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Sexyy Red is a fast-rising name in hip-hop thanks to her raunchy hit “Pound Town” and today, she brings an unapologetic performance of her breakthrough single to UPROXX Sessions. Earlier this week, she explained the rules of “Pound Town” with Uproxx’s Cherise Johnson, and now, she shows why the sexually explicit hit is currently racking up the streams despite (or perhaps because of) its provocative content.

So, what are the rules of “Pound Town?” According to Sexyy Red, condoms are a must, the tongue has to get involved, “leave your morals at the door,” and there’s no nuttin’ allowed. And make sure you wash first because no one wants to deal with the smells before things get wild.

Thanks to the viral interest in “Pound Town” and another racy hit, “Born By The River,” the St. Louis native was able to secure some high-profile co-signers ahead of the release of her new mixtape Hood Hottest Princess. She’s joined on the tape by both Juicy J and Nicki Minaj, who appears on the remix of “Pound Town.” The mixtape is out now.
Watch Sexyy Red’s UPROXX Sessions performance above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

In 1994, the surviving members of The Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, reunited to record new music for the “Anthology” multimedia project. The “Threatles” came out of the sessions with two new tracks based on late-70s John Lennon demos, “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.”

The songs were seen as a bit of curiosity at the time because the group used digital technology to allow all four Beatles to play together 14 years after Lennon’s death.

During the sessions, the group also tinkered with another Lennon demo given to them by his widow, Yoko Ono, called “Now and Then.” Unfortunately for Beatles fans, their work on the song has never been heard. But after a recent McCartney interview with the BBC, people are speculating that “Now and Then” may finally see the light of day.

“So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record—it was a demo that John [Lennon] had that we worked on, and we just finished it up and will be released this year—we were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so that then we could mix the record as you would normally do,” McCartney told the BBC.

u201cPaul McCartney announcing that there will be a new Beatles song released in 2023:u201d

— The Beatles Earth (@The Beatles Earth)
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McCartney’s mention of the term “AI” had many afraid that he and Starr were digitally recreating Lennon’s voice, a controversial practice in today’s music industry. However, McCartney probably refers to the same learning technology used for The Beatles’ “Get Back” documentary that can separate different sounds recorded on the same track.

“They tell the machine: ‘That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar.’ And he did that. So it has great uses,” McCartney told the BBC. The same technology was also used on the latest Beatles re-release of the “Revolver” album, where engineers used AI to create a greater separation of individual instruments.

The belief that the song is “Now and Then” was given additional credence when what appears to be a renewed song copyright was posted on Reddit’s Beatles forum.

Here’s a demo Lennon performed of “Now and Then” in 1978.

If the song is “Now and Then,” it’s unclear whether Harrison, who died in 2001, made significant contributions to the recording. However, a 2005 story in The Washington Post claims that he is on the track. According to The Beatles Bible, the three only worked on the song for two days, producing a “rough backing track.”

The mystery surrounding McCartney’s cryptic claim that there’s another Beatles song on the way, aided by AI, has got Beatles fans speculating over what they’re going to hear. But that’s always been one of the fun parts about loving The Beatles. Their legacy is filled with enough mystery, trivia, speculation and debate that it’s kept fans interested for over 60 years. Regardless of what the track will be, how it happened or how great it will sound, half the fun is just trying to suss out what Paul and Ringo are doing and how Harrison and Lennon are involved.

• Some kids can wow us with their abilities, from being precocious philosophers to musical prodigies. Whether a child’s extraordinary talents are due to “nature” or “nurture” is always a big question mark, but there’s no question that some kids stand out among their peers for the things they can do.

Sometimes they even stand out from grownups. Take young Aldie, for example, whose ability to articulate his feelings exceeds many adults. When you find out he’s barely 4 years old, hearing him calmly talk about his emotions and good choices is all the more remarkable.

Aldie’s mom, Jonisa Padernos, tells Upworthy that she’s felt he was “really special” since he started talking in full sentences at 20 months. “Believe it or not, he had no major tantrums in his toddler years because he was always able to express [himself] with his words,” she says.

Padernos started young, asking Aldie questions and giving him time to answer without interrupting. “I’d always ask his opinion or feelings towards something and I don’t rush him to answer,” she says. “I give him time and just listen. I make sure I also tell him how I feel and explain to him because I think kids copy us, and if we do that, they would think that it’s normal to feel all those emotions as long as you can express it with words and [are] able to process it.”

Check out the conversation between Aldie and Padernos at bedtime as he goes through a recap of his emotions that day, which has racked up more than 17 million views on TikTok.

@mom_aldie

Bedtime conversation. The last part made me ❤️🥹 #fyp #momlife

The way Aldie shared what he was feeling about his mom not letting him go outside, how he helped his papa make a better choice with his emotions, and how he described the different emotions he feels is more than most adults can muster when they’ve had “a hard time doing emotions” during the day. And the way Padernos listens and reflects and reassures him is so, so beautiful.

People in the comments agreed.

“Emotionally intelligent, articulate and able to string super sophisticated sentences together,” wrote one commenter on Instagram. “I taught 7-year-olds that weren’t this advanced – heck, most adults aren’t this emotionally intelligent. I have confidence in his future and the consequences are working beautifully Mama. We have to raise kids other people will like too. 😍👏”

“Wowwwww….. I’m so amazed by this baby’s EVERYTHING … the emotional intelligence, the vocabulary, empathy, the processing skills…all of it! ❤️❤️❤️❤️” wrote another.

“The most mature conversation I’ve heard about emotions – tbh I don’t think I’ve ever been as honest about my feelings as this little one was 🙌🏽 feeling so inspired by both of them. ♥️🫶🏽✨” shared another.

There’s a lot that parents can do to help their children develop this kind of emotional intelligence, and this interaction between Aldie and his mom is a prime example.

“My advice is just be present, encourage kids to tell you how their day was or anything, listen and give them time to express without rushing,” says Padernos. “Be patient, consistent and honest when communicating with them. Always remember that kids mirror us and so we have to show and express our emotions so they will be encouraged to also express their feelings to us. And when we get mad or frustrated, also let them know and explain why and apologize if you feel that you’ve let your emotions get in the way.”

While not every child will be able to understand and articulate as clearly as Aldie did at such a young age, most kids are far more capable of understanding and processing emotion than we give them credit for. Proactively teaching them how to communicate what they’re feeling and explaining how emotions work can go a long way toward helping them develop the self-regulation tools they’ll use throughout their life.

This article originally appeared on 4.4.23

The classic American diner is a quintessential image of American culture. Even if each individual spot has its own nuance, there’s a distinctive look that is instantly recognizable. What’s more, there’s a certain feeling that all diners seem to evoke—one of exuberance and electricity. (The neon lights certainly help with that.)

Since the look of retro American diners is so unmistakable, one might assume that it solely originates from the 50s, when in actuality, it’s a history as complex as America itself.

In a video produced by Architectural Digest, Michael Wyetzner of Michielli + Wyetzner Architects breaks down the fascinating four-decade evolution of the American diner—going from the 1920s through to the 1960s—and reveals how that iconic diner look is an amalgamation of designs, all symbolizing America’s relationship to transportation.

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Diners were inspired by the dining cart of a train, hence how they first got their name. It also explains why the original diners emulated a train’s design—stainless steel exterior, long and narrow interiors using booth seats, having an open kitchen, even the use of art deco typography, checkered floors, globe lights and jukeboxes. As Wyetzner explained, many diners were simply repurposed diner carts.

By the 1950s, the train was quickly being replaced by automobiles. To catch the eyes of potential customers passing by at 40 miles per hour, diners adapted to incorporate vibrant, happy colors and cartoony, geometric-shaped exteriors. John Lautner, an architect who designed the famous Googies in Los Angeles, really brought this trend to popularity, even leading to this particular style of architecture being named “Googie style.”

Other diners would attempt to intrigue customers with the convenience of never having to leave their cars, bringing us the first glimpses of drive-thrus, though the first diners of this style looked nothing like today’s McDonald’s. Cars would park facing the diner and food would be served on automated conveyor belts. Even these buildings, Wyetzner noted, had a design similar to the wheel of a car, thus still keeping to a transportation theme.

Cut to 1955, and not only did we have a rise in airplane travel, but the space race had also kicked into high gear. So why not have people eating in a spaceship? This time period brought us flying saucer-shaped buildings boasting 360° views, with some, like Seattle’s Space Needle or the Theme Building outside the LAX airport, even being suspended in midair.

“It sort of represents springing into the air this whole idea of space travel, where the impossible becomes possible. This is what the future could be, let’s build it now,” Wyetzner says in the video.

Eventually, this optimism and patriotism would come crashing down with the Vietnam War and the fight for civil rights, making the American diner no longer a symbol of America’s bright future, but a relic of its past.

Just like much of America’s culture, the American diner is a complex collage of ideas, blended together through equal parts hope and innovation. And though our views towards the U.S. might have changed since the 1950s, history has shown us time and time again that this is a good thing. After all, there are plenty of diners all over the country—all over the world, for that matter—that still bring people that kind of joy.

Watch the full video here:

Sexxy Red is a fast-rising name in hip-hop thanks to her raunchy hit “Pound Town” and today, she brings an unapologetic performance of her breakthrough single to UPROXX Sessions. Earlier this week, she explained the rules of “Pound Town” with Uproxx’s Cherise Johnson, and now, she shows why the sexually explicit hit is currently racking up the streams despite (or perhaps because of) it’s provocative content.

So, what are the rules of “Pound Town?” According to Sexxy Red, condoms are a must, the tongue has to get involved, “leave your morals at the door,” and there’s no nuttin’ allowed. And make sure you wash first, because no one wants to deal with the smells before things get wild.

Thanks to the viral interest in “Pound Town” and another racy hit, “Born By The River,” the St. Louis native was able to secure some high-profile co-signers ahead of the release of her new mixtape Hood Hottest Princess. She’s joined on the tape by both Juicy J and Nicki Minaj, who appears on the remix of “Pound Town.” The mixtape is out now.
Watch Sexxy Red’s UPROXX Sessions performance above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

As Donald Trump finds himself on the criminal end of a federal indictment for mishandling classified documents, a common refrain has emerged: He should’ve listened to his lawyers.

The handful of legal experts Trump hired to first stall a government probe, then defend him in court against its findings, are now speaking out about how “difficult” of a client the former president truly is and why his current legal clusterf*ck is one of his own making. Joseph diGenova, a former attorney for Trump, told Newsmax that the twice-impeached commander-in-chief made a “terrible mistake” in ignoring the advice of his lawyers in favor of directions from right-wing activists.

“Donald Trump is a very difficult client,” diGenova said. “I know the president. I’ve dealt with him. He’s a very stubborn man. He has a tendency to think he’s always right.”

Trump’s ego is apparently to blame for his most recent legal trouble after a Washington Post report revealed he chose to disregard his attorneys’ counsel and instead listen to Tom Fitton, the head of the conservative group Judicial Watch. Fitton supposedly told Trump what he wanted to hear — that he could keep his boxes upon boxes of stolen documents safely tucked away inside a Mar-a-Lago bathroom — and Trump followed his guidance instead of diGenova’s.

“He was advised by people close to him who were not the lawyers who were working on the case not to be cooperative,” diGenova explained, adding that the federal indictment could’ve been avoided if Trump had sought wiser counsel.

(Via RawStory)

Olivia Rodrigo’s 2021 debut album Sour was a breakout hit, but when she was writing and recording it, she was a relative unknown in the music industry. So, there aren’t any collaborators on the project, except for producer and co-writer Dan Nigro. Now, though, she has revealed that the promotional cycle for her second album will kick off with a new single, “Vampire,” at the end of the month.

While it’s not clear if that song will have a collaborator on it, a social media post from Rodrigo has spawned speculation that Lana Del Rey will find her way onto the new album.

Yesterday (June 14), she shared a mirror selfie, with a lipstick mark on the glass partially obscuring her face. She captioned the post, “bang bang kiss kiss.”

One conclusion that could be reached from that is that Rodrigo had this selfie she liked and she came up with the caption based on a lyric from Lana Del Rey’s “Venice B*tch.” Del Rey, by the way, is an artist Rodrigo admires so much that she presented her with a trophy at the 2023 Billboard Women In Music Awards a few months ago.

The other conclusion, of course, is that this is Rodrigo’s way of indirectly letting her fans know that they can expect to hear Del Rey on an upcoming song. That’s certainly the leap that a lot of commenters on Rodrigo’s post made: “THE CAPTION? COLLAB W LANA??,” reads one comment that captures the spirit of many others that live alongside it.

We, like you, love French fries. Salted, seasoned, cheese fries, steak fries, home fries — if it’s potato and it’s fried, there is a high chance we’re going to love it. It’s the greatest side order in the game. Everything, yes everything, goes with French fries.

A few months back we blind taste-tested fast food French fries from five popular national chains and we came to the conclusion that, without a doubt, McDonald’s served up the best fries in the game. But, as I gave McDonald’s the top spot I couldn’t stop thinking about Five Guys, a restaurant chain we didn’t include in the ranking (it didn’t fit into the travel route of the other five, read the explanation here). Because truth be told, I think those might be my favorite fries.

Which begged the question: can our favorite fast food French fries (McD’s) beat out our favorite fast casual fries (Five Guys)? It’s time for a walk off — err… FRY-OFF. Tell ’em Billy Zane:

Wait, is Five Guys Really Fast Casual?

Fair question! “Fast Casual” is a term that is sort of meaningless in that the definition is incredibly vague. Oxford defines “fast casual” as “a type of high-quality self-service restaurant offering dishes that are prepared to order and more expensive than those available in a typical fast-food restaurant.” Which… okay, you overly elaborate nerds, Five Guys definitely fits that bill — each burger and order of fries are made to order. Five Guys won’t even drop the fries from your online order into the fryer until you walk in the door. The potatoes, which are sourced from different farms across the country and cut fresh daily certainly meet the quality requirement. Finally, a big criticism of Five Guys is that it’s expensive, a single order of fries will cost you nearly $5. So based on Oxford’s definition, Five Guys is as fast casual as fast casual gets.

But, unsurprisingly, that isn’t the only definition of “Fast casual,” and what of the casual aspect? What does it mean? When I ask AI what “fast casual” is It gives me this definition from Wikipedia, “A fast-casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that offers quick, made-to-order food in a casual setting… It is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining,” and lists “Upscale, unique or highly developed décor,” as another feature of a typical fast casual restaurant.

Hmmm… Five Guys’ food is quick and made to order, but there isn’t anything different about the inside of a Five Guys and the inside of any other fast food burger staple like McDonald’s. If anything, McDonald’s has a more upscale interior design than Five Guys. But I’d argue that Five Guys’ bare-bones style, from its cheap tables to serving your food in a brown paper bag whether you order it to go or not, is all part of the vibe. They want you to stay and soak in the setting, why else would they offer free peanuts and blast Boomer rock music over the loudspeakers (I guarantee you this is not for the employees)?

Also, they don’t have a drive-thru, which is another differentiating factor between fast casual and fast food, according to my editor who clearly isn’t thinking about this stuff as deeply as me. Anyway, we’re counting Five Guys as fast casual but you can do whatever you want — on to the tasting!

But First… Methodology

For this blind taste test, I posted up at Five Guys, ordered “little fries,” salted, and sent my girlfriend to the nearest McDonald’s to pick up a medium order of fries, hoping she’d arrive by the time my Five Guys order was ready. In order to have both dishes hot, I sampled them in a nearby parking lot. My job is extremely elegant.

Because the fries have a different look and texture, not only did I don my famous blindfold before being served a pinch of fries at random, but I ate both with a fork in the event that my hands were able to feel the difference. Is it a step too far? There is never a step too far! Did I look like a crazy person eating French fries on a napkin with a fork while wearing a blindfold in a parking lot? Absolutely.

A passerby remarked, “What are you doing?” And I said “eating French fries.” No response back. Not a peep. Okay, now, let’s get to tasting!

Finally, The Fast Food vs. Fast Casual French Fry Taste Test

Taste 1:

A nice crispy crunch on these fries makes way for a flavor that is equal parts buttery, sweet, and salty. The finish has this savory edge that calls you in for more. If I had to find something to complain about it would be that I can taste the grease — these fries are an oil sponge and I imagine that if they were a bit older they might be nearly inedible.

Taste 2:

Crispy, not like Taste 1, but it’s there, the inside is much more potato-forward and natural, it’s buttery but also earthy. While it’s not as crispy as Taste 1, the surface of the French fry has this lightly cavernous quality, allowing a place for the salt to house itself. It’s not as sweet or savory as Taste 1, but overall I think this offers a better and more complex profile of flavors.

With some pepper, I’m sure you could really take these things to the next level.

And The Winner Is…

Five Guys (with a caveat)

I’m sure at least half of the people — maybe more — reading this article won’t agree with me right away, but Five Guys wins this competition. Fairly easily. Don’t get me wrong, McDonald’s French Fries are nearly perfect, but the higher quality of Five Guys is something that you can truly taste.

McDonald’s wins on texture, they’re considerably crispier than Five Guys double-fried French fries, but that crispy exterior almost come across like a casing in comparison, as if what you’re tasting is actually batter and not potato at all.

Five Guys’ fries on the other hand take you on a journey from buttery to earthy, it’s delicate, but with a slightly bitter finish courtesy of the potato skin that hasn’t been peeled off. They taste more like potatoes than the oil they are fried in, and that makes them a winner in our book.

But! A “Little” order of Five Guys French fries will cost you over $5. Yes, you get more fries in a Five Guys “Little” than you do in a McDonald’s Large (they throw a second serving of fries into the bag with each order), but you’re paying nearly double what you can get at McDonald’s. Straight up, $5 for an order of fries is not cheap. Sure, they’re not frozen, yes, they’re double fried, and they’re sourced from an actual farm and don’t arrive in a frozen bag like McDonald’s fries, but you’re paying for all that, and it hurts.

For that reason, if money is not an option, sure, order Five Guys every time. But if you don’t want your entire paycheck eaten up by a fast food bill (a full meal at Five Guys will cost you $15+), McDonald’s fries are a great consolation prize for being a bit thrifty.

So if you have a craving for French fries, I’d say your best bet is at McDonald’s. If what you’re looking for is an excellent burger and a side of delicious French fries to match, it’s got to be Five Guys.

Championship parades are incredibly fun to watch because you get to see athletes and coaches let loose in a way you rarely would otherwise.

In Denver on Thursday, that meant you got to see things like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Stone Cold beers on a bus, or Michael Malone set a new record for the drunkest coach in recent championship parade history. Now, we’ve seen some strong contenders, as Mike Budenholzer in 2021 had enjoyed more than a few and Sean McVay was torched at the Rams parade that same year, but Malone was on another planet.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of our friend Michael, as he put on a performance for the ages.

He started off strong, hopping off the buses to spray champagne into the crowd, wearing sunglasses and a hat that got steadily more askew as the day wore on and the drink count piled up.

He also called himself “Mikey Malone” while doing a hit with Denver’s TV affiliate, which is wild considering he once got mad at a sideline reporter for calling him Mike instead of Michael, before proclaiming the Nuggets are some “greedy bastards” and are going to win another one.

However, he really hit his stride once the Nuggets took the stage for the championship rally, as he very drunkenly told the crowd that “Brucey B” wasn’t going anywhere because Denver is “running this shit back.”

He then split half a small bottle of Fireball with DeAndre Jordan, and I’m gonna break out the telestrator and really break this video down.

That is textbook hammered guy focus. Watch how his entire head moves up and down as DeAndre takes his swig, absolutely lasered in on that sweet, sweet cinnamon whiskey nectar.

He then takes his half down in one gulp, and look at the right wrist as Jordan gives him a hug, that is a man without full control of his motor skills.

Bruce softly caressing the Larry O’Brien also really makes this moment, but Malone is truly in rare form. He’s not at Jack Grealish’s level at the parade, but a strong 7.5 on the Grealish Scale, which is simply unheard of for a coach. I hope Mikey’s got some Gatorade stocked up and ready for tomorrow.

If you’re in the market for a used bathroom appliance, I’m sorry but you missed your chance on a toilet that belonged to an Oscar-winning actress. Try again tomorrow? Maybe Meryl Streep is selling her Squatty Potty.

Jennifer Lawrence told People that years ago, “Lee Eisenberg bought a toilet on Craigslist from my mom. My toilet.” The actress isn’t doxxing some random dude (unlike her middle school bully); Lee Eisenberg is the writing partner of Gene Stupnitsky, who directed Lawrence’s new movie, No Hard Feelings. Why was Lawrence’s mom selling her toilet? “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I broke it.’ My mom sold it for me.”

She adds that Eisenberg knew the identity of the seller at the time he purchased the bathroom fixture. “That’s how we know the story now,” she says. “So thanks, Mom.”

The Craigslist toilet came up because No Hard Feelings is based on a real Craigslist ad. “The director’s a good friend of mine, and we’ve been friends for a long time. And, we were getting dinner, and he showed me the Craiglist ad,” she told Good Morning America. “And I just thought it was hilarious. I, in no way, thought I was going to be in the movie… There was no movie. It was just the ad, and we laughed about it. And, four years later, he sent me the script.”

If No Hard Feelings gets a sequel, it should be about the used toilet. The title: No Hard Peelings (sorry).

(Via People)