Johnny Manziel has always been game to try out new ways to play pro football, so it was only logical that he would be an initial target for Fan Controlled Football, a new league that will launch in February and combines elements of fantasy football, competitive Madden, sports betting, and more to give fans unparalleled involvement in their teams’ decisions.
The league will launch with four teams, and team owners such as Quavo, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, and Austin Ekeler have already signed on. Manziel marks the first marquee player to join the league after the dissolution of the Alliance of American Football last year.
“The more I heard about what this was going to be, the more I felt it was going to be something that was just very fun,” Manziel told ESPN. “It’s going to be very fan-oriented and something I could get behind without being extremely, extremely, extremely serious, the way that my football career has been in the past.”
New teams will be drafted at the beginning of each of the six weeks on the league’s inaugural calendar with the input of the most passionate and engaged fans, and the games themselves will begin in February in a facility in Atlanta. It’s not football as you see on college fields or in the NFL, but rather a more casual 7-on-7 game on a 50-yard field, with fans calling plays and interacting with owners and coaches through Twitch.
This is clearly a major experiment, but after the success of the similarly structured women’s softball league through Athletes Unlimited this summer and the rising popularity of gaming and gambling, FCF presents an intriguing setup, and Manziel will only bring attention to the game as it begins its first season in the coming months.
The Manhattan feels like the perfect cocktail for New Year’s Eve. The ball dropping and confetti flying is literally the iconic moment of the whole NYE celebration (sorry West Coasters). And in non-pandemic years, the parties across the island to ring in the New Year are second to none. With most of us still under quarantine for the 2020-2021 changeover, this is as close as you’re likely to get to Times Square.
For homebound revelers, the Manhattan is a very easy cocktail to mix. Better still, it takes very little effort to make over and over again as you refine the recipe for your palate, get increasingly buzzed, and dial in those mixing skills at home. It really just comes down to good bourbon, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters with a little orange and some quality cherries.
Even if you miss NYE, bookmark this for January. It’s light, full of winter vibes (thanks to the bitters), and a really satisfying cocktail to master.
The true beauty of this drink is that you can make it yours. Whereas some bartenders like to use Orange Bitters with the Angostura, I prefer fresh orange oils over the cocktail. That’s just me. Other recipes will call for strong rye. That’s cool. I prefer mine with a nice bourbon. Want to get all bespoke with a fancy Italian sweet vermouth no one’s ever heard of? Have at it! Play around! Riff! Experiment!
Let’s talk about the base ingredients. A 2:1 ratio is the best bet to keeping balance in a good Manhattan. I’m using standard Woodford Reserve Bourbon. It’s crafted to be a workhorse bourbon that’s both nice as a sipper and nice as a mixer. It’s not exactly “cheap” but it’s not crazy expensive either, as it falls in the $30 to $40 range depending on where you live.
As for the sweet vermouth, I’m using Martini Rosso. No, it’s not fancy. But, it’s super accessible and gets the job done for $10 a bottle.
From there, I like to use a spritz of orange oils where other bartenders might use Orange Bitters. The orange oils, I think, add more depth. Plus, you can rub those oils all around the glass, creating a more complete experience.
Lastly, don’t skimp on cherries. Luxardo or Amarena cherries are a must. One, they’re darker and sweeter. Two, they add more to the drink with their syrupy nature.
You’ll Need:
Coupe, cocktail glass, or Nick and Nora
Mixing jug
Barspoon
Strainer
Fruit Peeler or pairing knife
Jigger
Method:
Zach Johnston
The first step is to set up the mixing station with everything. I then fill my coupe with ice to pre-chill it.
Next, I add the bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters into the mixing jug.
Zach Johnston
I fill that jug over half-way full with ice and start stirring.
Zach Johnston
I end up stirring for about 30 seconds or until the outside of the mixing jug is completely frosted over and the level of the cocktail has doubled. I also taste the cocktail at this point for balance.
Mine was a little spicy, so I added in a barspoon more of sweet vermouth and stir for another ten seconds. I test it again. Perfect.
Zach Johnston
Let’s build this cocktail! I remove the ice from the coupe and strain the Manhattan into the glass.
I then peel a thumb of orange rind from a nice orange. I spritz the oils over the bowl of the glass and then rub the oils all around the rim and stem of the coupe. This will help to create a well-rounded experience while drinking the drink.
Lastly, I use my barspoon to fish out two cherries. I don’t spear them. I like my cherries in the glass with a drop or two of the syrup as it adds a touch of svelte sweetness to the drink. It also means you get a nice little treat at the end of the cocktail.
The Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
I could drink ten of these. They’re just so damn smooth, full of spice, oak, botanicals, orange, nuttiness, dried fruit … it’s like winter vibes in a glass. It’s also super to easy to sip.
The clarity of the bourbon next to the spiciness of the bitters and orange that lead towards that sweet cherry end is everything you need right now in a drink. I made another one immediately.
Eminem just broke a 50-year-old Billboard chart record, thanks to his album Music To Be Murdered By and its Side B reissue that came out the week before Christmas. According to a press release from Interscope, the reissue helped the album make the single biggest jump on the Billboard 200 chart in history, from No. 199 to No. 3, after its first week. The last album to hold the record was Bob Dylan’s 1970 album Self Portrait, which jumped from No. 200 to No. 7 in its second week on the chart — the second week of July 1970. It eventually peaked at No. 4.
Updating Music To Be Murdered By with 16 new songs, Eminem joined the 2020 trend of artists releasing supersized deluxe versions of their albums to stoke streams and keep them at the forefront of the public consciousness amid the glut of new projects that have released since the start of the pandemic and suspension of live touring. The album again dissed his 2018 enemy MGK, who wasn’t impressed by the new line about him, apologized to Rihanna for making light of her abuse at the hands of Chris Brown on a leaked track, and helped collaborator Skylar Grey double her Spotify listeners thanks to her placement on Side B.
You can read our review of the deluxe reissue here.
The nightmare that is 2020 will be over in a matter of hours, and before 2021 kicks off, artists have shared their resolutions/hopes/plans for next year.
A few days ago, SZA tweeted, “2021 has NO room for indifference lack of compassion or backhanded statements . I will literally forget your alive.” Continuing on that same thread yesterday, she added, “I want better friendships 2021 so imma be a better friend.”
2021 has NO room for indifference lack of compassion or backhanded statements . I will literally forget your alive .
In a new interview with Complex, Jack Harlow said he’s looking forward to getting in better shape in 2021: “Man, I want to get fit. And I’ve made some real strides towards the end of this year, but I just want to hit it into a new gear. I want to get super fit.” Meanwhile, in Charli XCX’s final quarantine diary entry, she wrapped up by looking forward to next year, writing, “All I can say is light your candles, get manifesting, and bring on 2021. If 2020 has taught us one thing, it’s that we really can’t predict what the future holds… so live your life and live it now because, honestly, who knows what will happen next?”
While not specifically making resolutions, artists like Foo Fighters, Doja Cat, and Khalid suggested or outright declared that releasing new music is among their 2021 goals and/or plans. As for Franz Ferdinand, they just want to get on a stage in front of a live audience again.
If you love hip-hop music and the people who tug on its endlessly fascinating narrative threads, you probably know the work of Mel D. Cole. In the early 2000s, Cole made his name as a self-taught photographer, quickly landing on the radars of massive names in the industry — especially amongst the “Soulquarians,” a collective that includes Questlove, Common, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and other “conscious” hip-hop and R&B stars of the era. In the process, Cole became renowned for intimate pictures that transmitted the raw energy of live shows and captured the charisma of so many of our favorite musicians.
When the quarantine hit (right after the release of Great: Photographs of Hip Hop 2002-2019), Cole’s main job of photographing rap shows evaporated overnight. At the same time, he saw the tenor of political conversations reaching a fever pitch and agonized over the killing of George Floyd. Wanting to get involved, the 44-year-old hit the streets — traveling across the northeast to photograph protests and Trump rallies. He came away with a renewed love of his craft and a passion for documentary photography.
In short, he created opportunity out of chaos.
With the year winding down and the inauguration coming up, I spoke with Cole about his work, his recent career shift, and the treatment he’s received at Trump events. He threw in a classic Diddy story for good measure.
Mel D. Cole
First of all, tell us how you went from photographing hip-hop to photographing politics. Because obviously, so many people know you from your history in photographing the legacy and the culture of rap music. At what point did you start saying, “Okay, I want to photograph politics and see what we have there”?
I’ve always been drawn to conflict, and I always said to myself that if something was to happen in my own backyard, I’m at the point in my career where I’m going to handle it. I’m going to document it. What happened? COVID happened. A couple of times, maybe four or five times, I went out in my car and I took photos from the car.
Then, when the marches and the protests started when George Floyd got killed, I was just inspired to go out and document, because felt like I had to use my platform to make sure that the story is being told correctly, from my point of view. That led to everything else. You start having all these counter-protests, and things like that. I became fascinated with the other side of the coin as well.
I don’t think that’s a particularly common fascination right now. A lot of people in culture get a lot of pushback for showing any interest in the “other side.”
I got to the point where, when I would go to these protests and counter-protests, and there were clashes, I would stay on the other side of the barricade. It’s a little bit more interesting, after spending months embedded, basically, with Black Lives Matter, so it’s like, “Why not be on this other side in this?” Especially when they weren’t fucking with me, they weren’t telling me to leave. They weren’t telling me all the classic, “Fuck you. Get the fuck out of here!” kind of shit. I’m like, “I’m going to take advantage of it.”
They didn’t deny you access at all?
I figured out, as long as you are not out there talking that same shit that the opposition is, no one’s going to fuck with you. You just keep your mouth shut and just document. I’ve been that way the whole time.
Is it easy to do that shit, being a Black man? Fuck no! It’s not easy, because sometimes it’s like, “Fuck.” I forget that I have the camera, and I have this white guy yelling — not necessarily at me, but at someone that looks just like me. It’s like, “Fuck.” I want to scream back at him but I just try to keep it as professional as possible.
Mel D. Cole
I can’t imagine that you feel safe as a Black man or as a journalist in some of these scenarios.
I’ve been punched in the face in Philly not saying shit, just by documenting it. A guy just clocked me in the fucking face. I’m recording with my iPhone and taking photos. Shit happens. It’s your safety. You not only have to worry about COVID, but you got to worry about the police and also the racists.
So… yeah, that’s how I pretty much got into photographing politics. It was something that I never thought that I would be interested in, let alone focus on. [Fall 2020] I ended up at my second Trump rally in Pennsylvania. Being fucking like… 20 feet away from the man, it is super fucking interesting.
Some people seem torn on whether every Trump supporter is a raging racist or a silent racist or if it’s possible to support his agenda and somehow not be a racist. You’re indicating that you found some level of hospitality around Trump fans, at times. Do you feel like the Trump fan is a person who code switches to at least seem un-racist?
I have really good friends that are Trump supporters that flat out told me that they voted for Trump. White guys. One is a really good friend. When he ran the first time, we had a discussion about the situation. I tried to tell him, like, “Yeah, man, I don’t know if he’s going to switch into presidential mode.” He was hooked on, “Yeah, he’s just doing it to get in office,” which seemed like what a lot of people were saying who were on his train. What I found out now is that I don’t think that everyone that supports him is a racist. Are there plenty of racists that support this man? Abso-fucking-lutely. Absolutely. The Proud Boys, the super right-wing, the white supremacist type of people — absolutely. I think that they are racist as fuck. I don’t really want anything to do with them, but if I had the opportunity to document them and be embedded with them… yeah, I would do it. But it’s like, to be homeboys and chill, have a beer just on some personal shit? No, I’m good on that. But if we could chit chat and talk and I could document the whole experience, all right, cool. I’m down.
Not because you’re an apologist for them, obviously, but because you’re a storyteller.
Absolutely. In no way, shape, or fashion would I turn down the opportunity to photograph Donald Trump. I don’t agree with him, and no, I didn’t vote for him, but as a storyteller, as a… I guess now I can call myself a photojournalist, and today I put “journalist” on my nameplate. There’s no way you could turn down the opportunity to talk to arguably the most famous man in the entire fucking world. You just don’t do it as a storyteller. You take the opportunity.
Mel D. Cole
Just to back up a little bit. You came into my life through hip-hop. You’re a person who saw rap music, saw what it was doing, and just knew, from my impression, like, “Oh, fuck. This is where the action is. I’m going in.” Is that how you perceive it? Then, if that’s the case, when did you just know?
It all came from just a love of the music. Basically, my whole life I always knew that I was going to be a “somebody,” so to speak. I just wasn’t going to be a guy that worked a normal 9:00 to 5:00 job, I was going to do something. But for a lot of the years of my life, I didn’t exactly know what that was going to be. I didn’t have a clear-cut direction.
I wasn’t the kid that grew up, “I’m going to be a firefighter,” from nine years old, or, “I’m going to do…” whatever. Any of those jobs. Growing up in Syracuse, I knew that I was going to be bigger than what was happening at the moment. That took some years, and I thought I found it for awhile — I was going to be a teacher. But my father owned a record shop and music was always the shit to me.
You felt that energy in a special way.
When it really clicked is when Common put out Electric Circus back in 2002. I took a couple of disposable cameras to his concert at SOB’s in the city, in New York. I took photos. I was a big fan, standing out. I’m like, “Common, yeah!” For me, the Neo-Soul era is one of my favorite eras of hip-hop. I wanted to grow dreads and live in Philly and hang out with Questlove and The Roots and be in these sessions. I always imagined myself being there.
That night really changed my life, because I took those photos, and then the next thing you know, I put them in a shoebox, Adidas shoebox, and it was maybe a year, month, whatever it was, I started to read more magazines and started to really dive in. Next thing you know, a light bulb went off and I was like, “Fuck, I think my photographs are just as good as this shit that I’m seeing in Rolling Stone, in Complex, and Billboard,” and all these other publications. The shit that I’m seeing on the blogs. It was like, “I think I can do this shit.”
Mel D. Cole
That jolt of confidence that propels a dream.
I went and I bought a digital camera, and shit. Boom. I just started shooting. It was a way for me to … I would go to parties, events, take photos. I would go to concerts. I became the guy with the camera. “Here’s Mel. Mel with the camera.” Kept coming back, and back, and back, and back. I’m self-taught. I taught myself how to use the camera, how to take photos.
To me, it’s like hip-hop is a love of my life, but being able to also use hip-hop in a way to branch off and do different things, like what I’m doing now with my work, is amazing. Because without me being who I am and working so hard to be one of the best, shit to push my career forward, a lot of these doors that are open for me now wouldn’t be open. Like me working in the soccer world, and me shooting politics and Black Lives Matter, and all that stuff. People wouldn’t know that I could shoot all this stuff; they wouldn’t be seeing it if it wasn’t for hip-hop.
There are images that hip-hop fans know of yours. What are the images that you get asked about or that people talk with you about the most?
From hip-hop? Common and Erykah Badu at SOB’s. Questlove in the bathroom putting on the hairspray. More recently, work stuff — Kendrick Lamar, Drake, a lot of Trey Songz photos. Stuff with Talib Kweli, being around him and Mos Def. I feel so privileged to just sometimes be in the same room with these motherfuckers, even though a lot of these guys are my friends now.
Being able to pick up this phone and text Talib, or whatever, having access to … I could have Mos Def say, “What’s up?” That shit still fucking gives me a little tingle. I’m like, “Yeah.”
Mel D. Cole
You became a voice of hip-hop culture rising up from fandom, which is a thing that can happen now, probably, but happens in a much different way. Whereas when I think back to then it was… Do you feel like it was kind of the Wild West, where everyone was like, “Look, if you want in on this thing, this is what’s happening”? Like, “This culture is evolving really quickly. If you’re going to hang out, you gotta get involved.” Was that the attitude?
When I started, there wasn’t anyone photographing the type of music, and the type of events, and parties, and nightlife shit that I was really shooting. There were a couple of other photographers. When you compare it to now, you go to a concert and it could be 30 photographers. 30 people with real cameras, and then everybody’s iPhones. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was the Wild West, it was more of just like, “Do your thing,” you know what I’m saying?
“Capture it, and keep coming.” The way I worked, it was like I just kept coming back. I never really asked for favors, or any of that shit. I tried to let the work speak for itself so I can get the attention of these people. Like Questlove. Having his attention and having him be on my side was fucking humongous. It was huge.
One person believing in your talent — especially at that caliber — can make all the difference in the world.
Quick story. There was an instance where I was at Santos in the city in 2009. It was Q-Tip’s birthday party. Q-Tip is there, Jay Z is there, Grand Puba, a couple of other people. They’re all in the DJ booth. Diddy was there. I get up, and in my brain, I’m already like, “Fuck. All right. I see the most epic fucking group shot of all the time. I got to get this shit. This is going to be historic.” I’m going through all of this shit in my brain. I’m slightly nervous. I get waved up to the DJ booth. Diddy turns around, I show him the universal sign, “Can I take your photo?” It was loud as shit in here. Diddy shakes his head no, tells the security guard to get me the fuck out of there, basically. Didn’t use those exact words, but he very well could have.
I get on Twitter, and I start making fun of the situation. Questlove sees this shit. At this time, Quest and I are already friends. He tweets Diddy and tells Diddy that I am going to be the next Gordon Parks. He tells Diddy to fuck with me, basically.
The next day, Questlove gives me a call. I tell him the story. He says, “Oh, man, shit. I thought that’s what happened. Diddy wants to know if I could give him your phone number.” Diddy calls me in two days. Me and Diddy have this fucking amazing conversation. Long story short, he hires me to be his personal photographer for his white party out in Beverly Hills.
Which is a dream on so many levels and amps up your career in a huge way — Diddy is a star-maker.
That was like the next stepping stone in my career, where I was not just a photographer that was shooting downtown nightlife and fucking with that shit, and going to Santos, and all this shit. Then on the music, fucking with The Roots, and Talib, and Mos, and all those guys. Then this party, and I was getting picked up by all of these publications. Black gossip magazines, and online shit. It’s like this shift. I became even more known in a way.
Mel D. Cole
It must’ve felt almost like, “I have to keep pushing” and then a couple of things fell into place, and then it’s like, “Hold on for dear life!” Is that close?
Yeah, man. At that time, in 2009, so we’re still in the Blog era, iPhones really weren’t popping, so I was still carrying around a big ass camera. Then it was like technology just seemed like it just took this fucking leap for photographers, to the point where everybody fucking has the cameras now. Then my shit gets seen as less special, so now I have to hustle extra hard because there’s a whole bunch more competition, and a lot of kids that will come up doing a lot of fucking great work.
A lot of things changed, man. Though I’m still happy to fucking have a career and still be doing what I do.
Let’s talk a little bit about your book. I have it on my shelf — bought it the week it was released — and I feel like it captures the energy of your photography so well, and just tells the story that you want to tell with so much… life in it. What was the motivation behind that, or the thought process? I know, of course, it’s important for a photographer to put a book out, but what was the thought process that governed the whole thing?
I think all important artists — you just have to do a few things. You have to have exhibitions, and you have to have a book. You got to publish this shit. Especially in this day and age, you got to have something tangible for people to have. You put your stamp on your shit.
For me, I feel like, if I want to be taken seriously as an artist, a photographer, I need to have a book. Felt like it was the right time. I’ve been in the game long enough and had a great enough body of work to put out there. That was the reason I did the book, basically. It was like, “It’s time.” Then I was like, “Shit. Nobody has put out a hip-hop book” — featuring just one photographer — in a long time.
I was like, “Shit. I got to get my book out before Mannion does.” Jonathan Mannion, I’m referring to. There are a couple other photographers I tracked. I’m like, “Shit. Let me get this out there.”
Yeah. I was kind of pissed off that I wasn’t asked to be in that book, honestly. I was like, “What the fuck?” I’m like, “Why am I not in this shit?” But I believe it was a lot of mostly just film guys, I guess because that’s … The “contact” being a contact sheet. I was like, “I have some film work too.” I felt some kind of way about that, to be honest.
I feel you. Five times a day I feel some kind of way if I’m not asked to be part of something where I think my name belongs. But, as the poet says, “success will be the best revenge.” And you’ve taken your success and become the king of the parlay. That said, you parlayed the hip-hop into journalism, into connections, into some portraiture. Now, as you’ve moved into getting more political, you’ve parlayed one career into another? You’re telling human stories, you’re not relying quite as much on celebrity now. How has that been for you?
What I’ve been doing since, I guess, the end of, shit, Memorial Day of this year, has been the most important work of my entire career, of my entire life. There’s been nothing more important than what I’ve been documenting, this uprising. It’s just hard to put it in words how powerful what I’ve been seeing and experiencing has been. I didn’t expect it to be going on this long, to be quite frank. I absolutely see it not ending anytime soon. I’ve had to take emotional breaks from it to just detox. It becomes too much physically, emotionally, and whatever other way. I have a kid at home, I have a wife. Then we haven’t even talked about COVID, and how that is affecting me — just being out and trying to stay safe.
It seems like you were almost called to tell these stories.
I never thought that I would be documenting or shooting any of this. If COVID didn’t happen, if George Floyd didn’t get killed, or … Who knows? I would still be shooting concerts and still trying to be the best at that. Now my goals have shifted to the point where my work has been picked up by the New York Magazine. I was in Rolling Stone, but not for music, which is mind-boggling to me. I have work in the Atlantic. It’s just such a tremendous thing. I have all of these different people follow me, editors from National Geographic and Time Magazine. All of these publications that I thought were out of reach for me.
I always dreamed of, “Man. National Geographic. It would be awesome to shoot some of that stuff.” But I just didn’t necessarily know how I was going to do it. I have dreams of going to isolated areas in Africa and in documenting some of those people, like I used to see in the magazines back in the ’90s and in high school, and all that kind of shit. Now those things are actually tangible. The type of people that hire and put you on assignment to do those things are fucking with me now. It’s totally mind-boggling.
I was talking to an editor from National Geographic. I’m like, “What the fuck? Who am I becoming?” But this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I still want to do music, but this is it, man. As I’m getting older too, I’m 44. I always thought that I wasn’t going to shoot music forever. I don’t want to be in a club. I love you, Trey [Songz], you my brother, but I can’t be in the clubs with you all goddamn night all the time. I feel like I got a couple more tours and then I’ll just focus in on the photojournalism type of thing.
Mel D. Cole
What do you see the stories you want to tell over the next couple of years?
Good question. I don’t even know, man. I’m just letting it take me where it takes me. I really love shooting things from an outsider point of view. That’s really intriguing to me, just being able to do things that the normal Black guy, Black photographer, Black journalist wouldn’t necessarily be able to do. Or not necessarily unable to do, but maybe won’t do — like going to a Trump rally.
I think for me, that shit, being able to show my followers that, “Here I am. I’m doing this, and I’m talking to these people.” Get outside your little bubble sometimes and see what the other people think instead of just listening or watching it from afar. You can actually go have a conversation with somebody. I think that’s where I want my work to lead me.
In the era of Twitter canceling and notes app apology letters, musicians and celebrities can find themselves backtracking on off-handed comments that go unexpectedly viral. That’s exactly what happened this week when a clip of Young Thug circulated that showed him making a bold statement about his discography in comparison to Jay-Z’s. But the rapper as now clarified his comment, saying that it was blown out of proportion due to “internet sh*t.”
Thugger recently appeared on the podcast Million Dollaz Worth Of Game where he discussed the possibility of joining a Verzuz battle. The rapper responded that he’d be willing to go head-to-head with Lil Wayne because they both have wide influence. Further explaining himself, Thugger compared his catalog of hits to the likes of Jay-Z. “We ain’t talking about stream sales, we ain’t talking about none of that. We talking about anthems, we talking about songs they know. When I perform, I got 30, 40 songs that the whole stadium going to know. They gone know these mothaf*ckers, all 30 songs. […] N****, Jay-Z ain’t got 30 songs like that.”
Thug went back on his comment during the conversation, later saying he was just using Hov as an example of a veteran artist. But fans stuck to his original comment, saying the rapper was being disrespectful.
After withstanding the backlash, Thugger took to Instagram to offer clarification. Blaming his words’ virality on “internet sh*t,” Thug said, “I was talking [too] fast but y’all know what I meant.”
Young Thug speaks “Don’t have Jay Z on me cause of this internet sh-t, I was talking too fast” pic.twitter.com/QDCcwlHCBn
Throughout 2020, the coronavirus pandemic and the collective responses to it had a profound effect on the music industry — especially independent artists, who often rely more on live shows than record sales for the majority of their income. However, one independent rapper said that his career flourished this year, boasting that it is “pandemic-proof” and that he has been getting his checks in the mail like clockwork despite the economic slowdown.
Russ, who released two projects this year and has been a vocal advocate for independent artistry, told Tidal’s B. Dot in a new interview, “I’m fortunate because I’ve set up my career to be pandemic proof.” He explained that rather than planning for a global breakdown of the live entertainment industry, he instead ensured that he owned the legal rights to all of his output, which guaranteed a bigger slice of the profit for himself. “It’s pandemic proof via mailbox money, you know, and via ownership and owning my masters and things like that,” he elaborated. “TuneCore checks didn’t stop. If anything, I’ve made more money on TuneCore this year than I did last year because I was able to record more, which means I was able to put out more, and I went fully independent.”
His output this year included the full-length project Shake The Snow Globe and its deluxe version, as well as the Chomp EP featuring Ab-Soul, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, and more. His independent success allowed him to also give away $20,000 to his Twitter followers to boost their spirits during the summer lockdown.
NYE is coming fast. Most years, there are events and parties to choose from. Festivals to attend and planes to catch. In 2020, people in most states are on their own. That means that it’s time to start chilling the champagne.
Picking a bottle of champagne for ringing in the New Year is no small task. Champagne (the real stuff from France) isn’t exactly cheap. That said, it doesn’t always need to be pricey, either — you can get a lot for under $80. And if you want a classic bottle — whether it’s for toasting or mixing cocktails — we’re about to give you our favorites.
A word or two on the methodology of this list. One, we’re only talking about actual champagne, made in Champagne, France. While U.S. producers like to slap the word “Champagne” onto their sparkling wines, those aren’t champagne (and it’s still kind of a dick move for U.S. producers to do that). Two, we’re going mostly on taste with this list. We’re looking at how much we want to drink the stuff. In the end, the price was a bit of a factor in two bottles — one was ranked higher due to its excellent price tag while another missed the first place slot due to being needlessly expensive.
Finally, since these champagnes all fall under fairly strict guidelines — a blend of Pinot and Chardonnay grapes, generally three to five years cellared in oak, made in Champagne, France, etc. — we’re going to focus on the houses that make these bottles special instead of telling you over and over again that there’s a mix of Pinot and Chardonnay in the blend. Beyond those parameters, hopefully, this list will give you a sense of which bottle of champers might suit your palate. Pro Tip: Whichever bottle you choose, you’ll want to get it chilling at least 24-hours before the ball drops.
The deeper the chill, the better. Which is a pretty good attitude to enter 2021 with, in general.
Eugene Laurent and Mathilde Emilie Perrier were a husband and wife team that created the third best-selling champagne in the world. When Laurent died, he left the whole operation to Perrier, who took the champagne worldwide and found massive success.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a beautiful balance of bright lemon citrus and very summery French florals on the nose (think fields of lavender baking in the sun). That citrus leads towards a ripe apricot sweetness and body with a buttery underbelly that’s counter to all that dry fizz and tartness from the citrus. The end is mellow and really embraces the florals, lemon, and apricot.
Bottom Line:
This is by no means mediocre champagne. It’s perfectly suited for toasting in the New Year. It’s just that something had to be stuck in this slot. Also, this one makes for a great French 75 with all that lemony-ness.
The famed Madame Clicquot — or Veuve Clicquot which literally means “Widow” Clicquot — was instrumental in creating the world of champagne that we know today. She’s credited with the riddling process (clarifying the wine), creating rose champagne, bringing vintages (age statements) into the mix, and generally making the sparkling wine a celebratory drink in the highest echelons of the European elite.
Clearly, Clicquot was both an amazing innovator and marketer, and her champagne continues to shine.
Tasting Notes:
Imagine butter-soaked baked apples inside a buttery and slightly salty brioche next to white grapes and sultanas. Hints of tart yet sweet apples mingle with a mist of orange oils as a nutty base leads towards a savory fruitiness. That salty-sweet brioche returns on the dry yet softly sweet end.
Bottom Line:
This is really solid champagne all around. The only real reason it’s this low on the list is the high-ish price and note of sweetness that lingers a little long for us.
Moët is one of the old-school champagnes that goes back to the court of French royalty. The popularity of this wine cannot be understated. They’re one of the biggest producers of champagne in the world. That’s why we’re picking a little higher-range bottle. The Nectar Impérial is a special blend of reserve wines chosen to add a deeper sense of richness and complexity to the bubbly.
Tasting Notes:
The flute pulls you in with a sense of tropical fruits leaning towards mangos and pineapple while stonefruits lurk in the background. Those stonefruits take over on the palate with apricots and meaty plums leading toward a white grape touch next to a hint of vanilla. Finally, that vanilla takes on a slightly creamy edge (thanks to a touch of Chardonnay in the blend) that really brings a well-rounded body to this sip.
Bottom Line:
This is a crowd-pleaser! It’s light and fruity yet feels like you’re drinking something with a good body that’ll get you a little tipsy.
Speaking of Chardonnay, Taittinger is a blend of old monastery wine-making, modern Chateau culture, and a deep history of Chardonnay grapes. The non-vintage wine leans into the Chardonnay grapes in the blend (basically, flipping on its head the ratio of Pinots to Chardonnay in the average blend), making this an outlier in the world of champagnes.
The result is a nice break-from-the-norm bottle of bubbly.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lightness that’s a bit of a trick, as the nose will tempt you with hints of peaches, buttery and yeasty brioche, summer wildflowers, and a whisper of vanilla. The palate holds onto the stonefruit as a fresh honeycomb sweetness arrives late and brings the whole sip together.
Bottom Line:
This really feels like a well-rounded bottle that is very easy to drink. Really, we’re splitting hairs on the ranking from here on down.
This champagne might be the most representative of the region in a single bottle. Nicolas Feuillatte is really more of a collective (or union) of 100 individual winemakers and 82 winemaking cooperatives covering over 5,000 vineyards around Champagne in France. That equates to Feuillatte pulling its juice from a swath that covers around seven percent of the wine grown in the region.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a real sense of dry breadiness next to ripe apricots and peaches that draws you in. The body is effervescent and full of bubbles that burst with that fruit alongside hints of vanilla and musty cellars full of old oak barrels.
Bottom Line:
The price of this bottle really helps it scratch into the top five. There’s really no reason this shouldn’t cost $60 per bottle like so many others on the list.
Dom P is Moët & Chandon’s “prestige” line of champagne. So in a sense, this is Moët’s “good stuff.” The bottle was named after legendary monk and champagne cellarmaster Dom Pérignon. The short of it is: Ol’ Dom was instrumental in making champagne into the fizzy wine we love back in the mid-1600s. These days, Moët honors that history with their best stuff.
Tasting Notes:
This is going to vary depending on which “Vintage” you snag. The throughline with Dom is the blend of Pinot and Chardonnay but that can vary a lot depending on the year.
If you come across the 2008 Vintage, expect a really nice dose of mint, lemon oils, and peach up top. That’ll lead towards a sense of orange oils next to musty oak with a creamy body that’s refined to a whipped butter lightness. It’ll just feel right.
Bottom Line:
This is the “good stuff” by definition. Still, we’d argue that there are perfectly good wines that reach these vaulted heights without the price tag. So let’s get to those.
Louis Roederer is one of the oldest Champagne houses that also happens to be one of the last fully independent shingles. The wine really made a name as the champagne of the Russian Royal Court pre-revolution. As those royals ran for their lives, they spread the love of Louis Roederer to Paris, London, New York, and Shanghai, helping make the wine a truly international brand.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a real sense of an orchard full of stone fruits next to lightly roasted nuts with a hint of a warm croissant on the nose. That butter and yeasty bready fades first as the ripe apricot and gooseberries counterpoint a deep dryness and light bubbles. There’s very little sweetness at play as a touch of oaky vanilla pops on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is the entry-level champagne that’ll lead you to the infamous Cristal (that brand of champers that rappers wouldn’t shut up about in the 90s.). That aside, this is almost too easy to drink. We’ll put it this way, the bottle will be empty before you know it and you’ll be left wanting more.
Bollinger reaches all the way back to the 1500s with its winemaking skills. The brand spent centuries becoming the icon it is today. The wine got a huge boost when it became the champagne of Queen Victoria’s court in the late 1800s, which led to it being the official drink of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Thanks to the guidance of Lily Bollinger post-WWII, the brand became the champagne the adventurers, jet-setters, and what the so-called cool kids drank.
Tasting Notes:
This draws you in with a sense of over-ripe peaches next to tart apples stewed with dark spices and wine. That spice and apple bring about an almost apple butter feel as the svelte nature of the sip leads towards a brioche loaded with walnuts and that spiced stewed apple next to a buttery foundation.
This is just smooth, subtly bubbly, and just the right amount of dry on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This 100 percent lives up to the hype. It really is that well-rounded, quaffable, and delightful. Cheers! Someone queue up Auld Lang Syne.
As she moves into the post-Star Wars phase of her career, Daisy Ridley is opening up about some of the struggles she’s continued to face as a burgeoning actress. While discussing her upcoming film, Chaos Walking, Ridley revealed that an undisclosed person on set made a comment that caught her completely off guard even after coming off her blockbuster role as Rey Skywalker.
“I’ve been told that I’m intimidating,” Ridley told Tatler. “That was on Chaos Walking. I was having my hair done, having my wig put on. I remember thinking, ‘God, should I be smaller? Should I be quieter?’” While the comment might seem innocuous by itself, Ridley elaborated that it was part of a long line of unusual remarks including a director making her feel self-conscious about her personality. Via Yahoo:
“I’ve been called aggressive, too,” she told the magazine. “My energy is ‘quite aggressive.’ That was during a meeting with a director. I was thinking: ‘But why? Is it because I maintained eye contact? Is it because I’m passionate about what we’re talking about?’ I dunno. You have that horrible sinking feeling of, ‘God, do I not come across the way I think I do?’”
You can see Ridley on the cover of Tatler below:
Unfortunately, Ridley has had lots of practice dealing with criticism. Her role of Rey has been a lightning rod for controversy in the Star Wars community ever since her first appearance in The Force Awakens, and things did not get better when the sequel trilogy came to an end with the critically panned The Rise of Skywalker. While Ridley has put on a brave face publicly, she recently admitted that it was tough seeing the mixed reactions to the final film.
“January was not that nice,” she told the DragCast podcast. “It was weird, I felt like all of this love that we’d sort of been shown the first time around, I was like, ‘Where’s the love gone?’” However, despite the backlash, Ridley is still “really proud” and “thrilled” to have been a part of the Star Wars saga.
Amid millions of Americans falling into unemployment, the president spreading false information about the election, and number of other tragic events in recent months, Fox News anchors have decided to direct their outrage on two things this year: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion flaunting their sexuality in the “WAP” video and Harry Styles wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue. Though the photo of Styles in a dress was published back in November, one Fox News guest is still up in arms about it.
Appearing on the Fox News segment The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night, conservative author and producer Raymond Arroyo listed off his opinion on things to avoid in 2021. Included in the round up was a direct message to Styles: “Harry Styles, please stick to Armani menswear or at least pants. The gender-bending wardrobe is not edgy or artistic, you look ridiculous. And you’re not breaking any new ground. David Bowie did this decades before you were even conceived — and the pearls were a really bad look.”
Of course, Styles fans jumped to the singer’s defense. They wondered why conservatives care so much about a singer’s choice of clothing and it sparked a viral and NSFW hashtag.
People also pointed out the flaws in Arroyo’s argument.
“David Bowie did this decades before you were even conceived” you heard it here folks! Only one man is allowed to wear dresses. No more after that. Just 1. From then on you’re just trying to be edgy!
Raymond m8…do you really think David Bowie would take your side on this matter? Do you really think David Bowie broke so many gender biases for you to shit on someone else’s gender expression 50 years later?#foxnewsjacksofftoharrystylespic.twitter.com/RW3h6YLMeu
Earlier this week, former One Direction member Liam Payne also came to Styles’ defense about his clothing choice. “He’s enjoying himself and he’s free to do as he wishes,” he said in a recent radio interview. “I think people don’t need to be so bothered about stuff. There’s been a lot more stuff going on this year, and whether or not he’s wearing the right clothes in someone else’s mind… in my opinion, just let him on with it.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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” 
Going to share our favorites 
(@SaycheeseDGTL) 
– CLAIMS TRACK 2 ON HS3 & LT2 (@Avo_Toast28)