the road in both Brooklyn and Atlanta, the fans in Phoenix let him know he was taking too long at the charity stripe.

Antetokounmpo did generate four points and four rebounds during this first stint, though, alleviating at least some of the apprehension that accompanied him before tip-off.

After a back-and-forth start for both teams, the Suns landed the first blow in the form of a quick 6-0 run. It was a pair of role players, Cameron Johnson and Cameron Payne, knocking down the triples, and the crowd in Phoenix was at a fever pitch as the Bucks called a timeout late in the opening quarter.

Phoenix’s lead stayed at four points at the end of the first quarter, as the home team withstood strong production from Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Much of that could be traced to Devin Booker, who scored 12 points and dished out three assists in the opening period.

Midway through the second quarter, the Suns compiled a 10-4 run to take their largest lead to that point at 45-38. Unfortunately, Phoenix lost backup big man Dario Saric to a knee issue but, even as they went deeper into their bench with Frank Kaminsky, the Suns could rely on Booker and Paul against Lopez in space.

Phoenix maintained their advantage, taking an eight-point lead into halftime on the strength of 27 combined points from Booker and Paul. The Suns would’ve had a larger edge if not for the work of Antetokounmpo, who put up 10 points, nine rebounds and a show-stopping chase-down block in the final minute of the half.

The home team asserted additional control early in the third quarter, scoring on the first possession of the period to take a double-digit lead and building from there. After Paul connected on a four-point play (while narrowly avoiding an injury), Phoenix extended their largest lead to 65-52.

The Suns weren’t done there, as they carved up Milwaukee’s defensive coverages both inside and outside. Booker and Paul continued to excel and, with nearly five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Deandre Ayton already had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Paul then took his turn at the center of the frame, scoring eight points in a 69-second span. He had the entire Milwaukee defense on a string and, after Ayton made a pair of free throws, the Suns led by a 20-point margin with 2:18 left in the third.

Despite the best efforts of Khris Middleton, who scored eight points in the final two minutes of the third quarter, the Bucks trailed by 16 points as the fourth quarter began. In relatively short order, however, Milwaukee made things quite interesting with a mini-spurt that was capped by a Bryn Forbes three-pointer that slashed the margin to single digits with 7:46 to play.

The Bucks did cut their deficit to as few as seven points in the fourth quarter, but the Suns put the pedal to the floor from there. Ultimately, the dagger came from Paul, who produced a three-point play with 3:36 to go to put Phoenix in front by 14 points at 113-99.

With the win, the Suns improve to an impressive 12-0 when leading by double figures at any point in the playoffs, and they put together a highly efficient performance. Phoenix made 25 of their 26 free throw attempts, committed only nine turnovers and utilized their star power to zoom to nearly 1.2 points per possession.

Individually, Paul was absolutely brilliant, as the future Hall of Fame guard scored 32 points (despite a scoreless first quarter) and dished out nine assists in his first career NBA Finals game. Booker added 27 points and six assists, with Ayton dominating the interior to the tune of 22 points and 19 rebounds.

On the Bucks side, there were some positive signs, headlined by Antetokounmpo’s ability to play and perform effectively. The Bucks were +1 in his 35 minutes on the floor, with Antetokounmpo scoring 20 points and securing 17 rebounds. Milwaukee also shot well from three-point distance (44 percent), but the Bucks were walloped at the free throw line and Milwaukee also lost the turnover battle, with Phoenix scoring 16 points directly off the Bucks’ 14 giveaways.

Game 2 arrives on Thursday in Phoenix and, in short, Milwaukee will enter with a sense of urgency as they seek to avoid an 0-2 deficit, even if the series will soon shift to their home building. But for now, the Suns are in control, thanks in large part to their All-NBA point guard making the most of his first time on this stage.

The last time South London rapper Dave released an album was back in 2019 with his debut effort, Psychodrama. The project won lots of awards in its native England. Finally he’s rearing his follow-up, We’re All Alone In This Together, which is set to arrive on July 23. He shared the news during an interview with Ciaran Thapar for GQ, which he described like this:

I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20. Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement. The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.

The album’s first tentative single is “Clash,” featuring Stormzy. As for what else to expect, fans will just have to wait a couple of weeks to see.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.