Month: September 2022

Kid Cudi has a lot on his plate, from the forthcoming release of his album Entergalactic to his animated Netflix series and film X. So it made sense when, in a new interview, he opened up about planning to take a step back from his music as Kid Cudi to work on other material.

“I think I’m going to take a step back from the Kid Cudi stuff and focus a lot more on developing my own things,” he told Popsugar. “Writing — whether it’s movies or TV shows — producing things, putting stuff together. Just really getting my production company [Mad Solar] up to a place where, in the next three or four years, we’re a household name. I really have goals. We’re off to a great start with the documentary, X, Pearl, and now, Entergalactic. I mean, we have four bangers so far, so I just want to see what else we can do and keep going.”

He clarified, “I guess this is the producer Cud era; the writer Cud era. I’ve been a writer for all these years with the music, a storyteller in a lot of ways, but this is just different.” He continued, “I want to keep doing the same thing I’m doing with the music — where I’m inspiring kids and making them not feel alone, not feel so f*cking crazy when they’re dealing with their sh*t. It’s the same thing, just done in a different format.”

Disney has long milked its vast army of characters for all their worth, but there’s one they’ve barely done anything with since his creation almost 40 years ago: Figment. He’s the friendly, inquisitive, big-eyed, purple animatronic dragon who can still be seen lurking in what is now called the “Imagination!” pavilion at EPOCT Center in Walt Disney World. (That’s the one that’s a pyramid of glass.) He’s really cute. And yet Disney has never given him his own TV show, put him in a movie, or done anything with him outside of EPOCT apart from a couple handfuls of educational short and cameos in Inside Out and Toy Story 4. Well, that snub ends now (or soon).

As per Deadline, Figment is finally getting his own movie, thanks to Seth Rogen’s production company Point Grey, with Pokémon Detective Pikachu writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit handling the script. No other details — is it animated? a hybrid? will Figgie get a human companion or is he flying solo? — are currently known, but the project joins all the many other ones announced earlier this month at the D23 Expo.

Figment bowed in 1983, and in his debut dark ride, called “Journey into Imagination,” he joined a wizard-scientist on a journey into limits (or lack thereof) of the mind. The ride has been revamped multiple times, and since 1999 has featured him bopping around with Eric Idle as a scientist. Figment’s name, of course, refers to the phrase “figments of one’s imagination,” a name that reportedly came to creator Tony Baxter while watching an episode of Magnum, P.I. Anyway, welcome to the big screen, Figment.

(Via Deadline)

Whoever had the idea to get Snoop Dogg on Wheel Of Fortune should get a raise. The rapper made a lot of viewers laugh with his appearance on the show, where his wrong guesses were almost impressive because of their ridiculousness.

When the board only showed a few letters, he guessed: “Baking onions.” The right answer was actually “Baking brownies.” “Martha’s gonna be upset,” joked the host. Another guess he made was “Airport teacher” instead of “Acting teacher.” An even more baffling guess was “Swallowing the knot” instead of “Sweetening the pot.” Somehow they became weirder as he went on. However, he finally had his moment of redemption with “Sun’s out bun’s out.”

A few days ago, Snoop, who has established himself as an ambitious entrepreneur, revealed a new line-up of products in his Broadus Foods collection. In a video shared to Instagram, Snoop revealed Momma Snoop Breakfast Foods, featuring instant grits, oatmeal, maple syrup, and pancake mix. “There was a void for our culture when they took ‘Aunt Jemima’ off the shelves,” said Snoop in the post’s caption. “We’re replacing it with ‘Momma Snoop’ pancake mix, syrup, grits and oatmeal adding diversity into the grocery stores industry and creating opportunities for minority-owned food products and brands.”

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

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. Yesterday while building out this week’s roundup we had a list that looked very different. Then without warning, Nike and Adidas decided to push a lot of their best releases of the week back, so while this list is still packing eight dope drops, a few of them are repeat re-releases. Overall it’s a pretty slow week — with Nike massively dominating — but as slow as it is we’re still getting three different Air Jordan drops, which would certainly be a big event any other week.

It’s also a strong week for Women’s sizes, with half of the releases dropping as either women’s size exclusives or full-size runs. We love to see that type of gender balance in streetwear! Highlights of the week include the Dunk High ’85s, the Black and Dark Powder Blue low-top Jordans, and the Tom Sach’s designed General Purpose shoe out of NikeCraft. Let’s dive into this week’s best sneakers!

Women’s Dunk High 1985 Barely Rose/Arctic Orange

Vintage sneaker fans will find a lot to love in this retro high-top Dunk. Featuring the classic ’85 silhouette, this sneaker features a rugged unwashed denim upper with raw edge detailing, an eye-catching contrasting stitching, and sits atop an aged midsole for that vintage look.

The sneaker, which is a women’s size exclusive, drops in two beautiful colorways with Barley Rose or Arctic Orange paneling over the white denim upper.

The Women’s Dunk High 1985 Barely Rose/ Active Orange is out now for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Jordan I Low Black and Dark Powder Blue

It’s not the Travis Scott Jordan I but it sure does look like one! At the end of the day this is still a Jordan I, so Travis Scott aside, it’s going to be dope and you can even make a case that this is better than the Cactus Jack sneaker it resembles.

Especially if you’re not a fan of Travis’ large backward swoosh and branding. Nike knows this is going to be a big release, so they’ve dropped it in a full-size run and luckily for all of us, they’re priced the same!

The Air Jordan I Low Black and Dark Powder Blue is set to drop on September 28th at 7:00 AM PST in Men’s and Women’s sizing for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe Archive

We covered Tom Sach’s General Purpose Shoe during its initial drop and we’re covering it again because we love the concept. This is a Nike collaboration that is build to last, features a great design, and somehow manages to still be affordable at just over $100, where it could’ve easily asked for double that.

We need more collaborations like this, so props to Tom Sachs for making it happen.

The NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe Archive is set to drop on September 29th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $109.99. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT.

Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Flax

Ye might be embroiled in some drama with Adidas and Gap but Yeezy Brand is still dropping dope colorways of their core designs at a steady clip. We’ve seen the Flax colorway before on other Yeezy models, namely the Foam RNNR and Yeezy Slide, but now the earthy and minimal colorways is coming to the 350 V2.

Featuring a monochromatic design over a Primeknit upper, the 350 V2 Flax harkens back to the early era of Yeezys when Ye was obsessed with drab colorways that resemble different shades of throw-up. For many a Yeezy fan, that’s what we want, as disgusting as it sounds.

For the best fit, order 1/2 size up on this one.

The Adidas Yeezy BOOST 350 V2 Flax is set to drop on September 30th at 8:00 AM PST for a retail price of $230. Pick up a pair via the Adidas Confirmed app or Yeezy Supply.

PALACE x New Balance 580

Yes, we covered this drop last week when it was still a Palace exclusive, but it’s a slow week and this is a dope sneaker, so we’re hitting it again before its official New Balance drop this Friday. This collaboration revitalizes the forgotten 580 silhouette which was a favorite in the Japanese streetwear scene in the late 90s and updates it with two vibrant colorways.

The sneaker features a hairy suede upper with a speckled midsole, debased foxing, and a hidden stash pocket behind the woven tongue. It’s a Palace collaboration, so there has got to be a stash pocket!

The PALACE x New Balance 580 Shaded Spruce and Gargoyle are set to drop on September 30th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $159.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.

Nike Women’s Air Jordan XII Hyper Royal

We called it a few months back, Nike is focusing in on the double digit Jordans and we’re here for it. This week the Jordan XII is getting a Hyper Royal colorway in women’s sizing. The Hyper Royal features a lizard-skin textured premium leather upper with a blue and black color scheme and a swirling psychedelic print job underfoot and on the insoles.

The Nike Women’s Air Jordan XII Hyper Royal is set to drop on October 1st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan IV Black and Light Steel

As cool as the double digit Jordans are, let’s face it, the best stuff will always be I-VI, so while we’re hyped for the Hyper Royal, we’re even more psyched for this Black and Light Steel iteration of the Jordan 4.

Featuring a stealthy design with steel accents and crimson red branding, the Black and Light Steel features a suede and textile upper atop a steel and white midsole with matching Jumpman logos on the heel and tongue. At the end of the day it’s just a black Jordan 4, but it looks undeniably fresh, so if you’re lucky enough to cop this release this week, it’ll be the highlight of your wardrobe no question.

The Nike Air Jordan IV Black and Light Steel is set to drop on October 1st at 7:00 AM for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

LeBron XX Time Machine

I’m not a big enough fan of LeBron’s signature Nikes to know exactly how the Time Machine works as a celebration of LeBron’s career, aside from recognizing some of the colors used here like the green and pink from the LeBron South Beach, but that’s the concept behind this shoe so I’m assuming LeBron fans are geeking out over it.

History aside, it’s a dope design, with a low-top silhouette and some plush cushioning for a functional and stylish pair of kicks that works on the court as well as it does on the streets. My favorite details include the woven upper and the swirling detail on the pink midsole.

The LeBron XX Time Machine I set to drop on September 29th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Believe it or not, there’s yet another new book about Donald Trump, a former president we’ll probably be talking about for a bit longer. This one’s called Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. Considering Trump reportedly dubbed her his “psychiatrist,” it’s got quite a bit of new dirt, including that he bragged about not using the same toilet as Barack Obama and that he nearly fired Jared and Ivanka via a tweet.

Haberman also got glimpses into his views on the LGBTQIA+ community. As one can imagine, they’re not great. According to an excerpt obtained by The Daily Beast, famously boorish 45th president had a long history of homophobic behavior. In the early ‘80s, when the AIDS epidemic broke, he would phone reporters to see if people he’d shaken hands with were gay. Men he perceived as weak were called “queer” or “faggot,” if not to his faces. Instead, he would do his bullying safely behind closed doors. He would also brag that he paid an executive he believed to be “queer” less than others.

Trump, who has always tried to present himself as hyper-masculine (with mixed results), was also obsessed with the sexuality of those in his orbit. During a meeting with Mike Pence and former staffer Jason Miller, he said of the latter, “You know how sometimes someone turns out to be gay later and you knew? This guy, he isn’t even like one percent gay.”

And then there’s his response to trans people. Trump was not exactly delicate when discussing this sensitive issue, including when then-adviser Reince Priebus was discussing same-sex bathrooms. In a scenario, Preibus pretended to be a female trans student who wanted to use the girl’s bathroom:

Without missing a beat, Trump said he had a question.

“Cocked or decocked?” Trump asked.

Offering up a “blank stare,” the group was taken aback.

“Decocked?” an unspecified individual in the room responded.

Trump then began making “a chopping gesture.” “With cock or without cock?” he said.

When shocked advisers asked him what difference that makes, Trump shot back, ““What if a girl was in the bathroom and someone came in, lifted up a skirt, and a schlong was hanging out?”

In the meantime, Trump remains the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, which he might have to do from jail.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, arriving as a Category 4 storm. Footage of winds that have reached up to at least 145 mph and city streets under water have been horrifying. Though the state’s southeastern coast was not in the storm’s path, it did produce heavy rainfall all over, including in Jupiter, where Lara and Eric Trump live. Like many, Lara posted a video of the storm. But hers was a little different than most.

As caught by The Daily Beast, the former president’s daughter-in-law shared a brief video of her young son Eric Luke driving through heavy rain in a children’s construction vehicle. Soaked to the bone, he’s seen trying to shield his eyes from the aggressive downpour, all while his mother urges him to keep going.

“Thought we had a clear window, turns out we did some character building instead,” Lara wrote in the caption.

Lara clearly thought the ordeal was funny. Others did not, seeing it as yet another case of the Trump family being sadistic weirdos.

There was also some gallows humor.

Hurricane Ian was expected to depart Florida some time after 5pm. Throughout the nightmarish ordeal, there have been moments of much-needed oddball levity, such as a meteorologist accidentally drawing what looked like a meat and two veg on a map and, of course, the requisite appearance of weather reporter/hurricane enthusiast Jim Cantore.

(Via The Daily Beast)

A few weeks back, super producer Just Blaze was featured on Peoples Party with Talib Kweli. The interview offered an amazing look into the making of some of the great records in the history of hip-hop.

In the high-powered clip above, Kweli noted when it comes to Pete Rock, MCs like Mecca and the Soul Brother but producers prefer The Main Ingredient. Just Blaze said while at Rutgers University he came across the latter album late, through a friend that worked at a local record store.

“It quite literally, as a young producer changed my life probably more so than any other body of work from that era.”

Pete Rock’s production dominated and redefined the sound of the 1990s on the East coast, moving away from the classic breakbeat sound that opened the door for a lot of early rap music. Rock infused innovative jazz and rare soul loops that arguably altered the DNA of what most of the world knew as hip-hop. During that time, if you didn’t have at least a remixed single by Pete Rock, you couldn’t be considered hot.

“I loved the fact that you had these hard, technically advanced beats, but he was in a whole different pocket than what you would expect,” Just says about Rock. “To me, that’s one of the things that made it beautiful.”

Listen to deeper insights from Just Blaze on People’s Party with Talib Kweli and co-host Jasmin Leigh. And watch the first episode of Just Blaze’s new Uproxx show, Fresh Pair, with sneaker customizer Katty Customs, below:

Way, way back in the 1980s, Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America, and (surprise!) not everyone was thrilled about it. Williams faced a wave of racist, anti-woman nonsense that culminated in her being blamed for Penthouse publishing nude photos of her without her permission. This double violation saw her crown stripped from her after her body was exploited, and the whole ordeal will be told as a limited series for Sony TV. Fortunately, Williams is involved alongside executive producer Neil Meron (Chicago, Hairspray).

“This project is incredibly personal to me,” Williams told Deadline. “There are so many inaccurate and untrue accounts of the events surrounding this period in my life, and as a mother, and as a Black woman, it is important to me that my truth be told and be documented from my perspective. This is not just a story about racy photos, it is about misogyny and racism and I want to shine a light on that for future generations. I was not only able to survive what could have been a career-ending scandal, but rose above it and have achieved a body of work I am extremely proud of.”

The project comes only a few years after the Miss America Pageant publicly apologized to Williams, and amid a wave of series like Pam & Tommy and Mike which re-examine and/or recontextualize public figures from the 1980s and 1990s. The good news here is that, finally, Williams will be in charge of her own story.

(via Deadline)

The last time we got an album from The Big Pink, it was 2012 — and the world looked very different. iPhones had home buttons, “Gangnam Style” flash mobs were all the rage, and TikTok was a song by Kesha, not a $200 billion app. But now, a decade later, The Big Pink are back and they’re armed with a new collection of songs and a renewed purpose.

“We were trying to get the songs written as quickly as possible and we neglected the essence of The Big Pink in the process,” the band’s vocalist Robbie Furze says about their 2012 album Future This. The seemingly endless cycle of touring and recording had killed their passion for music and the band decided to take an indefinite hiatus. But then, an opportunity to open for Wolf Alice in 2018 reignited the Furze’s creativity. “[Touring] gives you a tangible feeling on what it means to be a musician,” he says.

Now, they’re gearing up to drop a whole new batch of dreamy and galvanizing music with their third album The Love That’s Ours, which drops Friday. The music is a result of restored sense of identity that came from a decade of life, love, and asking the big questions. Songs like the wistful single “Rage,” speak to taking back your own power, while others like the piano-led “Safe And Sound” cope with loss. The Love That’s Ours also includes collaborations by Furze’s friends and fellow musicians like The Kills’ Jamie Hince and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner.

Celebrating the upcoming release of The Love That’s Ours, The Big Pink’s bassist Charlie Barker talks to Uproxx about The White Stripes, Hello Kitty, and doing the splits in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music

Real loud hot vibes.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Essential.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Rio de Janeiro.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

There are many people, Patti Smith is one of them. I love her relationship with words.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

In Mexico City, a seafood restaurant called Mariscos Mi Compa Chava.

What album do you know every word to?

The White Stripes’ Elephant.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

The Cure at Leeds in 2012.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

I normally wear baggy clothes but tight-fitted clothes look way better on stage

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

I don’t use Twitter, I like following artists: @guild_of_calamity @blitzcadet @mabgraves.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

“Nightcall” by Kavinsky.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“80s popcorn song.”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Morphine’s Cure For Pain.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

My own bed.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I have hello kitty tattooed on my palm. It’s the only thing I believe in.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Eminem.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Sh*t, I’ve had a ton of really nice things done for me. My girlfriend had a ring made for me with both our birthstone gems in it. My best friend stitched words on to some clothes for me. My friends produced my EP for me.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Look inwards.

What’s the last show you went to?

There was a guy playing covers in the pub the other night in Padstow. It was great fun.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Cat In The Hat.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

I can do the splits.

The Love That’s Ours is out 9/30 via Project Melody Music. Pre-order it here.

Parenting isn’t always easy. I don’t think there’s a single person on this planet that would proclaim it’s easy to parent a child and to parent that child well. But there’s an additional layer to trying to be a good parent when you’re also struggling with addiction. Hayden Panettiere knows that struggle all too well and recently went on Red Table Talk to discuss her life and the difficult decision she had to make when it came to parenting her daughter.

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Panettiere has a 7-year-old daughter that she shares with her ex-husband Wladimir Klitschko, a world heavyweight boxing champion from Ukraine. When discussing her daughter on Red Table Talk she revealed that she signed over full custody to her ex-husband while she was struggling with her sobriety. While Panettiere feels she had little choice at the time due to how it was presented, she also explained her decision wouldn’t have changed because it was best for her daughter at the time.

Panettiere isn’t the first person to have to make a decision around caring for her child and caring for herself, it’s a common thing that many parents struggle with. You don’t have to be a parent in recovery to have an idea of how difficult that decision is for someone. A common theme in mom groups online is the guilt that comes with taking time to care for yourself so you can properly care for your children, so having to make a decision like that on a larger scale is heartbreaking.

Addiction in America is a real problem, whether it be something harder like methamphetamine and opioids, or something that seems innocuous like “mommy wine culture.” It’s an issue that hundreds of thousands of people face a day, and sometimes it results in people giving up their children by choice or by force. No matter which way a parent comes to be without their child, it’s difficult, so Panettiere sharing her story so publicly can only help others who are struggling with the decision.

Admitting that you’re not in the place to take care of your child is powerful because you’re saying “I love my child enough to not intentionally or unintentionally cause them harm due to my addiction. I love them enough to care for myself so I can show up how they need me.” There’s strength in that decision and if we as society can talk about that more, it could be life-changing for those struggling with addiction.

Panettiere pointed how publications would make it seem that she simply gave her child away as if there wasn’t deep thought and heartbreak in the decision. But there shouldn’t be stigma attached to a mother doing what’s best for her child, even though there is, and with the stigma comes guilt. No parent should feel guilty for taking care of themselves, even if it means they have to step back from being an active parent.

No matter if you’re a celebrity or a suburban parent that has difficulty maintaining sobriety, a healthy parent who visits when they can is better than one that lost the battle of addiction. Everyone wants to root for people to get sober, but we also have to stand behind them when they make the difficult decision to step away from parenting to put all of their focus on healing. Respecting the entire process may save lives and end stigmas.