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How Memes Changed the Rap Game
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Whenever global catastrophe unfolds, almost everyone’s bound to have an opinion (while also watching on in horror), and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no exception. Some current takes (Chris Evans directing people to stories of Russia’s history of atrocities towards rivals) are more productive than others (John Cena deciding to promote Peacemaker or AnnaLynne McCord performing spoken-word poetry), and Ice-T’s taking the commonsensical approach.
That’s what the interpretation has been as Ice-T — he of the no-BS Twitter threads — delivered his observation, in which he definitely does not pull an incomprehensible Steven Seagal move. Rather, Ice is dropping his truth as he sees fit.
“Here’s the Situation,” the SVU mainstay and Body Count frontman tweeted. “As soon as the US fires ONE bullet at a Russian solider. From the Ground or Air…. WE are at War with Russia. Not good.”
Here’s the Situation: As soon as the US fires ONE bullet at a Russian solider. From the Ground or Air…. WE are at War with Russia. Not good. pic.twitter.com/PgEA8LBUtg
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) March 2, 2022
People are here for this analysis, and they’re praising the man who portrays Fin Tutuola, not only for speaking out without bashing anyone else, but for having a much more levelheaded take on foreign policy than the talking heads (with credentials, even including former ambassadors and professors) on cable news.
When Ice T understands the situation more clearly than half the tenured natsec columnists https://t.co/NahiQn1Nb6
— Jason Lefkowitz (@jalefkowit) March 3, 2022
Ice T knows the score. https://t.co/X8iPJ8iqVJ
— Hank Hoffman (@HankHoffman5) March 3, 2022
Finally, the voice of reason breaks through: Ice T. https://t.co/4ZV7AarsgS
— Daniel Z. Brito (@DanielZBrito1) March 3, 2022
One of the ways you can tell that DC think tankers, IR academics, and journalists covering foreign affairs, are all frauds, is that ICE T, someone with no academic qualifications to discuss foreign affairs, understand foreign policy better than they do.
Credentialism is cancer. https://t.co/M3Fr14uxTQ
— Tacos and Airplanes (@blob_watcher) March 3, 2022
ice t is more sensible than any foreign policy expert on a cable news network. https://t.co/qsGulLLPnr
— liam (@1007MountainDr) March 3, 2022
Not surprised that ICE T has better takes on this than the blue check brigade and many syndicated columnists and former ambassadors. https://t.co/4a2CI0yBvg
— isi baehr-breen (its pronounced ‘izzy’) (@isaiah_bb) March 3, 2022
Ice T gets this more than people who are paid to talk about foreign policy for a living. https://t.co/pKDPZgU9ID
— Nilesh (@nilesh12412) March 3, 2022
Ice T coming in with a more rational take than lots in our government. https://t.co/5qAMjroTCn
— Manic Pixie Dream Enby (@GreekMike1337) March 3, 2022
Ice-T for public office? No way, man. He’s got more productive things to do in between telling the world, “Russia is definitely on that BullSh*t.”
Wow… Russia is definitely on that BullShit… Crazy.. smh https://t.co/KHXBhp9NR8
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) February 25, 2022
Every second of a show’s season finale is precious, especially when it’s a show with such a jam-packed plot and massive audience like Euphoria. This is why watchers found it funny and a little weird that Dominic Fike, playing the role of Elliot, took up a whole scene performing a song.
When Rue (Zendaya’s character) visits Elliot, she’s coming to forgive him for snitching on her; his response is to play a song he wrote on acoustic guitar… for five whole minutes. The song, which remains untitled, is about creating distance from someone you care for with the hope that they’ll use the time to improve themselves and return as a better person.
While many fans were fawning over this emotional moment, most were posting memes to Twitter about how he was getting too much screen time for promoting his own music rather than being his actual character. (A lot of fans were also wondering what happened to the plotline with the suitcase…). All in all, the online conversation made Fike and other Euphoria-related keywords trending topics on Twitter.
sam levinson after leaving half the storylines this season unfinished while still managing to spend 3 whole minutes of the finale having dominic fike sing an original song unprompted pic.twitter.com/pTqKk0v8ZV
— em (@emmakathleeennn) February 28, 2022
sam levinson wasted 5 minutes to try and launch a music career for Dominic Fike. pic.twitter.com/KLm1MI1WtX
— kimberly. (@problemsthots) February 28, 2022
To be fair, Fike has previously said that his character Elliot is “exactly like me.” So maybe Elliot is just the type of guy to break out into song at the most inappropriate of times. You know the type. The situation, at least, provided a lot of meme content, so check out some more of that below.
They sacrificed Kat’s entire storyline for a 4 minute Dominic Fike spotify unplugged performance I’m gagging
We’re literally on the third chorus what is wrong with Sam Levinson #EuphoriaHBOMax pic.twitter.com/3RNRANz3sJ
— frank (@ball_blart) February 28, 2022
whys elliot singing….not this dominic fike free promo
— cay (@koralinadean) February 28, 2022
WHY WAS THERE AN ENTIRE DOMINIC FIKE LIVE PERFORMANCE HALFWAY THROUGH THE EPISODE
#Euphoria pic.twitter.com/0G1aebOEvb
— madz (@numb2thef333lin) February 28, 2022
Not Dominic Fike tryna plug his music career right now when all we want is to see Maddy beat Cassie’s ass after that perfect slap #Euphoria pic.twitter.com/MyEOy5ENva
— Elisha
(@itseIishabitch) February 28, 2022
An era came to an end recently when after 25 years on the air, the series finale of beloved children’s show Arthur aired last week. The long-running cartoon has been a major part of meme culture in recent years, including the idea that John Legend bears a striking resemblance to the animated titular aardvark. Now, that situation could actually come full circle: In a new interview, Marc Brown, who created the Arthur show and wrote the books it’s based on, noted an Arthur movie “might” be the in the works, and furthermore, it seems he’d really like Legend to be involved.
Brown said:
“My son Tolon has been a producer on the show almost since it started, and he’s working with me, as Peter Hirsch is, on this new show Hop. But he had this idea several years ago about wouldn’t it be interesting to do a live-action version of Arthur. I couldn’t wrap my head around it completely, but it’s an intriguing thought. There might be a feature film in the works soon, too, about Arthur. I’m so excited [laughs]. There was one maybe 15 years ago, and the right people weren’t coming together, so I pulled the plug on it. But now, we’ve got a great idea. I think it’s going to be intriguing for kids. It’s going to be helpful to kids. The subject matter is very timely, and maybe there is even a really interesting person involved… I mean, if I could pick one person I would love to be a part of this project, it might be John Legend.”
He also referenced Legend earlier in the interview when answering a question about the series finale being for both kids today and the now-adults who grew up with Arthur, saying, “I was really happy because I mean, I see myself as Arthur a lot. Sorry, John Legend. We’re going to have to share him here [laughs]. You know, he’s a lot of me when I was in third grade. And I think if I were in third grade now and I was thinking about a career, a graphic novelist made sense. It put my loves together: telling stories, being an artist, and using pictures. So I was really happy that Peter [Hirsch, a writer on Arthur] came up with that idea. It felt right to me.”
Legend hasn’t shied away from the Arthur comparisons and has in fact embraced them, like in a 2018 Google ad when he donned a full Arthur outfit and even re-created the Arthur’s fist meme.
Thanks to #GoogleDuo, my stylist is always on-call. #ad pic.twitter.com/UqrysVpBYC
— John Legend (@johnlegend) April 25, 2018
Check out the full interview here.
When Rudy Giuliani isn’t shooting Cameo videos, making incoherent speeches, or making a fool of himself on The Masked Singer in order to try and make a dent in his ever-mounting legal bills, he hosts his own radio program—the cleverly titled Rudy Giuliani Show. Earlier this week, as Newsweek reports, he did the Disgraced MAGA Stooge version of Monday morning quarterbacking when he decided to rage against Eminem’s decision to take a knee during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. And he didn’t mince words:
“Let’s get right to Eminem taking a knee: Why doesn’t he go to another country? I mean, go take a knee someplace else. You know how many cops were defending him and protecting him at that game yesterday? I mean, crime is way out of control in Los Angeles. He thinks that all happened because everybody loves Eminem? The simple reality is the NFL has made a mockery out of law enforcement, particularly with its support for the cop-killing Black Lives Matter.”
If that entire diatribe is confusing to you, you are not alone. The main point to be gathered from it is that Giuliani—much like Donald Trump—either really, truly does not understand that taking a knee has become a quiet and peaceful way for individuals to protest racism and police brutality. Or he’s just playing dumb, and if it’s the latter it’s a role he has perfected.
But the Detroit rapper wasn’t the only performer Rudy took issue with. He also went off on Snoop Dogg—or, as Giuliani calls him, “Snoop ‘Kill Police’ Doggie Dogg”—saying that he doesn’t understand what he’s saying, then gave an impromptu performance of what Snoop’s music sounds like to him, which sounded more like two bears mating. In other words: Come for the Eminem banter, stay for the Snoop talk. You can watch the full clip below.
77 WABC’s @RudyGiuliani provides his input on Eminem’s decision to take a kneel during the halftime show last night.
Do you agree with Eminem’s actions?
VOTE HERE: https://t.co/8OfePvQkzf#Rudygiuliani #eminem #snoopdogg #maryjblidge #kendricklamar #50cent #rudygiulianishow pic.twitter.com/Chg07pVSZ1
— TalkRadio 77 WABC (@77WABCradio) February 14, 2022
(Via Newsweek)
In February 2021, it was reported that Kanye West (aka Ye) and Kim Kardashian had filed for divorce, and months later, Kardashian spoke more about the reasons behind the split. While West has attempted to revive the relationship on multiple occasions since then (including earlier today), he has also gotten back out there and tried the dating scene.
Ye’s recent romantic history has been lively since the Kardashian break-up, so let’s break down the timeline of who he has dated post-Kim.
Although West and Shayk’s time as a couple only started in 2021, she’s been on the rapper’s radar for a while (as Glamour notes): He name-dropped her on 2010’s “Christian Dior Denim Flow” and she later appeared in his video for “Power” and walked in Yeezy fashion shows.
The two first went public with their relationship in early June 2021, when they were seen together at a luxury French hotel for Ye’s birthday, as TMZ reports. In July, reports surfaced that West and Shayk’s relationship was slowing down, but a source called those reports inaccurate. Either way, in August, People reported West and Shayk had broken up.
West had a busy January 2022 and he got started right away: On New Year’s Day, he was spotted with a mystery woman at a Miami hotel. This came right around the time Ye started seeing…
Also on New Year’s Day, West and Fox had dinner at Carbone in New York City. Fox later described the date in Interview, noting she and Ye met in Miami on New Year’s Eve and that they flew to New York City together to see a Broadway production of Slave Play. Then they went to Carbone, which was followed by a trip to a hotel suite decked with an entire new wardrobe for Fox.
From there, the two popped up in headlines regularly, like when Fox gave her and Ye a celebrity couple name (“Juliye”) and when it was reported a few days ago that they were in an open relationship. Now, it appears they’re in no relationship at all, as Fox seemingly confirmed their breakup on social media, writing, “Kanye and I are on good terms! I have love for him but I wasn’t in love w the man Jesus Christ what do u guys think I am 12 years old?!” A representative for Fox also told E! and Page Six, “Julia and Kanye remain good friends and collaborators, but they are no longer together.”
As for what’s next for Ye, he’s still interested in reconciling with Kardashian, as he wrote on Instagram today, “I DON’T HAVE BEEF WITH KIM I LOVE MY FAMILY SO STOP THAT NARRATIVE IM NOT GIVING UP ON MY FAMILY […] I HAVE FAITH THAT WE’LL BE BACK TOGETHER.”
Oh boy. Where to start? The lead up to the Super Bowl included reports that Eminem was told not to kneel during the Halftime show. Well, Marshall Mathers did, in fact, kneel as a gesture of solidarity toward Colin Kaepernick. Surely, you’ve seen the moment by now, but just in case you haven’t, it goes down here (shortly after the 11:00 mark), and this was obviously too much for conservatives to handle. The same goes for the entirety of the Halftime show that included Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Bilge, Snoop, and an upside down 50 Cent.
None of this would stand for conservatives, including activist Charlie Kirk, whose tweet genuinely looked like parody (but it wasn’t). “The NFL is now the league of sexual anarchy,” Kirk wrote. “This halftime show should not be allowed on television.”
The NFL is now the league of sexual anarchy. This halftime show should not be allowed on television.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 14, 2022
AOC (who once called conservatives “creepy weirdos” for their apparent fixation on her looks) had a swift response: “Like I said, weirdos.”
Like I said, weirdos https://t.co/jTORwHc4JA
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 14, 2022
And from there, “sexual anarchy” inspired a ton of comebacks.
@Eminem Again, you folded!
— alisa smith (@scorpio6920) February 14, 2022
Came on Twitter this morning with 1000 democrats telling me I’m upset because the super bowl halftime show was rap/hip hop and Eminem kneeled while the anthem was not playing. Democrats working really hard to keep racism alive… #RacismNotWelcome #HalfTimeShow
— David Warner (@dswarner62) February 14, 2022
Please, don’t make me start liking football just for the sexual anarchy. pic.twitter.com/X6bcXPNIQb
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 14, 2022
I was told there’d be sexual anarchy
— Patrick Radden Keefe (@praddenkeefe) February 14, 2022
Maybe it’s just me, but “sexual anarchy” sound kinda awesome, right?
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) February 14, 2022
The right wingers keep promising things like taco trucks on every corner and never delivering. I doubt the sexual anarchy league ever materializes either. So disappointing. pic.twitter.com/W5cXDJufxZ
— Spiersual Anarchy (@espiers) February 14, 2022
Sexual Anarchy is not as good a band as Sexual Chocolate. pic.twitter.com/ouIriAw7tW
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) February 14, 2022
Sexual anarchy? He was turned on by 50 Cent in Spanx a size too small? I’m confused. pic.twitter.com/aKRA1xzJ1L
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 14, 2022
Yep, the far-right also seemed steamed about Eminem’s presence in general.
I think it’s hilarious that conservatives were complaining that there were no white people performing during the halftime show yesterday. Eminem’s dream has come true!
— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) February 14, 2022
The real reason conservatives hate Eminem is because as a middle aged white working class man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, he’s everything they love to fetishize, and yet politically he’s quite vocal about loathing everything they stand for.
— Kathryn Brightbill
(@KEBrightbill) February 14, 2022
And as lawyer Ron Filipkowski joked, “MAGA is upset that the NFL didn’t bring out more ‘wholesome’ entertainment like Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.”
MAGA is upset that the NFL didn’t bring out more “wholesome” entertainment like Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 14, 2022
Is it a joke, though, if MAGA people really want this to happen?
Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, and Lee Greenwood would put on a better Halftime Show than these hoodlums.
— Nick Adams
(@NickAdamsinUSA) February 14, 2022
And from there, the Kid Rock-related comebacks poured in because, as one person pointed out, “The distance between Eminem and Kid Rock as white rappers from Michigan could not be greater.”
They have Kid Rock, we have Eminem. I’m good with it.
— Peaches (@peaches_rhi) February 14, 2022
Not to be outdone by Eminem, Kid Rock will be performing at the Soup Or Bowl in Reno next week.
— The USA Singers (@TheUSASingers) February 14, 2022
Due to “blacklash,” next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show will feature Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr, Travis Tritt and Chachi singing the “Happy Days!” theme song.
— Kenny BooYah!
(@KwikWarren) February 14, 2022
Eminem has 15 Grammys, Kendrick Lamar has 13 Grammys, Mary J. Bilge has 9 awards from 31 nominations and Dr. Dre has 7 Grammys.
Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Lee Greenwood together have 1.Excuse me, but who are you?
— Any Doubts
(@ma_makosh) February 14, 2022
You know what I loved the most about Super Bowl?
The absence of Kid Rock!— Alicia (@Alicia0Givens) February 14, 2022
A whole lot of pearls will meet their maker over this one. Is it time for the next Super Bowl yet? Asking, uh, for a friend who enjoys chaos.
Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and the rest of the Los Angeles Rams did some celebrating last night, as they managed to top the Cincinnati Bengals and win Super Bowl LVI. As it always is, the Super Bowl was a major night in the music world, too, thanks to the halftime show. Ahead of the game, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige were billed as the stars of the performance, but when it came time for the show, fans were surprised with another headliner: 50 Cent. Not only did he perform, but for the first few lines of “In Da Club,” he rapped while hanging upside down.
Naturally, the moment inspired plenty of memes, and 50 Cent, an active social media user himself, loved them. He even shared a couple of his favorites on Instagram. He also shared a video of LeBron James enjoying his performance and wrote, “See we came in 03 and we still here. so we celebrate each other every chance we get. @kingjames you know the vibes.”
50’s appearance came after rumors about his cameo were started after a video of “In Da Club” playing at SoFi Stadium surfaced a few days ago.
Revisit last night’s halftime show here. Uproxx recently spoke with 50 about his Power cinematic universe and more, so check out that interview here.
After months of rumors, Kylie Jenner announced this past weekend that she had given birth to her and Travis Scott’s second child together. Many believe the child is a boy since Jenner shared a blue heart emoji alongside what is presumably the child’s birth date, “2/2/22.” Now, it seems Jenner has finally revealed the baby’s name.
On her Instagram Story today, Jenner shared a plain image of white text on a dark gray background that reads, “Wolf Webster,” followed by a white heart emoji. Scott’s legal name is Jacques Berman Webster II, so it would seem Wolf Webster is in fact the baby’s full name.
TMZ previously reported that according to “sources familiar with the situation,” both Jenner and the new baby were in good health after the birth and that Stormi, Jenner and Scott’s first child, is “excited” to be a big sister.
The Bump notes that the name “Wolf” is German in origin and that according to data from the Social Security Administration, it was the 3,996th most popular first name as of 2020 and has climbed up the ranks in recent decades. Nameberry also notes, “Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer kind of name, fairly common in German (where is pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, sometimes as a short form of Wolfgang.”
The Joe Rogan Spotify saga isn’t going away anytime soon, folks. Today, a right-wing platform just offered Rogan the same $100 million that Spotify paid him for the exclusive rights to broadcast his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, because of course they did.
The company that has approached Rogan with the offer is Canadian video platform Rumble, which has prominent right-wing pundits like Steve Bannon and Dinesh D’Souza in its stable. As The Hollywood Reporter reported, CEO Chris Pavloski posted an open letter to Rogan on the company’s Twitter account. It has a real deal with the devil vibe.
“Dear Joe, We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation,” Pavloski began. “So we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both new and old, with no censorship, for $100 million bucks over four years? This is our chance to save the world. And yes, this is totally legit … We stand with you, your guests and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation.”
Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski… pic.twitter.com/G7ahfNNjtP
— Rumble (@rumblevideo) February 7, 2022
So what would stop Rogan from spurning Spotify and taking the money from Rumble? For one, Spotify’s platform is huge and Rogan can certainly get more listeners there than just about anywhere else. Additionally, for all the malarkey that he spits on his show, he is a self-proclaimed liberal who has apologized for using the n-word. So, finding a platform that would seemingly not care if he used it or spread vaccine misinformation isn’t likely what motivates him quite so much as what the court of public opinion thinks of him in the long run.
Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a letter to all staff members on Sunday night indicating that he doesn’t believe that censoring Joe Rogan is the right call. Time will surely tell how this all plays out…