As the dust finally settles in the aftermath of a vortex of unprotected picks and push notifications opening up a can of whoop-you-know-what on my phone, Donovan Mitchell is not a New York Knick. Perhaps of equal importance: RJ Barrett is still a member of the Knickerbockers.

Mitchell is a top-20 or so player who’s just about to enter his prime with three guaranteed years on his contract before a player option in 2025. He was central to a Jazz team that consistently found itself in the ballpark of 50 wins each year. He’s improved his scoring and playmaking approach, and while his defense has drastically fallen off since his rookie season, it’s undeniable that he’s one of the best guards in the league.

This is a player who could have brought the extra offensive juice the Knicks have lacked in the halfcourt. There certainly would have been questions about the sustainability of a Mitchell and Jalen Brunson backcourt, both defensively and in terms of their combined playmaking, but the actual talent upgrade compared to the past years in the Tom Thibodeau era would have been unquestionable. Right now, the franchise is in the “get young talent and figure things out” stage of team building.

Taking the next step that has long evaded New York involves conscious building efforts and getting to a level of continual postseason relevance. That’s when all the things that make playing for the Knicks so potentially appealing to big-name free agents start to become trump cards as opposed to theoretical things that a non-playoff team can offer.

While I still have questions about the bridge between Thibodeau and the front office and what that actually means for the team’s ability to develop players, choosing to balk at Utah’s ultra-high asking price for Mitchell is for the best.

Mitchell to the Knicks really only made sense to me as long as Barrett was still part of the picture. For how well I think Utah made out here, that above offer is one heck of a deal to turn down. I understand wanting a clear cap sheet, and I’d go as far as to say I get any reservations about paying Mitchell Robinson the deal he just signed. But turning down an offer including Barrett, who just turned 22 and signed a reasonable extension earlier this week, and three unprotected firsts is really surprising.

He is not a primary option on a contender, but with legit size and functional strength, defensive aptitude, and growing scoring acumen, this isn’t hard. Barrett is going to be a pivotal player on very good teams — he already has played a substantial part on a squad that made it to the playoffs and he has shown a willingness to get better in areas where he can stand to improve.

After the calendar turned to 2022, Barrett took on a larger chunk of the Knicks’ offensive burden, averaging 23.6 points per game over his last 41 games and getting to the line more than seven times per contest. While his efficiency was middling (51.6 percent true-shooting), the growth as a half-court scorer and creator was for real. He started to find better pacing, mixing more controlled drives and post-ups into his game to better utilize his strength. His reads can still be late, but he saw things with more regularity.

It’s reasonable to think he can take the leap and become one of the best second-side creators in the league this coming season. A lot will hinge on his in-between game improving and developing more counters inside the paint, but I’m a believer in that coming along based on Barrett’s growth already.

Barrett is one of the premier drivers in basketball, averaging 13.7 drives per 75 possessions, according to Second Spectrum. Only seven players in the league amassed more total drives than Barrett from Jan. 1 onward. Getting to the rim is half the battle, and a half that’s largely built on physical ability and handle. Given how cramped New York’s spacing could be last season in the half-court, his looks around the rim were often heavily congested. There wasn’t enough Mucinex in the world to clear the lanes for the Knicks, but Barrett willed his way into the paint regardless.

His improvement as a foul-drawer, in particular, has earned him more on-ball reps.

That half beat of pacing in his game has turned into some ability to blur the margins as a finisher with his developing knack to target limbs and draw contact. He can still attempt some awkward shots falling away from his momentum or moving away from the basket, but more and more of those looks became grifty trips to the line. Grifting is good, and it’s great when you are still developing your craft and polish as a scorer.

Barrett is still a ways away as a pull-up shooter. He’s a strength-based athlete, primarily built on his ability to get downhill and bulldoze opposition. He showed growth as a pick-and-roll playmaker and ball-handler, but the aforementioned finishing is stifled due to how openly teams will go under on screens for Barrett. It’s a lot harder to finish on a drive when the screen doesn’t really remove your defender from the equation.

He got up a greater number of pull-up 3’s in 2022, but shot 30.9 percent on a little over one per game.

Particularly going to his left, you can feel the stiffness in his shot. His foot placement can change up on each rep and he’s bothered by a defender who quickly attacks a screen. I’m not sure entirely how much you can develop some of that fluidity as a shooter and a finisher overall, but the adaptations that have been made already in spite of some of that makes me bullish on what his game could become if even a sliver of that gets applied.

Handoffs in the slots and empty corners were incredibly fruitful for Barrett, opening up mimicked ball-screen actions without throwing in the ability to fully go under, putting defenders in a bind. How far his pull-up shooting can go will be pivotal in his ability to operate on the ball.

The context of who the Knicks were last year and some of the constraints of his skillset made Barrett look dispiriting at times on paper. But by and large, Barrett made strides in the dregs of early spring that bode really well for his future.

All of this is to say that it’s for the best that a deal where Barrett would have been jettisoned to bring Mitchell on board didn’t happen. Moving their most valuable draft capital and their most intriguing player to become, at best, a capped out team built around Julius Randle and Mitchell would have made upward mobility difficult. There are certainly ways it could have worked, but I would’ve definitely been a doubter until it played out — I’m not a believer that the team, as it would have been constructed if the deal went through, could have been in contention for a top-6 spot in the East, even if things really broke right.

I remain firm that this team needs to be patient in actually developing out their youth, expanding a young core, and making quality moves that build for the future while still keeping open flexibility for the present. Keeping confidence in Barrett and exploring his pathways for more is essential. He won’t likely ever become the level of primary option that Mitchell already is, but he doesn’t need to be. Barrett is such an intriguing and enticing player and prospect because of that blend of defense, size, shooting. Any burgeoning on-ball juice and playmaking growth is a cherry on top. By keeping that flexibility with draft compensation and not punting on a still growing and talented wing, the Knicks have avoiding jumping the gun like the organization has in the past, even if losing out on Mitchell, a New York native, is a difficult pill to swallow.

This team still needs high-end talent and they’re still in a bit of an awkward spot with regards to how they’re perched in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have done good things by bringing in quality players later in the draft (ex: Quentin Grimes and Jericho Sims), Brunson is a key signing even if he’s not the “star” that fans hoped for, and there are reasons to be excited about the continued growth of the young talent they possess. I still want to see more shrewd moves as New York hones their direction and refines their roster, but re-signing a young and talented first-round draft pick to a multi-year extension for the first time since Charlie Ward in 1999 is arguably more important to them than going for broke and acquiring Mitchell.

“What are you watching?” my 13-year-old son asked.

“An old Afterschool Special,” I responded.

“What’s an ‘Afterschool Special’?” he asked.

Hoo boy. Kids these days have no idea how different television was for those of us who grew up in the ’80s and how many core memories we have wrapped up in the ABC Afterschool Special.

I briefly explained and then he sat down to watch with me. A discussion about fascism on Twitter had led me to look up “The Wave,” a 1981 ABC Afterschool Special based on a real-life high school experiment in Palo Alto, California, in the 1960s.

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In the real experiment, first-year history teacher Ron Jones had students at Cubberley High School engage in a simulation of how fascism spreads as part of a lesson on World War II, with him playing the role of the dictator. His intent was to show skeptical students how the Nazis came to power by creating a social movement he dubbed the Third Wave.

“It started out as a fun game with the most popular teacher at school,” Mark Hancock, one of the students in Jones’ history homeroom class, told Palo Alto online in 2017. “He told us, ‘If you’re an active participant, I’ll give you an A; if you just go along with it, I’ll give you a C; if you try a revolution, I’ll give you an F, but if your revolution succeeds, I’ll give you an A.'”

Hancock said he started off planning to get that revolution A, but it quickly grew beyond grades and turned into something real. “At the end, I was scared to death,” he shared.

It began with Jones rallying the students around the idea of “strength through discipline” and “strength through community.” He had them engage in regimented behaviors and handed out membership cards. At first, it was just fun, but students began to enjoy feeling like part of a special community. Jones pushed the importance of following the rules. The students even formed a “secret police” to monitor other students, and if someone broke a Third Wave rule they’d be reported and publicly “tried” by the class.

The students got wrapped up in it to a frightening degree and even Jones found himself enjoying the way the students responded to him. “It was pretty intoxicating,” he told Palo Alto Online.

But according to Timeline.com, Jones felt like he’d lost control of it by the fourth day.

The experiment ended at the end of the week with a rally. Jones told the students they were actually part of a real national Third Wave movement and that the national leader was going to speak to them at the rally. Jones turned on the televisions to white static and watched the students eagerly wait for their leader to speak. That’s when he broke the news to them that they’d fallen for a totalitarian regime. Instead of a Third Wave leader speech, he played them a video of a Nazi rally.

According to a school newspaper at the time, most students were disillusioned. But one student said, “It was probably the most interesting unit I’ve had. It was successful in its goal to achieve the emotions of the Germans under the Nazi regime.”

“The Wave” follows the true story quite closely and still holds valuable lessons. One chilling scene shows a kid who had been sort of an outcast prior to the “movement” saying, “For the first time, I feel like I’m a part of something great.” He was particularly crushed to find out it was all a fascist facade.

If you can get past the ’80s aesthetic, it’s worth watching. Even my teen kids got into it, once they stopped making fun of the hair and film quality.

Any family who has had a loved one suffer from dementia knows how incredibly difficult it can be. The CDC estimates that 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, which means many millions more are serving as caregivers for family members with dementia.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, but there are others. For instance, alcohol abuse can cause dementia, which is what happened to the father of a woman named Bailey who has been sharing their mutual journey on TikTok.

Bailey’s dad, Scott, was diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (caused by vitamin B1 deficiency due to alcohol abuse) earlier this year, and he has been living with Bailey for the past six months. In her videos, Bailey gives glimpses of daily life with her dad and the ups and downs of helping him manage a life with missing memories.

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One thing Bailey’s videos show is that dementia is not a one-size-fits-all condition. As with most people with dementia, Scott has good days and bad days, but his ability to communicate what he’s feeling even when he’s confused is quite incredible.

Not being remembered by your own parent, however, isn’t easy. And figuring out how to communicate with a loved one who doesn’t know who you are without scaring or confusing them further is a huge challenge. But Bailey shared an exchange with her father that beautifully illustrates how their emotional connection is still there, even if he doesn’t remember why.

In the video, Scott tells Bailey that her calling him “Dad” freaks him out. He says he has feelings for her and knows that she is important to him, but that he doesn’t think he’s her dad. He also says he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. She explains how she feels about him and offers to call him Scott if he prefers, and the whole interaction is just beautiful.

Watch:

@baileyrosek

Some days are easier than others.. i miss you dad, but i love you very much, Scott. #dementiaawareness #wernickesencephalopathy #caregiversoftiktok #parentofmyparents

“Some days are easier than others,” Bailey wrote in the caption. “I miss you dad, but I love you very much, Scott.”

Seeing Bailey’s family navigate the hard parts as well as the healing that has come from Scott’s illness is truly eye-opening. Those who are going through a similar journey might find inspiration in how they communicate with one another and those who haven’t seen much dementia firsthand can learn what it might look like.

Of course, each person’s experience is unique and you can’t always apply what works for one person to another, but there’s a lot all of us can learn from witnessing others handle something so difficult with grace and patience and love.

@baileyrosek

I love you dad. If you haven’t yet, go hug your parents/loved ones today. #dementiaawareness #youarenotalone #ilovemyparents #fyp #fatherdaughterlove

Bailey’s family has experienced a change in Scott’s behavior that has actually been positive in some ways. She has said he has become more pleasant to be around, and some of her videos showing his emotional accessibility and willingness to apologize for hurtful things he’d done are so moving.

@baileyrosek

People change and we believe in second chances. As sad as this has been, it’s a second chance for all of us 🤍#caregiversoftiktok #foryoupage #wernickekorsakoffawareness #tbisurvivor #parentofmyparents #ilovemyfamily

And Bailey’s way of entering his world, helping him figure out what’s real when he’s open to it and going along with where and who he thinks he is when correcting him would just cause more confusion is a masterclass in communicating with someone with dementia. It can’t be easy, but she excels at it.

@baileyrosek

Replying to @hiddenstyle4 we have happy convos all the time! 🙂 #caregiversoftiktok #dementiaawareness #wernickesencephalopathy #wetbrain #parentofmyparents

Thanks to Bailey for being vulnerable enough to share her family’s experiences so the world can see examples of patiently loving someone through dementia, and so those who are going through something similar know they are not alone.

John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien is widely considered the father of modern fantasy. Way back in the 1950s, Tolkien wrote a trilogy of books that has gone on to sell more than 150 million copies. If you haven’t put it together yet, that’s a lot of reading (and movie watching) from one collection of source material.

A video has surfaced that mixes an audio recording of J.R.R. Tolkien himself reading an excerpt from his books mixed with the Ride of the Rohirrim scene from the 2002 “The Two Towers,” the second film of the trifecta.

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The audio of Tolkien is most definitely old-timey and yet you can’t help feel the enthusiasm of what’s been unsheathed from his words and splashed across the screen in a visual feast of color and action.

Tolkien narrates the Ride of the Rohirrim

Maybe you waited in line and joined the millions of people who rushed to the theaters to witness the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy of movies Maybe you completely avoided Director Peter Jackson’s massively successful series of films, which garnered 17 Oscar wins and a staggering $3 billion in box-office sales. Nevertheless, it’s hard to deny the lasting influence of this artistic endeavor, which has delighted generations the world over.

The story behind the audio recording is interesting too. In 1952, George Sayer presented his good friend Tolkien a curious new technology called a recorder. Apparently Tolkien wasn’t immune to the magic of one’s own voice and so he recorded excerpts from the then unpublished manuscript of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Why the sudden interest in a fantasy writer from long ago and some audio tapes?

The empire that is Amazon is releasing a new online series “The Rings of Power” as a prequel based on Tolkien’s epic fantasy books. Amazon Prime has invested a record budget into the show, which premieres online September 2, 2022.

If you enjoyed listening to one of the most successful fantasy writers in modern history, find more audio recorded outtakes here.

The College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to 12. While it is unclear what year it will happen — it is potentially as soon as 2024, but might not be until 2026 — we do know that the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams will make up the field of 12 participating squads.

What we have learned since the news became official earlier in the day on Friday is how the whole thing will work. While there will still be a selection committee that picks which teams are going to get the chance to play for a national championship, there are several cool new details about how a 12-team playoff will work. The most exciting of the bunch very well might be how the first round will play out between seeds 5-12 — while the top-4 squads, all of which are conference champions, will receive byes to the quarterfinals, the higher-seeded teams in the remaining games (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will all host on-campus home games or games that take place in a building of their choosing.

It would have been very easy to play these games at neutral sites, but the concept of a game with national title implications between two schools that never play one another happening on a college campus — and I want to be very clear about this — rocks. Using last year’s rankings, a 12-team playoff in 2021 could have featured Pitt traveling to Notre Dame, Utah visiting Ohio State, Michigan State playing Baylor in Waco, and Ole Miss hosting Oklahoma State.

Nachos are my best dish. Not breakfast, not salads, not homemade pizza, pasta, stews, casseroles, dumplings, or soups. People will say it’s a cheat code, “you’re using store-bought chips! You’re just putting on toppings! My two-year-old makes great nachos!” But my nachos are NFT-worthy — carefully topped, crafted, and monitored closely at a high temperature for optimal melt and crunch.

What does any of this have to do with blue corn tortilla chips? Well, I’ve never once used them for nachos at home. But with more and more brands crowding store shelves and restaurants incorporating them into their nacho offerings, I started thinking: should I be?

Surely, getting more familiar with all of the blue corn tortilla chips brands would help me navigate the landscape and explore the possibilities. But I also didn’t want to be influenced by big names from big brands. You picking up what I’m putting down? It’s time for another blind taste test!

A Note On Methodology:

For this blind test, three chips from each brand were tasted blindfolded. I recorded kneejerk reactions via voice recorder. No salsa or dip of any kind was involved (or harmed) in the tasting or results therein. We received a sample of Field Day blue corn tortilla chips after the taste test occurred and unfortunately were not able to include them here. Taki’s were tasted although it was uncovered during the process that they are not actually a blue corn tortilla chip.

Part One: The Tasting

Taste 1:

Nice salt, nice and fresh, crunchy, a little bit cardboardy, but not too much. Pretty textbook here.

Taste 2:

Mmm, these are a little thicker and a little saltier. Not as strong of a blue corn flavor. Nice ‘n mild. Really easy to eat. These are good.

Taste 3:

These ones are a little harder, jaggedy. “Almost like a bone but not that flakey” — is a terrible sentence to write about a chip and made me cringe looking back. Crunchy, a little salt – lightly salted. More of an artisanal situation.

They don’t taste that fresh. Like they’ve been hanging out for a little while.

Taste 4:

Light and pretty moderate salt. Thinner than the last chips for sure. Good curvature in the chip. These are a little bit cardboardy too, but still pretty tasty.

Taste 5:

These chips are extremely large, nice girth to them. Good salt quotient. These are good. This is my favorite so far. Not too salty but… a little bit salty.

From my notes: “Good crumble in the mouth.”

Taste 6:

These have some sort of citrus flavor. Something tangy. Still thick. These are definitely thicker. Have some interesting acidic, tangy, almost buffalo vinegary flavor. A little citrusy. Still salty, not too salty. Starting to get a salt thing around the corner of my mouth. These are nice n thick though.

From my notes: “The flavor though… I don’t know, it’s a little bit weird. Don’t love it.”

Taste 7:

These are lighter than the last ones for sure, definitely thinner. No funny flavors – light thin crunchy. They might be the best ones so far… They’re light and thin, and taste really fresh. No cardboard situation. Nice crumble in the mouth.

From my notes: “These are really good.”

Taste 8:

These ones seem like they have some other grain in them. I’m guessing sesame, amaranth, or some sort of ancient grain. Getting some of that flavor — not just tasting blue corn. Also, a little thicker. They have a nice crunch and seem pretty fresh.

Taste 9:

Nice crumble, salty. Really pretty textbook, remind me of some of the other recent ones I said were really good. Tastes a lot like that. Can’t really complain about these. Pretty much what you want when you talk about a blue corn tortilla chip. Nice saltiness, nice crumble. Not too earthy but can still tell it’s blue corn.

Taste 10:

Again very much what you want in a blue corn tortilla chip. Very straightforward blue corn, not too salty, nice saltiness though. Very fresh. Not too thick, nice thin. These are pretty much like the last ones I had.

From my notes: “#9 and #10 taste very similar.”

Taste 11:

These are a little bit more earthy, can’t really tell what’s different about them but definitely like them. Better than the last ones. Definitely are salty but not too salty, crunchy, and just a little bit milder. In a good way.

From my notes: “Toastyness.”

Taste 12:

Really starting to blend together here. Another standard, crunchy, fresh-tasting, salty, just nice plain toasty, great for salsa. Mmm, another textbook blue corn tortilla chip. Solid.

Taste 13:

These remind me of #5 or #6 where the chips were a little bigger and a little wavy… in a good way. Folding on each other, good fold in the chip. Nice flakiness to the crumble. Not as textbook — these are a little more artisanal-tasting. Nice salt. These might be up at the top with the other big ones.

From my notes: “I could eat a lot of these.”

Taste 14:

These definitely are an outlier. And I’m pretty sure I know what these are, and that’s only because they’re a different shape than the rest of the chips. They’re rolled up, they’re spicy. They’re pretty delicious, but definitely not a traditional blue corn tortilla chip. They’re spicy, tangy, vinegary – definitely need a drink, a little citrusy.

Taste 15:

Definitely a little bit cardboardy and tastes almost a little bit stale. Eh, they have a little salt, not much flavor though. The crumble is not too flakey, it’s like cardboard crumble.

From my notes: “I’m going to pass on eating the third one of these.”

Taste 16:

These are decently flakey, but there’s some off-taste about them. There’s definitely something that’s off about these. Salt’s there, the chip’s there, but the flavor is not my favorite. The outside flavor, grainy, earthiness, not getting me all the way there.

Taste 17:

Nice crumble, not too flakey but a little bit flakey. Good saltiness – good chips. Nothing special about them just nice and plain. I wouldn’t compare them to the thin ones earlier that were really good. These are a little thicker but not as good as those artisanal ones that were delicious.

Taste 18:

Another bigger chip, real nice flake to it. Nice toasty, saltiness. All the bigger chips so far seem like better quality. These are good. These would be in my top 3 or top 4 so far.

Taste 19:

Nice ‘n light, not a lot of flavor but nice chip. Nice texture, nice freshness, nice crumble. Good, not as good as the last one.

Taste 20:

Doesn’t have a lot of salt. A little earthy. I don’t know – a little deeper flavor but missing some of the elements, some of the other ones had. Chips are not very flakey, they’re kind of dried crisps. Definitely very natural tasting.

Taste 21:

Very nice flakiness, nice kind of thickness to the chip, good saltiness, nice freshness. They’re a little bit grainy, not in a bad way. These are pretty high up too.

Taste 22:

Thicker taste more like an artisanal chip for sure. Doesn’t have a lot of flavor. Definitely getting the earthy blue corn taste, but not much more than that. Very plain.

From my notes: “Quality but a little boring.”

The Ranking:

DISQUALIFIED — Taki’s Rolled Blue Heat Tortilla Chips (Taste 14)

Price: $3.59

Hate or love them, there’s only one Taki. Dip them in Mountain Dew, eat them while you pop wheelies or attempt a fakie 180, wipe your blue (yes, these have blue seasoning powder) or orange dust on your shirt, and then come back for rounds 2-22. These semi-crave-able cylinders of spicy crunch and artificiality cannot be stacked against the triangle, rectangular, or hexagonal blue corn tortilla chip (distant) cousins. For one, once the spicy citrusy blue heat powder is dusted off, the chip itself is not actually blue corn despite the illusion the packaging presents – immediately disqualifying them from ranking. Second, despite them having the only blue powder I’ve witnessed since Lik-A-Maid or Sour Power Straws (and the only savory blue powder I’ve ever tried, period), the number of artificial ingredients, difficult to pronounce and not necessary for blue corn chips, also puts these tasty mini rollups in a different category than the rest.

Don’t worry, despite all of the chemical ingredients, your environmentally conscious self can feel warm and cozy knowing Taki’s are made with renewable wind and solar energy (yes, it says this explicitly on the back of the bag).

Bottom Line:

Taki’s can still be recommended for those looking for a unique snacking adventure, just don’t expect anything redemptive or nutritious about them – your tastebuds may be happy but be ready to potentially pop some Pepto in the near future.

21. RW Garcia – Blue Corn Big Bag (Taste 15)

Price: $5.49

RW Garcia, I really wanted to react well to your blue corn tortilla chips but they didn’t reach where I thought on these rankings. The bag has the same cantina feel as Xochitl (though they one-upped the brand by engineering their bag with freshness tabs on the fold-down panel), with a scenic landscape that conjures images of corn being baked in the heat of the desert sun, coyotes howling wildly in the distance; as well as a great clear plastic window to look at their larger size chips.

Sadly, I could not choke down more than one of their chips. It was more plain rigid cardboard than crunchy toasty blue corn goodness. The salt is there, the flavor is not awful, just not robust – texture and freshness being the main inhibitors to decent chip-dom.

Bottom Line:

Sampling other RW Garcia products in the future will tell whether or not I was merely a victim of a bad bag or market snafu. Meanwhile, these blue corn are the last pick in the rankings, until we meet again – destined for better days ahead.

20. World Market –- Blue Corn Tortilla Chips w/ Flax Seeds (Taste 16)

Price: $3.99

World Market is more than a standard grocery store – it is a snack lover’s playland; offering random products and goods often relegated to digital carts and specialty stores due to their seasonality, small batched-ness, or niche interest. To be a buyer for World Market’s snack aisles is truly a snack curator’s dream. As a byproduct of their skin in the snack game, they’ve gone so far as to produce some of their own, including, you guessed it – blue corn tortilla chips (this time with everyone’s favorite – flax seed!).

Now, these blue corns aren’t the only ones sampled with flax seed, but these are the only ones that have a strange, off-putting taste. Whether that’s the flax or another oil or ingredient used in the baking process, I don’t know — this snack taster has had trouble deciphering its precise derivation. Regardless, the taste is there. The packaging is cheery enough, speckled with blue designs of flowers, birds, corns, and other chippy regalia – the typography is also festive and the chips well-presented.

Bottom Line:

The initial bite is standard blue corn, but it’s the chew and finish on the stale-ish/sunflower/safflower/canola/flax seed/expeller pressed oil-snack that moves these close to the bottom of this tough tasting.

19. Food Should Taste Good -– Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 8)

Price: $4.19

It’s hard to disagree with such a profound brand name, Food Should Taste Good, but frequently, actually most of the time, food does not taste that good. Through processing, cooking/baking, seasoning, and human care – food can reach the flavor potential we’ve discovered through modern techniques. Let’s be honest though – food was not put on Earth for our pleasure, just sustenance.

Brand name aside, that’s mostly what we get with FSTG’s blue corn tortilla chips – replete with more seeds (sesame, flax + sunflower here) than an everything bagel and more grains (well not really, but brown rice and quinoa in one chip) than your multi-grain avocado toast. As a result, these taste healthy. Not in a good way.

And the packaging (which is the first to suggest a brightly colored mango salsa) admits that they’re reaching for more than just taste, their food “does good” so you’re getting slight amounts of your daily nutrient intake here for some mature snacking.

Bottom Line:

These taste a bit too mature to rank highly on our list – instead of three basic ingredients, there are 7-9 and they all make the flavor a bit different than the higher-ranked options. Mind you, there is nothing bad or off-putting here – just not typically what you may look for in a basic blue corn tortilla situation. And let’s not forget the offensive-to-triangle-tradition hexagon shape.

18. Made With – Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 22)

Price: $3.69

Made With’s blue corn tortilla chips have all the requisite makings of a dynamite snack chip — organic, natural, crunchy, flavorful, etc. Double badged up with the ever-popular chip photos on the packaging, plus a clean modern design suite – Made With has compelling shelf appeal. There’s even a diagram on the back with squiggly arrows pointing to a triangle chip showing evidently where they are organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, and lacking preservatives (as if these are things you can see with the naked eye, ahem).

Bottom Line:

Despite all of these positives, Made With’s blue corn tortilla chips are lacking in the salt and crave-ability criteria that typically keep us hydrating and reaching for another handful. Due to these essential factors, Made With has tumbled down the rankings towards the bottom, competing with a stiff (and crunchy) field of expert chip makers.

17. Vista Hermosa – Totopos Tortilla Chips Blue Corn (Taste 6)

Price: $5.99

Vista Hermosa’s take on the blue corn tortilla chip is a wild card within the niche snack chip cavalcade, taking the old tradition of blue corn tortillas and twisting them into a complexly flavored new thing. At first glance, Vista Hermosa’s packaging elicits an illusion of tradition; Mexican typography, a lovely lady with a flower in her hair (the beautiful view is she?), but then you notice it’s all a ruse – these blue corn chips are medium spicy? They have a flash of lime? They’re made by Tacombi???

Story goes that Aaron Sanchez was inspired by the totopos of Mexican markets to bring to the market this unique recipe, as well as the specific technique utilized in the production of these tasty chips.

Bottom Line:

The only reason these chips aren’t higher in the ranking is that they’re almost in a different category – these are dynamically seasoned chips made by a celeb Chef, not an inline store brand with three ingredients made by a corporate kitchen. Don’t let their low ranking stop you from enjoying the flavor if you’re into flavored chips.

16. Somos –- Unusually Thick And Crunchy Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 20)

Price: $5.49

Somos means “ours” in Mexico, however their brand boast of being “unusually thick & crunchy tortilla chips” is only half true. These tasty but lacking-salt triangles are not deficient in crunch factor, however, the only chip they were clearly thicker than was Xochitl — which isn’t “unusual” since most other brands were thicker too. Somos easily wins best design and packaging for their cheerfully colored bag, as well as their vibrant shipping container – both top of the snack class.

Bottom Line:

The chips are toasty and have a robust earthy flavor, but without any salt to take them all the way to the umami mountaintop.

15. Wholesome Pantry — Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 19)

Price: $3.29

Wholesome Pantry is ShopRite’s inline brand of organic snack offerings, and their claim of “Eat Wholesomely. Eat Well” rings true here. They did well with these blue corn tortilla chips, not very well, not excellent, not craveable – just… well. Only a single badge on the front package is the first hint of what’s going on, so these snacks are more geared towards the getting older in life, or actually old crowd looking for a Healthy Snack.

There are quotes on the packaging, profundities abound while you munch on slightly above-average chips; “Our Promise To You Is Simple. Food That is Just That: Food”. Well, they coincidentally make Blue Corn Tortilla Chips that are just that: blue corn tortilla chips.

Bottom Line: Yawn. These chips are fine.

14. Dona Lola — Blue Tortilla Chips (Taste 3)

Price: $7.45

Dona Lola’s blue corn tortilla chip tastes like a product you’d get at a local authentic Mexican restaurant that freshly makes their own chips constantly — they’re flakey in the best way. Made in Puerto Rico but with a Mexican origin story, Dona Lola touts their chips as low in salt, using organic blue corn non-GMO vegetable oil, and Puerto Rican sea salt as the only ingredients along with using a century-old recipe.

Lacking salt, these chips rely on their scrumptious flake to lure you back time and time again. You have to respect a chip whose company’s mantra involves the importance of love for your family, Sunday dinners, and their famous tortillas – which makes you yearn for a youth where you had homemade tortillas from Abuela Cada Domingo.

Bottom Line:

Respect does not translate to rankings and despite Dona Lola’s amazing tradition of texture and flavor (and sweet Granny logo), there are many worthy newcomers that execute tastier and better-seasoned blue corn chips.

13. Brad’s — Sesame Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 17)

Price: $4.29

Not only are Brad’s Organic blue corn tortilla chips triple badged up with a bountiful chip photo adorned with blue corn cobs, but their packaging also features a toddler photo of what they want you to assume is a joyous Brad time warping to his current multiverse self and finding out he is the face guy for a small business based in a sleepy upstate NY town, living the real American dream, closets in his house filled with nothing but chips.

You have to put some respect on Brad’s name (even if he is a Bradford and not a Bradley) — these chips are more than passable, they’re very good. If you do find these locally, and you may not, definitely give them a sample. Otherwise, Brad is definitely digital and ready to ship, as long as you’re buying.

Bottom Line:

Brad’s Organic didn’t make the top 10 but parity in the blue corn tortilla chip community is defined by a thin shred.

12. Green Mountain – Nantucket Blend Tortilla Strips, Blue Corn (Taste 2)

Price: $4.39

Green Mountain, the only color mountain I care for, has a monopoly on the rectangular blue corn tortilla chip experience. Experience is definitely a valid characterization of eating a rectangular tortilla chip as one is mystified and stupefied by the almost perfect execution. Not to mention, Green Mountain has three badges of flair on the front packaging (including the rare to this blind taste test, American Vegetarian Association badge of certification) — surely no easy feat.

But making a rectangular chip is kind of unfair in this ranking, which honors the tradition supposedly set forth by Late July’s anonymous Founder who created the first blue corn tortilla chip with their bare hands in the haze of the early 1970s. Green Mountain claims they killed the triangle chip to create an easy dipping shape (says the top right corner of the bag, verbatim), which subtly, by virtue of back package illustrations, is suggested to pair perfectly with their jarred salsa line.

Bottom Line:

Great chip, delicious chip, just can’t rationalize a chip hack cracking the top 10.

11. Organics –- Blue Corn Tortilla Chips With Sesame Seeds (Taste 1)

Price: $3.19

Organics brand is Acme’s (East Coast big box; it’s Stater Bros. out west) answer to everyone’s else organic line. Tidy suggestive packaging with the obvious salsa accompaniment depicted, Organics sets the tone for a basic blue corn tortilla chip and that’s what you get here. Could easily eradicate the flax seed’s flavor but I get that when you throw an additional ancient grain, or equivalent, to any product these days sales spikes immediately in certain mustachioed neighborhoods (I see you Silver Lake, Bushwick, Fishtown, Wicker Park, etc).

Bottom Line:

Organics produces a decent addition to the blue corn tortilla chip conversation (pretty sure there’s a Reddit out there about the controversial blue corn tortilla chip, it is one of the few blue foods, and very few blue snacks, after all) and nothing you should be ashamed to have in your chip cabinet, drawer, or stash.

10. Good & Gather — Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 12)

Price: $3.49

Good & Gather’s blue corn tortilla chips are Nice & Toasty. It’s weird to call a chip toasty but you can literally discern the toastiness on these. A solid chip sans toast, Target’s organic chip line bears a respectable blue corn tortilla chip entry. Though not a top pick, these still fall in the “nothing wrong with grabbing these off the shelf” category.

The packaging is overly basic, a giant chip backed by stylized text and nothing more.

Bottom Line:

Target is known for having decent everything and amazing nothing, Good (not great) & Gather’s (they make gathering easy by putting them in a bag for you) blue corn tortilla chips crunch and crumble right in line with that ethos.

9. Nature’s Promise — Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 11)

Price: $3.29

You have to respect and appreciate Nature for making a Promise – the fact that the promise manifests in the form of a bag of tasty blue corn tortilla chips shows how dedicated Nature is to feeding the voracious snacking appetite of us humans. Good ole Nature’s Promise is Stop N Shop markets’ answer to basically every other big box market chain’s now-existent organic line to keep up with these health-conscious times.

The package is anticlimactic, but the on-bag picture of the chips is quite vivid.

Bottom Line:

The chips are a little grainier than others, but they still rank among the best of the generic organic lines with a quasi-great blue corn tortilla chip.

8. Whole Food 365 — Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 10)

Price: $2.99

365 is Whole Foods inline brand for anyone who lives outside of the gentrified contemporary world and is not yet aware. Basic blue corn art and accurate chip photos are the focus of the packaging. No brand or ingredient boasts here, just simplicity in the form of recommendations to eat them with your next sammie (their copy, not mine) or Tex Mex spread (Whole Foods is based in Austin, play on).

Bottom Line:

These basic great chips go beyond doing the trick and get close to stealing the show.

7. Xochitl — Blue Corn Chips (Taste 4)

Price: $4.29

Xochitl or phonetically “so cheel” (just like I like to think I am when I’m not stressed about work or cranky from not getting my six hours) make thinner-than-the-comp tortilla chips. The packaging is a big sell here too, they come in a cantina-looking bag with the foldy top (yet oddly without the fold-around plastic jawnies that let you seal it up snugly). These could be the best crispest chips in a perfect world, but since they’re so thin, they also are quite perishable — beginning to staleify (my own creation, you’re welcome) the second the bag opens.

They claim origins from ancient Mayan and Aztec traditional recipes and they also claim to have some lime flavor (though I taste zero). Alas, what gringo am I to question such things? Regardless, while they’re fresh, they’re also delicious.

Bottom Line:

Xochitl it up.

6. Trader Joe’s – Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 9)

Price: $4.99

Gotta give it to TJ’s, their packaging is an instant attraction – the bright harvest sun and blue corn graphics, the simple patterns and layout, leaving a nice large window into the tasties. Who doesn’t want to drool at the chips they’re about to munch down on before they hit the checkout line? These blue corns are organic, but you’ll find zero other chest-thumping by TJ’s on the bag (one badge Madge).

They let the chips do the flexing and though they didn’t make the tippy top 5, these could easily make some other jabroni snacker’s top picks.

Bottom Line: Doubters say TJ’s is mid but their blue corn tortilla chips trend close to high grade.

5. Garden of Eatin’ – Salted Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 21)

Price: $5.99

Garden of Eatin seems like one of those brands that has been relegated to health food stores for the past several non-health conscious masses decades previous to now. That suspicion is immediately validated by GoE’s bold claim on their packaging that their founder created the first blue corn tortilla chip in 1971. Whether or not you believe this lore depends on whether or not you think anyone would be willing to challenge this claim in a court of law – if not, you acquiesce. So I’ll join the ride — these are great high-quality chips, though they didn’t take the full organic plunge, only the blue corn claims to be that.

They also claim to be “Now Even Tastier” which slightly calls into question the quantifiable data that could support such a seemingly subjective statement. But they are actually very tasty, so again GoE, you win. Your packaging involves a jubilant red fruit tree and meandering pasture onlooking a setting sun off to the horizon, which I once dreamt of in a salsa-fueled hallucination.

Bottom Line:

If the imagery on the bag is what the Garden of Eatin’ looks like, send me there and pack me only GoE chips to eat and bathe in.

4. Wegman’s –- Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips with Salt (Taste 7)

Price: $6.39

Wegman’s Organic may be putting other store brands to shame with their foray into the generic snack game. In 2022, nearly every market has their own snack line – why not cut out the middle man if you can do it in-house or white label it as good as the brands typically stocked?

Without exploring Wegman’s line further, it would be premature to call them the store brand snack champs, but this blue corn tortilla chip shows the potential. Packaging is pumpkin latte orange with a standard chip photo – honestly fairly boring presentation, but you do get a nice preview of the goods.

Bottom Line:

The chips are everything you’d jones for in blue corn — great for dips, snackable plain, and crisply fresh. Wegman’s not just a go-to for iced cookies and prepacked charcuterie treats anymore.

3. Tostito’s — Simply Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (Taste 5)

Price: $3.68

Simply is Frito Lay’s answer to the organic wave that has crested over our modern health-crazed universe. Three stamps official (USDA Orgo, Non-GMO, and no artificialities) the Simply line is doing blue corn tortilla chips how the founders of our modern civilization would approve. No surprise, other samplings of the Simply line have proven craveable (what up crunchy Cheeto’s and white cheddar Doritos, see y’all later) and delectable.

The packaging here cozies up to the rest of their line – life-size chip snapshots along with the basic ingredients that make these the natural version of standard Frito Lay snacks (would be great if they depicted the vials and test tubes of the chemical ingredients used in their regular line).

Bottom Line:

Though I’ve not craved anything blue corn previously, these certainly could draw me back again. And I wouldn’t fight it, guess I’m a simp for Simply.

2. Tortiyah’s – Dipping Chips, Superior Blue Corn (Taste 18)

Price: $2.99

Utz really has no beeswax having one of the finest blue corn tortilla chips on this list. Pretty sure they’re only toe-deep in the tortilla chip arms race, having only recently unveiled their signature chip line coined “Tortiyahs” (which is purposely misspelled – potentially for corny — no pun — marketing and social media purposes). Regardless, these are very good.

Packaging is pretty festive, the toppings on the chips remind me of the suggested gross recipes they had on miracle whip, Hidden Valley ranch, and hamburger helper TV ads back in the day. The illustrations of sea salt and stone ground corn are cutesy graphic reminders of the wholesome goodness you’re about to chow down on.

Bottom Line:

The bag bears no mention of organics, naturals or other wellness buzz words du jour, just good ole Utz. Tortiyahs yah yah!

1. Late July –- Organic Blue Corn (Taste 13)

Price: $3.85

These are as close to zen as you may achieve in the niche sector of snacking, known as the blue corn zone. Late July is clearly on their typical business, putting others on notice as to what a tasty chip is and can be – ear-awakeningly crunchy, luxuriously crumbly with a toasty salty earthy blue corn finish that either leads to the next chip or a cool beverage sip. Packaging is standard Late July tan and brambly, and apparently is recyclable through Terracycle (never heard of it), though I think my local situation is quite fine, thank you kindly.

They do have a double logo stamp on front (non-GMO and USDA organic) so feeling extra hipstery having these as my #1 pick. The see thru-window on the bag is a nice touch.

Bottom Line:

No notes. These are perfect.

When you walk into an antique store you hope to be surprised by some random treasure you didn’t know you needed. You do not expect to see a naked Sylvester Stallone kneeling on the ground tied to a dolly. And yet, that’s exactly what one woman found more than a week ago when she was browsing a shop in Australia. Naturally, posts went out on social and Reddit, the whole thing went viral, and a lot of people told the same joke about the Dennis sex doll from Always Sunny. End of story? Not necessarily, because the story of the original Naked Sly prop from the 1993 film Demolition Man is kinda bonkers, involving missing body parts, theme restaurants, debates about dick size representation, Working Girl star Melanie Griffith, and an Oscar-nominated craftsman who won’t make you a celebrity sex suit.

For the unfamiliar, Demolition Man stars Stallone as John Spartan, a police officer who is set up, cryogenically frozen, and later thawed to go after a super criminal in the future (zestfully played by Wesley Snipes). For one of the opening scenes of the film, a prop was created to show Stallone’s body in stasis (they also made one for Snipes and about 20 random ones to represent other frozen prisoners). 80 replicas were then made to exhibit at various Planet Hollywoods, a worldwide chain of theme restaurants/Hollywood paraphernalia showcases that Stallone (and many of his movie star brethren) had an ownership stake in. The one for sale in Australia (reportedly for $4,000) is one of these replicas.

As you can see, that Sly is in pretty good shape for being nearly 30 years old. You wouldn’t want to lay eyes on the original now according to Alec Gillis, one of the artisans responsible for it (and the replicas).

Gillis is an Oscar nominee and the co-founder of Amalgamated Dynamics, the prop house that worked on Demolition Man. You’ve also seen their work in a diverse and epic slate of films going back to Tremors through to Prey and beyond. He has had a lot of people send him articles about the antique store Sly.

“The one that we made for the film was made out of urethane, which is a far less stable product [than silicone, which is what the replicas are made from],” Gillis explained to Uproxx. “It’s probably pretty ghastly [now].” If you’ve seen that creepy image of a rotted Ninja Turtle and its pearly whites, you get the picture, but the original Stallone prop is also missing some key equipment.

“The body made its way all through the shooting [of the film]. And then it was discovered, when we went to pick it up on set, [that] it had been decapitated and its penis cut off as well. So I think somebody stole it as a souvenir, stole those two things from it. It sounds like a mob hit, but fans sometimes get excited.”

Okay, let’s sit with all that for a second. Before you start thinking that some kind of true-to-life Stallone phallus is circulating in the world, however, let me disabuse you of that notion and utterly devastate the original penis thief. While Demolition Man producer Joel Silver mentioned on the DVD commentary that the original prop was well-endowed and that that was a priority for Stallone, the molded member was not modeled after Rocky’s cock. But it was magnificent.

Initially, Gillis and company were told that they couldn’t hang dong in the film, meaning there would be no need to add a penis to the prop. But while the initial solve was a “generic kind of mound,” it didn’t pass muster on set.

“I think between Wesley and Stallone there was good-natured kind of ribbing each of other back and forth about having no genitalia [and] about comparative sizes and all that. So we were asked to go back and put a penis on the Stallone [prop]. I can’t remember if we did it on Wesley Snipes.”

We’re really getting into the nitty gritty of Hollywood magic here, folks. Not only was the penis not modeled after Stallone’s, but even the body is an approximation.

“We did what we often do for a body replica where we’ll do the head cast of the actor, but we didn’t really put the actor through the body casting process. So they hired a body double who was a very fit guy.” Not fit enough, apparently, as Gillis adds that they had to add more definition to the clay model that came out of the process to catch up to Stallone, who was nearly 50 at the time. “We had to take the 20-year-old body double and make him as fit as Stallone was.”

While the materials were different, Gillis and company used the same molds from Demolition Man on the Planet Hollywood project with the 80 recreations. “Hairs that were punched in one at a time, skin texture, pores,” Gillis says, adding, “They’re quite detailed.” Still, the anatomical correctness isn’t quite as pronounced on those, leading to another entertaining story, this one surrounding the grand opening of a new Planet Hollywood, the installation of the first Stallone replica prop, and a random celebrity cameo.

“They decided at the last minute that he should have briefs on. So there was no real penis form in there,” says Gillis. “My guys had to roll up a napkin off a table and stuff it in. And they were sort of going, ‘Oh, I don’t know, what about size?’ And then, as the story goes, Melanie Griffith came over and advised them as to her opinion what the ideal size should be.”

In case you are wondering, Gillis has had a few calls over the years from people inquiring about where they can get one of the replicas. He also confides that he’s had calls from people asking if he’ll make them wearable fuck suits with different (ostensibly celebrity) faces on them (which, no, he cannot), so the replica Stallone’s aren’t nearly the weirdest request he gets. Still, when I inquire as to if he would pay the reported fee of $4,000 to be reunited with one of his creations, he’s emphatic. “Absolutely not. I wouldn’t want a naked silicone Stallone. But to each their own.”

Insert Dennis sex doll joke here.

“He should’ve been on the cover…He should’ve been on the cover…He should’ve been on the cover of Punk and Disorderly.” –NOFX, “Punk Guy” 1994

Formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, CA, the term “punk rock icons” is reserved for bands like NOFX. 14 albums into their storied career, the band’s 40th year will be their last, according to comments made by bassist/singer “Fat Mike” Burkett, and later confirmed by Rolling Stone.

In what is described as “an unrelated Instagram post,” someone asked why NOFX doesn’t play more shows in Canada, to which Fat Mike responded in the comments, “Actually, we love Canada, it’s just that next year will be our last year. We will be announcing our final shows soon. It’s been an amazing run….” Adding later in the thread that, “Los Angeles will be the last place we play. It’s where we started, it’s where we’ll end.”

The band’s current lineup of Fat Mike, Eric Melvin, Eric Sandin, and El Hefe, have been together since 1991. They’ve cranked out iconic punk albums like Punk In Drublic, White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean, and Heavy Petting Zoo, as well as the classic live album, I Heard They Suck Live!!, and most recently, 2021’s Single Album. Come next year, the punk rock community will rejoice at their final tour, but will ultimately be moshing with a tender heart.

One of the big gripes about the College Football Playoff since its inception is how the same teams make it every year, leading to stale matchups on the sport’s biggest stage. It has led to calls since basically the beginning for the playoff to feature more than four teams, but for a myriad of reasons, expansion has always fallen flat on its face.

That changed on Friday afternoon. According to multiple media reports, the CFP Board of Managers met and unanimously voted to approve a 12-team playoff. While it could happen earlier depending on how things shake out with the TV contracts that have long been cited as the main hold-up to expansion, the most likely answer appears to be expansion coming in 2026, even if there is a chance that it’s implemented as soon as 2024.

The thing that could change this is when conference commissioners meet next week.

As for what an expanded playoff will look like, Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic brings word that the six highest-ranked conference champions will receive a spot, as well as six at-large squads.

In the eight years that the College Football Playoff has been the way to determine which team is the sport’s national champion, six schools — Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Notre Dame — have made it more than once.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Lil Baby, Freddie Gibbs, Fivio Foreign, and more.

Do you remember…the first column of September? Well, you will. Labor Day Weekend is underway and while this slate of releases is a bit less overwhelming than last week, there is still plenty to enjoy.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending September 2, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Kenny Beats — Louie

Kenny Beats is a top producer in the game and is well-known for his collaborative projects with Denzel Curry, Rico Nasty, and KEY! from the last few years. This week he drops off Louie, a 17-track project featuring Vince Staples, Slowthai, JPEGMAFIA, Mac DeMarco, and more.

Pi’erre Bourne — Good Movie

Yo Pi’erre, you want to come out here? Well, the 28-year-old producer is outside indeed with his new project Good Movie. The 23-track LP features the melodic stylings of Don Toliver and aggressively fun lyricism of Young Nudy.

Raedio — Rap Sh!t (Soundtrack: From The Max Original Series, S1)

There’s nothing like enjoying a television show or movie, and it’s even better when the soundtrack aligns with its themes. Issa Rae’s HBO Max show Rap Sh!t is all about empowering women and letting them get their bars off. The season 1 soundtrack features rappers like Dreezy, NCognita, Tokyo Jetz, and more.

Sha Ek — Face Of The What

After hearing Sha Ek’s new project, there may no longer be any question as to what exactly he is the face of. The 17 tracks making up Face Of The What feature PGF Nuk, SleazyWorld Go, and Bandmanrill.

G Perico x Gotdamnitdupri — LA Summers2

Los Angeles summers are so good that G Perico had to double up on the theme. LA Summers 2, also starring Gotdamnitdupri, is a 9-song invite to the splendor of the west coast and they are so tapped in that they did not need any additional features.

Sally Sossa — 4Ever Sossa (Deluxe)

Sally Sossa already graced the world with the 11 records making up 4Ever Sossa back in March, and to kick off September she is here with the deluxe version. The majority of the four new tracks are handled by Sossa herself, but “Certified Stripper” adds PGF Nuk to the mix.

Singles/Videos

EST Gee — “Hell”

EST Gee has been on a very impressive run over the last year. “Hell” shows the rapper tapping into his melodic side, but for those who love the brooding raspy delivery, there is plenty of that too.

Cam’ron & A-Trak — “All I Really Wanted”

Killa! Cam’ron and A-Trak link up for “All I Really Wanted,” where Cam reflects on already completing his bucket list. A-Trak laces him with an uptempo beat loaded with charming vocal samples, and Cam makes it look easy.

Babyface Ray — “Goofies” ft. Digga D

Babyface Ray and Digga D are doing too well to focus on the naysayers. “Goofies,” loaded with extra terrestrial-sounding production, is a confident dismissal of anyone who has anything negative to say about the two.

Yella Beezy — “Pimp C” ft. EST Gee

Yella Beezy and EST Gee pay homage to the late Pimp C in their new record of the same name. In addition to rapping with fury, they make a nod to his popular record “Get Down” in the hook.

NLE Choppa — “Little Miss”

NLE Choppa pays his respects to the independent women in “Little Miss.” It is not an all-positive story, as he acknowledges many of the internal battles even the strongest women endure and their intention on figuring it all out without help. While he and many men want them to open up, he acknowledges that may not be on their to-do list.

Gucci Mane — “Look Ma I Did It” ft. Baby Racks

There are few feelings as gratifying as making your mother proud. Gucci Mane and Baby Racks fully capture this emotion in their new record “Look Ma I Did It.” They acknowledge how other people doubted them, but their success is a testament to trusting their efforts and their mothers’ faith.

Giggs — “Da Maximum”

Coming off of a major co-sign from Jay-Z on DJ Khaled’s God Did title track, Giggs is looking to push things even further. “Da Maximum” is an assertion that he will not settle for anything less than everything life has to offer.

Rich Homie Quan — “Krazy”

Ever since he and Young Thug stopped making music together, we have watched Thugger ascend to new heights and wondered if the same could happen for Rich Homie Quan. While he is far less present than the YSL head honcho, it is still pleasing to hear that Quan is as talented as he was before. “Krazy” is a heat check for the Atlanta rapper.

Rot Ken x JetsonMade — “No Mind”

Rot Ken links up with talented producer JetsonMade to assure listeners that he pays “No Mind” to anything that doesn’t serve him. Whether it is people posing like they have money on social media or hating on him, he has a much higher focus.

Yeat — “Talk”

Yeat isn’t concerned with what anyone has to say. He quiets down the noise on “Talk,” proclaiming that he will go #1.

Tay Money — “Hands Up” ft. Monaleo

Tay Money and Monaleo’s “Hands Up” recalls the classic line “Throw your hands in the air and wave ’em like you just don’t care.” Only here, they morph it into an empowering twerk anthem. Right on.

Kay Flock — “DOA” ft. Set Da Trend

Kay Flock’s frantic flow has become a personal favorite, and “DOA” furthers that enjoyment. Set Da Trend joins the mix for this high-energy drill record. With all of these firm forces, being “dead on arrival” is an accurate label.

RJAE — “Personal Healing”

RJAE tells an all too relatable story about loving someone more than you expected and being devastated when you lose that love. After the loss comes “Personal Healing.” It isn’t easy, and he conveys this on the somber mid-tempo record. Hang in there, RJAE.

Whookilledkenny — “Teach Her The Game”

Some say the game is to be sold, but Whookilledkenny prefers to teach it. “Teach Her The Game” is about investing his time into a woman who holds his interest, though he isn’t necessarily interested in a relationship. Sometimes it is more enjoyable to see someone go forth and be great without claiming possession of them.

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