Month: July 2022

Summer League can be a bit hit or miss when it comes to star power, as it’s not always a guarantee that top picks will participate, but this year’s rosters seem to house more potential rotation players than in seasons past — both incoming rookies and more established young players. So many players who could be future stars or factor in prominently to a team’s 2022-23 success seem like they’ll be gracing the hardwood in Nevada.

Analyzing the results of Summer League is always a precarious endeavor, yet the intrigue surrounding a handful of rosters is rather enticing. The vibes will always reign supreme during Sin City’s mid-summer tournament, of course. Nonetheless, let’s hit on some rosters that should be a delight to watch bound up and down the hardwoods of Thomas & Mack and Cox Pavilion later this week.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are an essential inclusion to this list. The No. 2 overall pick, Chet Holmgren, will suit up. Fellow top-20 picks of prior years in Josh Giddey and Aleskej Pokusevski are slated to appear in the Utah portion of Oklahoma City’s Summer League runs. Other alluring young dudes like Aaron Wiggins, Tre Mann and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are on the roster.

Joining Holmgren as members of the Thunder’s 2022 Draft class are Jaylin Williams, Jalen Williams (cue the Spiderman meme) and Ousmane Dieng, who will take the court alongside the domineering 7-footer. Oklahoma City is entering Year 3 of its rebuild without much clarity of its core beyond Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, and (almost assuredly) Holmgren.

Summer League won’t answer those questions necessarily, yet a smattering of contenders to entrench themselves in that core will be present in Vegas to try and lay the initial groundwork for that possibility. Plus, these dudes are just fun to watch hoop and joy is integral to the Vegas experience.

San Antonio Spurs

Over the past 11 months, San Antonio has dealt away DeMar DeRozan, Derrick White and Dejounte Murray, a trio of players whose contributions were essential to the Spurs making playoff and play-in appearances. Entering 2022-23, a true rebuilding season seems to be in the cards after two decades of competitiveness and championships.

Among those who the Spurs look to be leaning on to shepherd a new era of prosperity are Josh Primo, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley, a quartet of youngsters who were selected in the top 25 of the past two drafts. All of them will don the San Antonio black and silver at Summer League.

Primo, Branham, and Wesley are all shot creators, while Sochan is a defensive-minded forward with offensive questions. Getting a glimpse of how the 2022 draftees translate to an NBA-adjacent environment and seeing how Primo applies the lessons of his rookie season should be a treat. It’s rare to bank on prospects to hammer home the Spurs’ appeal, but that’s precisely the case for this next season and starts in Vegas.

Golden State Warriors

With the departures of Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, Nemanja Bjelica, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Damion Lee this summer, Golden State’s veteran depth suffered a substantial hit over the past week. While Lee and Toscano-Anderson were not mainstays in the playoff rotation, the other three all saw key minutes in the Finals (especially Porter and Payton) and helped propel the Warriors to their fourth title in eight seasons.

To replace those services, Golden State will likely lean on its trio of lottery picks in Moses Moody, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga. Moody and Kuminga saw spot minutes throughout the playoffs last year and their rookie seasons were fairly encouraging. Wiseman’s 2020-21 rookie year was tumultuous, though filled with flashes of promise to maintain the optimism of his proponents.

They are all scheduled to play together in Vegas and begin their efforts to make good on the faith the Warriors are extending them. For Wiseman, it’ll be his first NBA action since early April 2021. Golden State nabbed him second overall in 2020 and deems him a pillar of its future. Moody and Kuminga are reportedly thought fondly of within the organization as well. Watching them connect and aim to bring the Warriors their second title in as many months could be quite the show.

Detroit Pistons

So, I’m not sure if Detroit knows this is Summer League, not the regular season? The Pistons are sending virtually their entire core to Vegas. Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers, and Jaden Ivey are all on the roster. Once the trade that renders Jalen Duren a Piston finalizes, I’d imagine he’ll be there too.

To be clear: I don’t have any issue with Detroit bringing everyone to Sin City; the freedom Summer League grants players can be a worthwhile breeding ground for important experimentation. It’s merely funny for Cunningham, Stewart, and Bey to be there, given they’ve established some reasonable footing in the NBA, especially Cunningham, who was a Rookie of the Year finalist three months ago and is soon to be a star.

Their inclusion is our gain, though. Cunningham, Stewart, and Bey might resemble the ‘96 Bulls in Las Vegas. Ivey’s electric nature will light up the gym. Predicting the Summer League champions is a futile game, but Detroit hoisting that trophy would not be a surprise. Although, I’d be shocked if Cunningham plays more than a couple games. Even so, this roster is loaded.

Portland Trail Blazers

Portland’s quintet of Damian Lillard, Josh Hart, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic is pretty dang good. Its depth, however, raises eyebrows. Maybe, some combination of Nassir Little, Eric Bledsoe, and Justise Winslow offer consistency. The upside play rests in its youth, though.

Greg Brown III, Shaedon Sharpe, Keon Johnson, Brandon Williams, Jabari Walker, Trendon Watford, and Didi Louzada all carry some level of fascination that could help them wiggle into the Blazers’ nightly rotation and supplement their top five.

While the Lillard-Hart-Simons-Grant-Nurkic grouping is good, it’s certainly not enough to guarantee anything in a deep, daunting Western Conference. The chance of actualizing a playoff series victory necessitates a leap or surprise from these young dudes — Simons included. Everyone aside from Simons will take the court in Vegas and kick off their 2022-23 seasons, one that looms large for Portland.

Assuming Lillard is back to proper health, he could regain his superstar title. Pairing that talent with postseason success cannot stem from him alone. He needs reinforcements. Portland’s Summer League roster may not headline those reinforcements. Regardless, they undoubtedly have a chance to be part of them.

Independence Day weekend is always a big one at the movies, and this year was ruled by one group in particular: Minions. (Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick is still raking in the dough in its sixth weekend.) The yellow semi-baddies’ second film broke box office records over its first four days of release, but some did more than simply go see it. Indeed, it spawned a new TikTok trend that got so out-of-control that some theaters on the other side of the pond have taken action.

According to the BBC, a trend called “#gentleminions has taken control of a good chunk of the Minions sequel’s audience. It involves teenagers, raised on the Despicable Me franchise, going to see the movie en masse, all of them jokingly dressed up in two-piece suits, complete with ties.

Both the Minion and Universal Pictures Twitter accounts approved of the trend.

Not everyone, though, was very gentlemanly.

In fact, some of the #gentleminion crowds have been causing a ruckus, making loud noises, even throwing things. That’s led to families fleeing theaters and demanding refunds. In the U.K., some theaters have responded by cancelling screenings, others banning “unaccompanied children” from the movie, which was made for children.

One chain in the U.K. banned anyone with “formal attire” from buying Minions tickets.

The Minions first appeared in the original Despicable Me, as the Oompa-Loompa-esque henchcreatures of Steve Carell’s Gru. They provded so popular that they got their own prequel in 2015. The sequel to that was originally supposed to be released in the summer of 2020, but instead of dumping it on a streamer, Universal waited things out, just as Paramount and Tom Cruise did with Top Gun 2.

(Via BBC)

Next year would’ve been the 15th anniversary of Kid Cudi’s debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. He released the project back in the summer of 2008 and it helped launch him into the rap spotlight thanks to its highlight track, “Day N Nite.” Last year, Kid Cudi announced that the project would be brought onto streaming platforms in the future, and at long last, we finally know when that will happen. In a tweet Cudi shared on Independence Day, he revealed that A Kid Named Cudi will land on streaming platforms in just a couple of weeks on July 15.

In a second tweet, Kid Cudi spoke about A Kid Named Cudi finally arriving on DSPs. “‘A Kid Named Cudi’ dropped July 17th 2008,” he wrote. “This official release is 2 days shy of the 14th anniversary. I am so damn excited u all get to enjoy it again, remastered, w all the jams that made people fans from jump. Also, did a new intro.” One fan asked if A Kid Named Cudi would be pressed on vinyl and Cudi happily replied, “Yes!”

In the initial tweet, Cudi also revealed that a project called The Boy Who Flew To The Moon Vol. 1 will be released on July 8. He added that the project’s artwork will arrive on Tuesday while its tracklist will be shared on Wednesday.

You can read Cudi’s tweets in the posts above.

Playboi Carti was performing at Wireless Festival this past weekend at London’s Crystal Palace Park. Check that, Playboi Carti was completely wrapped up in the moment during his performance at Wireless Fest on Sunday. So much so that when he was wildin’ out to his hit, “Sky,” he fell off the stage. And in what had the potential to be a disastrous situation, Carti averted any crisis by totally sticking the landing.

Wireless Festival is one of — if not the — premier hip-hop festivals in the UK. It’s where line-up chasers come to bask in the glory of it all. Carti (who says his next album will be called Music) wasn’t even the headliner this past weekend, with ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and Tyler The Creator staking a claim to the top of the bill. But that didn’t stop Playboi Carti from delivering the goods.

As he’s singing the chorus to “Sky,” he starts backpedaling towards the front of the catwalk while singing the chorus. But as he keeps hopping backwards, he fails to notice that he ran out of room and he hit the deck.

Miraculously, Carti took the spill seemingly unfazed and while he fell to the ground, he somehow managed to stay on his feet and pop back up to dap up the crowd with a huge smile on his face.

What can’t he do? Meanwhile, some clever internet person replayed the video in reverse. So instead of falling off, Carti is hopping back on. But it looks more like he’s levitating onto the stage, like some possessed warlock.

It’s Independence Day in America, but what is the nation celebrating? Abortion rights have been stricken away in several states, with more to follow. There’s a new rise in Republican homophobia. Books are being banned by conservatives. Mass shootings are the norm, including one in Highland Park, Illinois during a July 4 parade. And the Supreme Court is working to eradicate the line separating church and state. So on the big holiday this year, Padma Lakshmi decided to keep it real.

The Top Chef and Taste the Nation host took to Instagram to show off her latest culinary creation: a big white cake bearing the words “Separate Church & State.” This thought is illustrated by cleanly separated rows of fruit: cherries on top and blueberries on the bottom.

“Not much to celebrate this 4th, I’m afraid,” Lakshmi wrote in the caption. “Let’s just hope everyone can keep safe and peaceful today and that soon our nation veers away from this precipice. No matter what, we’ll keep fighting for the day where all humans have the same rights, at least of their own person and body, have privacy to make their own choices and to love whom they love and live in peace.”

It’s a somber way to ring in a more-somber-than-usual year. But better that than how former president Donald Trump is celebrating it.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Cardi B drop off a summer banger and Calvin Harris continuing to roll out his new project. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters. Also find our Uproxx HQ Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly with the best new music, at the end of this post.

Cardi B — “Hot Sh*t” Feat. Kanye West and Lil Durk

It has now been over four years since Cardi B released her first and only album, 2018’s Invasion Of Privacy, but with how well she’s managed to consistently keep herself in the pop culture conversation, it doesn’t feel like it. Part of that has been dropping new singles, which she did last week with “Hot Sh*t,” an in-your-face banger that sees big-time contributions from Kanye West and Lil Durk.

Calvin Harris and 21 Savage — “New Money”

Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 came out all the way back in the summer of 2017 and now Harris is finally following that up with a second volume. Per usual, the tracklist is star-studded and he showed off a bit of it last week with “New Money,” a groovy, relaxed, and summery tune on which 21 Savage’s chilled-out rap is a perfect complement to the aforementioned qualities.

Rina Sawayama — “Catch Me In The Air”

Rina Sawayama is a versatile force in pop, which she’s shown, as she has on many occasions, over the past couple weeks. Mid-June brought the pop banger “This Hell” while last week yielded “Catch Me In The Air,” a more ethereal and soaring tune that’s an appealing and delightful bit of pop rock.

City Girls — “Good Love” Feat. Usher

Usher’s had himself a bit of a moment towards the end of last week, first with a terrific (and widely meme’d) Tiny Desk Concert and then with a feature on City Girls’ “Good Love.” Usher provides the hook here, letting JT and Yung Miami crush the rest of the song with braggadocios bars.

Fred Again.. — “Jungle”

Fred has been previewing his latest song at festival sets before its release and indeed, “Jungle” sounds fitting for that environment, as it’s an exciting and anticipation-building number that takes its time teasing a bass-heavy drop made for throwing hands in the air. Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez describes the track as “a wild tune, rife with grimy dance breaks and infectious vocals by Elley Duhé.”

Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”

Steve Lacy has Gemini Rights coming out on the 15th and ahead of that, he offered “Bad Habit” last week, a new tune that further teases what’s shaping up to be a diverse and compelling album. Uproxx’s Adrian Spinelli calls the track a “sweet, groovy love song where Lacy ranges his voice a la Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes” on “the soul-bearing hook.”

Joey Badass — “Where I Belong”

Joey Badass has earned his spot among hip-hop’s favorites, a reality he solidifies on his latest, “Where I Belong.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the tune, “Joey takes a moment to reaffirm his position in hip-hop, a well-timed decision with his third album on the horizon. He takes a quick trip through time to account for and remind others of all that he’s accomplished.”

Momma — “Motorbike”

In a recent interview with Uproxx, the words Momma chose to describe their music were “loud, personal, shiny, bright,” and they noted of how they want their output to be remembered, “Just hooks that get stuck in your head forever. Clever songwriting and purposeful production.” Those interest and proclivities are super apparent on last week’s “Motorbike,” a nice mid-tempo rocker with just enough edge to it.

Earthgang and Smino — “Ambeyoncé”

Earthgang dropped Ghetto Gods towards the top of the year and in case you had forgotten, the duo just shared a deluxe edition of the album. One of the new tracks is “Ambeyoncé,” on which they and Smino make use of a subtle groove to show love to Beyoncé and even more to themselves, a confidence they’ve clearly earned.

Thundercat — “Fly Like An Eagle”

Minions: The Rise Of Gru is good, clean fun for anybody who’s into watching little yellow dudes say “banana” and other silly things for 90 minutes, but for some, the soundtrack may be a more appealing prospect. A bunch of artists covered ’70s classics for the album, including Thundercat, who put his funky, psychedelic twist on the enduring Steve Miller Band staple “Fly Like An Eagle.”

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

Today marks the country’s 246th year of independence and on this year’s Fourth Of July, people all over the country are finding different ways to spend their holiday. Some are gearing up to fire up the grill to make their assortment of hamburgers, hot dogs, and more while others might take a moment to check out their local parade. Others might prepare their collection of fireworks for a colorful show when the sun goes down. Speaking of fireworks, Katy Perry used a brief moment of her Independence Day to join a popular wave on Twitter but it didn’t really fair well with fans.

In a tweet, Katy Perry wrote, “‘Baby you’re a firework’ is a 10 but women in the US have fewer rights than an actual sparkler smh.” It’s clear that the singer used her 2010 hit “Firework” to make a point about the lack of women’s rights in the country, especially after the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade which guaranteed abortion rights for women all over the country. Despite that, the tweet sparked some boos from her fans as some were not a fan of the post in general while others took a second to point out that she endorsed Rick Caruso for mayor of Los Angeles despite his anti-abortion stance.

You can see Katy’s original post above and reactions from fans below.

https://twitter.com/notcoilerey/status/1544006936907206656?s=20&t=SIjTw3NkZJlnk-HX8VRRnA

Joey Chestnut’s 15th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest championship was not without some drama. While he cruised to a win by downing 63 dogs, well shy of his world record but still enough to cruise to a 20 hot dog victory over the competition, he was interrupted briefly by a animal rights protester, who learned what happens when you get between Jaws and his dogs.

A protester wearing a Darth Vader mask and carrying a “Expose Smithfield’s Deathstar” banner rushed the stage and made it all the way to Chestnut before jumping in front of the champ to deliver his message. The problem was, Chestnut is about that action and, despite being in a walking boot from a ruptured tendon, put the protester in a chokehold and threw them down, before getting right back to business and housing a couple more dogs.

The protester certainly got the publicity they wanted, but I’m not sure they were expecting to get wrassled to the ground by the champ in the process. Chestnut would rebound from that brief hiccup to dominate once again but this year’s feat might’ve been more impressive than his record-breaking performances, because none of those involved tackling someone mid-competition and then getting right back to it.

Since the beginning of last month, Red Hot Chili Peppers have been touring Europe with plans to bring their talents to North America later this month. It comes after the band released their 12th album Unlimited Love back in April. The project is a 17-track effort that’s their first full-length release since 2016’s The Getaway. Prior to releasing Unlimited Love, Red Hot Chili Peppers announced a worldwide tour that features a list of openers that include The Strokes, St. Vincent, ASAP Rocky, King Princess, Haim, Beck, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, and Thundercat.

Now, that list is a little bit longer as Post Malone will join Red Hot Chili Peppers for six shows in Australia and New Zealand. Posty and Red Hot Chili Peppers will make stops in Auckland, Dunedin, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth starting in late January and concluding in mid-February 2023. That tour will follow Post Malone’s own tour in support of his fourth album Twelve Carat Toothache. Roddy Ricch will join him across the tour’s 33 shows which kick off in September and continues through November.

You can check out the updated tour dates for Red Hot Chili Peppers below.

07/05/2022 — Cologne, Germany @ RheinEnergieStadium =
07/08/2022 — Paris, France @ Stade de France ~
07/12/2022 — Hamburg, Germany @ Volksparkstadion =
07/23/2022 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High *
07/27/2022 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park *
07/29/2022 — Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium +
07/31/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium +
08/03/2022 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park ^
08/06/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium ^^
08/10/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park ^
08/12/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium ^
08/14/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park ^
08/17/2022 — E. Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium ^
08/19/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field ^
08/21/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre ^
08/30/2022 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium ^
09/01/2022 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium ^
09/03/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park ^
09/08/2022 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park ^
09/10/2022 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park #
09/15/2022 — Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium ^
09/18/2022 — Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field ^
09/25/2022 — Louisville, KY @ Kentucky Exposition Center
10/07/2022 — Austin, TX @ Zilker Park
10/14/2022 — Austin, TX @ Zilker Park
01/21/2023 — Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium !
01/26/2023 — Dunedin, NZ @ Forsyth Barr Stadium !
01/29/2023 — Brisbane, AU @ Suncorp Stadium !
02/02/2023 — Sydney, AU @ Accor Stadium !
02/07/2023 — Melbourne, AU @ Marvel Stadium !
02/13/2023 — Perth, AU @ Optus Stadium !

= with ASAP Rocky and Thundercat
~ with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals and Thundercat
* with Haim and Thundercat
+ with Beck and Thundercat
^ with The Strokes and Thundercat
^^ with The Strokes and King Princess
# with St. Vincent and Thundercat
! with Post Malone

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

Some spend the Independence Day relaxing, going to gathering, maybe grilling some good old American beef. Not Donald Trump. The former president is the subject of an ongoing series of hearings that have uncovered yet more damning evidence about how he tried to overturn the 2020 election. So instead of trying to beat Joey Chestnut at hot dog eating or something, he’s railing against that.

Trump took to his rinky dink Twitter clone to rail once more against the “Unselect Committee,” his very witty name for the lawmakers uncovering his alleged crimes. He started with Liz Cheney, the extremely Republican daughter of one of the party’s most notorious leaders.

“Warmongering and despicable human being Liz Cheney, who is hated by the great people of Wyoming (down 35!), keeps saying, over and over again, that HER Fake Unselect Committee may recommend CRIMINAL CHARGES against a President of the United States who got more votes than any sitting President in history,” Trump wrote. “Even the Dems didn’t know what she was talking about! Why doesn’t she press charges instead against those that cheated on the Election, or those that didn’t properly protect the Capitol?…..”

He wasn’t done. (And Truth Social really needs a more narrow character limit.) “Why doesn’t the highly partisan Unselect Committee of political Thugs, the same people (all Trump haters & profiteers – books, speeches, etc.) that were involved with Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax # 2, the “No Collusion” Mueller Report and, overall, the GREATEST WITCH HUNT IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, go after the people who have been rioting, burning down cities, leading the massive crime wave, & killing many all over the U.S., including drug & human traffickers?” he railed. “No, let’s get “Trump”!

Trump almost forgot to wish everyone a happy Fourth, which he did but only after painting a bleak portrait of the country whose democracy he tried to subvert. “I know it’s not looking good for our Country right now, with a major War raging out of control in Europe, the Highest Inflation in memory, the worst 6 month Stock Market start in History, the highest Energy Prices EVER, and that is the Good News. Happy Fourth of July!!!” he wrote, adding, with multiple parentheses, for some reason, “((Don’t worry, We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and remember, none of these terrible events would have happened if I were President!!!))”

Anyway, hope you’re doing something more fun than all that.

(Via Raw Story)