Category: News

If there’s one thing to be known about the Griselda collective, it’s that they’ll release multiple quality projects at a rapid clip. The group is already well into their 2021 campaign as Benny The Butcher is a couple of weeks removed from his The Plugs I Met 2 project. Now, Conway The Machine steps up to the plate with his own project, La Maquina. The 11-track effort finds Conway joining forces with 2 Chainz for “200 Pies,” an easy-going track that sees both acts flexing lyrical musical for over four minutes.

The track is not the first time this year that 2 Chainz has worked with a Griselda member as he previously worked with Benny The Butcher for the their “Plug Talk” track. La Maquina also presents features from Ludacris and JID (“Scatter Brain“), Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, and more. It’s an effort that arrives just under two months after Conway delivered If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed, a joint album with Big Ghost Ltd, and just over seven months after he shared his last solo album, From King To A God.

La Maquina comes as rumors Conway reportedly left the Griselda collective were shut down by the rapper and Westside Gunn, who denied having any conflict with the fellow Buffalo native. “U do know that’s my brother,” Gunn said in response to the reports.

Press play on “200 Pies” in the video above.

La Maquina is out now via Empire. Get it here.

Just a week ago, the world was hit with the sad news that hip-hop legend DMX passed away at the age of 50. His death arrived a week after he was hospitalized by a reported overdose, which led to a heart attack that left him in a coma. The news came as the rapper prepared to return with his first album in more than eight years. While fans wait to see if and when they’ll receive that project, they can enjoy a new verse from the rapper through guest feature alongside Swizz Beatz and French Montana.

The three artists join forces for “Been To War,” a rambunctious effort that sees all parties expressing the lack of fear they each possess as they’ve each seen the worse that life has to offer. Swizz Beatz leads the way with a raucous hook that serves as the perfect opener for DMX to arrive and lay a sinister verse. Then, French Montana comes through to close things out on the track. The song was released as a part of the soundtrack to the new season of Epix’s Godfather Of Harlem series.

“Been To War” arrives after DMX’s music streams jumped by almost 1,000% since his death. The rapper’s passing also saw his autobiography return to the bestsellers list.

You can listen to the new song in the video above.

Kenny Mason has grown to be one of the most talented and versatile artists in the new class of hip-hop, in large part due to his debut album, Angelic Hoodrat. The 14-track effort is an excellent showcase of the Atlanta native’s talent, which expands beyond the expected confines of the rap genre. Mason incorporates rock sounds into the album and does so once again on an extension of the project, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut. It’s here that listeners can find an eye-catching collaboration between Mason and Freddie Gibbs.

Entitled “Much Money,” the track is a woozy effort that sees both rappers discussing the effects money and greed can have on an individual’s focus and ability to stay on task. Mason highlights the lack of loyalty some have to their squad saying, “Bet these n****s won’t die for the squad,” while Freddie Gibbs uses his verse to separate himself from the competition that he deems inadequate. In addition to the Freddie Gibbs contribution, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut also sees guest appearances from Denzel Curry, Angel White, and Ambar Lucid.

On Freddie Gibbs’ side of things, the new track arrives after he dropped his “Big Boss Rabbit” single, which will most likely appear on his upcoming SSS album.

You can listen to “Much Money” above.

Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

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

After delivering two projects to fans in the span of a year with Is He Real? and IDK & Friends 2, PG County rapper IDK took his foot off the gas for the next few months. Now, he’s back in action and coming off a string of releases that continues with his latest effort, “Shoot My Shot.” With Offset riding shotgun on the song, the two rappers show off their ability to get the attention of any woman they lay their eyes on. The track arrives with a charismatic video that’s filled with beautiful women and plenty of “shooting” references.

The new single could land on the rapper’s upcoming album, U See 4 Yourself. The upcoming effort is set to be the sequel to his major-label debut album, which he released back in 2019. IDK hasn’t shared too much information on his second album, but with his recent jump in activity, expect that news about it will arrive sooner than later.

Prior to the new single with Offset, IDK showed off his falsetto voice in a cover of Pharrell and Jay-Z’s 2003 track, “Frontin.” He also gave his supporters a hard-hitting effort with “2 Cents” after fighting his opponents on “King Alfred.” In the midst of that, he also offered a remix of Pooh Shiesty’s “Back In Blood” and joined Deante Hitchcock and Flatbush Zombies to remix Spillage Village’s “Baptize.”

You can listen to “Shoot My Shot” in the video.

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

R. Kelly has spent more than a year in a Chicago jail awaiting his trial on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. In addition to that, he’s also waiting on a separate trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges from a case in Brooklyn, New York. According to AP, it looks like the latter of these two trials will commence this summer as a federal judge gave the green light to have the singer moved to New York in order for it to begin this summer.

The trial for the sex trafficking and racketeering charges was initially supposed to commence in July 2020, but was delayed to April 7, where it was once again pushed back to August 9. During a recent virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly informed lawyers that courthouse protections were in place to ensure that trial would finally begin this summer. While the date for the move is unknown yet, the singer will most likely be moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn later this year.

The singer’s trial will be tried in front of an anonymous jury as Judge Donnelly approved a motion for it at the end of last year. “Empaneling an anonymous jury is appropriate given the seriousness of the charges, the defendant’s history of obstructing the judicial process, the potential for juror intimidation and the intensity of media attention given to this case,” she said. As for Kelly’s child pornography and obstruction trial in Chicago, that is set to begin on September 13.

The world is still reeling over the news of the untimely passing of Earl Simmons, the iconic rapper known as DMX, who succumbed to injuries of a drug overdose last week after spending a week in critical care at a White Plains, New York hospital. DMX was a singular voice in hip-hop who was able to express a range of emotions, cutting some of the most braggadocious and emotionally revealing records in hip-hop history.

Months before his death, the legendary rapper stopped by Uproxx’s People’s Party with Talib Kweli for an in-depth discussion that covered everything from his early days hustling mixtapes to the highs and lows of his career and personal life.

The clip above, a prayer he shared near the end of the episode, offers a compelling moment for fans of DMX and the golden age of hip-hop. Admittedly, it’s not easy to watch, all things considered. But it’s also a reminder that few could express themselves with the emotional depth and raw intensity that X did. Through the short minute and a half long freestyle, DMX lays bare a range of emotions — fear, anger, faith, wrestling with destiny, and a genuine, childlike sense of hope — in a way that only he could.

Rest in power to one of the best to ever do it.

I’m a big fan of the breakfast burrito. That being said, I’m just as big a fan of a classic deli breakfast bagel. Just like with the breakie burrito, there are tons of directions you can go with your breakfast bagel. Lox and cream cheese, B.E.C., just a fried egg, peanut butter and jam. The list goes on and on. The world of savory breakfast sandwiches really is your oyster.

Today, we’re keeping things lighter. Or, at least, vegan-er — while still holding onto the familiar feel of a classic sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel.

Naturally, if you’re making a vegan meal, you don’t need to use meat or dairy substitutes at all. There are millions of ways to eat a vegan diet and never use Beyond Meat or vegan “cheese” or anything processed. It’s certainly healthier. But we’re really going for that old-school deli breakfast sandwich vibe while staying strictly plant-based. Theoretically, this is to help your summer fitness kick, but that depends on what fitness means to you.

It’s served on bread. And probably relatively close to a wash on calories.

The real question we want to answer is whether going fully plant-based with what is essentially greasy-spoon fare actually tastes good. Do plant-based scrambled eggs stand up to the real deal? How good is Beyond Meat’s sausage at the end of the day? Let’s figure it all out!

Vegan “Sausage, Egg, and Cheese” Breakfast Bagel

Ingredients:

• 1 Beyond Meat Sausage
• 1/4 cup vegan scrambled eggs
• 2 slices vegan cheddar
• 1 bagel
• Arugula
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

There’s a great bagel shop inside a synagogue here in Berlin that I frequent. They make whole wheat bagels by hand every day. They’re uniquely Berlin bagels with a hefty chew and bit more of a sour edge. You get what works for you. If you had a date stay over the night before making this, go for a bakery bagel over store-bought.

I’m using the Beyond Meat Beyond Sausage “Brat Original” sausages. There’s a nice spice to these that sort of feels halfway between a herbal German bratwurst and a mildly spicy Italian sausage. They’re also hefty enough that I can butterfly them for easier sandwich building later.

Onto the cheese! I bought vegan cheddar slices from Violife. Generally speaking, the cheese has a close texture to American Cheese cheddar slices with a bit more of a plastic-y edge. Still, it melts and does have a mild cheddar flavor (though, I timed my sandwiches to real cheese and didn’t get an optimal melt…).

Finally, there’s the egg. I’m using a plant-based substitute that’s from Australia (Orgran). The closest thing I can find in the U.S. is JUST Egg. Basically, you’re getting a premixed eggy mixture that works pretty damn well as a plant-based scrambled egg in texture and look.

What You’ll Need:

• Cast iron skillet
• Non-stick pan
• Bread knife
• Spatula
• White grease-proof paper

Method:

• Put a skillet on medium-high heat and add a small glug of olive oil.
• Slice the bagel in half along the horizontal and toast off the bagel in the skillet.
• Butterfly the sausage and place it in the same hot skillet, cut side down. Brown on both sides. Top with a slice of cheese.
• At the same time, in a non-stick pan on medium-low heat, add in a small glug of olive oil.
• Add scrambled egg mix with a pinch of salt and a crack or two of black pepper.
• Rotate the skillet by tipping it slightly in a circular motion to help the eggs set into a thin sheet. Once the thin layer of egg pretty much sets, fold the edges over to create a small square. Top the egg with its own slice of cheese and turn off the heat.
• Build the sandwich by adding the arugula to the heel of the toasted bagel.
• Next, add the egg, sausages, and the crown of the bagel.
• Optional: hit the egg with a few dashes of hot sauce (or chili flakes) while building.
• Wrap the bagel in white paper and let rest.
• Slice the bagel in half along the vertical and serve.

Bottom Line:

This was really satisfying and a great breakfast all around. But before I rave, let’s get into the cons.

I screwed up the cheese by not covering my pan and skillet to really let the cheese melt. I got a really good melt on the cheese between the sausage and egg (see photo below) but not between the sausage and crown of the bagel. Still, this cheese was the mildest of cheddars I’ve ever had. It brought the texture more than the taste. By the end, it was meltier and had absorbed some oil — getting closer to that crappy and plastic American Cheese you often get at a shitty diner.

Which is to say, it hit the spot.

The eggs worked perfectly as a textural component. But, there was no real “egginess” to them. My scramble was pale and kind of flavorless. I might add some MSG to the egg next time to help coax more flavors from the scrambled egg mixture. I might also put the hot sauce into the egg mix as it’s cooking.

Now for the good stuff. I really like Beyond Meat’s sausages. They hold up to butterflying really well. They’re legitimately tasty. And they really helped this sandwich pop, which made up for the mildness of the cheese and eggs.

***

All told, this was a very good way to start the day. The bagel was funky and filling. The sausage, egg, and cheese definitely vibed and had a real familiarity to them… even if the flavors weren’t bang on. Even the layer of arugula added a nice peppery touch.

I will 100 percent make this again. It took less than ten minutes and hit the spot. It felt… akin to healthy eating. Like a neighbor or casual acquaintance of healthy food. If you try it, promise to dial in that cheese melt and amp up the umami on those eggs.

Earlier this week, Usher found himself trending on Twitter after getting put on blast for throwing fake money with his face on it at a strip club, to the dismay of the dancers. The photos of the “Usher Bucks” as they quickly became known as on social media went viral and caused an awful lot of jokes at Usher’s expense.

The actual story was that Usher had left the bills behind as a gag to promote his upcoming Vegas residency and had indeed been tipping the staff and dancers at the club with actual, legal currency all night. That didn’t stop the jokes, though, and on Thursday night the Usher Bucks scandal made its way to Inside the NBA, where a tweet joking that Charles Barkley’s guarantees are worth about as much as a fake Usher $100. What ensued was some classic Inside banter, with Chuck defending Usher’s honor and then Shaq trying to explain the entire thing as G-rated as he could for the television audience.

Shaq’s use of the “grocery store” in place of strip club was pretty funny and got a good laugh out of the guys, and, honestly, I would much prefer the fellas spend an entire segment trying to explain to Charles Barkley things that went viral on social media each week than, say, debating the merits of big men shooting threes again.

2020 was difficult (to say the least). The year was full of life changes, losses, and lessons as we learned to navigate the “new normal.” You may have questions about what the changes and challenges of 2020 mean for your taxes. That’s where TurboTax Live comes in, making it easy to connect with real tax experts to help with your taxes – or even do them for you, start to finish.

Not only has TurboTax Live helped millions of people get their taxes done right, but this year they’ve also celebrated people who uplifted their communities during a difficult time by surprising them with “little lifts” to help out even more.

Here are a few of their stories:

Julz, hairdresser and salon owner

“As a hairdresser and salon owner, 2020 was extremely challenging,” says Julz. “Being a hairdresser has historically been a recession-proof industry, but we’ve never faced global shut down due to health risk, or pandemic, not in my lifetime. And for the first time, hairdressers didn’t have job security.”

Julz had to shut down her salon and go on unemployment benefits for the first time. She also had to figure out how she was going to support herself, her staff and her business during this difficult time. But many other beauty industry professionals didn’t have access to the resources they needed, so Julz decided to help.

“My business partner and I began teaching basic financial literacy to other beauty industry professionals,” she says. “Transitioning our business from behind the chair to an online academy was a challenge we tackled head-on so that we could move hairdressers into this new space of education, and create a more accessible curriculum to better serve our industry.

Julz connected with a TurboTax Live expert who helped her understand how unemployment affected her taxes and gave her guidance on filing quarterly estimated taxes for her small business. “I was terrified to sit at a computer and tackle this mess of receipts,” Julz says, so “it was great to have some virtual handholding to walk me through each question.”

In addition to giving Julz the personalized tax advice she needed, TurboTax Live surprised her with a “little lift” that empowered her to help even more beauty professionals. “When my tax expert Diana surprised me with a little lift, I was moved to tears,” says Julz. “With that little lift, I was able to establish a scholarship fund to help get other hairdressers the education they deserve.”

Alana, new mom

Alana welcomed her first child in 2020. “I think my biggest challenge was figuring out how to be a mom, with no guidance,” she says. “My original plan was to have my mom by my side, teaching me the ropes, but because of COVID, she wasn’t able to come out here.”

She was also without a job for most of 2020 and struggled to find something new.

So, Alana took it as a sign: she decided to launch her own business so she could support her new baby, and that’s exactly what she did. She started a feel-good company that specializes in creating affirmation card decks — and she’s currently in the process of starting a second, video-editing business.

TurboTax Live answered Alana’s questions about her taxes and gave her some much-needed advice as she prepared to launch her businesses. Thanks to their “little lift,” they provided her with a little emotional support too.

“I got my mom a plane ticket to finally [have her] meet [my daughter] for her first birthday,” Alana says. “I was also able to get a new computer,” which helped her invest in her new business and work on her video editing skills. “It’s helped my family and me so much,” she says.

Michael, science teacher

When schools shut down across the country last year, Michael had to learn how to adapt to a virtual classroom.

“As a teacher, I had to completely revamp everything,” he says, so that he could keep his students engaged while teaching online. “At the beginning, it was a nightmare because I had no idea. I had to go from A-Z within a couple of weeks.”

Michael’s TurboTax Live expert answered his questions about how working from home affected his taxes and helped him uncover surprising tax deductions. To top it all off, his expert surprised him with brand new science equipment and supplies, which allowed him to create an entire line of classes on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. “Now I can truly potentially reach millions of children with my lessons,” he says. “I would never have taken that leap if not for the little lift from TurboTax Live.”

Ricky, motivational youth speaker

As a motivational speaker, Ricky was used to doing his job in person, but, he says, “when COVID-19 hit, it altered my ability to travel and visit schools in person [because] schools moved to fully virtual or hybrid models.”

He knew he had to pivot — so he began offering small virtual group workshops for student leadership groups at middle and high schools.

“This allowed me to work with student leaders to plan how they would continue making a positive impact on their school community,” he says. He wasn’t sure how being remote would affect his taxes, but TurboTax Live Self-Employed gave him the advice and answers that he needed to keep more money in his pocket at tax time — and the little lift he received from them has helped him serve even more students.

“[It] has been a major blessing,” he says “There will be multiple schools and student groups from across the country that I can hold leadership workshops with to empower them with the tools to be inspirational leaders in their school, community, and world.”

Plus, he says, it was great knowing he had an expert to help him figure out how being remote affected his taxes. “I felt confident and assured in the process of filing my taxes knowing I had an expert working with me, says Ricky. “There were things my expert knew that I would not have considered when filing on my own.”

Filing your taxes doesn’t have to be intimidating, especially after a year like 2020. TurboTax Live experts can give you the “little lift” you need to get your taxes done. File with the help of an expert or let an expert file for you! Go to TurboTax Live to get started.

Unless you count Dr. Oz making hundreds of former Jeopardy! contestants furious for tarnishing the show’s celebration of science and facts, Aaron Rodgers has officially had the most eventful guest hosting stint on the legendary game show. The Green Bay Packers quarterback has proven fit for the podium during his 10-game stretch on the show, bantering with contestants about Packers playoff losses and just generally looking like he belongs hosting a game show.

Rodgers has put in the work, studying the game’s flow like he does opposing defenses and earning praise from the show’s staff, including someone who did the guest hosting gig himself. But on Thursday, Rodgers continued one of the finest traditions in Jeopardy! history: roasting a contestant for their biographical information after the first commercial break.

It’s a gentle moment, but something that the late Alex Trebek did so often during his tenure hosting the show. Whether it was calling a contestant really into nerdcore a “loser” or being extremely disappointing no one could get a question about football right, Trebek gently ribbed many contestants over the years. And Rodgers did the same on Thursday after a contestant named Lindsay shared a story about how people always seem to call her a different name.

Lindsay explains that people who misidentify her tend to say Ashley instead. She says that, for one reason or another, people seem to think she looks like an Ashley. And so right before he moves on to the next contestant, Rodgers says “alright Ashley, uh,” earning a big laugh from her and others on set.

The comedic timing is perfect here, as Rodgers waited for her to have her moment and then almost certainly became the most famous person to call her Ashley. And it’s yet another sign of just how comfortable Rodgers became during his time guest hosting. It’s a whirlwind experience, with just three days committed to the job, the latter two of those days filming five episodes each day. This would be the penultimate episode recorded on his second day, but it’s clear that Rodgers quickly found his groove as a guest host. And it’s a showing that’s making many wonder if he really could pull double duty and take on the role full-time, if they’d let him.