Over the weekend, Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa unleashed a new joint album after more than a decade of working together. Stoner’s Night arrived after weeks of anticipation and a couple of singles: “Pop The Trunk” and “Backseat” with Project Pat. Now that the album is here, Juicy J and Wiz are looking to further promote it with a brand new video for the track “Weak.” It finds Juicy J leading a cast of women who aim to get strong. It also sees Wiz kicking it in a room full of models while Memphis rapper Big30, who also appears in the song, drops some bars from a kitchen.
Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa’s Stoner’s Night —their first project since the deluxe release of the former’s fifth album The Hustle Continues — boasts 16 songs and appearances from Big30, Project Pat, and Elle Varner. As for Wiz Khalifa, he recently teamed up with producers Cardo and Sledgren for Wiz Got Wings.
Stoner’s Night is not Juicy J and Wiz’s first project together. Back in 2016, they teamed up with producer TM88 to form the group TGOD Mafia for TGOD Mafia: Rude Awakening.
You can watch the video for “Weak” above.
Stoner’s Night is out now via Trippy Music LLC. You can stream it here.
Last year was a special year for Coi Leray. The musician had a viral moment with “No More Parties,” which was later remixed by Lil Durk. She also earned a spot on the 2021 XXL Freshman Class list. However, her highs have also come with lows. Leray has seen her body and rap skills often criticized and she may have reached a breaking point with a message she posted and deleted.
Leray’s message began with a tweet that read “Brain dead.” However, in a second post, which she later deleted, she went in-depth about her mental state. “To all my trendsetters, I’m sorry I let you down,” she wrote. “I don’t have it in me to keep pushing. I feel like I’m brain dead. I pray that everyone continues to keep setting trends and striving.” She added, “Don’t know when I’ll be back but I don’t even want to think about it. I love you for life. -coi.”
Her message comes a few months after she revealed that Lil Durk stopped her from quitting rap. “Almost gave up one day and he told me don’t ever stop,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “Most artist show love from a distance on some weird sh*t, but this man right here believed in me, believe[d] in ‘No More Parties’ and been behind me ever since. He know a star when he see one, and I just wanna thank you for all your support. OTF FOREVER.”
Last week, a video surfaced of DaBaby and his crew in a fight with DaniLeigh’s brother Brandon Bills, who was born Brandon Curiel. The incident took place at Corbin Bowl, a bowling alley in Topanga, California, and it came after multiple disputes between DaBaby and DaniLeigh, who have a child together. During the fight, Bills was punched, grabbed and swung around by his hair, and repeatedly thrown to the ground. Now, Bills is seeking compensation, suing DaBaby for assault, battery, emotional distress, and negligence, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
In the documents, Bills said he was attacked by DaBaby and his crew without warning after walking by them in the bowling alley. Before the fight, Bills threatened to fight DaBaby due to his ill treatment of DaniLeigh. “When you come to the West Coast, bro, which I know you be out here, you’re going to catch this one-on-one fade, bro,” Bills said in a video he shared back in November. “One-on-one fade to see what happens between me and you. I want to see how gangsta you are, to see how much of a real man you are.”
Bills’ lawsuit comes after DaBaby was reportedly placed under investigation as a result of the incident. Local authorities are investigating DaBaby for assault with a deadly weapon, focusing on him allegedly kicking Bills in the head during the fight.
Thanks to his accessibility on social media, Gary, Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs has cultivated a devoted fanbase that isn’t afraid to razz him a bit with posts pointing out his lookalikes, including actor Don Cheadle. At this past weekend’s Super Bowl festivities in LA, though, Gibbs finally made contact with his celebrity doppelganger, who introduced himself by confirming fans’ observations.
The two had a fun moment recounting their meeting on Twitter, where Gibbs recalled Cheadle’s words and the actor verified the story. “N**** walked up to me last night and said, ‘People say we look alike,’ and it was Don Cheadle,” Gibbs wrote. “The f*cking goat.” Cheadle retweeted his post, calling it a “true story.” “Great meeting you, nephew,” he assured. “To be continued…”
— Don” ‘t ask me google questions” Cheadle (@DonCheadle) February 14, 2022
Whether that means the duo will find some project to work on together in the future or if it’s just the beginning of a growing friendship, plenty of fans were excited by the moment, including Gibbs’ manager, who got a photo of the two mid-embrace.
This year’s Record Store Day is on April 23, and now the moment everybody has been waiting for has arrived: The lengthy list of exclusive releases has been revealed.
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters are releasing a split single that includes a version of “Making A Fire” re-worked by Mark Ronson and a version of “Chasing Birds” reimagined by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Childish Gambino is also making his 2014 EP Kauai available on vinyl for the first time ever.
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead — The Century Of Self
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead — Madonna
A.R. Kane — Americana
Alan Vega — Jukebox Babe b/w Speedway
Albert Ayler — Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings
Alice Cooper — Brutal Planet
Alice In Chains — We Die Young
Allman Brothers Band — Cream Of The Crop 2003 — Highlights
America — Alternates & Rarities
America — History 180 Translucent Blue Vinyl
America — History 180 White Vinyl
Angelo Badalamenti — Blue Velvet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers — In My Prime
Art Pepper — Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section [Mono]
Asia — XXX
Bad Company — Live 1979
Barry White — No Limit On Love
Be Bop Deluxe — Live In The Air Age
Belinda Carlisle — The Heaven on Earth Tour
Bell Biv Devoe — Poison
Ben Vaughn — The World Of Ben Vaughn
Bernard Butler — People Move On: The B-Sides, 1998 + 2021
Betty Harris — The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul
Bill Evans — Inner Spirit: The 1979 Concert At The Teatro General San Martín, Buenos Aires
Bill Evans — Morning Glory: The 1973 Concert At The Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires
Billy Bragg — Life’s A Riot With Spy vs Spy (30th Anniversary Edition)
Billy F Gibbons — Hardware [Deluxe Edition]
Black Label Society — Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live
Black Pumas — Black Pumas [Collector’s Edition 7″ Box Set]
Blondie — Sunday Girl EP
Blue Stingrays — Grits & Eggs
Blur — Bustin’ + Dronin’
Bobby Hamilton Quintet Unlimited — Dream Queen
Bomba Estero — Live in Dublin
Brian Bennett — Voyage (A Journey into Discoid Funk)
Brian Tyler — The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (Original Score)
Bruno Nicolai — La Dama Rossa Uccide Sette Volte (The Red Queen Kills Seven Times)
Buena Vista Social Club — Ahora Me Da Pena
C-Bo — Orca (Deluxe Edition)
Calvin Keys — Full Court Press
Camera Obscura — Making Money
Charles Mingus — The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott’s
Charlie Benante — Moving Pitchers
Chet Baker — Live In Paris: The Radio France Recordings 1983-1984
Chicago — Chicago At Carnegie Hall, April 9, 1971 (Live)
Chief Keef — Sorry 4 The Weight (Deluxe Edition)
Childish Gambino — Kauai
Christian McBride — Conversations With Christian
Chuck Prophet — The Age of Miracles
Cold War Kids — Zowie Selects
Collective Soul — Disciplined Breakdown
Commander Venus — The Uneventful Vacation [25th Anniversary]
Coolio — It Takes A Thief
Corinne Bailey Rae — The Sea
Cypress Hill — The 420 Remixes
Czarface — Czarmageddon
Dana Gillespie — Foolish Seasons
Darlene Love — Darlene Love: The Many Sides of Love — The Complete Reprise Recordings Plus!
Daughtry — Dearly Beloved
Dave Brubeck Trio — Live From Vienna 1967
Dave Davies — Kinked
David Bowie — Brilliant Adventure EP
David Bowie — Toy EP (‘You’ve got it made with all the toys’)
Debbie Gibson — Lost in Your Eyes, The Duet with Joey McIntyre
Def Leppard — High ‘n’ Dry
Del Shannon — Rock On
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio — Live in Loveland!
Dermot Kennedy — Doves & Ravens
Detective — Detective
Devo — Oh, No! It’s Devo (40th Anniversary Edition)
Dillinger Escape Plan — Dissociation
Dio — Double Dose of Donington
Doctor Who — Dead Air
Donna Summer — Donna Summer — 40th Anniversary Picture Disc
Durand Jones and the Indications — Power To The People
Echo & The Bunnymen — B-Sides and Live (2001 – 2005)
Edgar Froese — Epsilon In Malaysian Pale
Edison International — It Happened At The Hop: Edison International Doo Woppers & Sock Hoppers
Electronic — Remix Mini Album
Elton John — The Complete Thom Bell Sessions (EP)
Erasure — Ne:EP
Erika de Casier — The Sensational Remixes
Esther Marrow — Sister Woman
Everlast — Whitey Ford
Everything But The Girl — Night and Day (40th Anniversary Edition)
Fats Domino — Here Comes… Fats Domino
Field Music — Plumb
Flash & The Dynamics — The New York Sound
Foo Fighters — “Making A Fire (Mark Ronson Re-Version)” b/w “Chasing Birds (Preservation Hall Jazz Band Re-Version)”
Frankie Goes To Hollywood — Altered Reels
Frankie and The Witch Fingers — Frankie and The Witch Fingers
Future — DS2
G.B.H. — City Baby Attacked By Rats
Gavid Rossdale — Wanderlust
Geoff Tate — Kings & Thieves
Gerard Way — Hesitant Alien
Girlhouse — The girlhouse Eps
Glass Animals — I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)
Gojira — Live at Brixton Academy
Golden Smog — On Golden Smog
Gong — Gong In the 70s
Gorgon City — Olympia Remixes
Grateful Dead — Wembley Empire Pool, London, England 4/8/72 (Live)
Handsome Boy Modeling School — So… How’s Your Girl?
Hasaan Ibn Ali — Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings
Heartbreakers — The L.A.M.F. demo sessions
Home Boy and the C.O.L. — Home Boy And The C.O.L.
Iggy Pop — Live In Berlin
Jacka — Tear Gas
James Blake — COVERS
James Luckett — May OST
Jay Bennett — “Kicking at the Perfumed Air” & “Whatever Happened I Apologize” with the film “Where are you, Jay Bennett?”
Jazz Sabbath — Vol. 2
Jeannie C. Riley — Harper Valley PTA
Jerry Garcia Band — Ragged But Right
Jessie Ware — Devotion: The Gold Edition (10th Anniversary)
Jesus Jones — Scratched – Unreleased Rare Tracks & Remixes
Jetstar Records — The Rock Sides
Jetstar Records — The Soul Sides
Jim Jones — Hustler’s P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment)
Jimmy Cliff — Follow My Mind
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts — Acoustics
John Craigie — Abbey Road Lonely
John Fred & His Playboy Band — Judy In Disguise
John Williams — Lost In Space: Title Themes from the Hit TV Series
John Williams — The Cowboys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [50th Anniversary]
Johnny Marr — Spirit, Power & Soul
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers — Modern Lovers 88 [35th Anniversary]
Joni Mitchell — Blue Highlights
Jorma Kaukonen — The Land of Heroes
Joss Stone — LP1
Judas Priest — Hero Hero
June 18
KITTIE — Spit
Kacey Musgraves — star-crossed
Karen Dalton — Shuckin’ Sugar
Keith Richards — Talk is Cheap / Live At The Hollywood Palladium
Kenny Garrett — Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium
Kid Creole and The Coconuts — Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places
Kirk Hammett — Portals
L’Imperatrice — Vanilla Fraise
L.A.Guns — Walking The Dead
La Femme — Paradigmes : Suppléments
La Luz — The Instrumentals
Larry Coryell — Fairyland
Laura Nyro — Trees Of The Ages: Laura Nyro Live In Japan
Lil Wayne — Sorry 4 The Wait
Linda Hoover — I Need To Shine
Lou Reed — I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos
Lou Reed and Kris Kristofferson — The Bottom Line Archive Series: In Their Own Words: With Vin Scelsa (3LP)
Madness — Baggy Trousers
Madonna — Who’s That Girl (Super Club Mix)
Marco Beltrami — Mimic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Maria Callas — Maria Callas: Pure
Mariah Carey — #1’s
Masego — Studying Abroad: Extended Stay (EP)
Max Roach — We Insist
Maxim Mental — Fucking EP
Melanie C — Northern Star
Michel F April — Dead By Daylight V2 Original Soundtrack
Mike Oldfield — Tubular Bells II
Mike Watt + Larry Mullins — Fun House
Mikey Dread/Edi Fitzroy — The Gun / Jah Jah Style
Miles Davis — What It Is: Montreal 7/783
Mockasin, Connan & Ade — It’s Just Wind
Morcheeba — Blackest Blue – The Remixes
Mother Mother — O My Heart
Motorhead — Lost Tapes Vol 2
Mxmtoon — true colors (from Life is Strange)
My Morning Jacket — Live From RCA Studio A (Jim James Acoustic)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — Live Seeds
Nick Lowe — Wireless World
Nicki Minaj — Beam Me Up Scotty
Nico — Live At The Hacienda ’83
Nico and The Faction — Camera Obscura
Night Beats — Live at Valentine
Night Ranger — Somewhere in California
Night Ranger — Wasted Time
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Bird — Magic Secrets 2022
Opeth — My Arms, Your Hearse
Otto Kentrol — No Mistakes
Paquito d´Rivera & Arturo Sandoval — Reunion
Parry Gripp — For Kids About To Rock
Patti Smith — Curated By Record Store Day
Pearl Jam — Live on Two Legs
Peppa Pig — Peppa’s Adventures: The Album
Pepper Adams with The Tommy Banks Trio — Live at Room At The Top
Pete Krebs & The Gossamer Wings — I Know It By Heart
Pete Townshend — Face The Face
Peter Gabriel — Live Blood
Peter Tosh — Complete Captured Live
Pixies — Live at Coachella 2004
Prince — The Gold Experience
Prodigy — Return of the Mac
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys — The Bluegrass Sound
Ramones — The Sire Albums (1981-1989)
Ray Charles — Genius Loves Company
Red Hot Chili Peppers — Unlimited Love
Reigning Sound — Memphis In June
Rex Orange County — Apricot Princess – 5th Anniversary Edition
Richie Furay — In The Country
Richie Hell — Gumbo Limbo Remixes
Rick Astley — Whenever You Need Somebody
Ringo Starr — Ringo The 4th Translucent Blue Vinyl
Ringo Starr — Ringo The 4th Translucent Orange Vinyl
Rizzle Kicks — Stereo Typical
Robert Lester Folsom — Music and Dreams
Rockabye Baby! — Lullaby Renditions of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On
Roky Erickson & The Explosives — Halloween II: Live 2007
Ron Sexsmith — Long Player Late Bloomer
Rory Gallagher — Live In San Diego ’74
Ryan Hamilton — 1221
Sam Smith — Nirvana
Sandy Denny — Gold Dust Live At The Royalty
Santana — Splendiferous Santana
Sara Bareilles — Little Voice
Satan’s Pilgrims — Live At Jackpot Records
Scott Walker — Boy Child: The Best Of 1967-1970
Sepultura — Revolusongs
Shankar Family & Friends — I Am Missing You
Sheena Easton — The Definitive 12″ Singles 1983-1987
Simple Minds — 5 x 5 Live
Slang — RSD 2022 7″
Slash — Live At Studio 60
Sleep Token — Sundowning
Soul Jazz Records Presents — 100% DYNAMITE! Ska, Soul, Rocksteady & Funk in Jamaica
Soul Jazz Records Presents — PUNK 45: I’m A Mess! D-I-Y Or Die! Art, Trash & Neon – Punk 45s In The UK 1977-78
Soul Jazz Records Presents — STUDIO ONE CLASSICS
Souren Baronian — The Middle Eastern Soul of Carlee Records
Speed, Glue & Shinki — Eve (2017 Remaster)
St. Vincent — The Nowhere Inn (Official Soundtrack)
Steve Earle — Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother / Night Rider’s Lament
Steve Hackett — The Tokyo Tapes
Stevie Nicks — Bella Donna
Stiff Little Fingers — BBC Live in Concert
Sun’s Signature — Sun’s Signature
Super Furry Animals — (Brawd Bach) – Rings Around the World
Superchunk — Incidental Music: 1991 – 1995
Supergrass — Moving
Surfbort — Keep On Truckin’
Suzanne Vega — Close-Up Extras
Tangerine Dream — Alpha Centauri
Tangerine Dream — Live At Reims Cinema Opera (September 23rd, 1975)
Tangerine Dream — Strange Behavior
Taylor Swift — The Lakes
Tegan and Sara — Still Jealous
Tennis System — Autophobia
Tesseract — Polaris
The Academic — Community Spirit EP
The Album Leaf — Past and Future Tense
The Bleeding Hearts — Riches to Rags
The Brand New Heavies — Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1 [30th Anniversary]
The Catatonics — Hunted Down
The Ceyleib People — Tanyet
The Cranberries — Remembering Dolores
The Cure — Pornography
The Damned — Strawberries
The Doors — L.A. Woman
The Everly Brothers — Hey Doll Baby
The Five Americans — Western Union
The Go! Team — Proof of Youth
The Grouch — Show You The World
The Gun Club — Live At The Hacienda ’83
The Jackson 5 — ABC
The Kinks — Waterloo Sunset EP
The Knack — Live At The House of Blues
The Lord — Forest Nocturne
The Lumineers — Brightside: Bonus Tracks
The Muffs — New Improved Kim Shattuck Demos
The Offspring — Greatest Hits
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band — The Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Expanded)
The Proclaimers — Sunshine on Leith (2 LP Expanded Edition)
The Rain Parade — Explosions in the Glass Palace
The Rationals — The Rationals
The Replacements — Unsuitable for Airplay: The Lost KFAI Concert (Live)
The Residents — Warning: Uninc – Live And Experimental Recordings 1971-1972
The Rolling Stones — More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) [50th Anniversary]
The Rubinoos — The Rubinoos
The Sheila Divine — Where Have My Countrymen Gone
The Shocking Blue — At Home (The Singles)
The Sound — Counting The Days
The Sweet — Platinum Rare VOL 2
The Walkmen — Lisbon
The Who — It’s Hard (40th Anniversary)
The Whole Darn Family — Seven Minutes of Funk/Ain’t Nothing But Something to Do
Thomas Dolby — Hyperactive!
Tiny Tim & Brave Combo — Girl
Twiztid — I Tried 2 Warn U
Tyler Bates and Various Artists — Music from the Motion Picture Watchmen
U2 — A Celebration (40th Anniversary)
Udo Dirkschneider — My Way
Ultravox! — Live At The Rainbow 1977 (45th Anniversary)
Van McCoy — The Hustle
Various Artists — 50 Years of TV’s Greatest Hits
Various Artists — Adult Swim & RVNG INTL.: Correspondence
Various Artists — Atenção!: Novos Sons do Brasil
Various Artists — Big Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Various Artists — Brazil 45 Boxset Vol.3
Various Artists — Breakin’: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists — Go Ahead Punk…Make My Day
Various Artists — Greensleeves Ganja Anthems
Various Artists — Jazz Dispensary: Super Skunk
Various Artists — Latin Legends Live (Tierra, El Chicano, Malo)
Various Artists — Love Is All I Bring
Various Artists — Panama’s Soul Gems
Various Artists — Portraits of Her
Various Artists — Song Confessional Vol 1
Various Artists — Soul Power ’68
Various Artists — The Best Of Chi-Sound Records 1976-1983
Various Artists — The Royal Tenenbaums (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Various Artists — The Sam Phillips Years: Sun Records Curated by RSD, Volume 9
Viktor Vaughn — Vaudeville Villain
Vince Guaraldi Trio — Baseball Theme
Virgin Prunes — Pagan Lovesong (40th Anniversary Edition)
Vitamin String Quartet — VSQ Performs Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Warrior Soul — Odds & Ends
Weyes Blood — A Certain Kind b/w Everybody’s Talkin’
Weyes Blood — The Innocents
Willie Nelson — Live At The Texas Opry House, 1974
Wipers — Over The Edge – Anniversary Edition
World Party — Seaview Records Presents: World Party – Curated By RSD
Wye Oak — If Children
Young-Holt Unlimited — Young-Holt Unlimited Plays Superfly
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio is right around the corner and while NBA players get the week off from a grueling 82-game season, some of the event’s participants have actually increased their activity in preparation for the festivities — including Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly, who is apparently taking his selection to the celebrity game’s roster very seriously.
While the famous competitors in past iterations of the game have put previously existing hoop skills on display — Quavo, for instance, was a decorated high school athlete before his rap career took off — MGK has gone a step further, hiring celebrity skills coach Chris Matthews (aka @lethalshooter on Instagram) to help him brush up on his jumper before the game. Matthews, who has also worked with NBA players, WNBA players, and celebrities like
Anthony Davis, Candace Parker, and even Drake, posted a video of MGK running a shooting drill to his Instagram, which includes MGK sinking three (high school) three-pointers in a row and pre-emptively declaring himself MVP of the celebrity game.
Of course, MGK will have to outplay his teammate Quavo for that distinction — a tough sell, considering he’s been the game’s MVP in 2018 — as well as noted hoop aficionado Jack Harlow, who participated with Quavo in last year’s two-on-two event against Lil Baby and 2 Chainz, the WNBA’s Dearica Hambry, and former Harlem Globetrotter Crissa Jackson, among others.
Buddy is back and on his new song “Wait Too Long” he brings West Coast crooner Blxst along for an upbeat overture to a potential romantic partner. However, the woman in question is taking things slowly, and Buddy and Blxst offer plenty of reminders that they’re both in high demand with plenty of options, warning, “Don’t make me wait too long / Five liquor shots, I’m way too on / Time tickin’, I’ma bring my phone.”
The video opens with the aftermath of a party at Buddy’s place, with the Compton rapper taking a dip in the pool as guests sleep off their respective hangovers on the deck. Buddy grabs an old-fashioned phone (did you kids know phones used to have cords?) and uses it to stay in contact with an unseen paramour. Then, the video flashes back to the night in question, where a dinner party grows more debauched as the night continues, but Buddy remains unlucky in wooing any of the female guests.
“Wait Too Long” is the first single from Buddy’s newly announced album Superghetto, which is due March 25 on RCA Records and Buddy’s own Cool Lil Company. Superghetto will be the Compton rapper’s first full-length solo release since his 2018 debut Harlan & Alondra. Since then, he’s been a standout on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III and released the joint mixtape Janktape Vol. 1 with fellow Los Angeles native Kent Jamz.
Watch the video for “Wait Too Long” above.
Superghetto is due 3/25 via RCA Records. You can pre-save it here.
When it comes to streaming hits, Philadelphia singer Pink Sweat$ is something of an expert. His breakout single, “Honesty,” racked up millions of streams across nearly every streaming platform, launching his successful career as a solo star after several years behind-the-scenes as a songwriter. Then, to prove that those numbers were no fluke, he nearly doubled them with his follow-up hit, “At My Worst,” and its remix featuring Bay Area singer Kehlani.
For the release of his Pink Moon EP, Sweat$ graciously agreed to a Zoom interview with Uproxx to reveal the secret to a streaming hit, what made each of his prior hits so special, and which songs from his new EP we should all be betting on to rack up the streams in the future.
We’re here to talk about what makes a hit, how to get a streaming hit. It’s something you should know plenty about what with your growing collection thereof.
Wow. Appreciate y’all having me, number one. To answer, I guess I would say it depends on what kind of hit you want, right?
Yeah.
Because I write and I produce, I try to steer people in the right direction, so it’s different kinds of hits. If you want a playful hit it usually can be tied to some sort of a movement, whether it’s a dance or some form of moving of the body that people can feel. And if you want more of a singer-songwriter hit, I think it’s just about the story and the storytelling ability because we all got a story, right? The way you articulate that story through a song, the effectiveness of it, that’s how you get ahead.
What do you think it was about “Honesty” that connected people? Obviously, you said songwriting, but each song kind of has its own personality. What do you think was the personality of “Honesty” that people were drawn to?
I would say it’s just the vulnerability and the relatability because I feel like the state of music, everything is like fantasy. Whether it’s rollies, chains, all these girls, all this overindulgence. That’s fantasy for a lot of people.
That’s not most people’s every day, but most of us are questioning who we are. Do we deserve this thing called love? Are we capable of loving? And I feel like it’s one of those things that we fill our day in a certain kind of way where we don’t have to think about it. We always got to be busy. Because sometimes when you’re sitting alone by yourself, you start wondering like, “Dang, is this how I want to choose to live my life?”
The first line of a song is “She said, ‘Baby, I’m afraid to fall in love.’” I feel like right there, you got people. It’s like, “Oh this is about to be a story. Like, where is this going?” Who’s not afraid to fall in love? Who’s not afraid to be vulnerable? Most of us are. It’s very few people that are just always jumping right in, and we always judge those people like, “Man, you love too easy.”
Absolutely. Now, “Honesty” was of course a smash, but then, you had to knock it completely out of the parking lot with “At My Worst.” What was it that drew people to “At My Worst?” And what kind of an effect did you see when you added Kehlani to the remix and that exploded even more? I always say that song is going to be our friends’ kids’ wedding song. They’re going to dance to that at their weddings.
Well that song, honestly, it was just me. I was tapping into what I know people wanted from me, and then I just elevated it. I wanted to give a perspective that was super vulnerable, but while the lyrics are vulnerable, but at the same time, the music is happy. It takes your guard down with the music. But then the words are seeping into you where it’s like, “Whoa!”
You know, I’m in a position in my life where things are well, I’m able to take care of myself, I’m able to help people, things like that. But at the same time…Someone can see me and be like, “Yo man, he living,” but you don’t really know the things that I deal with, because money can’t solve everything. But my partner does. And it’s like, I always wanted somebody to love me, despite my problems, my internal issues, the things that I struggle with mentally.
So it’s her not judging me, and I feel like, for a lot of people, we want that. We want to be loved at our worst, because it’s easy to say, “Yo, you’re up, you’re doing your thing. He got his mind on right. He got his bread right. He got a car. He got his own place.” It’s easy to do all of that. I feel like, especially for me, being a Black man, we’re always taught to go out and chase things and accomplish something, and then the world would be yours, but that’s the win and the downfall. Because of that pressure of, “Hey, well what if I can’t keep it all together all the time? Is somebody going to still love me?” So that’s what I wanted to get across, but I didn’t want it to be as heavy as me just saying it just now.
So you got your Pink Moon EP coming out. If you could pick two of the songs to blow up from this EP, that you think are going to be the ones, which ones would they be? And would you be surprised if it were a different one?
That’s a great question. I would say “Real Thing,” since that’s the first song I made for the project. Me and Tori Kelly on that, and then another one is called “Better,” me and one of my favorite artists, her name is Kirby. Those are the two that I really, really, really love. And I got another one. I know you didn’t ask me three, but the third one is the Blxst song. It’s called “For Me.” That’s just because it’s like a manifestation song and also a letting-everything-go song. I feel like when I wrote that song, I was in a place of stress where it’s like, having conversations with my label, having conversations with my peers, trying to understand the climate of music, because it’s always changing. I was just stressing myself out and it was like, “I never do this, why am I tripping? What’s for me is for me.”
Blxst is on a roll. Everything he’s on is just like, it knocks to the high heavens. Yeah, man. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this thing does.
I want to get a gospel award for that song, because technically, that’s an inspirational song. I’m putting that out in the atmosphere for sure.
Of course, “Nothing Feels Better” seems to have taken off. Again, what do you think that one says that people are tapping into, and how do you intend to take that momentum forward into the next one? Do you go left or do you stay the course?
I feel like that’s like an adoration song. I’m just showing mad love to my partner, where it’s like all the things in the world that can go right, they don’t really feel the same as just knowing that at the end of the night, I got somebody to turn to. All the things that I deal with throughout the day, just having somebody to go through all those ups and downs with, that’s like a euphoric feeling. We might argue one day, then in the same day we’d be laughing about, “What was we even… It wasn’t that deep. Nothing feels better than this.” The certainty of love.
I feel like it’s not really a lot of songs that popularize adoring people and telling them how great they are. It’s always about tearing somebody down or doing some drugs or something. To each their own, but I just feel like I want to just mix it up. I’m not trying to say “get rid of this” or “get rid of that.” I’m just saying we need some more of this too. It’s like putting all the salt in food, but maybe put some pepper in there. Maybe use a little honey. I don’t know, but we need more than just salt as an ingredient. We need to mix it up.
Pink Sweat$ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kid Cudi launched Encore in October 2020. The mobile app’s vision is to help artists share music, interact with fans, and host live shows. This week, Encore launched the Encore Studio App after getting $9 million in seed funding.
This is the second mobile application under the Encore umbrella, the first being Encore’s Interactive Live Music app for the fans, and now, the Encore Studio: Live Music AR app, which will allow artists to perform for fans by way of augmented reality through mobile devices.
“Music artists are the original creators and they have been forgotten by the creator economy and overrun by memes and algorithms on social media,” Jonathan Gray, CEO of Encore, said in a statement. “Our live AR technology empowers any artist to create personalized content and host experiences for their fans without a production budget or crew and make real cash with 100’s of engaged fans.”
The $9 million dollar funding comes from Battery Ventures, along with 468 Capital, Parade Ventures, Nomade Ventures, Moving Capital, Kayak Ventures, and Gaingels. During its beta stage, artists like Too Short, Kyle, and DC The Don performed shows via Encore. Fans were able to support the artists through microtransactions in the form of a 10-cent “clap.”
“My number one priority has always been inspiring others and providing them the space to tell their own stories in an authentic and meaningful way,” said Cudi in a statement. “We created Encore as a space for artists to share their art, build community, while also being able to pay their rent.”
Although the early days of Cardi B and Offset’s marriage were pretty rocky, the couple has seemingly settled into their married life and appears to be flourishing — at least in the “extravagant holiday gifts” department. This week’s Valentine’s Day was no different, with Offset pulling out all the stops to shower his wife with gifts, which included not just one but six Chanel bags and an Audemars Piguet watch that retails for $375,000. Offset sent Cardi on a scavenger hunt to find the bags, then presented her the watch at dinner.
Cardi posted about the gifts on her social media just days after the latest episode of her Facebook Watch show Cardi Tries depicted the couple giving each other matching tattoos to commemorate their wedding day. Initially, the episode was to focus on Cardi giving the tattoo to Offset (with the guidance of a trained and licensed professional) but when Offset suggested giving one to her as well, she was all-in.
This was a far cry from 18 months ago, when the two were preparing to get divorced. Instead, they reconciled and have appeared to be stronger as a couple than ever, with Cardi defending Offset from accusations of infidelity as the two trade more and more expensive gifts with each major milestone.
(@coi_leray) 
