Month: January 2022

This week, Ray J’s name has appeared in headlines a few more times than he probably expected. It began with Kanye West’s claim that he gave him a laptop that held a second sex tape he made with Kim Kardashian. That report was quickly refuted by Kim’s team, who claimed that a that tape was not on the laptop. Now, we’re learning Ray J had a meeting with former president Donald Trump. According to Page Six, the two met at Trump’s resort Mar-a-Lago to discuss ideas for entrepreneurs and young business professionals. Ray J also wanted to raise awareness for the political issues he is passionate about.

“I’ve always admired and respected his business acumen,” Ray J told Page Six. “Our conversation was about job creation, encouraging small business development and how Information Technology plays an important role in the future of our economy.” He continued, “We also agree how important an educated workforce is, as well as the critical need of developing of young people. I’m ready to get started now!” Page Six also reports that Ray J and Trump already have a follow-up meeting scheduled so that they can begin to put some of their ideas into action.

Speaking of Mar-A-Lago, it was just earlier this week that Trump demanded that a crowd applaud him during an appearance at the club. A video showed him “appearing in front of diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort and getting absolutely no reaction until he waggles his little hands at them.”

Over the past few years, Joey Badass has taken a step back from his rap career to spend more time as an actor. He’s appeared in films and movies that include Grown-ish, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Two Distant Strangers, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Now the Brooklyn native is ready to return to rap, as he recently released “The Revenge” and confirmed his third album will drop this year. While all that is happening, Badass also has some other unique things going on in his life.

During a recent appearance on Angela Yee’s podcast Lip Service, the rapper revealed that he prefers not to ejaculate during sex. “I’d rather not bust a nut, period,” he said. “Because I would rather preserve my lifeforce.” He continued, “When a man ejaculates, there’s a lot of things that leave your body. There’s blood cells, there’s testosterone, energy, you get depleted. They say it’s like an equivalent to running 20 miles when you bust a nut.”

Joey also noted that he’s been practicing semen retention for the past two years and that he considers himself a highly productive man who needs the energy to get through his days.

As for what’s next for Joey, he’s set to appear on Snot’s upcoming album Ethereal. He will also perform at this spring’s Smoker’s Club Festival.

You can watch Joey Badass’ full appearance on Lip Service in the video above.

Things are not looking so hot for Matt Gaetz. For over a year, the Florida representative and die hard Trumpist has been under federal investigation for his ties to a sex trafficking ring. The person who ran that ring, Joel Greenberg, has pled guilty and is cooperating with authorities. So is “Big Joe” Ellicott, a Florida shock jock and longtime Greenberg bestie who pled guilty to fraud and drug charges as part of deal with investigators. Ellicott reportedly has some dirt on Gaetz, too, and, sources tell The Daily Beast, he can reportedly confirm one of the more shocking parts of this whole affair.

That would be the claim Gaetz and others, including Greenberg, had sex with a woman they believed to be 19 back in 2017. She wasn’t. She was underage. At one point, Greenberg allegedly called Gaetz to break the bad news. But Greenberg wasn’t alone when he made the call. Ellicott claims he was also there.

It’s not known if Ellicott has yet to discuss the call with investigators, but if true, it would confirm a key detail from Greenberg’s confession letter, in which he claimed to have received an anonymous tip about the woman in question. After illegally accessing her records at the DMV, Greenberg said he rang up Gaetz, who Greenberg said was “equally shocked and disturbed by this revelation.”

If true, Ellicott could confirm Greenberg’s claims and debunk Gaetz’s denial. When asked about the allegations of underage sex, Gaetz replied, “The last time I had a sexual relationship with a seventeen year old, I was seventeen.”

In the meantime, Gaetz continues to act as though everything’s normal. Earlier this month he and Marjorie Taylor Greene shocked many by saying they were “ashamed of nothing” they did on Jan. 6, 2021.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Nicki Minaj fans hoped the rapper would deliver a new album in 2021. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case, though she did drop some new music over the year. That included re-releasing her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty with three additional tracks, such as “Seeing Green” with Drake and Lil Wayne. She also remixed BIA’s viral hit song “Whole Lotta Money” and delivered a collaboration with Polo G, among other artists. Now it seems Nicki is ready to share new music as per her latest announcement.

Minaj hopped on Twitter to share the release date of her first single of the year: On February 4, she’ll drop a collaboration with Lil Baby. While she did not reveal the title, she did share an image from what appears to be the song’s music video. “DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” she wrote alongside the image. “BABY X BARBIE,” she wrote, adding, “PINK FRIDAY” and its release date along with a number of emojis.

The announcement comes after Nicki Minaj appeared on murals around the country for Rap Cavier’s campaign “Rap Mount Rushmore,” which also featured Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake. As for Lil Baby, the song arrives after he and Future joined Rvssian for their collaboration “M&M.”

Earlier this month, a slew of celebs decided to take to social media to announce their (probably short-term) resolutions. Crypto queen Reese Witherspoon joined in, making a short but hefty list of things she was “working towards” in 2022. The list included drinking water, going outside more, reading, and getting 8 hours of rest, which is probably pretty easy when you are a celebrity or at least have limited internet access.

But celebrity chef Ina Garten stepped in comment her own tips, which included drinking more cosmos. Hey, to each their own. The story goes a step further, though, as this week, Martha Stewart chimed in on the debacle. Turns out she wasn’t happy with her peer’s comments.

“I do not agree about taking to drink to cope with things like the pandemic,” Stewart told People magazine. “To me that’s not charming.” She then went on to promote her new line of wine, called Martha’s Chard. Again…to each their own. While it wasn’t a direct dig at Garten, the two often butt heads over their similar recipes and lifestyle brands.

To be fair, Stewart does make a good point. But, anyone commenting on anyone else’s coping habits is bound to get messy. It’s a pandemic! Some people want to drink cosmos, while others promote their own line of alcoholic beverages. Can’t we all just get along and make competing carrot cake together?

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Fight Club, both the 1999 film and the novel that inspired it.

On Tuesday, word broke that the version of Fight Club, the anarchic, anti-capitalist screed starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, streaming in China is not the one streaming anywhere else. Instead, it has a different ending. Instead of buildings being destroyed, it cuts abruptly to a Poochie-esque title card explaining that our hero was arrested and jailed.

Reaction to it online was a mix of horror and amusement. One person who was semi-facetiously semi-delighted was Chuck Palahniuk, author of the 1996 novel that inspired the film. He told TMZ (as caught by Entertainment Weekly) that he actually kind of liked this new, censored version because, well, it’s very similar to the way the book concludes.

“The irony is that the way the Chinese have changed it is they’ve aligned the ending almost exactly with the ending of the book, as opposed to [director David] Fincher’s ending, which was the more spectacular visual ending,” he told the publication. “So in a way, the Chinese brought the movie back to the book a little bit.”

Mind you, the censored version isn’t exactly how the novel ends. In that one, Tyler Durden, having killed off his mischievous alter ego (in the film played by Pitt), winds up in a mental hospital, where he discovers some of his followers have become employees, hoping to start things back up again.

The version streaming in China, meanwhile, has a more “crime doesn’t pay” conclusion. “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.,” the tite card reads. “After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.”

At least this strange affair led to Ted Cruz being once again dragged for his movie opinions.

(Via TMZ and EW)

Yella Beezy had a pretty successful 2021. The rapper kicked things off with “Star,” his single with Houston upstart Erica Banks. Later he collaborated with Wale and Maxo Kream for the former’s single “Down South,” which appeared on Wale’s album Folarin II. Now he’s kicking off the new year with his new single “Talk My Sh*t.”

It arrives with a lavish video that captures Yella Beezy’s exuberant demeanor. He fills a mansion with a cast of women wearing nothing but bikinis while he stands tall to lay off a collection of boastful lines. “These n****s got the motherf*ckin’ nerve, I’d think before you cross, stay on the motherf*ckin’ curb,” he raps at one point. “Got the trap, tell them come and get your ass served.”

While Beezy has been doing well musically lately, he’s also found himself in legal trouble. Back in November, he was arrested and charged with felony sexual assault, felony abandoned endangered child, and misdemeanor unlawful carrying a weapon. This came after he was arrested in February over that same year on a weapons charge.

You can watch the video for “Talk My Sh*t” above.

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

On February 4, 2 Chainz will deliver his seventh full-length effort, Dope Don’t Sell Itself. So far two singles have been released: “Million Dollars Worth Of Game,” with 42 Dugg, and “Pop Music,” with Moneybagg Yo and Beatking. The album will be his first since 2020’s So Help Me God and it may also be his “last trap album,” as he previously hinted in a tweet last summer. Ahead of its release, 2 Chainz unveils the tracklist and artwork.

The cover is an image of him holding a shoebox filled with cash while a blunt sits between his fingers. He described it as “a reimagined image of my ‘first bank account,’” adding, “I’m sure some of the hustlers can relate !” Dope Don’t Sell Itself features 12 songs and appearances from Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Swae Lee, Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, Beatking, Young Boy Never Broke Again, Sleepy Rose, Steve God Cooks, Symba, Major Myjah, and Jacquees.

You can view the artwork for Dope Don’t Sell Itself above and check out its tracklist below.

1. “Bet It Back”
2. “Pop Music” Feat. Moneybagg Yo and Beatking
3. “Kingpen Ghostwriter” Feat. Lil Baby
4. “Outstanding” Feat. Roddy Ricch
5. “Neighbors Know My Name”
6. “Million Dollars Worth of Game” Feat. 42 Dugg
7. “Free B.G.”
8. “10 Bracelets” Feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again
9. “Lost Kings” Feat. Lil Durk and Sleepy Rose
10. “Caymans” Feat. Swae Lee
11. “Vlad TV” Feat. Stove God Cooks, Symba, and Major Myjah
12. “If You Want Me To” Feat. Jacquees

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is out 2/4 via Def Jam. You can pre-save it here.

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

It’s been a big year for Jeopardy! They’ve had two big, record-busting champions: first Matt Amodio, then Amy Schneider, the first trans person to qualify for the show’s Tournament of Champions. They’ve had bizarre trouble finding a full-time replacement host for the late Alex Trebek. Then there’s Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers quarterback was a surprise hit when he guest-hosted the show early last year. People even thought he should be Trebek’s replacement! Not only did he not get that job, but he went from hero to pariah, outing himself as vaccine skeptic who even lied to his teammates.

People are disappointed in the radical direction Rodgers has taken his life. But not everyone’s surprised. In his new Netflix special Nightclub Comedian, Aziz Ansari offers a slightly sympathetic take on the footballer. He talks about how angry his vaccine status made people, then offers some needed perspective.

“It’s like, calm down. He’s a football player,” Ansar says in the special. “He read some articles. He got skeptical. He did some research. Are you stunned he came to the wrong conclusion? Did you really think he was gonna crack the case?”

He added, “Did you think Fauci was going to be out there like, ‘Uh, I just got off the phone with Aaron Rodgers?’”

So while people are dragging a guy — who, for the record, did a really great job hosting a game show for brainiacs — Ansar won’t join them. “This poor guy! It’s like we’re all in high school making fun of the quarterback for doing bad on the science test. ‘You’re a dummy, Aaron, you’re a dummy. You don’t know anything. You’re a dum-dum,’” Ansari jokes. “This guy makes a living getting hit in the head. Can we cut him a break?”

That said, it’s not as though Ansari forgot another reason people are mad about Rodgers: for deceiving his team by strongly suggesting he’d been vaxxed before hitting the field. “I guess he did lie,” Ansari said, then launched into a nasal impersonation of Rodgers. “‘My doctors gave me some powders from Jamba Juice.’”

Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian now streams on Netflix.

(Via Decider)

There has some speculation that James Harden may way out of Brooklyn, either looking to go the 76ers or somewhere else. Earlier this week, Harden himself saying that’s he’s ‘frustrated’ since the Nets aren’t winning as much as expected.

Harden, however, isn’t going anywhere, at least not before next month’s trade deadline. According to a new report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets will not take offers on Harden before the deadline. Per Woj, this is in part because Harden’s “repeated insistences to ownership and management that he’s committed to staying and winning a championship with the franchise” and that, when Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving play together, they are still the title favorites.

Notably, Durant is out right now with an MCL sprain and won’t return until later February. Irving, meanwhile, is currently a part-time player because of a New York City mandate that prevents players from playing games in the city if they are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Harden, who did not sign an extension prior to the season, could opt out of his deal at the end of this season and pursue free agency. The 76ers are the most known suitor for Harden considering his connection to Daryl Morey, their team president, but the 76ers have not had made an offer for Harden as of yet, per Woj. That’s not a surprise given their potential pursuit of Harden has always been reported as something for this summer in a sign-and-trade involving Ben Simmons rather than a trade in-season.

The February 10 deadline looms large for a number of teams and stars, but it seems safe to say that any drama involving Harden’s future in Brooklyn won’t come until this summer rather than in the next two weeks.