It’s a big week for hip-hop releases. not only are longtime faves like Casey Veggies, Curren$y, Denzel Curry, and Payroll Giovanni returning with long-awaited projects — although in Curren$y’s case, his release is likely to only be the first in this year’s inevitable flurry — but newcomers like Duke Deuce and Shordie Shordie get their turns to make a claim for themselves.

Among the songs that dropped this week, a swarm of under-the-radar singles accompanied a downright cavalcade of releases from the likes of JID, Juice WRLD, Kota The Friend and Caleborate, Saba and Femdot, Pop Smoke, Noname, and Shelley (FKA DRAM).

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending February 26, 2021.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Casey Veggies — Customized Greatly 5

Former Los Angeles teen wonder Casey Veggies adds yet another entry to his legendary mixtape series.

Curren$y — Collection Agency

Curren$y’s first project of 2021 probably won’t be his last, but let’s all just admire the man’s impressive consistency.

Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats — Unlocked 1.5

The follow-up to the rapper-producer pair’s 2020 surprise EP adds new surprises in the form of guest verses from Joey Badass, Smino, and Kenny Mason.

Drakeo The Ruler — The Truth Hurts

Fresh out of jail, Drakeo The Ruler is on the warpath. The punchlines are even more outrageous than usual and even Drake pays a visit.

Duke Deuce — Duke Nukem

Crunk ain’t dead and neither, apparently, are references to mid-90s computer game conglomerations of wacky action movie tropes.

Payroll Giovanni & Cardo — Another Day Another Dollar

Cardo is automatic whenever he teams up with his Midwestern brother from Detroit.

Shordie Shordie & Murda Beatz — Memory Lane

Baltimore rhymer Shordie Shordie is still relatively new to the game but his profile is likely to shoot up quickly with this boost from certified hitmaker Murda.

Stix — Megawatts: Born In The Riots

Carrying on the legacy of Nipsey Hussle, Watts-based rapper Stix has been a fixture at Clippers games and community outreach events alike.

Singles/Videos

21 Savage & Metro Boomin — “Glock In My Lap”

The latest video from Savage and Metro’s Savage Mode II brings crimson visual flair to the duo’s coolly menacing shootout anthem.

Big Jade — “Gucci Bag”

The Alamo Records-signed Texan talks a big game on her latest but her flow supports the high-class trash talk.

Charm La’Donna — “Queen”

With a cuttingly precise flow and an ear for unique beats, this California dancer-turned-rapper (she has choreographed for Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, and more) proves the career sidestep is warranted.

DDG — “Money Long” feat. 42 Dugg

After proving he can do pop-rap, the “Moonwalking In Calabasas” YouTuber throws a respectable gangsta party with Detroit up-and-comer 42 Dugg.

EST Gee — “Phetamine”

Hailing from Louisville, EST Gee’s druggy output has been a stark departure from compatriots Jake Harlow and Bryson Tiller.

Heno — “Parallel Timelines”

An imaginative concept record that ponders the possibility of a better world, Heno’s new single seems at-odds with the title of his upcoming album, but both are actually pretty optimistic and sad at the same time once you scratch the surface.

Mother Nature — “Momentz”

Two bars-first Chicago rappers in the vein of Blimes & Gab deliver some gritty boom-bap for those in the know.

Sandy Benjamin — “Too Many”

Signed to Sha Money XL, Sandy Benjamin showcases an impressive mastery of cadence and concept.

Sheff G — “Proud Of Me Now”

Stepping away from the drill sounds with which he’s most closely associated, Sheff just slides on his latest, a rags-to-riches flex.

White John — “By Yourself”

To be honest, any rapper who comes out with a name like White John is going to have my attention but he’s from Compton too? Autopost. It helps that he spits like a grizzled vet over some truly innovative, techno-influenced gangster funk.

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

The NBA All-Star debate seemed to consume more of our collective energy this week than in most years, and maybe that’s a testament to how much we just want to curl up into the more fun and low-stakes parts of watching the NBA. If that’s been your experience in 2021 so far, then it’s safe to assume you went bananas over the Anthony Edwards dunk over Yuta Watanabe, which was among the most joyful things to happen to our society in at least a year.

All things considered, it’s been a pretty fun week in the league. We don’t quite have to start worrying about the playoffs yet, but the basketball has been great.

Here’s who’s up and who’s down this week in the NBA:

Stock Up: LaMelo Ball

Ball became Charlotte’s starting point guard on the first of February, and the Hornets are 6-5 since then, with the league’s 13th-best offense during that stretch despite the absence of Devonte’ Graham. In particular, Ball has been a killer, averaging 34.1 minutes per game, shooting 40 percent from deep, and putting up a 20/6/6. Anyone wondering whether Ball was efficient or disciplined enough to lead a good team should be eating their words while they watch what he’s doing at 19.

Yet the most exciting part about Ball’s game — and his future — has to do with the impact he has on his teammates. He illustrated this late in a win in Phoenix this week, just after a Devin Booker dunk tied the game at 110. Rather than force an errant jumper or freeze from the pressure, Ball calmly delivered a pinpoint lob to his favorite target, the bouncy Miles Bridges. The Hornets retook the lead immediately and never gave it back.

That’s just one of many sick plays Ball created against the Suns’ top-ten defense. He relentlessly went at Deandre Ayton, punishing the Suns for playing smallish, and getting inside for layups, dunks or drive-and-kick assists.

Later, when the Suns tried to go super small in an effort to contain Ball off the bounce, he played even more patiently, coaxing the Suns’ wings to the outside before prancing into the paint for even easier buckets.

Best of all, the bigger questions about Ball’s game, including how turnover-prone he was and how much effort he put in on defense, have been mostly answered. As he grows a player, Ball will have to clean up his turnovers, though some of it is natural for a player who takes risks. And while there’s always room to grow on defense as young players learn the game, Ball knows how to use his length and IQ as a team defender to make an impact on that end already, as Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation recently broke down.

Stock Down: Appreciating Khris Middleton

What are we doing here? The man is putting up 21 points and six assists every night, shooting 50/40/90, and playing a different position basically every night while Jrue Holiday recovers from COVID-19. He plays with the reigning back-to-back MVP and yet he often looks like the most important offensive player on the floor for the Bucks. Despite all that, Middleton seemingly couldn’t buy an All-Star vote this year.

Because Milwaukee let Malcolm Brogdon and George Hill walk then traded Eric Bledsoe in the Holiday deal, they haven’t had a quality point guard on the floor when Holiday is out or on the bench. And it’s not as if Holiday is a true lead creator, anyway. What all that means is that Middleton has been in control of the ball much of the time, especially late in games.

The degree of difficulty for what he’s doing has increased, and yet he has become even more efficient and consistent. What are we rewarding when it comes to All-Stars if not that?

Stock Up: Rudy Gobert

Unlike Middleton, Gobert did earn an All-Star nod this week, a much-deserved honor for the best player on the best team in the NBA. And over the weekend, in a game against the Clippers that was illustrative about how he might match up with smaller playoff teams more broadly, Gobert stepped up. Having looked more mobile and effective on the perimeter this year than in the past, the Jazz put Gobert on smaller, less threatening players like Patrick Beverley and Nicolas Batum. Despite being away from the action and not having a traditional center to stick to, Gobert made his presence felt inside on defense.

Rather than try to switch Gobert onto perimeter play-makers, Utah stuck him on a less-threatening player and allowed him to help. When Kawhi Leonard attacked the basket late, Gobert was still there to protect the rim.

If we’re focusing on process over results, it’s fine to ignore Beverley making a few threes late in the game. That’s a recipe to win a playoff game, with Beverley taking a bunch of key shots in crunch time. In fact, the Clippers went on their big run with Gobert out of the game and Derrick Favors allowing Los Angeles to get to the rim and Marcus Morris specifically to go off.

Matchups between Utah and the L.A. teams will teach us more about how Gobert might fare, but for now, his defense hardly seems to be the concern when we’re thinking about the Jazz’s postseason upside.

Stock Down: The way we talk about “analytics”

For those who entirely missed the back-and-forth over efficiency that happened while people tried their hardest not to enjoy Edwards’ ridiculous dunk, consider yourselves lucky. Ignoring it is probably the best choice for all of us going forward, but nevertheless, it’s worth setting the record straight on what this debate is poking at and slithering around but trying its hardest to avoid.

While even referring to the influx of data into decision-making in pro sports as simply “analytics” is pretty reductive, to the extent that it has changed how front offices and coaching staffs look, it has opened up pathways to those who do not have a history in the game, and in some ways restricted opportunity for those who do not adapt statistical thinking into their approach.

This was illustrated particularly well by Jalen Rose in an interview a few years back with Isaac Chotiner of the New Yorker, when Rose said, “here are many people that feel like it has a cultural overtone to it that basically suggests that, even though I may not have played and you did, I am smarter than you, and I know some things that you don’t know, and the numbers support me, not you.”

When I interviewed NBA lifer Eddie Johnson about the topic last January, he mentioned how the focus on data is also weeding out certain types of players who may have grown up learning the basics of the game but have not easily adapted to the more perimeter-oriented nature of the game. He agreed with Rose’s premise, but acknowledged that data has caught hold in the NBA and players are going to have to adapt. There is plenty of room for nuanced conversation on the topic, as these two smart analysts show.

If we want to discuss how data has changed the NBA, we need to be specific about how the game product is different now as well as who those changes affect. Yelling at folks online about whether they should like dunks or not is unproductive, and dances around the genuine conversation, started most publicly by Rose, that needs to be had.

Earlier this month, Spotify announced their new podcast series Renegades: Born In The USA hosted by Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama. Throughout each episode, the two chat about growing up, music, and their “enduring love of America.” But with their upcoming episode, the Obama and Springsteen get to the heart of their love for music by discussing which artist had an impact on them as children.

Spotify released a preview of Monday’s Renegades podcast where Obama recalls the music he grew up listening to in Hawaii. Obama revealed that while he enjoyed Top 40 songs on the radio, the first album he ever purchased with his own money was Talking Book by Stevie Wonder:

“First album I bought with my own money: Talking Book [by] Stevie Wonder. I would sit with a banged-up little old turn table, kind of a plastic-y looking turn table. I got myself some earphones so my grandparents would not complain. I would sing along to every Stevie Wonder song for hours. […] Hawaii was a place where you had Top 40s. Casey Kasem [the DJ] was on. I’m ten, eleven years old listening to the radio and there’s songs that I end up just getting really attached to. You got a 10-year-old singing, ‘Let’s Get It On’ [by Marvin Gaye]. There was another song by Billie Paul, ‘Me And Mrs. Jones.’ Joni Mitchell came out with ‘Court And Spark,’ I was like 11, 12 years old. I don’t know what that feeling is, but it seems fascinating.”

It’s fitting that Obama’s first-purchased album was by Stevie Wonder, as the two have met before. In fact, Obama presented the musician with the Presidential Medal of Freedom back in 2014.

Listen to a clip of Obama and Springsteen’s Renegades: Born In The USA podcast above.

While closing out the first day of CPAC, Donald Trump Jr. rehashed his rant from earlier in the week about how liberals have “canceled” The Muppets despite the fact that absolutely nothing about that statement is correct. What Don Jr. is incorrectly referring to is The Muppet Show arriving on Disney+ with a content warning in front of certain episodes that lets viewers know that the show does contain some material that hasn’t aged particularly well. Like, for example, Johnny Cash singing in front of the Confederate flag. However, the episodes remain entirely intact and uncensored, and as we speak, are available to stream on Disney+ by its 100 million or so subscribers. In essence, the exact opposite of “canceled,” and yet that didn’t stop Don Jr. from trying to stir up the crowd at CPAC by claiming the Muppets have been “banned.”

Don Jr.’s speech, which also claimed that his father’s “Make America Great Again” agenda is still alive and well and the “future of the Republican party,” capped off a day full of embarrassing moments for the conservative event. While Ted Cruz led the charge by getting roasted right out of the gate for joking about his Cancun trip and, later, screaming the “Freedom!” line from Braveheart, the event was also ruthlessly mocked on social media for displaying a golden statue of Donald Trump that kicked off a round of Bob’s Big Boy and Bart Simpson jokes while also raising questions about whether or not the supposedly faith-based Republican Party has actually read The Bible. (Golden idols are kind of a big no-no.)

(Via Acyn on Twitter)

Minari is getting plenty of Oscar buzz, as A24 is working hard to make sure everyone gets a chance to see the film even if they’re not comfortable heading back to theaters. But Alan Kim, the 8-year-old star of the film, is worried about more highbrow cinematic endeavors.

In an interview with W Magazine that went viral earlier in the week, Kim described Sonic the Hedgehog as his favorite actor. That’s adorable for a few reasons, starting with the fact that the Sonic he’s talking about is the CGI version of a video game character that was created decades before he was born. Another reason it’s adorable: The rest of it.

Are you planning to stick with acting?

Yes.

Do you have a favorite actor?

I like Sonic the Hedgehog.

What about a favorite song?

“Sugar,” by Macaroon 5.

By Maroon 5?

Yeah.

Ben Schwartz, who voices Sonic in the movie, was definitely made aware of the situation, as he tweeted about it himself on Thursday. But he took it a step further on Friday, using his Sonic voice to send a personal message to Kim over the phone.

According to A24’s Twitter account, Kim was woken up from a nap to get the good news from Schwartz’s Sonic.

“Hey Alan, Sonic the Hedgehog here. I wanted to say hi and also I found out that I was your favorite actor,” Schwartz said, which got a huge smile out of Kim.

“Sonic” then said he’s looking forward to seeing Minari, but first he had to catch Dr. Robotnik. He also dropped his “gotta go fast” catchphrase. Kim looked extremely satisfied by the message and even kind of danced at the end. It’s too bad Kim missed out on getting a message from Larry King as Sonic the Hedgehog but this is a pretty great consolation prize, all things considered. Hopefully, he gets serenaded by Maroon 5 next.

It’s been over two-and-a-half years since the music world lost the venerable rapper Mac Miller. Since his passing, fans continue to celebrate his life through his music. Though some of his work has been posthumously released, the final album the rapper debuted prior to his tragic death was the Grammy-nominated effort Swimming. The LP received critical acclaim at the time of its release and now, nearly three years later, it has officially become Miller’s first-ever Platinum-certified album.

Swimming became certified Platinum by the RIAA this past Wednesday. That means that Swimming has been purchased over one million times. While Swimming is the rapper’s first-ever Platinum certification for an album, the majority of Miller’s discography has been certified Gold. In fact, Miller’s posthumous release Circles was certified Gold the same day Swimming officially went Platinum.

News of Miller’s impressive album sales arrived just one day after an exciting announcement from the rapper’s team. Earlier this week, Miller’s friend and producer ID Labs confirmed that the rapper’s 2014 mixtape Faces is set to be released on streaming services. Faces is expected to be available for streaming later this year and will mark Miller’s second mixtape posthumously released on streaming platforms.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The two best Terminator movies are obviously The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in some order, but what’s in third place? I’d argue it’s not a movie at all, but Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the Fox series that ran for two seasons and deepened the franchise’s mythology with more complexity than any of the other films since T2. Also, Lena Headey played Sarah Connor. That’s just good casting. Following Terminator: Dark Fate‘s tepid showing at the box office, the Terminator franchise will move to the small screen again, this time as an anime series on Netflix.

Variety reports that the project is “still in the early stages, [so] plot details are still being determined… Mattson Tomlin will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Tomlin most recently wrote the Netflix original film Project Power and worked on the screenplay for Matt Reeves’ upcoming film The Batman.” Tomlin said that he will approach the show “in a way that breaks conventions, subverts expectations, and has real guts,” while John Derderian, Netflix’s vice president of Japan and anime, added that it will “explore this universe in a way that has never been done before. We can’t wait for fans to experience this amazing new chapter in the epic battle between machines and humans.”

Sounds good! As long as there’s at least one Guns N’ Roses song in the soundtrack.

For more of Netflix’s anime offerings, head here.

(Via Variety)

One of the captains for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game will not play in the game itself. Kevin Durant, who has not played since Feb. 13 because of a hamstring injury, will sit out through the All-Star break in an attempt to nurse the injury and get back to 100 percent. The Brooklyn Nets announced this news on Friday afternoon.

Durant has missed the last six games due to the ailment, and with there being no indication that this is anything major, it’d be understandable if Brooklyn tried to get him back as soon as possible. Still, it’s hard to fault the team for option for a better safe than sorry approach when it comes to the health of one of the best players in the league.

As for the All-Star Game, this causes a bit of housekeeping to occur. Durant’s place in the starting lineup will be filled by Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, while the open spot on the roster will end up going to Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers.

A number of players in the East have really good cases for that final spot, but Sabonis, who has been magnificent for the fourth place Pacers this season, is a deserving selection. Now a two-time All-Star selection, Sabonis is averaging 21.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 36.5 minutes a night.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu Original film) — Directed by Lee Daniels and starring Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Andra Day, this film follows the legendary jazz musician who was targeted in the 1940s by the federal government. This was all part of an effort to radicalize the war on drugs, which led to the feds attempting to stop Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” ballad from happening. It’s an at-times heart-wrenching portrait of a powerful civil rights activist and musical icon whose work still resonates, 80 years later and beyond.

The Golden Globes (Sunday, NBC 8:00 p.m.) — Nothing is normal about this past year, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are undoubtedly going to embrace that sentiment as co-hosts (from separate coasts) of this year’s ceremony. Check out all of the nominees here and then consider all of the snubs and the shenanigans afoot before the big night. Please join us for live coverage of this event.

The Walking Dead (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — Expect the beginning of the end to arrive for this long-running flagship series of AMC’s expanding zombie-apocalyptic universe. Maggie is back and toughened up by what she’s gone through since leaving, and Negan’s not happy about it. Well, Negan might have it coming, for real this time?

Wandavision: Episode 7 (Disney+ series) — This week’s emotionally charged penultimate episode had one heck of a post-credits scene that points toward some possible Paul Bettany trolling of the Marvel-loving audience. One thing is clear, though: Kathryn Hahn does not miss.

Tom And Jerry (Warner Bros. film) — This live-action/CGI-animation hybrid follows the continuing legendary rivalry between the title cat and mouse. They’re taking a New York City hotel by storm and launching mayhem-filled adventures as a massive, high-profile wedding looms. Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a wedding planner who’s there to wrangle them, and I believe we can all guess how well that goes. Godspeed.

Punky Brewster: Season 1 (Peacock reboot series) — Hear me out here on this one. Reboot madness won’t stop (no matter what we do), and after NBCU’s streaming service did the Saved By The Bell thing (which is already renewed for a second season), the progression toward Punky Power shouldn’t be too surprising. In this series, Punky’s a single mom who finds herself inspired by meeting a young orphan who possesses of all her old spunk. Both Soleil Moon Frye and Cherie Johnson reprise their roles, and Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Punky’s ex-husband. Did she go by “Punky” or “Penelope” while taking wedding vows? I kind-of need to know.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Hip Hop Uncovered (Friday, FX 9:00 & 10:19 p.m.) — This six-part docuseries will air two episodes again tonight. This week, the OG’s must choose between keeping with their existing code of the street or joining the establishment. They also move toward becoming modern-day Robin Hoods while hoping to transform their communities to ensure a better future for all.

Saturday Night Live (Saturday, NBC 11:29 p.m.) — Nick Jonas doubles as both host and musical guest.

Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.

Batwoman (Sunday, CW 8:00 p.m.) — Batwoman finds her ability to protect Gotham hindered by Ryan Wilder’s Kryptonite wound, but there might be a serum that can fix things up.

Charmed (Sunday, CW 9:00 p.m.) — New nemeses in the human and magical world plague the Charmed Ones, and Macy learns of a shocking inheritance.

Allen V. Farrow (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — This four part documentary series continues this weekend to dig into a notorious and still-raging scandal of what, exactly, happened with Woody Allen and his family. That includes daughter Dylan Farrow’s allegations of sexual abuse against her father along with Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi, and the custody trial that grew especially ugly. In the aftermath, a sprawling family fractured, and that divide continues to this day with continuing disputes that revolve around the allegations.

Shameless (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — This week’s Hall Of Shame edition zeroes in on Frank Gallagher, who has so much to be ashamed about that I’m surprised this isn’t a feature-length film.

Last Week Tonight: Season 8 Premiere (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Everyone’s favorite sarcastic and satiric late-night host returned a few weeks ago, and not a moment too soon.

Here are a few more recent streaming picks:

Crazy About Her (Netflix film) — An enigmatic woman has a “magical one night stand” (those are Netflix’s words, and they’re impossible to make better in this context), and she lives in a mental institution. That’s not the strangest thing that happens here. Rather, her one-night-stand partner is so taken with this lady that he decides to admit himself too. Ain’t love grand? Naturally, the dude gets a lot more than he bargained for after making his decision, so enjoy the romantic hijinks.

Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures film on Hulu) — Frances McDormand stars this tribute to the American West as a widow (Fern) who loses her house and travels (nomadically, naturally) in her van. Freedom and danger abound, and one of the goals here is to figure out what Fern’s looking for, and whether she can possibly find it, or whether wandering is an escape or a solution, or whether the virtue is in the journey itself.

I Care A Lot (Netflix film) — Rosamund Pike’s got the Gone Girl hair again, which sends out some palpable vibes to be certain. She portrays a court-appointed guardian for elderly wards, and she’s siphoning their assets in an elaborate racket. However, she meets her match in a gangster played by Peter Dinklage, who’s got his own game while representing a mark (Dianne Wiest), who has no living heirs or family but has ruthless designs of her own. Dinklage has got a stare that can bore straight into your soul, and Pike can be as cold as they come, so this movie should be a deliciously dark treat for all.

Tell Me Your Secrets: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series) — Viewers of The Undoing are gonna dig this series for a few reasons, including the presence of Lily Rabe (who portrayed Grace’s best friend, Sylvia) as Emma, who’s a very Gillian Flynn-esque character with a mysterious and troubling past. Two other mysterious and troubling characters — John (Hamish Linklater), a former serial predator and Mary (Amy Brenneman) is a grieving mother of a missing daughter — make up one neck of a mysterious and troubling triangle. The motives of all involved grow murkier as the season wears on, and this show is bingeable as heck.

The internet is full of nostalgia, from classic Jim Henson commercials to bowlers creating celebratory memes with nonsense phrases. But Charlie Sheen has made it clear he isn’t exactly thrilled to relive his bit of internet infamy. The actor said in a new interview that he regrets throwing his career into turmoil as part of an internet-fueled flameout that started with a bizarre interview.

Sheen made “winning” and “tiger blood” tired cliches in record time, and also made him something of a pariah in Hollywood in the process. It’s not exactly fumbling the bag by posting anti-Semitic messages on social media, mind you, but Sheen’s fall from Two And A Half Men fame was a huge story not too long ago.

And in an interview with Yahoo, Sheen said he’s not thrilled that the “tiger blood” interviews are what often come up first with people, even a decade later.

Sheen himself is not amused by people continuing to bring up his infamous 2011 interviews, but he’s also not offended they’re still talking about what was an intensely difficult time in his life.

“People have [said to] me, ’Hey, man, that was so cool, that was so fun to watch. That was so cool to be a part of and support and all that energy and, you know, we stuck it to the man,” Sheen tells Yahoo Entertainment. “My thought behind that is, ‘Oh, yeah, great. I’m so glad that I traded early retirement for a f***ing hashtag.’”

There are many things Sheen could be primarily known for in his career, starting with Major League. The fact that this moment, even a decade later, often comes up first when interacting with fans is certainly not an ideal thing. A good lesson to learn for all the other potential tiger blood enthusiasts out there.