Month: April 2022

Coming into the first round, all eyes were on the 2-7 series in the Eastern Conference, as the Boston Celtics would play host to the Brooklyn Nets in a matchup worthy of a conference finals, and Game 1 delivered on every single level.

The two teams would battle in a choppy, physical first half to a 61-61 tie, with a first quarter featuring 18 fouls, the most in any quarter all season in the NBA. In the second half, things would open up and we got the shotmaking clinic we expected from a series featuring some of the best individual scorers in the NBA. Jayson Tatum started the game as a facilitator with the Nets sending doubles and showing extra bodies every time he touched the ball, but eventually he got loose as he went for 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting, along with eight assists and four rebounds.

He got help in the backcourt from Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, who combined for 43 points and six steals, and on the inside Al Horford took Bruce Brown’s critique the Nets would be able to exploit Boston’s centers without Robert Williams to heart and put forth a massive 20-point, 15-rebound effort. That group led the Celtics to a big run to open the third quarter, opening up a 15-point lead to take control of the game.

However, the Nets had the answer in the form of Kyrie Irving, who got into it with the Celtics crowd on a few occasions and went off in the fourth quarter to help close the gap and, ultimately, give the Nets a lead of their own.

The closing minute of the game was nothing short of pandemonium, as Irving hit a side-step three to push the Nets ahead by three with 46 seconds to play, giving him 39 points on the afternoon.

Jaylen Brown quickly got to the rim on the next Boston possession to cut the lead to one, and then the Celtics were able to get the stop they needed, swarming Irving twice with doubles and forcing Kevin Durant into a missed three-pointer. As Horford corralled the rebound, Boston chose not to use its timeout and had Jaylen Brown bring the ball up the floor for a wild final possession that led, somehow, to a spinning layup at the buzzer for Tatum, sending TD Garden into a frenzy.

It was an incredible cut from Tatum and find by Smart amid chaos, with Boston snatching the win away from Brooklyn in the most painful way possible. Somehow, it was the first buzzer-beater in the playoffs for the Celtics at home in franchise history, giving Tatum a rare place alone in Boston lore.

Rarely does a game get this much hype and over-deliver, but Game 1 absolutely did that. Both teams will feel like they should’ve won Game 1 with how well they played defensively, as Brooklyn tightened up tremendously for the final 20 minutes while Boston will feel great about their gameplan to frustrate Durant, who had 23 points on 24 shots. Irving was magnificent though and showed how the Nets can exploit the attention Boston is sending to Durant, as his 1-on-1 play and speed can neutralize the Celtics’ length and strength.

For the Celtics, they have to be thrilled with Horford’s play in particular, as his activity on both ends was a key difference maker, and any time you get a good Smart shooting game, it’s something you want to take advantage of with a win. Game 2 will be fascinating to see what adjustments come from both teams, but we can expect another incredible game, although maybe not without quite this thrilling an ending.

Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics first round series absolutely lived up to the billing as the marquee matchup of the opening round of the playoffs, as the two Eastern Conference titans went blow for blow in a physical game that saw things knotted up at 61-61 at the half.

Boston would make the first big run of the game, opening up a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter as Jayson Tatum ran the offense beautifully, Marcus Smart got hot from three, and the Celtics as a team executed their defensive gameplan to a tee. Boston did a terrific job of frustrating the Nets on offense, making life hard for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but you can only keep those two scorers down for so long.

Sure enough, the Nets started to pull back into the game late in the third as Durant hit a couple contested pull-up jumpers, and Irving got loose for a jab-step long-two from the corner that prompted a timeout. After hitting the jumper, Irving — who’s relationship with Boston fans can best be described as “acrimonious” — gave some heckling fans courtside the middle finger.

The best part was the ABC broadcast embracing the back-and-forth, with Mike Breen noting Irving has heard “who knows what” from the Boston crowd, while Jeff Van Gundy called it a “salute” and Mark Jackson said it was a “little hello to everyone in the building.” Irving will surely get a fine, but he shouldn’t since it’s that tension that is helping to sell this series for the league — and if ABC is willing to show it in slow-mo multiple times in the middle of the day on Sunday it can’t be that bad.

Back in February, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige performed at the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. The performance was put together by Jay-Z, who is in his second year as the NFL’s Live Music Entertainment Strategist. In addition to the aforementioned artists, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak also made surprise appearances during the halftime show. During a recent episode of Drink Champs with Snoop Dogg, N.O.R.E., who co-hosts the show with DJ EFN, revealed that Jay-Z told him that Eminem said he would not perform without 50 Cent’s participation in the halftime show.

“I said to Jay-Z, I have to ask this straight up. ‘Who is gonna perform at the NFL?’ and he [Jay] said to me—and I’m sorry for everybody who don’t understand—and he [Jay] said, ‘the White guy called for 50 Cent,’” N.O.R.E. said on the show. “I said, ‘Who is the White guy? Jimmy Iovine?’ And he said, ‘No, Eminem called directly for Fifty and he said I can’t do it if I can’t bring 50 with me.’”

50 Cent took issue with Jay-Z referring to Eminem as “the white guy,” and hopped on Instagram to respond. “Why would he have to say that should be the question?” 50 Cent captioned one post insinuating that he would not have performed without Eminem’s ultimatum. “NORE Your big homie is running around trying to look like a gay painter. LOL.” In a second post, which featured Jay-Z next to a picture of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 50 Cent wrote, “Why did he say the white boy, why he didn’t say the biggest rap artist in the world? Happy Easter! man enjoy the holidays.”

You can view the posts from 50 Cent and a clip from the Drink Champs episode above.

Coachella’s day-two lineup of hip-hop acts branched out from the two main stages (Coachella stage and the Sahara tent) to encompass some of the smaller tents and even take over some of the corporate activations. This was mostly a good thing but did make seeing some counter-programmed artists a little more difficult than day one. For instance, Flying Lotus playing a set at the Heineken House coincided with catching one of Brockhampton’s final performances at the Sahara stage.

Freddie Gibbs’ Gobi set also crossed Rich Brian’s at Sahara, meaning catching both would have taken a huge chunk out of both as well. For what it’s worth, Gibbs made the most of his placement and probably could have filled the Mojave tent, as his crowd spilled out of the back and sides. Despite not having Madlib – who had to miss the set for other obligations – Freddie smoothly held court himself, bantering with the crowd and his “hype man,” a bunny mascot. His big gag was pretending that the bunny had somehow bum-rushed the stage, a joke that delighted the crowd as much as his high-velocity, one-breath raps.

Another impressive set was JID’s. The Dreamville firecracker’s set at Sahara was also full to bursting, promising a warm reception for his upcoming follow-up to DiCaprio 2. He didn’t offer many extras on the bigger stage, but his exuberant energy filled the space, while he was cheered on by his Spillage Village compatriots Earthgang from the DJ booth. At one point, fellow Coachella performer Denzel Curry popped out to a massive roar from the crowd. It would have been cool if he could have used the stage more, though.

Something I forgot to mention in my day one recap is how moving most of the hip-hop acts to the Sahara stage was a smart move because it allows for more elaborate stage designs. Brockhampton especially took advantage of this, bringing along the big blue gorilla and canyon set from their tour. While things almost took a turn for the worst when the high desert winds nearly “skinned” the big guy before they could start their set, the crew was able to get things nailed down in time for the rowdy “boy band” to take the stage.

Their second-to-last set as a group showed all the hallmarks of their usual chaotic performances, but the crowd – mostly 20-somethings – gave them more energy than I’ve seen since I first saw Brockhampton at Flog Gnaw in 2017. They certainly stoked this “one night only” energy with repeated declarations that they wouldn’t be reuniting anytime soon. You could tell no one believed them – or maybe no one wanted to believe them – but it is a shame that they seem to be packing it in as they’ve hit their stride as performers.

21 Savage also used the Sahara tent to the fullest, using LED screens and raised platforms to turn the stage into a subterranean lair, perfect for evoking the menacing, horror-thriller vibe of his favorite movies. Savage, like Lil Baby from day one, showed that he has also entered the league of rap’s most-improved performers, projecting much more force than his laconic raps would suggest. His crowd was one of the biggest of the night, and when Post Malone popped out to perform “Rock Star,” I admit I got a little nervous about a potential crowd control situation.

Fortunately, the crowds at Coachella are a little more mellow than some of the younger bunches at other fests. Another huge crowd that focused more on having fun than pushing forward was the one for Megan Thee Stallion, who preceded day two’s closer, Billie Eilish. Like 21, her set was a briskly-paced showcase for some of her bigger hits. Unlike his, hers incorporated a wardrobe change to a mini-DJ set of some of her mixtape favorites. Her set also included a confrontational new track that seemed to take some verbal jabs at a male antagonist – something that’s sure to have fans buzzing for the next few days.

Other rap acts that made an impact thanks to the new streamlined hip-hop format at Coachella include Isaiah Rashad, who used his time to address the leaked video that surfaced on social media recently, Rich Brian, who double-dipped as part of 88Rising’s main stage set, and Masego, who set the tone early as one of the midday acts on the main stage that drew in masses of curious onlookers. Although there still wasn’t very much discovery on day two – at least, not for me – what I saw was an encouraging survey of rap music that showed how far so many of the top acts have come in the last few years.

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

Alex Jones is in trouble. Last fall he lost one lawsuit after another in cases involving the misinformation he spread about the Sandy Hook school massacre that occurred almost 10 years ago. But he has a brilliant plan to evade the payments that could leave him penniless: simply declare bankruptcy.

According to Bloomberg, financial advisers are speaking with the conspiracy theorist about restructuring his companies. One possible solution? Filing Chapter 11. That, Bloomberg reports, could allow his companies, such as InfoWars and Free Speech Systems, to keep operating while putting civil litigation against their owner on pause.

The defamation lawsuits have already cost Jones money. After he called in sick to a deposition — then got busted recorded his show the same day — he was forced to pay a fine.

The lawsuits stem from claims Jones made that the Sandy Hook school shooting, which resulted in 28 deaths, including the perpetrator and his mother, was a hoax. In 2018, six of the families filed lawsuits against him. Since losing some of those cases, Jones has been trying to hide his money via byzantine financial shenanigans. Though he’s been known to slam Donald Trump (albeit for the few times he’s done the right thing), he’s yet another of his supporters who owes an unimaginably large amount of money for spreading lies.

(Via Bloomberg)

Back in 2015, Lil Durk told the world to Remember My Name with his debut album and nowadays it’s a lot easier to do so thanks to his recent mainstream success. In 2020 he earned two top-2 albums with Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and The Voice. He also got himself a top-2 single thanks to “Laugh Now, Cry Later” with Drake. Last year, Durk earned his first No. 1 album through Voice Of The Heroes with Lil Baby, and this year, he scored his first solo chart-topping album with 7220. Now, 7220 is Durk’s first full-length release to spend multiple weeks at No. 1.

7220 returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 23, 2022. It did so on a low-selling week as 7220 reclaimed the top crown by selling just 47,000 units. That number is comprised of 46,000 streaming equivalent album units thanks to 68.56 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs. 7220 also had less than 1,000 pure albums units sold in its return to No. 1. Lil Durk’s seventh album had the lowest sales week for a No. 1 album since A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s 2019 release Hoodie SZN topped the charts with just 46,500 album units sold.

Elsewhere, Jack White’s Fear Of The Dawn made for the highest Billboard 200 debut this week as it checked it at No. 4 with 42,000 albums units sold. 42 Dugg and EST Gee’s Last Ones Left checks in at No. 7, Fivio Foreign’s B.I.B.L.E. arrives at No. 9, while Camila Cabello rounds out the top ten with Familia.

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

The Atlanta Hawks fought their way into the 8-seed in the East by beating the Hornets on Wednesday and then the Cavs on Friday, earning them a trip to Miami for a quick turnaround as the 1 p.m. tipoff on Sunday against the Heat.

Both teams came out sluggish, struggling to establish an offensive rhythm as they combined to go 3-of-15 from the floor out of the gates. Atlanta made just three field goals in the first quarter but managed to stay within six points of the Heat going into the second, which gave false hope they might eventually figure something out against Miami’s swarming defense. While that never happened, Miami was able to find a spark for their offense in the form of Duncan Robinson, who came off the bench and lit up the Atlanta defense to help the Heat open up a 19-point halftime lead.

On the other end of the floor, the Heat were relentless against Trae Young, forcing the Hawks’ star into one of the worst performances of his young career as he went 1-for-12 from the field (0-for-7 from three) and finished with eight points and six turnovers on the afternoon. Miami’s ball pressure and aggressive switching gave Young problems, as he could not exploit Miami’s bigs as he’s used to, with Bam Adebayo and PJ Tucker capable of staying in front of him and using their length and quick hands to disrupt his rhythm — and when he stayed away from screens, Kyle Lowry was there to pester him.

None of the other Hawks fared any better against the Miami defense, and that will be the thing to watch going forward in this series, as someone other than Young is going to have to find some success creating for themselves and others given the amount of attention the Heat are giving Young.

The second half saw more of the same, with ferocious defense from Miami and tremendous shooting. Tucker joined Robinson in having a big night from distance, hitting all four of his threes (all from his favorite spot in the corner) as any inkling of a run from Atlanta was snuffed out quickly by a Heat answer.

As Miami opened up a 30-point lead in the second half, it was on the backs of more outrageous shooting from Robinson, as well as Jimmy Butler getting loose as he put up 21 points in 33 minutes of action.

By the mid-fourth quarter the Heat finally called off the dogs and coasted to a 115-91 win, with Atlanta putting forth arguably its worst offensive performance of the season, shooting 39.2 percent as a team, including 28.6 percent from three that seemed worse than that final number indicates. Miami, on the other hand, shot 52.4 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from distance, which are insurmountable shooting percentages for any team to overcome.

It seems likely Atlanta won’t shoot that poorly and Miami won’t shoot that well going forward in the series, but it’s notable the difference in shot quality from both teams. The amount of work it took for the Hawks to get a good look in this game was rather staggering, particularly for Young, while the Heat were much more consistently able to create open shots and get good looks at the rim.

How Atlanta adjusts after seeing how Miami is going to attack Young will be fascinating, as nothing about their defensive effort seemed all that unsustainable. Shooters around Young will need to be better and Nate McMillan tried to work Young off the ball more in the second quarter, offering a glimpse at how they might try to free him up for better looks by taking the ball out of his hands to start possessions. On the other side, Miami will feel very good about its gameplan and will simply look to keep things rolling in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Arcade Fire hasn’t released an album since 2017’s Everything Now. Signs that their first full-length release was on the way began to pop up early this year, and finally, the band announced that their sixth album We would arrive on May 7. Arcade Fire has released “The Lightning I” and “The Lightning II” and teased “Age Of Anxiety” from the project. We will also be Arcade Fire’s first album without Will Butler who announced his departure from the band last month. In addition to We coming out next month, Arcade Fire will also bring their talents to Saturday Night Live.

After last night’s SNL episode, which featured a performance of “About Damn Time” and “Special” from Lizzo, the late-night-sketch show announced that Arcade Fire would take the stage for next month’s first episode. On May 7, just a day after We is scheduled to be released, Arcade Fire will take the stage for their first SNL performance since 2018. Prior to that, the group previously performed on the show in 2007, 2010, and 2013.

The May 7 episode will be hosted by The Power of The Dog actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

You can view the announcement from SNL in the post above.

We is out 5/6 via Columbia. You can pre-save the album here.

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

Marvel movies, if you haven’t noticed, are a bit popular. Among the most beloved is the most recent one: Spider-Man: No Way Home, which in a very short amount of time became by far the biggest moneymaker since the pandemic began in 2020. But one person appears to like it more than most.

As per CNN, a Florida resident named Ramiro Alanis scored a Guinness world record after seeing the threequel a total of 292 times. Let’s break that down. No Way Home runs a whopping 148 minutes — that’s two minutes longer than Goodfellas! — meaning Alanis spent 720 hours, or 30 days, of his life watching multiple Peter Parkers try to save the multiverse. He estimates that cost him around $3,400 over the span of three months.

For his troubles, Alanis scored a very specific Guinness record: “most cinema productions attended of the same film.”

It’s not the first time Alanis nabbed that trophy. In 2019, he made news for seeing Avengers: Endgame a total of 191 times. (That’s nearly 580 hours, or about 24 days.) Alas, his first record was beaten last year by Arnaud Klein, who saw the French fantasy film Kaamelott: First Installment, featuring Sting, 204 times.

In any case, congrats! And please head to the gym because that’s a lot of sitting, and if you haven’t got your health you haven’t got anything.

(Via CNN)

Over the past few years, BTS reached new heights in their worldwide stardom as the Korean band made an impact in the western hemisphere. It started with records like 2019’s “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey and 2020’s “On,” which both made for the group’s first top-ten entry on the Billboard 200. BTS’ stardom was cemented at the end of 2020 when they locked in back-to-back No. 1 songs with “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On.” Last year, BTS earned themselves three more chart-topping songs with “My Universe” alongside Coldplay, “Butter,” and “Permission To Dance.” The latter two records are set to appear on the band’s upcoming album, which they just gave an exciting update about.

According to Consequence, during the final show of their Las Vegas residency, which took place on Saturday, BTS teased that will drop a new album on June 10. They did so with a video that captured clips from their lengthy. It ended with “WE ARE BULLETPROOF” and the release date appearing on the screen. The phrase seems to reference BTS’ original name, “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” and their debut album 2 Cool 4 Skool.

After the Vegas show, BTS’ label, BigHit Music, confirmed that the band’s new album would indeed arrive on June 10 thanks to a message to fans over the weekend. The release date for their upcoming album, which would be their first since 2020’s Be, falls in line with BTS’ ninth anniversary as a group and their annual BTS Festa which is on June 13 this year.

You can watch the video announcing BTS’ next album above.