Category: News

Festivals and big concert events are in full-swing for 2022 so far, and today another event has let fans know it will be moving forward next year. The Days Of Summer cruise fest has officially announced it will take place July 1-4 next year, featuring Lil Baby as a headliner and DJ Khaled as a host, with plenty more artists to be unveiled closer to the date. Fans on the cruise will board the cruise ship known as The Norwegian Sky in Miami and sail through Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay.

If the 2022 event is able to go off without a hitch — COVID-19 has interfered with lots of live events over the last year and a half — it will be the second time through for the cruise fest. Their debut event in 2019 included artists like June 2019 Post Malone, Cardi B, City Girls and Dej Loaf, along with many others. The event organizers for Days Of Summer are the same ones who produced DJ Khaled’s Summerfest Cruise in 2017, featuring Future and A$AP Rocky, so they definitely have the experience necessary to get massive performers on board.

All the cabins for Days Of Summer go on sale today, July 29, and guests can purchase all levels of tickets with a deposit of just $99 if locked in before September 1, 2021. Get more info here.

Jim Jordan wasn’t among the fellow Trump die-hards — i.e., the 4G Network comprised of Republican representatives Gaetz, Greene, Gosasr, and Gohmert — who tried and failed to trespass a D.C. jail housing Jan. 6 perpetrators. But that’s in part because he was a little busy nervously trying to duck a question about his communiqués with former president Donald J. Trump on the day the Capitol was besieged by his violent supporters.

On Thursday, Jordan — who was recently booted from a bipartisan committee probing into the deadly day, partly because he may be a key witness — spoke with Spectrum News, in what he seemed to think would be a softball interview. It wasn’t. Reporter Taylor Popielarz asked him point-blank whether or not he had been in contact with Trump the day his fans endangered he and his colleagues’ lives.

Jordan tried to duck the question, saying he often speaks with Trump. “I spoke with the president last week, I speak with the president all the time, I spoke with him on January 6,” he said, making sure to suggest he was still somehow in power. “I don’t think that’s unusual.”

But Popielarz wasn’t having Jordan trying to play dumb, asking him, “On January 6, did you speak with him before, during, or after the Capitol was attacked?”

It was here that Jordan stammered, eventually claiming he’d have to look, but that he thinks he spoke with him after. “I don’t know if I spoke with him that morning,” he said, as if it hadn’t been a momentous, history-altering day that he probably doesn’t forget.

But people were not buying it, saying that, at the very least, Jordan looked and sounded more nervous than Hugh Grant in a hundred ’90s rom-coms.

To some he even looked “scared as f*ck.”

Should Jordan be called upon by the bipartisan committee looking into what caused the Jan. 6 riots and what happened step-by-step, he should probably find a better or at least less fidgety answer.

While NBA fans were waiting for the culmination of the Lakers trade saga involving Russell Westbrook (after apparently shifting focus away from Buddy Hield), the reset of the league was still working the phones and making other deals.

First, it was Landry Shamet getting sent from Brooklyn to Phoenix for Jevon Carter and the No. 29 pick in Thursday night’s Draft. That was followed by the Wolves and Cavs linking up to send Ricky Rubio to Cleveland for Taurean Prince and a second round pick, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and confirmed by The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski.

Rubio’s fit back in Minnesota was questionable at best last year and with D’Angelo Russell returning in full and Anthony Edwards emerging as an on-ball player, their greater need was to upgrade their wing rotation. Prince will do that for them, with his leading quality being static three-point shooting. For Cleveland, they get a veteran guard who could either be the backup to their young backcourt duo of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton or could be the starter if Sexton gets traded as rumors swirl about his future in Cleveland with an extension looming. In any case, it’s not a massive blockbuster like the Westbrook deal has the potential to be, but it is a sensible deal for two teams trying to find better roster balance.

Suni Lee, 18, a Team USA member from Minnesota, became the Olympic all-around gymnastics champion on Thursday night.

“It feels super crazy, I definitely didn’t think I’d be here in this moment with the gold medal,” Lee said after her win. “I’m just super proud of myself for making it here because there was a point in time when I wanted to quit.”

Lee may be proud of herself, but she is just as excited to share the victory with the Hmong community and her father. Lee is the first Hmong American athlete to ever compete in the Olympics and the first Asian American to win the gold in the Olympics’ all-around competition.

The Hmong people are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mostly in southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. After the Vietnam War, many Hmong refugees settled in America, with the largest communities developing in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, 260,073 Hmong people reside in the United States.

Lee says that the Hmong community back home is “really close.” She says that her success “means a lot to the Hmong community … and to just be an inspiration to other Hmong people [means] a lot to me too.”

The gold medalist also shares the victory with her father John Lee who built her a balance beam when she was a child because her family couldn’t afford to buy one. The beam still sits in the family’s backyard to this day.

SHE DID IT 👏

Suni Lee’s family reacting to her gold medal is incredible 🥺 🥺 🥺 🥺
(via @Gia_Vang)
https://t.co/ze0WJSjCp8

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
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John Lee was injured in 2019 after falling from a ladder and became paralyzed from the chest down.

John’s injury happened two days before his daughter was to participate in the 2019 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. She almost backed out of the competition but her father encouraged her to continue from the hospital. She later told NBC that she thought of him “the whole time and it helped me a lot.”

Gymnast Suni Lee’s biggest cheerleader on her unbelievable journey to the #TokyoOlympics?

Her dad. And now she’s… https://t.co/oLJhZA1ZJl

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics)
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“I wish he was here,” she said on the Today Show Thursday after her victory. “He always told me if I win the gold medal he would come out on the ground and do a backflip. It’s sad that he can’t be here, but this is our dream, and this our medal.”

“We both worked for this. He sacrificed everything to put me in gymnastics. Both my parents really have,” said Lee, one of six children in her family. “This is my family’s medal, my medal, my coach’s medal.”

Lee had stated publicly that her goal was to win the silver in the all-around because she was competing against teammate Simone Biles who is considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Biles withdrew from the all-around because of mental stress, giving Lee a path to victory.

Suni Lee just did that… She’s now the All-Around champion!!! https://t.co/L4pZ22sUvz

— Tyler Roney (@TylerJRoney)
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On Thursday, Lee seemed to nail every routine with a sense of ease like it was practice, not the greatest competition of her life. She performed exquisitely in the floor exercise, even though her coach, Jess Graba, added new choreography that morning.

Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won silver and Angelina Melnikova of Russia won the bronze in the all-around.

“I didn’t even think I’d ever get here,” Lee said after her victory. “It doesn’t even feel like I’m in real life.”

Scarlett Johansson is done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she’s not leaving quietly. On her way out, she hit her soon-to-be-former employers with a lawsuit. On Thursday, the actress filed against Disney, claiming that by releasing Black Widow, her long-awaited solo MCU movie, simultaneously on PVOD Disney+, they breached her contract. No so, the mega-corporation later claimed in a response that found them not mincing words.

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” Disney said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”

Johansson’s lawsuit alleged that her contract guaranteed that Black Widow would receive an exclusive theatrical release, and that they should have waited till theater-going was seen as more safe than it was when it was released in early July.

“Why would Disney forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in box office receipts by releasing the Picture in theatres at a time when it knew the theatrical market was ‘weak,’ rather than waiting a few months for that market to recover?” reads the filing.

It also charges that Disney saw it as an “opportunity to promote its flagship subscription service using the Picture and Ms. Johansson, thereby attracting new paying monthly subscribers, retaining existing ones, and establishing Disney+ as a must-have service in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

Johansson’s contract, moreover, was allegedly not renegotiated before they announced Black Widow would wind up on Disney+ at the same time it hit theaters, thereby forcing her to file a lawsuit.

Upon its release during the second week of July, Black Widow’s relatively large box office debut was seen as a harbinger that movie theatergoing was back. Disney also claimed that its Disney+ bow was also a big money-maker. Its box office haul has subsequently dropped precipitously, making it one of the lowest-grossing MCU titles. Its Blu-ray debut was bumped extra early, to mid-August. Of course, this has all happened amidst a once-in-a-century public health crisis that has been surging once more.

(Via THR)

Bino Rideaux and Blxst keep the good vibes from their joint project Sixtape 2 going with the video for “Pop Out.” Filled with sunny LA days and a Westside parking lot party, the video perfectly captures the spirit of the easygoing West Coast sound of the duo’s new project. The two race Lamborghinis through the streets of Downtown LA as they enjoy the fruits of their stardom.

The “Pop Out” video follows “Movie” and “One Of Them Ones” in bringing the party vibe of Sixtape 2 to life. The two LA rappers are living up their newfound success and making it look like they’re having the time of their lives.

Of course, with Blxst recently featuring on XXL’s 2021 Freshman list there is plenty of attention to go around. Blxst is still relatively fresh off the success of his debut EP No Love Lost and its deluxe version, but Bino has also been garnering his fair share of attention with his own 2020 project, Outside, which featured Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Thug (on the “Mismatch” remix), and of course, Blxst. Bino and Blxst both showed up on UPROXX Sessions to perform “Mismatch” and “Pressure,” respectively.

Watch the “Pop Out” video above.

Sixtape 2 is out now on EVGLE & Out The Blue/Def Jam/Red Bull Records. Get it here.

The Lakers have been trying desperately to come up with a major trade to upgrade their roster going into Thursday night’s NBA Draft, and all signs pointed to a deal with the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield entering Thursday afternoon.

That especially seemed to be the case when word broke from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Montrezl Harrell was picking up his player option, clearing the way for him to be included in a Draft night trade to bring the Kings sharpshooter to L.A.

However, the Kings weren’t the only team the Lakers were involved in trade talks with, and shortly after Woj’s reports about the Kings, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported L.A. was engaged in discussions to send Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the No. 22 pick to Washington for Russell Westbrook.

Charania then followed up with a note that talks were “serious” and that Westbrook had become L.A.’s primary focus.

The Lakers interest in Westbrook had been previously reported, but that was with regards to a Dennis Schröder sign-and-trade, which obviously can’t happen until free agency’s moratorium period opens on August 2. So, for a Draft night trade to take place, they would have to Harrell, Kuzma, and KCP to Washington for Westbrook to make salary work in what would be an incredibly fascinating blockbuster trade.

Not long after, Woj confirmed Shams’ report, noting that the two sides were close to finalizing a deal to send Westbrook back home to Los Angeles, with Marc Stein suggesting a deal was done.

For Washington, this could set in motion a series of events that leads to a Bradley Beal trade, while the Lakers would add the third star they crave next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but further apply a spacing crunch with a lack of shooters.

Earlier this year, Halsey debuted the cover art for their new album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power with an eye-popping visual that depicted the pop star nursing their newborn child. The internet had a field day with them freeing the nipple, and interest was already piqued due to the news that the pop star had tapped Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator Atticus Ross to produce the new album.

Today, we’ve gotten the first real preview of what this new work will sound like. As the follow-up to the criminally-underrated Manic, which you’ll remember was infamously snubbed by the Grammys, expect this project to see them stretching the bounds of their sound even further than their last record did. They’re also planning to debut a film of the same name along with the album, and have already shared one trailer for the period piece. Now they’ve shared another one, revealing more details of the film and previewing the track “Woman/God” in the background of the clip.

The album is set for release on August 27, the film will be coming out in America August 25 and internationally August 26. Check out the new trailer above and stay tuned for more new music likely coming soon.

Today in “news guaranteed to make rap fans salivate,” Vince Staples revealed that he and Earl Sweatshirt recorded a joint project with The Alchemist, leading to the Long Beach native putting “30 verses on 30 beats.” Unfortunately, Vince jokes that “Alchemist moves at a very cryptic pace — he’s hella slow,” leading to him recording his new album Vince Staples with Kenny Beats. He further reveals that there are anywhere from 12 to 22 leftovers from that project after picking the initial eight songs that worked for the self-titled album.

So to recap, there are up to 50 Vince Staples songs out there that haven’t been heard by anyone but him, his producers, and Earl Sweatshirt. Obviously, this news has fans in a tizzy, wondering when — or indeed, if — these songs will ever come out. Since it’s 2021 and social media exists, they will undoubtedly be insufferable about it until they find out.

Meanwhile, Vince’s latest rollout media blitz has unearthed even more notable quotes from the Long Beach native. On Drink Champs, he recounted how he got into music and that Mac Miller never accepted royalties from their Stolen Youth joint tape, as well as explaining why he always avoided drugs and alcohol. He also broke down how the music business monetizes people’s struggles and spit a mind-blowing verse over Dr. Dre’s “Xplosive” beat for LA Leakers.

The Brooklyn Nets are picking up a second first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Nets and the Phoenix Suns agreed to a deal that will see the defending Western Conference champions send the No. 29 selection on Thursday night to Brooklyn.

There are some players who will be included in the move, too. Phoenix will add some shooting in the form of Landry Shamet, while the Nets will pick up an end of the bench guard in Jevon Carter.

For Shamet, this marks a reunion with Monty Williams, who was an assistant in Philadelphia when he suited up for the Sixers. Wojnarowski noted that Williams is a “significant supporter” of Shamet, who brings some floor spacing. Last season, Shamet appeared in largely a reserve role for the Nets and averaged 9.3 points in 23 minutes per game while connecting on 38.7 percent of his threes.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, gets a good defensive guard in Carter, but now, they have picks number 27 and 29 in the first round of the Draft. They could, theoretically, use them to acquire some reinforcements behind their big three, or package them together in a deal that would lead to them bringing in someone more established.