Category: Viral

The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a win in their first game this season, outlasting the Carolina Panthers by a 34-30 margin in Week 1. However, there was more than a little bit of extra emphasis on the second game of the season for Jon Gruden’s team, simply because it marks the first game in the newly constructed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

In advance of Monday night’s tilt against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, the hype was significant, including a video released by the Raiders to get the blood flowing in the NFL’s maiden voyage in Vegas.

In addition, Monday Night Football has its own mystique, raising the stakes even more.

It was quite a scene even before kick-off, with fans arriving (very) early just a stone’s throw from the Las Vegas Strip.

The facility is overwhelming in its grandeur, with a billion dollar price tag to boot, and many were looking ahead to the festivities even before the public was allowed inside.

By kick-off time, there was even a flyover, even with the roof closed for the action.

It is still too early to get a full-fledged feel on how the stadium will be received in the long term but, if nothing else, the “death star” moniker to describe the venue seems to be catching on with vigor.

Not everyone is on board, though, with some semantic arguments against the nickname.

Overall, Allegiant Stadium looks brilliant and it certainly seems to embody the city where its located. Whether the Raiders can live up to the billing remains to be seen, but Las Vegas now has an NFL team to pair with a highly successful NHL franchise, and they have a venue to host the action.

Moneybagg Yo released his song “Said Sum” at the start of summer but he didn’t stop there. Last week, the rapper tapped DaBaby and the City Girls for a new remix of the track. Chicago rapper Dreezy was apparently hoping for a spot on the track as she didn’t wait long before dropping her own remix.

For her take on “Said Sum,” Dreezy stands alone. As she brings her signature flow to Moneybagg Yo’s beat, the abbreviated remix sees her flexing her fast-paced flow. Throughout the single, Dreezy matched the energy of DaBaby and City Girls’ “Said Sum” remix, leaving no space in between each prideful verse.

While Dreezy dropped the track in response to Moneybagg Yo’s high-profile remix, the rapper said she also wanted to give fans something to hold them over until her next album sees a release. Since the release of her 2019 project Big Dreez, she’s stayed relatively quiet, but it seems that is all about to change. Dreezy has yet to unveil too many details of the upcoming release, but if Big Dreez was any indication the rapper’s record will be filled with her signature quick-witted flow.

You can listen to Dreezy’s “Said Sum” remix above.

Big Dreez is out now via Interscope. Get it here.

Since Disney now owns Star Wars, we should expect to be flooded with a near-constant output of Star Wars-branded memorabilia on a yearly basis. Some of it will make sense — like being able to build and purchase your very own lightsaber at Disneyland (very cool) — while some will feel slightly more random — like an entire sneaker line designed after the characters in the franchise’s almost 50-year history.

Today brings a collab that lands right in the middle — a Mandalorian-inspired Polaroid instant camera. The instant camera arrives to honor of the season two premiere of the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian, borrowing colors and textures from the armor of the series’ main character, Din Djarin.

The Beskar steel-resembling camera sports all of the usual Polaroid functions like an autofocus lens system, a built-in self-timer, and a dynamic flash, but also features double exposure capabilities, allowing you to create some truly DIY experimental images. Releasing alongside the camera is a set of Baby Yoda inspired I-Type Film that features colored borders with insignias and imagery from the series.

While a Polaroid camera might seem like a blatant cash-grab, this analog approach to memorabilia ties in nicely with the show’s back-to-basics aesthetic. The Mandalorian-themed Polaroid Now camera is available now at the Polaroid webstore for a retail price of $119.

Bobby Shmurda was sentenced to prison back in 2014, and it looks like there’s no chance of him getting out early. While it was previously reported that the rapper may be able to get out of prison as early as this December, his parole was recently denied, meaning he’ll have to stay behind bars for the remainder of his sentence.

A recent report from TMZ broke the news, stating that the exact cause for Shmurda being denied parole is unknown. It did mention, however, that the rapper racked up eleven violations while in prison. Those violations include drug possession and getting into a fight using a makeshift knife. As a result, Shmurda is now facing his maximum sentence.

The report also states that, according to his mother, Shmurda had big plans for his life following his release from prison. He was hoping to record new music and even film a documentary about his life. But it now looks like those plans will be put on hold until he’s fully released.

Shmurda accepted a plea deal on conspiracy to commit murder and weapons possession back in 2016, a move that had extended his sentence until 2021. He now resides in Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York and will finish the remainder of his sentence in protective custody, expected to be until December 11, 2021.

The gang from Schitt’s Creek is still riding high after an historic night at the Emmys, and now, the good news just keeps on coming for the comedy darling that won a slew of awards at the Emmys on Sunday night.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, it’s also good news for anyone who doesn’t have Netflix or was able to get the show on their cable package while it was on the air the first time. The outlet reported Monday that all six seasons of Schitt’s Creek would air on Comedy Central in October:

The move comes as no surprise as Schitt’s Creek previously aired on another ViacomCBS-owned cable network: Pop TV. The niche cable network no longer has any original programming — or dedicated executives — and is now a home for syndicated repeats. Both Pop TV and Comedy Central are part of ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth Group, which is overseen by president Chris McCarthy.

The news comes on the same day Netflix announced that the sixth and final season of the show, which ran on Pop TV, would hit the streaming service a few days after Comedy Central begins airing episodes.

It’s certainly a logical landing spot for the show, which goes perfectly with all those mid-Saturday afternoon airings of Best In Show you’ve likely seen on Comedy Central while channel surfing over the years. And for those who have somehow missed the brilliance that has come and gone and been awarded lavishly for, basic cable is as good a place as any to finally meet the Rose family.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Biases, stereotypes, prejudices—these byproducts of the human brain’s natural tendency to generalize and categorize have been a root cause of most of humanity’s problems for, well, pretty much ever. None of us is immune to those tendencies, and since they can easily slip in unnoticed, we all have to be aware of where, when, and how they impact our own beliefs and actions.

It also helps when someone upends a stereotype by saying or doing something unexpected.

Fair or not, certain parts of the U.S. are associated with certain cultural assumptions, perhaps none more pinholed than the rural south. When we hear Appalachia, a certain stereotype probably pops up in our minds—probably white, probably not well educated, probably racist. Even if there is some basis to a stereotype, we must always remember that human beings can never be painted with such broad strokes.

Enter Tyler Childers, a rising country music star whose old-school country fiddling has endeared him to a broad audience, but his new album may have a different kind of reach. “Long Violent History” was released Friday, along with a video message to his white rural fans explaining the culminating track by the same name. Watch it here:

A message from Tyler.

www.youtube.com

Childers shared that he has no intention to be preachy, describing the humbling reality of being six months sober. “But as a person who has been given a platform by providence, luck, support, and working at it, I feel undeserving of the grace this world has given me, and I would find it a waste were I not to try and use it to make some good.”

He talked about the moment we’re in and what prompted him to write an album of music that captures this moment, calling on people to empathize with other individuals or groups. And he directed his message to a specific audience by placing the movement for Black lives into a context that rural white Americans like himself might more easily relate to.

“What if we were to constantly open up our daily paper and see a headline like ‘East Kentucky Man Shot Seven Times on a Fishing Trip’ Read on to find the man was shot while fishing with his son by a game warden, who saw him rummaging through his tackle box for his license and thought he was reaching for a knife. What if we read a story that began, ‘North Carolina man rushing home from work to take his elderly mother to the E.R. runs stop sign and was pulled over—beaten by police when they see a gun rack in his truck.’

Or a headline like ‘Ashland Community and Technical College Nursing Student Shot in Her Sleep.’ How would we react to that? What form of upheaval would that create? I’d venture to say if we were met with this type of daily attack on our own people, we would take action in a way that hasn’t been seen since the Battle of Blair Mountain in West Virginia.”

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War, led by union coal miners and supporters in 1921. After years of labor disputes, miners and coal companies clashed violently in a gunfight between thousands of miners, coal company supporters, and law enforcement. After private planes hired by the sheriff dropped two homemade pipe bombs and federal troops were brought in, the miners’ siege of Blair Mountain ended.

So…yeah.

“And if we wouldn’t stand for it,” Childers continued, “why would we expect another group of Americans to stand for it? Why would we stand silent while it happened? Or worse, get in the way of it being rectified? I’ve heard people from my Appalachian region say that we wouldn’t act the way we’ve seen depicted on various media outlets. But I’ve also seen grown folks beat each other up the day after Thanksgiving for TVs and teddy bears. And these aren’t things these communities have lost. These are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and cousins, mothers and fathers. Irreplaceable threads within their family fiber torn from their loved ones too soon with no justice, and they are demanding change. Same as I expect we would.”

Here’s the video of Childers’ title track, “Long Violent History.”

Tyler Childers – Long Violent History (Audio)

youtu.be

In particular, sit with these verses a minute:

Now, what would you give if you heard my opinion
Conjecturin’ on matters that I ain’t never dreamed
In all my born days as a white boy from Hickman
Based on the way that the world’s been to mе?

It’s called me belligеrent, it’s took me for ignorant
But it ain’t never once made me scared just to be
Could you imagine just constantly worryin’
Kickin’ and fightin’, beggin’ to breathe?

Like all award ceremonies that have taken place in the last few months, the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards was held virtually this year. But it’s digital nature didn’t take away from the excitement felt by Zendaya fans when the actress became the youngest star to even receive an Emmy Award for the category of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for her role in HBO’s Euphoria. Several musicians like Drake, Chloe x Halle, and Kehlani expressed their joy about the actress’ feat and celebrated her success.

Drake was quick to show his love to Zendaya, taking to his Instagram Story to congratulate the actress. “@Zendaya @euphoria it was a LOCK…congratulations,” Drake wrote.

R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle also celebrated the actress for winning the award, saying they were “in tears” over her success.

Kehlani shared a similar sentiment, gushing over her Bay Area “sister” for her historic win.

In her acceptance speech, Zendaya said she recognizes the “hope” in today’s youth: “I know that this feels like a really weird time to be celebrating, but I just want to say that there is hope in the young people out there. I know that our TV show doesn’t always feel like a great example of that, but there is hope in the young people, and I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets: I see you, I admire you, I thank you.”

Zendaya’s win Sunday night wasn’t the only impressive achievement of the ceremony. Hit show Schitt’s Creek had the most wins in a single season for a comedy series.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Oftentimes in life, you are reminded success and quality does not beget longevity. The latest example of that is Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance, a Netflix prequel to a Jim Henson 1980s animated tale that saw a brief rebirth on Netflix last year.

The Netflix show was a prequel to the 1982 movie directed by the late Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Released in 2019 as a 10-episode season, Age Of Resistance was a critically acclaimed, albeit expensive, Henson-produced show that just took home the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program days ago.

But io9 reported on Monday that Netflix decided not to renew the show for another season, meaning Thra’s story is, at least on the streaming giant, at an end. In part of a longer statement to i09, Henson CEO and executive producer Lisa Henson confirmed the news.

“We can confirm that there will not be an additional season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and we’ll look for ways to tell that story in the future. Our company has a legacy of creating rich and complex worlds that require technical innovation, artistic excellence, and masterful storytelling. Our history also includes productions that are enduring, often finding and growing their audience over time and proving again and again that fantasy and science fiction genres reflect eternal messages and truths that are always relevant.”

Though the show came with its own making-of documentary, The Crystal Calls, and a cliffhanger ending (no spoilers here), it seems there wasn’t enough momentum to keep the Henson magic going for another season. As io9 pointed out, the reasons for the cancellation aren’t exactly clear but it does seem there was some disappointment with how it performed on the network. It cited a Hollywood Reporter story about the exit of Netflix’s TV chief, Cindy Holland, who apparently led the division while the “expensive disappointment” that is Age Of Resistance was made.

“The buck stops with Ted but I’m sure he will try to blame Cindy,” a person with ties to Netflix says of the talent spending spree. Holland also, per sources, delivered a series of pricey misses including The Dark Crystal (an “expensive disappointment,” per one source connected to the streamer).

Other reports indicated that the show took too long to make and, in a modern world where making just about anything is increasingly difficult, we’re seeing a lot of shows reach their end simply because the obstacles to making them pile up and become too high to justify the effort.

Nearly two weeks after her AEW Dynamite debut against NWA Champion Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb has officially joined All Elite Wrestling. There had been rumors this was coming, but today the company confirmed it in a tweet.

Her signing could be huge for the AEW Women’s Division. It’s not that she’s a big star—although she has some indie cred, her brief WWE career is remembered mainly for CM Punk shaving her head, not for any matches she had—it’s that she’s a veteran with coaching experience. Specifically, Deeb became a coach at the WWE Performance Center in 2018, where she was trained in the job by Sara Amato, the woman whose coaching played a huge backstage role in revolutionizing women’s wrestling in WWE. Serena was a coach there for more than two years, before being one of many people at WWE to lose their jobs in April of this year.

Officially, we haven’t heard what her role in AEW might be outside of the ring, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that since her primary experience of the last few years was in coaching, they’ll probably have her doing some of that. She also did some producing at NXT, so there could be some of that too.

Basically, what I’ve been saying for a while now, and others have too, is that the number one thing AEW needs is someone with authority whose job is helping the Women’s Division live up to its potential. Hopefully Serena Deeb can play that role for the benefit of the other women and the company as a whole.

Time will tell if this goes well, or indeed if they even attempt it, but as reasons for renewed optimism about the AEW Women’s Division go, this is one of the better ones they’ve given us.

Kanye West announced he was running for president back in July and he has since run into a number of roadblocks. The rapper is currently fighting to secure a spot on the ballot in many states, but has only managed to be successful in twelve. However, the rapper is not afraid to spend money to help his campaign.

According to his mandatory filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Kanye shelled out $6 million from his own pocket to loan to his campaign. Now, it’s been reported that half of that money was used just to gather ballot signatures.

According to a report from TMZ, the rapper enlisted a “small army” of folks to hit the ground and gather signatures that would secure a spot on the ballot in several states. The report states Kanye leaned on the petition organization Let The Voters Decide to round up a team and paid them anywhere between $3.5 and $4.5 million to collect signatures in just fifteen states.

Kanye reportedly spent the most amount of money trying to rack up signatures in Arizona but his efforts did not prove successful. The rapper dropped $1 million, resulting in 93,000 signatures in the state, only to have an Arizona judge bar him from appearing on the ballot. The rapper faced a similar situation in his hometown state of Illinois. While he only spent $30,000 on the state, the rapper was similarly removed from ballots after a judge found a number of the signatures to be “invalid.”

The news of Kanye spending an impressive amount of coin on gaining signatures for his campaign is the latest from the rapper, who has been making headlines the past few weeks. Not only did Kanye ask his fans to help him find a fraudulent employee on his payroll, but he posted a video of him peeing on his Grammy award and was also temporarily banned from Twitter for publicly sharing journalist’s phone number.