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Mount Westmore Holds Court As West Coast Rulers In Their Black & White ‘Bad MF’s’ Video

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Mount Westmore, the California rap supergroup made up of E-40, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Too Short, has returned with their latest video, “Bad MF’s,” after making their debut last year with “Big Subwoofer.” The new video, shot in striking black-and-white, follows the quartet as they hold court at a photoshoot, record in the studio, and oversee parades of lowrider cars through the streets of Los Angeles over a mellow, funk-laden beat. The video does a great job of showing off the four hip-hop veterans’ easygoing chemistry, which has been forged over decades of reigning as the godfathers of West Coast rap.

Individually, the members of Mount Westmore have been upholding their impressive legacies in different ways, but all have continued to use their stature to extend hip-hop into new arenas and maintain their independent grinds. While Ice Cube promotes his Big 3 basketball league, he recently introduced a Nascar crowd to some of his historical hits. Meanwhile, E-40 has expanded his business interests to the realm of Mexican-style beer with his E. Cuarenta Cerveza company after helping celebrate his and Too Short’s status as Bay Area legends on Verzuz. In February, Short Dawg made the most of that momentum with a Tiny Desk Concert for the history books.

However, the one who’s been drawing all the headlines lately has been Snoop Dogg, of course. After burning down the Super Bowl’s halftime show this year, he announced his acquisition of Death Row Records and its accompanying catalog, removing some of the biggest hits from streaming in preparation of turning them into NFTs. He also released an NFT comic book and will be a playable character on Call Of Duty.

Watch Mount Westmore’s new video for “Bad MF’s” above.

Two ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Expressed Deep Regrets For A Very Awkward Diana Ross Incident

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Diana Ross Wrong Answer Jeopardy
Sony Pictures Television

Legendary singer Diana Ross received not one, but two apologies from a pair of very embarrassed Jeopardy! contestants who incorrectly thought the singer is 95 years old. It all went down during a Final Jeopardy! round earlier in the week when host Ken Jennings read the following clue: “In 2021 at age 95, this singer achieved a Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material.”

The correct answer is “Who is Tony Bennett?” But that’s not what Karen Johnson and Finn Corrigan went with. According to the New York Post, the contestants both guessed Ross, who for the record is not 95, and has a ways to go until she is. Realizing that they just insulted the singer’s age, Johnson and Corrigan took to Twitter to apologize.

“Deepest apologies to the iconic Diana Ross!” Johnson tweeted. “I didn’t really think you were the answer, but was running out of time and had to put something!”

“Me too!” Corrigan wrote in the replies. “I knew she was not nearly that old but better to write something than nothing. Just glad we’re in this together hahahaha”

In Corrigan and Johnson’s defense, Ross did achieve a Guinness World Record in 1993 for “Most Successful Female Singer of All Time.” So the whole age thing aside, they weren’t entirely wrong for thinking of Ross. As for Tony Bennett, he was just happy to be part of the show. The crooner tweeted a screencap of the Final Jeopardy! clue with the simple caption “Who is… ?”

(Via New York Post)

Earthgang Unveil A Music Video For ‘American Horror Story,’ Which Is Episode 1 Of ‘The Ghetto Gods Show’

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Earlier this year, Atlanta duo Earthgang announced the release date for Ghetto Gods, their long-awaited follow-up to Mirrorland. It finally came out last month with features from Future, 2 Chainz, Nick Cannon, J. Cole (who signed them to his Dreamville label), Baby Tate, CeeLo Green (despite some serious accusations), and more.

They’re back today with a music video for “American Horror Story,” which is episode 1 of The Ghetto Gods Show. It takes the storytelling of the track to the next level with evocative visuals, while they confront class struggles: “Life hard enough just thinking bout rent / Coulda bought my freedom all the money I spent. / Ain’t that some sh*t / I mean for real all this money we got and we still can’t help Flint.” The video ends on a cliffhanger with the words: “To be continued…”

This song was one of the first singles to be released off the album, along with “Options” and its remix with Coi Leray, as well as “Erykah,” an ode to R&B pioneer Erykah Badu. Last year, they stayed busy by working with the rest of the Spillage Village collective, including 6lack, JID, and Mereba, on their Spilligion album.

Watch the video for “American Horror Story” above.

Jay-Z’s Oscars Afterparty Venue Is The Site Of A Boycott Over Employee Mistreatment

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jay z oscars afterparty
Getty Image

Jay-Z has received plenty of criticism for his capitalistic stances in the past few years, and this week, he’s catching flak for crossing a union picket line with his upcoming Oscars afterparty, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The venue for the party is the hotel Chateau Marmont, to which the party returns after a lavish event in 2020, before pandemic-related lockdowns over safety concerns. However, the hotel is currently the site of a boycott by the hotel workers’ union over the mistreatment of staff, leaving Jay-Z’s party caught between a venue booked months in advance and workers fighting for their rights.

The union claims racial discrimination and sexual harassment against the hotel’s management and a growing roster of celebrities has spoken out in support of the boycott, including Quinta Brunson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Spike Lee, Issa Rae, Robin Thede, and Gabrielle Union. The co-president of Unite Here Local 11, Kurt Petersen, said in a statement to THR, “For Jay-Z to choose the Chateau Marmont for their Gold Party is shockingly insensitive. They must move their event and choose an afterparty hot spot that treats its workers, especially Black women, with dignity and respect. Jay-Z has a responsibility to do better.”

A picket line will begin the same night of the Oscars at 8 pm to draw attention to the boycott, which centers around former employee Thomasina Gross, who sued the hotel, saying she was sexually harassed and passed over for promotions in favor of white people, who she then had to train. In her own statement, she said, “I’m a huge fan of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, so working at their Gold Party year after year was such an honor and pleasure. They made it a point to acknowledge our hard work and treated us like human beings, not just servers. They said our presence meant a lot to them in terms of helping their party be a success. … I can’t help but think if Jay-Z knew how Chateau treats their workers, they wouldn’t ignore this fact and continue to throw parties there.”

Meanwhile, the Oscars proper face their own protest during the show on behalf of several technical awards being cut from the broadcast.

Kid Cudi Shares The Adventurous ‘Stars In The Sky’ From The ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ Soundtrack

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Kid Cudi‘s on the soundtrack of the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog sequel with his new song, “Stars In The Sky.” An upbeat, indie-rock-ish track, “Stars In The Sky” finds Kid Cudi singing optimistic lyrics reflecting the character’s love of freedom and adventure and the film’s theme of finding a home.

The single is just the latest part of a busy year for Cudi, who has a role in the A24 period-horror film X, while he’s also working on his multimedia project Entergalactic for Netflix, launching his live music app Encore, and acting in X costar Brittany Snow’s directorial debut, September 17.

As if all that weren’t enough, he’s plotting his own directorial debut with the film Teddy, which is co-produced by Jay-Z, Jeymes Samuel, and James Lassiter of Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment. In his announcement for the film on Instagram, Cudi expressed his excitement and encouraged fans to follow their own dreams.

“This year im directing my first feature film ‘Teddy’ at Netflix which I wrote and will also be starring,” he wrote. “This is a story I started writing in 2013 because I always wanted to write my own movie, so I said f*ck it and started doing it. The road has been long, from it being a tv show for years to finally being a film… I cant wait for u all to meet Teddy, his friends, his family and take a walk in his world for a bit. If I could sum up what the movie is about in one sentence, id say this: It’s as if I took the song ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ and wrote a movie about it.”

Watch Kid Cudi’s “Stars In The Sky” video above.

Mahalia Strips ‘Whatever Simon Says’ To Its Lovely Core With An Acoustic Performance On ‘The Eye’

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The Eye features music’s best rising artists in a minimal studio space to perform renditions of their top songs with only one camera, one microphone, and one take. Featured on the latest installment is Mahalia, who in many ways has already risen.

Mahalia is a familiar figure in the R&B scene thanks to her two albums, 2016’s Diary Of Me and 2019’s Love And Compromise. The latter fared well on the charts, as it was top-30 in the her native UK and came close to topping the R&B chart over there, too, with a peak at No. 4. She’s made some powerful friends in recent years, as she’s collaborated with people like Rico Nasty, Burna Boy, and Ella Mai. One of Mahalia’s collaborations even landed her her first Grammy nomination in 2021, as Jacob Collier’s “All I Need” featuring Mahalia and Ty Dolla Sign was up for Best R&B Performance.

Now, Mahalia has earned a different sort of honor: performing on The Eye. For her performance, she busted out the recent single “Whatever Simon Says,” which she just released last week. Here, she strips away the lush R&B production of the studio version in favor of an acoustic guitar-led rendition. The new aesthetic works well here, which is a testament to both the quality of the songwriting and the beauty of Mahalia’s vocals in a more minimal context.

When Mahalia shared the song last week, she explained its background on Instagram, writing, “there’s only one thing i have to talk about today. and that’s individuality. uniqueness is beautiful. it’s a superpower, in fact. ‘Whatever Simon Says’ is my gift to all of you reading this who are over ppl telling you what to do .. how to speak .. how to look. It’s for all of you who are no longer compromising your happiness for the benefit of somebody else.”

Watch Mahalia perform “Whatever Simon Says” for The Eye above.

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

Nigo Makes Room For ASAP Rocky And Tyler The Creator To Flex On The Boastful ‘Lost And Found Freestyle’

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For the bulk of 2022, DJ and fashion designer Nigo has promoted his sophomore album I Know Nigo! It’s Nigo’s first album in over twenty years, but despite the absence, he’s recruited some of today’s biggest names to help him put it together. I Know Nigo! was led by four singles: “Ayra” with ASAP Rocky, “Want It Bad” with Kid Cudi, “Hear Me Clearly” with Pusha T, and “Heavy” with Lil Uzi Vert. Now that the album is here, listeners can enjoy seven additional songs other recognizable names in the industry.

One of those is “Lost And Found Freestyle 2019” with ASAP Rocky and Tyler The Creator. The track is an extremely boastful effort as Rocky and Tyler use two different beats to boast about the way with women, cars, jewelry, fashion, and much more. In addition to “Lost And Found Freestyle 2019” being Rocky’s second appearance on the album, it also makes for Tyler’s second guest verse on I Know Nigo! as he also appears on “Come On, Let’s Go” which he released a self-directed video for.

Elsewhere on I Know Nigo!, listeners will catch appearances from Gunna, Pharrell, Clipse, Teriyaki Boyz, ASAP Ferg, and Pop Smoke.

You can listen to “Lost And Found 2019 Freestyle” in the video above.

I Know Nigo! is out now via Republic Records. You can stream it here.

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

Latto Prays For Her Enemies As She Elevates On ‘Sunshine’ With Lil Wayne And Childish Gambino

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This past week has been an eventful one for Latto in both good and bad ways. She was able to build anticipation for her second album 777 which was led by a pair of singles: “Big Energy” and “Wheelie.” However, in an attempt to shed some light on her struggles as a female rap star, she brought an overflow of attention to herself. Latto revealed that there was a male artist on the album that made it “difficult to clear” a guest verse because she did not respond to their Instagram DM. She later expressed her regrets about making the reveal due to the drama it caused, but that’s behind her now.

At long last, 777 is here for us to enjoy. The project comes with features from some rap peers in close proximity to Latto’s class like Lil Durk, 21 Savage, Nardo Wick, and Kodak Black. However, there’s also a song that features appearances from two big-time names: Lil Wayne and Childish Gambino. They appear on “Sunshine” and it’s a warm record produced by Bongo ByTheWay that finds the trio taking a moment to send prayers to their enemies as they continue to elevate and defeat the odds.

While the song adds to Lil Wayne’s long list of guest verses over the last couple of years, it’s the first musical contribution we’ve heard from Childish Gambino, better known as Donald Glover, since he released his fourth album 3.15.20 back in 2020.

You can listen to “Sunshine” in the video above.

777 is out now via 3/25. You can stream it here.

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

Chance The Rapper Looks Back On Simpler Times In A Complicated World On ‘Child Of God’

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In early 2021, it seemed like Chance The Rapper was gearing up to release a new project, one that would be his first release since 2017’s The Big Day. He kicked off the year with the reflective “The Heart & The Tongue,” and prior to that, he returned with “Shelter” alongside Vic Mensa. The latter stood as the Chicago rappers’ first collaboration in years, and while Mensa has delivered multiple projects since then, Chance has not. Maybe 2022 is the year for a new body of work from Chance, but that remains to be seen. Until then, we can enjoy his newest single with help from painter Naila Opiangah and singer Moses Sumney.

Together, the trio arrives with “Child Of God,” a mellow track that sports bare-bone production which allows Chance the show off his rap skills. He uses his bars to look back on simpler times in a world that tends to be very complicated. The track also arrives with vocals from Moses Sumney and an accompanying music video that captures Chance rapping the lyrics to the song as Opiangah paints what turns out to be the song’s cover art on a large canvas beside him.

Chance premiered the video at the Museum of Contemporary Art where he spoke about his next project and what could be expected from it. “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.”

“Child Of God” arrives after he reconnected with his SaveMoney crew earlier this month to release “Bag Boy,” their first song in eight years. Prior to that, he reunited with Supa Bwe for “ACAB” and also teased an upcoming song with Vic Mensa.

You can listen to “Child Of God” in the video above.

Summer Walker, SZA, And Cardi B Are Sensual And Glorious In Their Spicy Video For ‘No Love’

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After fans waited a little over two years for a new project from Summer Walker, the LVRN singer finally returned with her sophomore project Still Over It. She delivered the project last fall and it arrived with features from Cardi B, JT, SZA, Omarion, Lil Durk, Ciara, and Ari Lennox. Still Over It went on to become Summer’s first No. 1 album, which also stood as the first chart-topping project by a female R&B act in over five years. Now that Summer is a few months removed from the project’s release, she’s back with a new release.

One of the standout records from Still Over It is “No Love” with SZA, and now the track gets a nice update thanks to the addition of Cardi B. On it, Cardi adds a verse to the song to make for a sweet and tender extended version. The updated track also comes with a soft music video that begins with Cardi and Summer laying in an elegant bed in the clouds as Cardi sings about the unfaithful ways of her love interest. After Summer delivers the song’s hook in a rose field, she joins SZA as they twerk and pole dance beside each other. Altogether, it makes for quite the spicy and sensual visual.

You can watch the video for the updated version of “No Love” above.

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