Month: August 2021

Unwittingly, Trippie Redd became involved with one of the longest cold wars in hip-hop — the one that continually flares up between Drake and Kanye. With Kanye gearing up to released his ever-evolving Donda project (which he now claims was put out without his approval), and Drake’s long-awaited Certified Lover Boy finally on the horizon, these two have reason to be going at each other again as they vie for the top spot in the genre. Meanwhile, Trippie was just stoked to release his latest album, Trip At Knight with a Drake feature on it.

When the song in question, “Betrayal,” dropped with Drizzy rapping: “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know / Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go,” he raps, which probably references Kanye’s age of 44, though his other GOOD Music rival, Pusha T, is also 44 years old. “Ye ain’t changin’ shi*t for me, it’s set in stone / Rollin’ stones, heavy stones (PinkGrillz) / Precious stone, let me make my presence known.”

Trippie, however, was completely in the dark as to the significance of the bars. “I thought he was talking about a strap or something, forty-five, forty-four,” he told 92.3 Real in an interview. “I didn’t know what he was talking about. It is what it is.”

At this point, R&B revivalist Summer Walker generates as many headlines for her drama-laced interactions with former beau London Holmes (better known as London on da Track) as she does for her admittedly heartfelt, relatable, commercially successful music. Today, she trended on Twitter after a series of posts on Instagram venting about the former couple’s relationship and current misadventures in co-parenting their newborn baby, including text posts deriding him on her private account @galactawhore and her a nearly eight-minute video on her main account.

In Story on her secondary account, she told fans, “London calling & dm’ing everyone around me cause he BLOCKED talking bout ‘if you care about summer get that n**** away from her.’ So if anything happens to me it was him. Ghetto baby daddy from hell. I be minding my business & NEVER call him unless it’s about the well being of my child. Smh crazy mf. & “that n****” has been raising your child since 2 months cause you ain’t sh*t and wouldn’t help me. You need to stop threating people & tell him thank you, f*ckin weirdo.”

In a later post, she called London “a pathological liar” and “narcissist,” accusing him of gaslighting her and again warning him to stay away from her. She also took on London’s other partners, calling them out for pursuing fights and friction in the face of her attempts to make peace. She broke down the situation in the lengthy video she placed on her own page.

For their part, London and the other women have refuted her claims, with London blaming Summer’s outburst on her “mental health” not being “where it need to be.” His other children’s mothers also dropped their own comments.

It’s beginning to look like the only way to fix this is getting Jada Smith on the phone and all four of these people onto the Red Table Talk. In the meantime, fans are convinced that all the extracurricular drama bodes well for the next album, giving the singer plenty of mess to address with her bluntly honest lyrics.

At this point, there’s no argument about the situation in Afghanistan being a disaster. Yet there’s a lot of finger pointing going on. President Biden has pointed towards the Trump administration’s dealmaking for “peace” that ultimately wasn’t honored. An amped-up Don Jr. can’t stop gloating about the Fall of Kabul on Biden’s watch (and receiving comeuppance). And Don Jr. has claimed that his dad would swoop in like Batman and save everyone, which hasn’t happened, although Blackwater founder Erik Prince has been called “an absolute POS” for charging people $6500 for a ride out of town.

On the die-hard MAGA front, the blame keeps on flying after a U.S. drone strike with fallout, and reports that the Taliban is placing “kill” squads to go after U.S. allies. On that note, Scott Baio, who definitely has “Chachi” in his Twitter bio, tweeted a Fox News headline and tweeted at a handful of celebrity leftists to ask, “Where are you now?” One of those names happened to be 1980s pop sensation Richard Marx, to whom Baio declared, “his is your guy! Where are you now? I’m praying for our military that was killed and those left behind because of your guy. P.S. Trump has nothing to do with this.”

Well, Richard Marx responded. He didn’t defend Biden’s (pretty clearly botched) withdrawal tactics, but he did point out that this is a 20-year war, and no one single U.S. president is to blame. “The shitshow in Afghanistan has lots of multi-administration blame to go around,” Marx tweeted. “When your racist draft-dodging hero was calling our own military servicemen and women ‘losers and suckers’ where the f*ck were you? You disingenuous [redacted] little twerp.”

Baio was all too happy to fire back while addressing Richard as “Dick Marx.” Oh boy. He also retweeted a “sh*tshow” insult.

Marx wasn’t here for it, and he answered the question about what he’s been doing lately: “I’ve been tending to a family tragedy.” Then he added, “Be grateful all you have on your plate right now is tweeting Fox propaganda to people you’ve never met.” Fair enough.

Pokemon GO players have already seen a boycott get results from game maker Niantic amid a still-ongoing pandemic, and those on Reddit are now taking aim at the message board with a protest they hope sparks change online as well.

The Pokemon-based mobile game recently reversed its rule rollback about distance requirements and other pre-pandemic standards earlier in the year. That came following a boycott and plenty of noise on social media about the changes that went into effect as Niantic decided to take away some concessions they made at the start of the pandemic about proximity to real-life locations to complete tasks and challenges in the virtual world.

That pandemic is still ongoing, many pointed out, not to mention the accessibility issues for those in wheelchairs and who have mobility issues that those changes helped solve. So the decision to change course on that rollback was welcome news for basically everyone playing. And the community of people playing the billion-dollar game that celebrated its fifth anniversary recently has decided to keep its activism going on Reddit.

As Kotaku detailed, the r/pokemongo Reddit board has switched itself to “private” in an effort it says is directly tied to the way Reddit has moderated, or in most cases refused to moderate, the spread of coronavirus and vaccine misinformation on other boards.

During most of August, this obviously led to much discussion of the topic on the game’s Reddit channel, which in turn led to the arrival of a lot of users from less…scientifically minded Reddit subs, such as NoNewNormal, Conspiracy, and Conservative. Clearly this has meant a lot of distracting conversation about matters not directly relevant to POGO, and as a result the community has decided to go silent in protest against Reddit.

They say that until Reddit bans the NoNewNormal sub, and significantly improves its moderation regarding Covid misinformation on others, it will stay private.

It’s a really fascinating example of how direct action in many cases shows the power of organization and begets further direct action. And how online communities can see impacts in the real world and look to further action as a result. The message board is explicit about how this move is a result of pandemic misinformation, too. The front page of the game’s Reddit community now says the following:

“We have gone private in protest of Reddits inaction against Covid misinformation. As our users know Covid directly impacts this gamer because Go is played outside in real life with others. We have stood against Covid misinformation publicly before, and stood with the community when they petitioned Niantic to return the 80m distances so we could continue to play safely. To that end, we will stay private until NoNewNormal and similar subs dedicated entirely to misinformation are banned.”

The thing about insular communities, however, is that it’s tough to judge just how much an impact a small section of a site’s population can make. But Pokemon GO, a game many have left behind with their playing habits since its explosive first year, still has an extremely strong community of dedicated players. So we’ll see if Reddit listens to them about all this and actually makes positive changes.

[via Kotaku]

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This week is led by Wizkid who returns with a deluxe reissue of Made In Lagos, the beloved fourth album he released in October 2020. Elsewhere, Kehlani takes her fans back in time to 2014 with the re-release of Cloud 19, her debut mixtape, while Sevyn Streeter gears up to release her long-awaited sophomore album Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz.

Wizkid — Made In Lagos (Deluxe)

While “Essence” has been the song to love from Wizkid’s fourth album Made In Lagos, there are plenty of other records from the project to enjoy. In fact, this writer might argue that Made In Lagos is more than worthy of the “no skips” title. Nearly a year after its release, the afro-fusion superstar returns with a deluxe reissue of the album backed with four additions include Justin Bieber’s remix of “Essence.”

Kehlani — Cloud 19

Today, Kehlani is one of the industry’s favorite R&B singers, with her 2020 project It Was Good Until It Wasn’t proof of her popularity. However, seven years ago, she was just another aspiring singer looking to finally get her foot into the door of the industry. She released her debut mixtape Cloud 19 — an 8-track effort that delivered guest appearances from Kyle Dion and IAMSU — to the world and changed everything for her. Nearly a decade later, the singer added the album to streaming services — minus one song — and allowed her longtime fans to reminisce on the past while giving her newer supporters a chance to revisit where everything started for her.

Sevyn Streeter — “Nasty Girl” Feat. BIA

Sevyn Streeter has long been at work on her sophomore album Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz after the project was announced at the end of 2019, just two years after her debut Girl Disrupted. After multiple false starts, Sevyn finally locked in a release date for the upcoming album and the news came with her latest single, “Nasty Girl” with BIA.

Jayla Darden — “Exhuasted My Options” Feat. ESTA. & Sango

Detroit’s own Jayla Darden first earned herself some notable recognition through the release of her 2019 EP, Onto Something. Comprised of seven strong songs, it left listeners interested in whatever she had next to offer for the world. Since then, Darden has consistently released compelling singles, including the latest, “Exhausted My Options” with ESTA. and Sango. The hazy track is propelled by a thumping bass and Darden’s frustrations with failures within love.

Abby Jasmine — I Hate You 2

Less than a year after she updated her 2020 project, Who Cares? with four new songs, Abby Jasmine returns with yet another four-pack in the form of her new EP, I Hate You 2. As on 2019’s I Hate You All, Jasmine sticks to abbreviations for each of the tracks on the new EP: “POV,” “SOS,” “FML,” and “MIA.” I Hate You 2 is a strength-filled project that comes on the heels of what’s been a difficult year for the singer. “I lost one of my closest friends, so I had to take a little bit of time to find myself,” she said in a press release. “I’ve just been taking time to self-reflect, spend more time with people that matter to me.”

Reggie Becton — “So High” Feat. Ryahn

Reggie Becton’s hot streak is one to take notice of. The PG County, Maryland act has been on a roll since releasing his 2020 EP, Thank You For Listenin’. Becton got back to work this year with “Issues” and keeps the momentum alive thanks to “So High” with Ryahn. The track takes shape as a smoker’s comforting anthem while it presents a double entendre centered on wanting a good feeling to last forever, whether it be the effects of a nicely rolled blunt or the romantic partner of your dreams.

Josh Levi — “NASA”

Issa Rae’s growing record label, Raedio, already boasts a growing cast of acts that includes Yung Baby Tate and TeaMarrr. Now, the imprint has brought on Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Josh Levi to release his new single, “NASA.” The song focuses on an unnamed woman who always catches the eye of men, but after she lands on Levi’s radar, he places himself above the guys of her past while acknowledging her desire to be a star.

Rotimi — All Or Nothing

Rotimi’s last project came towards the end of 2019 in what was, of course, a pre-pandemic world. The singer’s newest project, titled All Or Nothing, is the result of Rotimi making the best of the pandemic. Composed of 15 songs and guest appearances Yung Bleu, Tank, Fireboy DML, Stacy Barthe, his mother, and more, All Or Nothing showcases his finesse and sharps skills towards creating a body of work focused on deepest personal thoughts.

Eric Bellinger — “What About Us” Feat. Sevyn Streeter

Love is sometimes successful and other times it falls apart unexpectedly. On Eric Bellinger’s new song “What About Us” with Sevyn Streeter, the duo expands on the latter by taking a trip down memory lane on the single. Now that the dust behind their broken love has settled, Bellinger and Streeter’s realize their accounts of what went wrong are completely different thus bringing light to the saying, “There are three sides to every story.”

Yebba — “Boomerang”

In a little over a week, Yebba will share her debut album Dawn with the world, but before its arrival, the singer touches down with her latest single, “Boomerang.” The track delivers a tale of heartbreak and revenge sparked by Yebba’s unfaithful former lover. At the end of the day, the singer is left to hope that karma will deliver the payback she seeks to place upon her ex.

Mnelia — “My Bad”

United Kingdom’s Mnelia is looking to expand her worldwide audience in the R&B lane and her latest single, “My Bad,” is a successful step forward on that journey. On the track, she makes it clear the self-love, growing and improving as a person, and prioritizing her worth are things she is focused on as she looks to move on from a past relationship. “My Bad” is both powerful and elegant as it highlights the noteworthy talents Mnelia possesses.

V. Cartier — “Westside”

V. Cartier calls Los Angeles, CA home so it’s no surprise that his new single is an invitation to spend time with him on the West Coast of the country. “Westside” is a warm invitation to a special lover to join him for a romantic day together. Giddy production laced with fluttering trumpets provide the perfect landscape for a track about nurturing a growing love.

Kyle Banks — “Bad Bih”

Kyle Banks looks to make his own lane in the music industry with his new song, “Bad Bih.” The Red Bull Records signee delivers the passionate single with a matching visual portraying his experiences in Black America, juxtaposing scenes of him spending time with his love interest with tense ones finding Banks getting pulled over by a police officer.

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

My Life Is Murder: Season 2 Premiere (Acorn TV) — Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless is back with less action in the sophomore season of this Australian detective drama. She’s caught between her old boss and a young charge, a police data-analyst who’s in the market to be mentored. No matter what Lucy’s character, Alexa, wishes to do, she’s always caught up in solving crimes.

Reservation Dogs: (FX on Hulu) — Taika Waititi’s FX on Hulu followup to What We Do in the Shadows brings us a comedy series that’s co-written by Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo. Yes, the lead quartet in this show rocks suits that look strikingly similar to the characters of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, yet they’re four Indigenous teens who fight crime and also commit it. The show (which has some Atlanta vibes) was shot in and near Okmulgee, Oklahoma (the home of the Muskogee Creek tribal headquarters) — where excitement is lacking. Not for long, though. This week, Cheese is doing the ride-along thing.

Roswell, New Mexico (CW, 8:00pm) — Liz discovers something shocking, Max investigates some fallout, and Alex is deep into his research while it’s team-up time for Rosa and Isobel.

The Republic Of Sarah (CW, 9:00pm) — This show follows the ending of tranquility of Greylock, N.H., after a stash of valuable coltan leads to new overlords, and a rebellious teacher (Sarah Cooper) steps in to halt the madness. Greylock becomes a sovereign nation, and this week, Greylock’s finances aren’t looking so great, and Sarah finds herself in a tough place as a result.

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Camila Cabello, Rufus Du Sol

In case you missed this pick last Monday:

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (Netflix film) — To tide us over until The Witcher‘s second season arrives with more grumpy Geralt of Rivia, please set your calendars accordingly for this prequel anime film. The picture will go back in time to explore the early monster-hunting years of Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir, who appears to be enjoying himself a lot more than his successor. Theo James voices the character, who will be live-action portrayed by Kim Bodnia further down the line. At least we’ll know that, although the iconic Witcher baths only recently become canon, they’ve always been there, at least retroactively. Also, zombies.

Maybe sit down for this one because we weren’t prepared for it either: John Cho is 49. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but apparently hardcore Cowboy Bebop fans are aware of this surprising fact about the actor, and they’ve been voicing their concerns about him tackling the role of Spike Spiegel in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the hit anime series ever since.

In the original series, Spike is only 27, so its understandable that fans would want a more age-appropriate actor, and in new interview, Cho readily admits that his age was the “biggest fear” for him as well. However, Cho also explains what made him push past the age difference and why he thinks being older will help add more depth to Spike even it required way more time in the gym than he would’ve liked. Via Vulture:

First of all, I couldn’t have done it when I was 27. I mean, maybe I would’ve been better suited athletically, but in terms of my discipline, I am strangely better suited at this age. I don’t think I would’ve done justice to the emotional depth we tried to give Spike. There’s always a trade-off. What young men are typically best at as actors is rage. And that might’ve been a more pronounced element in the character. What I’m better at, being older, is showing weakness and vulnerability and love. Those things are more accessible to me. Personally, I’d prefer the version I’m able to do now. That’s my taste.

While some fans were hyper-focused on Cho’s age, others were not as critical. In fact, there was a sizable freakout over Cho’s “lustrous” hair for the series, which caused the actor to trend back in June when Netflix offered up a quick teaser for Cowboy Bebop. Some were even saying Cho’s whole look is a “serve,” which we’re almost certain is a good thing.

(Via Vulture)

The job description for a communications director includes “traveling to industry conferences to represent the organization” and “handling media relations, such as scheduling public interviews with company executives.” Considering the last two times we checked in on Rudy Giuliani, he was shaving in an airport lounge (“traveling”) and claiming in a bizarre interview that he’s not an alcoholic (“handling media relations”), I’m beginning to understand why Christianné Allen has resigned from the job.

The 20-something “conservative activist” with a “thin resume” and an “inflated biography,” as Politico called her, stepped down from her role as director of communications at Giuliani Communications LLC. That’s according to the Daily Beast, which notes that Allen (a “MAGA influencer” who poses with semiautomatic rifles) has been replaced by Todd Shapiro, a “former spokesperson for Lindsay Lohan’s family who also claims to have represented Trump properties [and] Hooters of Long Island and New Jersey.”

Hooters of Long Island and New Jersey? No one man should have all that power. (Shapiro’s full list of clients can be found on his outdated website.)

“As I reflect, I am proud of the accomplishments we achieved. One of which was building Rudy Giuliani’s Common Sense podcast from conception to one of the top political podcasts in the country in under a year,” Allen said in a statement. Recent episodes include “Biden Endangers and Dishonors America, He MUST RESIGN” and “RUDY’S ALERT: 13 Christians Killed Every Day In The World Because Of Their Faith.” Allen was right to jump ship before whatever episode Rudy has planned for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Seth Meyers recently went off on Fox News over their reports about a horse-deworming medication called Ivermectin, which some conservatives believe is a cure for COVID-19. This is, of course, a very unsafe medication to take, and many calls to poison control have resulted from anti-vaxxers who somehow think that a horse med is a better idea than taking the jab. Well, the CDC issued a dire warning to stress, “Ivermectin is not authorized or approved by FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID-19.”

The FDA weighed in on the subject (on Twitter) as follows: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

This hasn’t stopped patients from requesting the drug, which is what happened when the wife (Julie Smith) of an Cincinnati patient, Jeffrey Smith, pushed into the legal realm when a hospital declined to use Ivermectin as part of a treatment plan. This unreal report from Ohio Capitol Journal sums things up:

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Gregory Howard ordered West Chester Hospital, part of the University of Cincinnati network, to treat Jeffrey Smith, 51, with Ivermectin. The order, filed Aug. 23, compels the hospital to provide Smith with 30mg of Ivermectin daily for three weeks.

As Ohio Capitol Journal reports, Julie took it upon herself to consult with an Ohio doctor named Jeff Wagshul, who is not affiliated with the hospital, and who prescribed the Ivermectin. The hospital pushed back until the court order materialized, and here’s what (and conspiracy-oriented) Wagshul had to say to the news outlet:

In an interview, Wagshul said the science behind Ivermectin’s use in COVID-19 patients is “irrefutable.” The CDC and FDA engaged in a “conspiracy,” he said, to block its use to protect the FDA’s emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines. He said the mainstream media and social media companies have been engaging in “censorship” on Ivermectin’s merits, and that the U.S. government’s refusal to acknowledge its benefits amounts to genocide.

Again, the CDC and FDA are begging people not to drink the Ivermectin Kool-Aid. And social media users are, naturally, aghast that this is happening.

(Via Ohio Capital Journal)

Nine years ago, an Australian hospice nurse and blogger wrote a post about the lessons she learned working for several years in palliative care. After spending time with countless people in their final days she learned that they all had similar regrets.

The most common regret was that they wished they “had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Just about everyone has had to make compromises in their lives due to the expectations of friends, family, coworkers, and society-at-large. How would we be happier if we gave up caring about what others think and lived as our true selves?

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A hospice patient in her final days is a great example of doing just that. Clare Burnett, 83, a terminally ill patient at Harbor Hospice in Johnson County, Kansas decided that she would get a tattoo that she always wanted because she no longer has to care about anyone else’s opinion. The fact that her husband is deceased made the decision even easier.

Fifteen years ago she got a tattoo of Tweety bird on her left leg but was never able to get a tattoo of his arch-nemesis, Sylvester the Cat, on the other. “Ever since I got Tweety, I’ve wanted Sylvester,” Clare told Fox 4. “But things just didn’t work out that way.

“My husband had a fit when I got Tweety so I didn’t get Sylvester,” Burnett told KCTV 5.

But all of that changed last week thanks to a program at the hospice that allows patients to live out their dreams in their final days of life.

“We grant wishes anywhere from small ones to hot air balloon rides, to meeting celebrities, to going to concerts like Garth Brooks and George Strait,” Tracy Bunch, a wish coordinator at Habor Hospice, told KCTV 5. “Right now, over the last two years, a lot of them have been actually getting them out of the nursing homes and taking them to their families homes.”

Clare was taken in her wheelchair to Midtown Tattoo in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday to have her final wish fulfilled. The tattoo artist took it “real, real easy” on Clare so that her new ink wouldn’t hurt.

The final results looked fantastic and Clare was over the moon about the new feline on her leg. When asked what others have to say about her new body art, Clare’s response was powerful.

“I don’t know. Don’t care. Haha! I think it’s gorgeous,” Clare said. “Look at that red nose. I think he’s gorgeous.”

Clare’s bold decision to live out her final days with the tattoo she always wanted is a great life lesson for those of us who haven’t lived long enough to have the same realization. We should all ask ourselves: What’s my Sylvester tattoo? What have I put off doing in life because I was worried about what others think?

Clare Burnett would probably say you should go out and do it.