Month: April 2023

Despite leading by 16 points with 10 minutes remaining, 10 points with seven minutes remaining and eight points with 3.5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 5, the Milwaukee Bucks’ season ended on Wednesday night. Led by Jimmy Butler’s steadfast brilliance and acrobatic game-tying lob, the Miami Heat made a valiant fourth-quarter push to force overtime and held on for a 128-126 victory in the extra period for a 4-1 series win.

Yet after leading by seven with 1.5 minutes left, Miami nearly allowed the Bucks to pull this one out. Gabe Vincent missed a late three that ignited a fast break for Milwaukee, which held two timeouts in its pocket with under 10 seconds to go. Instead, the Bucks pushed forward in the open floor, couldn’t find space for a game-tying or game-winning shot and saw their season end in the hands of Grayson Allen, who dribbled out the clock searching for an angle at the rim. Allen had ample room to attempt a shot, by the way. Words don’t do the absurdity of the sequence justice either. You have to watch it unfold in its entirety.

Milwaukee blew two significant fourth quarter leads over the last three days to put a bow on its season. A flurry of head-scratching decisions offensively headlined those squandered leads, so it was a rather fitting conclusion to a devastating series loss at the hands of the Heat, a team that needed a fourth-quarter rally against the Chicago Bulls in the Play-In to even qualify for the playoffs.

Granted, Miami played and executed rather well in its first-round upset, headlined by Butler’s brilliance. It deserves immense credit for its efforts. But the blunders of the Bucks cannot be ignored either and the last blunder was the grandest of them all.

For the second straight game, Jimmy Butler dragged the Miami Heat back from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. After a stunning 56-point performance in Game 4 to lift Miami to a 3-1 series lead, Butler was at it again in Game 5 scoring 42 points on the night, including 14 in the fourth quarter.

Butler was simply unstoppable for the fifth straight game, drilling contested jumper after contested jumper, while telling Jrue Holiday all about it after each one. His three with just over two minutes to go tied the game at 111, and from there it was a sloppy fight to the finish for both sides.

Butler got some help from hot shooting by Kevin Love (5-of-11 from three) and Gabe Vincent (4-of-11 from three), who hit a critical bucket with 8.4 seconds to play to cut the lead to one after a couple rare misses from Butler allowed Milwaukee to push the lead out to four at the foul line.

From there it was chaos, with the Bucks trying to throw the ball away, Kyle Lowry getting called for a phantom foul, and the referees eventually overturning the call upon review. On the jump ball, the Bucks again tried to throw the ball away, with Khris Middleton saving it to Holiday to prevent a total catastrophe, sending Holiday to the line with just over two seconds to play.

Holiday could only split the foul shots, giving Miami a chance to tie the game or win it outright, and everyone knew who the ball was going to. Even so, Butler was able to get free at the basket for an unbelievable finish off a lob, as he threw it up at the rim while parallel to the ground, falling to his back as the ball went through to tie the game.

The Bucks, for some reason, didn’t call their last timeout with half a second on the clock to try and get a look at a game-winner, resulting in overtime in Milwaukee. With the Bucks clearly shaken, Butler and the Heat quickly jumped out to a seven-point advantage, as his outrageous shot-making display continued.

The Bucks would make a run to cut the deficit to as few as two with under 10 seconds to play, but they could not even get a shot off before the buzzer as Grayson Allen dribbled out the clock without realizing the situation to give Miami a 128-126 win and a stunning 4-1 series victory.

Given the Bucks’ pedigree, it’s truly stunning to watch them meltdown like this in back-to-back games, and one can’t help but think this kind of embarrassment in the first round will likely lead to some significant changes in Milwaukee. For the Heat, they now set up a showdown with the Knicks in the second round that will have 90s NBA fans sweating, with Butler currently playing like the best player in the entire NBA.

Armani White shot straight to stardom with his massive TikTok hit “Billie Eilish.” Since the release of that viral track, he’s collaborated with Denzel Curry for the song “Goated,” as well as performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. It looks like the rapper is keeping up the momentum.

On Wednesday, April 26, White took to Twitter to share a teaser clip for his forthcoming EP. “ROAD TO CASABLANCO,” he wrote, “MAY 5th.” In a silly video, he writes in a journal while his internal monologue plays aloud. “Lil Mani finally bought a crib,” he says as it begins. The video ends with him saying, “Welcome to Casablanco.” The first single is “Silver Tooth,” which was released on Friday, April 21.

In Uproxx‘s 2022 interview with White, he talked about his unexpected rise to fame. “It’s cool because I’m one of the last shining stars from the Batcave era. Back then, I was just the weird kid,” he said. “Everybody was making songs about shooting each other, and I was making boom bap. It built a lot of character because I had to be the one person to champion my songs when I was in a building where everybody was like, ‘Alright, that’s kinda weird.’”

Road To Casablanco is out 5/5. Find more information here.

David Byrne is everywhere these days. The Talking Heads frontman joined Maggie Rogers on stage in February at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to perform “Strange Overtones.” He’s also promoting the forthcoming A24 restoration of the 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.

Now the musician is collaborating with John Mulaney. On Twitter, the comedian shared a clip and wrote, “Putting it together with our amazing crew and my hero David Byrne. ‘Baby J’ is streaming now only on @netflix. We hope you enjoy it.”

In our 2021 interview with Byrne about his David Byrne’s American Utopia, he discussed the method behind the choreography. “It doesn’t always have a logic to it, but what we discover is that as a viewer, in our brains, we tend to connect things that happen at the same time,” he explained. “If somebody moves a certain way and the music’s doing this, and the words are saying this, your brain puts it all together and it tells you that somehow that movement has some connection with what’s being said. It may not have been originally conceived that way, but it ends up happening. I’m not going to say none of it makes any sense, but there’s not a super logical connection between all the movement and what the songs are saying.”

Better Call Saul had a rollercoaster ride of a final season, going to one dark place after another. Even throwing in another one of the funniest people on the planet only made it more bleak. No less than Carol Burnett, one of the all-time legends of comedy, swung by for four episodes to play Marion, the elderly mother of a cab driver who recognized Bob Odenkirk’s antihero when he’s passing himself off as Gene Takovic. Like Breaking Bad, Saul never pulled away from going there, but there was one thing that not even Odenkirk would do.

The Mr. Show alum was one of many high profile speakers at the birthday celebration Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, which aired Wednesday night on NBC. Odenkirk told a story about how their final scene was supposed to play out, and how he helped change it.

“They rewrote this scene exactly how I wanted it, but not how your so-called good friend Better Call Saul executive producer Vince Gilligan had written it,” Odenkirk jokingly told Burnett and crowd.

“Carol, there’s something that you should know,” he explained. “Vince wanted my character to kill you in that scene. Look at him, he’s shaking his head. His exact words to me were, ‘Saul ends up killing Carol Burnett.’ And if I remember correctly, he didn’t say, ‘Kill Carol’s character,’ he said, ‘Kill Carol Burnett.’ But I refused, and I told him I’d walk.

“Carol,” he continued, “I was willing to risk my career and never working in this town again. Because I didn’t want little children who watched our show — and I hope many of them did — to see me on the street and say, ‘Mommy, that’s the man who killed Carol Burnett.’ That’s all I wanted to say. That I’m your real friend and Vince is not. And one more thing, Vince and I, and everybody on our show, we think you’re the greatest.”

Odenkirk has played characters who’ve done plenty of questionable things over his storied career, but he’s right: No one wants to be known for killing Carol freakin’ Burnett.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Something In The Water Festival is back. The Virginia Beach music shindig hosted by Pharrell is taking place this weekend, from April 28 to April 30. With acts like Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, Skrillex, and more, it’s not something you want to miss.

The set times are out now, with performers either taking the Lunar Stage or the Solar Stage. All times are p.m. and EST. Find them in full below.

Friday, April 28

Black Sherif — 12:30 @ Lunar Stage
Gigi Perez — 12:35 @ Solar Stage
Kitty Ca$h — 1:05 @ Lunar Stage
Yvngxchris — 1:15 @ Solar Stage
NLE Choppa — 1:55 @ Solar Stage
Yendry — 2:00 @ Lunar Stage
Babyface Ray — 2:45 @ Lunar Stage
Remi Wolf — 2:50 @ Solar Stage
Kenny Beats — 3:35 @ Lunar Stage
Jazmine Sullivan — 4:00 @ Solar Stage
Maren Morris — 4:50 @ Lunar Stage
Arcade Fire — 5:15 @ Solar Stage
Third Eye Blind — 6:05 @ Lunar Stage
Doechii — 6:40 @ Solar Stage
Wale — 7:15 @ Lunar Stage
Polo G — 7:40 @ Solar Stage
Kehlani — 8:25 @ Lunar Stage
Skrillex — 8:55 @ Solar Stage
Mumford & Sons — 10:20 @ Lunar Stage
Kid Cudi — 11:00 @ Solar Stage

Saturday, April 29

Flo — 12:15 @ Lunar Stage
Riovaz —12:30 @ Solar Stage
Weston Estate — 1:05 @ Lunar Stage
Ayra Starr — 1:15 @ Solar Stage
Umi — 2:00 @ Solar Stage
BadBadNotGood — 2:05 @ Lunar Stage
Kamasi Washington — 3:05 @ Solar Stage
SWV — 3:15 @ Lunar Stage
Coi Leray — 4:10 @ Solar Stage
Wet Leg — 4:25 @ Lunar Stage
The Kid Laroi — 5:25 @ Solar Stage
Latto — 5:35 @ Lunar Stage
Jonas Brothers — 6:40 @ Solar Stage
Kaytranada — 6:50 @ Lunar Stage
Lil Yachty — 7:40 @ Solar Stage
Machine Gun Kelly — 8:25 @ Lunar Stage
Summer Walker — 9:05 @ Solar Stage
Lil Wayne — 9:45 @ Lunar Stage
Pharrell’s Phriends — 10:30 @ Solar Stage

Sunday, April 30

Kaycyy — 1:40 @ Solar Stage
FNF Chop — 2:05 @ Lunar Stage
Saucy Santana — 2:25 @ Solar Stage
Chika — 2:35 @ Lunar Stage
100 Gecs — 3:20 @ Solar Stage
D4vd — 3:30 @ Lunar Stage
Jessie Murph — 4:15 @ Lunar Stage
Amine — 4:25 @ Solar Stage
Flo Milli — 5:10 @ Lunar Stage
Grace Jones — 5:45 @ Solar Stage
Masego — 6:20 @ Lunar Stage
Nile Rodgers & Chic — 7:25 @ Solar Stage
Feid — 7:35 @ Lunar Stage
Lil Durk — 8:50 @ Lunar Stage
Clipse — 9:00 @ Solar Stage
Wu-Tang Clan — 10:00 @ Lunar Stage
Lil Uzi Vert — 10:30 @ Solar Stage

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

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has a killer lineup this year with headliners like Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons ,Santana, Jon Batiste, and The Lumineers. The first weekend kicks off this Friday, April 28, and there’s a ton of performers to watch.

There are 16 stages: The Festival Stage, Shell Gentilly Stage, Congo Square Stage, WWOZ Jazz Tent, Blues Tent, Economy Hall Tent, Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage, Jazz & Heritage Stage, Gospel Tent presented by Morris Bart, Lagniappe Stage, Cultural Exchange Pavilion Celebrates Puerto Rico, AARP Rhythmpourium, Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage, Kids Tent Stage, Parades, and Native American Circle.

The set times are out now here. You can check out the highlights for this weekend below, all p.m.

Friday, April 28

glbl wrmng — 12:20 @ Congo Square Stage
Big Freedia — 2 @ Festival Stage
Tank and The Bangas — 3:40 @ Festival Stage
Tyron Benoit Band — 4:15 @ AARP Rhythmpourium
Allison Russell — 4:20 @ Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage
Lizzo — 5:25 @ Festival Stage
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — 5:30 @ Shell Gentilly Stage
Wu-Tang Clan + The Soul Rebels — 5:40 @ Congo Square Stage
Mavis Staples — 6 @ Blues Tent
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience — 6 @ Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage

Saturday, April 29

The Revivalists — 3:30 @ Festival Stage
The Campbell Brothers — 4:15 @ Blues Tent
Catherine Russell — 4:20 @ Economy Hall Tent
Ed Sheeran — 5:30 @ Festival Stage
Steve Miller Band — 5:30 @ Shell Gentilly Stage
Cory Wong — 5:35 @ WWOZ Jazz Tent
Secret Six — 5:50 @ Economy Hall Tent
Jazmine Sullivan — 6 @ Congo Square Stage

Sunday, April 30

Cyril Neville — 2:35 @ Shell Gentilly Stage
Kenny Neal — 2:50 @ Blues Tent
Gary Clark Jr. — 3:15 @ Festival Stage
Mdou Moctar — 4:10 @ Blues Tent
Tedeschi Trucks Band — 5:15 @ Festival Stage
Kenny Loggins — 5:30 @ Shell Gentilly Stage
Jill Scott — 5:40 @ Congo Square Stage
Jamie Cullum — 5:40 @ WWOZ Jazz Tent
Marcus King — 5:40 @ Blues Tent

Rico Nasty has been on a roll. From her hot new merch collection to headlining the spring 2023 Monster Energy Outbreak Tour, the unhinged rapper is having a big year so far. Now she’s supplying the tunes to prove it.

Her new song “Turn It Up” is a great dose of Rico Nasty’s signature cutthroat hip hop. “I just put the cash in a stash / Why you lookin’ on my page and you ain’t even wash ya ass? / I got a check, now I don’t know how to act,” she raps against a fiery beat. The video follows the star as she cleans a house as a maid, though she’s not doing the best job while she sips wine while sitting on the kitchen counter. Watch till the end for quite the plot twist.

Last year, Rico Nasty unveiled her album Las Ruinas, which featured Don Toliver, Gucci Mane, Amine, Trippie Redd, Ppcocaine, Sukihana, and Rubi Rose. She was also a guest on Megan Thee Stallion’s album Traumazine for the song “Scary,” and she was recruited by Fred Again for a remix of his track “Jungle.”

Watch the video for “Turn It Up” above.

Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Imagine being called back to again do a job you hadn’t done in decades. If you’re a big time Hollywood actor, that’s become a regular part of the business. Just ask Michael Keaton, who in The Flash plays Batman/Bruce Wayne for the first time in some 31 years. But another performer who played an iconic role is taking a stand.

In a new interview with Total Film (as caught by Deadline), Sigourney Weaver was decidedly no longer interested in returning again to the role that made her a star. That’s right: You won’t be seeing her play Ellen Ripley, the lone survivor of the first Alien — and who made three more, despite eating it in the second sequel — ever again.

“There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role. And there was an Alien [film] that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp and we didn’t get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed,” Weaver told Total Film. “I’m very happy doing what I’m doing. I put in my time in space!”

In the mid-teens, Weaver was in talks to reprise Ripley for a fifth Alien, to have been helmed by District 9’s Neil Blomkamp. Alas, that one got shelved when original Alien director Ridley Scott decided to make the Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel Alien: Covenant. That one’s underperformance chilled the franchise for a bit, though a new, Hulu-bound stand-alone from Don’t Breathe’s Fede Álvarez is currently in principal photography. And so her last stint as Ripley will have been over 25 years ago, in Alien: Resurrection.

Weaver may not ever return as Ripley, but she is busy with all those Avatar sequels, in which she’s now playing a Na’vi teenager. She did, however, go see the amazing-looking Alien play mounted at a New Jersey high school.

(Via Deadline)

Just about 20 years ago, Dwyane Wade was selected fifth overall by the Miami Heat in the 2003 NBA Draft. A native of Chicago, Wade hosted his Draft party in the Windy City. At one point, as relays to Rachel Nichols in a recent interview, his cousin, Antoine Wade, approached him and told him Michael Jordan was in attendance. Wade grew up watching Jordan lead the Bulls to five titles and thought his cousin was pulling a fast one on him, even more so when he heard security wasn’t letting Jordan inside. After Wade was finally convinced of the story’s validity, he knew he had to see what was going on.

“We beeline out of the club. Right out of the doors, it’s a slew of motorcycles and Michael Jordan is sitting right there on one of the motorcycles,” Wade said. “I run right up to him. It was like seeing a ghost. And I run right up to him, and he said, he was like, I just wanted to come and show you some love.

“That’s a true story. That was my first time meeting Michael Jordan and it was the coolest experience ever. He was sitting on a motorcycle looking cool as shit.”

The entire story is hilarious, especially given Jordan led the Bulls to a title just five years earlier and was only months removed from wrapping up an All-Star season with the Washington Wizards. But he couldn’t gain access to a Chicago club, despite his massive celebrity status globally and in Chicago. Regardless, it ended up being a memorable introduction for Wade to one of the game’s all-time great, just as Wade was kicking off his own legendary NBA career.