Category: Worldwide

Rum is one of the fasted growing sectors of the spirits business. Like whiskey, it’s constantly expanding, changing, and deepening. At its highest levels, it marries quality sourcing, craft distilling techniques, new-wave barrelling experimentation, and expert blending. It teases sweetness without being cloying and conjures spice without needing added flavors.

It’s a fun time to drink really good rum, is what we’re saying.

Dark rums — like your favorite whiskeys or bourbons — draw deep colors, rich textures, and beautiful tasting notes from months and years spent in barrels. It’s also a global spirit, meaning you have a lot of variations to try with wildly different flavor profiles. Want something funkier? Drink a Jamaican rum. Looking for something a little more spicy and fruity? Barbados is the play. Looking for something on the cusp? Look out for Mauritian rums. You get the gist.

The ten bottles below are bottles I personally vouch for. I drink a lot of rum throughout the year in a professional capacity. But when I’m paying retail I still find myself coming back to these expressions more often than not.

Mount Gay Black Barrel

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Mount Gay Distilleries, Barbados (Rémy Cointreau)
Average Price: $50

The Rum:

You can’t really talk about rum and not talk about Barbados and Mount Gay. The distillery is the oldest rum distillery in the world and Barbados is known as the “birthplace” of the spirit. This expression is first aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being blended and finished in heavily-charred oak, giving the sip an incredible sense of depth.

Tasting Notes:

This is an even-handed rum. Notes of lemon-lime pop next to roasted nuts and plenty of sharp, dark spice. The palate delivers a hint of bourbon vanilla then carries on through notes of sweet tropical fruits, more citrus, thick molasses, plenty of Christmas spice, and a clear sense of bitter charred oak.

The fattiness from the nuts marries that aforementioned bitterness as the warmth from the spice close out the sip.

Bottom Line:

If you bump into me next to a pool, I’ll have a Black Barrel on the rocks in my hand.

Bacardí Gran Reserva Diez

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Bacardi Distillery, Puerto Rico
Average Price: $50

The Rum:

Bacardi has been changing its party image to one of high refinement recently with the Ocho and Diez releases. The Diez — a real stunner — is aged for ten long years and then charcoal filtered (not unlike Tennessee whiskey) before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

The refinement and age come through on the fruity nose of with highlights of banana (Tennessee whiskey anyone?), peach, and vanilla. The oak is present but serves as a reminder of the barrel as rich caramel, more vanilla, apple orchards, and a continuous stone fruit essence dance on the palate. The sip fades away evenly with a hint of spice and a distant wisp of tobacco smoke at the very end.

Bottom Line:

This is a solid sipper to have on hand but I like to use it as a base for a cracking rum Manhattan.

Flor de Caña 18

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Compañía Licorera de Nicaragua
Average Price: $55

The Rum:

This Nicaraguan rum is made on the slopes of the San Cristóbal Volcano. The molasses is made from estate-grown sugar cane from that volcanic soil. The rums are then aged in ex-bourbon barrels for varying amounts of time before blending. It’s important to note that “18” is the average age of the barrels involved and not the age of the expression.

Tasting Notes:

Bold and dark spices mingle with potpourri and a sense of sweet red fruit. The subtle molasses arrives and carries the fruit and florals towards a woody flourish. There’s a mineral edge that leans towards smoky, fruit-flavored pipe tobacco on the warming end.

Bottom Line:

Works as a solid rum on the rocks, highball, or cocktail base.

Equiano

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Gray’s distillery, Mauritius & Foursquare, Barbados
Average Price: $60

The Rum:

Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell masterminded this expression — combining African and Caribbean rum traditions. The bottle is created under the watchful eye of rum master Richard Seale who blends rums from Mauritius and Barbados into a one-of-its-kind final product that feels like the future of rum in a bottle.

Tasting Notes:

The Cognac cask finishing comes through even on the nose as fruit, nuts, and spice mingle. The sip naturally has a baseline molasses sweetness that’s supported by fruit, more spice, and a vinous sense alongside the wood. There’s a very mild note of bitterness that leads towards a long, satisfying end with a comforting warmth.

Bottom Line:

This is built as a “drinking rum” according to Burrell. That means you can sip it, shoot it, or mix it. I suggest trying it in a highball or cocktail, but that’s just me.

Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala (Diageo)
Average Price: $67

The Rum:

This Guatemalan rum is a serious bottle. The sugar cane honey is derived from single estate cane grown in the highlands. The first-press sugar cane juice is fermented with pineapple yeast before distillation. The juice is then aged in a combination of ex-bourbon, Oloroso sherry, and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for six to 23 years (again, the “23” is just the oldest barrel in the blend and not the age statement).

Tasting Notes:

Subtlety is the biggest note. There’s a dark chocolate bitterness touched by cinnamon spice, a hint of citrus, a waft of vanilla, and a dose of funk. The sip has a deep woodiness that carries hints of fresh tobacco, fatty nuts, thin molasses, and fresh, almost juicy, spices through a lingering finish.

Bottom Line:

Sip it with a single rock to help open up all those tasting notes.

Pusser’s Aged 15 Years

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Pusser’s Rum Ltd., West Indies
Average Price: $90

The Rum:

Pusser’s blends various rums from the Caribbean to create an expression that is reminiscent of the British Royal Navy rums of yesteryear. There’s a really old school sense to these rums (and the bottle) — all the taste with no flash. They’re a bit of a time machine to days of seafaring past, if you will.

This particular expression is a blend of Guyanan rums that have aged for at least 15 years.

Tasting Notes:

This sip is all about the wood and funk up top. There are notes of nuts, spices, and fruit, but the real point is that wood, minerality, and funkiness. There’s a mild sense of sweetness and warmth on the very short end that sticks with you.

Bottom Line:

This is a weird one and worth a shot if you’re looking for something truly different in the category. It also really works with tonic.

El Dorado 21 Year Old Special Reserve

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Demerara Distillers, Guyana
Average Price: $110

The Rum:

A lot of people complain that El Dorado rums are too sweet. And … I tend to agree if we’re talking about the expressions 15 years old and younger. However, the juice completely changes once you get above 20 years and becomes much closer to an earthy whisky.

This expression is a blend of three actual one-of-a-kind rums. One is distilled in the world’s only still-in-operation 19th-century wooden column still. One is distilled in the world’s only still-in-operation 18th-century single wooden pot still. And one is distilled in an 18th century French Savalle column still. That history alone is worth the money. Each is then aged for 21 years in oak before blending.

Tasting Notes:

Christmas cake dripping with melted butter sits next to flourishes of fresh tobacco leaves, dark cacao nibs, incense, and a hint of banana. The sip changes up everything but the cacao, as fatty nuts mingle with dried stone fruits and mild spices. The banana returns with a buttery, brown sugar flicker as the dried fruit deepens and the spice kicks up a notch towards sharp cinnamon before the sip very slowly fades away.

Bottom Line:

Sip this with a drop of water (or a rock) to appreciate the myriad flavors. I also dig it in a brandy snifter after a huge holiday meal.

Diplomático Single Vintage

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Destilerias Unidas S.A., Venezuela
Average Price: $115

The Rum:

This is an expertly-crafted expression. The rums are aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-single malt casks for up to 12 years and then hand-blended by the Maestro himself. The blend then spends a year in Spanish sherry casks to finish it off and really amp up the final product.

Tasting Notes:

Candied ginger dances next to notes of funky wood, orange oils, and a light dusting of Christmas spices. The sip leans into a sherry plummy sweetness as the spice carries on to plenty of wood, bitterness, and a bit more of that orange oil. The sip lingers for just the right amount of time as it retraces each note.

Bottom Line:

This is a light sipper that works wonders with a single rock in the glass.

Appleton Estate Aged 21 Years

ABV: 43%
Distillery: The Appleton Estate, Jamaica (J. Wray & Nephew)
Average Price: $140

The Rum:

Joy Spence is making magic happen with her expression at the Appleton Estate. Each of the barrels used in this blend was aged for a minimum of 21 years, giving this a real sense of place and time with a serious depth of flavor.

Tasting Notes:

I get a bit of marzipan next to notes of wood, Jamaican funk, vanilla, wet brown sugar, black pepper, and a flutter of bitter orange marmalade — and that’s just the nose. The sip embraces all those years in oak, mild spice, more almond nuttiness, a dark chocolate bitter edge, and what I’d call a white sugar cube sweetness (in the best possible way).

Bottom Line:

I drink too much of this (usually with one solitary rock).

Editor’s Pick: Montanya Valentia

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Montanya Distillery, Crested Butte, CO
Average Price: $55

The Rum:

A very cool story on this one — Karen Hoskin was a classic Rocky Mountain backpacker type who fell in love with rum in Goa, and landed on the idea of starting a rum brand while in Belize. Once she decided to follow this path, she did things her way. Her brand, Montanya, is female-owned, distilled, and bottled — and supports women in spirits with various initiatives and community projects.

This expression is single barrel and double maturation — aging for four years in whiskey barrels and finished in rye barrels. It’s made with no extra honey or sugar of any kind, which is definitely noticeable in the taste (we’ll get to that).

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you get some nice honey-sweet notes with a very solid dose of bright fruits (citrusy). Then the spice appears — not so much baking spices as peppery rye-type spice, with maybe some distant nutmeg. I found the palate to be very mineral-y, which I generally like and also conjures the rugged Rockies. The rye pepper draws out the vegetal, alive nature of the fruits, which I’d describe as “papayo-mango salad with grapefruit squeezed on top.” This is the part of the sip where you say to yourself, “There’s definitely no sugar added.”

On the finish, you get more typical rum cake-vanilla-cinnamon notes but they’re light and breezy (I really love super-rich rums, too, but this isn’t that). Nothing is heavy-handed here.

Bottom Line:

If you can afford this for a hand-shaken lime daiquiri on chipped ice, you’ll look like a cocktail genius. Otherwise, it does nicely as a sipper with an ice cube.

In a new interview with i-D Magazine, Cardi B says she spent $100,000 on her “WAP” video — and that was just the budget for COVID-19 testing for the cast and crew. The gamble has paid off, with “WAP” becoming the most-talked-about video of the year. As Cardi tells i-D’s Roisin Lanigan, “The conservatives keep talking and the numbers keep going up.”

The interview also led Cardi to talk about what led to the creation of her OnlyFans account. “I created an OnlyFans because people are stuck at home more, but also just because I wanted to be on an app where I can talk only and specifically to my fans,” she admits. It’s an explanation that makes sense; social media helped Cardi become the star she is today, but it’s also landed her in hot water and beef with conservative commentators.

“There are certain times — a lot of times, actually — when I just want to talk to my fans, you know, my people,” she continues. “I don’t wanna go live on Instagram or say my opinions on social media because people twist it and spin it. There are certain things I want only my fans to see, you know? I wanna be more open about my insecurities, what makes me happy and what makes me sad. I wanna be extremely transparent. And I’m not even talking about my body, you know, just my life. I feel like not everybody deserves to see it.”

The latter half of the interview is given to the creation of the “WAP” video, addressing the challenges of shooting a blockbuster video in a pandemic. “We had to spend $100,000 dollars just on testing. Everybody on the shoot had to get tested for coronavirus. We had a tiger and a leopard there, but we didn’t film with them in there because of safety and because of the pandemic. We spliced those scenes together.”

Read the full interview here.

Considering the FBI raided his home not even a week ago, and he knows that he’s at the center of an investigation, you’d think the last thing Jake Paul would want to do is host an unmasked, amateur boxing match in his house in the middle of a pandemic. Well (and according to TMZ) someone at Jake Paul’s house hosted an unmasked, amateur boxing match in his house in the middle of a pandemic.

Granted, it’s yet to be determined if Paul is specifically behind the unsanitary match on Wednesday night, or if he was even home at the time, but there are photos of Paul and his girlfriend taking their dog for a walk earlier that same day. (The fight also wouldn’t be the first large party Paul has thrown despite strict quarantine conditions in California.) As for the match, the video provided to TMZ doesn’t look great when it comes to social distancing, mask use, or any type of safety whatsoever:

You’ll note the combatants, breathing super hard and sweating in arm’s length of the spectators … a major NO-NO considering we’re still in the middle of a pandemic!!

This would never fly on UFC’s Fight Island.

The scene was wild — the fighters were going after each other full speed, without headgear and without refs.

The fight video couldn’t have arrived at a worst time for the Paul, and not just because of the FBI investigation. The YouTube star had just posted, then deleted a video where he attempts to shoots down rumors about the raid. According to Page Six, Paul claimed the raid is “entirely related” to his charges for looting in Arizona during a Black Lives Matter protest. “There are rumors about it having to do with so many other things that have nothing to do with me or my character and the s–t that people are making up is absolutely absurd,” Paul said in the now-deleted video.

However, Paul seems to later contradict himself as he hints that the investigation goes beyond the looting. “That being said, when I become aware of someone around me who is doing malicious things they are immediately cut out of my life” Paul said. “I don’t put up with bulls–t, I don’t surround myself with bad people. If someone does something bad, they will be removed from my life.”

Paul’s words may be referring to his associate and now former friend, Arman Izadi, whose “Graffiti Mansion” in Las Vegas was also raided by the FBI shortly after Paul’s home. In 2018, the Daily Beast described Izadi as a “convicted pimp” who’s been charged with robbery, kidnapping, and battery in the past. While the true nature of the FBI investigation is unknown, it appears to be going behind simple looting charges. Although, Izadi and Paul were arrested together in Arizona, so it will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

(Via TMZ, Page Six)

The NBA playoffs are arriving with haste as the seeding games come to a close this week. Some combination of the Blazers, Grizzlies, Suns, and Spurs will meet in the play-in games to determine the Western Conference 8-seed.

For Jay Williams, the past few weeks have meant a return to the studio with Maria Taylor and Jalen Rose [and a remote Paul Pierce] for ESPN’s NBA Countdown. He’s also preparing for his national radio debut as a co-host of Jay, Keyshawn, and Zubin on ESPN Radio in the 6-10 a.m. slot beginning next Monday.

This past Tuesday, Williams spoke with Uproxx about his move to radio (that story will come soon) and also for a lengthy discussion on bubble basketball, Damian Lillard’s incredible run of play, concerns he has about the Lakers and Bucks, buying in on Toronto, the emotional toll of the bubble, and much more.

First off, have you been impressed by the level of play in the bubble — up until this point where we start seeing more resting and such? Have you been impressed by how guys have come out and the competitive nature of play we’ve seen?

Bro, can I tell you how excited I am to talk hoops with you because you’re a basketball nerd like me. And I don’t feel like everyday people are really appreciating the level of basketball that’s being played during a pandemic, in a bubble, in Disney World. So, number one, hearing the level of communication on sets has been mind-boggling to me. It’s like, I might as well be a kid at Toys ‘R Us — kids don’t even know what Toys ‘R Us is anymore, it’s a physical version of Amazon. Hearing guys call out downscreens, what their cadences are, it’s been incredible.

Watching T.J. Warren put up buckets, even though last night he kind of got shut down by Jimmy Butler, which was a matchup I was dying to see considering their feud that they had earlier in the year. Watching what the Phoenix Suns have been doing, going undefeated with Monty Williams has been incredible, with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton. That’s a duo that, when we always talk about Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson or KAT and D-Lo, people always forget about Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Well, don’t forget about them now, look at them right now. Just the Clippers playing without players and still performing at a pretty high level. Watching the Lakers not come out and be what we thought the Lakers were, but watching Portland play at a high level and seeing them as a potential first round matchup series if they’re able to get by Memphis.

There’s so much good basketball being played right now. It’s absurd, bro. It’s like I’m in the candy shop.

The Portland thing is something I wanted to bring up, and it looks like they’re going to end up in a play-in series. Obviously they’ve gotta get through these next two games, but they’re playing some teams that have already been resting folks. From the perspective of a guy who’s been in a lead guard position like Dame, I think we’ve become a little desensitized to how ridiculous his play his been in the bubble and in the month or so leading up to the stoppage. He has, what, like five (ed note: now six, as this was before his game against Dallas) 50-point games this year?

Mmhmm.

I think we grown used to, like, oh another 50-point game, but that just doesn’t happen. What have you seen from him over the last couple years, cause he’s gone from All-Star snub guy to top-10 guy in the league without question. What have you seen in his development where he’s gotten to this point to where he can pull a team to where they need to get to?

That dude just has a relentless soul. Do you follow him on social media?

Yeah.

So him and I DM every once in a while, and — this is the crazy part about doing TV for as long as I’ve been doing TV. I go all the way back to the Draft Combine. I remember watching him work out and him and I wrapping, and I remember asking him after the first day, “So how do you measure up?” And he looked at me and said, “Man, I belong here.” He said it with that tone, and you can’t see my face, Robby, but it was like, “Man, I belong here.”

And for a kid from Weber State, I was like, oh, he’s different. You’re different. And I think for him, whether it’s Skip Bayless, whether it’s the little feud he had with P-Bev or going back and forth with PG, people just keep feeding him. This is the way he has flamed his entire career. His entire career people telling him he couldn’t do it, so when I see people do that I’m like, “What are you doing?”

I had some fun with him last night and I sent it to him. We had to do who are your top 5 players currently in the bubble, and I went with Giannis, Bron, Kawhi, James Harden — even though James Harden should probably be up higher, he should be like two with the way he’s been playing — and I went with AD as fifth. And Jalen and Paul — Paul had Luka in his top-5, which is another argument, and J-Rose had Dame. Before they even said anything, I was like, “I don’t have Dame on here, because I want him to continue to be angry.” Because I said it a month and a half ago during the pandemic — as I’m here patting myself on the back, which I told you I don’t like to do [laughs], dammit! — they can beat the Lakers man.

I firmly believe they can beat the Lakers. Not having Avery, not having Rajon. The way this team is playing right now, they can’t defend the guard position. People forget last year this team went to the Western Conference Finals, and having Nurkic back and having Zach Collins back — not even having Trevor Ariza or Rodney Hood — they can still beat the Lakers because they have Dame and C.J. When those dudes get going, they are one of the most fun duos to watch in the game of basketball.

That brings me to something else I wanted to ask. What is the level of concern with the Lakers with how they’ve come out? Because the question for this team all along has been, “What does this supporting cast give LeBron and AD?” And outside of Kuz, nobody’s really looked like they’re ready to step up. Waiters has looked like a guy that hasn’t played a lot of basketball, same with J.R.

Mmhmm.

Caruso does a lot of the little things, but doesn’t seem like a guy who can pick up a lot of the scoring load. Where is the level of concern for what the Lakers have shown you, even knowing LeBron is going to flip his switch?

I think it’s pretty high. I think it can help them some, because I think LeBron will have to do so much more. Number one, defending guards is going to be a challenge for them. Alex Caruso is going to have his hands full with trying to guard the likes of Dame. Same with KCP, same with J.R., same with Waiters, anybody. And same with C.J., because he moves around continuously without the ball. But the biggest challenge I see with the Lakers is: How much can LeBron do? I’ll ask you this question: Who’s the next facilitator on that team? Who else other than LeBron makes people look good and makes the game easier for others?

Yeah, I mean, that’s the question, because Caruso, if he’s taking on a bigger defensive load that takes away from what you’re doing offensively and takes your legs.

Yep, and with the utmost respect to Alex Caruso, cause I love watching him play, he’s not the facilitator that Rondo is. Like, Rondo averaged 5.5 assists a game. Like, dude, just sign someone who puts the ball on a dinner platter for you to go up and score makes life so much easier. Now everything comes down to LeBron. Now, I know how as a defense how to cater my defensive plan to stopping you, and I’m going to make LeBron James guard. Whoever you’re on, we’re going to run action towards LeBron James, keep him moving. So if I make him tired on the defensive end, I make him guard, I sure as hell and gonna make him tired offensively. And we know LeBron’s not going to be able to guard each and every possession, not in the playoffs. Not if we get to like a Game 6 or a Game 7 in the first round if that happens. That becomes a long, grueling couple of months for LeBron James. That’s a lot to ask of someone who’s 35 years old.

Right, and I think that’s what you wonder with LeBron — and he’s still preposterous at 35 years old. It’s funny because we talk about LeBron hasn’t looked great and he had 29 and 12 last night, and we’re like, “Eh, is that enough?”

No, you know, every time LeBron James has won a championship, he’s had another high level facilitator on his team. Kyrie, D-Wade. D-Wade was also a really good passer, FYI, and a lot of his assists were to LeBron. So now I look at it and say, “OK, he’s playing with another top 5 player, but that top 5 player, you have to make sure you get him the ball.” With D-Wade and Kyrie, I can take a possession off. Let them bring the ball up the floor. Do your thing, cook.

Now I have to come down and get the ball to AD, create for AD. Who’s creating for me? Who’s making the game easier for me? Nobody. Alright, if I’m a defense, get it J.R. Smith, put the ball down on the ground. I know you’re one dimensional, I know you’re going to look for J.R. Smith. Dion Waiters, I know you’re going to look for Dion Waiters. Like, there’s nobody that can make other people great and that’s the hard part right now. No one’s going to make the game easy for LeBron.

Outside of that Portland matchup, what other teams in the West do you look at as being the biggest threats to the two L.A. squads?

[Long sigh] Being the biggest threat?

Like the team that could take down the Clippers or a Lakers in a seven game series?

Wow, I don’t see anybody taking down the Clippers. I don’t.

OK, even though they’ve got to kind of work guys back in — Montrezl is just back — in the playoffs?

I think they have a great problem because they have so much firepower. But you know, I take that back. The Houston Rockets, I think the Houston Rockets — right now they’re in the 4 so they’d match up with the Lakers. Alright let me ask you this, can you imagine if the Lakers had to play Portland, and let’s say that took them six games, and then they have to play the Houston Rockets?

Who just run you ragged.

Are you serious? Like by the time they got to the conference finals, you know how tired they would be? So, I mean, I don’t see Denver. I like having Jamal Murray back, that’s big for them, and MPJ has been great. I like Michael Porter Jr., I thought the Knicks really missed on that draft pick — they miss on a lot of draft picks, but in particular that one. Bol Bol, too. But I don’t think they have, like — I think they’re still so young. And their superstar, Nikola Jokic, is like he’s not a top 5 player in the league yet. When I watch him, he’s super talented but the talent doesn’t jump off the page to me like an Anthony Davis does or a LeBron James or Kawhi or James Harden or Jayson Tatum or Kyrie or Kevin Durant. He’s in that next tier, but he’s still a max guy if that makes sense.

Then, Utah, we have this question all the time and I’ll ask you: Is Donovan Mitchell a superstar in the league?

Not yet.

I think he’s a star, but not a superstar.

Yeah, I’m with you, and without Bogdanovic their offense, they just don’t have enough.

Exactly. OKC plays really hard, I love what CP3 is doing.

They’re going to be obnoxious. That’s what they’re going to be, like they’re another team you just wouldn’t want to play in a series because that’s five or six miserable games.

Exactly, but like I think Portland and Houston could beat the Lakers. Like, Houston may be able to beat the Clippers, but it’s still so tough because between, “Alright Patrick Beverley, go get ‘em. Alright, Reggie Jackson go get ‘em. Alright PG, go get ‘em. Alright Kawhi, go get ‘em.” You have so many guys and so many bodies you can throw at [Harden]. I still think Houston would have the best chance if they were to matchup against the Clippers, but it’s looking like they matchup against the Lakers in the semis, which for the Clippers, I’m chilling. We want this two-seed. Let me get this. Let me go against Dallas, which would be a great matchup, then let me go against Denver or OKC or Utah. Like, I’m cool. Great. Be rested, get ready for the chip. Lakers having to go through Portland and Houston, good luck with that.

On the East side, the Raptors have looked terrific aside from the one game against the Celtics. How much of a believer are you in this Toronto team and where their chances lie in the East with likely a second round series with Boston and the conference finals with the Bucks?

So, I think they are the best coached team in the NBA. I think Nick Nurse should’ve won the National Coaches of the Year award. And I think the one thing that makes them so unique in the East is they have the most versatile chess pieces defensively to guard the wings of Boston, but to also guard Giannis. Between OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, and Norman Powell, you have a lot of people who are similar in size and length, with the exception of Norman who is different dynamically because he can get up underneath you and is so quick laterally and is so strong.

And Fred [VanVleet] does that too.

And Fred too. So they have so many different looks. They can build a wall against Giannis, they did it last year in the playoffs and I know they had Kawhi, but still, Giannis shot 18 percent against Serge and 48 percent against Pascal, and then you have a big body in Marc Gasol in the middle. And then those guys can also guard the wings against Boston.

Look, the scouting report’s out on Boston, man. When they make threes, they’re one of the best teams in the league. When they don’t and you make them play in the halfcourt, they become very iso-basketball and their assists go down and they’re not as efficient. So those wings can contest threes late and make them hard contests. So I think Toronto, due to being in the East, is in a great position to make it to back-to-back NBA Finals.

Which would be incredible.

It really would be.

And with the Bucks, like the Lakers they haven’t been at their best in the bubble, and I think they have similar questions. On paper you say, OK, they have a good supporting cast, but given Bledsoe’s struggles the past two playoffs, you still want to see it happen in the postseason. Where are you at on the Bucks, and I guess same question with the Lakers, what’s the level of concern for the favorites in the East right now?

Look, I love watching Giannis play. I do. It’s, for a lot of these teams, Boston, your best player is Jayson Tatum, then you’ve got Jaylen Brown, then you’ve got Kemba and you’ve got Gordon. If you’re Toronto, you got Pascal, you got Kyle — like trust me, he put up buckets against the Lakers — you’ve got Fred, who’s underrated. You’ve got guys who can score a little bit, even if they’re known for their defense. Milwaukee doesn’t really defend three-point shots, they let you shoot. They defend inside the paint, where they’re basically the best in the league, but like, you know, Khris Middleton is extremely underrated but beyond that who’s their consistent third guy? Like, I don’t know.

It’s gotta be Bledsoe, but last two years, not a lot of confidence.

I know, man. And I don’t know if I have a lot of confidence now. And then I’m like, George Hill, he seems like a grandpa on that team, he keeps getting older and older and older. And I think George Hill is serviceable, but I don’t know if he’s at that level. Pat Connaughton’s talented, but I think what we’re going to see is them losing Malcolm Brogdon is going to hurt them in the playoffs, man. I don’t think we’ve seen it hurt them in the regular season, but in the playoffs we’re gonna see how much — cause he can go get his. He can go create, you can count on him for that consistency. You can’t do that now, and you don’t know who that third person is going to be consistently every night with that kind of play. That’s going to be a major problem for them.

I think — and this is something I’ve been ruminating on for a bit is, coming out of the Warriors era, which was preceded by the Heat era of these superteams where maybe they’re beatable in a Finals but they don’t have glaring flaws — it is kind of strange having to shift back to this understanding that even the best teams, you can poke at them and see flaws, which is different than what we’ve had in almost a decade and it makes this playoffs really interesting on both sides.

I also want to say this. My daughter’s about to turn two in October, and one of the things that saves my life, Robby, is when I have tough days at work or tough days in business, when I walk my foot through the door of my house, I have to leave all that at the doorstep. I have to become a present father and a present husband, and I don’t care what anybody says, that recalibrates you. When you step away from something for a little bit of time, it helps with your focus and it helps you realign when you come back and visit it. One of the challenges that nobody really speaks about is, these guys can’t leave it. You can’t leave it. You see your kids on iPhone, you see your wife on iPhone, you can’t lay down next to her. You can’t have a good home cooked meal. You can’t just escape for a minute. That’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out, man. That’s a big thing. Like, you think LeBron James, spending time four months at home and seeing his kids every day, even if he had a bad game his kids couldn’t get him out of that funk?

And I think LeBron’s kind of hinted at that. Like, when people have asked what’s going on he’s been like, “Well we’re not hitting shots, but it’s also other stuff.” And like he’s never going to say it, but you know how that dude rolls. That’s family man number 1.

That’s what I’m saying, man. You don’t think that’s going to carry some kind of toll? If I have anxiety going to work at the South Street Seaport because of my baby, you don’t think LeBron James has some anxiety? Like, people don’t talk about these intricacies of what guys are dealing with, it’s all about the results of what’s out on the court. You’re asking those guys to go on the court during a pandemic, while there’s social protests going on about Black Lives Matter, while [LeBron’s] the official voice of Black Lives Matter for the NBA. Wow. Shit, that’s a lot of weight to carry. That’s a lot man.

You know, that’s not easy to do. People can be like, well just focus on basketball, but he also doesn’t just shut up and dribble. But we’ll tear him down if he doesn’t win a championship, but we’ll also tear him down if he does win a championship but doesn’t step up for what Black people are going to and he’s a savior there as well. Damn, so that’s a lot to carry in your backpack every day. Living in the public eye is not an easy thing, and standing up for social justice in the midst of all of these things happening and the pressure that comes along with that, the way he handles that is just remarkable.

Yeah, it’s something that — to come in with the spotlight he had at 18 and his biggest misstep being a charity fundraiser Decision TV program…

Yeah that went to the Boys & Girls Club.

Always is incredible to me, that the worst thing he’s done in the public eye was essentially a charity thing that pissed a bunch of people off.

You know, man, I’ve been on TV [to talk about this] a bunch of times and it turns into such an argument for me, because I say LeBron is the greatest player to ever play the game. I say that because my whole life I learned that it’s about more than just the game of basketball. If winning’s all you care about, then Bill Russell is the greatest player of all time. Or if being undefeated is it. But what’s your impact? How are you making a difference? There’s more to being the greatest player than just winning. It’s pushing the culture forward and standing for what’s right in the midst of the chaos that you’re experiencing on the floor. I continue to be mesmerized by him.

Tallahassee, Florida rapper Saucy Santana‘s debut album Pretty Little Gangsta has become one of the unexpected success stories of the year, prompting a trending topic and a spate of hilarious memes upon its arrival. Now, he’s capitalizing on the wave of attention with a brand new video for standout track “Back It Up” featuring Atlanta rapper LightSkinKeisha showing off just why his sassy brand of unapologetic alt-rap has resonated with audiences so thoroughly.

Right off the bat, you’ll probably notice a cake motif, as the video opens with closeups of various pâtisseries right before things get messy. Santana shows up in a bright pink ensemble flanked by a pair of rotund, gyrating derrieres before proceeding to smash all the sweet treats on the table as he and his dancers twerk their way through the video. Both rappers’ verses extoll the virtues of booty and exerting sexual freedom, with Saucy snarking, “Be a slut but don’t make it trashy.”

Santana’s come-up is made even more likely by the news that he was shot late last year while leaving a strip club in the Miami-Dade area. Santana later said he believed the shooting was motivated by homophobia due to his gender-bending image and raunchy, obviously queer lyrics. However, his survival ensures that hip-hop’s ever-growing collection of artists continues to expand the genre’s diversity of styles, images, and identities.

Watch Saucy Santana’s “Back It Up” video featuring LightSkinKeisha above.

When non-essential businesses in NYC were ordered to close in March, restaurants across the five boroughs were tasked to pivot fast or risk shuttering their doors for good.

The impact on the city’s once vibrant restaurant scene was immediate and devastating. A national survey found that 250,000 people were laid off within 22 days and almost $2 billion in revenue was lost. And soon, numerous restaurant closures became permanent as the pandemic raged on and businesses were unable to keep up with rent and utility payments.

Hot Bread Kitchen, a New York City-based nonprofit and incubator that has assisted more than 275 local businesses in the food industry, knew they needed to support their affiliated restaurants in a new light to navigate the financial complexities of shifting business models and applying for loans.

According to Hot Bread Kitchen’s CEO Shaolee Sen, shortly after the shutdown began, a third of restaurant workers that they support had been laid off and another third were furloughed.

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While Hot Bread Kitchen seeks to help minority-owned restaurants thrive and sustain a diverse workforce, Sen has seen the small business owners that Hot Bread Kitchen represents hit unequally hard compared to white small business owners during the pandemic.

“The majority of people who have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs are people of color,” Sen said. “Our crisis response included direct cash assistance and wraparound support for food industry employees and entrepreneurs who have been disproportionately impacted by the economic effects of this crisis.”

This support included emergency relief and the launch of a hotline to help Hot Bread Kitchen’s alumni navigate hardship brought on by the pandemic, such as navigating unemployment, benefits, childcare, food resources and anxiety. After seeing overwhelming demand, Hot Bread Kitchen opened up the hotline to all food workers.

Courtesy of Hot Bread Kitchen

Hot Bread Kitchen was able to assist the small businesses it supports through the help of numerous partners and donors, including Capital One, who has provided grants to the nonprofit since 2012 and also helped Hot Bread Kitchen secure a loan to maintain employing its staff through the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program as a small business banking customer.

“Capital One is proud to partner with Hot Bread Kitchen and share in its commitment to empowering women and businesses as they navigate the complex financial challenges brought on by the pandemic,” says Theresa Bedeau, a vice president of Community Impact & Investment at Capital One who also serves on Hot Bread Kitchen’s advisory board.

One of the hundreds of businesses that Hot Bread Kitchen helped was Chef El-Amin, a New Rochelle, New York-based healthy soul foods restaurant turned catering business that originally opened in 1985.

This wasn’t the first time that founder and chef Yusef El-Amin had pivoted his business to address the needs of his community. In 2000, he became concerned by his local community’s struggle with diabetes and obesity, so he transformed his menu of classic soul food items into healthier gluten-free or vegan options without compromising taste.

With dining-in no longer a safe option, El-Amin sought the help of Hot Bread Kitchen to pivot his restaurant’s business model once again.

“Most people are staying in and feeding their families where they live, so why not bring our recipes right into their homes?” says Rakhya El-Amin, Chef Yusef’s daughter and current CEO and Managing Director of Chef El-Amin.

Courtesy of Chef El-Amin

The restaurant quickly pivoted and is now bringing its fish fry seasoning into home kitchens from Florida to California.

“We’re perfecting our seasonings and our sauces so we can ship them to anyone in the United States,” Yusef said.

Hot Bread Kitchen has been an instrumental resource to Chef El-Amin during this transition.

According to Rakhya, they’ve helped Chef El-Amin zero in on creating the right product for its target market and expanding its offering of Halal, a traditionally underserved market in the US.

Hot Bread Kitchen has also helped them streamline the consumer packaged goods processing for Chef El-Amin products by arranging for state and local inspections, as well helping scale the business from a local favorite to a national powerhouse.

While Rakhya is proud to partner with Hot Bread Kitchen and encourage innovation among Black and Brown business leaders in her community, her focus is clear.

“I don’t want people to buy from us just because we’re an African American-owned business, I want people to buy from us and support our cause because it’s the best product line out there,” Rakhya said. “The whole team at Hot Bread Kitchen has been so supportive and we’re really thankful to be aligned with such a wonderful organization.”

Back in June, Flatbush Zombies didn’t give much warning before returning with a new EP. Announcing their new era with cryptic social media posts, the group consisting of Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, and Erick the Architect released the 6-track EP Now, More Than Ever. Now, Flatbush Zombies gave a taste of their vibrant sound with an energetic NPR Tiny Desk concert.

Known for their stage antics, Flatbush Zombies still managed to make an at-home Tiny Desk performance interesting. Kicking off their set with their moving track “When I’m Gone,” the group picked up momentum with a rendition of “Palm Trees” and “Afterlife.”

The group opened their set seated on the ground but, of course, they couldn’t stay static for long. After introducing each member in their backup band with rowdy cheers thanks to Meechy Darko, Erick said: “I feel like that’s the energy we need. We gotta stand up now.” Erick grabbed a handheld camera to get close-and-personal for their last track, “Afterlife,” which was released just last week. “Got bored on ’em, got awards on ’em / Nowadays, they’re treatin’ music like tourism / What is pop, what is not? / What is different when you’re not,” Erick raps.

The Tiny Desk performance arrives shortly after the group shared an x-ray vision video to “Afterlife,” which had an unexpected collaborator. Flatbush Zombies linked up with James Blake to produce the song when the band discovered he was a big fan and met up with him in 2018.

Watch Flatbush Zombies’ NPR Tiny Desk concert above.

Now, More Than Ever is out now via Glorious Dead. Get it here.

You’d think President Trump would’ve learned by now not to start a fight with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but here we are … another day, another Twitter beef.

Trump hopped on the phone with Fox News this morning to rant about some of his favorite topics: the U.S. Postal Service, Kamala Harris, and vegetarians, but in the midst of attacking Joe Biden’s campaign, he name-dropped another prominent Democratic party member: AOC. On Maria Bartiromo’s morning show the president claimed that AOC was a “poor student” and “not even a smart person” after suggesting Biden, if elected, would raise taxes to fund her Green New Deal.

AOC went to Boston University and graduated with degrees in Economics and International Relations. Trump went to Fordham University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania with the help of his family’s connections. He graduated without honors and his niece, Mary Trump, recently alleged that Trump hired someone to take the SAT test for him in order to achieve the scores he needed to get into college.

All of this is easy to find with a quick Google search but it’s infinitely more fun to just check out AOC’s comeback to Trump’s diss on Twitter. The Congresswoman challenged the president to release his transcripts, promising she’d do the same and whoever scored better grades in school had to bail out the U.S. Postal Service.

After his former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted Trump ordered him to send out threatening letters to all of his former alma maters, demanding that they not release any of his transcripts or information on his academic career, we guess the likelihood of ever seeing how Trump did in class is about as good as the chance we’ll ever see his elusive tax records.

Polo G was still two years away from being born when the classic sitcom Martin aired its final episode in May 1997, but that hasn’t stopped the 2020 XXL Freshman from being a fan. Following in the footsteps of fellow Midwesterner Big Sean, he reproduces his (and the internet’s) favorite scenes from Martin in his aptly-titled new single, “Martin & Gina.”

They’re all here too. There’s the iconic moment when Gina gets stuck from “Headin’ For Trouble”; there’s the infamous aftermath of Martin’s fight with Tommy “Hitman” Hearns from “Guard Your Grill”; and there’s the emotional rollercoaster of “The Break-Up,” all re-enacted by Polo G with Instagram comedian PrettyVee and directed by Reel Goats in a perfect reproduction of the apartment set from the classic sitcom. Stick around for the end of the video, which is loaded with behind-the-scenes moments and outtakes from the production of the endearing homage.

“Martin & Gina” is the fifth single from Polo’s star-making sophomore effort, The GOAT, which released in May and has been going strong ever since. Videos from the album include “Heartless,” “Go Stupid” with Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa, “DND,” and “Wishing For A Hero.”

Watch Polo G’s “Martin & Gina” video above.

Larry Wilmore is getting a late-night show on Peacock (along with Uproxx favorite Amber Ruffin), which is excellent news for fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The PJs, The Bernie Mac Show, and Insecure, all of which he wrote for and/or created. Wilmore also appeared in two episodes of The Office (he was an executive producer, as well) as Diversity Today representative Mr. Brown, including season one’s “Diversity Day.”

It’s one of the more uncomfortable episodes of the show — although not as cringe-inducing as “Scott’s Tots” — as Michael Scott takes over a diversity training seminar by making everyone wear index cards on their foreheads with different races on them. The slap he receives from Kelly after doing an offensive Indian accent is well deserved.

“Diversity Day” is, as Wilmore told Collider, not an episode that “could be produced today and probably rightly so. In fact, I have outtakes from that scene with Steve Carell that I can’t even say what they are… But you never know. Things swing back and forth all the time, you know. And the culture is very malleable in that way.” He continued:

“The things that we find — it’s not so much the things that we can make fun of, but the things we find we can laugh at and it’s okay to laugh at… I have more things on my list than most people and I acknowledge that, you know. And it’s why I probably get in trouble sometimes. But I honestly think that the more we can laugh about tough things, I just think the better off we are.”

The complete “Diversity Day” is one cut, among many, that does not need to be released.

(Via Collider)