Meek Mill is slowly making progress toward the release of his long-awaited fifth album. In recent months, the Philly rapper has increased his public musical output and this weekend he returned with a brand new song and video.
Titled “War Stories,” Meek uses the track to detail harsh stories about his past and explain that danger still lurks around him even despite achieving both fame and success in his career. The track comes with a video that sees the rapper enjoying dinner with his team and hitting the club with the likes of Bobby Shmurda, Jim Jones, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert, and more many.
“War Stories,” which samples The Isley Brothers’ 1983 song “Ballad for the Fallen Soldier,” comes after Meek shared a remix of Drake and Rick Ross’ “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” with a video that captured him flexing his lyrical abilities in the studio and a jewelry store. Later on, he delivered “Flamerz Flow,” which also arrived with a visual that featured cameos from Shmurda and Dave East.
Outside of the music that Meek has given to the world, the rapper recently bought a house for his grandmother which came shortly before he shared the first picture of his youngest son Czar on social media.
You can listen to “War Stories” in the video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Last summer, on August 7, 2020 to be exact, Cardi B and Megan The Stallion shook the music world with their first collaboration, “WAP.” The track quickly became a favorite of both rappers’ fans mostly because of the sex-positive message the song delivered. It also became Cardi’s fourth No. 1 single while it was the second for Megan.
For as much praise as it garnered, “WAP” also received criticism, mostly from conservative politicians who took issue with the song’s explicit nature. Nonetheless, “WAP” was absolutely one of the biggest moments of 2020 and a year later, the two rappers took a moment to celebrate their chart-topping song while hinting at more to come in the future.
“Wow I can’t believe wappity WAP turned one today,” Cardi wrote on Twitter. “It don’t even feel like it. What a record! @theestallion we should do it again sometime.” Shortly, Megan responded to Cardi’s tweet with her own celebratory message. “Happy WAPIVERSARY,” the rapper replied. “Thank you for having me. I think the people deserve another collab.”
A future collaboration between Cardi and Megan could come on the latter’s next project which the Houston rapper said is slowly coming together.
“I am keeping my next project pretty quiet but it will be a complete shock and complete surprise,” she said during an interview with People. “I am just creating things that feel good to me right now.”
You can view the rappers’ tweets above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Joe Rogan has certainly made a mess of his commenting on the coronavirus pandemic in recent months. In April, he was roundly criticized for spreading vaccine misinformation on his podcast, something he’s still addressing on stage with little remorse.
Rogan is not exactly known for being a reliable source of information: in recent months alone he spread wildfire conspiracy theories, let Alex Jones spread lies on air and has seen his declaration that young healthy people don’t need the coronavirus vaccine draw new criticism as the extremely contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus has caused a new spike in cases, hospitalizations and in some states deaths among the almost entirely unvaccinated.
Rogan has responded to that controversy in the past by declaring himself a “f*cking moron,” which would be fine if he did not have an audience of millions of people who disagree with that sentiment and trust him for their news and information. And on Saturday he made it clear that no mea culpa would come amid a new wave of coronavirus havoc. During a stand-up show in Milwaukee, he dismissed an unspecified attempt to “cancel” him as well as concerns he’s spreading harmful misinformation on his show.
“I say dumb (expletive),” Rogan said Saturday, in the closest he came to a mea culpa. “If you’re getting vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault?”
The review is pretty biting, and though it doesn’t have many specific quotes from the show — phones were put in security-locked bags for those in attendance a la Dave Chappelle shows — it does certainly get the point across of what ground he covered on Saturday. It’s pretty easy to read between the lines here.
There was an occasional disclosure to make it clear he didn’t really mean what he was saying — he supported the gay community, he suggested Saturday, before dropping homophobic jokes.
And some jokes at his own expense — recounting a degrading TSA experience, or sharing the stupid thoughts that ran through his head as he talked to a smarter person like Elon Musk — sought to make him more endearing and relatable.
But too often, Rogan opted to be provocative for the sake of being provocative. He made nasty Nazi jokes, belittled WNBA players, used the appalling “R” word over and over again.
The full review is worth reading if you care about what Rogan says or won’t apologize for, which seems to be a list growing longer by the day. There’s also a brutal review of the opening act, Tony Hinchcliffe, and an anecdote about a fan urging Rogan to say a racial slur after he admitted his past use of the word. Just another day at the office for the person with the biggest podcast platform in the world, I suppose.
There are a few remaining bigger name free agents who haven’t found homes yet as money has dried up around the NBA, headlined by Dennis Schroder but also including Bulls restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen.
The sharpshooting big man has never found a consistent role in Chicago, but seemed like a potential “second draft” candidate for a team looking to take a shot on his upside as a stretch big and hoping that in a different situation he can pop. However, the gap between what other teams see as his value and what Markkanen is seeking seems to be fairly wide as he’s yet to find a team that will meet his contract demands. The Hornets had reported interest in the Finnish big man before signing Kelly Oubre instead, leaving him with one fewer option to find a team with cap space.
A new potential suitor that has emerged for Markkanen is the New Orleans Pelicans, per Marc Stein, as they could look to add Markkanen into a traded player exception they hold. Stein also reports that Markkanen does not want to be back in Chicago, but with the Pelicans hoping for draft compensation to facilitate such a move, it remains to be seen if a deal can be worked out that’s amenable for all parties.
Markkanen says he does not want to return to Chicago but has yet to manufacture a better option than one last season as a Bull to gain unrestricted free agency.
The Bulls and Pels also still haven’t completed their Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade which is now under NBA investigation.
The Pelicans wanting a first round pick along with Markkanen makes it seem highly unlikely a deal gets struck at present, but presents a starting point for negotiations at least. The lingering investigation into the Ball sign-and-trade also means the Bulls might be wary of giving up any future picks until they know what the league might take as punishment. For Markkanen, his options seem to be narrowing and finding the deal he hoped to get might be impossible, as a return to Chicago on the qualifying offer might be his best hope to recoup some value and hit unrestricted free agency in 2022.
The first game of Summer League for the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers is postponed due to health and safety protocols and continued contact tracing with the Wizards, as the news was officially announced by the NBA on Sunday afternoon.
The game was set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET at Cox Pavilion. It remains to be seen as to how the rest of the schedule could be impacted for Washington, but the scheduled debut for the team’s first round pick Corey Kispert and No. 31 overall pick Isaiah Todd will have to wait. The Wizards’ second game is currently set for Tuesday at 10 pm ET against the Sacramento Kings.
On Indiana’s side, lottery selection Chris Duarte was scheduled to take the NBA floor for the first time. Elsewhere, the Pacers have former first round pick Goga Bitadze, as well as Cassius Stanley, Oshae Brissett and Amida Brimah from last year’s roster.
Position players pitching in Major League Baseball is always worth a look, and as the dog days of summer stretch out we’re getting a lot of opportunities to see baseball players try things out on the mound. The latest is Brock Holt, the Texas Rangers utility man who broke out the extremely mild cheese on Saturday in a game against the Oakland Athletics.
With the As up 12-3, Texas called on Holt to take the mound for the third time in his career and burn through an inning. Though playing at third base lately, Holt has shined as an outfielder an basically anywhere he’s asked to on the field over his career, and he’s pitched before. But Saturday reminded us that Holt has one of the biggest utility belts in the majors, including some wild pitches when he needs to throw them.
On his first pitch of the inning, Holt threw an eephus pitch way out of the zone. It took a while, but it eventually came down and landed in there for a strike.
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) August 7, 2021
Holt actually threw a scoreless inning, varying his pitches a bit but throwing some extremely mild heat in the process. Six pitches thrown in the inning were slower than 40 miles per hour, all of which beat the slowest pitch recorded since they started keeping track in 2008. According to Sarah Lang of MLB.com, the 31.1 mph strike is the slowest pitch called for a strike in history.
The overlay of his heat — a 77 MPH “fastball” — is pretty wild.
Holt, who pitched one of the weirdest scoreless innings in baseball history, seemed to have plenty of fun with the whole thing. He even asked the umpire if he wanted to check his glove for sticky substances.
“Are you sure you sure you don’t need to check the glove?” -Brock Holt (probably)
After a year away, NBA Summer League is back in Las Vegas. The league has descended on the desert for the next 10 days where we will get to see rookies play basketball for the first time since the Draft, as well as players young and old trying to prove they belong on rosters and in rotations for next season.
The first day of Summer League always provides some marquee matchups, as the league stacks the schedule to get fans immediately invested in the action. This year is no different, as all of the top 4 picks will be in action, including two going head to head in three consecutive games in the afternoon/evening in Vegas.
First up on the main court at Thomas & Mack will be the one who was a surprising member of that group, as Scottie Barnes will make his Raptors debut against the Knicks (who have all of their recent draft picks from the past few years playing at least to start) at 4:30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN2. Barnes will get a chance to matchup with Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, and the rest of the Summer Knicks as he looks to make a quality first impression. Following Barnes is Rockets-Cavs (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2), where Houston’s quartet of first round picks headlined by Jalen Green, will take on Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers in a game where tons of rookie talent will be on display. The third game will feature the headlining name of Summer League, as Cade Cunningham and the Summer Pistons play No. 6 overall pick Josh Giddey and the OKC Thunder (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at Thomas & Mack.
For those looking to see the top rookies, Sunday will be your best opportunity (and really your only guarantee to), as the top 4 will all be on the court. From here, we will begin the clock as these teams will look to balance getting these guys some reps while also looking to get them out of Vegas and to training camp fully healthy, which often means shutting them down after 1-3 games, depending on the player.
Those aren’t the only three games but they are the headliners for Sunday, with the full schedule (and TV info) for Day 1 in the desert below:
Sunday, August 8
Hawks vs. Celtics, Cox Pavilion (4:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Raptors vs. Knicks, Thomas & Mack (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Blazers vs. Hornets, Cox Pavilion (6:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Rockets vs. Cavaliers, Thomas & Mack (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Wizards vs. Pacers, Cox Pavilion (8:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Thunder vs. Pistons, Thomas & Mack (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Nuggets vs. Heat, Cox Pavilion (10:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV)
Lakers vs. Suns, Thomas & Mack (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Lewis and Gane spent the first near minute staring each other down, with the former throwing a head kick and the latter slipping a few low leg kicks. Gane chipped away at leg kicks, staying active as Lewis walked his opponent backwards. It took Lewis more than three minutes before he landed his first strike, landing a body shot before following it with a low blow that forced a brief ref stoppage. Back underway, Lewis got inside with Gane and tossed a couple haymakers but couldn’t solidly connect. He chased Gane down with a flurry yet again, forcing his opponent to retreat backward before he was countered with a chopping body kick.
In between rounds, Lewis’s camp reiterated his need to keep moving forward, not backward. To open the second, Gane continued to chip leg kicks followed by stiff jabs, leaving Lewis stationary or slightly moving backward. Gane continued to operate from range, keeping Lewis at a distance while working his legs. Offering no respect for Lewis’s hands, Gane switched out being engaged with striking to rocking back and forth and shaking out his arms.
The third opened with much of the same, with Lewis flat-footed and unable to really gain any momentum. Gane had effectively silenced the hometown Houston crowd with Lewis on the outside. Gane hurt Lewis bad with a slew of strikes against the cage, with the ref giving Lewis every opportunity to defend himself. After a brief stoppage to give Lewis his mouthpiece, which had fallen out, Gane finished the fight on the ground to become the new interim heavyweight champion.
After Lewis’s first title shot ended in a submission at the hands of Daniel Cormier, the Black Beast returned to the Octagon Saturday night with hopes to make good on his second opportunity. But this one was arguably less competitive than his loss to Cormier. He was outstruck and unable to get anything going all night. His devastating loss came on the heels of three consecutive wins over his own fair share of top contenders: Curtis Blaydes, Aleksei Oleinik, and Ilir Latifi.
Gane, however, put an exclamation point on his unbeaten record, as he moved to double digits at UFC 265 with the win over Lewis. The new interim champ had rattled off wins over top contenders Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov and Junior dos Santos on his way to his first shot at UFC gold, but saved his most dominant performance for the championship fight. His excellent movement was on full display and he showed a catalog of skills that could offer Francis Ngannou fits if he doesn’t let the champ get going.
There’s no telling when that fight will be booked, but considering the lack of damage he took, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see something toward the end of the year.
For the seventh consecutive Olympic Games, the United States is the gold standard in women’s basketball. The Americans took on Japan on Saturday night in the championship game and used its considerable size advantage to take down their opponents, 90-75, to give the program its seventh gold medal in a row, with two players on this team — Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi — there for each of the last five.
Three players shouldered most of the scoring load for the United States. Brittney Griner led the way with 30 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. She took 18 shots and made 14 of them. There was nothing that Japan could do to keep her from filling it up except hope that she didn’t realize they couldn’t stop her. As you can guess, this did not happen.
To keep with the theme of the evening, two more ultra-skilled players with the ability to shoot over Japan’s defense also showed out. A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were dominant on both ends of the floor — the former had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and five blocks, while the latter had 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks. They were video game-esque stat lines from two of the best basketball players in the world who came up gigantic on the biggest stage.
That trio accounted for 70 percent of the team’s points, 59 percent of its rebounds, and all but one of its blocked shots on the night. It was as dominant of a collective performance as you will see out of three players who all take the floor at the same time.
The other two members of the team’s starting five made themselves a bit of history. Bird and Taurasi, both of whom should probably be put in the Hall fo Fame already despite their careers still happening, won gold medal No. 5 alongside one another. No players in American basketball’s decorated history have won more. Both scored seven points on the evening.
There will, presumably, be a team that is able to beat the United States with a gold medal on the line sometime in the future. Perhaps that team, whomever it may end up being, will establish itself in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But until then, the American reign of dominance will continue, and while the overwhelming likelihood is that someone is going to beat them in the knockout round of the Olympics at some undetermined point in the future, it seems like a pretty safe bet to say that No. 8 will be on its way next time around.
As far as the brewing world is concerned, summer is over. August isn’t when more hot-weather thirst quenchers are dropped. It’s the month when two big fall releases start to hit shelves: pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest brews.
We’re going to wait until September to call out our favorite pumpkin ale releases but we are going to highlight some Oktoberfest beers today. We’re also calling out a few end-of-summer sippers that fell through the cracks over the past couple of months. It’s a good mix, taken all around.
Hopefully, the eight beers we’re giving love to this month will pique your interest and inspire you to explore exciting breweries in your neck of the woods. These picks represent regional craft beer releases from breweries that we vouch for (with tasting notes from the brewers themselves if we didn’t get to taste the beer yet), along with some seasonally released bottles that we’ve been looking forward to trying again.
Oregon’s pFriem IPA isn’t a new release. It’s a classic at this point. What is new is that it’s finally been released in cans. And it kind of works in the new format as a late-summer sipper, with a deep West Coast hop presence that still adheres to a sense of balance.
Tasting Notes:
The American IPA draws you in with a nose full of dank yet grassy hops next to peaches and pear fruit notes. The body of the brew is all about that malt to hop balance with a touch of caramel supporting a crisp West Coast hoppiness that ends a little closer to dry grass than green grass with plenty of pine resin.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the more well-rounded West Coast IPAs on the shelf. It’s also getting easier to find this one all over the country.
SOUTHWEST DROP: Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest Amber Märzen
Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest beer is one of the best examples of the style you’re going to find outside of Munich. The brew is a throwback Märzen lager that highlights the sweet malts first and foremost with a hop layer in the background to provide a flavor counterpoint.
Tasting Notes:
You’re greeted with those sweet and grainy malts on the nose and in the taste. Think of a warm southern biscuit with a honey drizzle next to an almost salted caramel Graham cracker crispness. The hops register as floral and light next to that malty base.
Bottom Line:
Overall, this stays light and very crushable while providing a very malty brew with an American hoppy edge.
Upslope, out in Colorado, has German pilsners on lock. This summer release takes classic German malts and hops and marries them to that Rocky Mountain water to make a pilsner that’s all about malty bases and hoppy finishes.
Tasting Notes:
The brew is bright with green grass next to a squirt of floral citrus oils and a touch of that caramel malt base. The taste holds onto those floral citrus notes as the grass turns to a dry and crisp straw with a mild resin undertone. The malts arrive on the mid-palate to balance out everything with a sweet and almost creamy edge.
Bottom Line:
This is a great session beer to have on hand as the summer heads towards fall. It’s super easy to drink while still offering enough sharp flavors to be memorable.
Jester King’s Spon series remains the highlight of the brewery’s seasonal releases. This year’s version is all about Texas ingredients in each sip with Texas-grown malts and hops mixed with wild yeast from the Texas air and water from the brewery’s own well.
“Our brewing team gets notes of grapefruit, tire shop, diesel, stonefruit, vinyl album cover, and being inside the Alamo.”
Bottom Line:
Having tasted a ton of Spons over the years, I’m fairly confident that there’s no way this isn’t amazing. But there are also only 1,100 bottles and they’re only available at the brewery.
MIDWEST DROP: Toppling Goliath Wasserfall Pils
Toppling Goliath
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: Draft only
The Beer:
Toppling Goliath is killing the craft game from their small home brewery in Iowa. Their Wasserfall Pils is a German Pilsner created specifically for right now. The brew leans into German ingredients and marries those traditions with American craft brewing while staying true to the classic German pils vibe.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is refreshing. The nose and taste lean into the fresh, crisp, and floral hops with a perfect balancing note of caramel malts with a buttery and almost oatmeal cookie edge. The overall taste and finish are light and bright with a sharp pine resin hop next to those bready and sweetened malts.
Bottom Line:
You can only really find this on tap and it’s fleeting at that. Lucky, I had some recently and it was spot on. So if you’re in the Toppling Goliath region, keep an eye out for this one.
NORTHEAST DROP: Samuel Adams Just The Haze Non-Alcoholic IPA
Samuel Adam’s new non-alcoholic offering is a summer treat in a can. The beer is brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Sabro, and Cascade hops over a malty base of barley and wheat malts. The brew keeps the calories low while keeping the hop character high.
Tasting Notes:
This is very much in the New England style with plenty of fruit from top to bottom. There are clear notes of bright citrus next to tropical fruits, especially mango. The malts make an appearance and add in a slight spice with a mild honeyed edge. The fruits all come back into play and really amp up the flavor profile to the point where it’s almost impossible to tell that this is a non-alcoholic beer.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a non-alcoholic beer with a serious NEIPA flavor profile, this might be the beer for you. There is no loss of flavorful depth with this NA beer. It’s refreshing, light, and bold.
WILD CARD DROP: Holy Mountain Harmony of the Sun Summer Saison
This summer saison from one of Seattle’s most beloved neighborhood breweries remains a summer classic we’ll be sad to see go when the leaves start to turn. The brew is a farmhouse ale that adheres to Belgium’s deep traditions.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with clove, orange oils, wet roses, and caramel malts. The taste delivers on those notes while amping up the spiciness and grassy nature of the sip with an ever-so-slight hay funk. The sip ends bright and light with a good sense of a field of grass on a sunny day that’s counterpointed by all that orange oil and clove-forward spice mix.
Bottom Line:
This is super easy to crush on a hot summer day, especially paired with some fresh oysters on the half shell.
INTERNATIONAL PICK OF THE MONTH: Mahr’s Ungespundet Kellerbier
Although this isn’t an Oktoberfest beer (those all have to be brewed in Munich), this Franconian beer is one of Germany’s best by far and perfect for late summer sipping. The brew is “Ungespundet” which simply means unfiltered. The malts are local and the hops are harvested just down the road from the brewery.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn into this one by a nose full of sweet bready malts with a yeasty, dry edge and a note of bright floral hops. The taste delivers on those promises while adding a slight tartness to the yeast while still holding onto a perfect balance of malty and hoppy through every sip.
Bottom Line:
Having spent several sessions at Mahr’s beer garden in Bamberg under a shady chestnut tree, I can say with confidence that this is the perfect summer quaffer. You can get this in the U.S. now (though you’ll have to hunt for it). This is the sort of German brew that just makes sense and will give a better understanding of how devilishly simple these beers can be while still being complex and delicious.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive commission pursuant to some entries on this list.
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