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Despite what Drake says, he was not the driving force behind Afrobeats’ popularity across the US. That honor belongs to international sensations Davido, Burna Boy, Tems, and, of course, Wizkid.

But it looks like Wizkid no longer wants to be tethered to the genre. After a clip from his 2023 interview with Apple Music resurfaced, the “Money & Love” musician doubled down on his older statements.

While promoting his More Love, Less Ego album, Wizkid,

“I am not a f*cking Afrobeats artiste,” he wrote. “Don’t call me that hoe!”

“I’m not Afro anything b*tch,” he wrote. “And if you like Afrobeats, please don’t download my album.”

In another posted screenshot by ThatGrapeJuice, he went on to clarify his initial statement. “Listen, am I African? Yes,” he wrote. “But I do make all sorts of music. I don’t want to be labeled just Afrobeats. That’s like saying every American artist makes rap.”

Lil Yachty made a similar point when he began to explore rock via his album Let’s Start Here. Still, users online weren’t pleased with Wizkid’s statement. View the mixed response from users online below.

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

For years, Meek Mill has been the voice of the streets. The “Shaq & Kobe” rapper has used his time in the booth to shed light on the issues plaguing his hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But in recent times, he’s taken his advocacy out of the booth and into the political sphere (see his influence in the state’s Probation Reform Bill).

Now, Meek appears to be gearing up to expand his voice with a formal podcast. Continue below for more information.

Does Meek Mill Have A Podcast Deal?

Long story short, the answer is no. Well, at least not one that he’s willing to sign. On March 16, Meek put the bug out there on his official X (formerly Twitter) page. “I want a podcast deal. I have a lot to say on many different levels,” he wrote. “If you have a podcast business moving slowly, I can reverse that! I’ve always been my own media, and I wanna join the culture of black media!”

Immediately after Meek announced his interest, his foe Akademiks chimed in. Instead of trolling as usual, Akademiks offered Meek a one-million-dollar production deal through his company. However, Meek quickly shot it down.

“Not like a finance podcast deal thing, LOL,” he wrote. “I hang around all billionaires, and I’m caked up… You streaming for your chair getting drunk … I’m changing laws and stopping major hood beefs and trying to uplift the culture!”

If Akademiks is willing to throw up seven figures to fund Meek, we’re sure another company will place their bid soon enough. As of today (March 17), this venture is just a dream. But Meek has already shared the working name and mission of the audio project.

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

The Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors met on Sunday night in Orlando, with the Magic cruising to a 111-96 victory that came as little surprise given the current trajectory of the two teams.

Orlando is a young team on the rise, sitting fifth in the East, making the leap into playoff contention this year behind Paolo Banchero’s growth into an All-Star along with steady improvement from the young cast around him. The Raptors, meanwhile, are beginning their rebuild after finally trading OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam to build around Scottie Barnes, and will surely look to what Orlando’s done as a potential blueprint for how best to build a young roster that can compete on both ends of the floor.

After the game, the two teams’ first round picks from a year ago, Gradey Dick and Anthony Black, met at midcourt and hashed out a plan to do a jersey swap, recognizing a great social media opportunity when they saw it, leading to the Magic tweeting out this image of the two youngsters (which eventually got deleted after someone made a phone call I’m sure, but the internet lives forever).

In case you were wondering if they knew what they were doing with this swap and their positioning, of course they did, as Rob Perez pointed out on Twitter you could see Dick say “f**k it” as they discussed whether to make the swap or not (and Black changed what side of Dick he was on to make sure they got the funniest possible photo opp).

You can see Black trying his best not to laugh, and I would bet that Gradey Dick will be a very popular jersey swap in the NBA as his career goes on because, deep down, everyone is still a teenager at heart.

The 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket is set, with UCONN as the top overall seed as they look to win back-to-back national championships. The rest of the 1-seeds are Houston, Purdue, and UNC, but as we’ve seen all season, there’s plenty of parity in college hoops this year.

That means there will be plenty of folks picking upsets up and down the bracket this year, with first round games starting on Thursday afternoon. As always, our first taste of tournament action on Tuesday and Wednesday in the First Four in Dayton, and on Sunday night CBS and WBD Sports released the television schedule with tip times and announcer teams for all of the First Four and First Round games on Thursday and Friday.

FIRST FOUR

Tuesday, March 19

6:40 p.m. ET (truTV): 16. Wagner vs. 16. Howard (Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, and Jon Rothstein)
9:10 p.m. ET (truTV): 10. Colorado State vs. 10. Virginia (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)

Wednesday, March 20

6:40 p.m. ET (truTV): 16. Grambling vs. 16. Montana State (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)
9:10 p.m. ET (truTV): 10. Colorado vs. 10. Boise State (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)

FIRST ROUND

Thursday, March 21

12:15 p.m. ET (CBS): 9. Michigan State vs. 8. Mississippi State (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, and Allie LaForce)
12:40 p.m. ET (truTV): 11. Duquesne vs. 6. BYU (Tom McCarthy, Deb Antonelli, Avery Johnson, and AJ Ross)
1:30 p.m. ET (TNT): 14. Akron vs. 3. Creighton (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, and Evan Washburn)
2:00 p.m. ET (TBS): 15. Long Beach St. vs. 2. Arizona (Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, and Dana Jacobson)
2:45 p.m. ET (CBS): 16. Wagner/Howard vs. 1. North Carolina (Anderson, Jackson, and LaForce)
3:10 p.m. ET (truTV): 14. Morehead St. vs. 3. Illinois (McCarthy, Antonelli, Johnson, and Ross)
4:00 p.m. ET (TNT): 11. Oregon vs. 6. South Carolina (Catalon, Lappas, and Washburn)
4:30 p.m. ET (TBS): 10. Nevada vs. 7. Dayton (Nessler, Haywood, Jacobson)

6:50 p.m. ET (TNT): 10. Colorado State/Virginia vs. 7. Texas (Anderson, Jackson, and LaForce)
7:10 p.m. ET (CBS): 14. Oakland vs. 3. Kentucky (Catalon, Lappas, and Washburn)
7:25 p.m ET (TBS): 12. McNeese vs. 5. Gonzaga (Nessler, Haywood, Jacobson)
7:35 p.m. ET (truTV): 15. South Dakota St. vs. 2. Iowa St. (McCarthy, Antonelli, Johnson, and Ross)
9:20 p.m. ET (TNT): 15. Saint Peter’s vs. 2. Tennessee(Anderson, Jackson, and LaForce)
9:40 p.m. ET (CBS): 11. NC State vs. 6. Texas (Catalon, Lappas, and Washburn)
9:55 p.m. ET (TBS): 13. Samford vs. 4. Kansas (Nessler, Haywood, Jacobson)
10:05 p.m. ET (truTV): 10. Drake vs. 7. Washington St. (McCarthy, Antonelli, Johnson, and Ross)

Friday, March 22

12:15 p.m. ET (CBS): 9. Northwestern vs. 8. FAU (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson)
12:40 p.m. ET (truTV): 14. Colgate vs. 3. Baylor (Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, and Jon Rothstein)
1:30 p.m. ET (TNT): 12. UAB vs. 5. San Diego St. (Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Robbie Hummel, and Lauren Shehadi)
2:00 p.m. ET (TBS): 15. Western Kentucky vs. 2. Marquette (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, and Andy Katz)
2:45 p.m. ET (CBS): 16. Stetson vs. 1. UCONN (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson)
3:10 p.m. ET (truTV): 11. New Mexico vs. 6. Clemson (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)
4:00 p.m. ET (TNT): 13. Yale vs. 4. Auburn (Byington, Smith, Hummel, and Shehadi)
4:30 p.m. ET (TBS): 10. Colorado/Boise St. vs. 7. Florida (Harlan, Bonner, Van Gundy, and Katz)

6:50 p.m. ET (TNT): 9. Texas A&M vs. 8. Nebraska (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)
7:10 p.m. ET (CBS): 13. Vermont vs. 4. Duke (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson)
7:25 p.m ET (TBS): 16. Grambling/Montana St. vs. 1. Purdue (Harlan, Bonner, Van Gundy, and Katz)
7:35 p.m. ET (truTV): 13. Charleston vs. 4. Alabama (Byington, Smith, Hummel, and Shehadi)
9:20 p.m. ET (TNT): 16. Longwood vs. 1. Houston (Dedes, Spanarkel, and Rothstein)
9:40 p.m. ET (CBS): 12. James Madison vs. 5. Wisconsin (Eagle, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson)
9:55 p.m. ET (TBS): 9. TCU vs. 8. Utah St. (Harlan, Bonner, Van Gundy, and Katz)
10:05 p.m. ET (truTV): 12. Grand Canyon vs. 5. Saint Mary’s (Byington, Smith, Hummel, and Shehadi)

The 2023-24 season has seen women’s college basketball continue to grow in popularity, with Caitlin Clark’s pursuit of NCAA scoring history leading the way as the women’s game eclipsed the men’s in many instances in terms of being a ratings draw. The growth goes well beyond Clark’s immense star power, though, as South Carolina enters the NCAA Tournament undefeated (but not without some scares), LSU hopes to go back-to-back, USC star freshman Juju Watkins looks to make her name on the national stage, and as deep a group of contenders we’ve seen will believe they have a chance to make a run at a title.

On Sunday night we learned the matchups and pathways for all of those top teams, as the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket was unveiled with the full field of 68 learning where they’ll play their opening round games and against what teams.

FIRST FOUR

12. Vanderbilt
12. Columbia

16. Sacred Heart
16. Presbyterian

11. Auburn
11. Arizona

16. Holy Cross
16. UT Martin

ALBANY 1

1. South Carolina
16. Sacred Heart/Presbyterian

8. North Carolina
9. Michigan State

5. Oklahoma
12. FGCU

4. Indiana
13. Fairfield

6. Nebraska
11. Texas A&M

3. Oregon State
14. Eastern Washington

7. Ole Miss
10. Marquette

2. Notre Dame
15. Kent State

ALBANY 2

1. Iowa
16. Holy Cross/UT Martin

8. West Virginia
9. Princeton

5. Colorado
12. Drake

4. Kansas State
13. Portland

6. Louisville
11. Middle Tennessee

3. LSU
14. Rice

7. Creighton
10. UNLV

2. UCLA
15. California Baptist

PORTLAND 1

1. USC
16. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

8. Kansas
9. Michigan

5. Baylor
12. Vanderbilt/Columbia

4. Virginia Tech
13. Marshall

6. Syracuse
11. Auburn/Arizona

3. UCONN
14. Jackson State

7. Duke
10. Richmond

2. Ohio State
15. Maine

PORTLAND 2

1. Texas
16. Drexel

8. Alabama
9. Florida State

5. Utah
12. South Dakota State

4. Gonzaga
13. UC Irvine

6. Tennessee
11. Green Bay

3. NC State
14. Chattanooga

7. Iowa State
10. Maryland

2. Stanford
15. Norfolk State

It’s said that everyone dies twice. The first is your physical death, the second is the last time anyone utters your name.

Sybil Marie Hicks, from Baysville, Ontario, died on February 2, at the age of 81, but it’ll be a long time before her name is forgotten. Her children have turned her into a posthumous celebrity after writing a hilarious first-person obituary for her that was published in The Hamilton Spectator on February 5, 2019.

According to her daughter, it was fitting tribute.

“Mom was never boring,” Hicks’ daughter, Barb Drummond, told Yahoo Lifestyle. “Mom lived large. She would do anything for anyone. It was rare for Mom not to have a smile on her face. Mom was always ready for a laugh.”

The last word. Obit in todayu2019s @TheSpec u201cI finally have the smoking hot body I have always wanted…having been cremated.u201dpic.twitter.com/YQFOjRJjL8

— Jim Poling (@Jim Poling)
1549409088

The obituary begins with a shot at her husband, Ron. “It hurts me to admit it, but I, Mrs. Ron Hicks from Baysville, have passed away,” they wrote. “I leave behind my loving husband, Ron Hicks, whom I often affectionately referred to as a ‘Horse’s Ass.'”

She then goes on to roast her own children.

“I also left behind my children whom I tolerated over the years; Bob (with Carol) my oldest son and also my favourite. Brian (with Ginette) who was the Oreo cookie favourite, Brenda AKA ‘Hazel’ who would run to clean the bathrooms when she heard company was coming,” they continued. “Barbara (with Gordon) the ever Miss Perfect and finally Baby Bruce who wouldn’t eat homemade turkey soup because he didn’t want to be alert looking for bones while he ate.”

The piece ends with a great zinger and a bit of a mystery: “I finally have the smoking hot body I have always wanted… having been cremated. Please come say goodbye and celebrate my wonderful life with my husband and his special friend Dorothy who is now lovingly taking care of my horse’s ass.”

Did her husband have a side piece or are they talking about the dog?

The viral obituary has done more than just spread a few much needed laughs across the world, it’s helped the family heal after Hicks’ long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The disorder may have stolen Hicks’ quick wit sharp tongue; but, in a way, the obituary, has given voice to a woman who was long silenced.

“We just thought that when she passed, we really didn’t want to have this sort of boilerplate template obituary,” Brian Hicks, the second eldest of Hick’s five children, told the CBC.

“We wanted to do something that kind of celebrated who she was and to give us an opportunity to basically have one last conversation with her, and have some laughs at the same time,” he said.

The Hicks family hopes that those who are moved by their mother’s story will consider donating to their local Alzheimer’s charity.

Read the entire obituary at Legacy.com.

This article originally appeared on 02.11.19.

The Madness has officially begun, as conference tournaments saw a number of surprising outcomes that had teams on the bubble sweating profusely on Selection Sunday.

NC State and Oregon winning the ACC and Pac-12 tournaments were the biggest chaos agents, as they swiped automatic bids in two of the power conferences and forced the tournament committee to significantly rearrange the bracket. Ultimately, the committee landed on the 68 teams that would be making it to the Big Dance later this week, starting with the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio and then continuing on into the first round starting on Thursday and Friday.

A printable version of the bracket is available here.

FIRST FOUR

10. Boise State
10. Colorado

16. Montana State
16. Grambling State

10. Virginia
10. Colorado State

16. Howard
16. Wagner

EAST

1. UCONN
16. Stetson

8. Florida Atlantic
9. Northwestern

5. San Diego State
12. UAB

4. Auburn
13. Yale

6. BYU
11. Duquesne

3. Illinois
14. Morehead State

7. Washington State
10. Drake

2. Iowa State
15. South Dakota State

SOUTH

1. Houston
16. Longwood

8. Nebraska
9. Texas A&M

5. Wisconsin
12. James Madison

4. Duke
13. Vermont

6. Texas Tech
11. NC State

3. Kentucky
14. Oakland

7. Florida
10. Boise State/Colorado

2. Marquette
15. Western Kentucky

MIDWEST

1. Purdue
16. Montana State/Grambling State

8. Utah State
9. TCU

5. Gonzaga
12. McNeese

4. Kansas
13. Samford

6. South Carolina
11. Oregon

3. Creighton
14. Akron

7. Texas
10. Virginia/Colorado State

2. Tennessee
15. St. Peter’s

WEST

1. North Carolina
16. Howard/Wagner

8. Mississippi State
9. Michigan State

5. St. Mary’s
12. Grand Canyon

4. Alabama
13. Charleston

6. Clemson
11. New Mexico

3. Baylor
14. Colgate

7. Dayton
10. Nevada

2. Arizona
15. Long Beach State

Kyrie Irving has quite the catalogue of completely insane shots over the course of his NBA career, and on Sunday afternoon, he might have had his most impressive make yet. With things tied up in a Western Conference showdown between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets, Irving hit a shot at the buzzer to give Dallas a much-needed 107-105 win.

But it wasn’t just a pull-up from three, or a crazy layup, or anything else we’ve come to expect out of Irving. Instead, it was a completely ridiculous running lefty hook from midrange despite a contest from Nikola Jokic.

Like many of us, Luka Doncic was in a state of total shock after the shot went in.

Doncic played a big part in even getting Dallas to this point. With less than 30 seconds remaining and the game tied at 102, Jamal Murray pulled up from deep to give Denver the lead.

On the ensuing inbound, Doncic was able to answer the bell, as he managed to get open for an excellent look from behind the top of the 3-point line.

The Mavs were able to stop Murray from hitting a game-winner on the next possession, which gave Dallas a chance to get a walk-off winner. And fortunately for them, Irving was able to make it happen.

Ariana Grande does it again. The “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” singer’s latest album, Eternal Sunshine, is a certified hit, according to the music charts. Today (March 17), Billboard released its metric for the week ending on March 14.

Grande’s Eternal Sunshine is the no. 1 album, setting a new milestone for the singer. Six of her seven full-length studio albums have secured the coveted slot (2013’s Your Truly, 2014’s My Everything, 2018’s Sweetener, 2019’s Thank U, Next, and 2020’s Positions). But the record-setting doesn’t stop there.

Based on Luminate’s findings, Eternal Sunshine had the largest first-week sales of the year (dethroning Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures 1), with 227,000 equivalent album units earned in the US. The other metrics include track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Eternal Sunshine‘s SEA units comprise 148,000 (equaling 194.92 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs). The album sales for Eternal Sunshine is listed at 77,000 units. Lastly, the TEA units for Eternal Sunshine came in at 2,000.

Upon its release, users online began to speculate about the project’s true meaning. Many assumed it was Grande’s response to her rumored relationship with Ethan Slater. However, on March 9, Grande slammed the theory with a message in her Instagram stories.

“I just wanted to say, anyone that is sending a hateful message to the people in my life based on your interpretation of this album,” she wrote. “It is not supporting me and is absolutely doing the polar opposite of what I would ever encourage. [This] is also entirely misinterpreting the intention behind the music,” she wrote. “I ask that you please do not. It is not how to support me. It is the opposite.”

The Miami Heat came into Sunday a game behind the Indiana Pacers for the all-important 6-seed in the Eastern Conference standings, as they figure to be in a race to the end of the season to avoid the Play-In Tournament and secure a guaranteed playoff berth. Miami was in Detroit to face the Pistons, which gave them what figured to be a good path to getting a win and pulling closer to even with the Pacers, but in the closing seconds they found themselves tied and in a bit of trouble.

Detroit had the ball with the shot clock turned off, which for most teams would mean they’d work the clock down to take the last shot (or close to it) and ensure the worst thing that happened to them was overtime. However, the Pistons are 12-55 for a reason and so instead of doing that, Cade Cunningham pulled up for a contested three with 10 seconds on the clock and missed, allowing Miami to get the rebound with plenty of time to push it up the floor and get their own look at a win.

Terry Rozier got swarmed once he reached the top of the key, as Detroit wisely tried to keep him from getting a clean look, leaving Bam Adebayo in the trailer position open. Given Adebayo is an 18.8 percent shooter from three this year, that figured to be the right choice, but the DPOY candidate rose up and buried a deep three to give Miami a win in regulation.

The win helps Miami keep pace with Indiana in the 6-seed race, as they’re now just a half-game back of Indiana (tied in the loss column). While you wouldn’t draw it up to need a buzzer-beater to win in Detroit, it was certainly an exciting finish and quite the shot by Adebayo from a spot we don’t often see him shoot from.