Month: May 2022

Ask the average fifth grader to define the Second Amendment and they’ll likely—and quickly—respond that it’s the right to bear arms. While, at the most basic level, the answer isn’t wholly incorrect, it also doesn’t take into account the many nuances of the Constitution or the spirit with which the Amendment was written. Seth Meyers got serious when he addressed this very matter on Wednesday night’s “A Closer Look.”

As Meyers explained:

“Entrenched powerful forces have perpetrated a monumental, decades-long fraud in convincing people that it is their constitutional right to own arsenals and military-grade weaponry. And they’ve invested large sums in convincing people that that made-up right—a right five Republican justices made up out of whole cloth not that long ago—is constantly under threat.”

Meyers’s sentiments aren’t something he came up with on his own, nor are they anything new. As the Late Night host noted, it was a topic former Chief Justice Warren Burger was passionate about and addressed directly in the early 1990s.

Officially, the Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Meyers shared a clip from 1991 in which Burger, a Conservative, explained that “If I were writing the Bill of Rights now, there wouldn’t be any such thing as a Second Amendment… This has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud—I repeat the word fraud—on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”

While the term “well-regulated” is right there at the beginning of the Amendment, politicians and the very powerful (and deep-pocketed) gun lobby have gone to great lengths to redefine what that phrase means. As Meyers continued:

“The idea that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s unregulated right to own an arsenal of military-grade weaponry is so insane, and was shrugged off as ridiculous for so long, that in 1982 Senate Republicans went to the absurd lengths of issuing a report that claimed to have discovered ‘clear—and long lost—proof that the Second Amendment was intended as an individual right of the American citizen to keep and carry arms.’

It is absolutely insane that Republicans claimed to have found ‘long lost’ proof that changed the meaning of a document written in 1787 in 1982! Which definitely means one of them had just seen Raiders of the Lost Ark and then said, ‘You know, sometimes people find old sh*t. I’m just saying!’”

What it all comes down to, Meyers noted, is the power of the NRA—one of those so-called “special interest groups” Burger mentioned—to influence the politicians who make the laws that would allow for stricter gun laws. (And which had the audacity to ban guns during Donald Trump‘s appearance at its upcoming annual conference on Friday.) Instead, however, we get such brilliant alternative ideas as the one recently proffered by the one and only Ted Cruz: Make sure schools only have one door… which will work out really well in the event of a fire or other emergency.

You can watch Meyers’ full conversation above.

On this day (May 26) in 2002, Eminem released The Eminem Show, his defining album that spawned iconic singles like “Without Me” and “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.” Now that the album is 20 years old, Eminem celebrated it today with a new “Expanded Edition,” which is available to stream now.

Perhaps the most notable goodie included among the extra tracks is “Jimmy, Brian And Mike,” which was previously unreleased before today. The song was previously mentioned on some rumored tracklists for 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, the album immediately before The Eminem Show.

Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s longtime manager, offered some background about the song on Instagram, writing in a post from last night, “There was a song that Proof and [D12 member Denaun Porter] always loved and begged Em to release called ‘Jimmy, Brian and Mike’ that for whatever reason he just never finished beyond demo stages. A couple months ago for this EXPANDED EDITION release Em went back to the lab, recalled the sessions, finished the chorus and put the touches on it so that it could be included in the Bonus Tracks added to the album.”

All in all, this new Eminem Show release has 18 bonus tracks, which include B-sides, live performances, and instrumentals.

Listen to “Jimmy, Brian And Mike” above and stream all of The Eminem Show (Expanded Edition) below.

Gone are the days where TV show concepts come from books and movies, now they are coming from video games. Sony announced this week that three of their biggest PlayStation franchises would soon be developed into shows for both Netflix and Amazon.

During Sony’s business briefing, the corporation confirmed that they are working on three adaptations of the very popular titles: God Of War, Horizon, and Gran Turismo.

The Greek God-inspired epic God Of War will be adapted into a series from Amazon, while Horizon, the vibrant RPG that made a lot of men mad for literally no reason, was picked up by Netflix, which has been dipping its toes into video game adaptations as of late.

Gran Turismo does not have a confirmed streaming service quite yet, and it’s unclear just exactly how they are going to make a compelling series out of a racing game. Maybe a massive movie franchise would be better.

Rumors have been swirling for the past few months, as many originally expected Amazon to pick up God Of War, though they seem to have been beaten out by Netflix, which is a rare win for the streamer who has been struggling this year. Maybe they will bring in some sort of Exploding Kittens crossover to the Gods!

James Worthy watches a lot of basketball. The former Los Angeles Lakers star is a television analyst for SportsNet in L.A., and does the pregame and postgame show for the Lakers. In the last year year, that has proven to be a pretty soul-crushing gig, but generally, Worthy is one of the more entertaining personalities that we have in the game.

Earlier this week, Worthy made a cameo on the Michigan-based radio show the Stoney & Jansen Show where he expressed some frustrations about the current state of the league. Worthy in particular cited frustrations with players who either spend one year in college or eschew it altogether before going pro, saying that it costs them the chance to learn some important lessons on and off the court.

“I mean, Kareem had four years with John Wooden, Michael Jordan and I had three years with Dean Smith, Isiah (Thomas) had some years with Bobby Knight. So you learned the fundamentals,” Worthy said. “Not only that, you learned how to live. You learned how to balance your freaking checkbook in college, there’s a lot of things. When you don’t get that, guys are coming to the NBA who are not fundamentally sound. All they do is practice threes, lift weights, get tattoos, tweet and go on social media. That’s it.

“So you don’t have that sound player; you have an athletic player. And that’s what’s happening to the game. It’s a lot of ISO and looking for mismatches. Bill Russell told me one time, they had five options off of one play. You don’t see that anymore.”

Kevin Durant responded to this with a bit of a joke despite saying that Worthy isn’t necessarily wrong.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. A new era of Travis Scott Nike collaborations is upon us, as this week brings the new Cactus Corporation capsule collection — a four sneaker drop with an accompanying apparel collection, which includes the highly anticipated Cactus Jack take on the Air Max 1 and Air Trainer 1.

This is the first Travis Scott Nike collaboration this year and for all that waiting we’re getting a pretty sizable drop, for the first time in Cactus Jack x Nike history, copping a pair from this collection doesn’t feel like an impossible task. That’s great news, but while we like all of the drops in this collection, nothing feels as essential as last year’s Fragment Design Travis Scott Jordan 1, or even this year’s Reverse Mocha Jordan 1, which is set to drop in July. We’re not complaining, just keeping it real.

To complete the week we’ve also got the return of the Salehe Bembury Pollex Clog, the latest Jordans worth copping, and the new sh*t from New Balance. At 11 sneakers, it’s the biggest list we’ve ever featured on SNX. Let’s jump in!

Salehe Bembury Pollex Clog

Salehe Bembury’s super popular Pollex Clogs are back, dropping in three new colorways this week that include urchin (lavender), stratus (white), and crocodile (green), so if you want to pick up a pair of Crocs that even the snobbiest sneakerheads will have to give you props for, these are those Crocs!

The Pollex clog features a utilitarian inspired design with an adjustable (and removable) strap, enhanced traction, and strategically placed holes that allow for increased breathability in high heat areas of the foot, all atop that Classic Clog footbed that has made this previously hated brand so beloved in modern streetwear.

If you already hate Crocs, the Pollex Clog won’t change your mind, but for fans of comfort-focused footwear, it rarely gets more comfortable and more stylish than this. The Pollex Clog tops Yeezy’s Foam RNNR, and we’re sure it kills Ye to know that.

The Salehe Bembury Pollex Clog is out now for a retail price of $85. Pick up a pair from your favorite aftermarket site.

Jordan 1 Element Light Curry and Sail

Gore-Tex in spring? Whatever, we’ll take it. The Jordan 1 Element features a Gore-Tex-equipped water-proof and durable upper with nubuck leather overlays and a reflective wraparound Swoosh. The Light Curry and Sail colorway combines earthy orange tones on the overlays over an off-white base with red tongue branding.

The Jordan 1 Element Light Curry and Sail is set to drop on May 24th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Jordan 1 Heritage

This is a no-brainer cop. It’s not a BRED or classic Chicago colorway, but the Heritage utilizes the same color palette and presents a Jordan 1 that looks classic while still looking slightly different than what we’re used to.

The sneaker features a white clean white midsole under a matching leather base with a university red toe box and paneling and black tumbled leather accents on the heel. Rounding out the design is a red outsole and black laces.

The Air Jordan 1 Heritage is set to drop on May 25th for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Nike Air Jordan 2 x UNION Grey Fog

Made in celebration of the Jordan 2’s 35th Anniversary (RIP to the great Peter Moore, who designed the 2, as well as the 1) and dropped earlier this year, the UNION Nike Air Jordan 2 Grey Fog is getting an official Nike SNKRS release. This year’s earlier drop of the sneaker was a limited run and catered to sneakerheads in the Los Angeles area, but now sneakerheads nationwide can cop a pair so long as you get lucky on SNKRS.

Featuring a premium upper made from canvas and suede, the Grey Fog features a perforated suede mid-panel in place of the 2’s usual lizard-inspired construction, offering a reimagined design dressed in a more eye-catching color palette than your typical AJ2.

UNION is showing brands that it’s cool to f*ck with the Jordan 2, so we’re hoping that means that other big labels take on the challenge to help prop up this previously underrated entry in the Jordan lineage.

The Nike Air Jordan 2 Union Grey Fog is set to drop on May 26th for a retail price of $225. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Trainer 1 CACT.US Corp Archaeo Brown and Rust Pink

It’s been almost a full year since the last Travis Scott Nike collaboration but to make up for all those quiet months Nike is going big — dropping the largest Travis Scott Swoosh collection to date. The CACT.US Corp collection is meant to mark the “next phase” in the partnership between the two big names.

The CACT.US Corp collection consists of two different silhouettes in two different colorways, and first up on our roundup is this Archaeo Brown and Rust Pink Air Trainer 1. Featuring a small stash pocket at the heel with a removable shroud, this design combines the Air Trainer 1’s shape and Scott’s utilitarian aesthetic, resulting in the only Air Trainer 1 we’d ever call ‘post-apocalyptic.’

The Archaeo Brown and Rust Pink is set to drop on May 27th for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Max 1 x CACT.US CORP CACT.US Gold

If the CACT.US Corp Air Trainer 1 is looking a bit too Mad Max for you, this take on the Air Max 1 tones things down a bit. Featuring a faded gold all-over colorway, this Air Trainer 1 features a drawstring lacing system, nubuck and mesh overlays, and a rubberized Cactus Jack tongue logo. The sneaker also sports a backward swoosh on the right sneaker.

It still exudes a utilitarian vibe, but it looks more fit for the trail than an apocalyptic wasteland like the Air Trainer.

The Air Max 1 x CACT.US Corp CACT.US Gold is set to drop on May 27th for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like Flight Club.

Air Max 1 x CACT.US Corp CACT.US Brown

The Air Max 1 CACT.US Brown features the same design as the previous entry, but we’re liking the way the accents pop more on this sneaker. The different design elements are just a bit easier to appreciate here, the embroidered straps pop more in this checkerboard brown, sail, and red colorway and overall we think it’s a more eye-catching design.

Definitely try to cop this one first.

The Air Max 1 x CACT.US Corp CACT.US Brown is set to drop on May 27th for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Trainer 1 x CACT.US Corp Grey Haze and Dusty Sage

It’s amazing just how drastically different these alternate colorways look! The Grey Haze and Dusty Sage has that same post-apocalyptic Mad Max aesthetic that the Archaeo Brown and Rust Pink has, but the cooler color palette just gives this sneaker a totally different vibe. It’s more futuristic and isn’t a far cry from what UNION is doing with the Air Jordan 2.

UNION did it better though. Sorry Travis but, step it up.

The Nike Air Trainer 1 x CACT.US CORP Grey Haze and Dusty Sage is set to drop on May 27th for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Jordan 5 Regal Pink

It’s a little late for Easter, but if you’ve ever wanted to rock a pastel pair of Air Jordan 5s, this is your only shot! The Regal Pink features a watercolor-inspired upper with reflective accents throughout and sits atop an icy glow in the dark outsole.

It doesn’t look like your typical Jordan 5 colorway and we love it for that.

The Air Jordan 5 Regal Pink is set to drop on May 27th for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Jordan 5 Green Bean

As much as we love the pastel tones on the Regal Pink Jordan 5 we get that bright colors aren’t for everyone, and so does Nike, which is why this week also brings the Green Bean Jordan 5. This colorway is one of the silhouette’s most coveted, originally dropping in 2006.

The Green Bean features faded green accents on the sneakers lining, tongue, Jumpman, shark tooth, and midsole with an all-over silver upper with a slight reflective sheen and an icy outsole.

The Air Jordan 5 Green Bean is set to drop on May 28th for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance MADE in USA 990v3

New Balance is on a Nike-esque streak lately. They’re not dropping shoes in the same insane quantity as the Swoosh, but they’ve been hitting us with quality drop after quality drop week to week. Last week we got a more colorful take on the 990, but New Balance is back in that minimal and muted territory that has taken over the brand since Teddy Santis came on board as creative director with this week’s Sea Salt and Rain Cloud 990v3.

Featuring a premium full-grain leather and mesh upper with an ENCAP midsole and a premium synthetic suede sock liner, this v3 990 offers all the support and lightweight style the 990 is known for, in an eye-catching a minimal aesthetic that recalls Santis’ Aime Leon Dore label. A brand that — along with Freshgoods of course — put New Balance back on the map.

The New Balance MADE in USA 990v3 is set to drop on May 26th for a retail price of $209.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.

The last project we got from Polo G, the deluxe version of his 2021 album Hall Of Fame, dropped in December, but he’s already prepping the rollout for his next one. The Chicago rapper shared a comedic trailer for his upcoming single, “Distraction,” recruiting YouTuber Kai Cenat for a minute-long sketch previewing the new song. In it, Kai can be seen performing a variety of chores around his house like vacuuming, cleaning the toilet, and taking out the trash, while being distracted by a snippet of the song.

After he nearly goes crazy searching for the source of the music, asking his son, accosting a neighborhood kid, and chucking his boombox out the window, he finally locates a pair of headphones and puts them on, only to have his face blown back as a longer snippet plays.

Although Polo hasn’t put out any solo music since Hall Of Fame 2.0, he has kept the buzz for that project strong by releasing videos for songs like “Unapologetic” with NLE Choppa; “Heating Up” featuring Yungliv; “Start Up Again” featuring Moneybagg Yo; and “Don’t Play” with Lil Baby. He also appeared on Fivio Foreign’s new album, B.I.B.L.E.

“Distraction” is out on June 3 via Columbia Records.

The wounds are still very fresh from the untimely death of Atlanta rapper Lil Keed, but his family and friends managed to come together and lay him to rest on Wednesday (May 25) in his hometown. His pallbearers all wore white as they carried his casket out of the venue. The rapper, real name Raqhid Jevon Render, was reported to have passed earlier this month by his record label Young Stoner Life and brother Lil Gotit. Gotit and other attendees posted themselves at the funeral and paid homage in their captions.

Though no cause of death has been confirmed yet, sources closer to the 24-year-old said he was enduring severe stomach ailments prior to going to the hospital a few days later. Upon his admission, his liver and kidney began to fail. It is especially disheartening considering he had turned to sobriety after a history of drug and alcohol use.

Lil Keed burst onto the scene in 2018 with the record “Nameless” and other Keed Talk To ‘Em collaborations with artists such as Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Trippie Redd, Lil Durk, Lil Yachty and Brandy. His debut album Long Live Mexico peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and the rapper was named one of the 10 XXL Freshman in 2020.

You can check out footage of Lil Keed’s pallbearers and a photo of the funeral program above.

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

Post Malone‘s got a new album, Twelve Carat Toothache, coming out next week (what a great title), so naturally, he’s on a press tour to promote it after putting out the first single, “Cooped Up.” And because he’s Post Malone and thus drawn to doing things in unconventional ways, his first stop is none other than Complex’s Hot Ones. While chomping on ultra-spicy chicken tendies with Sean Evans, Posty chops it up about his new album’s recording process, playing Magic The Gathering, and yes, meeting an alien at his Utah compound — unless it was really a ghost.

The story comes up as Sean asks about his “close encounters with wildlife” out there in the hills of Utah, leading to Post recounting his trials with a “big mama cougar” who keeps finding ways over (or under, around, or possibly even through) his pet-protecting fence. “It’s supposed to keep all the wildlife out but somehow, this big cougar keeps getting in,” he recalls, before dropping the bomb. “Also, there was an alien there.” Obviously tickled by Sean’s bemusement, Post elaborates, “Not like a physical alien, but like a ball — I think it was an alien. Or a ghost. We caught it on the infrared camera. Does an alien count as wildlife?”

Post compares the “orb” to Sauron’s Eye from The Lord Of The Rings, which plays into his love of fantasy fiction.

Watch Post Malone’s latest Hot Ones interview above and listen to Twelve Carat Toothache on June 3.

Prolific screen and television star Ray Liotta has reportedly passed away. According to Deadline, the Goodfellas star passed away in his sleep while in the Dominican Republic shooting the film Dangerous Waters. He was 67 years old and leaves behind a daughter, Karsen, and a fiancée, Jacy Nittolo.

Liotta was experiencing a “career resurgence” thanks to performances in The Many Saints of Newark and Marriage Story. The actor also recently wrapped filming on the Cocaine Bear movie helmed by Elizabeth Banks. Via Deadline:

He had his “who’s thar?” turn in the Jonathan Demme-directed Something Wild and got a Golden Globe nomination, and then played banned Chicago superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He then quickly followed playing gangster Henry Hill in Scorsese’s Goodfellas, opposite Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in what was to be the defining role of his career. The ruggedly handsome, blue eyed Liotta was a perfect Henry Hill, narrating a tale of his growth into an organized crime gang.

At the time of this writing, there are few details on the cause of Liotta’s death, but he will be sorely missed. With a whopping 126 acting credits under his belt, Liotta was a welcomed presence going all the way back to the 1990s. The guy could do comedy, drama, and everything in between. He even worked with The Muppets, twice, and fans of the iconic Jim Henson creations were quick to pay tribute to Liotta following the news of his passing. But he’ll be remembered most for Goodfellas, with good reason. Watch this scene again if you haven’t recently. Or even if you have. This is all really sad but we can remember the great work he did, too.

(Via Deadline)

There have been some really gross basketball games during the 2022 NBA playoffs, and for 24 minutes, it seemed like Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals was going to be the worst of the bunch. Miami took a 40-37 lead into the locker room after neither team eclipsed the 20-point mark in the first quarter. Makes were hard to come by for both squads, and the Celtics seemed like their gameplan was to turn the ball over as often as they possible could.

Boston would go on to win, 93-80, to take a 3-2 series lead. It still wasn’t especially pretty, but the Celtics figured some stuff out in the second half and are now one win away from the NBA Finals. And in the aftermath, Jaylen Brown gave a pretty blunt answer about how the game was a story of two halves.

“First half was sh*t,” Brown said, per Jay King of The Athletic. “Threw it away. Came out and played basketball in the second half.”

Jayson Tatum, meanwhile, gave a glimpse into the halftime conversation, in which the team discussed the importance of more intangible things.

“Basically just talked about how much does it mean to us,” Tatum said. “We know all the plays and things like that, but saw the 50/50 balls and hustle plays and things like that are about toughness and effort. That’s what we talked about, us playing better, taking care of the ball, just competing. Because we know what’s on the line.”

Boston will look to close out the series on Friday night.