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Doja Cat Explains Why She’ll Never Have A Typical Pop Star’s Personality

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Whether she’s doling out her best Ariana Grande impression or reciting Roddy Ricch lyrics while dressed in a medieval knight costume, Doja Cat is always good for a laugh. But at the same time, the singer takes her career very seriously. With her third album Planet Her well underway, Doja reflects on her career trajectory while explaining what makes her stand out from other pop stars.

Speaking in a cover interview with Billboard, Doja charted her rise from “internet teen goofball” to hit-making musician, explaining why she’ll never be as “mysterious” as other top-charting pop stars:

“I feel like people separate the pop star from the very humane, normal internet teen goofball kind of girl. And I feel like they complement each other. There is no separation, in my opinion. I always looked at myself like, ‘I can do it.’ But I feel like people thought I was this goofy girl, and that’s all I could ever really be. […] I live for it when a pop star comes off as, like, a deity. They carry themselves as very mysterious, and you’ll never know anything about them, only that they’re incredibly talented and always have profound sh*t to say. I love that, and I always wanted to be like that, but I just don’t really give a f*ck. And I think it’s important for me to not put that pressure on myself or that will eat me alive. If I can just be myself, that’s probably the best thing for me.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Doja discussed why she’s a good role model for other goofy kids who also want to make it big. “All the goofy kids, or the kids who don’t put themselves on a pedestal, or are just not normally accepted — I feel like making that example is good for those kids,” she said. “Because maybe they felt like they could never make it in an industry where everybody is so serious. It’s important that they know they have a lane.”

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

What The Heck Are Lizzo, SZA, And Kehlani Up To Together?

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It’s not everyday that three of the most popular women in the music industry are seen hanging out together, and when it does happen, it’s fair to speculate that they’re working on a project. That’s exactly what happened this week when Lizzo, SZA, and Kehlani were spotted together all over social media, and fans hope it means that a joint single is on its way.

The three musicians were seen out on the town by paparazzi Wednesday night. They were captured hand-in-hand in West Hollywood leaving a restaurant together. After the paparazzi photos circulated, Lizzo, SZA, and Kehlani got together to film a playful TikTok poking fun at men who try to take salacious selfies.

@lizzo

Sheeeeeesh 🧊🥶😎

♬ Sheeeshhh – King Julio

Shortly after the TikTok was posted to Lizzo’s account, Kehlani shared a selfie of the trio to her Instagram Stories.

Once fans caught wind that the three musicians were spending time together, many began to speculate that a joint project could very well be in the works.

While this may be the first time the three were captured hanging out together, SZA and Lizzo are already good friends. Earlier this week, Lizzo shared an unedited nude selfie to Instagram in order to change “the conversation about beauty standards.” SZA was quick to commend Lizzo for the photo in the comment section, writing: “It’s you having no blemishes at ALL lol .. sigh I jus admire u Fren.”

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

YG And Mozzy Form A California Connection In Their ‘Bompton To Oak Park’ Video

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Two of California’s most prolific gangsta rap purveyors connect in the video for “Bompton To Oak Park,” as Sacramento’s Mozzy invites Compton’s YG up north for a good, old-fashion gangsta party. Throughout the video, the two rappers proudly rock their colors and throw their respective signs, while rhyming about the virtues and vices of street life in the Golden State.

As yet, “Bompton To Oak Park” doesn’t have an official full-length release attached, but the video for the track has been hotly anticipated among locals since they were glimpsed shooting scenes for it in Mozzy’s hometown. The song marks their eighth collaboration, the most recent ones landing on the two rappers’ respective 2018 releases. First, Mozzy appeared on YG’s Stay Dangerous track “Too Brazy,” then, YG returned the favor on “Thugz Mansion” from Mozzy’s Gangland Landlord.

The two rappers have been busy individually since then, with Mozzy dropping three albums: 2019’s Internal Affairs, and two albums in 2020, Beyond Bulletproof and Occupational Hazard. Mozzy promoted the latter with the single “Death Is Callin.”

Meanwhile, YG completed the terms of his deal with 2019’s 4Real 4Real and 2020’s My Life 4Hunnid, launching his 4Hunnid Records venture with Epic Records and releasing the first compilation, Gang Affiliated, in March this year.

Watch YG and Mozzy’s ‘Bompton To Oak Park’ video above.

Cordae Gives A Tour Of His Old Neighborhood In The Sentimental ‘More Life’ Video

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It’s been nearly six months since Cordae last graced fans with new music, but that all changed Thursday with the release of his four-track EP Just Until, which is meant to hold fans over until his next album’s release. To celebrate the EP’s debut, Cordae went back to his hometown to go to some of the places that shaped his youth in a video to his Q-Tip-featuring track “More Life.”

Throughout the “More Life” visual, Cordae takes a tour of his old neighborhood. He revisits his former apartment and walks through the halls of his old middle school and college, which he dropped out of. All the while, Cordae runs into grateful fans, snaps a few photos, reminisces on the days of his youth, and offers words of advice for staying true to yourself and following your dreams.

The visual concluded with Cordae receiving some wise words from Q-Tip over the phone. “I get the light from you, you get the light from me, we give it to each other and we give it to the world. That’s what it’s supposed to be,” Q-Tip says, to which Cordae replies, “Yeah, that’s some bars.”

Watch Cordae’s “More Life” video above.

Just Until is out now via Atlantic. Get it here.

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

Cardi B Explains Why She’s Mad About A Republican Congressman Complaining About Her

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Cardi B getting criticism from high-profile Republicans is a regular occurrence, and Cardi tends to laugh these sorts of things off. This morning, Republican Representative Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin complained about Cardi on the House floor, and it turns out Cardi is actually pretty upset about it.

Today, Cardi responded to a journalist soliciting emails from people who have contacted congressmen about Cardi, tweeting, “Smh! THERES PEOPLE DYING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” She then addressed the Grothman video directly, writing, “This gets me so mad ya don’t even know! I think we all been on the edge this week since we seen police brutality back to back including watching one of the biggest case in history go down DUE to police brutality but wait ! This is wat state representative decide to talk about.”

A fan then chimed in, “its honestly just so weird!! they want a ‘America to be Great Again’ but look what they’re talking about a fcking grammy performance that happened a month ago!! But not bringing the attention where its supposed to be brought TO THESE RECENT POLICE BRUTALITY INCIDENTS!!!” Cardi added, “Mind you N****s can’t give a word about Jacob Blake or give him proper Justice but this part of the reason why !!!!! They giving seats to F*CKIN IDIOTS!!This is why people gotta vote ,elect better people cause you got these dum asses representing states .”

Meanwhile, it appears Cardi may become the latest artist to launch her own beauty brand.

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

The ‘Call Of Duty: Warzone’ Season 3 Trailer Features Everyone From Young Thug To Mookie Betts

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No video game took over in 2020 more than Call of Duty: Warzone, as the free-to-play battle royale became massively popular as it dropped right at the start of pandemic restrictions hitting in March and people finding themselves having to find ways to pass the time at home. A year later and Warzone is still plugging along and entering Season 3, which will see updated maps, weapons, and gear hit after they nuked Verdansk Island to end Season 2.

To celebrate the start of Season 3, the game brought together a number of their biggest celebrity players from the world of sports, music, and entertainment for a ridiculous two-minute trailer that was released on Thursday morning — along with a call to drop in to Verdansk84. The trailer, which you can watch in its absurd entirety above, opens with Young Thug leaping out of a building and grabbing onto a helicopter piloted by Gunna, who then blows up the building that Thug presumably rigged with charges. Jack Harlow, Saweetie, Swae Lee, and others from the music world are featured, along with Dennis Schröder, Jack Grealish, and Mookie Betts from the sports world — with Betts hitting a grenade out of the air with his rifle like a baseball.

In case there were any wonder if Call of Duty was still raking in cash thanks to Warzone, this trailer and all the celebrity cameos should provide the answer, but if it gets people to drop back in, that’s all they care about.

Earthgang Are Trying To Fund A Community Garden At An Atlanta Middle School

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Photo by Grizz

Thursday marks Earth Day 2021 and, true to their name, rap duo Earthgang are aiming to make the planet a little healthier. That’s why they’ve teamed up with Atlanta’s Young Middle School to launch a fundraising to build a community food garden at the school.

Earthgang created the initiative on GoFundMe, noting that students at the Young Middle School “reported food insecurity to be one of the biggest barriers to their success in a 2019 student survey.” The fundraiser has a monetary goal of $200,000, and it’s already raised over $10,000. The GoFundMe description states, “Earthgang hopes to inspire healthy eating and activity, lifelong learning and address food insecurity in the community by restoring a plot of donated land and establishing a robust community garden that will seek to strengthen the local community and provide learning to Young Middle School students and their families.”

Earthgang’s Olu offered a reason behind their charitable project, saying they hope the garden will impact children for years to come. “It’s nearly impossible to focus on education, mental health and financial stability when you don’t have the basic necessities of proper food, shelter and protection,” he said. “This project is a gift to future generations.”

WowGr8 echoed Olu’s statement, saying, “Sustainable living grows more important with each new generation. Promoting agriculture to youth is essential for changing the scope of what our community considers acceptable nourishment.”

Young Middle School’s Principal Ronald Garlington thanked the rap duo for their support in a statement. “Young Middle School is grateful to Earthgang for their commitment to making the Young Middle School Community Garden a reality,” Garlington said. “Via this garden, students will be provided hands-on learning and problem-solving opportunities, increased environmental awareness and frequent occasions to build strong connections to their community!”

Check out the Young Middle School community garden GoFundMe page here.

Treefort Festival Shares A Fall 2021 Lineup Including Japanese Breakfast And Wild Pink

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The quirky, Boise, Idaho-based Treefort Music Festival is returning this year, posting a revamped 2021 lineup including standout names like Japanese Breakfast, Armand Hammer, and more. The new dates for the festival are September 22-26 in downtown Boise.

Treefort’s site assures attendees that the promoters are “developing plans A, B, C, D, E and even F for a safe, community-run festival” come September, as well as a return of the usual spring edition in 2022. Fans who bought tickets for 2020’s postponed festival will automatically be grandfathered in for September’s fest, which was crowdfunded on WeFunder.com.

In addition, the site provides a timeline for early access sales for both upcoming weekends, while warning that single-day, single-venue, and single-show tickets are a no-go for the fall fest. The lineup, which was posted today, is again wildly diverse, featuring performers as disparate as Andy Shauf and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Larkin Poe, New Orleans rapper Pell, and genre-bending veteran producer Prefuse 73. As usual, each artist’s profile on the Treefort site comes with a curated playlist of their essential tracks so fans can familiarize themselves with new names or get a taste of their faves’ potential setlists.

You can find out more at treefortmusicfest.com and check out Uproxx’s review of the 2019 festival here.

Cardi B Is Reportedly Looking To Launch Her Own Brand Of ‘Bardi Beauty’ Makeup Products

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Cardi B is obviously known for her music, but the rapper apparently wants to break into the beauty industry as well. It looks like Cardi has submitted a trademark application to lock down the rights to a brand name, which could mean that the rapper is readying to release a number of makeup products.

Per a report from TMZ, Cardi filed documents with the US Patent and Trademark offices to secure the name Bardi Beauty. Apparently, Cardi plans to use the name on products like cosmetics, fragrances, haircare, skincare, nail polish, nail enamel — essentially everything she needs to start a makeup brand.

News of the possibility of Bardi Beauty arrives shortly after the rapper announced that she wanted to launch a line of hair care products in order to teach people about the best ways to care for Afro-Latina hair. “This year I will be coming out with a hairline that I been working on at home for my hair and my daughter’s,” she announced. “However, I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality, race, and ethnicity. Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long, don’t make your skin light, or don’t make your face features slim — ‘specially Latin countries from the Caribbean islands.”

Cardi is no stranger to trademark applications. Following the release of her hit “WAP,” the rapper sought to secure a trademark for the phrase in order to make merch items. Per the original documents, Cardi had wanted to brand the song name to be used on headbands, clothing, jewelry, purses, shoes, posters, and even “WAP”-titled cocktails and soft drinks. She also applied for the trademark on liquor, beer, sports drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices, and mineral water.

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

Eric Andre Once Met An Unmasked MF Doom And Tried To Get An Internship From Him As A Teenager

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Seeing as Eric Andre‘s job entails pranking celebrities, he’s met his fair share of famous people. Still, there are times that the comedian gets star-struck. One such instance was before he got famous. Andre was able to meet the late MF Doom, who he recalls as “very grounded and sincere,” and even mustered up the courage to ask for an internship.

Speaking in an interview with NME, Andre, who was a college kid at the time, recalled meeting MF Doom when he wasn’t wearing his signature mask and asking if he could intern at Stone’s Throw records: “I ran backstage and got to see him without his mask on, which was very cool. I was like, ‘Hey I’m finishing college, I want to intern at Stone’s Throw records. How can I do that?’ And he gave me somebody’s email that worked at Stone’s Throw. He was very patient with me, very grounded, and sincere. For me at 20-21 years old, to see a hero of mine telling me to just email the people at work, he seemed like salt of the earth.”

Andre also noted that MF Doom’s death had a huge impact on him:

“I was fortunate enough to get to meet him. I met him when I think I was 19-20 years old. He played at my friend Christina’s college spring break show in Manchester, New York. He was very nice, I’ve never heard a bad thing about the guy. I love his work, I love his collaboration with Madlib. He always had good taste in beats. A buddy of mine said he is what rap should be. Rap isn’t macho and aggressive. It shouldn’t be run by jocks. Rap is very mellow, it should be relaxing and simple. Wordplay is just like fun with the poetry and flow of rhyming and the musicality of that. MF Doom captured that spirit and had such a unique voice and such a unique point of view. I rarely cry when a celebrity dies. He was one of the few celebrities that brought tears to my eyes when I found out he passed away.”

Andre isn’t the only one who has honored MF Doom following his tragic passing in 2020. Musicians like Open Mike Eagle, Madlib, Playboi Carti, and many more have paid tribute to the iconic MC.