The plot thickens. A few days ago, Neil Young made it clear that he’d be removing his music off Spotify because of their refusal to shut down the anti-vaccine conspiracies spouted by Joe Rogan. Young doubled down today after most of us his music was pulled, by reminding everyone that he hates the audio quality on Spotify as well. Now, that part might not have any influence on Joni Mitchell, but the first part of Neil’s stance definitely did, as the legendary singer-songwriter has now opted to pull her music off the streaming service as well.

Tonight, Mitchell posted a statement to her website titled “I stand with Neil Young.” She went on to keep it short and sweet, but let fans know they’d no longer be listening to her there: “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” she wrote. “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue. — Joni Mitchell”

It’s worth noting that both Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are survivors of polio, a crippling disease that was, as well all know, all but eradicated due to vaccinations.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show has become one of the biggest events in music. Last year, The Weeknd cited his booking at the big game as something that possibly drove The Grammys to snub him for his most successful album to date, After Hours, that’s how important it’s become. This year, the NFL has assembled an all-star crew, tapping Dr. Dre to lead Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. And even though all those veterans on one stage together — or rather, one football field together — is a huge deal, it’s inevitably still Kendrick that’s going to steal the spotlight.

Why? Because fans are starving for new music from the sometimes dubbed “greatest rapper alive,” who hasn’t released much of anything since his electric Damn back in 2017. That’s three years deep into a pandemic with no new bars from Kung Fu Kenny to help us get by. At this point, fans are grabbing onto any hints at all that the SUper Bowl will be a runway ramp for Kendrick’s new album release, and Billboard has got those straws, no matter how flimsy they might be.

Asking fans to vote in an R&B/hip-hop poll about anticipated music yesterday, they dropped these lines in about Kendrick: “sources tell Billboard a Lamar single may arrive on Feb 4. or Feb. 11 before he plays the Super Bowl halftime show.”

I’ll take it! Okay Kendrick, after months of teasing that the new album is done, it’s time to release it.

WARNING: Spoilers for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett below.

After making his live-action return in The Mandalorian Season 2, the iconic Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett is now headlining his own spinoff series, The Book of Boba Fett, which is finally giving the character more to do than quietly stand around before getting unceremoniously knocked into the Sarlacc Pit and left for dead.

However, with Boba Fett’s return comes questions about his mysterious origin. Namely, where did he get that badass armor? Fortunately, both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have provided answers to the long journey of Boba’s armor, so let’s start with the easy question of where he got it in the first place: his dad.

In Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones, the bounty hunter Jango Fett is introduced as the template for a new army of clone soldiers to be used by the Republic in its ongoing war with the separatist droid armies. Also introduced is Jango’s son, Boba, who is an unmodified clone of his father. In the film’s climactic ending, Jango is beheaded by Jedi Master Mace Windu, and young Boba is seen holding his father’s helmet, which closely resembles the one he’s seen wearing in the original Star Wars trilogy. That’s because it’s one and the same.

In The Mandalorian Season 2 episode, “The Tragedy,” Boba Fett reveals that his armor belonged to his father who is confirmed to be a Mandalorian foundling. Prior to Boba’s return in The Mandalorian, Jango Fett was accused of stealing the armor and not being a true Mandalorian. However, Boba shot down that accusation through coding in the armor’s gauntlet.

As for how Boba Fett regained his armor following the events of Return of the Jedi, that story was also revealed in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. In the Season 2 premiere, Boba Fett’s armor appears for the first time, only it’s not the bounty under the helmet. Instead, it’s worn by Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) who acquired the armor from a pack of Jawas.

In exchange for helping Cobb Vanth defeat a Krayt dragon, Mando takes possession of the armor so it can be given to a true Mandalorian. (At this point in the story, Mando is unaware it belongs to Boba Fett.) However, from the distance, Boba witnesses Mando acquiring the armor and tracks down Mando on the planet Tython with the help of Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). After being ambushed by Stormtroopers attempting to capture Baby Yoda, Boba Fett enters Mando’s ship during the fray and comes out wearing his iconic armor, which he then uses to wreck a whole lot of Imperial scum.

With his armor secured — and neatly buffed and polished — Boba Fett returned to Tatooine where he murdered Bib Fortuna and began his takeover of Jabba the Hutt’s empire, kicking off the events of his spinoff.

The Book of Boba Fett is currently streaming on Disney+.

Now that Kanye is back in a prolific phase, releasing Donda last year and almost immediately announcing a follow-up, he’s got a whole new slew of producers and collaborators in the mix. That’s a good thing, Ye’s taste level in other artists has always been one of his strong suits — except for that whole Marilyn Manson fiasco — and now one of his new producers, Digital Nas, has spoken to Rolling Stone about his time working with Yeezy on Donda 2.

Digital Nas, aka Nasir Pemberton, said he initially traveled from his home in Atlanta to work with Kanye in LA, but ended up moving to the city of angels in the end. “I went out there on a whim, no expectations,” the 23-year-old told Rolling Stone. “Then it turned into me living out there. By the fifth day, my manager gets an email like, ‘Hey, we want Nas out here indefinitely.’ And we’ve been just rocking ever since.”

Not a bad way to kick off your career! As for what fans can hope for from Donda 2, Kanye is planning and hoping to have it soundtrack major moments in his listener’s lives. “These are the directives for the album: ‘If it cannot be played at a funeral, childbirth, graduation, a wedding, it will not be on our record,’” Nas said. “We learned a lot from Donda 1. We learned what hit. We learned what was sticking. So we took from there. It has to be able to be played at four major moments in people’s lives. That’s crazy, right?”

Check out the entire interview here, and keep an eye out for Donda 2, which drops in just a few weeks on February 22.

James Harden‘s future in Brooklyn is reportedly up in the air after reports started surfacing about his desire to test the free agent market this summer. Harden has never been a free agent in his career, and rumors indicate that he wants to survey his options once the offseason rolls around.

The Nets don’t seem particularly worried about losing him for nothing — the team is not taking calls on him ahead of next month’s trade deadline — but apparently, other teams have some concerns. A new report by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports indicates that teams think something funny is going on with Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers, the franchise that has been most closely linked to him should he move on from the Nets, and apparently, they are considering asking the league to open up a tampering investigation if this comes to fruition.

Harden has been linked to the 76ers because of his relationship with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey from their time with the Houston Rockets. Harden is also friends with 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

Some front-office executives believe talks are going on now between Harden and the 76ers on a potential offseason move, and this could be considered tampering by the league.

Harden fits the bill of a superstar player, which Morey has said on numerous occasions is what the team wants to get back should it trade Ben Simmons. Philadelphia would be a sensible option for Harden, too, as he’d be paired with Joel Embiid and get handed the keys to the team’s offense, should he decide he want to go in that direction. Having said that, it would very obviously be tampering if there was anything going on here between Harden and the Sixers before a move happens, even if we don’t have anything right now other than the hunches of a few teams to indicate that is the case.

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

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. We’ve finally made it through the month of January which means we’re just a few weeks away from our first sneaker event of the year — Valentine’s Day. We need it, desperately — the fire drops have been seriously lacking this year, so hopefully, the holiday brings all sorts of pink, red, and white colorways and unexpected collabs from the big brands.

Another Strangelove Nike SB Dunk? Yes, please! The sneaker world loves an event to rally around.

This week follows last week’s trend of being a little lighter than we’d like. We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel here, we’re still sorting out the gems from the trash but we won’t lie to you, things have been grim for sneakerheads. Luckily we have a few dope New Balance drops and Pharrell to save us!

Nike LeBron 19 Polarized Blue and Crimson Bliss

We never thought we’d say this but… LeBron is saving the sneaker season. I’ve made it no secret that so far 2022 has fumbled out the gate providing a shortage of dope sneaker drops. LeBron has been holding up the month singlehandedly, and his best this month is this week’s Polarized Blue and Crimson Bliss LeBron 19.

The sneaker features a snug fit inner sleeve, ankle aligning pods embedded into the upper with an intricate paneled overlay that combines translucent materials with TPE accents. Like all of LeBron’s sneakers, the color palette here is vibrant, combining teal shades with speckled black and primary color outsoles.

The Nike LeBron 19 Polarized Blue and Crimson Bliss is out now for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance 1500 GID

Looking for a New Balance night runner? You can’t go wrong with this glow-in-the-dark rendition of the 1500. This England-made pair features a mesh and suede upper with leather paneling dressed in purple, white and black tones and features reflective accents at the heel over a full-length glow in the dark sole.

It combines a futuristic design with a classic dad shoe shape.

The New Balance 1500 GID is out now for a retail price of $234.67. Pick up a pair at Urban Industry.

Nike Dunk High Retro White/Black

If you’re looking for a classic Dunk, Nike is finally doing a refresh of the sneakers simple white black colorway The sneaker features a padded high collar with shiny leather overlays over a pure white leather upper. It’s simple, not worthy of internet-breaking hype, but a classic that will do well in your rotation.

The Nike Dunk High Retro White/Black is set to drop on January 27th for a retail price of $115. Pick up a pair at Nike or aftermarket sites like Flight Club.

New Balance 550 Varsity Blue/Varsity Orange

The New Balance 550 is now one of the brand’s most popular silhouettes, if not the most popular. This sneaker looks good in almost every color it’s sold in, but few colorways are stronger than Varsity Blue. Or so I thought until I saw this Varsity Orange colorway.

The sneaker features a Simon leather upper with orange or blue accents over a matching outsole.

The New Balance 550 University Blue/ University Orange are set to drop on January 27th for a retail price of $144. Pick up a pair at Asphalt Gold.

Adidas x Pharrell Williams HUMANRACE Sičhona

We haven’t been this hyped for a Pharrell-designed sneaker in a while but what can I say? I’m a sucker for yellow sneakers and Pharrell’s Sičhona is a pretty dope silhouette.

This ultra-flexible sneaker features a Primeknit upper with Adidas’ Futurenatural technology, which allows for increased mobility and sits above a polyurethane midsole with textile accents over a synthetic outsole.

The Adidas x Pharrell Williams HUMANRACE Sičhona is set to drop on January 28th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Adidas Confirmed app.

Atmos x New Balance 327 Realtree Camo

The 327 is getting the camo treatment! Made in collaboration with Japanese retailer Atmos, this 327 features a cordura upper with suede overlays, a textured heel, and a graphic tree print. The colorway combines autumnal tones with a black N logo and outsole, and a milky off-white midsole and matching laces.

It’s just a really great-looking colorway, Atmos really knocked it out of the park with this one.

The Atmos x New Balance 327 Realtree is set to drop on January 29th for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair exclusively at Atmos’ website or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Some of you straight up don’t know how to make a burrito. I’ve seen you in that Chipotle line, f*cking everything up for yourself. I’ve waited patiently behind several of these burrito f*ck ups, suffering in polite silence. I’ve seen friends do it, strangers, family! I swear some of you have never eaten a burrito with the way you build these things up. I don’t say this as some sort of magical authority on burritos. I, for the record, think there are a lot of ways to make a burrito and a great burrito comes in many forms. But not at Chipotle.

At Chipotle there is really only one way to make a burrito. And now I’m going to tell you how.

Where do I get off telling you how to make your burrito? Because I care that much. I spend every week deep-diving into the world of fast food, separating the good stuff from the trash, and I don’t want you wasting any more money. I’ve also eaten a lot of burritos. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, arguably the burrito capital of the world. My whole life I’ve been a stone’s throw away from great burritos, I’ve had them at family parties, friends’ houses, and the best taquerias in the city and state. I live for burritos. From San Diego to San Francisco, this state is full of unique and delicious burritos and I know them all — mission, cali, double-wrap… my expertise is impeccable.

So let me help you make your Chipotle burrito experience as delicious as possible. Because I’ve analyzed the menu to an almost unhealthy degree and I think I’ve unlocked the best burrito build.

Some Guidelines

To achieve the best burrito build it’s important to understand what Chipotle is. It’s not really the build your own burrito bar it pretends to be. It’s based entirely on the Mission Burrito, which originated in San Francisco’s Mission District. We could write a whole article on the rich and debated history of the Mission burrito (in fact, we have!). It’s fascinating! But that’s not what we’re here to do right now. Friend of the site Gustavo Arellano wrote a great piece on it for Eater. Read that for the history, read this for the best burrito.

To be brief, what makes a Mission burrito a Mission burrito is a giant steamed tortilla packed with rice, beans, meat, cheese, sour cream, salsa, fresh avocado, and lettuce and wrapped in aluminum foil. Sound familiar?

Before we get started, here are some simple guidelines that’ll help your burrito whether you make it my way or not (but you should make it my way).

Keep It Slim:

This is the biggest problem with most of the burritos I see being made at Chipotle. Stop trying to fit everything in it, just because Chipotle has something, doesn’t mean you need to include it, especially if you’re asking for “extra” anything. Meat, beans, rice, fajitas, sour cream, salsa, corn salsa, lettuce, queso, cheese, guacamole — you’re setting yourself up for a disaster. For your ingredients to shine, you need to give the flavors space to be tasted.

If the only way to make your burrito work is to double wrap it… you f*cked up.

Keep It Dry:

A burrito can only handle so much moisture, so you should keep that in mind while building your burrito. If you get beans, queso, sour cream, two types of salsa, and guacamole, the person rolling your burrito is going to have a problem making it work and they’ve probably roasted you on r/Chipotle.

The aim should be to create as little mush as possible or else that liquid build-up will rupture your tortilla. If you’ve ever eaten a Chipotle burrito and at one point you end up finishing it with a fork… you f*cked up.

Know The Flavors:

Chipotle overuses lime and onion. There is lime in the rice, and the guacamole, and onions in the fajitas, guacamole, and most of the salsa. On their own, you’d never notice the overuse, but when they combine in your burrito they compound together and create an overly sour and onion-forward flavor.

It’s the way Chipotle hides that their food lacks flavor. In fact, my biggest gripe with Chipotle is that the chain’s food all tastes like it was conceived in a vacuum, there is no harmony between the flavors. They taste good on their own, but together, the balance is all messed up. That’s what makes a real Mission-style burrito or a burrito from your local taqueria superior, the flavors have character. Chipotle has none, so you need to take that into account.

If your burrito ever makes you wince when you bite into it or leaves your breath smelling like you bit into a whole onion… you f*cked up.

Go Inside:

I know it’s a bit more inconvenient, but your burrito will come out better if it’s made in front of you. Every. Time. I know this isn’t always possible, but if you can, definitely go inside and order. Plus your burrito will be hotter. Burritos taste best when they’re hot.

If your cheese has re-solidified in your burrito… you f*cked up.

The Build

1. The Beans:

Pinto. Go pinto every time. The pinto beans are tender with a creamy inside and are considerably spicier than the black beans. They actually taste seasoned! The black beans by comparison are bland and in general, not as soft. They have a bit more of a bite to them, it doesn’t really work for a burrito. In a perfect world, you’d be able to add whole and refried beans. But we’re not in a perfect world, we’re at Chipotle — so… pinto for the win!

2. The Rice:

This is simple, white rice. Brown rice is healthier, sure, but if you want a better-tasting burrito you need to go with white rice because the flavor is less earthy and distracting and the texture isn’t as gummy.

Rice in a burrito is more about texture than flavor, the white rice tastes more neutral, so it’s our pick.

3. The Meat:

Get the barbacoa. Look, you can get any type of meat you want, but I’ve tasted and ranked each of Chipotle’s protein options and thought very deeply about which option has the best flavor and it’s the barbacoa, no contest. It has a wonderful tender texture that practically bursts with savory goodness each time you bite into it and it’s way less dry than the chicken, steak, and carnitas.

There is some actual flavor here, notes of oregano, clove, and bay leaf add a lot of earthiness. Not the silkiest and most sumptuous barbacoa you’ll ever have, but Chipotle’s best protein by a mile.

If you don’t eat meat, Chipotle’s new plant-based Chorizo easily beats the Sofritas.

4. Fajitas:

Skip them. I know, it’s shocking because the fajitas add some delicious aromatics to the whole dish, but ultimately they end up diluting the flavor of the barbacoa. You don’t want that, fajitas work a lot better on top of Chipotle’s salad, bowls, and tacos than they do in a burrito.

5. Salsa:

Consider ordering your salsa on the side. Nothing is lost by ordering it on the side, instead, it makes your burrito a whole lot less wet (keep it dry!) and allows you to portion out the perfect amount per bite.

I think when it comes to choosing a salsa, like the meat, there is some flexibility here. I love Chipotle’s tomatillo-green chili salsa, but it’s a bit too onion-y and sour, and we already have those notes covered once we add the guac. So I suggest the tomatillo-red, it adds an earthy, slightly floral, and smokey flavor to your burrito. It’s the spiciest sauce Chipotle has and the most complex.

6.Sour Cream:

Skip it. If you love sour cream go ahead and get it on the side and dip your burrito in it before putting on the salsa, but something has to be compromised in this burrito, you can’t have it all (keep it slim!).

7. Cheese + Lettuce:

Get them. It’s a Mission-style burrito, it’s supposed to have lettuce, it’s their thing. And it’s going to add needed texture. As for the cheese… I shouldn’t have to tell you to put cheese in a damn burrito.

8. Guacamole:

This is what we’ve been working towards. The reason I’ve had you skip the sour cream, get the salsa on the side, and avoid the queso is to make room for the guacamole. The best Mission-style burritos I’ve had were made with fresh avocado, which is more structurally sound and less mushy than guacamole. You don’t have that luxury at Chipotle, so we had to make room for this necessary ingredient by ditching everything else that creates mush and moisture (except, of course, the beans). This is why sour cream had to be left on the cutting room floor.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you’ve followed these steps, your burrito should look like, well, a burrito, not some weird tortilla boulder that needs two foils or tortillas to wrap. It also won’t explode all over your hands while you eat it.

Tasting Notes

A touch of sweetness from the barbacoa hits you followed by an immediate burn across the palate courtesy of a healthy dab of salsa. The heat starts to dilute once the ingredients combine through your chewing, easing back and introducing the creamy-earthy flavors supplied by the meat’s marinade and the beans.

Crisp lettuce and rice help to create a mouthfeel that isn’t overly mushy, which allows the guacamole in all its onion-y and lime-y glory to really shine as your burrito’s softest substance. You’ll be thankful you skipped the fajitas and corn salsa, this is all the onion you need in this baby.

Take note of how many ingredients I left out of this burrito. And it’s still gargantuan! But it’s balanced, and that’s what a great burrito is all about.

The Bottom Line:

This is the best way to make a burrito at Chipotle. Look, at the end of the day you might not agree with me, but at the very least I hope you use my advice as a springboard for creating your own burrito masterpiece at the embattled chain. And then we can put our burritos head to head.

Spoiler: I’ll win. This is as good as Chipotle gets — trust me, I’m an expert.

Click to download here.

And You May Find Yourself in Johnny Sack’s House

Lend us your ears, ye piggies. Matt and Vince are joined by writer, host of the Hysteria podcast, and Janice Soprano apologist Erin Ryan, to talk about episode 10 of The Sopranos season 6A, “Moe n’ Joe.”

The episode, written by Mad Men creator and father of M. Holden Weiner, Matthew Weiner, features both a recreation of Led Zeppelin album cover using Sal the lawnmower man, and visual gag using a model train entering a tunnel as a metaphor for gay sex. This Weiner is a “mad man” indeed!

Tony Soprano is both a man and mad at all times. This week he’s mad at Bobby for Janice reasons, at Janice because she’s Janice, and at Johnny Sack for talking about that thing of theirs to the prosecutors. The result is a rare combination of spite and grace to screw Johnny out of his house and give it to Janice. At least Janice, and by extension, Erin get something they want.

Another thing Erin wants: to warn Gen Z about the perils of bringing back Y2K fashion. If you can hear her words over the sound of your puka shells rustling and your Slipknot track jacket swishing, please heed her warning.

Tell Matt what you think about his Mickey Mouse impersonation in a five-star review on Apple Podcasts.

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Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast and get more bonus content than you could ever want, AND if you sign up for the Pod Yourself a Shoutout tier, you can bask in the glory of hearing your name on the podcast like this week’s newest members: Jaeger, The Gooze, DeTrolio, In Living Color, The Flunky, Jackie Two Shoes, Who’s Your Guys, and Kenley Bidding War.

-Description by Brent Flyberg.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Kyle, NLE Choppa, Saba, and more.

Whew, what a week. In addition to videos for Denzel Curry’s “Walkin,” Gucci Mane and Lil Durk’s “Rumors,” and Blxst’s “About You,” we got a flurry of new music from Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J (“Backseat” with Project Pat) and Yella Beezy (“Talk My Sh*t“).

Friday saw the releases of Coi Leray’s “Anxiety,” Benny The Butcher’s stellar “Johnny P’s Caddy” and featuring J. Cole, and Quavo’s “Shooters Inside My Crib” along with the releases listed below.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending January 28, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Babyface Ray — Face

The Detroit rapper has made a name for himself over the past year, working with the likes of Big Sean, Hit-Boy, Jack Harlow, and Lil Yachty. Today, he dropped his debut project on Empire with features from 42 Dugg, G Herbo, Icewear Vezzo, Pusha T, and more. Babyface Ray has officially arrived.

BlocBoy JB — Bacc 2 Da Blocc

A few years removed from his breakout single “Look Alive” featuring Drake, things haven’t quite panned out for BlocBoy. The Memphis rapper still has the star power to carry a project provided the right partnerships though, and there’s no greater producer for him to pair with than Tay Keith, who EPs major-label debut for Interscope.

Doe Boy — Oh Really?

Freebandz rapper Doe Boy spreads his wings on his new album, stepping out from Future’s shadow to prove that he can be a star in his own right. He certainly has superstar connections, tapping everyone from fellow rising stars 42 Dugg and Nardo Wick to booming superstars Roddy RIcch and Ty Dolla Sign.

Dro Kenji — With Or Without You

Parlaying his association with Internet Money into a crisp-sounding full-length project, the melodic South Carolina rapper makes a declaration of independence on the follow-up to his 2020 debut Tears And Pistols. It might rub purists the wrong way, but this is the sound of rap radio in 2022 and Dro comfortably goes with the grain.

Kyle — It’s Not So Bad

On his first album since splitting with Atlantic, Kyle taps into his “R&B Kyle” persona for an 11-song collection of thoughts on love. Released as an NFT, It’s Not So Bad sees Kyle settling back into the driver’s seat of his own career and pulling from a variety of inspirations, including early-2000s pond-hopping crooner Craig David, who guests on “Unreplaceable” after getting sampled on “Sunday.”

NLE Choppa — Me Vs Me

Choppa goes for the soft reboot on his latest after recalibrating from the raucous teen upstart of his debut project into more of a spiritualist life coach in the past couple of years. However, he still shows he’s capable of tapping the troublemaking tendencies of his past to make compelling club bangers amid his more introspective moments.

Singles/Videos

AZ– “This Is Mine”

Look here: I am a sucker for Golden Era hip-hop and any artist from back then who manages to avoid sounding dating, bitter, or problematic as the world evolves around them. AZ may as well still be the 19-year-old Brooklynite who stole “Life’s A Bitch” from under Nas, rhyming as naturally and smoothly as most of us draw breath.

Joey Badass — “Temptation”

This week, I’m choosing to ignore Joey’s more headline-grabbing antics in favor of highlighting his musical output. Produced by Statik Selektah, Joey’s latest single once again mines the throwback Golden Era sound that helped him make his name, and… well, see the previous blurb for my feelings about that.

Kenny Muney — “Role Model”

Another single from PRE’s loving dedication, Long Live Dolph, “Role Model” finds Kenny holding up his mentor as the standard he’s bound to keep pursuing as he and his labelmates work to find their way in the rap game without their stalwart captain.

Method Man — “The Last 2 Minutes”

Another Golden Era vet who refuses to age, Method Man has been doing two things since the Wu’s heyday: Staying out of trouble and rapping his ass off. I’m okay with this. Keep going.

Pink Siifu — “Wayans Bros.” feat Peso Gordon

Pink Siifu is one of generation of rising rappers and producers from the internet’s primordial underground who blends sensibilities from all genres and regions of rap to form a compelling melange of styles and aesthetics that defies both boundaries and expectations. “Wayans Bros.” is a fine example.

Saba — “Survivor’s Guilt” feat. G Herbo

When I asked Saba about bridging the supposed gap between the two most prominent styles of Chicago rap with this song, he told me, “I think it’s not that it’s really two sides to Chicago. It’s two perspectives of Chicago… We’ve got a lot of the same influences. Just because you make one thing doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired by something else, so I think it’s all a matter of perspective.” Well said.

Sada Baby — “Sada Wada”

Detroit rapper Sada Baby’s momentum slowed up — in large part, through his own efforts — but he’s still one of his city’s most captivating rising stars when he focuses on capturing the unhibited energy of his breakthrough hit “Bloxk Party.”

Travis Thompson — “Psycho”

My soft spot for Seattle super spitter Travis Thompson remains intact, and Travis keeps rewarding my enthusiasm with joints like this that display both his pop songwriting sensibilities and slick-tongued wit.

Your Old Droog & Tha God Fahim — “No Days Off”

Of the two tracks that the two underground rappers released this week ahead of their new joint project Tha Wolf On Wall St 2: The American Dream (which also dropped today), this one was my favorite, but only by a hair. The beats are lush and soulful, the rhymes and dextrous and daring, and the whole project fits into a breezy 22-minute runtime — all things that recommend it for repeated plays.

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

Teachers are heroes under normal circumstances. During a pandemic that has upended life as we know it, they are honest-to-goodness, bona fide superheroes.

The juggling of school and COVID-19 has been incredibly challenging, creating friction between officials, administrators, teachers, unions, parents and the public at large. Everyone has different opinions about what should and shouldn’t be done, which sometimes conflict with what can and cannot be done and don’t always line up with what is and isn’t being done, and the result is that everyone is just … done.

And as is usually the case with education-related controversies, teachers are taking the brunt of it. Their calls for safe school policies have been met with claims that kids aren’t at risk of severe COVID, as if teachers’ health and well-being are expendable. Parents’ frustrations with remote or hybrid learning are taken out on the teachers who are constantly scrambling to adjust to ever-changing circumstances that make everything about teaching more complicated.

Superheroes, seriously.

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But as Toledo, Ohio high school teacher Katie Peters says, teachers aren’t looking for accolades. They’re doing the jobs they love, even though they’re incredibly difficult right now. What they do need is for people to understand what a teacher’s day looks like and to extend them some grace.

Peters’ TikTok video describing what she did one day as a teacher in addition to the six classes she taught has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.

After sharing that she taught six periods and subbed during her planning period, she said, “I helped a young man find safe housing. I found a winter coat for a girl who didn’t have one. I located a student’s missing backpack and arranged for a Chromebook replacement for that student. I gave a student a little bit of cash for a haircut and made sure another student had enough food to last them through the weekend.”

She also comforted a student who had cramps, supported a student who was going through his first heartbreak, saved a student’s art project with some super glue, walked a student to class so they wouldn’t feel alone and wrote a card for a student who was struggling.

That was just during the school day.

After school, she had a meeting, tutored a student, then wrote a college recommendation letter for a student who brought her the request the day before it was due.

Then she spent four hours at home planning “fun, inviting, exciting lesson plans that could, at the drop of a hat, need to go virtual without any warning.”

But Peters said she didn’t want a single accolade. “No teacher I know wants a pat on the back or gratitude,” she said. “What they do need is grace.” She pointed out that doing all of these things are what teachers love to do and what fulfills them. But it’s also why they’re tired. The pandemic has made everything harder.

Peters said a piece of her was shattered when she read a comment in a community forum about her district going back to in-person learning, “Oh, it’s nice the teachers decided to work again.” As if teachers have not been working the hardest they ever have during all of the pandemic upheaval? Please.

“Nobody, in the history of ever, has been motivated by ugly,” she said. “Loving kids is the purest form of beauty that exists—and it’s always going to beat your ugly.”

Well said.

Peters told TODAY that negative comments make teachers feel defeated, which impacts their job. “I’m not sure how much people realize that their words carry over into our ability to care for their children,” Peters said. “We need you to hold space for us and understand that we are doing our best given the circumstances.”

People loved Peters’ honest and heartfelt account of what teachers are experiencing and what they really need from the rest of us right now. Grace. Patience. Understanding. Not ugliness or blame.

If anyone who isn’t a teacher has something negative to say and thinks they could handle the job better, they are more than welcome to get their teacher training education and certification and try their hand at it. Otherwise, give teachers the respect they deserve and the grace they so desperately need right now as they try to keep their hole-filled lifeboats afloat with paperclips and a hot glue gun.

Teachers, we see you. We’ve got your back. Hang in there.