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Lil Uzi Vert Brags About Their Riches And The Other Fruits Of Their Labor On ‘Flex Up’

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Lil Uzi Vert 2022 Wireless Fest
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The wait for Lil Uzi Vert’s upcoming Red & White EP continues. Last week, Uzi announced the project and billed it as the prelude to their long-awaited The Pink Tape project. While Uzi did not share a release date for Red & White, many believed that the project would arrive much sooner than later, especially since the rapper debuted its cover art. The world is still waiting for the official release of Red & White, but until then, you can enjoy another loose and SoundCloud exclusive single from Uzi.

The new record is a bit more relaxed than Uzi’s previous singles, “Space Cadet” and “I Know,” but it still presents the rapper in a very confident state. Over production from longtime collaborator Maaly Raw, Uzi brags about their riches and the other fruits of their labor.

The new record arrives after Uzi declared that they now use them/them pronouns. The news was shared very subtly as Uzi simply changed the pronouns that were listed on his Instagram page. Later, a spokesperson for the rapper confirmed that the rapper will indeed go by they/them pronouns.

You can listen to “Flex Up” above.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Maxo Kream And Anderson .Paak See ‘The Vision’ Clearly On Their Head-Bopping New Anthem

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Maxo Kream is on a roll, lately — no pun intended. Following up the trunk-knocking “Jigga Dame” and the Benny The Butcher-featuring “Football Heads,” the Houston hard hitter teams up with Silk Sonic singer Anderson .Paak on the head-bopping anthem, “The Vision.” While Maxo recounts some of his favorite sneakers and brags about his high-fashion habits, Paak details the cars, clothes, and women that make him a “legend livin’.”

Maxo’s hot streak continues the momentum from his impressive 2021, which saw him drop videos for “Local Joker,” “Big Persona,” Greener Knots,” “Can’t Leave The Streets Alone,” and “Cripstian” on the way to releasing his third studio album Weight Of The World. The album was well-received by critics and fans and reestablished Maxo’s footing as one of the most captivating rising rappers in the business.

Meanwhile, his collaborator, Anderson .Paak, also had a standout year, thanks in large part to his and his Silk Sonic partner Bruno Mars’s musical pairing. An Evening With Silk Sonic, their group debut, leaned heavily into schtick, but that didn’t stop it from spawning a No. 1 single in “Leave The Door Open,” winning four Grammy Awards for the song, and prompting near universal acclaim.

Listen to Maxo Kream’s “The Vision” featuring Anderson .Paak up top.

Kanye West Reportedly Almost Joined A Tribe Called Quest For Their Last Album

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It’s fairly common knowledge that Kanye West‘s early, sample-based production style was heavily influenced by the seminal work of pioneering NY rap group A Tribe Called Quest. Hardcore West heads will even know that quasi Tribe member Consequence was one of his collaborators, writing and appearing on songs like “Spaceship” from his debut album, The College Dropout. But according to Consequence, Kanye also almost joined him as an honorary member of the band proper on its last album, 2016’s We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service.

In a clip from Cons’s upcoming interview with the Drink Champs podcast, Cons tells NORE and DJ EFN, “What many people don’t know is Kanye was, at one point, was supposed to join Tribe for the last album.” This was apparently after original member Phife Dawg passed away, and according to additional notes Consequence provided to HipHopDX, “there were several conversations and sessions to insert Kanye into A Tribe Called Quest for the final LP.” The full details of this creative partnership — and why it never came to fruition, aside from one song, “The Killing Season” — will have to wait until the episode airs on Thursday, July 21.

It should be noted that this was right around the time Kanye was hospitalized during his Life Of Pablo tour and began his slide into increasingly bizarre and problematic behavior following a meeting with then-Presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Kanye’s absence didn’t hurt the album’s reception, though; We Got It from Here debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and eventually went gold. You can watch the clip from Drink Champs below.

Flo Milli Surprises Her Fans And Drops Her ‘You Still Here, Ho?’ Debut Album Two Days Early

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Alabama rapper Flo Milli snatched the attention of the world back in 2020 thanks to her debut project, Ho, Why Is You Here? The 12-track effort is a completely solo body of work that flaunts Flo’s impenetrable confidence and cut-throat lyricism. Ho, Why Is You Here? eventually earned Flo a spot in the 2020 BET cypher and an inclusion in the 2021 XXL Freshman class. Afterward, Flo began work on her official debut album and released a collection of singles ahead of the project’s initial arrival on July 22. However, Flo had other plans and decide to release the album a full two days early.

Yes, that’s right! Flo’s debut album You Still Here, Ho? is out now. The project comes complete with 17 songs, including the previously released “Conceited,” “PBC,” “No Face,” “Roaring 20s,” and “Ice Baby.” You Still Here, Ho? also presents appearances from Tiffany Pollard, who speaks on the album’s opening track, Babyface Ray (“Hottie”), and Rico Nasty (“Pay Day”). Flo and Rico’s collaboration marks the second time that they’ve worked on a song together following the upbeat “Money,” released at the end of last year.

The road towards You Still Here, Ho? also included a documentary about her life before rap and collaborations with GoldLink, Baby Tate, and more.

You Still Here, Ho? is out now via RCA. You can stream it here.

Chance The Rapper And Vic Mensa Are Teaming Up For A ‘Major’ Music Festival In Ghana

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At the beginning of last year, Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa teamed up on “Shelter” with Wyclef Jean. It was the rappers’ first collaboration in nearly a decade after the initial partners in crime fell out during their respective early rises in hip-hop. Since then, Chance and Vic would reconnect for “Wraith” while teasing fans with another collaboration, but now, for their latest act, the duo is taking their talents to Ghana. Chance and Vic, who is of Ghanaian descent, announced The Black Star Line Festival and it’s set to take place in Ghana’s historic Black Star Square on January 6, 2023.

“Founded in 1919, and operated by Black people, the [Black Star Line] would link America, the Caribbean and Africa, to global shipping and tourism opportunities,” a press release about the festival reads. “The Black Star Line was a symbol of pride, not only for Africans, but also for Black people in all ports of call.” It continues, “After nearly 40 years, the Ghanian government launched their fleet with the same name, in homage to Garvey, and even added a black star to the country’s new flag.”

Chance and Vic also noted that the festival was inspired by Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey as the upcoming showcase is named after his iconic Black Star Line.

Last week, Chance and Vic went to Ghana with eight students from Chicago in order to teach them about their roots. Afterward, Chance spoke about this time in the country.

“When we came here and touched down and felt the love that we received and the fans that we got to connect with, the understanding for the need for the connection became apparent to us,” he said. “We need a music festival bringing major artists to Ghana. This is what we’re working to create.”

Logic Says He Recorded ‘Vinyl Days’ In 12 Days In Order To Fulfill His Deal With Def Jam

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Logic‘s latest album, Vinyl Days, marks the end of an eight-year journey with Def Jam. In a recent episode of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, the rapper detailed the creative process behind the album. Most notably, he shared that the album was recorded in less than two weeks.

“I made that album in 12 days so I could get off Def Jam,” he revealed. “That’s my favorite part — I’m off Def Jam. I made that album so I could leave, and guess what? I left them with some of the dopest sh*t I could give them. It’s not like I just wiped my ass. What am I excited about? I’m excited to be independent, I’m excited to do my thing.”

As a newly independent artist, Logic is looking forward to making music without having to deal with any of the politics of a major label. Although it seems he couldn’t wait to put Def Jam behind him, Logic insists that there is no bad between him and the iconic hip-hop label.

“I’m really happy to know that I represented and low-key was the face of the label — one of the illest hip-hop labels of all time — and that I sold millions and millions of records and gave them billions and billions of streams,” he said, “and that it was a good partnership. And I couldn’t be happier to get the f*ck out.”

Check out the full episode of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive (if you must) above.

Kodak Black’s Lawyer Claims That The Oxycodone Pills The Rapper Was Arrested With Were Prescribed To Him

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Kodak Black’s legal troubles continued over the weekend when the rapper was arrested on a pair of drug charges in relation to the possession of oxycodone pills. Days after the arrest happened, Kodak Black’s lawyer Bradford Cohen is claiming that the rapper is not wrong for possessing the oxycodone pills because they were prescribed to him. During a conversation with TMZ, Cohen claims that the pills were prescribed to Kodak for pain he was dealing with after he was shot during a fight in Los Angeles back in February. Kodak’s lawyer adds that the pills were also to help him cope with injuries from an alleged assault by prison guards.

Cohen notes that he’s given prosecutors proof that the pills were prescribed, which will hopefully resolve the matter quickly. Kodak’s arrest occurred on July 15 and it came after officers pulled him over for an alleged illegal window tint as he rode in a Dodge Durango. Cops approached the car and it was here that they smelled a strong scent of marijuana. As a result, the vehicle was searched and 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 in cash were discovered. Kodak was then hit with two drug charges: possession of a controlled substance without prescription and trafficking with oxycodone. All in all, it was an unfortunate event for Kodak in what’s been a strong year musically for him.

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

Nickelodeon Announces Its First-Ever Music Festival, Featuring The Kid Laroi, Beabadoobee, And More

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Nickelodeon has long had a strong connection to music. Successful artists like Ariana Grande and Nick Cannon got their starts on the network, and Nick regularly gets top-tier performers to take the stage at the Kids’ Choice Awards, like Kid Cudi and Jack Harlow did a few months ago. Now, they’re getting into the music festival game: Yesterday, they announced NickFest, their first-ever music festival.

The inaugural edition is set to go down on October 22 and 23 at Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl and tickets are set to go on sale on July 26 at 10 a.m. PT. The event will feature headlining performances from The Kid Laroi and Monsta X. Other highlights from the lineup across its three stages include Beabadoobee, Kyle, 24kGoldn, Joshua Bassett, G Flip, and Alec Benjamin.

Beyond the music, there are also set to be “special experiences” featuring some of the network’s hottest current franchises, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Loud House. On top of that, there will also be “appearances by” beloved Nick characters past and present, like SpongeBob‘s Patrick Star, Chuckie Finster and Tommy Pickles from Rugrats, Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly Odd-Parents, Dora The Explorer, Avatar Aang from Avatar, and others.

The NickFest website describes the event, “NickFest is the messiest music festival ever. A 2-day extravaganza of music’s biggest acts, Nickelodeon characters and stars IRL, family-friendly activities and experiences, exceptional food, and a ridiculous amount of slime. Lovers of Nick nostalgia will be in heaven. Kids will have a blast. And moms and dads will earn the most ‘cool parent’ points allowed by law. Whether you’re 5 or 105 — get ready to let your Nick flag fly!”

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

Live Nation Argue They Are Not Liable For Drakeo The Ruler’s Killing At The Once Upon A Time Festival

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Last December, the hip hop world suffered a massive loss with the death of Drakeo The Ruler, real name Darrell Caldwell, who was stabbed in the neck at Los Angeles’ Once Upon A Time Festival. Since then, his family filed a $20 million lawsuit against Live Nation, which was then raised to $60 million.

The lawsuit also names promotional partners Bobby Dee Presents and C3 Presents, as well as Banc of California Stadium owners Los Angeles Football Club. It cites the disaster at Astroworld the week before and accuses the promoters of negligence, claiming they did not place “the safety and wellbeing of its guests and its invited artists ahead of profits.”

On Tuesday, files were made public that show Live Nation arguing for negligence on the part of Caldwell’s brother Devante, as well as members of the brothers’ Stinc Team rap collective. In the demurrer obtained by Rolling Stone, Live Nation argue that they were not accountable for the “violent mob,” consisting of about 50 to 100 people with knives, that ambushed the rapper before he was supposed to take the stage. They also argued that no one “asked for additional security” or told promoters that Caldwell “faced threats and constant hostility from gang members.” Meanwhile, promoters argued that legally they were not required to prevent “third-party criminal conduct” since there were no “prior similar incidents.”

NBA YoungBoy Seeks To End His House Arrest

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Recently NBA YoungBoy — also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or Kentrell Gaulden — was on trial for a federal gun possession charge in Los Angeles. The rapper was arrested when a FN FNX .45 caliber pistol was found on the floor of a Mercedes Maybach that he was driving in March of 2021. On July 15, he was found not guilty of said federal gun charges.

According to AllHipHop, the “Late To Da Party” performer is now seeking to end his house arrest. The publication obtained documents from Gaulden’s legal team that call for a modification of his bail order from October 2021.

“Since the Court authorized the defendant’s release, two key events have transpired causing a material change in circumstances,” his attorneys stated. “First, this Court has suppressed critical aspects of the Government’s case casting doubt as to whether the weight of the admissible evidence favors the Government.”

They added, “Second, [NBA YoungBoy] was acquitted in a parallel prosecution concerning the firearm found inside of his car when he was arrested on the underlying warrant in this case. As such, we believe that a modification of bail is in order and that the current release conditions are more onerous than necessary to assure his appearance or protect the commencing from danger.”