Month: April 2023

The Memphis Grizzlies saw their season come to a premature end on Friday night. Facing elimination in Game 6 of their opening round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Grizzlies walked into Crypto.com Arena and got run out of the building, as the Lakers were able to pick up an emphatic, 125-85 win.

While Los Angeles has been one of the best teams in the Western Conference in recent weeks and Memphis was without three important players due to injuries (Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Luke Kennard), it was nonetheless a shocking fall from grace for a team that looked like a contender for much of the year. This is especially because the team’s star guard, Ja Morant, declared earlier this season that the only team he thought would challenge the Grizzlies was the Boston Celtics, as he believed the Grizzlies were “fine in the West.”

Unsurprisingly, Morant was asked about that quote after the loss, and he made clear that he just has to deal with it.

“I don’t mind,” Morant said about the quote getting thrown back in his face after this. “I don’t care. I said it, I’ll deal with it.”

Morant struggled mightily in Game 6, as he scored 10 points on 3-for-16 shooting with six assists, five rebounds, and three steals in 34 minutes of work. The 10 points marked a playoff career-low.

Cardi B isn’t one to mince words. So, it’s clear that she can easily see through anyone’s BS. Cardi isn’t here for anyone’s fake persona in real life or online, and she had some choice words for some people who had been hating on her.

Yesterday (April 28), the “Up” rapper took to Twitter to express disdain for people who take on a different personality for the sake of their online presence.

“That mean girl persona y’all put on for the internet don’t fool me,” she said. “I can tell y’all were NERDS in high school.”

Though Cardi didn’t tag anyone in particular, she responded to a fan, who said that these people must’ve been “lonely asf at the lunch table.”

Cardi doubled down, saying, “it just be so cringe watching kids, grown woman/Men be on some nasty stank ish on the internet when you was getting your face smushed In the hallway …MIRRORING the exact same people you use to HATE!”

This series of tweets comes just a few days after Cardi voiced her support for a young woman who shared a video of herself taking selfies at a baseball game, while being mocked by fans in the rows behind her.

“I would of put that ring to use,” she said.

It’s clear that Cardi isn’t here for bullies of any kind.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Vic Mensa‘s new song “Swish,” a scorching collaboration with Chance The Rapper and G-Eazy is the talk of the internet. The reunion between the late blog-era rappers is evoking a sense of nostalgia, while providing fresh sounds. Equally as buzzy is the song’s video, which features the three artists making the rounds across Chicago.

In the video, Vic, Chance, and G-Eazy are seen riding motorcycles throughout the city, riding trains with twerking women, and enjoying dinner in Chicago-style diners. At the end of the video is a dedication to sports drifter Jake Rio.

Since the beginning of his career, Vic has been labeled a “conscious rapper,” among the likes of Chance, as well as Kendrick Lamar. “Swish” is a more bouncy, party-ready record than anything he’s done in the past. In an interview with Paper from this past February, Vic revealed that while he doesn’t mind the title, he does find a sense of cognitive dissonance when he makes music outside of the realm.

“I think the place where it becomes sticky is that it’s not the entirety of my being as a person,” said Mensa. “So if I want to make a ratchet-ass song for the strip clubs, I feel very conflicted. Can I even do this? That’s where it becomes conflicting for me.”

You can check out the video for “Swish” above.

The Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to punch a ticket to the Western Conference Semifinals on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. With the game happening in Crypto.com Arena, L.A. came out on fire and made clear that they had no plans on heading back to Memphis for a potential Game 7.

Anthony Davis, in particular, played like a man possessed on Friday. Whether he was doing the dirty work on offense or playing one of the best defensive games of his career, Davis was nothing short of magnificent. And in the third quarter, he was responsible for perhaps the nastiest poster we have seen all postseason, which came at the expense of the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, Jaren Jackson Jr.

With the Lakers up 84-55 in the third quarter, Dennis Schröder walked the ball up the floor and got met by Davis, who set a screen. Davis rolled, Schröder lobbed it up, and then, this happened.

That is a stellar effort by Davis, one that the best defensive player in the NBA just had no chance against. It’s been just that kind of night for both teams, in large part because of the performance that we’ve seen out of Davis.

Smokey Robinson, as part of the promotional circuit for his new album, Gasms, is now spilling on a past affair he had with Diana Ross decades ago. It went on for “about a year,” according to his new interview with The Guardian, while Robinson was married to Claudette Rogers.

“I was married at the time. We were working together and it just happened,” he said. “But it was beautiful. She’s a beautiful lady, and I love her right till today. She’s one of my closest people. She was young and trying to get her career together. I was trying to help her. I brought her to Motown, in fact. I wasn’t going after her and she wasn’t going after me. It just happened.”

“After we’d been seeing each other for a while, Diana said to me she couldn’t do that because she knew Claudette, and she knew I still loved my wife. And I did. I loved my wife very much,” Robinson added. “You asked me what happened when we get older, and we get wisdom in life. I learned that we are capable of loving more than one person at the same time.”

While Robinson and Rogers ultimately separated, with the singer getting remarried in 2002, fans are still shocked by his reveal — and why it happened now.

“Smokey Robinson is 83 & felt the need to let us know he slept with Diana Ross. That probably was like in the 70’s,” one user wrote, complete with the crying emoji.

Scroll for some more reactions to the Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross affair reveal.

A few months ago, an Asake concert held at London’s O2 Brixton Academy resulted in a deadly crowd crush, with two victims and several injured.

Because of the tragic incident, the venue’s license was also suspended by the city’s police, who are now trying to shutter the doors of the venue for good. Closed since December, they have deemed that it “has not been successful in identifying the remedial measures which need to be in place before the Academy can safely re-open.”

Musicians and fans alike are now pushing back, sharing their thoughts on social media and starting petitions to keep the venue’s doors open. The closure has also resulted in many tours having to be postponed or adjusted, given the unforeseen circumstance. Since this morning, one uploaded to Change.org has over 20,000 signatures.

Garbage shared a link to it, writing “Save Brixton Academy” on Twitter.

Others, like Primal Scream’s Simone Marie Butler added, “Brixton Academy is such an important and historic venue for south London and live music. There is a police a station literally opposite, surely with new management / infrastructure + security it can be improved ? instead of just shutting it down?”

The next O2 Academy Brixton license meeting is being held on May 15, according to NME.

Continue scrolling for some more reactions from musicians.

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

Bruce Springsteen‘s concert at Barcelona’s Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys had some very special surprise guests. Most notably, Michelle Obama joined The Boss on stage as she sung along with him for “Glory Days.” Michelle was also joined by actress Kate Capshaw for background vocals. (Steven Spielberg is married to her.)

The ladies even got their own microphone and some tambourine, as they jammed out to the nostalgic track, while the rest of the E Street Band played. Fans are loving the energy, with one writing, “Michelle Obama on the stage with Bruce Springsteen in Barcelona, because in the end it’s Springsteen’s world and we’re just guests.”

According to Reuters, Springsteen had gone out to dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama and Spielberg, giving the husbands a treat as well. One of the restaurant employees shared a pic of them all together with the caption, “the pleasure this job brings you!”

However, their relationship with Springsteen goes even further back than that. Barack did a Renegades: Born In The USA podcast with the musician throughout early 2021, given they had been friends already before recording. Spielberg and Capshaw had also attended Springsteen’s shows in the past, including one that was held in Dublin in 2012, according to Alamy.

Check out the clip of Michelle Obama and Kate Capshaw performing with Bruce Springsteen above.

Fans recently started speculating that Summer Walker and BMF actor Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. are dating following some interesting (possibly not-so-coincidental) encounters. Considering the two’s social media posts, it wasn’t long before people pieced the puzzle together.

Walker shared a photo of herself holding a Pringles can while sitting in the passenger side of someone’s Lamborghini with a blue interior. Guess who drives that exact car? Some have also spotted Meech’s classic pink phone case.

Earlier this week, the pair were rumored to have been spotted out together again. Another video uploaded to social media appears to be of the two at a party — but she’s wearing a mask. “If you ain’t tryna be seen out w me ion want it,” one person reacted.

Lil Meech set the record straight today with an Instagram comment after photos surfaced of him with another girl. “This two years ago,” he responded. “Summer is mine.”

Still, not everyone is exactly convinced. “These are two different cars look at the radios,” someone wrote. Even Meech’s comment could serve as an interpretation for the upcoming season, as many pointed out, including, “I like how he did that cause it can be taken 2 ways. He could be saying summer his girl or that he outside this summer.”

View the photos and video sparking the Summer Walker and Lil Meech dating conversation above. Continue scrolling for some additional fan reactions.

Big Freedia is back with a new anthem for all the hotties. Titled “100 Dollar Bill” with Ciara as a feature, it proves to be an incredibly fun dance track that pays off with a hypnotic beat.

Freedia completes it with the equally-energetic lyricism on repeat, “So fresh, so clean! Lookin expensive!,” while Ciara also kicks off the song with, “Walkin’, lookin’ like a 100-dollar bill, new money that’s how I feel.”

“’$100 Bill’ is about feelin like new money hot off the press! Big money! Feelin fresh and extra fabulous, but mostly about feeling good in your own skin. Owning your walk, your talk, your scent, your ride, anything that makes you feel like your best self,” Big Freedia told The Source. “Ciara and I have been talking about working together for a while, so this track was perfect with her.”

“The first time I heard this song I thought the melodies were infectious. But also, even before that, Freedia and I have had such an amazing chemistry since we met, we both talked about working together,” Ciara added. “The record is melodic, it’s a song for everyone from little kids to the grandmas, it just makes you feel joy.”

Listen to Big Freedia’s “100 Dollar Bill” (feat. Ciara) above.

Perhaps the biggest story of the first night of the 2023 NFL Draft was the fall of Will Levis, the quarterback out of Kentucky who did not get selected in the first round. There was plenty of speculation that Levis could go as high as No. 2 overall, but ultimately, he sat in the green room and watched in person as he fell all the way to Day 2.

The hope for Levis was that he would get picked right away in the second round, and thanks to a trade, that ended up happening. The Tennessee Titans traded up to take the No. 33 overall pick from the Arizona Cardinals, which they used to select the big armed quarterback from Kentucky.

Levis has a big arm and good athletic traits, but he struggles with accuracy and consistency. Tennessee provides a chance for him to sit down and learn behind a veteran in Ryan Tannehill, who is a free agent after this season, and potentially take over in 2024. There is the question of what will happen with Malik Willis, who the Titans drafted last year, but for now, it appears they’re banking on Levis to take over under center somewhere down the road.

Levis was the fourth quarterback picked in the 2023 NFL Draft, with Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson going first, second, and fourth overall, respectively.