Hip-hop is moving as fast as ever. Luckily, we’re doing the work to put the best new rap music in one place for you. This week, there were new tracks by YG, Cupcakke, and Lil B, and a new video from Key Glock. Here’s the rest of the best new rap music this week:

Conway — “Front Lines”

On “Front Lines,” Conway feeds the menacing beat his usual dose of gruff, braggadocious lyrics, but then spends the second half of the song indicting police brutality, proclaiming, “We ain’t takin’ no more, we ain’t just pressin’ record/ Can’t watch you kill my brother you gon’ have to kill us all.”

Dave East — “Menace”

Dave East pays homage to classic West Coast cinema in the video for “Menace,” a brooding track from his Karma 3 album where he reflected, “I was too down, and nobody noticed, I was too young to be at them funerals.”

Apollo Brown & Che Noir — “94”

Che Noir and Apollo Brown’s As God Intended album is dropping this July on Mello Music Group. This week they dropped another single, a reflective ode to 1994 where Che Noir rhymes “Illmatic dropped same day I came in this world,” and pays homage to Nas and the other rappers’ who’ve informed her impressive craft.

Songs of The Moment

The whole world has been affected by the death of George Floyd, including a rap game that has always discussed police brutality. Society’s collective disdain for racial injustice has manifested in a week of tense uprisings and calls of justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and more people who have been murdered by the cops. This week, several artists have released songs that will someday serve as a portrait of this tumultuous moment:

Jim Jones — “The People”

“Everytime we dig our way out, we sinkin’ like a sand trap / We need more than reparations man, why can’t you understand that?”

Dre — “Captured On A iPhone”

“Tell me what you’d die for? / This for the souls that ain’t get captured on the iPhone”

TeejayX6 — “Black Lives Matter”

“How the f*ck my mama gonna sleep at night and the police keep killin’ us? / I can’t even go outside no more, I’d get shot for bein’ innocent”

Icewear Vezzo — “No More Pain”

“Black is Black, rich or poor they treat us all the same / No standin’ still, gotta fight, that’s just part of change”

Nappy Roots — “Blind Faith”

“Life is good if you livin’, everybody should save the children / Every cop should hate the killin’”

Papoose — “Tribute”

Distressingly, Papoose was able to use all 26 letters of the alphabet to rhyme about someone who was slain by the police.

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

Finding a very solid cheap bourbon is pretty easy these days — there are some good values to be scored for under $30. But the truly sippable stuff isn’t found on the bottom shelf. The real sweet spot for quality, bang-for-your-buck, easy-to-drink-straight bourbon is the $30 to $50 range. The various expressions at that pricepoint can shock you with their value, often over-performing far more expensive bottles.

Is it worth buying one bottle of bourbon for $50 when you can buy two for $25? That’s really for you to decide. If you’re mixing cocktails, maybe not. But if you like to sit with a dram and really savor it, the answer is likely “yes.” Especially if some savvy shopping puts you in a position where you’re getting $75 in history, flavor, and distilling expertise.

The ten bottles of bourbon below are some of our favorite bourbons that cost less than $50. They’re easy-drinking, complex, and available for delivery right now.

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

Buffalo Trace has a massive line of brands under their shingle. This is their signature bourbon, which has gone fairly unchanged since the distillery opened 200 years ago. Buffalo Trace tends to keep their exact mashbills to themselves, but it’s likely this is their Mash Bill #1, which is high on corn and low on rye (around ten percent).

Tasting Notes:

Classic bourbon vanilla greets you with a flourish of fresh mint and a rum-like molasses darkness. That sugariness gives way to brown sugar and buttery toffee next to hints of oak and dark spice. There’s a modicum of heat on the end as the oak and vanilla linger.

Evan Williams Single Barrel

ABV: 43%
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

Evan Williams’ basic expression is a great go-to cheap bourbon. It tracks that their Single Barrel expression would make an easy-drinking step up from the rail behind the bar. This particular expression is hand-selected from Heaven Hill’s rickhouses to meet the distiller’s high standards and directly bottled with no fuss.

Tasting Notes:

Charred oak comes through strong, next to a dose of deep caramel. Honey and orange mingle with apple and cinnamon spice. There’s a long-lasting warmth at the end (the Kentucky hug!) as the oak, caramel, and orange bitterness fade.

Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon Whisky

ABV: 46%
Distillery: Balcones Distillery, Waco, TX
Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

This well-crafted Texas bourbon is an outlier. This dram is a Texan grain-to-glass experience that focuses in on the texture and flavors that make bourbon so unique, and delicious.

Tasting Notes:

You feel Texas emanating from the glass with whiffs of old leather, apple orchards, earthy honeycomb, salty kettle corn, and plenty of oak. The honey and leather carry through as lines of spicy pecan pie with a buttery crust and sandalwood bounce through the taste. The spicy warmth, leather, and oak last on the senses long after the dram goes down.

High West American Prairie Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 46%
Distillery: High West Distillery, Park City, UT (MGP Indiana)
Average Price: $37

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a blend of two to 13-year-old bourbons that High West sources, mostly from MGP out in Indiana. The whiskeys have unique mash bills that lean into the corn but have plenty of rye (their MGP juice is 21 percent rye). Sourced or not, the alchemy levels are high and the dram is a very easy sipper.

Tasting Notes:

Mellow notes of caramel meet vanilla on the front end. The sip is full of crackling sweet corn with notes of butter mingling with candy corn sweetness and a hint of milk chocolate. The vanilla carries through to the end with an echo of fairground candied apples dusted in spice.

Eagle Rare 10-Year Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

This is probably the best sipper on this list. Buffalo Trace’s Eagle Rare is a masterful bottling of their best ten-year-old barrels with no interference whatsoever. This is just plain old great bourbon done well.

Tasting Notes:

Charred oak, worn leather, rich toffee, fresh honey, and a rush of orange zest open this one up. Dark and bitter cacao powder mixes with honey-roasted almonds as warm spice weaves in and out. A subtle dryness takes over as the leather, oak, and warmth fades ever-so-slowly away.

Weller Special Reserve Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
Average Price: $42

The Whiskey:

Sticking with Buffalo Trace, Weller Special Reserve is a fantastic example of a wheated bourbon. This expression tosses out the peppery rye grains for a more nuanced and, dare we say, fruity wheat. The softness of this expression makes it the perfect summer sipper.

Tasting Notes:

Orange trees and spring wildflowers come to mind with a sense of caramel. The dram edges into a butterscotch sweetness with a honey backbone as the florals peak. The end is brief yet satisfying as the oak, florals, and sweet corn caramel cuts out.

Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Basil Hayden’s Distillery, Clermont, KY (Beam Suntory)
Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

Basil’s is Beam’s high-end sipper that is way too cheap for the quality it offers. This juice is well-crafted with care and bottled to highlight classic notes of bourbon next to textures and flavors that’ll keep you on your toes as a bourbon lover.

Tasting Notes:

Spiciness next to black tea bitterness and a hint of fresh sprigs of mint greet you. That spiciness carries through as a note of toffee sweetness mingles with the fresh herbs, florals, and mild oak. The sweet edge and oak fade slowly as your senses fill with warmth.

Four Roses Single Barrel

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Four Roses Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY (Kirin Brewing Company)
Average Price: $48

The Whiskey:

This Single Barrel expression from Four Roses ages for a minimum of seven years before it hits just the right spot for bottling. The juice is made from Four Roses’ recipe number one, meaning it has a very high rye mash bill with 35 percent of the spicy grain in the mix.

Tasting Notes:

There’ll be some nuances but expect maple syrup covered spicy stewed pears with a hint of vanilla and bitter cacao. Once it hits the palate, the sip leans into dark red cherries with floral sweetness and sharp peppery spice. The oak, spice, vanilla, and syrup coalesce on the long-lasting finish.

Angel’s Envy Straight Bourbon Whiskey Port Finish

ABV: 43.3%
Distillery: Angel’s Envy Distillery, Louisville, KY (Bacardi)
Average Price: $48

The Whiskey:

Angel’s Envy is all about the finish. Their signature bourbon is finished old port casks for three to six months after spending up to six years aging in oak. The best barrels are then small-batched with no more than 12 other barrels at a time.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla and maple syrup dance with dried fruits and roasted nuts. The vanilla and syrup carry through and pick up notes of tart red fruit and bitter dark chocolate. The oak and sweetness last the longest, as a very subtle and plummy hint of wine pops at the very end.

Heaven’s Door Straight Tennessee Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Distillery: Heaven’s Door Spirits, Nashville, TN
Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

Bob Dylan’s whiskey takes it time to show itself. The bourbon has 30 percent “small grains” in the mash bill alongside the corn. The juice then spends eight long years mellowing in oak until it hits the right high marks, as judged by the distiller.

Tasting Notes:

Cherries stewed in spice and maple syrup alongside an oily pod of vanilla open the sip. The vanilla forms a foundation for dry cedar, Christmas spices, rich caramel, and the slightest wisp of smoke. The caramel and vanilla dominate as the warm end slowly fades to black.

Apologies aren’t easy. Let me revise that statement: genuine, uncanned apologies aren’t easy to make, and apologies that also arrive without an undercurrent of defensiveness are tough stuff. Yes, it’s difficult to admit to being wrong, for we are stubborn. It’s even more unsettling to turn inward and examine how and why one messed up and take steps to right that wrong. Some people are reluctant to do so for various selfish reasons, and the art of the high-profile apology is littered with many attempts that fall short at fostering voices of progress. Yet this weekend saw something different happen. Following Hamilton‘s initial delay in voicing support for George Floyd protesters, the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, came forward with a detailed apology and accepted full responsibility for what had (and in this case, what hadn’t) happened.

“We spoke out on the day of the Pulse shooting. We spoke out when Vice President Mike Pence came to our show 10 days after the election. That we have not yet firmly spoken the inarguable truth that Black Lives Matter and denounced systematic racism and white supremacy from our official Hamilton channels is a moral failure on our part,” Miranda said.

Miranda’s apology was an impactful one, but it’s worth noting that the timing of his statement — after CNN host Don Lemon called out a telling silence from the entertainment industry — does matter. Yes, Miranda had already voiced support for protesters on his personal social media, but Lemon made a valid point about equating silence to a lack of “moral courage” and fear about “your reputation and your brand.” It’s an absolutely fair assessment about the complicity that arises from inaction.

For whatever reason, Hamilton‘s social media accounts slipped through the cracks on the Floyd protest response. This does not appear to have been intentional, but when it comes to a trailblazing Broadway show, in which a diverse cast portrays America’s Founding Fathers, silence comes across as its own statement. Miranda’s video apology (he was later joined by Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller) fully acknowledges the error with this delay, which is not consistent with (as he points out) the show’s immediate statements about the Pulse nightclub massacre and VP Mike Pence’s attendance of the Broadway production. That the show swiftly acted on previous occasions is no excuse for current inaction, admitted Miranda in a video posted to Hamilton‘s Twitter page:

“As the writer of the show, I take responsibility and apologize for my part in this moral failure… I’m sorry for not pushing harder and faster for us to speak these self-evident truths under the Hamilton banner, which has come to mean so much to so many of you.”

Miranda’s full statement can be read here, and he does pay tribute to “the black and brown artists who created and revolutionized and changed the world through the culture, music and language of hip-hop” while bringing this show to life each time it’s performed. All of his declarations are true, but there’s something even more important within his apology: it is not what’s often referred to as a “non-apology apology.”

You’ve seen this countless times: when the person or organization in question issues a statement that begins with an “I’m sorry” but reads as a fake apology. The essence of said statement is that “I’m sorry if you were offended by my remarks/action/inaction” and that “no offense was intended,” and maybe even “I’m sorry that you reacted/feel that way.” These are words that are meant to shift the burden of an offense to the person who is upset or has otherwise been wronged, as if they are simply too sensitive or uncomfortable and should perhaps adjust their barometer. Non-apologies are, essentially, a defense mechanism that allows an offender to carry on without an iota of self-examination. As we continue to observe, though, our nation remains deeply wounded, and non-apologies only further infect existing injuries, rather than encourage a healing process.

That kind of apology didn’t happen here. At no point did Miranda (or Seller, who added that “silence equals complicity and I apologize for my silence thus far”) apologize for how anyone reacted to the Hamilton production’s silence. Instead, the pair understood the harm that results from inaction and accepted full responsibility. Miranda also expressed gratitude for those who are “holding us accountable” to use words and actions to support the liberty and safety of those working for progress.

As a nation and as a collective people, we entered 2020 unprepared on multiple levels, but it’s exceptionally difficult to comprehend that the murder of George Floyd happened. Yet from the officers who ignored pleas from bystanders to a system that allowed police brutality to flourish, it was a sadly inevitable outcome. For over eight minutes, Floyd struggled to survive, and Derek Chauvin disregarded his pleas in a frankly inhuman way. Floyd’s murder is, by the very definition of the word, “senseless.” Following centuries of oppression and decades of progress, the U.S. timeline remains steadily punctuated by violence against Black men (and women) by law enforcement. With each of these tragic occurrences, waves of protests aim to mark their names. This is the case from the 1992 LA police acquittals in the Rodney King case to fatal law enforcement encounters for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Laquan McDonald, Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher, and too many more, when even one such death is inexcusble.

It’s not only senseless but unfathomable as well, and many of us feel ill-equipped within our own privilege to speak out in an adequate way during these protests. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller recognized, even if they were a few beats late, that they had a duty to do so. As activists put on masks to exit the relative safety of their homes, they are mobilizing to protest against an ongoing, formidable threat that can’t be extinguished by a vaccine. The very least that prominent Hollywood figures can do is support them, and all due respect goes out to Hamilton for admitting their error, making the right kind of apology, and pledging support against racial injustice.

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“A lot of times I was on a team and I was the only Latina when we were doing improv. If I said something in English, but I have an accent, or I said a word wrong, they would make that the funny thing.”

Raiza Licea was tired of being limited by the things that set her apart from her fellow performers on the improv stage, which is why the actress, comedian and activist joined with fellow Latinx writers and comedians Oscar Montoya, Tony Rodriguez, and Carlos Santos to create Spanish Aqui Presents, the Upright Citizen Brigade’s first and only all Latinx main stage show. Based in Los Angeles, Spanish Aqui Presents is also the Earwolf Podcast Network’s only Latinx podcast and provides a space for Raiza, Oscar, Tony, and Carlos to chop it up with other Latinx voices and legends about the comedy of everyday life while exploring their unique experiences navigating the mosaic that is Latinx culture. And true to the group’s origins, they always inject a bit of improv into each episode.

“Improv, for a long time, has been a white space but with Spanish Aqui presents, we are building the arena, this is our space. These are our rules,” says Montoya, “The basic core of improv is to support someone’s idea. We have that support system where we can say something and even if it’s taken out of context or the wrong way, we know that it’s all love — our intention is to celebrate and to push-up.”

Get to know Spanish Aqui Presents in the video above and subscribe to the podcast now.

Artists have a lot to say about what is going on in the US right now, and Meek Mill has addressed the current climate on a new song, “Otherside Of America.”

The song begins with audio from a 2016 speech Trump gave in Dimondale, Michigan. Making an appeal to Black voters, trump asked his audience, “What do you have to lose? You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?”

From there, Mill addresses issues of politics and race: “Reporting live from the other side / Same corner where my brothers died / Livin’ like we ain’t got care / Told my mama I ain’t dying here.”

The track ends with a sample of Mill during a 2018 appearance on CNN (video of which he re-shared before releasing the song), saying, “I always dreamed to be on CNN to be able to express myself and speak for the voiceless young men of America. The first step I would say: I grew up in America in a ruthless neighborhood where we are not protected by police, we grew up in ruthless environments, we grew up around murder, you see murder, you see seven people die a week, I think you would probably carry a gun yourself. Would you?”

CNN’s Michael Smerconish responds, “Uh, yeah, I probably would.”

Listen to “Otherside Of America” above.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As protests against police brutality continue across the country and online

I found it surprising when, in the midst of my Community re-watch, I felt the need to switch gears. It was the start of lockdown and I just needed a different flavor of comedy. One that led more with its heart than its head. I spent time watching Parks and Rec, Bob’s Burgers, and Schitt’s Creek. Shoot, I even dabbled with a few episodes of Perfect Strangers in the pursuit of feel-good fun. But now, running low on familiar favorites that I haven’t recently re-explored, I’ve returned to Community (five years from when its finale aired, incidentally) and re-discovered a valuable lesson. While it may not be as quick to affection as the above-mentioned, Community brings an element of sentimentality and existentialism that shouldn’t be obscured by its reputation for wildly imaginative adventures. Particularly in its later seasons.

You could argue that in addition to housing some of series creator Dan Harmon’s most self-indulgent (not a complaint!) and all consumingly thematic ideas, the show’s most emotionally complex episodes live in season 3 and more fully in season 5 and at the end of the road in season 6. Sure, the fun and inventive spirit of the first two seasons are present, but pangs about growing up are also sprinkled in.

As I’m sure you know (but I’ll remind you anyway), Harmon went on a journey with this show. Network fights while dealing with what seemed like the imminent cancelation of this thing he’d loved and poured everything into. The humiliation and torture of being separated from that thing while watching someone else come in and play with his toys for season 4. Oh, and then between a surprising comeback at the start of season 5 and a migration to an unsteady new format with Yahoo Screen (RIP) in season 6, he lost almost half of his cast. And that’s to say nothing about his personal life and everything Chevy Chase that happened behind the scenes and in the press and on voicemail.

Change can be a hell of an instigator, creatively. Sometimes for the better (think Parks post-Ben and Chris), sometimes for the worse (The Office in the post-Michael years). And sometimes, specifically, when it looms large as an ever-present thing, it can make something more interesting.

Donald Glover’s exit from Community at the start of season 5 was doubtlessly the most significant loss the show suffered (even greater than Harmon’s one-year absence), but it also felt more like a graduation than anything else. Community fans latched on to the symmetry of Troy (Glover) and Abed’s (Danny Pudi) personalities and a friendship that often verged on codependency, but Harmon was obviously mindful of the dangers of creative laziness and leaning on something that works for too long without exploration.

In season 3, Harmon was content to add dimension to Troy. And longing. Troy wasn’t quite ready to jump, but he was becoming more aware of his need to ponder a future on his own terms. One that would eventually acknowledge that very difficult life lesson: sometimes we outgrow the people who mean the most to us.

This is revealed in the lingering air conditioning repair arc in season 3 and in tensions on display between Troy and Abed in “Contemporary Impressionists” (when Troy grows tired of having to reign Abed in) and “Pillows And Blankets” (when Troy grows tired of feeling like a bit player in Abed’s fantastical adventures). When the time comes to say goodbye to Troy two seasons later — in “Cooperative Polygraphy” after he’s inspired by a challenge from beyond the grave by Pierce and “Geothermal Escapism” when he actually leaves — we’re weirdly ready, even if Abed isn’t.

Abed’s own journey is another area of growth that the show explored. With nuance. He’s not just a quirky side character. He’s experiencing these changes and the erosion of his comfort zone uniquely and with difficulty all the way to the end of the show.

For Annie, Britta, and Jeff, their emotional state is less tied to Troy’s exit than their own reckoning with the things that set him off on an adventure across the world — the hyper-relatable stirring that comes from standing in place for too long while everyone else seems to be rocketing ahead. That’s not the show in its last two seasons. Not exclusively. But we know that, in these later years more than before, it exists under the surface as the action and absurdity chugs along, adding to the urgency of these characters’ time together and to our understanding of and appreciation for the affection that they have for each other. Something that they clung to while pushing down the urge to break away. All of this helps to underwrite both the show’s late-stage existence and its meaningful end.

It’s important to consider the narratives that build up around shows as time passes if for no other reason than because they can serve as a blockade to re-exploration. As it did for me for a minute. Community was wildly creative, silly, and sometimes absurd. Yes. There was a comedic coolness to it in both its punk-comedy “damn the rules” creativity and in the “if you don’t get it that’s not our problem” kind of way. These labels that get pinned to its chest are accurate. But the show was also a meditation on adulthood and how we run away from and toward it. Community was the most human kind of art — a weird amalgamation of moods and themes, awkward, lifting off as one thing and touching down as another. Whether that’s the kind of journey that you seek right now is subjective, but it’s worth considering for the multitudes that it contains.

By now, Tekashi 69 fans were supposed to have the follow-up to “Gooba,” but the rapper delayed his next song in light of what’s going on in the world at the moment. He did give fans something else to enjoy, though, as yesterday, he and DJ Akademiks linked up for a 45-minute Instagram Live session.

They touched on a lot of topics and did a lot of things during their time together, and at one point, Tekashi took a minute to praise Pop Smoke. He described the late rapper as a New York talent, saying, “I’m actually a fan of the kid. […] Rest in peace, Pop Smoke. Listen, they shouldn’t have done that. That was a great talent from New York City. And I think, to be honest with you, he was the fresh New York City.”

Elsewhere during the broadcast, the two discussed whether or not certain rappers — YK Osiris, BlocBoy JB, and Blueface — are one-hit wonders. Tekashi didn’t seem to know much about Blueface — “Thotiana” was released while Tekashi was in prison — but after weighing the facts, he deemed him to be a one-hit wonder. “He fell off. That’s to be perfectly honest.”

Check out the highlights above, and watch the full livestream below.

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