Competitive Madden is nothing new — you have, assuredly, found yourself watching games broadcast somewhere on the ESPN family of networks at one point or another while you’ve been flipping the channels in the search of something to watch. But in our current climate, one defined in part by a lack of sports, the increasingly-popular option of watching eSports is turning into an opportunity to get lost in some sort of sporting event to one extent or another.

This increased popularity, something that was occurring even before society found itself caught up in a pandemic, has led to increased visibility for those who participate in eSports. An example from the world of Madden will be on display this weekend, as two competitive players — Noah Johnson and Dwayne Wood, known respectively by their competitive names “Noah” and “CleffTheGod” — will get featured on ESPN’s Road to the Madden Bowl. The program airs this Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

Both Johnson and Wood will compete against one another in group play during the upcoming Madden NFL 20 Bowl, a tournament that looks to determine the best Madden player in the world. The pair have some history against one another, as Johnson topped Wood in a recent Madden NFL Championship Series event.

Prior to the program hitting the airwaves, Uproxx Gaming spoke to Johnson — a 17-year-old high school senior who’s headed to the University of Maryland next year — about the game, the upcoming tournament, and balancing his two lives as student and a competitive gamer.

With everything that’s been going on over the last month or two, have you been playing more Madden than usual or have you been staying in your routine of what you would normally do with training and focusing on getting better in the game?

I’ve actually been playing a lot more Madden recently just because I’ve been at home almost all day every day because of what’s been going on. I’d be going to school from like 9-3 and then have baseball practice after that. So I wouldn’t be getting home until 7:30, 8:00 and only be able to play like three to four hours a day. But now, I can play a lot more just because I have a lot more time. So it’s actually been kind of nice.

Before all of this, when you’ve gotten a chance to really focus on playing Madden, what would go into a normal day of just training and focusing on improving in the game?

I’d probably play from 8:00 to 11:00, 11:30, so like three and a half hours and that’s mostly just the games against, like on the leaderboards or wagers against other people for money because I feel like that’s the best way for me to get better. Because if people are putting money up, then obviously they’re going to be playing their best game. So I know what I’m going after and also I can win some money, too, if I’m playing well.

I want to ask about that routine and whether you get into any sort of rhythm, especially when you have a big event like the Madden Bowl coming up. Do you try and follow the same routine day in and day out, or do you alter that within the context of you have school, you have baseball, those sorts of things, even when you have some sort of really serious event upcoming?

I just kind of play it by ear. Obviously, I try to get on the game and usually when I prepare on the game, I’ll go into practice mode for a little bit and before the games. But no, I don’t really have like a crazy schedule like that. I just kind of play it by ear because sometimes I’ll be on the game until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. So I’m still trying to get a couple hours of sleep at night. It really just depends.

So you’re in high school, believe I saw you’re heading Maryland next year. How do you balance being a normal high schooler with dedicating time to getting to the level that you are in Madden?

There’s a lot of time management that goes into it, because obviously, I want to do everything that a normal senior in high school would want to do. But being one of the best at the game obviously takes a lot of time. So I really don’t have that much downtime as opposed as other people. I’m always doing something, whether it be hanging out with my friends, doing schoolwork, going to school, or obviously playing the game.

So when you’re playing Madden against normal folks, like your friends, someone like me who is a very casual Madden player, what’s normally the biggest difference in terms of how the more casual player plays compared to a more competitive player?

Well, right away, once we load up and we’re on the play call screen, I can tell if someone’s a casual or not. Because if they pick their play instantly, I know more than likely they’re using coach suggestions. And so I can tell right there that they’re more of a casual guy. And also if they’re not using a linebacker, which is what most competitive people do — linebacker or a safety — if their user is the defensive line, I could tell that they’re probably not that competitive.

Interesting. So when did you decide to start participating in more competitive games of Madden and how did that lead to you participating in the Madden Championship Series?

I’ve been playing Madden for six or seven years and I would play their Ultimate Team game mode and just play their leaderboards on that. And then once I realized that I was pretty good on the leaderboards and growing pretty high, I realized I could take it to the next level and compete in these tournaments. But I had to wait until I was 16 because they have an age limit. So I didn’t start playing until the last year, but I didn’t really put that much time into it as opposed to this year because I was more focused on school. But I went all in this year and it all paid off.

Let’s talk about your game. I read that one of your biggest strengths is your rushing attack. Before we get into that specifically, I imagine when you play competitively, you can decide to focus on any aspect of the game and refining that and having that become a strength of yours. Is that fair?

Yeah, for sure. For this year, I focused, going on your point about my running attack, I focused my game style to running the ball because I feel like this year, it’s run-heavy, you’re going to have a better chance if you run the ball. And so I’m always going to do whatever it gives you the best chance to win. So this year, it was running the ball a lot, so I really tried to make my running game the best it could be.

So you’re basically letting the game dictate what you decide to be good at. Is that a good way of putting it?

For sure. Some people, no matter the game mode, probably the most popular formation in the game is a gun bunch if you’re going to pass the ball. And no matter the game, people are going to be coming out on that every single game and that can have its pros and cons. Like, this year, it’s really hard to pass. So I might’ve been in gun bunch last year when it was easier, but now, I’m going to be in I formation running the ball, just because it gives me the best chance to win.

So if all things are equal, a Madden game isn’t designed so you are best running the ball or best out of certain formation, what is your ideal way to play the game?

Well, playing the game when you’re passing the ball, I must say. Passing the ball is probably a lot more fun to watch, in my opinion, like if you’re watching a football game. And it can be fun when people are in the trenches running the ball for three to four yards a carry, but watching, like, Patrick Mahomes airing out the ball, that’s probably the best way to watch football, in my opinion. That’s the same way with Madden. When two passers are going at it, it’s a super, super fun to watch, and I enjoy passing the ball as well. But this year it’s really hard to.

What makes you say that?

The added abilities to this year’s game. There’s D-line abilities that make it so they just shed really quick. The blocking isn’t that great this year, in my opinion. It’s kind of more realistic, so you have less time in the pocket and you gotta make quicker reads. Running the ball’s a lot easier. A lot less that goes into it, you just got to play the numbers game, realize who’s blocking who, and yeah, find a hole.

And your other strength is rattling opponents. How do you do that and why is that such an important part of the game to you?

I’m one of the youngest, I was actually the youngest to win a belt, but I’m one of the youngest always in the tournament. Other guys, they’re are a lot older than me. I really like to get in people’s heads and I feel like that’s just what helps me a lot, because I know if I can get in your head, then you’re not focusing on the game, you’re focusing on me, and I know that I’ve already won the game if you’re not even focusing on the game anymore. So I’ll be talking trash almost all game and if I’m doing well, you’re going to hear about it. So I feel like that’s probably my biggest strength.

So let’s talk about the tournament. First, could you just map out how you got to this point?

To the Madden Bowl?

Yeah.

I qualified via the challenge, the Madden Challenge, which was the last tournament, and I won that tournament. So that allowed me to qualify for the Madden Bowl.

Cool. And for just a second, how much experience do you have against the other three players in your group and to whatever extent you have them, what are your thoughts on them?

I actually played Cleff, one of the people in that group in the championship in the Madden challenge and I ended up beating him. But I know he’s a super good player, so that’s going to be a really good game. And same with Lil Man and Schemin. I’ve watched these guys play a lot in the other tournaments. I’ve never played them in a tournament, but I’ve played them offline a ton, and I’m prepared for them. I know they’re really good players, so it should be some really good games.

And how do you make sure that you get out of your group and move on to the knockout portion of the bracket?

I just really try to take it one game at a time. I realize if I win my first game, you have a really good shot of moving on. Because all you need to do is you just got to get third out of the group, and all I care about is advancing. I don’t care if I’m first, second, or third. So I just really want to win at least one game, take it one game by one game, win the first game, then win the second game, then try to win the third game. But got to make sure I win the first game.

Among the other 12 people in this, is there anyone you especially want to play and why them?

No, I don’t really care who I play. I kind of play the game instead of the name. I’m just going to play my game no matter who I’m playing. But I’m not going to let who I’m playing dictate how I play, I’m just excited to play anyone.

A few final questions here. First off, if you end up winning this, I know you’re going to college in the fall, would the belt be coming with you or would you leave that one at home?

I already got one. I might have to leave one belt here and bring one to college. We’ll see. We’ll make that decision when it happens.

Then my last question, you could play Madden with anyone in the world. Who are you picking and why?

Man, that’s a good question. Put me on the spot here. I don’t know, I’ve seen [Baltimore Raves receiver] Hollywood Brown play, I just saw him play in a celebrity tournament. He was a really good player. I’d love to play against him sometime.

“My boobs are in fast and the furious Tokyo drift.”

No, that’s not my future-tombstone, it’s the beginning of a tweet from Chrissy Teigen. “My boobs are in fast and the furious Tokyo drift. I sat on the floor with 200 people in a parking garage in downtown la,” she shared to her 12.7 million followers on Twitter last night. “They pulled me to be ‘girl getting out of car’ and the shot ended up cutting off at my face as they panned up my body. Lmao.” The role does not appear on Teigen’s IMDb, unlike her iconic performance as “Nutcracker” in The Toycracker: A Mini-Musical Spectacular. And who could forget when she voiced Crystal in Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation? (I didn’t, because the Hotel Transylvania movies are good.)

Teigen followed her Tokyo Drift tweet with an assignment: “Can someone find it? I dont wanna have to watch it but its a parking garage scene and I believe the boobs are in a pink bra.” Within two minutes of that tweet, there was a screenshot; within 20 minutes, there was video; within 30 minutes, there was this reply, “My wife and aunt had nothing better to do than find your boobs.” We’re all surviving the quarantine in different ways…

With Furious 9 delayed until next year, there’s no reason director Justin Lin can’t add a scene where Teigen reprises her role as Girl Getting Out of Car. Or maybe she can play Dominic Toretto’s never-mentioned sister. It worked for John Cena — why not Teigen?

Another good Chrissy Teigen Twitter thread:

My personal favorite.

I’m so jealous.

Finding the best bourbon is a lifelong endeavor. There are so many bottles on the shelves these days from big-name producers to small-time local craft distillers that it’s hard to know where to start. We’re not complaining. All we’re saying is that it’s a good time to be a whiskey drinker. Still, the dearth of choices can lead to a lot of head-scratching. That’s why we write about bourbons so damn much.

This time, we’ve gone to the masses to find out which bourbons they think are the best. Over on Ranker folks cast a whopping 54,000 votes, and a clear top ten bourbons emerged. It’s a mainstream list, for sure. But all things considered, it’s a solid selection, too.

Hopefully, this list will help you the next time you find yourself perusing whiskey pages from your local delivery service. The bourbons featured are all winners and each has a little twist or nuance that makes it special.

10. Booker’s

Entry Bottle: Booker’s Bourbon
Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory)
ABV: 63%
Average Price: $79.99

The Whiskey:

Booker’s makes great bourbon overall. This heady bourbon from Jim Beam is a blending of six and eight-year-old barrels from deep in their rickhouses. The quality is top-notch, making this a bottle that won’t disappoint even the snobbiest of whiskey “lovers.”

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sweet toffee nose that gives way to bright cedar, stewed apples, spicy red and black pepper, and a flourish of sour cherries. It’s as complex as it is satisfying and will linger on your senses with all that spice and fruit.

9. W.L. Weller

Entry Bottle: Weller Special Reserve Bourbon
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $39.99

The Whiskey:

This expression from Buffalo Trace’s distillery is billed as the “Original” wheated bourbon. The wheat replaces rye in the mash bill and creates a subtly softer bourbon that’ll entice your senses.

Tasting Notes:

Caramel shines brightly on the opening. That caramel ebbs towards butterscotch and then rich notes of fresh honey as florals and sweet fruits kick in. The sense of oak and vanilla help those sunny spring flowers mingle with the honey on the long, warming finish (that classic “Kentucky hug”).

8. Eagle Rare

Entry Bottle: Eagle Rare 10-Year Bourbon
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $37.99

The Whiskey:

This expression is a blending of ten-year-old Buffalo Trace whiskeys, giving this one a deep nature. The master blenders look for well-known bourbon flavors in each barrel in the rickhouse so that they can dial those notes into one of the tastiest bottles of bourbon available today. It’s a fascinatingly complex whiskey in this price range.

Tasting Notes:

This one opens boldly with orange rind and maple syrup sweetness. Then the oak char and vanilla kick in, giving it a classic old-leather-chair-in-a-smoky-library vibe. There’s a very distant tartness on the back end that hints at very big red fruits. The finish is short but sweet in all the right ways.

7. Elijah Craig

Entry Bottle: Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
Distillery: Heaven Hill Bernheim Distillery, Louisville, KY
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $31.99

The Whiskey:

Elijah Craig is one of Heaven Hill’s premier brands. The bourbon is a blend of eight to 12-year-old bourbons from Heaven Hill’s rickhouses, each hand-selected. The end result is a whiskey that’s as drinkable as it’s affordable.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a rush of a cedar forest just after a rain shower alongside echoes of honeycomb. That turns into honey-soaked baked apples with spicy cardamom and cinnamon. Finally, that charred oak kicks in — tying the whole drink together wonderfully.

6. Maker’s Mark

Entry Bottle: Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky
Distillery: Maker’s Mark Distillery, Loretto, KY (Beam Suntory)
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $29.99

The Whiskey:

Maker’s Mark cuts the corn mash with red winter wheat, giving it a subtlety that makes this bourbon very drinkable and mixable. This is a good bourbon to use as a base for any cocktail application from an old fashioned to a Manhattan to a mint julep.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a burst of spice, botanicals, fruit, and honey sweetness that lean towards sweet vermouth. There are clear bourbon notes of oak char, vanilla, and a slight, wheat-y spice that all give way to a rich butterscotch. The sip draws to a close rather quickly with a nice return of the spice, fruit, and warmth.

5. Knob Creek

Entry Bottle: Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory)
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $34.99

The Whiskey:

Jim Beam’s Knob Creek is a blend of bourbons from the Beam rickhouses that have aged up to nine years. That’s a good amount of time for bourbon in this price range, especially given that bottles just ten to 15 bucks cheaper are usually only aged four years.

Tasting Notes:

The dram starts with a sense of buttery toast and echoes of rye spice. That rye leads to charred oak and maple syrup essence that mellows into delightful hints of apple orchards. The oak, spice, and fruit bring about a long finish with plenty of warmth.

4. Pappy Van Winkle

Entry Bottle: Pappy Van Winkle’s 15 Year Family Reserve
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $1,399.99

The Whiskey:

Pappy Van Winkle is the mountaintop of “great” bourbon. The bottles are only released twice a year and will set you back — checks notes — over $1,000 since they’re bought up quickly by retailers and collectors who hold on to them, increasing their “value.” Look, if you have an extra $1,300 laying around for this, more power to you. But, let’s be honest, there are very good bourbons on this list you could buy ten or more bottles of for that same price. Do that, instead.

Tasting Notes:

Having had the pleasure of tasting this expression, there’s a richness from the present-yet-subtle oak next to a nutty toffee essence. Caramel and vanilla mingle with echoes of sharp spice, toasted oak, wild florals, and orchard fruit. Everything in this bottle just works as the finish sits on your senses and reminds you why you love bourbon in the first place.

3. Buffalo Trace

Entry Bottle: Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $29.99

The Whiskey:

The low-rye mash bill lets the corn shine with a softer nature and smoother experience. The price point also makes this a very accessible bottle to have on hand for pretty much any application — from a neat nip at the end of the day or a longer cocktail-making-session over the weekend.

Tasting Notes:

The dram starts off bold with caramel, dark chocolate pastry butteriness, Christmas spices, and malt-forward earthiness. Then bursts of raw sugars, wet oak, bitter roasted coffee beans, and apple orchards shine through. The end tends to linger without overpowering on the warmth.

2. Woodford Reserve

Entry Bottle: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distillery: Brown Forman Distillery, Shively, KY
ABV: 45.2%
Average Price: $37.99

The Whiskey:

The whiskey has a slightly high rye content (18 percent) which gives it a unique drinkability and a nice hit of spice. It’s twice distilled in pot and column stills before being mellowed in oak for six to eight years. The final blend tends to be complex yet a very easy-drinking whiskey.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a clear feel of old leather, rich pipe tobacco, raw cacao, and creamy vanilla-laced butterscotch. That’s followed by marzipan, darkly roasted coffee beans, rye spiciness that’s more fresh ginger than pepper, and an aged rum sweet edge. The final notes let you know it’s bourbon — with more spice, vanilla, bitterness, and oak resting on your senses.

1. Blanton’s

Entry Bottle: Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY (Sazerac Company)
ABV: 46.5%
Average Price: $79.99

The Whiskey:

Blanton’s bourbon is taken from the best cuts from the stills. The hot juice then goes into barrels and is stored in Buffalo Trace’s famed warehouse H. Singel barrels are hand-selected to represent the deep virtues or a great bourbon. The result? This is one unique bottle of booze.

Tasting Notes:

This is a single barrel expression, so results will vary. Still, in my experience, this bourbon is dialed into damn near perfection. There’s a bold caramel depth that gives way to just the right amount of peppery spice. There are hints of barrel char, toasted vanilla, bright fruit orchards, and fields of malts. Everything is balanced as the warm embrace of the finish adds wisps of tobacco smoke and a hint of worn leather to the mix.

The coronavirus pandemic has necessitated a change in lifestyles across the world. Big events in shared spaces where people are packed in close proximity aren’t a thing anymore, so the world is adapting. As cinemas everywhere are closed, drive-in movie theaters are experiencing a bit of a renaissance. It’s the perfect idea for these times, and now somebody in Denmark has finally applied it to the concert space as well: Danish musician Mads Langer recently hosted an honest-to-goodness, in-person concert, but instead of fans crowding in in front of the stage, the attendees were all in their cars, parked in front of it.

On the outskirts of Aarhus (Denmark’s second-largest city), Langer put up a stage and performed a sold-out show; In this case, “sold out” was 500 tickets, since there’s less room for people at a drive-in concert. The show’s audio was transmitted on FM radio, so attendees could hear things well in their cars. Additionally, fans could also interact with Langer via a Zoom call.

Logistically, it seems like things went pretty well, as local police told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, “There are only positive messages from our people on the spot. It has been controlled. People have behaved the way they should, and all the cars were out of place within half an hour.”

Now, we wait for At The Drive-In to reunite.

Doja Cat’s Hot Pink track “Say So” recently became a hit after rising in popularity on TikTok. To celebrate its viral success, Doja Cat enlisted Nicki Minaj to breathe new life into the vibrant track. While the remix is a clever, lighthearted rework of the song, fans combed through Minaj’s lyrics and concluded that she is throwing shade at a particular celebrity through a particular verse. The rapper noticed her fans’ speculations and quickly addressed the rumors.

During her outro, Minaj seemingly throws shade at an unnamed person: “Why you talkin’ ’bout who body fake? / With all them fillers in your face, you just full of hate / That real ass ain’t keep your n**** home / Now you lookin’ silly, that’s word to silicone.” After the remix dropped Thursday night, Minaj’s fans immediately took to Twitter to analyze her bars. Eventually, the Barbz deduced that the lines are directed towards Wendy Williams, who recently criticized the rapper’s recent marriage to longtime boyfriend Kenneth Petty.

After fans began buzzing about the line, Minaj hopped on Instagram to shut down the rumors. While the rapper didn’t reveal her inspiration behind the verse, she announced that the shade was not directed at Williams. “The line ain’t about Wendy tho,” she wrote.

Minaj’s fans have been active lately, as they recently tried to cancel Doja.

In America alone, 30 million people have filed unemployment claims in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Establishments are closed (for the most part), and people need help. Hip-hop artists like Cardi B, Kanye West, Eminem, Jay-Z and Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, and many more have stepped up with fundraisers, donations, and other good deeds to assist those in need.

Here’s a look at just some of their efforts:

Cardi B

Cardi B may have been a bit skeptical about the coronavirus at the outset of its arrival in the US, but she’s still giving back. In April, she donated 20,000 bottles of the OWYN plant-based meal supplement drink to healthcare workers in her native New York. Later that month, the Bronx rapper teamed with fashion brand FashionNova for the #FashionNovaCARES initiative, which is giving away $1 million dollars, or $1,000 every hour until May 20. to people affected by the pandemic. She also gave proceeds from iMarkkeyz’ catchy “Coronavirus” single (which sampled her) to relief efforts.

Eminem

Eminem referenced two of his biggest hits in his relief efforts. A week ago, his Marshall Mathers foundation teamed with Detroit catering service Union Joints to distribute tubs of “Mom’s Spaghetti” to healthcare workers on the frontlines of the crisis. The spaghetti is a reference to a famous line in his “Lose Yourself” track. He’s also auctioning off a pair of his Jordan 4 Retro Eminem Carhartt sneakers for the for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. While announcing the initiative on Instagram, he said he was “Cleanin’ out my closet.”

Drake

Drake contributed to the #AllInChallenge, which is imploring celebrities to enter items in an auction supporting charities such as Feeding America, Meals On Wheels, World Central Kitchen and No Kid Hungry. The Toronto rapper offered a lucky auction participant a weekend party package, which includes VIP treatment at LA nightspot Delilah and a ride on his private jet.

Kanye West

In April, Kanye West worked with We Women Empowered and The Dream Center to donate thousands of meals to affected families in his hometown of Chicago and his current home base of LA. Josephine Wade of We Women Empowered noted to Access Online that, “today when I got that call, that Kanye West wanted to help the elderly in Chicago and he chose his hometown in the South Side, his old neighborhood, I was beyond words.”

2 Chainz

Georgia governor Brian Kemp made the controversial decision to loosen restrictions on Georgia businesses, which laid the way for shops like Killer Mike’s barbershop and 2 Chainz’ Escobar Restaurant and Tapas to re-open. Both artists decided they weren’t re-opening their establishments, and 2 Chainz actually used the restaurant to feed 120 people experiencing homelessness a meal. His Tru foundation also donated 200 McDonalds meals to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Meek Mill

Meek Mill and Jay-Z’s Reform Alliance sent 100,000 masks to American jails and prisons, where the pandemic is ravaging people who literally have nowhere to go to escape it. He also contributed to the #allinchallenge by offering his 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom to a lucky winner.

Post Malone

Genrebender Post Malone embraced his rock roots by getting up with legendary drummer Travis Barker and performing a Nirvana tribute on YouTube live stream. The fundraising concert grossed $4.3 million dollars, and Google doubled the first $2.5 million in contributions, bringing the total contributions to $9.3 million for The United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for The World Health Organization (WHO).

Megan Thee Stallion & Beyoncé

Houstonites Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion stopped the world on Wednesday with the swaggering remix to Meg’s “Savage” track. The song may kick off a savage summer for women (if we actually get to go outside), and the proceeds are going to the Bread Of Life, a Houston-area disaster relief organization feeding Houston families during the pandemic. Earlier in the month, she had the #HealthcareHotties and #HottiesAtHome hashtags trending on Twitter while sending disadvantaged people money via cash app.

Diddy

The big news a week or so ago was that Diddy and Jennifer Lopez reunited during Diddy’s live stream Dance-A-Thon. But lost in the hysteria was the reality that the Dance-A-Thon was a fundraiser that raised over $3 million for healthcare workers in underserved areas all over the country.

Pitbull

Pitbull raised some eyebrows in April with a pretty vague Twitter response to the pandemic, but there was no confusion about the affirming “I Believe That We Will Win,” a rousing song he released earlier last month. The proceeds from the song benefit organizations like Feeding America and the Tony Robbins Foundation, according to Billboard.

Hip-Hop Loves NY

Some of New York’s finest came together for the Universal Hip-Hop Museum and Mass Appeal’s Hip-Hop Loves NY benefit concert, which featured legendary acts like Nas, Ice-T, Wu-Tang Clan, Chuck D of Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, De La Soul, and Kurtis Blow performing for over three hours on YouTube and other social media platforms. Billboard reports that the concert’s proceeds went to SOMOS Community Care, a network of nearly 2,500 health care providers for Medicaid members in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. It also helped The Bronx Community Relief Effort in their efforts to raise $10 million for the hard-hit Bronx, which has lost many people including local legend Fred The Godson.

DJ D-Nice

For the past two months, DJ D-Nice’s Club Quarantine has had many houses jumpin’ with his marathon DJ sets. In April, he collaborated with MTV’s #AloneTogether campaign to relaunch the Club MTV series and create Club MTV Presents #DanceTogether with D-Nice. Viewers of the DJ sets are urged to donate to The Save The Music Foundation, which, according to a press release, is “working rapidly to ensure students in underserved communities severely impacted by this pandemic, particularly New York, Los Angeles, Newark, and New Orleans, have access to remote music education.”

Birdman

Rap legend Birdman further cemented his reverence in New Orleans with his offer to “pay everybody rent for [the] month of May (for those who in need} [in the area] of Uptown New Orleans where I was born and raised.” Birdman’s offer is a noble gesture that will be much appreciated in the hard-hit city.

Kodak Black

Kodak Black is currently incarcerated as the American prison population is facing a hellish experience during the pandemic. Still, the young, controversial artist is looking to give back. In March, he donated books and essential school supplies for over 600 students in his native Broward County.

BET Fundraiser

On April 22nd, BET aired Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort which featured guests like DJ Khaled, Kelly Rowland, Chance The Rapper, Fantasia, Kirk Franklin, and more participating in the United Way fundraiser.

CDQ

Coronavirus is a world plague, and artists from all over the world are doing their part to ease the burden during the pandemic. Count Nigerian artist CDQ as a model landlord, as he provided rent relief to his tenants in Nigeria.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As our current situation continues, the wave of charitable efforts for pandemic relief fortunately persists. On the entertainment front, that includes the #AllInChallenge that’s allowing people the chance to walk into movies and/or host a lemonade stand with the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. Parks And Recreation recently held a hope-filled reunion special for Feeding America, and now, NBC is following up with news of an upcoming two-hour special aimed toward funneling donations to that same organization.

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Sunday, May 10 will be the day when an enormous (virtual) line-up of comedians will come together for the cause, which will officially fall under the name of the Feeding America Comedy Festival. Not only have the legendary Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Tiffany Haddish pledged their talents for this event, but the rest of the lineup is simply staggering. All involved will pretape their segments, of course, but this is still quite the list of names to behold:

Louie Anderson, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Wayne Brady, Adam Carolla, Cedric the Entertainer, Margaret Cho, Andrew Dice Clay, Deon Cole, Billy Crystal, Whitney Cummings, Tommy Davidson, Bill Engvall, Mike Epps, Billy Gardell, Brad Garrett, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin James, Jim Jefferies, Jamie Kennedy, Keegan-Michael Key, George Lopez, Jon Lovitz, Howie Mandel, Sebastian Maniscalco, Marc Maron, Tim Meadows, Caroline Rhea, Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, JB Smoove, Kenan Thompson, Sheryl Underwood Marlon Wayans, and Allen.

Funny or Die and Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group are also helping to produce this special, and Allen has declared that “laughter is often the best medicine,” which will hopefully go a long way toward motivating donations for Feeding America.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

It’s a lot to take in.

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The 1975’s new album Notes On A Conditional Form comes out towards the end of this month, but Matty Healy is already looking ahead: In a new interview, the frontperson described what he thinks the band’s fifth album will be like.

He said of the Notes On A Conditional Form follow-up:

“This isn’t necessarily the last record, I don’t think it is the last record, but it’s the end of this era, whatever’s next will be very different and it will be a different time. I bet you we will just do a new record and I bet you it’s dope. I think it’s going to be quite violent. […] Even though NOACF is really sprawling, the later statements are ones like ‘People.’ We’re still in a place of agitation and anxiety, we’re voyeurs of violence on a geopolitical level and we’re a band, so we feel a duty to talk about that. And now we’re in a pandemic, so if you don’t make a record, what the f*ck are you doing?”

Healy also hinted at some upcoming collaborations, but didn’t give too much away: “There’s a couple of people I’m working with remotely, but it’s difficult to talk about because I don’t know if it will happen. If it does then it could be exciting, everybody’s looking to collaborate at the moment.”

He also summarized Notes On A Conditional Form, saying of the album, “I hope people like it, but the most important thing to me is that I’m really proud of it and I stand by it. This record is very different to all our other records, it’s very meandering, very long, but not in a boring way. It’s quite succinct, but it still manages to be very all over the place.”

Notes On A Conditional Form is out 5/22 via Dirty Hit. Pre-order it here.

As he loves doing so much, Drake dropped a new project in the middle of the night to general acclaim and wound up once again dominating the online conversation. By most accounts, it seems the Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape hit all the right notes to sway public opinion back in the Torontonian superstar’s favor after the lackluster reception for his 2018 album Scorpion — all except one track, the most highly-anticipated one of all.

Back in the beginning of April, Drake previewed “Pain 1993,” an unexpected collaboration with fan-favorite, genre-bending, Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti and sparked a wave of anticipation for the new track. However, fans’ curiosity has seemingly curdled into disappointment as the collaboration left many unimpressed. Contrary to the reception for some of Drake’s more recent work, this time it seems as though the problem is on Carti’s side, as listeners broke out the memes and took over Twitter with reactions that raked Carti’s… let’s say “experimental” verse over the coals.

Fans’ reactions are understandable, if you squint. Thanks to Playboi Carti’s breakout in 2017 with “Magnolia,” he became a superstar, with all the accompanying expectations. However, since then, he’s had an unconventional approach to making and releasing music, coasting through his innovative — and controversial — 2018 album Die Lit with sheer charisma and a whole lot of ad-libs. Maybe that’s why fans anticipate so many of his releases — including the one for his upcoming follow-up full-length Whole Lotta Red — with so much fervor — and why they can feel let down when it doesn’t seem like he’s offering the sort of artistic growth expected of a superstar.

On the other hand, there may be one benefit to the backlash:

Listen to “Pain 1993” above.