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While most of their country had their eyes set on the presidential inauguration on Wednesday, the day was important to Joey Badass for other reasons: it was his 26th birthday. While some might stay to themselves on a day like this, Joey opted to share a gift with fans in the form of new music.

The Brooklyn native made his first impression in 2021 with the release of his “Let It Breathe” single. The track, which is supported by nostalgic production from Statik Selektah, comes with a music video that sees Joey celebrating life and the success he’s earned so far. While the new song may be a gift to his supporters, the Levi Turner and Waqas Ghani-directed video captures the rapper getting a gift for himself, that being a lime green Porsche 911. After flaunting it in the eyes of viewers, Joey takes it out for a spin before he posts up with it next to a helicopter on a helipad as he hit listeners with some precision bars.

Whether or not the song will land on his upcoming third album remains to be seen, but it’s almost certain that the new project will arrive at some point this year. Joey initially teased a 2020 release for the new effort last January, but fans did not receive it. Instead, Joey delivered The Light Pack EP, featuring three tracks and a lone appearance from Pusha-T, as well as a number of guest features.

Watch the “Let It Breathe” video above.

Ted Cruz isn’t doing so well. A growing number of his colleagues in Congress want him expelled due to his role in the failed MAGA riot that occurred a mere fortnight before new president Joe Biden’s was sworn in. His own former staffers are now “disgusted” with him. He’s refused to apologize, refused to back down, and is still his punchy self on social media, even when he’s repeatedly owned by AOC. The Texas senator was at it again on Inauguration Day, with a tweet so obviously false that, once again, people couldn’t help but ridicule him.

The tweet came mere hours into the Biden presidency, after he resigned to the Oval Office and fired off one policy after another, each reversing some of Trump’s more controversial moves. The “Muslim ban” was gone. Construction on the border wall was to be stopped. That inane “1776 Project,” which minimized slavery and was released on MLK Day? Deleted from the White House site. He also reneged Trump’s removal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, ensuring we’d be helping the planet’s other nations fight climate change. So Cruz took his shot.

“By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement,” he wrote, “President Biden indicates he’s more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans.”

Just one really obvious thing: The Paris Climate Agreement has as much to do with Parisians as, to use his example, Pittsburghians. It’s called that because the agreement was signed in Paris. Many were quick to point this well-documented fact out.

Some used some examples to show the error of his logic.

Others posited that Cruz may be only playing at being dumb.

But many do think he’s actually just dumb.

Others wondered why he was so concerned with Pittsburghians all of a sudden.

Or, for that matter, why does he now care about not disenfranchising the whole of the country?

In any case, perhaps Cruz — and others, like Josh Hawley — won’t have much time left at their job anyway.

It’s been a long time in the making, but the Brooklyn Nets Big 3 finally made their debut together on court on Wednesday night as they took on the Cavs, a game that also doubled as Kyrie Irving’s first time playing back in Cleveland since his departure for Boston four years ago.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned, however, as Collin Sexton went supernova for the Cavs as they managed to steal a double-overtime thriller and spoil the Nets’ inaugural game together. Still, despite the loss, there’s plenty to be optimistic about, to say the least, if you’re a Brooklyn fan.

Kevin Durant went for 38 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, while Irving chipped in 37 points of his own. And it was a relatively quiet night for James Harden, as he logged a casual 21-point, 10-rebound, 12-assists triple-double for the game after his explosive 32-point triple-double last weekend. The main takeaway here is that their three-headed monster is already a force to be reckoned with.

After the game, Durant didn’t disguise his pleasure with how the fared together in their first outing.

“It felt right, it felt perfect, it felt like we belonged together”

Kevin Durant reflects on his first game together with Harden & Kyrie: pic.twitter.com/1TvUdlRf8g

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) January 21, 2021

Still, Durant and company will face plenty of skepticism from fans and pundits alike about their ability and willingness to sacrifice and spread the wealth on a consistent basis, but it’s the type of “problem” almost any team would be happy to have. The bigger concern is probably on the defensive end, as evidenced by the Cavs big offensive night, but that can come and reinforcements in the frontcourt are almost surely on the way once the buyout market forms later this year. For now, there will be nights like this, but in terms of comfort together as an offensive unit, their debut was encouraging and clearly has KD feeling excited about their prospects.

On Wednesday, two months after he was elected the 46th president of the United States, former vice president Joe Biden was officially sworn in as the country’s newest leader. The ceremony continued throughout the day, with multiple events, included performances from Lady Gaga, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters, and more. Despite the high number of artists, supporters of Lil Baby were disappointed the rapper was not one of the acts.

Fans of the Atlanta rapper complained so much that he began to trend on Twitter. One person shared a meme of Lil Baby placing a 4PF chain — which comes from his record label 4 Pockets Full —around a picture of Joe Biden, with the caption, “What time does lil baby perform on this little inauguration they got going?” Another shared a clip of LL Cool J performing at the 1993 inauguration for Bill Clinton, writing, “See they shoulda got lil baby to perform bigger picture ! Really woulda brought the country together.”

It didn’t hurt that Lil Baby had a monster 2020. He landed the best-selling album of 2020, with My Turn, and delivered a number of memorable hip-hop moments, including his “We Paid” and “The Bigger Picture” singles.

Here are some more tweets from his fans:

Wednesday was a pretty big day in the United States as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris officially took office in Washington D.C., and there were some who celebrated the occasion by breaking out some very special sneakers.

At the inauguration, Harris’ nephew-in-law, Nikolas Ajagu, went viral as he donned a pair of the ultra-rare Dior Jordan 1s, setting the internet ablaze, but he wasn’t alone in busting out a pair of unique sneakers. Out in the Bay, Stephen Curry put aside his most recent Curry Flow 8s to bring back a pair of very special Under Armour Curry 3s from way back in 2017 that were made to honor Barack Obama’s two terms in office (and his back-to-back MVPs).

Only he and Obama got a pair, as they had the presidential seal on the tongue and Obama’s signature on the outsole, and given the events of the day, it just felt right to Steph that he bring them back out to the floor for warmups ahead of Warriors-Spurs at the Chase Center.

It’s a cool nod from Curry and also a nice little flex in the form of a reminder that he and Obama collaborated on a special sneaker just for themselves. A number of NBA players voiced their thoughts and excitement as Biden took office on Wednesday afternoon, but no one could quite match the on-court recognition from Curry.

A pair of Eastern Conference powerhouses squared off on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, as the No. 1 Sixers and the No. 3 Celtics each looked to assert their dominance here in the first third of the regular season in what could be a preview of a postseason showdown later this spring.

In the end, it was the Sixers who escaped with the 117-19 win, behind a monster night from Joel Embiid, who put up 42 points and 10 rebounds on 12-for-19 shooting for the game. But there was one stat in particular that had at least one of his opponents on the Celtics scratching his head.

Embiid got to the line 21 times in this contest, converting 17 of those attempts, compared to the Celtics’ 20 total free-throw attempts on the night, a discrepancy that Marcus Smart seemed to chalk up to some convincing acting jobs on the part of Embiid. But don’t worry, Embiid found that accusation coming from the likes of Smart — who’s notorious for overselling contact — just as hilarious as the rest of us.

Of course, Embiid can hardly claim innocence.

Regardless, it was a dominant performance from Embiid, who posted his second 40-point game in his last three outings as the Sixers hang on to the top seed in the East.

You would be forgiven if you looked at Wednesday night’s NBA schedule and made the executive decision to take a pass on Magic-Timberwolves, as Orlando arrived riding a 6-game losing streak and Minnesota was 1-9 in their last 10 coming in.

After one half of play, it looked like Minnesota would be the ones snapping their recent woes as they took a 51-35 lead into the break, but as has been the case far too often for the Timberwolves, the wheels came off late and a chance at a W slipped through their fingertips. The heroes of the night for Orlando were those you’d expect, like Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier who combined for 52 of the Magic’s 97 points, and one you wouldn’t.

Rookie Cole Anthony had one of his best games of his young career, scoring 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists on a perfect 3-for-3 night from beyond the arc, punctuated with this leaning buzzer-beater after the Wolves’ Jarred Vanderbilt missed a pair of free throws.

Anthony has been tasked with the starting point guard duties in Orlando in the wake of Markelle Fultz’s season ending injury, and as one might expect, it has been tough sledding at times. Wednesday was a bright spot though, and the type of performance the young guard can build off of and a much needed win for a Magic team that was really struggling coming in.

Demi Lovato has changed her tune in a major way.

From a searing political indictment to an uplifting Bill Withers cover, the new presidential administration has definitely shifted the pop star’s perspective. While last year was a doozy for most people, it’s hard to think of anyone who showed more resilience than Lovato. She’s been through struggles like rehab and relapse in the past, and kicked off 2020 with a poignant reflection on that in the song “Anyone.” She also performed that track at last year’s Grammys, but began to pivot to more political fare by last year’s Billboard awards, where she debuted the political ballad “Commander In Chief.”

Recently, she’s been letting fans know that a new Youtube documentary called Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil will be dropping in March, addressing some of what’s been going on over the last two years, but put promoting that on hold to share her excitement about being asked to perform during tonight’s Inauguration show.

According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, tonight’s performances “showcase the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild.” What better way to achieve that end than honoring Bill Withers at the same time? Lovato opted for a true-to-form cover of the classic that was one of the high points in a long, eventful night. And what a lovely day today was for a country that has recently been through so much heartache and turmoil. Watch the performance above.

Katy Perry has been a big Joe Biden fan for years, and vice versa. Performing as far back as 2012 for Obama/Biden rallies, Perry also visited Biden in the White House in 2014 and has been showing support for his campaign by posing with his VP pick, Kamala Harris, while encouraging her followers to vote, appearing on the Rock The Vote livestream, and sharing lots of election information about mail-in systems. So of course it made sense that she would be part of a whole slew of performers that honored Inauguration Day with special performances.

According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, tonight’s performances “showcase the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild.” And in that spirit, Perry performed one of her most uplifting hits, “Firework” at the Capitol in DC to close out the show, while fireworks burst across the sky behind her. Even though she only recently had her first child, the pop star was more than up for a live performance to ring in such a special day. Check out the video above.

In anticipation of the performance tonight Katy shared a bunch of patriotic mics on Twitter earlier today.

Twelve long years ago, John Legend brought his talents to the nation’s capital, where he performed James Taylor’s “Shower the People,” alongside Taylor himself and Jennifer Nettles, for Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration ceremony. Fast-forward to the present and Legend is back in Washington D.C., but this time to celebrate the start of Joe Biden’s stint as president. Standing beside the Lincoln Memorial, Legend soulful singer offered a sweet rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.”

Legend has been a longtime advocate for Biden, especially in his run for president. He delivered a performance of “Never Break” at last year’s Democratic National Convention and, months later, during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, he shared how he and his wife Chrissy Teigen celebrated his election victory. “We were like, ‘Let’s get out of the house! Let’s go and interact with the people.’ So we went out to West Hollywood, Santa Monica Boulevard, and there was an impromptu dance party happening,” he said. “We just drove through for a little bit and celebrated with the crowd.”

Last year, Legend shared Bigger Love, his first album in nearly four years and which boasted guest appearances from Jhene Aiko, Koffee, Rapsody, Gary Clark Jr., and more.