Month: May 2023

Cardi B turned many heads at Monday’s Met Gala. She donned not one, not two, but three outfits throughout the event, each one extravagant and attention-grabbing.

In a new behind-the-scenes video with Vogue, the rapper talked about getting ready for the important evening and shared details about her iconic ensembles. “My inspirations for this look, it’s just Chanel and Karl. It’s a little mix, because if you see the top, it’s giving the infamous Karl suits with the tie, the white collar. Almost like his suit, but not really,” she said. “At the bottom, if you see the skirt it has the camellias, which is the flower. So yeah, it’s just a little bit of everything. It’s representing the house of Chanel and Karl. Karl is so infamous for his gray hair.”

“Every single time that I got to the Met, it’s fun of course,” she continued. “After my first time going to the Met, I always get anxiety. And the anxieties just grow and grow and grow.” She added, “Maybe because my looks are so spectacular that people just expect every year to be more amazing than the last, and it’s so hard because imagine competing with myself. That is sickening.”

Watch the video above.

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

Keanu Reeves is one of the world’s most lovable celebrities. As an actor he most recently killed it in John Wick 4. However, something most fans don’t know about him is that he dabbles in other arts as well, including music.

In the ’90s, Reeves served as the bassist in an alt-rock band called Dogstar. Of course, he’s been pretty busy since then. However, the band is getting back together, according to an Instagram post made by the group: “Exciting news coming soon.” It’s been 23 years since their last album.

In the comments, the members of Dogstar shared that they were “overjoyed to see such a response,” and further clarified what they’re up to. The comment in full reads:

“Thank you everyone for the kind comments. We are overjoyed to see such a response! Honestly, didn’t expect this. It makes use want to play out even more. We will be rolling out some new music this summer, followed by some gigs. As soon as it’s all figured out we will let everyone know immediately. So much to do, but rest assured, we are on it and have assembled a fantastic team that are helping us. We are also going to make a music video to support our first tune. That’s all I can say now. Can’t wait to share our new music with everyone. It’s the most satisfying and meaningful batch of songs we’ve ever done. Thanks again for being so patient with us. We truly have the best, most loyal fans!”

Who doesn’t like a good mystery?

A video creator known as @katherout certainly does. At the gym Kath frequents, there’s a whiteboard with a revolving prompt with simple questions like “What are you listening to?” or “What city were you born in?” Gym goers then write their responses anonymously on the board.

Kath recently became enthralled—and tickled—by a person who somehow manage to write the word “monke” (as in the word describing a group of monkeys, apparently) on every single one of their answers.

“No matter what the prompt is, somebody always finds a way to write the word ‘monke,’” Kath said in a TikTok video. “This is very amusing to me because I’m very attracted to commitment to the bit.”

Determined to solve who this “mystery monke gymgoer” was, Kath hatched a plan. First, she waited for the right whiteboard opportunity. When the staff wrote, “Who would you like to spend dinner with?” she knew to strike while the iron was hot. So in her reply, she wrote, “Monke Man.”

@katherout my life is very whimsical and fantastical becaise i make it that way by engaging in these sorts or charades #crush #gym #gymtok #dating #truecrime #mystery ♬ original sound – katherout

Much to her surprise, that got a response. Next to her entry, the name Wes was written. At last, a lead!

Keen on aiding Kath in her pursuit of answers, a gym worker at the front desk revealed that there were currently seven or eight people named Wes in the gym’s database. Kath then left a secret admirer note for “Monke Man” at the front desk. She then wrote on the board that whoever kept writing “monke” should go there and pick up their letter.

At this point, several million viewers on TikTok were also invested in Kath’s puzzle, including New York Times best-selling author John Green, who wrote “The Fault in Our Stars.”

“This is a great American drama,” he commented.

@katherout Replying to @literallyjohngreen life is stranger than fiction etc #mysterymonkegymgoer ♬ original sound – katherout

The official TikTok for the highly acclaimed sitcom “Ghosts” also chimed in, writing, “Putting our entire afterlives on pause until we get a monke update.”

Alas—when Kath returned to the gym, she discovered her whiteboard note had been erased, thus bringing her search back to square one. Just as the plot began to thicken, it sizzled out.

Though we might never know Monke Man’s true identity, Kath’s relentless pursuit of whimsy and fun is what people really seemed to respond to anyway. That, and her insatiable curiosity.

The Phoenix Suns are down 0-2 in their second round series against the Denver Nuggets. The Phoenix offense suffered in Game 2 largely due to poor shot making and an offense that is still struggling to fully incorporate Kevin Durant, who the team acquired at the trade deadline.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Phoenix strung together a few possessions with Chris Paul that generated the ball movement they have sorely needed, but unfortunately, that momentum stopped when Paul exited the game with a left groin injury. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that Paul will be re-evaluated in one week, and the team doesn’t expect him back before a potential Game 6.

It’s worth mentioning that getting evaluated in one week doesn’t guarantee that Paul will be ready to play in a week’s time. Paul has a long injury history — particularly soft tissue injuries — in the playoffs that could make Phoenix cautious. Paul joins Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler as stars missing time in the conference semifinals.

Phoenix has struggled to find the right lineups in this series after they traded most of their wing depth for Durant. Monty Williams will have to find creative ways to Devin Booker and Durant to buoy the playmaking void left by Paul. Fortunately, Cam Payne recently returned from injury for the Suns and will presumably play a key role in keeping their season alive as the series heads to Phoenix.

Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour has been full of surprises. At one of her Tampa concerts, she brought out The National’s Aaron Dessner for “The Great War.” Marcus Mumford joined her onstage in Las Vegas for “Cowboy Like Me.” In Atlanta on Saturday, April 29, she surprised fans with… a dad joke about cats.

“Okay so,” the “Anti-Hero” singer began, cleverly coping with brief technical difficulties, “a cat walks into a library and the cat says, ‘Um yes I’ll have some tuna fish please.’ And the lady at the counter says, ‘Sir, this is a library.’ And the cat says [whispering], ‘Oh I’m sorry, I’ll have some tuna fish please.’”

The crowd cheered and she added, “I’m so sorry. My ears are back. Just at the perfect time because that was like a dad joke from hell.”

Swift also surprised fans in Atlanta by honoring The National with a performance of “Coney Island.” “I was lucky enough to be able to write a song with [The National] for their new album, which is called the First Two Pages Of Frankenstein,” she said. “Check it out, stream it, buy it on vinyl. I love them so much. They’ve been so kind to me,” Swift added. “So, I’m not gonna sing the song that we have on this new album — it’s called ‘The Alcott’ — check that out, though. But I am gonna sing ‘Coney Island.’”

The disparity between what Donald Trump and his fans think he is and who he really is has always been a source of comedy/enragement. He and MAGA heads believe he’s a tough guy with good jokes who won election twice. His detractors think he’s a coward, a charlatan, a liar, and much else besides. There’s a lot of questionable fan art out there (and NFTs, released by the big guy himself, with more to come) depicting him as things that he’s not, including as a superhero, as a cowboy, and as both Rambo and Rocky. Now there’s AI art, and it sure is weird/offensive.

As per Mediaite, new AI images show Trump as something he really isn’t: a soldier. In reality, the younger Donald received draft deferments during the Vietnam War five separate times. One excuse was that he had bone spurs, a calcium build-up in the heel that causes protrusions. It wasn’t unusual for men of wealthy families to get doctors to claim they suffered from such maladies, but most of them don’t become Republican presidents (who also insult POWs).

The images were shared by big time MAGA world figures, which prompted both mockery as well as offense, especially from veterans who didn’t like that they were being lumped in with a guy who insults military leaders and never served.

The modern version of AI is still in its early days, though one of its pioneers has already — quite belatedly — warned of its copious dangers. No doubt there will be plenty more artificially-rendered Trump images and videos, and more ridiculous than these.

(Via Mediaite)

Following back-to-back years as runner-up, Joel Embiid was named 2022-23 NBA MVP on Tuesday nightly. Shortly after the news was announced, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Twitter account released a video of Embiid, surrounded by his Sixers teammates, learning he won the award watching TNT’s broadcast, with Charles Barkley breaking the news. The video is quite heartwarming and full of tender and silly moments, which more or less begin when all of his teammates start chanting MVP for the big fella.

The smirk into a full-on smile from Embiid is pure. Tobias Harris’ elation while sitting inches from Embiid is a fun tidbit. Tyrese Maxey shaking De’Anthony Melton to his core while putting him in a subtle headlock and filming Embiid from afar is hilarious energy. He also continues to roll the camera when he darts over to Embiid and places his hand on Embiid’s shoulder in congratulations.

Then, there’s James Harden wrapping his superstar teammate in not one, but two, bearhugs and playfully yelling “he’s crying” as Embiid is moved to tears absorbing the gravity of his MVP selection. After the initial antics, everyone gives him some space to take in everything. It’s all very sweet to see how much the moment means to Embiid and the absolute joy him winning brings his teammates.

Strange Ranger are known for being quite adventurous. They were praised for their 2021 album Remembering The Rockets. It looks like their memorable flair is not changing any time soon. The Portland, OR-based indie-rock band announced the impending arrival of their new album Pure Music on Tuesday, May 2, and the lead single “She’s On Fire” is a singular, hallucinatory track that couldn’t have been predicted.

“When you’re young, it feels like life has a kind of arc to it and up ahead in the future, there’s some point where all your experiences converge and this fog of confusion will lift and you will have arrived,” vocalist and guitarist Isaac Eiger said about the song. “This is definitely not true and increasingly, music is the steadying hand I lean on when looking for meaning. It provides a spiritualism that feels absent from much of life and I want to be as close to that feeling as possible.”

Listen to “She’s On Fire” above. Find the album artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Rain So Hard”
2. “She’s On Fire”
3. “Dream”
4. “Way Out”
5. “Blue Shade”
6. “Blush”
7. “Wide Awake”
8. “Ask Me About My Love Life”
9. “Fantasy”
10. “Dazed in the Shallows”

Pure Music is out 7/21 on Fire Talk Records. Find more information here.

The 2023 NBA MVP award was one of the most hotly-contested in recent memory. Between Nikola Jokic’s quest to become the fourth player in league history to go back-to-back-to-back, Joel Embiid’s efforts to take the award home for the first time, and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s two-way excellence with an eye on winning the award for the first time since 2020, this year’s MVP race had a trio of deserving finalists.

Ultimately, as we learned on Tuesday night, the award is heading to Philly. As the Inside the NBA crew announced, Embiid has joined the pantheon of superstars to be named NBA MVP.

Embiid has the most productive season of his professional career. The Philadelphia 76ers’ star center led the NBA with 33.1 points per game and chipped in 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, and one steal in 34.6 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 54.8 percent from the field. Currently, Embiid and the Sixers are in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics. The team holds a 1-0 series lead, although Embiid was unable to play in Game 1 due to a knee injury.

Jokic put forth one of the most efficient seasons in NBA history, as he scored 24.5 points per game on a ridiculous 63.2 percent shooting from the field and 38.3 percent shooting from three. He narrowly missed averaging a triple-double, too, as Jokic went for 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 33.7 minutes per game. The Denver Nuggets are in the midst of playing the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals and have a 2-0 series lead.

Antetokounmpo was, as usual, a force for the Milwaukee Bucks on offense and defense. While he was limited to only 63 games in the regular season, Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 32.1 minutes a night while playing some of the most ferocious defense in the NBA. Unfortunately for Antetokounmpo, he is the only MVP finalist who is no longer playing, as he was hampered by a back injury in the Bucks’ first round series against the Miami Heat, which Miami went on to win in five games.

The majority of 11-year-olds are perfectly content balancing the pre-teen life with Barbie dolls and tinted lipgloss. But one pre-teen is busy breaking records. Victory Brinker is an 11-year-old opera prodigy who was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s youngest opera singer in 2019 when she was almost 8 years old.

If you like opera—or even if you don’t—hearing her vocal range of three octaves and voice control is impressive. When it comes to singing, control of your breath, pitch and tone can be difficult, especially when you’re without years of classical training. Victory’s skill is so impressive that when she appeared on America’s Got Talent last year, she was given the “golden buzzer,” which sends you straight to the finalist round in Hollywood.

Her impressive chops have also landed her trips around the country, an opportunity to sing at the Steelers game and even a couple of flights across the globe.

“I’ve gone to Paris. I’ve gone to Milan, Italy,” Victory told ABC4. As for the Steelers game, she said it was cold.

Victory is one of 11 children, and while the rest of the world is just finding out about her talent and want to hear more from her, her siblings would like for her to cut back on the singing. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since most siblings are less impressed by what their brother or sister can do than people who don’t have to live with them.

Victory’s siblings being over her constant singing doesn’t deter the pint-sized opera powerhouse; she simply sings to her stuffed animals. The singer is also able to sing in multiple languages, so when she’s done annoying her siblings in English she can choose from a list of languages to sing in.

“English, of course. Latin, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean and Ukrainian,” Victory revealed to ABC4.

Listen to Victory belt out a familiar opera tune below: