50 Cent’s Power series — along with its assorted spinoffs — has long been one of the hottest things on TV, driven by his fervent fanbase and strong social media buzz. However, that hasn’t stopped 50, who executive produces the shows, as well as having a recurring role on the original Power, from running into frustrations with Starz, the network that carries the shows. Although he’s expressed his feelings about the network before, apparently things have reached a new head, leaving the rapper-turned-mogul ready to pack his bags after his 2017 deal expires according to his latest post on Instagram.
Posting a string of images of luggage, including a gif from Oran “Juice” Jone’s “The Rain” video, 50 once again threatened to take his talents elsewhere. “This is me packing my stuff, STARZ,” he taunted in the caption of the gif. “Sucks, my deal is up over here I’m out. They renewed High Town and [Power Book IV] FORCE is the highest-rated show they have it sitting in limbo. If I told you how much dumb sh*t I deal with over here.”
In the other photos, he jokingly kept the motif running, as a series of dialogue exchanges with partners and employees. “Anil, get your f*cking bags in the car now, we are out of here,” read one. “take that f*cking sign off the door no more G-unit film and television over here.” Another cracked, “Michael, what the f*ck are you takings so long for, let’s go! Why are you folding all of your clothing so perfect, we can just get new clothes when we get where we going.”
Whether this tactic results in Starz renewing Force for another season or allowing 50 to truly walk out the door, one this is certain: 50 Cent will find a way to make even contract negotiations seem entertaining.
From pioneers in the music industry like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Jill Scott to modern-day icons like Solange, Janelle Monáe, and Ari Lennox, Black women often create music as both an ode to their Black womanhood and social commentary of injustices rooted in misogynoir. Since the music industry has had a history of not treating them kindly, Black women have created a niche, a safe space within their lyricism that provides listeners with the chance to connect with their Blackness. These albums offer a light at a seemingly dark end of a tunnel, whether that reflects an unappreciated love of your culture or a reminder of solidarity.
It’s important to remember that Black women are not a monolith and exist in a multidimensional space within the music industry to explore genres like pop, rock, alternative R&B, and more, without being pigeonholed into a stereotypical genre that has been identified with Black culture. Artists like Rico Nasty and Willow Smith provide young Black listeners with representation of an alternative style of music with their captivating stage presence. Aluna Francis, who is known for her former electronic music duo AlunaGeorge, is an advocate for more Black dance artists to be given equal opportunities as their white counterparts throughout EDM, and she recently created her own festival, Noir Fever, to oppose this whitewashed space. Black women like Orion Sun and Arlo Parks are delivering warm melodies intertwined between the realms of indie and neo-soul. As they all create music that strays from the traditional route of R&B or hip-hop, listeners are reminded that they are multifaceted beings that can combine their knack for storytelling with their all-too-relatable cultural identity.
While existing in a predominantly white or male genre, Black female artists can build a connection for their listeners through empowering or emotional anthems that affirm Black identity and image, such as Beyoncé’s era during Lemonade. The conversation surrounding “Formation” and the singer’s unapologetic vocalization of her culture felt like a familiar feeling that most Black women can relate to. Public displays of Blackness for Black women are complex and can be a result of observing the participation of well-known Black figures like Beyoncé. Along with the Houston singer, neo-soul musician Jamila Woods expresses her adoration for Black beauty and, essentially, a manifesto to Black womanhood in her work. While weaving in the names of notorious Black writers, artists, and poets like Eartha Kitt and Zora Neale Hurston, Woods flawlessly tackles emotion policing and commemorates Blackness in her 2019 album LEGACY! LEGACY! Intertwining her identity and lyricism wasn’t a new concept for the Chicago singer, since her 2017 album HEAVN attested as the answer to questions like, “What does it mean to be a Black woman?”
Often, Black women aren’t extended the grace to express or ponder their emotions of rage, anxiety, despair, and forgiveness. In a music industry that results in little to no consequences for misogynoir, labels like the “angry Black woman” are thrown at Black women who are deemed unruly and outspoken for simply voicing our concerns and frustrations. Following the release of her 2020 track “Song 33,” Chicago rapper Noname questioned the policing of a Black woman’s tone as she coined herself the “new vanguard.” As an artist who isn’t afraid to make a controversial statement, her advocacy for Black liberation and justice for incarcerated folks is intertwined in her music, which is vital to young Black listeners that are searching for an artist that is for the people. While combining Blackness with musical expression, artists provide listeners with a socially conscious space to connect with their identity via music. These spaces of Black liberation are often accompanied by a reclamation of sexual identity, which is an intimate experience found while listening to an album like Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales. The EP combines sexually charged anthems with honest conversations surrounding heartbreak, deceit,` and love in the form of interludes. With a fan base of predominantly Black women, this nuanced album could’ve been sealed and signed as a love letter to Black women who have ever felt shamed in conversations about sex and relationships.
Meanwhile, at the intersection of Black identity and queer culture, Janelle Monáe will continue to explore what queer Black womanhood can be. The ArchAndroid and Dirty Computer are separate yet similar bodies of work where Monáe freely expressed her sexuality, womanhood, and Blackness. “Make Me Feel” was labeled the epitome of a bisexual anthem as the sexually liberated singer danced with notable actress Tessa Thompson in the playful neon music video. While tackling stereotypes of being too manly and incessant mansplaining, Monáe speaks her mind while sitting on her throne in the “Django Jane” music video. Throughout her expansive career, Monáe has given young Black queer women representation of on-air sexual fluidity, validity, and, overall, fun.
While finding meaningful music that coincidentally is worthy of being added to a playlist, there’s an unexplainable feeling of joy that can be shared when an artist seems to be speaking to the listeners throughout an entire project. For example, Houston-born artist and creative Solange Knowles is frequently praised for her third studio album, A Seat At The Table, which embodied her ethereal self while opening conversations about healing from trauma, dealing with microaggressions and policing. As she expressed her feelings of anger and vulnerability in the Lil Wayne-assisted song, “Mad,” it’s undeniable that she wrote this song with the intention of speaking to Black women and the policing of our anger. Tracks like “Don’t Touch My Hair” and “F.U.B.U.” with lyrics like “This sh*t is for us / Don’t try to come for us,” it felt as if Solange reached into the conversations of Black women with an anthem to reassure us that these feelings of rage and frustration are normal. As she lamented about her tales of sexing, drinking and spending her pain away, Solange shared her methods of coping in “Cranes In The Sky.” These themes aren’t limited to A Seat At The Table, since she continues her ode to Blackness and her Texan roots in her consequent album, When I Get Home.
Although Black female artists can be viewed as palatable for white audiences, it feels as if the act of creating songs like Solange’s “F.U.B.U.” or Monáe’s “Django Jane” is intentionally delivering a love letter to Black women listening at home. The art of storytelling has successfully been mastered by Black female artists that can produce stories of liberation, intersectionality, and self-love. Embracing your Black identity can be as minor as feeling represented within the lyrics of a beloved song or resonating with an artist’s political stance to create an empowering anthem. Often, our adored artists are influenced by their fellow Black predecessors and funnel their messages of self-love and unapologetic Blackness to their listeners.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Throughout Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s contentious divorce proceedings, Kanye has maintained that he does not want to split from his wife, cycling through a number of attorneys and strategies ahead of the court hearing that would declare the couple legally separated. Yesterday, just a day before that hearing, Kanye changed lawyers again according to Billboard, firing Chris Melcher and replacing him with Samantha Spector, who represented Dr. Dre’s ex-wife Michelle Young in their recent divorce.
The hearing today will focus on arguments from the two legal teams about whether to officially end Kanye and Kim’s marriage with assets and custody matters to be sorted in a future hearing. Kardashian requested the arrangement, hoping that accelerating their legal split could finally impress upon Kanye that their marriage is over so that they could focus on hashing out the custody of their four children. The couple already had a prenuptial agreement that kept their assets separate, although Kanye tried to argue that the agreement was invalid, hoping to exploit a loophole and delay their divorce.
However, through it all, Kim has maintained that she has no desire to reconcile with Kanye, who has lashed out at her new beau, Pete Davidson, in his music and on social media. It’s not clear what effect he thinks changing lawyers at the eleventh hour will have on the outcome, but come this afternoon, he could very well be single again.
When Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019, her body became the subject of conversation. Often posing nude in her Instagram photos, Lizzo is comfortable in her body, and even proclaimed “I am body goals” on her 2021 Cardi B-assisted single “Rumors.”
In a recent interview with People, Lizzo called herself a “body icon” and expressed hopes to change beauty standards as we know them, saying:
“I think I have a really hot body! I’m a body icon, and I’m embracing that more and more every day. It may not be one person’s ideal body type just like, say, Kim Kardashian might not be someone’s ideal, but she’s a body icon and has created a modern-day beauty standard. And what I’m doing is stepping into my confidence and my power to create my own beauty standard. And one day that will just be the standard.”
In the same interview, Lizzo expressed the desire to be free from stereotypes, including “The funny, fat friend… Or the friend who is gonna beat your ass ’cause she’s big. Or it’s the big girl who’s insecure ’cause she’s big. I don’t think I’m the only kind of fat girl there is. I want us to be freed from that box we’ve been put in.”
This month, Lizzo is set to premiere her reality competition showWatch Out For The Big Grrrls on Amazon Prime Video, in which she searches for other “big grrrls” to join her troupe of background dancers.
It’s been almost four months since Young Dolph was tragically shot and killed in his hometown of Memphis. In the months that have followed, fans of Dolph honored him in many ways. One of those includes the creation of a memorial at the shooting site, near one of the city’s businesses. The memorial was constructed shortly after Dolph’s and was taken care of by a few citizens in Memphis. One of those individuals was Jeremiah Taylor, who was unfortunately shot and killed according to a recent report.
Memphis’ Fox13 said Taylor was reportedly found dead last week on the city’s Getwell Road. Memphis Police are currently looking for suspects in the shooting. “Jeremiah was a great person,” said friend Frank Gottie, who viewed Taylor as a brother. “He was so creative. He was so on point. He was helpful, he would help anybody.”
“I want people around the world to know we care about Dolph,” Taylor had said during an interview with ABC 24. “… The love he had with people. A lot of people are realizing and now seeing the person that he always was. Taking care of his community, being a philanthropist, and really promoting financial independence. [It’s] a moral that he taught.”
Festival season is just around the corner and with that comes the unveiling of various big name lineups. Coachella is set to be led by Kanye West, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles while Kid Cudi, Halsey, and J. Cole lead the way for this year’s Governors Ball. A new announcement reveals that Coachella won’t be the only festival Kanye headlines this year. Rolling Loud just unveiled the lineup for their Miami festival and it’s led by not only Kanye, but also Kendrick Lamar, and Future.
All three artists at the forefront of this year’s Rolling Loud are expected to release albums at some point this year. Kanye is continuing work on Donda 2; he recently released an unfinished version of it. Meanwhile Kendrick and Future are completing their next works, which remain untitled and without a release date. Kendrick’s upcoming fifth album will be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment, a label he’s called home since 2004.
Other names that will make an appearance at this year’s Rolling Loud include Playboi Carti, Lil Durk, Don Toliver, 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Gucci Mane, Lil Tjay, Lil Baby, Kodak Black, Baby Keem, Trippie Redd, Moneybagg Yo, Saweetie, City Girls, Latto, and many more.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The end of 2021 was filled with highs and lows for Kanye West. At the end of November, he experienced the loss of Virgil Abloh, a beloved fashion designer and DJ who passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. Kanye and Virgil were close friends and the two collaborated numerous times over the years. A short time later, Kanye and Drake held their Larry Hoover Benefit Concert, which came after the two settled their differences after being on bad terms for three years. During a celebrity-filled Black Future Month brunch that was held last month, Kanye reflected on Virgil’s death and reconnecting with Drake.
“Virgil was the third person in a position of power at LVMH to die of cancer,” Kanye said. “Without his gang, without his support system, without his Dame Dash.” Kanye also expressed his frustration with seeming to have been boxed out of a collaboration with Virgil. He also claimed he was not allowed to speak at the late designer’s funeral back in December. Later, Kanye thanked Larry Hoover for helping to patch things up between him and Drake.
“Larry Hoover brought me and Drake together,” he said. “That man created peace. He called that from the prison. Larry Hoover called that from the prison, and everybody was happy.” He added, “When people see me and Drake pull up to a basketball game with both of our sons, with my oldest and his son, that’s gonna save people’s lives in the hood. They’re gonna see that.”
You can watch the 90-minute Black Future Month brunch conference on Facebook here.
The hip-hop power couple apparently had a kick-ass meal at NYC’s Brooklyn Chop House. They left a massive $1,400 tip on a sizable $3,000 tab, which is generous, awesome, and exemplary to say the least.
Despite its name, the restaurant is in Lower Manhattan, in between the Financial District and Chinatown. Cardi and Offset treated their team to a dinner out which according to gossip site Page Six, included dumplings and dessert. A Black-owned establishment, the couple took a photo with owner Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, who posted it on the restaurant’s Instagram account with the clever caption “Chopping it up with @iamcardib and @offsetyrn tonight at @brooklynchophouse thank you.” Wonder how many times he uses that same pun?
Big shouts to Cardi B and Offset. Supporting the hard-working industry is nothing short of cool and this is the way to do it.
Kim Kardashian wants to divorce Kanye West, but Kanye West doesn’t want to divorce Kim Kardashian. That’s the power struggle at the center of their current frustrations in the ongoing case. With a hearing scheduled tomorrow, Kanye is making one last bid to preserve at least their married status, if not their relationship, by trying to exploit a loophole in California law regarding the couple’s prenuptial agreement. TMZ reports that Kanye’s lawyers have filed documents claiming that such agreements signed after 2002 are invalid.
However, according to TMZ, the loophole Kanye’s lawyers want to use only applies if one of the signed parties challenges it, which Kanye has never done. To do so, he would need to prove that it was either “unconscionable” or that he agreed to it involuntarily — and neither course would seem to be viable, as Kanye and Kim’s assets have remained separate throughout their marriage and both would retain their own fortunes if they returned to single status. Of course, Kanye and his lawyers may not be seeing eye-to-eye, since Kim revealed in the course of their back-and-forth that the rapper has changed lawyers three times, while refusing to come to the table to negotiate.
Kanye apparently still believes that there’s a chance to make it work, despite Kim’s multiple statements to the contrary and his own actions, which have seemed to push her away more than anything else. After Wednesday, though, it could very well be over, although the two will still co-parent their four children, with the couple living in the same neighborhood.
We’re positively hyped for our March round-up of artists to watch. This column looks at artists from across the cultural spectrum that are rising in unique ways. And this month, we’re jumping from indie pop to electro soul, to Chicago R&B and a rapper on the tip of The Weeknd’s tongue. Check it out.
Deb Never
You might’ve already heard the commanding Korean-American vocalist on “Push” from Slowthai’s album Tyron, or perhaps you peeped last year’s sneaky excellent Where Have All The Flowers Gone? EP. Now Deb Never just dropped her first new tune of the year, “Crutches,” a hopeful, happy-go-lucky indie-electro pop jam about embracing your individuality and channeling your inner-drive. “No matter what they say ya, better hold your head up. No way out,” the now LA-based Never sings on the anthemic track over a shower of effects, strings and thunderous drum and bass that invite you to express yourself.
Yeat
When The Weeknd was celebrating his birthday in Vegas earlier this month, a clip surfaced of him singing along to Yeat’s “Get Busy.” The track, with its syrup-soaked video game beat, features the now-viral lyric “This song already was turnt but here’s a bell,” followed by clanging church bells. Portland-raised and now LA-based, Yeat’s career was born from SoundCloud, and then blew up on TikTok with tracks like “Sorry Bout That” and “Money Twërk.” His latest album, 2 Alivë, came out on February 18th and features appearances from Young Thug (on the melodic drums and bells of “Öutside”) and Gunna (on the woozy keys-driven “Rackz Got Më.) Unsurprisingly, the album’s LA listening party prompted a shutdown for crowd control issues illustrating that the hype is real. Now signed to Field Trip/Geffen, all the elements for a continued breakout are here.
On both Classical Notions of Happiness and Something To Say To You, Jordana’s first two releases, we were introduced to a witty songwriter, with an intrinsic knack for cynical, tongue-in-cheek indie pop. Now the 21-year-old has announced her proper debut studio album, Face The Wall, (out May 20th on Grand Jury) and she’s armed with an even sharper pop music knife. “Catch My Drift” is a catchy, glitzy jam with buoyant vocals that she says is “about going back and forth with your feelings for someone when they make you question whether they are even reciprocated.”
Khazali
When we highlighted Khazali’s track “Passion Controller” last month, we called it “a good fit for both the dance floor and the afterparty.” And the deeper I dive into the UK electro-soul singer’s catalog, the more he feels like a worthy star student of Sampha and Sbtrkt’s breed of vocal productions. But there’s a far more rhythmic step from Khazali and his second EP, The Rush, is made up of pieces of his dream journals expressed in the sonic universe of the romantically-woven characters he’s created. His latest jam, “Dance In The Rain,” is a liquid groove that further builds the anticipation for the release of The Rush, out March 11th via Kitsuné Musique.
Kaina
A Chicago native of Guatemalan and Venezuelan descent, Kaina’s take on R&B celebrates love, lineage, and heritage. The silky-voiced singer recently signed with City Slang and her latest two singles, “Casita” and “Apple,” were both co-written and co-produced with fellow Chicagoan Sen Morimoto. “Casita” is a bi-lingual ode to being with family and friends in simpler times, with Kaina singing “I’ve always dreamt about a place, big enough for us all to stay, so that we could be together.” While “Apple,” with a video that links it to a linear story that begins to unfold on “Casita” — has an upbeat swing over Morimoto’s guitar and Kaina’s layered vocals. She’ll be joining Helado Negro on tour in May and we’ll be keeping tabs on more heat from Kaina no doubt.
