Month: January 2021

The holidays are always a worrisome time for drivers all over the country as it comes with a spike in drunk drivers on the road. With that comes the increased chance of a car accident, and unfortunately for Swae Lee and producer Mike Will Made-It, the duo were involved in a scary one on Thursday. On New Year’s Eve, Lee and Mike Will shared that they were involved in a crash which saw the producer’s Mercedes AMG get sideswiped as they were stopped at a red light.

“ME & SWAE WILLY MADE-IT OUT THIS MF ALIVE,” Mike Will said in an Instagram post that showed the brutal damage to the driver’s side of his car. “JUST A COUPLE BRUISES, THANK U GOD , I’M PAYING ATTENTION TO ALL THE SIGNS, 2021 WE TURNING LEMONS TO LEMONADE ALL YEAR… WE COULD HAVE BEEN DEAD EASILY , BUT WE MADE-IT OUT WITH JUST A COUPLE BRUISES , WE HERE FOR A REASON.”

In a second post, Will shared a close-up picture of the windshield damage to his Mercedes, proving that both he and Lee were indeed lucky to make it out alive.

As for Swae, the Rae Sremmurd rapper posted a picture of blood dripping from his eye as one of the injuries he suffered from the crash. On Twitter, he shared an important message with fans as a result of the accident. “WEAR A SEATBELT!!” he said in one tweet while another said, “F*ck looking cool click that seatbelt.”

You can see images from the crash in the posts above.

Legendary television host Larry King was reportedly hospitalized on Saturday after contracting coronavirus. The 87-year-old television host, known for his longtime show on CNN and his USA Today column, has apparently spent the final days of 2020 and the start of the new year battling COVID-19 after contracting the virus in late December.

King, who turned 87 in November, has a long history of health issues, which along with his advanced age makes him of notable concern when it comes to COVID-19. His birthday reportedly was celebrated in the hospital as well, as he had blood flow issues. Roger Friedman’s Showbiz 411 first reported his hospitalization, which according to Page Six, has lasted about 10 days.

Neither King’s wife, Shawn, or their two sons, Chance and Cannon, can visit him in the hospital. The couple is in the process of divorcing but is said to be on good terms, the Daily Mail reported.

King also has an older son, Larry Jr. Two of his children died in 2020: Andy, 65, from a heart attack and Chaia, 51, from lung cancer.

Several reports noted the death of two of King’s children, as well as several health episodes, as causes for concern in his now life-threatening fight with coronavirus. In the past, he has survived a heart attack, a stroke, diabetes as well as prostate and lung cancer.

The homes of two of Congress’ most powerful members, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, were reportedly vandalized. Though the culprits remain at large, it appears they were motivated by the recently (and belatedly) passed COVID-19 relief bill, which many found to be insufficient, especially towards those in need.

The incidents happened over night, in different parts of the nation. In Louisville, Kentucky, the front door to McConnell’s home was tagged with graffiti reading, “Weres my money.” Meanwhile in San Francisco, Pelosi’s garage was also the target of graffiti, while a pig’s head was left on the sidewalk.

McConnell released a statement Saturday, saying, “I’ve spent my career fighting for the First Amendment and defending peaceful protest.” He added, “I appreciate every Kentuckian who has engaged in the democratic process whether they agree with me or not. This is different. Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society.”

The vandalism came mere days after McConnell blocked efforts to increase the individual stimulus checks from a mere $600 to $2,000, which had been agreed upon by Democrats as well as outgoing president Donald Trump. McConnell later said the Senate would look into subsequent packages that would also meet some of Trump’s other demands, including an investigation into the secure election that he lost in November.

(Via The New York Times)

Just a few weeks after the deluxe version of Music To be Murdered By – Side B was released, Eminem stopped by Shade 45 to give a song-by-song breakdown and speak about a few other things. One thing he talked about was his diss of Snoop Dogg on “Zeus,” which the Long Beach rapper has already replied to. Another highlight was when the subject of cancel culture was brought up. Eminem has a long history of controversial statements, and he’s dealt with cancel culture a few times. However, according to him, it’s not effective.

“With me, it’s literally like every f*cking every other day,” Eminem said. “I’m canceled for whatever the f*ck it was. It’s funny because I see some of the same people or sites who b*tched about things back then that I said and then going back now and saying, ‘why can’t he be that again.’ What the f*ck? When I was that you had a problem with that too.” The Detroit legend added, “I understand some of the sh*t but for the most part like for people who just sit online and they feel like they need to b*tch about whatever it is to feel like they’re a part of something. With cancel culture, it’s like no one ever really gets canceled though.”

You can hear his comments about cancel culture in the video above, starting around the 10-minute mark.

Bowl season, like every season in these trying times, has been weird. The Rose Bowl was played in Texas, away from its California home for the first time since World War II. Other things have been weird, too, but the silly season that strange bowl names and odd matchups usually conjures certainly feels different this year. Which perhaps is why it’s so satisfying to see a punter do his best to find order in a scene of chaos.

That’s what we got on Saturday in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, as Kentucky’s punter somehow made the best of an awful situation on special teams against NC State. Kentucky senior punter Max Duffy is one of 19 players on the Ray Guy watchlist for the best punter in college football, and he made a strong case that he’s also one of the smartest in football.

Early in the second quarter on Saturday, Duffy lined up to punt and saw a strong rush from the Wolfpack that all but blew up his timing to get the punt off. Instead of panicking, however, the wily senior made the rusher miss, then threaded the needle through other blockers and would-be punt blockers to get off a kick just before chaos struck.

It’s a pretty remarkable play when you consider just how much special teams is about timing. We’ve seen kickers get their flow interrupted and all hell breaks loose, especially when a punter’s rhythm is interrupted. But Duffy, who kicks Aussie-style, was smart enough to abort his first punt attempt, then find space to get another off before the several defenders around him could converge to block that kick.

Kentucky’s Twitter account even made a very clever meme of Duffy to celebrate the play.

We’ll see if Duffy takes home the Ray Guy Award later this month, but even though the voting has already taken place it’s certainly a highlight-reel play made by a punter well deserving of some praise.

03 Greedo is currently in prison serving a 20-year sentence on drug and firearm charges. The rapper has only completed two years of this sentence, but in that time he’s received a healthy dose of love and support from the hip-hop community, something he could use after this latest news: His team announced on his Instagram page that he contracted COVID-19 while in prison. “Please keep, 03 Greedo in your prayers,” the post reads. “He just tested positive for COVID. He is doing well. Currently he is having flu like symptoms. Thank you!”

03 Greedo is just the latest name from the music world to contract the virus. West Coast producer Mustard revealed earlier this week that he too had contracted it. So did Ashanti, which forced her to postpone her Verzuz battle with Keyshia Cole. Prior to that, Jeremih’s family and friends revealed he too tested positive. The singer’s symptoms became so bad that he was forced to spend some time at a Chicago ICU.

Hopefully, 03 Greedo can steer through the symptoms of COVID-19 and recover without any health scares. Once he recovers, fans can expect more music from him, as a slew of projects were on the docket when his sentence began.His last full-length effort was August’s Load It Up, Vol. 1, which was produced entirely by LA native Ron-Ron.

For more than four years, Jack Harlow has been inching closer and closer towards mainstream success, thanks to mixtapes he’s released annually since 2016. His breakout moment finally came in 2020 with the single “What’s Poppin,” a track that gave him the green light to step forward with his debut album, which became That’s What They All Say. One of the highlights came with “Luv Is Dro,” featuring Bryson Tiller and the late Static Major. In a recent interview with HipHopDX, Jack Harlow explained how the collaboration came to be.

“Static’s widow hit me a couple of years ago and invited me over to listen to some music and I just chose that one,” Harlow said. “We sat on it for two years trying to get it right and get Bryson on it. He ended up loving it and wanting to do it.” The “Tyler Herro” rapper then explained that after receiving Static’s vocals and sending the track to Tiller for him to hear, the Trapsoul singer told him not to release the track without a verse from him, which Tiller took his time to perfect.

“He was blown away when I sent it to him. Bryson wouldn’t let me drop it without him, but he was taking f*cking forever with it,” Harlow said. “He was working on his album, so that was part of the reason. But the other reason is he’s a slow guy. He takes his time with everything.” Finally, Tiller sent him the long-awaited verse, and for Harlow, the track was a great moment, bringing together some of Louisville’s most popular names.

“Getting to do that record for Kentucky is huge,” he said. “To have two of my idols on there with me? Bryson came out when I was in high school, and I had his notifications turned on. I was trying to go to the shows because I was a fan.” He then spoke about Bryson specifically, saying, “The fact that Bryson did this for me and it’s the second feature he’s done for me. Bryson’s a legend of mine, and he is in a lot of people’s eyes.” Harlow then shifted his attention to Static and what the song means to him and Louisville. “And then, Static Major, rest in peace. He was before both of us and just set this standard of excellence, soul, and certain energy from the city that made it seem like it was possible. It’s huge, bro. I can’t describe it. This song is something I can hang my hat on for the rest of my life. It’s already a classic where I’m from.”

(via HipHopDX)

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Trevor Lawrence’s decorated collegiate career might have come to an end on Friday night. While nothing is official until he says so, it is believed that Lawrence will punch his ticket to Jacksonville as soon as possible by entering the 2021 NFL Draft, where he will go No. 1 overall. That decision is coming a little sooner than expected, though, as Clemson got rocked by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, 49-28.

Lawrence played well — 33-for-48, 400 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a rushing touchdown — but it was nowhere near enough to withstand a record-setting night by opposing gunslinger Justin Fields, who threw for six scores on the vaunted Tiger defense. Now, for the second time in his collegiate career, Lawrence lost, and the NFL appears to be in his future.

The good news is he already has a pro’s ability to interact with the media. Lawrence made the executive decision to grow out his mustache, and in an unfortunate turn of events for one reporter on his postgame media call, that lip sweater got critiqued by someone who forgot to hit mute.

Lawrence, to his credit, was cool, calm, and collected here, and instead of letting frustrations from the evening boil over, he handled this well. And for reporters everywhere, let this be a lesson: Don’t say stuff on a call that you’d feel bad about if you didn’t mute your phone.

Donald Trump seems to be going through some things. The outgoing president — who has yet to formally concede an election he lost almost two months ago — whimsically bailed on the White House holiday party, which was populated by maskless (and, alas, Trump-less) revelers. And on New Year’s Eve, he did the same thing, stranding supporters who’d paid four figures for his end-of-2020 soiree with the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Vanilla Ice, and much-hated Beach Boys member Mike Love.

As per CNN, Trump made the last-minute decision to leave Mar-a-Lago, his lavish home base in Florida, return to Washington, possibly the spend more time trying to clumsily overturn the election (and avoid an avalanche of legal and economic woes). That meant people who paid top dollar to hang with him instead had to brush shoulders with Trump family members, including sons Donald Jr. and Eric, as well as associates like Rudy Giuliani and media cheerleaders like Jeanine Pirro.

And there was music. Granted, few name performers would ever perform for Trump, so the event had to contend with has-beens, like Vanilla Ice and Berlin, the one-hit wonders responsible for the Top Gun staple “Take My Breath Away.” The Beach Boys were there, too — or at least Mike Love, the group’s most controversial member, who gained legal rights to the band’s name years ago, despite outcry from other surviving members Brian Wilson and Al Jardine.

Few wore masks and there was no social distancing.

Some 500 tickets were sold for this year’s event — a bit less than in previous years, but not by much. Bookings escalated when it appeared Trump would be in attendance. Then, on Wednesday, he reported he was bailing. Early in the pandemic, another Mar-a-Lago event, celebrating the birthday of Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, became a COVID-19 spreader.

(Via CNN)

A few weeks after dissing Snoop Dogg on “Zeus,” off the deluxe version of his new album Music To Be Murdered By – Side B, Eminem stopped by Shade 45 to explain why he took shots at the Long Beach rapper. “I probably could’ve gotten past the whole tone and everything,” Eminem said in response to Snoop’s July appearance on The Breakfast Club where he said the Detroit rapper was not in his top 10 greatest rappers of all-time list. “But it was the last statement where he said, ‘Far as music I can live without, I can live without that sh*t.’” He added, “Now you’re being disrespectful. It just caught me off-guard.” Once Snoop caught wind of Eminem’s comments, he took to Instagram to respond and send a small warning to the Detroit rapper.

Snoop made his statement in the comments section of an Instagram post from an Eminem fan account. “Pray I don’t answer that soft ass Sh*t,” Snoop wrote, beside a trio of laughing emojis. Whether Snoop will use a project of his own to further address Eminem’s diss remains to be seen. He is in fact working on a new album, entitled Take It From A G, which he originally said would arrive in December. However, the month came and went without the album, so we can assume it will drop at some point in 2021.