Sports

Master P Wants To Coach The Pelicans To Keep Zion ‘Happy’

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The New Orleans Pelicans are one of seven NBA teams with a head coaching vacancy, and have one of the most intriguing situations to offer thanks to the presence of a budding superstar in Zion Williamson.

The second-year star became an absolute force in his sophomore season, becoming the league’s most dominant and efficient inside scorer. The problem was that New Orleans struggled defensively (again) and also could not close out games for the life of them, failing to make the play-in and leading to Stan Van Gundy being fired after just one season. With Williamson and Brandon Ingram, there’s talent there, but also uncertainty with a number of players entering free agency this summer.

There are sure to be a number of interested candidates from around the league, as coaching a talent like Zion is hard to pass up, but if the Pelicans want to expand their search beyond the NBA, there is a New Orleans legend who wants a shot at running the team.

Yes, Master P has (once again) decided to just gently let the Pelicans know that he is available to be the NBA’s first “hip-hop coach,” and that he would ensure that Zion would be “happy” — a clear reference to reports that Williamson’s family wants him out of New Orleans. Master P does have NBA experience having been on the preseason rosters for the Hornets in 1998 and Raptors in 1999, although he didn’t make the full roster for either, and as he notes he has coaching experience at youth levels. I highly doubt the Pelicans would actually be interested in turning to Master P to be their coach given the stakes of the situation with Williamson already, but if Zion ever chooses to do a dunk contest he should absolutely dunk over a gold plated tank while catching a lob from Master P.

NYC Hip-Hop And Skate Culture Collide In The Trailer For The Documentary ‘All The Streets Are Silent’

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If you live for sneakers, skateboarding, Supreme drops, and all things hip-hop, you have late ‘80s and early ‘90s New York street culture to thank for that. And you’re probably going to love All The Streets Are Silent, a feature-length documentary debut from Jeremy Elkin that explores this still influential period of American youth culture. For the documentary, Elkin reached out to the kids (and Kids) who grew up in the scene — who better to document that golden age of style and music than the people who lived it?

Premiering today at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival as a documentary select, “All The Streets Are Silent” takes you on a deep dive into the streets of New York City, back to the days when skate culture and hip-hop were still rebellious expressions of street youth and not global commodities with rabid fan bases dominated by hype.

The film, which is narrated by Zoo York cofounder and Uproxx Style editor Eli Morgan Gesner uses archival footage and covers notable figures and locales of the era, including Harold Hunter, Club Mars, Supreme, and DJ Stretch Armstrong. The stars of the counterculture are in full effect but at its heart, All The Streets Are Silent is an examination of being a kid in New York City during a special time in pop culture. With guests like Rosario Dawson, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, DJ Clark Kent, the late Keith Hufnagel, and Yuki Watanabe, “All The Streets Are Silent” offers an exploration of race, society, fashion, and street culture in a culturally significant era in New York City history wrapped in a Paris is Burning meets Kids aesthetic that oozes cool.

Elkin took this project seriously, in addition to linking up with Gesner, he also tapped the legendary Large Professor, the producer that brought us Tribe Called Quest’s “Keep it Rollin” to do the soundtrack. It doesn’t get more vintage New York than that. Check out the trailer for All The Streets Are Silent above and stream it on-demand until June 23rd for $15 here.

Quavo Says He Is Not Mad At Kendrick Perkins, And Actually, It’s All Funny To Him

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Quavo went on First Take on Thursday morning ahead of Migos’ newest release, Culture III, which dropped on Friday. Part of what made his cameo on the show so much fun was it gave him and Kendrick Perkins the chance to have a conversation — Quavo and Perk have been involved in a back-and-forth over the last few years ever since Perkins’ name came up on 2018’s Quavo Huncho.

The two seemed to really go at one another on the show, which raised the question: Do Quavo and Kendrick Perkins legitimately have beef with one another, or is this just two dudes having fun? In a new interview on Complex’s 360 With Speedy Morman, Quavo made clear that he’s mostly having fun.

Via Complex:

“I don’t give a damn about no Kendrick Perkins, man,” said Quavo with a smile. “He’s an analyst. He said his kids love my bars, his kids running around and teasing him. Matter fact, I’m gonna take the kids on a field trip and just leave pops at home. Settle the beef like that.” He made it clear that it’s mostly in jest, however, and that it’s just as “funny” to participate in the beef as it is to watch it all unfold.

It’s unclear whether Perkins views things the same way, but hey, at least Quavo’s having a good time with this whole thing.

Austin McBroom & Vinnie Hacker Share Fight Night Music Picks Ahead Of Their Social Gloves Boxing Match

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Some of the biggest names in YouTube and TikTok will be going pound-for-pound this Friday (June 12) at the Miami Hard Rock Stadium for the highly-anticipated event Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms. Ahead of the massive showdown, a few of the fighters, including YouTube superstar Austin McBroom of the Ace Family as well as TikTok influencers Vinnie Hacker, Ryland Storms, shared with Uproxx the songs that get them amped up and ready to rumble.

For McBroom, who will go up against TikTok topliner Bryce Hall, it’s the vibey-yet-hard-hitting 24KGoldn cut “Company” by 24KGoldn featuring Future. “Makes me feel like I’m on top of the world,” he told us.

Hacker, who will see YouTuber Deji, chose “Young, Wild and Free” by Wiz Khalifa. “I first heard this song when I was filling up my car with E10 and it stuck with me,” he said about his choice.

Popular TikTok star Michael Le, who is expected to face off with YouTuber Faze Jarvis, uses J. Cole’s “95 South” to get pumped. “’95 south’ is a raw, dope ass song,” he told us. “The energy I get when I listen to it is the exact vibe I want people to feel when they see me Saturday night. I’m goin’ in with a beast mentality, ain’t nothin shakin’ that off me.”

Storms, who will fight YouTuber Tanner Fox, happens to get his adrenaline going with Giorono’s Theme from anime series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, whereas Deji prefers to get hype off his own song “The Truth.” YouTube star AnesonGib on the other hand, who will fight TikTok’s Tayler Holder, likes to get in the zone by listening to the rambunctious “Original Nuttah 25” by UK Apache with Shy FX, which he described as “A song fit for a mad man!”

Fans can livestream the PPV fight on the LiveXLive.com Platform. If you want to catch it in person tickets are available over at Ticketmaster. Lil Baby, Migos, Trippie Redd and DJ Khaled are all expected to grace the stage with fire performances.

“It’s going down at Social Gloves on June 12, and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Lil Baby said in a press release. “It’s great to see all these YouTubers and TikTokers putting in the hard work to prepare for these fights. We are bringing big energy to Social Gloves. I’m looking forward to this day, and I’m sure fans won’t be disappointed.”

Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms is the first in a series of events planned in partnership with LiveXLive.

Check out the Social Gloves: Fight Night playlist below featuring picks from Austin McBroom, Vinnie Hacker, Ryland Storms, and more!

Saweetie Connects With Esports Organization Gen. G To Host Education Workshops For Asian Americans

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Saweetie is stepping up to lend a helping hand to her Asian American community. The rapper, who is of Filipino descent, announced that she is teaming up with Gen. G, the leading esports company that connects the United States to Asia, for a string of workshops. The Icy Baby Workshops begin next week and see the rapper learning skills and covering topics that include gaming, cooking, music, lifestyle, and fashion, and beauty.

According to Revolt, Saweetie’s overall goal is to bring awareness to both AAPI entrepreneurs and her Icy Baby Foundation, her non-profit that aims to inspire “Black, brown and other underserved youth through financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and technology training.” Saweetie also spoke about the workshops in a press release.

“Now is the time to come together and support each other as we fight to end Asian Hate,” she said. “I am excited to partner with Gen. G to connect with our fans in new and inventive ways to have real conversations about making positive changes in our community.”

Gina Chung Lee, VP of Brand for Gen. G, also spoke about the new endeavor as well.

“So many Asian Americans are in the forefront of gaming, music and fashion but rarely get the spotlight that they deserve. It’s great to partner with an advocate and entrepreneur like Saweetie,” she said in the press release. “As an AAPI woman growing up, there wasn’t always mainstream representation and celebration. It’s very meaningful to be able to shape and empower the next generation of leaders across all digital platforms and create cool content while doing so.”

The workshops will begin on June 14 with the launch of her new Twitch channel. The first lesson will see her beside Twitch chef Triciaisabirdy and DJ Bella Fiasco as they dive into a discussion about food. On June 16, she will discuss fashion and beauty and the next day her conversation will be focused on gaming.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Quavo Went Onto ‘First Take’ And Continued His Beef With Kendrick Perkins

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ESPN

Migos are making the media rounds in anticipation of Culture III, which drops on Friday. One such cameo was Quavo heading onto First Take, which included a pretty fun wrinkle: an interaction between himself and Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins and Quavo have been butting heads ever since the latter dropped Quavo Huncho, which included the line “Get no playin’ time, Kendrick Perkins” on the track “Fuck 12.” Perkins, as you might guess, didn’t particularly enjoy this, and over the years, he’s made this point clear. The latest example of this came over the weekend, when Migos performed at the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight and Perkins tweeted the following…

A few days later, the two had a back-and-forth after Quavo used a picture of Perkins and a fist emoji to promote the new album.

This set up the two going back-and-forth on First Take, and while the show usually relies on debates over random sports things to get people on set riled up, it legitimately seemed like Quavo and Perkins were going at one another over this.

Anyway, if Migos decide to delay Culture III at the last minute, we can all assume it is because there’s going to be a line making fun of Perk on it. Unless, of course, that already exists.

Rap Fans Are Roasting Jay-Z And Meek Mill For Pitching In To Buy Billionaire New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft A Bentley For His Birthday

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If you follow sports news, you might remember billionaire CEO and Patriots owner Robert Kraft from such stories as soliciting prostitution in Florida, raising Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s hackles for his donations to Trump’s Inaugural Committee, and vigorously defending Tom Brady when he was suspended following Deflategate. Real track record on this guy, huh? At least he stays consistent with his values.

Which is why a lot of fans of Jay-Z and Meek Mill are a little puzzled over their involvement in an extravagant birthday gift delivered to Kraft for his 80th birthday today (of course he’s a Gemini). In a video that’s circulating on social media, Kraft can be seen walking outside to encounter his bright blue Bentley, while Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin mentions that the car is something Kraft would “never buy for himself” (Follow up question: Why not, you’re a billionaire??) and that it was a joint effort gift from many people, including Meek Mill and Jay.

Both rappers are well-documented sports fans, and we all know how much Jay-Z loves billionaires. Meek’s strange alliance with Kraft has been documented before, so it’s not that surprising that he’d want to show out for a landmark event. And USA Today reports that Kraft has been involved with criminal justice reform alongside Rubin, Meek and Jay. But after a year of economic crisis due to a pandemic, this video might not be having quite the impact on fans that was anticipated, especially with some remembering how stingy Meek was with neighborhood kids trying to hustle selling water last year.

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.