WWE has had a working relationship with Philadephia-based indie promotion Evolve Wrestling for some time now. Back in the good old days when live wrestling events were still happening in front of live audiences, WWE would frequently let NXT Superstars go there for matches. Last summer, in fact, the WWE Network ran Evolve’s 10 Anniversary Show live, the first and, to date, only time the Network has featured an indie wrestling event like that. WWE has also been known to recruit a lot of talent from Evolve, including Austin Theory and Shotzi Blackheart, who were both featured in the aforementioned Anniversary event and have debuted for NXT in the year since (and already moved to Raw, in Theory’s case.
Today there are reports, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that WWE may soon own Evolve outright. According to WON, Evolve is in serious financial trouble. Like other indie promotions, they had to cancel their planned Wrestlemania week shows that were expected to bring in a bunch of money, and that lack of income has been “catastrophic” for them. It sounds like things have only gotten worse since then, as the Pandemic has dragged on and there’ve yet to be anymore live shows, and now they’re considering selling “pretty much everything” to WWE, including their tape library.
So far, neither WWE nor Evolve has commented, but we’ll let you know if more comes out about this.
Most people grow up going to schools where people are of a similar social status. Lower-income people tend to grow up with people in the same situation and affluent people usually grow up around people who are rich as well.
But things can change dramatically in college. People who are from completely different sides of the socioeconomic spectrum attend class together and sometimes wind up sharing the same dorm room.
One student can be there on a scholarship and have a part-time job to make ends meet. The other may be on a massive allowance from their parents who pay full tuition without batting an eye.
What exacerbates the issue is that many people go through college being dirt poor. If they have a job, it’s often low-paying, they can’t work many hours and they aren’t old enough to have accumulated any wealth.
So seeing someone one of your peers wasting other people’s hard-earned money can be downright stupefying.
It can also seem highly immoral for some to have so much and not appreciate it when others are struggling to get by.
College is also a time when people begin to learn about income inequality and why it exists.
Freelance journalist Jake Bittle started a fun conversation of Twitter where people shared stories of some of the insanely rich kids they knew in college. Many of the responses came from people who went to the University of Chicago.
Bittle’s story started with seeing a girl open her laptop to revel a ton of money in her bank account while they were taking a class on Marxism. The tweet inspired people to share stories of the insanely rich kids they met in college and how some of them were terribly wasteful with their money.
(Jake has since deleted his original tweet.)
My freshman year roommate got a letter of recommendation from HW Bush who was President at the time. The guy didn’t know how to wash clothes so he kept buying new ones and throwing the old ones out. — Mark 🛰 (@MarkCassidy23) June 12, 2020
one time in college I was telling a guy I didn’t have money for shampoo and he bought Instagram followers as I was telling him this. a different time had to explain to a girl what hourly wage was (she didn’t comprehend there was something other than salary) — Erin Taylor (@erinisaway) June 12, 2020
I remember the classmate who told me I should switch to her bank because I’d get free checking just by keeping a $10k balance. — MisterJayEm (@MisterJayEm) June 12, 2020
I can’t tell you how many U of C students told me they couldn’t understand why my parents didn’t just buy me a condo, or why I didn’t buy myself a new car; then there was the girl in my dorm who left $100,000 worth of clothes, many never worn, in her room at the end of the year. — Paul Christofersen (@truepaxman) June 12, 2020
There was one girl in Blackstone who used to make AMAZING, intricate dishes. One day I saw just how filthy her dorm kitchen was, and she said it was because at home her maid would clean up after her. Anyways I stopped eating her food and never explained why ¯_(ツ)_/¯ — Sankofa (@akuankansaha) June 12, 2020
My first day at Amherst College my freshman roommate showed me his JP Morgan account on his MacBook and I remembered being mortified when I asked him if that was his account balance and he said that that was how much money he had made that day. — Sauce Moe Dee (@ShigeoSekito) June 12, 2020
One of my roommates whispered to me that our other roommate was on scholarship. I told her almost everyone she met was on some type of scholarship. Her dad just used to pay it in one go. Her parents used to call her and check on her because she “wasn’t spending enough money.” — AnitaWrites (@WritesAnita) June 12, 2020
My friend’s dad lectured me on how much harder rich people work than poor people. I was working 50 hours a week at the time and his son had never had a job before. Guess who the rich family was — Jake Garza (@JakeGar43911060) June 12, 2020
Reminds me of the time in my intro to sociology lecture where I witnessed a girl in front of me casually order a pair of $400 Gucci sunglasses while my prof discussed wealth inequality — Alex Murra (@alex_murra) June 12, 2020
A friend of mine in the Air Force told me a story about a classmate of his who was the son of some minor Saudi prince. Every summer, once classes were out, the classmate would leave his $90,000 Land Rover (it was always a Land Rover) because he didn’t want to ship it back home. — Joey Beachum (@JoeyBeachum) June 12, 2020
My freshman year roomate (a week after bragging that his family is the 2nd largest purchaser of De Beers in the world…) threw all 20 of his Ralph Lauren wool sweaters into the dryer — franklin 🚃 ave 🚃 shuttle (@sirptrash) June 12, 2020
In the dorms first week of school my suite mate asked me when the housekeepers come to clean and do laundry. She had no idea what a washing machine looked like. — Liz Ortiz (@LizOrtizAK) June 12, 2020
I knew someone who, instead of doing laundry, would just buy new clothes to wear. And her sister, after living in Chicago for a few months, didn’t know what the CTA was. — kinanta | ꦏꦶꦤꦤ꧀ꦠ | كيننتا (@kinanta) June 12, 2020
Freshman year, I shared about how much my parents made and got told by another student that I must be mistaken, then they proceeded to argue that the “middle class” starts at $350,000 and surely my parents made at least that … — Jen Rey (@Jenny_rey325) June 12, 2020
First day of law school, guy in class pulls out a Tiffany box and removes a gold fountain pen from a velvet bag to take notes. — Tracy M (@dandelionmama) June 12, 2020
when you’re a kid you learn class difference because when you go on a field trip you got $10 and your friend brings a $50 for the gift shop — 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚢 (@maybenerea) June 12, 2020
Social distancing continues this weekend amid the global pandemic, and several new TV seasons are here for the binging. If nothing here suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.
The King Of Staten Island (VOD) — Judd Apatow’s upcoming comedy starring Pete Davidson (in a role that takes inspiration from his pre-SNL life) comes straight to your living from from Universal Pictures. Both Davidson and Bill Burr are fantastic in this movie that also stars Marisa Tomei and Steve Buscemi.
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix film) — The New Joint from Spike Lee can be found nowhere else but the streaming giant. The movie looks to put an unusual twist on the standard war epic movie in a few ways. We’ve got a split timeline that flashes between the past with Chadwick Boseman’s character, a fallen squad leader, and the present, which sees four of his charges go back to Vietnam, where buried treasure taunts them, along with a quest for their leader’s remains.
Knives Out (Streaming on Amazon Prime) — Not only is Rian Johnson’s stellar, star-studded whodunnit streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime this month, but it’s also free to Prime users. This gem’s got Smug Chris Evans and many more delightfully eccentric players, and it builds to a masterful crescendo, so do pencil it into your schedule.
Artemis Fowl (Disney+ film) — Five years after Disney announced plans to adapt the Artemis Fowl book series, the 12-year-old genius comes to life, even if the film might be a muddled mess. Fowl descends from a family of criminal masterminds, and he must battle a fairy race that may have engineered the kidnapping of his father. Kenneth Branagh directs and Judy Dench narrates.
Crossing Swords (Hulu series) — This adult-oriented animal series (from Robot Chicken producers John Harvatine IV and Tom Root) pulls out the visual stops with some of the finest stop-motion animation techniques. Sadly, those beautifully crafted visuals get lost in a sea of gratuitous vulgarity.
F is for Family: Season 4 (Netflix series) — Comedian Bill Burr is having quite a weekend, and the latest season of his latest animated comedy series continues in the 1970s with the voices of Burr, Laura Dern, Justin Long, Sam Rockwell and more.
Jo Koy: In His Elements: (Netflix comedy special) — Koy heads to the Philippines in this special that celebrates his heritage with jokes about Manila’s culture and his experience as a Filipino-American.
Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:
Friday Night In with The Morgans (Friday, AMC 10:00 p.m.) — Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton are back, hopefully with more insight intoThe Walking Dead.
Billions (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Axe finds inspiration in unlikely sources while Wendy attempts to maneuver through some rocky situations, one involving Niko the artist, as Chuck’s attempting to exploit someone again for his own ends.
Quiz (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — Part three puts a bow on this limited series, in which the Ingrams have been accused of a million-pound game show heist. As the jury learns, everything is not cut and dried.
Snowpiercer (Sunday, TNT 9:00 p.m.) — Melanie stages a trial for the train’s murderer while class tensions continue to come to a boil.
I Know This Much Is True (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — Finally, Mark Ruffalo’s (well-acted) portrayal of two identical twins with a troubled, miserable relationship (between themselves and to the world) comes to an end.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — Linda receives an asylum visit, a dangerous outing goes down for Townsend and Kurt, and Frank gets down the business of terror.
Insecure (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Issa’s still searching for happiness in the season finale, and a distressing phone call arrives while Molly and Andrew have issues.
I May Destroy You (Sunday, HBO 10:30 p.m.) — Michaela Coel’s newest series is a fiery and fearless exploration of sexual consent. This week, Arabella starts to mull over that fateful night’s hazy events and pieces moments together with help from friends.
Along with visuals, audio, hardware, controllers, and literally every other attribute, a pivotal way video games have improved over the decades is in terms of accessibility and ease of use. The first home consoles took games out of arcades and brought them to people’s living rooms. Eventually, online shopping (and later digital downloads) made it so gamers didn’t even have to leave their homes to add new games to their libraries, a necessary luxury these days.
Now, it’s 2020, and Spotify and Apple Music have made streaming music easily the most convenient way to access your favorite songs. Netflix, Hulu, and similar platforms have done the same for TV and movies. It only makes sense to call for access to top-rate games to be as instant and effortless as this. While one can argue that video games do not fit into the streaming picture the same way as music and film, but at the moment, the answer to that question is still being written.
The idea behind playing a streaming game is easy to understand: In essence, instead of owning a beefy console or PC, players see live video of the game they’re playing over the cloud and send inputs in real time. The burden of processing power is placed on some server somewhere else, not the player’s hardware. In this reality, players don’t have to play at arcades, leave the house to buy new games, or even wait for downloads.
In the abstract, this is an alluring idea. With streaming video games, there’s no need to have up-to-date and potentially expensive technology in your home. As long as you have some sort of screen with a machine that can handle streaming video, you can play the latest big-time games and still achieve the best possible quality, both in terms of visuals and gameplay.
At least, this was what Google Stadia promised, but the platform hasn’t exactly made streaming video games the new way to play. Why not? Well, for starters, there’s Google’s flawed rollout strategy. The idea behind the platform, or at least one of its primary appeals, is to make streaming gaming accessible with tech people already had in their homes. Yet, when Stadia launched in November of 2019, it was only available via the $130 “Premiere” and “Founder’s Edition,” which came with a Stadia controller and a Chromecast Ultra. They only justmade their free tier available in April, nearly five months after its launch.
So, instead of instant and convenient gameplay on equipment you already have, Stadia launched with a paywall and the need for proprietary equipment. That hasn’t exactly torn gamers away from the PS4 and Xbox One (more on consoles in a moment) they didn’t have any real issues with in the first place. Stadia didn’t offer a better experience, so why bother with it?
Additionally, Stadia is not a Netflix-style subscription service that gives players access to a huge library of games without an additional charge. That sort of thing is what consumers have come to expect now when they hear something called a “streaming” service. Players still have to buy individual games, and on launch, only a dozen games that many gamers already owned on other platforms were available. One only needs so many copies of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
While most reviewers have praised the overall quality of Stadia games played through an ethernet connection, most players will likely default to a less cumbersome Wi-Fi setup. At least in the near future, this is a problem: Ars Technica noted that when playing over Wi-Fi, they found the experience to be “inconsistent to the point of aggravation.” Home Wi-Fi speeds are already prone to dragging with phones, laptops, smart TVs, smart watches, door bells, refrigerators, blenders, juicers, and other devices hogging bandwidth. Imagine adding streaming games to that already-crowded internet usage environment, especially when many of us already struggle playing YouTube videos without buffering sometimes.
And for the most part for most folks, that’s just at 1080p: Stadia promises gameplay in 4K.The internet speeds and bandwidth people have in their homes now are only just starting to catch up to its gluttonous technological needs, and 4K video is a relatively new concept in terms of widespread adoption at a user level. It doesn’t feel like the platform is there yet for 4K video plus the real-time interactivity cloud gaming requires, a sentiment to which critics can attest.
Ultimately, Google failed to make their experimental new service easily accessible, immediately attractive, and properly functional. They introduced it poorly, and the tech isn’t ready. Therefore, Stadia has yet to become a household name. The same goes for its competitors, like GeForce Now, Shadow, and others you probably haven’t heard of.
That doesn’t mean they won’t ever be, though. After all, Nintendo was a company for 94 years before they released their first Mario game. Patience is, has often been noted, a virtue.
One competitor in this space that hasn’t been mentioned yet, though, is one that everybody knows: Sony. Their PlayStation 5 is set to launch in time for the holiday season, and it looks like the PS4 successor could radically change streaming gaming. Thursday’s PS5 reveal event didn’t address this, but in a report from last year, Sony CEO Jim Ryan described “a massively enhanced PlayStation community where enriched and shared PlayStation experiences can be seamlessly enjoyed independent of time and place — with or without a console.”
Sony
Additionally, Microsoft’s xCloud is on the way, so the cloud gaming platform could bring similar functionality and flexibility to the upcoming Xbox Series X and/or the Xbox ecosystem more broadly.
If these visions end up implemented as stated (or rather, as I’m interpreting them) in the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles, the next generation of gaming could offer the best of both the console and cloud-based worlds. Are you at home? Just play on your PlayStation/Xbox and don’t fret about the potential connectivity pitfalls of streaming. Elsewhere? Access your games library in a way that — in ideal conditions, at least — mirrors the experience of playing on console.
As Stadia has proven, though, big promises are easy to make. Similarly to the famous Seinfeld car rental incident, making a claim is effortless. It’s the keeping of the promise that’s the important part. So, how can Sony and Microsoft avoid the problems Google has faced?
I have a non-expert idea: Maybe a small portion of essential and regularly accessed game data is hosted locally, while the rest is delivered over the cloud, as a way of limiting what users need to store themselves. For the tech-aware, try thinking about it like the solid-state hybrid drives (SSHDs) that were popular a few years ago. Mechanical hard drives had big storage capacities, but were slow and on the way out. Meanwhile, solid-state drives (SSDs) were fast, but it cost multiple arms and legs to get one with any serious amount of storage. So, the SSHD was, as is obvious based on the name, a hybrid of the old and the new, and they were a wonderful resource to have during that transitional period.
Even if that idea doesn’t actually make sense on a technical level or isn’t applicable to streaming games, it illustrates the core of what I’m getting at: Maybe we’re diving straight into cloud gaming too quickly. Maybe console gaming and cloud gaming are two islands, and what we need now is a bridge. If that’s not the case, we don’t know everything about Sony and Microsoft’s cloud gaming solutions yet, so maybe they’ve figured something out that Google hasn’t, something they’ll be ready to show the world soon.
Regardless of which of these possible futures will be the one, for now, they are all just that: the future. That said, consumer technology feels really close to being ready for streaming gaming. At the very least, it appears to be a few months away, assuming that all the promises that have been made are fulfilled.
Until then, though, it seems Stadia, PS5, Xbox Series X, and the rest may be more of a preview of our gaming future than its arrival. Regardless, we’ve come a long way from the arcade.
While news coverage has been saturated with stories of protests and pandemics, some of the Trump administration’s recent actions have gone under the radar. At the beginning of Pride Month, the Trump administration effectively pushed to allow religious adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples and deny them permission to adopt. Openly queer indie rocker Lucy Dacus fought back against the news by sharing her own adoption story.
The Department of Justice recently filed a briefing in the Supreme Court case Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that dates back to 2018, in which the City of Philadelphia ended a contract with Catholic Social Services upon learning they had discriminated against LGBTQ folks and refused to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. According to NBC News, the DOJ’s brief argued that “Philadelphia has impermissibly discriminated against religious exercise,” and that the city’s actions “reflect unconstitutional hostility toward Catholic Social Services’ religious beliefs.” The brief was also completely voluntary, as the federal government is not a party in the case.
Dacus spoke out against news of the briefing. Retweeting a pair of screenshots from an article that covered Trump’s attempted ban, Dacus said it’s not the first time he has tried to do this. “I’m adopted, my mom was adopted, & if I ever have a kid I’ll probably adopt them,” Dacus wrote. “My experience has been marked by love, generosity, & respect. Ofc gay people should be able to adopt.”
He’s tried to do this before (during pride no less) & again I want to say: I’m adopted, my mom was adopted, & if I ever have a kid I’ll probably adopt them. My experience has been marked by love, generosity, & respect. Ofc gay people should be able to adopt. https://t.co/48ryjdArX0
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 music that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week, R&B sisters Chloe x Halle released their sophomore debut Ungodly Hour, Partynextdoor dropped a visual for his Partymobile track “Savage Anthem” and Jorja Smith emerged with her jazzy cut “Rose Rouge.” Check out the rest of the best new R&B this week below.
Chloe x Halle — Ungodly Hour
R&B duo Chloe and Halle Bailey, known worldwide as Chloe x Halle, are coming full-force with their second studio album Ungodly Hour, the follow-up to 2018’s The Kids Are Alright. The sisters have quite a few triumphs under their belt (besides being mentored by the one and only Beyoncé since teenagers), and among them include a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a performance of “America The Beautiful” at the 2019 Super Bowl. Chloe and Halle’s dualistic energy is mesmerizing on the supremely polished Ungodly Hour and their voices are a smooth blend of captivating high-note sorcery. The 13-song album includes “Forgive Me” and their viral TikTok hit “Do It.”
PartyNextDoor — “Savage Anthem”
PartyNextDoor‘s music is vulnerable on the surface but his recently released album Partymobile goes even deeper into the psyche of the OVO Sound singer. His track “Savage Anthem” is pure evidence of this as he shares his side of what happened in a past relationship with an animated visual. “Me being faithful is the issue,” he croons. Some fans have long suspected the song is about his ex-girlfriend Kehlani, however, she has denied that there’s any truth to that sentiment.
Jorja Smith — “Rose Rouge”
Jorja Smith‘s reimagination of St Germaine’s “Rose Rouge” is insanely beautiful. The song is expected to live on Blue Note Records’ Blue Note Re:imagined, a compilation album of Jazz covers from contemporary acts. Helmed by softened high-hats and brass instruments, Jorja’s take on “Rose Rouge” is just as calming as it is smooth. The project is slated for release on September 25.
RMR — Drug Dealing Is A Lost Art
Melodic outlaw RMR is redefining the musical matrix with his debut project Drug Dealing Is A Lost Art. The project is an exploration of emotions and has a lot more to offer than the mysterious singer’s viral cut “Rascal.” He taps Future and Lil Baby for the remix to his track “Dealer,” Westside Gunn is perfectly placed on the album’s opening cut “Welfare,” and he links with the legendary Timbaland for “I’m Not Over You.” RMR’s Drug Dealing Is A Lost Art effectively shows there’s more to him than what’s on the surface.
TeaMarrr — Before I Spill Myself
Raedio artist TeaMarrr has delivered her debut project Before I Spill Myself and it includes features from SiR, D. Smoke, and Rapsody. “Before I Spill Myself is a bawdy of work that touches the beginning, middle, and end of what sharing yourself with someone NEW romantically feels like,” the “Kinda Love” singer wrote on Instagram about the collection of 10 songs. TeaMarrr’s Before I Spill Myself is truly a sonic healing brew of vibes.
Leon Bridges — “Sweeter” Feat. Terrace Martin
Grammy Award-winning musicians Leon Bridges and Terrace Martin came together for the dulcet “Sweeter.” Filled with the rich sounds of Martin’s expertise, Leon vocalizes what it feels like to be Black in America and the pain he feels following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. “The death of George Floyd was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me,” he said in press release. “It was the first time I wept for a man I never met. I am George Floyd, my brothers are George Floyd, and my sisters are George Floyd. I cannot and will not be silent any longer.”
Pink Sweats — “Cadillac Drive” Feat. Price
Off the Insecure Soundtrack from season four, Pink Sweats blesses fans with the romantic visual “Cadillac Drive” featuring Price. Though his forthcoming album Pink Planet is currently still in the works, the rising R&B singer continues to consistently release quality love songs such as the nostaligic “17.”
Baby Rose — “Show You (Remix)” Feat. Q
Baby Rose‘s “Show You” featuring Q landed on season four of Insecure and is a modern jazz dream. Rose’s contralto reverberates amongst the various brass instruments, sketching out her vulnerability and emotions. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old DC native continues to impress and her debut album To Myself is a hypnotizing showcase of her unique sound that should be heard by everyone.
Pierre Da Silva — “Tell Me”
London-based R&B singer Pierre Da Silva‘s “Tell Me” is an introspective, uptempo ballad that is a complete mood. In a world where love is more ego-driven and inundated with exhausting mind games, Pierre sings of letting go of all inhibitions simply by communicating all thoughts, feelings, and insecurities. “Tell Me” is the follow-up to his previously released single, “Never Again.”
Malachiae — “Get To The Bag”
Burgeoning Motown singer Malachiae upholds traditional R&B values with his latest release “Get To The Bag.” Produced by Sangria, “Get to the bag is an inspirational love song about leveling up in life and sharing the experience and everything with the people who love and support you,” the Atlanta-based artist expressed in a press release. Malachiae is just getting started so there’s more to come from her.
Kaash Paige — “Jaded”
Dallas’ own R&B topliner Kaash Paige is getting ready to follow-up 2019’s Parked Car Convo‘s with her debut album Teenage Fever. Her recent sultry release “Jaded” is just a taste of what’s to come. This follows a string of drops Kaash has blessed fans with this year including “Frank Ocean” and “Sobriety.”
Check out this week’s R&B picks, plus more on Uproxx’s Spotify playlist below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Eleven-time Grammy winner and EGOT recipient John Legend is unfolding a new era of music. After sharing his powerful track “Bigger Love” back in April, Legend shares his eponymous album’s cover art, tracklist, and release date.
Based on his tracklist, the singer’s upcoming album boasts features from big-name artists like Jhene Aiko and Gary Clark Jr. In a statement alongside his Bigger Love announcement, Legend detailed his album’s inspirations:
“The songs are inspired by the loves of my life: my wife, my family and the rich tradition of black music that has made me the artist I am.
All of these songs were created prior to the world being rocked by a pandemic, prior to the latest police killings in the U.S. that sent so many to the streets in protest. During these painful times, some of us may wonder if it’s ok to laugh or dance or be romantic. Lately, the images of black people in the media have been showing us with knees on our necks, in mourning, or expressing our collective outrage. We feel all those emotions.
But It’s important for us to continue to show the world the fullness of what it is to be black and human. Through our art, we are able to do that. This album is a celebration of love, joy, sensuality, hope, and resilience, the things that make our culture so beautiful and influential.
I’m under no illusion that music can save the world or solve the world’s problems, but I’ve always turned to music to help me through tough times and I know many of you have done the same. That’s why I couldn’t wait to release this album to the world. I debuted in 2004 with an album called Get Lifted. And now, as we enter the summer of 2020, I hope this new album can get you lifted again, fill your hearts with love and inspiration, give you something to dance to, something to hold hands to, something to make love to.”
Check out Legend’s Bigger Love cover art and tracklist below.
Columbia
1. “Ooh Laa”
2. “Actions”
3. “I Do”
4. “One Life”
5. “Wild” Feat. Gary Clark Jr.
6. “Bigger Love”
7. “U Move, I Move” Feat. Jhene Aiko
8. “Favorite Place”
9. “Slow Cooker”
10. “Focused”
11. “Conversations In The Dark”
12. “Don’t Walk Away” Feat. Coffee
13. “Remember Us” Feat. Rapsody
14. “I’m Ready” Feat. Camper
15. “Always”
16. “Never Break”
Bigger Love is out 6/19 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.
The Premier League is set to return to action in the UK next week and the jerseys — along with the empty stadiums and socially distanced substitute players — will look a little different. During the first 12 games of the restarted 2019-20 season, players will wear jerseys that feature the words “Black Lives Matter” on the back instead of their surnames, the league confirmed Friday.
After the first round of matches, the jerseys will have an embroidered BLM logo for the rest of the season. Additionally, a heart-shaped patch honoring the National Health Service for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic will also feature on the front of the shirts and teams will have a moment of silence before kick-off to remember those who died due to COVID-19.
In a statement, players from all 20 clubs wrote:
“We, the Players, stand together with the singular objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists, to bring about a global society of inclusion, respect, and equal opportunities for All, regardless of their colour or creed. This symbol is a sign of unity from all Players, all Staff, all Clubs, all Match Officials and the Premier League #blacklivesmatter #playerstogether.”
Premier League confirms Black Lives Matter to replace player names on the back of shirts for the first 12 matches of the restart.#BlackLivesMatter logo will then feature on shirts for the rest of the season along with a badge thanking the NHS for their coronavirus work pic.twitter.com/Qst5J08Twm
According to ESPN, Everton captain Seamus Coleman, Watford’s Troy Deeney and Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin led the decision to have the Black Lives Matter slogan above players’ numbers on the back of their jerseys. The League also wrote that it will “support players who ‘take a knee’ before or during matches,” and referees have been told to use their discretion when considering cautioning players who remove their shirt to reveal a slogan in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, according to The Guardian. While there have been calls to implement a similar rule to the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview ethnic minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation roles, the League confirmed it will not enforce an analogous rule at this time.
all we’re asking is we are seen as equal, as more than 3/5 of a man, as humans. My heart goes out in solidarity to George Floyd, his family, and all of the countless number of victims that have had their lives taken at the hands of meaningless police brutality.
While players are still fighting for social change both on and off the pitch, the games will surely look a bit different due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — no fans or ball kids will be allowed at matches, players have been encouraged not to break social distancing rules when celebrating goals and every player and coach will have their temperature checked before entering stadiums. Premier League action is set to resume on June 17 when Aston Villa and Sheffield United kick off against each other, and Liverpool can clinch their first league title in 30 years if they defeat Everton on June 21.
“I’ll tell you how I got the script. The door knocked, I opened the door and standing at the door was an international film director called Chris Nolan. He had an envelope under his arm… ‘I’ve come to deliver the script to you.’ It doesn’t get more personal then that,” Branagh told Collider. “[I asked], ‘How will we talk about this?’ [Nolan said], “24 hours from now, sir, I will give you a telephone call and we will discuss it.” It’s [that] simple.”
It’s fun to imagine that, upon receiving the phone call 24 hours later, Branagh told Nolan, “Boy, this thing is a steaming pile of dung. Yeesh.” Seems unlikely, though.
Anyway, just remember, the next time you hear a knock on door, it could be “international film director” Christopher Nolan on the other side. Or more likely it’s Amazon dropping off the socks you ordered. But they’re Batman socks, so it’s kind of the same thing.
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.