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Kendrick Lamar Chants For Women’s Rights While Bleeding From A Crown Of Thorns At His Glastonbury Performance

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Kendrick Lamar Glastonbury Festival 2022
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Kendrick Lamar takes his performances very seriously, especially the visual aspect and what it conveys. At this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival in England, the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers artist perhaps made his biggest statement yet, assuming the role of Jesus Christ by sporting a diamond crown of thorns and alluding to the recent Roe v. Wade decision.

The DAMN rapper repeatedly exclaims “They judge you, they judge Christ, Godspeed for women’s rights” as blood pours out from his crown of thorns. His voice crescendoes as he says the phrase over and over before aggressively dropping the microphone and leaving the stage as his backup dancers pose statically.

This display is major for such a controversial decision, especially coming from a rapper who spent his last album humanizing himself after years of being placed on a pedestal due to social activism and messaging. Regardless of his standing, Kendrick Lamar has always been an advocate for the things he believes in even if the majority of people disagree, like his support of XXXTentacion or aligning with Kodak Black on Mr. Morale, for example. With a platform like his, this will send a message through the United States despite it being done overseas.

Check out Kendrick Lamar’s powerful performance above.

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

Chance The Rapper And Joey Badass Give A Soulful Performance Of ‘The High & The Lows’ At The 2022 BET Awards

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Chance The Rapper 2022 BET Awards
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Chance The Rapper had particular quiet years in 2020 and 2021, but this year, the Chicago rapper has been making noise throughout 2022. Following the mixed review that his debut album, The Big Day, received, Chance has certainly found his form again and it’s clear through the records he released this year. These examples include “A Bar About A Bar,” “Wraith” with Vic Mensa, and “Child Of God.” Another one comes through “The Highs & The Lows,” his recently released collaboration with Joey Badass. A couple of weeks after the song’s release, Chance and Joey brought their talents to the 2022 BET Awards for the song’s debut performance.

The duo’s performance was quite the soulful one as Chance led the way with a powerful rendition of his verse. He then cleared the way for Joey to step in for his own verse, one that was adlibbed by an extremely spirited Chance. The performance comes as both Chance and Joey prepare to release new albums to their fans.

Chance previously confirmed that his next project was on the way around the release of “Child Of God.” “They all come from a space of me finally feeling empowered and me finally feeling ready to go speak on all the things that I think about,” he said about the project’s songs according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “This project does explore a lot darker themes than I have in the past couple of projects. But, it’s all still from a place of understanding that it’s all a process.”

Joey Badass, on the other hand, intended to release his third album 2000 last week, but sample clearances forced him to delay its release. So far, that project is led by “The Revenge” and “Head High.”

You can watch Chance and Joey perform “The Highs & The Lows” in the video above.

Doechii Leaves It All On The Stage With A Performance Of ‘Crazy’ And ‘Persuasive’ At The 2022 BET Awards

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Doechii 2022 BET Awards
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In just a matter of a year, Doechii went from a bubbling artist to one of the biggest newcomers in music. Her rise to fame came after she achieved viral success on TikTok after her 2020 record “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” went viral on the platform last year. That same year Doechii released her second EP Bra-Less and connected with Isaiah Rashad for “Wat U Sed” which was one of the many bright moments from Rashad’s The House Is Burning album. This year she’s released a pair of strong singles, “Persuasive” and “Crazy,” and it’s these records that she brings to the stage for a 2022 BET Award stage for an energetic performance.

Doechii took the stage and kicked this off with a performance of “Persuasive” as she absolutely brought the energy for a spirited rendition of the song. She was backed by a collection of dancers who showed off some impressive dance moves for the performance. Halfway into the song, Doechii switched into a performance of “Crazy” that showed off her rap skills while keeping the excellent choreography in place around her.

Doechii’s appearance on the BET Awards stage comes after she was included in this year’s XXL Freshman Class. She joined a group that also included Babyface Ray, Babytron, Big30, Big Scarr, Cochise, Kali, KayCyy, KenTheMan, Nardo Wick, Saucy Santana, and Sofaygo.

You can watch Doechii perform “Persuasive” and “Crazy” at the 2022 BET Awards in the videos above.

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

Cardi B Announces The Release Date For Her New Single, ‘Hot Sh*t’

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Cardi B 2022 West Hollywood Pride Parade
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The music world has been waiting for Cardi B to make her presence felt again since the massive success of her debut, Grammy award-winning album Invasion Of Privacy. The Bronx rapper seems to be gearing up for the next era of her already impactful career as on Sunday night she announced hew new single “Hot Sh*t” will arrive on July 1.

The announcement, teased during tonight’s BET Awards, came via Twitter in the form of a promotional video with Cardi standing atop New York City. Though the clip does not feature any substantial lyrical part of the song, there is enough of it to hear Tay Keith’s producer tag. “Hot Sh*t” would mark the fifth time Keith has produced specifically for Cardi B, previously contributing to big records like “Who Want The Smoke?,” “Type Sh*t,” “Wish Wish,” and “Big Paper.”

The fun didn’t stop with the promotion for “Hot Sh*t”, as “Bodak Yellow” artist revealed that another surprise is coming at 8:00PM on Monday night. This would be the “Be Careful” singer’s first solo release since 2021’s smash “Up.” She hasn’t been completely away in 2022, adding a fiery verse to Kay Flock’s “Shake It” also featuring Dougie B and Bory300.

Check out Cardi B’s announcement of “Hot Sh*t” above.

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

Jack Harlow And Brandy Party In ‘First Class’ Through A Lively Performance At The 2022 BET Awards

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Jack Harlow Brandy 2022 BET Awards
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Shortly after the release of his sophomore album Come Home The Kids Miss You, Jack Harlow found himself in a bit of controversy thanks to a Hot 97 interview where he seemed completely shocked to find out that Brandy and Ray J are siblings. Furthermore, he failed to recognize two notable records from Brandy’s discography. Harlow was criticized for not knowing these pieces of information about Brandy, and soon enough, Brandy herself caught wind of the moment as she threatened to “murk this dude in rap.” She followed through with the promise with a freestyle over “First Class.”

Despite all the aforementioned events, it should be noted that all is well between Jack and Brandy as they joined forces for a performance of “First Class” at the 2022 BET Awards. Harlow led the way with his verse before clearing the stage for Brandy to arrive and shut it down with her verse. Harlow even showed off some dance moves during the performance that will surely prove to be a highlight moment during the award show.

Jack and Brandy’s performance came after he took the stage with Lil Wayne to perform “Poison,” their collaboration from Come Home The Kids Miss You. DJ Drama also appeared on the 1s and 2s for Harlow’s performance.

You can watch Jack Harlow’s performance of “First Class” and “Poison” with Brandy and Lil Wayne in the clips above.

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

Lizzo Channels The Disco Era With Her Performance Of ‘About Damn Time’ At The 2022 BET Awards

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Lizzo BET Awards 2022
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Lizzo is a fantastic performer, and she punctuated that with her performance of “About Damn Time” at the 2022 BET Awards. Dressed in an outfit reminiscent of the disco ball lingering behind her on the LED screen, the Grammy winner played the flute to open the performance before flexing her vocals as dancers flanked in front and behind her.

Lizzo is no stranger to the BET Awards as she has been nominated for five since 2019, winning Best Female R&B/Pop Artist in 2019. The “Truth Hurts” singing has also been nominated for two BET Hip Hop Awards, won one of the 11 Billboard Music Awards she has been nominated for, and two of the 8 Grammys she has received nominations for. Lizzo notably holds the Guinness World Record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the US singles chart for a rap single by a female artist.

Lizzo has released two songs so far this year, June’s “Grrrls” and April’s “About Damn Time.” She collected a collaboration with rap’s biggest stars with last year’s “Rumors” featuring Cardi B. Lizzo has not released a full-length project since 2019’s Cuz I Love You, but next month she will release her third album Special.

You can check out Lizzo’s BET Awards performance in the clips above.

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

Jack Harlow Makes His Support For Lil Nas X Clear During His Red Carpet Appearance At The 2022 BET Awards

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Jack Harlow 2022 BET Awards
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Aside from conversation about possible winners and what the performances might look like, tonight’s 2022 BET Awards has been the topic of conversation due to Lil Nas X’s frustration with them. The singer was not nominated for this year’s award show despite being one of the biggest artists of the last 12 months. Fans also took issue with this as they noted that Jack Harlow was nominated as one of his biggest contributions in the last 12 months was a guest verse on Lil Nas’ chart-topping “Industry Baby.” Harlow has shown support for Lil Nas on numerous occasions, and the latest came during his red carpet appearance for tonight’s BET Awards.

Harlow showed up on the red carpet at the 2022 BET Awards rocking a Lil Nas graphic t-shirt. It featured multiple pictures of the singer, the background of his 2021 album, and the word “Montero” which is Lil Nas’ first name and the title of his debut album. Lil Nas eventually caught wind of Harlow’s red carpet appearance and shared some love back with him, writing in a tweet, “Wow I really love this man.”

The BET Awards red carpet moment comes after Lil Nas X released “Late To Da Party” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a record that finds Lil Nas saying “f*ck BET” multiple times.

You can view Harlow’s red carpet look in the post above.

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

Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Tops The ‘Billboard’ 200 To Become His Eleventh No. 1 Album

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It was just nine months ago that Drake released his long-awaited sixth album Certified Lover Boy. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with a first-week sales total of 639,000 which made for the biggest week in 2021 at the time. Certified Lover Boy also logged non five consecutive weeks at No. 1 and ended the year as the only rap album released in 2021 to reach Double Platinum status. Drake isn’t one to make fans wait too long in between releases, but the whole world was shocked when announced the release of his seventh album Honestly, Nevermind earlier this month.

Following its arrival two weeks ago, Drake has found his way back to the top of the charts after Honestly, Nevermind debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. For the chart dated July 2, 2022, Honestly, Nevermind checked in at No. 1 with 204,000 album units sold in its first week. That number is comprised of 191,000 streaming equivalent album units, thanks to 250.23 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs, and 11,000 in pure album sales.

Honestly, Nevermind is Drake’s eleventh chart-topping album making him just one of five artists to have more than 11 No. 1 projects. He joins The Beatles (19), Jay-Z (14), Bruce Springsteen (11), and Barbra Streisand (11) on that list. Honestly, Nevermind also had the fourth-biggest streaming week in 2022 and the project helped Drake secure his eighth consecutive year with a new top 10 album, something that no other act has done in that time span.

A Video Of Eminem Greeting Bobby Shmurda At A Show Has People Excited About What It Could Mean

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On Friday, Eminem and Snoop Dogg released their new single, “From The D To The LBC,” with a partially-animated video that shows them turning into Bored Ape NFTs. So it’s only fitting that they performed the song together at this past week’s NFT-centric ApeFest 2022 in New York City. But a video of Eminem walking off the stage after the performance has people talking, and it’s not about NFTs.

As Em walks off, he greets a few people that were watching the set from the side of the stage. Cordae was among them, who gets a big hug when Slim Shady notices him and they exchange brief words. Then just as Em is about to keep walking, Bobby Shmurda, who was standing with Cordae, grabs Eminem’s attention shouting, “Big homie!” and the two dap up and have a quick hug as Em walks off and Shmurda sports a huge smile.

Given that Eminem and Cordae previously collaborated on remixes of “Killer” and “Parables (Remix),” people are speculating on Twitter as to whether this means that Em and Shmurda could have a track on deck? “Listen… an Eminem and Bobby Shmurda collab. I’d invest,” one person said. “Ain’t no way I just watched a video of Bobby Shmurda dapping up Eminem,” another added.

Meanwhile, other folks are laughing at the fact that Eminem nearly walked past Shmurda, saying things like, “Eminem Straight up did not know that was Bobby Shmurda standing next to Cordae last night Backstage at ApeFest2022.”

Regardless, the sheer happiness on Bobby Shmurda’s face (a dude who just spent almost seven years in jail and is back on the grind) at having a moment with Eminem, is something anyone with half a heart can get behind.

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

Azealia Banks Calls Out Beyoncé For ‘Stealing’ From Robin S On ‘Break My Soul’

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Azealia Banks Beyonce
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It’s hard to understand how Azealia Banks’ brain works sometimes. Last week, the rapper and noted provocateur vehemently asked people to stop making mash-ups of her music with Beyoncé’s latest single “Break My Soul.” “Please for the love of God,” she posted on her Instagram Story. “They are horrible.” And look, we’ll give her that. She didn’t ask for her music to be thrust alongside Bey’s. But as we try to make sense of how Banks’ mind works, she was clearly perturbed my these mash-ups for a reason. Today, back on her Instagram story soap box, she went on a tirade accusing Beyoncé of “stealing” from Robin S, and then some.

For posterity, her actual words claimed that Bey, “…is out here pretending to support Black divas with bouquets of wilted flowers after stealing their art, arrogantly assuming they don’t have money for legal counsel… and muscling them into making stock PR statements to cover up this messy album roll out..”

Ok, let’s backtrack for a second. Beyoncé sampled Robin S’ 90s house hit “Show Me Love” on “Break My Soul,” and fully credited her as a songwriter. While Robin S said that she was not contacted ahead of time, she did post a video thanking Beyoncé and her team (including Jay-Z) profusely, saying, “Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive.”

It’s safe to say that Robin S stands to make a dandy sum from royalty checks off of “Break My Soul,” but Banks, who has noted beefs with everyone from Cardi B to Elon Musk, thinks she sees right through Beyoncé’s intent. She suggests that the best way for Beyoncé to repent for this sin of “stealing,” is to provide an, “update on Koi Knowles,” the alleged sister and daughter of Bey’s father, Mathew Knowles. Or as Banks calls her, “…your little sister you think we forgot about?” Here’s Banks’ full post from her Instagram Story:

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It’s hard to understand how the two issues are analogous, but it makes sense to Azealia Banks? An hour after calling out Beyoncé, Banks posted a video of her song, “I Rule The World,” on her Instagram, which has been out since February. Just another day for Ms. Banks…