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It might be hard for you whippersnappers out there to believe, but once upon a time, Jay-Z was not the biggest rapper in hip-hop. In fact, despite some of the baller raps from early in his career, some of his first encounters with the trappings of wealth came through other rappers who were more successful than him at the time.

Missy Elliott, who was a hitmaking juggernaut in the mid-90s and early 2000s, shared a funny anecdote on Twitter about how she gave Jay one of his first luxury experiences. Along with a video of the two rappers strolling through a hallway backstage at the recent Grammys, she nostalgically recalled giving Jay his first-ever ride in a Lamborghini.

“fun fact Jay said the 1st time he ever rode in a Lambo car was mines over 20 yrs ago,” she wrote. “now look he probably own a damn spaceship with a alien driver.”

It’s pretty funny to think about Jay being driven around by a Martian (and only slightly more far-fetched than learning he had never been to Central Park, despite living in New York all his life). But it’s also a reminder that Missy is one of the most delightful follows on social media.

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

Twenty years ago this week, 50 Cent dropped his debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.

I want you to understand something about this. I am in no way, shape, or form exaggerating in even the teeny tiniest little bit when I say that this album F*CKED THE GAME UP. We talk a lot in this business about “groundbreaking,” “earth-shattering,” or even paradigm-shifting albums. Usually, that’s a bunch of nonsense. But this time? This time, it’s all the way real.

The strongest way that I can put it is that Get Rich Or Die Trying had roughly the same effect on teenage boys in 2003 that The Beatles coming to America had on teenage girls in 1964. Again, I am not exaggerating. A lot of credit has been given to Eminem, 50’s mentor and patron as the head of Shady Records (which released the album), for popularizing rap for a generation of white kids.

I respectfully submit that a lot of that credit should go to 50 Cent, who seemingly overnight spawned a multimedia empire, spurred by untold legions of suburban youths living out their gangsta fantasies vicariously through his debut album to the tune of 11 million records sold globally by 2020. This was before streaming.

This was at the height of Jay-Z’s reign. 50 Cent was a cultural phenom, upending hip-hop’s then-dominant party music status quo and bringing back something akin to menace, and the kids couldn’t get enough.

In honor of this actual game-changer, Yoh and I are counting down the best 50 Cent songs.

34. “U Not Like Me”

One of the lower-key songs from 50’s debut is a defiant challenge to haters, biters, enemies, and snitches that showcases his way with blunt-spoken-but-effective wordplay. As 50 compares all those against him to his superior circumstances, the scintillating Red Spyda beat clinks away behind him, reminding of the run of mixtape dominance that led to 50 rising above the competition. – Aaron Williams

33. “When It Rains It Pours”

Appearing on the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ soundtrack, “When It Rains It Pours” is desperado music, updated for the modern-day black hats that 50 represents. Of course, the rain in question is hot lead, turning the Che Vicious production into an ominous warning. 50 isn’t holding back when it goes down. – AW

32. “What If”

50 tends to show out on conceptual tracks, and this offering from the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ soundtrack is no exception. Rapping in character as the film’s protagonist Marcus (who was loosely based on 50 himself), 50 wonders about the results of rap stardom. It’s exactly the sort of song that an aspiring rapper would make, and 50 sells it well, even a few years removed from that humble position in real life. – AW

31. “I Don’t Know Officer” Feat. Spider Loc, Lloyd Banks, Mase, and Prodigy

A cheeky but menacing mixtape posse cut produced by Malay and Jake One, “I Don’t Know Officer” was one of many attempts to launch G-Unit on a grander scale. It’s an intriguing curio, featuring a rare collaboration between 50 and Mase, who have never had as contentious a relationship as 50 has with some members of his now-defunct label, but who have still never really put out too much music together for some reason. Also, Spider Loc is here, giving the Compton rapper one of his very few mainstream appearances. – AW

30. “Best Friend” Feat. Olivia

If you had to guess, without looking, how many views on YouTube does “Best Friend” have? If you guessed 30 million, wrong. If you guessed 60 million, wrong. “Best Friend” has over 141 million views. An unbelievable number for a sentimental record produced by Hi-Tek, that features Olivia, samples “Silly, Wasn’t I?” by Valerie Simpson, and interpolates parts of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” “Best Friend” is unquestionably a hit, one of the biggest in 50’s catalog, and he achieved it by leaning into the lady-man music that his nemesis Ja Rule was famous for. Life is funny like that. – Yoh Phillips

29. “Follow My Lead” Feat. Robin Thicke

50 Cent had nothing to prove by Curtis, his third album. He had written the hits, gave hip-hop a classic debut, a strong sophomore, and had room to double down on concepts that made his character multi-dimensional. “Follow My Lead” paired him with Robin Thicke for one of his more tender-hearted themes. The slow-burning tempo and soft piano keys bring a candle-lit vibe that would make no sense on Get Rich or Die Tryin’, but he didn’t die, and even thugs need love. – YP

28. “Disco Inferno”

Legend has it that after Interscope Record decided to push back his sophomore album, The Massacre, 50 chose to leak his lead single, “Disco Inferno, on Thanksgiving Day. A daring move that speaks to how leaks have long affected superstar careers and driven labels crazy. With that said, how 50 made the clubs move may be hard to fathom in a time so removed from his hitmaking, but he had the hottest hand in terms of turning simple jingles into Billboard chart-toppers. “Disco Inferno” peaked at No. 3 and restarted the mania around the world’s boldest rapper. – YP

27. “I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy” Feat. Young Buck

G-Unit had some great records. “I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy” is a prime example. You have 50 and Young Buck over one of the hardest beats Ron Browz ever made, sounding starved, like they’re ready to reach through your headphones and take whatever money is in your wallet. You would think they were performing to be co-stars in the next Grand Theft Auto. It’s a shame these three didn’t attempt more collaborations. They have a working chemistry that went unexplored, but that is why the hit has aged so well: No one ever made a sequel. – YP

26. “Major Distribution” Feat. Snoop Dogg & Jeezy

An underrated latter-day 50 Cent single, “Major Distribution” was originally released as a promotional single for his oft-delayed (and probably canceled) sixth studio album Street King Immortal. While it never charted as well as it could have, 50 and his collaborators do display some cozy chemistry, and the anthemic Soul Professa production lends some impressive energy to the affair. Also, it’s always nice when 50 steps outside of his usual small collaborative circle to include different rappers — and Jeezy delivers one of his stronger verses here. – AW

25. “Like My Style”

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is a time capsule. “Like My Style” is a Rockwilder-produced club record that feels made for dance-off scenes in You Got Served. The off-kilter rhythm pushed 50 to loosen up. His flow is flexible, his cadence is fun, and he’s in such ecstasy the man said, “I’m a New Yorker, but I sound Southern.” Not true, but the sentiment touched on how 50 was ready to expand outside his region, and “Like My Style” does that by venturing beyond predictable comfort zones. Although not one of his big hits, “Like My Style” had all the pieces of an early 2000s hit. – YP

24. “Ski Mask Way”

Some might think breakout success would keep him away from gritty street tales, but 50’s best storytelling comes out of a darker, colder slice of life and that didn’t change because he sold a million records. “Ski Mask Way” is stickup kid music from the perspective of a scheming kleptomaniac who will take whatever his eyes see, whatever his hands touch. A chain, a watch, earrings — nothing is off limits. What takes this robbery rap deep cut even higher in esteem is how rich and soulful the beat is. The late Disco D outdid himself. – YP

23. “Heat”

The Dr. Dre-produced “Heat” was in Rakim’s possession first before 50 laid the vocals that earned him a track filled with Glock cocking and gunshot sounds. He raps threat after threat with bulletproof poise despite the war zone ambiance. There’s something compelling about how he raps, unbothered by all the noise, as if this environment of hyper-violence is where he feels the most at home. Of all the tracks on his infamous debut, “Heat” doubles down on 50 as an agent of chaos that will place his listeners in a world of bullets, burners, and bravado. – YP

22. “I’m Supposed To Die Tonight”

By the time The Massacre came out in 2009, the subject matter of this song, 50’s 2000 shooting in front of his grandmother’s house, was well-worn material. Rap fans looking for evolution or new material weren’t going to find it here. That doesn’t mean it’s not effective; as a nostalgic reflection of a pivotal point in 50’s life, it’s vivid as HDTV. – AW

21. “God Gave Me Style”

Another standout from The Massacre, this song is unusual in 50 Cent’s discography because it’s one of his few songs that isn’t A.: A chilling meditation on violence, or B.: A blatant bid for radio dominance. He sounds happy here, relishing in the outcome of the past few years of his career, and one of the few times he freely admits, “Best deal I made was tradin’ the mic for that triple beam.” 50’s music can often be motivational, but rarely is it uplifting — this is one of the few exceptions. – AW

20. “High All The Time”

50 wanted to sell records — enough to make a record that wasn’t faithful to life. “High All The Time” talks of intoxication, but the Queens rapper is too intense to be a believable stoner. What should be a loose and lucid record is confrontational and forbidding, but he displays his gift for pairing a sweet melody with brash bravado, the gangsta rap image with a hitmaker’s ear. There is a rare charm to “High All The Time” that captivates even when you can’t trust his character. – YP

19. “Part Of The Game”

50’s rap resurrection has come from a seemingly unlikely place. His constellation of Starz crime dramas, beginning with Power, have offered a showcase that helps to properly contextualize his grimy street narratives. See, he’s not telling 20-year-old war stories anymore, he’s telling you about the show, the things the characters are going to go through. Maybe he took a page from Jay-Z’s book with American Gangster; until we get 50’s version of the reflective 4:44, the Power theme songs — this one’s from Book III: Kanan — let us relive 50 at his best and temporarily ignore the fact he’s a mogul who hasn’t touched a pack since Clinton was in office. – AW

18. “Power Powder Respect” Feat. Lil Durk & Jeremih

The theme song to Power Book IV: Force sees 50 tap Chicago veterans Lil Durk and Jeremih — fitting additions, considering the show’s setting. For those who aren’t up on game, this spin-off follows the original show’s Tommy Egan as he flees to Chicago and works to take over the Windy City. Obviously, power, powder, and respect are the three things he’ll need to accomplish this goal, but while they aren’t in short supply, they aren’t exactly the easiest things to obtain, lending the show its conflict and this song its narrative tension. – AW

17. “Big Rich Town” Feat. Joe

The theme song from the original Power marked a turning point in 50 Cent’s music career. It’d be fair to say he hadn’t been as much of a force on the music scene as he was in business, particularly in the screen business. With his last full-length album nearing a decade ago, it seemed like he’d moved on from rap — until he rediscovered his hunger by putting himself in the mind of his character from the show, Kanan. And while that character is no longer a fixture of most of the remaining spinoffs (RIP), by spitting from the perspective of his shows’ street-stuck subjects, 50 once again sounds vital. – AW

16. “Still Think I’m Nothing” Feat. Jeremih

These two may be an odd pair on paper, but 50 and Jeremih have a commendable work history. Their standout collaboration, “Still Think I’m Nothing,” serves as a harmonious meeting place for raw and reflective raps to find amicability alongside a soulful R&B voice. The silky groove Bongo produced was an ideal canvas for these two to share space. The infectious outcome deserved more praise when this one dropped in 2017. How 50’s ad-libs carry over into the chorus gives “Still Think I’m Nothing” a clever juxtaposition that more artists should attempt today. You really feel the best of both worlds. – YP

15. “Ryder Music”

Hi-Tek might be one of the most underrated rap producers of all time. The man comes with heat, and while it may have seemed a surprise to see the backpack rap producer working with a towering figure such as 50 Cent in 2005, the results speak for themselves. Over a haunting Stevie Wonder loop embellished by Tek’s artist Dion, 50 comes as close as we’ve ever heard him to introspection, juxtaposing his titanic star status with the trappings of trap life. – AW

14. “How To Rob” Feat. The Madd Rapper

The song that first introduced 50 Cent to the masses in 1999 laid the foundation of his future blueprint of courting controversy for attention, and by extension, sales. The tongue-in-cheek concept is simple; 50 is going to rob every successful rapper in hip-hop. He proceeds to name-check dozens of them, from Canibus to Will Smith, dropping in a few R&B singers and even choir director Kirk Franklin. The song didn’t make him many friends, but it garnered plenty of fans, especially after several of his targets responded with tracks of their own, fueling the feeding frenzy. – AW

13. “I Don’t Need Em”

50 is one of rap’s greatest anti-heroes because he commits to antagonism. “I’m rich, I still wake up with crime on my mind,” he raps on “I Don’t Need Em,” the penultimate record found on his sophomore album, The Massacre. It’s an incredibly mean-spirited track, full of the foul energy only a villain could emit. The middle-finger lyricism is paired with phenomenal production by Buckwild, who pulls classic hip-hop grit out of The SCLC Operation Breadbasket Orchestra And Choir’s “Nobody Knows” should be in classrooms studied by professors. – YP

12. “Back Down”

To find the death knell of Ja Rule’s hip-hop dominance, relisten to “Back Down,” track ten on 50 Cent’s classic debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin.’ They don’t make diss records quite like this anymore, where a whole career gets disrupted by its content. The whole track is a vicious and valiant attempt at ending a career, robbing 50’s adversary of any leftover respect since the start of their beef. If liquefied, “Back Down” would taste like poison. That’s how deeply 50 despised Ja. So much so, allegedly, two versions of “Back Down” exist. The OG was disrespectful enough for Dr. Dre to have him change it. It’s hard to imagine a harsher diss, especially with the Alex Thomas outro. – YP

11. “This Is 50”

Fame, celebrity, money; 50 Cent had all the perks of superstardom by 2005, and he still made “This Is 50,” a record that reintroduced him as a Benz-driving, limo-riding rap star with an itchy trigger finger. In both verses, the hook and bridge embody his resistance to be some safe pop star. He may have made riches without having to die, didn’t mean that made him softer, kinder. No, not him, and for anyone who may have forgotten, “This Is 50” makes it crystal clear: A persona doesn’t mean pretending. – YP

10. “Window Shopper”

Appearing on the soundtrack from Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, “Window Shopper” features the most hilarious version of 50 Cent. The one who pulls up alongside you in his brand-new Lamborghini, eyes you up and down, and lets out a pointed, derisive chuckle before he peels off as the light turns green. Here, the put-downs are comical, but the commentary is no less incisive. He doesn’t need to brag or threaten because he’s already reduced you to the worst version of yourself in his mind — and yours. – AW

9. “What Up Gangsta”

The first time I heard anyone from outside of California use “cuz” — the standard salutation of the street-affiliated gentlefolk around my way — on a record, my mind was blown. 50’s street credentials didn’t seem so gimmicky or manufactured to me after that, because I realized he knew some stuff. Anyway, I was 18 at the time and didn’t know any better. This remains one of my favorite 50 Cent records, though. – AW

8. “Hustler’s Ambition”

For all the catchy hooks 50 Cent is best known for, for all the boisterous hits, I’ve always thought he was at his best when he still rapped like he had something to prove over gritty, primal hip-hop beats. Check and check. The stripped-down production, sampling the soulful Frankie Beverly and Maze song “I Need You,” offers a clean backdrop for 50’s straightforward bars about the trevails of the hustler’s life. Placed on the soundtrack to 50’s film debut, which was named after his first album, it sets the stage for the hungry, barely fictionalized version of the character we see in the film. – AW

7.”Patiently Waiting”

The Eminem-produced “Patiently Waiting” was sent to 50 soon after signing with Em in 2002. The drums drop like elbows from a top rope, and that only begins to describe a swelling beat where all the intersecting parts create the perfect atmosphere for titans to pop shit. They pop it, not caring who they offend, especially with all the references to 9/11. It’s bold, but what do you expect from two brass-knuckle rappers with a love for mayhem? Their platinum-selling collaboration was a statement-making moment for Shady Records, one that still feels potent 20 years later. – YP

6. “Wanksta”

A new rapper must add lingo to hip-hop’s vernacular to reach superstardom. “Wanksta” wasn’t a widespread term before 50, but after his 2002 single, it was everywhere, viral, an instant classic. Often viewed as a Ja-Rule diss, “Wanksta” shames posers and taunts pretenders with laughable contempt. Lyrically, the track is rap bullying at its best, and 50 makes it catchy, an imposer-shaming rap sing-along. Then, the beat by J-Praize is unlike anything rappers had at the time and still sounds like it was from the future when played today. A super classic by all metrics. – YP

5. “A Baltimore Love Thing”

While there are quite a few “love songs” that characterize all manner of drugs and other vices as romantic foils to their respective songwriters, this standout from The Massacre captured a side of 50 that hadn’t been seen yet. Where he had always played the cold-eyed hustler, willfully apathetic of the effects of the products he sold, here he personified those products, taking a clinical look at the destruction they’ve wrought on his customers. – AW

4. “21 Questions” Feat. Nate Dogg

The “girl song” reared its head so often in the halcyon teenage years of hip-hop. Yet, never before had it been so effectively ruggedized. Acknowledgment for this likely belongs to Nate Dogg, the California crooner whose cognac vocal graced many a hit in the early 2000s. Rather than begging his way into his paramour’s bed, 50 and Nate draw her in, putting the ball firmly in her court. Will she remain loyal? Will she persevere? What is she willing to do to keep this thing going? By reversing the roles of pursuer and pursued, 50 sounds both enamored and coolly unattached. – AW

3. “I Get Money”

Every year a few rap records come out and have no flaws. A perfect beat, a perfect performance, a perfect release. In 2007, one of those flawless tracks was “I Get Money.” You would have thought its placement on Billboard had peaked higher than No. 20 the way it reached from Brooklyn to Buckhead, from Washington to Wichita. The Audio Two sample and the flex, “Have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire,” had hip-hop in a chokehold. You can play the song today and imagine the impact, but really, “I Get Money” was a moment you had to be there for, a true one-of-one anthem that was every hustler’s ringtone. – YP

2. “Many Men”

There are few songs that truly convey the sense of paranoia that comes from being a marked man because there are so few songs that can accurately balance the anxious, eye-rolling dread with the slight thrill of adrenaline, that rush that makes it almost seem worth the risk. That 50 could back his boasts with his factual story of survival — nine shots to the torso, neck, and head — takes the subject matter from grim to weirdly triumphant. “He got hit like I got hit,” 50 snarls, “But he ain’t f*ckin’ breathin’.” – AW

1. “In Da Club”

A calling card song of the highest order, “In Da Club” is the one 50 Cent song that you’d play your friend who’s never heard a 50 Cent song and they’d get it. A pummeling, punishing treadmill of a Dr. Dre beat sounds like the Knight Rider theme song without actually sampling it (it’s been done a few times), setting the stage for a pulse-pounding, heart-gripping action movie in audio form. 50’s boasts sound at once victorious and somehow humble — like he’s reached the pinnacle of a years-long climb, only to spy greater peaks in the distance. – AW

In the past few months, AI has become the new NFTs of the music industry. You know, the vaguely futuristic new tech toy that artists and labels can milk for a bit before the bottom inevitably falls out because no one is regulating these things and regular people get bored with them.

Google’s got a music AI, a new AI song generator lets you cobble together a fake Drake song, and labels are trying to sign racist caricatures of Black people in the form of “virtual rappers” whose songs are being written by algorithms.

We’ve reached a new frontier in predictive text (all of these things are essentially that Twitter prompt about pressing the middle suggestion until a sentence comes out, just slightly more advanced) and it seems no one can resist — least of all, artists whose music already consists of a lot of electronically-produced sounds in the first place.

French DJ David Guetta recently premiered a new song of his that “features” Eminem during a concert, sharing the video online. Eminem “appears” courtesy of AI, thanks to an AI song generator Guetta found online, he explains in the clip. He said he has no plans in place to release the song commercially, but hey, again: Not everybody is going to want to be in on this joke. See: Rick Astley suing Yung Gravy for employing a soundalike on his breakaway hit.

If I sound down on all this supposed “artificial intelligence” — well, it’s because I am. It’s all fun and games until “stars” are endorsing products and philosophies they never would in real life and scammers are using AI-generated co-signs to help bilk folks out of their hard-earned money (in this economy???), to say nothing of how quickly these bots learn to be racist, homophobic, and misogynistic. Until someone gets a handle on legislating these gizmos, all the pieces are available for some truly disastrous outcomes. Anyway, check out David Guetta doing a song with a fake Eminem below.

Days after the producer Steve Albini started an online discourse about his thoughts on Steely Dan, tons of musicians have chosen their sides in the debate over whether they’re actually a good band.

“I will always be the kind of punk that sh*ts on Steely Dan,” Albini originally said in a Twitter thread earlier this week (February 6). “Christ the amount of human effort wasted to sound like an SNL band warm up.”

Some musicians that are currently, and intensely, pro-Steely Dan include Jenny Lewis and St. Vincent. Both expressed a similar sentiment: “I f*cking love Steely Dan.”

Actor Ben Stiller also backed this team, adding a simple “me too” to Lewis’ tweet. She went on to note that De La Soul were the ones who got her into the band, seemingly after they sampled Steely’s “Peg” for their 1989 song, “Eye Know.”

However, not everyone was as thrilled about Steely Dan as Jason Isbell weighed in about his wife being a staunch anti.

“My wife hates Steely Dan so much she’s starting a fan group called the Albini Babies,” he tweeted.

“Sir please pass on from me to your kind missus the highest appropriate compliment. She is a good woman. And now I’ll leave you be,” Albini replied to Isbell’s post.

Continue scrolling for more musicians choosing their sides on Steely Dan.

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

Though not even a full year has passed since Bartees Strange released his second album, Farm To Table, the Brooklyn indie singer has shared a pair of new songs as part of Sub Pop’s Singles series.

The first of the two, called “Tisched Off” is a call-out to artists who cosplay as indie, but in actuality, benefit from wealth and privilege.

“You deserve Oscars / For your starving artist routine / You’re draining me / Mad at the culture / and the cancels / Now you’re 40 going on 15,” he shouts on the song’s chorus.

According to a statement accompanied by the song’s release, “Tisched Off,” albeit a bit cheeky in nature, was written all in good fun.

“As an up-and-coming musician, there’s a very special pain that comes with realizing a huge chunk of the artists you’re competing with have way more money and resources than you,” said Strange. “This song takes little digs at them. It’s cute. Tisch is like the fashion school at NYU. When I was living in BK I ran into a bunch of young punk bands and experimental acts that rose quickly from that school. I remember feeling like damn – how do you compete with people like that? They’ve got some very real resources. Anywho – it’s just me making fun.”

On the second song, called “Keekee’in,” Strange recalls a betrayal he faced within the music businesses, as well as among friends.

“Hold up / Back to beastin’ / If it’s a change-up then I’ma swing it / I saw God and yeah he got reasons / I had some old friends / now they all demons,” he sings on the track, driven by found sounds.

“This song is extremely special to me,” said Strange. “During our tour with Car Seat Headrest, the band had COVID. I was bunkered down with my guitarist Dan at his family’s house in the basement. I figured it would be cool to write something using only the tools we had. All of the instrumentation was done with stuff from that room. Matchsticks, pillows for drums, very random keyboards, etc. I wrote this song to get some feelings out I had about some business people I was considering working with — they ended up being shady and I was feeling very betrayed. I was thinking about how valuable it is to have people you can really trust. And how few those people are.”

You can listen to the new songs above.

The three most famous American game shows are, in some order, Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and The Price is Right. The first two are frequently associated with each other as they air back-to-back in most markets, while the Drew Carey-hosted game show is on its own as a mid-morning treat for millions of kids who are too sick to go to school.

Honestly, it would make more sense for Wheel to be paired with The Price Is Right as both involve, uh, big wheels, while Jeopardy! is the thinking person’s game show. It’s also a “thousand times” better, according to contestant Greg during Tuesday’s episode.

“Fifteen years ago, I was lucky enough to get picked on The Price is Right, where I won a car. I gotta say, [Jeopardy!] is just a thousand times better. So much more fun,” the Las Vegas-based call center manager told host Ken Jennings. “Anybody can be on The Price is Right. You gotta work to be on Jeopardy!” Jennings added, “We didn’t just pull you out of the crowd today, Greg. You didn’t come in with a uniform or a funny sign.”

Shots fired. But somewhere out there (probably Cleveland), Carey is laughing at Greg, who got his karma comeuppance in Final Jeopardy when he wagered it all, and lost it all. He did, however, correctly answer a clue about Channing Tatum:

Like I said, the thinking person’s game.

Kyrsten Sinema showed up to Tuesday’s State of the Union address wearing a bright yellow dress with huge puffy shoulder pads, and the jokes immediately started flying on Twitter as people compared her to everything from Big Bird to one of the Teletubbies. The whole outfit was a choice to say the least.

“Wow you never think it’ll happen, but it looks like she DID wear that bridesmaid dress again,” The Daily Show tweeted as the Sinema burns started piling in.

Samantha Bee even got in on the act by comparing the Arizona senator to a dilophosaurus:

You can see more reactions to Kyrsten Sinema’s dress below:

On top of getting dragged for her possibly attention-seeking outfit, Sinema was also called out for the far more concerning act of sitting with Republicans during the State of the Union address and not applauding for Biden announcing a cap on insulin cost. Congressman Ruben Gallego, who’s mounting a challenge for Sinema’s senate seat, released a statement blasting her behavior. Via AZ Central:

“Arizonans elected Senator Sinema to lower prescription drug costs and ensure access to healthcare for all. She abandoned us the second she got to the Senate to do Big Pharma’s bidding and now she’s rubbing it in our faces,” Gallego said Tuesday night in a statement. “Not clapping for our seniors getting the Social Security payments they need? Or the affordable healthcare that could save their lives? Sinema’s silence speaks louder than words.”

Sinema did, however, cheer Biden for the CHIPS and Science Act, but only because she led on the bill:

(Via AZ Central)

I said this last night but I think it bears repeating; Drake may very well be the funniest human being alive.

It’s not just that he constantly does hilarious things, consistently leaning into the public perception that he’s a total cornball. It’s that he’s always in on the joke. He knows how things are going to play, he does them anyway, and he laughs at himself as much as we do.

Take last night’s historical Los Angeles Lakers game; Drake was one of several music stars to congratulate LeBron James on breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record. But instead of merely recording a straightforward message to the camera like Rihanna and Snoop Dogg, Drake staged an elaborate skit in front of a green screen.

At first, it appears that the Toronto star is standing in the gym at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. This seems like a completely logical thing for Drake to do — even a likely one — because Drake is the kind of guy who buys Pharrell’s old jewelry for nostalgic value. But then, the background shifts to a staged club VIP section as Drake “admits” he’s recording from a night out. Because Drake is also the guy who loves doing comedic sketches for award shows (it’s a shame he hasn’t hosted SNL again for the past seven years).

Naturally, his goofball moment landed differently for different people, but the reactions on Twitter have been pure gold either way. Check them out below.

The Last Of Us is dominating in its inaugural season. Not only is the series acquiring a massive fanbase, but it also did something that not many can do: make Nick Offerman look like a big old softie and make Melanie Lynskey seem like a mean girl. These are two things we are not used to seeing!

Lynskey made her highly-anticipated guest appearance in episode four, and viewers were surprised to learn that she wasn’t playing her usual soft-spoken characters. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lynskey says she was hesitant to take on such a darker role. “[Craig Mazin] said to me, ‘I hope you’re not offended, but I would love for you to play a war criminal.’ I said, ‘Ugh, I don’t know,’” Lynskey recalled.

The Yellowjackets star did take on the role of Kathleen, the tough war criminal whose brother was leading the resistance movement before his death. While speaking on The Last Of Us podcast, Mazin and developer Neil Druckmann said that they needed Kathleen’s character to balance out Joel and Ellie. As Mazin explained, via Collider:

Humanity will probably not descend into a Mad Max-style culture in a post-apocalyptic world where 80 people just love killing. It’s not what happens. What happens instead is we’re 80 people who love each other as family, friends and neighbors and that means we must protect ourselves at any cost, and anyone who gets in our way must be taken out. Joel was once one of those people. That’s how he knows the guy asking for help isn’t hurt, and they’re being conned. It was important for us to put a face on these people, so we have this character in Kathleen who we understand is suffering when we meet her. Even though she has the gun in her hand, she is suffering. We have this revolutionary who quietly becomes a terror and does horrible things in service of this, but is still someone we empathize with.

And thus, Kathleen’s character was created. Mazin added that Lynskey was the first person they thought of for the role, which is when Lynskey was approached.

Lynskey (Via Collider and told EW that the character is supposed to show off the complex layers of flawed people. “I wanted her to be kind of gentle. I wanted her to be soft-spoken and delicate in the way she looked around. I wanted her to feel like a sweet person, and then to have a surprising capacity for violence,” the actress explained. “I thought the difference between how she carries herself and how she speaks and the things she’s doing would be interesting.”

Despite the darker character arch, Lynskey says she enjoyed the stint. When asked if it was fun to play a villain after all these years of good guys, the actress replied, “It is really fun. I would do something horrible, like one time I did some scene where [Kathleen] was like, ‘Kids die every day’ or something like that. I was like, ‘It’s just my vendetta.’ Craig and I would always say ‘my vendetta’ with a New Zealand accent.” Things do, historically, sound less horrible in a New Zealand accent.

(Via Collider and EW)

Tony Khan has plenty to be proud of in the four years since launching All Elite Wrestling. He has AEW competing with WWE in terms of interest, talent, and where fans spend their money, as the organization embarks on launching non-televised live performances in addition to their weekly episodic shows and PPVs. The differentiator in propelling AEW into a true challenger brand starts with their current television deal.

“When we launched, having the availability and accessibility and prestige of TNT/TBS set us apart from a lot of other promotions that have launched,” Khan told Uproxx Sports in an exclusive interview. “We launched with such a strong roster and we had some of the top stars in wrestling from our very first show. And the roster has grown so much and strengthened a lot over the years. Now, I think we’ve just grown to the point where we’re doing our most consistent run of TV shows right now.”

Over time, Khan’s AEW has mixed foundational pieces like Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and the Young Bucks, with blossoming stars such as Jade Cargill, MJF, Britt Baker, and Hangman Page, while also bringing in established veterans like Bryan Danielson, Sting, Saraya, and CM Punk, among others.

Every great rivalry needs passionate fans on both sides. That passion and yearning to see AEW as the clear top promotion often overflows into demands for the newest hot free agent to join AEW — see Mercedes Moné, Kota Ibushi, and basically any top star who has hit the market.

This hasn’t necessarily been a surprise for Khan, as it was part of his logic for launching the promotion.

“There are always going to be free agents and big names that become available over time in pro wrestling, and I think that’s one of the reasons that the launch of AEW was so exciting,” Khan says. “That was actually part of my presentation to Warner executives five years ago, was that we would be creating the first truly competitive free agent market in pro wrestling in two decades. I felt like there was a disparity, the choices available to a wrestler, as far as which promotions they’d want to work with. And I think now, with the rise of AEW, it’s provided better choices and an alternative for the wrestling fans, but also for the pro wrestlers. And historically, particularly in the cable TV era, that free agent market and the excitement around it can generate a lot of buzz for a wrestling company, and sometimes for multiple wrestling companies as wrestlers go back and forth.”

Not unlike WWE, AEW remains in the crosshairs of the internet wrestling community, with nearly every move drawing visceral reactions, both positive and negative. But for Khan, who to this day participates in online message boards and websites, he’s learned to roll with the punches.

“I’ve been part of the internet wrestling community since almost the very beginning, since I was 12 years old. If I’ve ever taken a break from it, it’s probably not been much more than a day. I pretty consistently have been reading and talking about wrestling on the internet for the better part of the last three decades,” he says. “I love the feedback from the fans. I love engaging with the internet wrestling fans and seeing what they think. And sometimes you’ll get mixed opinion, but when there is a very strong, uniform opinion on something, it can be a good signal or a hint as to what the right direction for us could be.”

Some of that feedback could be as small as making motion graphics for pay-per-views.

Other areas include the portrayal of the AEW women’s division. That, specifically, is an area Khan believes has been at its strongest over the past year, citing the mix of “great free agents” and the way they’ve helped foster a “growing rivalry” with some of the women who have been with AEW from the beginning.

“In particular, Toni Storm and Saraya have been very polarizing to the fans, they’ve got great star power and great experience that they brought to AEW and some of their comments and their attitudes towards the homegrown AEW wrestlers who helped build up the company when we launched have done them no favors and made them no friends in the locker room,” Khan says. “And we have a lot of homegrown wrestlers, stars like Dr. Britt Baker and the AEW Women’s World Champion, Jamie Hayter, who’ve been with us from the very first year and are very offended and disrespected by Toni Storm and Saraya and the things that they’ve said about our homegrown women wrestlers. So I think the free agents have really come in and helped shake things up, and it’s certainly made for a heated series of rivalries and intrigue around the championship.”

As he reflects on the last four years and looks toward the future, Khan is bullish on AEW’s future. As reported by Fightful, the organization’s television rights deal is set to expire toward the end of 2023. But Khan was careful to characterize AEW’s future deal as a media rights deal, instead pointing solely to a new television deal.

“I expect big increases in the rights for the AEW programs and we’re on a good pace to make a very lucrative deal for the AEW media rights going forward,” Khan said.

When asked about the recent report that AEW was set to launch its own streaming service, Khan didn’t confirm or deny the rumors.

“We’ve done 174 episodes of Dynamite, 80 episodes of AEW Rampage, our 17th pay-per-view event will be March 5 in Revolution, so we’ve done hundreds and hundreds of hours of AEW content in our library,” Khan says. “I also purchased Ring of Honor last year, which is a great promotion with over 20 years of history, thousands of hours of video in their library. So overall, AEW has access to so many great wrestling events, including some events that are widely considered to be some of the best wrestling events of all time. There’s a lot of interest in this library as well as the new weekly content we continue to produce each week, and I do think there’s a lot of demand for the library and it makes a lot of sense for us to try to make that AEW library available to fans all over the world on demand.”

Despite mentioning AEW and ROH in the same breath regarding a media library, Khan made it clear he sees ROH as a complimentary promotion to AEW, similar to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“AEW and Ring of Honor both have a great legacy,” he says. “There are some of the biggest stars in wrestling who won championships in both promotions. Even today, Samoa Joe, the king of television, is a TV champion representing both promotions as the TNT champion of AEW and the Ring of Honor World Television champion simultaneously and is a Hall of Fame star, a first-ballot Hall of Famer for Ring of Honor and one of the biggest names in AEW. And both companies have had a great relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling historically. And now I think that the promotions compliment each other very well. But I want to run them as separate promotions that exist in the same metaverse of pro wrestling along with New Japan Pro Wrestling and some of our other partners.”

For now, Khan will continue to steer AEW into its next phase of growth, while launching the next phase in ROH’s journey, which reportedly includes episodic television.