Month: December 2022

TikTok’s Top Trending Videos Of 2022 Features Creative Videos From Lizzo And Rosalía

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TikTok, which has grown exponentially over the past few years, released its year-end stats for 2022 via Variety — and the results might surprise some casual social media users. Out of millions of videos on the platform, TikTok narrowed down the Top 10 Trending Videos in the US.

At the top with 23 million likes was a video of a man constructing a chocolate giraffe, followed at No. 2 by a viral video of a chipmunk. It turns out TikTok users LOVE animals.

They also love Rosalía, as the star sits at spot No. 3, for the viral video of her chewing gum — set to her song, “Bizcochito.” Given it was a huge trend this year for fans and music lovers… and literally, everyone, to recreate her signature pose, this comes as no surprise. The Motamami singer’s video also gave us a TON of memes, for which we are eternally grateful.

Lizzo also made the list at No. 6, making her the only other musician to do so this year. She taught fans the choreography for her song “About Damn Time” and they thoroughly enjoyed it, enough to make it a major trend. Dancing gave TikTok its start, so it’s only fitting. Plus, Lizzo is so much fun.

As for the rest of the videos on the list, there’s everything from the Corn Kid remix to a showdown between lava and ice. (Or, what Jesse Pinkman says in Breaking Bad, science, b*tch.)

Continue scrolling to view Rosalia and Lizzo’s trending TikToks from 2022.

@rosalia

♬ BIZCOCHITO – ROSALÍA

@lizzo

I would’ve given my left coochie lip to be at the spring awakening reunion show 😭

♬ About Damn Time – Lizzo

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani Was Seen Grinding On Letitia Wright At A London Club And It Left Fans Quite Flustered

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R&B star Kehlani is (apparently) single again after sharing a brief relationship with fellow musician 070 Shake, and that means fans watching like hawks for any sign of a new relationship. So, when Kehlani was spotted dancing with Black Panther star Letitia Wright at a party in London, fans of the singer (who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns) naturally flipped out on Twitter. Clearly, fans were already enamored of the seemingly unlikely pairing — although it still remains to be seen what their connection actually is.

The two stars have both had a great year individually. Despite their breakup, Kehlani appeared to be having the time of their life on the Blue Water Road Tour with Rico Nasty while promoting the album of the same name. Kehlani was also a highly-demanded feature artist, popping up on projects from the likes of Syd, Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, and Babyface. Wright, meanwhile, stepped into the “sneakers” of Marvel’s Black Panther in the sequel to the 2018 original, Wakanda Forever. Her character, Shuri, the original Black Panther’s younger sister in the first movie, stole the show for fans, who praised her unique chemistry with Tenoch Huerta’s antagonist Namor. And while she took some flak during the filming of the movie over her vaccine views, she has since apologized and defended herself after a story in Hollywood Reporter questioned her awards chances over them.

Lizzo, Billie Eilish, And Charlie Puth Had A Monster 2022 On TikTok And Were The Platform’s Top Artists Of The Year

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Year-end list season is here, so data of what happened on various platforms in 2022 is making its way out into the world. Today (December 6), it’s TikTok’s turn, as the popular video-sharing platform has unveiled a number of lists. Among those is the most-viewed musicians on the platform in the US and the list is as follows:

1. Lizzo (@lizzo)
2. Bella Poarch (@bellapoarch)
3. Bad Bunny (@badbunny)
4. Charlie Puth (@charlieputh)
5. Doja Cat (@dojacat)
6. Selena Gomez (@selenagomez)
7. Nessa Barrett (@nessaabarrett)
8. Yung Gravy (@yunggravy)
9. Billie Eilish (@billieeilish)
10. Meghan Trainor (@meghantrainor)

Lizzo has long maintained an entertaining and uplifting presence on the platform, while Puth has used it to offer insight about his creative process. Meanwhile, Doja made her followers laugh, while Trainor had a TikTok hit with “Made You Look.”

Elsewhere on TikTok’s year-end ranks, Lizzo had one of the year’s top videos, music or otherwise, in a clip where she teaches choreography to “About Damn Time.” Rosalía also made an appearance on that list with her viral gun-chewing video, set to her TikTok favorite “Bizcochito.”

See what other people, topics, and videos made TikTok’s 2022 lists here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Summer Walker Asked Fans To Mind Their Business After They Criticized Her Requirements To Be Her Assistant

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Yesterday, R&B superstar Summer Walker shared a rather bizarre job posting. The “Ex For A Reason” hitmaker took to her Instagram Story to announce that she was looking for an assistant. However, said assistant must fit an oddly specific set of requirements.

On her Story, Walker said, “Need a male assistant. $2,000 a month. Based in Atlanta. Have to have a car. How to know how to build stuff. Preferably white or gay.”

Toward the bottom of the post, she noted that her assistant must not “give af about who [she is] or [her] music.”

It’s tough to know where to begin on this post — the cheap labor, the class and race discrimination, the vague job requirements. It goes without saying that Twitter had a field day.

“2K a month? Girl go to hell lmaoo,” said one Twitter user.

The fact that her budget only allowed for that type of wage also led fans to believe that she is in a bad recording deal. Another Twitter user called for people to “stream her music so she can pay a liveable wage.”

One Twitter user expressed that she may have a hard time finding someone who isn’t well versed in her catalog, as she shared the post on her social media accounts. “Why would someone who doesn’t care about your music be following you,” she asked.

Walker later shared videos on her Story, defending the job criteria, saying, “If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then why are you talking about it? I really would like to know that. ‘Oh, $2K ain’t enough, $2K ain’t enough.’ How do you know if it’s not enough? I could have told somebody to come over here once a week and smell my asshole and leave. How do you know it’s not enough? Do you know the job description? Do you know the hours?”

She continued, saying, “I am on maternity leave, I’m not working. We have no shows, we have no club appearances, we have nowhere to go and nothing to do. I told somebody to come over here once a week to come take my f*cking trash out, sh*t like that. Put some gas in my car, sh*t I don’t feel like doing. But that is not y’all business, I don’t have to explain that to you.”

Still, despite the strange requirements, it appears Walker filled the position, and apparently with a Black man, whom she is paying more than the initially shared salary.

“How about we mind our business?,” she said toward the end of the video. “I’m using this platform how I’m supposed to use it — for business. I ended up hiring a Black man and paying more than $2K, but still, the fact that y’all are really in my DMs harassing me about nothing that you know nothing about.”

ASAP Rocky ‘Can’t Even Describe’ How Thrilled He Is About Being A Parent Alongside Rihanna

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There are many things rapper ASAP Rocky has to be thankful for this holiday season, most notably his budding new family with music superstar Rihanna. Shortly after going public with their relationship, the couple welcomed their first child in the world in May.

With assault charges and a civil lawsuit lingering over the Harlem native’s head, Rocky is devoting every waking second to his infant son. The “Sh*ttin Me” rapper spoke with Complex‘s Jessica McKinney about how fatherhood has been treating him. This isn’t the first time Rocky has opened up, but it has been the most lengthy statement.

Rocky gushed, “It’s beautiful,” before adding, “Honestly, I think fatherhood gives me more time to do exactly what I want. I don’t have time for anything that isn’t priorities. It helps you prioritize, honestly. I love it. Everything is just based around my newfound love for being a dad and a family man. It’s lit right now. I can’t even describe it. Yo, you see this smile! I’m all smiles right now, man.”

When the rapper isn’t wrapped up in his responsibilities as a father, he’s expanding his budding fashion empire. According to Rocky, that’s precisely how he likes it: “I’m in a place where I want to give my all to all of this. All I have is my craft, my art, and my family. That’s just my life. I just want to give motherf*ckers some dope sh*t. They’re going to see. It’s going to be ill.”

Phoebe Bridgers Will Feature On SZA’s ‘S.O.S.’ And SZA Is Laughing At The Intensely Positive Reactions

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Phoebe Bridgers Primavera Sound Festival Brazil 2022
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Yesterday (December 5), SZA unveiled the tracklist of her long-awaited upcoming album, S.O.S.. There was one feature that immediately stood out: Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost In The Machine.” SZA and Bridgers don’t exactly travel in the same musical circles, but despite/because of that, people are super excited. Specifically, one person SZA knows couldn’t contain themselves after hearing the news.

Late last night/early this morning, SZA shared a video on Twitter and captioned it, “Response to having phoebe on the albums been pretty positive lol.” The video is a screen recording of her phone, which shows two brief audio messages she received. The first one is of a person intensely screaming, “Phoebe Bridgers! Phoebe Bridgers! Phoebe Bridgers!” In the second, they shout, “Yes! Yes!”

Yesterday was actually pretty major for Bridgers stans. Aside from the SZA news, it was also revealed that her boyfriend (or perhaps fiancé) Paul Mescal will be sitting down for a joint interview with Taylor Swift’s also-actor boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, as part of Vanity Fair‘s “Actors On Actors” series. That also garnered some enthusiastic responses on social media.

Check out some additional reactions to the Bridgers feature below.

S.O.S. is out 12/9 via Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records. Pre-save it here.

Summer Walker Is Hiring, But You Must Meet A Few Surprising Requirements: Male, White, & Not-Straight

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The internet is questioning whether or not Summer Walker has the sense that God gave her. Moments after posting her maternity photos, the singer shared that she was looking for a personal assistant. Given that the “Over It” singer is currently on maternity leave, the need for additional help around the house seemed natural. However, there were a few stipulations that sent people into a frenzy.

In the Instagram stories post, the soon-to-be mother of two wrote, “Need a male assistant. $2,000 a month. Based in Atlanta. Have to have a car. How to know how to build stuff. Preferably white or gay.”

But fans need not apply as the singer was sure to include the following words: “And doesn’t give af about who I am or my music. Just need your to come to work.”

Fans were relentless on Twitter in sharing their thoughts on the job listing. Some questioned whether or not the open call was legal due to Summer’s listed preferred candidate. Others had a laugh at the singer’s expense, rehashing rumors that Walker couldn’t afford quality help due to her current record deal.

Best of luck to Summer Walker in her search for a new assistant. If you’re interested in applying, email your resume to [email protected].

50 Cent’s G-Unit Sneakers Nearly Sold As Many Pairs As Air Jordans, Recalls Reebok’s CEO

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50 Cent WE TV's "Hip Hop Homicides" New York Premiere 2022
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Today’s generation may not be as familiar with 50 Cent’s music catalog as previous ones, but they certainly know his business dealings. The Queens native has become a dominating force in film and television, but his first successful business venture was in fashion, thanks to his company G-Unit Clothing.

During the height of his musical career, the “I Get Money” rapper inked a multimillion-dollar sneaker deal with Reebok. The G-Unit sneaker became a cultural wave in the early 2000s as the rapper and then-artists Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck sported the footwear in their music videos.

In a new interview with Complex, Reebook’s CEO Todd Krinsky revealed that at one point in the partnership, a pair of G-Unit sneakers nearly outpaced a pair of Air Jordans in a similar colorway.

Krinsky shared, “We were selling like, you know, 40-50,000 per color at a time. I remember that back-to-school, we sold on one color, like 75,000 pairs. I’m not saying, by the way, that G-Unit was ever close to Jordan in any way. I’m saying that one moment in time, that one colorway, I think we sold in almost as many pairs as the Jordan launch for that period.” He added, “[50 Cent] was always saying how many Jordans sell this week. I’m telling you, he was literally asking that every week or every time we had a meeting.”

The executive also spoke about how involved the rapper was in the partnership: “50 was also incredibly immersed in the business. Like he came to every meeting on time, ready to go, and his first question every meeting was, ‘How many pairs we sell this week?’”

In 2014, during an interview with radio personality Ebro Darden, 50 Cent briefly spoke about how important it was for him to be seen in the shoes, which resulted in higher sales. Still, some of them didn’t take the deal as seriously as he did.

The rapper said, “[Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck] had Reebok deals but forgot to wear the shoes, so I stopped paying them,” he continued, “Jay Z used athletes to promote his S. Carter’s. I used my artists to help bring them additional money because they weren’t demanding enough interest to have the [shoe] deal on their own.”

He eventually cut ties with Reebok for a deal with Marc Echo before parting ways with the company in 2008. G Unit clothing is now sold exclusively online.

Watch the full episode of The Complex Sneakers Podcast here.

Snoop Dogg’s Famous ‘Snoop DeVille’ 1996 Cadillac DeVille Is Available For Purchase Thanks To A Super Fan

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Everyone wants a big of the Big D-O-Double G, and now thanks to a super-fan, the perfect opportunity has presented itself. While musician turned, mogul Snoop Dogg focused on expanding his empire, which includes a pet accessory line, children’s programming, and a biopic, the “Gin & Juice” rapper, is letting a few things go.

According to TMZ, one of the items he let go of was his famed 1966 Cadillac DeVille lowrider. Notably featured in 50 Cent’s 2004 “P.I.M.P. Remix” video, the car nicknamed ‘Snoop’s DeVille,’ is now owned by super-fan Christina Bonilla.

Although the car features a tricked-out audio system fit for any music lover, Bonilla reveals Snoop blew the engine, which resulted in him securing the vehicle as Snoop felt, “It was just taking up space in his car lot.”

Bonilla ensures that the one-time General Motors award-winning car’s interior and exterior are pristine. In addition, Bonilla reveals he has replaced the car’s engine and upgraded the audio system.

Christian Bonilla has not sought a set asking price for the vehicle. However, given the car is now a piece in hip-hop history, we’re sure purchasing the car will run you a pretty penny. For those wishing to enter a bid on the car, contact Bonilla on Instagram.

Tory Lanez Has Been Released From House Arrest To Prepare For His Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Trial

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After a year’s worth of delays, increasingly aggressive bickering, and a suspected misinformation campaign to influence the outcome, Tory Lanez’s trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion has officially begun. As a result, Lanez is no longer confined to house arrest, according to Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon, who has been observing the preliminaries at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse and will presumably be providing more updates as the trial continues this week.

Judge David Herriford explained that the reason he released Tory from house arrest — a decision that was protested by the prosecution — was so the Canadian rapper/singer would be able to prepare for the trial alongside his counsel. “I’m doing this mainly for the trial preparation aspect,” Herriford is quoted.

Tory Lanez is charged with one felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The charges stem from a 2020 incident in which Tory allegedly shot at Megan Thee Stallion during an argument after a party as she walked away from his car. Bullet fragments were found in the Houston rapper’s feet, and she has maintained ever since that Tory was the one who fired the shots. Meanwhile, Tory argued that he was “framed,” while the only witnesses, Tory’s driver and one of Meg’s friends, have refused to speak out either way.

In the two years since, Tory was issued a restraining order to stay away from Megan and placed on house arrest as a result of his alleged September assault on fellow singer August Alsina in Chicago.