Month: March 2022

Nicki Minaj and Drake have collaborated numerous times, especially during their time as artists on Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint. Their records together include “Moment 4 Life,” “Make Me Proud,” “Up All Night,” “Only,” “No Frauds,” “Seeing Green,” and more. Their most recent collaboration came when Minaj made a brief appearance on Drake’s “Papi’s Home,” off his sixth album, Certified Lover Boy. If another collaboration were to come soon, it would probably be housed on Nicki’s upcoming fifth album. During a quick Q&A with fans on Twitter, Minaj hinted at what a reconnection with Drake might look like.

“We getting a champagne papi collab on this new album?” one person asked Nicki on Twitter. “We actually discussed him EP’ing this new album,” she replied. “That was b4 Seeing Green even came out.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Drake will executive produce Nicki’s next album, but considering that “Seeing Green” was released in May 2020, it appears that the rappers have given the idea some thought. If it does happen, it would be the first album, outside of his own, that Drake’s executive produced in his career.

As for Nicki’s upcoming album, so far she’s given us two tracks that could appear on it: “Do We Have A Problem?” and “Bussin.” Both songs include a guest appearance from Lil Baby.

Taron Egerton had a rocky start to his latest stage appearance. The Rocketman and Kingsman actor (who was AWOL for the latter’s recent prequel) is currently starring in the play Cock in London’s West End. But on its first night, he collapsed towards the end of the show, leading to him being quickly replaced for the remainder. But don’t worry: He says he’s doing fine.

It’s not been revealed what caused the incident, but on Saturday night at Ambassadors Theatre in London, Egerton suddenly fell on stage. According to The Independent, a doctor who was among the audience rushed forth to help. Only 15 mintues remained in the night’s performance, and after a hiatus Edgerton was replaced by his understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson.

After a 40-minute break, Edgerton said he felt “absolutely fine.” On Sunday, the actor took to Instagram to offer elaboration and assurance.

“As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night,” Egerton posted in his Instagram stories. “I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but I’m fine. I’ve decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and checked out.”

He added, “That being said, apparently you’re meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. So I’ll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night.”

The plot of Cock, written by Mike Bartlett, goes like this, as per Entertainment Weekly:

Bartlett’s Cock centers on a gay man named John (Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey) who grapples with his sexuality after he meets and falls in love with a woman (Jade Anouka), upending his relationship with his longtime boyfriend (Egerton). Opening night is set for March 15, with a limited run scheduled through June 4.

(Via The Independent and EW)

March has arrived, which means it is time for college basketball shenanigans to go to another level. Sunday saw a pair of crazy finishes on the men’s and women’s side in the span of half an hour, as the Kentucky women completed a 12-point fourth quarter comeback against No. 1 South Carolina to stun the Gamecocks and win their first SEC title since 1982.

Shortly after that, on the men’s side, things got really weird out in Tulsa, where a missed UCF free throw gave way to the kind of moment that March dreams (and nightmares) are made of, when Jeriah Horne pulled up from well beyond halfcourt with the Golden Hurricane down two, launching one from the “S” in Tulsa, and found nothing but net for a game-winner at the buzzer.

It’s an incredible shot and an incredible call from this announce crew, as the color commentator can only muster a primal scream rather than words to describe what he’s just seen. For Tulsa, who won’t be dancing later this month barring something unforeseen in the AAC tournament, this is the biggest moment of the season and they celebrate as such, as they served up quite the appetizer for the rest of the pandemonium that March provides.

South Carolina’s women’s basketball team had not lost in 2022 entering Sunday’s SEC women’s basketball tournament championship game, as their only defeat this season came in a one-point game in Missouri on December 30. Going into the fourth quarter, it seemed like a coronation was in order for the Gamecocks, as they took a 12-point advantage into the final quarter of play against a Kentucky team they’d beaten by 20 and 9 earlier in the season.

However, in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats heated up from three-point range and turned up the defensive intensity, holding South Carolina to seven points in the quarter to allow them to slowly reel in the Gamecocks. Kentucky was led by Rhyne Howard (18 points) and Dre’una Edwards (27 points and 9 rebounds), with Edwards scoring 12 of her 27 in the fourth to outscore South Carolina by herself, with the three-ball playing a pivotal role.

Edwards wasn’t just lighting it up from deep, but also got it done down low — a tall order with Aliyah Boston patrolling for South Carolina — with a pair of late layups to cut the lead to one (including this sneaky move off an inbound under the basket).

Fittingly, it was Edwards that completed the comeback with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to get her to 27 points on the afternoon and give Kentucky a 64-62 lead.

South Carolina’s halfcourt heave at the buzzer would go begging and the Wildcats stormed the court to celebrate a shocking comeback victory and their second SEC title in school history (the first since 1982).

Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa both had strong albums back in 2020. For Megan, it was her debut album, Good News, which peaked at No. 2 on the albums chart. Earlier that year, Dua Lipa released her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, and while that peaked at No. 4, it did spawn a pair of top-two singles: “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating.” As of today, the two artists have yet to work on a song together (though fans did pair them for an unofficial remix of “Levitating”), but now Megan and Dua have collaborated ona new track that’s coming soon.

In a post to her Instagram page, Lipa shared a brief preview of the song. In it, Megan says, “Hot girl sh*t, me and Dua Lipa finna get the party lit”, while Lipa sings softly in the background. On Megan’s Instagram, she shared what could be the cover art for the song. A title for the upcoming song has yet to be revealed, but they did confirm that it will arrive on March 11. Additionally, singer and Grammy-winning songwriter Nija has a contribution on it, as she revealed on Instagram.

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

Sunday afternoon provided some marquee matchups in the NBA on ABC, starting with the Celtics and Nets meeting in Boston for a midday tip and a chance to watch some of the best scorers in the league go head-to-head. Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant took the opportunity to be on the biggest national stage and put on an absolute show, dueling from start to finish in what was one of the most entertaining games of the season.

Durant finished with 37 points, 8 assists, and six rebounds on 12-of-21 shooting, as he has stepped back into the lineup and looked like he hasn’t missed a beat despite missing a month with a knee sprain. Durant had it working from all levels, getting downhill into the paint, pulling up from the midrange, and airing it out from three, as his performance made him the 23rd player in NBA history to top 25,000 points in his career.

However, while Durant shined, it was Tatum who stole the show, starting when he caught fire from three, burying big shot after big shot to force the Nets into a timeout to reassess their plan of attack on him.

The Nets would rally to take a lead in the fourth, but Tatum stayed hot from deep to keep Boston attached.

While his three-point shooting carried the Celtics early, it was his ability to get downhill and finish that was on full display down the stretch as he pushed Boston into the lead.

But for every bucket the Nets got, Tatum seemed to have the answer, with none more impressive than this split of a double team, slithering his way to the rim for a tough two.

To cross the 50-point mark for the fourth time in his young career, Tatum went to the midrange pullup with his team up just one to create a bit more separation.

All the attention paid to Tatum freed up Jaylen Brown for the dagger for Boston, as the ball swung around to the Celtics’ other star in the corner for what became a wide-open three to push their lead to six with a minute to play.

Tatum would hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line down the stretch to polish off a 126-120 win for the Celtics and get himself to 54 points, the second most of his career, on 16-of-30 shooting (8-of-15 from three). Brown chipped in 21 points, including that dagger at the end, and overall it was one of the most impressive games of Tatum’s young career, as he seemed in total control of the game from start to finish. There was no pressing, no forcing threes late, instead taking what the defense presented him in crunch time and attacking wherever he could.

The win moved Boston 1.5 games clear of the Cavs for the 5-seed in the East, just one game back of the sliding Bulls for fourth (which would mean home court advantage in the first round). For Brooklyn, the loss drops them to 32-33 and into ninth in the East, tied with Charlotte who own the tiebreaker with the Nets currently giving them the 8-seed. One would expect with Durant back and playing as well as he is, a run is coming from the Nets, but they are now five full games out of the 6-seed and any hopes of avoiding the play-in seem highly unlikely at best.

NLE Choppa has been off to a great start in 2022. The Memphis native just released his latest album, Me Vs. Me, which boasts 16 songs and guest appearances from Young Thug, Polo G, G Herbo, and Moneybagg Yo. The young rapper has also released numerous videos, including ones for “Shotta Flow 6,” “Lick Me Baby,” and “Trap Phone.” Unfortunately, tragedy has struck him and his girlfriend.

Marissa De’Nae, who’s been dating Choppa for some months now, revealed in an Instagram post that she recently suffered a miscarriage. “Talking bout this is so hard,” she wrote under a picture of Choppa holding her belly. “But with Bryson next to me and being my supporter, this has helped me more. Losing our Son is so hard for me, I couldn’t function. But he has pulled me through and I’m thankful to have you by my side and with me along this journey. There’s a lot of women who suffer the things I suffer and go through the same things I go through.”

De’Nae also thanked everyone for their support and “kind words” about their loss. Choppa also took a moment to remember his unborn child in a post to Twitter. “Seven Da’Shun Potts,” he wrote with an angel and dove emoji. “#FOREVER7 RIP My Lil One.”

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

For a year and a half, Trump and cronies have been crying about alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. Ever since losing re-election by over seven million votes, the former president and certain pillow salesmen have never stopped from claiming, without proof, that massive fraud got him booted from the White House. (Although sometimes Trump accidentally tells the truth.) Thing is, there was minimal fraud. It’s just been done by Trump supporters.

Now this: A new New Yorker piece revealed that Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff under Trump, seems to have registered to vote at a property in Scaly Mountain, North Carolina in which he’s never lived:

On September 19th, about three weeks before North Carolina’s voter-registration deadline for the general election, Meadows filed his paperwork. On a line that asked for his residential address—“where you physically live,” the form instructs—Meadows wrote down the address of a fourteen-by-sixty-two-foot mobile home in Scaly Mountain. He listed his move-in date for this address as the following day, September 20th.

But as per The New Yorker’s reporting, Meadows “does not own this property and never has.” Nor is it clear, from interviews with the mobile home’s former owner, current owner, and neighbors, if he’s ever spent a night there. The closest thing the publication could turn up is someone claiming, without certainty, that “the Meadows family stayed there in the fall of 2020, when they were in the area for a Trump rally, because nearby hotels were scarce.” Still, one person said that, back during the 2020 election, at least, “it was not the kind of place you’d think the chief of staff of the President would be staying.”

If true, Meadows may have violated North Carolina’s requirement that your voting address is one’s “place of abode.”

Meadows is already in hot water. After he ignored subpoenas from the House Select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, Congress voted to hold him in contempt. Like Steve Bannon, who committed the same crime, he now faces potential jail time.

(Via The New Yorker)

Later this month, Lollapalooza will bring a large cast of musical talents to Argentina for its latest festival. It’s been less than a year since the festival held a showcase in Chicago, featuring Foo Fighters, Post Malone, Tyler The Creator, and Miley Cyrus as headliners. For their Argentina festival, Foo Fighters, Doja Cat, ASAP Rocky, Machine Gun Kelly, Martin Garrix, and The Strokes are set to headline. With the show just a few weeks away, a pair of fans were doing everything they could to score some ticket, but luckily for them, one of the headliners came through to save the day.

Cyrus caught wind of a post from one of the fan’s uncles, who revealed that the youngster was selling all of his toys in order to buy tickets. In an Instagram comment, Miley replied, “Be my guest! Check DM.” Later on, the fan took to Instagram to celebrate their new tickets. “I told my nephew that I was saving money to go to Lollapalooza to see Miley,” they wrote in a tweet that was translated from Spanish. “What I would never have expected is that she would go out to the street to sell her toys to accompany me, what I also did not expect is that MILEY CYRUS herself would invite us to the show. I LOVE YOU @MileyCyrus.”

It was another busy week, and not only because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to escalate. The Eastern European skirmish, which threatens to engulf the entire continent — and may even embroil the U.S. — is no laughing matter, but as ever, SNL tried its damndest to find some humorous lining.

On Weekend Update, hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost had jokes about U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Jost singled out Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, who shocked the world by openly suggesting someone in Russia ought to take Putin out, Julius Caesar-style. “It is a shocking, disgusting example of Lindsey Graham being kind of right about something,” Jost joked.

Jost also took on Ron DeSantis, who took some time from ramping up what’s been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida’s public schools to bully students who were wearing masks, telling them “Stop with this COVID theater.” Jost cracked that “there’s nothing more on brand for conservatives than a dad screaming at boys to give up theater.”

Speaking of COVID, Che discussed newish NYC mayor Eric Adams declaring an end to one of the safety measures that has kept cases down. “Starting on Monday, New York City will no longer require bars and restaurants to pretend to look at vaccination cards,” Che joked, adding, “’Finally!,’ said the next variant.”

Che also brought up National Pig Day, which occurred last Tuesday. “But I told that to a pig and he handcuffed me,” Che told the crowd.

The two hosts also took on Euphoria, Venus and Serna (and Wendy) Williams, as well as Pat Sajak rushing to the defense of Wheel of Fortune contestants who went viral for utterly bombing an incredibly easy puzzle. You can watch video of Weekend Update above and below.