Month: May 2022

As the NBA Draft draws ever closer, the rumblings about draft night moves will only pick up steam. Those rumors involve both picks and veterans that could be on the move, particularly with a number of teams believing they’re close to contender status looking to add immediate help to their roster.

There are a few teams in particular that figure to be the most active this summer in terms of making trades to try and upgrade their roster (or simply shuffle the deck and try something new). The Atlanta Hawks apparently are willing to discuss anyone not named Trae Young in a trade, as Travis Schlenk admitted earlier in the season that running it back last summer was a mistake. The Portland Trail Blazers sit at No. 7 in the draft, with the expectation that they will look to move that pick for a veteran contributor to aid in what they hope is a quick bounceback next year with Damian Lillard back at full strength. Finally, the Utah Jazz are on the radar as the team most likely to try and flip one of its stars, as the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert dynamic is always under a microscope, particularly after another first round exit.

The latter of those two teams are the subject of the latest rumblings from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, who reports the Jazz and Blazers are among those hoping the Raptors will be willing to engage on talks about OG Anunoby this summer. Fischer notes that some around the league believe Anunoby may feel a bit like the odd man out with Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and even rookie Scottie Barnes taking larger offensive roles than him, and while he has not pushed for a trade, teams like Portland and Utah are hoping Toronto may be willing to discuss a deal after having him apparently off limits at the deadline.

However, Fischer notes the asking price will be extremely high if the Raptors were to entertain talks, which Portland may struggle to match even with the No. 7 pick, and while Utah has the type of center Toronto may covet in Gobert, the issue is the gulf of $20 million in salary between Gobert and Anunoby that might price the Raptors out of a potential deal.

Anunoby’s development has been remarkable as the latest success story of the Raptors, but at some point Toronto may feel they have to move on from one of their talented wings to gain more floor balance. If that happens, a number of teams around the league would come calling, not just Utah and Portland.

In addition to it being the month that brings us one step closer to the official start of summer, May also stands as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. It’s a national celebration that was put in place by the government to celebrate those of Asian and Pacific Islander descent every May since 1990. In terms of the music industry, Asia and the Pacific Islands have produced countless notable artists. BTS, Jhene Aiko, Saweetie, Rina Sawayama, HER, Japanese Breakfast, Rich Brian and the 88 Rising collective, and many more are currently making waves in the US, showing that both artists coming directly from Asia and the Pacific Islands, or American artists of that heritage, are some of the brightest and most exciting in all of music.

Within the R&B world, there are two newcomers that are working to get their name out to the masses. Thuy (pronounced “twee”), a Vietnamese singer from the Bay Area, and RINI, a Filipino singer from Los Angeles by the way of Australia, have carved respectable spaces for themselves in the genre thanks to their work over the past couple of years. Thuy is just a week removed from the deluxe reissue of her 2021 project I Hope U See This while RINI released his official debut album Constellations last fall.

Before AAPI Heritage month comes to a close, we caught up with Thuy and RINI to talk about their upbringing and how their roots helped them to grow into the artists they are today.

How did your family support your early aspirations in music?

Thuy: ​​Well, I feel like maybe as a kid, both of my parents, knew that was my passion. I’ve always been singing karaoke, and it was [always] one song, I would go into the middle of like family parties and I would pick up the strength to do that, even though I was really shy. So I feel like maybe they knew that was a gift that I had, but I never really let them into that life when I was actually making music. I felt like I was hiding a lot of myself, like, after work, I would go to the studio, but I wouldn’t tell them where I was going because I was afraid of what they would think.

RINI: They didn’t mind me doing it, but there was a point in time where I was in a different space, and I didn’t know where I was heading with my life. My family, especially my mom, were kind of like, “Yo, you’re not doing anything. You just go into the studio, how are you even making money? You don’t have a job.” It got to a point where it was becoming a problem for them and they were worried about my future, and I don’t blame them for being that way. Everybody wants the best for the kids, but I couldn’t really do anything else but music because that’s what I love doing. Even though you know, I was struggling trying to make some money, trying to go to the city bus, make some money, do gigs, and stuff, my family never really saw a future in there and I had to fight for that.

What about your heritage influences your music, the way you approach the craft, or any other aspect?

T: What I could take from my heritage is that they’re very passionate about their music. Music has always been something that transcends past family parties. I feel like my parents have always used music as a way to bond with family members. It was just something like, that was really big in my family. I feel like it probably was the reason why influenced me performance-wise, as far as karaoke goes. I feel like that’s what I took into my artistry. I love performing, and it’s probably one of my favorite parts of being a musician. Just being able to be on stage and touch people and interact in that way, that’s probably my favorite part about being a musician.

R: When I write songs, I always write based on experience and in such a romantic way. Filipinos love to sing ballads, and they love that romantic jazz. So, me growing up there, I was listening to a lot of those types of songs. I feel like those transition into my own songwriting, the way I hear melodies, and the way I come up with chords when I make my music. Just always coming from the deepest part of my heart because that’s how that’s Filipinos like to be loved.

Was it hard to convince your parents to allow you to pursue music? If so, what convinced them that it would be worthwhile?

T: I feel like with like Asian parents, sometimes it’s like bragging rights (laughs). I feel like with school, it was more tangible because it was like, “Oh, that’s a degree and I can show that off to the family members.” With music, it wasn’t really something that they could understand. I think maybe it was a year and a half or two years ago, I was on a TV segment with the Bay Area News. My parents watch the news, so that kind of changed everything for them. I think seeing me on TV, they were like, “OH! Okay, my daughter is like, okay, this is serious.”

R: There was one time my mom and I got into a huge argument about what I was supposed to do with my life and I ended up running away from my house and just stayed at a couple of friends’ houses — still making music at that time. After a couple of months, everything started going up, like the music started paying off. To the point where I’m like, I could actually do this sh*t full time, I don’t have to worry about getting gas or not being able to have anything to give myself. That’s when I talked to my parents. I showed them this is proof I’m making money from this passion that I love doing that you thought wasn’t really a proper thing. Then, the news of me getting signed with a major label in the US blew their minds.

You’re not too far removed from your most recent projects, what do you hope these bodies of work contribute to the overall story you’re trying to paint as an artist?

T: I love creating a storyline. I feel like “X’s And O’s” and “Distance Between Us,” for example, tie into the story of I Hope You See This of closing out that chapter of like that bad relationship or leaving people in the past and that’s kind of like what “X’s And O’s” is about, just like leaving people, whether it’s the non-believers or whether it’s a toxic ex, in the past and I feel like the whole deluxe is really just like closing out that chapter of my life.

R: I want to be able to show the world and myself that I’m growing, not just in music, but as a person. The things that I write about, the things that I talk about are constantly going to be different and something new. I think that I achieved that with Constellations. I feel like I’ve evolved from what I was before. That’s what I hope to keep doing in the future.

What’s one thing you’d love to contribute back to your culture?

T: I hope that I give back a different perspective. I think that being Vietnamese doesn’t always have to be a certain set of ways. I feel like growing up, you had to follow this rubric of how you act, how you dress, and how you talk to your elders. I hope that I can show my culture that you don’t have to be those things to be a good person. Now, I go to family parties and I wear what I want and I’m not afraid to be who I am 100%. Just showing that there are just so many different types of people within our culture, and we all share a story that contributes to something so much bigger than us.

R: I would definitely love to shed light on like what’s really happening in my country. There’s a lot of poverty in stuff you know, being third world [country], but also that no matter where you come from, you can make something out of yourself. That’s the message that I’m really trying to deliver because, especially in the music scene, there are really not a lot of full Filipinos that are pushing through to the mainstream market. I just want to be the bridge for that. I would love to see more Filipino artists being more recognized.

What is one thing you’d say to younger artists who look up to you?

T: I would say, keep going. Even if you only get ten likes on your posts, keep going. It’s all about being consistent, working hard, and — you don’t have to make the best music right now – [constantly] creating — and never stop creating just because you’re not getting like the outside validation. Just know that you have something special within yourself.

R: I would say learn everything about yourself. Learn the weaknesses, learn your strengths, keep the people that push you to be better, and know who you can trust and support. As artists, [we] go through a lot of things, and once everything kind of starts to pop pop off, other people start to kind of get there and try to change things up a little bit. So, I think the most important things for artists to do is just learn about yourself, grow, continuously push boundaries, surround yourself with people you can trust, and don’t doubt your vision when you get one.

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, WMG’s API Employee Resource Group APIECE partnered with LION’S SHARE to give emerging AAPI music artists a spotlight! Check out their Spotlight AAPI Topsify list below for some serious tunes.

Thuy’s I Hope U See Thus (Deluxe) is out now. You can stream it here.

RINI’s Constellations is out now via Warner. You can stream it here.

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

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Kendrick Lamar’s second album, is one of the biggest LPs ever. By at least one metric, it’s actually the biggest hip-hop album of all time: As of this week, it’s the first hip-hop studio album to spend 500 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. It’s the second hip-hop release overall to do so, following Eminem’s 2005 compilation Curtain Call: The Hits.

As far as all non-compilation albums, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is eighth on the all-time list (as of last week, via Wikipedia). It comes after Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon (962 weeks), Metallica’s Metallica (660), Nirvana’s Nevermind (576), Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans (572), Adele’s 21 (541), Michael Jackson’s Thriller (522), and AC/DC’s Back In Black (516).

Of those, only the albums from Mars, Adele, and Lamar were released this millennium. When counting compilations, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is 14th all-time. Meanwhile, Drake’s Take Care is closing in on the 500-week mark, as it’s currently at 481 weeks and is still on the chart.

In less good Lamar chart news from this week, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House had 521,500 album units sold in its first week. That figure easily tops this year’s previous best for a single week: Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which had 295,000 album units sold in its debut frame.

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

In her latest video, Beabadoobee takes the phrase “bedroom pop” in a very literal sense. The visual for “Lovesong,” from her upcoming sophomore album, Beatopia, shows the singer playing guitar in her bedroom, as she is cozied up near the fire on a rainy, stormy day.

She recorded much of her debut album, Fake It Flowers, in her home bedroom and took a similar approach to Beatopia. She named the album Beatopia after a fictional world she created when she was seven years old.

In an interview with The Face, Beabadoobee recalled drawing a map of the fictional Beatopia on paper​, later to be mocked by a teacher in front of her class.

“My two friends made worlds as well,” she said, “but they weren’t anywhere near as enthusiastic about theirs, which was quite embarrassing… I guess I just wanted to escape reality, I kind of latched onto it because a lot of things were happening back home and it was a way of escaping everything that was going on around me.”

Toward the end of the video, viewers will see a backing band joining Beabadoobee in her room, adding orchestral elements to the song.

Check out “Lovesong” above.

Beatopia is out 7/15 via Dirty Hit. Pre-save it here.

When Tom Hanks isn’t (fictionally) discovering some of the most iconic musicians of all time, he is (fictionally) a lonely old man, making wooden clocks and toys in his isolated home, wishing upon a shining star for a child of his own. The man has range!

The first teaser for Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming adaptation of Pinocchio has been released, with Hanks portraying Geppetto, the woodworker with a heart of gold. Not to be confused with Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming Netflix version of Pinocchio, or that other live-action one from 2020, or even the highly-memed version from earlier this year. The inevitable dark reboot of the story hasn’t been announced, though they did use one of Pinocchio’s cheery songs as a backdrop to 2015’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron trailer for some reason.

Hanks will appear alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cynthia Erivo, Keegan-Michael Key, Luke Evans, and Lorraine Bracco in the magical tale, which will premiere on Disney+ on September 8th, which just so happens to be Disney Plus Day. The trailer also features the iconic tune “When You Wish Upon A Star” which has become Disney’s signature song.

If you are unfamiliar with the decades-old story, here is a brief synopsis:

Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award® nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana (and her marionette Sabina), Giuseppe Battiston as Señor Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.

Check out the trailer above.

Critically acclaimed writer and director Cary Fukunaga, who has worked on a slew of films and projects, including No Time To Die, IT, and Maniac, has been accused by multiple women of crossing professional boundaries and crude on-set behavior. Nearly a dozen sourcse have been cited in a new Rolling Stone report about his abuse of power, and generally creepy behavior towards young women.

One of the most revealing stories comes from actress Rachelle Vinberg, who met Fukunaga on a set the day after she turned 18. The two sparked up a friendship that eventually became sexual. Fukunaga would have been in his late thirties. “I spent years being scared of him,” Vinberg wrote on Instagram earlier this month. “Mans is a groomer and has been doing this shit for years. Beware women.” Vineberg opened up about her PTSD diagnosis that was triggered by the relationship.

Vinberg starred in HBO’s series Betty about a young group of women who try to make it in the male-dominated skating world (similar to Hollywood, right?). She called out Fukunaga on Instagram after he allegedly posted a story alluding to being a feminist. “Funny how there’s people out there who pose as activists [for] women,” Vinberg said in an Instagram post. “Guys who are the sh*ttiest f*cking individuals in the world and all they do [is] traumatize women.” The stories are still up on Vinberg’s Instagram highlights.

Fukunaga also allegedly loved giving girls tattoos to “mark” them. Vinberg said in an Instagram post, “He gave me this tattoo when I was 18 years old, and it’s something he likes to do to girls. It’s like his way of marking women. It’s bizarre.”

After Vinberg’s story went public, Hanah and Cailin Loesch, twins who worked with Fukunaga when they were 20, posted a statement about their experience with the director, who allegedly tried to pursue them sexually. They clarified that they were never assaulted, but were made uncomfortable.

“Back at home, we all slipped into the family’s hot tub, where he asked us if we were virgins, and what our thoughts on threesomes are,” the statement said, “When we told him that we would never participate in one, he reminded us that they ‘do them in pornos all the time,’ and even suggested incest is fine ‘if all parties are okay with it.’” Several actresses, including Margaret Qualley, who reportedly dated Fukunaga in 2017, liked the post. Qualley would have been 21 at the time of their relationship, while Fukunaga was 39.

Even Fukunaga’s former writing partner, Nick Cuse, who worked on both No Time To Die and Maniac with Fukunaga, wrote in an Instagram story that Fukunaga is the “worst human being I have ever met in my life,” adding that the way Fukunaga treats non-celebrities “is horrible. I once saw him dump his cut fingernails in another person’s car.”

Multiple other young women, who remained anonymous for fear of backlash, spoke to Roling Stone making accusations of abusive behavior. “I remember feeling so good to be away from him, like this heavy weight on my shoulder was lifted and [I could] breathe again. He made me feel so claustrophobic and suffocating,” one said.

Fukunaga’s lawyer denied all the claims of misconduct to Rolling Stone, insisting that the director “has befriended men and women, young and old,” on set. The director has yet to comment on the allegations.

Your dad’s favorite show, Yellowstone, is popular. Really, really popular. Like, the biggest show on television popular. Variety reports that the Paramount Network hit was the highest-rated scripted series for the 2021-2022 season, finishing number one among both total viewers (11.3 million) and the all-important 18-to-49 demographic (2.7 million)

Here’s the top for total viewers:

1. NFL Sunday Night Football (NBC) (18.1 million)
2. NFL Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL Network) (15.3 million)
3. Yellowstone (Paramount Network) (11.3 million)
4. NFL Monday Night Football (ESPN) (11.2 million)
5. NCIS (CBS) (11 million)

And the top five for 18-to-49:

1. NFL Sunday Night Football (NBC) (6.6 million)
2. NFL Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL) (5.6 million)
3. NFL Monday Night Football (ESPN) 4.3 million)
4. NFL Thursday Night Football (NFL) (3.4 million)
5. Yellowstone (Paramount Network) (2.7 million)

It’s true what they say: Americans love football, Kevin Costner wearing a cowboy hat, and CBS procedurals. They also love The Curse of Oak Island, a History Channel show about treasure hunters I have never heard of that finished as the second “most-watched cable entertainment series overall,” according to Variety. Huh, how about that. Good thing there are only nine seasons (!) and 165 episodes (!!!) to catch up with. You’ll have time to spare before the final season of Better Call Saul is back in July.

Speaking of: Better Call Saul finished #99 among total viewers (2.4 million), between WWE Friday Night Smackdown and Mr. Mayor. It ranks 14 spots behind The Walking Dead, the Yellowstone of the 2010s. If one of the something like 17 Yellowstone spinoffs that Paramount has in store is about zombies, look out.

(Via Variety)

On Monday night, Bo Burnham surprised his fans by dropping a new YouTube video featuring outtakes from his award-winning special Inside. The new material features a smattering of sketches that Burnham left on the cutting room floor, including one where he pretty accurately roasts Joe Rogan without specifically saying Rogan’s name.

In the segment, Burnham hosts an anti-PC comedy podcast alongside his guest… Bo Burnham. Just two dudes, “talking sh*t no filter, not giving a f*ck what anybody thinks.” Together, the dual Bos rant about how comedians are under attack despite being artists who are simply trying to hold a mirror up to society. And in case the dig at Rogan is too subtle, the whole thing is sponsored by “Manstuff Dick Spray,” a “patented spray-on dickoderant.” From the bit, which is embedded below and really should be watched (it starts at the 18:34 mark of the special) for full effect:

And it sucks because these people, they don’t understand comedy. Okay, we’re joking. They’re jokes, okay?. And, also, we as comedians are philosophers. All right? Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor. We are important history-changing cultural figures, and you need to recognize that, all right?

Comedy is an art form. It’s an art form, and it’s important because it’s one of the only art forms that is not… [Other Bo: Gay]. No. Well, we can’t say that. But, um, yeah, gay. Now, they’re gonna come after us, right? We’re gonna get ‘cancelled’ for saying this. We’re not being homophobic when we say that. If there was another word that meant ‘gay’ that wasn’t ‘gay,’ we’d use that. But there isn’t so it’s ‘gay.’

The sketch takes one final crack at Rogan as Burnham starts to tee up another rant about comedy by mentioning he was talking to his “sparring partner” the other day, a clear reference to Rogan’s MMA background.

(Via Bo Burnham on YouTube)

“Peach Tree Dish” truther Marjorie Taylor Greene has made headlines for yet another idiotic observation she decided to share with the world, and this one? It’s a doozy.

The Republican lawmaker — who recently won her Georgia Primary — taped an episode of her social media streaming broadcast MTG: Live yesterday where she gave straight people everywhere a grave warning: you’re going extinct. The entire hourlong episode was a wild amalgam of conservative fearmongering that kicked things off with jokes about the spread of monkeypox before transitioning to why stricter gun laws wouldn’t have saved the dozens of children massacred in Uvalde, Texas, but before Greene logged off she went after an author she labeled a “trans terrorist.” While referencing a children’s book intended to teach kids about the importance of boundaries, consent, and understanding their own bodies, Green delivered a truly chilling prophecy for her fellow heterosexuals.

“They just want you to think that all of a sudden the entire population is steadily turning gay or turning trans,” she said (via Newsweek). “Just generation, generation. Probably in about four or five generations, no one will be straight anymore. Everyone will be either gay or trans or non-conforming or whatever the list of 50 or 60 different options there are.”

Yes, just like the dinosaurs and Blockbuster video chains that have come before us, the straights are now facing extinction, according to a sitting congresswoman.

In all seriousness, Greene’s transphobia and homophobia are old news at this point. She’s called for the use of violence to “stand up” against the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, this is the same woman who thinks Bill Gates has grand plans to monitor every American’s bowel movements, so we really shouldn’t give any of her credence, but she’s also a sitting politician making decisions that affect millions of people, so we can’t simply ignore the bigotry either. Instead, here’s how she’s being dragged on Twitter, and hopefully, her constituents are paying attention.

(Via Newsweek)

Another holiday, another chance for Jay-Z to re-up his rap nerd credibility. This time around, Jay’s new Tidal playlist is called “Montecito” and landed on the streaming app on Memorial Day with the description “(Mostly) ’22 vibes.” The one exception that prompts the qualifier is Kodak Black’s 2021 hit “Super Gremlin,” which extended its run far beyond its October 2021 release date as one of the more popular recent singles in rap.

Kodak also appears multiple times on the playlist, with Jay including “Purple Stamp” and “I Wish” from the Floridian’s 2022 project Back For Everything. Other artists Jay included multiple times are Detroit upstart Babyface Ray, whose Face track “A1 Since Day 1” leads off the playlist, and 42 Dugg & EST Gee, the dynamic duo whose joint mixtape Last Ones Left was the brainchild of their CMG team captain, Yo Gotti. Speaking of Yo Gotti, the Memphis mainstay also gets multiple selections from his own new project CM10: Free Game.

Of course, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers gets a few entries, as do Future and Lil Durk, while Boldy James, Pusha T, and Vince Staples are all represented with a track apiece. And because having one problematic entity in Kodak Black apparently wasn’t enough, Jay gave some “True Love” to his musical younger brother Kanye West’s new track with XXXTentacion. If anything is missing, it’s some female representation; you’d think Jay would love the throwback vibe of Megan Thee Stallion’s new track “Plan B.”

As always, though, the new playlist proves that Hov keeps his ears to the street, even if he’s not actively recording any new music himself. And for the newer or more underground artists receiving some spotlight, it’s a chance to tap in with new fans who recognize Jay’s nearly impeccable taste. You can listen to the playlist on Tidal below.

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