The last really good NBA All-Star Game was in 2020, which was both the first year of the Elam Ending format and just a few weeks after Kobe Bryant’s tragic death. Players took the game more seriously than we’ve seen in quite some time, as it was a league-wide celebration of the Lakers legend, but since then the game has fallen back into old habits of being a glorified pickup run with barely a hint of defense being played.
That has led to fans tuning out and TV networks being upset, and Adam Silver seemed like a broken man after last year’s game was the highest scoring in history, handing Giannis and the East the All-Star Game trophy with the glowing praise of “you scored the most points. Well, congratulations.” The truth is, the All-Star Game just isn’t important enough for players to go all-out, especially with how much money is at stake for them nowadays. It’s no longer the biggest national stage some of them will get to show out and build their profile, and the result is a bunch of guys trying not to get hurt while producing a few highlights.
For that reason, the league needs to get creative. We offered our thoughts on what that should look like last year, as they’ve bounced back-and-forth between formats and how they pick teams to varying degrees of success. This year we might see a significant change to the format, as ESPN’s Shams Charania brought word that the league is in deep discussions on a new format that would be similar what they did with the Rising Stars Game, breaking the All-Star rosters into 4 teams and having them play a semifinal game and then the winners of those playing in the final. The teams would be 3 teams of 8 All-Stars and the winning team of the Rising Stars Challenge from Friday.
Charania highlights how discussions around this format started at Summer League and have included league personnel, team executives, players (including Stephen Curry), and coaches, with significant momentum towards being adopted for the 2025 game in San Francisco. At the very least, you could bet that whatever team of All-Stars got matched up with the Rising Stars winners would likely have a little more juice to not lose, which would yield the intended results of raising the level of competition.
I think anything would be an improvement over a regular four-quarter game, and the Rising Stars games have been improved as a result of this format change. Even if they aren’t suddenly the greatest basketball games in history, they move quicker and when it’s close late the competitive juices get flowing in a way we don’t see often in the current All-Star format.
T-Pain has a message for the music fans deriding his and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s cover of Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz’s 2003 hit “Get Low“: “Touch grass.” The cover, which Zuck and Pain released as “Z-Pain” on DSPs earlier this week, has drawn criticism for — among other things — being a painfully corny acoustic rendition of a song from Zuck’s college years. It also features, well, a class of character that many Americans aren’t too enthused about considering Facebook’s role in the last nine utterly terrible years and the ongoing ensh*ttification of the internet as a whole.
It hardly matters that the song was meant as a sweet gift from Zuck to his wife of 12 years, Priscilla Chan; fans who want to see the rich end up on their dinner plates haven’t got anything nice to say about it. On Instagram, T-Pain defended the effort, saying, “It is impossible for some people to have fun. I’ve learned how to not worry about what y’all are talking about. Why y’all hate happiness so much? Y’all don’t like when people do wholesome things, y’all don’t like when people do stuff for their wives.”
In the caption, he advises fans to “go climb a tree” instead of wasting time hating, but I don’t Faheem… seems like Zuck could have used that advice when he suggested this idea. I’m all for serenading your lady love, but why inflict it on the rest of us? The fact it was added to DSPs, where it could potentially turn a profit, would seem to taint the sweet gesture it’s intended to be; that Zuck keeps trying to humanize himself in the face of all the horrible societal effects of his various companies sorta takes the wind out of my sails for this recording. Billionaires, by and large, suck, and the world would be better off with more musicians and fewer self-important businessmen trying to pass themselves off as anything but.
There’s this fun thing I like to do sometimes that I affectionately call the Barry Bonds game. How it works: You go onto baseball-reference, pull up the page for the legendary San Francisco Giants slugger, and just look at how ridiculous it was that Bonds was able to put up the numbers he did during his prime. Yes, steroids, I know, but even with that caveat, individual players are not supposed to break their sport the way that Barry Bonds was able to break the game of baseball.
We’re not fully there yet, but going onto Nikola Jokic‘s basketball-reference page is getting to a similarly very silly point. Ever since becoming the no-doubt cornerstone of the Denver Nuggets back in 2018-19, Jokic has consistently put up some of the wildest numbers in the league. His last four years feature three MVPs and a second-place finish while averaging 26.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 34.1 minutes per game while shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three. The advanced stats especially love him — scroll on down to the “Advanced” section, a lot of stuff is bold (led the league) and a few things are gold (all-time career marks).
There is no one quite like Jokic, and there has never been anyone quite like Jokic. His career True Shooting percentage is third in league history, behind only Rudy Gobert and DeAndre Jordan, while attempting 1,942 more three-pointers than those two combined. His career total rebound percentage is 15th, right in between ABA legend Mel Daniels and Marcus Camby. He’s 25th all time in assist percentage — the three names directly behind him are Ja Morant, Ricky Rubio, and LeBron James. The dude just has his fingerprints all over games in a way that no one has ever consistently matched.
I say all of that to say this: Somehow, someway, on a team that needs him more than ever (which says a lot as the entire franchise is built around having him), Jokic has raised his game through the first stretch of the 2024-25 season. This should not be possible. It’s not even like he’s suddenly adding something new to his bag of tricks, he’s just better than ever at being Nikola Jokic.
Small sample size caveats are prominent here, but here’s some stuff to consider:
Points per game: 29.7 (fifth in the NBA, his current career-high is 27.1 PPG) Rebounds per game: 13.7 (leads the NBA, current career-high is 13.8 RPG) Assists per game: 11.7 (leads the NBA, current career-high is 9.8 APG) Steals per game: 1.7 (t-9th in the NBA, current career-high is 1.7 SPG)
The only players to ever average a triple-double over a full season, of course, are Oscar Robertson (once) and Russell Westbrook (four times). Neither of them, in any of their triple-double seasons, were in the same galaxy as Jokic’s current True Shooting percentage of 66.7 percent — both guys, funny enough, posted a TS% of 55.4 percent in their most efficient season with a triple-double. And all of the advanced stats that tend to show that Jokic is a marvel (PER, win shares per 48 minutes, box plus/minus) are outrageous — if the season ended today, he’d post the highest single-season PER (33.31) of all-time, the highest BPM (15.02) of all-time, and the fourth-highest WS/48 of all-time behind some guys named Kareem and Wilt.
So, yeah, Jokic is a joke, the single best basketball player in the world today and the guy spearheading a Nuggets team with some flaws that came as the result of a talent drain over the last few years to an early 7-3 record and, as of this writing, the longest-active winning streak (five games) in the Western Conference. And here’s the funny thing: If Denver did not have Jokic playing like this, they would be in some serious trouble. Have a look at how dire things get when he is not on the floor, via PBP Stats:
pbpstats.com
There is a reason why, when asked what the ideal number of minutes is for Jokic to be on the floor for the Nuggets, Michael Malone said “48.” We’ve seen plenty of teams over the years be totally helpless when the sun around which everything revolves goes to the bench — LeBron’s teams in his prime were famously horrendous when he would sit, the Sixers have an organizational commitment to being awful without Joel Embiid, etc. — but seeing as how Jokic is either scoring or assisting on nearly half of all the points that Denver scores, well, it’s pretty important that he never comes off the floor. That’ll have to change at some point (well, probably), but Jokic playing like this means it’s easier for the Nuggets to slowly bring along their young guys who have to take on bigger roles this season — although it must be said that Christian Braun has impressed as the de facto Kentavious Caldwell-Pope replacement. They can also afford to be patient with Jamal Murray, who still hasn’t quite looked like himself on the heels of a pretty nasty run of injuries that made his postseason and Olympic efforts hard to watch at times, but just got paid in a big way and absolutely has to get on track.
Of course, at some point, Denver is going to need to totally round into form, even if there are some really encouraging signs beyond Jokic. Aaron Gordon has been awesome so far this year when healthy, while Michael Porter Jr. continues to just do his thing as a huge dude who can shoot the hell out of the basketball. When 75 percent of the core your team is built around is playing at a high level from the start of the year — and that final member of your core has a reputation for saving his best for when the lights get brighter — you’re usually in a pretty good spot.
There are still big picture questions that can only be answered when the playoffs roll around, which is the curse of being a team with title-or-bust aspirations. In the meantime, all anyone can really do is sit back, watch, and marvel at the spectacle that is Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world at the very height of his powers, someone who keeps finding ways to break the game of basketball, and an all-time great who stands shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the greatest players to ever set foot on the hardwood. And the scary part? As the early portion of this season has shown, if anything, he’s only getting better.
Depending on who you ask Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet was the album of the summer (if you ask me, that honor goes to Charli), and with the album debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, viral videos for the singles “Please Please Please” and “Taste,” the near ubiquitousness of Espresso (I couldn’t go into an Uber, a gym, or a store this year without hearing it blasting from speakers), nobody can deny that 2024 has been the best year in Sabrina’s career.
Even though summer is over, if you’re a Carpenter — what Sabrina affectionally calls her fan base — Sabrina has been keeping you fed. For her Short ’N Sweet tour, Sabrina is making headlines and filling social feeds with her fun, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek stage show, her kitschy meme-worthy merch, and a series of pop-up takeover cafes that have hit New York City, Chicago, and this weekend, Los Angeles.
The LA Short N’ Sweet Cafe will run from November 15-17 between the hours of 9 AM – 7 PM and is being presented at Melrose’s Verve Coffee Roasters (a solid coffee shop in its own right) and offers limited edition merch, a full Sabrina-inspired menu, and all sorts of staged photo opportunities that look… straight out of a Sabrina Carpenter music video. The pop-up was made in partnership with Cash App, which we’re only mentioning because using the app will score you a 30% discount on a single transaction.
We hit up the Short N’ Sweet Cafe to give you the full details on what to expect.
What’s The Vibe?
Dane Rivera
Sabrina Carpenter is the vibe. Cute outfits, perfect makeup, get your poses ready — I showed up to the pop-up wearing what I thought was an okay outfit, but I felt a little underdressed considering all the super fans and influencers who were dressed to impress.
What we’re trying to say is, don’t slump on the fit — you might be visiting a coffee shop in the middle of the day, but almost everyone is dressed like they’re hitting the club after.
The Menu
Dane Rivera
As a coffee connoisseur, I was thoroughly impressed by the menu, which featured all sorts of delicious iced and hot lattes named or themed after Sabrina Carpenter songs and lyrics. The menu also has several pastries, but they were sadly unavailable at the preview event.
I tried two drinks, the Honeybee Draft Latte and the Heartbreak Jamaica. The Honeybee featured a mix of lavender, honey, espresso, and milk, and featured a floral and herbaceous flavor that hovered nicely over vivid toasty coffee notes.
Dane Rivera
The Heartbreak Jamaica couldn’t be more different despite being iced. The drink featured hibiscus and coffee cherry, providing a flavor that was well-balanced between tangy, sweet, floral, and bitter-tasting notes.
I honestly wanted to try the full menu but I was buzzing on caffeine after the two drinks.
The Merch
Dane Rivera
The merch was typical concert fodder: shirts, bags, hoodies, socks, as well as coffee mugs, but everything is very, well, Sabrina. For example, one shirt featured a graphic print of lacy lingerie over a plain white t-shirt cut. It’s a sleep shirt that lets you have things both ways, which feels kitschy and very in line with the Short ’N Sweet aesthetic.
Prices for the merch go as low as $15 and as high as $80.
The Photo Ops
Dane Rivera
Aside from the menu, the photo ops are the real draw of the pop-up experience. There are several stage set-ups with vintage-inspired furniture that recalls the ’50 and ‘60s that’ll have you looking like you’re starring in your very own Sabrina Carpenter video.
But in my opinion, it’s the more naturalistic sets that use the Verve coffee shop architecture that look the best. Posing in front of a Sabrina-emblazoned backdrop on a lip-shaped couch is one thing, but sitting on beautifully paved steps while sipping coffee with the sunshine hitting your perfect fit? That’s some straight-up Gossip Girl Blair Waldorf shit.
All in all, the Short ’N Sweet Cafe offers a lot for die-hard Sabrina Carpenter fans, and a good enough menu that even non-fans will find something to enjoy.
The Short ’N Sweet Cafe can be found at Verve Coffee Roasters in Melrose, 8925 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
It’s unclear whether Jessie Reyez is preparing to release a new album soon, but the Toronto singer has certainly increased her output lately, suggesting that may be the case. In May, she teamed up with Big Sean to share “Shut Up,” a bold, boastful banger, then, in August, the dropped “Ridin” with Lil Wayne, smoothing things out for a more lusty approach. Today, she shared another unexpected collaboration, moving away from rappers to fellow R&B chanteuse Ari Lennox, who duets with Jessie on “Just Like That,” a Latin-accented love ballad that promises her loyalty despite the attention she gets as an international recording star.
“Got blue checks in my request / But I don’t pay them no mind,” she croons on the chorus. “‘Cause the last time left me broken / But you came by, and we vibed.” The song’s a testament to the healing power of true love in the wake of a bad breakup, a running theme through both artists’ output to date.
While fans wait to see what Reyez has in store for her next release, Lennox is unfortunately asking for a release from her current recording contracts, citing a lack of support. She made the request shortly after releasing her own new single, “Smoke,” the video for which reflected her growing interest in addressing mental health concerns.
You can listen to Jessie Reyez’s new single “Just Like That” featuring Ari Lennox above.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon recently concluded its second season with Daryl and Carol headed to Spain with more to come. Before that happens, Maggie and Megan’s ill-advised Manhattan adventures will return for their second season. This darkness-soaked, streetwise, and brutally back-to-basics spin off last left off with Maggie trading Negan to the Duma and the Croat in exchange for her son, Hershel Rhees. To her surprise, this wasn’t a happy reunion, and Hershel called out Maggie’s singular vision for what it was, an obsession with vengeance, which is whittling away her soul.
That anticlimactic ending actually served the show well with the second season poised to take Maggie back into an urban hellscape like no other. We will soon find out what showrunner Eli Horne and franchise chief Scott Gimple have in store for this series after Negan attempted to make things right, only to have that quest blow up in his face. Let’s talk about where this show’s chess pieces are poised to go in Dead City‘s second season.
Plot
AMC
It doesn’t take a leap to realize that Maggie will rethink her decision to leave the rehabilitated Negan to certain doom. As for what Negan is doing and how he will cope, Jeffrey Dean Morgan previously admitted, “I feel like we find him in a spot that he’s never been in before. He’s a lot more vulnerable and he’s in a sticky situation, sort of needing Maggie to come save his ass, really.”
However, a teaser trailer shows that Negan might have decided to be his own “Savior” by reverting to being Bad Negan. That trailer also shows Maggie reacting to what looks (and acts) like seventh-season TWD Negan, who infamously bashed her husband’s brains into a pulp. What will this do to her “rescue” mission in process? That probably depends on whether Negan is simply going through the motions with a new Lucile by wrapping another baseball bat in barbwire (after the old Lucille splintered into pieces). There’s the possibility that not even even Negan knows how far he will in order to survive.
Morgan has been having a ball with that ambiguity regarding Lucille’s presence. Earlier this year, he told SDCC’s Hall H (via Variety), “There’s something about that sweet girl that I love… It makes me turn into Negan [who has] has a love-hate relationship with her.”
This twisted chess game will be further complicated by new characters, but first, here’s the second season synopsis:
In season two, in the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.
Newly revealed strategists within Manhattan’s war include Dascha Polanco (Russian Doll, Orange Is The New Black) as Major Lucia Narvaez.
AMC
And because this show cannot have enough villain types, Kim Coates (Sons Of Anarchy) will be on hand as “fierce” gang leader Bruegel, who Deadline reports “is more manipulative and intelligent than we might have assumed.”
AMC
Also at NYCC, Scott Gimple said that this series isn’t saying “never” to any old human characters making an appearance in New York City, probably in future seasons if it happens. “I’m not telling you not to expect it,” he told the audience (via Variety). “But it’s a layered universe and so much of the history is important to the present. So it’s gonna be super satisfying when I say this – you never know. It’s an option and a possibility.”
Cast
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan continue as Negan and Maggie with more of the Dama (Lisa Emery) and the Croat (Željko Ivanek) to keep things menacing. Will Logan Kim also be back as the ungrateful Hershel Rhees? Presumably, but confirmed new cast members not only include Dascha Polanco and Kim Coates but also Keir Gilchrist and Pooya Mohseni.
Release Date
The gritty walkers of the city will return in Spring 2025.
Trailer
Negan is off to the showman races in this teaser trailer from NYCC.
2020 brought Hey U X, Benee’s debut album, and she followed it in 2022 with a new EP, Lychee. It appears the gears are turning on a new project: She released “Sad Boiii” in September and today (November 15), she has shared “Animal.”
“‘Animal’ is a song I wrote when I felt extreme existential dread. When flying in a plane on tour, looking down onto what looks like an ant-like world really inspired the lyrics. How huge something feels when you’re in it, but zoomed out so SMALL. I love thinking about life like that.
I thought about this concept long and hard, and I feel we can only be playful with the thought of how insignificant and small we are compared to the universe. There’s peace in not knowing what anything is here for. It makes me want to enjoy everything in life even more.”
She also said of the video, “We shot the ‘Animal’ video in Sydney when I was there on tour. Directed by Keith Herron and shot mainly on green screen, there was so much we could do creatively in post. We had a lot of fun with the story and creating a crazy visual world to live beside the song!”
Meanwhile, it was just announced that Benee will open for Tate McRae on the European dates of her Miss Possessive Tour.
“I’m so mad I did that sh*t,” she said. “I gained all this weight from being immobile while recovering and trying to preserve the fat. It was just so stupid. But who gives a f*ck. You got a BBL, you realize you didn’t need that sh*t. It doesn’t matter.”
Despite her remarks, SZA does not regret the cosmetic procedure unlike her previous breast implants. Instead, she’s beholden to it, saying: “My booty look nice. And I’m grateful that it looks pretty much… I don’t know, sometimes natural. But I don’t even care. It’s something that I wanted. I’m enjoying it. I love shaking it.”
SZA’s declaration has left many supporters confused. But her double-mindedness has made her a prolific songwriter. So, there’s that.
Of the last 25 years, there are few figures in the world of sports that had a larger impact on their sport and pop culture than Kobe Bryant. As a five-time champion and 2008 MVP with the Lakers, Bryant was, along with Shaq and Allen Iverson early and LeBron James later in his career, the face of the NBA. Being on the Lakers certainly didn’t hurt his cultural impact, as he is an L.A. icon, but his reach goes far beyond Los Angeles.
In the world of hip-hop, Bryant has been heavily referenced in song lyrics for the last two decades plus, eventually becoming the avatar for competing and championships. Here we are looking at 24 (plus a couple bonus tracks) times Bryant’s name came up in rap songs, as his legendary status is cemented by his impact not just on basketball but the culture as a whole. Even after his tragic death in 2020, Bryant’s legacy is still felt and artists continue to point to the Lakers great as one of the great examples of a winner and hooper.
“Overnight Celebrity” — Twista ft. Kanye West (2004)
Kanye: Give you ice like Kobe wife/We sorta like Goldie, right?/The way we mold ’em right
Twista: I could make you a celebrity overnight
The hook to Twista’s smash hit with Kanye features West referencing the massive diamond ring worn by Vanessa Bryant at a press conference after Kobe was charged with sexual assault in Colorado in 2003.
“Swagga Like Us” — T.I. ft. Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and M.I.A (2008)
Tryna get that Kobe number, one over Jordan
This is another Kobe reference from Kanye, this time using Kobe as a stand-in for 24 (and Jordan for 23), which happens frequently, as Bryant became the most iconic No. 24 in sports.
“I Wanna Rock” — Snoop Dogg (2009)
Smokin’ on that Kobe, f**kin’ wit’ that purp
Unsurprisingly, Kobe is frequently referenced in L.A. rap. Here one of Los Angeles’ finest, Snoop Dogg, drops a Kobe reference in this 2009 track, which is far from the last time someone used Kobe and the Lakers as a metaphor for purple (and gold) strands in their weed.
Kobe Bryant” — Lil Wayne (2009)
Lil Wayne took the Kobe love to a whole new level in 2009 when he released a track titled and entirely about the Lakers star, so there’s not one bar to highlight here, but just the entire song.
“Beamer Benz or Bentley” — Lloyd Banks ft. Juelz Santana (2010)
Where my ring and my confetti? I’m Kobe Bryant-ready
By 2010, after winning his fifth title with the Lakers, there was no one more synonymous with winning than Bryant, with Lloyd Banks making that evident from his hit single from that year.
“See Me Now” — Kanye West ft. Beyonce, Big Sean, and Charlie Wilson (2010)
They say G.O.O.D. Music like the new Miami Heat, s**t/Comparin’ them to us, man they gotta add Kobe
After Bryant’s 2010 championship, LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade to create the Big 3 in Miami. However, as Big Sean boasted on “See Me Now,” comparisons to Kanye’s budding G.O.O.D. Music label and the Heat wasn’t good enough, as they’d need another legend in Bryant to be on their level.
“The City” — The Game ft. Kendrick Lamar (2011)
I’m Kobe on the Lakers floor, except I give you eighty-four
Bryant’s greatest individual performance was scoring 81 points against the Raptors in 2006, and that night gets pretty regularly referenced in hip-hop, with L.A.’s The Game providing one of the more notable ones on “The City.”
“Stay Schemin’” — Rick Ross ft. Drake and French Montana (2012)
Kobe ’bout to lose a hundred fifty Ms/Kobe my n****, I hate it had to be him
Rick Ross has a number of Kobe mentions in his songs (and, really, any NBA star); on 2012’s “Stay Schemin’” guest rapper Drake makes a reference to Bryant’s on-going divorce at the time — which Kobe and Vanessa eventually resolved and stayed together.
“Believe It” — Meek Mill ft. Rick Ross (2012)
Spend Iguodala on my Rolly/Young n**** ball like Kobe
Meek Mill gives us a double NBA reference here, with the Philly native shouting out then-Sixer Andre Iguodala and his 6-year, $80 million deal before noting he’s balling like Kobe.
“Kobe” — Chief Keef (2012)
While Lil Wayne’s 2009 track was very literally about Kobe Bryant, Chief Keef’s “Kobe” is more about the mindset of thinking he’s Kobe in various ways. But, like Wayne’s track, there are too many Kobe lines in it to just pull one out.
“Bugatti” — Ace Hood ft. Rick Ross and Future (2013)
Ballin’ on n***** like Kobe/F**k all you haters, you bore me
Ace Hood’s boastful hit from 2013 wouldn’t be complete without a reference to ballin’ like Kobe.
“Juice” — Chance the Rapper (2013)
I just faced a Veg-er/And you love being Kobe when you make the lay-er/Til you realize everybody in the world f**kin’ hates the Lakers
However, there was certainly some Lakers fatigue felt by fans outside of L.A., which Chance the Rapper makes mention of in this line from 2013’s “Juice”.
This the first time I confess/Me and Top is like a Kobe and Phil/A father figure f**k with him, you get killed/F**k with me and he will kill you himself
Another L.A. connection here, as Kendrick Lamar compares himself and Top Dawg ENT founder Anthony Tiffith to Kobe and Phil.
“Still Think About You” — A Boogie wit da Hoodie (2016)
I shoot up and lean back on some Kobe s**t/They don’t know how to pass on some Kobe s**t
One of the funniest Kobe lyrics comes from A Boogie wit da Hoodie on his 2016 track where he highlights Bryant’s reputation as a premier bucket-getter and not a facilitator.
“Views” — Drake (2016)
Me and Niko used to plot on how to make a change/Now me and Kobe doin’ shots the night before the game
Sometimes a reference is just a status check, as is the case here with Drake boasting about hanging out with Kobe.
“Shake It Fast” — Rae Sremmurd ft. Juicy J (2016)
I get to ballin’ like Kobe in the fourth quarter/So much money on me I can’t even get it sorted
Kobe has long been the go-to for references to being clutch, as is the case here on Swae Lee’s verse from Rae Sremmurd’s 2016 hit.
“THat Part” — ScHoolboy Q ft. Kanye West (2016)
Walkin’, livin’ legend, man, I feel like Kobe/I just dropped sixty, man, I feel like Kobe/Lamar was with me, man, I feel like Kobe
More than a decade from his “Overnight Celebrity” chorus, Kanye West was back at it with the Kobe references, this time shouting out Kobe as a living legend as well as his iconic final game performance when he scored 60 against the Jazz.
“Stargazing” — Travis Scott (2018)
I’m way too gold for this beef, feel like I’m Kobe, yeah
Surprisingly one of the few references we could find that played off Kobe Bryant and Kobe beef, but Travis Scott made it happen in his 2018 track.
“Shotta FLow” — NLE Choppa (2019)
Feelin’ like I’m Kobe, can’t nan’ n**** hold me/If he wanna run up on me, shoot him like Ginobili
Another double NBA reference, this time from NLE Choppa, who is not the only one to pair Kobe and Ginobili — a match made in rap lyric heaven for the ability to rhyme together.
“Commercial” — Lil Baby ft. Lil Uzi Vert
I turned eight million right until I’m a quarterback/Spent a million like I’m tryna bring Kobe back
“Commercial” came out just a few weeks after Kobe’s death, and clearly Lil Uzi Vert’s verse was recorded at some point in that window as he became one of the first in hip-hop to mourn the loss of the legend on a track.
“Bean (Kobe)” — Lil Uzi Vert ft. Chief Keef (2020)
You know I’m ballin’, usual like Kobe
Not long after his verse on “Commercial”, Lil Uzi Vert again referenced Kobe, this time on a track with his name in the title. However, unlike Lil Wayne or Chief Keef’s songs, this one does not feature constant references to the Lakers legend, just at the start of the opening verse.
“Woodlawn” — Aminé (2020)
Look, RIP Kobe/N****, RIP Kobe/You was like a dad to a n****, so I’m sad, my n****/Had to get you tatted on me
After his death, there were tons of tributes to Bryant from all over the basketball, music, and entertainment worlds, showing how far-reaching his impact was, and on his 2020 song “Woodlawn”, Aminé pays heartfelt homage to his idol.
“Rich Flex” — Drake and 21 Savage (2022)
Ayy, I’m livin’ every twenty-four like Kobe did/Shoutout to the 6, R.I.P. to 8
Drake often plays with numbers in his lyrics, and here he pays tribute to Bryant with both his numbers, 24 and 8.
“2024” — Playboi Carti (2023)
Ooh, two fours in the Sprite, got me feelin’ like Kobe, R.I.P., uh
One of the most recent Kobe references, Playboi Carti showed once again how Bryant remains synonymous with the number 24.
BONUS TRACKS
“K.O.B.E.” — Kobe Bryant ft. Tyra Banks (2000)
This has all-but been scrubbed from the internet, but back in 2000 Kobe Bryant made a brief foray into the rap game with a debut single alongside Tyra Banks (???). It did not go over particularly well and Bryant made the wise choice to focus his efforts on the court — but he was better on the mic than he gets credit for.
“Freestyle” — Shaq (2008)
The most legendary NBA beef of the 2000s was that of Shaq and Kobe, with the peak coming when Shaq hopped on the mic for a freestyle at a club and infamously asked Kobe “tell me how my ass tastes.”
Goodbyes are never easy, even for the undead. And yet, the cast of What We Do In The Shadows is gearing up to do just that, bid farewell to their bloody little mockumentary that’s survived long past its expiration date.
“We really shouldn’t have made it this far,” Harvey Gullién tells UPROXX of the show’s incredible six season run. “But we did because our fans stood by us through some really tough times.”
Multiple industry strikes, a global pandemic, too many shutdowns to count, and a cache of critics skeptical that the FX spinoff could reanimate the bones of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s cult comedy to erect something fresh and sentient — WWDITS has cheated death more times than some of the vamps who populate its macabre, ridiculous fantasy world. But then again, the show has always been about reinvention.
From the undead relics cracking open their coffins every evening hoping to assimilate into (and then conquer) their modern Staten Island community to their human caretaker, Gullién’s Guillermo de la Cruz, who’s waffled between pining for immortality and slaying those who have it with each new season – evolution has always been the point. Even as their bodies, their questionable morals, and their societal conceits feel stuck in the past, time moves forward. Gullién’s learning that, confronting the end of the series that effectively put him on the map, and then digging up those feelings every time he does an interview like this one.
“It’s an emotional rollercoaster,” Gullién tells us while recounting his final day on set. They were filming a particularly difficult scene for his character that wraps up Guillermo’s winding arc and left Gullién “destroyed.” At the same time, the cast was celebrating co-star Matt Berry’s birthday, which is just one day before his own. When filming went past midnight, the crew threw a party for Gullién as well, a bittersweet send-off for show he put his life into. Literally.
No one worked harder to promote the series than Gullién. He created an after-show to drum up excitement for its first few seasons. He met with the network’s marketing team to share ideas on how to promote it on social media. He created an entire backstory for his character, a man originally intended to be decades older, gifting him his last name, his Mexican heritage, and more.
“Everything’s worth it,” he says. “If you put your heart into something, whatever the outcome is, even if we didn’t get accolades and whatnot, it’s all worth it. [I’ll] look back and never regret all the heart that I put into it.”
“I do that with all my projects,” Gullién explains. “I like to take risks, but I always stand behind the work.”
He’s now getting to see that dedication pay off. Guillermo has enjoyed one of the most fascinating character arcs on the show, a journey that saw Gullién play a bodyguard, a Van Helsing heir, a nightclub embezzler, a vampire hybrid, and, in season six, a finance bro. Throughout it all, his complicated, sometimes toxic relationship with his master, Nandor (Kayvan Novak) has fueled and roadblocked his progress. In the show’s final season, their rocky friendship enters uncharted territory as Guillermo thrives on Wall Street and Nandor flounders — in the workplace and in the vampire world.
“Guillermo is definitely not the person that we saw in the opening pilot when he opens the door to the camera crew, and he’s definitely not the same person when you last see him,” Gullién teases. “His moral compass is a little bit questionable, but he always does it with the best intentions. And I think the audience always forgives him. Remember, he’s murdered so many people!”
We laugh at his character’s absurd fictional body count before Gullién reminds me, “it’s at the wish of his master. He doesn’t enjoy it.”
“We forgive him because, it’s like, ‘I do the same thing too. I have to get coffee every morning for my boss.’ We forgive because we’ve been there. We put ourselves in his shoes,” he continued. “And I think where we see him take off after season five and into season six, it’s just a new chapter. It’s a new chapter because we have a choice. We can either dwell in the circumstance and the life that we’ve been dealt, and we can say, ‘Well, that’s it. I’m going to work here for the rest of my life,’ or we make a choice. We make a choice to be like, ‘I’m not happy with my life. I’m not happy with my career or where I stand. I’ve got to change something.’ And that’s a great gift that, as humans, we forget that we have. We have the power to shift, and we have the power to say no.”
It’s a power Gullién is learning to wield with greater efficiency.
In the show’s early run, he recalls filming a climactic fight scene just before a holiday break. It was a night shoot, the crew was tired and ready to enjoy their leave, and Gullién was sick with a 104-degree fever. He was determined to get the shot, “even if it killed him.” He’s proud he did and thankful that Novak was there for support, but now, with more seasons under his belt, he wishes he’d asked for more.
“I was doing a lot of producing, without realizing it,” Gullién says. “My only regret is that I never got producer credit on Shadows, because we improvised and produced that show.”
It’s a lesson he’s taking into this next era of his career, searching for stories he can contribute to in more ways than just in front of the camera.
“There’s so much content,” he muses. “People are just throwing spaghetti at the wall but they’re also afraid to take real risks. Unfortunately, some projects don’t get looked at at all.”
That’s why Gullién is focused on creating, working with his writing partner while signing on for interesting projects like Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation with Tom Hiddleston, The Life Of Chuck, and the indie-thriller Companion with The Boys star Jack Quaid.
“It’s nice place to be where you can start creating your own content and say, ‘I’m not going to wait around for someone to write something,’” Gullién says. “For the longest time, I’d just wait around the phone and hope that my agents would call as opposed me just working with the writers I like or with another producer that I like and cultivating something together.”
‘WWDITS’ releases new episodes on Monday on FX and streams on Hulu.
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