Category: Worldwide

The 20-year-old Beabadoobee has done a lot with just a pair of EPs under her belt, but now she’s readying her debut full-length. She has shared some previews of Fake It Flowers in recent days, and today she returns with another, the rocking “Worth It.”

Like other previews of the record, “Worth It” borrows its aesthetic from guitar-driven ’90s indie-rock, although it manages to avoid sounding old and played out while doing so. Beabadoobee says the song is “simply about teenage infidelity and the mistakes one can make when they’re tempted to do things.” She continues, “It’s a bit of a confession song but also an understanding that it’s a part of life.”

Beabadoobee, like almost everybody else in the music world (but not Smash Mouth), will not be performing for live audiences this summer. She’s trying to next fall, though, as she has announced a string of UK and Ireland tour dates for September and October 2021.

Listen to “Worth It” above, and find Beabadoobee’s tour dates below.

09/07/2021 — Manchester @ O2 Ritz
09/09/2021 — Leeds @ Beckett University
09/10/2021 — Nottingham @ Rescue Rooms
09/11/2021 — Birmingham @ O2 Institute
09/13/2021 — Cambridge @ Junction
09/14/2021 — Leicester @ O2 Academy
09/23/2021 — London @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
09/24/2021 — Bristol @ Swx
09/25/2021 — Oxford @ O2 Academy
09/28/2021 — Dublin @ The Academy
09/29/2021 — Belfast @ Oh Yeah Music Centre
10/02/2021 — Newcastle @ University Students Union
10/03/2021 — Edinburgh @ The Liquid Room
10/04/2021 — Glasgow @ Swg3

Fake It Flowers is out 10/16 via Dirty Hit. Pre-order it here.

Inside the NBA is, in my estimation, the best sports studio show of all time, in large part because all four members of the crew fully understand that there will be times where things will veer away from talking about basketball and into god knows what. There are many examples of this leading to conversations about legitimately heavy subjects, but this will also veer into being able to laugh at themselves, too, so long as things are not too mean-spirited.

An example of this came on Monday night after the evening’s slate of playoff games. One video you may have seen going around the internet at some point over the last few years is a British weatherman flawlessly pronouncing a town in Wales that consists of 58 letters, but if you have not, here it is.

The town, which is on the Isle of Anglesey, boasts the second-longest name of any town on earth, behind only New Zealand’s Taumatawhakatangi­hangakoauauotamatea­turipukakapikimaunga­horonukupokaiwhen­uakitanatahu. Perhaps we’ll see someone on set try to pronounce that some day, but on Monday, Shaq gave his best go at pronouncing Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. You can probably guess how that went.

It is unclear exactly why this happened, but hey, at least Shaq seemed to have fun with it.

Netflix announcements tend to be slightly controversial, which is probably to be expected, given that the streamer boasts over 180 million subscriber accounts and counting. You can’t please everyone, and remember when the “speed up” feature was originally floated? Boy, some folks were not happy, but Netflix probably won’t find any opposition to a new revelation from CEO Reed Hastings in a Variety interview.

According to Hastings, Netflix has resolved to rely upon their subscription-focused strategy instead of introducing ads (like Hulu has done with a tiered pricing format). This news follows a little over two years since Netflix reportedly tested ads between episodes, and I guess those tests didn’t go well. Yet Hastings believes that they simply don’t want to fix what’s not broken. Also, Hastings said, “It’s hand-to-hand combat to get people to spend less on, you know, ABC and to spend more on Netflix.”

The CEO also made a rather amazing claim about 2021 Netflix original content, which does not appear have been upended (on a massive scale, anyway) by the pandemic:

Next year, we’ve planned out the year — we’ve got a great selection of content. It’s still more originals than this year. It’s not up by as much as we first forecast, but it is up on a year-over-year basis. Of course in Europe we’re producing, in Asia we’re producing. We’re all hopeful for a vaccine, so we can get back to more intensive work..

It sounds like several shows, like The Witcher, may have been pushed back a few months due to stopping production earlier this year, but Henry Cavill and company are back to work in Europe, unflattering photos and all. As for office-related matters, Hastings spoke with the Wall Street Journal and expressed his distaste for working at home. He plans to get the Netflix staff back into buildings as soon as it’s feasible. As he initially (and jokingly) said, it’ll happen “12 hours after a vaccine is approved.” In reality, Reed’s thinking it’ll happen “probably six months after a vaccine… once we can get a majority of people vaccinated.”

(Via Variety & Wall Street Journal)

Juicy J and DJ Paul have reportedly hit Suicideboys members Ruby Da Cherry and Scrim with a copyright infringement lawsuit over their alleged use of uncleared Three 6 Mafia samples.

According to XXL, Juicy and Paul originally filed the copyright infringement lawsuit back in late June against Cherry and Scrim for “illegally sampling and stealing” from 35 songs belonging to Three 6. The lawsuit claims Cherry and Scrim used the unauthorized samples in order to “trade off and profit from Three 6 Mafia’s original sound and hard-earned success in the hip-hop industry.” The lawsuit documents references the Suicideboys tracks “Mask And Da Glock,” “Smoked Out, Loced Out,” and “BreakDaLaw2K16,” all of which feature nearly identical instrumentals to Three 6 songs.

Juicy J and DJ Paul are seeking $1.2 million from the case for “compensatory and actual damages, including [d]efendants’ profits from infringement, in an amount in excess of $1,200,000” as well as $5.25 million for other damages. Suicdeboys don’t deny they used Three 6 instrumentals in their music, but they do state Juicy J gave them “verbal” permission to use the tracks in exchange for production work on Juicy’s Highly Intoxicated and Shutdaf*ckup mixtapes, which they allege the rapper never compensated them for.

Ahead of the lawsuit’s report, Juicy J sat down with Uproxx and discussed the possibility of Three 6 making a comeback: “I always felt like Three 6 Mafia could make a comeback. But it always had me kind of nervous and scared to even do that. Because we’ve done so much in music that I didn’t want it to be like, ‘Aw, they’re not good enough.’ Or ‘Aw, they got old.’ Or they’re not creative like they used to be or things ain’t the way they were. We never really went down that road to bring the group back.”

Summer treasure hunts have been a bit of an obsession of ours lately. With most of the world still locked down or under serious quarantine measures, our only hope for perspective-shifting travel is within the confines of the United States which, admittedly, can feel a bit less life-changing (though we’d argue the states are full of hidden gems and unique cultures). But throw a good treasure hunt into the equation? You’ve got yourself an instant adventure.

To cap off the summer treasure hunting season, it’s time to search for the greatest treasure of all: your very own candy factory. David Klein, the man who brought us the Jelly Belly jelly bean, is going full Willy Wonka for his retirement by launching a golden ticket treasure hunt across the United States, in which treasure hunters can score a cool $5,000 and the chance to grab the grand prize: their very own candy factory.

What are you going to do with a candy factory you ask? Wrong question. What aren’t you going to do with a candy factory?

The golden tickets are being hidden in secret locations throughout the U.S. and to join the hunt, treasure hunters will have to pay $50 to receive their state’s riddle, which will be limited to just 1,000 participants per state. As a lot of twitter users have pointed out, that means it’s not exactly a pure, altruistic giveaway.

The golden tickets will be in the form of dog tag necklaces that include a code to verify your find and claim your $5,000 reward, and all participants will be eligible to join the Ultimate Treasure Hunt for ownership of one of Klein’s Candyman Kitchens.

It doesn’t seem like there are any age requirements or group limits on the contest, though at least one person will have to register for the hunt and will need to have a Facebook account to join a private forum. Also, only one person can win the grand prize, so if you end up winning a candy factory as part of a group effort, you’ll have to settle this the way everything is settled in the cutthroat candy industry — with a duel to the death. (Sorry, we don’t make the rules!)

As mentioned, each treasure hunt is limited to just 1,000 participants. So if you’re interested in joining the hunt, head over to the Gold Ticket website to check when tickets are being released for your state. The first state, Georgia, is scheduled to drop tickets on September 30th at 11 am EST for $49.98, followed by Virginia on October 8th.

While promoting Uncut Gems, star Adam Sandler told Howard Stern that if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for his Oscar-worthy performance in the Safdie Brothers-directed film, “I’m going to fucking come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay. That’s how I get them.” Guess what? He wasn’t nominated.

In unrelated news, here’s the first look at Sandler’s next Netflix movie.

To be fair, Sandler was joking when he threatened to make his worst movie ever, and even if he wasn’t, he never said when it would happen. Besides, Hubie Halloween looks… good! The horror-comedy stars the Sandman as Hubie, “a good-natured but eccentric community volunteer who finds himself at the center of a real murder case on Halloween night. Despite his devotion to his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts (and its Halloween celebration), Hubie is a figure of mockery for kids and adults alike,” according to Entertainment Weekly. That could be fun. Also, Hubie is a Happy Gilmore reunion, with Sandler working with Julie Bowen for the first time since Virginia in his happy place.

It’s a real win-win for Sandler. If Hubie is terrible, then he’s living up to his promise; and if Hubie is good, then, well, that would make two good Sandler Netflix comedies.

Hubie Halloween, which also stars Kevin James, Maya Rudolph, Shaquille O’Neal, Ray Liotta, June Squibb, Steve Buscemi, Michael Chiklis, Kenan Thompson, and Rob Schneider (because of course it does), premieres on Netflix on October 7.

Following the death of Chadwick Boseman that left the world in mourning, his Black Panther co-star, Lupita Nyong’o, has shared a lengthy and touching tribute to the late actor. Inspired by the life lessons that Boseman taught her during the time together on the Marvel hit, Nyong’o revealed that she’s struggled to accept his passing, but she’s finding a way forward by remembering Boseman’s dedication to not wasting a second of life.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Nyong’o wrote on Instagram. “The news of his passing is a punch to my gut every morning. I am aware that we are all mortal, but you come across some people in life that possess an immortal energy, that seem like they have existed before, that are exactly where they are supposed to be – here! That seem ageless. Chadwick was one of those people.”

Echoing tributes from director Ryan Coogler and Black Panther star Letitia Wright, Nyong’o spoke glowingly about Boseman’s presence even before filming. He was at every audition and every fight training, pushing his co-stars just by his presence. “He set the bar high by working with a generosity of spirit, creating an ego-free environment by sheer example, and he always had a warm gaze an a strong embrace to share,” Nyong’o wrote. “His large hands would descend on my shoulders and give them a squeeze that relieved me of the tensions I did not realize I was holding. Chadwick’s hands were strong enough to carry the weight of the film and free enough to clasp mine when I needed it.”

Nyong’o also revealed a surprising side of Boseman. “He used his mouth to build, to edify, never to break. And he used it to tell some regrettably lame dad jokes.”

After praising Boseman for his deep love for humanity and his people, Nyong’o ended her tribute with a challenge for others to follow in Boseman’s footsteps. “Chadwick’s death is something that I can neither take in nor take in my stride right now. Perhaps with time… I’m going to take my time… and in his honor, I promise not to waste my time. I hope you will do the same.”

You can see Lupita Nyong’o’s full tribute to Chadwick Boseman below:

(Via Lupita Nyong’o on Instagram)

R. Kelly was reportedly the victim of an attack last week while in his prison cell at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. Kelly’s attorney Steven Greenberg confirmed the singer was sitting on his bed when another prisoner walked in and “started punching the crap” out of him. Now, Kelly is claiming he was aware of the attack’s premeditation and warned the prison guards, but they ignored him.

According to a report from TMZ, Greenberg said Kelly was aware of the alleged attack three weeks prior to the incident when he heard the inmate detailing his plan over the phone. Greenberg states Kelly informed the prison guards of what he overheard the next day, but they didn’t take his concerns seriously.

Greenberg originally alleged the attack was carried out due to the prison being on lockdown because of people protesting Kelly’s verdict outside the jailhouse. Guards had reportedly announced the facility was on lockdown, meaning the inmates could not go outside. Kelly’s legal team insists the announcement was against protocol and led to the inmates becoming upset with Kelly.

Reports of the alleged attack are the latest news from Kelly’s case, following the New York Times‘ story that three of the singer’s associates set one of his accuser’s cars on fire to intimidate her. The incident wasn’t the first time Kelly’s team had reportedly used a similar intimidation tactic. Back in October of last year, Kelly was accused of sending threatening letters to his alleged victims and their families.

Colin Kaepernick is still without a job in the NFL, going on four seasons since his last snap once games begin this week. Kaepernick, who was effectively blackballed from the league for his protests of racism and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, has continued to get looked off by teams seeking quarterback help.

This offseason, amid a resurgence of protests of police brutality and systemic racism across America and a shifting perception of the Black Lives Matter movement, NFL teams swore they would seriously look into bringing him in, but to this point that hasn’t happened. Roger Goodell has gone on record saying he supports a team signing Kaepernick, but as time wears on between NFL snaps the goalposts have shifted to questions about his readiness after years away from the game.

As for Kaepernick himself, he continues to do tremendous work as an activist and has inked deals with ESPN and Netflix as he expands into the media space. Still, he would like to make a return to the football field for a chance to continue a career that was cut short not for injury but for ignorance from the league, and it seems increasingly worrisome that chance may not come. For fans of Kaepernick, EA Sports announced on Tuesday that they had reached a deal with Kaepernick to bring him back to the virtual gridiron, adding him to the list of free agents in the game for Franchise and Play Now modes.

It’s good of EA to work with Kaepernick to add him to the game and as they note in their statement, he is still graded out in the game as a starting caliber quarterback and is the highest rated free agent QB at an 81 overall. Madden 21 certainly has plenty of things to work out and fix as a game, but adding Kaepernick is pretty cool and hopefully in future additions he won’t have to be a separate add on beyond those already on rosters.

Method Man is pretty busy defending Tasha Green-St. Patrick as high-profile attorney Davis Maclean in Power Book II: Ghost, but was able to pencil in some free time to get back to his rap roots with Conway The Machine in the latter’s video for “Lemon.” The video finds Meth swapping his clean-cut lawyer look for a bucket hat and Airpods as he delivers what NORE calls in a cameo sequence the “verse of the year.”

Meanwhile, the song’s principle artist Conway dons a ski mask for a menacing look as he posts up on the block outside a bodega with a squad of tough guys. He also sports bright flashes of yellow throughout the video, from a canary leather jacket to the detailing on his ski mask and matching monogrammed vest. Meth matches him with a yellow buffalo flannel (get it) and a pandemic-friendly face mask, pulled down so you can see his pearl whites as he slashes his way through his verse.

For now, the “Lemon” video is a Tidal Exclusive, but you can check out a preview below and enjoy the track as part of Conway’s new album From King To A God this Friday, September 11. The “Lemon” video is dedicated to the memory of the late DJ Shay, who helped Griselda Records early in their careers.

Watch Conway The Machine’s “Lemon” video featuring Method Man on Tidal.

From King To A God is out 9/11 via Drumwork/Griselda/EMPIRE.