Travis Barker may have rose to fame as the drummer for Blink-182, but he’s recently been making headlines for a few reasons. Not only is he engaged to mega-millionaire Kourtney Kardashian, but he’s also been expanding his musical catalog by working with artists like Willow and Young Thug. Now that he’s gotten comfortable making music with artists in other genres, the musician attempted to turn one of Adele’s hit songs into a pop-punk anthem with a cover posted to social media.
Seated behind his impressive drum kit, Barker filmed himself playing alongside Adele’s No. 1 single “Easy On Me.” Adding edge to Adele’s soaring vocals, Barker uses his percussive skills to take the song from a heart-tugging ballad to a roaring ballad. Barker went so hard on his drum kit that he even appeared to break one of his drum sticks near the end of the clip.
Ahead of Barker taking on a cover of Adele’s track, “Easy On Me” absolutely dominated the charts. The song was at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven weeks straight while her album, 30, was the best-selling album on vinyl in 2021 despite being released in October.
Watch Barker add his signature style to Adele’s “Easy On Me” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
We don’t talk enough about the meteoric rise of Chance the Rapper. Just 10 years ago, Chance was known less as “the rapper” and more as Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, a Chicago high school student who had been suspended for 10-days for marijuana possession. That 10-day suspension gave Chance the opportunity to drill down and focus on his passion for rap, giving the world his debut mixtape 10 Day, a release that put Chance’s name on everyone’s radar and even garnered comparisons to fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West.
He followed up that release just a year later with the modern classic, Acid Rap, and then the beloved ColoringBook, which led to more critical acclaim, a record label bidding war, and multiple tv appearances. Chance showed up on everything from The Eric Andre Show to Ellen DeGeneres, eventually landing a dual role as host and musical guest on SNL (he was also the Obama family’s favorite rapper and regular guest). By the decade’s end, Chance would score a small role in The Lion King, befriend and collaborate with his hero Kanye West (producing Kanye’s best late-period song, “Ultra Light Beam”) and serve as the new host of the relaunched Punk’d.
Even your grandma knows who Chance the Rapper is. And while that doesn’t sound like the coolest flex, it certainly signifies just how huge Chance has really become.
If those bonafides aren’t enough to convince you, Chance has now landed the ultimate collaboration — his very own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor — Mint Chocolate Chance. Now Lil’ Chano from 79th sits alongside other cultural giants like Jerry Garcia, Phish, and Stephen Colbert as his new flavor joins Ben & Jerry’s permanent roster of flavors.
But is Mint Chocolate Chance any good? We tried the new ice cream flavor to find out!
Mint Chocolate Chance
Dane Rivera
Mint Chocolate Chance, perhaps unsurprisingly, features a cool and refreshing mint chocolate base with chunks of brownie bites inside. Think mint chocolate chip ice cream with the chips replaced by giant pieces of soft, fudgy brownie. The flavor was apparently inspired by Chance’s childhood practice of mixing his favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream with his mother’s homemade brownies.
“It amazes me that no one thought to combine brownies and mint chocolate chip and I can’t wait to share it with everyone,” Chance said of the new flavor.
He’s right — how the hell is this a new flavor? It seems like one of the most obvious flavor combinations of all time! So it shouldn’t surprise you when I say that it works, because Mint Chocolate Chance is goddamn (forgive me Chance) delicious. The ice cream is wonderfully rich and creamy, it’s so thick and dense that it actually bent my spoon the first time I tried to scoop it out of the pint. Use an ice cream scooper. The brownies are sourced from New York’s Greyston Bakery, which prides itself on its use of real quality ingredients, and that commitment to craft shines through here.
Dane Rivera
A lot of times ice cream fillings, while always appreciated, are of subpar quality. It’s easy to hide grainy cookie dough or a subpar almond under layers of sweet, rich ice cream, who’s going to notice? Me, that’s who. So I’m really loving how good these brownie bites are, they are somehow still soft despite being totally frozen. It’s not quite as delicious as adding a warm fresh-baked brownie to your bowl of ice cream, but it comes pretty damn close. The mix of brownie and mint tastes like the best Andes mint you’ve ever had.
If your mouth is watering but ice cream is something you can only stomach a spoonful at a time, you’ll be happy to know Mint Chocolate Chance is also available in non-dairy form. The dairy-free version is made utilizing sunflower butter, which helps to keep the ice cream dense and creamy and not weird and icy like most dairy-free ice creams tend to be. The flavor isn’t quite as good though, it’s a bit duller in comparison to the OG Mint Chocolate Chance. Maybe that’s something I wouldn’t notice if I wasn’t eating them side by side, but I’m not about to sit here and tell you they taste nearly the same, they don’t really.
Dane Rivera
As is the case with most celebrity Ben & Jerry’s flavors, a percentage of sales of Mint Chocolate Chance will go to charity, in this case, Chance’s own five-year-old non-profit SocialWorks, which concerns itself with empowering Chicago youth through arts, education, and civic engagement, with programming that focuses on education, homelessness, mental health, and performing and literary arts.
Chance, who cut his teeth at open mics at libraries and after-school programs alongside fellow Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, has come full-circle in his career. Scoring his own delicious ice cream flavor from one of the most well-loved ice cream brands in the country feels like a fitting trophy as he approaches the ten-year anniversary of his first mixtape.
The Bottom Line:
A great addition to Ben & Jerry’s permanent lineup but opt for the dairy version over its less flavorful dairy-free counterpart. Imagine the thickest, creamiest mint chocolate ice cream you’ve ever had with big fudge brownies bites in each bite. Simple. Easy. Delicious.
We’ve seen people call into news stations to complain about news anchors for unbelievable reasons before, from complaints about clothing choices to judgments about body size. Now we can add being “very Asian” to the list. Yes, seriously.
Michelle Li is an award-winning Asian American reporter and news anchor for NBC St. Louis. On New Year’s Day, in a segment about traditional new year food dishes, she shared, “I ate dumpling soup. That’s what a lot of Korean people do.”
Neat, right? A cool cultural tradition to learn about if someone wasn’t already familiar with it.
Or, if you’re the sad woman who called into the station to complain, an “offensive” statement Li should have kept to herself. Yes, really.
Li shared a recording of the woman’s one-minute call, in which she said she was “offended” by Li sharing her tradition. “I don’t think it was appropriate that she said that, and she’s being very Asian…she can keep her Korean to herself.”
Iu2019d love to say something back.pic.twitter.com/zrXgiwQbR9
The woman’s insistence that a white person couldn’t say something similar about a cultural tradition makes no sense, of course. If an anchor had Irish ancestry and said that their family ate corned beef and cabbage because that’s a traditional new year’s meal in Ireland, would they be fired? Um, no. How this woman confused a specific cultural tradition with someone making a generalization about white people is baffling, and her complaining about an Asian American “being very Asian” is even more so.
The responses were swift and supportive.
Some support came in the form of sarcasm.
Haha I mean who does not like a dumpling. Whatu2019s she gonna say next? She hates noodles?!
Hi Twitter support. One of youru2026um very asianu2026 twitterers tweeted about eating dumplings. Iu2019m offended. I mean what if a white person just decided to share their dietary opinions? They would probably be blocked or harassed. Right @RadioFreeTom?
My parents are white and we are a #veryasian family! — Michelle (@Michelle) 1641138216
As a #VeryAsian journalist and mentor, I like taking young journalists out for #VeryAsian dumplings at Hello Dumpling in East Dallas. Oh, yeah, some of the young journalists are also #VeryAsian. @KalleyHuang @julianna_morano @praveenavsoma @zaynasyed_ https://twitter.com/MichelleLiTV/status/1477493641732149248u00a0u2026pic.twitter.com/v21cOLavdr
In fact, the phrase caught on like wildfire, resulting in “Very Asian” merch for a good cause.
The response to #VeryAsian has been AMAZING…nnA lot of you asked for ways to support. Well, @Gia_Vang + I heard you: http://veryasian.usu00a0nnYou can buy a wearable but be quick – up for a limited time. All proceeds go to @aaja after costs to support #AAPI journalists. 1/2pic.twitter.com/xyJ2mPKTyG
Along with another anchor, Gia Vang, Li created a website with shirts and hats with “Very Asian” on them, some of them in Li’s handwriting. For a limited time, people can buy these “Very Asian” wearables, with all proceeds going to the Asian American Journalists Association, an organization that supports Asian American journalists, works to advance diversity in newsrooms and strives to ensure fair and accurate coverage of communities of color.
They even have merch for #VeryAsian kids:
You asked, @Gia_Vang listened. Now little kid clothes for the lil dumpling in your life.nnAgain, limited sale… all proceeds go to @aaja after costs!pic.twitter.com/YV0D324xbI
If someone is going to complain about a woman doing her job and being herself simply because she is of Asian descent, at least some good can come out of it. Michelle Li should not have been subjected to that woman’s racism, but it’s heartening to see how she and those who support her take that lemon and make lemonade from it.
To donate directly to the Asian American Journalists Association, go here.
From a young age, Deddeh Howard was enthralled by fashion and its role in culture. Unfortunately, she was never really able to see herself in it.
“Something that always bothered me when you see these amazing images [was] that very rarely you ever see a black woman on them,” Howard, who grew up in West Africa but now resides in Los Angeles, wrote at her blog, Secret of DD.
“Black girls are almost invisible,” she wrote.
So Howard created “Black Mirror,” a photo series in which she re-creates famous photos with herself in place of models like Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Gisele Bundchen, and others.
Howard’s partner, Raffael Dickreuter, shot the series. As its title suggests, it holds a “black mirror” up to the fashion world. The project’s goal is both to make people notice the lack of diversity in the fashion world and to provide inspiration to other non-white models.
Of the models featured on the fall 2016 runways, 75% were white. There’s a major need for a diversity boost.
Sometimes, that lack of diversity can be downright embarrassing. Earlier this year, one fashion show featured models walking to Beyoncé’s “Formation,” a song Essence described as a “wholly and undeniable a tribute to Blackness — particularly Black girl power.” The problem: The show didn’t feature a single non-white model.
Diversity, representation, and visibility play key roles in shaping ambition and self-acceptance in the real world.
It’s important to be able to see yourself in the world, and it’s important to know that someone who looks like you can succeed.
“The next generation can only get inspired and reach for the stars themselves if they believe they can do it too,” Howard wrote on her blog. “For that reason diversity in ad campaigns is in my opinion much more important than you might think.”
Donald Trump is predictably firing back at the latest batch of Sean Hannity texts revealed by the January 6 committee. In the newest round of texts, a frantic Hannity tries to convince White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senator Jim Jordan to keep Trump quiet after the attack on the U.S. Capitol building. In fact, Hannity is insistent that Trump should go back to Florida and lie low until Joe Biden is inaugurated. The texts also revealed that Hannity was failing to get through to Trump about the seriousness of the attempted coup.
“Guys, we have a clear path to land the plane in 9 days. He can’t mention the election again. Ever,” Hannity texted. “I did not have a good call with him today. And worse, I’m not sure what is left to do or say, and I don’t like not knowing if it’s truly understood. Ideas?”
Trump, however, has naturally fired back on Hannity’s assertion that he should’ve remained quiet after the January 6 attack. “I disagree with Sean on that statement and the facts are proving me right,” Trump told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins in a statement.
Trump is now responding to the Hannity texts released by the Jan. 6 committee, including when he told Mark Meadows that Trump should stop talking about the election. “I disagree with Sean on that statement and the facts are proving me right,” Trump tells me, via a spokesman.
As for whether there will be repercussions for Hannity’s texts with Trump during the January 6 insurrection, c’mon, this is Fox News we’re talking about.
remember when it was revealed chris cuomo had been texting his brother about sexual assault crimes and cnn fired him and then it was revealed sean hannity had been texting the president about overthrowing the government and fox news was like we’ll see you at 9pm.
A few months ago, it was revealed that standout Niger rock group Mdou Moctar would be joining Parquet Courts on their 2022 tour. Now, while the African band finds themselves on this side of the ocean, they’re going to go ahead and have a North American headlining tour of their own, as they announced today.
The group will be on the road with Parquet Courts from February 27 to March 18, but now they’ve added some solo dates before and after that run. They have shows in Rhode Island and Virginia on February 24 and 26, and then they have another run of shows in late March, including a stop at Tennessee’s Big Ears Festival.
The winter is filled with a seemingly endless supply of bold, robust, spiced, and deeply warming beer offerings. So we asked a handful of our favorite bartenders to tell us the beers they plan to drink this January, with temperatures plunging. Keep reading to see all of their selections.
Alaskan Smoked Porter is a seasonal and limited release that also brings a sense of nostalgia. There’s just enough smoke and sweetness that pairs well with rich holiday foods while not overwhelming the smoked nature of things.
I love to cozy up with an Edmund Fitzgerald Porter by Great Lakes Brewing Company. The bittersweet chocolate-coffee notes are delicious and perfect for a chilly winter night.
Cigar City Maduro
Cigar City
Juliana Ortiz, food and beverage manager at The Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida
Cigar City Maduro is a decadent brown ale with chocolate, toffee, and espresso flavors, it has a silky texture with woody aromas that make it a delicious beer for those seeking extra warmth.
St. Bernardus Abt 12
St. Bernardus
Nick du Mortier, lead mixologist at Bar Pendry in Chicago
St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a Belgian abbey ale, and, oh, does it feel like a malty caramel treat to savor. It has a heavy sipping quality to it. I like that I can take my time drinking it because it’s even better as it approaches room temperature.
Troegs Mad Elf
Troegs
Christopher Devern, lead bartender at Red Owl Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mad Elf by Troegs with its cherry, chocolate, and spices is my pick. Made in Pennsylvania, this eleven percent festive beer has flavors that remind me of a cherry pie. This is definitely a great beer to sit inside with and enjoy on a cold day.
My favorite accessible winter-style beer is the Jubelale from Deschutes Brewing. It is an English strong ale and it has notes of cocoa and toffee. It is rich and flavor-forward. It fills you up perfectly on cold, winter days.
Maplewood Brownie Points
Maplewood
Mark Phelan, beverage director at 16″ On Center in Chicago
Brown ales are my go-to when the temperature starts to dip, as their malty profile and extra body hold up well to sweater weather while staying lean enough to enjoy more than one. One of my favorites is Maplewood’s Brownie Points, which adds a little vanilla for an added layer of cold-weather flavor.
Samuel Adam’s Winter Lager is a seasonal beer that is released nationally around the time the weather starts to turn colder. Once the later months of the year approach and the sun goes down a little earlier, you know you can look forward to this seasonal rotation. The cinnamon, ginger, and orange flavors remind me of the comfort of gingerbread or carrot cake.
Founders Breakfast Stout
Founders
Jamie Shaw, beverage manager at Stella of New Hope in New Hope, Pennsylvania
I’m not a huge beer drinker, but I do look forward to winter for enjoying a good coffee stout or porter when the weather gets cold. It’s nice to sip on something rich and really flavorful. Founders Breakfast Stout is one of my favorites because of its dark chocolate, coffee, and bold malt flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island
Brandon Gomez, bar manager at Cuyama Buckhorn in New Cuyama, California
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is hands down the special release winter beer I look forward to every year. It is barrel-aged for more than a year. It is a healthy (depending on the release) 12-15 percent ABV and we serve it in both 4-ounce and 8-ounce snifters. It has a sweet raisin and caramel flavor, which is followed by a smokiness from the barrel aging.
This drink’s almost more like a dessert wine than a beer.
A beer I look forward to in winter is definitely the Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout. Not only bold and complex with delicious coffee notes but it also has a beautiful mouthfeel. It’s a great beer to drink on its own. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, mix it into a cocktail.
North Coast Old Rasputin
North Coast
Lee Noble, lead mixologist at Art in the Age in Philadelphia
The rich dark flavors of North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, combined with its higher alcohol content, make for a great belly warmer for cold nights. It’s dark, chocolatey, and bold enough for the bitterest of winter evenings.
I get a mixed response to this beer, but I absolutely love Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout out of San Diego. To me, it’s the peanut butter cup of beers, but something about it reminds me of my childhood when I would tear into those chocolate packages and shove the pieces in my mouth as I ran off to play with my friends.
The flavors of the dark rich beer take me to a place of nostalgia and just makes me happy.
Three Floyds Robert The Bruce
Three Floyds
Zach Wilks, bartender at Anthony’s Chophouse in Carmel, Indiana
Robert the Bruce from Three Floyds in Munster, Indiana might be my favorite beer of all time. It’s super malty and hearty with a great note of malt and dried fruit. It starts sweet and caramel-like and finishes with a bitter note that balances everything out.
In my opinion, it’s one of the best beers made in the United States.
Porters are best in cold weather and one I have a proclivity for their flavors, chocolate, coffee, vanilla. Here in at Devereaux, we serve the God Damn Pigeon Porter from Spiteful, all that plus a higher ABV to keep you toasty through the winter.
Guinness Stout
Guinness
Samantha Montgomery, beverage specialist and national brand ambassador at Bardstown Bourbon Company in Bardstown, Kentucky
I am such a sucker for a Guinness Stout in the winter. It’s the nostalgia of growing up watching my dad and his friends drink it around the table playing cards, the coziness of a dimly lit Irish pub on a cold winter night, and the way it drinks, of course, dark and smooth. I know that rich, heavy stouts are all the rage these days, but I prefer Guinness for its light-body and easy drinkability.
When the weather gets cold, I love a Belgian dubbel, such as Unibroue’s Maudite (from Quebec). It’s amber-colored and malty without the bitterness associated with darker beer styles.
When the cool weather starts to roll in, I look forward to drinking Monopolio Lager Negra. And it’s because it has a very strong classic, dark, and Pilsen flavor. It’s refreshing, malty, and great for cold-weather drinking.
Harpoon’s Winter Warmer is something I look forward to every year. It’s the perfect ale on a cold and snowy night. Every sip tastes like the perfect blend of holiday spice. It reminds me of my grandma’s homemade ginger snaps.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a fight to get a top-6 spot in the Western Conference and avoid the play-in tournament for the second year in a row. As of today, the team sits 20-19, which puts them in seventh place and jostling with two other teams — the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks — that are all 10.5 games behind the 1-seed.
While Anthony Davis is out with a sprained MCL, the team has struggled to meet its lofty expectations even when everyone is on the floor. Their paths to getting better via a trade are limited, as Davis and LeBron James are presumably untouchable and the roster possesses a ton of guys on minimum deals. Still, there are a handful of guys who Los Angeles could try to trade, and according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the franchise did its due diligence in trying to find a trade for the most high-profile of the bunch.
Amick reports that the Lakers made some calls about a potential deal involving offseason acquisition Russell Westbrook, but it does not sound like anything got too far off the ground.
All of which explains why sources say the Lakers showed some covert interest in discussing a possible Westbrook trade with rival executives earlier this season. A deal appears extremely unlikely before the Feb. 15 trade deadline, if only because his deal that was once seen by so many as untradeable is such a massive obstacle. But inside the Lakers, it seems, there is some recognition that this hasn’t gone as (James and Davis had) planned.
It had been reported earlier this season that L.A. discussed a trade for the former league MVP internally, but nothing beyond that. Westbrook only has one year remaining on his contract after the 2021-22 campaign, as he has a player option for next season that will pay him a little more than $47 million. It is worth mentioning that he’s been traded three times since it with into effect with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018 — first to the Houston Rockets, then to the Washington Wizards, and then to the Lakers — but it’s hard to imagine a trade where the Lakers could turn him into a player who can help without having to move other potential trade chips, like Talen Horton-Tucker or Kendrick Nunn.
On the year, Westbrook has averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in 35.8 minutes per game, and is one of two Lakers players who have suited up in every game this season.
The rollout for Gunna’s new mixtape, Drip Season 4, appears to be going smoothly. Just days after he announced the tape’s imminent release date — this Friday, January 7 — he revealed the elaborate cover art. Now, he’s also revealed the tracklist, which not only includes the previously released single “Too Easy” featuring Future and the remix with Roddy Ricch but also contains the collaborative track with Chloe Bailey he teased while refuting the dating rumors that circulated after he and the pop star were spotted at a basketball game together.
In addition to the above-mentioned tracks, there will also be guest appearances from a number of longtime collaborators and friends such as 21 Savage, Drake, G Herbo, Lil Baby, and Young Thug, as well as new collaborators Kodak Black and Yung Bleu. Clocking in at 20 tracks, the tape follows the contemporary trend of longer releases to generate more impressive streaming numbers.
Drip Season 4 will be Gunna’s first solo release since 2020’s Wunna, although he was extensively featured on the YSL Records compilation Slime Language 2 alongside the rest of Young Thug’s label signees. Ahead of the project’s release, the Atlanta native called it the final Drip Season tape.
Drip Season 4 is due 1/7 via 300 and Atlantic. You can pre-save it here.
Six-piece NYC-based collective MICHELLE captured hearts with their 2018 debut album Heatwave. Continuing to hone their refined harmonies and wistful melodies, MICHELLE are just weeks away from releasing their sophomore LP AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS, which they’ve already previewed with the wonderfully catchy tunes “SYNCOPATE” and “MESS U MADE.” Now, MICHELLE share another taste of their upcoming release with the new buoyant track “EXPIRATION DATE.”
Composed of musicians Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard, MICHELLE’s track “EXPIRATION DATE” takes the collective’s already awe-inspiring vocals to new heights. Over twinkling keys and R&B-inspired percussion, MICHELLE’s three singers deliver swirling melodies about enjoying a relationship while it still lasts.
Shortly after the release of their AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS and playing a few shows in the UK and Europe in February, MICHELLE are slated to hit the road with non-other than Mitski on her sold-out 2022 tour. They’ll open for the singer for a month-long stretch in March with stops in cities like Detroit, Nashville, and NYC. Ahead of their upcoming dates, MICHELLE were able to take the stage in 2021 opening for Arlo Parks and Gus Dapperton in venues across the US.
Listen to “EXPIRATION DATE” above.
AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS is out 1/28 via Canvasback Music/Transgressive. Pre-order it here.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
