Following news that the Department of Justice is investigating Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building, the former president’s legal team is reportedly preparing to fight criminal charges that are looking increasingly inevitable. However, according to sources, the planning switched into overdrive well before the Washington Post revealed that the DOJ is looking into Trump. Once Cassidy Hutchinson gave her explosive testimony to the January 6 committee in June, Trump’s legal team immediately got to work preparing for charges.
As for the legal strategy, Rolling Stone reports that Trump’s currently attorneys will allegedly try to pin the blame on others, particularly the strike legal team consisting of Rudy Giuliani, Sidney “The Kraken” Powell, and presumably John Eastman:
In their preparations, Trump’s team has discussed strategies that involve shifting blame from Trump to his advisers for the efforts to overturn the election, per the three sources, reflecting a broader push to find a fall guy — or fall guys. “Trump got some terrible advice from attorneys who, some people would argue, should have or must have known better,” says one of the sources with knowledge of recent discussions in Trumpland. “An ‘advice of counsel’ defense would be a big one.”
The specter of criminal charges arrives as Trump is already facing a lack of support from his voters. The January 6 hearings have encouraged even MAGA lovers to start pursuing other options for the 2024 presidential race. Namely, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is starting to emerge as the GOP front runner as Fox News continues to notably pivot away from Trump.
There was a time when hardcore Kevin Smith fans were unsure if Clerks IIIwould ever happen. After years of delays and false starts, Smith seemed determined to make it happen. But it wasn’t his sheer force of will and determination that brought the movie to life: it was DVD sales.
Smith recently explained that the movie ended up being funded simply because of the fans and their DVD collections. While speaking at ComicCon, the director thanked the fans for their support (and money) which helped the movie finally be made after years of being in movie limbo.
“Lionsgate still makes DVDs and Blu-rays and sh*t,” Smith explained (via ComicBook) to the crowd of people who probably still own many DVDs. “They sold DVDs and Blu-rays of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. And, apparently, sold enough to reach out to us and say, ‘We sold so many f*cking DVDs and Blu-rays that if you ever want to make more of this Jay and Silent Bob bullsh*t, as long as it’s under this pricepoint, f*ck it, have a go at it and sh*t. The only reason we got to do that is because [of] bought hardware, kids. Thank you for that.”
There are two things to learn from this. One: never underestimate the power of fans and their extensive DVD collections and two: Kevin Smith curses a little bit too much!
Clerks III will finally get its theatrical release in September, nearly fifteen years after Clerks II arrived in theaters. The movie will follow Dante, Randall, and the Quick Stop crew as they make a movie about their Clerk adventures. So Meta! Get ready for the inevitable Clerks 4 in 2045.
Dry rub wings don’t get any respect. People are quick to praise buffalo, love a teriyaki glaze, can’t get enough of BBQ sauce, and wax poetic over the citrusy and tropical bite of a Mango Habanero, but offer a person wings and show up with something “dry rubbed” and you’ll see the light instantly leave their eyes. As a result, dry rub wings always take a back seat to their saucier counterparts on menus. Look no further than Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings, which each have over 10 sauced wing varieties but just a handful of dry rub options.
Outside of those big specialty wing chains, you’re lucky to find even a single dry rub option at your local joint. Even the mighty flavor combination of lemon and pepper is a rarity on appetizer menus and pizza spots. That needs to change. Dry rub is just as flavorful as sauced wings, and while you don’t get that same pungent smell or the intense heat, there are a number of benefits:
The skin on your fingers won’t be stained at the end of your meal, or smell like whatever sauce you had for hours after you’ve finished eating.
They’re much crispier. Sauced wings can get soggy if they aren’t tossed right.
They’re generally healthier. Dry wings rely less on sodium and sugars to get their flavors across, offering a simpler wing that still delivers big flavor.
They reheat better. Your sauced wing is never going to taste as good as when it was fresh, a dry rub reheated in a toaster oven will at least be in the ballpark of what you experienced when it was fresh.
Luckily, change is in the wind! Wingstop has added two dry rub options to their menu, bumping up the count from three flavor options to five. One of them, Lemon Garlic, is a simple combination of Garlic Parmesan and Lemon Pepper seasoning — it’s fine but it’s more of a remix of two existing flavors than an original.
The other new flavor, Hot Honey Rub, is a game changer. Available for a limited time for the duration of the summer, Hot Honey Rub is Wingstop’s first new dry rub (not counting the remixed Lemon Garlic flavor) in years, and it’s easily one of Wingstop’s top five flavors, sauced wings included. Here’s why it works and why you need to order it next time you get a hankering for wings.
REVIEW: Hot Honey Rub
Dane Rivera
The reason dry rub wings generally take a backseat with people over their sauced counterparts is that dry rubs can come across as simpler, which is easy to confuse with boring. The Hot Honey Rub is definitely not boring, it combines the spicy and slightly fruity notes of cayenne pepper with the earthy and complex notes of ancho chilis for a strong smack of heat that really gets your salivary glands working.
As good as that is, the flavor’s strong suit is the honey and how it balances out the heat without being distracting. It’s never overpowering or overly sweet like hot honey sauce tends to be. In this dry rub form, it instead adds a gentle floral lift and some subtle sweetness to the aftertaste that makes the experience remarkably satisfying.
Dane Rivera
The flavors are in perfect lockstep here, and it hits the Goldilocks zone between spicy and sweet that pays equal respect to both sensations in a way that I can’t imagine ever tasting boring, even 10+ wings deep.
The Bottom Line:
Hot Honey Rub offers the best of both worlds. It’s the great equalizer between sauced and dry-rubbed wings. It offers the spicy kick and full flavor you expect from a saucy wing with all of the benefits of dry rub. It’s crispy, flavorful, and complex, whether you’re reheating it or eating it fresh.
Patrick Stewart often talks about his childhood and the torment his father put him and his mother through. However, how he answered this vulnerable and brave fan’s question is one of the most eloquent, passionate responses about domestic violence I’ve ever seen. WARNING: At 2:40, he’s going to break your heart a little.
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in August. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Canadian music fans looking forward to tonight’s Young Money reunion show featuring Drake, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj will be disappointed to learn that the show’s chief architect Drake has announced the show must be postponed. His reason is exhaustingly familiar after the last two years; he has contracted COVID, necessitating a period of self-quarantine until he gets a negative test.
“I am truly devastated to say that I tested positive for COVID and the Young Money Reunion show scheduled for tonight is being rescheduled to the SOONEST date possible,” Drake wrote on his Instagram Story. “I will keep the city posted and share the new date whenever we have it locked. Until then I hope everyone stays safe and healthy and I love you all. I am so sorry for letting you down on our weekend together and the moment I test negative I will give you everything I got on stage (except the COVID).”
Drake tests positive for COVID and cancels today’s Young Money reunion show with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj pic.twitter.com/pFAOHzew5y
That’s mighty considerate of him, considering how some stars have treated the pandemic (which is still, y’know… ongoing). The October World Weekend event wasn’t a total bust, though. On Friday, fans at the All Canada North Stars concert were treated to a surprise appearance from Nelly Furtado, who sang her signature hit, “I’m Like A Bird” alongside a Drake who was very much in his feelings. And next year, Drake’s bringing back his OVO Fest as a tour.
Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Beyoncé rock the world with a new album and Charli XCX make a bit of a rap pivot. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Last week belonged to Beyoncé as she released Renaissance and got rave reviews from just about everybody, including Lil Nas X and Questlove. Among the highlights is “Virgo’s Groove,” a funky six-minute disco odyssey that shows, as do many Renaissance songs, how comfortably and confidently Beyoncé can float between genres at a high level.
Charli XCX — “Hot Girl”
Especially in recent years, Charli XCX has been as eager as just about anybody to fold different genres into her work and she goes full-blown hip-hop on her latest, “Hot Girl.” On the song (Charli’s contribution to the movie Bodies Bodies Bodies), Charli rarely sings, like on the self-assured hook: “I’m a hot girl, pop girl, rich girl / I’m a b*tch girl, fast girl, catch me if you can, girl / You a swerve, girl, who the f*ck are you, girl? / You just wanna be me.”
Calvin Harris — “New To You” Feat. Normani, Tinashe, and Offset
We’re a few days from Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 now and Harris has shared another one of the many star-studded efforts on the album. “New To You” — which features Normani, Tinashe, and Offset — is pure disco, both in its rhythms and liberal use of strings, and a midtempo breather sure to serve listeners well all summer.
Nav and Travis Scott — “Never Sleep” Feat. Lil Baby
Canadian favorite Nav has a new one, Demons Protected By Angels, on the way, which he hyped up last week with “Never Sleep,” a Travis Scott collaboration that also features Lil Baby. Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes, “Tay Keith provides the beat, with additional production by Grayson and Mike Dean, and the three rappers let loose, calculating their income and detailing their spending through colorful metaphors hailing their wealth.”
Quavo and Takeoff — “Us Vs. Them” Feat. Gucci Mane
Recent days have brought mixed messages about the current status of Migos as a group, one factor contributing to that being Quavo and Takeoff (aka Unc And Phew) making music together sans-Offset. They did so again last week, keeping the three-piece dream alive by recruiting Gucci Mane to join them on “Us Vs. Them.”
Maggie Rogers — “Shatter”
It’s tough to have the release of your second album overshadowed by a Beyoncé album, although like most of us, Rogers is just happy to have new Beyoncé. Rogers’ new LP, Surrender, is for sure worth multiple plays after (or before, depending on your tastes) you’ve gotten through Renaissance, as highlights like the synthy and rollicking “Shatter” show.
King Princess — “Let Us Die”
King Princess had the honor of being one of Taylor Hawkins’ last collaborators before his death, as the late Foo Fighters drummer got behind the kit for “Let Us Die,” from King Princess’ new album Hold On Baby. Indeed, as Hawkins’ presence suggests, the song has a rock edge to it and Princess thinks it’s “probably the best song I’ve ever written.”
Rina Sawayama — “Hold The Girl”
Sawayama has so far teased a diverse album in Hold The Girl, and last week’s title track is a further example of that variety. Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes the song “opens as a slow, string-driven ballad, then, once it gets to the chorus, drums join in, along with guitars and glorious piano keys, transforming the downtempo symphony into dance-ready melodies.”
Young Dolph — “Hall Of Fame”
It’s been nearly a year since Young Dolph tragically passed away last November, and last week brought the first posthumous music from the late rapper. On “Hall Of Fame,” Dolph establishes his level of popularity and acclaim, rapping, “They say I’m showing out, they say I should be ashamed, I don’t do it for the clout, b*tch, I do it for the gang. You can walk in any trap and I bet they know my name, Frank Matthews of the South, put me in the hall of fame.”
Cordae — “Multi-Platinum”
Cordae fancies himself a story-teller, or at least he should based on last week’s “Multi-Platinum.” The two-minute song is a Kid Culture-produced number on which Cordae eschews a proper chorus so he can tell a story about an ill-fated young rapper who let success get the best of him.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Dave Grohl usually maintains a regular presence in the media, but he’s been understandably quiet for most of this year following the March death of close friend and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. In June, though, he returned to the stage for the first time since Hawkins’ death with a surprise appearance during Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury set.
Now, we know a bit more about what the rest of Grohl’s 2022 will look like: Grohl is on the newly revealed lineup of Joe Walsh’s 2022 VetsAid charity concert on November 13 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It appears Grohl will be a special guest during a reunion set from James Gang, Walsh’s pre-Eagles band.
The performance is scheduled for after the upcoming Hawkins tribute concerts, on September 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium and September 27 at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, at which Grohl is set to perform. So far, the three aforementioned upcoming shows are Grohl’s only confirmed performances for the rest of 2022.
Grohl recently made his first post-Hawkins television appearance, via an interview on MSNBC’s The Beat With Ari Melber that aired in July but was filmed prior to Hawkins’ passing.
Meanwhile, also on the VetsAid lineup are Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, and The Breeders.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In recent weeks, Joe Biden has been feeling feisty (or at least as feisty as a 79-year-old recovering from a positive COVID test can be). He called Donald Trump “the defeated former president of the United States,” ripped his predecessor for “inciting a mob that attacks a police officer,” and told the media that “when my predecessor got COVID, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center. He was severely ill. Thankfully, he recovered. When I got COVID, I worked from upstairs of the White House.”
“Joe Biden’s second bout of Covid, sometimes referred to as the China Virus, was sadly misdiagnosed by his doctors. He instead has Dementia, but is happily recovering well,” he wrote on TRUTH Social the same weekend as his low-attended golf tournament. “Joe is thinking of moving, part time, to one of those beautiful Wisconsin Nursing Homes, where almost 100% of the residents miraculously, and for the first time in history, had the strength and energy to vote – even if those votes were cast illegally. Get well soon, Joe!”
Hm, something tells me he doesn’t mean that “get well soon, Joe!”
The not-tweet was shared by @atrupar, who wrote, “A real post from the 45th president.” Or as Christopher Meloni called him, the “gelatinous guy.”
So appalling that this rotten trash heap of a human being was actually the president of the US. A truly dark chapter in our history. https://t.co/R0XjK1oAOe
As @ENBrown said, people were sharing a fake trump statement the other week and folks were responding that people who fell for it were dumb but this (and so many real, actual Trump statements and actions) is legitimately worse https://t.co/zTfV1sCicL
It’s fascinating how Trump gets fixated on a particular tidbit of misinformation and returns to it over and over until a new bauble catches his eye and he moves on like a distractible 4-yr-old. Right now it’s “Wisconsin Nursing Homes.” A month from now it’ll be something else. https://t.co/RLuslVUhYN
How often when political reporters log in another “will he or won’t he?” story do they accurately identify him as, “The increasingly erratic and unstable former President?” https://t.co/9S51t7PuQm
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
With her seventh studio effort Renaissance Act I, Beyoncé is uniting us under a groove—several of them, actually—in the name of life, love, and liberation. Nearly 10 years after her surprise self-titled LP rewrote the rules of album rollouts, she rewound her creative clocks back, back into time by revisiting the traditional release approach, and through homages to the music of yesteryear. The past and present of dance-oriented stylings including disco, house, bounce, and afrobeats merge to meet throughout the 16-track effort, which is the first in this era’s trilogy.
Dance has been the heartbeat of music for decades. Renaissance offers sonic appreciation for dance-pop and disco game-changers like Donna Summer (whose monster record “I Feel Love” is the blueprint for the album’s fulfilling finale “Summer Renaissance”), Teena Marie (whose influence is found in the sexy “Cuff It”), and Grace Jones, who provides a rare feature on the dynamic banger “Move” alongside Tems. But more fundamentally, the project honors and reclaims dance’s Black and brown, queer and trans beginnings and attributes.
Since its mainstream rise, dance music has provided a cathartic release in times of trouble, especially for those who are typically “othered” in the eyes of society. Like most things, dance music has been co-opted by whiteness on a level that all but erases the historic Black, brown, and queer contributions to the scene. Beyoncé’s reimagining of the style allows for these legacies to shine through in ways they may not have been able to previously. (In a statement released prior to the album’s release, Beyoncé notes that Renaissance honors the LGBTQ+ “fallen angels” whose musical offerings went unnoticed, and her ever-stylish godmother, Uncle Jonny, who died as a result of AIDS-related complications.)
Queer history is nothing without the Black and brown movers and shakers who laid the foundation for its eventual larger-scale acceptance, and Beyoncé’s tributes to LGBTQ+ culture throughout Renaissance are similarly bold and beautiful. Nightclub superstar Kevin Aviance chants during the ballroom-themed standout “Pure/Honey,” while a drizzle of the 1992 single “Miss Honey” by drag legend Moi Renee brings listeners into the scene from where these figures ascended. Trans icon Ts Madison’s unwavering confidence is sprinkled into the Black-and-proud anthem, “Cozy,” which also features lyrics describing the Pride flag. The thick clack of folding fans—a sound that’s become a unifying staple in queer spaces—ripple through the end of the electric, Drake and Travis Garland-sampling “Heated.”
Personal liberation can also be unapologetically sexy. Given the euphoric sexual revolution associated with dance and disco clubs during their heyday, the flirty foreplay of “Plastic Off The Sofa,” the straightforwardly horny “Thique” (“sit on that, bounce it, bounce it”), and the climactic voyage “Virgo’s Groove” feel most apropos. (“Touch me, touch me, please me, kiss me, boy,” she begs on the latter betwixt impressive melisma and vocal layering.) Even as an artist who is relatively private, Beyoncé is not one to shy away from celebrating the appeal of sex, love, and the power they purvey in her discography. Renaissance is no exception.
The album is largely saturated with messages of love and calls for listeners to ignore societal perceptions in order to be their perfectly imperfect selves. Self-assurance rings throughout the sensual, retrofuturistic “Alien Superstar.” (“I’m one of one…I’m the only one,” she declares.) The dembow-leaning opener “I’m That Girl” also urges us to own our unabashed confidence. (“Please, muthaf*ckas ain’t stoppin’ me,” the voice of late Memphis rap pioneer Princess Loko proclaims throughout the track.)
Acknowledgment of Beyoncé’s Dirty South upbringing should come as no surprise, as the Houston native often recalls her roots. The twerk-ready “Church Girl” ties in the oft-used Triggerman beat and bounce pioneer DJ Jimi’s “Where They At?” The Billboard Top 10 hit “Break My Soul” samples NOLA’s favorite “Queen Diva” Big Freedia. In hindsight, “Break My Soul” is the ideal first single, as it encapsulates every aforementioned attribute of the album.
The timing of Renaissance’s first act is especially pertinent. Throughout American history, many female pop forces have reconfigured the uplifting sounds of dance music as a means of escapism amidst turbulent times. Madonna’s 1990 hit “Vogue” pays homage to the club kids of the then-growing ballroom scene, who experienced violence, the effects of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and politically-driven identity erasure in the post-Reagan US. Janet Jackson’s iconic 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 supplies listeners with energetic dance-pop and New Jack Swing tunes aimed at pushing positivity amidst racial tension. Bey’s M.O. for Renaissancewas “to create a safe place” where people from all walks of life would be able to find and own the beauty in their uniqueness in lieu of chaos and societal ostracism.
Beyoncé is by no means the first artist to rework dance music for mainstream audiences (nor will she be the last). Yet, her ability to highlight the genre’s unsung heroes and epitomize what the style truly means for so many people allows for marginalized groups, in particular, to feel seen, heard, accepted, and (even if for just one hour), be at peace in their very own rhythm nation. Given the downright dreariness of the world today, there’s no better time than to be living life as out loud and authentically you as possible.
Renaissance is out now via Parkwood/Columbia Records. Get it here.
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(@HelenKennedy) 