Category: Viral

The return of music festival announcements have seen typical summer events like Bonnaroo and Outside Lands getting pushed to the fall. Rolling Loud is never one to go with the flow, however, and has announced their festival’s gates will open just a few weeks later than originally planned. The event will now take place during the weekend of July 23rd-25th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.

The organizers were able to keep much of the lineup intact from its 2020 iteration, including Travis Scott, Post Malone and ASAP Rocky. Bobby Shmurda will serve as a special guest, along with appearances from some of the best and brightest in hip hop including Lil Baby, 21 Savage, DaBaby, Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Pooh Shiesty, Polo G, Ski Mask The Slump God, City Girls, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, T-Pain, Curren$y, Fetty Wap, and Wale. Check out the full lineup image below.

“We want to extend a massive thank you to all of our ragers who have held onto their tickets,” the festival said in a statement. “Those who can’t make the new dates will have the opportunity to obtain a refund. Information on how to obtain a refund will be sent out to ticket holders later this month. We are also working on sweetening the deal for those of you who choose to keep your tickets in addition to the rage pack you already earned from the last reschedule.

The statement continued:

We can’t wait to reunite together in the pits we’ve all grown to love (and miss) so much. Many of you, like us, have been looking forward to Rolling Loud for months now. And although we may need to wait a little bit longer—trust that this comeback and reunion will be even stronger. Whether you’re a Rolling Loud veteran or a first-timer, you are about to be a part of history.

Tickets go on sale 4/23 at 12PM ET. Get them here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s official. Michael Keaton’s Batman will return for Ezra Miller’s solo The Flash movie. After months of carefully worded reports, and at one point, hesitant quotes from Keaton himself that he might not say “yes” to the project because of COVID, his agency have confirmed to The Wrap that Keaton will be reprising his iconic role as The Dark Knight for The Flash. In an interesting tidbit, The Wrap also reports that when The Flash catches up with Keaton’s Batman through some sort of time-travel, multiverse shenanigans, the film “will disregard the latter two entries entirely,” meaning Batman Forever and Batman and Robin starring Val Kilmer and George Clooney, respectively.

The Keaton casting confirmation arrives as The Flash enters its first day of production under director Andy Muschietti, which Warner Bros. commemorated by sharing the film’s official logo on Twitter:

Fans of Keaton’s Batman — which let’s be honest, is the best — will no doubt be glad to hear the news that the actor is locked for The Flash. Just a few weeks ago, Keaton gave an interview that sounded a whole lot like he was going to take a pass on the film, and for a very understandable reason.

“I keep my eye more on the Covid situation in the UK than anything,” Keaton told Deadline. “That will determine everything, and so that’s why I’m living outside the city here on 17 acres, staying away from everybody, because the Covid thing has got me really concerned. So, that’s my first thing about all projects. I look at it and go, is this thing going to kill me, literally? And you know, if it doesn’t, then we talk.”

Fortunately, Keaton’s concerns were addressed, and he’s now ready to fly to London and slap on a full-body rubber suit for the first time in 30 years. Holy nostalgia, Batman!

(Via The Wrap)

One of the biggest deals of the 2021 NBA trade deadline saw Aaron Gordon get moved to Denver by Orlando, as the Magic granted his trade request in exchange for Gary Harris, RJ Hampton, and a first round pick. Gordon has been steadily assimilating with the Nuggets, averaging a modest 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 11 games in Denver so far, but his efficiency has taken a leap, at least in two-point range, and if he regains his three-point stroke (37.5 percent in Orlando and just 28.6 percent in Denver) his game will really take off.

While Gordon isn’t averaging as much as he did with the Magic, he’s happy taking a smaller role on a winner and with Jamal Murray’s torn ACL, his presence is suddenly much more important. Gordon will be asked to take on a role a bit more like he played in Denver, with more of the scoring load shifting to him, but from a creativity perspective, everything in Denver still runs through the MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic. Playing with Jokic is the chief reason Gordon’s efficiency from two-point range has skyrocketed, as he is now among the many beneficiaries of the star big man’s unique vision and passing ability.

For Gordon, it’s a very new world to exist in, and he recently spoke with The Athletic’s Sam Amick about Jokic’s “genius” as well as the adjustment it takes to suddenly be always on alert because a pass will come your way if you’re open (or are about to become open) whether you’re ready or not.

“He’s a genius, man,” Gordon said of Jokic, who is on track to become just the second player in league history to average at least 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists per game (Oscar Robertson is the other, and he did it just once). “He’s a basketball genius. That’s really what it comes down to. He’s playing it like it’s chess, seeing it three steps ahead.

“I’m starting to learn that you’ve always got to keep your eye on him when he has the ball because he’ll find you. He’ll find you. Even if you don’t think you’re open, you’re open. He’ll pass you open, which is dope. It’s just amazing to play with somebody like that who can actually pass you open and sees the game (like that), and who likes to pass and enjoys passing.”

That explanation of how Jokic throws guys open highlights the difference between a good passer and an elite passer like Jokic (or LeBron or Chris Paul, etc.). The way he anticipates openings, throwing passes to spaces rather than people, is something few can do and it opens up so much for an offense because you aren’t trying to hit open windows before they close (which happens quickly in the NBA) but instead you’re hitting the windows as they open and before the defense is even reacting, which creates better looks. At the same time, it requires everyone to stay vigilant. When Jokic is on the court, there is no cutting for the sake of cutting, it always has to be done with purpose because if you’re about to come open, the ball is going to be there.

That might be the part that makes the Denver offense so great, because all five guys on the court stay engaged in a way that doesn’t always happen. You have to stay shot ready, which makes you more likely to knock it down when the ball comes to you because you aren’t ever surprised when it makes it there.

National Geographic Presents: IMPACT with Gal Gadot (National Geographic on YouTube) — This short-form documentary series will run for six episodes to tell powerful stories of women who are leading violence-and-poverty-stricken communities. From Brazil to Puerto Rico, Michigan, California, Louisiana, and Tennessee, this series will show these women standing up while remaining unafraid to dream and lead. Yes, surfing happens, but so does a whole lot of transformation. Each episode will release weekly before debuting as a full-length documentary special on the Nat Geo channel.

9-1-1 (Fox, 8:00pm) — A drunk driver causes a deadly freeway pile-up, and Athena races to save lives while Maddie’s doing the labor thing.

9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox, 9:00pm) — A horrific car accident leads to Grace and Judd battling for their lives while their past goes into flashback mode.

Running Wild With Bear Grylls (Nat Geo, 9:00pm) — Bear Grylls is still doing his daredevil-in-nature thing, and this week, Bear goes off the map with Dave Bautista.

Pray, Obey, Kill (HBO, 9:00 & 10:00pm) — Tonight will see a double-dose installment of a five-part documentary series from investigative journalists Anton Berg and Martin Johnson in a project directed by The Bridge‘s Henrik Georgsson. Follow along while Berg and Johnson retrace what happened on a frigid night when a small Swedish village saw a woman murdered and a neighbor shot before a nanny confessed to the acts of violence while citing a strange motivation. This led to a scandalous tale of a love triangle and a link to a prior suspicious death. Yet is the whole mess tied to the local tight-knit Pentecostal congregation and its charismatic leader, who referred to herself as “The Bride of Christ”? Get ready for an unpredictable true-crime ride.

Black Lightning (CW, 9:00pm) — Anissa springs a surprise on Grace, and the FBI has Jefferson in their sights. It’s visit time.

Debris (NBC, 10:00pm) — A dangerous operation leads Bryan and Finola toward rescuing George Jones, while Maddox and Ferris have different opinions on the mission.

Breeders (FX, 10:00pm) — Martin Freeman’s starring turn in this comedy enters the sophomore season with new parenting challenges. This week, Ally’s feeling pressure, and no one’s helping her while Jackie and Jim are hoping to move to the coast.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Michael Strahan, Emmy Blotnick

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Catherine Zeta-Jones, Emmanuelle Caplette

In case you missed these picks from the weekend:

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait Of An Artist (Netflix documentary) — Following the Black Panther and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star’s too-soon death last August, the streamer fathered an all-star team for this documentary that aims to explore “Boseman’s extraordinary commitment to his craft [and] an intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s artistry and the acting process which informed his transformative performances.” Settle in for a long list of participants, including Viola Davis, Danai Gurira, Spike Lee, Phylicia Rashad, and Glynn Turman. This one will be available for a limited 30-day window, so don’t let it languish in your queue for too long.

Spy City (AMC+ original series) — Preacher‘s Dominic Cooper stars as an English spy in 1960s Berlin, right before the Berlin Wall goes up. He’s tasked with locating a traitor among the Allies or in the UK embassy, and he’s possibly surrounded by spies and double agents. He’s also dancing around the threat of nuclear war while American, British, and French troops are barely separated from their East German and Soviet counterparts. Good luck?

Monday afternoon was blessed with two of baseball’s quirkiest traditions: morning baseball and position players pitching. The Boston Red Sox hosted the Chicago White Sox on Patriots Day at Fenway Park, with an 11 am first pitch that usually coincides with the running of the Boston Marathon.

With no Marathon due to the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic (it’s set to run in the fall) baseball was the star of the show, and Boston earned a split of the four-game series by jumping all over Chicago ace Lucas Giolito for six runs in the first inning, washing him out of the game in the second inning after getting just three outs. It was a laugher on a great morning/afternoon for baseball in Boston, and it got even more hilarious in the seventh inning when Tony LaRussa started throwing position players into the game to pitch.

With the score 10-4, DH Yermín Mercedes made his first ever pitching appearance for the White Sox in the seventh inning. Mercedes was a curious choice for the role, especially considering he’s been one of the best hitters in the AL early this season. It was actually his first ever Major League appearance in the field, as he had just one plate appearance last season after eight seasons in the minors before this spring.

Mercedes got into a bit of trouble but only gave up one run, getting some help from a lineout that became a double play. It was a bit odd to go to a position player this early in the game, but it was weird circumstances for Chicago on the morning after a 7-inning doubleheader with the starter going just 1+ inning. Which is why LaRussa went with another position player in the eighth. Danny Mendick came to the mound in the bottom half of the inning, which is where the real fun started. His first pitch? A 60 MPH “changeup” that actually plunked Marwin González. It was hilarious.

The “uh oh” on the White Sox broadcast had some real Carl Lewis vibes to it, which basically sums up the day pitching for the White Sox. González could have absolutely gotten out of the way, but the pitch floated in there from way out of the strike zone so he may have just been surprised it broke as much as it did because it was moving so slowly. But while it was an inauspicious start for Mendick, he got through a scoreless inning and Chicago didn’t have to send another pitcher out in the 11-4 loss. Mendick did get a nice strikeout on a 64 MPH pitch, though, and they tossed the ball into the dugout for a nice souvenir there.

In any event, morning baseball continues to be just delightful. See you all next Patriots Day.

Most of us did some tumbling moves as kids, from somersaults to cartwheels. A chosen few could pull off more impressive moves, like handsprings and backflips. But guaranteed, no kid that any of us knew could do anything close to the feats 5-year-old Li Jiamin can do.

A video of Li doing 80 back handsprings in under a minute (some people counted 82—it’s really hard to keep track without making yourself dizzy) has gone viral, with more than a million views on Twitter alone.

At first, you might assume it’s a looped video (I know I did). But watch the way the wrinkles build up in the side and top of the mattress. If there’s a loop in there somewhere, it doesn’t account for most of the flips, and when you see what else Li can do, the feat becomes a whole lot more believable.

Li lives in the city of Xinzhou in northern China, and her martial arts-trained father serves as her trainer. In another video filmed in the same location at their home and shared by the South China Morning Post, we can see her doing a similar number of back handsprings on a red mat on the same sofa. We also see her walking around on her hands, walking upstairs backward on her hands, doing backflips off the sofa, and more.

Li started doing flips when she was four and practices for two hours a day, according to the video. Her father says she could bend over backward after just three days of training and has been practicing daily since then.

That doesn’t mean tumbling has always been easy for Li. She works hard, even when practice becomes mundane or difficult. Her father says she almost gave up in the beginning, but he pushed her to continue until she got the hang of it, and once she was successful, she became happy and confident. It’s been a gradual process to work her way up to 80 back handsprings in a minute.

Li’s father says she is resilient and determined, which is pretty obvious. “My daughter is very tough, unlike other kids,” he told the Post. He said she always follows his instructions, even when he gives her tasks that are extra challenging, like holding a handstand for 10 minutes.

Her father also said that her extraordinary skill is due to her starting her training so young. “If she started training after the age of 12, she wouldn’t be able to do 80 flips continuously no matter how hard she tries,” he said.

Li’s goal is to break the Guinness World Record. She may end up becoming a professional gymnast, but she may not. Her dad hopes she will become a police officer or join the army. “I just want her to study hard and be an educated person, nothing else,” he told the Post.

Chinese girl performs 80 somersaults in 1 minute

youtu.be

In this video, it’s pretty clear that Li’s father is raising his daughter with a strong sense of discipline and also a strong sense of support. We see lots of positive reinforcement, and it’s hard to imagine a kid who wouldn’t be proud to show off such amazing, hard-earned skill.

As far as the Guinness World Record goes, most highly physical categories have a minimum age requirement of 16, so Li has a ways to go to be able to compete. Since the current female world record is 53 consecutive back handsprings, Li should have no trouble smashing it, if she’s able to keep up her current astonishing pace.

In the meantime, we’ll just marvel at her ability and try not to get woozy watching her flippin’ amazing flipping feats.

A surprising new poll out of Texas found that actor Matt McConaughey has more support to be the next governor of Texas than the incumbent, Republican Greg Abbott. The actor increased speculation about his plans to run for governor in 2022 last week when he said it’s a “true consideration.”

The poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler found that in a hypothetical contest, McConaughey garners 45% support, with Abbott getting 33%, and 22% saying they would vote for someone else.

Democrats (66% to 8%) and Independents (44% to 28%) broke highly in favor of McConaughey. However, Abbot still holds a decent lead over the actor with Republicans (56% to 30%).

The actor’s support in the state most likely comes from the goodwill he’s created as an A-list Texas native because he hasn’t said much when it comes to political policy.

The star of “Dallas Buyers Club” held a star-studded benefit for victims of Texas floods in February. He’s also officially joined the faculty of his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, as a professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film.

The actor stresses the fact that when it comes to the political policy he’s a moderate but that doesn’t mean he’s wishy-washy.

“I’m a ‘Meet You in the Middle’ man,” McConaughey said according to USA Today. “When I say ‘aggressively centric,’ that sometimes gets parceled over there with ‘Oh, that’s a shade of gray, a compromise.’ And I say, ‘Bullshit. That’s a dare. Right now, that’s radical. You wanna be brave?”

McConaughey believes that taking a centrist approach gives people more leeway to make the best decisions.

“Because you got more agility, cause you got more adaptability,” she said. “Because there’s different situations for different sides. Sometimes the left is better at this, sometimes the right. There’s different choices for different circumstances.”

He also believes that the political stereotypes do more harm than good.

“The left thinks the right’s racist and the right thinks the left’s socialist. Well, that ain’t true,” McConaughey said. “Then you go, well, the left is for empathy, compassion and solidarity; well the right’s for resilience and work ethic and responsibility. I’m like, I like all six of those. Those are values that our mamas taught us. The right and the left don’t have ownership of those, excluding the other side.”

The only firm policy stance the actor has taken is on gun control. In 2018, he spoke at the March for Our Lives rally in Austin calling for a ban on assault weapons for civilians, restricting high-capacity magazines, and strengthening background checks.

“Those are the three main stipulations,” McConaughey said at the rally, “and to those three, I can say — if you can say it with me — all right, all right, all right.”

It’s unclear whether the actor’s lack of clear positions is a clever way to avoid alienating the millions of people who go to see his films or part of his personality. Anyone who’s seen his series of car commercials for Lincoln can attest that he seems to hold a rather abstract view of the world.

It’s also questionable whether the political center that he’s trying to appeal to actually exists. People often talk about wanting bipartisanship and more moderate candidates, but those candidates tend not to fare very well in primaries.

The poll found that Democrats prefer a progressive candidate over a centrist (51% to 25%) and only 20% of Republicans are interested in voting for a centrist.

But if he runs as an independent, all bets could be off. After all, it was both the far left and far right who wrote off Joe Biden’s centrist 2020 presidential campaign as “out of touch.” And we all know that worked out “alright, alright, alright” for the commander-in-chief.

Since the pandemic hit, NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series has gone remote, which could be seen as either a positive or a negative. It’s a bit of a bummer that artists aren’t able to play in the classic titular performing space, but it is neat to see what environments they choose for their sets in lieu of that. The latest participant in the series is Rina Sawayama, who took to an office building with giant windows, which offered a stunning panoramic view of a city skyline.

It wasn’t just Sawayama, though, as she was joined by a full band and string quartet. Her set consisted of three songs from her 2020 debut album Sawayama: “Dynasty,” “XS,” and “Chosen Family.” While Elton John didn’t feature on the latter track, like he does on the latest version of the song, Sawayama did decide to perform the track in the style of the new recording.

Sawayama was also happy she was finally able to perform some of her songs live for the first time: “DYNASTY LIVE FINALLY !!!! to think this was the first time I performed it ….,” she tweeted.

Meanwhile, Sawayama just celebrated a major life milestone, as she turned 30 years old over the weekend, on April 16.

Check out Sawayama’s Tiny Desk performance above.

Disney+’s first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, was nominated for 13 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series. That puts pressure on the streaming service’s Marvel shows, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, to also be factors during awards season. But only one of them will compete against Baby Yoda.

Nate Moore, the vice president of production and development at Marvel Studios, told IndieWire that WandaVision will compete in the Limited Series categories at the 2021 Emmys, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be submitted as a Drama Series.

“[The decision] came about sort of as the series was launching, but it was something we were thinking about even as we were making it — not because we think, ‘Oh my God, it’s so great,’ but because it does feel a bit more dramatic than some of our typical stuff,” he said. “As this is sort of our first foray into television, even if it’s Disney+, we thought [the category placement] was appropriate for what the show is trying to tackle.”

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier could return for season two (“Hopefully at the end of this season, you will see the potential for what we could tell in a subsequent season,” Moore teased), but WandaVision is definitely over. So it will compete for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, like recent winners Chernobyl and Watchmen.

“I think WandaVision is a show you can only do once. She can’t go back into that reality. That is such a complete arc of what that character can do and what that story wanted to do, whereas Falcon and Winter Soldier is really about dealing with, to me, the legacy of what a superhero is, through the lens of Captain America and his shield, but ultimately through the lens of all these different characters. And that’s a story I think you can revisit in subsequent seasons because it’s an evergreen story. It’s a conversation.”

If “Agatha All Along” doesn’t win Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, there will be rioting in the streets. The 2021 Emmys air on September 19.

(Via IndieWire)

Over the course of his legendary career, DMX had about as much success on the charts as anybody: His first five albums all managed to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Now, after his passing, the late rapper is continuing to have an impact on the charts, as on the new chart dated April 24, he had an album come so close to placing on top.

Taylor Swift is No. 1 on the current Billboard 200 with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), but the 2010 compilation The Best Of DMX managed to finish the week at No. 2 and become the rapper’s seventh top-ten album. This is up from No. 73 last week, which was the album’s chart peak at the time. Additionally, two of DMX’s studio albums — 1998’s It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot and 1999’s Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood — re-entered the chart, at No. 46 and 107, respectively.

The Best Of DMX features some of the rapper’s biggest hits, including all of his RIAA-certified singles: “Get At Me Dog,” “Slippin’,” and “X Gon’ Give It To Ya.” It’s not surprising that the rapper’s music has shot up the charts, as his streams increased by nearly 1,000 percent after his death. He is also set to be memorialized at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.