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Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers of the week. For five months now, we’ve been finding excuses and justifications for why this year in sneakers feels so uneventful. Our thinking was that the big brands were responding to an oversaturation of the market, focusing on quality drops rather than quantity. It really felt like that was the trend until these last two weeks.

Now we’re being inundated with all sorts of new releases, colorways, and collaborations, which has us wondering — did it just take five months for this year to really start to cook? We don’t want to jinx it, but from the look of last week, this week, and what’s ahead, it looks like sneakerheads are getting absolutely spoiled with great drops. We’re not here to complain, we say bring it on!

Here are this week’s eight best sneaker drops. Let’s dive in.

Nike Air Force 1 ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ (Dirty Triple White and Triple Triple Black)

Price: $130 / $130

This dual pack from Nike is a celebration of the AF-1. Both are designed with wear-away details; the idea here is that each pair tells a story through scuff marks, crease lines, and stains, which this design celebrates. The Dirty Triple White features a pre-distressed AF-1 that scratches away to reveal a crisp clean pair underneath. With The Triple Triple Black, the color intensifies and evokes the look of a polished sneaker.

It’s a weird concept, but we love to see Nike having some fun with wear-away designs. This is a must-buy for hardcore AF-1 heads.

The Nike Air Force 1 Low Dirty Triple White and Triple Triple Black are set to drop on May 7th at 10:00 AM PST for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Force 1 Low Retro White and Baroque Brown (Escape)

Price: $150

If you’re not into the gimmick of a wear-away sneaker, keep it simple and classic with this White and Baroque Brown take on the AF-1. A coveted colorway from 2002, the AF-1 “Escape,” features a full-grain leather upper, with a mix of brown tones contrasted with white punch hole paneling and crimson red embroidery.

The Nike Air Force 1 Low Retro White and Baroque Brown is set to drop on May 8th at 10:00 AM PST for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Sacai x Nike Zegamadome Summit White/Black

Price: $180 / $180

Nike has teamed up with sacai once again, and this time it’s for something other than a waffle shoe! The Zegamadome is a new running sneaker that combines the Zegama upper with the outsole of the Lava Dome hiking boot. The sneaker sports a suede, leather, and textile upper with a protruding heel counter, a double swoosh, and a futuristic design that’ll make you feel like you’re taking a step into the future.

The sneaker is available in two colorways: white and black. Classic.

The Sacai x Nike Zegamadome Summit White and Black is set to drop on May 9th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air DT Max ’96 University Red

Price: $170

Sorry if looking at this sneaker blinded you — this sh*t is vibrant as f*ck! Inspired by the fiery game and glamorous lifestyle of Deion Sanders, this sneaker sports an upper of real and synthetic leather, with responsive cushioning, an adjustable strap for a locked-in feel, and a blood red crimson colorway that demands attention anytime you enter the room.

This is the sort of sneaker that is going to inspire onlookers to shower you with compliments, so if that’s your vibe, this is your shoe.

The Nike Air DT Max ’96 University Red is set to drop on May 9th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $170. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike SB Dunk Low Pro Tourmaline (Rodeo)

Price: $135

Country music is bigger now than it has ever been (this is really saying something, as country has always been insanely popular, but not to the degree it is right now) so naturally, Nike had to get in on the hype with its American West rodeo-inspired Tourmaline Dunk.

Affectionally dubbed the “Rodeo,” this sneaker features Old West accents over a suede and leather upper dipped in forest green. Other details include leather piping, a red translucent outsole, and custom sockliner art that celebrates the great frontier. This sneaker isn’t just inspired by rodeo culture, though; it specifically looks to Black ranch owners and hands who helped revolutionize America’s first action sport.

The Nike Sb Dunk Low Pro Tourmaline is set to drop on May 9th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $135. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

thisisneverthat x New Balance Made in UK U991V2

Price: $269.99

New Balance has linked up with South Korean streetwear brand thisisneverthat for a Made in UK version of the 991v2. This premium offering features a pig suede and mesh upper over a FuelCell midsole with ENCAP cushioning, embroidered tongue branding, and reflective details throughout.

The sneaker sports a monochromatic moon rock colorway, relying on the reflective details to provide bursts of color. Is there another brand out there that can make the color gray look this good? We don’t think so.

The thisisneverthat x New Balance Made in UK U991V2 is set to drop on May 9th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $269.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.

Air Jordan 1 High OG UNC Reimagined

Price: $180

You may think you’ve seen this sneaker before, but this UNC Reimagined has a few small details that set it apart from the 1985 original. The Reimagined features a distressed leather upper with an aged midsole, two sets of laces, and a color block design that combines the classic UNC Carolina blue with Sail contrast points. It looks great, easily one of the best Jordan 1 drops of the year.

The Air Jordan 1 High OG UNC Reimagined is set to drop on May 10th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Adidas Harden Volume 9 Glow Blue

Price: $160

The Harden Volume 9 tends to have an aggressive look to it, the colorways are often bold, loud, and brash, but this Glow Blue strikes us as a bit ethereal, and that’s a word we never thought we’d use to describe this silhouette. The Glow Blue features the same synthetic and textile upper with a BOOST midsole and Lightstrike cushioning that we’ve come to expect from the 9, but here it is dressed in metallic and sky blue tones, with a white bootie.

It’s clean, futuristic, and glimmers in certain light. It is simply one of the finest Harden signatures dropped all year.

The Adidas Harden Volume 9 Glow Blue is set to drop on May 10th at 12:00 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair at Adidas.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

We are mere months removed from Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, GNX, which came out towards the end of November 2024 and was quickly hailed as one of the year’s best projects (like in the Uproxx Music Critics Poll).

Fans always want more, though, and now there’s some perhaps-convincing evidence that more is on the way. As HotNewHipHop notes, Lamar was just spotted heading into a New York City studio, ahead of a performance on his and SZA’s Grand National Tour at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. This has sparked rumors of new music, as HNHH notes.

Lamar hasn’t spoken any word of a new album on the way, which isn’t a shock considering GNX was a surprise release. It was also a relatively short release by Lamar’s standards: The majority of his projects clock in at at least 60 or 70 minutes, while GNX falls short of even 45. So, perhaps he has some more material in the vault that he’s putting finishing touches on.

Meanwhile, Lamar has ten nominations at the upcoming American Music Awards: Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year (for GNX), Song Of The Year (“Not Like Us”), Collaboration Of The Year (“Luther” with SZA), Favorite Music Video (“Not Like Us”), Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist, Favorite Hip-Hop Album (GNX), and Favorite Hip-Hop Song (“Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, “Not Like Us,” and “Luther” with SZA).

How does a band come back from a disaster? In 2022, Arcade Fire tried with We, an album consciously constructed to sound like their old records. It was a remedy to the toxic reaction provoked by their previous LP, 2017’s half-baked socio-political broadside Everything Now, and its comically misguided promotional rollout, in which the band mocked the very media outlets they were trying to court. On We, they did away with the predecessor’s performative irony and ham-fisted, anti-Internet commentary and re-embraced the hyperbolic earnestness that marked their early work. The results were mixed but it was, as intended, a reset of sorts.

Three months later, Pitchfork published an exhaustive investigative report delving into allegations of sexual misconduct against Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler. Four accusers outlined a range of offenses, from unwanted sexts to unwelcome sexual advances. (You can read the story here.) The article also put Arcade Fire’s previous disaster in perspective. A critically derided album, after all, is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Whereas now Butler was responding to negative media attention via a crisis management PR flack.

Three years later, Arcade Fire has released another album, Pink Elephant, with the purpose of once again resetting their career. It’s hard to know, exactly, how the accusations against Butler influenced the contents of Pink Elephant, since he isn’t doing interviews. But he must know that listeners are going to close-read the lyrics, and it’s not like this band has ever been subtle when it comes to making a point. Even two of the instrumental tracks, “Open Your Heart Or Die Trying” and “Beyond Salvation,” tip the band’s hand in a clear direction. And then there’s “Year Of The Snake,” Pink Elephant‘s first single, which alludes to the zodiac sign representing transformation. “I need a clean break,” Butler sings with his wife and bandmate, Regine Chassagne. On the next track, “Circle Of Trust” — another song with a loaded title — he likens himself to Icarus, the go-to mythological metaphor for self-destructive hubris. Though that doesn’t stop Butler from the passive-aggressive posturing of the next track, “Alien Nation,” where he pleads to “return to all my enemies / All the pain they would like to / Or could have caused me / I return this evil to them with love in the Alien Nation.”

More telling than these sentiments — equally weighted with self-pity, resentment, and “let’s move on already” restlessness — is the music on Pink Elephant. Currently set as a five-piece, a relatively pared-back lineup for this famously expansive band, Arcade Fire actually sounds more like a duo these days. I’m not going to speculate on the state of the Butler-Chassagne marriage, but they are evidently working through some things on this record. The music sounds as heavy and deflated as the tunes on We were ginned up and grandiose. Co-producer Daniel Lanois brings some of his trademark atmospheric soundscapes, most notably on those scene-setting interstitial tracks. But Pink Elephant has virtually none of the chest-thumping caterwauling this band is none for.

If We was an attempt to remind listeners of their triumphs during the Funeral-to-The Suburbs era, Pink Elephant feels like a reversion to the mean of their 2010s artistic decline. This is true in ways that are painfully on-the-nose, like the aforementioned “Alien Nation,” a limp disco-rocker that mostly rails against modernity à la Everything Now. (“Lonely but never alone / Tethered to a fake friend phone,” etc. etc.) But, creatively at least, Arcade Fire’s core problem remains a diminished sense of purpose. The musical flourishes that do stand out — the “Harvest Moon”-quoting melody of “Year Of The Snake,” the attempted dance-pop reveries of “I Love Her Shadow,” the intimate romantic devotional “Ride Or Die” — nevertheless feel muted and ultimately noncommittal. It’s enough to make a person wonder, “Why am I listening to this?” (Anyone not paid to do it, anyway.)

Pink Elephant arrives amid a growing wave of post-#MeToo (and post-Trump re-election) returns by once-beleaguered musical acts, including rapper Trey Songz (accused of sexual assault and abuse by multiple women) and the emo band Brand New (multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against singer Jesse Lacey, including solicitation of naked photos from two underaged girls). The former already has returned successfully to the road, and the latter has booked a summer arena tour that’s selling well.

What’s been shown, time and again, is that the ability to “cancel” an artist, as it were, does not belong with those who already object to the alleged offenses. It’s with the people still inclined to seek out (in this instance) a new Arcade Fire album. Or, should the band decide to tour, purchase a concert ticket. The audience that either does not know about the accusations against Butler or believes that they shouldn’t outweigh their own personal enjoyment of Arcade Fire’s music. One of those people, apparently, is Lorne Michaels, the storied executive producer of Saturday Night Live, who has booked Arcade Fire twice in the past three months, once for the show’s 50th anniversary concert and again for this weekend’s episode with host Walton Goggins. (This is just a theory, but I wonder if Michaels might have acted differently if the Win Butler story had been reported by The New York Times rather than Pitchfork. Louis C.K., for one, has not been invited back to SNL after his own exposure in that “hometown” NYC publication.)

The conversation about appropriate consequences for public figures that have faced scrutiny for bad private behavior — though without being prosecuted by legal authorities or even being charged with a crime — is important and ongoing. But in the space of this column, which ostensibly is a record review, I need to focus for now on an art-centric question: What is the value of an Arcade Fire album in 2025?

Even if you’re acting on a purely mercenary level — like, say, deciding to book a commercially successful scoundrel like Morgan Wallen — sticking Arcade Fire on broadcast television’s premier weekly musical showcase strikes me as odd. This is a band that has not been at their best for 15 years, nearly an entire generation. They are, essentially, a nostalgia act at this point. If they tour and don’t stick mainly to the aughts-era hits, fans will be headed home early and letting their babysitters knock off well before the children’s bedtimes.

Someone like Wallen — who makes terrible, cookie-cutter music and appears to be an obnoxious jerk — at least has some relevant cultural currency as (inexplicably) one of the country’s biggest artists. The current status of Arcade Fire, meanwhile, is highly dubious. They remain famous in a “ask the average person to name an indie-rock band” kind of way. But their catalog of mediocre albums now outweighs the beloved early ones. And the nature of that mediocrity has stayed consistent — once a defining act of their era, they have been bereft of good ideas for a very long time now. Whether one chooses or not to push play on Pink Elephant based on ethical grounds is up to the individual. But artistically speaking, I doubt even the most stalwart Arcade Fire follower could muster up a compelling defense of the band’s post-Suburbs output.

If ever there was a time for Butler to write emotionally charged songs that feel like a matter of life or death, it’s now. That he’s instead produced an album as vacant as Pink Elephant suggests he’s still in crisis management mode. It is not a convincing mea culpa nor a cathartic rebirth. It neither explains nor rectifies. Worst of all — for those who care about this record, at any rate — it doesn’t distract. If you still love Arcade Fire’s music despite everything, Pink Elephant will not transcend the “everything” part. It’s simply not worth it.

Pink Elephant is out 5/9 via Columbia. Find more information here.

Earlier this month, Moses Sumney shared a clip on Instagram of Hayley Williams showing off her surprisingly proficient crip walk skills. It turns out the video had a greater purpose: It was the lead up to their gently funky new single together, “I Like It I Like It.”

In a recent interview with Document Journal, Sumney, who is also an actor, gave an update on his forthcoming album.

“I will be here [in New York City], because I’m having my stage debut,” he said. “I’ll be in Shakespeare in the Park this summer in The Twelfth Night alongside Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage, and Sandra Oh, and it’s completely insane, because I’ve never done theater before, not even in high school. I don’t know who told me to do that, but I definitely must have been feeling bold when I went up for it, so I’m trying to finish my record before then.”

Sumney continued, “I’m excited to make a record that is about connection. I’m excited to be working on a record that is ultimately exploring what it means to be in relation to other people… I’m especially excited to tear it apart and put it back together again and finish it and know that there are at least between four and 800 people who will listen to it.”

You can listen to “I Like It I Like It” above.

It was just a few years ago that Drake called Rick Ross the “greatest rapper alive.” More recently, though, the two have been embroiled in beef. It’s been going for a little while now, and Ross wouldn’t mind if it came to an end.

In a recent conversation with Bootleg Kev (as HipHopDX notes), Ross said, “Real n****s stay real. That’s it. Was it something really deep? Nah, F*ck that, though. But if it’s real, it’s real, and that’s what it is.” Kev then asked if Ross would be open to burying the hatchet and he said some sparkling wine might convince him: “You never know, if a n**** send me a bottle of Luc Belaire, especially the white one. […] Send me a white Belaire bottle and I’ll take a picture with you.”

Last year, Ross dissed Drake on “Champagne Moments.” Shortly after, Drake shared some supposed DMs with Ross in which Drake wrote, “Your star island house on a sliver of cheesecake. your lot 40000 square feet my crib 40000 square feet Leonard. And you put a wrap on your timeshare jet. That sh*t coming off when it’s the other people turn to fly.” He also wrote, “You [Luc Belaire founder] Brett Berrish worker. How many cases you gotta move before you got a cheque finally. You’re Brett son now you not Rozay anymore.”

What a dilemma.

Past Lives director Celine Song and A24‘s cinematic relationship continues with Materialists, a movie that is described in very simple terms: “A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.” The trailer does not deviate from that premise, but it might make you scratch your head on how, exactly, three of the most appealing Hollywood faces could exist in the same room together.

Celine Song also wrote the script that evokes moviegoing memories of the classic New York-set romantic stories. In doing so, we learn that Dakota Johnson’s matchmaker doesn’t fret over “a couple inches” but does find herself torn between Chris Evans’ working class ex-flame and Pedro Pascal’s dashing and ridiculously wealthy alternative option.

As with Past Lives, Song drew from her own personal experiences, in this case her six months as a matchmaker to help people looking for their ideal mate. This was an unflinchingly “mathematical” job, as Song told TIME:

“They listed their requirements for height, income, age, and, yes, race. “All of the men would say ‘fit.’ What they meant was 20 BMI, just one level above underweight… The women wanted someone who was 6′ tall. My joke was, that person is going to be 5’7″ by the time you’re 90. And what is the goal of marriage if not to grow old together? All these numbers have nothing to do with that.”

Song added of her clients, “I knew more than their therapists because they were willing to tell me their hearts’ desires in a way that was so frank and objective.” One end result happens to be this movie, which you gotta admit looks irresistible (albeit possibly predictable).

FYI, “Material Girl” by Phlotilla is largely doing the musical honors here after the previous trailer introduced a new Japanese Breakfast song.

Materialists arrives in theaters on June 13.

Sabrina Carpenter was short n’ sweet n’ pantless at the 2025 Met Gala, but not everyone loved the look.

A fashion critic who goes by “Amber” on X criticized her outfit. “I would never suggest this color or the ‘ringmaster’ costume to begin with, but it’s a perfect example of how dressing against your body type can go horribly wrong,” they wrote. From there, they listed six reasons why Carpenter should have picked a different ensemble, including “the stuffy collar is making her neck look constricted and short” and “a top hat with big feathers could’ve easily added more drama and the much needed 6-8 inches to her perceived height.”

Carpenter’s perfectly on-brand reply: “damn i f*cked up..”

The 2025 ACL Fest headliner attended the Met Gala wearing a Louis Vuitton bodysuit suggested by Pharrell Williams. “This is Pharrell,” she said. “I’m such a massive fan of Pharrell’s and have been to the show and I was just like, ‘If I could go this year with him, that would be my dream.’ And it came true… He was like, ‘You’re quite short so no pants for you.’ So here we are. Here we are.”

You can see the X interaction (her first time using the app since the Fortnite collab) here.

ASAP Rocky is fresh off a big weekend, as he was one of the co-chairs of this year’s Met Gala. The conversation surrounding the event continued last night (May 7) when he and Anna Wintour visited Late Night With Seth Meyers.

During the chat, the three discussed some of the evening’s best looks, from Diana Ross, Janelle Monáe, André 3000, Simone Biles, Jonathan Owens, and Ayo Edebiri. The biggest Rocky-related news of the day, though, was him and Rihanna confirming their third pregnancy, and that came up in the conversation, too. He said that the third kid “for sure” will have a name starting with “R” like their two other children, RZA and Riot.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Associated Press, when asked how it felt to share the news, Rocky said, “It feels amazing, you know? We were tired of holding that, and it was time to show the people what we was cooking up. I’m glad everybody’s happy for us, because we’re definitely happy.”

He also talked about the support he and Rihanna have received, saying, “That’s amazing. Honestly, it’s a blessing nonetheless, because you know how some people in other situations at times can be envious of other people, but we’ve been seeing love for the most part. We’re real receptive to that. We appreciate that, you know what I mean? That’s love. Love is love.”

Watch Rocky and Wintour on Seth Meyers above.

James Patterson’s legendary detective, Alex Cross, received an early second season renewal ahead of last fall’s series debut. That gamble paid off with the Prime Video/Amazon series taking viewers along for the Aldis Hodge-fronted ride as he resolved the case of the “Fanboy” killer (Ed Ramsey) and confronted the truth about his wife’s murder. What’s next?

The second season will follow in its predecessors’ footsteps in not being based upon any particular Patterson novel. Instead, creator Ben Watkins shared that he refers to this second season as “Bitter Fruit,” and new cast addition Wes Chatham revealed on Instagram that filming wrapped in late August 2024. Well that was fast, so it sounds like viewers won’t have to wait long for that (bitter) fruit to arrive.

Does Cross Season 2 Have A Release Date?

Not yet. However, a fall 2025 is probable pending official word.

When the series does return, Ben Watkins has hinted that a bridge will exist between seasons in the form of FBI Agent Kayla Craig (Alona Tal), who previously extended immunity to Bobby Trey (Johnny Ray Gill) for dirt on Ramsey’s victims. As Watkins added to Entertainment Weekly, “I also wanted to plant a seed that would make you question the different levels of Kayla Craig… Sometimes [she’s] a little comic relief, a little sarcastic humor, sometimes a little romantic chemistry, but mostly just someone who’s been helping. So I wanted to make you question her.” Kayla could very well be a reference to FBI Agent Kyle Craig from Patterson’s novels.

According to Deadline, the second season will introduce new faces including business tycoon Lance (Matthew Lillard), self-interested judge Rebecca (Jeanine Mason), and military vet Donnie (Wes Chatham). They will join Cross BFF John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) and Ella Monteiro (Samantha Walkes). And watch out, defendants, because Aldis Hodge will still be virtually reading minds as Alex freaking Cross.

Ahead of the release of his new album, Blame The Chat, DDG streamed its creation in a week-long stream-a-thon — a first for the industry, surely. During the streaming marathon, he stopped by Uproxx to challenge the host of Sound Check, resulting in Jeremy’s first-ever L (live, no less!).

Today, DDG continued the rollout with the video for “Fine Shyt” featuring BIA. Naturally, the streamer-turned-rapper is on the cutting edge of internet slang, naming the song after Gen Z’s latest nickname for a baddie, brick house, bad mammajamma, etc. (as someone said on Twitter the other day, these kids could use a little more imagination).

The video, shot at a house party, pairs the two rappers as they trade bars back-and-forth. Longtime readers might know this is my favorite type of rap song, as it evokes the spirit of a cypher, with rappers building on each other’s rhyme schemes and energetic performances. So it goes here, with DDG and BIA boasting their way through a pair of pass-the-mic verses that turn what might have been kind of a basic flex rap into an engaging listen.

You can check out the video for “Fine Shyt” above.

Blame The Chat is out now. You can find more info here.