Month: July 2022

Drakeo The Ruler might be gone, but his legacy lives on. While he wasn’t yet a household name when he died late last year, Drakeo’s impact has become more evident every day in the months since through the rappers he influenced and the music he left behind. A prolific artist who released music almost as quickly as he created it, Drakeo’s got enough banked verses to keep posthumous releases flowing for the foreseeable future.

One of those verses appears on “Heartless,” a song from fellow LA rapper Bino Rideaux‘s newly released mixtape, Sorry 4 Tha Wait II. A sequel to the original 2019 Sorry 4 Tha Wait tape, the follow-up came out today via Do What You Love Records and Def Jam. Bino certainly qualifies as one of the rappers who carries on Drakeo’s torch, embracing an independent, DIY ethos and blending old school and contemporary LA sounds in his music.

In addition to Drakeo, Bino’s new tape also includes appearances from more of the Los Angeles area’s main attractions, including rising Compton rapper Kalan.FrFr, Roddy Ricch, another Hub City native, and Ty Dolla Sign, the unofficial heir to Nate Dogg’s hook crooner crown. You can check out “Heartless” above, the full tape here, and the video for “If You Ever” below.

The Golden State Warriors lost one of the unsung heroes of their run to an NBA title in the early hours of Friday morning when it was announced that Gary Payton II is headed to the Portland Trail Blazers. Right around midday on Friday, it was reported that another important piece of the puzzle is leaving the team to pursue a new opportunity.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Otto Porter has made the decision to head back to the Eastern Conference, where he is slated to join the Toronto Raptors. Haynes reports that Porter will receive a 2-year deal from Toronto, the team in his wife’s hometown, that includes a player option on the second year.

A former third overall pick by the Washington Wizards, Porter has spent time the last few years with the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, and the Warriors. He carved out a nice role in San Francisco as someone who can hit shots, play pesky defense, and keep the ball moving in the team’s ultra-egalitarian offensive structure. He earned Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s trust in a big way, as he got inserted into the team’s starting lineup for the final three games of their NBA Finals campaign against the Boston Celtics.

Porter averaged 8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 46.4/37.0/80.3 shooting splits in 63 games with the Warriors last season.

Earlier this week, a rumor went viral that Elvis star Austin Butler punched Ezra Miller during a confrontation at a Tokyo bar. Turns out the whole thing never happened. According to now-deleted tweets from a pop culture publication, Miller had approached Butler after spotting him at the bar. The rumored encounter went south when Miller started shouting at Butler, which would be par for the course for The Flash actor who’s been the subject of numerous reports of erratic and allegedly violent behavior. However, this time, Miller is in the clear after TMZ did some digging and debunked the rumors:

Sources close to Austin tell TMZ the incident never happened, and Austin never even stepped foot in a pub during his time in Japan as the initial claims suggested.

Not to mention, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department tells TMZ they have no record of the incident.

Those rumors were quick to gain traction, in part due to Miller’s documented history of concerning behavior. On the same day the now-debunked Tokyo story went viral, Miller was the subject of a lengthy feature in Variety, which broke down the numerous allegations against the troubled star. For the first time, the young woman who Miller was captured on video choking and slamming into the ground in Iceland has shared her side of that encounter, and another woman in Germany has come forward with allegations of Miller terrorizing her after she asked the actor not to smoke in her apartment.

“I’m a maker of planets,” Miller allegedly told her. “Tobacco is sacred.”

(Via TMZ)

Back in mid-May, Denzel Curry stirred the pot by expressing his disappointment in Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and Kanye West’s Donda, tweeting, “Donda and CLB could’ve been better yall n****s rich and got the greatest musicians at your disposal.” Not only is Curry not backing down on that take, but in a new Spin interview, he actually doubled down by going into more detail about what he meant.

Citing Take Care and If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late as example of the sort of Drake level of quality he hopes for with a new album, Curry said:

“I was looking forward to Drake’s album, ’cause Drake always got something. But then, when you get them albums, you’re like, ‘What the f*ck are you doing?’ […] We don’t even really need to talk about Kanye West, it’s Kanye West. But for them to go out and go against each other and make that subpar work with the resources they have. These are the same producers it’s hard for me to reach out to because they don’t see the return. You’ve got all these resources and y’all made subpar albums. I had limited resources and I made a great one. That shouldn’t happen.”

Read the full feature here.

After releasing four albums in two years, indie royalty Sufjan Stevens said it was time for him to take a break. In 2020, he collaborated with Lowell Brams for Aporia and then released the solo effort The Ascension, and then last year he unveiled the solo album Convocations followed by his joint project with Angelo De Augustine called A Beginner’s Mind.

Now, Stevens (who turns 46 today, by the way) is finally back, this time with new versions of “Fourth Of July” from his sprawling 2015 opus Carrie & Lowell. The heartbreaking ballad has always been a fan favorite, and these renditions dig into the sadness and haunted texture, sounding more stripped-down than ever. The opening lyrics continue to be some of the most powerful first lines of a song: “The evil it spread like a fever ahead / It was night when you died, my firefly.”

Stevens’ label’s website Asthmatic Kitty offered an explanation for this generous release: “The song has recently had a resurgence with listeners — which may speak to a deep national grief and sense of loss. As we head into this Fourth of July weekend — a US holiday marked by war (and death) — let us reflect on what it means to live in fullness in the face of death.”

Listen to the April Base version above and the Dumbo version below.

You never know what’s going to happen on a cruise ship… but there’s a good chance it’s going to be bad. You might have to quarantine for two weeks after over 600 people tested positive for COVID; you might go through the middle of a hurricane; you might be surrounded by poop; or you might be involved in a multi-floor brawl at 2 a.m. with dozens of other passengers over an alleged threesome.

Fox News (finally, some good journalism from Fox News) reports that “an all-out brawl that broke out between dozens of passengers aboard the Carnival Magic cruise ship was sparked over allegations of cheating while on the trip.” An onlooker, Theresa James, claimed that the fight started in the wee small hours of the morning “on the ship’s fifth floor, where a dance club and casino are located. An alleged threesome between passengers had upset their significant others when they learned of the rendezvous.”

Beer bottles were smashed, and a woman may have been cut during the chaos… The brawl lasted about an hour, according to [James], and took the parties involved from the fifth floor to the ship’s first floor, which James described as a huge distance. She said the altercation wasn’t physical the whole time, and an estimated 60 people may have been involved.

“Ignorant fools acting stupid,” James added.

The New York City-bound ship was near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island) at the time of the brawl, but “it is so far unclear if the incident took place within International Waters or will fall within New Jersey jurisdiction or NYPD purview,” according to People. Yes, there’s video:

No charges have been filed yet.

(Via Fox News)

The Brooklyn Nets are going to look quite different next year. Two major reasons for this are the impending departures of Kevin Durant, who requested a trade, and Kyrie Irving, who reportedly is not long for the team either in light of Durant’s decision. On Friday morning, we learned of another stalwart from the last few seasons who is likewise on his way out of town.

According to Malika Andrews of ESPN, Bruce Brown is switching conferences. Brown is headed to Denver, where he will join the Nuggets on a 2-year deal that will pay him in excess of $13 million.

A former second round draft pick for the Detroit Pistons, Brown should bring some defensive tenacity on the perimeter for a Nuggets team that is gearing up to make a run for a championship next year due to the impending returns from injury of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. While it is unclear how the team’s starting lineup will shake out, Brown is a snug fit alongside those two and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and if he continues to shoot the ball as well as he did last season, putting him on the floor with Aaron Gordon should not be an issue.

Brown has turned into a reliable two-way option for the Nets over the course of his career, and the 2021-22 campaign was the best of his career up to this point. Brown appeared in 72 games and had a role in the starting lineup in 45 of them, and averaged nine points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 24.6 minutes per game. He shot 50.6 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three.

The New York Knicks made a splash in the center market on the first day of free agency when the team convinced Isaiah Hartenstein to make the trip from coast to coast and leave the Los Angeles Clippers. In the immediate aftermath, questions popped up about what this meant for the future of Mitchell Robinson, as the rim protecting center was on the unrestricted free agent market.

As it turns out, it doesn’t mean much of anything, as Robinson will return to the only city he’s called home during his NBA career. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Robinson and the Knicks came to terms on a 4-year contract extension that will pay him $60 million over the life of the deal.

A former second-round draft pick, Robinson has turned into an important piece of the puzzle for Tom Thibodeau. He’s carved out a role as the team’s starting center over each of the last few years, and when he has been able to play — something he did more than ever before during the 2021-22 campaign — Robinson is among the best shot blockers in the NBA.

Robinson averaged 8.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Knicks on 76.1 percent shooting (48.6 percent from the line) in 72 games in 2021-22.

Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in July. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.

Friday, July 1

• Alex Crispin — Alex Crispin (Cobblers)
• Carlos Truly — Not Mine (Bayonet Records)
• Chief State — Waiting For Your Colours (Mutant League Record)
• The Deer Hunter — Antimai (Triple Crown Records)
• Fresh — Raise Hell (Get Better Records)
• GoGo Penguin — Between Two Waves EP (XXIM Records)
• Guided By Voices — Tremblers And Goggles By Rank (Rockathon Records)
• Gwenno — Tresor (Heavenly)
• Imagine Dragons — Mercury — Acts 1 & 2 (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records)
• Lotic — Sparkling Water EP (Houndstooth)
• Medicine Singers — Medicine Singers (Joyful Noise Recordings)
• Mice Parade — Lapapọ (Bubble Core Records)
• Momma — Household Name (Polyvinyl Record Co.)
• Moor Mother — Jazz Codes (ANTI-)
• Naima Bock — Giant Palm (Sub Pop)
• Naomi Alligator — Double Knot (Carpark Records)
• Neighbor Lady — For The Birds (Park The Van)
• Nonconnah — Don’t Go Down To Lonesome Holler (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)
• Paolo Nutini — Last Night In The Bittersweet (Atlantic Records)
• Randy Holden — Population III (RidingEasy Records)
• Tedeschi Trucks Band — I Am The Moon: II. Ascension (Fantasy Records)
• Various Artists — Minions: The Rise Of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Decca Records)

Friday, July 8

• Aespa — The 2nd Mini Album EP (Warner Records)
• AJ Lambert — Dirt Soda (Dead Oceans)
• Alice Cohen — Moonrising (Styles Upon Styles)
• Apollo Brown — This Must Be the Place (Mello Music Group)
• D’Arcangelo — Arium (A Colourful Storm)
• Delicate Steve — After Hours (ANTI‐)
• The Faim — Talk Talk (BMG)
• James Bay — Leap (Republic Records)
• James Righton — Jim, I’m Still Here (DEEWEE)
• Journey — Freedom (Bertelsmann Music Group)
• Katy J Pearson — Sound of the Morning (Heavenly Recordings)
• Laura Veirs — Found Light (Raven Marching Band Records)
• Metric — Formentera (Metric Music International)
• Miki Ratsula — made for them EP (Nettwerk)
• Mush — Down Tools (Memphis Industries)
• Neil Young — Toast (Reprise)
• NoSo — Stay Proud Of Me (Partisan Records)
• Party Dozen — The Real Work (Temporary Residence Limited)
• Renforshort — Dear Amelia (Interscope)
• Richie Furay — In The Country (Renew Records/BMG)
• Spiral Stairs — Medley Attack!! (Amazing Grease)
• Sydney Rose — You Never Met Me EP (Public Consumption)
• Vancouver Sleep Clinic — Fallen Paradise (Believe)
• Viagra Boys — Cave World (Year0001)
• Wet — Pink Room EP (Secretly Canadian)

Friday, July 15

• …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead — XI: Bleed Here Now (Dine Alone Records)
• The A’s — Fruit (Psychic Hotline)
• Alan Parsons — From The New World (Frontiers Music Srl)
• Alex Dupree — Thieves (Keeled Scales)
• Alexander 23 — Aftershock (Interscope Records)
• Arlo McKinley — This Mess We’re In (Oh Boy Records)
• Arroyo Low — 2020 (Bodan Kuma)
• Arp — New Pleasures (Mexican Summer)
• The Ballroom Thieves — Clouds (Nettwerk Records)
• Beabadoobee — Beatopia (Dirty Hit)
• Ben Shemie and the Molinari String Quartet — Desiderata (Joyful Noise/Backward Music)
• Chicago — Born For This Moment (BMG)
• Christina Perri — A Lighter Shade Of Blue (New Elektra)
• Elf Power — Artificial Countrysides (Yep Roc Records)
• Gabríel Ólaf — Solon Islandus (Decca Records)
• God Is An Astronaut — The Beginning Of The End (Revive Records)
• Gordi — Inhuman EP (Jagjaguwar)
• Interpol — The Other Side of Make-Believe (Matador)
• J-Hope — Jack In The Box (Big Hit Music)
• JayWood — Slingshot (Captured Tracks)
• Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp — 18 (Deuce Music)
• Jonah Tolchin — Lava Lamp (Yep Roc Records)
• Josiah — We Lay On Cold Stone (Blues Funeral Recordings)
• Katalyst, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad — Katalyst JID013 (Jazz Is Dead)
• Launder — Happening (Ghostly International)
• Lera Lynn — Something More Than Love (Ruby Range Records)
• Lizzo — Special (Atlantic Records)
• Lil Silva — Yesterday Is Heavy (Nowhere Music Ltd)
• Mabel — About Last Night… (Polydor Records)
• Noah Cyrus — The Hardest Part (Columbia Records)
• Rachel Bobbitt — The Ceiling Could Collapse EP (Fantasy Records)
• Ronnie Foster — Reboot (Blue Note Records)
• Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights (RCA)
• Superorganism — World Wide Pop (Domino)
• Third Eye Blind — A Collection (Elektra Records)
• Travie McCoy — Never Slept Better (Hopeless Records)
• Ty Herndon — Jacob (Pivotal Records)
• Wil Carlisle — Peculiar, Missouri (Free Dirt Records)
• Wylderness — Big Plans For A Blue World (Succulent Recordings)

Friday, July 22

• Alex The Astronaut — How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater (Nettwerk Music Group)
• Anthony Green — Boom (Born Losers Records)
• Beach Bunny — Emotional Creature (Mom + Pop)
• Ben Harper — Bloodline Maintenance (Chrysalis Records)
• Chineke Orchestra — Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra (Island Records/UMe)
• Cuco — Fantasy Gateway (Interscope)
• Francisco Martin — Manic EP (19 Recordings)
• The Heavy Heavy — Life and Life Only EP (ATO Records)
• Jack White — Entering Heaven Alive (Third Man Records)
• Joe Pug — Nation of Heat | Revisited (Nation of Heat Records)
• John Moreland — Birds In The Ceiling (Old Omens)
• Nebula — Transmissions from Mothership Earth (Heavy Psych Sounds)
• Nicolle Galyon — firstborn (Songs & Daughters)
• Nina Nastasia — Riderless Horse (Temporary Residence Limited)
• Odesza — The Last Goodbye (Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune)
• Oh Wonder — 22 Make (Island Records)
• Peach Fuzz — Can Mary Dood the Moon? EP (Psychic Hotline)
• Pool Kids — Pool Kids (Skeletal Lightning)
• RZA — RZA Presents: Bobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes (Z2 Comics)
• The Sadies — Colder Streams (Yep Roc Records)
• Sam Prekop and John McEntire — Sons Of (Thrill Jockey Records)
• Sean Nicholas Savage — Shine (Arbutus)
• She & Him — Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson (Fantasy Records)
• Spacemoth — No Past No Future (Wax Nine)
• Sports Team — Gulp! (Island Records)
• Thor Harris — Doom Dub II (Joyful Noise Recordings)
• Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs — When the Lights Go (Nice Age)
• Traams — Personal Best (FatCat Records)
• Ty Segall — Hello, Hi (Drag City)
• ZZ Top — Raw (BMG Rights Management)

Friday, July 29

• Amanda Shires — Take It Like a Man (ATO Records)
• Andrew Tuttle — Fleeting Adventure (Mistletone Records)
• Beach Rats — Rat Beat (Epitaph Records)
• Dance Gavin Dance — Jackpot Juicer (Rise Records)
• DC Gore — All These Things (Domino)
• Death Bells — Between Here & Everywhere (Dais Records)
• Deaton Chris Anthony — Sid The Kid (Dirty Hit)
• Friendship — Love The Stranger (Merge Records)
• Hayley Kiyoko — Panorama (Atlantic Records)
• Jemima Coulter — Grace After A Party (Hand In Hive)
• Josh Rouse — Going Places (Yep Roc Records)
• Joyce Manor — At Some Point You Stop (Epitaph)
• King Princess — Hold On Baby (Zelig Records/Columbia Records)
• Lava La Rue — Hi-Fidelity EP (Marathon Artists)
• The Lord — Forest Nocturne ((RED) Southern Lord)
• Maggie Rogers — Surrender (Capitol Records)
• Matt Nathanson — Boston Accent (acrobat)
• Of Montreal — Freewave Lucifer fck (Polyvinyl Record Co.)
• Nav — Demons Protected By Angels (XO Records)
• Patrick Holland — You’re The Boss (Sinderlyn)
• Phony — At Some Point You Stop (Phony Industries)
• Sam Prekop and John McEntire — Sons Of (Thrill Jockey Records)
• Stick to Your Guns — Spectre (Pure Noise Records)
• Suicideboys — Sing Me A Lullaby My Sweet Temptation (G*59 Records)
• Tallies — Patina (Kanine Records)
• Tedeschi Trucks Band — I Am The Moon: III. The Fall ( Fantasy Records)
• Whiskey Myers — Tornillo (Wiggy Thump Records)
• Wilder Maker — Male Models (Western Vinyl)
• Wombo — Fairy Rust (Fire Talk)

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

Keanu Reeves is a certified mensch. He acts respectful around his fans; he supports Tibet; and he gives up his seat on the subway. Even grandmas love him. So do his co-workers, including singer Rina Sawayama, who joined the cast of John Wick: Chapter 4.

Sawayama told Metro what it’s like to work with Reeves. “The process of getting into character was awesome though and having someone like Keanu really on your side, looking after you and making sure you’re alright felt great,” she said. “Keanu just has such an ordinariness about him – he’s really down to earth, he’s someone who is so chilled and lovely – just great to hang out with like he’s a family member.”

The “Catch Me in the Air” singer described Reeves as having a “great presence” and recalled a story about training with him. “My favorite memory is looking over to him while we were both training in the same gym and being like, ‘F*ck!’ That was one of my faves – [training] was just so brutal! I loved sharing that moment with him. We were both like, ‘This is horrible.’ But I can’t compare to what he’s done. He’s in the whole movie and I am in a portion of the movie. I don’t know how he does it. He does all his own stunts!”

John Wick: Chapter 4 comes out on March 24, 2023.

(Via Metro)