Rap and rappers are often criticized for the (erroneous) perception that they glorify drug use — at least in comparison to other genres — but usually, the references are confined to alcoholic beverages and copious amounts of weed. On the harder end of the spectrum, there are narcotic cough syrups and opiates like percocet, xanax, and other anti-anxiety medications or painkillers, but with even arguably the biggest proponents of drug use in hip-hop slowing their use, it looks like there are fewer examples to support the rap drug use argument than ever.

However, that hasn’t stopped one rappers from trying to find new ways to get high. YSL Records rapper Gunna, whose mentor Young Thug once found the most original way to imbibe lean, worried fans when apparently did a whippit — a nitrous oxide charger — during an Instagram Live session. Folks have inhaled nitrous oxide for recreational use for a long time, but in general, the visibility of the drug isn’t that high. While nitrous isn’t inherently toxic, long-term use can have serious side-effects and the drug can be habit-forming. In addition, the canisters used for food applications like whipped cream (like the one being used by Gunna) can have industrial byproducts in them, increasing the danger.

Fans who witnessed the video had varied reactions, from observing the potentially hazardous side effects of prolonged use to cracking jokes about the creative direction on his new album, Wunna.

While using nitrous oxide to get high isn’t super fatal — only a handful of deaths occur each year — the recent overdoses of rappers like Juice WRLD, Mac Miller, Lil Peep, and others have highlighted the dangers of drug use for hip-hop fans. Maybe Gunna and those around him can learn from those examples and find more constructive ways to enjoy their free time. At least, they could keep off social media and out of the view of impressionable young fans.

Watch Gunna’s concerning video and see fans’ worried responses above.

Just trying to make Marie Kondo proud.

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“Caught my daughter packing turds into cardboard toilet paper tubes and hiding them under the sink. She called them ‘poop bombs.'”

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I volunteer as tribute…to eat some broccoli cheddar soup.

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Barcelona’s premier music festival Primavera Sound was slated to celebrate its 20th year as a festival in a big way. The organizers had planned on bringing Primavera Sound to LA this year in order to offer “the Primavera Sound spirit and vibe to cities with a similar feel: creative, colorful and welcoming.” However, following the trend of nearly every other major festival, Primavera Sound has announced they are canceling their LA debut and opting to reschedule the festival next year.

Primavera Sound was booked for the weekend of September 19 this year in LA’s State Historic Park. The organizers had wanted to celebrate two decades as a festival by expanding their event to other cities. But after postponing their Barcelona iteration, which was going to take place in June, Primavera Sound has also decided to cancel their LA event. Instead, Primavera Sound will wait until 2021 to come to LA.

In a statement posted to social media, Primavera Sound announced the festival cancelation. The LA lineup had not yet been unveiled, but the festival said those who purchased Early Bird tickets are able to transfer their passes to next year’s event. “Until then, please stay safe and take care of each other,” organizers wrote. “The festival team continues to work intensively so that, in 2021, we can celebrate something more than just the Feist edition fo Primavera Sound Los Angeles: meeting beach other and dancing together for the first time.”

Read the festival’s full statement above and find more information on ticket refunds here.

When the calendar flips to June, the NBA is expected to put a more firm plan in place for a return to basketball, with teams being able to officially recall players and begin preparations for the bubble league at Disney World in Orlando.

There have been a number of options floated by league insiders as to what that will look like, from a truncated regular season for all 30 teams to get everyone to the magic 70-game number that gets the majority of local TV revenue into their pockets to simply bringing in the 16 playoff teams to limit the amount of people brought to the bubble.

The latter concept seems to be gaining steam, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explained on Get Up! on Monday morning, noting that not only could they go straight into the playoffs, but they also might finally use this as a testing platform for seeding the postseason without conference designation since there’s no issue of travel with everyone at one location.

“I really think there’s a good chance this is only going to be a 16-team playoff,” Windhorst said. “If that is the case, it opens up the possibility for something that Adam Silver has long wanted, which is to seed 1 through 16 in the postseason and go that route. There’s no excuse with travel or anything like that. It would have to pass an owner vote, and that means a bunch of Eastern Conference owners would have to agree to it. But if there’s a way to make this interesting and spice this up and potentially test out this theory, you’re never going to get a better opportunity if that’s the direction they go.”

It would be interesting if they went this route, and this year might be the easiest year to get everyone on board with this idea because the 16 teams would be evenly split between East and West, as Orlando edges out Portland by 1.5 games currently for that 16th seed. If they were to debut that format, you would end up with four cross conference matchups if they seed based on current standings and the bracket would look like this.

1. Milwaukee Bucks vs. 16. Orlando Magic
8. Miami Heat vs. 9. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 13. Dallas Mavericks
5. Boston Celtics vs. 12. Philadelphia 76ers

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 15. Brooklyn Nets
7. Utah Jazz vs. 10. Houston Rockets
3. Toronto Raptors vs. 14. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Denver Nuggets vs. 11. Indiana Pacers

There are certainly some intriguing matchups, particularly Heat-Thunder, and you also get some big-time in-conference battles like Utah-Houston (where Houston would likely be heavily favored with the Jazz down Bogdanovic and potentially Ingles) and Celtics-Sixers. The biggest point of issue, from an entertainment standpoint, is the Clippers and Lakers being on opposite brackets and, as such, potentially missing out on the showdown everyone was hoping to see in the Western Conference playoffs.

The league could test the new format and gauge the interest of fans and whether the teams in the league liked the shake up to determine if it’s something worth pursuing going forward, even when accounting for travel challenges.

Knicks legend and current Georgetown head men’s basketball coach Patrick Ewing announced over the weekendp that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in the hospital due to symptoms from the virus.

At 57 years old, the Hall of Famer is at the age more at risk to serious complications from the virus — although it must always be noted that there have been a number of cases of younger people that have been very serious — and as such there was a great deal of concern when he made his announcement. Happily, Ewing appears to be improving and is out of the hospital, as his son Patrick Ewing Jr. offered a statement of thanks to the hospital staff and to the public for their well wishes for his father.

It’s very good news that Ewing is back at home and seeing his condition steadily improve, but his case also serves as yet another cautionary tale that there is still a great deal of risk of the virus spreading even after two months of varying stay-at-home orders, many of which are now being rescinded or loosened. For the sports world, it’s a reminder that plans to reopen must not only consider the risks for the players, but also coaches and others that fall into more at-risk populations.

Rihanna has come a long way since her breakout single “Pon De Replay.” Not only has the singer been awarded 9 Grammys and a number of other accolades, but Rihanna has gone on to launch two successful brands, done a great deal of charity work, and has become the world’s wealthiest female musician. Now, 15 years after her debut single, Rihanna shares with fans a reflection on her time in the music industry.

Rihanna was first launched into the industry when she arrived at Def Jam 15 years ago to audition for Jay-Z. Rihanna sang him a demo of what would become her breakout hit, “Pon De Replay,” and the rest is history. Reflecting on her career anniversary, Rihanna offered a heartfelt note of gratitude to fans and everyone who has supported her career along the way:

“Man this feels trippy. Feels like just yesterday I was shaking in the hallways of Def Jam waiting to audition for Jay. Pon de Replay is where it all began….15 years later and I’m here because God led me to you, and you guys have held me up, supported me, tolerated me, loved me, kept it too real with me, and we got always be connected because of that!”

Now that Rihanna has celebrated 15 years in the music industry, hopefully the singer decides it’s time to release new music, which she has been taunting fans with. Most recently, Rihanna teased fans by saying she “lost” her record, but just a few months ago she had admitted that she was working “very aggressively” on new music.

Read Rihanna’s full statement above.

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