In the video for “Little Havana” from Rick Ross’ eleventh studio album Richer Than I Ever Been, a title card introduces the song’s guest monologue from Willie Falcon, explaining just who the former kingpin is for those who heard him on the original but didn’t understand his significance to the Miami rapper’s music.
The video also adds a counterpoint from Ross himself, framing Falcon’s opening monologue as a phone conversation between the two men as Willie looks over his gorgeous tropical surroundings and Ross surveys his luxuriously appointed, fully stocked liquor shelf. As the beat kicks in, Ross and The-Dream, the song’s other featured artist, cruise through the nighttime Miami streets in a Rolls-Royce convertible taking in the city’s neon-washed nightlife.
In addition to “Little Havana,” Ross’ latest album also includes the singles “Outlawz” featuring 21 Savage and Jazmine Sullivan, and “Wiggle” featuring DreamDoll. The 12-song album, which also featured Benny The Butcher, Blxst, Future, Wale, and Wiz Khalifa, was followed up by a deluxe version that added three new songs including “Vacheron” featuring Golden Era veteran AZ and “Not For Nothing” with frequent Ross collaborator Anderson .Paak.
Watch Rick Ross’ “Little Havana” video featuring The-Dream and Willie Falcon above.
Richer Than I Ever Been is out now via Epic Records. You can stream it here.
For the past year, Babyface Ray has been a rapper on the rise, standing at the forefront of the emerging Detroit/Michigan underground rap scene along with fellow Motor City natives like Icewear Vezzo and Rio Da Yung OG. Today, he finally arrived as a fully-fledged rap star with the release of his debut album, Face. Along with the album’s release, Ray also shared the video for the standout track “My Thoughts 3,” which splits the video with “Pop’s Prayer.”
In the video, Ray performs the two songs amid snowy Detroit suburbs and overlooking the frozen Lake Michigan with the city center looming over the background. The songs themselves lean toward reflective, as Ray takes stock of this transitory point in his life while he prepares to crossover to being one of the hottest names in rap.
Face, out now via Empire, features 20 songs, with production from big names like DJ Esco, OG Parker, Pooh Beatz, Sledgren, and Southside. Meanwhile, guest artists on the debut album include fellow Detroiters 42 Dugg and Icewear Vezzo, Chicago drill mainstay G Herbo, rising Atlanta songwriter Landstrip Chip (who appears alongside coke rap veteran Pusha T on “Dancing With The Devil“), and world-class cool guy Wiz Khalifa.
Watch Babyface Ray’s “My Thoughts/3 Pop’s Prayer” video above.
Face is out now via Wavy Gang/Empire. You can stream it here.
PartyNextDoor releases are rare — unless you’re the gifted and ingenious producer known as OG Parker, of course.
OG Parker and Party in the studio, creating music? Regular. They are good friends, after all. In the music business, however, just because a producer records a song with an artist, doesn’t mean that the song will actually see the light of day. With that understanding, somehow the award-winning hitmaker was miraculously able to get a solo record from the elusive crooner, and it’s a seductive poetic vibe titled “No Fuss.”
Ready and made for Party, “No Fuss” sees the OVO Sound singer gently opting to be a lover, not a fighter. “Don’t wanna feel pain / Don’t want no fuss or fight,” he insists throughout the song. According to Parker, “No Fuss” was originally a track created from a pool of beats that he had shared. While on a Costa Rica trip, Party played “No Fuss” for Parker for the first time. After hearing it, the beatmaker instantly hinted that he wanted the song for his upcoming EP, Moments. Without hesitation, Party apparently replied, “I got you.”
“He’s literally like my brother so it’s a little different,” Parker explained of the ease it took to obtain such a sonic rarity over a Zoom call. “He’s a very secretive person, he keeps to himself and he only f*cks with people he feels like are family.”
“No Fuss” is the second single to be released from Moments and is the follow-up to 2021’s “Rain” featuring Chris Brown, Layton Greene, Latto, and PnB Rock.
“It’s about 70% to 80% done, I would say, and we’re looking for it to come out a little bit after summer,” he revealed to me in an interview last year. He also mentioned in the same interview that Party (among others) would possibly be on it and here we are with a brand new single less than a year later.
I know fans want to know what this means as far as a new PartyNextDoor project, so I definitely asked. The truth is, we may never know and neither does Parker.
“Nah, I honestly don’t,” Parker told me with a pause and grin when I asked if there’s more PND on the way. “I don’t even like talking about that.”
He quickly assured me that Party is always in the studio and they have a lot of “crazy” music together, though. Whether or not a follow-up to 2020’s Partymobile will arrive in 2022 is a mystery in itself but for now, let’s thank OG Parker for this rare PND audible treat after starving for two, long, years.
Press play on OG Parker and PartyNextDoor’s “No Fuss” up top.
PartyNextDoor is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
What do you think the biggest, richest rappers on the planet do with their spare time? For Drake, this past Thursday was video roulette night. Doesn’t sound all that exciting, right? Well, maybe if you were putting down over $200,000 on a single spin, then it could be really exciting. That’s exactly what Drake did and he took video of himself winning a very improbable bet.
With a $215,000 bet down (to be exact), Drake was sitting at his kitchen table, hookah by his side. The man loves roulette and even has a $620,000 roulette watch. “I guarantee you it’s a repeat eight,” he says while staring at the live Roulette app on his screen. “I guarantee it. I feel it.” The ball goes around and sure enough, it lands on the eight. Drake flies up from his seat yelling “What did I say?! What did I f*cking say?!” And then promptly sits back down to play again. What a life.
But how much did he really win? A single bet of $215,000 on the eight would pay out 35 to 1. $7.525 million would be the payout there. But that’s not how anyone plays roulette. Not even Drake. You spread the odds and put smaller amounts on single numbers and groups of numbers to balance out your winnings and limit your potential losses. A popular way to bet is to put the bulk of your chips on either red or black, which gives you close to a 50/50 split on wherever the ball lands. (“Always bet on Black,” Wesley Snipes famously said in Passenger 57.)
For context, another clip on Twitter shows Drake placing another $215,000 bet (gotta be his go-to figure) where, despite not hitting the single number he called out, the screen flashes with “you win $354,000,” as “PAMI” by DJ Tunez, WizKid, Adekunle Gold, and Omah Lay blasts in the background.
Whatever the payout on the “repeat eight” bet was, Drake’s screen also shows that he had over $2.8 million in the bank at that point in the evening. So this second spin probably came after hitting the eight. Again, what a life.
Miami isn’t a hidden gem or secret travel hub. It’s one of the best-known, most populous party cities in the United States. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Miami is awesome. Go a lot. Go bi-monthly. Move there.
Charly Jordan — DJ, model, and style entrepreneur — is a Miami regular who’s learned the ins and outs of the city’s scene. She’s DJed at Miami’s hottest nightclubs and most exclusive events (including Scott Disick’s “Boat To Basel” party during Art Basel 2021) and had more than enough adventures to call herself a Miami expert. In preparation for her new single, “Innerbloom,” (debuting today, January 28th, on Spotify and Apple Music) Jordan has been playing the city often and cultivating a vibe in the rooms she plays.
“My goal is to influence positive change in the way people perceive mental health and success,” says Jordan. “I believe success is not just being monetarily successful, but living a rich and full life as well while helping others around you. Be the energy that fills a room, not takes away from it.”
The DJ — a longtime friend of Uproxx — certainly brings energy to the room when she hits the stage in Miami. So we asked her to share a guide to the best places to explore and party in from South Beach to the Keys to Wynwood.
WHY MIAMI?
Charly Jordan
I’ve had the pleasure of playing many shows in Miami over the past year and I’ve really grown to love it. It can be a bit difficult to enter the city if it’s your first time not knowing anybody, but as soon as you find your niche and your crowd there are endless possibilities. I’ve never seen boat life quite as active as I’ve seen in Miami. There are full-blown yacht parties, speed boats, deep-sea fishing, and the late-night boat rides through the Miami River are pretty magical.
What’s one thing that every first-time visitor should see or do in Miami?
If you’re a first-time visitor in Miami and you love food, which who doesn’t, Mila is one of the best dinner spots to go to. As well as taking a stroll along ocean drive in South Beach during the day, where you’ll see endless restaurants and stores right next to the white sand beach.
Miami Beach is a classic, but I also love hotel hopping in South Beach and hitting the different restaurants and bars that overlook the water.
Best way to take in the iconic art scene of Miami?
Charly Jordan
The best way to take in the art scene in Miami is honestly just by paying attention because I feel like the art is everywhere. Obviously, there are more specific areas that are filled with art like Wynwood, where you can hardly turn a corner without seeing graffiti on the wall neighboring a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. But you’ll see sculptures all throughout Miami, even in many of the apartment buildings.
Best nightclub for a late night out in the city?
Charly Jordan
Since I DJ, I would consider myself a sort of connoisseur of nightclubs, given that I’ve been to so many. You won’t really experience anything better than E11even Miami. One of the only of its kind, a hybrid nightclub and strip club that serves food and also has massive artists perform like Migos, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and many more (including myself lol). I’ve performed at E11even a couple of times, so not only is it one of my favorite clubs to go to but they’ve become a family to me.
Make sure if you go to E11even you order the chicken sandwiches because there’s nothing that beats them.
The best place to get Cuban food in Miami is Havana Vieja! I personally get the Ropa Vieja and the grilled octopus.
FROM UPROXX: Havana Vieja offers freshly-made, authentic Cuban dishes. The restaurant’s lively ambiance, colorful decor, and diverse cocktail menu make it an excellent choice for a celebratory lunch or dinner.
I like hotels that have a lot of amenities and typically when I go to Miami my personal favorite hotel to stay at is the Mondrian. It has the perfect view of the ocean, it’s in the city, has a perfect assortment of food at their downstairs restaurant, and a great bar as well.
The best time of year to visit Miami is definitely during the summer, but the weather doesn’t change that much there honestly so it’s pretty much a good time to go year-round. Basically what I’m saying is there’s no excuse to not go to Miami.
10/10 would recommend taking a boat out into the keys or even to the Bahamas since it’s so close to Miami. There are many sunken ships, planes, and underwater statues with an abundance of wildlife like dolphins, huge schools of various fish, jellyfish, and sharks. Miami’s endless, as long as you know the right people and know where to go. I typically play at E11even Miami and Daer in Fort Lauderdale so if you’re ever out there make sure you catch me at a show or check out my upcoming tour with Cheat Codes.
Not only is Rihanna is a talented singer, humanitarian, and a national hero in her native Barbados, she’s also an incredibly savvy entrepreneur who has just raised a lot more money for one of her ventures. Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty lingerie brand — which emphasizes inclusivity, body positivity, and confidence — just raised $125 million in their Series C round of investing.
This comes shortly after Savage X Fenty opened its first retail location this month, at the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas strip. As Forbes reports, opening physical locations is the big push in 2022 for the surging company, which plans to open four more stores in the first quarter of 2022, “in Culver City in Los Angeles (where the company is based), followed by the Galleria Mall in Houston, the King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia and Pentagon City’s Fashion Centre in Arlington, Virginia.”
This new round of funding was led by Neuberger Berman, but there were a number of other private investors in the mix as well, including Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners VC firm. Savage X Fenty has now raised a total of $310 million in capital. Rihanna, meanwhile, has a reported net worth of over $1.7 billion (well over $1 billion of which comes from here Fenty Beauty cosmetics line), second only to Oprah as the wealthiest female in the entertainment industry.
Polo G’s Hall Of Fame is nearly nine months in the rearview, but that hasn’t stopped the Chicago product from continuing to release new content in support of the album. The latest is the video for the Moneybagg Yo collaboration “Start Up Again,” which finds the two rappers posted up in a gentlemen’s club hosting an NSFW twerk-off under the black lights as they throw cash and boast their prowess in both reciting their raps and getting derrieres to clap.
Polo’s nonstop support of his 2021 album has included videos for “Unapologetic,” “Heating Up,” “Fortnight,” and “Young N Dumb,” which all appeared on the updated deluxe edition of the album, Hall Of Fame 2.0. Polo’s relentless promotion paid off early as the original version debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming his first album to do so. The deluxe edition, which was released in October, featured 14 new songs, including collaborations with Lil Baby, Lil Tjay, and NLE Choppa.
Meanwhile, Moneybagg Yo had a similarly successful 2021, dropping his own No.1 album, A Gangsta’s Pain. Moneybagg’s chart-topper was so successful that it actually returned to the top spot, producing a hit record with “Wockesha” and earning him a spot on Kanye’s upcoming Donda 2.
Long known as the label home of artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, and Thug’s YSL Records imprint, 300 Entertainment has become a juggernaut in the music world. Now, after Warner Music Group acquired 300 in December of 2021, the label looks to expand its dominance into the worlds of film and television.
Today, the company announced the launch of its new endeavor, 300 Studios, as well as its first television project: A docuseries following Nascar driver Bubba Wallace entitled Race: Bubba Wallace. Set to debut on Netflix next month, the six-episode Race will follow the life and career of the only full-time Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, contextualizing his position in the wake of concurrent controversies. Wallace confronted the social tensions of race when a noose was discovered in his garage stall amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd. While it was later discovered that the “noose” in question was a pull tie for the garage door, the incident still drew parallels to the very recent, violent history of anti-Black bigotry in the US.
300 Entertainment CEO Kevin Liles, a 30-year veteran of the music business, said in the press release, “I have dedicated my career to telling the story of our culture and investing in the artists and creatives who have shaped it around the world. With 300 Studios, I look forward to incubating, developing, and producing content for all formats that tell the important and inspired stories from the next generation of cultural innovators.” The announcement also notes that the studio already has 20 projects in development, including films, TV series, and podcasts.
300 Entertainment is a Warner Music company. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There’s a case to be made that Yellowjackets is the best new television show in a decade (we made it right here), but it wasn’t perfect. You know how the hit series could have been better? With Tori Amos and Nine Inch Nails, that’s how.
Jen Malone is the music supervisor for Yellowjackets (and Euphoria, and Atlanta, and The Umbrella Academy), and in an interview with Vulture, she discussed how she wanted to include Amos in the soundtrack for season one but couldn’t find the right spot.
“We tried it, and it just wasn’t — we want to do Tori proud with the scene that we put her music to and we just couldn’t find the right one,” she said. “She’s so influential, to not only myself. Little Earthquakes, when I was in high school, that record was everything. I remember the first time I heard that record. Thank God we have season two.”
Would “Winter” be too on the nose?
Malone also revealed that Nine Inch Nails, especially something from Pretty Hate Machine, “is going to be [on] the top of the list next season. There’s so much for Yellowjackets that I’m just very excited to dig into in season two. We haven’t even scratched the surface with the songs from that time period. To reintroduce these artists to a whole new audience has been very special for both shows.”
Misty is the Tori Amos-meets-Nine Inch Nails of people. I can’t explain it, but I know it’s true.
While some of us are mostly invested in Kanye West as a musician, there are apparently many, many people who care a great deal — perhaps even too much — about his love life. Headlines about the controversial rapper/producer have revolved around his nascent relationship with actress Julia Fox lately, as Ye works to move on from his divorce from Kim Kardashian West.
Another thing people are truly interested in is Kanye’s passive-aggressive feud with Drake. While the two rappers apparently buried the hatchet at their Free Larry Hoover concert in LA last year, they’ve appeared to settle their differences in the past before something sets one or the other off and they go back to taking petty subliminal jabs at each other in their music.
Here’s where that particular Venn diagram of interests intersects: According to Page Six, Drake and Ye have yet another thing in common. They both dated Julia Fox. A source told Page Six that Drake DMed Fox shortly after her role in 2019’s Uncut Gems, and when her prior relationship with Peter Artemiev broke up, the two spent some time together in New York in 2020, leading to drinks, a workplace drop-in, and a flight to LA, where Drake allegedly bought a pair of Birkin bags for Fox.
Fox was shacking up with Drake in Toronto the COVID-19 pandemic finally prompted lockdown measures, which sent Fox back home to the US due to the imminent closure of the US/Canada border. Fox reunited with Artemiev before meeting Kanye on New Year’s Eve, and the rest, as they say, is history. Whether this revelation leads to another round of back-and-forth between Drake and Ye remains to be seen, but considering Kanye is supposed to release his next album, Donda 2, next month, there might not be much longer to wait to find out.
