Category: News

You can use plenty of words to describe the sneakerhead community but “sweet” or “sentimental” are likely the last words you’d attribute to a group of enthusiasts who would surely roast you if they didn’t like your kicks. Unless you’re wearing Jordans, of course. At their worst, sneakerheads have a reputation for being gate-keep-y mean kids (at their best they’re historians of art and design). But there’s actually a deep sentimentality and camaraderie to be found in these hype-obsessed circles.

Sneakerheads care for their own — bound by a passion for shoes. And nothing exhibits that fact better than the story of Lauren and EJ Wynn.

For years, the Wynns had tried to start a family of their own, enduring eight miscarriages and two failed intrauterine inseminations. Determined to realize their dream, the Wynns decided to give in-vitro fertilization a try — an expensive process that isn’t always guaranteed. To help fund their treatment, EJ parted ways with his coveted sneaker collection, surprising Lauren with the funds who shared the story in a now-viral TikTok.

That story eventually caught the attention of the Hand Made Heat community, a global collective of sneaker customizers, painters, and designers who congregate online and de and reconstruct sneakers from the sole to the stitching.

“Some of the work that comes out of this group rivals major designers,” Hand Made Heat member Nick Tornetta (also the point of contact for anyone who wants to join the discord) tells me over Zoom. Tornetta is the main entity behind Scissors Up, a subgroup within the Hand Made Heat community that tasks itself with sourcing the sort of premium materials sneaker customizers and designers rely on to make their creations and reconstructions as authentic, elevated, and bespoke as possible.

In addition to helping other creators in their respective sneaker customization journeys, the Hand Made Heat community also makes a habit of holding friendly competitions amongst its members to see who can craft the most fire kicks. Those competitions typically revolve around holidays, but the community jumped at the chance to compete for a good cause — replenishing EJ’s sneaker collection with deeply personal original sneakers that not only reflected EJ’s interests and tastes in footwear but also the family he and Lauren were hoping to build.

“We were really inspired by that story,” Tornetta notes. “A real man, a father, steps up and says ‘I’m going to give myself, for the sake of my family, I’m going to give up my collection….’ So the challenge now is, let’s replenish that collection. I really like the fact that our community has banded together to support this family and hope someday we can do more charitable events like this.”

The contest was sponsored by District Leather Supply — used by many Hand Made Heat members — who awarded the first place winner with a $1000 DLS gift card as well as a $250 gift card to Scissors Up, with second and third place tiers at a lower amount. Once the prizes were settled, Tornetta reached out to Lauren to get details on EJ (unbeknownst to him), regarding what was in his collection, what colorways and silhouettes resonated with him, and any other personal details that might be helpful.

“One of the community members made a spreadsheet and just said ‘post your idea here so we don’t send in the same thing,’” Tornetta explains. “People are adhering to some semblance of a design guideline by making a shoe he might like, or colors he might like, and then going wild otherwise.”

The result is a collection of sneakers that are in line with some of the best official releases dropped this year. The group has since sent their final designs to EJ as a surprise package, who in addition to scoring a brand new collection of fire 1-of-1 sneakers made explicitly for him (and his family, check out contest winner below), also got the perfect happy ending with the birth of his and Lauren’s son, Amari, who just last week visited his very first sneaker store Sole Stop. In an chill-inducing twist, Sole Stop is the very store where EJ sold his shoes to pay for the IVF.

All sneakerheads know the feeling of finally catching that big W, but EJ’s win resonates in a truly special way that feels like a win for us all. Check out the Hand Made Heat designs below.

@lab53shoes

Inspired by EJ’s love of the Cowboys, @lab53shoes has ensured that no matter where EJ watches the next game, he’ll be rocking the most fly kicks in the room. This Jordan I recalls the team colors of the Cowboys while updating the design with bandana print suede and calf luxury suede swooshes with suede and milled nubuck accents on the wings and heels.

All of the leather used in this design comes from the Conceria Opera Tannery in Italy. To round out the collection @lab53shoes also threw in a Cowboys onesie and bib.

@mike34customs

Inspired by STAPLE’s iconic Pigeon Dunks and EJ’s old Marshall University football days, this sneaker manages to look like both a skate shoe and one of Nike’s classic University colorways at the same time. With a textured swoosh and paneling, this Nike Dunk sports a Marshall University Thundering Herd logo under the Swoosh and lateral sides with an insole photograph that features EJ and his teammates celebrating a touchdown.

@devolvecustomfootwear

@devolvecustomfootwear went light on the sentimentality and instead went for the cool factor for this fire redesign that looks like it belongs on the SNKRS app ASAP. Featuring black matte and glossy patent, this sneaker features an extended tongue with contrasting stitching, a crimson toe box, heel details, and rear tab buckles with a customized message strap that reads.

“For all the things my hands have held… the best by far is you.”

Rounding out the design is a double swoosh, black matte on the reverse, crimson red suede on the traditional. Eat your heart out, Travis Scott.

@sneakersbytyrel

When making this design @Sneakersbytyrel was also waiting on the birth of his first son, so he decided to supply EJ with something every good dad needs — a quality boat shoe.

Utilizing the low-top Jordan 1, this design features a mix of brown, black, and creamy white with a footprint stamp on the heel with matching blue swooshes to represent EJ and Lauren’s baby boy.

@pinkytoestudio

Instead of another fire AJ-1, @pinkytoestudio took a left turn and dropped this Air Monarch. This sneaker triples down on the dad shoe vibes not only by utilizing the Monarch silhouette but by shouting out The Godfather and grill culture in its design, two staples of dad life.

It’ll only be a few years now until EJ starts talking about how modern movies “aren’t as good as The Godfather,” and insisting that he run the grill at family cookouts (if he isn’t already). That’s what dads do, they’re all grill master movie critics!

Unlike your typical dad shoe, this sneaker was given the luxury treatment with genuine python and alligator details on the tongue and upper with red python accents, a mix of matte and glossy qualities, and a full-length air unit. It may not be a Jordan, but Jordan would rock a pair in a second.

@chicano_ray

For @chicano_ray’s sneaker, the designer went deep on the research. Learning that EJ and his wife had been calling their yet-to-be-born baby ‘lil bean,’ this sneaker features bean iconography at the heel with a furry suede wrap around swoosh and heel tab over a blue elephant print upper.

We wouldn’t blame EJ for never wearing this pair and reserving them for when Amari’s feet are big enough to fit in them.

@mammothnamedjim

You don’t have to be an expectant mother or father for this one to hit you in the feels. Contest winner (are you surprised?) @mammothnamedjim went all out not with one or two but three pairs of Jordan 1s for the whole family.

Featuring a design that recalls the best Union LA Nike collaborations (peep that exposed stitching and ‘Wynn’ tab at the heel) the two adult pairs in this collection are unified by color blocking on the collar and wings but feature alternate color paneling, one green, one navy, giving the pairs a sort of his & hers quality. Unifying the collection is the toddler pair of sneakers which features a perfect blend of both designs. It’s like a little sneaker family, which will surely resonate with EJ and his growing crew.

Extra credit for those fly insoles!

On May 17, 1966, Bob Dylan performed at Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. That show is famous among Dylan fans, as audio of it was widely bootlegged; Early recordings mistakenly indicated the performance took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall, so the show has long been known as the Royal Albert Hall Concert. Eventually, in 1998, Dylan officially released the full concert himself, on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert.

Now, Cat Power is getting ready to perform at Royal Albert Hall on November 5 and has decided that she will use her set to re-create Dylan’s famed 1966 concert, a set of half acoustic tunes and half electric performances.

Cat Power said in a statement, “When I finally got the opportunity to play The RAH, it was a no-brainer. I just wanted to sing Dylan songs. And as much as any, this collection of his songs, to me, belong there.”

Check out the The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert tracklist, and therefore what should end up being Cat Power’s setlist come November, below.

1. “She Belongs To Me”
2. “4th Time Around”
3. “Visions Of Johanna”
4. “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
5. “Desolation Row”
6. “Just Like A Woman”
7. “Mr. Tambourine Man”
8. “Tell Me, Momma”
9. “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)”
10. “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down”
11. “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”
12. “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”
13. “One Too Many Mornings”
14. “Ballad Of A Thin Man”
15. “Like A Rolling Stone”

Nathan Fielder surprised his fans last week by dropping a trailer for his new HBO series, The Rehearsal, which clearly takes the hilarious cringe comedy of Nathan For You to a whole new level. In a nutshell, Fielder helps people “prepare for life’s biggest moments” by subjecting them to a simulation of his own overly-elaborate making. Essentially, they can “rehearse” for an uncomfortable conversation and/or life-changing decision. However, thanks to Fielder’s machinations, any wrong move can result in awkwardly devastating (but also kind of hilarious) results.

Again, it’s a natural extension of Fielder’s hit series, Nathan For You, only now the stakes are much, much higher than coming up with outlandish small business schemes. The good news is that Fielder appears to have nailed the execution as the first reviews for The Rehearsal are overwhelmingly positive when they’re not outright heralding the show as a “masterpiece.”

You can check out what the critics are saying below:

Ben Travers, IndieWire:

Fielder’s personal investment in each outcome elevates the series even higher. His initial motivation and what he discovers within the hysterical, emotional rehearsals — the joyful satisfactions and existential fears — provide an eye-opening through-line that makes “The Rehearsal” as addictive as it is endearing.

Daniel D’Addario, Variety:

The closest comparison might be “Synecdoche, New York,” the 2008 Charlie Kaufman film that, like “The Rehearsal,” treats life as a performance that can be perfected. And, like Kaufman’s film, “The Rehearsal” has an anarchic heart throbbing beneath a rigorous exterior — meaning that even the viewer who feels the project losing its way can admire Fielder’s abilities to establish lines for himself, and then to scribble outside them.

Robert Ham, Consequence:

There aren’t many shows, especially in the comedy world, taking the chances that The Rehearsal does. Nor are they lucky enough to be led by someone like Fielder, a comic visionary who has, once again, turned a parody of reality TV into a brilliant dissection of human nature.

Dave Nemetz, TVLine:

The heavy-duty scenario planning that Fielder undertakes to stage these rehearsals is both highly absurd and genuinely jaw-dropping. He dabbled in longer-form stunts on Nathan For You like in Season 4’s super-sized “Finding Frances,” but this is on a completely different level.

Nick Schager, The Daily Beast:

Nathan Fielder is the undisputed king of cringe comedy, and The Rehearsal is a masterpiece of awkward chaos that plays as both an extension and expansion of his heralded Comedy Central series Nathan for You.

Ross Bonaime, Collider:

By mixing the natural insanity of real life and the unbelievable resources at his disposal, there’s no early way of knowing which direction Fielder is going. Yet this is also the most expansive version of Fielder’s comedic vision we’ve ever seen, as if HBO gave him the independence and money to do whatever he wants. If there’s an easy way to do something, Fielder avoids it, instead attempting the most hare-brained, over-the-top solution to a problem.

Keith Phipps, TV Guide:

Fielder may be a man sitting in an offshoot of an elaborate alternate reality of his own creation, but as he sips a soda alone at the bar, he also looks like a man trying to use that alternate reality to figure out something about the real world. It’s that impulse that makes The Rehearsal much more than a prank show.

Lex Briscuso, /Film:

A smart and savvy introspective reali-comedy that challenges our hearts and minds as it prepares us for life’s most monumental eventualities. The show is a bit of surreal genius that reinvents our world as only Nathan Fielder can, with a dash of cringe, a touch of embarrassment, and an unexpectedly heavy dose of purity and heart.

The Rehearsal premieres July 15 on HBO.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of The BBC providing the best television shows both in Britain and beyond, the service is bringing a new series of masterclasses to their BBC Maestro series.

BBC Maestro launched for UK subscribers at the end of 2020, featuring various courses taught by celebrities and experts in their craft. Starting in July, BBC Maestro will offer a slew of new courses, taught by musicians, artists, movie directors, and more. Now, US viewers can sign up for the service, which starts at $120 a year, or $90 a class.

According to a new press release, the site will offer new classes in the coming months with a series of industry experts. Some of the upcoming instructors include acclaimed filmmaker Edgar Wright, who recently released 2021’s psychological thriller Last Night In Soho and even teamed up with Zendaya on a tongue-twisting SuperBowl commercial earlier this year.

Also leading his own course will be Sam Mendes, the former James Bond director who has had nothing but hits under his belt, including American Beauty, 1917, and Jarhead. Mendes recently snagged a Tony for his work in the theater earlier this year.

Author Lee Child, known for creating the Jack Reacher series will also have a course available, as well as DJ Mark Ronson, of “Uptown Funk” fame. You too can create your own viral hit that will make people want to turn off their car radio forever, for the low, low price of $120. Act now!!

Back in 2005, Eminem released his greatest hits compilation, Curtain Call: The Hits. The project was filled with his popular singles like “My Name Is,” “Stan,” “Lose Yourself,” “The Real Slim Shady,” and more. Curtain Call: The Hits arrived amid retirement rumors around Eminem as even the rapper himself was unsure of what direction his career would go at the time. As we now know, he returned four years later with Relapse, and the following year he dropped the Grammy-winning Recovery. Almost 17 years after Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem is ready to release his second greatest hits compilation.

Eminem took to social media today to announce Curtain Call 2. A press release for the upcoming project revealed that it will arrive on August 5 and only feature “music from all Eminem projects from Relapse forward.” This includes side projects, guest appearances, songs for films, and tracks from his solo albums. The announcement also noted that “From the D 2 the LBC” and “The King And I,” which feature Snoop Dogg and Cee-Lo Green respectively, will also appear on the project as well as a previously unreleased track which will be revealed “in the coming weeks.”

Curtain Call 2 will receive a standard release as well as a limited edition box set and a limited amount of autographed vinyl available on Eminem’s website.

You can view the cover art for Curtain Call 2 above and read more information about the project here.

Curtain Call 2 is out 8/5 via Shady/Aftermath/Interscope.

It’s widely acknowledged that the cultural phenomenon known as hip-hop officially began at a house party in The Bronx, New York on August 11, 1973. That means hip-hop is nearly 50 years old, and to celebrate its impending golden jubilee, Mass Appeal has announced the Hip-Hop 50: The Soundtrack project, 10 EPs produced by some of the culture’s biggest names to commemorate hip-hop’s longevity (the ha, the ha). The first will be DJ Premier: Hip-Hop 50 Volume 1, produced by… I mean, it’s right there in the title… dropping on July 15 via Mass Appeal and The Orchard.

The project’s five tracks will feature appearances from old-school legends like Nas and Slick Rick, contemporary craft masters like Joey Badass, Rapsody, and Run The Jewels, and cross-generational all-timer Lil Wayne. In a statement, DJ Premier said, “It’s an honor to kick off this iconic Hip Hop 50 music program. Hip Hop continues to inspire fans across the globe and it’s incredible to think of what the next 50 years will bring.” It seems likely that the new track Premier and Nas previewed last week is actually “Beat Breaks,” their collaboration from this project.

Future EPs in the Hip-Hop 50: The Soundtrack will include entries produced by Hit-Boy, Mike Will Made-It, Mustard, No I.D., Swizz Beatz, The-Dream, and more. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, as well as other charitable organizations. Other arms of the Hip-Hop 50 initiative include live event programming and a slate of documentaries with Paramount + and Showtime, including the Supreme Team documentary that premiered on Friday, July 10, as well as the Spotify Original podcast, The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip-Hop, hosted by Miss Info and Nas.

DJ Premier: Hip Hop 50 Volume 1 is out 7/15 via Mass Appeal Records and The Orchard. You can pre-save it here. You can see the tracklist below.

01. “Lettin’ Off Steam” Feat. Joey Bada$$
02. “Remy Rap” Feat. Remy Ma & Rapsody
03. “Beat Breaks” Feat. Nas
04. “Terrible 2’s” Feat. Run The Jewels
05. “The Root Of All” Feat. Lil Wayne & Slick Rick

Harley Quinn just might be the best show you’re not watching (non The Bear category, of course), and there’s no better time to hop on board with a third season of the HBO Max cartoon on the way later this month. Monday brought a second trailer for the highly-anticipated streaming series that offers more details on the (spoilers ahead) relationship sure to anchor the upcoming episodes.

Much like the first trailer for Season 3, the new look is all about Harley and Ivy’s newfound romance and what they plan to do now that they’ve officially teamed up. And while the first trailer was about a much more vague “Eat. Bang! Kill” tour, Monday’s reveal is more to the point: Ivy’s finally going to terraform Gotham to make it an Eden-like paradise.

There are other hints about what’s to come as well, including a few familiar faces reappearing. Juxtaposing the typical DC darkness is a running theme of Harley Quinn, and Season 3 is no exception.

“Anyone wanna switch seats?” Quinn asks aloud on a bus, for example, while Nightwing monologues about how much Gotham needs him.

Other characters have their own plans for Gotham, though. Like a family-man Joker running for mayor, for example. And as the trailer makes clear, this is a different Harley Quinn we’re seeing in Season 3. And that might mean she’s not exactly OK with Ivy’s big plans after all. And might be teaming up with some other folks to fight back.

“I believe she’s going through what’s known as ‘some sh*t,” Clayface says about, well, someone. We’ll have to wait to find out who when Season 3 hits HBO Max on July 28.

Jeopardy! is well-known for having some of the most vocal fans in the syndicated game show world. If its long-spanning quest for a replacement for Alex Trebek is any indication, fans certainly have a lot to say about how the show is made, its adherence to its own rules and even how individual contestants play the game. Especially when they’re on screen for a long time.

Which has certainly happened a lot over the last three or so seasons, with so-called mega-champions going on long runs of success. Winning even a handful of episodes in a row is impressive, but a number of contestants have survived weeks-long gauntlets of trivia to return as champions and rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings. Not to mention three million-dollar winners in recent years — James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider.

Trebek himself had said in the past that the show is about the players, and the truly great ones have become stars in their own right. As well as taken attention away from all the drama around who is hosting. Which is a good thing, but not everyone seems satisfied by the recent string of mega champs.

The show’s very active Reddit community recently debated whether having so many long winning streaks close together has actually been good for the show. In some cases, the returning champions were a more consistent presence than the long string of guest hosts tried out in the wake of Trebek’s death in November of 2020.

As TV Insider pointed out, some fans spoke out about fatigue of seeing impressive runs of success on screen for weeks at a time.

One of the game show’s long-time viewers posted a thread on the Jeopardy! Reddit on Saturday, July 9, asking, “Does anyone else enjoy new champions on the regular?” While the fan noted that mega-champs are “great,” he added that he enjoys “seeing a daily or regular turnover of champions,” pointing to Yungsheng Wang’s recent short tenure as champion and how it “made the whole game more enjoyable.”

There’s something to be said for getting tired of the same players, but it’s certainly worth pointing out just how impressive those long streaks are despite their recent frequency. Contestants tape five episodes a day, so any streak longer than a week requires multiple taping days under hot lights while other contestants try to make the most of their only shot at their own game show immortality.

Not everyone agrees that it’s boring, of course, which is no surprise given how popular Jeopardy! is and how vibrant the community around the show has grown. But it’s certainly interesting to see how fans react to the game’s best players. Even if some people feel they’ve overstayed their welcome a bit.

[via TV Insider]

Even the most casual Star Wars fan knows the answer to, “Who shot first: Han or Greedo?” It’s Han, and don’t let anyone — even George Lucas — tell you otherwise. But if you really want to get Star Wars fans in a tizzy, bring a group of them to a bar ask, “Do you pronounce it A-T-A-T or @-@?” It may end up bloodier than Mos Eisley Cantina.

The Star Wars Twitter account choose violence by posing that question this weekend:

Hm, OK, that’s not super helpful, although the first AT-AT — which stands for All Terrain Armored Transport, as seen above — ran away with the contest with 71 percent of the vote (Joe Biden should hire first AT-AT to run his re-election campaign).

Luckily, Mark Hamill showed up in the replies and settled the debate once and for all.

There you have it: it’s @-@, although Hamill did note, “FYI: When we would ask George: “Is it Chew-bah-ka or Chew-back-a?” / “Is it Lay-a or Lee-a?” / “Is it Hahn or Han (as in hand)?”- he would just shrug & didn’t really care. He told us it would be pronounced in various ways in different parts of the galaxy.” So, even though @-@ is correct and has always been correct, you can pronounce it however you want. Want to call them Wattos-Wattos? Go ahead. Unlike Luke, there’s no one all-powerful Force controlling you.

(Via the Huffington Post)

The Eye usually features up-and-coming artists taking to a minimal studio space for a one-shot, black-and-white performance of discography highlights, with just a single microphone and camera capturing the rendition. That’s mostly true for the latest installment, but this time, performing is somebody we’ve already known well for years now: Kevin Gates.

The Louisiana rapper has been at it for well over a decade, with his first brush with mainstream success coming in 2013 via the Stranger Than Fiction mixtape, his first release to land on the Billboard 200. A few years after that, in 2016, he dropped his debut album, Islah, which managed a peak all the way up at No. 2. The 2019 follow-up I’m Him also fared well, topping out at No. 4. Most recently, his third album, June’s Khaza (which we named one of our most-anticipated rap albums of the summer), was the rapper’s third straight top-10 LP. (A couple mixtapes, 2017’s By Any Means 2 and 2018’s Luca Brasi 3, also both peaked at No. 4.)

So, Gates comes into his new performance for The Eye with a wealth of experience and success by his side. With the instrumental backing him, Gates goes hard for two minutes, sometimes spitting quick-paced verses and sometimes delivering some tender singing.

On the vulnerable track, a single from Khaza, he sings of a woman he loves, for better or worse. Lyrics include, “No one loves you like I will / Feel like Yung Bleu ’cause you mines still / Baby, tell me what the fuck they know ’bout our love / Our love is a fire inside and it’s burnin’ forever.”

Watch Gates perform “Bad For Me” for The Eye above.

Kevin Gates is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.