Month: December 2021

Kanye West (aka Ye) has said plenty of inflammatory things over the years — especially within the last five or so — but during his recent appearance on NORE’s Drink Champs podcast, he turned his ire against a new target. Where he usually rails against institutions, systems, politicians, and critics, this time he highlighted his long-running business relationship with Detroit rapper Big Sean, saying signing Sean to his GOOD Music label in 2006 was the “worst thing” he ever did.

Obviously, that comment got a lot of attention, as Sean had by then helped turn GOOD Music into a pop-culture juggernaut before leaving earlier this year — and not coincidentally, made Kanye a lot of money, something Sean himself pointed out on Twitter. Sean said at the time that he couldn’t wait until his own appearance on Drink Champs, and many fans agreed, eagerly anticipating news of his eventual response. That news arrived today with the usual Drink Champs episode preview shared to Instagram.

In it, Big Sean references Kanye’s assertion, and while he’s measured in telling the hosts, “I love Kanye, bro. I love him for the opportunity he gave me and all these things.” However, he says, “I thought what he said was some bitch-ass sh*t.” We’ll have to wait for the full episode for the full quotes, but you can check out the preview — in which he addresses his early hits all being freestyles and Dave Chappelle getting his dad high — below.

Freddie Gibbs is soaring. Already one of the best pound-for-pound lyricists in the game, Gibbs balled out at his Grammy nomination party at the top of the year, announced his film debut, has been soundtracking Tom Brady victory videos, and last month, dropped an absolute heater of a track in “Black Illuminati” featuring Jadakiss.

Now he’s going on the road again, with a newly announced 24-stop North America Tour. He’ll be joined by Zack Fox, Mike and Redveil throughout the stops and tickets are on sale this Friday, December 17th. Check out the full tour dates below.

04/14/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom*
04/20/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Pressroom*
04/27/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex*^
04/29/2022 — Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater*^
04/30/2022 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom*^
05/04/2022 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre*^
05/05/2022 — Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge*^
05/07/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Heaven Stage*^
05/08/2022 — Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre*^
05/11/2022 — New York, NY @ Irving Plaza*^
05/12/2022 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring*^
05/13/2022 — New York, NY @ Irving Plaza*^
05/14/2022 — Buffalo, NY @ Town*^
05/15/2022 — New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place*^
05/18/2022 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club – Music Hall +
05/19/2022 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club – Music Hall +
05/20/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts +
05/21/2022 — Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues – Cleveland +
05/24/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater +
05/26/2022 — Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe at Old National Centre +
05/27/2022 — Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre +
06/01/2022 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom +
06/02/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo +
06/03/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore

+ – w/ Zack Fox
* – w/ MIKE
^ – w/ Redveil

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

For most people, it would be a dream come true for Amanda Seyfried to play them in a TV show. But Elizabeth Holmes isn’t most people. The disgraced founder and CEO of blood testing company Theranos faces up to 20 years in prison if she’s found guilty of defrauding patients and investors. She’s also the subject of The Dropout, a Hulu series with Seyfried (as well as an Adam McKay movie starring Jennifer Lawrence).

The streaming service released the first photos of the Oscar-nominated actress as Holmes on Wednesday, and even without hearing the voice (not The Voice, but the voice), it seems like great casting. You can check the images out below:

Here’s more on The Dropout:

Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. Hulu’s limited series The Dropout, the story of Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye? Executive Producers on the series include showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether, Liz Heldens, Liz Hannah, Katherine Pope, Rebecca Jarvis, Victoria Thompson and Taylor Dunn. Michael Showalter is set to direct multiple episodes and will also serve as an executive producer along with his Semi-Formal Productions producing partner Jordana Mollick

The Dropout, which also stars Naveen Andrews as former-Theranos president Sunny Balwani, premieres on March 3, 2022.

To promote this week’s premiere of the new MacGruber series on Peacock, Will Forte stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers, where the former Saturday Night Live alum’s indulged in a hilarious “Day Drinking” segment. After mixing up some pretty disgusting cocktails involving, we kid you not, Cheese Whiz and maple syrup, the two sat down at a booth for some more drinking and reminiscing about their time on SNL.

As Meyers tells it, Forte is a talented sketch writer and performer, but there’s one comedic talent that completely slips his grasp: Doing a passable Christopher Walken impression. Forte just cannot pull it off, and he was even cut out of a sketch because his Walken voice is so terrible. To prove Meyers’ point, Forte busted out his Walken impression on the spot around the 6:15 mark of the clip above, and yup, it’s pretty bad. It’s not exactly clear what he’s trying to do because it sounds nothing like the actor’s iconic speaking voice, but it did leave Seth Meyers dying of laughter. Maybe it was the four shots he just downed, but Meyers couldn’t hold it together while Forte did his awful Walken voice.

After some more bantering, Meyers also revealed that Forte was a beast at never breaking character on SNL, which led to a no holds barred challenge where Forte tried to get Meyers to break, which he did almost immediately, twice in a row. However, on the third attempt, Meyers held so ridiculously strong that he was practically bent backwards over the seat of the booth without making a single reaction. It was as impressive as Forte’s Walken impression was awful.

Back in 2019, French Montana was hospitalized after collapsing in his home due to what he called “a combination of a lot of things: being fatigued, dehydrated, you know, losing myself chasing money, chasing the wrong things… Too much drinking, too many pills.” The incident prompted him to give up drinking and drugs to avoid an early demise, but it’s apparently had other effects on him as well — as he illustrates in the latest video from his new album, They Got Amnesia.

The video for “How You King?” opens with an obviously inebriated and sleep-deprived Montana entertaining a pair of women at his home. Shortly after they leave, he collapses and spends the remainder of the video being rushed to the hospital, hooked up to machines, and watching himself through an observation window as he has an out-of-body experience. Meanwhile, he raps over the infamous “Impeach the President” drum loop, contemplating the heavy questions left behind by his brush with death. “If I fell with no one around, wouldn’t even make a sound,” he hums. “‘Cause I can’t even make one now.” Although the song has multiple versions on the album version, here, the video cuts off shortly after the first verse in a chilling imagining of an alternate outcome that could have seen his legacy also cut short.

Watch French Montana’s “How You King?” video above.

The idea of a video game being free used to mean it was either extremely low budget, low quality, or the free features were just a demo to get someone into the portion of the game that actually costs money. Over the last decade, however, that has changed significantly. With smash hits like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and League of Legends being full games that cost nothing and most of the profits coming from cosmetics, the video game industry completely changed.

Of course, this has come with some negative consequences. Some free games feel predatory, cash grabby, or half-baked. We are in a weird age where a game doesn’t necessarily need to be complete at launch — it can receive updates and be improved while people are playing it. We’ve seen this with games like Sea of Thieves, but we’ve also seen it with games that never actually got better or were given the chance to. This is why we wanted to reward the free games that are providing the kind of content we enjoy, don’t feel particularly predatory, and in some ways are introducing us to a deeper experience with our money at a later point.

Pokemon Unite

Pokémon is a franchise that really can be reused for anything Game Freak or Nintendo wants. While the franchise is primarily known as an RPG, there have been plenty of spin-offs over the years so few ideas really surprise us anymore. That said, when Pokémon Unite was announced, it would have been fair to approach it with skepticism. A Pokémon MOBA? How is that going to work in a space that is completely dominated by League of Legends and DOTA? It turns out, the game is better than anyone could have seen coming. By simplifying the formula and adding Pokémon-specific features like evolution, it became extremely accessible to the crowd that didn’t want to dive into more hardcore MOBA’s. Add in its portability on the Switch and Pokémon Unite was a free to play game that everyone couldn’t stop talking about for months. Also, where else can we find dapper Blastoise?

Final Fantasy XIV

One meme that popped up throughout 2021 was built off of simply explaining all the features that exist within Final Fantasy XIV. Square Enix’s hit MMORPG may have had to once be brought back from the dead after the failure of its first installment, but these days, it has swiftly moved past World of Warcraft as the MMO that everyone is playing, in part because players character can reach level 60 and play the Heavensward expansion completely free with no limit on playtime. That is basically two full games worth of content with no charge. Of course, by the time the majority of players get through all of that, they’re likely to shell out the money to play the further expansions, but this isn’t a developer hiding content behind a paywall, or a demo disguised as content. A player can stop after completing Heavensward and reaching level 60 if they choose and be completely satisfied. That’s just a great incentive to try the game out and it’s an incentive that is paying huge dividends for Square Enix.

Pac-Man 99

As the amount of Battle Royale’s continues to grow, it can be difficult for a developer to differentiate itself. How can their game feel and look different than Fortnite or Apex Legends? Leave it to Nintendo to figure out one way. First there was Tetris 99, then the short-lived Mario 35, and now, there is Pac-Man 99. Nintendo’s idea of taking retro games, throwing everyone in their own matches, and then letting these players try to play well enough to knock one another out is pretty brilliant. Pac-Man 99 is fun, fairly competitive among those who play the game at a high level, and can make for a really good weekend or a long-time love. It’s one of those games that’s fun to boot up every once in a while and play a few rounds before signing out for another few months. Sure, the people who log in every day to complete the weekly challenges are going to destroy you in the endgame, but that’s the beauty of free to play. We only have to commit as much time as we want to the game.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

For a long time, Phantasy Star Online 2 was a relatively successful MMORPG that was available only in Japan and a handful of other countries. While a vocal group of fans really wanted the game to get an official release in the U.S. and Europe, it felt like that was never going to happen. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the game was announced for a worldwide release in 2019 and hit consoles a year later to moderate success. Then in 2021, catching many of us off guard, a huge expansion that completely reworked the game was released. Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis refreshed the nine-year-old MMO and modernized it, all for free. Anyone can access what really feels like a brand new game and have a good time with it. There are microtransactions and whatnot, as expected out of every MMO, but it’s so rare to see a game that had been successful get reworked like this almost out of nowhere. There was a point where we didn’t think the game was ever going to come out in America. Now, it’s here with a completely fresh coat of paint.

Deltarune Chapter 2

Deltarune Chapter 2 came out this year when Toby Fox suddenly announced the game’s release date on the sixth anniversary of Undertale. Not only that, but the game was free and anyone who wanted to play the first game, Deltarune, could play that for free as well. This was unprecedented for someone who created a story-based game. Deltarune Chapter 2 doesn’t have microtransactions, or a multiplayer mode, or any of the traditional ways games make money. At most, you can purchase the soundtrack. Fox made a game that has been as beloved, and well-liked, as Deltarune Chapter 2 and released it completely for free. Go play it, it’s a good time and worth the investment.

Yesterday, a preliminary hearing was held in regard to the charges Tory Lanez faces for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. Now, a day later, Megan is taking exception to some media coverage of the proceedings, accusing “blogs/journalists” of “gaslighting” her and “dismissing that I was attacked with a [WEAPON] WHILE I WAS UNARMED.”

The rapper wrote on Twitter today, “Don’t blogs/ journalists have to have accurate/ credible sources before going with a story ? Or is it just like a new I got paid to post this or I heard out from my home girl type policy these days.” She added in another tweet a few minutes later, “Like I’ve been SHOT and the focus of some these headlines are dismissing that I was attacked with a WEPON WHILE I WAS UNARMED and trying to paint it as a cat fight between friends why do I have to relive this with everyone on the internet every day ? And watch y’all gaslight me.”

Based on the timing of Meg’s tweets, it appears she may be referencing a post that TMZ shared this morning. They reported that in Lanez’s preliminary hearing yesterday, “an independent witness told cops they saw Megan Thee Stallion and her female friend, Kelsey, fighting just moments before Meg was shot in the foot… a piece of evidence Tory Lanez’s team feels cast serious doubt on what Meg said about him being the shooter.”

After Megan’s tweets, TMZ updated their post to add:

“Megan’s got big issues with what the independent witness told police about her arguing with Kelsey … and she makes a good point. Megan just tweeted, ‘I’ve been shot and the focus of some these headlines are dismissing that I was attacked with a weapon while I was unarmed and trying to paint it as a cat fight between friends.’

Fact is … even if there was a dispute with Kelsey inside the SUV, we know Megan was shot while she was standing outside the vehicle. Megan’s openly said she got out of the car because she didn’t want to argue anymore … which makes the dispute almost irrelevant to the moment the trigger was pulled.”

Aside from this situation, things have been good for Meg lately: In just the past few days, she graduated from college, won a humanitarian award, and was named TikTok’s top artist of 2021.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

While mid-December isn’t traditionally the time to announce or show off new games, that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to welcome the opportunity to end 2021 with some excitement. Nintendo hosted an Indie World Showcase on Wednesday so everyone could check out a handful of indie games that will be coming to the Switch in the near future.

The event itself was only a little over 20 minutes long, so we strongly recommend watching it and experiencing everything it had to offer, but there were still a handful of games that stuck out above the rest. These games all stuck out for a variety of reasons and it was a reminder of why we enjoy Indie games so much. As AAA developers try to stick with the familiar, Indie developers are frequently trying out new ideas and doing their best to stand out. It gives us a strong variety of games and we felt we found that with these three in particular.

River City Girls 2

River City Girls was a really fun spin on the old River City Ransom formula from the days of the NES. Two heroes go and save their significant others from kidnappers, but this time instead of boyfriends saving their girlfriends, it’s two girlfriends saving their boyfriends. The game itself was flashy, fun, and one of the best 2D beat’em ups in recent memory.

Now, we’re lucky enough to get a sequel with River City Girls 2. While it’s still early, what we’ve seen so far gives us plenty of reason to be excited. River City Girls 2 appears to be just more of what made the first game so fun. More characters, more power ups, more baddies to beat up, and more locations to explore. Sometimes the perfect sequel is just more of the same thing but bigger and that’s what River City Girls 2 looks like to us.

Sea of Stars

What if someone took the universe of The Messenger, gave it an art style and gameplay system that feels very reminiscent of Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana, and let Yasunori Mitsuda compose the music? What you likely would get is something that looks a lot like Sea of Stars.

This RPG just oozes charm in every detail that’s on the screen and if there’s one thing we know from the developers over at Sabotage Studio it’s that they know how to nail a theme. The Messenger, one of the best indie games in recent memory, was developed by this studio so we’re confident in Sea of Stars being another hit. It has all of the right energy to it that someone should expect from an RPG of this style. We can’t wait to actually get our hands on it.

Loco Motive

Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery? We sure do. Loco Motive is the debut game from Robust Games and it has the feel of a first-time winner. Everything from the art style to the murder mystery on a train theme to the comedic tone of it all forms into something that looks like a really good time.

It’s fun when a murder mystery game like this has a silly tone. It takes the edge off when exploring for clues and allows us to really enjoy the experience. With three main suspects, we’re curious to see if this ends up being a game with multiple endings. Maybe it’ll be something like the movie Clue? It definitely has the right tone to it, but we also want to see how it makes itself unique. Maybe there are branching paths, or multiple endings, or a huge twist at the end? We’re excited to find out.

If Conservative America had its way, Kyle Rittenhouse—after being found not guilty of murdering two men he admitted to killing—would have walked out of the courtroom in Kenosha, Wisconsin and declared “I’m going to Disney World!” In the weeks since his acquittal, the 18-year-old gunman has been passed around conservative GOP circles like some sort of trophy (even making his way to Mar-a-Lago to hang with the former prez). And now he’s being touted as a “top conservative leader” by Turning Point USA, and as such has been asked to speak at the group’s upcoming AmericaFest gathering.

As Newsweek reports, the first-ever AmericaFest later this month in Phoenix, Arizona—a four-day event they describe as “the largest celebration of our constitutional rights and freedoms—featuring the best and brightest speakers in the country, dozens of like-minded sponsoring organizations, thousands of freedom-loving patriots, and the introduction of musical talent with a number of very special concerts.” In other words: An event you couldn’t pay most people to attend—unless you’re Kyle Rittenhouse.

Yep—the automatic weapon-toting teen who Tucker Carlson described as a “sweet kid,” the same one who Donald Trump Jr. desperately wanted to gift with a brand-new AR-15. Speaking of which: Carlson and Don Jr. are also on the docket of speakers, as are a whole slew of people who make a living saying stupid and/or offensive things. (See Exhibit A)

And just what can we expect Rittenhouse to speak about? We’ll let his profile do the talking…

(Via Newsweek)

When the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony goes down next year, Finneas won’t just be up for awards for his work with sister Billie Eilish. That’s because the singer and producer, who released his debut album Optimist in October, is also up for the Best New Artist award. Filled with expertly written ballads that ride the wavelengths of the pop music spectrum, the album shows just how polished Finneas is on his own.

“Only A Lifetime” is one of the more pensive songs on the album and in the new single-take video, Finneas ruminates on the words as he walks through the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. He asks, “How do you know if you’ve done everything right? Is it the love you have in hand or the cash you kiss at night?” while passing groupers and anemones in their massive tanks. The song is very forwardly about seizing the time that we have before us and he speaks like a comforting therapist as he sings “So don’t waste the time you have, waiting for time to pass. It’s only a lifetime, it’s not long enough, you’re not gonna like it without any love, so don’t waste it.”

And as his lyrics begin to conclude, the camera pulls back it reveals the surprise, that he’s actually there with his family. Eilish, their momma, Maggie Baird, and pop, Patrick O’Connell. They look on at the fish and it drives home the point of the song, like a wholesome new-age Norman Rockwell painting come to life.

Watch the video for “Only A Lifetime” above.