Month: October 2021

Two years after her last project, Stacked, Kash Doll is back in action with a new video, in which the Detroit rapper calls on Wale and Eric Bellinger to join her for “Single & Happy.” The song was shared at the end of August and in the video, Kash Doll poses as the queen of her palace while a group of men audition one-by-one to be her partner. Wale and Eric Bellinger appear beside her while also sharing their perks of the single life.

The track is Kash Doll’s third single of the year following “Like A Pro” with Juicy J and “Thumbin.” Prior to that, she teamed up with fellow Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley for “Goldilocks” and called on DJ Infamous, Latto, and Benny The Butcher for “Bad Azz.”

As for her collaborators, Wale is a little over a week away from sharing his seventh album, Folarin II, which is led by singles that include “Poke It Out” with J. Cole and “Down South” with Yella Beezy and Maxo Kream. Eric Bellinger shared his latest album New Light last month, which boasted features from Sevyn Streeter, Brandy, The Game, Dom Kennedy, and more.

You can watch the new video for “Single & Happy” above.

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

Over the past 30-plus years, there has been a sea change when it comes to public attitudes about LGBT issues in America. In 1988, only 11% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while in 2020, that number jumped to 70%

Even though there is a lot more work to do for full LGBTQ equality in the U.S. the country is far ahead of most of the world. According to Human Dignity Trust, 71 jurisdictions around the world “criminalize private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity,” many of these specifically calling out sexual practices between men.

In 11 jurisdictions, people who engage in consensual same-sex sexual activity face the possibility of the death penalty for their behavior. “At least 6 of these implement the death penalty – Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen – and the death penalty is a legal possibility in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, and UAE,” Human Dignity Trust says.

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It’s unbelievable that these countries are able to carry out these inhumane laws without facing serious international sanctions. British diver Tom Daley, 27, is speaking out against this injustice and hopes that countries that punish LGBTQ people by death will be banned from the Olympics.

This Tom Daley/Matty Lee round 2 dive at the World Cup is the exact moment I gave in to Olympic fever. https://t.co/UPafMbrdZr

— Mandi Bierly (@MandiBierly)
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Daley is openly gay and has won three bronze medals and one gold over the past three summer Olympic competitions.

He spoke about the issue on October 6 while accepting the Sport Award at the 2021 Attitude Awards.

“I think it’s really important to try and create change, rather than just highlighting or shining a light on those things,” Daley said while accepting the award. “So I want to make it my mission over the next, well, hopefully before the Paris Olympics in 2024, to make it so that the countries [where it’s] punishable by death for LGBT people are not allowed to compete at the Olympic Games.”

Tom Daley calls for Olympic ban for countries with gay death penalty

www.youtube.com

During his speech, he noted that there was a record number of openly gay LGBT athletes at the Tokyo games. At least 186 openly gay LGBTQ athletes took part in the games, almost three times more than the 56 that participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

After winning the gold in Tokyo, Daley dedicated his win to the LGBT people.

“I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone,” he said, crying tears of joy. “That you can achieve anything and that there is a whole lot of your chosen family out here, ready to support you.”

If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) followed Daley’s suggestion, it wouldn’t be the first time it banned a country from participating due to discrimination. From 1964 to 1988, the International Olympic Committee banned South Africa because of apartheid.

However, as of now, the IOC has no plans of banning any countries that punish LGBT people by death.

“We fully respect Tom Daley and his view,” the IOC told NBC News.

“At the same time, the IOC has neither the mandate nor the capability to change the laws or the political system of a sovereign country,” it said. “This must rightfully remain the legitimate role of governments and respective intergovernmental organizations.”

The Raiders have a new interim head coach in Rich Bisaccia after Jon Gruden was forced to resign in disgrace after emails were revealed from 2011 in which he used racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language repeatedly.

There have been a variety of reactions to the news, including plenty who have noted that it certainly seems odd that the only thing to come out of this investigation into 650,000 emails in the probe into the Washington Football Team resulted in the firing of a coach in Las Vegas. Many in the football world, particularly fellow white men in power, have been a bit reticent to say much of substance about Gruden’s emails and what it says about football culture at large and things that need to be fixed.

However, Chargers coach Brandon Staley was asked for his thoughts on the situation and offered up a refreshingly open and thoughtful response, keeping focus on the various minority groups that were the subject of those emails and how it is his job and that of every coach and person in power to earn the trust of those individuals by showing empathy and creating a welcoming environment.

It’s not an answer you would necessarily expect from a football coach, as most will choose to offer a brief note about how the things said were inexcusable and then say they want to keep focus on their team. Staley, however, took this situation as a chance to reflect on his duties as a coach and a leader, and recognized that it’s things like Gruden’s emails that rightfully lead to a longer road to building trust and buy-in from players and people on staff from those groups Gruden heinously offended, who have all-too-often found this kind of hate towards them from those in power, even if only uttered behind closed doors.

This past summer, Houston rapper Maxo Kream celebrated the second anniversary of his sophomore album, Brandon Banks, which marked his first release with Roc Nation and RCA and a step upward in the rapper’s artistry. Now the Houston native has announced his third album, Weight Of The World, which will arrive on October 18, giving his fans just five days to prepare for its release.

The big announcement was paired with a new video for the latest single off the album, “Greener Knots,” which features production from Hit-Boy. The song finds Maxo discussing the harrowing things he saw during his childhood, while the video reenacts a crime Maxo and his friends committed.

“Greener Knots” is the third single from Weight Of The World. Maxo began the rollout for the project with “Local Joker” and its sentimental video. He followed that with “Persona,” which features a strong verse from Tyler The Creator and a braggadocious video. As for his upcoming new album, Maxo has yet to share the full tracklist and cast of guest features, but he did reveal that it checks in at 16 songs.

You can watch the video for “Greener Knots” above.

Weight Of The World is out 10/18 via RCA. Pre-order it here.

Chicago may have beaten Phoenix decisively in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals over the weekend, but they hardly shocked the Mercury — both teams have seen it all.

They are, after all, two of the more experienced teams in the league, and core players from each roster faced off all the way back in the 2014 Finals as well. Add in longtime Mercury foe Candace Parker, who is in her first season with the Sky, and it quickly becomes clear this series won’t be won by surprising the other team with major chess moves or adjustments. These are veteran teams know what they are and what they do best, and this series figures to be about who can execute and impose their will on the other.

“I don’t think anything’s going to change, and we’re going to come back and give a better effort and hopefully Game 2 can turn out a different way,” star guard Diana Taurasi said postgame on Sunday after calling her own performance “pathetic” and “bad basketball.”

Still, after two days rest and time to break down what happened in Sunday’s opening skirmish, there are some changes we can expect to see from the Mercury if they are going to even the series on Wednesday night.

Absences On The Wing

It’s impossible to talk about Phoenix’s 91-77 loss without addressing the team’s injuries. Starting wing Kia Nurse, an integral shooter, defender and ball-mover for Phoenix all year, tore her ACL in last Friday’s Game 5 against the Aces and will miss many months. That only exacerbated the Mercury’s wing depth issues with backup Sophie Cunningham nursing a left calf strain.

“Our starters have carried us all season long,” said head coach Sandy Brondello before admitting the lack of depth hurt Phoenix.

That will need to be especially true the rest of this Finals series, but after playing two single-elimination games and a five-game semifinal series against Las Vegas, the Mercury are also just flat-out tired.

“The most important thing for us is we’ve got to freshen up these next few days,” Brondello said.

Their freshness will be tested in Game 2 as Cunningham is slated to return.

Using Size Effectively

The presence of MVP runner-up Brittney Griner in the paint hardly mattered for Phoenix on Sunday. Chicago mashed the Mercury post players in Game 1, out-rebounding Phoenix 35-24 and out-scoring them in the paint, 48-32.

Chicago’s offense was able to get easy baskets inside. Parker was her typical efficient self with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists while backup Stefanie Dolson had a strong 14 points off the bench. Even spark plug wing Kahleah Copper got in on the action down low with several putbacks off of her five offensive boards.

Maybe more importantly, the Sky defense held steady, holding Griner to 7-15 shooting and Phoenix to 43.5 percent from the field. They did so by mixing up coverages and playing their characteristic aggressive brand of defense.

All postseason, Parker’s timing and mobility have brought Chicago’s defense together, and Game 1 was no exception. The Sky hedge when defending the pick and roll, with all their bigs able to move on the perimeter and also rotate on the back line to protect the rim, and Phoenix did not have enough answers for it.

When the Mercury did move the ball, Chicago swarmed. Here you can see how the Sky go over the screen at the top of the key, trap Taurasi on the perimeter to get the ball out of her hands, then rotate and contain. Phoenix finally gets the ball to Griner in the post, and the Sky are right there to double her as well.

“We didn’t quite exploit that as well as we should have, but that’s areas we know we can work on when we’re a little bit fresher mentally,” Brondello said. “It’s a coverage we’ve seen multiple times this year. It’s not a new thing for us. Things we wanted to do, we couldn’t quite get through. Like I said, when you’re tired, it’s like the brain goes a bit dead, and you’re just trying to survive out there.”

This didn’t just happen when Chicago’s starting unit with all its size and length was on the court. Dolson was a huge part of the defensive execution in her 17 minutes as well, as she also was able to hedge and recover like Parker and fellow starter Azura Stevens to close off the middle of the floor and force the Mercury into tough shots.

“Each team has a way of doing their defense, and we got to see that look tonight,” Griner said. “It wasn’t nothing that I’ve never seen before honestly, but just didn’t really — ball didn’t really roll the way I wanted it to roll.”

When the buzzer sounded, Chicago had created 10 turnovers, including six from Taurasi, in addition to a fairly quiet scoring night from Griner.

As the Mercury all noted, Phoenix has seen all this before. Griner, who is averaging 3.6 assists per game in these playoffs, has handled just about every coverage thrown at her. In the semifinals, Las Vegas doubled her constantly and she was able to move the ball while players like Cunningham and Taurasi smartly moved in space and the Mercury offense generated great looks in the halfcourt consistently. Phoenix knows how to play off its stars and create high-level offense, but now they have to execute it.

Three-Point Math

Phoenix wins because they have an inside-out attack that seesaws defenses and go-to isolation bucket getters who come through in the clutch. If they lose interior scoring because of the challenges of a matchup with Chicago, the Mercury need to compensate by making shots.

That didn’t happen in Game 1. The Sky were 8-of-23 from three-point rnge compared with just 7-of-15 from Phoenix. The Mercury must get more attempts up to keep pace with Chicago, an area where Cunningham will help and a more effective Taurasi will be vital.

Phoenix will also need more from its third star, Skylar Diggins-Smith. She is averaging 5.5 three-point attempts per game and making an impressive 34 percent so far, but took just three triples in Game 1 and just nine shots overall. Throughout her career, Diggins-Smith has gotten motivation from being tougher and more determined than her competition. In her first Finals, the five-time All-Star has to be consistently great as a driver, shooter, defender and play-maker for Phoenix to overcome the Sky’s depth and win the franchise’s fourth title.

Welcome to SNX DLX, our weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. After a couple of sluggish weeks, things look like they’re finally starting to pick up as we make our way towards the end of the year. We still don’t have any worthwhile entries outside of the two big brands, but when Nike and Adidas start dropping the sort of big releases we’re seeing this week, it’s only a matter of time before the other brands respond with their own dope drops.

Next week finally brings the release of Salehe Bembury’s highly anticipated New Balance collaboration, so that is definitely set to steal some of Nike’s shine. This week though, the ball is squarely in Nike’s court as the Swoosh dropped a new Supreme collaboration, the final piece of the Social Status Free Lunch collection, and a winterized version of the Jordan 14. Adidas is struggling to keep up, but thanks to some high-profile collaborations of their own (Palace, Yeezy) they’re still putting up a strong fight.

Let’s dive into this week’s best sneaker drops!

Adidas Yeezy 500 High Mist Stone

Like the best Air Jordans, Yeezy silhouettes can look like entirely different shoes depending on whether they have a low or high profile. The Yeezy 500 Low features a bubbly next-level alien-esque shape, while the high-top version looks like a standard chunky snow boot. That variety is the sign of a good design, it doesn’t look wrong or awkward with or without a collar, both versions are dope like the Jordan 1.

This week brought the 500 High in a winter indebted Mist Stone colorway. Is it a few months early? Absolutely, but it’s going to slot into your winter wardrobe perfectly thanks to its grey and off-white tones. Be advised that if you’re picking up this pair you need to order 1/2 a size up. See what I mean? It’s a damn snow boot!

Don’t actually wear it in the snow though.

The Adidas Yeezy 500 High Mist Stone is out now (and sold out) for a retail price of $220. Pick up a pair at aftermarket sites like StockX.

Nike Air Max 90 Off Noir

Something about the Nike Air Max 90 Off Noir looks throwback to me. Maybe it’s the shades of grey over the black upper with the white swoosh and matching midsole, but something about this colorway screams 1990’s in a way few Air Max 90s have recently.

The Off Noir features a waffle outsole, with stitched overlays, TPU accents, and an upper of mixed leather and canvas and sits atop Max Air cushioning. Not a whole lot of bells and whistles here, it’s just a sold colorway on an always dope silhouette.

The Nike Air Max 90 Off Noir is set to drop on October 13th for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or hit your favorite aftermarket site when it inevitably sells out.

Women’s Lahar Low Fossil Stone

The Women’s Lahar Low Fossil Stone would’ve been a hit had it dropped a few years back when the ‘90s had a stranglehold on streetwear. Now as Y2K-inspired aesthetics slowly take over, this release isn’t going to resonate with as large a group of people but it still offers something pretty unique from Nike with its chunky shape and platform design.

Featuring details indebted to Nike’s 1989 Lahar Escape Boot, the Fossil Stone features a full-grain nubuck upper with tread laces and sits atop a split midsole.

The Women’s Lahar Low Fossil Stone is set to drop on October 14th for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Supreme x Nike Cross Trainer Low

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a Supreme Nike collaboration but with this week’s release of the Cross Trainer Low pack, it has definitely been worth the wait. The two sneaker collection utilizes Nike’s often under-appreciated Cross Trainer Low silhouette with a heavily dual-branded design and bold three-color colorways over a premium leather base with a DURAPLUSH tongue. Supreme branding accents the heel counter and the sneaker sits atop a thick tread rubber outsole.

The Supreme Nike Cross Trainer Low is set to drop on October 14th for an unannounced price. Pick up a pair exclusively at Supreme.

Palace Skateboards x Adidas UltraBOOST 21

This week Adidas is linking up with the London-based streetwear label Palace for a dual pair knit collection of Adidas UltraBOOST 21s. I would’ve preferred the OG UltraBOOST silhouette, but I have to admit I’m a little biased when it comes to this design as it looks like it was inspired by traditional Guatemalan woven fabric, and wearing them would do my paternal grandmother proud. Yup, that’s who you want to impress with your footwear game right, my grandma?

Whatever, I can’t be the only one who recognizes how dope these are. Featuring a knitted plaid pattern and made from recycled yarn made from Parley Ocean Plastic, the Palace UltraBOOST 21s offer a stylish and sustainable iteration of one of Adidas best selling silhouettes.

The Palace Adidas UltraBOOST 21 is set to drop on October 15th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair exclusively at the Palace webstore.

Social Status x Nike Dunk Free Lunch Strawberry Milk

In late summer Charlotte North Carolina-based label Social Status dropped the first sneaker in its school cafeteria-inspired collection, Free Lunch. That sneaker was inspired by chocolate milk, and since its drop, we’ve been heavily anticipating the final piece in this two sneaker collection — strawberry milk.

Last year we were treated with Dunk after Dunk of dopeness, from the Chunky Dunkys to the fuzzy Grateful Dead Dunks, this year we haven’t seen the silhouette get the same level of love but the Strawberry Milk makes up for it.

Featuring milky shades of pink and white with matching laces, a chunky swoosh, and an upper of velvet and leather, the Strawberry Milk combines beautiful colors with one of Nike’s most beloved silhouettes of all time. It’s a winner and our most hyped release of the week.

The Social Status x Nike Dunk Free Lunch Strawberry Milk is set to drop on October 15th for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair exclusively at Social Status or hit Flight Club to pick them up on the aftermarket.

Adidas Yeezy Boost 700 Wash Orange

It is easy to both love and hate the new Wash Orange colorway of the Adidas Yeezy Boost 700. On one hand, it’s the 700, one of Ye’s finest silhouettes if not the best. It features an eye-catching upper of grey almost blue tones with reflective accents and black and forest green paneling.

Then on the other hand you’ve got that big pumpkin orange midsole. That midsole is definitely going to be a deal-breaker for some people but my instinct tells me this is likely going to go down as one of the 700’s greatest colorways. Or I’m totally wrong! Just kidding, I’m never wrong, check out my best sneakers of 2020 list and see how beautifully it has aged.

The Adidas Yeezy BOOST 700 Wash Orange is set to drop on October 16th for a retail price of $240. Pick up a pair via the Adidas confirmed app, via Yeezy Supply or at aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Nike Air Jordan 14 Winterized

We’re not even halfway through the spring season and Nike is already trying to unload their winter collections on us. Slow down fam, we haven’t even got to the gimmicky Halloween releases yet!

This week’s Jordan 14 Winterized features a water-resistant Archaeo Brown nubuck upper, which means it’s the only pair of new Jordans currently on the market you could rock in the rain, with a vacuum-sealed molded base and those iconic AJ 14 grooves.

The Nike Air Jordan 14 Winterized is set to drop on October 16th for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

While most of the country is layering up and settling into the fall season, summertime is still in full effect in Los Angeles. Just peep these photos we’ve collected from photographer Jonny Rios of the sights and festival fashion at the one-day outdoor hard house and techno festival One Project. Festival goers rocked crop tops, shorts, and kept layers to a minimum to match with the sunny, cloudless skies of LA in October.

Presented by the avant-garde, electronic-obsessed Secret Project, the outdoor one-day event featured body rattling performances from artists that included Ash Lauryn, Ben Böhmer, DJ Tennis, Nina Kraviz, Maceo Plex, and Carlita, to name a very few, and was held at a new location in the heart of Los Angeles’ gritty and industrial Arts and Warehouse district. The backdrop provided a nice visual reminder of how far the underground electronic scene has come, as well as a 360-degree dance floor environment.

Check out the festival fashion and vibes below and watch Secret Project closely for future events.

Jonny Rios

Jonny Rios

Jonny Rios

Jonny Rios

Jonny Rios

It’s been almost a year since Donald Trump lost re-election and he still hasn’t gotten over it. Instead, he’s continued to simply claim that he really won while letting minions, like Mike Lindell and Sidney Powell, hatch incoherent and baseless conspiracy theories (that land themselves in legal and financial trouble). Though Bill Maher recently laid out a bleak forecast for how he could win his old job back in 2024, Trump himself had another prediction: Maybe Republicans simply won’t vote in 2022 and 2024. Unless he meant something else.

The president-turned-resort dweller released one of his un-copy edited press releases, in which he threw down the hammer about the election he didn’t win. “If we don’t solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in ’22 or ’24,” he wrote. “It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do.”

Was Trump…advocating for Republicans to simply not vote in the elections that could put them back in power? Are they supposed to show the libs who’s boss by…letting the libs clean up? This coming from a guy who can’t even spell “junkie,” it’s honestly a mystery.

But some argued that that’s not what Trump meant. “President Trump is not suggesting R’s should not vote; he is suggesting that R’s themselves feel dudded and disillusioned and will abstain from voting,” wrote one person, who also chastised those who interpreted otherwise for bad “reading comprehension.”

But it’s hard to imagine how Republicans abstaining from voting, especially over unproven and highly unlikely claims of voter fraud, will solve anything for them. Still, don’t listen to us. Listen to the former president.

Kyrie Irving, as of now, won’t be playing for the Nets this season. That could change if Irving decides to get the COVID-19 vaccine or New York City lifts its vaccine mandate, but neither of those, at the moment, appear likely to happen.

As such, Irving will lose out on half of his season’s salary for the home games he is ineligible to play in, but getting paid for the road games he’ll miss due to the team’s decision not to accommodate him as a part time player. The Nets are looking to move forward, as James Harden said they have “a job to do” and total focus on winning a championship with the roster they have. However, this is a team that was built around the idea that they would have three superstars in Irving, Harden, and Kevin Durant, but suddenly have a significant hole to fill and, for the moment, no real recourse to do so.

Irving isn’t suspended, because they can’t legally do that within the CBA since he isn’t violating any league rules, which takes away any avenue to get that roster spot back. Instead, the Nets will have to go forward with 14 players and a pair of two-ways for this season, one that still carries title or bust expectations. But there is a question as to what this team looks like in the near future, as Kevin Durant inked a 4-year extension this offseason but neither Irving nor Harden have committed beyond this season — both have player options for 2022-23.

The expectation was that both would likewise get and sign max extensions at some point, but a wrench has been thrown in those plans by Irving, who, according to Shams Charania in an appearance on The Glue Guys Podcast, will no longer be receiving a $186 million extension offer from the Nets.

“He was willing to sacrifice, at the end of the day, $16 million in salary for this upcoming year, and $186 million as far as an extension that he will not be offered now,” Charania said of Irving.

Part of the issue for the Nets is that there’s not really an avenue for replacing Irving on the free agency market even if they don’t extend him, as simply adding Harden’s max to their 2022-23 books puts them over the cap. As such, the clock will be ticking on possible trade talks with the Nets involving Kyrie, which Charania goes onto note on the pod are going to have to be considered and, while his value is nowhere near what it was, there are teams that would be at least intrigued by the possibility of dealing for him — even if there are rumors he will retire if dealt.

All of this is to say, Irving refusing to get vaccinated has taken a team that seemed assured to be a title frontrunner for years and suddenly put their future beyond this season far more in question. Harden signing an extension isn’t an absolute lock, although it’d be surprising if he didn’t, and with Kyrie apparently not figuring into the long-term plans at the moment, the Nets have to begin looking at what Plan B looks like for building around Durant.

Kacey Musgraves’ new album, Star Crossed, is one of the best albums of 2021. That’s already been established. And since she made the record with the same folks she collaborated with for its predecessor, Golden Hour, and this new record tells the story of that perfect love going awry, it makes sense that the two be seen as companion records. But while Golden Hour was released when Kacey was a relatively underground country singer, the record won the most prestigious Album Of The Year Grammy, and catapulted her to full-fledged pop stardom.

So, when Musgraves went to submit Star-Crossed to the Grammys for country genre awards, they seem to be punishing her for her success by refusing to let the album be submitted in the country category. Yes, this record pushes sonic boundaries, veering into electronic and pop production at times, but it it’s also decidedly folk and country influenced, perhaps even moreso than Golden Hour was. The decision is a strange shift from the Recording Academy, who happily let hip-hop inflected country by men into the fold on a regular basis.

Kacey decided to respond to the decision with a fitting subtweet today. “You can take the girl out of the country (genre) but you can’t take the country out of the girl,” she wrote to caption the Tweet.

And this is why we love her.