[This post contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4]
There weren’t many deaths in season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things — much to Millie Bobby Brown’s bloodlust dismay — but the list of casualties does include Dr. Martin Brenner. Or does it? In response to Vulture asking him whether we should assume “Papa” is dead, actor Matthew Modine replied, “No, I wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t want him to be dead.” I don’t think that’s how it works, but I respect the optimism.
Modine also discussed how Brenner could redeem himself if he returns for the fifth and final season. “Obviously, the only children he tortured who are alive, that we know of, are Eleven and Kali. I guess Vecna, if there’s any saving One. It would be that moment of them forgiving Brenner and giving him their grace,” he said. Modine then compared his character to former-president Donald Trump, who he called a “psychopathic liar.”
And the horror of what Brenner did is accepting and understanding his culpability in the death of all those children because of what One did. So if Eleven and Kali, or just Eleven, forgave him and sent him off, he would spend the remaining days of his life knowing he had been forgiven but having to accept responsibility for what he did. Do you think Donald Trump is able to sleep at night with a clear conscience? Or does he have to sedate himself and become a psychopathic liar in order to justify the behavior and the things that he’s done? Well, maybe he is. That’s a bad example. [Laughs.]
Modine thinks Brenner is a “more moral person” than Trump, and “he’d have to spend his final days acknowledging and accepting responsibility for the pain he caused. That’s the real nightmare — not being able to escape your thoughts and the things you’ve seen or done.” Meanwhile, Trump sleeps soundly bathed in the warming glow of Newsmax.
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.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B and afrobeats column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists. Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran shared a video for “For My Hand” and SiR flaunts his carefree lifestyle on “Life Is Good.” Ciara makes her return with the high-energy “Jump” while John Legend and Muni Long share their sensual video for “Honey.”
Here are some more releases you should check out:
Brent Faiyaz — Wasteland
For the past two years, since the release of his acclaimed F*ck The World EP in 2020, Brent Faiyaz fans have waited patiently to receive the singer’s sophomore album. Finally, the follow-up to 2017’s Sonder Son arrived this past weekend in the form of his Wasteland album. Nineteen tracks are available to listen to and they arrive with features from Drake, Tyler The Creator, Alicia Keys, and more for what is truly another strong output from Brent.
Emotional Oranges — “Bounce”
Last year, Emotional Oranges, the duo comprised of singer Azad Right and Vali, delivered their EP, The Juicebox which collaborations from the likes of They., Kiana Lede, Chiiild, and more. It remains to be seen what the duo has up their sleeve for 2022 but the round towards that continues with the fun and energetic “Bounce,” their second single of the year.
Kyle Dion — “Spoon And Bang”
Kyle Dion’s 2021 album Sassy was undoubtedly one of the best R&B releases of that year. In the near future, Kyle will add to the album’s experience with an upcoming deluxe, one he teases with the release of “Spoon And Bang.” The track speaks about the early moments of love and how it makes one want to spend all day and night with their new partner.
Burna Boy — Love, Damini
Afrobeats continues its very strong year with help from one of its biggest superstars. Burna Boy arrives with his sixth album Love, Damini and it checks in with 19 songs, including the fan-favorite, summer hit “Last Last,” as well as features from a list of acts from all over the world. Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, Popcaan, Blxst, J Hus, Victony, Khalid, and more appear on the project.
August 08 — Towards The Moon
Los Angeles singer August 08 began the year with his Towards The Sun project which was his first release since 2020’s Emotional Cuh. Luckily Towards The Sun is not the only project fans were given by August 08 as he returned with Towards The Moon, a graceful and serne body of work complete with six songs and guest appearances from Joji and Jhene Aiko.
Phabo — “Achy”
With his excellent Soulquarius album now in his rearview mirror, Phabo is onto the next chapter of his career which will officially be his Before I Let Go EP. After sharing the project’s title track, he returns with “Achy” a slow-rolling record focused on the pains of a failed love and the struggles of moving on.
Chris Brown — Breezy (Deluxe)
If you thought Chris Brown was back to releasing “shorter” albums, we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. Just two weeks after releasing his tenth album, Breezy, Chris returns with nine more songs in the form of a deluxe reissue which brings that project’s total amount of songs to 33. The new additions also include features from Anderson .Paak and Davido.
Thuy — “Trust” feat. RINI
Earlier this year, Thuy officially closed the chapter of her I Hope U See This project with a deluxe reissue, and now she’s back to officially launch the next chapter of her career. That starts with “Trust,” her soothing and romantic new single with fellow Asian Pacific singer RINI. The record sees both singers committing to a love that they’ve both deemed as worth it.
Jenevieve — “2NLuv” Feat. Benziboy
While Jenevieve’s 2021 year ended with her Division project, her 2022 year continues with “2NLuv” featuring Benziboy. It’s a dance and house-influenced record that grants space for Jenevieve to show off her rich vocals while building towards a climactic hook that leaves you ready to dance the night away.
Yuna — Y3
Yuna is working toward the release of her five-part album Y5. So far, she’s released her Y1 and Y2 EPs, and now she returns with Y3. The new EP arrives with three songs: “Risk It All” (which she says is about “being secure in moving forward” with a new lover,) “Don’t Wanna Know” (which is aligned with the saying “ignorance is bliss”), and “Summer Love” (which details a brief love that turned into a lifelong romance).
Allyn — “Signal” Feat. Phabo
Fresh off the release of her After Hours, Allyn connects with Phabo to release a video for their collaboration, “Signal.” The visual follows Allyn on a date night while demonstrating the mistrust and acrimony that she feels with her partner.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Rap rock fans of Limp Bizkit around the world who were looking to see the band this summer are going to have to wait it out indefinitely. Lead singer Fred Durst posted a video on the band’s website indicating that Limp Bizkit would be postponing their upcoming Europe and UK tour dates for “personal health concerns and based on medical advice given by my personal physician.” He said his doctor recommended he “take an immediate break from touring.”
Following the completion of a slew of US tour dates, the Europe and UK tour in support of Limp Bizkit’s 2021 album, Still Sucks, was set to begin on July 26th in Paris. No rescheduled dates have been announced yet.
Along with a statement, Durst also posted an apologetic video explaining the situation, but not elaborating on the specifics of the health concerns. Durst explained that he went in for some tests ahead of the tour “to make sure I’m in good physical condition and everything’s ok.” He added, “To my surprise my doctor has decided to send me a letter telling me, he would not like me to tour at this time, and to stay close by to do some more tests. And that being said, this was very unexpected news and I’m so sorry and I look forward to making it up to you as soon as possible.”
Durst did reassure by saying, “I’m only wishing for the best and I know everything is going to be ok.” He also teased that he’s “already working on something to make it up to everyone in the UK and all over Europe.”
Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
Alright, so maybe Thor: Love And Thunder turned out to be a bit much — Still fun, but definitely extra. In contrast, Ragnarok (which is receiving a new burst of streaming activity for obvious reasons) was a much simpler movie and also a breath of quirky air, thanks to Taika Waititi’s offbeat sensibilities and (gotta mention this) the Hulk Butt. You never thought you’d see that in a Marvel movie right? And that’s one of many reasons why Ragnarok stands apart from the rest of the multiverse-riddled MCU.
TIE: 10. Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (Paramount+ movie)
You hear the theme song in your head right now, correct? That’s the right kind of trip back in time, to the land of Cornholio and sometimes side-splitting commentary on music videos. Mike Judge’s creation still has all of the charm of the original MTV show, and it’s so easy to pick right back up like this show never missed a beat. Yes, this franchise is still essentially one joke, but it’s a joke that still miraculously works. Before long, we’ll get an updated new TV series too, so look at this like a disgustingly wonderful appetizer.
The newly departed Ray Liotta takes his final onscreen bow here as the father to Taron Egerton’s Jimmy Keene (a convicted drug dealer) in this true-crime/psychological thriller story. Dennis Lehane produces this series adaptation of Keene’s memoir, In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, and Paul Walter Hauser makes another grand character-actor appearance, so completists must sign up for this one.
The series finale brought this one home for the youngest Marvel dynamite who shall soon join Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Paris) on the big screen for The Marvels. Phase Four of the MCU’s feeling a bit disjointed as of late, but this show’s an underrated one and brings us the story of Captain Marvel superfan Kamala Khan, whose powers get switched up (and, by some interpretations, upgraded) to modernize the protagonist’s journey, so lighten up, staunch adherers to canon. It’s fun!
Elliot Page’s Victor makes his debut (and gets the last word) in this jam-packed season that introduces the Sparrow Academy, which puts the Hargreeves siblings into a precarious and unknown state, all while doling out another apocalypse. This sounds all-too serious, but fans of the show know that the writers strike a careful balance of mayhem and joy. That’s readily apparent in the first 20 minutes because everyone enjoys an impromptu dance battle. Somehow, this all makes sense in the grand scheme of the show, and everyone must bow to Klaus for showing how intermittent tragedy can cut to the bone but all be taken in stride because the fam always has each other.
Block out some serious hours before tucking into this batch of multi-hour episodes as this season comes to an end. Yep, Season 5 will be coming, too, and hopefully, Millie Bobbie Brown will get her wish on more Game of Thrones-style deaths. Brown and Sadie Sink both missed out on Emmy nominations, but the show as a whole received several nods, so you’ll probably want to catch up before that awards show broadcast in September. Oh, and listen to Metallica and don’t mind the gatekeepers.
Speaking of the Emmys, Selena Gomez got the shaft, which only further illustrates the point that she’s chronically underappreciated in the industry. She’s an essential part of the production team and the Dream Trio including Steve Martin and Martin Short. Here, she picks up as “Bloody Mabel,” who’s tangling with her newfound reputation after being found in a very compromising position with a dead body. Wait a second, don’t assume! It’s not like that, but the podcasters now have a more tangled task on their hands, and enjoy guest turns from Amy Schumer and Cara Delevingne for some extra spice.
Homelander had a rough season finale, but clearly, he will continue to torment society as they bow at his feet. Surprisingly enough, his very big role in the “Herogasm” episode had precious little to do with the actual Herogasm celebration. That’s because everyone was (rightfully) out to get the King of the Supes, and there were both happy and sad endings for those players. This show’s still one of the most outrageous TV shows out there, and showrunner Eric Kripke and his writers continue to ratchet up the stakes while also staying true to the show’s spirit. Yes, it’s depraved and gross-out to the max, but there are layered characters who quietly steer this ship and maintain the show’s beating heart.
As our own Brian Grubb recently declared, the fun shows are coming back, and that includes this vampire mockumentary show, into which Matt Berry recently tried to sneak a Star Wars easter egg. That stinker. This season’s all about the vampire-nightclub energy while existential crises rear their heads in the backgrounds. This really is one of the funniest shows on TV that’s equally enjoyable as a binge or a weekly treat.
The midseason premiere landed with bad news for a character who burns too bright, but the ultimate good news is this: Kim Wexler is still holding down the fort, y’all. Do not fear too much, although maybe fear a little bit because, unfortunately, there are only a handful of episodes left before this prequel goes toe-to-toe with the Breaking Bad timeline. Not everyone could survive! And we still need to see everything turn to color for Gene at Cinnabon. Fingers crossed.
Yes, we are going to see a Season 2 for Carmy and his fellow Chefs, and hopefully Ayo Edebir and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will return to perch on the downtrodden-but-still-standing shoulders of Jeremy Allen White‘s leading man. For that matter, we need to see more of Joel McHale’s hypercritical chef (with a lowercase c) because he was one of the secret ingredients that helped volley this show into breakout status. And don’t forget about Carmy’s sex appeal, even though he never had sex. Stay tuned on that note.
The Philadelphia 76ers had an active offseason, retaining their core group but working diligently to upgrade their depth around them. Keeping James Harden was the most important part of the summer, but how much money he took would dictate just how much they would be able to offer free agents to upgrade the roster.
Having a star player with that much trust in the front office, after less than a year with the team, to take less and trust that the right deal would get worked out is a rarity, but Harden and Morey’s track record going back to the Rockets days allowed for that kind of dialogue. It also helps that Harden is at a stage in his career where he’s most focused on winning, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo that his message to Morey was simple: spend what you need to spend and give me what’s left.
“I had conversations with Daryl, and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over,” Harden told Yahoo Sports. “This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That’s all that matters to me at this stage. I’m willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that.”
It’s an admirable position from Harden, and one that the Sixers figure to benefit from (provided, of course, Harden is back at full strength for a full year). While he did take less in the short term, there is some advantage on his end to signing the two-year deal in Philly that guarantees him the ability to pick up a $32 million option next summer should he continue to struggle with the hamstring injury that has hampered him the past two seasons. Coloring Harden’s decision as a completely altruistic one would be disingenuous, but he certainly put his money where his mouth is when it comes to ensuring the Sixers could spend to upgrade the roster and that’s commendable. We’ll find out how much ground the Sixers made up on the rest of the East’s best this coming season, and while the new additions are nice, much of the pressure lies on the shoulders of Harden to be better come playoff time.
One of the best things about seeing young players come into the league is seeing them get to compete against idols they watched growing up, but the confidence of youngsters can sometimes lead them to making headlines when it comes time to talk about aging legends.
This year’s rookie class has already had a couple of these moments, first from Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin saying LeBron James is going to have to “show me he’s better than me,” which will undoubtedly pop back up the first time Indiana faces L.A. this season. The latest came from Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan, who didn’t play in Summer League after working his way back from health and safety protocols, but was in Vegas for practices and to have some rookie media fun.
The one that caught everyone’s attention was he and Malaki Branham playing a guessing game with sticky notes, and when Sochan put up “triple-double,” Branham understandably said “Russell Westbrook get ’em a lot.” Sochan, unfortunately, had his mind jump elsewhere and rather hysterically said “bricks,” which led to an incredible response from Branham who could immediately sense this was going to go viral.
Sure enough it did, and the rookie out of Baylor took to Twitter to say he was just playing a game and blurted out the wrong thing, bringing receipts of his love for Russ, noting his dog is named Russell and posting a photo of him wearing a Westbrook jersey as a kid, insisting he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful.
It certainly seems like an innocent (yet, hysterical) mistake from Sochan, but while he might not’ve meant to create bulletin board material for the first Spurs-Lakers game, it seems likely that he did.
On Saturday night, the MLB held its annual Celebrity All-Star Game and it featured names like Bad Bunny, Quavo, JoJo Siwa, and Simu Liu who all suited up for the matchup. Bad Bunny, to the surprise of no one, quickly became the star of the night. It took a while to see Bad Bunny step up to the plate as he called on Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero and soon-to-be-Hall of Famer David Ortiz to do his first two at-bats. Finally, he stepped up to swing and it resulted in a single. Bad Bunny ended the night with two singles, but now, he’s ending the weekend with another week at No. 1.
Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti just registered its fifth non-consecutive week atop the Billboard 200. In the July 23, 2022-dated chart, Un Verano Sin Ti sold 105,000 copies which were mostly comprised of streams 104,000 copies being streaming equivalent album units thanks to 146.83 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs. This makes for the tenth consecutive week that Un Verano Sin Ti has sold 100,000 or more copies, tying a mark last set by Drake’s Views between the May 21-July 23, 2016 charts.
Additionally, Un Verano Sin Ti earned its tenth consecutive week in the top two positions of the Billboard 200. The last album to accomplish this was Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album between the January 23-March 27, 2021-dated charts.
Time was that box office hits were more diverse. Before franchise movies ruled the multiplex, a year’s biggest grosser could be a comedy (Three Men and Baby, 1987), a drama (Rain Man, 1988), or a ghostly romance (Ghost, 1990). Even high-concept extravaganzas could be one-offs (E.T., Titanic, Armageddon). This is a roundabout way of saying that everyone should break out the champagne, because a non-franchise movie just crossed the $100 million mark, and in only four weeks of release.
As per Variety, this weekend, Elvis — Baz Luhrmann’s over-the-top biopic about the King — crossed a benchmark, bringing its cume to a whopping $106.2 million. It’s still in the top five (albeit in the fifth slot), behind a three franchise movies (Thor: Love and Thunder, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Top Gun: Maverick), as well as another non-franchise entry: Where the Crawdads Sing, which chalked up a respectable $17 million for third place.
Elvis stars Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Austin Butler (who did not — we repeat not — punch Ezra Miller in the face at a Tokyo bar) as the one born Elvis Aaron Presley, whose life and career are both made and derailed by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks, in a fat suit and with an unplaceable European-Southern accent). It’s clearly bewitched audiences, though it is a bit strange that none of Presley’s songs have suddenly creeped back into the Billboard 100, as Stranger Things help do to ‘80s tunes by Kate Bush and Metallica. In a just world, “Polk Salad Annie” would crack the Top 10.
It’s been about a year and a half since Rico Nasty’s debut album, that being 2020’s Nightmare Vacation. That effort checked in with 16 songs and features from Don Toliver, Gucci Mane, Amine, Trippie Redd, Ppcocaine, Sukihana, and Rubi Rose. Over the last 18 months, Rico has shared music that are both connected and free from her upcoming body of work, and with just a few days until its release, Rico shares the official tracklist for it.
Las Ruinas, Rico’s upcoming second album, is set to arrive on July 22. The project will include 17 songs and it will be much lighter compared to Nightmare Vacation as its includes guest appearances from Bktherula, Teezo Touchdown, and Marshmello. Las Ruinas also includes the already released remix to Fred Again’s “Jungle,” “Skullflower,” “Black Punk,” “Intrusive,” and “Vaderz.”
You can view the full tracklist for Las Ruinas below.
The tournament aspect of NBA Summer League is usually a secondary concern for teams, who are more hopeful to see development of their young stars in the desert, but once there, teams and players always want to win and on Sunday afternoon the Knicks and Blazers met in Thomas & Mack Arena to battle it out for the Summer League title.
A sluggish start probably should’ve been expected for the noon local tip, as both teams struggled to get much going offensively out of the gate but eventually Portland took control in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into the break, led by Trendon Watford, who finished the game with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Brandon Williams, who led all scorers in the game with 22 points and five assists.
Brandon Williams finds Trendon Watford slipping to the basket for the dunk
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) July 17, 2022
On the Knicks side, Quentin Grimes led the way with 19 points, but shot just 5-of-16 from the field, as the entire Knicks roster was ice cold from deep, knocking down just 24 percent of their triples. The highlights on New York’s side came from bouncy big man Jericho Sims, as he had a few of thunderous dunks in an effort to keep the Knicks attached.
Portland would extend their lead to 14 going into the fourth quarter, with summer standout Jabari Walker starting to get himself going as he stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and two assists.
New York would trim the Portland lead back down to single digits in the fourth, but ultimately Walker, Watford, and Williams would push the Blazers to an 85-77 win and the organization’s first Summer League title since 2018.
The Blazers finished their time in the desert with a 4-1 record, led primarily by their defense which shut down opposing squads, while Walker and Watford, in particular, shined in the frontcourt on both ends. They will collect the first ever Summer League championship rings for their performance, as they brought a lot more joy to Blazers fans than expected after Shaedon Sharpe went down after five minutes in his debut with a shoulder injury.
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