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After two long years, Playboi Carti is finally releasing his sophomore album, Whole Lotta Red, on Christmas Day. Unfortunately when it arrives it will be with some controversy. Carti was accused of stealing a rock band’s design for the album’s merch. Ronnie Radke, the lead singer of Falling In Reverse, took to his Instagram story to call out Carti and ask that he remove the merch that features the band’s name written upside down on a T-shirt.

Falling In Reverse’s frontperson continued to express his frustrations on the Instagram post in which Carti announced the album’s release date. “Take my band name off your merch on your store,” he wrote in the comments section. “Or I’ll just take all the money you late from it. Either way.” As expected, Carti’s supporters rushed to his defense, but Radke did not back down. “My band is huge, had the number rock song for over a year. The f*ck you mean ?” he wrote in response to one fan’s comment. After another Instagram user snarkily asked, “You own the phrase ‘falling in reverse’ or sum??”, Radke replied, “Yes. My band. We sold millions of albums. lmfao.” He added, “You don’t gotta know who we are but this dude for sure does.”

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, as the saying goes, but outgoing president Donald Trump has been correct far less than that. Still, on Tuesday night, a mere two days before Christmas Day, he took a break from fuming at people like Mike Pence to deploy one of his patented leftfield bombshells: He called the long-, long-, long delayed (and poorly received) coronavirus relief bill a “disgrace,” taking particular issue with the size of the stimulus checks that would be sent to the majority of Americans. And you know what? Democratic lawmakers completely agreed with him.

The news arrived in the form of one of Trump’s strange, rambling, epic videos — a 10-minute bout that began with him railing against Democrats in Congress for holding up the works (ignoring that it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who’s been sitting on a sizable relief bill for around half a year). And yet he still made some salient points.

“It’s called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,” Trump said, echoing sentiments made by many who have long opposed him. “Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people.”

He then took aim at the paltry size of the checks that the majority of Americans, a good many of them struggling, would receive. “I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000,” Trump declared.

And you know who was completely on-board with immediately putting Donald Trump’s latest demands into action? Democrats.

“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks,” tweeted Speaker of the House (and frequent Trump combatant) Nancy Pelosi. “At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!”

Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, got her back.

As did The Squad, who pointed out a bill with $2,000 stimulus checks has long been ready to go.

As did one of said bill’s authors.

And Bernie

While Democratic lawmakers were rearing to go, plebeians rejoiced in the sight of Trump seemingly putting a knife in Mitch McConnell’s back.

Of course, others — risking being Debbie Downers — pointed out that maybe, just maybe, a well-known liar and conman is not to be trusted.

Indeed, Trump’s declaration came right after word broke about a ream of end-of-administration pardons that included the freeing of actual war criminals who had been convicted of murdering, among others, children.

And if you stopped watching Trump’s speech prematurely, you might have missed him suggesting he was ready to serve another term, despite…everything.

(Via The New York Times)

In advance of the team’s 2020-21 season opener on Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers presented members of their 2019-20 roster with championship rings. Though this particular presentation was different with no fans in the stands and the Lakers choosing to wait to unveil the 2019-20 title banner in the rafters of STAPLES Center, the franchise did a fantastic job in making things special, utilizing family members to present the rings via video tributes.

That made for a heart-warming moment on each and every occasion, and one presentation even featured reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the festivities in support of his brother Kostas. In addition, Markieff Morris received a tribute from his family but, while he was accepting his ring on the court, his brother, Marcus, was inside the bowl of the arena celebrating and filming from a unique angle.

Marcus is a member of the L.A. Clippers and, though it wasn’t at all surprising that the NBA arranged this match-up in the season opener, it allowed for a poignant family moment to transpire. While the rest of the Clippers remained in the locker room during the presentation, it was easy to see how excited Marcus was to support his twin brother, and it goes to show that family (quite easily) overrides even the most brutal on-court rivalry between franchises that share a home building.

For much of the last week, Chicago’s Cupcakke and Atlanta’s Sukihana have been entangled in a rap battle that began with the former’s remix of “How To Rob”. The track saw her take aim at names like Sada Baby, Lady Gaga, Migos, Offset, Wiz Khalifa, Lizzo, Lil Baby, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, City Girls, Megan Thee Stallion, Sukihana herself, and more. Sukihana was the first artist to take umbrage with being dissed, and she quickly responded with the track “Rob Who” before Cupcakke returned fire with “The Gag Is.” Sukihana fired another shot with “Cupcakke Bummy” this past weekend, but Cupcakke has yet to offer her response to the track. Whether she will or not remains to be seen, but for the time being, it appears the Chicago rapper is focused on putting some good in her community.

The rapper revealed her plan to open a homeless shelter in her hometown in a tweet she shared on Tuesday. “Thinking about opening a homeless shelter here in Chicago …by insuring the people that comes in will all have jobs with in a 4 month time radius , with a compacity of 300 people living there… let’s get to it,” she wrote in her post. If Cupcakke is able to make her idea a reality, it will definitely serve as a huge benefit to her community. Until then, you can revisit her pre-beef single, “Elephant.”

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

For much of the last week, Chicago’s Cupcakke and Atlanta’s Sukihana have been entangled in a rap battle that began with the former’s remix of “How To Rob”. The track saw her take aim at names like Sada Baby, Lady Gaga, Migos, Offset, Wiz Khalifa, Lizzo, Lil Baby, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, City Girls, Megan Thee Stallion, Sukihana herself, and more. Sukihana was the first artist to take umbrage with being dissed, and she quickly responded with the track “Rob Who” before Cupcakke returned fire with “The Gag Is.” Sukihana fired another shot with “Cupcakke Bummy” this past weekend, but Cupcakke has yet to offer her response to the track. Whether she will or not remains to be seen, but for the time being, it appears the Chicago rapper is focused on putting some good in her community.

The rapper revealed her plan to open a homeless shelter in her hometown in a tweet she shared on Tuesday. “Thinking about opening a homeless shelter here in Chicago …by insuring the people that comes in will all have jobs with in a 4 month time radius , with a compacity of 300 people living there… let’s get to it,” she wrote in her post. If Cupcakke is able to make her idea a reality, it will definitely serve as a huge benefit to her community. Until then, you can revisit her pre-beef single, “Elephant.”

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

Kostas Antetokounmpo became the first member of his family to win an NBA championship last year. Kostas was an end-of-bench player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and while he did not appear in any of the team’s playoff games, he’ll get to say that he’s a champion for the rest of his life.

While his older brother certainly hopes to join him in having a ring by the time the 2020-21 season ends, he had a bit of business to take care of before the year tips off. The Lakers put forth an incredible ring ceremony in which players’ family members congratulated them, and when it came time for Kostas, his video included a cameo from Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

After their mom, Veronica, congratulated Kostas for his ring, Giannis and his brother Thanasis shouted out the champ. Giannis also included a simple message: “We’re extremely happy for you for bringing the first ring home. Let’s get more rings, man!”

While Giannis obviously would have wished that he got a chance to life the Larry O’Brien trophy, he’s always made it clear that his family is his top priority, so while it was a bit jarring to see him appearing in an official Lakers video, it certainly wasn’t surprising that he’d want to celebrate his younger brother. It is probably safe to assume, however, that those good vibes will go away when the buzzer tips on Jan. 21 and the Bucks play host to the Lakers.

The Brooklyn Nets were utterly dominant on Tuesday evening, zooming to a 15-point lead after 12 minutes and ultimately throttling the Golden State Warriors by a 125-99 margin in the NBA’s regular season opener. As one may expect, Kevin Durant was a big piece of the puzzle for the Nets, scoring 22 points in only 25 minutes, and he looks to be at least close to his old self after missing the 2019-20 season with an Achilles injury.

After the encouraging performance from both Durant and the Nets, he joined TNT’s Inside The NBA crew for an interview before the nightcap between the Lakers and the Nets. While that wasn’t out of the ordinary in the slightest, Durant wasn’t exactly effervescent during the discussion.

Durant didn’t cause too much of an uproar with his short, pointed answers but, when the interview concluded, the Inside The NBA panel couldn’t help but acknowledge what transpired by having a bit of fun with how the discussion went.

Kenny Smith immediately (and sarcastically) pointed out that it was “loud in that arena” and Shaq followed that up with a comment about there being “so much energy” in the building. To be fair, Smith did attempt to let Durant off the hook by pointing out the difficulty of doing such an interview but, on cue, Shaq and Charles Barkley traded barbs with exceptionally short answers to pay tribute to what just happened.

With the gap between games on opening night, something like this was certainly welcome from an entertainment standpoint, and the best studio show in the business didn’t disappoint. It will be interesting to see how soon Durant returns to the air on TNT in a similar format, though, and that could be appointment viewing.

This past Monday marked ten years since Nipsey Hussle released his trademark mixtape The Marathon, which kicked off a string of successful projects that he would release in the following year, including The Marathon Continues, Crenshaw, Mailbox Money, and his celebrated debut album Victory Lap. On the anniversary, Nipsey’s estate unveiled a new plan to honor him and the 2010 project: an interactive live album experience, set to arrive next year.

The news was shared in a post on The Marathon Clothing store’s Instagram page. “Today marks 10 years since the release of #TheMarathon,” the caption read. “A project our team holds near and dear to our hearts for many reasons. It represents the story of Nipsey’s resilience and unwavering faith in his mission, and the authenticity and honesty in his message. It also was the first seed planted in the Marathon brand that gave fruit to many other branches that Nipsey architected, as only he could do.”

“In commemoration of this anniversary we’re proud to announce our collaborative effort with @okidoki to bring to life an interactive live visual album experience coming in 2021,” the caption goes on to read. “The experience will give viewers [an] intimate look at the era that helped shape this masterpiece. The people, the places, the stories, and more.”

Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

First the bad news: The reboot of DuckTales was cancelled at the start of December. But its legacy lives on, not only in its-much loved episodes but also in an old interview with one of its voice stars, Danny Pudi, that went viral on Tuesday. Back in February, in much happier times, the Community alum appeared on Larry King Now, the longtime CNN host’s current chat show. But it took almost a year for one of its best bits to enrapture social media.

It started when a TikTok user posted a video, which began with the prompt, “What is your favorite celebrity interview moment?” It’s hard to nail one down, especially if you’re an avid watcher of old Johnny Carson episodes on Pluto.

But “@opposumfanpage” had a good one. In the brief clip, Pudi, who voiced Huey on the DuckTales revival, is grilled by King about which luxury he “can’t live without.” Pudi’s answers were too modest for King’s tastes: He likes “really good coffee.” And socks — comfortable socks, he’s right, are great. But King wasn’t having it, demanding he go far more upscale than that. Even more flummoxed than his host, Pudi asked for an example. King mentioned private planes. Pudi furrowed his brow, and responded with an instant classic retort: “Larry, I’m on DuckTales.”

Or maybe it wasn’t exactly an “instant classic.” Again, this interview aired so long ago the pandemic hadn’t really hit the United States in earnest. But sometimes it takes a while for great things to earn the appreciation they deserve. And so, a week-and-a-half before one of the most consistently and creatively crappy years in recorded history, Pudi’s response belatedly took off.

And so a catchphrase — on the level of “Sir, this is an Arby’s/Wendy’s” — was born.

And so were memes.

And tattoos.

Some compared it to other catchphrases.

And some wondered if this line from a nearly year-old interview is the thing that gets the new DuckTales un-cancelled.

At the same time, you know who deserves to be private plane-rich, certainly more than the greedy billionaires who’ve been raking in the dough during the pandemic while untold lives have been destroyed?

The Los Angeles Clippers will try to bounce back after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign. While the team looked really, really good at times, L.A. blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, leading to a head coaching change and some tinkering with the team’s roster heading into this year.

The good news for the Clippers is that they should be a really, really good team. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are still around, Tyronn Lue is a championship-winning coach, and there is enough talent on the roster that they should make a legitimate run for a championship. And if that doesn’t happen, at least they were able to get a PlayStation 5 before most of us did.

According to a picture of Nic Batum’s locker, Clippers players got hooked up with Sony’s next generation console and a new pair of headphones prior to the start of the season.

Now, the best guess is that Paul George — who has collaborated with Sony in the past and had a special PlayStation colorway on the PG 2.5s — decided to hook everyone up. All eyes now turn to former Microsoft executive and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer on whether he’s going to try and one-up this by giving the players personalized Xbox Series Xes.