There are two ways of looking at Action Bronson’s transformation during the quarantine. You could say he’s experienced some tremendous weight loss, but I prefer to think of it as him making health gains. The Queens, New York chef-turned-rapper focused on making some big life changes thanks to the pandemic shutdown, and he appears delighted to show them off in the season five premiere of his now independently-produced food travel show, F*ck That’s Delicious.
You could call Bronson a prophet of sorts watching this season. He was one of many nationally-known artists harping on ownership and diverse revenue streams pretty early on in the blog era/streaming revolution. He did the latter by starting F*ck That’s Delicious in partnership with Viceland, but he insisted on ensuring the former, which allowed him to retain the show and move it online, which further secured the additional outlet as live touring shut down across America. It’s a pretty impressive thing.
In the first episode of the new season, he cooks up stuffed, Sicilian-style calamari with his trainer outside the gym and details his commitment to transforming his body and getting healthy. His progress is stupendous; he looks way different than he did when he was promoting last year’s Only For Dolphins. He and trainer Dave Paladino talk about how his efforts over the last five months may have saved his life. Then, as only befits the man named Bam Bam Baklava, they eat good.
Watch the season premiere of F*ck That’s Delicious above.
It was reported in 2019 that the average length of a song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was three-and-a-half minutes and that songs that run for under three minutes are becoming increasingly common. So, in general, songs are getting shorter, but now meditation app Calm and Universal Music Group (UMG) taking things in the opposite direction, as they have announced a series of remixed songs that will push their lengths up to an hour.
This Friday (March 19, which is World Sleep Day), Calm will release seven extended tracks: Ariana Grande’s “Breathin’,” Jhené Aiko’s “While We’re Young,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour,” Katy Perry’s “Double Rainbow,” Luis Fonsi’s “Sola,” Post Malone’s “Circles,” and Shawn Mendes’ “Wonder.” For three months, the hour-long tracks will be exclusive to the app, but after that, UMG will be allowed to share the songs to streaming platforms.
Calm co-founder and co-CEO Michael Acton Smith told Rolling Stone, “The problem with most music is it’s quite short: When built for the streaming era or even the radio era, it’s three or four minutes long. Even if something is really soothing, you can’t always get into a flow state and drift off to sleep. You have a song for a few minutes and then you go onto the next one and the next one.” He added of the new remixes, “If they’re boring, you’re [less likely] to play them in the first place, and we want your attention. We want you stop thinking about your to-do lists and that silly comment you made at work.”
Courtney Phillips, Calm’s Head of Music also noted, “I was just on a call with an artist’s team talking about tracks. I asked, ‘Would it be cool if he made longer versions?’ And they were like, “Oh my god, he’s been killing us! We keep trying to get him to shorten these down because they’re so long. He would love to make a longer version.’ That’s what we want to be here for. We want to give artists that creative freedom, let them think out of the box and go, ‘Yes! I get to make something really weird, long, and beautiful.” She added, “We didn’t have any comments at all from any of our artists not liking the final mixes. Not one.”
Last December, “Umbrella Academy” and “Juno” star Elliot Page revealed that he is transgender, and ever since, the entertainment industry has been supportive of the announcement regarding his identity as well as his journey throughout his transition. Months later, Page has now landed the cover of Time Magazine’s March/April issue, and he is using his platform to give insight into his transition, dispel stigmas surrounding transgender people, and advocate for trans equality.
Elliot Page‘s appearance in Time’s new issue marks his first interview since making his announcement in December, and throughout the piece, he reveals that he has undergone top surgery, a procedure also known as male chest reconstruction that removes breast tissue and reconstructs the remaining chest tissue and skin. According to TMZ, Elliot was still recovering from the surgery in Toronto when he made his announcement last December.
When detailing the surgery and all of the changes happening throughout his transition, Elliot reveals that the entire process has felt right for him. However, the actor reveals that surgery may not be necessary or affordable for every transgender person, dispelling stigmas and media depictions of the trans experience that are rooted in cosmetic alterations.
In one of the most important tidbits from the Time cover feature, Elliot Page reveals that he finally feels like himself when he looks in the mirror, saying, “I’m fully who I am.”
DDG and Lil Yachty previously had issues with one another a few years ago. They’ve patched things up since then though and, on Wednesday, they squashed their beef with the release of their new collaborative single “Rule #1”.
After dissing the Atlanta rapper on his song “Big Boat”, DDG is making nice with Lil Yachty on the latest release from his collaborative project with producer OG Parker. DDG has been buzzing ever since the release of his ultra-successful single “Moonwalking In Calabasas”. Last week, he came through with a 42 Dugg-featured new single and today, he delivers “Rule #1”.
The song features both rappers talking their sh*t and explaining the number one rule in the hood, which is to move out of the hood once you come into money. The braggadocios new single is set to appear on Die 4 Respect, the collaborative project from DDG and OG Parker.
Listen to the new record below. What do you think of it?
Quotable Lyrics:
Rule #1 if you live in the hood When you get rich, gotta move out the hood I’m superstitious I’m knockin on wood Pray for my n***as, I hope that they good I’m in the Urus, I’m doing the dash Discounted features just pay me in cash Get to the money, I’m getting it fast Money come first and these b*tches come last
Though widely viewed as hip-hop’s collective uncle, Snoop Dogg is a family man who dons many different hats. Not only is the legendary icon a father of three, but he also happens to be a grandfather of four grandchildren– a number that recently grew to include the newest addition to the Snoop family.
Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Earlier today, Snoop took a break from sharing memes and having a laugh at current events to celebrate the birth of his granddaughter. “Grandpas new grand baby lil phi phi,” captions Snoop, sharing a picture of the sleeping newborn baby. The news was celebrated by several of Snoop’s fellow OGs, including Ice-T and DJ Premier, both of whom hit the comments with some congratulatory messages. Likewise did OT Genasis, who welcomed the growth of the Snoop Dogg family with a blue heart emoji.
In addition to welcoming young Phi Phi to the world, Snoop also took a moment to announce the incoming release of his new single “C.E.O,” sharing a snippet for good measure. From the sound of it, the track finds Snoop revisiting his west coast roots, taking to a bouncy instrumental to flex his unrivaled status. Look for that to land tomorrow at 9:00 PM west coast time — midnight Eastern.
Clearly, it’s a great time for Snoop Dogg and his family, and we’d like to extend our congratulations to the entire Broadus clan. Be sure to show grandpa Snoop some love in the comments below. Should you be eager to see what else the Doggfather has been cooking up, look for him to appear on 50 Cent’s upcoming BMF series, where he’ll star in the recurring role of Pastor Swift.
Former President Donald Trump has stated his interest in running against Meghan Markle in the 2024 Presidential Election, speaking about the Duchess of Sussex’s reported interest in possibly running for President of the United States.
This month, Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah has dominated the media. The interview included claims made by Markle that the Royal Family shared racist comments about her son with Prince Harry, as well as other shocking statements. The broadcast has birthed a ton of memes and follow-up stories about racism allegations in the Royal Family. It has also introduced the notion of Meghan Markle possibly being interested in running for President in the coming years.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
During a recent appearance on Fox News, former President Donald Trump unpacked his thoughts about Meghan Markle, stating that he wishes to run against her in 2024 because he thinks he’ll have a stronger chance at beating her than President Biden.
“Well, I hope that happens,” said Trump about Meghan Markle running for President. “If that happened, I think I’d have an even stronger feeling toward running. I’m not a fan of hers. I think that what she talks about the Royal Family– I happen to think, I know the Queen as you know, I’ve met with the Queen and I think the Queen is a tremendous person and I’m not a fan of Meghan.”
In the same call, Trump encouraged his supporters to get vaccinated against COVID-19, revealing that he and the former First Lady received their doses.
Trump has not yet announced his intention to run in 2024. He continues to tease a possible run with sporadic media appearances.
An artist’s Instagram post, however minuscule or random as it may initially appear, can reveal a lot about their personal life and musical endeavors, as many musical acts have taken to social media to rollout projects in recent years. That’s why fans are excited, yet confused, in regards to a new Instagram story post from Chicago-born singer-songwriter Jeremih.
In what some fans are interpreting as a flirtatious story post, Jeremih recently reposted La La Anthony‘s Instagram story to his. In La La’s original post, she is seen posing on a balcony in an all-white outfit while music and lyrics to a Jeremih song are heard and seen, respectively. Jeremih wasn’t tagged in La La’s story, but he reposted it to his story nonetheless, causing fans to speculate whether or not he’s hinting at a relationship with the former Power actress.
Some users have expressed interest and excitement in possibly seeing the two entertainers become a couple, with one saying, “Yes Lala cause lord knows Carmelo ain’t sh*t.” Another user commended Jeremih’s post despite La La’s murky relationship status, commenting, “A closed mouth don’t get feed. Don’t let her being married stop you King.”
Other social media users, were quick to call cap on the situation and call Jeremih’s post music promotion. One user called out The Shade Room and fans falling for the clickbait, saying, “This is the biggest reach… it’s his song.”
For what it’s worth, Jeremih may very well be promoting his music. La La’s initial Instagram story post featured the audio to Jeremih’s 2014 Nicki Minaj collaboration “Favorite,” so he could be showing love to the actress for using the song in her post. At the top of the year, the Late Nights artist made a similar move when Chloe Bailey posted a sensual video dancing to Jeremih’s “All The Time.”
Time will tell if Jeremih is shooting his shot at La La Anthony or just showing love to a fellow entertainer.
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.
Chika’s story is as close to a hip-hop fairytale as it’s possible to get. That’s what makes the storybook theme of her latest EP, Once Upon A Time, so apt. The theme is doubly deft when it comes to Chika’s actual rhymes, which are shot through with a dazzlingly visual narrative style; the Alabaman MC is a naturally storyteller, blessed with a gift for understated metaphor and witty lyrical plot twists. That gift comes to the fore on her latest, which builds on the promising foundation laid by 2020’s Industry Games.
Clocking in at a trim six tracks — one fewer than on Chika’s previous effort — Once Upon A Time is not exactly a concept album but it feels like one. It has four songs whose titles play on the concept of the fairy tales from which the EP takes its title, with the intro actually being called “Fairy Tales.” They also express familiar narratives from the form like searching for true love and climbing from rags to riches, but as Chika notes within the first four bars of “Fairy Tales,” “No heroes inside a book look like me.”
Once Upon A Time, therefore, is an effort to change that — not just in storybook form, but in hip-hop as well. Think about how, in the last few years, there has seemed to be a concerted effort by labels to sign and promote more female talent in the genre than ever before. But when you scratch the surface, it can often look and sound like many of these newer rappers are coming straight off a Cardi Clone assembly line. At the risk of sounding like a respectability politics-wielding misogynistic old head, Chika presents a break from the norm.
No, she’s not telling women to cover up and “respect themselves.” She is, however, offering to tell the flip side of a story many of her peers have been serving up in the past few years. She is speaking for women whose hair isn’t augmented by 30-inch bundles, who haven’t been to Dr. Miami, who aren’t usually centered in discussions about beauty and desirability. That goes beyond the surface stuff as well; few rappers in general are telling the “American-born child of immigrants who defies their parents’ American Dream for them to live out their own” story. Chika does here.
On “Hickory Dickory,” Chika shouts out her Nigerian-born parents but also laments the sharp uptick in family members appearing to remind her of their existence now that she’s acquired a modicum of fame. Later, on “Save You,” she addresses her depression, calling her mind a busybody who “make time to plan out a damn pity party.” While mental health is a topic we’ve heard more about recently, it hasn’t often come from anyone who looks like Chika — someone many rap fans can relate to a lot more than the dominant “bad bitch” styles.
The crowning achievement of the album, though, is the two-part “Cinderella.” Aside from being an expertly crafted “art of storytelling” song with a clear plotline and some truly scintillating pen work from Chika, it’s also one of few songs on the mainstream level addressing one of rap’s biggest elephants in the room. Chika tells a “girl meets girl” story, eschewing rap’s usual focus on hypermasculinity where plenty of peers have subverted it. Instead of milking a trick for his dollars, Chika recounts a tender tale of finding a connection — with a woman, no less.
The significance of this is incredible. You see, once upon a time, rappers like Da Brat and Queen Latifah had to keep their queerness on the low, either playing coy about their relationship statuses or playing up their femininity to appeal to male fans and quiet rumors about their sexuality. Later on, Nicki Minaj leveraged her ambiguous attitude to appeal to LGBTQ fans before revealing that she was straight. Dej Loaf was another rapper who felt the need to fend off rumors, refusing to answer either way. Chika being able to write a straightforward love song addressed to a woman is a massive stride for representation and acceptance in hip-hop.
Rappers often come into the game loudly proclaiming that they have a story to tell — word to Biggie Smalls. But over time, it becomes clearer which stories are worth telling, and that’s when artists must grow beyond the bounds of what has already been done. That takes as much courage as it does creativity, and on Once Upon A Time, Chika shows she has both in abundance. While Industry Games was a bold and welcome entrance, her latest is an astonishing display of vulnerability and musicality that assures listeners her story will be worth paying attention to.
Once Upon A Time is out now via Warner Records. Get it here.
Chika is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Deante’ Hitchcock hasn’t announced a follow-up to his excellent 2020 debut album Better yet, but it looks like he’s got his eye on ensuring a bigger, more attention-getting rollout this time around. The Atlanta rapper has spent the last two weeks raising his profile by rapping on other artists’ hits as part of his #NewAtlantaTuesdays initiative and on his latest, he aims to one-up one of the biggest artists out: Drake. Hijacking the beat from Drake’s Scary Hours 2 single “What’s Next,” Hitchcock delivers a witty freestyle showcasing his clever wordplay and relentless flow.
The video accompanying the freestyle takes a similar lighthearted-but-competitive tack, depicting a neighborhood Nerf gun shootout with Hitchcock and his friends. They definitely seem to be having a blast in the video, as does Deante on the track as he snaps off slick lines like “Tell Charmin I’m on a roll and I did this sh*t off the dome / Ain’t signing to TDE, but I got Top on the phone.”
Deante’s last #NewAtlantaTuesdays freestyle found him imitating Tupac and doing the TikTok Junebug Challenge as he rapped to SpottemGotem’s “BeatBox” after capping his stellar 2020 with a live version of Better.
Jay-Z’s entrepreneurial prowess has become so dominant that many have begun to associate him with his business empire more so than his legendary discography. Given that he’s currently sitting on a net worth of $1.4 billion dollars, making him the richest man in hip-hop by a fair margin, it’s not entirely surprising. And while many have been eager to hear some new music from the Jigga Man, others are content to watch and marvel at his meteoric rise up the corporate ladder.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Today, Hov sat down for a rare interview with South China Morning Post, where he opened up about some of his recent deals — including selling a majority TIDAL stake to Jack Dorsey as well as securing a partnership deal with Moët Hennessy. The pair of money moves were enough to boost his net worth by forty percent, as per the SCMP report. And while he’ll likely turn up the flexing on wax, Jay keeps it humble in the interview, giving the lion’s share of credit to his collaborators.
“I’m very fortunate,” explains Hov. “Jack Dorsey, who created Twitter, Square and Cash App, and Philippe [Schaus] and the guys who created LVMH – you couldn’t ask for better partners; they’re the top of the top. “[Things] usually align like that when people do really great things. You could get into partnerships and people short-change the business for different reasons. These guys don’t cut corners, they try to get it right. It’s about respect.”
He also spoke about the negative ramifications that celebrity status can have on a brand, as he experienced first-hand during the launch of his Ace Of Spades champagne. “This isn’t a celebrity brand, it’s a luxury brand,” he clarifies. “It’s a brand to be taken seriously and it’s not a rapper’s brand. [There was an element of] fighting against that, the weight of your own celebrity. While celebrity is not all bad, in that it can bring a new customer to something they otherwise [wouldn’t have experienced], it has to be – like everything else in the world – balanced.”
As the interview winds down, Jay shares his perspective on his approach to business, drawing a comparison with hip-hop culture. “Just like with hip-hop and graffiti, for example, we took it outside the art galleries, and people were upset, but we were expressing ourselves,” he reflects. “We’ve seen it time and time again, that when two worlds respect each other and what each individual or group brings to the table, it can be a beautiful thing,” he explains. “There are things that we’ve done that are not typically by the books. And you can look at that in two ways – you can look down on it, or you can say, ‘Wait, that’s interesting.’”
For those interested in the philosophies that define Jay-Z’s business empire, check out the full conversation right here.
