NBA All-Star Game Weekend is upon us and DJ Khaled is 100 percent in Cleveland to attend the festivities. Earlier today, he took the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge course for a test drive, presumably warming it up for the three teams of the Antetokounmpo brothers, Cavaliers players, and rookies. Watching Khaled, decked out in a leather jacked and countless layers of iced out diamond necklaces, was a thrill.
He starts dribbling around the barriers, showing the ability to handle the rock with both right and left hands. He crosses over past the final obstacle before pulling up for a jump shot.
Only two attempts to make the shot? This man can take Russ spot
Clearly bogged down by the pounds of stones around his neck, his first shot was an airball. But never discouraged, he demands the ball back — “It don’t matter!” — he then pulls up again and swishes his second attempt triumphantly.
“Do not give up,” he says to the camera. “Don’t get discouraged. If you fall, get up. You keep going. I could’ve made it on the first shot, but there’s so much ice on me!”
The truly inspirational performance from DJ Khaled. One Twitter commenter was impressed with how quickly he sank the bucket, saying “Only two attempts to make the shot? This man can take Russ spot [crying laughing emojis]” Oh, the shade.
Only two attempts to make the shot? This man can take Russ spot
Watch the video of DJ Khaled’s skills on Twitter above. The actual Taco Bell NBA All Star Skills Challenge is the first event on Saturday, 02/19, beginning at 5 p.m. PST. The 2022 NBA All-Star Game itself is on Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.
When most people do an impression of somebody else, they change their voice in an effort to mimic them. An underrated aspect of impersonation, though, is the physicality of it, and getting somebody’s mannerisms or facial quirks correct can make or break an impression. That’s the aspect Doja Cat focused on in a new video, in which she fires off a bunch of celebrity impressions, mostly without saying a word.
Doja Cat does her best “impressions” of Drew Barrymore, Oprah, Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Elvis Presley, Al Pacino and Nicki Minaj in new TikTok. pic.twitter.com/s4NohZuZFG
In a TikTok video, an overlay above Doja’s head randomly selects impersonation prompts. When the first one lands on Drew Barrymore, Doja contorts her mouth in a distinctly Barrymore-ian way. Some of Doja’s impressions are better than others: for Oprah, she just sported a big smile. When Samuel L. Jackson’s name popped up, Doja let out a loud “What?!,” which isn’t a bad approach to take.
Elsewhere in the clip, Doja did her best Kevin Hart, Elvis Presley, Al Pacino, Beyoncé, and Nicki Minaj, the latter of which came in last and saw Doja just letting out an emphatic scream.
Saget was featured in the video alongside Snoop Dogg, Jay Pharoah, pornstar Kendra Sunderland, and the track’s artists Desiigner, DJ Whoo Kid, and Slushii. “Please believe me when I tell you this: Get Bob on the job,” Snoop Dogg says to Desiigner as the hilarious and raunchy video begins. Shot in the Hollywood Hills a few weeks before his death, Rolling Stone reports that Whoo Kid corralled Saget, whom he already knew, after Willie Nelson wasn’t available.
A minute of outtakes plays after the video clip (above) in remembrance of the late comedian and in them, he’s funny as hell. “I’m just here to have bacon,” he says, before noting that “Bakin”/bacon is “a supreme pun. It’s like the best Dad joke ever.”
“You don’t expect him to be sitting around here with all these bad models, and booties-a-clapping and racks being thrown and Desiigner being there doing his thing,” Pharaoh told Rolling Stone. “But it works because that’s what Bob’s whole spirit was. It was different. It was, ‘Put me in an odd place that you wouldn’t expect for me to be and watch me shine.’”
There was nary a room that Saget walked into that he didn’t light up. And he somehow manages to steal the show in a video featuring rappers, pornstars, money, and bacon. “Full House, Nick At Nite, Bob Saget used to rock me to sleep at night, man,” Desiigner added.
Following the release of 2021’s 1176,the !llmind collaborative album that was among Uproxx’s Best Hip-Hop Albums of the Year and featured P-Lo and Rick Ross, Guapdad 4000 has been getting busy at the top of 2022. The ridiculous and hilarious callback to LL Cool J on “I Need Bands” came out last month and now, Guap is pure flow on “Ruthless.”
Produced by James Delgado, “Ruthless” sees the Oakland rapper keeping it cool among a steady drip of heaters. “Big ass arms on me, I ain’t tryna flex tho. Wipe a n*gga off like an expo,” he raps on the hook. The half-Filipino-half-Black rapper is pretty damn likable and always flashes a balance of poise with wit. Lines like “All these dubs in my pocket like lint,” are par for the course for the man with the 10-foot durag that’ll live forever in Grammy red carpet infamy.
Listen to “Ruthless” above and check out Guapdad 4000’s tour dates in support of Wale below.
02/20 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston*
02/24 – New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore New Orleans*
03/01 – Little Rock, AR @ The Hall*
03/04 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz*
03/09 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works*
03/10 – Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal*
03/11 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring*
Guapdad 4000 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
J. Cole well-documented love for basketball and his understated, ultra-comfy style have come together in his latest collaboration with throwback sportswear designer Mitchell & Ness. He revealed his new Dreamer X Mitchell & Ness throwback jersey collection after teasing it with the help of viral hoop phenom Hansel Enmanuel, who appeared in a video narrated by J. Cole praising the young, one-armed baller’s audacity to dream of a pro hoops career.
The jerseys are designed to look like ’90s-era NBA team jerseys, with the name Dreamer taking the place of the original team names on each. Included in the initial run are looks referencing the old-school aesthetics of the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards (formerly the Baltimore Bullets), Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, and New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets). Alas, my beloved Clippers are nowhere to be found, nor are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics, or any iteration of the Grizzlies (Vancouver or Memphis). I’m not sure if anyone even cares about the Utah Jazz (they can’t read this; they don’t have internet). Cole also posted several throwback jersey photos on Instagram to remind fans of their cultural impact (including the “bootleg” throwback he wore as a kid — an authentic NBA jersey, but not a Mitchell & Ness one, which was the THING back then).
The jerseys retail for $375 and are available on mitchellandness.com (for now, expect them to sell out quick).
“You know, when we took that picture in Brooklyn, some guys were driving by, and just when we were about to take it, those guys rolled down their window and said ‘Hey! Are you the Teriyaki Boyz?!’” Tablo, the frontman of Epik High, shares. He is pointing at the framed Map The Soul 2009 tour poster propped up behind me that was signed to my name. It’s been 13 years since that encounter and through it all, Tablo has managed to navigate the trials and tribulations of life, balancing marriage and fatherhood, while being one of the three geniuses behind the Korean alternative hip-hop group Epik High.
Considerably penning some of the most powerful and intricate bars in music, Tablo (whose real name is Daniel Lee) alongside Mithra Jin and Tukutz, has been in the Korean rap game for over 20 years — debuting in 2003 (though formed in 2001). Some of their greatest hits like “Umbrella”, “Run,” and “1 Minute, 1 Second” preach like biblical verses that can name them the Holy Trinity of hip-hop; as the consistent callouts on our vulnerabilities, love, society, and our mental health remain evident in their discography. Not to mention how seamless the three finesse music that can be dark, grim, and real, and then counteracting that with a visual component full of satire and fun.
“Well, see the thing with Epik High — and I think it’s the key to our success — we’re not very self-serious,” Tablo says via Zoom, while donning a white ‘90s style Nirvana tee. It’s always been like that over the last two decades. Epik High may be the legendary hip-hop trio everyone knows, but to the guys themselves, it’s a camaraderie of three who are continuing to experience life together while doing what they love to do.
With 10 studio albums, two EPs, and a couple of compilations and remixes under their belt, Epik High are on the forefront of Korean hip-hop, amplifying the genre to the mainstream. Their achievements and success speak for themselves: iconic collaborations ranging from underground to international artists, groundbreaking performances at Coachella, award-winning projects — they’re all more than epic.
Part one of their two-part tenth album, Epik High Is Here Part 1, paints the grim reality of the human condition in the midst of adapting to the new norm in the global pandemic. However, with the release of Epik High Is Here Part 2, the 12-track project serves as the sonic journey of what seems to be the beginning of the end. Lead singles “Super Rare” and “Gray So Gray” — two songs with polar opposites in meaning — Tablo, Mithra Jin, and Tukutz perfectly encapsulate the duality of susceptibility and badassery Epik High was always known for.
In what can arguably be the perfect pandemic soundtrack, Tablo, the recording artist, lyricist, composer, producer, Stanford graduate, family man, and, ironically at the moment, self-proclaimed “COVID brain” caught up with me in the midst of quarantining in his bedroom in to discuss Epik High’s legacy, Epik High Is Here Part 2, touring, and Coachella.
Congratulations on Epik High Is Here, Part 2. What was it like working on it this time around?
We imagined this coming out when all of this COVID stuff would be over. We wanted the album to be a celebration; so we had happier, upbeat songs because we thought it would be like this great reopening where everybody rushes out into the streets and just [gives] hugs and kisses, goes to parties and shows. But as we all now know this is going on a lot longer than we imagined. As time progressed, the way we create our albums, our mood, or our thoughts at the time really dramatically affects it. It’s not like we can set out to create a happy album. And as this was getting extended and you know all of us were dealing with our own demons and stuff, I think it just naturally turned into the album that it is right now. I actually like it a lot, I think it reflects better what everybody may have been going through and hopefully, they can identify with that and get the consolation that they need.
You’ve invited old and new faces to collaborate for Part 2. How was working with them?
I always think it’s interesting where I have an ear to the music scene. I’m not as active in public, but I’m always listening to new stuff that comes out and making a mental note of people that I want to work with. We work with them then we discover they were fans of Epik High at some point. For example, with “Face ID”, GIRIBOY and JUSTHIS posted their Epik High album collections on Instagram and shared how this is a moment for them. That really pulled on my heartstrings because I was just happy to be working with these talented kids. WONSTEIN did covers of our songs back in the day and gave us demo CDs. I met pH-1 for the first time at Epik High’s New York concert. Everything feels like it’s coming back full-circle to be working with them. So even when we’re working with artists that we’ve never worked with on this album we’re somehow all connected and it fits in with the theme of the album that combines the past, present, and future.
In “Super Rare,” you touched on hustle culture and the journey to fame. What are your thoughts on success?
You know how they say success is subjective and everyone has their own definition of success? Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. Regardless of your personal definition of success, society has decided certain criteria for what they deem as actual success. Even if you have achieved personal success and you’re perfectly content, society will look at that and say, “That’s not success…” and then proceed to crush your perfect contentment. I’ve always had to fight to defend my personal definition of success. I always have people trying to tempt me to try to do something I don’t really particularly want to do, promising me things that really don’t mean that much to me (money and fame) and Epik High has been very good at doing it on our own terms and maintaining it. But it hasn’t been easy.
Then what would you say is your personal key to success?
I’m not doing what I do as a means to get to something or to acquire something. I decided early on that I will do what I can’t avoid which for me is creating stuff. You can take my career away, you could literally ban me from doing music but the very next minute I will be creating something else. It’s just unbearable for me to not create something and that’s just who I am. Once you discover that, that’s success. Success for a short moment is attainable by anybody and if it is fleeting, it’s not really success. I want to be achieving things only if they’re lasting. And the first thing I discovered was that I have an inevitable passion for what I do.
You always have to think of the bigger picture because you never know when something is going to end the next day.
Exactly! I mean, who really wants 15 minutes of fame, right? We’ve done it for 20 years now, we’ve had moments where we had the spotlight on us and throughout it all, I don’t think those moments really matter. There are certain things that are lasting and if you are able to spot them, appreciate them and fight to defend them. That’s success.
Fans may notice the reunion between Epik High and Younha on this album with “Gray So Gray” and “Rain Song.” How was working with her again after 14 years?
Yeah, it’s been awhile! I was surprised how well we worked together even after all these years. I realized there aren’t many vocalists who can deliver the melodies that I write the way she does. Literally, she sang it once and it was perfect. Then we went on Yoo Jae Suk’s show and Jae Suk hyung (“older brother”) was like, “I really want to hear you guys do another song together,” and it just worked out where his wish came true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSC47Yp-Hpg
You’ve sprinkled references to past releases in this album. Is there one you’ve become fond of?
The beginning of “Champagne” has an audio clip from a video of us [performing “Go!”] at our first performance as Epik High. And this was when we weren’t famous, when we didn’t even imagine we would ever be famous. We were in a tiny underground club performing for whoever was there. We put it in the song because […] I don’t really separate the past, present, and future. I think of it as this singular thing that is happening constantly. Hence Epik High Is Here.
Speaking of “Champagne,” how does it feel to come this far?
We’re not super serious about ourselves so I don’t even think we’ve ever sat down and been like, “Look at all the things we’ve achieved!” or “Look how far we’ve come!” We get together and we’re like, “What do you want to eat today? We got to finish this thing.” It’s always hectic and fun. It’s nearly impossible for us to be serious about anything, especially ourselves. We’ve never really pat ourselves on the back.
What are you popping a bottle to now?
I just want to get over COVID. I haven’t seen my members for a while in real life. The good thing is we’re going on tour for over two months and we finish it off with Coachella. It’s going to be an amazing adventure. We haven’t been able to tour for over two years. So, just think of how much energy we have to release on stage. We’re just gonna go crazy so we’re totally excited for that right now.
Anything else you’d like to tell me?
I think we’re gonna live in a pretty exciting world. You can call me a futurist or whatever you want, but I’m always interested in the future about what can be. And usually, the things I imagine materialize. It’s not fantasy. You know the fact my best friend is 11, my daughter? I watch the things that she’s interested in and I can just see that we’re about to head into a world that we’ve never experienced. It’s going to be fascinating, scary at times, but ultimately beneficial in some way. There will always be forces that try to reign that in, or to stop it from happening or to criticize without full information because of fear, but that’s always happening.
And the reason that I’m mentioning this is one thing about Epik High, when we started, artists were releasing cassette tapes. Then one or two albums in, we didn’t have to release cassette tapes anymore because people wouldn’t buy them. Then streaming happened and social media happened, before that the smartphone came out. All of these things while we were doing Epik High, so many paradigm shifts have happened with technology, with culture. The fact that we have been able to navigate through all that is because we enjoyed it. Not because we sat back. We didn’t do that! We enjoyed it and that made us able to navigate through all those changes certain companies can’t even do. I would just love for people to be critical in a world where everyone is trying to scam you. But my message for people would be to enjoy it a little bit as well, you know?
Epik High Is Here Part 2 is out now via OURS Co/Genie Music. Get it here.
A little over a week ago, word came out that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating Charlotte rapper DaBaby for assault with a deadly weapon after a video surfaced online of the rapper and his companions attacking a man identified as Brandon Bills, the brother of DaBaby’s ex DaniLeigh, in a bowling alley. It was reported two days ago that Bills was seeking compensation, suing DaBaby for assault, battery, emotional distress, and negligence, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Now, according to TMZ, DaBaby’s lawyer Drew Findling is claiming that Bills initiated the threats: “It is offensive that this alleged victim threatened and instigated violence and has now used this incident to make a quick money grab […] Garbage like this has no place adding to the backlog and wasting law enforcement time and energy.”
Bills did threaten to fight DaBaby due to his ill treatment of DaniLeigh in a video he shared back in November. “When you come to the West Coast, bro, which I know you be out here, you’re going to catch this one-on-one fade, bro,” Bills said. “One-on-one fade to see what happens between me and you. I want to see how gangsta you are, to see how much of a real man you are.”
When 50 appeared during Dr. Dre’s Super Bowl halftime performance packing a few extra pounds, the jokes came flying. A seasoned vet of the internet troll game himself, 50 took the roasts in stride, and even re-posted a few of his faves. Then, he used his Instagram account to explain why he wasn’t bothered by the burns after creating his own merch of the meme-worthy moment.
“I call this teasing me,” he wrote. “They’re just teasing me because they know I can drop the weight. that’s why I laugh with them. Fat-shaming only applies when you’re ashamed of your fat.”
For what it’s worth, it should be common knowledge that 50 was a little rolly-polly when he first appeared on the scene in 1999 with the attention-grabbing “How To Rob” — which was itself an introduction to his trollish sense of humor, as he name-checked over 50 celebrities and hip-hop personalities that he would be more than happy to mug on the subway. But, of course, by the time of his re-introduction to the public at large with “In Da Club” — the video for which he reproduced during his Super Bowl performance — he’d slimmed down greatly, presenting an imposing, muscular physique with which he’s been associated for much of his career.
And he’s right about one thing: He certainly can lose the weight — seemingly at will. In 2011, he was able to drop 54 pounds for his cancer-riddled role in All Things Fall Apart, so he’s no stranger to physical fluctuations.
Ever since his official debut in 1999, Eminem has been a lightning rod for controversy. He’s mellowed out a lot since then, but it appears he still has the juice to get the establishment all riled up, 23 years later. While many folks agreed with Britney Spears regarding his performance during Dr. Dre’s Super Bowl halftime show, some more conservative viewers freaked out, with one coining the term “sexual anarchy” to describe the largely sexless performance.
One, Rudy Giuliani, went on a baffling tirade against Eminem specifically for kneeling after completing his set, presumably in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests against police brutality. Giuliani, popping up on a conservative talk radio show, seemed to equate Eminem’s action with a (nonexistent) rise in crime in Los Angeles, and said that the NFL “made a mockery out of law enforcement.” Yeah, I don’t know what world this guy thinks he lives in either… I kid. I know he’s just shilling to his paranoia-ridden base.
And while Eminem himself has yet to respond to the bad-faith, disingenuous rant, it looks like Stephen Colbert was more than happy to take over some of that workload on last night’s episode of The Late Show, employing a soundalike — similarly to when he lampooned Nicki Minaj’s “cousin’s swollen balls” tall tale — to imagine Eminem’s frankly hilarious response to Giuliani. Set to Em’s “Lose Yourself,” the song that the rapper performed at the Super Bowl (and one of his least offensive songs ever), the remixed track takes aim at Rudy’s many (many) missteps over the past couple of years, from his Borat embarrassment to his stumping for the failed January 6 coup.
Watch “Eminem’s” response to Rudy Giuliani’s Super Bowl halftime show rant above.
According to various sources, Grammy award-winning recording artist Megan Thee Stallion will star alongside a star-studded comedic cast in the upcoming A24’s first film musical F*cking Identical Twins.
In celebration of my 27th birthday, I’m honored to introduce the Pete and Thomas Foundation. @PeteThomasFDN is a non-profit organization focused on uplifting and assisting women, children, senior citizens and underserved communities in Houston, Texas and across the world. pic.twitter.com/xmMpYHqLGc
“HOTTIES THIS IS OUR FIRST MOVIEEEE/ MUSICAL! WITH SOME MOVIE LEGENDS,” Megan wrote in a caption on Instagram with a photo of the THR article on Thursday afternoon (Feb 17). “I’m so excited I feel so blessed I feel anxious lol I feel a bunch of sh*t,” she continued, adding a laughing emoji. “I really have been quietly putting in this work and I just can’t wait for the hotties to see everything.”
An R-Rated film, F*cking Identical Twins synopsis is as follows: Two business adversaries who realize they’re identical twin brothers and decide to switch places to reunite their divorced parents and become a family again. The film stars Aaron Jackson (Todd) and Josh Sharp (Search Party). Jackson and Sharp adapt the movie from a two-men stage show premiered in 2014 at Manhattan’s Upright Citizens Brigade. No word on Megan’s role in the film at press time.
Joining Megan Thee Stallion on F*cking Identical Twins is music legend Nathan Lee, famous comedic actors Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Megan Mullally (The Disaster Artist). The film is directed by Borat director Larry Charles.
Megan Thee Stallion is set to premiere her reality series, Off The Leash with Megan Thee Stallion, this Saturday (Feb 19) on Snapchat. News of Megan’s upcoming role comes on the heels of the artist starring in Cheetos’ Flamin Hot Super Bowl LVI ad and signing an exclusive first-look deal with Netflix. “I’ve always had a passion for telling creative and entertaining stories, so I’m thrilled about this partnership with Netflix,” Megan told Variety in December 2021. “Venturing into production is the next step in my journey as an entrepreneur and I can’t wait to bring all my ideas to life and for my Hotties to watch.”
