When the pandemic emerged on the West Coast and Seattle began their stay-at-home order, Death Cab For Cutie’s vocalist Ben Gibbard decided to offer solace through music. The singer began hosting nightly livestreams from his living room and sharing music from his decades-spanning catalog. While his livestreams are now far less frequent, Gibbard recently performed an acoustic version of an as-of-then unreleased single. Now, Gibbard returns with the official release of his hopeful track “Proxima B.”
“Proxima B” boasts a driving rhythm guitar accompanied with gently crashing snares. Gibbard’s soothing vocals narrate his longing to leave this world behind in hopes of finding life on a more promising planet. “Oh this world is startin’ to bring me down / The oceans risin’ and we’re all gonna drown / But there’s a place where you and I can go / Where we can start this mess all over,” he sings.
Explaining the track’s inspiration in a statement, Gibbard said he heard news of scientists discovering an Earth-like planet and began to imagine what life would be like there:
“This one I wrote a while ago. I’m planning on putting it out as a single. I was going to have it out as a single for this solo tour I was doing, a more ramped-up guitar version. But, obviously, the show’s not happening so we’re going to push that to the fall. This is a song I wrote about a planet that was discovered deep, deep in the cosmos, way out there, called Proxima B. The three things you need to know about Proxima B to understand the song is: One, there was a planet called Proxima B that they think has water on it. It’s somewhat Earth-like. Secondly, it orbits the star called Centauri. And three, there’s been a lot of talk of ‘Ooh, maybe we can get there at some point.’ So I wrote this song in response to that.”
“Proxima B” is seeing a release as a 7-inch single and a cassette with an unconventional cover as its B-side: Gibbard recorded his own version of Minor Threat’s 1981 hit “Filler.” While the original track is a raucous and rage-filled anthem, Gibbard infused his indie-rock sensibilities and managed to transform the song into a soft piano ballad.
Listen to “Proxima B” and “Filler” above.
Death Cab For Cutie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include albums from Ace Hood, Joell Ortiz, Kxng Crooked, Lil Yachty, Medhane, Powfu, Problem, and Yungmanny. While there are fewer big names than in previous weeks, this week retains a powerful veteran presence alongside some newcomers who have quickly made names for themselves.
Ace Hood’s last studio album, Trials & Tribulations, came out nearly seven years ago. Since then, the Deerfield Beach rapper has gone independent and completely revamped his image. Staying sharp by releasing a string of mixtapes and EPs dedicated to keeping his pen game in shape as he conditioned his body and got married, Hood will likely have plenty of mature subject matter to address as a result of his lifestyle changes.
Joell Ortiz and Kxng Crooked — H.A.R.D.
Eminem named Kxng Crooked (formerly known as Crooked I) one of the most underrated rappers in the game. Likewise, Crook’s fellow former Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz has remained one of hip-hop’s top-notch performers, if not one of its best-known. Linking up for an eight-song outing executive produced by Heatmakerz, this dynamic duo aims to tackle social ills with the sort of dense, rhyme-packed verses that have made them two of hardcore rap fans’ favorites.
Lil Yachty — Lil Boat 3
After taking a year off to work on his behind-the-scenes pen game, Lil Yachty has returned to form on his latest singles, “Oprah’s Bank Account” and “Split/Whole Time.” Determining that the best route to support his comeback was to lean all the way into the rapid-fire flows he made his name on, Yachty took his time in crafting Lil Boat 3, working on his physical and mental health and even taking suggestions from proven hitmaker Young Thug to ensure his latest will be his greatest.
Medhane — Cold Water
With social media and streaming breaking down the walls between what once would have been considered “backpack” or “underground” rap, Medhane has swiftly become a force among fans of soulful beats and heady rhymes. The Brooklyn rapper updates the ’90s New York sound espoused by lyrical adherents like Joey Badass, Earl Sweatshirt, and MIKE, drawing on his deep introspection for inspiration and spitting his metaphysical philosophy over scratchy samples.
Powfu — Poems Of The Past
In a Genius video breaking down his breakthrough single “Death Bed,” a recent comment laments when Powfu “used to be our little secret.” Powfu is a multi-genre artist whose material encompasses the scuffs and scrapes of teenage love — a tendency which has made him a favorite of the TikTok set and driven the YouTube views of “Death Bed” into the upper eight figures. Today’s emo kids may have found their latest champion and thanks to the exploding popularity of their favorite social app, Powfu may end up being a true breakout star.
Problem — Coffee & Kush Vol 1.
The Compton star returns with a new project executive produced by Terrace Martin featuring the single “Where I Come From.” With production from 1500 or Nothin and Mike & Keys, the 10-song project is another career evolution for the versatile Problem, who previously promoted the project with the short film, A Compton Story.
Yungmanny — Confused
Prince George’s County, Maryland is having a moment, as DMV representers Kevin Durant and IDK linked up last week for the soundtrack to Durant’s basketball documentary Basketball County: Something In The Water. IDK served as music supervisor, putting his position to good use to promote some of the most vibrant up-and-coming voices from his community — including Yungmanny, who at just 16 has already become a star in his city. On Confused, the teenager sets his sights on the rest of the world, showing off his off-kilter flow and surreal sense of humor.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
By now, you’re almost certainly aware of the viral video, showing a racially-charged confrontation, that sources from avid bird watcher Christian Cooper’s Facebook account. The clip shows Amy Cooper (the two aren’t related) calling the cops and falsely reporting that Christian was threatening her life, after he simply asked her to leash her dog. The confrontation took place in a portion of Central Park where dogs are required to be leashed, and Amy has since lost her job and faced backlash for her actions, which has also brought the “Karen” label back into discussion.
Christian told CBS that he recorded the video because “I wasn’t gonna participate in my own dehumanization and feed that.” He’s also now receiving renewed attention for his trailblazing ways in the comic book world. The Harvard-educated Christian, who’s a former Marvel editor and writer, is being recognized for creating the first gay character, Yoshi Mishima, in a Star Trek comic. This character is also the first gay human in the Star Trek universe, as noted by Out. The outlet credits Christian with digging deep into discrimination issues not only within the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy comic but also with his work on the Ghost Rider and Vengeance titles.
In 1998, E! Online quoted Christian as saying he wrote Yoshi as “gay all along, but I just never came right out and said it.” Marvel Comics Editor Bobbi Chase further explained that Christian was “trying to make a strong case that the Star Trek future is a utopian future where tolerance of all beliefs and of all races…is the name [of the game].” In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Yoshi was part of a training squadron with his roommate, Matthew Decker. At the time, William Shatner said of Yoshi, “May he fly farther and faster.”
The coronavirus pandemic caused some major changes in All Elite Wrestling’s 2020 plans. Some of these have been obvious every time you turn on TNT on a Wednesday night, but in an interview with Wrestling Observer Live, Jim Ross revealed a planned change to the AEW touring schedule that fans might not have guessed was in the works.
According to Ross, AEW planned to add house shows in 2020. “There were some live events penciled into the schedule until the virus.” Their purpose? To help performers improve their skills – and for AEW to bring in some extra cash. Ross explains (transcript from Fightful):
You can’t get better working one night of the week. It doesn’t matter who you are. There are some minor exceptions. Chris Jericho doesn’t need to work three or four days of the week to be grateful. He can be great working on Wednesday nights. But a lot of guys need to continue to work under the supervision of the coaches in AEW to continue to learn the fundamentals, primarily slowing down, using psychology and selling.
Because you’ve been in the business for 10 years doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a 10-year veteran. It could mean you’ve had the same experience 10 times. Getting house shows is important for developing talent and for revenue going forward, but who the hell knows when is that going to be? It won’t be any time soon apparently.
So in addition to Dynamite, Dark, and pay-per-views, an AEW house show/live event could be coming to a venue near you at some point in the future that nobody can predict yet.
Polo G’s first single only dropped in 2018, but he has already established himself as a hip-hop force. That is especially true lately, as his new album, The Goat, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, earning the 21-year-old Chicago rapper the highest chart placement of his young career. Now he has celebrated his success with a new short documentary, which shares the title of his latest record.
The doc, which runs for about 13 minutes, opens with Polo riding in a car on a snowy Chicago day, and he speaks about his long-held ambitions in a voiceover, saying, “Ever since [I was] a kid growing up, I always knew for a 100 percent fact I wanted to be something. I knew I wanted to be rich, I knew I wanted to take care of my family. I always knew there was more to life than just my neighborhood.”
He later expands on that point, continuing, “As a young kid, my goal always was to break the curse of poverty. I didn’t have no real goal in particular, like, to make it to be this, to make it to be that. I wanted to do [so many things]. At one point in time, I wanted to be a boxer. At one point in time, I wanted to be a wrestler; I was such a big WWE fan. But I always had rap as a hobby.”
The film goes on to show footage of Polo as a youngster, as well as more recent videos of him in the studio.
Watch the documentary above, and read our review of The Goathere.
Former NBA player Stephen Jackson said on the TODAY Show on Thursday morning that when he saw a text message from a friend showing the video of George Floyd’s death, he thought it was “just another video that she sent me of another black man getting murdered by the police.” Jackson didn’t realize until moments later that it was actually his best friend,, a man who “genuinely supported” Jackson throughout their lives since growing up together in Houston.
“I’m the type of guy that will get a face full of tears if I saw a homeless man on the street that I can’t help, let alone my best friend on TV for the world to see getting killed over fake $20 bills, I haven’t been the same since I’ve seen it,” Jackson told TODAY host Craig Melvin.
“I haven’t been the same since I’ve seen it.”
Watch @craigmelvin’s full interview with Stephen Jackson, a former NBA player and lifelong friend of George Floyd, who died while in Minneapolis police custody. pic.twitter.com/4qsdbBMxeB
It was Jackson’s latest comments on Floyd’s death, as the retired guard/forward has shared his pain on social media in the days since a video emerged depicting a police officer putting their knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes while he expressed that he could not breathe. Jackson isn’t the only NBA player who has spoken out in recent days —LeBron James simply posted “STILL!!!!” on Instagram beneath a photo of himself from 2014, when he and other NBA players protested the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the police by wearing shirts that quoted Garner in the last moments of his life: “I Can’t Breathe.”
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in an interview with Yahoo Sports that “I don’t think it’s just law enforcement that we need to worry about. That’s one part of it. They’re in a position of power. But I just think in general, for our whole community, we have to have a better understanding of others’ needs, their concerns, their culture. We need to do a better job.”
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr took to Twitter to call Floyd’s death “murder.”
This is murder. Disgusting. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with US???? https://t.co/wesEwd4Bb2
The Warriors’ star player, Steph Curry, struck a similar tone in an Instagram post showing Floyd lying beneath the weight of the officer. Wrote Curry: “George pleaded for help and was just straight up ignored, which speaks loud and clear that his black life didn’t matter.”
Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade called for unification in this time.
JUSTICE WILL NOT BE SERVED UNTIL THOSE UNAFFECTED ARE AS OUTRAGED AS THOSE WHO ARE
Yet the personal note of Jackson, who said he could hear Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter crying in the background of a phone call with her mother this week, and nearly broke his hand punching a wall at his home in fury when he found out what had happened to his “twin,” showed the direct impact this tragedy had on the NBA community.
“What’s killing me the most about this whole thing is being a professional athlete, so many people abuse your friendship and your kindness, and he was one of those guys that genuinely supported me and didn’t call unless he really needed it,” Jackson said on TODAY. “You don’t have many people that genuinely support you without any motives, and Floyd was that guy.”
Grimes is known for her unconventional approaches. Whether it’s giving her child with Elon Musk a series of letters and symbols as a name or admitting to only eating spaghetti for a full two years, Grimes pushes boundaries both in her music and her personal life. Now, Grimes is taking things one step further and actually selling her soul in an upcoming online art exhibition.
This week, Grimes plans to make her fine arts debut in online exhibitions, according to Bloomberg. Titled Selling Out, the singer is posting her drawings, prints, photographs, and conceptual pieces for sale, including a piece of her soul. Some artwork, like her prints, can be purchased for a couple of hundred dollars. But other pieces more abstract, like a legal document that grants the purchaser a percentage of the singer’s soul.
When Grimes originally conceived selling a piece of her soul as art, she originally priced it at $10 million because she “didn’t want anyone to buy it.” But as the pandemic worsened, Grimes was eventually against placing a hefty pricepoint on the piece. “With the current state of the world, do you want to put something up for $10 million?” she said. Eventually, Grimes decided her soul would be up for “best offer.”
In an interview with Bloomberg about the exhibition, Grimes said she sees her music second to her visual art. “I see myself as a visual artist first and foremost and I’ve always felt strange that people know me for music.” Much of her inspiration comes from her fascination with the world of video games. “I feel annoyed when people approach digital art or video games with disdain,” she said. “Some of the most arresting, emotional, jarring artistic experiences I’ve had in the last few years have been in video games.”
Grimes exhibition will be presented jointly by two LA galleries. Selling Out premieres with Gallery Platform Los Angeles May 28th through June 3 and continues with Maccarone Los Angeles through August 31.
If you’d like to keep up with this column and its thinly veiled Best and Worst format, you can keep tabs on the Ins and Outs of AEW Dynamite tag page. You can keep track of all things All Elite here.
Their debut comes after a fun show-opening trios match between the teams of Bad Boy Joey Janela and Private Party (aka “Bad Party”) and The Elite Adjacent, Broken Matt Hardy and the Bucks of Youth. It’s one of those bouts I hope they do again when there’s a full crowd, because they would’ve gone bonkers for it. Also, as far as I can tell the AEW version of Matt Hardy has a Dr. Manhattan thing going on where he sees the entire timeline of his life happening all at once, so he can transmogrify into any “Matt Hardy” he wants. Before this match, the Bucks actually get him to “try on” different personas, ultimately deciding they want to team with OMEGA superstar THE SURGE, hand gesture and all.
AEW
WONDERFUL, YES!
Anyway, Hardy and The Boyz win, and Matt helps an apparently injured Marq Quen to the back. That frees up the ring for an attack on the Bucks by the glow up (?) version of The Butcher and The Blade, decked out in their best post-Memorial Day whites. At some point their gimmick changed from Steampunk Leather Daddies to The Backstreet Boys in the ‘I Want It That Way’ video, with Allie going from a Fort Frolic splicer to Carlita Caribbean Cool. And I think she wants to hook up with QT Marshall due to their shared love of taking one bite out of an apple during wrestling shows? I don’t know. Anyway anyway, The Revival — now known as “FTR” under the names Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler so their first names sound like Ax and Smash from Demolition — show up in a ’62 Chevy pickup truck and head to the ring. It’s obvious that they’re going to attack the Bucks, so they attack Cousin Butcher and Cousin Luwuk instead.
I think my favorite part of the debut (aside from it happening, and all the great tag team matches we’re about to get) is that FTR (no hashtag) took out The Blade with a spike piledriver. In case you weren’t aware, that was the signature finisher of The Brainbusters, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, and they’re using it to debut in the company where Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard work. Absolutely outstanding.
You know a quarter-hour worked when you leave it wanting to see everything again. I want more of The Revival in AEW, I want more Matt Hardy OMEGA tributes, I want more of Private Party and Joey Janela being buck wild in trios matches … hell, I want more of the Mr. Clean versions of The Butcher and The Blade. Really great way to open the show. Never again will I have to type, “Scott Dawson lost a 3-on-1 handicap match to Lucha House Party and is supposed to be the bad guy, somehow.” I can’t wait to see whether or not they can beat The Young Bucks at basketball.
Side note: As someone who loves Cody Rhodes, I can’t wait until FTR jumps him in the parking lot for that whole Fuck The Revival thing.
After the match, Taz cuts a great promo about (1) how Brian Cage is a machine — this is the first I’m hearing about this — and (2) how at Fyter Fest, Cage is going to, “put his hand in your chest and pull your friggin’ heart out of your chest.” As long as he doesn’t kick his leg out of his leg, it should be fine. Cage getting the “win if you can, survive if I let you” catchphrase bequeathed to him by Taz is great, because that’s too good of a line to leave in storage, and Cage needs something to talk about beyond comparative machinery. I’m starting to feel like Cage is gonna take Mox to the woodshed at Fyter Fest. Anybody else?
Welcome to a new era of the AEW women’s division, where the champion is likable and comes to work every week! I like both Riho and Nyla Rose in certain contexts, but I’m not sure either of them ended up being very good champs. Riho never got a personality outside of occasionally tagging with Kenny Omega, and Rose just kinda yelled at people and licked her own hand. Shida’s proven to be a workhorse, especially during the pandemic, and is the kind of talent that gives you that joshi flavor of Riho and that hard-hitting style of Rose without any noticeable negatives. Hikaru Shida rules, is what I’m saying.
She breaks in her AEW Women’s Championship reign on Dynamite with a victory over AEW Dark star Christi Jaynes, in gear that (intentionally?) makes her look like she’s wearing a Price Is Right name tag. We’re at the point in 2020 where a wrestling promotion running a competitive, five-minute women’s division match without a bunch of bullshit poured all over it feels refreshing, so Jaynes being a low-level but effective heel while Shida finds her footing, executes, and closes the deal is a good time. Honestly, I kept expecting Charlotte Flair to do a run-in and hold up the belt.
The only part of the match that didn’t work for me was this very visible adjustment to get into position for the running knee, wherein Jaynes walks to the center of the ring on her knees and then for some reason sits down. It’s not a major thing in the least, but it reminded me of when someone who’s supposed to be knocked out scoots into position to take a move off the top. Shida cleaned her clock, though, so it’s all good.
All In: The Cody U.S. Open Challenge
Promo of the night goes to Cody Rhodes, who uses his stance as a former John Cena U.S. Open Challenge challenger to pay it forward and do a weekly open challenge for his newly won TNT Championship. Honestly, I could listen to Cody explain why wrestling shit is important all day. Send Cody out to cut a five minute promo on The International and I’m all ears.
Low key my favorite part was him talking about how he didn’t get the “dominant gene,” and how how “Dustin got all the Dusty,” and then they cut to Dustin staring up at him all stoic and Brandi happily rubbing Dustin on the shoulder. That’s familial love, right there. My least favorite part was, “Do you know why Tom Brady is my favorite quarterback?” Because,
GIPHY
Mostly In: The Battle Royal
I love battle royals. I loved THIS battle royal. I like Jungle Jack Perry Boy winning, even though I was rooting for Orange Cassidy. One thing, though … what’s the point of doing a battle royal to decide who gets a shot at the TNT Championship if you’re going to have the TNT Champion announce a weekly open challenge? Wouldn’t it be easier to just wait a week and not have to go through a battle royal first? Although now that I type that, wouldn’t some combination of MJF and Wardlow be constantly accepting the challenge to hurt and dethrone Cody? Cody’s made a lot of enemies. Maybe it should’ve been an open challenge with qualifiers? I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure out how wrestlers arrange to have their music played for run-ins and surprise appearances, and how John Cena got through several month of open challenges without a bunch of preemptive sign-ups and a queue you have to book a reservation for weeks in advance.
Small request: can we explain to Jim Ross that Sonny Kiss isn’t a woman before the next battle royal?
All In, And Then All Out: The Inner Circle Pep Rally, Or, “Mike Tyson’s WWE Greatest Hits”
First of all, they used an image of Vickie Guerrero with pom poms as the thumbnail for this clip but didn’t actually include any footage of it, which is probably a good idea. Vickie is near and dear to my heart and I always like seeing her, but it … wasn’t great.
Second of all, the Inner Circle being the Inner Circle is always good. Surprisingly it’s Jake Hager who steals the show this week, reading an also surprisingly well-written poem that starts off as Inner Circle promotion and ends with him quoting Taken and Tommy Boy and threatening to psychotically hunt and kill The Elite in real life. Coming in a close second place is Jericho being gifted a framed, black and white photo of singer Marc Anthony, of all people, and happily responding with, “MARC ANTHONY? HE’S MY HERO! MARC ANTHONY! MUY BUENO, MUY BUENO.”
Then there’s the Tyson stuff.
As previously mentioned and without unnecessarily going into it at length, I’m not a Mike Tyson fan. To write about him at all in an entertaining way I have to remember that the casual fan who might tune in to a wrestling show they never watch to see a boxer from 30 years ago who’s more of an ironic Adult Swim reference than a participant in modern popular culture is not my demographic.
I’m also going back and forth on how they ended Dynamite. In case you weren’t aware, Jericho brought up a 10-year old beef with Tyson from a “Guest Host” era episode of WWE Raw where Tyson betrayed him to side with the dorky old man version of D-Generation X and punched him in the face. This was oddly a followup to a moment from 12 years before THAT, where Tyson betrayed D-Generation X to side with his man Cold Stone at WrestleMania 14.
If you’ve never seen it, you can watch it below.
Tyson shows up with an entourage featuring Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, kayfabe inconsiderate Henry Cejudo, and, oddly, actor and Rebel Wilson’s ex-boyfriend Mickey Gooch. Words are exchanged between Tyson and Jericho, which turns into a shoving match, which turns into a pull-apart brawl. You may also recognize THIS as the same thing WWE did for the build to WrestleMania 14, with Tyson and Stone Cold Steve Austin getting into a shoving match and pull-apart.
Did they have Tyson do the two things he’d already done to make sure he’d remember what to do? I happily clap for the occasional old-ass Monday Nitro reference, sure, and I think I’ve exclusively loved everything Jericho’s done in AEW so far, but this specific brand of 50-year-olds redoing segments from 10-20 years ago in the main event is not my bag. Y’all trying to get booked in Saudi Arabia?
TL;DR: Wake me up when Mickey Rourke’s free to come back and wrestle Jericho as Randy the Ram. Or when Cesaro’s free from his WWE contact and can debut in AEW as Soda Popinski.
All In: Top 10 Comments Of The Week
Clay Quartermain
And the Revolt immediately challenge the Bucks to 18 holes of golf
Mr. Bliss
I cannot tell you how much I am in love with conspiracy victim Britt Baker right now. Jericho has a tear in his eye watching this.
SexCauldron
If you play Aubrey’s 3 count backwards she says: “Join the Dark Order”
Dave M J
I will buy 1,000 of those Inner Circle Stadium Stampede shirts if Chris Jericho’s mystery opponent next week is a guy named Glass Joe, and he spends the next few weeks beating Punch Out wrestlers to get ready for Tyson.
AshBlue
Jake Hager’s gonna show up at all the Uproxx commenters’ houses like Jay and Silent Bob at the end of their Strike Back movie.
The Voice of Raisin
Matt Hardy might be the first wrestler in history to un-Jannetty himself.
The Real Birdman
Jake Hagar with the Tommy Boy threat has me reevaluating my opinion of him
Endy_Mion
Sammy, Hagar with good lyrics for once.
Dark Order hiring QT as their IT guy, cause they know he’s familiar with Apple.
FeltLuke
Christie Jaynes should be the first female member of the Inner Circle. After all, she’s the master of a Brazilian holds.
AEW
Taked baby. Meet at later bar, night or day sometime.
That does it for this week’s column. Thanks for reading about Dynamite! It was a really good show this week AND pandered to casual fans, which means it’ll pull in 1/4 the rating of some terrible Smackdown. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Leave us a comment below, give the column a share on social media, and make sure you’re here next week for Cody Rhodes vs. Jackle Boy, a segment where Sammy Guevara rides his scooter through New York City while Chris Jericho jogs behind him, and more.
Like many recent performers who’ve been released from WWE, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins appeared on Talk Is Jericho, where they talked frankly with Chris about their experiences in WWE. Hawkins and Ryder were two of the many Superstars WWE let go back in April, immediately before reporting record profits and little impact from the pandemic.
Zack Ryder has always been one of those WWE talents, like Rusev in more recent years, who fans claim WWE held down because Vince McMahon resented the fact that Ryder got over with fans on his own, rather than by following a WWE script. He was the first WWE Superstar to embrace YouTube, long before Xavier Woods came along, but his success there did not translate to success in the company. In fact it did seem to count against him in the company’s eyes.
On the podcast, Zack Ryder told the story of how he got himself over with his YouTube videos, and just when he thought Triple H was going to five him a rub for it, it went the other way.
So this is November. I start the YouTube show in February. So it’s almost a whole year of working my f–king ass off and just trying to get noticed. Trying . Trying. Trying. It literally took almost a whole year, and it was the fall time where I think eventually they said we got to shut these people up because I wasn’t even booked to these shows.
They’re chanting. They’re bringing these signs, I was incorporating that into my show. I had somebody who would literally watch RAW and Smackdown and find a Zack Ryder sign and screenshot it. Then I’d include all those signs in my YouTube show, and it would entice people to bring signs. So I was just trying to create as much momentum as possible.
Finally, I think they had to just put me on to shut everybody up, but now, the chants were getting louder and especially the match he’s talking about. It was a Ziggler vs. Morrison match. Listen, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but like I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about. Madison Square Garden, not only is it our home arena, but it’s The f–king Garden.
I go out there. The place is going nuts, and I get to the curtain. Triple H is like, “Come here,” and I’m thinking finally this is it. He’s gonna say, “Good job, kid.” This is what I’ve been waiting for like, how can you deny? This is Madison Square Garden, right? He pulls me aside, and I had just got fresh blond tips on my hair like that week.
So he asked me, “Why did you dye your hair?” I’m like, what? Madison Square Garden is chanting my name. You’re asking me why I dyed my hair. I’ve been dying my hair for months. It was just a fresh job like come on man. I thought he pull a come here like he would say, “Good job, man. Alright, we believe in you. Let’s go,” but it’s like you can’t go dying your hair like that or something like that.
Curt Hawkins added that one of the central backstage myths of WWE had to basically be abandoned because Zack proved it so wrong.
Chris can attest to this. Every year, as long as I was in WWE, after the RAW after Mania, we have this BS company everyone there at TV meeting where we say the brass ring is there. It’s yours. It’s a fresh year. Who’s gonna get it?
Ever since “Long Island Iced Z” and “Z! True Long Island Story,” they don’t even bother with that meeting anymore because they know it’s not true. It’s not true because even if you grab the brass ring, you’re going to get your hands smacked. You’re not going to have it.
Chris Jericho agreed, bringing up Daniel Bryan as another example.
If Vince doesn’t think of it, it’s not valid. It’s not real, and the same thing happened with Daniel Bryan when he first came in. I mean Vince did not like him because he was a vegan and all these other reason. He went and got over because he knows that how to get over, and they still resisted it for so long until finally they had no other choice.
I feel the same thing happened with Zack Ryder in that you got over so well. You gave yourself an internet title.
Zack then admitted that he wishes he’d spoken up for himself more directly at the time.
One of my biggest regrets is that I was too young and afraid to almost, not stand up for myself, but question like, “Hey, why is this happening?” I should have went right to Vince and said like, “Hey, I’m selling this merch. I’m doing this. I’m doing that. Why is this happening?” And I just took it.
Hopefully Zack lands somewhere that appreciates his ability to connect with fans, instead of holding it against him.
Not every professional athlete is given the chance to go home. For Taj Gibson, that opportunity was presented to him during the 2019 NBA offseason, when the veteran forward/center received a contract offer from the New York Knicks. Gibson, a Brooklyn native, put pen to paper on the deal, and prior to the NBA’s current hiatus, he served a steady hand in the frontcourt amid the team’s youth movement.
While Gibson has done plenty of work in the community over the years — he was awarded the key to Brooklyn during a ceremony last June, before he came to terms on a deal with the Knicks — there is no way he could have seen the hurt that New York has gone through over the last few months. The Big Apple was, for a stretch, the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the more than 100,000 casualties that have occurred in the United States, more than 21,000 of them have occurred in New York county as of this writing.
As a result, Gibson teamed up with Knicks legend John Starks to raise money for the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York-based charity that fights poverty in the city. A number of other big names, including a host of athletes who represent the city, have joined in on the initiative, and according to the Foundation’s website, tens of millions of dollars have been distributed in relief funds.
Dime caught up with Gibson recently to discuss, among other things, his charity efforts at a time when his fellow New Yorkers need it the most.
How did you get involved with the Robin Hood campaign?
Well, I’ve been talking to them for a couple months now, ever since I’ve been a part of the Knicks. I always liked how their organization was ran. They had a lot of stars and I was always just in tune with them for a couple of months — one of my best friends, Tameek Floyd, one day, introduce them to me. But then, this pandemic happened and the New York Knicks, they kind of reached out, Robin Hood reached out to the Knicks, and the Knicks and me were already talking about doing some positive things. So we just felt like, why not jump in and try to do something with Robin Hood? That’s how it all started.
And what’s been the goal with all of this?
Just to raise money for most of the starving families around New York. It was so many different fundraisers underneath one umbrella — it was from the Giants, from the Rangers, the Knicks, I was in charge of the Knicks with John Starks. The goal was to try to raise over a million dollars, they succeeded, that number, with a telethon.
It was a bunch of people just gathering up money and then trying to put it all in one. And then the telethon thing comes on, they shut down New York with all the television and everything, and callers would just donate $10. Most of the time, we wasn’t asking for much, mostly $5, $10 to a good cause, and we did that.
You’re a New Yorker. Do you feel some kind of added motivation in that to help out those in your city who are really struggling right now?
Of course, without a doubt. I always felt like this even before the pandemic happened, I always was helping out throughout Brooklyn in my neighborhood for like 10 years now, with my foundation, the Taj Gibson Foundation. Just the lowest scale, but as of late, I’ve been picking up, meeting people, networking, working with the NYPD, NYCHA, building it up to help people the best way I can. But since this pandemic, it’s been even higher — you got funerals, you got people needing money, people needing food, support, people being there for each other. There’s a lot going on in New York.
So when you first joined the Knicks, you gave a quote where you said you grew up a Knicks fan, and the one player that you mentioned in this quote was watching John Starks, so how special was it getting to work alongside him for this?
It’s dope have your name attached with John Starks in anything. Because I grew up watching him, he’s tough-minded guy. Over the years, even coming to New York to always play the Knicks, he always just talked to my family. He’s a great guy. When I became a part of the Knicks, I was running in to all the Knicks legends — Sprewell, LJ, ran into Pat Ewing in D.C. To see these guys and honestly have a conversation with them about basketball is just dope, it’s a great feeling.
So I’m from Jersey and it seems like there is something about John that made him particularly beloved among a certain era of Knicks fans. For the non tri-state people, could you explain why Knicks fans loved him so much?
I liked him because, when you look at the makeup of the old Knicks team, they were rugged and a grimy kind of team. They were hard-nose on defense and they were really physical and passionate. Every night they went on the court, you knew that they were going to play hard and I was a big fan of that. He was a very aggressive player and I just liked that growing up. It’s always those players on every team that you just root for no matter. He was one of them to the Knicks.
I’ve always thought there’s this really special sense among New Yorkers of being in it for one another. And you’re a well-traveled dude, is that something that is unique about people in the city?
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Yeah, cause we can fit in anywhere. New Yorkers will go anywhere and just be like, you know what, you just adapt. People from New York just adapt. I’ve been able to adapt in different circumstances, but my hunger and my determination and my work ethic has always been a New York, grime and grit kind of style. I’ve been a blue collar guy my whole life. Being in New York kind of helped me with that.
NBA players are always able to use their platforms to help their communities and that seems like it’s a little more important than usual right now. Would you agree with that?
Of course, of course. Your platform, sometimes you take it for granted, because you don’t want to be so into social media, but then, you gotta think about the bright sides that come with it. You’ve joined forces with many different people that want to help and have the same kind of desire and the goal that you want to do, that you have as well. And with social media, you connect, get the word out there, build more bonds so you can even bring back more reinforcements to help the people that you’re trying to help yourself. That’s one of the main things I’ve been trying to do with my platform since I’ve been around this pandemic and the last 10 years working with my foundation and the kids.
It also seems really important to use your platform and to show other guys how they can use theirs. What do you tell younger dudes finding their way in the league about why it’s so important to be able to give back like this?
Well, you always try to tell them to get back because it’s like, somebody took the time out to put some energy into you. It’s a lot of little children, a lot of little kids out there that are looking up to us and we got to set the standard for them, you know what I’m saying? Especially in New York where the standard of making it to the pros or making it to play division one basketball has kind of slacked off a little bit. You just got to just be there, got to kind of coach them, kind of give them an insight like, yo, this is good for you, this could help you. I see young players are really into it. Some of the guys, a lot of guys in my team, that’s all they do. That’s how we communicate. We laugh at jokes and everything through social media.
Aside from the charity work, what all have you been doing to keep yourself busy as we’re trying to wait everything out right now?
Well, just try to stay in shape. It’s nothing like basketball shape, but when you’re in New York, they shut everything down. It’s not really too much you can do, but just staying shape. The Knicks send workouts — a lot of biking, but mostly just staying home and staying ready, staying healthy because you never know. Anything can happen in this pandemic, but so far, it’s been okay. But the main thing right now is just a lot of Zoom meetings with friends, family, my teammates, coaching staff. This has been a weird but fun … It’s kind of weird, but the fun part about it, you learn new things. I’m having meetings on Zoom a lot with my teammates. So it’s a new way as far as getting to know each other.
You’re the longest-tenured dude on a team with a bunch of young guys, and obviously none of us have all the answers, but how do you act as a team leader in the middle of something that none of us have ever experienced before?
First thing is try to stay in tune with the team, make sure you always be a part of the team. Sometimes those things just come to you — sometimes you’re never really trying to be the leader or anything like that. It just comes natural because when you’re a giving person, as a team-first kind of a person, those things kind of build strong qualities in you, so guys kind of respect you a little more, guys kind of feel they can always count on you to ask you questions and count on you to just be there for them. And it just comes like that, just having a personality like that, I guess, for me personally.
Beyond all of this, you’re living out every single New York kids dream in that you are playing for the Knicks. How’s your first year been back in the city and what’s it been like after a decade-plus to finally get to go home?
Well, it’s a weird feeling. I used to ask guys before before they went back to New York to play, “What is it like? What is it like? What is it like?” And for years, I used to always look at them like, oh man, they’re lucky they get to go back home and play. That’s awesome. I was like, I wonder if it will ever happen, but then it happened. It has its good and it has its bad. Being home, you always have a thousand phone calls. Then at the same time, you got to still lock in and be able to play, and it’s tough, because you’re a pro, you got a lot of things you have to be attentive to.
But so far, it’s been great. I can see my family, my dad, he’s still recovering from a heart transplant, brand new heart, which I’m happy he’s able to get thanks to the great doctors at Mount Sinai, New York. So I get to see my family all the time. That’s one of the bright spots that would be in this pandemic, seeing all distant relatives, people I grew up in my neighborhood, people where I grew up that used to work at the local stores, essential workers. A lot of the older generation are slowly dying from this disease. And every day, it just makes me think like how appreciative I am to be able to play in New York and be around my family at this crazy time.
A really fun quote that you gave when you joined the Knicks, you were mentioning that Thibs said to you, if anyone is capable of playing in New York, you’re a New York style player. How do you and Thibs define that?
I guess it was just from him talking through all the years, when he was with the Knicks. One of my favorite players was LJ. I just appreciated how he played, especially when his back was hurt, all those years in the Knicks. And Thibs, we just always just talked about being tough. Like, you can always count on me just to stay focused, be tough, and have that mindset of every game, just knowing that you’re going to play hard, do whatever it takes to help the team, be a strong leader on the court, strong leader off the court, always have a solid mindset of just being that guy for your team. Being that guy that you can always count on, like he’s going to be there to always have your back.
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