Category: News

Two years ago, R. Kelly and Azriel Clary, one of the women allegedly part of his “sex cult,” appeared on CBS for an interview with Gayle King to defend Kelly from the renewed accusations against him that had arisen in the wake of the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries. Today, Clary returned for another sitdown with King, this time after testifying against Kelly in his New York sex trafficking and racketeering case.

Kelly was found guilty on all charges and awaits sentencing, meanwhile, in her new interview, Clary calls her previous appearance a “mistake” and admits that the singer told her what to say. “Before that interview, he had us practicing every single day,” she says. “Answering questions. And if he didn’t like our answers, he would tell us exactly what to say and how to say it, so any time you mentioned anything about sexual preference, we already know to say, ‘I’m not here to talk about that,’ because that’s what he told us to say every single time.”

However, she calls that 2019 interview “a blessing” because “For five years, since I was 17, I didn’t have any relationship with any other woman except for the women that [Kelly] had been intimate with. And so when I did that interview with you, I instantly regretted immediately how I reacted.” She says that seeing King remain poised, even in the face of a violent outburst from Kelly (that also went viral), Clary wondered to herself, “I used to be that poised, I used to be that calm, what happened to that girl?”

You can watch the full interview above.

The San Antonio Spurs technically participated in postseason basketball during the 2020-21 season. Granted, the Spurs lost by a narrow margin to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in, but San Antonio was at least competitive throughout the campaign injuries for Derrick White and a roster that was clearly in a period of transition. As the 2021-22 season approaches, a lot has changed in San Antonio, but Gregg Popovich returns to guide the ship and the Spurs have a bevy of young pieces that could provide a reasonably high floor.

Roster:

Al-Farouq Aminu
Keita Bates-Diop
Zach Collins
Drew Eubanks
Bryn Forbes
Keldon Johnson
Tre Jones
Jock Landale
Doug McDermott
Dejounte Murray
Jakob Poeltl
Josh Primo
Luka Samanic
Devin Vassell
Lonnie Walker
Derrick White
Joe Wieskamp
Thaddeus Young

Projected Vegas Win Total: 28.5 wins

Biggest Addition: Thaddeus Young and Doug McDermott

The Spurs changed a lot of their roster, but they didn’t make huge splashes in terms of additions. One could make a case for Josh Primo as a lottery pick, but he is a couple of years away and wasn’t a consensus top prospect. Young arrives as part of a trade and, while he is getting up there in age, he is a tremendous defender who should provide value. San Antonio went out of its way to secure McDermott’s services in free agency, and he is a knockdown shooter that any team could use.

Biggest Loss: DeMar DeRozan

DeRozan is a polarizing player, simply due to his interesting offensive game and defensive weaknesses. However, the Spurs will badly miss his offensive creation. San Antonio built a lot of their offensive approach around him the last few years, and DeRozan is a proven scorer that improved as a distributor during his time with the Spurs. It will be interesting to see how they replace his production.

Biggest Question: What is the long-term direction in San Antonio?

After two decades of stability and one of the best prolonged runs in NBA history, the Spurs have finished below the .500 mark in back-to-back seasons. On top of that, San Antonio doesn’t have a single “star” in the pipeline, even on a team that does have talented players at various positions. That combination is treacherous in the modern NBA, and the Spurs have one of the best head coaches of all-time on the bench that may not want to endure a full-blown rebuild. San Antonio probably has to pick a direction, and this season could paint the picture.

What Makes This Season A Success

Overall, the biggest success would probably be picking a direction, whether it be pushing in chips for now pushing them away for later. Aside from that, a reasonable goal for the Spurs would be competing for the play-in. With a projected win total in the high 20’s, that may seem lofty, but San Antonio has reason to believe they can defend, and there are enough young players where a few could break out.

What Makes This Season A Failure

If the Spurs win 28 games and don’t have a premium player to build around, it might feel pretty bleak. That isn’t necessarily an overwhelmingly likely outcome, but it’s definitely a plausible one. The other problem with winning ~30 games would be that there would be fewer ping-pong balls than several other teams when trying to secure that elusive (and important) top-three lottery pick.

Matthew Hughes, the man who broke into Eminem’s home last year after stalking him for nearly a year before that, was sentenced to five years probation and time served after pleading “no contest” to the charge of second-degree home invasion, according to the Associated Press. Hughes was originally charged with first-degree home invasion, malicious destruction of property, and assault of a jail employee.

Those charges were dismissed with his plea of “no contest,” which is treated as a guilty plea except in civil cases, meaning Eminem wouldn’t be able to use his plea in a potential lawsuit. It doesn’t seem like one would be forthcoming, however, as AP notes that Eminem was satisfied with the outcome. Hughes “said little at the hearing” and reportedly wasn’t completely coherent during his presentencing statement, according to his lawyer.

Eminem caught Hughes breaking into his house in Macomb County in the middle of the night last year when Hughes broke a kitchen window while security guards slept. The rapper discovered the intruder in his living room, where he told the 28-year-old to leave and called security, who held Hughes until police arrived. According to testimony, Hughes allegedly told Eminem he was in the house to kill him, but fortunately, didn’t follow through on the threat. It was later revealed that he’d tried to find Eminem’s home before, trying two properties previously owned by the rapper before finally finding the right place.

Sean Hannity’s the King of Distraction whenever Republicans act up in a very prominent way and get called out for it. One only needs to witness his notorious habit of cutting to high speed car chases (that should have no bearing for a national audience), which is what he did during the height of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. This week, he’s dodging a few things, including Corey Lewandowski’s expulsion from “Trump World” following sexual harassment allegations. And Hannity would also like us to ignore how Republicans are stonewalling with their refusal to raise the debt ceiling, which could spark a global financial catastrophe.

What’s Hannity covering instead? He led with the congressional baseball claim, which is where he claimed that President Biden was “greeted by chorus of boos.”

Of course, it sure didn’t seem like Hannity was telling the truth.

Because there was quite an audibly positive response, too, when Biden and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi arrived in the house.

In fact, the clip that Hannity played to make his case for “a chorus of boos” (upon Biden’s arrival) actually revealed a lot more cheering than jeering.

That doesn’t matter for Sean Hannity. He had more important work to do, like talking about the location of Obama’s library in Chicago.

The library (which has been five years in the making) has been controversial because the library’s embracing digitalization and because of the neighborhood where it’s located, but it’s surely not as far-reaching in implications as the GOP scandals going around this week. Yet Hannity’s gonna Hannity.

Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items — songs, albums, books, films, you name it — of the month.

1. Low, “All Night”

Likely my favorite song of the year, and it comes from likely my favorite album of the year. Low has been a well-respected indie institution shepherded by the husband-and-wife team of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker for nearly three decades, but they are now making the greatest music of their lives. I can’t think of another legacy act who has pulled off a transformation so incredible at this point in their career. As producer B.J. Burton put it to me in an interview published this week, “Alan and Mim have this vibe that they write these songs from heaven.” And then they tasked Burton to take them into hell. If this isn’t in the trailer for the next Safdie Brothers movie, somebody messed up.

2. David Bowie’s “Life On Mars?” in the Licorice Pizza trailer

Speaking of trailers, there was some grumbling online about using this Hunky Dory classic in the thoroughly charming teaser for the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie. “Too obvious!” the social media critics railed. I am a firm believer that we are all entitled to our own opinions. However, in the case of the Licorice Pizza trailer, I’ll just say this: If you watched that knowing PTA’s history of never being obvious or predictable in his actual films — advertisements are a different story, of course — and you still decided to do the knee-jerk killjoy act, I’m sorry, but your opinion-having privileges have been temporarily suspended.

3. Aeon Station, “Queens”

Back in January, I interviewed Charles Bissell of legendary New Jersey indie band the Wrens. At the time, it appeared that their long, loooooong awaited follow-up to the 2003 masterpiece The Meadowlands might finally see release this year. Flash forward nine months and — surprise, surprise! — there’s no new Wrens album. But there will be a new record from the other main songwriter in the Wrens, Kevin Whelan, in the form of splinter act, Aeon Station, which will release Observatory in December. But what about Bissell? In our interview, he was optimistic about putting out the music … eventually? “I think this record will come out and I’m proud of it, I think,” he said. “It’s pretty good, I think.” Fingers crossed!

4. Tonstartssbandht, “What Has Happened”

This Florida-based duo — it’s pronounced “Tone-starts-band-hut,” by the way — has been highly prolific since forming in 2008, putting out a whopping 17 records. But the forthcoming Petunia is their first since 2017, and it feels like a potential breakthrough, with the excellent new single “What Has Happened” sounding like a jammier Radiohead during their Hail To The Thief era.

5. Andy Shauf, Wilds

When I spoke with this understated, story-oriented singer-songwriter in 2020, he revealed that he wrote 50 songs for The Neon Skyline, his concept album about a neighborhood bar and the patrons who drink there. He said it was part of a process in which he slowly pieced together an over-arching story. “I would write a batch where one main point has to happen, and then write four songs in that direction, and then be like, ‘Oh, that’s terrible,’” he said. “Then those songs are scrapped and I have to write four more.” Nine of those leftover songs ended up on Wilds, a surprise companion LP that works surprisingly well outside of The Neon Skyline despite revisiting the same characters. It helps that Schauf is as skilled at producing gloriously retro instrumental tones as he is at spinning evocative narratives.

6. The War On Drugs, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”

One of my favorite songs on the forthcoming War On Drugs album, which is also titled I Don’t Live Here Anymore. If I were a nitpicker, I would point out that it’s really hard to dance to “Desolation Row.” But I am not a nitpicker when it comes to this song, probably because the “Shelter From The Storm” subtweet at the start totally disarms me.

7. Karen Dalton: In My Own Time

A strikingly beautiful folk singer with an unusual, otherworldly blues voice that’s been likened to Billie Holiday, Karen Dalton is precisely the sort of hard-luck musician who seemed predestined for cult obscurity. A contemporary of Bob Dylan in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 1960s, Dalton released just two studio albums, 1969’s It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best and 1971’s In My Own Time, before substance abuse problems torpedoed her career. In 1993, she died from an AIDS-related illness. She was only 55. Since then, her music has become a touchstone for younger generations of indie-folk artists like Joanna Newsom and Devandra Banhart. But she remains largely unknown, without the mainstream exposure that made Nick Drake a posthumous star. Hopefully, this documentary (which premieres Friday) will help to rectify that. Part of the mystery of Dalton is that there’s so little video footage of her, but In My Own Time crucially helps to fill in some of those gaps. Even if you already know and love Dalton’s music, the film will feel like a fresh introduction.

8. Pastor T.L. Barrett And The Youth For Christ Choir, I Shall Wear A Crown

Listening to Karen Dalton inevitably sends the mind and spirit down some dark corridors. So, I recommend playing this wondrous five-LP box set as a chaser. Barrett and choir — made up entirely of teenagers — originally released the rousing Like A Ship … in 1971, though it wasn’t widely heard until the essential reissue label Light In The Attic put it out in 2010. It achieved a measure of notoriety when Kanye West sampled a song on The Life Of Pablo, but much of the pop gospel gems on I Shall Wear A Crown remain ripe for discovery. Employing bright, jazzy piano chords, splashy horns, and funky guitar against a chorus of life-affirming voices, this is simply some of the sunniest and uplifting music you will wear this year. Guaranteed to put any and all listeners in a good mood.

9. Silverbacks, “Wear My Medals”

There’s been no shortage of talky post-punk bands to emerge from Europe in recent years. But Ireland’s own Silverbacks leaven the usual formula — spiky guitars, dead-eyed vocals, chaotic rhythms — with bursts of sunny, ’60s-style guitar pop melody. You can hear this on the winning new single “Wear My Medals.”

10. Donald Fagen, The Nightfly: Live

There are two Steely Dan-related live albums that dropped this month — the greatest hits-oriented Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! and this revisiting of Fagen’s 1982 debut. In truth, they’re both Fagen solo records, in which the 73-year-old is backed by disgustingly skilled players. It’s just that Northeast Corridor sticks with the brand. Not that I’m complaining — I am of course an unrepentant Dan-head so I dig both albums. Though it’s still a little weird to me to hear a Steely Dan record without the other half of Steely Dan, Walter Becker, who passed away in 2017. Apparently it’s weird for Fagen, too, according to this excellent interview published this month: “I was used to trying to keep things afloat. Though the fact that he simply isn’t there is kind of frightening. But in a way he’s always there. He’s in my body, we’ve been together for so long, he’s like my brother, you know.” Gulp.

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

When we wrote about the best items in video games there were some glaring, but intentional, omissions. For example, we didn’t include a single “item” from the Mario series. That’s because all those items that Mario uses are actually power-ups, and before we could ever do a best power-ups list, we had to first address the elephant in the room. Mario has the best power-ups in video games, all of them fun, creative, and designed with the levels in mind.

To avoid a best power-ups list being dominated by Mario, we decided to give him his own list first. So with that in mind, here are the best power-ups our favorite Italian plumber has used in his long and storied video game career.

Power Star, Super Mario Bros.

Honestly, there is no comparison. The best power-up Mario ever got was the power star from the original Super Mario Bros. The concept of it is simple: Mario becomes invincible once he collects the star and every enemy he touches is immediately defeated. The player will know their star power has run out when the invincibility music ends and the glow surrounding Mario goes away. However, lots of games have done invincibility before, so what is it that makes the Power Star so special? It really has to do with what the star became in later games.

While the star began as nothing more than a power-up for Mario, it eventually became one of the most important items in the Mario universe. In Super Mario 64, Mario has to collect them to complete levels and defeat Bowser. Every level in Super Mario Galaxy ends with him getting a star. In Mario Party, the player who wins is the one with the most stars. No power-up in the Mario universe has become as important as the power star. Add in how practical it’s been in every game and it’s clearly the best Mario power-up.

Fire Flower, Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. really brought out all the hits, didn’t it? Another series staple, the Fire Flower became a favorite for anyone that played a Mario game because of how powerful it was. While the mushroom gave Mario an extra hit, the fire flower gave him powerful projectiles capable of destroying most enemies in one hit. It was even capable of destroying Bowser if you hit him enough times with fireballs.

The Fire Flower was so perfect the first go-around that it rarely changed anytime it made later appearances. It’s largely seen as Mario’s most iconic power-up. It’s his special item in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, he fires a super fireball in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it’s one of his specialty moves in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. Mario and fireballs are a perfect match.

Tanooki Suit, Super Mario Bros. 3

When Super Mario Bros. came out alongside the original NES, it was this incredibly innovative game that spawned dozens of games trying to emulate the formula. Even now, the original game’s formula can still be seen in parts of every side-scrolling platform, but only one game managed to perfect it. That would be Super Mario Bros 3., Mario’s third and final adventure on the NES which saw the developers let their creativity run wild with a map, slightly branching pathways, and easily Mario’s biggest adventure yet. It also spawned many great power-ups.

The one that stood above the rest though was the Tanooki Suit. While many American players didn’t know what a Tanooki was, they all immediately saw the power of the suit. It featured the ability to float and fly just like the Super Leaf power-up, but it also allowed players to turn themselves into an invincible statue. This allowed Mario to avoid almost all hazards by either flying, turning into stone, or destroying whatever was in his path. This power-up was so powerful that it, unfortunately, didn’t make another appearance until Super Mario 3D Land beyond a few references in some spin-off games.

Cape Feather, Super Mario World

What if you took the power-ups of the Super Leaf from Super Mario Bros 3., added the ability to fly continuously, and gave Mario a cape like some kind of superhero? Well, you would get the Cape Feather from Super Mario World. This power-up does lose points because it’s so similar to the power-up from the third game, but this has two distinct advantages. One is that a cape looks cooler than a raccoon suit, but the actual reason is that the cape gives particularly skilled players the ability to fly almost forever.

A skilled Mario World player can fly practically across entire levels using only the cape. Only players that have mastered the mechanics can unlock every single secret. This skill gap represents one of the best parts of all the Mario games. They’re all extremely accessible to anyone that wants to play the game for fun, but the best players that want to complete it 100 percent will need to master everything. That’s something we still see in Mario games today.

Cat Suit, Super Mario 3D World

When Mario made his jump to the world of 3D, his reliance on power-ups decreased drastically. Sure, we saw some cool ones like the Wing Cap and the Ice Flower, but none of them had quite the same feeling that those original NES and SNES games created. That changed with the Cat Suit in Super Mario 3D World. This suit allows Mario to, as the name suggests, turn into a cat and gain cat-like powers. He can climb, claw at enemies, and can run around on all fours. It sounds silly, but it’s an incredibly satisfying power-up to use and lets the developers get really creative in their level design.

The Cat Suit was such a fun and silly idea that it was easy to gravitate to. Its power-up even became a part of 100 percenting the game — anyone who wants to complete the game has to land on the top of every single flagpole on every level. Doing so will unlock a new world and bragging rights, but with the Cat Suit, the player can easily scamper up the flagpole to finish levels. This goes back to the earlier mentioned fun of Mario games. They’re accessible and fun to play, but only those who are willing to put in the sometimes ridiculous amount of work get to unlock the secrets. The Cat Suit, and Mario 3D World, is another great example of that.

While donning a catty gossip persona on Wednesday night’s episode of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah roasted Mitch McConnell for his frustrating, yet wildly predictable refusal to help the Democrats raise the debt ceiling and keep the government funded. Despite the fact that the Democrats worked with McConnell when they were the minority party, the congressional turtle has always been about obstructing the opposition party at every possible turn. It’s the kind of hot gossip you’d love to dish if millions of American weren’t depending on the government staying open especially during a pandemic.

Here’s Noah dragging McConnell on being his usual “catty” self:

“Mitch McConnell, you are one catty b*tch — and I love it. Mitch is bringing the best kind of dramas to this fight — the pointless kind. I mean, does he have any reason to block this bill? No. Is he doing it anyway? Oh, hell yeah. He’s sending back his steak at a restaurant even though it’s cooked perfectly because Mitch knows that sometimes eating out isn’t about the meal. It’s about fighting with that sexy chef.”

While that was a light roasting, Noah twisted the knife in the back end of his segment where he called out McConnell for basically not giving a crap what happens if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

“And let me tell you, Mitch does not care that the Democrats helped him raise the ceiling when he was the HBIC,” Noah quipped while still in character. “You think he’s losing sleep over this? No, no. My man is sleeping good using a pile of his own face skin as a pillow. Trust me.”

The Sacramento Kings have the NBA’s longest playoff drought, missing the postseason every year since 2006. Over that 15-year period, the Kings have endured some dark days, but Sacramento does have reasons to be excited before the 2021-22 campaign. De’Aaron Fox returns as the team’s centerpiece at point guard, with 2021 lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton flashing all kinds of signs in his rookie season. After a relatively quiet offseason, the Kings will lean on internal development in this year’s playoff push, and they will attempt to build from a 31-41 campaign.

Roster:

Marvin Bagley
Harrison Barnes
Terence Davis
De’Aaron Fox
Tyrese Haliburton
Moe Harkless
Buddy Hield
Richaun Holmes
Damian Jones
Louis King
Alex Len
Chimezie Metu
Davion Mitchell
Neemias Queta
Jahmi’us Ramsey
Emanuel Terry
Tristan Thompson
Robert Woodard

Projected Vegas Win Total: 36.5 wins

Biggest Addition: Davion Mitchell

The Kings didn’t do much on the veteran market, at least outside of strengthening their backup center spot with Tristan Thompson and Alex Len. Sacramento did use a lottery pick on Mitchell, though, and he profiles as a rookie that is better suited to helping a team immediately than most of his counterparts. Mitchell may not have incredibly high upside, but he is a high-energy guard who can really defend, and he is famously competitive after leading Baylor to a national title. His development will be interesting to monitor.

Biggest Loss: Delon Wright

Just as the Kings weren’t terribly active in adding players, they didn’t lose much, either. Wright is the highest profile player that goes out the door, but he played fewer than 700 minutes for the Kings last season. Wright is a very competent rotation guard, but they have plenty in the backcourt with Fox, Haliburton, and Mitchell.

Biggest Question: How does the backcourt rotation shake out?

Sacramento’s best player is a point guard in De’Aaron Fox. Sacramento’s best returning youngster is a combo guard in Tyrese Haliburton. Sacramento’s lottery pick is a point guard in Davion Mitchell. Sacramento’s best shooter is a one-position player (at the shooting guard spot) in Buddy Hield. It isn’t necessarily a problem to have quality guard options, but Luke Walton will have his hands full juggling lineups. That is particularly true on the defensive end, where the Kings were horrid for much of last season.

What Makes This Season A Success

A trip to the play-in. Sacramento probably can’t aim for a top-six spot with any realistic tenor, but the Kings’ over/under should put them in the play-in range. The Kings won’t be picked by many to reach the top ten in the loaded Western Conference, but development from Fox and Haliburton, coupled with Hield, Harrison Barnes, and Richaun Holmes, should get them to respectability.

What Makes This Season A Failure

It isn’t this simple, but if the Kings repeat a 31-win season, or something worse, it will feel brutal. Walton isn’t the most highly regarded tactician, and the Kings aren’t overflowing with depth. Things could spiral if they get an injury or two to the top guys and, as noted above, Sacramento was brutal defensively a year ago. It is difficult to win as much as you lose if you have the league’s worst defense, so improvement will be needed on that end.

Shakira was recently on a nature walk with her eight-year-old son in a Barcelona park when the unthinkable happened: She was attacked by a couple of wild boars. Thankfully, the singer and her son left the incident unharmed, but the animals did manage to steal some of the singer’s personal items.

Shakira detailed the bizarre series of events on her Instagram Stories. According to NME, the animals took off into the woods with her bag, which had her phone in it, and “destroyed everything.” She was eventually able to recover the purse, which was left completely torn, but told her followers she “stood up” to the animals during the attack.

Though the situation could be written off as a freak accident, wild boars are actually a huge problem in certain parts of the world. They are listed as an invasive species and are estimated to have populations of over 10 million in Europe alone. Barcelona itself has been dealing with the animal for years and Shakira’s incident was just the latest in a string of attacks in the city. Per a report from BBC, Barcelona’s police department has received about 1,187 phone calls about wild boar attacks since 2016. Previous calls to police have reported that the animals have attacked dogs, destroyed cat-feeders, and held up traffic by running into the city streets. Back in 2013, an officer even tried to take matters into their own hands by firing a gun at a boar, but ending up accidentally shooting their partner instead.

One of Quentin Tarantino’s trademarks as a director, outside of trunk POV shots and great soundtracks, is feet. There is so much foot stuff in his movies. It’s there in Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown, and both Kill Bill volumes, and Death Proof, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood when Sharon Tate, played by Margot Robbie, watches her own movie in a theater. QT has heard your fetish jokes, and he’s (mostly) fine with them.

“I don’t take it seriously. There’s a lot of feet in a lot of good directors’ movies. That’s just good direction,” Tarantino told GQ. “Like, before me, the person foot fetishism was defined by was Luis Buñuel, another film director. And Hitchcock was accused of it and Sofia Coppola has been accused of it.” I didn’t realize that about the director of The Virgin Suicides, so I did a Google search for “Sofia Coppola feet” and (not to kink shame or anything but!) now I’ve seen some Twitter accounts that I wish I could un-see.

After winning Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at the 2020 SAG Awards, Brad Pitt made light of Tarantino’s obsession. “I want to thank my co-stars: Leo, Margot Robbie, Margot Robbie’s feet, Margaret Qualley’s feet, Dakota Fanning’s feet. Seriously, Quentin has separated more women from their shoes than the TSA,” he joked. Robbie was amused by his speech, but was Tarantino? I guess we’ll find out when Pitt either is or isn’t cast in the director’s rumored final movie.

(Via GQ)