Month: July 2022

Usher Will Executive-Produce ‘Storyville,’ A TV Series Set In The Jazz Age Of New Orleans

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Usher Lovers and Friends 2022
Getty Image / Gabe Ginsberg

Usher is taking to television: The Grammy Award-winning vocalist has signed on as an executive producer for an upcoming television series called Storyville, as reported by Variety.

The series, set in New Orleans, will tell the story of five brothel madams seeking to gain control over the city’s Red Light District. It is a music-centered series which will be focused on the beginning of the Jazz Age in New Orleans.

“Storyville is an epic tale sparked by the origins of the sound that inspired my career — a story that touches the nerve of social and cultural relevance today,” Usher said in a statement.

At the time of reporting, the series is currently in development by Starlings Television and is targeted for global sale to various networks. Starlings TV President/EP Chris Philip and CEO Karine Martin are also set to co-executive produce the show, alongside Usher, as well as creators and showrunners Bill Macdonald and Walt Becker, and Marcus Morton.

“Usher’s massive global appeal, musical and acting genius will propel this unique and compelling original series into must-see viewing worldwide,” Philip said in a statement. “His invaluable creative and musical contributions to Storyville fulfill our vision of contrasting the gritty, sometimes brutal sides of New Orleans life with it giving birth to a beautiful, diverse and defining new artform.”

Harry Styles Sent Lizzo Flowers After ‘About Damn Time’ Took Over His No. 1 Spot On The Hot 100 Chart

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Getty Image

A couple weeks ago on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” parked itself at No. 2, right behind Harry Styles’ “As It Was” at No. 1. The week after, that stayed the same when “As It Was” remained on top for a tenth total week. On this week’s chart, though, “About Damn Time” finally soared high enough to overtake the top spot from Styles’ hit, demoting it to the silver-medal spot.

If Styles is feeling bitter about all this, he’s not showing it, as he graciously accepted his defeat by sending Lizzo a colorful arrangement of flowers. Lizzo showed them off in a TikTok video, in which she holds them and says, “Thanks for the flowers, Harry,” before smelling them and flashing a smile. She wrote in the post caption, “Yall harry got me flowers congratulating me on about damn time going #1 [crying emojis].”

@lizzo

Yall harry got me flowers congratulating me on about damn time going #1 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

♬ I Love You Bitch – Lizzo

Lizzo and Styles have some history together: In 2020, they hosted a joint concert on Super Bowl weekend. In April, Lizzo popped up as a surprise guest at Styles’ Coachella set. Lizzo also showed her love for Styles’ new album Harry’s House in June, declaring, “He put the whole Harrussy into that album. I love his new album.”

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ne-Yo Releases New Video For “Handle Me Gently”

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Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo graced fans with a new visual for the hit single “Handle Me Gently.” Ne-Yo is back with another banger.  The R&B singer recently released a visual to his recent track “Handle Me Gently.”  In the video, the iconic singer is seen jamming out in the recording studio as he records the new song.  Fans […]

The post Ne-Yo Releases New Video For “Handle Me Gently” appeared first on SOHH.com.

Joe Budden Claims He Tried To Battle DMX On The Set Of “Belly”

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Joe Budden loves to tell stories from various moments in hip-hop history. His tales range from the time he rejected Kanye West’s request to open for his concert to the time when Jay-Z charged him $250,000 for his verse on a “Pump It Up” remix. In a recent interview with the Flip Da Script Podcast, Budden recalled another interesting encounter with a rap legend.

When asked if he had ever battled any up and coming rappers, Budden initially said no, but then added, “I used to say I battled DMX.” He clarified: “That wasn’t really a battle. I was battling, he wasn’t battling.”

Joe Budden

Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Apparently, Budden approached DMX on the set of Belly, the 1998 crime thriller that DMX starred in alongside Nas, Method Man, and Taral Hicks. Budden tried to get a battle going, but the legendary New York rapper wasn’t taking the bait. “It was me just rapping,” Budden admitted. “But he was supposed to rap.” According to Budden, they were shooting the film outside of his mom’s building in Jersey City, so he had seen it as the perfect opportunity to approach X. The only catch: “He had to go shoot a scene.”

In the same interview, Budden also recalled Swizz Beatz trying to put him in a group with Cassidy and Drag-On. He didn’t remember too many details, however, saying, “That was super early. That was before y’all came into play.” Of course, he was then asked why he didn’t join the group. “It just didn’t work out,” he said. “I didn’t even learn about that until a few years later. I was just coming around rhyming… This was before anybody was anybody.”

Check out the portion of the interview below.

Maxo Kream Releases “Weight Of The World (Deluxe)”

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Maxo Kream officially emerged this week with the release of Weight Of The World (Deluxe). Over the past few months, the Houston native unveiled a slew of new singles including “Jigga Dame,” “Football Heads” ft. Benny The Butcher, and “The Vision” with Anderson .Paak. The deluxe includes these three songs, along with another three unreleased records, which extend the original 16-song tracklist to 22. Babyface Ray also appears on the project along with Peso Peso and KCG Josh. 

Maxo Kream’s latest project comes shortly after he wrapped up The Big Persona tour, as well as several high-profile festival dates at Coachella and SXSW.

Check out the deluxe edition of Maxo Kream’s 2021 album, Weight Of The World, and sound off in the comments with your favorite track.

 

Rod Wave Unveils New Single “Stone Rolling”

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Rod Wave is about to have us emotional this summer. The Florida rapper has slowly unveiled new music over the course of the past few months but not at his usual rate. Fans have longed for new music as he’s been in the cut, working on his next body of work.

Earlier this week, the rapper hinted that he would be releasing a new project soon. He kept his word, launching a pre-save link to his forthcoming effort, Beautiful Mind. The project will be due out on August 12th but ahead of its release, he blessed fans with his latest single, “Rolling Stone.” Wave’s vulnerability is on full display, once again, for a promising cut that’ll hold us over until Beautiful Mind drops.

Check the song below.

Quotable Lyrics
I got so much in love for Houston, like it raised me
Me and Sauce in a Maybach gettin’ faded
This don’t feel right, nah, this shit feel crazy
Clutchin’ on my pipe, don’t even feel like I made it

Today In Hip Hop History: The Hot Boys Dropped Their Sophomore Effort ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ 23 Years Ago

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Screen Shot 2022 07 27 at 9.30.25 AM

23 years ago today, Turk, Juvenile, BG and Lil Wayne dropped their second collaborative LP together as the Hot Boys entitled Guerrilla Warfare on the Cash Money/ Universal label.

Produced exclusively by Cash Money Records’ production duo “Baby” Williams and Mannie Fresh aka The Big Tymers, this entire album was recorded in Miami, a thousand miles a large contrast from there NOLA roots and recording environment, this LP helped to solidify the term “bling” as a necessity in the culture at the turn of the millennium. The lead singles, “I Need A Hot Girl” and “We On Fire” propelled the album the pole position on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop albums, selling 142,000 in the first week and reaching platinum status before the end of 1999.

Salute to the Hot Boys and Cash Money Records for making this exclusive piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: The Hot Boys Dropped Their Sophomore Effort ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ 23 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Nicki Minaj Says Singers “Don’t Really Want To Sing Anymore”

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Nicki Minaj stirred up the timeline on Tuesday night after suggesting that singers aren’t trying to sing as much as they are trying to rap these days. The Queen rapper claimed that people who could actually sing are shifting more towards a rap-sing variation, similar to how rappers have started using more melodies in recent times.


Rich Fury/Getty Images

“Ppl rlly don’t want to sing anymore. Like. Ppl. Who. Can. Actually. Sang. Like 🤔🥴 every one will be a “rapper” from now on? I see how singers be feeling about us rappers tryna sing chi 😩 🗣 omg nooooo!!!!” she tweeted.

As expected, many fans pushed back against Nicki’s claim because it simply isn’t true. With a slew of new R&B artists who’ve emerged in the past five years, there are plenty of real singers that are creating hit singles and doinating the charts. Not to mention, we’re just days away from the release of Beyoncé’s highly anticipated album, Renaissance.

Pink Sweat$ responded to the tweet shortly after while also extending an invitation to collaborate with Nicki. “Queen, let me introduce myself. Lovey-dubby sang his face off teddy bear. Let’s make magic,” he wrote.

Aside from her hot take, Nicki Minaj is revving up for the release of her new single, “Freaky Girl,” which samples Rick James’ “Super Freak.” The song comes out on August 12th. Keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Vince Staples Reacts To Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist

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Vince Staples reacted to his inclusion on Barack Obama’s star-studded summer playlist on Twitter, Tuesday. The former president released the latest edition of his annual playlist earlier in the day, featuring Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, and many more.

Sharing the list of songs, Obama wrote: “Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies — it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together. Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”

Vince Staples, Obama
Kevin Winter / Getty Images

“Dead Homies,” Staples replied to the post, after his track with Mustard, “Magic,” made the cut.

He added in a follow-up tweet: “If I convince Obama to get put on the set y’all gon be mad ?”

“Magic” was featured on Staples’ latest album, Ramona Park Broke My Heart, which was released earlier this year. In addition to Mustard, Staples also collaborated with Lil Baby and Ty Dolla Sign on the project.

Other songs to appear on Obama’s summer playlist include “When I B On Tha Mic” by Rakim, “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince, “Die Hard” by Kendrick Lamar, and many more.

Check out Obama’s playlist as well as Staples’ reaction below.

[Via]