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The Harlem Cultural Festival Is Celebrated In A Teaser For Questlove’s ‘Summer Of Soul’ Documentary

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Back towards the end of 2019, it was revealed that Questlove was working on what is now titled Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), a documentary about The Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-week festival that took place right around the same time as Woodstock. Now, the first teaser for the film, which is set to premiere in theaters and on Hulu on July 2, has been shared.

An official statement describes the film:

“In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary — part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten — until now. Summer Of Soul shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach, and more.”

Back when the project was announced, Questlove said in a statement, “I am truly excited to help bring the passion, the story and the music of the Harlem Cultural Festival to audiences around the world. The performances are extraordinary. I was stunned when I saw the lost footage for the first time. It’s incredible to look at 50 years of history that’s never been told, and I’m eager and humbled to tell that story.”

He also told Variety in an interview earlier this year, “”Woodstock happens in two weeks after this and it defines a lifestyle, it defines a generation. Woodstock, the city name alone, just defines a whole movement. And I kept wondering what would have went down if this were allowed to happen for [Black people]. If this were allowed to unfurl and and spread across the world as Woodstock did, how much of a difference could that have made in my life as a music lover and as a music collector? So, then I just felt this the sense of purpose that I have to tell the story.”

Watch the Summer Of Soul teaser above.

HER, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, And Jon Batiste Got Big Wins At The 2021 Oscars

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The Academy Awards were last night, so the best in film from the past year was properly honored. Per usual, some of the awards were devoted to music as well, and picking up big wins in those categories were HER, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste.

HER got the Best Original Song win for her Judas And The Black Messiah track “Fight For You” over “Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga (sung by Will Ferrell and Molly Sandén, the latter of whom Rachel McAdams lip-synced for the film), Celeste’s “Hear My Voice” from The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Speak Now” from One Night In Miami, and Lauren Pausini’s “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead.

Reznor, Ross, and Batiste’s Soul score also picked up a win, in the Best Original Score category, winning over the former two’s score for Mank, as well as Da 5 Bloods, Minari, and News Of The World.

As Billboard notes, these wins were superlative. Reznor, Ross, and Batiste are the first three-member composing team to win Best Original Score in 33 years, following Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, and Cong Su’s 1987 win for The Last Emperor. Batiste is also just the third Black composer to win in a scoring category, following Prince’s 1984 win for Best Musical Song Score with Purple Rain and Herbie Hancock’s 1986 victory for Best Original Score with ‘Round Midnight.

HER’s victory was also historically significant: For the first time in 35 years, a songwriter or songwriting team won an Oscar in the same awards season that they won a Grammy for Song Of The Year for a different song, as HER’s “I Can’t Breathe” just picked up the Grammy win a few weeks ago.

Find the full list of this year’s Oscar winners here.

DMX Has Been Given His Own Day By The New York State Senate

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After holding a memorial for DMX on Saturday, featureingappearances from Kanye West and the Sunday Service Choir, Swizz Beatz, and more, the late rapper’s family held a Homegoing Celebration for him on Sunday. Just like the previous service, Sunday’s in-person gathering was limited strictly to close friends and family, while DMX’s fans were able to watch it through a livestream on BET. But the latter at least had some good news.

According to Revolt, Erica Ford, the co-founder of Life Camp, an organization established to prevent gun violence, and Priscilla Echi, a Westchester community activist, revealed at the service that the New York State Senate had officially declared December 18th, DMX’s birthday, as Earl “DMX” Simmons Day. The resolution, which sought to mourn “the untimely death of DMX, legendary New York rap icon and talented actor,” was originally introduced on April 20 by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Senator Jamaal T. Bailey.

“His lyrics were rapped on the Senate floor by Senator Jamal Bailey who introduced a resolution in his honor. He also has proclamations from Mayor Spano and Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard,” Echi revealed during Sunday’s service. “From the governor’s office, we have the flag that was flying the day that he died to be presented to his family,” she said. “We have a citation from the governor’s office for his oldest son and one for his father.”

Jay-Z Says He Hopes To Be Remembered Alongside Greats Like Bob Marley

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Most of Jay-Z’s recent moves have come on the business side of things. He recently sold his Tidal streaming service to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s Square for $297 million in stock and cash. The move gave the rapper a position on the mobile payment company’s board. Prior to that, he sold half of his Ace Of Spades champagne company to LVMH, but a price tag in this deal was not shared.

Despite the business moves, Jay continues to impact as a rapper, and his verse alongside Nipsey Hussle on “What It Feels Like” is complete proof of that. During a recent sit-down with The Times UK, he spoke about his legacy as a rapper and how he hopes to be remembered.

“I’m not beyond ego, right?” he said. “Hopefully they speak of me [with] the names of Bob Marley and all the greats. But that’s not for me to say.” He added, “I’m most proud of overcoming my circumstances and providing opportunity for people who look like me and who came from the same situation that I’ve come from.”

Later in the interview, Jay-Z joked about how hard leg day workouts are for him.

“You ever seen my legs? They’re horrible. So of course!” Back on “Bam” from his 2017 album, 4:44, Jay-Z rapped, “Uh, n****s is skippin’ leg day just to run they mouth / I be skippin’ leg day, I still run the world.” Fast forward a few years and it seems like Jay has realized sticking to leg day could make running the world a bit easier.

J. Cole Is Apparently Now A ‘Call Of Duty’ Fan Thanks To Young Thug And Gunna

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This past Wednesday, Call Of Duty shared a new trailer for Warzone 3, their free-to-play battle royale game. Its first two seasons thrived during the 2020 pandemic as it grew to be massively popular among gamers, and excitement for the new season only escalated with the new trailer.

The promo video featured a number of musicians, athletes, and entertainment names like Young Thug who blows up a building after hopping on a helicopter piloted by Gunna. There’s also Jack Harlow and comedian Druski parachuting from the sky and that’s just half of it. Saweetie, Swae Lee, Dennis Schröder, Jack Grealish, Mookie Betts, and others star in the trailer. It turns out that the thrilling video had a big influence on J. Cole, who is now a big fan of the game.

Screenshot From HipHpDX

The rapper’s manager and Dreamville record label co-founder, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad shared a text message thread between himself and J. Cole detailing his first foray into the game.

“Yo I’m bout to hit this call of duty for the first time… With Tminus and mez” the rapper says, adding, “What’s goooood.” Ib laughs at Cole’s message and the rapper replies, “Thug and Gunna inspired me.” Ib can’t help but laugh at Cole’s excitement with Call Of Duty: Warzone 3. “You really hyped off that commercial,” Ib says. “I’m dying (laughing emojis).”

You can check out the screenshot of the messages between Cole and Ib above.

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

Snoop Dogg Remakes Classic Rap Album Covers From Ice Cube And LL Cool J In His ‘Look Around’ Video

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Snoop Dogg is a busy man nowadays. The Long Beach rap legend consistently finds himself in headlines, often for good reasons like his appearance at Triller’s recent Fight Club event and his upcoming role on Jamie Foxx’s Netflix vampire hunter movie. Other times it’s for more controversial things like his recent beef with Eminem. Through these ups and downs, if there’s one thing Snoop will absolutely give to his fans it’s new music and that’s something he did last week.

Celebrating the release of his eighteenth album, From Tha Streets 2 Tha Suites, Snoop returned with a new video for “Look Around.” The visual finds Snoop sifting through a crate of vinyl LPs filled with various rap albums. As the rapper picks one up to look at, the video transitions to him on a recreated version of the cover. The various covers Snoop remakes include LL Cool J’s Radio, Ice-T’s Power, Eric B & Rakim’s Paid In Full, Big Daddy Kane’s Long Live The Kane, Eazy-E’s Eazy-Duz-It, Too $hort’s Life Is… Too $hort, Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate, and Snoop’s own Doggystyle.

“Look Around” can be found on the From Tha Streets 2 Tha Suites album which Snoop released on 4/20 to celebrate the weed-themed holiday. Its ten tracks feature contributions from Mozzy, Larry June, J Black, Devin The Dude, and more.

You can press play on the “Look Around” video above.

From Tha Streets 2 Tha Suites is out now via Doggystyle Records. Get it here.

Saweetie Reveals She’s Attending An Artist Development Boot Camp To Work On Her Skills

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Saweetie is set to have a big summer this year, but it’s nothing she’s not used to. Her prior records like “Tap In,” “My Type,” and “Icy Grl” could be found on the summer soundtracks for years and with official debut album, Pretty B*tch Music, on the way, her fans can expect some more great music from the Bay Area act. Before that arrives, however, Saweetie revealed that she brought her talents to an artist development boot camp with the goal of working on the areas she struggles in as a musician.

She shared the news during a recent interview with Apple Music. “For me, I’m gonna focus on what I struggle with — I struggle with breathing control, I’m gonna work on my dance moves, my details, all that good stuff, my body, my stamina, everything,” she said. The hosts on the Apple Music show were surprised by her involvement in the camp and commended her for joining it and putting an effort to improve her skills.

The interview came just a couple weeks after she released her Pretty Summer Playlist: Season 1. The seven-track effort saw appearances from Drakeo The Ruler, Bbyafricka, Kednra Jae, Lourdiz, and Loui.

You can watch Saweetie’s full Apple Music interview above. Pretty Summer Playlist: Season 1 is out now via Warner. Get it here.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Swizz Beatz Delivered A Very Powerful Speech At DMX’s Memorial Service

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The first of two memorial services for DMX occurred on Saturday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The late rapper was brought in a bright red casket to the arena aboard a massive monster truck that was followed by hundreds of motorcyclists and bikers. As for the service itself, the night was highlighted by a performance from Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir, a fantastic remix of DMX’s “Slippin” from the rapper’s daughter Sovonah, and appearances from Nas and the Ruff Ryders collective, among others. It was here that one of the most powerful moments of the night came.

Following comments from Eve and The Lox, Swizz Beatz took the stage to remember DMX and get a few additional things off his chest.

“Words can’t describe our loss,” he said. “But, our gain is heavy, as well, because we got a real serious person upstairs that’s looking down on us and that’s going to guide us on our journey… I just wish all of these people showed up for him when he was here. You got thousands of people claiming who they are, and [selling] tickets and things like that. This man needed everybody.”

He added, “He didn’t need everybody when he [was] not here. He needed everybody when he was here. So, we got to learn how to celebrate each other while we’re here… The things that I’m witnessing from my brother’s passing is a big educational thing for me to learn. I’m glad that I got to see it at this age. A lot of people ain’t your friends, a lot of people ain’t your family.”

The Verzuz co-founder then closed his speech with one final thought about “handling your business” and making sure your family is set up in case something goes wrong with your own health.

I need everybody to do a will. You have to do your will. You do not want strangers — bloodsuckers — handling your business when you’re not here. You want to ones that you love handling your business. But, imma make sure my brother straight. Imma make sure my brother’s kids is straight and everybody in here better do the same, as well. ‘Cause this is not a fashion show, this is not a performance, this is a real-life day-to-day.

You can watch Swizz Beatz share his words in the video above.

DMX’s Daughter Performed Her Own Version Of ‘Slippin’ At The Late Rapper’s Memorial Service

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Two weeks after the music world received news of DMX’s tragic death, his close friends and family gathered at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for the first of two memorial services to honor the late rapper. A beautiful moment during the first on Saturday night came when DMX’s daughter took the stage to share her version of one of the rapper’s most popular songs.

Sonovah, who is just 12 years old, took the stage with her family and shared her own version of “Slippin,” DMX’s 1998 song that details his struggle and fight to overcome life’s demons.

“Ayo, I’m growing, I’m learning to hold my head up / Ayo, I’m growing, I’m learning to hold my head up,” she rapped. “Ayo, I’m growing, I’m learning to hold my head up / My daddy’s still holding my hand so I gotta stand up.” She even debuted a verse of her that fell in line with the flow DMX used on the original record. Sonovah’s family cheered her on as she performed the track for well over two minutes.

Sonovah’s “Slippin” remix joins Kanye West and the Sunday Service Choir’s as the highlight performances from DMX’s memorial service. The rapper and the group opened the night with a beautiful medley of gospel and soul records and continued to perform throughout the night. A second memorial service for DMX will be held on Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. EST and air on BET.

You can listen to DMX’s daughter’s version of “Slippin” in the videos above.

Kanye West And The Sunday Service Choir Opened DMX’s Memorial Service With A Soulful Medley

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The first of two memorial services for DMX began from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday. The event was livestreamed to fans and supporters on YouTube as the venue was closed to only close friends and family of the late rapper. After a roughly two-and-a-half-hour delay, the service started with a chilling performance from Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir. The rapper and the group took the stage in red hoodies and sweatpants to deliver a performance filled with gospel and soul records in honor of DMX.

Throughout their set, the Sunday Service Choir performed tracks that included Soul II Soul’s “Keep On Movin’” as well as the opening record in the classic film, Belly, which DMX appeared in. They would return later in the service to perform additional tracks like “Ultralight Beam.”

The opening performance comes after Kanye’s Yeezy brand teamed up with Balenciaga to release tribute shirts in honor of DMX. The release features an image of DMX between two crosses on the front and the phrase “In Loving Memory” on the back. The late rapper’s birth and death dates can also be found on the shirt’s left and right sleeves respectively.

You can watch clips from Kanye West and the Sunday Service Choir’s opening performance above and tune into the memorial service here. A second memorial service for DMX will be held on Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. EST and air on BET.