New York rap veteran Fat Joe is setting the bar high for his What Would Big Do 2021 project. The hip-hop heavyweight has come through with the Gangsta Grillz project’s tracklisting featuring a slew of big-name rap heavyweights and some newcomers. Fat Joe’s Gangsta Grillz Mixtape Tracklisting Joey Crack hit up his Instagram page to […]
When all the song-of-the-year lists begin to surface, don’t be surprised to see Nas and Hit-Boy’s historical masterclass “Death Row East” as a recurring inclusion. Not only does it feature some incredible storytelling from Nas — read more on that right here — but it also included some equally strong and creative production from Hit-Boy.
Yesterday night, Hit-Boy took to Twitter to share an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Death Row East,” showcasing his ability to create basslines live on his keyboard. “Coming up wit the bassline on “death row east” rip to Johnny j my main inspiration for this beat,” writes Hit-Boy, alongside the clip. For context, he’s referring to the late Johnny J of Death Row Records, who produced several beats on 2Pac’s classic albums All Eyez On Me and Me Against The World.
Clearly, Nas and Hit-Boy were fully committed to the song’s concept, and it’s cool to see Hit draw influence from one of Death Row’s unsung production heroes. In the video, Hit can be seen jamming out to the track’s main loop, steadily working his way toward the final product. Though only a brief glimpse into his creative process, the fact that Hit-Boy is sitting behind a keyboard and actively constructing his beats from the ground-up goes to show how talented a producer he really is.
Check out the clip now, as shared on Hit-Boy’s Twitter, and be sure to revisit “Death Row East” while you’re at it. Do you think it’s safe to call the song one of the year’s best so far? For more from the producer, check out our own exclusive interview with Hit right here; while it took place late last year, there’s still plenty of insight about his process, with information on the making of King’s Disease and more.
LISTEN: Nas & Hit-Boy – Death Row East
MTV has officially unveiled their full list of nomination for the 2021 VMAs, with Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion leading the pack. Thanks to his successful Justice release, Bieber holds seven nominations, including nods for Video Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and Best Pop. Megan follows behind him with six nominations for categories like Video Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
This year’s MTV VMAs is set to return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time since 2013. It kicks off September 12 and organizers expect to invite musicians and fans to join the event in-person.
See the full list of 2021 VMA nominations below.
Video Of The Year
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake — “Popstar” (Starring Justin Bieber)
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
The Weeknd — “Save Your Tears”
Artist Of The Year
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Justin Bieber
Megan Thee Stallion
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift
Song Of The Year
24kGoldn Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open”
BTS — “Dynamite”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Dua Lipa — “Levitating”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”
Best New Artist
24kGoldn
Giveon
The Kid Laroi
Olivia Rodrigo
Polo G
Saweetie
Push Performance Of The Year
Wallows — “Are You Bored Yet?”
Ashnikko — “Daisy”
Saint Jhn — “Gorgeous”
24kGoldn — “Coco”
JC Stewart — “Break My Heart”
Latto — “Sex Lies”
Madison Beer — “Selfish”
The Kid Laroi — “Without You”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”
Girl in Red — “Serotonin”
Fousheé — “My Slime”
Jxdn — “Think About Me”
Best Collaboration
24kGoldn Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”
Best Pop
Ariana Grande — “Positions”
Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am”
BTS — “Butter”
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Good 4 U”
Shawn Mendes — “Wonder”
Taylor Swift — “Willow”
Best Hip-Hop
Evanescence — “Use My Voice”
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame”
John Mayer — “Last Train Home”
The Killers — “My Own Soul’s Warning”
Kings Of Leon — “The Bandit”
Lenny Kravitz — “Raise Vibration”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Lil Baby Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “On Me (remix)”
Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum”
Polo G — “Rapstar”
Travis Scott Feat. Young Thug & M.I.A. — “Franchise”
Best Rock
Evanescence — “Use My Voice”
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame”
John Mayer — “Last Train Home”
The Killers — “My Own Soul’s Warning”
Kings Of Leon — “The Bandit”
Lenny Kravitz — “Raise Vibration”
Best Alternative
Bleachers — “Stop Making This Hurt”
Glass Animals — “Heat Waves”
Imagine Dragons — “Follow You”
Machine Gun Kelly Feat. Blackbear — “My Ex’s Best Friend”
Twenty One Pilots — “Shy Away”
Willow Feat. Travis Barker — “Transparent Soul”
Best Latin
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez — “Dákiti”
Billie Eilish & Rosalía — “Lo Vas A Olvidar”
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira — “Girl Like Me”
Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy — “Un Die (One Day)”
Karol G — “Bichota”
Maluma — “Hawái”
Best R&B
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid — “Brown Skin Girl”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open”
Chris Brown and Young Thug — “Go Crazy”
Giveon — “Heartbreak Anniversary”
HER Feat. Chris Brown — “Come Through”
SZA — “Good Days”
Best K-pop
(G)I-DLE — “Dumdi Dumdi”
Blackpink and Selena Gomez — “Ice Cream”
BTS – “Butter”
Monsta X — “Gambler”
Seventeen — “Ready To Love”
Twice — “Alcohol-Free”
Video For Good
Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Demi Lovato — “Dancing With The Devil”
HER — “Fight For You”
Kane Brown — “Worldwide Beautiful”
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Pharrell Williams Feat. Jay-Z — “Entrepreneur”
Best Direction
Billie Eilish — “Your Power” Directed by Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake — “Popstar (Starring Justin Bieber)” Directed by Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Directed by Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino
Taylor Swift — “Willow” Directed by Taylor Swift
Travis Scott Feat. Young Thug & M.I.A — “Franchise” Directed by Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator — “Lumberjack” Directed by Wolf Haley
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid — “Brown Skin Girl” Cinematography by Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am” Cinematography by Rob Witt
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame” Cinematography by Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber Feat.Chance The Rapper — “Holy” Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga — “911” Cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde — “Solar Power” Cinematography by Andrew Stroud
Best Art Direction
Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer — “Already” Art Direction by Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” Art Direction by Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga — “911” Art Direction by Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Art Direction by John Richoux
Saweetie Feat. Doja Cat — “Best Friend” Art Direction by Art Haynes
Taylor Swift — “Willow” Art Direction by Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez
Best Visual Effects
Bella Poarch — “Build a Bitch” Visual Effects by Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay — “Higher Power” Visual Effects by Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right” Visual Effects by La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel
Glass Animals — “Tangerine” Visual Effects by Ronan Fourreau
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Visual Effects by Mathematic
Pink — “All I Know So Far” Visual Effects by Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc
Best Choreography
Ariana Grande — “34+35” Choreography by Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS — “Butter” Choreography by Son Sung with BHM Performance Directing Team
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” Choreography by Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame” Choreography by Nina McNeely
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Marshmello & Halsey — “Be Kind” Choreography by Dani Vitale
Best Editing
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open” Editing by Troy Charbonnet
BTS — “Butter” Editing by Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens
Drake — “What’s Next” Editing by Noah Kendal
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lil Nas X has been on a roll this year. After ushering in a new era of music, the rapper dropped the internet-breaking song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” along with the introspective number “Sun Goes Down” and the viral Jack Harlow collaboration “Industry Baby.” Thanks to the success of his recent singles, it’s no wonder that Lil Nas X has just become Spotify’s most-listened-to male rapper, surpassing DaBaby’s monthly listeners shortly after the rapper’s homophobic on-stage rant.
Lil Nas X now boasts well over 52 million monthly listeners on the popular streaming platform, according to Spotify’s data. That’s about one million more than DaBaby, who currently sits at 51 million monthly listeners. Upon hearing the news, Lil Nas X graciously thanked his followers for their continued support, saying it’s a career record for him. “wow this is insane,” he rapper on Twitter. “this is the most i’ve ever had in my career. thank u to everybody listening.”
wow this is insane. this is the most i’ve ever had in my career. thank u to everybody listening.
https://t.co/JbCmp8QFN3
— nope
(@LilNasX) August 10, 2021
The rapper’s victory over DaBaby in streaming numbers arrives shortly after DaBaby was captured on the Rolling Loud stage making some very uninformed remarks about HIV/Aids and the LGBTQ community. Several festivals booted DaBaby from their lineups as a result of his homophobic rant, and many celebrities like Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus condemned the rapper out for his uneducated comments.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
West Coast rapper Saweetie is really going to do the most to get her signature meal into people’s hands and mouths – even if she has to literally do it herself. The hip-hop star has taken the step of self-promotion to a whole new level in support of her must-try McDonald’s dish. Saweetie Actually Worked […]
In 2002, Halle Berry made Academy Award history by becoming the first and only woman of color to win Best Actress. She took home the now-legendary Oscar for her role as Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball, but apparently, her win didn’t result in the massive increase in major movie opportunities that she thought it would have.
According to Complex, Halle Berry recently did an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and she discussed the duality between taking on a role in a critically acclaimed and award-winning film like Moster’s Ball and a universally disparaged movie like Catwoman.
According to Halle Berry, her role in Monster’s Ball may have made history, but it didn’t lead to more opportunities to showcase her true acting talents, calling the lukewarm treatment that she subsequently received in Hollywood “surprising.”
“I thought they were going to just back up the truck and drop them off at my house, right? When you have a historic win like that, you think, ‘Oh, this is going to fundamentally change,'” Halle Berry admitted. “It did fundamentally change me, but it didn’t change my place in the business overnight. I still had to go back to work. I still had to try to fight to make a way out of no way.”
Having struggled to land any roles that would result in both a good payday and good critical reception, the Bruised director eventually landed the lead role in Catwoman, and although her work on that film lives in infamy, she still appreciates the opportunity and notes that it was a great financial move.
“For me, it was one of the biggest paydays of my whole life, which, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Halle Berry explained. “I don’t want to feel like ‘Oh, I can only do award-worthy stuff.’ What is an award-worthy performance?”
Given the cultural significance of both films, are you surprised to learn that Halle Berry struggled to land lead roles after winning an Oscar for Monster’s Ball?
[via]
After a monumental trade that kicked off NBA free agency on draft night, Russell Westbrook is finally home. The trade, in which the Los Angeles Lakers sent players Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and draft picks to the Washington Wizards, in exchange for the 32-year-old, 2016-17 NBA MVP, signaled a shift in focus for the LeBron James-led team – they’re going all in.
A championship ring has eluded Westbrook for most of his career, despite putting up remarkable stats and winning two scoring titles across the three teams he’s played for, which includes the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets in addition to Washington. Joining the Lakers means Westbrook has a legitimate chance to pursue a championship title. Add to that idea, the fact that general manager Rob Pelinka rounded out the Lakers’ free agency with veteran signings including former all-star Carmelo Anthony and the return of athletic center Dwight Howard, and the experienced Los Angeles Lakers are looking to go for it all, with Westbrook spearheading the charge alongside Bron and AD.
On Tuesday, the Lakers held their introductory press conference for the nine-time all-star, and he remarked the surreal feeling of being able to finally say that he’s playing for his hometown team.
“I think it still kind of hasn’t hit me yet,” Westbrook said. “Being from L.A., growing up not too far from here. Being able to watch the parades. Missed school to try to go to them. Being a Lakers fan, everything’s coming full circle for me, it’s a blessing. It’s a lot of things I can’t put into actual words, just because some of these dreams don’t come true for people like myself. I’m truly blessed and thankful for this opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”
General manager Rob Pelinka had high praise for Westbrook and outlined why the team pursued him hard during this free agency period, “He’s an incredible leader, and when you talk to teammates from the other storied franchises he’s played for, to a man, the input you get is that he’s one of the great teammates they’ve played with, and that speaks to his character, his leadership. And those are qualities that are incredibly important to our team.”
Speaking about teaming up with LeBron and AD, Westbrook said, “Each year I try to find ways to be able to uplift and make my teammates better around me. And AD and Bron are friends of mine first. And me being their teammate, my job is to come in and uplift them. And they’ll do the same with me, vice versa. And as the season prolongs, we will figure it out. There will be ups, there will be downs. That’s normal, that’s OK. We gonna figure out how to play the best way we want to play in order to win a championship.”
The Lakers’ social media recently shared a video recalling moments in which the trio have interacted in the past, highlighting their tenured friendship. It is fronted by an old photo of the trio together following winning the gold at the 2012 Olympics. Check out the video below.
What do you think about Westbrook’s arrival in Los Angeles? Let us know in the comments.
New York rapper DreamDoll is adding a few more zeroes to her bank account. The hip-hop star has come forward to formally announce joining forces with record label empire Warner Bros. DreamDoll’s Warner Bros. Signing Activated DD went to her Instagram page to break the major news to fans. She shared a slideshow of pics […]
Rhymesayers legends Atmosphere recently announced the arrival of their upcoming album Word? due out for release on October 8th. And while that may seem far away, the duo has been employing an interesting rollout, seemingly delivering the project in a piecemeal state.
About a month ago, Atmosphere dropped off Side A of the project, a four-track EP of sorts with guest appearances from Evidence and Mujah Messiah. Now, Slug and Ant have returned with Side B, delivering another three songs and rounding the total of available material to seven. On this go-around, we’re looking at guest appearances from Musab and Nino Bless, though single “Clocked” is handled solely by Slug.
For those who want to experience Word? unspoiled, the option to wait until October 8th remains available — though the temptation may prove overwhelming, given how much of the album has now been released. Still, there are plenty of surprises left. We have yet to see the posse cut between Slug, Aesop Rock, and the late MF Doom, which is set to close out the album with a bang.
Should you be among those seeking instant gratification — after all, this is the way that Atmosphere has decided to release their new project, so why not dive in? — be sure to check out Side B right now. Based on what we’ve heard thus far, do you think Word? has the potential to be a top-tier Atmosphere release? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
Following the release of his recent single “1990,” A$AP TyY has kept the streak alive with another new release. This time, he’s attacking head-on with full intensity, loading up “100 Rounds” on his latest hard-hitting track. The song’s release arrives in tandem with the announcement that TyY is officially the face of Australian streetwear brand Ksubi’s first gold jewelry line “KSUBI GOLD”; leave it to the A$AP Mob to blend the worlds of fashion and music so effectively.
As for “100 Rounds,” TyY makes short work of the smoldering production, his cadence sounding straight-up feral as he growls his way through the chorus. One of the track’s most interesting elements is the duality in his flow, which alternates between aggressive and restrained. The contrast showcases some welcome creativity, creating a Jekyll & Hyde effect a la DMX’s classic “Stop Being Greedy,” if less compelling in execution. Still, “100 Rounds” is a solid drop from A$AP TyY, and it should be interesting to see what his next full-length album might sound like, given the current wave he’s on.
Mixing juice with the Henny
Light your block up with a semi
I might show up in a Hummer
Getting head from Madonna
