Brockhampton has promised two albums this year, and the first, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, arrived last week. Already there’s a new video for one of its tracks, and it finds the boy band teaming up with two of his musical peers, Lil Nas X and Dominic Fike. The two star in the video for “Count On Me,” the second single from the new album, and it begins with Lil Nas and Fike riding in a Jeep as they kick off while cracking jokes like, “Who the f*ck is Radiohead?” Things take an unexpected turn when the two singers end up in the midst of a seemingly drug-infused trip that ends with surprising make-out session.
Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine enlists ASAP Rocky, ASAP Ferg, Danny Brown, Jpegmafia, Charlie Wilson, and more for the thirteen-track effort. Prior to the project’s release, Kevin Abstract, the groups’ lead vocalist, delivered news about Brockhampton’s future in a tweet. “2 brockhampton albums in 2021 – these will be our last,” he wrote. Exactly when that second album will arrive remains to be seen, but it appears that after a long run that started back in 2016 with their debut mixtape, All-American Trash, Brockhampton will be no more come 2022.
You can watch the “Count On Me” video above.
Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine is out now via Question Everything/RCA Records. Get it here.
Last month, Key Glock returned with some help from Young Dolph for his third project in a little over twelve months. The new effort was the Memphis rappers’ Dum And Dummer 2, the sequel to the pair’s 2019 joint album. Just a little over two weeks after the project’s release, Key Glock has released a laidback video for “Move Around,” one of five new solo tracks from Glock. Here, the rapper posts up by his Lamborghini truck to deliver cold lyrics about the fame and wealth he’s accumulating over his career.
While the arrival of Dum And Dummer 2 was big one for fans of both rappers, it came with some unfortunate news about the former. “I hope y’all enjoying the new mixtape, it’s my last project putting out,” Dolph revealed in an Instagram post. “I wasn’t gonna tell y’all but i thought y’all should know im done with music. ENJOY.” Last summer he publicly contemplated retirement, but he changed his mind, returning with his last solo album, Rich Slave. The duo has also delivered music videos for “Aspen,” Dummest And The Dummest,” “Penguins,” and more.
Watch the “Move Around” video above.
Dum And Dummer 2 is out now via Paper Route Empire. Get it here.
Thanks for all your comments regarding @LilNasX “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” It’s unfortunately out of our control but we are doing everything possible to keep the song up on streaming services. We will keep you up to date as we hear more. Thank you for understanding.
“Thanks for all your comments regarding @LilNasX ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name),’” the company wrote. “It’s unfortunately out of our control but we are doing everything possible to keep the song up on streaming services. We will keep you up to date as we hear more. Thank you for understanding.”
It was such a shock that some people assumed it was all a big joke. But Lil Nas revealed that it was all too serious.
not even joking. everybody stream call me by your name hard today because it may no longer be available tomorrow and there’s nothing i can really do about it. thanks for all the support tho!
“Not even joking,” he wrote on Twitter. “Everybody stream call me by your name hard today because it may no longer be available tomorrow and there’s nothing i can really do about it. thanks for all the support tho! (white heart emoji).” He even told them to “screen record the audio/video on YouTube so you will have the song in your gallery worst case scenario.”
But there is some hope: One managed to get the controversial song to play on a Game Boy Advance, which even surprised the singer himself.
Justin Bieber has been a superstar in the music world since he was 16. That means he missed out on a normal childhood. But in a recent profile with GQ, Bieber revealed that, early in his career, he did something in attempt to seem like a regular boy.
“I was working so much as this young kid that I got really sad, and I missed my friends and I missed normalcy,” he said. “And so me and my friend hid my passport. The record label is freaking out, saying, ‘You have to do The Today Show next week and you can’t find your passport.’ It takes a certain amount of days to get a new passport. But I was just going to do anything to be able to just be normal at that time.”
He eventually confessed to hiding the passport and later performed on the show, but the move left people worried about his well-being. Fortunately enough, the singer apparently convinced everyone that he was okay and returned to the grind of stardom.
The anecdote arrives after his sixth album, Justice, returned to No. 1 on the albums chart two weeks after it debuted there. This marks the first time in a decade that one of Bieber’s albums have spent multiple weeks at No. 1.
Whenever a beloved musician dies, fans have a tendency to cause that artist’s catalog sales to increase as they pay tribute and new fans catch on to artists they may not have paid much attention to before. DMX’s catalog was no exception — in fact, streams of his music increased by a huge amount according to Billboard, 928% since April 9, the date of DMX’s death.
Streams of DMX’s music increased to 75.7 million over the weekend following DMX’s death (audio and video combined) from 7.36 million, the two days before. The most streamed songs included “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (9.59 million; up 973%), “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” (5.79 million; up 900%), “Slippin’” (5.52 million; up 853%), “Party Up (In Here)” (5.20 million; up 941%) and “How It’s Goin’ Down” featuring Faith Evans (3.52 million; up 691%). Those streams had been going up for the week before DMX’s passing after he was hospitalized by a heart attack following a reported overdose that left him in a coma.
DMX’s autobiography also reached Amazon’s bestsellers list in nonfiction after he died, with the mayor of his hometown, Yonkers, New York planning to honor him with a memorial. Meanwhile, DMX’s label, Def Jam, received a backlash after releasing a pair of compilation albums when fans accused the label of exploiting his hospitalization.
In a bit of a curveball for his first Uproxx Sessions performance, buzzing Staten Island rapper CJ foregoes his big hit, “Whoopty,” in favor of playing a simmering rendition of its slick follow-up “Bop.” Sporting a low-key black-on-black ensemble, CJ delivers a pitch-perfect performance with all the restrained energy of the swaggering original recording.
CJ, who saw the 2020 “Whoopty” climb all the way to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, was resolute in pursuing the success of his breakout hit with new music, following up with an EP, Loyalty Over Royalty, earlier this year. This past New Music Friday, he dropped a deluxe edition, which featured two remixes of “Whoopty” that approached the song from different angles.
On the NYC Remix, he recruited vocal doppelganger French Montana and the recently released Brooklyn drill prototype Rowdy Rebel to add complementary verses to his, then, on the Latin Mix, he employed fellow Latino artists Anuel AA and Ozuna to speak their piece. Not content to just ride remixes of his breakout, CJ also dropped videos for most of the songs on the EP, including “Bop,” “Real One,” and “Set,” then put out a new song from the deluxe, the sex-positive “Lil Freak” featuring fellow New Yorker DreamDoll.
Watch CJ’s Uproxx Sessions performance of “Bop” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross,UPROXX Sessionsis a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In the past few weeks, Staten Island rapper CJ’s breakout hit “Whoopty” has become a favored backdrop for rappers looking for a beat to help them get their bars off. Tierra Whack employed the Bollywood sampling track for an impromptu session on social media, while Westside Boogie and Polo G both utilized the beat in more elaborately shot music videos. Now, just a few days after sharing the spotlight with CJ on his follow-up single “Lil Freak,” his fellow New Yorker DreamDoll takes the instrumental for a test drive, pairing her fist-swinging rhymes with a lyric video to help fans follow along.
Although DreamDoll has a versatile flow of her own, she borrows CJ’s sparse cadence from the hook and puts her own twist on it, crowing that “This sh*t a Disney movie / You hang with the rats, you f*ck with the ducks, and most of your n****s is goofy.” It isn’t the first rap to toy with puns based on the popular cartoon characters, but DreamDoll’s confidence carries the line and makes it work.
DreamDoll has similarly displayed her talent for witticisms on tracks with Hitmaka (the “Thot Box” remix featuring Chinese Kitty, Dreezy, and Young M.A) and Fivio Foreign (“Ah Ah Ah“).
Listen to DreamDoll’s “Whoopty” freestyle above.
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The highlight of Brockhampton’s new album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, is the production — as it so often is with the group’s full-length projects. But this time, there’s an interesting twist, as they incorporate more classic hip-hop sounds and styles into the overall sonic background of the album. It’s a gift and a curse; while the new approach may entice older fans and intrigue younger ones as it expands the group’s production palette, it also underscores some members’ shortcomings as rappers.
Collectively, Brockhampton is great at knowing what they want to say, but they don’t always have the mechanics to say it in a way that the message is clear, concise, or charismatic. The group has mostly gotten by on their boisterous, untethered energy and the propulsive momentum of beats ready-made for pep rallies and mosh pits. When things slow down, the barely controlled chaos they harnessed to electric effect on efforts like the Saturation series or Iridescence reads as unfocused and haphazard on later projects like 2019’s Ginger.
Even the rollouts for their projects have been chaotic; prior to the release of Iridescence, they told fans they’d release a project called Team Effort, then switched mid-stream to a “different” album called Puppy. Whether these were all different projects or the same project undergoing multiple name changes remains unclear, but it has seemed evident at times that the group’s commitment to hyperactivity onstage could seep into their behind-the-scenes work. While this tendency never quite derailed the momentum they’d built from SaturationI, II, and III, it made the ride bumpier than perhaps was strictly necessary.
After Kevin Abstract’s detour into solo work, it also seemed that there was possibly some distraction to the group’s super-collaborative approach — rumors of discontent bubbled to the surface by the time the group rolled out Ginger, including from Abstract himself. Perhaps the crew mentality has run its course; ahead of releasing Roadrunner, Abstract hinted that it would be the group’s first of two projects in 2021 as well as the penultimate Brockhampton release. In that sense, perhaps it’s fitting that it’s such a nostalgic but fractured work, reflecting the uncertain frame of mind the band’s members must be in as they prepare for their next step.
It’s also a much more collaborative album, with more guests than the group’s ever had before in an effort to freshen up the chemistry. “Chain On” is a great example of using throwback-sounding beats and a guest rapper to liven up their efforts, drawing on a sample of Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” and a DJ Premier-esque sample loop with boom-bap drums to back verses from the group’s top rapper Dom McLennon and featured artist Jpegmafia. “Bankroll” takes a similar tack, employing ASAP Mob members Ferg and Rocky, as well as the New York crew’s goth trap sound to break up the pop-rap aesthetics of “Count On Me” and the Griselda Records-esque horror movie organs on “The Light.”
The latter track is perhaps one of the most personal songs the group has ever released, as Joba recounts his father’s death by suicide. It’s also jarring — maybe by choice — in how graphic its lyrics are and how it juxtaposes the visual elements of Joba’s recollections with a beat that’s almost too aggressive for them, confusing and obfuscating their emotional impact. Something more somber and melodic might have captured Joba’s emotional distress but instead, listeners are left wondering whether to dissociate and headbang to the menacing beat’s screaming electric guitar.
The musical experimentation, though, is something to behold, just in terms of the outright bananas combinations the crew throws together. A G-Funk saw wave degenerates into a buzzy guitar solo on “What’s The Occasion?” while “When I Ball” sounds like 2006-era Pharrell — a surefire inspiration for Kevin Abstract’s own musical hero Tyler The Creator. Miami Bass&B turns up on “I’ll Take You On” with Charlie Wilson, and album intro “Buzzcut” with Danny Brown is as close to the signature Brockhampton sound gets.
If the group’s lyrics and concepts don’t always keep up with its progressive genre experimentation, it’s only a sign that perhaps they’re pulling the ‘chute with near-perfect timing. With only one of the group’s members putting out a solo project to date, there’s still plenty of potential for individual growth, and perhaps that’s what they need to truly refresh their sound — or find it, in some cases. Roadrunner also suggests some clever directions for their future endeavors as well — Dom could delve deeper into the hardcore rap that obviously attracts him, while Kevin could explore his production with other artists who fit it better.
And just because they’ve mined as much as they can from their group efforts today doesn’t mean they won’t find a better configuration for it tomorrow. Given time and space to determine their musical identities may make it easier to maintain focus if or when they decide to come back together as a group, which could result in a much more cohesive product. For now, their “new machine” has done well enough to churn out a handful of intriguing ideas worthy of shedding a little more light on in the future.
Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine is out now on RCA Records. Get it here.
My first experience with Elhae dates back to his 2016 album, All Have Fallen. I admittedly believed the singer was from Los Angeles as a result of his name but the moniker is actually an acronym the Georgia-bred act put together: Every Life Has An Ending. The phrase may produce a “well, duh” response, but it should be recognized as a reminder that immortality is indeed fiction and that one day, our time on this planet will come to an end. For Elhae, this reminder ticks with the metronome of his love-seeking ballads outputs that he’s spent nearly the past decade delivering to his growing audience.
This brings us to Aura III. The singer’s trademark series has delivered new bodies of work that come with the increased maturity he experiences in his career. Aura presented Elhae as equal parts youthfully confident and reeling from failed relationships while Aura II brought wisdom and a strive for simplicity and straightforwardness to the mix. Aura III expands on its predecessor’s themes, but now more than ever, Elhae is aware of what he truly desires in this romantic world and now that his troubles in paradise have diminished, he now has the energy and clear-sightedness to pursue just that while pushing away what calls for too much compromise.
It’s why “Separated” is one of the strongest songs on the album. Its knocking bass riddles the mind just like the hair-pulling frustrations Elhae experiences with his partner. An ample dose of accountability and patience seem to only delay the inevitable end that the singer has spent so long hoping to avoid. His innate focus on what he feels is best for him drives him to call it quits with the drawn-out relationship, despite his former companion’s hope to try again. “It’s unfortunate you wanna try again, I can’t relate,” he scoffs before declaring, “I think we’re both much better off, separated.”
Such a line is rooted in Elhae’s understanding that lonely solace is far better than trying to stay afloat in the quicksand of inadequate love, even if it presents optimistic moments. Truthfully, Elhae has no reason to put himself through that. The man that brags about the literal and metaphorical diamonds and gold life has presented him on “Fun Fact” and “My City” seems to be in a good enough position to give the world and then some to that special someone. The contributions from Rick Ross and Masego on the respective songs arrive as luxurious co-signs to not only the singer’s lifestyle but his talents as they’ve been underappreciated despite his near-veteran status.
At long last, Elhae stumbles upon someone who checks off all the boxes to his wish list on “In My Corner.” The heartwarming tune clocks the moment the singer realizes his companion is more than a supportive backbone to his life, rather, they’ve grown to be the love of his life. “Girl, let’s make it known,” he begs. “I’ll give you my name and everything that comes with it.” The moment of praise continues with “I Can See.” The bass-driven track is the canvas Elhae uses to paint the beauty of the woman he calls “the one” through his own eyes. Once blinded to love, the singer sees her flawless aura and a promising future with this woman as his own.
If Elhae decided to put a pin in the Aura series, Aura III would be a fitting project to conclude it with. Three projects across nearly six years have seen the singer win and lose rounds in the welterweight battle against love. His last project, 2019’s Trouble In Paradise, ended with farewell goodbye to an exhausting love while Aura III opens the door for a new one that caters to Elhae and his wants. On his 2016 song “Needs,” he declared, “I just need someone that trusts me / I just need someone that does me right.” Five years later, his wish is now a reality. Aura III continues what Elhae has done well for a very long time: paint vivid pictures of the emotional hills and valleys that he charters as he looks for the perfect partner. At least now, he can close a chapter with that now present in his life.
Aura III is out now via Motown Records. Get it here.
It may no longer be the No. 1 single, but Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is still one of the biggest songs in the world right now. However, Lil Nas X himself says (“not even joking”) that after today, the song may no longer be available on streaming platforms. In fact, some users are already unable to hear the song.
It appears Lil Nas X was first made aware of the issue last night when he responded to a tweet from a US-based listener who was unable to access the song on Apple Music. He then told his followers, “go to apple music and click on call me by your name to see if it’s still available in your country.” Sure enough, fans from other parts of the world also found they weren’t able to stream the song on Apple Music. This afternoon, he responded to a tweet from somebody having issues with the song on Spotify, noting, “it’s happening on all the streaming services [sad face emoji].”
He then joked (or perhaps said and meant sincerely), “since call me by your name is no longer working on many streaming services i will be uploading the audio to pornhub at 3pm est.” After that, he declared, “not even joking. everybody stream call me by your name hard today because it may no longer be available tomorrow and there’s nothing i can really do about it. thanks for all the support tho!” He also shared a screenshot of the tweet on Instagram and later returned to Twitter to give his fans some advice: “everybody screen record the audio/video on youtube so you will have the song in your gallery worst case scenario.”
since call me by your name is no longer working on many streaming services i will be uploading the audio to pornhub at 3pm est
not even joking. everybody stream call me by your name hard today because it may no longer be available tomorrow and there’s nothing i can really do about it. thanks for all the support tho!
(@LilNasX) 
