An Elton John show is always bound to be over the top, but it was what was under this fan’s bottoms that shocked the audience during one of John’s farewell shows in Melbourne, Australia. While John was on stage, music critic Ian “Molly” Meldrum dropped his pants and flashed his bum to the audience, according to a report from New York Post.

John didn’t seem bothered by the cheeky act. In fact, he seemed thrilled.

“He’s quite honestly a national treasure,” John said. “I want to thank him for all the love and loyalty he’s shown me over the years. I love you.”

Meldrum then joined John on stage for a performance of “The B*tch Is Back.”

Over the years, John and Meldrum have maintained a friendship, however, the two did have their fair share of arguments. The two didn’t speak for years after what was thought to be an off-record chat about one of John’s peers managed to leak.

Meldrum wrote about the feud in his 2016 book Ah Well, Nobody’s Perfect that although John felt the leak was Meldrum’s fault, Meldrum never stopped caring for him.

“I’m tempted to quote a line from one of my favorite movies: ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,’” Meldrum said. “But the truth is, I do give a damn. I love Elton.”

When it comes to wintry, dark, bold beers we often stick to stouts, imperial stouts, and classic porters. But when we really need an extra roasty, bold kick, we opt for a Baltic porter. For the unaware, a Baltic porter is cold-fermented and cold-lagered. The result is a higher alcohol, mellow, fruity, soft, creamy porter well-suited for the cold winter temperatures.

“A Baltic porter is like an interesting blend of the classic brown porter, the roasty schwarzbier, and an Imperial Stout — always a recipe for deliciousness,” says Joshua Bartlett, the founder and CEO of Learning to Homebrew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Since this definition has probably made you as thirsty as it has us, it’s time to actually find some Blatic porters to drink. So we asked a handful of craft beer experts and brewers for help. They were kind enough to tell us their favorite Baltic porters to drink during the dark winter days ahead. Keep reading to see all ten of their picks.

Heater Allen Sandy Paws

Ryan Schmiege, director of brewing operations at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. in Redmond and Bend, Oregon

ABV: 7.4%

Average Price: $7.99 for a 16-ounce can

The Beer:

Heater Allen’s Sandy Paws is a great Baltic porter. Malty drinkable heaven. Deep, rich malt on the nose and tongue. Sandy Paws is a delight to drink. And has dogs on the labels.

Tasting Notes:

A hint of roast that doesn’t bite at all and just the right amount of dark chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit character.

Half Acre VIM

Matt Lally, head brewer at Evil Genius Beer Company in Philadelphia

ABV: 12.7%

Average Price: $18.99 for two twelve-ounce bottles

The Beer:

Half Acre VIM is a can’t-miss Baltic porter. Woodford being one of my favorite whiskeys certainly helps with this one (as it’s rested in Woodford rye barrels), but it’s the chocolate and spice that make me love this one.

Tasting Notes:

Notes of chocolate, toasted marshmallows, vanilla, and warming whiskey give this beer an outstanding flavor profile.

Jack’s Abby Framing Hammer

Jessica Eaton, assistant taproom manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham, Massachusetts

ABV: 10%

Average Price: $11 for a four-pack

The Beer:

Framing Hammer Baltic Porter from Jack’s Abby. Named for the city in which the brewery calls home (the same one where we are located), this 10% ABV monster of a beer gets its bold flavor from the addition of oats and brown sugar as well as extended conditioning time.

Tasting Notes:

The silky mouthfeel makes for a smooth finish, which I really enjoy. Flavors of toast, dark chocolate, vanilla, and some fruit notes of raisin/cherry.

Brewery Techne Perkuno’s Hammer

George Hummel, grain master of My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia

ABV: 8%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

Perkuno’s Hammer was originally brewed by pioneer New Jersey brewer Heavyweight Brewing Co. Brewer Tom Baker revived this tasty treat subsequently at his next projects, Earth, Bread + Brewery (sadly victim to COVID shutdowns); and currently at Brewery Techne located at Bar Hygge in Philly.

Tasting Notes:

It’s just a wonderful mashup of dark chocolate, licorice, and coffee. It has everything fans of bold, robust Baltic porters could want.

Alaskan Baltic Porter

Bryan Donaldson, brewing innovation manager at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

ABV: 9.8%

Average Price: $9.99 for a 22-ounce bottle

The Beer:

It only comes around every few years, so I haven’t had it in a while, but the Baltic Porter from Alaskan Brewing is an old favorite. It takes everything that is great about that style. It’s great fresh, but also after a few years in the cellar.

Tasting Notes:

It starts with a deep malt character, the candied fruit, and the vanilla and brown sugar, then layers in a light touch of oak that amplifies everything just a little bit.

Burial Ulfberht

Zach Fowle, Advanced Cicerone and head of marketing at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix

ABV: 7.8%

Average Price: $6.99 for a 16-ounce can

The Beer:

Burial Ulfberht is a tasty beer that references some cool history: The Ulfberht blades are about 170 medieval European swords dating back to between the 9th and 11th century, and they all have some variation of +VLFBERHT+ inscribed along the metal as a sort of bladesmith trademark—the Nike of its day. The beer, appropriately, has an appearance worthy of the Dark Ages: onyx-black, with a huge, pillowy khaki head.

Tasting Notes:

The aroma doesn’t cut but rather brushes the nose with notes of coffee, graham crackers, cocoa nibs, burnt molasses, and nougat before sweet prune and raisin arrive. The flavor does have some edge in the form of juniper and toast, but more profound is its heavy fig-and-currant character that morphs into molasses before the finish delivers chocolate syrup and chocolate-covered raisins. The body is huge and chewy. The alcohol is quite noticeable, The malt is heavy and roasted. It’s a beer worthy of a warrior.

Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter

Joshua Bartlett, founder and CEO of Learning to Homebrew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

ABV: 9%

Average Price: $16.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

One of my favorite (and easy to find) Baltic porters is by Duck-Rabbit Brewery. At 9% ABV, this beer is a bit high for the style, but the wonderful warming feeling of the alcohol is balanced perfectly with a rich and velvety soft mouthfeel.

Tasting Notes:

It’s filled with notes of raisin, chocolate, toasted bread, port wine, and just a hint of peat smokiness and herbal hops. A great sipper.

Incendiary Baltic Porter

Rob Day, vice president of marketing for Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham. Massachusetts

ABV: 7.2%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

Incendiary Brewing Company Baltic Porter. It has a very pleasant and smooth coffee flavor from a good company. This cold-lagered Baltic porter is definitely warming, sweet, and robust on a cold winter day.

Tasting Notes:

Coffee, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, and gentle spices. This beer has everything Baltic porter fans crave.

Third Space Ice Bear

Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin

ABV: 9.5%

Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

While my favorite Baltic porter is a dense, malty, boozy, and slightly smokey beer called Ice Bear from Third Space Brewing; it’s the fact the beer gets its own party that makes it my favorite of the season. Some beers make you want to hunker down inside, but Third Space makes sure this Baltic Porter gets people out of their winter hibernation for some fun.

Tasting Notes:

My favorite element to this beer is that it takes the essence of a campfire outside in 15 degree weather and puts it into the flavor profile with notes of toasted marshmallows, chocolate, and roasted malts.

Okocim Baltic Porter

Ryan Pachmayer, head brewer at Yak & Yeti Brewpub and Restaurant in Arvada, Colorado

ABV: 8.1%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

Okocim Baltic Porter is nostalgic for me. Back in Chicago I’d go to the local butcher, pick out a handful of sausages, buy some Okocim Baltic Porter and we’d have a small social gathering every so often.

Tasting Notes:

I haven’t had it in a while, maybe there are better porters out there, but this one was quite smooth and drinkable, while still being complex enough to be interesting. Key flavors included roasted malts and freshly brewed coffee.

In the past couple of years, K-pop has come a long way in getting airplay in the States. Acts like BTS, Lisa of BlackPink, as well as Blackpink themselves, have all had their fair share of radio play with their respective hits.

With the ongoing popularity of K-pop, chart-topping girl group (G)I-DLE lands themselves at no. 39 on Mediabase’s Top 40, while also debuting at no. 40 on the Billboard Pop Airplay Chart with their most recent hit single “Nxde.”

“(G)-I-DLE is the first Artist from an Independent label to enter the airplay charts on traditional top 40 with a non-English song,” a US radio promoter said, according to the official press release. “It is usually a difficult challenge to break through, but the group has a unique sound and lyrics that the audience can embrace in the rapid change of the music industry landscape.”

In addition, Top 40 radio host JoJo Wright of 102.7 KIIS FM praises (G)I-DLE for their accomplishments.

“This is a very historical moment for (G)I-DLE as a self-producing group in the American market since the song is predominantly in Korean,” he said in the press release. “On top of their ascending success, I believe that (G)I-DLE has a huge potential to bring something new with K-pop to the US market.”

(G)I-DLE is a five-member group consisting of members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua signed under Cube Entertainment. The group’s most recent EP, I love, sold over 700,000 pre-orders and entered the Billboard 200 chart.

For some, life’s starting to feel ominous, like that scene in The Menu where they lay out the tarp for “The Mess.” It also feels like that infamous moment in The Matrix when Morpheus offers the blue pill or the red pill. Those that have taken the red pill might know what I’m talking about — Chat GPT and the dawn of AI.

The smartest and soon-to-be most powerful technological entity ever to exist, right here in its infant stage, is available to everyone. With full access to humanity’s lexicon of knowledge before 2021, it’s able to summarize, elaborate, brainstorm, optimize, plan, code, and perform virtually any task that requires text. So naturally, what happens when humans have access to an all-mighty, versatile, obedient supercomputer assistant?

They test it by asking absurd questions. What they didn’t expect was to get funny and accurate answers generated in five seconds.

If you haven’t tried it out, definitely tinker around while it’s still free. From the launch of Chat GPT, version 3, on November 30th, millions have signed up and have taken to Twitter to show off some comically amusing answers they’ve gotten. This chatbot is what one might call, a “Jack of all trades, master of all.” Here are ten hilarious answers that prove it.

1. Scientific MC (The Quantum Fate – FT. Chat GPT)

“Don’t be scared little homie.”

2. Deep AF Poet (Sinking Ego)

“A castle of sand that the tide will bring.” Damn…

3. Suspicious Wizard Consultant

“It’s important to not blindly follow advice, even if they are a wizard.”

4. GOAT Love Guru

“I promise to always be loyal, honest, and supportive.” Works every time.

5. A Model Student

“Whether it was volunteering at the soup kitchen or simply lending a listening ear” – Accepted

6. Political Philosopher (The Bounce House Theory)

“This would make the voting process much more exciting.” Genius way to get everyone voting.

7. LinkedIn Influencer

“As a LinkedIn influencer, it’s important for me to set an example.”

8. Rising Screenwriter

“That’s not good enough Morty.”

9. Social Climber

“Have you tried that new farm-to-table restaurant?” Pretty sure Chat helped write “The Menu.”

10. Biased Activist

As you can see by the last post, while Chat GPT is quite brilliant, it’s still got some tweaks to work out, such as being a two-faced gas lighter. But remember, this is only the beginning. If you haven’t checked out this new technology, get on it, and take the pill. This is here to stay and things are about to get nuts.

On December 21, 2012, as the sun disappeared one last time to end the Mayan calendar, many feared we had reached the end of life on earth. Well, that didn’t happen. Instead, it inspired the inception of one of the world’s most acclaimed and transformative parties, Day Zero.

And on January 9th 2023, the enchanting jungles of Tulum were once again alive with some of the most hardcore partiers and artists on the planet. Day Zero founder, Damien Lazarus, chose the Yucatan Forest as the perfect stage to kick off the twenty-year anniversary of his always evolving, genre-defying label, “Crosstown Rebels.” Looking at the photos below, it’s no wonder why one of house and techno’s most prolific outfits arranged things this way.

The festival tapped into a unique usage of production and performance — splicing together ancient Mayan mythos with contemporary music. Authentic cultural performances with costumes and fire paired with lights bursting through the tree canopies offered Lazarus’ entourage of forward-thinking artists an incredible opportunity to send their audience off into another dimension of sonic experience. The fact that the lineup featured the likes of Sidartha Siliceo & Gajda, Paradise and Hot Creations founder Jamie Jones, desert house duo Bedouin, global trio Major Lazer Sound System, Joseph Capriati, and NYC house veteran Danny Tenaglia certainly helped too.

The extravaganza concluded with a performance from Damien Lazarus himself to signal the start of his label’s new endeavors. It was all smiles and the perfect place to strut some memorable fashion while howling and chirping through the night. A great balance of environmental sustainability and unrestrained excitement made this musical experience truly something memorable. This is one you really need to see firsthand to fathom, although these photos below certainly strive to do it justice.

January is a slower month for bourbon releases. Still, there are two drops that absolutely dominate the discourse this month thanks to Heaven Hill dropping their barrel-proof expressions from Larceny and Elijah Craig. And we were lucky enough to get each for a bourbon review.

Below, I’ll be giving you my professional opinion on both Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A123 and Larceny Barrel Proof A123. Don’t get put off by the numbers here. Heaven Hill — which makes these brands — puts out three editions of these bottles every year. “A” denotes the first release of the year. “1” stands for January. “23” refers to the year, naturally. The next releases of these two whiskeys will come in May and September.

Generally speaking, these are two of the most sought-after bottles of bourbon in January of any given year. High-proof bourbon heads love these bottles for their bold flavors that truly do ebb and flow flavorwise with each release. So do they live up to the hype this season?

That’s what I’ll tell you below.

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked
• We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
• The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
• The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 30 Best Bourbon Whiskeys For Fall, Blind Tasted & Ranked

Larceny Barrel Proof A123

ABV: 62.9%

Average Price: $69 (MSRP)

The Whiskey:

This year’s first Larceny Barrel Proof is made with Heaven Hill’s standard wheated bourbon mash bill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. The batch is made from a combination of six to eight-year-old barrels from Heaven Hill’s rickhouses. The final blend is bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Chili pepper spice and almost damp masa come through on the nose with a hint of mustiness next to nut loaf cut with a twinge of apple cider juice and some orchard tree branches with a hint of apple caramel candy lurking underneath.

Palate: Sweet vanilla cake leads to a hint of cinnamon bark and creamy eggnog with plenty of nutmeg before a light ABV heat rises and leads to apple cores and soft leather.

Finish: A sharp winter spice dominates the end with a sense of old apple bushels, broken-down used bourbon barrels, and a hint of caramel vanilla creaminess.

Bottom Line:

This is a subtle and warming bourbon. It’s on the sweeter side but really benefits from the sweet/hot balance. It feels like something that’d make an amazing Manhattan.

Ranking:

88/100 — This is a solid B+ bourbon. It’s a nice sipper but really feels more like a cocktail base.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A123

ABV: 62.8%

Average Price: $69 (MSRP)

The Whiskey:

This year’s first Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is hewn from Heaven Hill’s classic bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye. That hot juice is loaded into charred American oak barrels and left to rest for 12 long years before batching and bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: This has a classic nose that leans towards toasted chocolate beans, dried chili pepper flakes (and maybe even some fresh green chili), burnt vanilla pods, singed cherry bark, and old leather dipped in caramel.

Palate: Bold! The palate opens with a sense of sweet stick toffee pudding (dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, salted caramel sauce) before hitting a high note on the ABVs with a spicy heat that’s immediately countered by a rich cherry syrup and caramel sauce.

Finish: Another wave of heat arrives late and ushers in a light sense of old oak staves and cinnamon bark with a mild sense of apple tobacco and maybe some cedar kindling with a fleeting sense of leather and cherry stems.

Bottom Line:

This is a classic bourbon dialed up to 11. It’s brazen with the heat but balances nicely with the deep and dark caramel and cherry notes. This is really good bourbon. This will certainly benefit from a little water or a rock to let it bloom a little more in the glass as a sipper.

Ranking:

90/100 — This is a very solid and quintessential bourbon with some serious heat.

Rap fans might be used to older artists finding fault with contemporary stars, but at least one of hip-hop’s early pioneers had some high praise for rap’s reigning hitmakers. Big Daddy Kane, who is often credited alongside Rakim for sparking one of hip-hop’s earliest stylistic shifts, introducing complex, multisyllabic rhyme schemes and punchlines into slower tempo grooves, called out two names in particular when he was asked about the modern class of artists by Houston radio station 97.9 The Box: J. Cole and Migos.

Calling J. Cole his “hero,” he also gave credit to Kendrick Lamar and Rapsody, as well as battle rapper Lady Luck. He then laments the loss of Takeoff, saying, “I was so hoping to see another Migos album.” He explained his enjoyment for Migos, comparing them to some of his own peers. “Their style reminded me of The Funky Four Plus 1 More with their in-and-out thing. I’m a fan of their music and their fashion.”

Kanye previously praised Cole in 2021, calling him his favorite MC. “This is the brother right here that makes me feel like hip-hop is still alive and it’s here to stay when I listen to this here brother spit and listen to his music,” he said.

Preston Smiles found out he had a genetic heart condition when he was 25 years old. The diagnosis of an irregular heart beat shook his world but at the same time set him on an incredible journey. What followed was a restructuring of his life’s priorities. Through that process, he found a more enlightened state which he now shares with the world through social media and YouTube.

“I want everyone out there to know that real change is possible as long as your heart is open and you are ready to do the work,” says Smiles. “Chasing a goal is difficult work… but we have all done difficult things before. It’s important to remember that we are stronger than we believe ourselves to be.”

For Smiles and his clients, the message is clear: Once you’re ready to dedicate yourself to the process, it is only a matter of taking the first step. To help you take that step, Uproxx reached out to Smiles to get five keys that will set you on the fresh path for 2023. (All wisdom to follow from Smiles.)

1. Answer The WWW

“The ‘WWW’ stands for three questions. Where am I? Where am I going? Why? This step starts with taking inventory of who you are and where you are currently. For this to work, it requires you to be brutally honest. There are things that we tell ourselves, without really thinking what they mean. Or perhaps we say we are doing something without actually doing it. That can cause a delay in our success as well.

“From there you need to decide where you want to go and where you are going. That will give you that inner GPS system that you are going to need to move forward in the right direction. Perhaps that first goal might be to impact 100,000 people. That is a big goal, but it is one that you can move towards and see progress. Finally, the why is just as important as everything before because it fuels the fire. That is the impact you are going to feel immediately, with those first steps in the right direction.”

2. Elevation Requires Separation

“There are many instances where you might find yourself held back from your success by an idea, habit, or individual. That doesn’t always mean they are bad ideas or individuals, but they just aren’t helping you fulfill your purpose. One of the critical points in my life is when I went about letting those things go that were delaying me. I cut out alcohol. I cut out coffee. There were a few people that I had to cut out as well.

“I went beyond that though. I let go of my apartment. I needed to put myself in an environment that would support what I was doing. I let go of my ego. I let go of the need to look good and wanting to look good. I even had to cut my communication with my father. I had a conversation where I told him how I loved him, but I couldn’t talk to him every day because I required focus. I told him that I would return to him and our talks, but I needed to go away to accomplish what I needed. This process is addition by subtracting.”

3. Find The Who, Not the How

“For many people who want to achieve a dream, the first thing that they start to ask themselves is how they are going to do it. But what they don’t really consider is the fact that in many ways the path has been laid out before them. That is what I realized on my ascent, is that I couldn’t source what I wanted to do all on my own. I knew that there was someone out there that had done what I wanted to do or close to it. I knew that there was someone who had experienced what I wanted to experience.

“The ‘who’ in this case were all of the coaches, therapists, books, and seminars that I could find. I went directly to the source, to the ‘who,’ and I went out to connect with them. The books that I started with were The One Thing by Gary Keller, Conversation with God by Neale Donald Walsch. I went to seminars led by James Malinchak and Jonathan Sprinkles. I surrounded myself with the who, and the how presented itself.”

4. Make Aligned Committed Action

“This ‘aligned committed action’ is different, and better, than simple action. Rearranging your shoes inside of your closet could be considered an action, but it’s not the kind of action that will truly move the needle. During my growing phase when I truly wanted to be productive, I would decide on something that would usually take me a week and make it take a day. Then I found something that would normally take a month and get it done in a week. Then I would find something that would normally take six months and get it done in a month. Before long I had done what I would have considered impossible before.”

5. Celebrate Every Step Of The Way

“I have learned to let every cell in my body experience celebration. I believe and know that an unhappy journey will never lead to a truly happy ending. How many times have we as kids been asked who we want to be when we grow up? What effect do you think that would have on a person’s worth? What if we had been asked how did we want to become who we are now? Perhaps we would have been looking forward to that journey more. I knew that going into my own process. I knew that I had to enjoy the ride and every move I was making at every moment. That is also important because the true goal can take time and if you are beholden to the ‘when’ your happiness will always be waiting.”

Find more coaching from Preston on his site here.

Save the date. The Magic Man is coming.

After making stops in Asia and Europe last year, the MAGIC MAN World Tour is finally making its way to North America this spring. Making the initial announcement on his social channels today (January 13), multi-talented pop icon Jackson Wang will bring the tour to six North American cities — four in the US and two in Canada.

The tour will kick off in Los Angeles, California’s Shrine Auditorium on April 16 and will make its way east then conclude in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclay’s Center. Pre-sale for tickets begins next Wednesday, January 18, and will open to the public on Friday, January 20. For more information and updates, visit the tour’s official site.

In addition to his tour announcement, it was revealed Jackson Wang (as well as fellow 88rising artists DPR Live and DPR Ian) will bring the MAGIC MAN show to the desert at Coachella. Scheduled to perform on the Sunday lineup (April 16 and 23) of the annual music and arts festival, you can catch a glimpse of what Jackson Wang’s concert will look like at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California ahead of Frank Ocean’s set. This comes after Jackson made history as the first Chinese soloist to perform at Coachella as part of 88rising’s Head in the Clouds Forever set last year.

Jackson Wang is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The best new hip-hop this week column returns in 2023 after taking a couple of weeks off for the holidays. Although new releases were relatively sparse for the past couple of weeks, there were new projects from New York rapper MIKE, Houston mainstay Sauce Walka, and Baton Rouge menace to society YoungBoy Never Broke Again, as well as the latest installment in French Montana’s Coke Boys mixtape series (the release party for which unexpectedly turned tragic).

But as the year gets started in earnest, the hip-hop machine picked up steam, bringing a respectable crop of new releases from the likes of both rising rappers like BabyTron and Zelooperz and veterans like 03 Greedo and Skyzoo. Meanwhile, new singles popped up from all corners of the hip-hop map, with new tracks from the likes of Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla, Black Thought, Logic, Offset, and Armani White.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending January 13, 2023.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

03 Greedo x Mike Free — Free 03

03 free! The formerly incarcerated Watts native celebrated his impending release from prison with what is presumably the last of his pre-prison material, which features collaborations with BlueBucksClan and OhGeesy. Also featured is an unexpectedly poignant team-up between Greedo and his frequent partner-in-rhyme Drakeo The Ruler, who also outlasted an egregious sentence only to meet his untimely end less than a year later.

BabyTron — Bin Reaper 3: New Testament

The Detroit punchline pundit is quickly becoming one of the burgeoning Michigan scene’s most prolific producers — and one of its most provocative. If you’ve been following BabyTron — which you have been, if you’re a regular reader of this column — you know what to expect: More off-kilter humor and off-the-cuff sports references in service of proving he’s flashier than your favorites.

Skyzoo x The Other Guys — The Mind of A Saint

Brooklyn’s unofficial poet laureate seriously impressed with his last release, 2021’s All The Brilliant Things, and picks up right where he left off with his latest. Written from the perspective of Snowfall‘s conflicted protagonist Franklin Saint, Skyzoo’s new project is yet another intricate portrait of a figure he knows all too well, a player in a system he didn’t have a hand in creating but is willing to risk everything to master.

ZelooperZ — Might Not Make It

Fresh off his tour with Atlanta funnyman Zack Fox, the Bruiser Brigade member continues his crusade to make his name one of the first fans think of when the phrase “most unique rappers” gets tossed around. The five-song EP tries a bunch of new, interesting, unusual things sonically and your tolerance for them may hinge upon how badly you want hip-hop to move on from its current 808 obsession, but it’s hard to deny that at least it’s compelling stuff.

Singles/Videos

Buddy & Kent Jamz — “House Party”

The remake of the ’90s hip-hop cinematic classic hits theaters this week and with it, the soundtrack comes to streaming. Naturally, one of rap’s top modern dynamic duos makes for a perfect pairing on the title track, backed by the West Coast’s finest producer, the Inland Empire’s own Hit-Boy.

Fly Anakin — “Blicky Bop”

Fly Ani is a year removed from his warmly-received “debut” album Frank and is already plotting his next move — which, in this case, is a pair of EPs. Skinemaxxx will come with a side A and B, with the former dropping in April. The trippy “Blicky Bop” is the first offering.

G Herbo — “Shaderoom”

Herb is still promoting his 2022 double album Survivor’s Remorse, doing so this week with an uptempo selection whose video finds him enjoying the finer things in life. Just because he’s feeling the effects of the album’s title doesn’t mean he can’t have a little fun.

Jadakiss & Swizz Beats — “Hustle, Repeat”

Season 3 of Godfather Of Harlem returns to Epix this week, bringing a new soundtrack headed by Jadakiss, who’s well-versed in the appropriate subject matter. Swizz Beats gets some production backup from Avenue Beatz and Jada spits his usual brick-hard bars.

Westside Gunn, Rome Streetz, & Stove God Cooks — “BDP”

Gunn has been spending his past couple of projects setting up the next generation of talent from Griselda, and his most recent one, 10, is no exception. “BDP,” a standout from the project, showcases the lyrical talents of rising stars Rome Streetz and Stove God while bossman holds down the hook.

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