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Joey Badass Questions Life As He Knows It In His Video For ‘Trust Nobody (2 My Brothers)’ With DJ Scheme

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After going more than two years without releasing much music, not even making guest appearances, Joey Badass made his presence known with a collection of musical contributions in 2020. One of those came with DJ Scheme on their track “Trust Nobody (2 My Brothers).” The collaboration is housed on Scheme’s Family, which he released in December and which also features Juice WRLD, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty, Lil Keed, and more. Nearly three months after dropping the project, he and Badass return with a video for their song.

It begins with Badass and Scheme in the studio together, presumably listening to music together. The former gets then gets up and heads to a nearby room to pace around and lay down in thought as he examines his life and the relationships. “Tell me, who can I trust if I don’t trust myself?” Badass raps on the song. “Fallin’ victim to lust and needed someone else / I run away from my problems knowin’ I need some help.” The video concludes with the duo riding in the backseat of an SUV as they drive through the cold winter weather to an unknown destination.

Prior to the video, Badass joined Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats to remix “Cosmic.m4a” with The Alchemist. He also celebrated his birthday with a visual for “Let It Breathe.”

You can watch the video above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Deante Hitchcock Submits His Own Junebug Challenge Through A Wild New Freestyle

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While most would take a break after a new album, Deante Hitchcock has been pushing full-steam ahead. The Atlanta rapper relaunched his freestyle series “NewAtlantaTuesdays” last week with a set of bars over Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III track “Let The Beat Build.” Hitchcock started the series earlier in his career as a way to bring attention to himself andto increase his following. Now he’s heading back to it in order to flaunt his fiery display of lyricism, and in its latest installation, he takes on SpottemGottem’s track “Beat Box“.

The new video for the song finds Hitchock rapping for nearly two-minutes about women. He makes it clear that he does not seek an exclusive relationship; a night of love-making with a woman will do. Throughout the video, Hitchcock also does the dance that accompanies the TikTok challenge to SpottemGottem’s “Beat Box” in various places, from on top of a car and in the middle of a street to a parking lot and even inside a store.

The freestyle arrives after Deante kicked off 2021 with a live version of his 2020 album Better. The updated release was delivered with videos from the performance.

Check out the “Beatbox” freestyle in the video above.

Anderson .Paak And Bruno Mars Received An Invite To Perform At The 2021 Grammys

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This past Sunday, the Recording Academy revealed its long list of performers for the upcoming 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. The setlist promises appearances from Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, DaBaby, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat, and many other favorites. Despite the rather lengthy list of acts, there was a pair of artists who were particularly disappointed to not be invited: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.

The singers recently joined forces as Silk Sonic and shared their first single, “Leave The Door Open,” which was met with rave reviews. When they were not listed among the Grammy performers, they took matters into their own hands. Mars posted a letter to Twitter, which was co-signed by .Paak, which read in part, “Dear Grammys, If you can see it in your hearts to allow two out of work musicians to perform at your show, we would really appreciate it. We just released a song and could really use the promotion right now.” Thankfully for them, the message worked, as the Recording Academy delivered exactly the response they hoped for.

In a tweet, the Academy wrote, “.@BrunoMars & @AndersonPaak We have been trying to call you all week. Have you changed your numbers? We would love for #silksonic to make their TV debut at the #GRAMMYs.” They added, “Are you free this Sunday night? Follow back and we will DM for details.” Just like that, Silk Sonic will be on stage this Sunday.

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

Lil Nas X Finally Gives A Release Date For His Long-Awaited Single, ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’

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Last summer, Lil Nas X shared a video of him singing to an unreleased single as he drove around town, a track that was later revealed to be called “Call Me By Your Name.” While some may have thought the singer would release the song soon thereafter, it never arrived. Instead Lil Nas continued to promote and tease it through his TikTok page, using it as background music for his numerous comical posts, the most recent example being his excellent Tekashi 69 troll. Now, after more than eight months, the “Old Town Road” singer has finally given a release date for the long-awaited track.

In a post to Twitter, Lil Nas X revealed that the upcoming single — whose full title is “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” after his government name, Montero Hill — would arrive on March 26. He also shared the cover art for the track, which depicts a black-haired version of himself shooting an arrow at a red-haired version of himself. The image reimagines Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam painting, featuring clouds and vines that cover the nude singer’s private parts. “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” will also be Lil Nas’ first single since last November’s “Holiday.”

The news of the new single comes after Lil Nas celebrated being a first-time homeowner at only 21. He shared some selfies of him inside the new house and revealed that his next home would be built from scratch.

The Weeknd Isn’t Up For Any Grammys This Year, But He Just Got A Bunch Of Juno Award Nominations

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The Weeknd was somehow not nominated for any Grammy Awards this year, a fact from which he says he’s moved on. So while The Weeknd won’t get any wins this weekend, the ceremony was preceded by some good news for the Canadian artist: The Juno Awards, Canada’s biggest music awards ceremony, revealed their list of 2021 nominees today. Unlike the Grammys, The Weeknd leads the pack with six nominations.

The Weeknd and his work are up for Juno Fan Choice, Single Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year, and Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year. Other artists to score big include Justin Bieber, Jessie Reyez, and JP Saxe, who each have five nominations.

The ceremony is set to take place on May 16. In the meantime, check out the nominees in the major categories below and find the full list of nominees here.

Juno Fan Choice
Ali Gatie
Curtis Waters
JP Saxe
Justin Bieber
Lennon Stella
Les Cowboys Fringants
Nav
Shawn Mendes
Tate McRae
The Weeknd

Single Of The Year
“Drink About Me” — Brett Kissel
“If The World Was Ending” Feat. Julia Michaels — JP Saxe
“Intentions” Feat. Quavo — Justin Bieber
“Kissing Other People” — Lennon Stella
“Blinding Lights” — The Weeknd

Album Of The Year
You — Ali Gatie
Courage — Céline Dion
Changes — Justin Bieber
Thanks For The Dance — Leonard Cohen
After Hours — The Weeknd

Artist Of The Year
Ali Gatie
Celine Dion
Jessie Reyez
Justin Bieber
The Weeknd

Group Of The Year
Arkells
Half Moon Run
Loud Luxury
The Glorious Sons
The Reklaws

Breakthrough Artist Of The Year
Curtis Waters
JP Saxe
Powfu
Ryland James
Tate McRae

Breakthrough Group Of The Year
2Freres
Crown Lands
Manila Grey
Peach Pit
Young Bombs

Songwriter Of The Year
Alanis Morissette — “Ablaze,” “Reasons I Drink,” “Smiling”
Alessia Cara — “Hell and High Water
Jessie Reyez — “Coffin,” “Before Love Came To Kill Us,”
“Far Away,” “No One’s In The Room”
JP Saxe — “A Little Bit Yours” “Golf On TV,” “If The World Was Ending”
The Weeknd — “After Hours,” “Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears”

French Language Album Of The Year
A tous les vents — 2Freres
Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs — Klo Pelgag
Les antipodes — Les Cowboys Fringants
Quand la nuit tombe — Louis-Jean Cormier
Pour dejouer l’ennui — Pierre Lapointe

Rap Recording Of The Year
New Mania — 88GLAM
Baby Gravy — 2 Bbno$ & Yung Gravy Baby
Cold World — Eric Reprid
Good Intentions — Nav
Elements Vol. 1 — Tobi

Indigenous Artist Or Group Of The Year
Kîyânaw
The Ridge
North Star Calling
Nunarjua Isulinginniani

Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year
“Before Love Came To Kill Us” — Jessie Reyez
“Where You Are” — Savannah Ré
“After Hours” — The Weeknd
“Holiday” — Tobi

Producer Of The Year
Akeel Henry
Jordon Manswell
Kaytranada
Murda Beatz
WondaGurl

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

Saweetie Confirmed She’s In Talks With Cardi B And Said They’re Waiting For The ‘Right Record’

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Yesterday in an interview with Angela Yee of the Breakfast Club, Saweetie gave more life to the rumors that she and Cardi B are planning something together. Though Saweetie only just collaborated with another one of the biggest rappers in the game, with Doja Cat on “Best Friend,” of course her fans Cardi’s army would love to see her back in the mix with one of the reigning queens of rap. Speaking of rap queens, the rumors that she’ll be working with Nicki Minaj have also been swirling.

For now, it seems like the collab with Cardi is definitely a possibility, but it will depend on the pair finding the right song to be on together. “Our teams have definitely been talking,” Saweetie said. “I think we’re kinda just waiting for that right record. I think the media just likes to take things out of context, and I’m loving how women artists are starting to realize that sometimes it’s the media that creates something that’s not there. I think it just shows maturity and growth amongst me and my peers to not be affected what the media says.”

Since Saweetie is dating Quavo and Cardi has a child with Offset, maybe we’ll get a track with both female stars and some Migos triplets. A girl can dream! Check out the full interview above to learn more about Saweetie.

Flying Lotus Shares A First Look At ‘Yasuke,’ His Black Samurai Anime Series Coming To Netflix

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Eric Coleman

For three years, Flying Lotus has been hard at work as part of the team creating the upcoming Netflix anime series Yasuke. It’s lead is voiced by LaKeith Stanfield and follows the story of a Black samurai in war-torn feudal Japan who returns to service to protect a young girl from dark forces. The show is expected to be released at the end of April, and Flying Lotus has just shared a teaser.

Flying Lotus, who scored the entirety of the series, posted the first images from Yasuke to social media. “Proud to share these first images,” he wrote. “3 years in the making and we are finally here… Honor has a new name.”

The musician also revealed how much he’s enjoyed working on the project. “Working on anime is my new favorite thing,” he wrote. “I think imma try n stay a while. Can happily keep doin it. Makes sense to me.”

LeSean Thomas, executive producer and creator of Yasuke, described why the story line piqued his attention in a blog post for Netflix:

“There is a serendipitous nature about this project, how an African-American man goes to Japan to live and work amongst the very best in Japanese anime to create an anime about an African who goes to Japan to live amongst the Japanese elite and become a warrior. Yasuke is a fascinating, mysterious figure in Japanese history that’s drawn a growing interest in today’s media over the decades. I first learned of Yasuke’s role in Japanese history over a decade or so. The children’s book, Kuro-suke by Kurusu Yoshio, featured images that piqued my curiosity. To eventually learn that he wasn’t just a fictional character, but a real person, was exciting material for an adventure story.”

Check out some screengrabs from Netflix’s Yasuke above.

Azealia Banks Gets Into The NFT Game — With An Audio Sex Tape

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Not to be a Luddite or an alarmist or anything, but it might be time to put the brakes on the whole crypto experiment. Aside from the ecological effects, which look pretty bad overall, I never wanted to type the words “Azealia Banks sex tape” at any point in my career — and yet, here we are.

The controversy magnet — who was at one point famous for making the romping 2012 hit “212” and is now much more liable to go on a bigoted rant or try to start a beef with whichever female rapper is currently closest to the top of the charts — decided the non-fungible token (NFT) game was too good to miss out on and found the perfect (in her mind, I’m sure) way to capitalize: the aforementioned sex tape. According to Vice and NFT marketplace Foundation, the first-ever audio sex tape NFT was created by Banks and sold for quite the sum.

Of course, being Azealia Banks, she had to throw some troll-ish curveball on it. The tape, which features Banks and her fiance, conceptual artist Ryder Ripps, is audio-only. I’ll leave whether that’s a good or a bad thing up to you, but there’s one thing it absolutely is: profitable. The 24-minute recording apparently sold for well over $17,000 — or 10 Ethereum, technically speaking. The buyer, Rulton Fyder, received full ownership, distribution and display rights, and a signed LP vinyl record.

Only time will tell if Fyder’s (a play on Fulton Ryder, a pseudonym of Richard Prince’s) NSFW NFT investment will pay off. Crypto-art is still relatively new and the element that gives traditional art its value, generally speaking, is time. However, with this new technology running rampant and the internet re-writing all the rules faster than anyone can learn them, it’s the wild west and we might be looking at a whole new ballgame, where ownership comes with two-factor authentication.

HER Organizes An Uprising In The Stirring ‘Fight For You’ Video

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The video for HER’s “Fight For You” is here. HER’s soulful Judas And The Black Messiah soundtrack single invokes the lasting legacy of the Black Panther Party, so it’s only right that the video does the same. Following a loose storyline, the video observes how the tragic cycle of state violence against Black Americans plays out across the decades, with a shooting in 1971 laying the foundation for an uprising HER and her father try to organize in 2021.

Using their shoe shop’s stature as a clear focal point of the community, HER delivers boots stamped “I am a revolutionary” to friends and family throughout the city, prompting former Panthers to remember their revolutionary calling. However, their activities attract the wrong kind of attention, causing the cycle to play out as it always has. Even then, hope is seen in a future generation that has already absorbed the lessons taught by the elder Panthers, proving that the system can kill a revolutionary but can’t kill the revolution.

HER previously performed the standout, Golden Globe- and Grammy-nominated track on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, while the Bay Area singer will also perform at the first-ever Black Music Collective pre-Grammy event highlighting the contributions of Black artists ahead of the main show on March 10. “Fight For You” also appears on the Oscars’ Best Original Song shortlist.

Watch the “Fight For You” video above.

Chika Reflects On Her Accomplishments With A Poetic Cover Of Billie Eilish’s ‘My Future’

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With her new EP dropping this week, Chika stopped by Spotify Sessions to offer up a soulful performance of her song “U Should,” along with a poetic cover of Billie Eilish‘s “My Future.” In a funny twist, Chika is up for the Grammy Award Eilish won at last year’s ceremony, Best New Artist. She noted as much in a statement accompanying the performance, saying:

I picked “My Future” by Billie Eilish as my [Best New Artist] cover for Spotify because the song is beautiful and presents an interesting opportunity to talk about where I am as an artist, especially on the heels of this nomination. My present is moving so fast that each passing moment is practically the future already. And I’m in love with the ride I’m on.

Chika’s ride started in an unconventional way, with a viral freestyle she called an “open letter to Kanye West” that wound up being shared by such hip-hop luminaries as Sean “Diddy” Combs. That exposure led to a Calvin Klein ad, a Warner Records deal, an electrifying television debut, a role in a film, a XXL Freshman placement, and her debut EP Industry Games — all before her debut album was even announced. With a new EP dropping just days before she could possibly win a Grammy Award, Chika will be a winner either way this weekend, earning that Best New Artist moniker through sheer force of will even without a trophy.

Listen to Chika’s cover of Billie’s “My Future” above.

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