Month: June 2022

On his fourth studio album, Twelve Carat Toothache, Post Malone is self-aware. When he first stepped onto the scene, many thought his viral “White Iverson” hit would make him a one-hit-wonder. Seven years into his career, he has over nine Grammy nominations under his belt and 11 Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hits to his name. As his track record suggests, Malone is a skilled hitmaker, mastering the art of rock-influenced hip-hop with enough pop elements for mainstream radio. But on Twelve Carat Toothache, Malone seeks to make more than quick hits. The album is his most cohesive body of work to date, and his first worth a listen from beginning to end.

Twelve Carat Toothache opens with “Reputation,” a piano-driven ballad on which he reflects on the mental effects of the debaucherous lifestyle of which he’s become known for singing and rapping. It’s a dark track in nature, in which Malone acknowledges, “I know I f*cked up before, but I won’t do it again / And I got a lot of things that I wish I would’ve said / And I’m the same damn fool, and I’m wearing that hat again / I know I f*cked up, and I can’t make it right.” It’s hard hearing Posty talk about wanting to end his life, but it evokes the same feeling as his Stoney cut, “I Fall Apart,” a song in which the listeners bonded with Malone over heartbreak from whichever past lover of theirs came to mind. Now, Malone sings of heartbreak from his past mistakes.

While Twelve Carat Toothache may open on a melancholy note, he seeks to escape the feelings of despair on the bouncy “Cooped Up,” which features Mustard-protege Roddy Ricch. He shouts what we’ve all felt these past two years — “I’ve been f*cking cooped up.” The song’s accompanying music video, directed by Andre Bato, sees the two of them emerging from a dark place, literally, as the apartment in which they are partying contains black space in place of walls and ceilings. It maintains the spirit of a Post Malone party track, but a little more mature than “Congratulations” from Stoney and “Rockstar” from Beerbongs And Bentleys. It’s as though he’s traded parties and clubs for kickbacks and hang sessions.

On the saccharine “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” Malone finds solace in a woman he knows isn’t good for him. Upon first listen, it sounds like a sunny, poppy love song, but throughout the song, Posty asks himself, “Why do I tell myself that I do the best I can? / I know damn well that you couldn’t give a damn.” With additional lyrics like, “Ten billion cuties that think I’m the man / But if you come around, I’ll be eatin’ out your hand,” it’s one of two sides of the same coin of Beerbongs And Bentleys’ “Better Now,” only, in this case, he realized that the woman is in fact, just fine without him.

But this doesn’t hinder him from exploring new flames. On the Doja Cat-assisted “I Like You (A Happier Song),” he finds someone who makes him happy. The muse for this song is probably his elusive fiance and mother of his baby, as he sings, “Now that I’m famous, I got hoes all around me / But I need a good girl, I need someone to ground me / So please be true, don’t f*ck around with me / I need someone to share this heart with me,” over a punchy, thomping beat. Posty has come a long way from one-night stands with several woman and found one he likes — even if we’ve never seen her!

Perhaps the track that most showcases his growth is the Fleet Foxes collaboration, “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol.” As its title suggests, this song sees Malone acknowledging his biggest vice. He’s aware it’s not good for him, but he doesn’t wish to stop, as it seems to be “the only way to drown my sadness.” As Malone, who was born in ‘95, has grown older, it feels as though he has done so alongside his millennial-and-gen-z cusper fans. When “White Iverson” came out, many of the ‘94 and ‘95 babies has just turned 21, and were looking forward to their first time “saucin’, saucin’, saucin’” at the bar or at a party. When “Congratulations” came out a year later, a lot of those people had just graduated college, and were using the song as a graduation anthem. Now, six years later, “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol” represents many of those people’s relationships with alcohol now, as they are in their late 20s and winding down from the days of wild partying.

As a whole, Twelve Carat Toothache shows that Post Malone knows what kind of artist he wants to be. He’s not the long-haired, grill-wearing, cultural-appropriating party boy he was when he first stepped onto the scene. At this phase of his life, he’s less interested in making quick hits and more interested in taking himself seriously as an artist. Even if he admittedly is hesitant to play his own album back, the music Twelve Carat Toothache is his most honest and self-aware to date.

Among the 28 members of Young Thug’s YSL crew who were scooped up in the wide-ranging RICO indictment against them was Walter Murphy, who is accused of co-founding YSL as a “hybrid street gang” along with Thug himself. Murphy turned himself in when the indictment went public, appearing in court on Tuesday for a bond hearing in which his lawyer Jacoby Hudson “went off” after the judge denied Murphy bond. According to WSB-TV Atlanta, Hudson condemned the Fulton County DA’s case against his client, blaming it on the high-profile status of its rapper targets.

“The whole case is about Young Thug — Jeffrey Lamar Williams,” he said. “That’s who they want. My client don’t want to talk about Jeffery Williams.” Murphy, who was sent to prison in 2016 for multiple charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2013 and attempted murder involving four different victims in 2015, said he changed while in prison on those offenses. “I spent seven years in prison,” he said. “While I was in prison, you know, I stayed out the way and I just got my GED, completed all my classes.” Hudson says that since then, Murphy has not associated with YSL or engaged in any crimes.

Meanwhile, many observers have criticized Thug’s inclusion in the case as well, as it was reported that the evidence against him was based on his lyrics shouting out YSL — which could mean Young Slime Life, the alleged gang, or Young Stoner Life, his label. Gunna, another rapper on the label, was also accused of being a lieutenant in the alleged gang, despite the evidence largely amounting to mentions in his lyrics. Kevin Liles, the founder of YSL’s parent label 300 Entertainment, posted a petition on Change.org decrying the case and calling for the federalization of so-called “rap on trial” laws that would limit the use of lyrics in criminal investigations.

Both Thug and Gunna are set for trial in 2023 after being denied bond. Presumably, so is Walter Murphy.

As far as emerging pop stars go, it’s hard to name anyone who has had a bigger year than Anitta so far. Her Coachella performance featured appearances from Snoop Dogg and Saweetie and was one of the most talked-about of the two-day weekend. The Brazilian pop singer released her latest album, Versions Of Me in April, with appearances from Cardi B, Saweetie, and Khalid among others. But on the personal side of things, Anitta has always been notoriously single — until now.

June 12th in Brazil is the country’s equivalent to Valentine’s Day (Dia dos Namorados) and Anitta made her relationship with Canadian hip-hop producer Murda Beatz Instagram official, posting pics of the pair getting close. On the surface, they look sort of like an odd couple, but Murda Beatz’s credentials speak for themselves. He has produced tracks for 2Chainz, Drake, G-Eazy, and loads more.

For his part, Murda Beatz has also posted about an upcoming collaboration between him, Anitta, Quavo, J Balvin, and Pharrell. The track “No Más” is due out on July 5th.

Speaking of J Balvin and Anitta, the two recently spoke in an artist-led interview about relationships and Anitta made it clear how serious she is about this. “I never date anyone and think they’re going to be an ex,” she told Balvin. “I date the person thinking we’re going to get married and have kids. I think I’m going to die with this person holding hands and we are going to be buried in the same cemetery side by side.” When pressed by Balvin if she was in love right now, Anitta replied, “Yes and it’s going to happen… I’ll have the kids and you’ll be the padrino!”

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

As a native Texan, it’s my birthright to have a palate for BBQ with the inborn ability to decipher the good from the bad. Like whiskey, BBQ has region-specific stylings unique to its location. Dare I say meat terroir? Texas is renowned, among other things, for brisket. South Carolina is celebrated for pork.

Speaking personally, I’ve never really associated California with BBQ. Fish tacos? Yes. BBQ anything? No.

Until now. California-based pitmaster and restauranteur Matthew Horn brought a taste of his West Coast ‘cue to Austin – and I was truly taken aback by his flavorsome brisket. It wasn’t the Central Texas technique I was accustomed to, but my innate taste for the goodness of quality BBQ isn’t limited by state or country. I can appreciate styles even if they aren’t what I was raised with.

My love for Horn’s brisket motivated me to do a little digging on the chef. He opened his first restaurant in October of 2020 and Horn Barbecue, in Oakland, CA, drew immediate praise from BBQ connoisseurs and national media. He was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in America, and Horn Barbecue earned a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand designation.

This year, Horn continues to unlock massive achievements. He opened his sophomore concept, Kowbird, and Horn Barbecue was nominated for a James Beard Award in the Best New Restaurant category. In April, Horn released his debut book, Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ. The book features 70 recipes, plenty of tips, and insight into Horn’s humble beginnings.

“I want people to understand that all this didn’t happen overnight,” Horn told me later. “It’s happened over a period of time. And I wanted to translate that into a book and give people insight on the journey.”

Horn cites his mother and two grandmothers as his biggest culinary influences.

“I try to preserve the foodways of the South based on what I grew up on,” he says. “And pay homage to the men and women that clicked for me – more so the women – that prepared food for me — showing them respect in everything I do. I’m not the man I am without the women in my life.”

With summer upon us and more opportunities to fire up the grill, Trager, or open fire! So how can you level up your BBQ brisket skills? By taking Matthew Horn;s advice, naturally. Read on for the inside scoop on how to make the perfect brisket from the expert himself.

First, what do you feel is a common mistake people make when barbecuing brisket?

So, one of the most common mistakes people make is trying to rush the process of cooking a brisket. Usually, when you begin that journey of cooking a brisket, you have to go into it already, accepting that you have to enjoy this process. It will be a very long process and will take a long time to cook. We usually cook our brisket for 15-18 hours, but at a minimum, you will cook a brisket for 12-14 hours. So, with that being said, you have to accept that it will be a long cooking time and not so much focus on the destination. Enjoy the journey of the cook. There’s so much going on with that – you’ll spray the meat; some people rotate, and some don’t. We’re rotating the brisket because we’re cooking such a large amount of briskets at the restaurant.

Then, you just have that whole process of constantly managing the fire. Also, I think that people should trust their smoker can do what it was made to do. Then, make sure that you’re keeping a clean fire and your temperature consistent. You don’t want to lift the lid too much because we’re cooking it for such a long time; you get anxious to see what’s going on with the cook. And by lifting the lid, you allow the temperature to fluctuate, which reflects on the meat from the way that the meat has responded to the consistency of the temperature.

Wow. Well, you touched on two things I grasp from someone that loves barbecue: patience is a virtue and having a clean fire. I know some pitmasters have their own seasoning, or they just use salt and pepper. What do you use to season your brisket?

We grew up wanting to season our food a little bit more than just putting salt and pepper. So, what I do is use that as a base. I don’t want to put too much flavor on the brisket. You still want to be able to taste the quality of the meat, but I use salt and pepper as a base. Then, I add a few more seasonings from there. I want our guests or whoever is eating the food to taste the great quality beef, but you also want it to be savory. You want it to be seasoned well, something that they’ll remember. The majority of spices that we put in there is pepper. So, we’re doing like we’re doing about three parts black pepper, 16 mesh black pepper, and one part kosher salt. We like to keep everything granulated because I don’t want the rub to be too pasty. We never rub the rub into the meat. So, once it’s seasoned, I pat the meat as it goes onto the smoker, and we let it sit that way, which gives it a consistent bark.

So, when you do a rub on the brisket, how does that impact the flavor?

I want to get a consistent bark every time I cook, so I always do the same thing. I keep it consistent. There’s nothing wrong with rubbing it in there. I feel like if you’re using these other seasonings – like paprika, cayenne, onion, or garlic – what happens is that the rub cakes up. So, when you get the finished product, whether you’re spraying it throughout the cook or adding sauce or whatever, it cakes up. I don’t want that with the seasoning. I’ve gone to a lot of barbecue spots where you’ll get ribs, or you’ll get chicken, pick it up to try to bite into it, and you have it all over your fingernails. So, you create this beautiful surface of rub because once the bark settles, it becomes really hard and gels with the fat. So, as you’re spraying it throughout the cooking process, I don’t want to compromise that at all. So, I’m always thinking of these little things when I cook.

That makes sense. Here in Texas, mesquite and post oak are common woods. Does the type of wood matter in California and for your barbecue, in particular?

Absolutely. Wood is extremely important. If we were down South, I would be using hickory. If I were living in Texas, I would be using post oak. They use a lot of post oak. And if you go down to other parts of Texas, they use mesquite and these different types of wood. So, you want to use what you have locally. What we have out here is white oak and red oak. We have access to mesquite, but I use strictly white oak. It gives a really great smoky flavor. It’s not too heavy or really harsh or abrasive like I’d say mesquite wood is. So, I use oak, but sometimes we’ll mix in a little bit of almond as well.

That leads to another thought that I had. What’s one thing you do differently with your BBQ akin to no one else?

I think the amount of attention that goes into our brisket because a lot of times people will trim their brisket, salt and pepper it, then throw it on, and they’re trying to reach an internal temperature of like 203 or something. It’s all over the internet. That’s what a lot of these guys are doing in their backyard or even guys that have restaurants. They feel like that’s the standard. I take my brisket a little bit further. I like that fat to render a little bit more. I’m very intricate throughout the cooking process with how I cook my brisket. We pay close attention to it. I don’t lift too much, but when we do, we rotate the brisket. So, usually, we’ll have our point towards the fire majority of the cook, and I’ll rotate it, and we’ll put the flat towards the fire. And I’ve even done it where we’ve rotated it again. I like to put in the drippings from the brisket in the water pan – just little things I could do to try to add flavor by playing around with the damper opening up more smoke on it, and we finish it, lower the temp, and then I’ll close the damper a little bit to get more smoke on it.

Nice. Now I’m getting hungry! So, what advice would you give someone that’s on the come up as a chef or pitmaster?

I would say the biggest thing would be just to get started. Take that first step. I heard that there’s a saying that a majority of 1,000 miles begins with one step. You need to convince yourself to really be committed. You need to be all in because committing yourself to barbecue and these long cooks is a labor of love and a time commitment.

Classifying Beyonce’s massive discography of music into any specific genre is a mostly fruitless exercise (which didn’t stop us from trying in 2020) because the versatile star is constantly evolving and experimenting, refusing to be kept to just one box or genre. That musical dabbling will apparently continue on her upcoming new album Renaissance; Variety reports that the album will see Beyonce leaning more heavily into the country direction she flashed on her last full-length album Lemonade in 2016, as well as incorporating more “dance” music — although that’s a broad category which could figure in a lot of musical directions.

A source familiar with the album says that Bey has tapped Ryan Tedder, whose past contributions to her oeuvre included the angelic “Halo,” and neo-soul demigod Raphael Saadiq, who deserves far more credit for both his production work and his own extensive catalog. Since the surprise announcement for the album labeled the collection due on July 29 “Act 1,” that could be an indication that the album will either be released in parts or will be a “multi-disc” affair, in which case the songs could be organized by similar sounds.

In British Vogue‘s cover story about the album, editor-in-chief Edward Enninful describes being “transported back to the clubs of my youth,” which suggests a possible house, ball culture-inspired sound — which would be timely, since drag is enormous right now, with all kinds of artists tapping the sound of the underground subculture. It’s also big on television thanks to competition shows like Legendary on HBO Max. In any case, this is all just speculation until the album actually drops, but one thing is for sure: The Beyhive will be going crazy ’til then and Beyonce remains one of the biggest stars on the planet.

When Nico Harrison was named general manager of the Dallas Mavericks last summer, the organization was caught in a gray zone of ambiguity that left them without a clear path forward. Donnie Nelson, their former general manager for over 20 years, was terminated following a power struggle with Bob Voulgaris. Rick Carlisle abruptly resigned shortly after, leaving the team without the general manager and head coach that led the franchise to a title in 2011. All of this occurred in the aftermath of the Mavericks blowing a 2-0 first round series lead to the Los Angeles Clippers in which Kristaps Porzingis played like a frisky role player.

The team Harrison inherited was one without a clear identity that, after back-to-back first round exits, was staring at the prospects of being the latest team mired in the NBA’s purgatory between a team that was building and and one that was contending — even with a legit star in Luka Doncic. His job was to ensure that didn’t happen and forge a cohesive vision for how the team would be built around Doncic.

You know when you’re at a restaurant reviewing the menu and suddenly realize ordering multiple appetizers looks much better than a singular overpriced entrée? That was the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Replacing Porzingis with Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans provided fengshui to a Maverick roster that was still searching for a way to fully actualize Luka Doncic. The trade restructured roles on the Dallas roster into guard creators, 3-and-D wings, and finishing bigs. That role clarity played a big part in the Mavericks’ Western Conference Finals run this postseason, but eventually their talent deficit at the center position caught up to them.

Trading for Christian Wood fills a large offseason need for the Mavericks. Nico Harrison trimmed end of the roster fat by sending Trey Burke, Sterling Brown, Marquese Chriss, Boban Marjonovic, and the 26th overall pick to Houston. None of the players Dallas sent out played a meaningful minute in the playoffs for the Mavericks — even if every minute spent with Boban is meaningful. The trade opened up a few roster spots for Dallas and provided a clear talent upgrade at the center position. Meanwhile, Houston frees up minutes for Alperen Sengun and their No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, which figures to be Duke big man Paolo Banchero. Not to mention, the city of Houston receives the beautiful vibes of Boban.

Christian Wood provides scoring dynamism at the center position for Dallas that should pair well with Luka Doncic. Dallas thrived during their playoff run by playing 5-out with Maxi Kleber at center and allowing Luka and Jalen Brunson to feast in isolation. Their strategy broke the conservative drop coverage deployed by both Utah and Phoenix, but it ran stagnant against the Golden State Warriors, because Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Maxi Kleber lacked the juice off the dribble to supplement the three lead guards for Dallas. In the regular season, Dwight Powell’s rim running and movement caused defensive rotations that sparked the Maverick offense, but that force was notably absent during the playoffs.

The acquisition of Wood doubles down on Jason Kidd’s system by adding a big man that can both approximate Kleber’s shooting and Powell’s rim running; theoretically creating a strong pairing with Luka Doncic. Wood thrived as pick and pop big in Houston shooting 39 percent on five threes a game without a true playmaking guard to generate looks for him. He initially signed in Houston to complement James Harden, but was left to fend for himself after Harden orchestrated a trade to Brooklyn. Even mild shot creation skills from a frontcourt player will be a welcome sight for a Maverick offense that craves more creation from their non-guard rotation players.

The trade will allow Wood to be the best version of himself on offense, as he’s set to play with the best facilitator of his career. To play with Luka Doncic is to know what it feels to be free for a big man and Wood certainly needs that after wandering through the NBA wilderness for seven seasons. That is where the risk lies for the Mavericks.

This will be Wood’s seventh team in seven seasons after going undrafted in 2015 despite the obvious talent he possessed. His professionalism and commitment to defense has been questioned at every stop in his NBA career. Jason Kidd’s defensive system demands a high level of focus and effort from big man to both defend screens at the level, switch, and make quick rotations. Wood certainly has the physical tools to execute the scheme and has shown flashes of high level, but he has not shown consistent effort on defense thus far in his career. How Wood reacts to playing on a team with true championship aspirations for the first time remains to be seen.

This is a low risk move for the Mavericks to become even more of who they already are. Nico Harrison’s vision for a championship roster has slowly revealed itself over the last year and the move for Wood could be its final confirmation.

By now, everyone’s aware of how Dave Chappelle went back into trans-jokes mode during a 2021 Netflix comedy special, The Closer. Hannah Gadsby, whose Nannette was also a raging hit for the streamer, reacted by calling out Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for an defending Chappelle to uphold the “amoral algorithm.” And Gadsby further commented upon “the hate and anger” that she receives from Chappelle fans because she dares to push back.

Fast forward to 2022, and Ricky Gervais decided to punch down, too, with his own new Netflix special, SuperNature, which he defended for its “taboo” nature and embracing of “freedom of expression.” In the process of that explanation, Gervais also declared, My target wasn’t trans folk, but trans activist ideology.” And during a new Hollywood Reporter interview to promote her upcoming new “feel-good” sets (referred to as Body Of Work), Gadbsy sounds like she’s not down to try and engage with Gervais, given the chance, like if they bumped into each other backstage somewhere:

“I’m the sort of person where it wouldn’t matter because people don’t talk to me. I really have a f*ck-off energy and I really enjoy it. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to talk to him because I just don’t think there’s any point. He’s made up his mind. He doesn’t seem like a nuanced thinker. I don’t think we could solve the issues backstage at an awards show. He’s set. There’s no changing his mind. So why bother?”

Fair enough. Choosing one’s battles wisely (and deciding not to expend the energy to do so when it won’t change matters) is a hell of a smart way to live. Hannah also doesn’t sound too interested in taking to Ted Sarandos, either. “He might be a little scared of me,” she offered to THR. “Rightly so, Ted. Rightly so. I’m just joking. It’s very funny, isn’t it? It’s a very funny situation.” Oh yes, it’s terribly funny.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Samuel L. Jackson has, like so many of us, had it with the Oscars.

The Oscars do not, actually, define the best of the film industry, although they do try. Every year since the first ceremony in 1926, there has been what is now dubbed the Oscars snub. Some snubs keep us up at night. Michael Stuhlbarg comes to mind, who should have won best supporting actor for his performance in 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, but did not even get a nomination. Most people just complain about their personal Oscar snubs on Twitter and to their friends who pretend to listen, and celebs rarely speak about them because they are, of course, trying not to talk sh*t about the award they hope to win one day.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Samuel L. Jackson, who has yet to win an Oscar although he received an honorary Oscar earlier this year, called the Oscars a “popularity contest,” a lesson he learned when he did not win for Pulp Fiction (he lost to Ed Wood’s Martin Landau). He also said that he thinks his closest shot at winning was for his performance in 2012’s Django Unchained. “Django was probably my best shot because it’s the most evil character I’ve ever played and they generally reward Black people for playing horrendous s—-,” Jackson told LA Times. Jackson was not nominated for the film, but his co-star Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor. Jackson’s critique of the Oscars continued and turned into a sharp critique of modern Hollywood:

This is the night Hollywood celebrates fucking Hollywood. That thing that we used to have when I was young, watching it and wondering, ‘What am I going to say when I get mine’ was the glamor of it all, the extravagance, the mystique that is Hollywood. Some of that’s gone. You’ve got movie stars who are influencers or people who live out loud, so you know way more about them than you used to know. But it should still be a celebration that you did something that’s great. Like I still say, there should be an award for the movie that made the most money.

Basically, Jackson would rather have fun than chase an Oscar. “I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” he told LA Times. “My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know, ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.”

I hope he’s also having fun doing Capital One commercials with Spike Lee and Charles Barkley because I have fun watching them.

There has been, over the course of history, thousands of people who have been paid lots of money to holler at one another on television. For a period of time, two folks who teamed up to do this were Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take. During a recent cameo on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast, Smith, who is still at ESPN, told the story of how he came to join Bayless, who has since departed for Fox Sports, on the show.

The gist: Skip approached Stephen A, with whom he was friendly, and said that he brought the show a long way. Despite that, it lacked a certain something in the ratings and revenue department, so Bayless went up to him in a parking lot, said “I need you,” Smith eventually said yes, and they went to No. 1. Here is the clip:

It’s a nice story, but Bayless has a big ol problem with it. A visibly upset Bayless addressed this on his podcast, which apparently has a huge production budget based on some of the camera work going on here.

“Lemme gather myself,” Bayless said. “What!? I cannot tell you how wrong that was. It was so recklessly inaccurate, it was such shocking fabrication.”

Bayless claimed his wife sent this over to him, and his immediate thought was that “my brother Stephen A” turned on him.

“Stephen A was suggesting that he saved, and then made, First Take,” Bayless said. “How can you save and make a show that was already as big a billion-to-one success story as ESPN had ever seen? The ratings and the revenues were impossibly great when Stephen A joined me in 2012. With Stephen A as my partner, First Take would never touch the NFL Monday ratings that it hit in 2011 pre-Stephen A. And I had taken First Take as far as I could? Seriously? I was just getting started, the rocket had just launched the year before in 2011. Stephen A, how dare you?”

It’s a media beef that, quite frankly, none of us saw coming. It has, however, appeared to pique the interest of Kevin Durant.

If there is one thing we know about the parties involved in this beef, it is that there will be a lot more said about it over the next however many days. They are professional arguers, after all.

Disney XD is getting a new face! Ten-year-old Roman McConn from Evans, Georgia, has spent most of his life rescuing animals. Literally, most of his life: He’s been rescuing animals since he was 4 years old! So when we saw The Washington Post’s profile of him, we knew we had to share this story with the Upworthy audience.

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Roman began rescuing animals from local shelters when he was living in Texas, but because he couldn’t bring them all home, he would create videos of the animals at the shelter, which his mom shared to social media to try to bring attention to them. He made it a personal mission to find every shelter pet a home, especially those that were harder to get adopted and at risk of being euthanized.

Currently, many animal shelters and rescues are overwhelmed with pets in desperate need of being adopted—many the result of “pandemic puppies.” And with puppy and kitten season in full effect, shelters need more help than ever to find homes for these animals. Adults can help by ensuring that stray animals are spayed (normally inexpensive or even free at local humane societies) and by volunteering to foster animals or adopt from shelters instead of purchasing from a breeder.

Roman’s mission to see every pet from a shelter get adopted is a lofty aspiration but one he is embracing full-on. According to The Washington Post, Roman and his mom founded Project Freedom Ride, a nonprofit organization that transports dogs from Texas to northern states where adoption rates are higher. The nonprofit has rescued 4,200 dogs since its founding in 2016. Seventeen of those dogs appear on Roman’s new Disney XC show, “Roman to the Rescue,” which has so far released 7 of its 17 episodes. In each episode, Roman and his team focus on one dog to figure out its personality and show it in the best light.

It is amazing to see how one kid’s efforts have started not only an organization rescuing thousands of animals, but hopefully a movement for young people via his show. If you want to catch his new show to see how he gets these 17 dogs adopted, you can find it on Disney XD on DisneyNOW.