Month: February 2023

Tyrese Haliburton is heading to the All-Star Game. Haliburton’s first full season as a member of the Indiana Pacers has led to the best campaign of his young career, and on Thursday night, he learned that his performance earned him a spot in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City a little later this month.

Making it to the All-Star Game for the first time is always an achievement, but for Haliburton, this one is a little extra sweet due to some comments made by Wally Szczerbiak. A former player and current television analyst for MSG, Szczerbiak called Haliburton a “supposed, wannabe, fake All-Star,” which he eventually walked back. In response to this, Haliburton poked some fun at Szczerbiak back in December, saying that while he knows the name, he doesn’t know anything about him.

And after he got his All-Star nod, Haliburton couldn’t resist a little more fun at Szczerbiak’s expense. While he didn’t make a big deal over this, it was pointed out that Haliburton changed his profile picture on Twitter to a screenshot of Szczerbiak as he was in the middle of his rant.

If there is a silver lining for Szczerbiak, it is that a Knick made it to the All-Star game, as Julius Randle joined Haliburton as an Eastern Conference reserve. But still, we think Haliburton got the last laugh here.

Lil Keed‘s first posthumous song has arrived. “Long Way To Go” dropped today along with a heartfelt statement from Keed’s mother, Tonnie Woods-Reed. In it, she reveals that he was working on a new album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2, at the time of his death from eosinophilia, and promises more to come.

Before his death at the age of 24, Keed was a rapper on the rise, receiving co-signs from the likes of Drake and Young Thug, who signed him to the YSL Records imprint. Keed died just a month before YSL Records was caught up in a racketeering indictment which saw key members like Thug and Gunna locked up for the better part of a year. Thug goes on trial this month after Gunna and several others pled guilty to racketeering in exchange for lesser sentences.

You can check out the “Long Way To Go” video above, and Woods-Reed’s statement below.

On May 13, 2022, I lost my son Raqhid Render—who many of you knew as the artist Lil Keed,” Woods-Reid said. “While this journey through the different phases of grief has been indescribably hard, a way that I have found to cope is through his music. Right before his passing, Keed was hard at work at what would’ve been his highly anticipated next album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2. As much as he was a great father, son, and friend—he was also an artist who (thanks to many of you) lived and continues to live through his music. With that being said, the time has come to share some of our last pieces of Keed with you all starting with the release of his first single, “Long Way to Go.” This song holds a special place in my heart and as you guys will see it will reflect on many aspects of Keed’s journey here on Earth. I hope you all appreciate it as we take the first step in cementing Keed’s legacy. Long Live Keed!

Lil Keed is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Last of Us has finally arrived on HBO, and three episodes in, it’s killed the sour reputation of video game adaptations, and it’s just as good as everything else from the Home Box Office. The series, which takes place twenty years after a global pandemic, has already gone back in the past starting with the first twenty minutes of the first episode, which documented the day everything changed. Since The Last of Us is following different timelines, here is your ultimate guide to what is going on when: human beings are required to retain eniugh information as it is, so we can all use a little help remembering what’s going on on a television show.

Here’s a breakdown of the timeline: The Last of Us takes place in 2023 (our present year), with the outbreak happening twenty years prior in 2003, the year that Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came out. This differs from the source material. In the video game of the same name, the present is 2033, with the outbreak day occurring in 2013 (the year the game came out).

1968

The Last of Us decades in the past with a rather harrowing television segment about the spread of viruses and how modern air travel helps spread viruses faster. “A new virus in Madagascar, says, could be in Chicago in a matter of weeks.” While the scene is not directly related to the events of The Last of Us, it established how quickly these things can spread and why. We’ll likely never return to the 1968 timeline, but it would be nice to see Big Head from Silicon Valley again, wouldn’t it?

2003

The Cordyceps outbreak occurred worldwide on September 26, 2003, just a few months before The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was supposed to hit theaters. In an interview with Inverse, co-creator Craig Mazin explained his reasoning behind changing the years around.

“I have this thing about jumping into the future,” he said. “I feel like, if I’m watching a show and the year is 2023, and the show takes place in 2043, it’s just a little less real. Even if I’m watching a show in 2023 and it takes place in 2016, it’s a little less real.” He added, “I thought it might be interesting to just say, ‘Hey, look, in this parallel universe, this is happening right now. This is happening this year.”

2023

2023 in The Last of Us universe really puts things into perspective. Sure, 2023 is pretty bad in the real world for many reasons, but at least we’re not living under a fascist regime that forces people to live in limited quarantine zones with execution being the punishment for leaving. In The Last of Us, 2023 is the present timeline, two decades after the outbreak day and the world is not the same and does not appear anywhere close to recovery.

In between

Episode three takes place over the two-decade span in the years between the infection day and the present. The surprisingly heartwarming and gutwrenching episode follows Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), two men who meet and fall in love under dire circumstances. They live a somewhat peaceful, isolated life. The pair meets following the outbreak in 2003, and the episode follows how their relationship unfolds over the years until 2023 when they choose to die together. Given that the show is this experimental with its storytelling so early on, it’s likely that the show will continue to bounce back and forth between the past and the present and in unexpected ways.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been attempting to “rehabilitate” her image as she reportedly jockeys to be Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024. The controversial congresswoman has denounced her prior QAnon beliefs, and she tried to paint herself as the voice of reason during the contentious Speaker of the House vote. Greene has even distanced herself from Lauren Boebert (albeit via a bathroom brawl) but at the end of the day, the Georgia representative still can’t help putting her foot in her mouth.

During a recent video, Greene can be championing the plight of the average white man, who just can’t seem to catch a break in this country. It’s hard out here, you guys.

Via Newsweek:

Greene complained that lobbyists in the U.S. are just fighting “for big corporations and industries” and no one is taking care of “regular Mr and Mrs American, like mom and pops shops, the single moms trying to make it, the guy.”

The MAGA Republican lamented that “there’s not people fighting for regular Americans,” such as “the average white male trying to climb the corporate ladder when his problem is being white and male.”

Naturally, Twitter had a field day with Greene’s words as users repeatedly pointed out that white men control an overwhelming majority of top level positions in corporate America.

“88.8% of CEOs, CFOs, and COOs in 2022 were white, and 88.1% were men,” Michigan State Board of Education member Mitchell Robinson fired back. “Thanks for fighting for the underdog, Marge.”

Other users highlighted Greene’s past appearance at a white nationalist rally, which adds a whole lot of concerning context to this latest rant. You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Newsweek)

For several reasons, the Grammy Awards are a sore touching point for many Black musicians and recording artists. While rap superstars Drake and Nicki Minaj have spoken out against the Recording Academy (the collective behind the awards) on several occasions for alleged preferential treatment, singer Summer Walker has claimed the voting board is out of touch, other entertainers like Lizzo shared her fear of being overlooked. Partnering with the Black Music Collective, the Grammys are attempting to repair its relationship with Black musicians.

As part of this year’s Grammy Week pre-ceremony festivities, yesterday (February 2), the organization hosted its annual 2023 Recording Academy Honors Gala alongside the Black Music Collective at Hollywood Palladium. Music titans Dr. Dre, Lil Wayne, and Missy Elliott were given the Global Impact Award during the event. Drake set his beef with the event aside for his mentor Lil Wayne’s sake with a special speech, and budding Parkwood Entertainment singer Chlöe delivered a powerful tribute performance for hip-hop icon Missy Elliott.

The tribute was not broadcasted, but a clip of a part of the performance was uploaded to a social media fan page for the singer. During her set, she performed a melody of some of Elliott’s greatest hits both as a solo artist, songwriter, and producer. Chlöe effortlessly sang the late Aaliyah’s 1996 song “One In A Million,” which was written by Elliott. Chlöe also performed Elliott’s 2001 sex liberation anthem, “One Minute Man.”

Elliott is hoping this isn’t the last time you’ll be honored for his life’s work, as she just became the first woman rapper in hip-hop to be nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consideration.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. The ceremony will be broadcasted live on the CBS Television Network and streamed live and on-demand on Paramount+. Find the complete list of 2023 nominees here.

Trippie Redd’s new album, Mansion Musik, is out now on 10K Projects. The album, which features Chief Keef (who also executive produced the project), Juice WRLD, Lil Durk, Travis Scott, and more, was released on January 20 — but as it turns out, that may not have been the original plan.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the Ohio rapper acknowledged some fans’ complaints about the mixing on some of the album’s tracks, most notably “Krzy Train” featuring Travis Scott.

Trippie gave a pretty solid explanation for the rush job, telling Lowe that he had to push the album out as quickly as he could after hackers stole all of the tracks he’d recorded and demanded $1 million to withhold a leak.

“Every time I read people talking about this album, they’re complimentary,” Trippie said. “But they’re like, ‘What’s up with the mix on ‘Krzy Train?’ I don’t understand why it sounds like that.’ I was held for ransom on my project. They wanted me to pay them a million dollars because they had all my records. Every single last one, all the features.”

He said that the same hackers had also leaked his past projects, so he decided to circumvent them this time around, even though he only had Scott’s raw vocal file and no time to mix it. His reasoning? “They’re going to hear it regardless and they’re gonna hear the bad mix regardless, so I’m gonna put it out unmixed and see what they think.”

He still plans to fix the mix and re-upload it to DSPs, so eventually, fans will get the completed version, but it does suck for him — and for the fans — that a group of opportunists are ruining the fun. You can watch Trippie’s interview with Zane Lowe up top.

As Donald Trump continues to ramp up his 2024 presidential run with a series of ranting interviews, the former president is now claiming that he can Russia’s war with the Ukraine “immediately.” However, in true Trump fashion, he’s refusing to elaborate on how he would do that, but just trust him, okay? He knows the exact right special words to make this whole thing go away. You won’t believe it.

“It can be negotiated within 24 hours,” Trump told RSBN (via Rolling Stone). “It has to be done from the office of the president, and you have to get them both in a room, and there are things you can say to each one of them — which I won’t reveal now — which will guarantee this war will end immediately. They have to do it.”

Obviously, Trump’s words bring back memories of his infamous claim going into the 2016 election that he’s the only person who can stop ISIS. Like his claim of stopping the Russian invasion, Trump also refused to reveal his super secret plans. (For the record, ISIS was not defeated and saw a resurgence in Syria in 2019.)

Of course, Trump’s supposed inside track on how to negotiate the end of the Ukraine war is a stark reminder of his highly questionable relationship with Vladimir Putin. Trump has repeatedly spoken highly of the Russian leader and even gone so far to say he’s more reliable than America’s own intelligence community. The former president was also famously accused of being Putin’s puppet by Hillary Clinton (and many others), so let’s just say there’s a big ol’ question mark around how effective Trump would actually be in negotiating peace. Not to mention, nothing is stopping him now. Jimmy Carter does 14 peace talks before breakfast.

(Via Rolling Stone)

Bad Bunny had a massive 2022 with the release of his No. 1 album Un Verano Sin Ti. The world-dominating rapper is going to have a big 2023 as well, considering he’s performing at The Grammys. In the meantime, he made his first English speech at the Billboard Power 100 Gala while presenting an award to his manager Noah Assad.

“I know my man don’t like this kind of thing, this attention, he don’t like speeches and corny sh*t,” Bad Bunny said. “Me neither, so I will try to be fast.”

“Tonight is a special night, not because my friend Noah is winning this award. It’s more because I’m making my first English speech ever,” he said. “Tonight is a special night because I’m giving a special award to a very special person.”

“This award means a lot to me, the same way that I know my own awards mean a lot to him,” he added. “This award is the proof that I am not working alone. It’s the proof that dreams come true, but never only by yourself. It’s always about teamwork, and I know that no one works like him.”

He continued: “I want to thank him for believing in me… for belief in my dreams and my ambition. And not just belief, but also for making those dreams and that ambition real. Thanks for inspiring me to work harder, to dream bigger, and inspiring me to just be a better person.”

By now, you’ve probably seen a post on social media featuring a list of names of prominent Black authors, poets, and culture critics like Amiri Baraka, bell hooks, and Ta-Nehisi Coates with their names crossed out. (If you haven’t, I suggest you meet some Black people or at least start associating with people who care about Black people. You might not think we’re all that important, but in this country, we’ve been the canaries in the coal mine for 200 years.)

This list denotes recent changes being threatened by the Florida College Board to optional AP African American Studies classes as part of a wider effort in that state to suppress historical works or studies that paint the US in anything less than a flattering light when it comes to the government’s treatment of Black folks. You know, like how there were forcible, undisclosed medical studies performed on Black men at Tuskeegee, or how prominent Black towns were burned to the ground.

On Thursday, Questlove, whose directorial debut Summer Of Soul was one of those works that unearthed a vital piece of Black History, the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, after footage was shelved for over 40 years, called out the “Black erasure” that the changes represent on Instagram, warning followers that this changes could become widespread should Florida governor Ron DeSantis run for President. DeSantis has been described as a “sanitized” version of Donald Trump, but in actuality, he might be worse.

“For all of you kind folk who praised @SummerOfSoulMovie this is the exact kind of erasure that makes black erasure so easy to do,” Quest wrote. “It starts slow and benign….and before you know it—-it spreads and spreads & we ignore or hope it will fall on someone else’s hand to come with a solution. Then it’s too late. This is why local elections are important. This is why you can’t sleep for even a micro minute until the job is done.”

“If this is what is happening in Florida….what will happen when he runs for president?” he wondered. “Don’t wanna start the morning fear mongering but these are different times we living in. You can’t sleep for a second.”

You can see Questlove’s full post below.

It took until 2022’s Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo for Velma to live her truth, but it should have happened a lot sooner. “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Scooby-Doo writer James Gunn tweeted in 2020. “But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Daphne in the movie, revealed on Thursday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live that there was even supposed to be a kiss between her character and Linda Cardellini’s Velma. “There was a steamy — I mean, I said it was steamy, but they probably didn’t think it was — hence why it was cut,” she said.

When host Andy Cohen asked for more details on the kiss, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star reiterated, “There was an actual kiss between Daphne and Velma that got cut. I feel like the world wants to see it. But I don’t know where it is.” SMG also teased that the original script had “this implication about Fred [played by her real-life husband, Freddie Prinze Jr.] being interested in both, you know, parties,” but that, too, was removed.

James Gunn should have enough power now to release the Daphne and Velma and bisexual Fred cut.

You can watch the Watch What Happens Live interview above.

(Via Insider)