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If you grew up in the ’90s then you were part of the last generation of kids who lived without being constantly connected to the internet. You lived during that last gasp of the analog era where most of your entertainment came on tape and if you wanted a new pair of Guess jeans or LA Gear shoes, you had to drive to the mall.

Also, if you wore parachute pant, aka “Hammer Pants,” people actually thought you were cool.

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Families mattered on Friday nights.

People listened to rock ‘n’ roll because it was important.

Hip-hop was at its peak.

People spent time talking to each other instead of staring at their phones.

It was a time of hope and optimism.

Some folks over at Reddit have been sharing funny memes that explain exactly what life was like in the ’90s. From the terrible pastel-colored designs that were everywhere to the charming, but antiquated, technology kids today will never understand.

Here are 19 of the best memes from r/90s/.

1. 1992 was 30 years ago

Sorry, if that made you feel old.

2. “Go! Go!” (Fill in the blank)

This person is living the Gen X dream.

3. Oh snap!

There was no greater diss in 1991.

4. Make a run for the border

Does this picture make you instinctively think “You quiero Taco Bell”?

5. In the ’90s, every night was a Blockbuster night

It’s like looking back in time.

6. We’ll always have Chuck E. Cheese’s

Our immune systems were forged through miles of sweaty PVC.

7. Don’t touch the ‘purple stuff’ 

Ingredients: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup and 2% or Less of: Concentrated Orange Juice, Concentrated Tangerine Juice, Concentrated Apple Juice, Concentrated Lime Juice, Concentrated Grapefruit Juice, Concentrated Pear Juice, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Natural Flavor, Modified Cornstarch, Canola Oil, Sodium Citrate, Cellulose Gum, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Neotame, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Potassium Sorbate to Protect Flavor, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.

8. These actually existed

How in the world did they cram 25 different colored pens into one super writing utensil?

9. Nu metal didn’t last long

A.D.I.D.A.S.

10. People aged quickly in the ’90s

This is what happens when you have children.

11. This weighed 25 pounds and went everywhere you went 

I can still hear the sound of the rumpling plastic as I flip through the pages.

12. They got ‘Jerry Maguire’? 

Of course they have “Jerry Maguire.” In fact, they have 500 copies of “Jerry Maguire.”

13. The hippest computer lab ever

After the iMac dropped, only vertified dorks used an IBM.

14. Just looking at this hurts

This may have hurt your fingers, but was probably safer than licking the battery to see if it still had “juice.”

15. It’s like they didn’t want you to play solitaire

Solitaire wasted more people’s time in 1998 than Instagram does in 2022.

16. In 1993 this could cure anything

Stomach ache? Flu? Munchausen’s syndrome? This unique combination would have you back on your feet in no time.

17. Synergy

To quote a popular philosopher from the ’90s, they went together like “peas and carrots.”

18. This cup went perfect with pizza

If the joint had all-you-can-drink refills, you drank ’em out of this cup. It held tokens, too.

19. The only pattern that mattered in the ’90s

Throw on those shorts, then hop in your Miata and get yourself some action!

This article originally appeared on 01.06.22

In March 2021, Fat Joe told Swizz Beatz and Timbaland said he and the late Notorious B.I.G. “cut about five songs together” for an album before he was murdered on March 9, 1997 at 24 years old. This week, Fat Joe is back with more Biggie-related revelations.

Iconic Records, a visual podcast series hosted by Angie Martinez, is digging deep into Biggie’s iconic 1997 album Life After Death. The sixth episode premiered on Monday, June 5, and focused on the track “Notorious Thugs” featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Around the five-minute mark, Fat Joe told Martinez that he was in the studio with Biggie when he made “Hypnotize,” noting, “From 12 to 1, it was 10 Spanish girls. From 1 to 2, 10 Black girls. From 2 to 3, 10 Asian girls. From 3 to 4, 10 Italian girls. I mean, I never seen nothing like this in my life! I’m sitting in the studio like, ‘This is what it’s like to be The B.I.G.!’ … The ladies loved B.I.G.”

Fat Joe later laid out how he linked Biggie with Bone Thugs, whom he’d “clicked up with” as fellow signees to Relativity Records at the time.

“I would go to Cleveland, hang out with them. I would ride with them on their tour. These guys sold 30 million records, so they were selling out stadiums. The stadiums looked like they was gonna collapse. The stadiums would look like it’s bending,” Fat Joe said. “Biggie hit me up and was like, ‘Yo, bro, I’m trying to get in touch with your guys. They don’t wanna do it. They’re ignoring me.’ They didn’t want to do a song with Biggie.”

He continued, “Just for Biggie to think that advanced because New York wasn’t up on Bone Thugs like that. He knew that they was gigantic, and he was like, ‘Yo, I need to do a song with them.’”

Fat Joe explained that Biggie saw him as “the plug” capable of connecting him with Bone Thugs, but Bone Thugs felt a conflict of interest because “they had already been cool with Tupac.”

“They was like, ‘Yo, Joe, we can’t do it. We cool with Tupac.’ And I’m like, ‘Yo, bro, this is B.I.G. You know what it is to do a song with B.I.G.?! And so, I convinced them,” he added.

Martinez pressed for more details, and Fat Joe rightfully took another victory lap:

“I made them go do the song with B.I.G. I don’t know how to explain it to you in any other language. They’ve confirmed. Like, ‘Yo, you gotta go do it. This is my brother.’ And they’re the happiest people in the world to confirm this because they still touring off that record. That record is one of the biggest treasures in hip-hop, and so, they happy they listened to Fat Joe and they did that.”

Fat Joe additionally relayed that Steve Lobel, Bone Thugs’ manager, was the one to inform him of Biggie’s death. Martinez is joined later in the episode by Lobel, Layzie Bone, and Lil Cease.

Watch the full 45-minute Iconic Records episode above.

Anyone who grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s—Gen X, I’m looking at you—grew up in a world that was dominated by 8-bit graphics. Back in the day, computers and video game systems had a limited amount of processing power so the graphics had to be simple.

That meant the heroes that we played with such as Mario from Super Mario Brothers or Link from The Legend of Zelda, had to be super simple looking and we had to fill in the rest with our imaginations.

Video graphics have come a long way over the past 30-plus years, but people still love the old designs because it takes them back to a simpler time. This has led to an 8-bit movement where people use their creativity to make art within the confines of the limited medium.

Some people also use the limited 8-bit soundscape to create music that’s reminiscent of the old games. Sure, computer game music may be much more sophisticated these days, but is there anything better than the soundtrack to the original Tetris? Would Super Mario Brothers be the same with a sophisticated soundtrack? I think not.

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Swedish artist Johan Karlgren, who goes by the name Pappas Pärlor, creates pixelated 8-bit-looking art and then inserts it into everyday scenes. The interesting thing is that his 8-bit art isn’t done with computer graphics, but Perler beads.

Perler beads are small, plastic beads that one places on a grid, and when the picture is done, they are melted with a household clothing iron. The beads are a fun hobby for kids who love to see the melting beads ooze their way into a fully-formed picture.

Although they weren’t originally intended to make 8-bit art, because the beads are placed on a grid when they melt together the designs look like they came straight out of a Nintendo Entertainment System.

Super Mario 3 Tanooki Suit Perler Beads Timelapsepic.twitter.com/Ywed4B3y47

— Soma ud83dudc9cud83cudf19 | AlleyCat ud83dude38ud83dudc08u200du2b1b (@Soma ud83dudc9cud83cudf19 | AlleyCat ud83dude38ud83dudc08u200du2b1b)
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Karlgren recreates iconic images from comics, cartoons, video games and movies with the beads and then adds them to the scenarios, turning the mundane into the whimsical.

What’s Karlgren’s big inspiration? “Anything that makes me feel something,” he told Bored Panda. “It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret.”

See on Instagram

For Karlgren, his work is the byproduct of having a good time. “I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head,” he said.

One of the hallmarks of Karlgen’s work is taking drab places such as a parking lot or other types of urban infrastructure and livening them up with the addition of one of his Perler bead creations. “It’s something that makes me happy, and hopefully other people [when] seeing it as well,” he told Newsweek.

Karlgren is a father of four and started posting his creations on Instagram back in April 2014. Since then, his fun, old-school designs have earned him more than 144,000 followers. Here are some of his coolest, and funniest 8-bit designs.

8-Bit Joker

See on Instagram

“Rose!”

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Raiders of the Lost Fence Knob

See on Instagram

Mario Kart: Snow Speeders

See on Instagram

“Here’s 8-Bit Johnny!”

See on Instagram

The Man of Steel

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That Creep Can Roll

See on Instagram

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

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Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands Meme

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“I Said God Damn!”

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“Take My Money!”

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Darth’s Day Off

See on Instagram

Jaws

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“Go Ahead, Make My Day.”

See on Instagram

Mini Bernie

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Tony Montana

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The Homer Meme

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This article originally appeared on 02.25.22

Killer Mike is a beloved member of Run The Jewels, but nobody can question his investment in his solo career. Michael, his first solo album since 2012’s R.A.P. Music, is due next week. Ahead of its release, the Atlanta artist, actor, and activist is the latest cover star for Spin. The accompanying story by Khari Nixon revealed what it cost for Killer Mike to actualize Michael:

“It wasn’t before long that [Cuz] Lightyear had an official job title on the project: A&R. With that job came a salary. Killer Mike paid it out of pocket. By the time they’d brought the project to No ID to transform it from mixtape to album, Mike was over a quarter-million dollars in the hole. As things developed, that number ballooned to over a half-million. This type of bill would normally place an artist in hot water with their label. At the time, Killer Mike was a free agent. He would eventually strike a deal with Loma Vista Records, which has distributed records by Denzel Curry and Action Bronson, to distribute Michael upon release. The advance from that deal would reimburse Mike for the money he’d invested into making the album.”

Killer Mike also recalled that his wife, Shana Render, wasn’t pleased with his financial decisions. “She’s like, ‘Well n****, I’m glad you being reimbursed ’cause I got some issues that you spending half-a-million f*cking dollars on a dream project,” he said.

Killer Mike recently released “Don’t Let The Devil” featuring El-P and “Motherless” featuring Eryn Allen Kane. At last weekend’s 4th Annual Black Music Moguls Brunch in Atlanta, he explained that “Scientists & Engineers” featuring André 3000, Kane, and Future nearly didn’t make the tracklist.

“[André 3000] called, and he was like, ‘Kill, I don’t know about the song, man. We just got a good rap record, man,’” Mike told the crowd. “And then, Cuz is like, ‘You sent ’em the final record?’ I was like, ‘Nah.’ I sent it over with Eryn’s hook and stuff. He hit back with, ‘Yeah, yeah, you got the record. Who is that?!’ So, thank you, Eryn. I really appreciate you for that.”

Beginning in July, Killer Mike will embark on his supporting solo headlining The High & Holy Tour. See all of his upcoming dates here.

Michael is out 6/16 via Loma Vista Recordings. Find more information here.

Latto recently released “Put It On Da Floor Again” featuring Cardi B. She kept with the titular theme and laid it all on the line with her sister, Brooklyn Nikole, for Cut‘s “Truth Or Drink.”

The nearly nine-minute YouTube video that dropped on Sunday, June 4 covers a lot of ground. Latto confirmed that she’s “in a relationship” without naming her boyfriend, but when asked if she’s had “a same-sex sexual encounter” in the past, she admitted she’s kissed a girl before singing, appropriately, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl.”

“I was single when I did that, bae,” Latto clarified, addressing her unnamed boyfriend. “He don’t like that. He think even girl on girl is cheating.”

When asked whether she’s “hooked up with a famous person,”Latto opted to take a drink rather than answer. But at the 3:52-mark, she had no problem sharing when she’s felt most nervous to perform.

“Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Clive Davis,” she said, referring to Davis’ famed Pre-Grammy Gala. Brooklyn interrupted, “I was finna say that!”

“You my twin, for real,” Latto said, then continued describing the performance. “Clive Davis, the Grammy party. You know what? It was too many famous people in there. I had just seen Cardi B. It was legends. And I had a wardrobe malfunction,” she said. “My whole crotch ripped open. Here I am bending over, like, ‘Ay, ay,’ and I’m like — yeah, that wasn’t good.”

Before the 2023 Grammys in February, Variety captured a part of Latto’s “Big Energy” performance at Davis’ gala that showed Joni Mitchell dancing along.

Elsewhere on “Truth Or Drink,” Latto read some of her most recent DMs, and Brooklyn revealed that her least favorite Latto song is “Pull Up” featuring 21 Savage.

Watch the full “Truth Or Drink” video above.

The Barbie soundtrack roster looks like a festival lineup. Dua Lipa got the (very pink) party started with “Dance The Night” at the end of May. Around the same time, the movie’s main trailer arrived, and it included a snippet of Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie Girl” remake. Karol G and Aldo Ranks dropped “Watati” last week.

Next up: PinkPantheress.

“The Barbie movie comes out sooo soon!” PinkPantheress wrote in a TikTok caption. “The song sounds like gospel music sorry. rly excited for u to hear it. i recently got into a car accident that’s neither here nor there tho [red heart emoji] #bloodpop #countbaldor”

The 23-second TikTok is soundtracked by “Angel,” PinkPantheress’ Barbie soundtrack contribution. She wrote overtop the video, “my American dream came true!… my song for the Barbie movie fits so well.”

PinkPantheress previously confirmed that “Angel” will arrive this Friday, June 9.

Executive produced by Mark Ronson, the Barbie soundtrack boasts Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, Kali, Karol G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Ryan Gosling, Tame Impala, and The Kid Laroi.

Watch the Barbie trailer above.

Barbie The Album is out 7/21, coinciding with the movie’s theatrical release.

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

The Barbie soundtrack roster looks like a festival lineup. Dua Lipa got the (very pink) party started with “Dance The Night” at the end of May. Around the same time, the movie’s main trailer arrived, and it included a snippet of Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie Girl” remake. Karol G and Aldo Ranks dropped “Watati” last week.

Next up: PinkPantheress.

“The Barbie movie comes out sooo soon!” PinkPantheress wrote in a TikTok caption. “The song sounds like gospel music sorry. rly excited for u to hear it. i recently got into a car accident that’s neither here nor there tho [red heart emoji] #bloodpop #countbaldor”

The 23-second TikTok is soundtracked by “Angel,” PinkPantheress’ Barbie soundtrack contribution. She wrote overtop the video, “my American dream came true!… my song for the Barbie movie fits so well.”

PinkPantheress previously confirmed that “Angel” will arrive this Friday, June 9.

Executive produced by Mark Ronson, the Barbie soundtrack boasts Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, Kali, Karol G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Ryan Gosling, Tame Impala, and The Kid Laroi.

Watch the Barbie trailer above.

Barbie The Album is out 7/21, coinciding with the movie’s theatrical release.

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

The timeline of The Weeknd actually killing “The Weeknd,” as he told W Magazine he plans to do, is not yet known. But the artist born Abel Tesfaye went ahead and killed the original release schedule for The Idol soundtrack.

“I was planning on dropping the whole soundtrack for [The Idol] by the finale, but I’m too hyped… instead, I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode,” he posted on Wednesday, June 7. “I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these incredible artists that are a part of this show… this week… Jocelyn’s pop song ‘world class sinner’ and ‘the lure’ (theme score)… episode 2 this Sunday [purple devil emoji].”

The Idol debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival before the premiere episode aired on HBO last Sunday, June 4. The sinister (and controversial) series was co-created by Tesfaye, Sam Levinson (Euphoria), and Reza Fahim. Tesfaye also stars alongside Lily-Rose Depp.

“After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s (Depp) last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America,” reads the official synopsis. “Her passions are reignited by Tedros (Tesfaye), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?”

So far, Tesfaye has released “Double Fantasy” featuring Future and “Popular” featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti. Tesfaye performed “Double Fantasy” as a surprise guest during Metro Boomin’s Coachella set, as reported by Billboard in April.

Also in April, Tesfaye explained his The Idol soundtrack influences to Jeremy O. Harris for Interview Magazine.

“I’ve been inspired by The Wall and Purple Rain and when Bowie was doing it, but even films like Shaft, the music is literally telling the story of the film,” he said. “But I want to take it to the next level. I want to challenge myself and I feel like, as a musician, I’m the best I’ve ever been. But I have ADD. I can’t focus on just that. It’s like, how do I throw a wrench in it?”

He could impulsively decide he’d rather release weekly singles than wait until The Idol finale to drop the full soundtrack. It only took two-ish months to answer his own question.

The Idol‘s second episode, “Double Fantasy, will air at 9 p.m. EST on HBO.

Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

For the last week, wildfire smoke from Canada has drifted southward, turning the air of the American northeast increasingly toxic. By Tuesday, New York City had the most toxic air of any major worldwide city. On Wednesday it got worse. Not only did the air quality index in the metropolis soared past 400 — well into the hazardous range — but the sky had turned a dark orange, plunging the city into a thick, dark haze that looked like a dystopian movie. To many on social media, though, it made the nation’s largest city look like Dune.

The scene in arguably America’s greatest city was pretty grim. Events were postponed or cancelled. A Broadway show ended after 10 minutes due to poor air quality. It got dire, as per The New York Times:

By afternoon, Midtown Manhattan was plunged into a deep hazy orange and smoky clouds obscured visibility across the five boroughs and the region, canceling some flights. Earlier in the day, commuters donned masks used amid the Covid-19 pandemic while walking the streets, children stayed indoors at recess, some schools closed and officials warned people against going outside.

The sky-high air control index was the worst since the Environmental Protection Agency began recording such stats in 1999.

It’s very grim news indeed. After all, it’s only early June, and thus just the beginning of wildfire season. It’s also an early taste of the effects of climate change upon the planet’s atmosphere. But as usual, social media tried to combat bad news with gallows humor. Many people had the same joke: that it really looks like Denis Villeneuve’s adaptations of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic.

Others chose another Villeneuve epic: Blade Runner 2049, which also some orange-heavy environs.

Others went with Nicki Minaj jokes.

In the meantime, in there, New Yorkers, and denizens of other cities plunged into dangerous air and blood orange haze. The worst may be over, though a sequel — or, hell, a franchise — may not be that far off.

Going out to see a movie is a classic fun family activity, but for some families, it’s an outing that causes far more stress than it’s worth. When you have a child who needs to move or make sounds in order to function, sitting quietly through a two-hour movie simply isn’t going to happen.

That’s why major movie theater chains have started having dedicated “sensory showings” of feature films for families with autistic members or others who have sound and movement needs that don’t mesh well with traditional moviegoing etiquette.

Camille Joy of the Moments of Joy Podcast shared a video her son, Maison, enjoying a sensory showing of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Maison can be seen walking up and down the aisle stairs during the film in the post, with Joy sharing how the experience went.

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“In my stories the other day I was expressing my desire to bring Maison the movies but I knew he wouldn’t do well in a typical theater setting,” the mother of five wrote on Instagram. “A few of you told me about sensory movie days so I googled this in my area. There were so many theaters that do this.”

“Sensory movies are for children like ours,” she explained. “They are advertised as safe space where guests are free to express themselves by singing, crying, dancing, walking around, talking or shouting while enjoying Hollywood’s latest films!”

“Maison got to be himself,” Joy continued. “Singing, loudly humming, walking throughout the theater and he wasn’t the only one, that was my favorite part! Nobody is looking at you weird because all the families are there for the same reason. I had minimal anxiety in this atmosphere and Maison was singing his little heart out.”

@momentsofjoypodcast

#fyp #fypシ #asd #autism #autismawareness #adhd #autismacceptance #specialneeds #autistic #autismmom #autismfamily #aspergers #autismspectrumdisorder #autismspectrum #autismsupport

Other parents chimed in with their own experiences with their kids with unique sensory needs. While some still find movies a challenge because their kids are sensitive to sounds in general, others loved having the dedicated showings where their kids could feel free to be themselves without worrying about disturbing others.

“Yes!!!! Regal Movie theaters in NYC do early viewing,” shared one parent. “I was able to tell my Tyler to see his Mario Movie, which was such a relief. Only time he’s ever sat through one. He did get up and became restless but stayed focused. There are fewer people and it is such a relief. I’m glad our Maison was able to enjoy the movie.”

“I love this our son did great,” shred another. “We’re definitely doing this again.”

But the majority of comments were from people who had no idea this was even a thing and were so relieved to hear about it.

Taking your child to the movies is something many parents look forward to, and the fact that parents of kids with sensory needs now have a way to do that without worry is huge. And it appears all of the major movie theater franchises have some version of this offering for families.

According to AMC Theatres, the lights are turned up and the sound is turned down at their Sensory Friendly Films “so you can feel free to be you at these unique showings for people living with autism or other special needs.”

Regal Cinemas calls them “My Way Matinees,” which also have the lights up and the sound lowered and where “guests are free to express themselves by singing, crying, dancing, walking around, talking or shouting.”

Harkins’ Sensory Friendly Screenings “include brightened light levels, reduced sound volume and room for guest interaction.” They also allow outside snacks to be brought in.

Studio Movie Grill’s website says, “Special Needs Screenings are shown with the lights up and the volume lowered and children are free to move around, talk, or even dance in the aisles during the movie. The sensory friendly screenings are free for children with special needs and their siblings.” (Adults still pay a “before-noon price.”)

Each theater chain has its own schedule for these special showings, so check with your local movie theaters to see when they offer them. Joy recommends Googling “sensory movies near me,” but if you aren’t in a major market you may have to call your local theater to find out if they offer sensory-friendly film showings.

Sometimes inclusivity involves welcoming everyone into the same space and sometimes it means creating special spaces for people whose needs differ from others. Three cheers for movie theaters recognizing this need and providing a way for everyone to experience the joy of watching movies on the big screen.