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Kodak Black Says His Recent Drug Arrest Is An Attempt At ‘Character Assassination’

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Kodak Black 2022 Rolling Loud NY
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Earlier this month, Kodak Black once again found himself in legal trouble when he was arrested on drug charges in Florida. Police officers pulled him over for a possible illegal window tint, and when they approached his car, they smelled a strong scent of marijuana, which led to a vehicle search. They discovered 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 in cash. Kodak was then charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and trafficking oxycodone. Days after he was released from jail after posting $75,000 in bond, Kodak took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the arrest, which he called an attempt at “character assassination.”

“This Sh*t bogus Af,” Kodak began in one tweet. “I feel like This a character assassination issue [cause there’s] no way I should be getting harassed bout my tag being expired, that’s no reason to even search my car in the first place and going to jail about having my medication in the car is insane.” In a second post, he continued, “Ima Sue these people for every dollar I gotta spend bout this sh*t !”

Kodak went further with his thoughts about the arrest in future tweets. “I’m being racially profiled and as a black man in America,” he wrote. “I deserve my freedom especially with everything I do for my community I should be getting love , respect and support from the authorities ! To move freely , not getting arrested for expired tag and dark windows.” In a final message, Kodak accepted some blame in the matter, but still labeled the situation as an attack on him.

“This a self inflicted wound that coulda been prevented !” he added. “My people posta made sure my tags stay up and my tints Just right but @ da same time I should have a pass to drive with tints due to my status AT LEAST !!! I show all this love round here just to get slapped in the face [sad face emoji].”

You can view the tweets from Kodak above.

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

Usher Will Executive-Produce ‘Storyville,’ A TV Series Set In The Jazz Age Of New Orleans

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Usher Lovers and Friends 2022
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Usher is taking to television: The Grammy Award-winning vocalist has signed on as an executive producer for an upcoming television series called Storyville, as reported by Variety.

The series, set in New Orleans, will tell the story of five brothel madams seeking to gain control over the city’s Red Light District. It is a music-centered series which will be focused on the beginning of the Jazz Age in New Orleans.

“Storyville is an epic tale sparked by the origins of the sound that inspired my career — a story that touches the nerve of social and cultural relevance today,” Usher said in a statement.

At the time of reporting, the series is currently in development by Starlings Television and is targeted for global sale to various networks. Starlings TV President/EP Chris Philip and CEO Karine Martin are also set to co-executive produce the show, alongside Usher, as well as creators and showrunners Bill Macdonald and Walt Becker, and Marcus Morton.

“Usher’s massive global appeal, musical and acting genius will propel this unique and compelling original series into must-see viewing worldwide,” Philip said in a statement. “His invaluable creative and musical contributions to Storyville fulfill our vision of contrasting the gritty, sometimes brutal sides of New Orleans life with it giving birth to a beautiful, diverse and defining new artform.”

Harry Styles Sent Lizzo Flowers After ‘About Damn Time’ Took Over His No. 1 Spot On The Hot 100 Chart

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A couple weeks ago on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” parked itself at No. 2, right behind Harry Styles’ “As It Was” at No. 1. The week after, that stayed the same when “As It Was” remained on top for a tenth total week. On this week’s chart, though, “About Damn Time” finally soared high enough to overtake the top spot from Styles’ hit, demoting it to the silver-medal spot.

If Styles is feeling bitter about all this, he’s not showing it, as he graciously accepted his defeat by sending Lizzo a colorful arrangement of flowers. Lizzo showed them off in a TikTok video, in which she holds them and says, “Thanks for the flowers, Harry,” before smelling them and flashing a smile. She wrote in the post caption, “Yall harry got me flowers congratulating me on about damn time going #1 [crying emojis].”

@lizzo

Yall harry got me flowers congratulating me on about damn time going #1 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

♬ I Love You Bitch – Lizzo

Lizzo and Styles have some history together: In 2020, they hosted a joint concert on Super Bowl weekend. In April, Lizzo popped up as a surprise guest at Styles’ Coachella set. Lizzo also showed her love for Styles’ new album Harry’s House in June, declaring, “He put the whole Harrussy into that album. I love his new album.”

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

Drake Announced The Night One Lineup For The October World Weekend Fest

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Drake has big plans for the return of his OVO Fest. In a recent Instagram post, the Toronto fixture said, “I am currently working on bringing OVO FEST around the world in 2023 for the 10th Anniversary. But of course, we wanted to turn the city up for the summer!!!” Enter October World Weekend, a mini-festival of sorts at History Toronto that is being dubbed as part of the October World Weekend Tour. Drake has Lil Baby and Chris Brown playing on Friday, July 29th and Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and a full blown Young Money Reunion on Monday, August 1— ’cause what is a weekend anyway [Editor’s note: August 1 is Civic Holiday in Toronto, and is known by many other names throughout Canada]? But now, the “Jimmy Crooks” rapper has announced the lineup for Thursday’s big kick-off and it tips a cap to The Six, of course.

The night one lineup for October World Fest on Thursday, July 28 is what Drake calls the All Canadian Northstars. In a separate Instagram post, Drake said the lineup is, “A celebration of the music that paved the way for all of us.” Canadian hip-hop lifers on the bill include Choclair, Frank-N-Dank, Keshia Chanté, K-Os, Glenn Lewis, Maestro French Wes, Rascalz, In Essence, Jully Black, Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, and Shawn Desman. There are also more special guests that have yet to be announced.

Tickets are now on sale here.

Kendrick Lamar Saw The Crying Security Guard From His Show And Wonders What He Was Going Through

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Over the weekend, Kendrick Lamar headlined Rolling Loud in Miami, where he brought out surprise guest Kodak Black to perform their collaboration “Silent Hill” from Kendrick’s recently released album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. But while he was there, he also did something nearly equally important, granting an interview to budding juvenile journalist Jazlyn “Jazzy’s World” Guerra.

In a snippet posted to Instagram, Jazzy, whose interviews with big-name artists like Jay-Z, J. Cole, and Cardi B are rapidly taking on the cultural impact of similarly enthusiastic music reporters Nardwuar and Sean Evans, asks Kendrick about a viral video of a security guard at one of his Mr. Morale tour stops shedding a tear while K. Dot performed the song “Love” from his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2017 album DAMN.

“It’s really just about the feeling of it at the end of the day,” he replies. “Past all the politics, past all the numbers. It’s what music makes you feel, how it makes you feel. So to see that … And shout-out to him by the way because I seen bro. I was like, ‘Man, I wonder what he going through?’ But at the end of the day, that’s how you want everybody to receive your music.”

Maybe someday soon, Kendrick will get to ask — or the security guard himself will come forward with his real explanation. Meanwhile, the full episode of Jazzy’s World hits YouTube tomorrow.

De La Soul Are Returning To ‘Teen Titans Go!’ In Season 8

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Last year, alt-rap pioneers De La Soul made their animated debut on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go!, appearing as themselves to help the titular superhero team defeat a giant octopus monster. Over the course of the episode, it’s revealed that the Titans were actually huge fans of the group, so Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, Robin, and Starfire would be excited to learn that their rhyme heroes are set to make their return to the show in its upcoming eighth season, according to Cartoon Network’s Winner Take All panel at San Diego Comic-Con this past week.

In the previous De La Soul guest episode, Robin gave his fellow Titans — dressed as old-school rap figures, naturally — a lesson in music royalties, a moment that held special meaning for the guest stars, who had been fighting to disentangle themselves from their original 1989 recording contracts over the past few years. Ironically, superhero fans encountered the fallout of that struggle in late 2021, after falling in love with De La’s musical stylings in the credits sequence of Spider-Man: No Way Home only to discover that the song is unavailable on DSPs, along with the bulk of the trio’s catalog.

And while De La has finally gained control of their masters as of August 2021, they’ve still got to unravel a labyrinth of sample clearances to avoid any legal issues in bringing those albums to streaming. Until then, they’ll keep fighting the forces of evil, and perhaps even offer some new musical renditions alongside the Teen Titans when the episode airs during season eight, whose start date has yet to be announced.

Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Playlist Includes Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Wet Leg, And Other Diverse Picks

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Barack Obama Beyonce 2013 Inauguration
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Now that Barack Obama is no longer occupied with being our country’s president, he has found himself with more time to focus on his true passion: Sharing lists of things he likes a few times a year. The former POTUS’ latest mix was his favorite songs of 2021 and now he’s back with his annual summer playlist.

Sharing it on social media today, he wrote, “Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies — it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together. Here’s what I’ve been listening to this summer. What songs would you add?”

Obama’s playlists are usually an eclectic mix and that’s the case here, too. He has some picks from popular modern artists, like Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Harry Styles’ “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” Drake and Rihanna’s “Too Good,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard.” He also has rock selections old and new, like Wet Leg’s “Angelica,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark,” and Jack White’s “I’m Shakin’.”

Other artists who made the cut include Tems, Sampa The Great, Rosalía, Lil Yachty, Prince, Maggie Rogers, Al Green, Dr. John, Miles Davis, Burna Boy, Doechii, Aminé, Aretha Franklin, Bad Bunny, Rakim, D’Angelo, Nina Simone, Caamp, Otis Redding, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, Fatboy Slim, Omar Apollo, Maren Morris, The Internet, Vince Staples and Mustard, and Kacey Musgraves.

Check out the full playlist above.

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

Drake Explains What All Those 14-Minutes Flights He, Kylie Jenner, And Travis Scott Are Accused Of Are All About

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Drake Till Death Do Us Part 2021
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Over the past few weeks, celebrities like Drake, Kylie Jenner, and Travis Scott have come under fire for contributing to climate change thanks to a new Twitter account, @CelebJets, which has been documenting “comically” short flights. However, as with most viral outrages on the internet, it appears there’s more context to be gleaned. While Kylie Jenner isn’t one to spend a lot of time online to address such controversies, Drake, as we all know, is chronically online, and took the time to respond to an Instagram trying to gin up more anger.

Popping in the comments of a post publicizing the “15-minute flights,” Drake clarified, “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics… nobody takes that flight.”

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Of course, when it comes to celebrities — especially ones who inflame public passions as much as Drake does, a little thing like logic isn’t going to stop people from lobbing indictments. “It’s still using the same amount of fuel regardless of whether it’s carrying people or not,” wrote one commenter. Another took a more direct stance, writing, “Shut up stop polluting our air.”

While there are certainly some criticisms to be made about these short hops, the unfortunate fact remains that they would still be a minuscule fraction of emissions created by the largest CO2 emitters — those would be industry, electricity, and the collective totals for all transport, including cars, trucks, ships, trains, and yes, planes, which only account for 10% of what cars and trucks emit. Meanwhile, electricity and heat are by far the biggest emitters, and the ones that could most easily be fixed using alternate fuel sources like wind and solar.

Phasing those in would also help reduce the emissions from actual oil and gas production as well, since we’d need less of those things. 5 minutes on Google, people. That’s all we’re asking. Since Drake can’t save the world by taking fewer flights (at least, not by himself), maybe that energy would best be spent pushing government representatives to support initiatives like new infrastructure and stricter regulations on industry — two solutions that have been proven to work.

The Weeknd Announces ‘After Hours Nightmare,’ A Haunted House Experience At Universal Studios

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the weeknd after hours till dawn tour
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Fans of The Weeknd have described his earlier sounds as “haunted strip club music.” While this may be a fair assessment, the singer has announced he will be taking his music to the realm of haunted houses. Beginning this September, The Weeknd will launch “After Hours Nightmare,” a series of Universal Studios parks’ Halloween Horror Nights series.

The houses will take inspiration from The Weeknd’s After Hours album era and will be set to music from the album. According to a press release, visitors to either of the haunted houses at Universal Studios in Orlando or Universal Studios in Hollywood will be “stalked by slashers, bandaged maniacs, gruesome toad-like creatures and other unfathomable horrors from the mind of the artist.”

“I always wanted my own Halloween Horror Nights haunted house as Halloween has always been significant to my music, so this is a total dream come to life,” said The Weeknd in a statement. “I feel like my music videos have served as a launching pad for a collaboration like this, and I cannot wait for people to experience this madness!”

“After Hours Nightmare” kicks off September 2 at Universal Orlando Resort and September 8 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Check out the official teaser above.

Doja Cat’s Website Has Been Redesigned As A 16-Bit Video Game World

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Doja Cat has made it no secret that there are times she’d prefer to skive off her duties as an internationally renowned pop-rap star in order to play video games all day — and with her recent throat surgery, she probably gets to do just that. While that might be a little disappointing for her fans, she recently made a big update to her website that combines both interests and just might offer a comforting consolation as they await her return to recording, releasing, and performing new music.

Fans checking out Doja’s website now get to explore a video game version of the world from Planet Her, complete with a cutesy, pixel avatar of Doja herself in one of three outfits from the album’s release cycle — including the hilarious caterpillar outfit from her 2021 VMAs hosting gig. Navigating the usual music site staples — videos, tours, merch, etc. — involves maneuvering your tiny animated Doja Cat through a Pokemon-esque city and entering different buildings with the respective signs out front. While there aren’t any truly video game-y elements (y’know, like platforming, fighting enemies, or trying to reach a goal), it’s a fun take, combining Doja’s hobby and her career while making the wait for her comeback more manageable.

Interestingly, Doja actually has another game coming out this year as she is being added to the popular social game House Party with her own unique storyline. That’s out in Fall 2022. In the meantime, you can check out DojaCat.com to play around on Planet Her. You’ll need a password to get in, which you can get by joining her mailing list — although, if you poke around enough on social media, someone’s bound to have shared it by now.