Eminem, who counts himself an avid collector of items like action figures, baseball cards, comic books, and $600 cassette copies of classic hip-hop albums, recently became the subject of a collection of valuable goods himself — with the caveat that those “goods” only exist digitally. Em released a collection of NFTs to take advantage of the swiftly expanding crypto bubble which included digital copies of the above-mentioned items last weekend, with the resulting sales raking in nearly $2 million. According to CryptoBriefing, the collection raised “just short of $1.8 million” on Nifty Gateway on Sunday.
Other stars, like The Weeknd have also released NFTs that have made over $1 million, but Eminem is arguably the biggest artist to enter the game to date. NFTs — or “non-fungible tokens” — are like a digital certificate of authenticity for a piece of art, keeping a sort of chain of custody within the code that is associated with the item, which may have a physical component. If that seems like a confusing explanation, Saturday Night Live actually repurposed an Eminem song to try to explain NFTs, with Pete Davidson and Jack Harlow employing the beat from “Without Me” to break down how the newfangled wealth laundering devices work. Eminem seemed bemused, but quickly announced his collection, which turned out to be a wise decision for the rap icon.
DJ Khaled’s twelfth studio album Khaled Khaled has an overwhelmingly stacked tracklist, including the likes of Nas, JAY-Z, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, DaBaby, and more, but many of the fans reacting to the body of work on social media claim they’re underwhelmed by the project.
Since last night, there have been several trends on the social media platform about the album, with most people talking about Cardi B, JAY-Z, Nas, Beyoncé’s brief appearance, and more. A lot of the comments at the top of the trends have to do with how disappointed people are hearing the album as opposed to their joy when first opening the tracklist.
We’ve attached a few of the most popular tweets below for you to run through. Are you a fan of the new album so far? Have a listen here.
As the “Highest in the Room” artist continues to celebrate his birthday, he has announced that the fan-favorite Astroworld Festival will be making its long-awaited return in 2021.
Unleashing the astronomical news via his Instagram account, Travis Scott writes, “FOR THIS BDAY ALL I WANT IS RAGE MAN WE BEEN LOCKED IN A HOUSE FOR SOMETIME NOW AND I BEEN BANGING MY HEAD AROUND TRYNNA TO GET BACK TO IT.”
If that doesn’t get fans of the Astroworld artist excited, they’ll definitely be thrilled to hear that Travis’ Houston-based festival has now been expanded to a two-day event, taking place on Friday, November 5, and Saturday, November 6. According to a press release, the third annual Astroworld Festival has adopted the creative new theme of “Open Your Eyes To A Whole New Universe,” and Travis Scott has been confirmed to once again headline the festival.
The rest of the lineup has yet to be confirmed, but the “Franchise” artist promises that it will be “OUT LANDISH” in his exciting new Instagram post. Tickets to Travis Scott’s beloved festival will officially go on sale on Wednesday, May 5, starting at 10:00 a.m. CT, so stay tuned for more Astroworld Festival-related news.
New Jersey’s own is officially back on his music grind. Fetty Wap pulls through this week with fellow musicians Imanbek and Morgenshtern for their “LECK” remix. Fetty Wap Teams W/ Imanbek For “LECK” Remix FW goes the international route on the banger. Wap’s newest version comes with a twist courtesy of Russian hip-hop artist Morgenshtern. […]
Lil Durk appears willing to pay whatever price to own the Parkway Gardens housing project, responding to a tweet from hip-hop blog @KollegeKidd by claiming that he’ll handle it. “I’ll buy it don’t matter how much it is,” he said.
Prince Williams/Getty Images
The rapper, who famously used to call O Block his home, has spent much of his career telling stories from the streets. He has become a voice of the streets of Chicago, as was his affiliate King Von. Von also grew up on O Block, putting the zone on the map with his hit single “Took Her To The O.” Many theorized that Smurk would express interest in purchasing the housing projects and it didn’t take a long time for him to do exactly that.
We’ll keep you posted as Durk seems poised to own the housing project that he used to live in.
Cypress Hill member B-Real has earned his place in the pantheon of hip-hop legends, and as such, his words carry a certain weight. As it happens, the rapper slash marijuana aficionado recently held it down with an appearance on Tony A. Da Wizard’s Roadium Radio, where he opened up about a variety of topics. During the conversation, B-Real took a moment to issue a few choice words for comedian and notorious hip-hop critic Steve Harvey.
Suffice it to say, B is far from a fan. Around the one-hour-and-forty-three-minute mark, Tony notes that Steve Harvey was originally hired at Los Angeles radio station 92.3 The Real, with the intention of competing with Big Boy, who was hosting at Power 106. “Realistically at the time, nobody could compete with Big Boy,” explains B-Real. “But they thought bringing in Steve Harvey would be the lick, cause he’s a comedian and they thought he’d bring something new to the table.”
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
“We knew him cause he was a famous comedian,” recalls B-Real. “But, we also knew him because he was overtly against hip-hop. He would speak against it, like ‘Man, fuck that shit ain’t music. Y’all don’t know how to talk to women, y’all be disrespecting the women and all this violent shit.’ Like just keying in on all the negative and not the positives. Like the groups like Public Enemy and KRS One, Queen Latifah, all these rappers pumping positivity. He’d only key in on the gangsta shit.”
“So here they’re bringing Steve Harvey in, and they’re competing with Power 106 for ‘where is the home of hip-hop,” notes B. “They bring in this dude who is totally anti-hip-hop. We were like, this shit contradicts what this station is about, where hip-hop lives. This is where hip-hop lives and you gotta guy that is shitting on hip-hop every fuc*ing chance he gets. And he still does it to this day. Whenever he gets a chance, he will dog hip-hop…You’re making money off this station, that’s based off of Latinos and Black folks who love hip-hop.”
B-Real cites a modern example of Harvey’s hip-hop hate, which resurfaced after the Earth, Wind, and Fire vs. The Isley Bros Verzuz. “He went out of his way to dog hip-hop,” notes B-Real. “See, hip-hop ain’t got this type of swag, blah blah. Constantly shitting on our genre, man. So for me, I’m always like ‘fuck that dude.’ He’s ain’t even that funny. He’s shitting on something that saved a lot of black and brown lives, and that’s something he should be celebrating.”
Check out B-Real’s thoughts on Steve Harvey, and much more, on the lastest episode of Roadium Radio with Tony A Da Wizard. For more from B-Real, check out his appearance on the recent Serial Killers album right here.
WATCH: B-Real on Roadium Radio with Tony A Da Wizard
Atlanta rapper 21 Savage is back on his music grind. The hip-hop superstar and executive producer of the upcoming Spiral: From The Book of Saw movie soundtrack has released his new “Spiral” single and music video. 21 Savage Drops First Spiral Single Savage’s first anthem since putting out his chart-topping Savage Mode II album with […]
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 April 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 April below.
Toro Y Moi — Underneath The Pine (10th Anniversary Reissue)
Carpark Records
Toro y Moi was a defining chillwave act in the early 2010s and 2011’s Underneath The Pine was a pivotal release of the era. The album celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the occasion has been marked with the first-ever colored vinyl edition of the record. On top of that, some orders also come with a thematically appropriate pine tree seed matchbook.
Spiritualized and Fat Possum Records are embarking on The Spaceman Reissue Program, which will consist of definitive vinyl reissues of the first four Spiritualized albums and which began this month with Lazer Guided Melodies. The band’s Jason Pierce reflected on making the album, saying, “We recorded the tracks in the studio near my flat which was a place where they predominantly recorded advertising jingles and it’s where we made all the Spacemen 3 records, but then the recordings were taken to Battery Studios in London, to explore a more professional way of making music… Once I approached that way of doing things I opened up a whole world and I was astounded that somebody could take those tracks and turn it into the record it became…”
PJ Harvey — Uh Huh Her and Uh Huh Her — Demos (Reissues)
UMe/Island
It’s a good time to be a PJ Harvey fan, as she has spent the past few months busting out a seemingly endless series of vinyl rereleases. The latest is Uh Huh Her, which is accompanied by Uh Huh Her — Demos, a collection of unreleased tracks that is also available on CD and digital formats.
Young Thug — So Much Fun (Vinyl Me, Please Reissue)
Vinyl Me, Please
Young Thug is fresh off the release of a new project, and now there’s also an opportunity to look back with a fresh vinyl rerelease (pressed on gorgeous translucent green vinyl) via Vinyl Me, Please. Beyond Thugger, Vinyl Me, Please has a strong lineup of albums for May, which also features Darkside’s Psychic and Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds In Country Music.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band — The Ultimate Collection
Capitol/UMe
It didn’t take long after The Beatles broke up for John Lennon to kick off his solo career, as both things happened in the same year. 1970 saw the release of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and now the album is being re-shared with a stunning and expansive new box set, which features, aside from new mixes, a whopping 87 previously unheard recordings on CD/DVD (and also available digitally). The vinyl version of this release comes as a 2LP edition that rounds up some of the most notable outtakes with a fresh mix of the classic album.
Uproxx’s Martin Rickman wrote of the expansive new box set from The Mars Volta, “It’s a fitting monument to a band that never purported itself to be boring or accessible. Just looking at a The Mars Volta album cover, or even just peering at a tracklisting or their song lengths, gives that away. One album is based on a cursed Ouija board that is now allegedly broken and buried. Bixler-Zavala often switches between languages, and creates his own words mid-song. Rodríguez-López presents a challenging production style to both listeners and his own musicians (who sometimes don’t know which project they’re recording their isolated tracks for). One song (in five parts) off Frances The Mute clocks in at over 32 minutes. ”
Shakey Graves (real name Alejandro Rose-Garcia) is a real DIY success story: His self-released debut album Roll The Bones picked up steam on Bandcamp, where it was exclusively released. Now the 2011 album has gotten a rerelease titled Roll The Bones X, and on top of the base album, there’s also a 15-track LP titled Odds + Ends, which features, well, odds and ends from the era.
Eve was a hip-hop pioneer of the late ’90s and early ’00s, and now her landmark sophomore album Scorpion is getting a shiny new rerelease, pressed on lovely red and black vinyl. Eve says of the reissue, “It’s crazy it’s been 20 years since Scorpion dropped! I remember the whole process of putting that album together, so many great moments and working with amazing artists and producers and of course winning a Grammy! And tracks that have lasted the test of time musically… Perfect time for a re-release.”
Scottish group Travis has some clout with American music fans (maybe you remember the music videos they made with Ben Stiller and Demetri Martin), but across the pond, they were a defining Britpop group of the ’90s and ’00s. They got off to a hot start with their 1997 debut album Good Feeling, and this vinyl reissue is an accurate re-creation of the original release, featuring the classic sleeve and a faithful replication of the original packaging.
This box set is a wonderful way to start a journey into Joni Mitchell vinyl, as it includes her first four albums: Song To A Seagull (originally released in 1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies Of The Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971). Even the cover art of this reissue is special, as it features a previously unseen self-portrait Mitchell painted around the time these albums came out.
Vinyl Me, Please have now offered an Essential Record Of The Month for 100 months, with prompted the vinyl subscription platform’s “VMP 100” series of reissues. They have a strong roster of releases coming as part of the series: Gorillaz’s Demon Days; Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix; Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik; Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf; Queen’s A Night At The Opera; Outkast’s Stankonia; Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space; Saba’s Care For Me; Al Green’s Call Me; and Miles Davis & John Coltrane’s The Final Tour: Paris, March 21, 1960.
Toronto rapper Smiley takes on the challenge of fitness training in the video for his new single “In My Zone.” Playing the role of a personal trainer, he teaches a class, giving a motivational speech at his whiteboard before hitting the stationary bikes for a sweat-centric back half of the video. The emphasis on exercise follows an early scene in which Smiley and his friends take over a 1950s style diner.
Smiley — also known as Smiley_61st — caught a huge break in 2018, despite being unsigned, when Drake posted lyrics from his song “Intro” on Instagram. In 2020, Smiley followed up with YYZ – LAX, a seven-song EP led by the singles “90210” and “YYZ-LAX.” “In My Zone” is Smiley’s first song of 2021, implying that he might be working on a full-length body of work to finally capitalize on the attention he received from Drake’s co-sign.
Fans who checked out Smiley’s music thanks to Drake’s Instagram video (which has since been deleted) discovered an artist who raps in a lethargic, slurred tone about life in the streets of Toronto. His hazy flow is paired with an enthusiastic charm — which pops out at the end of the “In My Zone” video via a handful of outtakes — that draws in listeners as much as his lyrics and unique flow.
Watch Smiley’s “In My Zone” video above.
Smiley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There were a lot of people hoping to get these this morning and when they didn’t get their way, they did what any self-respecting person would do…complain about it on Twitter. In the tweets below, you can get a taste of what these Ls felt like as thousands of sneakerheads had their hopes dashed by an App that has been doing the same thing over and over again for the better part of five years.
Let us know if you copped a pair, in the comments below.
