The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons had a potential breakthrough in the disgruntled guard’s return to the organization on Friday morning. Simmons reportedly showed up to practice, said everyone (including himself) has to accept responsibility for how things have gone in Philly, and expressed that while he wants to play, he’s not mentally ready to do that.
Whether or not Simmons plays for the Sixers, of course, is a different story — he has been steadfast in saying he has no intention of ever taking the floor for the franchise again — but after months of things being messy between the two sides, this is the exceedingly rare step in a positive direction. And while it may take some time for Simmons to get to a place where he thinks he can perform to the standard he thinks is necessary, one of his teammates is willing to wait.
Tobias Harris took to Twitter after the reports of Simmons’ meeting came out and made clear that the locker room is going to embrace Simmons with open arms whenever he’s ready to play.
And we’ll respect his privacy and space during this time. When he’s ready, we will embrace our brother with love and handle our business on the court. That’s it, that’s all. https://t.co/eardjmQbz8
Philly will play its first home game of the regular season on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets. Simmons is not expected to play, although it remains to be seen if he will be in attendance.
What a difference pissing off the vice president with a couple of positive COVID tests can make! On the morning of Friday, September 24th, chaos erupted on the set of The View when co-hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin received positive COVID test results—live, on air—and were immediately ejected from the studio. It didn’t help that this all happened just ahead of welcoming Vice President Kamala Harris, who was waiting backstage, to the show. And rumors soon began swirling that the VP’s team was none too happy with the ladies of The View for putting Harris in harm’s way. Ultimately, the blame for the gaffe had to be put on someone, and Daily Beast is reporting that that someone is Wendy Livingston, the show’s health and safety manager.
According to the site: “Prior to the televised meltdown, which featured hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin being abruptly yanked off-air minutes before a live interview with the vice president, Livingston oversaw The View’s regular testing of all personnel as well as its adherence to coronavirus protocols. But the registered nurse has since stopped performing her medical duties with the show, two people with knowledge of the matter said, though she remains a network employee.”
An ABC spokesperson was quick to weigh in and assure the Daily Beast that Livingston was not being used as a scapegoat, assuring the site that: “Wendy has not been fired. She remains a part of the health & safety team supporting testing and vaccine verification.”
Just, maybe, far from the set of The View. Where, back in May, the ladies actually paid tribute to Livingston—whom they called a “health care hero” and their “own Florence Nightingale.”
History was admittedly never my best subject, but I don’t remember the world thanking Florence Nightingale for her service by throwing her under a bus.
Even today, nearly a year later, hearing the words “Four Seasons Total Landscaping” is enough to elicit hilarious laughter from even the most typically staid human being.
In the midst of all the chaos and calls for recounts following the 2020 presidential election, the sheer idiocy that led to Rudy Giuliani attempting to look like a serious man working for a serious client while holding a press conference next to a shop full of dildos with forever live in the memories of those who witnessed, as well as in LEGO form. And now, according to The Hill, Four Seasons Total Documentary—a documentary special detailing how the political f*ck-up of the century happened—will premiere on MSNBC exactly one year to the day this infamous moment went down.
You might be wondering: How the hell can someone make a whole film about this major embarrassment? Well, the film was directed by Christopher Stoudt, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who just happened to know Four Seasons Total Landscaping’s sales director. “As it developed, it felt like this Holy Grail of a moment to be so close to, and I feel as though I won the lottery in terms of my access to it,” Stoudt said, according to The Hill.
“At face value, you could perceive it as being a challenge to bring it to the screen,” Stoudt continued. But his goal was to answer the question on everyone’s mind: How could such a massive blunder happen to the President of the United States, and wasn’t there any way to fix it? The director says he wanted to get “to the root of why it happened from the perspective of people that were there. So the goal was always to lean into the perspectives of the actual people that were experiencing it.”
The film, which is only 30 minutes long, will also delve into how the company itself was able to benefit from the epic snafu. That, to Stoudt, makes it a true “underdog story [about] a group of people in ridiculous circumstances, and who are fighting for their survival to try to get out of it.”
If that’s not enough to sell you, Stoudt also promises that “It’s the best film ever made about a landscaping company.” Sold!
Four Seasons Total Documentary is set to air on MSNBC on November 7, 2021 at 10 p.m.
With the artist formerly known as Kanye West running around in spooky masks weeks before Halloween and pulling other attention-grabbing stunts like renting a room at the stadium in which he held the listening events for his latest album, it’s getting harder and harder to understand where the once-relatable artist is coming from. However, if anyone were to have a shot at coming close, it would be one of the two artists who most recently worked with West to secure a No. 1 hit record.
In a new interview with British GQ, Jack Harlow — who worked with Kanye West and Lil Nas X on the hit single “Industry Baby” — takes a stab at explaining Ye’s oddball behavior of late. “I think he sees himself as Mozart or Beethoven,” he guesses. “I think he’s worried, not about what it looks like now but what it will look like in 100 years. Take what happened with the Taylor Swift situation: at the time it was all pitchforks, but now people treat that as iconic. I am always fascinated to see what he does next. This Donda roll-out, people are going to remember that for years.”
People may remember the rollout, but the music itself received a lukewarm reception from both critics and fans. You can read Uproxx’s review here. Elsewhere in Jack’s interview, he addresses his often fraught relationship with race as a white hip-hop artist. “I think what has worked for me is that my music has never been about the fact that I am white,” he hypothesizes. “I don’t try to lean into the, ‘Hey, I’m the white boy.’ I try not to make it a novelty. I rap from the heart, rather than trying to do a white version of the art form.”
While bourbon barrel-aged stouts seem to get all the press these days, nearly every other beer style is also getting the barrel-aged treatment. Wine, port, sherry, and rye whiskey barrelled-beers have all been making appearances on store shelves, with one-off specialty barrels in the mix too. There’s a wonderland of barrel-aged suds out there to explore.
Skip Schwartz, innovation, and wood cellar lead at WeldWerks Brewing Co. in Greeley, Colorado, is a big fan of barrel-aged beers.
“I love a good barrel-aged stout,” he says, “making it super hard for me to pick just one. I would start with Equilibrium’s barrel-aged program, then Side Project’s, Trillium, Weathered Souls, and so on.”
Schwartz notes that he could easily rattle off ten more breweries all with aging programs he respects. It’s enough to make your head spin. Luckily, he’s not the only brewing pro who’s excited about this style. 13 craft beer experts were willing to share their picks with us. Below, we’ve compiled the best of the best barrel-aged brews according to the people who actually make beer.
If any of these sound tasty, click on those prices to try one or two!
North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin
North Coast
Jensen Atwood, director of brewing operations at Pure Brewing Project in San Diego
One of the barrel-aged beers I look forward to drinking when the weather gets colder would be BA Old Rasputin from North Coast. Just a straight-up no-frills, no adjunct imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels. The bitterness from the base stout subsides a little bit, leading into a nice sweetness from the barrel-aging that melds perfectly.
With flavors of roast, vanilla, chocolate, and bourbon it makes for a great drinking beer when the weather starts to get a little colder.
Tributary Mott The Lesser
Tributary
Patrick Chavanelle, research and development brewer at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine
ABV: 10.5%
Average Price: Limited Release
Why This Beer?
Mott the Lesser, brewed by the legendary Tod Mott at Tributary Brewing Company, is the first beer that comes to mind when I’m in the mood for something barrel-aged. One could rightfully argue that it was the most coveted beer in existence back when Tod brewed it at the Portsmouth Brewery — when the beer was originally called Kate the Great. I have very fond memories of waiting in line in anticipation of tasting this beautifully crafted beverage.
Nowadays, the beer has even more complexity, as each year’s release is a blend of vintages all aged in various spirit and wine barrels. The beer is a sensory overload of complexity that gets better with every sip.
Fremont Rusty Nail
Fremont
Cameron Fisher, head brewer of CraftHaus Brewery in Henderson, Nevada
The Rusty Nail from Fremont Brewing is my pick. It has the complexity of barrel aging an imperial stout with the added spices of cinnamon and licorice that hits all the right notes that one looks for in the fall.
Always breaking style barriers with their barrel-aging program, Avery Brewing Co’s Tweak Bourbon Barrel-Aged Coffee Stout is a bottle that I buy almost every time I see it. Coming in at almost 15 percent ABV, the rich, viscous stout base pairs perfectly with the intense coffee addition to making a unique and high-powered coffee stout. It’s hard for me to find a better way to warm up when it’s cold than a strong coffee stout that matured in bourbon barrels.
I know I’m probably not the only one, but it’s always fun to see the different variants of Bourbon County Stout that Goose Island puts out each year. This year, I’m looking forward to trying their Double Barrel Toasted Barrel Stout.
I’ve always been a fan of Elijah Craig, so this one should be an excellent sipper full of rich, chocolatey notes along with a smooth Bourbon finish. It will be a nightcap for sure.
Brooklyn Black Ops
Brooklyn
Todd DiMatteo, owner and brewer Good Word Brewing in Duluth, Georgia
Garrett Oliver is a master brewer. I, like many, respect that moniker. Also, I don’t use it often. As a brewer and innovator, he’s inspired countless brewers for decades, and I am no exception. His beers and his wealth of knowledge can be found in several books and online.
Brooklyn Black Ops is the quintessential barrel-aged stout, and while I’ve only been lucky enough to have it on a few occasions it’s absolutely brilliant. This 12.4 percent corked stout is thoughtfully aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels and was once as rare as a Dodo Egg. This is the beer from barrels that all other barreled beers should be measured against, find it if you can.
The one barrel-aged beer I look forward to drinking when the weather gets cold is not your typical one! I love Nightmare on Brett by Crooked Stave in Denver, Colorado. Typically, we think of sours when the weather is warm, but this one is fantastic with the rich dark fruit aromas and the underlying cocoa notes. It mixes with an acidic tart berry finish that I find quite warming. It’s more complex than most sours. You get layers of flavor with this barrel-aged beer.
It’s definitely deeper and more full-bodied than most sour beers. I also find that it pairs well with heavier wintertime foods like steak and potatoes.
Side Project Derivation
Side Project
Brandon Capps, owner and head brewer of New Image Brewing in Arvada, Colorado
ABV: 15%
Average Price: Limited Release
Why This Beer?
Whatever Derivation variant Side Project is releasing is what I most look forward to. I think Cory King is tops in this business when it comes to barrel-aged stouts. The skillful blending of beers and thoughtful approach to matching base beers with spirits barrels really shines in the final product. Their 15th variant of Derivation is about to come out and it blends brandy and bourbon barrel-aged stouts that were aged for one to two and a half years before being infused with Papua New Guinea Vanilla.
Fremont Barrel Aged Dark Star
Fremont
Dave Bergen, co-founder, director of brewing and marketing at Joyride Brewing Company in Edgewater, Colorado
I love the barrel program at Seattle’s Fremont, especially their Dark Star. Call me a traditionalist, but the straight-up bourbon barrel-aged version is the best (BBADS), allowing the flavor of the barrel to shine and mix with the roast and chocolate from the stout. I
t’s sweet and smooth and makes me wonder at their wizardry with every sip.
I don’t generally delve into barrel-aged beers too often, but I’ve always enjoyed Firestone Walker’s Parabola. It has a really nice bourbon barrel character — dark fruit, vanilla, chocolate — that doesn’t overshadow the base beer.
Anything from the Allagash Coolship series. The unique flavors that come from years in oak and the addition of fresh fruit throughout that process deliver a bewitching sophistication, perfect for a change in the seasons.
If I had to pick one it would be the tart, crisp, complex Allagash Coolship Pêche.
Petrus Aged Pale Ale
Petrus
David “Zambo” Szamborski, brewmaster at Paperback Brewing in Glendale, California
If I visit a place with barrel-aged beer, I have to try it. I love the complex flavors that this process adds to just about any style. While most people might expect a craft beer lover to go straight to a BBA — bourbon barrel ale — recommendation in the winter, I have a personal favorite in a pale ale called Petrus.
This beer is oak-aged for two years in foeders with wild yeast that brings out amazing complexity in fruit and spice notes including pineapple, tart strawberries, cider, and even the polarizing aroma of horse blanket. I like this year-round but have a tendency to drink these more complex beers in the winter months as part of my holiday budget.
Firestone Walker’s Amburana Parabola has to take it for me. It has the nicest balance of a rich and roast imperial stout with tones of exotic spice and vanilla. They are all so rich and flavorful but go down so smooth. Visiting their barrel facility is like walking into an oak-scented dreamland.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Over the past year, the pandemic utterly upended any number of artists’ plans, forcing many to push back their projects, change them, or abandon them altogether. The latter almost happened to North Carolinian Dreamville artist Lute, who was in the midst of his rollout for his new album Gold Mouf when quarantines and lockdowns forced the shutdown of most of the music industry.
For Lute, it was also the beginning of a months-long depression that had him questioning his place in the game. Sure, he’s signed to Dreamville, the label project founded by fellow North Carolinian J. Cole and modern equivalent to one of the Big Three rap labels back in the day — you know, Roc-A-Fella, Murder Inc., Ruff Ryders — alongside Top Dawg Entertainment and Quality Control. Dreamville is where emerging superstars like Bas, JID, and Ari Lennox have honed their craft over the past several years.
It’s also where Lute released his own debut album, West1996, back in 2017. But in today’s modern rap landscape, four years is a long time for a new artist to have to wait for a follow-up — even with a standout performance on the Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation alongside label head J. Cole and another then-burgeoning NC standout, DaBaby. In the meantime, many of his labelmates have released projects and generated buzz for themselves, threatening to turn him into an afterthought of the roster, lost in the wash.
Fortunately, for Lute, Gold Mouf is more than worth it and proves equal to any project from his compatriots, including last year’s Spilligion, which featured Dreamville standouts JID and Earthgang. A vulnerable, confessional, relatable jaunt through the past four years, the project is not just a paean to his personal growth, it’s a beautifully produced, well-sequenced call for us all to check in on our mental health. Songs like “Birdsong” with JID and Chicago rapper Saba unearth lyrical gems from the muck of the past year, while “Changes” featuring BJ The Chicago Kid diagrams survival through myriad struggles.
The secret sauce is sequencing from yet another North Carolina native: Phonte Coleman of Little Brother and Foreign Exchange, who stepped in and offered to help sequence the album and make it the heartstring-pulling affair that it became in preparation of its delayed release. On a Zoom call with Lute, the rapper details the origins of his Gold Mouf< character; discusses the importance of self-care; and reveals his most wild remembrance of the legendary Revenge sessions.
So I guess, what’s been going on with you in those four years? Because you started out in one place, and now you’re in a different place. How have things changed since West1996?
I mean, honestly, it’s just life. Life changed, and life had been the… Just dealing with shit and anxiety and depression, and just everyday life stuff, bro. But at some point, I had to realize that in order for me to move forward with my life, in order for me to move forward with myself just as a man and as a human being, I got to get control of the things that keep me from blocking my blessings, like my anxiety and depression and stuff.
So just trying to figure out what’s the next step. Once I figured out what it was that I was going through and what I was dealing with, it’s like, “What’s the next step to kind of conquer those things?” And I went through all the steps, to be real with you, every last, even the bad steps. So just living and learning, man. That’s all. That’s all this album is really about is living and learning and holding yourself accountable.
Yes, sir. No, I certainly do hear that all over the album, especially on the joint with BJ and the joint with JID and Saba. Those were very beautiful songs. I want to talk about where this Gold Mouf character comes from because I don’t think that I’ve really been able to find a lot about the origin of it, why this was your-
Well, for me, I’ll put it to you like this. How can I explain it? Have you ever seen Nutty Professor?
Yes, sir.
So Gold Mouf is, to me, what Buddy Love is to Professor Klump. I deal with anxiety and depression and shit like that. So for me, Gold Mouf is like my highest level of confidence. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a mask, but another persona of myself that’s like top tier. And then on Instagram, I’ll be messing around sometimes. I call myself “Big Ugly.” So Big Ugly is like my low self-esteem type sh*t, and Gold Mouf is like me at my highest. So when I feel like my best, I feel like I take on the role of Gold Mouf, kind of like how Clark goes in the booth, and he turns into Superman.
Absolutely. One of the things that, I guess, struck me was this album had a very interesting release, right? Because you started the rollout in March last year (with “Getting Every Dollar“), and I was gearing up. I was like, “Yo.” I was talking to the people like, “Yo, let me get on the phone with Lute.” And then just, nothing happened, because everything shut down.
And that was also the beginning of me going through my depression, so that kind of slowed everything down. The pandemic hit, then I went through my depression. So everything really slowed down for me. And I realized that I was so used to moving that by the time the pandemic hit and it slowed everything down, all my traumas and everything that I was running from, or everything that I didn’t heal from, caught up to me.
It was easy to go through something and be like, “Well, I ain’t got to worry about it right now, because I got to go on tour.” Or, “I ain’t got to worry about that, because I got this show.” Or, “I ain’t going to worry about that, because I got to be at the studio.” But when all that shit shut down and you ain’t got nothing to do, now, you got to figure all that out. And then I lost my cousin during the pandemic, not to COVID though, due to gun violence. And I lost a childhood friend of mine. I almost lost my dad as well.
So a couple of other things happened that kind of set me down in a little spiral, and I just had to pick myself back up. I had to find a way to get back in the game. But for a minute, I was kind of tapped out. I didn’t think I was even going to finish the project. I thought that was just about to be the end for me. “I think I’m done. I think I did what I could. I did the best I could. And now, I think I’m just going to gracefully bow out.” But I felt like that was like me being defeated talking, and I kind of had to get that out of my head and just get my ass back up. I had to get back up. I had to get back in the game.
Well, I’m glad you’re still here, man. I’m glad you stood up because it was worth the wait. One of my parts of the early rollout was when you were doing the “Gold Mouf Chronicles” videos, which I thought were hilarious and very on point with the Wish Sandwich and the Lute Ross ones. What was the origin of this funny thing? In the process of doing it, did it reveal anything about your creative process to you?
I’m a very introverted person. But when you get to know me, I can be a super funny guy. I’m easy to talk to when I’m comfortable and I’m around people that I’m comfortable being around. So the “Gold Mouf Chronicles” was a way just to show my personality outside of my anxiety and me being or seeming very introverted. We felt like that was a good way to showcase my personality.
As far as the actual album is concerned, I know that as a North Carolina native, it meant a lot to you that it was executive produced and sequenced by members of Little Brother.
Oh no, for sure. Well, see Pooh is my manager.
I didn’t know that.
Yeah. Pooh’s my manager, and it was just a blessing for them to put a verse on. Because I chopped it up with Phonte a few times but when it came to album time, it was a blessing that they were able to put a verse on there for me. And the fact that Phonte wanted to sequence it, … If Phonte asks to sequence some shit, hell yeah. I’m not going to say no to that.
It definitely passed the car test.
You know, when Phonte passed it to Pooh, and Pooh gave it to me to listen to, to see what I liked or didn’t like about it, man, I almost shed a tear, because I worked on most of the project out here in LA. But I finished the rest of the half of it back home in Carolina. So when I was out here in LA, we were working in a studio almost every day. I had no idea what I had. I was just going into the studio, venting about the sh*t that I was going through and what I was dealing with. But when Phonte sequenced it, I had no idea. I didn’t even realize that I was building a story the whole time.
And the way he sequenced it, it’s like, “Man, this sh*t is beautiful as hell.” Because the way it’s sequenced is the way my life went. It’s like, I started off very optimistic about shit. Then you go through life, and you start dealing with shit. And then towards the end and coming out of my depression and shit, I realized that I love who I am. I love the person that I am. I love what I’m doing, and I love the direction that I’m going.
People don’t really realize how important sequencing is to how good albums are.
But that’s why I was very, very appreciative that Phonte wanted to sequence the album, because me, I’m the type of person when I drop bodies of work or projects, they tell a story, and that’s on purpose. I don’t want to have an album where you go through, and you’re just shuffling through this sh*t. I want you to listen to it from top to bottom. And sometimes, granted, you just still do, but at least you get the storyline. I want you to feel some sh*t after you listen to my album. I want you to experience something. I want you to have an experience. That’s why I love Kendrick’s albums, because they gave you a little story, and it just makes you experience sh*t.
What’s crazy to me is you have Cozz, you have Saba, you have JID, you have Boogie. On Dreamville you rapped alongside J. Cole and DaBaby. You’re surrounded by massive, massive lyricists. Do you find yourself challenging yourself to push harder when you are around these guys?
I don’t feel pressured at all. Only because I write from experience and being myself. I’m not an artist that writes every day or goes to the studio every day. And I sharpen my pen, but I sharpen my pen by living and experiencing and being present in my life. My inspiration comes from my day-to-day life. I was telling somebody the other day, even when I’m having a bad day, that sh*t sucks, but at the same time, when I really look at it, it’s going to make for a good song later.
I feel like at the end of the day, the only person I’m trying to be better than is myself. I’m trying to grow, I’m trying to learn and figure out all my quirks and stuff like that. So, as far as pressure… It’s definitely a friendly competition.
I think I’ve actually asked everybody, whoever was at the Dreamville Sessions if they have one good story to tell about the Dreamville sessions.
So much sh*t happened in that span. It’s not a blur, but everything is all jumbled in one. But I will say that the most shocking thing that I’ve seen… coming around the corner, looking over, and Chris Bosh is in the corner making beats and they were f*cking fire. The beats were hard.
So, I like to ask everybody, what’s the ideal outcome of your album rollout because I know everybody’s got different expectations and everybody has different gauges for success.
Just everybody being more self-aware about their mental health and taking more self-care and taking more time for themselves to grow and learn and hold themselves accountable so that we can progress and we can move forward. That’s literally all I wanted out of this album.
I was actually nervous to put this album out because I felt so vulnerable and exposed. But I realized when I was making these songs if I could be more vulnerable and more transparent or myself, then if that could help somebody else and also help me, then everything else out of it is just a blessing. That’s my goal, is just to help people be more aware of mental health.
I’ve made mistakes and I’ve held myself accountable on those things too. I’ve done things the wrong way and I also done things the right way. So, just holding myself accountable and just trying to move forward and grow. That’s really the whole synopsis of everything, man, just trying to f*cking grow and progress.
Gold Mouf is out now via Dreamville and Interscope Records. Get it here.
Following reports of up-and-coming cinematographer Halyna Hutchins being fatally shot by Alec Baldwin while filming a scene for the movie Rust, the family of Brandon Lee has spoken out about the on-set accident that also left director Joel Souza hospitalized (he has since been released). The incident is currently under investigation.
As fans of the cult classic film The Crow know, Lee was killed in a similar fashion when a prop gun accidentally discharged during a scene. Lee’s sister, Shannon, now runs a Twitter account dedicated to Brandon, and she issued the following statement after learning the news of Hutchins’ death:
Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on “Rust”. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.
Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on “Rust”. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.
According to recent reports, the gun on the set of Rust was allegedly loaded with a live round leading to the fatal shooting. The incident has dredged up memories of Lee’s death, which sparked a litany of safety protocols for gun use on sets following the freak accident. Via USA Today:
Lee’s mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, went on to file a lawsuit for negligence four months after her son’s death. Cadwell alleged in the lawsuit that, “crew members ran out of dummy bullets and improperly manufactured their own from live ammunition. During a test firing of the dummy ammunition, a bullet tip wound up in the barrel of the handgun.”
Following the Rust shooting, Baldwin has issued a statement expressing his “shock and sadness” over Hutchins’ death. The actor is fully cooperating with investigators to “address how this tragedy occurred.”
No one is snapping back at big tech and media companies quite like Roku right now. After making headlines last year over their ongoing dispute with HBO Max, the media platform was once again in the news after it called out Google for “predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory” practices before ultimately making the call to pull the YouTube app from their service this past April. Now, the battle appears to be getting even uglier.
In their latest blog post, Roku is once again calling out Google for being, in short, a pretty damn merciless tech giant that is “under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and more than 30 State Attorneys General for violating competition laws.” Roku says doing business with ” an enterprise as powerful as Google” has created complex problems that have ultimately resulted in the two companies reaching and impasse. However, Roku insists their grievances have nothing to do with money.
According to Roku, the company has not asked for any changes to be made in terms of finances. The media platform says they are content with not earning “a single dollar from YouTube’s ad-supported video sharing service” while Google makes “hundreds of millions of dollars” from being featured on Roku. Instead, Roku said they are concerned with how Google continuously infringes upon their independence in a “disturbing trend that threatens the vibrant and competitive TV streaming ecosystem.”
”There are two primary concerns we are working to address: First, Google continues to interfere with Roku’s independent search results, requiring that we preference YouTube over other content providers. This is a concern shared by many companies who believe that customers deserve neutral and relevant results to their search queries. Second, Google discriminates against Roku by demanding search, voice, and data features that they do not insist on from other streaming platforms.”
Roku says that while they are “working to resolve” their differences with Google, there’s still a strong possibility Google may remove YouTubeTV from the Roku platform when their current distribution deal is up on December 9. If that’s the case, all newly manufactured Roku smart-TVs and devices will not be able to install the YouTube app. As of right now the two tech companies still have a little over a month left to try to reach some form of an agreement, so here’s hoping something gives and Roku-users will still be able to watch all their favorite funny animal compilations as we enter the new year.
Inglewood-bred Dreamville rapper Cozz returns with a moody video for his new single, “Fortunate,” after having a relatively quiet couple of years since his last album. The video finds Cozz sitting in a wrecked car, having apparently survived a harrowing front-end collision. Throughout the video, Cozz expresses his gratitude and grapples with his vices, a struggle represented by haunting religious imagery and his pained crooning on the song’s confessional chorus.
More recently, Cozz could be heard assisting his Dreamville compatriot Lute on his new album Gold Mouf and Uproxx regulars may recognize him making a few appearances in our music video show React Like You Know, joining our panel of 20-somethings to give his impressions on videos like Fabolous’ “So Into You.”
Watch Cozz’s “Fortunate” video above and stay tuned.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna,” he tweeted.
The tragedy, which also put director Joel Souza in the hospital (he has since been discharged), took place on the set of the Western movie Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch, outside of Sante Fe, New Mexico. “The entire cast and crew has been absolutely devastated by today’s tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna’s family and loved ones,” Rust Movie Productions LLC wrote in a statement. “We have halted production on the film for an undetermined period of time and are fully cooperating with the Santa Fe Police Department’s investigation. We will be providing counseling services to everyone connected to the film as we work to process this awful event.”
1- There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and
2- I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.
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