There’s no disputing that hops (known as Humulus Lupulus) and Cannabis Sativa smell strikingly similar. They even carry a lot of the same flavor profiles, depending on the variety. That makes sense as soon as you realize they’re both members of the hemp family. Although not closely related, they both share one descriptive adjective: dank.
Dank is a term that’s thrown around as much in the marijuana world as it is in the beer world. When it comes to weed, it’s a term used to describe stinky, potent cannabis. The same can be said for beer — with dank getting used to describe resinous, piney, and potent hop flavors and aroma. And just like cannabis smokers crave a dank weed, so do many beer drinkers.
This is especially true when it comes to IPAs. The more hops, the higher the IBUs, the danker your beer will be. And as with anything, some drinkers purposely seek out the dankest, most resinous, piney beers. The problem is that it’s not always a simple process to find them. There are a lot of IPAs on the market, especially in the craft marketplace. Some are nice enough to add the word “dank” to their name to help you out, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule for labeling.
To that end, we tasked a handful of craft beer experts to recommend their favorites dank brews. They were kind enough to name some seriously skunky IPAs that are full of piney goodness and feel like a great bag of weed on the nose and palate when you crack them open.
Sweetwater 420 Strain G13
Sweetwater
Jeff Hancock, co-founder and brewmaster of DC Brau in Washington, DC
Being an avid fan of cannabis myself, I’d have to go with another pioneering brewery, Sweet Water. Their 420 Strain G13 IPA uses actual non-psychoactive cannabis terpenes in this brew. The G13 terpenes make this beer taste like you’ve been invited to a grower’s harvest party. Cannabis aromas coupled with supportive and similar hop aromas and terpenes make this a truly unique IPA worth seeking out.
That has to be Maui Waui from Altamont Brewing Co. Mr. Sartori has always been a strong champion of keeping things West Coast. This beer bursts with tropical notes but keeps things dank with resinous Mosaic and catty Citra hops, the autotune of beer.
Do triple IPAs count? If so, it has to be We Ded Mon from The Veil. It has a nose that’s at once fruity (peach juice, pineapple, and grapefruit zest) and incredibly resinous — I’ve smelled bags of weed that were less dank. Astonishingly drinkable for the intensity, the aroma, flavor, alcohol, and chewy body might be the most balanced triple IPA I’ve ever had. And the fact that The Veil’s brewers were able to wrest all that character from just one hop, Citra, makes the feat all the more impressive.
The most memorable dank IPA experience is from the Fresh Hop IPA brewed by the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Washington. It’s citrus-driven and dank and not too sweet or dry. The depth of the beer is insane with layers upon layers of aroma and flavor. A member of the Ruud family told me how they do it: It’s a bold and very out-of-the-box and semi-secret technique they use to deal with the number of wet hops. It worked.
Sweetwater Dank Tank Good Supply is a great choice. It says it right on the label. This double IPA is known for its hazy, juicy flavor that’s highlighted by ripe pineapple, mango, and other tropical fruit flavors as well as a heavy dose of dank and resinous hops.
Sixpoint Resin is my pick for the dankest IPA. I think the name speaks for itself with this beer. The heavy additions of Chinook and Centennial make this beer dank and delicious. This 9.1 percent double IPA is loaded with piney, resinous dank in both aromas and in flavor. It’s hard to beat.
Alchemist Heady Topper is a great dank beer. It was shockingly hoppy when it first debuted in cans and is still one of the dankest around. Heady Topper is a special beer for when you want an all-out hop assault. It’s unfiltered, hazy, and still one of the hoppiest, dankest beers ever brewed.
Wicked Weed Dr. Dank
Wicked Weed
Marshall Hendrickson, co-founder and head of brewing operations at Veza Sur Brewing in Miami
Wicked Weed Dr. Dank is my go-to. Dr. Dank is an absolutely delicious and dank IPA. The beer is brewed with terpenes, which have a lot of overlapping flavors and aromas with cannabis, ranging from citrusy to herbal to skunky (in a good way). Plus, with a name like Dr. Dank, you know what you’re in for every time you crack this beer open.
Avery Maharaja
Avery
Nancy Lopetegui, taproom general manager at Wynwood Brewing in Miami
Maharaja Imperial IPA by Avery Brewing is my pick. You can smell the hops and citrusy noted from a mile away. The hops are in your face and very pungent, but then balanced out by the spicy malt backbone and the grapefruit and orange notes.
This seven percent IPA is truly a beer for hop fanatics. It’s filled with heavy dank pine needles and resinous hops. But instead of simply being a pine-bomb, it’s complemented by the addition of bright, tart citrus flavors and sweet, tropical fruits. It’s a well-rounded beer for dank fans.
You’d be pretty hard pressed to take even a three-second scroll through the internet without seeing headlines about the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Depp, who is suing Heard for $50 million in part over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed piece alluding to her being a victim of domestic abuse (the abuser being Depp), recently gave testimony in court. And, like many personal matters belonging to a celebrity, it has been the subject of public scrutiny.
In the video (see below) Depp touched on his own experience with abuse in his childhood, wanting to protect his children, his drug addiction, disturbing texts he had sent to friends about Heard and how heartbroken he was that those he mentored or had given advice to might be questioning themselves now, thinking him to be a fraud. Just to name a few points.
Johnny Depp Testifies On Why He’s Suing Amber Heard For Defamation
While there is certainly lots to unpack there, there is still one bit that I find more striking:
“One day you’re Cinderella and then in zero point six seconds you’re Quasimodo. I didn’t deserve that and neither did my children.”
If this isn’t the epitome of what’s problematic with our culture’s misguided celebrity worship, I don’t know what is.
It’s been an interesting year so far for movie stars. With one slap, Will Smith went from one of Hollywood’s most likable guys to its most notorious. Ezra Miller, once regarded as a beloved LGBTQ savior, is now reduced to the punchline of some odd Spongebob meme. In his “Cinderella” days, Depp was by and large a consummate actor who, performance wise, could do no wrong. Now franchises find him untouchable.
The rate at which household names can go from “greatest” to “worst” of all time is enough to cause whiplash if you’re looking too closely. And what’s worse, in this act of dehumanizing, we are often at risk of losing touch with our own humanity. Which is especially ironic and tragic given that artists in particular serve a purpose to connect us to our humanity.
If it’s not obvious: I wanted to add a small disclaimer that I am not excusing bad actions, or waving the flag of anti cancel culture. There is definitely something to be said about how celebrity status often exonerates wrongdoing unfairly. But really, I find that worship and vilification are two sides of the same coin. And maybe, just maybe, what we really need to do to break us of the movie star spell is to toss away the coin altogether.
There was a time when actors and artists weren’t seen as beyond human. In fact, it could be argued that back in the days of traveling thespian shows, actors were seen as subhumans, but that’s beside the point. Perhaps this recent fall of the movie star is a chance for us to collectively reclaim some mental freedom away from fame’s siren song. As we have recently seen, it’s certainly not the guarantee for happiness it once was.
A growing number of Americans no longer have gods to revere or royalty to idolize. In their absence, celebrities have taken up that mantle for many. But in this modern age of information traveling at the speed of WiFi, illusion and mystery are no longer the great shields they once were. Now, the spotlight mercilessly peers down into every crack in the veneer. And much like a real dying star, it’s as though these people are collapsing in on themselves, crushed by the massive weight of their own fabricated persona.
Perhaps it is unfair to view any human as some sort of celestial being. As we have seen multiple times, this leads to disappointment, abuse of power and unrealistic expectations. And perhaps worst of all, it removes us from compassion. Tons of debates are being had about whether Depp or Heard is lying, about whether this will be Hollywood’s “ugliest” breakup or if that will go to Will and Jada, and about whether or not we’ll ever see Depp on the screen again. Few are discussing the tragedy that their family must be going through, or talking about the heartbreak of love turned toxic. And then there’s the question: should we be weighing in on their life at all? It’s a fine line, being a public figure and all, but something worth considering.
Hollywood continues to adapt (for better or worse is up to viewer discretion). And as it does, movie stars like Depp might continue to lose their luster … if not eliminate it altogether. But hopefully that leads to a new renaissance. One where no one is beyond accountability or unworthy of empathy. Hopefully we don’t find new false idols, but instead value discernment above all.
While Donald Trump has been able to elicit Olympic levels of trust from his closest cronies — despite sometimes refusing to help them out of the legal headaches they acquired doing his bidding — those that have turned on him have really struck back. Stephanie Grisham, his third White House press secretary, wrote a juicy tell-all about her experiences. As did Omarosa Manigault Newman, who worked on his campaign as well as, for a time, in his presidential administration. Last year, after three years, Trump’s lawsuit against her failed miserably. And now the former president has to pay through the teeth.
As per The New York Times, a court arbitrator has ordered the Trump campaign to pay Manigault Newman nearly $1.3 million in legal fees she accrued over the protracted legal battle — a size her own lawyers say was surprisingly. large.
Trump’s case accused his former employee of violating a nondisclosure agreement. It’s the latest example of him discovering that his NDAs don’t exactly hold up in court. Last year, he tried to sue a former campaign aide who had claimed he’d forcibly kissed her. Instead, Trump was forced to pay more than $300,000 in legal fees. The judge in that case declared the NDA “vague and unenforceable.”
In 2018, Omarosa — who first met Trump when she was on Celebrity Apprentice in 2004 and was one of his administration’s only Black employees — published Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House. The book detailed Trump’s chaotic first year in the White House. After Trump lost his lawsuit in September of last year, she dished some more, alleging that he might not “even be healthy enough to run in 2024.”
While Antonio Brown won’t be catching any passes from NFL quarterbacks anytime soon, the wide receiver-turned-rapper just dropped a new album. The guest list for Brown’s (who performs under the AB moniker) album, Paradigm, is loaded and features not one, but two guest appearances from Brooklyn drill heavyweight Fivio Foreign.
Also appearing on the album, which features a heavy drill rap sound, are Young Thug, Keyshia Cole, 42 Dugg, French Montana, YdTheBest, Shuki Internatonal, and even DaBaby. Believe it or not, Paradigm is AB’s second solo effort, along with 2020’s Himmothy. Brown was recently named the President of Kanye West’s Donda Sports division. AB and Kanye recently expressed interest in buying the Denver Broncos. The pair are also each slated to appear at the Rolling Loud Miami festival and now Brown will have a new album’s worth of songs to perform on stage.
Check out the Paradigm album art and tracklist below.
album cover
1. “Champions” featuring Fivio Foreign
2. “Business Boomin” featuring DaBaby
3. “Get In My Bag” featuring Young Thug
4. “Put That Shit On”
5. “Pit Not The Palace (Remix)” featuring 42 Dugg & French Montana
6. “Half a Moon” featuring Fivio Foreign
7. “Ptsd” feat. Jacquees
8. “Don’t Leave” featuring. Keyshia Cole
9. “Chilly Waters”
10. “Pit Not The Palace”
11. “Shuki Diamonds” featuring YdTheBest & Shuki Internatonal
Paradigm is out now via CAB Records. Listen to it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
That’s all to say that bourbon at this price point is about the really, really good stuff. It’s about something special that sings on the palate. These are the bottles that bridge the worlds of very drinkable unique bottles and the unicorns you might be able to squirrel away in a vault as an investment. That said I’d personally crack open all of these bottles — rather than invest in them — to get a sense of what expensive whiskey tastes like.
As for the expressions at play, there is not a whole lot of variation at this level. We’re looking at three or four big-name brands that even have the ability and heritage to produce whiskeys that cost this much. So, yes, there is more than one label from a couple of companies on this list. Still, I picked ten bourbons that absolutely slap as sippers. You really can’t go wrong giving any of these a shot, especially if you’re looking to really up your bourbon and bar cart game.
As for the ranking, it’s simply according to which ones I’d reach for first when I needed a special pour — they’re all bangers in one way or another.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Cowboy Bourbon has become Garrison Brother’s signature bottle of whiskey. The juice from Texas is from barrels that are hand-selected for their depth and deliciousness and then aged for a few more years before being small-batched. The whiskey is then bottled as-is — with no filtering or cutting — leaving you with the purest essence of what great Texas bourbon can be in every single sip.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a rush of very sharp cinnamon sticks next to a pile of wet cedar shingles and an almost Chinese hot mustard spice and miso edge that’s as baffling as it is enticing. That spicy/umami nose makes you want to dive into this sip. Once you do, you’re greeted with an apple pie overflowing with walnuts, spices, and syrupy brown sugar encased in a flaky lard pie crust as spicy plum puddings sit next to more cedar and a throughline of caramel. The end turns to velvet as a vanilla tobacco vibe arrives to calm everything down and numb your tongue with a buzz.
Bottom Line:
I love some Garrison, and this is a stellar whiskey. The thing is, I kind of like two of their other expressions a tad more and they’re both about half the price. That’s why we’re starting here with this ranking — this is great but not my favorite from this awesome craft distillery.
This single barrel masterpiece was made for the international market but is now available widely in the U.S., albeit for a hefty price. The juice is all about the refinement of the single barrel aging process, with masterful finishing to bring it down to a very drinkable 102 proof.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a big greeting on the nose with notes of spicy tobacco leaves next to honey, dark berries, and orange oils. The palate carries those notes forward while leaning into the tobacco and amping up the rye pepperiness then balancing it with a bit more honey and caramel. The finish takes its time fading out as notes of vanilla, spice, and oak linger — with a final billow of pipe tobacco popping at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a great sipper. It benefits from a drop or two of water to let it bloom and find those deeper, dark chocolate and berry notes. That all said, this is very classic and feels almost entry-level…for me. I’d like a little more ABV oomph, but that’s really stretching for something to complain about.
This special release from Old Forester celebrates 150 years of whisky making by the brand with “150” at the core of the line. Master Taster Jackie Zykan created three batches of this limited release from 150 barrels that were specifically selected by Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris. Once these bottles are gone, there won’t be a whisky like this from Old Forester again.
Tasting Notes:
Based on Batch no. 1, you’ll be greeted with a mingling of menthol and anise with rich and buttery caramel next to a hint of holiday spices and a touch of sweet fruit. The palate embraces the holiday spice and adds in a peppery edge while the sweetness leans towards pancake syrup with a hint of dark chocolate and old wood beams lurking in the background. The finish marries the dark chocolate to the almost chili pepper spice on the medium-length finish as flourishes of orange oils, wet leather, and salted caramel kettle corn linger on your nicely warmed senses.
Bottom Line:
I was never really a huge Old Forester fan until I tried this. It’s fantastic and has such a great, unique flavor profile. The only reason I’ve ranked it this low is that it doesn’t make me continue to reach for other Old Forester expressions. It feels more like a one-off than a part of an iconic brand.
This old single barrel expression from Heaven Hill is a highlight for both single barrel whiskeys and very old bourbons. The barrel is hand-selected every year to highlight the expert craft behind Heaven Hill’s distilling and warehousing. Taking a sip transports you to those huge white barrel houses sitting in the Kentucky countryside surrounded by acres of corn in a way that few whiskeys do. This is truly an experiential whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
You get a sense of oak with a touch of a rock-hewn cellar next to notes of dark chocolate oranges, mild brown spices, a touch of vanilla cream, and a hint of honey. That vanilla takes on a nutty edge as the spices build and the wood softens towards cedar with a hint of fruity tobacco chew. The vanilla creaminess really drives the finish towards a silken mouthfeel with plenty of spicy/fruity tobacco leaving you with a mild buzz across your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is a big step up from Elijah Craig Barrel Proof but a long way from the halcyon heights of their 23-year expression. It’s a great sipper, but, again, not my favorite from Elijah Craig. That said, if you love their Barrel Proof, then go for it. You’ll really dig this.
6. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Port Finished Bourbon
This whiskey from Angel’s Envy is much beloved and lauded. It’s been called the “best spirit in the world” before, which brings a lot of preconceived notions to this bourbon. The story behind the bottle is a classic tale of sourced whiskey barrels treated exactly right once picked. The blend of hand-chosen barrels is finished in port casks like the majority of the much-loved Angel’s Envy bourbon line, then bottled with no cutting or fussing.
Tasting Notes:
You’re going to get a nose full of fruits — spicy stewed plums, ripe apricots, and tart cherry — next to a well-aged balance of worn library leather-bound books, ashy wood, and a sugar-maple cookie with a good punch of vanilla. The taste really holds onto the cherry while adding in a salted caramel vibe next to bitter dark chocolate all housed in a cedar box that was once the home to rich tobacco leaves. The end brightens up with a burst of orange zest next to that tobacco and cedar as the finish takes its sweet time fading away.
Bottom Line:
There are some huge Angel’s Envy stans out there. I dig the brand and love these cask strength drops. It just doesn’t hold my attention quite like the rest of this list though and I can’t quite put my finger on why.
Elmer T. Lee is another hugely popular Buffalo Trace release that’s very limited (and sought after). Where this differs from Blanton’s is in the mash bill (this is a bit higher rye) and the placement of the barrel in the warehouse. It’s said that the barrels for Elmer T. Lee are stored where the master distiller himself used to store the barrels he kept for his own stash.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is like a decadent breakfast of pancakes smothered in cinnamon butter, dripping with the best maple syrup, and topped with a hand-made scoop of vanilla ice cream. The palate holds onto the vanilla and spice but settles into more of floral honeyed sweetness with touches of cedar, old library book leather, and a hint of tobacco buzz. The end lingers for a while and leaves you with a dry pear tobacco warmth next to a cinnamon heat and maple bar sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is just good from top to bottom. This is the sort of whiskey I pour myself after a long work week when I need to not be challenged but still be 100 percent satisfied. That also means that we’re getting into the “splitting hairs” section of this ranking.
Michter’s originally dropped this back in 2014, and it has since become a mainstay of their release schedule. The juice is standard bourbon that’s then finished in a toasted barrel from the famed Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville. They build these barrels by hand from 18-month air-dried white oak and then lightly toast the inside before the aged whiskey goes in.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a pecan pie vibe that’s nutty, dry, and full of dark Caro syrup sweetness with a hint of candied orange peels with a touch of cinnamon and dry cedar bark. The palate holds onto the sweetness as it leans towards a campfire roasted marshmallow, a touch of saffron and clove-stewed pears, a pile of sappy firewood, and creamy nuances of vanilla pudding all meander through your senses. The end has a light savory nature that leads back to the pear, vanilla, and marshmallow on a very slow fade toward a pile of fresh firewood piled high on soft black soil.
Bottom Line:
This is where things get interesting. This is as unique as it’s delicious. There’s a lot going on and it draws you back again and again. Had my mood been a little different today, this might have been number one.
This expression of Weller is the same juice and barrels as Pappy. Those casks rest in a Buffalo Trace warehouse for 12 long years and if the flavor profile doesn’t match Pappy, it’s vatted into Weller. The whiskey is then proofed down to a soft 90 proof before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a deep, creamy sweet corn note on the nose that gives way to old wool sweaters and vanilla pancakes rolled around soft marzipan. The palate has a warm biscuit vibe with hints of buttery toffee syrup and old cutting boards that still smell of dark spices and dried fruit. The end takes its time and touches back on the cakey vanilla, buttery syrups, soft marzipan, and old, fruit-stained wood as it gently fades away.
Bottom Line:
This expression has really grown on me over the last year or so. It’s just so damn drinkable and deeply hewn. It’s hard not to fall in love with this bottle if you give it the time it deserves. Why is it only number three you ask?
Look at it this way, the top three are all basically tied for first, but each one offers something a little different. They’re ordered purely off my personal preference today.
Barrell Craft Spirits is another craft blendery that’s sourcing some of the best barrels in the game and expertly marrying those barrels. This expression blends 15-year-old bourbon from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennesse into a final product that reaches new heights for blended bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot to draw you in with this nose of rich tobacco spiciness next to soft cedar, tart cherry pie filling, saffron stewed pears, salted toffee, and what almost feels like the salted water left after boiling artichokes. The fruitiness really builds as the cherry leads towards a bowl full of ripe raspberries swimming in cream with a dusting of dark spices and brown sugar that’s countered by a dose of floral tea leaves culminating with a mildly bitter coffee bean. The end is long and really holds onto the cherry and raspberry fruit while a note of that soft cedar dips back in with a hint of menthol tobacco buzz.
Bottom Line:
I love this pour. It’s so one-of-a-kind and funky. There’s really nothing quite like it. But, sometimes funky is a little too much to ask and you want something classic. I get it. This is definitely more “challenging” than “comforting” as a pour and that has a time and a place.
1. Michter’s Single Barrel 10-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon
The juice in this bottle is a little under wraps. Michter’s is currently distilling and aging their own whiskey, but this is still sourced. The actual barrels sourced for these single barrel expressions tend to be at least ten years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the juice goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with subtle notes of soft wood and worn leather next to light touches of dark berries, orange oils, eggnog spice, and slight toffee sweetness next to a fluttering hint of roasted marshmallow. The palate starts off equally soft with a maple syrup sweetness which then leads into a rush of berry brambles. The mid-palate hits on a bit of dark spice, vanilla tobacco, and dark cacao and espresso bitterness. The finish leans into a dry-yet-almost-sweet oak with a touch of an almond shell and dry grass coming in at the very end and a final hint of that now almost burnt marshmallow.
Bottom Line:
This feels classic to its core with a comfort level turned up to eleven. This is pretty much a perfect pour of classic bourbon that has no faults whatsoever. It also makes a killer $50 old fashioned. Just sayin’.
There are few more recognizable and beloved voices in the world of sports broadcasting than that of Gus Johnson. For three decades, Johnson has been calling games across all levels of college and professional sports, but Monday night in Philadelphia marked a first for the veteran play-by-play man, as he called Game 2 of the Raptors-Sixers series on TNT for the first time.
For many, tuning in for the start of Game 2 was the first time they learned Johnson is doing games for Turner during the first round, and NBA Twitter lit up with excited “Gus Johnson?!” tweets. On a national level, most know Johnson’s work on college sports, providing the soundtrack to some legendary moments in college football and basketball, but he’s a longtime veteran of the NBA, formerly serving as the backup play-by-play man for Knicks games on MSG and, most recently, Bucks games for Fox Sports Wisconsin.
Getting back to the Association for this year’s playoffs, even if only briefly, has been a true joy for Johnson, who will call Game 2 of Bulls-Bucks on Wednesday night (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
“I’m so, so excited. I just feel so blessed,” Johnson tells Dime on the phone from Milwaukee. “Words can’t express the amount of gratitude that I have for Turner, but more importantly to Fox Sports and my boss, Eric Shanks, for allowing me to be a part of this and to be on this team of incredible talent and announcers and sports historians in one of the greatest leagues in the world, if not the greatest league in the world, the NBA. It’s the greatest basketball league on planet earth with the biggest stars and legends and history. And, man I tell ya.”
While he’s called plenty of basketball games in recent years as the lead for Fox Sports’ Big East broadcasts, that first game back saw Johnson trying to find the rhythm of an NBA game again. The speed and physicality in the NBA is world’s apart from the college game, but Johnson credits his broadcast partner Greg Anthony with aiding in his comfort level diving back in to calling pro ball — Anthony is a familiar face next to him, as they spent time together doing games at CBS. As he got ready to call Monday’s game, Johnson thought back to his earliest years calling Knicks games on MSG and the advice of his mentor, Marty Glickman.
“You don’t overdo it,” Johnson says. “Meaning you don’t try to show everybody how much you’ve studied and throw all these notes in and the stats and analytics and all that stuff. You know the game is in front of you. As Marty Glickman once told me years ago — my mentor and my tutor when I studied with him. When I first started in the voice of the Knicks, I would train with Marty, go up to his house on the West Side once a week, and the one big note that he gave me was always, ‘Remember son, the game is in front of you. It’s not on all those notes you have sitting on that desk that you’re behind.’ So that’s what I tried to do is lock the gate. Don’t over talk. And don’t overthink it. I mean, I’m a basketball junkie, and I’m a basketball broadcaster for 30 years.”
That experience doesn’t just allow him to know the game, but he also knows the players — some just from a different time in their life. Johnson has called college games from many of the stars of today, and getting to call their NBA playoff games now brings things full circle.
“I really love that part of my job of being able to blend the college and the pros,” Johnson explains. “I think that it’s great to see young men grow up. Going from babies in college, dreaming of playing in the NBA to that dream actually becoming a reality and playing in the NBA. And then, you know, there’s an innocence that surrounds college ball, but then you get to the NBA and it’s a business. And to see how they handle their business, how they continue to develop and grow, get better, and elevate themselves and their families, it’s just a wonderful thing to see. Because I see the maturation in them and then I see the maturation in myself. I see I’m getting older now.
“I was talking to DeMar DeRozan today at shootaround, like, ‘Remember me, man? I used to call your games in college’ and he’s like ‘Yeah, yeah!’” he continues. “So now he’s been in the league for over a decade and is one of the best players in the league. Now he’s got four children, another kid on the way. The other things in life start to take precedent and you can sit down and talk to him about those things. I remember what happened when he was at USC and now I get a chance to talk to him about his journey going from playing for the all the teams you play for San Antonio, Toronto now Chicago, and what his journey has been like. I love the storytelling aspect of it. It’s really important to me, just to see the stories and see how it turns out.”
What makes Johnson a fan favorite in the booth is the joy and love for what he does, and how that is never in doubt on a broadcast. His energy in big moments is unmatched, something we unfortunately didn’t get to see in a lopsided game in Philadelphia, but you can rest assured he’ll be ready on Wednesday night and on any future games to deliver down the stretch. As he sees it, his job is to amplify the fun of the game and celebrate what’s happening on the floor, leaving the criticism and analysis to his right hand man in Greg Anthony.
“Personally, I want to delight in the excellence of other people,” Johnson says. “So I want to delight in the excellence of these players. So whether it be college or pros, I’m not a very critical person. It’s kind of not my thing. And I can’t be critical of an NBA player because I have no idea of actually what the heck is such a complicated and technical game. So as a reporter — I’m not an analyst, so I want to report on what’s happening and I want to celebrate what they do on the floor because that makes the telecast for the viewer more interesting from my perspective. I like to get casual fans, not necessarily the hardcore guys, right? My mom is watching this game. She doesn’t know a lot about basketball, but my dad is sitting there watching the game and she’s gonna sit there and watch the game with him. She wants to watch the game and just learn some new things or hear some interesting stories, and to be excited when it’s time to be excited. So that’s how I approach it.”
Some wonder if those explosions of energy in the booth from Johnson are forced, but talking with him, you can hear the genuine passion and love he has for what he does and how grateful he is to be on this stage. For someone who’s called big games at all levels for three decades, he still marvels at the athletic feats he gets to witness from his courtside perch.
He took me through Joel Embiid’s turnaround three from Game 2, step by step, still trying to grasp how a 7-footer has that much talent — “a perfect combination of the modern game of basketball.” He told stories of always being impressed with the work ethic of a young Giannis Antetokounmpo when he was calling Bucks games, and the joy he’s taken in seeing all of that come together in the form of MVPs and championships.
“I remember one time, I don’t remember who the Bucks were playing, but they lost a game at home. And I walked outside trying to catch a cab to go home, and all of a sudden I look up and I see Giannis still in his uniform. It’s snowing outside — it’s Milwaukee, it’s freezing. He was still in his uniform and I see him sprinting down the street — I think he was he was pissed off — to go to the practice facility to get another workout in. I wish I would have had a camera because I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. He still had his uniform on and it was freezing, it was snowing, and he’s running down the street, still in his game sneakers to get to the practice facility to fix whatever he needed to fix that night. That’s incredible. It’s just been wonderful to see him I’m so appreciative that I had a chance to see him, at that stage of his career before he went on to win MVPs and a world championship. The kid is just a supernova and he only he’s still getting better. He’s only 27 years old. So it’s gonna be fun to continue to watch him blossom and in the end become one of the greatest players to ever play this game.”
His perspective is part of why NBA fans were so excited to see Johnson join Turner’s crew, because the best broadcasters are the ones that make you feel like they’re having as much fun watching the game as you are, and can give them an additional peek behind the curtain to get to know their favorite players more. That is, at his very core, Johnson’s broadcasting ethos and it’s what has made him a beloved figure no matter the network or sport he’s covering. From college football and basketball to the NFL and NBA, his approach never changes and that joy shines through.
His presence on NBA Playoff games is a treat for fans, but many couldn’t help but wonder if Johnson joining Turner’s NBA team could open the door for a return of his voice to the NCAA Tournament, which many still most closely associate him with even though he hasn’t called a tournament game since leaving CBS in 2011. I asked him just that, if he has hopes of a return to the Big Dance, and he did his best to defer, but noted that even he can’t help but think about how fun that would be.
“I can’t let myself get that far ahead, man,” Johnson says. “It’s just, at this point in my life I’m so happy to be right where I am. There’s an old saying, be where your feet are. The past is history. The future is a mystery. So be where your feet are. In the back of my mind, of course, but I can’t let myself think about that because there are no guarantees that I’ll even be back after this game that I’m doing tonight for any more games. There’s no guarantees.
“But you know, I feel like if I focus and continue to be disciplined and put forth my best effort, then good things may happen. But if not, I’m happy, overjoyed by what’s taking place right now and I’m going to carry that with me regardless of what happens tomorrow.”
Paging Joe Biden. As was previously reported earlier today, ASAP Rocky was arrested at LAX airport in connection with a November shooting. Rocky was coming off of a plane with Rihanna returning from a trip to her native Barbados. But what happened at ASAP Rocky’s home shortly thereafter is raising just as many eyebrows.
LAPD officers used a full-on battering ram to try to get into the security gate of the rapper’s house. They had a search warrant for the property in connection with the case and TMZ secured some crude video of the incident, as well as photos of boxes filled with papers being carried out of ASAP Rocky’s home. In the footage, a group of at least a half dozen cops stands in front of the gate and one of them bangs at it with a battering ram three times. When the strategy doesn’t appear to be working, another cop tries to pry it with what might be a crowbar and falls backward onto the ground when he realizes that it’s a pull-to-open gate and it swings open. [cue the circus music]
This seems like a fairly over-the-top way to serve a search warrant when you know that the owner of the home is already in custody. But this wouldn’t be the first time that police used excessive measures when it comes to an alleged crime involving a rapper. The victim of the shooting claims that ASAP Rocky opened fire on him last November three or four times and grazed his hand in the process.
Ahead of her Coachella weekend one performance this past weekend, Megan Thee Stallion was itching to give fans a live preview of her new single before its release. “I got this song that I recorded and every time I play it for a woman they start jumping and clapping,” she tweeted. “I think I wanna perform it at Coachella for the first time before I actually drop it.”
She debuted the racy “Plan B” at the festival, with the lyrics “D*ck don’t run me, I run d*ck.” And now, the single art for the release is just as provocative. “Plan B out Friday, pre-save it now!” she tweeted. In the tweet, Megan included the single art of her lavishly lying naked in a bathtub, covered in soap foam and smoking a slim cigarette.
“Plan B” is the first track Megan Thee Stallion is releasing since her “Sweetest Pie” collaboration with Dua Lipa last month. It’s also her first solo single (not counting her Super Bowl song for Flaming Hot Cheetos) since “Thot Sh*t” came out last year and went on to be nominated for a Grammy award.
Megan Thee Stallion’s “Plan B” single is out on 04/22 via 300 Entertainment. Pre-order it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The long-awaited trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp is underway. The couple’s tumultuous relationship was written about by Heard in a 2018 op-ed, where she caused Depp of physical and emotional abuse. Depp sued for defamation. While Depp took the stand today, Heard is expected to speak later in the trial.
Depp brought out recordings of conversations, which can be heard on Mediaite, between himself and Heard while they were still married. In the recordings, which Depp secretly set up, Heard admits to hitting Depp while she was on Ambien.
“I feel that I want to say something to you, that it was ok, that’s, that’s the promise you gave me a little while ago. I’m — I’m telling you, if you lost memory last night of kick — you kicking the bathroom door and hitting me in the skull,” Depp says in the recordings. Depp is heard prompting Heard to recall “those memories.”
“I was upset, there was a lot going on and I was on an Ambien.” Heard says in the recording. “Why are you obsessing over the fact I cannot remember the way you are remembering it. I said I was sorry…I’m not denying it.” The actress is then heard telling her then-husband that he “avoids working it out.” “You don’t escape the fight, you escape the solution!” Heard continues. “You escape figuring out. We cannot work it out if you run away to the bathroom every time.”
Depp later recalled the infamous fight while he was in Australia shooting Pirates Of The Caribbean when Heard allegedly threw an empty bottle of vodka at him and severed his finger. “Blood was pouring out,” Depp said. “I think I went into some sort of… I don’t know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but that’s probably the closest that I’ve ever been.”
Last week, People reported that the couple’s therapist testified that they engaged in “mutual abuse.” The trial is expected to continue through May.
After living through what the media often described as “unprecedented times” for the last couple of years, remaining present in day-to-day life can be a difficult task. Gospel-trained musician and activist A.J. Haynes knows this all too well. Not only does she make music as bandleader of celestial trio Seratones, but she also works as a counselor in one of Louisiana’s last-standing abortion clinics.
For Seratones’ third studio album Love & Algorhythms, which is due next Friday, Haynes redefines what it means to be consciously optimistic in the age of information. Armed with dreamy chords, feel-good grooves, and Neo-soul-inspired songs, Seratones’ album examines themes of Black feminism, Afrofuturism, astrology, and the many paths towards revolution throughout its 11 tracks.
Ahead of the release of Love & Algorhythms, Haynes reflects on recent concerts, drawing inspiration from herself, and her great grandmother’s delightful cooking in our latest Indie Mixtape Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
How about 3? I like that number. Interstellar soul synthesis.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
The world is always ending. That said, in my imagined 28 years from now, the music business as we know it and how artists survive will shift to community-based models and collective song. Touring as we know it will be unsustainable, replaced by more possibilities of emergence in both digital and analog forms. I hope that our music is remembered as part of the inspiration for this, to remind people of the possibilities of joy. I hope our songs remind them of small and big personal moments.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
One of my favorite performance experiences was in Paris at the Bataclan.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Myself. I am very proud of the person I have shaped and am shaping. To quote Lucille Clifton: come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me – and has failed.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
My great grandma’s kitchen.
What album do you know every word to?
Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Fiona Apple’s When The Pawn….
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
It’s hard for me to think of concerts in terms of best/worst. One of my favorite concerts was seeing MIA at FunFunFun Fest in Austin when she was touring the Matangi record. Being with amazing friends and taking the perfect amount of MDMA was also an added bonus.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
I love rocking my new stretchy silver onesie. It is tailored to my body and has room for my booty and belly.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
The classic “Move B*tch” by Ludacris.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Recipes for arrabiata sauce.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Any Alice Coltrane album.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
To be honest, we crashed a lot of weird places when we were first getting started as a band, but that time was so traumatic that I can’t remember specifics.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
My favorite tattoo is my baby gator on my left thigh. I love alligators sooo much. That’s it, that’s the story.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
SZA
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
My amaaazing partner and also current Seratones bassist is always doing sweet things for me. He makes me coffee every morning when we’re home at the cabin and gives me hugs when I’m anxious without me having to ask him.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Start a savings account and dump your boyfriend.
What’s the last show you went to?
Japanese Breakfast at Luck Reunion
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
I don’t have a TV on ever really and it’s hard to commit to a whole movie when I’m home, but when I need to sit still in front of a screen, the series Big Mouth is my go-to.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I’m a kitchen witch b*tch, so I can make a delicious meal out of just about anything.
Love & Algorhythms comes out 4/29 via New West Records. Pre-order it here.
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and head of marketing at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix
