Month: April 2022

It’s been almost a month since the 94th Academy Awards, where Best Picture went to CODA, Ariana DeBose won for West Side Story, and The Power of the Dog somehow only took home one trophy. Oh, and Will Smith took home Best Actor after slapping presenter Chris Rock. Even now, the comic, who did his best to quickly get things back on track, has only briefly addressed the incident. But his mom has some stuff to say.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Rose Rock, an author, motivational speaker, and mother of one of America’s most popular stand-ups, opened up about the incident in an interview with WIS. She said her son is “still processing” what happened, but she already has some thoughts she’d like to share with the world.

“I told someone, when Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us, but he really slapped me,” Rose said. “When you hurt my child, you hurt me.”

When Rose was asked what she’d say if Smith contacted her, she replied, “I have no idea what I would say other than, ‘What in the world were you thinking?’ Because you did a slap, but so many things could have happened. Chris could have stepped back and fallen. You really could have gotten taken out in handcuffs. You didn’t think. You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went up, and you made her day because she was bowled over laughing when it happened.”

Rose also took umbrage with the Academy’s solution to Smith’s antics: banning him from attending the ceremony for a decade. “What does that mean? You don’t even go every year,” she said. She also wasn’t buying the brief mea culpa he released days later. “I feel really bad that he never apologized,” she added. “His people wrote up a piece and said, ‘I apologize to Chris Rock,’ but something like that is personal. You reach out.”

Rock’s mom isn’t the only family member who’s spoken about what Smith did to him. Days after the incident, his brother, Tony Rock, shot down rumors, floated by Diddy, that the two had since reconciled, effectively saying the rapper had lied.

(Via THR)

The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, 119-118, behind the best postseason performance of Karl-Anthony Towns’ career. As a result, Minnesota tied things up in the 2-7 matchup in the Western Conference at two games each with the series shifting back to Memphis next week.

After coming under some scrutiny for only attempting four shots as the Timberwolves failed to hold onto a big lead in Game 3, Towns came out with a chip on his shoulder. As a result, he joined Kevin Garnett as the only players in franchise history to hit the 30-point and 10-rebound benchmarks in a playoff game — Towns scored a team-high 33 points, including a 14-for-17 clip from the free throw line, with 14 rebounds.

Anthony Edwards also came up big for Minnesota. He left the game early with a non-contact knee injury, but came back and did not look like he missed a beat, scoring 24 points with four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. The point guard duo of Patrick Beverley and Jordan McLaughlin combined for 33 points and seven assists.

While Ja Morant did not have a good night by his standards — 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting with 15 assists and eight rebounds — Desmond Bane was a menace. The Grizzlies’ sharpshooting guard went for 34 points and connected on eight of his 12 attempts from deep, which ties his career-best scoring mark in a single game and set a personal best in made triples.

Dillon Brooks gave the team 24 points, while Brandon Clarke scored 15 on 7-for-9 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Still, with the series now tied up at two games each, Memphis will need to get more out of their All-Star guard, as Morant is shooting 29 percent from the field over the last two games and has not hit the 20-point mark in either of them.

Game 5 will take place in Memphis on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Brooklyn Nets are on the brink of elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Brooklyn entered Saturday evening looking for its first win in its 2-7 series with the Boston Celtics, and despite things shifting to the Barclays Center for the first time, Jayson Tatum’s latest monster performance on both ends of the floor put Boston one win away from the second round. By the time the clock hit zero, Boston picked up a 109-103 victory.

The story of the game was the play of Tatum, who is in the midst of a stellar series. Beyond his defense on Kevin Durant, who struggled mightily on Saturday, Tatum filled it up, leading all scorers with 39 points.

It was not just his scoring, though, that made him such a menace. Tatum recorded six steals, six assists, and five rebounds, showing off his full arsenal and capping off the win by taking the ball away from Kyrie Irving.

As is oftentimes the case when the Celtics pick up a win, Jaylen Brown likewise had a big game, going for 23 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Boston also got 14 points and six assists from Marcus Smart, while Payton Pritchard came off the bench and gave them 10 points.

For the Nets, Bruce Brown showed up in a big way, as the team’s peskiest defender provided a team-high 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. The 26 points mark a playoff career-high for Brown.

The big issue for Brooklyn, though, was the play of the 1-2 punch of Durant and Irving. Both players scored 16 points, and did so on a combined 12-for-28 from the field. Both players did a good job setting up their teammates — Irving had nine assists and Durant had eight, while the latter also pulled in eight rebounds — but both of them (particularly Durant) look like they’re really struggling with the workload they’ve been asked to shoulder in recent weeks and the length and physicality of Boston’s defense. While much has been made of Ben Simmons potentially making his debut in Game 4, it is hardly a stretch to say that unless both guys figure some things out very, very quickly, Boston is going to punch its ticket to the conference semifinals sooner rather than later.

Beyond them, the Nets got 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench from Nic Claxton, 12 points out of Patty Mills, and 10 from Seth Curry. Turnovers, in particular, plagued Brooklyn, as Boston was able to turn 21 of them into 37 points.

Game 4 between the Nets and the Celtics will take place on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.

The Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks are headed to a Game 5 with their series all tied up. Utah was able to spoil a monster 2022 playoff debut by Luka Doncic on Saturday evening by defending their home court and picking up a 100-99 win.

After a tightly-contested first quarter which saw the Jazz hold a slim lead, the two teams swapped roles with one another in the second and third quarters. Before halftime, Utah came out firing, winning the frame 30-19 to take a 12-point lead into the break, led by the trio of Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson, and Bojan Bogdanovic — the three players combined to score 39 of the Jazz’s 54 points.

Dallas managed to flip the script in the third, starting the frame on a 15-5 run and outscoring Utah by 15 over the course of the entire quarter.

With just under three minutes left in the quarter, Dorian Finney-Smith gave Dallas its first lead since the end of the first.

In the fourth, the Mavericks were able to extend their lead to as many as five points before Clarkson ripped off a personal 6-0 run to give Utah the lead. And when Doncic managed to put Dallas ahead at the free throw line, Clarkson came right back down and buried a three to wrest the lead away.

Things turned into a slog down the stretch, with Doncic and Brunson getting the ball and trying to score on one end and Gobert making trip after trip to the free throw line on the other. While Gobert struggled to punish Dallas from the line — he only went 3-for-8 from the 4:19 to the 2:36 mark in the fourth — the Mavericks were only to get two points in that period by way of a dunk by Dwight Powell.

The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch, and with less than a minute left, Mitchell missed a layup that led to a Mavericks rebound. On the ensuing possession, Doncic got isolated by Gobert and went to one of the staples of his game — a stepback three — which he buried over Utah’s big man.

The door was cracked open, however, when Mitchell attacked the basket, made a layup, and converted an and-one the next time down the floor.

Powell got the ball and missed both free throws. Mitchell pushed it down the floor and did something he’s been criticized for not doing enough: he threw up a lob to Gobert, who finished with authority.

Spencer Dinwiddie was able to get a look at the buzzer as Utah decided to double Doncic, but he wasn’t able to convert, and as a result, Utah tied the series up at two games each.

Clarkson led the Jazz with 25 points off the bench, while Mitchell had 23 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Gobert stuffed the stat sheet, too, with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Doncic’s 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists were tops for Dallas, while Brunson pitched in 23.

Game 5 between the Jazz and the Mavericks will take place on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on TNT.

Just last week Harry Styles debuted not one but two new songs during his Friday night Coachella set. Both “Boyfriends” and “Late Night Talking” are likely singles off his upcoming album, Harry’s House, but for now, “Boyfriends” is definitely the crowd favorite. So much so that indie rocker Angel Olsen has done her own cover of the track, though it hasn’t even been officially released yet. Gearing up to release a new album of her own, Big Time, on June 3, Olsen uploaded her spare rendition of Harry’s tune to her TikTok channel.

“This new Harry song is a beauty (debuted at Coachella) #harrystyles #bigtime #fyp,” Olsen captioned the video.

Here’s a snippet of the Harry version:

Does this mean a slew of “Boyfriends” covers will be unleashed in the coming days and weeks? Too soon to tell, but if there’s one thing this man seems to understand, it’s just how frustrating men can be. For his set during last night’s second weekend, Harry brought out Lizzo to do some One Direction classics, which is probably not comparable to the iconic appearance of Shania during the first weekend, but at least he mixed it up so fans got something different.

If there’s anyone who knows how to move vinyl, it’s Taylor Swift. She’s set many different records in her time as one of the most successful pop stars in the world, but last year, pressings of both folklore and evermore went on to set all-time records for how much vinyl was sold. This led to her being crowned as the first-ever “Record Store Day global ambassador,” and plenty of local shops wanted to show their love for her support of them on this music lover’s holiday.

One in particular, Grimey’s in Nashville, went all in on Swiftie fever, with a giant mural of Taylor as the RSD ambassador.

And though she’s not back to posting as much as she used to on her own social media channels, Taylor obviously had to weigh in on the sweet gesture. “Thanks Grimey’s for this mural, I am overwhelmed,” she wrote in an Instagram story post today. “HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY. Honored to be this year’s global ambassador and glad we get to celebrate these sacred and important places now more than ever.”

She also shared info on her own RSD exclusive, available only in stores. “Limited quantities of “The Lakes” & “The Lakes (Original Version)” on 7-inch clear vinyl available exclusively at your local participating record stores.

For those who haven’t been following the album cycle with interest, “The Lakes” is a bonus track off folklore, and the 7-inch is pretty limited, so get to a store today and snag a copy if that piques your interest.

Bad Bunny had a musically quiet year in 2021, at least on his own terms. He released a few singles and some collaborations but it was nothing like his 2020 year that featured not one, not two, but three projects from him: YHLQMDLG, Las Que No Iban A Salir, and El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo. Three projects in one year is enough music to last most fans for some time, but many wondered when Bad Bunny’s next era would begin. Now, thanks to a new advertisement from Bugatti, we know that it will come sooner than later.

On Thursday night, Bad Bunny shared a classified ad under his legal name Benito A. Martinez Ocasio. The ad was for a Buggati Chiron 110 Anniversary 2019 priced at $3.5 million and it was attached with a phone number — (787) 417-8605 — which traces back to Bad Bunny’s home country of Puerto Rico. When the phone number is dialed, a snippet of a new song is played. Next, the number sends a text message in Spanish that translates to, “Hello! Thank you for calling. There’s little time left until the album comes out. I can’t say the date yet.” Bad Bunny then adds, “But I can tell you the name: ‘Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You).’”

The announcement arrives after he shared the dates for his World’s Hottest Tour which kicks off in August.

You can view the classified ad for the Bugatti Chiron 110 Anniversary 2019 here.

Professional nuisances and Beavis and Butt-Head lookalikes Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan have never been quiet about spreading misinformation about the 2020 election. The former apparently still believes Donald Trump won. But as the Jan. 6 committee continues to Hoover up more and more intel, it seems they and other Trumpist lawmakers were even more involved in plans to overturn the results than previously thought.

As per Politico, new evidence filed in federal courts on Friday suggest a number of Republican congresspeople were present at meetings or on calls laying out plans to circumvent the will of American voters. They include some familiar faces, like Gaetz, Jordan, and tooth-loser Louie Gohmert, as well more obscure figures like Pennsylvania representative Scott Perry.

The intel comes at least partly from the more than 2,000 text messages obtained from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, during a brief period when he was playing ball with the House select committee. In November, Meadows stood them up for a formal interview; he faces possible jail time. They’re still trying to force him to show up, using some of the texts he gave them as evidence that his presence is required. That evidence implies how deeply embedded the likes of Gaetz and Jordan were involved in the subversive planning:

Members traded theories about ways to push then-Vice President Mike Pence to single-handedly stop Biden’s election, they parried with the White House Counsel’s Office on the boundaries of the law regarding presidential electors and they met directly with Pence’s staff to encourage him to take direct action on Jan. 6, when Congress convened to count electoral votes.

“They felt that he had the authority to — pardon me if my phrasing isn’t correct on this, but — send votes back to the States or the electors back to the States,” Hutchinson recalled.

Among the revelations is that Jordan told Meadows over text that he supported attempts to send election results back to the states. Others attended a late December meeting with Trump’s fumbling lawyer Rudy Giuliani to have then-vice president Mike Pence simply refuse to certify the results, which he couldn’t have done anyway.

The Jan. 6 committee has been collecting evidence since July of last year. One of their members, Democratic representative Jamie Raskin, recently estimated that their findings will be made public by late summer, early autumn, promising that they will “really blow the roof off the House.”

(Via Politico)

Despite losing Fred VanVleet during the second quarter with a hip injury and Scottie Barnes dealing with the ankle injury that has hobbled him since Game 1, the Toronto Raptors were able to take their first game off of the Philadelphia 76ers and avoid a sweep. Thanks to the best performance that Pascal Siakam has had all postseason, Toronto picked up a 110-102 win to shift the series back to Philadelphia.

Siakam was the story of the game, scoring a playoff career-best 34 points on the evening. While he’s had some struggles going up against Joel Embiid and the Sixer defense in the first three games of the series, Siakam carried the Raptors, particularly during the fourth quarter, in which he scored 15 points to help get Toronto over the line.

Gary Trent Jr. provided a second scoring punch for the Raptors, with 17 of his 24 points coming in the first half. In an unexpected twist, Toronto received quite the boost off the bench from Thaddeus Young. While he’s been quiet for much of the series, Young played 30 minutes off the bench and filled the box score with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block.

The big, outstanding question for Toronto revolve around VanVleet, who ripped his jersey as he left the floor in the first half due to his hip, and Barnes, who played 26 minutes despite aggravating his ankle injury but did not quite impact the game as he can.

The issue that exists for Philadelphia, though, is that Embiid’s issues with his right thumb were apparent during the game, and while he had 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists, the MVP finalist favored his hand on numerous occasions during the game. There were also moments where Embiid was visibly frustrated, and after the game, he appeared to sarcastically clap at the officiating crew for their performance on the day.

While James Harden had a productive game — 22 points, nine assists, five rebounds — he struggled with efficiency, going 5-for-17 from the field and 2-for-10 from three. The Sixers did get a double-double out of Tobias Harris, who went for 15 points and 11 rebounds. And after the game, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was critical of his team’s performance, saying that he did not believe they deserved to win and punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Game 5 between the Sixers and Raptors will take place on Monday evening at 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

Terrace Martin’s work in the music industry dates back to the mid-2000s. He started off as a jazz producer, but following some work with Snoop Dogg in the mid-2000s, Martin would go on to combine his jazz palette with hip-hop sounds as he worked with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Denzel Curry, Cordae, Big KRIT, Travis Scott, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and more. Martin has also put nine albums over the course of 10 years with his first one being 2011’s Melrose with Murs and his most recent one being 2021’s Drones. Despite all his success, Martin is putting an end to his work with hip-hop artists.

In a lengthy letter that he shared on social media, Martin revealed that he would no longer work with “rap friends” in the future.

“It just hit me, I’ve helped people my whole career. I’ve helped the biggest artist to the smallest artist.

Whether it be producing a record or playing keys or sax solos or bringing in musicians to enhance an album to just giving game from all of my experiences.

Now I realize that the love and help I’ve been giving for YEARS has never been returned when I need it.

“I have waived publishing, credits, money etc on the strength of relationships, on the “love,” and to watch my “rapper friends” overpay these producers who come to me for pointers and tips is the ultimate slap in the face. So I’m done. I’m not working with anymore rap friends.”

While Martin’s presence in the rap world will be missed, he’s still helping craft some great records through recent projects like Robert Glasper’s Black Radio III.

You can view Martin’s letter in the post above.