Sports

Kawhi Leonard’s ‘Culture Jam’ Project Released A Video For ‘Everything Different’

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Friday was a pretty good day for Kawhi Leonard. On the court, the two-time NBA Finals MVP came up big in the Los Angeles Clippers’ Game 3 win over the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 36 points and reeling in eight rebounds to propel his side to a crucial 118-108 victory. With the win, L.A. cut its series deficit against Dallas in half, making things 2-1 ahead of a gigantic Game 4 in Dallas on Monday evening that could lead to the Clippers re-gaining home-court advantage with the win.

His big day wasn’t just limited to what he did in the world of basketball. A gigantic music fan, Leonard, along with Warner Records Senior Vice President of A&R Eesean Bolden, is the driving force behind Culture Jam, an upcoming compilation album that is slated to drop sometime this summer. While Leonard does not rap on the album, he did tease that a video was coming for the track “Everything Different” featuring NBA YoungBoy and Rod Wave.

The video, which also features top high school basketball recruit Mikey Williams, dropped on Friday, and you can watch it at the top of this post. Beyond just the album, the broader Culture Jam project will be used as a way to raise money for youth sports and arts initiatives, with a portion of Leonard’s earnings heading to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

“Culture Jam will always be a platform where creators’ ideas and talents come to life and serve our families and communities,” Leonard said in a statement. “As an athlete that loves family, music, culture, and community, it was extremely important for me to build a space where all these elements thrive. Culture Jam’s significance is not only timely but it is also necessary. Equally, it is extremely important to support youth. My donation to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation is just the beginning of that support and connection.”

J. Cole Reflects On Playing Pro Basketball In Africa: ‘I Plan To Get Better’

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After playing a few games with the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), J. Cole has left the team and returned home. While he didn’t exactly set the world on fire with his on-court contributions, he got to play basketball on a professional level, which is more than most lovers of the game can say. Now that Cole is back home, he has taken some time to reflect on the experience.

In an Instagram post from last night, Cole wrote:

“So many thank you’s are due. Thank you to @thebal and to @patriotsbbc for the opportunity. Thank you to my teammates, the coaches and staff for treating me like family. I learned so much in the few weeks we were together. Congrats on that win tonight and good luck next game. Thank you to @puma for supporting a dream from day 1, and getting me to Rwanda and back safely via Puma jet.

Thank you to the entire country of Rwanda and to the city of Kigali for hosting us. BEAUTIFUL land with BEAUTIFUL people. To anyone considering visiting or moving to the continent, from everything I saw and heard, I would recommend you consider Kigali and Rwanda in general. Thank you to everybody that had kind words for me despite my inexperience. I plan to get better.”

He also wrote a bit more about his basketball experience in another post about his new Puma RS Dreamer sneaker, saying, “The first drop will have a special place in my heart forever, for obvious reasons. These are the ones I took the scariest leap in. That nervous feeling I had playing under the whistle for the first time is the same feeling I had moving to New York without knowing anybody there. I say all that to say, Despite the fear we have to choose to jump, or be forced to live with regret.”

Check out Cole’s posts below.

J. Cole Has Reportedly Completed His Basketball Contract And Will Return To The US

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J. Cole — who got to live his dream of professionally playing basketball, if only for a little while — has reportedly completed the terms of his contract with the BAL’s Rwanda Patriots, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears, who reported the news on Twitter. “Source confirms rapper J. Cole of the Rwanda Patriots BBC has completed his contractual obligation to the Basketball Africa League and has departed from Rwanda due to a ‘family obligation,’” he wrote. “J. Cole had five points, three assists, and five rebounds in three games.”

It was Spears who initially announced the surprise signing ahead of the release of Cole’s new album The Off-Season, revealing that the rapper had agreed to a contract for three-to-six games in the newly formed international league. Cole’s manager and business partner Ib Hamad later noted that the timing was purely coincidental due to both the album release and the start of the Basketball Africa League being pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cole’s contract was likely scheduled to last at least the duration of the group stage play, with the additional three games taking place during the tournament contingent on his performance.

Not everyone appreciated having the rap star around, however. Terrell Stoglin, the leading scorer for Morocco’s AS Salé, called Cole’s opportunity “disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this” and felt “he took someone’s job that deserves it.” Although Rick Ross came to Cole’s defense, it appears to be a moot point now; Cole’s basketball career is, for the moment, over.

One BAL Player Thinks J. Cole Being On A Roster Is ‘Disrespectful To The Game’

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J. Cole’s professional basketball career has been, for lack of a better term, pretty modest. As a player for Patriots Basketball Club in the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League, Cole has scored five points in three games. He’s looked like, well, a person playing professional basketball for the first time, although he does certainly have some skill on the court.

The biggest thing Cole’s done is bring attention to the league, although for one player, that trade-off is not worth it. Terrell Stoglin, a guard for AS Salé who averages 31 points per game, certainly sees the benefit of “a lot of attention, and, I guess, money” coming in because of Cole, but generally thinks he is disrespecting the game.

Via ESPN:

“I think there’s a negative and a positive [to J. Cole’s presence],” Stoglin told ESPN. “The negative part of it is: I think he took someone’s job that deserves it.

“I live in a basketball world. I don’t live in a fan world. I know a lot of guys that had their careers stopped by COVID and they’re still home working out and training for an opportunity like this.

“For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game. It’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this.”

Patriots chief operating officer Haydee Ndayishimiye unsurprisingly disagrees with this assessment — “We made a basketball decision which can be justified by our performance so far,” she said — but it is fair to point out that someone who has put their life towards playing ball professionally lost out on an opportunity to someone who recently started pursuing a basketball career. Still, the only rule is it has to work, and the brain trust with Patriots seem to be happy with Cole’s performance on the floor.

Migos Finally Confirm Their ‘Culture III’ Release Date With A Michael Jordan Parody

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A few days ago, Migos shared a video for a new song, “Straightenin,” which stirred up optimism that the trio is finally ready to release their highly anticipated album Culture III. The track didn’t come with confirmation of a release date, but now, a few days later, they’ve offered one: Culture III is officially scheduled for release on June 11.

The post making the announcement is formatted like a press release and reads, “ATLANTA, GA (May 17, 2021) — The following statement was released today by the Migos through their label Quality Control Music, located in Atlanta, GA, in response to questions about Culture III. ‘June 11th. We’re Back.’”

Sports fans probably noticed immediately that the post was made to resemble the 1995 press release sent by Michael Jordan’s team to announce his return to the NBA after a brief retirement (that, or, less likely, the resemblance is an unbelievable coincidence). Jordan’s message, sent via fax, reads much like Migos’ post and famously quotes Jordan as saying simply, “I’m back.”

Back in December 2020, Quavo explained the group’s mindset behind the new album and being able to promote it, saying, “We done with the album, we just waiting on 2021, man, so everything can crack up. We want the commotion, we want to move, we want to be outside. We want to drop it and go on tour. We want to have an album listening [party] and have people in that thang and really hearing the album.”

Culture III is out 6/11 via Quality Control Music.

J. Cole Had Three Points And Two Assists In His Basketball Africa League Debut

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It’s been a busy week for J. Cole, as he dropped his latest album, The Off-Season, to rave reviews last Thursday night and on Sunday, he made his debut in the new Basketball Africa League for Patriots Basketball Club in what turned into an 83-60 win for Cole’s squad in their season opener.

Cole has made clear his desire to make it in the basketball world for some time, and not just as a friend to NBA players and someone who name-checks his superstar friends on albums — although, to be clear, he does that too. Cole wants to prove he’s a real hooper and to show his commitment he tried out for and made the Rwandan squad in the new BAL. His debut was rather unspectacular, but he did get on the board with a putback bucket on a follow in transition for his first professional points.

He finished the game with three points, three rebounds, two assists, and three turnovers, doing the little things and not trying to impose his will too much. While he’s the superstar name on the team and in the league, J. Cole seems to understand and embrace being a role player for the Patriots. He’s happy to play defense, set screens, and try to space the floor for his teammates, while creating and taking opportunities when he can. Brandon Costner, former NC State star and a journeyman who’s played in the G League, China, and elsewhere, led the way for the Patriots with 20 points while Rwandan national Dieudonne Ndizeye added 13 points and six rebounds in the win.

Cole looks like another guy out there, which should be taken as a massive compliment. He doesn’t look wildly out of place with some really, really good basketball players, and for a 36-year-old who’s never played professionally otherwise, it’s a credit to him and the work he’s put in that he’s capable of doing that.

NBA Players Could Not Get Enough Of J. Cole’s ‘The Off-Season’

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J. Cole dropped his sixth studio album, and NBA players cannot get enough of it. Cole’s first release since 2018, The Off-Season became available to listeners on Friday at midnight, with fans taking to social media to heap praise on the record.

NBA players decided to join in on the fun, shouting out just about everything from the lyrics, to the album’s production, to the mere fact that Cole — who is adding professional basketball player to his list of responsibilities by joining the Patriots Basketball Club of the Basketball Africa League — put together a new album.

One player, Eric Paschall of the Golden State Warriors, ran into some trouble trying to listen to it right at midnight, but eventually got to listen and really liked what he heard.

Plenty of dudes had something to say about the number of nods Cole gave to the basketball world. Ja Morant appreciated getting some love on “My Life,” Bradley Beal was glad to see Russell Westbrook’s name get dropped on “Amari,” and both C.J. McCollum and Donovan Mitchell were fans of Cole sampling Damian Lillard’s postgame comments after he dropped 61 points on the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble on “Punchin’ the Clock.”

And unsurprisingly, Dennis Smith Jr. had the highest possible praise for his friend from Fayetteville.

J. Cole’s Rwandan Basketball Team Shares A First Look Of Him On The Court

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J. Cole is notorious for keeping his projects under wraps but the musician has been busy lately. Not only has Cole just dropped his anticipated album Off-Season, but he’s gearing up to play his first-ever game as part of the Rwandan basketball team the Patriots.

The clip was shared to the Basketball Africa League’s official Instagram account. It shows footage of the Patriots going head-to-head with an opposing team for a friendly scrimmage game ahead of their season’s opening game against the Nigerian team River Hoopers this Sunday. The team had been practicing against each other to prepare for the upcoming season, and this was their first time competing against another team. Cole’s cameo in the video was brief, only being seen walking on the court and dribbling the ball past an opponent.

It hasn’t been long since Cole was first announced as part of the Patriots team. Earlier this week, Rwanda’s English newspaper The New Times Rwanda confirmed that the rapper was on the Patriots’ roster. It means that Cole is joining on for the BAL’s inaugural season and is one of the few Americans who will play in the league.

Watch the clip above.

Off-Season is out now via Dreamville. Get it here.

Shaq Applies His Analysis To Rap Lyrics About Him From Cardi B, Drake, Jay-Z, And More

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When it comes to pop culture figures that rappers love to reference in their songs, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal stands head and shoulders above the rest — literally, in most cases. Not only does he have an extensive hoop, film, and rap career to draw lyrical comparisons to, but there is a wealth of words that rhyme with “Shaq” — not to mention, his many, many nicknames. The Big Diesel, who’s now best-known for his nightly hoops analysis on NBA on TNT, tried his hand at breaking down some of the bars about him from rap titans like Biggie, Cardi B, Drake, and Jay-Z for Genius’s Between The Lines.

Throughout the course of the video, Shaq gives his impression of the many, many rap lines about him. Nas’s “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” was one of the first songs to make reference to O’Neal (more precisely, to the way “Shaquille holds the pill”), blowing the then-NBA sophomore’s mind, while Mannie Fresh’s “Still Fly” line about buying a car from him turns out to be a true story. Shaq also notes he wasn’t bugged by Biggie’s line about losing money on Lakers games from “I Love The Dough” because it too was based on the performance of the Lakers in their first three playoffs appearances with Shaq on the team, plus due to BIG’s contribution to Shaq’s own album — which he naturally gets into as well.

There’s plenty more to talk about; watch the full video up top.

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

The Cowboys Schedule Release Video Has Post Malone And Jerry Jones Playing Beer Pong For Some Reason

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Twitter/Cowboys

The NFL held its 2021 schedule release on Wednesday night, as teams got to unveil their 17-game schedules which, as always, involved fun videos from their social media accounts to unveil their upcoming slate of games.

For some, like the Chiefs, this meant going back to old footage to craft a clever video to reveal their full schedule — pulling Reid saying “a good football team” for Washington was an especially nice touch.

Others put a lot more time, money, and effort into producing their schedule release video, and it should come as no surprise that Jerry Jones and the Cowboys tried to one-up everyone with their video. Dallas pulled in Post Malone to help with a wild video that involves him delivering the schedule to Jerry Jones and the two celebrating by playing beer pong, Post putting a giant Cowboys logo necklace on Jerry, and then the two making it rain schedules on Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

I like how much Zeke sold his part by jumping up and down trying to catch the mini schedules Post Malone and Jerry Jones were raining down on to him, and I guess when you’re the Cowboys you have the ability to spend whatever it cost to get Post Malone to do this. That Jerry put himself front and center is also unsurprising, and the funniest part is that the schedule just kind of flashes up there at the very end.