We’re just days from the start of the NBA’s first-ever play-in tournament, as we wait to see how Steph Curry, Ja Morant, and Jayson Tatum will wow us in a do-or-die situation. And on Friday, the league released a full TV broadcast schedule for the tourney.

https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1393356228294811651

If you’re wanting to build out your couch or bar schedule for the week, the first game on Tuesday is likely to feature both Tatum and LaMelo Ball, with Chuck, Shaq and Co. in the studio.

The next night, we will get LeBron James and Anthony Davis or Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum go up against the West’s eighth seed, which will be either Golden State or Memphis. Talk about star power!

But of course, the main event is the elimination games on Thursday and Friday. As usual, TNT gets the Eastern Conference and ESPN gets the Western Conference game. For reference, those games could feature — as an example — Morant vs. Curry. Or Ball vs. Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.

If last year’s single-elimination play-in told us anything, it’s that we should be in for some awesome basketball. The game averaged 2 million viewers — more than many playoff games — and featured some high level hoops between Morant’s Grizzlies and Lillard’s Trail Blazers.

The play-in tournament starts next Tuesday.

Since the tragic, untimely death of DMX due to complications after a drug overdose earlier this year, the hip-hop community has been hellbent on preserving his legacy. He was an artist who meant so much to so many people, and giving his catalogue the send off it deserves has been a priority for many. At the forefront of these efforts has been producer and rapper Swizz Beatz, who also recently opened up about his frustrations with some of the fake friends he saw around the late rapper.

In an effort to be anything but that, Swizz has been working as a steward for the posthumous album, Exodus, that DMX’s label recently announced. Swizz has discussed the final song he collaborated on with X, and also let fans know that a collaboration between Earl, Jay Z Nas is likely going to be in the mix.

Well, all those have been confirmed now, along with plenty of other songs, as the tracklist for the album was shared by DMX’s label today. Their all caps caption stated the following: “EXODUS 1:7 OFFICIAL TRACK LIST (5/28). THE LEGACY CONTINUES.” Along with a photo of the tracklist, which features, among many others, appearances from Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and yes, Jay Z and Nas on the same track together. Check out the list below and look for the full project dropping later this month on May 28.

1. “That’s My Dog” Feat. The Lox and Swizz Beatz
2. “Bath Salts” Feat. Jay Z and Nas
3. “Dog’s Out” Feat. Lil Wayne and Was
4. “Money Money Money” Feat. Swizz Beatz
5. “Hold Me Down” Feat. Alicia Keys
6. “Skyscrapers” Feat. Bono
7. “Male Stick Up Skit” Feat. Cross, Infrared, and Icepick
8. “Hood Blues” Feat. Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, and Conway
9. “Walking In The Rain” Feat. Nas, Exodus Simmons, & Mr. Porter
10. “Take Control” Feat. Snoop Dogg
11. “Exodus Skit”
12. “Letter To My Son (Call Your Father)” Feat. Usher and Brian King Joseph
13. “Prayer”

The NBA is in the midst of an offensive boom, with teams across the league putting up crazing scoring totals and breathtaking offensive efficiency on a nightly basis. It’s pretty easy to argue the pendulum has swung too far in one direction, and while this isn’t the No. 1 reason why offenses are looking better than ever, the NBA apparently plans on addressing one of the things that drives people insane.

According to Adrian Wojnarwoski of ESPN, the league plans to do something about fouls that are born out of offensive players doing “unnatural shooting motions,” citing guys like James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks as examples of players who are really good at drawing these sorts of fouls.

The NBA has issues to modify with the game itself as well. Most agree the product has shifted too far in the offense’s favor, that the scoring is unnaturally inflated. In the offseason, the NBA plans to address the unnatural shooting motions of star players like James Harden and Trae Young that get foul calls under the rules in the NBA — but would get eye rolls on the playground.

An interesting thought experiment is whether or not officials will catch up to any new unnatural shooting motion rule right away or if they’ll need time to adjust, because the reason players are able to draw fouls by flailing around when taking a jumper is they know the referees will blow the whistle. There’s also the matter of how “unnatural” is defined, but that’s something for the league to figure out. Still, these are fouls that no one other than the guy who draws them particularly likes, and while it’ll be a small change, this would be a welcomed one.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, and more.

What a week. Over the last five days, we’ve been buried under a veritable avalanche of new releases, including the big names mentioned above. Young Nudy linked up with G Herbo on “2Face,” the first single from his upcoming album Dr Ev4l; Young Dolph & Key Glock continued their Dum And Dummer 2 rollout with a video for “A Goat & A Dolphin“; Moneybagg Yo partnered with Lil Durk and Polo G in his “Free Promo” video; Ashnikko and Princess Nokia finally released their long-awaited “Slumber Party” video; and Internet Money reunited with Don Toliver and Gunna, adding Lil Uzi Vert to the mix for “His & Hers.”

Then came a huge New Music Friday, saw the release of J. Cole’s The Off-Season, Nicki Minaj’s Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape migrating to streaming with new song “Seeing Green,” 21 Savage’s Spiral EP causing an “Emergency,” and the first single from Migos’ Culture III, “Straightenin,” dropping along with the releases listed below.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 19, 2021.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

J. Cole — The Off-Season

The long-awaited follow-up to Cole’s fan-loved KOD features appearances from 21 Savage, Lil Baby, and Puff Daddy as Cole himself goes on a lyrical rampage to prove to himself and the world that he’s pushed himself to new heights.

Babyface Ray — Unfckwitable (Deluxe)

The Detroit upstart tacks seven new songs onto his impressive debut, resulting in a feature from Jack Harlow and one from none other than Murda Beatz.

Daniyel — 82

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, and employing a buoyant pop-rap flair, this LA transplant is Cole Bennett-approved, which means his music could very well be unavoidable sometime soon… get familiar now.

Nicki Minaj — Beam Me Up Scotty [Reissue]

The mixtape that put the Queens, New York queen on the rap fans’ radars over a decade ago has finally made its way to DSPs, complete with three new tracks.

Paris Texas — Boy Anonymous

Compton, California keeps pushing out heat. The genre-bending duo of Paris Texas is super unconventional but all the more intriguing and inspiring for it.

21 Savage — Spiral [EP]

If ever there was a rapper to be counted on to soundtrack the ghoulish horror-thriller spinoff, it’s 21, whose laconic flow hides a penchant for painting violent scenes in lurid detail.

Singles/Videos

The Alchemist — “Loose Change” Feat. Earl Sweatshirt

At this point, can you two just do a whole album together? And no, I don’t mean an EP. A whole album. The chemistry is everything rap fans could ask for.

Conway The Machine — “Scatter Brain (Live On The Tonight Show)” Feat. JID and Ludacris

JID kind of steals the show here, but honestly, it’s just great to see Ludacris finally making his way back to the forefront of rap where he belongs. Thank you, Conway.

Dusty Locane — “Rollin N Controllin Pt. 2”

If the skittish beat doesn’t send chills down your spine, Dusty’s menacing raps and that slinky hook just might.

Lakeyah — “Perfect” Feat. Yung Bleu

A highlight from Lakeyah’s confident debut project, “Perfect” finds her challenging a potential paramour to find better — but how can you improve on perfection?

Larry June — “Wait On Me”

One of my personal favorite indie rappers, Larry June kicks laid-back raps with the same assured swagger of peers like Curren$y, Dom Kennedy, and Le$ over sparkling beats that bring to mind visions of luxurious surroundings and exotic locales.

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

Mary Elizabeth Winstead has a long history of being very cool in very cool projects, and if you just want to tick off the recent examples you still have her playing Huntress in Birds of Prey and the perfectly named Nikki Swango in the third season of Fargo. So if you wanted to make a movie about, say, to choose an example at random, a ruthless criminal operative who is irreversibly poisoned and has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her enemies while forming an unexpected bond with the daughter of one of her past victims, you can do a lot worse than casting her in that role. In an unrelated matter, let’s quickly check the logline for her upcoming Netflix movie, Kate.

After she’s irreversibly poisoned, a ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her enemies and in the process forms an unexpected bond with the daughter of one of her past victims.

Well, that worked out pretty well.

The movie has actually been in development for about two years now, with Winstead and co-star Woody Harrelson both signing on way back in 2019. So their involvement is not exactly breaking news here. The reason we’re talking about it today, in 2021, is because Netflix just released the first images of Winstead in the movie and Holy Toledo does she look cool as hell. Look at the picture at the top of this post. And look at this one, too.

And this one.

Now, some of you are probably still held up on that logline, thinking, perhaps, “Hmm, but isn’t this almost exactly the plot of the 2006 Jason Statham film Crank, in which he too is pumped full of toxins and hellbent on revenge, but this time with Mary Elizabeth Winstead running around the streets of Tokyo with a cigarette dangling from her mouth and a huge honking firearm in her hand and Woody Harrelson involved somehow as some as-yet-unidentified figure who is, one assumes, either assisting her on her quest or being hunted by her? Doesn’t this sound kind of like that?”

To which I would reply, “Yes. It sounds almost exactly like that. And what’s your complaint with any of it?” Because I just re-read all the words I typed and looked at all the pictures again and, buddy, it all seems pretty okay to me.

After years of fan demand, the legendary Mass Effect trilogy is back with a legendary edition, and we here at Uproxx are excited. Widely considered an absolute “must-play,” if you haven’t played the Mass Effect Trilogy, there’s never been a better time to jump in, and — if you’re still on the fence about picking it up — here are four reasons you shouldn’t be.

1. It’s one of the most epic science fiction stories in gaming.

If you like space operas (think intergalactic warfare, chivalrous romance, politics, melodrama, life-or-death adventures, and, well, Star Wars), you’ll love the Mass Effect trilogy. The story follows Commander Shepard, a space navy soldier from Earth who is thrust into an adventure much bigger than they are when they witness the return of an ancient and deadly race known as the Reapers. In addition to navigating that mess, Shepherd must play diplomat between mankind and all the other various races inhabiting the Milky Way galaxy that aren’t always the biggest fans of humans. While that might not sound all that enthralling right now, the story truly goes places both literally and metaphorically. The many planets you visit are gorgeous and interesting, and the story consistently forces the player to make hard choices and play a very active part in what’s happening, which is a lot.

2. The Mass Effect trilogy boasts some of the greatest characters, and romances, in a series.
Mass Effect series easily has some of the most charming and interesting characters in an ensemble cast style game, with so many diverse companions there’s one for everyone regardless of if you like your friends a bit sweet or spicy. Furthermore, the moments you share with them are so unique to each character and make you either care for, or perhaps despise them, quickly and with fervor. Personality coats their dialogue and all the moments you share together, meaning by the time players reach the third game, you genuinely feel as if you have history with these characters. Lastly, ah the romances! The Mass Effect games handle love, lust, and intimacy extraordinarily well, and will leave you wishing other AAA titles went as hard with theirs.

3. It’s the perfect mix of heavy narrative and open-world elements.

If you’ve read the first two points, you now know that Mass Effect has a great story and even greater characters, but what truly makes it shine is how much you control you have over the aforementioned story and your relationships with its characters. In Mass Effect, you choose how you look, where you come from, your own code of ethics, how you spend your time, and who you spend it with. It makes for a game that feels different each time you play it and opens up fun conversations with friends about where you did things differently and which space boo is best. If you’ve ever played Skyrim and wished you felt a stronger connection to the game’s story and characters, Mass Effect is for you. If you’ve ever played an Assassin’s Creed game — particularly the older ones — and wished you had a bit more freedom, Mass Effect is for you.

4. It’s only $60 USD for three — yes three — games.

Listen, we’ll never tell you how to spend your money or encourage you to do so if you can’t right now — we’re better pals than that — but if you are looking for a new game to play, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a pretty unbeatable value. For the cost of a new game (hell, less than the cost of a next-gen one), you get three critically-acclaimed games with 80-150 hours worth of content between them. A lot of good games have come out recently, but if you could only pick up one to last you through the summer months, I’d recommend Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Plenty of folks have wanted to work in the video game industry at some point in their lives. As with any career path with a limited number of opportunities, it’s extremely difficult to break through, but the reward of finally making it is incredible. Passion meets art in a way that is really indescribable, and it’s that passion that keeps members of the workforce going despite an industry that grinds you to dust.

The reality is a career in video games is one full of intense hours, stress, strained relationships, hatred from gamers with sometimes unreasonably high expectations, and a lack of real job security. The book PRESS RESET by Jason Schreier, which hit bookshelves earlier this week, does an incredible job of capturing the struggle that workers in the video game industry go through.

“The goal of anything I write is always to inform and entertain people and to shed some light on what’s going on,” Schreier tells UPROXX. “I think that in some ways the book is a call to action for people to pick it up and say, hey, something really needs to change here and and I am hoping that people who are actually in decision-making capacities in the video game industry pick it up and decide to make some changes as a result of what they see.”

PRESS RESET is Schreier’s second book about the industry. His first, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, is a story about how difficult making a game is, highlighting the hours of crunch and dedication that go into making a game. In many ways, PRESS RESET is a follow-up to that, because while the majority of the stories in Blood, Sweat, and Pixels end with a released game, PRESS RESET is about the other side of the industry: failed titles, studios that ran out of money, or sudden changes in leadership structure that result in a studio closure.

The biggest difference between the two books is how the reader feels at the end of each chapter. While Blood, Sweat, and Pixels usually ended with a triumphant moment where the team against all odds succeeded, PRESS RESET is about the dominoes that fall and lead to failure.

For many of us, the story of a closed studio ends there. Everyone spends some time mourning their favorite games and then moves on with their lives, but the workers at these studios aren’t as lucky. When a studio is closed, it leads to a developer coming to a crossroad: Do they choose to continue work in video games? If so, they’re probably going to have to move their lives to another place, even if there’s a chance of getting laid off once again and repeating the cycle. This is the life of a development team. There are scant few protections for these developers. If they’re laid off, they might get lucky and get a severance.

“Crunch is an epidemic in the industry and needs to be talked about,” Schreier says. “But actually, one of the things I wanted to explore in this book is the problem with volatility, because I actually think that’s worse for most people who work in games, and crunch is bad, but the thought that you might lose your job or your studio may shut down and you may be moving across the country or across the world every couple of years that is way worse, and affects people in way worse ways and really drives a lot of the burnout, that volatility.”

The people who work on those games may be working dream jobs, but they’re doing so in an incredibly unstable industry that challenges their love for their passion. Multiple passages in PRESS RESET talk about employees who left the industry to go work normal 9-to-5’s because it was a healthier life for them and their family. It’s unfortunate, but the more people know about the realities of the industry, the more likely it becomes that individuals on the outside stand up for these employees in a very public way.

“It’s more important to me that people come away from it feeling like they learned something, that it was worth their time to get through this,” Schreier says. “Like, they can connect with some human stories and really understand more about how all this works. That is my number one goal, to trigger that kind of understanding and empathy and curiosity from people.”

PRESS RESET can, in some ways, be hard to get through. For people that work in the industry, or want to work in it, it raises questions as to whether it’s worth it — does the good really outweigh the bad that much? If someone is willing to deal with everything that is hard about making games and being in the industry, then they’ll stay in it and fight to make it better. The video game industry is still growing and has plenty of room to continue to blossom, although there are other hurdles that need to be cleared. For example, despite making more money than the film industry, major cultural issues both inside and outside of the industry need to be addressed.

“It’s definitely professionalized,” Schreier says. “That’s the biggest difference between now and, like, the ’80s. Nobody’s working out of a frat house making major games anymore the way that they might have back then, but some of those old habits just stuck around and some of those issues, I don’t think it really got away (from them). I mean, there’s still a lot of sexism and misconduct. There’s crunch, obviously. And the volatility thing, it’s such a prominent issue in the industry that it’s hard to really say that. I mean, things have definitely gotten better, but how much better have they gotten?”

As the industry continues to grow, it’s going to need people to learn about it and understand how it works. The video game industry can’t continue to be a place that churns through workers once they become too burned out to handle the stress. It can’t continue to exist as a place that demeans entire swaths of people. It needs to be better. And while PRESS RESET may not be the most uplifting book ever, it’s an educational experience that pulls back the curtain on all of these issues.

For those who thought the Queen of rap was in retirement, think again. Last night Nicki Minaj returned in full force, with her new single “Fractions,” (which is drawing ample criticism for the way it references her husband’s accuser), and the re-release of her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty on streaming services for the first time to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The re-release also came with another new track “Seeing Green” that includes appearances from her most trusted Young Money collaborators Drake and Lil Wayne.

To help all this sink in for fans, Nicki also made a surprise appearance on the audio streaming app Clubhouse today, visiting the National Barb Association room to speak directly to some of her biggest fans. One of the takeaways from this visit from Nicki is that she still has a hip-hop legend dream collaborator that she hasn’t worked with yet. It’s true, one of rap’s number one purveyors of getting artists to guest feature still hasn’t hit the top spot on her list. She revealed that the person she still most wants to work with is Lauryn Hill, which does make sense if you’ve paid attention to the way Nicki has continued to praise her as an influence over the years.

So, hey, someone hit up Lauryn’s camp right? Let’s make this happen.

As millions of Americans have raced to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, millions of others have held back. Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new, of course, especially with new vaccines, but the information people use to weigh their decisions matters greatly. When choices based on flat-out wrong information can literally kill people, it’s vital that we fight disinformation every which way we can.

Researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a not-for-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to disrupting online hate and misinformation, and the group Anti-Vax Watch performed an analysis of social media posts that included false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines between February 1 and March 16, 2021. Of the disinformation content posted or shared more than 800,000 times, nearly two-thirds could be traced back to just 12 individuals. On Facebook alone, 73% of the false vaccine claims originated from those 12 people.

Dubbed the “Disinformation Dozen,” these 12 anti-vaxxers have an outsized influence on social media. According to the CCDH, anti-vaccine accounts have a reach of more than 59 million people. And most of them have been spreading disinformation with impunity.

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“Despite repeatedly violating Facebook, Instagram and Twitter’s terms of service agreements, nine of the Disinformation Dozen remain on all three platforms, while just three have been comprehensively removed from just one platform,” the report states. It also says platforms fail to act on 95% of the COVID and vaccine misinformation that is reported to them.

NPR has reported that Facebook has taken down more of the accounts following the publishing of its article on the CCDH analysis.

Despite many people’s understandable resistance to censorship, health disinformation carries a great deal of weight—and consequence. As the CCDH writes, “The public cannot make informed decisions about their health when they are constantly inundated by disinformation and false content. By removing the source of disinformation, social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can enable individuals to make a truly informed choice about vaccines.”

So who are these 12 individuals? The report names them and provides some basic info about them starting on page 12 of the report (which you can read here). They are:

1. Joseph Mercola

2. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

3. Ty and Charlene Bollinger

4. Sherri Tenpenny

5. Rizza Islam

6. Rashid Buttar

7. Erin Elizabeth

8. Sayer Ji

9. Kelly Brogan

10. Christiane Northrup

11. Ben Tapper

12. Kevin Jenkins

Several of these folks are physicians, which ups their credibility in the eyes of their followers. But as vaccine skeptics themselves say, “Follow the money.” These anti-vaxxer influencers rake in the dough by preying on people’s paranoia with monetized websites and social media posts, as well as by selling books and supplements.

Some of them may be “true believer” conspiracy theorists and some of them may be opportunistic grifters, but they all benefit from misinformation mongering.

In addition to these individuals, the report names organizations linked to them, including:

– Children’s Health Defense (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)

– Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) (Del Bigtree)

– National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) (Barbara Loe Fisher, Joseph Mercola)

– Organic Consumers Association (OCA) (Joseph Mercola)

– Millions Against Medical Mandates

Don’t the names chosen for these organizations sound like things many people would support? Who isn’t in favor of defending children’s health or informed consent? The “National Vaccine Information Center” sounds downright official, right? Organic consumers? That’s me. How would people know whether or not these organizations were trustworthy sources of information, especially if people they know and love are sharing posts from them?

They wouldn’t. That’s the entire problem.

The report offers suggestions for how to handle misinformation pushers, starting with deplatforming.

“The most effective and efficient way to stop the dissemination of harmful information is to deplatform the most highly visible repeat offenders, who we term the Disinformation Dozen. This should also include the organisations these individuals control or fund, as well as any backup accounts they have established to evade removal.”

The CCDH also recommends platforms “establish a clear threshold for enforcement action” that serve as a warning before removing someone and present warning screens and effective correction to users when a link they attempt to click leads to a source known to promote anti-vaccine misinformation. In addition, the report recommends that Facebook not allow private and secret anti-vaccine Groups “where dangerous anti-vaccine disinformation can be spread with impunity.”

Finally, the CCDH recommends instituting an Accountability API “to allow experts on sensitive and high-importance topics to perform the human analysis that will ultimately make Facebook’s AI more effective.”

The information age is also the misinformation and disinformation age, unfortunately. When it’s people pushing that the moon landing was a hoax, it’s annoying, but when it’s people pushing falsehoods about a deadly pandemic and the life-saving vaccines that can end it, we can’t just brush it off with an eye roll. Disinformation is dangerous, figuring out how to stop it is tricky, but at least knowing where most of it comes from might give us a chance to limit its spread.

An encouraging study published by Trillion Trees shows that nearly 59 million hectares of forests — an area larger than mainland France — have regrown since 2000.

Trillion Trees is a joint venture between World Wildlife Fund (WWF), BirdLife International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

This newly-regenerated forest has the ability to store 5.9 gigatons of CO2, roughly the same amount of emissions generated by the U.S. every year.

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Forests are a vital part of the fight against climate change. Trees work to lower the Earth’s temperature through a process known as photosynthesis. A 2017 study found that forests and other ecosystems could provide over one-third of the reductions needed to keep global warming below 2 °C through to 2030.

The green areas show the areas of dramatic regrowth.via Trillion Trees

One of the biggest success stories in forest regeneration is the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. An area roughly the size of the Netherlands has grown since the start of the new millennium. This was done through a wide variety of initiatives from planned projects to responsible industry practices.

Other places that have seen dramatic change are the boreal forests of northern Mongolia, central Africa, and the boreal forests of Canada.

“Deforestation is at the center of our climate crisis, and we must do everything we can to halt it,” said Josefina Braña Varela, vice president and deputy lead for forests at WWF. “In addition, the restoration of our natural forests will play an essential role in preserving these critical ecosystems. The analysis provides a positive outlook for natural regeneration—but this growth doesn’t happen without careful planning, increased investment, and strong policies in place that lead to an increase in forest cover.”

The study also provides a road map for future reforestation projects which are sorely in need as the Earth’s temperature rapidly rises.

“This map will be a valuable tool for conservationists, policymakers, and funders to better understand the multiple ways we can work to increase forest cover for the good of the planet,” said John Lotspeich, executive director of Trillion Trees.

Lotspeich believes that we have little time to waste if we want to reach the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement.

“The data show the enormous potential of natural habitats to recover when given the chance to do so. But it isn’t an excuse for any of us to wait around for it to happen,” he said.

via Dr. Alexey Yakovlev / Flickr

The news is definitely positive but there is still much work to do. Even though there has been substantial reforestation in some parts of the globe, the Earth is still losing an area about the size of the UK every year, largely due to the timber industry and agriculture.

“Deforestation still claims millions of hectares every year, vastly more than is regenerated,” William Baldwin-Cantello of WWF said in a statement.

“To realize the potential of forests as a climate solution, we need support for regeneration in climate delivery plans and must tackle the drivers of deforestation, which in the UK means strong domestic laws to prevent our food causing deforestation overseas,” he continued.

The good news is the study proves that reforestation can happen at a pretty rapid pace if we just leave mother nature alone and let her do her thing. If only we learned that lesson earlier.