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Pink Sweat$ And Tori Kelly Celebrate Love In Their New Video For ‘Real Thing’

In the latest video from Pink Sweat$‘ EP Pink Moon, the Philly native dreams of the joys of marriage. In a pastel-colored room on a film set, Sweat$ is joined by singer Tori Kelly, as they croon over the loves of their lives. Clips of Sweat$ and his fiancée are juxtaposed with Sweat$ and Kelly dueting.

“I want couples around the world to champion marriage,” Sweat$ said of the video in a statement. “At the same time, if you haven’t experienced love yet, stay hopeful for it. I’m in the process of getting married this year, and Tori is already married. It was organic because we’re both in a similar space in our lives. We just captured the energy and released it through a song.”

Ahead of the release of Pink Moon, we spoke to Sweat$ last month about the EP, and he revealed “Real Thing” was the first song he wrote. He also shared the secrets to creating a streaming hit.

“If you want a playful hit it usually can be tied to some sort of a movement, whether it’s a dance or some form of moving of the body that people can feel,” Sweat$ said. “And if you want more of a singer-songwriter hit, I think it’s just about the story and the storytelling ability because we all got a story, right? The way you articulate that story through a song, the effectiveness of it, that’s how you get ahead.”

Watch “Real Thing” above.

Pink Sweat$ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Many Russian Tourists Are Stranded Abroad With Their Credit Cards Shut Off And Flights Cancelled Due To Sanctions

As the rest of the world watches as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, also watching are thousands of Russian citizens who were traveling abroad when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and are now stranded in far-flung locations as sanctions kick in.

In Thailand alone, Reuters reports, more than 7,000 Russians are stuck in transit without any firm answers to their questions about how and when they can return home. And cancelled flights aren’t their only problems; Russian banks have been removed from the global SWIFT payment system, leaving these tourists with credit cards that don’t work. And even if they do have access to their accounts, the currency roller coaster is impacting just how much money they do have.

Fortunately, some tourists are finding help where it matters most. “We have to be good hosts and take care of everybody,” Tourism Authority of Thailand head Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. Other travelers have gotten more creative.

On Sunday, according to France24, 927 Russian tourists boarded chartered flights from Varadero, Cuba, a resort town approximately two hours east of Havana. Another 940 travelers, some of whom had been in the Dominican Republic, were set to leave Varadero on Monday. At the moment, there are approximately 15,000 Russian and 2,000 Ukrainian tourists visiting DR—some of whom seem to be taking the whole thing in stride.

France24 spoke with one Russian tourist, 48-year-old Alexei Nekrashevich, whose main complaint seemed to be that “It’s unfortunate that we had to fly a little early and that we didn’t get enough rest.”

(Via Reuters)

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The Young Dolph Memorial In Memphis Is Being Removed By The Owner Of The Former Makeda’s Building

Ever since Young Dolph was shot to death at Makeda’s bakery in his native Memphis, the site has become the location of a memorial dedicated to his memory. The wall — which Dolph’s protege Key Glock featured in his “Proud” video — of the former bakery has been plastered with messages, flower bouquets, and teddy bears as well-wishers have come to pay respects to the hometown hero. However, that may soon change, according to a report from ABC Memphis, after the owner of Makeda’s decided not to re-open out of safety concerns.

Now, the owner of the building that once housed the bakery is ready to begin leasing the space again and wants the memorial taken down so they can do so. A community activist quoted in the story, Frank Gotti, expressed his understanding, but the report notes that others are not pleased. “I understand you have to lease it out and run a business,” Gotti said. “It’s his building and nobody can argue with him on that. I appreciate him for keeping it up this long.”

The concerns of both the building owner and Makeda’s might be well-founded; earlier this month, Jeremiah Taylor, who helped maintain the memorial, was reportedly shot and killed, while another was also shot to death near the memorial late last year. It’s easy to see why business owners wouldn’t want those associations attached to a property they wanted to lease.

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Javier Bardem Was A Very Intimidating Professional Stripper For All Of One Night

Javier Bardem is an accomplished actor with four Oscar nominations to his name, including one win for No Country for Old Men, but he couldn’t make it more than one day as an exotic dancer.

On Wednesday’s episode of Ellen, the 53-year-old actor said that when he was 20, he “stepped out” out of a friend’s fiancée’s cake before heading to a nearby club. “I did my routine again on the disco dance floor, and the owner of the disco said, ‘Will you do that every Friday?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course!’ because I was drunk,” Bardem explained. The club hired him, and the following Friday, he showed up… with his mom and sister.

“I was so nervous, I called my mom and my sister to accompany me to my striptease number,” he continued. “There was nobody — I think there were, like, three people there? And it was very embarrassing, but I did it! I’m a performer, and I have my work.”

In case you were wondering (I know you were), Bardem wore “a tuxedo that I would open” and danced to “You Can Leave Your Hat On” by Joe Cocker. That one Fridat night was the beginning and end of Bardem’s stripping career, which is just as well. Imagine trying to slip a $20 into this guy’s G-string.

You can watch his Ellen interview above.

(Via People)

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The Five Best Mario And Zelda Games On The Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch has been out for five years now and what a legacy it has already created. It’s a clear winner for Nintendo, and one of the main ways it has accomplished that is by having an excellent library of games. Among that library is a strong variety of releases, but since this is Nintendo, we also know that library has a number of excellent releases among its biggest IPs.

At the top of the list are Mario and Zelda. They are easily the two biggest franchises Nintendo has, and as a result, there are a ton of games utilizing those two IPs in some capacity. With that in mind, we wanted to look back and celebrate five years of the Switch by looking at the five best games on the console from those two iconic series.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

A launch title for the Switch, Breath of the Wild took the Zelda formula and completely flipped it on its head. Gone were the themed dungeons with items as the reward, and in its place was the freedom to explore a gigantic world. The player has only one true objective: Defeat the Calamity Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda. If the player chooses, once they’ve finished the tutorial area, they can skip every single dungeon and puzzle to go straight to Hyrule Castle. Of course, doing that will result in missing out on plot details and bonuses to make Link stronger, but that’s completely up to the player.

Breath of the Wild is one, if not the best, Zelda games in the entire franchise. It gives players a sense of freedom that they’ve never had in the franchise before. The open world is dense and despite being huge, it never once felt empty. It being a launch title for the Switch quickly helped solidify the console as legitimate among Nintendo fans and now everyone is eagerly anticipating the still unnamed sequel set to come out some time in 2022.

Super Mario Odyssey

How does a company follow up one of the best Zelda games ever made? Try immediately creating a fan favorite Mario game in the same year. Mario Odyssey was something of a return to form for many Nintendo fans. Not only was it the franchise’s return to a non-linear set-up for the first time since Sunshine on the GameCube, but it managed to once again take the franchise in a new direction.

While previous Mario games were about completing a goal and getting a large reward at the end, such as a Star or a Shine Sprite, Odyssey is instead a game about collecting moons spread out all over the map. These moons are everywhere, and collecting them can sometimes be as easy as stumbling across one and picking it up. But unlike previous levels where the player is kicked out of the world and forced to choose a level again, this Mario game keeps the player in the world after collecting a moon. Play feels seamless and allows the player to really embrace exploration. It’s a great Mario game and one that everyone should play.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

While not technically a Mario or Zelda game, we feel this one still counts because of Mario’s role in the naming structure, plus both he and Link are playable characters. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is, as the name implies, the ultimate Smash Bros. experience. Every single character that has ever been in a Super Smash Bros. game before is in this, and on top of that, there are a plethora of DLC characters. The DLC characters became such a talking point among fans that, until the final character was announced, fans would have intense debates on who should be in the game. This strategy was so successful for Nintendo that it’s been copied by two clones, and Nintendo itself with Mario Kart.

These DLC characters took Ultimate and transformed it from a Nintendo crossover game into an incredible celebration of gaming. Alongside Mario and Link is Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, Sora from Kingdom Hearts, Kazuya from Tekken, and Joker from Persona 5. It’s a really incredible collection of franchises and one of the coolest games on the Switch as a result.

Cadence of Hyrule

What if you took The Legend of Zelda, but made it a rhythm game and kept the Zelda style adventure? Then you would get Cadence of Hyrule. This is a spin-off of Crypt of the NecroDancer, but with Zelda theming to it. The game itself isn’t revolutionary, but it’s a really great example of what happens when Nintendo allows other developers the opportunity to use its IPs to make games. At minimum, it created one of the best remix soundtracks in gaming.

What’s also unique about Cadence is that, unlike Mario, Nintendo doesn’t have a history of spinning off Zelda too often. It happens sometimes, but historically, it’s been far more conservative about making Zelda-themed games compared to how many titles get the Mario franchise slapped on to it. Cadence is not only one of the times where Zelda did get a spin-off, but it got a spin-off that was fun on top of that. This is a really unique Zelda game and one that any fan of the franchise should check out.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

This game should not be good. It just shouldn’t be. Give Mario a gun, attach him to one of the most annoying mascots that Ubisoft has ever created, and put them on a team together in XCOM tactics combat? That, on paper, sounds like a dumpster fire, but instead, it’s one of the most fun games on the Switch. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is once again an example of the good things that can happen when Nintendo is willing to hand off its IPs to another developer.

This game is really weird, which makes sense because it involves the Rabbids, but it all comes together really well. The XCOM-style combat might not require as much tactical foresight as XCOM, but it does have its charm. Since this is a game involving Mario characters and Rabbids, that means they can do fun and weird stuff that is unique to only their own games. It’s a game that breaks the norms of what a Mario spin-off title looks like and it’s a great one at that. An absolute gem on the Switch.

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Kim Kardashian Has Explained Why Kanye West Will Appear In The First Episode Of Hulu’s ‘The Kardashians’

Despite their divorce turning increasingly ugly in recent months, Kim Kardashian has opened up about why Kanye West will still appear in the first episode of her new reality series, The Kardashians, when it premieres on Hulu next month. Along with her famous momager and sisters, Kardashian, who legally ditched the West from her last name, spoke to Variety for a massive new feature on the new series that will see the family make the jump from cable to the world of streaming.

According to the profile, West is featured prominently in a “major arc” for the first episode, which is an awkward inclusion given his recent penchant for publicly threatening Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson. However, Kardashian explains the decision to keep West in the episode — because it’s important to show that their family isn’t “perfect.” Via Variety:

“Being in the public eye and having disagreements publicly is never easy,” Kim says. “But I do believe in handling it all privately. I believe in championing publicly and criticizing privately. I don’t think I would ever criticize the father of my children on my TV show. That’s just not really what I’m about, and I just don’t think that would ever make me feel good.

“I’m always really respectful of what the kids will see. The reality is, we’re always a family. We always will have a love and respect for each other. And even if there’s moments where it might not seem like that, there are so many moments that are super positive. I do think it’s important for people to see that things aren’t perfect all the time, but that they can get better.”

In short, it appears that Kardashian will be taking a more diplomatic approach to her recent divorce from West. As for how he’ll handle being featured in the new series is anybody’s guess. For now, West is reportedly dating model Chaney Jones, who has been repeatedly described as a “Kim Kardashian lookalike.”

The Kardashians premieres April 14 on Hulu.

(Via Variety)

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Indie Mixtape 20: Bodega Make Danceable Post-Punk Music Inspired By French New Wave Films

Bodega make danceable post-punk music with a message. Following their acclaimed 2018 debut LP Endless Scroll and it’s 2019 follow up EP Shiny New Model, Bodega’s upcoming album Broken Equipment started as a book club. Each member of the NYC five-piece is well-read in their own right and joined with friends to study a wide range of philosophers. The readings inspired the band to pen songs that examine our modern condition, tackling ideas like targeted ads, religious iconography in technology, and media gentrification.

Not only do Bodega craft propulsive and heady music with sardonic lyrics and ripping instrumentals, but they also have lots of hidden talents. While some artists share a few versions of a song, like a demo or an acoustic track, Bodega released nine different recordings of their recent single “Statuette On The Console” — all in different languages. The band translated the song into Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Ukrainian, exploring how language changes a listener’s emotional connection to a song.

Ahead of the release of Broken Equipment this Friday, Bodega vocalist Ben Hozie sat down with Uproxx to share a crazy tour memory, an album he knows every word to, and why French new wave director Jean-Luc Godard is an inspiration in the latest Indie Mixtape Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Yearning. Playful. Curious. Caffeinated.

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?

Often.

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

NYC. I like playing to a room full of close friends/peers. It’s unique when our shared history informs the performance.

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

Godard. On pretty much all levels, contact with his cinema has shattered my conception of reality.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Tokyo. Before I became vegan, I had some sushi that I still think about.

What album do you know every word to?

My music fandom has always involved memorization of lyrics so actually quite a few; The first record I memorized inside and out was Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking. I still adore that band.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

A radio alt rock festival with my dad in South Carolina called Fallout. The headliners were Everclear and Fuel.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

A shirt that helps you feel sexy. Definitely not a tee shirt or shorts.

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

I enjoy Richard Brody’s twitter (the film critique for the New Yorker).

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

“No Particular Place to Go” by Chuck Berry.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“What, with my tongue in your tail! Nay, come again” from Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew. I was reading the play and was shocked when I came across this anal cunnilingus pun and wanted to see some modern reactions/interpretations.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Broken Equipment.

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

Me and Nikki once crashed at this girl’s house in Chico who was pretty out of it on an interesting narcotic combination. Once she sobered up she forgot who we were and why we were staying at her house.

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

I have a small ‘V’ on my wrist inspired by Aristotle’s virtue ethics in Nicomachean Ethics. It’s a personal reminder to always live up to my own values.

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

BODEGA. I’m humble enough to not always talk about myself but I have enough vanity to always tune in when others are talking about me.

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

My mother raised me while dealing with her own issues and mostly kept them hidden from me until a certain age. That was probably a Herculean effort.

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

Exercise and practice the guitar and piano. Also try to care less about what people who you don’t respect think about you.

What’s the last show you went to?

The Mystery Lights. A very good band fronted by a very good friend.

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

I can resist any movie on TV if there are commercials involved.

Broken Equipment is out 3/11 via Whats Your Rupture?. Pre-order it here.

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Freddie Gibbs Explains Why He Was Nervous To Meet LeBron James: ‘I Thought He Was Gonna Beat My Ass’

Freddie Gibbs has long been an avid basketball fan and in recent months, he’s taken advantage of his recent bump in rap game prominence to enjoy the game up close and personal, even getting to take home the jersey of his favorite team’s best player, DeMar DeRozan after finally equaling Chi-Town hometown hero Chance The Rapper (who he blamed for taking up all the tickets in the first place) in the comp ticket hierarchy.

However, Gibbs recently revealed he was actually reticent to meet with one player, in particular, the guy who happens to be pretty much the face of the NBA: LeBron James. The reason? Gibbs has been one of the many, many prominent spectators trashing the Los Angeles Lakers’ lackluster season, often posting video clips of himself watching their games and providing his own commentary. The Lakers are currently 28-36 and rank 4.5 games behind the #8 seed Clippers, meaning they could miss the playoffs for the second time in James’ tenure as the Lakers’ top dog.

So, when Gibbs met LeBron during Super Bowl weekend in LA recently, he revealed in a video on Instagram, he says he was slightly worried about a confrontation with the much bigger basketball star. “I talked to LeBron [at] Super Bowl weekend,” he said. ” I was like, ‘Oh sh*t!’ Look, I thought LeBron was gonna beat my ass. I ain’t even gon’ lie, man. I was prepared to get my ass whooped for talking sh*t about the Lakers.”

Fortunately, though, LeBron is pretty chill about the trash talk — maybe he’s used to it after 17 years in the NBA (and the four years of high school preceding that). Hopefully, this can lead to a Gibbs appearance on The Shop, because Freddie is one amusing storyteller and needs somewhere to crack jokes that isn’t the Joe Rogan podcast.

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

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How To Watch The 2022 Grammys

In less than a month, the 2022 Grammy Awards will kick off live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It marks the first time in Grammy history that the award show will take place outside of Los Angeles. The 2022 Grammys was originally set to take place on January 31 at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as Staples Center). However, the coronavirus pandemic forced The Recording Academy to push it back to April 3 with the hope that they’ll be in a safer position to have the show. Thankfully, with three weeks left until showtime, that appears to be the case.

How To Watch The 2022 Grammys:

The 2022 Grammys will begin at 8:30 pm EST/5:30 pm PST. The award show will air live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. By tuning in to this year’s Grammy Awards, you’ll see Trevor Noah entertain the crowd and viewers at home as the host for the night. Elsewhere, Jon Batiste leads the way for nominations as he was selected in 11 categories. Right behind him, Doja Cat, HER, and Justin Bieber each received eight nominations. There will also be a collection of great performances, but the full list of performers has yet to have been revealed. That can be expected to arrive soon as one of the greatest nights in music is just three weeks away.

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Sia Revealed She’s Behind A Popular NFT Twitter Account

Over the past few months, a previously anonymous Twitter user who goes by @BiancaMedici69 — a reference to Leonardo DaVinci’s patron family during the Italian Rennaissance era — has been buying, selling, and collecting NFTs with the intention of supporting fellow artists. Over the past few months, the user behind the account would encourage their 13,000 followers to share artists’ artwork and purchase NFTs. Additionally, the account had helped launch fundraisers to provide aid to the people of Ukraine. Earlier this week, singer and prolific songwriter Sia revealed that she is the owner of the @BiancaMedici69 account.

“It’s been a joy quietly collecting NFTs this last year supporting other artists & causes,” tweeted the previously anonymous Twitter account. “And oh what fun being a secret Medici. But I think it may bring more attention to these artists & causes if I went ‘public.’ So Tuesday at 2pm PT, I will dox & reveal my true identity.”

Sia later tweeted from her personal account, “I am @BiancaMedici69.”

Although Sia, as @BiancaMedici69, tweeted that she has been “quietly collecting NFTs this last year,” the account has only been active since January. In her bio, she identifies as “Granddaughter of @cozomomedici,” who Snoop Dogg revealed last year was himself.

Despite their identities no longer being anonymous, both Snoop Dogg and Sia have continued to show interest in NFTs. Snoop, who recently purchased Death Row records expressed a desire to make the label an “NFT record label.

Sia expressed in a tweet that she will “keep supporting this ecosystem, sharing and creating things that can help move the genre forward.”