Month: June 2024

The Cleveland Cavaliers face a fascinating summer, as Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are eligible for extensions and there are trade rumblings in some form about their other co-stars in Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. With the 2024 NBA Draft looming on Wednesday night and free agency starting this coming Sunday, we are rapidly approaching the time when Cleveland will have to make firm decisions on who they will build around for the future.

That meant it was important to wrap up their coaching search soon, having fired J.B. Bickerstaff after getting bounced in the second round by the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics. James Borrego and Kenny Atkinson were long considered the frontrunners for the position, with Borrego at times noted as the favorite, but ultimately the Cavs chose to go with the Warriors assistant and former Nets head coach in Atkinson.

According to Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Atkinson became the focal point of the search after owner Dan Gilbert got involved last week. Atkinson compiled a 118-190 record in just under four seasons as the head coach of the Nets from 2016 to 2020, leading them to a 2019 playoff appearance. Atkinson was reportedly let go in Brooklyn at the behest of the Nets new stars at the time, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and has spent the last four years as a lead assistant with the Clippers and Warriors.

With Atkinson on board, the Cavs can start to have full conversations about their roster’s future and begin plotting out their offseason and where they feel they need to make moves and who they want to give more time.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw a major step for Gracie Abrams and Ariana Grande realize a collab decades in the making. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift — “Us”

Taylor Swift doesn’t do a ton of features, so Gracie Abrams had the rare honor of hosting Swift on “Us,” a song from her new album The Secret Of Us. Like Swift’s best music, Abrams’ latest is raw emotion delivered in a gorgeous pop vessel.

Ariana Grande, Brandy, and Monica — “The Boy Is Mine (Remix)”

When Grande released “The Boy Is Mine,” many minds immediately went to Brandy and Monica’s hit ’90s collaboration of the same title. That’s clearly not a comparison Grande is avoiding, as she recruited the two singers to join her on a new version of her song.

Peso Pluma and Cardi B — “Put Em In The Fridge”

Pluma’s new album Éxodo is here, and so is “Put Em In The Fridge,” a fresh Cardi collab. It’s a hard-hitting number that sees the pair go on the offensive as they assert themselves as people not to be trifled with.

Post Malone — “Pour Me A Drink” Feat. Blake Shelton

Malone is all in on being a country star: His collaboration with Morgan Wallen was a No. 1 single, and now he has a link-up with Blake Shelton under his belt buckle with “Pour Me A Drink.” The tune sees the two leaning into two of modern country’s best aspects: Accessible catchiness and tales of good times.

Charli XCX and Lorde — “The Girl, So Confusing Version With Lorde”

When Charli XCX released “Girl, So Confusing,” it was pretty clear that the song was about Lorde. Charli erased all doubt of that last week by recruiting Lorde herself for a new remix of the song. Lorde’s verse is a literal response to the original song, as Lorde sings in part, “Well, honestly, I was speechless / When I woke up to your voice note / You told me how you’d been feeling / Let’s work it out on the remix.”

Ice Spice — “Phat Butt”

Ice Spice hasn’t hesitated to highlight her body as she’s risen to stardom, and she’s doing more of the same on “Phat Butt.” On the tune, she celebrates the success her body has helped her achieve: “Fat butt, pull my pants up, shakin’ ass, got my bands up.”

Mustard and Travis Scott — “Parking Lot”

Travis Scott (who recently got arrested but couldn’t seem to care less) came through with an assist for Mustard. The producer has a new album, Faith Of A Mustard Seed, set for July, and Scott contributes vocals to the car-ready “Parking Lot.”

Kehlani — “Crash”

Kehlani has one of last week’s headlining album releases with Crash. Kehlani also dropped a video for the title track, a melding of R&B and rock that puts Kehlani’s exemplary vocals front and center.

GloRilla — “TGIF”

Your new end-of-week album is here: GloRilla dropped “TGIF,” which is already an internet favorite and it sees Glo getting some deserved flexing in.

Coldplay — “Feelslikeimfallinginlove”

Coldplay has been pumping out the hits for over two decades now, and their milestone tenth album, Moon Music, is nigh. They just offered the first look at it last week with “Feelslikeimfallinginlove,” a characteristically lush and uplifting number that should please fans of their recent output.

Taylor Swift established a new monarchy across three The Eras Tour shows at Wembley Stadium in London over the weekend. She and Travis Kelce posed with the Royal Family, and Kelce joined Swift on stage for the first time in their globally adorned relationship. The VIP list featured Tom Cruise, Paul McCartney, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Greta Gerwig, Jason and Kylie Kelce, and so many more.

Sunday’s (June 23) show was headlined by Kelce’s cameo, but Gracie Abrams deserves co-headlining recognition. During the coveted surprise songs portion of Swift’s The Eras Tour set, Abrams appeared to perform “Us” with Swift for the first time. “Us” featuring Swift is Track 5 on Abrams’ newly released sophomore LP, The Secret Of Us, as it should be.

Abrams served as an opener on The Eras Tour from April to August 2023 and will resume opening duties when Swift closes out The Eras Tour with a second North American leg this fall and winter.

“I’m pretty sure I experienced Taylor’s show from every possible angle,” Abrams recently told Uproxx for this profile. “I got to see it, what, three days a week for four months? It never got old. I’d sit in the stands with all of her wonderful fans, and then I’d get on stage, and I remember occasionally feeling like I was watching myself, floating a few feet above my body, in complete awe of even just being in the room. I felt like a fan first on that tour. I couldn’t help it.”

After touring behind 2021’s excellent album Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner revealed that she was going to move to Korea to work on her second book. “I’m really looking forward to writing about the day-to-day experience of living in another country and learning a language,” the Crying In H Mart author said in October 2023. “And is it too late if you’re in your mid-30s and don’t have a great knack for languages? I guess the thing I’m most worried about is just being too dumb to learn… I’m really curious how it will go to be fully immersed and have my one job to be a student.”

Zauner has apparently been working on music, too. Japanese Breakfast performed a new song, “Honey Water,” at the Asian Pop Festival in South Korea over the weekend. Zauner also covered “Dāvāja Māriņa meitenei mūžiņu” (or as it’s called in English, “Million Roses”) with South Korean sing-songwriters Lang Lee and Minhwi Lee. “So honored to get to sing with my two favorite musicians in Seoul–Lee Lang and Lee Minhwe. I respect these two artists so much and feel so lucky I get to call them friends,” she wrote on X.

You can watch both performances below.

How was your weekend? Probably not as good as Taylor Swift’s.

The “Fortnight” singer played three sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000-plus people each night, including Tom Cruise, Cate Blanchett, the Royal Family, Greta Gerwig, a freaking Beatle (who exchanged friendship bracelets with lucky Swifties), and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, who joined Swift on stage for the first time. It was the most star-studded collection of folks to catch The Eras Tour since the Los Angeles dates last August.

Here are just some of the celebrities who caught Swift’s London shows.

Nicola Coughlan and Salma Hayek

Jonathan van Ness

Prince William and family

Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher

Greta Gerwig

Rachel Zegler

Theo James

Gracie Abrams

Sophie Turner

Paul McCartney

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott

Ellie Goulding

Jon Bon Jovi

Cate Blanchett

Swift recently announced that The Eras Tour is ending in December. “That feels like so far away from now, but then again, it feels like we just played our first show on this tour, because you have made this so much fun for us, that we wanted to do a hundred shows, 150-something shows that we have on the whole tour, and you know, I think that this tour has really become my entire life,” she explained. Will any city be able to top Los Angeles or London for most celebrities? Looking at you, Indianapolis!

Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl has never hesitated to praise Taylor Swift. In 2015, he said he was “officially obsessed” with her. In 2018, he told the story of how she “saved” him at a Paul McCartney house party. Finally, in 2021, he praised her re-recorded Taylor’s Version albums.

Since then, though, it appears things have changed.

What Did Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl Say About Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour‘

On Saturday, June 22, both Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift had concerts in London, with Foo Fighters at London Stadium and Swift at nearby Wembley Stadium. During the Foos show, Grohl made note of that, which got some boos. Grohl responded, “I tell you, man, you don’t want to suffer the wrath of Taylor Swift. So we like to call our tour ‘The Errors Tour.’ We’ve had more than a few eras, and more than a few f*cking errors as well. Just a couple. That’s because we actually play live. What?! Just saying. You guys like raw, live rock ‘n’ roll music, right? You came to the right f*cking place.”

As Consequence notes, there is speculation that Grohl’s jab was prompted by his daughter Violet getting harassed online by Swifties earlier this year, after she criticized Swift’s private jet usage.

Whatever the case, Swift offered what appeared to be a response. She also played Wembley yesterday, seemingly after hearing what Grohl said. At the show, she said to her audience, “Every one of my band members, every single one of our crew, my band who’s gonna be playing live for you for 3-and-a-half hours tonight, they deserve this so much. And so does every one of my fellow performers. And you just gave that to us so generously, we will never forget it.”

House of the Dragon’s second episode in season two keeps adding to the show’s body count in the most tragic of ways.

Sure, beheading a child is pretty bad, but forcing two incredibly attractive twin brothers to kill each other so that Criston Cole can feel better about his affair with Alicent? That’s crossing a line. While the Greens plot their revenge for the Blood & Cheese assassination, Rhaenyra questions who amongst her council she can truly trust. The cracks are showing at Dragonstone, and old alliances are imploding within the Red Keep. Luckily, we’re of the Marie Kondo mindset: we love mess.

Here are the biggest takeaways from House of the Dragon’s second episode.

The Fallout From Blood & Cheese

Aegon reacts to the news of his son’s beheading in the only way that befits a neglected manchild with a superiority complex: he smashes his dead daddy’s Lego set to bits. While he declares war, his mother and grandfather plot how to use this tragedy to their advantage. Sure, Alicent is quietly blaming herself for keeping a Kingsguard so busy in her bedchamber that two assassins had enough time to tour the royal residence before decapitating her grandson, but she’s also quick to back Otto’s plan of using the murder to advance the Greens’ cause. Otto’s also smart enough to see Jaehaerys’ death for what it is: a gift, one that will sway more Houses to his side if he can put the right spin on it. So, a very public grief parade is planned and unfortunately for Helaena, she’s riding behind its main float.

The Funeral Procession

House of the Dragon has never shied away from uncomfortable scenes. We’ve been asked to root for incest, to gaze on as a man literally decayed before our eyes, to watch Criston Cole exhibit loser behavior in every episode, but somehow, this week’s funeral procession dialed up the cringe. We blame the poor stitching on Jaehaerys’ corpse and Phia Saban, whose ability to play a woman who exists between worlds – the dreaming and the real – is just unmatched. The moments of lucidity Saban gifts Helaena in this episode, first when she refuses to participate in her husband’s charade, then as the wagon gets stuck on the streets of King’s Landing and the crowds begin to press in, make her anguish almost visceral. It’s hard not to squirm watching as she braves throngs of smallfolk, all clamoring to touch her while crying and calling her name as her dead child sits mere feet in front of her – his murder touted as the vile works of her sister in order to justify even more death.

Daemon’s Confession At Dragonstone

While the Hightowers reap the benefits of Daemon’s incompetence, on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is left to clean up her king consort’s mess. Her allies, her council, hell, her own family, question whether she was behind the plot to kill Jaehaerys – a claim she’s quick to deny. And yes, Rhaenyra should take more responsibility for the vengeance Daemon wrought in her name, but who can blame her for losing her cool when her uncle-husband is over here smirking every time the phrase “a child is dead” is uttered? If “contrite” is really a word, Daemon Targaryen’s never heard of it. The bungle hit job at the Red Keep drives a wedge between the couple, causing some long-buried doubts to come rising to the surface. Rhaenyra admits she can’t trust Daemon. Daemon admits he still covets her throne. It’s the messiest breakup we’ve seen on the show so far, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Daemon blows off some steam by flying his dragon to Harrenhaal while the show makes good use of Emma D’Arcy’s impeccable jawline via some closeups meant to show us how sad and alone this whole “rightful heir” life really is.

Criston Cole Becomes Hand Of The King

Westeros would be a much better place if Criston Cole’s parents had used a condom. Unfortunately for all of us, this pathetic, grasping cockroach just can’t seem to die. Not when he shirks his duties to bang the dowager queen, not when he literally kills a man at a royal wedding, and not even when he plots a war behind Otto Hightower’s back. Guilt and shame are riding Westeros’ number one incel hard so he takes it upon himself to send his sole remaining Cargyll twin to Dragonstone in the hopes he can impersonate his brother long enough to kill Rhaenyra in her sleep. Naturally this kind of ruthless initiative really speaks to a bloodthirsty Aegon and after yet another row with his gramps, the king makes Cole his Hand and gives Otto Hightower the boot. This is a decision we expect all involved will soon regret.

The Battle Of The Twins

Yet again, House of the Dragon season two ends an episode with a foiled murder plot though somehow, this one feels even more tragic than a child’s head getting sawed off in its sleep. Arryk, commanded by Cole, passes through the gates of Dragonstone, making it all the way to Rhaenyra’s chambers before his brother, Erryk challenges him. Mysaria was smart enough to recognize the latter’s twin while on her way to the docks, effectively saving the queen’s life. The brothers bash about the room a bit, each reluctant to hurt the other, until Erryk finally kills Arryk, then commits suicide. It’s all very bleak and terribly sad and just another reason why Criston Cole is the worst character George R.R. Martin has ever written.

That’s all for this week. Check back for our thoughts on next week’s episode!

New ‘House of the Dragon’ episodes air on HBO (and stream on Max) on Sunday nights.

Last week, the dragons came back, along with those who ride them and all the drama between the two sides in House of the Dragon. The season premiere’s title, “A Son For A Son,” turned literal when Daemon hired Blood and Cheese to take out Aemond, and they decided that a grandson would do. This led to the brutal murder of Jaehaerys while his mother, Helaena, fled in terror to find Alicent getting it on with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, who really should have been doing his job. Somehow, Criston has even grown worse than Larys Strong, which is saying plenty.

The second episode began with the fallout from that failure by Ser Criston, and he kept failing with every turn. In fact, he ended the episode by failing upward to an infuriating degree. This began with Criston attempting to tell King Aegon II that he was “sleeping” during the attack. Of course, the audience noticed the guilty looks that Alicent and Criston wore, too.

So much for “honor” and “purity”:

Criston followed this hot mess of a meeting by deciding to guilt-trip Ser Arryk Cargyll over Jaehaerys’ death and drag him for his unclean cloak, which Criston characterized as disrespecting “a symbol of our purity.” Criston further remarked, “Will you so easily sully our ancient honor?” Soon enough, the identical twin had agreed that he “must restore grace” and headed to Dragonstone in order to kill Queen Rhaenyra. What could go wrong?

As the final scenes of this episode revealed, plenty went wrong with Criston’s plan. Aegon, of course, was thrilled with Criston arranging for an attack on Rhaenyra and booted Otto as the King’s Hand. Who got the job? Criston. Meanwhile, Ser Erryk was about to apprehend his brother for launching an attack in Rhaenyra’s quarters, and the battle turned fatal for both twins.

Yep, the twins perished amid a confusing fight, in which Erryk technically prevailed but then decided that he, too, should die. And who came out ahead again? Criston. He is clearly the worst character.

House of the Dragons airs on Sunday nights.

February 2024 marked the 4-year anniversary of Pop Smoke’s (real name Bashar Barakah Jackson) death. The late “Dior” rapper’s tragic murder hit the rap community hard.

Since then, Jackson’s family have updated the public about their grieving process. The conclusion of his trial could help push it along. Unfortunately, according to Rolling Stone the case has experienced a delay.

On June 21, the outlet revealed negotiations with Corey Walker, the only defendant to be tried as an adult, have hit a wall. The defendant’s lawyer, Deion Benjamin, shared a statement with the publication.

“Negotiations fell through,” he said. “But there’s still a possibility we’ll come to an agreement. A few things need to be ironed out. If they don’t get resolved, we’ll go to trial.”

The legal fates of the two other alleged assailants has been determined. In April 2023, another defendant linked to the case pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The following month, another man reportedly pled guilty to participating in the incident.

During an interview with ABC News, Jackson’s mother, Audrey, spoke about her reaction to the gut-wrenching news. “It didn’t sink in,” she said. “And as I was moving through, it still wasn’t… It didn’t hit until I actually saw his body, which was a few days in. Intellectually, I understood. And that kind of is still where I am. Intellectually, I understand it. The rest of me hasn’t.”

Jury selection for Walker’s trial is reportedly scheduled to take place on August 6.

Uproxx cover star Latto is a proud product of Clayton County, but Atlanta is her true home. Yesterday (June 22), the “Sunday Service” rapper showed off her A-Town pride at 107.9’s Birthday Bash 2024.

Last night, Latto became the first woman to headline the annual event. So, to celebrate the momentous occasion, she was sure to surprise the crowd with half a dozen cameos from past collaborators and fellow musical natives, including Usher.

Unfortunately, as Usher went to perform his fan favorite track “Superstar” he experienced a few technical issues. As the problem were worked through on production’s end, Latto jumped in to hilariously sing the cult classic.

Usher was shocked by Latto’s attempt, put it all on the floor. Later into his set, he delivered a touching speech to praise the strides Latto has made in her career.

“You know, we have this thing that we do in Atlanta, where we just seem to keep making history,” he said. “Tonight, Latto made history, being the first female to [headline] Birthday Bash. [So,] we wanna give her, her flowers, one time.”

In addition to Usher, Latto brought out 21 Savage, Summer Walker, Flo Milli, Mariah The Scientist, Anycia, Roscoe Dash, Princess, and Rasheeda.

But don’t think the historic concert was a big payday for Latto. In a post on Instagram, she revealed spent all the money on her show’s production. “Not making a penny from Birthday Bash,” she wrote. “I invested it all back in the show.”