(Spoilers for The Karate Kid spinoff Cobra Kai will be found below.)
The Karate Kid franchise celebrates the underdogs, and there’s no greater underdog than a revival series that hits all four quadrants. That’s Cobra Kai to the point where Netflix couldn’t help but immediately greenlight several additional seasons after picking up the show following two YouTube Red seasons. The show’s still infuratingly good, and the show left viewers with several lingering questions: (1) What will happen to John Kreese after Terry Silver betrayed him in the worst way? (2) Will Tory depart from the Cobra Kai dojo after her discovery? (3) Where the hell will Miguel end up after heading towards Mexico to find his father?
Those questions will have to wait for answers. In the meantime, when will we see Season 5 and more crane-kicking goodness? Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg have been running a (relatively) tight ship during the pandemic by continuing to shoot at warp speed (working with a half-younger cast means that is a very smart approach), so we’re still receiving new seasons like clockwork. And here’s what Hawk actor Jacob Bertrand recently told us about the already-wrapped Season 5:
“We actually just wrapped… It was weird because we filmed two seasons in one year. In 2021, we filmed both Season 4 and Season 5, so it’s really hard to differentiate what happened before in Season 4 and things that I’m not even allowed to bring up about Season 5. This year has felt long but short at the same time.”
Jacob obviously couldn’t spill too much about what’s going down with the questions that need answering. However, we do know that Hawk will be back and fresh off his trophy-winning spree. And we know that the creators are committed to staying faithful to the spirit of The Karate Kid franchise. They’ve kept things authentic and real here while staying just serious enough about the characters’ struggles. And we can probably expect the show to stick with a Winter 2022-2023 release, so it’ll either mean new episodes in December 2022 or January 2023. And more knockouts at the dojo(s).
Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ is currently streaming the first four seasons on Netflix.
Forty years ago today, a former wacky midwestern weatherman who’d become a Johnny Carson-era Tonight Show staple and scored his own morning show, moved to late night television. That man was David Letterman, and 40 years ago today, on Feb. 1, 1982, he bowed Late Night, the show that’s now run by Seth Meyers. To ring in the big anniversary, Letterman — who has his own, very different chat show now — debuted his very own YouTube channel, which will be a great place to watch high-def clips you probably had to watch as low-res bootlegs for far too long.
Letterman bowed the channel with a tease on Twitter, which showed the very first moments from the very first show: a suitably out-there clip of Larry “Bud” Melman (real name: Calvin DeForest), the longtime regular who would appear on almost 200 Late Night and, later, Late Show episodes up until his death in 2007.
Letterman’s first show was a real banger. His first guest was no less than Bill Murray, who busted out a seemingly impromptu rendition of Olivia Newton-John’s sleazy new hit “Physical.” That clip, sadly, is not yet on Letterman’s new channel, but there are already 100 videos on there, among them iconic interviews with Andy Kaufman, Robin Williams, Carrie Fisher, Joaquin Phoenix, and more. You can also watch plenty of famous comedian’s first late night appearances, as well as the first-ever iteration of “Stupid Pet Tricks.”
Letterman had been teasing this big reveal throughout the week, including with a video of him blowing through multiple attempts to record an intro.
Letterman’s channel, described as “artisanly-produced, carefully-curated, and chosen completely at random by an old computer that used to pick numbers for the New York Lotto back in the 90’s,” can be found here. You can watch an old clip of Martin Scorsese swinging by the show in the video above.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, Ella Mai returns with “DFMU,” the latest single from her yet-to-be-titled second album. It follows “Not Another Love Song,” which she released back in 2020. Pink Sweats drops off Pink Moon, his second project in under 12 months, with features from 6lack, Blxst, Tori Kelly, Kirby, and more. Lastly, PartyNextDoor teams up with OG Parker for his first song in almost two years with “No Fuss.”
Ella Mai — “DFMU”
Later this year will mark four years since Ella Mai dropped her self-titled debut album, which arrived after three strong EPs and her highlight single, “Boo’d Up.” There’s no telling what her sophomore album will sound like, but thanks to her latest single “DFMU,” the signs are pointing in a good direction. The new song finds her speaking to a new lover at the early stage of the relationship. Ella is ready to let her guard down for them, and she prepares to do so with a stern warning: “Don’t f*ck me up.”
Pink Sweats — Pink Moon
Less than a year after he released his stellar debut album, Pink Planet, Pink Sweats is back with another project. Pink Moon channels the same tender acoustic vibes that appear on his debut. This time, Pink Sweats recruits some outside help on the project’s eight songs. 6lack, Blxst, Kirby, Tori Kelly, and Sabrina Claudio all lend their vocals to Pink Moon.
OG Parker & PartyNextDoor — “No Fuss”
After a quiet 2021, PartyNextDoor kicks off 2022 with “No Fuss” produced by OG Parker. The song is set to appear on OG Parker’s upcoming EP Moments and finds PND waving the white flag to his partner. It’s a solid follow-up to the strong body of work that PND presented in 2020 with PartyMobile. As for OG Parker, “No Fuss” grants him back-to-back successful singles following last year’s “Rain” with Chris Brown, Layton Greene, Latto, and PnB Rock.
Nija — Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You
At just 23 years old, Nija has written songs for some of the biggest names in the music industry. Beyonce, Cardi B, Summer Walker, Meek Mill, and more appear on her list of collaborators. Now she’s is stepping out to show off her individual artistry and it begins with her debut project, Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You. Through its ten songs, Nija blends R&B with hip-hop’s drill sub-genre for a uniquely strong project that details the highs and lows of her love life.
Amber Mark — Three Dimensions Deep
With the first month of 2022 already in the books, New York native Amber Mark has submitted her entry for the R&B album of the year with her long-awaited debut, Three Dimensions Deep. Mark lives up to the album by showing off her vocals, songwriting, and overall vision as a singer. Through 17 songs, Mark makes you feel love, glory, pain, and everything in the middle. This is absolutely an album to spend any of your days listening to.
Sinead Harnett — Ready Is Always Too Late (Deluxe)
Sinead Harnett’s 2021 debut album, Ready Is Always Too Late, stood as one of the highlight R&b releases from that year, delivering 11 songs with features from Lucky Daye, Earthgang, Masego, and VanJess. Now, just eight months later, Harnett returns with its deluxe reissue. She adds three songs to the project: “Let Go,” “Where You Been Hiding,” and a live cover of “At Your Best (You Are Love).”
Col3trane — “Bag” Feat. Lucky Daye
Since releasing his third project, Heroine, in 2019, Col3trane has stayed extremely consistent in the singles department. The latest example is “Bag” with Lucky Daye, which is Col3trane’s first single of the year and his and Lucky Daye’s first song together. On the track, the singers voice the pain that a past love has left them. Col3trane’s latest release joins impressive songs he’s released over the past couple of years with artists like Kiana Lede, Mahalia, GoldLink, and more.
Samm Henshaw — Untidy Soul
Over the past few years, English singer Samm Henshaw earned worthy attention for himself thanks to strong singles like “Church” with Earthgang, “Only One To Blame,” and “Grow.” All that was left for him to do was release a new project, which would be his first since 2016’s The Sound Experiment 2. At long last, Henshaw did just that with his official debut album, Untidy Soul. The project is a soulful experience backed by Henshaw’s hearty vocals and guest appearances from Tobe Nwigwe, Maverick Sabre, and Keyon Harrold.
Lady Wray — Piece Of Me
Years after she was discovered by Missy Elliot and granted the crown of “first lady” of Roc-A-Fella Records, Lady Wray, who previously went by Nicole Wray, is back with her third album under her new stage name. Piece Of Me offers 12 songs and features from Kenneth Wray Sr. and Melody Bloom Bacote. Altogether, Piece Of Me continues the approach Lady Wray has taken throughout her career.
Eli Sostre — 566
Brooklyn singer Eli Sostre had a quiet 2021, which is unusual for the normally-active singer, but everyone deserves a break, right? Thankfully, he’s back in action in 2022 and it comes with his 566 EP. It bears three songs to its name and is an appetizing follow-up to Emori, his most recent project which he delivered in fall 2020.
BenjiFlow — The Thrill
Back in spring 2020, London singer BenjiFlow dropped off his debut EP with six songs. Less than two years later, he’s back in action with his second EP, The Thrill. This body of work is produced by BenjiFlow himself and Nigerian producer Juls for an effort that showcases guest appearances from Oxlade, Juls, and Niji Adeleye.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In the wake of the state-sanctioned murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia in 2018, many corporate entities condemned the Saudi government and vowed to divest from business interests in the country, including Vice Media (even Nicki Minaj canceled a planned show there in 2019). However, according to a new report in The Guardian, Vice instead organized a multi-million-dollar music festival there. The Azimuth festival took place in March 2020, just at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in “the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert” with a reported budget of $20m and performances from British rapper Tinie Tempah and American electronic duo Chainsmokers.
Vice apparently took pains to hide its involvement as well, having contractors on the festival sign non-disclosure agreements and ensuring that the Vice brand name didn’t appear on any public marketing, despite the festival being organized by Vice’s creative marketing agency Virtue. The Guardian also reports that Vice opened a permanent office in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and struck a deal with the Saudi Research and Marketing Group to produce promotional films for the country.
Meanwhile, Vice staffers, quoted anonymously, expressed dismay at the situation, saying, “Vice employees have for years raised concerns over the company’s involvement with Saudi Arabia – and we’ve been fobbed off with empty statements and pathetic excuses.”
There are a number of eyebrow raising allegations (including some damning evidence) in the lawsuit, most notably some text messages from Bill Belichick that he accidentally sent to Flores that were meant for Brian Daboll, congratulating him on getting the Giants job after talking to people in New York and Buffalo. The problem was, he sent them to Flores days before the ex-Dolphins coach was set to interview in New York, meaning they had given the job to Daboll prior to Flores even interviewing. The result was a sham interview in which he knew he wasn’t getting the job, but the Giants did the song and dance routine to ensure they filled the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirement of interviewing at least one Black candidate.
It’s long been assumed teams were doing this, but it is about as solid a bit of evidence of it as we’ve seen and Flores hopes it will push the league to maybe, finally address the real issues of the lack of minority head coaches and GMs in the league by demanding Black voices be in the room for hiring decisions. On top of of taking aim at the Giants (and Broncos for a similar sham interview in 2019), Flores had some rather spicy nuggets in the lawsuit about Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, offering his side of the story as to why he ended up getting painted as “difficult to work with” and a bad “collaborator” as was given as the reasoning for his firing.
In January 2022, Mr. Flores, who spent three years as the Head Coach of Defendant Miami Dolphins, Ltd. (the “Dolphins” or “Miami”), found himself without a job. He was fired by the Dolphins after leading the team to its first back-to-back winning seasons since 2003. The purported basis for his termination was alleged poor collaboration. In reality, the writing had been on the wall since Mr. Flores’ first season as Head Coach of the Dolphins, when he refused his owner’s directive to “tank” for the first pick in the draft. Indeed, during the 2019 season, Miami’s owner, Stephen Ross, told Mr. Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every loss, and the team’s General Manager, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that “Steve” was “mad” that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was “compromising [the team’s] draft position.”
After the end of the 2019 season, Mr. Ross began to pressure Mr. Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules. Mr. Flores repeatedly refused to comply with these improper directives. Undeterred, in the winter of 2020, Mr. Ross invited Mr. Flores onto a yacht for lunch. Shortly after he arrived, Mr. Ross told Mr. Flores that the prominent quarterback was “conveniently” arriving at the marina. Obviously, Mr. Ross had attempted to “set up” a purportedly impromptu meeting between Mr. Flores and the prominent quarterback. Mr. Flores refused the meeting and left the yacht immediately. After the incident, Mr. Flores was treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.
If he can prove the part about Ross offering him $100,000 per loss to tank in 2019, that is the biggest bombshell of this entire lawsuit. An owner making under the table payments to a coach to lose, even when everyone knows tanking is a thing, is the kind of thing that compromises the integrity of the sport and leads the NFL to get very mad — unfortunately, moreso than discriminatory hiring practices. The tampering allegation is, reportedly, related to the pursuit of Tom Brady (not Deshaun Watson, who would be connected to the Dolphins a year later in 2021), and is more funny than anything that Ross thought an “accidental bump-in” at the damn yacht club would seem above board enough for Flores who already said he wasn’t going to tamper.
We will see how quickly the NFL tries to resolve this lawsuit, and that will depend on how much of the goods Flores really has on the Ross allegations. For now, it’s dreadful PR at the start of the week off before the Super Bowl and there is some serious explaining to do for the league.
HBO’s Euphoria may be receiving some mixed reviews this season, but many viewers agree that the teen drama is an intense but realistic depiction of teen life (well, not everyone) and its actors have received a slew of praise, including an Emmy for Zendaya. So, it has to be one of those shows that is renewed season after season, right? When will the third season of Euphoria air? It’s a tricky question.
The HBO show premiered in June 2019 with the first season consisting of eight hour-long episodes. Season two was set to premiere sometime in 2020, but, you know, a lot of stuff that was supposed to happen in 2020 didn’t. Instead, there were two “special” episodes that aired in late 2020 and early 2021.
Season two premiered last month on January 9th, 2022. Since the show has a lot of hype, it’s safe to assume that HBO will want the drama to come back for season three, but there is no confirmation at this time that it will happen. If the shooting schedules continue the way the show had originally planned, we can assume that, if there is another season, it will shoot this year and premiere early next year. But, again, only time will tell. There is still time to campaign for Sydney Sweeney’s Emmy, though.
Movies are really long these days. Even the next movie about a rich guy who dresses up as a flying mammal is pushing three hours. Back in the early ’70s, movies were shorter. Indeed, super mogul Robert Evans claims he had to coerce director Francis Ford Coppola into making his gangster saga, The Godfather, into a three-hour epic. It’s one of many things you may learn when you watch Paramount+’s forthcoming miniseries about the making of the deathless mob classic, which by the way runs 10 episodes, meaning it will last about 10 hours — or about an hour longer than the entire trilogy put together.
One of Ruddy’s earliest successes was the first Godfather, but it wasn’t easy. As the trailer teases, he had to battle both Hollywood and its outsized egos (including Matthew Goode’s Evans) as well as the mob, who didn’t take kindly that a movie would portray them so accurately. And it all comes from screenwriter Michael Tolkin, who knows a thing or two about how Hollywood works, having savagely it in his script for the Robert Altman favorite The Player.
With the upcoming Super Bowl LVI taking place in LA’s SoFi Stadium next Sunday, LA native Jhene Aiko has been added to the list of musical performers who will grace the mic during the event. While Dr. Dre and his compatriots Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop Dogg will be performing the Pepsi Halftime Show, Aiko will help… ahem… kick off the event with a rendition of “America The Beautiful” while Texas-born country singer Mickey Guyton will sing the national anthem.
Aiko was recently at SoFi to take in the NFC Championship game between the San Franciso 49ers and the hometown Los Angeles Rams with her boyfriend Big Sean when the couple was mistaken for another celebrity couple when they appeared on the Jumbotron. The caption accompanying their close-up misidentified them as Sarah Michelle Gellar and her husband Freddie Prinze Jr., something that all parties seemed to find amusing. While Sean and Jhene captured photos of the faux pas for posterity, Gellar posted it to her Instagram grid, joking, “@bigsean do you get mistaken for me as often as I get mistaken for you?” It turned out Gellar was at the game as well, just with her friend Elsa Collins, not Freddie.
The Super Bowl will take place Sunday, February 13 at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT.
Brian Flores was one of nine NFL head coaches to get fired during or after the 2021 season, as the Dolphins late charge to finish 9-8 wasn’t enough to save his job in Miami, despite back-to-back winning seasons for the Dolphins for the first time in nearly two decades.
Flores’ firing wasn’t a shock but was to many further evidence of the difference in expectations placed on Black head coaches in the NFL to succeed quicker and at a higher level than their white counterparts if they are to keep a job. The Dolphins called Flores’ issue one of “collaboration,” painting him as a coach who was difficult to work with, and Flores has spent the past month seeking new employment, interviewing with the Giants and Texans, where he was expected to be one of the frontrunners for the Houston job.
However, on Tuesday, Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL alleging discriminatory hiring practices after a debacle involving the Giants, with an assist from Bill Belichick, that made him want to step out and speak out about the ridiculous sham of an interview he had in New York.
Flores included text messages from Belichick that the Patriots coach sent him that were meant for Brian Daboll, who was introduced on Monday as the Giants head coach, that he received the day before his interview congratulating him on getting the job. Belichick then apologized, saying he “fucked this up” and meant to text Daboll that he heard from Buffalo and New York the job was his, meaning Flores was heading into an interview for a job that had already been given to someone else — but the Giants needed to meet the NFL’s Rooney Rule by interviewing a Black candidate.
Wigdor Law
It is damning evidence of something that has long been assumed — that teams were not using the Rooney Rule in good faith but instead making decisions and giving minority candidates an interview just to meet requirements. Flores details the sham of the interview, knowing he wasn’t going to get the job, as well as a previous instance from 2019 in which he interviewed with the Broncos when John Elway and Denver’s leadership showed up late and “disheveled” for the interview.
Thus, on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, Mr. Flores was forced to sit through a dinner with Joe Schoen, the Giant’s new General Manager, knowing that the Giants had already selected Mr. Daboll. Much worse, on Thursday, January 27, 2022, Mr. Flores had to give an extensive interview for a job that he already knew he would not get—an interview that was held for no reason other than for the Giants to demonstrate falsely to the League Commissioner Roger Goodell and the public at large that it was in compliance with the Rooney Rule.
Incredibly, this was not Mr. Flores’ first sham interview that was held only in an effort to comply with the Rooney Rule. Indeed, in 2019 Mr. Flores was scheduled to interview with the Denver Broncos. However, the Broncos’ then-General Manager, John Elway, President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Ellis and others, showed up an hour late to the interview. They looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had drinking heavily the night before. It was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule, and that the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job. Shortly thereafter, Vic Fangio, a white man, was hired to be the Head Coach of the Broncos
Flores’ lawsuit aims to increase the number of Black individuals involved in the hiring process for front office and coaching positions, as well as pushing the NFL to create a committee to seek out Black investors who can add more diversity to ownership groups, understanding that the issue with NFL hiring practices starts with the lack of diversity or belief in the importance of it from the ownership level. There are a number of other allegations in the lawsuit that are fascinating, as Dolphins owner Stephen Ross allegedly paid him $100,000 for every loss in his first season, as Miami wanted to tank for the top-overall pick and later tried to get him to tamper for a top quarterback (it’s assumed to be Tom Brady, but not outright stated) on a yacht trip.
What comes from this is unknown, but it’s at the very least terrible PR for the NFL on Super Bowl week and a pretty courageous thing to do by Flores who very likely will find himself out of coaching at the NFL level for this — or at least out of head coaching candidacy.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
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Pinegrove – 11:11
Montclair, New Jersey’s very own Pinegrove are back with a brand new album. 11:11 doesn’t stray too far from the formula that got Pinegrove on the map with 2016’s Cardinal, but definitely ups the ante in terms of production, courtesy of a mix from Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla. 11:11 is largely an album about coming to terms with the realities of climate change, and Evan Stephens Hall’s lyrics are more pointed and direct than ever.
Squirrel Flower – Planet EP
Squirrel Flower has been on a roll lately, releasing a new project every year since 2020 (which is wild to write, because it still feels like we’re in the middle of 2020). The new Planet EP is a compilation of self-recorded demos of songs that were recorded during the sessions for 2021’s Planet (i), and just goes to show that Ella Williams’ songwriting talents extend far beyond the confines of an album.
Why Not – Very Why Not EP
Minneapolis trio Why Not have finally arrived, with their (almost) self-titled EP. Spanning the full spectrum from math rock to alt-rock and pop-punk, Very Why Not is a uniquely modern take on the ever-evolving genre of alternative music. On this project, Why Not serve as a great example of flattening genre across the board.
James Blake – “Pick Me Up” (ft. Labrinth)
I recently caught up on Euphoria and have been delighted by the music throughout the show. The second season is off to an even greater start, featuring a new track from Lana Del Rey and now a beautiful new collaboration from James Blake and the show’s composer Labrinth. “Pick Me Up” “skews more towards Blake’s softer side, as it’s a piano- and string-driven track that sees him flexing his falsetto,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx.
The Smile – “The Smoke”
Radiohead side-project The Smile made their live debut in a series of three livestream performances over the weekend, leaving many people online to wonder why these songs weren’t just released as Radiohead tracks. While the trio’s debut single “You Will Never Work In Television Again” was a more straightforward rocker, the new track “The Smoke” airs more in the experimental territory that recent Radiohead tracks occupy. “The first minute or so of the tune is all rhythm, with drums and bass setting the groove before Yorke’s vocals come in, after which the atmosphere gets filled with some brass, guitar, and other sounds,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx.
Rex Orange County – “Keep It Up”
Rex Orange County has been a festival staple for years, making his major-label debut back in 2019. Now, he’s ready to unveil his fourth album, Who Cares?. The album’s first preview comes in the form of “Keep It Up,” which Derrick Rossignol describes for Uproxx as “a jaunty and string-laden tune that starts this album cycle off on an upbeat note.”
Toro Y Moi – “Postman”
Toro Y Moi was one of the pioneers of the chillwave movement, and is gearing up to continue building the legacy with his seventh studio album, Mahall, which is due in April. The lead single “Postman” features what Aaron Williams describes for Uproxx as “a stripped-down backbeat and a groovy bassline.”
Warpaint – “Champion”
It’s been six long years since we last heard from Warpaint, on 2016’s Heads Up. The wait for new music ends in May, when the band’s fourth LP, Radiate Like This, finally drops. The band’s return is marked by “Champion,” a song about advocating for yourself and the people you love, anchored by what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “the band’s signature subdued groove and atmospheric sounds.”
Tomberlin – “idkwntht”
Two years removed from the release of her Alex G-produced EP Projections, Sarah Beth Tomberlin is back with a brand new track, hopefully indicating a larger release on the horizon. “idkwntht” features Tomberlin singing in a beautiful duet with Told Slant’s Felix Walworth and “opens with a somber saxophone nestled alongside gentle strings and piano,” writes Adrian Spinelli for Uproxx.
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