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USA Basketball got off to a much better start to their second game of group play, taking a 50-37 halftime lead on Greece, a vast improvement over falling in an early double-digit hole to New Zealand. The Americans would continue pouring it on in the second half, running away to another comfortable win, this time by a 109-81 margin.

It was a balanced effort from Team USA, as nine different players scored at least eight points, with Austin Reaves (15 points), Jalen Brunson (13), Anthony Edwards (13), and Bobby Portis (10) all reaching double figures. While Edwards had assumed the mantle of lead star for Team USA in tune-up play, through two games in the World Cup, he has not tried to be overly assertive, allowing for the American squad’s overall talent to overwhelm opponents. Against Greece, he didn’t have his best, going 4-of-11 from the field, but chipped in three assists and two rebounds to go along with his point total, as well as authoring the funniest moment of the game by far.

A fan from Greece was very loudly screeching during free throws — a la Diar DeRozan in the play-in — and after sinking a free throw in the third quarter, Edwards turned to the stands and screeched back.

I love that there’s that much passion at the World Cup for a fan to be in the upper deck doing anything he can to try and help his team, and I love that Anthony Edwards’ response was to simply scream his loudest back at them after hitting a free throw. It’s incredible, and my main takeaway is if the Raptors had Anthony Edwards they would not have lost to the Bulls in the Play-In.

Vince Staples has a theory about why some new artists’ festival performances have been so bad lately. The internet has made it easier than ever to find and build an audience for young rappers just starting out, and the boom in new festivals has given them both a platform to perform and an avenue to filling their bank accounts. However, fans have noted that many of these performances have been weaker than those of prior generations, citing poor stage presence and breath control and artists performing over their vocal tracks as pain points.

Appearing on The Joe Budden Podcast, Long Beach rapper Vince Staples — himself a decade-long performing veteran who has played such festivals as Camp Flog Gnaw, Coachella, Primavera Sound, and Summer Smash — offered his thoughts on this phenomenon. Asked whether the festival bubble has put a ceiling on artists’ potential, Vince said:

“It depends on how you perform,” he asserted, after naming a few artists in the rock, indie, and pop spaces who’ve had long, successful careers performing at festivals. “If your show is catered to a larger audience, it can work out.” He elaborated, “You can get on the festival stage and embarrass yourself. And if that happen, then it’s quiet… Are you making a show to entertain people or are you making a show to boost your ego?” He provides some examples while allowing that the key to a successful festival show is engaging the casual, curious passersby.

“You have to create a show that’s for people that are passing by,” he said. “I learned a lot about that from Chance. We were on the Mac Miller tour a long time ago. The way he incorporated dancing, Lauryn Hill, and intertwining things that didn’t have much to do with him but the fans understood it and he made sure he was entertaining, by the time he got to the bigger stages he was a proven performer.”

Vince gave one last piece of insight into what makes for a good festival show: “Learning how to tour, you have to have bodies of work,” he insisted. “You don’t even have a full set with these 2 min singles…we need more full length projects.”

You can watch the full episode above.

Drake and 21 Savage’s It’s All A Blur Tour is aptly named. Drake likely has whiplash from all the bras he’s fielded every night, except for when his son, Adonis, attended a Kia Forum show in Inglewood, California, and mostly welcomes spontaneous crowd interactions.

Meanwhile, 21 Savage was caught off guard when he and Drake staged two It’s All A Blur Tour shows at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington over the weekend. A video circulating on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows 21 flanked by security while walking through the audience. Still, one woman managed to get her hands on his face, and he reacted by shoving her.

A fan similarly reached out to grab Drake’s neck during his jaunt through the crowd — it’s unclear if both instances happened during the same Seattle show — and he lightly brushed her arm away with a smile on his face.

The It’s All A Blur Tour will next visit Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC on Monday, August 28, and Tuesday, August 29 before hitting Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 1 and 2. The North American leg is scheduled to stretch into October, wrapping with back-to-back shows in Drake’s native Toronto on October 6 and 7 before the grand finale in Columbus, Ohio on October 9. See all of the remaining dates here.

Fans are awaiting Drake’s release of his For All The Dogs album, which he’s been teasing for the duration for the tour. Most recently, in Seattle, Drake confirmed (again) that the album is “coming soon.”

“It’s not going to be that much longer, trust me. I’m finishing it up. You know I’ve got shows every night. But I promise you, For All The Dogs is on the way,” he said.

Tom Morello is a big fan of unions. A couple weeks ago, he popped up for a surprise performance at the the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Now he’s back at it again, but this time, it was in support of a strip club union.

The Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, Los Angeles reopened on August 24, and the Rage Against The Machine member was there, guitar in hand. Consequence notes picketing outside the club began in mid-2022 after multiple employees petitioned the bar’s owners over a number of issues. The employees voted to unionize as Equity Strippers Noho within the Actors’ Equity Association this past May. Contracts are currently behind negotiated, but the employees are returning to work under an interim agreement.

Morello shared a couple photos of himself at the event and wrote, “This is what solidarity looks like!! Rocking the @equitystrippersnoho Victory Party at Star Gardens, which after a tremendous fight is THE ONLY UNIONIZED STRIP CLUB IN THE USA!! […] While the owners are still doing very shady things it was a night of radical unity and radical rump shaking!”

He added, “Cecil Roberts, President of @umwaunion sent this message: ‘All workers need a Union regardless of their occupation. Unions make bad jobs good jobs, low paying jobs good paying jobs, unsafe jobs safe jobs, and that is exactly why your Employer doesn’t want you to organize. If you want higher wages, join a union, if you want healthcare, join a union, if you want better working conditions, join a union, if you just want to tell the boss to kiss your ass, join a union!!! Solidarity, Sisters!!!’”

Find some more footage from the event below.

As Donald Trump‘s legal troubles continue to ratchet up — and keep our poor baby president from golfing abroad — so have the hysterical levels of his rants. On Sunday night, Trump took to Truth Social and outright demanded that Republicans in Congress quit having inquiries to find actual evidence that Joe Biden did something wrong, and just impeach the guy.

According to the former president, the “lowlifes” on the other side did it to him, so it’s only fair. Trump also cited his four indictments as a reason to impeach Biden even though the Department of Justice and prosecutors in New York and Georgia independently brought those charges. But why let facts get in the way of firing up the all-caps key and making over-dramatic claims of oblivion?

Via Truth Social:

The Republicans in Congress, though well meaning, keep talking about an Impeachment “Inquiry” on Crooked Joe Biden. Look, the guy got bribed, he paid people off, and he wouldn’t give One Billion Dollars to Ukraine unless they “got rid of the Prosecutor.” Biden is a Stone Cold Crook-You don’t need a long INQUIRY to prove it, it’s already proven. These lowlifes Impeached me TWICE (I WON!), and Indicted me FOUR TIMES – For NOTHING! Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION. THEY DID IT TO US!

Of course, it probably didn’t help that Biden landed a rare jab on the former president. When asked about Trump’s mugshot over the weekend, Biden couldn’t resist smiling and cracking a sarcastic remark.

“Handsome guy. Wonderful guy,” Biden said in reaction to the first American president having his own mugshot.

(Via Truth Social)

As Donald Trump‘s legal troubles continue to ratchet up — and keep our poor baby president from golfing abroad — so have the hysterical levels of his rants. On Sunday night, Trump took to Truth Social and outright demanded that Republicans in Congress quit having inquiries to find actual evidence that Joe Biden did something wrong, and just impeach the guy.

According to the former president, the “lowlifes” on the other side did it to him, so it’s only fair. Trump also cited his four indictments as a reason to impeach Biden even though the Department of Justice and prosecutors in New York and Georgia independently brought those charges. But why let facts get in the way of firing up the all-caps key and making over-dramatic claims of oblivion?

Via Truth Social:

The Republicans in Congress, though well meaning, keep talking about an Impeachment “Inquiry” on Crooked Joe Biden. Look, the guy got bribed, he paid people off, and he wouldn’t give One Billion Dollars to Ukraine unless they “got rid of the Prosecutor.” Biden is a Stone Cold Crook-You don’t need a long INQUIRY to prove it, it’s already proven. These lowlifes Impeached me TWICE (I WON!), and Indicted me FOUR TIMES – For NOTHING! Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION. THEY DID IT TO US!

Of course, it probably didn’t help that Biden landed a rare jab on the former president. When asked about Trump’s mugshot over the weekend, Biden couldn’t resist smiling and cracking a sarcastic remark.

“Handsome guy. Wonderful guy,” Biden said in reaction to the first American president having his own mugshot.

(Via Truth Social)

Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids were already confirmed performers for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira joined that list on Monday morning, August 28.

MTV confirmed that Shakira will be this year’s Video Vanguard Award honoree, and Billboard relayed that the Colombian icon will also deliver her first VMAs performance in 17 years.

“Shakira is very likely to perform her 2023 smash ‘TQG,’ a collab with Karol G that debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March,” the publication additionally speculated.

Karol G previously spoke with Uproxx about making “TQG” with Shakira, saying, “She’s a legend. She is someone who has made the name of our country [Colombia] global. I was very nervous to shoot this video because I really wanted to do my best to push myself to the limit and be someone that she could feel proud to collaborate with. To study the choreography with her, to learn it with her, and have that closeness with her because of this song.”

Shakira will become the sixth-straight woman to receive the Video Vanguard Award, following Rihanna (2016), Pink (2017), Jennifer Lopez (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), and Nicki Minaj (2022). As noted by Billboard, nobody received the honor in 2020 or ’21.

The 2023 MTV VMAs nominees were unveiled earlier this month, and Shakira is nominated for Artist Of The Year, Best Collaboration (“TQG”), and Best Latin (“TQG,” “Acróstico“).

The 2023 MTV VMAs will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12. It will be broadcasted live, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids were already confirmed performers for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira joined that list on Monday morning, August 28.

MTV confirmed that Shakira will be this year’s Video Vanguard Award honoree, and Billboard relayed that the Colombian icon will also deliver her first VMAs performance in 17 years.

“Shakira is very likely to perform her 2023 smash ‘TQG,’ a collab with Karol G that debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March,” the publication additionally speculated.

Karol G previously spoke with Uproxx about making “TQG” with Shakira, saying, “She’s a legend. She is someone who has made the name of our country [Colombia] global. I was very nervous to shoot this video because I really wanted to do my best to push myself to the limit and be someone that she could feel proud to collaborate with. To study the choreography with her, to learn it with her, and have that closeness with her because of this song.”

Shakira will become the sixth-straight woman to receive the Video Vanguard Award, following Rihanna (2016), Pink (2017), Jennifer Lopez (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), and Nicki Minaj (2022). As noted by Billboard, nobody received the honor in 2020 or ’21.

The 2023 MTV VMAs nominees were unveiled earlier this month, and Shakira is nominated for Artist Of The Year, Best Collaboration (“TQG”), and Best Latin (“TQG,” “Acróstico“).

The 2023 MTV VMAs will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12. It will be broadcasted live, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

A white gunman shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend in an attack that’s being investigated as a hate crime. The shooter, 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter, was armed with a Glock and an AR-15-style rifle that had swastikas on it when he took the lives of Angela Michelle Carr, 52; Jerrald Gallion, 29; and Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19. “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff T.K. Waters of Jacksonville said.

The Associated Press reports that Palmeter, who killed himself following the shooting, “texted his father [during the attack] and told him to break into his room and check his computer. There, the father found a suicide note, a will, and racist writings from his son. The family notified authorities, but by then the shooting had already begun.”

On Sunday, Florida governor Ron Desantis attended a prayer vigil for the victims. The unsettling presidential hopeful, who loosened up gun restrictions in the state, was loudly booed. The jeering is so loud, it’s hard to hear what he’s saying in videos from the vigil.

Many in the crowd demanded DeSantis leave and some levied blame at him for the increase in gun violence.

However, Jacksonville City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, who delivered remarks before DeSantis took the stage, stepped to ask the crowd to quiet down and listen. “It ain’t about parties today,” she told the audience. “A bullet don’t know a party.”

You can watch (and hear) the booing below.

(Via Mediaite and Associated Press)

Meghan Markle has been off social media (lucky) since 2020, when she and her husband Prince Harry made Piers Morgan more irrationally angry than any human has ever been by stepping down from their royal duties. But now that Suits is the biggest show of the summer, the Duchess of Sussex is allegedly planning her return to Instagram.

Page Six reports that Markle has already taken the first step by claiming the @meghan handle (the photo for the currently-private account is a stock pic of peonies, her favorite flower). If any advertisers want her help in promoting their weed gummies or coffee that makes you sh*t yourself, it’ll cost them.

“I don’t think Meghan coming back to Instagram will surprise anyone,” social media “expert” Eric Schiffer told the Daily Mail. “I would expect her to quickly become one of the most followed accounts on Instagram. You have celebrities like the Kardashians who can command $1 million and up for a single post promoting a product. There is no reason Meghan couldn’t be earning those sorts of fees. She has to be careful, as a duchess, to avoid being seen to be hawking every product under the sun. She will align with quality brands and companies that are on point with her political and social beliefs.”

So, probably not the weed gummies then, huh?

Kardashian is said to make nearly $1.7 million per promoted post, while Cristiano Ronaldo, the most followed person on Instagram, earns around $2.4 million. Markle won’t command that much… until she starts hawking kooky wellness products. Coffee enemas is where the real money’s at.

(Via the Daily Mail)