Steve Lacy just dropped his second single this month in “Bad Habit,” and the surge of new music from the producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist isn’t a coincidence. Along with “Bad Habit,” Lacy has also shared the official details for the release date of his new album, Gemini Rights, and it’s coming out a lot sooner than you think.
Out in two weeks on July 15th, Gemini Rights, is written and produced by Lacy, who also played most of the instruments on each of the ten tracks — including one with Fousheé, whom he made out with in a music video earlier this year. Whereas on lead single “Mercury,” Lacy explored saucy bossa nova rhythms and emphatic vocals over a complex arrangement, “Bad Habit” is a sweet, groovy love song where Lacy ranges his voice a la Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes. “I wish I knew, I wish I knew you wanted me,” he sings on the soul-bearing hook.
The album is written in the aftermath of Lacy’s first big heartbreak, which at 24 years old, is a pretty decent streak. The Grammy nominee has cited influences on Gemini Rights from Brazilian maestro Caetano Veloso and Outkast’s Andre 3000 to Sly Stone, The Beatles, and of course, his talented pack in the The Internet.
Listen to “Bad Habit” above.
Gemini Rights is out 7/15 via RCA Records. Pre-order it here.
Kendrick Lamar made a splash at Glastonbury last weekend by showing up in a crown of thorns, presumably the same one he wore for the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album cover, for his performance. It’s a fancy piece of headwear and it turns out it was part of an overall pretty expensive outfit.
In a video from Glastonbury that’s been making the rounds, Lamar is asked how much the outfit costs and he deflects, saying, “I don’t even know, this sh*t ain’t even out yet. But it’s LV, though.” The interviewer then asks more specifically about the cost of the crown and one of Lamar’s associates chimes in, “Three.” The interviewer responds, “Three what?” The associate clarifies, “Three million,” and the interviewer’s excited reaction to that news got a big laugh out of Lamar.
Vogue previously noted the “custom titanium and pavé diamond crown is a collaboration between the rapper, his longtime creative collaborator Dave Free, and the jeweler Tiffany & Co.” that was “designed over the course of 10 months” and features “8,000 cobblestone micro pavé diamonds totaling more than 137 carats, and weighs around 200g.” It also apparently took “more than 1,300 hours of work by four craftsman to handset the diamonds.” The value of the crown was previously estimated at around $200,000.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Ever since making her debut as part of the growing roster of 1501 Certified Entertainment, Dallas rapper Erica Banks has contended with comparisons to her predecessor as the label’s crown jewel, Megan Thee Stallion. The parallels are obvious; the two women are Texas natives who pride themselves on their lyricism and flow, and both embrace an unapologetic approach to their sexual subject matter.
Tabbed by some fans as a replacement for Meg, signed specifically to spite and undermine Thee Stallion’s successful run in the face of her feud with her erstwhile benefactors, Erica Banks was initially mocked when footage of early performances circulated online. As her viral breakout “Buss It” became popular on TikTok, increasing her exposure to a wider audience, the comparisons likewise became more prominent, even prompting speculation that the two women had beef of their own.
But the thing that gets lost in all of this is that Erica Banks is an accomplished, established rapper in her own right, with four mixtapes to her name already – three self-released — before 1501 ever entered the picture. And now, her debut studio album, Diary Of The Flow Queen, has arrived to further differentiate her from her esteemed colleague and establish her as an artist worth giving attention to on her own merits.
Within moments of pressing play, it becomes apparent that the superficial similarities between Erica and Meg remain on the surface level. While the latter’s punchy delivery can occasionally subsume her Texas drawl, Banks’ accent determines her tempo, slowing her flow down even on the more uptempo tracks. Since she’s still in the early stages of her career – think Meg on the Tina Snow and Fever EPs – Banks has yet to experiment with pop-leaning musical styles, sticking to bass-forward, trunk-thumping Texas beats for the majority of the album.
This works to her advantage on tracks like “Slim Waist” and “Nasty” with Bankroll Freddie, on which she also shows that she has multiple vocal tones to match the mood of the song. While her voice is usually a low-register growl, she can pitch up an octave or two for more sultry come-ons when she isn’t straight-up bragging about her sexual prowess. On the penultimate song, “Work,” she even does some singing – an area where her ostensible rival has stumbled in the past – weaving between her usual rhythmic attack and the melodic flow that dominates rap playlists these days.
There are also few features; the aforementioned Bankroll Freddie, fellow Texan BeatKing, and rising New York rapper DreamDoll (who both appear on “Toot That“) are the only voices other than Erica’s on the album. This allows the DeSoto native to show that she’s capable of holding her own for a full project without growing stale – a testament to the above-mentioned malleability of her voice. Diary Of The Flow Queen may not meander far afield of the same lyrical territory that has been explored by many of the other women in hip-hop taking over the charts lately, but as Cardi B once explained, that’s what the fans want.
More importantly, the album establishes that Erica Banks has her own branch of that lineage, with all the potential to reach the same heights of notoriety as peers like Cardi B, Latto, Saweetie, and yes, even Megan Thee Stallion. She could very well be just one hit away; hopefully, 1501 learned its lesson and extended a contract that will keep their latest star happier than their last.
Diary Of The Flow Queen is out now on 1501 Certified and 300 Entertainment. Get it here.
Erica Banks is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
EarthGang are releasing a deluxe version of their latest album, Ghetto Gods, with features including Wiz Khalifa, Smino, and more. The duo announced that the new tracks will be dropping later this week.
In the post, EarthGang explained that the deluxe version will include new songs as well as older versions of songs already on the original project.
“We put the OG versions of two songs on here because our song making process is a constant evolution,” the group captioned a tracklist of what’s new to the album. “We want you to be apart of that.”
Leon Bennett / Getty Images
Among the “OG” versions of songs are “Black Pearls” and “American Horror Story.” There will also be a remix to “Smoke Sum.”
Ghetto Gods was released back in February and boasts features from Future, JID, J. Cole, Musiq Soulchild, Baby Tate, CeeLo Green, Nick Cannon, and Ari Lennox. The project is the duo’s second studio album following their debut, Mirrorland.
“Mirrorland was more cartoony, a wacky ride. It was based on the Wizard of Oz. Ghetto Gods is more like an action movie,” WowGr8 recently told NME when asked about how their sound has changed on the album. “This one’s a little more based in reality; right in the face.”
The deluxe version of Ghetto Gods is scheduled to release on Friday, July 1.
Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx were two of the biggest comedians in the 1990’s. They were both known for their comedic range and ability to play different characters, with Foxx showcasing his skills on In Living Color, and Martin on his own sitcom Martin. Two of their more popular characters, Wanda and Shenehneh were fan favorites and in a recent interview, Martin Lawrence revealed that the two characters were supposed to have a movie together.
While on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Fallon asked Lawrence if there would ever be a Martin reboot. Lawrence said he doesnt think they could recapture what they did in 1992, but would love to do a movie based around Shenehneh.
“I think, well, you know, the Martin show was like catching lightning in a bottle and I don’t think we can redo that again,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind working with the cast again on something but I don’t think we can do that again.” Fallon said that a movie would be “like the Martin Cinematic Universe,” to which Lawrence replied that he “would love to see a movie with Sheneneh.”
That’s when Lawrence said that he and Jamie Foxx were supposed to do a movie with Shenehneh and Wanda. “We were supposed to do a movie with Sheneneh and Jamie Foxx with Wanda, but that never came about,” Lawrence added. “If we could ever get that together, I think y’all would love this.”
Fat Joe is hosting a live charity auction today for an Air Force 1’s bundle, with Louis Vuitton exclusives as part of the collection. He’s teaming up with sneaker aficionado Mayor for the event on the live streaming shopping app WhatNot.
One-hundred-percent of the proceeds will be donated to Virgil Abloh’s Post ModernScholarship Fund. Abloh was the artistic director of LV who passed away in November 2021.
