According to Attitude, while recently speaking with DJ Roman Kemp at the Capital Summertime Ball, Liam divulged a secret his girlfriend Cheryl Cole gave him as he embarked on his solo career.
“Bigger is better.”
He then added:
“Well, I’ve had no complaints in that department.”
Did Beyonce Give Birth To The Twins Yesterday?
There was a lot of Twitter rumoring going around that Beyonce was seen at an LA hospital and that Tina Knowles was there and that THE TWINS WERE COMING. And then nothing happened. The same thing is happening this week. There have been Beyonce sightings at UCLA Medical Center, according to The Shade Room’s source.
And still no confirmation. No one knows. Considering Beyonce waited until Black History Month to announce the pregnancy (#LikeABoss), do you really think she would have given birth on Donald Trump’s 71st birthday?
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Though long retired, former NFL running back Ricky Williams still uses cannabis to combat the wear and tear from his playing days. He recently shared his experience and education he’s gained between the cross-section of cannabis and athletics at the Southeastern Cannabis Conference and Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Headlining an event called “Pro Football, Pro Cannabis,” Williams and two other former professional football players urged the NFL to allow athletes to consume marijuana for medicinal purposes. Williams has also taken it upon himself to dispel the “lies and half-truths about this plant,” so prevalent throughout the country.
“The stigma is starting to be lifted,” Williams said. “It really has helped a lot of people.”
He also added: “At the time I decided to retire in 2004, there really wasn’t any such thing as advocating for patients’ rights in regards to cannabis. I was an underachiever who decided to give up millions of dollars and a future to go smoke pot.”
In his professional days Williams was one of the best running backs in football, and the best who’s ever played in Miami. He set Dolphins’ team records in 2002 by rushing the ball 383 times for 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns. He then missed the 2004 season following a temporary retirement and was suspended the 2006 after a fourth failed drug test.
The conversation around cannabis is different now. Multiple former players have come out in support of the NFL allowing cannabis usage, like Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe, and Williams himself isn’t cast the goat, like he once was.
As Williams told the Sun Sentinel’s David Hyde: “I can come back to South Florida, on a stage at the [Broward County] Convention Center and talk about that was so controversial and such a big deal a while ago—that’s a big deal to me. And it’s more me feeling good about the choice I made and re-affirming that we’re aware now of things everyone wasn’t back then.
“But, for me, true redemption comes when—and this will take 20 or 30 years—when hopefully I get into the Hall of Fame. When people start to realize I was on to something and when the doctors and scientists have studies that show how to maximize the health benefits of marijuana on a large scale and know if used properly it is a positive.”
While playing, Williams took so much Advil he developed an ulcer. As other players have noted, Williams felt compelled to accept anti-inflammatories to stay on the field. These drugs temporarily mask pain but can have damaging, long-term effects on human bodies.
“I had this epiphany one day, realizing a large majority of the guys on the team had to take pain medication to practice,” he told Hyde. “I started to think about it, about how it wasn’t good for us, and that got me to think of alternative ways.”
Also on the panel was former Denver Broncos and New York Jets defensive end Marvin Washington who called marijuana a safe alternative to painkillers. “Cannabis is medicine,” Washington said.
Washington also went out of his way to commend Williams, who is seen as a trailblazer in advocating for cannabis in the sports world. Williams could’ve silenced his views and pushed forward with his career as a premier NFL running back. Instead he sacrificed potentially millions to learn more about the plant and his body.
“Twenty years from now, 30 years from now, we’re going to look back and we’re going to have a father of athletics and cannabis, and Ricky’s going to be it,” Washington said. “He was trying to medicate himself instead of going on the opiates that the team doctors—I put that in quotes—were medicating us with.”
California is set to launch its version of a fully legal cannabis industry sometime next year. The guts of the new law, which was assembled by Governor Jerry Brown and key legislative forces, is an attempt to integrate the state’s two-decade-old medical marijuana scene and the voter approved Proposition 64. The overall goal is to create a unified system that allows medical and recreational marijuana to be sold in the same dispensaries – keeping pot-related businesses to a minimum while continuing to service the market equally.
At the same time, several state agencies are working to craft the regulations needed to begin issuing recreational marijuana licenses at the turn of 2018. The California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, which, depending on the outcome of the bill expected to find final approval later this week, could end up overseeing every facet of the cannabis industry. The agency hopes to have all of the details hashed out within the next five months.
Although Proposition 64 brought marijuana prohibition to a screeching halt throughout the Golden State, the initiative still gives local jurisdictions the opportunity to establish their own rules and impose bans. Even in areas where pot is just as acceptable as alcoholic beverages, it is important to understand that there are still rules to the game – and breaking them could lead to unwanted troubles with the law.
Here are a few crucial pieces of information about legal marijuana in California that might help save your behind:
Open Container Laws Apply To Marijuana
“Similar to alcohol laws, the state can issue a $100 infraction for driving with an “open container,” writes Taryn Luna with the Sacramento Bee. “The bill defines an open container as any receptacle of marijuana or weed products (edibles, vape pens, etc.) that is open, has been previously opened or has a broken seal, as well as loose cannabis flowers not in a container. You’re safe if you put your “open container” in the trunk.”
Medical Marijuana Cardholders Are the Exception
Registered patients “can drive with a closed container of marijuana products that have been previously opened,” but cannot consume marijuana while operating a motor vehicle.
Driving While High Can Get You Arrested, But Always Fight It
Although no one has any idea how to measure marijuana impairment, law enforcement is still out there looking to bust motorists for stoned driving.
“In most cases,” Luna writes, “if you are pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence, fail field sobriety tests and appear impaired, you will be asked to take a breath test for alcohol. If there’s little or no alcohol in your system and police suspect marijuana or other drug impairment, you may have to talk to a drug recognition expert and/or submit to a blood test.”
But marijuana impairment is difficult to prove. In Colorado, prosecutors say that most stoned driving cases end in acquittal if taken before a jury because the law does not provide a solid foundation to hold people accountable for this offense. So, until the system puts an effective testing device on the streets, it is wise to always fight DUID cases.
You Can Still Get Fired For Failing A Drug Test
Because marijuana remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government, “employers in California are still allowed to operate drug-free workplaces and fire you for violating their rules related to marijuana consumption,” Lana writes.
No, You Cannot Smoke Weed On The Street
Under Proposition 64, public consumption is illegal.
You Can Grow Your Own Marijuana At Home
Adults 21 and over can grow up to six plants at home for personal use. However, the plants must be kept out of public view.
“Local jurisdictions can ban outdoor cultivation, but cannot prohibit indoor cultivation,” Luna writes. “By law, you’re clear to grow plants in the garage if your town blocks you from growing in the backyard.”
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman announced this week he was returning to visit North Korea. This is not the first time Rodman traveled to the communist country, but something did change regarding Rodman’s travel arrangements. Marijuana, in part, will support Rodman’s accommodations to North Korea this time around.
In a tweet, Rodman thanked a company named PotCoin, a cryptocurrency for buying and selling weed, “for sponsoring my mission.”
PotCoin describes itself as a service “designed to empower, secure and facilitate the legal cannabis community’s transactions by creating a unique crypto currency for this thriving industry.” Launched in 2014, the company arose in response to banks closing doors to the legal cannabis industry and needed a secure method to send and receive payments.
As PotCoin told Huffington Post, they aimed “to be accepted as legitimate across the marijuana industry, from growers and dispensaries in Colorado or Vancouver, to cafes in Amsterdam.”
The legitimacy of Rodman’s trip has received some criticism, as some question if this a publicity stunt for the company. Prior to boarding his flight, Rodman told CNN he hopes to do “something that’s pretty positive” during his trip. In a statement published on PotCoin’s website, Rodman said he would reveal more about his “historic” visit upon returning to the United States, while also thanking PotCoin for making it possible.
Dennis Rodman going to N. Korea to promote a marijuana cryptocurrency (which is now surging) is the most 2017 thing yet. HT: @BryceWeinerpic.twitter.com/5bgw91LOr4
“Anyone who knows Dennis knows he’s trying to use his relationship to open the line of communication and send a message of peace and understanding,” Rodman’s long-time agent Darren Prince also said in the statement.
Rodman is one of few Americans with close ties to current US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jung Un. On the same day as Rodman’s arrival, North Korea released 22-year-old college student Otto Warmbier, one of four Americans detained by the country.
It is unknown whether Rodman spoke on Warmbier’s behalf, though he’s said he practices “basketball diplomacy.”
PotCoin has already seen benefits to its sponsorship of Rodman. As CNN reports, “The Rodman link appears to have already sent PotCoin soaring: the currency’s value has jumped more than 60% since Monday to around 17 U.S. cents, according to industry website CoinMarketCap.com.”
“Taylor won’t be writing songs about her new man anytime soon. In fact, she wont even be talking about him. She is demanding secrecy among her pals and wants to keep this relationship on the down-low,” sources tell Straight Shuter. “Every relationship she has had has failed. Taylor blames the media and public spotlight. She wants this one to work and is trying something different this time. She’s not going to speak about him.”
Her new man is British actor, Joe Alwyn, and they were photographed for the first time together sipping coffee and chatting on a balcony on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
“On Friday night the film made just under $7 million, which is almost a 70% drop from the previous Friday. The movie business is all about money and when a film fails they are looking for someone to blame – usually the film’s star,” insiders tell Straight Shuter. “Johnny’s private life has been a public train wreck and his last few films have been a box office disaster. The Pirates movies are just too expensive to risk making more of them around a star who no longer delivers. Johnny should be concerned, very concerned. It might be time for him to walk the plank.”
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New Jersey is gearing up for an intense campaign for marijuana legalization. Senate Bill 3195 and Assembly Bill 4872, which would push through New Jersey marijuana legalization, were recently introduced by Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Middlesex, Somerset, Union) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Hunterdon, Mercer). The first hearings on the legislation will happen this month.
The Drug Policy Alliance commends the sponsors for their leadership on this issue and we will be working with them to ensure that the final legislation contains provisions missing from the bill that are essential to establishing a fair and equitable marijuana market and repairing the disproportionate harm that marijuana prohibition has inflicted on communities of color. To highlight the need for these provisions, the Drug Policy Alliance is releasing a short video, made in collaboration with Brave New Films, which explores the current and historical impacts of marijuana prohibition on communities of color. The video features racial and social justice advocates from across New Jersey.
Marijuana laws have had a disproportionate impact on communities of color. African Americans are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites even though both use marijuana at the same rates. Anecdotal evidence suggests similar disparities for Latinos. In addition to the severe long-term consequences of a marijuana conviction, marijuana laws have been used to support biased policies like stop and frisk, racial profiling and the deportation of people of color.
As more states legalize marijuana, there is a growing recognition of this disparate impact and the need to address it. In Maryland, a judge recently put that state’s medical marijuana program on hold due to the lack of diversity among those granted licenses for the program. California’s law is the gold standard for fair and equitable marijuana legalization. The law mandates retroactive record expungement and sentence reduction, decriminalization of all marijuana offenses for minors and automatic record destruction at age 18, allocation of 50 million dollars of tax revenue to communities of color annually, low barriers to entry in the industry and no bar to the industry for people with most prior drug convictions.
New Jersey must learn from these other states and ensure that New Jersey’s marijuana legalization legislation contains provisions to address past harms and create a level playing field in this new industry.
As part of our legalization campaign, the Drug Policy Alliance and its partners will work to ensure policies including automatic and retroactive expungement for people previously convicted of marijuana offenses, investment of the revenue generated into those communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition, and equal opportunity to access the jobs and wealth generated by the marijuana industry are incorporated into any legalization legislation.
Reverend Charles Boyer, Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Woodbury, who is featured in the video, has said this about his approach to legalization, “Marijuana legalization must be understood from a moral perspective. As an African American faith leader, I have seen firsthand how the war on drugs has disproportionately devastated my community even though all communities use marijuana at similar rates. A conviction for marijuana possession can have severe long-term consequences and can make it difficult or impossible to secure employment, housing, student loans, or even a driver’s license. Marijuana legalization in New Jersey must address these harms and repair those communities most impacted by our failed marijuana policies.”
Kathy Wright, Executive Director of the New Jersey Parents’ Caucus and the mother of a son who has been arrested for marijuana possession, recently told Rolling Stone why she supports marijuana legalization. “Getting wrapped up in the juvenile justice system can completely derail a child’s life. Legalizing and removing the criminalization of marijuana would allow us to put funding into much-needed community services.”
The release of this new video serves to launch the Drug Policy Alliance’s campaign to legalize marijuana in New Jersey. Marijuana prohibition is costly, unfair and ineffective. New Jersey arrests more than 22,000 people a year for marijuana possession at a cost of more than $125 million to New Jersey taxpayers. This failed policy criminalizes otherwise law-abiding people and wastes resources that would be better spent on projects that support our families and communities. We will end this failed policy and ensure that marijuana legalization will be fair and equitable.
Roseanne Scotti is Senior Director of Resident States and State Director of New Jersey for the Drug Policy Alliance.
Is marijuana good medicine for those suffering from cancer? Definitely. Even the federal government agrees that “cannabinoids may have benefits in the treatment of cancer-related side effects.” Can marijuana cure cancer? That answer remains elusive, but there are no clinical studies demonstrating that marijuana will remove cancerous tumors from the body.
CURE Pharmaceutical, a California-based technology company, revealed last month that it will be conducting a groundbreaking clinical study to test whether cannabis can kill or reduce cancerous cells.
According to Rob Davidson, CURE’s CEO, wants to get beyond treatment and see if there is actually a cure.
“There is strong anecdotal evidence, but we want to put some science into it. First, we’ll do an in vitro study and see the effects on cancer cells. We can get into human trials pretty quickly in Israel,” Davidson said.
About one in four Americans will be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute. Nearly every single American has a family member, close friend or coworker who has battled the disease. Last year, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. and nearly 600,oo0 died from the disease.
Research clearly demonstrates that cannabis is an excellent medicine for alleviating cancer symptoms, but the U.S. government still classifies the herb as a Schedule I drug — meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no known medical use. This oxymoronic stance stifles research on cannabis as a potential cure for cancer.
Despite the regulatory handcuffs the government places on research, there is anecdotal stories about patients who have eliminated cancer using high-THC cannabis oil. But reputable doctors will steer clear of the term “cure.”
A more accurate statement would be that it had clearly been demonstrated that cannabis has the potential to fight cancers and tumors.
“I think the day will come when it or some cannabinoid derivatives will be demonstrated to have cancer curative powers, but in the meantime, we must be very cautious about what we promise these patients,” said Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an authority on medicinal marijuana,
This is where CURE Pharmaceutical comes in. According to the company’s announcement:
CURE has developed a pharmaceutical cannabinoid division to research and develop clinically ready cannabinoid drug formulations and delivery systems for both human and/or animal patients and is developing a global footprint with partners in the U.S., Canada, Israel and Germany, among other markets. The Company has taken a leadership role in optimizing plant base cannabinoids by vertically integrating drug discovery, proprietary extraction technology, genetic-specific cannabinoids research, and drug development.
“We are well-positioned in the pharmaceutical cannabis sector and excited to work within an industry with such a promising future,” said Rob Davidson, CEO of CURE. “Our goal is to bring new cannabinoid molecules to the market through the FDA regulatory process, while utilizing our company’s proprietary delivery technologies to increase efficacy, as well as target unmet needs in traditional pharmaceutical markets that could be disrupted by cannabinoid-based options.”
A number of small studies of smoked marijuana found that it can be helpful in treating nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy.
A few studies have found that inhaled (smoked or vaporized) marijuana can be helpful treatment of neuropathic pain (pain caused by damaged nerves).
Smoked marijuana has also helped improve food intake in HIV patients in studies.
Studies have long shown that people who took marijuana extracts in clinical trials tended to need less pain medicine.
More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in lab dishes. Some animal studies also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce spread of some forms of cancer.
There have been some early clinical trials of cannabinoids in treating cancer in humans and more studies are planned. While the studies so far have shown that cannabinoids can be safe in treating cancer, they do not show that they help control or cure the disease.
Why do you think your respective shows are striking a chord, and what does their success say about our culture today?
KJ:I think the reason we became something of a phenomenon is because there are so many of us. Everybody can relate to somebody in my family, whether you’re 7 or you’re 107. And people just got emotionally attached and invested in seeing this family evolve: They’re getting married, getting divorced, having babies.
Kris, you brought your younger daughters into this world early on. How did you prepare them?
KJ: We decided as a family that if we’re going to do this, we would just show everything. And one of the best decisions I made not only as a producer of the show but as one of the stars of the show was to say, “We’re not going to remove anything.” With that philosophy, I told the kids, “Don’t get on the internet.” Ryan Seacrest, my producing partner, had told [my daughter] Kim about this little thing called Twitter, which she might be interested in. There wasn’t Instagram or Snapchat or any of this other stuff then. Now, it’s so heightened and, you know, haters are gonna hate. You expect it now.
As a mother, how do you tell your daughters to tune that out?
KJ: Kim leads the pack, and she’s the queen of thick skin. She counsels everybody else. So if something happens in the family, she’s the first one you call. “What should I do? How should I handle this?” But it’s my grandchildren who I worry about because I have six of them; the oldest just turned 7, and my youngest is 6 months old, and they don’t have a choice. And I worry, I do, because it is such a bullying environment. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Leah Remini: I Get Scared Every Time I Talk To A Former Scientologist
On people understanding how dangerous Scientology is: The Church of Scientology has been in the news, but more so for fodder and a headline. What we are trying to do is show that this is a real thing that’s tearing families apart. People really had no idea. It was like, “Oh, this is that crazy thing where Tom Cruise is jumping on a couch and everybody believes in aliens?” I think that worked for a very long time to sell headlines. But we’re showing how a person actually can get there, and that’s what’s resonating. Also, we’re standing up to a bully and, in a culture where people are feeling apathetic, we’re representing a group of courageous people who are saying, “No, I’m going to do something about it.”
On if she gets nervous:
I feel scared every time I sit down with somebody, even though I was in the Church of Scientology for 35 years. I was raised in it. I’m scared to hear what they’re going to tell me. [Question: Like, it’s worse than you think?] Yes.
If she’s scared of the church:
Oh, no, no, no. Don’t misunderstand me. People who know me know that I have a very big mouth, and I have been that way since I was a kid. I would go up against men and go, “What, what are you going to do?” They were like, “I’d knock you out in two seconds.” I’m all, “Try it, try it!” But I never want to give the organization of Scientology the idea that anybody is scared of them. We are not. And the more they react in the way that they do, it makes me think we’re doing the right thing.
On if she’s brave:
I But it’s not me, that’s the thing. I wish I could say, “Look how brave I am.” I’m telling their stories. When we leave, they go back to their regular lives, and they are the ones the church goes after. When we air a show, I go, “Just know, within minutes your daughter is going to be saying horrific things about you on the church hate website.” Literally every single person who has done a story about Scientology has a hate website on them.
On if she vets the people she interviews:
It’s funny you ask that because when we started the show, legal was like, “Do you know this person personally?” I said, “I don’t need to know the person. I just know that they’re telling the truth.” I thought, “How dare you. This is not somebody who is getting paid to be on this show; there are repercussions to them being on the show.” And what the hell fame would they get from saying, “I was coerced by my church to get an abortion”? Or, “I was raped by someone.” … I mean, nobody really wants to tell that story. So there is no vetting. I take their word for it. [Per an A&E spokesperson: “Although Leah does not personally vet the participants in the show, the network and production company legal teams do carefully vet people and stories featured on the program.”] [From THR]
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Picture comforting sun rays while you lay on warm beaches, waves rolling gently into the break, or perhaps as you rest upon a beaten-down grassy patch, awaiting the next act of a music festival. Outdoor Sunday BBQs either in a park or your backyard, family or friends that are your family surrounding you, lifting clear-bottle beers in jubilant celebration that it is most definitely summer. Neon pink sunsets combined with tropical vibes. There is reason to rejoice.
Our collective summer fantasies reside in these places. We associate summer with familiarity and fun, amidst environments old and new, or wherever will house our needed R& R. Summer is about escapism in this way. The lingering desire to deposit all your worries and troubles—all the crap inherent in this thing we call life—and forget the harsh realities of the world.
For this season, we need music.
A whole economy revolves around summer songs. These jams we loop repeatedly as we dance and vibe and enjoy ourselves for once. All the biggest artists chase crafting the perfect summer anthem and even more writers and bloggers fight to predict what this year’s song of the summer will be. Big rewards in that game. Because summer songs soundtrack your fun and if there’s one feeling we’re all currently after it’s fun.
But what if you can’t? What happens when you stop having fun and the fun starts having you? Because summer also harbors bleaker realities than portrayed on Instagram or summer anthems. This season also features boozy, self-destructive nights, sexy flings that bloat into something sour, and days when the sun flips sides, from friend to enemy, and threatens to beat you into sweaty, hazy submission. Meanwhile, percolating overhead is the crushing, crushing FOMO that you aren’t experiencing every fun summer fantasy you see your peers Snapchat and tweet about.
For that season, we also need music.
A whole subgroup of songs exist in this cloudy, needle-y vein. Some artists like The Weeknd and Future have mined entire careers out of it. These songs and artists accompany summer as much as the prototypical jams that bop and glide off into bliss, and often abut one another in bars and clubs. These are the Anti-Summer Anthems. Their sounds are dire and minor-key; numb. Their creators are consuming substances stronger than alcohol out of necessity, not desire. They look exactly like Mark Wahlberg near the end of Boogie Nights—vacant stares to nowhere, sweaty paranoia and itches that can’t be scratched, wondering just how the hell my life arrived here.
A song like “XO TOUR Llif3” by Lil Uzi Vert, for example. Uzi’s first words on the track are “Are you alright?” and you suspect he’s referring to himself, his muse Brittany, and you, too. On the hook, Uzi wails through auto-tune garble, “Push me to the edge / All my friends are dead.” Excuse me. A more accurate representation would be, “PUSH ME TO THE EDGE!! / ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD!!!!” This isn’t blush neon sunsets; this is like the sun setting and questioning if it’ll ever rise again. Then, when no one’s watching, you quietly ask if you secretly prefer the sun never emerging again.
Much of this ties to the track’s arrangement. As TM88 (who produced the song) explained, the percussion sits atop the melody. The clapping trap rhythm urges the beat forward with this instigating momentum, while the half-timed plinking notes want to drag the song down. Through this push-pull tension bursts Uzi with his emotional trauma coated in rockstar cries and addiction lies. “Xanny help the pain, yeah / Please, Xanny make it go away,” Uzi pleads.
Few might call “XO TOUR Llif3” a song of the summer, especially when compared to feel-good anthems like DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One” and Calvin Harris’ “Slide.” But if those songs occupy summer days, Uzi’s “XO TOUR Llif3” own the night. The song doesn’t permeate backgrounds of clubs and parties like traditional summer jams. It holds center of attention, demanding listeners sing along. The kids at Coachella eagerly accepted the call to action.
Your connection to an Anti-Summer Anthem is visceral. Think of what songs you blasted last summer. Though breezy hits were in rotation, so were tracks like The Weeknd-assisted Future record “Low Life” or Desiigner’s “Panda.” Both deep escapes into rampant hedonism as if morning won’t come. Massive albums like ANTI, Rihanna’s middle finger to pop expectations, and Kanye’s Life of Pablo, a tormented genius in spiritual crisis who rips apart his psyche to discover what’s left, dominated playlists and radio and summer tours. All while Kanye begs for “No More Parties in LA” and Rihanna proclaims “Fuck ya white horse and ya carriage.”
Songs of the Summer contenders, these are not. But these Anti-Summer Anthems provide soundtrack for the season, too. Pinpointing when exactly these songs entered the culture is difficult as you’re discussing pop music trends over decades of time. When did we all become so addled with addiction and emotional affliction? If I had to guess: Probably within the last 100 years or so, sometime within what we label Modernity. Okay, a better question: When did we ask our pop stars to express that feeling in public?
You could continue through multiple summers and find examples of these Anti-Summer Anthems. Just two years ago, we bumped Travis Scott’s “Antidote,” where he warbles, “Poppin’ pills is all we know.” Around then no one could stop dancing to The Weeknd’s coked-out “Can’t Feel My Face,” which the crooner later immortalized on “Reminder” with “I just won an award for a kids show / Talking ‘bout a face numbing off a bag of blow.” The latter was a case where Song of the Summer and Anti-Summer Anthem coincided, though that rarely happens.
If those previous songs were experimentation of the form, Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO TOUR Llif3” is its evolution. A giant, undeniable banger masking a deeper, cloudier numbed-out cry for attention. Summer jams glorify the breezy, relaxed nature the season’s days embody and what every vacationer is supposed to strive toward. But records like Uzi’s remind us even in the summer, day still turns to night.
