Month: November 2021

Before every Game of Thrones fan was mad about the series finale, every Game of Thrones fan was mad about Ed Sheeran’s cameo. The chart-topping singer appeared in the season seven episode “Dragonstone” as Eddie, a House Lannister soldier who bonds with Arya around a campfire before having his face burned off by Drogon. Eddie wasn’t “brutally murdered,” like Sheeran wanted, but how many other people can say they have no eyelids because of a dragon? (Three. My guess is three.)

Sheeran has joked about the backlash to his cameo, which was meant as a surprise to super-fan Maisie Williams, but he was also hurt by how much people didn’t like it. “It was great,” he said on the Armchair Expert podcast about shooting the scene, adding, “I feel like people’s reaction to it sort of muddied my joy to it.”

“She’s always been awesome,” Sheeran said of his friend, Williams. “I don’t think they had written the ending yet. It was meant to be her last season but it wasn’t. And as a surprise for her, [they got] me on. So, she was meant to turn up on set. and I was by the fire.”

It wasn’t only viewers who had a negative reaction to Sheeran’s appearance. Kristian Nairn (Hodor) called celebrity cameos on Thrones “stupid,” and added “I don’t mind going on the record on that. I just think it takes you right out of the world… I was like, ‘Why is Ed Sheeran here?’ I mean, Ed Sheeran’s great. He’s a great guy, great musician, but why is he in Game of Thrones?” Nairn clarified that he’s not an Ed Sheeran fan, but “I think most people would agree with me there. It was a big snap to reality.”

It was distracting but I don’t hold it against Sheeran. If I had a chance to be on my favorite show, I would do it. What I’m saying is, I would like my face to be melted by a dragon on Succession. I would settle for cracking open a cold one with Greg.

You can listen to the Armchair Expert podcast below.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

Straight up, streetwear wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for hip-hop. The two entities go hand-in-hand, pushing up against and off of one another in their steady quest to take over the world. That’s not hyperbole, streetwear and hip-hop have taken over the world. Hip-hop went from a niche genre that was written off as a fad in the late ’70s and early ’80s and blossomed into a phenomenon that has since influenced every other genre of American music (see autotune country) and become the dominant musical genre of cultural expression in America. Streetwear similarly went from being a niche fashion aesthetic to a world-dominating force in modern fashion. Whether you’re a small fashion label just getting started, or an iconic luxury house like Gucci or Louis Vuitton, if you’re not designing streetwear, you’re not connecting with the people.

Streetwear and hip-hop haven’t just been growing parallel to one another, they feed off of one another. Hip-hop provides the face, streetwear provides the look, and the two entities rely on one another to move product. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the best sneakers (arguably the emblem of streetwear itself) have a rapper’s name attached. In a celebration of hip-hop and streetwear, we’re running through the most important hip-hop sneaker collaborations of all time, starting with…

Adidas Superstar, 1986

The Adidas Superstar is not technically a hip-hop sneaker collaboration, but because of Run-DMC’s hit single “My Adidas,” it felt wrong to start this list anywhere else. Make no mistake, a fresh white pair of Adidas Superstars with contrasting stark black stripes is a look wholly owned by Run-DMC Streetwear fans treat this sneaker silhouette and colorway as a stone-cold classic, and Adidas has “My Adidas” to thank for that.

The song’s video gave the world its first glimpse of hip-hop’s new look and from “My Adidas” on, the two entities have been in lock-step. The sneaker features a leather base with a shell toe cap, it’s one of Adidas’ oldest and best-selling sneaker silhouettes. Adidas would go on to let Run-DMC design their own version of the silhouette, but nothing beats the OG.

Nike Dunk High Wu-Tang, 1999

No other rap group quite understood the synergy between streetwear and hip-hop like the Wu-Tang Clan, who went off and started their very own successful streetwear label, Wu-Wear. In 1999 Nike tapped them with a special Friends And Family Only release of the high-top Nike Dunk.

The colorway was lifted from a set of sneakers celebrating different university sports teams, this black and gold iteration was meant to represent Iowa University, but since it shared a color scheme with the Wu-Tang logo, Nike slapped a W on the heel and tongue, and with that simple move created one of the most sought after sneakers of all time.

ICECREAM Dollars & Diamonds, 2003

Pharrell Williams doesn’t get enough credit for being lightyears ahead on seeing the linkage between not just hip-hop and streetwear, but the importance of Japanese designers to the medium. Streetwear wouldn’t be what it is today without the influence of Japan, and it was Pharrell who was smart enough to link up with cutting-edge designers like BAPE figurehead NIGO before anyone else. The result was his very own label, Billionaire Boys Club, and the brand sneaker brand ICECREAM.

Pharrell was the first rapper turned sneaker designer, and this pair Diamonds and Dollars silhouette was his attempt at fusing streetwear and skatewear into a single entity. It was a success, it signified a turning point in streetwear that would see the aesthetic completely absorb the world of skateboarding.

Air Jordan 4 Encore, 2004

When “My Adidas” and the Wu-Tang Dunks dropped, streetwear was still pretty niche, but by the mid-00s the fashion aesthetic started to hit the mainstream. When Eminem linked up with Nike for the Air Jordan Encore, named after Eminem’s album of the same name, people lost their minds. This shoe single-handedly created the modern sneakerhead.

It remains one of the most popular sneaker colorways of all time, fetching bids exceeding $20,000 on aftermarket sites like StockX and eBay. Nike will occasionally drop a refresh of this sneaker in very limited runs, so it’s still possible to own a pair without paying a fortune for it. Good luck.

BAPE Kanye West Bapesta College Dropout, 2007

Long before Kanye West had his own sneaker brand, and even before he started calling himself “Yeezy,” West linked up with Japanese streetwear label BAPE for the College Dropout version of the brand’s Bapesta sneaker silhouette. The sneaker features a tan and brown leather upper with red accents and a cartoon graphic of Kanye’s Dropout Bear character.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Dropout Bear, Ye ditched the mascot after the “Graduation Album” which was released the same year. It’s a reminder of a younger more playful Kanye and still to this day, a pretty dope design, even if it’s a far cry from what Kanye would design with his own Yeezy brand.

Odd Future x Vans Syndicate Old Skool Pro S Golf Wang Pack, 2013

Pharrell combined the worlds of street skating and hip-hop, and out of that came Tyler The Creator’s Odd Future collective. Inspired by the sort of bright color palettes you’d expect out of a Wes Anderson movie and not what you’d find in a typical hip-hop music video (at the time) Tyler The Creator presented his dark strain of hip-hop with a juxtaposing visual aesthetic that forever changed the look of modern rap music.

Before Tyler The Creator, the idea of a rapper wearing a sneaker with a pink sole is something only Kanye West would do, but he didn’t. Tyler did, and this early collaboration with Vans eventually caught the eye of Converse, who swooped up Tyler and gave him his own sneaker line by the name of Golf Le Fleur.

Air Yeezy 2 SP Red October, 2014

Another Kanye West sneaker? Yes. If you can’t talk hip-hop without mentioning streetwear, you can’t talk about either without mentioning Kanye West. His presence will weigh heavily throughout this roundup. While his cultural status is not quite at the heights it was just seven years ago you can’t deny that the name Kanye West still holds a lot of weight amongst hip-hop fans and sneakerheads alike.

But before Kanye West put his stamp on the world of footwear with his Yeezy Brand, he tried things out with Nike. Ultimately, it didn’t work out (Nike didn’t want to give Ye as much creative control as he wanted) but 2014’s Air Yeezy Red Octobers were the first indication that people needed to take West the sneaker designer as seriously as they took West the hip-hop producer and rapper.

Even today, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this all-over scarlet red colorway. Just look at the thing! Tell us you don’t want a pair.

Air Jordan 12 White OVO, 2016

Drake hasn’t had quite the same level of success attaching his name to sneakers as his contemporaries, but the Jordan 12 White OVOs is one of the finest colorways the sneaker has ever seen in its entire run, and it has Drake to thank for that. There is nothing special about this sneaker, Drake didn’t offer up any radical suggestions for a re-design, but what it presents is a highly effective colorway that exudes luxury and class thanks to its mix of white leather and gold accent work.

You can hardly tell Drake has anything to do with the sneaker, and that’s kind of its strength.

Adidas Yeezy BOOST 700 Wave Runner, 2017

We can’t overstate just how important Kanye West’s name is to the world of sneakers. It’s arguably just as big as Michael Jordan’s, so we couldn’t finish this list without talking about West’s label with Adidas, Yeezy Brand. By 2017 Kanye West and Adidas had already been making sneakers together for five years, but West wasn’t really taken seriously as a footwear designer. That all changed with 2017’s Wave Runner.

When the Wave Runner dropped, which is still the 700’s best colorway, Kanye West singlehandedly made the ‘90s influenced “dad shoe” the hot footwear item everyone had to have. The world of sneakers changed once this shoe dropped, brands like New Balance, Nike, and Adidas started to bring out more of their ‘90s designs and Adidas was able to slash the price of these shoes from the usual $300 to the more affordable (but still expensive) $240.

After the success of the Wave Runner, Adidas themselves started to put more faith in Kanye, increasing the sneaker release runs of all of his future shoes in an effort to make them more accessible amongst the public.

Jordan 1 High OG SP Fragment x Travis Scott, 2021

If Kanye West dominated footwear in the 2010s, it’s looking more and more like Travis Scott will inherit that crown for this current decade. This year saw the release of Travis Scott’s 13th Nike collaboration, the Jordan 1 High OG SP Fragment x Travis Scott, a partnership with streetwear label Fragment Design. It’s not the first sneaker people would associate with Travis Scott — that would be the Jordan 1 Mocha — but, and brace yourself for this one, it is the best.

No, it’s not quite as iconic as the coffee-toned Mocha that it’s meant to be a sequel of, but give it time, that combination of University Blue, white leather, off-white midsole, and a black oversized backwards swoosh will no doubt go down as not only one of Travis Scott’s best sneakers but one of hip-hop’s best sneaker collaborations of all time.

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

Hey, remember Morbius, the Marvel vampire movie starring Jared Leto that completely fell off the map as Sony bumped its whole film slate an entire year because of the pandemic? Well, it’s back. The Sony/Marvel film is dropping an all-new trailer on Tuesday, and to get fans pumped, Leto appeared in a new featurette for Fandango that has Spidey fans tingling over a specific word choice by the actor.

After briefly describing the character of Michael Morbius the Living Vampire, and showing off some brief new footage that will undoubtedly appear in tomorrow’s trailer, Leto ends the clip by saying that the character opens up a “web of opportunity.”

Why does Leto saying “web of opportunity” with an extra bit of gusto have Marvel fans freaking out? Spider-Man. For those who don’t know, Morbius is a Spider-Man villain from the comics. But like the first Venom movie, the Morbius film was originally intended to live in its own separate universe. However, that has been increasingly appearing not to be the case. Michael Keaton’s MCU version of the Vulture popped up in the first trailer, which was a major tease that Morbius will have a connection to Tom Holland’s Spidey. Now, you’ve got Leto not so casually making web puns, and it definitely caught Marvel fans’ attention.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Fandango on Twitter)

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 carried heavily by singles. T-Pain delivered his follow-up to his and Kehlani’s summer hit “I Like Dat” with the slow tempo “I’m Cool With That.” BJ The Chicago Kid revives his weekly series from earlier this year by dropping his second single in as many weeks with “6 Months.” Lastly, Mario recruits Chris Brown for their “Get Back.”

T-Pain — “I’m Cool With That”

T-Pain’s comeback is still in progress and the latest chapter of it grants the world a new solo single. The singer returns with “I’m Cool With That,” which finds T-Pain being extremely optimistic with his lover, even when it appears that she’s leading him on. Despite the red flags, T-Pain commits to sticking around and being by her side.

BJ The Chicago Kid — “6 Months”

Months after sharing his 4 AM EP, BJ The Chicago Kid gets right back to work. He returns with “6 Months,” his second single in as many weeks following last week’s “Smooth,” a tender record that features BJ’s gentle vocals and his plea to let his current love last forever. He acknowledges that bumps in the road will appear, but he also reminds his partner that their “love shouldn’t change” as a result.

Mario & Chris Brown — “Get Back”

After dropping Closer To Mars to end 2020, Mario returns to action alongside Chris Brown with “Get Back.” The track combines sultry intimacy with a drive pedaled by a thumping bass as both singers speak about their desires to return to the arms of their awaiting partners.

Buju — Sorry I’m Late

Nigeria’s own Buju has primed himself for what could be a massive 2022 year. The singer puts himself in the best position to accomplish this with his latest project Sorry I’m Late. It arrives after a string of features, with acts like Wizkid, Wani, Timaya, and more, which helped show exactly what the singer brings to the table with each song.

Mayorkun — Back In Office

Three years after his debut project The Mayor Of Lagos, Nigeria’s own Mayorkun gets Back In Office for his sophomore album. The 12-track project features appearances from Gyakie, Joeboy, Victony, Flavour, and DJ Maphorisa, as well as Kabza De Small. In a conversation with Apple Music, he explains why it took so long for his second album to arrive. “I feel like I had to master peace to make this,” he said. “I had to be okay before I made this album.”

Alina Baraz — Moongate

A little over a month after she dropped her Sunbeam EP, Alina Baraz returns with a B-side project of sorts with her Moongate EP. Just like Sunbeam, Moongate presents four songs for listeners to enjoy, but this time around, Baraz tackles a different aura and vibe for the project — one fitting for the late-night hours.

Che Ecru — Til Death (Deluxe)

Che Ecru recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of his Til Death project — one of three projects the singer released in 2020. To further the commemoration of this project, Ecru returns with its deluxe reissue which features three additional songs: “Baggage,” “Xtc,” and “Candy.”

Ama Lou — “Trust Nobody”

More than two years after her last drop, which was her 2019 EP Ama, who?, British singer Ama Lou returns with her new single, “Trust Nobody.” Lou unveils her struggles to trust others and her extreme desire to maintain her personal space and space. The track is hopefully the first of a lot more music to come from the singer.

Jonxlewis — “Play” Feat. Aaron Rose

After delivering records like “Hold It Down,” “Thinking Too Much,” and “Not What You’re Used To,” singer-songwriter Jonxlewis keeps the streak going with “Play.” The track is equally passionate and determined as he strives to get his intimate moment with an unnamed woman. Pro Era’s Aaron Rose contributes a slick verse that fits perfectly with the song’s theme.

Thuy — I Hope U See This

After delivering a string of singles that dates back to 2019, singer Thuy finally steps out on her own with her debut EP, I Hope U See This. It delivers nine songs that touch on heartbreak, love, empowerment, and self-confidence through her soft vocals and authentic lyrics.

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

It’s the beginning of a new month so you know what that means: more original content from Netflix.

The streaming platform is dropping a handful of really great series this November and all of them are worth a watch. We’ve whittled the list down to six shows that will give you the most bang for your binge-watching bucks, a lineup that includes live-action anime adaptations, cartel crime dramas, animated comedies, and more.

Here are the new Netflix original series you should add to your queue this November.

Cowboy Bebop (streaming 11/19)

3, 2, 1 … Let’s jam! The live-action adaptation of this beloved anime series lands on Netflix this month. Here’s what it’s promising fans: John Cho with a perfectly-coiffed head of hair and an affinity for well-fitting blue blazers, bounty-hunting adventures in space, a soundtrack curated by the legendary Yoko Kanno, and a corgi. A CORGI you guys! What more do you want?

Tiger King 2 (streaming 11/17)

No, we haven’t all jumped in some kind of time travel machine and crash-landed in the early days of COVID lockdown circa 2020. Instead, Netflix is recreating some of the pandemic pandemonium courtesy of another round of shady zoo owners, murderous big cat madames, and Joe Exotic — the Queer tiger-wrangling convict who, sadly, did not get pardoned by Trump. Season two of this wild docuseries will dive deeper into the underground exotic animal market while profiling the people who benefitted most from the Tiger King’s downfall.

Narcos: Mexico Season 3 (streaming 11/5)

The final season of Narcos: Mexico picks up as Diego Luna’s crime boss makes himself comfortable behind bars, leaving a power vacuum in the cartel world that more than one criminal family is happy to fill. While the Sinaloa, Tijuana, and Juárez cartels battle for control of the drug trade, Scoot McNairy’s DEA Agent finds himself in the crosshairs.

Big Mouth: Season 5 (streaming 11/5)

Creator Nick Kroll is back to personify some of our worst puberty demons in cartoon form with another season of his animated comedy series. Joining the anxiety mosquitos and depression kitties this time around are creatures known as lovebugs / hateworms. All of the main crew gets infected with one or the other (or both) as this season explores the thin line between love and hate, plus some bigger cultural issues like toxic masculinity and cystic acne.

True Story (streaming 11/24)

Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes star in this dramatic thriller from the team behind Narcos. Hart plays a stand-up comic on the rise who gets into some serious trouble one-night thanks to his wayward brother’s (Snipes) criminal enterprising. Expect more crime than comedy here.

F is for Family: Season 5 (streaming 11/25)

This animated raunchy comedy from Bill Burr returns for its final season this month as the Murphy clan celebrates the holiday season. The final outing should take place over the Thanksgiving – Christmas time frame as Frank deals with his father’s ongoing health crisis, welcomes a new baby, and tries to get in the holiday spirit.

While some rappers have taken to posting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and spoken out against mask mandates over the past several months, others have been taking the COVID-19 pandemic more seriously… especially those who’ve actually felt the virus’ effects. During his recent visit to The Breakfast Club in New York, DC rapper Wale detailed his own scary experience with the virus — and its lasting effects on his health, even after he was sufficiently recovered to go home from the hospital.

“That sh*t feel like you don’t got no control over nothing,” he recalled. “I remember when I was in denial, I was like, ‘Yeah, I got COVID but I’m just gonna stay in the house’ and then it’s getting worse. I remember taking an Uber to the hospital ’cause I ain’t want to be dramatic. I’m like, ‘I can’t breathe’… I remember they was taking my blood, and the lady couldn’t find my veins and all this other stuff. I just remember I passed out from just that alone. I was like ‘Wow, I was really just like, regular, three days ago,’ and I realized how serious it is.”

After he recovered, he said, he had to “beg them n****s to let me go home” because the isolation began to get to him. “Just being in there dolo, nobody can come in,” he explained. He also addressed the aftermath, saying, “One thing that people don’t talk enough about COVID is the after-effects. The main thing with me is the COVID fog. That sh*t is real … It feels like you smoked too much. For me, because I have legitimate issues with anxiety and stuff, everything was heightened.”

You can watch Wale’s full interview with The Breakfast Club above.

It’s been an up-and-down past few months for Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus. In June, he publicly revealed that he had cancer. Throughout his treatment, he was open and transparent about how the process was going, and towards the end of September, he had awesome news to share: He’s officially cancer-free. Now that Hoppus’ health is trending upward, he made his return to the stage this past weekend for his first post-cancer concert.

He teamed up with Travis Barker (and Escape The Fate’s Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft) for his House Of Horrors pay-per-view broadcast and performed a set of Blink-182 songs (while decked out in Batman costumes): “What’s My Age Again?,” “The Rock Show,” and “Family Reunion.”

When Hoppus announced his good cancer news, he wrote, “Just saw my oncologist and I’m cancer free!! Thank you God and universe and friends and family and everyone who sent support and kindness and love. Still have to get scanned every six months and it’ll take me until the end of the year to get back to normal but today is an amazing day and I feel so blessed. Can I get a W in the chat?”

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

In the Philadelphia 76ers’ season-opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, superstar center Joel Embiid banged up right his knee after colliding with Jonas Valanciunas. While he’s suited up for the ensuing five games, he’s often been listed on the injury report and even said he “probably” shouldn’t have played against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 22.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Embiid will sit out his first game of the season Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Pompey reported this absence was planned ahead of a stretch that sees the Sixers play six games in nine days, featuring two separate back-to-backs.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that “Embiid had an MRI on his sore right knee over the weekend, which revealed no concerns,” and that he should be back on Wednesday when Philadelphia faces the Chicago Bulls.

Already down Ben Simmons for the time being, the Sixers are now without their two best players for Monday’s game, which will task Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and others to step up in pursuit of a third straight win. Through six games, Embiid is averaging 21 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals on 57.6 percent true shooting for the 4-2 Sixers, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Everything is data. Whether we’re talking about physical or digital elements, breathing entities or inanimate objects, it can all be turned into cold, hard numbers that someone out there is interested in analyzing. Data is factual, emotionless, and let’s be honest, boring. But it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, according to media artist and designer Sebastian Peschiera, the right data set can be downright beautiful, depending on what you do with it.

“Usually when working with dimensional data, I don’t know exactly how it’s going to look,” says Peschiera, who was tasked with creating a piece of data-driven art based on the new Lexus NX 450h+. But when it came to this data of the Lexus, it became very beautiful, because it was already so carefully designed.”

In the first episode of the new Uproxx series Human Element, Peschiera walks us through his process and reveals the intricate beauty buried deep within data, and how he’s able to turn that into artwork that can inspire an emotional response from the viewer using elements that were there all along yet hidden from plain view.

“Part of the idea behind this Lexus experience was to create an artwork that shines around the car by using a projector. So when you step inside the car and you look around you can see the data surrounding you,”Peschiera notes. “That, to me, is the peak of the data artwork creation, once you can put it into the physical space… to create a new experience of the Lexus. One that is both hidden and visible.”

To learn more about Peschirea’s gift for turning the cold factual aspects of data and translating it into beautiful art, catch the first episode of Human Element above.

Making jokes about explosive devices is a major no-no. That’s the sort of thing that will get civilians thrown off flights with no questions asked and found guilty in a court of law of making true threats. So, what happens when two GOP members of the House of Representatives joke around about setting off explosives to destroy the U.S. Capitol’s metal detectors? Well, that remains to be seen.

Gun-loving (and rootin’ tootin’) Lauren Boebert has shown herself to be very outspoken about her distaste for the metal detectors at the U.S. Capitol. She even protested the searching of her bag and has bragged about her desire to carry on the House Floor. Those devices were installed as a direct response to the Jan. 6 insurrection, and Mediaite reported over the weekend that Matt Gaetz was joking around onstage while stumping for Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who’s a 2022 congressional hopeful. Gaetz wasn’t subtle, either: “I said, man, is it, is it ‘tannonite’ [sic] or C4 we want to put in those metal detectors and we blow ’em up.”

Subsequently, Gaetz was almost too excited about being called out for his remarks. “If you can’t fantasize about blowing up useless metal detectors with @laurenboebert at a Florida Halloween political rally for @AnthonySabatini, when can you?” he tweeted.

Very quickly, Boebert climbed onboard the irresponsible train with a “I’ll bring the Tannerite!”

Tannerite, which is essentially an over-the-counter explosive substance that’s frequently used for target-practice explosive devices, has been in the headlines a lot lately due to unfortunate gender-reveal party tragedies. The sitting congresswoman also pointed a finger at “the fools who think this would be done inside the Capitol.” She added, “[G]et a life!” and “The metal detectors are useless and we are getting rid of them when Republicans take back the House.”

Let’s just say that people aren’t enjoying this joke, and they’re wondering why the FBI isn’t taking action against lawmakers whose “jokes” could inspire, and literally spark, another January 6-style attack on the Capitol.