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Quavo Said He Planned To Make A Joint Album With Pop Smoke Before His Death

Migos made their grand return on Friday with their fourth album, Culture III. The project arrived as a 19-track effort with contributions highlighted by Drake, Cardi B, Future, DaBaby, Justin Bieber, Polo G and Juice WRLD. It’s also the Atlanta trio’s first project together since their 2018’s Culture II. Social media opinions of the new album seemingly prove that the rap group has returned to the excellence they displayed earlier in their career with projects like No Label II and Culture. As fans continue to enjoy the new project, Quavo recently revealed another project that sadly never came to fruition between himself and another artist.

During an interview on Los Angeles’ Real 92.3, Quavo spoke about adding posthumous features from Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD on Culture III, revealing that he actually hoped to make a full album with the former before his death.

“That was important, know what I’m saying,” he said. “I had a relationship with Pop Smoke, we had a relationship with Pop Smoke, and it was just, important. We had so many records, me and him was bout to make an album. So I just felt like I had to put Pop on there.”

He added, “Rest in Peace to my dawg Pop, we just made so much good music. Us on a New York drill beat is just like, magic.”

Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD appear on “Light It Up” and “Antisocial,” respectively, on Culture III. While it was the Migos’ first official collaboration with the two rappers, Quavo previously worked with Pop Smoke on “Aim For The Moon,” “Snitching” and “West Coast Sh*t” from the rapper’s posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon.

You can watch the Migos’ interview on Real 92.3 above.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Drake Confirms ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Will Arrive By The End Of The Summer

Drake’s upcoming sixth album, Certified Lover Boy, is by far the most anticipated album of 2021. However, it’s also a project that fans should’ve already had in their possession if things went according to plan. Back in October, the rapper announced that the album would arrive in January, but he was later forced to delay the project after he had to take time away from working on it in order to rehab from knee surgery.

Since then, the rapper has continued work on Certified Lover Boy without sharing a new release date for it. Thankfully, during a recent interview, Drake revealed when fans can expect the album.

In a sit-down during the URLTV battle rap league’s NOMEXI event, Drake was asked when Certified Lover Boy arrived. When interviewers tried to get a specific release date out of him, the rapper kept things tight-lipped. However, when an off-screen guest asked if the album would be here by the end of the summer, Drake replied, “Oh yeah, I’ll be there. My album will be out by then.”

This comes after Akademiks previously reported that Certified Lover Boy would be released by the end of April. Obviously, that month came and went without the album’s release, but Drake’s biggest supporters should be happy to hear that the project will be in their hands within the next few months.

You can watch a clip of the conversation above.

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Should You Watch ‘Manifest’ On Netflix? Read This First

An NBC sci-fi series, Manifest, premiered on Netflix last week, and it has already taken up residence among the streaming service’s most-watched movies and television shows, according to Netflix’s own Top 10 chart (it held at number two all weekend, according to my Netflix account). Netflix doesn’t license as much off-network content as it used to, but despite having its own streamer in Peacock, NBC clearly felt that Netflix could provide the show with a bigger audience while collecting tidy licensing fees, to boot. The series, which wrapped up its third season last week, is also on the bubble and has not yet been renewed. How well it does on Netflix could factor into NBC’s decision to give it a fourth season or put the series out of its misery.

Warning: Manifest is not a good show. I should know. I have watched every episode and recapped each one for another outlet.

Its poor quality, however, is not entirely apparent from the pilot, which was heavily hyped on NBC ahead of its fall debut in 2018. It’s a compelling premiere episode with a fascinating premise. It’s about the passengers of Flight 828, who left from Jamaica and arrived in New York City. However, when the 191 passengers land, they learn that five-and-a-half years had passed and that, in the interim, they were presumed dead by everyone else.

It seems like an obvious setup for a drama about passengers who must reintegrate into their lives after five years have passed and after many of their loved ones have moved on. However, there’s only an inkling of that in the beginning. Yes, when Ben Stone (Josh Dallas) returns, his wife Grace (Athena Karkanis) has a new boyfriend, and his daughter — who wasn’t on the flight — is now five years older than her twin brother, who was on the flight, but the family drama is dispatched with fairly early on (in fact, the wife’s boyfriend, played by Rescue Me‘s Daniel Sunjata, inexplicably disappears from the series after a handful of episodes).

It’s a broadcast network television series, so naturally, it also attempts early on to take shape as a police procedural. Ben’s sister, Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) is an NYPD detective, and she — like the other passengers on the flight — have “callings” (or visions) that aid her in solving crimes, but that element of the series is eventually abandoned, as well.

It’s not until the second season that Manifest figures out that it really wants to be a supernatural conspiracy thriller, but even then, the writers mostly seem to be making it up as they go along. It takes the better part of two seasons for a bare-bones mythology to even begin to take shape.

SPOILERS BELOW (YOU WERE WARNED)

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– The Stone family helps other passengers resolve their callings, which usually entails saving someone from danger. However, some of the more bizarre callings often appear to be hugely significant but are never referred to again. For instance, at one point, the Stone family creates a scene in their living room using a hockey net only to find themselves in a vision hundreds of years in the past on a ship out in the middle of the ocean looking up into the sky to see Flight 828 flying above them. The dramatic calling, however, is never explained or mentioned again.

– Other characters, outside of Flight 828, also disappear and reappear days, months, or years later, and “death dates” are established. Those who experience this time travel only live as long as they were gone. For instance, because the Flight 828 passengers disappeared for five-and-a-half years, their “death date” (or the day they are scheduled to die) is five-and-a-half years from the day their flight lands. The Stone family is trying to prevent these death dates, which requires resolving their callings. There is also something called “dark lightning,” although it’s unclear what its role in the series is; passengers are secretly experimented on (although, that arc is eventually abandoned without resolution and never spoken of again), and there are other nefarious characters who seek to exploit Flight 828 passengers for their own gain, although it is unclear what it is they have to gain.

– Meanwhile, season three (not yet available on Netflix) sloppily introduces religious undertones. We are vaguely led to believe that Flight 828 passengers have been “resurrected,” like Jesus, and given a second chance. Meanwhile, a piece of driftwood from Noah’s Ark surfaces and is given huge significance (it will allow scientists to “recreate miracles”) only to be tossed into a volcanic crack that opens up in upstate New York. A half a season is also devoted to three meth heads (who are literally referred to as “meth heads”) to establish that each of the individual passengers on Flight 828 have to be good people or redeem themselves in order for all of the passengers to avoid their “death date,” though how they can redeem themselves is only vaguely defined.

The series is desperate to be the type of show that Reddit users devote theories towards, but it must try and do so within the confines of a broadcast network TV, which means it must operate only on the surface level. It also belabors certain aspects of the mythology while completely abandoning other aspects. The writing is rudimentary, and the acting is stilted and wooden, and I don’t think there’s an intentionally light or funny moment in the entire three seasons of the series.

Mostly, however, it’s infuriating in the way that it continues to present half-baked questions that the show has little intention of ever answering. It would be a shame, then, to start watching Manifest on Netflix with the expectation of a satisfying ending. A proper resolution to the series is currently impossible because it still doesn’t seem to know what it’s even trying to resolve.

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Weekend Box Office: ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ Crosses $100 Million, And ‘In The Heights’ Underperforms

The top film at the box office is going to come down to the wire this weekend, which is the first “crowded” weekend since the pandemic began. Not all theaters have fully reopened and with capacity restrictions still in place, there’s still limited seating, which means that the ceiling for the box office may still be capped slightly. What that meant this week is that there weren’t any $50 million grosses, but there were 5 films in the $6-$11 million range.

That comes as a disappointment for Jon Chu’s In the Heights, an audience pleaser (and one of the best movies of the year) based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway play. Unfortunately, despite great reviews (96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and an A Cinemascore, the film failed to meet expectations. Warner Brothers had hoped for $20 million or more over the weekend, but the musical only managed to muster around $11.4 million.

There are caveats, of course. The film was also released on HBO Max on the same day, and for a title without a lot of IP value, audiences may have opted to watch it at home. It also explains why, according to Deadline, a large percentage of its business came from New York City, where the movie is set (and where Broadway audiences are more familiar with the title). It didn’t help, either, that Lin-Manuel Miranda — the biggest name associated with the film — only had a small role in the musical. Still, it’s something of a bummer, because it’s a movie that deserves to be seen with a large audience. It’s hard to overstate what a genuinely fun film In the Heights is to experience.

The film, however, narrowly lost out to A Quiet Place Part II for the top spot, even though it’s the third weekend in the marketplace for the John Krasinski directed sequel. It continues to perform fairly well, earning $11.7 million to become the first film since the pandemic began to cross $100 million (it sits at $108 million now). It might help, too, that A Quiet Place Part II is not available anywhere else but in theaters now, although it will land on Paramount+ in about three weeks.

Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, meanwhile, looks like it will open with around $10.4 million, less than half of the $25 million opening of the original Peter Rabbit, which went on to earn $115 million stateside. Critics were mixed (68 percent on RT), although kid-friendly audiences liked it a lot (A- Cinemascore). The film was delayed by the pandemic and missed a more opportune March/April opening, but don’t cry for Sony. The film was modestly budgeted at $45 million, which it’s already managed to earn overseas.

It looks like Peter Rabbit will also lose out to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which looks as though it will earn around $11.3 million, good for third place and a $45 million running total in 10 days. Recall, too, that The Conjuring sequel is also still airing on HBO Max. In fifth place, meanwhile, with $6.7 million is Cruella, which has now earned $56 million after three weekends, plus however many tens of million of dollars it has earned on $30 surcharges on Disney+. Spirit Untamed, meanwhile, landed in sixth place with $2.9 million and $11.3 million overall, which is notable if only because there are now enough films in the marketplace to extend the box-office to the top six movies!

Next weekend will see one new wide release, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which actually opens on Wednesday, probably to get an extra two days before F9: The Fast Saga opens on June 25th and gives us a good idea of just how much earnings are possible in theaters right now.

Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo

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Someone Apparently Hired A Skywriter To Tell Los Angeles Joe Rogan Is ‘Literally 5 Foot 3’

UFC 263 was more or less the talk of the sports world on Saturday night, but ringside commentator Joe Rogan had his own headlines to deal with in Los Angeles as well. Apparently someone paid a skywriter to call out his height over one of the most populous cities in the United States, bewildering people who noticed it and going viral online in the process.

The puffy writing appeared over Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon and was captured by a number of people taking photos and videos. Apparently the phrase “Joe Rogan is literally 5 foot 3” was displayed over the skies, and no one seemed to know why. Also, a letter was missing in the word “literally.”

Making it all that much weirder, the whole thing was apparently part of a marriage proposal. Someone asked a “Mollie Pratt” by name to marry them, then had the message about Rogan on the end of it.

TMZ estimated that the skywriting may have cost “upwards” of $10,000, a pretty hefty price for an engagement and also a way to call out Rogan. No one seems to know why he was included in the message, but it could be related to his podcast where he’s hosted conspiracy theorists and Proud Boys and expressed anti-vaccine rhetoric in recent months. In any case as many said online, it’s certainly a level of pettiness that’s aspirational at best for most people not also trying to get engaged on a Saturday afternoon.

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Phoenix Suns At Denver Nuggets Game 4 TV Info And Betting Lines

The Phoenix Suns are one game away from the Western Conference Finals, and at this point, it’s really hard to bet against them getting there right away. Phoenix has looked the far better team through three game against a visibly exhausted Denver Nuggets squad, opening up a 3-0 series lead and making a statement that they are, legitimately, an NBA Finals contender.

Of course, one really good way to get back in the series is to have the best player on the floor, and while Phoenix has some absolutely wonderful basketball players, none of them are the league MVP. Nikola Jokic looks gassed every night, yes, but even his bad games are marvels — in Game 3, Jokic went for 32 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists with two turnovers in a loss. Any path back for Denver runs through the big fella, and fortunately for them, he’s good enough to make magic happen.

Can Denver live to fight another day, or will Phoenix take care of business on Sunday night and punch their ticket to the conference finals? There’s only one way to find out.

Game 4 TV Info

Tip Time: Sunday, June 13; 8:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 4 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Suns (-10000), Nuggets (+1700)
Spread: Suns -3 (-112), Nuggets +3 (-109)
Money Line: Suns (-148), Nuggets (+120)

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Brooklyn Nets At Milwaukee Bucks Game 4 TV Info And Betting Lines

Game 3 between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks really stunk. It was an all-out rock fight between two teams that looked absolutely exhausted, could not hit any shots, and played the kind of cagey, next-basket-wins battle that defined basketball an era or two before the modern day. Ultimately, the Bucks survived, 86-83.

It was a monstrous win for the Bucks. A loss would have put them in an insurmountable, 3-0 hole against a Nets team that is capable of blowing the doors off of an opponent on a given night. Instead, Milwaukee is one game away from tying this series up on their home floor against a Brooklyn side that does not have James Harden — or, rather, they have not had Harden, but there’s been no indication about his ability to play in Game 4.

A 2-2 series shifting back to New York after the Bucks have won two in a row is markedly different than a 3-1 series in the Barclays Center where the Nets have the opportunity to put it away. This one is going to be fun.

Game 4 TV Info

Tip Time: Sunday, June 13; 3:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: ABC

Game 4 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Nets (-385), Bucks (+290)
Spread: Nets -2 (-110), Bucks +2 (-112)
Total: Over 228.5 (-108), Under 228.5 (-113)
Money Line: Nets (-127), Bucks (+107)

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Israel Adesanya Dominated Martin Vettori For Five Rounds At UFC 263

Coming off the first loss of his professional career, Israel Adesanya (21-1) left no question who the king of the middleweight division is, successfully defending his title against Martin Vettori (17-5-1) at UFC 263 from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Vettori didn’t waste any time putting his gameplan into play, catching a low kick by Adesanya and putting the champ on his back. Unlike his fight against Jan Blachowicz in March, Adesanya found his way back to his feet with relative ease. Adesanya set things up with a nice collection of thigh kicks before moving to the head with a slew of combinations.

Adesanya continued to chip away at Vettori’s leg in the second, fighting off a takedown attempt early to keep things on their feet. Adesanya’s calm demeanor was on full display through the first two rounds as he continued to pick apart Vettori.

Vettori came out aggressive in the third, taking Adesanya onto the ground less than a minute into the round and putting his weight on the champ. As Adesanya attempted to get out of the guard, Vettori took his back. Adesanya seamlessly transitioned out and moved into the guard before allowing Vettori back to his feet. Adesanya continued to work on Vettori’s leg as the two exchanged shots up top.

Vettori took Adesanya to the ground yet again in the fourth, but the champ had no problem returning to his feet. A clearly exhausted Vettori ate shot after shot as Adesanya picked him apart over and again.

The fifth followed the same pattern of the prior four rounds, with Adesanya waiting for Vettori to come forward and the champ just knocking him back.

The main event featured the first title defense that was a rematch of Adesanya’s career, coming on the heels of the champ losing in his attempt to move up to light heavyweight in March. He came into Saturday night with two years worth of victories across the middleweight division, handing losses to Kevin Gastelum, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

But his opponent, Vettori, claimed he’d seen holes in Adesanya’s tilt with Blachowicz. Despite those apparent holes, Adesanya handed Vettori his first defeat since his 2018 loss at the hands of the champ. Before Saturday night, Vettori had rattled off five consecutive wins.

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Brandon Moreno Became The UFC’s First Mexican-Born Champion By Submitting Deiveson Figueiredo And Winning The Flyweight Belt

Five rounds wasn’t enough for Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno back in December, but Moreno needed just three rounds to win the flyweight championship at UFC 263 from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. With the win, Moreno made history as the first Mexican-born champion in UFC history.

Figueiredo waited more than a minute into the first round before unloading his first shot, allowing Moreno to feel his way into the fight with precise combinations. Moreno continued walking back Figueiredo, hurting the champ with a glancing jab that sent him to the ground. Figueiredo found his way back to his feet, but continued to eat strikes through the end of the round.

Early in the second, Moreno hurt Figueiredo again with a jab, but the champ shot in with a body lock and took his opponent to the ground. As Figueiredo attempted to lock his hands for a guillotine, Moreno transitioned out, took the his back and moved into the full guard back on the ground. Moreno was aggressive to open the third, taking Figueiredo to the ground, getting his back and choking the champion out.

Moreno was 4-0-1 in his last five bouts with the knockout at UFC 255, three decisions and a draw. Figueiredo has been dominant since losing the only fight of his career in March 2019 to Jussier Formiga. After missing weight in his initial bout with Joseph Benavidez in February, Figueiredo submitted Benavidez to win the division crown in July.

A low blow cost Figueiredo an outright win back in December, but Moreno didn’t leave it up to the judges in their rematch.

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Leon Edwards Survived A Late Flurry To Earn A Decision Over Nate Diaz

Two years removed from his last walk to the Octagon, Nate Diaz returned at UFC 263 in a blood-splattered effort that saw Leon Edwards dominate from bell to almost bell in a decision victory from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Edwards hurt Diaz from the opening bell, wearing away one of the toughest UFC fighters with stinging leg kicks. Diaz’s gamesmanship was on display early on, often turning and showing disinterest before jumping into attack. Edwards was locked in though, continuing to wear away at Diaz’s leg, with some visible swelling and bruising early in the second.

In the third, Edwards opened a big cut over Diaz’s left eye with a sharp elbow from the ground. He continued to show his dominance whether they were on their feet or on the ground, transitioning seamlessly with control in both situations.

Through the fourth and fifth, Edwards moved away from the leg kicks, instead headhunting and looking to finish the elder Diaz. With a minute remaining in the fifth, Diaz hurt Edwards bad with big flurry, but couldn’t finish the welterweight contender.

Diaz hadn’t fought since 2019, when he earned a decision victory over Anthony Pettis before suffering a TKO to Jorge Masvidal, unable to continue after he blew his nose at the end of the third, causing his eye to swell shut.

Edwards hasn’t lost since he dropped a decision to Kamaru Usman in 2015. Since then, he’s rattled off eight consecutive wins and a no contest, when he drew with Belal Muhammad in March. After his win over Diaz, Edwards again called for the next shot at Usman’s belt.