Month: September 2021

Over the past few years, 21 Savage has grown from an underground act to a star. But he has some perspective. The rapper sat down on DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record podcast and explained that, while he has the utmost respect for Drake, people in his hometown may not consider him to be the town’s biggest rapper. That title, he says, could be given to someone like Future.

“If I wasn’t a rapper, I don’t feel like I still would listen to Drake, forreal,” Savage said during the podcast. “It’s just, I’m a rapper so I understand the work he put in and how hard he goes. Like, when you ain’t no rapper, all those statistics don’t mean sh*t. A regular street n**** don’t give a f*ck how many times you went No.1, how many white people listen to your sh*t, because the farthest they think is the club.”

He added, “In Atlanta, there’s a lot of n****s who you really can’t tell them that Future ain’t bigger than Drake. I used to think that… Drake ain’t really no big mixtape artist out there.”

In short, what Savage seems to be saying is big sales doesn’t always mean you have a big cultural impact.

You can watch the full interview above.

Last week, rumors arose about new music from Eminem. Some believed it would be a new project. Some guessed The Marshall Mathers LP 3 was en route. Others believed it was just a song that involved the rapper’s frequent collaborator Skylar Grey. For those who went with the latter, there’s great news for you: you’re partially correct. As confirmed by those who saw an advance screening of the upcoming film Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage, Eminem and Skylar Grey have a song on the soundtrack, and it’s also features rappers Polo G and Mozzy.

The untitled song can reportedly be heard during the end credits of the film. One fan took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the upcoming collaboration, writing, “Dawg. That Polo g, Mozzy, Eminem, Skylar Grey song on the venom sound track [three fire emojis].”

Rumors about the upcoming track first began earlier this month, when Mozzy’s manager teased a collaboration with Eminem. Polo G followed suit and told people to keep an eye out for something coming in October. Meanwhile Skylar Grey had a similar message of her own. “This month has been hellish,” she tweeted. “But I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar.”

There has not been a James Bond movie since 2015, which is partially due to normal “movie stuff” like finding a new director and negotiating with the person who plays James Bond who, for awhile there, did not seem interested in playing James Bond ever again. And, then, of course, there’s that whole other thing going on in the world. But at six years now, this is the second longest gap in films – barely short of the time in-between License to Kill and GoldenEye – and, by far the longest gap in-between James Bond movies when the actor playing James Bond did not change. (Mr. Craig had the previous record for that as well, in-between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.)

(Also, here’s a wild fact: from the years 1962 until 1974 there were only four full calendar years that didn’t have a James Bond movie. In less time than the gap between Spectre and No Time to Die, Sean Connery made Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice.)

Now Daniel Craig is back in No Time to Die, a movie with a plot so ridiculous it reaches Roger Moore-era absurdness. Though, to be fair, I love Roger Moore Bond movies and (it’s been a long many months) was pretty much in the perfect mood for something absurd.

Like the last few 007 entries, James Bond is tired of being a spy. He’s old and has lost a step. The only difference now is MI6 seems perfectly fine with James being retired as well.

When the film opens, James is on vacation in Italy with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) and they are enjoying the quiet life. I found myself being pretty happy for James. He deserves a nice time! Keep in mind, this is a fellow who once had to sit in a chair with no seat so he could be hit with a swinging rock … down there. Look, the guy has seen some tough times. Anyway, the vacation is cut short after Spectre tries to kill James, setting in motion the “convoluted for a normal movie,” “middle of the road convolution for a James Bond movie,” plot.

So here’s my best attempt to explain what’s going on without spoiling anything: Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) is basically sitting in prison, pulling strings, with a goal of trying to make James distrust everyone he’s close with. The plan here truly seems to be to just mess with James Bond and drive him nuts.

At the same time, a fellow named Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) is seeking revenge against Blofeld and Spectre (which is explained in an early flashback), which confuses Bond even more because he seems to be just caught in the middle — as Lyutsifer doesn’t seem to have much interest in Bond other than as a pawn.

As I said already, MI6 and M (Ralph Fiennes) also don’t have much interest in James, having already given his 007 callsign away to another agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch). They’d just wish James Bomd would stay out of it all and mind his own business. But, as we know, James Bond can’t do that and accepts an offer from Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to come work for the CIA and look into everything going on?

And what’s going on? Well, Lyutsifer Safin has gotten his hands on a nanobot technology that has the ability to infect, or not infect, anyone he wants. So what’s harmless to one person can still kill a target standing right beside. So we’ve got the James Bond-less MI6, James and Felix and the CIA, Spectre, and Lyutsifer Safin (who, yes, has a lair on a secret island used only to make different poisons) all fighting for this nanobot technology. It’s all pretty fun and pretty ridiculous.

The problem is the movie doesn’t always realize this should be a hoot. Rami Malek and Christoph Waltz realize what movie they are in. And I love Craig’s Bond, but there are times when he’s trying to be a Connery Bond in a clearly Roger Moore Bond movie. (When Craig let’s himself have some fun, the movie is better for it. There’s one truly terrific one-liner.) And then the end, which I won’t spoil … let’s just say it doesn’t end on the typical James Bond high note.

After waiting so long for No Time to Die — and truly, after all we’ve been through, just wanting to see a throwback fun action movie — it almost delivers, but then sends us on to the streets in, let’s say, not the best mood. I want to watch James Bond and feel good after. That feels like the point of these movie. Not feel … forlorn. There’s been enough of that lately. I guess not even our old pal James is here to make us happy these days.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

I don’t know about you, but I really, really missed music festivals. And after a year and a half without them, music festivals returned big time this summer, and are now in full swing. Some favorites, like Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, and Pitchfork Music Festival, all already welcomed fans back to their grounds (and you can look at what’s still to come in our handy hub that we built for you). But there is no festival quite like Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas.

Taking over Downtown Vegas for the weekend, LiB shows visitors a different side of the desert oasis. It’s not held on the more popular strip area, but in what is commonly referred to as Old Vegas, featuring some of the classic area casinos and hotels as a backdrop and abundant street art on the side of nearly every building. In a city that already feels like a playground, Life Is Beautiful ups the anti, imparting fans with stunning views, top-tier cuisine, educational seminars, and, of course, music. This year saw an impressive slate, including Tame Impala, Green Day, Glass Animals, St. Vincent, Young Thug, ASAP Rocky, and many more. Check out some of the highlights, shot by our own Paul L. Carter, below.

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

Thaddeus Young found himself on the move this offseason. After spending each of the last two years as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Young was part of the package that the team put together to send to San Antonio in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. Now, Young is getting used to a new place, and the early returns on his teammates seem promising.

Young was asked about the group around him in San Antonio, and he was very complimentary of the collection of players around him in his new digs. In particular, Young loves the mentality possessed by his new teammates, and he made this clear by using the word “buttholes.”

The Spurs have, for quite some time, had a pretty well-defined culture that has revolved around a bunch of guys who seem like they’re nice enough — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, DeRozan, etc. Now, Young is prepared to take the franchise’s apparent no jerks policy and be the latest player to follow in this strong tradition. He should also help on the court, too, as San Antonio looks to make it back to the postseason for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Young averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 24.3 minutes per game as a steady veteran hand for the Bulls last year.

The Law & Order-verse is a large and prolific one, having birthed numerous spin-offs, to say nothing of its connections to other shows, from Homicide: Life on the Street through Chicago P.D. But it all began with one show: the original called simply Law & Order, which premiered in 1990 with a simple premise: The first half would cover the many-handed police investigation of a crime; the second would move into the courts. Now, 11 years after the original at the dust, it’s being exhumed, presumably after the success of the franchise’s most recent addition, Organized Crime.

According to The Wrap, NBC won’t completely reboot the show. Instead, it will pick up where it left off in 2010, when the show was abruptly axed by NBC. What does that mean exactly? It’s not clear. The show had untold cast members over its 20 seasons, some of whom, like Jerry Orbach, Fred Dalton Thompson, and Dennis Farina, have since passed on.

For the record, the cast for the final season included Sam Waterston, Anthony Anderson, Jeremy Sisto, S. Epatha Merkerson, Linus Roache and Alana De La Garza. How many of these would come back is, again, not known. Or maybe they’ll reach farther back into the show’s long past. Chris Noth, who already did the Sex and the City revival, ought to be courted. And if they nab him, maybe they can also ask for the return of Cynthia Nixon, who played essentially a female version of subway shooter Bernhard Goetz in one of the most famous first season episodes. But they should definitely find some space for SVU star Christopher Meloni.

(Via The Wrap)

Thirteen-year-old Rhys Porter recently received countless discriminatory comments on TikTok, after posting a penalty save for his disability sports club. This is more than a story of online bullying however. In fact, Rhys garnered the attention of his favorite pro football team, and their interactions have quickly become what feels like a heartwarming scene out of “Ted Lasso.”

In response to the online hate, Fulham FC rallied around Porter by inviting him to come train with the team’s goalkeepers. Additionally, the club’s website listed him as one of the team’s honorary members.

Moments of inspiration!
@rhysporter__ Goalkeeper Legend!!
@FulhamFC https://t.co/F7VahKccA7

— Hugo Oliveira (@HgO_Official)
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Rhys’ story started to go viral, as millions began rooting for him. “BBC Breakfast” shared an interview on Twitter where Fulham defender Tim Ream dropped in unannounced. Warning: Porter’s emotional response to the surprise might invoke a few tears:

Top class from #USMNT’s Tim Ream, who surprises a Fulham fan with cerebral palsy who had been abused online ❤️

(vi… https://t.co/wkIpwvRxA9

— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer)
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According to Ream’s tweet, it was emotional for him as well. The defender stated, “I think @rhysporter_ had a bigger effect on the squad today than we had on him.”

Day started with some emotion(yes I held back tears), and ends with opportunity. I think @rhysporter__ had a bigger… https://t.co/TOmn0plUYb

— Tim Ream (@timream5)
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Perhaps the most touching moment of all came in this past weekend’s match, where Fulham celebrated a goal by running across the field to hug and high-five Porter, who had been watching the game at the edge of the pitch. Everyone cheered in what one fan called “a beautiful moment in the beautiful game.”

A beautiful moment in the beautiful game…#COYW #FFC https://t.co/nCBY0qt2ci

— Mark Twomey (@markjtwomey)
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The best news is that since the online abuse, Rhys has succeeded in raising more than $26,000 for Scope, a charity aimed at increasing equality for disabled people, in its Make It Count campaign. It’s triumphs like these that remind us that celebrating one another beats bullying any day.

In the seemingly never-ending saga of Britney Spears’ conservatorship, her newly-appointed legal team seems to have found a way out. Although any number of the things Britney’s conservatorship team have done to her seem like grounds for dismissal to any sane bystander, conservatorship and probate lawyers have confirmed that this kind of abuse is common within this sector of the legal system. But Jamie Spears and his team seem to have gone over the line, legally speaking, when it came out via The New York Times‘ follow-up documentary, Controlling Britney Spears.

In this new doc, allegations that Jamie was secretly bugging Britney’s home and listening to her private conversations led her lawyer to demand Jamie be immediately removed from the conservatorship. According to a report from Deadline, the bugging accusation has also come to the attention of federal authorities, who “are indeed taking a look at the claims for a further possible criminal probe.”

California is a two party consent state for recording, so the audio surveillance alone is illegal on that grounds. The next hearing for Britney’s case will be this Wednesday, September 29th. Her lawyer has requested the immediate removal of Jamie Spears from the conservatorship, as well as termination of the oversight itself.

The Fugees reunion is off to a great start, with a well-received comeback show at New York’s Pier 17 as part of the Global Citizen Live concert series and a tour planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the trio’s classic 1996 album The Score. Now, thanks to the sometimes overlooked group member Pras, fans know who to thank for the return of Fugees: Ms. Lauryn Hill, who apparently was the one who reached out to her former bandmates during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

In an interview about the reunion with Billboard‘s Nadine Graham, Pras said, “It was kinda initiated by Ms. Hill, but the idea was floating around since last year. But you know last year with the pandemic, nobody really knew which way the world was going. It happened organically. She reached out to Wyclef and they reached out to me. I said, ‘Listen, if it feels right, let’s see what happens.’ I think the culture really needed it, wanted it, so we’re just giving them what they want.”

However, with regard to whether the crew would be turning their reunion tour into a comeback album, he was a little more cagey. “I’ma say it like this to you,” he replied. “Last night, it really felt good.”

You can watch Fugees’ reunion performance of “Ready Or Not” above.

It’s a dark day for the Rebellion, but a pretty great one for Star Wars collectibles fans. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Hasbro have joined forces to create a limited edition action figure: “George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise.” The 6-inch figure is being created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Wars creator Lucas’ production company, Lucasfilm, and is set to hit shelves later this year. According to senior director of product design at Hasbro Vickie Stratford, the team was thrilled to design the figure, and hopes fans cherish it as much as they do:

“As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I have both the honor and privilege to bring characters from the franchise to life in product form every single day. When the opportunity came to design the George Lucas figure, we were especially excited for this project. This figure is just one of the many ways we can honor his legacy for years to come and we hope fans cherish it as much as we did.”

In addition to stormtrooper Lucas, the figure comes with a removable helmet and blaster — though don’t count on the notoriously inaccurate gun to be able to pack too much of a punch. While the figure is a limited-time 50th anniversary release, it’s also interesting to note this isn’t the first time Lucas has been immortalized as a stormtrooper. Back in 2006, 77-year-old Lucas was transformed into a 3.75-inch stormtrooper for Star Wars Saga Collection. Needless to say, if you’ve got that lil’ guy, picking up his 6-inch counterpart seems like must-have for your Star Wars collection.