After a year of isolation, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that few of this week’s best hip-hop projects are Valentine’s Day-themed. After all, dating is tough when half the country is shut down (and the other half should be) and getting close to someone else is the last thing on anyone’s to-do list lately.

However, Phora’s got you covered if you’re still looking for a little romance this weekend. Meanwhile, there’s the usual mix of brashness, introspection, and political awareness on display elsewhere on the slate. For scam rap shenanigans, Babyface Ray is your guy; if you want a little outspoken observation on the state of the world, Marlon Craft deftly asks and answers the questions we all have; Slowthai’s sophomore project is off-kilter therapy; Ralo holds down the trap. This week’s singles also run the gamut from drill to West Coast party rap.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending February 12, 2021.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Babyface Ray — Unf*ckwitable (EP)

Detroit troublemaker Babyface Ray is part of a new wave of marble-mouthed Michigan rap centered on grimy activities and devious wit. He’s one of the top salesmen in this burgeoning business, as seen on his hilarious single “If You Know You Know” with Moneybagg Yo.

Marlon Craft — How We Intended

After weeks of rolling out innovative videos, New York rapper’s rapper Marlon Craft finally shares his sophomore album, showing off his growth and prowess. It’s a throwback, rhyme-heavy affair featuring some of rap’s more sober-minded documentarians like Katori Walker and Radamiz.

Phora — Heartbreak Hotel

Phora raps and sings a bunch about love, but he’s no sap. While the subject matter is personal and the rhymes are vulnerable, there’s a lot of steel behind his storytelling, the type it takes to bare your soul for the world to see and accept the inevitable judgment that comes with it.

Ralo — Conspiracy (Deluxe)

Gucci Mane signee Ralo may be locked up — and facing more time thanks to some innovative Apple Watch usage — but that didn’t stop him from adding eight new tracks to his 2018 mixtape, including a new track with the emergent Lil Baby.

Slowthai — Tyron

Another sophomore effort this week, Tyron sees Northhampton, England rapper Slowthai still on a chaotic rampage, but adding more personal dimensions to his music. Here, he addresses romance, mental health, and more in addition to his usual mosh pit-inspiring fare.

Smokepurpp — Psycho

Yes, that cover is an homage to Ozzy Osbourne, and while there’s little in the way of heavy metal on this particular EP, Smokepurpp does live like a “Rockstar,” inviting Seattle breakout rapper Lil Mosely along for the ride on “We Outside.”

Various Artists — Judas And The Black Messiah: The Inspired Album

A companion to the recently-released film depicting the last days of Civil Rights-era revolutionary Fred Hampton, this compilation tries to strike a balance between commercially-viable, polished, intellectual rap and the anti-establishment values professed by the former Black Panther Party Chairman.

Singles/Videos

Dusty Locane — “Rumble”

It’s almost scary how similar Dusty sounds to Pop Smoke, at least vocally (think BIG and Shyne). That being said, this is a head-nod-worthy drill track over a spooky, skeletal beat that showcases a very precise flow.

Joey Trap — “Brace”

Kloudgod Joey has had a solid track record over the past few years, and this upbeat banger is an admirable addition to his oeuvre.

Lil Gnar Feat. Trippie Redd — “Missiles”

Gnar’s been building his buzz over the past couple of years and his collab with Trippie gives me the impression that things are going to speed up for him very soon.

LPB Poody — “Batman”

The beat sounds like “Teach Me How To Dougie” and Poody’s plainspoken delivery almost slinks into self-parody, but there’s a giddy sort of “anything goes” energy that makes this an amusing introduction to this quirky Orlando newcomer.

Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin Feat. B Cool-Aid — “Open Up Shop”

While the mid-90s New York rap-mimicking, jazzy beat choice here could run the risk of sounding staid, Fly Anakin and B Cool-Aid’s deliveries spice things up nicely, bringing the dusty sound into the modern era.

Pooh Shiesty — “See Red”

Pooh’s debut mixtape is out now, and he smartly dropped a video for its best track to ensure folks quickly see the value in it. While the volume leveling on Shiesty Season is bewildering, this song justifies the hype for him by itself.

Producergrind Feat. Lil Gotit & Billyracxx — “Loaded”

Lil Keed’s brother isn’t on YSL records but he certainly deserves just as much attention for his slippery flow and boisterous personality.

Tokyo Jetz Feat. Toosii — “WYTD”

The Florida hard hitter switches things up a bit, adding Carolina lover boy Toosii to her latest single as she continues her climb to the top of public awareness.

Uno Hype — “Superman”

A Maryland native who will go over well with Dreamville fans, Uno Hype’s smooth new song is a densely-worded rumination that feels like the start of something very artistic and forward-thinking. (Also, isn’t it kinda funny that we have tracks named after the two most famous DC superheroes in the same week?)

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

After announcing to the Senate that, “This is not whataboutism,” Donald Trump‘s impeachment lawyer Michael van der Veen opened up his bizarre defense of the former president by showing a video of Madonna and other celebrities using seemingly violent rhetoric about Trump, which for the record, is the very definition of whataboutism. The random celebrity video was one of many surreal moments during Friday’s trial where the president’s legal team know that he won’t be convicted by Republican senators, but there is still a concern about the “PR nightmare” that faces both Trump and the GOP in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol building.

One of the clips showed Madonna’s infamous remarks at the 2017 Women’s March where she says, “I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.” However, van der Veen’s selectively edited clip didn’t include Madonna’s full quote. Via Mediaite:

“Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won’t change anything. We cannot fall into despair.”

Unlike Trump, Madonna immediately clarified her remarks and made it clear that she’s “not a violent person” and “I do not promote violence.” But that’s getting away from the larger point of what the heck does Madonna have to do with Trump’s impeachment, which led to several jokes about the former president’s legal strategy and calls to “Impeach Madonna!”

Johnny Depp also made an appearance in the video for Trump’s defense thanks to him joking at the 2017 Glastonbury Music Festival, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Trump’s legal team failed to note that Depp was condemned by both Republicans and Democrats for the quip, and they also earned another round of scorn for trying to downplay Trump’s incitement of the Capitol attack.

(Via Mediaite)

Formerly incarcerated Brooklyn star Rowdy Rebel has been enjoying his freedom. After taking his first few, halting steps toward restarting his stalled career, he seems to be back in the full swing of things in his “Jesse Owens” video with Toronto native Nav. With a beat and a vibe somewhere between the electric style Rowdy and his GS9 compatriot Bobby Shmurda first used to break in the game and the emerging drill sound that’s coming to dominate his hometown, Rowdy and Nav go on a lively shopping spree.

Rowdy was released from prison late last year (much like West Coast rising star Drakeo The Ruler) and received a hero’s welcome from peers and admirers, including Young Thug, who gifted him expensive jewelry as a “welcome home” present. Rowdy also tested his sea legs on a Brooklyn drill beat alongside Funkmaster Flex after contributing a verse to Pop Smoke’s posthumous single “Make It Rain,” from behind bars.

Meanwhile, Nav is coming off a successful 2020 that saw him release a pair of well-received projects, including the Emergency Tsunami mixtape and his first No.1 album Good Intentions, and participate in the runaway smash “Lemonade” alongside Internet Money and Gunna.

Rowdy Rebel’s Nav-featuring “Jesse Owens” video above.

It hasn’t been a very good pandemic for CD Projekt Red, and this week, things somehow got even worse for the Polish game publisher. After a disastrous release of the oft-delayed Cyberpunk 2077, the company was apparently hacked and had lots of sensitive data stolen, including the source code for games like Cyberpunk and its far more successful franchise, The Witcher.

As Ars Technica laid out, hackers used ransomware to crack CD Projekt servers and take sensitive data, then offered it back to the company with the threat that if they didn’t pay up, they’d auction it off on the dark web. And that’s apparently exactly what happened after the company refused to pay.

VX Underground, which tracks ransomware and other malware attacks, noted on Wednesday that the ransomed source code had been posted on a dark Web forum known as EXPLOIT. The starting bid was reportedly $1 million, with a $500,000 bidding increment and $7 million “buy it now” price.

Cyber intelligence firm KELA confirmed the authenticity of that auction, telling The Verge that forum users needed to put up 0.1 BTC (roughly $4,700 as of this writing) to participate in the bidding as a sign that offers were legitimate. The sellers also reportedly provided file listings for Gwent and the Red Engine that underlies CDPR’s games as proof that the data was authentic.

Initial leaks of the data appear to be the Witcher-adjacent card game, Gwent. But as the auction continued other leaks appeared to be verified as coming from CD Projekt and containing information about The Witcher and Cyberpunk. And as of Thursday, the auction of the data appears to have been completed.

It kind of sounds like something that would happen in Cyberpunk, honestly, though there are some potential real-life consequences here. And CD Projekt acknowledged a security breach earlier in the week, so something did happen here that they say authorities are looking into.

It’s more bad news in what’s been a troublesome few months for the publisher. One that, depending on who now owns their data, may get even worse.

[via Ars Technica, The Verge]

Much of the attention in Washington, D.C. this week is on the United States Senate, which is hearing arguments in the impeachment trial of former president Donald J Trump. It’s been quite the spectacle, as Democrats spent the last few days making the argument that Trump needs to be held accountable for his role in stirring up the violent mob that stormed the United States Capitol in an insurrection attempt on January 6 of this year designed to try and prevent Congress from certifying that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, while Republicans, uh, don’t.

The trial served as an introduction for many to Bruce Castor, one of the lawyers Trump hired to try and make the case that he should not be impeached by the Senate. His opening argument went so poorly that Trump was apparently pretty mad about the whole thing, but on Friday, he got the chance to try and make up for it. Instead, Castor stumbled through his collection of arguments, including one moment where he tried to address a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump is on the record trying to push Raffensperger to illegally flip the election results in his state.

The issue: Castor mixed up “Brad Raffensperger” and “Ben Roethlisberger,” nearly saying that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is the Secretary of State of Georgia.

I think we can settle on “Ben Roffinsberger” here, which is, objectively, closer to “Ben Roethlisberger” than “Brad Raffensperger.” The thing with this is that Castor is a native of Pennsylvania — the mythical land known to everyone in the commonwealth as “just outside Philly” — so you’d assume that he’d know not to come close to saying “Ben Roethlisberger” here. Anyway, in his career, Roethlisberger has played against the Atlanta Falcons three times, recording a 2-1 record.

Kingdom Hearts was an extremely unique concept when it came out on the PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2002. Disney mixed with Final Fantasy in a hack and slash style RPG was something gaming had never really seen, and for many this was the only time they played a title in this series.

Everything after that was kinda bonkers. There were handheld games, spin offs with details that affected the overall plot, a second numbered game that Kingdom Hearts fans love and many regular gamers do not, and an incredibly long wait for Kingdom Hearts 3. These games were also available on a flurry of different consoles, making it difficult to keep up with a plot that was growing increasingly convoluted even if you played them all. By the time Kingdom Hearts 3 released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One there were plenty of people that hadn’t touched the series since the early 2000s and had no idea what was happening.

But if you’ve ever wanted to catch up on the Kingdom Hearts series, especially on PC your opportunity is here. On Thursday, it was announced that every game in the series would be coming to PC for the first time thanks to the Epic Games Store.

This is absolutely exciting for Kingdom Hearts fans that want to push their gaming PCs to the max and play the titles at the highest framerate possible. It may even open up the floor for mods and fans can get really wacky with it. And if you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts and you have a gaming PC, this could be your chance to finally get into the series. As a longtime fan of the series, I can tell you if this is something that is worth diving into. But only if you like Kingdom Hearts 2 a lot. If you are someone that is interested in Kingdom Hearts and want to give it a try on PC then play through the original Kingdom Hearts, watch a movie about Chain of Memories (unless you like card battling games which, more power to you), and then play Kingdom Hearts 2.

That’s because there’s a very big split in where the story goes after Kingdom Hearts 2. One that is told across four games, a tech demo, a one hour movie/special, and a mobile game. The payoff, Kingdom Hearts 3, is divisive among fans: Some love it, ome were left very disappointed by it. The gameplay itself is great, but at times feels like it hasn’t aged past the PlayStation 2 it was originally born on. It is an absolute journey that is going to take a significant amount of time to complete. It’s doable, but it’s going to take a commitment and that is not one that everyone is willing to take. If you have the time, though, get ready for an extremely complex ride.

The key here is to start with the facts. The facts are important and are not in dispute. This is what we’re dealing with:

• A new Face/Off movie is in development
• It will be produced by Fast & Furious producer Neal Moritz and will be written and directed by Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard
• According to Wingard, the movie is not a re-imagining or remaking of the original, but instead is a “direct SEQUEL,” capitalization his

There is a decent chance you read all of that and started groaning because you are tired of reheating things from decades past to turn them into bags of money. That’s fine. I feel that way sometimes, too. But I would also remind you that the Jump Street movies are fun and the Fargo television show is good and we’ve all been watching Batman smash robbers for our entire lives. I think it’s best to just accept it all and roll with it. Otherwise, you’re just the maniac standing on the shore shouting at the waves to stop breaking. Grab a board and surf or head back to the boardwalk. We’re having fun.

And so, in the spirit of fun, here are a handful of good (and some extremely less good) casting suggestions for this upcoming movie. I do not know what it will look like and I doubt we could land the majority of these combinations but that’s the beauty of the situation: it’s early enough in the process that no one has to care about that. Anything is possible right now. Dream your biggest dreams and write them down. There’s always plenty of time to get bummed out later.

Let’s go.

Pedro Pascal and Paul Rudd

Two charming kings, together at last. The best part is that each of them gets a swing at playing both a good guy and a ridiculous cartoon of a bad guy, which is something I really want to see. We know Pascal can do it because he just went huge as the villain in Wonder Woman 1984. And, like, think about Paul Rudd playing his character from Wet Hot American Summer but now that guy has two golden guns and a deep love of villainy. And now think about Pedro Pascal playing exactly the same character after they swap faces. You would see that movie. Everyone would.

Vin Diesel and The Rock

I’m sorry, but this is too funny not to include, in part because two of our beefiest action stars have already made movies together and allegedly hate each other so much, and in part because I will go to far greater links than this to include that picture in something I am writing. I want this movie to exist as much as I want a five-part documentary about the making of it to exist, which is to say “very much.” I also want to see the string of posts from irate muscle bros who point out that The Rock is substantially taller and more jacked than Vin. I don’t even care if the movie is good. It might even be better if it’s not. I just want it.

Robert Pattinson and Tom Hardy

This one was suggested yesterday by Collider’s Vinnie Mancuso and it is so good I’m actually a little mad about it. The chaotic energy of it all is off the charts. Tom Hardy has never encountered an acting choice too big to commit to film, which I mean in the best way possible. (Venom, as constructed, almost certainly would have been a disaster with another actor attempting the things Hardy did.) Robert Pattinson blew up his microwave making pasta, in real life, during a GQ interview. It’s a match made in… not necessarily heaven, I guess, but somewhere pretty cool.

This is by far the most serious and possible entry on this list, by the way. If the new version attempts to do anything close to the original in style and tone, Hardy and Pattinson come the closest to the huge energy of Travolta and Cage. I mean this in the best possible way, too.

Margot Robbie and Kaley Cuoco

Margot Robbie has played Harley Quinn in a number of movies and has been terrific at bringing a huge character like that to life. Kaley Cuoco voices Harley Quinn in the Harley Quinn cartoon on HBO Max and has already started a cool post-Big Bang branch out with shows like The Flight Attendant, which rules. It would be a blast to watch the two Harleys swagger around each other on the screen for two hours, swapping faces and accents halfway through. It would be good, for real. And go watch the Harley Quinn cartoon if you haven’t. If you can watch that and Birds of Prey and not want to see this movie, I don’t know. God bless. You’ve got some soul-searching to do.

Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear

This suggestion is partially serious at best but is being included for two primary reasons: One, because I love the Muppets and think it would be fun if they started doing full-on Muppet-y versions of famous action movies (a Muppet version of John Wick with Gonzo as John Wick); two, because it’s really just a great excuse to post these screencaps from The Great Muppet Caper, a movie in which Kermit and Fozzie play twin brothers.

This one was just for me. Thank you for letting me get it off my chest.

Various Chrises

I don’t know, just pick two. Pine, Evans, Hemsworth, Pratt, whatever, plop two in and let’s get weird. Hell, let’s get all four and have them swap faces multiple times. Let’s do musical chairs with faces until one is left standing. Give them all guns and faces and wait until the smoke clears. It will be great. Let’s make the Chris wars real and let’s commit it to film.

LaKeith Stanfield and Donald Glover

What we have here are two creative people who are not afraid to go very big when the situation calls for it and who already have a history of strong work together in Atlanta. I do not expect either of them to have any interest in doing a Face/Off sequel because they both gravitate toward much more ambitious and new projects. That’s a good thing. I do not want two of the more original dudes in Hollywood to get sucked up entirely by the Existing IP vacuum. But I don’t think anyone can deny that this would be a fascinating movie. Something to consider.

Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep

Do not, for one single second, here on the internet in front of God and everyone else, try to tell me that you would not watch a version of Face/Off that featured Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren trading faces and attempting to kill each other with bullets and explosives and harpoons for somewhere around 120-150 minutes. I will not stand for it.

Also, a production note: I included this one as a joke but by the time I got done thinking about it I had become alarmingly serious about it. It’s not the first time something like this has happened. For example…

Danny McBride and Walton Goggins

One month ago, almost exactly to the day, I wrote a thing about movies that we should consider remaking with Danny McBride and Walton Goggins in the lead roles. One of the suggestions was Face/Off. Here was my reasoning at the time:

• I really want to see Walton Goggins’ take on John Travolta’s take on Nicolas Cage, right down to the deranged smirking and eyes flooded with chaos
• I really want to see Danny McBride brandish two solid gold handguns as he leaps out of an airplane

Again, I was mostly joking when I started typing that. Now here we are, four short weeks later, and there’s a real new Face/Off coming. I feel like it’s a sign. We should do it. We have to do it. For me.

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly

I just watched Step Brothers again a couple weeks ago. These two should be required to make a movie together every two years. Let’s not talk about Holmes & Watson. Let’s focus on this instead.

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta

The time has come to get the band back together. Yes, I know that Castor Troy died at the end of the first one, if we want to be all technical about things. But my counterargument to that would be this: Castor Troy somehow escaping death and returning 20 years later to swap faces and do battle with his greatest nemesis would not even be a top-five weirdest thing about what is now the Face/Off franchise.

We can do this. We should do this. We must do this. Get Cage and Travolta on the phone today. Lord knows those two won’t say no to any of it. We can probably start filming by Monday.

When discussing Black music and the communities that created its genres, there are cities and sounds that immediately come to mind. The Bronx and New York City pioneered hip-hop, Houston culture and DJ Screw created the “Chopped and Screwed” sound, and New Orleans birthed jazz. From Philadelphia and Los Angeles to St. Louis and Nashville, dozens of cities across the country add to the overall history of music and American pop culture thanks to styles crafted by Black populations.

The musical landscape continues to expand but not without the impact of regional scenes cultivated by Black culture. Through the innovation of new generations and traditions passed down through ancestral guidance, Black people have produced various genres and subgenres that have influenced sounds of past, present, and future.

Below are 10 scenes that contributed to the neverending legacy of Black music in America.

Dayton, Ohio – Funk Music

Notable Acts: Ohio Players, Zapp (Zapp Band or Zapp & Roger), Lakeside, Slave, Faze-O

This small mid-western city contributed to the mainstream success and widespread impact funk music had on other genres and culture. Funk music itself began rising in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s While artists from all over created funk music, Dayton, Ohio became a central hub for funk bands and cultivated a unique sound and aesthetic.

Although artists not from the “Gem City” such as James Brown and George Clinton are heralded for their contributions to the genre, the surge of funk bands from West Dayton added greatly to the commercial success. Songs from Dayton funk bands have been sampled throughout the music industry. Zapp hits such as “Computer Love,” and “More Bounce To The Ounce,” have been reworked by everyone from Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac to Mariah Carey and Usher.

“I really got a feel for what would make people get up and move,” Roger Troutman of Zapp told Los Angeles Times in 1997.

The style of music which incorporated hypnotic electric guitars, deep bass, and synthesized tones inspired the evolution of G-Funk in the 1990s and current hip-hop trends maintained today.

Washington D.C. – Go-Go Music

Notable Acts: Rare Essence, Junkyard Band, Chuck Brown, Backyard Band (Big G), EU, (Sugar Bear) New Impressionz, Pleasure Band

The funk-derivative drums provide Washington D.C. a unique sound native to the capital city. Go-go gained popularity in the 1970s when Black nightclubs were called “go-gos” and going to “a go-go” was the local thing to do. Go-go reached new heights in the 1980s when E.U.’s “Da Butt” was immortalized by Spike Lee’s School Daze, made it to number one on Billboard‘s R&B chart, and earned a Grammy nomination.

Go-go music has not only soundtracked the nightlife of the Chocolate City, residents use the sound to fuel local movements. In 2019, #DontMuteDC protests against gentrification used Go-go music as protest anthems. The Washington Post reported the silencing of a local store was the essential silencing and erasure of D.C. culture. In 2020, go-go was named “official music” of Washington, D.C. in a unanimous vote by the District’s city council.

“I don’t want my children to live in a D.C. that has lost its culture,” said community member Julie Guyot, “And if we lose this, we don’t live in D.C. anymore. We live in that federal city named Washington.”

New Orleans – Bounce Music

Notable Acts: Big Freedia, Magnolia Shorty, “MC T., DJ Jubilee, Juvenile, Katie Red

The heavy brass and fast-paced dance-inducing music has deep cultural ties to its native New Orleans. Bounce music originated in the 1980s and was popularized in the 1990s, built on the “Triggerman” beat and infused with energetic call and response lyrics, chants, and storytelling that paint a vivid picture of the NOLA lifestyle. The scene emerged from housing projects and wards and invaded New Orleans nightclubs, house parties, and block parties, and now international stages.

As a genre and culture, bounce embraced a carefree spirit and calls for shaking. Bounce was also one of the first hip-hop spaces to empower the LGBTQ+ community.

“We don’t call it twerking, we call it shaking,” local legend Big Freedia remarked to Indie Magazine in 2018. “We bend over, bust over, make it clap, show the hustle, pee the pants. It’s all bounce slang.”

Artists such as Beyonce, Drake, and New Orleans native Lil Wayne have drawn influence from bounce music for their biggest hits. Musicians not only create original bounce songs, but DJs also give new life to chart-topping hits with bounce remixes.

The Bay Area – Hyphy Music

Notable Acts: Keak Da Sneak, Mac Dre, E-40, Too Short

In the Bay Area and East Oakland specifically, the hyphy movement emerged as a homegrown wave in sound and style. The term was coined by rapper Keak Da Sneak in 1994, however, it was not until the 2000s that hyphy made waves nationally, when he served as a guest feature on E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go.”

As E-40 remarked to Complex for a 2016 oral history of the genre, “Hyphy is energy. Hyphy is a lifestyle. It originated with the streets. I credit people like Keak Da Sneak, Mac Dre, and plenty more. It’s really a way of life, just hard-headed and really energized, like, ‘He just a young hyphy dude. Man, he hella hyphy.’”

The hyphy culture has its own look, its own dances, and its own language. Cultivated through sideshows and other parties and shows where attendees showed off their fresh outfits, clean whips, and unique sounds.

Memphis – Crunk Music

Notable Acts: Three Six Mafia, Gangsta Boo, 8 Ball and MJG, La Chat

Once the beat drops on a Memphis crunk song either join in the melee or take cover. While some debate on the origins of the subgenre, on wax, Memphis musicians cultivated a sound and culture that laid the groundwork for the crunk music wave (and later snap music) that emerged in Atlanta during the late 1990s and early 2000s and brought mainstream by Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys.

Crunk music evolved from underground hip-hop scenes in the Tennesse city with DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, and Juicy J taking horrorcore to the club scene with original music crafted with aggressive call-and-response lyrics and drum-heavy beats, and distinct “gangster walk” dancing. They later formed the group Three 6 Mafia and released the crunk staple “Tear Da Club Up.”

In 2020, rising Memphis artist Duke Deuce released “Crunk Ain’t Dead,” paying homage to the original sound and the Bluff City. He even enlisted Juicy J, Lil Jon, and Project Pat for the remix. He filmed the video in his hometown and established the generational connection.

In an interview with Uproxx in 2020, Deuce defined the sound: “It’s crunk as hell,” he said. “For real, for real. Like on a whole nother scale. We took it back to the late eighties and nineties. Real, real crunk. We the gangster walking and all that”

Detroit – Techno Music

Notable Acts: The Belleville Three, Moodymann, Blake Baxter, DJ Starski, Underground Resistance

Most people recognize the Motor City for Motown Records, but techno music also calls the midwestern hub home. The genre is widely attributed to three high school friends, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May who formed the Bellville Three. Together, the trio created electronic music from their basements.

“At the time, I didn’t even fathom that a person could put out their own record, so that was something that was enlightening for me,” said Atkins to the Detroit Metro Times in 2018. “I was like, ‘These beats I’ve been making, you mean I could put these beats out myself?’ So we did it.”

Although now more popular in Europe and associated with non-Black crowds, techno originated in Detroit and evolved through the local party and community scenes before going global. The entire genre was formed as an afrofuturistic idea in response to the despair of the inner city was brought to life by synthesizers, turntables, and progressive, mechanical sounds.

During the 1980s and 1990s when techno was being formed, Detroit faced an unemployment crisis, drug epidemic, and gun violence that combined to exaggerate poverty levels for mostly Black residents. Underground Resistance targeted Black men through techno music to provide an alternate identity and a way out.

Chicago – Drill Music

Notable Acts: Chief Keef, Katie Got Bandz, Lil Reese, Lil Durk, King Louie

One of the most defining sounds of the 2010s decade, Chicago drill music gave a voice to teenagers who craved an outlet to vocalize the ins-and-outs of their street culture. Before the term was assigned to the music, drill was a word that indicated violence, usually shooting. The teenagers who cultivated the drill scene were doing more than rapping about gang violence and other criminal activity. It told stories of loyalty, grief, an unfair criminal justice system, inadequate schools, and overall neglected communities.

“Like I said, I say what’s real,” Chief Keef remarked to the Chicago Tribune in 2012. “I say what’s going on right now. What we doing.”

The Chicago drill scene created the blueprint for emerging drill music centers in Brooklyn and the U.K, with artists such as Pop Smoke, Sheff G, Shaybo, Ivorian Doll, and Fizzler adding their own regional swagger to the midwest sound.

Chicago – House Music

Notable Acts: DJ Frankie Knuckles, DJ Ron Hardy, DJ Jesse Saunders, Steve “Silk” Hurley, DJ Lady D, Larry “Mr. Fingers” Heard

Modern EDM music has Chicago house music to thank for its existence. The Windy City’s underground club culture in the 1980s ushered in a new sound when DJs began to mix and create tracks of their own. Warehouse, the nightclub that many argue gave the genre its name, was a party haven for primarily Black and Latinx gay males where they could exist without judgment. DJ Frankie Knuckles, nicknamed the “Godfather of House,” began experimenting with disco records to develop what would eventually be called house music.

The genre was the result of the anti-disco movement which operated with undertones of homophobia and racism. A Chicago disc jockey Steve Dahl held a grudge against the glitzy genre after losing his job to the rise of disco and led the charge to destroy disco records in an explosion during a baseball game.

“House music has grown to be a million times bigger than disco, and the LGBT and Black communities in Chicago have thrived because of this music,” DJ Jesse Saunders shared with DAZED in 2018. “It has become a way of life for more than 33 years, and Chicagoans embrace their homegrown creations with a passion like no other. Just like New Yorkers hold their hip hop dear, so do to Chicagoans with their house music. This could have only happened in Chicago,”

House spread from Chicago to Detroit and New York, and eventually became a global party sound.

Miami – Bass Music

Notable Acts: 2 Live Crew, Sir Mix-a-lot, 69 Boyz, DJ Slice, Quad City DJs, DJ Nice & Nasty

The south Florida city known for fancy beaches and partying has other cultural influences to stake claim to. Miami bass music, sometimes called “Booty Bass” has influenced sounds from crunk to hyphy to trap. In the 1980s and 1990s, bass music reached popular heights. The uptempo, sexually explicit songs powered block parties, strip clubs, and more.

Raunchy rhymes rapped by the 2 Live Crew, key artists to the genre went to court to defend their right to rap and perform their content. The group was arrested after performing their top-selling album As Nasty As They Wanna Be at a Florida club. 2 Live Crew won the case, and the precedent became a victory for all musicians and the right to protect their lyrics and creative agency under the First Amendment.

“I stood up for hip-hop,” reminisced 2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell — aka Uncle Luke — in a 2020 Variety interview. “Whether I get credit for it or not. I appreciate it if you understand the history and pay respect to people like myself.”

Atlanta – Modern Trap Music

Notable Acts: Dungeon Family, Gucci Mane, T.I., Young Jeezy, Outkast, DJ Drama, Lex Luger

Depending on who’s asked, the originator of “trap” music may differ, however, it is no question that Atlanta artists cultivated modern trap music culture and paved the way for one of the current most popular subgenres of mainstream hip-hop. Trap music artists discuss their drug deals, their customers, and the lifestyle that comes with living lavishly off of dirty money. This includes storytelling over aggressive 808s, strings, keyboards, and brass instrument sounds.

As the subgenre gained popularity, it grew from a gritty exposé of Atlanta street life and survival to a glamorous scene of designer clothes, gold grills, and flashy cars with slanging as the Kickstarter for wealth. Trap culture has the appeal of selling Cinderella stories over hip-hop’s best beats. Listeners are motivated to hustle until they have their own financial success story to inspire the next.

“My message is motivation, my message is evolution, and my message is believing in yourself,” Jeezy told GQ last year. “As long as that message is relevant, then the music will be timeless”

Today, Atlanta artists such as Migos, Young Thug, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Future, and others have embraced elements of trap music to build their own musical style. Hip-hop artists in Atlanta have also used their fame gained through music to help lead social and political causes in the Peach State.

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

Zion Williamson has played 14 consecutive games. It’s the longest stretch of uninterrupted basketball of his 47-game career, coinciding with his most prolific run, one that’s seeing his game evolve and expand. His dominance has thrust the New Orleans Pelicans back into the playoff hunt, sitting just two games out of eighth and three games out of fifth — the cutthroat nature of the Western Conference means they’re also a game out of 14th.

Regardless of how the Pelicans opt to proceed, whether it’s prioritizing on-court youth development or pursuing Zion’s first taste of playoff hoops, they will be in good hands. The second-year trampoline-in-sneakers is quickly delivering on the palpable buzz that engulfed him as a prospect and continues today. Over his past 13 games, he is averaging 25.3 points on 69.3 percent true shooting, bringing his season-long tallies to 23.8 points on 63.9 percent true shooting.

His recent numbers are due for some slight regression, but not much. That’s why this period from Zion is so promising. He’s shooting 69 percent at the rim on 12 attempts per game and 76.2 percent from the line. Even if those marks slip to, say 65 percent and 70 percent, roughly his season averages for each, he’d still be at 65 percent true shooting, an absolutely absurd scoring clip for any 20-point scorer, let alone a 20-year-old fewer than 50 games into his career.

The grandest shift in recent weeks is New Orleans finally recognizing Zion should be its offensive initiator and structuring a scheme around his creation abilities. Running possessions primarily through Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Eric Bledsoe did not prove fruitful because none of them consistently sew advantages to benefit the entire offense, particularly the latter two. Ingram has blossomed into a gifted scorer and tough shot-maker, while his passing vision elevates to more complicated, valuable levels, but he does not bend defenses anywhere close to the degree Zion does.

So, the Pelicans have reoriented their offense and given Zion the keys over the past 13 games. Since then, they rank fourth in offensive rating (117.6), up from 22nd (106.8) during the initial 11 games of the season. Rather than predominantly functioning as a roller, cutter, and post-up scorer, he is granted the freedom to dribble up court, conduct pick-and-rolls as a ball-handler, target mismatches, and collapse defenses.

Twenty-one of his 33 pick-and-roll ball-handling possessions have occurred over the past 12 games. More than 35 percent of his field goal attempts happen after at least three dribbles. Last season, just 13.5 percent of his field goal attempts came following three-plus dribbles. Over his first 10 games of 2020-21, that number only ticked up to 18.2 percent. Similarly, 11.4 percent of his touches span at least six seconds throughout this time, quite the leap from 1.9 percent during the first 10 games and 1.8 percent of last year.

All of this, really, just conveys the fundamental principle of Zion’s evolution: He’s empowered to do more with the ball in his hands, and it’s paying dividends for himself and the entire offense, something that is typically a hallmark and barometer for viability as an offensive engine.

Deployment that views Zion as a wing creator rather than post-up big or roll man provides a runway to best exert his elite physical tools and skills. He has the handling chops, namely an in-and-out dribble, to forge slight advantages, upon which he strikes. There’s a distinct convergence of suddenness, ferocity, and delicacy in his attacking. He glides to spots in an instant, overwhelming defenders and barging through them, but is control of his movement patterns, capable of swift changes of direction or contorting in midair around help at the rim. The way he matches his blend of strength and quickness is not common, and affording him touches with space amplifies these traits and explains why his efficiency has spiked in recent weeks.

Zion is the rare interior-heavy scorer who warrants the usage to log 20-plus points a night. He wields the physical tools to live at the paint, often navigating his own path there rather than having someone else set the table for him. He leads the NBA in shots in the restricted area (12.2) and is showcasing how efficient one can be with a heavy saturation of attempts inside. Most guys who rely considerably on production at the rim are liable to defenses scheming away their preferred shot profile. Zion differentiates himself from that crowd because containing him downhill demands a rare, specific archetype — a long, mobile, strong-chested rim protector — and the mental fortitude to withstand blow after blow.

That sort of player is quite difficult to unearth and genuinely restrict Zion because of this newfound usage. Wall off the rim and he’ll rev up to pile-drive inside, utilizing strength, body control, touch, and mid-air adjustment. Whereas crowding the paint on his post-ups and rolls has worked previously, it’s much harder to do when he has the luxury of scanning the floor, formulating a plan and kicking into gear from the perimeter. He’s unlikely to be 25-point on 69 percent true shooting good all season, but the ease in which he frequents the rim in this new role means much of it is sustainable. He’s among the NBA’s premier paint scorers — perhaps the best — and is now given the chance to amplify those skills with greater optionality on each touch. Opponents have thrown a litany of assignments at him during these 13 games and he keeps discarding them.

Either he’s too strong for anyone who matches his fluidity or too quick for anyone who matches his size. If necessary, he’ll run an inverted pick-and-roll or snag a hand-off to induce a mismatch. Station him on the perimeter to open sets and more than not, the opposition finds itself compromised.

By diversifying his approach, the Pelicans broaden their scoring avenues on any given possession. He has more space to leverage his talents rather than being pigeonholed into a role that almost guarantees a shot every time with little creativity in the process and fires him into a congested paint where defenders are loading up to slow him. Post-ups, flex cuts, and ball-screens as the roller are still incorporated into his arsenal, but they’re becoming merely features as opposed to the entire arsenal and that’s critical to maximizing his offensive upside.

Treating him as a primary initiator is emphasizing the ripple effects of rim pressure. Shooting gravity engenders traps and doubles — think Stephen Curry, James Harden, Damian Lillard — to yield efficient looks for others, but the same applies to dominant interior scorers who create on their own like Zion. When he’s priming for a drive, he draws the attention of almost everyone on the floor. Help defenders try to identify the proper moment for a stunt, rotation, or dig because of his excellence inside, the product of absurd volume and quite good efficiency. Parlaying that attention into playmaking is easier when defenders exist within your line of sight, and his assist numbers over this 13-game evolution reflect that.

During the first 10 games of the season, he registered 16 assists and 29 turnovers. During his past 13 games, he’s trending significantly positive, with 50 assists and 29 turnovers. What once was nearly an 0.5 assist-to-turnover ratio has become nearly a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. It’s the product of easily discernible passing reads on his heightened face-up and driving volume that threaten defenders and provoke them to help off of their assignment in an effort to stymie Zion’s individual prowess. Nothing eye-popping arises from these assists, but the spacious openings he regularly crafts by luring defenses into his orbit is something nobody else on the roster offers.

Recognizing Zion is the team’s on-ball catalyst has accentuated the strengths of everyone around him. Ball and Bledsoe slide back into their optimal off-ball duties instead of being forced to moonlight as ill-fitting on-ball creators. J.J. Redick is rediscovering his jumper, benefiting from the 20-year-old’s substantial gravity. Ingram can key in on his scoring repertoire and budding passing weaponry instead of trying to shoulder the load as a flawed offensive engine. Ball (60 vs. 75 percent), Ingram (32 vs. 54) and Bledsoe (48 vs. 60) are all scoring on assisted makes substantially more since Zion assumed the reins. Every perimeter player in the rotation aside from Bledsoe — Ball, Ingram, Redick, and Josh Hart — before and after Zion’s promotion have seen their scoring output bolstered.

The first ~35 games of Zion’s career saw him excel in a limited capacity, serving as a play finisher who wowed with explosive movement skills and tear-down-the-rim jams. He was very good, but it felt like everyone was only witnessing one layer of his game. Over the past few weeks, though, he’s elucidating why he is such a highly touted rising star. He’s a legitimate offensive initiator who stresses defenses with finesse, locomotive power, complementary passing vision, and a deft handle.

It took some time for everything to coalesce but, finally, the Pelicans understand who they have in Zion and an ascension is underway. They’re exploring the depths of his game and the entire team is better off for it.

During the Trump legal team’s disastrous appearance on the first day of their client’s impeachment trial, most of the scorn was reserved for Bruce Castor, and for good reason: his opening statement was not only long but rambling, earning comparisons to the bad public defender from My Cousin Vinny. But on Friday, it was time for his colleague David Schoen to get dragged on social media. The attorney spent nearly two hours defending Trump from accusations of inciting an insurrection, the highlight of which was not one but two epic videos of Democrats…saying the word “fight.”

A lot of Schoen’s arguments in defense of Trump — who delivered a fiery speech right before the Capitol riot on January 6 in which he used the word “fight” 20 times — involved false equivalencies. He implied there was little difference between things Democratic lawmakers have said and what Trump said right before the failed MAGA riot. Of course, there’s a big difference: only Trump’s speech was followed by a violent failed coup that resulted in five dead.

But that didn’t stop Schoen, who played a 10-minute montage comprised of simply Democrats saying the word “fight,” each one stripped of context. Was its epic length intended as a form of torture?

Oh, and by the way, there more than one of them.

Many pointed out that none of the included cases — including several involving Senator Elizabeth Warren — was immediately followed by an attempted insurrection.

Some pointed out that context was, in each and every case, a bit important.

What’s more, there was a big difference between another false equivalency Trump’s defenders have relied on: drawing a BS parallel between the failed MAGA coup and the BLM protests over last summer.

To some, the Trump lawyers’ reliance on whataboutism was a sign that they had no real argument.

Others felt bad for whoever had to painstakingly construct these lengthy monstrosities.

Some mocked some of the clips that were included.

Others pointed out that the word “fight” is often used in other contexts, which don’t lead to attempted coups.

There were a fair amount of “Fight Song” jokes.

But perhaps the montages weren’t as damning as they may have thought. There were reports that some of the senators included in the videos simply responded by laughing in derision.