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R. Kelly’s trial for criminal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges began last week. But there’s another issue that’s plaguing the troubled singer. According to Billboard, he’s on a mission to sell off his song catalog. He’s willing to “sell low” and hand off the catalog for anyone who’s willing to purchase it. The issue is that no one so far has stepped forward to buy it.

Earlier this month, R. Kelly’s lawyer Devereaux Cannick revealed that the singer is extremely short on cash, saying that his funds are “depleted.” Billboard estimates his catalog generates somewhere around $1.7 million per year, and while that might be a livable amount to some, a small portion of that amount actually falls into Kelly’s hands. Tack on his ongoing legal battles and the recent ones he’s lost, including a case that resulted in a woman winning $4 million after she sued him for sexually abusing her when she was 16, it’s clear to see why Kelly is in need of some cash.

However, it doesn’t seem like the price of his catalog won’t stop dropping anytime soon. The singer still has federal cases in New York and Illinois as well as state trials in Illinois and Minnesota, all of which could cause further damage to the catalog’s price.

Lil Nas X has kept fans waiting quite some time for his debut album, which earlier this year he revealed would be titled Montero. The wait has been far from uneventful. Its lead single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” caused uproar, while the singles “Sun Goes Down” and “Industry Baby,” with Jack Harlow, has kept things exciting. At long last, Lil Nas X has revealed a release date, and it’s not too far from now.

Montero will be released next month, on September 17. The announcement was made through an album trailer the singer released on Wednesday night. The video is an extension of the one for “Industry Baby,” and it begins with a news anchor — played by Lil Nas himself — calling for information on the singer’s whereabouts after he broke out of prison while comically referring to himself as a “power bottom ‘rapper” and “talentless homosexual.” Next, it transitions to portray Lil Nas driving down a narrow road in the middle of nowhere.

You can watch the trailer for Montero in the video above.

Montero is out 9/17 via Columbia Records. Pre-order it here.

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

Pokémon Go is a neat little game, as the app where players can walk around the real world and find Pokémon spread throughout it blew up when it first came out back in 2016. While the mass hysteria has fallen off since then, there’s still a very dedicated community that continues to play the game religiously. In fact, over the previous year, it’s been a game that many people have still found ways to play despite the pandemic, thanks to a mix of features the developers at Niantic added to make it more accessible for social distancing.

When vaccines began being distributed, Niantic felt it was time to remove some of the features they had added to the game. However, this announcement was met by widespread backlash from fans. It had turned out that a handful of the features added, including the ability to access PokéStops and Gyms from a further distance, were seen as major quality of life updates. Not only did the changes allow players the ability to access these stops and gyms from a safer distance, many of them felt it gave disabled players the opportunity to experience the game from their homes. Also, there were plenty of players that felt the pandemic was nowhere close to over.

When Niantic went forward with the changes anyway the backlash against them swelled further, and some players began threatening a boycott of the game. At first, it seemed like they weren’t going to go back on their changes, but on Wednesday the Pokémon Go Twitter account acknowledged that they will be going back to the previous distance of 80 meters to access stops and gyms instead of 40.

While it isn’t great that it took fan backlash to get the game back to a point where people can play the game safely, it’s good that they did go back to the “new” distance. As someone that used to play a decent amount of Pokémon Go, there were definitely stops and gyms that were in places that an abled person like me couldn’t reach without crossing the road at my local park. Not a big deal for me, but for someone that wanted to stick to the sidewalk due to a disability, or maybe they just didn’t feel they could safely cross the road, it must have been fantastic to know they could reach that stop when it increased to 80 meters.

Increasing the distance hurts no one and actually makes the game more fun. Decreasing it makes the game harder to play for some and doesn’t actually make the game better. The solution for Niantic was obvious and they went back to it when fans told them that’s what they wanted.

Nearly two weeks ago, Haiti was hit with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 and injured over 12,000. They’ve now been left to pick up the pieces in what seems like a far-too-frequent occurrence. Future recently lent a helping hand to them, announcing a benefit concert to raise money for relief efforts. He shared details of the event on his Instagram page, revealing it would go down at the Oasis Wynwood in Miami, Florida on September 3.

“I would love for all my friends, family, music industry, fashion, and all other industries, and people as a whole to stand up for Haiti,” he wrote. “I want to use my voice to do whatever I can to support Haiti during these tragic times and will be doing a benefit concert on September 3rd in Miami. Tap in to support. – Pluto.”

Attendees can expect performances from “Lil Uzi & Friends” which of course means that Future will be performing with some notable names in the music world. Additionally, groups like the New England Patriots have given supplies and resources to aid in the country’s road towards recovery.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It was a big deal when it was announced that The Matrix was returning with its first big screen installment in nearly 20 years. It was also a big deal when it was announced only one of the sisters who created it was returning. When The Matrix: Resurrections drops later this year, it will bear only the name of Lana, not Lilly, Wachowski. But so far the reason why has been shrouded in mystery. No more.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Lilly addressed her absence during the Television Critics Association Summer Tour virtual panel for Work in Progress, the Showtime comedy for which she’s an executive producer.

“That’s a tough one,” Lilly she said when asked. Sure enough, she didn’t have a single answer. One of them involves having too much on her plate. “I got out of my transition and was just completely exhausted because we had made Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending, and the first season of Sense8 back-to-back-to-back. We were posting one, and prepping the other at the exact same time. So you’re talking about three 100-plus days of shooting for each project.

“And so, coming out and just being completely exhausted, my world was like, falling apart to some extent even while I was like, you know, cracking out of my egg,” she said. “So I needed this time away from this industry. I needed to reconnect with myself as an artist and I did that by going back to school and painting and stuff.”

Lilly also doesn’t seem to be so into the reboot/revival/belated sequel craze that currently dominates Hollywood, saying, “there was something about the idea of going backward and being a part of something that I had done before that was expressly unappealing. And, like, I didn’t want to have gone through my transition and gone through this massive upheaval in my life, the sense of loss from my mom and dad, to want to go back to something that I had done before, and sort of [walk] over old paths that I had walked in, felt emotionally unfulfilling, and really the opposite — like I was going to go back and live in these old shoes, in a way. And I didn’t want to do that.”

Lilly isn’t the only Matrix vet who didn’t return for Resurrections. Among others includes Morpheus himself, Laurence Fishburne. But he seems to be cool with it. Meanwhile, the world will find out what a Wachowski movie looks like when there’s only one of them.

(Via EW)

Emoni Bates, wildly considered to be one of the best prep men’s basketball prospects in the country, will play for the Memphis Tigers starting this fall.

In an Instagram post, Bates’ father Elgin announced that his son had committed to play at Memphis. Earlier this year, Bates reclassified to the 2021 class from the 2022 class, so he will begin playing for Tigers this fall. Due to his age, he will have to spend a minimum of two years in college (or, perhaps one year at Memphis and one year in the G League or another pro league) before heading to the NBA.

“Next Chapter!” Elgin posted to Instagram. “Congrats son throughout all the adversity, scrutiny and expectations everything you’ve done has been unprecedented! This is your day and your moment. Continue to be (@emoni21) that’s what makes you unique. We love you son!”

The 6’9, 17-year-old Bates also considered Michigan State, Oregon and the NBA’s G League before choosing Memphis. He was previously committed to the Spartans before decommitting and reclassifying.

At Memphis, Bates will play for former NBA player Penny Hardaway and alongside another top recruit in 6’10 center Jalen Duren. Bates and Duren played together in AAU over the summer and Duren, like Bates, reclassified to the 2021 class.

Last week, Kendrick Lamar made a rare return to social media to announce that his upcoming fifth album would be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment. The Compton-born rapper has been on the label, which was founded by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, since 2005, but now he’s looking to switch things up. Moments after the rapper shared the news, Isaiah Rashad sent out a tweet that some believed was an indirect message to him. “Everybody emotional. u not that special. quit embarrassing us,” his now-deleted tweet read. Despite their assumptions, Rashad clarified that this was not the case.

“I found that out after n****s said I was dissing him,” Rashad said about Kendrick’s announcement during an interview with The Breakfast Club. “I was on the way to my kid’s birthday party on Saturday, and me and her mom had had a little verbal whatever, and I knew that I couldn’t really say anything that I wanted to say, so I said it on Twitter for a second, and I’m forgetting that n****s are watching me, so I deleted it.” He added, “Not about him but I’m like damn, she’s actually going to see this and it’s kinda mean.”

This comes after Rashad offered a quick explainer after deleting the initial tweet. “N**** can’t eem subtweet his ex in peace,” the rapper wrote afterward.

You can watch a portion of his interview with The Breakfast Club above.

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

In the early days of the pandemic, a woman entered a Pennsylvania supermarket, told shoppers she had tested positive for COVID-19, and then started coughing on the food. A year-and-a-half later, she’s heading for jail.

According to The Morning Call, Margaret Ann Cirko of Eastern Pennsylvania was sentenced to one to two years in prison, eight years of probation, and fined $15,000 for her actions on March 25, 2020. On that day, with cases surging all over the nation, Cirko entered a branch of Gerrity’s Supermarket, and began yelling, “I have the virus. Now everyone is going to get sick.” She then began coughing and spitting on the food and other merchandise.

Joe Fasula, co-owner of the store, said they were forced to throw away $35,000 worth of food. At the time, health officials weren’t sure if the virus could spread on surfaces.

Cirko was sentenced on a weapons of mass destruction charge, which is a second-degree felony. The other offenses against her, including criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and making terroristic threats, were dropped in exchange for her plea to the felony charge.

“I’m sorry for what I did that day,” Cirko told the court. “I wish I could take it back.”

Cirko later tested negative for COVID.

Cirko’s attorney said she had a history of alcohol and mental health issues, and that she was intoxicated at the time.

(Via The Morning Call)

Nearly two years after he was arrested on marijuana and gun charges, Pnb Rock has been sentenced. According to CBS 3 Philly, the rapper will spend the next three years on probation after pleading guilty in court. The charge was one count of receiving stolen property and one count of possession with intent to deliver. For each charge, he received 36 months of probation, but it was decided that the probations will run concurrently. He will also complete 100 hours of community service and have his supervision transferred to California, after receiving permission to do so.

According to Complex, Pnb Rock was originally hit with the charges after Bensalem, PA Police opened an investigation in 2018 after they received multiple complaints about loud parties and the smell of marijuana from the rapper’s residence. This gave the officers probable cause to search his house, and on January 20, 2019, a search warrant was executed by The Special Investigations Unit. The search resulted in the confiscation of nearly five pounds of marijuana, multiple scales, packaging materials, a stolen .40-caliber handgun, and $33,000 in cash.

After the arrest, Pnb denied the allegations during an Instagram Live session. “I don’t know what the f*ck they was talking about,” he proclaimed. “It wasn’t me! What the f*ck? I look like I’m selling drugs? Never!”

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

Welcome to SNX DLX, our weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. We’re officially in the back-to-school season and the sneaker drops are finally starting to wind down, after weeks of being spoiled with fire drops. Our wallets definitely need the break, but if you were hoping for some monetary respite, we’re not quite there yet. We’ve still got a few more weeks of summer left, which means we have plenty of must-cop drops on the horizon.

Once the summer finally comes to a close we just have the special Halloween drops to deal with, then the limited Holiday drops, and the end for year specials, and… it never ends! Either way, whatever these next few weeks bring, we’ll be here to help you separate the trash from the good stuff. This week we’ve got fresh Jordans in some throwback retro colorways, a couple of New Balance collaborations, and probably the first and only time we’ll ever talk about Birkenstocks.

Let’s dive in!

Dr. Martens x Atmos Tarik Zip Boot

Dr. Martens has been killing it this year with a handful of amazing collaborations, enlisting everyone from BAPE to JJJJound, to Black Sabbath, and Hello Kitty for some radical reimagining of their iconic boots. Their latest brings in the talents of Harajuku streetwear label Atmos for a post-apocalyptic anime-inspired rendition of the Tarik Zip boot.

Featuring a smooth leather upper with velvet and TPU detailing, this pair of Dr. Martens is all flash, meant to evoke the pulsing neon lights of a futuristic cityscape, and we could definitely see them in something like the upcoming live-action rendition of Cowboy Bebop.

The Dr. Martens x Atmos Tarik Zip Boot is out now for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair at Atmos or the Dr. Martens webstore.

Air Jordan 1 Starfish

Nike can mess around and call this low-top Jordan colorway the “Starfish” or whatever, but every sneakerhead thinks of just one colorway when they see this combination of faded orange and black — the legendary high-top Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard. Named such after borrowing the colors of Jordan’s uniform when he made a backboard shattering dunk in 1985 at the Nike Europe tour, the Starfish lifts that same distinct combination of orange, black, and white, but the design looks radically different when draped over the low-top silhouette.

It’s not quite the Shattered Backboard of legends, but it still looks dope nonetheless and oozes end of summer vibes.

The Air Jordan 1 Starfish is set to drop on August 26th for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or hit up Flight Club to pick up a pair on the aftermarket.

Air Huarache Aquatone

How do you express your love for the OG Saved By The Bell and all-things Bay Side? With this ‘90s indebted Air Huarache Aquatone of course. Seriously, it doesn’t get more ‘90s than combining bright white, aqua, and Joker purple. The Air Huarache is one of Tinker Hatfield’s less beloved designs, but in recent years it’s been making a bit of a comeback.

Featuring soft synthetic accents over a breathable neoprene upper, the Air Huarache features bootie construction, and a heel clip that looks so dated that it’s somehow futuristic in today’s sneaker climate. Weird how fashion works that way.

The Air Huarache Aquatone is set to drop on August 27th for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Birkenstock x Stüssy Boston Clogs

Crocs took over Birkenstock’s monopoly on cringe-inducing footwear when everyone just decided one morning that Crocs were cool and not ridiculous. Now Birkenstock is fighting back with their own clog by teaming up with Stüssy for a new collaboration aimed squarely at the streetwear audience.

Utilizing Birkenstock’s Boston silhouette, this clog features a suede upper atop a cork footbed in your choice of Bone, Caramel, or Dusty Pink colorways with dual branding. They’re perfect for the clog enthusiast who wants a shoe that isn’t made of rubber or requires Jibbitz.

The Birkenstock x Stüssy Boston Clogs are set to drop on August 27th for an unannounced price. Pick up a pair at Birkenstock 1774 or the Stüssy webstore.

Concepts x New Balance 57/40

It wouldn’t be a Concepts release without, well, a concept. The Boston-based streetwear brand has made a name for itself over the last 20 plus years by supplying each of its exclusive collaborations with a deeper meaning and mythology, and this week’s collaboration with New Balance goes pretty deep.

Inspired by the 1920 silent film Headin’ Home, which documented a fictional account of Babe Ruth’s life as a professional baseball player, this collaboration utilizes New Balances 57/40 silhouette and dresses its suede and leather upper in shades of orange and off-white, a color palette that was inspired by the film’s original posters.

Why is it on a pair of New Balances and what made Concepts think to reference Babe Ruth in a sneaker that has nothing to do with baseball? Both brands are based in Boston so it must be a Curse of the Bambino thing, but concept aside, it looks pretty damn clean, so we’ll take it!

The Concepts x New Balance 57/40 is set to drop on August 27th alongside a matching apparel collection for a retail price that hasn’t been revealed yet. Pick up a pair exclusively at the Concepts webstore.

Air Jordan 4 Tour Yellow

Featuring a full-grain nubuck leather upper in Tour Yellow with bluish-grey accents atop a white PU midsole, this week’s Air Jordan 4 Tour Yellow is a retro rerelease of ‘06s Lightning colorway, which was originally released alongside a color-inverted counterpart dubbed the Thunder. Both pairs were inspired by Michael Jordan’s often forgotten Motorsports team, but Nike definitely picked the better of the two for this summer’s re-release.

The AJ4 Lightning features black netting with dark grey wings, a woven tongue, and a herringbone rubber outsole that matches the sneaker’s moody accents.

The Air Jordan 4 Tour Yellow is set to drop on August 28th for a retail price of $220. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or on the aftermarket at GOAT or Flight Club.

Casablanca x New Balance XC-72

With the racing-inspired XC-72, Paris-based streetwear label Casablanca is taking a victory lap on its now long-running New Balance link-up, which has consistently produced some of the best New Balance sneakers of all time. Yes, all time! Casablanca hasn’t had a single New Balance-branded dud, each of them is an improvement on the last.

Generally, the brand concerns itself with reimagining New Balance’s more vintage silhouettes, but this time they’re taking on the sleek XC-72, giving it the same orange, green and white colorway that first kicked off the New Balance x Casablanca collaboration, as well as a new red and yellow make-up. Both XC-72 colorways feature a white leather upper with grey suede overlays, an oversized N logo (which New Balance should make standard practice), and dual-branding on the tongue.

The Casablanca x New Balance XC-72 are set to drop on August 27th exclusively at Casablanca Paris and August 28th globally for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair at New Balance or Casablanca.

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.