While there haven’t been many notable rappers who shined on the big screen through the years, there have been a few. 2Pac was a masterful villain in Juice and Above The Rim, DMX made an iconic performance as Tommy “Buns” Bundy in Belly, and you just can’t say enough about how spot-on Method Man was as Melvin “Cheese” Wagstaff in The Wire. But it could really go either way (I’m looking at you, Common), because the transition isn’t always fluid and not every rapper has legit acting chops.
If the trailer for Down With The King indicates anything, it’s that Freddie Gibbs can act and he’s ready to rise to the occasion as a multi-talented artist. The film, which is Gibbs’s film acting debut, is about a big-time rapper who gets sent to live in a rural farming community by his manager (played by David Krumholtz), in order to get away from the hoopla of celebrity culture and the music industry for a while.
Gibbs’ palpable range as an actor comes through immediately in the trailer. There’s a balance between pensive moments, well-delivered lines, and even the comic relief of Gibbs corralling pigs in his Timberland boots. To his and the film’s credit, it’s already gotten hat tips from a number of film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Diego Ongaro, it’s out digitally and on-demand June 28th.
Watch the trailer for Down With the King above.
Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Rick Ross is once again independent but doesn’t plan on staying that way for long. In a new profile for HotNewHipHop, Ross revealed that he’d recently completed his partnership with Epic Records, and is currently taking offers from labels like Def Jam.
Ross also shared his process for seeking a new deal, which included one eyebrow-raising criterion: improvement on his last deal. “When I first came in the game, I just wanted a record deal. But guess what, once I released my first album I began renegotiating right then,” he said. “And I’ve got to salute Ted Lucas, the CEO of Slip-N-Slide records who I was signed to for my first six albums. Before I even made it to my last albums, I had damn near owned everything that I could own, other than a certain distribution percentage. Once you become successful — regardless of what you signed at first — you just come sit at the table like a man. A good businessman gon’ understand that, like ‘Homie you just did something I never even expected.’ And guess what, I did it every album. I asked for more, and I did it on both sides — not just with my record label but also with my attorneys. ‘Hey man, I was giving you give X amount of percentage on my first album, lets cut it down to 12. On the next let’s cut it to 8. Let’s get it to 5.’ That go for everybody. You renegotiate because you learning as you go. Before every album, that’s what you go sit down and say, ‘Hey man, I gotta ask for something I ain’t never had. I’m finna do something I ain’t never done before.’”
The Florida rapper completed his Epic deal in December with the release of Richer Than I Ever Been, his 11th studio album. An underachiever compared to its immediate predecessors, Rather You Than Me and Port of Miami 2, it peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200. However, he’s already teasing a new album which he’ll announce this summer despite not having secured a new record deal yet.
Chloe Bailey knows how to get the people talking. From her viral take on last year’s #Bussit challenge to her provocative music videos, she constantly gets social media in a frenzy. Another way she shows the people what she can do is by frequently posting covers on her social media. Today (May 23) she shared her rendition of Kanye West’s “24” off of his tenth studio album, 2021’s Donda. The 23-year-old meshed with the backing chorus seamlessly, leaving one to wonder what a live set with a full band would sound like.
Chloe has previously done covers of Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” Yung Bleu’s “You’re Mines Still,” and Capella Grey’s “Gyalis.” Chloe, one half of duo Chloe x Halle, has been gearing up for the release of her self-titled debut solo album lead by singles “Have Mercy” and “Treat Me.” She has been previewing new music on social media over the weeks, asking fans to help her decide what the next single should be. Chloe also appeared on Gunna’s DS4Ever for the ballad “You & Me” and “Hello” alongside KayCyy from Fivio Foreign’s 2022 release B.i.b.l.e.
Check out Chloe’s take on Kanye West’s “24” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Jack Harlow calls himself a “G” in the hook to “First Class,” and though that may be debatable to some, one thing that cannot be refuted is he is now a multi-week chart-topper. The record, interpolating Fergie’s 2000s bop “Glamorous,” is No. 1 once again on the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated May 28. “First Class” is the rapper’s first solo No. 1, debuting atop the chart upon its April release and boasted the biggest streaming week of 2022.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) May 23, 2022
The track arrived as the second single from the Louisville rapper’s sophomore album Come Home The Kids Miss You, following the 2020 debut That’s What They All Say anchored by the Grammy-nominated “Whats Poppin.” Come Home includes lead single “Nail Tech” and features from Justin Timberlake, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, and Drake, the last of which leaked a few weeks early under the title “Have A Turn” before the official version was released as “Churchill Downs.” The “First Class” video also came out on the album’s release day.
Elsewhere on this week’s chart, Kendrick Lamar debuted four songs from his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (which debuted on top of the Billboard 200 this week) in the top 10: “N95” at No. 4, “Die Hard” featuring Blxst and Amanda Reifer at No. 5, “Silent Hill” Feat. Kodak Black at No. 7, and “United In Grief” at No. 8.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Elvis, a new biopic about, yes, Elvis Presley is on the way soon, as it’s set to open on June 24. Ahead of then, though, Doja Cat has previewed the soundtrack with “Vegas,” the song she recorded for the movie that she dropped earlier this month. Now, we have the full scope of who else is involved with the soundtrack, as the list of musicians who recorded something for the movie was shared today.
Among that group is Eminem and CeeLo Green, who came together for a new song, “The King And I.” Right around when the list of participating artists was released, Eminem shared a 15-second clip of the film that offers a snippet of the song, which seems to be based on Presley’s iconic “Jailhouse Rock” riff.
Aside from Eminem and Green, the soundtrack also features “original songs and recordings” from Presley himself, along with the film’s star, Austin Butler. Beyond that, also involved are Ann Nesby, Alton Mason, Chris Isaak, Denzel Curry, Doja Cat, Gary Clark Jr., Jack White, Lenesha Randolph, Jazmine Sullivan, Kacey Musgraves, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Les Greene, Måneskin, Nardo Wick, Paravi, PNAU, Rufus Thomas, Shonka Dukureh, Stevie Nicks, Swae Lee and Diplo, Tame Impala, and Yola.
Like father, like son. In a warm moment this past weekend, CJ Wallace, son of The Notorious B.I.G, took the stage and delivered a spirited performance of his late father’s classic record “One More Chance.” He chose no better time to do so, rapping along with those who also attended the second annual B.I.G Dinner Gala. This year’s event was especially significant as this would have been the Brooklyn legend’s 50th birthday.
CJ Wallace performing “One More Chance” by his father, the late Notorious B.I.G., at the second annual B.I.G. Dinner Gala. #Biggie#BigDaypic.twitter.com/QJr1LsgaAv
Lil Kim spearheaded The B.I.G Dinner Gala, partnering with Pepsi and Lexus to put on the event at New York City’s Guastavino’s. Fat Joe, Havoc, Sway, and many more came out to celebrate Biggie’s legacy, which has stood firmly atop the music game despite now being gone for 25 years. Media veteran Sway even took the stage to share some of his memories with B.I.G before the performances began.
The gala aligns with The Notorious B.I.G’s most recent posthumous release “G.O.A.T” featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Bella Alubo. The track utilizes his verses from “I Love The Dough” in a completely reimagined way over Afrobeats production on his first release in 17 years. Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that May 19 would forever be known as ‘Biggie Day’, in addition to various other celebratory measures the city displayed over the week.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Justin Bieber has a new album on the way and there are very few details out there on when fans can expect it or even an album title. It’s been a year since the release of his Grammy-nominated album Justice and now he’s gearing up for his newest era with his trusted DJ and A&R Taylor James, aka DJ Tay James, by his side.
“He’s really a musician,” Tay told me over the phone from Austin. “He likes tapping in with musicians. He’s really into writing right now. I love this space that he’s in. We’re in the middle of a tour and he’s focused on this in the middle of us doing this tour.”
Just as he did with the eclectic array of sounds living on Justice, Tay is currently helping Justin maintain his vision for what will be the award-winning artist’s seventh studio album, while handling DJ duties as he’s always done.
In fact, Tay has been by Justin’s side since the global pop star’s second show when he was appointed as his official DJ. That was over a decade ago. Today, the pair is still going strong as a musical unit. Most of the collaborations Justin has done were because he was a fan of the song or the artist first, or from the result of casual music banter between him and Tay.
“Justin is a mastermind when it comes to this stuff,” Tay said. “He might want to be featured on the project already and he might just reach out himself and just connect with the person and we’ll start sending them records.”
Easy peasy when your name is Justin Bieber. For example, it was JB who was hyped about Wizkid’s 2021 hit “Essence” with Tems, after Tay introduced him to the song. He loved it so much, that he ended up doing a remix to it after enjoying it on repeat during his manager’s birthday weekend. With Omah Lay’s “Attention,” it was Justin who was a fan of him first. He then brought the rising afrobeats artist to Tay’s attention during rehearsals. The natural exchange of new music like trading cards among friends is partly how Tay ended up becoming his official A&R right before the pandemic in March.
“I put him on The Kid Laroi. My cousin Q put me on to Kid Laroi and then I sent his profile off to Justin. The song is still on the charts,” Tay said of the 2021 mega track “Stay,” which has spent over 40 weeks on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and currently sits at No. 13.
“I feel like at this point, for Justin, it is whatever he feels comfortable with or whoever he wants to collab [with] to help bring the music to a certain light,” he said. “If you notice he likes working with new artists, he likes working with up-and-coming artists.”
And the same is true for Tay, so it made sense for Scooter Braun and JB to make that call.
“I like looking at new and upcoming artists to see who’s dope, who’s moving the culture,” he told me. “That’s kind of why I’m here, to just give suggestions but it’s still his vision. Whatever he needs me to do to help his vision come true. I’m here to help.”
That vision also includes knowing exactly when Justin is in love with a sound that he hears or a vibe that moves him. If that happens, he may hop on a piano or start playing an acoustic guitar.
“He’s been really writing a lot himself, but just like anyone, if you hear something you really like, you keep playing it back to back,” he revealed of Justin’s in-studio process. “If I’m going through beats and we get stuck on a beat and we’re listening to that beat for more than five minutes, most likely it’s going to get recorded on. I just try to pick the best sounds, something that I know that’s really melodic, something I know he can sing over. He loves chords, he loves gospel music. You know Justin, his first love is R&B, he really loves R&B. Anything that has melodic chords will always attract him. He has a great ear.”
“Justin has always been an artist to experiment with new sounds,” he added. “We always like to do new stuff.” I mean, just listen to “I Feel Funny.”
As for the sonic direction of Justin’s new collection of songs, “You should expect to hear some great things,” Tay assured me — including a tune with John Mayer. “I’m excited about what we’ve been working on. It’s Justin, and Justin is a vessel for so many different fans and his music touches so many different people. Always expect him to have music for everybody.”
As for DJ Tay James, you can catch him behind the DJ booth during one of Bieber’s Justice World Tour stops while also pushing a few other endeavors like the partnership he has with Purple Denim and conscious jewelry brand Polite Worldwide. Music from the Biebs is allegedly coming soon.
This past Saturday, Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., would have turned 50 years old. Among the many, many celebrations of the Brooklyn rapper’s life and legacy over the weekend was a Twitter Spaces event hosted by Tidal. Thousands of listeners tuned in to hear B.I.G.’s contemporaries, friends, and peers share their stories and remember the giant-sized footprints he left on hip-hop despite his short reign.
One of those peers was Jay-Z, who said that a void was left behind by the deaths of Biggie and his friend-turned-rival Tupac. “That’s a big void,” he admitted, before allowing, “Others stepped in to fill it as well, not just myself.”
Jay received praise from Sean “Diddy” Combs, Biggie’s benefactor as the founder of Bad Boy Records, who told him, “You filled them shoes, though. You came in and we definitely give thanks. You definitely came, and I just know how much Big really looked up to Jay. They looked up to each other. That is crazy you had to step into the shoes of two people. That’s all it was was those two people. They had things on lock.”
He continued, pointing out how, before the two titans’ deaths, Jay was still something of a neophyte, having only released one album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. Unfortunately, by the time he’d released its follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, both Tupac and Big had been gunned down. “Hov was coming,” Diddy explained to the Spaces listeners, “but it was like these two cats was just so big… I think Hov kept the art of it going and took where they was at and took it even higher.”
In addition to the celebration on Twitter, Big’s birthday was honored by the city of New York with commemorative MetroCards, a series of murals throughout the city, and a crown atop the Empire State Building.
Billboard‘s Jewel Wicker reported on the case from the Fulton County court via Twitter, writing that a judge denied Gunna’s bond request as prosecutors described his alleged role in the suspected gang as a “command” role in which he’d “direct their troops” to commit violent acts. Wickers reports, “The judge said his biggest concern was witness tampering.”
In addition to denying Gunna’s bond request, the judge also set the rapper’s trial date: January 9, 2023.
I was just in court where a judge denied bond for Gunna and set his trial date for Jan. 9, 2023. Prosecutors allege YSL is a gang, not just a record label. They also alleged Gunna serves in a “command” role. More to come for @billboard
Prosecutors said Gunna is a “documented” gang member and that he and Williams “direct their troops” to commit violent acts. The judge said his biggest concern was witness tampering.
Gunna’s attorney can file a renewed motion for bond at a later date.
Gunna, real name Sergio Kitchens, was one of 28 suspected gang members arrested, along with fellow rapper and YSL Records founder Young Thug. The 88-page indictment against YSL cites 56 counts of various offenses ranging from armed robbery to murder, with both big-name rappers accused of conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, explicitly using lyrics from their records to show their ties to the group.
Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Charlie Puth, Shawn Mendes, Chloe x Halle, and 5 Seconds Of Summer have signed Global Citizen’s new open letter to end extreme poverty, which is part of its 2022 campaign. It calls for “breaking systemic barriers that keep people in poverty” and “empowering young women and girls across the world,” demanding that global leaders focus on these urgent issues, especially climate change.
Other celebrities who signed the letter include Adam Lambert, Alessia Cara, Alok, Bill Nye, Billy Porter, Camilo, Cathy Freeman, Connie Britton, Criolo, Cyndi Lauper, DJ Cuppy, Duran Duran, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Femi Kuti, Finneas, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Lali, Lang Lang, Made Kuti, Måneskin, Muzi, Nancy Isime, Nile Rodgers, Nomzamo Mbatha, Padma Lakshmi, Rachel Brosnahan, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Elba, and Tropkillaz.
Eilish in particular is known for her devotion to bringing awareness to climate issues. Next month, she’ll be hosting a climate change seminar in London that will span six days and include fellow musicians like Vivienne Westwood, Girl In Red, Glastonbury co-organizer Emily Eavis, and more. She also had an inspirational ad campaign that addressed how young people can use technology for good by connecting with each other, inspiring grassroots activism, and pressuring large corporations to be more sustainable. “We all have the potential to make a positive impact on our planet, and I’m hopeful our generation will use their platforms to collaborate and communicate and make a difference,” she said in a video.
