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Post Malone has come a long way since he burst onto the music scene with “White Iverson” in 2015. Back then, he had long hair fashioned into braided pigtails and nary a drop of ink above the neck. Since then, though, he has changed his look, as his hair has gradually become shorter and his had has slowly become more tattooed. Over the weekend, he furthered that agenda even more: He debuted a new look, which features a shaved head and new ink on his scalp.

Malone shared a photo of himself yesterday, and in it, the hair on top of his head in completely gone, and on the right side of his head, above his ear, is an outline tattoo of a skull. He wrote in the post, “I have cut my hair even shorter, also skeletons are cool. Spread your heart as much as you can. A little love goes farther than you think. Stay strong, and keep kicking ass. Love, Austin.”

The rapper spoke about his relationship with tattoos in an interview from earlier this year, suggesting that all the ink on his face comes from a place of uncertainty. He referred to himself as an “ugly-ass motherf*cker” and said, “It does maybe come from a place of insecurity, to where I don’t like how I look, so I’m going to put something cool on there so I can look at myself and say, ‘You look cool, kid,’ and have a modicum of self-confidence, when it comes to my appearance.”

You don’t have to love football to get why Friday Night Lights is such a damn good TV series.

Sure, touchdowns and tackles are part of the story, but the real draw of this Peter Berg-created masterpiece is how it gives fans an authentic snapshot of small-town life. It’s got an incredible cast — think Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler — and a compelling plot. There are school rivalries and high school drama and yes, sometimes there’s murder and doping scandals and spontaneous trips to Mexico to inquire about illegal medical procedures. But, at its heart, Friday Night Lights is a show about community, about family — the family you’re born with and the family you make.

It’s also a hell of a good choice for your next at-home binge-watch which is why we’ve put together a ranking of the series’ best episodes.

Here are our picks for the moments you should watch out for.

15. “Leave No One Behind” (Season 2, Episode 14)

The Story: Matt Saracen hits his breaking point as Julie becomes more jealous of Tyra’s relationship with her mom.

Why It’s On This List: Saracen really struggles this episode and for good reason — the kid’s been through hell, his depression is warranted. But it’s how Coach Taylor handles his drunken meltdown, first with a bit of tough love and cold shower to sober him up, then by assuring him that there’s nothing wrong with him and that people like his dad and Julie aren’t leaving him because he’s broken in some way. It’s enough to leave you a little choked up.

14. “May The Best Man Win” (Season 2, Episode 15)

The Story: Smash faces an uphill battle in landing a scholarship after his brawl at the movie-theater and Coach Taylor must fight off one of his wife’s former flames.

Why It’s On This List: The trivial subplot of Coach Taylor duking it out with Tami’s ex (played cheekily by the show’s creator, Peter Berg) offered up a bit of humor at the expense of Kyle Chandler — who delivered a believable performance as a jealous, drunken husband ready to flaunt his machismo. But the best part of this season two finale is Smash’s story, which began a few episodes back with a racially-charged assault that left the star athlete in a bad spot. It wasn’t fair that Smash took all the blame for that fight, nor is it fair that his hopes of playing at a prestigious university are dashed because of it. But his decision to go to a smaller, HBCU with help from Coach Taylor, was one of the most emotional endings to a main character’s journey we’ve seen on FNL.

13. “Thanksgiving” (Season 4, Episode 13)

The Story: The Taylors host a Thanksgiving dinner for select team members as the Lions prepare for a season-determining game against the Panthers.

Why It’s On This List: So much happened in the season four finale: Vince and Jess finally came clean about their feelings for each other, Matt came home from Chicago, and the rivalry between the Lions and Panthers came to a head on the field in an epic showdown. But the episode’s strongest performance came from Taylor Kitsch. Sure, Tim Riggins was a bad boy with a drinking problem and a strange aversion to clean tees, but he redeemed himself when he took the fall for his big brother, going to prison for their illegal chop shop outfit so that Billy could be there to raise his kid.

12. “Underdogs” (Season 4, Episode 12)

The Story: Matt makes a confession to his grandmother while Coach Taylor tries to manage a team in chaos right before the biggest game of the season.

Why It’s On This List: The introduction of yet another star quarterback challenging Matt Saracen for his starting spot made most of season four frustrating as hell but it did earn fans a spectacular showdown at State. The Panthers take on the undefeated South Texas Titans in the championship game and, thanks to poor performances from Saracen and the meddling of J.D. McCoy’s abusive dad, it’s the freshman who scored the first string title. Unfortunately, McCoy begins to choke under the pressure which leads Coach Taylor to give a rousing half-time speech and put Saracen back in the game. The team loses, but it’s a hard-fought comeback that’s inspiring, despite the final score.

11. “Always” (Season 5, Episode 13)

The Story: East Dillon’s football program nears its end which leaves Coach Taylor with a difficult decision to make: return to the Dillon Panthers or leave Texas.

Why It’s On This List: Wrapping up any show is hard, but this is a send-off that knows exactly what its audience wants and delivers most of those happy endings in a way that feels authentic. Matt and Julie reconnect, current and past players set off on promising new adventures, and most importantly, the show uses the Taylor’s decision to leave Texas so that Tami can pursue a new career opportunity as a way to highlight power imbalances in relationships and praise the healthy marriage of its two leads.

10. “The Son” (Season 4, Episode 5)

The Story: Coach Taylor is firmly in place at East Dillon but he’s called to help a former player when Saracen suffers a family tragedy. Meanwhile, Vince is pushed to his limit in order to provide for his family.

Why It’s On This List: The fourth season introduced new characters, a new school, and a new team of players for fans to care about. Things could sometimes feel disjointed, especially when the show tried to pair storylines of old favorites with plots revolving around rookie characters. The Son succeeds in that because the two major storylines of the episode — the death of Saracen’s dad and Vince’s family trouble — circle a similar theme. For Saracen, a young man who’s been burdened with the responsibility of providing care for his family his entire life, mourning the death of his estranged father is a confusing, frustrating act. Zach Gilford plays that bitterness and disappointment beautifully. Vince, too, has become a young man forced to shoulder a lot for the sake of his family, particularly due to his mother’s drug addiction. Both boys have parents who have failed them and are trying to rise above the expectations of the town to which they belong.

9. “Wind Sprints” (Season 1, Episode 3)

Story: After a humiliating loss to an easily-beatable opponent, the entire town turns on Coach Taylor while the team’s in-fighting threatens to derail its chances for another run at State. Tensions between Riggins and Smash reach a breaking point, and Coach Taylor is forced to go to extremes to get the boys back in line.

Why It’s On This List: Everyone loves a winner, and the Dillion Panthers were great at winning, but it’s when they lost, when they failed miserably, that we were treated to some truly brilliant performances by the cast of the show. Kyle Chandler does some fine work in this episode, playing a man conflicted between doing what’s right — giving Saracen another chance at QB — or caving to the demands of the angry mob of parents and bringing in a new player. Smash finally steps up to lead the team in a rain-soaked climatic moment that set the tone for the show moving forward, and Taylor Kitsch showed off his chops by having a heart-to-heart with Coach Taylor that saw the character confronting some of his greatest fears and deepest regrets.

8. “Texas Whatever” (Season 5, Episode 12)

The Story: Tami gets a prestigious offer that could take the family away from Dillon as the Panthers recruit Vince by managing to ax the East Dillon Lions.

Why It’s On This List: It would’ve been easy to include the series finale on this list – it’s a great episode that neatly ties any ends fans have come to care about – but the series penultimate episode had a harder job. We had to say goodbye to some characters in a way that felt fitting for their story arcs, while also setting up a conflict that would help inch the entire series over the finish line. Texas Whatever manages to do both, saying goodbye to fan favorites like Riggins and Tyra while giving us a bit of a cliffhanger in the Taylor household’s dilemma over whether to move East for Tami’s new job. Not only does this spotlight some deserving characters, it also sets up tension in the most important relationship of the show – Eric and Tami’s marriage – even though we know by series end, they’ll have worked things out.

7. “I Can’t” (Season 4, Episode 10)

The Story: Becky has a life-changing decision to make when she discovers she’s pregnant, and Vince is forced to reconcile his mother’s addiction with the life he hopes to lead.

Why It’s On This List: Friday Night Lights never shied away from the tough issues, but this episode took things to another level when it thoughtfully and even-handedly handled Becky’s abortion dilemma. No matter where you fall on that debate, the heart-to-heart that Tami Taylor and Becky have on the topic is beautifully nuanced and plenty emotional. The show gives us a tangible look at the consequences of unplanned pregnancies, specifically the burden placed on young women, who must make such difficult decisions and then be judged for them.

6. “Leave No One Behind” (Season 2, Episode 14)

The Story: Smash reaches a crossroads in his life and in his football career as he begins his three-game suspension following an altercation at the movie theater. Meanwhile, Saracen hits rock bottom as the stress of being the “man of the house” finally causes him to crack.

Why It’s On This List: There weren’t a lot of shining moments in season two of Friday Night Lights, which is why this episode, particularly the moments between Coach Taylor and Saracen, stands out. Eric Taylor has served as a father-figure for plenty of men on the team, but it’s his tough-love approach to Saracen that felt particularly special. Taylor could easily hate the guy who hooked up with his daughter in season one or at least make his life hell on the field. Instead, he shows Saracen the compassion and empathy he’s been lacking in his life, showing up for the kid in his darkest of moments. If watching Coach Taylor comfort his QB as Saracen cries about how unworthy and unloved he is in the shower doesn’t break you a bit, you probably don’t have a heart.

5. “I Think We Should Have Sex” (Season 1, Episode 17)

The Story: The Panthers continue to fight their way to the playoffs after persevering in their last match despite some corrupt referees and disturbing racial discrimination. Off the field, Julie decides she’s ready to take things to the next level with Matt, who struggles to provide the kind of romance she wants.

Why It’s On This List: After the heaviness of the previous episode that centered largely on the game of football and the bonds of brotherhood it can create, this episode gives fans a nice change of pace by focusing on the show’s female characters, particularly the relationship between Julie and Tami Taylor. Having the sex talk with your parents is always awkward, but the show does a beautiful job of giving us the flip-side of that dreaded conversation. It turns out, parents hate talking about sex with their teens as much as their kids do. Connie Britton is a force of nature in this episode, delivering a beautiful breakdown that carries so much emotion and nuance with just a handful of dialogue. It’s an episode every mother and daughter should watch together.

4. “State” (Season 1, Episode 22)

The Story: The team has finally made it to State, and all that stands in the way of their impressive comeback season is an old enemy and the uncertainty of their coach’s next career move.

Why It’s On This List: Friday Night Lights’ first season finale did everything it needed to do. We got a ton of action in the final game of the season, we were given something to invest in -– watching the team, particularly Saracen, confront their old nemesis Ray “Voodoo” Tatum -– and it all ended on a cliffhanger. Not one of those frustrating, wanna tear-your-hair-out cliffhangers, but a bittersweet reminder of the show’s uncertain fate, something that was mirrored in the Taylor’s own journey. We got a victory, literally, when the team won State and were left with questions as to the future of the relationship between Eric and Tami when it was revealed that she was expecting a baby, and he would definitely be leaving for that TMU job.

3. “Mud Bowl” (Season 1, Episode 20)

The Story: The Panthers are inching closer to State, but a freak accident threatens to put a halt to their comeback tour. Coach Taylor is still mulling his college job offer, which leaves Tami and Julie in an uncomfortable limbo.

Why It’s On This List: As the first season of Friday Night Lights started to close, the fate of the show was very much up in the air. Because of that, the final few episodes felt like a goodbye of sorts, with this episode giving Coach Taylor a beautiful kind of home-turf send-off that still left some loose ends untied. The episode also doubled-down on what made the series as a whole so special: the bonds formed by such a close-knit community unified in a singular goal. Watching the team, the town of Dillon, and the players’ families rally around them to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity embodied the very best of what FNL had to offer. And watching the cast roll around in the mud for 60 minutes wasn’t too bad either.

2. “New York, New York” (Season 3, Episode 8)

The Story: Jason and Tim take a road trip to New York City where the former QB decides to make a go of it with his baby-mama and pursue a career as a sports agent.

Why It’s On This List: Jason Street was a character with a lot to offer but unfortunately, that promise just never translated well on-screen. Much of his arc after his accident felt like filler, a subplot that eventually fizzled out, but this was a lovely way to say goodbye to the character, giving him a sendoff that felt promising. It’s not the last time we see Street, but it does mark the last buddy adventure between the QB and Riggins. These two were always better when they were together, and watching Riggins buy two-for-one suits and give Street a “Texas Forever” pep-talk felt like the perfect amount of nostalgia to end their story.

1. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Story: Eric Taylor is established as the new head coach of the Dillion Panthers, a high school football team drowning in trophies and the expectation of a town steeped in tradition. The pressure’s on to produce a winning season, but the team’s first game ends in a tragedy no one saw coming.

Why It’s On This List: When Friday Night Lights premiered in 2006, it gave us that rarest of TV gems: a pilot that actually worked. The first episode of any show is usually fraught with indecision. Somehow, writers must set up the plot, introduce the players, give us enough action to get invested and do it all without it feeling formulaic. It’s a tall order, but FNL delivers by getting up close and personal with its main cast. There’s the chaotic build-up to the first game, highlighted by off-screen interviews and footage that has a first-person feel, but those shots are balanced out with quieter moments that focus on the relationships that would ultimately drive the show. Simply put, FNL’s pilot is a masterclass that every hopeful TV show should take note of.

Houston rockers Narrow Head have been a staple in the Texas DIY scene since they formed in 2013. Now, the five-piece group is the newest signees of Run For Cover Records and they’re getting ready for their indie label debut. Sharing the noisy track “Night Tryst,” Narrow Head herald their sophomore record 12th House Rock.

In discussing the album’s lead single, vocalist Jacob Duarte said he aimed to craft a separate world through music: “I wanted to create a fairly dark world with my words. Kind of like the reality William Burroughs creates in Naked Lunch: a grimy world of drunks and druggies filled with endless nights of unknown substances, pleasures, and regrets. I put my life and experiences into that world and those are the words that came out.”

About the record as a whole, Duarte said Narrow Head penned much of “12th House Rock” in the wee hours of the morning: “A lot of the record was made in the late hours and early morning. Those quiet moments alone when utter silence and my self-medication made it impossible to escape from my own thoughts. It was also from a specific time when I didn’t take care of myself and made bad decisions in all aspects of my life. These songs were a way out, temporarily anyway.”

Listen to “Night Tryst” above and find the 12th House Rock album art and tracklist below.

1. “Yer’ Song”
2. “Ponderosa Sun Club”
3. “Stuttering Stanley”
4. “12th House”
5. “Hard To Swallow”
6. “Crankcase”
7. “Nodding Off”
8. “Night Tryst”
9. “Emmadazey”
10. “Wastrel”
11. “Delano Door”
12. “Bulma”
13. “Evangeline Dream”

12th House Rock is out 8/28 via Run For Cover. Pre-order it here.

Taking taking heat for working with a questionable collaborator in Tekashi 69, Nicki Minaj’s latest single “Trollz” added yet another historic accomplishment to her ever-growing resume. According to Pop Crave, Nicki has become the first female rapper this century to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to her colorful and controversial collaboration. This comes after Nicki racked up her first career No. 1 with another controversial collaborator in Doja Cat, whose “Say So” she remixed into an even bigger hit.

Nicki defended her choice of rhyme partners shortly after “Trollz” dropped, going on Instagram Live to point out how the rappers who derided Tekashi 69 for snitching have “snitches in your camp.” She made no note of fans’ parallels between Tekashi’s criminal record as a sex offender and those of two other men close to Nicki — her husband Kenneth Petty, who is registered as a sex offender for a decade-old rape conviction, and her brother Jelani, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for predatory sexual assault earlier this year.

Nicki’s previous No. 1 with Doja Cat was also the subject of some minor scandals as Billboard removed Nicki’s credit from the next week’s chart after “Say So” went No. 1. Billboard representative’s explained that the original version was responsible for the majority of the streams that week, so they couldn’t credit the remix for its continued reign. Doja became a target of fan scrutiny as well, after admitting her promise to “show my boobs so hard” if the song went No. 1 was just a joke and after she caught flak for her participation in chat rooms some deemed “racist.”

Nicki celebrated her second No. 1 — and her historic accomplishment — with posts on Instagram and Twitter, writing, “No words yet. All I can muster up is the ‘I love you.’ Gimme a sec.”

Check out Nicki’s responses above.

After almost 30 years since last playing one of his most iconic roles, Michael Keaton could return as Batman in the standalone The Flash movie starring Ezra Miller. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Keaton is in talks to reprise his role as the Caped Crusader for It director Andy Muschietti. According to the report, Keaton might even appear in future DC Comics movies in a sort-of Nick Fury way, like a The Avengers-type scenario. This would be a major casting coup for the DCEU, especially after Ben Affleck’s time as the Dark Knight, which garnered mix reviews in Batman V Superman and Justice League.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Boundary-pushing Venezuelan producer Arca is preparing for the release of her upcoming album Kick I, which is slated for a release Friday. In anticipation of the album’s debut, Arca gives fans one last preview of the project with “KLK,” a lively collaboration with global sensation Rosalía.

“KLK” is the latest single released off Kick I, following the tracks “Mequetrefe,” “Time,” and “Nonbinary.” It’s hard to place a finger on the distinct category Arca’s music falls into, as she expertly layers jagged, metallic samples with contemporary pop sensibilities. But Arca’s convoluted sound is exactly what she is going for. In a statement about the album’s sound, Arca explained that she aims to remain free genre confines: “I don’t want to be tied to one genre,” said Arca. “I don’t want to be labeled as one thing.”

Along with gearing up for her album’s release, Arca found a distinctly unique way for fans to stay engaged with her music. The producer recently announced a giveaway contest through her social media. Fans who pre-save her album on streaming services can enter to win the glittery heels she sported in her 2017 “Anoche” video.

Listen to “KLK” above.

Kick I is out 6/26 via XL. Get it here.

Detroit rappers Eminem and Royce Da 5’9 have long been friends and collaborators in music but this week, they also expanded their partnership to include activism as well. On Sunday, Royce shared the announcement that Eminem had appointed him to the board of the Marshall Mathers Foundation as Director Of Community Engagement And Social Justice Initiatives. The Marshall Mathers Foundation, which has primarily provided assistance to disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Detroit, Michigan and its surrounding communities, expanded its mandate with Royce’s appointment to “combatting social injustice and helping to affect change.”

Royce himself wrote that, “I’m super excited about not just donating money but launching new initiatives.” He also stated that his goal in the new position was straightforward and that he wanted to “provide privilege for the underprivileged.” The partnership came from a question that the two Detroit rappers said is one “everybody should be asking themselves right now: ‘How can I do more?’”

The announcement came after a month marked by massive protests across the country against police killings of Black people, including Louisville EMT Breonna Taylor shot by police during a raid on her apartment and 46-year-old former rapper George Floyd, who was killed by a Minnesota police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck while he begged, “I can’t breathe.” Their deaths and many others became the focus of protests demanding police departments be defunded in favor of social programs and education that could have a greater impact on crime prevention.

See Royce Da 5’9’s announcement above.

During the final episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni revealed that Mark Hamill had a secret voice role in the hit bounty hunting series. In the fifth episode, the Luke Skywalker actor voiced EV-9D9, a droid last seen in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, and you’d never know it was Hamill, thanks to the digital editing of his voice to sound like the bartending robot. Turns out, Hamill’s been pulling this stunt in every single Star Wars movie released by Disney.

In a revealing tweet, Hamill revealed that his The Mandalorian cameo wasn’t a one-off, and he’s been secretly voicing roles that fans still haven’t figured out yet.

“Now that @themandalorian secret is out-might as well reveal I am vocally represented in ALL SW films except the Prequels,” Hamill tweeted. “Thanks to @matthewood for using me in Rogue One, Solo & the Sequels, so I DO have lines in #EpVII. Hint: Look for parts played by Patrick Williams. #TrueStory”

You can see the full tweet below:

At least two of Hamill’s cameos are known. He portrayed the alien Dobbu Scay, who was seen in the casino scenes during Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and he even went so far to as wear a full motion capture suit for the role because he was adamant about being the same size as BB-8.

Hamill’s other known voice role is the Resistance spy Boolio, who’s seen in the opening minutes of The Rise of Skywalker telling Finn and Poe to get a message to General Leia. Outside of that, Star Wars fans are still scrambling to figure out what characters Hamill voiced in The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and Solo, but it’s only a matter of time, considering the internet was practically built on solving the deepest of nerd mysteries.

(Via Mark Hamill on Twitter)

It was Father’s Day yesterday, and a lot of fathers in the music world got some love. Along with his real father, Drake also gave shout-outs to Lil Wayne, LeBron James, Snoop Dogg, and others. Meanwhile, Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl also penned a lengthy essay about his late father. Over the weekend, Cardi B also took a minute to give some attention to her husband Offset with a loving Father’s Day post.

Cardi shared a photo of Offset with his four children: Jordan, Kody, and Kalea — who Offset had before his relationship with Cardi — as well as their shared daughter, Kulture (who turns two years old next month). Cardi wrote alongside the post, “Happy Father’s Day love.”

She then shared an adorable video of Offset enjoying some quality time with a younger Kulture. In the throwback clip, Offset looks sleepy in bed as Kulture lays on her back next to him, playing with his hair and making babbling baby noises. Cardi wrote, “Happy Father’s Day again !!! This still happens till this day but now she smacks him,” followed by crying and laughing emojis.

Offset also offered an appreciation for fatherhood and his children, as the rapper shared a selection of photos and videos of him and his kids.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Fawn Weaver’s path to becoming the first Black female distillery founder is a long and winding one. Weaver was a best-selling novelist when she first read about the man who taught Jack Daniel how to make Tennessee whiskey. Nathan “Nearest” Green, or Uncle Nearest as he was known, started out distilling while still enslaved and his mastery of the process created an entire genre of whiskey that’s beloved to this day. His impact is undeniable.

Uncle Nearest’s story captivated Weaver. She went so far as to move to Tennessee, search archives across the country, and speak with every surviving member of the Green family that she could find. A story emerged of an enslaved man whose whiskey-making ability was so refined that it was actually its own definable style. Nearest Green devised sugar maple charcoal filtration, known as the Lincoln County Process today. In her research, Weaver also discovered that Nearest Green went on to become the very first master distiller of Jack Daniel’s first distillery after being freed from bondage.

Sadly, much of that history was forgotten during the 20th century. But according to Weaver’s research, the reason we know Uncle Nearest’s name was because Jack Daniel made sure everyone (at the time) knew exactly who made his whiskey. Unlike so many stories lost during this era, she found that the history had been recorded — waiting for Weaver to reveal it to the world.

As her research progressed, just telling the world the amazing story of Uncle Nearest wasn’t enough for Weaver. She reached out to one of Green’s descendants and opened up the Uncle Nearest Distillery to celebrate the work of the great whiskey master. Today, that whiskey is lauded as some the best Tennessee whiskey is the world, and Uncle Nearest is finally getting his due as an innovator.

I chatted with Weaver recently about a new partnership she’s helped form between Jack Daniel’s (where some of Nearest Green’s descendants still work) and Uncle Nearest whiskey. The two whiskey makers are putting up cash for the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative. It aims to help female BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) advance in whiskey making with a distillery school and an accelerated apprenticeship program. It’s an initiative that seems poised to change the whiskey game and, speaking over the phone, Weaver comes off as rightfully excited about the future of her industry.

Check our conversation below!

When you first started your research into Uncle Nearest, what was the most surprising thing you learned about both Nearest and Tennessee whiskey?

Oh, well, the most interesting things would probably be twofold. One was that he was the first master distiller for Jack Daniel’s. Even The New York Times article did not allude to that. I don’t think that very many people knew that. We really had to go back into the records and find that. The reason that wasn’t really known is the current ownership of Jack Daniel’s Distillery believed that the distillery always stood where it is currently in Lynchburg, Tennessee. They didn’t realize that the Jack Daniel’s Distillery actually began on the farm where Jack grew up and where Nearest Green was the master distiller. That’s where distillery number seven and district number four is at. They had no idea. They knew that that distillery is where Nearest worked and where he taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey.

And this is around the end of the Civil War, right?

Jack turned 18 the year that the civil war ended and that’s when Nearest was teaching him. So all of that is happening and he asked for Nearest Green to be his first master distiller — at the time it would be called a “head filler.” Learning that was something that came out of the research.

Now, this is something that was well documented by Jack’s family but was forgotten generally. The distillery changed hands and then prohibition happened — and in Tennessee prohibition began ten years before the federal prohibition and was the last state to come out of prohibition. So most distilleries from that era died. And those that came back generally came back with different ownership. So let’s just say that people weren’t keeping documents like we’re keeping them now.

On the personal side, the most surprising thing was, as I began going and interviewing all of Nearest’s descendants one by one, and each one would allow me to take the photo albums, their family photo albums, to bring back to my research room and to do high res copies of them, things of that nature. What was so surprising to me was looking at the photos of Nearest’s children and Nearest himself was the sense of pride they had in who they were and who they were descended from.

Whenever they were taking photos, they were always looking straight into the camera — full of confidence, shoulders back, chest out, head high. It’s one of the most beautiful things that I have seen in this journey is looking at the photos of his children and their grandchildren and knowing how prominent they became in the community and how prominent Nearest was when he was alive as well.

Did you find any other history about distilling by enslaved people? Or do we know about Nearest because he’s the only one that people wrote about?

I think he’s the only one that people wrote about. The unique thing with the story of Nearest Green is that he and Jack were not only friends and he was not only Jack’s mentor, but Jack made sure everybody knew he was his mentor. He made sure everybody knew who taught him. I haven’t found anybody else who gave credit to the slave who was doing the distilling for them. I haven’t found anybody who did that. If Jack had not done that and then if Jack’s descendants had not continued to give Nearest Green credit, there’s actually no way we would know the name.

Right. That’s a big boon for whiskey history.

Massive. Massive. People often don’t know why I would speak so kindly about Jack Daniel given the times and what happened. And I always say, “Do you understand that the only reason I’m able to talk about Nearest Green is that Jack made sure everybody knew who he was?”

This isn’t me coming in and unearthing a time capsule. This is literally me just me bringing to the forefront what Jack and his nephew and his great-nephews all made sure was documented.

It’s fascinating because the Green family continues to work at Jack Daniel’s. And now, you now have people that are direct descendants of Nearest working with you. How has the family looked at the birth of the Uncle Nearest whiskey?

They’re the biggest cheerleaders. Our master blender is Victoria Eady Butler and her three siblings all continue to work at Jack Daniel’s right now. So we definitely kept it in the family. So we’ve got one descendent on our side and they’ve got three!

Can you sort of walk us through the process of what makes your whiskey so unique and, well, delicious?

Absolutely. So number one, we start off with a really good juice. We have been sourcing from two distilleries the entire time. Both had me under NDA. One has released me from the NDA, so I can say Tennessee Distilling Group. We’ve been laying down all of our barrels with them from day one. And then the second one, for whatever reason, still has me under an NDA, even though I keep saying “guys, I think everybody knows at this point, you can release me from the NDA!” But they won’t.

So, anyhow, we start off with what I believe is a really, really good Tennessee whiskey. And then we take it through three additional steps. Number one, we age it longer. And so we may buy a barrel at five years, but we’re not putting it into our bottle when it’s eight years. So, what people identify as our flavor notes, they’re not the same as their flavor notes. That has to do with the fact that we’re buying the barrels and aging them longer. We have very little in the marketplace below eight years old. Our Uncle Nearest is 1856 and is a blend of between eight and 14-year-olds. But the majority of the barrels are nine and ten-year-olds.

And then our Uncle Nearest 1820 is always the single barrel and always a minimum of eleven-years-old. That is some tasty, tasty juice. And even though we have “11 years” on the bottle, some of those bottles actually have 15-year-old whiskey in it.

And then the youngest we have is seven-year-old for Uncle Nearest 1884. That is the small-batch where I choose the barrels. And then Victoria Eady Butler goes in and she tastes every single one.

How do you drink your whiskey?

The other day I made a New York sour with the 1884 Small Batch and it was great. But then in something like an old fashioned where you really need that spirit to shine through, I use the 1856.

You had just opened up your distillery when COVID hit. How are you weathering the shutdown?

Yeah. So we’ve been closed. We shut down in the middle of March and I made a decision that we would not reopen until we have no new cases in the U.S. You know, here in Tennessee when people are coming into Nashville, they aren’t local. These are people coming in from all over. So even if we don’t have new cases in Tennessee, that’s not who’s visiting the distilleries.

And so my team members are my first, first, first priority, and I just don’t want to take a risk. So I do not see us reopening until these cases start going down dramatically. And at the current moment, we’re headed in the wrong direction.

While all of this is happening, you teamed up with Jack Daniels to start an advancement initiative. You’ve pledged $5 million to advance African-Americans in the whiskey industry in America. How’d this partnership come about?

Absolutely. The Nearest Green Foundation and the Brown-Forman Foundation had already been working together on the Nearest Green School of Distilling. One of the things that I recognized when I was trying to find more people of color to bring into my own company was that so few applied. I would post for positions, and I would literally get no qualified people of color applying. At first, I didn’t understand it. And then the more I began to think about it, it made sense. In the American whiskey industry, if you think about it, most of the stories of what we’re familiar with, the legacy brands, they’re all someone’s great, great, great grandfather who began this brand. They’re all telling this story of their heritage.

And it’s all white men. We never see ourselves in the industry and that has everything to do with the fact that it is a heritage industry. There’s no other industry in which heritage is the main driver of the brand story. It’s a fascinating thing, but it’s unlike any other industry.

So the way that we treat diversity in this industry has to be very different because we have a unique challenge. You know, African-Americans generally don’t choose roles that our ancestors did not have a choice in, right? Our ancestors did not have the choice to decide if they were going to be distillers, or cotton pickers, or tobacco farmers. Those were the jobs they had to do. And so if you look in any of those industries, tobacco, cotton, or whiskey, you ain’t going to find us. And that’s because we didn’t have a choice.

What I concluded was for our industry to become more diverse, we had to have more people applying that were people of color. And the only way that was going to happen is if we made it feel welcoming. I go to colleges all over this country, and I talk to the students in the STEM program, and I say to them, “Hey, did you know distilling is an option with your degree.” I can tell you maybe one percent know that. The other 99 percent never thought about distilling as an option for them. And so we’ve got to get out there and we really have to make it cool, but you really need women and people of color to be forward-facing in order to do that. We had to figure out, “okay, well, we can’t get more African-Americans in, unless we show more African-Americans.” So how do we do that?

So what does that look like practically as you build the advancement program?

We were already working on the Nearest Green School of Distilling, for about the last year with Motlow College. Their president is African-American. I sat down with him and told him the challenge. And I asked if Nearest Green Foundation was willing to fund the Nearest Green School of Distilling, could we house it at Motlow? And he said, “Absolutely, hands down.”

And we began working on it and that’s when I realized I needed a partner on the school so I reached out to Jack Daniel’s and asked if Melvin Keebler — who is an African-American and number two at the Jack Daniel’s distillery — could work with Sherrie Moore, who used to be their head operations and now works for us. I knew they would work well together. They’re two of the smartest minds in Tennessee whiskey. So the two of them started writing the curriculum together with the staff at Motlow College.

They worked on that together for about six months. And so we’re now awaiting approval from the state. The moment we have that approval, it will go to the regional body. And once the regional body accredits it, it will be the first time we have an associate’s degree in distilling being offered in the United States. And it will be at the Nearest Green School of Distilling.

That’s fantastic.

So we’ve been working on that already for the last year on how to get young people of color and women into the industry. But with what happened first with Ahmuad Arbery then Breonna Taylor and then George Floyd, we’re like, “You know what, guys, we were doing the slow roast version of this. We need the microwave version as well.” And so then we began talking about other ways that we could create diversity faster in our industry and the solution to that became the Business Incubation Program, BIP.

Our goal is to help existing African-American micro-distilleries in the US that struggle to get capital, to get distribution, or to get their marketing, branding, and PR right. They’re figuring it out and they’re first-generation. So we’re essentially coming alongside these guys and giving them our resources and mentoring them and helping take them from simply surviving to thriving. We will not own any part of any of the businesses that we help. We are literally just trying to create a pipeline of successful African-American owned distilleries.

And then the third prong of the Nearest and Jack Advancement Initiative is the Leadership Acceleration Program and we call it LAP. This program is all about taking people that are in the industry and helping them to rise as quickly as possible. Essentially it’s an apprentice program. But usually, if you are an apprentice, you’re making no money. Well, most African-Americans are not going to leave a good-paying job in order to go make no money to learn a skill.

So what we are doing is we’re matching their salary at whatever their job level is currently. Then as an apprentice, they are going to be learning from the best in the business.

What does an apprenticeship look like?

We have as our first head distiller apprentice and we’ve already mapped out her program. It starts with almost six full months of manufacturing training and getting every certification from OSHA to ISO, to hazmat, green belt, every certification that will look incredible on her resume. That’s what she’s starting with.

Once all of those certifications are in place, she begins training over at Catoctin Creek Distillery. It’s a female-owned distillery and the master distiller is a female, Becky Harris. She’s also the president of the American Craft Spirits Association. After that stint, she’s going to Kentucky and training at Moonshine University while also training at two of the Brown-Forman Distilleries, and a couple of other craft distilleries in Kentucky. And in each place, she’ll literally be shadowing the master distiller.

So generally speaking, to get someone to the level of master distiller, you’re looking at ten to 15-plus years. We’re doing the microwave version of that.

That’s really phenomenal.

It’s the best of the best in this industry and we’re are all rallying around the same person to raise up the first female African-American master distiller of a major brand.