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Cardi B Gives Update On New Album Sound

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With only one album to her name, Cardi B has managed to elevate herself into one of hip-hop’s most commercially viable superstars; in fact, lead Invasion Of Privacy single “Bodak Yellow” was recently certified diamond, with “I Like It” not exactly far behind. Given how much replay value Cardi’s debut continues to have, many have been patiently waiting for news on her anticipated sophomore project. Today, XXL has shared an extensive cover story with Cardi, shedding a light on her upcoming body of work.

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“I feel like at this point, it’s like a timeline that I created,” she reflects, speaking on how the COVID-19 pandemic upheaved her release plans. “Because last year, I was like, I gotta put out my album this year. But, then I just stopped working on my album out of nowhere because I feel like the whole COVID thing discouraged me to put out my album. Because I want to put out an album, and I want to tour…I want to meet up with people. I want to have a conversation. It’s a better vibe. I love album release parties. I would love an album release party in New York. I could have one in Atlanta, but I want one also at home. And I want to see people.”

She also acknowledges that releasing singles suggests that the album is imminent, a message she isn’t always ready to send — especially when she has yet to commit to an official release date. Still, it does stand to reason that both “WAP” and “UP” will end up appearing on the forthcoming project, whenever it does drop. 

When asked about the sound of her new musical direction, Cardi suggests that she feels caught between worlds at times. “I’m not even gonna lie, it’s a little bit challenging because it’s like, I’m young and I like trap,” she admits. “When I started rapping, if you listen to my mixtape, I like drill. My thing was always like, drill. I like drill Chicago music a lot. So that was my thing. I’m more of a trap, new era-type of rapper.”

Check out the full interview with Cardi B over at XXL right here. Exactly one year removed from the three-year anniversary of Invasion Of Privacy, are you excited to see new music from Cardi B? 

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Rod Wave Charts Majority Of “SoulFly” Songs On Hot 100

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Rod Wave seems to be everyone’s favorite artist right now. His dedicated fanbase has been riding with him even before the release of his first mixtape and he’s accumulated a significant amount of supporters across the world ever since. Last week, the rapper dropped off his latest body of work, SoulFly which earned him his first #1 album on the Billboard 200.

The 19-song project also earned him 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 including three that are in the top 40. “Tombstone,” “Street Runners,” and “Richer” ft. Polo G sits on the chart at #11, #16, and #22, respectively. “Tombstone,” specifically, became one of the most highly anticipated records on the project. One fan even went ahead and tattooed lyrics from the songs on them before it was even released. Along with the three songs on the top 40, Rod Wave also secured “SoulFly” at #55, “Gone Till November” at #61, “Don’t Forget” at #63,” and “Blame It On You” at #65. 

The rapper’s latest body of work topped the charts with 135K units sold which were 15K under his projected sales. Nonetheless, most artists struggle to do 80K in a week. 

Check out the tracks and their positions on the Billboard Hot 100 below. 

#11, Tombstone
#16, Street Runner
#22, Richer ft.Polo G
#55, SoulFly
#61, Gone Till November
#63, Don’t Forget
#65, Blame It On You
#71, All I Got
#85, Pills & Billz
#88, How The Game Go
#89, OMDB
#94, What’s Love??
#96, Shock Da World
#98, Sneaky Links

Erica Banks Turned Down DaBaby’s Label Offer After ‘Buss It’ Went Viral

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TikTok can help smaller musicians reach huge fan bases, especially if their song gets turned into a viral challenge. That’s exactly what happened with Erica Banks when her track “Buss It” quickly became the backdrop for a challenge that had celebrities like Chloe Bailey and Rico Nasty dropping low to her track. The song’s popularity led to a number of offers from big labels like DaBaby‘s Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment, but she decided to turn them down.

Speaking in an in interview with The Neighborhood Talk, Banks explained why she decided to decline DaBaby’s label offer. When DaBaby DM’d her asking if she wanted to be the “First Lady of Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment,” she was ready to jump on the opportunity. But she instead heeded the advice of her mom, who said it was still too early to be accepting offers:

“I had already turned everybody down. I personally did not sign with DaBaby because I was very excited, it was my second offer, I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’ I was about to get all the planning done. But then I called my mom, like, ‘This is what I’m about to do, I’m about to go sign with DaBaby.’ She’s like, ‘Oh no, we need to slow down. This is only the second offer. We’re not gonna just jump on whatever.’ Once she explained to my why it’s important to wait I was like, okay, you know what? You’re right. So I decided to wait. And now I’m glad I didn’t make a decision that I made because that’s a little early. You don’t want to take the first two offers, the first three. You might get something that fits you better.”

Not taking up DaBaby’s offer proved to be the right move for Banks. Instead, she inked a deal with Warner Records.

Watch a clip of Banks’ The Neighborhood Talk interview above and revisit her performance of “Buss It” with UPROXX Sessions here.

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

Tierra Whack Flies A Lego Rocketship In Her Imaginative ‘Link’ Video

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Despite her battle rap roots, Philly artist Tierra Whack has become better known for her imaginative videos over the past few years, beginning with the colorful Whack World and including clips such as “Dora” and “Unemployed.” As there is perhaps no greater symbol of the limitless power of imagination than Lego, it’s only right that the interlocking blocks feature prominently in her latest video, “Link.”

In the video, she builds one of the most common Lego creations that just about every kid has put together with the blocks, a spaceship, with the help of some colorful, abstract-looking alien friends. She launches the ship to explore space, only to quickly end of missing her friends and attempting to return. Unfortunately, a flaw in her ship’s design — and isn’t there always one of those? — makes getting back even more of an adventure than she expected.

According to a press release, the lighthearted video was shot in partnership with Lego as part of Lego Group’s Rebuild The World Campaign. Schoolkids from Whack’s hometown helped put the video together, from adding their own sound effects to designing rocket and structures in the video. Whack says of working with the kids, “I was so excited to work with kids because their energy is fun, exhilarating, never-ending, and full of surprises. I really trusted them, and I knew they were going to come up with something great.”

Watch Tierra Whack’s “Link” video above.

50 Cent Finds Paul Pierce’s ESPN Firing Hilarious

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In a matter of a few hours, Paul Pierce fumbled the bag in a major way. The Boston Celtics legend lost his job as an ESPN analyst, getting fired from the sports network after his Instagram Live went viral over the weekend. The 43-year-old retired basketball star went live from his house, getting twerked on by a handful of exotic dancers as he even made reference to his drunken shenanigans possibly being enough to get him fired.


Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

“I’m Paul Pierce, f*ck ESPN, n***a, sh*t,” said the legend during his live stream. “They’re gonna try to fire me, baby. I don’t give a f*ck. Look at this ass, baby. Looking like two Celtics championship trophies. Shake that sh*t.”

The NBA analyst was speaking to one of the bikini-clad women in his house, but his viral remarks were heard around the world. Kyle Kuzma called Pierce a “sicko”, Tory Lanez said he was trying to mimic his own behavior, and now 50 Cent is weighing in, laughing at his firing from ESPN with his own post on Instagram.

“Paul don’t give a f*ck, He said they gonna fire me LOL,” wrote Fiddy as his caption, sharing one of the much-discussed videos from Pierce’s live stream.

What do you think about Paul Pierce’s firing? You can’t say he didn’t predict it…

Xzibit Responds To “Napalm Cannabis” Name Controversy

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These days, public figures must be on high alert as to remain sensitive, as many celebrities in the hip-hop landscape are currently learning. Not long after YG found his My Krazy Life single “Meet The Flockers” was scrubbed from YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music (and subsequently reinstated as a censored version), fellow west coast rapper slash cannabis entrepreneur Xzibit also found one of his business endeavors under scrutiny. 

Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images

According to a report from TMZ, Xzibit’s Napalm Cannabis brand was recently pulled from the Los Angeles-based Higher Path dispensary over its controversial name, which holds the same name as a devastating chemical weapon previously used in the Vietnam War. In addition to Napalm itself serving as problematic to some consumers, one of the products — “The Grenade” — also drew ire over its violent implications.

Xzibit himself shared a video responding to the situation, during which he calls attention to his vast recording catalog. “The word Napalm is definitely synonymous with war and being used as a weapon,” he explains. “If you know anything about me and my body of work, you know I got albums called Weapons Of Mass Destruction and Man Vs Machine.” He proceeds to pull up his seventh studio album Napalm, released in 2012. “This is where the branding of Napalm came from. As you can see, that’s the font we use, that’s the flame we use. It came from this album.”

“But that’s neither here nor there,” says X. “It’s by no means affiliated or nodding to the devastation in its past. I think the creative license I use for Napalm is purely based out of my body of work as an artist. My intention here is to let everyone know that as a black man, I understand discrimination and hated. I understand what that does to communities, and I’m not tone deaf to that.”

“Just to clarify the position we have at Napalm Cannabis,” he continues. “We by no means acknowledge, justify, or feels as though we are promoting violence toward the Asian community. We stand with the Asian community. We stand firmly in the belief that our intentions, directives, and initiatives are positive for the cannabis community, and for the enrichment of the community around us. We plan to do many things for our community at large.”

At this moment, it is uncertain as to whether or not Xzibit will pursue alternative names for Napalm Cannabis. Check out his video message addressing the controversy below.

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Akon Building Futuristic “Akon City” In Uganda

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Akon is one of the most successful people to have established themselves within the music industry, but his business moves expand far beyond the entertainment world. The 47-year-old multi-millionaire has leveraged his connections to build his first-ever Akon City in Senegal, for which he has started construction. The ultra-futuristic city was revealed a couple of years ago, and it looks like Akon is already moving forward on building another Akon City– this time, in Uganda.


Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

During a press conference with NBS, Akon announced that he will build the second Akon City in Uganda before 2036. He reportedly dodged questions on how expensive the construction will be, but the Akon City being built in Senegal is around $6 billion. We can expect the one in Uganda to be around the same. 

The city will reportedly run on AKoin, the artist’s cryptocurrency. The government of Uganda has already allocated one square mile of land for Akon to build on. 

Akon was asked about whether the average Ugandan would be able to afford to live in Akon City, which prompted him to say that Africans are the reason why the rich get rich, urging them to invest in themselves because he believes cryptocurrency will elevate the continent to new levels.

Construction for Akon City in Senegal is expected to be completed within three years. Akon CIty in Uganda will be complete by 2036.

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The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” Is The Biggest Ever #1 Song On The Billboard Hot 100

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The Weeknd refuses to stop altering the course of music charting history with his biggest song ever, “Blinding Lights”. Over the course of his decade-spanning career in entertainment, the Toronto native has enjoyed tremendous success with plenty of gigantic records. His most impactful song to date has been “Blinding Lights” though, staying in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10 for a full year. 

The former #1 record moved down to the #8 spot this week but the drop allowed The Weeknd to score yet another impressive record, officially passing LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” as the longest-reigning #1 record on the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10. 

“Blinding Lights” has officially become the fourth-longest overall stay on the influential music chart, spending a total of 69 weeks on the list. As the longest-reigning chart-topper ever on the Hot 100, “Blinding Lights” still has a way to go to become the longest-reigning overall song in the chart’s history. Imagine Dragons’ hit “Radioactive” spent 87 weeks in the Top 10 despite never reaching #1. AWOLNATION’s “Sail” also spent 79 weeks before peaking at #17. Jason Mraz spent 76 weeks on the Hot 100 with “I’m Yours”.


Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Do you think The Weeknd will outlast them all to officially be crowned as the artist with the longest-reigning song ever on the Billboard Hot 100? With “Blinding Lights” still in the Top 10, a few extra months will earn him that honor.

Congratulations on such a tremendous accomplishment!

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Dreezy & CupcakKe Have Vastly Different Takes On “Female Rap”

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In the wider hip-hop discussion that tends to go down on social media, it’s not uncommon to see “female rap” referred to as a subgenre of sorts — though such a mentality does seem to inherently position the women and men in different ballparks. Still, that hasn’t stopped a few notable rappers from offering their thoughts on the “female rap” landscape, with Dreezy and CupcakKe coming through with a pair of decidedly different takes on the topic. 

Dreezy

Dreezy. Paras Griffin/WireImage/Getty Images 

In Dreezy’s eyes, the game has been perpetually sleeping on a slew of talented bar-spitters, and she took it upon herself to spread some love to some notable names worthy of praise. “Lyrical Female Rappers appreciation tweet, just cus the ppl sleep,” she writes, placing the pen game at the top of the priority list. “Rapsody. Chika. Lady London. Omeretta. Tierra Whack. No Name. Young MA. Snow Da Product. Dreezy. Add to the list, put somebody on today. Cupcakke, Lakeyah, B.I.A. Tokyo Jetz, Melii. Y’all know wassup.” 

On the other hand, CupcakKe seemed unimpressed with the “female rap” of today, taking to Twitter to voice her own position. “If I’m being honest with y’all,” she prefaces. “Female rap is really boring to me right now.” Unfortunately, she neglected to elaborate, leaving many to speculate on the specifics. In contrast with Dreezy’s point, which highlights several impressive emcees currently putting in work, some were left assuming that CupcakKe was simply not moved by those occupying a more lyrically driven space. It’s also possible that her comments were aimed at the mainstream side, given how powerful a foothold artists like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion currently have at the present moment.  

Either way, it’s interesting to reflect on Dreezy and CupcakKe’s differing takes — which side of the coin do you fall on? 

CupcakKe – FilmMagic/Getty Images