In the early hours on Tuesday, a two car crash in Las Vegas involving Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III resulted in the death of another driver. At 3:39 a.m. on Rainbow Boulevard between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road, the crash took place involving a Toyota Rav4 and Ruggs’ Corvette, leading to the Rav4 catching on fire, with reporters arriving on the scene later in the morning to see the result of the horrific crash.
The road was closed for hours as investigators surveyed the scene, with Ruggs staying at the scene where police say he showed signs of impairment before being taken to a local hospital for treatment from non-life threatening injuries. Ruggs will be charged with DUI resulting in death for his role in the crash, per an official statement from the Las Vegas Metro Police, which says the Corvette hit the rear of the Rav4 and the investigation is ongoing.
Metro police confirms Henry Ruggs was involved in crash. Says he stayed on the scene and had non-life threatening injuries. Will be charged with DUI resulting in death. #vegas#raiderspic.twitter.com/zmbkYi5SoL
On behalf of our client Henry Ruggs III, we are conducting our own investigation as of this writing and ask everyone to reserve judgement until all the facts are gathered.
The Raiders also released a statement, offering condolences to the family of the person killed in the crash and noting they are likewise gathering information.
Newsmax White House Correspondent Emerald Robinson ran a foul of Twitter on Monday after the right-wing reporter falsely claimed that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine contains an enzyme known as “luciferase,” which it does not. On top of incorrectly claiming luciferase is in the Moderna vaccine, Robinson also suggested the element is Satanic in nature due to its name.
“Dear Christians: the vaccines contain a bioluminescent marker called LUCIFERASE so that you can be tracked,” Robinson tweeted, according to a screengrab from Mediaite. “Read the last book of the New Testament to see how this ends.”
As of this writing, the tweet is no longer present on Robinson’s Twitter account, and her timeline now contains a missing tweet with a label from the social media company that reads, “This Tweet is no longer available because it violated the Twitter Rules.” Naturally, Twitter will be accused of censoring conservatives, but the company does have science on its side.
The luciferase/luciferin conspiracy theory has been bouncing around for a while now, and it was thoroughly debunked by Reuters who performed a fact check on the dubious claim that was easy to sell thanks to the enzyme’s Devil-related name:
The novel coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Moderna does not contain luciferin, an organic compound involved in bioluminescence, or the enzyme luciferase, contrary to claims on social media. While luciferase was involved in some COVID-19 research in the summer of 2020, none of the available vaccines contain either ingredient.
So just for the record, no, there is not a Satanic compound in the Moderna vaccine that lets the government or Hillary Clinton track you. Nor does it exist in a “66.6 solution” as some Looney Tunes were claiming on Facebook earlier in the year.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
There are only so many people in the world that deal with pressure as Maxo Kream does. Through projects like 2018’s Punken, 2019’s Brandon Banks, and now Weight Of The World, the rapper reveals the causes o these pressures as well as what often pushes him through them. In an interview with Complex’s Andre Gee, he explained how the three albums relate to each other and further his goal of helping fans understand what goes on in his world. “I feel like Brandon Banks coming after Punken allowed my fans to understand Punken more,” he said. “So now, with this one, you’ll understand what’s going on from Brandon Banks, like where I left off.”
Throughout Weight Of The World, Maxo delivers clarity for his previous work, as well as clarity towards his current position and his hopeful future. The album presents a man who must balance the multiple worlds he’s immersed in as a family man, supportive friend, experienced gang member, and rapper, as well as the responsibility that arrives when these worlds collide — intentionally or not. He details the collision of the streets and family through the tragic death of his brother Mmadu, which he details on “Trips,” and his success as a rapper providing a better lifestyle for his family and friends, allowing them to live a life away from danger. His hopeful future is captured on “Mama’s Purse” when he raps, “I was tryna buy her love, but I really made it worse / Put a price tag on her love but can’t afford how much it’s worth.” Behind the tough persona lives a man who yearns to provide greener pastures filled with “greener knots” to his inner circle, even if the cost is more than he ever imagined.
While Brandon Banks covered Maxo’s childhood, growth, and his clashes with both loved ones (his father specifically) and the streets, on Weight Of The World, he’s a well-established man with a family of his own in the making. However, now his conflicts are with those who doubt his legitimacy and commitment to the lifestyle he often raps about. On “They Say,” just three songs into the album, he rhymes, “And they say Maxo a b*tch, they say Maxo a h*e / He got rich and he dipped, don’t come around no more / They say he switched on his clique, yeah, he turned on his bros / And he ain’t pimpin’ a b*tch, he out here trickin’ on h*es.” In response, Maxo sets the record straight with a menacing display of his receipts. “Like we ain’t slang that rock for paper, totin’ scissors,” he quips. “Told you worked n****s ass off so how I owe you n****? / ‘Cross the globe, took you to my shows, done bought poles for n****s.” In Maxo’s eyes, there’s more than enough proof that he’s carried the weight of the world for people, making his doubters’ attempts to rewrite history a sure failure.
To a certain extent, Maxo insists on facing the world’s pressures rather than finding a way to diminish them. It could be because this path, as dangerous and as ruthless as it’s been, has given him everything he wanted in life and more. It’s what allows him to rap this on “Big Persona” with Tyler The Creator: “Eight figure n****, no more section 8 / Moved momma out the hood / We ain’t doin good, b*tch, we doin great.” Even when people in his inner circle beg for him to detach himself from the risks, as his mom and preacher do on “Streets Alone,” Maxo’s only response is to double down.
Maxo Kream is more than deserving of a moment to breathe freely in a world without danger. Unfortunately, it appears that Maxo was born into a world where peril lurks around the corner. For Maxo, acquiescing to these dangers is a lot like running away from your own shadow, and that’s something he will never do. “Never ran from a n****, don’t ask if my legs work,” he says on “11:59.” For more than a half-decade, Maxo Kream has explained the many responsibilities, pains, and traumas that rest on his shoulders; on Weight Of The World, the rapper insists on carrying this weight. The ups and downs of the past years gave him the strength to do so, and hasn’t buckled under this weight before, he certainly won’t now.
Weight Of The World is out now via RCA. Get it here.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
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The War On Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore
The first new album from The War On Drugs in four years has finally arrived. Musically, I Don’t Live Here Anymore is a refinement of the craft the band explored on 2017’s A Deeper Understanding, which itself was a refinement of 2014’s Lost In The Dream. It’s without a doubt the band’s most accessible material to date, boasting dramatic guitar solos and cathartic instrumentation.
Save Face – Another Kill For The Highlight Reel
It’s always fun to see a band wear their My Chemical Romance inspiration on their sleeve. For Save Face’s new record, the New Jersey outfit attempt to build a musical world that exists as a culmination of emo icons like MCR and Thursday, but also their unabashed love for Broadway musicals like Sweeney Todd and Rocky Horror Picture Show. The resulting effort is big, bold, and impressively constructed.
Japanese Breakfast – Live At Electric Lady EP
Japanese Breakfast’s new Spotify-produced Live At Electric Lady EP features live renditions of tracks from Jubilee, as well as a cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So.” It’s not exactly a faithful cover, as Michelle Zauner calls upon the the Quartet 121 string section to give the track a true makeover and build what Caitlin White called for Uproxx “a whole new layer into the song.”
Orson Wilds – What Is It That You Won’t Let Go EP
Canadian outfit Orson Wilds write big, anthemic choruses that feel like a callback to the aughts. Their debut EP, What Is It That You Can’t Let Go, was recorded with producer extraordinaire Will Yip (Bartees Strange, Turnstile) and features three previously-released tracks that have been staples of all my playlists since they were unveiled.
Boston Manor – Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures EP
Boston Manor’s 2020 LP Glue was an impressive step forward for the pop-punk outfit, balancing more melodic vocals with heavy, groovy instrumentation. The new EP Desperate Times Desperate Measures continues building upon that momentum, driving into a new era for Boston Manor as they emerge back onto the road.
Spoon – “The Hardest Cut”
One of the most consistent indie bands of all time is officially back with a brand new album that already sounds… pretty good! Alongside the album’s announcement, the band shared “The Hardest Cut,” which Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “a pure rocker driven by a forward-moving and upbeat riff.”
Snail Mail – “Madonna”
With the new Snail Mail album Valentine set to drop this week, Lindsey Jordan has shared its final preview in the form of “Madonna.” The polished, driving rocker is all about “why love can’t exist between a person and a concept of a person,” Jordan explained in a statement. “Remove the pedestal and you might realize there was never anything there at all.”
Beach Bunny – “Oxygen”
Beach Bunny can’t be stopped. One of the first indie rock bands to rocket to stardom from a TikTok smash, the Chicago quartet is set to embark on 32 sold out headline shows later this month and is celebrating with a brand new track. “Oxygen” features what Adrian Spinelli calls for Uproxx “yet another sing-a-long hook for a band who just can’t seem to stop to keep producing them.”
Michelle – “Mess U Made”
I’ve been digging New York City collective Michelle for a while and truly can’t wait for their forthcoming debut album After Dinner We Talk Dreams. We’ve already heard a few tracks from the LP, and album opener “Mess U Made” is a contemplative slow burning track that continues to build as the group’s four vocalists trade verses before finding gorgeous joint harmonies on the chorus.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Game of Thrones cast has been outspoken about the show’s plentiful sex scenes. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) thanked showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss for the episode where the Mother of Dragons instructs Daario Naharis to take his clothes off (“That’s a scene I’ve been waiting for!”), while Sophie Turner (Sansa) made a dirty joke about Arya losing her virginity. On the flip side, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) has criticized the show for making the performers do “degrading” things, and now Gemma Whalen (Arya) has opened up about how the sex scenes were a “frenzied mess.”
The Killing Eve actress told the Guardian, “They used to just say, ‘When we shout action, go for it!’, and it could be a sort of frenzied mess. But between the actors there was always an instinct to check in with each other.” Whelan brought up a specific example.
“There was a scene in a brothel with a woman and she was so exposed that we talked together about where the camera would be and what she was happy with. A director might say, ‘Bit of boob biting, then slap her bum and go!’, but I’d always talk it through with the other actor.”
Whelan also praised her on-screen brother, Alfie Allen (Theon), for a, um, memorable encounter in season two. “Alfie was very much, ‘Is this OK? How are we going to make this work?’ With intimacy directors, it’s choreography – you move there, I move there, and permission and consent is given before you start. It is a step in the right direction,” she said.
Whelan can be seen in the ITV series, The Tower, which premieres next week.
Although Terrace Martin’s last solo full-length collection came out four years ago (2017’s criminally overlooked Sounds Of Crenshaw Vol. 1 with The Pollyseeds), the Los Angeles producer has nevertheless remained busy throughout the past year, co-producing a number of EPs including They Call Me Disco with Ric Wilson and joining the jazz supergroup Dinner Party with 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington, and Robert Glasper. However, today he announced his solo return with Drones, a new album coming out this Friday, November 5.
Included on the album’s 13 tracks are appearances from a veritable who’s-who of hip-hop luminaries including Cordae, D Smoke, Kendrick Lamar, Smino, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla Sign, and YG. Martin’s Dinner Party bandmates Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper are also set to appear, along with a genre-hopping collection of rising stars and well-known hitmakers including Arin Ray, Celeste, Channel Tres, Hit-Boy, James Fauntleroy, Kim Burrell, and Kim Burrell.
In his press release for the new album, Martin teases the eclectic mix of sounds he intends to display throughout: “There are touches of R&B, touches of jazz, touches of hip-hop, touches of classical, Cuban music, West African music, house music,” he says. “You’re going to hear all elements of Black music within this record. It’s not one element I can leave out if I call myself a true Black artist.”
Drones is due 11/5 via Sounds of Crenshaw / BMG. You can pre-order here and check out the lead single, “Leave Us Be,” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
2018’s And Nothing Hurt was Spiritualized’s first album in six years. Their next full-length won’t take that long to arrive, as they announced today that their ninth album, Everything Was Beautiful, is coming out on February 25, 2022. They also shared the record’s lead single, “Always Together With You,” an epic tune that gradually blooms over the course of nearly seven minutes.
J Spaceman (aka Jason Pierce) says of the album, “There was so much information on it that the slightest move would unbalance it, but going around in circles is important to me. Not like you’re spiraling out of control but you’re going around and around and on each revolution you hold onto the good each time. Sure, you get mistakes as well, but you hold on to some of those too and that’s how you kind of… achieve. Well, you get there.”
He also noted of making it, “There’s a line from Jonathan Meades that’s about having all the attributes to being an artist. ‘Paranoia, vanity, selfishness, egotism, sycophancy, resentment, moral nullity and more idiot than idiot savant.’ And that’s what it feels like, this kind of thing. You’re your own worst enemy and biggest supporter. “There’s a ‘Of course this is worth it. It’s me,’ and then this kind of deep doubt of ‘What the f*ck is this all about?’ And then ‘Why is it important?’ and then knowing there’s no easy answer. But it’s there. I know it’s there.”
Watch the “Always Together With You” video above and find the Everything Was Beautiful art and tracklist below. The band also announced a run of North American tour dates, so find those below as well.
Fat Possum
1. “Always Together With You”
2. “Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song)”
3. “Let It Bleed (For Iggy)”
4. “Crazy”
5. “The Mainline Song”
6. “The A Song (Laid In Your Arms)”
7. “I’m Coming Home Again”
03/31/2022 — Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
04/01/2022 — Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
04/03/2022 — Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
04/04/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
04/05/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Commonwealth Room
04/07/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Neptune
04/08/2022 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
04/09/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Everything Was Beautiful is out 2/25/2022 via Fat Possum. Pre-order it here.
Lil Nas X is definitely an example of a self-starter. The musician’s debut smash hit “Old Town Road” was first uploaded to SoundCloud and shared on TikTok before being picked up by a record label. So when Lil Nas X first inked a recording contract, he celebrated by making a big purchase — which he now regrets.
When Lil Nas X first signed a record deal with Columbia, the musician was suddenly confronted with a bunch of money. As most people would do, Lil Nas X decided to buy himself something nice to celebrate, he recalled in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. For his first post-record contract purchase, Lil Nas X shelled out $2,000 for a a Burberry jacket but then had almost instantaneous buyer’s remorse. He told WSJ he’s never really enjoyed shopping for himself and saw the jacket as a frivolous purchase. “What was the point? To post it on Instagram once?” he said. Later down the line, Lil Nas X ended up buying himself a house with his new funds, which still to this day hasn’t been filled with many furniture items because he’d “rather take his friends or family members out on shopping sprees instead.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, the musician described the one thing that helped him really open up with the lyrics on his album: psychedelic mushrooms. “I was able to open up a lot,” he says about the trip. “I was able to write actual stories about my life and put it into my music. I actually did that for the first time.” Lil Nas X isn’t the only musician who has taken mushrooms to help kickstart the creative process. Kacey Musgraves did the same with her Star-Crossed album, and so did Harry Styles on Fine Line.
Read Lil Nas X’s full interview with The Wall Street Journalhere.
It’s now been more than two years since Jeffrey Epstein’s death, yet the sheer mention of his name alone in connection to another person is enough for any former associate to call in for serious damage control. (See: Bill Gates and Prince Andrew.) Now Jes Staley—who, until this week, was CEO of Barclays—is the one in the hotseat.
As The Washington Post reported, Staley stepped down from his post as the head of one of England’s biggest banks on Monday following an investigation into his relationship with Epstein, a financier and alleged sex trafficker who was reportedly pals with some of the world’s richest and most powerful people—oh, and Donald Trump, too.
Though the details of what the investigation unearthed have not been made public, Staley must not have liked what he saw because he had apparently planned to contest them. What we do know is that Staley has asserted his relationship with Epstein was totally on the up-and-up and strictly professional. Staley also claimed that his dealings with the disgraced financier ended before he took up his post at Barclays. Bloomberg ran a thorough timeline of key moments in Staley and Epstein’s relationship, including the time—in April 2015—when Staley and his wife sailed their boat to Epstein’s private island (a detail that had not been previously disclosed).
Barclays and Mr. Jes Staley, Group Chief Executive, were made aware on Friday evening of the preliminary conclusions from the FCA and the PRA of their investigation into Mr. Staley’s characterization to Barclays of his relationship with the late Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays’ response to the FCA. In view of those conclusions, and Mr. Staley’s intention to contest them, the Board and Mr. Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays. It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr. Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr. Epstein’s alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays’ support for Mr. Staley following the arrest of Mr. Epstein in the summer of 2019.
The Board is disappointed at this outcome… The regulatory process still has to run its full course and it is not appropriate for Barclays to comment further on the preliminary conclusions.
The Cleveland Browns were supposed to be a contender to win the AFC this season after taking the leap last year to being a playoff team. With Baker Mayfield back with a full season under his belt in Kevin Stefanski’s offense, plenty of weapons around him including the expected return of Odell Beckham Jr., much of Cleveland’s attention in the offseason went to the defense.
However, eight weeks into the season and the Browns are 4-4, sitting in fourth in the AFC North and tied for seventh in the AFC, barely clinging to a playoff spot. Injuries have hit the Browns hard, but they also can’t seem to get out of their own way, with an offense that has seemingly taken a step back from last year. Baker Mayfield is at the center of that, with a lot of discussion shifting to how he seemingly can’t or won’t get the ball to his wide receivers, most notably Beckham Jr.
It has been a few weeks now of debate within Browns Twitter about whether there’s an issue between Mayfield and Beckham, and after a dismal 10-point performance in a loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday as Mayfield returned to play with a banged up left shoulder, the chatter only got louder. Tuesday, it reached a fever pitch when Odell Beckham Sr. posted an 11-minute long video someone made of his son being open only to see Mayfield either miss him or not throw him the ball — which you can watch in its entirety above.
The father of #Browns Odell Beckham Jr. posted an 11 minute video on Instagram today. The video showed multiple times that QB Baker Mayfield missed Odell Beckham Jr. Was also active in comments. pic.twitter.com/oFbJl4ExA9
To say things are bad in Cleveland would seem to be an understatement, and the optics of all of this are very bad for everyone involved. Given OBJ’s reputation as a diva receiver, fair or not, having your father post videos about how you aren’t getting the ball enough isn’t a great look. The video also brings into question plenty about Baker’s abilities to run an offense to its maximum capacity, as there certainly are a lot of apparent missed opportunities — even if some of the plays in question aren’t really misses but OBJ coming open late in routes on the backside of plays.
All of this has led to Browns fans taking sides between Baker and OBJ, and many prominent fans, namely LeBron James, are in Beckham’s camp and want to #FreeOBJ.
OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ
With the trade deadline hours away, we’ll see if that happens, but for a Browns team that finally seemed ready to shake free of two decades of dysfunction, a relapse appears to be taking place.
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