Category: News

A good way to make a lot of money in not a lot of time is to have a thing that either once belonged to Michael Jordan or has his signature on it. Our latest example of this comes by way of Heritage Auctions, which sold the only known game-worn Jordan jersey from his time at the University of North Carolina for a cool $1.38 million.

According to ESPN, the jersey comes from Jordan’s 1982-83 campaign in Chapel Hill, when he graced the cover of Sporting News as a sophomore en route to being named an unanimous All-American. He would go on to spend one more year with the Tar Heels before jumping to the NBA and embarking on a career that most people agree was pretty good — the previous record paid for a jersey was one of his threads from his time with the Chicago Bulls, which sold for $480,000 in October.

The UNC jersey has quite the origin story, as laid out by ESPN:

The North Carolina jersey was first obtained in 1983 when equipment managers from Stanford and North Carolina swapped player jerseys after a game during the Stanford Invitational tournament at Maples Pavilion.

This isn’t the first time the jersey has been up for auction, as it sold for $63,500 in 1999, which was a record at the time.

Here’s to hoping the North Carolina equipment manager who traded the Jordan jersey to someone at Stanford got a cut of this.

Aside from maybe the Saturday Night Live cast, Elon Musk, and maybe a few others, no one has any idea what’s in store for Saturday’s episode of SNL. Musk is billed as the show’s host while Miley Cyrus will be the musical guest. In the days and weeks leading up to the episode, many have anticipated a large amount of Dogecoin talk, something that helped push the “joke cryptocurrency” to new highs of almost $0.74 per share.

While it remains to be seen what Musk has in store for viewers on tonight’s episode, there is one thing we can pretty much guarantee: an appearance from Grimes.

The singer took to Instagram to share that she would be joining her partner at some point during the episode. In a lengthy caption that captured part of a phone call Grimes had with a friend about Ethereum and some other things, she concluded it by writing, “Tune into SNL tonight to watch me try acting!”

Hopefully, Grimes won’t have to “try” acting in any of the skits Elon Musk suggested after learning of his hosting gig. They included “Woke James Bond,” “Baby Shark & Shark Tank merge to form Baby Shark Tank,” and “Irony Man – defeats villains using the power of irony,” suggestions which he was promptly roasted online.

Shifting back to Grimes, some of her fans on Twitter wondered why she wasn’t billed as the musical guest instead of Cyrus. In a past tweet, Grimes gave an explanation for it. “The music booker from SNL came to my show once but I literally concussed myself in the first ten mins of the show, blacked out and played a famously horrific set that I have no memory of,” she said. “And I think the booker thinks im the worst live act ever haha but kinda funny anecdote.”

If you thought Blackpink was powerful as a group, just wait until the solo projects start rolling out. After their debut album set records and turned heads last year, Blackpink are planning to be in your area in more ways than one. The recent success of member’s Rosé solo track “On The Ground” is just further proof that these girls are just as great on their own, and now member Lisa is likely planning to release her debut this coming June.

So who will be appearing on that project? Well, tweets might come and go but nothing gets past K-Pop fans. The eagle-eyed fanbase noticed that DJ Snake was actually responding to tweets about whether or not he was working with Lisa and Selena Gomez. He shot down the Selena feature, especially since he very recently worked with her on their track “Selfish Love,” but confirmed a song with Lisa and noted that it’s already done.

Here’s his now-deleted responses on the subject:

It’s also worth noting that DJ Snake has been repping the K-pop girl group long before their debut album ever dropped — and he’s more than familiar with their signature catchphrase, too.

Whatever his collaboration with Lisa is, it’s going to be worth the wait. Look for more info on the song coming soon since June is only a few short weeks away. Hopefully the rumors are true and this album drops then.

This past February marked one year since the hip-hop world was shocked by the news of Pop Smoke’s shooting death. The Brooklyn-born rapper was killed during a home invasion at a Hollywood Hills mansion he was renting at the time. Following an investigation, four suspects were taken into custody last July and each charged with one count of murder and robbery in juvenile court as they were all under the age of 21 at the time of their arrest.

Now, according to the New York Daily News, we now know which of the suspects was responsible with shooting. During a preliminary hearing for 20-year-old Corey Walker, the only adult in the case, LAPD Det. Carlos Camacho testified that Pop Smoke was killed by a 15-year-old teen.

“He admitted that he shot the victim three times with a Baretta 9 [mm.],” Camacho said. The detective also revealed that the group of suspects broke into the rapper’s mansion in hopes of stealing his Cuban link chain but only managed to get away with a diamond-studded Rolex watch, which they later sold for $2,000.

Camacho added that during a recorded jail interview, the 15-year-old “admitted that they asked for the jewelry” before engaging in “a confrontation” with the rapper during the home invasion. “They got into a fight, and he shot him three times,” Camacho said. “He said he shot him on the back.” The detective also said Pop Smoke fought back and “rushed” the suspects who “pistol-whipped” him before shooting him in the chest.

Almost every president has had pets, which sometimes become as famous and popular as their powerful owners. Among the most popular was Bo, the first of two dogs adopted by the Obamas, back in 2009. Sadly, just over 12 years after the Portuguese Water Dog became the nation’s First Dog, Bo has passed away.

The tragic passing was noted by Barack Obama on Twitter, who posted a moving memoriam to the celebrity canine. “Today our family lost a true friend and loyal companion. For more than a decade, Bo was a constant, gentle presence in our lives—happy to see us on our good days, our bad days, and everyday in between.”

He continued:

He tolerated all the fuss that came with being in the White House, had a big bark but no bite, loved to jump in the pool in the summer, was unflappable with children, lived for scraps around the dinner table, and had great hair.

He was exactly what we needed and more than we ever expected. We will miss him dearly.

Bo was chosen in part because Malia was allergic to dogs and needed one that was hypoallergenic. He was a shelter dog, and he was named by Malia and Sasha after both Michelle’s father and R&B legend Bo Didley. He is survived by not only his owners but also by the Obamas’ other dog, Sunny, who is also a Portuguese Water Dog.

Bo’s passing was also noted by much of social media.

Rest in peace, Bo.

Bebe Rexha’s new album Better Mistakes came out yesterday, and it’s already been racking up accolades from fans and peers alike. Speaking of peers, there’s plenty of fellow stars on this packed tracklist, including cameos from Lil Uzi Vert on “Die For A Man” (my current personal favorite), Travis Barker on “Break My Heart Myself” — which comes with a brand new video — and other hip-hop artists like Rick Ross, Pink Sweats, Doja Cat and more.

This is only the young pop star’s second album release ever, but it’s pretty clear the record has a very special place in her heart. After it was finally released yesterday — among a series of delays due to COVID-19 — the singer took to Instagram to post her own emotional take on what the album means. “My Sophomore album BETTER MISTAKES Is OUT NOW EVERYWHERE!! ,” she began. “I wanted this album to convey the beautiful parts of me, as well as the broken parts. If you feel broken or not good enough. I want you to know that you are not alone. If you feel crazy or out of place. I want you to know you are not alone. If you feel misunderstood or lonely you are not alone. We are all imperfect and beautiful. We all make mistakes. The best we can do is try to make better ones and accept that we are just human. This is my story. #bettermistakes.”

Check out her post below and if what she’s saying resonates with you, stream the album here.

Rookie of the Year hasn’t been one of the awards that has received a ton of attention this season, if only because it’s been LaMelo Ball’s to lose for seemingly the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign. Karl-Anthony Towns has some thoughts on this, and unsurprisingly, he disagrees with that read on the entire thing.

Towns was joined by Anthony Edwards during his postgame media availability following the Timberwolves’ 121-112 loss to the Miami Heat and used the occasion to make the case for his teammate’s Rookie of the Year candidacy — Edwards had just gone for 25 points, six rebounds, and three assists against Miami.

Via The Rookie Wire:

I’ve said it from Day 1: We made the right pick. I don’t think there is any question on who should have been the No. 1 pick in this draft. I don’t want it to be missed. I don’t want it to be looked over. There is a reason he was double-teamed (versus the Heat). They should double-team him. No other rookie has earned that respect in this league.

There ain’t no other rookie in this league getting double-teamed. There ain’t no other rookie putting up the numbers Ant is. There ain’t no other rookie causing the havoc and mayhem before the game even starts with the scouting reports like Anthony is. I don’t want to hear nothing about no other people who are rookies. I don’t want to hear that. I don’t go by hype, I go by stats.

The obvious caveat — Karl-Anthony Towns is not going to say that Anthony Edwards doesn’t deserve to be recognized for his rookie campaign — applies here, but the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has had a nice rookie campaign. Edwards is up to 19 points and 4.7 rebounds in 31.9 minutes a night, and although his efficiency numbers (41.2 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from three) aren’t particularly great, the former Georgia standout has done a nice job growing into his role in the league as the year has gone on.

Does this mean he’ll end up beating out Ball? Almost certainly not, unless the fact that he’s played in 21 more games becomes something a bunch of voters cannot overlook. Still, Edwards has looked like a foundational piece for the Timberwolves this season, and his fellow former No. 1 pick believes he deserves some love.

It’s been a month since DMX tragically died following a heart attack that resulted from a reported drug overdose. His passing left many close family members, friends, and fans to grieve at the unexpected loss. One of those was Swizz Beatz, who shared a passionate speech at the late rapper’s memorial service last month. Swizz had some harsh words for those who failed to check on DMX before his death, despite claiming to be close to him. During a recent interview with Angie Martinez, he explained what inspired the speech and why he felt it was necessary to deliver it at the service.

“From the fans’ standpoint, X got a lot of love. It’s just the other love he was looking for I don’t think he got a lot of,” Swizz said. “And that’s what made me want to say what I said at his homegoing because I was dealing with a lot of that.” He added, “I was with X a lot. Especially, recently. So I was very current in his life and understanding where he was at and what he was going through. So when I started seeing things, naturally as his brother, it just bothered me.” He also said he had no regrets for the speech and would do it all over again if he had to.

Swizz also spoke about DMX’s upcoming album, which he called a “well-deserved masterpiece.” “X was really in a good mood after doing Verzuz,” he said. “He really got excited because he was able to see the love that the youth had for him and the energy that Snoop gave him…We didn’t leave L.A. We stayed there and finished the album at Snoop’s studio like from Verzuz. That energy bottled, bottled up and we just stayed on it. X was just saying that ‘I just wanna get some new music out so I can contribute to this new energy that I’m feeling.’” He continued, “He was going to get back in the best shape that we’ve ever seen him in a long time physically as well.”

You can watch clips from the interview above.

It’s been a while artists could safely interact with crowds, but with big-name music festivals set to make their return within the coming months it appears this period is nearing an end. With that in mind, Saweetie took her talents to the Santa Monica Pier for a surprise performance. The rapper shared a clip of her performance on Instagram, showing her rapping along to her 2019 track “My Type.” Another video that was posted on social media shows her also performing her new single “Fast (Motion).”

For the performance, Saweetie pretended to be an up-and-coming artist looking to make ends meet, complete with a small container that read “Pretty B*tch Summer Donation” on the floor near her. The set seemed to be a way for Saweetie to bring some additional attention to “Fast (Motion),” which she shared on Friday, with a music video that saw her take the role of a soccer player, racecar driver, skydiver, and more.

Last month, Saweetie appeared in a trailer for the third season of Call Of Duty: Warzone. She later revealed she attended an artist development boot camp to work on her craft.

You can watch videos of Saweetie performance above.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Luka Doncic has reached the portion of stardom where his off nights are still the kinds of games most dudes would like to have. An example: The Dallas Mavericks took down the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, 110-90, with Doncic going for 24 points and seven rebounds. He wasn’t on fire from the field — 8-for-17, 1-for-5 from three — and he only had one assist, but it was a nice game where Doncic helped lead his squad to a comfortable win.

His best moment of the night didn’t even happen during the 23 minutes he was on the floor. Heck, it didn’t even come during the game. It instead came during pregame shootaround, when Doncic showed off his comedy chops both by telling an extremely corny joke and by spectacularly missing a hook shot from out of bounds and behind the backboard.

Really terrific execution by Doncic here … well, at least when it came to telling the joke and having that transition right into shooting a hook shot. Although in a way, it is much better that he missed by a lot from an impossible angle as opposed to doing this right in the paint and making a bunny, because it makes the whole thing a little funnier. Anyway, I hope Doncic has one NBA-inspired joke that he can bust out before every game for the rest of his career.