Month: June 2023

The Indiana Pacers have been mentioned as a team to potentially watch as the NBA’s free agency period begins. The team is flush with cap space, has one of the league’s premier young guards in Tyrese Haliburton, and is built around a roster that sure seems like it’s only a piece or two away from being able to make a run at a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

With that in mind, Indiana is apparently on the verge of pulling off a deal with the team that sent them Haliburton in the first place. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Pacers and the Sacramento Kings are close to a trade that will send Chris Duarte to the Western Conference. In return, Indiana will get draft compensation.

The move would reunite Duarte, a 26-year-old guard whom the Pacers selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, with Domantas Sabonis, the player that Indiana moved in the deal that landed them Haliburton. After getting an All-Rookie Second Team nod during his first year in the league, Duarte saw his role decrease during his sophomore campaign in part due to injury woes. He appeared in 46 games with 12 starts while averaging 7.9 points in 19.5 minutes per game and connected on 31.6 percent from his attempts from behind the three-point line.

ESPN will be making some major changes to its NBA coverage next season, as their longtime lead booth of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson will no longer be together.

On Friday, word broke from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post that 20 on-air personalities were going to be part of this latest round of layoffs. Among those is reportedly Jeff Van Gundy, who will no longer be the network’s lead NBA analyst after being in that role for the last 16 years with the network. There are expected to be other big names among the layoffs, as this latest round was meant to trim those making near or above seven figures to limit the behind the scenes jobs that would get cut, per Marchand.

While Van Gundy’s propensity for on-air rants were grating to some viewers, he has always been one of the best at breaking down the X’s and O’s of the game as it is happening when calling an engaging game and not caught in a tangent. Losing that from the lead booth is a considerable loss, as is someone with the tenure and stature to call out the league when he sees fit, as Van Gundy regularly did.

As for replacements, Marchand notes Doris Burke, JJ Redick, and Richard Jefferson are all considered internal candidates to be bumped into the lead booth, with Burke having obvious rapport with Breen and Jackson having worked with that group as a sideline reporter for years. Doc Rivers is also floated as an external candidate to return to the broadcast booth, as his cost could be mitigated by the money still being paid out by his Sixers contract.

The coolest teen in rap is back with another trunk thumper. “Brand New Blues” fits right in with the rest of Luh Tyler‘s oeuvre, featuring swaggering verses and no hook to speak of, laid over a ghostly combination of synth sounds and a thundering kick drum. “I told you I don’t need no pen and pad, I’m comin’ off my top,” he smirks. “These n****s chasin’ hoes before the bag, that sh*t gotta stop.”

Those are the sort of priorities that ensured Luh Tyler a place in XXL‘s 2023 Freshman Class alongside other breakout stars like GloRilla, Lola Brooke, and TiaCorine. While there’s likely more content to come on that front, Tyler himself has stuck to his own grind, dropping the “Weeks” video just a couple of weeks ago and joining Moneybagg Yo on the Larger Than Life Tour later this summer. Tyler’s solo My Vision Tour is wrapping up this week with a show tonight in Orlando, just four hours from his hometown, Tallahassee, and the finale in Tampa tomorrow. Then, he’ll be headed overseas for Rolling Loud festivals in Portugal and Germany before a triumphant homecoming to RL Miami. That’ll be a sight to see.

Listen to Luh Tyler’s “Brand New Blues” above.

Luh Tyler is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Yachty neither forgives nor forgets, it appears: Sean Paul once threw shade at Yachty, and Yachty still isn’t cool with Paul.

Yachty recently shared the debut episode of A Safe Place, his new podcast co-hosted by MitchGoneMad. In the June 28 episode, Yachty and Mitch discussed “falling off,” with Mitch bringing up Sean Paul. Yachty responded, “Nobody ever said Sean Paul fell off. They just stopped making music. I don’t think they’re still dropping music… By the way, f*ck Sean Paul. I want to make that very clear, I don’t f*ck with Sean Paul. Sean Paul once dissed me in a radio interview.”

The interview Yachty’s talking about (as Complex notes) is a 2016 appearance on The Breakfast Club, not long after Yachty claimed he couldn’t name five songs by the Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac. Paul said, “If it was really about talent in the hip hop industry, you wouldn’t have some of these younger cats talking that […] the Lil Yachty dem. The ‘boat boy.’ I mean, I don’t know much of the dude’s music either. I don’t like his comments. Those are artists I revere. I understand that probably kids don’t care about writing right now. I understand they don’t know where hip-hop started.”

Watch the full episode above.

Just as April showers brings May flowers, so too does June movie duds bring July movie… studs? OK, that could use some work, but after The Flash and Elemental, two of the biggest blockbusters to come out this month, underperformed at the box office, excitement is high for the holy trifecta of films coming out in July: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenheimer, and Barbie (which is also the order you should see them in).

Earlier this week, Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise initiated “back to the movies” protocol for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, as well as Oppenheimer and Barbie. “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie,” he tweeted, along with photos where he and director co-writer Christopher McQuarrie are standing in front of posters for the three summer films.

Barbie star Margot Robbie and filmmaker Greta Gerwig have now repaid the favor. “Mission: Accepted!” a tweet on the official Barbie movie account reads. The Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Oppenheimer advertisements and tickets are still there, like in Cruise’s tweet, but instead of Barbie, the pair posed with a Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One poster.

Your move, Nolan.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One comes out on July 12th, followed by Oppenheimer and Barbie on July 21st.

(Via Twitter/Barbie)

The Game never passes up an opportunity to address the trending music news of the day. From Nicki Minaj’s impact on rap to the tragic passing of Aaron Carter, the “Ricky” rapper keeps his hand on the pulse of the music. Now, he’s taking the time to correct a headline related to his career.

In a sit-down with Amazon Music’s Bimma Williams, The Game finally cleared up the 50 Cent ghostwriting rumors. A few years ago, during a Clubhouse broadcast, music professional Wack100 claimed that The Game had written his former G-Unit leader’s 2003 song, “What Up Gangsta.” The song appeared on 50 Cent’s groundbreaking debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. However, it turns out that wasn’t the whole truth.

“I didn’t write ‘What Up Gangta’ for 50. I was in there and part of the influence,” said The Game.

When clarifying what he meant by influence, the entertainer turned his attention to the chorus, saying, “But obviously, you know, ‘What up, Blood? What up, Cuz? What up, Gangsta?’ is Los Angeles influenced. It’s LA. So it is what it is.”

He later added, “But yeah, I didn’t do no writing for 50, 50 ain’t do no writing for me. 50 is not a better writer than me. Not a better lyricist, you know what I’m sayin’? Better with melodies and hooks — that’s his thing. I’ll give him that. I’m not gonna take nothing away from nobody that’s good at what they good at, but as far as, like, lyricism, he can’t f*ck with me on that level. But he know.”

Too bad that the Power Universe producer has previously denied that The Game had anything to do with the track. When he appeared on The Breakfast Club, 50 Cent said, “[The Game] said he wrote ‘What Up Gangsta.’ I’m like, ‘C’mon, bro. You weren’t even around when we did that. That was Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. We didn’t even know who he was until after. There’s a point when you [reach] desperation, and you’ll say anything.”

Del Amo’s own Jayson Cash pulls up on UPROXX Sessions for a laid-back performance of his song “Some More Of It.” With a voice and flow like a cross between DJ Quik and Ab-Soul, Cash steps to the mic with enough West Coast swagger to launch a fleet of lowriders down Crenshaw Blvd. “Let me put some Jayson in it,” he boasts. Well, go on, then.

Cash’s buzz has grown over the past year since releasing his major-label debut project, Read The Room, which contained features from LA staples like Blxst and Dom Kennedy and fellow rising star Kalan.FrFr. There are big things on the horizon for the South LA native, so he’s worth keeping an ear to the street for.

Watch Jayson Cash perform “Some More Of It” for UPROXX Sessions above.

Jayson Cash is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Bad Bunny always has a lot on his plate. The chart-dominating artist recently confirmed a collaboration with Travis Scott; last month, he shared a video for “Where She Goes,” which featured a Frank Ocean cameo.

Now, he’s teamed up with Tainy for the dreamy track “Mojabi Ghost,” from Tainy’s new album Data. For nearly four minutes, glimmering synthesizers imbue the song with light and his vocals are poignant amidst the glowing sound. It’s a magical match; the pair have a palpable chemistry, and it was also demonstrated on the hopeful 2020 track “Un Día,” which also had J Balvin and Dua Lipa.

Though Bad Bunny has a busy schedule, he recently addressed the phone-throwing incident again, to clear up the situation further, saying the woman “got right on me, leaned directly on my body.” He clarified that the device wasn’t tossed into a body of water as it was reported. “Bro, that cellphone didn’t break,” he told Rolling Stone. “It exists. It bothers me that people haven’t said that. I didn’t throw that phone into the water. I threw it into some bushes.” He added that the fan picked it up after. “She has it. She should upload the video.”

Listen to “Mojabi Ghost” above.

On Indiecast, Steven and Ian try to keep the gap between what we talk about privately in the DM’s and what we talk about on the show as narrow as possible. But given all the weird online discourse this week, that just wasn’t possible in this episode. Between all the Boygenius gatekeeping and “state of music criticism” chatter, it was a very odd bunch of days online. Oh, and as if things were bad enough: Fall Out Boy released an updated version of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire” covering the years between 1989 and now. The whole ordeal provoked another anti-Fall Out Boy rant from Steven.

Thankfully, the guys found solace in the mailbag. Listeners came through with some very good topics: Is it possible to separate your “critic” brain from your “fan” brain? How important are record labels now as arbiters of quality? What makes a good concert T-shirt? Also, the guys “yay or nay” the aughts era indie band Art Brut, which prompted a Fall Out Boy-style rant from Ian.

Finally, in Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up arty metalheads Loma Prieta while Steven stumps for the mellow Michigan folk-rock band Bonny Doon.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 145 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Olivia Rodrigo took over the music world in 2021 with Sour, and now she’s officially started the rollout for her sophomore album, Guts, with the new single “Vampire.” Now she’s sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to chat about the upcoming album in a new interview. During the conversation, she revealed a studio trick she uses to deliver more emotional vocal performances.

She explained:

“I’m very emotional, and I think my background in child acting helps me a little bit get really emotional. And me and Dan [Nigro], my producer, we sometimes have a joke where if I’m not giving a performance that’s emotional enough on the microphone, he’ll literally film me, and I’ll do it better just because I’m being filmed. I got a hack. So next time you need an emotional performance, just film yourself.”

She also spoke about the title of her new album, saying, “I had it for a long time. I had it actually when I was making SOUR. I’m like, ‘I want the next one to be GUTS.’ I had it in my head. I’m like, ‘Four letters, all caps, just like SOUR.’ I love it. I just think it’s an interesting word. People use it in so many interesting contexts, like ‘spill your guts.’ ‘Hate your guts,’ I think is a really interesting term. Means bravery, but it also means intuition, like, ‘Listen to your gut.’ I just think it’s all of these things that coincidentally were things that I’ve really been thinking about in this chapter.”

Check out the interview above.

Guts is out 9/8 via Geffen. Find more information here.