Category: News

Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, Disney World is pushing ahead with their plans for a phased reopening in Florida, starting today, as the Magic and Animal Kingdoms open their gates to eager Disneyphiles across the state. The remaining Disney World theme parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studio are expected to follow suit and open up next week on July 15th. In California, another state that is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, Disneyland and California Adventure will remain closed until given the go-ahead by the state government, after plans for a July 17th reopening fell apart due to safety concerns from employees, though Disney’s shopping center, Downtown Disney, did open retail stores this week, which resulted in some pretty lengthy lines.

If you’re planning on a trip to Disney World this weekend, you’ll be upset to know that just because the parks are reopening, doesn’t mean we live in a fantasy world where COVID-19 doesn’t exist. The experience at Disney World will be much different than what you’re used to. All guests over the age of two, according to Disney’s “Know Before You Go” preparation page, must wear face coverings in all public areas.

That means in line, on the ride, while you’re buying tickets, and even when you’re queuing up for a turkey leg. Guests may only remove their face masks to eat and drink, and all restaurants will require a dining reservation. The park also recommends that you are prepared for contactless forms of payment and suggests all visitors download the My Disney Experience App to receive up to date park information and additional safety reminders.

That, frankly, sounds less like a place where dreams come true and more like a nightmare that all Disney employees are probably dreading. We suggest you don’t go. If the new rules aren’t enough to dissuade you, we’ve got some data for you to chew on as well. As of July 10th, Florida has a total of 244,151 confirmed cases of coronavirus, it’s not the highest (it’s the third-highest) but it gets especially scary when you consider how quickly that number is rising.

According to Florida’s Local 10 News, on Friday, July 10th, Florida reported 11,433 new cases in a single day, a small decrease from the state’s single-day high of 11,458 recorded just last Saturday. This week alone, the state saw close to 10,000 new cases per day. According to CNN, the number of cases per 100k people living in the state is 1,137 — compared to California’s 767 per 100k. All of which makes the reopening a test balloon with the potential for disaster.

The lurid twists in the “Tiger King” story keep coming: As per The New York Post, the private zoo once owned by the now-imprisoned Joe Exotic had to be investigated yesterday when authorities were notified about possible human remains. Unlike some of the other aspects of this neverending saga, at least we have a sense of closure with this one: The claims turned out to be false.

It all happened Friday, when the show Ghost Adventures — which investigates potentially haunted locations — were filming Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. A team of cadaver dogs were present, and they sniffed out what appeared to be remains of some sort — possibly human.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation were quickly called in, but after a search they discovered that the remains were not human at all but rather that of a small animal.

The private zoo, owned by Joe Exotic until his conviction in April of 2019 for conspiring to kill animal rights activist and his nemesis, Carole Baskin. Baskin herself has been accused, with questionable credibility by Joe Exotic and others, of being involved in the disappearance of her missing husband — accusations Baskin has roundly denied. In any case, there is seemingly no end to the gruesome twists and turns in a tale made most famous by the hit Netflix show, Tiger King.

(Via The New York Post)

Kid Cudi has been pretty active this year, at least compared to others, and he continued his streak this past weekend, releasing his latest single, “The Adventures Of Moon Man And Slim Shady.” It’s his third of the year, following “The Leader Of The Delinquents,” a track that dates back nearly a decade, and his Travis Scott collaboration “The Scotts,” the lead single off their upcoming joint album. To honor the occasion, the rapper stopped by Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio show to discuss the song.

In their discussion, Cudi revealed how Lil Wayne helped make the collaboration a reality. Back in May, the former sent out a tweet requesting the help of the “rap god.” Since Eminem’s presence on social media is more or less nonexistent, it could be assumed at the time that the legend did not see Cudi’s call for help. When Eminem later joined Wayne on Young Money Radio, Wayne brought the tweet to his attention, setting off what would become their collaboraiton.

Wayne also pushed Cudi to send him a song for a collaboration saying, “I’m in the stu everyday so shoot me something.” When Cudi onliged, Wayne promised he would deliver on the song, boasting, “Just know, Eminem effect when I send it back.”

Soon after the track’s release, the song would make headlines as Cudi and Eminem both commented on the death of George Floyd while Eminem said “f*ck Drew Brees” on the track, in response to the Saints’ quarterback’s comments on kneeling for the national anthem last month.

Check out the video above to hear Cudi and Wayne’s conversation.

The Indiana Fever announced that the team will arrive in Bradenton, Fla. on Saturday after initially delaying their travel when two players tested positive for COVID-19. Following the WNBA’s last round of league-wide COVID-19 testing before teams were scheduled to leave for Florida, the league announced that seven players out of 137 tested positive and that the Fever would “delay their travel by at least five days in an abundance of caution due to the CDC’s close contact self-quarantine requirements.” The Fever did not release which players had tested positive for COVID-19, but the Indy Star reported that two players had tested positive.

“We thank Pacers Sports & Entertainment and WNBA leadership for diligently working on a safe course of action for our players and staff to travel,” Fever President Dr. Allison Barber said in a statement. “Our team is excited to tip off the 2020 WNBA season and we invite Hoosiers in all 92 counties to watch our games via our new streaming capabilities.”

While most of the Fever will arrive in Bradenton today, Erica Wheeler announced that she would have to quarantine for a bit longer before she can join the team. Last season, Wheeler started every game while averaging 10.1 points and five assists per game on her way to becoming an All-Star for the first time in her career. The star guard started her career in Puerto Rico, earning $200 a week after going undrafted in the WNBA, and last year, she was named MVP of the All-Star Game after she finished with 25 points and a game record-tying seven three-pointers.

Led by new head coach Marianne Stanley, the team recently finalized its roster after releasing guard Betnijah Laney and adding Stephanie Mavunga, after the forward was removed from the “Non-Active/Non-WNBA Injury” list. As The Next reported, the Fever’s 12-woman lineup features nine returners from last year, including veterans Candice Dupree and Natalie Achonwa. Rookies Lauren Cox, Julie Allemand, and Kathleen Doyle are all looking to get their first taste of WNBA action this summer.

The 2020 WNBA season is set to tip off on July 25 ⁠— two and a half months after it was originally scheduled to do so ⁠— at IMG Academy, with 22 games in the regular season and a normal playoffs format that will stretch into October. Following their arrival in Bradenton, all players, coaches and staff were required to quarantine in their rooms for four days before starting practice. Training camps for each team on site began on Friday, with players able to practice with their teams for the first time.

The UFC will serve up its biggest card of the year on Saturday night. UFC 251, the promotion’s first event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, features a trio of title fights at the top of the bill, with the main event coming together in less than a week. Following Gilbert Burns needing to drop out due to a positive COVID-19 test, Jorge Masvidal will step into the Octagon to challenge for Kamaru Usman’s welterweight title.

This isn’t the only big event on Saturday involving the UFC and Masvidal. It was announced that the Miami native will appear on the cover of UFC 4 alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

“I am the face of a new wave of UFC fighters, so it feels right to represent the sport on this new generation UFC game,” Adesanya said in a release, per Game Informer. “I look forward to my fans playing as me as much as I have enjoyed playing as myself.”

“MMA is more than about the belt,” Masvidal said in the release. “It’s about who you are as a person and the determination that drives a fighter to go from unknown to selling out arenas all over the world. I grew up backyard fighting so it’s exciting for me to see that style of fighting come to UFC 4 where players can bring out their Gamebred mentality.”

The first UFC release from EA Sports since 2018, UFC 4‘s trailer — which features both cover athletes and shows off the game’s Backyard and Kumite environments — was also released.

UFC 4 is available for pre-order now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It drops on August 14, and as an added incentive, those who pre-order the game will get heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as playable characters.

Late last month, Kanye West emerged from a lengthy period of silence with a slew of announcements, which he dubbed “The West Day Ever.” Among the revelations were a 10-year partnership with Gap for a Yeezy Gap line, a trailer for he and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghost animated show, even aa music video to his 2004 track “Spaceship,” off his debut album, College Droput. Just over two weeks later, Kanye returns with another big announcement.

This one involved Kanye’s Yeezy Sound company, with the rapper-musician-presidential candidate revealing its roster of talent. Among those included were that hip-hop duos Abstract Mindstate and Clipse, Cyhi The Prince (who is also signed to GOOD Music), and jazz drummer Tony Williams. West also added the name “KC,” which, according to Billboard, may refer to Jodeci singer K-Ci. He also included himself and his daughter North West.

Yeezy Sound was reportedly trademarked in 2017 for “streaming of music, audio, images, video, and other multimedia content, over the Internet,” according to The Blast. This announcement comes after West announced in a tweet that he would be joining the 2020 race for president. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”

Check out West’s Yeezy Sound tweet above.

Novelty musicians tend to have short careers, achieving one-hit-wonder status and then disappearing back into the ether. And then there’s “Weird Al” Yankovic. The parodist and accordion enthusiast is on his fifth decade of relevance, perhaps partly because his lampoons come from love, not hate. Take his 2018 song “The Hamilton Polka” — a five-minute mash-up devoted to the instant classic Broadway sensation. Yankovic so clearly adores the source that, after the movie version dropped on Disney+ last weekend, he was quick to give the song a new music video.

Mind you, this isn’t some slick montage starring Yankovic himself. It looks like it was made by Yankovic himself on iMovie. All the images are from the movie version itself — which was filmed on stage with the original cast at peak powers — with Yankovic (or whoever was doing the editing) trying to make it look like the performers are singing along to his loving parody.

Again, the song itself came out two years ago, included on the comp Hamildrops, comprised of covers and originals inspired by the show, Yankovic included. Most (though not all!) of the artists Yankovic has parodied consider it an honor to get the “Weird Al” treatment, and Hamilton creator/star Lin-Manuel Miranda is no exception. When you’re done watching the new “Hamilton Polka” video, watch Miranda appearing to wipe away tears as he listens to the song in a slightly happier era.

(Via The A.V. Club)

In one of the most glaringly hypocritical moves in recent history, the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum is suing black blues singer Anita “Lady A” White, to use her stage name she’s performed under for over three decades.

Lady Antebellum announced it had changed its name to Lady A on June 11 as part of its commitment to “examining our individual and collective impact and marking the necessary changes to practice antiracism.”

Antebellum refers to an era in the American south before the civil war when black people were held as slaves.

However, White hasn’t accepted the band’s overtures to use her name so they’ve decided to sue her instead of choosing another one.

It seems the band’s commitment to “antiracism” doesn’t apply to the practice of wielding the bands considerable wealth and power to take what isn’t theirs from a black woman.

On July 7, the band filed a lawsuit after coming to the conclusion “that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”

In 2010, the band secured a trademark for the name “Lady A” which was a nickname that fans used for the group. It’s unclear whether the band knew about Lady A, who was performing in the Pacific Northwest or if White knew about the trademark.

“We hope Anita and the advisers she is now listening to will change their minds about their approach,” the band wrote in a statement. “We can do so much more together than in this dispute.”

The artists discussed recording a song together and recording the process documentary-style, but talks fell through because, according to White, the band never dealt with her in good faith.

White also claims that the band’s initial attempts to rectify the situation had no substance.

“It said that we would coexist and that they would use their best efforts to assist me on social-media platforms, Amazon, iTunes, all that,” she told Vulture. “But what does that mean? I had suggested on the Zoom call that they go by the Band Lady A, or Lady A the Band, and I could be Lady A the Artist, but they didn’t want to do that.”

White countered by asking for $10 million. She planned to use $5 million to re-brand and donate the other $5 million to charities that provide support to fellow independent Black artists.

The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum didn’t agree.

“But here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a Black person, even though they say they’re trying to help,” she added “If you want to be an advocate or an ally, you help those who you’re oppressing. And that might require you to give up something because I am not going to be erased.”

NASCAR was one of the first professional sports leagues in North America to successfully return to competition amid the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, holding stock car races at tracks closed to the public in an attempt to finish its season after months away from the track.

Things have gone relatively smoothly in the transition from virtual racing to real live events, though Jimmie Johnson’s positive coronavirus test in early July sent shockwaves through the racing community that has dealt with other significant news since its return to racing. But according to reports Friday, the sport’s governing body is concerned that lax safety standards could cause a COVID-19 outbreak that could threaten NASCAR’s ability to keep competing and admonished teams and staff to adhere to wearing masks correctly.

WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni reported Friday that NASCAR sent teams a memo reminding them about safety standards to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including proper mask wearing and other safety standards, noting that “one cluster outbreak” could end the racing season well before it’s supposed to conclude if teams and staff contract COVID-19. The AP’s Jenna Fryer also reported on the memo Friday, sharing on Twitter the contents of the letter sent to NASCAR’s teams and their employees.

The note highlighted the rise of COVID-19 cases in southern states where most NASCAR tracks are located and acknowledged that more drivers and staff will contract the disease, but that its spread must be limited otherwise it “will threaten our ability to continue racing.”

[via WCNC]

“More people in our industry are going to contract the virus,” NASCAR said, “The key is limiting it.”

“It is important for everyone to do their part ALL THE TIME. One cluster outbreak can derail our season.”

It’s an alarming admission that more cases will hit NASCAR and its drivers and crews, though it is certainly one that is rooted in reality. America is past the point of properly containing the spread of the virus and lacks the tracking and testing mechanisms to limit exposure, and its state-by-state guidelines for mask wearing and other health and safety standards means outbreaks will continue across the country despite the best warnings of health experts. Any attempt to conduct sports in this environment is rife with dangers and potential exposure, and NASCAR is making it clear to its staff that just because the season has been able to continue amid growing caseloads nationwide, that may not be the case if people are not more careful.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This week, Summer Walker released the follow-up to 2019’s Over It with a 5-track EP entitled Life On Earth and Snoh Aalegra came through with her latest single “Dying 4 Your Love.” Also, R&B act Dvsn teamed up with OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars for an official slowed-up remix to their album A Muse In Her Feelings. Check out the rest of the best new R&B below.

Summer Walker — Life On Earth EP

Summer Walker has proven herself to be one of the best things to happen in R&B with the major success of her 2019 debut album Over It and today, the talented musician shared her 5-track EP Life On Earth. Short and sweet, the project features PartyNextDoor as well as up-and-comer No1-Noah who blesses his presence on the sensual tracks “White Tees” and “SWV.” Fans seemed to love No1-Noah’s features so much that he was trending on Twitter for his effort. Donald Trump‘s official Twitter account even liked a tweet praising the “stripper” vibes Life On Earth gives. Summer previously threatened to quit making music and thank God she hasn’t.

Snoh Aalegra — “Dying 4 Your Love”

Iranian vocalist Snoh Aalegra sings the unnerving truth about love on her latest track “Dying 4 Your Love.” The ethereal visual for the song was directed by I.P.W. and features Snoh somewhere in the future amongst the moon and the stars. To celebrate the release of “Dying 4 Your Love,” the singer is selling merch in collaboration with non-profit Until Freedom as an effort to combat systemic racism and police brutality.

Dvsn — A Muse In Her Feelings (Chopnotslop Remix) Feat. OG Ron C & DJ Candlestick

Dvsn‘s third studio album A Muse In Her Feelings is a continuation of an euphoric love affair from 2017’s Morning After and the duo tapped in with Houston legend OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars to further bring out that drunk-in-love ecstasy embodying the project with the official ChopNotSlop remix. The historic chopped and screwed effect comprehensively has the ability to take music into another realm and outstanding tracks such as “For Us,” “‘Flawless’ Do It Well” with Summer Walker and “Friends” with PartyNextDoor are just a few examples of how the sonic H-Town tradition can elevate the musical experience.

Dinner Party – “Sleepless Nights” Feat. Phoelix

There’s a jazzy Dinner Party with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder, and everyone is invited. On the menu is the funky jam “Sleepless Nights” featuring Phoelix, as well as an animated visual based in the heart of Los Angeles. It’s a sweet vibe that smoothly blends contemporary jazz and R&B energy.

Kiana Lede — “Crazy.”

Off Kiana Lede‘s 2020 debut Kiki, the singer shares an intimate music video for her track “Crazy.” It’s a relatable serenade resulting from the effects of being in a toxic relationship. “You done pushed me to a point that got me looking crazy,” she croons. “I done had my share of fuck boys, they be talking crazy.” It’s real life and it’s a mood.

Baby Rose — Marmot

The remarkable Baby Rose seriously impressed with her feature on Dreamville‘s Revenge of the Dreamers III track “Self-Love.” The contralto singer is continuing her musical footmark with the release of her sultry track “Marmot.” It’s a deeply rich ballad that pushes Baby Rose into a lane of her own.

Ann Marie — “Stress Relief” Feat. G Herbo

Ann Marie synced up with Chicago rapper G Herbo for her latest track “Stress Relief.” Ann Marie sings of keeping her bae safe, while Herb delivers bars about being there for his better half. “Stress Relief” is just a taste of what the Chi-Town crooner has in the bank. Her debut project is expected to arrive this summer.

Joy Denalane — “I Believe” Feat. BJ The Chicago Kid

MoTown recording artist Joy Denalane and BJ The Chicago Kid‘s collab track “I Believe” is a soulful love journey. Joined by the crashing sounds of hi-hats, horns, and an intoxicating bassline, the German singer sings sultry sounds of love. Joy and BJ’s chemistry on the track is undeniable.

Noah Cunane — “Call Him”

Burgeoning pop-R&B act Noah Cunane‘s latest single “Call Him” has been described as the “anti-fuckboy” anthem. Instead of remaining in a toxic situation and playing games, Noah sings to his potential love to let go of the past. With a voice like Noah’s, the encouragement is certainly convincing. “Call me up after you call him,” he sings. It’s refreshing single with a new perspective that anyone can appreciate.

Sally Sossa — “Who You Are”

Sally Sossa is an upcoming artist out of Houston who can both sing and rap. On her latest single “Who You Are” she thoughtfully does both. The 18-year-old singer already has co-signs from the likes of Lil Durk and French Montana, making her one to watch.

Check out this week’s R&B picks, plus more on Uproxx’s Spotify playlist below.

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