Year: 2022

NFTs have been a big deal for about a year now, and while some are still trying to wrap their heads around what “non-fungible tokens” even are, others have dived head-first into the game. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Brie Larson, Johnny Depp, Steve Aoki, Nas, Eminem. and more have all hopped on the NFT train, cashing in by selling exclusive content to their fans. On the other hand, names like Kanye West have expressed no desire to join the trend, as he stated in a now-deleted Instagram post. “My focus is on building real products in the real world,” he wrote before adding, “Do not ask me to do a f*cking NFT.”

Well, it seems like Tyler The Creator is also among the skeptics, as he revealed during a recent interview that was part of Converse’s 2022 All Star series. “What the f*ck is a NFT?” he said in a response to a question about them. He later added, “I paint at home, I play instruments. … I have a friend who’s making me speakers by hand right now. What the f*ck is a NFT?”

Tyler continued, “None of the examples I’ve seen is, like, beautiful art,” he said. “It’s a f*cking monkey in a Supreme hoodie.” He concluded his point by adding that you “can’t NFT me looking at you in real life.”

You can watch the full sit-down with Tyler in the video above.

For months, the House Select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot have been patiently and meticulously amassing information about the lead-up to one of the darkest days in American history — which they’ve done despite Donald Trump shoving key documents down the toilet. They have yet to make public their findings thus far, and they still have more work to do. But they can say this: They have enough evidence already to more or less confidently state that the former president engaged in a criminal conspiracy.

As per The Daily Beast, lawyers representing the committee filed a legal brief in California that laid out a theory of how a criminal case could be made against the nation’s 45th president. The evidence they’ve acquired over hundreds of interviews — many done voluntarily by former Trump staffers — strongly suggests that Trump, conservative lawyer John Eastman, and other allies broke numerous laws in an attempt to keep the former in power.

The reason the brief was filed at all was thanks to Eastman, who became infamous as the professor who laid out a convoluted strategy for how Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 election — a scheme the former vice president ignored, thanks in part to, of all people, Dan Quayle. The committee had requests documents from Eastman. Eastman argued that those documents were too confidential to release and that they violate executive privilege. So the committee responded by arguing that what Trump and he did was illegal.

“Evidence and information available to the committee establishes a good-faith belief that Mr. Trump and others may have engaged in criminal and/or fraudulent acts, and that [Eastman’s] legal assistance was used in furtherance of those activities,” the committee’s filing read. “The evidence supports an inference that President Trump, Plaintiff [Eastman], and several others entered into an agreement to defraud the United States by interfering with the election certification process, disseminating false information about election fraud, and pressuring state officials to alter state election results and federal officials to assist in that effort.”

In the brief, the committee also argued that Trump was attempting to stop an “official proceeding,” i.e., Congress’ counting of each state’s electoral votes. That is, Trump could face the same criminal charge prosecutors have used against around 240 insurrectionists.

On top of that, the brief also accuses Trump of trying to obtain false election certificates.

Again, this legal brief was only filed because Eastman is refusing to surrender key documents.

The Jan. 6 committee cannot itself charge Trump and allies with crimes. What they can do is pass this to the Department of Justice. And they probably still have to talk to Ivanka.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The Miami Heat visited Milwaukee on Wednesday night for the latest chapter in what has become one of the NBA’s best rivalries between the Heat and the Bucks.

The Bucks jumped on Miami early, running out to a quick 10-point lead, but saw the Heat steadily claw their way back in front by the end of the first half. The Heat would extend that lead to as many as 14 early in the fourth quarter, and it looked like we were headed for another impressive win for the East’s No. 1 team. However, the Bucks woke up in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter, closing on a 21-6 run to steal a win from their rivals and help their cause as they look to sew up a top-4 seed in the East.

Giannis Antetokounmpo started the comeback off with eight points in the final six minutes, as he got himself to the rim and to the foul line to start chipping away at Miami’s lead. As the Bucks got closer, the Heat’s offense got tighter and the absence of Kyle Lowry as a steadying presence became a real issue for Miami as they struggled to create good looks against a suddenly engaged Milwaukee defense. It was the effort of that swarming defense that helped the Bucks complete the comeback, starting with a steal by Khris Middleton, forced by a double team on Tyler Herro, that he parlayed into a transition three to cut the deficit to one with 13.5 seconds to play.

The Heat would call a timeout to advance the ball up the floor, but Milwaukee did a masterful job denying the pass into the backcourt, forcing a wild inbounds into Jimmy Butler at the free throw line who fell to the floor after he and Giannis collided going for the ball and eventually got tied up by the two-time MVP.

The Bucks would win the tip and Jrue Holiday calmly brought the ball across and powered through Gabe Vincent and tossed the game-winning shot over the outstretched arm of Bam Adebayo.

It was the kind of game we’ve come to expect from these two teams, who tend to ratchet up the intensity even in regular season matchups. Tyler Herro’s 30-point performance off the bench led the way for Miami, with Butler and Adebayo combining for 39 points, but the late turnovers proved to be killer to Miami’s ability to hold on.

For the Bucks, it was an all-around effort from their stars, with Holiday, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo all scoring 25 or more, with Jrue dishing out 11 assists and Giannis pulling down 17 rebounds in the impressive come from behind victory.

Next week, Lucky Daye will release his sophomore album Candy Drip. He’s already released singles from it, including “Over” last fall, which arrived with a video featuring model Jordyn Woods. He followed up that single with the album’s title track and “NWA” with Lil Durk. Before it arrives on March 11, Lucky has returned to share the official tracklist.

Candy Drip will deliver 17 songs, including the aforementioned singles. Lucky will also handle most of the vocal responsibilities, as it features just three guest appearances. Smino, Lil Durk, and Chiiild will make individual contributions in what will hopefully amount to a strong follow-up to Lucky’s Grammy-nominated debut album Painted.

Shortly after Candy Drip arrives, Lucky will head out on a North American tour with singer Joyce Wrice serving as the opener for the string of shows.

You can revisit the cover art for Candy Drip above and view its full tracklist below.

1. “Intro”
2. “God Body” featuring Smino
3. “Feels Like”
4. “NWA” featuring Lil Durk
5. “Guess”
6. “Candy Drip (Interlude)”
7. “Candy Drip”
8. “Deserve”
9. “Intermission”
10. “Over”
11. “F*ckin’ Sound”
12. “Compassion” featuring Chiiild
13. “Touch Somebody (Interlude)”
14. “Used to Be Yours”
15. “Fever”
16. “Cherry Forest”
17. “Ego”

Candy Drip is out 3/11 via Keep Cool/RCA. You can pre-save the album here.

This month marks the two-year anniversary of Verzuz, the platform was launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland that showcases beat battles held on Instagram Live. Since then, the show has held numerous duels between the likes of The Lox, Dipset, Nelly, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Ashanti, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, E-40, Too Short, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, and many more. To commemorate their success, Swizz and Timbo will partner with Amazon Studios, Lena Waithe, her production company Hillman Grad Productions, and Good Trouble Studios for a special documentary.

Titled Gifted & Black, the documentary will highlight the rise of Verzuz, as well as the roots of Black music. According to Deadline, it will use “poignant interviews, gripping vérité and magnetic archival footage” to see how Black music impacts the culture.

“When we first started this mission the entire world had hit rock bottom,” Swizz Beatz said in a statement. “People were going through so much and Tim and I felt we should do something to help folks escape. The rest is history, we made the magical call to Hillman Grad because we only wanted people to see the best of the best.”

A release date for Gifted & Black has not yet been revealed but it will air on Amazon Prime Video when released.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a slump right now, having lost four of their last five games coming into Wednesday night’s contest against the Hornets. The good news for the Cavs was they were getting Darius Garland back in the lineup, but even with the return of their All-Star guard, their defensive struggles continued to open things up against Charlotte.

The Hornets jumped out to a 20-point lead on the Cavs in the third quarter and frustrations with the team’s play and with the officials seemed to come to a head for coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who absolutely lost it on referee Natalie Sago after a blocking call on Cedi Osman, who hit him with a quick first technical and then a second that Bickerstaff more than earned.

It is, at worst, a questionable call if not the correct one, as it’s Osman was close to being in position but it isn’t hard to see how you could think he was still leaning and sliding when the contact gets made.

Bickerstaff gave a few magic words to get his money’s worth out of his first career ejection as a head coach, as he tried to light a fire under his guys. Unfortunately, that did not turn the tide in the game, as the Cavs continued to struggle to get any stops against the Hornets, as they appear headed to a tie for the 6-seed with Boston, with a real risk of falling into the play-in if they can’t get things turned around quickly on that end of the floor.

Drake has always loved his hometown basketbal team, the Toronto Raptors. That love turned into a business relationship in 2013 when he was announced as the team’s Global Ambassador. Drake has since helped the team from behind the scenes by promoting them and serving as a host for some of their events, as well as providing consulting services to rebrand them. More times than not, you will catch Drake sitting courtside at their games, enthusiastically cheering the team on, even trash-talking opponents at times. So what’s it like to sit next to the Certified Lover Boy rapper at these games?

Toronto’s The Star recently spoke to some people who were fortunate enough to be next to Drake during games. “Sitting beside Drake was awesome. It was the biggest game of the season at that point, and he and K.D. [Kevin Durant] had something going most of the night,” NHL analyst Sam Cosentino said. “It was great to see his fandom and how passionate he is for the game, and especially for his home team.”

Raptors’ play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin also shared his thoughts. “He’s close with Steph (Curry). He’s close with (Kevin Durant),” he says. “There’s some fun back and forth going on during a game, and it’s cool to sit there and observe.”

This also brings us back to the hilarious moment in December when Drake sat next to an older couple who had no idea who he was. Jim and Renee Stanley, who are both in their 70s, shared what it was like to sit next to Drake. “When the game was starting after the half, a young man sat down next to us and really didn’t say anything at first,” Jim said. “My first reaction was — don’t get this wrong — he smelled good. I said to him, ‘I really like what you are wearing.’ He turned to me and said thanks and shook my hand.” The trio would end up taking a selfie together where Drake called them “my new parents.”

You can read the full piece on The Star here.

Ron DeSantis has long acted like a tough guy. As governor of Florida, he’s cast himself in a Trumpian mold (much to the fury of Trump himself). He talks smack about anyone who gets in his way, from academics teaching about racial injustice, LGBTQ+ people, and doctors and scientists who’ve advised things like masks and vaccines as ways to combat a highly contagious virus that is very much still around. Now it even includes students who simply want to stay safe, perhaps for immunocompromised relatives.

On Wednesday, footage leaked of DeSantis’ prelude to what was supposed to be a simple publicity event, in which he touted new funding for cybersecurity education at the University of South Florida. Audio reveals the governor berated a bunch of teenagers positioned behind his podium who dared be masked-up.

“You do not have to wear those masks,” DeSantis barked at them. “I mean, please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything and we’ve gotta stop with this COVID theater. So if you want to wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous,” he said with a loud scoff.

DeSantis has long made a big show of opposing health safety measures, even as cases and deaths in his state skyrocketed. He’s blocked mask mandates and even signed an executive order withholding state funds to any school that tries to impose them. He believes in the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want, but he also apparently enjoys bullying people much younger than him.

When footage of DeSantis berating teenagers leaked, the governor — one of the Republican frontrunners in the 2024 presidential election — was dragged.

Sure would be a shame if the footage was aired constantly if or when he runs for president. But then, he probably knows Republican voters are not only not turned off by such behavior, but quite the opposite.

(Via News Channel 8)

In his final moments, a fallen Russian soldier reached out to his mother. His words are full of regret, confusion and fear.

The text reads:

“Mama, I’m in Ukraine. There is a real war raging here. I’m afraid. We are bombing all of the cities together, even targeting civilians. We were told that they would welcome us, and they are falling under our armored vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels, and not allowing us to pass. They call us fascists. Mama, this is so hard.”

This was after his mother worriedly asked about his whereabouts, why he hadn’t responded to her. She wanted to send her son a package, something to bring the comfort of home. You know, like moms do. She’ll never get to send that package. Or see her boy again. Only minutes later, he was killed.

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A transcript of their conversation was read aloud by Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya in front of the U.N. General Assembly as an earnest call to “visualize the magnitude or tragedy” caused by Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the @UN @SergiyKyslytsya reads text messages between a Russian soldier and his mother moments before he was killed.⁰

“Mama, I’m in Ukraine. There is a real war raging here. I’m afraid. We are bombing all of the cities…even targeting civilians.” pic.twitter.com/kbWYZfbSpE

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2022

And the tragedy is indeed massive. This is an act of violence and corruption that leaves both the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia as rubble in the fallout. While the streets of Ukraine fill with the smell of smoke and sound of gunshots, cities in Russia are filling up with anti-war protestors, many who have been detained despite peaceful demonstration. It’s a huge risk, one with severe consequences.

Even the Russian soldiers, like the man mentioned above, are victims in their own right. Earlier on Monday, the MFA of Ukraine’s Twitter account posted, “Russia promised its soldiers they would be greeted in Ukraine with flowers. Russia has been lying for years about how the Ukraine authorities are keeping Ukrainian people in ‘captivity’.”

In a country where only government-sanctioned, Putin-approved propaganda is allowed in the media, Russians by and large are being fed one grossly illegitimate narrative. Namely, that Ukraine is a dictatorship and that Russia’s use of force is a necessary and defensive act. With that kind of coerced vitriol, it’s no wonder that half the population voted that military force was justified.

This young man was made to believe he’d be doing something heroic, and he died under that illusion. And he is one of many.

And yet, in the chaos of misinformation, the words of this dying man offer a sobering dose of brutal reality that shoots straight to the heart. The losses caused by this attack are irrefutable and irrevocable. It is a horror happening on both sides. Russia itself is not the enemy here. Deception, greed and the brutality of an immoral leader are to blame.

More sons and daughters will be lost. More mothers and fathers will wonder whether that next text message will be the last. The real tragedy of war is that it destroys while promising reconstruction.There are no victors, only survivors.

This is only the newest incident that sheds a light on the devastating effect of the “us versus them” mentality. As we continue to read gut-wrenching headlines, it’s important to quiet the voice that longs to demonize an entire people for the lack of virtue of one man (and his followers). Just as it is important to practice good social media hygiene during these times, it is crucial to practice empathy. In a time of mindless violence and toxic division tactics, connection is one of the few things truly worth fighting for.

Kendrick Lamar’s third album, To Pimp A Butterfly, was a big change in direction from his 2012 sophomore album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. It found the rapper ditching his previous West Coast influences for a sound based on jazz, soul, funk, and more. The change wasn’t easy for him, requiring plenty of experimentation and trial and error to get it right. During an episode of Alex Pappademas’ Spotify podcast The Big Hit Show, which is studying the seminal album for its second season, Kendrick dove into how he made it work.

“Yeah I’m just trying stuff, throwing the paint on the wall and writing as these incredible musicians rock out,” he said. “I like that for eight bars. I like that. I like that. So… prior to the album actually coming out the sh*t actually sounded way more complex.”

Kendrick then explained how his longtime friend and producer Terrace Martin taught him about jazz. “Miles [Davis] is playing and you know he’s doing these skats and these rhythms. And man I said to myself, ‘I wanna be able to do that, but I wanna rap that way.’ And you know, be on that cadence and it’s super out of pocket, but you know it’s very jazz, it’s very Miles Davis influenced,” Kendrick said. “It was what I was inspired by what Terrace was telling me. He was like, ‘Man, you gotta be unapologetic. If you’re going to go there, you gotta go there.’”

The new episode arrives as Kendrick was announced as one of the headliners for Rolling Loud’s Miami festival.

You can listen to the full episode of The Big Hit Show here.