While The Sonder Bombs got their start (mostly) in the midwestern DIY emo scene, their latest album Clothbound sets their sights somewhere greater. The band’s songwriting is more focused and concise than ever, Willow Hawks’ vocals take on a new shimmer as they float atop nostalgic instrumental arrangements that hammer home the quartet’s new and improved sound. All of this is exemplified on “The One About You,” a short and sweet number that evokes a classic old-fashioned doo-wop act, and we’re happy to have an exclusive look at the new song below.
To celebrate the new song and new album, Willow Hawks sat down to talk haunted motels, Harry Styles, and Pitch Perfect in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Cathartic, Blunt, Sarcastic, Good.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I want them to think we were the best ukulele-based band in the history of the world.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Cleveland! There’s nothing like a hometown show with all our friends.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
My bandmate and best friend Jimmy. He’s the most passionate person I know and that gives me daily inspiration!
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Al’s Finger Licking Good Bar in Tampa, Florida. I had pulled pork bbq with spicy collard greens, mac n cheese, & coleslaw!
At the end of DeRon Hayes’ basketball games in Europe, children would take to the floor, being afforded the opportunity to play on the court. It was a chaotic scene, with hoards of youngsters dribbling around and stealing the balls from one another.
In the midst of this was DeRon’s son, Killian. At two and a half years old, Killian looked a bit older — “about five,” DeRon recalls — but wasn’t exactly showing the early signs of the skills that would make him an NBA Draft hopeful more than a decade later. Other kids would steal the ball from him, he couldn’t get it back, and he’d get a little bummed out.
Despite Killian’s early frustrations on the court, DeRon and his wife, Sandrine, wanted to do something to make sure their son always got to play even though he was younger than many of the other kids. Their solution: a pink basketball.
“It was funny at the moment, but like I said, he didn’t care, a ball was a ball,” DeRon recalls. “The older kids were like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to play with a Barbie ball, a pink Barbie ball.’ It worked out.”
From there, a basketball never left Killian’s hands again.
His father had a lengthy career in Europe, with stops in Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, and France following a productive collegiate career at Penn State, and for the young Hayes, there was never a doubt he was going to follow DeRon into the family business. When his grade school teacher asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Killian said a basketball player.
“She used to say, ‘That’s not a job,’” Killian says. “I’d say, ‘I don’t have nothing else.’ So, I just fully committed to basketball and just put my mind into it and I just stuck with it.”
From the outside, it may have seemed like an unattainable dream, but it’s hard for the people closest to Hayes to consider that the long and windy road he traveled would end with anything other than him becoming a pro hooper. That officially became the case in 2017, when Hayes made his debut for French side Cholet – one of the teams for whom DeRon played in his professional career — at age 16. And later this month, when the 2020 NBA Draft commences, he will go up to a different level.
Killian Hayes is on the precipice of the biggest day of his life.
***
The Hayes Family
“My first impression of Killian was just his poise,” ESPN Draft analyst Fran Fraschilla says as he recalls the first time he checked out Hayes’ game. “For a young man that is only 19 years old — and at the time I think he hadn’t turned 17 yet when I first saw him — the thing that stands out is his size and his poise. To be a 6’5 point guard and you’re 17 years old and you have a very good — what I would call countenance — about you, graceful under pressure, that’s the first thing that jumped out at me.”
Something fun that happens in reporting these stories is noticing trends in the way people talk about someone that give you a clearer glimpse into the person you’re writing about. While talking to Hayes and those who know him, whether personally or through their jobs as basketball scouts, one thing kept popping up: He does not approach anything like a person who turned 19 only three and a half months ago.
It’s probably not a surprise given how Hayes got to where he is today. His first memories involve playing basketball at home; the Hayes family had a little plastic hoop that he’d dunk on in their living room. Eventually it was moved outside, where a young Killian would run at full speed and perform the most rim-rocking of dunks that you can as a child.
“There has never been a question at this time,” Sandrine says of how quickly her son fell in love with the game. “He was just so natural. There was no forcing, there was no need to force it.”
Growing up, he’d go to DeRon’s practices and hang out until they ended, at which point he’d make his way onto the court and get coached up by his dad. DeRon considers himself a gym rat and as a result, Killian became a gym rat from a young age.
“He would wait and come and watch me practice, and then we would practice and we would train or just shoot and just play around, just play around and just have fun,” DeRon says. “That was our fun, that was our amusement, and that was our thing.”
The floor time, and the interaction with the pro game, had a lasting impact on the young hooper.
“I got to see what it was like to be a professional at an early age,” Killian recalls. “He taught me a lot, and since I was there at his practice, I could see and watch what they were doing and how they were staying, getting extra shots, getting there early, making sure they work at their craft and being sharp on the court.”
These formative moments with DeRon, whom Killian calls his “best friend,” were as important to molding him into the baller he’d one day become as the YouTube rabbit holes he’d fall down, watching Dwyane Wade and AND1 Mixtape legends Hot Sauce and Bone Collector. The former’s Euro step is still a staple in his game, while the latter two stuck out amid the raucous atmospheres that drew a young Killian in. He especially loved watching Shammgod dribbles, to the point that he admits that he did them a ton when he was younger, although he’s a little more conservative with them now.
From the time he was six, Killian was in the Cholet system. The club — which used to be home to NBAers like Rudy Gobert and Chandler Parsons — is in the western part of France, and where DeRon spent a chunk of his career. He worked his way through that system, making an impression on people like Sylvain Delorme, who coached him with Cholet’s under-18 side.
Delorme recalled watching Killian with Cholet’s U-15 team, which he broke into when he was a 12 year old. Killian made the jump up to the U-18s when he was 15, and in that year, he got bumped to the U-21s with the opportunity to practice with the senior side. Delorme was impressed by his relationship with DeRon, whose influence Delorme believes manifested itself in Killian’s love for the game, and how games would usually end with him on the floor.
“Every championship, almost, he played, he won it,” Delorme says. “He played under-18, he won it. He played under-21, he won it. He played in the European championship, he won it. If he didn’t win it, he’s an MVP. Everything he played, he won. I’ve never seen that before.”
To Delorme, it was obvious after one year that Killian had pro potential. He kept raising the bar for him, and while he understands that circumstances can often determine a person’s ability to make it in the NBA, there was something special about this kid.
“You put him in the under-18s, he beat the under-18s,” Delorme says. “You put him in the under-21s, he beat the under-21s. You got his ability to do that. So after my first season with him, I think he [is] going to play [at a] very high level.”
***
Chris Henry
Being a young star in Europe can be tricky. It’s a path so radically different from the ones that American-born standouts trudge. Instead of playing high school and AAU ball against fellow teenagers, you more or less need to put your head down and do the work, whether lining up against grown men with your club or your national team. The celebrity that oftentimes comes with being a big-name prospect in America isn’t necessarily as prominent — Killian notes a certain spotlight is on teenagers in the States, marveling at how “crazy” it is that a 16 year old can have millions of Instagram followers.
He has gotten a taste of the American basketball hype machine, participating in camps in the U.S. and winning the Jordan Brand Classic co-MVP award as a 16 year old in 2017. Back in Europe, he participated in plenty of showcases, catching the eye of Chris Ebersole of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. It’s been a springboard for plenty of youngsters abroad, and when Killian took the floor during a BWB event in Los Angeles in 2018, Ebersole praised him for sticking out despite his age.
“He was a full year younger than many of the other participants there, but his savvy, his maturity, his confidence, all those things jumped off the page, jumped off the screen when it comes to him, even at that younger age,” Ebersole says. “And he made the All-Star team in that camp as well as the following year in the same camp. So he’s a two time BWB Global All-Star, which is pretty rare.”
All of these various showcases gave Killian a further glimpse into American ball. Seeing the athleticism of guys like fellow 2020 draftee R.J. Hampton and Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Lecque served as an “eye-opener,” hammering home that if he ever wanted to make it in the States, he had to work on his body.
These sorts of events reinforced what made him unique as a player. He sits at the intersection of how basketball is played in two places, France and the United States, and he believes both of those come through in how he plays.
“Growing up in France, I really had the French culture of basketball with a lot of team plays, set plays, and stuff like that, organized basketball,” Killian says. “And every time I used to go back to the U.S., I mean, we used to play pickup, and it was one-on-one. So, it was two men going at each other, trying to prove who was the better one. So, I feel like the American side really brought out the aggressiveness in me, and the French side really brought the collective aspect of the game.”
He almost got a chance to really lean into the American part of his game: Killian wanted to come to the United States and play high school ball. While he doesn’t remember exactly how old he was when he approached DeRon and Sandrine with this — he claims 15 or 16 — the conversation ended with him staying in Europe.
DeRon went through the American pipeline, going to high school then spending four years in college. His time in Europe, though, gave him a glimpse into how basketball works there, and how the fundamentals and “good basketball” are drilled into you from a young age. And besides, with the heights Killian reached at a young age, DeRon posited that there would not be a better situation for him in America.
“He had the opportunity to be a professional earlier, so that means for him at 16 or 15, he was already playing and making an impact with the 21 and under teams,” DeRon says. “He was making an impact. So you’re thinking about, this kid is 15 and he’s playing with guys 21 and under, and playing at a good level and good basketball on a good team, and he’s one of the main players. Where can you get this kind of education in the States?”
DeRon admits it was a tough conversation, because Killian’s heart was set on coming to the U.S. It wasn’t for long, though — Sandrine says Killian was bummed out for about three or four days, then he got over it. Like everyone who has analyzed his game told me, maturity is very much one of his strengths.
***
Chris Henry
On Oct. 21, 2017, Killian made his debut for Cholet’s senior team. He had turned 16 a little less than three months earlier, and after two minutes of work against Nanterre 92, he could officially call himself a professional basketball player.
For someone whose life has been a constant march towards a professional career, it’s funny that Hayes doesn’t remember much about that gigantic inflection point.
“Honestly, I forgot,” Hayes says when asked about what he recalls from that day. “But I was probably tired because we played a game … When I used to play in France, I used to play a game right before the pro games with the under-21 team. I used to play with the under-21, 30-35 minutes, and right after, go with the professionals, the first division. So, I was probably tired and anxious as hell. I was maybe not expecting it, so I was probably surprised getting on the court.”
He bounced back and forth between the U-21s and the senior team for his first year. Killian says the team wasn’t great, and he needed to get stronger and more confident, but getting to the point of playing pro ball still garnered him plenty of attention. Ebersole remarked that any 16-year-old who gets to that level will find their way onto his radar soon enough, while Fraschilla first started closely following him that next summer, when Killian attended the NBA Global Academy in Treviso — he was quite impressed, as usual, with his poise.
Amid all of this, Killian had DeRon in his corner, acting as an extra coach who approaches things through the lens of an ex-pro. While he insisted he never told Killian to do something that would go against the wishes of his coaches, DeRon would attend practices and games, shooting texts to him at halftime with little notes about how he can do this or that a little better.
“I could see what coaches were doing, what they were trying to instill in their player and everything and trying to teach, and everything,” DeRon says. “So I would go to the next level, and say, ‘Okay, he’s trying to teach me this? Okay, you can do this. You can do this,’ gave him all the options. Instead of being one option, I gave him four or five other options too so he wouldn’t have to be limited to anything, any type of situation.”
That had to change a bit this past year, as Killian moved from Cholet to ratiopharm Ulm, a German club in the Basketball Bundesliga which closed off its practices. Still, it gave him the opportunity to play multiple games a week and participate in EuroCup, the second-highest European club basketball competition, while learning from Jaka Lakovič, a former Slovenian point guard with a decorated playing career.
There was an adjustment period. While DeRon and Sandrine packed up and moved to Germany, Killian doesn’t speak the language and was getting used to a country he’s never been to before, all while he had to get used to a league that is “way more physical” than what he was used to in France — Fraschilla called the Basketball Bundesliga “arguably the fastest-improving league in all of Europe.”
A major adjustment was getting used to his role on the floor. At Ulm, Lakovič wanted him to have the ball in his hands and make mistakes as a way to learn and grow. At the start, DeRon saw a young, anxious player for whom the game was too fast.
“I don’t have to tell him this because he already knows this, but it was just like, ‘Just play the game. It’ll come. It’ll come. These are the growing pains that you have to go through,’” DeRon recalls. “And he went through them. And then once he got to the point where everything clicked, and I saw that everything clicked for him. Everything slowed down. Everything got easier, and he was a whole different beast, another person. He got on another level.”
Sam Veceine, The Athletic’s NBA Draft analyst, thought moving to Germany helped Killian make “an enormous leap” in his game. As of this writing, Vecenie — who praised his IQ on both ends of the floor and his ability as a passer but thinks he needs to iron out some wrinkles with his jumper and become less “left-hand dominant” as he dribbles — has Hayes ninth on his Big Board.
“I had worried that he was someone that, physically, played good defense [in France] because he was physically prepared, being 6’4 to 6’5, 190 to 200 pounds, but the skill level hadn’t seemed to have taken the leap that I was hoping for,” Vecenie says. “But this year, moving to Germany and getting out of France, I thought that the skill level did take a pretty real jump.”
Everything during Killian’s European career helped lay the path for him to eventually make it to the NBA, particularly going up against adults from such a young age. Vecenie mentioned getting “punched in the face” as a major formative aspect of playing in France and Germany, something Killian echoed.
“When people know that you are a Draft pick, they’re going to come at you to prove to anybody that’s in the stands that they earned their spot in the NBA,” Killian says. “Everybody, especially the American players, were coming at me every night. So, yeah, you’ve just got to hold your own and stay strong physically and mentally.”
***
Chris Henry
Killian Hayes has finally gotten to the biggest day of his life. It won’t be in a packed Barclays Center like past Drafts, with all the pomp and circumstance that has made this a tentpole event of the NBA’s offseason, but he is going to be drafted by someone. When he gets picked, in his parents’ eyes, does not matter.
“I just want him to get drafted on a team that he can be good, playing good,” Sandrine says. “I don’t really care, pick one, pick two, pick three. I don’t care about that, but if you’re pick one and you’re not on the right team … I don’t care.”
Killian also wants to end up in the right spot. In discussing what that could look like, Vecenie mentions a situation like the Chicago Bulls, which are currently slated to pick No. 4 in the Draft, as an ideal, and has him going to the Phoenix Suns at No. 10 in his latest mock. In his eyes, the best kind of situation is one that has him with the ball in his hands, either as the team’s point guard or while sharing those duties with someone else.
“I see him as someone that if he plays around good floor spacing, that questionable ability to gain separation could be helped along a little bit early in his career,” Veceine says.
In classic soon-to-be NBA draftee form, Killian recognizes that he has to get better at everything, even if there are a number of elements to his game — the court vision, the defending, the size, the passing — that would make any scout salivate. No. 1 on that list has nothing to do with his ability to do any traditional skill.
“I know on the mental part of the game, stop being frustrated with myself, because when I show that I’m mad at myself, that gives the opponent an advantage,” Hayes says. “So, I’ve been told to never show my emotions especially as the point guard. If your teammate is looking at you and sees that you’re down, that you’re mad, they’re going to be down and mad.”
While ball is life, making sure his family is taken care of and in his corner is something upon which Hayes will not negotiate. When asked about where he sees himself 15 years down the road, the first thing he says is making sure his family is taken care of, even before he gets to things like winning a championship and being known as a great player and teammate.
For now, he’s getting used to life in America. Despite spending summers in Lakeland during DeRon’s offseasons, and despite coming to the States for a number of basketball events, he’s never lived in the U.S. for an extended period of time. That changed when the Hayes family went to Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic after Killian’s season in Germany was postponed, although Killian said getting stateside was “pretty stressful” because Sandrine did not have a U.S. passport.
DeRon and Sandrine have stayed in Lakeland, while Killian has done Draft prep in Orlando. He’s still gotten to hang with his family, and after spending a whole lot of time studying YouTube videos, he’s become the de facto barber. While Sandrine insists she won’t let Killian touch her hair, DeRon thinks he’s gotten pretty good.
“He cuts everybody’s hair now,” DeRon says. “He’s really serious about it. That’s a little hobby that he picked up, but when he’s set to do something, he does it. He’s all into it.”
DeRon’s excited to do things like bring Killian to Penn State for his first college football game. Killian’s excited to get drafted and celebrate with his family that night, but after taking some time to take it all in, he’s prepared to start grinding — “the next day,” he says, “we’ll just move on and go forward from that.”
Wherever he goes, his future is going to feature a ton of DeRon and Sandrine. His parents plan on following Killian to whatever NBA city he ends up calling home at the start of his career. Like Killian, it’ll be the first time Sandrine calls a city in the U.S. home full-time, and it’ll be the first time DeRon’s roots are in the States since his collegiate career ended, save for one cup of coffee in the now-defunct American Basketball Association.
Other than the game he’s dedicated his every moment towards since he was a child, DeRon and Sandrine two are constants in his life. Just like DeRon’s parents used to make it a point to go to all of his games when he was in college, driving to tournaments or hopping on flights to be in attendance, they’ve always made it a point to be there for their son, and from DeRon’s perspective, that love is reciprocated.
“We did the same thing,” DeRon says. “So I see where Killian, he got that from, the family values. We didn’t insist on it, but it’s just something that is in our DNA, and it just transcended into him.”
The young man on the verge of making it to the NBA would not have it any other way.
“I’ll do anything to get my family right,” Killian says. “Family first, all the time.”
Fans of Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis’ collaborative project The Postal Service are perpetually hungry for new material. The band just released one album, 2003’s Give Up, and that’s it as far as studio material. In 2014, they put out a a live album, Everything Will Change, but that was only available as a concert film. Now, though, big news: The group is making the project available as a live album for the first time on streaming platforms, as Everything Will Change is set for release on December 4 via Sub Pop.
The set was recorded at the band’s stop at at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California during their 2013 reunion tour. In addition to songs from Give Up, the set also features a cover of Beat Happening’s “Our Secret” and a live version of “(This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan,” by Tamborello’s Dntl.
To mark the occasion, Sub Pop has shared live videos of “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” and “Natural Anthem.” Check those out above and find the Everything Will Change art and tracklist below.
Sub Pop
1. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”
2. “We Will Become Silhouettes”
3. “Sleeping In”
4. “Turn Around”
5. “Nothing Better”
6. “Recycled Air”
7. “Be Still My Heart”
8. “Clark Gable”
9. “Our Secret (Beat Happening cover)”
10. “This Place Is a Prison”
11. “A Tattered Line of String”
12. “Such Great Heights”
13. “Natural Anthem”
14. “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Dntel)”
15. “Brand New Colony”
Everything Will Change is out 12/4 via Sub Pop.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Change is usually a good thing — except when it comes to the layout of apps we’ve all become accustomed to. That’s why many Instagram users weren’t happy when the platform’s creators completely switched around the app. Tyler The Creator was particularly confused about the update and took to his Instagram Stories to critique the app’s decision.
Users who have logged onto Instagram recently surely noticed the change. The app moved the post and notification buttons from the bottom panel to the top right corner next to the messages section. The platform’s bottom panel now hosts a search feature, a Reels feature, and a shopping button, a decision that was likely made to encourage users to spend money on the app.
Tyler The Creator notices the changes and agreed with a number of users who were frustrated about the updates. “this update stupid why the f*ck would you put that corny reels sh*t right there,” he wrote tagging Instagram. “and a shop from insta? like brooo i get it get cho money baby but give us the option to retain a layout thats just for photos n friends sheesh.”
Tyler wasn’t the only one who voiced their opinion about Instagram’s update. Many others flooded social media with their reactions and opinions about the change.
BREAKING NEWS THAT WILL MOST DEFINITELY CHANGE YOUR LIFE: James Charles GOES OFF on Instagram for updating the app and moving the notifications and post buttons to the upper right corner of the screen. pic.twitter.com/bvaJBnDwR8
i hate that fuckin reels button right in the middle of my fucking instagram and i can’t reach the fucking post button on the top right of my screen when i’m holding my phone in one hand i didn’t fucking sleep enough i’m having a bad day and i’m too old for new fucking app layouts
BREAKING NEWS THAT WILL MOST DEFINITELY CHANGE YOUR LIFE: James Charles GOES OFF on Instagram for updating the app and moving the notifications and post buttons to the upper right corner of the screen. pic.twitter.com/bvaJBnDwR8
Zendaya made Emmys history, becoming the youngest person ever to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and shot a film with John David Washington, so all things considered, she had a good year. But she’s also human, which means 2020 was a bad year. I don’t need to explain why (OK, I will: Dune was delayed until 2021).
When asked by Essence how she’s stayed positive in a “stressful year,” Zendaya looked to Rihanna, as we all should.
“Seeing Black women win, in any form, brings me joy,” the Euphoria star said. “I was just looking at Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fashion show, and I was like, ‘You better, girl! Bad-gal Riri is giving us what we need right now!’ Then there are also small things — like a conversation with my grandmother, who I have to call after this because I keep forgetting. Hearing her voice is like food for the soul.” First of, Zendaya reminding herself that she needs to call her grandmother reminded me that I need to call my grandparents, so thank you for that, Zendaya. Also, I imagine this was her reaction to the fashion show:
ABC
Euphoria season two doesn’t have a premiere date, but Zendaya recently confirmed that the HBO series will have two “special” episodes coming soon, the first on December 6. Hopefully Rihanna will be watching. Unless she’s working on her new album. Then she should finish that. A new Rihanna album could redeem 2020, however slightly.
Hip-hop has long held a revolutionary streak thanks to acts and pivotal figures who challenged the status quo and used their platforms to address social issues. The tradition began early in its history with Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s “The Message,” the title of which T.I. borrowed for a new Apple Music playlist of revolutionary hip-hop songs. During a recent interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, the host asked T.I. what Kendrick Lamar — who appears multiple times on the playlist — means to him “as a fan of rap.”
T.I. responds with his signature thoughtfulness and eloquence. “I think he’s probably the most successful revolutionary rapper alive,” he asserts, elaborating that, “It’s hard to sell. It’s hard to do good business in the revolutionary category… Artists like KRS-One, even Common, Mos Def, and the Roots usually have to trade commercial success for speaking truth in the revolution. Kendrick has been the one who has been able to simultaneously achieve both. That’s extremely special. That’s an art within itself.”
On Saturday, November 7, Rudy Giuliani inexplicably arrived at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia, where he delivered a disastrous press conference to contest the results of the 2020 election — while nestled between a sex shop and a crematorium. It was one of the most surreal moments in American politics, and some believe it was the exact moment that Donald Trump’s presidency ended. That’s why a new petition is calling for the landscaping company to be added to the National Register of Historic Places… really! Via The Architect’s Newspaper:
What helps build a case for a National Register designation is the key role that both the event and the location played on the day the election was called.
According to the National Park Service, places can be added to the National Register because of architectural significance or historical significance, including association with noteworthy people or events.
If the site has to have historical significance, the commenters on the Change.org petition have been making a compelling case for adding Four Seasons to the National Register. Not to mention, it’s almost two weeks later, and the hilariously random location has been a constant source of headlines. Here’s what some of the petition signers had to say:
“This is a truly historic location. It marks the end of a vapid, inept, fascist regime in the most transparent way. What better mark of pure American charlatanism than this could there be?” – John Cole
“It is absolutely fitting that this thoughtless, embarrassing mistake become a monument to this thoughtless, embarrassing experiment with electing the most un-presidential person available to the presidency.” – Joe Biddenback
“How can we exclude a location where Giuliani out-Borated Borat on HIMSELF!” – Jennifer Vincent
As of this writing, the petition needed less than 100 signatures to reach its 2,500 goal.
When Swizz Beats and Timbaland announced the participants of their next Verzuz battle coming this Thursday, hip-hop fans were flabbergasted to see the two names attached. Gucci Mane and Jeezy, who were once engaged in one of hip-hop’s most stringent feuds, apparently agreed to set aside their differences to appear on the show for the sake of the culture, overcoming a decade of animosity.
While many rap fans breathed a collective sigh of relief, there was one person who wasn’t excited to see the two Atlanta trap rap legends come together: Jeezy’s former CTE World artist Freddie Gibbs, who expressed his disappointment in his onetime business partner on Twitter. Although Gibbs seems to still have plenty of leftover resentment from their ill-fated partnership — Gibbs left the label in 2012, just one year after signing there — it appears the source of his current animus is the track “Therapy For My Soul,” from Jeezy’s upcoming album The Recession 2.
In the song, Jeezy addresses Gibbs’ recent comments that he’s “musically irrelevant,” rhyming:
If One-Five wasn’t my dawg, I would’ve touched them
When that sh*t went down with Gibbs, I couldn’t trust him
Invested my hard-earned money, tied up my bread
But he gon’ try to tell you I’m flawed, that’s in his head
It’s happening just the way that I said it, good on your own
And if I’m honest, nothin’ gangsta about you, leave this alone
Gibbs seems to have taken issue with this characterization, throwing his own shade on Twitter. “BMF put U in a headlock in front of me,” he quoted. “BMF put U in a headlock in front of me.” He then brought up Gucci’s disrespect toward Jeezy at the height of the two rappers’ beef, advising Jeezy, “N**** smoked yo partner and u bout to sit in the room and do a Verzuz wit him. Don’t talk no street sh*t to me, fam.”
Gucci Mane and Jeezy are set to appear on Verzuz this Thursday, 11/19 at 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET on Instagram and Apple Music. Jeezy’s album The Recession 2 is due the next day, 11/20. Pre-save it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Musc artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Bernie Sanders’ most recent presidential run didn’t yield the outcome he was hoping for when he began the journey. What it did produce, though, was a bunch of memorable music moments, since a lot of indie musicians performed at his various campaign events. Ever a gracious host, he took the time to thank each one of them, and a new supercut of these thank-yous is unexpectedly delightful.
Journalist Andy Nguyen created the clip and wrote, “I haven’t been doing much of anything lately but I did string together a bunch of clips where Bernie Sanders thanks musicians because him saying Soccer Mommy in his New York accent is never not funny to me.”
I haven’t been doing much of anything lately but I did string together a bunch of clips where Bernie Sanders thanks musicians because him saying Soccer Mommy in his New York accent is never not funny to me. pic.twitter.com/qfzttprHEg
The video runs for about two minutes and Sanders gets a lot of name-dropping done in that time. It sounds like he’s saying some of the names for the first time in those moments, and he name drops acts like Soccer Mommy, Sunflower Bean, Ratboys, Kitty Kat Fan Club, Joyce Manor, Twiddle, Vampire Weekend, “Laura Jane Grass,” and “The uh Lucy uh Dacus Band.”
All in all, it’s a fun compilation of a 79-year-old man shouting out artists who are mostly in their 20s, so check it out above.
Aaron Nesmith made a major leap in both production and efficiency from his freshman to sophomore seasons at Vanderbilt, emerging as one of the nation’s best shooters on incredible volume prior to a foot injury that ended his season after 14 games. In that period, Nesmith hit a ridiculous 52.2 percent of his three pointers on 8.2 attempts per game, averaging 23 points a night for coach Jerry Stackhouse’s Commodores.
His leap in production from his freshman year, in which he averaged 11 points per game and hit just 33.7 percent of his threes, is something he credits to an offseason between coaches that allowed him to focus on improving his individual game, namely his shooting stroke. Nesmith went to work last summer, diving into film study on C.J. McCollum, Khris Middleton, Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, J.J. Redick, and Ray Allen, and, as he says, “absolutely stripped their game down and tried to take anything I could from their game and put it into mine.”
The biggest takeaway for Nesmith from his film binge was the importance of footwork and ensuring that no matter the situation — catch-and-shoot, dribble-handoff, curling around an off-ball screen, stepback, and sidestep — his feet found their way to the same place.
“Footwork, footwork, footwork,” Nesmith says over a Zoom call. “And for me going into my sophomore year, that was the biggest change and the biggest thing I needed to make to improve my game on. I got that from watching those guys and watching their footwork coming off the off-ball screens and it made such a big difference for me shooting the basketball. Starting from the ground up, paying attention to all the little things, and at the end of the day that shot’s gonna go through at a consistent pace if you can get that footwork right.”
His film work wasn’t just focused on NBA greats, but also on himself, understanding that the only way you can truly make strides as a player is to be able to be self-critical and point out your weaknesses so you can work on them to, as he says, try to move those into the strengths category. It’s not always something players, especially young ones, are particularly willing to do. It requires a certain level of introspection and humility to understand that you can’t just keep building up your strengths. Those things you enjoy and are already good at will always be part of your game, but focusing chiefly on those and refusing to truly acknowledge and understand your weaknesses puts a cap on your ceiling as a player.
That mindset was shaped by some key influences, including Stackhouse as well as Kobe Bryant, whose show “Detail” helped him recognize the importance of pulling things from others and recognizing where others can help you grow.
“In my opinion, what separates a good player from a great player is that a great player is willing to learn from anybody and is willing to always call out his own mistakes,” Nesmith says. “So like, an example I give is Kobe Bryant and his show ‘Detail.’ Kobe Bryant was the type of person to learn from anybody. If anybody could give him some piece of advice, even if it was the 14th person off the bench, if he was a phenomenal shooter Kobe Bryant would study whatever he did to help improve his game in that shooting aspect. So just always having that mindset and having the mindset to learn and be a sponge. I would say that is definitely the difference maker.”
That desire to be a sponge paid dividends when he got the chance to play for Stackhouse, an 18-year veteran of the NBA who had previously served as an assistant coach in Toronto and Memphis, as well as as the head coach for Toronto’s G League affiliate. The wealth of knowledge Stackhouse could provide Nesmith as both a player and a coach who had seen what it takes for players to ingratiate themselves at the NBA level was invaluable in Nesmith’s transformation as a player and how he saw the game.
Nesmith says he learned how to be a professional from Stackhouse, recognizing the importance of every aspect of the game, from working out and practicing at game speed to becoming better at picking apart his film to identify consistent mistakes and work on how to fix them. For Stackhouse, he couldn’t help but be impressed at the work ethic of Nesmith and his ability to take criticism and coaching and apply it to his game to make necessary improvements.
“He’s just one of those kids who works his butt off,” Stackhouse says on a Zoom call. “You’re not going to outwork him. He’s going to stay in the gym as long as you want him to – or even after you want him to leave he’s still going to stay a little bit longer. I think he embraced all of it. He embraced his time of critiquing. He takes coaching well. He was the brunt of some pretty vicious film sessions. So for him to talk about those film sessions is great. It just lets you know that he wants to get better and he did get better. Defensively, early on, he was getting beat middle a lot. That’s one of the staples of who we want to be defensively and as the season gone on those numbers went down and he was really trending in the right direction before he got hurt.”
Over the course of a summer, Nesmith was able to transform himself into one of the country’s elite shooters, but he understands the job is far from over. He still has to hone his craft and knows that his reputation as a shooter now precedes him, meaning he has to continue refining his shooting skills both on and off the ball to get shots up in the tiny windows that he’s given.
“You’re not going to get standstill shots all the time, especially a shooter like myself and a shooter of my prowess,” Nesmith says. “I’m not going to get a chance to catch and shoot the ball wide open many times a game. So I had to really practice shooting on the move, and in order to do that at a high level and make sure that translates into the ball game, I’ve got to do that at game speed. You look at a guy like Duncan Robinson, he’s flying all over the court from side-to-side and constantly running off of handoffs and all the screens, so I’ve got to be able to do that exact same thing and do it at as fast a level I can to come to a complete stop and knock that three-pointer down.”
Shooting is the skill that will get him to the NBA, but he has designs on being much more than just a three-point marksman. Among those All-Stars he’s studied over and over is Middleton, who started his career as a role player, found a niche in Milwaukee as a shooter and defender, and evolved into one of the league’s best two-way wings. In a way, Middleton’s pre-draft profile reads as the opposite of Nesmith, as he was a good on-ball scorer but had major question marks as a spot-up shooter, before making that his signature trait early in his Bucks tenure. In his time in Milwaukee, Middleton’s evolved as an on-ball threat, with a silky midrange and most recently has become a much more adept playmaker and facilitator for others.
That path is one Nesmith looks at closely, recognizing the importance of constantly evolving one’s game by putting in the work necessary to excel in the role asked of you while also moving some of those weaknesses into the strengths category so that, eventually, you can take the next step as a player.
“[Middleton’s] become a phenomenal ball-handler, phenomenal on the pick-and-roll, phenomenal guy for the Milwaukee Bucks – a go-to guy in the fourth quarter who makes big shot,” Nesmith says. “So he’s no longer that one dimensional player of going to play defense and running off ball screens. He’s grown, he’s become a better overall basketball player, but it didn’t happen overnight. This is like his eighth year in the NBA. It takes time, it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication. But he’s put that work in. He’s put that sweat equity in and he’s where he deserves to be. So that’s definitely the goal for me. I want to get to that kind of level and I want to expand my game in the same way he has.”
For Nesmith, he knows it means diversifying his offensive skillset by being a more capable ball-handler and creating for himself, and by taking his natural size and strength at 6’6, 215 pounds and putting his energy and effort into being a better defender. He readily and happily points out those weaknesses because, for him, they mean a chance to focus his work and spend more time in the gym.
His energy when talking about the work is contagious. He’s embraced what has become an interminable Draft process that has worn on some other prospects, because he sees it as an opportunity. Once again, he’s been afforded an extended period to work on himself and his game. He’s gotten more feedback and criticism of his game for teams, which have asked him to work on his offensive arsenal and being a weapon with the ball in his hands so he can attack hard closeouts and make the right play either for himself or for teammates while the defense is scrambling. On the defensive end, he points to conditioning and making sure that he’s always at his physical best so he can take advantage of his strength and size.
When Stackhouse has talked to teams, he says he’s made it a point to “make sure they understand he’s more than just a shooter.” Vanderbilt asked him to be an off-ball player because he was the absolute best they had at that and, as Stackhouse says, they wanted him to be the one on the end of passes more often than not. In the NBA, he believes he’ll be able to take those next steps to become a more well-rounded player simply out of the opportunity to do so, and knowing that Nesmith is going to put in the work to necessary to get there.
In the immediate, Nesmith is ready to come in and impact his new team in whatever way he can and play whatever role he’s asked.
“I could be coming in from Day 1 and be asked to play 20 minutes a game and do certain number of things and whatever is asked of me to do from my coach, I’ve got to be able to do that to the best of my ability,” Nesmith says. “Or if I play five minutes a game and my numbers come back and I’m only on there to dive for loose balls and be an energy guy, I’ve got to do that to the best of my ability. Or if I don’t play at all and I’ve got to be a cheerleader for the guys who are on the floor, I’ve got to be able to do that to the best of my ability. Just star in my role, whatever role is necessary to help the team winning. So, that’s something I got from Coach Stackhouse and something I’ve gotten from just watching a whole lot of NBA basketball and my time playing basketball. Especially having a losing season my freshman season at Vanderbilt, just learning what it takes to win. Those little things matter. Starring in your role, because if everybody does their job, you’ll win basketball games.”
It’s a mindset not every player is able to have entering the NBA, as they’ve been a star on every team throughout their young career, but it speaks to the belief Nesmith has in himself and the work he’ll put in to elevate from whatever role he starts in to become a great player at the NBA level. Wednesday night will determine what team will be getting him and whoever that is they’ll taking him to be a shooter, but he has designs on becoming so much more.
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u got it snow U won 
