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Denzel Curry Brings ‘Bad Luck’ To DC Comics’ Upcoming ‘Death Metal’ Soundtrack

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The comics world and hip-hop have crossed over numerous times in recent years, from Marvel Comics’ classic rap album-inspired cover series to books penned by or featuring rappers like Jean Grae, Rae Sremmurd, and more. This month, DC Comics will deepen the connection with the release of the Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack album, conceived as a companion to the popular comic book crossover storyline “Death Metal.” Today, DC released the latest single by Florida thrash-rap pioneer Denzel Curry.

While the track may feel like a bit of a departure from some of the more traditional releases from Denzel, it’s in keeping with his well-noted appreciation for punk, thrash, and metal. Employing a characteristic low-register guitar riff and headbanging tempo, Denzel smashes metal and rap together for a hardcore experiment in kicking through the lines between genres. “I have this motto that I use in the studio, though, of ‘shoot first, ask questions later,’ so after a few convos we called up my homie Spencer from Trash Talk and made it happen,” he explained in a statement. “Some of you might love it and some might even hate it. For us, it was an experiment.”

Listen to “Bad Luck” above.

Dark Nights: Death Metal Soundtrack is out digitally on 6/18 on Loma Vista Recordings, with physical LPs out 7/16. You can pre-order them here.

Lil Uzi Vert Has Taken The $24 Million Pink Diamond Out Of His Forehead

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Back in February, Lil Uzi Vert did something that was unprecedented (or at least unusual): He had a $24 million pink diamond embedded in his forehead. At the time, he explained why he had the diamond shoved into his forehead instead of put on something like a ring, saying, “I’m Lil Uzi. I’m turnt up. So $24 million on a ring is the stupidest idea because I’m gonna look down and that ring ain’t gon’ be there. I know me. I wake up in odd places and different sceneries.”

Now, though, things have changed, and Uzi no longer has the diamond on his face. Over the weekend, the rapper was spotted in Miami without the diamond in his head, and DJ Akademiks also shared a recent video that shows Uzi sans face diamond.

Uzi has not addressed why he decided to have the diamond removed, although it did seem to cause him some health issues. He previously shared a photo of himself bleeding from the diamond and wrote, “If I don’t get it took out the right way I could die. No seriously.” After deleting that post, he shared a video of himself with the diamond in his forehead and wrote, “Ok we good.”

SZA Explains Why Rehearsing One Song Made Her ‘Burst Into Tears’

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Finally, concerts are returning and festival season is coming up. So, yesterday, SZA was rehearsing some songs, but when it came time to run through one of them, she had a hard time: On Twitter yesterday, SZA revealed that she cried after performing her Ctrl song “20 Something.”

SZA wrote in a pair of tweets, “Jus tried to get through 20 something at rehearsal n burst into tears LMAOOO what ? Is wrong w me ? 20 something makes me think of my granny . N everyone else I’ve lost . What a ride .”

It’s certainly one of the more vulnerable songs from SZA’s discography. On it, she sings about feelings of instability and uncertainty she was experiencing at the time: “How could it be? / 20 something, all alone still / Not a thing in my name / Ain’t got nothin’, runnin’ from love / Only know fear / That’s me, Ms. 20 Something / Ain’t got nothin’, runnin’ from love / Wish you were here, oh.”

Meanwhile, SZA is a couple months removed from the release of her Doja Cat collaboration “Kiss Me More,” which is a strong contender for the unofficial Song Of The Summer title. Also, as SZA tends to do from time to time, she shared her frustrations with her record label, a stance she later clarified.

IDK Flips ‘Shoot My Shot’ Into A Go-Go Anthem With Help From Production Duo New Impressionz

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Fans of DMV rapper IDK hope that his second album, U See 4 Yourself — his follow-up to his 2019 debut Is He Real? — is here soon. It still has no release date, but the rapper has been keeping fans satisfied with new music. That trend continues with his latest drop, which seems him recruiting production duo New Impressionz to deliver a Go-Go remix of his most recent single, “Shoot My Shot.”

The new edit turns the charismatic banger — which previously featured a guest appearance from Offset — into a drum-heavy track that loops the original song’s extremely catchy chorus. It’s fitting that IDK shared a Go-Go remix of the single as the genre is extremely popular within the DMV area which he calls home.

The remix is just the latest in a long list of songs and projects IDK has delivered since Is He Real? He dropped a falsetto cover of Pharrell’s “Frontin,” remixed Pooh Shiesty’s “Back In Blood,” and shared a pair of original songs with “Just Like Martin” and “2 Cents.” Prior to that, he teamed up with ASAP Ferg, Wale, Juicy J, Denzel Curry, Maxo Kream, PnB Rock, Rico Nasty, and more for his IDK & Friends 2 project.

You can watch the video for the remix of “Shoot My Shot” above.

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

Lakeyah Enjoys Being ‘Young & Ratchet’ In Her Confident New Video

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Milwaukee rapper Lakeyah signed to Quality Control last summer, which made her the latest act on the label’s growing roster of talent. She joined such big names like Lil Baby, City Girls, and Lil Yachty, as well as newer faces like Duke Deuce and Bankroll Freddie. She quickly made her mark on the label with her debut project, In Due Time, which she released in April. Now, nearly two months later, Lakeyah has dropped a brand new video for the track “Young & Ratchet.”

The Quality Control rapper takes her talents to a tennis court, where she and a trio of women dance to the track as it plays in the background. The ladies are also accompanied by a pair of cigar-smoking old men who seem entertained by their presence.

In Due Time is a mostly solo effort from Lakeyah, aside from a pair of features from Gucci Mane and Yung Bleu. While the project has only been out for a short amount of time, its maker is already planning for the future. “The next tape is going to be called Perfect Timing,” she said during an interview with Uproxx. “I just feel like everything is going to fall into place. I’m just working my ass off right now being super consistent. It’s all about timing.”

You can watch the “Young & Ratchet” video above.

In Due Time is out now via Quality Contol Music. Get it here.

Moneybagg Yo’s ‘Rookie Of The Year’ Shines A Light On Fellow Memphis Native Ja Morant

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One of the most popular musical acts out of Memphis right now is Moneybagg Yo, especially after the success of his fourth album, A Gangsta’s Pain. Recently he teamed with Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant — himself one of the big stars of the NBA right now — for his latest single, “Rookie Of The Year.”

The new song will appear in Morant’s upcoming documentary, Promiseland, which premieres on June 3rd on Crackle. On the track, Moneybagg makes his support for the basketballer quite clear. “Love the game, it relate to me best / Work better under pressure when I’m put to the test,” he raps. “Strategic how I move, I just treat it like chess / Team Morant, the Grizzlies on my Mitchell & Ness (Straight from Memphis).” The song’s title is named after the award Morant won last year following his first season in the NBA.

Promiseland is directed by Dexton Deboree and the upcoming documentary also features a number of celebrities who will help contribute to the story of Morant’s rise to stardom.

Prior to the single, Moneybagg Yo’s A Gangsta’s Pain spent its second non-consecutive week atop the Billboard album charts. The project also appears on Uproxx‘s Best Albums Of 2021 So Far list.

You can listen to the new song and watch the Promiseland trailer above.

Swizz Beatz Called Out Justin Timberlake For Not Yet Partaking In A ‘Verzuz’ Battle

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Swizz Beatz and Timbaland earned acclaim by launching the series Verzuz during the pandemic, giving musicians a chance to square off while social distancing. But on Saturday they came full circle, doing one of their own. While the battle went well, there was one moment that caught the attention of many viewers as it came when Swizz called out Justin Timberlake for not partaking in a battle.

When Timbaland played Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake’s “Holy Grail,” which he produced, Swizz took a direct shot at the singer. “Until you can get Justin Timberlake on Verzuz, I don’t really wanna hear those vocals,” he said, according to Vulture. Later on, when Verzuz entered overtime, which occurs after both participants play 20 songs each, Timbaland played a pair of songs by Timberlake: “Cry Me a River” and “SexyBack.” That sparked another response from Swizz. “Until Justin let the world know that he —”, he started saying. But Timbaland cut him off, adding, “Justin gotta come out, he’s coming out.”

However, Swizz wasn’t done. “He gotta admit that he love the Black culture and he gotta be on this stage,” Swizz said. “You took from the Black culture, you give to the Black culture. Come to Verzuz and be a part of the Black culture.”

Later on, during a recap of the battle which they held on Instagram Live, Timbaland told Swizz he “went a little hard on my brother JT.” Swizz then gave his reasoning. “Look, man, I had to go hard,” he said. “Did you hear how them songs were sounding on that stage? You and JT, it was like JT was in the building. I was like, man!” Swizz added that he “was just having fun” and “don’t got no problem with JT.”

He then invited the singer to partake in a future battle. “Shout-out to JT,” he said. “We can’t wait to get you onstage having fun, ’cause you deserve it too.”

Mary J. Blige Shares The Trailer For Her Upcoming Documentary ‘My Life’

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Nowadays, Mary J. Blige is heavily focused on her career as an actor. A few months ago she completed her first season as Monet on the 50 Cent-led show Power Book II: Ghost. She also contributed to films like Trolls World Tour, The Violent Heart, and Body Cam. The newly-inducted Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer’s next screen gig finds her looking back at one of the highlights of her career. Later this month, Blige will share her new documentary, My Life, which will examine the time period around her classic 1994 album of the same title, and today, she shared the trailer.

“I’m so excited to share the trailer for my new documentary,” she captioned the preview. “Get ready to learn the story behind one of the most inspiring albums of all time in.” The film’s synopsis reveals that viewers will see Blige speak about “the demons and blessings” behind the album’s songs. “My Life is probably my darkest album at one of the darkest times I’ve had,” she says in the trailer. “Most of the time, I was just depressed and didn’t want to live. I had it all inside and I was able to sing it and write it, and I didn’t know that so many people felt the same way.”

The documentary will be available on June 25 through Amazon Prime. Blige will also perform the album live for the first time ever to celebrate the film’s release.

You can watch the trailer above.

DaBaby Was Detained And Questioned By Police Over A Shooting In Miami

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DaBaby has had his fair share of run-ins with the law since his rise to fame in 2019 including his being “unlawfully” arrested toward the end of that year and arrested again early this year for allegedly carrying a loaded firearm in Los Angeles. TMZ reports that Monday night brought his latest encounter with police, this time in Miami, but rather than being arrested, he was detained and questioned about a shooting near a restaurant on Ocean Drive.

Witnesses told police that just before midnight, they heard a few dozen gunshots, as reported by NBC Miami, and according to Page Six, the rapper — who was in town to perform at a private event at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium that night — and his entourage were among those the police stopped and questioned about their potential involvement. According to a source, “DaBaby and his crew had an issue with people right next to them in the car. DaBaby and his crew were traveling in around six SUVs, and either a car pulled up on them and started something or their doors hit each other and they got in a fight. Rumor has it that DaBaby and 10 to 12 members of his entourage have been detained by police.”

No arrests have been made as yet; two people were reported injured. One was hit in the shoulder and the other was hit in the leg and while one remains in the hospital, the other has since been treated and released.

Saba Assists R&B Rising Star Cautious Clay In His Nintendo-Inspired ‘Strange Love’ Video

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As a longtime passenger/oft-times driver of the Saba fan bandwagon, I am extremely here for the Chicago rapper doing more features lately. After joining Audrey Nuna for the introspective “Top Again” video, Saba contributes a verse to rising R&B star Cautious Clay’s Nintendo-inspired, animated video for “Strange Love.” The video follows a CGI version of Clay as he shops a store full of Strange Love plushies. However, after being hypnotized by one of the strange heart-shaped products, he gets addicted, shoveling more and more of them into his shopping cart until he creates a monster.

The metaphor seems pretty obvious here and watching the animated protagonist try to dodge the toxic monster he’s accidentally created (a la the No Face scene in Spirited Away) might dredge up some memories for viewers. The video ends on an ambiguous cliffhanger, evoking the video-gamey graphics by leaving our hero with a choice to accept or reject his monster’s offer of another heart plushy.

The Cleveland, Ohio-born Cautious Clay has been rolling out his self-released debut album Deadpan Love over the past several weeks with a release date set for June 25. You can watch the “Strange Love” video above and pre-order the album here.