Today, fans can get an exclusive glimpse behind-the-scenes of the official music video for “Rosa Parks,” the Grammy nominated and critically acclaimed track from Outkast’s third album, Aquemini, in the latest episode of Vevo Footnotes. The episode is part of Vevo’s original content and specialized programming to celebrate the historic 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop.
In the episode, Big Boi describes the music on Aquemini as a blend of Outkast’s “complex music” on their debut album “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” with the “ferocious lyrics” found on their sophomore album ATLiens. The episode highlights that the parade scene in the music video was filmed in front of the iconic Atlanta nightclub, The Royal Peacock. And points out that the marching band in the video is from the historic Morris Brown College, and that the college’s gospel choir is featured on their track “Bombs Over Baghdad.” Additionally, the episode mentions that the standout harmonica solo is performed by Andre 3000’s stepfather, Reverend Robert Hodo.
Rick Ros and Meek Mill have announced plans for their ‘It’s Too Good To Be True’ joint album which comes on the heels of the arrival of single ‘Shaq & Kobe.’
Ice Spice’s devoted Munchkin fans run on her Dunkin’ specialty drink. For a while, Cardi B’s Bardi Gang and Saweetie’s Icy Girls were lovin’ their McDonald’s meals. But “Last Time I Saw You” rapper Nicki Minaj’s die-hard supporters, The Barbz, was one of the first hip-hop communities with a devoted chain restaurant celebration thanks to Chili’s Grill & Bar. So when is Chili’s next Barbz Day for 2023?
According to the announcement posted to the company’s official X (formerly Twitter) page, the date to remember is October 17.
What seemingly started as a stunt to spike the engagement on Chili’s social media page last year has become a fun night for Barbz and anyone near a chain. Last year, around this time, locations hosted Barbz Day with a specialty drink, the Barbarita (Cranberry Margarita), for $5.
Although it isn’t clear if the same drink special or discount price will remain the same, based on the online engagement, the Barbz are down to support their queen either way.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of September below.
Beastie Boys — Hello Nasty (Deluxe Edition)
UME
Beastie Boys are perhaps best known for their ’80s and early-’90s output, but they were still getting after it later in the decade. Hello Nasty was a No. 1 album in 1998, and now that the project is turning 25 this year, the group has reissued it with bonus LPs (for 4 LPs in total) that have a number of bonus tracks (and there’s even a sew-on patch for you in the box set).
Aesop Rock — Skelethon (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Rhymesayers
Skelethon was a turning point for Aesop Rock, as his sixth album came five years after its predecessor, None Shall Pass, and it was his first album to be completely self-produced. So, as it turns 10, Aesop has given it premium treatment, which includes a 3-LP package that includes “a gatefold jacket with revised art layouts, printed sleeves, a 4-panel insert with full album lyrics, two cream & black marble-colored vinyl, and a UV printed ultra-clear bonus disc vinyl with four exclusive bonus tracks.”
It’s very likely there’s no song/album about a hotel more famous than the one by The Eagles. Now the group has dusted off the album for a new limited edition (there are 17,500 numbered copies) of the album that was mastered from the original analog master tapes, and is pressed to high-fidelity MoFi SuperVinyl.
Green Day — Dookie (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Warner
Dookie is certainly in the conversation when it comes to the most classic albums of the ’90s. It’s somehow already been 30 years since it was released and the band has released a vinyl box set that has a bunch of rare and unreleased material, as well as other goodies, included.
Steely Dan is in the midst of a vinyl reissue series and up next is the 1997 classic Aja. For this edition, the album has been remastered “from an analog, non-EQ’d, tape copy.”
It doesn’t feel like Haim’s been around long enough for anniversary reissues, does it? Regardless, Days Are Gone is 10 now, so the sisters are re-releasing it for the first time ever, housed in a new package, exclusive poster, a printed transparent slipcase, and more.
Sports was an unstoppable album in 1983, yielding four top-10 hits and managing a rank of No. 2 on the year-end album charts in 1984. The album is 40 years old now and now we’re treated to a fresh pressing, including one edition featuring olive green vinyl.
The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson recently spoke with Uproxx about the band’s new Tim box set, and he said of how the project sounds on this particular release, “I think it sounds more the way it should have sounded to begin with. The funny thing is there were two records that we did that I always felt sounded terrible and this is one of them. It always sounded bad to me, and when it came out it seemed that everyone whitewashed — including the record company — that there was something wrong with it. Intrinsically, I’ve always known what was wrong with it. The original mix was mixed on f*cking headphones. So I don’t suspect Ed Stasium mixing it on headphones. I don’t really know anyone that mixes on headphones, but I always knew there was a problem with that. So this is great. I’m pretty stoked on it.”
Uproxx’s Steven Hyden recently dove deep into this release, saying this reissue proves Who’s Next is “the ultimate classic rock album.” He wrote in part, “It is, simultaneously, one of the most overexposed rock albums ever, with a reach that extends into every sports stadium (and CSI franchise spin-off) known to man, and an intriguingly nebulous idea dreamt up by a genius who earnestly believed that his music could elevate his audience to a better, heretofore untouched astral plane. […] It offers proof positive that aiming for the impossible can result in achieving the incredible. And that’s why it’s the ultimate classic rock album.”
Tom Waits — Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Franks Wild Years (Reissues)
Island/UMe
Waits is in the midst of reissuing some of his most classic albums on vinyl, and a few of them are available now. Waits is personally overseeing the series of newly remastered rereleases and each album is available on gorgeous colored vinyl.
The Breeders — Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition)
4AD
This 30th anniversary reissue of Last Splash actually marks the first time the album has ever been remastered, making this the best the classic project has ever sounded. Also included is “an exclusive, one-sided etched 12-inch which excitingly features two brilliant and previously unreleased tracks — ‘Go Man Go’ and ‘Divine Mascis,’” which “originate from the original sessions and were left forgotten until the sessions were exhumed to create this new master.”
Grandaddy announced this reissue back in May, revealing that it includes the album itself, demos, rarities, and B-sides. Jason Lytle noted,” After many years of hammering away at writing and recording as Grandaddy, Sumday seems to be the center of it and where it all peaked. To the journalists we were, ‘On the verge of greatness, underrated, overlooked, unsung.’ It was a tumultuous and exciting time for us for sure. Also very exhausting.”
Tupic‘s 1996 murder remains one of the most-discussed deaths in hip-hop, as it remains unsolved. Earlier this year, though, an investigation was opened again, and today (September 29), a suspect by the name of Duane “Keefe D” Davis has reportedly been taken into custody.
Though the rapper was killed in 1996, the story begins well before that. On November 30, 1994, Tupac was shot five times during a robbery at Quad Studios in Times Square, but he survived. Then, on September 7, 1996, he was leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. He was shot multiple times in a drive-by and taken to the hospital, and subsequently died on September 13.
About the arrest made today, retired Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading who investigated the case and wrote a book about it, said, “People have been yearning for him to be arrested for a long time. It’s never been unsolved in our minds. It’s been unprosecuted.” He said Davis’ book gave “Las Vegas the ammunition and the leverage to move forward. Prior to Keefe D’s public declarations, the cases were unprosecutable as they stood… He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy. He had acquired the gun, he had given the gun to the shooter and he had been present in the vehicle when they hunted down and located both Tupac and Suge [Knight].”
As for when this all went down: As ABC News points out, Tupac was shot five times on November 30, 1994, during a robbery at Quad Studios in Times Square, but he survived. A couple years later, on September 7, 1996, he was shot in a drive-by after leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. He was shot multiple times and taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries a few days later, on September 13. He was 25 years old.
As for the recent arrest, Davis has admitted to his involvement in the shooting before: In his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, he said he was a passenger in the car from which the shots were fired, and he claimed his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson was the one who actually pulled the trigger. Anderson was later killed in a shooting in Compton, two years after Tupac’s death.
If hip-hop’s 50th-anniversary celebrations have taught fans of the culture anything, it’s just how expansive the music has been. Rapper Lil Durk and Kid Cudi are two shining examples of the genre’s growth. The two sub-section innovators linked up for a new track titled “Guitar In My Room.”
Both the track and its official accompanying video are spearheaded by Cole Bennett. As the second single off Bennett’s forthcoming compilation album, “Guitar In My Room,” is a luminous look at their duo’s influential signature sounds. To open the record, Durk lets listeners into his bittersweet reality.
“I’m in a room with my guitar, I’m tryna prove that I’m a star / But I hate when we keep distance ’cause it’s a difference with response / Keep it natural the first day, we gon’ watch Tubi in the car / Ask me what’s my motivation, I say, ‘The trenches,’ she say, ‘Why?’ / I was takin’ all prescriptions, them drugs / I wanna ask for your permission, don’t judge / Before you ever get a job, get a gun,” rapped Durk.
Cudi shifts the energy from gloomy to litty when it is his turn on the mic. “Caught you in a dream, I hit you with that sauce / If we aim at the moon, no, baby, we won’t fall / She said she miss that feeling / A real n**** that is so appealin’ / Keep it low, baby, I’m not leavin’ / Soakin’ up your glory days slow / If there’s problems, I’ll solve ’em, no lie / You never had a n**** catchin’ all the signs / It’s time, baby, lost in the lights,” rapped Cudi.
Hold your horses, folks; it looks like the apparent feud between J. Cole and NBA YoungBoy is more one-sided than people assumed. For those unaware, fans recently went wild for the former’s performance on the track “The Secret Recipe.” with Lil Yachty. While they assumed that he actually sent shots at YB in his verse, some more trustworthy authority figures cleared the air. Moreover, Dreamville manager and close friend of Cole’s, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, took to Twitter to address these speculations. He doesn’t understand how people drew this connection, although it’s not as unreasonable as he paints.
“I’m pretty sure this is [cap emoji],” Ib wrote on the social media platform. “Not sure how y’all heard that Cole verse and put that together, impressive [crying-laughing emoji].” Here’s what J. Cole actually rapped on the song that people think took aim at YoungBoy. “N***as makin’ threats and I laugh, that’s ’cause you ain’t a threat,” the North Carolina MC spit. “Don’t ask how I feel ’bout no rappers, s**t, they okay, I guess / Incomin’ call, press the button, the one that say accept / He FaceTime to ask for a feature and saw the face of death.”
Meanwhile, people think this connects back to the Baton Rouge hitmaker’s bars for J. Cole on his track “F**k The Industry, Pt. 2.” On it, YB took aim at a lot of different rappers, as the title suggests, but the feud with Cole might seem bizarre. Regardless, these more direct shots also center around features. “J a h*e, that n***a played it cold like he was gon’ do a feature,” YoungBoy rapped on the track. “So I texted his line a muscle sign, I swear it’s gon’ be nice to meet you.”
Of course, it’s likely that this intervention from Ib will kill this dead in the water. After all, the 4 Your Eyez Only lyricist is well-known for going back on rap beefs, especially with the newer generation outside of his style and approach. As such, maybe the Never Broke Again leader holds some contempt, but it looks like Cole isn’t reciprocating anything. With that in mind, stay posted on HNHH for the latest news and updates on YoungBoy and J. Cole.
