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After spending the ’90s playing the best friend/neighbor to a cop, Jaleel White is trading in his suspenders to get into the weed game. The Family Matters actor is launching “ItsPurpl,” a new cannabis line he developed in a collaboration with 710 Labs. In a new interview with Forbes, White opens up about how patiently he’s waited to properly get involved with the “Purple Urkel” strain after years of friends and family sending him pictures of bootleg products with his famous sitcom character on it.

“The thing that always stood out to me was there no clear brand leader for fire purple weed,” White said. “It made no sense to me, that no company of significance had claimed this lane, so why not me?”

During the pandemic, White found himself with extra time on his hands and a need to stay productive, and that’s what got him into talks with 710 Labs, which helped him develop the “ItsPurpl” line from seed to pod. And the final product has him feeling like a beloved candy maker.

“To smoke the end result from such a quality pod has been surreal,” White told Forbes. “I feel a little bit like Willy Wonka, the flavor came out so similar to grape candy.”

(Via Forbes)

Here’s the thing with Aaron Rodgers as the host of Jeopardy!: He is doing a really good job and it is extremely obvious that the stuff he says about hosting the program on a full-time basis is 100 percent sincere. Really the main thing that we’d like to see a little more of out of him are the quick quips Alex Trebek would bust out when he was very obviously disgusted at the contestants but knew he had to reel that in.

Fortunately for all of us, Rodgers got one of those moments on Tuesday and absolutely delivered. The future Hall of Fame inductee read an answer to all three contestants worth $400 that was designed to be a layup, especially because the answer was about his Green Bay Packers — the second time the Pack have come up while Rodgers has been host, albeit this time far more positively.

Rodgers made his disappointment known, and then, the $600 answer gave him a chance to give us a little more magic. While he’s not known for baseball, he knocked this out of the park.

The great thing about Erick immediately chiming in and knowing the Boston Celtics won the NBA title every year from 1959 to 1966 is that Rodgers legitimately seemed upset that he immediately knew that one. Truly great stuff, Rodgers. I hope he becomes the full-time host.

Chopped: Martha Rules (Food Network, 9:00pm) — Tuesday night is chock full of fresh TV selections, but nothing brings more fire than Martha Stewart judging a kitchen. From an outdoor kitchen in Maine, she’s changing all the rules of this series to suit her whims as she judges sixteen fearless chefs, who are all competing for a grand prize. Can any of them survive Martha’s curveball-throwing ways as she also tweaks the clock and basically has a grand time? Tune in for some serious drama.

Our Towns (HBO 9:00pm) — This film (which is based upon journalists James and Deborah Fallows’ book, Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America) zeroes in on how local initiatives lead to change that spark a different way into the future.

My Love: Six Stories of True Love (Netflix limited series) — This docuseries spins off from an acclaimed Korean documentary (of nearly the same name) into a global focus, which sees local filmmakers (in different countries) follow a couple for a year of their marriages. From Tokyo to India, Spain, and the United States, these couples might just show us the secret to forever love.

Young Rock (NBC, 8:00pm) — Dwayne Johnson’s early days continue to get the spotlight with Young Dwayne in a 1987 panic, and 2032 Candidate Johnson tackling a very different dilemma.

Kenan (NBC, 8:30pm) — Kenan’s in contemplation mode while Mika is trying to use the “Wednesday’s Gal” wedding segment to generate some all-important revenue.

The Flash (CW, 8:00pm) — Frost is trying to clear her name after an ice-powered viral frames her, and Barry and Iris are dealing with a surprise houseguest.

Prodigal Son (FOX 9:00pm) — Bright and Ainsleys secret is on the brink of exposure while a notorious profiler lands in New York City and makes a notable discovery about the current case.

Supergirl (CW, 9:00pm) — Supergirl manages to find a new ally while Lena and Lex are duking things out over Luthor Corp.

Mayans M.C. (FX, 10:00pm) — This biker drama’s in a darker third gear with the club all wrestling with various personal and professional demons. This week, EZ’s recovering from that pesky gunshot wound, so everyone needs to reel in Angel before he does something rash, alright?

Chad (TBS, 10:30pm) — This comedy takes a similar approach to Hulu’s PEN15 with SNL veteran Nasim Pedrad taking on the title role, that of a 14-year-old boy, who’s beginning high school and struggling to fit in with his peers, and the show keeps an eye on cultural identity. This week, Chad attempts to gain social standing at school after his estranged father sends a special present.

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Phoebe Robinson, Celeste

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Daniel Kaluuya, Lucy Dacus, Taylor Swift

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Vanessa Kirby, Darren Criss

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Denis Leary, Cristin Milioti, Patrick Radden Keefe

The Biden administration continues to roll back Trump-era restrictions and their latest reversal addresses the very real concerns surrounding women’s healthcare during the pandemic. On Monday, Biden’s team announced they were instituting a temporary FDA policy that would allow patients to be prescribed and sent abortion medication without the need for an in-person doctor visit. Patients now seeking an abortion can make telehealth appointments with their doctor and have the pill delivered via mail. The new policy directly contradicts a Trump policy meant to curb women’s access to safe abortion methods by requiring patients to pick up the pills in person — something that’s become increasingly dangerous during the pandemic.

Food and Drug Administration acting commissioner Janet Woodcock sent a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists describing the administration’s decision, citing multiple studies that prove that the pill known as mifepristone poses little risk to women who choose to forego an in-person visit. In fact, the abortion pill is one of the safer, more popular ways patients early in their pregnancy choose to terminate. Still, the decision has been predictably met by “pro-life” groups claiming the new policy will end up causing a “catastrophic loss of life by mail.”

As always, people are pretty split on the decision:

But maybe, and we’re just spitballing here, the best thing to do if you aren’t a woman considering getting an abortion, you could just not with any unsolicited opinions?

The 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament drew some record ratings on ESPN, as Stanford went on to win the national title and a number of college basketball’s best players put on some sensational performances along the way. A number of those players still have a few years of college hoops to play, most notably UConn freshman Paige Bueckers, and watching those young women play caused many to wonder why the WNBA doesn’t allow early entry for the draft in the same way the NBA does.

On the NBA side, the current battle is over getting rid of the one-and-done rule, but even that allows players to make the change to being a pro much sooner than on the women’s side. There are a variety of reasons why the WNBA doesn’t have an early entry option, but chief among them is the fact that there simply aren’t that many roster spots available with just 12 teams in the league. Many have called for expansion to add more teams, and thus more roster spots in the WNBA, because it is a ridiculously competitive market for players to try and break in with so few spots available.

On Tuesday, the WNBA released their 2021 schedule, starting on May 14, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert met with the media on a conference call to discuss the state of the league heading into the draft this Thursday and the season next month. Of significant note was her willingness to broach the topic of expansion, saying it’s something the league can look into seriously provided 2021 is a “successful season.”

Success, of course, means financial success, as the WNBA has seen its ratings climb in recent years and more interest in the women’s game. A continued uptick in ratings and coverage can hopefully reach whatever benchmark is needed to bring more teams to the league. What that looks like is another conversation, with the where and how many still to be determined. In any case, expansion seems inevitable for the WNBA, and hopefully we aren’t too far away from more teams and more roster spots for what has become a player market overflowing with talent.

Starbucks is the most popular coffee chain in the world and it’s also one of the greatest producers of waste. The company uses more than 8,000 coffee cups per minute, which adds up to four billion a year. Over 1.6 million trees are harvested every year to make its disposable cups.

Since the cups are lined with plastic only four cities in the U.S. will accept them for recycling.

Starbucks has attempted to address this issue in the past by making bold proclamations that it will reduce its waste production, but unfortunately, they have yet to yield substantial results.

In honor of Earth Month, Starbucks has announced a new pilot program that aims to significantly reduce the amount of waste it generates. The new Borrow A Cup program launched in five Seattle stores allows customers to order their drink in a reusable cup for a $1 deposit.

When they return to the store they can drop the cup off at a kiosk and have their dollar returned and earn 10 rewards points. For some perspective, 25 rewards points gets you a free add shot in your coffee.

New Test: Borrow a Cup, Save a Cup

www.youtube.com

The company will also pick up cups at customer’s residences through a Seattle-area service called Ridwell.

The cups picked up by Ridwell or dropped off at the kiosk will be sanitized so they can be reused. Starbucks says that each reusable cup will prevent 30 disposable cups from being deposited in landfills or washed out into the ocean.

Should the company expand the program, it would reduce its global waste production by up to 50%.

“We believe it is our responsibility to reduce single-use cup waste,” Starbucks chief sustainability officer Michael Kobori said in a statement. “We will lead the transition to a circular economy.”

While the Seattle pilot program sounds promising, the company is also making drastic changes in South Korea where the government has banned plastic cups for dine-in restaurants. It’s also recently introduced a bill that will force fast-food restaurants and coffee shops to charge a deposit fee for disposable cups.

Over the next four years, the company aims to phase out all single-use cups in South Korea. As part of the phase-out, the company has started a program in Jeju that allows customers to pay a small deposit for a reusable cup that they can return to a contactless kiosk.

“Starbucks’s decision to end its reliance on throwaway materials and implement a reuse program in South Korea is the kind of approach we have been waiting to see,” John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, said in a statement. “There is no reason that Starbucks cannot expand this same reusable kiosk technology to its stores in the United States and around the world to ensure a much greater impact as quickly as possible.”

It takes time to change consumer habits, but recent plastic bag bans in California, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York have shown that over time, consumers will learn to use reusable items. So, if the same logic holds up for coffee drinkers, it would bode well for Starbucks’ future efforts to reduce the amount of waste it produces.

Whenever a beloved musician dies, fans have a tendency to cause that artist’s catalog sales to increase as they pay tribute and new fans catch on to artists they may not have paid much attention to before. DMX’s catalog was no exception — in fact, streams of his music increased by a huge amount according to Billboard, 928% since April 9, the date of DMX’s death.

Streams of DMX’s music increased to 75.7 million over the weekend following DMX’s death (audio and video combined) from 7.36 million, the two days before. The most streamed songs included “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (9.59 million; up 973%), “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” (5.79 million; up 900%), “Slippin’” (5.52 million; up 853%), “Party Up (In Here)” (5.20 million; up 941%) and “How It’s Goin’ Down” featuring Faith Evans (3.52 million; up 691%). Those streams had been going up for the week before DMX’s passing after he was hospitalized by a heart attack following a reported overdose that left him in a coma.

DMX’s autobiography also reached Amazon’s bestsellers list in nonfiction after he died, with the mayor of his hometown, Yonkers, New York planning to honor him with a memorial. Meanwhile, DMX’s label, Def Jam, received a backlash after releasing a pair of compilation albums when fans accused the label of exploiting his hospitalization.

Melbourne artist Maple Glider (real name Tori Zietsch) recently inked a deal with Partisan Records and dropped her first single for the label, “Good Thing.” Now she has returned with a full-blown album announcement: To Enjoy Is The Only Thing is set for release on June 25. Today also brings a new song, “Swimming.”

In a YouTube comment, Zietsch described the tune as a “rubbish attempt at a love song.” She also says of the song:

“This was meant to be a love song, but by the time I finished it, it kind of predetermined a break-up. I’d been experiencing some of the most beautiful places I’d ever been in, and falling out of love was very confusing. I was trying to force myself to be happy and in love, but I was far from home, and really lonely. It made sense to record the song after the break-up. I kind of felt like I was able to handle the sincerity of it then.”

She also says of the album overall, “This is what the album looks like to me: walking past tinsel covered trees in mid-September, swimming along the Calanques in the south of France, car-bonnet frost, darkness at 4 pm, lightness until 10 pm, a muted feeling, the perpetual grey fog that swallows the Silver Coast, the colour red, this ugly green dress, red wine, red blood, red lips, red is the colour of the cardinal’s robe, Switzerland, my mother’s diaries, a coroner’s report, the sun on my face, the end of love…”

Watch the “Swimming” video above. Below, find the To Enjoy Is The Only Thing art and tracklist.

1. “As Tradition”
2. “Swimming”
3. “View From This Side”
4. “Friend”
5. “Be Mean, It’s Kinder Than Crying”
6. “Good Thing”
7. “Baby Tiger”
8. “Performer”
9. “Mama It’s Christmas”

To Enjoy Is The Only Thing is out 6/25 via Partisan Records. Pre-order it here.

Kevin Smith just took a huge plunge into the world of non-fungible tokens. In an unorthodox move that he compares to the surprise breakout sale of his indie debut, Clerks, Smith is selling his latest horror anthology film, Killroy Was Here, as a NFT. And it’s not a gimmick — whoever purchases the film owns it outright, and it will be entirely up to the owner what they want to do with the film, including putting it in a digital locker and never touching it again. Via Deadline:

“Back in 1994, we took Clerks up to Sundance and sold it. Selling Killroy as an NFT feels very similar: whoever buys it could choose to monetize it traditionally, or simply own a film that nobody ever sees but them. We’re not trying to raise financing by selling NFT’s for a Killroy movie; the completed Killroy movie IS the NFT. And If this works, we suddenly have a new stage on which I and other, better artists than me can tell our stories.”

As a long-time comic book junkie, Smith is no stranger to the collectibles scene, and for the past two decades, he’s sat atop a mini-merchandising empire based on his View Askewniverse. So, of course, he’s not about to pass up the latest craze in digital collecting. On top of selling Killroy Was Here as a NTF, Smith is also launching Jay and Silent Bob’s Crypto Studio, which will include his own “Smokin’ Tokens.”

“This allows us to shine a spotlight on artists we love and introduce the community to their style by way of our characters,” Smith told Deadline. “We provide the Jay and Silent Bob, you provide the art, our partner Semkhor mints the NFT, and we split the profits. I’ve earned money off of Jay and Silent Bob for years now, so it’s nice to provide a licensed place where others can do the same.”

(Via Deadline)

The highlight of Brockhampton’s new album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, is the production — as it so often is with the group’s full-length projects. But this time, there’s an interesting twist, as they incorporate more classic hip-hop sounds and styles into the overall sonic background of the album. It’s a gift and a curse; while the new approach may entice older fans and intrigue younger ones as it expands the group’s production palette, it also underscores some members’ shortcomings as rappers.

Collectively, Brockhampton is great at knowing what they want to say, but they don’t always have the mechanics to say it in a way that the message is clear, concise, or charismatic. The group has mostly gotten by on their boisterous, untethered energy and the propulsive momentum of beats ready-made for pep rallies and mosh pits. When things slow down, the barely controlled chaos they harnessed to electric effect on efforts like the Saturation series or Iridescence reads as unfocused and haphazard on later projects like 2019’s Ginger.

Even the rollouts for their projects have been chaotic; prior to the release of Iridescence, they told fans they’d release a project called Team Effort, then switched mid-stream to a “different” album called Puppy. Whether these were all different projects or the same project undergoing multiple name changes remains unclear, but it has seemed evident at times that the group’s commitment to hyperactivity onstage could seep into their behind-the-scenes work. While this tendency never quite derailed the momentum they’d built from Saturation I, II, and III, it made the ride bumpier than perhaps was strictly necessary.

After Kevin Abstract’s detour into solo work, it also seemed that there was possibly some distraction to the group’s super-collaborative approach — rumors of discontent bubbled to the surface by the time the group rolled out Ginger, including from Abstract himself. Perhaps the crew mentality has run its course; ahead of releasing Roadrunner, Abstract hinted that it would be the group’s first of two projects in 2021 as well as the penultimate Brockhampton release. In that sense, perhaps it’s fitting that it’s such a nostalgic but fractured work, reflecting the uncertain frame of mind the band’s members must be in as they prepare for their next step.

It’s also a much more collaborative album, with more guests than the group’s ever had before in an effort to freshen up the chemistry. “Chain On” is a great example of using throwback-sounding beats and a guest rapper to liven up their efforts, drawing on a sample of Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” and a DJ Premier-esque sample loop with boom-bap drums to back verses from the group’s top rapper Dom McLennon and featured artist Jpegmafia. “Bankroll” takes a similar tack, employing ASAP Mob members Ferg and Rocky, as well as the New York crew’s goth trap sound to break up the pop-rap aesthetics of “Count On Me” and the Griselda Records-esque horror movie organs on “The Light.”

The latter track is perhaps one of the most personal songs the group has ever released, as Joba recounts his father’s death by suicide. It’s also jarring — maybe by choice — in how graphic its lyrics are and how it juxtaposes the visual elements of Joba’s recollections with a beat that’s almost too aggressive for them, confusing and obfuscating their emotional impact. Something more somber and melodic might have captured Joba’s emotional distress but instead, listeners are left wondering whether to dissociate and headbang to the menacing beat’s screaming electric guitar.

The musical experimentation, though, is something to behold, just in terms of the outright bananas combinations the crew throws together. A G-Funk saw wave degenerates into a buzzy guitar solo on “What’s The Occasion?” while “When I Ball” sounds like 2006-era Pharrell — a surefire inspiration for Kevin Abstract’s own musical hero Tyler The Creator. Miami Bass&B turns up on “I’ll Take You On” with Charlie Wilson, and album intro “Buzzcut” with Danny Brown is as close to the signature Brockhampton sound gets.

If the group’s lyrics and concepts don’t always keep up with its progressive genre experimentation, it’s only a sign that perhaps they’re pulling the ‘chute with near-perfect timing. With only one of the group’s members putting out a solo project to date, there’s still plenty of potential for individual growth, and perhaps that’s what they need to truly refresh their sound — or find it, in some cases. Roadrunner also suggests some clever directions for their future endeavors as well — Dom could delve deeper into the hardcore rap that obviously attracts him, while Kevin could explore his production with other artists who fit it better.

And just because they’ve mined as much as they can from their group efforts today doesn’t mean they won’t find a better configuration for it tomorrow. Given time and space to determine their musical identities may make it easier to maintain focus if or when they decide to come back together as a group, which could result in a much more cohesive product. For now, their “new machine” has done well enough to churn out a handful of intriguing ideas worthy of shedding a little more light on in the future.

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine is out now on RCA Records. Get it here.