Michael K. Williams’ shocking death in September 2021 left admirers of his work (particularly in The Wire and Lovecraft Country) feeling gutted. That’s particularly the case because his Lovecraft performance was so raw and emotional (and should have won him an Emmy). Not only that, but Williams opened up to Men’s Health about how the show’s “generational trauma” affected him heavily, to the point where it “kicked the door off the hinges” for him.
In the aftermath of filming Lovecraft, as Williams told Men’s Health, he relapsed back into drugs and began to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings and therapy. Sadly, the investigation into Williams’ death reveals that he wasn’t able to kick those demons, and as the Daily Beast reports, four men have now been arrested in connection with the drugs that killed the iconic actor who portrayed Omar Little in The Wire. As the Beast reveals, there’s a The Wire feel in this case. Here, officers were able match up key moments in surveillance footage to make an arrest. Now, this moment in the HBO show didn’t happen, but there was enough on camera to make an arrest.
The full report at The Daily Beast is well worth reading, but the detailed description of the surveillance footage points towards Williams buying “heroin laced with fentanyl and carfentanil” (the lethal mix pinpointed by the medical examiner for Williams’ cause of death) from Irvin Cartagena, an alleged dealer known as “Green Eyes.” The two men didn’t appear to know each other, but Green Eyes wasn’t very savvy, given that he’d previously been busted in the same location. Not only that, but investigators focused upon when Williams exchanged phone numbers with Green Eyes. Here’s more:
While an episode of The Wire shows a drug crew throwing rocks to break a surveillance camera, Green Eyes and those with him seemed not at all worried that the transaction was being recorded.
And even though Green Eyes had been busted at this very spot six months before, he did not hesitate to conduct this exchange with Williams in plain sight. The whole scene appeared as relaxed as if dealing dangerous narcotics were as completely legal as selling milk at the Alegria Grocery next door.
Williams and Green Eyes were so at ease that they paused to take out their phones to exchange numbers, Green Eyes dialing first. Williams showed him his screen and Green Eyes pointed to it, apparently confirming his number.
From there, detectives looked at Williams’ phone and matched up a call to that moment on the footage, and from there, the footage showed how Williams headed back to his apartment, where his lifeless body was found the next day. The Daily Beast notes that Green Eyes “vanished” from the location (where he didn’t seem to care about surveillance footage) after the news of Williams’ death broke. You can read the full report here.
Abbott Elementary has been a breakout hit for creator and star Quinta Brunson, who named the show after her sixth-grade teacher in Philadelphia. While the show’s success has been an emotional rollercoaster for Brunson, she was not at all prepared for what Jimmy Kimmel had in store for her on Tuesday night: The late-night comedian arranged for the Ms. Abbott to Zoom into the show. Within moments of reconnecting with the inspiration for her series, Brunston was in tears. At one point, she jokingly called out Kimmel for ruining her makeup.
Ms. Abbott was, of course, a delight, and she recalled the first time she learned that Abbott Elementary was named after her. Via Entertainment Tonight:
“It was confirmed one night when I was watching 6abc news,” Ms. Abbott said. “They were talking about the Abbott Elementary show shortly after the pilot. The newscaster said, ‘Ms. Abbott, if you’re watching, Quinta would like to reconnect with you.’ I was like ‘Oh my god!’”
The teacher also shared stories of having Brunson as a pupil, saying she was “very driven at that time” and that the Black Lady Sketch Show alum grew out of her shell to become “our class spokesperson.”
Much like Abbott Elementary, the reunion was a delightful break from the ongoing craziness of the pandemic, schools banning books, and an unfortunate mangling of the true nature of the Holocaust. Seriously, thank you, Jimmy.
It’s almost astonishing to think of how much material the late Juice WRLD recorded before his death in December of 2019. The prolific Chicago rapper left behind plenty of material to be turned into awesome visuals like the ones for his new singles “Cigarettes” and Go Hard 2.0,” which both tap into Juice’s love for Japanese animation, or anime.
The video for “Cigarettes,” which you can watch above, takes a CGI approach, creating a colorful digital avatar of Juice that dances and emotes over the new track, which features a somber guitar riff backing Juice’s compliments toward a paramour who uplifts him in the midst of his addictions. The track was originally leaked in 2018 before being re-released today. It’s expected to appear the deluxe version of Juice’s new album Fighting Demons.
Meanwhile, below, you can check out the traditionally animated video for “Go Hard 2.0.” This dynamic, sci-fi accented short sees representations of some of Juice’s closest friends in the rap game working in a lab as he floats in a tube (some of their faces are blurred, suggesting that Juice’s label couldn’t get likeness clearances for them, but Lil Uzi Vert and Polo G are visible). When news of a meteor approaching the planet sounds an alarm, Uzi releases Juice to destroy the cosmic threat with some very Dragon Ball-ish powers. However, he also unleashes a musclebound alien with whom he engages in a battle royale. This song appears on the original version of Fighting Demons, which is out now via Grade A Productions and Interscope.
Some super fans spend so much time keeping up-to-date with their favorite musician that they’re a de facto expert. Now, there’s a way for select university students to get graded on their knowledge of one pop artist in particular. A new course at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute gives students the chance to earn university credit for learning about Taylor Swift. Last week, the school launched the course focused on Swift’s career — and as one can imagine, there’s a very long waitlist to join.
The course is taught by Rolling Stone staff writer Brittany Spanos and will teach students about Swift’s rise to success, the legacy of pop and country songwriters, and the politics of race in today’s music. According to Variety, the course’s description notes students will “deconstruct both the appeal and aversions” to Swift’s music by analyzing close readings as well as public discourse. The class will also delve “into analyses of the culture and politics of teen girlhood in pop music, fandom, media studies, whiteness and power as it relates to her image and the images of those who have both preceded and succeeded her.” Those who opt to take the course will also discuss topics like “copyright and ownership, American nationalism and the ongoing impact of social media on the pop music industry.”
If that didn’t entice students, a representative for NYU told Variety that they’ve even invited Swift to join the class as a guest speaker. Swift’s appearance hasn’t been confirmed, but would definitely make for an interesting lecture.
This isn’t the firs time NYU has hosted courses centered around music and pop culture. In the past, there have been courses taught by Questlove, Q-Tip, producer-engineer Bob Power, and many more.
As has been the talk of the music world over the past week, Neil Young has taken his music off of Spotify. It would be logical to conclude that this move would impact his overall streaming numbers, and it did, but actually in a positive way.
Citing figures from MRC Data, Billboard reports that on January 24, the day Young first expressed his dissatisfaction with Spotify (at least in terms of its relationship with Joe Rogan), his music (both solo and with bands like Crazy Horse, Promise Of The Real, and Stray Gators) was streamed 745,000 times in the US. As news of the Spotify beef made the rounds, those numbers rose to 1.1 million streams on January 25 and 1.2 million the next day. January 27 was the day Young’s music was largely off Spotify, and then, streams dipped to 792,000, which is still more than before this saga started.
The numbers quickly rose again, though, shooting up to 1.2 million streams on January 28 and slightly more on the 29th before falling down to 913,000 on the 30th.
All in all, this is how the day-by-day data played out:
January 24 — 745,000 US streams
January 25 — 1.1 million (up 41 percent from the previous day)
January 26 — 1.2 million (up 16 percent)
January 27 — 792,000 (down 35 percent)
January 28 — 1.2 million (up 52 percent)
January 29 — 1.2 million (up 3 percent)
January 30 — 913,000 (down 26 percent)
Meanwhile, Joni Mitchell, one of the first major artists to follow Young in taking her music off Spotify, had a similar streaming journey:
January 26 — 315,000
January 27 — 322,000 (up 2 percent)
January 28 — 347,000 (up 8 percent)
January 29 — 699,000 (up 102 percent)
January 30 — 508,000 (down 27 percent)
Billboard also notes, “Activity for Young and Mitchell are likely to be further reflected on Billboard‘s weekly charts dated Feb. 12, encompassing the Jan. 28-Feb. 3 tracking week.”
Neil Young is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
With over 100 million people consistently tuning into the Super Bowl every year, organizers consistently go all-out for the much-anticipated annual halftime show. And with any high-pressure live event, there are is little tolerance for error. So when something doesn’t go quite as expected, the internet lights up with viral memes and discourse.
Prior to the ’90s, the halftime shows usually consisted of university marching bands or drill teams. But since then, the NFL discovered they could increase viewership by making the halftime show a pop culture staple. Now, the performances invite the most recognizable names in music to take the stage with a past roster boasting artists like Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, and more.
Let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable moments that have gone down at Super Bowl halftime shows of the last two decades. Cringey, hilarious, and just plain captivating, these halftime performances made a major impact in pop culture.
Shakira’s confusing tongue wag: 2020
Shakira and J. Lo’s 2020 performance at the Super Bowl halftime show was one for the history books. Not only was it the last large-scale music event before the pandemic effectively shut down live music, but it was also a major celebration of Latin American culture. J. Lo wore a massive feathered Puerto Rican flag cape and Shakira decided to honor the moment with a customary gesture. Moments into her rendition of “Hips Don’t Lie,” the singer leaned into the camera to stick her tongue out and make a high-pitched sound.
Many (white) people on the internet were perplexed by the gesture and it easily became the most-memed moment of the night. But it didn’t take long for others to point out the mocking was in poor taste. The tongue move is actually a zaghrouta, which translates to a ululation. It’s a part of Arabic culture meant to signify joy and is oftentimes used to celebrate weddings, engagements, and the birth of children.
Adam Levine ripping his shirt off: 2019
As much work went into Maroon 5’s 2019 Super Bowl halftime performance, the most memorable part of the set didn’t come from the music itself. The 13-minute spectacle as a whole felt very disjointed and seemed as though organizers were trying to pack in as many stunts as possible in a very short amount of time. It included an abrupt transition to Travis Scott’s barely-integrated performance, a clip from Spongebob, Big Boi driving through the crowd in a convertible Mercedes-Benz, a gospel choir, and thousands of paper lanterns.
But despite all the on-stage antics, the internet was the most concerned with the moment Adam Levine decided to go shirtless for some reason. Like some of the women in Super Bowl halftime show history, Levine wanted to get away with an outfit change mid-set. But apparently, his idea of a wardrobe change was actually just ripping his clothes off. Levine started the set wearing a black trench coat and as the show progressed, Levine would shed more and more layers until he was in just a tank top. While singing Maroon 5’s final song of the evening, “Moves Like Jagger,” Levine decided to peel off his tank and toss it into the crowd, leaving him shirtless. The move received mixed reactions. Some praised Levine’s six pack with others chided him for a generally lackluster performance.
“Left shark’s” uncoordinated dance moves with Katy Perry: 2015
Katy Perry may have ridden into her 2015 Super Bowl halftime set on the back of a giant gold lion, but there was only one thing people were talking about after her performance. No, it wasn’t appearances by guests Lenny Kravitz or Missy Elliott. Instead, the internet was buzzing with jokes about one of her backup dancers.
The stage turned into a beachy paradise for her rendition of “Teenage Dream.” Perry was joined by dancers dressed as anthropomorphic palm trees and beach balls, and was flanked by two people in blue shark costumes. The shark to her right hit every dance move with ease, but the shark to her left looked as though it was struggling to keep up. As Right Shark confidently danced to the beat with precise movements, Left Shark continued to flail its way through the set by contrast.
After the performance, the internet was ablaze with talk of Left Shark’s fumbling movements and even Perry herself joined in on the memes. It wasn’t until the following year that the man underneath the Left Shark costume spoke out. His real name is Bryan Gaw and he had actually been a part of Perry’s dance ensemble for five years. Gaw described the movements as “free-style choreography” and later told NPR he didn’t get anything but love after his performance. He even put his Left Shark moment on his resume.
Surprise Destiny’s Child reunion: 2013
Unlike more recent performances, Beyonce‘s 2013 Super Bowl halftime show was remembered for its significance. Not only did it feature impressive visuals, awe-inspiring choreography, a flaming guitar, and a stage of all-female musicians, but it also had a surprise cameo by Beyonce’s Destiny’s Child group members.
Halfway through Beyonce’s set, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child were literally launched out of the stage. They fired off a brief medley of songs, which included “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women,” before joining together for a rendition of “Single Ladies.” The entire performance created such a buzz on the internet that it garnered 268,000 tweets per minute, making it the then-most-tweeted about event in the history of the social media platform.
Fergie butchering “Sweet Child ‘O Mine”: 2011
It’s been just over a decade since the Black Eyed Peas took the halftime show stage and even ten years later, Fergie‘s performance of “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” is still hard to watch without grimacing. The show was meant to captivate a younger audience and contrast the prior year’s legacy act, The Who. In general, the group stayed true to the assignment – up until they decided to pander to an older crowd with a Guns N’ Roses cover.
Slash made a surprise appearance on the stage sporting his signature top hat and joined forces with Fergie to cover the band’s No. 1 track “Sweet Child ‘O Mine.” While Slash’s guitar sounded great, the same can’t be said of Fergie’s ill-advised decision to emulate Axel Rose’s wailing vocals and gyrating dance moves. The combo resulted in a jaw-droppingly bizarre performance which was most definitely memorable — just not in the way Fergie had presumably intended. The performance would be hailed in the following years as one of the worst Super Bowl halftime shows in history, and a poll by ESPN found 35 percent of respondents graded the event an “F.”
Bruce Springsteen’s iconic knee slide: 2009
During his performance at the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show, Bruce Springsteen made it clear that he does all his own stunts. During a rendition of his song “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” The Boss ran across the massive stage and attempted an epic knee slide towards the camera, which is now officially dubbed the “Springsteen Slide.” But Springsteen over-shot his slide a bit and ended up barreling into the camera, knocking it over completely. Thankfully, he didn’t seem hurt and played it off as a happy accident. He didn’t even miss a beat in delivering his song’s lyrics.
After the performance came to an end, the rocker was still in good spirits about the mishap. “I feel like I’ve just taken a syringe of adrenalin straight to the heart,” he said, explaining exactly what went down. “Then the knee slide. Too much adrenalin, a late drop, too much speed, here I come Mike BOOM! And I’m onto his camera, the lens implanted into my chest with one leg off the stage.”
Prince bringing on rain during “Purple Rain”: 2007
Prince‘s 2007 Super Bowl performance is remembered as one of the most awe-inspiring halftime shows. The set took place in the middle of an unexpected Miami downpour, but the weather ended up making the event all the more magical, particularly as he sang “Purple Rain.”
Before the show took place, organizers were told they shouldn’t worry about the weather because it hadn’t rained in the entirety of Super Bowl history. But the morning of the big game, the skies opened up in what was described as a torrential downpour. Prince decided to make the most of the moment. Totally unfazed by the weather, he went ahead with using four live electric guitars during his performance. The rain made the stage unbelievably slick, but the singer never faltered. In fact, he turned the dramatic weather to his advantage, especially during his rendition of “Purple Rain.” He even coaxed the entire crowd to sing along in harmony, creating a breathtaking moment even for those watching it from home.
Justin Timberlake giving Janet Jackson a wardrobe malfunction: 2004
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake‘s 2004 set is perhaps the most-talked-about Super Bowl halftime performances in history — and it’s one we’re now collectively revisiting with Jackson’s new documentary, Janet. The two singers were performing a sultry rendition of Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” track on stage. At the end of the song, Timberlake reached over and yanked off part of Jackson’s corset top, exposing her entire breast adorned with a gemstone nipple pasty. The infamous nip slip is frequently referred to as a “wardrobe malfunction,” though the way Timberlake ripped off Jackon’s top looked more than purposeful.
Over half a million FCC complaints came flooding in following the halftime show, prompting the FCC to launch an investigation. Then-chairman Michael Powell made a statement at the time, saying he was “outraged” by what he saw. “That celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation’s children, parents and citizens deserve better,” he said.
What people might not remember as much about the moment is the extent to which Jackson was reprimanded by the public. Though Timberlake joked about the moment in interviews, radio stations refused to spin Jackson’s then-new album Damita Jo and she was essentially dis-invited to the Grammys the following week. Jackson was then endlessly interrogated by the media after she declined to relive the incident in interviews.
Jackson addressed the so-called “wardrobe malfunction” in her recent documentary, where she essentially absolved Timberlake. While Jackson noted she asked him not to make a statement about the incident (which he clearly ignored), Jackson says the two are now on very good terms. “Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion,” she said in the film. “Of course, it was an accident. That should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame, and that’s got to stop.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
2 Chainz gave more glimpses of his future musical direction in a new freestyle for the LA Leakers, a show that has been on an absolute tear when it comes to showcasing the most impressive lyricists in hip-hop. While dropping by the Power 106 studio has always been something of a rite of passage for rappers looking to promote new projects or introduce themselves to the world at large, the past year has seen rappers of greater and greater stature drop by, from rising stars like Cordae and Latto to established industry leaders like Big Sean and J. Cole.
Unsurprisingly, this was far from 2 Chainz’s first appearance. Back in 2017, he stepped all over Kendrick Lamar’s then-new single “DNA.” as he showed off his ability to adjust his flow to sound more like the Compton rapper’s. On his new freestyle, though, he went the other way, forcing a classic hip-hop single to mold to his own flow — although, it’s clear he’s been working on adding more dimension to his delivery as well. Busting raps over Pharcyde’s 1993 classic “Passin’ Me By,” Chainz references the meme-launching Mystikal rhyme about fighting a bear, turning the lyrical grizzly into a silverback gorilla. The result is the same, though: If you see Chainz engaged in fisticuffs with this wild animal, the one needing assistance won’t be the 6’5″ rapper from Atlanta.
Chainz’s song selection is right in line with his recent declaration to move on from trap rap and his recent output incorporating more classic hip-hop boom-bap sounds into his arsenal as he ages into elder-statesman territory looking to follow in the footsteps of other veterans like his ColleGrove 2 partner in rhyme Lil Wayne. Judging from his LA Leakers freestyle, that’ll be a good look on him, but first, he’s finishing his trap career strong with Dope Don’t Sell Itself, due sometime this quarter.
In the clip, Paltrow is eating one of her infamous vagina candles which she says tastes funny, but not bad! Okay, Gwyneth! Uber Eats also dropped two more teasers, one with icon Jennifer Coolidge and another with Trevor Noah.
Coolidge’s ad features her shockingly exclaim “Lipstick? Delivered with Uber Eats?!” before chowing down on the purple stick, which she claims tastes like “purple.” Noah’s ad does the same routine, but with deodorant. Uber encourages fans to find out why the celebs are eating their non-edible food by tuning into the Big Game next Sunday, but it’s not hard to assume. The ads are supposedly to promote non-food items that Uber Eats is starting to offer, including toiletries, makeup, and, allegedly, candles.
This isn’t the first time Uber Eats has had a star-studded ad campaign, as their Elton John/ Lil Nas X commercial went viral last Fall, and who could forget their Wayne’s World reunion from last year. All of these star-studded, high-budget commercials beg the question: do people really use Uber Eats? It seems so.
Check out the rest of the ads below, then tune in to watch the thrilling conclusion on Super Bowl Sunday. Also to watch the game, presumably.
CNN president Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned from the news network on Wednesday, catching the entire media world, and employees at CNN, by surprise. Zucker admitted in his resignation email that he had failed to disclose a “consensual relationship” with his closest colleague, who he did not name. However, CNN chief marketing officer Allison Gollust later issued a statement confirming she was the person involved with Zucker and that the relationship was indeed consensual.
Naturally, the situation has become a bit more complicated than simply an office romance. New reporting has revealed that Gollust briefly worked as an aide for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was forced to resign from office over allegations of sexual misconduct. His brother, Chris Cuomo, would later be fired from CNN for using his media resources to allegedly disparage the former governor’s accusers. According to Politico, Cuomo’s exit snowballed into Zucker’s abrupt resignation:
In his memo, Zucker said he was asked about his relationship during an investigation into Chris Cuomo’s conduct. Two sources with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly said that Cuomo’s legal team, which continues to negotiate his exit from the network, raised issues about the relationship between Zucker and Gollust. Cuomo’s legal team asserted that Zucker was hypocritical to suggest Cuomo had a personal conflict of interest when the relationship with Gollust represented a potential conflict as well.
As Politico notes, additional reporting from Puck News’ Matt Belloni claims that Chris Cuomo’s legal team recently made a request that exacerbated the situation with Zucker and Gollust.
“I’m told CNN received a litigation hold letter recently from Chris Cuomo lawyers, demanding, among other things, preservation of all communications between Zucker, comms chief Allison Gollust, and Andrew Cuomo,” Belloni tweeted shortly after news of Zucker’s resignation broke.
Potentially important: I’m told CNN received a litigation hold letter recently from Chris Cuomo lawyers, demanding, among other things, preservation of all communications between Zucker, comms chief Allison Gollust, and Andrew Cuomo.
It’s been about a week since Neil Young removed his music from Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan, and since then, some other notable artists have followed in his footsteps. That list includes Joni Mitchell; India.Arie; and Young’s former Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Graham Nash. Now, all of Young’s CSNY bandmates have taken a stand and declared in a message shared today that they want their music off of Spotify, too, both their solo work and collaborations with each other.
The message — signed by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Nash — reads, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music — or the music we made together — to be on the same platform.”
This comes after Rogan himself addressed Young, saying, “I’m very sorry that they feel that way. I most certainly don’t want that. I’m a Neil Young fan. I’ve always been a Neil Young fan.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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