Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Immigrants explain why they personally celebrate the Fourth of July each year.

Some 300 million people live in the United States. And over 40 million of them are immigrants.

Now, some people might have you believe that too many immigrants might cause us to lose our identity as Americans or that we ought to be fighting and clinging to “the way things were.”

But if you look around, you’ll see that more than 1 in 10 Americans were born somewhere else — meaning they have their own unique set of amazing experiences to share and their own amazing stories about why they’re here.


They each have their own ideas about what being an American means to them, too. And they each have their own reasons for celebrating American independence on the Fourth of July.

So if you want to feel proud, excited, and maybe even a teensy bit emotional about being an American, this one’s for you.

Meet five immigrants from all over the country (and all over the world!) who are showing their American pride in many, many shades of red, white, and blue this year.

Mexican American experience, traditional, celebration

1. Nayeli Ruvalcaba’s Fourth of July is full of traditional Mexican food and mariachi music.

Ruvalcaba, who was born in Mexico but moved to Chicago when she was 4, spent her early childhood in a mostly caucasian neighborhood called Lakeview. There, she says the Fourth of July was pretty much what you’d expect.

“Everyone would be making ribs and burgers and mac and cheese. And my dad would be drinking Budweisers and Coors Light,” she said with a laugh.

Nayeli with her parents.

But when she was 16, she moved to a more diverse area of the city filled with families from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Poland.

There, she says, their holidays are much more vibrant. Neighbors gather in the alleys and share their customs and cultures with one another. They sing along with music (her boyfriend, who is in a mariachi band, often gets the party going). They play games. And then there’s the food: Nayeli says she loves to chow down on delicious Fourth of July dishes like arrachera (a Mexican skirt steak), polish sausage, guacamole, and, of course, burgers.

“I know it’s an American holiday,” she says. “Buteveryone has their own culture. You just mix it in with what everyoneelse does.”

Nayeli and her boyfriend in full mariachi get-up!

watermelon, English tea, mishmash of culture

2. Johanna Dodd and her family celebrate their Fourth of July the “old fashioned way” but with a small U.K.-based twist.

A one-year work contract for her husband brought the Dodds to Connecticut from the U.K. years ago. 12 years later, they’re still here.

The Dodds!

On their Fourth of July, she says, “We tend to do what everyone else in town does. We’ll head to the fireworks display with our cooler packed full of food, and, occasionally, we’ll sneak in some alcohol.”

Sounds pretty American to me!

Johanna’s young daughter watches the fireworks.

“The kids run around, there’s lots of glow sticks, lots of football (both kinds) being played, lots of fun stuff happening. As it gets darker, there’s the national anthem, and then out come the fireworks.”

But there is one slightly British twist to the Dodds’ holiday: “We don’t really do the tailgating thing. We bring what we would call ‘an English tea.’ There’s watermelon, yogurts, cheese sandwiches. Kind of a mishmash of both cultures.”

grilling, fish, Liberia, American experience

3. Martin Matthews says he never misses a Fourth of July parade and for a powerful reason.

Matthews was 8 years old when he first came to America to escape a civil war in his home country of Liberia. One of his first memories? A huge Fourth of July parade in New Jersey.

“I had never seen anything like that. The flags, the drums, everything. I remember watching in awe.”

Martin with his wife.

He returned to Africa later on but came back to live in America again when fighting broke out in his home country. And when he returned, that big parade stuck in his memory.

“I always loved that about America. It was a place I could be safe. A place I could enjoy freedom,” he said. “To celebrate the independence of the United States holds a deep place in my heart.”

These days, Martin is big on having barbecues with friends to celebrate Independence Day. There are a lot of burgers and hot dogs, but he’ll sometimes mix in traditional African dishes, too, like African-style kabobs, to introduce his friends to his heritage.

“It’s a big thing in Africa for people to put fish on the grill, like the whole fish,” he added. “You put the whole thing on there. It was the first time some of my American friends had ever tried fish on the grill that wasn’t salmon.”

But his favorite thing about the holiday is still the parades. “We get there early and wave our American flags. Every year I always wear some kind of American shirt. We sit there and watch everything. It’s my way of saying thanks to my adopted country.”

cricket, India, celebrating holiday, University of Michigan

4. Jay Pockyarath mixes cricket with an American-style barbecue on Independence Day.

“Ever since I was in eighth grade, all I wanted to do was come to the United States,” he told Upworthy. After finishing college in India, he finally got the chance when studying nuclear medicine at the University of Michigan. From there, he married an American woman and started a family.

“The thing that works [in America] is that it’s a meritocracy,” Pockyarath said. “July Fourth is a celebration of that, in my mind. Of independence. Of the freedom to succeed.”

Jay, who was born in India, proudly flies an American flag outside his home for July Fourth.

Pockyarath has lived in the United States for over 40 years, so it’s no surprise that his holiday celebration looks pretty familiar: steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs on the grill. To him, what’s really important is spending time with family.

“Usually we make up games,” he laughed. “We play cricket — not the way it’s supposed to be played, but with a tennis ball. We make up our own rules.”

American flag, Fourth of July, friends and family, decorating

5. Natalia Paruz is originally from Israel, and she decorates everything in red, white, and blue.

Natalia is now a musician in New York City.

“First I came here with my parents [about 20 years ago] for a year. At the end of the year, they went back to Israel, and I wanted to stay here,” she told Upworthy.

Now she works as a musician in New York City. And she absolutely, positively loves the Fourth of July.

“It’s a really fun day. It’s a day where you can put politics aside. It’s a day for celebrating the joy of this country.”

Natalia and her husband host friends every year for a big meal. “I love decorating the house for the holiday with the flags. There’s always a big flag hanging from the flagpole. In the back, that’s where I really go all out. Every tree gets some kind of decoration!”

“We make hot dogs, hamburgers — how can you not?” she said. “We also make tahini, which is a traditional Israeli food. It’s made of sesame seeds and it becomes a paste and you spread it on pita bread. Our friends here love it.”

Natalia says an overabundance of food “as if you’re going to entertain a bunch of soldiers” is a nod to her Israeli roots.

This year, she’s going out with friends to watch fireworks. “I wear a T-shirt that has an American flag on it and a bracelet with the colors of the flag. If you’re celebrating, you might as well go to the maximum.”

It turns out, celebrating America means different things to different people. And that’s kind of the point.

In my mind, the only thing better than a Fourth of July party filled with burgers, steaks, beer, and fireworks is a Fourth of July party filled with all of those things plus Mexican food and African music and “English tea” and tahini and mariachi bands and more.

So whether we choose to embrace the “American way” of celebrating Independence Day (red meat and fireworks) or to use it as a chance to celebrate the unique melting pot of culture that is our country today or something in between, I think we can all agree that the America we have now is already pretty great.

This article originally appeared on 07.01.16

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Clinical psychologist lists signs that mean it’s time to seek mental health help

Knowing when to seek mental health care is not always as cut and dry as people may believe. Many people wrestle with whether or not they should speak to a therapist, psychiatrist or even their primary care physician about their struggles. Working in mental health, it often comes up that people minimize their own struggles with the thought that someone else has it worse so they shouldn’t be struggling.

This may cause people to second guess when exactly they need to seek help. Dr. Julie, a clinical psychologist, posted a video on her TikTok page in order to help people figure out when they should seriously consider going to see a therapist. Some people may be surprised by the signals that indicate a need for therapy.

In the video, which has over 33k likes, Dr. Julie acts out different scenarios without speaking as what she’s experiencing in those moments floats above her head in text overlay.


One of the very first signs that someone should consider therapy is, “Nothing seems to help and you’re starting to feel hopeless.” Hopelessness can be an indicator of depression, especially if it’s paired with other things like not finding joy in things that used to make you happy or sleeping more often.

Another sign that Dr. Julie displayed on the screen was, “Your mood changes have persisted for several weeks or more.” Again, barring a major life event like the loss of a loved one where feeling down is expected, this can signal depression. But what’s most important to know is that any time you feel concerned about your mental health, you can seek therapy.

Therapy isn’t something to be ashamed of or reserved for people who live with severe mental illnesses. In fact, you could simply need an unbiased perspective, want to gain tools for moments of stress or be experiencing a life change like a breakup. As a therapist myself, I want people to know that you don’t have to be in distress to seek out therapy. Going for mental health maintenance is a perfectly acceptable reason.

Check out Dr. Julie’s video below:

@drjuliesmith

Seek help any time you are concerned about your #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthsupport #psychologist

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Doja Cat Disses ‘Critics’ And Not ‘People I’m Inspired By’ Like Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, And Megan Thee Stallion

Things aren’t that great between Doja Cat and her fans right now. Well, some of them: After she recently lost hundreds of thousands of social media followers after a rant against her fans, she wrote, “Seeing all these people unfollow me makes me feel like I’ve defeated a large beast that’s been holding me down for so long. And it feels like I can reconnect with the people who really matter and love me for who I am and not for who I was. I feel free.”

Now, the saga continues. There are apparently some folks out there who thinks Doja disses other rappers. Doja set the record straight on that, insisting that it’s just “the f*ckin phonies in my comment sections” she’s going after.

In a series of now-deleted Instagram Story posts shared today (September 1), she wrote:

“people don’t wanna accept im dissing them so they try to pin it on cardi nicki and meg and every other female rapper. I don’t diss rappers I diss critics. Stay bored. Stay reaching.

i don’t diss people i’m inspired by i don’t diss people i look up to. i don’t diss people who don’t attack and harass me every day. YALL do. SHE doesn’t. THEY dont. Y’all are the problem.

TO BE 100% CLEAR because I know you all need me to talk REEEEEAL SLOOOOOW for you; I’m not dissing anyone but the f*ckin phonies in my comment sections.”

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

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘Master Of Puppies’: A Dog Snuck Into A Metallica Concert All By Herself And The Band Absolutely Loved It

Metallica shared their new album 72 Seasons earlier this year, so now, the legendary band is currently on a massive tour. The other weekend, Jason Momoa jumped in the mosh pit at their Los Angeles show, and now more unreal things are transpiring at their concerts.

Also at LA’s SoFi Stadium, a dog snuck into the event all by herself and has gone viral after photos were shared of the wholesome, happy canine. On social media, Metallica posted about the wild situation, not without the delightful pun “Master of Puppies.” They wrote:

“You might have heard we had a four-legged fan join us for #M72LA! Despite reports to the contrary, our friend Storm snuck out of her home adjacent to @SoFiStadium and made her way to the gig all by herself.

After a full night taking in the show with her #MetallicaFamily, Storm was safely reunited with her actual family the next day. She had a great time listening to her favorite songs, including ‘Barx Æterna,’ ‘Master of Puppies,’ and ‘The Mailman That Never Comes.’

And in case you were wondering, no. You definitely shouldn’t bring your furry friends to the #M72 World Tour. But this dog sure did have her day…”

As for the “reports to the contrary,” a Facebook post from the The Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation (the source of the photo from the Metallica tweet) initially indicated the dog was brought to the concert and “abandoned” there. The post also noted, “He was taken to the local shelter, which at the moment we are trying to pull her from. Regardless of what people think, no dog should be taken to a rock concert. It was extremely loud, and that poor pup was definitely scared. The dog looks to be a Akita Shephard mix. Very friendly and sweet.”

Check out the Metallica tweet below.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Jason Segel And Solomon Hughes On ‘Winning Time,’ Power Struggles, And Their Gams

If you’ve been keeping up with Winning Time (which runs Sundays at 9PM on HBO) you know that things reached a head last week between burgeoning icon Magic Johnson and Iccarus in a sport coat head coach Paul Westhead over Johnson’s ill fit with “The System” playbook and Westhead’s view of the hierarchy. A trade demand was issued and now both men are set to see who has more sway with team owner Jerry Buss.

If you know basketball history on a base level, you know which of these two big personalities and talents is about to have a bad day in this next episode. But outside of this standing as an interesting point in the history of the Showtime-era Lakers, it also connects to this moment in sports culture. In the mid-80s, Magic Johnson was a trailblazer. Now, most athletes are paid more than the coaches and GMs who draw up the game plan and build the rosters and some superstars have a seat at the table when it comes to personnel moves. It’s fascinating watching Magic come into his power like this, but it’s also really interesting watching everyone else kinda freak out when he’s consulted on trades or wins a power struggle.

Actor Jason Segel is a big part of that palpable freakout as his character, Lakers coach Paul Westhead, tries like hell to keep the status quo, using his players as pawns in his grand scheme whether they like it or not. And forget about letting a player dictate who is on the roster. It goes against everything he stands for, especially as he cultivates an image of himself as an outside-the-box mastermind.

Before that image gets tested, though, we spoke with Segel and with Solomon Hughes, the actor who plays Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a legend from a different era who is often caught in conflict with Johnson’s brand of office politics and on-court play. In the conversation, which took place before the SAG strike, we discussed Segel’s insights on Westhead’s ego bloom, Hughes’ thoughts on Kareem and Westhead’s alliance against Magic, and the wonderful world of short shorts, bad wigs, whether we can make the word “gams” come out of retirement, and Segel’s pitch to come back in the future to play Phil Jackson.

What were you most looking forward to playing with these characters specifically, this season?

Solomon Hughes: Just further exploration of these great people’s lives, right? Beyond just what we saw on the basketball court, the ups and the downs, the tensions, the things that they were dealing with off the court. I think they all really kind of build on this incredible story of what they were able to accomplish as a group for such a long period of time.

Jason Segel: I knew that Paul Westhead was going to show up a little bit sassy this year and that was exciting for me.

It’s obviously not a documentary, it takes some liberties with the Paul Westhead character this season. Sassy is a word you could use. There are definitely some elements of his personality that come through in this season that someone might not love if that was them being portrayed. Any apprehension on your part about that?

Segel: No, I feel as though no human being would want to see themselves portrayed on screen in all of their full colors. So even if it was completely accurate, even if it was dead on accurate… I think we’re uncomfortable with ourselves and we never get to see ourselves clearly. That’s one of the weird things about being yourself, and so that is an unwinnable test. I think that what I always try to do when I’m acting whether a character is real or not real is I try to play them as though they’re me and I try to love them.

And so really early on I decided that Paul Westhead was a Shakespearean scholar and this was heightened reality and I was going to try to draw a Shakespearean arc and hope that as long as I loved the character and tried to be honest about each and every scene that it was going to be okay. And I really hope that’s true and if it’s not, I’m certainly sorry. I would hate to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I tried to do right by the story we were trying to draw, especially as an archetype.

I’m curious about what it is you think drove that conflict and at times rivalry between Westhead and Pat Riley? That need for Paul to put Pat in his place essentially. What it was about the characters that kind of motivated that conflict?

Segel: I think that Westhead is battling some severe imposter syndrome because he is not getting the credit he thinks he deserves for season one’s championship because it’s under the shadow of McKinney getting injured. And I think that probably there is a subconscious sense that Pat Riley is a better basketball mind than he is, and so he is sort of trapped in this position of the guy before him is considered a better basketball mind and he’s going to get found out real soon and he’s going to go back to where he came from.

Solomon, the alliance between Kareem and Paul, I wouldn’t say it’s buddy-buddy at all times, but it definitely feels like there’s an alliance there. Are they unified because both characters aren’t necessarily fully enamored with Magic?

Hughes: Well, I think it’s more that there’s familiarity. (They’re from) similar eras in terms of their perspectives on the game. I think Kareem, the Real Kareem, talks about his reverence for his coaches, John Wooden, et cetera. And to see that balance upended, I think it’s new and I think it speaks to a lot of the changes that were happening in the game in terms of just its visibility in terms of its star power. And so I think whenever familiarity is disturbed, interesting things happen.

You’re older than the other players, the other actors that are playing players. Is that helpful for you in terms of feeling somewhat, I mean, I get exasperated by younger writers sometimes. I’m sure you get a little exasperated from time to time by some of these 25-year-olds running around jumping and bouncing all over the place. Does that help to inform the portrayal?

Hughes: Yeah, but in addition to that, I remember playing being a senior and how you deal with incoming freshmen that might have a lot of talent, but not a ton of maturity, those dynamics. It was helpful to experience that. But yeah, I think for sure, I mean you’re looking at life a little bit differently for sure, and I think all that helps.

Jason, the mullet was on point. I’m curious how delighted you were to see yourself with that look and also the wardrobe. Some of those choices are pretty, again, I think sassy is the word of the day on those. Can you talk a little about bringing the character to life in his glow-up phase when he’s trying to embrace the Hollywood thing a little bit?

Segel: I made a decision, which is, in season one I was wearing a wig and I would be doing acting that I was really proud of and then I would turn and I would see a mirror and I would think, oh, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. I’m wearing this wig.

Oh, so is that real mullet? That was all you this year?

Segel: Season one was a wig and then I decided after that if we do a season two, I’m using my own hair. And so I told them on Shrinking that I was going to be growing my hair out during the season. And so they were very kind and let me grow my hair out. So it was a lot more comfortable to be working with my own hair.

It’s a beautiful mullet. I’m surprised you didn’t keep it. You didn’t want to just stick with it?

Segel: Well, it’s starting (again). Look at this.

Yeah, it’s a little there.

Segel: It’s a little bit, yeah. And this is not in prep for anything. This is just a strike hairdo.

Yeah, that’s right. In terms of the name for “The System” (Westhead’s on-court strategy), any thoughts on an alternate name? Because it is a pretty bad name.

Segel: I stand by the name of the system. Maybe it’s because I have to, but I think it is a very definitive and grandiose name. This is The System.

There’s no other like it.

Segel: People are focusing too much on “System” and not enough on “The,” which is what’s doing the heavy lifting.

Hughes: Timing is everything.

Segel: (Laughs) Yes.

Solomon, I don’t want to leave you out of the wardrobe conversation with the shorts of the era. Is there ever a moment where it’s like, can we just maybe extend it just a little bit? It might be just a little too short. Is that a thought that you ever expressed to the wardrobe department?

Hughes: I’m sure that was one of a number of conversations I had with the wardrobe department. I mean, I loved the gear, don’t get me wrong, but yeah, the shorts took some getting used to for sure. You had to wear tighty whities underneath. You couldn’t wear biker shorts, anything like that. So yeah, that was interesting. But the other thing is everybody else is wearing them, so there’s this sense of normalcy and you don’t feel as exposed. Everybody’s gams are just out there.

Segel: That’s how you know we’re old, by the way. He just said gams.

Hughes: I feel like the young folk are bringing it back. They’re bringing it back.

Jumping back to hair, Kareem’s more fully balding era, is that something you’re looking forward to or dreading?

Hughes: If that means that we get to work together again?

So that’s the price you’ll pay. But Jason, you won’t obviously be on the show at that point.

Segel: I may come back if this show goes long enough. I’m going to lobby to play Phil Jackson. I’ll wait it out, the timing will line up. I’ve done the math. (Laughs)

Or John Paxson, and then you can get in those short shorts. You get your gams out.

Segel: Yes. There you go.

New episodes of ‘Winning Time’ air at 9PM ET on HBO and on MAX

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Fans At Morgan Wallen’s Concert Got Into A Porta Potty Brawl And The Video Is Equal Parts Gross And Wild

Country music star Morgan Wallen has found himself in a steady mix of career success and controversy. While the singer’s chart placement remains strong, the same can not be said about his touring schedule. However, after taking some time off the road for vocal rest, it seemed like everything had worked itself out.

But yesterday (August 31), as Wallen was showing off his vocal runs during his show at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, concertgoers’ bathroom emergencies show how escalated into a full-on porta potty brawl. In clips captured by fans, several attendees were involved in a fight that was equally parts gross and entertaining.

A woman claiming to be involved in the brawl spoke with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy about what led to the fight. The now-social media dubbed Blonde Assassin explained that it all started from her accidentally jumping the line for the bathroom. “I didn’t realize that I cut in front of this girl to use the bathroom, and my mom was standing in front of the [porta potty] door,” said the woman.

She then added, “[When] I walked out and saw two girls ganging up on my mom, I just did what I think any daughter would’ve done, I just beat the f*ck out of them.”

Billboard reports that according to a representative from Pittsburgh’s department of public safety, no arrests were made, but there were “plenty of ejections for intoxication” and that “the parties involved in the incident dispersed” before police learned about the incident.

If this wasn’t already on your list of greatest concert experience fears, it should be.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Easily-Spooked Meatball Ron DeSantis Is Reportedly At War With A 15-Year-Old Kid

Going all the way back to 2019, when he was barely out of elementary school, Quinn Mitchell has been asking questions of political candidates whenever they stop by his home state of New Hampshire. The exchanges have routinely been welcomed by politicians who appreciate the opportunity to meet a young man who describes himself as a “political independent who loves history and politics.” The fact that it plays great for the cameras doesn’t hurt either.

Unless, of course, you’re Ron Desantis.

During a town hall event in June, the now 15-year-old Mitchell asked the Florida governor a simple question about January 6. “Do you believe that Trump violated the peaceful transfer of power, a key principle of American democracy that we must uphold?”

Any normal candidate with a knack for retail politics would’ve handled the softball question by defending the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. DeSantis opted to wave off the question by saying American’s shouldn’t “get stuck in the past” and then mockingly asked Mitchell, “Are you in high school?”

The exchange did not play well for the governor, which prompted his campaign to take aggressive measures to make sure Mitchell never got near DeSantis again. Which is ironic, because the 15-year-old actually felt bad about embarrassing DeSantis and apologized to the governor, who shook the boy’s hand at a Fourth of July parade. That’s when Mitchell learned he was on a watchlist.

Via The Daily Beast:

Right after the handshake, Mitchell recalled his shock when he felt a firm tug on his shirt, pulling him away from DeSantis. Suddenly, all he could see were the outstretched arms of security guards and plain clothed aides.

“Usually what they do is they don’t push you or anything, but they put their hands out and kind of body you, so you just don’t move, basically,” Mitchell said, describing a shuffling motion more akin to an offensive line on a football team than a presidential candidate’s security detail.

If that were not startling enough, right after the fracas, a DeSantis security guard cornered Mitchell and ordered him not to move from the spot for another five minutes.

Understandably frightened by the encounter, Mitchell texted his mom, who wanted answers from DeSantis’ security. What she got instead was a personal visit from the candidate’s wife, Casey DeSantis, who initially accused the boy of lying before promising to “get to the bottom” of the situation. The Florida first lady then told Mitchell to come to DeSantis’ next event.

Feeling the matter was resolved, Mitchell attended a campaign stop in August. When he got there, not only did the governor’s security team flank him and block him from getting close to DeSantis, but staffers for the Never Back Down PAC were taking photos of the boy. Reporters later informed Mitchell that the staffers were sharing photos of him on Snapchat with the ominous caption “got our kid.”

The whole thing is a political blunder that only Ron DeSantis could make.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Wes Anderson Knows There’s A ‘Wes Anderson Style’ To His Films, But He Swears He Doesn’t Do It On Purpose

Whenever you watch a Wes Anderson movie, it’s immediately clear that you’re watching a Wes Anderson movie. The director has a distinct visual style and rhythm that’s hard to miss. However, he recently revealed at the Venice Film Festival that he actually does try to make each of his movies look and feel different.

While promoting his new Netflix short film, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anderson responded to a question about whether he acknowledges the look that so many memes and fake trailers have tried to replicate.

“I’m sure this doesn’t sound plausible, but I don’t really feel like I choose a style,” Anderson said via The Hollywood Reporter. “I guess a style is so many different [choices] and most of those choice[s] are just me doing what I want. In a way, it’s like asking, would you like to do a movie not the way you want? And ideally I’d want to do it the way I want.”

That said, Anderson eventually admitted that he’s aware people can detect his sensibilities affecting his films.

“But every time I do a movie I feel like I’m doing something completely different,” the director said. “I’m going to a new territory and telling a different kind of story with a new set of characters and different mix of actors, but I know there are so many things that link what I’m drawn to in general and I guess it is a thing you can see… it’s me.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Griff, A Professional Musician, Laments That Her Job Is More About Social Media Than Music: ‘Do I Love It? No.’

The efforts to ban TikTok haven’t slowed down the social media network’s impact, especially in the music industry. In July, the app officially entered the game by launching a music streaming service of its own. While many recording artists have the platform to thank for their newly found success not, not everyone is pleased with its algorithm’s push for constant content.

During a conversation with Metro, rising pop star and past Uproxx cover star Griff expressed her frustrations with TikTok’s influence over record labels and, at times, its intrusive nature. Despite having opened for artists such as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and more, the singer still has to fight it out with others to shift their users’ attention toward her music.

“It’s very strange. My ratio of job is more social media now than it is about music, which is kind of sad,” said Griff.

She added, “You kind of just have to do it. Do I love it? No. But it can be really useful if you’re really diligent with it.”

Griff then stressed that it’s all just one big guessing game to see what sticks when she stated, “Not even maybe — absolutely. I’m not really sure record labels know what they’re doing. No one knows what they’re doing. It’s kind of amazing because it’s made music a little bit more democratic. But it also is really frustrating because everyone is revolving around an algorithm that no one knows how it works.”

Other acts, such as Halsey, even accused labels of pressuring talent on their roster to manufacture viral moments to push new releases.

While Griff stressed that TikTok does provide users with great networking opportunities, she shared, “Anytime there’s a camera on my face, I don’t feel very comfortable.”

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

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘Power Book IV: Force’: Ranking The Power Players In ‘Tommy’s Back’ (Season 2, Episode 1)

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

Tommy Egan is back on the prowl in Chicago in the season two premiere of Power Book IV: Force. In the episode, titled “Tommy’s Back,” he’s still reeling from Liliana’s death and vows to avenge it to the fullest extent possible. This eventually leads to the pursuit of the Flynns who are in hiding following the shootout that led to Liliana’s death at the end of season one. Though the Flynns as a whole are at war with Tommy, they’re also at war within themselves as Claudia and Vic Flynn aren’t seeing eye to eye with their father Walter. Still, taking down Tommy is the least of their worries as Walter has to figure out how to right the deaths of the men from Dublin that he asked for to help him (unsuccessfully) take out Tommy. On the flip side, Vic and Claudia attempt to work together to take down their father and re-establish their position in the city drug game. Things eventually go left for Claudia as the formula for Dahlia gets leaked on the internet (thanks to Tommy). Claudia then decides to kill her chemist after she wrongfully concludes that she leaked the formula. This leads to Vic’s decision to end his partnership with Claudia as she killed the chemist without consulting him first.

Closer to Tommy’s world, we also see that the beef between Diamond and Jenard is very much alive. In the season one finale, Diamond forced Jenard to split the CBI territory in Chicago in half in exchange for not killing him. With this agreement, Jenard and his crew are still deadset on taking out his new competition while Diamond views his brother and his crew as another enemy on their list. Between the two crews, we can see who has their things together and it’s clear through their respective interaction with their drug connect Miguel. Jenard approaches him and asks for an extension on the funds for a re-up on product while Diamond and Tommy arrive with a duffel bag filled with cash to pay for their own re-up. With all this going on, the episode concludes with federal investigators finally identifying Tommy Egan and making a connection to his past in New York.

With all that being said, he’s a look a the top Power players based on this week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force. Left off the list this week is the entire Flynn family as they’re unable to pick themselves and progress after the shootout that ended season one. Jenard is also off the list as gets off to a slow and shaky as he tries to re-establish himself as a worthy leader in the Chicago drug game now that he has his own territory. He shows up to product re-ups short on cash and he gets beat up for failing to remove Tommy as a player in the Chicago drug game.

So without further ado, here are the top five Power Players we have based on “Tommy’s Back”:

5. D-Mac

'Power Book IV: Force' S2 D-Mac
STARZ

At the No. 5, we have D-Mac, Tommy’s nephew who is hungry to return to the streets despite recovering from a gunshot wound from last season. This was a high and low episode for him, but his star moment comes when he informs Tommy of a way to move product discreetly through social media. Through a series of emojis that appear on a post or video completely detached from the main objective, viewers can know what is being sold and where to get it. Tommy allows D-Mac to set this up for him and Diamond’s crew, so long as he does it from the couch. It proves to be a success which leaves Tommy smiling from ear to ear at the money coming his way.

4. The Feds

'Power Book IV: Force' S2 Feds
STARZSTARZ

As fans of Tommy Egan and his crew, we don’t want to praise the police too much as we ultimately want Tommy to win, but this week they get a position on the Power Players list. They’re finally able to identify Tommy and uncover his past in New York and connection to James “Ghost” St. Patrick. It’s about time that they’ve been able to identify Tommy, which should’ve been the simplest task on their list. This move could prove to be problematic for Tommy, and it’s because of that they get a spot on the list. However, if it took them this long to identify him, I can only imagine how long it will take for them to take him down, or much simpler, find out where he lives.

3. Miguel

'Power Book IV: Force' S2 Miguel
STARZ

This week, we’re introduced to a new character. Miguel Garcia is a ruthless and volatile Mexican cartel leader who is the connect for both Tommy and Diamond as well as Jenard’s crews. He earns the third spot on this list simply because Tommy, Diamond, and Jenard’s CBI mess doesn’t affect him as he’s the connect for both sides which means double the money for him. Sure, Tommy has a goal of taking out him to claim the connect position, but that won’t be for a while. So for now, Miguel can continue reaping the benefits of two clients in the same city under the same group.

2. Diamond

'Power Book IV: Force' S2 Diamond
STARZ

The runner-up on this week’s list is Diamond as his position beside Tommy proves to be beneficial to him. Between him and Tommy, the two seem to have a good partnership. Tommy brings things to the table, as does Diamond, which helps the crew overall. This week, Diamond is the one who orchestrates the meeting with Miguel to re-up on product and introduce Tommy to Miguel now that their partnership is official.

1. Tommy Egan

'Power Book IV: Force' S2 Tommy
STARZ

Coming in at No. 1 this week, unsurprisingly, is Tommy Egan himself. He makes numerous plays in this week’s episode to keep him and Diamond ahead of the competition while refusing to let their enemies interrupt their progress. He leaks the formula to Dahlia to ruin Claudia’s plans and he enlists D-Mac to help him and Diamond’s crew move product more discreetly and to a wider audience. Even his connection with Mireya proves to be beneficial as it helps D-Mac get medical help quickly after his gunshot wound gets infected. He also makes minimal progress in his mission to avenge Liliana’s death. It’s a good week to be Tommy Egan, we’ll just have to see how many good weeks he has for the rest of the season.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.