Month: August 2024

For the fifth straight Olympics, the USA men’s basketball team won the gold medal, but, as expected, they faced serious tests in both the semifinal and gold medal games. Serbia pushed the Americans to the brink in the semis, as Team USA had to erase a 16-point deficit (and 13-point fourth quarter deficit) to even reach the gold medal game against France, where Victor Wembanyama kept the host nation close throughout.

In both games, Team USA prevailed thanks to their veteran stars showing why they’ve been the best in the world for a generation. LeBron James and Kevin Durant played key roles in both wins, but it was Stephen Curry that made the definitive mark in his first Olympics. After a 36-point outburst against Serbia, carrying the USA offense for large stretches before James and Durant joined him for a fourth quarter barrage, Curry followed it up with a 24-point outing against France. All 24 points came from beyond the three-point line, as he went 8-of-12 from deep, including an unbelievable closing stretch, putting dagger after dagger into the host country’s hopes of winning gold.

His final three was his most audacious, as he danced around into a sidestepping, quickfire three over Nic Batum and Evan Fournier — with LeBron and KD standing wide open on the opposite wing — that found nothing but net. It was vintage Steph, the kind of thing NBA fans grew accustomed to seeing during the Warriors dynasty run, but this time his American teammates — who have been driven crazy by those shots going against them in the past — got to enjoy being on the other side of the Curry flurry for once.

It is a shot that is singular to Steph in that for anyone else, that’s an objectively terrible shot to take given the circumstance and who was wide open next to him. But for that one man who is the best shooter to walk the planet, it’s a perfectly good look. Bam Adebayo summed it up best with a quote to the AP’s Tim Reynolds when asked about what his reaction was on the bench to Steph putting up that final dagger three.

It’s what went through just about everyone’s mind watching it, because who takes that shot in that situation? Steph Curry does, and Team USA had gold around their necks shortly after because of it.

On a stacked USA Basketball men’s squad, some players were going to end up as the odd men out of the rotation some nights. One of those ended up being Jayson Tatum in a surprise to many (especially in Boston), but with a stacked roster of forwards headlined by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Tatum’s skillset became a bit of a redundancy and he found himself on the outside looking in during two of Team USA’s games.

The player that was not part of Steve Kerr’s rotation most games was a less controversial exclusion, as Tyrese Haliburton spent most of the Olympics as the hype man on the bench, making a few appearances but only playing 26 minutes across Team USA’s six games — with three DNPs. On a team loaded with offensive talent and shot creation, Haliburton’s best attributes were not needed as much, and Kerr opted to put stronger defenders into the rotation at the guard spots.

That proved to be the right choice, as Team USA managed to win the gold medal on Saturday in a thrilling game against France — backing up their sensational semifinal comeback against Serbia. Haliburton picked up his third DNP in the gold medal game, but he still collects the same hardware as everyone else. The Pacers All-Star is well aware of what his role on this team was, and he had some fun with it with the best social media post of anyone on the team after winning gold (which is a tall order on a squad with KD firing off heat on Twitter).

Every USA Basketball team needs guys willing to set aside their ego and embrace the role asked of them. It’s a team full of stars but you can’t have 12 guys playing their normal role and have it work together. For some, like Devin Booker, it’s about adapting a role while playing big minutes, working as a secondary piece and doing the little things and providing strong defense in order to keep everything going. For Haliburton, it was surrendering a place in the rotation in total on most nights, but still bringing his energy and embracing his place as Team USA’s official Vibes Guy. He did that and picked up a gold medal, even if it might feel like that school group project where you let everyone else do the work.

Uproxx cover star Latto’s celebration of Atlanta is on full display. Yesterday (August 9), the “Big Mama” rapper invited fans to attend her Sugar Honey Iced Tea album release party at an Atlanta cultural staple.

While attendees were forming special moments inside of Cascade, it is the skating rink’s entryway that truly stole the show. Just as guests made their way into the space, a giant inflatable of Latto’s butt was seen towering over all who dared to walk by. Supporters immediately took to social media to share clips of the blow-up (view on example here).

The creation was impressively accurate as far as replicas go. It even included a modified version of Latto’s infamous leopard panties (that nearly racked in six figures on eBay). However, there was one notable adjustment to the inflatable—two hard to miss tattoos. As to not get the figure confused with anyone else, the maker embroidered Latto’s name on each cheek.

Inside the party, Latto kept it modest, dressed in a red halter top, Apple Bottoms jeans, and sneakers as she pulled inspiration from Lauren London’s ATL character New New.

There are infinite ways to promote an album, but an inflatable of your Georgia peach by far takes the cake.

Celine Dion is a fighter. The singer’s triumphant return to the world’s stage during the 2024 Paris Olympics showcased that. Now, Celine could be gearing up with a battle against Donald Trump and JD Vance’s presidential campaign.

Today (August 10), Celine publicly made her issue with the Republican duo known. On her official X (formerly Twitter) page, Celine slammed Trump and Vance for reportedly using her beloved song, “My Heart Will Go On,” at one of their campaign rallies in Montana.

“In no way is this use authorized,” read the note. “Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use. …And really, that song?”

Celine can’t control when the song gains steam on streaming services (most recently following the submarine tragedy). But she can use her power to shut down its use in other ways, including political events.

A clip (view here) supposedly captured at the rally, shows that a jumbo screen inside the building played a video of Celine Dion performing the track.

Read Celine Dion’s full statement below.

This isn’t the first time a recording artist clapped back at a politician for using their music. Back in August 2023, Eminem sent Vivek Ramaswamy a cease-and-desist for his use of “Lose Yourself.”

As of today, neither Donald Trump nor JD Vance have issued a response to Celine Dion’s statement.

The United States men’s basketball team are Olympic gold medalists once again. Thanks to one of the best stretches of basketball of Steph Curry‘s career to carry the team home down the stretch, the U.S. were able to walk into a hostile environment in Paris and take down a French team that left it all on the floor, 98-87, in a game worthy of the occasion.

The opening quarter of action was as good as everyone hoped. While the Americans were able to take an early lead and play the sort of egalitarian basketball that Steve Kerr preaches — they had seven assists on eight made baskets in the opening 10 minutes — their lead was only 20-15 after one.

This was because of Victor Wembanyama, who was able to respond to the raucous arena filled with French fans by imposing his will on the game with seven points and two rebounds in the opening frame. And with the crowd behind them, France came out at the start of the second quarter and took it right to the American bench, as a 10-4 run at the beginning of the period put them back ahead.

The starters coming back in, combined with Wembanyama hitting the bench, led to the U.S. opening its lead right back up. With LeBron James leading the charge and dictating the tempo of the game, the United States was able to get its lead up in the first half up to as many as 10 points, and if not for a huge first half by former Boston Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele — who has been excellent for the French all tournament — the lead could have been much bigger than eight points heading into the locker room.

Regardless, the United States took a 49-41 lead into the half, with Devin Booker’s 13 points leading the team. James had seven, while both Curry and Kevin Durant had six, and after a difficult opening five minutes or so, Kerr made the decision to put Joel Embiid on the bench for the remainder of the half and ride with Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo as his big men. For France, Yabusele’s 15 points led all scorers, while Wembanyama had 13 with five rebounds.

While the Americans came out of the break and got their lead up to as many as 14 points in the early portion of the third, France was able to chip away in the closing stages of the quarter, particularly when James and Curry went to the bench. Whether it was the U.S. turning it over seven times, Wembanyama imposing himself, or either half of the Evan Fournier and Nando de Colo duo getting hot, France was slowly but surely able to get the crowd back into the game. And even though the United States was able to take a 72-66 lead into the fourth, the door was cracked open, and the French had a shot to pick up the biggest win in their basketball history.

The U.S. consistently kept France at arm’s length for much of the fourth, and even got their lead up to as many as 10 points. But as the quarter went on, the mistakes started to pile up — whether it was turnovers or bad fouls, the United States struggled to put France away, and the French made them pay by taking advantage. They chipped away slowly, and with just over three minutes remaining, a putback dunk by Wembanyama cut the lead to one possession, an 82-79 game that was right there for the taking.

But Curry had other ideas. He came down the floor on the ensuing possession and drilled a triple from well behind the three-point line, and misses by Wembanyama and Yabusele on France’s next time down the floor got cleaned up by Durant, who was fouled, knocked down both free throws, and opened Team USA’s lead back up to nine points.

And then Curry just lost his mind. He hit three threes over the final two minutes of the game, each one seemingly more insane than the next, and each one hammering home that the United States was going to win a gold medal. France tried as they might, but could not overcome Curry’s barrage, and as the final horn sounded, the crowd in Paris was stunned as the Americans celebrated on their home floor.

Curry scored 24 points to lead the U.S., and shot 8-for-12 from behind the three-point line. Durant and Booker both scored 15, while James had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. For France, Wembanyama stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points and seven rebounds, while Yabusele went for 20.

John Legend made history when he became an EGOT cardholder. But, the “Never Break” singer is far more impressed by his title of dad. As a father of four (all of which he shares with wife Chrissy Teigen), Legend’s next body of work will honor that role.

John Legend is set to drop a children’s album, My Favorite Dream, later this month. Ahead of its release, Legend took to Instagram to share that it will be produced entirely by Sufjan Stevens. In the post’s caption, Legend praised Stevens and his contributions to the upcoming album.

“I’m grateful for his genius,” he wrote. “He blessed the album with music beyond my expectations & imagination.”

The collaborations won’t end there, while the album is set to feature nine original tracks and five covers (two Fisher-Price songs, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” & “You Are My Sunshine”), Legend’s children Luna and Miles as well as his wife will all make a vocal appearance by way of single “L-O-V-E.”

Earlier in the post, Legend detailed the project’s origins. “I decided to go all in and make a whole album of sing-alongs & lullabies for kids and families,” he wrote. “I sat at our family piano and wrote nine original songs full of the messages we share with our kids: words of encouragement, comfort, love, togetherness, imagination, exploration, and GOING TO SLEEP.”

My Favorite Dream is out 8/30 via John Legend Music/Republic. Find more information here.

Music festivals are known for its heighten sound systems that grab the ears of attendees no matter where they are. However, it seems HARD Summer might’ve over did it this year.

HARD Summer 2024 drew electronic music lovers from around the world to Inglewood, California’ Hollywood Park Complex at SoFi Stadium thanks to a promise of sets from Disclosure, Major Lazer, Sofi Tukker, and more. But that wasn’t the only thing the multiday event brought in. Between August 3 and 4, countless noise complaints poured into local and neighboring police (as far out as El Segundo) hotlines.

So, Inglewood’s Mayor James T. Butts Jr. issued a statement via the city’s official and Billboard to address the matter.

According to Butts’ remarks, noise issues began during the event’s soundchecks on August 2. “We were perplexed at the sound propagation experienced in the South Bay,” he wrote. “Because there have been multiple outdoor concerts on the SoFi campus without this issue.”

Ultimately, after an investigation, the cause was identified. “It is important to clarify that the sound and vibration issues experienced over the weekend were related to certain bass frequencies,” he said.

Butts’ also shared that the main problem area was stage in the American Airlines Plaza. According to Billboard, Butts has declared that “no stages will be permitted in this area for future events.”

Read excerpts from Mayor James T. Butts Jr.’s statement to Billboard below.

We were perplexed at the sound propagation experienced in the South Bay, because there have been multiple outdoor concerts on the SoFi campus without this issue. After meeting with representatives from the event promoter and the venue, we conducted a thorough review of the modifications and changes made between Saturday and Sunday of HARD Summer, specifically in response to noise complaints from neighboring communities. It is important to clarify that the sound and vibration issues experienced over the weekend were related to certain bass frequencies.

[The American Airlines Plaza] was a major contributor to the issue. We will require even greater sound engineering with a more comprehensive plan when it comes to addressing sound and bass frequency management. City authorities engaged the event promoter and the venue and implemented several critical adjustments to each stage and established enhanced monitoring plans for overall sound and bass levels.

Additional sound engineers were strategically positioned in areas of concern from Saturday afternoon through Sunday and were promptly dispatched to make necessary adjustments in real time. As a result, a significant decrease in call volume was observed on Sunday in the initially impacted areas. With the lessons learned this past weekend, we are prepared to better monitor and supervise future event organizers to minimize the sound and vibration impact on the community outside the venue.

T.I. and Tiny’s can put one of their legal battles behind them.

On August 8, the couple (real name Clifford and Tameka Harris) received news regarding this longstanding 2021 sexual assault lawsuit. According to AllHipHop, the case against them has been dismissed by a judge, a notion that the legal team of T.I. and Tiny argued for.

In the outlet’s report, it states Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett of United States District Court of California formally approved the case’s dismissal. A representative for the couple shared a statement with AllHipHop following the court’s decision.

“The court agreed with Tip and Tameka that Jane Doe doesn’t appear to have any viable claims,” said the rep. “As Tip and Tameka stated three years ago, these allegations are some of the many false, salacious allegations thrown out into the media in a cheap attempt to extort money from them.”

Although the sexual assault lawsuit were reportedly dismissed, it was supposedly dismissed without prejudice, meaning should the Jane Doe complainant wish to refile at a later time, she can.

In 2021, a filer’s (only named as Jane Doe) attorney came forward claiming to have at least 11 others who were victimized by the couple or their entourage. The attorney said the supposed victims cases were pushed off from being properly investigated because as the statute of limitations had passed. T.I. and Tiny have maintained their innocence.

On August 5, Kehlani found themselves caught up in a media storm they had no idea was brewing. The “Next 2 U” singer’s ex and their daughter’s (Adeya Nomi) father, Javaughn Young-White, reportedly filed for legal custody.

But it was what Young-White alleged in the filing documents in what had the potential to tear the blended family apart. Young-White claimed Kehlani was involved in a cult and feared for their daughter’s safety. By August 7, both parents had slammed the exaggerated headlines (specifically TMZ) surrounding Young-White’s claim.

Yesterday (August 9), Young-White shared another statement to his official Instagram page. In the post, he acknowledged that he “deeply regrets” insinuating that Kehlani was involved in a cult. He also doubled down on that fact that his initial statement, submitted by way of his former counsel, was “never approved for submission.”

Read his full statement below.

Prior, Kehlani addressed the allegations in their Instagram Stories. “What has been published in the media over the past 24 hours is incredibly hurtful, inaccurate, inappropriate, and simply untrue,” they wrote. “I strongly deny any claims that I have put my child in harm’s way, or left my child alone with anyone deemed dangerous or unsafe. I also do not align with any of the allegations made against my former religious community that have been stated in the media.”

Travis Scott is a free man. Like many other celebrities, the “Fe!n” rapper decided to experience the 2024 Paris Olympics in-person.

Unfortunately, for Scott, yesterday (August 9) he found himself in a Parisian jail following an supposed altercation with hotel security. But today (August 10), Scott has been released from jail, according to TMZ.

The outlet reported that Scott was allegedly involved in a fight. At that time hotel security attempted to deescalate the situation but in the process a vase was shattered. At that time, police detained Scott, then transported him to jail. He was later transferred to a hospital for treatment. A representative, close to the matter, seemingly confirmed Scott’s injuries with a statement. “There were no injuries to any other party, including his security,” said the rep.

However, it appears no assault charges were filed. So, today, the Paris prosecutors contacted TMZ to confirm Scott’s case had been dismissed. The reason for the dismissal was supposedly because “the crime was insufficiently characterized.” The agency reportedly doesn’t intend to pursue charges at a later time.

As of today, Scott has released a statement of his own. But don’t be surprised if a special merch line drops to commemorate the moment. In June, Scott was supposedly arrested on disorderly intoxication and trespassing charges. Shortly after, he uploaded a t-shirt with his mugshot to his website’s online shop.