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YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Lyrics Cannot Be Used As Evidence As His LA Gun Possession Trial Begins

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Whether you call him YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy (the NBA would rather you didn’t though), there’s no denying that the Baton Rouge rapper has been a lightning rod for controversy and legal trouble. However, he just received a break regarding the latter, according to Rolling Stone. A federal trial against YoungBoy for felony gun possession began today, and even before any arguments were presented, the judge, US District Judge R. Gary Klausner, made a decision that could go a long way toward helping YoungBoy, ruling that his lyrics cannot be used as evidence.

Apparently, prosecutors wanted to use rhymes from songs like “Gunsmoke,” “Life Support,” and “Lonely Child” in which he mentions FNs (Fabrique Nationale Herstal, a leading Belgian firearm manufacturer that has become a favorite of rappers in recent years). Unfortunately for them, it appears Judge Klausner has been following the controversy surrounding the “Rap on Trial” debate, which was inflamed by the state of Georgia’s racketeering case against Young Thug. In that case, the evidence against the rap mogul mostly amounted to the use of his lyrics to show a connection to YSL, the name of his label but also a prolific street gang according to Georgia District Attorneys.

“Even if Mr. Gaulden is familiar with various models of guns and sings about them, it does not mean that he knew this particular gun was secreted on the passenger floor of the Maybach when police attempted to pull his car over to arrest him,” YoungBoy’s defense argued ahead of the trial.

However, YoungBoy could still face years in prison if convicted and he has another case pending in his home state, Louisiana. Some evidence for that case was also thrown out recently; video and photos of YoungBoy allegedly holding the guns which he’s charged with illegally possessing were improperly obtained, according to the court.

Black Thought And Danger Mouse Drop A Kaleidoscopic Video For ‘Aquamarine’

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Ahead of their hotly anticipated collaborative album, Cheat Codes, Black Thought and Danger Mouse have dropped a new track, “Aquamarine.” On their new track, Danger Mouse delivers a clashing, drum-driven beat, as Black Thought raps about contemporary world issues while channeling the power within himself.

On a notable line, Black Thought raps, “I’m a king, I’m dipped in God’s Black, a blessing / Survival of the fittest is a natural selection.”

His royal rap stylings are garnished with a soft-tinged chorus by UK singer Michael Kiwanuka, who is one of many promising collaborators on Cheat Codes.

“For ‘Aquamarine,’ when I heard the music I just had a feeling to sing about standing up for something that’s unique and following that path,” said Kiwanuka in a statement. “I don’t know why but that’s what came out. Sometimes when you’re following something that’s unique to you it’s as if ‘enemies are all around.’ At times life can feel fragile like ‘everything’s burning down.’ For some reason the chords and music made me feel that way.”

The song’s accompanying video, directed by George Muncey and Elliott Elder, sees Black Thought spitting his rhymes, as a kaleidoscopic effect captures various angles of his face and his expressions.

Check out “Aquamarine” above.

Cheat Codes is out 8/12 via BMG. Pre-save it here.

Steve Lacy And Foushee Touch The Sky In Their Graceful Video For ‘Sunshine’

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In just a few days, Steve Lacy will release his long-awaited sophomore album, Gemini Rights. The project will be his first full-length release since 2019’s Apollo XXI, and so far he’s delivered two singles to give fans an insight into what to expect with his next body of work. He kicked things off with “Mercury,” a track that’s carried by a bossa nova groove, and next came “Bad Habits,” which strikes as a sweet love song. Now, for his third and presumably final act before the album arrives, Lacy returns with “Sunshine” alongside Foushee.

The new record is a soothing confessional track that depicts Lacy and Foushee as a former couple a bit removed from their relationship. Despite their complaints about their new reality, each admits that deep down they hope to reconnect intimately just for another chance to be in each other’s presence. “Sunshine” also arrives with a video that captures Lacy playing with a band before we see Foushee get hoisted into the sky by a crane, and soon enough, Lacy joins her as they both sing their hearts out while dangling above the city.

You can watch the video for “Sunshine” above and see the full tracklist for Gemini Rights below.

1. “Static”
2. “Helmet”
3. “Mercury”
4. “Buttons”
5. “Bad Habit”
6. “2Gether (Enterlude)” With Matt Martians
7. “Cody Freestyle”
8. “Amber”
9. “Sunshine” Feat. Foushee
10. “Give You The World”

Gemini Rights is out 7/15 via RCA Records. Pre-save it here.

Doja Cat Lost 200,000 Followers On Instagram Since Voicing Her Frustrations About Noah Schnapp

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Doja Cat 2022 Coachella
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The world has been enjoying the new season of Stranger Things, and it’s affected some more than others — just ask Kate Bush who was the world “Running Up That Hill.” For Doja Cat, the fourth season of Stranger Things had a different impact on her as it gave her someone new to swoon over, that being actor Joseph Quinn. In hopes of sparking a new romance in her life, Doja inquired about Quinn in an Instagram private message to Stranger Things co-star Noah Schnapp. However, things went a bit left as Schnapp ended up sharing the DMs in a TikTok he posted.

Doja voiced her complaints about Schnapp’s move in a live broadcast, calling his decision to share the private messages “borderline snake sh*t” and “weasel sh*t.” This is after she noted that Schnapp is “a kid” and “when you’re that young, you make mistakes. You do dumb sh*t.” Her comments have seemingly backfired on Doja as she’s lost 200,000 followers on Instagram since her livestream, according to Daily Mail. This is a relatively small number compared to Doja’s now 24.14 million followers (about 0.8 percent), so the impact won’t be too much for the Planet Her artist on the social front.

However, while Doja lost followers, Schnapp has seen an increase of nearly a million Instagram followers, as his count went from 24.25 million to 25.17 million, according to social media analytics company Social Blade. That actually puts Schnapp ahead of Doja on that front. The uptick is most likely because of the new Stranger Things season, but the Doja incident surely helped the boost in some way.

Cardi B Releases The ‘Hot Sh*t’ Music Video, Where She Dances On Top Of A City

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At the beginning of the month, Cardi B unveiled the track “Hot Sh*t” with Lil Durk and Kanye West, and not without some teasing beforehand. Today, the music video is out, picturing Cardi dancing on the top of a city and strolling up and down the buildings in a revealing latex outfit.

This video was not released without any struggles. The rapper expressed issues in an interview the other day. “Oh my goodness, I don’t want to talk about the video because this video has brought me so much drama,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “So this is the first time I ever do CGI. I’m very particular on how I like my things, and I really like when things look super realistic. I like building sets, or I like to be in a place.” She added, “I couldn’t maneuver or move how I wanted to, because I was very confused. After I finished the video, I find out that this sh*t takes so long.” The wait has been worthwhile, and the CGI is quite impressive.

Watch the video for “Hot Sh*t” above.

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

Fred Again Recruits Rico Nasty For A Chaotic Remix Of His Song ‘Jungle’

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Last month, Fred Again released the danceable anthem “Jungle” after teasing it for a few weeks during slots at festivals, including Coachella. Now, he’s teamed up with Rico Nasty for a chaotic, disruptive remix. The track has been totally transformed; the rapper’s vocals add a new layer of intensity that makes the beat drop even bigger. At three-and-a-half minutes, it’s the perfect song to dance to at the club.

Both of the artists have been pretty busy. Rico Nasty also dropped a new song of her own today called “Sunflower.” “Everyone hates the new song but eye love it,” Nasty wrote in a tweet, “and besides when was I ever gonna have a SUNFLOWER FIELD LIKE THAT AND A SONG CALLED SKULLFLOWER AT THE SAME TIME.” She later followed up, noting that she is no longer making music to appeal to the masses, writing, “Im not tryna go number one. Im just making music that I like again. If you don’t get it. Then don’t. Im not about to waste my entire career pleasing people, that’s not what I’m here for. I hope you respect that.”

Listen to the Rico Nasty remix of Fred Again’s “Jungle” above.

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

Lil Wayne Announces The Lineup For The 2022 Lil WeezyAna Festival With Moneybagg Yo, Coi LeRay, And More

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Lil Wayne NBA Western Conference Finals 2018 Playoffs
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Since 2015, Lil Wayne has been curating a homecoming festival of sorts with Lil WeezyAna in his homwetown of New Orleans. The last edition took place in 2019 and saw some of the 15,000 attendees getting a little too turnt up during Meek Mill’s performance at UNO Lakefront Arena. But now, Lil WeezyAna returns to the Champion’s Square venue with a stacked lineup for the one-day function on Saturday, August 27th.

Along with Lil Wayne, Lil WeezyAna will have performances from Moneybagg Yo, Coi Leray, Babyface Ray, and Rob 49. There have also been a set of “surprise guests” promised. A partnership with LiveNation Urban, the music festival also offers an opportunity for Weezy and attendees to give back to the community, with $0.50 of every ticket sold from the event being donated to support educational initiatives for young people in New Orleans.

“We’re glad to be back home! New Orleans birthed us and we can travel and hit the stage anywhere in the world, but there’s no place like home,” Young Money Records President Mack Maine said in a statement. “As always, we will be honoring the many lives lost in Hurricane Katrina as this year marks the 17-year anniversary. Wayne is excited to get back home as this one will be one you won’t want to miss!”

Tickets will be available everywhere beginning Friday, July 15th at 10 a.m. local time here. A slew of pre-sales are happening now and more details can be found at the same link.

Doechii Leads Off The 2022 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher With Saucy Santana, KayCyy, And SoFaygo

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The 2022 XXL Freshman Cypher has arrived. The first round consists of Doechii, SoFaygo, KayCyy, and Saucy Santana, with a beat produced by Wheezy. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but the clear standout here is Saucy Santana, who approaches this year’s Cypher like he has something to prove, delivering a rapid-fire verse with a hand on his hip like he’s already tired of the inevitable Twitter comments.

Members of this year’s class included the above-mentioned names, as well as Babyface Ray, Babytron, Big30, Big Scarr, Cochise, Kali, KenTheMan, and Nardo Wick. It’ll be interesting to see how this group is divided up between the next two potential Cypher videos. Will the Detroiters Babytron and Babyface Ray be split up? What about the two Memphis upstarts, Big30 and Big Scarr? Meanwhile, standouts in the standalone freestyles included Doechii, Saucy Santana, and Nardo Wick, so that last name will certainly be one to watch out for when he shows off his skills alongside his classmates.

2022’s Freshmen have had a standout year so far, with Doechii delivering an explosive performance of her songs “Crazy” and “Persuasive” at the 2022 BET Awards and the Danny Brown-cosigned Saucy Santana securing a Beyonce sample on his song of the summer contender, “Booty.”

Watch the first 2022 XXL Freshman Cypher above.

Lizzo And Selena Gomez Are Among The 2022 Emmy Nominees From The Music World

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Lizzo 2022 BET Awards
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Lizzo is just a few days away from releasing his third album Special, and now, she has a lot more to celebrate that the project’s upcoming release. Lizzo’s Amazon Prime Video show Watch Out For The Big Grrrls just received an Emmy nomination for Best Competition Series. However, she’s not the only one from the music world that received a nomination for the upcoming 2022 Emmys. Selena Gomez also received a nomination as a producer of the Hulu series Only Murders In The Buildings. That show was selected in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.

Watch Out For The Big Grrrls was launched by Lizzo as a way to give plus-sized women an opportunity to achieve their dreams as Lizzo has been able to over the last few years. “Girls that look like me don’t get representation,” she said about her intentions with the show. “It’s time to pull up my sleeves and find them myself.”

Selena’s nomination in the Outstanding Comedy Series category comes as Only Murders In The Buildings was recently renewed for a third season. Her nomination also makes Selena the second Latina since Salma Hayek in 2007 to be nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series as a producer.

Other notable nominations from the music world include Labrinth and Zendaya who were nominated in the Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics category thanks to “I’m Tired” and “Elliot’s Song” from Euphoria. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” also helped Stranger Things receive a nomination as the “Dear Billy” episode it appears in was selected in the Outstanding Music Supervision category.

You can view the announcement in the post above.

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

Drake Won — And Lost — Over $25M Playing Roulette With French Montana

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Drake’s penchant for gambling is no secret, but his latest exploits are bound to become the stuff of legend. Playing virtual roulette with online casino Stake on Twitch, Drake won — and then lost — over $25 million, according to HipHopDX. That total included two big hits for $12.96 million and $11.95 million, growing his balance from $8.5 million to $27.2 million before he ended the event with just $1,879 left. He was joined by French Montana, who he introduced with French’s signature ad-lib:

“You know what that deserves? A haaahn!” he joked while celebrating his $12 million hit. “And I got my special guest in the building, take a seat. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with my brother, my twin, my lookalike Montega.” Unfortunately, having the Bronx hitmaker at his side didn’t improve his luck much.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cf5Q0d6hex5/

Drake didn’t empty his account entirely on bad bets, though. He also gave away much of his fortune to viewers, gifting $25,000 each to viewers who tuned in from all over the world. All told, he shared $1 million.

Drake had better luck with the slew of other big bets he’s put up over the past year, including putting $1 million on MMA fighter Israel Adesanya earlier this month, over $1 million on the Rams in this year’s Super Bowl, and $200,000 on the Warriors in the NBA Finals. But remember, as one of hip-hop’s cash kings, he’s definitely got the money for it and it’s not for everybody — something Jack Harlow found out at the Kentucky Derby.