Category: News

Given how unafraid Sam Smith is to express themselves, sometimes in envelope-pushing ways, they’re prone to facing backlash. Their and Kim Petras’ recent “Unholy” performance at the Grammys, for example, prompted FCC complaints. Now, video shows Smith dealing with a heckler in the streets of Brooklyn.

In a video shared by New York City-based photographer Leeroy Johnson on February 15, a woman shouts at Smith from across the street, “You belong in Hell! Sam Smith belongs in Hell! You demonic, twisted, sick bastard! Leave the kids alone, you sick f*cker! Sam Smith is a pedophile! […] You sick motherf*cker, Sam Smith! You’re evil!”

All the while, Smith appeared to be unbothered as they seemingly filmed or took photos of the person with their phone for a bit before walking away.

Unfortunately, facing this kind of treatment in public isn’t new for Smith. In a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Smith said of their life since coming out as non-binary, “What people don’t realize with trans and non-binary people in the UK is it’s happening in the street. I’m being abused in the street verbally more than I ever have. That was the hardest part, I think, was being at home in the UK and having people shouting at me in the street. Someone spat at me in the street. It’s crazy.”

The mid-2000s were a different time. Hoobastank had a hit in 2003 with “The Reason,” and the band would follow The Reason the album by getting to work on Every Man For Himself, which came out in 2006. Around this same time, Rihanna was on her way to becoming a star, as her 2005 debut single “Pon De Replay” was a major success. Believe it or not, in this era, Hoobastank and Rihanna’s paths crossed when the two collaborated.

After Rihanna’s recent Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, Hoobastank singer Doug Robb tweeted, “True story. There is a version of a @Hoobastank song featuring @rihanna when she was a ‘newer’ artist. Displaying a total lack of foresight, we didn’t use that version of the song for the album. We also didn’t think The Reason was a single though either so… Oops.”

Robb later expanded on that story, telling Consequence:

“Back when we were recording our third album, Every Man For Himself, we were approached by someone at our label, Island Def Jam, about potentially featuring a ‘new artist’ on one of the songs. This kind of stuff happens all the time. We said, ‘Sure. Who do you have in mind?’ It was Rihanna. I had never heard of her. I don’t think anyone else in the band had, either, at the time.

We gave her camp a song called ‘Inside Of You.’ I think they rearranged some of the music to create a pre-chorus section, that wasn’t originally part of the arrangement, for her to sing a small part on. We heard it and didn’t really love it so we passed on using it. It’s really just that simple. I think we had already gotten used to hearing the song as it was written so it just felt weird to us. […]

I think if we had done a proper collaboration with her, writing the song knowing there was gonna be another artist on it and making space for it, we probably would have felt differently and used it. I think the way we did it was just wrong. The paint had already dried so to speak. Well, it was that, plus a stunning lack of vision to see what a star Rihanna was going to be. […]

We’d run into her at various award shows after and she was always very sweet and super cool. I think everything worked out ok for her in the end. [crying laughing emoji].”

As Robb famously sang on “The Reason,” “I’m not a perfect person / There’s many things I wish I didn’t do.” For example: turn down a Rihanna collab.

Listen to the Rihanna-less “Inside Of You” below.

When it comes to the race for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, Donald Trump has reserved most of his ire for Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t even announced his campaign yet. In fact, the former president only has one rival: his old employee Nikki Haley. The former governor of South Carolina was the U.S. ambassador to the UN in his administration. Trump has used kid’s gloves on her so far, only giving her a little bit of grief. But on Wednesday, it was Haley who not-so-subtly came for him.

During her formal presidential campaign announcement, Haley reiterated a sentiment she’d expressed before, namely that the GOP needs some new blood. “America is not past our prime. It’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” she told the crowd at one point.

She soon went further than that. “In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. We’ll have term limits for Congress,” Haley said. “And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

Haley didn’t name names. Her statement also clearly referred to someone else in particular: sitting president Joe Biden, who turned 80 last November. Then again, she said 75 years old. Trump is 76, and he turns 77 in June. That said, he’s mentally fit, right? After all, he used to brag — relentlessly, weirdly — about passing a very basic cognitive test. So maybe he’ll be fine. Still, Haley’s message was clear: The GOP needs to move on from cranky old bullies, even ones who’d call someone like Ron DeSantis “Meatball Ron.”

(Via Mediaite)

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be missing some big names, as three starters — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson — all were ruled out for the game due to injuries, vaulting Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, and Pascal Siakam into draft pool for Sunday’s game.

Joel Embiid was among those moved into the starting lineups, but it’s possible that Adam Silver will need to make another late call-up, as the Sixers center detailed how he is not healthy right now following Philadelphia’s win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

It’s a credit to Embiid that he’s been able to play through his foot injury and help the Sixers climb into third in the East, now two games up on Cleveland. It also should be noted that, in an era where load management and stars resting has become such a big point of frustration, the league should be pleased that Embiid is looking at the All-Star break as a chance to get rest and try to get healthy, rather than the middle of the regular season. While the NBA certainly won’t be thrilled if they have to make another replacement, the talent pool in the league is as deep as ever and there are still some players out there who were genuine snubs. If they have to take a little shine off of an exhibition contest (that still features plenty of the biggest names) in order to have stars playing in regular season games and making a point to be in the lineup each night, they should be thrilled at that trade off.

Hopefully Embiid can use the upcoming time off to get closer to 100 percent, as the Sixers have title aspirations that are dependent on the big man’s health.

Steve Lacy had a great 2022 with the release of his prolific LP Gemini Rights, which contained the massive hit “Bad Habit.” The song was so big (especially on TikTok) that it drove many people to his shows, some of whom did not have the best concert etiquette. One fan threw a camera at him on stage, so Lacy smashed it, creating controversy.

He responded at the time with a statement on his Instagram: “i don’t believe i owe anyone an apology. maybe i couldve reacted better? sure. always. i’m a student of life. but i’m a real person with real feelings and real reactions. i’m not a product or a robot.” Now, months later, he’s able to crack jokes about it in a new interview with Nardwuar.

“If somebody’s looking at you on stage, how do they know you’re having a good time?” the eccentric interviewer asked around the 12:20-mark. “Um… if I smile or say something stupid, yeah,” Lacy answered.

“And how do they know if you’re having a bad time?” Nardwuar then asked. Lacy answered before laughing, “I’m probably smashing a camera down on the floor.” He continued, “No, they won’t know. But I’m also very vocal about it. I’ll say some sh*t like, ‘Bear with me, you guys, this is a rough night.’ I don’t hide.”

Nardwuar also asked the singer what he thought of the sped-up version of “Bad Habit.” He said he didn’t “really have any thoughts” while giggling. He said, “Let the streets do what they need to do.”

Watch the full interview above.

Over the weekend, The New York Times claimed that Donald Trump was beta testing some of his patented childish nicknames for one of his likely 2024 rivals: Ron DeSantis. As you may recall, the first one he made public — “Ron DeSanctimonious” — was widely seen as not one of his better efforts. He could do better. Now maybe he has: The report said he was thinking of calling the Florida governor “Meatball Ron.” It’s mean, even for him, so much so that it upset one of his biggest cheerleaders, who’s disappointed the former president could stoop so low.

“I happen to like Meatballs,” tweeted Fox News host Mark Levin. “But this will turn off a lot of conservative voters. Not a wise move if true. I hope it’s not.”

If there’s one thing Trump has never done it’s come up with insulting nicknames for fellow Republicans. Like calling Marco Rubio “Little Marco.” Or Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted.” Or the racist name he awarded his former administration team member Elaine Chao (whose husband would still support him). He certainly didn’t get popular with GOP voters by being a schoolyard bully. In fact, going back to what worked before might be how he engineers a much-needed, much-feared comeback with conservative voters.

Trump has offered a vaguely worded denial that about the DeSantis nicknames, even while repeating his first poorly-received effort. But given how popular “Meatball Ron” was, even among Trump’s detractors, maybe he’ll bust out it at his next rambling rally.

(Via Mediaite)

Ice Cube has an interesting crossover with sports. Last year, he performed at a NASCAR race in Los Angeles. He actually runs his own basketball league called Big3 as well. Now, he’s being quoted by one of the greatest athletes of all time.

LeBron James has been celebrating breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record last week, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James is still soaking in the historic accomplishment. The Los Angeles Lakers star took to Instagram yesterday (February 14) to share his excitement. In doing so, he used Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” lyrics.

“Last week messed around and got a triple…..” he wrote. “I mean a Scoring Record! Man what!!! This is still not hitting me yet. So surreal!! Wow wow wow man.” (The original Ice Cube lyric is, “Last week, f*cked around and got a triple double.”)

He continued, “To all my fans who captured that moment there inside Crypto Arena that night( YOU’RE AMAZING & THANK YOU) and to all my fans all over the United States and The World( YOU’RE AMAZING & THANK YOU). The journey continues!”

Big3 announced last year that they’d be including Snoop Dogg in their endeavors. “Snoop is always at the cutting edge. He always wanna be first. When we said we was gonna start selling teams, he hit me right away saying, ‘I need to be a part of that,’” they explained in a statement.

Larry June and The Alchemist are up to something. Before “60 Days,” their collaborative single out today (February 15) begins, an enticing message displays across the screen: “Larry June x The Alchemist THE GREAT ESCAPE MMXXIII.”

It stands to reason that “60 Days” is kicking off a larger rollout between the Bay Area rapper and the Grammy-nominated producer, and if this Sean Kelly-directed video is any indication of their vibe for 2023, sign me up.

“60 Days” finds June and The Alchemist sequestered in a mansion up on the hill. June takes in his scenic surroundings from an exercise bike, relishes in his luxurious cars and reflects on his road to riches.

“First game, touchdown, played for four seasons,” June raps with a content, relaxed delivery over even smoother instrumentals. “She made a thousand first night, I told her she can keep it / Two days in Napa Valley, I’m eating Saganaki / I’m riding dirty through the traffic, took the matte Ducati / I get impulsive, if I want it, then I go and cop it.”

The Alchemist even dropped a few bars — calling himself “a big bowl of macaroni” and referencing former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress’ 2008 incident when he accidentally shot himself in the leg. “Stick shift Aston, I’m diggin’ in my trick basket / Fixin’ plays, cut up the pot and split the change,” Alchemist spits. “A lot of sh*t could happen in 60 days.”

June and The Alchemist have separately made a lot happen over the last year. June released his Spaceships On The Blade album last August. The Alchemist produced on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-nominated Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. More recently, Uproxx’s October cover star Freddie Gibbs told XXL that he’s working on four joint albums and hinted that Alchemist is one of the producers involved.

So, who knows what will have happened 60 days from now.

Watch the “60 Days” video above.

Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Poker Face was effectively pitched to the world (and maybe even Peacock) as Columbo but with Natasha Lyonne. That’s not entirely accurate. For one thing, Lyonne’s Charlie Cale isn’t even part of law enforcement, let alone a homicide detective. For another, there’s a continuing story. But it’s still a murderer-of-the-week program, where, like Columbo, we learn who the murderer is before our hero starts a-sleuthin’. The first four episodes all debuted on the same day, but the remaining six have been scheduled to come out every week on the same day.

When is the next episode of Poker Face?

Poker Face episodes bow on Thursdays, which means that the next episode — its seventh — arrives on February 16, on Peacock. This week’s episode is called “The Future of the Sport,” and here is the plot description on its IMDb page:

While working at a go-kart complex, Charlie becomes involved in a bitter feud between an aging race car driver and a hotheaded young upstart, whose rivalry has explosive consequences.

It’s likely Tim Blake Nelson plays the “aging race car driver,” while Charles Melton plays his young rival. So who kills who? You’ll find out when the episode goes live on Thursday, February 16.

On Wednesday, February 15, mere days after its Super Bowl ad aired, Poker Face was renewed for a second season, giving Charlie — who, again, ain’t even a cop — still more chances to risk her life to bust murderers.

New episodes of ‘Poker Face’ are available on the Peacock every Thursday.

Pusha T teased an upcoming installment in DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape series in late December, but the Virginia rapper proved on Valentine’s Day that his talents don’t necessarily translate to literal grilling. I’m sure Drake took notes.

A since-expired Instagram Story posted by Virginia Williams, Pusha’s wife, exposed that he struggled to cook her the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. Williams apparently posted a screenshot from her text exchange with Pusha, who asked very basic questions about grilling a steak (as captured by 2Cool2Blog):

“Heat it first?” Pusha texted. Williams confirmed that was, in fact, the first step before instructing him to “add oil or butter make sure bottom is coated.” She added, “I flick one little drop of water in it to see if it’s hot enough. The steak is thick so you prob have to cook a little longer on each side.”

And that’s when Pusha sent the very sad state of the steak, to which Williams simply replied, “Zang. Did you burn it?”

Williams wrote atop the screenshot, “Happy Valentine’s Day @kingpush [crying emojis] sorry I wasn’t home to cook your steak.”

Pusha commented on 2Cool2Blog’s post, “This is crazy…” Steven Victor, Pusha’s longtime manager, thought it was hilarious (“Ghahahahaahah”), and Quality Control’s Wayno Clark chimed in with three crying-laughing emojis.