Category: Trending

The Super Mario Bros. Movie won’t even arrive in theaters until April 5, but star Chris Pratt — who voices Mario (though not everyone believes it, or wants it) — has already hinted as the very strong possibility of a sequel. But one question excited moviegoers want to know is: Does the movie feature a post-credits scene?

Pratt actually answered that very question, though perhaps inadvertently, when he was talking about the possibility of a sequel with CBR. When discussing the possibility of a second film, Pratt explained that:

“Listen, there’s like, at the end of the film, there’s a post-credit sequence that gives you a taste of what the sequel could be about. And that gets me very, very excited. But there’s been talk of Luigi’s Mansion. That was a Gamecube game. I think that would be great.”

In one short sentence, Pratt — who must be taking PR advice from Tom Holland — revealed that The Super Mario Bros. Movie does feature at least one post-credits scene, and that it’s teasing a potential sequel. As one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt is no stranger to bonus scenes.

Just because a movie teases a sequel doesn’t mean it will definitely happen. The 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie — which Bob Hoskins, who played Mario, often called his biggest regret — ended with its own cliffhanger, which promised a sequel that never happened (that movie, it should be noted, was a notorious disaster).

(Via CBR)

Note: This is my fourth-to-last Top Chef Power Rankings post for Uproxx. Follow me on Twitter and/or Patreon for updates on how to find them after that!

This week on Top Chef World All-Stars, the producers first brought out Britain’s most fabulous chocolate man to paddle their bottoms and tell them that they’re ever so naughty.

That was actually Paul A. Young, a “Master Chocolatier,” who immediately had everyone excited to find out where the fudge is made. Ah, but don’t let the shiny shoes, velour suit, and ascot fool you — wait, is that an ascot or a cravat? It’s an ascot, right? I think cravats have buttons, dangit I should’ve learned this in finishing school.

Anyway, it turns out, this flamboyantly dressed Englishman was actually Larry David in disguise!

He might be fancy, but his true passion in life is the HARD SCONES! Or in this case, HARD BISCUITS! And by “biscuits,” I of course mean “cookies,” because stuffy old powdered wigs still call “cookies” “biscuits.” (See? This is why we had to have a revolution).

The quickfire challenge was to produce two “biscuits” — one sweet and one savory. And lord was the polka dot man ever the biscuit stickler! He demanded that the biscuits “clink” when they hit the table, “snap” when you break them in half, and blush when you speak frankly! He threw a little tantrum every time a chef tried to present him with “gluten-free” crumbles, some cakey bullshit passed off as a biscuit, or a thing one was meant to eat with a spoon for some reason. Not a biscuit! To the tower with you!

I want to make light of his persnicketyness, but I have to admit… I’m with you on this one, Polka Dots. It’s always an argument in my house when my wife (*Borat voice*) makes cookies because she likes them all soft and gooey and undercooked in the middle and I like them a little harder so I can dunk them in milk. I do appreciate the chewy-gooey ones, on some level! They’re great if you’re just eating the cookies plain and unaccompanied like a savage who lives in the trees!

In this shiny-shoed man I recognized a fellow dunker and it brought me joy. These cooks are made for dunkin! And that’s just what we’ll do! One of these days these cookies are gonna DUNK ALL OVER YOU!

That was a fun challenge, but after it was over they put Paul back in his decorative box and moved onto the elimination challenge: football food at Tottenham Hotspur! What fun sports mascots they have in the UK! Sources say the “Hotspur” derived their nickname from the way the townspeople would all pile their belongings onto horseback and spur them onward whenever Tottenham came to town to keep the football hooligans from headbutting their families. Oi, which a youse can cook up da best scran, yeh? Last c*nt off da pitch gets a bashin’!

This challenge was actually a masterpiece of Top Chef producer impishness. First, the chefs would be broken up into groups of three. In round one, two groups would go head to head to make one dish using “an English specialty ingredient.” The other two would do the same with a different ingredient. The loser of each of those matches would then go head to head with a different ingredient. The loser of that match would then be split into three individual chefs who would have to compete against each other.

Which in practice meant that the chefs all grouped into threes with who they thought would be the strongest chefs, only to realize that those chefs would be their potential foes. The dastard!

This season is all previous Top Chef winners and finalists, so they know how to play the game. They all quickly did the math that if they teamed up with the chef who had immunity from the Quickfire, and their team lost, their chances of going home would jump from 33.33% to 50%. So they treated the chef with immunity like a leper.

This was the face of Buddha, the most Moneyball motherf*cker to ever compete in this competition when he realized he would be stuck on a team with the chef who had immunity:

That was a fun format, but if I could be allowed one minor quibble: Could we please stop with the “this was a great dish, but the chef didn’t highlight ______s enough,” format? NO ONE EATS LIKE THIS! I’ve never met a single human who takes a bite of a dish and goes, “Gee, that was really tasty, but I don’t know if the leek saddles were really the star of the dish.”

No one cares which component is the star! If it tastes good and seems harmonious, isn’t that the goal? I mean, I know it’s the goal — it’s just that when you’re pitting the world’s best chefs against each other the judges end up having to nitpick. I get it. Still, it’s a little obnoxious that the lowest-hanging nit always seems to be “Durrrr I didn’t get enough of that BRAMLEY APPLE FLAVOR I was looking for.”

No one cares, man! Sucks to your apples!

Hold up, I got so caught up in complaining that I forgot to mention that one of the judges for this challenge was a Sacha Baron Cohen character:

They passed him off as Aquiles* Chávez, judge of Top Chef Mexico, but come on, man I think I know a Sacha Cohen character when I see one. It looks like he was going for… a French surrealist painter ex-Rockabilly guy turned baseball analyst? I dunno, seems a little conceptual, Sacha. (Wait, Aquiles… Achilles??? This dude is named Achilles?!)

The Teams:

Maroon: Amar, Victoire, Nicole, aka Team AVN.
Green: Luciana, Gabri, Begoña, aka Team LGB.
Yellow: Buddha, Ali, Tom, aka BAT Team.
Purple: Sara, Charbel, Sylwia, aka Purple Team.

Results:

Quickfire Top: Nicole, Ali*, Luciana.
Quickfire Bottom: Victoire, Gabri, Tom.

Round One: Stilton cheese: Maroon defeats Green, 5-0.
Round One: Wensleydale cheese: Purple defeats Yellow, 4-1
Round Two: Bramley Apples. Yellow defeats Green, 5-0.
Round Three: English Peas. Begoña and Gabri defeat Luciana.

Better Mormon name: “Wensleigh-dale” or “Wenslee Dale?” Discuss.

Rankings:

12. (even) ((Eliminated)) Luciana Berry

AKA: Real Estate. Crinkle. Smoke Alarm. Tonka Beans.

I had Luciana ranked low last week, but after her top side of the quickfire finish (thanks to a biscuit made with TONKA BEANS, my new favorite phrase), I thought maybe she was turning things around. She even correctly diagnosed the problem with Team LGB’s first dish:

Bleu cheese and egg yolks, it turns out, isn’t a good combo (just don’t tell your mom’s panties I said that).

Sadly, no points are awarded for your correct advice being ignored (story of my life!). Their next dish could conceivably be blamed on Luciana:

Apparently, she cut the apples too early and they got soggy. How do you like them soggy apples? I don’t! Good day!

During this challenge, we learned that Bramley Apples are the “national fruit of the UK.” Gail described them as “more tart than a granny smith, a very satisfying apple.”

Well sure, who doesn’t love an apple that tastes like absolute shit? Certainly not not the Brits! Oi, dis app is so taht it’s rearrangin’ me teef, it is! Oy’ve awways wan ‘ed to have me teef reawwanged, oy ‘ave!

Finally, Luciana signed her exit visa with some subpar scallop carpaccio. Car pacci NO!

As judge Cohen put it, “Why you not put acid things on?”

As much as I want to blame the judges for their “not enough pea flavor” (heh, “pee flavor”) complaints, an Asian-inspired raw scallop dish as a vehicle for English peas admittedly sounds like kind of a terrible idea.

So I guess we’ll pea ya later, Tonka Beans. We’ll never forget the times you got super angry for exactly 15 seconds and then immediately went back to being chill again.

11. (-1) Victoire Gouloubi

AKA: Al Dente. Minute Rice. Steven Seagal. Three’s Company. Pulp Fiction.

There was a nice lil’ gettin’-to-know-the-chefs segment in this week’s show, in the middle section when they gave them the night off. And you know what? I am starting to get to know this season’s chefs. Chef Victoire opened up a little more about leaving Congo at 20 to go to Italy, where every day people don’t know how to treat her because she’s black. Meanwhile, she’s only been speaking English for four months!

Last week I speculated that she probably speaks five languages, and this week she revealed that the real number is seven! Someone could nitpick whether she’s 100% fluent in all seven, but seven languages?! I can barely name seven languages, let alone speak them.

All of this makes me feel like a real bastard for ranking Victoire this low. But she did make a biscuit so bad that Padma immediately was like “Girl, you need gluten.” Padma honestly looked offended. But then Victoire teamed up with Amar and Nicole for a stinky cheese and duck dish that took down the green team 5-0.

This was not only a winning dish, it required a call to an ambulance when Victoire revealed a severe walnut allergy halfway through standing next to Nicole while Nicole chopped walnuts. “I’m allergic to walnut,” Victoire said sheepishly.

(*loudly chopping, squinting through a cloud of walnut dust*) “WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU. ANYWAY, THE WALNUT SNOOTERS ARE ALMOST DONE, I THINK IT’LL REALLY CLEAR THEIR SINUSES FOR THE CHEESE.”

At this point Victoire started puffing up and losing her voice and was immediately dragged away by the show’s medics. She found out her team won the challenge with the epi-pen needle still in her arm. I’m calling her Pulp Fiction from now on.

10. (+1) Nicole Gomes

AKA: Clawhoser. The Contessa. Kindergarten Cop.

Strong week for Nicole, who damn near won the quickfire with some very cute cookies, er, biscuits.

Don’t you just want to feed those to your dolls and clap your palms together like a little lord? Out of all the contestants, Nicole definitely looks like the one who’d bake a mean cookie.

She also revealed that she can be a bit of a foodzilla during team challenges, which was illustrated with a montage of Nicole speaking at a slightly higher than normal volume a couple of times during a food service (which, in my experience, ALWAYS involves shouting!). I’m sorry, I know from the other contestants’ reactions to Nicole that she can be annoying sometimes (hence the new nickname, Kindergarten Cop) but it’s hard to assign any malice to anyone who looks so much like a cartoon leopard (sorry to keep harping on this, but the smile and cheeks really remind me of Clawhauser).

Nicole then won a team challenge alongside Amar and Victoire, so theoretically maybe she should be ranked higher. I’m not quite a Clawhoser believer, but we’ll see.

9. (-1) Charbel Hayek

AKA: Davos. Soup Nazi. 25.

Charbel keeps sneaking under the radar, though he does maybe deserve some credit for correctly recognizing that what his team’s “too thick” cheese sauce really needed was MORE CHEESE. When in doubt, always add more of the special ingredient. It’s the chef version of just mashing the B button.

Charbel also dropped a heck of a zinger, cheering “Come on, Green Team! It’s green apple and you guys are green.”

Nailed it, bro. Drop that one at Def Comedy Jam and the security guards would need smelling salts.

8. (-1) Sylwia Stachyra

AKA: Auntie Claus. Potato Girl.

This episode was notably light on Polish Potato Girl one-liners, which is a little disappointing. But maybe she deserves it for trying to take my job of giving nicknames. Anyway, probably the funniest thing Sylwia said this episode was when she told another contestant that her savory cookie was a “caesar cookie,” which sounds kinda good, but then when she got in front of the judges she got flustered and said “I make anchovies cookie with parsley.”

That sounds… less good, but much funnier.

I have to knock Sylwia down a couple of pegs on account of her proposed solutions to the Welsh rarebit sauce were “Sriracha” and “maybe some chilis?”

Then again, cheese with chilies, maybe not such a bad thing. Welsh queso sauce? “Hey Chef, is this a freakin’ Welsh rarebit sauce or a Polish queso, am I right?!”

7. (+2) Amar Santana

AKA: Big Sleazy. Laughtrack. Hibbert.

Big Sleazy (I call him that not because he’s literally “sleazy,” but because he’s always takin’ it sleazy, so to speak) has been the class clown all season and I’ve dinged him for it a little bit. This episode it seemed like even though he’s been trying to make all the other competitor’s jokes seem funny this season, he has been paying attention. His biscuits understood the assignment (step one: be a biscuit) and his cheese dish had lots of cheese, which was enough.

Just making the judges what they want seems like a great way to skate through a challenge, and he did. He spent the rest of the episode proverbially smoking cigs behind the PE building while everyone else ran laps and God bless him for that.

I feel like it’s even money between Amar, Sylwia, and Sara for who would be the “best hang.” Discuss. (I actually hung with Amar once and he fed me fancy ham so I’m probably a little biased here. Open invitation to any of the other chefs to feed me more ham and be declared good hangs).

6. (-3) Tom Goetter

AKA: Meekus. Fuckboi Tom.

Tom has maybe been coasting on his naughty little pervert persona for too long, and when he tried to pull his usual wicked, German “I have made you a cookie that is not actually a cookie at all, ha ha ha!” act this week, Judge Polka Dots was not falling for it at all. He tossed Tom’s liquid nitrogen “clouds” in the garbage and promptly sentenced Tom to 12 years of hard dough in biscuit jail.

Dude was going on and on about biscuits and baking and blah blah blah when Tom cut him off with the most majestically passive-aggressive “Okay thanks, cheers, mate” I’ve ever heard. The perfectly concealed animus in that, so obvious and yet so perfectly disguised, was just a wonder of German engineering. It was like looking at a BMW engine, or Tom’s hair.

Later Tom teamed up with Buddha and Ali, and… hold up, dog, are you wearing a ladies’ shirt?

Damn, if that V was any deeper Joe Biden* would’ve have to blow it up to keep Russia from selling cheap gas to the EU. *Er, “Ukrainian separatists.”

I like to think Tom was late for filming so he just grabbed that shirt from a girl he woke up with. “Hallo darling, would you like to taste some clouds?”

Here was their team’s first dish, btw:

Looks… fine? But you knew they were in trouble when Buddha was like “I’m glad we’re not pairing that cheese with cauliflower, that’s so obvious.”

Trust me, man, no one outside of a Top Chef judge or contestant thinks Wensleydale cheese and cauliflower is “too obvious.” Sometimes “obvious” is good. Mostly in food and in your mom jokes.

If you think I’m lying, consider: in round two, yellow team was assigned apples and made an apple pie. That one they won. Clearly, they learned the correct lesson.

5. (+1) Gabri Rodriguez

AKA: The Black Pearl. The Mongoose. Wile Y. Coyote.

What the hell do we do with Chef Gabri? I feel like I could put him in the top three or the bottom three and justify either. First, he started off being blinded by Judge Polka Dots and his beautiful shiny shoes — “he look like Austin Powers,” said Gabri hornily, even though Austin Powers’ entire thing is being kind of ugly.

Then he made a “corico biscuit,” which involved corn and lard. Which sounded kind of good, but looked like this:

Are you okay, bro? This looks like a bowl of corn nuts. Poor Padma sat there chewing it for five minutes like Mr. Ed when they put peanut butter on his gums. Rule 1A of biscuit making, you’re not supposed to have to eat it with a spoon.

Later Gabri teamed up with Luciana and Begoña for two losing dishes that seemed like their idea and then had to go head to head with them. Where Begoña and Luciana seemed like they both went to the well in round three and just made variations of restaurant dishes of theirs, Gabri made this crazy thing:

Said Tom: “Gabri’s peas are clearly undercooked, but he still made a better dish.”

Said Sacha Baron Cohen: “He create a very tasty flavor plate.”

A very tasty flavor plate indeed.

4. (+1) Sara Bradley

AKA: Party Mom. Reebok. Sassparilla.

This week, Party Mom revealed that she played soccer in high school, but only so she wouldn’t have to go home right after school and could drive around smoking weed before practice. Which is both the most Party Mom story ever told and probably equally true of a good 85% of the chefs I’ve ever met. Again, Sara seems like a good hang.

Later she ended up on Team Purple, probably because she likes to smoke that sticky-icky (purple is the weed color, right? weed and penises). She played quality control on Sylwia’s thiccc sauce and co-signed Charbel’s “more cheese” solution. “I think they’re gonna be happy with it,” Sylwia said.

“They’re gonna be constipated is what they’re gonna be,” said Sara.

I love any chef willing to talk about poop. The way to my heart is through my butt.

3. (+1) Ali Ghzawi

AKA: RRR. Maui Wowie. The Strain. Giz.

I wish the Top Chef producers would just tell me whether Ali’s name rhymes or not. It’s better for my jokes if it does. Ali is like Gabri’s foil, in that he’s another chef I could see in the finals or getting eliminated, but for the opposite reasons. Where Gabri is like a gay Tasmanian Devil in the kitchen, Ali is calm and quiet and it’s hard to tell whether that’s the earned confidence or it’s just the handsomeness and he’s actually a himbo.

You knew Ali was going to win the quickfire as soon as they showed clips of him worrying whether his food was “too simple.” The interviews take place after the challenges, so I think that’s more chef’s false modesty than editorial manipulation. “Oh, that winning dish? My only worry was that it was SO EASY.” It’s the food equivalent of when someone compliments your outfit and you say “Oh, this old thing?”

2. (-1) Begoña Rodrigo

AKA: Tilde Swintón. Beach Mom. Thtevie Nickth.

This week, Chef Begoña revealed during the get-to-know-the-chefs sequence that she actually lives with her mother, son, and ex-boyfriend. Having an unconventional living arrangement is the most Tilde Swintón thing ever and entirely unsurprising. She also pronounced “Eez not been easy to be a chef” with a hard “-ch” on “chef” which I know shouldn’t be funny but still gets me every time.

I had to knock Chef Begoña down in the rankings a little bit. That blue cheese-and-egg-yolks idea was totally hers and definitely backfired, and then it seemed like Chef Gabri stole her thunder in the pea round. Of course, I’m not going to knock her down too far, because holy shit just look at these biscuits:

She is not from Earth!

1. (+1) Buddha Lo

AKA: Moneyball. Double Down. Big Data. Buddha.

I’m surely biased from having just seen this guy win a season, but I just get the feeling Buddha can do everything. Where other chefs bitch about having to make dessert, Buddha makes this thing:

What is this, a TACO FOR ANTS?!

In the same challenge, he also got a human interest vignette montage featuring his pug, whose name, Buddha explained, means “little crumb,” and “he’s got more rolls than a bakery,” a line you can tell Buddha has used at least 100 times before. But truly no group of humans on Earth does corny dad jokes better than Australians. It’s part of why I love them.

Buddha further revealed that he used his Top Chef winnings to pay for his pug’s eye surgery so that the little crumb wouldn’t go blind. That’s amazing. In America, we just do boring shit with our extra money like pay off our massive student debt. I’m still paying mine off and I’m 42 and I’ve been fully employed for 16 years! Hahaha, it sucks here so much.

I digress. In this episode, it was clear that Begoña had an off day. Buddha didn’t exactly thrive either, but he instantly went from “cauliflower and cheese is too obvious” to “let’s take apples and make some apple pie,” which is exactly the kind of finely calculated triangulation that makes me feel like he’s the favorite. He’s gonna buy that pug some gastric bypass.

Follow me on Twitter and Patreon so you can find these Top Chef posts! Only three more to come!

Lil Wayne’s first album, Tha Block Is Hot, came out nearly 24 years ago. That means the New Orleans rap legend has been in the game longer than most of the current crop of hip-hop hitmakers has even been alive. When you consider the sheer number of songs that he’s released since then, it’s no wonder he’s admitted to Googling his own lyrics. It’s probably a lot to have to remember — especially when he spends so much time performing live.

With his Welcome To Tha Carter Tour kicking off next week, fans might be curious which of his songs he’s most likely to perform. With so much material to choose from, predicting what songs from which albums make onto his setlists seems like a herculean task — if not outright impossible — but we can look at what songs he’s been performing the most in the past to make some educated guesses. Fortunately, Setlist.fm has been keeping track of those. Here, we’ll take a look at which songs from Wayne’s albums are his most (and least) performed live, and perhaps by the end, we’ll have a better idea of which Weezy F. Baby faves he’ll play on tour.

Tha Block Is Hot

Most played: “Tha Block Is Hot”
Least played: “Intro”

This one’s easy enough; Wayne really only plays two tracks from his 1999 debut. The title track is an obvious inclusion, given its one of the tracks that basically made his career. The album’s intro, which is merely a spoken word hype track featuring appearances from his Cash Money Records upperclassmen Mannie Fresh and Birdman, hasn’t found its way into too many of Wayne’s setlists which is unsurprising. “Tha Block Is Hot” has its fans, but it isn’t anywhere near one of his more popular tracks, however important it is to his overall growth.

500 Degreez

Most played: “Get That Dough”
Least played: “Get That Dough”

Another early career benchmark for Weezy, “Get That Dough” has since been overshadowed by his voluminous output in the years after its releas.

Tha Carter

Most played: “Go DJ”
Least played: “I Miss My Dawgs”

Tha Carter

is where Wayne’s career really started to take off and he began developing his reputation as one of the stronger lyricists and better hitmakers of the Cash Money roster. Second single “Go DJ” is a prime example of one of his early monster hits, and his first high-charting Billboard song, peaking at No. 14. It wound up being his most successful single until 2008’s “Lollipop.” Meanwhile, “I Miss My Dawgs” is a more heartfelt album cut, which explains why he rarely plays it.

Tha Carter II

Most played: “Hustler Musik”
Least played: “Tha Mobb”

If the first entry in Wayne’s Tha Carter series was the starting point for his rapid ascent, the second was the straightaway that gave him the room to really open up the engine. It’s also notable for being the first time he called himself the “Best Rapper Alive” — which he set out to prove with fan-favorite hits like “Hustler Musik,” “Fireman,” and “Money On My Mind.” However, it was the straightforward lyrical delivery of “Tha Mobb” that first established what a motivated Lil Wayne could accomplish.

Tha Carter III

Most played: “A Milli”
Least played: “Tie My Hands”

In between Carters, Wayne went on an absolute rampage on mixtapes, dropping a truly unreal number of singles direct to blogs in the three years between that might go unmatched forever. That mixtape run culminated with “A Milli,” which Wayne’s signature hit to this day. Oddly enough, it was only his second-highest charting song, peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100, but it was undeniable in the streets. For rap fans of multiple generations, it’s unofficially dozen-times diamond. While Setlist.fm has “Pussy Monster,” a mixtape track, as the least performed song from this album, that would actually be “Tie My Hands,” the moody recollection of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in his hometown.

Rebirth

Most played: “Drop The World”
Least played: “Runnin”

Rebirth arrived at a time Lil Wayne appeared to be finding himself musically, leading to lukewarm reviews and a sense that Wayne needed reinvention less than he needed to refocus on what worked. Still, it was the album that spawned “Drop The World,” his lauded collaboration with Eminem. The song wisely stayed away from the stilted rap-rock that defined the rest of the project, which explains why it still has enough heat to make it into his setlists.

I Am Not A Human Being

Most played: “Right Above It”
Least played: “With You”

Wayne’s next album helped him bounce back, even as he did a stint in prison for illegal gun possession. Fortunately, this was right around the time Drake joined the Young Money roster, giving it an added boost thanks to the popularity of Wayne’s protege, who also appeared on the album’s highest-charting single. The two rappers often bring the best out of each other, so it likely helps that this fact produced one of Wayne’s stronger verses that stands up well on its own when Drake can’t perform with him.

Tha Carter IV

Most played: “6 Foot 7 Foot”
Least played: “President Carter”

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. “6 Foot 7 Foot” is best known as a kind of “A Milli” redux, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of Wayne’s more memorable tracks from the second half of his career. While it doesn’t reach the lyrical heights of “A Milli,” it does stand out as a high point of Wayne’s discography — it doesn’t hurt that it peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, “President Carter” has made sparing appearances at his shows, but probably never was sticky enough to stay in rotation.

I Am Not A Human Being II

Most played: “Rich As F*ck”
Least played: “God Bless Amerika”

The third and final single from Wayne’s 2013 album peaked at No. 38 on the Hot 100, courtesy of a beat by T-Minus and Nikhil Seetharam — frequent Drake collaborators — and an appearance by 2 Chainz. This was likely the origin of the two rappers’ creative chemistry, which later led to the release of a full joint album, Collegrove, three years later — and teases of a second installment, due for release later this year. Expect to see this one in any joint tours that may spawn from this release.

FWA

Most played: “I’m That N****”
Least played: “Thinking Bout You”

FWA, or the so-called Free Weezy Album, occupies an interesting space in Wayne’s catalog. Released exclusively on Tidal in 2015, it was meant to commemorate Wayne’s break from Birdman’s Cash Money imprint, but since his contract was apparently effectively still in limbo at the time, no singles were released and little to no promotion was done on the album’s behalf. It was eventually released to Apple and Spotify on its five-year anniversary but with a number of tracks removed or changed over clearance issues. It shouldn’t be any surprise Wayne barely performs it.

Tha Carter V

Most played: “Uproar”
Least played: “Used 2”

Wayne’s first proper release after leaving Cash Money was fittingly a return to the series that stamped his “GOAT” status and its “Special Delivery”-sampling hit “Uproar” helped to once again elevate Weezy to hitmaker status. Landing at No. 7 on the Hot 100 and earning double platinum certification, “Uproar” proved that the turbulent time spent hashing out his legal issues hadn’t dulled Wayne’s pen skills (so much as you can call them that with Wayne’s method of punching in freestyles) at all.

Funeral

Most played: “Dreams”
Least played: “Dreams”

Given Funeral, Wayne’s most recently released album, dropped just ahead of a global pandemic shutting down live entertainment for two years, it’s probably fine that he hasn’t really had any opportunities to showcase any of the tracks from it. He may well do so on his upcoming tour. (He’s also got no fewer than three projects in the works at the moment, so he could bypass Funeral altogether to preview those as well).

Here are Wayne’s most-played songs live, according to Setlist.fm:

1. “A Milli”
2. “Lollipop”
3. “Mrs. Officer”
4. “I’m Goin’ In”
5. “Go DJ”
6. “Steady Mobbin’”
7. “6 Foot 7 Foot”
8. “Got Money”
9. “John”
10. “Drop The World”

Going down the list, it’s pretty clear that Tha Carter III remains Wayne’s favorite album to perform, while Rebirth joints like “Drop The World” and “John” appeal to a broad audience (I will withhold judgment). And, of course, a Drake song is definitely going to show up. Wayne’s got an utterly massive (and growing) catalog, though, so nothing should come as a surprise when he hits the stage.

Getting engaged can be one of life’s most wonderful moments. Everyone does it in their own way, but usually when you see someone drop down onto a knee and pull out a box that has a ring in it, you can put two and two together pretty easily and deduce what is going on.

We got one of those moments during Thursday night’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, only this one featured the person dropping to their knee breaking the rules at Dodger Stadium and getting lit up by a security staffer. Videos show that the dude hopped onto the playing surface after sitting in right field, at which point he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

After kneeling for a few seconds and getting cheered on by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Diamondbacks, security came in and decided the best course of action was to go all Terry Tate: Office Linebacker on the dude. You can see Gurriel recoil at the hit, which was about as clean of a form tackle as you’ll see.

This was, of course, excessive by the security staffer. But the good news for this dude is that all of this ended up being worth it, as TMZ found out that his fiancée said yes.

Last year, comedian Heather McDonald collapsed onstage while performing in Arizona. The incident, which fortunately hasn’t led to lingering issues, quickly went viral but with an insidious angle. McDonald’s vaccine status was being blamed for the collapse. She had revealed she was triple-vaxxed ahead of the show, and now, she had to spend a considerable time battling misinformation being spread by the likes of Joe Rogan. (McDonald actually knows Rogan, and when she messaged him that he could’ve easily checked on her status by reaching out, he didn’t respond.)

Fortunately, McDonald had a popular podcast, so she could set the record straight, but after a lull, her viral moment resurfaced. This time, McDonald was featured in the now widely debunked anti-vaxxer documentary, Died Suddenly. As her collapse is shown, an ominous voiceover from an anonymous “whistleblower” says, “The dead can’t speak for themselves, so therefore, I have to speak for them.”

There’s obviously one small problem there: McDonald is very much alive, which reporter Ben Collins easily proved by going to visit her:

As Collins dug further into the Died Suddenly documentary, he couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the people were still with us. Heck, one of them is heading to the NBA.

Via NBC News:

The person featured immediately after McDonald in the trailer, Keyontae Johnson, collapsed on Dec. 12, 2020, days before Covid vaccines were available or widely administered in the U.S. This month, Johnson made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with the rest of the Kansas State Wildcats and is a projected NBA Draft pick. (Johnson was eventually diagnosed with a heart condition unrelated to the Covid vaccine.)

While the documentary continues to be debunked, the abuse that McDonald has experienced since it became a hit with anti-vaxxers isn’t dying down. Turns out that group isn’t big on fact-checking or human decency.

“They say something mean, like, ‘You shouldn’t be alive because you got the vaccine,’” McDonald revealed. “Or they’ll say, ‘You shouldn’t be alive because you joked about Jesus.’”

(Via NBC News)

Do you know Jeremy? It’s okay if you don’t, he’s kinda a cool new celebrity who is about to blow up in the daytime television world. He is Drew Barrymore’s friend and confidant who often makes appearances on her show in addition to regularly being brought up in conversation. He is also a bearded dragon.

Barrymore was chatting on her show with guest star John Legend when she asked him to do his signature thing: sing a lil tune. Of course, he has been through this before! He’s John Legend, the best In Memorium singer to ever do it. But he has never sung to a bearded dragon named Jeremy.

The host asked her guest, “Is there any chance if I brought Jeremy out here that you would serenade Jeremy?” Once he agreed, Jeremy was brought out looking very dapper on his tiny piano covered in rose petals. Legend was impressed, “Look at this beautiful romantic piano we’ve got set up here. This is very sexy,” he said, which is normal and not weird at all.

Once he was settled, Legend sang to Jeremy, to the tune of “All Of Me.”

“Jeremy / Oh Jeremy / Love your curves and all your edges / all your perfect imperfections / Jeremy / Don’t poop on me / You’re my end and my beginning / You don’t poop on me, I’m winning / Oh Jeremy.”

Somebody call Mr. Grammy because we sure do have a hit!

Barrymore was impressed, in case you can’t tell, even if Jeremy didn’t seem too blown away about it all. Check out the full clip above.

(Via EW)

Whitlee Turner, a zookeeper for the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia, was given a unique task—teach an orangutan to breastfeed.

Turner’s pupil, Zoe, had been orphaned at a young age, and without guidance presumably hadn’t learned any maternal instincts. Zoe’s first baby had to be hand-raised after she was unable to nurse, so when baby #2 came around, the zoo was determined to reach a different outcome.

That’s why they called on Turner, who had coincidentally also become a new mom. Thinking Zoe could be taught by example—a strategy that’s proven successful in the past—Turner was asked to bring her newborn son, Caleb, in to give a demonstration.

Turner agreed wholeheartedly.

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A video posted by the Metro Richmond Zoo shows Turner and Caleb soon visiting Zoe’s indoor enclosure to show the orangutan mom how it’s done.

“With my bra down, I was very exaggerated when I put him on so that [Zoe] could see that the baby goes here. The whole time, I was talking to her and pointing at her, pointing at the baby, pointing at her breasts. And when Caleb was latched I was showing it to her, making sure that she saw the important part,” Turners says. “The whole time she just kept watching me curiously.”

In addition, the zoo had put a TV inside Zoe’s habitat showing other orangutan mothers giving birth and taking care of their young (which Zoe loved watching, apparently), and would perform other live demos with small stuffed animals to “kickstart” her maternal instincts.

All in all, the effort was a success. Zoe not only breastfed her son, but the two have created a healthy, happy bond and can be seen together by zoo visitors.

Breastfeeding might be a natural process shared by all mammals, but it is complex and miraculous nonetheless. Even Turner admitted that it didn’t come easy to her at first.

“I had a really hard time in the beginning as a new mom with my breastfeeding journey. [I] required a lot of guidance and help before we really figured it out,” she said.

This is clearly a challenge that connects many mothers across all species, which is why Turner felt compelled to share what she had learned along the way.

“Whether it was an orangutan or a human, I just want to be able to help any new mom.”

New Yorkers may seem like a brash, uncaring bunch to the uninitiated. But when you get to know the people and the city, you’ll probably realize that they are “kind, but not nice,” as opposed to how many describe people on the West Coast as “nice, but not kind.”

A great example of New Yorkers looking out for one another happened on Reddit’s AskNYC subforum earlier this month. AskNYC is where New Yorkers consult one another on various topics, such as where to get cheap rent, subway shortcuts, and places to volunteer.

It all started when a Redditor named Andy, 21, who is autistic, reached out for help in a post titled, “Please help, where do I wait.” On the forum he goes by the name GalacticBambi. Andy is a native New Yorker who moved away at a young age. His father passed away two years ago, so he came back to the Big Apple to see his cousin and learn more about his father.

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“My cousin told me to wait for him,” Andy wrote. “I’m autistic, and I feel weird standing in place on the street, I went to the subway. Is it ok to wait in the subway station? My cousin hasn’t responded back for 20 minutes, so I’m not sure what to do right now.”

“I went to the Library and restaurants and when it got dark, my cousin told me to wait for him on a street, but I wasn’t sure where to wait, and I got nervous,” he later told Upworthy. “I was afraid to ask people walking around so I asked the Reddit AskNYC.”

The request brought together a group of New Yorkers to help Andy feel safe and comfortable while waiting for his cousin. Reddit user Comprehensive_Ad4689, who also has autism, suggested he wait at the subway station.

“I’m autistic, and I feel the same way! It’s totally okay to wait in the train station. I do it all the time for my friend. I sit with my favorite music and do a sudoku puzzle or two or read a book,” Comprehensive_Ad4689 wrote. “When it’s nicer, I like to sit in the plazas to wait. There are two right near First Ave.”

Andy did have one slight problem—his phone was losing battery and he was afraid he’d miss a call from his cousin to meet up. The Redditors suggested he go to a nearby restaurant to charge his phone, and Andy thought it was a great idea.

“I went into a Chinese restaurant and bought tea. It’s OK ’cause I was thirsty anyways,” he wrote. “I had water in my backpack, but tea is my favorite, and I’m glad I can charge up my things now.”

The other New Yorkers checked in to ensure he was doing OK in the restaurant.

“I’m almost done charging at this restaurant, and the music is really boppy,” Andy wrote. “Plus, the owner is really nice, so I’m doing well! I’m gonna head back to the bench in the subway in a bit :)”

As Andy headed back down to the subway station, the Redditors shared some ideas that would help him feel safe, such as waiting by a token booth so he’s close to an MTA official or hanging out near a police officer.

Andy pulled out a “Sandman” comic book and read to stay calm in the subway station while waiting for his cousin. The New Yorkers asked him about the comic to keep him company. “Is it a good comic?” BankshotMcG asked.

“It’s my favorite comic book!!! It’s called ‘Sandman.’ My second favorite comic is Saga,” Andy replied. “They are both really good! Sandman has an audiobook that’s really good and a Netflix show too!”

The group also gave him some encouragement, New York style. “You are kicking ass right now on so many levels. You’ve got this!” aitchmalone wrote. “Thanks, aitchmalone!” Andy replied. “New York is definitely a whole new beast for me, but the people are so endearing and kindhearted!”

Eventually, he shared that his cousin wouldn’t return in time, so the commenters suggested that Andy to go home on the subway. “When I got on a train I got lost and I got the courage to ask a couple and they were super nice in telling me I was going the wrong direction and told me which train I should take,” he told Upworthy. “And when I got lost again and went off of a train and to a booth the person told me which train I should take and let me go through the gate to wait for the right train.”

People from the group reached out to make sure that Andy made it home ok.

“I just got home! I’m super sleepy,” he told the group. “Thanks, everyone for making me less stressed. I’m not used to New York still, but everyone’s really kind and gives really nice advice!! Thanks again!”

Andy loved his time in New York, but now he’s home and studying game design in college.

“It was super scary when I was by myself in the city but a lot of people helped me when I was lost so it was super nice,” he told Upworthy. “I got to learn about my family and see a lot of cool things like a museum and the Brooklyn Bridge. Even though I was lost a lot, people gave me great advice!”

The game designer looks forward to going back to New York soon.

“I’m taking driving classes so I can take road trips back to New York,” he added. “I think it’s my favorite state and I’m glad I got to meet kind people.”

You’ve heard the phrase “love at first sight,” but what about “love at first sound?” Netflix’s hit show Love Is Blind sets out to answer that question with a social experiment. A group of single men and women date each other, fall in love, and get engaged — all without seeing the other person. Follow along as Uproxx ranks each couple and recaps the best tear-jerking and cringe-worthy moments from season 4.

(WARNING: Spoilers for up to episode 8 of Love Is Blind season 4 will be found below.)

Netflix has delivered three new episodes of Love Is Blind season four for us. The newly-engaged couples have returned from their honeymoon in Mexico and they are now back home in Seattle. It’s here that they will get used to living with each other for a short time before the wedding and meet each other’s families and friends. This goes well for some and it causes problems for others, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for Love Is Blind. What is unusual is two proposals from the same man to different women in the same season (you’ll see what we mean in a second).

Now that these episodes are available to stream on Netflix, we’re here to give you a recap of what went down in each episode. After that, we’ll leave you with our biggest takeaways from the three episodes ahead of the next trio of episodes Netflix will release before the finale. So, let’s get into it! — Wongo Okon

Episode 6

The couples are officially out of paradise and back in Seattle, sharing an apartment together and learning if they’re suited to live together long-term. There’s already been a few discrepancies, including Kwame and Chelsea having very different standards of cleanliness. Granted, seeing how messy Kwame’s apartment was in episode 7, this is clearly going to be more than a one-time conversation.

Micah told Paul that Irina has a crush on him — which she said made her question her own relationship with him — and later confronted Irina about it directly. While Irina did admit that being flirty with Paul wasn’t something a good friend would do, I personally never heard the words “I’m sorry,” so the jury is still out on whether or not that was a legit apology. Paul later told Zack he thinks Micah meets the “minimum criteria for a perfect woman,” which is a very odd way of saying he’s into her.

Who else was totally bawling when Tiffany’s friends met Brett for the first time? They are so clearly in love that I’m going to be beside myself if they don’t make it past the altar. Tiffany’s friends did say she’s a chronic napper and have fallen asleep on them before, so it seems like Brett isn’t alone on that one.

The biggest event in this episode was Zack and Bliss meeting for the first time. They both seemed nervous at first, but Bliss’ positive response to his question about his intense eye contact sealed the deal for him. Their date was actually a legit blind date and I think them meeting up in this way takes some of the pressure off of the “reveal” at the end of the pods. It makes me wonder if more couples would last if the show allowed for casual dates after the pods, rather than jumping right into co-habitation. — Carolyn Droke

Episode 7

Kwame met Chelsea’s dad, which kicked off the episode on a lovely start. However, things get a little tense when he calls his mom and she winds up being less-than-accepting about the unique engagement process of the show. This might prove to be a defining factor of their altar decision. That, and their struggle to compromise on a moving plan, when she doesn’t work a remote job in Seattle, but Kwame does from Portland.

Then, we have the newly-reformed Zack and Bliss, who are a better pairing but still sort of awkward. She shows up to help him make some steaks and shrimp for dinner — but he accidentally destroyed some of the food. “Oh no, it’s a sign,” she says. “I should just go home.” There were also a few things that bugged me about his apartment, from the tiny wooden table they both tried to eat the remaining, non-wrecked food at, to the painting of two owls hung right over it that watched them. I have many questions about the people on this show, which typically reduce to just… Why?

While we’re on the subject of the ladies seeing their men’s apartments for the first time, Kwame’s is introduced by a shot of his dead plant and a pack of IPAs, as Chelsea still keeps it nice by telling him, “It’s so cute in here.” His clothes are strewn around. There’s toothpaste and other… objects on the living room table. He has a thing called “Mindful Moments” on his desk. Arguably the biggest red flag is when he opens to show her his fridge, which only has eggs, various sauces (mustard, ketchup, etc.), and what seems to be an unopened bottle of rosé. (This alone is a red flag for any man that has rosé on hand in their house.) No real groceries or gameplan, just pure frat bro vibes going on in Kwame’s apartment. She doesn’t seem to mind it though.

In contrast, Paul’s plants are mostly alive, but he has a strong, strong preference for wooden furniture and Micah immediately hates it.

Tensions run highest for Marshall and Jackelina in this episode, as she breaks down from the stress of the process — just before his family is expected to show up to meet them both. He tries his best to be as comforting to her, but she fires back that his energy is adding to her negative pressure. She puts on an overall good face during the family meal.

The episode closes with Bliss and Zack starting their boat date with a confusing-but-hilarious conversation about the movie Gremlins. As someone who relates to Gizmo, I was a bit obsessed. Their thought process fascinates me because it eventually switches to a ranking of fruits and hating PB&J. And then, a cliffhanger of the moment some might have been waiting for — Zack’s second proposal. — Lexi Lane

Episode 8

Well, it’s official! Zach has effectively saved himself from Love Is Blind exile now that he and Bliss are officially engaged. Despite all the drama that surrounds them, you know, like Zach being engaged to a whole other woman a few episodes ago, Bliss says that her new relationship with Zach “feels right.” Things are somewhat going well for Paul and Micah. They get Micah’s parents’ blessing for their impending marriage, but Micah’s best friend Shelby is not a fan of Paul. She flat-out disapproves of Paul, something she determines in her sub-10-minute meeting with him. This crushes Micah as she greatly values Shelby’s opinion. Amber, who Paul broke up with in the pods, also makes an appearance at the end of the episode. Paul briefly freaks out over her appearance, but he’s able to steer clear of any drama there.

Marshall and Jackie get into a heated argument in this episode. In Marshall’s words, Jackie claimed that he was not “man enough” for her, but Jackie corrects him and clarifies that she just wants him to be more aggressive with her, specifically in the bedroom with initiating sex. Marshall tries to explain his side, but his argument and any chance of being understood go away when he calls Jackie and their growing relationship a “project.” Marshall quickly clarifies his point and gets his feelings across to Jackie and ends it by telling her “I f*cking love you.” Josh, Jackie’s former love interest from the pods, also returns in this episode. He wastes no opportunity to drunkenly express his true feelings for Jackie while also throwing shade at Marshall by calling him “MBA YoungBoy.”

Kwame and Chelsea still have plenty of things to work through. In this episode, Kwame accompanies Chelsea to help her get her dog Rocky washed. I wish I kept count of how many times Kwame said “I love Rocky,” because it was said in such as self-assuring way that essentially proved how much he doesn’t like Rocky. Kwame later hints that he’s not quite ready to jump into parenthood and would like to do so in a few years (maybe longer) after traveling the world with Chelsea and having their relationship to themselves. He then makes a point about how much he’s compromising in their relationship, especially with his impending move from Portland to Seattle. This idea of compromising in love is something Kwame discusses with a few Love Is Blind castmates at Chelsea’s birthday celebration, so clearly it’s something that bothers him more than he lets on. It’s also there that Kwame has another conversation with Micah where he gushes about their “seamless connection” and more.

Last and certainly not least, there’s Brett and Tiffany who continue their reign as this season’s favorite couple. They enjoy lunch together and make cheeky jokes with each other. Brett effortlessly calms Tiffany’s worries about the wedding, and Tiffany finds resolve in their relationship’s potential because of the relationship her grandparents had. There’s not much to recap with Brett and Tiffany from this episode, and that’s a good thing for them. With all the drama that goes down, it’s good that they’re able to steer clear of it all and just fly under the radar in love. — Wongo Okon

The Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 6-8

• Zack managed to make not one but two proposals extremely uncomfortable.
• Jackie has a lot to work through and Marshall has to let her do it.
• Brett & Tiffany are the only sign of peace and normalcy this season.
• Kwame needs to learn how to sleep on a mattress like a normal adult human being.
• Micah treats Paul like a shiny new action figure — a trophy husband at that.
• Paul’s mother probably knows Micah’s blood type.
• Kwame hates that dog.
• Brett & Marshall and Zack & Paul have awesome bromances.
• Several contestants’ parents were absolutely not on board with this experiment.

‘Love Is Blind’ season four is currently available to stream on Netflix.