It has been a while since released a new album. Her last project, Special, was released in July 2022, and since then, she’s seen both highs and lows. While the early part of 2023 saw her continue her tour for the album, give a standout performance at the Grammys, appear on season 3 of The Mandalorian, and popped up on the Barbie soundtrack, the gravy train was seemingly derailed when she was sued by a trio of her former backup dancers over creating an alleged hostile work environment (she’s denied the accusations).
However, it looks like she’s ready to return the focus to where it should be: On her music. In a new post on Instagram, the “Truth Hurts” singer shared a video of herself back in the studio recording new music, writing, “To my dearest lizzo fans, the magic is back.” While the audio from the new song is cheekily cut out to maintain an air of mystery, she does leave in a bit after the take in which she tells her engineer, “I felt like Gwen Stefani in the ’90s on that one.”
While it’ll clearly be a while more before we get to hear just how much her new music resembles the pop-punk hero, it’s clear Lizzo is feeling good about it.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
One of the most fascinating things about Odeal is the diversity of his cultural background. The 23-year-old singer was born in Germany and spent time in Nigeria, Spain, and the UK over the years. In turn, that granted Odeal an artistic palette that many would dream of. He’s collaborated and excelled with UK artists like Nines and Enny. The same goes for afrobeats artists like Gabzy. Odeal proved that he could wear many hats and wear them well. Additional proof of that can be found in his 2023 EP Thoughts I Never Said.
Released back in November, the project is a 20-minute confession of the raw emotions and heart-wrenching feelings felt in romance. Overall, Thoughts I Never Said captures Odeal’s rise and fall from love to loss in a moment-by-moment account detailed through the EP’s nine songs.
It begins with “Landmine,” an enchanting intro that details the unmatched feelings he has for the significant other in his life. The EP continues with “Bedroom Weather” and “Water” which both capture the euphoric intimacy that lives between partners whose chemistry is sky-high. Odeal’s love takes a turn for the worse on “Rigamortous” and another vulnerable moment on the album is instead, now used to showcase pain and anger. By “Fine By Myself,” acceptance amid the pain has set in as Odeal finds the silver lining within rain clouds.
Just a couple of months removed from the release of Thoughts I Never Said, Uproxx caught up with Odeal to discuss how Burna Boy inspired him, a feature he needs in his career, and what he’d be doing if it weren’t for music.
What is your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory of music would have been me listening to Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. At the time, Facebook was prominent, and I thought, you know what? As I moved around quite a lot, I had loads of friends in different places, so I posted a video of me doing a cover of Frank Ocean’s “Thinking About You.” Once I posted it on Facebook, everyone was like, “Yo, this is crazy. You should do this more. When did you start singing?”
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
I think it was Burna Boy. I went to his first show when he came back to the UK in 2016. It was his first time back in the UK in 6 years after not being allowed to perform here for a while. He came back and did a show, and I saw how everyone came together to listen to him. Bear in mind he wasn’t the biggest Afrobeat artist at the time; it was Wizkid, Davido, and maybe some others. So, for him to come back from Nigeria, just the same way I came back from Nigeria, and then he was having an immense amount of love. I saw so many different people there to see his performance, to see everything. From that day, I was like, yeah, man, I need to take this seriously. Before that, it was just a hobby.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
The only instrument I can play right now is my voice. I play keys, but I just figure out the chords as I go along. If I could play any instrument, I would love to know how to play the keys even better than I know how to play now.
What was your first job?
My first job was working in Subway at a highway service station.
What is your most prized possession?
My hard drives and my laptop.
What is your biggest fear?
My biggest fear is not achieving all my dreams.
Who is on your R&B afrobeats Mt. Rushmore?
D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Brandy, and Usher.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
Tems, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Santi, and Rema. I’d love for it to be held in the Sphere in Las Vegas!
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
First things first, I’d have a massive breakfast. Next, I’ve been blessed with unlimited resources, so I’m praying. I’m going to give God thanks. And then, what else am I going to do? From there, I think I’m going to chill, taking in the scenery in my huge kitted-out house somewhere in Spain. I’ll hop on a private jet because I want to hop on a private jet. I’ve always wanted to. Eat fried rice from this spot in Ghana that I love. So, I’ll have fried rice from Ghana on the plane.
We’re going to take the jet to Tanzania. We’re going to take the private jet to Tanzania where I’ll get on an island where there’s like lunch or dinner prepared, then I’d have a studio session in a hut on an island. For the rest of the evening, soak in the scenery and make crazy music! And then sleep in a huge, you know, them extra-large king-size bed I want to sleep in. That’s how the day ends.
What are your three most used emojis?
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
Power, as I’d like to see how serious I could be in it, and it’s an all-time great series for me. Sex Education – I feel like the chaos of the school matches the energy that I’ve got.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
Vince Staples, he doesn’t care, and Odumodublvck matches that energy as well.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
I genuinely haven’t missed in my music. Ever. I don’t think I’m missing any time soon!
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
“Rock My World” by Michael Jackson. The lyrics, melody, and feel of the record speak to my inner soul!
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
My favorite city I have performed in is London, and I’m very excited to perform in Lagos, Nigeria.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
I’d be a film director. Or a creative director. Or a fashion designer.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
I’ll go into the future. See the future, yeah? Yeah. And why? Because I want to prepare myself. For good, for the bad, the ugly. At least if I know, I can, like, just prepare myself for what’s about to come.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
I would say, it’s going to work out, just stay consistent.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I’d like to be remembered as someone who brought different kinds of people together, music-wise. I want to be remembered for having made people’s favorite songs in my lifetime.
Thoughts I Never Said is out now via OVMBR. Find more information here.
Quando Rondo has had his own fair share of legal issues over the past year or so. Consequently, he recently hopped online to give fans some advice. He shared a lengthy message about doing “the right thing,” noting how ultimately, friends won’t be able to do much for you if you find yourself behind bars. He also issued a PSA to “rats,” arguing that if they know they’re bound to “snitch,” they should just “stay out the way.”
“Before you jump off [the] porch and join the streets remember quote on quote your click (Lmao) ain’t gone have nothing for you when your lawyer asking for $100k,” he began. “Your friends (Lmao) ain’t gone do nothing but say damn. When you get jammed people gone scream free you but ain’t gone do nothing for your mom or kids.”
“That female you doing the most for will more than likely be sneaking around with your friends and enemies 6 months into a 2 year bid !! So from this day on I hope the yougins realize do the right thing cuz in the end you gone be on your own you get in the wrong situation!!!” he continued. “2 solid 2 fold tho.” He then moved on to his message for “snitches,” insisting that no matter what, he’d never become one. “Why jump into something you know you gone tell bout wth ! If you ain’t built like that stay out the way ! One thing ill never do is let 12 break me out my morals [laughing emojis]. I’mma die a real n****, I’mma die a real.”
What do you think of Quando Rondo’s recent PSA to his fans amid his current legal trouble? Do you agree with what he had to say, or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Joel Embiid can miss no more than seven of the Sixers’ remaining 43 games in order to be eligible for MVP this season. Due to a spate of injuries, Embiid has played 29 of the Sixers’ 39 games this season. However, due to load management rules implemented in the offseason, Embiid needs to play in 65 games to be eligible for all major awards. This means that Embiid must play in at least 36 of the team’s remaining games to be eligible for the award he is currently the frontrunner for.
“The goal is to be ready for the playoffs. If I can’t meet the criteria of 65 games … as long as I’m ready to be dominant in that time in April, that’s all I care about,” Embii told reporters following the Sixers win over Houston on January 15. The 65-game rule was implemented as the NBA looked to curb the amount of big-game talent missing games due to “load management”. As part of continued efforts to tackle load management, the league recently released a report indicating that the practice did not actually lower the likelihood of long-term injuries.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 16: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Wells Fargo Center on January 16, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James remained the top vote-getters in the final round of publicly released fan voting for the NBA All-Star Game. Giannis led overall, the only player to have surpassed four million votes at the time of writing. However, LeBron wasn’t too far behind at 3.93 million. The next closest player to four million is Embiid, who sits at 3.72 million voters.
Voting closes this weekend and the All-Star starters will be announced on January 25. If trends stay as they are, LeBron, Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, and Steph Curry would start in the West. Meanwhile, Giannis, Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Trae Young would start in the East. The All-Star Game itself takes place on February 18 in Indianapolis.
Every great rapper’s got to start somewhere, even if many of them never imagined they’d make it as an MC. For Latto, though, it’s clear that there was no other path for her, and it’s heartening to see her look back on this journey. Moreover, you might have caught a clip that went viral on social media of her live rap performance as a 13-year-old that caught many’s eye. After this made more rounds and started to gain a lot of traction, the Colombus-born but Atlanta-raised spitter reacted to the clip on Twitter. “Don’t give up [star emoji],” she simply captioned the clip, hopefully inspiring many others to do the same.
Of course, this was a particularly interesting moment because of all the recent song teases that Latto’s been offering these days. For example, she will collaborate with rapper Anycia, and fans really liked the bar work, chemistry, and beat choice that the two femcees emulated in a snippet. However, it didn’t come without its “conflicts” in the form of fanbase wars, as people thought that the 25-year-old sent shots at Nicki Minaj with a bar about an auntie getting hurt. While there are certainly more ridiculous female rap beefs that die-hards make up, it’s still tiring to interpret every negative bar as aimed at a specific target.
Not only that, but this spat also caused folks to assume a rift between her and Ice Spice. Again, that’s all based on theories and speculation, but this hasn’t stopped Latto’s hunger to be a top-tier lyricist that she displayed as early as her teen years. Along with other names like Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Little Simz, Doechii, and many more, she’s among the long list of reasons as to why women are leading rap forward this decade. It doesn’t hurt that the 777 artist also touched down on her own brand of Georgia-inspired hip-hop whose Southern sensibilities make for very high-octane and confident tracks.
Meanwhile, she isn’t dealing with haters with petty attacks, but rather responding to them as a multi-millionaire. That line can get blurry, but which artist has ever been safe from teasing the haters and getting flared up every once in a while? All we can hope for is that most of her energy, which she built for at least 12 years, goes into her music and not her detractors. With that in mind, stay logged into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Latto.
Back in January of 2023, Keith Murray chatted with The Art Of Dialogue about his past alleged sexual encounters with the likes of Foxy Brown and Shawnna. He went into graphic detail about the alleged encounters, which neither of the women appreciated. Foxy hopped on Instagram to accuse him of being on drugs, not holding back in the slightest. “Boy f*cked up adding my name to that fairytale [crying laughing emojis],” she wrote. “F*ck a dog first p*ssy [crying emojis].”
“Tha guy hat alone should’ve told yall that sh*t was no bueno,” she added in a subsequent post. “Now somebody yell dope fiend a** Keith Murray we wanna book him for a walk thru [laughing emojis]. (1500 and a bg of Jums).” Instead of backing off, however, Keith Murray recently doubled down. He sat down for an interview with Willie D earlier this week, insisting that everything he said was true. Moreover, he offered Foxy Brown a half-apology, claiming that while he’s sorry for offending her, but not sorry for what allegedly happened.
Keith Murray Calls Foxy Brown The “Whip Whop Queen”
“Everything I said about Foxy Brown was true,” he explained. “If I offended her, I apologize for bringing out my truth. I’m not apologizing for my truth, but it’s the truth. What happened between me and her happened. And Shawnna said she don’t know Keith Murray. That’s a lie. Ask Ludacris. Shawnna know me well. She was in the car with me all the time. Ask Rob Love. I know her like the back of my hand. She got nice ankles and nice feet and the p***y—I ate the p***y, yes. And Foxy Brown, she gave me—she’s the whip whop queen.”
What do you think of Keith Murray doubling down on his comments about his alleged sexual encounters with Foxy Brown and Shawnna? Do you think he crossed the line? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Joe Budden took to his popular podcast to reveal that he was less than impressed by 2023’s celebrations in honor of ‘Hip Hop 50,’ saying he agreed with KRS-One.
After nearly five years, Netflix has announced the return of Rhythm + Flow for season 2. The first season, which aired in 2019, featured judges Cardi B, Chance The Rapper, and T.I. critiquing a crew of unsigned rappers as they competed for a $250,000 grand prize.
Guest judges on the show included Anderson .Paak, Big Boi, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Killer Mike, Lupe Fiasco, Nipsey Hussle, Quavo, and Snoop Dogg, among others, and the winner, D Smoke, was eventually nominated for three Grammy Awards.
When Does Rhythm + Flow Season 2 Come Out?
Netflix hasn’t revealed when the second season — which was originally scheduled to air in 2021 — will begin streaming on the platform, it has shared a few details, including the new lineup of judges.
The new judges on Rhythm + Flow will include DJ Khaled, moving up from his guest judging duties in season one; Latto, who started her career as the winner of Lifetime’s The Rap Game, making her uniquely suited to the role; and Ludacris, whose rap success has led to an equally successful film career.
One guest judge that has been teased is Eminem, who will oversee the rap battle challenge, playing on his own career as a battle rapper.
More details will be revealed closer to the release date. You can watch season 1 of Rhythm + Flow on Netflix.
Does anyone remember Rhythm + Flow, Netflix’s rap competition series from several years ago? It starred Cardi B, Chance The Rapper, and T.I. as judges and helped launch the indie rap career of Inglewood MC D Smoke, whose debut album Black Habits was nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy in 2021.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting the show, or for thinking that it had suffered the fate of so many other Netflix originals and been canceled after its first season. After all, the last we heard about a second season was nearly four years ago, and it was supposed to air sometime in 2021, but never did. However, it looks like the show is definitely returning, with Netflix posting the announcement of season 2 on its YouTube page.
It also looks like the show was retooled during its hiatus, bringing a new set of judges in addition to another batch of young rap hopefuls. This season, contestants will be judged by DJ Khaled, Latto (herself a veteran of the comp show circuit), and Ludacris — a decidedly less controversial trio than the original lineup — and special guest judge Eminem, who’ll oversee the rap battle round (naturally).
The grand prize will be $250,000 — enough to launch a career with — and more information will likely be made available soon. You can still check out season 1 here.
