State Champ Radio Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
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Portland Trail Blazers forward Robert Williams III is a gamer on the court and with the sticks off the court. The man known as Time Lord is a certified Call Of Duty fan and in a quick interview with Hip-Hop Wired, he offered plenty of insight into getting adjusted to his new Portland surroundings (he was traded from the Celtics in the summer—a say day for this Celtics fan writer), explained the joy he finds in gaming, and of course what he’s looking forward to in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III.
Robert Williams III says he was initially an NBA 2K player but got into Call Of Duty during his rookie year (he was drafted in 2018, so we’re talking Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 era). After admittedly taking a break for a year, he’s been back in full swing ever since. The franchise aligns with the high-flying forward’s NBA travel grind and keeps him trouble-free.
“It’s a mixture of things,” said Williams about why he plays. “It’s unwinding. A lot of times [instead] of going out and making some bad decisions, Call Of Duty will help you make great decisions. Just being able to communicate with people around the world. Being able to communicate with my fam back home over the game—kind of go through therapy sessions. We may get into a party and not even start the match for 30 minutes, just talking to each other.”
With Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III on the horizon, which lands this Friday (November 10), Williams is looking forward to getting as comfortable with the new title as he is on the court.
“I love it, man,” said Williams of the early taste of the game he was granted. “I feel like Call Of Duty surprises us every time. We ask ourselves what they can do to make it better or we suggest stuff that would make it better and a lot of the times the stuff that people suggest will really make the game terrible. We don’t realize it. I think they did a great job. I’m ready to play the campaign. I want to see what the rest of the game has in store.”
If you think Williams dropped a generic answer, he confirmed that he was legit when detailing his style of gameplay.
“I was the type where when I first started playing [I’d let] my friends go on fighting [and] I was the sniper that sat in the back the whole time. I’m marking people. [But then] I fell in love with SMG’s. I really miss the Cooper Carbine [Ed. Note: from Call Of Duty: Vanguard], I miss those bad,” Williams said.
Williams’ gritty play on the court will surely be missed by Boston Celtics fans. His new home and team of Portland are already treating him well.
“It was just tough getting adjusted to the West Coast time coming from Boston,” Williams shared. “But the city of Portland is amazing, man. People [have] been welcoming me. Been trying to find some good food. The nature is crazy, the trees, the wilderness out there is crazy.”
As a testament to the type of person he is, he’s already eyeing ways to give back to his new city.
“Obviously it’s not a celebratory topic, but I think Portland’s homelessness is probably the worst I’ve ever seen in my life, so I’m trying to figure out the next steps to get involved and try to help with that,” Williams said. In 2022, Portland ranked 25th nationwide in homelessness; per Axios, the homeless rate rose 20 percent in 2023.
Williams, a well-paid pro athlete, displaying such empathy is a testament to the type of teammate he is. This is often glossed over by those covering him in the press.
“I’m a people person,” said Williams when asked what’s the most underrated part of his NBA game. ” Anything I can do to help the team. Anything I can do to help my coaches, any given time on and off the court. This is what I am. I know I look unapproachable, I got neck tattoos and all that man, but I’ma cool person.”
Unfortunately for Blazers fans, Williams will have more time to play Call Of Duty since he recently suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for a least a few months (we conducted this interview a short while ago). But you can guarantee he’ll be back, stronger than ever.
Get well soon, Robert Williams III. We got your six.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: YouTube / Activision
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is less than a month from release, so you know Activision is bringing out all the promotional big guns. A new film brings The Lobby—where you set up before counting down and launching into video gameplay—to real life and features NBA star Devin Booker, rapper 21 Savage and more.
The film was directed by David Leitch of Bullet Train and John Wick fame and also stars UK artist Central Cee, amongst others. The two-minute clip follows the operator KillSwitch as he preps for battle. That includes Booker asking if he’s got his squad ready and 21 Savage letting him know it’s about to be on. The film also features live-action takes on familiar in-game characters including Ghost, Gaz, and Graves next to celebs and civilians.
The song heard in the film is an original called “Call Me Revenge” that features bars from 21 Savage and singing from d4vd that was composed by One Republic’s Ryan Tedder.
Another interesting factoid is that director Leitch was a motion capture actor on the first Call of Duty game that dropped 20 years ago. Bruh.
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“As we commemorate this monumental milestone for the Call of Duty franchise, we believe it’s essential to honor our player community through our work,” said Tyler Bahl, Head of Marketing at Activision, in a statement. “For the first time, ‘The Lobby’ features COD players, celebrities, and in-game characters squad-ing up together before a match. The film serves as a poignant reminder of our iconic tagline: ‘There is a soldier in all of us,’ which we are thrilled to reintroduce.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is out November 10. Watch The Lobby film below.
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Source: Activision / Activision
Bas was amongst the gaming pros and influencers on hand for the Call Of Duty: NEXT event that went down on Thursday, October 5. It shouldn’t be a surprise since the Dreamville rapper is a proud gamer and longtime fan of the franchise, and was as excited as anyone else to get to previewing and playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III.
Call Of Duty: NEXT showcased a sampling of the title’s new content including Multiplayer and Zombies as well as announcements about Call of Duty: Warzone—all in celebration of Call of Duty’s 20th anniversary. Bas was happy to be in the building. “I’m a fan man. I’m blessed to be here to get to play the game early to see all the cool callbacks— the maps they brought back,” Bas told Hip-Hop Wired. “I’m excited to see the new Warzone map. I’m just a gamer like anyone else.”
Bas isn’t just anyone considering he’s part of the Dreamville roster, and dropped a heater featuring his mans J. Cole called “Passports Bros” this past summer (more on that later). The Queens, by way of Paris, France rapper actually credits gaming with building chemistry between him and his collaborators, like renowned producer Boi-1da (Drake, Nas). “Me and him were cool acquaintances for a lot of the earlier part of my career but it wasn’t until we started gaming together and really speaking every night that our collaborative bond formed,” explains Bas, who also counts engineer Mixed by Ali, producer T-Minus and sometime J. Cole as among his regular gaming crew for Call of Duty and Warzone, amongst other titles.
He adds, “It’s almost like a business call but we’re playing a game and keeping in touch. 1da might be like ‘Yo, I did this beat tonight I gotta send it to you,’ he’ll text it to me mid-game. It’s a good way to stay present, stay in each other’s lives. We’re all so busy, we’re all in different parts of the country or we’re on tour. That’s kind of the one constant, you can get on, see who’s online, get in the chat with them, run a few games and just catch up.”
Video games and Hip-Hop have long been linked but formulating joints over the system group chat surely wasn’t on the bingo card of any Rap pioneer. But the joy both elements bring make the union inevitable. “We might tour seven, eight months out of the year. So those breaks where we get to come home that’s mostly what I’m doing. I’m gaming, I’m seeing the family,” explains Bas. “I’m not trying to go out and party, I just came off tour. It’s therapeutic to me honestly. Just to get on and talk to my friends. There’s a lot of value in the communication and the community of it.”
And yes, Bas has new music on deck—his new album, titled We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up, drops…soon, via Dreamville/Interscope. “I was trying to give y’all the date but there’s some paperwork [so] the label’s got me a little hush hush. But definitely before the end of the year.”
For us civilians, the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III Open Multiplayer Beta will be available starting Friday, October 6 and throughout the weekend. XBox and PC gamers will get their turn next weekend. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III proper will launch on November 10, 2023.
Source: Activision / Activision
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