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It’s rare to find celebrities who are as cool as they appear on TV, though Kenan Thompson seems to be a pretty chill guy. Ahead of his hosting debut at this year’s Emmys, the Saturday Night Live cast member was awarded one of the most prestigious pieces of sidewalk one can have: a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. And he looked really cool doing it!

Former co-star and friend Leslie Jones presented the star to Thompson on Thursday, August 11th. “I need about two years to tell you how I feel about this man. He is the most dependable, sweet, and honorable [man],” she added. “Kenan, I have learned from you immensely. Not only to be a better artist but a better human.”

Next month, Thompson will host the 2022 Emmy awards on NBC, where he will follow in the footsteps of several other SNL cast members, like Colin Jost and Michael Che, though their hosting duties were not well-received.

The comedian recently told Variety how he wasn’t going to say no to the opportunity. “They asked, and it’s an honor,” Thompson explained. “It’s a giant career milestone to host an Emmys, an Oscars, a Tonys, whatever. So you get that phone call, you should take it!”

Thompson will continue to appear on SNL for its 48th season this fall. He is currently the longest-running cast member on the show, as he joined the cast in season 31. It’s safe to say his giant star is well-deserved!

Kehlani dropped her latest album, Blue Water Road, in April and is currently crossing the country on the Blue Water Road Tour. But that’s not stopping her from putting out new music. Earlier this week, the “Nights Like This” singer was featured on Ali Gatie’s new track, “The Look” and today, Babyface has just released the new single “Seamless,” with Kehlani on lead vocals.

The track, which will appear on Babyface’s upcoming album, Girls Night Out, is a sultry R&B jam about trying to get back to that point in a relationship when things are flowing smoothly. Kehlani owns the track and Babyface adds god-mode backing vocals. He explained in a statement what it meant to have Kehlani on “Seamless”:

“I worked with Kehlani many years ago and I am just so proud of who she has become as an artist and also how well she knows herself and her fans. I am really honored to have her collaborate with me many years later for such a special project and I love the song we created. Kehlani is one of one and a true superstar.”

Listen to “Seamless” above.

Girls Night Out is out on 10/21 via Capitol Records.

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

The last days of summer are rapidly approaching, which means it’s almost time to bid farewell to pool parties, day drinking, seasonal travel plans, and long beach days (unless you live in LA, Miami, or Vegas — where those sorts of activities are year-round). But while spooky season and pumpkin spice everything is on the horizon, that doesn’t mean we have to let go of summer completely. After all, summer is a state of mind, right?

RIGHT???

If there’s anyone who knows how to capture the whimsical, carefree essence of summer, it’s Hailley Howard — a self-taught California-born artist, photographer, and storyteller. In her work, she takes a vulnerable and honest approach to magical realism, using digital and film capture images and then perfecting them with gentle post-manipulation.

To help keep our sunshine daydreams going long into fall, we asked Howard to share her all-time favorite beach photos. She told us she aims to “encourage feeling and emotion from her imagery,” which she so effortlessly does in the round-up of images below. From Laguna Beach to Kauai to South Carolina, keep scrolling to hold onto the spirit of summer.

ALSO READ:

• Travel Essentials To Make August The Best Month Of Summer
• Our Writers Guide You Through A Perfect Summer Day In Their Home Cities
• A Guide To Fort Myers: Florida’s Surprisingly Cool Beachside Oasis
• Travel Writers And Influencers Share Their All-Time Favorite Beaches In The US
• An Island-Hopping Guide To Turks And Caicos

ASAP Rocky has had a relatively quiet couple of years since being released from Swedish detention after a brawl on the streets of Amsterdam. Mostly it seems he’s been dropping guest verses on projects from Black Thought, Nigo, and Snot, performing at Rolling Loud, and enjoying becoming a new dad with Rihanna. But in April, Rocky ran into even more legal trouble. He was arrested at LAX in connection with a shooting on November 6 last year and police searched his home, finding guns, but only legally-obtained ones.

Earlier this week, nearly four months after the initial arrest, the alleged shooting victim came forward. ASAP Relli, a member of Rocky’s ASAP Mob collective who works as a manager and a producer, told Rolling Stone that he was lured to central Hollywood, where Rocky supposedly shot at him without provocation. Relli also said that he intended to file a lawsuit against Rocky because he’d received “multiple death threats and irreparable harm to his career in the entertainment industry as a result of this incident.” Police say they were able to recover surveillance footage of the alleged shooting but during their search of Rocky’s home were able to tell that none of the guns there were used in the shooting without testing.

As the NFL regular season grows ever closer, fans are reaching their most excitable, as the prospects of a new season means new levels of hype and hope. However, sometimes this excitability can lead to altercations, and while that’s usually between fans of two different teams, on Thursday night in Carolina it saw some Panthers fans getting ready to go at it at Fan Fest.

The good news was, there was a peacekeeper at the ready to calm things down, most importantly one the fans would listen to. As the argument between Panthers fans grew heated (about what, you can’t tell from the video), star wide receiver DJ Moore leapt into action (literally) jumping up into the stands and pleading with the fans to chill out and not get into a fight at what was supposed to be a celebration of the upcoming season.

Kudos to Moore for seeing what was about to be a bad situation and realizing that his presence could stop a fight before it started. He talks the fans down and gets everyone to cool off, and everyone was able to move on without incident. I’m not sure conflict mediation is a necessary skill for a wide receiver to have, but Moore seems pretty good at it if it’s ever needed in the Panthers locker room.

Donald Trump‘s week just went from bad to worse. Following the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, details about what prompted the Department of Justice have slowly trickled out before culminating in a press conference where a poker-faced Attorney General Merrick Garland defended FBI agents and made the bombshell announcement that he would be unsealing the warrant after Trump made its presence known. Essentially, Garland was calling Trump’s bluff after he stirred up MAGA-world to demand that DOJ reveal why his Florida residence was searched.

After agreeing to the release of the warrant during a late night statement, someone provided the Wall Street Journal and Breitbart with a copy of the warrant before the Department of Justice made it available for the public. However, in a rush to publish the unredacted documents, it appears that Breitbart inadvertently revealed that Trump is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act, which is very bad, if that’s not clear.

“The hilarious thing is that since Brietbart doesn’t even know what a Supervisory Special Agent is, they probably don’t realize they’ve confirmed that Trump is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act,” legal journalist Marcy Wheeler tweeted as others quickly noticed Breitbart’s blunder.

As the reality set in that a former president is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act, the term immediately started to trend on Twitter as folks couldn’t believe what was happening. Trump has been a non-stop scandal machine since before he even stepped foot in the White House, but this is truly an unprecedented situation, particularly following reports that some of the top secret information recovered involves nuclear weapons. It really doesn’t get worse than this, and we’re talking about a guy who caused a freaking insurrection during his last month in office.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Mediaite)

Over the past few years, the definition of “IPA” has evolved in ways that would’ve been unimaginable just five short years ago. The hazy New England-style IPA and milk sugar or lactose-based milkshake IPA are both making a big impact on the scene. But even though you can’t just order an “IPA” and expect one specific thing anymore, your favorite piney, citrus-forward West Coast IPAs remain as popular as ever. And while breweries from Savannah to San Francisco are brewing their own versions of the iconic West Coast IPA on a daily basis, there are a handful of classics that still stand above the rest.

Lagunitas, Stone, Green Flash, Ballast Point — these names are entrenched in the IPA landscape. And today, we’re paying homage to these hoppy, resinous, bitter flavor explosions by finally finding out which of the most popular West Coast IPAs are actually “best” (to my palate!). To do so, I’m turning once again to the blind taste test, ranking eight of the most well-known West Coast IPAs to finally determine which is the undisputed champion of dank.

Keep reading to see how it all turned out!

Today’s Lineup:

• Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA
• Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
• Green Flash West Coast IPA
• Alesmith IPA
• Lagunitas IPA
• Stone IPA
• Firestone Walker Union Jack
• Bear Republic Racer 5

Part 1: The Taste

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

Complex aroma of wet grass, ripe pineapple, citrus zest, and herbal, piney hops first met my nose. Sipping the beer revealed a nice mix of bread-like malts, tangerine, grapefruit, earthy grass, and resinous, dank, pine. The finish is bitter, but not overwhelming.

From my notes: “That finish gives the beer a nice crescendo.”

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Aromas of grapefruit, tangerines, apricots, bready malts, and bright pine first greet your nose. Sipping it brings forth notes of orange zest, grapefruit, caramelized pineapple, sweet malts, and earthy, herbal, floral hops. The finish is not as bitter as expected, but still, a nice final note that brings all of the flavors together.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Grape juice, orange zest, and floral Noble hops are prevalent on the nose. But, as with many West Coast IPAs, there isn’t much else noteworthy. The palate is a little more exciting with lemon zest, ripe pineapple, slight malts, and a very bitter finish.

From my notes: “All in all, it’s a pretty unexciting beer that leans heavily in the citrus and bitterness direction.”

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

The nose is slightly fruity with tangerine, pineapple, and grapefruit paired with slight malts and dank, resinous, floral pine. On the palate, I found notes of bready malts, orange zest, grapefruit, pine resin, and floral, herbal, gently bitter hops presence at the very end. A very well-balanced, refreshing IPA.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Bright aromas of tangerine, grapefruit, herbal hops, bready malts, and dank resin met my nostrils before my first sip. The palate was just as dynamic with a ton of resinous pine, citrus zest, floral hops, caramel malts, and bold, bitter hops. Luckily, the bitterness is tempered by all of the other complex flavors.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

The nose is all pine and citrus without much else sneaking through. While this is expected, it’s kind of underwhelming when there isn’t much more to note. Sipping it was more of the same. There was a hint of tangerine and grapefruit, but the aggressively bitter, resinous pine was fairly overwhelming and took away from the rest of the beer’s flavors.

From my notes: “Too bitter for me.”

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

This nose is classic West Coast IPA with a ton of resinous, dank pine, slight grapefruit, and really nothing else of notes. The palate is more of the same with a ton of pine needles, resin, slight caramel malts, and tangerine, grapefruit, and an aggressively bitter finish.

It’s a little more balanced than some of the beers sampled, but only barely.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, I found notes of slight tropical fruits, bright citrus, light malts, and floral, slightly spicy, herbal, piney hops. The palate is loaded with pineapple, grapefruit, ripe peach, sweet malts, and floral hops. It all ends with a nice mix of resinous, earthy hops, and light fruity sweetness.

From my notes: “The finish is very bitter, but it ties everything together.”

Part 2: The Rankings

8) Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (Taste 6)

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $14 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When IPA drinkers talk about “must-try” beers, they often mention Ballast Point Sculpin. This classic, West Coast IPA gets its name from a stinging fish and you can probably guess why. That’s because, even though it begins with bright citrus flavors, it’s the bitter, hoppy bite that you’ll remember most after sipping it.

Bottom Line:

Ballast Point proves once again that its Sculpin is one of the most overrated IPAs ever brewed. One-dimensional and overly bitter, it’s just a little too abrasive for my palate.

7) Lagunitas IPA (Taste 3)

ABV: 6.2%

Average Price: $10.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This well-known West Coast IPA gets its bold, piney, resinous, bitter flavor from the addition of Centennial, Chinook, Cascade, and Simcoe hops and its sweet, caramel flavor from the use of Caramel Malt barley. If you’re going to try any of Lagunitas’ other beers, you have to start with this one first.

Bottom Line:

Lagunitas IPA is by no means a bad beer. It’s just not balanced and complex enough — the citrus and pine notes are a little too in your face.

6) Stone IPA (Taste 7)

ABV: 6.9%

Average Price: $11.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When many drinkers think of West Coast IPAs, they usually think Stone IPA. Available since 1997, this popular IPA was brewed with Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Azacca, Calypso, Ella, and Vic Secret hops. It’s known for its mix of pine and citrus with long, lingering hop bitterness.

Bottom Line:

Stone IPA is a popular beer among fans of over-the-top bitter beers. Even though it has slight caramel malts mixed in, it’s still a little too bitter and pine-centric for some palates.

5) Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA (Taste 5)

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This award-winning IPA is a great example of how bold and aggressive a West Coast IPA can be. Loaded with Simcoe, Mosaic, Centennial, Chinook, and Citra hops, it’s known for its mix of resinous pine, citrus zest, and bitter hops presence.

Bottom Line:

Fat Head’s Head Hunter is one of the most popular West Coast IPAs on the market and for good reason. Even though it’s aggressively bittered, it’s surprisingly well-balanced and flavorful.

4) Alesmith IPA (Taste 1)

ABV: 7.25%

Average Price: $12.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

One of the OG and most highly-rated West Coast IPAs, Alesmith has been crafting this beloved beer for more than two decades now. Brewed with Columbus and Citra hops, it’s known for its bold, vibrant citrus flavors, caramel malts, and slightly bitter, hoppy finish.

Bottom Line:

While Alesmith IPA’s finish does have the bitterness West Coast IPA fans have grown to expect, it’s less than many others on this list and pairs nicely with the rest of the flavors. It’s very complex and well-balanced.

3) Firestone Walker Union Jack (Taste 4)

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $10.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This complex West Coast IPA was brewed with Cascade, CTZ, and Centennial hops in the kettle. It gets extra hop flavor from being dry-hopped with Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo, and Chinook hops. To say this is a hop lover’s dream is an understatement.

Bottom Line:

As West Coast IPAs go, Firestone Walker Union Jack is a little sweeter and fruitier than most and that’s definitely not a bad thing. It still has the heightened floral, piney, hop bitterness West Coast IPA drinkers expect.

2) Green Flash West Coast IPA (Taste 8)

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Green Flash’s take on the West Coast IPA is so good, that the folks at this San Diego-based brewery didn’t even bother to give it an original name. This 7% ABV West Coast IPA is the benchmark that many other breweries strive for. Brewed with five different hops, it’s known for its mix of floral, fruity, and citrus flavors.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason Green Flash West Coast IPA is an often-imitated beer. It’s complex, bold, and surprisingly well-rounded. It’s an amazing example of the style.

1) Bear Republic Racer 5 (Taste 2)

ABV: 7.5%

Average Price: $11.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

One of the most awarded West Coast IPAs, Bear Republic Racer 5 is brewed with a base of pale barley malt, white wheat malt, and crystal malt, along with Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, and Cascade hops. It’s bold, brash, and aggressively hoppy.

Bottom Line:

Balance can be hard to come by in West Coast IPAs. Some brewers gravitate towards bitter bombs. Bear Republic Racer 5 has the bitterness that one would expect, but it also has myriad other exciting flavors. It’s possibly the best example of the style available today.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

One of the reasons some drinkers have such a love/hate relationship with West Coast IPAs is the hop bitterness. If they sip a beer and taste nothing but bitter pine and they expect more flavors, they probably won’t go back to that beer again. It’s clear that I feel the same way. All of the beers that fared better were more well-balanced — while still bitter, they had bold citrus, ripe fruit, and caramel malt flavors that added to the overall flavor profile.

Balance is key in life. Apparently in the IPA world as well.

In 2005, MF Doom and Danger Mouse dropped the legendary cult hip-cop classic collaboration project Dangerdoom. Their lone album, The Mouse & The Mask, saw the producer’s whimsical Adult Swim cartoon-inspired production paired with Doom’s never-ending flow and it’s a touchstone for Doom fans of when his style was at an innovative peak. Doom (neé Daniel Dumile) died in late 2020, leaving a hole in the hearts of hip-hop heads. But on Danger Mouse and Black Thought’s newly released Cheat Codes album, MF Doom delivers a verse from beyond on “Belize” and it has a heavy Dangerdoom vibe.

“Fat rat, the mask made him batty as a mad hatter / Known for his absurd word choices / And will ignore you if you ask him if he heard voices,” Doom raps over Danger Mouses’s cinematic beat. It’s a saucy flow and quite frankly, emotional for anyone who connected with Doom’s music at any point during his storied rap career. It’s a respectful stroke of genius from Danger Mouse, who presumably unearthed this flow from the Dangerdoom sessions. Black Thought tips a cap himself on his verse, spitting, “This something for the shooters and back-and-forth commuters / Who never knew the difference in laws and jurisprudence. I feel as though it’s safe to assume that to the students. And I can prove it to the way me and DOOM do this.”

Listen to “Belize” above.

Cheat Codes is out now via BMG. Hear it here.

The second of four Power spin-offs is set to make its return to television this weekend. Unlike the other three spin-offs, Power Book III: Raising Kanan takes a trip back in time within the Power universe as it showcases the events that led up to what we saw in the original Power series. Kanan Stark, 50 Cent’s character from Power, is just a young high schooler eager to enter his family’s drug dealing business and prove his worth to his elders — and to the world altogether. His mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas aims to keep him on a tight leash, but as Kanan continues to grow up, that becomes harder to do.

Season one of Power Book III: Raising Kanan ended with Kanan attempting to kill Detective Howard — who he does not know is his father — following a command from Raq to kill him. With Kanan failing to get the job done, it signals that plenty of drama awaits us in season two.

What Should You Expect In Season Two Of Power Book III: Raising Kanan?

Keeping the family close is the goal for Raq in season two Power Book III: Raising Kanan, but that will prove to be quite tricky this season. It’s all going down as Raq plans to expand the drug operation to New Jersey after fully taking over Queens, NY. For starters, Kanan’s distrust of Raq continues to grow WHILE he is on the search for the truth in his life. However, Raq will do almost anything to hide the truth about her son and Detective Howard’s connection. Elsewhere, Raq’s brothers also have their own family issues. Lou-Lou isn’t as reliable as he was at the beginning of season one as he shifts his focus to his record label, which proves to be a frustrating blow to the family business. Marvin, on the other hand, struggles to earn forgiveness from his daughter Jukebox — who is still dealing with the loss of her true love Nicole — after he brutally attacked her.

Season two’s theme is “the ties that bind,” and with all of the relationships that are strained and in need of repair, it’s clear why this theme is perfect. We’ll just have to wait and see how everything plays out over the next ten episodes.

New episodes of STARZ’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available to watch on Sunday at 12:00am EST.

It’s been over three years since we last caught up with John Wick and his various violent shenanigans. The infamous hitman-turned excommunicated assassin, played by Keanu Reeves, will once again return to theaters in March and this time the film will hopefully explain some more backstory and mythology surrounding the swanky Continental Hotel and its residing assassins.

The fourth installment in the franchise is on track to be the longest one yet, but director Chad Stahelski says it is all about the storytelling. “I love mythology,” Stahelski told Variety while promoting his new vampire flick Day Shift, starring Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg. “I love a good myth. I don’t really believe — at least for the John Wick movies — in a three-act structure. I believe in storytelling and leaving it. You know, we’ve always seen John Wick as Odysseus.

Stahelski explained that he didn’t want fans to feel bombarded with backstory, but also wanted to be sure that the plot wasn’t being too rushed. “We take the time we need to tell the story. As long as we don’t fall asleep watching it, we keep it going. But I guess there is a bathroom limit,” He added. Though a three-hour movie of Keanu Reeves just beating people up would also be fine.

When asked about how they could possibly top the scene in John Wick Chapter 3 where there were hard-hitting ninjas on motorcycles wreaking havoc in New York, Stahelski joked, “Ninjas in cars, I guess. I don’t know! It’s always ninjas, man.” While we don’t know exactly what the ninjas will be up to, hopefully, they have great motor vehicle insurance this time around.

John Wick Chapter 4 opens in theaters March 23, 2023.

(Via Variety)