May 23, 2022 - The Chicago Journal

AC Milan Overcome 11-Year Drought to Win Serie A Title, Cites Kobe Bryant as Inspiration

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

…

Italian club AC Milan finally brought home the gold after more than a decade away from their last league win. AC Milan was able to reclaim the Serie A title after thwarting mid-table team Sassuolo on a 3-0 margin with two goals by French striker Olivier Giroud and the final nail in the coffin by midfield juggernaut Franck Kessie. The team came into the fixture knowing they would need at least a draw to clinch the title, but the fighting spirit of the Rossoneri went above and beyond to gain all three points.

Manager Stefano Piolo and the team fought tooth and nail the entire season, often exchanging the top spot with derby rivals Inter Milan. However, after a series of goalless draws, the team was able to turn things around and step up, winning their final game of the season and the Serie A title along the process. Despite injuries to key players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Simon Kjaer, AC Milan beat all odds to celebrate their 19th Scudetto, putting them level with Inter after they snatched the league from Juventus last season.

The last time AC Milan won the league was in 2011 under Massimilano Allegri, the current coach of Juventus. Since then, many coaches have come and gone, most of which were former Serie A players and even Milan alumni, including Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, and more recently, Gennaro Gattuso. All had tried, but Gattuso came the closest to bringing Milan back to its former glory.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the only player left from the Milan side that won the league eleven years ago and, at the age of 40, managed to help bring home the glory. Midfielder Daniel Maldini’s involvement the entire season puts him on the same path as his father, Paolo Maldini, who won seven league titles during his tenure, and grandfather Cesare Maldini, who won four.

While many were confident of the team winning the league early this year, Pioli and his players kept a level head, citing Los Angeles Lakers legend and long-time AC Milan fan Kobe Bryant as an inspiration.

“I showed the lads an interview with Kobe Bryant, who said at 2-0 up in the NBA playoffs, the job is not done. We’re not done,” Piolo said in the postmatch interview after Milan’s win over Atalanta last week. “We need to maintain that calm and concentration that can, in the end, prove decisive.”

“When we took charge at Milan, the team had completely different tactical ideals and concepts, so we had to change everything. Now the good thing is that the players enjoy making the most of our strengths and preparing tactically, being able to adjust also to limit our opponents.”

WWE Removes Sasha Banks and Naomi’s Merchandise from the WWE Shop

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

WWE has gained a reputation for pointing its talents to the doors over the last couple of years. Still, recently the opposite happened when Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi decided to walk out of a live taping of last week’s Monday Night Raw.

The two champions were set to participate in a Six Pack Challenge against Asuka, Becky Lynch, Nikki A.S.H, and Doudrop to determine Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at the Hell in a Cell Pay-per-View. However, Banks and Naomi left the building after the former met with CEO Vince McMahon. She expressed her concerns about the match’s outcome, but McMahon was said to have refused to change his plans for the team, prompting the two-time Slammy Award winner to leave with Naomi.

WWE confirmed that the duo met with Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, leaving the championship belts on his desk before walking out with their suitcases in hand. The company released an official statement that the champions felt they weren’t respected enough and uncomfortable with two of their opponents in the ring.

“Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract,” wrote the statement.

During the taping for Friday Night Smackdown, veteran commentator Michael Cole revealed that Banks and Naomi were suspended indefinitely for their actions.

“Talk about what happened this past Monday night when Sasha Banks and Naomi let us all down. The WWE women’s tag-team champions walked off the show and walked out of the building during Monday Night Raw. They were supposed to take part in this—the main event. The 6-pack challenge where the winners would be next in line to face Bianca Belair for the RAW women’s championship,” he said. “However, Sasha and Naomi took the tag-team championships into the office of our head of talent relations, left them there and promptly walked out of the arena. Their actions disappointed millions of WWE fans and their fellow superstars.”

As a result, WWE will be holding a tournament to determine the next tag team champions of the women’s division. Banks and Naomi’s merchandise were also pulled out from the WWE Shop, while the “Then. Now. Forever” intro at the beginning of each WWE show saw them removed.

Sasha Banks and Naomi received plenty of support online from fans and wrestlers like CM Punk and Mickie James despite the incident. However, the former champions have yet to release their own statements regarding the situation.

How to Transfer Cryptoassets from Binance to Coinbase

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

Crypto enthusiasts have many options when it comes to platforms they can use for trading. However, not all exchanges are created equally. Some investors may want one platform more than another depending on what features appeal most in exchange – such as ease of access or security measures.

While Binance and Coinbase are among the most widely known and user-friendly selections accessible to investors, users want to transfer Binance to Coinbase and vice-versa.

Transferring assets from one platform to another is not a complicated job and is practically effortless. However, moving your funds from one crypto trading platform or exchange account into wallets under control before transferring them over is vital. This will allow you more firsthand blockchain data in case things go wrong with the system.

Step 1: Have an Active Account on Both Exchange Platforms

Before sending any cryptocurrency, users should ensure that they have an active account on the two platforms with equivalent wallets. In addition, they’ll need to make sure they can receive funds from either place and then transfer them to avoid losing whatever was sent over there first.

Coinbase and Bimay oblige the user to give more detailed identifying data to meet local laws with the regions as conditional aspects. Unverified Binance accounts will have limitations in trading activities, and withdrawals and are typically not advised except if the user wants to experience trading with no further effort.

Both exchange platforms will possibly ask you for two-factor authentication (2FA) setup for more security.

Step 2: Find Your Wallet Address

To send or receive cryptocurrencies on both Coinbase and Binance, you must first choose the wallet that will hold your crypto assets.

To begin, head over to your Coinbase Dashboard and click the assets tab, where you have an overview of your entire cryptoassets on the exchange. Then, click the asset you want to transfer to your Binance account.

Check and verify that Coinbase has the asset you want to transfer.

Once you have verified the existence of the asset you wish to transfer on Coinbase and Binance, select the “Send / Receive” button in the upper right-hand corner.

It will then open a new dialogue box with selections for sending and receiving cryptoassets.

Click the “Receive” tab. You will be given a caution from Coinbase to be sure to click on the right digital asset. Sending a cryptoasset to a wallet address for another asset will usually result in the loss of your funds.

Step 3: Send Your Assets from Binance

You should make sure you’re logged into your Binance account.

First, go to the “Fiat and Spot” section of your Binance wallet and click the option to “Withdraw.” You may be brought to the “Withdraw Fiat” tab, to change it to crypto, easily select “Withdraw Crypto” in the upper right corner.

Once again, you will be required to choose the cryptoasset equivalent to the Coinbase wallet you want to send to.

When selected, paste the Coinbase address into the withdrawal address section. And then verify the wallet address is similar to the one you copied from Coinbase. From there, you can enter the amount you want to withdraw.

Confirm the amount and then select “Withdraw.”

Rouble is in an Upswing Against Euro Due to Tax Deadlines

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

The Russian rouble rose to its strongest on Friday. Experts say that the recent appreciation against major currencies is due to Europe getting ready for more payments on gas and capital repayments implemented by Moscow.

Russia announced on Thursday that half of the gas behemoth Gazprom’s 54 customers have opened accounts with Gazprombank as European firms approach near deadlines to pay for their gas supplies.

Opening those accounts is attainable following EU executives enabling member states to continue purchasing Russian gas without violating multiple sanctions they have jointly implemented against Russia for what Moscow describes as its “special military operation” in Ukraine that began on February 24.

According to Yuri Popov, a strategist at SberCIB Investment Research, a hub of Russia’s No. 1 lender Sberbank, one of the critical grounds for the rouble upturn is the shift to roubles from euros that will occur in European payments for Russian gas.

The rouble’s value against the euro rose over 5% today, reaching 61.10 at 0807 GMT in volatile trade on Moscow Exchange after staying close to 59 for most of last month – its strongest level since June 2015.

Meanwhile, against the dollar, it firmed over 4% on the day to 59.10 after touching 57.0750, a strong level not experienced since March 2018.

The rouble’s performance is impressive. It has gone up 30% even with an economic decline in Russia, making it the best-performing currency this year, although unnatural because of those retaliation measures put into place to protect their financial state following its attack on Ukraine.

The rouble’s rise has been partially attributed to export-focused firms who convert their foreign currency profit since Western sanctions froze almost half of Russia’s gold and forex reserves.

“Exporters are forced to sell (foreign currency), and there is no one to buy it,” said a trader at an investment firm in Moscow.

Thanks to tax preparation for next week, the rouble has been on an upswing recently. At the same time, dollar and euro demand continue to stay low because of how few imports there are now, while banks aren’t allowing people to transfer out any money either way they want outside Russia.

“The key question is whether the central bank will step in as the excessive rouble firming is not in the finance ministry’s and budget plans,” said an analyst at CentroCreditBank, Evgeny Suvorov.

On Friday, the head of the central bank’s monetary policy department, Kirill Tremasov, said the rouble continues to be a free-floating currency, according to the RIA news network.

The central bank has not given any sentiment on the rouble rate.

Biden Announces Backing to Finland and Sweden NATO Bid

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that Finland and Sweden have “full, total, complete backing” from the United States for their appeal to join NATO. Since the Cold War, the organization has been an essential foundation in Western defense.

Biden, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson held a meeting at the White House Rose Garden. Biden has sent paperwork to Congress for the applications of both parties involved to be approved.

“Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger,” said Biden. “And a strong, united NATO is the foundation of America’s security.”

With the backing of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, this decision is an unlikely but promising bipartisan success for a NATO enlistment.

“I think the United States ought to be first in line to ratify the treaty for both these countries to join,” stated McConnell following speaking with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday.

The two nations appealed to join NATO after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. However, their enlistment is still a long shot from certainty because Turkey – a member of this military alliance – has stated that it will dismiss any bid by Finland and Sweden due to its backing of Kurdish groups, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers terrorist organizations.

“We are following developments concerning Sweden and Finland, but we are not of a favorable opinion,” stated Erdogan last week.

Biden seemed to agree to those worries when he queried the Senate to ratify the two nations’ application “once the perspectives of all allies are addressed, and NATO adopts the accession protocols.”

Finish leader Niinisto addressed Turkey’s worries about his nation’s appeal to NATO, stating that Helsinki was “open to discussing all the concerns Turkey may have concerning our membership in an open and constructive manner.”

He also confirmed that some of those discussions had already begun and would continue going forward.

Swedish Prime Minister Andersson described Russia’s attack on Ukraine as a “watershed moment for Sweden,” a country that has kept a policy of military impartiality for hundreds of years, even amid the two world wars.

Andersson stated that she highly regards the bipartisan backing in Washington for her nation’s NATO bid. Like Niinisto stated, her nation discussed with all NATO members, counting Turkey, “on different levels to sort out any issues at hand.”

Biden addressed concerns that the expansion of NATO might be fanning flames with Russia. Putin views this as targeted toward Russia and its borders.

“New members joining NATO is not a threat to any nation,” Biden stated. “In the face of aggression, NATO has not grown weaker or more divided. It has grown stronger, more united.”

Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s employee and now the Center for a New American Security senior, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, told NPR that though both Finland and Sweden are worried about Russia, it’s unlikely that they will experience any significant problems.

“I think that Russia is too bogged down with its war in Ukraine. And I think that’s exactly that calculus that Finland and Sweden have, that they see that Russia is distracted, and it gives them this window to make a move,” said Kendall-Taylor.

Mercedes Sold $142 Million Worth Car, The Most Expensive in the World

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

On Thursday, Mercedes-Benz announced its sale of the most expensive vehicle in the world. A unique 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR coupe that has been preserved in the luxury auto manufacturer’s collection was sold to a private owner for €135 million – equal to $142 million.

According to Hagerty, a firm that keeps tabs on collector car values, the price hails it as the most expensive car known ever to be sold.

The sale’s proceeds will launch the Mercedes-Benz Fund, a worldwide scholarship fund, stated Mercedes in an announcement.

The preceding record sale price for a car was alleged to be $70 million acquired in 2018 for a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO.

The sold Mercedes vehicle was among the only two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe models. The cars, 67 years old, were named after Mercedes’ then-chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and are said to have the highest speed of 186 mph.

The model was sold at an exclusive invitation-only auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart on May 5. The auction was organized in partnership with the auto auction firm RM Sotheby’s.

According to a statement from Mercedes, the remaining Uhlenhaut Coupe will continue to be kept in the Museum’s collection.

“Their racing cars from the 1930s and 1950s are rare, and most are still owned by the factory, so any that come to market are highly sought after,” stated vice president of automotive intelligence at Hagerty, Brian Rabold.

Models from Mercedes, such as the “Gullwing” SLRs – dubbed due to their doors that hang in the air like curved wings – are deemed to be one of the most desirable vehicles in the world. And several varieties of unique and racing versions are particularly valuable.

The SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was a hard-top version of Mercedes’ highly-coveted open-topped SLR racing car, powered by a 300-horsepower eight-cylinder engine. The deliberation was that a closed car would protect drivers better from wind and weather at top speeds, and the closed roof would also upgrade aerodynamics.

Not long after creating these vehicles, Mercedes halted its inclusion in motorsports. Therefore, the vehicles were never used in competition.

Although the company didn’t identify the car’s new owner, British classic car dealer Simon Kidston said in a press release to have put a winning bid at the behest of a customer.

Tennis Star Player, Rafael Nadal is Against Playing Again if there is No Guarantee for Safety Travel

Edward Anderson on May 23, 2022

Just like the other start athletes to get back on track to action, Rafael Nadal wants tennis to resume but not while Covid-19 remains a threat for everybody. Rafael Nadal has expressed that tennis should not be resumed until a vaccine is produced so that players are able to travel safely in order to compete around the world without a glimpse of hesitation and fear.

“If you asked me today if I want to travel to New York to play, I will say: ‘No, I will not.’ In a couple of months I don’t know how the situation will improve,” he said. He also emphasized that it is important to give full-attention in taking care of our health and pull back from the normal routines to prevent the deadly threat of coronavirus.

Nadal said: “We need to be responsible; we need to be sending strong messages and we need to be a positive example for society. We need to understand we are suffering an unprecedented situation and my feeling is that we need to come back when all the players from all the countries of the world are able to travel under safe circumstances.”

“If not? In my personal opinion we will come back and I probably will play but my feeling will be that we are not being 100% correct.”

June 15 is the scheduled date to open Harcourt swing and the ATP and WTA will decide whether to push it through after everything is undercover. Should the tournament go ahead it will have made significant compromises, including ferrying players to New York on charter flights from a handful of cities. Also, as health is the most paramount concern,

Nadal’s celebrated his 34th birthday. To wit, this is one of the few moments in the past 15 years he has spent outside Paris rather than in the middle of one of his 12 Roland Garros title runs. The question of how the suspension will affect him remains unclear.

He said: “I think the longer stop is tougher for older bodies because it is more difficult to come back to 100%. But at the same time we have the experience, too. I have experienced injuries in the past, so in some way we know how to come back.

“I cannot tell you if we will not be able to play longer or not, let’s see. I’m passionate about coming back on the tour, playing for a couple of years hopefully and keep enjoying the things I like the most.”

Nadal also expressed his thoughts and has been watching the protests in the United States over the inhumane death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer. “All the normal people and all the people who want a peaceful and good world, we are against racism, poverty, all the terrible stuff which is happening more often than we would like.

“When you see all these disasters on the streets, my feeling is: ‘That is not the way to protest.’ That’s not a good example. The situation is critical but I really believe strongly in people and I really believe we will be able to fix the problems.

“Everything takes time. All the improvements in our story, the human story, have taken time but we are getting there in all ways. To be for everybody the same, for everybody to have the same opportunities, the same rights in terms of being protected. We have to keep working hard to make this world a better place.”

How Katie Boulter Spent her Time While Waiting to Make Tennis Comeback

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

Katie Boulter has promising performance and labeled as the best younger British player on the block 15 months ago. Her career is finally at its peak with a performance -high ranking of 82 and amazing strokes making her career to soar high at the very young age. Fellow tennis player-legend, Naomi Osaka called her “really good” at Wimbledon 2018 and she looked it too as she played an instrumental role in Great Britain’s return to the Fed Cup world group II, winning on streak six of her seven Fed Cup matches including the decisive rubber at home against Kazakhstan in April 2019.

With the overwhelming achievements and recognition her performance stood up and that was the last time Boulter would be seen for months as her efforts at the Copper Box came took a break. However, She surfaced again when she took advantage of the French Open’s new rules by withdrawing late and picking up $20,000, 50% of prize money. Thus, she did take action again on tennis court until November.

“Personally I was pretty sad because I felt like I had finally got my game to a really good place and I was ready to compete.” The 23-year-old said on a zoom interview with few journalists that the coronavirus pandemic was a buzzkill and came at the wrong time for her career. On the other hand, she is looking forward to make a comeback on the tennis court. Just like other athletes, they spend their time volunteering themselves to charity works.

Boulter has stooped down from the court it has allowed her to look beyond the insular world of tennis. Currently she is in Leicester and preparing to volunteer with Age UK, which will give her contact with older people again. Her advocacy pushes her to spend of her time to engage with the older ones.

“What they do is they pair you with up to three people,” she said. “You can either go and see them, talk to them over the phone, go and do their shopping for them and basically just try and help them make their lives a little bit easier. Hopefully they won’t be so lonely. It keeps them busy.”

At her London flat Boulter is hosting fellow British player Laura Robson, who is rehabilitating from hip surgery. They have been following the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in the US and she highlighted the “incredible”, moving protest video by many of her colleagues, created by her friend, the American men’s player Frances Tiafoe.

“I think the whole situation is pretty tragic and personally I would say it is very unacceptable to see the way that these people have been treated in this era,” she said. “I would have hoped that we could have moved on from this but it is clearly a worldwide problem and I really hope that everyone can get together and use their platforms to find a way to spread awareness.”

Boulter is using this period to become more prolific and never wasted a time to make herself better and ever-ready for new completion when everything goes back to normal. And true enough, she is on the process of metamorphosis, ready to unleash her prowess once again in tennis court. Whenever the tour returns, she will be there.

“I’m a competitor so I’m looking forward to just competing and any opportunity I get to do that, that will be my sole focus,” she said. Given the fact the her career is on the process of greatness, she’s ever ready to learn and acquire the necessary skills to enhance her performance as an athlete.

“Clearly if I think there’ll be any health issues with that, then I’ll be very cautious with it but I have complete faith in what they do and they will make the right decisions with this call.”

Katie Boulter is a member of the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme, the highest level of support offered to developing elite players.

FDA Places Strict Limits on the Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

The FDA places strict limits on the use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine in its Thursday announcements for people aged 18 and older who choose J&J because they can’t get other vaccines.

On Thursday the FDA announced that there will be strict limits on the use of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older who are only able to get COVID-19 because they cannot access other vaccination.

Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) is an uncommon and potentially deadly illness that can occur after receiving the vaccine, according to an FDA statement.

“We have used updated information from our safety surveillance systems to revise the EUA,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the statement. “We have been closely monitoring the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and the occurrence of TTS following its administration.” “It is our understanding that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine continues to play a role in the current pandemic response in the United States and around the world. It is clear that our safety monitoring systems are effective, and that we are committed to using science and statistics to drive our decisions.”

There is a new approval for booster doses as well, according to a statement from the FDA.

There are certain persons for whom the benefits of the J&J vaccination outweigh the dangers, according to the FDA’s assessment. People like the following, for example, may still benefit from the vaccine:

A significant allergic reaction to a Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccination is a red flag.

Without the J&J vaccination, those who had personal concerns about the mRNA vaccines would not get inoculated.

Who can benefit from mRNA? The Covid-19 vaccinations

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18.7 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been provided in the United States as of Thursday. 7.7 percent of people who have been immunized to the fullest extent received this vaccination.

“Preferential recommendation for the use of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination over Janssen adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccine in all persons aged under 18 years in the United States,” according to the CDC’s vaccine advisory group, which met in December.

Similar issues were raised by the committee.

Due to instances of TTS, the CDC and FDA have both previously advised against the use of this vaccination. A warning about the infrequent clotting incidents was included with the lifting of the pause.

At the time, Johnson & Johnson issued the following statement: “Our primary concern is for the health and safety of anyone who will be exposed to our products. A tiny number of people who received our COVID-19 vaccine have developed an extremely unusual illness involving blood clots and low platelets…. With the help of medical specialists and health authorities, we firmly advocate open dissemination of this information to healthcare providers as well as the general public.”

The FDA reports that 15 percent of TTS instances have resulted in death in a newly released fact sheet on the vaccination.

The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database has been updated to cover instances reported through March 18, according to the CDC. Nine people have died as a result of TTS, according to the FDA.

The overall risk of TTS is extremely low: about three cases for every million vaccine doses administered. There has been the largest incidence of TTS in women between the ages of 30 and 49. Women in this age range have been the target of eight out of every million doses of the vaccination provided.

Find out what Dr. Sanjay Gupta has to say every week by signing up for CNN Health’s weekly newsletter.

One to two weeks following vaccination, cases of TTS are common. There are a variety of signs and symptoms associated with an adverse reaction to the vaccine, including shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, chronic abdomen pain, and neurological symptoms such as headaches or blurred vision.

Warning: “The Janssen Covid-19 vaccine (TTS) may cause thrombosis and may be life-threatening” is written on the vaccine’s fact page.

Kendrick Lamar Uncannily Deepfakes as Will Smith, Kanye, Kobe and More in New Music Video

Claire Peterson on May 23, 2022

“The Heart Part 5,” Kendrick Lamar’s first song in four years, has generated a lot of buzz on the internet since the release of its music video.

On Sunday, the hip-hop singer released a five-minute music video in which he deepfakes some renowned Black males while critiquing contemporary societal conceptions..

Starting out, Dave Free and Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” video is rather straightforward. “Yes, I am,” and “Are you?” “oklama” (probably Lamar’s alter ego), depicts “all of us” in a dark setting.

Lamar begins rapping somewhat off-camera in the maroon background: “As I grow older, I realize that perspective is everything. And I may have a different opinion than you do.”

There is a distinct resemblance between Lamar and OJ Simpson, Kanye West and Will Smith, as well as Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle in his performance.

Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” appears to be sampled in the second half of the third stanza of the return song, which closes with numerous statements from the perspective of deceased Grammy-nominated Hussle.

The following lyrics are sung by Lamar: “Listen to the sound of my voice as it wafts through the room. My brother and children, I’m now in a better place. My mother and sister are with me in Heaven. I promise to my father and wife that this is Heaven. Friends, don’t forget to be thankful. Don’t forget to put money into my followers. And to the assassin who hastened my demise, I extend my sincere gratitude. I’m sorry, but you should know that your eternal destiny is in peril.”

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as well as their Deep Voodoo deepfake company, are offered “special thanks” in the video’s credits.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Lamar’s much-anticipated fifth studio album, will be released on Friday. “Damn” premiered at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and became history’s first-ever rap album to win a Pulitzer Prize. The rapper’s next album will be his first significant release since 2017.