Closing out the summer with a bang. Continue reading…
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Naomi Osaka Knocked Out Of Olympics In Third Round
Japan’s Naomi Osaka Olympic aspirations have come to a close in an unexpected ending for the tennis star.
It was in the 3rd round of the Olympic tennis tournament that Osaka was defeated by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. Vondrousova’s previous accolades include being a finalist in the French Open.
“I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” said Osaka.
Osaka, who has been Japan’s obvious face of the Olympic Games this year, lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremonies. She called it “undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life.”
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Pairing this responsibility with a newfound profile as the high highest-paid female athlete in the world seemed to get the better of Osaka, who cited more pressure than usual with this tournament.
“I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this,” Osaka added. “I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in the Olympics before and for the first year [it] was a bit much.”
Her opponent graciously echoed the same.
“It’s tough for her also playing in Japan and in the Olympics,” Vondrousova said post-victory. “It’s so much pressure, I cannot imagine.”
Osaka has previously been public about her struggles with safeguarding her mental health as the 2nd-ranked player in the world. Notably, at the French Open, Osaka skipped the mandatory new conference after her first-round victory in Paris, revealing that speaking with reporters creates doubts for her. She was fined $15,000 for her absence.
Two Atlanta Cops Suspended After One Filmed Kicking Handcuffed Woman In Head
Police officers in Atlanta were caught on video inappropriately injuring a handcuffed woman by kicking her in the head. The video has surfaced and went viral on Twitter through the @atluncensored account, which prompted the Atlanta Police Department to take action on the matter.
The “actions of the sergeant appear to be unacceptable,” APD said in a statement Monday following the incident going viral on social media. In the video, the woman attempts to look up at the sergeant after lying in a prone position on the ground, only to be kicked in the face and subdued back onto the ground. A female officer stood in observance throughout the incident while a third male officer comes around the police vehicle after the kick occurred.
The identities and names of the officers have not been shared with the public, but the APD has indicated that they were not pleased with the “lack of reaction” displayed from the female officer who watched the incident occur. After the decision was made to relieve the two officers from active duty, the APD released the following statement:
“The decision was made to immediately relieve the sergeant and the officer from duty and place the sergeant on unpaid suspension. The Atlanta Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS) was directed to open an investigation into the actions of all employees on-scene and their investigation is to be expedited.”
The department also noted that the actions of both officers fell outside of their training standards, but they have indicated that they will conduct an investigation on the situation to get to the bottom of where the officers went wrong in protocol.
Check out video of the incident below, but be warned that the actions displayed are graphic in nature.
Young Thug Recalls Emotional Memories In “Die Slow” Stories
Young Thug recently made his NPR Tiny Desk debut, where he unveiled four brand new songs from his upcoming album Punk. Having previously announced the project shortly after dropping So Much Fun in 2019, Thug has officially confirmed an October 15th release date.
With the album only a few months away, it would appear that we’ll be getting a more emotional offering from Thugger — at least compared to So Much Fun, which was as carefree as its title might have suggested. Case in point, in the first of his four new tracks — titled “Die Slow,” Thugger blends rapping with spoken word as he reflects on some emotional childhood memories.
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“Got in a fight with a deputy Sherrif, I almost lost my mama,” he raps, sliding into the spoken story. “That’s funny. My mom had broken up with my dad for having another kid on another. He came home one day and saw a car in the driveway. It was an off-duty sheriff that my mom was fuckin with. They had a few words and it ended with my dad shooting and ending up in a hospital in a coma.”
“Fast forward about eight years later, my sister had gotten in a fight, and they had a family member who was a deputy sheriff. My mom had come outside to stop the fight, but [the sherriff] had ran and got in the car, pulled off doing sixty miles per hour. Ran my mom over. She had a stroke but she alright.”
From there, he segues back into spitting, delivering a bombshell bar destined to catch people off guard in its directness: “I always knew I wasn’t going to be gay.” For more from Young Thug — including several unreleased songs from Punk — check out the full NPR Tiny Desk Concert below.
Look for Punk to land in full on October 15th. Based on what we’ve seen so far, are you excited?
WATCH: Young Thug’s Tiny Desk Concert
Young Thug Debuts Songs From ‘Punk’ In A Hardcore Tiny Desk Concert With Travis Barker
Young Thug is on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts: A sentence I never thought I’d write but that I am so glad I now can. But wait… there’s more! He plays his set with a very (ahem) punk influence, hinting toward the eventual release of his next full-length album, which he’s been teasing for some time. And listen, if you thought Young Thug rapping to punk instrumentals wouldn’t be awesome, I genuinely do not know what to tell you. It’s great.
With a setlist including both new songs (“Die Slow,” “Droppin Jewels,” “Hate The Game,” and “Tick Tock”) as well as his current fan-favorite “Ski” from the YSL compilation album that dropped earlier this year, Thugger’s Tiny Desk Concert is everything you could want from one of these or from a live Young Thug performance.
Oh yeah, and you know Travis Barker pulls up to play drums because what even is a punk-rap crossover without Travis Barker on it? Thug’s flow also seems… I don’t want to say “improved,” but it’s very polished and clear and that’s obviously on purpose as he slides into his next evolution with all the finesse suggested by those constant “slime” and snake references he makes.
Watch Young Thug’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert above.
Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
From Call of Duty To NBA 2K, Bankrol Hayden Never Forgets How Video Games Helped Him
With hits like “Cabo” and “Brothers,” 19-year-old Bankrol Hayden is making his name known, but despite the time and effort that goes into finding and then building on early success, Bankrol still has love for his time spent gaming with his friends back in the day and for what gaming has meant for him in his life. That’s part of why he’s set to be one of the key talents driving Xbox and Atlantic Records’ unveil of the Green Room, a streaming crossover event happening tonight at 6PM ET on Atlantic’s YouTube channel.
Hayden is set to be a member of one of the 10 squads playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (additional guests include Seth Curry, A Boogie, and Vikkstar) for bragging rights and a share of a $10,000 prize pool. Uproxx spoke with Bankrol about the event, his training, and what song he’d put on the NBA2K soundtrack if he had the chance.
Talk to me about why you wanted to be involved with the launch of the series.
Bankrol Hayden: Yeah, it’s really cool. Honestly, I was excited when they told me about it, especially because GaryV is on it. I’ve always been a big fan of his. Also, I’ve just been playing video games since I was a kid. So it was good news when I got to hear that.
How much Call of Duty do you play?
I’m going to be honest, when I was little I played a lot of Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Black Ops Two. But I don’t play much Call Of Duty [now]. I’m actually getting into training right now. I don’t play that much to be real with you, bro. I play more 2K and Madden, I play a lot of GTA. I still play the OG Call Of Duty [games] and shit with my boys when I go back home. I used to go on zombies and go crazy. Nuketown. [In Modern Warfare 3] we used to be taking out the juggernauts. Now that bro brought that back to my memory, it would be every level you would get a new gun or something, but we would be taking out like three or four juggernauts every round. That shit was lit. This was before Black Ops Two, Black Ops One. Yeah, this is way back. But man, I’m really excited for the event. It’s going to be a great time. We’re going to have a blast.
So when you are playing, is it more of a relaxed, hang with friends thing, or just an escape from the world?
It just gets my mind off stuff. I used to be in the hospital and when I was going through surgeries and I was like, I’ve got a back surgery tomorrow, I would be like, okay, playing Fortnite is taking my mind off all that. Or playing Call Of Duty, playing 2K with my boys, with a headset on. That’s always kind of what video games did for me. But as I’m moving into my rap career, I’ve got to be focusing. I’ve got to watch how much time I spend on the game. So I actually put it away. It’s in my closet right now.
I like that. That means you’re really focused.
It was draining for me because I had it in my living room bro, and I was like, you know what? We are here to make music. That’s why we are in LA. But it’s still good and I like it. That shit really helps people’s minds.
When you’re playing 2K, who’s your team?
Man, bro, I liked playing 2K Blacktop, bro. That’s my favorite thing. You gotta watch what I did with Faze Blaze. I beat him in 2K. I like playing that stuff, but my team is going to be the Warriors because that’s where I’m from, out there in the bay.
Are they going back to the playoffs next year?
We’re going back to the playoffs with Klay [Thompson].
How do you feel about Giannis Antetokounmpo winning a championship?
Bro, that shit is inspiring, bro. Just seeing bro win, all the videos of him wanting it before, and now he’s here, it’s respectable. He deserved it.
What song of yours do you feel would be best on a 2K soundtrack?
I’m going to say “Costa Rica” with Kid Laroi remix. That shit would go crazy, I feel like. Or “Drop a Tear,” Lil Baby with me.
What was it like doing a song with Lil Baby?
Shoot man, it was a cool experience. We shot it in a church in Atlanta and all those people had great vibes. It was cool people and it was good, man. It was a good experience. It was crazy. Because I’m a big fan a Lil Baby. So I was like, man, this is surreal.
Bankrol Hayden is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
MoneyBagg Yo Seemingly Addresses Video Of Ari Twerking On Another Man
MoneyBagg Yo seemingly isn’t worried about the video of his girlfriend Ari Fletcher dancing with another man at the club. This week, a video went viral of Ari twerking on another man during a club appearance, and fans theorized that she was done with her rapper boyfriend after they both sent out cryptic tweets the week prior. However, according to Ari, she was dancing with her friend Greg, a gay man, and they were just playing around.
Despite her explanation, people have still been wondering about the status of Ari’s relationship with MoneyBagg Yo. The world may be questioning their bond, but the two people involved sure aren’t. Seemingly responding to the situation with a post-and-delete, Bagg told fans that he’s the furthest thing from insecure after watching the video.
“Never been insecure dets wats wrong wit u lame ass n***a now, stay focus,” wrote Bagg on Twitter.
Prince Williams/Getty Images
Ari explained the video, saying, “That’s Greg I was dancing on. I treat my gay male friends just how I treat my female friends. I would never disrespect my relationship or purposely try to embarrass my n***a. We just be playing around, I’m done giving y’all certain energy cause I see all jokes ain’t funny.”
Do you think it was disrespectful for Ari to be dancing like this with another man? Swipe below to see the video.
Rick Ross Admits He Doesn’t Have A Driver’s License Despite Owning 100 Cars
Rick Ross is certainly someone who enjoys the luxuries in life. His mansion has 109 rooms and served as the palace in Coming II America. Previously owned by Evander Holyfield, Rick Ross has transformed his massive estate into what looks like a tourist attraction that only a selected few are invited to. The most impressive aspect of his home is his garage. The rapper has over 100 cars from the latest luxury sports cars to classic American muscle cars.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Apparently, Ross can’t legally drive a single one of the whips that he stores at his home. Only after expanding his car collection has he began the process of getting his driver’s license. “You own a hundred cars and you don’t have a driver’s license,” said Rozay before divulging into some of the questions he answered in his application.
“But more importantly, I’m fillin’ out everything for my driver’s license and they ask me, ‘Are you an organ donor?'” He continued. “I’m like damn. If something was to happen to me and they looked inside of me and saw how good my heart was. Don’t let me die just to take my good heart.”
Ross previously explained that the reason he owns 100 cars isn’t just for the flex. Similar to how he’s rented his mansion out for Hollywood production, he’s been getting six-figure checks simply for renting his cars by the hour for photoshoots.
Peep Ross’ explanation below.
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42 Dugg Drops “Turnest N***a In The City” Video With Cameos From Yo Gotti & EST Gee
Fresh off his performance at Rolling Loud in Miami, 42 Dugg has released the new music video for “Turnest N***a in the City” from his latest mixtape Free Dem Boyz.
Directed by Gerard Victor, the new video looks at the Detroit rapper’s lavish lifestyle, showing off his expensive cars as he parties on a yacht. A spotlight is placed on the CMG family with cameos from Yo Gotti and EST Gee. Dugg also has a run-in with the cops in the video, but he was able to get off without a scuff on his record.
This comes following his memorable weekend, hitting the stage twice at Rolling Loud. Dugg had his own performance at the festival before joining Lil Baby during his set to perform “We Paid.”
Watch the new music video below and let us know what you think.
Lil Nas X Nude VMA Announcement Makes Blocboy JB Ban His Kids From Rap
Blocboy JB is the latest to take umbrage with Lil Nas X.
After dropping his “Industry Baby” video with Jack Harlow in tow, Lil Nas X revealed that he plans to spice things up a bit with a scheduled performance alongside Harlow at the forthcoming MTV Video Music Awards completely naked.
According to Lil Nas, the performance will take place in the name of charity at Barclays Center at the awards show on September 12th.
“me and jack harlow have decided to perform industry baby butt naked at the vmas for charity,” Lil Nas X tweeted.
Blocboy JB, however, was quick to voice his dissatisfaction with the decision, commenting under a post on Akademiks’ page that he’ll no longer let his children listen to rap music because of this.
“My kids are can’t listen to rap nomoe,” the Memphis rapper wrote.
Lil Nas X’s decision to amp things up came after Harlow doubled down on his support of the Georgia-bred artist following the expected slew of backlash received for portions of the video where Lil Nas X performed nude in a prison shower.
“Nas wrote the whole treatment for this video and I followed his lead every step of the way,” Harlow wrote on Twitter. “If he had asked me to be in that shower scene I woulda been in that shower scene. I just let the mastermind cook. Honored to be a part of it.”
This prompted Lil Nas X to ask Harlow to reshoot the video, voicing his regret that he didn’t see how far Harlow was willing to go for the video. Their pending performance seems to be making up for what he calls a “mistake.”