A few days ago, Snoop Loopz, a new cereal from Snoop Dogg’s Broadus Foods brand, was unveiled. Now, the Froot Loops-like cereal (or more specifically, its packaging) has left Jack White with some major questions.
Yesterday, White took to Instagram to share an image of the Snoop Loopz box and reveal that he’s put a lot of thought into it. His post begins, “I would like to personally congratulate Snoop Dogg on his new cereal release and a pat on the back for its charitable benefits that it will be producing, nice one. But i do have a couple of important questions about the box that the cereal is delivered to customers in.”
Then, he gets into the nitty-gritty, continuing:
“In the press release from Broadus foods, the photo of the cereal box contains the words ‘MORE MARSHMALLOWS’. More than what? if this is in fact a brand new cereal, it can’t be more marshmallows than ‘before’. Is it a statement that this cereal has more marshmallows than say…a bag of sand, or a typical caesar salad? Or, is it a DEMAND from Snoop Dogg himself that we just have more marshmallows in this world in general? That last theory is my hope. Lastly, the photograph on Master P’s instagram shows a DIFFERENT phrase, an un-plural ‘MORE MARSHMALLOW’ without the ‘S’. Photo attached, answers demanded.”
Snoop has yet to publicly provide the demanded answers.
According to TMZ, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are suing the company Triller. The pair who made the rap battle show Verzuz sold the idea to Triller, but Triller never paid up. Now Swizz Beatz and Timbaland want $28 million.
In January of last year, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland agreed to sell Verzuz to Triller, but Triller allegedly defaulted on the deal after just two payments. More information about this lawsuit is forthcoming and should unfurl over time.
The platform Verzuz was launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland that showcases beat battles held on Instagram Live. March of this year marked the two-year anniversary of the show. Since its inception, it has held numerous duels between the likes of The Lox, Dipset, Nelly, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Ashanti, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, E-40, Too Short, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, and many more.
To commemorate their success, Swizz and Timbo have partnered with Amazon Studios, Lena Waithe, her production company Hillman Grad Productions, and Good Trouble Studios for a special documentary titled Gifted & Black. It will highlight the rise of Verzuz, as well as the roots of Black music. According to Deadline, it will use “poignant interviews, gripping vérité and magnetic archival footage” to see how Black music impacts the culture.
Rick Ross and Wingstop have become synonymous. The rapper owns at least 25 Wingstop franchises and even bought his son a Wingstop franchise for 16th birthday last year. But in a new report published by XXL, it looks like the federal government’s Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has fined Rick Ross and his family members for multiple violations found in some of their Mississippi Wingstop locations.
According to the report, the feds have collected $114,427 thus far from Ross along with his sister, Tawanda Roberts and mother, Tammie Roberts, who are also listed as owners of some of the franchises. And these seem to be some pretty serious infractions: “Forcing employees to illegally pay for safety training, uniforms, background checks and cash register shortages. In some instances, this caused some employees’ average hourly rates to fall below the $7.25 federal minimum wage.”
Another part of the report says that Boss Wings Enterprises, Ross’s corporation, let a 15-year-old employee work past 10pm multiple times this year. The law states that 14 and 15-year-old workers cannot work past 7pm. This is not a good look for Rozay and certainly not the image of “The Boss” that he wants to convey. For the workers though, 244 of them will recoup the funds that were illegally taken from them.
Yesterday, Drake topped another significant record by The Beatles. When the track “Staying Alive” by DJ Khaled with Drake and Lil Baby checked into the Billboard Hot 100 at the number five spot, it marked Drake’s 30th Top 5 single on the chart, thus breaking the tie at the top he previously held with The Beatles at 29. So what did Drake do to celebrate the accomplishment? He went on a high-stakes gambling roulette run, of course!
Drake is a noted gambler who won big money betting on the Golden State Warriors this past NBA playoffs, scored over $1 million in Super Bowl bets, and then won — and lost — over $25 million playing video roulette with French Montana. His roulette bets have all been on the online cryptocurrency betting platform Stake, whom he partnered with this past March. So immediately following the news of his record-breaking hit, Drake posted a headline and the a video on Instagram of himself winning $5,130,000 million on a roulette play. His betting was livestreamed on Twitch, which is something he often does when he’s betting big money, presumably to raise the profile of the Stake platform. “Ok I broke my records for the month now me and Stake need you to do your thing Bitcoin,” he commented on an Instagram.
Since the $5,130,000 is paid out in Bitcoin, Drake would stand to make even more if the price of the cryptocurrency shoots up. Hence him asking for Bitcoin to “do your thing.” He better hope that French Montana isn’t around though…
After releasing Who Is Nardo Wick?? (Deluxe) and unveiling the music video for his collaboration with The Kid Laroi on “Burning Up,” Nardo Wick is back with another video, this time for “Dah Dah Dahdah.”
The last video was directed by Cole Bennett, and this time it was by Dell Nie and even Nardo himself. It begins with a stunning shot of three pianos set up in a triangular form while bloody hands play the haunting rhythm on the keys, whose melody can be recognized from Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” or, more recently, Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” which also samples it. Guns are laid out on the pianos and Nardo dances in the middle in between them all. Interspersed are scenes with an intense downpour and some security footage.
The Jacksonville rapper concluded his 2021 year with the release of his Who Is Nardo Wick? project, which consisted of 18 songs and features from Future, Lil Baby, Hit-Boy, G Herbo, Lil Durk, 21 Savage, Lakeyah, and Big30. The deluxe of Who Is Nardo Wick? added onto the amount of features, pulling in artists like Latto and The Kid Laroi for special guest appearances that excited fans.
YG‘s Mary J. Blige-sampling new single, “Toxic,” is off to a strong start after dropping on Friday, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t about to help it along with some promotion of his own. YG made the trip to Colors Studios to deliver a smooth performance of his new song for the fan-favorite A COLORS Show. As usual, he’s decked out in bright red, with a paisley-printed jacket setting off his leather pants and unsubtle jewelry collection, choosing a lavender backdrop that highlights his favorite color rather than contrasting it.
The lyrics of “Toxic” find YG contemplating the dissolution of a situationship as his would-be paramour realizes that his attentions come cheaply, no matter how much money he spends. “But she confused, she want titles and I tell her ‘Nah’ / She confused, us together is what she saw / She confused, ’cause I love her so that’s what she thought / She’s confused and that’s ’cause I be in it raw.” In the end, it turns out that the woman YG has lavished with gifts and money is just a sidepiece who has to be content with playing her position.
“Toxic” is the fourth single YG has released this year after “Sign Language,” “Scared Money” featuring J. Cole and Moneybagg Yo, and “Run” with Tyga, 21 Savage, and BIA. It’s thought that these songs will all appear on his upcoming album, I’ve Got Issues, due in September. The album will be YG’s first after completing his five-album deal with Def Jam, although he did re-up on a licensing deal with his old label to make sure he retains ownership of his music.
Watch YG’s A COLORS Show performance of “Toxic” above.
Yesterday (August 15), Kehlani had a show at Philadelphia’s Mann Center. Unfortunately, it was cut short, as Kehlani opted to end the concert early after multiple fans apparently fainted in the audience.
Before walking off stage and ending the show, Kehlani told the audience (as seen in fan-shot videos), “I can’t have this. This is not OK. I don’t feel comfortable. I don’t feel OK. I don’t feel like anybody is safe right now. […] I love you so much. I do not have more words about how disappointed and heartbroken I am. I love you, get home safe.”
In a couple Instagram Story posts after the show, Kehlani wrote, “philly thanks for an incredible evening. i care about you guys more than anything & i put you before anything else. thank you so much to the venue and staff for your diligence swift care for everyone in my audience. outstanding job. i can’t wait to come back. love you Philly. cannot stress how much i love all of you, and how important you are to me. seeing you all on tour for the first time in so many years has really reminded me what i do it for. i hope you know how deep my love runs. thank you for everything.”
@kehlani/Instagram@kehlani/Instagram
Rolling Stone reports that according to officials at the Mann Center, nobody was transported to the hospital during the concert, but three people were given “minimal treatment on site.”
Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A decade ago, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o had become one of the most decorated defensive players in college football. He was the unquestioned leader of the team heading into the BCS national championship game. But none of that really matters anymore. That’s because Te’o became embroiled in one of the weirdest and most notorious catfishing cases ever. Te’o had forged an online relationship with who he thought was a college student named Lennay Kekua, who had been in a car accident and was diagnosed with leukemia. His supposed girlfriend’s tribulations were framed as a sort of inspiration for Te’o on the field, until he found out… that she didn’t exist.
Long story short, Kekua was actually a male named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who has since transitioned and is now Naya Tuiasosopo. While Tuiasusopo explored their gender via the online relationship, Te’o was catfished. Some pundits tried to accuse Te’o of being in on the ploy, but by all accounts he was an unknowing participant. The scandal went very public and Te’o’s draft stock slipped, sending him to the Chargers in the 2nd round. Today, he’s out of football after stints with the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears and he’s never really spoken at length about the scandal until now, and he says Jay-Z inspired him to do so.
With the recent release of Netflix’s documentary,Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist, viewers will soon be privy to the ins and outs of the catfishing hoax. But Te’o said he wouldn’t have spoken out about it — let alone for a documentary — until something Jay-Z said at a concert made him change his tune. He explained that he went with some Saints teammates to the concert in 2017, saying on CBS Mornings, “And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words: ‘You cannot heal what you don’t reveal.’ And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks.” He added, “In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it.”
Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist is streaming now on Netflix. Watch Te’o’s full CBS Mornings appearance below.
It’s pretty undeniable that Beyonce is one of the great hitmakers of our generation. But just how great of a hitmaker is she? With “Break My Soul,” the lead single from her latest album, Renaissance, burning up the chart, now might be the perfect time to reflect on all the other times Beyonce has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyonce’s chart history reveals that she’s had eight No. 1 hits since her making her solo debut in 2003 with Dangerously In Love, starting with that album’s first and second singles.
“Baby Boy”
The second single from Dangerously In Love saw Beyonce collaborating with dancehall artist Sean Paul and taking inspiration from South Asian musical styles. The single also appeared on Seal Paul’s 2002 sophomore album Dutty Rock. It stayed on the charts for nine weeks in total and was Beyonce’s longest-running number-one single until 2007. It was replaced, ironically enough, by “Irreplaceable.”
“Break My Soul”
It might surprise some to learn, what with Beyonce’s pop culture dominance over the past 20 years, that “Break My Soul” is actually Beyonce’s first solo No. 1 single since Billboard made the changes including streams in its charts. The highest-charting Self-Titled song, “Drunk In Love” reached No. 2, while Lemonade’s Formation peaked at No. 10.
“Check On It”
Originally recorded for The Pink Panther, this 2005 collaboration with fellow Houstonian Slim Thug wound up being placed on the 2005 Destiny’s Child’s greatest hits album #1‘s instead (as well as B’Day). Produced by Swizz Beatz, it rose to prominence due to its radio popularity — likely thanks in part to Thug’s presence, as he rode the wave of goodwill from his feature on Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin’.”
“Crazy In Love”
Widely viewed as Beyonce’s “official” debut single (justice for “Work It Out”), the lead single from Dangerously In Love was produced by Rich Harrison and featured Bey’s future husband Jay-Z. It also kicked off a wave of go-go and funk-influenced hits throughout the 2000s pioneered largely by Harrison himself as other stars clamored to repeat Beyonce’s success.
“Irreplaceable”
Penned by Ne-Yo and presaging Beyonce’s interest in country (though it was reworked as a pop-R&B ballad), “Irreplaceable” was the knockout third single from Beyonce’s second album, B’Day. After moderate success for “Déjà Vu” and “Ring the Alarm,” it skyrocketed Bey back to the top of the chart, becoming the twenty-fifth most successful song of the 2000s.
“Perfect”
“Perfect” is one of Beyonce’s two featured appearances at No. 1 on the Hot 100, as she appears on a duet version of Ed Sheeran’s 2017 hit. The third single from ÷ (at least in the United States), the duet version accounted for 18 percent of the song’s sales, pushing it to the top of the chart, becoming Sheeran’s second and Beyonce’s sixth No. 1.
Perhaps one of Bey’s most inescapable anthems, the second single from Beyonce’s 2008 third studio album I Am… Sasha Fierce reigned supreme throughout the year after its release, becoming a meme, winning three Grammy Awards, and spawning imitations, homages, and outright spoofs that made it nearly ubiquitous. It was also the impetus for Kanye’s infamous stage-crashing scene at the 2009 VMAs, arguably indirectly launching the decade’s worth of Taylor Swift-influenced pop music to come.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
DC fans are still reeling over the news of Batgirl getting shelved. But equally, if not more distraught by the news are the film’s cast and crew, many of whom are disappointed that they won’t get a chance to see their work come to life on screen.
Natalie Holt, who composed music for Disney Plus’ original series, Loki, was set to write the score for Batgirl. She revealed to Variety that she had much of the music for the movie written before receiving the news that the film would not hit theaters or stream on HBO Max.
“I had written about an hour and a half of music,” Holt said. “I’ve been working on it for a year. So yeah, pretty sad what’s happened to it. I was on set last Christmas, [directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah] really loved ‘Loki’ and that’s why I got picked to do the score for ‘Batgirl.’ So it’s a shame that it’s not going to be out there in the world after all that time, like having spent a year working on it. Yeah, pretty disappointing.”
Elsewhere in the piece, the Emmy Award-winning Holt revealed that while she felt that it was a “massive shame” that the film won’t receive a proper release, she does not have any bad blood toward the people she worked with.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with the people involved,” Holt said, “but that’s all I can say.”
