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This year marks 30 years since KMD‘s iconic album Black Bastards was born. The duo consisted of MF Doom — then called Zev Love X — and his brother DJ Subroc.

The Instagram of the late MF Doom, who died in 2020 at 49, confirmed this week that Black Bastards is getting a special reissue, teasing “Red Vinyl Gatefold Edition,” “Standard Black Vinyl,” and apparel.

The 30-year reissue will come via Doom’s Metalface Records (as noted by various outlets such as Consequence and HipHopDX) on March 31.

KMD released Black Bastards in 2000, but the official website listing the product contextualized the record’s true origin and lasting significance:

“Sadly, Subroc would face a sudden and untimely death in 1993, just as the duo were finishing the album. Grief-stricken, his brother Zev Love X – now the sole remaining member of the group – was determined to carry the legacy of KMD onward, but Elektra Records unceremoniously shelved the project in the eleventh hour, due to controversy surrounding the album’s provocative cover art. Following the fallout with Elektra, Zev tried for years to release the album on other labels, but he was continually met with dead ends. Struggling through the pain of losing his brother, coupled with the inability to release their final project together, a discouraged Zev Love X quietly withdrew from the scene and began quietly plotting his revenge on an industry that had broken him spiritually. Thus, in order to understand the true origin story of the super-villain, MF Doom, one must recognize and appreciate the evolution of his former group, KMD, and the backstory of their pivotal album, Black Bastards.”

News of MF Doom’s surprising death broke in December 2020. His wife, Jasmine, issued a statement confirming that Doom had “transitioned” on October 31, 2020.

In 2021, the City Council of Long Beach paid tribute to the late legend’s legacy by naming a street after him: MF Doom Way.

“His hip-hop lyricism represents some of the culture’s best linguistic metaphors, garnering intergenerational and interracial admiration,” Dr. Patrick Graham, a former schoolmate of MF Doom, said in a statement around the petition for MF Doom Way (as relayed by Stereogum at the time). “His life and art symbolize the resilience we need in our present context.”

His name might be Carl Nargle, but it’s crystal clear that Owen Wilson‘s character in Paint is based (possibly 100%) on Bob Ross. The ‘fro, the chill voice, the tiny philosophies delivered with each stroke of nature paintings. Unlike Ross, Nargle is about to be challenged for the public access art throne. Also, did Ross smoke a pipe?

Here’s the official synopsis from IFC: “In Paint, Owen Wilson portrays Carl Nargle, Vermont’s #1 public television painter who is convinced he has it all: a signature perm, custom van, and fans hanging on his every stroke… until a younger, better artist steals everything (and everyone) Carl loves.”

This is another Black List success story, with writer/director Brit McAdams’ script ending up on the year-end list of best unproduced screenplays way back in 2010. It’ll be interesting to see what all has changed from the original concept, because this trailer certainly feels straight out of 2010 — another indie dramedy following in the wake of Little Miss Sunshine.

Paint also stars Stephen Root, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michaela Watkins, Lucy Freyer, and Legend of Tomorrow‘s Ciara Renee as the rising painting star set to dismantle everything Nargle has built.

This is McAdams’ first feature as a director, having found success in commercials, short-form comedy, short films, and stand-up specials. Paint hits theaters in April and streams on AMC+ later in 2023.

We’re currently amidst a bona fide “Brendanassaince,” referring to Brendan Fraser, the beloved actor who’s currently enjoying a well-deserved comeback. He might even even win an Oscar next month. It’s something he’d probably rather have than a role he missed out on some 20 years back. That’s right: The star of the late-‘90s-through-late-aughts Mummy movies almost but not quite also nabbed the role of Superman. But at the time he wasn’t so sure he even wanted it.

In a predictably frank interview with Howard Stern — the one where he revealed he and Matt Damon were buck nekkid shooting a key School Ties scene — Fraser looked back on one of the many chaotic attempts to bring the Man of Steel back to the big screen. There was the time, in the late ‘90s, when Tim Burton was going to do it. Kevin Smith even wrote a draft. Nicolas Cage would have starred. That one, obviously, didn’t happen. But Hollywood tried again a few years later, this time with J.J. Abrams, and Fraser was one of the stars they tapped to audition (along with Paul Walker).

“Everyone in town was reading for Superman. They were testing six or seven guys in 2002 or 2003,” Fraser recalled. Still, he had his doubts. “Of course it’s a life-changing, amazing opportunity, but I had to reconcile with, ‘Okay, say you do get the job to be the Man of Steel. It’s going to be chipped on your gravestone. Are you okay with that? You will forevermore be known as the Man of Steel.’ There was a sort of Faustian bargain that went into [the] feeling, and I think inherently I didn’t want to be known for only one thing, because I prided myself on diversity my whole professional life. I’m not a one-trick pony.”

Fraser did express regret that it didn’t work out, which he blamed on “shenanigans and studio politics, and, probably, inherently, in my screen test. I think that’s why you test — they could kind of see I was only there like 98 percent instead.”

Hollywood eventually got their act together, and by 2006 there was Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, starring Fraser’s almost-first name namesake Brandon Routh. Alas, that one underperformed, leaving Supes off the screen for another seven years. Now the guy who played him there, Henry Cavill, is out too, and there’s yet another silver screen Superman in the works. Time really is a flat circle.

You can watch the relevant part of Fraser’s Stern chat in the video above.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It took to inside 24 hours to the deadline for the NBA trade market to heat up, but the three-team blockbuster involving the Lakers, Jazz, and Timberwolves seemed to open the league up for business.

Shortly after that deal went down, word broke of another trade involving a West play-in hopeful, as the Portland Trail Blazers sent Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk, and a future first round pick.

The deal went down just minutes before the Blazers tipped off against the Warriors at home, with Hart saying some goodbyes to teammates on the court before leaving the floor.

It’s a deal that makes sense for both teams, as it’s a mild sell from the Blazers, who aren’t in a position to really contend this year, but can still maintain hope of a play-in spot. They get a first for Hart, who can be a free agent this summer if he declines a $12.9 million player option, and take a flyer on Reddish, who now moves on to his third team in four years. Reddish has yet to find his place in the NBA, as the talent hasn’t meshed with a team or role just yet, but he will have a lengthy audition in Portland to try and show the Blazers (and the rest of the league) what he can do.

The Knicks add another solid veteran to their wing rotation, bolstering their roster for the postseason push with a guy who meets Tom Thibodeau’s defensive demands and is a very good rebounder at his position. How much this helps New York will likely come down to whether Hart can regain some of his shooting form, as he’s hit just 30.4 percent of his threes on the season, a career-worst mark.

There’s no reason Perry Mason should be this good. The original Raymond Burr-starring series from crime master Erle Stanley Gardner was a prototype for modern legal drama, and it came with its own noir attitude, but the HBO reimagining has injected some serious prestige into the court proceedings. It’s a much larger story than the week-to-week whodunnit. A totally different animal.

And the second season looks dynamite. Matthew Rhys is perfectly cast as the broken defense lawyer whose conscience only fully extends to protecting the innocent in a city that doesn’t care all that much about real justice.

Diving back into the 1930s, here’s the official synopsis for what season 2 has to offer: “Months after the Dodson case has come to an end, the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered. When the DA goes to the city’s Hoovervilles to pinpoint the most obvious of suspects, Perry, Della, and Paul find themselves at the center of a case that will uncover far reaching conspiracies and force them to reckon with what it truly means to be guilty.”

Beyond Rhys, the show also stars Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Diarra Kilpatrick, Eric Lange, Justin Kirk, Katherine Waterston, Hope Davis, and many more. The second season of Perry Mason lands on HBO March 6th.

Muni Long has put in the work. Her career began as Priscilla Renea, her real name, and included solo hits like 2009’s “Dollhouse.” She became a prolific songwriter for the likes of Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Meek Mill, Nick Jonas, and too many more.

But since changing her stage name to Muni Long in 2020, her artistry has reached new heights, and she’s making sure everybody knows her name in more ways than one. Maybe you’ve just now learned of her after “Hrs & Hrs” won Best R&B Performance at last Sunday’s 2023 Grammys. If you’re unsure how to pronounce Muni Long, all you have to do is look up her Instagram profile, and she literally spells it out for you: “MUH-Knee LONG .”

And if you need further translation, Muni Long is pronounced “Money Long.”

Long debuted her new identity with Black Like This in 2020, and then came Public Displays Of Affection in 2021. “Hrs & Hrs” became her first Billboard Hot 100 entry by early 2022 (peaking at No. 16), around the same time Uproxx caught up with Long.

“My intention is not to go viral or have everybody love what I’m doing, I really don’t care,” she told us in January 2022. “I couldn’t care less about that part. I think that’s part of the magic, right? It was like a balance between focusing on what you want and attracting it and then creating that distance so it’s like you’re not desperate for it when it comes to you. I’m just excited that I finally figured out that formula because I know that that means I can do this over and over again.”

Long added in the same interview, “Even the name Muni Long is an affirmation. My whole life is centered around attracting the best possible out of this universe, and you can’t do that when you have any type of blockages or animosity. Of course, you need darkness in order for life to exist and vice versa, but I just choose to be the light and that’s really the biggest thing.”

As Nintendo continues to expand its library of online games available on the Nintendo Switch Online service, two consoles that have been sorely missing are the GameBoy and Gameboy Advanced. Both had very full libraries on previous Nintendo consoles but Switch owners were unfortunately left out to dry with no way to play their favorite portable game consoles. At least that was the case until Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Nintendo announced that GameBoy and GameBoy Advanced Games would finally be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service. Players with the basic service would only be able to play GameBoy games while everyone with the Expansion Pass would be allowed to play GBA games. Here’s the full list coming to both consoles.

GameBoy:

• Tetris
• Super Mario Land 2
• Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening DX
• Gargoyle’s Quest
• Game & Watch Gallery 3
• Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
• Metroid II – Return of Samus
• Wario Land 3
• Kirby’s Dream Land

GameBoy Advance

• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3.
• WarioWare Inc: MegaMicroGames
• Kuru Kuru Kururin
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

All games will have online multiplayer between friends. They also teased a few more games that will be coming in the future, such as Pokemon TCG and Fire Emblem.

This is really exciting. Some of these games have been getting harder to find over the years and both the GameBoy and GameBoy Advance have deep libraries for Nintendo to pull from. Hopefully, they will continue to support both console services and fill them with classic games for fans to play through.

A new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was shown off during the Nintendo Direct on Wednesday. Like the last few, it gave us slight glimpses into gameplay with some cool features shown off like grinding on rails, the use of the guardian technology to float into the sky, and maybe even some new sheikah slate powers. We were also given some more insights into the story, with an ominous voice speaking of revenge and other devious goals as they look to destroy the current Kingdom.

It’s going to be a fun time, and it looks like it is primarily going to be the same kind of game as Breath of the Wild but with more stuff to do, which is never a bad idea in a sequel. The real surprise came in what wasn’t announced in the Direct itself. If fans went to the eShop to quickly go buy the game they were greeted with a surprise price increase as far as Switch games are concerned. Right now, the standard pre-order price on the US eShop is $70. Usually, Switch games are only $60.

This is now going to ask an interesting question of fans. Can a game on current Switch hardware be worth $10 above the normal price? Right now, PlayStation 5 games are all $70 but that’s a next-generation console. The Switch, for as beloved as it is, has only received one upgrade and that was only to the portable screen. It is just as powerful as it was when it first launched and is still considered by most to be a previous generation console. Not a next gen.

However, this is Zelda we’re talking about, and not just any Zelda. This is the sequel to what many consider one of the greatest games ever made. Fans are going to pay any amount of money to play it. Does that justify the price increase? Possibly, but there are going to be some out there who feel they are being nickel and dimed for a game on older hardware, and Tears of the Kingdom is going to need to run close to perfect to justify that price increase. We’ll find out if it can do that in May.

Last year, Fly Anakin unveiled his highly anticipated debut album Frank, which featured guests like Henny L.O., Pink Siifu, Billz Egypt, Nickelus F, and more. The Richmond, Virginia-based performer recently announced Skinemaxxx, a pair of EPs produced by Foisey, with Side A arriving soon.

The rapper is back today with the new single “Outsidigan’s Anthem.” The track is what Anakin describes as “a theme song for outsidigans. The ones that are outside even when they wanna go home. The streets need us. Free Max B.”

In our 2017 interview with Anakin, whose real name is Frank, he talked about his role in the rap collective Mutant Academy.

“In my mind, every member got superpowers, but we’re human and we ain’t sh*t, so we stuck on Earth entertaining ya’ll,” he explained. “Mutant Academy started out as a duo between Henny L.O. and myself in 2011. He came to me with the name, I designed the logo. 2015, we decided to expand and brought along some talented people we met along the journey. The current roster is Fly Anakin, Henny L.O., Koncept Jack$on, and Big Kahuna OG in the rap department. Producers- Foisey, Unlucky Bastards, Sycho Sid, Ewonee, Graymatter, BSTFRND and new member we haven’t announced yet.”

Listen to “Outsidigan’s Anthem” above.

Skinemaxxx (Side A) arrives 4/5 via Lex Records.

When Chiiild dropped “Bon Voyage” last November, he hinted that Better Luck In The Next Life was coming in 2023. December brought “You Get Me (A Final Word),” and then March 3 was identified as the album’s official release date around the arrival of “Good For Now” featuring Lucky Daye last month.

Today, February 8, “Antidote” joined the list of Better Luck In The Next Life singles.

“‘Antidote’ is about being enamored by a person,” Chiiild said in a statement. “It describes the infatuation of watching someone live life optimistically and simply wanting a piece of that because they symbolize the light for you. It is a representation of the idea that this person could save me from any emotional or physical struggle.”

The lyrics viscerally bear that out.

The ethereal track takes listeners into Chiiild’s vulnerable inner monologue. He’s in awe of someone as “the light, you are my only source” and wonders “where you are when your eyes close” because “I know you’re hurtin’, but it barely shows.” He opens himself up to a scary possibility: “Are you the one?Are you the antidote?”

Chiiild is set to begin his Better Luck In The Next Life Tour on March 2 in Santa Ana, California. All dates and ticket information can be found here.

Listen to “Antidote” above, and watch the Better Luck In The Next Life trailer below.