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Queen Naija And Big Sean Stand In Solidarity For Each Other In Their Video For ‘Hate Our Love’

Queen Naija and Big Sean have plenty in store for their fan in 2022. Last year, Naija dropped a deluxe reissue of her debut Missunderstood, which added seven songs and featured guest appearances from Ari Lennox, Wale, and J.I. The Prince Of NY. Big Sean, meanwhile, teamed up with Hit-Boy for What You Expect, which boasted contributions from Bryson Tiller, Lil Durk, Babyface Ray, and 42 Dugg. Earlier this month, Queen Naija and Big Sean teamed up for their first collaboration with “Hate Our Love” and they recently delivered a music video.

Its set in New York City during its autumn months and begins with an intro from DJ Envy from The Breakfast Club. After spending time apart, Naija and Sean eventually reunite to stand together and dismiss those who hope their love will fall apart. The video arrives after Sean used an Instagram livestream with Naija to reveal some news about upcoming music.

“I’m here working on [a] new album and new TWENTY88, me and Jhené,” Sean said during the livestream. “Sh*t, we’ve been working on it for a little bit… It’s coming along good, though.”

You can watch the video for “Hate Our Love” above.

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

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Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, And Alicia Keys Stand Tall And Plead For Grace In Their ‘City Of Gods’ Video

Since earning his spotlight moment back in 2019 thanks to his breakout hit “Big Drip,” Fivio Foreign has stayed relevant in the drill rap scene thanks to strong singles and guest features. However, one thing the rapper has not yet done is release an album. At long last, Fivio will do so when he drops B.I.B.L.E. next month and it’s a project that’s set to be executive produced by Kanye West. Ahead of the album’s arrival, Fivio, Kanye, and Alicia Keys join forces in the video for their recent collaboration, “City Of Gods.”

The visual is shot in black and white and it finds Fivio and Kanye feeding off each other’s energy and they dance enthusiastically beside each other. Elsewhere, Alicia Keys stands in the spotlight to deliver her attention-grabbing hook. The trio’s track marks Kanye and Fivio’s second song together after they united for “Off The Grid” from Kanye’s 2021 album Donda.

Fivio’s video comes after he pushed back against claims that drill rap is responsible for the spike in murders and shootings in New York City. “This the drill community, and I know like, the police and everybody be looking at n****s like n****s is starting trouble, but n****s ain’t really starting trouble,” he told TMZ. “They tryna feed they kids.”

You can watch the video for “City Of Gods” above.

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Benny The Butcher Was Reportedly Named As A Suspect In A Grand Theft Case

Benny The Butcher has been fairly active in the music circuit over the past few months. He reconnected with his Griselda labelmates — Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine — for their latest collaboration “John Woo Flick.” Prior to that, Benny laced one up with J. Cole for “Johnny P’s Caddy.” With that being said, things are pointing upward for Benny, but it hasn’t come without some negatives. According to TMZ, the rapper was recently named as a suspect in a grand theft incident that took place in Beverly Hills.

The publication says that law enforcement sources confirm that a few weeks ago, the rapper was sharing a room with a woman at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. It’s here the woman claims that when she woke up during her stay, Benny and her earrings, which she says are valued at around $10,000, were gone. The woman says that she and Benny were the only ones in their room during the stay. Furthermore, she adds that Benny admitted to taking the earrings during a phone call she made to him and that he promised to return them to her.

Despite this, Benny failed to return the earrings to her and he allegedly now claims that the expensive piece of jewelry is missing and nowhere to be found. This prompted the woman to file theft charges against Benny.

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One Of Young Dolph’s Murder Suspects Is Missing After He Was Released From Prison

Law enforcement officials in Young Dolph’s murder case have a new problem on their hands. CBS affiliate WREG reports that an arrest warrant for 28-year-old Shundale Barnett has been issued after officials failed to confirm his whereabouts more than a month after he was arrested for Dolph’s murder in Indiana. Barnett was initially detained with Justin Johnson during a traffic stop, and while they were both extradited back to Memphis to face murder charges, Barnett was released shortly after. Despite his release, Barnett was charged with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, and theft of property.

Barnett is now wanted by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office who claim they have no idea where he is. Clay County Sheriff Paul Harden spoke about the matter during a press conference on Thursday. “On January 11, Mr. Shundale Barnett was brought to the Clay County Jail by the Indiana State Police from an arrest on I-70,” Harden said. “He was booked in the Clay County Jail on an outstanding warrant from Shelby County, Tennessee.” He added, “We contacted Shelby County and held him on their warrant and we were contacted on January 21 and they told us that they were no longer wanting to come and pick up Mr. Barnett and that we were to release him at that time.”

At that same press conference, Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich was asked to clarify why Barnett was released in the first place. “I can’t, because it’s a pending case,” she said. “It is a pending investigation, it is a pending prosecution, and we can’t get into that at this time. When we can, we will answer all those questions that I know the public has.”

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Kanye West May Face Charges For Punching A Man As Investigators Reportedly Have Enough Evidence Against Him

Kanye West is just a few days away from the release of his eleventh album Donda 2, but he may soon have some legal troubles to deal with. Last month, it was reported that the rapper was being investigated for punching a man outside a nightclub in Los Angeles. The incident occurred after a fan approached Kanye while he sat in his SUV around 3 am one morning. One thing led to another and the two began arguing which led to Kanye punching the man in the face and causing him to fall to the ground. TMZ now reports that Kanye could soon face charges as the investigation around the incident is almost complete.

The publication reports that law enforcement sources have told them that officials will soon ship off their findings to the L.A. City Attorney’s Office, who will then decide whether or not to charge Kanye. TMZ says investigators believe there’s enough to charge Kanye with battery thanks to paparazzi video evidence and witness statements. It was also reported that police officers wanted to interview Kanye, but it did not happen due to the rapper’s busy schedule.

Last month, Kanye spoke about the incident shortly after it occurred during an interview with Jason Lee on Hollywood Unlocked. “It’s 3 am in front of the warehouse,” he said. “I’m saying, ‘You don’t know what I’m dealing with right now.’ This dude, he just had this attitude like, ‘What you gon’ do?’” He added, “Imma just tell you, that blue COVID mask ain’t stop that knockout.”

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The New Rising Stars Format Turned The Worst Event At All-Star Into A Delight

CLEVELAND — Let’s face it: The Rising Stars game usually sucks. Like every event at the NBA All-Star Weekend, the No. 1 priority for everyone — players, coaches, teams, etc. — is that no one suffers the kind of serious injury that puts a damper on the entire event and makes us question whether or not these sorts of midseason exhibitions are a good idea.

That does not mean these events can’t be fun. Sometimes, it’s as easy as a simple rule change — back in 2020, the NBA adopted the Elam Ending for the All-Star Game and gave us one of the best games that All-Star has ever seen. The institution of a target score made the fourth quarter of the game legitimately competitive, and apparently, someone in the league office decided it’d be a good idea to take that general idea and apply it to Rising Stars. Perhaps it’ll go back to being a bore in the coming years, but in 2022, the event set a high bar for everything else at All-Star.

The gist: Four teams of first and second-year players, with each team getting one G League Ignite youngster. The first two games were to 50. The third game, featuring both winners, was to 25. It ruled. Game one, a matchup of teams with honorary coaches Isiah Thomas and James Worthy, became a next basket wins scenario. There was, for long stretches, the sorts of lax play that we see during the event in the past — guys weren’t exactly sprinting back on defense, dunks had a higher degree of difficulty than usual, etc.

And then, something funny happened: The game was really, really close as it approached 50. Dudes began running. Big plays were celebrated because they got their squad closer to winning. There were people playing defense in the Rising Stars Game. The Rising Stars Game! This isn’t supposed to happen!

Ultimately, Desmond Bane was fouled and stepped up to the free throw line with his team trailing, 49-48. After making the first, both Tyrese Maxey and Cole Anthony got in his face, trying to shake him just a little bit. It didn’t work, nor did Anthony pulling his pants down, and as a result, Team Isiah moved on to the final.

The second game was much of the same. A matchup between teams led by Rick Barry and Gary Payton was close from start to finish, with both sides legitimately buying into the competitive aspect of the whole thing.

Following the final media timeout of the game — there were built-in breaks after one team hit 20 and 40 points — the game got really gross because both squads were trying to defend like it was a playoff game. There was a “DE-FENSE!” chant when Barry’s team, featuring Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro of the local Cleveland Cavaliers, was trying to get a stop with their team ahead, 48-47.

LaMelo Ball of Team Payton split a pair of free throws a few possessions after those chants starts up, tying things up at 48 and putting us in yet another next basket wins scenario. It didn’t take long to decide a winner: Jae’Sean Tate reeled in a pass from Cade Cunningham after Ball got a hand on it, then drove into the lane and finished in traffic to hit 50.

The final was much of the same. Guys dogged one another on both ends of the floor. Fast hands on defense led to deflections, incisive passing and moving led to good looks on offense. The big fellas were throwing their weight around, trying to corral a rebound that led to a legitimate fast break, not the usual cherry picking we’re used to in these sorts of exhibitions. Refs were getting worked, all with the hopes of a potential game-changing call going in the way of their team.

This time around, the game wasn’t decided by the next basket wins like its predecessors — Franz Wagner iced things with a free throw to give Team Barry a 25-20 win. It didn’t matter, the game could have been a 25-0 drubbing and this still would have been the best Rising Stars Game in the history of the event 100,000 times over. This game is supposed to have a few wow plays, two teams getting close to 200 points, and no one really caring about anything other than getting a few fun highlights.

Instead, everyone who watched got to see the sort of thing you want in the best version of an All-Star event: the best players at a specific thing (although I suppose this specific thing is “being young”) going head-to-head and caring about the outcome. If everything else is like this at All-Star Weekend in 2022, we’re in for the best mid-winter stretch in league history. And if not, at least Friday night was fun.

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Cole Anthony Pulled His Shorts Down Trying To Distract Desmond Bane On A Game-Winning Free Throw In The Rising Stars Game

The 2022 Rising Stars Game tested out a new, Elam Ending-inspired format with three games decided by target scores. The first game was a joy, as Team Isiah beat Team Worthy, 50-49, thanks to a pair of free throws by Memphis Grizzlies standout Desmond Bane. The second-year star got fouled with his team down by two, then stepped to the line and hit both of his attempts to earn a spot in the final game a little later in the evening.

Neither free throw was particularly easy for Bane. It looked like the pressure might get to him on the first shot, as the ball rattled around before eventually falling through the hoop. In between shots, he faced some trash talk from Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cole Anthony of the Orlando Magic, both of whom wanted to get into his head and knock him out of his rhythm with an eye on one final shot at winning the game.

It didn’t work — Bane drilled his shot from the charity stripe — but Anthony wanted to make sure he struggled with it as much as possible. There is only so much you can do on a free throw, though, but dammit, Cole Anthony was gonna find a way to get in Bane’s head. How? Well, by pulling his dang pants down, that’s how.

This will, one day, work in the playoffs, and I will laugh very hard.

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Myles Garrett Tried To Turn The Celebrity Game Into A Personal Dunk Contest

The 2022 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was headlined by Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett, who has a legendary pickup run mixtape and is the rare athlete in their prime that participates in the game.

Garrett told us before the game that he would be going at about a “6 or 7” on an intensity scale out of 10, but promised to put on a show for the people of Cleveland. He certainly did that, setting the tone early with an outrageous block on Quavo.

When we asked before the game if he’d put Cleveland’s own Machine Gun Kelly on a poster, he said matter of factly, “if he jumps” and that almost came to fruition in the second quarter when Garrett caught the ball on the move and nearly caught MGK slipping near the rim, launching a dunk attempt off the back of the rim.

Garrett would get his redemption not long after on a fastbreak, throwing down what very well be the most impressive dunk in Celebrity Game history, cocking one back and throwing it down with authority.

It wasn’t a great effort from the rest of Team Nique around Garrett, and as the game became a blowout everyone was simply hoping to see the big man throw down and he gave the fans what they wanted, treating the Celeb Game like his own personal dunk contest when presented with the opportunity. He had another dunk on the break on a slick behind the back pass, this time splitting a couple of defenders as he put it down.

He also ended the game by saving the best for last, throwing down a windmill right after the buzzer.

Garrett wasn’t the only high-flyer, as gold medal high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi got in on the act with the first dunk of the game on a tip dunk.

Team Walton got the win though, with Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint taking home MVP honors, but it was undoubtedly Garrett who stole the show.

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HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’ tells the untold—but very real—history of the Black elite

“Downton Abbey” fans have been rejoicing over Julian Fellowes’ newest historical drama “The Gilded Age.” Instead of London at the beginning of the 20th century, audiences are transported to (the truly new) New York of 1882, where aristocrats Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook reside.

Despite the different backdrops, “The Gilded Age” has much of the same aspects as its predecessor: conflict between the ways of old and new, weighty scrambles up the social ladder and, of course, the rich emotional narratives of the privileged class.

But “The Gilded Age” does offer something that “Downton Abbey” does not, and it’s a piece of history rarely portrayed or taught, yet real and important all the same: the story of the Black elite.


Young white woman Marian Brook (played by Louisa Jacobson) is surprised when she shows up to the home of her new friend Peggy Scott (played by Denée Brown), hoping to offer her a “gift” of old used shoes. Marian quickly realizes the error of her bias. Her Black friend, daughter to wealthy and educated parents, living in an opulent home with her own staff, had want for nothing. Certainly not worn out shoes.

This picture of Black excellence–where Black men and women enjoy money and influence—rarely makes an appearance in film and television, and in general is an overlooked aspect of history. In an interview with The New York Times, “The Gilded Age”’s historical consultant Erica Armstrong Dunbar pointed out, “What does the average person know about the Black elite in New York in the 1880s? The answer is very little if anything.”

As someone who grew up not even knowing about Tulsa and Black Wall Street until well into my twenties, and still knowing very little beyond that, I’d have to agree.

Julian Fellowes aims to remedy that in his depiction of the Scott family, and considers it a duty of artistic integrity. In an interview with The Columbian, he shared “I wanted very much to make ‘The Gilded Age’ distinctively American. And I didn’t believe I could do that without having a Black narrative and a Black family alongside the others. It just didn’t feel right to, actually.”

And it seems that Fellowes has done his due diligence, not only consulting with with Dunbar, but in co-creating the show with Black writer Sonja Warfield, as well as reading books like “Black Gotham,” which traces author Carla Peterson’s family history in the prosperous, upper-class Black communities of New York. According to The Columbian, the character of Peggy is even inspired by multiple real life trailblazers of the time, including Ida B. Wells (NAACP founder), Julia C. Collins (America’s first cited published Black female author) and Susan McKinney Steward (New York’s first Black female doctor).

Historical dramas featuring affluent, high-class Black characters are so rare, even Broadway legend Audra McDonald, who plays Peggy’s mother Donna Scott, was shocked to discover her role didn’t “perpetuate the tired old stereotype.”

On The Grio’s podcast “Acting Up,” McDonald shared how “people forget that during Reconstruction, with the constitutional amendments and emancipation and the end of slavery and giving Black men the right to vote and hold office, a lot of formerly enslaved people made big strides very quickly. Blacks had their own communities in Brooklyn and what was called ‘the Tenderloin’ at the time. They needed to have businesses to serve their own communities, and so that’s how you ended up with Black pharmacists and dentists and doctors and undertakers and lawyers and all of that. We needed all these things to serve our own communities — our own thriving communities, and there was a social structure that existed within that.”

Once she read the script, McDonald was thrilled to illuminate this often hidden world, “with all of its intricacies and all of its mess.”

Intricate, indeed. And interesting, to boot. As well as a really amazing example of what can happen when empowering conversations of representation are had. I can only imagine how much more nuanced our understanding of history (Black history, in particular) would be, had families like the Scotts been a regular part of the curriculum. But thankfully, we have creators like Fellowes, who understand that historical fiction, when told authentically, can embody the spirit of those untold stories, shaping our minds and hearts here in the present.

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Whiskey Review: This Single Cask American Single Malt Is A Sleeper Hit

Every year, thousands of new bottles of whiskey hit the shelves. While we try our mightiest to keep up with it all all but… that’s sorta insane. No one really can. Plenty of great whiskeys sometimes slip through the cracks and we end up reviewing them a few months after they drop. That’s the case for last year’s release from Virginia Distillery Co., Courage & Conviction Cuvee Single Cask Amerian Single Malt Whisky.

Since last summer, Virginia Distillery Co. has been releasing special single cask releases of their much-lauded Cuvee cask finished American single malt. These single barrel offerings are chosen to highlight the master whisky making going on in Virginia at the distillery. Overall, this is a very unique whisky that slipped under our radar last year while we were focusing on bourbon, scotch, and rye.

Now’s the time to give this whisky a look and see what’s actually in the bottle. Let’s dive in!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months

Virginia Distillery Co. Courage & Conviction Cuvee Single Cask — Cask No. 1266

Courage & Conviction Cuvee Single Cask
Virginia Distillery Co.

ABV: 59.2%

Average Price: $150

The Whisky:

This whisky is made with 100 percent malted barley. That juice is then loaded into French red wine or Cuvee casks for a minimum of three years (each cask is hand-selected for its distinct flavor profile). These single casks were chosen for their beauty as a stand-alone whisky that doesn’t need any adulteration or cutting with water. The honey barrel is then bottled as-is at cask strength.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is seriously buttery with a touch of brandy butter next to lightly salted caramel with a vanilla whipped cream that merges into a fruity backbone with hints of raisins, new leather, and maybe a whisper of damp straw. Malts shine through first on the palate as hefty brown spices create a serious heat (from those ABVs) before a cherry tobacco chewiness kicks in with a hint of pear candy under all that malty spice and warmth. The mid-palate really leans into the dark and stewed cherry tobacco vibe as a hint of dry hay, reeds, and umami (sweetish tomato paste maybe?) poke in very late on the finish.

The Bottle:

The bottle is a solid and tall whiskey bottle with a hefty base. There’s a bronze magnet that signifies the cask number above an understated purple label. Overall, this is a tall and elegant bottle that’ll stick out on any bar cart. The bottle also comes in a conical box, where it fits snuggly (and safely).

Bottom Line:

This blasts your senses with warmth but draws it back with a truly subtle flavor profile. I definitely need a rock or two to calm that heat down, but it’s very worth it once you get past those big ABVs. It’s complex while still being pretty damn enjoyable, especially with a splash of water or rock.

Ranking:

90/100 — This is delightful but you have to get past that rush of heat on the palate to get there (and I can see that turning a lot of people off). All of that aside, there’s something about this that keeps me going back to it. I think it’s that umami tail on the finish.