Earlier this month, Black Thought And El Michels Affair shared their collaborative album, Glorius Game, which features Black Thought rapping over music produced and played by the lattermost band. Last night (April 26), the supergroup made an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and performed the album’s title track.
During the performance, Black Thought & El Michels Affair were joined by singer Kirby, as Black Thought rapped over the band’s jazzy, soulful instrumentals.
“My mind is hard to explain / Call y’all all aboard for this train / I float like a nautilus, mane / Damn, I love this glorious game,” raps Black Thought over a pre-chorus.
Kirby’s soft vocals gave the song a sparkling touch, as she sang “Ooh, these are the glory days / If, and they did it, baby / Back in the day, baby / I swear, these are the glory days.”
With more than three decades in the game, Black Thought has garnered an impressive resume as a member of The Roots, as a solo act, and as a collaborator. But in a recent interview with The Fader, he revealed that he still has a lot he wants to do.
“Most of the things I do I’d be doing whether there was compensation involved or not,” he said. “I’m a creative, an artist. This is what I’ve always been. The medium is ever-evolving. The disciplines cross. I work in different spaces, different fields, but it’s all as a creative and a storyteller, using whatever tools I have at that particular moment to tell the same story.”
You can watch the performance of “Glorious Game” above.
The first two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft went according to plan. The Carolina Panthers, as expected, took Bryce Young out of Alabama at No. 1 overall, while the Houston Texans decided to get their quarterback of the future by selecting C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State with the second selection of the night.
And then, things got weird. The Arizona Cardinals were viewed as a potential trade partner for a team that wanted to get one of the other high-profile QB prospects at No. 3 overall, but instead, we got one heck of a curveball: The Texans decided to move up and get back-to-back picks.
Houston’s big swing led to them acquiring perhaps the best defensive player in the draft. After getting Stroud to be the face of their offense going forward, the team selected Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama, who should immediately step in and become a force off the edge. It will, unsurprisingly, cost them a pretty penny, as the Texans will reportedly get the Nos. 3 and 105 picks in this year’s draft in exchange for a pair of firsts, a second, and a third.
Kelly Clarkson isn’t slowing down on the slaying lately. Today (April 27), she delivered a captivating cover of a Paramore classic as part of the Kellyoke segment of her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Joined by an acoustic guitarist, Clarkson, sang “The Only Exception,” which is one of Paramore’s more downtempo ballads, however, Clarkson still delivered powerhouse vocals. These vocals particularly shined through as Clarkson reached the song’s bridge, singing, “I’ve got a tight grip on reality, but I can’t / let go of what’s in front of me here.”
It’s been a busy April for Clarkson. Earlier this month, she released a pair of singles — “Mine” and “Me” — from her upcoming 10th studio album, Chemistry. She also received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations, leading the awards’ talk field. Her electrifying covers alone are proof of why so many people tune in every day.
This summer, she will launch a residency in Vegas, where she will perform new songs from the Chemistry album, as well as some of her several classics.
In the meantime, you can check out the performance of “The Only Exception” above.
Chemistry is out 6/23 via Atlantic. Find more information here.
Kelly Clarkson and Paramore are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Tyler The Creator is clearing out the vault, it appears. Last night (April 26) during a performance at LA’s El Rey Theatre, he delivered a special performance of “Penny,” an unreleased cut recorded during the Call Me If You Get Lost sessions.
The song first surfaced on the web back in February and became an instant fan favorite.
Ahead of the performance, Tyler revealed that he had written the song circa Christmas of 2019, and it was one of the first songs he made for Call Me If You Get Lost. The song was never officially released, however, a clip of the song leaked and went viral on TikTok. However, Tyler remains a good sport over the matter.
He joked with the audience, saying, “I’m gonna do this random song that no one in here has heard.”
Tyler continued, saying that “Penny” is his bodyguard’s favorite song, and chose to include it in the setlist as a gift to him.
“I’m gonna do this random song that no one in here has heard.”
Tyler, The Creator with a special performance of the rare leak “Penny” during an intimate show at The El Rey in LA. pic.twitter.com/FHJWxLi7s5
While you won’t be able to find a studio version of “Penny” on streaming platforms, you can still find other leftovers from Call Me If You Get Lost. Last month, Tyler released Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale, which featured outtakes from the critically-acclaimed 2021 album.
You can check out a clip of the “Penny” performance above.
Not that we need an excuse to enjoy a crushable, crisp, easy-drinking Mexican beer, but Cinco de Mayo is coming up fast. And pairing tacos, burritos, and any manner of cheesy, meaty, spicy Mexican foods with a traditional Mexican lager, pilsner, or Vienna-style lager is a no-brainer. Sure, the “Mexican beer” convo often starts and ends with the wildly popular Corona — but is that brand really the best? Doubtful.
This year, instead of simply traipsing through your local beer or grocery store and grabbing whatever Mexican lager you see vibrantly displayed on an end cap, why not journey with us on a tried and true blind taste test? We picked readily available Mexican lagers, pilsners, and lighter-style beers so that the tasting class was as similar as possible. Then we blindly nosed and tasted each beer, taking into account the various aromas and flavors (or lack thereof).
Keep scrolling to see how everything turned out and whether your favorite beer got praised or dunked on.
The Lineup:
Pacifico Clara
Corona Extra
Modelo Especial
Estrella Jalisco
Carta Blanca Original
Victoria
Sol Cerveza
Dos Equis Lager Especial
Tecate Lager
Bohemia Pilsner
Part 1: The Taste
Taste #1
Tasting Notes:
Corn, light skunk, cereal grains, light citrus, and honey are prevalent on the nose. The palate is all skunk, yeast, grass, lemon, honey, cereal grains, and sweet corn. It might seem like I listed a lot of flavors, and I did but… it’s still overall fairly muted, albeit highly crushable.
Taste #2
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all toasted malts caramel, sweet corn, and floral, earthy hops. The palate follows suit with more caramel, toasted malts, and floral hops. It might seem like this beer has a ton of balance. But it’s also fairly sweet and malty, and not overly exciting.
The finish is dry, crisp, and sweet.
Taste #3
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of herbal, earthy, floral hops followed by toasted malts, cereal grains, sweet corn, orange peels, and lager yeast greeted me before my first sip. This definitely intrigued me. Sipping it revealed notes of yeasty bread, flaked corn, clover honey, orange peel, and herbal, earthy, floral hops. It’s bright, snappy, and crisp, but also sweet and malty.
Taste #4
Tasting Notes:
Here’s yet another beer that smells like almost nothing. If I had to reach, I’d say there was some corn and maybe grassy hops. But really nothing else. The palate doesn’t even help. There’s more corn, grass, and maybe some citrus. Overall, this beer is extremely muted, boring, and sweeter than a beer should be.
Taste #5
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found faint aromas of sweet corn, cereal grains, boiled sweets, and grassy hops. It sounds like a lot was going on, but there really isn’t. Drinking it reveals a little more flavor. Corn, caramel malts, grass, and lightly herbal, floral flavors. It’s more exciting than some beers on the list, but overall, fairly watery.
Taste #6
Tasting Notes:
Light skunk, sweet corn, cereal grains, honey, caramel malts, citrus, and a nice kick of floral, earthy hops make for a memorable nose. The palate continues this trend with a little more skunk, barnyard hay, cereal grains, sweet corn, bready malts, citrus, and floral hops.
It might not seem like it — because maybe there aren’t as many notes — but this was one of the most flavorful, memorable beers I drank all day.
Taste #7
Tasting Notes:
This yellow, fizzy beer has little to no aroma on the nose. I really tried and I found the faintest hint of sweet corn. Really, that was it. It even smelled a bit stale. The taste wasn’t much better. There was more sweet corn, but it tasted kind of generic. Almost like someone made some kind of corn candy or something else sugary sweet and then let it soak in a beer for whatever reason.
All in all, this was a pretty awful beer.
Taste #8
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found yeasty bread, light skunk, cracker-like malts, and corn. There’s more of the same on the palate. It’s made up of notes of freshly made bread, a bit of skunk, sweet corn, and some floral, earthy hops. It’s unoffensive, but not something to write your pen pal about.
Taste #9
Tasting Notes:
A nose of cereal grains, sweet corn, honey, lemon peels, and floral, earthy hops greeted me before my first sip. Drinking it revealed notes of bready malts, sweet corn, cereal grains, more honey, lemongrass, and floral, bright hops. It’s well-balanced, sweet, crisp, with little to no bitterness.
Taste #10
Tasting Notes:
The nose is citrus peels, yeasty bread, corn, grass, hay, and floral hops. It’s a fairly inviting nose that made me want to take a big sip. The flavor is surprisingly sweet, but not cloying. There are more bready malts, sweet grains, honey, and a surprisingly candied orange peel flavor. It ends with a dry, lightly bitter, floral flourish that makes you want to crack open another.
Named for the sun, this crisp, refreshing lager has been produced since 1899. This 4.5% ABV Mexican lager is known for its simple, no-frills, easy-going flavor profile. There’s not much to it, but that’s the point.
Bottom Line:
Sol Cerveza is exactly what it’s advertised as. It’s a light, easy-to-drink lager with little to no discernible flavor. It goes down easy because it literally tastes like nothing.
When it comes to Mexican beer, there are none more famous than Corona. Heavily advertised, Corona is a household name whether or not you’re a big beer drinker. The most popular imported beer in the US, it’s known for its crisp, simple, refreshing flavor.
Bottom Line:
I wasn’t surprised to see that this was Corona Extra. It’s possibly the most overrated beer of all time. How could a beer be considered “good” if in order to even want to drink it you have to have a lime wedge?
Another sessionable (4.5% ABV), no-frills, crisp pilsner, Estrella Jalisco might not have the name recognition of some of the beers on this list. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t receive the same amount of respect. It’s known for its easy-drinking flavor profile and no bitterness.
Bottom Line:
Estrella Jalisco isn’t a horrible beer. It’s also not even close to a good beer. It’s almost flavorless but crushable. It’s okay.
Carta Blanca sounds like an exciting name for a beer, but just like Boca Raton, Florida translates to “Rat Mouth”, this beer’s name means “white card”. First brewed in 1890, it’s known for its corny, malty, sweet, easy-drinking flavor profile.
Bottom Line:
It’s still mostly fizzy corn water though. Slightly better than some of the other fizzy corn waters on this list.
While many well-known Mexican beers (including many on this list) are classic, crisp lagers or pilsners, Victoria is a Vienna-style lager. The oldest beer brand in Mexico (it was first brewed in 1865), Victoria is known for its toasted malt and sweet caramel flavors.
Bottom Line:
This is a decent, highly drinkable beer. It’s well-balanced with malts and hops. It’s just more on the sweeter side than I prefer.
Dos Equis was first brewed back in 1987. But it wasn’t a Mexican-born brewer who created this now iconic brand. In fact, it was a German-born brewer named Wilhelm Haase who, after immigrating to Mexico, decided to brew a beer that took a little from the old world and his new home country. The result was this 4.2% ABV, crisp, sessionable pilsner.
Bottom Line:
I didn’t really know where Dos Equis would land on this list. I have fond memories of drinking it, but I couldn’t really tell you if it’s a good beer or not. It’s easy to drink and washes down Mexican food quite well. That’s about it.
This popular beer’s history begins way back in 1900 when a group of German-born brewers began brewing beer in the Mexican port city of Mazatlán. Unsurprisingly, this crisp, easy-drinking pilsner made its way to the US when a group of Americans, surfing in Baja found Pacifico and brought it back to the US. Since then, drinkers have been enjoying this light, crisp, sessionable lager.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason drinkers love Pacifico. It’s crisp, sweet, malty, and very well-balanced. It’s a can’t-miss Mexican lager.
One of the most highly-regard Mexican beers, Modelo Especial is a 4.4% ABV lager known for its clean, crisp, thirst-quenching flavor profile. Made with simple ingredients like barley malt, water, non-malted cereal grains, and hops, it’s sweet, citrusy, and highly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Crisp, easy-drinking, and refreshing. Yet, it’s surprisingly well-balanced and flavorful. Modelo Especial is definitely a beer you’ll want to have in your fridge on Cinco de Mayo and every other day of the year.
First brewed in 1944, this Mexican classic gets its name from the city of Tecate in Baja. It was first brewed as a beer for local miners to enjoy after a long day of work. Brewed the same way since its inception, it’s known for its crisp, refreshing, malty flavor profile. Luckily, you don’t have to work in a cold, dark mine to enjoy it today.
Bottom Line:
Tecate is sweet, lightly skunky (in a good way), malty, and surprisingly balanced for such a crisp, light beer. Definitely, a beer I’ll drink again.
Bohemia Pilsner definitely isn’t a household name like some of the beers on this list. That definitely shouldn’t stop you from trying it. You might be wondering why a Mexican beer is called “Bohemia” — it’s because this sweet, malty, crisp pilsner gets its Stryan hops from the Czech Republic.
Bottom Line:
If you only drink one beer on this list, make it Bohemia Pilsner. It’s the most well-balanced, flavorful beer I drank today. Your friends will be glad that you brought this one to the Cinco de Mayo shindig.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Rating these beers was not a simple task. Many were thirst-quenching and drinkable but lacked any substance whatsoever. As always, balance was the name of the game. The beers that faired best were flavorful and well-balanced, while still crushable. They still need to be paired with heavy, cheesy Mexican food and a good bit of spice, but you also want to taste something.
Ladies and gentlemen, season two of Bel-Air is now in the books! The show wrapped up its latest season by giving final updates in regard to Will’s basketball career, his love life, Carlton’s personal struggles, Phil and Vivian’s career moves, and more. So far, Bel-Air has been a solid reboot of its well-beloved and classic predecessor. After the show’s first season, Peacock announced that Bel-Air was the most-streamed original series on the streaming service after it reached 8 million accounts, something that could continue after season 2.
Will There Be A Season 3 Of ‘Bel-Air?’
With season two officially done, will Bel-Air fans receive a third season of the show? The answer is yes! The series was renewed for a third season at the halfway mark in season two. It’s still a bit too early to know where things will go next season, but thanks to the season two finale, we have a few ideas.
We’re halfway through the season and decided why not bless the fans with some more good news? #BelAirPeacock is coming back for another season! Don’t call it a comeback cuz the kings (and queens) never left! Stream #BelAirPeacock Season 2 now, only on @Peacock. pic.twitter.com/goQVpJSxwc
The last episode in season two of Bel-Air ends with Will and Lisa anticipating a summer in Bel-Air. Will asks Lisa what a summer in Bel-Air is like and her response lets both Will and viewers know that it’ll be a whole lot of fun. Season three could focus exclusively on the summer, jump ahead to the next school year at Bel-Air Academy, or be a mix of both. We’ll just have to wait and see.
All seasons of ‘Bel-Air’ are available to stream on Peacock.
We live in a world where Ron DeSantis could one day actually debate Joe Biden. Granted, there is no telling what will happen between now and 2024. Perhaps a GOP dark horse candidate will come save the party from nominating either Trump or DeSantis, but for the time being, the latter’s ongoing feud with The Walt Disney Company is proving to be a source of chaos.
Most recently, the conglomerate went nuclear with a lawsuit because the Florida governor is beefing so hard over Disney refusing to climb onboard his campaign to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community (by way of the legislation known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill). In doing so, the tourism mainstay accused DeSantis and his oversight board of jeopardizing Disney’s business in the state and attempt to ruin its economic future as well.
Marco Rubio took his time in reacting to the mess in his state and has finally waded into the arena. Mind you, this is the same senator who recently got trounced when he mocked the U.S. military over an LGBTQ+ poetry night, so it says plenty that he thinks DeSantis needs to reel his feud back. Rubio made clear that he feels like Disney might have too much government-like power in Florida, but he still believes that DeSantis is setting a bad precedent and could make businesses second-guess coming to Florida in the future:
“I think where it gets problematic in the eyes of some people is where you start creating the idea — and I’m not say that we’re there yet as a state — but the idea that somehow, like, if you run crossways with us politically with whoever’s in charge, you may wind up in the crosshairs of the legislature for political purposes to make a statement at you.
“I do worry that if this happens too many times, businesses that are thinking of coming to Florida are saying, ‘Maybe we don’t wanna go there because if we get into a firestorm with them politically, they’re gonna come after our business.’”
Money talks. Rubio seems confident that this feud won’t inspire Disney parks to pick up and move to another state (although North Carolina would certainly welcome them with open arms), but this does not send a wonderful message for the future. It really only says that DeSantis is desperately attempting to win over a few voters, and at a great expense for the Sunshine State.
A EuroLeague game on Thursday between Real Madrid and Partizan got called with 100 seconds left due to a gigantic brawl between the players. With less than two minutes remaining and Partizan holding a 95-80 lead, one of their guards, former Tennessee player Kevin Punter, got fouled by Madrid’s Sergio Llull, which Punter did not appreciate.
Things then boiled right over, as the players on the court started to get into it with one another and the referees’ efforts to calm things down were for naught. Players on the benches and security guards eventually ran onto the floor and tried to get everything broken up.
A whole lot is going on in this, like number 31 on Real Madrid — former Brooklyn Nets player Džanan Musa — getting thrown to the grown from behind. But the big thing was this takedown of former NBA journeyman Dante Exum by Guerschon Yabusele, who spent a few years as a member of the Boston Celtics.
The EuroLeague are currently in the playoffs, where the four teams that win a best-of-5 series will move on to the Final Four in May. With today’s win, Partizan opened up a 2-0 series lead on Madrid, with both wins coming in the Spanish capital. Now, the series will move to Belgrade, with Game 3 taking place on May 2.
Power Book II: Ghost is well into the second half of its third season and there’s plenty of drama that’s gone down so far, with a lot more left in store for viewers as the season wraps up. We won’t spoil anything for you all (you can check out our weekly recaps here for that), but in the last episode of Power Book II: Ghost, fans were greeted by a different kind of surprise. In episode six, “Land Of Lies,” Diana, along with friends BruShandria (played by LightSkinKeisha) and Becca Weston (played by Samantha Culter) were seen partying in a dorm room with none other than Justin Combs, who as many of us know, is the son of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Who Does Justin Combs Play In Power Book II: Ghost?
After viewers caught his appearance on Power Book II: Ghost, they began to wonder about the full nature of his role in the show’s third season. All we know at the moment is that Justin’s character’s name is King. He’s friends with BruShandria and Becca, but is not in the same notorious class that the latter two share with Tariq, Effie, and Diana as we’ve yet to see him in that room through the show’s six episodes in season three. We’ll have to wait and see if we learn anything else about Justin’s role in season three of Power Book II: Ghost through future episodes.
New episodes of ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.
Politics has never been free of outrage and fearmongering, but only in recent decades have those base methods of drumming up support been shoved in our faces 24/7. Unfortunately, politicians know that fueling rage and fear gets them attention, which in turn gets them valuable media coverage, and some are shameless about capitalizing on it.
It’s how random members of Congress from tiny rural districts gain massive national name recognition while hundreds of non-inflammatory, non-extremist, non-outrage-baity lawmakers quietly go about the business of governance with few Americans able to pick them out of a lineup.
Outrage-fueled notoriety is what prompted Rep. Jeff Jackson, Democrat of North Carolina—most likely a legislator you’ve never heard of—to make a video on his 100th day in Congress, where he shared something he’s learned about his fellow elected leaders.
“I’m still brand new to Congress—I’ve only been there 100 days—and I don’t know if I’m not supposed to say this out loud, but it’s true and important. And if you don’t know this, you need to,” he said. “It’s really clear from working there for just a few months that most of the really angry voices in Congress are totally faking it. These people who have built their brands around being perpetually outraged? It’s an act.”
Perhaps this is not groundbreaking news for a lot of us, but it’s refreshing to hear from someone on the inside, especially since Jackson explains how he knows their outrage is an act—and why.
“I’ve been in committee meetings that are open to the press and committee meetings that are closed,” he said. “The same people who act like maniacs during the open meetings are suddenly calm and rational during the closed ones. Why? Because there aren’t any cameras in the closed meetings, so their incentives are different.”
Jackson goes on to explain how members of Congress are surrounded by negative incentives, with media outlets that feed off of negative emotion giving them air time because it keeps people angry.
“If they can keep you angry, they’ll hold your attention,” he said. “And they both want your attention.”
Watch:
u201cIu2019ve been in Congress for 100 days. nnMost of the really angry voices here are faking it.u201d
— Rep. Jeff Jackson (@Rep. Jeff Jackson) 1681738272
Jackson doesn’t name any particular members of Congress or even point to any particular political party in his video. In reality, politicians on both sides of the aisle are guilty of playing these kinds of games and always have been.
The problem, of course, is that the governance of a nation isn’t a game. But politics is, especially hyper-partisanized politics, and that game has only become more competitive and more winner-takes-all in the age of modern media.
When George Washington tried to warn the American people of the “rankness” of partisanship and where its “continual mischief” and “constant danger of excess” could lead us, he was spot on in his predictions. But what he couldn’t have predicted was the role that television and social media would play in elevating that mischief and excess.
As problematic as the political arena has been in the past, it’s nothing compared to how fear and outrage have been wielded as weapons in the technological age. We have 24-hour cable channels funneling hate and fear-based prejudice into our psyches, and social media algorithms that fuel negative attention grabs. Demonizing the “other side” of the political spectrum to the point of describing one’s fellow Americans as “the enemy” is outright bonkers—but it’ll practically guarantee you an interview on prime-time television, and therefore a seat at powerful tables.
We—all of us—need to not only recognize manufactured outrage and fearmongering, but we need to learn to truly ignore it. Ignoring it won’t necessarily make it go away, but for people who seek power above all else, all attention is good attention. When we give attention seekers what they want, we only feed the beast. Even when we give them attention to complain about them, we’re still giving them oxygen.
Instead, let’s try something different, like focusing our energies on the people who are actually doing the hard work of governance and genuinely serving their constituencies in a spirit of public service. As Jackson said, “If you don’t have to yell to be heard, the whole conversation changes.” Perhaps we can stop listening to the yellers and start engaging with the talkers who understand how to discuss and negotiate intelligently, in ways that make sense. These are, after all, the people who actually get things done behind closed doors.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.