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All The Best New Rap Music To Have On Your Radar

Hip-hop is moving as fast as ever. Luckily, we’re doing the work to put the best new rap music in one place for you. This week, there were videos from Conway and Method Man, Spillage Village, Armani Caesar and Benny The Butcher, Freddie Gibbs and Benny The Butcher, Action Bronson. Here’s the rest of the best new rap music this week.

Aesop Rock — “The Gates”

Aesop Rock’s rapid-fire narrative is the score for the mysterious exploits of his “The Gates” music video. His typically visual, labyrinthic rhymes are ripe for deep exploration throughout the nearly six-minute song.

Beat Boy — “Shook Up” Feat. RUCCI & BIG SAD1900

This week, LA producer Beat Boy dropped the video for “Shook Up” off his NewDre project. Rucci starts off the track proclaiming, “I’m the hottest n**** out check my resume,” while Big Sad 1900 lets us know, “Like Paul with the ball I don’t hog I assist.”

Berner — “R.I.P.” Feat. Tee Grizzley

Berner is set to release his Russ Bufalino album. He offered what’s sure to be a standout track in “R.I.P.” with Tee Grizzley. The two MCs take turns. Berner is “in my zone, God bless the vision” while Grizzley rhymes about the “bittersweet” circumstance of achieving your goals without “the people that you started with.”

Conway — From God To A King


Conway released his long-awaited From King To A God album today. The 14-track project shows the Griselda spitter at the top of his game, spitting alongside his Griselda partners as well as Method Man, Freddie Gibbs, Havoc, and Lloyd Banks.

Elzhi — “Light One Write One”


Elzhi’s Seven Times Down Eight Times Up album is coming on September 25. He dropped another taste of what to expect with “Light One Write One,” a meta track where Elzhi delves into his craft and ponders, “I could be Hailey’s comet in a vessel / If I wasn’t would life be less stressful?”

Fat Trel & Yowda — Fat N Ugly


DC’s Fat Trel may be incarcerated, but he still had enough in the reserve to collaborate with Yowda on a sequel to their 2017 Fat N Ugly project. The project is a revisit of their impressive chemistry on a five-pack of trap-driven beats.

Grafh — “Trappin’ Out The Hyatt” Feat. Smoke DZA & El Camino

Grafh offered up another taste of his upcoming Good Energy project with his third single featuring Smoke DZA and El Camino. He sets the tone for the slick-talkin’ get money track, letting us know, “None of my drugs are over the counter / So all my money flowin’ over the counter.”

History — For The Kids


Brooklyn MC/Producer History is For The Kids on his latest work. The 11-track project displayes the Mogul Club rhymer equally introspective, swaggering, and aspirational over a suite of production that ranges from the dreamy “Spit Drip” to the churning “35 Favors” with King Critical and Radamiz.

MBNel — Thru The Night

MBNel is offering a glimmer of light in these dark moments on “Thru The Night,” a melancholy track where he laments the turmoil of his native Stockton but resolves to keep his head up, rhyming, “Told my guys there ain’t a thing I wouldn’t do for all my bros.”

Mr Eazi & Major Lazer — “Oh My Gawd” Feat. Nicki Minaj & K4mo

It’s a cross-continental celebration on “Oh My Gawd,” where Nicki Minaj reminds us of her West Indian roots during her bubbly appearance on the Mr. Eazi and Major Lazer track.

Stefflon Don — “Move”

Stefflon Don embraces her native Jamaica on “Move,” a bold, bouncy track that affirms Jamaica’s role in the DNA of hip-hop.

Tha God Fahim, Your Old Droog & Mach Hommy — “The Poverty Bothers Me”

A trio of beloved spitters spoke for the times on “The Poverty Bothers Me,” a track that explores the treachery of systemic oppression in America. Droog rhymes the bittersweet indictment of “the American dream,” reflecting, “Same spots I used to Google b*tch I’m in them now / Still the poverty bothers me, wish everyone could make it out.”

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

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Harry Styles Is Replacing Shia LaBeouf For His Next Movie Role

In 2017, Harry Styles made his film debut in Dunkirk, an opportunity that he truly earned considering Christopher Nolan didn’t understand at the time how famous the singer was. Styles fared just fine in the film, and now he’s getting ready to hop back in the movie saddle, as his next acting role has been announced.

The film is Don’t Worry Darling, an Olivia Wilde-directed film that also stars Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Dakota Johnson, and Wilde in a supporting role. The Hollywood Reporter notes Styles was brought on to replace Shia LaBeouf, who was previously attached to the project but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts.

The publication reports, “Details on the film are being kept secret but the setting is an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert and centers on a housewife who uncovers a disturbing truth about her seemingly perfect life.” The script was seemingly sought after by studios, as New Line apparently won the rights to it in “a competitive situation, which saw studios and streamers vying for the project.”

Times are good for Styles at the moment (as long as James Corden makes good on his word to not kidnap him): A month ago, “Watermelon Sugar” became the musician’s first No. 1 single in the US.

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Pat Mahomes And Others Around The NFL Reacted To Chiefs Fans Booing During Opening Night Moment Of Unity

One of the uglier parts of the NFL’s opening night festivities Thursday night in Kansas City happened pregame when, during a show of unity between the Chiefs and Texans, fans throughout the limited-capacity Arrowhead Stadium loudly booed while the players knelt and locked arms.

The two teams — led by Black quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson — remained on the field for the demonstration as the fans made their distaste known, and in the aftermath of the incident, players from both teams as well as former NFL players in the media have responded.

After the game, Mahomes, Watson and longtime Texans star J.J. Watt expressed frustration with the fans, but it was Watson who was most direct about his feelings.

“We respect the military, we respect America & respect everything the NFL wants to do but we didn’t want any confusion or any negative backlash on guys kneeling,” Watson told reporters.

Mahomes struck a similar chord but seemed to downplay the booing, which was clearly audible through NBC’s Thursday Night Football broadcast.

When it Watt’s turn to discuss the situation, he said that because there was no protest during the national anthem or deliberate political stance taken, than he was confused about the fans’ response.

Then on Friday morning on ESPN’s First Take, longtime Steelers safety and NFL analyst Ryan Clark responded directly to Watt’s confusion by explaining that he believes the fans reacted so strongly precisely because it was Black players like Mahomes and Watson asking to be respected.

“They’re booing because you’re doing stuff for Black people,” Clark explained. “They’re booing because you’re staying that police brutality, social injustice against that community is wrong. That’s why they’re booing.”

The conversation around Chiefs’ fans response has dominated the response to the first NFL game of the season, and the relationship between the fan base and the players who want to be more vocal about the oppression of Black people in America will likely be at the center of the NFL dialogue throughout the 2020 season.

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The Real-Life Penny Lane Isn’t A Big Fan Of Her Portrayal In ‘Almost Famous’

The 20th anniversary of the release of Almost Famous has resulted in a number of retrospectives and moments of reflection about Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical coming of age tale of rock journalism. But at least one of those retrospectives hasn’t been so positive, and it comes from one of the film’s biggest real-life inspirations.

Pamela Des Barres, an author and famous groupie who at least in part inspired the character Penny Lane, doesn’t love how the character is portrayed in the film. In an interview with Brock Colyar of Vulture, Des Barres detailed all the ways she’s been disappointed by the movie over the years. One of the biggest lines she despises is when Lane explains to the film’s protagonist that she is not a “groupie.”

“We. Are. Not. Groupies,” Lane, played by Kate Hudson, says early on in the film. “We’re here because of the music. … We are Band-Aids. We don’t have intercourse with these guys. We support the music. We inspire the music. We’re here because of the music!”

Turns out, Des Barres really hated that the entire concept of that, calling it a “pussy line”:

“And ‘pussy’ in a bad way. I hate that the word is used in a negative way, but anyway — [Penny Lane] was not owning herself, not owning groupiedom and what it actually means.”

According to the story, there are a few legitimate reasons for her to be disappointed by a movie that’s beloved by so many. For starters, she’s a writer who had her own screenplay inspired by her life, and noted that Almost Famous existing basically makes it impossible for her to sell that. There’s also her take that the PG-13 screenplay was “tepid” and “whitewashed.” She also noted that the scene where the central characters sang Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” would simply “never happen.” But the thing that bothered her most is that the character she inspired — Hudson later said she read Des Barres’ book and had a picture of her in her dressing room — nearly overdosed because of a man treating her terribly:

That doesn’t sit well with Des Barres. She calls it a “horribly misogynistic look at what a groupie-muse is” and vents, “That made me so angry. This character, the groupie like she’s portrayed, is pathetic. I knew all the main groupies in the heyday of groupiedom. None of them would have done that. There was always someone else coming to town. That really turned me off. No actual music-loving goddess-groupie would do such a thing.”

The Vulture piece has a lot of other little details about how Crowe took the criticism she’s given the film over the years, her fascinating career as a writer and musician, and, of course, whether rock and roll can save the world. It’s clear that she doesn’t love Almost Famous, but the criticisms certainly add a new level of appreciation for the film and what those who gave it life really experienced on all those bus rides around the country a few decades ago.

(Via Vulture)

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Ewan McGregor Is Pleasantly Surprised That Some People Prefer The ‘Star Wars’ Prequels To The Originals

Shortly after the release of The Force Awakens, our own Mike Ryan theorized that the Star Wars prequels would someday be considered “cool.” That day is here. I don’t know when it happened, exactly, although it probably had to do with the polarizing reaction to The Last Jedi, which is either the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back or the worst installment in the franchise (it’s the best). But admitting that you like The Phantom Menace is no longer met with this Han Solo face — it’s greeted with a “same.”

Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan (“Kenobi?!?”) in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, spoke about this “Star Wars prequels are good, actually” phenomenon in an interview with Empire.

“Our films weren’t much liked when they came out by my generation who loved the first ones. I think people of our generation wanted to feel the way they’d felt when they saw those first three movies when they were kids, and George [Lucas] wanted to take our ones in a different direction, he had a different idea. It was tricky at the time, I remember,” he said. “But now, all these years later, I’m really aware of what our films meant to the generation they were made for, the children of that time. They really like them. I’ve met people who, they mean a lot to them, those films, more so than the original three, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding?’” I would never kid about my love for Watto.

McGregor will reprise his role as Young Ben in an Obi-Wan series coming to Disney+, which he called “a long time coming.” It’s not expected to start shooting until 2021, giving producers plenty of time to track down greasy diner owner Dexter Jettster for a cameo. Dexter Jettster? Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. A long time.

(Via Empire)

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Cheap Bourbons With The Same Mash Bills As Expensive Expressions

Cheap bourbon isn’t always as bottom-shelf as it seems. We’ve highlighted that time and again. On the flip side, expensive bourbon isn’t always as refined as it seems. In fact, a lot of bourbons are cut from the exact same mash bills (grain recipes), barrels, and even proofs when they start aging.

Yes, aging and blending can have a big impact on taste. And the little factors between bottles do matter. But that doesn’t mean the core ingredients don’t start off the same. Sometimes even exactly the same.

For instance, Jim Beam, Baker’s, Knob Creek, Old Crow, and Old Taylor all have the exact same mash bill (75/13/12 corn/rye/barley), barrel char (level #4), and barreling proof (125 proof). They’re also all made in the same distillery (Jim Beam). But that’s not to say that all of those bourbons taste exactly the same. There are, after all, aging variables in play from the length in the barrel to where in the rickhouse the barrel rested to how the master blender married different barrels to create the final product. Still, they’re a lot closer to being the same thing than any amount of advertising would lead you to believe.

Wild Turkey also has the same mash bill as Jim Beam and the same barrel char. But it goes into the barrel a 114 proof instead of 125 proof. Makes it easy to see why some newbies often can’t tell the difference between some of these bourbons, right?

All of this isn’t to say that drinking a Wild Turkey 81 is the same as drinking a Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel. It’s not. But those whiskeys are cut from the exact same distillation. It’s just that one of them was in the right spot in the rickhouse and deemed tasty enough not to be blended with other barrels. Instead, it was allowed to rest until it hit a point the distillers wanted to hit and then bottled as is. That extra time is why the Single Barrel costs three times more than a regular old bottle of Wild Turkey. Whether that’s worth the money is up to you and your palate.

As Bourbon Heritage Month rolls on, we’re taking a look at some expensive bottles of bourbon to see if we can find some cheaper bourbon counterparts from the exact same mash bill, barrel char, and barrel proof. At the very least, this experiment is a good way to see how much luck and refinement go into making expensive bourbons worth the price when you can quite literally compare them to the cheaper expressions of the exact same juice.

BUFFALO TRACE MASH BILL #2

The exact mash bill is kept a secret but word on the street is that it’s a fairly low-rye mash bill with 12 to 15 percent rye. #4 barrel char. Entry proof is 125 proof/62.5 percent.

Expensive Bottle: Blanton’s The Original Single Barrel Bourbon

Drizly

ABV: 46.5%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
Average Price: $90

The Whiskey:

This is Buffalo Trace’s “higher-rye” bourbon mash bill even though it’s not that “high” comparatively. This bourbon was the first “Single Barrel” expression sold in the modern era. The juice is a throwback to Colonel Blanton who expanded the distillery in the 20th century and used to handpick barrels for his personal stash in warehouse H.

The bottle in-and-of-itself has become a collector’s item with the small horse on each cork varying slightly.

Tasting Notes:

Egg nog spices kick this sip off. There’s a clear sense of bourbon vanilla next to creamy corn and plenty of honey sweetness. The marrying of the corn with the Christmas-y spices helps usher in a long, warming, and satisfying end that embraces you in a classic “Kentucky hug.”

Bottom Line:

This is great stuff to sip on after a big holiday meal. It’s also killer if you want to make a $20 Manhattan.

Cheap Bottle: Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Drizly

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
Average Price: $12

The Whiskey:

Yes, Ancient Age is the same mash bill, barrel, and barrel proof as Blanton’s. No, this isn’t a single barrel expression. Yet, it always sort of baffles me when people go on about Evan Williams (which is the same mash bill as Elijah Craig at Heaven Hill) but not this. This is a simple bourbon that’s cut from the same mash and pulled from the same rickhouses as everyone’s beloved Blanton’s — one of the more sought after and awarded bourbons in modern times.

Tasting Notes:

Corn on the nose and lots of classic notes of vanilla, toffee, and caramel up top. The sip leans into the toffee with a subtle dose of cinnamon spice lingering in the background with more of that honeyed corn. A slice of citrus arrives to lighten everything up on the short end.

Bottom Line:

You can often find this for $9.99 on sale. Buy a case. Drink it in a highball or mix up old fashioneds for a few months.

BROWN-FORMAN MEDIUM-RYE BOURBON MASH BILL

72 percent corn, 18 percent rye, ten percent malted barley. #4 barrel char. Entry proof is 125 proof/62.5 percent.

Expensive Bottle: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Woodford Reserve

ABV: 45.2%
Distillery: Woodford Reserve Distillery & Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, KY (Brown-Forman)
Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

Okay, this isn’t exactly a huge price tag for a quality spirit. Still, it’s not the cheapest expression you can get from Brown-Forman. The juice is really crafted as an entry point to Woodford’s wider line that showcases their aging and blending prowess.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a light, floral fruitiness upfront with a wisp of tobacco, flourishes of mint, and plenty of vanilla. The sip edges into orange zest territory with dark spices accentuated by nice toffee sweetness and a dusting of dark cacao powder when water is added.

The finish has a velvet texture that helps it fade fairly slowly while staying warm.

Bottom Line:

This is an excellent mixing bourbon to have on hand.

Cheap Bottle: Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Old Forester

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, KY (Brown-Forman)
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

This is a classic bourbon that’s been around for a long time. The juice is the same stuff that goes into Woodford, although this entry is blended with different barrels for an end product that’s a great, basic bourbon at a great price.

Tasting Notes:

This is strikingly similar to Woodford on the nose with the same vanilla, tobacco, mint, and floral fruit. There’s a bit more of a pine woodiness on the palate of this one next to the toffee, spice, orange, and vanilla that’s more pushed into the background. The toffee and oak mingle in the end as it slowly dissipates.

Bottom Line:

You can get two of these for the price of one Woodford. We’re just sayin’.

HEAVEN HILL WHEATED BOURBON MASH BILL

68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, 12 percent malted barley. #3 barrel char. Entry proof is 125 proof/62.5 percent.

Expensive Bottle: Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 9-Year-Old

The Whisky Exchange

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $300

The Whiskey:

We’ve already talked about how Weller and Pappy are the same wheated bourbon, so let’s give Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbons some love. This bespoke (and admittedly cool-looking) bottle became extremely famous and then extremely expensive in retail. It’s also the recipe “Pappy” Van Winkle bought during prohibition.

Simply, this is Heaven Hill’s famous wheated bourbon that’s aged for nine years and bottled-in-bond.

Tasting Notes:

Slightly peppery wheat next to a light fruit, vanilla, and fresh maple syrup greet you. The oak peeks in with more vanilla, notes of toffee, and a bit of berry tartness. The dram leans into a honey-sweet edge with the oak, mild spice, and hint of dark chocolate popping at the end.

Bottom Line:

Look, this is a damn nice dram. The price stops most people from ever getting to drink it and that’s a shame.

Cheap Bottle: Larceny Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Larceny Bourbon

ABV: 46%
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $26

The Whiskey:

This is the exact same juice that’s just aged a little less. This juice is hand-selected to be small batched to match a six-year-old age profile. That’s only three fewer years than the Old Fitz above, and it’s a tenth the price.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla and toffee are present with a sense of the wheat. There’s a clear taste of the honey, vanilla, and toffee carrying the sip towards a very subdued spice and oak. The end is rich with a note of toffee and a whisper of salted caramel.

Bottom Line:

No, this isn’t as complex as Old Fitzgerald. But it’s so much cheaper that … who cares?

JIM BEAM HIGH RYE MASH BILL

63 percent corn, 27 percent rye, ten percent malted barley. #4 barrel char. Entry proof unknown.

Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Basil Haydens

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory)
Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

Let’s end this one with Jim’s “other” mash bill. This is a departure from the classic Jim Beam mash we mentioned in the lede. This mash bill leans more heavily into the rye, creating a solid base for two very closely related bourbons. In fact, one’s named after a bourbon legend while the other has that legend’s visage on its label. Basil Hayden’s is a well-crafted bourbon that’s pulled from specific barrels, blended, cut down to proof, and small-batch bottled under the watchful eyes of Jim Beam’s masters.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sense of sweet yet slightly bitter tea next to rye spice and a flutter of fresh mint. The palate carries that spice into peppery territory with hints of oak, vanilla, tart apples, and honey. The spice gets a little peppery as a final cut if citrus arrives to help the end slowly fade out.

Bottom Line:

This is a nice mixing bourbon that works just as well on the rocks.

Old Grand-Dad Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

The Whisky Exchange

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory)
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

The titular old grand-dad here is the one and only Basil Hayden. It’s also the same juice that doesn’t spend quite as long in the rickhouse and gets blended with minorly different barrels for an end product that’s very similar to Basil Hayden’s.

Tasting Notes:

There’s more of sweetness at play with toffee and vanilla up top. Honey and fruit mix with a clear peppery rye note next to a slight hint of oak, apple, and more vanilla. The sip leans more into the caramel apples on the end and skips the citrus yet stays warm and mellow.

Bottom Line:

There’s certainly less refinement at play. But again, two for the price of one is a bargain.

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Doja Cat Will ‘Never’ Beef With Nas: ‘I Don’t Give A Sh*t’

For the past month, Doja Cat and Nas have been embroiled in a bit of drama. It appeared that Nas dissed the fellow rapper on “Ultra Black,” but the issue seemed to resolve itself quickly. Doja didn’t get too heated over the situation, and Nas later said he didn’t actually intend to say anything negative about Doja. If Nas had tried to escalate the situation, though, Doja says she would not have participated, because she loves Nas too much.

She spoke with Fat Joe in a recent interview, and he asked her how that situation arose. She responded with uncertainty before noting that she was just excited that one of her favorite rappers noticed him and declaring that she has no interested in feuding with him:

“I don’t know! I’m just glad he’s still putting out music, ’cause I love him. I grew up on Nas, so to hear that, I’m like, ‘Damn,’ but also, ‘Damn!’ I f*cking love Nas, thank f*cking God he noticed me. I love Nas. So, I don’t give a sh*t. He can say whatever he wants. I really don’t care. If I love you, I love you. I made jokes about it, but other than that, you will never see me beef with Nas. He might want to beef with me, but you’re not gonna see me beef with Nas. You won’t see me respond.”

Watch the interview clip below.

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The Grizzlies Added MIT Head Coach Sonia Raman As An Assistant

In a continued commitment to having a more diverse staff, the Memphis Grizzlies announced the hiring of former MIT women’s basketball coach Sonia Raman as an assistant coach on Friday. Raman replaces Niele Ivey, who left the Grizzlies during the NBA’s hiatus to become the women’s basketball coach at her alma mater, Notre Dame. Raman becomes the second woman assistant in Memphis franchise history and 14th overall in NBA history.

During her 12-year tenure as the head women’s basketball coach at MIT, she became the winningest coach in the program’s history with 152 wins. Under Raman’s leadership, the Engineers won the program’s first NEWMAC championships two consecutive years (2018, 2019) and reached the NCAA tournament twice.

Raman is a two-time NEWMAC coach of the year and was the first MIT women’s coach to lead her team to multiple 20-win seasons. In her final five seasons at MIT, the Engineers went 91–45. Away from the court, Raman was selected to serve a two-year term on the Coaches Council for the Alliance of Women Coaches in 2017.

“She has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous ability to teach the game as well as a strong passion for the game,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said in a statement. “She is going to be a great addition to our current coaching staff.”

Raman began her coaching career with a two-year stint as an assistant at her alma mater, Tufts. She then went on to spend six years as an assistant at Wellesley. Raman received a Juris Doctor from Boston College in 2001.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the Memphis Grizzlies coaching staff. I can’t wait to get to Memphis and get started with Taylor, his staff, and the team’s emerging young core,” Raman said in the press release.

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The NBA Is Reportedly Considering ‘Baseball-Like Homestands’ Next Season To Limit Travel

The NBA playoffs have not disappointed, even after a long layoff, and league executives are taking note. There are many reasons why players might feel more comfortable in the Bubble than they are criss-crossing the country year-round, but one factor in particular is becoming popular in the league office and among team governors: Travel.

In a new story at ESPN, Baxter Holmes explains that the topic has come up not only among those in the Bubble, but is gaining steam among the most powerful people in the league, as well. Ideas on how to limit travel and get closer to the quality of Bubble basketball even came up on a recent Board of Governors call. It seems that longer homestands similar to how baseball plays its series are one way the governors could limit travel in the NBA going forward.

Via ESPN:

“… a GM said that it had been his observation — and that he was receiving feedback from management, staff and players — that additional rest and lack of travel were playing a role in the quality of the performances, sources said.
A second GM then chimed in on the same theme, sources said, echoing that the lack of travel and additional rest contributed to better play and helped even out the competition. Sources said a league official on the call then brought up the concept of teams heading into cities to play a potential series of games — fly into a city and play the host team in two games over a short time span. The idea, which several GMs considered akin to a baseball homestand, was discussed in an effort to reduce the mileage teams might have to fly during the regular season.

League officials, including Silver, are well aware that the bubble has offered thrilling individual performances and nail-biting finishes, including notable game-winning shots and overtime endings. It’s unclear what factors have played the biggest role in leading to such performances — there’s no true home-court advantage, for example — but these officials are aware that lack of travel and the additional rest and time for recovery have been key components.”

Occasionally, NBA teams will play a home-and-home with a nearby team in which teams will compete in one city then the other, but this would be even more convenient, with teams potentially clashing twice in the same locale back-to-back. But as the schedule currently stands, this would likely only be possible with in-division teams that play each other multiple times in each city. And divisional games are the least travel-intensive on the schedule.

One executive told Holmes that even cutting travel by 10-20 percent would be helpful, so expect the NBA to continue brainstorming different options to make that happen.

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Lil Baby Flexes His Success In The Flashy ‘Forget That’ Video With Rylo Rodriguez

Lil Baby doesn’t want listeners to “Forget That” he’s one of the most successful artists of the year, so he reminds them with the video for that track featuring Rylo Rodriguez. Baby released the video to celebrate his album, My Turn, becoming the first to go double platinum in 2020. The video finds Lil Baby rapping in front of a backdrop while being attended to by a quartet of women and showing off of his jewelry and stacks of cash. Rylo Rodriguez, with whom Baby shares a fondness for goat imagery appears to rap on a street as well.

My Turn was Baby’s first album to reach No. 1, not just once but twice. All told, it spent five weeks on the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Meanwhile, Baby became a fixture of several other artists’ projects, despite claiming that he’d begun charging $100,000 a feature. He popped up on the remix of Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good” alongside DaBaby, with whom he also appeared on Stunna 4 Vegas on “Do Dat, and he contributed to RMR’s “Dealer” with Future.

His success also extends to an invitation to collaborate with Kanye West, despite an earlier misunderstanding. It’s Lil Baby’s year, and he’s getting everything he said he would when it started.

Watch Lil Baby’s Forget That video featuring Rylo Rodriguez above.