Hey Fam, 

I hope it’s been a great week. Those of us above the Mason-Dixon Line are finally starting to get sunshine with some regularity.  The NFL Draft is tonight. If you need more joy in your life, this isn’t a bad place to start. It’s a televised, 3-day marathon of people’s dreams coming true… in the exotic Green Bay, WI! What’s not to love? ALSO, Lil Wayne’s new album, The Carter VI, is coming June 6! Is a Lil Wayne summer exactly the medicine I didn’t know I needed? Putting C1-5 back in the rotation as we speak to make sure I’m ready. 

Life is good. Let’s dive in!

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg: Watch the NBA Playoffs

What’s different from the other 82 regular season games you may, or may not, have watched?

The matchups. Every night is must-see TV. This is the time you get to see the best teams and best players face-off. If you enjoyed watching Team USA in the Paris Summer Olympics, the NBA playoffs are for you. We’re watching 66% of Team USA go all out against each other. This is the job these guys get paid staggering sums of money for. 

It probably goes without saying, but the reason playoffs are so good is because of the stakes. 

They bring incredible intensity. I’m talking vicious dunks, hard fouls, and mind-bending displays of athleticism. You never know when your favorite player is going to erupt with a bout of freak athleticism. Picture the All-Star game and then imagine the opposite (Sorry, Adam). The best in the world are using every trick in their bags to secure a win and cinch the best of 7. Dominate. Win 4 games. Repeat. 

The ultimate goal? World Champions, to everyone except Noah Lyles. 

Better than I can tell you, take it from two All-Time Greats. LeBron James’s Mind the Game podcast is one of my favorite things in sports. It started as a collaboration between then basketball analyst JJ Redick and LeBron James. The goal was for two legitimate basketball geniuses to sit down and get into the nitty gritty of what makes basketball work, the things that make it great.

That was the plan. And it worked! Maybe it worked too well because after the first season JJ Redick left a very successful career as a member of the media to become Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (he’s killing it by the way).

Anyway, with JJ’s media career indefinitely on pause, LeBron needed a new cohost. Enter Mr. Stephen John Nash, AKA M-V-Steve. Steve Nash is a two-time back-to-back league MVP, a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, and one of the greatest Point Guards ever.  So yeah, a pretty solid replacement white guy.

Now with the first round of the NBA Playoffs in full-swing, LeSteve (It’s a work in progress) naturally had a lot of thoughts to share. This conversation was as entertaining as it was informative.

SteBron (Worse?) explain in detail all of the mental preparation required, the scheming that goes into these matchups, and how the game becomes one of stolen possessions because these battles are won on the margins.

This episode also reminded me that there hasn’t been a Gregg Popovich documentary yet. We need it. I’m not asking for anything extravagant. A three or four-part series would work just fine for me. Please.

And I’m begging you too. Watch the NBA Playoffs. Tragically, I’m not getting commission on this. It’s just really good basketball. Even more simple than that, it’s a chance to watch masters of their craft put on mesmerizing displays of brilliance. 

Celebrating greatness is what we’re about here. Don’t miss out! 

Love for Sinners, No Hate

[Don’t worry, you’re safe. NO SPOILERS HERE]

I have a confession to make. I don’t do scary movies… at all. I don’t care who’s asking or what time of day it is. I’m. Not. Watching. 

Shrek is about where I like to keep the scare-o-meter with the movies I watch.

Well, that was my policy. I’ve made exceptions for the work of Jordan Peele and now Ryan Coogler. If you missed the memo, Sinners tells the story of twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) returning home to the Jim Crow South for a new start only to be confronted with evil they weren’t expecting.

I did a hard thing this week and went to see the movie. To be clear, buying the ticket to support my Brothers? That was easy. Keeping my cool in the theater while I support them? Much harder. 

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what I saw. Whatever it is, I’m certain it it’s excellent.

Do I need to start watching horror movies now? Because whatever Jordan Peele and Ryan Coogler are cooking up in this new space – I'm calling it "Social Horror," – I’m very down.

You already know I have to make a little commotion for the soundtrack. Ludwig Göransson. You might not know his name, but you absolutely know his work. He’s the maestro behind the music from Community, The Mandalorian, Black Panther, Creed, and Oppenheimer to name a few. He also produced Childish Gambino’s studio albums: Camp, Because the Internet, and “Awaken, My Love!”. The man is 40 years old and one Tony Award short of an EGOT.

Oh, and I can’t forget Raphael Saadiq. He also worked on the music for this movie. That brother is like the Forest Gump of the music industry. If there’s action, he’s there.

Seriously though. The score of this movie is outstanding. I’ve been bumping it unironically as I go through my day. It does some heavy lifting too. Without giving anything away, I’ll say I can’t remember the last time music was used so effectively in a film. The score builds tension, nearly to the point of madness. It’s also used to soothe and bring resolution. The ultra-talented cast certainly helps too. 

Sinners isn’t a musical…yet. Music takes center stage though in a way that feels very familiar. Göransson and Coogler used it to make something entirely new.

I'm throwing out a conservative guess of seven Oscar noms for this thing: Best Actor (Jordan), Best Supporting Actor (Caton), Best Actress (Mosaku), Best Original Screenplay (Coogler), Best Original Score (Goransson), Best Director (Coogler), and Best Picture.

Speaking of Best Actor, Michael B. Jordan? It’s a wrap. We’re talking about a different stratosphere of talent to play two different, complicated characters…at the same time! The range is actually insane. I’ve spoken with the other members of the committee and I think it’s time we put him in the same conversations with Denzel, Will Smith, and Morgan Freeman. MBJ has the goods to deliver.

I walked out of that theater thinking, "I have no idea what just happened, and yet I completely get it." I'm not going to spoil anything for you, but this movie has it all. It's both entertaining and challenging. There’s meaningful social commentary. It's just… a banger. This movie is going to stir something in you. I can't explain it any other way. It was another one of those Hollywood Dream Team situations, and they absolutely delivered. 

This duo (really, trio because we can’t disrespect Ludwig like that) teaming up again so successfully made me wonder, “is this the best Actor-Director creative relationship that we’ve ever seen?”

That question is too hard and probably going to hurt some feelings :) So, here’s the ranking of My Favorite Actor-Director Collaborations instead!

1. Martin Scorsese & Robert De Niro: Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, New York, New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, The Audition, The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon

2. Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan: Fruitvale Station, Creed, Creed II, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Sinners

3. Spike Lee & Denzel Washington: Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, He Got Game, Inside Man 

4. Adam McKay & Will Ferrell: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Vice

5. Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio: The Wolf of Wall Street, Killers of the Flower Moon, Shutter Island, Gangs of New York, The Departed, The Aviator, The Audition

What did I get wrong about this ranking? Who’s missing or needs to come out of my Top 5? My methods were very scientific and not entirely vibes-based. I promise. 

Go see Sinners!

Black Women’s Oscar Drought

I finally made it through Number One on the Call Sheet on Apple TV, and whew, what a ride. It’s exactly what you’d hope for a project that gathers so many talented people together. It's a raw, honest look at the journeys of some of the biggest Black stars in Hollywood. We're talking Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Dwayne Johnson to name a few! You know, the heavy hitters.

What I absolutely loved about this series is how deeply personal it was. You get to really learn about these people, the dreams they had as kids, how representation or the lack of it impacted them, the goals they set for themselves and the strategy behind their career moves. Hearing these stars talk about navigating typecasting, battling for bigger budgets, and fighting for equity on set – like having people who know how to do Black hair and makeup to make sure they don’t look ashy on camera – was truly eye-opening.

Here’s what took the series to the next level. It shines a bright light on the disparity between Black women and everyone else in Hollywood. Yes, that includes Black men. Stop and think for a minute. You can easily list multiple Black male actors who have, at different times, been arguably the biggest movie star in the world. Eddie Murphy. Will Smith. Denzel Washington. Dwayne Johnson. But can we say the same for Black women? Not really.

And the Oscar wins? The numbers made me sick. Five Black men have taken home the Best Actor trophy. Black women? Just one, back in 2002. Halle Berry remains the only Black woman to win Best Actress. Let that sink in.

It makes you wonder: what does it say when the most marginalized group in our society has so few of their stories told? What message does it send when so many of those stories revolve around pain? Who’s impacted by such limited portrayals of Black womanhood?

One statistic from the show is really haunting me: Black women have only won the Academy Award for Best Actress once. They've won Best Supporting Actress ten times. Our culture loves when Black women hold everyone else up. We don’t like it as much when they’re put ahead of everyone else. Heartbreaking.

Halle Berry reflects, "The system is not really designed for us. So we have to stop coveting that which is not for us."

It’s a very sobering statement. And it makes me wonder: has Hollywood really changed that much since Berry made history 23 years ago?

We see the names and the roles of the handful of Black women who have even been nominated for Best Actress, and the names of the white actresses they ultimately lost to. We see the slightly larger number of Black women who've won Best Supporting Actress. But what's the message being sent here? What stories are deemed worthy of celebration?

This project isn't just a walk down memory lane; it's a vital conversation starter about where we've been and how much further we still need to go. I’ll leave you with these words by Lucille Clifton, the same ones that end the doc.

The Last Word

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